#easy mistake to make since he seems all shy and anxious most of the time

[stinkyme]

Hello! This is my first fic so please be gentle with me, I am not sure if I will make more since I have no idea how will this one do, but I hope you will like it :)

It's Mushitaro fic, I wanna give special thanks to my friend for complimenting it and giving me confidence :)

I apologize for any mistakes, english is my second language

CW/TW: maid!reader, however it's not typical dynamic, bear with me, for most part it's gn!reader but when smut scene comes it's fem!reader, NSFW obviously, slight edging, Mushitaro is needy, it's a bit of slowburn, Mushitaro is a bit OOC at the times, tying up, reader is dominant, overall switch dynamic from both Mushitaro and reader, reader is Poe's friend, a bit of angst, fluff, cursing, please let me know if I forgot to mention anything! :)

I listened to The Zone - The Weeknd, if anyone is interested :)

N/N stands for nickname, I wasn't sure how to tag it

Sentimental || Mushitaro Oguri x Reader

It was during the time Mushitaro spent time in Poe's mansion.

You were working for Poe as a maid even though your relationship with him was very friendly and he didn't look down on you whatsoever because you were taking care of him and Karl. You would clean, prepare food, feed and play with Karl when Poe was too busy with writing or bickering with Ranpo while solving cases.

One day, he suddenly showed up with a man unknown to you, he was tall, slim and from what you could tell, very fashionable and took care of himself and his looks which sparked your interest aside from Poe suddenly bringing someone in since you knew he doesn't really have friends beside yourself, Ranpo and Karl.

"I'm pleasantly surprised to see a new face here Poe, is this your new friend?" you asked while adjusting your skirt and getting ready to put some new works Poe has written on the shelf. You were thinking how Poe wrote a lot lately and he was clearly stressed rather than inspired since what you were getting your hands on are around 20ish books and as you started packing them in your hands in order to move them, a man suddenly interfered taking books out of your hands.

"I am Mushitaro Oguri and by no means I am this man's friend, however I am grateful for his assisstance and help." he said rather dramatic and then he continued his speech "I also understand you are his maid by what he has told me and it's a pleasure to meet you, it must be pain in the ass to deal with him, so let me help you with those books at least."

You didn't expect from him to be so...initiative with his help. He gave you an idea of a man who has others do things for him, you would even assume he was demanding in nature. It made you think a bit and then you introduced yourself "Pleasure is all mine sir, my name is Y/N L/N and I am glad you understand my struggles with Poe, I have no one to complain to, he might seem shy and anxious but he can be really hard to please sometimes." you said in joking manner.

Mushitaro took look at you and chuckled while putting one of the books down.

"You won't have that issue with me. I know exactly what I want and I am straight forward with my demands unlike some of us." he glanced at Poe who was standing next to you slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh? I am glad to hear that, I am sure we will get along just fine.", you elbowed Poe, "Cheer up sad face, it's a joke, I honestly couldn't ask for a better person to work for and work with." you have Poe warm smile and he relaxed a bit and while smiling added "I am glad to hear, Mushitaro please go easy on her and treat her with care."

"Hmph, who do you think I am? I will treat her properly, I don't need you to tell me that." Mushitaro said with slight annoyance in his tone.

"Good to hear. But, I must take my leave now, there are plenty of things we need to get done." and with that Poe explained full situation to you and how this it to keep Mushitaro protected and safe because of everything that happened with DoA.

You understood everything and you were a bit scared for what your friend has gotten himself into, however you knew your priority was to make Mushitaro comfortable and satisfied, more importantly safe.

You were slightly nervous about it since he made very clear he *is* a demanding guest to have, however you knew you won't fail and you will keep him here whatever it takes. It's least you can do.

Although you could see how Mushitaro was combing his hair almost asking to be watched while doing it because he was so theatral about it so you chuckled to yourself and thought how this might not be too bad after all.

Well.

You were wrong. You were so wrong that you wanted to find Poe and strangle him for leaving you with this man. After his little help with books, which you highly appreciated, he was insufferable.

Demanding certain procelan, certain clutchery, he wouldn't eat food that wasn't 'satisfying his taste buds' even though you knew your cooking skills were perfect, certain way to clean, dry and iron his suit he wants to wear for a day (as if he was going anywhere aside from mansion and as if he was seeing anyone aside you) and when you brang his attention to that he would shut you up by saying how style is style, no matter where you are or who will see you, he even went so far to making you move all furniture in a room he was staying in because it wasn't satisfying his eyes, nor complimenting his style and class.

It was almost like he was tormenting you on purpose as if he noticed and deeply enjoyed every time he could see your eyebrow twitch on one of his demands. You tried to keep yourself professional because you are a professional, you might be a maid but you are very intelligent, strong willed, patient, you helped ADA and Guild more times than you can count and this man won't break you. That was your resolve, no matter what happens or what he asks for you will go through it and your pride and mental state might suffer a bit because of it, but you will stand your ground because last thing you want to do is fail your promise made to Poe.

This was your resolve but it seemed like Mushitaro had resolve of his own and that was to make you completely miserable.

"Hmm, I need a new tie. I grew tired of all old ones I have." it was almost like he was singing just for your ears to hear and bleed out from annoyance. You ignored him, hoping it will just pass as soon as he notices something else he isn't satisfied with.

"Do you hear me? I said I need a new tie so you will go with me to buy it and you are awfully quiet today Y/N, you seem even...annoyed? Why would that be?" you had your back turned on him because you were ironing his suits and tried your best not to snap and potentially kill him, but you could feel amusement that was tangled with his voice and his low gaze that was burning on your back. You took a small breath and turned around with the most relaxed, professional and kind expression you could do.

"I am by no means annoyed, I am simply focused on my work. As for your tie, I am truly sorry, however we can't go out and risk you getting caught so you will have to find a new way to amuse yourself or pick a tie you already have and make it fitting for today, sir." you were proud of yourself for being collected, you spoke calmly, maybe even too calmly for your liking, but none of that matters now. What matters is you won. He stood silently, observing you for a few seconds and as much as you hated to admit to yourself now, he was a pretty handsome man. More importantly, it got you thinking a bit, the days you spent together, when he wasn't annoying he was actually sweet and interesting man. You knew he helped Ranpo, so with that knowledge you could conclude he was just a show off and usually people with grandé self expression through mannerism and clothing just dislike being looked into due to insecurities or secrets we all have more or less, so they do their best to make people focus on their outside persona. It still didn't make you miss out on that when he wasn't being pain in the ass that he complimented your work, your knowledge, saying how lucky Poe is to have you as a friend and as a caretaker in a sense, when he shared his stories and experiences even though they were sometimes mostly focused on him being 'King of crime' how he liked to call himself and you would let him have it even though you knew he didn't have that inside himself. He wasn't a murderer, he was just granted an insanely powerful ability and he had a right to claim it however he wanted because it was his after all, but it wasn't him as a person. He loved dicussions and often times when he would discuss something with you he had some sort of sadness to him, gloomy expression with a bit of choking some words out or not fully focused, almost as he was reminiscing some past events that were bringing sadness to him, but you were never foolish or rather intrusive enough to ask, so you would listen. He loved being listened to as well as he loved to listen to you. He would disagree with some things you would say, but he would never belittle you which did make you feel warm around your heart. It was a long time since you were able to discuss something or just talk with someone since Poe was often busy and when he wasn't busy, he would speak about Ranpo or new novel he has in mind. You never minded that, you loved seeing Poe being out of his shell with you, but you also deeply missed being listened to and sharing your own thoughts, worries and philosophy with someone. That is until he showed up. He also seemed awfully lonely and people in solitude often have certain aura to them, you were also convinced Mushitaro sensed that in you as well, that's why when he wasn't annoying you, he made you feel comfortable and heard. Your laughs echoing, Mushitaro being loud while trying to explain why mystery novels are stupid, how math is even more fun, how style of a person says a lot about them, how he listened to your adventures with Guild, ADA, Poe, Karl and memories from your childhood. He was there and made you feel less of a forgotten mansion's ghost. Which meant a lot.

Yes, he was also awfully handsome and had beautiful complexion and your heart would flatter anytime he would compliment you in his unique way or when he would give you a gentle smile of appreciation anytime you did something he demanded the way he demanded or when he would slightly touch your hand your body would have weird sense of familiarity, of belonging, of feeling real and appreciated even if that maybe wasn't his intention at all.

However, he was still painfully annoying.

"Ahh, you still call me sir, I think after all this time and into the late night discussions we got over that, don't you think? Plus when you look at me, I don't look a year over 21, wouldn't you agree?" he was shook his head and then proceeded to look and admire himself in the mirror.

"It is true that it's not safe, however I do need a new tie, so my today's demands, aside from established ones.." he said this in very obvious, yet very teasing voice. You knew that he knew he was annoying you and enjoyed every second of it.

"...are for you to call me Mushitaro and to go out with me for my new tie and keep me safe, sounds good Y/N?" he ended his question with your name that he put a lot of accent to as if it was the main point of whole sentence. You knew his point was to make sure you understand he wants you to use his name even you didn't even know why would you call him sir after all. You did spend a lot of time together obviously, but you never wanted to cross professional boundary so 'sir' would slip out here and there.

It got you thinking, was that even the most unprofessional thing you are worrying about? This is a man that for some reason made you feel like all annoyance was worth it once your head hits your pillow because of the way he spent time with you. Sometimes, for unknown reason to you, when he would get too out of it you wished you could just kiss him to shut him up and take all your inner irritation out on him. It was a funny thought, harmless one too, right?

Wrong. Your so called professionalism ended the moment you started treating him more as a friend, as a part of your daily routine that was needed, that was out of all work you do for him, the moment your thoughts were focused on his shoulders, hands, neck, lips or the way he says your name like he was always there. You tried to supress it, after all, even with your job you were still friends with Poe, right? But you never had such thoughts about him, maybe because he wasn't demanding or testing your limits, that might be it. But you also never found yourself wondering how would his lips taste like or how certain suit covers his shoulders and brings out his figure.

Your professionalism ended when you stopped treating him like a guest, like part of your job for the sake of mission, when you started feeling tingly inside your stomach and chest while thinking of him or simply observing him while he wrote something Poe told him to write.

It ended the moment you started seeing him as annoyance, as pain in the ass, not because of his demands, partly yes, but moreover because he was making your lose your usually calm, collected, professional self you cherished. Because you had feelings for him. Because he brought something new in your routine, he brought new light and new experience you didn't expect. Now, this isn't time to think about silly things like this, you must do something for him to give up stupid tie. Fucking stupid tie.

You looked at him, composed, you thought about what will you say.

"This is how we will do, today I can only fullfill one demand or rather request from you which is unfortunate for me, since I do love doing my job, but it will probably be more unfortunate for you. I believe you know which one is it, Mushitaro?" you did same thing he did, you've put an accent on his name as if it was main point of your sentence, hopefully he will recognize you do see and recognize him as more than you are able to show and with that you smiled softly, hoping that as well as that, he will also realize that fucking tie hunting won't happen.

"You made it fairly clear I believe." he closed his eyes before answering as he was thinking about something unclear to you, softly smiled as well and continued.

"I need a new tie. It's something I desire and as far as I am concerned, based on our conversations and knowing you by now, you value your job and you have to fullfill that desire, no? To you it might be foolish, but I am very serious about this, it's something I am passionate about and you said you will do *anything* to make me feel comfortable. So, there's that for today. Let me know when you're ready to leave." he turned around and you could feel your blood boil, but what's even worse you could hear Poe's anxious and panicked voice asking how could you let this happen over a dumb tie. You knew you were better than this, you knew how nasty you can get once your patience is crossed and this man wouldn't live to tell the tale. So you did the most reasonable thing you could.

"Don't you turn your back on me Mushitaro. You will come back this second and sit your ass down while I sew you a new tie. Did you hear me?"

it was maybe foolish, you knew how to do it, however he had delicate taste as he liked to call it, so this was a gamble.

"Hm? To sew me a tie? You?" he was a bit stunned and you knew you got him intrigued so now all you have to do is convince him.

"Yes, me. As far as you know before anything, I am a maid, am I not? Of course I can do that. I can also make you a tie you desire, so tell me your likings and I will make it, but you won't step a foot outside or I will strangle you with those tacky ties you own. Clear?"

you were actually honest, you were ready to do anything for this to go your way. You disliked a title of 'maid' itself, but you truly did love what you do because it was stress relieving for you and it was always a positive experience being appreciated and a way for you to appreciate people by doing things for them. Well, Poe, Karl and as in now Mushitaro too.

"I also designed my outfit for this work, and out of all your complaints I haven't heard one about my outfit, so my guess is you like it or at least can stand it, right Mushitaro?" you said teasingly, now it was time for a payback.

You knew you were good in a lot of things and handling work no one would do, handling people no one would and putting your hands to use for anything, within that, crafting and making outfits and clothing were only few of them. But most important ones right now.

Mushitaro seemed to get...shy? He looked away from you but quickly found his composure to bring his usual self out.

"Very well then! I shall let you do what you are good at. I, king of crime, know better than anyone what it is like to appreciate your own craft beyond anyone else's. Also, I, as probably the most fashionable person one has a pleasure of meeting told you already. People's style says a lot about them and based on yours I could tell you are creative, quick witted, sentimental and kind which was also confirmed in our time spent together after all work is done. I do admire your work but don't get ahead of yourself with my compliments, I only say this to encourage you doing a good work for me. Mhm! That's all!!" he was so dramatic you had to think, is it really? He sounded like he tried to convince himself into something rather than you, however his compliments did make you feel seen and appreciated once again.

You blushed a bit thinking about his words about yourself and your outfit.

"Excellent then. What are your demands this time, king of crime?" you said while laughing softly.

"Hah! That's exactly who I am. I also knew you were a fast learner. Hmm..for my tie, you see, I desire a teal one, preferably made out silk or maybe wool to match a suit I wear the most so it can fully compliment my style and my persona. Will that be okay Y/N?"

Of course it will be. Ties were easy to make. You could do it blind.

"No problem at all, I will get right to it. See how easy this was Mushitaro? If only you weren't so whiny and dramatic about it I would've finished it 3 hours ago, jeez."

"Hey! That's not it. It's passion, I already explained. But I won't be whiny and dramatic anymore so you can get some work done since I have mine to do. I shall leave now."

"How kind of you, truly. If you didn't have your own work you would annoy me until this whole mission is over." shit. You shouldn't have said that.

"Annoy you? Well, I might come off as demanding, however I made that clear already, I believe. Also, didn't you say you enjoy doing this kind of things?

If it annoys you, well, there might be something else, something inside you that you need to pay attention to. But, that also means you lied to me in the beginning of our conversation, I asked were you annoyed and you said no, why is that?" he was as sharp minded as he could be, his tone sounded a bit offensed, but more curious and teasing.

Did he figure it out? No way, this man seems like he doesn't have awarness of other people's emotional state usually since he is so focused on himself. Usually. Crap. Time to think of something.

"Uh..well, I admit, sometimes your demands do annoy me with how ridicilous they can get, you are the first person that has such a specific taste which is challenging at the times, however, I end up fullfilling them, don't I?" you said the with best voice you could squeeze out of your throat. You knew you would fullfill anything for him at this point because of how fond you are of him and reason for your annoyance is because you wanted to spend time with him...a bit differently, but you knew that won't happen as much as he opens up to you and as much attention he gives you, it's his politeness and who he is as a person, not voice of his feelings whatsoever.

"You are not the first one to tell me that! I had a friend, you see, he also sort of hinted how I barely have any friends due to my persona, but for different reasons. He didn't have any either so it was ironic coming from him.

Yes, you do fullfill my demands and I am grateful for that, I am grateful for you. I will let you do your work now and try not to annoy you too much Y/N." he had some sadness in his voice which made your heart drop in tightness of your chest because not only did he say he was grateful for you, you could also recognize that he liked connection you had and maybe, just maybe, he felt comfortable enough to act that way around you because, as much as he was hiding something by his huge demenor (as we all do), he felt comfortable enough to take up space with you in it. You allowed him that. To be loud, demanding, talkative. He was in general expressive person, but with you, he didn't think about it as in trying to hide something, he was genuine, he enjoyed time spent together, he also knew you loved your job so why not be demanding in order for you to do what you enjoy, he wanted to make that happen. Even though he was naturally demanding, most of the time with you he was just looking for something to demand in order to make you happy.

Because you loved it, right?

You were happy. But not specifically because of what you did, but because you did it for him and with him and you knew once you finish it, it's time for two of you to play games, talk, drink tea or wine, light heartedly bicker sometimes, listen to each other. It was because you loved your heart racing with him, you loved being near him. You were in love and now you maybe ruined it all because your tongue was quicker than your thoughts. You will fix this, hopefully. No, you will fix this for sure. That's your job, you always fix stuff and take care of them. Only, this time, it's your feelings that are involved too. You are doing this for yourself and because even if you felt like solitude was meant for you most of the time, he changed that and you won't lose it.

As he left you in silence, you sat down with your emotions and new discovery or rather new acceptance and started working what you are best in, putting so much thought, love and hope for forgivness and new chance in every move you made with the teal silk. It is beautiful color and it would suit Mushitaro really well, make him even more handsome to you. You were delicate and gentle, focused and determined, trying your best to somehow wield in all emotions you had and hopefully, somehow he might feel them too through your craft.

It was almost done when your attention got caught by shiny, deep dark purple silk in the box and you realized you can maybe make one more. You giggled to yourself because of the idea you got, Mushitaro showed you his ability one time and it was the most unique and beautiful one you've seen truly, not once you've seen an ability being so special and expressive, but it did suit his character when you think about it.

So you decided to make him a purple tie too and on the back sew in a little creature that shows up during his ability so when he turns it around he can be reminded how that's his ability and give his (not so small) ego a boost because it reminds him he is 'king of crime'.

You were hoping he will like it so you got to work as quickly as possible because you were actually excited about this one.

Once you were done, you couldn't wait to show Mushitaro what you made so you quickly went to his room and knocked rather impatiently for him to open doors so you can show him ties you made.

He opened the door looking you up and down, questioning why were you suddenly so excited and jumpy. This was maybe the first time you weren't able to hide your expression from him and you didn't care.

"So will you let me in or what?" you asked impatiently.

He moved from door frame and gestured you to come in.

You came in and his room was really nice and clean, thanks to you of course, so you admired your good work a bit before bringing your attention back to Mushitaro.

"So, I know you asked for teal one and here it is, I hope you like it." you said a bit shyly because next thing was to admit you made a tie special for him, with only him in your thoughts and put your heart in it.

"Now it's not the time to become a coward, Y/N" you thought.

Mushitaro examined the tie between his fingers, he was looking with a deep thought but your gaze was focused on how long, delicate and gentle his fingers are.

"It's really nice, actually. Not like I doubted you for a second, but you truly know your work. I wouldn't find better one in any expensive, tasteful store. So thank you, truly, Y/N. So I don't have any other demands or rather annoyance to offer, so you might want to leave now." he said, he was unusually cold in last part of his sentence which made you a bit discouraged, but you believed it will be okay. You just have to be honest.

"Uh..okay Mushi, look, I am sorry for saying it like that. I know it wasn't nice and truly, it's not the way I meant it.

Um, aside from teal, I made you this purple tie, I know you only have one purple suit and purple tie to match it already, but it has a little surprise behind, so here you go, just turn it upside." you said but you couldn't look at him, somehow it was too much, everything came out pouring out of you and you were emotionally desperate not to lose him over dumb thing you've said.

Mushitaro was shocked. He didn't speak, his eyes were wide and it was the first time he didn't have any funny, quick witted, self praise remarks to make. He just slowly took purple tie you handed out, you could feel his cold fingers brushing lightly over yours which helped your whole body that was burning.

He turned end of the tie upside and saw little creature smiling at him. He immediately knew it was his ability and he was speechless. He felt so seen, so listened to, so warm, appreciated, melted, you name it. He felt it all. But above all he was in shock. He swore he could even tear up if he wasn't so shocked. It was such a small gesture, a detail some would say, but it was from you. From you to him. It was like you gave him a love letter and little creature were your lips that kissed envelope to seal it. Or to be as a signature he would recognize without name. Something inside him in that moment broke, not in a bad way at all, in a way where he couldn't describe and thought how his old friend is probably laughing at him right now. Look at him, you opened and made him experience something inside himself he didn't know was possible. He obviously fallen for you, but this was like his love was sealed with your gesture. Like envelope sealed with a kiss. Like his tie sealed with tiny creature.

He came to his senses and saw you looking around weirdly, waiting for reaction of him.

"So, not only did I get a tie I desired, I got a tie made just for me and a new nickname too? Mushi, huh?"

You didn't even realize. Oops. Well it's fine, it's not like there is going back from this point.

He continued.

"You missed my demanding, ah pardon me, annoyance so much you gave yourself work to do for me. How splendid, I knew you were insanely creative, see N/N?"

he smiled proudly but that didn't change the fact his heart, just like yours, was beating so fast in his chest and all he actually desired was to kiss you and show you what he feels for you.

You were as shocked as he was just a minute ago by your doing. Did he just give you a nickname? I mean, naturally so, you called him Mushi...it's only natural to happen, right?

"I already said I am sorry for calling it annoying and maybe, yeah, maybe lack of your insert made me a bit...sad, I think. Now, stop with the teasing and can we forget that happened?" you asked him.

"I mean...what kind of man would I be if I let something like that stop a lady like yourself taking care of me. Maybe I can rephrase it in my mind and think how my annoying attitude and your creative mind must coexist in order for true style, true fashion to happen and me to be taken care of so delicately. I will settle like that, I am fine with it. I think I can find small part in my heart and forgive you." he said all of this jokingly, theatral, even though he did want for your creative mind and in general, all of you to coexist with him as much as possible. More importantly, he noticed more and more of your kind heart, your loving soul and he wanted to share everything with you.

"It's settled then, we have a deal my new found inspiration." you said jokingly.

"Now, let me put your tie on so you can see how it looks with your suit." you came closer and went to grab teal one because of the color of his suit, but he moved his hand and gave you purple one. You were confused as in why a man who puts fashion over everything would make such a tasteless decision.

It's almost like he sensed question you had and said in soft, low voice

"Sure, teal one would be "right" decision, tasteful one, obvious one. This one has sentimental worth. I might come off as narrow minded or even dull minded to some people due to my appreciation for fashion, but I truly believe meaning and impact behind something holds more importance than some convenient details. You know what I mean?"

You nodded, but chuckled a bit because you knew it will look funny, but also because it made you feel nice. You knew he liked it and that's all it matters now. He took his green tuxedo off and left it on his chair to give you space to work.

You were adjusting tie around collar of his shirt gently, you were so close to him and you were a bit nervous to feel him so close like this but you held it together, it's a fucking tie. All mess happened because of a tie, but it also brought you together like this so it might not be all bad, right?

He was looking gently, lovingly at you, you were much shorter than him, your head could pleasantly rest on his chest, oh how he wished for that.

You were making finishing tucks to make it straight and neat and then gently put your hands on his chest.

"All done! Take a look to see if you like it."

He took a glance in the mirror, it made him proud to wear a tie made specifically by you for him, it was absolutely beautiful, but he couldn't focus on that in the moment you two were in.

"It's truly an honor to wear it and as much as I like it, I think you tied it pretty tight around my neck, was this just a manipulation for you to slowly strangle annoyance from your life?"

You laughed.

"Ah, I am standing next to king of crime after all, how could I be so foolish and think my little plan will work? Come, let me fix it."

You were readjusting the thightness and you couldn't stop your gaze from being shamelessly focused on his neck and not even a bit after, his lips.

He caught that and as you were doing your thing he slowly grabbed your wrists to move them down to stay next to your body and you looked at him in confusion.

His right hand slowly started caressing and making it's way up your arm.

"I think it was enough of this, no?"

He gently moved your hair from your neck and cupped your cheek brushing his thumb over it.

"If this is your way of showing gratitude...simple thank you would be enough Mushi." you said rather nervous, voice low and shaky, your heart was beating so fast you swore he could see it between your chest and you thought this was some teasing game of his.

"Ahh yeah, indeed, it is a way of showing my gratitude, but it's also a way for me to show you my feelings. So thank you for ties, but more importantly for being you, N/N."

You were burning. Was this a joke? There is no way a man like him can get this bold. You didn't care though. You had enough of hiding your feelings and if it was truthful from his side too, you couldn't be more grateful.

He slowly leaned down, his thumb still caressing your cheek meanwhile letting your other hand free and slowly placing his left hand on your waist meanwhile you gently put your hand on top of his, signaling him it's okay to grab it tighter and your other hand cupping his jaw.

His lips finally meet yours and you could feel his warm, wet tongue on yours, he was gentle, slow kisser, pulling you closer by your waist trying to put all of his feelings and admiration for you into that kiss. You pulled away to bite and suck on his bottom lip while looking at him in the eyes then your tongue met his once again, this time more demanding, more aggresively and you slowly put his hand that was carressing your waist and back, on your ass grabbing it with him.

He was a bit nervous, but he didn't stop, you were still making out almost out of breath when he pulled you a bit harshly on top of him while sitting himself on the bed next to you. You pulled away to catch a breath and he started kissing your neck gently, teasingly, he gave it a cat lick and then started sucking on it while his hands were making his way under your skirt. You whined a bit from his work on your neck. He pulled away and started kissing your jaw and under your ear, only to gently bite it. You could feel him get hard under you, he was moving your ass cheeks up and down almost begging you to move.

You removed his tie and undid first few buttons of his shirt and you got a great look of his pale complexion as well as his prominent collarbones you started covering in slow paced kisses moving up to his neck and slowly breathing in his ear because of how hard he was getting, you started licking his neck from the bottom to back part of his ear going back down following wet trace you left with kisses only to start sucking in the middle, wanting to leave a hickey just like he did to you.

He was making small, low groans alongisde with tiny whines.

With your long nails you brushed over other side of his neck and you could feel him trembling, getting harder and harder, basically desperate for your hips to move.

"You are not so demanding now, what's wrong Mushi?" you asked innocently looking at his face, his eyes burning with need and desire.

"Please...please, Y/N."

"Now you learned how to say please, I am surprised. What do you need from me, darling?" you were amused.

You were wet yourself from his sounds, kisses, his gentle, cold hands tracing over your ass, thighs, his desperation.

"Please, move your hips, please do something more to me, I need it." he sounded desperate, his voice was whiny, he could barely look at you.

"All you had to do is simply politely ask Mushi, I am right here, I will make you feel good, it's what I do the best after all, right?" you were whispering in his ear while slowly rubbing yourself on the buldge in his pants, it felt so good, he was so hard and satisfying your throbbing clit.

He moved his hands from your ass to your hips and you started making out again, this time both of you desperate and wanting to relief yourselves.

He put his hands under your skirt, grabbing your thighs, moving his hand up and down making you shiver from how soft his touch was even when he was somewhat rough.

You removed his shirt and he was fairly muscular, he had nice, defined abs and shoulders, not too much or too little, just how you liked it. His body was so delicate, his soft almost like he was sculpted just for you. Then he removed your top and bra and stopped your hips in order to move you under him on bed. His pants had a wet spot from your wet pussy and his precum.

He looked at you with a burning, low gaze, he was silent, but his eyes told you everything.

He lightly moaned when he took a look at your body, analysing and paying attention to every curve while tracing his fingers between your breasts, then tummy, waist, hips, admiring every part of you. He removed your skirt and you were only in panties until he removed them too. He was rubbing your inner thighs, moving his hands all the way back to your ankles only to lift them and put on his shoulder and start kissing.

Your right ankle, slowly putting it down, calf, knee, inner thigh, lower tummy, hip bone, waist, all over your tummy, between your breasts and then he put your nipple in his mouth and started licking and sucking on it which made you moan a bit, meanwhile your pussy was in a need of being touched.

He moved to your left breast, playing with right one and started sucking on that one, licking it and placing a gentle kiss on your nipple once he finished.

"You truly are work of art, you know Y/N."

He then proceeded to do the same thing on your left side, starting from your neck, down to your collarbones, breasts, waist, tummy, lower tummy, inner thighs, calf, ankle tracing it all in kisses, leaving gentle bites and few hickeys on your left inner thigh.

You were trembling under him, your whole body was full of him but one place you wanted him at right now.

"Let me thank you how I am supposed to, please."

He stood up, took his pants off, now only in his boxers and lowered himself between your legs holding your thighs.

He looked your pussy and it made you a bit shy to be exposed like that and stared at, but he was so mesmerized by you that you were complimented by it at the same time.

He started kissing your inner thighs again, ghostly licking them, biting a bit and then placing a kiss as a form of apologize when you would tense up from sudden, small but sharp pain.

He started kissing your crotch and as he was moving from left to right his nose brushed over your deprived clit which made you tense up and almost beg him to eat you out.

He kissed all around it, enjoying you fully and then gave a cat lick to your clit which made you moan and almost fuck yourself on his face if he doesn't stop soon.

"Impatient, I know, I am just trying to show you how much I admire you, how much you own me."

He placed a kiss on your pussy and moved his hand near your entrance slowly putting them in which finally gave you stimulation you craved.

He curled them up perfectly reaching a spot with his long fingers you often times couldn't on your own, putting pressure and listening to your moans that were like a music to him.

He kept going in the same pace you liked and then started licking your clit which made you moan even more encouraging him to start sucking on it. You grabbed his hair a bit roughly but he didn't mind that at all, it was like a compliment.

"Yeah Mushi, just like that." you finally spoke because you were so close that if he stopped you would actually beg him.

"As you heart desires, N/N." he spoke lowly and got back to licking and sucking your clit, not changing the pace of his fingers which made you shake and tremble, then finally made you reach your orgasm.

He slowed his pace down, kissing your folds and licking the cum that was leaking out of you. You were trying to calm down and get your breathing back to somewhat normal, recovering from orgasm he just gave you.

You looked at him and he was so flushed, his face red and his boxers also covered in precum. You stood up and took his hand which fingers were just inside you and slowly brang them in your mouth and licked the cum off of them.

