#forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons

[llamagoddessofficial]

Hello! How have you been? I hope all is well on your side of the world! I was wondering if we could get some more of knightmare? J-just a thought... please🥺🌹

"there you are,"

You jumped, tearing your eyes away from the aurora above you. When you moved your arms and stood up straight, a little snow was disturbed from the smooth stone of the balcony; shooting a glance over your shoulder, you saw Nightmare, silhouetted by the torchlight from within the castle.

"what are you doing out here? you aren't wearing nearly enough to be outside." He closed the door behind him. Immediately, he too was bathed in the green aurora glow that felt like it filled the whole world. The glittering snow crunched gently under the soles of his leather shoes - as he walked toward you, he started to toy with the collar of his large fur-trimmed midnight cloak, unclasping a metal moon charm that took on an emerald glint every time it shifted.

"I'm watching the sky," you replied, meekly, breath escaping in a shimmering cloud.

He came to your side at the balcony, eyelight peering curiously down at you. He tugged loose a fabric knot at his throat. "for how long? i expected you'd be long asleep by now."

"I-I don't know." Now that he had snapped you out of your trance, you were starting to really feel the cold through your simple woollen dress. "It's hard to keep track of time,"

Nightmare sighed. With the knot undone, he drew the great cloak off his shoulders. You watched, mutedly confused - you could hear its silver embroidered ends sweeping over the flagstones.

... He stepped up to you... and brought the cloak around your shoulders.

You blinked up at him, flustered by the proximity once again, as the heavy thing suddenly weighed down upon you. Warmth-imbued soft fabric suddenly soothed your skin, fur tickling your cheeks and nose. He looked so different without the cloak - he wore a lovely long-sleeved dark tunic beneath, the neck and wrists lined with real silver. He looked so handsome, the aurora's glow suited his complexion far more than sun; you liked being able to see his face, less obscured by layers of fur.

You wanted to ask many questions - Are you really sure I can wear this? Is this ok with you? Isn't this precious to you, you wear it all the time? Isn't it expensive? Are you certain?

... Yet... the questions didn't come. Instead, a tiny tired "Thank you," fell out of your mouth.

His eyelight got wider, for a moment. And you could not tell if the aurora had merely brightened, or there was colour on his face. But his expression quickly returned to normal.

Seemingly subconsciously, he touched the fur of the cloak, very near to your face. "i choose to not hear that," he said, gently.

You exhaled. Ah, right. You couldn't thank the fae, could you? Nor apologise. There was implication of debt. "Oh."

He sounded sympathetic. "you've got to be more careful than that. this is no place for slips of the tongue."

"I know. I just... when I'm comfortable, I forget."

He got a strange look on his face.

"could i ask why you are staring at the sky?" He shifted, standing beside you, mimicking your position of elbows rested on the balcony edge. The subject change was not lost on you, but you chose not to speak on it. "with not nearly enough clothes on, i might add."

You stared at him. "Why am I staring? Is that a genuine question?"

His brow creased. "yes?"

You looked back up again. At the sea of stars - but equally, the silent river of green and pink fire that flowed across the open sky.

You had never seen it this strong in the human world, never. There were no words that could fully make sense of it. It was gentle, silent, like smoke, like water, like fire. Like magic.

"I mean..." you were breathless. "... Just look at it."

"it signals morning, for us. a high aurora and a full moon is the closest we get to daylight." His dark, soft voice was perfect for the setting. "some days it is strong, some days it is weak. but it always comes."

"It's really, really beautiful."

... He hummed.

"... yes. it is."

You glanced at him. He looked away from you, up to the sky.

"You weren't even looking,"

"i must admit, i have long struggled to see any beauty in my realm." He relaxed his whole weight onto his forearms. "i see only darkness and cold. shadows of what the summer realm has."

Your eyes were getting heavy. "If it was hot, you could never have given me your cloak. And if it was bright, I could not see the stars."

Nightmare hummed. His hand shifted, as if to move toward yours, but instead he knitted his fingers together.

"perhaps we should make a deal."

You turned, shooting a withering look up at him. "Nothing binding."

He grinned. It was hard to believe that face belonged to the very man that had unhorsed a dozen knights to win your hand. "yes, yes, nothing binding, i swear. a human sort of deal."

"Hm. Go on, then."

"you remain here, at the palace. you live as you wish to, under my complete protection." He played with a silver ring on his index finger. "and in return... you will tell me when you find my realm beautiful. metaphorically lend me your eyes. perhaps then, i'll finally start to see what you like so much about all this snow and stone."

Ah, you couldn't help but smile. "Alright, I agree to that. You'll realise it's far, far more than 'snow and stone'."

He chuckled. "i hope so."

"We'll start with this. I find the aurora very, very beautiful." You looked back up to it. "Look at the shapes. The patterns. But just... look at the colours. Aren't they breathtaking?"

Nightmare settled in beside you, his upper arm brushing your shoulder.

...

"... i think i'm starting to see it." He murmured.

You could tell, from the direction of his voice, that he was still looking at you.

[storiesoflilies]

of angels and curses

warnings: light smut? i don’t know, it’s a lil spicy.

a/n: these interludes will have no addition to the main plot in any way. i suppose they are more of a drabble, anyways it’s just me in my feels. enjoy :) Ko-Fi.

next part — chapter 4

interlude (i)

they lay together intertwined in his garden of bluebells, looking up at the tapestry of starlight galaxies above them. she knew she was dreaming, but it felt so real – he felt so real.

“if i could cast a spell on you, i would,” gojo said, like it was the most simple thing in the world.

how could he not be real? the way his chest rose and fell as he breathed, the way their shoulders touched, and the way he looked at the celestial sky all felt real.

“really? what for?” she asked softly, as delicate as the rain that fell from the heavens that cried whenever angels died.

his eyes twinkled with starlight and silver as he replied, “so you won’t ever forget me.”

she giggled naively, “why, i could never forget you.”

“yes you could,” he quickly said, his words tumbling and rolling like stones from an avalanche. “you would. you know i already love you, but you won’t let me because of him.”

“but i’m here now, doesn’t that count for something?”

“no it doesn’t, because you already think he’s beautiful and he loves you,” he murmured, pointing at a star shooting across the sky, a momentary distraction.

“but i’m here with you now, i’m already yours,” she said, stroking away the blades of grass that clung to his snowy hair.

he shook his head, “you never were. you’re like a little stream running away to join the sea, and i’ve tried so hard to follow you all this time.”

he was so different under the light of moon and stars. here was her champion, reduced to bare bones and flesh, his soul raw and exposed for her to feast on.

“i don’t want to know what you feel anymore, or i’ll start to love you less,” his voice cracked, like ice crashing against stone.

“oh, don’t say that. don’t ever say that,”

he rolled over on top of her, his hands clasping both sides of her head, kissing her face fervently, full of reverence. it felt wrong, this wasn’t holy, underneath the eyes of heaven and the universe.

“i won’t, i won’t,” he whispered, his blue eyes like deep infinite pools that she saw her whole life play out within. “just give me a chance.”

but it would be a lie, and she knew it; so did he. she didn’t think he cared. he was just a fool in the big grand scheme of the universe, but in that moment he was hers, and she couldn’t help but love him the way he wanted to be loved.

“please don’t lie to me, don’t,” he begged, but his voice had become as sharp as thorns and razors, and his fingers dug crescent moons into her arms.

and her heart broke for him, because all she wanted to do was run away from him. it was easier to think he never loved her really, because all any of it had ever been was lies and a facade. he kissed her lips suddenly, trying to be gentle, but he was made of ice and she of the sun. it hurt him more than it did her, and he gasped loudly.

“you can’t leave me, i’ll haunt you, I’ll follow you,” he vowed, his lips all swollen and wet brushing against hers as he spoke, and forbidden desire pooled between them. “is he really worth this?”

his hand travelled in waves and swirls down to her navel, dancing just above the dip in between her thighs, while his other held the back of her head, fingers intertwined into her hair.

“i won’t leave, you can be my beautiful sea now,” she breathed shakily, as his cold lips worshipped her neck.

all lies. she didn’t belong here with him, because he was worth everything she could give. he settled his face between the dip of her neck and shoulder, breathing hard and heavy, and rumbled, “darling, i’m an ocean.”

she shivered as his white hair tickled her chin, and he said, “you’ll hear the sound of my waves, and you’ll know.”

his fingers ghosted over that forbidden spot, and she fought back against the moan that threatened to escape her mouth. he looked at her with those infinite eyes, desire and anger pooling in them, and she knew then she had to be careful against the storm.

“you’ll know that you can never get away from me, from this,” he whispered, his stray hand traveling back up to cup her face.

she said nothing, and they stared at each other like first loves dancing together in between the weaves of fate. time was cruel, and maybe in another life they would have been each other’s dreams. but for now, she would take her chances and turn around and run away.

and run.

run towards him instead, because his love was real.

“why don’t you shine down on me?” he murmured, capturing her lips again, his tongue swiping across them, begging for entrance.

and she let him in, just this once, their tongues twisting and turning together in a fast waltz. he fisted his fingers in her hair and gripped her waist like she was going to melt away from him. in another lifetime, this would have been so right; the way he held her as he started to move into her, the way she wrapped her arms around his neck, and she wouldn’t be pretending it wasn’t gojo making her feel this good.

he finally broke away from her, their foreheads touching, and said, “you can’t, can you? you’ve already spent all your light on him.”

she could only nod, and he sighed in defeat. here was the strongest of them all, a titan brought low, broken and bent, because he could never possibly hope to compete against him.

“you won’t remember this,” he said, bowing his head as the tears fell like a tragedy down his smooth skin. “you won’t remember me.”

“i will,” she stated firmly, comfortingly. this, she would promise.

“no, you won’t,” he sobbed. she’d broken him forever.

and his garden of bluebells disappeared with the wind, as the echoes of his heartbreak cried out to her soul.

-•-

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[pandoa]

"what a waste of a lovely night"

circumstances leave you stuck with leona on a night with sights made for romance. shame you and the prince have no interests in each other in that way, though. right?

~leona kingscholar x gender neutral reader~ based and inspired by la la land's "a lovely night" scene !!

i basically just wrote leona and the reader into mia and sebastian's parts in this scene from la la land lol. can you tell i'm going through brainrot?

“Just so you know, you’re not my type.”

