#every few months i must circle back around and think about what could have been............

[whatkindofnameisella]

so many people in the wj tag nowadays saying things like "im an x shipper but widojest still should've had a chance/been explored/been endgame" WHERE WERE YOU???? WHEN WE WERE IN THE TRENCHES?????? WHEN WE LOST HLA-ROSA TO THE LIKES OF YOUR BRETHEREN????? WHERE, I ASK?????

[albertasunrise]

Oops Baby - Broken Heart

Masterlist

Summary: Being best friends with Frankie meant movie nights, drinks with the guys and a shoulder to cry on when you got your hear broken. He is head over heels for you but you don’t feel the same… yet a drunken mistake will tie your lives together forever!

Relationships: Frankie Morales x Reader

Warnings: Like AO3 I choose to give none. Read at own risk. 18+ (I apologise in advance for this trip you're about to take 😬)

Series Masterlist - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Frankie needs a transplant.

Those words had been circling in your head from the moment the doctor had uttered them. He was in severe heart failure and only a new heart was going to save him. They could control it with medication. But there was only so much time he could live like that before his time was up. So now he was on a waiting list.

A long waiting list.

You were sitting at his bedside as he slept. The machines whirring around him letting everyone know that he was still here. Still breathing. It had been a few days since he'd collapsed. He'd spent 48 hours in an induced coma before they'd finally brought him around again and after another long, gruelling day, he'd opened his eyes and smiled at you.

Mary had been there whenever she could. Fussing over him in every way she could. Marking her territory and making sure you knew that Frankie was hers and that when this was over, it wouldn't be you he’d be with.

The Miller brothers had also been by most days to see him but Benny was the one that struggled to keep himself together whenever he was around his friend.

You were a little shocked that they discharged Frank after two weeks in the hospital. He had, more or less, died two weeks prior. So for him to be discharged with a new mix of meds and instructions not to do anything too strenuous seemed to be a little crazy to you.

You had agreed all those months ago that he would move in with you for a while when the baby was born so now seemed as good a time as any. He was weak in his first few days out but as the days went by, he got a little stronger each and every day. You had to learn how to accept the fact that Mary was now a constant in your life. It was clear that she wasn't happy that Frank was not staying with you and not her. You couldn't even start to understand how she must feel having to share the man she cared for with a woman who was about to have said man's baby. It was a mess.

She never outwardly made you feel like you were a burden to her and Frank but you knew you were. You were getting in their way and you were more and more conscious of that the more time you spent with them. She never stayed the night but she certainly made sure she spent as much time as she could with him. Fussing over him when he was having a hard day and cooking dinner for him almost every night. You hated how she had so consciously inserted herself into your situation without any thought for how it might be affecting you.

And Frankie said nothing.

He just wanted to keep the peace. To weak and tired to argue with Mary but the truth was he was getting fed up with her mollycoddling. He wanted to spend some time with you. He wanted to just enjoy these last few weeks with you until your daughter made her entrance. But as the days merged into weeks, she didn't back off. Then before either of you knew what hit you… You were staring down the barrel of your due date.

3 days to go.

Mary was puttering around in your kitchen as she prepared lunch. Another meal she'd found that was supposed to help keep Frankie healthy. Well as healthy as he could be despite needing a new heart. You were sat on the couch, rubbing your swollen belly as you watched her move from beneath your sundress.

"So I was thinking that we could maybe go out this weekend." She piped up as she started to dish the food up onto two plates "Get out out and about."

"It's Titch's due date this weekend Mary." Frankie groaned "We can't be going anywhere for a while."

"No… Right… Of course." She muttered as she picked up the plates and placed one on the table in front of Frank before placing the other down and sitting "Just thought it would be nice to spend some time together before the baby comes and steals you away from me." She chuckled as she dug into her food.

"All we do is spend time together." He muttered, eyes his plate of food before his eyes drifted to the counter "Didn't you make some for Titch?"

"She's so picky with her food." Mary shrugged "I just assumed that she'd make herself something."

"She's 9 months pregnant Mary!" Frank scolded.

"It's fine Frank." You piped up as you waddled into the kitchen "I have leftover pasta I can eat." You said as you opened the fridge and grabbed the plate of leftover Mac and cheese from the other night.

"Let me sort that for you." He said upon noticing that you were struggling to stay on your feet.

"I'm okay Frank." You assured him as you held onto the counter to aid your walk to the microwave.

"No, you're not…" Fish trailed off as he got up and swooped to your aid "Go sit… I'll sort this for you."

"Your food's getting cold Frankie." Mary piped up and Frank felt his blood boil.

"It'll be fine." He snapped at her before helping you over to a seat at the table.

"You shouldn't be overexerting yourself." Mary stated as she watched Fish practically carry you to the table "Remember what the doctor said-"

"I know what the doctor said and helping the mother of my child sit is not over-exerting myself." He growled, "Now shut up and eat your food."

Both you and Mary were a little taken aback by his sudden change of tone. Her green eyes started to fill with tears as she nodded at him a returned her attention to the food on her plate. Frankie felt a twinge of guilt at snapping at her but he was tired. After sorting your food and eating his own, he helped you up to your bedroom so you could take a nap. The last few days of this pregnancy zapping you of all your energy.

And that left him alone with Mary.

"I'm sorry for snapping." He said as he walked into the kitchen to see her finishing off the dishes "You just need to understand that Titch and I are having a baby and she needs my help right now."

"I get that Frank." She sighed as she gripped the counter and let her head fall forward "But you need to understand how much it hurts to know that I won't get to be the person to experience all this for the first time with you."

"What do you?…"

"I mean that I love you, Francisco!" She groaned as she finally turned to face him "And it's killing me that I won't get to be the woman to give you your first child. That it won't be me you get to experience all those firsts with… It'll be here."

"Mary-"

"And she doesn't even deserve it!" She shrieked "She broke your heart, Frank. Took it and stomped on it and yet she gets to have this with you."

"She made a mistake." Fish sighed "We were drunk and she was feeling shitty and the more I think about it… the more I realise that I took just as much advantage of her as she did of me!"

"Frankie-"

"I need you to back off a bit." He piped up, wincing at the heartbroken expression that then filled her features but it had to be said "We are literally just about to become parents and I need to focus on her for a while."

"What about you?" She asked and his brows furrowed "Who's going to take care of you?"

"I'll be okay." He tried to reassure her but she scoffed.

"You need a new heart, Frank!" She growled "You are so far from okay."

"I know that." He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut "I appreciate everything you do for me but baby I need to prioritise her and my baby right now. You told me you would be okay with this when we first talked about this!"

"I did!… And I do it's just… I just love you okay."

"I know." Frankie said softly as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close "We will get through this I promise." He whispered against her brow as he pressed a kiss there "But I need you to just give us some space okay?"

She nodded, knocking a few tears free.

"Okay." She said letting out a stuttered breath.

"This isn't us breaking up okay?" He assured her "This is just me focusing on my baby okay."

"Okay."

…

You were slow getting down the stairs. Having to stop halfway to the kitchen to take a breather. When you finally made it, you found Frankie standing at the stove stirring the most mouthwatering-smelling sauce.

"What'cha cooking?" You asked as you waddled to his side.

"Homemade Turkey meatballs with a tomato sauce." He replied as he looked over his shoulder to smile at you "Thought seeing as all you're craving these days is pasta… You wouldn't mind more of it."

"Mmmm, daddy's too good to mummy." You cooed as you lowered your face a little to talk to your bump.

Frank's heart skipped a beat at your statement, his eyes widening a little as he watched you rub your belly.

"Where's Mary?" You asked, snapping him out of whatever reverie he was in.

"She uh… Well, we had a chat earlier and she's agreed to give us some time. She was getting a little-"

"Much?" You interjected and he chuckled.

"Yeah." He replied before returning his attention to the sauce "She meant well."

"I know." You replied as you gave his arm a friendly squeeze before waddling over to the kitchen table "Just wish we'd had a little more time to enjoy these last few weeks together."

"Enjoy them how?" Fish chuckled as he glanced at you.

"I dunno… Start sorting the baby's room. Organising the drawers and choosing a name. That sort of thing."

It suddenly dawned on Frankie that you and he hadn't had a chance to sit and discuss potential names for the little girl who was due any day. He was hit with an immense wave of guilt at the realisation that he had been neglecting you and his baby. Sure he'd been sick but he had been neglecting you long before his heart attack. He needed to do better by you.

"Why don't we do that tonight?" He stated, grabbing your attention.

"Do what?"

"All that stuff you mentioned. We can get the clothes done then sit and read through that book of baby names my mum sent."

"Oh.. the 'Spanish Baby Names' Booked she mailed you literally a month after we told her?" You chuckled and he grinned.

"Yeah… That one!" He grinned at you and you smiled warmly at him.

"Sounds like a plan."

So that's exactly what you did.

You ate the wonderful dinner Frank had prepared for you. Sorted the baby's outfits into the chest of drawers he and Ben had assembled for you just before his incident and then sat down on the couch, giggling at some of the names you came across.

"What about Leticia?" Frank asked and you snorted "What's wrong with that one?"

"It sounds like Lettuce!" You chuckled "We can call her Leticia Salad Morales."

Frank's heart practically stopped at the mention of his daughter taking his last name. That also wasn't something either of you had discussed. He had hoped you'd give his daughter his name but he hasn't wanted to push the subject.

"Okay well… have you seen any you like?"

"Hmmm… Let's see." You said as you flicked back a few pages "What about Mercedes?"

"Pass!"

"Why?"

"Because I went to school with a girl called Mercedes and she is now an escort!" He stated plainly and your jaw dropped.

"Okay… No to Mercedes." You replied before looking back a few more "What about Esmeralda?" You asked and Frankie's eyes widened "Esme for short."

"I uh… I…" He was lost for words.

Something you mistook for embarrassment.

"Nevermind we can-"

"It's perfect!" He interrupted, stopping you in your tracks "I love it."

"You do?" You grinned at him and he nodded, smiling wildly.

"Yeah." He confirmed as he placed his hand on your bump and leaned in close "How about you Emse? You like the name?" He chuckled as he felt the baby shift under his palm "I think she likes it." He said as he looked up at you, freezing in place when your gazes locked.

The air seemed to crackle as the two of you looked at each other with such intensity that the air seemed to be sucked from the room. Neither one of you could be entirely sure who made the first move, but the next thing you knew the two of you were kissing each other breathless as Frank pulled you to straddle his lap. You groaned at how your huge bump seemed to get in the way of your core seeking the relief it needed and upon noticing this, Frankie's deft fingers slipped into your shorts and started to circle your aching clit.

The moan that slipped from your lips was bordering on pornographic. His fingers pushing into your core had you screaming his name as your hips rocked in an attempt to gain more friction.

"Fuck Frankie." You whined as you felt yourself hurtling towards your release.

"Cum for me Hermosa." He purred "Let Papi make mummy feel good."

That statement was all it took to send you hurtling over the edge. You came with a cry, panting against Frankie's lips as you smiled sweetly at him.

"That was… Wow…" You panted and Frank smiled sweetly at you.

"Glad I could help." He chuckled "Do you wanna?…"

He left the question open but you knew what he meant. You nodded before letting him help you to your feet. Smiling as he kissed you deeply before pulling you in the direction of the bedrooms.

"Oh!…" You gasped, stopping in your tracks as you looked down to see the small puddle that had formed at your feet.

"What?" Frankie asked as he looked back at you, his eyes then following yours and widening at what he saw "Did you?… Did your?…"

"I think my waters broke." You gasped, looking up at him with eyes the size of saucers "I think our baby's coming." You grinned at him and he chuckled as he cupped your cheek and pulled you in for a kiss so sweet you could practically taste it.

"Great timing baby girl." He chuckled as he looked down at your bump before returning his gaze to you "You ready?"

"Definitely."

…

Frank wiped your brow as you collapsed on the bed, panting as you readied yourself to push again. Tears stained your cheeks as you looked up and Frankie, your whole body shaking with the effort of pushing your child into the world.

"You're doing so well sweetheart." He said sweetly as he looked down at you and kissed your brow.

"Right one more big push for me." Stated the doctor, pointing at you when it was time and cheering you on as you pushed like your life depended on it "She's here!" The doctor announced and then the room was filled with the wailing cries of your newborn daughter.

"She's here sweetheart." Frankie sobbed "She's here and she's perfect."

"Mmmm." You replied, unable to string a sentence together and unable to keep your eyes open.

"Titch?" Frankie said as he shook your shoulder and then suddenly alarms started to blare "What's happening?" He asked panicked as he was pulled back.

"She's haemorrhaging." Stated the doctor "We need to get her into surgery!"

Frank was dragged from the room as it erupted into chaos.

…

Ben's knee bounced nervously as he sat there with his brother waiting on news of the new member of the group. He couldn't believe that there was going to be a baby. That he was going to be Uncle Benny!

"You think she's here yet?" He asked his brother as he looked nervously at the clock.

"I'm sure we'll hear news soon."

They both sat up straighter when they saw Frankie step into view. Both Millers stood in unison as they studied their friend and noted that he wasn't smiling.

"Is she?…"

"Esmerelda's here." He said, a small smile gracing his lips "She's perfect!"

"What's wrong?" Will asked and Frankie sobbed, throwing his head into his hands as he allowed his emotions to flow freely.

"Is Titch okay?" Ben asked, his blue eyes filling with tears.

"She's in surgery." Frankie managed to force out.

"Is she going to be okay?" Ben all but whispered, his knees going weak when Frankie looked up at him with bloodshot eyes and tearstained cheeks.

"I don't know." Fish replied as he shook his head.

Ben didn't stop the tears then. He had come to consider you his best friend. The sister his parents never graced him with and now he was facing the possibility that he would never see you again. That idea that he might never get to see your smile or hear your laugh again, killed him.

"I don't know." Frankie repeated as his hand went to his chest.

"Frank?… You okay?" Will asked, managing to grab the man in time before he hit the ground.

Then everything went dark.

Next

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[lizziesblueberries]

Your body is her’s

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Fem! Reader

Word count: 3,253

Warnings: Mommy Kink, mommy!wanda, bottom!reader, fluff lots of fluff, no smut sadly, next chapter though, praise kink, dark!wanda, possessive Wanda, protective Wanda, yandere Wanda, it is a bit sexual though, minors DNI

Summary: Third chapter from, “She’s in your mind” you and Wanda adjust to your new lives. And Wanda has a big surprise for you. There is not smut in this chapter, the next one however…

Part 4

About a month has gone by since you first woke up with Wanda. You found out that the place you were now living in, was a quaint little cabin, out in the middle of the woods, somewhere in Sokovia. It was charming and peaceful and you had little complaints of your new home. Over the few weeks, you and Wanda adjusted to your new dynamic. Wanda; with living with another person, and you; being with someone who actually loved and took care of you. You learned quickly that Wanda was an attentive and nurturing person. Waking up in the morning earlier than you to make breakfast, or sometimes staying in bed with you, so you would wake up to kisses being peppered across your face. Like right now, soft lips pressed against your forehead, moving down along your face to cover every inch she could, and ending with a cheeky peck to your mouth. You sleepily smiled, and she giggled, her warm body was laying beside yours and you could feel tendrils of her soft hair lightly touching your neck from where she hovered over you.

You opened your eyes to look up at her, and she was already looking at you, her gaze was soft and a sweet smile adorned her face. You marveled at how seemingly endless depths of green, could exist right in front of you, staring right back into your eyes. You wished for this moment to never end. Her smile grew bigger knowingly, and you blushed a little, realizing she was reading your mind again.

“Good morning, my love. Sorry if I woke you, but I couldn’t wait any longer to see you.” Wanda said, she moved her body closer, nearly laying all her weight on top of you, and sighing when she was in the perfect position, and pressed her face into the crook of your neck.

“Not that I’m unhappy with being woken up, especially to kisses, but couldn’t you already see me before I was awake?” You said with amusement in your voice. You moved your hand to play with her hair, nails lightly scratching her scalp, and she sighed into your neck, relaxing even further into you. She had her arms wrapped around you at this point, and squeezed you tighter to her.

“Yes, but I wanted to see your eyes and you smiling at me baby. I made breakfast and waited for you to wake up, but you must have been more tired than usual because you usually wake up about an hour before now.” Her hand moved to your stomach and rubbed small circles against it, you didn’t think much of it, and actually started to doze off again. But then she pulled back from your neck to look down at you, and you snapped to awareness again. She moved her hand to your cheek and held her palm there, you leaned your head into her hand, and she melted.

“Come on baby, breakfast is getting cold and I want you well fed, I have plans for today that involve a surprise for my good girl. And you’re not gonna get it until you’ve eaten.” Wanda teasingly said this as she got up, and you almost whined and pulled her down to bring back the missing warmth from your body. But the promise of a surprise excited you and was enough to pull you out of bed as well. You grabbed her hand as you both walked to the kitchen, and Wanda hid her smile as she walked ahead.

“What kind of surprise is it mommy? Is it a new toy?” You asked excitedly. Wanda smirked at your question as she pulled out your chair for you to sit down to eat.