Mushitaro got a bit shy about this so you kissed him.

"You did so well for me Mushi. Now let me do something nice for you, okay?" you got up and took teal tie you made and came back, he looked at you with confused expression.

"Well..you said how you love sentimental things and you know, I worked really hard for this tie and kind of got an idea how we can make it sentimental, you know?" you smiled at him and made him lay down tying his hands over his head.

"Now, you are awfully quiet Mushi, what's wrong?"

"You taste..so divinely, I could eat you out all the time." he said fairly shy.

"That's not what I thought, although I am thankful and trust me, you will have plenty of chances. I meant, for your usual, demanding and desiring persona, you hardly have any demands now. Weird, you seem rather shy." you were teasing him.

He was just laying there trying to not meet your gaze.

"Hm?" you asked while slowly stroking his cock over his boxers which made him twitch.

"Don't tell me you like being ordered around Mushi, that would be so out of character for you." you were looking at his face, he still couldn't meet your gaze.

"Is that so? I mean, you did mention I own you and you were a good boy and did very well so it would only be fair for me to repay you, no?" you came close to his face kissing his cheek and whispered "You know, all you have to say is please. Can you do that for me?"

He was horny, he could basically cum in his boxers right now, his face was red and he was choking out words.

"Please...please touch me, I need you to do that." his voice was whiny.

"You are a fast learner, aren't you? As your heart desires darling." you said and started kissing his neck, moving down on his chest, he had beautiful, tender chest, you started kissing his abs and barely licking them from the bottom to top, he was twitching, melting and whining under your touch. He was under your demand, ready for you to do anything you want right now.

You removed his boxers and his dick was slightly bigger than average, clean shaved, veiny, not too thick, not too thin. You started slowly stroking it which made Mushitaro whine again and moved it to your mouth, licking top of it and going down until he was in your throat. You were making it sloppy and wet, you could taste his precum and you looked up at him, he was at your mercy, you sucked on it harder and he was whining and slowly started to tremble.

Once you thought it was wet enough you moved on top of him and started riding him, his cock filled you up perfectly, stretching you just enough that you moaned from sensation, you started bouncing up and down, not too fast, not too slow, just enough for him to groan and beg you.

"Please go faster, I am close, please." he was saying breathily, he was practically whimpering.

You smiled and started going faster which made him groan and let out slight "yeah, please, just like that" but more than anything he was whimpering and trying to untie himself in order to grab your hips.

You stopped your movement.

"Need something?" you asked knowing that he was annoyed by your sudden denial of his orgasm.

"I need you to keep going Y/N", Mushitaro said desperate for his orgasm, his face had annoyed, yet begging expression.

"Untie me and keep going, please. I want to touch you." he whimpered.

"I can tell." you placed your hands on his chest and moved your hips back and forward on his throbbing, twitching cock to get some relief your your clit.

It made him moan.

"Please, more, I need more of you Y/N." Mushitaro was desperately trying to make you untie him and you felt bad for him so you untied him.

"Better?"

He was quick to make you go underneath him, your legs snaking around his waist. You were a bit shocked with sudden change.

"I need you, don't deny me this now Y/N, don't tease a man desperate for you." he whispered in your ear and adjusted his cock at your entrance easily slipping in and whined once again.

"You are so wet, ugh god." he breathed out.

His pace was slow, he was savouring all sensations your pussy gave him, he felt so good inside you, he filled you up perfectly and he was looking at your eyes with low, needy eyes.

He moved your legs on top of his shoulder thursting suddenly deep inside you which made you tremble and moan.

"You are, ahh, doing so well for me." you said to Mushitaro who with small praise started going faster and faster, his whimpers merged with your moans and he started playing with your clit, rubbing his thumb in slow circles wanting for two of you to reach orgasms together.

"Is this good for you, my love?" Mushitaro asked you and all you could do is weakily nod as he kept going faster and faster whining and groaning even louder when you finally felt your second orgasm which made you moan and tremble, grabbing sheets as well as Mushitaro filling you up, feeling warmth inside of you. You stayed like that for a minute breathing loudly when Mushitaro kissed your leg, lowered to kiss you on the lips and laid next to you.

You were sweaty, trembling, recovering from your orgasms.

"Sentimental, huh? Will you make me more of them?" Mushitaro asked.

"I mean, sure, if you ask nicely." you earned chuckle from Mushitaro who pulled you closer, hugging you.

"Please my love, make more things we can make sentimental together, whether it's like this or not, as long as it's us." he said softly.

"All you had to do is ask, I will do my best, Mushi." you smiled softly and two of you fell asleep, sweaty, naked, hugged like that.

It didn't matter, because it was two of you, two souls who thought they were meant for ethernal solitude, together like this proving each other and yourselves wrong.

The End :) <3

I hope you enjoyed, feedback would be appreciated! :)

[goldenize]

Annie finally went through my pics and says I can post this one. (●'◡'●)

He said it’s cause he looks cool but holy shit, you pull the hood off and he looks like a friggin blue dandelion, it’s amazing how he’ll still refuse to believe he’s adorable. ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

[kroerms]

Half-way (Part two)

pairing: Akaashi Keiji x y/n (gender neutral, I think I stayed clear of using any pronouns for reader, please correct me if I made a mistake)

genre: angstish with a little bit of an open ending

warnings: aftermath of a break-up. Mentions of unhealthy coping strategies (bad eating habits, kinda isolation), usage of the word death twice, my bad writing skills ^^

a/n: this is part 2 out of 3 of this fic. I really love interactions very much, so feel free to tell me what you think of this :) Reblogs are greatly appreciated. Part 3 will follow some time this week I think :)

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Two weeks have passed by since “the dining table incident”, as you call it. Your days consist of laying in Atsumu’s guest room, refusing to exit it. If it wasn’t for Atsumu bringing you food twice a day and sitting next to you on the bed until you’ve eaten all of it, you would probably have starved to death by now. You just don’t have the energy to go out and do stuff. You just want to lay in bed with the blinds closed and reminisce about Keiji and you and how it all began.

Keiji and you met way back when you first moved to Tokyo. You were a very shy, very anxious, and most of all, very lost young person, trying to find your way to the little bookstore your friend told you about. To be fair, you never were big on orientation. Your father used to say you’d get lost on the way to your bathroom if it weren’t for your flat being so...cozy…

So you were just wandering around the streets of the city, looking like a lost puppy and -just your luck- it started to rain cats and dogs. And of course, you being you, the new umbrella you bought was sitting at home. Just as you found refuge under a hotel entrance, hugging yourself to find some sort of comfort and already wet to the bone, a voice next to you spoke. “Excuse me, but is this your phone?”

You slowly turned to face the person attached to the deep, raspy voice. You locked eyes with a tall, very handsome dark haired man with an unreadable facial expression, holding a (your!) phone in his hand.

“Oh my god, could this day get any worse?” you said, anger evident in your voice as you inspected the broken screen of your very new phone.

“Seems like Murphy’s law strikes again.” The man next to you spoke.

“Huh?”, you looked at the man with furrowed brows. You were absolutely not in the mood to entertain a stranger right now. You let your eyes wander over the young man standing next to you. His dark hair was wet and drops of rain ran down his forehead. His blue eyes were soft and his smile seemed genuine.

“What I mean to say is, it seems that your day is not going all too well, considering you kinda said so yourself. So - Murphy's law.” He smiled at you again, wider this time.

“Oh, well yes, it seems like everything is going wrong today, that is right indeed.” You answered, a small smile making its way to your lips. You bowed to the man with no name.

“Thank you very much for saving my phone. My name is y/n, may I ask yours?”

“Name’s Akaashi Keiji. Nice to meet you y/n. This may be overstepping a bit considering you don’t know me. But would you let me take you out for a coffee to cheer you up?” Keiji’s smile widened at your nodding.

“That would be very nice of you, thank you very much, Akaashi.” you answered shyly.

“Please, call me Keiji.”

You nodded again, a smile spreading across your cheeks.

Keiji led you to a small café. Ironically, the café was right next to the bookstore you were looking for. You giggled as you noticed, making him look at you in confusion.

“Sorry, it’s just funny how I was looking for that store right here for hours today and then I meet a stranger who brings me exactly where I wanted to go.”

“Well, this is fate then, don’t you think?” Keiji offered you an even wider smile as before. You didn’t think it was possible but he became more attractive with every minute you spent together.

The two of you sat at the café for quite a while. Keiji asked you why you moved to Tokyo and you asked him about his job. Keiji seemed very interested in you and you couldn't take your eyes off of him. His entire being intrigued you. It became clear very fast that the two of you had a lot in common. For one, you both liked to read. He told you about his friends and about his time in highschool, you told him about your family and your dreams. Time seemed to fly by, without neither him nor you noticing. It wasn’t until the waitress asked the two of you to leave because the shop was closing that you checked the time on your phone.

“Oh, it’s late already. And I didn’t even get to go to that bookstore,” you say, blushing slightly "don’t get me wrong though, I really enjoyed your company, you actually did cheer me up today Keiji. I really appreciate the effort.”

“Oh, I am sorry you didn’t get to go to that store. It’s actually really cute and they have lots of antiques as well. If you let me, I would like to take you on a date there some time? Maybe Saturday afternoon, say 2pm, what do you say?” Keiji’s eyes held something similar to hope in them. And who were you to destroy that? So you agreed.

The rest was pretty much history.

Keiji and you took each other out on different dates almost every other day for two months before he asked you to be his on a late sunny afternoon the two of you spent sitting and reading to each other in the park. The kiss that followed was a bit reluctant at first but tender and passionate nonetheless.

After that, the both of you became almost inseparable. You met his friends, he met yours and a little after a year the two of you moved in together. Everyday spent with Keiji was filled with love. From cooking dinner together to waking up next to him, his arm slung over your side, chest flush against your back, everything felt like home. Keiji became a home to you when you weren’t even looking for one.

Going through all these memories that connect the two of you makes you tear up again. You just wish for Keiji to come back to you. But since the break up you haven’t heard anything from him. It is killing you, at least that’s how it feels. But death would be too easy, so you are left suffering that loss.

At your shared apartment, Keiji is reading your letter for the nth time over and over again. Tears fill his eyes, the sound of his heart breaking audible in the sobs he lets out. And as if to punish himself, he reads your words again:

My dearest Keiji

I know you think taking a break from us is the right thing to do. And although I disagree, I nonetheless accept your decision. It hurts, I am not gonna lie to you. But I do understand where you are coming from. I just want you to know that I will always be here for you. If you decide that you want to end things definitely, I will accept it. But if you come back to me, I will be here with open arms.

Just know that you always were and always will be enough for me even in times when you don't see yourself as worthy. You are the most kind and most loving person I know and you make me feel so loved. And I can just hope that you feel the same way when thinking about me. If I did something to make you doubt yourself I want you to know that I would never doubt you. Sure, sometimes you annoy the shit out of me but I know for a fact that I not once doubted your love and affection towards me. And that, my love, will never change. I will never see you as anything less than the best part of my life. So if you decide to come back to me, I'll be here.

I love you today, I love you tomorrow and I'll love you every day after that for the rest of my life if you let me.

Forever yours

Y/n

All he can think about is that he wants to hold you again. He needs to, otherwise his life will never feel complete again, this much is obvious. He knows he fucked up bad by sending you away. He needs to make this right, he thinks. So he takes a piece of paper and writes down a plan. A plan to make the heartbreak end. A plan to bring happiness back into his life. The happiness he knows in the form of you.

He knows love is real because he can feel it. He can feel it with every fiber of his being when he thinks of you. He can see it in the way his eyes are dark and lifeless and the bags under them are the embodiment of the loss he feels every night when he can’t sleep because you are not laying in his arms.He knows love is real because it is what he feels whenever he looks at your pictures or when he reads your letter. And all he wants is to make you his again.

[avenger-hawk]

Hi you have a great understanding of Sasuke's character and awesome blog. Could I ask you for tips on how to write Sasuke right in fanfiction? When I try I never seem to get him right

Hello and thanks Anon. First of all, y’all don’t get offended if I’ll destroy some of your fave tropes in fics...I don’t judge ppl writing what they want in their fics, it’s their own fic so ofc they write what they want and how they want it and if they have fun with gay-uncle-Izuna, CEOItachi and sluttySasuke good for them...but when ppl impose their OOC Sasuke (or Nar or Itachi&co) as the real thing, and boy if they do....well. Nope.

Anyway I replied to similar asks here, here and here, so I’ll copy-paste some parts. My Sasuke tag. More Sasuke meta. More headcanons. More essays tag.

Sasuke is not dominant. He’s not bossy. He’s not assertive. He’s very passive in relationships and he values individual freedom, his own and other people’s. Ppl mistake his determination in pursuing his goals with assertiveness but it’s a totally different thing. He never makes the first move with ppl, unless he has a goal and he needs them, and even when he needs them, like Taka, he never imposes his will on them. He first freed them then he asked their help for his own goal, saying that he would accept if they refused. He never imposed himself on his brother (a child wanting his big brother’s attention is not being dominant, it’s natural) and he never did it on Nar or anyone else.

Sasuke is not selfish, he is the most selfless character in the whole series. He respected people, he didn’t see himself above them. He didn’t see himself as a genius or anything. He worked hard because he had a low self esteem, he was always compared to Itachi and he always lost. He was humble enough to ask others’ help, like asking N*ruto how S*kura was able to climb the tree with chakra in the beginning, or asking Team Taka’s help to find Itachi, asking Kakashi to make him stronger and following Orochimaru for more strength. And during all these, he was thrown in his face parts of the tragic truth about Itachi and his clan and he always had to get back on his feet and fight more. His world crumbled so many times on him and yet not only he reacted but he always was able to help those around him. Not with big words like N*ruto but really, freeing Orochimaru’s prisoners, Taka, and earlier protecting his team from Gaara, protecting N*ruto from Haku, and later proitecting N*ruto from Kaguya and then protecting the whole world from her, protecting Itachi’s ideal, his sacrifice from those who threatened to make it useless. He was ready to become the world’s only enemy to keep them together, following what he thought Itachi had taught him indirectly.

Sasuke is neither possessive nor jealous. He never showed any sign of possessiveness or jealousy towards anyone. He protected Taka and N*ruto. He defended Itachi’s name, unlike too many like to think: when he threatens Danzo to stop talking about Itachi it’s not because he’s jealous but because he doesn’t want that bastard to talk shit about his perfect brother, especially cause that bastard was the reason of his ruin. He was defending his name from an enemy and it was pure and selfless, not possessive at all! Proof of this is when Hashirama praises him instead, Sasuke is happy. He likes people to speak about his brother in a good way! When they were children Itachi always dismissed Sasuke who pouted but never got really angry or jealous at Shisui for example. And at the end of the fight vs Kabuto he aknowledged Itachi’s resolve to leave even tho it broke his heart to lose him again, and he let Itachi go with the saddest face but the utmost respect.

Sasuke is not arrogant. He has a low self-esteem. He was raised in the shadow of his genius brother, he suffered for his father not noticing him, he later developed an inferiority complex towards N*ruto as well because of his quick progress, compared to his own that he perceived as slower and not enough (that’s why he joined Orochimaru). When he brags it’s not because he’s the bragging type (aka N*ruto, Kiba &co) but it’s because he’s either making fun of N*ruto, since they were rivals/friends (not to mention it’s a shounen trope) and, even more so, because he is proud of his achievements. He worked so hard always and when he created a jutsu or smth he says it. Because he has low self esteem but he’s not socially awkward or shy or whatever (see later paragraph). So he is proud of his own results. (which is also a very TE thing, for those who care about mbti stuff).

Sasuke doesn’t value his life much. This is a result of his low self-esteem, which leads to poor sense of self-preservation (to prove that he’s strong, like when he was a genin and he trained so hard,and later to pursue his goals, for which he’d give his body to Orochimaru and his life over and over). Also he is so determined to achieve his goals that he’d do anything for them. He was ready to die on many occasions in canon for this and even later, after the ending, he’s seeing himself as a tool. Also, he never really got over the sense of worthlessness first caused by his father and then by Itachi’s words the night of the massacre. Not in a real life trauma-like thing, but as a way to see himself. this means that all those stereotypical rocking back and forth, cutting, whatever behaviors are not like him, who always got back to his feet and lived, although not for himself but for his goals.

Sasuke is not bitchy or spoiled. If he was he would have a great self esteem, and he clearly showed to have a very low self esteem instead. He never made anything about him actually, as all his goals were about others, his family, his brother, and so on. He was the one who did better teamwork in team7 actually, and he protected his friends and comrades, not to mention he freed Orochimaru’s prisoners and fought for the village and its people. How is this spoiled or bitchy, and btw, bitchy ppl do get offended and he never paid attention to offenses towards him, only towards his brother.

Sasuke is neither the haughty élite type nor the shy/socially anxious/‘emo’ type. He is neither Neji nor H*nata. He is aloof, he is always lost in his own thoughts and he doesn’t care about socializing because he wants to become strong, because he cared more about his family and goals, because he cared more about their opinion than the opinion of classmates. He valued strength since the beginning, being raised the way he was raised, so he valued the praise of strong people and not of the others, unlike those who seek praise from everyone. On the other hand his being aloof doesn’t mean he can’t have normal interactions, and the fact that he doesn’t use honorifics doesn’t mean he has socialization problems. Only that he doesn’t pay attention to these things anymore. He was always pragmatic, and after the massacre he became pragmatic to an extreme level, cutting off all unnecessary things, manners included. It doesn’t mean, though, that he doesn’t respect some people (=those he deems strong. Including Team Taka). He just shows it through actions.

Sasuke is not se/xually aggressive/dominant/whatever. He is too busy with his own goals to have se/xual or romantic thoughts (unlike other characters both male and female, not just Karin but also S*kura, Ino, and ofc N*ruto). I wouldn’t define this being asexual tho, because their universe is not ours and I’m sick&tired of all the real world/Nar universe parallels. He’s passive in relationship and on many occasions he showed indifference to se/xual anything, not disgust. Just, it wasn’t his thought. Because he is on a different wavelength. So even when he told characters to not be so close to him or smth, he didn’t move away, he just told them, which kinda proves my point once more of how passive he is towards ppl and relationships, he just lets them be. On the other hand, aceSas is better than hornydominantSas that is so OOC it hurts, be it with Itachi, Nar, S*kura or whatever other girls/boys.

Most MAIN characters didn’t understand/didn’t try to understand him. The ones who understood him more are unexpectedly not his friends. Not counting Taka ofc.

Sasuke is passive. He is the yin and N*ruto is the yang. In case this isn’t clear. It’s canon. Kishi used a yin/yang parallel for him and N*ruto, so while N*ruto is yang/sun/warm/ positive/active/male principle in nature/masculine, Sasuke is yin/moon/cold/negative/passive/passive/female principle in nature/feminine. Passive doesn’t mean weak. It means receptive, adaptable, flexible, which Sasuke is, since he’s the one who adapted his life and goals to new events, truths and changes, unlike most others who just kept going their own way no matter what (see N*ruto or Itachi). Many see him as assertive because he faces every situation in a very determined manner, taking actions and deciding everything independently. But being an independent thinker has nothing to do with being assertive or passive. I say he’s passive because he actually always reacts to what life (or Itachi) throws at him, every time. His reactions are quick and strategic, so it’s easy to miss this, but still, again, Itachi or N*ruto actively engage the environment and life, and influence other people, not Sasuke. He’s also passive with people, in relatioships. He never seeks anyone unless it’s for practical reasons, he only reacts to them approaching him. And he reacts in a very calm way, quite mild compared to how determined and detached he is, considering that a lot of characters invade his personal space or more, in the whole series. When he chases after Itachi it’s because he’s his younger brother and it’s natural for them, and mostly because Itachi set up his life so that he would focus on him, still it’s Itachi who is assertive, and he reacts in return. He makes a deal with Orochimaru, to obtain strength and give him his body in return. When he forms Team Taka, before asking their help, he first gives them freedom and only then he asks them to join him, making it clear that he won’t force them if they’ll refuse. He gives them something before asking something in return. This is not just a passive thing but something more because he is not selfish, like I said before.

Sasuke is an independent thinker. Unlike other smart thinkers like Itachi or Madara, to whom the story associated him, Sasuke was kept in the dark about many things, so he developed his own view of the world later, but when he did it was original and unique, just like his fighting style and strategy.

Sasuke is private about his thoughts and feelings but he’s also honest about them. Itachi is mysterious and not honest about his feelings, not him. He is aloof, it’s different. Just because he doesn’t trust many people and he’s lost in his own thoughts it doesn’t mean he is a shoujo mysterious character lol.

Sasuke is goal oriented. He does whatever it takes to achieve his goals. He would have given his body as a vessel for Orochimaru, not caring about what would happen to him, as long as he could have his revenge. He would have lived an eternity in solitude so that the world would have lived in peace. And, again, his goals are never about himself.

Sasuke wanted to die after he killed Itachi, but then when he woke up and was told the truth he had another purpose, and so he lived on.

Sasuke admires and respects strength but he’s not power thirsty. He wanted to become strong because he wanted to be worthy of Itachi and his father, than because he had to avenge his clan, then he had to avenge Itachi. It’s because he had low self-esteem and was selfless that he sought power. He wanted to be beside his father and brother, not to surpass them, actually. It’s Itachi who talked about surpassing.

Sasuke is very smart and logical, but he is easily manipulated with the right arguments. Like using Itachi, or appealing to his low self esteem, his feeling of worthlessness, his emotions. Because people who are logical are actually not emotionless. In fact they have a hard time controlling their emotions when they feel strongly, and this can be seen clearly every time Sasuke loses control. He becomes more impulsive than N*ruto who instead gets calmer, because he’s more in touch with his emotions (lol ofc he is, everything is always about his own emotions and feelings). Sasuke puts his feelings and emotions aside to reach his goals, he acts logically and pragmatically, he observes, makes plans, finds the better ways to do things, no matter how hard or dangerous for him they are. He has logical arguments even though they appear ‘crazy’ to other characters, and it’s sad to see how in the end he was belittled by N*ruto, as if his arguments were meaningless, they were not addressed at all, just deemed wrong, not with counterarguments but with illogical emotion based words that just made him feel unstable, as it happens when you have logical arguments and they tell you ‘you’re just depressed, you don’t get things right’.

In the end, he was tamed into submission. He was defeated, put in jail, isolated, guilt tripped and berated because of his ideals and goals, denied the justice he rightfully demanded.

All these can be observed directly. Others, more subtle things about him I wrote here, towards the end of this long post.

[arkt-zeraph-archive]

                         A Story in Spring : Renewal {1/3} 

"I have a proposition for you."

The walls of the fallen seraph's humble hut had so far been something of a passive comfort, yet Lithirill found no sense of ease.  Her host, and fellow Tel'lmaltath could certainly tell, eyeing her with some hint of concern, slowly rising to his full height, turning to face her once the fire had suitably caught. "Go on."

The encouraging mannerism was commonplace in their interactions thus far, but it didn't do much to make her desirous of speaking her mind, as images played in her head of all she had been plotting in secret, only thinking to bring the matter to him when she -knew- beyond a doubt she could -achieve- her goals. "It is a...personal matter, to you specifically.  I hesitate to even ask, truthfully." At that notion, her company raised  a sculpted brow. How he might've read her words differed from what she seemed to mean by her body language; a normally stood straight, confident woman now half hunched and barely maintaining eye contact.  He simply watched, resting a hand along his hip. It was the only prompt to continue she was going to get. "...Right.  -Arkt-.  I will speak plainly." even then she hesitated, a sigh accompanying an expression of complete honesty, "...I want to reconstruct your wings. I would see you fly again."  

There weren't many things reality could offer him that still surprised, but that had done it, the gentle carefulness in her tone most of all. It wasn't just an offer, but a plea. Arkt's gaze fell to his floorboards, called back to the moment she had seen the tattered remnants, and the conversation that followed where he learned much and more about the individual he chose to champion. Her perseverance in the face of impossible odds had ensured his second chance at freedom from past mistakes, yet here she was still giving. It was not debt fueling her either, but desire, leading him to a thought forgotten sensation; confoundment.

Lithirill only fidgeted in the quiet, narrowing her eyes in passive calculation, half braced for some kind of impact. It took him some several moments to recover, clearing his throat. The ever-present ache at his back he'd still struggled with flared up. Even to this day, the injury pained him, centuries "dead" had been his only reprieve.

"You are firmly familiar with the reasons I lost them in the first place..." he began, watching his company instinctively tense, ready for rejection; instead he would give her a question, "Knowing that, I must ask -why-? To what end would you go to such efforts?" Asked with genuine curiosity, over any manner of accusation; he suspected her of nothing.

Lithirill nodded, crossing her arms and easing her weight onto one leg. "History was one among a few reasons I have debated asking. As for why, well. I feel there are certain wrongs afflicted to those I’ve come to care for, and it is within my power to unravel those wrongs.”

Arkt watched her carefully crafted mask slipping, the woman ever at odds with herself. He wondered if there would ever be a time where she did not engage in the practice, and simply felt at home in his company.

"As you did with Arantheal?"  he questioned, curious to see if he could keep her at that boundary.

Lithirill puzzled over the question for a moment, pondering if it was harmless comparison or an accusation. Foolish to think it the latter, knowing Arkt had no history of resisting her intent.

"...Yes. As I did -for- Narathzul." She corrected, offering a sideways nod and a shrug, "Know I don't need an answer -today-. I only wanted you to know that the idea lingered in mind long enough to...plan for.”

Ultimately, Arkt was touched. Shock still kept a whirlwind of emotions at bay at the mere hint of taking to the skies again, permitting the warmth of the smile behind his veil to only grow as he watched her. She was not having so easy a time, clearly having wrestled with herself on the matter for awhile.

"Is this what has kept you from your usual visits of late?" he wondered, gesturing with a hand in a motion pushing down from his midsection;  'Relax.' he said silently.

Her eyes followed his hand, flicking up to his face like the lash of a serpent's tongue before she took in a breath and let it out, chuckling to herself.  

"In part. Alongside the politicking and the visits somewhere warmer. Thoughts?"

He sighed through his nose as he partly answered with the considering tilt of his head and a prolonged shutting of his eyes, continuing to chew on the notion.

"Too many to rightly voice in a manner composed or remotely understandable. Would you mind returning to Castle Darlan for the moment? I'll have an answer for you come the evening."

"Of course.~"

The professional manner in which she pulled herself together and turned from him showed a wall climbing between them that he had no patience for, the old seraph chuckling when she moved to open the door.

"Lithirill."  

She twitched, shoulders bunching as her fingers fumbled at the doorknob, before she straightened again and smiled a familiar, shy curve over her shoulder. Her eyes lit up a touch when she saw he’d pulled down his veil.

"Yes?"  

"...Thank you."  he spoke, genuine appreciation clear in his expression.

A hint of color, and the wall scattered; his only goal in the moment. She departed with an amused, "See you soon.", quickly on her way.

                                                   ~~~ As promised, Arkt had arrived that evening, uncharacteristically anxious, but Lithirill could hardly blame him. She could not imagine the weight of what her offer truly meant to him.

In times long gone, the loss of his wings, however deeply traumatic, had served a purpose; symbols had power, as much in their creation as their destruction and his fall signaled the end of an era where the Lightborn could rule without fear of repercussion. Yet now that all his battles were over, and this new life lay before him...

It was not long before the old seraph was waxing poetic, teetering back and forth in his words, as was his way. He all but danced between every sentence- whilst Lithirill only offered more wine when his glass neared empty. She refused to rush him in coming to a decision, simply enjoying his company, equal parts devilishly curious and genuinely empathetic.

Such camaraderie came to it's end at the dawn of the following day, Arkt admitting in the quiet of the morning fog that he accepted her offer; even with her many warnings of risk and pain, he had seen firsthand what she was capable of; he knew he was in good hands, even if a fair few of her achievements were with his shadowed aid.

Two weeks had passed since he agreed to her offer, wasting no time in getting started. The first bout had been the hardest thus far- having not yet known just how -much- it took to render a seraph numb, and having the unfortunate task of plucking the feathers he still had. A meticulous, painful, unexpectedly bloody process...but it was safer to start with a clean slate than try to rebuild all that was under them when half the limb had been shorn down to bare bone.

Trippling the dosages from there made things much easier, at least for Arkt. His struggle was not with pain in the familiar sense now, it came instead from a nameless sensation;  the agonizingly slow return of what should never be, able to sense every -tiny- thread of what was lost reconnect. It was as torturous as it was euphoric, and it could only be overcome by sheer force of will.

Tonight would be no different. Lithirill had learned his tells after a few sessions. When in the throes of her spell work, she could spare little attention for observance, but awareness returned as she dialed back, murmuring gentle nothings mostly for her own comfort; though it signaled to Arkt he could stop taking such measured breaths.

The touch of the Sea crept away like the retreating tide, Arkt opening hazy eyes, idly stretching his fingers.  He knew well enough not to move until his companion told him to do so, watching her over his shoulder. There was a slight notion of fear that kept him from immediately looking upon his wings, naked and ghastly as they were. He only had eyes for Lithirill's face, noting the knitted brow and how she clicked her tongue when observing progress, pondering how to proceed.

"I'd hoped to have had bone completely covered by now..." she lamented, drawing again the magicked circles that held his wings in subtle regeneration between sessions, "I've underestimated how deeply the burns go. I should’ve-”

"You need not fret, Lithirill."  Arkt spoke up, a look of assurance crossing fair features, "This shall take as long as it will take, and you have plenty to grapple with without adding the unnecessary elements of haste and worry.~"

"...Perhaps. Still, I don't savor putting you through further pain I could have avoided." she spoke idly, glad he could not feel it as she undid the slings above, gently moving the humble beginnings to rest on cushions whilst she worked tension from developing musculature.

"We went into this knowing it would be difficult. We will endure." he replied, his tone as much an attempt to comfort as it was a statement of fact; she was far too deep in it now to safely -stop-.  "Which for you to manage, requires heady use of those flasks behind you, as I recall."