Reluctantly grumbling into the setting sky of the streets in the Isle of Sages, Leona Kingscholar had walked on carefully—making sure to keep a safe distance away from you—as an irritated tone tainted his voice. The gentle, yellow glow of a nearby lamp had illuminated onto the both of you as you and the beastman had tread along the pathway created by a resting neighborhood. Stars had begun to peek from the dimming stratosphere, leaves of trees surrounding you had waltzed with a small breeze gliding it into a lyrical sway, even the lights of homes miles away from you had sparked in a soft luminescence that complimented the gleaming of the lamppost beside you. The night had been perfect. Well, up until you had regrettably bumped into the Savanaclaw housewarden, that is. Seriously, how did you two end up at the same exact places at the same exact times? It’s happened before and was completely uncanny at this point. You had grown tired of this sick joke with fate. Turning to Leona, you proceeded to give him a sour look as you both had followed the path back to the college after spending the hours of daylight on your own separate adventures. Lamenting quietly on your own, you found that all you wished to do was return to Night Raven and forget that this night had ever happened.

But that would be proven difficult if you and Leona had both been traveling towards the same place, yes?

A sarcastic scoff escaped your mouth at the arrogant man’s assumptions. “Really?” defensively shooting an arm up to your chest, another arm had crossed with your other in retaliation, “Cocky for you to assume that I want anything to do with you, Kingscholar. I think I’ll be the one to make that call.” 

Leona dryly laughed at your comment as he caught sight of your own gaze pointed directly at his form. Your eyes trailed from top to bottom, appearing to be deeply analyzing the housewarden, as he took note of the way you had never failed to maintain a stable reach away from him—close enough to acknowledge that you both were walking together, but not so close that your shoulders would gradually touch. The third year’s head had turned away from your glances, smirking to himself as he still felt your eyes following his, “Then quit staring. Didn’t whoever raised you tell you to never stare at people? It’s rude.”

“Oh, my apologies,” you breathed, teasingly poking at the man’s shoulder, “I was just glaring at that wrinkled polyester suit of yours. Didn’t whoever raised you say to never take a cat nap in the middle of nowhere?”

Leona halted at a bench, deadpanning at the banter he had enabled himself, “... It’s wool.”

“Whatever.”

A strangely peaceful silence then befell each of you as you rested your exhausted feet at the pathway’s concrete bench. The sky above had shown off colors of pink, scarlet, rose, orange, and gold, all while being dim enough for it to not overshadow the lights of the isle’s villages. Lanterns scattered all over the land and left a silver shine that stretched to the shores of the island. Constellations shimmered like diamonds trapped in the atmosphere. The moon became an enigma of fluorescent rays among the trees of the empty streets. A perfect view crafted just for two.

“The sky really is pretty tonight,” you sighed aloud, gaping at the plethora of shades within the nightfall. “Shame I’m stuck with you of all people, though. Sights like these are made to create feelings for lovey-dovey couples, y’know,” you added as a matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly thrilled about this either, (Y/n),” the lion-like prince snarked back. If you were going to act that way, then so would he. He held a burning hate for you anyway, so there was simply no trouble for him to do so. 

Although the unnoticeable tinge of rose that formed on the man’s cheeks said otherwise.

With the only sound playing through the night being the lively owls perched on numerous branches, another moment of silence crossed you and Leona as the two of you had watched the sights unraveling before you. Leona had sat beside you by now, and you felt an unusual pull at the depths of your heart as a nervous sweat started to form from the way he carelessly scooted closer to you—with your gaze looking anywhere but Leona’s way.

The third year, trying to swiftly shake off an odd fluttering sensation within his own stomach, then arched his body back and yawned, feigning relaxation, “You feeling anything?”

“Fortunately, no.” A warm shade of heat proceeded to flow to your face. 

Leona then brought his attention back to the glistening lights of dusk, stars reflecting back to the irises of his eyes, “Right. Same here.”

“It’s just a waste of a lovely night.”

a/n: the more i write for leona, the more i start to think whether i'm just in denial when i say i don't like him-

[wolfiemcwolferson]

Today it's been one year since I hit publish on the first chapter of the first Blue Neighbourhood fic.

I thought it was going to be three parts. I knew what I had to say.

I build back stories for everyone in my head. I knew what was going on in their lives because that's how I build characters and fics in my head, but as I wrote, I knew that the stories I had built for them deserved to be shared to.

This series poured out of me in a way that almost nothing does. I rarely fought these fics. They came naturally and completely and full of life on their own.

And I think it's because they were incredibly healing. Both to me and to so many of you.

I couldn't know on August 3rd of last year what they would do for me, but god, I am in tears thinking about it now.

I have written a terribly emotional author's note for the last chapter of the drabbles, so all I'll say here is...

Thank you. If you read all of it or just a piece of it, thank you for coming along this ride with me.

Thank you for fucking everything.

Maybe you haven't started these fics, or maybe you were waiting for the whole thing to be complete, and if so. Well. Here we go.

The playlist for leave this blue neighbourhood can be found here.

The series is ultimately a bit of 415k words and has 10 complete works. They are:

so can we make the most out of no time? (Maxiel, 24.5k words)

and my hopes, they are high (Maxiel, 72.5k words)

but home is just a roomful of my safest sounds (Maxiel, 29k words)

forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons (Piarles, 59.5k words)

what if we said goodbye to safe and sound? (Carlando, 63k words)

anything hurts less than the quiet (Galex, 79k words)

there's no limit to your love (epilogue fic, one chapter per MC, 50.5k words)

Blue Neighbourhood Drabbles (drabble collection, all pairings, 29k words)

no thinking over the weekend (Piarles, 9k words)

baptize me indigo (Charles & Daniel, 2k words)

[klimkovsky]

«Are we alone in the Universe?» — new composition and video-version

Sometimes it seems that - yes - alone. Judge for yourself - scientists have been searching for at least some manifestations of extraterrestrial life (at least life - not even intelligence) for so many years, but so far the result is consistently negative. The Universe is huge, and common sense tells us that if We somehow appeared on one of the countless grains of sand - on this planet, then someone else must appear... But where is he then?!

Let's think about how long people have been looking for their own kind or just extraterrestrial life.

Let's start with the fact that before the beginning of the Renaissance, such searches did not arise in the minds of people. For thousands of years they settled creatures of religious and mystical origin in the heavenly and underground spheres, but to think about the possible existence of some brothers in intelligence - parallel civilizations that may differ from us in some details, but in the hierarchical ladder of universal beings stand at about the same step - this did not occur to them. The picture of the world was human-centric — the Earth was in the Center of the World, and therefore — nothing equal to it, and equal to its inhabitants, had the right to exist in the Universe. And there was not much room for it. The stars were nailed to the firmament, the planets were just huge precious stones — Diamond, Ruby, Amber... (Venus, Mars, Jupiter...) or precious metals (the Moon seemed cast from silver). And where should alternative people live?

The first people known to us to ask such questions were Nicolaus Cusanus and Giordano Bruno. They were practically the same age. How they came up with such ideas — it is impossible to guess now. If someone had similar thoughts before them, then most likely they were unable to convey their ideas and questions to us. But about 500 years ago, the seeds of doubts about our uniqueness and singularity began to sprout on our planet, and along with them, the early shoots of guesses about the infinity of the World in which we live. And infinity hardly allows for the uniqueness of at least something in it. Of course, at first only a few people spoke seriously about this. A wide discussion of the issue of extraterrestrial civilizations arose synchronously with the discovery of pseudo-canals on Mars by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli - about 150 years ago. Mars began to be seriously considered as a possible haven for life - similar to ours. But there are probably more than just Earth and Mars in the Universe. Venus was also considered as an option, but hot Mercury - no longer. And distant gas giants - Jupiter and more distant ones - seemed unacceptably cold for the possibility of life existing on them. Whether other planetary systems exist in the Universe - this was unknown until the beginning of the third millennium. In fact, it was only in the 21st century that science was convinced of their existence, when the first planets were discovered in the systems of other stars. And only in the last couple of decades have we known for sure that there are at least suitable places in the Universe for our intelligent brothers. But even this is not certain.

Now tell me: If we have been searching for something — on a civilizational time scale — for about a quarter of a century, do we have the right to lament that we have not yet found it? And we have not really searched for it. And we have no reason to be skeptical. Even serious astronomers are now determined to succeed in this search, although until recently science was dominated by denial. For example, astronomer Vladimir Surdin is convinced that we will discover extraterrestrial life in the current decade, and intelligent extraterrestrial life — by the middle of the century.

Well, all that's left is to live until then, not forgetting that we have many unresolved problems on Earth, because of which intelligent life on our planet, or even life in general, may end.

The musical composition «Are we alone in the Universe?» was written relatively recently. But I didn't show it to anyone for about a year and a half. Then it was included in the annual collection of electronic music dedicated to Cosmonautics Day, and sounded in it as the first track - the opening track of the release.

And now I've finally matured enough to publish this piece for all my friends and subscribers.

Enjoy listening and successful searches for what you are looking for!

Link:

https://youtu.be/7gFKGsYdRsk

[fionajames]

Ghost Hunters Club: Chapter I

The first chapter of a Colby Brock x Male! OC book.

A/N: Holy shit I need a coffee. This is over 7.3k words please send help im dying (/j)

This is based off of Sam and Colby's video about the Millenium Biltmore Hotel; The Terrifying Night We'll Never Forget | Haunted Biltmore Hotel.

Welcome, to Ghost Hunters Club.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽⋆⋅☆⋅⋆☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

The doors of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel were gently pushed open as two boys strolled in, one clutching a camera, the other with a grin. The door closed behind them and they moved to the front desk, leaning against it to talk patiently when they realised it was unattended.

The younger boy wielding the camera had fluffy warm-toned black hair that had been tousled wildly in various directions and honey coloured eyes with flecks of gold swimming in them. He had pinkish vanilla coloured skin with a constellation of star-shaped freckles dusted over his cheeks and an obvious pink scar over the bridge of his nose.

He was wearing a loose cream, button-up t-shirt and baggy chocolate brown cargo pants with huge pockets. Many silver rings adorned his fingers and black fingerless-gloves that covered his wrists matched them. A singular bracelet of obsidian and labradorite gemstones adorned his left wrist. A silver chain hung from his neck as his silver moon and star chain helix and lobe earrings gleamed in the light.

Beside him the older beaming boy had thick curly ginger hair that looked like flames in the light, matched with shining blue eyes like the ocean. He had pink skin, covered in freckles like a scatter of paint, coating all of his face and dotted on the rest of his skin. 