“No, its not a toy, though if you want, I’m sure I have a few new toys we can try out later, that are waiting in the bedside table.” She raised her eyebrow at you, and you blushed, not realizing how your words had sounded until now. She laughed at your reaction as she placed a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of you. And all embarrassment left you as your attention suddenly went to how hungry you were and how delicious they looked, you began to eat, and Wanda smiled at your enthusiasm, content that you were finally eating. “Good girl.” She said, and you tried not to choke from the sudden praise and warmth you felt from those words. You cleared your throat and continued to eat while Wanda watched you. When you were done, she hummed, happy you ate everything, and took the plate to the sink. She then told you to get ready, and dress casual, because you were going out. You were a bit surprised from this (Wanda wasn’t joking) seeing as how you hadn’t left the house since you got here, but you weren’t going to question her too much, you had been wanting go out for some time now, not that you were unhappy or anything, but a walk out somewhere would be nice on occasion.

When you were ready, you had dark blue jeans and a purple sweater on, you walked back out to Wanda. Who was also wearing jeans and had on a soft red sweater. She smiled and held out her hand for you, and you took it, pulling you outside and walking off the front porch.

“Mommy where are we going?” You asked, there wasn’t anything for miles, and certainly no car nearby, you were confused how you where going to go anywhere, until Wanda pulled you closer.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head. Mommy is going to take you to place where she grew up. A small town that has delicious treats for my sweet girl.” She wrapped her strong arms around you, and lifted you up to you carry bridal style. You gasped when she lifted you with ease and you quickly circled your arms around her neck. She smirked at you when you looked up at her, you were a little nervous, but overall trusted her to hold you. With her arms tightly holding you to her, she began to slowly rise up into the sky. You held on little tighter and moved your face into her neck, you were not the biggest fan of heights, but a big fan of cuddling her, so you were ok with this arrangement. She kissed your head as you both gently moved through the air, she was excited to see how you would react to the town she was taking you too. Although her home country had been destroyed, there were still a few remaining towns nearby that had survived the destruction of Ultron, towns that held her language and culture that she sorely missed.

About 20 minutes had passed when you finally arrived to your destination, Wanda flew you both to a secluded part in the woods by the town you were visiting. She gently set you down, and when your feet touched the ground, you pulled her against you to give her an appreciative kiss. It only lasted about four seconds, but when you pulled away and started to walk towards the small town, Wanda stood there with a dopey grin on her face, staring after you. She realized after a minute, that she needed to start walking and followed after you. She quickly caught up, and grabbed your hand to lace your fingers together. You smiled at her as you both walked side by side into town, Wanda was a little nervous bringing you out here. You were her precious girl and she didn’t want anything to harm you, but she also knew how excited you would be to go out. She felt bad for keeping you cooped up and she wanted to make you happy and give you a nice trip out somewhere before-

“Mommy, where to first?“ you asked, oblivious to her thoughts. Wanda and you both looked around, there were a bunch of little shops along the street you were walking down, many had clothes, crafts, jewelry, and most importantly, food. Feeling secure in knowing that this was a remote and isolated town, Wanda lead you to a clothing shop. You both spent a few hours going from shop to shop, Wanda made you try on anything she could, and bought everything that lit up your eyes, she had you taste all the traditional foods she grew up eating, and you loved very bite. The people there were very nice, and smiled at you both. They spoke in Sokovian most of the time and you got to witness Wanda speaking here native language, the way she spoke was entrancing to you, words you didn’t know rolled off her tongue effortlessly, and she looked so content and comfortable while she spoke, that you immediately decided that you would learn it as well.

At one point you and Wanda found a display with a bunch of different treats, your eyes zeroed in on the deserts and Wanda, watching you, noticed and immediately pulled you towards the shop. You got something with a lot of powdered sugar, and out right moaned at how good it was. Wanda’s head snapped towards you, her mouth hung open a little as she watched you obliviously eat your desert. Her pupils dilated as you started to lick the remains of sugar off your fingers. And you were startled, when she suddenly snatched your hand away from your mouth, holding your hand up to her lips, she looked you right in the eyes, as she wrapped her lips around your finger. You gasped from the wet heat enveloping your finger, and couldn’t take your eyes off the way she sucked on the single digit. Her tongue was moving against it and you moaned at the feeling, she slowly pulled your now, clean, but wet finger out of her mouth and moved her face closer to yours. You froze, you weren’t sure what to do then, you thought she was going to kiss you, but instead you felt a hot tongue lick up along the side of your mouth, your eyes closed on their own, and then she moved her tongue to lick a stripe up both your lips. You were near panting when she finally placed her lips along yours, sucking them both in her mouth as if they were your finger, and then pulled away with your bottom lip between her teeth.You dazedly opened your eyes to her smirking at you, again. God, she was going to kill you from combusting one of these days, you weren’t even sure how you managed to still be alive up until now.

“You had a bit of sugar on your face baby girl, I was just trying to help clean you up.” She said, she looked proud while saying this, and you once again, wondered how you were alive.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not were I need to be cleaned mommy, I seem to have become quite the mess down a on a different pair of lips.” You said with faux innocence. Wanda’s smile immediately dropped, and she grabbed your hand to pull you back to where you first came from, her grip was practically bruising as she dragged you to the woods, heading home. You tried to keep up, and maybe catch the expression on her face, when you suddenly heard a familiar yet surprising voice call out.

“Wanda Maximoff.”

You both froze, and you watched as Wanda’s back immediately tensed. She was holding your hand with an even tighter hold as she slowly turned towards the new voice. You turned with her, and there right in front of you, stood Stephen Strange, ex sorcerer supreme, and your old teacher of the mystic arts. To say you were surprised was an understatement, Wanda didn’t tell you much else on what happened with Strange and the Chavez girl, but you had assumed they were both dead, I mean, it was Wanda, and they had both gotten in her way. Even after her being reasonable and asking nicely.

“Strange. I hope you’re not here to see me.” Wanda moved you behind her as she spoke to Strange, her voice was calm, but you could hear the slight undertone of a threat under it as she stared at the soon to be done for man. You looked at Wanda and then at Strange, his face was stern as he watched Wanda.

“No, I’m not here for you.” He finally said. And you sighed in relief behind Wanda, him going after Wanda was a bad idea, you were glad he was alive, and you didn’t want that to change, luckily he seemed smart enough to see that as well. Then Strange pointed at you and said, “I’m here for her.”

Or clearly he wasn’t smart enough.

Wanda took in a sharp breath, and you held yours. Why was he here for you? As far as you were concerned, you didn’t do any thing that bad, and you clearly weren’t hurt. He answered your question when he continued to talk. Poor buddy.

“Wanda you invaded that girls mind and have taken one of my students captive, I’m asking you to let her go. What would you want from her anyway? She’s useless to you.” He said. And wow, you knew he was probably just trying to persuade her into letting you go, but that still stung. You looked down, you couldn’t help but think he was right. Wanda was ethereal, the most powerful being on this planet, maybe multiverse, and was so stunningly beautiful, you couldn’t even think to compare. You were just a mere student who had nothing to offer, you hadn’t even finished your magic training. You were useless, and you were afraid she would see that and let you go. Let him take you like you didn’t matter.

You were shaken out of your thoughts when you felt a pull on your hand, you forgot you were even still holding hers, having your’s gone limp in her hold. You looked up to concerned eyes already looking at you. Wanda was fully turned to you now, not even paying Strange a second thought, as she moved her hands to gently cradle your face, palms under your jaw and thumbs lightly rubbing against your cheeks.

“Do not listen to him my sweet girl, and get those unthinkable thoughts out of that head of yours. The only thoughts you should be having, are of being my good girl, and being happy. You are not useless, nor are you something to compare too. I don’t know why you would think you don’t matter to me, because you are absolute perfection personified. You are beautiful, and kind, and sweet, and I love you, and you’re mine. I am never going to let you go, you mean everything to me and nothing is going to take you from me. I will burn the world down to have you and hold you.” You trembled at her words, she was looking at you with her whole heart, and you felt her words. And you also felt her, the scarlet mark branded over your heart, you realized, was somehow allowing you to feel what she felt. And she was feeling a lot, her love and desire for you nearly forced you to your knees, and you had no choice, but do listen to her and believe her. Wanda watched you come to this realization, and smiled when you nodded your head at her. Holding your face in her hands, she pressed her lips against yours in a passionate kiss, and then pulled back to turn around and face Strange.

“While that was a sweet interaction, you could just be manipulating her mind into being with you. I know your lonely Wanda, but this is not the way to go. Let the girl go, and I wont bother you anymore.” Strange said. You couldn’t help but feel insulted, how dare he, he had no idea what you and Wanda had, and the nerve of tracking her down all to call her lonely and think he could win against your Wanda. You let out a little growl at the man you no longer cared for if he lived or not. And Wanda looked at you with surprise, before it turned into lust. You widened your eyes a little at her reaction, and then realized that she had read your mind.

Wanda couldn’t help but feel immensely turned on from your thoughts, you had called her “your Wanda” and were thinking about how she was being affected, you didn’t even think that maybe she had manipulated your mind into loving her (she didn’t) and that was all the more reason for her to keep you. She was done with this interaction, and now, she wanted to take you home. Wanda tilted her head, eyes glowing red and waved her hand, her magic took Strange in her hold and she held him in the air.

“I’m sorry you think that Strange, but my girl is here on her own free will, and I’m never letting her go. Besides, you wouldn’t want to take an expecting mother from her family now would you?” She said with a low voice. Both your’s and Stephen’s head snapped to Wanda, he then looked to you in shock.

“I’m pregnant?” You whispered. You felt yourself waver and your knees slightly give out and Wanda caught you around the waist.

“Don’t ever let me see you again.” Wanda growled at Strange, and then literally threw him out of your sight. You would have been amused by the sorcerer literally being yeeted out of the general vicinity, but the words ‘mother’, ‘family’ and ‘expecting’ kept ringing in your head.

“Wanda, am I really pregnant?” You asked, you looked up at Wanda and she watched you for a second, then cautiously answered you.

“Yes. I’m sorry you found out this way, I wanted to tell you in a more romantic way, but I got kinda carried away with Stephen. So… surprise!” She said excitedly.

“How long have you known?” You asked

“…”

“Wanda.” You said more sternly.

“I’ve known since that first night we had together. The spell I casted was to make sure you got pregnant, I waited a bit to make sure it worked, after a few days I could sense other life in you. After that, I made sure you were kept safe and well cared for, that our children, were cared for.” She said. Well that, explained her doting and obsession to have you eat all your food, or the sleeping in later, and now that you thought of it, you were having weird cravings lately and- wait children? As in more than one? You snapped your head up to look at Wanda, who was already smiling at you, and of course reading your mind. “Yes, were having twins!” She replied to your thoughts. “Oh dear god”, you thought, and then everything turned fuzzy around the edges, so you leaned into Wanda who was already holding you. You heard her begin to talk to you again, and right before your vision (heh) completely left you, her words were the last thing you heard before you blacked out.

“Why do you think I brought you out here? I wanted to give you a nice trip out before you got more vulnerable and I would have to keep you home forever to keep you and the boys safe.”

Part 4

@inluvwithfictionalwomen @elenaguarnieri @chelleztjs18 @mjlfluvr @lovelyy-moonlight @spartelkat @urgfcallsmemommy @1uthina @perdrix-dynamique @daenerys713 @marrymemcgrath

[dilemmaontwolegs]

Across The Darkened Room {4}

Aemond Targaryen x fem!reader || Modern AU Summary: Aemond keeps his promise and takes care of you in every sense of the word. Warnings: 18+ only, NSFW, nudity, sexual themes WC: 2.8k

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five ||

“You should pack an overnight bag,” Aemond said as he held you on his lap, his back resting against the headboard. He idly drew circles over your thighs and his hair tickled your cheek as you tucked your face into the crook of his neck. “I’ll have movers get the rest for you when you choose which place you like.”

“You are too young to be a sugar daddy,” you murmured and his chest bounced with a deep chuckle. 

“I am hardly buying your affection.” He tipped your chin back so you could see the sincerity in his eye as he spoke, “I promised to take care of you, keep you safe, and you agreed to that control.”

“I know, it just must cost a lot.”

Aemond’s head fell back with a laugh and he shook his head apologetically. “It’s the money that makes you uncomfortable. Sweetpea, it means nothing to me.”

You bit your lip and pondered what such a life would be like, never having to worry about paying the bills or how to make a meal stretch as far as possible. It was as if he could see your thoughts playing in realtime and he didn’t like the way your pulse increased suddenly. 

“Why did you come to my club?”

Your panicked thoughts were derailed and you blinked at him as you processed the question. He was patient as you collected yourself and remembered the moments that led to your search for the sanctuary. 

“I’ve been on my own since I was 16. As soon as I could get out of Flea Bottom I did. Since then I have had the pressure to make every decision alone and I second guess myself at every turn. Whatever the consequence, it's on my shoulders alone. The only relief I have is when I give up that control, for me it’s freedom, even if it is only for a few hours.

“About a year ago Mr Greyjoy sent me to The Heights to collect some special books from an estate sale and I overheard a couple of women in the street. They were talking about the Red Keep and something clicked with what they were saying. So, I saved up for months to pay for the membership and here we are. It probably sounds stupid.”

“Not at all,” Aemond assured you. “It makes perfect sense. Now, do you think you are steady enough to shower?”

The small cubicle was cramped with two bodies in it and it was the first time you had made the attempt. Aemond had taken the loofah and lathered it up with your body wash before thoroughly cleaning you from head to toe. The half moons across your backside had stopped bleeding fairly quickly but the hot water and soap cascading down them sparked a fresh sting in them and your eyes fluttered shut when Aemond paid them more attention than the rest of your skin.

All too soon the water turned cold and Aemond wrapped you in a towel, taking care to dry you as thoroughly as he washed you. It was a fascination to watch him move around your room, opening the closet and drawers with confidence as he collected an outfit for you to wear. 

You should have known he would be sensible in his choices given how late the evening was and how quickly the seaside city temperatures dropped overnight. He could have easily ordered you to wear one of the few skimpy leather outfits you reserved for the Red Keep and you would have donned it to please him, but he grabbed a pair of your worn jeans, and a hoodie. He did indulge himself a little as he chose your underwear, finding a lace bra and the matching panties with a purely masculine smile. 

“You should wear more lace,” he said softly as he traced the detailing over your breasts. “I’m going to take you shopping, Sweetpea.”

The urge to fight the offer didn’t swell in you this time, not after your earlier conversation. Instead, you stepped back and gave him a slow turn so he could see the full effect and your confidence grew as his eye darkened with lust, the iris losing ground to his quickly dilating pupil. 

“I don’t start work until after lunch tomorrow,” you said as you faced him again and he reluctantly held a casual shirt out for you. 

“By the time I show you the properties there won’t be any time for shopping,” he said with a frown, almost like he was embarrassed to admit he couldn’t slow time, and you chuckled at the sight.

“How about you save the time and choose for me?”

A deep hum of approval rumbled from his chest before he closed the distance and caught your chin in his hand as his lips brushed over your cheek towards your ear. “That is a very good idea.”

Aemond was driving towards The Heights, one of the richest suburbs in King’s Landing, and the sparkling blue sea was picturesque behind the mansions that lined the streets. You couldn’t resist opening the window and letting the fresh air blow in with the hint of salt on the breeze.

The trunk of the car was full of shopping bags and they also spilled over into the backseats. Aemond had purchased far more than you had been prepared for but his smile as he handed his card over each time was enough to let him lead you to the next store, and then the next. 

He had been thoroughly amused when you had seen the price of a pair of the barely-there lace panties, you had been aghast that anyone would pay the exorbitant cost for what essentially amounted to a single spool of thread. You had quickly put it back on the rack but somehow it had ended up in the shopping bags without you realising and Aemond had smiled wickedly when the cashier scanned it. 

The sound of the indicator pulled you from thoughts of the overladen trunk behind you and you gasped as you saw the property that Aemond was turning the car into. Words failed you as you took in the row of pretty townhouses that overlooked the water.

“Please tell me we are just visiting someone here,” you murmured.

Aemond pressed a button hanging from his keyring and the garage door for the end townhouse began to open. “Welcome home, Sweetpea.”

You were dumbstruck as you stood in the bright open living room that took up most of the second floor. A balcony sat beyond the floor to ceiling glass sliding doors with unimpeded panoramic views of the sea. A lavish kitchen full of appliances and a marble island could not take away from the view of the water and when Aemond opened the sliding door the sound of lapping waves was carried on the breeze.

“This is too much,” you murmured from behind your hands that covered your lips in shock. 

Aemond beckoned you to join him on the deck and he caged you between his body and the balustrade as he nipped your shoulder sharply. “Agree to disagree.”

A thick wall on one side of the balcony gave the illusion of privacy but you knew there was a neighbour after seeing them on the way in. It didn’t stop Aemond from tilting your head so he had free access to your neck that he grazed his teeth over. 

“You should see the master suite,” he suggested as he pressed himself into your lower back and palmed your breasts until you moaned before pulling away, “then I’ll take you to work.”

You suppressed a groan at the thought of having to go to work, especially after he had teased you, but you dutifully followed Aemond up the stairs to the third floor. It was just as you imagined it would be, light and airy with another grand view of the sea. You could easily see yourself sitting in bed with a book and watching the sea on a lazy Sunday morning. 

“Thank you, Aemond,” you whispered as you climbed the large bed and sat against the headboard to soak in the view. 

Aemond fingered the hooks that were skillfully embedded in the headboard and smiled as he soaked in the sight of you bathing in sunlight. “You are very welcome, Sweetpea.”