It was a gentle, but earnest jab to not neglect her own health whilst taking care of him. She might have been Tel'lmaltath, but healing at -this- level for such prolonged bouts tested the limits of even legendary resolves, and Arkt did not fancy the idea of a Shadow God turned Oorbaya.

Satisfied with her ministrations, she sighed and nodded, letting her hand trail down his back as she turned and gingerly stepped away to pluck a flask of Ambrosia from a stockpile. The edges of a smirk tugged at his lips as she made a show of drinking half the vial like it didn't taste awful, raising both brows at him in a silent 'satisfied?'.

"...-Thank- you." he muttered, humming a chuckle, "Do not lose sight of your own well being in concern for me. I must stress, we have nothing but time."

Lithirill tilted her head at him as her eyelids drooped, well accustomed now to the odd heated popping in her ears as the Ambrosia did its work, blanketing the red pressure in her head and quieting the skittering under her skin.

"-Now- whose fretting?" she teased, setting down the flask so she could help him to stand, not letting his wings droop as she supported them from the base, "I don't intend to go hurrying into the arms of the Blue Death, I promise. Come now.~"

Twas a short jaunt to the spare bedroom within her personal quarters, Arkt leading the way and Lithirill matching his steps. The seraph counted his blessings that his pride could not be so easily wounded as she settled his wings into yet another set of slings, these ones arranged to allow them to safely hang whilst he rested. He knew -she- worried about such mental troubles, but he was far too old and that much more taken by fascination in all she insisted upon doing for him to care for foolish things like shame.

"Tell me something, Lithirill." he said, eyes on her as she arranged the vials that would help him sleep, and come the morn, ease his pain,  "What do you suppose I'm meant to do in return for all of this?"  

The question was laced with an undertone of playfulness that reminded her of when the seraph had taken an almost catty tone in Arktwend, all but making -gossip- of the infatuation between those who'd brought Narathzul into the world. She could only raise a brow at him in plain curiosity, willfully stepping into whatever trap this might have been.

"That is hardly a matter to burden the likely recipient, don't you think?  Or am I -supposed- to be reading between some manner of line here?" The teasingly scrutinizing gaze she leveled upon him was nothing to the coy look he gave her beneath the messy strands of his hair, the two locked in a quiet contest before she relented; as she always did where he was concerned. "...ponder and plot all you like, my friend. But hold to that patience you've assured me with. I would say it is early yet to be planning anything more than recovery."  she offered.

Arkt sighed through his nose at that, uncapping the cork to her sleeping drought and drinking it down with a quick chaser of water. Her answer was as good as any. Ponder and plot indeed then.

"Fair enough. Rest well, when you find it."  he bid gently, offering only a smile. For a would be God according to most's definition, who had seen millennia pass and returned even from -death-, he seemed to be handling the life of a crippled patient quite well.

Lithirill could only take that profound patience and trust in her ability to heart; ensure no matter her doubts that she'd finish the job.

She returned the evening farewell and meandered to her own bed, falling upon it like a stone. All too swiftly would the sun rise, and the pair would be again until their great task of renewal was complete.   Lithirill could only hope she'd be done by Spring.

                                                   ~Fin~

[thenamesseven]

Verivery reacts to playing with your little sibblings!

A/N: This is my very first work for Verivery so I hope I do it well! Sorry if I make any mistakes when it comes to the member’s personalities, I just got in the fandom! ^^’

When the time of making him and your family meet came, you couldn’t help but feel extremely anxious. He was the right guy though, you’ve found out long ago that he was the one for you, however, silly questions such us “What if my parents doesn’t like him?” “What if my little sibblings totally hate him?” kept popping up in your mind as you drove to your childhood home.

Later you would find out that worrying about those things had been really stupid, everyone loved him, specially your little brother and sister.

The sound of piano keys randomly being pressed was what awakened you from your sleep and even though you’ve tried to go back to dreamland, it was the sound of laughter erupting from downstairs what increased your curiosity enough to get yourself out from the comfort of your bed sheets and drag your still sleepy body downstairs.

The closer you walked to the living room, the clearer the voices became and a bright smile made its way up to your lips when you realized it was Dongheon the one that was entertainning your sibblings. Your brother and sister weren’t easy to handle when they were bored but he somehow had managed to sit them down on the piano bench, with him between them, and was probaby trying to teach them how to play one of the easiest songs he knew.

“What are you guys playing?” You asked amused, giggling when the three of them turned to you with smiles on their faces and hands on the keys, the little kids giggled and Dongheon chuckled surprising you.

“We’re trying to compose something” He confessed, giggling quietly when your sibblings nodded strongly.

“Sit down there! Let us play it for you!” Your sister exclaimed, pressing more keys randomly.

“Woah! That sounds so cool! We should add that to our song!” Your brother said, tilting his body foward so he could look at your sister before he pressed more keys, playing as loud as he could.

When your eyes met Dongheon’s, the two of you bit down onto your lower lip to not start laughing. Sure the situation seemed a bit chaotic but it was the sweetest chaos you’ve ever seen.

“It’s so cute!” Your sister’s excited shriek made you giggle as you watched her play with your brother, Hoyoung and the puppy the two of you had decided to adopt a few days ago.

The shiba puppy you’ve named Kimchi, bounced between your sibblings, trying to get her little paws onto their knees so she could stand on her two legs and steal the balls they held onto their little hands. Hoyoung glanced at you from where he was sitting, a sweet, loving smile on his lips when he saw how calm and happy you felt know that your entire family had accepted him.

“Hyung, can she do any tricks?” Your brother asked, pulling Hoyoung’s sleeve gently so his attention would be back on him and your dog.

“Oppa! Do you think if we hide the ball she will find it?” Your sister joined the conversation, sitting down next to him, giggling when Kimchi approached her and started barking playfully.

“Maybe, I think she’s a bit too young to do some tricks though” Hoyoung replied with a small smile, looking at your sibblings “But, when she grows up we’ll bring her over again so you guys can teach her, deal?” Both of the kids nodded obediently at him without complainning. Kimchi jumped onto your boyfriend’s lap, getting comfortable on his thighs, she was obviously exhausted after so much playing.

“So cute” Both kids cooed, crouching down so they could watch how the puppy slowly fell asleep.

“Shh” Hoyoung indicated, placing a finger on his lips as he smiled “Let’s let her rest for a little”

“How did you do that?”

You couldn’t help but laugh as you watched how your sibblings looked amazed at Michan while he did some yoyo tricks for them. You stood besides him, already knowing he was good at it but still lowkey impressed at how good he was with it.

“Want me to teach you two?” Michan offered, yoyo still going up and down on the thin rope he held “I tried to teach your sister once but she’s horrible” He added, laughing when you nudged him “She almost broke our tv”

“Noona!”

“Unnie!”

Both kids looked at you in a mix of amusement and shock, not really knowing if they should truly believe what your boyfriend was telling them. When you closed your eyes embarrased and nodded, confirming Michan’s words, the kids laughed with him, making you giggle quietly. No matter how embarrased you felt about it, you had to admit the situation had been kind of fun.

“That’s why we decided to play outside this time” Michan said handing the kids the yoyo, placing one of his arms over your shoulders to pull you closer to his side and kiss your forehead “Let’s see what you guys can do first without my help!”

“DAEBAK!” 

Your two little sibblings squealed as Gyehyeon showed them some martial art tricks he had been learning during quarantine, he stood there with a huge smile, kind of happy that they found it amazing instead of boring. 

“Oppa, do it again!” 

“Yah, I want you to teach me how to do that kick hyung!” 

You chuckled as they both attached themselves to your boyfriend’s legs, holding onto his shirt so he would pay more attention to their requests. Your eyes met his and his exhaustion vanished as soon as he saw the happiness in your eyes, he knew how worried you’ve been the entire day so to see you being all calm and relaxed for once was enough for Gyehyeon to play for a little longer with the two kids.

“Okay! Get in position!” He said, smile getting bigger when they attempted to copy his movements, both of them were the cutest kids he had ever seen in his life “Careful not to fall down or accidentally hit each other, okay? This is not to hurt people” 

“Just to look cool!” Your sister added cutely, making Gyehyeon nod.

“And to get all the girls!” Your little brother added making you and him laugh as hard as ever.

“Yah, so pretty!” 

Yeonho smiled while crouching in the middle of your parent’s living room, holding his phone as if he was a paparazzi snapping hundreds of pictures of your sibblings who, apparently, were either famous or walking the New York most famous catwalk.

“That’s it! Strike your cutest pose!” He exclaimed excited, smiling even more when your little sister giggled, posing awkwardly since she had always felt incredibly shy around your boyfriend “So adorable, oh my god” He muttered, looking back at you as he placed his hand on his chest, your eyes meeting his.

“The cutest” You replied winking at your sister right before you saw your little brother come in by the corner of your eye “You look so awesome! Like a rap star” You exclaimed excited, making him smile proudly as he walked closer and closer to Yeonho, taking his time so he could take pictures of him.

Yeonho couldn’t help but chuckle as your brother tried striking swag poses, placing his hands in weird positions and making strange faces that apparently would look cool. Yeonho and you would definitely have fun watching all those pictures tonight before going to bed.

“You guys were the best photo models I’ve ever met” Your boyfriend confessed, making your sibblings squeal happily.

“How are you supposed to solve it?” Your brother asked, turning the cubik’s cube around in his hands as he inspected it carefully, watching it with hesitation, trying to guess if Yongseung was just messing with him or not.

“You take all the stickers and place them on the right places!” Your sister intervened, making Yongseung laugh as he shook his head.

“Although that is a smart strategy, you can’t really do that” He mumbled, carefully taking the rubik’s cube in his hand before he started turning pieces around, switching colors and mixing them with every movement “It is considered cheating” Your sister slightly pouted, Yongseung reached up and bopped her nose to make her smile again.

“Can you solve it?” Your brother asked, his eyes frozen on your boyfriend’s hands as he skillfully moved the toy around.

“Give me five minutes and I’ll solve it” He shrugged, moving to the side to leave some space on the couch for you to sit with the three of them.

“Five? Give him two and he’ll be done” You retorted scoffing, a smile on your face when your sibbling’s eyes opened as wide as plates.

“Daaaaebak!”

You were wrong when you thought your sibblings were the only tireless people in this world. As you watched Kangmin ran around the backyard kicking a ball minute after minutes, you confirmed he was also one of them. You knew he liked soccer, he was always up for a match with his friends but to see him running around non-stop with your sibblings for almost fifteen minutes straight was amazing to say the least.

“GOAAAAL!!” The kids shouted when Kangmin purposefully fell down so they could score a point. You couldn’t help but chuckled as they hugged each other, ignoring his fake shocked face.

“You okay!?” You asked him from your chair, biting your lower lip to not laugh as he nodded with a small smile, dusting off his clothes as he stood up.

“They’re winning though” He pouted, ignoring your sibbling’s amused snickers as they looked at him “Join my teeaaam, pretty pleeaaase?” Kangmin asked trying to be cute so you wouldn’t reject him.

“I don’t knooooow?” You replied chuckling, not moving from your chair.

“Noonaaaaa, unniiiieeee” The kids whined, pouting at you too.

“Okay, okay, I’ll join you guys” You huffed, standing up from your chair, definitely not ready to get all sweaty.

“YAAAAASSS” The three of them laughed before running away.

[thewritingginger]

Fluff Alphabet - Asmodeus

Of course you can my dear Anon!

Enjoy ~

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A ctivities - what do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

- Asmodeus loves shopping with you and getting you all dolled up, seeing you in all sorts of cute outfits makes him feel pleased 

- Getting your nails done together is another fun thing like to spend time doing with you.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

- Honestly what doesn't Asmodeus admire about you but he really favors your unpredictability and adventurousness 

- He thinks every part of you is gorgeous because not appreciating every inch of a god/goddess such as yourself would be a disgrace to him

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

- To be honest not the best but also not the worst in dealing with you being upset or anxious. Just doesn't really know what to do for you.

- So he’ll give you a bath maybe a facemask, because he thinks that since spa days make him feel better maybe something like that can help you relax.

-Does ask what he can do, he just hopes it doesn't have to do with him having to leave your side or not talk to you for a long period of time 

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

- Asmo never really thought he would/ would ever want to get married to someone. Be with only one person forever? No. 

- BUT, then he met you and started to understand more of the appeal to marriage.

- Talking about marriage obviously the topic of kids came up as well. Was against the idea from, well ever. Asmo thought kids would really cut into things he enjoys so his whole life he never wanted any. “Y/n think about it, I hear countless stories about how kids have messed with peoples sleep and sex life with their partner. And I don't want that for either of us.” lol

- But just like the idea of marriage the other shoes dropped. About a year or two in Asmodeus started feeling something he could put his finger on when he would see families walk past him One day you notice him looking at family of 3 playing around as you were talking a walk past the park. You ask what's wrong and he just says, “I want that for us.” (Was that too grossly mushy? lol)

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

- I think its pretty even between you two, maybe about 40/60

- Prefers to be a bit more on the dominant side a lot of days but also loves if any kinda dominant side comes out of you, take that as you will 😉

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

- If he gets really pouty over something he’ll give you a cold shoulder/silent treatment, but it never lasts too long.

- You’ll give him space thinking thats what he needs to cool down and then like 2 hours later he’ll come to you asking, “Why are you ignoring me? I’m ignoring you and you’re just ok with that?” You usually have to come to him after a scuffle.

- But he’ll come to you if he thinks he really hurt you.  

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

- Asmo is always overwhelmingly dramatic about the kinda love you two share and how no-one else will ever understand what you both have, yadda yadda yadda lol

- I don't think Asmodeus really knows what you do for him on a deeper level 

- His brothers and others around him notice a subtle change in his demeanor, such as he doesn’t really flirt as much with others as he used to (still does but not like before he met you) You seem to be the one he really dumps the flirtatious charm on.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide form their s/o? Or do they share everything?

- Asmo is a pretty open book, well when it comes to what he wants to do with you and how you make him feel

- But really deep emotions, more “ugly” emotions are harder for him to surface 

I nspired - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

- You kinda showed Asmo the enjoyment of having that one person that you can always come back to, and not needing a list of people in his back pocket to be fulfilled.

And

- Asmodeus helped show you or delve more into your sexuality, and you as a sexual being. Not in just a raunchy filthy way, but also your sensuality. Taking enjoyment/more enjoyment in taking care of yourself and knowing what it is you want, for you to feel fulfilled as well

- You helped show and taught each other about fulfillment, in both a relationship or on your own, how cute are you guys lol

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

- Says he doesn't get jealous, “Why would I get jealous? I mean you really think I would ever worry you’d leave me?” *laughs*

- But can be a bit jealous, more so in a territorial/protective way, doesn't try and start a fight with the other person/demon but makes it known that you are his lover and that the other person has no chance with you anyways. 

- Can be catty at times

- But deep deep down he does has a little thought of what if you did leave him, but it would take a lot for him to admit that (Refer back to letter H)

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

- He’s the avatar of lust this is kinda his thing 😂

- The first kiss shared between you wasn't planned, at least not on your part. Asmo kinda stole the first kiss between you, leaving you shocked and rosy cheeked and him with an innocent smile, but you both knew he was far from innocent in that moment.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

- Its hard to tell if his confession holds much strong truth. Considering love seems to slip out of his mouth quit easily.

- But when he really means it you’ll know.

- When he truly confessed he was a bit nervous which was odd for the normally confident demon. Instead of putting on a whole show about it, he decided the best would be to pull you aside just the two of you outside one night. Held your hands, you could be sworn you saw a blush across his cheeks but he always denies that you did. Once he confessed you kissed him deeply returning the sentiment with your touch.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

- Never planned to get married, always stating “I’m a bird who cant be caged.” or “I have so much love to give, it might be unfair to just give it to one person.” 

- But meeting you made him feel something, still doesn't know if he wants to get married but a life partner still warms him in a way that he cant deny the allure of marriage.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Nicknames you give to him: Asmo, | Moey, | Mo, | As, | Honey, | Lover Boy, |

Nicknames he gives you: What doesn’t he call you? but his favs are, Baby-girl, | My Sweet, | My God/Goddess (when he’s being really dramatic), | Baby,|

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

- With Asmo its hard to tell because with any lover (long or short term) he’s always over the top but with you something seemed to have shifted.

-  His eccentric behavior didn't stop but he seemed more serious about you

- Took awhile for his brothers to believe it because of past “loves” of his

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o on front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

- Do I even need to answer this?

- Asmodeus will take up any opportunity to show off his lover

- No holds barred when it comes to PDA, if he wants to kiss you, he’ll kiss you. If he wants to caress your body, he’ll caress your body. 

- Who, What, When, & Where is irrelevant to him, his only Why is because he loves your very existence and he wants the world to know it too.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have thats beneficial in a relationship?

- Asmo as we all know is a charmer

- He seems to be able (a lot of the time not always) charm his way through things. Whether is was to make up for a mistake or possibly get into a club or restaurant with out a reservation. 

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

- Asmo can get to that really hard core cheesy romantic mode

- Candles illuminating your bed room, a trail of rose petals leading and covering the bed, sultry music playing in the background. The whole shebang 

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

- Asmo is like a cheerleader lol

- He will get excited/celebrate when you reach a mile stone or one step closer to your goal(s) 

- Might brag a bit about how hard working you are or about what your goal is to others.

T hrill - Do they need to try new things to spice out their relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

- Asmo loves switching things up

- He lives to keep you on your toes

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

- It can be kinda hard for Asmo at first, can be a bit selfish 

- You kinda have to help teach him how to be in an actual long-term fulfilling relationship (more than just sexually)

- But tries his best to be understanding of your thoughts and feeling, especially about the action and words he says and does that could affect you.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it thats worth in comparison to other things in their life?

- Next to his beauty rest & regimen you are the most important thing in his day to day life

- It may be a close battle between the two but Asmo would risk a night of beauty-sleep *gasp* if you needed him to, whether its because your having a hard time emotionally and you need some extra late nights snuggles or you need help with anything.

W ild Card - A random. Fluff Headcanon.

- Asmo loves to please you (I'm many ways 😏 not the time for that lol) by helping you relax, he doesn’t like seeing you tense because he feels so connected to you so when you don't feel good he doesn’t feel good. 

When Asmodeus sees that you’ve had a hard/tiring day at school/work or just having an off day, he likes to run you a nice bath. And not just a tub with some bubbles no no, he dresses that bath up to the nines. We’re talking bubble bath, bath salts, bath bombs, candles, & your favorite cold drink so you don't over heat while you relax and unwind from your day.

If you let him he would love to come in and wash your hair and possible more if you so please...😏

To then finish off the night with snuggles, whilst intertwined feel free to swat away any wondering hands if he gets a bit carried away during these sweet moments lol 

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

- Is that even a question

- Touching time, is happy time for our boy Asmo lol

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

- When Asmodeus misses you he will send you doting messages of him thinking about you and how he cant wait to see you later

- Selfies of him going about his day 

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, whaat kind of?

- Asmodeus loves you greatly, so he would want to do anything to please you (in more than one way 😉) and keep you happy.

- But make sure you are doing the same (If not a little more) cause if its not being given both ways he might pull away, cause who would want to be in a relationship thats only/feels only one way?!

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Sorry this took so long to do 😅

But I hope you liked this and I did our lusty boy justice :3

💛 ~

[mfingenius]

Hello! I love your page! I was just wondering if you could maybe do something about Harry and Draco being auror partners and Harry gets badly injured? Thank you!!!!

“You’re kidding,” Harry says skeptically.

Draco glances at him warily for a moment, before turning back to the muggle brothel they’re supposed to be keeping an eye on; they think it’s a cover for a potions dealing ring that they’ve been chasing for a few months, and they’re so close to solving the case that Harry already feels the rush of magic at his fingertips.

“Of course not, Potter,” Draco says. His cheeks are the slightest bit flushed. “I hardly think that’s a common experience.”

“You hardly-” Harry squints at him. “Every Auror has done it, Draco! It’s a – a rite of passage! What else did you do when we were just out of training and you were sent on the boring stakeouts where nothing happened?”  

“My job.” He says pointedly.

Harry huffs.

“Wait,” Draco says, turning back to him. “You mean you and-” he looks horrified. “Griffiths?”

Harry grins, abashed. Adam Griffiths had only been his partner for a few cases, before him and Draco had been partnered up; it had been complicated, at first. Harry still hated Draco then, and the git hadn’t made it any easier. He’d walked into their shared office with his long eyelashes and mouthwatering arse, and Harry had thought that maybe he could ignore everything else about him. Until the git had opened his mouth.

They’d spent the first three months of their partnership arguing about every little detail, fighting more often than working on the cases they got. That had all changed when they’d been tasked with finding the remaining death eaters. They had had to work together for three days straight – practically living together in their office – and in that time, Harry had learned more things about Draco than he ever thought he would.

After solving the case, they’d gone out for drinks, and had somehow ended up snogging in the back of the bar.

Working together hadn’t been very hard after that.  

In fact, they’d sunk into an easy partnership where it became evident that Robards had known what he was doing when he’d paired them together; they completed each other perfectly, work-wise.  

Draco was much more cautious than Harry was, and often stopped him from doing reckless things, helped him stay out of his own head after someone died and Harry blamed himself for not being able to save them. In return, Harry seemed to… soothe Draco. Harry had never noticed before, but Draco is a ball of pent-up nervous energy; his mind works too quickly and in ways Harry can’t quite understand – he truly doesn’t get how Draco gets from one point to another, doesn’t see any sort of logic in it – and it tends to lead to too much tension, anxiety.  

Harry has developed what he calls the Malfoy-Anxiety scale. First, is bouncing leg. Second, biting knuckles, third is mouthing his thoughts without actually saying anything out loud, four is chewing at his lower lip, and five is scratching at his forearms.

If they get to number five, Harry knows to remove Draco from the situation entirely, because it means he’s about to get unbearable and most people can’t handle him in that state; the last time Harry ignored the scale, one of the Junior Aurors ended up in tears – to be fair, he had made a very stupid mistake that had lead to their witness being killed.

Harry doesn’t quite have that problem; he’s learned how to calm Draco down before that happens.  

“He was hot,” Harry shrugs. “And we were bored.”

“But - but-” Draco evidently doesn’t know what to say. His face is redder now, and Harry grins, making Draco throw him a glare. “This is not polite conversation, Potter.”

“Oh?” Harry raises his eyebrows. “I thought we’d passed polite conversation after my tongue was in your mouth.”

Draco turns redder and pinches Harry’s thigh, making him yelp. “Don’t be crass.”

They don’t mention this, at least usually. After that first time, it’s become a sort of tradition. They always end up at Harry’s place, snogging fervently on the sofa, Draco’s hands in Harry’s hair, and Harry’s hands on Draco’s arse. They’ve never gone further.

The first few dozen times, Harry had tried to convince himself that it was just because they were both single and their job was stressful; solving a case is always a major high, so it makes sense that they’d want to celebrate, right?

That excuse had quickly gone out the window when he’d walked in on Draco brewing a potion they needed for a case. He’d been wearing the biggest pair of glasses that Harry has, to this date, ever seen, and they made his eyes look absolutely huge, his irises lighter. Harry had wanted to wrap him in his arms and keep him safe for the rest of their lives.

Still, Harry’s an expert at ignoring his feelings; he’s, since then, simply shoved his feelings for Draco to the back of his mind and ignored them, convincing himself that he’s happy with snogging him after cases.  

His feelings will go away.  

Probably.  

Possibly.  

Probably not, but Harry doesn’t know what else to do.

It doesn’t help that Hermione keeps trying to set them up, as if Harry doesn’t have enough trouble with this as it is. She won’t stop talking about how much of a beautiful couple they would make, how they’d be perfect for each other – after getting transferred, of course, because you can’t date your Auror partner, Harry - as if Harry doesn’t already think about it without her saying it.

“I’m not crass,” He says, waving it away. “And anyways, Robards isn’t here. He’s not going to find out. In fact…”  

He trails off, raising an eyebrow and gesturing towards his lap.  

Draco frowns. “What?”

“Merlin, you’re clueless,” Harry breathes, rolling his eyes. “I’m asking you to come over here, sit on my lap, and let me song you.”

“Potter,” Draco hisses, cheeks immedately turning scarlet.

“What is it, love?” Harry asks, smiling. “Too forward?”

“Yes.” Draco snaps. He shifts lightly, rolls his eyes, and then crosses his arms, huffing angrily. Harry observes all of this with a very amused look, and, finally, Draco purses his lips and glares at him. “If we miss something-”

“I’ll take full responsibility for it, love,” He says. Draco doesn’t move, and Harry raises an eyebrow. “Scared, Malfoy?”

“In your dreams, Potter.” Draco says, and moves carefully to straddle Harry’s lap. He’s still red – he always is, when they’re about to do this – and he wraps his arms around Harry’s neck hesitantly.  

Harry smiles, encouraging. He places his hands on Draco’s hips to pull him closer and makes the first move, pressing his lips softly against the blonde’s. The kiss is immediately returned, and it’s not long before Harry’s kissing Draco’s jaw and his neck, loving the low, shy moans.

He turns his head to kiss the other side of Draco’s neck, and catches sight of Allison Jones, the leader of the Potions ring, walking into the brothel.

“Fuck,” he groans, when Draco pulls at his hair and trails soft kisses down his temple and the side of his face. “We need to – stop, we have to stop.”

“Why?” Draco asks, and he sounds so indignant it’s adorable. Harry – briefly – considers ignoring Jones just to keep doing this. It’s very tempting, and also incredibly unprofessional.

He rests his forehead against Draco’s shoulder and presses soft kisses to his collarbone.

“Jones just went into the brothel.”

“Jones?” Draco asks, frowning. Then, “Allison Jones? The leader of our potions ring?”

“Yes.” Harry says.

“Fuck, what are we still doing here, come on,” Draco says. He opens the door and scrambles off Harry’s lap – very nearly kneeing him in the stomach – and gets his wand ready. Harry climbs out after him, casting a notice-me-not charm over the both of them.

“Ready?” He asks.

Draco nods, and Harry pulls him into a deep kiss before they go in.

*

It happens quickly. Draco’s defensive spells are flawless, as usual, but he makes a mistake; half of his mind is in what he’s doing, the other half is wondering what that kiss outside meant. Him and Harry have been snogging for almost a year now, but they’ve never talked about what it is they are. Draco’s been secretly in love with Harry since the first time they snogged. Otherwise, he wouldn’t do it.

He’s being terribly improper; he knows better than to snog people he’s not dating, specially if they’re Harry Potter. He’ll end up breaking his own heart, and he’ll have no one to blame but himself.

It’s what he keeps repeating to himself when a spell shatters his shield, another, blue-lighted one hitting Harry’s back on the next second.  

Panic seizes him.

*

When Harry wakes, everything hurts. There’s a steady beep from an active pulse-tracking spell, the one in all the St. Mungo’s rooms, letting him know exactly where he is. He sighs lightly without opening his eyes. Fuck, what happened?

“Harry?” Draco’s voice is anxious and alarmingly unsteady. Harry opens his eyes, immediately catching sight of Draco. He looks terrible. His eyes are red-rimmed and his nose is red. His clothes are rumpled and there’s a thin blanket on the chair he’s sitting on, leading Harry to believe that he’s been sleeping here.

“Hey,” He says. “Are you alright?”

Draco looks at him disbelievingly. “Am I alright? I thought I’d - I thought you’d - fuck. Are you alright? I was too late, I couldn’t - you were bleeding, and I couldn’t - we’ve arrested Jones, it’s over, but I couldn’t be there, I needed to be here in case you woke up, and you’re up, are you alright?”

He’s never seen Draco quite this anxious. He’s not even scratching at his forearms anymore, but he looks more terrified than Harry’s ever seen him.

“I’m alright,” he says. He pushes himself up and grimaces, and Draco immediately frowns disapprovingly, calling for a nurse.  

Harry bears the checkup silently just so Draco can have some peace of mind; the second the nurse assures him that Harry will live – it was a variation of the Diffindo charm, and though it caused Harry to bleed heavily, he’ll be alright – Draco seems to be able to exhale.

“I’m alright.” Harry repeats, because Draco’s pacing. “It’s alright.”

“It’s not.” Draco snaps. “I - I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Harry tells him. “These things happen.”

“They shouldn’t.”

“Come here.” Draco doesn’t move, and Harry rolls his eyes. “Come here.”

Draco walks towards him hastily, as though he might somehow harm Harry just by being around him.

“It’s alright,” Harry tells him. “I’m alright. I’ll be fine. The healer said so, didn’t she?”

Draco nods stiffly, and then his shoulders slump and his body seems to go lax; he looks exhausted.

“I was terrified,” he whispers.

Harry swallows.  

“I - I can’t keep snogging you.” He says. It’s not what Harry expects.

He swallows as his heart begins to beat faster. This is going to be it, then. “Oh?”

“I can’t.” Draco repeats, in a whisper. “I - I care too much, and I know it’s just fun for you and it’s not your fault. I didn’t realize what it – what it meant for me, and-”

“What does it mean for you?” Harry’s heart speeds up for another reason now. Could it be? Could Draco return his feelings.  

Draco looks pained, and he rubs at his eyes. “Forget it. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I’ll – I - I’m sorry Harry, I’m so, so sorry-”

“Draco,” Harry says firmly. Draco doesn’t listen, muttering apologies under his breath and scratching aggressively at his forearms. “Draco. Love.”

That seems to get his attention.

“You don’t call me that unless we’re about to snog.” He whispers.

Harry swallows. “I’m sorry, too. I should’ve said something earlier. I – it’s not fun for me. It’s not just fun for me. I want more. I want you. I want to date you, for real, not just snog. I want to take you on dates, and watch films with you.”

Draco seems to be speechless.

“I’ve wanted it for a long time now,” Harry admits. “And - if you want it, too-”

“Of course I want it!” Draco bursts. His cheeks go red, and then he speaks lower. “I - I’d really like that, Harry.”

Harry smiles. “I’m glad to hear that.”

He pushes himself up to pull Draco in for a kiss, and then immediately clenches his jaw as pain burns its way through his shoulder.