He was dressed in a brown sweater with the collar of a cream shirt peeking out underneath with beige cargo pants, a singular gold bracelet attached to his wrist.

Both of them were clutching the straps of their backpacks which were slung over the shoulders, and the older had his ear pressed to his phone, listening intently to the person on the other side of the call.

The honey-eyed boy waited patiently at the desk, murmuring to the camera softly - which was pointed at the floor as to not grasp too many peoples’ attention. 

“So we’re just at reception now,” the younger mumbled into the microphone, glancing around through his lashes. He tapped his feet and shifted his weight between his feet. “No one’s here so we’re just gonna wait a bit.”

The fiery-haired boy continued nodding and talking to his phone, thrusting a hand into his pants pocket and pressing his back up against the desk. 

“Oh and I couldn’t bring Knox on this one,” the honey-eyed boy muttered, pouting childishly even though the camera couldn’t see him. “I know, I know. I��m really upset I couldn’t bring him but they don’t allow dogs here.”

At that moment a lady strolled up to the desk with a huge grin and acknowledged the patiently waiting boys. “I’m sorry for the wait,” she told them and the ginger boy murmured a ‘goodbye’ into the phone before hanging up. “Check in or out?”

“In,” the fiery-haired boy told her firmly, shooting her a short smile. He shuffled to the other’s side and ruffled the already tousled black hair even more. “We’re here to ghost hunt.” The older explained with a grin, doing jazz-hands as he spoke. The honey-eyed boy averted his gaze from the woman and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You wouldn’t be the first,” the woman told them kindly. “Name?”

“Caspian Killian,” the honey-eyed boy spoke up, his voice soft in texture but clear in tone. The woman nodded. 

“Alright, here is your key,” she handed the older - which mildly annoyed the younger - a door key and the fiery-haired boy nodded, pocketing it with a smile. “You’re on the eleventh floor,” she continued and quickly gave them directions.

“Thank you,” both boys chorused before leaving to find their room. 

Caspian sighed, holding the camera up higher to get a view of the hotel, running his unoccupied hand through his hair and messing around with it until he was content. “Smile, Lin,” he told the fiery-haired boy who shot the camera a huge grin before he pointed it away.

“I can’t believe we’re here,” the fiery-haired boy whispered as they admired the lobby, standing back to back.

“Well, you better,” Caspian whispered back.

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽⋆⋅☆⋅⋆☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Caspian sniffed as he rubbed his pink-tinted nose with a grimace. The fiery-haired boy shot him a sympathetic smile. “Y’know, I really don’t think we should be down here,” he whispered as they roamed around the empty and eerie ballroom.

“The door was open, and therefore I can go where I like,” Caspian shot back with a cocky smile and the older laughed, throwing his head back.

“Aren’t you cops s’pposed to be all goody?” The fiery-haired boy asked, his grin glowing as he ran a hand down the fabric of a curtain, admiring the pattern.

Caspian’s nose crinkled playfully.

“I’m not a cop anymore,” he reasoned with a smile, lightly punching the older’s shoulder playfully. The older laughed and ruffled his hair. 

Then, the pair abruptly froze, fear coursing through them as they heard footsteps and voices, alongside a door closing. The fiery-haired boy darted behind one of the walls and tugged Caspian along with him, both of them pressing their backs up against the walls as they held their breaths.

The pair listened carefully before Caspian slowly dropped to the floor, sliding the camera along the carpet to record the people who had entered. “I think their filming,” he told the older softly, which earned him a glare to keep quiet. 

They waited patiently but petrified as the long seconds ticked by, slowly growing into minutes. The footsteps - although light - grew closer as they held their breaths. 

“So I wonder what ballroom we’re actually in,” a voice whispered quietly and Caspian’s eyes widened at how close the boy sounded. His brain had kicked into action and the subconscious police-routine of studying his surroundings and the people clicked into place. 

He could guess the boy sounded around his age and judging by the sound of the footsteps, he was one of two walking closer, but they’d left another two people near the door.

“Cause there’s multiple, right?” The boy continued, and the fiery-haired boy sucked in a breath as he began shuffling to the right - away from the strangers. He urged Caspian to follow, but the honey-eyed boy didn’t move. “Oh my God, this is neveren-” the boy cut himself off with a screech.

He’d walked past the wall where Caspian and the fiery-haired boy were hiding and turned to see them. The boy had short dark brown hair and bright, glowing blue eyes which were widened in bewilderment. He had light ivory skin and two stud earrings in, clutching the end of his black leather jacket as he’d been adjusting it when he’d frozen. Underneath the jacket was a black t-shirt and hidden was a black belt. Attached to the belt was a silver chain which was dangling by his right hip, contrasting well with his dark grey ombre jeans.

A few steps behind him was a boy with short blonde hair and glistening blue eyes, filled with intrigue. He had pinkish skin and was raising an eyebrow. He was wearing a black t-shirt with white symbols that Caspian instantly identified as someone’s merch - who’s, he didn’t know - and black fingerless gloves with the same white merch symbols, alongside clean black jeans and a black backpack.

“Hello,” the fiery-haired boy managed to squeak out with a grin as the blonde swivelled the camera to the pair. Caspian had to physically remind himself to move his eyes off of the brunette stranger, who seemed to be pulling him in. 

“Sorry,” the blonde addressed them with a smile, shuffling to stand beside his friend, who’s eyes hadn’t moved from Caspian. Not that the honey-eyed boy had noticed, as he was playing with his rings nervously, tapping the side of the camera. “You're filming too, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Caspian managed to say, practically choking on his own words. “We’re ghost-hunter-Youtubers.” The fiery haired boy let out a good-natured scoff.

“You are, I’m not.”

“Oh, so are we,” the brunette explained with a grin, his eyes still unmoving as he fell into a more natural stance, waving his hand as he spoke. “I’m Colby, this is Sam, and our friends somewhere over there are Corey and Jake.” He peered around the corner to try and catch a glimpse of the other two boys but to no avail.

“I’m Caspian and this is my cousin Roslin,” the honey-eyed boy explained, shifting his camera to his left-hand and stretching out his right. Sam shook it with a nod and Colby shook it with a smile. Roslin did the same.

“We should probably get out of here, and then we can talk,” Roslin whispered with a playful half-smile, gesturing to the door with a walking motion.

Caspian nodded.

So did Sam.

They made their way to the door and the other pair almost silently, all of them agreeing along the way to being filmed. Caspian glanced around nervously and Roslin gently rested his hand on his shoulder briefly, a reminder that the younger was okay. He shot him a grateful smile.

“This is Jake and this is Corey,” Sam introduced, gesturing to each person in turn. “Jake, Corey, this is Caspian and this is Roslin.”

Roslin gave a short cheerful wave that Jake returned as Caspian nodded his head upwards with a smile, before turning to glance backwards again. 

“Do you guys know which ballroom this is?” Colby asked and the fiery-haired boy nodded as the six began walking down the corridor - away from the door. 

“The Biltmore Bowl,” Roslin replied, gesturing with his thumb across the room where he and his cousin had been minutes before. “Said on a sign.”

“Oh,” Sam nodded as he passed the camera to Colby. 

Jake bit his lip nervously.

“Oh dude look,” Sam called as the group joined him, staring down at a set of red stairs leading downwards. 

As Caspian moved to get a good view, something dinged.

Jake froze in place and gestured with his thumb backwards, jaw slack in shock. “It dinged again.”

“Was that not your phone?” Colby asked and Roslin hummed in agreement.

“Wasn’t my phone,” Corey said, gesturing to his phone screen with no notifications. Caspian pulled out his phone quickly and shook his head at the empty screen. After Sam, Caspian and Colby quickly went to the door at the end of the stairs, the six began to head back to the door with Corey leading the way.

Just ahead of the door, he froze, eyes wide. “The lights are off,” he whispered, pointing at the ballroom they’d been exploring earlier. Caspian stepped in front and led them through the dark silently, unafraid of the limited light. He waited for the lights to flicker on - expecting them to be motion-sensed - but reminded himself that they’d already been on when he and Roslin had entered. 

The six of them quickly made it to the stairwell where Caspian closed the door. As soon as he let go of the door knob, it shook violently.

“Holy shit,” Sam muttered, staring at it.

The honey-eyed boy reached for the nearest person to tap when he heard footsteps growing closer - which happened to be Colby. He pushed the brunette’s shoulder hurriedly and he understood, as he too had heard the oncoming footsteps.

“Somebody’s coming, somebody’s coming,” Colby stated hurriedly and they all rushed up their stairwell, Caspian right behind the brunette. They ran up several floors with Colby muttering repeatedly ‘Someone’s coming’ before swinging left and calmly walking out the doorway.

“I heard them coming through, go right,” Sam whispered, gesturing backwards as Caspian pushed him forwards gently. They quickly walked through several corridors before letting their pace slowen. 

“My heart is beating so fast right now,” Colby stated with a grin, a hand on his chest as Roslin nodded, shaking his limbs out.

“Wait,” Sam paused and Colby urged him to keep walking, so he did. 

“C’mon, let's go in the bathroom,” Jake suggested and they quickly walked in, Caspian sniffling again as he rubbed his nose and cringing at the runniness. 

“Boys meeting,” Colby teased in an attempt to loosen the tension. “No girls allowed.” Roslin let out a chuckle and Caspian smiled. 

“Isn't it illegal to film in a bathroom?” Sam pointed out and Roslin glanced at Caspian, who nodded confirmation. Both camera-men stopped recording.

“Well that was intense,” Roslin murmured and the group all let out a chuckle, collapsing against the walls.

“So you’re ghost hunters too?” Jake asked the pair. Roslin shook his head with a smile, whereas Caspian nodded eagerly.

“Cass here is but I’m not,” the older explained, leaning against a wall and shoving his hands in his pockets. “He usually takes his dog with him but this place doesn’t allow pets so he had to resort to human companionship,” Roslin teased and Caspian let out a mockingly-offended gasp.

“It’s not my fault your shit company!” He exclaimed, shoving his shoulder playfully - yet a little too hard for it to be called lightly. “Knox is so much better than you at this.” Roslin gasped and gaped at him, holding a hand over his heart in mock-offence.

“You have a ghost-hunter dog?” Sam asked eagerly and Caspian nodded, sniffling again before resuming playing with his rings. Colby watched intently as the light reflecting off of the rings gleamed.

“He’s my best mate, so yeah,” Caspian explained and Sam and Colby exchanged delighted looks. “He’s around three years old now.”