The alarm on your phone suddenly blared and you couldn't stop the groan that escaped as you turned it off. Patting the bed longingly, you climbed off with a promise you would be back and Aemond chuckled as he took your hand. 

“I could be terrible and suggest you call in sick,” he said as you descended the stairs to the garage. 

You shook your head and slipped into the front seat of the Maybach “I haven’t taken a sick day, ever.”

“Then you are seriously overdue.”

All joking aside, you made it in time to start work, even with the extra distance to travel and you waved goodbye to Aemond when he dropped you off outside the bookstore. Mondays were always quiet so after unpacking some new inventory and sweeping the store front, you took a seat behind the counter and checked your emails on the store’s laptop. 

You immediately dialled Aemond.

“Why have I got an email from my doctor? It says you requested an appointment.” you asked as soon as the call connected.

“You are overdue for your pap smear,” Aemond answered distractedly and you heard a keyboard tapping away in the background. 

“Aemond...” you groaned, “how did you even…you bribed my doctor?”

Aemond sighed and the typing fell silent as he leaned back in his office chair. “Bribery is such a dirty word, Sweetpea, I bought the medical centre.”

A growl of frustration clawed at your throat and you glared at your phone as if he could see it. “That does not make it any better.”

“Would you rather me not take care of your health?” he asked quietly and you felt the question ran deeper than just the words he was saying and you sighed.

“No, just a little heads up would have been nice.” You looked at the email again before shutting the laptop. “I need a refill of my pill too so I would have had to book something soon anyway.”

“Ah, yes, I was hoping we could talk about that. I like to think this relationship is going well and will continue to do so and, well, neither of us are virgins,” he stated and you laughed at the obvious statement, “but, I find condoms a minor inconvenience. It takes a bit of the spontaneity out of sex, in all honesty. If we were both tested and clean, is that something you would be open to?”

The bell above the door tinkled and you looked up to see a customer walking in with a young girl and you waved in greeting. “Mhmm, yes, sir. I can definitely locate that book for you.”

Aemond spoke with amusement thick in his voice, “I’ll book the appointment while you help with your customers.”

The call ended and you slipped your phone into your pocket before walking to the children’s section, after all, Mr Greyjoy didn’t pay you minimum wage to sit around on your phone.

Dr Merins didn’t know who to look at when he spoke to you. Though his words were directed at you, his eyes kept flicking to Aemond as he sat in the chair that your mother had stopped filling when you were about 15 years old. She had deemed you old enough to take yourself to the doctors if you really needed it and she couldn’t afford to take time off from her two jobs. 

Dr Merins pushed his glasses back up his long nose and looked down at the lab results. “Everything has come back clear on the swabs taken last week and you won’t need another Pap Smear for three years. I was a little concerned by your iron levels in the blood test, they still haven’t increased since your last test and they are borderline anaemic.”

Aemond thrummed his fingers along his thigh as he spoke, “What would you suggest for it, doctor?”

The poor doctor looked between the two of you and sighed, giving his attention to Aemond. “She needs to be eating iron rich food, red meats or leafy green vegetables.” He reached over his desk and grabbed one of the many pamphlets for healthy eating, holding it out for Aemond to take. You had the same pamphlet in your old apartment but no matter how hard you had tried to eat better, healthier food was more expensive and your budget didn’t always stretch that far. “Or, I can prescribe an iron supplement.”

Aemond folded the pamphlet up and slipped it into his suit jacket. “That won’t be necessary.”

The doctor nodded and his glasses dipped again, forcing him to push them back up his nose before writing the script for your contraceptive pill and handing it to Aemond as well. “Very well, Mr Targaryen,” he said. “You can pick this up from the pharmacy on your way out.”

“Thank you,” you said as you stood, somehow feeling relieved despite knowing your test results would come back clear. Aemond merely nodded and opened the door for you, leading you back to the reception to pay for the private consultation instead of waiting for you to fill out the papers to claim back the cost. 

The drive home was peaceful as Aemond navigated the streets, patiently waiting in the morning rush hour. The day was still fresh and it was your day off so you had no expectations on how you were going to spend it. Aemond didn’t seem to have any particular set days off from running his businesses, shifting his schedule to fit yours as needed. 

The phone in the car rang and Aegon’s name flashed across the display before Aemond answered with a resigned sigh. “What’s wrong now?”

“Good morning to you too, little brother,” Aegon greeted with a laugh. “I just signed a cheque for our dear mother, do you want to know why?” 

You gave Aemond all the privacy you could by turning your attention out the window but nothing could stop you from hearing the conversation with Aegon. 

Aemond pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose. “No, but I assume you are going to tell me anyway.”

“It seems her perfect little boy was photographed buying heroin off some street dealers. Really, Aemond, you couldn’t just snort a few lines of coke with the rest of us? We aren’t the riff-raff.”

You shrunk into your seat and Aemond cast his eye over you before placing a reassuring hand on your knee with a squeeze before addressing his brother, “You wasted your money, Aegon, my vice is nothing as pitiful as drugs.”

“I told mother that, but now she’s all worried. She wants you at the family dinner tomorrow night.”

Aegon didn’t seem to enjoy the idea of the dinner from the snarl in his tone and from Aemond’s deep breath he must have felt the same. 

“Fine, but tell mother I am bringing my girlfriend.”

You spun in your seat to face Aemond and found his lips curving into a full smile, pleased by your surprised reaction. You had noticed he no longer used ‘arrangement’ and instead spoke of your ‘relationship’ but you had not let your hopes get too high regarding what that meant. Now your heart beat erratically and a smile split your own face as he called you his girlfriend. 

“Oh, Aem, I can’t wait to meet her,” Aegon laughed, and for a moment you forgot the call was still connected. “See you later, little brother.”

Aegon’s name disappeared from the display as the call ended and you placed your hand on Aemond’s where it rested on your thigh. “So, girlfriend huh?”

“That’s the part of the conversation you want to discuss?” Aemond shot back with a smirk. 

Your eyebrows pinched together as you remembered the reason his brother had called to begin with and grimaced. “I knew talking to Mad Dog was a bad idea. Your mother is going to think I’m a junkie…”

“Relax, Sweetpea, she’s going to love you…once I explain what actually happened,” he said with a laugh. 

“This isn’t funny,” you said as you pressed your palm to your forehead. “I’ve never met anyone's parents before. What do I even say, or wear? Oh god, it's dinner, what if I use the wrong piece of cutlery. Don’t rich people have like ten thousand different forks?”

Aemond laughed heartily as he pulled into your driveway and he was still chuckling when he parked in the garage. “We have three at most, and I will be beside you the entire time so just follow my lead. As for what to wear, I know just the dress.”

Click here for part five.

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[ncsdlr]

Hit List

The Unfulfilled

Marvel

Warnings: Angst, making out, death, implied trauma, emotional pain, grief, crying, killing, failed love(?), unrequited love(?), mutual pining, manipulation

Pairings: Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4501

A/N: This has been in my drafts for literally almost a month. I literally finished it then sent it to my friend for proofreading then thought I might add some more stuff, so now here I am after adding said stuff. The added stuff was not proofread.

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

"Your next assignment." Natasha scanned the nearly blank page with her earthy green eyes, reading its contents with pure curiosity and determination. She was the best of the best in her high ranking, and she would be damned if she let that title slip through her nimble fingers. Natasha walked out of her workplace with a pep in her step with the things she would need in her purse. 

Namely, chapstick. 

As Natasha drove to your home, the energetic music of Sia playing on her car radio. The redhead opted to listen to the great Sia when on missions, seeing as she offered her strangely calming vibes. Natasha judged the way your Czech Republic home looked. It definitely needed some upgrades. The crack in the walls seemed so unsafe and the peeling paint too? So unfashionable. Natasha grunted at the hideous design of your building. It was so outdated. You surely could have done way better. Natasha wished on every existing dandelion on earth that you would, at least, be her type. She needed to have fun while working. 

****

"So what do I have to do e-exactly?" You rubbed at your chest as it began to tighten around your heart. This gorgeous woman could be the death of you. Literally. The two of you walked up the seemingly never-ending stairs of the Fraternity she worked in. You don't even know if you were roped into this job by her eyes or the promise of becoming better, but honestly, you sort of didn't even care. 

Sort of.

In a world where what you can become is very limited, this was a bright opportunity for you. You thought of Natasha's proposition as something that can open new doors for you. All you could think of was the prospect of doing something good in this world while having fun in return, that and the part where you were going to be trained too. 

"All you have to do, for now, is get trained. Then, once you're deemed ready by yours truly, you will be given an assignment that you must complete." Natasha walked around a table and you followed suit only to realize that the two of you walked in a circle around it twice before a man with whitened hair in a black suit with his arms behind his back revealed himself. "Then after that, you get more assignments, more targets, more responsibilities-"

"Wait, wait, targets? What does that mean?"

"She means you will be one of us. A killer taking down other killers." The man in the black suit says looking completely unbothered by the whole occurrence.

"Wha- a killer who kills kille- hold on." You raised both your hands and basked in the silence they allowed you to have and thought about everything going on at the moment. After a solid few minutes, the only thing you could come up with was, "So a hero?"

The pair before you sighed, one of them pinching the bridge of her nose and the other raising his eyebrows to his hairline while his eyes squeezed tight, both in an attempt to gather their bearings with how...slow you were. This is going to take so long, she's lucky she's pretty, Natasha thought. 

"No, Miss Y/L/N, not a hero. More of a vigilante with a twisted morale."

The way Natasha said so nonchalantly made your eye twitch, the glint of your eyes showing both confusion and understanding at the same time. Then, all of a sudden, you find yourself in a knife battle with a butcher who seems to have it out for you in a room full of hanging gutted pigs. He used his knives against you rather carelessly to the point where you were actually bleeding from three knife wounds. One on your side, one on your arm, and one on your back.

You were going to pass out. 

****

After two months' worth of on-and-off dedication to this new thing Natasha offered you, your decision is finally whole. You were in. And you celebrated that with Natasha by way of completing a mission and going for dinner afterward. It was all so much fun to hang out with Natasha in such an intimate way while still keeping it professional. She was such a lovely soul to get to know. Anybody would be lucky to know her wholly. 

"So how do you feel?" Natasha eyed you through the burger she was taking a bite of as she asked you her query. She was so adorable.

"Honestly, fulfilling, but still kind of mixed. I just don't know what these people did, if they were bad people, if they were involved in the wrong kind of business, or if they had families. I mean, how do we know for sure we're doing the right thing here?" 

Natasha chewed and swallowed before she spoke again. "The work we do has a questionable judgment, yes, but how we see it is that by taking out one person, we save possibly a million. The result is what we put our faith in, not the work itself." 

"That's beautiful." You smiled at Natasha gently as the night dragged on. When the two of you were walking back to the Fraternity, you could swear that Natasha's hand kept brushing yours, but with how closely the two of you were walking, you dumbly let it slide and deemed it to be a coincidence. 

It really couldn't be anything, right? I mean, you just killed a guy- very skillfully, might I add -so, surely this soft moment can't be happening. Plus, Natasha Romanoff is just a very flirty all-work type of gal. She didn't exactly strike you as the type to commit, so you figured it's best to hold off on that... stuff.

What a fucking day.

****

Another month flew by and now you were three missions deep into this Fraternity including your first "celebratory" mission. It was all exhilarating, to say the least. Everyone on the team had their special talents and reasons for working with this Frat, and everyone got along with everyone. They were all good people, especially Natasha. She had such a golden heart with a thick, strong glass barrier. 

Truly, you've grown fond of this team over the past three months, and to call them your extended family would be a rightful title for them. They were all so caring. They treated each other like brothers and sisters, born with the same blood, and protected each other even if it meant losing their own lives or getting hurt themselves. 

You saw that for yourself once, and to say that you were honored would be the greatest understatement of the fucking year. It happened on a mission where all of you were required to fight the same battle as one. You were fighting one of the enemy goons and you were too busy to see that one guy was aiming at you with a rifle. One of your peers took the shot for you, using his body as a shield for you while simultaneously shooting at your perpetrator. 

Your bond with them solidified after that day. Gone were the many trust issues you had with them because now, you had a reason to trust them with your life. You couldn't think about that right now though. Right now, you are a little too preoccupied with planning how to carry out the latest mission assigned to you.

It was a pretty simple mission, one that required you to assassinate one of the guys in a well-renowned company. They were supposed to have a meeting in two days, according to the details you were given, so that's when you were going to make your move. The days passed by rather quickly with you simply moping around the Fraternity and training when you felt like it. You called it "strength preservation".

****

You stood on a moving train with Natasha sitting comfortably parallel to you with your gun in hand. You were checking if your gun needed anything more while you waited for the right moment to shoot your victim. You playfully aimed your gun at Natasha who merely smirked back at you. You thought it was sadistic, how being held at gunpoint made her reflect a toothy grin. It filled you with butterflies.

As your target's building came closer, you made no move to aim away from Natasha. You wore a sinister smile, one that was reflected beautifully by Natasha, and when the time was right, you pulled the trigger. With the way you were trained in the Fraternity, you learned how to bend the bullets you shot. Therefore, when you brought your arm back, and swung it back at Natasha, your bullet went straight through the window of the meeting room where your target was located, hitting him right in his stupid heart. Perfectly untraceable. 

As opposed to Natasha's previous position on the roof of the moving train you stood upon, leaning back on her hands while one of her legs rested and the other was propped up, now, she was applauding you for your successful mission. You looked at her with a bright shy smile weaving your fingers through your hair while you calmly walked closer to her and sat down. 

"Learned from the best." You stated proudly.

"Yeah, you did."

"Way to ruin the moment."

A blissful silence befell the two of you, leaning back to watch the sunset over the horizon of Russia. It was beautiful. You had just killed someone and now you were watching the day slowly end. It was somewhat peaceful as opposed to the chaos happening in the meeting room where their dead boss lay limp in his chair. You would have laughed if you saw the people running around in a panic. Meanie.

It was a moment where two assassins, you and Natasha, got to pause the world on a moving train. It was unsafe, but the thrill of it gave both of your hearts the flutter it needed. As you looked at the setting sun, Natasha's eyes, unbeknownst to you, turned to your side profile. She could get used to staring at you, your sculpted nose, your voluptuous lips, and the subtle shine in your pretty eyes. Gosh, you looked so beautiful, ready to be ravished by way of flowers and chocolates and surprise dates. 

But Natasha knew she couldn't. With her initial agreement with the Fraternity leader and how you came about, she just couldn't. Not even if she tried.

****

Another day, another mission for you where Natasha was monitoring. She wasn't really required to monitor you, you both knew that, but it just felt right to be near each other so neither of you ever mentioned it. As opposed to the other places you went to with Natasha after missions, this time the two of you laid upon a random blanket the two of you found in the park. When you found it, Natasha insisted on shaking it off before taking a seat on it, saying that there could be bugs on it for all you knew. 

You complied, of course.

The two of you watched the stars, occasionally pointing out constellations you would see in the sky or stars that formed a funny shape- the latter was your doing most of the time. It was calming to both of you how the stars just twinkled above your bodies while you gazed into each other eyes- when did that happen?

At the moment, the moon hosting and the stars watching, the two of you held a silent conversation, one that was had through your eyes that have seen many troubles before each other. As you looked at each other, the world simply faded, quietly and stealthily, leaving only the two of you on a random blanket in the park. 

Suddenly, -you don't know how- Natasha was on you, straddling your lap while cradling your face in her hands so gently. It almost seemed like she feared your head would shatter if she handled you incorrectly. It felt so nice, so right, so meant to be. It was like you only knew each other and nothing else like the two of you existed in a void where you were each other's light in the dark. The warmth between your bodies grounded you enough to keep you both reminded of the place you were in, not that the two of you paid any attention to that. 

Then it happened. In the blink of an eye, the two of you lip-locked. Your soft lips on Natasha's plump ones. It felt so good to finally have each other like this. This was the moment the two had been waiting for; a moment where hands wandered over each other's bodies, feeling each other up as if it would be the last time. 

That night, no intercourse was had, but rest assured, love was made. Love was made in the form of soft gliding hands, gyrating hips, connected lips, shared warmth, and hands held tight. Love was made in ways of fingers running through hair, whispered praises, eye contact, and hugs. More kisses were shared throughout the night. Stolen or not, they were most definitely shared.

No word was muttered after that soft moment. Neither of you expected anything to happen too, but you did hope. The two of you hoped that one day, you could work something out, talk about the things that the two of you needed to talk about and get together. Because that's what the two of you wanted; to be together. It didn't matter how long it took, all you knew, at that moment, was that you wanted each other. 

And that would be enough until it wasn't.

****

How did we get here? 

Ah, yes. 

It all started when you were on another mission and your target had a loose mouth. He flapped his tongue and sputtered out nonsense about the Fraternity you worked for and your MIA father. Frankly, you didn't care about your dad's whereabouts, you'd gotten over that years ago in therapy, but the fact that your target knew of your father's gambling and his drinking, and his abusive nature when he was around, struck a nerve. Other than talking about your sometimes dad, your target also spoke of your beloved Fraternity friends. You, honestly, would have been offended for them if not for the way that things panned out.

"You think they're all good? You think they're all clear skies and glitter?" Your target fell on his back as you kicked him in his chest in the dark alleyway. The way he was gasping for air told you you were doing a pretty good job in defeating him. 

