#except that didn’t really happen either because I panicked and ran off and hid until the end of the day

[imissjoongsmullet]

My Prince (6 - final)

Pairing: Minghao x reader

Genre: fluff/(angst)

Summary: Life is not exactly easy being the royal gardeners’ daughter but at least it’s simple. When you’re suddenly called upon to serve as the prince’s personal servant, things get a little more than complicated, especially considering the secret history you and the prince share.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Warnings: general angstiness, a bit of a slow burn, very romantic, very soft, the fact that this will most likely become a long series cause I have no chill

Word Count: 6.5K

Author’s Note:

This final chapter finally fulfills the premise that this is in fact fluff. I promise I’m done breaking your hearts now, woohoo!

My Prince has grown so near and dear to my heart. I don’t usually write long fanfics so this was really quite special. I know I might sound overly dramatic or corny to some of you (and that’s okay). It’s just, I try to be intentional with everything I do. That’s why I wanted to do this right. That’s why I’ve gotten so attached. That’s why it’s taken me forever to finish as well probably haha!

This story is far from perfect. There are countless things that I would have liked to sculpt out more... but I think for that to have happened this would have to become a full on novel and that’s not what this was ever meant to be, so I’ve got to let go of those thoughts and just send it out into the world as it is.

In any case, I sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed reading this story as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. As always, please let me know what you think. As a writer, any type of feedback makes my heart flutter~

Thank you for all the love and support ♥

►

You fell to the floor, your shriek buried in the chaos that surrounded you. There was so much noise so suddenly and none of it sounded good. Panicked, you raised your head to see the entrance to the room had been broken wide open and soldiers in silver and black attire were pouring in, brandishing swords, fire and crossbows. Yientan. Another cry left your lips as you scrambled backwards until you hit the wall behind you. They were here. They must have found out about the wedding and wanted to stop it before a legend could take away their power.

Strong hands grabbed you by the collar and you screamed out for help. You struggled in your attempt to pry the stranger off of you until you noticed the face that belonged to it.

“Come on!” Minghao ordered, dragging you up. He took your hand and set off at a sprint, leaving behind the bulk of the commotion. You could hear banging and screaming from other directions as well though. They must have the whole castle surrounded. Luckily Minghao knew all the secret, little passages attackers tended to overlook. It didn’t take long for you to realize where he was taking you. Before you could come to your senses, you were dragged through the heavy doors to Minghao’s private chambers and sat onto his bed.

“Stay here,” he said, kneeling at your side, clasping your palms in your lap, “don’t leave until it’s all over.” He got up and turned to leave.

“Wait!” you called, stopping him midway, “you can’t go out there!”

“I have to,” he replied stone faced.

“No!” Now it was you holding onto him. “Please don’t—” Your fingers dug into his robes with desperation.

“I have a responsibility,” he said, “I have to go—”

“Then I’m coming too,” you cut in but he shook his head.

“You can’t help,” he explained, “I can so I’m going.” He eyed you sternly for a few more seconds before softening. He sighed, brushing his hand over your cheek lovingly and finally saying, “do not follow me.”

“Hao, please,” you called as he pulled away. You ran to him just in time to keep him from shutting the door behind him entirely. Only a sliver of his face was visible in the gap.

“Stay safe,” he said, before vanishing.

In stunned silence you let the doors fall shut. You walked over to the bed and sat down because your legs felt shaky and your head dizzyingly light. Outside, the uproar continued to grow but Minghao had told you to stay. Your heart ached. It pulled and tugged at you, trying to get you to move but you couldn’t. You didn’t want to disappoint him. Your fingers wrapped around one of the silk pillows on his bed. Closing your eyes, you hugged the thing close. It was all you could do not to cry. You just wanted everything to be okay— for everything to go back to normal. But you supposed none of Minghao’s life had ever really been normal.

A loud crashing sound made you jump. Some large piece of glass must have just shattered somewhere. You got up from the bed and began to pace the room. You clamped your hands over your ears in a miserable attempt to shut out the madness. Shutting your eyes didn’t help either. The itch to do something was growing unbearable. When a few minutes later a crack so deep it was like walls crumbling made the wooden floor tremble, you decided that enough was enough.

Head in overdrive, you went for the window. Its balcony was wide and looked out over the east side of the gardens. Tonight, there were only balls of fire within the dark. With a sickening lurch, you thought of your parents. Had they managed to hide or escape? Or had the attackers set flame to their house while they slept, trapping them in an excruciating death? Panicking, you went for the balcony ledge. Once your feet found balance, you grabbed onto the ornate pillars and started to climb. The plan seemed insane and yet, somehow you felt like the adventurous prince had definitely made this climb before. With that information fueling your confidence, you made it onto the roof above the prince’s chambers.

From here, you could see most of the castle and its grounds. A landscape of hills and valleys lay before you in the form of various curved rooftops. It would have been quite beautiful if it hadn’t been for the screams and the fire. You didn’t know what you were doing, really. You just wanted to know everything was going to be alright. Besides, you’d never forgive yourself if something happened to Minghao while you hid away like a coward.

How many people were fighting down there? How much of a chance did they stand against Yientan? And what could Minghao possibly do in all this? You didn’t even know if he knew how to fight.

Hunching down to a crouch, you made your way toward the center part of the castle. You looked down wherever you could, trying to get a feel of the situation. You saw two servant girls running on a deck as they cried. You saw men fighting in little courtyards, blood staining their clothes. You saw the wooden walkway towards the prince’s library collapse in flames. All of this roused an anger in you that surprised you. You’d never been the bravest of people— you still weren’t. But something was taking over you. It didn’t matter that this castle had been the bane of your existence for the past few months. The castle was under attack and you felt it as you’d feel an attack on your own family. You jumped from roof to roof, wracking your brain over a way to help.

Something sharp whooshed past you and you gasped. You were just in time to turn around and see the Yientan soldier standing on a nearby rooftop, reaching for another arrow. You ducked away towards a lower part of the roof, suddenly feeling the sharp sting on your cheek. There were hurried footsteps behind you and you were running out of options. Your rooftopped landscape came to an end as you happened upon the center courtyard of the castle, where more soldiers fought.

Hoping fiercely you weren’t making the wrong decision, you jumped.

The landing was harsh and you failed to stifle the noise that fought to come out your mouth. A man dressed in silver and black turned your way.

Wasting no time, hopped onto the deck and dashed into the nearest corridor, running as fast as you could in your clumsy servant’s robes. You were disoriented and scared but also determent to outrun the soldier. The long hallways of the castle once again felt like a devious maze, trying to suffocate you. You turned a corner and half-fell-half-jumped down a narrow flight of stairs. Ignoring the sting in your left leg, you rushed along a half open deck, ducked under a low archway that lead you down to the underbelly of the castle. Here, it was pitch black except for the spaced out torch light that hung from the walls. Luckily, you knew where you were going. This lowest level of the castle was used for storage and servant work deemed too dirty to be looked upon by the masters. You took a right through a small door, finding yourself in one of the washrooms the servants used. Just as the soldier’s feet hit the wood floor behind you, you opened one of the closets and grabbed as many fresh sheets as you possibly could, throwing them over him. You watched him struggle for only the fraction of a second before escaping through a side door. You knew exactly where to hide.

You reached your destination within a minute, lowering yourself into a little crawlspace underneath the floorboards of the broom closet servants used to hide from Tou Ma when she was angry. You’d only have to wait a few minutes for the soldier to give up and leave and then you’d be safe. You were about to close up the floorboards when you heard the most dreadful sound in the world.

It was Minghao. He was screaming.

Without a second thought, you burst back into the corridor. You followed the echo of the scream in your mind. It wasn’t far off. It was right here, under the castle. You tried every door, finding deserted room after deserted room, wondering why Minghao was even here, hidden away from all the commotion.

Aside from the soldier that had followed you down, you hadn’t seen a single person down this low. Perhaps you’d imagined it, you thought, just as you slid through another open door you knew lead to the pantry.

The most shocking thing was not that Minghao was there; it was that the emperor of Namin was there too.

Minghao was knelt over his father’s form, shuddering slightly.

“Hao,” you whispered as you approached, an awkward feeling settling in your stomach. Something was very wrong. Tentatively, you knelt down beside the prince, gasping when you saw the blood. Panicked, you looked down, now noticing the dark trail on the floorboards.

“What— what happened?” you stammered. Minghao hadn’t acknowledged you yet. He was doubled over, tears falling down onto his father’s chest.

“Don’t leave me.” His voice was so thick with emotion the words were barely audible.

You knew the emperor wouldn’t reply.

“Please, father,” Minghao whimpered.

You’d never seen him like this; torn apart like an old book. Afraid of making things worse, you sat by and waited. The war outside didn’t matter now. You allowed his sobs to turn to quiet slowly.

When they had, Minghao straightened his back and looked at you. His face was red and blotchy. The pain in his eyes made you want to wrap your heart around him.

“He got shot,” he said at last. His hand reached out for yours and you took it, surprised at the tightness of his fingers around you.

“I found him back in the celebration hall I— I didn’t know what to do. I just knew I couldn’t let Yientan have him so I tried to find a place to hide him but by the time I got here he was barely breathing and—” fresh tears burned in his eyes, “he just— I can’t do this without him I can’t—”

“Hao— ” you started just as a creak in the floorboards made you both jump.

Over a dozen people shuffled into the room, each person looking more perplexed than the next at the sight of Minghao and the emperor. You blinked in surprise at the appearances of the Zhong family, a bit battered and stunned-looking but otherwise fine. Last to enter the room was Tou Ma. Her face paint had smudged, there was blood at her temple and her robe was ripped at the sleeve.

“Stay back, girls,” she said with a voice just as stern as ever before coming over. Her face turned grim the moment she got on her knees and took in the sight. Her eyes widened, her nostrils flared and her thin lips parted. She took a few moments to regain her calm. Gently, she flattened out a crinkle in her robe as she cleared her voice at last.

“My prince,” she spoke solemnly, “from the heart of Namin, I offer my deepest condolences.”

Minghao continued to stare down at his father’s chest.

“Tomorrow we mourn the end of the era— tonight—” she paused, her wrinkles tugging into a frown, “tonight lies in your hands.”

The words hung in the dusty storage room air, settling over the people within it, slowly, like bits of falling snow.

“My prince?” Tou Ma said and her voice was softer than you’d ever heard it.

Minghao hadn’t moved an inch. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking either.

Strands of messed up hair hung in front of his face as he looked down at the emperor. You knew Minghao understood what Tou Ma had implied. Now that the emperor was dead, Minghao was automatically in charge. It was time for him to fulfill his prophecy and become the legend he was destined to be. Except that Tou Ma hadn’t said it like that exactly. She’d left the decision up to him. Tonight lies in your hands. Somehow, you felt like the head servant understood the pressure that weighed on the prince. She’d left the course of action open so that, should he choose to do so, Minghao could hide away with the rest of the castle’s residents. Should he choose to do so, he could surrender to Yientan. It was up to Minghao to decide his fate, not some legend assigned at birth.

Finally, Minghao looked up at Tou Ma.

“My mother,” he said, “is she safe?”

“Of course, my prince,” Tou Ma replied at once, “she was my first priority. I sent her through the royal passage behind the west room tapestry before bringing others to safety. She must have reached the safe house by now.”

Minghao nodded. “Thank you.” He sat there, thinking for a few more seconds before he stood up.

“I’m going out there. Everyone else stay here.” His voice was monotone, matter-of-fact. “I have to speak to the emperor of Yientan and put a stop to this.”

No one spoke as he turned to leave the room. Even you were too shocked to speak. It was only after he’d left the room that you found the strength to move.

“Silly girl,” Tou Ma said, her voice sharp once more as she grabbed hold of your wrist, “this is the last time I tell you to stay away from him.”

You looked the head servant dead in the eye.

“Then this will be the last time I defy you,” you answered, breaking free from her grasp and running out of the room.

You caught up with Minghao halfway up the stairs. You tugged at his sleeve and called his name, softly, inquiringly. He looked back at you, looking apologetic.

“I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you,” he said quietly, “you’re already hurt.” His eyes went to your cheek, where the sting of the arrow still lingered.

You sighed. “And I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to you.” You took his hand. “Hao, please,” you went on, “whatever happens, let’s do it together.”

Slowly, a smile formed on the new emperor’s lips. It failed to erase the pain in his reddened eyes but rather coated them in a temporary haze. His fingers tightened around yours and he whispered, “okay.”

*

“Where are we going?” you asked as you tiptoed through the castle, slipping from shadow to shadow.

“I know where he is,” Minghao replied.

You knew he was talking about the emperor of Yientan. You had no idea what he looked like but you’d overheard plenty of conversations about him during your time in the castle. He was a fierce ruler and a strong man of combat.

“Wait, you’re not going to fight him, are you?”

“No,” he replied, “I’m going to talk to him.”

The throne room looked smaller than usual. A pillar had fallen, dust and debris littered the usually shiny hardwood and on the golden throne sat, not Xu Yilan, but a younger-looking man. He was broad-shouldered and his dark hair fell in a single braid down to his waist. His black and silver armor was still spotless aside from the couple droplets of red that had splashed onto his chest. You almost couldn’t believe he was an emperor and not a war general. Xu Yilan had surely never fought like this. Judging by the tenacity in his eyes, he was enjoying this. Upon noticing Minghao he raised himself from the throne, eyes narrowing.

“Emperor Wu,” Minghao spoke up as he walked to the center of the room.

You decided to stay in the shadows for now. It was better for the Yientan leader not to know a second person was in the room.

“My father, Xu Yilan, is dead by your men’s hands.”

You had no idea how Minghao was keeping his emotions at bay but it was clearly a good thing. The man on the platform drew back, his eyes going wide.

“You,” he said in a gravely voice, “you are Xu Minghao?” He spoke loud and clear but was unable to hide his uneasiness. It was in the way he stood, overly square, and in the stark way his eyes stared ahead.

“I am,” Minghao said, “and I want you to listen to me for a moment.”

Silence. This was good. 

“I do not want to fight you,” he went on, “I just want to talk. I want to restore the balance between Namin and Yientan.” He took a deep breath. “I want Yientan to give us back the highlands.”

A low yet booming laughter filled the empty throne room.

“You expect us to just give you back the highlands?” the emperor scoffed, “and what will Yientan receive in return?”

You watched Minghao as a silence trickled into the air. He was completely still, his mind probably racing like a warhorse.

“In return,” he said at last, his voice deep yet clear, “Yientan will be spared the dragon’s wrath.”

You could see the fear spring into the emperor’s eyes.

“You lie, young man,” he said, though it was obvious Minghao’s words had derailed him a bit. Slowly, the man unsheathed a long sword and pointed it at Minghao.

“There is no dragon,” he spat, starting to walk down the platform, “where is your dragon now, huh? Did it come when our people charged your gates? No, it did not.”

Minghao’s chest heaved but he stood his ground. You couldn’t understand how he stayed so calm. He had nothing to defend himself with.

“Did it come when your father was struck down by one of my men?” emperor Wu continued as he approached, “it did not.”

This was all wrong, you thought, panic taking over you.

“Up on the roof of this broken palace, a golden dragon stands, yes,” the emperor said, a wicked smile spreading onto his lips. He was getting too close.

“It is nothing but a symbol of wealth, a meaningless decoration!”

Minghao stood as a statue, defiant.

“It could not save your father, nor your people,” he grinned, “and it surely won’t save you.”

“Stop!” you screamed, breaking away from your hiding spot. Both men turned their heads in surprise, a moment you took to jump in between them, arms out, shielding Minghao from his attacker.

“Don’t hurt him, please!” you cried. You knew you were making foolish decisions but there wasn’t a single cell in your body capable of doing anything else in that moment.

Pain shot through your arm as general Wu grabbed hold of you.

“No!” Minghao yelled, immediately jumping for the general’s second arm in an attempt to tear the sword from his grasp. Your head spun as you were tugged around, the three of you in an awkward tangle until you heard a gasp that could only be Minghao’s. You watched him fall to the floor, clutching his side, where the fabric of his shirt started to color red.

You wanted to scream but before any sound had the chance to leave your lips, the whole room began to shake.

Emperor Wu backed towards the wall, dragging you with him and that’s when you heard it. An ear-piercing cry coming from somewhere up above. The ceiling cracked and gave away right where Minghao crouched. You cried out his name in a desperate attempt to save him when you realized the falling debris wasn’t crushing him. Instead, it turned to dust mid-fall, scattering over the floor like sand on a windy day.

Emperor Wu gave a startled shriek behind you. A massive creature burst through the broken ceiling with another deafening cry. It looked like a giant, glimmering snake with horns. Its fanged mouth was the size of two grown men and its golden scales reflected the devastation in the room. It curled itself around Minhao, who was still on hands and knees on the floor, obscuring him from view. “It— it’s— it can’t be!” the man behind you stuttered, shivering all over. You took the opportunity to yank yourself from his grasp.

The dragon let out a large huff and steam released from its dinner-plate-sized nostrils. You couldn’t help but feel a trickle of fear pulse through you as you approached the beast. But you had to trust.

The dragon’s body uncurled once more, revealing Minghao. He was standing; even more, he looked revitalized. A determent look had taken over his face. He stepped in front of the dragon and addressed the cowering emperor.

“As I said before,” he said, his voice strong and demanding now, “I don’t want to fight. I don’t want this war. Yientan and Namin can live in peace. Even better, we can make each other stronger.” He glanced at you and his eyes filled with warmth. “I know we are different but Namin will no longer fear those differences. It is by cooperating that we will learn and grow—”

The emperor scoffed. “And to achieve this peace of yours,” he grumbled, “I assume you want the highlands back?”

“They belong to Namin,” Minhao replied calmly.

“And what’s next?” emperor Wu went on, his pitch rising, “you’ll invade us with your big dragon protector and we’ll have to give up everything?!”

“No.” Minghao shook his head. “Namin doesn’t need any more. Just the highlands and harmony with Yientan. If you promise me these things, emperor Wu, this dragon will never be used for violence. It too can be a symbol of peace.”

The emperor of Yientan stood there, fighting a fight within himself. All you could do was wait. Minghao didn’t look scared anymore though. The dragon had taken his fear. The cold mask had vanished as well, leaving his eyes exactly the way you remembered them from years ago; kind, curious, inviting. Years of pressure had fallen off of his shoulders, allowing him to stand up straight and confident.

His gaze went to you for a moment and he reached out his hand.

Heart swelling with joy, you took it, feeling more than ever before, like you belonged.

Emperor Wu observed all of this with pain in his eyes. You still had no idea what the man was thinking but you felt safer now, so close to Minghao.

“Alright,” he said finally, starting to walk towards you, “you win, little emperor.” He shook his head in defeat. “You’ve still got a lot to learn about ruling and, mark my words, you will regret the things you’ve said today— all this talk about peace and harmony—” he stopped just a couple feet away from Minghao, “but at least for now, Yientan will bow to Namin.” He bent over into a ninety degree bow and Minghao let show just the tiniest smile. He was proud— and he should have been. You squeezed into his hand and felt him squeeze back when, all of a sudden, a lot of things happened.

Emperor Wu raised himself, drawing from a loop in his belt a tiny dagger and driving it into Minghao’s chest. At the same time, the dragon behind you let out a magnificent roar as it charged at Yientan’s emperor, knocking the breath right out of his lungs. All this time, you stood, frozen to the spot in complete and utter shock.

When you felt Minhao’s hand slip from yours, you cried out his name. You caught him as he staggered and the two of you landed with a soft thud on the floor. Panicked, your hands dove to his chest, looking for the stab wound as tears began to stream down your cheeks.

“Hey,” you heard someone say softly, vaguely but you didn’t have time now. You had to stop the bleeding.

Something took hold of your chin, lifting it. It was Minghao. He was smiling the sweetest smile and you didn’t understand.

“I’m okay,” he said, pulling aside his robes, revealing nothing but a light cut along his ribcage.

“Hao,” you sniffled as his thumb came to wipe away some of your tears.

“I’m okay,” he said again, nodding softly.

And so all the adrenaline fled your body. Without a second thought, you flung your arms around his neck and hugged him close. It was a hug such as you’d shared when you were children; one made of pure happiness. His arms wrapped around you, holding you close. You were still crying, sort of, but you were sure it was the good kind of crying.

A gentle hand landed on top of your head, patting it in a soothing manner. You took it all in, the feel of him, his scent, the way his heart beat against yours.

“Everything is gonna be alright now, right?” you mumbled into his chest.

You felt him sigh.

“I think so.”

*

The following days were some of the strangest of your entire life.

The emperor of Yientan wasn’t dead. The dragon had hit him pretty bad but it had ultimately left the decision up to Minghao. Minghao, who of course decided to have the foreign emperor nursed back to health by Namin’s finest doctors. He still believed that peace between the two lands was possible.

You and Minghao, along with all remaining castle staff, had temporarily moved into the castle gardens. Most of the garden staff huts had apparently been spared from the fight. It wasn’t spacious by any means, but it was enough for the time being.

Not that you didn’t have any other options.

News of the attack and especially the return of the dragon had spread like wildfire through the cities and towns of Namin. Wealthy traders and investors offered their own residences in honor of the new legendary emperor but Minghao had turned them all down. He said he wanted to help rebuild the castle.

“Besides, I don’t know if I’m ready to face them yet.” Minghao’s face was contemplative as you two sat overlooking the rose garden from a hilltop.

“What do you mean?” you asked.

He leaned back onto his hands. “I don’t know,” he said, “I’m not ready to be their legend, truly this time. How am I supposed to— after my father.” He shook his head. “I’m no better than him. He was just a man and so am I.” 

Up in the sky, the golden dragon trailed patterns in the afternoon clouds. It had fluttered around the gardens all day; a beacon of hope.

“I know I have a job to do but—” he said finally, “I still can’t help but feel like I’m losing something precious.”

You nodded, leaning your head onto his shoulder. “Things will be more complicated,” you admitted. It was true. You didn’t want to sugarcoat that for him. However, you weren’t worried.

“But you won’t be doing any of it alone.”

You could feel him start to smile as his arm slid around your shoulder.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Your majesty,” a tense voice said.

It was Tou Ma. You were surprised to find you were happy to see her.

“We have received word from your mother. She will be coming home in a few days. The Zhong family meanwhile have arrived home this morning. They are well.”

Minghao nodded, his face stony but a lot going on behind his eyes.

“Should I send word back?”

“No,” Minghao was quick to answer but then he caught himself, “I think I’ll write Zhong Mei and her parents a letter myself. They deserve that.” He was frowning to himself now. “And tell my mother I’m sorry— and can’t wait for her arrival.”

“I will,” Tou Ma said solemnly, her eyes trailing off. She was searching for words.

“What is it?” Minghao questioned.

Tou Ma pursed her lips.

“He is awake.”

*

You followed Minghao to one of the larger huts in the garden, where emperor Wu was being treated. The room was bare, save for a bed and a night stand upon which stood a bowl of water and a clean cloth. A middle-aged lady in simple blue robes stood by his bed. The moment she noticed Minghao, she fell into a deep bow.

“That’s alright,” Minghao said, taking her hands as she rose, “thank you for your amazing work.”

The woman went red in the face but smiled brightly back at him.

The emperor of Yientan still suffered a few bruises, one below his left eye. You couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy around him so you watched Minghao approach from a distance.

“How are you feeling?” he asked the man in the bed.

Emperor Wu let out a heavy sigh as his eyes landed on Minghao.

“I’ve been better,” he said.

There was a silence you weren’t sure of the meaning of. Minghao seemed to be waiting.

“I’ve sat here for a while now, you know,” he went on, “been awake since sometime last night— in and out of it most likely— but I’ve been thinking.”

The man in the bed looked nothing like he had during the battle. He’d been full of fire then. Now, he had a depleted look about him.

“Do you know what I was thinking?”

Minghao shook his head softly.

To your surprise, the emperor of Yientan let out a chuckle. Maybe he really had suffered brain damage after all.

“I was thinking, why am I in this comfortable bed?” he snickered lowly, “I thought I might have died. Thought it might be the afterlife. But then I was informed of your decision to let me live. To let me go.” His face went sad suddenly, brows furrowed. He looked almost silly.

“I realized I admire you, your majesty. You chose to spare the life of the man who invaded your land and took it for his own, the man responsible for your father’s death, the man that might have been responsible for your own death—” he let out another chuckle. “I thought you must be either mad or genius— I, um— I’m still not truly certain which one it is but I can say one thing for sure: you’ve got more bravery in that little body of yours than I’ve seen in any ruler of my lifetime. And I have no choice but to respect that.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Your hands were anxiously clutched in front of your chest.

“Thank you, your majesty,” Minghao said, his shoulders relaxing a bit.

Emperor Wu raised himself in the bed, took the cloth from the nightstand and wiped his face with it. When his face was revealed once more, he was smiling.

“Alright,” he said, looking up at Minghao, “let’s get this over with. Let’s talk.”

*

This is how Namin was restored. The highlands were returned and multiple treaties were formed between Namin and Yientan, promising peace and collaboration for all time to come.

Minghao hugged his mother close a few nights later, and a ceremony was held for the death of Xu Yilan. It was a sombre meeting in a nearby temple, the only other attendees aside from direct family the thousands of fireflies that lit up the air.

Then, finally, it was time to go public with everything that had happened. The coming of the legend emperor had to be celebrated and the people of Namin were not going to let that opportunity go to waste. Banners were raised, fireworks set off, as a magnificent parade made its way through the capital.

Throughout all this, you found yourself completely overwhelmed, not only because so much was happening at once, but also because Minghao wanted you to be a part of it all.

“Are you alright?” Minghao whispered into your ear.

You hardly knew how to respond to that. You were sitting in a luxurious golden carriage, wearing the most beautiful silk you’d ever laid eyes on. Layers of pale pinks and greens, adorned with gold thread fell from your shoulders. Your hair had been elegantly put together by Tou Ma herself that morning, with flowers and ribbons she’d handpicked for you. If all that wasn’t enough to make your heart do cartwheels, Minghao, the new emperor of Namin sat beside you, holding your hand while he waved at the people cheering. And there were a lot of people around you. It seemed as if all of Namin had come out to watch the procession. You weren’t as confident as Minghao, darting your hand up occasionally to wave at the public, only to change your mind the next second and put it back down.

“I’m terrified,” you replied, “ecstatic and overjoyed and terrified.”

“That sounds about right,” he said, grinning, “but don’t worry, we’ll be there soon.”

Surely enough, the procession halted in the main square of the capital. A tall platform had been put up in the center of it. As you’d expected, your carriage opened its doors right beside it. It was time for Minghao to give his speech. With one last smile in your direction he left for the platform. You watched him breath in and out, visibly shaking the nerves out of his body before he began.

“People of Namin,” he spoke loud and clear, “in the last week, a lot of things have happened and rumors have run rampant. I believe you all deserve to know exactly what has happened at the castle and what this means for the future of Namin.”

You looked in complete awe and adoration, as Minghao explained the events of the past weeks and even before that; the protests, the arrival of the Zhong family and their plans, the attack, death of Xu Yilan and finally, the legend of the dragon.

“It is true,” Minghao said, “the dragon lives once more.”

Just then, a bright glimmer fell all over the square and the people squinted upwards to see the golden dragon fly overhead.

“It will protect Namin for as long as I live and hopefully longer.”

The crowd erupted in jubilant cheers. Minghao took this opportunity to look back at you. You were suddenly highly aware of the ridiculously wide grin that had been plastered on your face ever since he’d begun his speech. He returned it gladly and, to your surprise, beckoned you to join him onto the platform.

Your eyes went the size of daisies as you vigorously shook your head at him. He only smiled kindly at you and turned back around as the commotion had died down mostly.

“My dear people, it has been a glorious day!” he yelled  “but I have one more announcement to make.”

This turned the whole crowd silent.

“Throughout the challenges of the past week I have had to be strong. In order for the dragon to arise, I’ve had to be strong. I’m the true leader, I’m Namin’s hope, I am a legend come to life— I’ve been hearing these types of statements all around and I would like to say that, while your praise is appreciated, I fear I’m not entirely deserving—”

“There’s a reason I’ve been able to be strong. There’s a reason I’ve been able to keep my head on the right track, there’s a reason I feel like I can be a worthy leader to you all and it is a reason entirely outside of myself.”

He turned back around to face you. Your face went hot when you realized he was actually coming down to fetch you. He took your hand, gave you the most loving smile and pulled you up.

Everything looked simultaneously tiny and overwhelming from up on the platform. Luckily you had Minghao holding onto your hand or you for sure would’ve fainted.

“I can be the leader I am because of this woman,” he said, “she has been the one thing that’s grounded me in all of this and if it hadn’t been for her, I’m not sure I’d be standing here making this speech today.”

Your heart was pounding out of control and you felt lightheaded. You were grateful when Minghao’s arm slid around your waist and steadied you.