“What breed?” Colby asked, resting his chin on his hands.

Caspian grinned. “Black and tan German Shepherd,” he replied. Roslin laughed as he reached over and ruffled his warm-black curls again.

“They go everywhere together, well, except for places that don’t allow it,” the fiery-haired boy explained and Caspian shot him a playful glare.

“Hey, since we’re all together now, do you guys wanna do a bit of ghost hunting together?” Sam asked, gesturing to the other five boys. Colby nodded eagerly and Corey and Jake followed suit. Caspian’s face settled in a thoughtful expression while Roslin turned to him with an arched brow.

“Yeah, if you want to,” the honey-eyed boy agreed and Colby cheered, leaving them all to laugh. “Do you guys wanna go to the second floor?”

“Hell yeah,” Sam replied, glancing to his three friends who nodded.

Roslin bit his lip. “I think I’ll stay in our room, if you don’t mind, Cass,” he explained. “I’m not really good with ghost hunting.”

“Sure, Lin,” Caspian responded, slapping his cousin’s shoulder lightly. “You go back, call if you need anything.” He made a calling gesture with his hand as he spoke and Roslin laughed.

“Same goes for you.”

 ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽⋆⋅☆⋅⋆☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

“Guys we’re tryna go to the second floor which is the haunted one and it won’t click,” Sam explained to the camera as he continued to press the button in the elevator. Caspian had also begun filming a few moments before as he nodded. They were a bit cramped in the elevator, but it didn’t bother them. “So like, no one can go to the second floor.”

“What if we go to the third floor and then go down the stairs?” Caspian suggested from beside Colby, who nodded. 

Sam pressed the button and they waited patiently for the elevator to arrive on their desired floor. When they did, Sam left first, and then Corey, but he stopped midway.

“Devyn just texted me,” Corey began, staring at his phone screen as he stood beside Sam. Colby quietly explained to Caspian that Devyn was Corey’s girlfriend. “And said Navi won’t stop barking at the wall.” 

“Navi’s Devyn’s dog,” Colby whispered to Caspian who nodded gratefully. 

“While you're gone, to the most haunted hotel in Los Angeles,” Sam stated, zooming in his camera. “That’s not weird.” 

The group laughed stiffly before making their way to the stairwell. They scrambled down the staircase and stairs until they reached the door to level 2. 

Jake reached the door first, just as Caspian and Sam began filming again. “Looks closed off,” Sam observed as Jake stepped away from the door, a frustrated look on his face.

“Locked,” he replied.

“Yeah, they did lock it,” Colby whispered as Sam reached the door, pushing down on the stiff handle pointlessly. “‘Photograph and release form’, they won’t even let you film here.” Caspian sighed as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration, explaining the situation to the camera. “We said tenth and eleventh were the most haunted, now it's the second?” Colby asked in confusion.

“No, no, no,” Sam began. “Tenth and eleventh are where, like, the most sightings are and most haunted this” he pointed to the sign saying level two, “used to be just covered with the nurse that was most haunted and they just needed to stop people staying here.”

“Listen, brother,” Jake intervened, stepping closer to Colby. He grabbed Colby’s shoulders and shook him once gently, putting on a strange country accent. “The whole fucking hotel’s haunted.”

Caspian snorted softly at the humour.

“This was haunted by a nurse a long time ago,” Sam explained, glancing at Caspian who was fiddling with his camera’s straps. “And they stopped letting people in.” 

“Who wants to go down to the dungeon?” Jake asked, pointing down the stairwell and Caspian gasped happily, rushing to his side to peer down.

They briefly talked about the camera blurring over Jake’s face as Caspian hurried down the stairs with his camera, grinning giddily all the way. Colby watched with a raised brow and piqued curiosity. Caspian seemed to be one strange person.

“This doesn’t look like a lobby to me,” Sam squeaked as he pointed the camera to a white corridor, Caspian hurrying towards it. “I dunno but the door’s open so that means it’s open to us.” 

They walked down the corridor quickly, following the childish Caspian who was practically squealing with joy. Sam wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the boy, who seemed so quiet yet so interesting. They finally reached the end of the corridor, which led to some sort of boiler-type room.

“The music is like, right there,” Colby stated, pointing down a thin corridor where quiet classical music was seeping from.

“We should probably go,” Corey suggested, patting Caspian’s shoulder gently when the honey-eyed boy let out a sad whine. 

Caspian froze after a second and began silently ushering Sam down the corridor they’d come through. “There's someone walking this way.” 

The group made their way back quickly. “Are you sure?” Colby asked, glancing back but still walking. They reached the stairwell again and Caspian rubbed his eyes, only half-paying attention to what the others were saying. They kept walking down - to Sam’s surprise, stating that the place seemed endless - before they reached a mysterious black door.

Caspian gasped eagerly again and hurried down to it alongside Colby, pushing the door open. It creaked as he did and he peered around outside, brows furrowed in confusion. He scrambled out, followed quickly by Colby, and spun in a circle when he recognised the lobby area.

The group quickly continued walking after Sam ushered them to move.

“We came out next to the security guard,” Colby muttered through gritted teeth and Sam laughed nervously. Caspian giggled.

 ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽⋆⋅☆⋅⋆☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

After conversing about what to do next, the group insisted Caspian stay with them for their next investigations, leading him to be collapsed on the couch in their room as the time ticked closer and closer to 1 o’clock in the morning.

Sam and Colby were talking to the camera about what they were doing and planning to do next as Caspian mindlessly opened his phone. 

“Is that your dog?” Jake asked from his place next to the boy, pointing at Caspian’s locked screen. The honey-eyed boy nodded tiredly. His lock screen was a picture he’d taken of Knox just after getting him, the puppy so visibly young in many ways including his singular floppy ear. Caspian smiled fondly.

“Yeah,” he replied, opening up his phone and the messages app, clicking the most recent conversation. He typed in a message to his best friend Debbie before closing his phone and burying his face into the sleeves of his hoodie, closing his eyes.

 ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽⋆⋅☆⋅⋆☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

It was nearing 2:30am when the group all settled on the couch with food and put on a show to watch, all of them paying attention except for Caspian - who was inspecting each person individually, trying to understand them.

At some point between 2:30am and 3am, a loud thud sound filled the apartment, coming from the level below. The group hurried to their feet and Sam grabbed his camera, Caspian doing the same.

“Guys, literally, we were not recording, there's something downstairs,” Sam hurried out as Corey turned the TV off. Caspian rolled his shoulders back and let the adrenaline wash over him, pushing away the sleepiness he’d felt before. “That was the elevator!” Sam exclaimed, repeating over and over about hearing sounds downstairs.

Caspian began making his way downstairs - seemingly calm compared to the others. Colby followed after him quickly, not wanting to leave the boy alone.

“What did you hear?” Jake asked and the group stopped to listen to Sam’s answer. 

“The elevator, the metal thing, downstairs,” Sam explained.

“What, you didn’t hear that giant thud?” Corey asked Jake and Caspian bit his lip. Usually, in these situations, it was just him and Knox, and he’d calmly and quietly go check what it was. Caspian was like that, self-less. “When you were asleep we heard the elevator door, like.” Corey cut himself off, unable to explain the sound.

“Let’s go,” Colby suggested and moved in front of Caspian to walk. Instantly, Caspian moved back ahead of him, telling himself that if there was an intruder in the apartment, he’d step between them and his new friends.

“What if someones here?” Sam desperately wondered, and Caspian shot him a gentle, soothing look. Sam couldn’t explain why, but he trusted Caspian entirely, even though they’d only met hours before. They hurried down the stairwell.

“The door’s open!” Corey gasped in shock as Caspian moved to it.

“Was that us?” Colby asked. Caspian shrugged.

“Wasn’t that closed?” Corey stammered.

“I thought we closed it!” Sam exclaimed. “We would’ve closed it, right?”

“I dunno, I mean, we didn’t check the footage, I’m not sure,” Colby replied as Caspian moved to inspect the door, gently moving it back and forth.

“No, no, no, we had to slam it closed!” Corey reminded them, as Caspian moved to the doorway of the elevator. He grasped the metal fencing and pulled it closed, and then opened it again.

“It sounded like that,” he observed, doing the motion again so Sam could hear it.

“It did!” Sam exclaimed, and Caspian could hear the panic in his voice. “It sounded like a deep thud, bro. Holy fuck.”

“Wait someone could be in here,” Colby pointed out and began moving to another room. Caspian was alert instantly, balling one hand into a fist and moving silently to check nearby rooms for intruders. His training was kicking in. “What else could it be?” Colby wondered as they searched.

Sam began quickly recapping to the camera what was going on as the others inspected the elevator. Caspian, however, moved from room to room with a quick walk, teeth gritted in concentration.

As the others tried to find an explanation for the sound, Caspian noticed how Colby was shaking from the adrenaline and fear. He quickly made his way to the other and switched how he was holding the camera to embrace him in a one armed hug. 

Colby sank into him instantly, trembling as he did and breathing in and out shakily. Just as the group was beginning to calm down again, another thud rang through the apartment, and something that sounded like the piano.

Caspian instantly darted to the stairs, gripping his camera so tight it turned his knuckles white. Colby raced behind him, but Sam overtook him.

“Yo, is somebody pranking us right now,” Colby wondered, desperate for an explanation as they reached the piano. Caspian gave Sam a half-hug like he had done to Colby upon seeing the blonde trembling too.

“Someone’s in here,” Jake spluttered, and Caspian wrapped a comforting arm around him too. They all felt oddly comforted by Caspian’s comfort, as he was the calmest of them all.

“That’d be illegal, if someone is screwing with us that's one hundred percent illegal,” Sam reasoned and Caspian stiffened at the mention of illegalism. Oh how he wished he had Knox with him. His dog made this stuff so much easier. “Check every room, check every room. No matter what, cause there is someone screwing with us right now.”

Caspian began swiftly checking the rooms again, but internally he knew that there was no way it was another person. He moved around to check over and over, only rejoining the group when he heard Sam cry out in panic.

“Dude, did you hear that?!” He sounded genuinely panicked, and Caspian moved to stand beside him. 

“What?” Jake asked.

“There were like, three cracks,” Sam explained. Colby muttered something. “Yeah, I’m freakin’ out, dude!” 

“But are you sure that was the piano, cause like,” Colby began, resting his hands on top of the piano. Caspian turned to Sam, before quickly striding to Jake upon seeing him in distress. He began rubbing a hand up and down Jake’s back soothingly.

