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skz317cb97 · 1 year

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Why Does it Hurt

Lee Felix x Female reader

Word count: 6.7k (it's like 5.7k of ouch)

Synopsis: When your soulmate Felix can feel everything you feel he wonders, why does it always hurt?

A/N: 18+ ONLY! A bunch of you said you wanted this one to hurt so.... here you go! 😅 I'm loving the polls and everything with this and slowly announcing who's what soul link, so fun! Anyway! If you like this one give it a reblog, like, comment, hit up my asks! I always love hearing from you guys! As always warnings and smut below the cut!

Warnings: 18+ONLY MDNI! Cursing/strong language, elements of abuse, violence, imprisonment, death threats, attempted murder(strangulation), mentions of panic attacks, if any of these things can be triggering please skip this one. Oral (m&f receiving), unprotected piv sex (use condoms please), MC's first time, cum shot. I think that's it it's pretty vanilla as far as smut goes. If i missed anything please let me know and I'll add it, I would feel awful if someone read something that upset them. So if you see something I'll add it asap!

Just like most everyone else on the planet, when Felix turned eighteen, he went to a specialist and found out what his soul link was. It was different for everybody. For some it was a mark or a name, others it was a shared talent or eye color maybe. For Felix it was feelings. Mostly emotions, occasionally he would feel physical feelings and it seemed to vary in intensity depending how far he was from you.

Felix had no idea who you were, no one did really. You had been locked up, a prisoner in your grandfather's house since your parents passed. He was not pleased when he had to take in his orphaned granddaughter so his displeasure was taken out on you with verbal and often physical attacks. Felix felt the desperation and overwhelming sadness that encompassed your life and would fall into long bouts of depression. His family and friends worried about him but there was nothing anyone could do. There was no way for anyone to know who you were or how to find you. It went on like that, days, months, years. Felix learned to deal with the pain but it was never ending. Why did it always hurt?

Felix’s twenty-first birthday was coming up; he was excited to hang out and relax. His friend Chan had rented an air b&b in a quiet neighborhood close to the beach and invited their six other best friends. All of them planned to surf, swim and relax for the next five days, bonfires, drinks, and plenty of good food with good friends, Felix was ready. The day the guys pulled up to the air b&b Felix was feeling your emotions more intensely than he ever had.

He tried to just focus on all the fun they were about to have and push that sadness down for now, process it later, right now just... live. When Felix grabbed his bag out of the back hatch his heart started fluttering then racing. It wasn’t his heart though it was yours. God it was intense you had to be close, you must live in one of these houses by the beach. He hoped to meet you while he was there if you did. When Felix turned to walk towards the house he happened to glance over at the neighbors and saw a girl that looked to be around their age peeking out at him and the guys from an attic window. He gave a small smile and waved. When you realized Felix could see you, your eyes went wide and you ducked out of the window. Chan was walking by just then too.

“Did you see that?” Chan raised his eyebrows and shook his head no.

“See what?” Felix pointed over to the house.

“The girl that was in that top window.”

“We just got here Lix, you’re seeing girls already?” Chan laughed and Felix rolled his eyes giving him a mocking half hearted chuckle.

“Har har har. You’re so funny dad.” Chan feigned offense

“I’m not that old!” Felix shrugged laughing and carried his stuff inside. Maybe you were shy, Felix thought. He decided when he saw you outside, he’d try to say hi so that you knew him and the other guys were friendly. Maybe you’d want to come over for a bonfire. He’d say hello and he’d invite you, just as soon as he saw you outside. That night the guys decided to take it easy and just have a gaming night. Felix was watching the match Changbin and Jisung were playing when he felt part of his face start to sting, as if someone had slapped him, hard.

“Ow fuck!” His swearing caught Chan’s attention.

“What’s wrong? You okay?” He felt it again, pins and needles on the other side of his face now.

“Ah fuck my face hurts!” Seungmin laughed not realizing what was going on.

“Imagine how we feel having to look at it all the time.” A few of the guys laughed and focused back on the game while Chan made sure Felix was okay. Felix felt a pain in his leg, his backside and then his back and then it all seemed to stop. Tears welled up in Felix’s eyes and Chan was worried.

“Are you okay Lix what’s wrong? Does it still hurt?” A tear rolled down his cheek.

“It always hurts. Why does it always hurt?! She doesn’t ever feel joy or love, it’s always pain, it’s always suffering. She’s the love of my life and I can’t help her.” Chan had never seen Felix so worked up and they had been friends since elementary school. Felix had never felt it all so strongly. Tears were streaking his face and he was sniffling. The other guys stopped playing the game and huddled around him to comfort him. Felix had a big heart, anyone that knew him knew that. So for the person that he was meant to love for the rest of his life to be in pain and suffering constantly, it chipped away at Felix’s heart. Once everything was calm again Felix wiped his face with his long sleeve and the guys got back to their game.

“I’m gonna get a little air Channie hyung. I’ll just be out back.” Chan nodded. Felix got up and made his way towards the back door. He stood out on the porch breathing in the cool ocean air, looking up at the clear night sky, hundreds and thousands more stars than you could see in the city. He glanced over at the attic window he’d seen you in earlier that day and saw a candle flickering from inside and then noticed your head poked up, peeking out at him. You quickly ducked away and then the candlelight went out. Shortly after, Felix rejoined the others inside.

Earlier in the day while you sat in your prison cell that was the attic, you had heard a little commotion outside, then you heard a couple of men’s voices. You weren’t supposed to go near the windows, you knew that, but you were curious, it was usually pretty quiet there, which is exactly why your grandfather liked it. Against your better judgement you walked over to the window and looked over at the house next door. When you did you saw eight men, probably around your age, maybe a little older, carrying things into the house. There was one in particular that pulled at you like a magnet. He was the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen, not that you’d seen many beautiful things in your life. Your heart fluttered then started pounding. Then as if he knew you were there, he stopped and looked right up at you, it surprised you and you froze. The softest, warmest smile spread on his face and he waved at you. You quickly backed away from the window but the damage was done. Your grandfather had his cameras set up all over that house, inside and out. There was no way he would miss the innocent little wave that man next door had given you.

Later that night when your grandfather came home from work you knew you were in for it. You could hear him coming up the stairs. Big boots clunking as he stomped up each one. When he walked in you immediately started to apologize hoping that it might spare you a little pain. It did not, your grandfather didn’t say a thing he back handed you across the face, he slapped you a few more times before you fell down on your flat sleeping mat crying.

“You’re going to learn one of these days what happens if you don’t follow my rules.” He pulled off his belt and started slapping you with it hard, wherever it landed, your legs, your ass, your back. He threw it at you out of breath.

“Next time I’ll hang you with it do you understand?” You cowered and nodded that you did. He picked up his belt and stomped back out. You laid there crying in the candlelight, the only light you were permitted to have. You knew it was best to just fall asleep as quickly as possible. He wouldn’t be bringing you food tonight, not when he beat you, never after you had been punished. You heard someone walk outside next door. You crawled over, the burning welts the belt left still intense and painful. You just peeked over your windowsill this time and you saw him again, the pretty blonde man with freckles and the smile of an angel. He looked over, it was like he could tell when you were looking at him. You quickly crawled back away before he waved or anything that might upset your grandfather again. You curled back up on your mat and blew out your candle. You closed your eyes and hoped to dream of a life where you and the cute, freckled guy next door might meet and fall in love.

The next day the guys all went dashing out of the back door of the house and out onto the beach whooping and hollering. They were ready for a little sand and surfing. Felix again couldn’t help but look up at the neighbor's attic window to see if he could see you again, he paused a moment before he dashed off with his board under his arm to catch up with his friends. You had seen him looking. You were smart enough to stand back from the window this time. You could see him but he couldn’t see you, or so you thought. Felix actually did see you but he didn’t want to frighten you away again. So he ran and caught up with the guys as his heart raced. You watched as the sweet blonde boy caught wave after wave with his friends, wishing you could be out there too. Laying in the sand, splashing the water at friends. Even though you were raised in that house most of your life, if you could even call it raising, the last time you had been at the beach was before your parents had died.

You were only six when you and your parents were in a horrible car crash. Somehow you had survived with bumps and bruises while the wreck killed both of your parents almost instantly. Then you were sent to live with your grandfather, the only family you had left in the world, who locked you in the attic and told everyone else that you had died in the same crash as your parents. He would feed you once a day twice if you were lucky and only let you out once a day to go to the bathroom and shower. There were rules as well and if you didn’t follow them there was hell to pay. No leaving the attic, no making any noise, no going near the windows, only speak when told to and a slew of others. Sometime around your eighteenth birthday every now and then you’d feel a little light inside your heart. Your grandfather did all he could to extinguish it and he did a very good job of it. Eventually you couldn’t feel the light inside anymore but something about the tanned freckled guy next door made that light shine a bit again.

Since you were hidden from the world you had never been told about soulmates or what your soul link was, so you didn’t know that little light in your heart was Felix. You didn’t know that anytime your sadness felt overwhelming he’d think of all the happy wonderful things about life, things that he loved and just hoped you could feel it as he pushed all those good feelings towards you. No matter how much he put into it, his whole heart usually, it only came through as the little light.

The next day the guys all piled into the car and left for a local spot to have lunch. When they got back the old neighbor lady on the other side of their air b&b was out gardening. When she saw the eight handsome men pile out of the car she smiled and stood up to greet them, wiping dirt off her hands on her apron. After introductions and a little small talk the old lady mentioned something about the other surrounding neighbors being nice as well and then Felix remembered the girl in the window, he had seen you a couple of times now and he was curious about you.

“Oh yea! Speaking of neighbors, what’s the name of the girl next door on the other side of us? Around our age? I was gonna invite her over to a bon fire but she seems kind of shy and I haven’t seen her outside...” The old neighbor lady looked at Felix like he was stupid.

“Old Herb’s place? Ain’t no girl living in that house. Only girl it coulda been woulda been his granddaughter y/n, she’d be around you boys age now, but she died in a car wreck with her folks quite a way back.” Felix nodded.

“My mistake.” Felix and the guys excused themselves and went on about their goal for the rest of the day, more surfing. Felix was confused. He was positive he’d seen a young woman in that house, he had waved at you. He didn’t just imagine that. Every time they went to the beach now Felix glanced up at the window. Every time he did his heart started to beat out of his chest. Every day that passed you knew was a day closer to the man with the freckles and his friends leaving and every day you felt like it was a day closer to the end for you.

You don’t know what came over you. You rummaged through some boxes your grandfather stored up in the attic with you, another rule, no touching his things. You had to do it. You went through and managed to find a piece of chalk and a chunk of some old map or something. You didn’t care, you had to do it. Your handwriting was atrocious and your spelling awful but you wrote a short message and then folded and tossed it into the neighbor's yard praying your grandfather didn’t catch it on the cameras. You had to do it, if not now, then you never would and how long would your grandfather really be willing to keep you? It had been fifteen years. The beatings were getting worse and the death threats came more often it was only a matter of time before he really killed you. You had to do it.

Felix and Changbin were playing frisbee in the back yard while some of the other guys played video games. It was the last day there; they would be leaving tomorrow afternoon. Felix had looked up at your attic window countless times, he didn’t know why. You weren’t ever there anymore and he started to wonder if he had just dreamed you up. Changbin put a little too much wrist into his toss and the frisbee sailed over the house to the side yard.

“I got it!” Felix ran around the side of the house and grabbed the plastic disc. He was just about to turn and run back when he noticed what looked like a piece of trash on the ground. When he picked it up he realized it was folded. He opened the tattered piece of paper and saw what looked like a note scribbled by a child. It was hard to read, pryzner atick. He ran back around the house and showed Changbin.

“What does this say?” Changbin looked at it.

“I dunno man it’s just some kid’s scribbles it doesn’t say anything.” Felix shook his head, he’d found it under your window.

“No this says something.” Changbin shrugged and Felix ran off to ask Chan what he thought. Chan was looking over the scrap of paper when everyone heard your grandfather's truck fly up and skid to a stop in the gravel driveway. He’d seen you toss the note. You were absolutely terrified and Felix could feel every bit of it.

“Oh my god!” Felix finally put it together. He was an idiot for not realizing sooner. Chan was waiting as Felix processed.

“What? What’s wrong?!” Felix looked at Chan with tears in his eyes.

“She’s terrified. He’s gonna kill her.” Chan was confused.

“Who?!”

“The girl next door!” Now Chan was even more confused. The old lady had said there was no girl.

“How do you know?!” Felix gripped Chan’s shoulders tightly.

“Because she’s my fucking soulmate!” Felix ran out of the house and Chan and a few of the other guys ran after him trying to stop him. Your grandfather had seen you toss the note and he was going to do exactly what he told you he would if you stepped out of line again. You could hear his heavy boots as he skipped steps on his way up to the attic, the sound of his belt already being removed. You cowered in a corner. You had to do it. Your grandfather kicked the attic door in and you screamed.

“You shut your fucking mouth! You did this! You brought this down on yourself!” He picked you up easily, of course he did, you were malnourished and weak from never getting any sun or exercise. You tried to fight him but it was like a twig hitting an oak, it did nothing. He wrapped his belt around your neck and slid it back into the buckle pulling it tight around your neck, cutting off your air. He held you out in front of him and you grasped at the belt trying to loosen it but couldn’t, your own weight was drawing it tighter around your throat. You could see the vignette of darkness starting to cloud your vision, you knew death was coming. You weren’t scared anymore, you were relieved. Maybe you would finally get some peace.

Felix burst into the neighbor’s house and started looking for stairs as Chan rushed in after him, telling the other’s to stay behind. Felix rushed around a corner and there they were. He started dashing up them, Chan tried to keep up but Felix was too fast. He was right on his heels when Felix finally made it up the stairs to the attic. The door was kicked off the hinges. Felix ran in, Chan right after him and both saw your grandfather strangling you with a belt.

“Hey! Put her the fuck down NOW!” Your grandfather spun around surprised to find two of the young men from next door standing there. He dropped you and you started gasping for air. Your grandfather may have been strong enough to overpower you but up against two fit men, in their twenties, with six more a call away, he knew he couldn’t take them. Instead, he ran between them and fled. Chan called 911 as your grandfather jumped into his truck and sped off again. The other guys had no idea what was going on so none of them attempted to stop him.

“Hey man! Where’s our friends!?” He peeled away kicking up rocks. Felix ran over to you and gently lifted your head and took the belt off from around your neck. You were weak, still gasping for air, struggling to breathe. Felix was terrified he was too late, he checked your pulse on your wrist, avoiding touching your neck, and it was faint. He started talking to you. Trying to keep you awake.

“Hey hey, uhm, I’m Felix, and uhm...” He tried to fight back his tears.

“I’m gonna take care of you alright? You’re gonna be okay... okay?” Felix nodded as he failed to keep his tears from falling. They streaked his freckled cheeks and you wished you were strong enough to wipe them away. You could hear the sirens approaching but you were so tired. You just wanted to rest your eyes.

“Hey hey HEY! STAY AWAKE! DON’T GO TO SLEEP! PLEASE!” You wanted to listen but you just couldn’t. You closed your eyes and everything was dark, quiet, peaceful.

You woke up in a bright white room. It smelled clean, completely different than the musty attic you’d lived in for so long. You squinted and tried to focus your vision, but it was difficult between the pain in your head and the bright lights. You finally managed to open your eyes and the first thing you did was try to scan the room. You tried to move your head but couldn’t and winced in pain sucking air in through your teeth. The sound woke up whoever was in the room with you. A tired, deep, grumbly man’s voice came from your right.

“y/n?” He walked to where you could see him and you realized it was the freckled man from next door.

“Wha-whe-” Your voice barely came out. It was horse and hurt to talk.

“Don’t try to talk yet. Everything is okay now. I’m gonna get a nurse and let them know you’re awake. I’ll be right back.” Felix ran out of the room excited to see your beautiful eyes open again, he’d been so afraid he never would. When Felix walked back in so did a nurse and a doctor. They asked you some yes and no questions and you would point at your answer on a clip board. After they left you motioned to Felix asking what happened, you only remembered your grandfather coming into your room and then everything was black. Felix pulled his chair up by you.

“After I found the note you tossed out the window and your grandpa came home I realized what it said. Prisoner attic.” Felix didn’t say anything about soulmates right then, there would be plenty of time for that later and he didn’t want to confuse you.

“When me and my friend ran into the attic we found him...” Felix hesitated, it was a hard memory for him surely it would be for you too but when he looked at you, you mimed choking and Felix nodded.

“Yea we found him strangling you. He dropped you and ran off but it didn’t take police long to find him. He’s in jail, there’s still a trial but he’ll be there for the rest of his life no doubt in my mind.” You tried to nod forgetting that you had a neck brace on and winced a little. Felix instinctively grabbed your hand and you gently squeezed it. You took your other hand and pointed at him. You mouthed the word name.