“On this special day, we celebrate the resilience and rebirth of Namin,” Minghao stated confidently, “but I would also like to use this day to profess my undying love for the girl standing beside me.”

A sea of murmurs welled up from the crowd. Minghao came to face you again and suddenly, he looked less like an emperor and more like the boy you’d always known.

“I’ve always loved you,” he said quietly, “it’s always been you.” His hand came to hold your face gently. “I know the life I lead from now on will be full of challenges and responsibilities, it will be a life in the spotlight, maybe—” he sighed, “maybe nothing like the life you’d imagined for yourself but—” he was really searching for words now, his eyes darting in all directions until they finally landed back on yours.

“If you’ll have me, I would love for you to share that life with me.”

It was as if a collection of fireworks set off inside of you, shooting from the top of your head all the way down to your toes, setting you aflame. It was an overload of feelings. You didn’t even notice the tear trickling down your cheek until Minghao wiped it away.

“So, will you?” he asked, looking like he might collapse from nerves as well now.

The smile burst free from its own accord as the reality of the situation finally sank in.

“Yes, of course!” you let out and your arms flung themselves around Minghao’s neck.

Now the people of Namin were really cheering, their noise like drums in your head as you embraced Minghao. Even when you broke apart the cheering didn’t stop; it only grew wilder as Minghao pressed his lips to yours. 

In all your life you’d never thought this would be yours. Even as a child you’d known that Minghao, your playmate wasn’t to be wanted. He was different, above others, untouchable, and for years you’d struggled to come to terms with that grim fact. And yet here he was, in front of you and all of Namin, telling you he loved you. It was the beginning of a new era for Namin and it seemed that its residents were ready for change. And you were more than certain Minghao was the right person to lead the people with justice and, above all, love.

♥

[hinatas-sunshine]

Synopsis: Babysitting with Kuroo, Kenma, and Kageyama was not something you’d expect to be so...weird?

Genre: Fluff I think yo no se

A/N: I’m trying to fit in as much writing so I don’t seem like a dead account when my online classes start up, but I really appreciate all the love you guys continue to give me thank u KITHES 🥺❤️

Kuroo:

• Kuroo had made plans to study with you earlier last week and you agreed, your boyfriend was a really good tutor after all

• Sadly, you wouldn’t be alone due to your sister showing up with your niece asking you to babysit last minute

• And again, you agreed because you love your niece and didn’t want your sister to struggle having to find a babysitter

• So when Kuroo showed up and you had a toddler in your arms, he melted at the sight

• He greeted you with a kiss after you put your niece down and then he continued to crouch down to your nieces eye level

“Hi there kiddo!”

• Your niece hid behind your leg and peeked out to look at the giant man in front of her

“Yeah I’d hide too.”

“Y/n! :(“

• You slowly stepped aside and your niece moved with you

“Lovebug you can say hi! He’s my boyfriend! He’s nice I promise and if I’m wrong you can have some ice cream.”

• Her eyes widened at the sound of ice cream and slowly waddled up to Kuroo and waved shyly

• He gasped in excitement and waved back

“Can you tell me your name?”

• And she nodded and told him her name before he lead her to the couch and picked her up to sit with him

• Now it was your turn to melt at the sight before you went to the kitchen to grab a snack for the three of you

• You returned with two bowls of ice cream, one for you to share with your niece and one for Kuroo, only to find your boyfriend showing your niece all about Chemisty

“She’s a toddler she doesn’t know how to read yet Kuroo.”

“She likes the pictures!”

• He showed her a bunch of cool things in his chemistry text book and her eyes sparkled with curiosity ignoring the ice cream you brought out

“A-Am I being replaced?”

“Uncle Ku!”

“Yes you are!”

• You giggled slightly as he picked her up and placed her on his shoulders, talking about all her favorite princess and how much she liked the stars

• You snapped a cute picture and ate ice cream feeding her some as she continued holding onto your rooster haired boyfriend

• Soon enough her eyes started closing and her blinking became slower as she fell asleep on your boyfriends shoulders

“Is she asleep?”

“Yeah, you’re so boring you put her to sleep Kuroo.”

• He pouted before placing her on the couch and draping his red Nekoma jacket over her

“She called me uncle ku. 🥺”

“Because you’re old. 🥺”

• You two laughed and whispered trying to let your niece sleep

• Your sister came in to pick up your niece and thanked you and Kuroo as she lifted her child up who woke up lazily due to the sudden movement

“Bye auntie y/n, bye uncle ku, you’re the coolest.” She rubbed her eyes

• Your sister laughed and said her goodbyes saying she PROMISED her daughter will be back soon to which Kuroo was excited to hear

• Once your sister was out the door Kuroo exploded

“She said I’m cool!”

• You giggled, getting on your tippy toes to kiss his nose

“You are cool!”

“Now I want one-“

“No ❤️”

• He definitely made a PowerPoint to explain why you two should have a kid - slide one: to have someone to call him cool

Kenma:

• You often found yourself babysitting as an side job during summer break

• When Kenma made plans to hang out with you he didn’t expect to see you on the floor with a toddler across from you

• He walked right back out of your house 😃

“Kenma!”

• He sighed and walked back in as you held the toddlers hand and had the other on your hip

• The little boy looked at Kenma with wide eyes and walked over to him

“What’s it doing? Why is it coming over to me?”

• You laughed scooped the little boy in your arms walking over to Kenma who looked scared for his life

“Say hi!”

• The little boy reached out for Kenma who looked at you and then the kid

“He wants you to hold him.”

“I don’t want to hold that.”

“Kenma!”

• He then sighed and took the boy in his arms, you snapped a quick picture at the two, who were looking at each other

The toddler: 😃

Kenma: 😐

• You laughed before sending it to Kuroo who had a field day with it by the way

• After you put your phone in your pocket you looked up to see Kenma trying to talk to the tiny boy

“Do you like video games?”

“....”

“Do you like animal crossing?”

“....”

• Kenma handed him back over and shrugged

“I couldn’t do anything.”

• You laughed and lead your boyfriend to the living room who automatically sat down and pulled out his switch to play animal crossing

• The tiny boy gasped in your arms and reached out for Kenma again who looked up and shrugged taking the tinier boy in his lap

• The two played on the switch for a little, Kenma making commentary about the game

“Yeah I don’t like him either.”

• You looked over to see the tiny boy slapping the screen and Kenma nodding as if he was agreeing with him

• Kenma slowly warmed up to the smaller boy and let him play with his switch for a few minutes before you brought out some fruit for the baby boy to munch on

• Kenma stole some of his fruit

• The little boy began falling asleep with some strawberry in his mouth and nodding off on the table before you picked him up and wiped his hands and face clean to lay him on the couch to sleep comfortably

Kenma: Must be nice, Y/n doesn’t treat me like that

Y/n: Yeah cause Kuroo does

Kenma: Not the same

• You spent time cuddling Kenma who played animal crossing and you scrolling through social media before joining him on animal crossing too

• When the toddler woke up crying Kenma was the equivalent to the caveman spongebob meme

• He was shook he didn’t think it could do that

“What’s wrong with it?”

“HE is just waking up, it’s okay.”

• You helped the boy calm down, his little sniffles leaving his nose before making you put him down and waddling over to Kenma

• Kenma gave a small smile and picked him up setting him on his lap again and then continuing gaming until the little boys mom came to pick him up

• You two said bye before the little boy ran to Kenma and hugged his leg and running back to his mom

Y/n: Does this mean you’ll babysit with me more?

Kenma: No, but I’ll come over only if it’s that one

• The next time at practice Kuroo wouldn’t stop showing everyone the picture you sent him and now you have to beat Kuroo up Bc Kenma said he won’t babysit with you anymore because he’s embarrassed

Kageyama:

• When you got a call from your boyfriend you realized something was off

• Mainly because he screamed through the phone asking you to hurry and come over

• Worry filled your body as you ran to Kageyama’s house and reaching the door throwing it open and panting

• Kageyama sat criss cross with a baby in his hands, holding it at arms length

“Tobio-Kun I thought you were- d- holy crap I’m out of breath...”

• You took in a deep breath

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE DYING!”

“I am dead if something happens to this thing!”

• Kageyama then explained that his aunt had dropped off his baby cousin and his mom was out at the store so he was in charge

• You scooped the baby into your arms cooing and rubbing noses with her, she happily giggled and Kageyama fell back with a sigh of relief

“Thank god you came, I was ready to just leave it on the couch and let it sit there but it started crying.”

• You glared daggers at your boyfriend and sat next to him

“SHE is a calm baby, she just needs attention.”

• The baby girl babbled and held onto Kageyama’s finger to which he tried to pull back but she had a death grip on

• He started panicking again, but you gave him a kiss and reassured him he’ll be fine

“So... can it- I mean she- play volleyball?”

“Kageyama she can’t even walk yet?”

• he sighed before resting his chin in the palm of his hand

“So what do we do with her?”

“Take care of her? What else would you do with babies?”

“I don’t know I’ve never met one.”

• you spent a few hours taking care of the baby and bouncing her around to keep her entertained

• Kageyama would be lying if he said his stomach wasn’t doing flips and you looked like you could be a perfect mother one day

• You finally handed her to him and taught him how to hold her, and he did his best although he was extremely nervous

• You took a picture to send to his team mates

• Everyone was in aw except Tsukki who went on about how the King looked terrified

• You then prepared to give her, her bottle and he said he wanted to do it and you smiled handing the bottle to him for her have her milk

“So all the do is drink milk, get attention from you and sleep? I want that type of life.”

• You laughed at your boyfriend only to notice the little girl was almost done and you took her to burp her, he just watched and you two played with her a few more minutes before it was her nap time

• You were putting her to sleep when Kageyama’s mom walked in

“Oh thank god he called you, knowing him he would’ve left her on the couch and not looked back.”

• You laughed lightly at your boyfriends face that was now a deep red.

• His mom happily took the baby and continued to care for her while you and Kageyama walked to his room

• He lied down and mumbled something about how exhausting it was and you laughed crawling next to him as he wrapped his arms around you

“You’d be a good mom one day.”

• You smiled and looked at him, his cheeks a deep red and all you did was kiss him softly

• He smiled into the kiss before pulling away and cuddling his face into your neck

• You stroked his hair and kissed the side of his head

“Never call our child an it or I’ll kill you Tobio my love.”

• He laughed and lifted his head up to press another soft kiss on your lips

“Well you’ll for sure kill me multiple times because I can’t care for a kid to save my life.”

• You laughed and he picked up his phone to check it

“Why is everyone calling me Daddyama?”

Tags:

[s-horne]

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing.” Tony coughed awkwardly and turned his gaze away from Steve. He wanted to be able to pretend that nothing was wrong between them, but he’d known the question had been coming for weeks. Concentrating far too hard on drying the mug in his hand, Tony cleared his throat. “Of course there’s nothing.”

“I don’t believe you.” Steve’s voice was quiet but it carried across the room. It made Tony pause. “It breaks my heart, but, for once, I don’t believe you.”

The words struck Tony. Swallowing harshly, he turned his back to his husband, knowing full well that he could never school his expression enough to fool Steve. The mug made a horrid noise when he slammed it down too hard against the counter. There was no way that hadn’t broken.

“I’m not hiding anything,” he said, wishing the words were true.

Steve sighed and Tony felt his chest constrict.

“You know I love you,” Steve said, tone horribly levelled, “but I won’t stick around whilst you lie to my face.”

When Steve had left the room, Tony lifted the mug to inspect the damage. There was a hairline crack right down the middle of the phrase World’s Best Husband.

Made sense. 

*

 “Have you told him yet?”

Tony took a long gulp of his coffee, welcoming the hot burn. “No,” he finally said, setting the mug back onto the table. It wasn’t exactly fine china and already had a few cracks in it. Tiny ones. The sort that ran into each other until they connected and broke the whole mug into thousands of bits. “No, I haven’t.”

The coffee shop was small but warm. It was filled with college kids and Tony had never felt older. He’d let Peter pick a place for them to meet, which accounted for the bright art on the walls and the worryingly-low price for a coffee. It had student written all over it.

“Tony,” Peter said, horror on his face and bleeding into his tone, “you have – you said you would! That was the deal. That’s what, I thought–”

“So did I.” Tony picked up the mug he’d just put down and took another long sip, simply for something to do. It was drinkable, at least. Nicer than the stuff he’d subjected himself to as a college student, but not the same sort that they served at his and Steve’s favourite diner. “He doesn’t know.”

“He – he has to! Tony, you can’t… I can’t–”

“You aren’t doing anything.”

“I’ll break up – I’ll ruin your marriage. You said if we met here today, then that meant you’d told him. That was what you said.”

Tony drained his mug, wishing it was something much stronger than coffee. “You haven’t ruined anything, Peter. Sit back down.”

Half out of his seat, Peter’s face was ashen, fingers gripping the edge of the table as though he’d fall down without its support.

“Kid, sit down. Please. You aren’t at fault here. I promise you. This is all on me.” When Peter didn’t look convinced, Tony waved his hand. “I mean it. Sit down and eat your cookie. I paid top dollar for that.” Well, it had been free with the coffee, but it made Peter lower himself back into his seat anyway.

There was a hint of a smile on Peter’s face as he reached out for his plate. Pulling it closer, he picked up his cookie and bit into it, his eyes on Tony the whole time. “I don’t want to–”

“You’re not doing anything,” Tony said, talking over Peter with the tugging of a smile at his lips, “except speaking with your mouth full.”

Cheeks colouring, Peter ducked his head with a chuckle, “sorry.”

Tony laughed too, a little quieter and wistful. “Look at me,” he murmured, “being responsible.”

“Yeah,” Peter agreed, his voice much more confident. “Dad material already.”

“Christ.” Tony grabbed Peter’s coffee and drank thirstily. “Sorry, kid. Needed that.”

“I’m sorry,” Peter said instead of bothering about the theft. “I am. You weren’t ready for – you didn’t need–”

“No. No, Pete, don’t say that,” Tony interrupted quickly. Reaching across the table, Tony covered Peter’s hand for a moment. “I probably, well, no, okay. I wasn’t ready. Only because it wasn’t something I expected to happen. But I need you, okay? I – I, shit. I can’t do this.” He took a deep breath and let it out again slowly. There was music playing, faint in the background. Some sort of country song that Tony automatically hated. “I love you, Pete. I do. And not just because of… I do. Honest.”

Peter stared at Tony when he fell quiet. Seconds ticked past. Eventually Peter sniffed loudly and Tony broke into a laugh.

“I love you, too,” Peter said, smile widening ever so slightly as he wiped his nose on a loose napkin. “But you have to tell Steve.”

Tony swallowed. He kept Peter’s gaze for another long moment before he sighed and dropped his head. “I can’t.”

“Why?”

Reaching out for a sugar packet, Tony twisted it between his fingers. “Look, kid. You wouldn’t–”

“Don’t do that. Don’t say I wouldn’t understand. I’ve been through enough. I’m older than I seem.”

Tony sighed again. “I’m sure. Fuck, I bet you are. I just, I don’t know. I don’t know how to start.”

“Would he be mad?”

Tony quirked a smile. “No. Steve can’t get mad at me. It’s not in his DNA. And he’d never get mad at you, either.”

“Then why?”

Letting the question hang in the air, Tony thought it over. “He doesn’t know,” he finally settled on. “Doesn’t know about… most things.”

“Like what?”

“Steve and I,” Tony started before groaning loudly, wishing for another cup of coffee, “we broke up. About nineteen years ago,” he added hastily when Peter’s mouth fell open. “We broke up in college for about six months. Well, six months almost to the day, actually. Couldn’t have lasted any longer before I was banging down his door and begging him to come back to me. We didn’t talk, we didn’t see each other, we just straight up pretended the other didn’t exist. At least, I did.”

“And then?”

“And then we got back together,” Tony said, a ghost of a smile creeping onto his face. “I can’t even remember how and I don’t care. All that mattered to me was that we were back together. I wanted to forget it all. Forget what I did and who I did.”

“Oh.” Peter’s tone was perfectly level and Tony winced. “So you never told him about...”

“No. No, I didn’t.” Tony twisted the sugar packet so viciously that it broke, white granules raining onto the table. “He asked. Many times. For about the first month, possibly the second. I always said it didn’t matter and he eventually stopped asking when I clammed up. I didn’t want to talk about it because I didn’t want to hear about his time without me, about who he’d been with. I couldn’t bear to even think about it. And I didn’t want Steve to think about me and – well. Anyone, really. So I hid it.”

“Until now.”

“Yes. Until now. You and… well. Yeah. You.”

“I’m–”

“Don’t you dare.” Tony pointed at Peter before dropping his eyes to the table, flicking away grains of sugar. “Peter, don’t. Don’t be sorry, you idiot. I want this, okay? I want you.”

“I want you, too. But you, I… don’t let me come between you and Steve.”

Tony’s chest tightened. His gaze raked over Peter’s face, from the curls falling round his ears to the brown of his eyes. He was a handsome boy and Tony’s heart thumped. “You’re pretty damn amazing, kid. You know that?”

A blush grew up Peter’s cheeks and Tony laughed. He threw the empty sugar packet at Peter to break the tension.

“You need to get back yet?”

Peter checked his phone and grimaced. “Yeah, actually. Classes start at three. Meet you here tomorrow?”

The uncertainty in Peter’s voice made Tony’s chest tighten for a much different reason. He smiled as brightly as he could. “Course. Two cookies to make up for the stolen coffee. Deal?”

“Thought you said they were free?”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Take it or leave it, kid. That’s the offer. Deal or not?”

“Deal.” Standing from his seat, Peter heaved his rucksack onto his shoulder and grinned. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, kid.” Tony looked up at the young boy, eagerly drinking in every last detail and committing them all to memory before he left. “See you tomorrow.”

 *

 The walk into the kitchen felt like a walk to the hangman. Tony didn’t know why he was so nervous or what he had to fear. He knew in his heart of hearts that he hadn’t done anything wrong, that all that was going to come out of the situation was positive.

It was all good.

It had to be.

Steve didn’t turn around when Tony reached the kitchen and knocked on the doorframe.

“Knock, knock.”

There was no answer and Tony bit his lip.

“I’m back.”

Still no answer. Tony’s heart dropped to somewhere around his large intestine.

“Look at me, Steve. Please.”

It might have been the way that Tony’s voice cracked on the last word or the love between them, but Steve finally responded, words dark and even.

“You better still have your ring on if I do.”

“Fuck.” Tony’s legs nearly gave way and his breath stuttered. “I do,” he hastened to say, tripping over his feet as he hurried to Steve’s side. “I do. It’s there. I won’t ever take it off. Steve, I–”

“Okay.” Steve turned and met Tony’s panicked gaze. “I’m here. I’m listening.”

With Steve’s undivided attention on him, Tony didn’t know where to start. As much as he’d wanted Steve in front of him and the truth out between them, he couldn’t find the words. There was a distance between them, both physical and emotional, that Tony didn’t recognise.

“Talk,” Steve said flatly, “I’m ready. For anything.”

Holding a hand out between them, Steve turned his palm up. Tony stared at it for a long time. The ring around his finger, metal darkened over time, and skin a little raised around it. It had been there for over ten years and Tony couldn’t stand the idea of it gone.

“Peter,” Tony croaked out. He lifted his gaze to Steve’s, meeting his wide and confused eyes. “Peter. He’s the… he’s what I wasn’t telling you.”

“Peter,” Steve repeated, tasting the word. Tony couldn’t read his tone and he hated that. “Who’s Peter?”

Tony swallowed. Blowing out a breath, he counted to ten and slowly stretched his hand out. When his hand was hovering over Steve’s, just a hair’s width between their two palms, Tony decided to be brave. “He’s my son.”

(A41 from this list)

[sugarmaplewings-fics]

Deep Blue Fantasy Part Seven

Pairing: Merman!Tamaki Amajiki x fem!reader

Warnings: None, maybe a vague sexual reference

Author’s Note:

Whoo! It's Sugar; back to bring you the conclusion to the Mermaki saga. So it's finally over! I'm a little sad to see it go, but I'm glad to have my vision complete. I think I worked on this for ~3 months.

Anyway, not to bore you before we get to the story, I just wanted to give a huge thank you for all the support! Even if you don't leave comments or even a like, I want to thank you for reading. I don't publish these for the notes or comments. I do this simply because I want to get my writing out to the world for people to hopefully enjoy. If you liked reading my stories, even if you don't say anything, I'm happy to think I made you smile with something I've written. It's still nice to know for sure, but no pressure.

Thanks again for reading, I couldn't do it without you guys.

Love,

-Sugar

✤✤✤✤✤

{Pt. 1}  {Pt. 2}  {Pt. 3}  {Pt. 4}  {Pt. 5}  {Pt. 6}  {Pt. 7}

くコ:彡くコ:彡くコ:彡くコ:彡

The membranous lids over Tamaki's eyes slid to the side, only to be met with more darkness. It was then that he remembered. He was alone, at the bottom of the ocean.

Tamaki straightened, now unused to the drag of the water slightly hindering his movements. His tail curled up, and he studied the overlapping scales that adorned it, looking pitch black in the dim depths of where he had lain. He must have fallen asleep after he'd fled from you. Tamaki looked up towards the surface, wondering how much time had passed since. It looked considerably brighter up there, so he'd probably slept the full night. Great.

The fins on his tail waved a little in the mini currents swirling around him. He watched a little crab wander over the grey sand before burying itself beneath the fine grains. Now that Tamaki was settled down, he realized how dumb his actions the previous night had been. Seriously? Running away? What good did that do for him?

You were royalty . . . . Interesting. He really should have seen it coming, what with all the blatantly obvious signs there were. Maybe he had been trying to lie to himself. Maybe he had suspected all along, but just wanted to play to the fantasy that you were still, somehow, not too far out of his league.

But a princess? That had been too much. And yet . . . Tamaki found that you never talked down to him. You never treated him different. You must have known he was a commoner, and yet you hadn't been put off by it. Maybe you were only interested because he was a merman? But you hadn't even known it that first day, and your kindness hadn't changed since.

Tamaki laid himself back down, sand softly shifting under his ruined white human shirt. He hid his face in his hands again, replaying the events of last night over in his mind. What had he done? You were so close to him, and the dance you'd had was nothing short of magical. The connection he'd felt between you . . . he couldn't have just imagined it.

The merman gingerly lifted a hand, letting his fingertips ghost over his chest where your hands had been placed mere hours before. He pushed into himself a little harder, trying to imagine it was you, mind beginning to race with ideas of how it all could have gone differently.

Tamaki's fingers froze. His chest was smooth. Too smooth. It was only then that he remembered what had made him human in the first place, followed by what he'd done with it.

The necklace!

In a moment of denial, Tamaki began patting himself around his neck, ripping his shirt over his head in a desperate attempt at finding the valuable object he was borrowing. But he knew it was gone. He distinctly remembered throwing it behind him as he ran into the sea.

He laid himself back down in the sand again, right next to his old shirt.

Stupid stupid stupid stupid—

Tamaki let out a high pitched keen into the water around him, trying to vent his frustration towards himself. Not only had he destroyed his chances with you, he'd also broken his promise to that Nejire mermaid.

It was over. He'd yee'd his last haw. There was no more hope for him. He'd have to go to live off in the corners of the ocean, holed up like some kind of hermit crab where no one he'd ever known would find him again. This was it. It was time to go run—no, swim—away again.

Tamaki didn't move. He allowed himself to lie down and sulk for another good, long time before finally hauling himself up. He needed help, that much was clear. Maybe Mirio would lift his spirits enough for him to snap out of this. Besides, his best friend had a lot of good ideas and always seemed to know what to say to Tamaki.

He flicked his tail, letting himself rise up a bit in the water before sluggishly making his way in the direction of his old home.

Tamaki soon came upon the merpeople village, the familiar outline of homes jutting from the sandy sea floor. He swam through them, trying to keep a low profile in case someone decided to question his disappearance for the past week. Granted, not letting anyone see him for extended amounts of time was nothing new for Tamaki, but now that he was guilty, it was hard to brush the fact aside.

He couldn't help but feel like an outsider among the buildings. Tamaki had never been all that social, so he didn't have the most ties to the town he'd grown up in. Really it had always just been him and Mirio, but now that he'd experienced you, he felt as though there was no going back to his old ways.

I may still have to, Tamaki glumly thought before finally reaching the large entry hole in the side of Mirio's home. He sent a ping inside, letting it bounce around the sandy mud walls. A dark form moved in the shadows, quickly telling Tamaki that Mirio was, in fact, home.

"Tamaki?" Mirio asked, running a hand over his face like he'd just woke up. "What are you doing here?" The blond finally registered the panicked expression on his friend's face, and ushered him inside. "What happened?" Mirio signed, floating back to activate a luminous lamp so it would be easier to converse. "Why are you a merman again?"

Tamaki crumbled a little, hunching in on himself. "I messed up."

Mirio's brow ridge pushed together, trying to make sense of what might have happened. "Did she reject you?" he guessed, trying to get his friend talking.

Tamaki shook his head. "No. It's almost like . . . I rejected her . . . ?"

"What?"

"She—Apparently—I didn't know—" Tamaki's tail wouldn't stop twitching, his fins waving in invisible currents. "She told me she's royalty," he finally motioned out.

Mirio blinked. "Humans do that? With monarchies?"

"Yes." Tamaki nearly growled in frustration at his predicament. "Except she doesn't have an empire or anything, she's what's called a princess. And her dad is rich and important and he like, owns the islands around here and I had no idea this entire time until last night and—"

"Tamaki." Mirio put a hand on his shoulder. "Breathe."

Tamaki paused, allowing himself to pull extra water through his gills. The sensation helped him calm down for a second, but then he began to fret again. "She—she was teaching me how to dance like a human, you know, with my legs and stuff, a-and we almost kissed but then I just had to ask her what a princess was and she looked upset and I ruined everything and I looked like an idiot—"

"Tamaki."

The merman in question froze again, slowly dropping his hands.

"It was an honest mistake," Mirio assured him. "Did she say anything about it?"

"No," Tamaki admitted. "But I ran away before she really could. There was something in her face . . . . She just looked so sad."

"Hmm." Mirio tapped a finger to his chin, thinking. "Have you told her you like her yet?" he finally asked.

"Not really, no." It was then that Tamaki's brain decided to give him flashbacks of the sponge incident, making him subtly shudder.

"Well . . . do you think she might like you back?" Mirio prodded.

Tamaki's first instinct was to say no, to keep his hopes from getting too high by denying any possible indication that you might think about him in that way. And yet, all the time you spent together, coupled with how close you had grown within the short time you'd known each other, and there was the moment you'd held yourself so close to him after you danced, mere moments before he ruined everything. If only he'd kissed you then . . . .

"Maybe," Tamaki hesitantly signed.

"And you know you like her, right?"

"Of course."

Mirio triumphantly lifted himself a little higher in the water. "There you go. Now all you have to do is tell her how you feel. Simple as that. She can only either reject or accept you. If she says no, then you can come back home with me and never see her again and we can pretend this never happened. If she likes you back, then yay! You have a girlfriend."

Tamaki was almost indignant towards how simply Mirio put it. Why did he have to make so much sense? But he had to admit he was right. Tamaki should just go back to you and apologize, maybe propose courtship while he was at it to get everything over with. Except one thing was stopping him . . . .

"So, uh, there's one more problem," Tamaki said.

"Oh?"

"You know the necklace I used to turn myself into a human?"

Mirio's eyes darted to Tamaki's chest, finding it bare before looking in his hands, as if he may have been holding it this entire time without him noticing. At the realization he couldn't see it, his gills flared a bit. "Tamaki? Where is it?"

"That's my problem. I . . . lost it."

"Why would you do that?!" Mirio lightly shook Tamaki's shoulders.

"It wasn't on purpose! I just . . . needed to get it off, and then I threw it somewhere . . . ."

"You threw it somewhere?!" For once, Mirio looked more panicked than his best friend. "But we have to give it back to Nejire! And you need to talk to her��that girl! What's her name again?"

"(Y/N)."

"Exactly! Is there any chance we could find it?"

Tamaki wanted to hope, he wanted to say that there was a chance, but he knew better. The ocean was so vast and violent, even within the past few hours it had to be gone forever. Tamaki should have thought more about the price he would have to pay for such a reckless action.

His slumped shoulders were enough of a hint for Mirio to what he was thinking. Mirio slumped a little too, feeling a bit defeated. "So is that it? Is there no other way for you to contact her?"

Tamaki began to think. You had been doing well with the sign language he'd been teaching you, and that stretch of beach Mirio had showed him where there weren't so many rocks would be a good place to meet up . . . . His mind began to spin, already trying to work something out for you.

"Well?" Mirio asked, wondering what made his friend shift his mood so suddenly.

"There may be something I can do," Tamaki said. After a few more moments of sorting out his thoughts, he began to relay them to Mirio.