"No, I don't, but it's the result that we put our faith in and not the work itself." Natasha stood proudly behind you with her arms crossed over her chest, the smirk she wore shining with success in bending your morals to be more aligned with them. "Of course, there's always something bad in the things we do, but by taking those people out, we might be saving millions of other people."

You held your target down by his throat, cutting his breath off to the point of death before he tried to speak up again. You meant to taunt him, but his next stuttered words tickled your malleable heart. "...they lied to you. They were the ones- *cough* who had your father...killed."

Your grip loosened at the last second- or so you thought because the second you let go, your target's eyes made its final close. You slowly blinked, your thought process going a mile per minute. Little bits of information and your own opinions tossed themselves around in your head effectively sending you into overdrive. This was it, Natasha thought, the Fraternity's downfall. You were their best asset and their worst enemy, even she could admit that, and now was the time she finally completed her mission. 

Natasha aimed her gun at you, seemingly unbothered. The love she held for you, the love she put aside, the love she wished she could express was raging inside her beating heart. Tears threatened her stoic eyes at the thought of having to be the one to kill you. You were her one true love, you both knew it and now she had to be the one to kill you. It was her mission. You were her mission. She had to complete her mission. 

In some twisted way, she did. Natasha completed you wholly. When you were with her, everything felt right. It was like the world was suddenly a paradise where problems did not exist. With her, the world was a place where nobody knew what the word trouble meant. Natasha made you want to express your love for her, by way of holding her hand, kissing her cheek and her forehead, dancing in the rain with her, crying with her, hugging her, and doing everything good with her. You wanted to take her out on a date in the park, painting each other's portrait or the starry sky, in the fair where you would win her the biggest teddy bear, in a museum where you would only look at her because her beauty topped those of the ones hanging on the walls. 

But that could never happen, right? It was only in your wildest dreams. It could never happen in real life. This world was not a place where your 'I love you's' were said aloud. This was merely a world where it was observed from afar how you cared for each other. This was only a world where stolen glances and stolen kisses were thrown around, hopeless pining was the only way to go, a world where longing eyes met eyes of sorrow and pain. It could never happen, not with the way the two of you were brought into this world. Maypahs if everything happened differently, if the two of you met under different circumstances, it could have happened. 

"Is it true?" 

"Yes."

****

Natasha staggered her way through the Fraternity's gates, clutching at her bag of items limply as she focused on her goal. She wore a solemn look on her face, a look that matched her dirtied clothing, dust and splatters of blood decorating her otherwise white tank top. "We trained her well." Muttered the woman in question as she passed her boss. 

In the bath, Natasha wallowed in her own sorrows, the loud silence enveloping her whole while she soaked in the cold water. In the end, she couldn't do it, not to you. She loves you too much to lose you to her own hands. If it were any other person, she would probably be fine, but this was you we were talking about. You were the person she would love, and no hands will ever be able to hold her down. You were the kind of person she would risk her work for, her life, and her achievements, and that was when she realized.

Natasha loved you too much to kill you. It was like gravity was working in your favor to make her fall in love with you every time she looked at you. Natasha loved the look in your eyes when you finally learned how to curve your bullets. Natasha loved the way your eyes shined when she first held your hand in that crowd when the two of you went undercover. The two of you were partners in crime, and the two of you secretly wished to be partners in real life. So she spared you because she knew that she would never be able to kill you.

----

Your next goal now that everything was out was to go on a rampage. You'd gotten a list a few missions back where one name was particularly questionable. You asked your boss about it, but all he offered was a "Go finish your mission." So you did, but you chose not to kill the one person on the list. You could not kill Natasha Romanoff, not even if you were fully capable of defeating her. 

You loved her too much to kill her. It was almost like love at first sight, how you fell in love with her. Your heart just felt like it skipped a beat and even you could feel the way your eyes dilated fully. She became your everything so quickly that you experience whiplash, but if you were being honest, you would go through it all again if it meant you get to be with Natasha. In the little time you spent with her after missions and the stolen glances you sent her, you fell in love.

You fell in love with how she carried herself with so much confidence. You fell in love with the sparkle in her eye and the way she looked at you like you were the only two people in the world. You love her in soft looks and cuddles, you loved her in ways that only meant the gentlest of love. You loved Natasha in tight hugs and kisses that made you want to do a cartwheel. You love her so much that you spared her of the fate the Fraternity gave her. You loved her too much to lose her to your own hands. 

****

Your plan was set into motion and the Fraternity members' fate was coming to fruition. You got through the building, going higher each time you completed a floor. You shot through men and women alike, these were the people you used to call your friends, family even, but now it was like a switch went off, you didn't know them anymore. You made a war cry through the pain of losing your friends to your own hands, having lost all sense of sensitivity to their pain. 

You don't care, you couldn't care. You haven't cared since the moment you found out it was them who had your father killed through you. You hadn't cared even when you were coming up with this plan to kill all of them and escape with the love of your life so that you could live what could be and what should be between you and her. Your plan was well-thought-out, you were certain nothing could get in the way of its impending success. But with how things are going down right now, you, surrounded by all of the highest ranking assassins you worked with and called your family, on the top floor of the Fraternity. 

Natasha was among the circle, one of the friends pointing their gun at you. She was using your favorite gun of hers too, an M16. She always looked so hot using the gun. And right now, she looked especially hot with that black tank top paired with army green cargo pants - the two of you bought together after one of your missions - and the brown holster around her small waist, the waist you so desperately wanted to wrap your strong arms around. 

"You are all each other's mission. Wanda, and Bruce are spared and recruited by Tony, Natasha, spared and recruited by Clint, Sam, and Bucky, spared by Steve, and Yelena, was spared by Kate. Now, you were spared by Natasha. All of you are supposed to be dead if not for me! If I had not started this Fraternity and made a place where all of you could be protected, you would all be dead!"

The lot of you remained silent as the man you surprisingly saw as a father preached about how he was the all-mighty one for saving all of you and giving you a home. I mean, yes he did do all of that, but was it really necessary to use all of you for reasons such as 'he saved you'? The answer was a hell no.

"Well, now since you're all grown-ups, I'll let you go and let you decide for your own fate." None of them, in the circle, stood down, holding their positions while contemplating how they were going to decide between killing the newest, best, and brightest and sparing you like they did each other. Apparently, none of them had to decide because Natasha beat them all to it. None of them deserve the life they were born with, trauma-filled childhoods, and painful coming-up stories. Everyone in this room deserved something better, something greater. 

As Natasha swung her arm back and shot a curved bullet, she smiled at you. The few memories the two of you created together swam her head like a slowed-down timelapse. The man beside her went down first, and then the next one, then next, and the next. While her bullet was curving in a circle, Natasha tossed her gun to you, and you caught albeit fumbling before it settled perfectly in your hands, and you thought all would be well. 

As the Fraternity members realized their fate, they stayed put in their spots, concluding that the life they had led was the best life they had ever had. They were thankful for all of their flaws and perfections, they were thankful for all of the decisions they've made leading up to this. Natasha thought of you, only you. Natasha thought about the drive she spent going to your workplace, she thought about the months she spent convincing you and training you to be the best you could be in the Fraternity. Natasha thought about all of the sunsets she watched with you sitting atop moving trains. Natasha thought about what could have been, the life she could have lead with you. 

As the last man fell, you held Natasha's gun in your hands and aimed at the oncoming bullet only to watch as the aforementioned bullet lodged itself into the love of your life. You wailed as you saw your mission fail. No longer could you run away with Natasha because now you ran to her limp and bleeding body. You held the love of your life in your arms, offering her your warmth and showing her the love you kept hidden from her for so long. You held her head against your chest, letting her listen to your heartbeat while your thoughts ran wild with the thought of what could have been with her. The love you held for each other died out with her and you sobbed, wailed, and cursed the land you lived upon. 

With no emotions left in your heart and a stoic face, you marched down to where your boss was, blinded by the rage and the pain you felt for losing your lover. With no more thought, you shot him, right in his shiny, half-bald head and watched him fall to the ground with a thud. You felt no remorse as you left the building, ready to live your life with incurable pain and guilt.

Your days passed knowing you could have saved her had you been quicker. 

In pain, you were born, and in pain, you died, next to your lover's grave two weeks later. "I love you." You muttered as your last dying breath devoted itself to Natasha Romanoff, the love of your disgusting life. 

[atmilliways]

Wrong On The Money (48)

part 48 of ?? | 1013 words | Teen+

Blackmail fic on Ao3 | on tumblr

Summary:

“I have to tell her,” Steve groans, rubbing his hands over his face and slumping onto the couch next to Eddie. “I can’t keep this up.”

We're nearing the end and I'm slowing down on posting because I'm still working on it, but y'all can have some fidgety Eddie and an insecure Steve Harrington as a treat.

48.

“So what’s the deal, Steve?” Robin huffs the next day. “You and Eddie totally blew us off last night, what the hell was up with that?”

“It’s not like you watched it alone,” Steve points out. He’s trying to pretend that bustling a stack of returned tapes back to their correct places on the shelves of Family Video is too important a task to look away from, unprepared to meet her gaze. “You had Nancy and Jonathan and . . . that sweater guy.” 

It feels as though as soon as she looks him in the eye she’s gonna know he asked Eddie if he could be Eddie’s boyfriend, and Eddie said yes. But he’s not sure if they’re telling people, because they haven’t gotten around to talking about that part yet. Kind of got distracted by . . . other things. 

“Argyle.” Robin rolls her eyes, despairing. “That sweater guy, unbelievable. You should know his name by now.”

“Robs. You know we end up smoking any time we hang out with that guy. I ask every time, and then I just forget it again because I’m all high!”

Eventually Steve manages to turn the conversation in enough circles that Robin loses the original thread. She’ll pick it up again, but at least he’s bought himself some time. 

-

“I have to tell her,” Steve groans, rubbing his hands over his face and slumping onto the couch next to Eddie. “I can’t keep this up.”

“I can’t believe you haven’t yet,” Eddie admits. He’s still wide-eyed and strangely fidgety from the revelation. “Because, yeah, obviously she’s a force to be reckoned with, I’m kind of worried about my chances of survival, but . . . it’s you and Robin. You two share a brain.”

Steve groans into his hands. “God, I know. I mean . . . she knows I like you. That’s most of it, right? I told her nothing was ever going to happen, but—”

“Nothing?” Eddie interrupts, zeroing in on the word. “Why not?”

He peeks at Eddie—at his boyfriend—through his fingers. “Uh, because I didn’t think you liked me?” 

And he can feel his face warming under his palms as he says it, so he’ll keep his hands right where they are, thanks. At best he was being stupid and at worst he’ll turn out to be somehow right, neither of which sound good. Not that this is helping. . . . Trying to pussy out of being honest with his best friend isn’t a good look. (His dad would say that it’s pussying out to feel obligated to be honest about the relationship in the first place. Even to owe them the truth, because ‘you don’t come out on top by owing, Steven.’)

Eddie’s mouth forms a few different, interesting shapes, starting with O and morphing into something that shows off his dimples. “Of course I like you. You’re you, what’s not to like? Wheeler must’ve been crazy to let you get away.”

It’s nice to hear. Still, Steve notices, he’s chewing on his bottom lip like there’s something serious on his mind. Fuck, is Eddie about to break up with him after one measly day? Because that would be so—

“Jeff knows,” Eddie blurts out. 

And that. Is. So far from what Steve was expecting that his hands drop to his lap and he goes still, even stops breathing for a second. They’re sitting close enough that their sides touch; Eddie must feel the way he freezes, because he starts babbling to fill the sudden vacuum in the conversation. 

“He figured out something was up about a month after I started blackmailing you, and he asked, and I just—I cracked, man, I—”

“Eddie.” Steve turns to him, tugging on the far side of his denim vest. (Not the one Eddie had thrown at him in the Upsides Down. That one is still tucked into the back of Steve’s closet, too embarrassed to give it back because no amount of cleaning seems able to work the bloodstains out.) “Eddie, breathe, okay? Give me a second.”

Eddie settles, relaxing a tiny bit when Steve keeps their sides pressed together on the couch. In the following lull, Steve thinks hard. 

Does it bother him that Eddie told Jeff?

He’s surprised, but that’s because he’d known from the start that he couldn’t tell Robin. She would’ve been pissed off and protective on his behalf, and she would’ve tried to talk him out of giving Eddie money. What would have happened to Wayne then? No, telling Robin had never been an option. The only other person Steve could possibly confide in was Dustin, and that was also an absolute no-go for a lot of reasons. Dustin looked up to Eddie, still does, and Steve hadn’t wanted to fuck with that.  

Jeff, despite the insider knowledge, hasn’t given him any shit. He’s actually seemed to give Steve a fairer shake than the rest of Eddie’s friends, going out of his way to interact with him in the D&D game. That takes a lot of the sting out of the surprise. 

“Does Wayne know too?” he asks finally. 

Eddie groans and pulls a handful of hair across his face. “Yes. I told him everything when I was still drugged up at the hospital. The supernatural shit too, but . . . everything. Jesus, did he say something to you?”

“Kind of. He said I should let you keep apologizing.” Thinking back, a small smile pulls at Steve’s mouth. “And he called me son.”

That gets Eddie to peek out at him, and Steve doesn’t know what the look on his face means—lips slightly parted, a light flush spreading across both cheeks, tilting toward him with big brown eyes open wide and sparkling with something warm—but he likes it. Wants to figure out exactly what caused it and keep doing that forever. For now, he shifts to his side and pulls Eddie in for a kiss. From the way Eddie's lips stay curved under his, it seems to do the trick.

His internal jury is still out on whether he deserves all this, but he’ll do everything in his power to keep it.

[azurelyy]

fluff prompt 3 for sasuke x fem reader (where the reader is ready to give sasuke a chance after he's been pursuing them for 1 year)

I really hope that you're still around if you're the Anon that requested this! I apologize for the massive delay, and we all already know I am clearly terrible at events. Hopefully you will forgive me and that this is a fun surprise for you. <3

☁️ Prompt 3: "I came here tonight, because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone..."

Warnings: Fluffy fluff fluff, hurt/comfort, minor NSFW hints, Sasuke doesn't understand love but is doing his best

Words: 1.7k

There’s nothing a good Halloween party can’t fix. Those were Ino’s exact words when you had confessed that you didn’t think you’d be attending this year, and those words ran through your mind like a train as you paced down the broken cobblestones leading to her house.

It had been exactly one month since you and Sasuke had last seen each other, and you were hoping to keep that streak up into month two at the chime of the clock at midnight tonight. Sasuke was… complicated. And hard to read. And infuriating in almost every way. For years, he held an indescribable power over you - one that you had nearly vanquished. But one month ago, in a moment of weakness, you ruined everything.

It was the best night of your life. You could still remember the way his lips felt against yours; could still envision the way his body rippled above you like a tidal wave, drowning you in a current of ecstasy and magnetism. None of that mattered, though. Not when you opened your eyes the next morning, expecting him to be there on the bed next to you. Not when the sheets next to you were cold and abandoned. Not when he should have told you how he felt. 

He’d left you a few voicemails which you immediately deleted, not wanting to hear what sort of excuse he had come up with; you knew it would be too painful, knew it would make you crawl back to him like the hopeless romantic that you were. After all, this was Sasuke Uchiha: the guy who you had been crushing on since grade school. The fact that you had managed to refuse his advances for so long in the first place was impressive, and now you had to do it all over again. Only this time, you knew what being with him felt like - and that made it so much worse.

“This time, for good.” You whispered to yourself, nodding your head in agreement as you marched up to Ino’s front porch, relief washing over you when your friend’s opal eyes greeted you with a shimmer.

“I knew it!” Ino exclaimed, wrapping you in a hug. “You can’t resist me.”

You laughed, shoving her away from you playfully. “More like I can’t resist a good party.” Ino smiled at you with a wink while looping her arm around yours, pulling you in the direction of the booze.

“And you’re alright, too, I guess.” You quipped, scanning the kitchen for any signs of He Who Must Not be Named.

“Don’t worry,” Ino said. “He’s not coming. I made sure of it.”

“That sounds…” You watched as Ino gestured towards the plethora of alcoholic beverages, her manicured nails sharp enough to kill. “Ominous.” 

“What are we whispering about?” Shikamaru’s familiar, lazy drawl circled around you before you saw him come into view, wrapping his arm around Ino’s waist and placing a kiss to her forehead. Ino giggled louder than necessary and smiled up at him with a flush in her cheeks. Feeling like a creepy onlooker with a voyeurism kink, you turned away, quickly scribbling your name onto a red, plastic cup. You scanned the various options and went with your tried and true “I Need to Get Drunk Tonight” booze of choice - Ms. Tequila. 

“I like your costume,” Shikamaru continued, and you realized he was talking to you. You quickly chugged your first glass of alcohol while nodding at him, imagining the way the feather on your headband bobbed around.

“Oh, thank you,” you slurred, filling your cup up again. “I’m surprised Ino was able to get you to dress up.”

Ino scoffed and rolled her eyes with a smirk. The red hood and white dress really suited her, making her beauty even more noticeable due to the bold colors. Shikamaru had his face painted grey and white, with black whiskers adorning his cheeks. Unsurprisingly, that and a granite hoodie were the only parts of his costume, and you smiled as you imagined the pout on Ino’s face when he told her that he would in fact not be wearing a pair of wolf ears to go with the getup. 

“Well, we compromised.” Shikamaru stated with a blush, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Ino’s sultry laugh echoed as you turned to scout out the rest of the party with a wave, thanking her for convincing you to come one final time.