“When I’m better, though?” He grimaces.

Draco laughs breathlessly. “Alright. When you’re better.”

So they sit there, hands joined tightly together.

————————–

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28 w/ e 💖💖💖

prompt list

28. they ask you to pretend to be their date at a bar to prevent an ex from talking to them. 

being dragged to a bar was the one thing you wanted to happen after a long day at work. granted, it was a friday and it was a day most people chose to ‘go out on the town’ or let loose - but all you desired at the moment was a nice glass of your favorite pear red wine,  your newest book you’d purchased at the local bookstore, and your sweet kitty egypt. she must have been so worried when you didn’t come home. that thought alone made you want to ditch the uncomfortable heels and fake smile you wore. 

you’d left work, drove directly to your good friends house, and begrudgingly gotten ready in front of her tiny bathroom mirror. you’d stuffed a black dress into your purse before leaving the house that morning, knowing something ridiculous like this would happen, but hoping it wouldn’t. thankfully she had makeup and a curling iron she let you use so you weren’t walking into a bar with a bun similar to a librarian (you know the one). it was all you had to work with - so you would be surprised if you didn’t look like the total train wreck you felt like.  

the bar well, it was packed. you’d stumbled in with linked arms, your friend trotting off somewhere into the sea of dancing bodies promises she’d “be right back.” fat chance. you’d shot up some conversation with a mutual friend, something about an ex who knew a guy that could possibly get her a new car, something that you weren’t interested in in the slightest. but of course, because the kind person you were, you watched your friend disappear into the crowd and off to discuss the details of their little financial exchange - leaving you to your own lonely devices.

with a pout you make your way over to the bar, making sure to not make any unwaranted eye contact with any of the other people that had the same idea as you - hoisting yourself up into a tall barstool that feels like a feat in itself to get into, but in no time you’re seated firmly on the stiff maroon cushion - browsing the rows and rows boose behind the counter. you weren’t much of a “whiskey on the rocks” type of girl - really a mixed drink type of gal. the simplest drink you’d get is a Manhattan - which sounded best right now. if you’re going to be alone for a while, the least you could do is make sure you’re relaxed - which you definitely weren’t at the moment.

“just a Manhattan please,” you tell the middle aged bartender, not quite sure if you’re using the right word for what you want, but he nods without hesitation, turning to the shelves of alcohol on the back wall - taking down a bottle and a clear drinking glass. a sigh ripples through your chest and oozes out of your mouth.

why did i think this was a good idea? you wine to yourself, all alone in a bar on the opposite side of town. somewhere you didn’t want to be, never would want to be, and only made your appearance because of your friend that is off somewhere with a friend probably much more outgoing than you. you envisioned her as a “fly by the seat of your pants” type of person - something you envied.

but instead of sulking to yourself, you decided you’d simply enjoy your drink. that’s all you had to do, look at the light at the end of the very shitty tunnel that was your day. yeah, you’d been yelled at by a customer for something that was not and would never be your fault. yes, you’d shed a tear or two in the back room because your grandma of 92 years of age buttdialed you on break thinking in was your grandma that died two years ago. yes, your feet were blistering from the heels you bought from a website that swore on everything they had the comfiest shoes around. yes, your day was shit. it was utter shit - but it had to get better right?

just as the bartender slides the glass across the slick wooden counter - a dashing boy with a head full of dark hair is leaning over you with a frazzled expression, nervousness seeping from his every nerve. he was...very attractive. it took your breath away for a moment, if you’re being honest. his hand rests on the counter right by your own that stopped the glass at the last minute - thanking the good Lord above you didn’t have to hassle with a mess of alcohol on the floor.

“please tell me you’re not here with a date or something,” the boy states, baritone voice melodic over the loud music. it was more of a plead than anything.

after your initial shock of being bothered after your attempt at being invisible, you’re shaking your head nervously, glancing around you to see who he’s watching out for all worried and anxious - just to be on the lookout so you don’t get yourself into a dangerous situation - you were scared you’re teetering that line right now anyhow.

“uh no no, no date but my friend is just over there-“ your finger points off in the general direction where she disappeared into the crowd earlier in the night, hoping she was at least in the same general area.

“then do me a favor and act like i said something funny,” he interjects quickly, scraping another barstool across the floor to sit right beside you, his arm leaning on the counter with a forced grin - visibly trying to prove something to someone.

but you give in. of course you do, who are you to mess up someone’s desperately thrown together plan of looking put together when they’re actually falling apart? you take a sip from your drink with a nod, setting it neatly on the counter before you’re laughing. and oh my gosh were you laughing - just really putting on a show.

it’s something that floods from you, like a river raging through you and you don’t even know where the water came from. he’s a stranger, you don’t owe him any favors - not a one. yet you find yourself complying to sudden request to laugh - that’s all. that’s all he’d asked of you.

the devilishly attractive boy is watching you close, with this playful glint in his eye that just keeps growing as the laughter bubbles from you - your hand raising to grab at his arm to seal the deal. you hope that whoever is watching, whatever relation he may have to them, that they believe your little facade. you have 0 clue why you are laughing with a handsome stranger in a bar after a fucked day while drinking a cocktail you don’t even care about anymore - but it felt good to laugh. even if it was fake and you looked crazy to the lingering eyes around you.

“what am i laughing at exactly?...” you stutter with a sigh and a tired smile, wiping a fake tear from your eye in an attempt to look the most joyful you’ve been in a while.

“ethan - uh ethan dolan,” he offers up his name. such a lovely name. very fitting for him as well, “and it’s just eh...you see that girl over there in the red?” he bends over to talk by your ear, not wanting whoever it is to see him being so polite with someone he’s meant to look close with.

glancing over your shoulder seemed like the worst idea in history, there were so many options for how it could go: lock eyes like the suspect, look around and find her to be a godess among men and women - totally out of your league, or simply mistake her for the wrong person. but when your head does turn, just the slightest bit, you see her. in a knee-length sundress fit for a bar - sort of on the skimpy side but still modest enough to not look too desperate. you approved. she looked like a lovely girl. that is, until her head of blonde hair whips to your direction, a glare shooting straight from her glasses framed eyes.

you snap your gaze away just as quickly, knowing it’s a fight you didn’t want any part of. you had no interest in being “the other woman.”

you’re nodding back at him with a frown, not sure why you feel this strange vibe eminating from that girl across the bar - but you don’t like it.

but - oh. oh. he’s looking at you still, observing you watch his evil ex try to seduce him back with her swaying hips across some mans bulge. but here he is, having all eyes for you. stop looking at me. wait don’t stop.

let’s just say it’s been...a while since a man has looked in your direction. you were of course not the shy type exactly - but right on the cusp. you observed the room. you made yourself noticeable that in case anyone would talk to you, you’d be the one they’d lean over to, to make their comment. but you could also make yourself as invisible as you pleased - and you’d thougt you’d done a good job tonight. but obviously with ethan sitting here looking at you, you didn’t succeed.

it’s spilling from your mouth before you could stop it, “she doesn’t really seem like your type.”

and you think for a moment , from the raising of his right eyebrow, that he’s angry. that you’d pressed a button somewhere under his dashing exterior. but then - he’s laughing. really laughing. it’s like a zap of lightening inside you, stirring up something that hasn’t been touched for years.

“and what do you think ‘my type’ is?” ethan firing back with a low tone, smiling so deviously. is he flirting?

“i’m not sure, but i know it isn’t her.” and it’s bold - to say such a thing about a person you don’t even know. maybe it’s the night you’ve had, or the fact that he’s already made you feel a sense of comfort, but you find yourself being the most honest in the moment.

he gives a nod, a simple bob of his head while still keeping those gorgeous eyes plastered on your face - waiting for something - you’re not sure what until he runs a hand through his hair and finally lets his thoughts spill out in a nervous jumble of words.

“she doesn’t give up easy that’s for sure. she’s been harassing me for a couple weeks and i can’t get her to stop and...” he’s thinking carefully, “...i uh...was hoping maybe you would be willing to maybe act like this is something like a date? just so she won’t try anything.”

“you don’t have your friends with you? you’re here alone?” you make it a point before you agree, just confused why he’s asking something so random and so elaborate. if you don’t look the part, she won’t believe a thing. girls are observant that way.

“my brother is here somewhere - i’m not sure i lost him but - are you in or not?”

and you think for a minute, lookin back over your shoulder to the door, wondering if you left right now - just grabbed your friend and went home like you had planned all day - how much you would regret it. it was simple really. in or out?

his leg bounces under the table, anxious with every minute that passes, feeling her eyes searing through his skin across the room - waiting for her moment to pounce. please say yes please just say yes.

it’s not that big of a deal right? pretend and you won’t see him again and you can go back to your normal, boring excuse of a life right? just this once?

“okay,” you smile brightly, tilting your head back and downing the last bit of your drink, setting the glass on the counter firmly with a smack, “i’m in.”

and you don’t know it - after what seemed like minutes but was actually close to an hour and half sitting there leaning into him, engaged in this little game of yours - that the same girl you’re putting on a show for had left that bar. got in her car, admitted defeat , and left. you’d been so caught up in talking to ethan about nonsense: laughing, talking, singing ridiculous songs that played over the speakers - that you hardly remembered it was fake.

it was only when you’re friend came up to tap your arm that you were pulled back down to reality. you’d been floating somewhere off in space with this high happiness that washed over you just talking to someone so freely. ethan was easy to talk to. even when you’re yelling over loud music.

and it shocked you to your core that as you got up from your seat, tripping just a bit to try and follow your friend, that ethan grabbed at your arm - a nervous expression crossing his face at the sight of you leaving. he was just having so much fun for once, never having felt so comfortable and safe with a girl he just met before.

“look uh, i know this is really random but uh...would it be okay for me to see you again?” he’s fumbling, hand still on your arm - so warm.

he’s standing now, and you realize just how tall he is. and your friend, still confused, but smirking behind you, nudges at your back with your silence. you wanted that. of course you did. but what would change if you said yes? what kind of trust would you have to put in him for just a chance at something wonderful?

before you can think too hard of the outcome of something that hasn’t even happened yet, your hand dives into the black abyss of your purse - pulling out a ripped piece of paper and a pen - jotting down seven digits that he would soon use to talk to you for hours upon hours - the same number he would call one lazy sunday afternoon, missing you, just to tell you how much he loves you. you write down those numbers and leave a little heart at the end. handing it to him felt like freedom. something inside you screamed that you shouldn’t be afraid - that you didn’t have to be afraid of ethan. even if it was terrifying to start again, start over, try to let yourself be vulnerable - you had a feeling this was a good idea.

“don’t wait to long,” you leaned in to tell him, placing the sweetest of kisses right to the apple of his blushing cheek, all while tucking the frayed piece of paper into his hand securely. his heart was racing - oh God was it racing and - what was he worried about his ex for? he watched you saunter away from him, smile lighting up your face, hips swaying just the right way, your arm linked with your friend. he doesn’t even jump when a plastered grayson slaps his hand onto his shoulder - where he stares at the door you disappeared in and out to the night - off and ready to steal his heart. he didn’t flinch when graysons sour attitude tried to interrupt the weird high he felt after your lips landed on his skin. he didn’t let it bother him because fuck - he was totally enamored by you.

don’t wait too long don’t wait too long don’t wait too long

and you better believe when i tell you he didn’t.

[minaim-blog]

Moon Stroke in Xadia - 1 - The First Mistake of Many

Forward for the Caring

When and where this fanfiction takes place is largely unimportant as the purpose of this work is merely to have Callum and Rayla interact as a couple while facing troubles in Xadia from both Elves and Humans. Zym is not present and I’ve changed the ages of Callum and Rayla to be slightly older; they’re around eighteen or so. One could say this takes place after the events of Season 3 or in an alternate universe. Human and Elf relationships are frowned upon in this setting compared to how they are in The Dragon Prince as hinted by the show. “Artemia” is my own name for the Moon-Shadow Elf Territory. Thank you for reading and enjoy.

“Callum, hurry up will you.” Rayla whined, “You’ve been getting ready for an hour, they’ll close up town before we can make it.” She sat on the root of a large tree and used one of her knives to carve into its trunk while Callum worked around the corner out of sight. The two of them had ventured through the wilderness of Xadia for some time together for a ‘vacation’ as they called it. Their journey had multiple reasons: the two of them wanted an opportunity to tell the people of the world that Zym, the prince of the dragons, had been returned to his mother and that a new era of peace was at hand for humans and elves alike. They found out very early on in their journey that they had no need to be messengers, as the news of the dragon prince spread to all corners of the elf and human lands as if by the wings of dragons. Callum also wanted an opportunity to venture through Xadia and learn about the six primal sources first hand, and Rayla wanted a chance to learn about human customs, since it seemed that humans and elves would be getting to know each other better in their newfound peace. They agreed to be each other’s guide, Rayla to Callum in the land of elves, and Callum to Rayla in the land of humans. Secretly between them, they both wanted an excuse to spend some time together with just the two of them in their newfound relationship.

Their journey had brought them far from the nest of the dragon queen to Artemia, the land of the Moon-Shadow elves, where Callum hoped to learn about the moon arcanum and Rayla hoped to reconnect with her home as best she could. They chanced upon a small Moon-Shadow Elf village in their journey and knew they risked a chance of Callum being discovered as a human if the two of them went in. They were both exhausted of the wilderness and  decided to take the risk, as they hoped to get some finer comforts that were unavailable to them over the past few weeks. They agreed that he would have to disguise himself if they were going into the village, but the two of them had very different opinions on what was considered ‘good enough’ for a disguise. Callum called back to her behind the tree, “Hey I’ve only been at this for like twenty minutes at most, and I want it to be convincing this time. Do you want a repeat of Caldera?”

“We’re not going to have a repeat of Caldera.” She retorted annoyed, “I’m clearly Elven, just stick close to me and don’t draw attention to yourself.”

“Yeah but it’s pretty hard not to draw attention to yourself when everyone else has horns and only four fingers.” Callum showed his hand from around the tree to Rayla and wiggled his five fingers to her.

“So wear the cloak and gloves you have and stay quiet.” Rayla shooed him and then crossed her arms as she sat on the root, “Honestly it’s a lot easier than you’re making it out to be.”

“I know it’ll be easy.” He said reassuringly as he worked, “We’ve done this before. But those other times have taught me that all it takes is for someone to notice something off about us at a glance before they do or say something. So I’m just trying to make it take a little more than just a glance to notice something’s wrong. We’re in Moon-Shadow Elf territory-”

“Artemia.” Rayla said irritated with her arms still crossed. She lost count how many times she had corrected him on it.

“Yeah, Are-Tre-Maya.” He butchered, “So I think we better bring our ‘A’ game.” There was another pause as he worked, then he continued, “I mean, we’re dealing with elves who do nothing but sneak and lie. So you tell me, how careful should we be?”

“Sneak and lie!?” Rayla jumped off her root and yelled to him in shock, “What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“Uh…” He moaned back to her and tried to find his words but Rayla found hers first,

“No, please. Don’t bother.” She began mockingly and crossed her arms leaning on the tree, “I know exactly what you mean.” She pouted before she continued, “‘Oh no! We’re in mean-moon-assassin-land now!’” She said exaggerated and placed her hands to the side of her face, “‘And me poor little lass still thinks they’re not blood thirsty killers!’” Her exaggerated tone subsided and she sat back on her root as she continued a bit hurt, “Not everyone here was raised an assassin like me. And we’re certainly not killers and liars!” She shouted to him then continued softer as she stared at the root, “Honestly I thought you knew better by now.”

Rayla couldn’t see Callum, but she knew he must have been fidgeting as he said nervously, “Yeah I-I know. I know you’re not sneaking monsters. That was a bad choice of words on my part…” There was a brief silence as Callum collected his thoughts, and then said, “It’s that-well all the magic I’ve seen in the moon arcanum is really focused on making illusions and how we perceive the world around us. So I thought just maybe Moon-Shadow elves would be a bit harder to fool than others…Sorry.”

Callum ended his apology quietly and Rayla could sense the regret in his voice, but even though she knew he did not mean to insult her she still felt hurt. She started playing with her knife and said slightly miffed, “Yeah well…maybe word your thoughts a bit better next time.”

There was silence between the two after she finished, which Rayla didn’t like as it reminded her too much of their fights. It was rare that the two of them fought over anything, and when they did she thought it was always about the dumbest of things: What direction should they go in and who got them lost? Who’s being risky, or stubborn, or just dumb? Who should be up front and who should support in a fight? Should they or should they not be open to people about their relationship? After their fights they always separated themselves from each other to sit in silence when it was over. She always felt horrible when they did this, even while she was brooding. She always wanted to go back over to him to hug and make up, but her pride usually wouldn’t let her. She assumed Callum’s pride wouldn’t let him either or if it wasn’t pride, which she wasn’t sure how much he had, she thought it was hesitation he had on approaching her. When she thought about how he responded to her and how quiet he was she was worried that he hesitated now in speaking to her. She started fidgeting as she thought about whether she shouldn’t have spoken so coldly to him, or if she should speak up and tell him everything was fine between the two of them, or if she should just wait it out so he could finish his disguise finally and then he would see that she didn’t have a problem with him at all. As she thought about this she realized she was now the one hesitating, which Runaan would have hit her for if she was training with him. “Never hesitate. Hesitation is death.” He would say to her, and while she didn’t think her hesitation now would led to her or Callum’s death, she still found herself anxious about the two of them. In the middle of her thoughts she heard the soft sound of wood whittling, so he was merely focused and not upset. Relieved, she said playfully to him “I hear you, don’t you go dulling out my knife for your silly costume.”

“Hey I heard you scrapping on the tree trunk the whole time I worked, so don’t accuse me of anything. Plus you could probably cut through stone with these things. What are you working on over there anyway?”

“Uh…” Rayla said as she looked down on the root where she carved out a heart surrounding hers and Callum’s initials. “It’s a surprise for you after you show me your disguise.”

“Okay. I shouldn’t be much longer anyhow.” He said absent mindedly to her.

She stabbed her knife violently into the trunk and looked down at her carving. She hadn’t thought about what she was doing initially and only noticed that she was making what looked like a heart halfway through. She normally wasn’t one for ‘mushy couple stuff’ as she would have called this, but when she saw the opportunity she didn’t shy from it. She wrote her own initial in the decorative Elvish script that Ethari had taught her when she was little. She was going to write Callum’s in similar fashion, but remembered him teaching her the basics of the human script. She decided that for what they were to each other it would be more appropriate for her to write his in the human script. When she looked down onto it now, and even while she was writing it, she thought Callum’s initial didn’t match him at all. She thought the human script for ‘C’ was too simple and didn’t illustrate how smart and capable she knew he was. Compared to her own initial which she thought was far too decorative and elaborate for her and didn’t speak to who she was as a person. Not that she didn’t think she was capable, she knew very well that she was. But she felt that the ornateness of the script betrayed her as someone who was more creative and smarter than she really was. To this end she thought that the script used for hers and Callum’s initial should have been switched, but she was fine with waiting for another opportunity, rather than correcting it now. She was interrupted from this thought by Callum who said excitedly,

“Alright I think I’m ready. Get ready to meet elf Callum!”

“It’s about time. Why’d you hide yourself from me anyway?”

“Well I wanted it to be a surprise. How often do I get to be the one who wows you?” He said as he stepped around the tree and Rayla almost gasped when she saw him. He had gathered supplies on their trip through Xadia to assist in making a more believable disguise when the opportunity arose and was secretly hoping to impress her. This was why he didn’t let her see him until his disguise was finished, as he thought that when she saw it done it would be more impressive. He had managed to make markings around his eyes that looked similar to hers, he also applied a blush to his face that gave his skin a tone similar to Moon-Shadow elves, and hidden under his hair where two wooden horns wrapped to his head by a string. He went up to Rayla and grabbed her hands before he said giddy, “I used those blue-berries we found the other day for my tattoos, and the mist-flower’s pollen for my skin, and my horns are just wood attached to a leather band under my hair. What do you think pretty good huh?” Callum said in a rush and he raised her hands in excitement, which Rayla saw beam in his eyes as she looked at him. She didn’t think she could have told him his disguise was bad if it was.

“It looks really good Callum.” She said unsure of what else to say. It was definitely another leg up from just a pair of gloves and a hood, but there were plenty of signs that gave it away as a costume. As she looked over his disguise a wicked idea came over her and she smiled wryly. “But it’s not perfect. Moon-Shadow hair ranges from snow white to grey silver and very rarely black, but never brown.” She pointed to his hair as she said this and Callum closed his eyes while rubbing the back of his head and smiled. She grabbed onto his face which caused him to open his eyes, “You did a good job getting the skin tone right. It helps that the mist-flowers are used for blush but it’s not coming off unless you scrub very hard, and it’ll itch like you wouldn’t believe.” At her comment he already felt his face grow itchy, but he wasn’t sure if it was the pollen or in his mind. She continued and went over his markings meticulously,, “And the markings on our faces are largely symbolic. It’s not crazy to think we might have the same but that might put up a few friendly questions for whoever meets us.” She brought her own face close to his before she continued and said, “And I’ve never seen another Moon-Shadow elf with green eyes like yours.” Callum blushed as their eyes meet.

“Well I guess I’ll just have to wear my hood and gloves like you said.” He said dreamily as he brought his left hand to her face and stared back into hers.

“Yeah. And about that.” Rayla said hesitantly before she grabbed Callum’s left hand. She then twisted around and brought him to his knees as she pinned his hand to the root on top of her carving. “Your extra fingers are the biggest problem with your disguise. So they’re going to have to go.”

She said this as she brandished her knife in her hand. She remembered when she was younger that one of the other assassins did what they called ‘four finger fillet’ on her as a hazing ritual and hoped to do something similar to Callum as a joke. He even had spread his fingers over the root to make it easy on her. She tried it once or twice on herself before but she had cut her fingers by accident, so she went slowly on him to be sure she wouldn’t hurt him.

“Let’s see…” She said curiously as she started to stab the knife between his fingers. She was going slowly as a precaution but still wanted to worry him a bit. So she was forceful in her strikes to keep up the illusion.

“Uh…Rayla?” Callum said as he tried to reach for her with his free hand. After he did Rayla lifted up her leg and pinned his free arm to his side.

She stopped stabbing in between his fingers and tapped each of his deliberately with the flat of her knife as she said, “Your pink-o’s the most obvious choice, but that’s just going to leave you with an extra bit of flesh on the side of your hand, so that’s not going to look convincing. Your index can’t go for the same reason. And you’re going to need your ring finger eventually.” She paused for a moment without realizing what she said and turned to Callum on the ground as she smiled wryly to him again, “You just won’t be able to be rude to your other human friends anymore. But hey, that’s the price we pay for a convincing disguise for you.”

Callum tried to smile back up to Rayla, but he was nervous as he spoke, “You’re not really going to cut off one of my fingers…Are you?”

Rayla looked at him dead in the eye and said, “Try me.” She then threw her knife in between the gaps of his fingers which caused him to scream, “Rayla! My hand!”

“Lighten up will you? I was just joke-” She began to say when she looked down and saw human blood pool at Callum’s hand and her knife cut through his middle finger. In a panic she shouted his name as she let go of him and pulled the knife out of his finger. “Callum? Are you alright? I was just-” She began to say as she grabbed his hand but Callum only pulled it away and hugged it to his chest as he swore under his breath. She tried again to speak to him and stuttered as she said concerned, “You’re alright aren’t you?”

He yelled at her, “No, I’m not alright! You fucking cut me!” He looked at her with anger and tears in his eyes from the pain. Then he looked down and cradled his hand in pain. She was dazed by what just occurred and unsure of what to do. She had seen Callum angry before but never like this, and she still processed what happened. She stepped back unconsciously from him and looked down at her hands and saw his blood on them as she thought to herself,

“I cut off his finger… I cut off his finger!” She must have said this out loud, or Callum knew what she was thinking because he said,

“You didn’t cut off my finger! It’s just cut really bad and you maybe hit the bone. I don’t know.” He swore to himself again, “Just get me something.”

Rayla snapped out of her shock and immediately went to their supplies and began rummaging for the bandages they kept, but in her stress she forgot where they put them. “Bandages, bandages, bandages…Ah! Where’d we put them?” She said to herself as she made a mess of their supplies.

“They’re in my bag with my sketch book.” Callum called out to her, “They should be right next to it.” He swore yet again as he hugged his hand.

Rayla went to his bag and dumped out everything and picked up the bandages that fell out and ran over to Callum. She knelt down with him and pulled his hand away and started to wrap the bandages around his entire hand.

“Callum? Callum I’m so sorry.” She said to him quickly, trying not to cry, “I was just trying to play a joke and impress you with that dumb game the assassins taught me when I was little. I didn’t mean to cut you, you know I’d never hurt you, please I’m sorry.” When she finished he spoke tensely in a manner that suggested he tried to subdue his emotions,

“It’s fine Rayla.”

“No it’s not! I almost cut your finger off!” She said as she grabbed onto his hand and pulled it tightly towards her.

“Well could you maybe just bandage my finger and not my whole hand!?” He said in anger from the pain she caused by grabbing his hand tightly. She was shocked again by his outburst and paused for a moment to look at him. After he saw her reaction he winced slightly and relaxed his grimace. The two of them looked down and saw his left hand completely wrapped in bandages. “I mean no one will notice I have five fingers now but…” He tried to make a joke but it didn’t lift Rayla’s mood. Still tense she unwrapped the bandages from his hand and looked at his middle finger. She couldn’t tell if she cut to his bone like he said as there was dried blood all over it and the wound was still bleeding.

“We have to wash this.” She said with little emotion as she collected herself and ran off to their supplies. Callum protested and said they didn’t have anything to wash it with when she took out a water sack they had for drinking water and brought it over. “Rayla we need that.” He said, knowing they were running low on water.

“We’re right by a town, we can get more.” She said angry, and tried to hide her concern. She poured the water over his cut and wiped it with the bandages harshly which earned a slight wince from Callum as he asked her to be careful. She told him to not a be a baby as she continued to wipe it a bit less strongly. When she was done with the water sack she threw it away and examined his finger. It still bleed so she wrapped the bandages around his finger tightly and tied it off. Even once she was finished Rayla couldn’t stop looking at his hand and would not look at him. After a moment he asked if she was okay and she lifted up her head and said in a hoarse voice,

“Am I okay? Callum I-I’m sorry…” She brought her hand to her hair and began fidgeting with it as she talked, “I wasn’t thinking - and I’m so stupid! I don’t know how I can ever make it up to-” She wiped away the few tears she couldn’t stop herself from shedding as she spoke but was interrupted before she could finish by a kiss from Callum. They closed their eyes and kissed each other for a moment until he pulled away from her and shared hug. She asked almost crying, “You’re not mad?”

Callum breathed in sharply before he said, “I’m fine.” He paused for a moment and said, “But that was dumb. That was really dumb.”

She began to cry again and said uncontrollably, “I know, I know. That was dumb and stupid and I don’t know what I was thinking.”

He shushed her and said gently, “I’ll be fine.” They were silent for a moment as they hugged, and Rayla choked back tears as she did. He continued, “It could always be worse, you could have got me in the heart. Even though you kind of already did.” Callum said in an attempt to be charming.

She almost cried out as she said, “Don’t even think about that! It’s bad enough that I hurt you, but I don’t even want to think about…” She couldn’t finish, and placed a hand over her mouth. A vison of her throwing her knife into his heart flashed through her mind that she couldn’t stop from thinking of.

Callum felt her horror and hugged her tighter as he tried to calm her, “Hey don’t worry. I’m fine, I’m fine. Really.” Then they were silent again and rocked back and forth as they hugged. After a moment Callum said, “I like your carving by the way.”

“Oh my gosh, that.” Rayla said, some tension left her voice and was replaced by embarrassment.

“What? I thought it was cute.” He said jokingly.

“It’s stupid. I don’t even know why I made it. And now your blood’s all over it.”

“Well at least the heart part is more accurate now.” Callum statement earned a slight groan from Rayla, and he took some comfort that she returned a little bit to normal. After another moment he continued with a little hesitation and asked, “Do you really think I think of you as, ‘my little lass?’” He felt the need to ask her as he could never think of her as anything close to a ‘little lass.’ She was a strong, capable, and dependable warrior. Above all else, she was brave and kind. He felt that if either of them had to be called a ‘little lass’ or little anything, it should be him.

“I mean…” He felt her take one of her arms off of him as she fixed her hair before she continued, “We’ve kind of been together for a while now, so… I’d hope so.”

He paused for a moment before he said, still unsure of himself, “Do you…want me to call you ‘my little lass?’”

           She exhaled her breathe sharply in a small laugh as she said, “I mean if you did, I wouldn’t mind.” Callum thought he could be very dense when it came to social ques, but even he couldn’t miss that. She wanted him to try a pet name for her, he wasn’t sure if he liked it yet but he wouldn’t definitely try it. At least when the best moment for it to be used arrived. There was another brief pause before he changed the subject and said gently,

“We should probably hurry up and head into town before everyone turns in for the night.”

Rayla pulled herself away to look at him and said concerned, “I’ll go into town myself, you should just stay here and rest.”

“But I worked so hard on my disguise, I don’t want to let it go to waste.”

“Your disguise isn’t so good with your blood all over it.” Rayla said as she and Callum looked down to where he hugged his hand to his body. It had a patch of dried blood on his clothes. “That’s going to make too many questions if somebody sees that.”

He got up and went towards their supplies, “I’ll change into another shirt then, and you should probably clean my blood off yourself too.”

She looked down at herself as she knelt on the ground and saw she still had his dried blood on her hands and a small amount on her clothes. She disconcertingly wiped her hands over the grass and tried to remove it. Then she saw the water sack she threw away some feet from her. She grabbed it and squeezed it over her chest to try and get the last remaining drops of water out to clean her shirt.