“Oh! Yea, sorry. I’m Felix.” It wasn’t a very conventional way to meet your soulmate but that was the first day of forever for the two of you. After a few days the neck brace came off, a couple of weeks and your larynx was healed enough to start talking. You were severally malnourished, hadn’t had direct sunlight in fifteen years, didn’t move anymore than you could around the attic. There was a lot healthwise that needed addressed a number were things you’d probably deal with for the rest of your life. Felix was with you every step of the way. After you started getting better he explained the whole soulmate thing. You’d never even known soulmates were a thing. Then you remembered that little light that would shine in your heart and you knew then that it had always been Felix in your heart.

Once your health issues had all been addressed and stabilized and the doctors deemed you strong enough to leave the hospital you weren’t sure what was next. You were twenty-one, pretty much illiterate, you knew nothing about the world or how to survive in it. You stood on the sidewalk thinking of all the challenges still to come when Felix pulled up in his car. He got out and opened your door. You slid into the passenger seat and then Felix ran around getting back in the driver’s seat. He looked at you and gave you his megawatt smile.

“Let’s go home.” Home. You didn’t know what that was. The place that you had lived for practically your whole life was only a prison. You would never call it home. Home was Felix. Wherever he was that was home. The day you were released from the hospital was the day that you started living with Felix. He was insistent on taking things slowly.

“We have our whole lives, so let’s crawl before we run, okay?” You nodded and were secretly thankful he was so patient and willing to move slowly, you knew absolutely nothing about each other and you knew nothing about being in any kind of relationship let alone a romantic one. Felix helped you with everything. You would have panic attacks from what you went through but also from the thought of how endlessly massive the world was outside of that attic. Felix taught you pressure points and tricks to ground yourself when you felt out of control. He enrolled you into some night courses so you could learn to read and write and helped you with flash cards and studying. From there you started taking math classes, history, and so on. Before long you were taking high school level classes and by the time you were twenty-three you had earned your GED all with Felix by your side cheering you on. He didn’t want you to be dependent on him in the world, he wanted you to feel independent, like you could do it on your own if you had to. You never would, Felix would always be there for you but he felt like it was important for you to be able to do things on your own. Felix was insanely proud of you and couldn’t believe how strong you were.

When you had moved into his place he insisted on you staying in a room of your own. You had never had a room of your own. Some nights it was hard to sleep on the soft bed and you’d curl up with your blanket on the floor. Mornings Felix found you like that broke his heart. He’d let you sleep in those days because it usually meant you hadn’t gotten much rest. You had lived with Felix for almost two years when you got your GED. In that time you guys had taken baby steps in your relationship. The first time you and Felix kissed it was because you kissed him. You could tell that he wanted to kiss you and you really wanted to kiss him so you leaned over on the couch while you watched tv together and pressed your lips against his. He’d been surprised at first but then kissed you back. You both had butterflies.

Felix walked into the apartment the two of you shared together now. He found you in the kitchen washing up some dishes. He walked over and kissed your cheek and you leaned into it, into his warmth.

“Sorry I’m so late.” You shook your head. It didn’t matter, all that mattered was he was home. He was home, your home. You turned and kissed him on the lips nibbling his bottom one, making him laugh.

“What’s gotten into you? Hmm?” You just shook your head and pecked his lips once more.

“Okay, whatever you say. I’m gonna shower, need the bathroom before?” You shook your head no.

“No Lixie, go enjoy your shower.” He cupped your cheek and you closed your eyes. The warmth was like how it felt when the sun warmed your cheeks on a spring day. When you opened your eyes again you found his endless brown eyes memorizing the flecks of colors in yours. He cupped your other cheek, leaned in and kissed you then pulled a breath away.

“I love you y/n.” Your eyes shot open. Neither of you had ever said the L word. You were certain that you felt it, at least you thought you did. When Felix said it though you knew, without a doubt that you loved him too. He saved you, took you in. Felix had done far more for you in two years than your grandfather ever did in fifteen. You could never repay him and he would never expect you to.

“I love you too Felix.” He smiled and bit his lip.

“Okay, shower.” You nodded smiling too and he ran off to take his shower. When Felix got out of the shower he wrapped his towel around himself and went to his room. He was surprised to find you sitting in there on his bed in your robe.

“Oh! Hey, uh... do you need something?” You didn’t say anything, you walked towards him and put your arms around his shoulders.

“Wha-” You kissed his lips cutting him off and he was more than a little surprised when your tongue started prodding asking for entry into his mouth. He turned his head and opened his mouth allowing you to kiss him deeper. You two had only ever made out two times and both times Felix made you stop not wanting to take things too fast. It had been two years and you were madly in love with this man. You didn’t want to wait any longer.

“Felix?” He hummed as you kissed down his jaw and neck.

“I want you...” He hummed again lost in the feeling of your lips on his skin.

“You want me to what?” He asked his brain only working at half capacity. You giggled.

“I want you to touch me.” He pulled back and looked at you before shaking his head.

“We don’t hav-” You cut him off.

“I want you to make love to me Felix, I want it. I know we don’t have to but I want to...” You started getting a little teary eyed.

“Don’t you?” Oh that broke Felix’s heart. He didn’t want you to think he didn’t want you. He’s wanted you since the moment he saw you.

“Of course jagiya of course! I just... I want you to be sure. You’re sure?” You nodded.

“Yes Felix I’m sure. You’re the man that saved me. My soulmate. I love you so much Felix.” He wrapped his arms around you.

“I love you too.” His lips were against yours and things got heated quickly, teeth biting, tongues battling for dominance that no one could win. You pulled the tie of your robe loose and dropped it, you were completely naked underneath. Felix had never seen you without clothes on. The scars left from the beatings your grandfather gave you were still very visible. Tears welled up in Felix’s eyes and you ran your fingers through his hair.

“It’s okay Lixie, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” He laid you back on his bed and started kissing every scar. Your body started tingling and it was throbbing between your legs, making you want to press them together. Felix hovered over your aching core.

“Is this okay?” You nodded biting your lip. You weren’t sure what he was going to do but you trusted Felix. He gently parted your legs and then licked you. You jumped not expecting the warm wet feeling of his tongue against you like that but it felt amazing.

“Oh!” He looked up to make sure you were still okay. You nodded and he continued. He softly flicked his tongue across your clit and it made your body buzz. You were getting a little breathy. You still had episodes with your breathing from time to time and Felix started to worry that maybe you were having one. He stopped and sat up a bit. You groaned at the loss of contact and looked down.

“Why’d you stop?” He just giggled once he realized you were okay and went back to savoring you slow and steady until you felt your impending orgasm crash into you. Your legs trembled as Felix continued to softly run his tongue through your glistening folds.

“F-Felix... oh... oh god.” You panted out. You gently pushed against his head, starting to get sensitive and Felix pulled away, climbing back up your body and kissing your lips. When he pulled away you let out a deep breath and started laughing from all the endorphins your orgasm had released.

“Wow! I didn’t know anything felt like that.” Felix smiled. He’d seen you have a lot of firsts but your first orgasm was a thing of beauty. He was so hard under his towel there was no way you didn’t notice. You ran your hands up and down his sides.

“Tell me how to do that for you.” Felix looked at you surprised.

“Are you sure?” You nodded. You wanted to make him feel what you just felt. It was earth shattering in the best ways. He took one of your hands and ran it down his firm body until you were cupping his hard cock over his towel. He let out a breath, even the slight contact felt amazing. He rolled off of you and laid back on the bed, the towel tented by his painfully hard dick. You sat up and kneeled between his legs like he’d done to you. You pulled at the tucked in part of the towel and let it fall open exposing Felix to you entirely. He was so beautiful, every piece of him, every inch, every freckle, every sparkle in his eye, gorgeous.

“Lick your palm and then wrap your fingers around it.” You did as Felix said and licked your palm, wetting it then grabbed a hold of his cock gently. He hissed a little and you were worried you had hurt him. He bit his lip and tilted his head back and you realized it wasn’t that it hurt it was that it felt good. Once he could lift his head again he told you what to do next.

“Move your hand up and down now...” You moved your hand slowly and he let out a low moan that made you throb between your legs again. You went with your gut, you leaned forward and licked him like he’d licked you.

“Oh god yes, do that again please...” You licked it again and again Felix hummed.

“Mmmyou can put it in your mouth... if you want, if not the licking and your hand is enough, it feels so good jagi.” If putting his dick in your mouth felt even better you were doing it. You wanted to make him feel as good as he made you feel, you wanted to make him cum. You put the tip in and softly sucked on it unsure of what else to do, but it was kind of like a popsicle so you treated it like one. The way Felix’s breath quickened you must have been doing it right. You pulled off and kept moving your hand up and down.

“Like that?” He nodded quickly.

“Yes! Oh fuck yes! Suck just like that and see if you can go down more.” You put his tip back in your mouth and fit more of him inside sucking.

“Yes y/n god that feels so good. Now just go up and down.” He gathered your hair so he could look down and see you as you started bobbing up and down. The more those little sounds came from Felix the more you wanted to push him to the edge. You went faster and took more of his cock, spit dripping down his shaft that you used to stroke what you couldn’t fit. Felix’s stomach sunk in and out with his deep breaths.

“I’m gonna cum y/n, just stroke me, I don’t want to cum in your mouth” You appreciated the warning, you weren’t sure if you were ready for all that just yet. You pulled off of him and stroked him faster.

“Pucker your lips and rub the tip on it jagiya.” You did what he said, stroking him as you rubbed the sensitive tip against your lips. He suddenly grabbed his dick and pulled it away from your face as he started coming. He moaned and panted as you ran your hands up and down his thighs while he stroked his cock and shook through his orgasm. When he was all together again, he took his towel and wiped the cum off his belly and hand and then tossed it in his dirty bin. Felix crawled back into bed over you again laying you back, smiling, glowing post orgasm.

“Baby that was...” You were blushing and smiling.

“It was okay?” He chuckled a little at just how sweet you were. The guys always thought he was so sweet, he had nothing on you.

“It was way more than okay jagi, that was amazing.” Your smile grew and you pulled him down for a kiss. You two made out like that for a bit and then Felix’s hand started to trace down your body.

“I’m gonna put my fingers inside you so that I don’t hurt you okay?” You nodded. Felix alternated between kissing you and sucking on your nipples as he eased his fingers into you and started to stretch you a bit. It felt strange, not painful, just different. You and Felix laid in bed and made out like that for a while. When Felix added teasing your clit to fingering you it suddenly felt really good. The wetter you got the harder Felix got and only once he made you cum again did he crawl between your legs, kneeling. His hands ran up and down your body as you came down from your second orgasm. Once Felix knew you were back with him he smiled and leaned down to kiss you.

“I’m gonna put it in but I won’t hurt you.” You nodded.

“You never have.” Felix kissed you tenderly.

“And I never will jagiya.” He slowly started to push his tip inside you. Once he had he stopped and let you get used to the feeling of something so big inside you. It didn’t hurt, kind of like when he first put his fingers inside you, it was different. After a minute he pushed in a little more. Slowly he pushed in and waited and pushed in and waited until he was fully inside you. You felt so full, it felt so good.

“Felix...” He looked down at you worried you may be in some discomfort. As soon as he saw your blissed out face any anxiety he was feeling about hurting you disappeared. He slowly pulled out and pushed in.

“Yes, yes, more please...” He did it again faster and again. He started a slow rhythm burying himself deep inside you every now and then. You could feel that rubber band in you stretching ready to snap again at any moment. You weren’t sure how long it lasted, you weren’t sure where your body started and Felix’s stopped, hell you weren’t even sure what day it was anymore, you just knew that the third orgasm you had that night was by far the best feeling of your entire existence. Felix started thrusting faster reaching for his climax, he could feel it.

“I’m g-gonna pull out, c-can I cum on you this time?” You moaned as you still shook through your orgasm.

“Yes Lixie, do it, cum on me.” Felix choked out a moan, he pulled out stroking his cock as he came. You could feel warm cum landing on your skin and it surprisingly felt really good. Once he took a second to get his bearings, he quickly grabbed his towel again and wiped his cum off of you. He tossed it in the bin again and this time when he got into bed with you, he pulled you close and pulled the blankets over you both. You turned in his arms and started tracing his freckles. He scrunched his nose, his deep laugh resonating inside you. You nuzzled up against Felix, his slow deep breaths pulling you to sleep. When you were somewhere between sleep and awake you softly spoke against his skin.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

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#stray kids smut #skz smut #lee felix smut #lee felix yongbok smut #yongbok smut #skz317cb97 #cal 🖤#skz317cb97 soulmate au series #tw: violence #tw: abuse

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arcielee · 1 year

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dōna riña

Summary: You are enraptured by the prince and princess. Paring: Daemon Targaryen x Rhaenyra Targaryen x Female!Reader Word Count: 2053 Warnings: Kissing, fingering, oral (female receiving). 18+, MINORS DNI. Author’s Note: Thank you to @aspen-carter for being my beta reader. Her stories are amazing, so go and enjoy her work! This is one of the poll options and it didn’t win, but I couldn’t help but write this anyway. I was inspired by @sapphire-writes (The Au Pair) pieces they have been working on and it literally would not leave my brain alone. Anyway, this is dedicated to @howyouloveyourdragon and @evattude for voting on this in that poll ♥ Italics are High Valyrian. Tags (Tumblr kindred spirits): @aaaaaamond @annikin-im-panicin @watercolorskyy @schniiipsel

The prince and the princess as newlyweds were insatiable, by all accounts.

The chamberlain of Dragonstone had advised to allow the space their unbound passion ceaselessly demanded, as their fervent dam broke and the outpour spilled into every corner, every crevice of the castle.

Rhaenyra had a shyness at first, with her cheeks pink from the salacious affection from her new husband and her whispered plea to take her to the marital bed, but Daemon would not be abated. The staff learned to recognize the lingering, lustful gaze of the Rogue Prince and would be quick to clear the room.

While the others scurried away from the fire that bloomed between these two dragons, you could not help but be drawn to their flame, with an awe that radiated from your face whenever you caught sight of their fervor. You dared allow your eyes to dawdle past what was deemed appropriate for your station, just captivated by their beauty and mesmerized by their actions towards one another, the intimacy of their touch and the beauty of their old language that spilled from their lips in soft, honeyed tones.

On this day, your steps were nimble towards their bedchamber with the clean bedclothes held against your chest. You had been informed that they were bathing, together of course, and it permitted a window of opportunity to tidy their quarters and change the linens.

Inside the bedchamber, you saw the royal garments strewn across and the sheets bundled, with the musky scent of sweat and sex that was heavy in the air. You walked to draw the curtains aside, allowing the light and sea air to pass through; you then began to sort the clothes and separate the ones that had been damaged with their removal and required mending and the ones that needed to be washed only. As you stripped the bed and gathered the soft silk, your eyes fluttered with the intoxicating smell of their lovemaking, and its potent smell made a warmth curl within your core.

Gods, you sighed, setting the soiled linen on the velvet settee and began to place the fresh sheets. Your mind fluttered to another night when you had this same task and you had been late to come; your hands had trembled as you tried to tuck the corners, quickly, when the door had banged open.

You had muffled a squeak, ducking behind the woven partition wall and peering carefully at the noise.

It had been, of course, the prince and the princess, once again in an impassioned embrace and their lewd sounds filled the room; the suckling noises on the bare flesh from their ardent undressing.

Your eyes widened as you watched them, your tongue wet your parted lips and you felt that same warmth, almost as ache to your core. You heard their hushed whispers exchanged between and your fingers began to trail your dress, dared to press over your clothed cunt and it caused the softest moan to spill.

Everything stopped.

The prince pulled away from Princess Rhaenyra, shirtless and flushed, with long strides to throw aside the partition and find you. You fell back, stumbling over the velvet stool and pressing yourself against the vanity.

The fury etched on his brow lifted, aware that you were as white as his long tresses that spilled onto his shoulders. Behind him, you saw the princess move, who was still wearing her corset and shift, peering curiously. “What was she doing, husband?” She asked him in their foreign tongue.

“I believe we have a pervert amongst us,” he replied, a smirk on his lips. “I can smell her cunt from where I stand.”

You did not know what was being exchanged, you were only aware of the dark gaze of the prince in that moment; you fell forward, your knees bruising against the cobblestone. “My prince, my princess, forgive me,” you cried. “I was only changing the sheets and you…you startled me…and I…”

“Stop scaring her,” and the princess pressed from the bed, coming to your side with purposeful steps. “You may leave us,” she said to you, her voice sweet.

Your eyes strained to focus on her, aware of how her nipples pebbled beneath her chemise; you focused on her blonde lashes, so light they seemed a golden halo around her lavender eyes that keenly watched your reaction. “Thank you, your grace,” you whispered and you were quick to leave.

The days passed and reprimand never came from the chamberlain. You did not speak a word about the encounter, remaining dutiful to finish your chores assigned and trying to ease the small hitch of panic in your chest as you finished their bed. Your hands fluffed the feather pillows and your fingers traced the sheets, stopping at the edge to gather the old sheets and, before you could stop yourself, took a deep inhale of them.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

You jumped, the flutter of silk around you as you brought your arms sharp to your sides. You turned towards the voice and saw Prince Daemon Targaryen leaned against the doorframe, a smirk to his lips.