"That could work," Mirio ruled.

"I may not be able to get my legs back, but I still have to apologize and tell her how I feel," Tamaki said, newly determined.

Mirio pumped his fist. "Let's go!"

By the time Mirio and Tamaki were ready, the surface had already surpassed its peak brightness. Tamaki vigorously pumped his tail in the direction of your island home, sincerely hoping you didn't hate him after the stunt he'd pulled.

✤✤✤✤✤

You hadn't slept well last night. Worry for your friend had worked its way into your very being, your position flighty and your eyebrows creased.

You didn't know how to feel. You weren't angry with him—well, maybe you were a little mad that he ran off without giving you a chance to talk or even say goodbye. You just wondered why he had gotten so upset. Truth be told, you'd thought he knew what you were talking about when you called yourself a princess. You liked how he treated you . . . just like any other person. He'd thought you were just another human. So that was why.

The realization had struck you the other night. You'd always hated the way people tended to act towards you; treating you either like you were some type of bomb or a piece of glass; dangerous, but fragile. Yet Tamaki had been different. Tamaki treated you like a friend. He was genuine and he was sweet . . . and he was a merman who had little clue as to how your world worked.

Had it all meant nothing? Would he flip that switch inside of him and never be himself around you again? Had that been the last time you'd see his carefree smile? The smile you were starting to fall in love with?

Love? You had more important things to worry about. Like your kingdom. And also the fact that he'd turned tail and ran the moment you said 'royalty'.

Stupid, you thought, though you weren't certain if it was directed at yourself or him. Forget about seeing his true smile again, you may never see him again.

You'd finally walked back to the chateau alone in the dark after deeming Tamaki gone for good. You hadn't even bothered to tell anyone that he was gone. What were they going to do? And it wasn't like now was a great time to reveal to an entire chateau of people that the boy you'd been hanging out with for the past week had actually been a merman this entire time, but now he ran away. Oopsie.

Ever your faithful friend, Brianne still poked her head inside your bedroom, wondering where you'd gone off to. She must have noticed the slump you'd fallen into after walking in on you laying face-down on your plush bed.

"Everything alright, princess?" she asked, concern lacing her voice.

"Y-yeah." You forced yourself to sit up in the bed, already in your night dress.

"Where's that boy?" she asked you. "I haven't seen either of you for the past hour."

You bit your lip, trying to decide whether or not you should lie. "He's in his room," you finally said, internally cringing at yourself for choosing untruth. "He doesn't like crowds much, so he went to bed early. I think I will too." You staged a yawn.

"Sounds like him," Brianne remarked. "He's stayed here all week and I don't think I've heard his voice. Oh, well. I hope he'll be up for the dance tomorrow night. I think he'd like it. Have a good rest, princess."

"Thank you. You as well."

She left and shut the door behind her, leaving you alone in your room with your thoughts. A week ago, you had been used to being alone, simply anticipating the return of your father from his important business in other lands. But now you had grown used to a very particular presence, and his absence was already beginning to settle very heavily on your heart.

One difficult night later, you found yourself in the company of your father, trying to keep all conversations away from the mysterious visitor you'd been harboring in the chateau. You'd missed your father, the king, and you still listened to every story he told you of his most recent travels. But at every pause, every distraction, your mind began to slip. It danced to lands of indigo-black hair, and infinite eyes of sapphire and cobalt, of a timid, gentle voice.

Tush! You'd let yourself catch feelings. What could be a more foolish move than that? You tried to subtly grind your teeth as your father began to talk about some lord of Ospal and their herring trade. Of all the people across all the seas, it had to be the one you couldn't have. The merman who fled. The merman who was probably only interested in you because you were a human.

Obscenities that had no business floating around the head of a princess angrily danced around in your mind, only interrupted from their chaotic boogie when your dad asked if you were okay. You glanced up from the desk you'd been boring holes into with your eyes, guiltily trying to wipe the blatantly aggravated expression off your face for a more pensive one.

You were dismissed after a long lunch with the king, retreating to your study to pour over your books. Maybe that would take your mind off the boy who'd made off with your heart. Or at least, that was what you'd hoped until you glanced out your window when a flash of movement caught your eye.

This window happened to have a lovely view of your beach, sprawling out below a large black cliff face abruptly cutting downward to dark ebony sand. Your gaze had grown used to the constant motions of the sea; black brackish waters undertoned with green and crested with white foam, infinitely pushing forward and rolling back on the shore. But what your peripheral vision wasn't accustomed to was a sudden flash of shiny brilliance lifting and falling from the waves beyond the rocks.

Your eyes darted up, uncertain if they'd seen right, and if they had, what it was they'd detected. But there it was again, and another. Two unmistakable scaly tails were poking out from the water. One was a sort of light blue green, while the other was more of an indigo black, reminding you of a certain someone's hair. You had only seen the likes of these tails in drawings; art typically accompanying a fantastical story, but there they were, basking in the steadily lowering sun right outside your window.

You shot yourself up, letting your chair screech as it abruptly slid out from behind you. Clutching your thin skirt in one hand, you began to run through the halls, flying past people in other rooms as you went. You flung the back door open, slippered feet pounding on the lush grass leading down to your favorite part of the island. They finally met the sand, your chest heaving as you focused your gaze on the two figures sliding above and under the surface.

"Tamaki?!" you called, hoping he would be able to hear you.

Sure enough, a familiar head poked up, waving to you urgently and pointing to your right. You frowned, confused as to what he was trying to say before he made a show of swimming in that direction.

So he wanted you to follow. That was something you could do.

You began to pick your way down the shore, trodding through overgrown tan grass and weaving through rocks deposited and littered throughout your path. After a few minutes of constant checking that the other was there, you found yourself on a new expanse of beach; this one still as violent as the last, but certainly more devoid of the large black rocks jutting from the frigid waves. It was then that Tamaki finally began to swim towards you rather than parallel, coming as close as he dared to the sandy beach.

You kicked off your shoes and stood at the edge of the water, wincing at each lap the cold water took at your bare feet. Don't go into the ocean had been drilled into your head so thoroughly from such a young age, that even going this far tensed your muscles to run at any moment.

You frowned at how far Tamaki had to float, bobbing up and down meters away from you. Hesitantly, you took another step, letting the water rush over your ankles and fleck onto your calves.

No closer, you saw him sign, fighting to keep himself in position and his hands visible at the same time. Not safe.

Your face ticked. You knew that.

"What happened?" you called out over the sea, hoping you'd still be able to understand each other. "You just left me, Tamaki. Why?"

Hurt flashed on his face after a moment of processing your words. I'm sorry! he signed. I got scared.

"Why are you all the way over there?" you asked. "What happened to your legs? The necklace?"

Tamaki winced again. You really seemed to be hitting the worst points right on the head. I, um, lost it.

"It's gone?!" you asked, incredulous. The volume you needed to be heard over the sound of the waves wasn't helping with your tone.

Look, Tamaki signed. I have something I need to tell you. I messed up and I was being stupid last night, and I'm really really sorry for overreacting—

He jerked a bit in the water, jolting him out of the rant he had begun to go on with his hands. He glared down into the water, and it was only then that you wondered what had happened to the second tail.

"Is that what you wanted to say?" you said, making him look up at you again. "If you need to go back home—I-I understand. You were a really great friend, Tamaki. I really liked you."

Tamaki shook his head, frantically waving his hands at you to stop. That wasn't it! I just, um, well, this isn't a goodbye. I wanted you to know—I've been thinking about it for a long time—I—I'm in love with you!

You blinked. Had you interpreted that correctly? He had just used a lot of signs you weren't familiar with. "What?!"

A little cloth bag was suddenly launched out of the water, splashing next to you and drenching a side of your skirt. You bent down to pick it up, watching as Tamaki's hands moved to scold his friend.

Mirio! She doesn't like it when you throw things at her!

You pulled at a drawstring that was keeping it closed. Inside was an assortment of shells, some of which the likes you'd never seen before.

"Are these for me?" you asked, clutching the dripping bag.

Tamaki nodded. If you'll accept them. Do you, by any chance, like me back?

You squinted at his hands. "I'm having a hard time understanding you," you said. "You've only been teaching me this for a week."

Tamaki stopped short, letting his hands fall back into the water. A sense of hopelessness began to wash over him. He didn't know how much you were able to understand. The distance between you frustrated him, and at that moment he would have given anything to be back in last night, with you pulled flush into his chest. If only, if only.

He punched his fist into the water, the resulting splash flecking him with a familiar wetness. So this was it. He had been so close, but you'd never know his true feelings. He may as well take his losses and turn to go now.

"Will I ever see you again?" you called, the expression on your face only describable as deeply sad.

He wanted to say yes. He wanted to say he'd always find a way to be with you. And yet, it couldn't be. You were from two very different worlds, and even now you were struggling to talk to each other. It would be best if he took the cold approach, steeling himself to never appear on your beaches again.

Tamaki was about to shake his head, sealing his answer when he noticed the grass on the shore part for a familiar figure.

"Gabriel!" you said, startling at his sudden presence. "Where did—how long have you—?"

"Princess, get out of the water."

You heeded his calm but firm voice, glancing back at Tamaki's head before gratefully stepping out of the cold sea that had been encasing your feet.

The burly man stood next to you, crossing his arms as he studied Tamaki from afar. "A merman," he stated. "So the legends are true."

You swallowed. "Please don't tell anyone. It's supposed to be a secret."

Gabriel nodded and held out a hand. "Don't worry about it, princess. Now what's going on between you?"

Tamaki had dared to drift a little closer, ears straining to catch words he faintly remembered the meanings of.

"He's leaving now," you said, casting your eyes to the sand. "I guess this is it."

Gabriel made eye contact with Tamaki. "You sure that's what you want to do? Because I have something that might change your mind."

You blinked, confused, looking up to see Gabriel fishing something out of a pocket on the front of his burgundy shirt. A thin cord was raised from the material, followed by a curious shell securely tied to the center.

"I found this little trinket washed up on the beach this morning. I knew it looked familiar."

Tamaki caught sight of the necklace, eagerly swimming forward.

"It's yours, isn't it? It was the only thing you were wearing when you washed ashore. I believe it belongs with you."

Tamaki finally gave into the waves pushing him to shore, surging towards you and Gabriel. This was his chance, the necklace wasn't lost after all! He could tell you how he felt and you could be together!

You watched as his form took greater detail with proximity. A long fishy tail more than half the length of his human torso powerfully pumped itself through the water. Iridescent indigo scales caught the light, ever changing between black and blue. Lighter, thin blue fins flared around the tail and from behind his ears. You couldn't help but think about how absolutely beautiful he was like this, in his original form.

It was then that it really registered for you that Tamaki was a merman. You'd believed him, and the stories of his undersea home only helped you to imagine him in this way, but it wasn't until you were actually able to see him like this that it clicked for you how smitten you had grown for this mythical creature, who existed, and was your new best friend.

He pulled himself onto the sand, dragging a once graceful tail heavily onto the beach. Gabriel placed the necklace into his outstretched webbed hand, and Tamaki went to lift it over his head.

"Wait!" Gabriel said suddenly.

Tamaki froze, looking to Gabriel uncertainly.

"That thing doesn't give you any pants!" he said, causing you to burst out laughing. "You can't be like that in front of the princess!"

Tamaki sheepishly lowered the cord. He had a point.

"Wait here, I'll go find you some." Your friend turned to sprint off, leaving the two of you alone together.

"Tamaki!" You knelt down and threw your arms around him, disregarding how cold and wet his skin was. "I was starting to think I was never going to see you again!"

He patted your back with shaky hands, having gone rigid at your sudden touch.

You pushed yourself back. "Look at you! You're an actual merman! That's crazy! Can I see your tail?"

Tamaki shuffled himself a bit, pulling it most of the rest of the way out of the water. He sincerely hoped that Gabriel would be back soon, otherwise he'd be in a bit of a predicament. His gills would stay moist for only so long.

You admired his scales, glistening with seawater in the afternoon sun. "Pretty," you murmured to yourself, eyes unashamedly scanning up and down his body. You studied the various fins and scales on his tail, marveling at how seamlessly he went from man to fish at the base of his torso.

Tamaki's first instinct was to hunch in on himself and be a touch embarrassed, but he couldn't help a sense of flattery at how your eyes scooped him in with such fascinated wonder. Remembering how the mermen back home would show off, he shifted so he could stretch out his tail a bit more, trying to gently flutter his caudal fins. The effect wasn't the same as it would have been underwater, but luckily he didn't look too much like a floppy dying fish.

"Can I touch it?" you asked, making Tamaki jump and go back to hunching in his shoulders. Typically, tail touches didn't occur among simple acquaintances; usually gentle affectionate rubs among close friends, and tender handsy touches during . . . those times. Thinking about it made Tamaki's entire face turn red, even as your face remained innocently curious.

He shakily nodded. What could it hurt? You gingerly brought your fingertips down onto his scales, finding them moist and cool and smooth. He was still a bit slippery, though you could tell he was beginning to suffer from the exposure to the dry air. The sensation of your fingers on his tail was foreign to Tamaki, and he found himself not wanting you to stop. You were so gentle, so tender, little jolts of electricity found themselves running all the way up to his spine.

A sudden whistle cut through the air, making both you and Tamaki jump. The merman turned, recognizing the pitch. A blond head had poked from the waves a few meters away, bobbing up and down as close as he dared.

Holy hagfish! he signed. You two work fast. On the beach, you're going to start that?!

Tamaki tensed, honestly having forgotten that Mirio was still there. How long had he been watching you?

You weren't quite certain as to what the blond was saying, but the way Tamaki's soul left his body and, if it were possible, his face turned even more brick red told you enough that you should probably stop touching him.

As if on cue, Gabriel saved you both by running back in with a pair of trousers. "For our guest," he said as he presented them to Tamaki.

You turned as he finally slipped the necklace over his head. The pain of transforming was over far faster than it had the first time, and within seconds he was standing and pulling the brown cloth onto himself.

"(Y/N)."

You turned back to him, seeing Tamaki standing before you again as a human. "Tamaki!" You pulled him into a second hug, letting his damp hair tickle against your cheek. Finally, he hugged you back, and the sensation was so warm and so fulfilling you never wanted it to end.

As always, the moment was ruined by your audience.

Two sets of hands clapped, one from the land, and one from the sea. You cracked open your eyes to look at Mirio, who motioned a sign which you didn't know the meaning of.

You pulled yourself from Tamaki. "Can I still understand you?" you asked.

"I hope so," he said, causing you to beam at him.

"So what were you trying to say out there? I couldn't see you that well."

"Oh." Tamaki looked at his bare feet, spotting the brown cloth bag that momentarily laid forgotten on the sand. He turned to glance at Mirio, who gave him a thumbs up, then looked at Gabriel. Tamaki knelt and grabbed the bag of shells, presenting it to you again. "I'm sorry this always ends in disaster for me," he began, letting you take it from him. "I just needed to get something off my chest."

"What is it?" you asked, wondering if he'd done all this just to say he was leaving you.

"Ever since I first saw you on the beach, I-I—I've liked you, (Y/N). And then I went on this crazy adventure to get myself in a position where we could meet and I could get to know you, and all that time, I-I just couldn't help myself. I'm falling in love with you, (Y/N), and I don't care if we're some of the most different people on the planet, I still want to be with you. I'm so sorry about that stunt I pulled last night and I know I messed up. I'm no prince or anything, but—please give me a chance."

Tamaki finally let himself meet your eyes. He hadn't expected to see your touched expression, looking upon his face like he was the sweetest, most caring person in your world.

"Of course, Tamaki. I'd be honored to court you." With that, you flung your arms around his neck and partook in the kiss you'd missed out upon the night before. Tamaki melted into your lips, his slightly salty taste mingling with your sweet.

The kiss didn't last long, but it spoke volumes. You pulled apart, cheeks glowing with rouge warmth as you took a final lingering look into each other's eyes.

Loud splashing made the two of you look back to Mirio, who was giddily celebrating with his own merman cheers. Tamaki smiled at his friend, glad to have had him at his side all this time, leading him to this very moment.

"Now, I have no idea what he just said," Gabriel began, making the two of you turn back to him. "But I'll assume he confessed his feelings, and now Brianne owes me a drink."

You and Tamaki chuckled, settling into a state of complete contentment.

"Now you two lovebirds best be getting back home," Gabriel continued. "The dance starts in an hour, and I suspect neither of you want to be late."

You gasped, having forgotten the welcome party that had been planned for the evening. "Come on!" you said, taking Tamaki's hand in yours. This time, there was an extra warmth behind it, and you took an additional second to twine your fingers around his. With that, you pulled him back along the beach toward home; Gabriel in tow from behind, Mirio still frisking along parallel in the ocean.

Tamaki couldn't wipe the grin off his face if he tried. Three weeks he had. Three weeks to be human, to fall deeper in love with you. It could never be enough time, but once it was up, he wouldn't rest until he found a way to spend the rest of his life with you. He pushed the gnawing worries down deep inside, letting excitement for the night course into his system instead. You and him and the town would dance under the stars, and no matter what, he'd give you the time of your life.

✤✤✤✤✤

Just as he'd expected, his three weeks flew by in a blur. He hid nothing from you, so it was a certain understanding quickly established that one day soon, he would have to go.

Taking the opportunity nevertheless, you spent those weeks well, hanging out in the chateau or wandering around the island. Tamaki never lost his curiosity for your world, and you were eager to show him everything you knew. He started to become familiar with some of the townsfolk, and even met a few sailors at the docks when they came. Tamaki also began to grow closer with your father, explaining after a few days that he was, in fact, a merman, and that, yes, you were dating him.

He seemed open to the idea, especially once he got to know Tamaki better. The king left you alone to bond when needed, and the two of you certainly did. News spread that you had found yourself a boyfriend, and everyone on the island agreed that you were cute together. Brianne was quickly let in on the secret that he was a merman, and she finally began to warm up to Tamaki.

Those three weeks were some of the best of his life; wandering the grassy plains with you and watching the clouds one day, holing up in your study for hours the next. You found excuse after excuse to kiss him, enjoying the way it made his cheeks flare with color. Every now and then though, he'd steal one from you, delighting in how the tables turned to make you flustered as well. Anything from hand holding to hugging fired his heart into a furious beat, savoring every moment he could hold you close as his own.

But all things must come to an end, and his mental tracker finally reached the number 29. You stood with your father, Gabriel, and Brianne on that expanse of open beach, solemnly watching as he waded further into the sea. You had given him a final hug and a kiss, and he whispered a promise into your ear that he would find a way back to you, and this one would be permanent.

Tamaki's body shuddered as waves slapped at his thighs, and he suddenly began to lose his footing. His pants slid off as his legs began to merge once more into a single appendage, familiar indigo scales scattering over his surface. He swam to Mirio, who had been waiting for him, giving a final wave over their shoulders. This was only a temporary goodbye, he would make sure of that.

After readjusting to being a merman for a bit, Mirio and Tamaki made their way south to visit Nejire, ready to return the now useless necklace. One long day of swimming later, they poked their heads into a familiar cave. Had it only been a month since they'd been here last?

Mirio swam straight in, confident as ever. He loudly clicked, calling for the mermaid. She glided out from an area in the back, lighting up at the sight of them.

"Hey, it's you guys!" Nejire pulled the boys into the back room, delightedly listening to Tamaki tell her everything she wanted to know about the human world.

Both she and Mirio fired off questions, nearly overwhelming him at some points. Eventually, they were satisfied, and Tamaki opened his bag to present the necklace back to its rightful owner.

"Sure sounds like you had fun!" Nejire signed, taking the necklace and putting it on a shelf behind her for safekeeping. "I'm definitely going to try it out sometime! I'm not sure if I'll go to that island. Maybe the mainland. Do you think I'd meet someone cute like you did? That would be so tragically romantic. I belong in the sea, though, isn't that right, Amajiki?"

"Actually," he began, "I was wondering if you had another option, something more permanent."

She stared at his stilled hands, then looked back at his face. "So that's what you want to do? Be human forever?"

Tamaki nodded. "I don't think I'll miss the ocean too much. I may not see Mirio every day, but we can still always talk every now and then. (Y/N) said that some of her other islands have calmer beaches that would be better for visiting with him."

Mirio nodded. It had taken him some time, but eventually he had grown to accept the fact that Tamaki preferred to be on land with you.

"You want to be human . . . ." Nejire mused, tapping against her lip for a moment.

"Is it possible? Can I do it?" Tamaki studied her face, allowing himself to hope it could be this simple. He had already accepted it was likely it wouldn't be, and he was more than prepared to journey through the merpeople empires around the world to find someone who could help him. But Nejire was a start, and it never hurt to ask.

Nejire's slightly pointed teeth made an appearance as she began to chew at her lip. "My mother . . . she was the last sea witch before me. She may be able to help you. She retired earlier this year and gave the shop to me, but I can go fetch her for you if you'd like."

Tamaki nodded vigorously and waited as she swam off. An hour later, she came back with a second mermaid in tow. She looked strikingly similar to her daughter, her hair just a few shades lighter. Tamaki assisted in explaining his situation to her, and she agreed to help.

"Normally I wouldn't want to be involved in breaking the laws," she said, "but it's their own fault for not enforcing them. I'll help you, little merman. You seem passionate about this human girl. I'll make you a brew, but just understand you won't be able to come back to the ocean."

"I know." Even if everything fell through with you, which Tamaki was certain it wouldn't, he was deeply intrigued with exploring the land and sea, witnessing the sights the earth had to offer.

"But mother," Nejire said, "don't potions have a tendency to not last long? I mean, once they go through one's system—"

"That's only for the amateurs." Nejire's mother grinned. "I know how to give lasting effects. Come along, there's much to be done!"

✤✤✤✤✤

You gazed out at the sea from your window, thinking about Tamaki. You were prepared to wait weeks—months even for his return, but even so you couldn't help but miss his presence. Your father kept you busy with your duties, yet every chance it got, your mind found itself wandering back to the timid mer-boy.

You hummed to yourself contentedly, glancing back down at your notes. You so happened to be studying some of the Greek legends; illustrations of gods and monsters decorating the margins of the page. You couldn't help but wonder if all of them were true, since you'd now met a merman for yourself.

Eventually you were able to settle back into your work, the distant sound of the ocean occasionally breezing into your ears as your pen scratched at your parchment. The story you were reading was interesting, so much so that you didn't hear your door creak open behind you, nor did you pick up on the footsteps that snuck up from over your shoulder.

A pair of pale, somewhat lanky arms gently wrapped around your shoulders. You jumped and spun, meeting two indigo blue eyes with your own (E/C). Raven hair fell over his nose and a small smile graced his handsome face. The face of the man you adored. The face of the man who would be yours forever.

"Hey, princess," he said. "I'm back."

...

The End.

くコ:彡くコ:彡くコ:彡くコ:彡

Taglist: 

@bnhavibes​ @engel-hageshii​ @inumorph​ @good-so​ @krissy189​ @milkteeboba​ @pansexual-potterhead​ @selfship-mishaps​ @ure-a-sunflower​ @xeina​ @kingtamakimurder​ @basicaegyo​​ @iiminibattlehero​ @pyrofanatic​​ @sokkasangel​ @xoxopam4​

[jettingtothemoon]

Save You; chapter 6

➳ pairing: hector x witch|reader ➳ genre: fantasy, angst, fluff ➳ warnings: violence, swearing, smut, mentions of rape, past slavery, spoilers for seasons 1 thorough 3. ➳ word count: 2382 ➳ rating: 18+ ➳ summary: In which y/n and Hector continue to flee from the council of sisters, finding refuge among an unlikely acquaintance with fresh scars and a cold personality. ➳ Part two of, ’Rescue You’.

Chapters: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09,

Fun and Games

Neither you nor Hector asked Alucard any of the questions that were swirling around in your heads. You had both sensed that it was probably not the time to ask him about it and decided you just needed to reassure him that it was okay.

Alucard needed to know that neither of you were judging him or going to push him to tell you anything he wasn't ready to talk about. After all, you still barely knew him, but you at least wanted him to know that you were not like whoever had hurt him. You wanted him to know that you weren't going to do anything that would harm him as they did, however that may have been.

Instead of asking about it, you made idle chitchat about things like the weather or how the boy seemed to be settling in well. Alucard smiled when you mentioned the boy, it seemed as though he had also warmed to the child but it was clear he still felt that guilt for getting himself into a state so early in the morning.

Lunch lasted no longer than half an hour and, by the time it was over, Alucard was trying to leave again. Trying to run away.

"Stay with us for a while. I'm sure we can find something fun to do." You grinned, hoping that your friendliness would comfort Alucard rather than scare him away.

He met your eyes, absentmindedly brushing his long hair over his shoulder, "You want me to stay with you?"

You nodded but Hector spoke before you could, "Sure. We're living under the same roof so we might as well get to know each other better."

Alucard looked so shocked, so confused. He didn't understand why the two of you were making an effort with him, especially after what happened this morning, but he could feel the sincerity in your tones. Neither of you were planning anything malicious. You just sincerely wanted to try and get along with the man who's home you were staying in. Hector did have a point though, you couldn't all live here avoiding each other forever.

"Okay. What 'fun' thing did you have in mind then?" Alucard turned back to you with a rather blank expression, clearly not comfortable enough with either of you to show anything more than his usual microscopic expressions.

A smirk pulled at the corner of your lips, "Boys, we are going to play a game."