Callum saw her do this frantically as he went through their ruined camp for his clothes. Then he asked unsurely, “Don’t you have another shirt somewhere?” He remembered seeing her wear another shirt once or twice during their vacation, but she didn’t bring as many sets of clothes as he did. More often she would only wear her assassin armor and it would stink of her body odor if she didn’t bathe too often. But that did not always bother him, more often he would enjoy her scent for reasons that he was still unsure of. She said frantically to him as she tried to wipe herself clean,

“Not of my armor, and there’s no way I’m changing out of this.” She threw the water sack away towards him and said unsatisfied, “I’ll just have to wear something over it.” As she got up she tapped her head in realization, “I’ll wear my cloak too. That’ll probably be better since we’ll match. Callum where are you going?” She asked concerned as she saw him with a new shirt and his cloak in hand as he started to leave the campsite.

“I’m just going to change into a new shirt. I shouldn’t be more than a second, then we can go.”

As he went out of sight Rayla went over to their supplies to grab her cloak. She groaned slightly as she saw the state she put their camp into with all their stuff strewn out over the place. She decided that the mess could wait until they got back to clean up and sorted through it to find her cloak and what little money they had left. They only had seven coins and she was worried their expenses would be too strained. They didn’t start out with much money when their journey began, as they thought they wouldn’t run into too many opportunities to use it. They originally had thirty pieces, but after paying a familiar friend for passage over the Midnight Desert to Artemia and a few other mishaps they were down to their current sum. She hoped it would be enough to buy medicine, but it might not be enough for some food. At the very least she could forage for food or they would be go hungry for a little while. She put her concerns aside for the moment and found her cloak. Then she draped it over her shoulders and fastened it to cover the upper part of her chest and pulled her hood over her head. Since Callum would have to wear his hood over his head the whole time she thought it would be best if they matched as closely as possible. When she was done she heard him say behind her that he was ready and asked if she was ready as well. She turned around and saw him in a new shirt with his cloak on, his wooden horns made points at the top of his hood, and his scarf was lose around his neck under it. She went up to him and fixed his scarf tightly around him as she said, “The only thing we’re going into town for is some medicine for your hand.”

Callum’s stomach growled, “How about some food too?” He said in response.

Rayla’s stomach growled as well, after which she said, “Yeah. Some real food would be nice.”

____________________________________________________________

There was little daylight left as the sky turned to dim twilight when the two of them made it to the village. It was a relatively small settlement, but it had a few other buildings besides homes where the two of them hoped to find services of some kind. When they spotted it earlier Rayla had scoped it out from a distance but never entered it. She recognized the area as being nearby the main highway but knew the road leading from the village was out of the way to anyone traveling on it. While she had never been to this village before its distance from the border and small size gave it no reason to possess a concealing spell, so they would have no issue entering it. The two of them huddled together out of sight behind a tree up the road from the entrance as they spoke.

“How good of a look did you get when we passed by this place earlier?” Callum said to her as he hugged his hood to his face.

“Pretty good.” She said cheerily, “It’s small but not too far off the main road. I’m sure they must have a few shops or even an inn to get something.”

“Yeah but any guards or people we have to worry about?” He said in a hoarse whisper.

“It’s a village Callum.” She said plainly not bothering to whisper, “But yeah, they might have a night watch setup or maybe even some official guards. But nothing we need to worry about.”

“Nothing for you to worry about sure. But I’m in a no-go territory for humans.”

“Where’s that confidence from earlier?” She said playfully to him, “Isn’t that what the disguise’s for?”

“It is but I don’t want us thrown out, or worse.” He said still whispering between in his teeth.

“We’re not going to get thrown out. Just let me do the talking, and keep you head down. Now come on, I’m starving!” She said as she grabbed his left hand and started to run up the road towards the town. He called out her name and she felt some resistance from his hand. She remembered his injury and lightened up on it as she slowed down to jog. As they got closer to the town Callum could make out two individuals under a lamp by the side of a building. They sat down at a table where they focused intently on a game they were playing. He assumed it was some form of chess from the shape of the pieces, but he was unsure if elves shared the same rules as humans, or even if the game was similar. As they went up the road the person facing towards them got the attention of the other at the table, then he got up and grabbed a lantern as he went to the road to meet them.

“Woah!” He said warily as he shined the dim lamp towards the two of them. He said businesslike in a thick Moon-Shadow accent, “State your name and business.”

Rayla raised her hood so they could better see her face and said cheerfully as she went up to him, “My name’s Rayla, and me and my friend are just looking for a bite to eat.”

He moved the lamp towards the two of them and brought it closer to Callum. It was a foggy yellow, and seemed to be lite by a type of fire-fly as the light danced and faded in and out within it. Callum could see the man was young but older than him and Rayla by a number of years at least. His face was clean shaven, and he appeared physically fit and strong. He had a single marking of a vertical line that went from just above his brow down to his cheekbone over his right eye, and that was the only marking Callum could see of his. The man said somewhat suspiciously as he examined them, “Where are you and your friend from, Miss?”

“I’m from a small village by the Silvergrove.” She said as she relaxingly crossed her arms, “You’ve probably never heard of it. And he’s from up north.” She gestured to Callum, who waved meekly to him with a forced smile. He had on gloves to hide his fifth finger, but he was very conscious of the bandages on his finger that gave a very pronounced bulged to it.

“Does your friend have a name?” The man said without missing a beat.

“His name’s Callum.” She said, still cheery.

“Is he mute too?” He said somewhat annoyed.

“Hi, it’s me. I’m Callum.” He said quietly and waved his hand awkwardly to him.

Rayla leaned towards the man and whispered teasingly, “He’s a bit shy.”

“Aye.” The man said skeptically, “And just what are you two doing here?”

The man spoke in a confused tone, which puzzled Rayla. She replied growing confused as well, “Um…Looking for food. Didn’t I tell you that?”

“No, not that. I mean what brought you here, of all places?”

“O! We’re on vacation!” She said cheerfully.

“Vacation?” He repeated dubiously as he turned his head to the side at her.

“Yeah, a vacation!” Rayla smiled as she went back next to Callum and grabbed his hand. She continued, “We didn’t come looking for this town. The two of us just wanted to get out and see the world, and that brought us here!”

The guard stood and examined the two of them, and for a moment neither of them spoke. Finally he asked, “How long have you two been on this, ‘vacation?’”

Rayla turned to Callum and said more to herself than to him, “A while now. It feels like forever.”

Callum massaged the back of his neck with his free hand as he said, “It’s been a few weeks at least since the Storm Spi….ire.” He spoke without thinking initially and the name of the Dragon Queen’s domain slipped out. He was unsure what exact story Rayla wanted to give them, but he felt that place put a damper on whatever she was going for.

The guard’s skepticism returned tenfold as he asked, “You’ve been to the Storm Spire?”

“Oh yeah!” Rayla said quickly, trying to cover the mess Callum made, “That was the point, of course! Go out and see the world and all that, and now we’re here!” She ended with a small forced chuckle.

The man looked them over once again with renewed interest. He noted their weather stained cloaks, and that they carried almost nothing with them apart from a small bag and an empty water sack. He asked with some concern, “Do you have much money?”

Rayla admitted, “No, not really. We got enough for some food and the basics.” She added reassuringly in case the guard wouldn’t let them into town without some money. She continued bombastically, “But really we’ve just been roughing it. Get that real adventurous experience. Worked pretty good so far, mostly anyway.” She said the last part lowly to herself as she turned away and remembered the recent injury she gave Callum. He turned towards her and forced a small laugh and smile.

The man turned away from them awkwardly towards his counterpart who had sat quietly at their game the entire time. The other guard only shrugged. The one they had been dealing with turned back to them and said honestly, “Fair enough. We don’t get too many travelers aside from lost ones anyway.” He coughed slightly and continued, “Apart from our regular traders that is.” He turned away from them and pointed up the road as he said, “Most of the shops should be closed now but the inn’s open. Follow the main road straight ahead till you get to the center. You’ll see some stalls and the few shops we have there. And you can’t miss the inn to far from it. It’s the biggest building there, should see some lights and hear the noise of it.” He turned back to them, “I don’t think we’re lucky enough to get any music tonight, except maybe Jubal if she’s in the mood for it.” He looked them over once more before he thought something over and said, “If you’re just looking for a bite, speak to the inn keeper and tell them Farkas sent you. He owes me favor.”

Rayla dashed away and towed Callum along as she said cheerfully to them, “We will, thank you! And enjoy your game!” The two of them waved to the guards and they waved back as Farkas said,

“Enjoy your time in Loruthven!”

They made their way towards the center of town, and while Rayla focused on the path ahead Callum took the time to examine the village as they went through it. Multiple homes dotted the area. The buildings incorporated trees and mimicked nature where they could but many of them were no bigger than small hovels built into or around the trees. The trees there were far less dense than the forest that surrounded it, so he was able to see the sky in between the canopy as they marched through it. Besides the homes there were sparce boulders and small stone structures with runes carved into them along the path, but many of them looked to be forgotten to the wayside. He found the architecture and general feel of the town similar to Rayla’s home, but he thought Loruthven lacked much of the grandeur of the Silvergrove. Not to say he thought the town looked dull. While he thought that the town was rather quaint, Moon-Shadow towns were still very new to him, so any and all matters of it peaked his interest. The path they followed was dirt with a few stones lade into it and it was worn down from continuous use by the townsfolk. Besides the elves in the town, he saw small animals scuttling around in between the buildings. Some of them he recognized as ones Moon-Shadow elves kept as pets, and he likened them to cats or dogs, but their behaviors were only vaguely close to them, if at all. One of them was like a racoon with similar body size and appendages, but the face of it was cat like, and it possessed a deep azure coat. His past experience with them said they were playful animals, but very territorial and pack oriented. One of them swiped at a lantern to get the insects within it, and had to be shooed away by someone. The lanterns they passed were lite by glowing insects like the guard’s and hummed in a deep yellow. There were only a few lanterns in the town, and all the ones they passed by were hung from other people’s homes, so much of the path was becoming dim in the oncoming night.

He had been told by Rayla that Moon-Shadow elf communities were very closely knit. According to her if one member of the community was suffering hardships all of the others would pitch in to help them, and any refusal to do so would be greatly looked down upon. After they got out of sight of the guards Rayla pulled her hood back down to match Callum, so as to make him less conspicuous by comparison. The town was close to empty and they only saw a few people as they made their way. The ones they passed by looked at them in surprise and Callum felt some nervousness at their stares. Rayla handled every brief interaction they had with a wave, cheery demeanor, and occasional “hello” or other small remark. She always made a small tug at him whenever they passed by someone, which did not help the sharp pain in his finger, but he kept quiet about it. The townsfolk only paid them a brief glance at every interaction; no doubt they were only surprised when they saw a new face in town and carried on their way. Callum thought that either his disguise was working, or that everyone was too preoccupied with getting home for the night to notice them. He felt relatively secure, whatever the reason was, so he said to her in a low voice while he admired the town, “This is really nice. Are all Moon-Shadow towns like this?”

Rayla slowed down slightly and went next to him as she said, “For the most part, yeah. But this one’s really small. But I guess we are in the middle of nowhere, so it’s expected.”

“What are all these ruins from?” He said as he pointed to one of the stones.

She paused in their march as she took notice of one of them for the first time and said disinterested, “Oh, couldn’t tell you.” She continued to walk and tow him along as she said, “Good old Runaan never gave me much of an education aside from fighting. And Ethari probably told me about them at one point but it never really stuck. That’s more egghead stuff you’d be into.” She said teasingly to him and then playfully elbowed him in the side before she continued, “Good work mentioning the Storm Spire back there by the way.”

“Sorry.” He grunted as he massaged it, “Guess we’re not mentioning the Dragon Queen then?”

She looked around briefly before she said, “Preferably no. Let’s just be an innocent young couple out and about.” She hissed out her next words in a low tone, “I’m definitely not a wanted woman but I don’t think a ‘deserting assassin’ would be welcome here.”

“You really think someone would recognize you for that?”

She thought on his question before she replied thoughtfully, “Maybe, I don’t really know. The Silvergrove’s a big deal around here and word travels fast. There aren’t wanted posters of me or anything, but a young girl trained as an assassin? Only so many people could fit that.” They passed by another person just as she finished speaking, and was worried that they could have heard something. She ended abruptly when she saw them and made a forced smile as they exchanged glances. Her and Callum waved to them awkwardly but the individual paid them little attention and walked past them without trouble.

She let out a sigh of relief but had nothing else to say. Callum said quietly, “But didn’t we save the Dragon Prince? I know the whole warrior-assassin thing is important but doesn’t that count for anything?”

She thought over what he said for a moment before she said reluctantly, “Kind of, but it’s complicated. Even the Dragon Queen’s blessing only goes so far.”

“Yeah, I get that.” He said as he ruminated over his own interactions with the Dragon Queen before they left for their vacation. He agreed with Rayla but he still felt disappointed that no one here could know what she did for the world. He said dishearten, “So that’s it then? We’re just going to lay low?”

“Preferably, yes.” She said flatly before she turned to him and whispered jokingly, “We kind of need to with a human anyway.”

“Are we still going to the tavern then?” He asked curiously.

“Might as well if we can get a meal.” She said lightening up a bit before she turned to him, “Free food is free food. Just let me do the talking like how I did with that guard and we’ll be all set.”

“And was that offer a normal thing that guard did? Meaning for elves?”

“That ‘favor’ thing? Yeah I guess, compared to humans anyway.” Rayla said after she reflected on it briefly, “I think mostly it’s that he feels bad for us, since we’ve been on the road for a while. And he probably think we’re one of those lost travelers he mentioned.” She said the last part as a joke to him.

“Aren’t we though?” He said teasing her.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to see all Artemia had to offer?” She said returning his tone.

“Yes, but I think it would be good if we knew where we were going half the time.”

“Oh, but getting lost is half the fun when we don’t have anywhere to be.” She laughed lightly before she continued, “Plus I know most of the general lay of the land here, I’m never really lost.”

“Yeah.” Callum said flatly as a thought came to his mind. He didn’t want to discuss that again and possibly start another fight so he changed the subject, “How much money do we have anyway?”

“Enough, I think.” She said as she tried to be sure of herself and squeezed his hand tighter, “Somebody should have a salve or something at a stall somewhere and we can get water at the inn.” She turned to him before she continued, “How’s your finger?”

“It’s okay. You’re kind of squeezing it tight.” He squeaked out entreatingly.

At his comment Rayla let go of his hand suddenly and quietly apologized. She rubbed the back of her neck and after a moment crossed her arms and said, “Even if we can’t find anything I could always make something myself. I learned a thing or two from Runaan and Ethari. We’ll be fine.” She said the last statement more to herself than to him, and hes knew it. He rubbed his own neck before he said,

“You know, my other hand is fine.” He waved his right hand to her. “We can hold our other ones if you want.” She gladly agreed without saying a word and readjusted herself on the path as she grabbed his right with her left. Callum loved how their fingers seamlessly interlocked with each other’s whenever they held hands. He was unable to interlock with hers completely because of the gloves, but he still loved to hold hers regardless.

She pecked him on the cheek before she said coyly, “A little different, grabbing each other’s offhand. Isn’t it?”

He replied facetiously in an instant, “If by offhand you mean that almost came off hand, then yeah. Different.”

She let out an annoyed sighed, then leaned her head on him and mumbled, “Don’t push your luck.” And he replied with a laugh.

They walked for a few more minutes until they came to the center of town. It was a small ruin and encircled around it were a few shops that all appeared to be closed for the day. Straight ahead underneath an archway of the ruin Callum saw the largest building of the entire town, presumably the tavern. Out from it shinned lights from lanterns and warm fires, and in the silence of the night the two of them could hear the bustle in it from where they stood if they tried to listen. Before they went to it they wanted to spy out the center more closely in case one of the shops was still open. He thought all the shops would have been rather lacking in the day time. Most of them were only small stalls which were big enough for only a few trays of whatever goods they could sell. He assumed they must have been for produce or an open air market. Besides the stalls he saw a sign for what he believed to be a butcher and a smith, but no sign for a doctor. Just as he was about to finish his search, Rayla called for his attention. She pointed to a woman who swept underneath a stall to the far side of the market. She suggested that they should go over and speak to her for information and then they approached her.

“Let me do the talking.” She said to him before they reached her, and Callum made no response of refusal. The woman’s stall was close up for the night as she swept, and the only thing out were empty shelves and a half full sack on the ground. They approached a small distance from her and only said something when the woman looked up and realized they were there. Rayla waved her free hand and said politely, “Hi. Sorry to bother you, but my friend and me were looking for something specific. Could you help us?”

The woman was old enough to be their grandmother but not ancient. She had similar markings to Rayla’s, was a little plump, and shined with a kind radiance as she spoke to them. “Of course. What do you two sweethearts need?”

Rayla let go of Callum’s hand and approached the woman as she rubbed the back of her neck again. She said embarrassed as she stumbled through her words, “I uh, accidentally…My friend got this really bad cut.” She settled on and continued, “I don’t know if you have something for it, or know someplace would go for it. Cause I’m worried it’s too bad to just leave as it is.”

“Well of course.” She said kindly, “I don’t have much for that myself but I could try to help. Could I see your friend’s cut?” She said as she looked past her towards Callum. Her and Callum’s eyes meet for a moment but he was unable to meet her gaze for long. He looked down and away from her as he clutched his left hand with his right.

“That’s…going to be kind of difficult.” Rayla dragged out.

“Oh, and why’s that?” The woman said curiously. She did not see anything wrong with the way Rayla spoke or Callum acted.

“Well uh, you see…” She stumbled out, as she tried to buy time to think of an excuse. The woman replied with affirmative as she did. Then an idea came to her and she leaned closer to the woman as she said, “The cut’s on his uh – rear.” She whispered the last word sharply to her for emphasis.

“Oh.” Was all the woman said as she processed what she heard. After a moment her eyes went wide in surprise and she responded with a deep, “Oh!” and continued concerned, “Well that will make things a bit harder. How did your friend get cut there?”

“It’s a long story. And kind of embarrassing.” Rayla said as she blushed slightly. She blushed at the concept of her lie, but she was thankful it made it more convincing.

“Oh yes. Of course, of course. No need to worry about it.” The woman said consolingly, “My dear husband got a similar injury after he fell on some tools doing house work. The poor man was sore sitting down for almost a month, even with the medicine the doctor gave him.”

“You have something then?” Rayla said hopefully, “We don’t have much money, but I could trade you something for it.”

The woman laughed softly, “Oh no. That well over a few years ago. But the same doctor’s still here.” She pointed past the center up another road and said, “Follow that path till you get out of town, and a short ways up you’ll see his home. A great big tower taking up a whole tree. You can’t miss it.” She focused back on her sweeping after she finished. Rayla went to grab Callum’s hand and say goodbye to her when she said, “How long will you two be in town for?”

They stopped in their tracks and Rayla turned around to say, “Not too long. We might go to the tavern after we see the doctor but we’re just passing through.”

“Well I was just thinking, you might have better luck finding him in there than his home.” She motioned to the tavern, “He’s usually out wandering about town this time of night. And before you go, you look like you could need some of this.” She bent down to her sack and pulled two fruits out of it. “These were left over from today and they’re too ripe to keep any longer, but I’m sure you could use them. No need to pay me.”

She went up to them and put one in each of their hands. Rayla was overjoyed at her generosity. She was worried that they wouldn’t be able to afford to feed themselves and take care of Callum’s injury. But by the generosity of the guard and the old woman she was sure they would be well taken care of tonight. She thanked her profusely and Callum shared another glance with the woman as he thanked her and walked away with Rayla. The woman waved them goodbye and after they were out of ear shot of her Callum leaned into Rayla and said jokingly, “My rear? Really?”

She laughed lightly at his comment and said, “I had to think of some reason why we couldn’t just show her your cut. Least now we have a story to tell the doctor.”

“Are we going to his house then?” He said as he took a bite of the fruit.

“Well she said we’d have better luck finding him at the inn, and we still have that favor to cash in. So let’s try our luck there first.” She said optimistically and tugged Callum along as they went around the ruin. He was glad he convinced her to hold his offhand, as he imagined he would have felt pain in it as he was tugged along. As they made their way around the ruin Callum took the opportunity to study it more closely. It was a series of menhirs and dolmen that encircled another ring of similar structure, and at its center was a slightly raised mound. Callum thought it appeared to have been a theater, or temple, or some other place of importance like the Moon Nexus, but it was discarded like the stones throughout the town. He admired the ruins as they walked around it and paused for a moment as he tried to find a symbol he recognized or another way to tell what purpose it held. Rayla tugged him along as he stopped and told him not to hold them up. He went along with her at her pushing and was unable to find anything, its significance lost to him. He accepted that it would only remain a curiosity for the brief time they were there and continued with her towards the inn.

The inn was no means big by his standards. It was about the size of a large house and the main hall of the winter lodge could have probably held the entire building. A large tree grew out of its center and vines overtook one outside portion. Its panels were silver-grey in color like the other buildings in the town, and part of the building seemed to lean to the side. They entered it and were greeted by dim lighting and the murmuring of different conversations throughout it. There was a large fire that roared in the back, and few lanterns hung from the ceiling which gave the inn a dim lighting throughout it. It was relatively packed, and everyone was busy socializing at their tables and the bar about one thing or another. Only a few spots were open, and they saw even fewer places were the two of them could settle inconspicuously. But no one gave them a glance or noticed them as they entered, so they thought they would be able to enjoy a meal without issue.

Rayla spied an empty table in the corner and pointed it to Callum as she said, “There’s an empty spot over there. Go sit down and I’ll grab us some food.” She pecked him on the cheek as they parted and she went over to the bar to order something for them. The elves of Xadia never produced alcohol of any kind, so Callum would have been greatly confused by its lack of it. It was similar to bars in the lands of humans only in that it was the area where someone would go if they wanted to be sociable with others. She approached it, and saw the bar was operated by a man. He looked older than Farkas, Rayla thought he looked around middle age or perhaps older. He was slightly top heavy with large, fat hands and he had a thick, dark-silvery grey beard. He let out a hearty laugh that could easily be heard among the bustle of the inn as he conversed with another patron, and he had a smile that wrapped around from one ear to the other. And at each end of his mouth were crescent markings that curled around it. She waited for him to stop laughing before she said politely, “Um, hello. I don’t mean to bother you, but me and my-”

She was interrupted before she could finish by the man who sad loudly in a gruff voice, “What? Can you speak up lass?”

She continued louder, “My friend and I were looking for some food, and we were sent here by Farkas. He said something about helping you return a favor.”

“He did. Did he?” The man said dubiously as his smile disappeared and he brought a hand to finger his beard, “And how’s the favor being returned?”

“A meal for me and my friend. Of… whatever you think the favor is worth.” She would have said ‘of course’ but decided against it, since she did not know what ‘favor’ Farkas had done for the man.

The man scuffed at Rayla’s response and looked her up and down before he gestured to her and asked annoyed, “Any reason why you’re dressed all cloak and dagger? And where’s your friend, is he invisible?”

She raised her hood up so he could better see her face and apologized to him, “Sorry, we’ve just been traveling. Force of habit. And he should be right over there.” She turned around and pointed towards the table she told Callum to sit at. He was hunched over in a chair in the corner and watched her as she spoke to the man. He waved meekly to her and she returned the wave.

She turned back to the man and his expression was unchanged. He continued annoyed, “And why isn’t he up here with you?”

“He’s a bit shy.” She used the same excuse from earlier, but the man didn’t seem anymore satisfied by it. He scoffed again before he called out,

“Jubal? Jubal!” Rayla heard a word of affirmation and turned to see a woman who must have worked at the inn. She was jostled from a conversation she had with another patron, and turned to attention at the call from the man. She was older than Rayla, and she thought she must have been close to Farkas’ age. She had white hair in a bun, was a bit plump, and clutched a pan nervously as she looked towards them. Rayla thought her markings were very intricate and beautiful, she had numerous ones which highlighted her facial features, but over her left eye was a marking similar to Farkas’. The man continued, “Go to the kitchen and grab a meal for this girl and her friend.” Jubal agreed without a word and went off towards a back room of the inn. After she disappeared the man said, “That’ll be four silver pieces.”

She questioned with some concern, “What about Farkas’ favor?”

“That is with his favor.” The man said bluntly, “Normally it’s four per meal, but I’m only charging you for one. Food isn’t cheap around her lass.”

She agreed with the man’s reasoning, and begrudgingly produced the money for him. After he accepted it she took out her water sack and said, “Will you charge to fill this with water?”

“For that, no.” He said and took it from her and went to fill it. While he was gone she took a moment to examine the inn’s patrons more closely. There was a good mix of people there, most of them were around Farkas’ age or a bit older, and she only saw a few people around her age. She was reminded of her own home as she looked around and saw how happy everyone was and thought she would have liked to spend a few days there just to get a sense of normalcy back. She knew that with Callum it was out of the question, they could only hang around and be so close to other people without someone realizing he was a human. She didn’t begrudge Callum for this, she only wished things could have been different. After a moment the man returned with her water sack. He handed it to her and asked, “Is that lad you’re with your sweetheart or something lass?”

“Him? Yeah, I’d like to think so.” She replied fondly as she looked over her shoulder towards him.

“Well make sure he grows a spine. Will you?” The man said gruffly.

After she heard him the smile she had on her face faded away. She replaced it with a scowl as she turned around to him and said tersely, “Aye. I could do that.” She crossed her arms as she finished. And as she looked at the man she thought Callum had a bigger spine than he could ever have.

The man only coughed at the silence that followed to break the awkwardness and said, “Your food will be out in a moment. Jubal will bring it right over.” He waived her away and went back to his other patrons. She replied with a thanks she didn’t mean, and as she walked over to Callum she thought about a dozen nasty words she would have called the man if she didn’t want to be inconspicuous. She stomped over to the table, Callum fiddled his fingers and didn’t notice her until she was at the table. When he saw how upset she looked he asked concerned,

“Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine.” She said as she sat down next to him and grabbed his wrist before she kissed him lightly on the lips. She whispered sharply into his ear, “That man’s an asshole.”

He looked past her towards the bar where the man was and laughed lightly as he said, “You didn’t hurt him at all, that’s pretty good.”

“I don’t want us kicked out.” She said annoyed, “The most I would have done is say a nasty word or two, but I still want to lay low.”

“Was the favor worth anything?”

She said frustrated, “Not much by the way he acted. Back home I’d pay a coin for a meal; two if I wanted Moon-Berry surprise. But he would have charged us four coins each if it weren’t for the favor.”

“Yikes.” He said alarmed by the differences. “Why’s that?”

“Couldn’t tell you.” She said flatly as she slouched over the table. “He just said something about food being expensive around here.”

Callum reflected on what she said for a moment before he said, “I guess it kind of makes sense. We are in the middle of nowhere. I don’t really know how the economy works here but back home the farther I’d go out from a city the more expensive things would get. Stuff’s just easier to get there.”

She sighed and said, “Whatever the reason is he’s still a jerk.”

Callum patted her back and said soothingly, “Well, let’s just hope the food is good.” After he finished he looked up and saw a woman approach them with plates in hand. He sat up strait and Rayla sat up after she saw her too.

She placed the dishes on the table in front of them along with a drink and said to them, “Here you are. Must be a nice change of pace after being out in the wilderness. Let me know if you need anything else.”

She turned to leave but Rayla stopped her and asked, “Actually we could use one more thing. Jubal right?” The woman turned to her and replied with affirmation. Rayla continued, “We were looking for the doctor earlier and someone said he likes to hang out here sometimes. Is he here tonight?”

“The doctor?” Jubal said questioningly, “No. Haven’t seen him at all today. You need him for something?”

“Yes, but we know where his house is. We can always find him later.”

“You sure? If it’s important I could have someone fetch him.” She looked over both of them as she finished, and took a longer glance at Callum than was usual. He was unsettled by the odd glance she gave him and turned away from her uncomfortably.

Rayla grabbed her attention quickly and said reassuringly, “Thanks, but it’s nothing to worry about. Just some medicine we could use, but it can wait till we’re done eating.”

Jubal was slightly off put by Rayla’s demeanor but ignored it and said resignedly “Alright. If you say so. Just call me if you need anything.” Rayla thanked her again and she went away from them without another word.

The two of them were silent for a moment until she was out of earshot. Then Callum cleared his throat and said quietly, “Now I know how you felt when we had to sneak you around back home.”

She laughed lightly at his comment and said, “Hey, I think things are going pretty good.”

“Yeah but it’s still nerve racking.” He picked up a wooden spoon and poked at his food while he said, “I’ll have to make better disguise next time we do this. Not sure how to get the hair color right though.”

“Your hair’s going to be the least of your problems until we can do something about your accent. If you want others to think you’re a Moon-Shadow elf anyway.”

“I could always do my earth elf impression.” He smiled to her.

She spitted out a small laugh she couldn’t stop and said, “No way. If an Earth-Blood heard you they’d kill you on sight just for that.” They both shared a laughed and then she continued, “Let’s just enjoy the food for now and then we’ll see if we can find the doctor.” She picked up her own spoon and began to eat without another word, and Callum did likewise.

The dishes and utensils provided to them were entirely wooden, including the cups which only had water in them. On his plate was a small assortment of various foods. Most of it consisted of mixed vegetables he didn’t recognize, they were lightly seasoned but a salty taste permeated in all of them. They were various colors and sizes, and he thought they were cooked enough to be mushy. Besides the vegetables were sparse amounts of meat which tasted gamey, with a fruit based dressing drizzled over it. Rayla told him that while Moon-Shadow elves were not vegetarian most of their diet consisted of plants, with sparse meat thrown in. Besides the vegetables was a sort of rice-like grain which was snow-white with a coarse texture, and it tasted overbearingly sea-salty. It didn’t taste bad but he was unprepared for how salty it was, and reeled after he tasted it. After Rayla saw his reaction she said, “The white stuff is sea-rice from down south. I never really cared for it myself but Ethari could never get enough of it. Same for the rest of what’s here, it would have been a real treat for him.” She ended warmly as she thought of her uncle back home and continued to eat.

Callum took another spoon full of the rice and examined it carefully. Before he ate it he said, “You said it’s from down south. How south we talking, Sea-Elf south?”