“Yeah, it was, I’m pretty sure the camera even caught it,” Sam responded. “It was like a high-pitched sound.”

“I don’t feel good,” Jake whispered and Caspian nodded. The other boy turned to face him more and Caspian understood, wrapping him up in a much-needed hug.

“Okay,” Colby began, glancing to Jake over and over. “Maybe we take this time to be quiet and like, to see if anything else happens.”

“Dude, we heard something downstairs and up here, I swear to God,” Sam spluttered. 

“If we heard things on both floors,” Caspian began and the others all turned to him. “How did we hear both? We were standing by the stairwell on both occasions so no one could have snuck past.”

“I’m just saying,” Sam muttered. “What would that be? What is happening right now?!” Caspian let Jake out of the hug as he went to sit down. “Dude, how long has this been going on? My camera right now says 5 minutes and 16 seconds. It is 3:05 right now.”

“So we heard the noise right at 3,” Corey exclaimed, beginning to pace the room as Caspian watched calmly. Or at least, he appeared calm. Internally, he was panicked, wishing he had Knox beside him. Knox was his dog, his buddy, his ghost-hunting companion, and investigating without him felt unnatural.

“That’s fucking givin’ me chills,” Sam panted out as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Right before we were about to do our sèance, cause three am is the witch's hour,” Colby began, his eyes wide as he hugged himself. Caspian nodded confirmation, thinking about his Aunts as he did.

“We were gonna do the sèance right now, why did that happen right now?” Sam explained.

“So the first noise we heard was at three?” Colby confirmed and Sam agreed. “Dude I’m fucking shaking.” He moved to stand next to Caspian’s chair, who reached up to pat his back gently. “But I don’t know if I heard it again, that’s what's freaking me out.” He shot a forced, thankful smile to Caspian, who stood back up and gave him a hug quickly.

“I didn’t hear a piano, I heard was what I thought was like a fence,” Corey explained and Colby agreed. Sam began moving stuff around to try and identify the sound as Colby moved closer to Caspian and the boy’s safe aura.

“I didn’t hear the first sound but the second sound was the fucking piano,” Jake stated. As they were talking, the light on the wall suddenly intensified and Caspian flinched abruptly, spinning to see the previously turned-off TV on.

“No cuts, that's the remote,” Sam began, pointing at the remote on the desk, far away from all five boys. “We turned it off when we went downstairs, how did that just happen?”

“Are the workers fucking with us?” Corey exclaimed and Caspian moved to give him a hug. At first the boy flinched away, and then he relaxed into it, embracing the comfort. Apparently hugs were really soothing during strange paranormal times.

“It has to be, it has to be,” Sam agreed, trying desperately to find an explanation, any explanation. Caspian stood straight up when he heard something creak, and lunged away from Corey and towards the sound.

“Did you just hear that?” Corey asked and the others turned to him. “That sounds like a door opening, like a creeeeaaak. Caspian immediately headed down the hallway the sound had come from, and the others quickly followed. 

“Guys we can’t just follow every sound we hear,” Jake protested, and Caspian nodded. “Wherever we hear a noise, we’re not gonna find anything out from investigating, so we should just fucking chill.”

“I think we should do the sèance,” Caspian spoke up and they turned to him. “This place is clearly trying to tell us something, with the creaks and the weird energy.”

“What weird energy?” Colby asked and the honey-eyed boy tilted his head.

“Do you not feel it?” Caspian asked, his voice like silk. “The air feels thick.” 

The others shook their heads.

“I agree we should do the sèance now,” Sam insisted, changing the subject. 

Corey shook his head. “Fuck that.”

“I’m just saying, honest to God, we came here to find out if something was haunted and something is happening right now, like, wouldn’t this be the best time?” Sam explained and Caspian nodded, switching the camera to the other hand as he did. He began playing with his bracelet absent-mindedly, reminding himself of the protection it provided.

“If something’s fucking with us, we may as well try to fucking communicate with it,” Jake added and both Sam and Caspian nodded. “I don’t think we're gonna get physically hurt at all.” Caspian’s hand instantly moved to brush his arm instinctively.

“I dunno if I wanna do that, man,” Colby explained, rubbing his face with his hands.

“At three am?” Corey repeated. “Dude, great idea.”

 They moved back to stand next to the piano and both Sam and Caspian placed their cameras on top of the instrument. “Two seconds, before we make a decision, though,” Sam began. “What could that actually have been? Like, tryna debunk that right now. Are we just tired?”

“The TV,” Corey reminded them.

“Yeah, the TV, that just turned on, that I have no idea,” Sam agreed.

“Yeah, but the elevator, because we turned that on before, what if it just was one of those weird-” Colby explained, but Sam intervened.

“Like it was still on or something.”

“Yeah, like it shook or something,” Colby finished, nodding all the while.

“Yeah that could’ve been it,” Sam agreed.

“And the high-pitched noise, I don’t even know if that was the piano, I mean, that could’ve been anything,” Colby explained.

“That was the piano,” Jake insisted. “It was literally key by fucking key.” Corey re-explained what he’d heard before Jake continued. “It’s either a piano, or we’re going fucking crazy. It’s one of those two.”

“And it’s three o’clock in the morning, there's not someone just roaming around in the halls,” Sam reasoned. Caspian shivered as a chill went past his arm.

“Its either the piano went off, or we drank too many fucking chocolate frappés and we’re going crazy,” Jake stated and Caspian snorted lightly, before shivering again.

“I’m just saying, what's our plan of action now, we are not leaving - we made a pact,” Sam decided and Colby intervened.

“So let’s just, be quiet, like seriously, us talking isn’t gonna do anything,” Colby reasoned and Caspian pouted slightly. He wanted to do a sèance.

“It’s gonna be fine,” Jake began. “As long as we have each other’s back and we just chill, I think we’ll be fine.” 

“Oh, what the fuck, dude,” Corey sighed.

“That was too much, man,” Sam agreed.

Caspian shifted his weight from foot to foot before shooting his camera - still placed on top of the table - a grin and a thumbs up. Colby couldn’t help but smile at the childish action.

About a dozen minutes later, the boys had finished conversing on their next step and had set up for the sèance. Caspian was eagerly grinning, as he’d never done a sèance with so many people. Colby sat next to him and found himself seeking comfort from his new friend.

Caspian’s aura was so protective, safe, friendly and childish that all four boys felt pulled to him. He was like a flashlight in a dark room and they all sought that light. He was the calm in the middle of the storm, and he’d already shown his self-lessness time and time again.

Sam glanced to the honey-eyed boy, watching him pull a lighter from his bag, alongside four candles. He was grateful for Caspian and his calmness in their frightened state, and he could see they shared the same trait of wanting to learn more about the paranormal and push themselves. 

Colby basically hadn’t left Caspian’s side all night, courtesy of the strange connection pulling him towards the boy. It was a strange feeling that he didn’t really know how to explain, but everything about Caspian intrigued him. He wanted to learn more about him, understand his emotions, and be by his side.

Jake had been far too jumpy to embrace his usual funny self, but he had a feeling that if he and Caspian could talk outside of haunted buildings, they would connect quickly and easily. Caspian clearly shared some of the childish silliness he did, and he’d been desperate to find someone like that to befriend.

Corey had barely talked with Caspian, but not in an awkward way. He felt as though Caspian slipped so easily into their group that it just made sense. Corey hadn’t ever thought about a fifth member to their strange quartet, but now, it was beginning to feel inevitable.

They began filming quickly, Caspian agreeing that they’d just use Sam’s camera and they’d send him the footage afterwards.

“We promised in our last video that we would do a sèance,” Sam began with a pained smile as Corey lit the third candle. “And we’re gonna do a sèance.”

They all watched Corey attempt to light the candle in silence for a minute, before Colby sucked in a breath and turned to their camera with a sarcastic smile. “Do we wanna do a sèance?” Colby asked. “Not really.”

“Yes!” Caspian said at the same time and Colby chuckled.

“But if anythings gonna happen, it's gonna happen right now,” Sam explained, his voice strained with tiredness.

“So, how do we even start a sèance, like, what is the definition of a sèance?” Colby asked and Caspian impatiently wriggled in his seat.

“So,” Sam began, then reached into his pocket to grab his phone. “Let me read it off, just to make sure I’ve got this right.”

“I know,” Caspian intervened, and Sam froze, pulling his empty hand from his pocket. The others turned to the honey-eyed boy. “A sèance is a meeting of people who try to make contact with the dead, usually assisted by a medium!”

“So it’s very general,” Sam explained. “It’s really any way you want to contact the dead, however there are ways to make it better. One, being in a place where a lot of people have died aka this hotel. A lot of people that believe in the haunted.”

“If you make it seem welcoming, safe and comfortable spirits are more keen to communicate,” Caspian added and Sam nodded.

“And we’re literally in a home-looking hotel room with candles lit, very warm colours everywhere, we’re trying to make this very home-y,” Sam agreed.

“I’m scared bro,” Corey admitted. “I’m sorry bro, I don’t like this.”

“I honestly feel like this is a perfect setting though,” Colby agreed. “I mean, what else do we need?” Caspian bit back the urge to say ‘a medium’ as he played with his bracelet.

“No, I feel like this is some horror movie crap, bro,” Corey intervened, and they all turned to Jake, who was playing with the lighter.

Sam went to say something but before he could, Colby reached out and grabbed the lighter from the other’s hands, turned it off, and threw it across the room. “What if that had turned on when you threw it and you burned this entire place to ashes and dust?” Caspian whispered and they all turned to him with raised eyebrows. “What?” 

“When we did Queen Mary, I think we all agreed that there was some weird, like, level of comfort to it, like we weren’t scared,” Jake remembered and Colby quietly whispered an explanation in Caspian’s ear, who thanked him.

“Yeah, the reason why Queen Mary worked was we all believed, we were all comfortable, and we were all together with an energy, if we can make that happen again,” Sam explained, but was interrupted by Jake.

“That’s freaking me out,” Jake stated, pointing up at the chandelier which had been gently swaying back and forth with the occasional creak.

“Yeah but Queen Mary we didn’t light a bunch of candles and say a bunch of spells to get someone to talk to us,” Corey protested and Caspian stiffened instinctively, prepared for him to talk bad about witches or something. “Queen Mary just happened.” 

“But we asked it politely, so we’ve basically done a sèance before, just a very weird one,” Sam reasoned. Caspian raised his hand gently.

“I’ve done sèances before,” he interjected. “Ever since I was a kid.”