You had arrived a bit early, not really planning on staying the whole night like you had in years’ past. The truth was, you just weren’t in the mood for this type of thing tonight, and you had to experience it first hand in order to really know that. Being here, surrounded by friends, while your heart continued shattering into miniscule fragments that burrowed deep into your soul at the thought of not seeing Sasuke, of not being able to get any closure, was simply too much for you to handle.

I’ll stay for a while, you thought. Show off my costume, then claim to have a headache. You took a seat next to Sakura and Naruto, chatting with them about nothing interesting, drinking down the pain with each swig of the burning alcohol. 

“No, wait-” Ino’s worried tone jerked you from your melancholic thoughts as you whipped your head towards the commotion, locking onto a familiar pair of midnight eyes. You jerked up, boiling red heat rushing to your cheeks as your vision grew blurry. Twisted like a knife in a wound, you spun around and excused yourself, quickly exiting the room as the sounds of the music and Sakura’s voice blurred together as though you were being submerged into the deepest part of the ocean. 

You walked straight to the backyard, staring at the night sky and wishing to be swept up into its endless inky depths. Why is he here? Why now? Wiping tears off your cheeks, you sat on the stone steps and tried your best to remember how to breathe normally.

His voice was soft, whispering your name like a prayer. You could feel his presence behind you and you fought the urge to cave into him; to rest your back against him and sob with your head in your hands. Sasuke moved to sit next to you, resting his knee against yours. You didn’t move away.

“Hi.” He said, in a tone as crisp as the fall morning air.

“I was just leaving,” you said, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand. “So, you can stay.”

“I have to tell you something.” Sasuke stood up with you and reached for your hand, grazing his fingers against your palm gently as you tugged it away from him. 

“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say to me, Sasuke.” You turned away quickly, doing your damnedest to ignore the electric shock that ignited your soul from the skin on skin contact.

“I love you.” His words had an ebb and flow to them, like water or the lifeforce of the universe, constantly shifting and melding into different shapes and colors. They sang to you; they soothed you. You turned around, uncertain that your soul was even in your body.

“I love you, and I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner but that’s how I feel.” He stayed planted to the concrete, his feet firmly cemented to the ground, his oil pool eyes glistening with the light of the stars as he waited for you to say something. Could you say anything? Your mouth felt hot, almost numbingly so, as your brain buzzed with a cacophony of emotions and doubts.

“You can’t just say that to me,” your voice cracked, but the flames burst from your throat quickly. It was the harshest you’d ever sounded to him, but the anger and betrayal laced in your tone was quickly overtaking any and all judgment that you had left inside of you. “That’s not how it works, Sasuke. I’m sorry.”

“You’re right,” he countered, grabbing hold of your wrist. You turned to face him, the warmth of his touch radiating in the palm of your freezing hand. “I don’t know how to do this because I’ve never had to. That’s how I can be certain this is love.”

He smirked, and your heart caved in. “I get nervous thinking about seeing you. I get lonely when you’re not around. I miss your smile when I make you sad. I sometimes worry that I will never be enough for you, but I’m too selfish to keep myself from you for another second.”

His voice faltered as you took a step closer to him, reaching for his shirt collar with a trembling hand to steady yourself against the avalanche of his confession. 

“I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” He sighed and squeezed your hand, locking his eyes to yours. “And I mean it. I love you.”

Without another word, or another thought, or even a flicker of fear, you leaned forward and allowed yourself to kiss him without reservation. His lips were urgent, hungry. His arms wrapped around your waist like all the stars in the sky encircling around you, lighting up your soul in a way that only he could. His lips pulled away from yours and you were met with his beautiful crooked smile before he kissed you again, the fever of love overtaking your heart and mind in one fell swoop, and it was only then, amidst the soft silence of the night and the impenetrable comfort of his arms, that you admitted to yourself you loved him too.

He leaned back and placed a gentle peck to your nose. Your heart was racing as your fingers went numb, either from the cold or nerves, and Sasuke was saying something to you that you weren’t comprehending through the sound of rushing water in your ears as he caged your hands in his.

“Sorry I don’t have a costume.” He whispered, his cheeks a dusty rose. 

You cleared your throat and smiled. “Next year, we can plan something together.”

Sasuke clicked his tongue and glanced up towards the sky with a grin, his soft dark hair falling into his eyes. You reached forward to tuck a stray strand away and kissed his jaw delicately.

“Yeah,” he agreed, smiling down at you. “Next year.”

Please consider reblogging to support my work! <3 As always, scream at me in the comments if you enjoyed.

[draguta]

.a court of fate and fortune | twenty-six.

pairing: lucien vanserra x fem!reader

summary: | book two | lovers separated, powers that won't be controlled, a doomed wedding. with the threat of war looming over prythian, lucien, Y/N, tamlin, and rhysand's inner circle must scramble to find allies and prepare themselves for what is to come. but Y/N only has one aim; to find her way back to lucien, and protect him at all costs.

chapter warnings: n/a

chapter word count: 3796

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Admissions

You stared at the roses, still fully in bloom despite the months that had passed since Feyre and Tamlin’s doomed wedding; this damn eternal Spring. Once the never-ending blooming flowers and green, fresh gardens had been a beauty you thought you’d never stop being in awe of, now they only reminded you of everything you had been forced to face since you’d first seen these grounds.

Above, the stars were dim twinkles in the darkness. There were so few visible here in the Spring Court. Not like Velaris, where you could practically see the very bursts of each and every star in the sky, even those that stretched far off to other worlds beyond the skies of the world that you knew.

Only the creeping darkness, more-so than had been present during your wait, told you that the person you were meeting had finally arrived. You didn’t turn, didn’t look at them, your eyes trained on that sky above. You couldn’t look at the roses, couldn’t think about what they represented.

“I thought I was meeting with Rhys,” you said into the night. You heard the soft inhale behind you.

“He’s…preoccupied tonight,” Azriel said softly. You raised an eyebrow, scoffing slightly.

“Is that what he calls it when he’s avoiding someone?” You countered, crossing your arms over yourself. Despite the thick tunic you had borrowed from Lucien’s wardrobe after he had fallen asleep, large enough to wrap around you comfortably, there was still an odd chill to the air that night, one unknown to the Spring Court before. You couldn’t help thinking that, perhaps, it was foreshadowing for what was to come should Tamlin answer that letter. What would become of these lands - cold and unforgiving - if Tamlin was to side with the enemy.

“He’s not avoiding you,” Azriel said, but when you finally turned to look at him in disbelief over your shoulder, he shrugged, hands still tucked into his pockets. “He thought you wouldn’t want to see him.”

“And he would be right,” you confirmed.

Azriel pinched his lips just a tad. “He is sorry.”

“I’m sure he is,” you said, hands rubbing the cold from your arms. Azriel’s dark eyes followed the motion, seemed to linger a second on that tunic, on the way it sat too large on your body, on the way it was Autumn Court amber. “But that doesn’t mean I forgive him.”

He tilted his head to the side, looking back up at your face. “Well, he deserves to wallow for a while,” he said, the ghost of a smile on his lips. “Let him stew in it.”

You didn’t answer, instead glancing over his shoulder toward the manor; it was dark inside, no faelights or candles to be seen, but Tamlin had yet to return, despite it being long past midnight, and you couldn’t risk being caught with Azriel, consorting with what Tamlin believed to be the enemy.

“We don’t have long,” you said, and Azriel nodded firmly.

“What have you found out?” He asked.

“Tamlin received a letter from Hybern,” you explained, and a flash of concern fell over Azriel’s eyes, clouding them for a second, before they returned to their natural hazel.

“What did it say?” He asked slowly, taking a step closer to you.

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “Ianthe caught me snooping before I had a chance to read it. But I’m sure it’ll be offering Tamlin something in return for siding with Hybern in the war. That has to be it.”

Azriel began to pace, the gravel of the path crunching beneath every single step that he took, running a hand through his dark locks. “That would be the most logical assumption,” he said quietly. “But Hybern’s not stupid. He wouldn’t have made his intentions clear in a letter. There’ll be something more to this, I’m sure of it.” He halted his movement, glancing at you from the side of his eye. “Keep an eye out, find out anything you can.”

You nodded firmly. “I will.”

Azriel looked you over once, almost as if considering something, and then stepped forward again. His hands came to rest on your shoulders, brushing your own hands away; something in the warmth of his touch thawed the chill across your body. His eyes caught yours and the gaze was so intense, so severe and fierce that had it been someone else, someone who wasn’t your friend, who hadn’t saved you so many months ago, you would have looked away. That didn’t stop the flush from creeping across your breeze-chilled cheeks. “This - you being here at all - is dangerous, Y/N. I know that you know that. But things are about to get real.”

You blinked slowly up at him, your features slack in surprise. “You’re so close to Hybern now,” he continued, his thumbs stroking over your arms gently. “What comes after this isn’t going to be easy, and I’m worried for you.” He paused, and then removed his hands from you so fast that it was almost as if he’d been burnt. He took a step back from you, looking down at the path, shoving his hands in his pockets again. He swallowed once. “I just…I just want you to be careful. Be safe. We need you back in Velaris in one piece.”

You smiled softly, reaching forward to touch his forearm, warm beneath the leather. “I will be.”

His eyes trained on you for a moment. “I think it’s best that we keep in contact more regularly from now on. Once a week. I’ll have Rhys send over a message each time, to confirm the location.”

That moment of vulnerability was over, and as he stood there now, he was the spymaster of the Night Court, the Shadowsinger. The loyal apostle to his leader. No sign of a friend. No sign of whoever had practically begged you to be safe. Who had been so against the idea of sending you back to the Spring Court in the first place.

So you simply nodded, once, and then again. He held your stare, his body turning as if he were going to go, but his eyes lingering a moment longer. Then he cleared his throat, turned away from you entirely, and in a cloud of shadows he disappeared into the night.

You stayed there for just a moment, looking to the spot where he had been moments ago, then you turned and made your way back to the manor. Your walk back to the manor was slow, your feet dragging, eyes trailing upward to those stars once again.

‘If you ever decided to stay, there would always be room for you,’ Cassian had said.

‘We need you back in Velaris in one piece,’ Azriel had said.

Even Tamlin had once said, long before Under the Mountain, when you had still been mortal, just like Cassian, ‘You could stay here you know. There’s room for you here.’

Was it only Rhys who didn’t seem to care? Once upon a time he had. He’d said that you were his hope, had helped you when very few people had even cared to. But now…now he sent you back into the throws of terror, back into the arms of a brother you had sworn you would never go back to. Had blamed you for something that brother had done. And now sent his own brother in his stead, pretending that it was to make you more comfortable, but was likely because he couldn’t face you after what he had said.

You’d once imagined Velaris as a home of sorts. Perhaps not a permanent one, but a home nonetheless. Now, with your relationship with its High Lord so…tentative, could it really be your home? Yet, the same problem lurked here, in the Spring Court. Perhaps you’d never find a real home in Prythian.

Red glinted in your periphery, and you paused, eyes snapping down, to the patio attached to the house where Lucien stood, watching you curiously. You drew in a deep breath, and continued onward down the path.

“What were you doing?” Lucien asked when you finally reached him, passing right by him toward the house, toward the dark foyer and the bed upstairs that was calling your name.

“I went for a walk,” was all you said in reply.

“At this time of night?” Lucien asked with a small scoff. He caught your upper-arm, pulling you back toward him. The moonlight filtered through the open patio doors, illuminating the tiled floor of the foyer in white light, illuminating his golden complexion in white light, as bright, you imagined, as Helion’s power, the High Lord of the Day Court who wielded pure sunlight. “What were you really doing out there?”

“I was thinking,” you said, the lie slipping from your tongue with ease, but tasting like salt. A lie to him. Another lie to Lucien.

“Thinking about what?” He asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. Gold and russet honed on your features, scanning over every inch of your face. You drew in a shuddering breath, your arm feeling clammy under his grip, and gazed up at him. It was time, you decided, for him to know everything. For each lie to come to truth.

“You know what’s coming,” you said carefully, turning fully toward him, resting your hands against his chest, bunching them in the white linen of his shirt. “I know that there is no way, being who you are, that you don’t know what’s coming.”

“Y/N-”

“War, Lucien.” You said it without hesitation. Said it with such clarity and stability that there was no way it could be questioned again. “War is coming. Hybern is coming. I found a letter last night to Tamlin. It was from Hybern.”

Lucien’s eyes widened in shock, his grip on your arm tightening slightly as if you were an anchor in the weight of such a reveal. “Tamlin has been speaking to Hybern?”

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “But I know that Tamlin will soon choose what side of this war he will fight on, and it won’t be a choice based on what he believes is right.” You looked over your shoulder, up the stairs, as if you could see right into Tamlin’s room, even if the High Lord wasn’t there. “He’ll make a choice based on what he will benefit from it.”

“I can’t believe…” Lucien began, eyes blinking rapidly like he was trying, and failing, to make sense of what you were saying.

“I’ve made my choice already,” you said determinedly. “Now you need to make yours, Lucien. I won’t tell you what side to fight on, and I won’t try to sway you, but…when you do make that choice, when you do pick a side, try to make sure you’re on the right side of history. Because I love you Lucien, and I don’t want to see you make a mistake.”

With that, you leaned up, planted a hard-pressing kiss to his cheek, and turned for the stairs.

Tamlin’s tongue ran across the front of his teeth, sucking in harshly, enough that the air hissed. His eyes were tired, stinging with every blink. He tried to ignore the blood still crusted on his knuckles from where it had crumbled loose as his claws retracted - the blood of a doe killed that day, one that the beast had deemed needed for lunch, despite the taste of raw meat being less than delectable to Tamlin’s palate.

But it was neither the dried blood on his hands nor the lingering taste of the doe’s flesh that he was focused on. Rather, it was the letter that sat on his desk before him. A letter handed to him upon his arrival back to the manor by a smug-faced priestess, held between her long, pale fingers. A letter bearing the seal of the island to the West.

Hybern.

His eyes trailed over the words as he read them through again, the twelfth time in the past ten minutes. Certain phrases jumped out at him from the paper as if they had been enchanted to grasp his attention. ‘Mutual friend…a common cause…anything you want…rumours of a betrothed stolen…the end of Rhysand, High Lord of Night…meeting in Hybern in three days hence…’

So, Ianthe had been leaking information to persons outside of the Spring Court. Tamlin had suspected, but he had to admit that he was surprised that it had been Hybern. The connection between the little coastal island and his High Priestess was one that he had been aware of - their connection went back at least a century if he wasn’t mistaken - but for her to have been exposing his weaknesses to them…

But then again, Hybern were strong, and the King of Hybern was powerful. He remembered the stories he’d heard of that King during the first war, of entire armies slaughtered at his hand, of those he kept as prisoners of war from the legions that had fought against him, and had been tortured to the point that they gave up the names of even those they loved the most, if only to make it end. Of spells cleaved across the battlefield that hadn’t been wielded in thousands of years.

He’d met the king once before - only the once - at a ball his father had thrown. His father, who had fought alongside the King during that first war, who had become a consort and advisor to the King, had befriended him. Tamlin had been too young to really remember anything about him, other than the fact that he had trained…her. Amarantha.

Powerful. Amarantha had been powerful. Detestable. Hateful. Loathsome. Barbaric. But powerful, yes.

And Hybern had said, ‘Anything you want.’

There was only one thing Tamlin wanted. Only one person. Feyre returned to him, safe and unharmed. Alive. Free of the clutches of that Night Court heathens who were no doubt hurting her…

No, he wouldn’t think about what they were doing to her right now. He wouldn’t go down that road again. Not when he had this; a way forward. A possible way to get her back.

He was on his feet before he even realised it, pushing from his chair and strolling through the manor with more purpose than he’d had in a long time. It was late, perhaps around one o’clock, certainly after midnight, but he didn’t care. If he had to wake them up, then he would.

But, as he reached the foyer, he realised he didn’t have to. There, pushing her way through the patio doors, arms wrapped around herself and, to Tamlin’s fury, wearing a particular tunic that he himself had gifted to Lucien ten Solstice’s ago, which fell right to her thighs, was Y/N. He clenched his fists. Four paces behind her, looking as if he might be about to drop to his knees and beg for her forgiveness for whatever reason - a reason that Tamlin surely didn’t care about one bit in that moment - was Lucien himself. Both fell short at the foot of the stairs as their eyes fell on him. He swallowed once, holding his chin high.

“Prepare yourselves, both of you,” he said, voice lower and fiercer than he intended, the ire of the beast still pumping through his veins, so soon after his transformation back to Fae. He cleared his throat, and continued, “We’re going to Hybern first thing tomorrow morning.”

Y/N let out what could only be described as a startled whine, and Lucien baulked in surprise behind her. “W-Why?” She asked.

“I believe they can help us,” Tamlin explained. “Help us bring Feyre home.”

“Tamlin, I don’t think-” Lucien began, but Y/N stepped forward, hands falling to her sides as she interrupted her lover.

“What about the other High Lords?” She asked. “Helion, and-and maybe Winter or Dawn? Must we go straight to Hybern?”

Tamlin cocked his head. “There are other options we can look into as well,” he said, glancing at Lucien over her shoulder, who simply straightened his back. “When we return from Hybern you’ll go straight to the Day Court, see if there is anything those scholars in their libraries can do to help us.”