She replied annoyed while she ate, “Yes Callum. Sea-rice comes from Sea-Elves. If it wasn’t completely obvious.”

He didn’t respond to her immediately, even though he didn’t like the tone she gave him since everything was still foreign to him. He thought over the implications of why a Sea-Elf dish was present in Moon-Shadow elf inn, then he asked her, “Just how far south did you take us?”

She paused eating when she heard his question, then her own realization came to her. She looked down at her plate and realized that it wouldn’t make sense for a small town inn to have a sea-elf dish unless it was readily available. Especially considering how the owner stated food was expensive there. She said slightly surprised, “Huh. Pretty far I guess. Oh well, no biggie. I wasn’t planning on taking you towards them but we can get directions after we leave. The Earth-Blood elves aren’t too far of a trip around them. Then you can meet your relatives.” She ended playfully and continued to eat. Callum was annoyed that she didn’t seem to care how directionless their journey was, especially since he thought she had gotten them lost a few times. He was about to ask how she managed to take him and Zym all the way to the Storm Spire without getting lost when he noticed someone approach their table from the bar.

He was tall, thin, had a darker complexion, and wore more decorative, but not gaudy, Moon-Shadow garments than the rest of town. He had silver hair in a bun with a silver needle through it, and the rest hanged down to his shoulders. He looked young but his eyes held a deep understanding that threatened to consume whoever looked into them. Over his face was a marking in the sharp of an open triangle or a mountain. It apexed on the bridge of his nose and the two lines went down his face and ended just below his lips. Rayla felt his presence or noticed Callum as he looked at him, and the two of them saw him as he made it to their table. “Hello.” He said in a deep, gentle voice, and it put them at ease, “My name’s Aubrey, they said you were looking for me.”

Rayla was slightly confused and said, “Uh, no. Least not for you specifically. Are you the doctor?” Aubrey said that he was, and after a brief pause he looked them over and politely asked if he could take a seat with them. She said that he could; he thanked her and grabbed a nearby chair and sat down across the table from them. After he sat down he folded his hands over the table and said very courteous,

“Now, and no rush since I know you’re still eating, but how could I help?”

Rayla was pleasantly surprised, she was still upset after her bad interaction with the barman and thought Aubrey was charmingly polite. In a way his kindness reminded her of Ethari. She gestured to Callum and said, “He got this really bad cut, and we were wondering if you might have some medicine so it doesn’t get infected or anything. We’d show you it but the cut’s on his, uh, rear.” She fiddle with her hands nervously as she said the last part to him. She was glad she came up with the lie earlier but it still seemed awkward for her.

“I see.” Was all he said before he looked over to Callum and examined him. He said somewhat humorously to them, “You’re sitting rather comfortably for someone with a bad cut on their rear-end.”

Rayla chimed in quickly and said, “Well of course! Callum’s tough!” She then punched Callum on the side of the arm which caused him to let out a small moan of pain. He rubbed the side of his arm and said entreatingly,

“Ow! Rayla…?”

She apologized to him and then heard a small laugh from Aubrey. He said gently as he laughed, “Yes, very tough I can see.” He breathed deeply before he continued, “Well, I don’t have anything here but after you’re done eating you’re more than welcome to come to my home. I’m sure I’ll have something for you there. Is that alright?” Rayla said that it would be. He stood up immediately after she was done and said, “Excellent. I’ll be at the bar and leave you two alone. No need to rush, I’ll be ready whenever you are.” Rayla thanked him cheerfully, and then they saw him walk back to the bar and sit down. They watched him there for a moment before Callum said warily,

“He’s…interesting.”

Rayla said, “Really? I think he’s nice.” She took another bite of her meal as she asked, “You don’t like him?”

“No. But, do you think he suspects anything?” He said cautiously as he turned to her.

“I think the only thing he suspects is that you don’t have a cut on your rear-end.” She said jokingly in between her chewing, “Besides that, so long as he has what we need and he doesn’t ask too many questions he’s fine by me.”

Callum continued to eat his own food as well and didn’t say anything further. He thought the doctor seemed peculiar in a way he wasn’t used to or could completely describe. But he decided not to share his reservations with her, as he was worried he could have possibly offended her. He was unsure if it was merely Moon-Shadow manners and customs he was unused to or if Aubrey was odd in general. He also felt the man had an aura about him that he wasn’t familiar with, and the mage within him felt that was reason enough for suspicion. He looked up from his dinner towards the bar where he sat and studied him for a moment. Aubrey spoke to the other patrons at the bar, but none of them seemed to have any misgivings with him as they socialized. They talked for a moment and then he must have said a joke, as everyone at the bar roared into laughter that could be heard over the general noise of the inn. Callum felt satisfied with his observations and somewhat guilty at his suspicion and went back to his meal. “What that is, is you being judgmental Callum” He thought to himself as he ate. He decided he should have no more concern with him than Rayla or any other member of the town did. He figured if there was a problem they could handle themselves.

Almost as soon as that thought entered his mind Rayla said decidedly without looking up from her meal, “I want you to go back to the camp and rest while I go with him.”

Callum was shocked by what sounded like an order from her and turned to her as he replied, “What? Why?”

She stopped eating and said coolly, “You don’t need to go if all we’re doing is getting some medicine. He’s not going to look at your finger and it’ll just be safer for you to skip out.”  

“If it’s safer-!” He began to say loudly but then checked himself after he remembered where he was. He looked around timidly and saw no one noticed, then he continued, “If it’s safer for me not to go why are you going with him by yourself?”

Rayla only stared at him before she brushed the side of his hood up and hissed out, “Hello, Mr. tree-for-horns. Do you want him asking questions?”

“He’s not going to ask anything we can’t answer.” He said firmly.

She asked harshly, “What’s with your confidence all of a sudden?”

“It’s not all of a sudden.” He said defensively as he folded his arms, “What’s with you wanting to ditch me all of a sudden?”

She felt caught by his accusation and said, “I’m not ditching you, I’m keeping you safe.” Part of this was a lie. She did have a small concern that Aubrey could discover he was a human, but for the most part she was sure his disguise was good enough to fool him so long as she did most of the talking. The main reason why she wanted him to go back and let her deal with the doctor herself is because she was sure they didn’t have enough money to afford medicine. She planned on offering to do work for him as compensation, or at the very worst steal it, but she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Whatever she had to do she didn’t want Callum to know about it. She didn’t want him to feel that he was a burden on them, and because she was responsible for his injury she had to make it right.

Callum did not realize this and only thought her concern was their ability to hide. He said cautiously as he whispered sharply through his teeth, “Safe? From what?” He wondered if Rayla felt similar suspicion to Aubrey as he did. While he decided to disregard his suspicions a moment ago he would be more than fine with renewing them if she felt the same way.

“From him finding out you’re…you know.” She said annoyed and gestured to him as she spoke. They had argued in hoarse whispers but she still felt hesitant to mention everything in case someone could hear.

He disregarded her concern and said, “He’s not going to.” She didn’t say anything in response but he saw her fold her arms and look disapprovingly at him. He reassured her, “He’s not. Like you said all we’re doing is getting some medicine. All we have to do is walk with him, maybe make some light conversation, buy it at his home, and leave.”

She disregarded him and let out a small groan before she brought her hands to her head and said frustrated, “You’re just adding another thing that can go wrong again Callum.”

He was annoyed that she decided to bring up a similar point she made when they argued not too long ago. Previously they had been in a fight with wild animals and Rayla told him to hang back while she handled them. She was almost injured at one point in the fight but Callum prevented it when he placed himself in between the animal and her and used the ‘Aspiro’ spell at the last moment. She appreciated the help later but at the time she was upset he didn’t listen to her, which Callum took as her blaming him. She told him that because she was the more experienced fighter he should listen to her in a fight and that since she was stronger he should be in the back where he could support her with his spells. He agreed that she was the more experienced fighter and that he should listen to her advice, but he felt he was more than capable of handling himself and that they should fight together. She told him that he would get in her way and that having him up front would only add another thing that could go wrong. By the end of their fight he gave into her, much to his disappointment, even though he enjoyed their cuddle afterwards. Ultimately he understood her reasoning for her battle tactics and wanting him to go back to the camp, but he wasn’t going to leave her simply because he didn’t want to. He remembered another point she made about when it was time to stick together, so he brought it up now, “You always tell me to stick close when it’s time to hide. But now when we’re hiding in plain sight you want me to leave? What if I’m caught without you? I won’t really be safer then.”

She gawked before she pointed and tried to start, “That’s – that’s very different!”

“How is it different?” He asked quickly to throw her off.

She tried to find her words but nothing came, she was so angry he used her own point against her. After a second she said, “Hiding in a ditch together is one thing, but trying to keep someone from finding out you’re human is another!” She was angry enough to be incautious in her words but she still spoke in a hoarse whisper. Callum replied,

“How is it? If I’m caught without you I’m dead. Better to just stick close and whatever happens at least we’re together.” She tried to interject in the second he paused but he continued before she could and said decisively, “Whatever it is you’re saying it doesn’t matter. I’m coming. That’s it.”

She paused for a moment at his final statement and leaned back in her seat before she tapped her hands on the table a few times in the silence. An annoyed look came over her face when she realized she couldn’t say anything to make him go back to the camp. She looked to him and he gave her a smug look, then she raised her hands up in defeat and said exasperated, “Fine. Fine. You want to come along, that’s fine. Just keep your mouth shut and it’s fine.”

She ended looking away from him and crossed her arms again. Callum felt that he had won their argument but was worried she would hold this against him later even if nothing went wrong. He still didn’t want her to go alone so he said nothing further and went back to eating his meal. She did likewise and they finished in silence. Afterwards they got up from their table and went to the bar for Aubrey as he made conversation with the other patrons. Almost as soon as they stood up he finished his drink in a large sip and walked over to meet them half way. When he reached them he asked how their meal was, and Rayla responded half-heartedly that it was good. He was satisfied with their response and said very little besides an exchange of pleasantries to them. Before he left he said his good byes to the bar, “Goodnight Conry, don’t let the others string you out too much.”

The man Rayla interacted with earlier responded in between serving his patrons, “Goodnight Aubrey. Careful not to let those two out of your sight. They’re little assassins you know.” He let out a roaring laugh as he ended. Callum and Rayla felt a bit uneasy at his comment, and she let out a nervous chuckle after she heard it. Aubrey jokingly agreed that he would keep an eye on them and waved Conry goodbye before he left the tavern with them.

The outside air was a stark change to the warm, stuffy, atmosphere of the tavern. Callum and Rayla were happy they had their cloaks. The air had cooled and they wrapped their cloaks close around them where before they wore them loosely in the tavern. Night had completely taken over the village while they ate. Besides the dim yellow light of the few lanterns in the village, and sparse fireflies, the surrounding area was illuminated by the light of the moon. Rayla looked up at the sky past the clearing of the town center and spied it, but she would have been able to tell how brilliant it was even if she was blind. It was in waxing gibbous, but still a bit more than a week away from full. Unfortunately for her and Callum she still wasn’t sure how to describe her connection to it. When she t0ried to explain how it felt to gain powers from it she said it felt exhilarating, but as natural as breathing. She also said that trying to explain it to him was like trying to explain an emotion. She focused on the moon for a moment too long and Callum and Aubrey pulled her away so they could continue to his house. She came out of her daze and followed them. She still wanted Callum to wait at the camp, and she had one more trick up her sleeve. Once they were a small distance from the inn Rayla went up to Aubrey and asked,

“Aubrey, could I ask your personal opinion as a doctor?” He was slightly surprised by her question but replied that she could and she continued, “If my friend’s injured don’t you think it’s best he goes back to the camp and rests while I get him some medicine?”

Aubrey stopped walking and turned to examine both of them. After he did he pointed to Callum and said, “If your friend wants to go back and rest, he can since he doesn’t want me to examine him. But if he feels able to he’s more than welcome to come. My personal opinion is that he should if he wants to.” He turned around to the path ahead and raised his hand up before he said positively, “Besides, I have a feeling both of you would love to see my home.”

At his response she let out a small sigh and resigned. She hoped Aubrey would have agreed with her argument and that she could have persuaded Callum to hang back, but she thought all in all it could be worse. She went to grab Callum’s hand so they could hold each other’s as they walked but he resisted and would not give it to her. She was confused but thought she must have grabbed his injured hand by mistake. She went to his other side and reached for that one but he resisted again and folded his arms over his chest in a humph. She understood his hint, but was very surprised by his actions and thought he was extremely petty. She folded her own arms and huffed next to him as they walked. Aubrey noticed this as they walked behind him and he let out a small chuckle that both of them heard. He turned around to them as they walked and asked Callum teasingly, “I take it your injury was the result of a ‘lover’s quarrel.’ Correct?” Both of them were shocked by his question and Rayla let out a mortified “No.” Callum asked how he got that idea and Aubrey responded light-heartedly, “Nowhere. Nowhere at all.” And he chuckled to himself again as they walked.

They continued for a few moments in silence, which left Callum alone to his thoughts. He was unable to read Rayla’s mind but he could tell easily that she was unhappy with him. Yet he was uncertain whether she was more upset that he refused to go back to camp, or that he wouldn’t hold her hand. He understood her worries, especially since he had them as well, but he believed her demands were completely unjustified. No one in town had discovered or at most even suspected he was human. The only hairy interaction they had was with the guard, and that was only because he brought up the Storm Spire. What angered him the most was that she attempted to use Aubrey against him. He thought that even if Aubrey told him to rest at the camp he would have refused and came with them as he said he would have. But Rayla’s attempt to go behind him, even in this small way, was incredibly egregious to him. While he was very upset he thought perhaps his actions were petty as well. He thought she only wanted to keep him safe, so he questioned whether he was right to distant himself from her when she had good intentions. He also desired to hold her hand, which he felt was a stronger push to forgive her. He wondered whether he could be too soft or easily persuade by Rayla because of how much he cared for her, and worried that was a bad thing both for himself and them as a couple. Before he could think deeper on the matter he was interrupted in his thoughts by Aubrey who said idly,

“We don’t usually see too many travelers visit here. Where do you two hail from?”

Rayla looked away from them off into the distance and responded gently but still peeved, “I’m from around the Silver Groove and he’s from up north.”

Aubrey turned around as he walked and said curiously, “How much farther north? A bit more past the Silver Groove or out of Artemia?”

Rayla turned to him and said annoyed, “Why are you asking?”

He turned away from them unoffended and shrugged before he said, “Just making conversation.” They walked for a for more seconds before he asked, “How long have you two known each other?”

“Rayla and I meet a few months ago.” Callum said, “We’ve really just been traveling since then, because we wanted to see the world and all.” He picked up the lie she told the guard from earlier. He found it easy to tell since it was all true, it just excluded details other wouldn’t understand.

He saw Aubrey scratch his chin from behind as he said, “That’s right, the two of you saw the Storm Spire didn’t you?”

Callum felt a pit fall into his stomach after he heard that. Rayla turned her head quickly to him and asked dubiously, “Where’d you hear that?”

He responded without emotion, “I was out of town on a walk and ran into Farkas after you left him. I like to keep tabs on the village, since I’m responsible for their wellbeing. And he told me about how you two had apparently been all across Xadia to the Storm Spire.” He turned around and smiled to them before he said, “That must have been quite the trip.”

Callum stuttered as he said, “Uh…yeah it was really a trip.”

Before he could say anything further Aubrey said enthusiastically, “I’ll say. The closest way to it is a three week march in either direction around the Midnight Desert. How was that journey?”

He stuttered for a second as he thought of a response but Rayla said kindly, “It’s a really long story.”

Undeterred, Aubrey continued, “I’m sure it must be, but I’d love to hear it. Did you two go by the North or South route?”

She responded very curtly, “Like I said. It’s a really long story, and I don’t want to be rude but we’re really just tired from traveling for so long. Otherwise we’d tell you all about it.”

Aubrey apologized and said sympathetically as turned to the path, “Of course, my apology. If you’ve been traveling for as long as you say you must worn out. You choose the perfect place to rest, Loruthven might not have much to see but it’s very calm.” He turned to face them again and asked, “Do you think you’ll be staying long?”

Rayla drew out her response as she thought about it herself, “Uh…We’re not sure actually. We’re camped not too far from here, but we’ll probably just rest a day or two before we move on.”

“Strange.” He said more to himself than them, “I don’t know how you two could be so tired you can’t speak but ready to leave in little more than a day.” He paused for a moment for them to respond, but neither of them said anything besides a contemplative moan. He turned back to the path and disregarded them with a wave of his hand as he said, “But as young as you are I can’t imagine you want to be still for any longer than you have to. I was the exact same way when I was your age. There was always something else to see. Speaking of which, we’re here!” He ended as he extended his arms ahead in exclamation.

They made their way through the forest outside of town into another opening where Aubrey’s house was. His home occupied a fair amount of land, a small iron and stone wall encircled his property and bore similar designs and runes to that of the stones found within the town. The gateway was open and when they passed through it they saw a beautiful garden that took up a vast majority of the grounds. They were bewildered by the beauty of it, and looked around themselves as they struggled to take in everything at once. Callum saw menhirs and dolmen dotted around the garden like statues, but they were very well kept unlike the ones in town and all of the runes engraved into them were legible. Rayla grabbed his attention as she pointed out the numerous trees, hedges, plants, and colorful flowers of the garden. He took in the beauty as it was brought to his attention, but he was drawn to a very special tree in the garden. It seemed to beckon him to it by an empowering radiance, that appeared to be more than a simple chance encounter. When his eyes saw it he grabbed Rayla’s hand and called her to look at it and her breathe was taken away when she saw it. Off on one side of the garden, placed in an area of honor was a beautiful tree that wasn’t the largest in the garden but it was easily the most distinguishable. It appeared similar to an elder tree and bore fruit that looked similar to elderberries, but the tree itself exuded a silvery luminescence in the moonlight and its berries appeared to have dim stars glowing within them. As they looked at it they were filled with a calming radiance that neither of them were sure how to describe.

Aubrey approached them as they were captivated by it and said gently, “You have a keen eye Callum.” They were struck from their daze and both to turned to look at him as he spoke, “This is a very rare tree that was once common in Loruthven and long ago in all of Artemia. Its true name is lost to time, but it’s more commonly known as a ‘Moon Tree.’”

“Moon Tree.” Callum said the name to himself. He felt the name did not capture its magnificence but he pondered on its meaning all the same. “It’s close to the Moon Arcanum?” He asked.

“Yes, more so than others. But its significance could be said another day. Are you a scholar of the arcanum.”

“No, not really.” He replied quickly, but gently. “It’s just beautiful is all, and I get where the name comes from.”

“Indeed.” Aubrey said as he looked and admire it himself. He ended his gaze and turned to them before he said, “I happy to see you made up quickly.” He gestured to their hands, which they had held unconsciously the entire time. They both looked down and after they realized it they were a bit flustered. Part of them felt they had not been angry with each other long enough to make up yet, such was the unspoken game they played, but they did not stop holding hands. They were happy to enjoy the garden together, and even if they could not say it to each other, they knew what each of them were upset over was not worth it. Aubrey spoke again and said, “But we’re getting side tracked, I should have what you need in my home. This way please.” As he said this he made a straight line towards a large tree in the center of the garden.

Rayla and Callum were very impressed by the extravagancy of his home compared to the rest of the village, but they had only taken notice of the gardens and failed to notice his house. As the old woman said his house was a large tower that took up the entirety of a large oak tree. The tree itself appeared to be ancient but very healthy despite the tower built into it. From the outside they could see windows, doors, and balconies built into and outside of the tree, and it appeared to contain many floors within which lead to the top until no further additions could be seen behind the foliage. They approached the front door which was light purple in color with silver knobs and hinges. They marveled at it for a moment before Aubrey produced a key. He went inside and they tried to followed him but before they could he closed the door behind him without a word. They were puzzled that he left them outside without any mention and Rayla turned to Callum as she asked, “He did say, ‘This way please’ right?”

“Yeah. I thought he did.” Callum said confused.

“Maybe he’s getting the medicine inside to bring out to us.” Rayla said, and Callum agreed with her. They waited outside for a moment but Aubrey did not appear. Rayla knocked on the door and after a second they were surprised to see it open it a crack.

Aubrey poked his head out and said, “Yes? Is something the matter?” He seemed to be as confused as they were.

“Uh…no. I don’t think so.” Rayla began to say slowly, “But… could we please come inside?”

At her request Aubrey brow’s picked up in surprise, and he opened the door wide to them as he said apologetically, “Yes. Yes absolutely. Please come right in.” Rayla and Callum both looked at each other before they went in and shrugged. They were unsure what to make of the situation but assumed it was a simple slip of the mind on his part. They entered his home and were greeted by a wave of warmth that was almost overbearing compared to the night air. It wasn’t stuffy but it smelled like an old home, with furniture and walls from ages past. The inside was dimmer than outdoors since the entranceway possessed few windows to allow light in, and a few unlit glass lamps hung from the walls. Aubrey closed the door behind them gently and ushered them to a side room. When they entered it they realized the heat emanated from that part of the house. It was a side parlor that was dimly lit by a calm, orange glow from a fireplace in the wall. They could make out green seats arranged in a sitting area close to the fire with a matching rug on the floor, and cabinets lined the walls along with old paintings and other artwork. Once they entered the room Aubrey turned to them and said upset with himself,

“Please forgive my rudeness. I live out here on my own and always close the door behind me out of habit. When you didn’t follow me I just assumed you were admiring the workmanship of the house and I began putting my things away before you knocked on the door.” He rubbed his hands over his face exhausted before he said apologetically, “I should have invited you inside. My sincerest apology.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Rayla said as she removed her hood from her face. The warmth of the room made it unbearable to have it on, and she felt bad for Callum since he wouldn’t have the luxury to remove his.

When she removed it Aubrey grew a worried look on his face and approached her as he stuck a hand out towards her. His facial expression and gesture gave her anxiety and she unconsciously steeped away from him as Callum began to step between them. Aubrey asked in a concerned voiced that soothed both of them, “Rayla, did you cut yourself too?” He presented part of her hair forward that was covered in dried blood.

Her eyes went wide and she remembered all of Callum’s blood she got on herself when she injured him. She thought she must have touched her hair before she wiped her hands clean but she couldn’t remember. She pulled her hair back and said nervously as she fiddle it, “Oh no. That must be from Callum after I tried helping him. Must have gotten it all over myself without realizing.” She made a small forced laugh, as Aubrey brought his hand that touched her hair to his face. He seemed to smell his fingers and then a shocked expression came over his face which concerned both Rayla and Callum. Then after an instant Aubrey’s expression changed to disgust and he let out a violent coughing fit as he said in between coughs,

“Excuse me…I must have touched something foul earlier…just… a moment and I’ll get your medicine…” He excused himself from the parlor as he coughed and left the two of them alone. Even after his cough faded away into the house they only stood in the parlor, dazed by what happened. A second later Callum looked to Rayla, who looked off towards the direction Aubrey went, and brought his face to her hair and breathed it in. His sudden gesture snapped her out of her daze and she pushed him away as she said embarrassed,

“What are you doing?”

He stuttered for a moment as he said very warmly, “I mean…I didn’t think it smelled bad.”

Rayla blushed and walked away from him towards the couches as she said, “I know it doesn’t. It’s probably your blood and whatever else is mixed with it that he couldn’t stand.” She sat down and crossed her arms.

Callum sat down at her right and said teasingly, “Uh, probably not. More than likely I’m just used to your pungent musk by now. When was the last time you took a bath by the way?” He stuck his head towards her obnoxiously as he ended.

She pushed him away lightly and said annoyed, “More often than you, I bet.”

He was unable to keep out a small chuckle as he said, “No, I’m pretty sure I bathe more than you. By a lot actually. I think even Ezran bathes more than you, and he hates baths. He told me once that when he’s King he’d outlaw them. But frankly I’ve always enjoyed them, even the outdoor ones. That’s why I’ve been so keen on finding a nice little waterfall or stream for us to clean our stuff in every so often. You really should use the next one we find. Or change into another set of clothes every once in a while. ” She replied with affirmation  in between each of his statements but he went on until she almost yelled out,

“Alright I get it!” He reeled back at her response and they looked at one another for a moment. He was slightly taken aback by her outburst and he could see she was angry, but it only hid her embarrassment. Silence returned and she continued, “I’m a pig and stink like one too. No need to rub it in.” She brought up her knees and hugged them as she stared into the fire. Which consumed her fascination as Callum spoke,

“I didn’t say that. Just that maybe you could clean up in river every once in a while.” She rolled her eyes at him but he continued, “And I didn’t say I don’t like how you smell. And honestly…” He blushed as he continued embarrassed, “Honestly if anything I kind of like it.” He said in a rush.

“You what?” She turned to him in surprise but he could not look at her. He continued and grew more embarrassed as he went on,

“I mean…” He struggled to put the thoughts he’s had into words, “You’re…really athletic.” He turned to her quickly and smiled sheepishly as he occasionally dropped her gaze, “And I guess, whenever you fight, or work, or push yourself. – I mean – You get really sweaty.” He swallowed, “And just seeing you like that and then knowing what you smell like when you’re like that. It…it does something for me.” They shared look with each other after he finished. But he couldn’t even look at her for more than a second before he turned away embarrassed. He felt his cheeks get warmer and looked into the fire and thought it would feel cool compared to his face.

Rayla didn’t say anything for a moment. She brushed part of her hair behind her ear and turned to him as she said embarrassed, “You like when I’m sweaty and gross?”

He turned to her to speak but only opened and closed his mouth as he tried to decide and find his words. Eventually all he said was a definitive and sudden, “Yes.” A shocked look came over Rayla after he said it and he had to look away from her. He thought she wouldn’t understand what he meant, and wondered if he even understood himself. He worried that she would think he’s weird or gross, and thought that was exactly what she believed now.

As he felt this way she grabbed his left hand softly, and he turned to her after she did. She looked uncomfortable and said as she looked in his direction but towards the floor, “I don’t mind if you do. In fact I…kind of like it.” She looked him in the eye as she finished but only for a moment, and Callum saw her blush.

“You do?” He exhaled more than spoke as relief entered him.

“Yeah.” She drew out slowly and then tried to be wryly, but she was still embarrassed as she continued, “And if you want, maybe we can…get closer, next time I am.” She tried to look at him in the eye again, but she couldn’t.

“Yeah.” He said breathlessly. She turned to him after he did and he continued, “I’d like that.” They looked at each other for a moment as they both blushed and smiled like idiots. Nothing else was said between them, and then without realizing it they inched their faces towards each other. They closed their eyes when they were about to touch and kissed each other gently. It was a small but passionate kiss when they started, but it quickly grew more intimate and involved. Neither of them was the sole initiator, as was typical when they kissed, but they both found themselves wanting more of the other. Callum reached up with his good hand towards her hair. He let it fall in between his fingers and then went up to her ear and around to the back of her head and pulled her closer for the kiss. Rayla liked to be handsy whenever they kissed in private. She was conscious that they were in someone’s home but she reached up under his scarf and groped his neck and collar bone with her right hand. He let out a small shiver, as was typical whenever she did something like that, but they did not slow. They stayed like this for a second until Rayla grabbed his left hand and squeezed it tight unconsciously. The pain he felt in his hand caused him to retreat from their kiss for a second but he did not say anything. Rayla noticed this and softly asked concerned,

“What’s wrong?” She squeezed his hand tighter, as the moment made her forget his injury.

Callum winced and said, “Nothing. But maybe…” He gestured to his hand and Rayla instinctively retracked herself from it as if it was fire. She scrunched her face up in anger and lowly called herself stupid under her breath. He tried to reassure her and said her name as he began to reach for her again. He didn’t want to stop, he just wanted her to be gentle with his injury. Before he could get much further he was interrupted by Aubrey who said,

“Pardon me.” When they heard his voice they both looked towards him and saw that he stood in the middle of the room a few feet in front of them before the fire. They did not notice when entered the room, and while they both were very much occupied they felt that he almost appeared suddenly before them. He continued, “I don’t mean to interrupt but I should have something for your friend.” He put out his hand which held a small vial with a grey substance within it. They began to get up from the couch and he continued, “I understand that because of the nature of your injury you’d prefer me not to see it, but this should help with the healing and pain of it if you apply it daily.”

“That’s great.” Rayla said relieved and went up to him, “How much for it?”

“Fifteen silver pieces.” He said plainly.

When she heard the price she felt her heart dropped into her stomach. She understood from the tavern keeper that prices where more expensive there, but she thought it must have been five times more expensive than what she would have bought back home if she had a cut. She began to say desperately, “We-we got three pieces now. But I’m sure we can figure something out, can’t we?” She began to walk closer to him as she spoke and Callum followed her and said her name gently.

Aubrey dismissed their worries and said, “Yes, of course we can. I do need of a few household chores done actually. Ingredient shopping, delivery, cleaning, firewood chopping.” He turned to the fire at his last comment and admired it as he said, “The fires seem to be dying now, speaking of which.”

Rayla said, “Yeah, it must be getting late. I’ll give you what money we have and be here first thing in the morning.” She held out her hand but Aubrey pulled the vial away and said softly,

“There’s no need to leave now.”

She continued anxious, “Well, not to worry you but our camp is a good walk away, and we kind of need this. So if we could just uh, grab it and go-” She made another step towards him but Aubrey held up his hand and said,

“No. Like I said there’s no need to leave. You two are more than welcome to spend the night.” Neither Callum or Rayla said anything but they both let out a prolong, “uh” at his offer. Aubrey dismissed their refusal and gestured them to the hallway and asked them to follow him, which they hesitantly agreed to. He guided them through the halls of his home as he said, “I have a guest room with a bed for each of you. It’s where my niece and nephew stay when they visit but they haven’t been here in a while.”

Rayla said, “That’s really kind Aubrey but we couldn’t possible put you through the trouble.”

He again dismissed their worries, “Oh no, no trouble at all. I absolutely love the company.”

She tried to dissuade him as she was sure they would have trouble keeping the lie and said, “Sure and we appreciate it, but me and Callum really like our privacy.”