The two men looked at you, both with very different expressions. Alucard looked, well, like Alucard, monotonous with only the faintest hint of emotion hiding in his features. Hector, however, furrowed his brows and tried to decipher whatever plan was brewing in your mind.

~~~

"Hide and seek? Seriously?" Alucard huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes. We're playing hide and seek. Oh, and you're counting." You grinned, extending a finger towards Alucard, who pointed his own finger into his chest.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. The three of us will go and hide from you, then you'll come and find us." Hector explained, gesturing to himself, you and the boy.

Alucard rolled his eyes and pointed down by the boy's feet where Cezar stood excitedly wagging his tail, "You mean the four of you."

"Yes, the four of us but Cezar and the boy will be together so they only count as one point."

The half-vampire raised an eyebrow, "We're doing points?"

"Of course we are. You find all of us, you get three points. For each point you get, you can ask a favour from one of us. But if you can't find us we get the point and you owe us a favour." You explained.

"Okay then but prepare to lose. I hate to admit it but I have the upper hand." Alucard declared, seemingly finding at least some of the competitiveness that resided inside of him.

You smirked, "We'll see about that."

Just like that, you, Hector and the boy all ran off in different directions, each heading to opposite ends of the castle.

"Don't forget, you can't stop until you get to one hundred." You yelled down the hall right before turning out of sight.

Alucard sighed but nonetheless lifted his hands up over his eyes and began to count, "One, two, three..."

As he counted, he made sure to focus his hearing, listening to all of your footsteps echoing as you grew further away. He was sure he was alone, standing in that hallway. All of you had run far away, surely finding what you believed to be the perfect hiding spots. But, not only did Alucard have the upper hand ability-wise, he also grew up in this castle. You and Hector knew the halls well, sure, but you had only been here for a year or so with Dracula. Alucard had lived here all his life, except for that year or so in which you and Hector occupied the castle with Dracula and his other generals. He was certain that not much could have changed in such a short time.

"Ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four, ninety-five..."

By the time he reached one hundred counts, the castle sounded still. Whatever movement there had been before had ceased. It was almost as if all of you simply disappeared into thin air, leaving him there alone once again. That thought had Alucard beginning to worry, his head spinning until his breathing grew heavy. He didn't want to be alone, not again, not anymore.

He began to rush through the halls at lightning speed, leaving nothing behind but a rush of passing wind as he zoomed through the castle. He was panicking, he was scared that you had left him behind too. Like they did. Like they all did.

He grew out of breath and stopped, hunching over with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath back. That was when he heard it, the subtle clang coming from a distant end of the castle. You were still here, you hadn't left him. Of course, you hadn't. This was just a game, only a game. Alucard knew he had overreacted, he knew it was all in his head. This was hide and seek for god's sake, the whole purpose was to hide and try not to be found. His breathing calmed back down and he began to make his way towards the sound, using a more normal speed to do so.

His hearing helped him as he stalked the halls looking for you and soon, he could even make out the faint, controlled breathing of someone with a somewhat deep voice.

Hector.

Alucard picked up his pace but tied to remain quiet as he followed the sound of the steadily beating heartbeat. Although it was just a pointless game, for children nonetheless, his heart was pounding. His veins were running with the tingle of adrenaline and, for the first time in a long while, he felt alive again.

His footsteps seemed to have been too loud as he neared the location of his prey because soon Hector was moving again. And so, the pursuit began.

Two grown men, both very much like children in their own ways, playing a game of cat and mouse in the halls of a large, probably haunted, castle. It was ridiculous and, had anyone else been told that one day none other than one of Dracula's generals and his own son would be playing a game of hide and seek along with a witch and a mute child, well, none one would have believed it.

Alucard could feel the heat coursing through his veins as he chased after Hector. Hearing the forgemaster swerve down another hallway only made him pick up the pace. He ran and ran, trying not to use his vampiric speed as he was sure you and Hector would later tell him that it was cheating to do so.

The pursuit went on for a couple of minutes and before long, it became much too easy to follow the sound of Hector's hearty laughter. Alucard had chased him around the floor and down the stairs before he finally caught up with him, covering the final meter of distance between him and the man with silver hair with a burst of energy before pouncing on top of him.

Hector chuckled again as Alucard climbed off of him, helping him to his feet with a smirk, "Caught you."

"So you did." Hector sighed, rubbing his arm from where it had hit the floor upon his fall.

"Is your arm okay? Maybe jumping on top of you was a little overboard." Alucard asked, looking somewhat genuinely concerned that he had harmed the forgemaster.

"I spent weeks being beaten by Carmilla, this is nothing." Hector chuckled light-heartedly about the ordeal he went through during his time with Carmilla for the first time since, well, ever.

Alucard, however, didn't see this as a joking matter and immediately began to sympathise with Hector, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Really, it doesn't hurt. Anyway. I'm going to go and get some water. I believe you have two more of us to find before the day is done." Just like that, Hector was leaving and, although he really did seem okay, Alucard found himself wanting to reach out to stop him from walking off alone. Instead, however, he pushed that thought- that feeling -to the side and decided that was going to find you next.

As you hid, hoping that Alucard wouldn't think to look for you in the most obvious place, your heart continued to pound in your chest. The castle was almost silent but the faint echo of laughter that had reached you a few moments ago revealed to you that it was likely Hector had been caught by now. He was probably now heading for a glass of cold water, looking out the window at the pattering rain as he wondered how long it would take Alucard to find the rest of you.

Not long, apparently, as you soon heard footsteps coming your way.

Alucard was in no rush as he strolled down the hall, seemingly passing the curtain in which you were hiding behind. You cocked an eyebrow, wondering just how he had managed to pass you when you really weren't putting much thought or effort into remaining hidden from him.

The sound of his footsteps continued to fade until you were certain that he had passed, leaving you to wonder if it really was him who had walked past.

Maybe it was Hector? But why would he be in this part of the castle?

Your heartbeat quickened but this time, you began to feel afraid.

What if someone else had gotten into the castle while you were playing your games? What if it was Carmilla or one of her soldiers?

Slowly, you backed out from behind the curtains in the direction opposite to where the footsteps had headed. The moment you were revealed, a shadow seemed to cast over your position and your back hit something solid.

You froze as two arms held your own, a smirk by your ear, "Caught you."

You breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, slapping the man's shoulder, "Alucard! You scared me to death."

He simply brought a hand up to his face and chuckled, clearly rather amused that he had managed to make you jump. It was nice to see him smile, to see the slight crease in his eyes. He almost looked happy.

"Who's left?" You inquired.

"Just the boy and that dog. I caught Hector not too long ago."

With a nod of your head, you hummed. You had known Hector was caught before you but you were not aware that the boy was still hiding.

"You know, we should probably give him a name. Can't keep calling him 'the boy' now can we?" Alucard decided.

It made sense. He must have a name, after all.

"We should ask him if he can write his name down or something, although I don't know if he can even read and write."

Now Alucard hummed, "Well, I better go find him first. Hector seemed to be headed for the kitchen."

Just like that, he was gone. You had no doubt that he'd find the boy soon enough and so, you simply headed off to find Hector. He was, as Alucard had assumed, in the kitchen.

"Preparing dinner already?" You asked.

Hector looked to you for a moment before going back to cutting the vegetables, "Yes. I know Alucard always cooks but I thought we should do something for him today. He's been nothing but kind to us since we got here, even if he was a little hostile at first, and he's clearly going through a lot."

You walked over, wrapping your arms around Hector's stomach as he continued to chop away, "I know you haven't known him for long and well, neither have I really, but I'm glad you seem to be getting along."

"He is... difficult, but he only has the good things about his father in him. I also feel some form of sympathy with him. I can see it in his eyes y/n, he went through something at least somewhat similar to me." His voice quietened slightly as he pushed the knife rather harshly though the last carrot before chucking the sliced pieces into the pot.

You thought it over and you didn't doubt what Hector was saying. Sometimes you just knew. What neither of you knew was exactly what had happened to him although you supposed it was a betrayal from the way he is still yet to trust you both.

"I can't find the boy."

You let go of Hector as both of you turned, half wondering how long he had been stood there but more concerned with the way he seemed out of breath.

"What do you mean you can't find him?" You asked in alarm.

"I mean I can't find him. I've searched every length of the castle, he is nowhere."

You looked from Alucard to Hector, both of whom had faces of worry.

"Get me something of his. Now."

Chapters: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09,

[daybreak-tkler]

Maknae Torture!!

(200 followers special)

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۵

Squeals, giggles and shrieks- music to a ler's ears. Each group tends to get very mischievous around each other~ and today, operation maknae was a go.

Now, bts didn't stay in their dorms often. Today, however, was an exception. A certain mischievous maknae had been deserving torture ever since he attacked his hyungs all in one day. They thought it was impossible for Jungkook to be so nimble and yet, their golden maknae conquered his hyungs on one day with an insane amount of tickly skill! Well now, vengeance was not only wanted, but needed to ensure that Jungkook would stay in his place.

Of course, the maknae was expecting it. "naive hyungs," he said to himself "like I don't know what they're plans are.." famous last words, he guessed. Being strapped to his own bed, not really an adventurous way to trap a lee but the other members decided that being fancy with the method of trapping one's lee wasn't necessarily going to help them succeed. Simple was definitely the way to go. Four pairs of cuffs, spread-eagle position, feathers, electric toothbrushes—classic.

It was all simple at first, the 'ol fingers on the tummy and the famous 'coochie coo' all as he expected really, his hyungs had a certain way of sticking to the classics and that's what made it fun. Why waste your time with new stuff if you've got your old stuff? As the saying goes- "don't fix it if it ain't broken"

That didn't make him laugh any less. "HAHAHEHEHE!!" The youngest threw his head back and cackled loudly, just what the other's wanted. Fingers on his tummy, feathers on his toes. "I-I'M SOHOHOHOHORRY~" he laughed. Everyone could hear him too. Teases were thrown around— "I thought our maknae was stronger then this!" Seokjin cooed. "well obviously we were wrong. Look at him, not even fighting back~" Yoongi snorted.

Jungkook swore on that day that he wouldn't attack anyone again, well.. For now.

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Loud shouting and deep heaves of breath could be heard from the txt dorm. Kai was in trouble again and he really thought he could get away this time. Past the table, dodge a Soobin-hyung with ease, up the stairs. Damn, this was going well for him. Until he spotted a Taehyun waiting for him up there and instead of doing the obvious thing and running to the bedroom he ran towards the bathroom. What a mistake- he thought.

Taehyun was right behind him after all, and he had ran right into the smallest room in the dorm. "I've got you now, brat!" Taehyun laughed and the tall maknae shook his head "not yet! I've still got a chance!!" he then ran back towards the door of the bathroom and barely, just barely, managed to slip passed the slightly older male.

He hightailed it to the bedroom, his legs taking him as fast as they could. He swung the door open and panicked immediately. There, sat his three other hyungs—all with matching smug faces. He turned to dash back out of the room but was met with a small Taehyun pushing him in. "gotcha!" he squeaked in victory. He shut the door and locked it momentarily. Kai sighed, he had to accept his fate now. He swallowed and bowed his head as he walked towards his awaiting hyungs. "wow! That was easy! We didn't even have to coax him!" Beomgyu cheered.

Not even five minutes later; he was pinned. Arms above his head and four pairs of eager hands just wriggling over the top of his most sensitive places. His soft tummy, his cute feet, his sensitive underarms. Hyuka squeezed his eyes shut. Then, he felt it.

Screaming and loud, happy laughter was all that could be heard now. A job well done on the hyung's part.

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Out of all of the things Jongho was expecting, this wasn't one of them. In the Ateez dorms, the doorway that lead from the lounge to the kitchen had a pull-up bar on it. And perhaps you can see where this story is going.

Well, long story short, Jongho's wrists were now securely fastened to the bar and he was dangling just a little bit. How unfair. "hey! What'd I do wrong to deserve this treatment, huh?" Jongho questioned his other hyungs, who were all staring him down like predatorial tickle monsters. Even Yeosang was, and he was the biggest lee of them all!

"because," the leader began "we decided to use it to our advantage, it was Mingi's idea since you got it," he explained and Jongho nodded "so you're just doing this to mess around with me?" he asked. "that and I know you stole my last snack," San whined with a pout. The youngest's eyes almost rolled. Almost. "it was there! I didn't think it belonged to- EEK!" he had been cut off by a rather firm poke to his left pit. "hush, will you? Nobody will understand you if you squeak like that," Seonghwa teased. His fingers skillfully started wriggling over the youngest's exposed pits. "nahhahahaha!!" Jongho shook his head and giggled, "nohohoho!"

It wasn't too long before the poor youngest was in tears, as all of the other members had joined in. He didn't even do anything wrong..! He'd have to get them back for this. All he felt was the sensation of tickles all over his body. There were fingers on every sensitive spot! His hips, sides, feet, underarms- you name it! He was going crazy, he was sure of it. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The poor boy cackled. "IT'S N-NOHOHOHOT FAHAHAIR!!" he cried out. A scoff came from one of them. "life isn't my dear maknae~ you just have to get used to it!~" Yunho. Well that's what he was thinking anyway.

An hour or so, that's how long he lasted, now he was sound asleep. He couldn't take that much tickling at the same time. Jongho would get his revenge, he was sure he would.

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Sanha struggled desperately, but to no avail. He had gotten stuck somehow. The couch was so weird like that- his arm was trapped and he was trying to free it. Minhyuk happened to walk into the lounge at that moment and raised an eyebrow. "You good, Sanha?" he asked and the younger shook his head. "I'm stuck Minhyuk-hyung! Help?" he asked cutely and the elder smiled "sure!!" The dancer quickly hopped over to see Sanha's predicament. "hmm... I've got a solution!" he nodded.

The younger perked up at that, "really?! What're you gonna- eheheheh!!" he squeaked. He wasn't expecting Minhyuk to tickle his left underarm. "hehehehe! H-Hyuhuhuhuk nohoho!" he giggled, the cute laughter pouring out of him like water. Soon enough he found himself in a position with both arms above his head and trapped within the couch cushions and the older dancer wiggling his fingers all over Sanha's torso.

"ehehehehe!! Ahahahaeehehe!! Hyuhuhuhuk-hyuhuhuhung!! I cahahahan't tahahahhake it!!" he whined and Minhyuk smiled at him. "oh? You can't? I'm sorry to hear that~" he cooed as he poked and proded at the maknae's belly button.

Even when one of the older ones walked past, they only helped! Myungjun was kind enough to gently trace Sanha's ribs for a while and Moonbin had taken the time to play 'this little piggy' with the poor boy's toes. He was a puddle of giggles and squirms. And worst of all, he still couldn't free himself from that goddamn couch cushion! All of this could've been avoided if he didn't ask his mischievous hyung for help!!

Oh well... It's not like he didn't enjoy it.

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Uh oh.

BamBam didn't just do that- noooo he wouldn't right? Oh no, this is BamBam he's thinking of. Of course he would.

Yugyeom was almost in shock of the lie that was coming from BamBam's mouth. That brat sure knows how to spin a tale. Youngjae's pout was deep, he just wanted his precious stuffie back. That was all.

"and then, after that, I saw that Yugyeom-ssi took Youngjae's poor stuffie!! And I saw him get away with it too! Although I wasn't quick enough to see where he hid it... Sorry.. But yeah! It was him!" he said and pointed an accusing finger at Yugyeom. The youngest scoffed "you know they aren't going to believe that, right BamBam?" but oh boy, was he wrong.

Jaebum looked like he was about to pounce on him, uh oh- he had to say something to convince them it wasn't him!! But what? Well, it was too late anyway. He was on the floor legs up a little, in a headlock so his feet could be reached easily. There was silence for a moment, but only a moment. Then came a scream. It took Yugyeom a few moments to comprehend the scream was his. Then came loud laughter. Being gang tickled was the worst, surely.

"ehehehehh- NYEHEHEHEAHAHA!!" his giggles quickly became loud laughter as he squirmed in the older member's grips. "STAHAHAAP! IT WAHAHAAHAHASN'T MEHHEHEE!!" he begged but Mark shook his head "c'mon.. Just tell us! It'll make it easier for you.." he said with playfulness in his tone.

A few rib plucks and toe wriggles later, Yugyeom was breathing heavier then he had been before "I'm telling you... Hehe.. It was BamBam! He took it.. I dunno where it is!!" he said honestly and Youngjae nodded "well we'll see... BAMBAM! C'MERE!"

Finally, he was free.

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Jeongin may have cursed a little bit when Felix had walked in at the wrong time. He felt like such an idiot, falling for one of Chan's tricks. His feet were trapped between the spaces of the chair. It was unfortunate that Felix had just come in to see his problem really.

Now Felix was usually a lee, but upon seeing something like this; who wouldn't want to attack? A playful smile formed on the aussie's lips. "aww~ a little bit stuck I see~" he coos as he walks closer to the youngest. His feet started wriggling when Felix's nimble fingers started tracing over them. "such a shame, eh? You're all stuck like this with no way to escape~" he teased confidently as he pulled at the bands of Jeongin's socks.

Slowly, they were pulled off and despite the clenching of his toes, Jeongin couldn't keep them on. Felix grinned "trying to keep 'em on won't do you any good, you're sensitive either way," he giggled. The maknae whined "do you have to hyung?" he asked poutily. The quick swipe across his soles was an answer in itself.

"ahahahahah!!" Jeongin suddenly bursted out, Felix's fingers had started scratching all the way around his arches and the youngest was already finding it difficult. "hehehehe! Nohohohoho!! Stohohohohop!" he squealed but the other didn't listen. Instead, he said "aww~ can't the ticklish boy take it?"

Now usually, Jeongin could take teases well. They didn't bother him on the norm. But there was something about Felix's rare ler mood that just made him flustered. The way he teased without words. Like scratching his soles to shut him up, using his socks to floss his toes. It was so... Flustering.

It didn't take too long to have Jeongin begging for mercy. Felix just had that skill. He stopped abruptly and smiled up at his victim. "I think I've wrecked you a lot today, I'll actually help you this time." he giggled.

Jeongin was thankful that Felix didn't make him sit through a sweet Minho or a mischievous Bang Chan. He could barely even take Felix's tickles.

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I hope you all enjoyed this special! I enjoyed writing it! If you want to see more of these little snippets from each group, please let me know!

And once again, thank you so much for 200 followers!!!

[juno-eclipsee]

A Ruined Night - Poe Dameron x reader

A/n: I’m back to my regularly scheduled angsty crap. Fun fact this entire situation is essentially my greatest fear so go wild with that

Rating: G

Warnings: Cursing, that be it

Word count: 1.7k

Summary: A plan to confess to Poe after a major victory goes awry.

     Another victory for the Resistance! Nobody could believe the lucky streak they’d been having. The celebration was in full swing because the pilots, ground troops, medics, and everyone in between didn’t know which successful mission would be their last. But essentially all negative thoughts had been thrown out the window for just this night. 

     All the pilots sat around a bonfire in the center of the tarmac, bottles from everyone’s personal stashes being passed around. They had spent the whole night together, and they were definitely the only ones still awake. Everyone but them had the common sense to go to sleep, but how could they? The energy was electric, the joy was palpable, laughs were echoing through the forest. Poe thought he would never feel like this again. The sun was just about to peek above the horizon, the sky lighting up just a bit, and the remaining pilots finally decided to “go to bed” which would really be for an hour or two. 

     Everyone gathered in stomping out the embers of the fire, and Major Y/n volunteered to clean it up fully so they wouldn’t get yelled at by Leia in the morning. She got a few hugs and claps on the back for taking one for the team. She got an affirming nod from Karé, who knew what was about to go down. Y/n seemed calm and appreciative on the outside, but her heart was beating with the speed and rhythm of a snare drum on crack. 

     This was her last shot. Her mouth moved before her brain could stop it. 

     “Oh, Poe,” she called out. He spun on his heels and wobbled a bit to face her. “Could I talk to you for a second?” 

     “Sure. What’s on your mind?” he asked, sitting down on the crate closest to where she was standing. Her hands started shaking. Why did she think this was a good idea again? But Karé’s words echoed in her head ‘Maybe he likes you back. You’ll never know until you ask.’ What terrible advice.

     “Ok this is going to sound really sudden and weird and I… I really just need to get this off my chest. If that’s okay?” She stopped pacing for just a moment to gage his reaction. He was leaning back on his hands, legs swinging off the crate, clearly still buzzed. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.

     “Sure, spill.” Y/n took a deep breath. Now or never. “Wait!” He yelled, making Y/n jump out of her skin. “Is this something bad? Are you sick or hurt or dying or something? Are you leaving the Resistance?” Each question was asked more urgently than the last, he was leaning forward, eyes filled with worry. 

      “No! No, nothing like that, nothing bad.” She said, trying to be as reassuring as possible. Poe whispered a quick ‘Oh thank the stars’ before gesturing towards Y/n to continue. She  had started wringing her hands in a pathetic attempt to get rid of the nerves coursing through every fiber of her being. “I really don’t know how to say this but, with this crazy streak of luck we’ve hit, I can’t really help but think that the next one is just going to be a disaster. So I guess I just wanted to say this while I still had the chance.” Her voice was getting shaky, the anxiety consuming her being obvious now, no matter how much they had to drink. 

     “Why are you talking like you’re never going to see me again? Whatever the next mission is it isn’t going to be your last, you’re too stubborn for something like that.” He said, smiling mostly to himself. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have interrupted. Continue.”

     “I really like you. And I have for a really long time. And I spent so long being afraid of telling you, I was just being unfair to myself. And I’m so afraid of what might happen in the future that I wanted to tell you myself while I can.” Y/n’s eyes were fixed on him, not daring to look away. 

     The weight she had been carrying for the past three years lifted off her shoulders, finally. 

     Until she heard Poe sigh. And the weight settled twice as heavy in the pit of her stomach.

     “Um,” She heard Poe start. She didn’t know what to make of what she was seeing. He ran his hands through his hair and tried to start a sentence about three times before sighing again. His knee started bouncing and Y/n had never wanted to just disappear more in her life. “Y/n, although I really like you,” Her eyes shot to the ground. She could have sworn she heard glass shatter somewhere in her head. Bad start. “I just…” another sigh, “I really don’t think it’s a good idea to get into a relationship during a time like this, you know?” He looked at her, praying that she would at least look at him. But her eyes darted around everywhere except him, maybe trying to look for an answer. She started nodding.

     “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I just,” She didn’t know what to say as tears started welling up. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea.” She tried to laugh off her tears of embarrassment, but she wasn’t hiding anything from Poe. 

     “Hey, you don’t have anything to be sorry for.” 

     “No, I have everything to be sorry for because I completely ruined your night and made everything awkward and now you’re going to pity me for however long in the future and,” She turned her back to Poe, not wanting him to see her like this even after she just poured her heart out to him. “Look, I’m really sorry about all this. Can you just pretend this never happened? You should probably go to bed at some point too.” She was trying to get rid of him, he realized. Maybe it would be for the best. He wouldn’t want to be around the person who broke his heart for too long either. 

     “Are you sure you’re going to be alright for now?” He at least had to ask. She was extremely emotionally compromised and the last thing anyone needed was to have her do something stupid because of it. 

     “I really just want to be alone if that’s okay.” She said, finally turning around to look at him again. The rising sun wasn’t helping her case. Her face was red and puffy from holding in tears, which shattered Poe’s heart even though it had no right to when she was in a state like this. But he nodded nonetheless and got off the crate. 

     “I’ll leave you alone now. I’m really sorry, Y/n. If the situation was different-” 

     “The situation is what it is and it isn’t going to change. And you don’t have to be sorry about having emotions of your own, okay?” She said, sniffling by the end. 

     “Neither do you.” He countered. “I’ll see you around.” Poe Dameron had been beaten, shot, tortured, and yet walking away from her was one of the most painful things he’d ever have to do. He took one look over his shoulder and she hadn’t moved a muscle. 

     When Poe finally made it to his room, he laid on his back above the covers staring at the ceiling in a trance. What he said to her was true. He didn’t want to forge a romantic relationship when either member could die at any second. It was just irresponsible. He had essentially a schoolboy crush on her since the moment he met her, but he thought that after years of pining and meaningless flirting that it was never going to happen. But her confession sparked the remnants of his crush into a steady little fire inside of him, and it was too late to act on it without having it seem pitiful.

     He thought by not telling her he at least used to feel the same it would be easier on both of them. He realized now just how stupid that sounds when he really sits down and thinks about it. Black Squadron is usually so good at giving him a heads up if they know someone had a crush on him so he could figure out a way to let them down gently. But he was blindsided by her. So he panicked and broke her heart.

    He covered his eyes with his arms. He just lost one of his best friends. He wished it wasn’t true, that they could look past this hiccup in their relationship and everything would go back to normal. He had only seen Y/n cry a handful of times in the years he’d known her, she wasn’t going to just overlook this like it never happened. 

    The gravity of it all was a punch in the gut to Poe. Well not so much a punch, more of a carve his chest open and rip out his beating heart kind of feeling. But he had no right to complain. No matter what, Y/n had it worse and he had nobody to blame but himself.

     Y/n stood still as a statue on the tarmac as Poe walked away, ripping their conversation to shreds mentally, analyzing every word said, finding a thousand things she could have done differently. 

     With tears streaming down her face, she grabbed a broom and started pushing away the cold ashes of the fire to the grass nearby. She very desperately needed a distraction, even though she knew in her heart it wouldn’t do any good. She knew she wouldn’t be going to sleep anyway, so she did what anyone would do in her situation. She hid in the privacy of her ship and cried of pure embarrassment until there weren’t any tears left. 

     When she finally pulled herself together after what felt like hours, her datapad vibrated in her pocket. 

     How’d it go?!

     Karé. Three simple words managed to make her feel so much worse. She typed a quick response before going back to sulking.

     Bad. Don’t want to talk about it. 

     Y/n took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. She still had to go to work soon and do her best to avoid Poe. Another buzz.

     I’m going to fucking kill him for you, understand?? 

     Y/n scoffed and smirked. Karé absolutely would give him a hard time about it. At least she had someone in her corner after such a terrible night.

[imaginesmai]

Peter Parker-First kisses

Plot: Peter Parker’s and yours first, or five, first kisses.

Warnings: drug use, tiny bit of angst (nothing important), extreme fluff.

The first time he kissed you was in kindergarten. Peter and you had just met, you two being little kids with chubby cheeks and small feet. He was that kind of child who gets along with every other, and you were no exception. Since you were neighbours and your mother was good friends with May, you went to kindergarten together. One day, you were sitting in the play yard when Peter sat beside you, his little hands empty and his cheeks tear stained. He hugged his small knees and hid his face in them, as if he wanted to disappear.

“What’s the matter?” you asked him, your mouth full of sandwich.

“Flash took my lunch” Peter mumbled, his voice shaky. You looked back to see the kid laughing with his ‘friends’, in his mouth the cookies that May had prepared for him with so much love.

You frowned and looked back to Peter, who had his head out of his knees and was looking at the ground. His big brown eyes were full of tears, and you felt angry for your friend. As carefully as a child could cut a sandwich into two halves, you gave Peter part of your sandwich. It was smashed and his part was smaller than yours. Still, Peter’s eyes filled with happiness and pressed his lips against your food-full mouth.

“Ugh, Pete, that was gross!” you stuck out your tongue and pressed a hand to your mouth, wiping it furiously.

“It wasn’t gross!” he showed you a big smile. “Aunt May does that when uncle Ben does something good.”

“I don’t want to do that ever again” you shook your head and scoffed. “If you do it, I’m taking my sandwich back!”

Peter laughed and took a bite of his new food, half of them staining his t-shirt. Needless to say, you did that again.

 -

Your second kiss was a little bit different. Peter and you were starting high school, both of you still friends, as in the first day you met. Only that time, Ned and MJ were also there with you. Chemistry was probably your less favourite class, but it was the one that Peter loved. It was bearable if he was around. That day, he wasn’t in it. He had been missing for two days in a row, not sending you a text or calling you. Aunt May had told you that he was sick and that he was locked in his room, with high fever. So, you decided to pay him a visit.

“Peter?” you asked when you entered his apartment, using the keys May had let you.

Inside, it was dark and silent, but you heard faint cries coming from your best friend’s room. You ran towards there, expecting to see Peter crying because of the pain, because of the fever or because he needed help. You expected a lot of things, yet none of them was seeing him hanging from the ceiling, with his head upside down, while his tears hit the floor under him.

Of course, you screamed. You spent a few seconds screaming, as Peter moved his hands up and down in front of him and tried to talk through the sobs. When you were calmer, you managed to ask him.

“What-How the hell are you doing that?!” you almost screamed. Honestly, you were ready to faint.

“I-I don’t… I don’t k-know Y/N” he let out a sob. “There-There was… a s-spider, and then I-I, this, and n-now I don’t… I don’t k-know how to g-get off!”

Pushing your surprise aside, you stepped slowly until your noses were touching, and awkwardly locked your hand on his back. The idea was to pull until he touched the floor; two scared and panicking teenagers couldn’t really understand that gravity wasn’t on their side, so when he finally fell you ended up in the worst position you had even been.

His body had carried yours to the floor too, and his face was awfully close to your breasts. Stuttering and blushing, you stumbled away from him, and Peter wiped his tears away. Taking a few seconds to calm yourself and that strange thing that had just happened in your stomach, you talked again.

“What is this about?” you asked, sitting on the ground in front of him. “How-H-How did you get…there?”

“Promise me you’re going to listen to me” he took both of your hands between his, and squeezed them. “I’m not- it’s not a lie. But please, promise me you’re going to listen.”