Lucien nodded once, a low tilt of his head in confirmation. “Of course.” Tamlin was sure he saw the glare that his sister shot her lover over her shoulder.

“I’ve heard of Hybern,” Y/N said slowly, brows pinched. Her voice was an almost plead, one that broke Tamlin’s heart. How had they become this? Lying to each other, locking each other out. Once they had welcomed each other’s company, had sought out the other to confide in and ask for advice, but now…

‘It’s your own fault,’ Tamlin thought. ‘You let your fear control you. Let the memory of her dictate your actions. You did this.’

“They are a cruel people, ruled by an even cruller King,” Y/N continued; one hesitant step toward him, mirrored by Lucien behind her. “Are these really the types of people that we wish to ally ourselves with?”

She was right; of course she was right. She was clever, had always been clever. He had known that from the very first moment he’d met her. And this…she was telling him exactly what he already knew. Hybern was dangerous, a temperamental ally, one that would make deals and alliances to your face, and sharpen their sword ready to make their killing blow behind your back. But…

But Feyre. For Feyre he would do it. He would make that alliance, and when she was safe at home again, then he would find a way around it, find a way out of the deal he would make. If he even needed to make one at all. Perhaps… There was always the chance that another solution would be found. But to not even consider this one would be a mistake.

“It’s not your decision to make,” was all Tamlin replied, ignoring the way she recoiled slight at his harsh tone, one that he had hoped conveyed all of his ever-racing thoughts but only seemed to contain that cold disdain that he’d worn for so long now it had become like an armour to him. “We’ll speak with Hybern tomorrow and see what they can offer us, what we can offer them, if an alliance was to take place.”

“But-”

“The decision has been made,” he said again, fiercer, sterner. And with that, he turned on his heel, stalked back to his study.

He tried to ignore Lucien’s soft murmur of, “It’s just a meeting, Y/N. We’ll have other options later.” And the soft groan that Y/N released as she buried her face in his chest.

The walk back up the stairs was silent. Lucien kept his eyes trained on Y/N, on the way her hands wrung before her, her own eyes tracking her footsteps up each step. She was thinking, he had no doubt, that beautiful mind running through every possible course of action. Every possible outcome of that meeting the next day. Why Tamlin had invited her - when he had been so against the idea of Y/N being put in the path of danger every other time - Lucien wasn’t sure, but he knew that, whatever it was she’d been taught in the Night Court, she was honing those skills. Calling to those new strengths that she now possessed.

It wasn’t until they were standing in the hallway, her room on their right, his on their left, both loitering outside as if neither wanted to go in, that he finally spoke. Just as she turned, the words tumbled from his lips, a truth finally uttered, “I’m on whatever side you’re on. Whatever side keeps you safe.”

A glint in her eye, one that he couldn’t quite place his finger on. Was it relief, perhaps? Or maybe, as much as he hated the idea, cynicism? Incredulity? That he would do anything to keep her safe…

“You’ve chosen, then?” Was all she softly said. Lucien swallowed, even as she took a step back toward her bedroom door, even as he took a step closer to her, arms coming to rest on either side of her body, caging her in place.

“I’ve chosen,” he replied, voice low. He licked his lips as her scent engulfed him - jasmine and lavender, sweet and fresh. That scent, her scent, would be the death of him. She blinked up at him, and he wondered what was going through that mind of hers now, what she was considering, what she was hoping and surmising. He wanted to know, wanted to know every inch of her, even that mind. Every thought, every feeling, every emotion. He wanted to feel them all, to see them all, to think them all himself, as if they were one in the same.

Was that the mating bond? The bond that hadn’t snapped yet? Would that bind them together in that way, for eternity? He could only hope that when that bond did finally snap into place, he would know every inch of her.

“And what side did you choose?” She asked, her voice so quiet it was almost like the whisper of Spring breeze that fluttered across the night-kissed grounds outside.

He smiled softly, catching her eyes with his. Sparkles of glints in her eyes seemed to burst under his gaze, like starlight, pure and beautiful. “You don’t already know?”

“What side did you choose, Lucien?” She asked again, her voice a little firmer this time. She needed this answer, needed to know what side of this war he would fight on. Needed to know whether it would be by her side.

“You,” he said finally, drinking in her scent once more, filling that one word with such sincerity that he was sure it would have been less difficult to simply rip his heart out, still beating, and lay it bare for her in the palm of his hand. Because this was difficult for him - to love someone, to care so deeply that it hurt to know how fragile that love was, and yet be unable to give it up. He had loved, and he had lost. He had mourned a love so great, but this ran even deeper, this feeling that he had whenever he looked at Y/N. And he knew, no matter what, she was all that mattered in this world, in his world. She was everything. “I choose you, Y/N. And I will never stop choosing you.”

And with that, he closed the space between them, he tasted her sweet flavour, marred in wine that she had likely been drinking before her little walk in the garden, and fresh chilled wind. She tasted perfect.

His everything.

Taglist

Complete: | @loveshineslikethesky | @elleclairez | @lostpirateinwonderland | @judig92 | @old-enough-to-know-better73 | @atrashsith | @chanaaaannel |

Lucien Vanserra: | @luna-foxglove | @lumos-barnes | @cumuluscranium | @dreamlandreader | @enrichmenttimeinmyenclosure | @rachelnicolee | @callmelovergirl |

[kendsleyauthor]

Daniel and Esmae for prompt 21- secretive

((OTP Prompts))

May I just say how absolutely STOKED @marydublinauthor and I are to see Daniel and Esmae getting a request?? These sweethearts bring us so much joy, and we haven't paid them a visit in ages 😭

I decided to write a story about mermaid!Esmae in honor of MerMay coming to a close soon!

You can read more about this AU here!

The Night Cove

Daniel considered it their cove. His and Esmae’s, even if she loved it more than him. In their months together, they had explored up and down the shore near the castle. This inlet, with its massive rocky overhang and calm waters, was Esmae’s favorite.

Daniel might have loved it more if not for the black rocks that jutted above and below the surface. He’d gotten better at not scraping himself, but nighttime visits always ended in a few mishaps. He could already feel the sting of a few cuts.

Esmae, of course, had no trouble navigating the environment. Other than a few torches Daniel had lit up on the shore, she was the only source of light. Her magenta glow darted about in the water like living starlight. 

Having found a relatively comfortable rock to lean against, Daniel observed with with stunning clarity as she made a beeline for him. Surfacing, she hefted something proudly over her head.

“What’ve you got now?” he asked softly.

A tiny orange starfish—well, tiny to him. It was nearly the size of her torso.

Bringing himself lower in the water, Daniel inched his palm closer for Esame to place the tiny creature in his hand. She appeared greatly entertained whenever he interacted with little things from her world.

He brushed the starfish with his fingertip, raising his eyebrows at the curious sensation of its arms unfurling calmly against his palm. 

Esmae watched raptly, an endeared smile on her face. It’s very sweet, how gentle you are. I didn’t think humans were capable of that. Although she couldn’t speak to him above water, he memorized every word she graced him with when he joined her below the surface.

As she reached for the starfish to return it home, the sash around her upper body slipped a bit, revealing enough to make Daniel blush. She caught his expression and broke into a silent giggle. She adjusted the cloth and gave him a pointed look. Will you be alright after seeing all that skin, you poor thing?

Apparently, merpeople had a different idea of what body parts could be casually exposed. He never ordered Esmae to cover herself, but his flushed face and avoidant gaze were distractingly funny, according to her. He swore that sometimes she created a loose knot on purpose.

“Must you laugh at me every time?” he scoffed.

The grin on her face said it all. Her smooth skin brushed his palm as she took the starfish, prompting him to hold his breath. She was so soft—something he’d never been able to appreciate when he’d stupidly held her captive. Now, he felt unworthy of each bit of contact she gifted him with.

As she escorted the starfish away, she took the nearest source of light with her. As he began to turn in the direction of the shore, the water rippled in the firelight. He froze as something stirred beneath the surface—something that certainly wasn’t Esmae. 

A gray fin broke through with near silence.

Daniel froze, his mind rejecting what he saw. A shark shouldn’t have been tempted to enter such shallow waters—yet there it was, heading straight for him. He snapped out of his stupor and jolted back with a noisy splash. 

“Esmae,” he breathed, then raised his voice. “Esmae!”

His back hit one of the large rocks. He tried to shuffle to the side, looking around madly for Esmae’s glow while keeping track of the shark’s path. The scrapes on his arms and legs stung sharper than ever—had he drawn the beast right to their cove with his blood?

He shouted her name louder. The shark circled the rock, its fin dipping below and above the rippling water like a taunt. If he dared to pull away to escape, he had no chance of outmaneuvering the predator. Was this how Esmae felt when he’d found her trapped in the tidepool all those months ago?

Except this shark wasn’t overwhelmingly massive. Not to him. It could take a chunk of him, and he might survive. But Esmae… She’d be less than a mouthful to the creature.

As if the thought of that summoned her, a magenta glow bobbed into view beneath the clear water. A shout caught in Daniel’s throat.

Idiot! What was he thinking, shouting for her? He was drawing her right to her death.

“No!” he shouted. “Go back!” 

But she drew closer. Daniel tensed, then lunged out to get her to safety. The shark darted around the rock and tossed its head toward his arm. He snatched himself back, breathing heavily. 

Esmae paused. Her little, glowing form waved off Daniel flippantly. Then she approached the shark without an ounce of hesitation.

Daniel gaped as she swam alongside the beast. When the pair circled near, he swore he saw her little lips moving. He’d seen her play with fish before, but this was insane. 

Before he could think to duck under the water to hear what she was saying, the shark swam off, exiting the cove calmly.

Relief came gradually. He couldn’t believe either of them were safe. Even when Esmae swam up to him, he didn’t take his eyes off the shark’s direction until Esmae nudged his abdomen insistently. He flinched at her touch and looked down to find her peering up at him with an amused expression. She was so close, his slowing heartbeat picked up speed again.

“W-what on earth was that?” he stammered. “You were speaking to it? What did it want? How did you make it leave?” 

Her smile widened. At least she was entertained. She found his hand and gave his finger a downward tug. After another wary look at the open water, Daniel lowered himself under the surface, intent on getting an explanation from her. 

She took one look at his wide-eyed expression and giggled. He hadn’t heard her musical little voice for hours. “Are you alright?” she asked rather sweetly. She got comfortable near his hand, weaving her lithe form through his fingers.

All he could do was shrug in response.

She giggled again. “That shark helps guard my people. It ensures other predators stay away. My father has a way of convincing certain beasts to be on our side.” She leaned her cheek on his knuckle. “It must have followed me. It came to make sure I was alright.”

Short on breath, Daniel surfaced briefly. “You were able to speak with it?” he asked, struck with more wonder than fear now.

“No,” she said when he ducked down again. “It’d be a bit like talking to… to a dog or a horse.” She enunciated the animals’ names strangely, as they were wholly foreign creatures to her until recently. “I was able to send it off. Though, it’s a good thing they can’t speak. Otherwise, it’d tell my father where I’ve been spending my days.” 

She smirked conspiratorily at him. Daniel surfaced. It was rare she spoke of her people, least of all her father. Daniel knew for certain that her people wouldn’t be pleased if they discovered she had made contact with a human. Considering the awful two weeks he’d put her through when they met, Daniel could say little to defend humanity.

“I suppose it’s for the best we stay secretive,” he sighed. He gave another cursory glance at the water, relieved that he saw no more fins breaching the surface. He couldn’t shake how fantastically brave she was for putting herself between him and the beast. He peered down at her. “So—how can you tell the good sharks from the bad ones?”

There was a bit of a wild look in her eyes when he met her under the water again. She moved from his hand and tapped his nose teasingly. “I can’t. I suppose we just got lucky.”

[scapinoz]

L’APPEL DU VIDE, chapter one.

[genshin!oc x gn!reader]

note, first chapter is out after probably five months, ig. but it’s here now. do keep in mind that it was around three a.m. when i wrote this, i was half dead by then. so there might be a few mistakes here and there, I’ll edit them— i swear. also english is not my first language and i just write for fun.

warnings, implied yandere behavior, masked men, creepy men, men with weird eyes, drinking, y/n and intrusive thoughts, nothing much probably, it doesn’t get bad in the first chapter itself. written pre-snezhnaya, so it’s all interpreted not canon.

CHAPTER ONE, masked men and winter nights.

And there he was again— sitting in the corner of the room (though you must admit that the shadows dancing across his face made him quite beautiful than he already is)— eyes never leaving yours as you finished your song, relishing yourself in the familiar sound of applause from the audience (a sound you’ll never grow dull of hearing).

Everyone around you clapped their hands, some even standing up and raising their glass while they were at it. That should’ve been enough, yes? The fruits of your labour echoing through the vast room would’ve been more than enough for you back then— back then when you hadn’t noticed the masked man (a mask you were well familiar with, thank the archons for the whisperers in the streets) sitting in the reserved booth.

Your eyes, involuntary, went back to his. He was not putting his hands together for you, like everyone sitting in his table was. He only had his gaze inspecting your form without blinking. And without the slightest of hesitation you did the same, holding his regard. The missing signature black coat was the first thing that you noticed, the coat he had traded for something a little less flashy. Though the mask was yet to come off, the mask his friends (or who you assumed you were his friends, judging how ease they had been with each other) were also donning on their face.

You had seen the group a few months now, regularly visiting the bar and sitting the farthest seat from the stage— not that you minded, of course. They always seem to talking and whispering something among each other, sparing you glances here and there when you were up on stage. The man, whose name you have yet to know of, always seemed to be sitting in the middle and facing right towards you, always having his eyes on you whenever you were singing (or that’s what you had noticed whenever you open your eyes after closing them for a split second or so). Never have you ever seen them talking to anyone out of their own circle either.

‘They’ve never once talked to the waiters either, it’s the boss who always personally sees to them. Sharing laughs and shit. Who’s to guess that the boss has dealings with such people.’ was your coworkers answer when you inquired about them. You knew what she had meant by with such people, everyone around the bar knew— the fatui, those who control every aspect of the land of everlasting winter. Everyone around the bar knew of the fatui and were cautious enough not to seek them. And one who was stupid enough got his hand broken just last week— it was what you assumed was a warning. You had heard stories and witnessed the cruelty of the ruling by your own eyes. The fatui were not kind people, not in your eyes lest say. And to think some of them would be actually sitting by a bar listening to your sing out your sorrows for mora, you could only laugh.

‘I heard they work under the fifth,’ Ana said one night when you were lying in her lap as she was combing your hair. ‘they wear his colours as well— black and silver— and the masks are just another giveaway. And they also seem to be here when it is you who is performing.’ Ana chuckled as she had seen how wide your eyes gotten when you heard that. You hadn’t stuck around enough to notice, you had better things to do in your day offs than to spend your day in a bar. You had denied her claims, saying it was simply a co incidence and that fate works in very mysterious ways. Ana could only chuckle and asked you to live in your own dream fort for the time being.

And yet seeing how he was looking at you from the back could not stop yourself from believing your friend’s words for a moment— just for a moment. Just simply for a few seconds as you hurried off the stage and into the backstage, the sound of hands clapping against each other still reaching you. And there was no way they could be here for you.

“[name],” Your boss, Kolya, patted your back with the usual smile. “Great job as always.” You nodded, dutifully. “It would not hurt to smile a little, would it? Or had you grown tired of synthetically smiling?”

Gods, never a day passes where you do not curse your employer and wish the amount of firewater he consumes would deem him mute some day. “You must do what’s expected of you, synthetic or not.”

“Yes, yes, expectations.” He chuckled. “Always weighing one down.”

Kolya Mikhalov was not someone you had expected to work for— not someone you had expected to cross paths with, if being honest. Kolya Mikhalov was the man who took one look at you and decided that you were deemed worthy enough to sing in his fine establishment no matter how many times you had suggested hiring a bard and being done with the fuss he was making.

His name was one whispered among the streets ever so often, a name you’ve heard so often. ‘That man who is trying to coax you into working for him,’ the apple vendor muttered one day. ‘I heard he has connections with the fatui.’ He said. And it was all the more reasons why you urged yourself to get away from the man. Everything about him which screams danger. You had underestimated Kolya and his stubbornness when he said “I am not one to give up easily.”

And so he had waited for you to say yes to offer for nearly two months— following you everywhere you go, paying bards to sing praises of your hauntingly beautiful voice, and even showing up right outside your house with his staff. Surely Kolya Mikhalov was the most eccentric man you had ever encountered— and that simply explains the elctro vision in his left glove. And so you did give in to the endless pestering, and thus resulting you standing in the very same establishment you never vowed to work in.

Kolya leaned in slightly, making you move out of the way. “You look as if you want to ask me something.” Shaking your head you waved him off. Yet Kolya was never to one to falter. “Oh, I’m quite excited about your question. This is the first time you ever showed interest in something which is not dogs.”

“The people sitting at the back of the room,” You said, choosing your next words with much heed. “Are they part of the fatui?”

“Yes.”

You blinked once, then twice— clearly not expecting Kolya to blunt with his words. You perhaps thought that he would coax you into believing otherwise. “What?”

“They are indeed part of the fatui, working under the fifth. I thought the coat and the mask was obvious enough.”

Kolya looked at you, the smile never leaving his face. He tilted his head, very slightly, expecting you to ask more questions. Questions as to how he had ties with them and such. You were never one to pry, we’re you? Everyone had their secrets and you have no business inserting yourself in matters that do not concern you.