“What the fuck?” Jake asked in confusion and Caspian shrugged.

“My family just did that kind of stuff.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Jake told Corey. “You just have to be here.”

“Yeah like, you have the best paranormal energy so we just really need you to be here,” Sam confirmed, although he glanced at Caspian as he spoke. For some reason, he had a feeling that the ‘best paranormal energy’ of the group had changed.

Jake began explaining he’d heard something and Corey agreed, but Caspian was barely listening. His mind had zoned out as he stared at the corner, unable to reconnect. After a minute, he felt Sam shift to begin the sèance and instantly fell back into his body - or at least that's what it felt like. 

“We must say these words together,” Sam explained. “‘Our beloved blank’, so whoever’s spirit so Black Dahlia, anything we want to contact, ‘we bring you gifts from life, into death. Commune with us, and move along.’”

“What?” Corey gasped. “What do you mean ‘we give you gifts from life to death’?”

“We’re giving them a way to communicate by using our life energy from the dead,” Caspian explained.

“I’d like to say is there ‘someone’ here, like, let’s not call them spirits,” Jake offered. “Last time I think that's how we got to have Queen Mary, as we treated it just like another person.”

Caspian agreed hastily, as he’d been about to say the same thing.

“What if we say all together ‘if there’s anybody out here right now we invite you to use your energy and show yourself’ or something” Colby offered.

“To speak through us?” Sam asked and Colby nodded. “Okay, let’s do it. You guys ready?”

“I mean, I’ll sit here,” Corey agreed.

They all reached out and joined hands. 

“So together, what are we gonna say?” Sam asked.

“‘If there's somebody or there's someone here-” Colby began, but Corey interrupted upon hearing something again. Caspian felt himself zone out, but zone back in moments later. He shuddered at the strange feeling.

“If there’s someone here,” Jake, Sam, Colby and Caspian said altogether, all of their eyes closed as Corey patiently waited. “Please use our energy, to communicate with us.”

“Guys, its shaking,” Corey said, pointing up at the chandelier. Caspian looked up and spotted what the other was seeing. “Look! It’s shaking.”

“Should I grab the camera so it can see it?” Sam questioned, eyes fixated on the lamp. Caspian shivered as his eyes remained fixated on the chandelier, his ears tuning out the others’ conversation. He saw Sam get up and move the camera out of the corner of his eye, but couldn’t move his attention from the light.

Colby tapped Caspian gently, pulling him from his daze with a concerned look. Caspian shook his head when Colby went to ask. 

The boys rejoined their hands again after conversing quickly.

“Alright, close eyes,” Sam began and they all did. “Three, two, one.”

“If you are here,” all five boys began speaking in sync, and Caspian let his eyelids relax from their squeezed shut position. “Use our energy to make a sound or sign.”

Caspian breathed in and out deeply, eyes still closed before he felt something. Something in his mind, as though he could see something even though all he saw was black. He lifted his head and opened his eyes nonchalantly, his gaze connecting with Jake’s.

At the same time, both boys jerked back abruptly, and then all four candles flickered out.

“What the fuck?!” Colby exclaimed as they all pushed their chairs away from the table in a hurried panic, moving away so quickly that the camera fell. Or at least, that's what they thought the reason was.

Corey began quickly trying to leave whilst Sam protested, but all Caspian could do was stare at the candles. As the four began to argue, Caspian slowly shuffled closer to the candles, inspecting the wicks and the tiny, remaining flickering light on each. He licked his fingers and moved to snuff the candle, only for it to go out before he could even touch it. The honey-eyed boy flinched back in confusion, before moving to the next, and then the next, and then the next, but everytime he got close to snuffing the candles, they blew out.

Colby grabbed the camera as Corey continuously tried to get them to leave, all while Sam tried to debunk the situation. They hurriedly ended the sèance and the four boys moved to the living room, not even noticing Caspian who’d begun collecting the candles.

As the others moved around the hotel room and turned on all the lights, Caspian gathered his stuff. They chilled in the main living room altogether for an hour before Caspian stood up, all eyes turning to him.

“I have to go, Roslin and I need to be back by midday,” Caspian told them with a regretful smile. The boys gasped and Colby lunged to his feet, wrapping the honey-eyed boy up in a hug. The other three boys joined in almost immediately.

“Here’s my phone number,” Colby told him, handing a small, ripped piece of paper with a phone number scribbled on it. “Call me. I’ll give you the others later.”

Caspian nodded. “I’ll miss you guys.”

“Aww,” Corey cooed. “We’ll miss you too!”

“Yeah, we should collab again,” Sam insisted and all five boys nodded eagerly.

“Oh definitely,” Caspian agreed.

The group all bid their farewells and promised to collab again and talk later, before Caspian left with a sad smile. He made his way down the hallway to his room with Roslin, opening it with a sigh. Roslin looked up at him from his place on the edge of the bed.

“How’d it go?” The fiery-haired boy asked cheerfully, placing his phone down. Caspian groaned in response and slumped down against the wall. “That chaotic?” Caspian hummed in agreement. “Starbucks?”

“Fuck yeah, I need an iced coffee.”

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽⋆⋅☆⋅⋆☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

A/N: I seriously hoped you all enjoyed that because it took me days and I need just, pure espresso at this point.

I do requests, so please send those!

Love y'all!!!

Edit: its tmrw (the day after i posted this) and i got my iced coffee!!!! 🥳🥳🥳

[tinogiehd]

For him by Troye sivan is dnf I’ll die on this hill even the arguably cringe feature and lyrics on that part it’s still dnf core to be that cringe and in love 😭😭

YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY I LOVE YOU TO SAY I LOVE YOU FORGET ALL THE SHOOTING STARS AND ALL THE SILVER MOONS

[echoes-lighthouse]

Valentines Selfship Moodboards (4/?): Zero Rick 

You don't have to say I love you to say I love you Forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons We've been making shades of purple out of red and blue -for him, Troye Sivan

[storytimewithnova]

For Him

Chapter 1

A/N Play this while Reading

We are runnin' so fast that dream again 

Akaashi’s pov 

If you asked me what I would be doing with my life I would never say oh I am a manga editor honestly I never thought I would be where I am today without the support of one person by my side the whole way. I can't help thinking what would life be like if you know I just vanished and gone somewhere anywhere where no one knows us what if we assumed new identities and just now started our careers as a manga editor and trainer at all I can't help but imagine it hey why don't we what's stopping us no scrap that whose to stop  us I ran to Koshi and some him up “babe wake up I've been thinking”

“About what love,” he asked 

“Us just running so far and so fast and we never look back and whatever I lack you make up”

“keiji how long have you been thinking about this”

“Awhile honestly we can do it now before my next deadline and your next training camp lets just run you and me now,” I said to Koshi and I know I must sound crazy to him right now but I don't care I am committed to this “koshi we can go anywhere be anywhere  but here “

We make a really good team

And not everyone sees

We got this crazy chemistry

Between us

Still with Akaashi’s pov 

“Babe listen We make a really good team And not everyone sees We got this crazy chemistry Between us” “well that is true and bi have always told you’re my missing link to my chain the other half of my heart we take the world on together rather than apart”. Koshi said to Akaashi

Chapter 2

Koshi pov

“This is the craziest thing we have ever come up with and without any explanation”  I sighed at him  “ this is our life our careers And you just wanna up and leave What about our families what about our friends you know what Keiji jump start the car cause the city’s a bore we can buy E cigarettes t the convenience store making up new clichés on our own little tour lets ride I'm agreeing to do this but I want an explanation along the way".

You don't have to say I love you to say I love you

Forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons

Akaashi’s PoV 

"I will explain everything in the car lets go and about everyone we will phone them when we are settled somewhere"

"Ok Keiji  I'm waiting for that explanation" "Just imagine what our life would be like if we didn't start the band if no one knew us if we were practically nobodies" You don't have to say I love you to say I love you forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons no more wishing if our life could be different this is chance we could be together properly no more hiding even adopt a kid be a family"just me and you.

We've been making shades of purple out of red and blue

Koshi’s  PoV 

"Babe about the adoption thing we don't have to go though all that" "What do you mean" "I'm a carrier which means I can have kids" all our lives we've been making shades of purple out of red and blue no more secrets Sickeningly sweet like honey, don't need money All I need is you All I need is you, you

Akaashi’s PoV 

Sickeningly sweet like honey babe don't need money all I need in this moment is you just you that's all I need you.

Chapter 3

Third person 

They left their jobs  house and started their Journey to anywhere as Akaashi put it they stopped by cliff to watch the sunset after stopping at the convenience store brought some beers and e cigarettes.

Akaashi’s PoV 

Well We try staying up late But we both are light weights when we get off our face, too easy And we take jokes way too far Cause sometimes living's too hard We're like two halves of one heart I can't bare the thought of living with out you. You don't have to say I love you to say I love you

Koshi’s PoV

Like you said Kei you don't have to say I love you to say I love you lets get in the car and drive start our new life just me and you Forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons you convinced me to run away from the life we had to start a family you made me believe in you so let's drive any where We've been making shades of purple out of red and blue I want to be with the one I love Keiji that has and always will be you Sickeningly sweet like honey a little bit cheesy and we don't need money All I need is you And only you so put you foot down and drive.

Third person 

They drove for miles and miles till they ended up in a little town away from Miyagi Japan  to rhode island  or a valley they liked both so they thought they would look at both.

Meanwhile back with some of friends was waking in up or rather Shoyo was waking everyone in the shared house .

Shoyo PoV

"Yams wake up our band practice starts today" Sho yams kags and tsukki have been in a band since school now their in college their band is still together and going strong 

"Huh what time is it 4:45 sho it's stupid o'clock wake me up later I love you night" “Tch Tadashi Yamaguchi get your lazy ass out of bed now"

I then knocked on Keiji No chan door 

"Onii chan rise and shine"

No answer 

"Keiji Ni chan"

I yelled hard this time and the door Swung open to reveal thst Akaashi wasn't there the bed was left as it was the day before 

"Bokkun " I yell 

What he says back practically irritated now 

"Onii chan’s bed hasn't been slept in"

"His probably sleeping with Koshi"

Figuring Bokuto maybe right I went to wake Koshi up 

"Mom wake up"

No answer I opened the door and his bed was like Akaashi’s untouched 

"Bokkun their not here" what do you mean their not there"

Bokuto came walking up wait they are generally not here we need to phone and inform management.