“Yeah, I promise.”

Peter told you how, a week ago, he had visited a strange place with his uncle Ben, and a spider had bitten him. What started as improved senses, then was the ability to stick to walls. He confessed to you that he hadn’t told anyone, and that he was scared. While he talked, tears started to run down his cheeks, and his breathing became irregular.

You knew that Peter had problems with anxiety. He had always been a very nervous boy, and usually didn’t know how to handle his emotions. So, when he raised a hand and placed it against his chest, you started to panic. Either May or Ben were always there when something like that happened, ready to give him his inhaler; but they weren’t there.

“Where is your inhaler?” you looked around and got up. His bed was empty, his drawers were full of clothes and in his desk were a lot of weird books about fluids. Yet his inhaler wasn’t anywhere in sight. “Peter, I can’t help you! Where-Where is your inhaler?!”

When Peter looked up, you couldn’t believe your eyes. His inhaler, along with a lot of random objects, were on the ceiling, trapped by small white webs that reminded you to a spider house. You blinked surprised, finally realising the mess in your best friend’s room. There were test tubes, spoons, jars an vials. All of them filled with the weird white substance.

“Are they-Peter!” you dropped to your knees when you saw his face starting to get blue, his eyes wide and red. His throat didn’t let him get air, and he was drowning in anxiety. You did the only thing you thought about.

Technically, it wasn’t a kiss. It was just you joining your mouths and breathing in his. You had seen it done thousands of times in the films Peter and you liked to see on Friday’s night. Your hands gripped the ends of his hair, and you closed your eyes awkwardly.

It wasn’t beautiful; it was as messy as that room. When you parted, he was breathing again and you were as red as his future suit. His arms were around you in a second, and you hugged him tightly. That night, you slept on his apartment, with the permission of your parents; and you repeated again and again the same sentence.

“I’ve got you, no matter what”

 -

The third kiss was much more sadder, and held much more meaning. It was Tuesday morning and, against what people liked to tell in that kind of situations, the sun was high in the sky and the birds sang. Though no one was happy.

You were standing between Ned and MJ, looking down to the coffin in front of you. There were people crying, talking and some of them were in silence. All mourning the good man that had gone too soon. Excusing yourself softly, you walked towards your parents, who were talking with May. Peter was by her side, his hands hidden in his pockets and his head hung low. He wasn’t crying, but you knew he wanted to. After a sweet hug with May and a short goodbye to your parents, you took your best friend’s hand and started walking.

Peter kept quiet all the way, letting you lead him through the mass of people in the funeral. Once you reached a seclude place, you let go of his hand and looked at him. He had dark bags under his eyes, and since you were shorter than him, you could see his cracked lips and red nose.

“Did you sleep at all?”

The previous day, he had gotten a call from the police saying that Ben had been killed in an unfortunate accident. Your parents had told you that night, and Peter had told you that he wanted to be alone for a while. In that moment, you didn’t know if it had been a good idea.

Peter shrugged, not looking at you.

“Eat something?” you asked again, receiving the same answer. You sighed before talking again. “Did you, uh, went out?”

He knew what you were talking about. ‘Patrolling’, as he liked to call it, was dumb to you, so you had told him that you would talk about it as going out.

“For a bit” his voice was rough, and he had to cough after talking. You were the first person he had talked with.

“And did you get hurt?” you wondered. Peter’s attention was short, and if he was thinking about other things while swinging, he used to hit a wall or the ground. He shook his head before taking a shaky breath, his eyes becoming glossy.

“I miss him already” his bottom lips trembled, and you were glued to your best friend in a second. You wrapped your arms around him and he hid his head on your shoulder. At just fifteen years old, a huge height difference separated you.

“It’s going to be okay” you whispered, hearing the first sob breaking through. “It’s going to be okay, I’m here.”

Peter cried and his body shook, the peace around the trees breaking at his sobs. He soaked your nice and new black blouse you had wore that day and wrinkled it’s back, but you didn’t say a thing. You just gripped his curls tighter and repeated the same sentence again and again.

“I’m with you, no matter what”

Later that day, when everyone had already left the place, you found yourself in the same position. Your feet hurt and you arms were staring to feel tired from being up so much time. May and your parents walked towards you and stopped when you shook your head softly, telling them silently that you would meet them later. Peter needed that.

After what felt like two hours, Peter lifted his head between hiccups. He had his brown eyes swollen and his face was a mess. Still, you felt at odd feeling in your chest. His bottom lip quivered again, and he broke eye contact with you.

“I don’t want to go home” he whispered. “I don’t- May, she will be there… a-and I don’t w-want to face her.”

“That’s alright” you put a hand on his cheek, offering him a side-smile. “We can get something from Mr Delmar and eat in a rooftop. If you promise not to drop me”

Peter let out a sad laugh and nodded shortly, still not meeting your eyes. Another tear rolled down his cheek, and you got on your tip toes to kiss it away.

Because of being shorter than him, you didn’t really get to the tear, yet placed your lips awfully close to him. Actually, and if someone asked him, it was on his lips. You caught the tear with the corner of your mouth, and felt his chapped lips with the rest of it.

Peter’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open, not fully understanding what had happened. He tried to say something, but you were faster and you started making stupid excuses about it. With a furious blush, you hit his chest a few times and screamed at Peter that it had not been you fault, that it had been an accident he needed to forget about. Some hurtful words, as ‘I would never kiss you’ or ‘That was disgusting’, left your mouth; both of you knew that you didn’t mean it. Peter shut you up with a kiss on the cheek and gripped your hand, guiding you to where he had left his backpack with the suit.

The whole way, Peter and you had stupid smiles on your faces and fast beating hearts in your chest.

 -

Your fourth kiss didn’t actually happened, or at least not that the two of you remembered. It was late, Friday night and Flash was having the party of his life. Officially, Peter hadn’t been invited, but you had begged to your boyfriend to let him come; and that if he didn’t, you would cut one of his balls. They were good years, or at least they were for you. You were Flash’s girlfriend, and that had allowed you to give Peter an easier life. No more beatings, no more throwing the books to the ground, and no more ‘Penis Parker on your watch.

Besides, Flash was a good guy deep down. He liked to mock Peter because that was the only way to forget about the absence of his parents. His behaviour with you was sweet, caring and kind. But something was missing. As in every relationship or crush you had, something was missing.

That was probably why you ended up sitting by Peter’s side, not Flash, who had an angry pout on his face since the beginning of the game. You were too drunk to notice, and Peter was too drunk to not flirt with you.

“I think that’s enough drinking” Flash muttered. He had been the one daring Peter to drink, and he was regretting his decision. The boy thought he would leave you alone if he was drunk, but even after a bottle of whisky Peter was stuck with you.

“I think…” you raised your arm in the air, demanding silence. Eleven teenagers, who were sitting in your circle, looked at you with expectant eyes. “…it’s time for spin the bottle!”

Your proposal was met with shouts of approval, and you laughed, throwing your head back. You looked at Peter, who was trying to put the bottle on the ground and keep balance. The guy who was sitting on his left, who was as high as the ceiling, pushed him to the side, and he fell on top of you. Instead of apologising, Peter fell into a fit of laughs that made Flash leave angrily, muttering things under his breath.

“I don’t understand why you date him” Peter’s voice was slurry, it was the first time he had alcohol and his spidey senses were making it worse. He heard people around him starting to spin the bottle, but he could only focus on your eyes.

You squeezed them and smiled brightly at him, and he had to restrain himself from cupping your cheeks.

“He’s a good guy” you shrugged. “Besides, it makes him stay away from you.”

“You don’t-You don’t have to do that for me” Peter frowned, not really understanding your words.

“I do it if I want to do it” you stated; in your mind, those words had much more sense. “I like seeing you happy.”

Peter’s heart skipped a beat, his cheeks turning pink. He looked back to the floor, where a girl named Laura was getting rid of her t-shirt as a part of a dare. Some of the teenagers there cheered for her, others just laughed. Peter decided to stay quiet, flying to his own thoughts.

While Peter got lost in his mind, you kept playing to that stupid game. It was that girl turn, and she flickered the bottle. It moved in circles until, slowly, the blue end faced you.

“Truth or dare, Y/N?” Laura asked, propping on her elbows and making her breasts pop out. You knew the deal, you had heard the ‘truths’. They usually asked about who would you fuck in that group or who was the most attractive person.

You liked to think that you didn’t say truth because Flash wasn’t there and you wouldn’t fuck anyone apart from your boyfriend. But, the problem was that you didn’t know if you would be able to lie with that much alcohol in you system.

“Dare” you said out loud, and received some cheers. Until that moment, only Laura and you had chosen dare.

Laura smirked and called two of the boys over her side, where she whispered something on their ears. While they talked, you put your knees on your chest and looked around. They weren’t a lot of students left, only your group and another twenty, so you decided that it would be your last round. Besides that, Peter looked awfully tired.

“Alright” Laura’s voice startled you, and the boys went back to their places. “Y/N Y/L/N, I dare you to give Peter a shotgun kiss. Of weed.”

Your eyes widened and you gasped, not believing her words. Alcohol was something you had had before, and you knew how to handle it. But drugs, they were a different story. And you didn’t like one bit that the dare included Peter.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” you exclaimed. “Peter-It’s my dare, not his. Why are you putting him in?”

“Y/N-“

“Because we haven’t seen neither of you high!” she laughed. “Come on, is just a small drag.”

“Laura, we are talking about weed.” Peter talked, looking at her with a small frown.

“And? Look, if you don’t want to do it, I can change the dare.”

“Yes! Change it” you smiled.

“Then, Y/N Y/L/N, I dare you to smoke a whole joint by yourself” she looked through her purse until she found what she wanted.  A joint that could be as long as your finger.

“What?!” Peter shouted beside you. “That must be even lethal!”

“Then, do the shotgun kiss” she shrugged. “I don’t care.”

There was no way you were smoking that, and Peter knew it. You had never had drugs, and you didn’t want to end up in the hospital the first time you did. So, you took the joint and lighted it up with some difficulties.

Peter turned his body so that he could face you, and you did the same. Silently, you asked him with your eyes if he was okay with that. If he wasn’t, you were more than ready to take his hand and leave the place. Yet you were both drunk and secretly enjoyed the idea of being close to each other, so he repeated the words you had said to him two times in his life.

“I’m with you, no matter what”

Everyone around you was quiet, and you could hear Peter’s rushed breathing. He was as nervous as you, both of you for the same reason and it was not because of the joint. You gave him a shaky smile before leaning towards him.

Peter Parker had the kind of body-smell that was just nice, and that made you try to sniffle as many time as possible. You had been close to him in many occasions before, yet neither of them got you that nervous. Your eyes travelled from the collar of his t-shirt to his neck, then to his cheeks and finally to his eyes. Had they always been so beautiful, or was it the alcohol?

Breathing through your nose, you took a long drag and put your mouth next to Peter’s. The world seemed to stop.

You felt his breath on your mouth, his eyes flickering between your eyes and your lips. His nose brushed with yours because of the proximity, and he gripped your hand where none of those boys and girls could see them. He ran his tongue across his lips as you finished your drag, putting the joint down. Peter tilted his head a little so that your noses didn’t get in the way, and you opened your mouth when his wet lips touched yours.

A white and dense cloud of smoke travelled between that inexistent space and entered into his mouth, the teenagers cheered when they saw it. But you didn’t hear them. The joint made your head feel on cloud nine, and Peter’s body seemed warmer than ever.

It pained you, but once it was over, you came back to your place. Not knowing if the joint was what caused that strange fuzzy feeling in your chest.

 Your fifth-first kiss was a few years later, the weight of that forgotten touch on the lips hanging from your shoulders since then. The memory of it might had been blurry, but the feeling that rose with it weren’t. For a few months, your relationship was awkward; both of you were stuttering and blushing mess and didn’t know to look at each other to the eye. But you survived that, and Peter became again the little boy who had smashed his mouth to yours in kindergarten, and who had a pair of your favourite bed sheets in his room.

That day you had been there, laying on his bed with your head on your hands and earphones in your ears. A film was playing on his computer while he worked on the webs, wanting to make them stronger and longer. He was so focused on his task that he didn’t notice how a frown made its way to your face. Soft music was playing on the background when you took one of the earbuds and stopped the film.

It made you think.

The princess and the swan was an old movie, a child’s one. You had wanted to remember your childhood and made the bad decision on watching it. Probably, that you were on your period didn’t help the cause.

“Pete?” you called him out.

He was scrunched on his table, books and sheets scattered around it. He had big glasses on his head, and was wearing a wide, old sweater. You almost forgot your question looking at him, at the adorable face you had become accustomed to look at. MJ said it was proper stalking, but you preferred to call it ‘admire’.

“Parker!” you shouted, making him drop the pencil and jump in the chair. Immediately, he turned off the music and looked around, waiting to see May in the door or a curious neighbour on the window. He hadn’t still said to anyone who he really was.

“What? What?” he asked, his eyes finally focusing on you.

“I’ve got a question.”

“Should we appeal the ‘no judgment’ clause of our friendship?”

“Not this time” you chuckled. “It’s a serious one.”

“Okay, shoot” he turned back to his work, thinking it would be another dumb thing. “If it’s about area 51, my answer is still-“

“What do you like about me?”

The room became quiet and Peter slowly turned around, his eyes wide and his mouth hang open. He didn’t expect that question, not at all. Peter Parker had a lot of answers to it, actually, yet he didn’t think he could say out loud any of them.

You were frowning at him, your head tilted to the side. You were wearing his t-shirt from NY,  and a pair of his boxers. An outfit that made his answer a lot more complicated. He sighed and moved the wheeled chair until he was in front of you, his legs crossing.

“What is this coming from?” he looked towards the screen, and rolled his eyes. “I thought we said no Disney films on your period!”

“I know, I know!” you defended yourself. “But I couldn’t help it, it was my favourite movie. And you haven’t answered my question”

“Why do you ask me that?” Peter scratched his chin and pouted slightly.

“Because” you looked to your right. “when Flash and I broke up, you told me I deserved more. When Brad stood me up, you told me the same. When I didn’t get the college I wanted. And when my parents got the divorce!”

“And? It’s-It’s…. something you say. S-Something I said without meaning it” Peter’s words were rushed.

“I know you’re lying, Pete”

When, in the film, Odette asked the prince what he liked about her, he told her she was beautiful; nothing more. You expected Peter to give you the same answer, and you were already angry at him without a reason. That was what usually happened when you spent the night at his house; stupid arguments that solved up with pizza and playing UNO until late night.

Not in a million years would you have expected his answer.

“I like, I like about you that you stand up for yourself. Like, when someone is being unfair, you’re the first one to step up” Peter smiled shyly, blushing; still, he didn’t meet your eyes. “Not a lot of people do that, and certainly not everyone would date an asshat just so that he stop messing with their best friend.”

“Peter” you hit his arm playfully. “Flash was a good kid, just too boring”

Peter rolled his eyes and mumbled an annoyed  ‘whatever’, still not over the fact that you dated him. He coughed softly and fixed his eyes on the floor.

“I-I, you’re… you’re unique. You make me laugh like nobody else, and you have this personality that outshine everyone, in a good way. Funny, outgoing, nerdy and still the most amazing girl someone could dream about” Peter let out a breathy chuckle. “And-And, let’s talk about your face. Like, you have the cutest face! And facial expressions. You, damn, you can make a stone smile.”

Peter kept rambling about how he liked too the way you talked, your perks and a bunch of other things. A faint shadow of pink covered his cheeks all the time, and he messed up with his words sometimes, letting out short apologies. Both of you discovered that Peter Parker could spend hours talking about you and not getting tired.

Suddenly, his meaty hands and chubby cheeks came back to you; Peter kissing you in kindergarten, and you running to your mum that day and telling her you were getting married to the boy in the play yard. His shaky breaths and frightened eyes, and the way he kept thanking you for a month for doing what you did. Peter’s suffering because Ben’s death, your lips on his and he still saying sorry for something he didn’t did. And the boy you thought you loved smoking for the first time weed and getting a huge scolding from Mr Stark just for you.

“… and, besides all of that, I think you’re really pretty” Peter finished just then, finally meeting your eyes. When he saw your shocked face, his smiled dropped. “A pretty friend! What-What did you thought, idiot? I-I…wh-what I like th-the m-most about y-you is that you’re, hm, you’re a r-really good friend.”

Peter finished his sentence with a loud and awkward laugh, as he tried to get away with the wheeling chair. On the other hand, you weren’t willing to let it go. So you gripped the armchair and pulled him closer, until your faces were inches apart.

That time, you were aware of his heart beating in chest, and he was conscious of your ragged breathing. Your noses touched just like that night in the party, and you felt his breath on your mouth.

“I can say a lot of things that I like about you too” you mumbled, moving your eyes between his and his mouth. “I, I think I… well, I just like you. Not as a pretty friend. As, I don’t know, if you want, like a pretty boyfriend?”

Peter’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth, not believing your words. Your hands started to shake nervously against the armchair, and you bit your tongue to avoid any tears falling down.

You didn’t want to loose your friendship with Peter, that was more important than any feeling about him. You had enough with those stolen kisses, so why the fuck do you have to say anything, you fucking nuts. When your eyes started to get glossy and your stomach was turning and tossing like crazy, Peter took the initiative and kissed you.

Slowly, he tangled his fingers into your hair, making you move forwards and kiss him back. Your lips quivered into a happy smile as his moved over yours. It was soft, it was lovely and it was perfect. When you teared apart, neither of you moved from your spot, just stared at each other with stupid smiles.

“I would like you to be my pretty girlfriend too” he muttered against your lips, his own touching them with every word.

“I would like that too” you kissed his lips quickly, as he moved his hands and cupped your cheeks. “But, are you-“

“I’m with you, no matter what”

With that, you shared your second (or sixth) kiss.

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@delicately-important-trash​

[cinnamonbirdanon]

Ok so first time writing any of these fools, so be kind please ;w; This is to my headcanon that reapers can shift into large ravens to hide in flocks of ravens in cemeteries so when the necrobitches show up they stir up the flock and while the necromancers are distracted they arrest them. Reapers are larger than normal ravens with brightly coloured eyes so they can be told apart from the Raven Queen’s random ravens.

~

No dogs on the moon. No problem. This wasn’t a dog, after all, and it wasn’t a pet. This was his god damn boyfriend.

The first time Magnus saw the bird on Taako’s shoulder was a good while after they started sneaking Kravitz in. His eyes seemed to light up as he hurried over and exclaimed “ Where’d you get a crow, Taako?”, as if hoping that Lucretia would be allowing pets on the moon.

“ What crow?” Taako asked, startled by the man who had just ran over to him. Kravitz moved to hide a bit more behind Taako’s head, but he was a very large raven- It was to help the Raven Queen figure out which were a reaper and which just one of the ravens who flocked to her. The reapers were pretty big in size comparison.

“ The crow on your shoulder! Where’d you get her? What’s her name? Are we allowed pets now?”

“ I have no clue what you’re talking about, big guy.” Taako said, hurrying into his room before Magnus could ask more questions.

~

Taako had been sneaking Kravitz into his room so they could hang out and not deal with people panicking about a grim reaper being out in public with the elf. They had thought the Chug and Squeeze was a good sign they’d be able to hang out in public- boy were they wrong. Kravitz has taken Taako planetside to a large market in Gold Cliff. People parted like Kravitz had the plague, his sheer presence making people think shit was going to go down. Some venders even panicked and ran when the two stopped to look at goods.

So, no. They didn’t exactly have a different place to hang out. It was Taako’s room or nothing, and the second wasn’t an option. Ripping portals was loud and very obvious. So, Kravitz did it in an alley of the Bureau as to cut back on noise. Taako’s room wasn’t the biggest, and also it was a bit rude to just portal into people’s homes KRAVITZ.

The next day Taako didn’t have his bird, which confused Magnus but didn’t stop him from asking about it, confusing Merle. “ I didn’t see him with any bird.” Merle pointed out “ Your eyes good, Magnus?”

“ My eyes are fine, thank you very much.” Magnus said, almost offended “ I saw him with a bird. A big crow. It kinda hid when it saw me approach, he had a bird! It hung out on his shoulder!”

“ Honestly, chaboy really doesn’t do birds. Beaty little eyes, weird toes. Doesn’t match my brand, Mag.” Taako said, internally panicking and hoping that Merle wouldn’t become more observant as well.

But he did, and he caught Taako with a large bird on his shoulder barely a week after. “ That is a massive crow, holy Pan!” He stared at the bird, just surprised at how large it was. Magnus tried to move towards and touch the raven, but it just switched shoulders until it hopped onto the back of the chair. Magnus’ eyes widened, now able to get a good look at the bird “ Wait a sec... it’s a raven! Taako, how the FUCK did you get a pet RAVEN?!”

“ I have no clue what you’re talking about.” Taako insisted, knowing better than to just head to his room and lock the door. The boys would be persistent with asking about it.

“ How can you tell? Looks like a crow to me.” Merle said, motioning to it. “ I can tell because I used to watch these guys and crows fight constantly. This is a BIG girl.”

Taako muttered something, making them look at him. “ Come again? Old ears don’t work too well, son.” Merle said, tilting an ear towards him and cupping it with his tree arm. “ I said.” Taako stood up, with the raven flying to his shoulder “ He isn’t a she.” Kravitz pecked at Taako’s shirt, a sign he wasn’t too happy Taako had broke and acknowledged him.

“ So you acknowledge the bird!” Magnus said like he had proven something. Taako rolled his eyes “ Yeah, now- uh- now don’t go squealing to the director.” more pecking “ Cause she already knows about chaboy’s boy. Anyways, imma go take a- uh- nap.” he said and headed to his room quickly.

~

“ Imma go talk to the director.” Magnus said, excitedly “ Maybe dogs on the moon is gonna finally happen!”

“ No dogs on the moon. No ANIMALS on the moon, Magnus.” Lucretia said sternly. Magnus slumped a bit in defeat, whining a “ But Taako has his raven!”

“... Taako has a what?”

~

By the time Lucretia was there to search their apartment for contraband ravens, Kravitz had headed out and didn’t even leave any feathers since he wasn’t a regular raven. Magnus had gotten distracted on the way to whine to Lucretia about Taako’s “pet”, so he and Taako had had plenty of time to cuddle and then for Taako to take him to that closet he opened his portals in. Without any proof Taako had a raven Lucretia just ended up lectured them on how animals on the moon was dangerous, blah blah blah.

The next week, Taako had his raven again. Except this time, he and Kravitz had talked about a plan. Taako was never good with sticking to plans. With his temporarily feathered boyfriend hiding in a tote, Taako didn’t go right to his room like planned. Instead, he put down the tote in front of his room mates and stood armed crossed. “ You two are dipshits, you know that?” He asked them.

“ Naturally.” Merle said calmly, shrugging it off.

“ Since I don’t want our boss snooping around, might as well tell you two. This isn’t regular raven, it’s my boyfriend.” Kravitz peeked out of the tote, still in raven form since it was too small a space to shift back.

“ You’re dating a raven?”

“ Wow. Ok. Didn’t expect you had that low perception.” Taako rolled his eyes “ He isn’t a raven. He’s just formed as one.”

“ Oh, so not a pet?” Magnus asked, staring at the bag “ Can I talk to him then?” He inched closer, getting serious. “ I mean, weird question but ok.” Taako said, unzipping the bag and letting Kravitz out. Before Kravitz could shift back to his normal form, Magnus grabbed him and made him look at him. “ You so much as lay a finger on Taako, you’re dead. Got it bird man?”

Taako rubbed his temples, shaking his head. Once he was put down on the ground, Kravitz again tried to shift but Merle grabbed him this time. “ That wasn’t just a Magnus promise either, bird boy. I’ll aim for your shins and it will HURT.” This time, friendlier hands grabbed Kravitz and removed him from Merle’s hold. “ Jeez guys, could you lay off chaboy’s boy?” Taako hissed, ears back until he looked at Kravitz to put him down away from any grabbing roommates so he could finally shift back to his human form.

To say Merle and Magnus paled at the sight of who they just threatened would be an understatement.

[rex101111]

aaaaaand 💌 with namine and xion

Xion stared at pure, blinding white, an infinite expanse of blank space stretching on longer and longer the more she looked.

It’s oblivion made manifest, a void of meaning and significance, a square of nothing that drew her mind and eyes to it so and made her a meaningless, mindless prop of a person.

It was supposed to be a God damned love letter, but it insisted to be a blank piece of A4 paper, mocking her with it’s sheer white facade and insulting her deepest heart’s desire to just-

“Break.” She muttered with bloodshot eyes in a voice filled with sudden horror, “I should take a break.”

She put down her pencil, pushed her chair back and rubbed circles on her temple. She’d sat down over an hour ago, and her progress was evident by the large pile of crumpled paper to her left that, presumably, hid a small waste basket somewhere near the bottom.

It needed to be just right, every word needed to be just right, every phrase and every punctuation mark had to be just where it needed to be because the person she was writing for deserved no less.

Her cheeks felt warm just thinking of her golden hair and radiant smile, how she bit her upper lip as she concentrated on her artwork, her laugh that floated and bounced around the air, she was perfect.

“...now why the hell am I having so much trouble writing that down?”

Xion dragged herself back to her empty page, grabbing her pencil with a renewed sense of purpose...which led absolutely nowhere. 

Yesterday she had spent a whole day in Radiant Garden with Namine, shopping and eating ice cream and watching her draw flowers when Xion had a sudden, earth shattering revelation.

She was in love, utterly smitten with her blond friend. This was a moment of supreme happiness for her...until she realized she would probably have to do something with those feelings, probably tell Namine about them. 

The thought itself was enough to cause immense panic and make a lame excuse to Namine to be able to run off back home and try and formulate a plan about how she would tell Namine about how she felt without melting into a puddle of goo just by sitting next to her.

After a few hours of mulling over strategies with a clueless Roxas and a smug Lea (who had apparently won some sort of bet involving her crush on Namine and so was impossibly even more smug than usual), crying about how she would never confess her feelings on account of being a coward, and then sleeping on it (thus having a dream about Namine that she will take with her to the grave), she finally had a solution.

If she could not say what she felt, she would write it!

Brilliant!

Except for the fact that she had no idea where to even begin.

She got as far as sitting in a chair next to a writing desk with paper and a pencil, and was now stuck in that horrible limbo of having an idea tap dance in you hard with cement shoes, demanding to be heard and seen, but unable to form it on paper in a way that was good enough to be read by anyone with eyes.

She put the pencil down again, resting her forehead on the desk with a sorrowful moan, thinking she might want to reschedule this panic attack disguised as a writing session for another day when her mind wasn’t complete garbage.

And then she felt a large hand grip her shoulder, a gruff voice, almost like a growl, following suit, “Xion, are you alright?”

 She raised her head from her empty page to see Isa, staring grimly at her with his own stern version of concern, and managed to stomp down her gut instinct to cower from eyes that weren’t glowing yellow anymore to smile tiredly at him, “I’m fine, really...just having a bit of...writer’s block.”

“Ah, you’re love letter.” He nodded sharply, an understanding hum rumbling in his throat, “yes Lea did mention you locking yourself in here in hopes of putting your emotions on paper.”

Xion sighed deeply and sagged in her chair, “Yeah, well apparently being a pseudo-Nobody for a while might have had some negative effects on me because I can’t seem to do that.” 

Isa rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looking between Xion and the blank page, “do you know how you feel about her?”

“I love her.” She says, certainly, an edge of steel in her voice. She’s gotten very attached to her heart for the short time she’s had it, she had no intention of ignoring it or misunderstanding it. Speaking it to her? That was the problem, she had no issue knowing her heart as deeply as she could, “I love everything about her, she makes me happy just being with her, she makes this life I’ve gotten...worthy, like there’s something I could do with it if I can make her as happy as she makes me.”

Isa was quiet for a moment, waiting for her to finish, before nodding shortly again, “well then, perhaps you’re overthinking this?”

“It needs to be perfect Isa, this letter needs to say exactly what I feel,” She looked down at the paper again, biting her lower lip, “she deserves nothing less than my best...”

“Is your best perfect?” Isa asks directly, he waits for her to look at him before he continues, “consider who you’re writing this for, if Namine cares for you half as much as you do for her, what would she want to hear from you?”

Xion didn’t say anything for a long moment, blinking as things clicked into place in her head, her lips tilting up at the edges, “she’d...want me to be honest with her...” she looked back on her blank page, “...I can do that, I can manage honest.”

“Good, try that then.”

“....can I say how weird it is to hear you giving me advice? Considering our history?”

“Less talking more writing, you mumbling in here is starting to make Lea and Roxas nervous.”

She laughed, and turned to her desk one last time, her grip on her pencil sure and certain.

She put pencil to paper, and words flowed like water, a flood of thoughts staining the pure white with bold black and filling it with meaning, washing it with her feelings and all she wanted to say.

When she looked up, she had written down everything she wanted Namine to know, and now all she needed to do was...give it...to...her....

“Oh no...”

A sigh from above her, “would you like me to-”

She shoved the letter in an envelope, closed it, drew a simple heart on the face of it, and presented it to the large man next to her, “please.”

-|-_-|-

 Dear Namine,

A day ago I ran off while we were having a good time without explaining myself, and I want to clear the air, and tell you a few things you need to know.

While we were walking through the flower gardens, you smiled at me. That smile was why I ran off like I did. You smiled at me a thousand times before, and every time you did I could feel my chest fill up with fire and a want for you to never stop smiling like that.

But, that day, something else happened. Something clicked in my head, the whole day started arranging itself in my heart in a way that made a few things very clear to me in a way they weren’t before.

Everything you did yesterday made my heart pound, every little word you told me made me blush and nervous, every time I glanced at you I could see the sun shining through your hair and the sky in your eyes and I realized something all at once I should have known from the moment we met.

I love you. I love you so much it overwhelmed me completely, I could think of nothing else besides this revelation, it filled my heart and my head with so much noise I needed to gain some distance so I could figure out how to tell you because being so near you was like flying up to the sun and trying not to burn to ashes.