So what if your boss has ties with the fatui? It doesn’t matter as long as you get paid, you’ll do your job without any questions asked.

“I see,”

“Oh, and,” Kolya dug his pockets searching for something. He handed you a velvet box. “I was asked to give you this. Seems like you’ve gained quite the admirers, [name].”

You reluctantly opened the box— knowing Kolya was still peeking. “By the seven,” in laid a bracelet— one so intricately crafted. It was gold, probably embedded with the finest gems from Liyue. You didn’t have much knowledge in jewellery but one look at the bracelet and you knew it must’ve cost a fortune.

had you attracted the attention of a man so rich that he could afford this as a passing present?

Admirers, huh.

The nights were not kind in Snezhnaya, nor were the days but yet the night was far more cruel than the days. At least you will be able to see the dangers under the sun while you could simply just feel eyes on your back as you walked underneath the moonlight. You gripped the strap of your bag tighter, never once turning around to look around you— it was never a good idea, as Ana would say.

You weren’t very fond of nights like these— cold and lonely nights that makes you wish you had someone to hold you and keep you warm against their body. Always a knack for impossible dreams, yes? You didn’t particularly wish for a partner, that much you were sure of. But nights like these brings you think that perhaps you should find someone— someone to cure the loneliness and the cold. The thought only ever crosses your mind at nights like these.

“Dangerous night to walk alone,” Instinctively you pushed your elbow back, expecting it to hit the stranger and not for them to catch it. “Rather cynical now, aren’t we?” The person muttered, gloved hands finally leaving your bare skin. “You appeared a lot more demure on the stage. It’s not safe for you to walk alone.”

Turning around, you rubbed your elbow. “Gods,” It was the same man from the bar, the very same one who couldn’t get his eyes away from you. “Why are you here?” You started walking again, paying no mind to him walking beside you.

“Kolya put me up to it when he noticed a few drunkards trying to follow you.” He answered.

Eyes wide you looked around, looking for any sign of being followed. “I see no one.”

“They were taken care of.” He said. “Kolya specifically asked me to walk you home, said he wanted his favourite employee out of harms way.”

Typical Kolya.

You nodded, inspecting the man beside you— you never got the chance to see his full figure, after all. And as you had already expected he was nearly half a head taller than you and lean— though the outline of muscles present through his shirt already said all you need to know. Black hair that reached right below his shoulders and the bangs even covering one side of his mask ( hair that almost made you have second thoughts about yours ). Though it was his eyes what drew you in. His eyes reminded you of the starry nights after the storm— black eyes with specks of gold and silver dancing around them.

Where you shamelessly ogling this man? Of course. Would you admit it if he were to ask you about it? You would simply dig your own grave and lie in it, for sure.

And it seemed like he didn’t mind you staring at him— without even realising that you were staring. ( maybe you were aware, you simply did not care enough. Pretty people are to be appreciated, the thought came in your mind quickly as it left as you realized he was part of the fatui. ) He cleared his throat making you snap out of it, feeling slightly embarrassed and made a mental note to never do it again. ( though you knew you would do it all over again. )

“My name is,” Was it really safe to mention your name to a stranger— a fatui nonetheless. “[name].” Curse the Archons, how stupid could you get.

“I know, Kolya told me.” You nodded, pursing your lips. The silence was awkward as it was painful to bear. The only noise reaching your ears was the sound of snow underneath your boots, and not his. He walked gently, almost tempting you ask if he believed the snow had feelings.

“And you are?” Another mistake made.

The man looked at you, the blank look on his face never fading away. “Zhenya,” He, who you now know as Zhenya, whispered— almost as if he was afraid someone else might overhear him. “I work…under the fifth harbinger.”

“I know, rumours are hard to ignore.” The mask speaks for itself, you wanted to say and yet didn’t. You heard him mutter something under his breath, words flowing away with the wind. “So, you come to the tavern often?” You muttered, cursing yourself internally to simply shut up with each passing word that left you lips.

You didn’t hear an answer from him, just slow breathing as you felt his eyes on your figure as you looked down at the ground, trying to convince yourself that the plain white snow you’ve been seeing for years now was more interesting than whatever that was going on in his eye. “Yes,” Zhenya finally said, his voice probably gentler and softer than yours ever could be. “Kolya— he often bugs me to visit.” He added after a minute had passed.

That sure did sound like Kolya— annoying, vexing and often frustrating. not that you would ever say it out aloud, of course. ( you valued your life more than a few passing sarcastic comments that you brain was so fond of coming up with, thank you very much. )

You simply nodded as the pair of you continued walking, as you often let out soft breaths, shivering slightly from the cold even though you had your coat and gloves on. It would be nice if this man beside me were to wrap his coat around me, like form the romance books Ana is fond of. you found yourself thinking before quickly shaking off the thoughts. No, [name], bad man. He’s part of the fatui, [name].

Where did the thought even come from?

“Do you live far from here?” Zhenya asked, making you blink twice as you were snapped out of your thoughts.

You shook your head, pursing your lips to stop your teeth from clattering. Surely you wouldn’t make a fool out of yourself in front of this gorgeous, gorgeous man. “No, just around the corner.”

It usually only took fifteen to reach your home but it felt like an eternity with the man walking by your side. He hadn’t even opened this mouth once, except for when letting out soft inhale and exhaled. You were sure that it must’ve been a little uncomfortable to breathe beneath that mask during the winter. ( then again it was always winter ).

You stood in front of your house— a modest home, one that you were proud of. “Thank you,” you managed to murmur out as you both stood outside the door, one hand inside your pockets as you fished out for your keys.

The man, Zhenya, nodded. “Nothing worth mentioning.” He said.

You were almost tempted to invite him inside, offering to let him stay by the fireplace and hand him a glass of fire whiskey to heat his skin up before heading out. Who knows how far away he lived?

No, no, part of the fatui, you reminded yourself, sighing in relief as you finally found your keys. Ignoring the stare burning through your layers and layers of clothing you finally opened the door, whispering a small “good bye,” under your breath.

And before you closed the door behind you, you heard him say something akin to, “I hope you like the bracelet.”

i genuinely had no idea what i was thinking when i wrote this. but i somehow managed to. how are we liking y/n so far? and zhenya (ew). y/n and ana for the win. zhenya who? never heard of him.

and if anyone couldn’t tell, zhenya’s kinda a uandere, ig. so this fic might turn out a little darker than intended. he’s also a part of the fatui, so there might be more…gore? but yeah, he’s not a good guy, that’s for sure.

[cinnatwo]

Start | Previous | Next (still to come) Blaine sat at his desk, scribbling furiously over a notebook. After months of silence Tenmai had picked up that darn signal again. The relief he had felt during that time was gone. He had to figure out a radio jammer, but it was hard to get supplies and remain undercover at the same time, and his attempts so far hadn’t worked. He was currently scribbling down some math, trying to figure out how strong the signal must be to be able to breach the defenses he currently had up. Tenmai hovered over his shoulder. “Apparently they stopped for so long because of some sort of incident where they lost their data. I just finished tracing the message. It’s from a completely different location.” “Mmmm.” Blaine narrowed his eyes and kept scribbling. Cinnamon would be devastated if they couldn’t watch tv anymore, but it was getting harder and harder to keep it and also block out bad things. There was still the VHS collection. Maybe they’d understand. “I still don’t see why you’re so worried. The broadcast is being sent out to every porygon, like a group email. They don’t know anything about you.” “But if they can contact you in any way, they could figure it out. Or somebody else could. I’m not going to risk it.” “Obnoxious child incoming.” “What?”

“dad dad DAD-” “Crud-” Blaine shoved his notebook into his desk drawer right before Cinnamon kicked open the door, holding up an egg above their head.

“DAD DAD DAD DAD!”

“KID KID KID KID!” Blaine stood up and clapped his hands over Cinnamon’s shoulders. “Calm down, you’re going to give your old man a heart attack!” Ash ran in, somehow panting and barking at the same time. “You too, Ketchup.” Cinnamon took a deep breath, then held out the egg, grinning with pride and excitement. “Look!” Blaine took the egg and looked it over. “Where did you find this?” “It was just sitting in the middle of the forest!” “Well, I hope you didn’t steal it from any poor momma.” 

“It looked super abandoned.” “Mmmm…” Blaine squinted at the egg. It seemed… off. He set it down on his desk. “Tenmai, can you scan this?” “Of course I can.” Tenmai rotated around the egg a few times. “Ok, maybe I can’t.” “Huh?” “It has the coloring of a sunflora egg, is the size of an abra egg, has the weight of a snover egg, and has energy readings off the charts. A little lower than the amount that is theorized for legendary pokemon eggs. I estimate somewhere around 5500 steps to hatch.” “Steps?” “Ah, yes! Pokemon eggs absorb kinetic energy to grow, hence the official measurement for incubation time is the number of steps it takes for an egg you are carrying with you to hatch.” “Ooooo…” Cinnamon picked up the egg and started walking in a circle. They were being surprisingly careful about it. “One, two, three, four, five-” “Hang on.” Blaine frowned. “I don’t like this. The egg is unnatural and could be dangerous.” Cinnamon hugged the egg close. “How could a baby be dangerous?” Blaine’s mind jumped to when Cinnamon was “born.” Giovanni hadn’t cared that it was a baby. He only cared if it was dangerous. And it could have very well been, if given the training. “Dad? You got that look on your face again.” Blaine shook the thoughts away. “Sorry. You’re right, as long as we raise the baby well, it won’t be dangerous. Do you think you can handle that responsibility?” Cinnamon puffed their chest out in determination. “Yes!” “Alright, it’s yours.” Cinnamon grinned and went back to walking. “Six, seven, eight, nine…” 

Start | Previous | Next (still to come)

[modx-reborn]

Kinktober Day 16: Exhibitionism with Sam

... It's a show!

Just not one that was expected by you.

MINORS DNI!

It's easy to coo and cajole you into joining him in the prison, a little visit that means he can show you all his work, all the hard tasks and struggles that had kept him from you all those months ago. 

And yet after all the security checks, pat downs with lingering hands and giggles that followed the heavy rasp of the warden's voice as he grumbles about protocol and how he knows your not going to do anything or try to reach the prisoner, after all, you were here for him not for the waste of space locked in the obsidian cube deep within the halls. 

It is so easy for Sam to fall from the roll of the warden and fit back into the shape of your lover, your Sammy, your dear creeper hybrid that showed you how to make redstone circuits and who holds you each night he retires for the night. The way you marvel and wonder over his work, bubble elevators and respawn chambers making you giddy, the teleport back up leaving you to ramble over the use of them and what could have made such a thing needed, ahh how sweet you were in the ignorance of what was hidden away in the cells. 

While you may have been ignorant of the prisoner, the prisoner was very very aware of you. 

Days checking the lava and bridge transport meant that the clawing hands of the prisoner, of Dream, often caught his eye, making him pull away from his tasks to listen briefly to the rambling mess of words and insanity that spewed forth with every visit. Only recently he had taken to rambling about you, talking in circles about how good of a spouse you must be to wait all this time for Sam, to sit idle and pretty, even going as far as teasing the idea of having his right-hand man pay you a visit, relocate you and start a whole new collection with you front and centre. 

The warden never laid a hand on the prisoner, but Sam, Sam has cracked his jaw and left him bleeding as he laughed in his cell. 

But today, today sam had a little plan, sure it was underhanded to have you believe that the wall of lava before you was just that a wall, a side of the cell that did not face the prisoner or his actual room but he needed Dream to understand that even if he was to get out and get his hands on you, it would always be his name on your lips and his face you think of at night, not his, never his. 

So what were you to do but eagerly meet the kiss offered to you, sliding your hands under the plates of neatherite and digging into the soft leather below, laughing as Sam grunts at your hands stumbling through the actions of pulling the armoured plates away from his body. Eager kisses and searching hands lead to layers being shed quickly and your skin warmed by the lava flowing a few meters from where you had been sat, legs thrown over thick thighs, hands looped around a muscled neck and hips riding with the intent to take everything your dear partner had to offer. 

Sam was not a small man, by height or by the sheer thickness of his cock, sure you had fucked before and would again and again but nothing ever got you ready for when he pressed his hands to your hips, kicking one of his feet out and hitting some button or switch before planting his feet and bucking up into you. 

"You take me so well, every time I get you on my cock you feel perfect like you were made for me... Just for me." The possessive rasp of his voice is odd, catching you off guard and drawing you into the easy response of 'only for you!' oh so ignorant of the extra set of eyes that had begun devouring your form. 

"Sweetheart, look, open your eyes and look at him-" The dropping temperature had you drooping, eyes fluttered closed only to open when prompted, catching the faraway leering of an unfamiliar man, "-look at how desperate he is to see you, but your mine! Mine to fuck, mine to hold and mine to love. Aren't you? I know you are, but he needs to know, to see how you love me..." 

You had once teased Sam with the idea of letting someone watch you fuck him, but he had turned you down, but now here you were being bounced on his cock, hands digging into the soft undershirt of his uniform as he hisses in your ear, possession and praise in every breath. 

[loud-mouth-loser]

in the alps: chapter one

summary: you never expected to meet anyone this far in the middle of the alps, especially not a sleep deprived gift-shoppist

pairing: [eventual] steven grant x reader, marc spector x reader, jake lockley x reader

rating: a little angst?

warnings: descriptions of depression-like symptoms

wc: ~1.3k

a/n: an intro to in the alps

-------

Inheriting a cottage out in the middle of the alps was never something you expected, but you’re glad that it happened. 

You’ve been stuck in an endless loop of life in London, barely able to tell each day apart, simply floating between your apartment, the bus, and work.

There was a gray filter that ceaselessly inhibited you from being happy with yourself or anything around you. Perpetually absorbing every sliver of light that could sneak itself into your life.

It was to the point that when you’d wake up, you just wanted to go back to sleep, not seeing the point anymore. 

You were a fresh-faced kid right out of college when you decided to foolishly take the first opportunity out of the states, thinking life could only get better once you escaped. But you were scooped right back into a little fish bowl, swimming in circles without anyone to lean on. You stupidly left the few friends and family you had to search for a new start, a new beginning for your dream life. 

Then you got a call. Or rather, you received quite a few emails, letters, and voicemails. You were never good at keeping up with inboxes, or actual mailboxes for that matter.

Used to empty conversations and junk mail, you didn’t feel the need to open anything if they weren’t your bills or paycheck. You’d leave them in a drawer to collect dust, too exhausted to go through anything after a day of work, or sometimes, just a day of living.

You were taking a much-needed nap when you were jolted out of your peace by the vibrations of your phone next to you. You tried to wait it out, but as soon as the first call ceased its ringing, another one followed.

You childishly groan out, begrudgingly open your eyes as it restlessly taunts you. You curse your pre-nap phone habit as you pick it up, ignoring the unrecognizable number.

“Sorry, I’m not interested.”

“Wait, hold o-”

You hang up without another thought, settling yourself back into the warmth of your nap spot, shivering at how satisfyingly comfortable it is. You’re about to fall back into unconsciousness when it starts to buzz again. 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” This time, you blindly reach for the phone, still laying on your back as you answer. “Yes?”

“Ms. Hawthorn?” Oh great, one of your distant relatives is giving out your number now.

“Sorry, you must have the wrong number.” You’re about to hang up again, already grumpy from your interrupted nap when you hear your full name. That catches your attention.

“...Are you aware that you are the prime heir to Florence Hawthorn’s monetary and property assets?” Your breath catches in your throat. Your great aunt is dead. This is the last thing you expected to hear.

You had never met her, but you heard that she lived the life of a rich spinster, closed off to the rest of the family after she refused to marry young. You heard stories about her from your mother and her parents, but when they passed, the stories went with them, only a whisper-trace remaining in your memories. 

The only evidence of her existence was the Christian Christmas cards she’d send every year, signed off with her signature “Yes, I’m still alive” written in barely decipherable cursive. 

“H-heir? F-Florence?” 

“Yes, I’m sorry to report she passed away 3 months ago.”

“But–I’ve never met her. How could I possibly be-” You are speechless, mind overwhelmed, unable to process what you’re hearing. 

“Ah, but you are. Being that your mother is no longer with us, you are the next in line.” 

“Well, uh, what am I supposed to do?” 

“The insurance company will send over some papers for you to verify your identity and relation to Ms. Hawthorn, and the details of what you will receive will follow.” 

—-

The decision to leave London was easy. Actually, it was hard thinking of a reason to stay. All you had was a tiny apartment and a deadbeat job. No friends and no family, not even a fish to hold you back.

Aunt Florence’s cottage sits in the middle of a vast field, miles from any sign of civilization. 

It’s kind of daunting, but coming from a bustling city, you could kind of understand the desire to have some peace and quiet away from others.

If it weren’t for the pleasant breeze brushing up the side of the mountain, the bike ride to town would be impossible. It’s supposed to take you approximately 30 mins to bike there one-way, but it usually ends up being an hour or so with all the breather stops you take.  Thankfully, someone created a man-made path straight towards the town’s church and though it’s barely a few feet wide, it at least remains relatively flat. 

When you arrive on the edge of the small town, you’re greeted by a disintegrating church. The  graying structure of the building looks like it’s been eroded by years of dust and rain, clearly, it’s been out of service for a while.

It makes you wonder why your aunt would continue living here if there isn’t a church around because literally, the only things you have ever associated with her are money and Christianity. 