You curtsy, your head bowed and your eyes bore into the silk spill on the cobblestone, unwilling to make eye contact. “My prince, forgive me,” you stammered for words, “I was only changing the sheets and I will be on my way-”

“Must you frighten every handmaiden in Dragonstone?”

You had to look up, dared to turn towards the musical tone of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. Her silver curls were still damp at their ends, the wetness made them seem almost golden, and her skin was flushed pink, she was wearing only a chemise and no corset. Freshly washed, perhaps waiting for another one of the girls to help her dress but you knew they would not come unless summoned, unwillingly to disrupt them.

“My princess,” you rasped.

“I believe this is the same handmaiden as before,” the prince responded and you saw how she tilted her head towards her husband, the curl of her pink lips to whatever he was saying to her. “I can smell her cunt from where I stand.”

The focus returned to you and you felt the burn in your cheeks from her gaze. “Indeed,” she murmured and began to walk towards you.

You held your ground, eyes wide and forced yourself to swallow, but your throat was desperately dry. As she came closer, you cast your eyes downward and enjoyed the floral scent that wafted with her queenly presence. She leaned forward, her arms crossed behind her back and catching your eyes with her own lavender ones, with the same sweet or mischievous smile splayed on her face. “My dear girl,” her voice was low and sultry, her lilt clenched at your core. “You seem so very devoted to your queen to-be, is this correct?”

You nodded your head quickly.

“And you would serve your queen however she requested?”

“Of course,” you breathed, straightening to look at her.

She hummed and pressed closer still, the warmth radiated from her and seemed to meld with the passion that churned in your lower abdomen. “Then allow me to kiss you.”

Your eyes widened still, your lips parted with shock and she gently cupped the back of your head, tilting her head and bringing her lips to touch yours. Her lips were soft and your hands trembled before they rested on her hips, your soft moan allowed her tongue to curl against your own with a languid pace to savor your taste.

She pulled back and peered past you, only then did you remember that Prince Daemon was still present. You looked back at him, your pupils blown and your lips red, and he returned your gaze with a steely one, a fire burning behind his eyes as he moved towards you.

The princess slipped her hand into your own, pulling you towards the bed you had just made and stopped to cup your cheeks, bringing your lips to hers again.

You were bolder with your touch, one arm curling around her waist and pulling her closer against you, your other hand grabbed the back of her neck and your fingernails were gentle to scratch her skin. She almost purred in your mouth, her tongue running along your bottom lip before she nipped into it and broke away again.

You saw that the prince was laid across the bed and the princess pressed another quick kiss to your lips. “You may leave now and without any ill will,” she offered you an escape. “Or you may stay and serve your liege.”

Your hands moved to untie your apron and the cotton fell to the floor; the princess smiled and helped with your laces until you both wore only your chemise, hers was silk and yours was cotton.

She guided you to lay on the bed, until your back was pressed against Daemon, his bare chest warm on your backside, and you watched as Rhaenyra crawled onto the bed and towards you.

Your heart was aflutter from the soft touch of her hands on your thighs, her gentle nudge to spread your legs and you obliged her. There was a shiver of pleasure as her fingers traced the insides of your legs and you felt a shift behind you, the prince’s large hand grabbing the fabric and rucking it around your hips.

The princess looked up through her lashes at you, her fingers slipping into your smallclothes and pulling them down; you lifted your hips so she could remove them, her exhale a tickle on your wet cunt. She watched you carefully for a moment and your own breath caught in your throat when she dipped forward, the touch of her tongue bloomed the blood to your cunt.

You mewled pitiful from the sensation of her hot mouth, how it caused a blossom of pleasure that pulsated from your center and flittered to the ends of your begin, rushing back with each lap of her tongue.

“She likes it,” the prince spoke, his low baritone reverberating against your back.

She stopped a moment, perhaps to respond but instead you leaned forward, capturing her mouth with your own with the desire to taste yourself on her lips. Her kiss was soft and warm, and her tongue gently flit across your upper life. “Lay back,” she breathed against your mouth and you felt the thick arm of the prince snake around your waist and pulled you back against him.

You gasped as she dipped forward again, her mouth pressing on the top of your slick folds; her quickened motion of her tongue against your pearl made you moan louder, your back arching against the prince.

He hummed and his hold on your waist relaxed; the princess peered up towards him once more. “Will you help me, husband?”

You felt the warmth of his palm press against your stomach and move to rest above the patch of your pubic curls, his fingers traced your slit and then pressed against your nub. You jumped from his touch and his chin rested on your shoulder, his warm breath tickled your ear.

Her hands gripped into the softness of your thigh to hold you still and you felt the sinful curl of her finger within you.

Your cries grow wanton and she added a second finger to the sensual tactician against the sweet spot within you. “Do you like this, sweet girl?” She breathed into your cunt.

“Y-yes, my princess,” you stammered.

The prince stopped his ministrations and brought his fingers as a sharp slap against your clit. You cried out, a mixture of pleasure and pain. “That is your queen.”

“Yes, my queen,” you corrected yourself, tears brimming the corners of your eyes. “Forgive me, my queen…”

Your words trailed off as the first wave of pleasure began to crest, the simultaneous actions of both the prince and the princess brought your climax with a fury that drew the breath from your lungs, an anguished cry with your release. Your gaze fell towards the princess, who withdrew her fingers and brought them to her lips; you were enchanted by her perfect pink tongue that curled around her digits.

She smiled at you, still sweet, still mischievous, and all she said is, “Good girl.”

#daemon targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #daemon x rhaenyra x you #daemon x rhaenyra x reader #fem reader #daemyra #daemyra x reader #daemon targaryen x reader #rhaenyra targaryen x reader #hotd fanfiction #hotd smut

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penvisions · 2 months

Text

the melting point {chapter 17}

Pairing: Frankie Morales x Baker! Reader (exEMT! reader)

Summary: You and Frankie have some conversations about the future, but not all of them are so serious. Meanwhile, the gang are up to something....

Word Count: 7.1k

Warnings: medical jargon, description of injuries (not detailed), mention of surgical scarring, reader has limited mobility, reader uses a walker, reader uses a wheelchair, panic, depression, anxiety, reader is self-conscious in her body, a lot of emotions, description of female body, body modification, reader gets some new ink, and someone else too, pet names, canon typical violence, frankie loses his temper (inspired by the one gif of him yelling about killing ppl), frankie gets overwhelmed, smoking, cigarettes, consumption of nicotine, a lot of emotions!

A/N: okay, okay, i know i said i'd post this on friday but my brain decided to be not so nice to me and make me stare at the document for this chapter for hours. but, it's here and i'm happy with it. there are so many grammar errors but uploading this is the last task of the day before bed, so they’ll be fixed tomorrow

if you have the time, please take a peek at the poll for this fic

ao3 link || series masterlist || main masterlist || ko-fi

You feel shy.

You feel self-conscious.

You feel like it’s the first time meeting him all over again the next morning when he descends from getting dressed upstairs and greets you in the kitchen.

You had woken up early, bones aching and enough feeling to shuffle with your walker toward the miracle invention that was the coffee maker. Spacing out as you held you left hand out in front of you and took in the way the diamond he must’ve spent countless hours working to afford was nestled in the delicate gold band that fit so perfectly.

All of his working despite you being in the hospital, being comatose and then being awake but a faucet of never-ending emotions that ticked from hot to cold at a moment’s notice. It had been to provide for you, to offer you a future with him, to spend two weeks of unbothered time with you to help you navigate the new routine of your life.

You startled when his arms wrapped around your waist, his forehead resting against the back of your head, rustling the untamed strands. You felt heat bloom atop your chest and stretch over the expanse of your neck to fill your cheeks. Ducking your head, you squeaked out a small greeting, bringing your hand back to yourself and settling it over the mug of long chilled coffee.

“Everythin’ okay?”

You could only hum in response, voice lost amidst the bashful way in which you were almost afraid to turn around and face him head on. His beautiful face, crowned by chocolate curls that you could spend hours running your hands through, the endearing scruff that tried to grow in fully but never managed to tinged with sparkling silver, those wide eyes that sparked warmth the second they turned to you.

No, everything was not okay.

He was beautiful, he was handsome, he was everything you ever wanted all rolled into one package. He was yours, now, and you felt completely unworthy.

The repeat of his question was interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

Panic rose up suddenly, spurred on by the self-doubting thoughts that had been consuming you from the moment you woke up in a cold sweat. Your body tensed in his hold, his arms twitching as he felt it happen in real time. Your breathing became labored, legs twitching with the need to move, to run.

“I dunno who would be here this early…” He began to turn toward the door, hold loosening around you and allowing you to take in an attempt at a calming breath. He assured you he would be right back before your eyes followed his movement over the threshold and toward the front of the house. Without a thought for even the walking aid you had, leant up against the cabinets beside you, you pushed into motion and fled the room. Thankful for the layout of his house, you rushed on shaking legs to the safety of the guest room, hands heavy on anything that could help to stabilize you, closing the door and locking it with frantic movements. Tears of embarrassment welled up and you felt like a fool.

Anyone who would be coming to Frankie’s house was a friend or family. There was no need to feel the pricks of anxiety or panic that were spiking all over your body, beads of sweat budding on your temple and the small of your back.

Faint sounds of an easy-going conversation floated down the hall and underneath the cracks of the door.

The anticipation of them moving further into the house has the hairs on the back of your neck standing up, skin prickling. You have no idea why you’re suddenly so afraid, but you are and it’s stolen the very breath from your lungs, the voice from your throat.

“Querida?” Frankie’s voice called out, confusion coloring his words as he no doubt returned to the kitchen to find you gone and your walker abandoned. The cup of coffee you had indulged in alone on the counter. His muffled steps down the hall on the plush carpet had you gripping the handle of the door despite the lock still being engaged. Emotions overwhelming as the tears began to slide down your heated cheeks. His voice called out again, closer, and your heart thudded in your chest. “Sweet girl, you back here? Pope brought us breakfast, said he was headed into the office but wanted to drop by and say hi."

Silence. Save for the halting steps right outside the door. You could swear he was able to hear the way your heart was beating hard in your chest, knocking on the inside of your ribcage in a heavy, hectic pattern.

“Mante?” Santi’s voice called from down the hall, hesitant but laced with concern. His steps were louder than Frankie’s, presence appearing on the other side of the door alongside him. “How did she even manage to get far without the walker?”

The doorknob jostled as one of them tried to open the door, shaking your already trembling arms as they realized it was locked.

Your name was spoken with caution, worry saturating the sound.

“The door’s locked, Fish.” Santi’s voice was hushed, like it was a secret you were all trying to keep each other from knowing. But it was blatant, obvious in the way that your fingers had deliberately engaged it and the hands of theirs that had tried to turn it. The handle wasn’t budging and neither was the door.

“Sweet girl…are you okay?”

“Did you get scared, carino? It’s just me, I know I stopped by unannounced, but I just wanted to see you is all.”

The answer you want to give them is a ghost on your tongue. Existing only in your mind, never given voice. The door handle jostled one more time, a heavy sigh sounding as it didn’t turn and allow them entrance into the sanctuary you had sought out. Retreating footsteps weren’t enough for you to unlock the door, but you did retreat from it and slowly move toward the bed. Pain licked at you through the aid of the pain killers you had left in the kitchen, the intention of the coffee that had been forgotten as you got lost in thought and now hidden yourself away.

A muffled conversation, the sound of the front door opening and closing, an engine turning over. Then silence.

Frankie called your name as he padded down the hall once again, an edge to his voice that hinted at his growing concern. A sniffle and a lilt of desperation punctuating in his words.

Surging up at the sound of his watered voice, you pressed your forehead to the door. You wanted to open the door and fall into his embrace, to soothe his tears and worries but you couldn’t. You felt so frozen, body unwilling to do what you bid.

“Sweet girl, just let me know you’re okay? You don’t – you don’t have to open the door, I promise. Just, I’m setting the walker next to it if you need it, okay?” Frankie’s words were soft, comforting despite the unease you were sensing through the door.

Before he could even think, his fist was slamming against the interrogation room’s mirror. The glass shook violently, giving away the audience hidden on the other side of the two-way device. The figures on the other side startled, the shooter breaking out into a wicked grin after looking toward the mirror.

“To answer your question, officer. There was no motive, she was just there, alone, an easy target to pick off until that bitch got in the way.” His words were snide, unflinching in honesty.

Another hit landed on the panel of glass.

The officer leading the interrogation leaned over to speak to the one standing guard at the inside of the door. A quick word into his walkie and the two men in the observation room were announcing that Frankie needed to step out and collect himself. Santi agreed on the angered man’s behalf, a guiding hand on Frankie’s shoulder as they moved toward and then through the door out into the hall.

“Hey, look, it’s not okay. But you gotta reign your emotions in check. We’re here to corroborate what happened, as witnesses.”

“Pope. C’mon, man, you know that hijo de puta needs to be locked up, with the heaviest sentence possible. My six-year-old daughter is having panic attacks and had to delay her entire school year. Mante wakes up every other hour, whimpering in her sleep and crying out like she’s being shot all over again It’s hard to see her that way and she can’t- she can’t even-“

A large hand scrubbed roughly at the tears of anger and frustration that began to cloud his vision.

The sound of the door to the interrogation room opening halted Santiago’s move to embrace the crumbling man. Frankie lunged, mind focused on the man being lead through the door in cuffs. Before anyone could blink, Frankie’s large frame was across the hall and pushing the smaller man up against the wall. The back of his head meeting the wall with a harsh thud. He let out a grunt at the contact, unable to shield himself or block the rage aimed at him as Frankie’s fist came down hard on his cheek.

“Frankie, primo, you gotta calm down!” Santi’s voice was harsh, tone biting to try and break through the chaos, the officers also stepping in to separate the two men before Frankie could land another hit.

“I’ve got a terrified fiancé back home who’s barricaded herself in a room and won’t even speak because of this piece of shit!” Frankie growled, rage taking over him in a way he couldn’t recall since his days running around jungles and guns an extension of his hands. An extension of himself and who he used to be. His shoulders were taut under his friend’s hands, pulling him back and holding his hands behind his back. One of the officers wrangled a pair of cuffs over Frankie’s wrists, the clink of the metal loud amid the sudden silence of the hallway. All Frankie could do was watch at the shooter was lead away, his heaving chest lightening slightly in pride at the sight of blood dripping from a cut that was in the middle of an already blooming bruise.

“Alright, now that that’s out of your system, we’re gonna have to keep you until you calm down.” When Santiago began to open his mouth to say something the officer closed his eyes and nodded his head slightly, beginning to lead a cuffed Frankie away. “We won’t press charges, but there’s no guarantee he won’t try to. We’ll vouch that it was provoked. Try to sweep it under the rug.”

“Of course, thank you.” The man moved away from Frankie to allow the officer room to undo the cuffs around his wrists. “We really appreciate you allowing us to sit in on the reading of the official charges.”

“I should be thanking you, you were the run who took him down, right?”

“Yes,” Santiago shook the man’s hand, keeping Frankie in the corner of his vision, unnerved by the violent display of his normally calm and cooperative friend. “Had my service gun on me that day, years of experience allowed me to keep an even head despite having seen my friend gunned down. And he- he’s normally so levelheaded with this type of stuff but it’s his family that was targeted. He’s allowed an outburst or two, huh, primo?”

“Well, again, thank you. Please feel free to reach out with any questions regarding the case but it’ll be fairly open and shut from here on out with his taped confession.”

“We need a weekend away.” Santiago spoke into the silence of the cab. He was in the driver’s seat, Frankie silent and stewing in the passenger side. The cloying scent of nicotine wafting from their twin cigarettes, the snick of their nails as they asked the only sound aside from the ticking of the cooling motor.

“Can’t even get her to come out of the guest room, I’ve been sleeping on the couch, hoping she at least makes her way into the kitchen, but that door’s been shut since you came over two days ago.”

“Is it still locked?” A long inhale, held on his tongue and them blown out the window between a frown, Santiago turned to his friend, emotions a hum lit up and amplified by the events of the day.

“I’ve been too worried to check. I don’t want her to feel cornered if I do and it is open.”

“She’s talked to Will a little more in depth about her past, maybe it would be good to call him over?”

“I asked her to marry me.”

The cigarette dropped from Santiago’s fingers, his curls bouncing as he tried to catch the smoldering thing before it could burn his leg. The breakdown you had on your last day in the hospital rang in his ears, the worry and anxiety you had been carrying around at the lack of physical attention from the man beside him now.

“Fish, that’s…that’s a lot. Are you sure-“

“She said yes.”

“That’s…that’s good, Fish.”

“But now she’s hidden away in that room, she’s…she’s going through so much and I just want to be there for her.”

“When you first started getting clean, you didn’t want to see any of us, remember that?”

“Because I was ashamed that it got so bad.”

“I think…even if you want to be there for her because you feel like it’s the right thing, you have to be there for her in the way that she needs right now.”

“I should call Will, he’s the one with the degree in this type of stuff.”