I always had a hard time just...talking to people, words always fail me when in the moment, and these words could not fail me, because the words I’m writing down to confess this to you are the most important things I ever had to convey to another person.

I don’t want to force you into this, this is just me being as honest as I can possibly be, and you deserve nothing less than my absolute honesty.

If you don’t feel the same...I’ll live, I’ll live and move on and be your friend, like I’ve always been.

But, if you feel the same for me as I feel for you...meet me on the clock tower in twilight town tomorrow evening, I’ll be waiting for you, with my heart in my hands so I could give it to you...though you already stole it the day we met.

With love,

Xion.

-|-_-|-

Xion sat on the porch of the clock tower with a heavy feeling of dread, the time of her meeting with Namine slowly creeping up on her. That feeling only growing heavier as she remembered the letter Isa had given her when he got back from delivering her love confession.

“Namine had her own words for you, she said to read it when you get to the clock tower.”

Which, of course, did nothing to assuage her anxiety, not knowing what Namine could possibly have to say to her before meeting her. Perhaps a gentle rejection to soften the blow before she did it in person? Or maybe a request to forever leave her alone?

She was panicking again, and she sighed with the resolution to just get it over with, remembering her promise to honor whatever Namine felt in turn, she opened the envelope, and found two pieces of paper inside.

With some sense of dread and anticipation, she started reading; 

Dear Xion,

Before I meet you at the clock tower, I want to tell you something in this letter.

Words tend to fail me too, though I can’t really write either, at least not half as wonderfully as you wrote to me.

For me, pictures always helped me speak more freely than anything.

So, here’s a picture that might be able to tell you half of what I feel for you.

Seeing you soon, 

Namine.

Xion gulped loudly, putting the letter down and looking at the picture Namine had drawn for her and included with her letter, her face burning like someone poured gasoline on her.

It was the two of them, Namine and Xion, viewed from the back, standing in front of a sprawling expanse of flowers, their hands hanging tightly onto each other, fingers intertwined.

“Hey.”

She looked up, a few tears falling down her smiling face as she saw Namine sit down next to her, laughing wetly, “hey yourself.”

Namine looked down and giggled quietly when she saw her drawing in Xion’s grip, “so...did you get my message?” 

Xion put the two pages down, and held her Namine’s face in her hands, and placed her lips with a feather light kiss. 

As the kiss deepened, the sun shined down in front of them, the red glow of the dying light washing over them in a silent blanket of orange embers. 

[raleigh-ocean]

make up after a fight with misty | headcanon

oh fuck damn this one is going to be a bit angsty

let’s begin okay?

wednesday morning, Misty didn’t have class so you let her in your shared bed after she tried to make you stay, like always

that day of the week you had the most difficult class out of all of them

the oldest students were a pain in the ass

which was weird, because you believed you’d find harder to teach the younglings 

(they were sweethearts??? seriously, you’ll have to tell Cordelia you wanted to teach them only)

you already had a few clashes with those young adults 

but today?

they decided to go full stupid for some reason

it got to the point where you had more than a half the class out of the room

and that you were starting to show a new power, clairvoyance, made it all the worse if it was possible

power none knew about it except you, since you were still discerning how powerful it was and if it would settle with the rest of your powers

those girls could be really mean y’know?

for someone with soft heart it felt even worse 

which made you flee for the rest of the day from the Academy, taking advantage that it was your only class of the day

when Misty managed to get dressed and get some late breakfast, she made her way to your classroom to give you a good morning kiss

only to find it empty

for a second she thought it was more late than she believed it was

but there was a straggler there, which she asked about where were everybody

it worried her to know that you resumed the class earlier and checked her phone in case you left her a message about it

do I have to say that Misty entered in the Panic Zone (tm)?

she literally ran around the Academy searching for you, asking everybody she cross paths with, but she already knew you weren’t there since she couldn’t feel your aura

only Cordelia was capable of calm her down in your absence, reassuring her that maybe you wanted to get some fresh air or that you thought of a new recipe and needed some groceries?

(Cordelia was worried too, okay, overall about why would you resume your class so early?? but someone has to be the not panicked part)

they both decided to get some tea in the meantime

and it was then when they encountered a few of your students, that they overheard what really happened and what was the motive behind you acting that way

it took all Cordelia’s strength to avoid Misty tackling them to the ground and teach them the hard way how to respect people - and how to respect you.

deciding to wait for you to come back to talk about that, both took their tea to Cordelia’s office afterwards to spend some together

until after lunch, you didn’t appeared in the front door, your arms full of stuff to bake the largest batch of whatever you had in mind

and you were sorting the stuff, absent-minded, when Misty arms snuck around your middle and hid her face in your neck

‘you got me all worried sunshine, where were you’

you couldn’t help but feel bad about that, you already did during all day you were out without noticing it

‘doing some groceries, I was thinking about baking brownies baby’

‘did you spent five hours doin’ groceries just for some brownies?’

thanks to the clairvoyance, you managed to catch a solitary thought out of Misty’s head

she knew about the incident in your classes

‘well, you know lil ol’ me, I always want everything to be perfect,’ the white lie made Misty flinch, uncomfortable, and you noticed it ‘it’s nothing baby, really, I had a while without having some me time either’

you didn’t want Misty to worry about how you couldn’t handle a bunch of stupid girls, okay?

not only because you were still hurt about it but also because you felt...powerless in someway and that angered you

‘i know somethin’ happened to you, you only bake chocolate things when something is bothering you” Misty’s voice is soft for a second but her own annoyance turns it hard the next second ‘and i don’t know why you don’t want me to know’

you only turn around, frown ready

‘because i’m a grown up that knows how to deal with my own problems, thank you very much’

can i say that angered Misty the most?

the fact that you didn’t want to trust in her with all that hurt her and she stepped back from your touch, crossing her arms under her chest

‘well, of course you are,’ you sighed a bit loudly and that put more weight to Misty’s anger 

you two stay in silence, not wanting to snap at each other while you still were going through the ingredients for the brownies

you didn’t want to keep talking about it

but Misty can’t take the silence anymore

‘why don’t you trust in me?’ you look up to her ‘do you think I couldn’t help you with those stupid girls making fun of you?’

it was then when all of your pent up emotions left your body

a mess if i’m being honest

everything you want to say is stuck in your throat and Misty started to ramble about the true motive behind why you did what you did

which it makes everything worse than already is

and then you couldn’t take her rant anymore and your tears start falling

‘instead of getting angry at me, why don’t you see that i’m trying to hold my ground by myself’ it startled Misty to say the least, overall because you’ve never raised your voice more than necessary ‘i don’t want them to think i’m weak and that i always need you or Cordelia to get things running smoothly for me’

‘but baby you aren’t weak for needing help with this’

‘oh for christ’s sake Misty! I read their minds, I know further than you think you know about it’

maybe it was because you confessed about your new power - since when you could read minds??? - or maybe it was because she never saw such flame in your eyes

Misty was left in shock, looking at her hands not knowing what to say anymore

‘you told me that why i didn’t trust you, but why don’t you trust me in this?’ 

that was the last straw + watching you cry

any trace of annoyance that Misty could still have just got blown away because in the end you were right

instead of putting up that shit show, she would have let you explain yourself without her wondering and wondering why you didn’t say anything

when she didn’t reply nor move, you only dried your tears with the kitchen cloth before trying to keep baking

‘i should have texted you to not worry you, i’m sorry’ you said that in a soft mumble ‘sometimes i get too into my own head’

that was enough for Misty, who stepped forward again and wrapped you in her arms, kissing all over your face

‘i’m the one being sorry, i shouldn’t have jump in all of that’

you couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle when Misty kept kissing you, hugging you tightly

you knew she wasn’t the best when it came to the apologize part, so you already knew all those kisses and light touches were meant to make up for the bad time 

‘why don’t you help me bake hmm?’ you manage to pull apart, giving her a light kiss in her lips ‘let’s forget about this’

‘but you promise me you’ll talk about this with Cordelia?’

‘i do, but first i’ll try to use my own method okay? the one that doesn’t involve poison those bitches with some tasty brownies at all’

even when you both laughed it off, starting to do the whole thing, the thought of you, sweet and dear you, doing something like that was very unlikely and still made Misty chuckle

it was weird hearing something like that coming out from your lips, even as a joke

but when she told Cordelia about the whole thing, the woman got really concerned about your ‘joke’ 

apparently you did something similar to some assholes back in your Academy days and it was An Absolute Mess (tm)

so when she caught your students munching all the treats she had a tiny heartattack because she didn’t want you to get in trouble with Cordelia

you couldn’t help but laugh when you heard her thought

‘c’mon baby, you know i won’t do that, it was only a joke’

(oh it wasn’t, you really had everything to pull the same joke on them in the cart for like 30min until your adult brain decided to not pull it)

(but Misty didn’t have to know that)

[multisfabulis]

The Road to Forgiveness Be Damned

Scars of the Past Still Fester (Chapter 4/7)

Word Count: 6871

TW: Referenced child abuse, slight body horror

Hey, look, a chapter that didn’t take two months to come out! I started writing this not long after I came back from my hiatus because, in tragic irony, the beginning of this chapter is basically a condensed version of the shit I went through the few days before my hiatus and, in practicing rare self-care, I decided to hold off on writing this till after a week of everything happening so I didn’t fester in my grief.

This chapter also REALLY toes the line between platonic and romantic with Ven and Ferreth. It’s especially evident towards the end but I want to think it has some semblance of it being platonic, though that depends on your definition of platonic. Anyway, I loved writing this chapter and I hope I was able to convey the seriousness of “Characters laying bare parts of themselves they don’t want others to see to each other and having their walls down” it deserves.

Read on AO3 | Read on DA

     It was the first step she took Ferreth noticed something was off. Her eyes not wanting to focus, the sluggish way her body moved, everything in her demeanor sent him on the alert. It was only when Ven began to collapse, he realized something was very wrong.

     He caught her before her head hit the ground. Fear gripped his heart as he panicked over what to do. Was she hurt internally? Would it be safe to carry her back to Thal Esari if she was? What if she was already…? He couldn’t bear to finish the thought. His anxiety only worsened the longer time passed.

     “Ven? Ven, come on. Wake up for me, honey, wake up.” He gently shook her in an attempt to wake her up. “Ven, please… I need you to be okay so just. Wake. Up!”

     No response. Despite the ever so slight rise and fall of her chest, nothing would ease his worry more than seeing her violet eyes again. He cradled her close, memories of that horrible time beginning to plague his mind.

     The sound of his mother hacking up phlegm and blood. Her once strong and robust body withering away to nothing. Her voice and smile so weak and frail. Her warm brown skin becoming pallid and sickly. His hope of her recovering from her illness slowly waning till the day she died. Him watching her die bit by bit while he could only stand there, feeling helpless to do anything. He forced back the tears that were ready to be shed, as well as the painful memories.

     He couldn’t go through that again. He couldn’t lose another person he loved while he stood by, knowing he could’ve done something but didn’t. No. He was NOT going to let history repeat itself. Taking a deep breath, he swept an arm under her legs, picked her up, and sprinted off towards Thal Esari.

     Back through the forest and into the field, he ran. He couldn’t stop thinking about how it was his fault she got hurt. If he just refused to listen to her, if he just brought her back by force, she would be okay. Her being pissed at him was so much better than wondering if she was alive or not.

     Please be okay, he kept repeating in his head. It was more of a prayer than anything else. A prayer among all the what-ifs and maybes, something he desperately hoped for a god above to hear.

     As he neared Thal Esari, his ears picked up murmurs from Ven in his arms. He looked down to see her stirring awake and his run slowed to a walk. She slowly opened her eyes, glancing around and coughing some.

     “What…happened?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

     “You passed out and I couldn’t get you to wake up,” he replied, anger beginning to seep into his voice, “so I’m carrying you back to Thal Esari.”

     “...I’m sorry.” She averted her gaze. “I didn’t mean to make you worry over me.”

     “Damn right you are!” he snapped, stopping his walk. “Do you know how scared I was when you wouldn’t wake up?! I don’t even know what the hell would’ve made you pass out like that!”

     “Ferret---”

     “You told me you would be okay and, me being the effing idiot I am, believed you! God, why do I even listen to you sometimes?! I thought---I thought you were…”

     A couple tears quickly slid down his cheeks. The thought of losing her was always there but this was the closest he felt to that fear becoming reality. He never wanted to feel like this ever again.

     “Ferreth.” Her hand caressed his cheek, wiping away another fallen tear as she tenderly smiled. “I’m okay.”

     Her touch brought him comfort, which he gladly leaned into. If she was able to do that, she mustn’t be badly off. For someone who claimed to be bad with people, she certainly knew how to make him feel better.

     Retracting her hand, she said, “I’m okay to walk so you can put me down, okay?”

     “Are you sure?” he asked. “I don’t want you passing out on me again.”

     “I’ll be fine.”

     He carefully set her down, staying close by her side in case she wavered. She took a tentative step forward, then another and another. It was when she started to sway he walked up and caught her before she fell.

     “I’m just a little tired,” she said drowsily.

     “You want me to carry you so you can rest?” he asked, helping her stay up straight.

     “No, I’ll be okay, I just--” a yawn escaped from her mouth before she could try and cover it-- “need your arm till we get there.”

     She grabbed his arm and rested her head against it, closing her eyes. How she could stand and walk while sleeping, he’ll never know. For now, though, they needed to continue on their journey. He made sure to take it slow so as to not jolt her awake while she slept.

     No one paid much attention to them after they passed through the gates. No one, except for a certain lackey. He felt eyes watching them but he wasn’t sure if they belonged to the same person from earlier today or yesterday. Either way, they were being stalked and their every move was being reported to Filaurel. If only he could find the bastard and order them to pass the success of their deed on to the hag… Maybe then, she’ll stop having them followed.

     Ignoring that, he needed to search for a doctor. He doubted anyone would help him find one and he certainly didn’t want to wake Ven up to ask if she knew where one was. He was on his own.

     After a painstakingly long time of looking, he found it. A small clinic, with faded white paint coming off in flakes and dark green window shutters, stood in front of him. Its only window was simple in only having six glass panes for people to peer through to the other side. A wooden sign hung above the door with Elvish writing carved into it. It might’ve said “Doctor” on it but his fluency with Elvin left much to be desired. Feeling there to be no other choice, he swung the door open and went in.

     A lone elf sat at a desk, which had papers scattered everywhere. They appeared to be writing something down before lifting their head up to look at them. They stood up from their chair and came around the desk to greet them. He was able to take a better look at them once they stepped in the light pouring in from outside.

     They were significantly shorter than him, though not to the extent Ven was. Dark brown hair tied into a long, thick braid hung over their shoulder and brown eyes hid behind silver-rimmed glasses. The stark white overcoat they wore contrasted their olive skin while showing off a slender yet lithe body. He hoped this person, whoever they were, could help Ven.

     “I’m Dr. Sharian Elcan. What seems to be the problem?” they asked, adjusting their glasses.

     “Well…”

     From there, he told them of the events that occurred over the course of their trip. He had to throw in some white lies here and there so they wouldn’t get suspicious. It’d be hard to explain the existence of a chimera in the swamp, after all. Thankfully, they seemed to believe his story and directed them to the back.

     “All right, Ven, time to wake up.” He placed his free hand on top of her head and ruffled her hair.

     She yawned and blinked her eyes to wake up. Soon as Elcan noticed the color of her eyes, their whole personality did a 180. What was once calm and collected became agitation as they suddenly began ushering them out the door.

     “Hey, hey, hey, what’s the big deal?!” he exclaimed, stopping in his tracks, “You just told me you could help her!”

     “Sir, your friend is a Vlixeox. I don’t treat them here,” they said with contempt in their voice.

     “What the hell does her being a Vlixeox have to do with you helping her?!”

     “Look, I don’t have to explain myself to you. Take her to another doctor, if you must, but I’m not treating her.”

     “Ferret, let’s just go, okay?” Ven urged, gently tugging on his arm to leave.

     He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. What was with this village hating Vlixeoxs for no other reason than “just because”? Ven being a Vlixeox shouldn’t be a point of contention and shouldn’t stop her from getting what she needed. Her race didn’t make her any less of a person deserving of basic decency. She may be fine with being looked down upon but he won’t let anyone treat her like that while he was around. The problem lied in trying to convince this prick to help her.

     That was when the idea struck him. As horrible as the thought may have been, it was the only thing he could think of that would work. It’d essentially be bribing someone who clearly didn’t deserve it but… If it meant Ven would be looked at, his worries would be calmed, then so be it.

     Letting out a disgruntled sigh, he asked, “If I give you all the money I have, would you help her?”

     Her fingers tightened on his arm while Elcan asked incredulously, “Are you trying to bribe me?”

     “If it means she’ll be okay, then yeah.”

     “You’re not gonna leave until I do what you want, huh?”

     He nodded, giving the doctor time to mull it over. He hoped the prospect of money would overrule their prejudice. Greed was a powerful motivator for getting even the most stubborn of people to do your bidding, after all. They gave them an answer a moment later.

     “Fine… Take her to the back and I’ll look at her.”

     Relief washed over him and he led Ven to the back of the clinic. There were five beds lined up in a row, with curtains acting as dividers for each one. A wooden cabinet filled with medical stuff stood at the western end of the room. They seemed to be the only ones here, which was good since it meant they got the doctor’s full attention. At least something was in their favor today.

     “You didn’t have to do that,” she said, looking up at him after he helped her up onto the bed. “I’m all right.”

     “I know I’m being a little overprotective but--” he butted his forehead against hers while stroking a thumb over her knuckles-- “I just want you to be okay. Once the doctor gives you a clean bill of health, I’ll stop acting like a mother-hen.”

     “Don’t leave me, okay?” she whispered, her eyes pleading.

     “I’ll be right here so don’t worry.” He squeezed her hand to comfort her and brushed his lips against her temple.

     Elcan came in just then, holding a clipboard and pencil. They did the usual check-up stuff, like taking her pulse, checking her cognitive faculties, etc. The only thing left to do was mark the injuries she may or may not have off. When they suggested a more thorough examination, that was when hell broke loose.

     “No---stay back. Stay away from me!”

     “Miss, I need to make sure there aren’t any serious injuries on you.”

     “I don’t care! I know I’m okay but I’m only here because my friend’s worried about me when he doesn’t need to be.” She turned to him, clenching his hand in hers. “Ferret, I’m fine, let’s just go.”

     He knew why she was acting like this. Of course she’d react like a cornered animal to that seemingly benign approach. It was because of that. Letting someone see something that, not only makes you self-conscious, but serves as a reminder of the hate people have for you being different carried too much weight. No way would she want anyone to see it, least of all a complete stranger.

     “Ven, I know it’ll be hard but please let them help you,” he begged, hoping she’d listen to him.

     “Ferret---”

     “I know I’m being a dick right now but they need to know what they might have to treat.” He brushed his fingers through a lock of her hair that wasn’t in the ponytail. “Do it for me?”

     She balled her hands up into fists in her lap and stared at the ground. He felt like an utter asshole for saying that to her, knowing it’d tug at her heartstrings. He just wanted her to be okay. His worries may be completely unfounded but he’d rather be overreacting to nothing than be caught unawares by something avoidable. Moments later, she spoke, her answer shocking both him and the doctor.

     “All right, but I want you to do it.”

     “Uh, Ven, you do know that I have next to no medical expertise, right?”

     “So? When has that ever stopped you? You’re the only one I can trust with this and you know I won’t take no for an answer.”

     Well, that came back to bite him in the ass. She knew how to turn the tables on him and, even if it annoyed him at times, he loved that about her. Now, however, there was another dilemma on his hands.

     Once her mind was set on something, it’d be impossible to change it, but he didn’t know anything about medicine and the like. Then again---as she said---when has his lack of knowledge on something ever stopped him? The problem was, if he missed something and it turned out to be serious… But she seemed fine right now. He could only hope she just had cuts and scrapes.

     One defeated look from him was all it took for Elcan to know. It was futile to argue against it and they acquiesced. No matter their concerns, Ven would just dig in her heels till they eventually gave in.

     Elcan walked over to the cabinet and took several things out. They placed two trays, washcloths, bandages, and a vial of clear liquid on the counter below. Was all that really necessary just for some cuts, he wondered. They came back and pulled him aside to tell him what he needed to do.

     First was to fill the trays up with water and soak the washcloths in them for a few minutes. Then clean the blood and dirt off the open cuts and scrapes. After that, pour some of the liquid in the vial on the washcloths to disinfect the wounds. Lastly, only use the bandages on the ones he felt were worser off than the others. It wasn’t perfect but it’d have to do.

     They then headed back to the reception area, leaving the two of them alone. Neither spoke, letting silence envelop the entire room. Orange light peeked in from the front of the clinic, filling in the space between them. The quiet soon turned into tension, with the looming realization of what was about to come next hanging above them. He certainly wasn’t looking forward to it.

     The moment of truth. He never thought he’d actually see the scars she had told him about many times before. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t imagined them and it was more out of a sick sense of curiosity than anything. It’s only because of his urging he was able to see them today. Guilt gnawed at his heart, knowing he was forcing her to do something she wasn’t entirely comfortable doing. This moment should’ve come on her own time, no matter if she trusted him.

     “So…” He let out a shaky breath, attempting to calm his nerves. “You wanna just get…that over with?”

     “Can you…promise me you won’t say anything about them when you see them? I know they won’t be nice to look at and…I’d just appreciate it if you didn’t say anything.”

     “I know you’re already super nervous about me seeing them so I won’t say anything. I promise.”

     He swore he heard her sigh in relief. Not surprising, since this was probably her first time showing her back to anyone, which had to carry fear he’s never experienced before. If he had to make a promise to her to ease her anxiety just a tiny bit, he’d gladly do it.

     Giving her time to mentally prepare herself, he went over to the cabinet and started doing the tasks Elcan had given him to do. He placed the trays under the faucet and filled them to the brim. With washcloths now soaked, he put everything on a nearby medical cart and wheeled it over to Ven’s bed. He shut his eyes tight upon arriving, in case he walked in on her undressing.

     “I think…I’m ready,” she said, sounding unsure.

     “You sure?”

     “Not really but I don’t think I’ll ever be.”

     He took a deep breath, attempting to calm his nerves once more. He felt nervous and afraid yet he knew there was no way out of this. Was he really about to see them? The many physical reminders of the pain she suffered? His heart raced as the large bundle of nerves he had began to unravel. No time to waste, he just had to do it and get it over with. Steeling himself, he opened his eyes.

     Scars upon scars were layered over each other on her small back. Many of them curled around to her chest or over her shoulders and left dark mars on her pale skin. Others were small enough to only fade over time. It was easy to tell she struggled to turn away from the whip as it struck her, as if they held her down while they doled out the abuse disguised as “punishment”. Seeing these horrific scars, knowing they were inflicted upon her as a child, rendered him speechless.

     He felt angered, outraged at this. How could anyone think this kind of torture was okay to do to a child? No matter how much they want to try and pass this off as punishment, it was abuse. Cruel, sadistic abuse given to an innocent girl with the unlucky fortune of being born a Vlixeox. She didn’t deserve to be mutilated in public for something as petty as stealing. No one deserved something like that, period.

     There were so many things he wanted to say to her. How they weren’t in the right for doing that to her, why she didn’t deserve the shit they heaped on to her. Just anything to convince her she did nothing wrong and wasn’t the monster they or even she herself claimed to be. But he doesn’t. He made a promise to her and he planned to uphold that promise.

     Scattered across her back were small red scrapes and patches of smeared dirt. He brought the medical cart closer, never taking his eyes off her back. The scars looked even worse up close than they did at first glance.

     “Well, I see some stuff that needs to be cleaned so…” he said, subtly warning her of what was to come.

     She braced herself by taking in a deep breath. He dabbed at a bloody scrape on her left shoulder with the wet washcloth. She let out a whimper as soon as the cold water touched her, her hands squeezing the side of the bed to death. Despite trying his best to be as gentle as possible, his touch was still enough for her to flinch from. Her scars ran deeper beneath the surface, he knew.

     “Sorry.”

     “It’s okay. I’m just not used to…being touched there. It feels weird.”

     “I’ll try to take it slow and be gentle, okay?”

     Silence fell between them once more. Instead of it being the uncomfortable quiet of before, it was more of an intimate quiet. He gently wiped the dirt and blood off her back and soaked the dirty washcloth in one of the trays. She didn’t flinch as much as she grew comfortable with the cold yet light touches to her scrapes. It was only when he dabbed at them with the disinfectant she recoiled away, though that was more from the stinging than anything else.

     “All right, that’s your back done,” he said, wringing the dirty washcloth. “Now we can move on to the others.”

     Putting her shirt back on, she asked, “Is it okay if…I talk for a little bit?”

     “Yeah, I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing while you talk,” he replied. The day she’s had, she was probably wanting to vent to him.

     “Okay…” He began washing the dirt and blood off her arms. “I don’t know if they’re the only ones that died but those names I yelled at you earlier? They were people I knew from when I was a kid.

     “Leena, Aila, and Travaran were a group of kids that’d play by the plaza everyday. Aila used to carry these large books around with her to read and I think Travaran and Leena were brother and sister. I always wanted to ask if I could play with them but I was too scared to really do it since I knew the adults wouldn’t allow it. I think Leena would try to come near me sometimes but she was probably scared of me like everyone else was.

     “Braern was a fruit vendor over at the marketplace. I loved eating the apples he’d lay out sometimes.” He disinfected the cuts on her arms. “I think he felt sorry for me because there were times he’d catch me stealing from him and he would just let me go without saying a word. I appreciated that.”

     She held out her legs, continuing, “Vaeril was a vagrant but he used to be a great storyteller. He’d weave the most wonderful stories about adventurers going on these grand quests and people from all over the village would gather around just to listen. I was always so fascinated with them and yearned to hear more. He never said anything bad to me but if he ever hated me, he never let it show.

     “Rathal was a person I didn’t know much about. I guess you could say I knew more about their dog than them.” She let out a short laugh as he cleaned and disinfected her legs. “His name was Lucky and he was this big, fluffy dog that always knocked me down to the ground whenever we played together. Rathal didn’t seem to mind, though they probably got annoyed with how loud I was at times. I hope someone took care of Lucky after…they died.

     “Seldanna…was the only kind one.” She paused, gripping the hem of her shirt tightly as he soaked both the dirtied washcloths in the trays. “She never hurt me or said horrible things to me. She’s why I love flowers so much, because she’d always tell me what each one was and let me see them up close. I don’t know why she was so nice to me but I’m happy she was.”

     She muttered out an apology as she wiped away unshed tears. Hearing her talk about the people that died made him realize just how tragic this all was. She never wanted to hurt anyone, much less kill them. She just wanted to stop her tormentors from whipping her again. They meant so much to her, even if she didn’t understand the small acts of kindness they did for her back then. Even if Filaurel didn’t grant her forgiveness at the end of all this, it was clear they forgave her.

     Drawing her knees up to her chest, she continued on, “I know that me telling you all this ultimately doesn’t mean much but… To me, these people mattered and they deserve to be remembered as they lived, not as they died. They deserve to have their tales told, even if it’s by someone who only knew them for a few years. It seems ridiculous that I’m saying this, I know, but… It’s stupid, isn’t it?”

     “No, it’s…” he paused, racking his mind for the right words to say, “it’s---good that you think that. I mean, in a way, they live on through you and the other people they touched in their lives. They may not be here anymore but that doesn’t mean they’re gone forever. I like to think that, so long as they’re remembered and the memories you and others have of them are shared, they’re not truly gone. Does that make any sense?”

     “Yeah,” she replied, giving an emphatic nod. “I’ll keep them alive in my memory. Until my time comes and I meet them again, that’ll be all I can do. I hope they’ll be okay with that.”

     A soft smile illuminated her face, warming his heart. He wasn’t a philosophical person by any means but he believed in what he said. No one’s truly dead until they’re irrevocably forgotten. He learned that from his mother beyond her grave and he hoped people would do the same for him when his time came to pass.

     “That sounded like something Eric would say,” she said, sliding off the bed with his help.

     “Being wise at times is something he and mom have in common,” he replied. “’Cept he’s a lot more clumsy about it.”

     She let out a small giggle as they walked out the clinic. Elcan didn’t bother acknowledging their departure, instead continuing where they left off. He placed a small pouch on the counter before going out the door. He planned on sticking to his word, even if they hadn’t really treated Ven. At least it meant the good doctor now owed them a favor if they needed it.

     As they walked back to the house, he found himself staring at her back. The image of her scars still lingered in his mind. It was easier to imagine what they looked like because he didn’t have anything to go off of back then. Now he knew and they were more horrific than he’d ever thought them to be. He only knew because she might’ve been forced to show him, regardless of whether or not she ever planned on it, which made this even worse. Making her reveal something so personal where she’s at her most vulnerable wasn’t fair. While it ultimately was still her choice, it should’ve been under better circumstances. He felt like an utter asshole.