As you explore deeper into the town, you realize it’s all built around one fountain, every bakery, boutique, and home, ripples around the intricately decorated water attraction.

After walking through the cobbled roads and visiting a few shops for essential items, you decide this town is exactly how you hoped it to be: quaint and slow-paced with a nice sense of community.

Everyone seems to know each other, whether they’re passing by a neighbor's house or ordering their ‘regular’ at the coffee shop. It’s a nice change of pace from city life.  

—

You wake up in a dark room, stretching yourself until your leg starts shaking vigorously. It’s your three-week anniversary with this cottage, and you still haven’t gotten used to waking up with the sun. You can hear the faint noise of birds singing outside your window, ready to start the day at dawn. 

Might as well join them. 

Your days usually consist of making meals, reading books, and hanging with Sardine. 

Sardine is the roommate you found yourself sharing the cottage with. It took you approximately a week to find out that your aunt had an outdoor cat.  After a couple of nights of scratches against the front door and screeching meows, you realized he wasn’t just passing through, he was a permanent resident.

He is an affectionate cream and gray spotted calico who is not afraid to scream for a meal and who never stays the night. You decided to name him Sardine, simply because he’s a cat and eats fish. He doesn’t seem to find it very amusing, but you literally have to hold back giggles every time you call for him. 

After spending afternoons with him purring softly in your lap as you absentmindedly pet him, you never knew how you went without a pet. He's good company. Never one to judge or make comments about the dumb shit you admit to him. He’s as content as you wish you could be, simply enjoying life as a cat. 

With a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a hefty outdoor cat under your other, you take a deep breath of the crisp fresh air around you, finally feeling peace.

“Hello?!” You squint your eyes at the vast field in front of you, thinking you heard a faint yell. “Helloo?!” You can barely see a man waving his arms in the distance as he rapidly approaches the cottage. 

[anonsally]

Saturday's Epic Bird Walk

On Saturday I went to small park/recreation area where I hadn't gone birding before, even though it's not far from my house at all.

There's a small artificial lake there, and bald eagles have been spotted there in the past few months. A few minutes after I arrived, a couple stopped to ask me if I'd seen the eagles, and I said I wasn't sure where to look, so they pointed me in the general direction but said they only saw them about once every couple weeks. I told them I didn't think I would be lucky enough to see a bald eagle on my first try.

I knew there was a trail circling the perimeter of the lake; people like to fish there. But I was surprised to find an upper trail on the west side of the park, which climbs a bit above the level of the water and is much less busy (that is, there are fewer people, but more wildlife!). I didn't even know it was there. I admired the wildflowers and enjoyed the birdsong, trying to spot the birds I was hearing. I noticed a turkey vulture soaring in the distance. Then I turned back in the direction I was walking and spotted, perched high up in a tall conifer ahead of me, an enormous bird. It was a bald eagle! Very exciting! I managed to get a couple decent photos of it. This was only my second sighting since using eBird, and my first ever in California.

Not long after that, as I proceeded on the trail, I heard some rustling in the underbrush, which I at first thought must be a bird or squirrel. But then the rustling seemed like it had to be coming from something a little larger. I was looking to try to identify where it was, when suddenly a fox ran across the trail and disappeared into the understory on the other side! I didn't even know we had foxes around here!

I later heard what Merlin claimed was a black-headed grosbeak! It took me a while to spot it, but it appeared to be a female/immature (all (terrible) photos in row 2). This was only my second time seeing this species, and my first time in California; the first time I saw it was actually on the same hike in Oregon where I saw bald eagles.

Other highlights, not all of which I managed to photograph, included a Steller's jay I could report as the coastal subspecies (top row, next to the bald eagle photo), some sort of domestic duck (row 3) which I admired but didn't bother to report, a green heron (bottom row), 2 Wilson's warblers (I don't see those very often), several black phoebes, an immature black-crowned night heron, double-crested cormorants, a killdeer, a band-tailed pigeon, and pied-billed grebes (one of which was vocalising a lot).

A few people stopped to ask me if I'd seen the eagle, so I was pleased to be able to say yes!

[sundaybee]

One More Time (Julieta x Fem!Reader) Pt 15

As always I am not a native Spanish speaker, so if I butchered a sentence or word let me know so I may correct it.

This one ended up being super long so I hope it’s something you all find worth reading.

Part 15 of 20

Pt 16

I did not make the gif.

Things to note: Julieta is a widow. Reader is 30. Talks about depression early on.

Please don’t tear it apart too harshly!

You were in absolute shock over what was happening. The woman you had been love sick over for months was kissing you, and like a fool you weren’t reacting! Your hands at least knew what to do and they snaked behind Julieta’s neck and you pulled her closer. 

It was a soft and gentle kiss. Neither wanting to ruin a thing. When air finally dictated you needed to part, Julieta was the first to pull back. Her face was dark red and she carefully looked at you, praying she hadn’t just ruined your friendship. You on the other hand had a dazed look on your face. You temporarily forgot everything around you and could only focus on the magical moment that had just taken place.

“Are you okay?” Julieta asked timidly. 

“Do you remember when I came to see you at casita? After the whole flower incident?”

Julieta blinked and slowly nodded, not understanding where you were going with this.

“That’s when I could no longer deny I had a crush on you. A bad one.” 

Julieta softly smiled and reached forward to caress your cheek. You leaned into her touch and sighed.

“You thought I avoided the store because you had made the space uncomfortable. I avoided it because I was jealous thinking you had a suitor.” The healer admitted. You blinked in surprise at the confession.

“I felt guilty. Agustín hadn’t been gone long and I felt like I was betraying him. I tried to reason that everything I felt was just friendship, but if my whole family was going to tease me all night long at dinner I must not have been acting like a normal friend.”

You smiled and reluctantly removed Julieta’s hand from your face and rose. You stared at her for a second before vanishing into another room only to return with a Manila envelope.

“Can you do me a favor?”

“Of course.”

“I need you to take this and keep it safe.”

“What is it?” Julieta asked as she took the envelope from you.

“The deed to Palabras Suaves.”

“Why do you need me to keep this safe?” Julieta asked curiously. 

She was quick to place the envelope on the table so she could grab your hands. She rubbed gentle circles on the back of your hands until she had eased the fabric out from between your fingers. 

You bit your lip and debated telling her. You’d never forgive yourself if something happened to Julieta because of something you said. The way she looked at you and rubbed your hands, you knew you couldn’t keep her in the dark about this. Taking the envelope and one of her hands you led her to the couch and told her everything.

——

Julieta was fuming as she helped you pack your belongings. Every so often you’d catch her cursing under her breath about the situation, about Luís. You let her be and packed the few things you needed. A family photo in a frame from your bedside table, a few of your dresses and hygiene products, your favorite book, and your jewelry box. 

Julieta assured you she’d hold onto your deed for you and slipped it into her apron. As the two of you went to leave you paused in the doorway glancing back into your house. It was peaceful. It was quiet. It was lonely. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll be able to return soon.” Julieta assured you, placing a hand on your shoulder. You nodded and turned, locking your door for the last time for a while. 

The two of you moved quickly. Neither of you could be sure that Luís wasn’t lurking around and neither of you wanted another confrontation. 

When the two of you reached casita Alma, Pepa, and Dolores were waiting for you at the door. 

“Are you two alright?” Pepa asked, embracing her sister. 

“Sí we are okay but we have much to discuss.” 

“Dolores overheard quite a bit, Y/N please come with me. Julieta please prepare some coffee.”

“But mamá-“ Julieta started before getting cut off.

“I think our guest deserves a warm beverage don’t you?”

“Sí mamá.” Julieta said and glanced at you. You nodded, you’d be okay. You followed Alma into her study leaving the three Madrigal women behind. 

——

“Why did you keep all of this to yourself?” Alma asked when you finished explaining the situation. 

“He threatened Señora Madrigal if I spoke a word.”

“He threatened your well being as well?” She questioned. 

“Sí he did, but I was more concerned about her getting hurt because of me.” 

“According to my granddaughter it seems he was true to his word and attacked you.” She stated. You flinched and brought your hand to your face.

“I’m okay.”

“Because of Julieta.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Sí.” 

As if on cue the woman entered the room with three mugs of coffee. You accepted gratefully and sipped the warm beverage. 

“Julieta, do you mind bringing a snack? I promise this will be my last request.”

“Sí mamá, I’ll be right back.” Julieta glanced between her mother and you before exiting the room again. 

Alma was quiet for a moment as she studied you. You sat patiently and let her do as she wished. You wished you knew what was going through her head.

“I saw you brought a bag with you.”

“Sí, Señora Madrigal insisted I stay here until Luís was dealt with.”

“It was a wise suggestion.” 

“She is a wise woman.”

“You’re very polite. Your parents instilled good values in you.”

“Gracias Señora.

“But don’t you find it odd to call her Señora while actively trying to court her?”

It was an unfortunate time to take a sip as you choked on the beverage. Your body jerked as the hot liquid suddenly came back up and you somehow managed to keep any from spilling on your lap. 

“Señora!” You cried out earning a chuckle from the old woman.

“I’m not blind Señorita, nor my family. Mi familia tried to trip you up at dinner but you are quite quick witted.” 

Your face was bright red and you wished you were anywhere but this room. 

The old woman couldn’t help but laugh as she looked past you.

“Is everything okay?” Julieta asked as she noticed you sliding lower and lower into your chair. She placed the plate of cookies on the table next to her mother.

“Oh we are fine. We just became a little side tracked.”

Julieta took a seat beside you and looked at you curiously. You seemed utterly embarrassed and Julieta looked back to her grinning mother. She decided she didn’t want to know.

“Now Y/N I must insist you stay here. Do not go to work. I know that may be hard but Señor Santiago is sure to look for you there. Especially when his two day limit runs out.” Alma said, turning the conversation serious again. 

Straightening up you sighed and agreed to not go to work. 

“Y/N said you are in possession of the deed?” Alma asked. 

“Sí I have it here.” She said, taking it out of her apron. 

“Hide it somewhere safe. A man as desperate as Señor Santiago might try something foolish.”

Julieta nodded and returned it to her apron pocket. She knew exactly where she’d put it. 

“Muy bien. We will discuss more with the entire family. It’s best if they are informed on the danger this man poses. For now bring Y/N to the guest room, I’m sure she could use some rest.”

Both women rose and you thanked the matriarch for her hospitality and left with Julieta. Or at least you tried. Upon opening the door you were greeted with Julieta’s three daughters as well as Camilo eavesdropping. All but Luisa tumbled to the ground at the sudden opening. 

“What do the four of you think you’re doing?” Julieta asked, placing her hands on her hips.

“We want to help!” Mirabel said, scrambling up.

“I knew that estúpido would never change!” Isabella hissed.

“Language!” Julieta chastised her eldest.

“I see him all the time hitting on every woman on two legs. It’s ridiculous.” Camilo said, crossing his arms. 

“He needs to be put in his place.” Luisa stated. 

Julieta had never heard her middle child ever speak negative of anyone. She always gave people the benefit of the doubt and saw the good in them, so seeing her wanting to do something about him was surprising. 

“We like Y/N.” Antonio’s voice interrupted. All six people turned to see him descending the stairs, holding hands with Dolores. 

“She is family, and we don’t allow anyone to hurt family.” Dolores stated as the two joined the group. Antonio immediately going to you and wrapping your legs in a hug. 

You were in shock. Sure the Madrigal children had come to your store often. You spoke with them and joked with them. You recommended books and told stories. You enjoyed their presence there just as much as Julieta’s. You just didn’t realize how much they enjoyed it also.

Your eyes immediately began to water and you began wiping at them.

“Y/N are you alright?” Mirabel said, startled at your tears. 

“Sí sí I’m alright.” You said with a teary smile and let your hand fall to Antonio’s hair as he held your legs hostage. 

“Okay let her be. I’ll start dinner shortly after Y/N gets settled.” Julieta said. All children nodded and watched as Julieta led you up the stairs and to a guest room casita had conjured up.

You placed your bag on the bed and sat down, sniffling as Julieta shut the door. 

“Are you okay?” She asked, taking a seat beside you.

“I am…” you trailed off before looking back at the woman.

“I never had siblings or cousins…or children. I only ever had my parents and my grandmother before that. They have all been gone for so long I just became overwhelmed with the compassion from your family.” 

Julieta reached for your hand and squeezed it. 

“They adore you. Don’t think the kindness you’ve shown them has gone unnoticed.” 

You tilted your head slightly, unsure of what she meant.

“Each and every one of them have come home boasting a new life lesson that they claimed they learned from you, and don’t get me started on all the free books you’ve gifted them.”

You blushed. You didn’t think they had gone and shared their encounters in your store. If anything, maybe, they had forgotten them past a week or two. It warmed your heart to know you made a small difference in their lives.

“I’m very fond of them as well. Despite their teasing they are all very sweet.” You said thinking back to the first time you had dinner with them. 

“Ay dios mío I wanted to die from embarrassment!” Julieta exclaimed, causing you to laugh fully. 

Julieta wasn’t sure if she had ever heard you laugh like that before. It was a beautiful sound and she couldn’t help but stare at you.

“What?” You asked as your giggling died down. 

“I was just enjoying the sound of your laughter.”

You immediately blushed and looked away causing Julieta this time to laugh. 

“And you say I’m the one with sweet words.”

Julieta leaned in close and grinned.

“And I stand by it.”

For the second time Julieta captured your lips and your heart fluttered. It still felt like a dream and you’d soon wake up. You’d wake up and Julieta would be a stranger once more. The older woman pulled back and brushed some hair out of your face and smiled and you decided if it was a dream you hoped you were in a coma and would never wake. 

“Rest, I’m going to start dinner.”

You nodded obediently and as soon as Julieta left you curled up, grinning like a child on Christmas Eve.

[smallestapplin]

I ADORE the proposal with emmet! It was so sticking cute! I love how you write so much!!!

How do you think ingo would react to being proposed to? I feel like he would be stunned for a moment before slowly breaking down and starts crying while saying yes.

Your writing is amazing keep up the good work!

Precious baby Ingo.

-

-

You think you know what Ingo likes and doesn’t like at this point, hence why you two went on a late night scroll when he couldn’t sleep.

There was a nice pond near by that you two frequently walked by and let your Pokémon out to have fun, it was a special spot for you two. Many walks were spent here.

Sitting on the bench you look over to Ingo, who’s staring at the water as you two sat on the bench by the shore.

He looks so beautiful, the water reflecting off his silver eyes, he looks so comfy and relaxed in his pajamas, just a simple t shirt, boxers and slippers, his hair a bit of a mess from his tossing and turning trying to sleep.

That was the moment that sold it for you.

You wanted to marry this man.

It took a few months after that night but you finally found a perfect ring for him, a beautiful black and red colored one, you just knew he’d love it.

Ingo has always been more of a private man, wanting to keep his home life and work life separate.

You take him to the white forest.

“Come on! It’s just gonna be a nice picnic.”

“My dear, I do not doubt you but it’s not only late, but I have work in the morning.” He tries to keep up and grab something for you, he wants to help carry the picnic items but you don’t let him.

“Ingo, it’s only eight thirty, we will be home before midnight so you can get your beauty sleep.” You tease, chuckling at his pout.

You took him to a secluded clearing and began to set everything up.

It was a light picnic, the food being more lunch items like sandwiches, but you two prepped everything together, which made it all better.

Once everything was consumed and placed back on the basket you both laid back on the blanket gazing at the stars.

The moon was in perfect view of the clearing, giving you enough light.

You held his hand in between you two. Sitting in silence, moments like these allowed you to think about how much you love the man beside you.

You peek at him in your peripheral to see he is taking it all in. His eyes glued to the beautiful sky above, listening to the sounds of the night.

He truly felt at peace with you here.

Without making a sound you reach into your pocket and clench the velvet box to your chest before taking a deep breath.

“I love you, you know.”

Ingo looks at you, his face now coated in a light blush.

“I love you too, my dear.” His expression is a soft one.

“I love you more than I could every possibly put into words, you make me so unbelievably happy, you being so much joy and love into my life, I don’t know how I ever managed without you.”

Ingo looks away, his face getting brighter the more you speak.

“I adore you, I love you, I want nothing more than to stay by your side, I want the world to know my love for you, so, will you marry me?”

Ingo whips his head back around to you, you’re sitting up now holding out that box with such a beautiful ring inside it.

His heart is in his throat, he can’t breath, those silver glowing eyes darting between you and the ring.

Cautiously he sits up. His body trembling.

“Y…you want to m-marry me?” He is in disbelief, that he must be dreaming.

“I would love nothing more than to call you my husband.” Your smile glows in the moon light.

Your eyes widen in shock when he starts crying, soft hiccups turn into full blown sobs. You panic for a second before he pulls into a tight hug.

His tears soaking into your shirt when you feel him nods.

“Ingo?”

“Yes! I will! I want to..I want to marry you too!” His voice breaking in between his sobs.

“I’m just, just so happy.” He finally finishes.

You coo softly and wrap your arms around him, gently rubbing soothing circles on his back.

“My sweet fiancé, I’m so glad.” You laugh when he makes a sound between a wail and a squeal.

He cries on you for the longest time before you slip the ring on his fingers.

Ingo just stares at it, purely in love with it.

“I love you, Ingo.”

“I love you too, so very much my dear.”

Maybe you two can stay out here just a while longer.