“Taylor too, he’s still in town, helping run the shop, right?”

“Yeah…”

“You know there’s nothing to worry about with him….right?” The question lilting from Pope was hesitant, the man unsure if he should broach the subject. He knew how these things went between people, half of a couple dealing with trauma by backpedaling into the comforts they know. He didn’t want to worry about you that way, acting on past emotions in the wake of such an event, but he did. For Frankie should that happen, for all of them should that happen. You moving out of the state and back to what you knew would cause a hole to open up in their group, a missing piece that became a part of the set.

You had brought so much with you as they folded you into their lives, a bright spot as they tried to move past the things they carried with them, that plagued them when it was too quiet.

“I’m not worried about him.” Frankie took a drag from his own cigarette, the last from the dwindled down filter between his fingers. He snubbed it out on the side of the truck before flicking it toward the asphalt of his driveway. “Talked to him a lot at the hospital, he’s…he’s just a part of her and I accept that. He helped me pick out the ring and said it would be a good time to do this, if the thought was already there and I know it’s only been six months, Pope, but…she’s – she makes me feel like everything is going to be okay.”

“She’s a good one, knew it from the moment she didn’t punch my lights out when I approached her in the gym one day. Just wanted to help correct a stance and she…she smiled so brightly at me and listened instead of waving me off.”

“She didn’t deserve this,” A hiccup forced its way through Frankie’s throat as he tried to tamp down swell of tears. He coughed, trying to rid himself of the lump in stuck in the base of it, but he couldn’t. The surge of heat that accompanied tears was all too familiar.

“No, but she’s strong. She’s got all of us to help her, she’s got a place with all of us to take her time healing and she’ll be okay. I promise you that, mi amor.” Santi reached over and pulled the shaking man into an embrace, hand curling into his hair and knocking the cap from atop his head. All Frankie could do was bury his face in his friend’s neck, tears falling as he failed to keep them at bay.

Neither man noticed the flutter of curtains in the living room window.

It was late, the only sound in the dark house was the ticking of the clock in the kitchen. Frankie had tried to sleep on the couch again, but when he woke up with a jolt of pain in his back he had retreated to his room. The third night of doing so finally getting to his ragged body. Frankie sighed as he reclined in his bed, heating pad on the highest setting below him and right on the small of his back. Sleep pulled him under, the day’s events having wiped him out.

Between Lex’s afternoon therapy, his trip to the precinct downtown, a visit to your bakery to gather the mail and a few more items with the help of Taylor. Dinner was hard, with Lex asking quietly after you, worried for you even as she struggled with her own emotions and what had happened. She wasn’t as chatty as normal, which was okay with Frankie, though he did wonder if she would be able to overcome what had happened. She was so young, it would follow her throughout her entire life in ways they didn’t know until they showed. She was already nervous in crowds, an obvious one.

It was something Frankie had tried to prevent his entire life, the exposure to violence in his personal life, but of course it found a way.

Repentance for the things he once did and the violence he inflicted himself. Guilt and the urge to do something about it weighed him down as he tried to be the best version of himself for his daughter.

He didn’t stir at the sound of the guest room below creaking open or your soft steps as you hesitantly peeked out into the short hallway.

He didn’t stir at the at the clank of your walker moving around the hardwood of the living room, nor the soft pants of your exertion.

He didn’t stir at the sound of it clattering suddenly when you lost your balance.

But at the whimpered call of his name, almost scared from your lips, he was surging up. His feet carried him swiftly through the room and down the hall, to the landing of the stairs where he could see the shadow you made as you gazed up from the bottom of them. You had tripped on the first step and he hoped you hadn’t tried to scale them.

“I-I didn’t know where you were, I thought- I’m sorry. Just go- just go back to sleep.” Your voice was shaky, a touch higher than your normal timbre.

You moved your hand from the railing where you had reached out, looking for all the world like you had been about to attempt to ascend them. He was thudding down them before the words even left you, so quiet and hesitant.

“No, no, sweet girl, please don’t apologize.”

“You weren’t on the couch…” A sniffle, followed by a scrub of your hand underneath one of your eyes.

“I was,” Frankie rushed out as he sat down on the second to last one and reached out for you. You only looked at him through the dim moonlight filtering in from the windows, blinds closed but curtains still pulled back like they were during the day.

“You went back to your room, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ You turned away, hands settling back on the bars of your walker, prepared to leave him there, just out of reach. His heart panged in tune with your own as you wouldn’t look at him directly. The shine of unshed tears in your eyes hurting him so much more because he was the cause of them.

“No, no, it’s okay. I’m here.” He wrapped his fingers around your wrists, urging you to stay with him. You let him gently pull you toward him, his arms wrapping around you in a loose hug. Your hair tickled his face as he rested his forehead against your own. His own curls, wild from tossing and turning and then finally face planting crushed softly against you.

“…can you help me with a bath, please, I know it’s late….” You looked so scared, so worried about disturbing him and he mentally cursed himself for anything he may have done to make you feel such a way.

Moments later, you found yourself submerged in a steaming bath. Bubbles and Epsom salts comforting in a way you had needed. A warm washcloth was gentle on your back and shoulders as Frankie leaned down from his spot on the lip of the tub to run it over your skin. He was admiring the delicate work of the ink that decorated your shoulders and upper back. Thinking, not for the first time, that he wanted to get his daughter’s name.

“Can you…can you do me a favor?”

“Anything, sweet girl.”

“Can….can we just go back to being friends again?”

The sudden splash of the washcloth startled you, body jolting at the unexpected sound.

“Like…you want to give the ring back?” Frankie’s words were low, gruff in surprise.

“No!” You turned to face him, not liking that your poor phrasing and lack of articulation caused the man to think you didn’t want him anymore. He looked completely defeated, curls flopping over his forehead from the steam of the bath, eyes rimmed with dark circles, his facial hair a little longer and less tamed, deep crease in his forehead. You reached for his hands, just hanging from his wrists flat over the edge of the tub. Intertwining your fingers with his, you tried to explain better. “No, I very much still want to be your wife!”

A moment goes by, where he waits for the words he can see flitting across your face come to life.

“Just, everything is about the hospital, or therapy, or medication, doctor appointments. I feel more like a burden than anything right now and I just want, I just want to be with you like that again. Dumb jokes, the teasing at jumbled words, your casual touches. I want to be normal again, Frankie.”

“I-I didn’t mean to let that all fall away, I’m so sorry, mi amor.”

“You don’t touch me unless it’s to help me move around and it…that hurts Frankie.”

“I’m so worried I’m going to hurt you, that I’m going to do something wrong.” He kept his gaze locked on yours, brown eyes wide and earnest. You could feel the honesty and concern laced in his voice, he had been keeping his distance because he was scared. Seeing anyone laid up in a hospital bed was a lot, to see someone close to you? That was even worse.

You couldn’t imagine the thoughts and feelings he had been overwhelmed with for all those weeks. The thing that caused you to be there already so much. Doctors and nurses rushing you off to emergency surgeries, internal bleeding spiking, the postings of your x-rays displaying the slow progress of your broken bones. It had to have been so much for him, someone who is so caring and so willing to do anything for those in his circle. And he wasn’t able to do anything except sit beside you, hold your unmoving hand…

“I’m already broken, what could you possibly do, you think you’re really that strong?” You tried to smile, but he could see how worried you were, afraid to banter with him.

“I’m stronger ‘n you,” He brought your joined hands up to his lips and kissed your knuckles. “I’ve seen you struggle with a bag of flour how many times now?”

“That’s not fair! They’re bulky and awkward.” The smile that broke out across your lips was so bright, Frankie could feel his heart skip a beat in his chest. How could he have ever been the reason it dulled, intentional or otherwise. He mentally scolded himself for being so caught up in helping you the way he thought you needed and not the way you wanted. His friend’s words coming to the front of his mind.

“Point taken, hermosa.” He watched the way you perked up, complexion lightning and the giggle that bubbled from you made warmth bloom in his chest.

As you searched for the fallen washcloth, the movement jostled you, chest jiggling where it was exposed above the water and bubbles. Nipples perked in the shadows of the candles he had lit for the space after a mumbled comment about the overhead being too much for your eyes. He felt a different type of heat wash over him, his cock stirring half-heartedly in his boxer briefs.

“Okay, we can go back to you washing me now.” You held it out to him, but he ignored it in favor of swooping down and placing a kiss to your forehead, to your cheeks that were pulled up with more endearing giggles.

“Hey,” He pulled you closer to him, chest pressed to your warm back. No shirt had been put on, a whispered complaint about the fabric being itchy on your sensitive skin.

Your sleepy hum was the only response he got, not stirring at his quiet voice. Frankie buried his face in your hair, breathing in the scent of you deep into his lungs.

“Was thinkin”…” He pressed his lips behind your ear.

“Hmm?”

“I wanted to get Lex’s name.”

“What?” You stirred, confusion furrowing your brow. Taking a deep breath, sleep fogging your thoughts and making it hard to engage fully. The pull of your medication making it even more so. “Frankie, you’re not making any sense. Go to sleep.”

“As you wish, hermosa.” He pressed another kiss to the back of your neck, carefully tangling his legs with your own, hoping he wasn’t jostling you too much. But you didn’t huff or shift away, content in your sleeping state to let him get as close to you as he needed.

After what felt like far too long, the ebb and flow of your easy breath finally lulled him back to sleep, murmuring his love for you into your skin.

“Frankie!” Twirling in your spot in front of the coffee maker, you enthusiastically greeted the half-awake man as he entered the kitchen. It was mid-morning, the two of you having slept in a bit, stirring when Lex came into the downstairs room to ask after breakfast. You had both tried to rouse the snoring man to no avail.

You had tried to talk to her over pancakes, but she had shirked the more serious topics. You had let her talk on and on about the book she was reading, just having upped her level despite how much school she was missing. It was about jellyfish and she beamed when you showed her the blackwork piece you had on your calf.

She was far from her usual bubbly and energetic self, but she wasn’t completely shut down like Frankie had described directly following the shooting. You worried for her, truly. She was important to her and you promised her to make cupcakes later on if you could convince Frankie to run to the shop. She was in the backyard now, painting on the patio table, a sheet of protective canvas over the top of it.

“Uh…yes?” He was rubbing at his lower back, waiting for the icy hot patch he had just applied begin to work. He might need to ask for one of your pain pills but he didn’t want to take from your bottle.

“You wanna get a tattoo? Like for really real?”

He chuckled, sound deep in his chest, his voice huskier than usual as he tried to wake up. He had knocked out shortly after you, heated blanket covering you both in a makeshift nest of the blankets and pillows you needed to sleep comfortably while still healing.

“Yes, hersmosa, for really real.” The dimple in his right cheek caught the warm sunlight coming in through the window. Your heart fluttered in your chest and you felt shy again, like the man before you was too good to be true. You looked away, the sight of his tousled curls and his sweet brown eyes making you self-conscious.

“I was tryin’ to tell you last night, but someone fell asleep in their bath.”

Wide smile dimming sheepishly, you beckoned the man closer. His strong arms wrapped encased you, but he reached behind you and stole your mug from where you had just poured creamer into it. But when you didn’t move to wrap your arms around his waist, he paused.

“Pastel?”

“I-I’m fine.” You pressed your forehead to his chest, hiding away from him. His arms wrapped around you, hands cupping your hips and drawing soothing circles into the healed spots the hospital had inserted metallic pins. The only sound for a few beats was the chirping of birds out in the yard.

“You’re just….really, unbelievably handsome and I just…feel like,” You mumbled the rest of your sentence into his chest, pressing your face further into his shirt.

“You are everything,” Frankie’s chest heaved as he took a deep breath, letting it out to ruffle your hair where he places a kiss. “You are the most gorgeous woman, hermosa. I love you, I am so incredibly and absolutely in love with you. I’m lucky to have you in my life, you’ve helped me to feel more like myself than I ever have.”

You couldn’t help the small hiccup that bubbled up, his arms holding you tight.

A quick call to his mother to watch over Lex and Frankie was opening up the door to greet his mother. He helped to relieve her of the bags in her arms, saying she would make a few easy dinners to toss into the oven over the remainder of the week, to ease some of the day-to-day troubles. You moved to get up from the couch, laid up with Lex, an animated movie on the screen and two indulgent soda’s empty on the coffee table. But when you went to grip the handles of your walker, the woman clicked her tongue at you and waved you back down.

You settled back into the cushions, feeling reprimanded by the woman you had yet to officially meet.

“Sit, sit, I’ll come to you.”

Lex groaned out as you hit pause, wanting to be respectful. But at the look aimed at her from the woman, she sat up at attention much like you just had, an apologetic look overtaking her features.

“Mrs. Morales, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”

She ignored you both as she moved in a flurry around a nervous Frankie, ducking into the kitchen to get a water, a damp paper towel, and the small collection of your medications and basic medical supplies contained in a small storage box with a handle. She set herself on the coffee table in front of you, handing you the water, a silent command to drink. As you did, she pulled out the thermometer, trading you the empty glass for it. Popping it into your mouth, she looked you over as she wiped at your face with the damp cloth, brushing your loose hair back.

“Such beautiful color, natural?”

You hummed an affirmative, pulling the large cardigan you had thrown on closer, hesitant to let her see even a peek of the ink decorating your body. You weren’t sure how traditional she was, Frankie answering your questions honestly. He wasn’t sure how she would feel about them and it made you self-conscious.

When the thermometer beeped, she pulled it from your mouth to inspect.

“A bit high, why don’t we take this off and get some air on you, hmm?”

“Oh, um-“ She reached out to begin pulling the cardigan from you, but you jerked, seeking out Frankie at the front of the room.

“Mijo, don’t let those groceries go bad!” She waved her hand at him, spurring him into motion. While you watched him go, she carefully helped you remove the cardigan, not even batting an eye as the tank top underneath revealed the plants mirrored on your collarbones. She smiled at you, a gentle, comforting one. As if she could sense how nervous you were. “Oh-okay, whatever you think is best, Mrs. Mor-“

“Call me Isabella, we’ll be related soon enough, but you’re sweet to be so polite to an old lady like me.”

Turning in search of Frankie, your frantic eyes met his as he came back in from the kitchen. You thought he had talked it over with his parents beforehand. She gripped your hand in her two and gazed at the culprit of the secret you hadn’t known you’d been complacent in.

“This ring on your finger told me, mi amor, because you certainly haven’t yet.” Isabella pinned her son with a stern look.

“Mama, it just happened.” Frankie sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck, knowing he had been found out in an omission of information. Having wanted to get things back on track with you a little before you told anyone.

“Just happened? You proposed the day she came home from the hospital. I know you, bebita.” Her gaze softened, only a teasing edge to it with the raise of an eyebrow.

“You’re gonna be my mom?!” Lex squealed; her small body suddenly pressed to you as she wrapped her arms around you.

“Alexia, calme, be careful with her. She’s still recovering.” Isabella wrangled the little girl off of you and settled her on the other side of the couch, with soft words and the offering of a few candies from her pocket. The movie was turned back on.

“Now, let me help you get dressed, what are you two getting up to today?” She held the walker steady with both her hands and ushered Frankie into motion. He came to stand beside you, hands helping to dig you out from the blanket that had fallen around your waist. His palms were warm around your upper arms as he grazed them close, allowing you to wrap your own around his shoulder to pull yourself up.

“We’re uh, actually going to get some errands done. Maybe some lunch, if you’re hungry, hermosa.”

His mother nodded at him, keeping close to you as she helped you down the hall.

The shop was beautiful. Flash sheets decorating the walls encased in simple frames, funky art mixed in, photos of the people who worked there. A comfortable looking curved couch and a few chairs filling the waiting space, a coffee table with art books and references, photos of pieces done on the premises.

“Hi, I was wondering if you had any time for a couple of walk ins?”

The man at the counter looked you up and down, gauging the seriousness of your question. His eyes moved to Frankie, slightly behind you as you were seated in a wheelchair. The image you created was attractive, complimentary. From Frankie’s worn in black denim, to his simple caramel sweater, aviators hung on his collar. To your simple sundress and hair up in a messy bun, majority of your tattoos on display. Skin kissed by the sun and the casual comfortability between you despite the slight nerves that could be sensed from the tall man guiding you forward.

“Depends on the ideas, but we can surely figure something out.”

You turned to look up at Frankie, gently encouraging him to tell the man about his idea. But he was nervous, unsure of sounding like an imposter when next to you. Smiling, you shifted back to face the counter.

“It’s his first time,” You carefully surged up, and Frankie rounded the chair to hover as you took slow steps up to it. “He’s just a little nervous, but weren’t we all?”

You could see the pink bloom on the tips of his ears when you teasingly winked at him.

“He would like some script, his daughter’s name. Where were you thinking of again, carino?”

“Uh,” He cleared his throat, hands ready to help support you at the slight sway of your body. “On my chest, left side.”

“How big?”

Frankie turned to you at the question, unsure of how to answer.

“No bigger than palm sized, but at least half an inch in height.”

“Gotcha, well…”

“Frankie.” He reached over the counter to shake the man’s hand in greeting.