     That was when he decided. If her scars had to be shown to him, he’d make it even by showing her his. She had the benefit of hers being well-hidden while his were clear for the whole world to see where they were. It’d be easy to assume the bandages he wore were a fashion statement when their true purpose was the complete opposite. A dull ache began to emanate from his forearms as he tried to ward off the memories of that day.

     Once they came inside, Ven flopped onto the couch. She was probably exhausted after the events of today and wanted nothing more than to sleep. With shaky hands, he took off his gloves and started undoing his bandages. No one outside of his family had seen the aftermath of the accident so this was a first for him. No going back, he repeated to himself as the layers on his fingers had unraveled.

     “Hey, Ven, before you drift off to dreamland, you mind giving me a few minutes? I wanna show you something.”

     She sat up, brushing away the hair that fell in her face. More layers had been shed, both wrappings spiraling down to the ground. He kept his arms hidden from sight as he sat on the table across from her.

     “It isn’t fair I saw your scars when you haven’t seen mine. This is so we’re even.”

     The last of the bandages fell away and brought his arms out from behind him. Her eyes widened in shock at the horrid sight. Brown and gray stones of wildly differing sizes appeared to be embedded in his arms down to his fingers. Some were like pebbles while others were like rocks. Dried blood stuck around the edges of where they cut into him, no matter how much he’d clean them. The skin on his arms was a pale brown compared to the rest of his body, due to how much he kept them under wraps. Despite how bad it looked, this could never measure up to hers. Still, the feeling of hiding something you didn’t want others to see under any circumstances was all too familiar to him.

     A hand covering her mouth, she asked, “H-how did this happen?”

     “You remember when I said me and my brother would compete with each other when we were kids?” She nodded. “Let’s just say I got cocky and did something stupid in an attempt to win against him. Next thing I know, I’ve got these rocks in my arms.”

     “Is there a way to fix this?”

     “Hell if I know. These have been with me for over a decade and a half at this point and are probably staying with me for the rest of my life.”

     “Do they hurt?”

     “Eh, not really. I’ve gotten used to the pain over the years and they only really hurt if I’m not careful with the cleaning.”

     She reached a hand out as if to touch them but stopped. If she was worried about hurting him by doing that, there wasn’t a need to. Hell, he was actually surprised at her eagerness.

     “You can touch them, if you want,” he said, holding his arm out to her. “It’s not gonna hurt me any.”

     Taking a glove off, she hesitantly touched a stone. Although the pain hadn’t bothered him, they were still sensitive enough to make him flinch. She ran her fingers across both his arms, as if checking to see if they felt the same. She seemed almost fascinated by this, doing everything short of poking and prodding him. This couldn’t be a pleasant experience for her but she showed no sign of being grossed out.

     “Ferret, I know you said I could lean on you whenever I needed it and--” she took both his hands into hers-- “I want you to know that you can do the same to me.”

     “Ven---”

     “You can lean on me the same way I do on you. I know I can’t do much other than listen but I want to be there for you like you are for me. You’re my friend, Ferret, so please know that you can lean on me whenever you need it, okay?”

     He let out a snort and laughed. This was typical Ven fashion, being incredibly kind to someone who’s done nothing to deserve it. Whether or not he treated her with basic decency or his nonexistent self-worth, there’s no way he earned it. He didn’t object to it, though, knowing her vehement denial of things he knew to be true.

     “Jeez…” He leaned forward, touching their foreheads together. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

     Why would she want to stay with him? He wasn’t special. He was just a common Earth Dradnach with no outstanding skills or qualities. He was always second-best to Kandorinth and everyone considered him a disappointment. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he trained, he could never live up to their expectations. Someone as extraordinary and wonderful as her shouldn’t want to stay with someone as ordinary and worthless as him.

     Yet, for some unimaginable reason, she did. She wanted to be with him, regardless of how inferior he believed himself to be. She didn’t care if he was a dime a dozen amid a class of Dradnach. She liked him for who he was and saw the worth he so desperately wanted to believe he had. There was nothing he could give her that even came close to everything she’s given him.

     She pulled away and stood up to sit at his right. She took off her other glove, revealing her injured hand from when she cut herself earlier today. The bandage he wrapped was still there, a dark red stain right where her palm was. He wondered what she was doing.

     “Hey, Ferret?” She intertwined her fingers with his and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m really happy to have you in my life.”

     All coherent thought was just thrown out the window. He knew he had to be blushing while a part of him, deep down, was screaming. He was used to women being forward with him and having casual flings with them. It was completely different when the woman he’s in love with was being this bold with him. Just keep calm, he repeated to himself as he resisted the urge to hyperventilate.

     “I’m truly blessed to have a person as wonderful as you in my life. You treat me with such love and kindness and I don’t deserve any of it. You make me so, so happy. As selfish as this is, is it okay if you stay by my side just a little while longer?”

     Lacing his fingers with hers while resting his head atop hers, he replied, “Only if it’s okay if you stay by mine a while longer as well.”

     She squeezed his hand, giving him his answer. They stayed like that for a time, basking in each others’ warmth. He didn’t doubt she loved him, though he knew it wasn’t in the sense his love was. That was okay. They didn’t need to love the same way to want to be with each other. They had something that didn’t need to be defined because it was what it was. A lifetime relationship between two people, whether they were friends, lovers, or something in-between.

     Her hand went slack in his and he looked down to see her sleeping. The poor girl must’ve been so tired yet she still stayed up as long as she could. He smiled softly as he tenderly brushed away strands of hair tickling her face. Now was the time to put her to bed and end today on a high note.

     Carefully picking her up, he carried her to her room. This was his first time going in there and it was dark. The only source of light came from the moonlight peeking through the vines from the window just above the bed. From what he could see, the glass was cracked, as if rocks had been thrown at it, and the bed was small with light blue sheets. She probably spent the nights of her childhood in here as well, which made him grimly wonder about the broken window.

     Disregarding that, he gently laid her on the bed so as to not wake her up. He took her boots off and placed them near the end of the bed. He didn’t dare unstring her cloak or let her hair down; that might’ve been pushing his boundaries. He pulled the thin blanket laying by the side of the bed over her body. Before he left the room, he let his eyes linger on her sleeping form as he whispered something into the air.

     “May you have a peaceful rest and sweet dreams, Ven.”

     A wave of exhaustion swept over him as he collapsed on the couch. God, today was one hell of a fucking day, he thought bitterly. He couldn’t wait for their trip in this hellhole to just end already. If it weren’t for him resigning to Ven’s inexplicable need to be here despite her fear, he would’ve taken her back home on the first day. At lease she wouldn’t be reliving her childhood trauma.

     This trip had done nothing but hurt Ven so far. Meeting the bitch responsible for all the pain she endured and getting berated left and right sucked, to say the least. Then today managed to one-up that by forcing her to confront the vengeful spirits of the people she accidentally killed in the form of a fucked up chimera, of all things. If only they could leave sooner rather than later…

     What the hell even was that thing, anyway? That thing couldn’t be natural, someone had to have used a power of some kind to revive the dead. Vlixeoxs and Sealyphs were the only races capable of that but that’s searching for a needle in a haystack. No way was it coincidence they were sent to kill that creature. He knew exactly who was to blame and her motive for doing so.

     For now, however, they could take it easy for a little bit. Their task was complete and they still had two days left on their time limit. Tomorrow was a new day, a day they can kick back, relax, and do whatever they wanted.

     If what she went through today didn’t earn her her forgiveness, nothing would. She’s shown more remorse for her “crime” than most others would. Maybe she’d finally forgive herself if Filaurel gave her that. Still, knowing the kind of person she was, he had a feeling she’d pull the rug out from underneath her and refuse to pardon her.

     Well, whatever happens, he’ll be there for her, for better and for worse.

[anime-indulgence]

Hidden Fear {Free!}

Characters: Rin Matsuoka x Reader

Word Count: 2,227

Genre: Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance

Summary: Being afraid of deep water isn’t all that odd of a fear... except when Rin Matsuoka - aka. Shark Boy - is your best friend. You’ve been too embarrassed to tell him your fear. What happen when he learns about it the hard way?

A/N: I don’t know if it’s common for friends to hang out on a lake in Japan (I only know that hot springs are pretty popular) so I hope this isn’t too far-fetched, haha!

You would do a lot of things for your best friend. Go to every swim meet to cheer him on despite not knowing - or caring - about the sport? No problem. Listen to him ramble on and on about swim practice for hours while you studied for an exam? Easy peasy. Accompany him to a party with his teammates you didn’t know to get him to freaking relax once in a while? You’re there.

Had you known where the party was taking place ahead of time, however, you definitely would have reconsidered going.

One of Rin’s teammate came from a pretty wealthy family and that family just happened to own a lake house. The aforementioned teammate decided to host a post-meet party at said lake house and invited Rin, who then proceeded to drag you along...

“Why me?” you had asked Rin. “I won’t know anyone there except you! I’ll probably end up following you around the whole night...”

Rin had only smirked and replied, “I fail to see why that’s an issue.”

You weren’t quite sure what he meant by that, but you did know Rin well enough to understand he was teasing you.

And now here you were, standing next to Rin awkwardly as he chatted with a shorter boy you recognized from the team - Nitori, was it? - while you stared in disdain at the body of water before your eyes.

The lake. Lake meant deep water. Deep water meant potential drowning. Therefore, you would not be going into the lake.

Much to your dismay, you could see Rin continuously glancing over at the lake and you knew he was eager to get in. He’d probably drag you along with him. You sighed as you began to think of yet another excuse of why you couldn’t go into the water...

“Sorry, but I just ate and I don’t want to cramp up.”

No, you and Rin had spent the afternoon together and he knew you hadn’t eaten since lunch.

“I’d love to get in the pool but it’s... you know... that time of the month...”

Couldn’t use that one because you had just used the excuse two weeks ago. Rin wasn’t Einstein but he wasn’t dumb either.

“I’m sorry, Rin... I meant to tell you before but I’m actually terrified of deep water.”

Hah! If only it were that easy to tell him the truth. Your best friend was like the human version of a shark; there’s no way you could tell him you hated the water. He’d ditch you faster than you could say “skinny dipping”.

And losing Rin was something you dreaded as equally as deep water.

So you continued the charade as Rin grabbed your wrist and began to lead you to the pier over the lake. Apparently his conversation with Nitori had finished. “You want to swim already?” you asked, masking your fear quite well. After all, you had years of practice.

“Yeah, I’ve been dying to get in since we got here,” Rin said with a grin.

“You sound like Haru...”

Rin snorted. “I’m not that bad.”

“Uh huh, sure,” you murmured teasingly. Then you pulled Rin to a halt and gently pried his fingers off your wrist.

Rin frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no! Not at all! I just... uh...” Quick, think of something! “I just didn’t realize that we were coming to a lake. I forgot to pack my swimsuit, heh. Silly me.”

Nice one, you complimented yourself.

“Oh.” Rin looked disappointed.

And if there was one thing you hated, it was disappointing Rin.

You mentally slapped yourself after what you said next. “Maybe I can ask one of the girls and see if they brought a spare suit I could use?”

The light seemed to return to Rin eyes as he smirked. “Good idea. Make sure you get one that’s a two-piece...”

“Ugh, pervert!”

A few hours into the party, you had managed to avoid the lake (and Rin) by attempting - and failing - to start conversations with the party-goers and by offering to help serve food and drinks. You felt uncool but at least you were safe from the lake.

That is, until you realized you had forgotten to do an assignment that was due tomorrow morning.

You hadn’t seen much of Rin so you assumed he’d been hanging around by the lake. You considered just leaving the party then and there, but Rin hated it when you walked home by yourself when it was late and night had already fallen.

So you put on your adult pants and started to walk down to the pier. Your eyes traveled over the people floating in the lake but you didn’t spot Rin. Realizing you must’ve just missed each other, you sighed and went to walk back to the house

“You looking for something?” You craned your neck to see two guys from Rin’s swim team, and two girls you assumed were their girlfriends, standing in your way.

“Yeah, well more like someone. I was looking for Rin. Have you seen him?” You tried to keep your voice from shaking as you realized there were no rails on the pier.

“Nooo clue where he isss. Sssorrrrry.”

You frowned at the boy’s slurred speech. “That’s all right, I’m just leav-”

“Hey wait!” exclaimed the other guy, throwing his arm around your shoulder. You gagged at the smell of liquor on his breath. “You’re all dry! Haven’t you gotten in the lake yet?”

Had the dock always been this narrow? You felt like the width was shrinking more and more by the minute. “No, I’m not feeling well. I need to go home.”

You hoped your lie was convincing enough. Unfortunately, it takes a lot to reason with drunk people.

The second guy looked at the other girls and asked, “Don’t you think she should have some fun in the lake?”

The girls nodded enthusiastically as you tried to worm your way out of the guy’s grip. For a drunk person, his arm felt like an iron vice and you panicked. “I-I don’t want to!” you managed to stammer out.

“Aw, come on. Don’t be that way! Live a little!”

Suddenly your feet were no longer on solid ground. Your body was flying through the air one second then crashing down into murky water the next. Immediately your limbs began to flail in a poor attempt to tread water. Breaking through the surface, you were able to swallow up some air... right before you slipped back under. The water was so dark, you couldn’t see anything and the more you kicked, the more it felt like you were sinking deeper. You fought back the urge to scream for help, knowing that you would simply end up with a lungful of water. However, you knew you needed air soon as your lungs and throat burned for oxygen.

Does anyone even know I’m drowning? you wondered. Of course they wouldn’t know; they all probably assumed - like Rin - that you could swim. It wasn’t their fault, though, as you never told them otherwise. You had lied repeatedly to your best friend and now it was karma coming back to bite you in the-

An arm wrapped around your waist, catching you by surprise. You couldn’t tell who it was, but their body was much larger and muscular than yours. One name entered your mind as your savior began dragging you up to the surface so fast, you felt like you were being shot out of a canon.

Air had never felt so good; as soon as you broke through the surface, you inhaled as much of it as you could. You shivered as your wet skin was exposed to the cool night air but that was minor compared to what had just happened.

Your name being called snapped you out of your trance as you came face-to-face with your savior. “I-I-I k-knew it w-was y-y-y-you,” you said, trying and failing to stop your teeth from chattering.

Rin said nothing, which surprised you. This would normally be the part where he’d start scolding you. Instead he silently helped you onto the dock along with Nitori’s help. You mumbled your thanks and Nitori gave you a reassuring smile.

As soon as the two of you were on the dock, Rin snatched a dry towel from someone’s arms - throwing them a dirty look when they tried to protest - and quickly draped it around your shivering frame. After guiding you to your feet and wrapping an arm around your shoulders to steady you, Rin began to lead you off the pier. You spotted the drunk group from before and hid your face in Rin’s shoulder, partly because they made you nervous and partly because you were embarrassed. At least they looked somewhat sorry.

“We were just playing around,” one of the girls insisted.

“We didn’t know the chick couldn’t swim!” protested the first guy.

The second guy rolled his eyes, “If she couldn’t swim, she shouldn’t have come down to the lake in the first place! It ain’t our fault.”

Rin snarled and made a move toward him but was stopped by a man you recognized as the Samezuka swim captain, Seijuro. “It’s all right, Rin. I’ll take care of them. Go ahead and get her home.”

Rin was about to argue when you involuntarily let out a sniffle. His attention snapped back to you immediately. “Can we please go home?” you murmured, hating how weak your voice sounded.

The grip around your shoulders tightened. “Yeah.”

The walk to your house was eerily quiet, making you more and more nervous of what Rin would say when he finally did speak. As you walked up to your front door, you invited Rin inside and he accepted. It almost felt like any other day.

As the two of you sat on your couch, you exhaled softly and asked anxiously, “Can you please say something, Rin?”

Rin ran his fingers through his maroon-colored hair and let out a humorless laugh, causing you to brace yourself for his wrath. “Really? You want me to talk? Why don’t you tell me what happened back there?”

You couldn’t bear to look him in the eye, opting to stare at the floor instead. “I’m sorry, Rin, for all the trouble I caused. I didn’t want you to find out like this.  Actually I didn’t want you to find out at all...”

“Find out what? That you can’t swim?”

You nodded. Rin let out a low growl.

“Are you kidding me right now?! You could have died, you idiot! If I hadn’t seen you getting harassed by those jerks, I would never have known!” Rin’s anger seemed to alleviate slightly and he sank back into the couch with a sigh. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The guilt you had been suppressing for years finally bubbled up to the surface. Rin sounded so disappointed and... hurt. This whole time you kept your fear hidden because you were afraid Rin would break off your friendship. You never thought he might react differently.

“Because I was ashamed,” you answered, finally lifting your gaze to meet his. “I was ashamed of my fear and I was afraid that when you found out about it, you’d be ashamed too.”

“Are you... afraid of the water?” Rin asked. “That’s why you can’t swim?”

You nodded again.

Rin shook his head, causing a piece of hair to fall into his eyes. “You... I can’t believe you honestly thought I wouldn’t want to be your friend.”

“You mean you’re not embarrassed of me?”

“Tch, of course not! Gou can’t swim and I’m not embarrassed by her! I just... for a minute there, I was so scared. You weren’t coming back up for air and...” Rin sighed. “I panicked for a moment before I jumped in. Seeing you like that really freaked me out. If I had known you couldn’t swim or were afraid of the water, I wouldn’t have left you alone. Or I wouldn’t have brought you there at all. My dad drowned when Gou and I were younger; that’s why go Gou won’t go in the water.”

“I’m so sorry, Rin. I shouldn’t have assumed anything. I just thought that because you love the water so much-”

Rin shook his head. “Are you kidding? I mean, I do love the water but I love you more.”

A deafening silence fell between you two as the meaning of Rin’s words registered in your mind. “W-What?” you stammered, feeling your cheeks grow hotter by the second.

The palm of Rin’s hand smacked his forehead. “Dammit! That wasn’t how I wanted to tell you! Crap, I was gonna ask you out and if you said ‘yes’, I would take you somewhere and-”

You interrupted Rin’s rant with a peck on his lips. Rin froze at the contact, causing you to giggle. “Your timing caught me a little off-guard... but I love you too, Rin. I think I have for a while, which is probably one of the other reasons why I didn’t tell you about my phobia.”

A smug expression crossed over Rin’s shark-like features and he pulled you into his arms. “In that case, how about I give you private lessons? Lesson number one: learning how to hold your breath.”

And Rin’s lips met yours.

[kookieseyes]

I hate you │5

summary:  The fuckboy can’t help it but get protective when you’re in danger member: Jeon Jungkook x reader genre: fluff, romance, angst word count: 2.5k warnings: fuckboy!Jungkook badboy!Jungkook I hate you Masterlist │ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ 4 │ 5 │ 6 │ 7 │ (ongoing)

A/N: For some reason, “I hate you 2″ doesn’t show up anywhere as if the post doesn’t exist, even the link doesn’t work on my phone. Do you guys have any idea why? please message me if you do. P.S I have the next part planned out, but it’s gonna take awhile, so please don’t expect it to be posted tomorrow. I’ll post it somewhere this week though. 

You have successfully ignored his presence the whole day. Meeting him, looking him in the eyes would once again remind you how much you actually hated him. He didn’t seem to mind ignored by you either, but then after the class ended he approached you in the hallway. “Hey” -he greeted you as if nothing had happened yesterday. What else did you expect? an apology? from someone like him?

“Your turn”- you said with as indifferent and uninterested tone as you could. You would never show him that he had any kind of effect on you. You took the diary out of your bag and threw it at him, just like he had done to you the day before. 

“I know you have every right to be mad at me but let me explain”-his words were barely audible, clearly not used to explaining his actions to others and feeling ashamed because of it.

“I’m not angry at you and you don’t owe me any kind of explanation, it’s none of my business, remember?”

“It’s not like that, I.. uh just hear me out”-he reached out his hand to touch your arm but stopped in the middle. To hide what he intended to do he took his hand back and placed it on the back of his neck. 

“It’s fine, Jungkook, really, just fill out the diary and give it back tomorrow”-you said brushing off his action just a few seconds ago and stepped away from him. But something stopped you from moving, his hand finally found your arm, having an excuse to stop you from turning away.

“When I say run, you run okay? please trust me, I’ll tell you everything”-he said leaning towards you. You thought he was joking but as you looked at his concerned face with furrowed eyebrows and panicked eyes looking in distance behind you, you knew something serious was going on. You were about to turn around to see what or who he was looking at but he whispered “Run” in your ear and dragged you as he started running with your hand in his. You were out of breath, running towards nowhere it seemed. You had no other choice but to follow him. Suddenly he made a sharp turn and hid behind the huge vending machine, but before doing so he looked behind to make sure the others following him took the other turn. He trapped you between his body and the wall, hiding you completely.

“Are you out of your mind? who are the guys following you? Why did you take me with you? What is going on?-you were still struggling to catch your breath while asking him questions “Shh..not now, they might hear you”-he actually seemed scared, something you had never seen before. “Why can’t you tell me, I deserve to know what …”-You didn’t get to finish the sentence because without a warning he closed the remaining distance between you and attached his lips to yours. You tried fighting him off, tugging at his shirt, but he took your free hand into his along with the other one he’d been holding since he started running and gave you a reassuring squeeze. You didn’t expect his lips to be that gentle, tasting of mint and regret for not having kissed them earlier. The kiss was sweet and short, not lasting more than a few seconds, but it was enough to leave you speechless and dumbfounded. You forgot about the rage, loathe and hate you felt towards him in the morning. This couldn’t have been happening, he wasn’t supposed to make you forget what he really was that easily.

“Sorry about that, but we need to go”-you shook your head as if you told him he didn’t have to be sorry about something you enjoyed. It was hard to admit it to yourself, but it was the truth, even if the kiss was meant for making you stop talking, you couldn’t help but feel butterflies in your stomach 

You both ran towards his car, your hand still in his for some reason. He hastily buckled you up and hit the gas pedal. You were still in shock after everything that happened, the chase, the kiss, god, the kiss. Your phone started buzzing and as soon as you picked up you heard Ava’s shaky voice: ”Y/N, are you okay? Where are you?”

“I’m fine, I’m with Jungkook, are you okay?-she sounded so worried and confused.

“Oh, thank god, she’s okay,”-she said as if she was trying to tell someone else about you.

“Who are you talking to?”-you were almost sure he was talking to Jimin, they were almost inseparable lately. “Jimin, he just came in here and told me they were after Jungkook and you, and I just didn’t know, I was so scared…”

“Who were after me, what are you trying to say?”-now, this was getting more puzzling than it already was. What did she know? It seemed like the guys following you before were somehow connected to something Ava was worried about.

“Jungkook didn’t tell you?-she was surprised, to say the least, asking you in the high pitch.. “Tell me what?

“Just come to my place, both of you, and we can explain”

“Explain what? Ava!”-but it was too late, she’d  already hung up on you. “What did she say?”-Jungkook asked impatiently when he saw you staring at the phone as its screen went black

“She told us to go to her place and she and jimin will explain everything, but why does it seem like everyone knows what’s going on except for me, I hate not knowing”-you pouted and brought your legs up on the seat to hug them. He couldn’t help himself but chuckle at your actions.

“Did I say something funny?”-you asked as you raised your still hidden face from your legs just enough to look at him.

“No, you’re cute when you pout”-said Jungkook as he averted his eyes from the road towards you.

“You’ll be cuter when you get both of us killed, eyes on the road!”-you shouted at him and hid your face farther into your knees to hide your own smile appearing in the corner of your lips. It was ironic, how mad you were but how safe you felt with him around at the same time.

The four of you were sitting on the floor, it seemed like a yoga session.

“Is anybody going to start?”-you asked, already annoyed by how no one dared to speak up.

“Jungkook, do you mind?”-Ava motioned to him

“Okay. Y/N, you know Taehyung right? The one who had a party you went to?-You nodded your head and he took it as a sign to go on. ”He messed around with the wrong people and ended up owing them money. Yesterday they came to our University to get Taehyung, but he didn’t have any money. So, I, jimin and couple other guys ended up in a fight” “Is that why your head was bleeding?”-you said and looked at the barely visible band-aid, covered by his hazel hair. “Yes, and that’s when you come into a story. When you approached me, we were telling them that we’d get money by today and Taehyung would tell his father and somehow pay his debt.

“Why do I feel that didn’t happen”-you said annoyed.

“Exactly, so they came back today to get us again”-said Jungkook “But I don’t understand why did you have to drag me along?”-the story still didn’t make any sense to you

“You can be so thick-headed sometimes”-sighed Ava heavily-”they blackmailed Jungkook that they would find you if they didn’t get what they wanted and trust me, nothing good would happen to you!”

“How can you blackmail him with me? That doesn’t make any sense”-why you of all people, you were literally nothing to him.

“Well, they saw you coming to talk to him and how overprotective he got, quickly getting you out of there, you should’ve seen his face when they mentioned you once he came back”-jimin spoke up slight hint of teasing in his voice and immediately looked at Jungkook who was now looking back at him, ready to cut his throat any time. You completely missed what was happening, not feeling the tense atmosphere, still experiencing the aftershock. A sudden phone call woke you up from thoughts. “What’s up, Taehyung?”-asked Jimin-”Really?.... I know, yeah… they were after Y/N.. She’s with us.. Thank god, those fuckers...Okay, see ya”

“What did he say?”All of you questioned him instantly “Guys, good news, it seems like Tae told his father about the money yesterday, he got super mad and scolded him, I’m not surprised, but he immediately made the transfer to Taehyung’s bank account. But with the luck he has, the transfer was late and the other guys thought he was ditching them. That explains why they had to come to the University the second time. Now that they got what they wanted, I don’t think there’s anything to be afraid of anymore” You sighed and loosened your posture, not realizing you were tensed up all throughout the phone call. After the eventful day, It was time for you to go home. Jungkook offered you and jimin a ride, but then Ava said he’d spend the night. You rolled your eyes at how lovey-dovey they seemed and in return she stuck her tongue out. Jungkook dropped you off in front of your house. The car ride was so silent, but comforting after clearing all the misunderstandings. “See you on Monday?”-he asked when you opened the car door

“Yeah, see you!” “Wait, I, uh, I’m sorry for, you know, yesterday, I just didn’t want them to think we were close and then hurt you because of me” “I know, Jungkook, don’t worry. I’m sorry for not picking up your calls either” “Hell yeah, you should be”-he said changing the mood, reminding you who he really was, but this time his tone was playful.

“You couldn't stand being nice to me for long, could you?”-you chuckled and shook your head.

“Nope”-he said and smiled a genuine smile, lighting up his features, making him look younger and carefree. 

“Okay, I’m gonna go now”-you closed the door behind you, but his car didn’t move, not until you disappeared into the living room of your house.

It was way past midnight you got startled when you looked down on your phone to see Jungkook calling you.

“Hey, what up?”, you said with a sleepy tone

“Y/N I think you gave me the wrong diary”

“What do you mean the wrong diary?”

“I mean, it’s not what we’ve been working on”

“Are you sure? Have you tried turning it upside down?”

“Haha funny, but I don’t think you’re in a position to be laughing now”

“Why not?-you asked confused

“I always feel like I’m a laboratory rat, following the rules my parents set up for me and just in case I decide to go against them, they somehow manage to make my life a living hell” does it sound familiar?“ Your body started trembling, fear of being judged spread through your whole body as fast as a poison. How could you have mixed up your real diary with the one you were creating with him?

“Did you… Um…  read all of it?-you spoke with incoherent words, fear noticeable in you barely audible voice. “Of course not, what kind of twisted person do you think I am?”-he seemed insulted, but you still had to make sure. You didn’t want to talk to him, you’ve never talked about your personal problems with people

“Fuck, fuck, fuck”

“Y/N, did I just hear you curse?”-he said as if he was an elementary teacher scolding you for cursing

“Yes”

“Listen, Y/N”

“Go ahead, you can make fun of me all you want, better today than ever”

“No one's making fun of you, chill” “Isn’t that why you called?” “What? No! I just wanted to apologize”-you were hearing a lot of apologies from him lately. “Apologise? For what?”

“I didn’t know about your parents when I made fun of you for having a perfect life, and then you got upset and now I know why, that’s it”-he said, saying the sentence in one exhale. “Oh”-that’s all you managed to say after hearing his words.He seemed sincere and you simply didn’t know how to react to his words. You were still embarrassed, you didn’t let anyone see your family problems, other than Ava. Now Jungkook knew too and you couldn’t help yourself but feel exposed.

“Are you doing anything?”-he asked after not hearing you say anything else in response

“It’s one in the morning, what do you think?”

“Okay, good. I know you might feel vulnerable because I read something so personal about you, so it’s only fair if you know something about me too, right?

“So that we can equally blackmail each other afterwards?”-you laughed at his suggestion

“That’s one of the reasons. Are you listening? I won’t say it twice”

“I’m all ears”

“Okay, how should I put this into words? this is hard: I keep a list of every girl I sleep with and rate their performance on a scale of one to ten”

“Are you serious?” you burst into laughter and realized how ridiculous he was being-”you don’t really do that, do you?” “No, but it would be funny if I did”-He was trying to cheer you up and not make you feel bad for your mistake, you appreciated him for trying-”But in all seriousness, you’re not the only one whose parents are not perfect. I mean, I haven’t seen my parents in ten years”

“You haven’t?”-you were truly surprised

“They went to work in the U.S and left me and my sister here” “It must have been hard for you growing up”-you said genuinely feeling sorry for him

“Not really, After my sister got married, I had a whole apartment to myself, if you know what I mean”

“You have to mention sex in every single sentence you say, don’t you?” “Well, technically I didn’t use the word “sex” I just referred to it”-that smartass you thought. “Touché”

“That’s my line”-he said and you realized how relaxed you’d become because of him.

The sun was about to rise when you both hung up and went to sleep, neither of you dared to say goodnight first, in fear of something changing when you met in person after your all-night conversation. But you knew that something definitely changed, for the good.