Chapter 4

A/N this chapter may contain a trigger warning 

Back with Akaashi  and koshi   time skip they moved to the valley started a new life it was going well had a little girl in their life a whole family and a new identity no one knowing who they are what their life's use to be like but things started to change after Sonny may was born. 

Koshi PoV 

Our life changed after sonny people started recognising us I couldn't take the hate with the fans because we left out the blue the fans started blaming me said I put the idea in to Akaashi’s  head other bullshit like blackmail I ran to the bathroom Keiji was out so he couldn't stop me I started Eat a pill or a few to stay chill  and settle my nerves calm down and I then went to take a shower and only to  break down again. After receiving a text

K💕: hey Koshi i won't be home need a break take care of our little girl and don't look at this as a break up more as a time out.

K🔪:you don't need to go I'm about to bring emo back if you leave my home

K💕: koshi what do you mean 

...

......

...

K💕: Koshi  answer me

Akaashi’s PoV 

I am currently at a nightclub I have just finished dancing with someone to smashed to know who so I text Koshi after telling him I think we need a break and not to look at this as a break up he said something about bringing emo back I just shrugged it off and order another round of shoots

After the 3rd round the text started playing on my mind a little voice saying your husbands going to do something stupid I text him again

K💕: Koshi please be ok I'd panic at the disco and I hope you'd rather watch a TV show than what I think your planning to do  Then I'll squeeze your booty real hard like I'm kneading dough basically what I'm trying to say is I know we had a fight but if you want make up sex just say the word 

Fellow pretty setter , I'm speeding for ya

We can get married tonight if you really wanna

Me in a cheap suit like a sleazy lawyer get marry under our real names elope just you and me leave tonight and be who ever we want to be And if you break this lil' heart, it'd be an honour.

Koshi’s PoV 

I read Keiji’s  text but he was to late I was fadingfast but the text was sweet I love you  Keiji.

Sonny PoV 

I heard a faint I love you Keiji coming from daddy and papa's bathroom it sounded like daddy so I ran and found daddy on the floor I pick up daddy's phone and in a state called papa "papa its daddy his on the floor come quickly he's not moving"

Chapter 5

Akaashi’s PoV 

Sonny just rang me from koshi’s  phone she was in a right state "papa come quickly it's daddy his not moving his on the floor"

"Oh shit what have I done" I drove home like a mad man I got home then door burst though "sonny sonny where is daddy" "bathroom" "I got to the bathroom to see sonny was right she never mention pills or blood "sonny baby go to your room and watch frozen for me"

"But papa" "go now don't come out till I tell you I will send Mrs Harris round to look after you while I take daddy to get checked out"

"No not Mrs Harris please princess while I get daddy better” 

“Okay papa I ran to mrs Harris and said can you look after sonny for me “ “sure what’s up” “my husband tried to commit I don’t want sonny knowing that she’s already seen enough the last thing I want is my daughter tramatized 

[ao3feed-tedlasso]

forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons

by dancingbycandlelight

Ted Lasso's love language is: all of them. (or, 5 times Ted shows Trent he loves him.)

Trent smiles over at him, a slow, gentle smile and his fingers drift down Ted’s arm before winding between Ted’s own. There’s more that he could say, much more, but for now he’s content to let the quiet settle over them like a blanket and trust that Trent knows what he means.

Words: 1556, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Ted Lasso (TV)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Ted Lasso, Trent Crimm

Relationships: Trent Crimm/Ted Lasso

Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 02, Established Relationship, Slice of Life, 5+1 Things

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/45155908

[softforloki]

Chapter 10: Family Dinner

Chapter List

Word Count: 3,237

Summery: Loki drags his feet to dinner with his girlfriend, her daughter, and his brother. Information is revealed and revelations are had.

Warnings: Reference to sexual encounters, mentions of past pregnancy, and very brief reference to abortion

. . .

“Is your lady on her way?” Thor asked, lifting his water glass.

“Yes, she’s close.” Loki replied, eyes glued to his phone and its message thread with Selene. He had lived on Midgard long enough to understand that having one’s phone out during a meal was impolite, but he couldn’t quite find it in himself to care. He’d stabbed Thor multiple times- he could handle a little impoliteness.

“I’m excited to meet Raven.” Thor continued, either not noticing or blatantly ignoring Loki’s discomfort. “She sounds lovely.”

“She is,” Loki murmured in agreement, twisting around for the eighth time in his seat to watch the restaurant’s front entrance.

“You and the good doctor have spent much of your energies concealing your relationship,” Thor remarked, eyes sparkling. “I’m also excited to see how you two interact without hiding.”

“Can you do me a favor, Thor?” Loki asked suddenly, turning back around in his seat.

His brother blinked. “Of course.”

“I beg of you, do not interrogate Selene or Raven. They’re not…” Loki trailed off, searching for the words. “Selene is a private person, and Raven takes after her. They may not feel comfortable answering personal questions.”

“Brother, you forget; I know Dr. Lovelace.” Thor chuckled. “I know how she tends to keep to herself- and I know what I’ve been told of Raven.” He looked pointedly at Loki. “I know what lines I ought not cross.”

“I know, I know,” Loki sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I just…. I’d rather not have this night end in disaster. You are a lot, at times.”

“You’ve told me that more than once.” Thor teased, patting his arm encouragingly. “I’m just glad you’ve found love. You deserve to be happy, brother.”

Loki fell silent, shooting Thor an alarmed look.

“I may not have your mind, Loki, but I do have eyes.” Thor said. “I can tell that you love her.”

“You’ve not even seen us together,” Loki grumbled.

“No, but before? The lingering touches? The knowing glances? Even then I could tell something was going on with you two.”

Loki ran a hand down his face, slightly frazzled. “I haven’t exactly told her, yet.”

“Whyever not?” Thor’s brows raised.

“...I don’t know yet if she loves me.” Loki admitted quietly.

“Hmm.” Thor hummed, tapping his chin exaggeratedly. “Hmm.”

Before Loki had a chance to say something snippy, he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Hey boys, are we late?”

“Not at all!” Thor grinned widely, pulling out the empty chair beside him. “Please, sit.”

Loki glanced up to Selene, and he made an odd strangled sound at the back of his throat.

Her dress was a deep green velvet with a V-neck that was deep enough, her moon tattoo- and her cleavage- were visible. It was patterned with tiny silver stars and crescent moons, and the hem of the dress skimmed her knees, offering a rare yet tantalizing view of her legs. Her long bell sleeves draped over Loki’s shoulders as Selene leaned down to press a kiss to his cheek. 

“Hey Lokes,” She purred against his skin, smirking at his bewildered expression.

“Hello,” He murmured, a hand raising to press against her back. “You look magnificent.”

“Thanks. I haven’t had an excuse to wear this in years.” She joked, plucking a piece of lint off the shoulder of his blazer. “You’re not so bad yourself, handsome.”

Loki laughed quietly, the world around him melting away as he gazed at Selene. Her teasing smirk faded into something softer, more full of adoration as she tucked a stray curl behind his ear. He moved his hand to touch her face, his thumb laying at the corner of her painted lips. 

Thor cleared his throat. “Would one of you be so kind as to introduce me to the little one?”

Loki snapped his head up to his brother, startled and ashamed to realize he’d quite forgotten about Raven.

She stood a step behind her mother, her face scrunched in disgust at the public display of affection. She wore an adorably ruffled dress patterned with flowers and vines, and her hair had been neatly plaited down her back.

“Sorry, Thor.” Selene laughed apologetically as Loki pulled out the chair next to him for her to sit. “This is Raven. Rave, this is Thor. He’s my friend from work and Loki’s brother.”

“Hi,” She waved shyly as Selene gently urged her into the chair Thor had pulled out.

“It’s good to meet you, your mother speaks well of you.” He said brightly, offering her a kind smile. He then leaned over to Loki, muttering quietly into his ear. “If she is not in love with you, I’m the queen of England.”

Loki gently pushed him away, scowling. He drank heavily from his water glass to hide his rapidly heating face.

Thor kept conversation flowing with his constant chatter. Loki realized with some guilt that he’d underestimated his brother’s powers of self control as the only ‘interrogation’ he gave Selene was a single question about the timeline of their relationship. They chatted loosely about Selene’s work and Raven’s school, at which point he and Selene regaled Thor with the only slightly-exaggerated version of what had happened at the open house.

Until he ruined it. As usual.

“Do you speak with Raven’s father?” Thor asked Selene after their food had arrived. “I don’t believe you’ve ever mentioned him.”

Loki looked cautiously to the Lovelaces. Selene pursed her lips, her eyebrows disappearing into her hairline. Raven’s fork froze in midair, strands of spaghetti slipping off and falling back to her plate. 

“He’s not exactly around.” Selene answered slowly.

“Oh? Why not?” Thor asked, seemingly oblivious to the rising tension. “Were you two together?”

“Thor.” Loki hissed, pinching his leg. Hard. “Remember our discussion about personal questions?”

“It’s okay.” Selene twisted her fork in her fingers, her expression conflicted. “His name was Jay, and we were dating. We were dating for a while, actually, but when I became pregnant, he decided that he didn’t want to be a part of it.”

“He’s not my dad.” Raven said quietly but firmly. Her eyes had gone hard, fixed on her plate as she pushed her pasta around. “He didn’t want me. Dads want their kids. They love their kids, and don’t want to leave them.”

Loki felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. He watched as Raven glanced up at Thor, shrugged, and went back to her plate. This was not information that she’d been struggling to grapple, or at least it wasn’t anymore. 

“We don’t talk about him a lot.” Selene agreed, stroking her daughter’s hand.

“I’m sorry,” Thor murmured. “We don’t have to talk about this.”

“No, it’s not a problem. We just don’t bring it up often.” Selene shook her head. “Raven was an unexpected surprise. When Jay and I talked about what we were going to do, we disagreed about how we wanted to move forward. I wanted to have my baby, he…. Didn’t. He couldn't convince me to terminate the pregnancy, and I wouldn’t convince him to participate in it, so we went our separate ways.” She shrugged. “He wasn't eager to stick around or give me any trouble, so it wasn't a particularly messy breakup. We just agreed that we wanted different things and moved on.”

“Did he assist you in any way during your pregnancy?” Thor asked hesitantly.

“Thor,” Loki snapped again. He once again thought of all the times throughout his life he’d stabbed his brother, weighing the pros and cons of doing so again.