“Well, Frankie. Any particular font?”

“I was thinking cursive, but nothing too fancy. Easy to read.”

“Okay, give me a few moments and I’ll talk to the artists. See who has the time.”

“Thank you so much.” Frankie looked around the space, taking everything in, his fingers nervously twitching at his side.

“It…doesn’t hurt right?”

“You ever get scratched by a cat?”

“Oh yeah, Rig didn’t like that I was late with his treats one afternoon. Stung like a bitch, but it didn’t really hurt.”

“It feels like that.”

Half an hour later, Frankie was shirtless and standing for the placement of his stencil. The words Alexia Sueno in blue on his left pectoral, right over his heart. The spot had been shaved bare, his bronze skin on display and glistening with the shine of the lotion to ensure it was moisturized enough.

“Placement okay for you?” The woman doing his piece asked, gloved hands holding the paper that helped apply it. He pivoted in his spot, eyes tracking the way it looked as he turned this way and that. “I can move it if you want, just want you to be happy with it.”

“No, no, it looks good!” He reassured, moving to sit in the chair she had set up while getting ready at her nod.

“Alright, now I’m sure you asked your girl how it feels and while it is different for everyone, just let me know if it’s uncomfortable or super unbearable, okay?” She scooted her own stool close, picking up her wrapped machine and clicked it on. She dipped the needles into the ink cap, rubbing more lotion into his skin. “Just keep your breath steady. Ready?”

“Ready.” Frankie nodded as he tightened his hold on your hand, wheelchair pulled up as close as the artist allowed on his right side. The needle kissed his skin, the hum deepening in pitch.

Fresh ink shining, Frankie winced when a dry paper towel was rubbed over it to clean off the excess. The man from the counter walked into the room, brandishing his personal device at you.

“Did a few small doodles, any of ‘em look good to you?”

He turned the device around, displaying simple, clean lines. There were four different depictions of a helicopter. Frankie’s hand tightened around yours, having looked up curiously from watching his own artist busy going over the script once more.

With Frankie’s piece done, second skin applied over it and his sweater back on, it was now your turn.

You were seated in your wheelchair still, but your left arm was stretched out over a cushioned and saran wrapped stand. The small empty spot just above your elbow had a stencil ready and waiting.

The hum of the gun was loud but comforting. At the first touch of the artist applying the lubricant over the stencil was like a welcome home, the needle positioned just over it.

“Ready?”

“Ready.” You chirped.

The needle kissed your skin and all your worries melted away.

You thought you spied a familiar head of steel curls over a broad back in the crowd meandering past the restaurant’s outdoor patio and you called out. Frankie startled slightly, attention on the menu in his hands. He looked up to see you frowning, eyes narrowed as you tried to focus on someone in the crowd, a hand over your eyes to block some of the sun.

Sighing, you plopped back down into your seat fully, having stood halfway to call out.

“I’m pretty sure Pope just ignored me.” You huffed, grumpily twirling the straw in your water to face you and took a sip.

“He probably didn’t hear you, you know we all have pretty damaged hearing.”

“But he can hear the sound of Will’s silent phone on group nights to tease him over Luciana?”

Frankie just chuckled at your annoyance, loving the expression in wake of everything. It was adorable, the was your brows furrowed and your glasses slid down your face as you grumbled to yourself, looking over the menu.

Across town, Pope sighed in relief, knowing that if the bags in his hands had been spotted, it would’ve been a dead giveaway. He rushed across the packed lot he had left his truck in, the downtown area too unpredictable at the most random of times. But he had wanted to talk to the owner of the space specifically, knowing it would be a better sell in person. For them to allow him to rent the space for a night…

Frankie had just closed the door behind you both, bags in one hand and leftovers from the restaurant in the other when a knock sounded. He carefully set everything down on the coffee table, making sure you were comfortable on the couch before turning his attention to the door. A man in a sharp suit was on the other side, a large envelope in his grip.

“Mr. Morales?” He had a thick drawl, his words curling as he spoke. But it was anything but warm, his tone was

“Yes, how can I help you?” Your attention was pulled to the appearance of Frankie’s mother coming down the stairs, a full laundry basket in her hands. But your head swung back to the door at the man’s next words.

“You’ve been served.”

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dividers: lovely @saradika-graphics

taglist: @tanzthompson @clevergirl74 @sullyosully @bitchwitch1981 @anoverwhelmingdin @jessthebaker @peppermintfury @for-a-longlongtime @peppermintfury @tuquoquebrute @readingiskeepingmegoing @christinamadsen @heareball @soft-persephone @vivian-pascal

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duckprintspress · 2 months

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Happy International Women’s Day! Enjoy these 13 Queer Books Starring Women!

Today, March 8th, is International Women’s Day. Duck Prints Press challenged our rec list contributors with a Herculean task: to pick one, and only one, favorite queer book starring a female character. Thirteen contributors rose to this challenge, and this rec list is the result! The contributors to this list are Shadaras, Polls, Alex, boneturtle, Alessa Riel, Dei Walker, Nina Waters, Maggie Page, and four anonymous contributors.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade series) by Seth Dickinson

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb series) by Tamsyn Muir

Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know by Cyan Wings

A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan series) by Arkady Martine

Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness Quartet series) by Tamora Pierce

Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire series) by Yoon Ha Lee

The Tiger’s Daughter (Their Bright Ascendency series) by K. Arsenault Rivera

She Wears the Midnight Crown edited by Nina Waters

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

A Restless Truth (The Last Binding series) by Freya Marske

How about you? Can you pick JUST ONE favorite queer book starring a female character?

You can view these recommendations, and many others, by visiting the our shelves on Goodreads.

New! Duck Prints Press is now a Bookshop.org affiliate! We are still in the process of turning all our rec lists into browsable shopping lists, but we’re working on it. See a book on this list, or any of our other lists, that you’d like to buy? Make us your Bookstore on Bookshop.org to support indie book stores and indie press: you get a great book at a great price, and part of your purchase goes to supporting Bookshop.org and Duck Prints Press!

Love queer books? Want an awesome community to talk about queer books with? Join our Book Lover’s Discord Server!

#duck prints press #book recommendations #queer book recommendations #international women's day

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sweettjrose · 1 month

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Mickey and Friends Age Poll Results

So I sent out about 6 polls asking you all what ages you generally saw the different Mickey Mouse and Friends characters in either the comics, shorts, etc.

I was interested because none of the mediums really clarify ages (Unless they are specifically kids) and keep it vague so I wanted to see what vibes each character (or set of characters) gave. For research reasons.

So here are the results of the Poll and my own thoughts:

Mickey Mouse (120 votes)

Most People see him as... Mid 20's - Early 30's

Seems like just barely over half see Mickey as in his Mid 20's to Early 30's with a quarter seeing Mickey in his Early Adult - Mid 20's. As you can see, I completely agree with the majority. As others have said on the original poll, this Mid 20's to Early 30's is sort of that perfect sweet spot where you are clearly an adult and have and have had responsibilities for quite a while, but you aren't really an expert in anything yet and still trying to find your place in the world.

Mickey tends to reflect this mentality well as he clearly has his own house, can work, and must being paying bills. But he is also usually in a subordinate or student role. Usually the mentee instead of the mentor.

Minnie Mouse (30 votes)

Most People see her as... Mid 20's - Early 30's

This and the following polls got way less votes than the Mickey one (this one got only 1/4 of the same voting size), but I still think the results are interesting to talk about. I considered combining Mickey and Minnie since I feel like most people assume they are the same age or at least very close, but I changed my mind as I really wanted to see if that was the case and based on the poll... That does seem to be the case. Most people agreed that Minnie was in her Mid 20's - Early 30's, even more than Mickey at over 60%.

I know people tend to see or make female counterparts younger than males, so I am glad to see that people see Minnie at about the same age (Then again there is quite a bit of range). I also think it is interesting that the amounts for the other options were generally about the same as the Mickey poll (With even 30's - 40's being at the same exact %)

I, of course, agree with the majority as Minnie seems to be in the same age range as Mickey in terms of clearly having settled a bit as an adult, but still growing and trying to find her place in the world.

Donald and Daisy Duck (51 votes)

Most people see them as... Mid 20's - Early 30's

So the reason I combined Donald and Daisy is for the same reason I was about to combine Mickey and Minnie. I feel like most people see them as generally the same age and if they would have gotten drastically different results, it would have shown up on the Minnie and Mickey poll (I also just didn't want to make way too many polls). But as we saw with that one, there weren't really any changes with gender, so I assume it would have been the same here.

Seems like most people also see Daisy and Donald in their Mid 20's to Early 30's just like Mickey and Minnie. Over 60% of people agreed. I also agree, as I really see them as not really being that much older or younger than Mickey and Minnie, so feel like they should be in the same age range.

What I really think is interesting though is that when it comes to the other options, more people tend to lean more to 30's - 40's at over 25% instead of Early Adult - Mid 20's. Which wasn't the case for Mickey and Minnie. I think part of the reason is that Donald specifically tends to be put in more parental roles than the others. While they all have nieces and nephews, Donald has had quite a bit of media where he is the one who clearly has custody over Huey, Dewey, and Louie and takes care of them. I think that tends to push people to view him as more mature. Someone even mentioned that Ducktales '17 Donald is apparently canonically in his mid-30's, which probably influenced some of the vote.

And honestly, I can see that. I feel like when Donald is on his own or if his relationship with the boys is limited as just uncle and nephews who visit sometimes, I can see him being a bit younger. But if he is actually the one raising them, I can see him as a bit older.

Goofy (26 votes)

Most people see him as... 30's - 40's

So I am actually a bit surprised by this one. Because I actually didn't expect so many people to agree with me on the 30's - 40's. And over 65% did. It seems like over 80% see him as at least over 30 (First of his friends to have people vote 40's - 50's). With less than 20% seeing him in the same age range as the others. It appears that most people in general see Goofy as older.

I always saw Goofy as maybe about 5 - 10 years older than the others. I think part of it is his personality. While he is... Well, Goofy. He is also pretty wise and seems to have a bit more understanding or experience than the others. I don't know how to explain it, but he feels a bit more mature than Donald and Mickey at times.

It also helps that he is the one who is usually seen with the oldest child. Usually, Donald's Nephews are about 8 - 12, with a few rare exceptions of teens. Goofy, on the other hand, has been seeing Max as 11, 14, 16, and as a college student a couple of times each.

Pete (24 Votes)

Most people see him as... 40's - 50's

So this one was pretty close as it seems like mostly everyone agrees that he is between 30's - 50's. But it was kind of close on which set of decades he is in. Though more people, almost 55%, believed that he is in the 40's - 50's range, and I agree.

Pete definitely comes across as a character who has a lot of history. Whether it is his more weathered gruffer looks or that he usually tends to be in authority senior roles (landlords, bosses, etc.) and similar to Goofy he also had a teenage/college-age son. I guess the big difference is whether people believe he is in the same range as Goofy or older. I actually don't think he is too much older than Goofy (Between 5 - 10), but he definitely tends to give off almost middle-aged, starting to have a mid-life crisis energy to me. And it seems like more people lean that way too. But I also could see him closer to Goofy's age.

The Phantom Blot (38 Votes)

Most people see him as... 30's - 40's

This was one I was really interested in seeing how people felt, since I feel like Blot doesn't have as clear age markers as the others and his age might depend on a variety of factors. This is the only time where I apparently went against the grain as I saw him as in the 40's - 50's where over 65% saw him in his 30's - 40's. Seems like almost 95% see him as definitely over 30% with about 2 votes seeing him as possibly in his mid 20's - 30's (I talked with someone who had this view and it is really interesting)

So from my perspective, I guess I saw the Phantom Blot as older because he sometimes gives me almost mid-life crisis vibes. I think this does depend on the comics you watched, but sometimes he feels like he is trying to remain relevant and do something meaningful before your life ends, which I feel tends to happen as you get closer to 50. He also in general just seems very knowledgeable and skilled which you get from experience.

But then again, I can also completely see where everyone else is coming from. Blot also in many appearances seems to be at his prime where he is old enough to be skilled and have experience, but still young enough to have a sharp mind and be in good physical shape. It would make sense for him to be in his prime and thus his most dangerous. Honestly I guess it depends on how you see the Blot and both can work.

And that is all of the characters and their ages. Seems like I generally agreed with the majority except for the Phantom Blot. Which is better than I expected. I kind of wonder if I should have added more tags as some of the voting pools were much smaller than the others. Also in retrospect, I wonder if I separated Daisy and Donald if Daisy would have polled younger since similar to Mickey and Minnie she doesn't really raise her nieces like Donald does.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

But for fun, if you were to put them in order from Oldest to Youngest (And going off the Percentage Trends)

Pete (Funny since he is actually the oldest character in real life)

The Phantom Blot

Goofy

Donald and Daisy Duck

Mickey Mouse

Minnie Mouse

#disney #mickey and friends #mickey mouse and friends #disney polls #mickey mouse #minnie mouse #donald duck #daisy duck #goofy #peg leg pete #phantom blot

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melishade · 4 months

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Attack on Prime: Beloved Timeline Pilot

Hello everyone! We are back on the pilot, and as promised based on this poll, the Beloved Timeline won out: which is basically what if Elita-1 survived this one-shot, that I wrote way back in 2013-14. The only reason this scenario even exists is because I was curious about it myself and I wrote a female character dying for a male's development and that's something I shouldn't have done in hindsight. So this is like a fix-it! The Beloved Timeline is also on the masterlist on my account. It's pinned right up at the top. Also I wasn't expecting this one to win the poll, I was expecting the Dark Timeline to win. Anyway! This does take place during the Next to Me OVA in the AOP story. So if you want context, read that, or read my fanfic Attack on Prime. Either works!

Summary: She was supposed to be dead. That was supposed the end of her story. She was killed in the line of duty protecting her home from Megatron and the Decepticons. She had died in her leader and her lover's arms. But fate appeared to have other plans for her, as she is guided to a world full of man-eating monsters and reunited with Optimus Prime someone that she had lost hope in ever seeing again.

Elita felt searing, white, pain coming from her backside. It was strange. She was expecting it to come from her front. She was expecting it to come from Megatron, the one who had her in a chokehold and was taunting Optimus about it. But it came from the back. Who...who would stab her from behind?

Elita felt Megatron's servo let her go and she fell to the ground. She tried to stand upright. She could see the blade sticking out of her stomach, and tried to reach for it, but she fell backwards, right into Optimus' arms. He pulled the blade out of her, but she was certain that only made her situation worse. She was losing consciousness, her systems were screaming at her and warning her of her system failure. But...she needed to tell him. If this was her last moments, then she needed to tell him. She remembered reaching out to him, kissing him, telling him she loved him,

And then everything went dark.

====

Elita gasped as she woke up, immediately shooting up from the berth and pulling out her blaster. The other Cybertronians in the room quickly backed away in shock, raising their servos in surrender.

"Where am I?! Who are you?!" Elita demanded.

"Whoa!" the male Cybertronian screamed.

"Oh for Primus sake, don't kill us!" the other begged as they covered their helm with their arms.

Elita saw the door open and quickly fired at who entered the room, but the female Cybertronian quickly ducked with ease, unbothered by her attack. Another male quickly rushed to the female's side, but she reassured him that she was fine.

"I told you we shouldn't have helped her!" the male declared.

"Commander Elita is just in shock, that is all," she reassured as she reached behind her back. Elita was stunned when she pulled out her sword, and it looked so brand new. She handled it with care before walking up to her.

"I am glad to see that you are alive and well," she declared, "I wasn't sure if you would have made it."

"Who are you?" Elita demanded.

"My designation is Nightslinger," she introduced herself, "These are my allies: Halfglitch, Flux, and Wrangle. Comet and Thunderpoint are flying the ship."

"Ship?" Elita questioned, "Where are we going?! We're supposed to be on Cybetron!"

Elita didn't like the way that all their expressions had turned sullen.

"Elita, much has happened since you've been in stasis," Nightslinger began.

Elita didn't like the sound of that as Nightslinger pulled up a chair and sat down at the end of the berth. She took a deep breath and explained all that they knew. The longer the explanation went on, the more Elita's faceplates morphed into horror. Cybertron was dead. Their planet was dead, and everyone had to flee in order to survive. Megatron used something to poison the planet. New life couldn't be created. They were going to go extinct with time. What happened to the Autobots? What happened to Optimus? She was there with him before everything went dark? Was he even still alive?

"We know that this is a lot to take in," Nightslinger continued, "But for now, you need to rest and completely recover-!"

"Where are the other Autobots?" Elita demanded, "Where did they go?"

"We don't know," she answered, "The exodus left everyone in disarray."

"Well, that's unfortunate to know," Elita sighed as she moved her legs to the side of the berth, "Just direct me to the nearest escape pod or drop me off at the nearest Autobot signal and I'll be on my way."

"Is she insane?!" Flux demanded.

"What part of exodus don't you understand?!" Wrangle demanded, "The war is over! Our planet is dead!"

Halfglitch walked past Nightslinger and grabbed Elita by her shoulders before forcing her back against the berth.