He said confidently, “And privacy you shall have. Right this way.”

It was a short walk from the parlor to the room he spoke of. It was on the second floor up a narrow winding stair case down the hall to a small door at one corner of the house. He opened it to a small dark room. He stepped inside and tapped at two small glass lanterns at either wall, and they lit up by fireflies that danced within. There were two small beds at each side of the wall with enough space between them for two people to stand snuggly together. The bed on the left had a cyan blue blanket, and the right was red. Both of the blankets looked faded from use, but the beds were neat and still looked very comfortable. High at the back wall was a small window that let in moon-light, and at the foot of the beds were two small pine drawers. Their smell permeated the room. After they got a look of the room Aubrey stepped out and said, “This’ll be your room for as long as you stay here. There’s a chamber pot down the hall, and I only ask you clean up after yourselves if you use it.”

They both thought the room looked cozy and would have loved to spend the night after traveling through the wilderness for the past weeks. But they were hesitant that Aubrey could’ve discovered them. Rayla said, “This is really nice, but we can’t stay.”

“Well why not?” It was a simple question, but she was hard press to give an answer to it. Callum was the one to answer and said,

“We can’t just leave our camp. What if someone takes our stuff?”

Rayla thanked him in her head for the cover, but Aubrey was undeterred and said kindly, “Your camp will be just fine if left alone for one night. We have so few travelers here, and even fewer thieves.” They had an odd but pleasant feeling as he said this, and by the way he looked at them so warmly. They felt very much at ease as he continued, “You can work off your debt while you live here. And I know you want to keep your injury private, but at least if you stay here I can get an idea of how my treatment is working. Plus, I think you two have earned one night in a warm bed.” Rayla looked at Callum under his hood for a moment but neither of them spoke as they thought over his offer. Aubrey said to the silence, “And of course you’re more than welcome to join me for breakfast tomorrow. I make a delicious Moon-berry surprise.”

At Moon-berry surprise Rayla was heartbroken. It was so long since she last had one, but she couldn’t make Callum spend the night while hiding. She was about to regrettably refuse his offer when Callum said, “I’ll probably skip on breakfast. It sounds nice but I’ll just try to rest my rear if that’s alright?”

“Of course, no problem at all.” Aubrey said and presented the vial to him, “Dab your finger into it and only apply the ointment that comes out sticking to it. Do that every day until it runs out or your cut heals. Do you understand?” Callum replied that he did and Aubrey turned to Rayla and continued, “I realize you’re short on money so I’ll let you keep what you have. You’ll just have to do a bit more work for me in return. You could even stay and work for me for extra money after you repaid your debt if you want.” He paused for a moment before he added, “I ask that you please don’t explore my home until I show you around more tomorrow, but do you need anything else?”

Rayla replied dazed, “I - no. Nothing at all.” She turned to Callum and said, “You’ll be fine staying here?”

Callum said, “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

Aubrey interjected, “Considering your friend’s injury I’d think you’ll be more than fine staying here for bit. Anything else at all before goodnight?”

           They replied that there wasn’t, so he wished them goodnight. He told them the lamps would dim themselves if left alone and went to his quarters. They entered their room and closed the door behind them, and Rayla sat down on the Cyan bed to examine it. It felt somewhat stiff but a far cry from sleeping in the wilderness. She tapped at the bed before she turned to Callum and said, “You don’t mind?”

Callum removed his hood and wiped his brow as he said, “Sleeping in a bed? No. It’ll be annoying to spend the day locked in here without my sketch book, but I’ll manage.”

He sat down at her left, and she leaned on him as she said, “I can always grab it for you if you want.”

“No, better that you just do whatever work he has in mind so we can leave before tomorrow ends.” He grabbed her hand and said sweetly, “Do you want to share a bed?”

She smiled wryly and leaned into his face before she said, “Nope. I’m good.” She got up from the bed and went over to the other with a small bounce.

“What, but why?”

“Oh, cause I’m still just a little bit mad at you.” She said teasingly and began to remove her cloak.

He let out a small moan, “Aw, but why? This’ll be nice, and we’re safe here.”

“I know we are.” She removed her armor and revealed her undershirt. Her armor still had dried blood on it from earlier. She wrapped her cloak around it and stowed it inside the drawer. She said still teasing, “But now I have to make sure he doesn’t bother you too much while I do all the heavy lifting tomorrow.” She turned to him smiled and said not angry at all, “So I’m still a little mad.”

He folded his arms and said grumpy, “I’m still mad you cut me but I thought we made up?” She let out a small wince she thought he didn’t notice. He continued, “It’s fine now. We got medicine and I’m sure it’ll heal up in no time.” He paused as he waited for a response from her but she didn’t say anything. He said, “Is there another reason you don’t want to?”

She relaxed and went to kneel on the floor in front of him. She said tired, “No, not really. I’m just not in the mood right now. Okay?” He replied that he understood. She touched his face and said, “Tomorrow when we’re back on the road we’ll cuddle all night. Deal?”

“Deal.” He said, and the two of them leaned in to kiss each other. After they parted she told him to apply the ointment before bed. He said he would and pulled off the cork of the vial; he was greeted with a harsh acidic smell. He removed his gloves and bandages to get at his cut. When he did he felt minor pain as the bandages exited his wound, and subdued a small grunt from the pain and dipped his finger into the solution. He felt a sharp discomfort in his finger after he did, but from his experiences with medicine it was expected. She helped him reapply the bandages just as the light of the lanterns faded. Then she got up and went to her bed and said goodnight to him, and he returned the sentiment. He removed his horns, cloak, scarf, and shirt and placed them on the drawer before he settled into his bed. He was happy that the blush from the mist-flowers would last until he took a bath, but he already felt itchy like Rayla said he would. Despite his itchiness and pain in his finger he relaxed into sleep and a deep peace came over him that he had not known since before he was out in the wilderness.

He dreamed lucidly but it only carried him to a small room like the one he slept in. He dreamed he was alone in bed and was shackled to it by an unbearable fatigue and could not leave it if his life depended on it. He tried to look to his side for Rayla but he could not see beyond his bed. Then a shadow of a silhouette of a person appeared before his bed. He felt its presence was close to the aura of the moon and thought it was her but, that it was distorted and shadowed. She drew closer but it she seemed a hundred miles away even so close as she was. She leaned down to him and kissed him lightly on the lips, he tried for more but she retreated as she leaned over him. He thought he saw he smile before she kissed his lips once, and then began to kiss down his face until it reached his neck just above his collar bone where she touched him earlier. The kisses started light but grew until they reached his neck, where she almost consumed him. At the climax he felt all of her weight on him and a fatigue worse than before, but immense pleasure he had never known before. He felt consumed by her and desired it, he tried to reach around her and embrace her but he was too weak to even do that. Eventually his dreamed faded into a black void, full of neither rest nor peace. Until he awoke the next day.

______________________________________________________________

Post Commentary

           (Small update at end of chapter) I shall disappear now that this chapter is posted. I’ll update either this story or ‘Date Night’ whenever I see fit, and expect these comments to be deleted upon an update or in preparation. If you have further questions contact me here or on my Tumblr. Peace for now.

[spaceskam]

you’ll soon adjust, everyone must

For day 9 of my 12 (actually 13) days of gifts, we have a lovely fic for @skrtl​! You had mentioned you liked future fics, so... here it be. I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful holiday ❤

warning: mentions of past child abuse, because we’re dealing with alex so, you know

ao3

“He has to eat.”

“Maybe we should make something different?”

Alex felt a special kind of dread as he watched their 8-year-old foster child sit at the table and stubbornly stare at the full plate. This was their first night together and Alex had already decided he was the worst father ever. They’d spent the whole dinner with him and he hadn’t eaten a thing, so Michael told him he had to eat something before bed and they would leave him alone if he preferred to eat that way. Now they were watching him from the hallway, getting more and more anxious as the clocked ticked later and later.

“We tried that,” Michael pointed out.

“Okay, but we can’t just force him to stay at the table until he eats. My dad used to do that, I used to force myself to eat until I threw up so he wouldn’t yell at me,” Alex responded. He felt Michael squeeze his hip.

“We’re not doing that,” he promised, “But he has to eat something. He hasn’t eaten all day.”

Alex watched until tears brimmed his eyes. “I’m a bad father. This was a mistake.”

“Hey, no, don’t say things like that,” Michael said sternly. Alex just shook his head and dropped them into his hands.

“I’ve had him for less than 12 hours and he’s already refusing to eat,” Alex whined quietly. Michael quickly wrapped him up in his arms. 

“We knew when we got him that he’s got sort of a reputation for a being a bit difficult. I was difficult too, you just have to be patient. He’s been through shit,” Michael assured him, kissing his head, “I’ll handle it.”

Michael pulled away and Alex watched nervously as his husband strolled towards Matthias. He sat beside him and smiled simply.

“Hey, bud,” Michael said softly, “Are you alright?” Matthias just stared at the plate in front of him. “Whatever it is, it’s okay. You can tell me and we’ll fix it, okay? Do you not like the food? Or the plate it’s on? Do you not like the table? Is it too hot or too cold in here? Is it the fork? Is it something else entirely?” 

Alex watched as Matthias slowly nodded to one of the things in the list.

“The fork?” Michael clarified. Matthias slowly nodded again, almost like he was scared to admit that. It broke Alex’s heart all over again. “Oh, well, why didn’t you just say so? That’s an easy fix!” Michael promised, giving a wide smile of validation. Alex didn’t move.

Instead, he watched as Michael brought Matthias over the silverware drawer and peered inside to see if they could find one where the handle had a different shape and the points weren’t as thick. In the end, they settled on a plastic fork that was still in the packaging from the last time Alex had gotten takeout.

“Tomorrow we can go and get a brand new set for you, you can pick ‘em out,” Michael promised him. Matthias just nodded. There wasn’t a smile, there wasn’t any eye contact, and Michael didn’t seem to be bothered by any of it. “Awesome. Don’t be afraid to tell me if something’s bothering you like that, we can always fix it. Or, if you don’t wanna talk, we can figure out a different way. I want us to be on the same page.”

Matthias nodded and sat down and ate. His bites were small and Michael didn’t watch him, just sat and kept him company. Alex tried to regain control of his panic as he shoved his thumb between his teeth and watched them. The two of them looked right. Matthias eating all too quietly for a child and Michael pretending to ignore him while doodling on a notebook that was always kept on the table. They fit.

Alex didn’t see where he was meant to fit with them.

-

“Alex, c’mon.”

Michael watched as Alex balled himself up in the corner of the bed, his face buried in his pillow. It didn’t take a genius to solve that he was upset. He sighed and kept his hands to himself, trying to figure out how to fix this. The problem was that he couldn’t do anything. The only way to fix it was time. He just hated the idea of watching Alex suffer for that long.

“Alex, we just have to be patient,” he tried.

“We? You already got his trust,” Alex said. Michael knew he didn’t mean to sound jealous and so he refused to acknowledge that he did.

“No, not really. I got him a fork, that’s it. It’s going to take him months before he gets comfortable with us. It’s gonna be rough. Fuck, it’s gonna be rough after he gets comfortable with us. That’s apart of it,” Michael tried. Alex didn’t move.

“I don’t think I was made for this. I think this was a bad idea,” Alex said again. Michael licked his lips and swallowed, ignoring how dry his mouth was. That was the fifth time Alex had said that in one day and it was putting a horrible feeling in Michael that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Alex, I love you, but you need to stop saying that immediately. If he hears you say anything like that, he will never, ever get comfortable with us. He will never see us as his family. He will always feel unwanted. All it takes is one sentence,” Michael warned. Alex balled up even more. 

“I don’t know how to be a dad.”

“Neither do I.”

“You’re already good at it.”

Michael scoffed and propped himself up on his arm, shaking his head. “No, I’m not. I have no idea how to be a father. That’s why we’re going to go to parenting classes. Right now, I’m just treating him how I wish I had been treated when I was his age. Just do that.”

Finally, Alex turned to face him. His eyes were troubled and his face scrunched up due to how upset he was. Michael reached out for him.

“I don’t know how to do that, Michael,” he said. Michael sighed and tugged him close. “I’m so scared I’m going to be my father.”

“I promise you, that will never happen,” Michael insisted. Alex still shook his head. “All you have to do right now is treat him like he’s a person. That’s it. Just be patient and treat him like he’s a person. You just have to try. We’ll figure out the rest together.”

“You promise?”

“Cross my heart.”

-

Michael: Can you pretty please pick up Matty from school and take him fork shopping?

Michael: I got held up at work and I can’t make it

Michael: tell him I’m super sorry and that this isn’t common

Michael: and I’m super sorry to you too baby

Alex reread the texts over and over as he sat in the carpool line. It was horribly long and he was terrified to be alone with Matthias. What if he freaked him out? What if he was pushy? What if he made him hate him? It was just too easy for all of those things to happen. Still, he was going to try. That’s all he needed to do. Try.

“Hey, bud,” Alex said as Matthias climbed into the backseat. Then he cringed at how badly the term sounded in his voice. It sounded so good in Michael’s, but he should’ve known that wasn’t exactly interchangeable. “How was school?”

“‘S okay,” Matthias answered in his small voice. Alex was shocked, but he refused to show it. He was speaking. That was good.

“Michael said he’s sorry that he couldn’t come with me, work got held up, but he’ll be here tomorrow,” Alex promised. Matthias nodded and buckled himself up. “You ready to go to the store?” Matthias looked up at him in the rearview mirror which was also new. “Unless you don’t want to. We can go home and debrief from all the people-ing you did today first.”

“We can go now,” Matthias said, his voice still very small and controlled. Alex gave a small smile and nodded.

He could do this.

They drove to the store in complete silence which seemed to be fine by both of them. Alex thought about parking in a handicap space, but decided against it because he figured someone might need it more than him. He always felt guilty when he parked there on good leg days. Besides, if it was a bad leg day, he would skip going to the store altogether. But it was fine because Matthias didn’t question him.

“Stay on this side of me,” Alex said, gesturing towards the side of him that was close to the parked cars rather than the lanes with cars driving and not paying enough attention for his liking. Matthias listened without argument. It made Alex feel good. 

They walked in silence through the large store and towards the silverware section. Matthias stayed right beside him the entire time, never once straying. It felt like a tiny victory. And, when they stared at the wall of different types of silverware, they both seemed to be equally as overwhelmed.

“Wow,” Alex said. Matthias nodded. Instead of letting it intimate him, Alex shook it off and thought of what his father would do and then did the opposite. “So, what are we looking for? Let’s see.”

The two of them sat in the silverware aisle for nearly thirty minutes. Alex would hold a fork and then hand it to Matthias to inspect it for himself. If they were in a box, Alex would not-so-subtly open it to check it out too. They thoroughly inspected every single fork in the aisle until they finally found the perfect one.

“That’s it? You’re sure? Don’t need to double-check?” Alex clarified. Matthias stared at the fork and nodded. Alex grabbed six more.

When they got up to the register, the cashier seemed to find Matthias the most adorable thing in the world. Which was entirely fair. He had soft features and big brown eyes that made him seem younger than he was‒which was funny since he was already a baby in Alex’s eyes. His curly hair was cropped short and his dark skin made Alex look pale in comparison. He was adorable.

And he was only made more adorable when he pressed into Alex’s good leg when the cashier overwhelmed him with attention, keeping his eyes on the floor.

“He’s shy,” Alex said with a smile because that sounded like a good way to get her to stop.

She took it as a valid response and they made their way out of the store as quickly as possible. Alex helped him into the backseat once he caught the slightly distressed look on his face. 

“Hey,” Alex said. Matthias didn’t look at him, but he knew that didn’t mean he wasn’t listening. “You don’t have to feel bad for not talking to someone. Even me or Michael. You don’t owe anyone anything.”

Matthias didn’t do anything in response, but Alex forced himself not to take that as a negative. In fact, he felt the day went better than he could’ve ever hoped for and was going to run with that feeling. Maybe he was going to be okay. 

They got home shortly after Michael did if the grease stains still on him were anything to go by. Matthias didn’t greet him with anything other than a nod in response to his “hey” before heading straight to the room they had set up for him. Neither of them followed.

“How’d it go today?” Michael asked. Alex took a deep breath and tried to act casual.

“It was fine,” Alex said. Michael smiled and raised an eyebrow which broke Alex. He all but jumped onto him. “He talked to me! And he held onto me when he felt uncomfortable! And I didn’t make a big deal out of either of them!” 

A wild grin broke out onto Michael’s face and he hugged Alex tight. “That’s amazing!”

“I know! I feel like I did something right,” Alex admitted, squeezing Michael because he needed to squeeze someone. He couldn’t stop smiling. He wasn’t horrible. He wasn’t horrible. He wasn’t horrible. “God, he spoke to me.”

“What’d he say?” Michael asked.

“He told me school was okay!” Alex said and then laughed because it sounded stupid in hindsight. And then he realized it wasn’t stupid. There was nothing stupid about it. He’d spoken to him.

“I’m so glad it went well,” Michael said and then finally went in for a kiss. Alex welcomed it enthusiastically. 

“Okay, I’m gonna go make dinner and then tonight we’re gonna celebrate the fact that I’m not a shitty dad,” Alex told him. Michael rolled his eyes and nodded, stealing one more kiss before letting him go to the kitchen.

Things were going to be okay.

-

“Hey, bud.”

Michael stood in the doorway of Matthias’ room. He was watching TV, but Michael caught the way he slightly tilted his ear towards the door. He was listening.

“I heard you had a good afternoon with Alex,” Michael said, “It means a lot to him that you two got to hang out today. We’re both really glad that you’re here.”

It was quiet for a moment and Michael walked away to let him have some alone time. He walked away and almost missed it. Almost.

“Me too.”

This was going to be okay.

[ycllowshocs]

SHIP. ELISE AND REEVES.

uncamaleon said:

The whole shebang for the otp meme for Reeves 😘

[ MUN. This is my not surprised face :P ]

ALSO. Random note about Elise I realized I need to say after completing this and realizing she seems extremely shy and like she is a homebody which is weird for someone working in house sales; she’s not. Elise is great at her job. She can smooze and compliment people into buying a house and make that sale with the best of them. Be glad she isn’t in a competitive field. She’d hand you your ass. But in her personal life she is a bit more quiet and reserved. She can get really shy in a relationship because it is so deeply personal and it is hard for her to open up. ( She is very scared about getting hurt. ) Random people are easy for her. She can be polite to that poor lost guy trying to find the closest supermarket or the old lady that doesn’t know where something is in the book store. If it is people connected to an important relationship though she can get a bit shy. Like meeting someone’s family or best friends. Her high school reunion. It takes you back there. And with a developing relationship it takes her a bit to relax fully.

OTP Ask Meme

1. Who wakes up first?

Elise. She has a lot of early morning appointments for work. Also she is currently the only one of them that has an actual 9-5 style job. The only times Reeves beats her might be on weekends or if he never did fully get to sleep.

2. Who wants to stay in bed just a little longer?

Both. But Reeves is normally the one found trying [ and able ] to talk Elise into it. Though she is a pretty good persuader too ;)

3. Who takes longer getting ready?

They are both pretty equal. Reeves has his rock god musician look to uphold and Elise has her fashionable looks. It would probably end up being Elise. Because women’s clothing are not made to go on easily. And women are expected to do so much more to look presentable.

4. When they can’t sleep, what do they do?

Reeves goes into another room and works on music normally. ( Sometimes he might just watch Elise sleep for a bit. ) 

Elise slips out of the bedroom to watch tv quietly maybe on her ipad or on the tv so she doesn’t risk waking him up. Occasionally she’ll read that book she’s been trying to get through. ( With work and life she doesn’t get a lot of down time to actually be able to dedicate attention to a good book fully. She doesn’t read a lot at night because she doesn’t want to fall asleep and miss something important. )

If we’re talking the both of them, they normally will just lay there and talk quietly until one of them drifts off, fingers brushing patterns on each other’s skin and carding through each other’s hair.

5. Who falls asleep while watching a movie?

It kind of depends. They alternate depending on the day of the week. Either way whoever stays up longer covers the other with a blanket and cuddles up to join them or if the movie is over they’ll gently wake the other to help them walk ( or carry ) them into the bedroom. There are a lot of couch cuddles. These two are bad at sleep.

6. Who falls asleep last, watching the other with a small affectionate smile?

Reeves likes to claim he does more but Elise often goes in and out of sleep so she’ll wake back up and then spend the next little while just watching him and thinking how lucky she is that he wanted her.  They both do it though. The romantic saps.

7. Who comes up with the cheesy pick-up lines?

Reeves. He likes to use them to make Elise laugh.

8. Who gets extremely competitive playing Mario Kart?

Reeves. Elise doesn’t really play. She’s bad at controller games. She didn’t have a gaming system other than a Gameboy growing up.

9. Who accidentally pushes a door instead of pulling?

Reeves. He’s often on the phone with his agent or busily replying to an email or text and he gets distracted. Elise laughs at him when he does it. ( Before of course making sure he’s alright and kissing his forehead or nose where he smacked it. )

10. Who sets the other’s ringtone to something loud and obnoxious behind their back

Elise likes to set his ringtone to one of his own songs for amusement.

11. Who rearranges the bookshelf/DVD shelf in alphabetical order?

Elise. It’s one of her coping mechanism. If she’s anxious she’ll go on a cleaning spree and reorganize the apartment/house.

12. Who does the hands-over-the-eyes “Guess Who” thing?

Reeves. Because he is adorable.

13. Who points out a dog when they see one?

Both. They love animals. Don’t get them started on the animals they got to play with when on vacation in Australia....

14. Who’s prone to road rage?

Elise. She’s good about it but it is definitely there. She doesn’t scream but there are some very colorful words dripping out of her mouth under her breath. Reeves doesn’t drive all that much and is pretty relaxed anyways.

15. Who’s prone to wearing socks indoor (or to sleep)?

Elise does love a good set of comfy fluffy socks. Especially on rainy days. If it is cold she’ll wear them instead of slippers but normally she’ll take them off to sleep. A lot of times at night Elise runs hot so if she leaves them on she’ll get a little too toasty. 

16. Who reminds the other to put on sunscreen before going to the beach (or pool)?

Elise. She doesn’t forget to put it on because she has been pretty pale her whole life and burns very easily. There is not going to be a repeat of that summer after 6th grade...

17. Who carries all the important documents while traveling?

Reeves. He has actual pockets unlike most of female clothing. :/ They are both good at staying organized though. Two heads are always checking off docs when they travel.

18. Who gets the window seat?

Elise. She doesn’t get to travel quite as much as he does so it is an adventure. Also, this way Elise doesn’t have to deal with a stranger next to her. Reeves is more of a people person in all situations.

19. Who puts their cold hands/feet on the other?

Reeves. Elise if she does it is completely by accident. Reeves loves to get a squeaked reaction out of Elise and laughs. Though she does like his cold hands. Feet though. Not her favorite.

20. What do they argue about the most?

Though Reeves never really shows it, he is human and does get tired and frustrated at times. It bothers him that Elise hides in herself so much. That she doesn’t really show her actual self at all. I mean look at her apartment. It looks more like a show home when he starts seeing her than like she lives there.

Sometimes it feels like she doesn’t even really know herself. There are times when she just hides from him and he is just so frustrated that she won’t just be herself. And when they start dating it is something that she becomes aware of. She’s just so used to being disconnected to a certain extent. And it drives him crazy. He wants to know this woman he has been thinking about for a decade. This woman that he spent years going to school with and fell in love with her little quirks. He got to see a little bit of her at the reunion but at times it feels like he hasn’t learned much more than that night. He wants to know her likes and dislikes. He wants to know what makes her laugh and what makes her cry. And a lot of times she’ll just be neutral about something and it isn’t really even on a conscious level most of the time.

So it is frustrating. But.

They have made a rule never to go to bed angry. And always kiss each other goodnight.

And she really is working on it. Slowly but surly she is getting to know herself better along with Reeves. She has also been bad about doing things for herself before they were together. Most of the time she just lived for work and didn’t do much for herself.

21. Who’s clumsier?

Reeves. Thankfully never with his guitar.

22. Who texts more often?

Reeves. He sends little messages at random to let Elise know he is thinking of her; especially when he is out of town. She does too sometimes but she’s often on her actual phone for work or else has her phone on silent if she is with clients.

23. Who is better with kids?

More often Reeves since he is around his friends kids a little more now that he comes back to visit to see Elise. Kids tend to like both of them though. Elise is just fine holding a baby while people are busy. Her pretty calm energy ( when not surrounded by strangers or forced into the center of attention ) radiates with them. She’s good with calming crying babies. Reeves is the good one at keeping them entertained. They do well as a team.

She has been known to entertain a baby while parents go to explore a room more during a house showing.

24. Who’s the better cook?

Reeves. His food has more flavor. Elise likes flavor and hates the boring recipes from her childhood. There are not many recipes saved from her side of the family. They both like to pick up interesting spices they find at random to experiment with. They both like spicy food.

25. Who mistakes salt for sugar?

Reeves early in the morning for his coffee. He isn’t awake, okay? Stop laughing at him.

26. Who puts the fork in the microwave?

Thankfully no one has forgotten metal in the microwave but there has been a plastic fork at 4am before. Neither will admit who it was.

27. Who cooks at 2 in the morning?

Reeves. He likes to be productive. Though Elise has been known to bake brownies on a whim.

28. Who lets the microwave play the loud beeping sound at 1 a.m.?

Elise. Completely by accident. She’ll be in her own little world in the kitchen getting lost in her thoughts. Most of the time she tries to catch it because she doesn’t want her insomnia to bother Reeves but sometimes subconsciously she’ll let it ring out.

29. Who licks the spoon when they’re baking brownies?

They both do. Rebellious kids at heart. Salmonella who? Never met ‘em.  It’s chocolate. Of course they sample.

30. Who likes doing the dishes?

If they are both home and they’ve had dinner sometimes they’ll do them together. Reeves will do them if she has some extra work to catch up on. Because he is a sweetheart and knows how much a small gesture means to her. And cleaning isn’t just ‘for women folk’.

31. Who has bigger cravings? What are they?

Reeves gets cravings when on the road. Normally it’s for the little greasy hole in the wall place they like to get breakfast after a drunken night.

Elise likes dark chocolate Reeses.

32. Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

Reeves. Again, small gestures. He knows her love language.

33. How do they eat ice cream? What’s their favorite flavors?

Well.. they know their mothers would frown at them and tell them to get a bowl, but a lot of times they buy little personal ice screams like Ben & Jerry’s or something and will sit on the couch with their own little pint in hand. ( There are a lot of dueling spoons as they normally like to also steal from each other. ) IF they do buy a normal sized container of ice cream they’ll use a bowl because those containers sweat a lot and then start sagging. 

Elise really likes that new line of Haagan Dazs spirits collection lately. She really likes the Irish Cream and the Bourbon sometimes makes her feel really grown up in a silly way. But normally she just gets something with a lot of chocolate. Possibly with brownie or nuts.

Reeves is good with simple classics like Rocky Road ( which if it doesn’t have coconut in the formula, because some heathens do, Elise will definitely try and steal ), peanut butter cup, and cookie dough.

34. Do they go on dates? What are they like?

They do go on a lot of simple ones like out to a bar or concert. It’s kind of his scene and she is fine with the relaxed atmosphere. Even just going out for some pizza and a movie is a good time for them. There is always something going on nearby. Sometimes it’s just an adventure down to one of the boardwalks for a few hours. ( yes, they, and by they I mean Elise’s park passes with a guest. She’s bought them for years. Before they were together she would sometimes like to just wander around and have a nice day to herself. Personal days are important. Her ex with the previous marriages wasn’t really a entertainment park person... ) 

35. What do they smell when they smell amortentia?

What equates out to Reeves aftershave, cologne, with a small tinge of his sweet sweat after a gig.

36. Which one is the secret snuggler?

If we are talking secret, I guess Elise??? Because everyone knows within 2 seconds of meeting Reeves he is a snuggler.

37. Which one offers their jacket to the other when they complain they feel cold?

Reeves. Elise is more likely to suffer in silence because she knew she should have brought a better coat even if the forecast said it would be fine. But Reeves can tell and will insist.

38. Who reaches for the other one’s hand while driving?

Reeves. He’s all about that touch. Elise is getting better at just doing it.

39. Who leaves little notes in the other one’s lunch? (Bonus: What does it say?)

Well.. Elise is the only one that might pack a lunch so I guess Reeves? if he is being a house husband for the week?? It isn’t really a thing that happens often. It’s more little text messages here and there. Cute notes are left in on bathroom mirror or on the night stands if the other has to leave while the other is sleeping. But packed lunches aren’t super a thing generally

40. Who is the most affectionate?

Reeves. Hands down. But that doesn’t mean Elise isn’t in her own way. And she is learning to be more physical in daily life.

41. Who is the big spoon/little spoon?

Normally Elise is the little spoon. But if Reeves has been gone a long time or is having a bad day/upset about something ( generally not Elise related; family, friends, career related ) she’ll turn over and curl up behind him with her arms wrapped around him and her head buried into his back. Kisses planted gently on his spine. She knows when he needs some extra comfort.

42. What is their favorite feature of their partner?

 Reeves on Elise: lips ( she does this thing where she bites her lip and it kills him ) and eyes ( he is able to understand a lot from her eyes when she just can’t get the words out ) Also her smile can make him melt.

Elise on Reeves: his confidence and sense of humor ( he is easy to her to talk to and can get her to relax and want to talk. I guess she should also add in his musical compositions with the reunion being her case and point. ) Physically it is his ass and his occasional flirtation with scruff. And of course his eyes/smile. She can also read a lot from him.

43. What is the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

Well first off, Elise finally breaks it off with her ‘serious’ but really not that serious MANFRIEND. She knows deep down that he was mostly just a safety net/security blanket. She did care for him but nothing was ever going to come of it and she was too scared to even think about wanting more.

Reeves definitely starts visiting his hometown ( and friends ) more often as they start to work on a relationship finally.