“It’s alright.” Selene insisted, taking Loki’s hand. She smiled ruefully at Thor. “Funny story about that, actually: no. I never heard from Jay again. I invited him multiple times to appointments and ultrasounds just in case he was interested in checking in. Radio silence. Never once answered my messages or calls, never asked if I needed assistance with anything, he never even called just to say hi.”

“You and Raven have had no contact with her father since you parted ways?” Thor asked incredulously. 

“You heard the kid; he’s not her father. He’s a sperm donor at best.”

Loki watched Raven, but she didn’t react to any of what Selene was saying. She’d clearly heard this all early enough for her to be desensitized to it by now. He reached across the table to tap her plate and get her attention. “When did Mum tell you about him?” He asked gently.

“We were doing a Father’s Day thing at school, and I asked why I didn’t have a dad.”

“That was first grade, right?” Selene asked, to Raven’s silent nod. “So, she would’ve been about six at the time.” She elaborated to Loki and Thor.

Six. Six years old and she’d known her father hadn’t wanted her. He stared in shock at Selene.

“I wasn’t going to lie to her.” She said without him even having to ask, a hint of sharpness in her voice.

“That would be out of character for you.” He replied soothingly, pressing a delicate kiss to her fingers. “For what it’s worth, you’ve done a wonderful job on your own.”

His voice took on a bit of an edge without intending it to. Jay had better hope they never met, because Loki had choice words for him. How foolish could someone be to throw away the most marvelous woman in the universe? Especially over something that he was very responsible for. Anger simmered under his skin.

He felt Selene squeeze his fingers. He caught her eyes. It’s okay, her gaze said. 

Thor quickly shifted gears, asking Raven about her magic lessons with Loki. She immediately perked up to launch into an excited summary of her latest lesson.

Selene leaned into Loki as the two talked. “He’s not worth your anger.” She whispered.

“But you are.” He argued.

Selene inhaled shakily, moving back to look fully at him. Her forehead creased as she gazed at him, her eyes roaming his face- looking for what? Loki couldn’t say. Whatever she found there made her eyes widen a bit, and her lips curled into a small, stunned smile.

She squeezed his hand, pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek, whispering a quick “Thank you,” before turning back to jump into Raven and Thor’s conversation. “I practically scribbled all over his magic books with red ink to limit his curriculum.” She joked. “There are some things that a nine-year-old shouldn’t be able to do.”

“But I wanna teleport,” Raven pouted.

“No, I agree with your mum on that one.” Loki interjected. “That’s quite complex magic and can be dangerous if you’re not careful.”

“He nearly teleported himself into the wrong end of a sword once.” Thor said cheerfully. “Do you remember, brother? We were sparring and you thought to teleport yourself behind me to get the upper hand!”

“I remember.” Loki grumbled. “Thank you so much for never letting me live that down.”

“It’s my greatest pleasure.” Thor smirked, patting Loki on the back.

He let the embarrassment roll off his back as he watched Selene and Raven laugh, the tension from the mention of Jay diffusing. He squeezed Selene’s hand again under the table. 

They’d be okay.

. . .

Loki couldn’t fight the fond grin that crossed his face when Raven situated herself between him and Selene on the walk from the subway station to the Lovelace residence, taking both their hands.

Thor had peeled off early when they’d finished dinner, telling Loki he’d meet him back at the Tower. He bid the mother and daughter farewell with a tight hug for Selene and a fond hair ruffle for Raven.

“I like him.” Raven decided, swinging her joined hands with her mother and Loki.

“Yeah?” Selene lilted.

“Yeah.” Raven nodded. “He’s funny.”

“He’s certainly something.” Loki murmured with an eye roll, though he smiled despite himself.

“I’m glad we did this.” Selene said thoughtfully.

“It wasn’t quite as painful as I thought it would be.” Loki admitted. 

An apology sat at the tip of his tongue. He wanted to talk about his brother’s ineptitude and his bringing up of Raven’s father- or Jay, rather. It felt odd even to think his name, but Raven had made it clear. He wasn’t her father.

Despite his desperation to clear up Thor’s behavior, he was quite unwilling to upset Raven again.

“Are you spending the night?” The girl asked him.

“I’m afraid not,” He replied regretfully. “I promised Thor I’d go back to the Tower.”

“Oh.” Raven deflated slightly, before turning to Selene. “Can he stay for a little?”

“Tell you what. If you shower quickly and get into jammies, we can dig out the ice cream.” She replied. “Down for some dessert, Lokes?”

“Always, darling.” He chuckled.

Raven squealed, swinging their arms again. Loki swore his heart had swollen up and burst from the love he felt for that small girl in that moment. Never in his life had he ever thought anyone, much less a child would be so glad for his company. Tears burned at his eyes and threatened to spill over as she squeezed his hand excitedly.

He watched in amusement as she darted up the steps of her home, disappearing down the hallway as Loki and Selene followed a few steps behind.

“I think she likes you more than she likes me.” Selene muttered with a shake of her head as they made themselves comfortable in the living room. “Can’t say I blame her, though. I’m old news.”

Loki chuckled lightly, gently taking her hand. He pursed his lips, organizing his thoughts, brow furrowed.

“What do you need to ask?” Selene asked, squeezing his hand encouragingly. 

“It’s frightening how well you can read me.” Loki remarked with a faint smirk.

“You’ve been inside of me.” She replied blankly. “I think it’s safe to say we know each other by now.”

Loki doubled over, letting out a surprised bark of laughter. 

“Go on, let it out.” Selene patted his back, looking on in amusement as he came undone. “Come on, you’ve got to expect that kind of thing from me by now.”

“I did not expect it in a moment like this,” He admitted, straightening up.

“Maybe I was wrong; you don’t know me as well as you should.” She smirked. “I’m crazy.”

“You’re a dream.” Loki countered, pressing his lips to her hand before his expression sombered. He was quiet for a moment, listening to the sounds of Raven moving around in the bathroom, and the shower turning on. “I suppose I was wondering why you’ve never mentioned Jay before- if you truly feel so cavalier about discussing him.”

Selene shrugged. “You never asked.”

“I didn’t think I should. I was under the impression it would be a painful memory.”

“It was, but, you know. A decade will desensitize you to anything.” She smiled tightly, flicking her eyebrows up for emphasis. “Yeah, it was shitty, but I’m in a place now where I don’t really have the energy or the spite to really care anymore.”

Loki nodded slowly, brushing his fingers tenderly over the back of her hand. “I’d also like to apologize on Thor’s behalf. He’s never had a talent for handling things delicately.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind talking about Jay. I just don’t really feel the need to bring him up. He’s not an important part of my life. Or, at least he isn’t anymore.” Loki opened his mouth to say more, but Selene raised a hand to show she wasn’t done. “And, you don’t have to worry about Raven. She doesn’t really care about Jay, but the few times he does get brought up she sets the record straight.”

“She truly doesn’t see him as her father.” Loki mused.

“Why should she? He’s never been around.” Selene’s voice took on an edge as she continued. “He didn’t want a damn thing to do with her.” 

Loki drew her into his arms, hugging her gently against him. They sat in silence for a minute, listening to the sounds of the running shower. “If it makes you feel any better,” Loki murmured. “I think you’ve done a wonderful job raising such a kind, thoughtful, and clever young lady. You’ve had a lot to contend with, and in spite of all of it, you work tirelessly to ensure Raven’s safety and happiness. You have done a more than adequate job with her, and I’m sure she’d say the same.”

Selene hummed in thought, twining her arms around his shoulders. “Thank you,” She said simply. “That means a lot.”

“It’s my pleasure.” 

I love you.

. . .

Loki chose to walk home that evening, rather than teleport. He needed to think.

He loved Selene. He was deeply, intrinsically, madly in love with her. It was the kind of love that made him want to savor the tranquil, quiet moments with her. It made him yearn for the mundanity of a domestic life, if only he could live it with Selene and her daughter. It was also the kind of love that made him want to burn worlds to ash if a hair on her head was harmed.

He had to tell her. Soon.

Before it had been a matter of not knowing how she felt and not wanting to rush anything. But now? Now he knew that she’d had to raise a child on her own- all because the father hadn’t loved or felt strongly enough for Selene to want to stay with her. Jay hadn’t been committed enough to spend his life with her or the child he’d participated in the conception of- Loki would be damned if Selene thought the same of him.

His brows were pinched in thought as he wove between New Yorkers power walking through the streets of the city that never slept. Thor had said she loved him. Granted, Thor had only witnessed exactly one publicly affectionate interaction between them before coming to that conclusion, but even still, it bolstered Loki’s spirit. Dense as he may be, Thor had never done anything to lead him into a painful situation- physically or emotionally.

Loki’s mind flicked through every interaction he’d had with Selene in the past month like a photo album. Images, conversations, and loaded glances flashed before him. He’d always had a talent for parsing information quickly, but he’d never used this skill for matters of his heart. He was a tactician and a negotiator, not an adolescent who worried obsessively over feelings.

And yet here he was. Slipping like smoke in between the humans of this city, all while analyzing the likelihood that his partner was in love with him.

He would’ve laughed at himself had he not felt like he was about to vomit.

Whatever I do, I should do it soon. Loki thought decisively. She deserves to know, even if she’s unsure if she feels the same way.

He conjured up the image of Selene, still in her lovely green velvet dress, sitting pressed against him on her living room sofa, bowl of ice cream in hand, laughing at something he’d said. He thought of her hair, just brushing against his shoulder as he leaned into her. He thought of her fingers tracing swirling patterns on his bicep from where she’d wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

He loved her, and maybe she loved him.

He was going to tell her.

[kiss2012]

YOU DONT HAVE TO SAY I LOVE YOU TO SAY I LOVE YOU! FORGET ALL THE SHOOTING STARS AND ALL THE SILVER MOONS! WE’VE BEEN MAKING SHADES OF PURPLE OUT OF RED AND BLUEEE SICKENINGLY SWEET LIKE HONEY DONT NEED MONEY ALL I NEED IS YOU

[poprocklyrics]

You don't have to say I love you to say I love you Forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons We've been making shades of purple out of red and blue

for him., Troye Sivan ft. Allday

[alltheprettyplaces]

did you know that ummmmm you don’t have to say I love you to say I love you? and also forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons. plus we’ve been making shades of purple out of red and blue. 📢 sickeningly sweet like honey 📢 don’t need money 📢 all I need is YOUUUU 📢

[wolfiemcwolferson]

I started out with the Catholic guilt tag in | forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons | and today I said “full send” and I just want to preemptively apologize for the chapter that will go up next weekend