"What are you doing?!" Elita demanded, "Let me go!"

"Elita, you have been in stasis for kilocycles," Nightslinger retorted, "We have been traveling for so long and keeping radio silent so we can survive. Additionally, you are still recovering from your wound."

As if on cue, Elita winced in pain before looking down to see her wounded side still healing.

"You need to stay, you need to rest, you need to heal," Nightslinger declared, "Once you do that, then we will discuss."

Elita didn't want to. She really didn't want to stay and be here on this ship. She needed to get back to the war, but if she got back to the war like this she wouldn't survive. "Fine. I'll stay for now."

"Thank you." Nightslinger placed Elita's sword at the edge of her berth, "We will get you some energon and continue to monitor your recovery."

Elita couldn't help but grumble in response before she willingly lied back down on the berth. She needed to get out of here and get back to her comrades. She needed to get back to Optimus.

She was forced to stay on that ship for who knows how long. Decacycles? Metacycles? Kilocycles? It frustrated her. The others were kind to her, and she was able to meet the pilots. They told her how they were able to find her in the first place, alive. A massive explosion happened on the battlefield that forced everyone to flee. The team was scavenging the area for parts, and they were going to take some of her parts, thinking that she was dead. But when her body kicked in on reflex to attack, they realized that she was alive but in stasis lock. Nightslinger was the one who decided to save her. And now she was here.

But no matter how long it took for her to recover. No matter how long it took for her to actually trust them, they still wouldn't help her locate the Autobots. They didn't want to get involved in the war. Not anymore. But...they wouldn't even help her. Or even let her leave for that matter! She needed to get back to the Autobots! They couldn't keep her prisoner! She had tried getting up from her berth and sneaking out in the past, but she was quickly stopped and told that she needed to rest and recover. It infuriated her! She was a commanding officer! Not a sparkling!

Elita had forced herself to stand up once more, her wound now completely healed. She was able to walk upright and do simple stretches to maintain her mobility. But she still wanted out. She walked over to the door to her room and opened it but was met with the sight of Nightslinger holding an energon cube.

"This is the third time this cycle," Nightslinger remarked. Elita grimaced in response.

"I need to leave Nightslinger. I am healed. You cannot keep me here forever," Elita declared.

"I can't give you an escape pod, and my crew want to remain out of this war," Nightslinger declared, "A few of us, including myself, are former Decepticons. If we drop you off with the Autobots, who knows what they will do to us if we are recognized. We are most likely blacklisted by Megatron and marked for death. Our best option is to run and not look back. Stay as far away from this war as long as possible and survive."

"That sounds like the cowards way out," Elita stated before pushing past the Cybertronian.

"Elita, the war is over! No one won! Everyone lost!" Nightslinger yelled at her.

"Do you really think that's what Megatron is going to believe?!" Elita demanded, "He has devolved into madness! He doesn't care about freeing Cybertron anymore! He only cares about power, and he'll destroy the universe to get it!"

"Why do you think I deserted in the first place?!" Nightslinger shot back, "The dream is dead! If this was the end result of our species, then maybe we deserved to be wiped out!"

"No! No, I refuse to believe that this is the end!" Elita declared, "And I know for a fact that Megatron won't stop until he gets all the power he wants and anyone who opposes him is dead!"

"We're not going to oppose him!" Nightslinger yelled, "I can't put my crew at risk to try and oppose him! None of us care about this war anymore! We just want to survive!"

"Well, I don't want to just survive! I want to live!" Elita declared, "And I won't let you stop me from doing that! Give me supplies! Give me an escape pod! Drop me off somewhere! I don't care! I will not leave my comrades behind! Not while I know they continue to fight and stop Megatron!"

Elita stepped forward. "You have your people. I need to go back to mine. No matter what."

Both Cybertronians seemed steadfast in their resolve, neither one backing down in what they believed, but...Nightslinger couldn't help but relent and sigh.

"I knew in the back of my processors that saving you was more trouble than it's worth," Nightslinger proclaimed, "You're still not fully recovered. Get some rest. We'll give you the minimum of supplies and send you off to the closest Autobot signal we can detect. Then we go our separate ways."

Elita couldn't help but feel both hope and relief. She had a chance to find the Autobots again. She had the chance to see Optimus again. She wasn't going to leave them behind. "Thank you."

She thought it was fine. She thought everything was going according to plan. She thought she would see the Autobots and Optimus again. The crew was nice to her. They were kind to her. How did it go so wrong?

As they came across a blue and green planet, the ship was attacked by a cloaked Decepticon warship. Elita used her skills to hold them off as they invaded the ship. She had managed to kill two of them with ease. But then...

Flux tackled Wrangle out of the way as blaster fire was shot near their helms. Elita peered out from the corner and fired more shots as the two scrambled to safety.

"Flux, Wrangle, run!" Nightslinger ordered them as she and Halfglitch were firing at the enemy.

"Comet is still piloting the ship!" Wrangle retorted, "We have to go back for him! We already lost Thunderpoint!"

"Nightslinger!" Elita pleaded.

"Halfglitch, get Flux and Wrangle to safety now!" Nightslinger begged them.

"I'll go get Comet!" Elita jumped out from her hiding place and charged at the two Decepticons firing at her. She pulled out her sword and threw it at one of the Decepticons, stabbing them directly in the chassis. Elita then shot the other Decepticon that was distracted in the helm. Elita then grabbed her sword and dashed down the hall towards the main deck of the ship. She heard footsteps behind her and glanced back to see Nightslinger right behind her. They both made it to the door and Nightslinger punched the keypad to open it. They both gasped, seeing Comet on his last breath, trying to pilot the ship away from the Decepticons. They saw two dead bodies on the floor. One of them was Thunderpoint, and the other was a Decepticon.

"Comet, you need medical attention!" Nightslinger ran to Comet's side and programmed the ship to be on autopilot.

"Slinger, the 'Cons," Comet slurred.

"We need to go to the pods! Now!" Nightslinger ordered Elita as she carried Comet in her arms.

"The Decepticons will still be after us!" We need to kill them here and now!" Elita retorted.

"We need to run-!" Nightslinger and Elita jolted when the ship shook at the sound of an explosion. Elita quickly pulled up the screens on the ship and saw that the engine was damaged. They were spinning out and heading towards the planet below. Nightslinger heard screams of fear followed by screams of anguish, followed...by the sounds of...drilling.

"Flux?!" Nightslinger called out, "Wrangle?!"

Elita examined the monitors further and gasped in horror when she saw the insides of the hallway being swarmed with scraplets. "We need to get out of the ships! Scraplet infestation!"

"My comrades!" Nightslinger cried out.

"Nightslinger! We have to go!" Elita yelled at her as the outside of the ship caught on fire from the pull of the planet's gravity. All three yelled when the wall of the ship suddenly ripped open, exposing them to the blue sky of this world. Nightslinger quickly grabbed onto the chair of the ship, but Elita found herself struggling to latch onto something. She managed to grab an exposed cable and held onto it as tight as she could. Debris flew out of the ship, nearly hitting her face and knocking her out of the sky. Elita turned her attention to the door and gasped when the scraplets chewed through it before going after Nightslinger. Elita fired at as many as she could, but they already started to devour Nightslinger who tried desperately to shield Comet with her body.

"No!" Elita screamed. A few of the scraplets flew towards her and she tried to defend, but one of them chewed the cable that attached her to the ship. Elita could barely register what was happening as she started spinning out into the air as the ship fell below without her. Elita kept on falling down trying to figure out how she was going to survive. She saw the blue water below and curled herself into a ball before hitting the water hard and sinking below, the impact knocking her unconscious.

Elita bolted through the battlefield, decapitating Decepticons that were in her way. Her team was in danger. Chromia was in danger. She knows that she wasn't supposed to rush into enemy territory. She was defying Optimus' direct orders. But her team was in danger and they needed her. She couldn't leave them behind.

"Chromia!" Elita cried out. She had spotted her trying to protect another comrade, but said comrade was shot by a sniper. Chromia was devastated at the sight, but her optics were full of hope when she spotted Elita. She tried to run towards her, but she ignored her surroundings. Elita watched in horror as someone had slashed Chromia in the back. Her body fell to the ground in a heap, and Elita's expression turned from horror to rage. She screamed in fury as she fully went on the offensive, killing anyone that got in her way. She was only stopped when Megatron made an appearance, and she was exhausted from fighting.

Elita's optics snapped open when she felt the crushing weight of a liquid atop of her. She scrambled to her pedes and her optics darted around the bottom of some ravine. She could see these strange creatures swimming past her before turning her attention up to see the sun obscured by the liquid. She remembered what had happened and ran as fast as she could to the surface. She clawed her way through the vegetation and dirt until she broke free of the liquid she was in and crawled onto land. Her optics darted around the area, scanning for any signs of a wreckage. She spotted smoke clouds not too far from her and transformed into a hover car before speeding towards it. When she arrived and transformed back into her bipedal mode, she was mortified to see the ship destroyed and in flames.

"Nightslinger!" Elita bolted towards the wall of the ship. There had to be a way inside. She had to save them! She couldn't let anymore people die on her watch! She was ready to start pulling on the walls to get inside...but that's when she heard the screaming. She heard the screams of pain and agony followed by the familiar sounds of scraplets chewing through metal. Chewing through the flesh of those who saved her. Elita found her body trembling as she took a step back. And another. Elita snapped her head to her left when she heard the sounds of scraplets getting closer to her. They were getting closer. She didn't know what she could do. She was going to die. She...she didn't want to die.

In a moment of cowardice, in a moment of weakness, she did only one thing she could think of to save herself. She turned and ran in the opposite direction, away from the ship, and away from the ones who saved her.

Later

She didn't know how long she was running. She didn't even know why she was running. She could've transformed and drove off. But she didn't. She ran like a sniveling coward! Elita yelped when she tripped over something and fell to the ground. Why in the Allspark wasn't she paying attention?! What in the Allspark was did she hit?! She had sat up to look behind her but froze in fear when she saw this massive organic body lying down on the ground. It had digits and pedes like her, but what was that pink, fleshy, armor?! It reminded her too much of a Voin! Elita pulled out her blaster when this beast slowly sat up. Elita saw how it's face was morphed into that of anguish. She waited for this thing to attack her, but...it just lumbered away, leaving her confused.

What...what just happened? What...what did she just do? She abandoned comrades! She left them to die! She should have died with them! Elita transformed her blaster back into her servo. She could see the way that they were shaking over her actions. She...

Elita couldn't help it but scream out into the sunset sky with grief.

Elita noticed how tired Optimus was when he was speaking to his followers. The way they looked up to him for guidance. For all the answers. But Optimus didn't have all the answers. Half of the time, he just looked so stressed. Other times, he could fake keeping it together. She wanted to comfort him right then and there, but they had a rule: when it came to the public. To the Autobots and Decepticons. To the war, they had to keep their relationship a secret from everyone else. Elita wasn't sure if it mattered. Megatron already knew, but they had come to an agreement that it was for safety.

But it didn't feel like it matter. War is war. And every day, she kept losing her comrades. No matter how hard she tried. Optimus lost people too, no matter how hard he tried to lead. And it was so difficult for them both.

"Optimus Prime," She had addressed him when the two of them were finally alone.

"Yes, Commander Elita," Optimus addressed her in a professional manner. Part of her hated it, but they had to keep up appearances.

"I wanted to ask about the Battle at the Sea of Rust," Elita began, "And the causalities we sustained."

Optimus' faceplates turned grim. "Reports are still coming in."

"....Optimus, it was not your fault," Elita insisted.

"Elita, I was in charge of the battle," Optimus reminded, "Those soldiers were my responsibility, and they are now gone because of me."

"Megatron dragged out this war for too long," Elita reminded, "It's no longer about equality with him. It is about power."

"Regardless of Megatron's motivation, those soldiers were under my command," Optimus reminded her, "...And I failed them."

The mood was somber. There was nothing else that could really be said. Elita couldn't even provide comfort for Optimus. She had lost people too based on her own decisions. Elita merely bowed quietly and left Optimus' office.

These creatures unnerved her. They lumbered around this green plain. They didn't speak to her. She tried communicating with them, but they ignored her and walked away. Why wouldn't they talk to her? She needed help! There had to be someone who could help her!

No one was going to help you. Not after what you did-! Elita quickly shut down the thought as she continued to investigate the area. That's when she came across it. A wall. A massive wall that extended across the green plains. She had noticed a few of the lumbering creatures trying to claw their way to the top of the wall. They wanted to get to something on the other side. But what was on the other side?

Elita walked along the side of the wall, ignoring the desperation that these creatures were displaying when trying to reach the top. It unnerved her. Elita then spotted a figure up at the top, causing her to stop in her step. She was too far away to see its faceplates. She wanted to speak to it, but it quickly disappeared from her sights.

Elita sighed in defeat. It probably would have been pointless anyway. Maybe she should investigate the rest of this place.

She drove around this place for a few days, investigating every nook and cranny of the land mass. When she reached the edge, she found herself surrounded by nothing but the blue liquid mass that she had crashed into. She couldn't travel very far. The farther she walked, the darker it got, and the more likely she was going to get lost in the darkness of this abyss. She tried to go farther and farther down for a week, but it began to hurt. She couldn't do it. And she couldn't risk going any further. Not without proper equipment, and not without the ability to acquire energon down there, and not without anyone to repair her.

If only she had saved the crew-! Shut up. She just wanted her thoughts to remain quiet. She stormed off in a huff, shaking the liquid off of her. But she could feel this stupid liquid in her joints. She did find a wall along the shoreline. It looked like a dock for ships, but no one was there. No one had come to the place and there was no one waiting there. She had no idea if it had been abandoned.

She found energon pockets, but she had no choice but to chew them. She couldn't have it refined and had to ingest it raw. It hurt her insides, but she had fuel in order to survive.

She had tried to go back and access the ship, but every time she stepped closer to it, she could hear the chomping and drilling of the scraplets and couldn't do it. She couldn't risk damaging her frame without anyone to repair her.

Nightslinger risked her life for-! Shut up! Elita stormed off away from the ship. She stopped in her tracks; however, when she felt something falling from the sky. She extended her servo to see droplet hit her servo. Then another. She looked up at the sky and gasped in fear when she realized it was raining! Acid rain! She needed to find shelter and fast! She transformed into her alt mode and drove as fast as she could across this last mass. Shelter! She needed shelter!

Elita managed to find a cave and jumped into it before transforming back into her bipedal mode. Elita tried her best to scrub the rain off of her arms, but stopped when she realized that it wasn't burning her armor away. It just felt cold. Elita watched the rain continue to hit the ground. The ground had turned wet and muddy, but nothing was burning away. She...she was safe. For now.

Elita sat down in the cave before curling her knees to her chassis. She decided that this would be her new place of shelter for now. The trees in front of the cave would provide her cover, and the cave would provide her shade.

She needed to find a way off this place. She needed to find a way back to the war. She needed to make amends for her failures.

"Megatron has become aware of your identity," Optimus declared.

Elita raised her helm at that in confusion. "I changed my name and got an upgrade. How in the Allspark..." Elita sighed in contempt, "Soundwave. Megatron will no doubt tell his followers."

"I do not believe Megatron would do so," Optimus proclaimed, "He is aware of your reputation. He would not make a blunder like that so easily."

"He could put a bounty over my helm," Elita reminded, "If that bounty holds, someone more dangerous can come after me...Does that mean we cannot be sparkbonded?"

"It is too much of a risk," Optimus explained, "I do not know how long this war will last, but if one of us-!"

"Don't say that," Elita ordered, "Don't speak that into existence."

"Elita, this is bigger than both of us. If one of us perishes, then...who knows what will happen to the other," Optimus sighed.

"Optimus-!"

"I am afraid," Optimus confessed, "I do not....I cannot..."

Elita felt sorrow before she walked over and hugged Optimus tightly. The Prime responded in kind, placing a servo on the small of her back.

"...I am too," Elita confessed, "I do not know what to do."

"...I will do everything in my power to stay by your side," Optimus swore, "And we will make it out of this war alive."

"We will make it out of this war alive," Elita repeated like a mantra, "And we will be able to live freely."

She had tried returning to the wall one more time. Part of her wanted to go out and seek help. One more time. She had tried calling for them once, but no one answered. So she had left. She had tried again, but no one replied once more. She came back one more time, but this time, she was met with enemies. They had cannons on the ground, and the moment they spotted her, they fired at her. Elita was going to fight, but she ended up getting hit with one of them, right in the side where she was stabbed. It caused some unexpected pain, and she realized the problem. How much damage could she sustain before she received medical attention? How much longer would she be able to survive before death claimed her life? She had no choice. The wall was a threat to her life. She had to run.

The humans cheered as they saw the titan fleeing for its life. However, that cheer quickly turned to dread. Shouldn't the public be aware of this titan? They needed to tell the rest of the military.

"The titan won't return now," Rod spoke as he walked up to the concerned soldiers. "And there is no need to tell the public. Keep quiet about this, and I will grant each and every one of you access to the inner walls as MPs."