44. What are their nicknames for each other?

Elise mostly just calls him Reeves. She has been known to call out a ‘babe’ ‘handsome’ ‘good looking’ just nonchalantly in greeting. Babe is probably her most popular one for him. Every once in a while she might let drop an endearment in Spanish ( especially if they have been with his family or listening to a lot of Spanish music [ she’s a pretty big Juanes fan ] which they do a lot when having Mexican. )

Reeves on the other hand is all about the nicknames. Babe/baby, sweetie, El, beautiful/bonita, mi amor, mi corozon. He uses a lot. Elise finds them really sweet and they make her smile. ( And thank GOD he stays away from things like ‘honey bunny’ or ‘pookie’ or anything related to food. Definitely not their style. )

There are times they call each other by their last names as a call back to high school.

45. Who worries the most? Over what?

Elise. Over everything. She has pretty bad anxiety. Though Reeves definitely worries over Elise possibly trying to run away in the beginning. ( Though he knows it isn’t because she doesn’t feel for him. She’s just scared and not sure how to handle a fully healthy relationship. ) He knows that she needs reassurances and is worried that with his traveling she might be left with her thoughts too long and talk her out of this thing they have been circling for over a decade.

46. Who initiates kisses?

Reeves normally. Elise does start doing it more but that is more often in the comfort of their own space than in public. 

47. Who says I love you first? How did it happen?

Reeves, obviously. He had it all planned out. It was going to be all romantic and a Big Moment(tm). But he’s talking to her and watching as she does dishes and he just blurts it out without a thought. The look on his face after when he realizes what he’d done is priceless and draws an ‘awww’ from her as she takes in his upset face at having spoiled his plans. She just pulls him over and wraps her arms around the back of his neck, trying not to get soap suds on him and looking up at him affectionately, sprinkling little kisses on his lips as she tries to comfort him. But just. The look.  It's like comforting an upset baby. They were trying to walk on their own and got two steps before doing something silly and falling over and she just walks over and draws him to her as he sulks saying 'aww' sweetly and giving a sweet kiss as her heart overflows with affection at his adorably upset face.

48. Who tells their friends/family about their relationship first?

Reeves. Elise is a pretty private person and doesn’t have too many close friends or talk about things like feelings with her parents really. Reeves does wait until he and Elise have had time to kind of talk at least a little bit about their situation before he spills it to their old high school classmates like Jake or Scott or even Sam.

49. What do they do when they’re away from each other?

Facetime. Lots of texting and phone calls. A lot of times Reeves will call after a gig to check and see if she has actually gone to sleep or she’ll call him if she is up late and knows he probably just got off stage. 

They also will watch Netflix together if they’ve been marathoning something.

50. Who gets overwhelmed by small acts of kindness?

Elise. Even if it is just something as simple as Reeves surprising her with her favorite take out at work because he knows she probably skipped lunch or setting up a relaxing bath for her when she gets home from a long day or just letting her have some space to herself sometimes

[gogogogolev]

Yana’s interview with Stephen from 2020 Junior Worlds.

JWC: An interview with Stephen Gogolev

I returned from the World Junior Championships yesterday. The main events were nerve wracking! For Stephen Gogolev it was especially worrying - I've liked him for a long time but this season did not work out. Injuries, poor results, and in the end, even JWC did not go according to the plan and ended with a disrupted FS. Seeing Stephen crying in the kiss and cry and the mixed zone was painful. This is my second JWC, and the first one was the same. In one year Stephen (aka Stepa*) grew up, but he is still a child, which is why my heart was breaking.

Heart break. My photo.

The good news - Stephen moved on quickly. In the mixed zone journalists distracted him with other questions, and by the end he was smiling with wet eyes, and the next day when we met for an interview he was no longer sad and laughed shyly.

I noticed that many people have no idea where Stephen was born, where he lived, or what language he speaks. Russians are surprised that he speaks Russian, Americans are impressed he speaks English "with no accent at all!". So a quick summary:

Stephen Gogolev was born 22.12.2004 (the same day as me, but a few years later :)) in Toronto, Canada. He's 15 years old. He lived in Yekaterinburg for a while, where he also competed. When he returned to Canada he trained at the Toronto Cricket Club, where he made a breakthrough in learning advanced elements: 3A and 4S at 11 years old. For some time he showed stunning results, jumping 4Lz, 4T, and 4S3T, and winning medals at major tournaments. Then, sometime around last season, something went wrong. Instability, falls, and injuries.

This off-season Stephen moved to Rafael Arutunian, coach of Nathan Chen, with whom he has been training in Calfornia as of the 2019-2020 season.

He speaks Russian with his parents. In Russian he has a light and cute accent. Occasionally he may not understand some convoluted ideas in Russian, or use an English word to more easily express himself. And so, of course, English is Stephen's native language.

At training. My photo.

Let's move on to the interview!

In the free skate something happened with the boot, after which the program unravelled. If, after the SP, Rafael Vladimirovich seemed frustrated by Stepa's mistake (a pop on the Axel), now he looked anxious. He anxiously looked at Stephen's feet as soon as he skated to the boards:

My photo

Yes, and Stephen himself, immediately after mistakes on the jumps in the free skate, looked down uncomprehendingly.

When he - with tears in his eyes - went out to the mixed zone, Arutunian approached him and said: "Give it to me later, ok?" Then I realized it was about the skates. Spectators described how Rafael went to the Edea booth in the rink lobby and spoke with them about something.

***

-What happened to the boot?

-The tongue of the boot broke. When I put the toe pick in for the Lutz, I felt it break. Bent here [points to the fold of the tongue], like when skates break down over time...

After the FS

-Will you change your [boot] company?

-We will solve the problem with the tongue with Edea and see. Maybe it's just some kind of problem with the pair they gave me.

-How did you decide it was time to change your coach?

-I wanted to make a change, because I thought I had to try something new. The training itself, how I train, the whole plan. Not that they didn't work for me**...But I wanted to.

The differences between Toronto and California...Probably in how to work, in the schedule, what to do at each training session, in general, in almost all aspects.

-What language do you speak?

-Rafael Vladimirovich and I speak Russian.

-You've decided to take your time to do all the quads?

-When I was in Toronto I landed all kinds of quads but I didn't train them all. How we work [now with Arutunian]: if I'm ready and can jump it 100%, we jump it. If we feel that we are a little unsure, we will not do it.

-You've grown a lot, you don't know how much?

-In a year or so I probably grew 12 centimetres. Now I'm 168-169 cm.

<There's a bit about comparing heights here.>

-Do you feel that growth problems affect you?

-There are no such strong changes, but a couple of small changes are felt, sometimes... It just feels different than it used to feel, it's hard to explain.

-What style of programs do you like best?

-For as long as I have been skating I like a lot of styles. Modern? ...Modern.*** [Speaks with emphasis in English] I liked my short program this year [sailor's dance "Yablochko"] and my free program [a medley of songs by contemporary composer Peter Gabriel] as well.

-In the short program you worked with Nadezhda Kanaeva: Have you ever skated like this before, or was it tough?

-This was a new style of skating that I hadn't tried yet. Such dancing.

-It seems hard to keep pace with all these steps?

-Yes, sometimes it happens, in the beginning I was a bit behind and in a hurry.

-It seems to me that your spins have become more centred...

-Well, I started working on spins and all the components of figure skating.

-Do you like spins?

-I don't really like them, but I'm trying to push myself. :) [Laughs] My favourite position - probably, sit spin, [and] no least favourite. I remember when I was learning that I was not very good with the scratch spin.

-Favourite jump?

-Probably Axel. Like it best [Laughs, remembering that it was on the Axel he made a mistake] My mistake was in the short, because I didn't seem to be doing very well with Lutz when I got here, and I focused very much on the Lutz, and it turned out that I lost the jump.

In the SP, after the Axel, I didn't even understand what happened. [Laughs] And I had one of the most consistent*** [confident] jumps, and I did not understand what happened at all, and tried to skate the program further.

[In the FS] When I started to go for the Axel after the Lutz I began to slip off the outside edge, probably because the boot relaxed; it became much softer. And I tried to go very cautiously into the Axel, and...that's how it happened.

-In California, what do you like to do after skating? The beach is nearby, the sun is shining every day...

-I'm interested in surfing and mountain biking. There are mountains there, not like those in Europe, but they exist. And usually I train in the morning 3-3.5 hours on ice, an hour of physical training, then I go home and do homework.

I don't go to school because the schedule doesn't match up with my training. I am doing an American online school, but the systems (Canadian and American) are quite similar. I'm in grade 10 now; there are 12 of them.

-Do you intend to skate until the Olympics?

-Which Olympics? [Laughs]

-So, two Olympics at least, this is aready encouraging.

-We'll see how it goes. I want to go to university later. I'm very good at math. My favourite subject is probably mathematics. It happens sometimes that if I miss something in a program, I sometimes have to look at how many repetitions there will be, and count them. It's good.

***

Stephen in an interview

After the interview came a long and exciting day, the gold of the women's singles was awarded - I will write about this later. And Stephen must have gone for a stroll around Tallinn because he was now totally free.

A very nice guy, a little shy with older people, but incredibly pleasant. And his smile - a miracle :) and the greenest eyes in the whole competition!

I told him, 'See you next season' (possibly. Since Stephen said he hasn't decided yet whether he's going to seniors). And if we don't meet next season, then at the Olympics. It will not be easy to get there, but I really hope Stepa will be able to make it by then, and everything will be fine for him. :)

* Stepa is actually pronounced Styopa. ** I'm not sure about this line. He is using a double negative here. *** Said in English.

So this interview confirms one thing I postulated: that the 3Lz was the reason Stephen popped his 3A in the SP.

I am curious to know if Stephen ever wrote the Gauss contest when he was younger?

We'll have to see where Stephen goes to university.

The next few years are going to be busy times for him. We wish him luck in his skating and his studies.

[lilsungie]

lil’ love potion

a/n: wow i fin a ll y wrote something i had a strong idea for, what a s h o c k e r, anyway i had a fun time writing this since wow i wuv hyuck n everything he does is just ama zin g. its dedicated to my lil sunflower @neo-cult-ure !! hope you enjoy it :( (kinda shakey because of caffeine and lack of sleep so pl s dont pay attention to spelling mis ta kes ) 

genre: fluff

word count: 1.7k

summary: donghyuck, your crush, dance teacher, and friend, has you come over after a late night of practice.

The boy sighed as he walked around the small studio, waiting for you to come through the doors at any minute. He was stressed obviously, not knowing how to make you learn the dance faster, not because you had to or anything was rushing the two of you, it's just that he noticed you getting frustrated whenever you would mess up or fall a bit on the tempo. He knew how it could be for a person that had just started learning their favorite idols' dances, it reminded him a bit too much of how he used to be when he'd started. Though, he did get a bit more help from his relatives, yknow, being a wizard and all he had books that had been handed down to him that he refused to use unless it was extremely needed. He played the song, wanting to start with something easy so a girl group's song would've been easier on your body, structure and all.

"FANCY" had started blaring through the speakers, the boy running to the middle of the room to get in position and revise what he had taught himself that morning, seeing if he would mess up because that would be catastrophic in his mind, messing up while teaching you something you thought he was good at. His masculine body moved through as gracefully as possible, though he nailed the whole dance, he still found where he messed up, going over and over the same part till he got it completely right, for you. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," he kept on exclaiming, running a hand through his hair before he slumped down on the ground, running the small drops of sweat that had started to form on his forehead and cheeks. You'd been watching him dance the part over and over, impressed, though confused on why he was being so hard on himself when even you didn't see the mistake. When he'd fallen over you quickly ran over thinking he passed out or something from exhaustion, which wasn't such a rare occurrence and was making you worry about the boy even more.

"Donghyuck," you said, pressing your cold hands to his wet and pink cheeks, "Are you okay?" He sighed out and you wondered what had been stressing him so badly, whether it was the dance or schoolwork. Truth be told, it had been you and your cute face that made him so flustered and forced him to close his eyes and roll on his tummy from how fast his heart was beating. "Geez, could you stop stalking me," he scoffed and managed to pull himself up before leaning over to hug you, the soft smell of not only your shower gel but also your coffee made everything he was saying about himself go away. It was obvious to everyone how much he liked you, he practically adored you and the thought of you being with him, though there were times where he thought you wouldn't even dare to do with someone like him. "Are you ready? Do I have to tie your shoelaces again just like the last few billion practices?" he teased you because he knew you were clumsy and couldn't bother to tie them amid practice.

You guys played around for a bit before starting to warm up, the new odd exercises making your hips sore out of nowhere. He knew you wouldn't be flexible and would need to warm up lots, he cared for you and a sprained muscle was the thing he wouldn't want to happen to you. Once he'd started teaching you, you noticed how he positioned your arms and used a different count-system to make you get accustomed to the tempo, catching the beat, everything you didn't bother about focusing because his voice counting to the melody was enough for you to remember it. You were happy with how quick he'd helped you learn since he knew you were impatient with yourself just like he was with himself. You danced along with him and managed to finish the intro and the first part that lead to the chorus, feeling happy and satisfied with yourself, for the most part, you leaned over to Donghyuck, wrapping your arms around him and whining, "Hyuck, I'm tired, can we go now? Let's finish it tomorrow!" you said and heard him sigh, though he knew it was too late to just let you go home by yourself, so you'd stay over at his place for a bit.

It was a quiet walk to his place, the boy seemed fairly off about something but he didn't dare say anything whenever you asked if he was okay or not. Even if he did seem okay he had a lot on his mind, wondering how the fuck he was going to hide the books from his parents before you even managed to see them. His apartment was a mess, potion recipes all over the place, hopefully, however, you wouldn't notice them once you walked inside. All of the recipes were some form of 'love' potion and he wasn't just going to reveal his never-ending crush on you, nor was he going to try out one on you and not reverse it immediately, similar recipes to reversal spells all over his living room floor. He was thoughtful, he knew he had flaws more than a normal person would, which is why he'd thought you wouldn't be interested in him, he was too weird for you to like him like that.

"Donghyuck!" he snapped out of his worried thoughts and looked up at you with a slightly tilted head, "Unlock the door," you said blankly and the boy mentally kicked himself for not noticing that the two of you had been standing for quite a while in the cold. He apologized before quickly unlocking the door and running in first to pick up all of the papers everywhere but before he could do anything your figure rushed inside right behind him. "What are these?" you asked, picking up one of the pieces of paper from his hands, the boy swallowing a bit too hard at the thought of what you'd think. "Ah! This would be fun to make!" You pointed the paper to Donghyuck, "You have the ingredients, right?" he nodded, head slumping down as he set all of the papers down and decided to take your coat and bag.

"You wanna," he stopped in his tracks to his room a bit, "You want some of my clothes? To like, get comfy and all?" he asked you and of course you couldn't pass up the option to wear something of his, he always smelled so nice and his clothing was always loose around you. You followed him and he gave you a pair of pajamas before leaving the room to change in the bathroom and let you have your peace. Once the two of you met back in the living room, the actual potion-making had started, gathering all the ingredients first was the most important thing before you moved to the kitchen. It did state that the potion had to be put in a warm glass bottle before drunk, and so, the boy provided everything that you needed, even if some of the ingredients sounded a bit odd. "Did you put a pan outside to collect rainwater for this?" He hummed in response, watching you shrug and pour in the water, his lower lip between his teeth. He knew it would work since he was in presence, he was scared that he might not be able to reverse it after a while, however.

After about an hour and a half, the whole house smelled like apple pie, Donghyuck jumping up to take it off of the stove, telling you that he'll bring it over in a bit. He wasn't going to taste it since you had wanted it he was going to leave it for you. He watched you drink it up bit by bit, his leg moving up and down, squeezing his fingers, biting his lip, he was anxious. "How is it?" he asked, "Do you feel anything?" You raised your brow at him, shaking your head, "What am I supposed to feel?"

"Love."

"This potion didn't make my love for you even stronger, it sucks," you blurted out, raising the little bottle to take in the little sip that was left, the last sentence you'd said out of the blue making him confused. He felt a bit relieved, maybe it was the potion working."It doesn't even taste like apple pie," you pouted before looking at him and his expression. He was blushing. "Hyuckie, what's wrong? Did I say something bad?" you asked him over and over and he still couldn't believe what he'd heard you say. He moved without thinking and sat next to you, bringing his knees to his chest and moving one hand to softly trace over your fingers.

He was calm and happy for once, "You really like me?" he mumbled out and glanced at you, his grey bangs covering most of his eyes so you weren't able to see how teary-eyed he'd become. You softly grabbed his hand, earning a small gasp of relief from the boy, Hyuck, of course, I like you, I think I've been pretty obvious about that by now," you sand softly and turned toward him, your other hand grabbing to caress his cheek, "You're literally the cutest person ever, how could i not?" You felt your hand encounter something wet, probably a tear that he shed because he'd never really been complimented on his cuteness. "I really like you too," he said, "Like, more than a lot, it's indescribable even," he quickly leaned over to press a peck on your cheek, your skin encountering his burning and pink cheeks. He was shy, embarrassed even and too scared to initiate anything in case you were uncomfortable. Though you weren't disappointed when you'd kissed him, he didn't move for a second, not realizing what was happening at the moment, it was a shock to him. Eventually, he kissed back and pulled you closer, his hands gently resting on your waist as he pulled you even closer, letting out a soft whine when he'd pulled back because of lack of air. "Wanna make another potion tomorrow?" he asked softly, knowing he would suddenly be interested in the books he was given on his birthday, happy to see you agree.

The two of you fell asleep on his couch that night, happy that somehow his weird magic scripts brought the two of you together.

[ace--writes]

To Reach a Journey’s End - 2 (of a Soulmate AU)

Authors’ Note: Hello all! This is a collaboration with the incredible, the imaginative, quite obviously the backbone of this fic, @emo-does-things!! Here is the second instalment (aka chapter) of the story we are weaving!!

Again, we don’t know how America works for the most part, so if we make a  mistake please let us know!

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Eventual LAMP

Warnings: Again, none come to mind. If there is something we need to add to the warning be sure to let us know!

Words: 2590

Links: Tumblr Chapter 1         Ao3 Chapter 1         Ao3 Chapter 2

~~~~~

Lunch was a glorious respite from the classes of the day. The break itself still didn’t quite leave Virgil’s sliding scale between ok and awful, but Patton would be there, so that levelled it up to being classified as good. 

The day’s rating, outside of Patton, was slowly seeming to morph from ‘ok’ to ‘just barely tolerable’, ‘awful’ to ‘the actual end of his small world’. 

After English, he had a feeling it was only going to get worse. 

At least he managed to escape English without having to talk to that Roman guy again, and with the minimal amount of death glares he could hope to receive. He’d fled the room first, knowing that Patton would assume he’d just booked it to their spot after all that. 

He grabbed his lunch and all but ran to their place under the most secluded tree, where he and Patton had been sitting together since Patton had befriended him three years ago.

He slumped back between the roots and against the trunk, pulling his knees up and burying his head in his arms.

He takes a moment to breathe and try to remember all the different methods he’s learnt to calm down.

None of these tactics seems as effective as when he hears footsteps he recognises instantly.

“Awe, what’s got you all gloomy kiddo?” Patton asks as he settles down next to him. 

Somehow it’s that overly chipper, rather redundant question, that manages to reduce his anxiety. It does not, however, stop his sardonic reply.

“I dunno Pat, maybe the fact that I got into a huge debate with the new kid in English on the first day back, and now everyone that likes him has it out for me because we just ended up insulting each other,” he muttered sarcastically into his folded arms. 

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad Virge! I mean, sure you guys argued, but it’s just like Mr Terrance’s normal debates, don’t you think? And hey, the day’s only half over! Plenty of time for things to go better if you’re still worried,” Patton said, and Virgil could exactly picture the expression he would be wearing without having to look up. 

He’d be smiling, fond and sappy and encouraging, but there would be that faint crease of worry between his brows that he would always get whenever Virgil was upset or anxious.

Virgil glanced up, resting his chin on his arms instead of his whole face, and blew the bangs from his face. He was exactly right about the expression on Patton’s face, but honestly, visualising it still didn’t do him justice. His imagination would never be able to quite replicate the sparkle in his green eyes or the cute dimple in his smile or the sheer amount of emotion he could show on his face with such little movement and- wait no stop. Now was not the time to wax poetic about how cute his best friend looked. 

He could not let himself stray too far into that territory. Patton probably had a wonderful soulmate out there waiting for him, with a beautiful face and a shining personality to match his, and most importantly someone who was not a mess, like Virgil. 

“So,” Patton began, leaning back into the roots to relax, “What do you think we’ll be doing this year? For Drama Club.”

Virgil took a moment to think, while he pulled out one of his sandwiches.

“Probably one of the really old ones. We did Be More Chill last year, so Mrs Dollary will probably want us to do something ‘classic’. I hope it’s Shakespeare,” he said, smiling slightly at the prospect. 

“Oh, I hope so!” Patton gasped happily, “The costumes are so fun for our Shakespeare productions!”

Virgil grinned, “Yeah, the sets are so much more interesting too.”

It was easy to let the rest of the day's worries drift away then, sitting with Patton, chatting about something they were both passionate about. They ate lunch, they smiled and laughed, and he appreciated the moment away from the rest of his classes. 

It was a brief respite from the rest of the day that would be broken next by a class that Virgil usually included at the bearable end of the spectrum. Science itself, as a subject was interesting enough, and the various methods and measures were at least consistent.

The problem this time would be that he had no idea what his new teacher was like. She was apparently new this year.

So, Virgil made his way to Science with Patton, hoping to god that this would not add another subject to his ‘awful’ list. 

They were some of the first to arrive, with only two other students being in the room, both standing up the front next to her desk. They were still holding all of their belongings.

The woman that stood behind the desk, seemed to be their teacher, as she looked through the roll and glanced up at them occasionally. She had striking green glasses and a short black bob and a posture that seemed to scream seriousness.

“Name?” She asked as soon as he stepped through the door.

“Virgil Picani,” he answered as soon as he unfroze from the shock.

Patton grinned, “Patton Morgen, hello! How are you?”

She nodded, ignoring the greeting, “As I was saying to the others, I’m going to be assigning seats when the rest of the class arrives. For the moment, you can wait.”

Virgil knew very deep down and very sincerely, that nothing good would come from this. 

As the class trickled in Virgil only grew more anxious. He began to crack his knuckles in an attempt to ease the tension, but that was quickly stopped by a gentle nudge for Patton. He began to tap his foot next, along with biting his nails as he began to get pushed further and further into the blackboard. 

Eventually, the teacher stepped from behind her desk to address the whole class, “Hello seniors. I am Miss Hamasaki, and I will be your Science teacher for the foreseeable future. As you are likely aware, I will be assigning seats, based on who arrived first, first impressions, and what I decide appropriate. There will be no switching of seats unless I instruct you to do so, understood? All right then, Logan Croft please take this seat.”

A boy far more sharp and put together than any highschooler had the right to be, especially as a senior, stepped forward. He was tall, lanky, and wearing a tie despite their school’s lack of uniform. He had rectangular glasses, and a folder, which led Virgil to a thrilling conclusion.

Nerd. 

“Melissa Trainer,” Miss Hamasaki called, to reveal a shy, short girl who rushed to her allocated seat. 

“Patton Morgen.”

Patton nudged Virgil in a friendly manner as he passed, clearly trying to bestow some level of comfort. He was allocated a seat in the middle, two rows behind the Logan kid. 

“Virgil Picani.”

Please be next to Patton, please be next to Patton, he chanted. As the teacher looked up, clearly about to seat him behind Patton, she stopped. Her eyes narrowed in a calculating manner and Virgil did not like it.

“Hm… Yes, a nerd and a troublemaker,” she muttered to herself, but Virgil heard, “You’ll sit there, Mr Picani. I want you up the front.”

He shuffles forward, scowling a little, but slumps into his seat nonetheless. 

“Salutations,” said the boy he was seated next to now. 

“Hi,” he muttered back.

Oh. In that moment, several memories jumped back at him, and Virgil recognised his new desk partner. Yeah, he’d just heard his name, Logan Croft, but he remembered sitting with him in other classes, forced together by some group project or another. 

Virgil also remembered that his previous assessment was bang on, Logan was, in fact, a nerd, but one of the better ones. He did the work he was supposed to in a project and didn’t pretend that anyone else was lesser if they didn’t understand, he would be happy to explain anything he could, but still tended to use big words all the time. He also seemed quiet, most of the time. 

There could definitely be worse partners, he thought, and was promptly proven correct when the last person in class standing, waiting to be seated, was the new kid, Roman, from earlier. 

“And Mr Miller, with Mr Morgen please,” Miss Hamasaki, pointing towards Patton. 

Fuck. He thought. Shit, Patton was going to make friends with him, and Virgil was never going to be allowed to complain about him again. Fuck, what if Patton started talking to him and he decided he liked him better. He was after all, very much like Patton, seeming loud and excitable. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

No. Stop that. You’re doing that thing that your therapist told you about. What was it called again? Cognitive distortions or something… Anyway, stop, it will be fine. It will be fine. His thoughts argued, but slowly he pulled himself away and tried desperately to focus on anything but the excited conversation between Patton and Roman just two seats back. 

“Now I know that many of you will be disconcerted by the separation with your friends. However, from this experience, I am sure that you will either make new friends, or do much better in my class than you usually would. You have five minutes to get to know your new partner, if you don’t already, starting now,” Miss Hamasaki said, returning to looking at papers behind her desk. 

Her attention didn’t wander so much that people got away with being overly loud, or behaving inappropriately, though, as Patton, Roman and several other people found out when she glared at them and shred them. 

“So…” said Virgil, awkward as ever.

“Indeed,” muttered Logan.

They both stared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time. Virgil coughed awkwardly into his sleeve and stared at the floor.

He could hear Patton and Roman talking from where he sat, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. He could just tell Patton’s (ever-familiar) and Roman’s (ever-annoying) voices apart from the rest of the crowd.

He found himself slowly twisting around so he could stare back at the two of them, clearly having a very animated conversation, happily getting to know each other. Virgil could practically feel the jealousy on his face. 

He could Practically hear Remy whispering in his ear, “Green is not your colour, honey! Besides, no ones taking our second son away from us.”

It was mostly the first half, but he added the second because he figured that he might as well be true to life, even in his thoughts.

“You don’t need to worry,” a rather monotone voice broke him from his thoughts. 

“What?” he blinked at Logan, probably a little bit stupidly and more than a bit dazed.

“You don’t need to worry. Anyone that’s seen you and Patton knows that you mean the world to each other. Both of you,” he said smoothly, although Virgil could almost tell that he was uncomfortable with the concept, “It is highly improbable that Patton would choose now to leave you, over a different assigned seat in class.”

“Improbable does not mean impossible,” he muttered petulantly, already conceding Logan’s point, and they both knew it. 

“That is true, they are not synonyms. However, ‘highly improbable’ and ‘very unlikely’ are, and thus my point stands.”

Virgil wasn’t sure whether to be very annoyed or very amused. Nine times out of ten he would choose the latter, but before he even realised it his face was falling into a grin. He took a moment to school his features, trying to at least appear somewhat serious- after all that’s what logan seemed to be doing.

“Yeah, well your ‘point’ isn’t made with full evidence,” he sighed, continuing the mock discussion for the sake of something to talk about.

“Well, then what am I unaware of that would change my conclusion?” he asked, actually seeming curious.

“Well, the fact that Roman- that's the new kid by the way-”

“-Yes I had heard his name being called”

“And I have a little thing going where I hate him and he almost definitely hates me.”

“Almost definitely does not mean certainly,” Logan said a slight smirk on his face.

“Didn’t we just have this conversation about schematics in the opposite direction?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, Virgil,” Logan said, smirk fully formed on his face, the most emotion Virgil had ever remembered seeing him wear, across every project they’d ever done together.

Before he knew it, Virgil was actually laughing. He wasn’t sure what finally set him off- the absolute ridiculousness of his jealousy or Logan’s deadpan comment, but he guessed it must be a combination of the two. 

Logan, for his part, seemed both pleased with himself, and surprised at Virgil's reaction, again, more emotion than he had ever seen before. He didn’t seem half bad, although Virgil had no idea why it had taken until this conversation for him to realise it.

“Maybe this arranged seating won’t be the end of the world after all,” Virgil said slowly, grin still in place. 

“There is a slim to none chance that the end of the world would be brought about by Miss Hamasaki seating us together,” Logan said with a frown, and Virgil sighed.

“I meant, like, figuratively. You know, that we’d never get along, and that I'd have the worst time ever being forced to sit with you,” Virgil said.

“Oh,” said Logan, “well, I am glad that you do not think I am the worst possible person to be seated with.”

“Understatement much. I’d get into a fight with a quarter of the people in this class, and be too nervous to talk to the other three quarters, so you’re definitely up there.”

“But that adds to a whole, where would I- and for that matter Patton, as I’m sure you neither want to fight him or are afraid of him- fit into that?” Logan asked, once again seeming legitimately confused.

“I meant them as rough fractions, not perfect estimates. If there was a Venn diagram there would be one average size circle for ‘people i would fight’ and then a much bigger one with ‘people I am afraid of’  and then there is a third, very small circle, which is actually just labelled ‘Patton, Logan and that one girl I had to do a history project with last year’,” Virgil said, making the motions of drawing circles with his hands as he spoke.  

“Ah, well… That seems to be high regard, coming from you, Virgil. I am… Satisfied with your opinion of me,” Logan said slowly.

“Sure thing, L,” Virgil said, immediately panicking upon using the nickname but trying to play it off as he turned to the front as Miss Hamasaki called their attention. 

If Virgil had looked, and seen Logan’s reaction, he might not have been able to judge the emotion there, as Logan himself seemed to struggle to. 

If he had looked, he might have seen the strange quirk to his lips that wasn’t one that often appeared, considering Logan wasn’t often one for displaying- or feeling as he would say- happiness. 

But Virgil didn’t look, and he didn’t see the happy expression there, as Logan silently sat surprised at the prospect of maybe, just maybe, finding a friend.

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