[itsybitsynott-blog]

Bridges Burnt || Hugle & Stolena

Dolena tightened her grip on Stefan's hand as they ducked behind one of the stones in the Sundial Garden. They'd followed Gabrielle and the mudblood boy for almost an hour before they were finally away from anyone else. The two had chattered about magic creatures, Gabrielle's worry for the boy, and much more the two seventh years hadn't been able to hear, but Dolena assumed was boring. "This is our chance. Are you certain you want to do this, Stefan?" She verified one last time, wand clutched in her hand. There was safety in the reassurance, especially in the moments to follow when Brie's inevitable tears filled her brother's heart with guilt and he began to lash out at Dolena. She knew it, even if he wouldn't admit it.

The mudblood who was with Gabrielle was loud and irritating, and he seemed to possess the ability to babble without a break. Stefan could not, for the life of him, begin to understand why his sister cared enough to be spending time with him at all. They had been with each other for what seemed like hours and every time he and Dolena were close enough to hear what they were talking about, it only made Stefan more displeased and more determined to do what they had planned to. He couldn't say he was completely confident though, not really. He hated that it had had come to this point, him having to take such unnecessarily dangerous measures to keep her safe. But she was getting wildly out of control and it wouldn’t be long before word would reach their father. And if he found out.. Stefan didn’t want to think about how he would react. He kept telling himself that this was only so she could be safe in the long run but that didn’t really make this any easier for him. Her words echoed in his mind repeatedly. /How much longer until you can justify doing to me what father did to your mother?/ But Stefan forced himself to ignore it. Through his confusion, he was glad to have Dolena by his side as it seemed like she was all what was keeping him from giving into his doubt and indecision. He turned to her when she spoke, his hand gripping onto hers tightly, she was all the support he had to lean on at this moment. His eyes plainly showed his hesitancy but the Hufflepuff laughed loudly at that moment making Stefan turn his gaze back towards the pair. His jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed and he nodded slowly. “It is the only way.” Despite the surge of confidence he felt, his voice trembled as he spoke. When it came to his sister, Stefan was always careful and this seemed like a reckless thing to do but it would be far worse if he just let this be without doing anything. He took a deep breath, it was ragged and shaky, so unlike himself. He took a quick look around them to make sure they couldn’t be seen by anyone and held up his wand and pointed it directly at the mudblood. He couldn’t say why but nothing seemed to be working the way he wanted it to right then. His wand hand was shaky and his voice unsteady as he muttered the incantation. He had practiced the imperius curse several times on several people to know that the spell did not work. The boy should be blanking out now. He should stop his talking, his gaze should be unfocused but that wasn’t the case. He continued to speak to his sister like nothing had happened. Another deep breath, another attempt and nothing yet again. He lowered his wand and turned to Dolena, his frustration was obvious on his features. “I am not able to, I don’t understand..” he mumbled. “Doll, can – can you do it?”

Gabrielle was talking to Hugo about Mister Whiskers. She had wanted a cat since her first year and upon meeting the boy's cat she had become quick friends. She reminded him that his cat was the reason she had spoken to him for the first time, because she wanted to pet him. And how the cat had followed her down to the dungeons that week, Gabrielle admitted for the first time, that she'd considered keeping him for the night, but didn't want to worry the boy. Dolena could feel the tight grip Stefan had on her hand as he watched the scene unfold, she'd known him long enough to know when the boy was struggling, and in that moment, she saw it quite clearly. Hurting Gabby wasn't something she wanted to do either, not like how she wanted to hurt others, but losing Gabrielle meant losing Allison all over again, and then Stefan in return. That wasn’t an option, she wasn’t going to lose the Notts. “I know, I never wanted it to come to this.” She said quietly, “But we can’t lose her, not to some mudblood.” She murmured bitterly, running her thumb over the back of his hand. If she could take his pain away, his guilt for what they were about to do, she would bear it for him, gladly, just so he wouldn’t have to. Dolena didn’t empathize with others, not truly, except for with Stefan. “When it’s over, we’ll take her to the tower to look at the stars, okay? We’ll make her better, better than she is now.” As he struggled to perform the spell, she didn’t cast any judging looks the way she would have with anyone else. Instead, she gave him a rare look of sympathy, placing her hand over his wand hand and nodded, drawing her own towards the Hufflepuff boy. “Imperio.” She felt the spell course through her veins and strike the boy across the way. Gabrielle didn’t notice the spell hitting the boy, too involved in her own chattering. Dolena breathed in the power and control that she now held over the mudblood and began giving the boy his orders. “Tell Gabrielle to stop talking. Tell her that you’d be better off without her, and say whatever it takes to make her hate you.”

Stefan couldn’t really form the words to answer Dolena. He didn’t know what they were to going do when this was over and right then, he didn’t really care. He just wanted it to be over. He knew he would soon have to face the guilt of having hurt his sister, indirectly maybe, but it was still his doing. All he could hope was that she wasn’t too attached to the mudblood boy to let his rejection be taken too seriously. Because Stefan knew how sensitive she could be about simple matters such as this. He was grateful when Dolena agreed to take over, a sigh of relief leaving his lips when he placed that burden onto her. She had always been so much stronger than he ever was. The moment the girl muttered the spell, it was plainly obvious that it had worked. The Hufflepuff spaced out immediately and he nodded at Dolena appreciatively before his eyes went back to watching his sister and him. Hugo and Gabrielle were chatting about a lot of things that day and not all of it really were things that really mattered at all. They spoke of homework and Hogsmeade, his sisters and his cat, Halloween and Christmas, everything and nothing at the same time. When Stefan and Dolena were struggling with the spell they were to cast on him, Hugo was listening to Gaby speak about Mister Whiskers with a wide grin on his face. He was internally very pleased that he was finally getting to spend time with her without all the worrying and arguing. Ever since the start of the year, she had only been ignoring him and pushing him away – but finally it seemed like things were going back to normal again and for that he was glad because he had been missing her tremendously. He laughed at a little joke she said and began to speak about the time Emilia stole Mister Whiskers and hid him in the Gryffindor tower, when Dolena’s spell hit him. the effect was immediate. He stopped talking and blanked out completely. He forgot where he was and who he was with. His gaze was unfocused and he felt at peace, his mind was calm and he got the feeling that there was no worry in the world. In that state of pure bliss, he obliged when he heard Dolena’s command. “I hate you!” Hugo said suddenly, not even realizing what the words which were leaving his lips meant. “I cannot bear to be by your side, you are a horrible person. You are ugly. Your are selfish. You are a murderer. You wouldn’t even care if I die – you – you – “ A small voice woke up at the back of his head and began to question what was going on. He looked horrified suddenly as he began to see that something was wrong but that wasn’t enough to completely stop what he was doing. “I don’t know why I – ! ” he panicked “I don’t – I – HATE YOU!” His words made no sense to him but despite him wanting to stop whatever the hell he was saying, he couldn’t. Dolena’s spell was too powerful. He took out his wand and started to look around, completely frenzied. “Stop! Stop!” he yelled, pointing the wand at no one in particular but yet again he uttered some cruel words despite himself. “You don’t deserve my time or my love or trust!” He spat at her and got off the bench they were seated at and stumbled back in confusion. “I don’t know – I – I don’t even know why I am here with you!”

Gabrielle looked at Hugo in concern as he stopped midsentence. “Is everything-“ She started but was interrupted by his sudden declaration of hate for the girl. Her face fell and her eyes widened with a mixture of confusion and heartbreak. It was so sudden, so out of nowhere, she could barely believe what was happening. Surely, she was having a nightmare, because Hugo was the one person she’d never had to worry about being good enough around, he’d actually liked her for her, not because of her last name, or the blood that ran through her veins. Her heart only continued to break as he spewed out more hateful words in her direction. ‘Wake up!’ She told herself, but she wasn’t asleep. His words sunk into her skin like knives, tearing away at what little self-esteem she’d managed to hold onto since the summer. “That’s not true, Hugo!” She protested, “I’d be devastated if you-if you died.” She whispered quietly, tears filling her eyes. As he began to trip on his words, she only became more concerned, until finally he took out his wand, yelling as he pointed it about. “Stop what? I’m not doing anything, Hugo!” She pleaded desperately with the boy, clueless as to what was going on. “Hugo, please?” The girl let out a small sob, reaching out to take his hand. “Where is this coming from? Please, just tell me what’s going on.” The thought of losing another person was unbearable. She’d already lost Rabastan and Sirius, not that she and Sirius were all that close, but now Hugo seemed to hate her as well, out of the blue, and she wanted to know what it was that she’d done. “Please, explain what I’ve done wrong. I’ll-I’ll leave you alone if you want, but just tell me why you hate me, now?” Despite her trembling form, the girl managed to stand up right, trying to search his face through her tears. How had they gone from laughing and talking about the past to this sudden bout of hatred? Had he been bottling it up all along? Dolena’s eyes narrowed as she fought for control over the boy, she hadn’t expected he’d be a fighter, but she as stronger. “Dig deeper, Hugo, use anything she’s ever confided in you against her.” She demanded more powerfully than before. “Stop waving your wand around and don’t allow her to touch you. Tell her that you’ve known from the start that she wasn’t worth your time, that she has been useless and you’re done wasting your time pretending to be her friend, pretending like you care about her.” Dolly ordered. She didn’t let up her focus to look at Stefan, but reached out her hand for his. She was shaking from the power and trying to hold on to control of the boy, she needed her friend to ground her.

Stefan visibly winced when the boy began to yell at his sister. If he hadn’t been doing it under their command, if he had somehow walked in on them yelling at Brie by his own free will, Stefan would have ended him without a second thought. His eyes focused on Gabrielle and he could visibly see her shatter right before his eyes with every word the mudblood uttered. He hated what they were doing to her and in those moments, he was so focused on Gabrielle and his own guilt that he didn’t notice that Dolena was struggling with the spell till her hand touched his. He frowned a little, his concentration turning to the boy who seemed to be fighting the curse. He didn’t think the boy had any strength at all, let alone enough to actually fight the imperious curse. He gripped her hand tightly for a second. "It's okay, he will never really be able to overthrow the curse." he said, as he raised his own wand again. Dolena's struggle gave him the confidence he needed, he didn't have before, and now that they had started this, they needed to finish this, and smoothly. He pointed his wand at the Hufflepuff and muttered the incantation for the third time that day. But the difference was that his hand didn’t shake and his voice didn’t waver this time. If Dolena needed his help, then his help she would have. Just as his spell hit him, the boy froze suddenly and he knew that his spell had worked this time and he that they would be off with Gabrielle soon enough. Hugo wasn’t in a state listen or answer to Gabrielle's questions and worries. He knew that he was hurting her with every word he was saying but he simply couldn’t stop himself from saying more. Every time he tried to apologize, to explain, whatever it was that was jinxing him seemed to hit him harder and he went ahead and told worse things which only hurt her more. When she reached out to take his hand, Hugo slapped it away harshly and took a step back from her, looking as though he was disgusted by her. “Don’t. Touch. Me.” He spat at the girl, glaring at her with sheer hatred. Hatred which he did not feel. “Don’t you understand? I hate you! I’ve always hated you! I’ve known from the start that you weren’t worth my time! You are useless and I’m done wasting my time pretending to be your friend, pretending like I care about you!” Once again he attempted to fight the voice which was ordering him, a look of pure horror in his eyes as he realized what he had just said. “Gabrielle, I – “ he started to explain but at the moment Stefan’s curse hit him and he froze completely. He gripped his wand tight and let out a bloodcurdling scream the power of the magic performed by the two was too much for him to take and his mind was fighting way too hard. Pain shoot through his head, blinding pain which lasted long enough that he lost control of everything. Without his realization, several balls of fire shot from his wand just as his screaming ended and he fell unconscious to the ground.

Gabrielle's heart pounded as her friend slapped her hand away, she cowered back from him. She'd have never thought Hugo, of all people, would reject her in such a way. They'd been friends for years, so as he admitted that it was just pretend, her legs trembled and tears poured down her cheeks. She'd trusted him with so much of herself, so much of everything, and he had never cared at all. It was the scream that caused Gabrielle to reach out for him again, an instinct to help anyone in pain, but he shot out balls of fire at the young brunette and it was quicker than a match lighting, her clothes were suddenly on fire and just as Hugo's screaming stopped, hers began. The flames licked at her skin and crawled up her arms and legs, surrounding her. The pain was something like she'd never felt before and an animal-like cry fell from her lips as she hit the ground, trying to get the flames to stop. Dolena rejoiced silently as the boy screamed until she saw the fire. "Drop your wand!" She commanded, but it was already to late, Gabby was lit up like a candle and the boy was on the ground. Her feet took off before she could really process what was happening, but she fired off shots in order to put out the flames, but she was still too far away to do any good. Gabrielle's screams pierced the air along with the horrid smell of burning flesh and hair. Had it been the mudblood on fire, she might have relished in the chaos of it all, but Gabrielle was never meant to get physically hurt. The guilt filled Dolena as she got closer and she shakily tried to put the fire out, but her spells weren't enough. The water seemed to only dampen the fire, not put it out, but she kept trying.

Merely seconds has passed since he had pointed his wand at the mudblood and uttered the curse. The reaction was just as expected – he froze the very next second but instead of falling in line with what Dolena was ordering of him, the younger boy let out a bloodcurdling shriek and went completely berserk. He didn’t seem to be in control of his own actions but neither was he under the control of Stefan or Dolena. Before anything could be done to change that, flames began to shoot out of his wand in a very erratic manner. But also with such alarming speed that despite both Dolena and Stefan plunging into action immediately, a lot had happened which they hadn’t expected to. And it had all happened far too soon. His eyes went wide with horror when he saw that Gabrielle’s clothes had caught fire. Immediately afterwards, a chilling scream filled the air and Stefan knew what that meant but he couldn’t afford to think of the pain his sister was in because of this mess, the mess he had started. He wouldn’t be able to focus if he thought about it, and right now all he wanted was to make this right before it was too late. He shot spell after spell even before they were anywhere close to her, and once they were close enough, he stood still to get ahold of his own emotions and made waves of water wrap around his sister till she was free of the flames. It was obvious however, that they hadn’t managed to get her out of this unharmed – maybe he had only just barely even saved her life. He didn’t need the tattered clothes, her severe looking burns and stench of burning skin and hair to tell him that his sister was in excruciating pain. The flames may have disappeared but, she was still burning, her scream – that terrifying scream was not getting any less louder. He knelt down beside her and forced himself to ignore her wriggling and thrashing. He lifted her up gingerly and held her as still as possible. “I am sorry, Brie.” he mumbled as the tip his wand touched her temple and he murmured an incantation under his breath before she fell limp onto his lap. “Don’t you fucking dare.” He hissed when he spared a glance at on Dolena. “Don’t you dare touch her.” He was shaking with fury but she wasn’t the only one he was angry at, he was angry at himself too but he didn’t know what else to do right then except lash out at her, He didn’t even know why he was doing it but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He wasted no time, muttering a few healing spells at the worst looking burns before lifting his sister up in his arms. It wasn’t even difficult to do so, she seemed to have lost a lot of weight because inspite of the present situation, he was reminded in a flash of the many times he lifted her up when she had been younger. “She was not supposed to get hurt.” He hissed through gritted teeth. “My sister was not supposed to get hurt!” He glared at Dolena icily and without another word, disapparated from there with Gabrielle. He apparated back as close to the gates of the school as possible, before racing inside the grounds and to the hospital wing, the only thought in his mind right then was to make Gabrielle well again.

Gabrielle’s screaming and pain only ceased when her brother’s wand settled on her temple and she fell unconscious. Dolena, on the other hand, had to live through it all, wide awake and soberly so. She rushed towards the siblings, but was struck by her friend’s words. They were like a punch to the gut, worse than any torture she’d ever endured. Her mouth hung open, but Stefan and Brie disappeared, leaving her on her own with an unconscious mudblood. Without a second thought, Dolena left the unconscious boy and made her way towards the castle once more. She would go wait outside the hospital wing for news about Brie, and wait patiently as guilt ate her alive.

@stefannott, @huggleshugo, @dollygreengrass

[wander-lustier]

13.03.17

Saying goodbye to the girls was a hard thing to do.  At the same time, I’ve been so excited to hit the road with Jake that I don’t think the reality of it all will hit me until later on.  The few days leading up to my big departure, both Julianne and Madison were constantly telling me “I’m gonna miss you so much when you’re gone”.  I was given hoards of snuggles and kisses!  When saying my final goodbye I could tell both girls fully understood what was going on.  Juju went very quiet and hid away for a few minutes, too shy to come out and actually say goodbye.  When I told her it would be her last chance, she eventually creeped out and gave me a big long cuddle and many kisses all over my face.  Madison jumped up in my arms right away.  She held my face in her hands and put her nose on my nose.  I very nearly cried.  Both those girls have been my solace (not literally - they’re a crazy noisy pair!) for the longest time.  Two whole years!  Even though they had no choice and didn’t really know it, those girls were there for me throughout some very difficult times and were always there for a snuggle and chat.  BUT as much as I’ll miss my Weir family memories… I’m beyond glad that I am now able to travel the world with my husband and create some more unforgettable memories... together.

Well, we’re on the road right now and I’m reeling in the freedom!  Thursday night we drove out to Charlottesville, which is in Virginia state.  Only an hour and a half from DC.  It took us slightly longer than expected to pack the car and say our goodbyes to friends and family.  

WELCOME TO VIRGINIA!

By the time we arrived at our Air BnB in Charlottesville there wasn’t enough time for a wander through Shenandoah National Park, which is what we’d originally planned to do.  When I say “we” I really mean “me”.  Jake lets me go off into my own little world when planning our trips and only wants to play a part if there’s special things in particular that he wants to see or do.  Which suits me perfectly!  On our way to Charlottesville, we feasted on Wendy’s Baconator burgers and fries covered in ranch, cheese and bacon.  Nom nom nom.  We have a chilly bin full of food in the back seat of our car but we’re treating ourselves to dinner out each night, either on the road or in a restaurant we find that’s recommended in our array of travel books!  The Air BnB in Charlottesville was more than perfect for what we needed.  It was nothing fancy but we knew that, from the description.  The man who owned the house lived downstairs and we had a private entrance to his attic.  It was more like a mini apartment.  There was a full kitchen, 2 bedrooms, a living area and a bathroom.  Much more than we expected from an attic!  Since we would only be there from 9:30pm until 3am we only made use of the bathroom and bedroom, with the exception of the fridge which we used to chill our 2:30am iced coffees!

3am Friday morning we began the longest straight drive of our entire trip.  12 hours!  We were driving the entire Blue Ridge Parkway which is one of the two long scenic drives we’ll be taking.  I started with 6 hours of driving, Jake is not a morning person - especially at that hour!  He slept pretty much all of those 6 hours while I belted out the lyrics to Walking On Sunshine, filled with a cocktail of energy and excitement.  One time I woke him up by slamming on the brakes to protect a skunk who was about to be roadkill.  He laughs at me because I slow down for a lot of small animals.   Don’t worry, there was literally no one else on the road, us and the animals had the whole parkway to ourselves.  It was a very exciting drive and I saw a wide variety of wildlife!  Birds, skunks, raccoons, deer and even a fox!  It was super cool because he ran into a big open field and I was able to watch him for a good few seconds as I drove by.  There was a crazy amount of deer and it was lucky we didn’t have any accidents while driving the parkway during the dark hours of the morning!  Jake took over a few hours after our breakfast break and I stayed awake to entertain him with reading, singing and banter.  I made yummy chicken and beef sandwiches at a rest stop around lunch time, which we quickly ate and then continued on.  

WELCOME TO NORTH CAROLINA!

Unfortunately we weren’t able to complete the entire parkway as the very last section had been closed down.  I’m guessing they’re doing some road work on it.  We detoured and made our way to the Biltmore Estate, which is where Ben and Becca had paid for us to stay as a part of my Christmas present!  It was such a beautiful place which so much land all around!  The Biltmore house was owned by the Vanderbilt family many years ago but we’re not sure whether they still own it or not.

After checking into the Village Hotel at Biltmore, I pre-made our egg salad sandwiches for the following day, then we showered and got ready to head to the Biltmore winery for a complimentary tasting!  We stood at the bar and tasted 7 different wines in a variety of whites, rosés and reds, then purchased our 3 favourites - 1 white and 2 reds.  Afterwards we ate at the hotel’s restaurant which was pricey but delicious!  Jacob had a dish called Frogmore which was basically a stew with lobster, clams, shrimp, sausage and a few vegetables.  I had a burger (of course) that was cooked to PERFECTION.  I asked for medium rare.  When I bit into the burger the juices basically burst out all over my plate.  It was such goodness and Jake was jealous!  We then decided we wanted to buy another bottle of wine to take back to the room and open that night.  I was exhausted and headed back up while Jake went to make the purchase.  By the time he got back and we started to drink a glass each I was finding it difficult to keep my eyes open!  I got halfway through the glass and decided to tap out around 7:30pm - it had been a long 17 hour day for me!

Saturday morning we made an early start before 7:30am, I’d had an amazing sleep in the comfy king size bed and even slept in longer than Jake who had woken up a good hour before me!  That NEVER happens!  It took us a long time to pack the car back up.  We had taken most of our belongings from the back seat upstairs with us on one of the hotel trolleys.  After panicking about possibly having lost my wallet (!!!!) and ordering a couple of coffees to go, we checked out (thankfully with said wallet being found down the side of the drivers seat!) and drove 2 miles over to the Biltmore house and gardens.  Yes, they had so much land that it took us 2 miles of driving across it to reach another of their buildings!  Tickets to walk through the Biltmore house were just shy of US$50 which we thought was ridiculous!  Although we did get some beautiful pictures at the top of the stairs which led down to the house.  It was an amazing building up close, with a lot of detail!  The gardens were free to explore so we wandered off to have a look.  Obviously we haven’t quite made it to spring yet so there wasn’t much in bloom… but it was still a relaxing walk and we did find a greenhouse at the end.  The greenhouse had many things in bloom and a lot of big huge plants, all in pots.  It inspired me and by the end of our gardens adventure I had made the decision that I would develop green fingers once we settled down in Washington state.  We took a toilet break before heading to the car for breakfast and couldn’t resist taking a peek inside one of the many stores they had, which were located in the ‘stable’ where the Vanderbilt’s used to keep their horses.  Inside the store we found various little tables with taste testers of drinks and dips to try.  We tried a few different salad dressings, drink mixers and cheese balls.  Before leaving we bought a delicious salad dressing which I think, from memory, was a mix of poppyseed and strawberry!

After a quick breakfast in the car from our chilly bin, Jake began our 5 hour drive to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina - which is when I wrote half this post!  I kept forgetting that a lot of places we stay won’t give me access to the internet from my laptop.  I’ll be writing bits and pieces as I go and post them in chapters so that you’re not overloaded with pages of blabber!

WELCOME TO SOUTH CAROLINA!

After checking into our little cabin, we were supposed to begin our fun in Myrtle Beach with a musical at the Palace Theatre.  I hadn’t bought tickets in advance because I couldn’t figure out how to do that online.  It turned out that the reason I couldn’t figure it out was because Palace Theatre had been hit pretty badly by Hurricane Matthew and wouldn’t be open again until February NEXT year!  We were bummed out about it because the building looked awesome from the outside.  We decided to park the car in the Broadway at the Beach car park.  This is a beachy style area with a boardwalk lined with stores and attractions that surround a lake filled with catfish and ducks.  We went for a wander around, took a look in a retro store and saw the Big D IMAX movie theatre.  They only play one movie a day at various times and that day it would be Logan (one of the X-Men/Wolverine movies).  I’ve only seen bits and pieces of these movies so it seemed odd for me to go and see it, but we planned to do that anyway - since it was IMAX.  The movie didn’t begin until 10:15pm, so we played a couple rounds of mini golf.  There are a tonne of mini golf courses in Myrtle Beach!  If I had known this earlier I would have planned a whole day of mini golf touring for Jake and I, because we had so much fun during those two games!  Of course I lost both times… But did better my score the second time around!  We ate dinner in between the two rounds of golf at Joe’s Crab Shack, a cool place on the water that serves seafood.  We snagged two seats at the bar, ordered a couple of beers and took a look at the menu.  I’ve never been a huge fan of seafood, but I guess our tastebuds change as we get older, plus, eating seafood is FUN!  We ordered a big bowl which had 1/2 lb of crab, 1/2 lb of shrimp and 1 lb of crawfish.  I had such a great time learning how to crack them all open and collect the meat.  Our final round of golf was followed by a walk back to the car and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream on the way.  Turns out we were too tired to stay up late for the Logan movie and ended the evening in our cabin watching American Horror Story on Netflix!

Sunday morning we went to Waffle House for breakfast.  We both ordered a big hash bowl.  Essentially it’s a bowl of shredded hashbrowns with melted cheese, scrambled egg and breakfast sausage on top.  We also had a waffle each - Jake had pecan… chocolate peanut butter for me.  Of course an American breakfast is never complete without cheap bottomless coffee!  With today’s agenda I was about to face a big fear of mine - heights!  I was feeling confident!  

Wonderworks is an interactive museum in Myrtle Beach, it’s made for kids but we had a lot of fun too!  We found lots of different things like a machine that tests how hard your grip is and a bicycle swing that can spin you all the way around if you pedal hard enough - we didn’t do that!  I felt a little silly considering a bunch of young girls were doing it and after watching for a few minutes I left the line!  Although, I did wait in line for a little roller coaster simulator.  You jump inside an enclosed booth that’s attached to a mechanized arm which moves you up, down and upside down.  I screamed so much that the ride operator laughed afterwards when mentioning how she’d heard me!  We played a game of free for all laser tag too!  Jake’s strategy was for us to hide in the corner behind a wall and shoot at everyone from there.  We were versing two adults and 8 children so it wasn’t very difficult to get the top two scores!   I can’t believe I did, but I went on a ropes course at the very end of the visit.  It took all the courage I had to get all the way up there.  All the kids were breezing through it and I was the sweaty palmed, near crying woman who’s legs were wobbly and couldn’t do the super unsteady ropes because of my lack of confidence.  We did a second ropes course outdoors which was above water.  For some reason I had a lot of confidence when completing this one and completed every challenge they had!  We decided it was because of the environment.  The indoor ropes course was above the crowds of people, it was dark with neon lights all around and VERY noisy.  I couldn’t concentrate.  On the outdoors course I was above the water.  There was noise but not as much and the environment was much more peaceful.  I was very proud of myself for completing all the challenges and it gave me a huge confidence boost for the zip line that we did next.  Pre-boarding the zip we had to wait with a group of 10 others for what seemed like hooouuurss.  It did make for some entertaining conversations with the other dudes getting ready to zip.  One black guy decked out in his Chicago Bulls attire had us in fits of laughter.  He was even more nervous than me and was making sure that was clear to all of us!  He did not like heights and did not like the thought of being over the water.  Jake kept making jokes about Final Destination and the zip getting stuck in the middle mid-flight.  Surprisingly I wasn’t super nervous and was actually more excited to do this!  I had been watching many others zipping across while we were completing the nearby ropes course and I guess that had put my mind at ease and made it look super fun!  We’ll be ziplining again in Vegas and I can’t wait!  Generally when you take a zip line you go one way and return back on another zip, which is what we did.  People kept stopping just before the end of the first zip - hence all the jokes about stopping in the middle!  Our Chicago Bulls buddy was one of the many who got stuck, Jake and I were right after him so we were back over the side laughing our asses off.  Thankfully I JUST made it far enough.  The dude at the other side threw me a rope which I was able to catch.  He then pulled me in further and I had made it!  Jake didn’t get quite close enough to catch the rope so he had to have one zipped out to him!  Chicago Bulls buddy thought that was hilarious, especially when I told him how hard Jake had been laughing when it happened to him only minutes before!  The return zip was extra fun as it went a lot faster than the first!  I was going so fast that I thought he wouldn’t be able to stop me!  All-in-all, a successful first-time zip lining experience which I’m sure there will be many more of!  We saw signs all over for a $20 helicopter ride.  I had never been on a helicopter and Jake hadn’t been on a civilian helicopter (only osprey, the military ones).  We decided since it was super cheap we’d give it a go!  They drove us 50 meters out to the little red helicopter and we jumped in, put on our headsets and took off!  It was a very short ride, only about 5 minutes, but totally worth the experience.  We had awesome views of the area we had just spent our day.  The pilot asked if we liked rollercoasters and when I said I like them a little but I’m not super fond of them he sped up just a little and banked the helicopter so that we turned sideways and had an even better view of below!  Deciding to finish off our big day with some more seafood, we went to the Duffy Street Seafood Shack which was just a block away from the beach.  It was a “throw-your-peanut-shells-on-the-floor” type of place, basically meaning it was messy dive bar which is the type of place Jake and I love!  We ate peanuts from the shell while waiting for our pitcher of beer, 39c shrimps, nachos and chicken wings… delish!  Just before calling it a night we drove to the sky wheel, which was located on the beach which gave us the opportunity for some epic late night beach views.

We’re currently in Dallas catching up with our buddy Critta (Austin) and soooo much has happened since all of this!  I’ve got more stories coming so stay posted.  We are having the most incredible adventure and LOVING life.

With love from TEXAS! xx

P.S. “When the cabin’s a-rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’!” - JTB