Elita stopped running as she slumped against a tree for support. She just wanted help, but they attacked her. Why did they attack her? She spotted one of those skinless creatures walking past her and realized why. They thought she was one of these creatures. They thought she was going to hurt them. No...no! She would never do that! Why would she do that?! She...she was good. Wasn't she?

You would have left them.

Elita wanted to show compassion. She really did. The Decepticons wanted to fight for a better society. They wanted to fight against their conditions and be treated with respect. But now they were...ruthless. Unforgiving. Were they always like this? They couldn't have been. Right?

She had tried to help a Decepticon trapped in the rubble. She had encountered him a few times before the war. He was polite. He was kind to her. She didn't want to see him die. She pulled onto the metal bars with her servos to free him. He had managed to crawl out of the rubble. Just as she was about to set it down, Elita screamed in pain when she was shot in the back, forcing her to let go of the rubble and writhe in pain. Elita looked back to see the Decepticon staring at her with such ruthlessness as he aimed his blaster at her. He was going to kill her. He was actually going to kill her!

Elita panicked and scrambled for the sword on the ground. She just saw it among the clutter and the rubble and took it. She threw it hard at his leg. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground in agony. Elita yanked the sword out of the leg and stood over him. She was angry! She just tried to save him and he decided....he decided to! Elita raised the sword and managed to catch a brief glimpse of panic before she decapitated him. Elita could see the energon on her sword and gasped in horror at what she had done. By the Allspark what had she done?! She killed one of her own people!

"Elita!" Elita snapped her helm to Ori-Optimus running up to her. He looked just as frazzled as she was, and she could see his armor stained with energon. Optimus froze when Elita began to shed lubricant. The Prime looked down at the body and immediately understood.

"Elita, we must go," Optimus told her as he grabbed her servo.

"Optimus, I tried to help," Elita whimpered, "I did, I swear-!"

"I know." Elita gasped when she saw lubricant falling down Optimus' faceplates as he dragged her to safety. Once they were safe at the Autobot base, both had wept in each other's arms at what they had done.

She had remained in the northern section of the land mass. She knew that she needed to gain access to the ship. Over time, the weather had gotten colder. Something white had fallen from the sky and covered the land mass in a blanket of white. But when that happened, the scraplets on the ship had gotten quieter. She saw that as an opportunity. She climbed atop of the wreckage and shoved the cold white power away from the panels. She yanked them off and grabbed as many parts as she could. She tried to determine which one was valuable, and which one was not, but she feared the scraplets. As she tore items out, she ended up breaking a few bits of the ship. However, she froze when she heard the familiar pattern of the scraplets. She stumbled off the ship and hit the ground hard before grabbing what she could and running.

When she returned to the cave, she scrambled through what she managed to acquire and swore in fury. The metals and circuits of the panels were fried to a crisp because of the stupid crash and scraplets! She could see the slagging bite marks. Elita threw the metals in anger. What was she supposed to do with this worthless junk?! She needed to find a way off this rock but there was nothing! Nothing she could do! All she wanted was to get back to the war! Get back to Optimus! Make up for her error by killing Megatron herself!

Right...right! This was because of Megatron! This was all because of him! He had started this war, manipulated the populous, killed so many! Got her stranded here in the first place! Slag him! The selfish, arrogant, fragger! He killed Cybertron! He made their lives horrible! Slag it all!

Elita punched the wall of the cave with her servo, but it didn't help her anger. It just made her feel worse. Her own choices got her stranded here. She trusted him. She believed in Megatron. And now...

Not all of his choices led to this moment.

Ariel waited patiently with Alpha Trion and Ratchet. The librarian was kind enough to notify her that Orion and Megatronus were going to meet with the council to address the situation before them. She hoped. She prayed to Primus that it would lead to positive change. She didn't want a repeat of the Quintessions. That was too much of a strain on her psyche.

The three heard the doors opens, and Ratchet and Ariel were stunned to see everyone in a panic. The council room looked like it was in shambles. Windows were broken. Jazz was comforting a distraught Orion.

"What happened?!" Ratchet demanded.

"Well Megatron went completely ballistic after the council made Orion a Prime!" Jazz exclaimed in anger, before pointing upward. All three got a closer look, and Ratchet and Ariel were mortified to see the corpse of Halogen teetering over the edge of his seat, a hole was blown clean into his chest.

"Two other members of the council left with Megatron," Jazz continued, "It's war. Megatron has declared war."

"I knew that gladiator was corrupt from the start!" Ratchet hissed in anger.

"Ratchet, you weren't in the council room!" Jazz retorted.

"Well Megatron didn't denounce the terrorist attacks under his name!" Ratchet reminded.

Ariel kneeled down in front of Orion as the two continued arguing with one another. She placed a servo on his knee, causing him to look her in the optic.

"What happened?" Orion raised his helm to Ariel's voice, and Ariel hated how devastated he looked.

"I...I didn't mean to," Orion whimpered, "They gave me the title. I didn't deny it. I thought it would help. I never meant to hurt Megatron. Ariel...I made a horrible mistake."

"Ratchet, check Optimus' vitals for me," Alpha Trion requested the medic. Ratchet didn't need to be told twice as he helped Optimus to his pedes and guided him out of the council room. Ariel was prepared to follow, but Alpha Trion placed a servo on his shoulder.

"A word, Ariel," Alpha Trion said.

"I need to check if Orion is alright," Ariel insisted.

"Ariel, your situation is of importance as well," Alpha Trion insisted, "Optimus is now a Prime and will no doubt be appointed leader of the Autobots. Your identity is known to Megatron, and he may use it to attack Optimus. You must change your name and your frame in order for both you and Optimus to survive."

"Alpha Trion, that is such a drastic suggestion!" Ariel exclaimed.

"I have been around for a long time, and people like Megatron will do anything in their power to survive," Alpha Trion explained, "I do not want you to perish, and I do not want Optimus to lose you. Please do what I ask."

Ariel hesitated at what was practically a plea and sighed. "I will wait and see."

The first battle was one of heavy loss, Elita was only able to defend, but she lost friends. She complied with Alpha Trion's request and changed her identity.

The seasons changed. The white ice melted away and the vegetation bloomed. Then it got hot, exceedingly hot for her circuits. Then the vegetation turned brown, and parts of it fell to the ground, before the ice returned and covered the land. The cycle repeated itself, over and over, again. The animals lived, hid, and died through these cycles. Some by the weather, some by predators. But the creatures that lumbered around...did not eat, did not sleep, did not age, did not die like the others.

The cold made her circuits freeze. The earth made the paint of her armor erode. Her vibrant pink faded to an almost dull shade of gray. Her servos were filled with scuff marks and scratches. Her joints ached. She was tired. She had to ration energon. She had plenty, but...she wanted to make sure that she had enough for rescue. She tried to use the ship, but she couldn't with all the scraplets being active. If someone were to find her...it would be due to chance.

But she still persisted, even as the seasons changed and the years passed. She tried. She wanted to live, not just survive. She needed to get back to the War, the Autobots, Optimus. Even if their planet was gone, members of their species survived. They would come and find her. They had to. Optimus had to have known she was alive. One of the Autobots had to have known. She survived. She wanted to live again.

"Come, Ariel! Come on!" Orion opened the hatch to the roof of Iacon's Hall of Records and beckoned her to follow him outside.

"Do you tend to bring all of your courtships up here?" Ariel teased.

Orion was flustered at that. "Ariel-!"

"I tease." Ariel climbed through the hatch to get to the roof. Ariel gasped at the sight of the glowing city below her. She was certain she was seeing cities on the other side of the planet.

"It's beautiful," Ariel marveled at the sight.

"That is not what I wanted to show you." Orion placed a servo under her chin and guided her helm upward. She gasped at the sight of the starry, night sky above. The sight of the three moons were in full view and she could have sworn she saw a comet flying across the sky.

"I brought Megatronus up here once," Orion explained as he sat down on the roof, "I thought he deserved to see a sight like this. And I thought that you should see a sight like this for yourself."

"I'm flattered." Ariel sat down next to Orion, "Do you come up here often?"

"Very much so," Orion answered, "I don't have the same luxuries as you do because of your status, so I tend to find other methods of enjoyment. Stargazing is one of them."

"Well, the revolution that you've gotten yourself involved with seems to be making headway," Ariel spoke, "Megatronus is really making headway."

"He is, and so is his movement," Orion agreed, "I want a world were Cybertronians can coexist in peace."

"Peace is something that might not be easily obtained," Ariel reasoned, "I do hope you know what you are doing."

"I do," Orion reassured, "But let's not discuss politics right now. I've done quite a bit of that earlier today."

"I'm sorry," Ariel apologized, "I just want you safe."

"I know." Orion scooted closer to her before wrapping his arms around her, "Thank you for your concern."

Ariel couldn't help but sink into his embrace before kissing his servo. "Of course, beloved."

"Beloved? That's a new one," Orion teased.

Ariel giggled. "Well what can I say: you are my beloved."

Elita gasped awake when she felt a familiar, warm sensation on her servo. Her vision cleared, and she realized that she was on the ground, on her side, in the cave, stranded on this landmass on this unfamiliar world. Her servos curled into fists as her faceplates contorted into one of remorse.

This was a punishment, wasn't it? This was a punishment for being selfish, wasn't it? She wanted to return to the war, but...she wanted to return to Optimus. Was it selfish to want that? There were other Autobots with wants and desires and they were dead. Nightslinger's team was innocent, trying to survive, but they got dragged into her mess. Because she was being selfish. She thought of herself and not others in a war, and now...this was punishment.

She wanted to live. She wanted to return to the life that she had lost. But now, the only thing that she could do was survive. She had to survive...until...until...when? It didn't seem like she wouldn't be rescued.

She was going to die here. When? She wasn't sure, but...this seemed like a fitting fate for someone like her.

Time continued to pass. Years had passed. At least twenty years had passed. She could've sworn she heard thunder even though the sky was clear as day. More time passed, she heard the thunder again in a clear sky, and she felt the ground shake. She wasn't sure what was going on, but the sound came from the wall, and the wall saw her as an enemy.

One night. One lonely night. She was alerted to the sound of lightning near her cave. Someone was here.

Eren looked at the Prime dead in the eyes before he thought of something important. "I know that this might be a long shot, but… promise me this. You can show me the wonders of this world, but if there is any way for you to return home, take it. Whether I am dead or alive by the end of this conflict, once it is over, and you have the opportunity to go home, go home."

Optimus was stunned at Eren's request. "Eren-"

"I mean it!" Eren exclaimed as he stood on the Prime's shoulder, "You've fought long enough! You've suffered long enough! You deserve to live a life of contentment and peace. I'll be fine; my fate is already sealed. You deserve to be happy."

Optimus looked down at the titan shifter, hesitating at the idea. Could he really do that? Could he really commit a selfish act? And even if he did, there were so many in his life that were gone. There were so many he missed.

"No more wars. No more fighting," Eren proclaimed, "Promise me, please."

Optimus' mouth was pressed into a thin line and he closed his optics. "Alright, I promise you, that if I am given the opportunity to return home, I will do it."

Eren gave the Prime a relieved smile. "Thank you."

Optimus' gaze turned to the ground, and he noticed some tracks going into a foliage of trees. "Eren, there may be titans here. Can you transform?"

"Yes," Eren answered as Optimus offered his servo to him. Eren jumped into the servo and Optimus lowered him to the ground. Eren bit his hand and transformed into his titan form before Optimus handed him Megatron's shield.

"If you encounter something dangerous, call for me," Optimus ordered as Eren's adjusted the shield on his arm. Eren nodded in response as Optimus pulled out his blasters and the two split up. Eren went to the right while Optimus walked to the left. Eren stepped deeper and deeper into the trees when he noticed something in the distance. He slowly stepped closer to it and saw that he was in front of a cave. Eren noticed metal lingering outside of the cave and kneeled down to examine it. It looked like metal. Cybertronian metal. But it looked broken. Damage. Eren picked up one of them and noticed how it looked like strings. It was so odd. Why was this here? Wasn't this supposed to be on the ship Megatron found?

Wait...if this was supposed to be on the ship, then who brought it out here? The ship was miles away! How-!

Eren yelped as someone jumped onto his back and pulled on his hair hard. He could feel it beginning to rip off the scalp. Eren scrambled and grabbed whoever was on top of him before throwing them off of him. Eren saw the titan flip before skidding back to a stop to face him. Eren was stunned. Was this another Female Titan?! Wait...it was metal? That was metal! It was a metal titan! It was Cybertronian! It was a female Cybertronian!

"Shit!" Eren swore as she charged him. Eren held up Megatron's shield as she attacked relentlessly. Every slash connected with the shield as he tried his best to even counteract. Eren yelled in fear as she pulled out a blaster and fired. He quickly ducked his head but ended up falling on his back. Eren looked behind him to see the trunk of the tree having been destroyed and the tree falling over.

"FUCK!" Eren screamed as he saw the Cybertronian jump into the air, sword raised and ready to stab him in the chest. Eren rolled out of the way just in time as the sword rammed into the ground. Eren kicked her away from him, forcing her to let go of her sword and causing her to roll across the ground. Eren crawled backwards in fear as the Cybertronian crouched on all fours before sprinting towards him. Damn it! He's never really faced a Cybertronian before! Optimus always held back during training! And he never really fought Megatron! The bastard only threatened him! Now there was a war hardened titan trying to kill him!

She snatched her sword from the ground and jumped into the air. Eren tried to defend himself, but it was too late. The Cybertronian sliced off the hand that wasn't holding Megatron's shield.

"Oh...shit," Eren swore. He yelped when the Cybertronian grabbed the shield and jumped into the air, using the weight of her smaller body to hoist him into the air.

"Wait, Wait! WAIT!" Eren screamed.

"Optimus, I've taken care of the last of the titans," Megatron informed him through the comm. link, "I'm certain we've eliminated the titans on the island."

"Eren and I have discovered tracks in a location we missed," Optimus explained as he kneeled down to examine the tracks.

"Prime, I'm certain that the titan has already been eliminated," Megatron sighed in annoyance, "Let's just tell the mad scientist and get on with it."

Optimus ignored him as he placed his servo on the tracks. Optimus examined it closely and was stunned. These tracks were different. They...

"Megatron, these tracks do not have toes," Optimus informed him.

"What are you talking about? What in the Pits are toes?" Megatron demanded in frustration.

Optimus was on high alert when he was suddenly alerted to the sounds of a panicked roar. That sounded like Eren. Was Eren in danger? Was he ambushed by an abnormal titan? Optimus ran towards the source of the noise and saw the trees were rustling. Optimus had to jump out of the way as Eren's titan body was thrown through the trees and nearly hit him. Eren's back slammed into the ground. Hard.

"Eren!" Optimus ran to the titan shifter's side to examine him. Optimus paused when he noticed that Eren's arm, the arm not holding Megatron's shield, had been cut off. His arm was cut off by a blade. And it was a clean strike. Titans don't have that kind of ability, unless there was an unknown titan shifter on the island. Who attacked him?!

"Stand up!" Optimus ordered as he pulled Eren to his feet with his servos. Optimus could feel the steam rising from Eren's injuries but ignored it. It wasn't anything lethal. It would regenerate.

"Who attacked you?" Optimus demanded.

Eren's gaze fell to something that was in front of him. Optimus followed it to see someone stepping out of the forest. Optimus was surprised to see that it was a Cybertronian. Another Cybertronian was on this world? And they were alive? Were they from the neutral ship and survived outside the walls? The armor was rusted and the color had faded, looking like a dull shade of pink. The Cybertronian wiped their lips with the back of their left servo, and Optimus could see the jagged, tired expression on their face, in their optics. Their stance was slouched and exhausted, and there was a sword in their right servo-wait!

Optimus' optics locked onto the sword in their servo. He...remembered that sword. That...that belonged to her. Optimus examined the Cybertronian once more, taking in every detail of her frame. The dull pink used to shine so bright, and her optics were once full of kindness, but now it reflected nothing but pain. Was it her? Was it actually her?

Eren quickly regained his composure, ignoring Optimus' distress. He got into a fighting stance, placing the shield in front of him, ready to go on the defensive, but his movements alerted the Cybertronian to him. She sprinted towards him and fast. Eren wasn't sure if he could actually take the full force of her hit. Despite how much smaller she was than him, she really packed a punch. However, Eren didn't get the chance to find out, because Optimus pushed him out of the way of the Cybertronian's attack. Eren gasped in the nape when the Cybertronian ended up punching him in the abdomen. Eren could see the pain in Optimus' optics from the force of the punch. The Cybertronian ended up tackling Optimus across the green grass before they ended up rolling down a hill together.

"Optimus!" Eren yelled in the nape as he bolted after them. Eren looked down the hill to see that they were still tumbling down. Eren immediately slid down after them as they continued their tussle. Eren was about to attack once he reached the bottom, but he couldn't. The Cybertronian was ruthless. She had managed to pin Optimus to the ground and was ready to ram her sword into his chest, but Optimus quickly pulled out his blade and blocked the attack. However, the Cybertronian punched him in the face a few times before Optimus managed to knock the sword out of her servo. Eren yelped as the sword almost stabbed him in the leg. The Cybetronian then pulled out her blaster and aimed it at Optimus' helm, but Optimus quickly smacked her arm out of the way as she fired a few shots right above his helm. The Cybertronian tried again, but Optimus grabbed her blaster to redirect it once more.

That's when Eren realized it...Optimus wasn't fighting back. Optimus wasn't fighting back against this person on purpose. Why? Why wasn't he fighting back?! She was trying to kill him. The Cybertronian used her free servo to grab at Optimus' neck, but Optimus quickly grabbed her other arm.

"Elita!" Optimus managed to redirect her arm as she fired another shot at his helm, "Elita, wait!"

Elita? Was that her name? Well, she was relentless. She seethed at Optimus with contempt. She was clearly his enemy! Stop her!

"Elita, it is me!" Optimus redirected her arm to the sky as she fired into the air. However, she bit down hard on the servo that redirected her blaster. Optimus had to pull his servo back, but this allowed the Cybertronian to transform her blaster back into a servo and punch him once more.

Optimus didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to hurt Elita. And even if it wasn't Elita, he didn't want to hurt a potential ally that could help the humans in the walls. Why didn't she recognize him?! How long had she been here?! What could she do to convince her to stand down?!

The femme smiled as she held out her servo and shook it. "Ariel is my designation."

"Ariel," Orion said under his breath.

"Ariel," Optimus whispered. She had kept that name a secret during the war, but now...

Elita yelled in fury as she was ready to punch this titan in the face once more. She needed to attack. She needed to defend. She needed to survive! She launched her fist downward. SURVIVE!

"ARIEL, STOP!" Elita's fist stopped just centimeters away from Optimus' face. Eren could see the Cybertronian so...petrified at the sound of that name. It sounded like it was her name. But Optimus was calling her 'Elita' earlier. Maybe she changed it?

Elita was in shock. That...that wasn't possible. This Cybertronian knew her name. Her old name. How did he know her name?! She intentionally changed it when the war started! The only people who knew her actual name was...Elita examined the Cybertronian in detail. The bright, scarlet, red. The deep, cobalt, blue. That...familiar voice. That kind and gentle voice that just sounded so tired. That stern gaze that looked at her without fear, despite the fact that she had been relentless in her attacks. Her fist was mere centimeters from his faceplates, but he didn't even flinch. Elita's expression morphed into one of recognition. Was this...was this?

Optimus saw that Elita had stopped and was frozen in thought. The Prime transformed his blade back into a servo and reached out to touch her cheek. "Elita-!"

Elita felt the slightest touch against her cheek and quickly jumped back in response. She fell on her rear and crawled back, pulling out her blaster once more. She aimed it at Optimus as the titan sat up before adjusting his legs to sit on his knees. Eren noticed the way Elita eyed Optimus with suspicion and doubt, but he also noticed the way that Optimus looked so hopeful and emotional.

"Who are you?" Eren heard her speak, and her voice sounded so forceful yet...afraid.

"It is me," Optimus whispered to her, "My conjunx endura, it is me."

Elita shook her helm at that. No Optimus was gone. He was long gone. This was an imposter. Elita then noticed that his face was still covered. It was covered by his battle mask. Elita used her blaster to gesture to his mask. "The mask. Get rid of it."

Eren recognized that as an order. A command. But Optimus complied with such ease, and in a matter of seconds the mask was gone. Elita let out a quiet gasp that didn't go unnoticed by Eren. Eren then watched Elita crawl towards Optimus. Her blaster was still out, and it made Eren nervous. He wanted to jump in and stop this person from hurting Optimus, but...Optimus just looked so vulnerable. Like he wanted her to believe what he was saying to be true. He wanted her to understand that he was telling the truth.

Both titans' gaze fell to the blaster still out. Elita...took a risk and changed her blaster back into a servo. She slowly reached out and her digits grazed his faceplates. Her palm then rested on his cheek, and Optimus' battle-hardened mask completely fell. The Prime's optics fell shut. He leaned into her touch and even cradled her servo into his own. Elita realized just how warm that servo and faceplate felt. How real...how alive...Elita couldn't help but feel emotional when Optimus opened his optics and looked at her like she was his greatest treasure. He was so trusting of his life in her servos.

“…Orion…,” Elita whispered.

Optimus couldn’t help but smile a little. “Ariel.”

Eren was confused. He felt awkward. He had never seen Optimus this emotional before. And it was because of this Cybertronian. Who was she? What did Optimus mean by 'conjunx endura'? Before Eren knew it, both had embraced each other so tightly that it looked like they were never going to let go. They still looked like they were in disbelief. That this was all surreal and a figment of their imagination. They looked so...afraid that it was going to be a lie.

Optimus rested his servo on the small of Elita's back while Elita just clung to Optimus and buried her faceplate into his neck cables. Someone had found her. Optimus had found her. He was here! After all this time! She couldn't believe it! Meanwhile, Optimus felt his spark sing. He thought that she had perished in his arms, but here she was again. He could feel her warmth and the pulse of her spark. She was actually alive!

Eren's ears perked up when he heard the familiar sound of a jet engine in the sky. He careened his head to see Megatron arriving to their location and transforming into his bipedal mode before landing right next to Eren.

"What happened?" Megatron demanded. Eren didn't know how else to respond to that and merely pointed to the scene before him. Megatron followed Eren's direction and was perplexed at the sight of Optimus hugging another Cybertronian. However, it only took a few seconds for Megatron's expression to turn from suspicion to absolute dread. Eren couldn't help but notice the way that Megatron was staring at the other Cybertronian, almost as if he was seeing a ghost. Eren could have sworn he was seeing Megatron's servos trembling.

Elita slowly opened her optics from Optimus' shoulder, and she noticed something out of the corner of her optic. The massive lumbering creature she saw earlier was still present, holding that shield in its servos. But right behind him was...! Elita gasped in horror before ripping herself out of Optimus' grip and aiming her blaster at Megatron. Megatron froze up even further at the sight while Eren quickly got in front of Megatron, protecting him with his own shield. Optimus had completely forgotten about Eren's presence, and he had completely forgotten about Megatron and how Elita would feel. Optimus quickly grabbed her blaster and lowered it to the ground before using his other servo to guide her face to focus directly on him.

"Elita, please stand down," Optimus pleaded.

"Optimus-!"

"The war is over," Optimus explained with urgency, "The Autobots won. Cybertron is restored. Please lower your weapon."

"I can't," Elita seethed in anger, "He's still-!"

"Please, I just found you again," Optimus begged her, and Eren can see the heart break and desperation on his face, "I refuse to lose you a second time. Lower your weapon, please. Let me take you some place safe. Trust me."

The air was still tense, and Eren could see Elita glaring at them both. But she kept on getting distracted by the sight of Optimus begging her with silent optics to trust him. Eren could see the way she was hesitating, glancing back and forth between them both, but...she put her trust in Optimus' decision and transformed her blaster back into her servo. Elita let out a long, shaky, vent, and her body slumped against Optimus. The Prime quickly caught her and helped her sit upright. Optimus then turned and offered his back to her, and Elita silently climbed onto his back. She wrapped her arms around Optimus' shoulders and Optimus supported the legs around his waist with his arms.

Optimus remembered Elita's sword and searched for it before noticing it right next to Eren. The titan shifter seemed to be at ease when he stood up and walked over to him. Eren grew tense when he saw Elita's optics burning into Eren...or rather Megatron. Eren didn't have time to question why as Optimus slowly kneeled down and picked up Elita's sword with his servo. He gave it to Elita, and the Cybertronian snatched it from his grip before positioning it in a way that it acted like a shield. Even in her exhausted state, she was trying to protect Optimus from Megatron.

"We walk to Wall Rose," Optimus told the both of them, "I will remain behind the both of you."

"With me," Megatron ordered Eren as he walked forward. Eren made the right call to not question it as he walked side-by-side with the former warlord. Eren couldn't help but feel so tense and so awkward. He couldn't help but glance over at Megatron, but the ex-con looked so fearful at what was going on. Eren wanted to ask, but he couldn't help but feel eyes burning in the back of his neck. Eren slowly careened his head to look behind to see Elita glaring at them both. Eren quickly snapped his head forward and elected to look ahead. Eren could hear Optimus whispering to her, but it felt like it was ignored. Eren hated the fact that this was clearly going to be a long walk.

Hanji and the Survey Corps waited expectantly at the gates of Wall Rose. Hanji in particular, couldn't contain their excitement. Optimus had told her that the titan's numbers could be reduced to nothing. The Walls would be free of the titans. Even though this wasn't exactly how they envisioned it, and there was still an enemy to deal with from beyond the sea. But even so, at least one dream of the Survey Corps was going to be achieved.

They watched with anticipation as the soldiers slowly opened the gates. The Survey Corps saw Eren step in the walls in his titan form, with Megatron following behind. Levi; however, noticed something was off. Eren just looked confused, glancing back behind him towards the gate. But Megatron....Megatron looked scared.

"Hanji," Levi began, but Hanji didn't listen to him as they walked up to Eren. Before they could ask what happened, Optimus stepped through the gate. Everyone's confusion turned to shock, as they saw Optimus carrying another Cybertronian on his back.

"What the hell?!" Jean yelled, and it only led to a bombardment of questions as they approached Optimus and the newcomer. Optimus tried his best to keep track of the questions, but Levi quickly noticed how the newcomer's grip on their sword tightened, and the arms around Optimus' neck grew closer. Not out of warning...but...out of protection. They eyed all the humans with caution, like they had never seen them before.

Elita's optics darted around Optimus to see these creatures. What were they? They looked like the creatures from outside the walls. Why were they asking so many questions? Stay away. Stay away from Optimus!

"Optimus, who is that?!" Hanji exclaimed.

"Commander, I will explain in due time, but for now, I need to take her to a place where she can rest. Can you help me with that?" Optimus requested.

"Her?!" Connie yelled.

"A female Cybertronian?" Armin questioned in confusion.

Hanji took notice of the weary and tired expression on the woman, and...they couldn't help but feel bad for her. "Sure. This way."

Hanji grabbed a horse and mounted it before guiding Optimus through the town. The rest of them couldn't help but notice how weirdly unresponsive Optimus was. Eren suddenly remembered the shield on his arm before removing it and handing it over to a rather fearful Megatron. Megatron finally noticed the shield in his vision before snatching it from Eren's grasp and flying off, stunning everyone.

"Where is he going?!" Jean demanded.

==========

Later

It felt like a dream. It felt like she was dreaming and everything was going so fast. She had tried to communicate with the titans for years, but none had said a word. Then the titan from earlier couldn't speak but showed signed of intelligence. Then she saw Optimus, and Megatron, then she was in the wall that saw her as an enemy. And now she was looking at these creatures that mirrored the ones outside the walls. There was so much happening. She was so tired. Was this real? Was it a break from the nightmare she's endured?

"I know that this isn't the best I could provide," Elita's gaze turned to Hanji as they gestured to the cave, "But it's the best that I could do."

"Thank you, Hanji," Optimus said, "Your help is greatly appreciated."

Hanji noticed the female Cybertronian still eyeing them with caution, but it also looked like she so desperately wanted to collapse. "Is there anything else? I'm sure the Survey Corps want to know what's going on."

"I am staying here," Optimus declared rather tightly, the strain and exhaustion clear in his own optics. Hanji realized that there was no room for debate and walked back to their horse. They looked back to see Optimus setting the female Cybertronian down ever so gently before riding back to their comrades.

"You will be safe here," Optimus reassured as he sat down to face her, but Elita didn't respond to him. The Cybertronian was still trying to process everything. Her thoughts were running so fast, she couldn't ground herself.

"Forgive me, Elita," Optimus continued, "I know I have much to explain to you. I only ask that you give me some time."

Optimus saw Elita hang her helm while her arms trembled. He slowly reached out to her with his servos, trying not to scare her. "Is anything damaged? Do you need energon, Elita?"

Elita saw that servo come into view, and she felt a swell of desperation boil over and reacted. Optimus nearly gasped as Elita reached out and grabbed Optimus' face with her servos. She forced the Prime to look her dead in the optic with such a fierce gaze.

"Say it." Elita commanded, "Say it again."

"Elita?" Optimus could only question in confusion.

Elita tried to keep her composure, but how could she? She was finally safe, and Optimus was here. And alive. After so long, he was here. She could feel him and hold him. She could feel the scratches in his armor and see the exhaustion in his optics, but it was him. Optimus could see lubricant forming in her optics, but they did not fall.

"Say it again." Elita's lips trembled, "Please...say my name again. My conjunx endura."

Optimus' optics widened at that and his mouth slightly hung open. The adrenaline, the disbelief, the fact that his body was running on autopilot to get Elita to safety, it all vanished in that moment. He was finally able to process...that she was here. Elita was here on this world. She was living. He could feel the warmth of her touch. See the blue in her optics. By the Allspark, Elita is alive!

Lubricant began to fall from Optimus' optics, making contact with Elita's servos. That ultimately caused Elita's tears to finally fall down her own face. Optimus moved his servos to wipe her tears, but the act of him touching her face ever so carefully, caused her to cry more.

"Elita." Optimus felt his voice tremble, the joy and ache in his spark growing larger by the second, "My conjunx endura. My beloved."

"My beloved." Elita echoed back through her tears, "My conjunx endura. Mine. Optimus Prime."

Optimus broke at the sound of his name on her lips. He wrapped his arms around Elita and held her so tight. He trembled and sobbed in her shoulder, but Elita didn't care. She herself wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. They were tears of joy and tears of shame. There was so much that both had wanted to say to the other, but the reality of their situation needed to settle in. The two sparks, long separated by war and conflict, had finally reunited. And that was all that mattered in that moment.

"What the fuck do you mean you don't know who she is?!" Hanji demanded from Eren in the mess hall with the rest of the Survey Corps. The Survey Corps were eating breakfast together trying to get the report from Eren. Mikasa was drinking water while Levi was holding his teacup.

"I mean I don't know who she is!" Eren yelled, "Optimus didn't explain shit to me and he looked so happy to see her!"

"Is she an Autobot or Decepticon?" Armin asked.

"I'm guessing Autobot!" Eren shrugged in frustration, "Because Megatron looked terrified seeing her!"

“Really?” Mikasa asked in surprise while Levi raised an eyebrow with curiosity. Eren noticed Megatron's change in behavior too.

"Why didn't you ask who she was?!" Hanji demanded.

"I didn't have time when she tried to kill all three of us!" Eren yelled.

"Eren, just explain it from the beginning," Armin advised.

"And be clear!" Sasha yelled.

"I. don't. know." Eren enunciated, "I was searching for titans. She attacked me! Tried to kill me! Tried to kill Optimus! Then Optimus called her 'Elita', and then-!"

Mikasa's eyes snapped open as she spit the water that was in her mouth onto the ground. Mikasa started coughing from her seat before she collapsed on the ground. The Ackerman was on her knees, smacking her chest and trying to clear her airway. They all then heard something shatter and turned their attention to Levi. The Captain was in a stunned state and his teacup was on the ground, shattered into pieces.

"Uh..." Hanji trailed off as they approached Levi. They snapped their fingers in front of their friend, trying to get him back to reality. "Levi? Is there something you want to tell us?"

Levi merely mumbled to himself, ignoring the fingers in his face. Hanji was surprised at Levi's lack of a response before turning to Eren. "Eren, I think you broke him."

Hanji yelped as Levi grabbed their collar and forced Hanji to look them in the eye. "Hanji, that's his FUCKING GIRLFRIEND!"

The entire room paused at the sound of Levi's declaration. Silence rang throughout the room until the clatter of Sasha's fork hit the ground.

"WWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?!"

Ymir jolted awake when she heard the sounds of faint screaming outside of the room. Historia didn't seem to care about it, resting her head on Ymir's chest as they laid naked in bed.

"Did you hear that?" Ymir groggily replied.

"It can wait 'til morning," Historia slurred as she readjusted her head on her lover's chest.

(There were quite a few things I wanted to address with this Pilot, but I couldn't for obvious reasons, or maybe not in the way that I completely wanted, so I'm gonna talk about it here:

-I wanted to make the implication that Elita did believe in Megatron's cause, but over time, had grown to completely despise him for all of his actions. While Optimus wants to show him mercy, Elita just wants him dead. -I wish I had more time to show Elita and Optimus' relationship in detail. IDK if I hit all the points in what I had written so far. I don't think I'm good with writing a romance, but I'd like to know what you guys thought of it. -I wanted to write in a way that as time went on for Elita and things went from bad to worse, she reflected on moments in her past that ultimately affected her in someway or reflects her current situation. -Eren's a complete dumbass when it comes to picking up on relationship cues and reading the fucking room. Anyone else in Eren's shoes would have realized who Elita was. -Yes. Megatron is afraid of Elita because of reputation and his involvement with her near death experience. Yes, Elita does end up wrecking his shit as revenge.

…I think that's it. Anyway, Merry Christmas!)

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