#gave it to her when i scrapped a story about her

[tooquirkytolose]

Mother and son

[fragmentedblade]

Insane that Blade during Todd's quest did basically the same thing Dan Heng was doing during this last video

[flamingpudding]

I have a theory!

Duke groaned, his head tumping against his desk on his side of the room. He had heard these words often enough by now to know that his roommate was going to start ranting about something strange but weirdly fascinating again.

The last time his roommate started with that, he went on a rant how all rich people have a secret basement below their homes or some secretly identities with a bulletpoint list of what to look out for as a warning. Which Duke had a hard time not laughing about as he thought about Bruce, who ended up checking a lot of the bulletpoints.

"Danny what is it now?" Duke ended up asking after all. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop his roommate. No one aside from his sister apparently could, Danny even gave her number to Duke as an emergency number in case Danny ever gets so caught up in his own thoughts that even he himself couldn't stop himself anymore. Yeah that was weird to watch Danny trying to stop himself, but it was fascinating that his sister only needed to say his name twice over the speaker.

"Duke hear me out!" Okay of to a good start, so this meant Danny wasn't a hundred percent behind his own theory.

"Red Hood is a ghost or part ghost!"

If Duke had been drinking something, he would have taken a spit take here. For some reasons he had the image of Jason wearing a bed sheet saying the most deadpan 'Boo' in his head when Danny said that. He coughed, trying to hide that amusement. "What makes you say that?"

"You know how you 'saw' that I am a 'Meta'?" Danny ask him in return and Duke nodded still feeling a but weird with how Danny sounded when he refred to himself as Meta but also vividly remembering how his roommate pretty much blinded him on the day he moved into the dorms. "I can kind of see something similar. Like I explained how I have a ghost sense and all that, right?"

"Yea, you did." Duke nodded along, he new his roommate became a Meta through a lab accident. Once Duke had asked him and they had the cleared the air about both of them being Metas, Danny had somewhat opened up a bit on his whole weird family and Duke thought his family wasn't normal but compared to the Fentons the Batfamily might as well could be.

"Well last night I ran into him when I went scrap collecting for my engineering project!"

"DANNY!" Duke couldn't help but scowl. One the school was providing materials, Danny didn't need to do that and two, if he met Red Hood aka Jason that meant Danny wandered far enough to end up near or in Crime Alley! He would need to bug Jason later to find out more about that.

"I know, I know." His roommate waved him off. "Anyway, my ghost sense tingled. Soooo Red Hood got to be a ghost or part ghost, considering he hit a wall instead of phasing through it when he chased me..."

"Danny!" Duke scowled him again, hidding his amusement behind it. Now, he really had to get THAT story out of Jason later, plus he wanted to see if there maybe was possible video proof of Jason running into a wall chasing after Danny.

"Anyway! I got more than just that! Listen here, you know how I told you about some of my parents' inventions..." Danny instead continued finally starting his rant.

[twice-inamillion]

The Company

Peeping Tom

Smut and Story Building (Blackmail, Deep Penetration, Defloration, Creampie, Rough Sex, First Time, Choking, Light BDSM, objectification)

Chapter 6

3,585 Words

(You encounter a peeping Tom as you have fun with one of your assistants. She tries to use her newfound information against you, but instead, you end up using her. By the end, you found yourself a new toy to play with.)

You return to your office with IU after a business meeting outside the company. The two of you talk about what just occurred during the last few days and how busy it’s going to get moving forward. 

“How does it feel receiving your first private jet, sir?”

“I’m excited; I remember riding on my father’s jet when I was younger and always wanted one of my own. Now I just need to get it customized, and I’ll be able to use it.”

“Before that, we need to hire a flight attendant.”

“That’s true.”

“What about asking your father for one of his?”

“No, I'd rather get someone that has nothing to do with my father. I don’t want them to tell him anything about my business.”

“I’ll try to put a post online to hire an assistant.”

“Sounds good.”

“Any requirements?”

“Someone not too old, eye candy. You know my tastes.”

“Okay, I’ll try my best.”

“Also, any news on Big Hit and JYP?”

“I’ve heard that they are suffering a bit money-wise, so I think they are going to accept your offer.”

“Let’s see what they say. I don’t want to buy them outright, but I do want to hold a good chunk of shares, especially Big Hit. Bang Si-Hyuk seems like a pretty cool guy. He gave me a tour of his small building and even introduced me to his debuting group a while back. I really want to help the guy.”

“I’m sure he’ll be happy with anything you give him, sir.”

“Let’s see how it goes.”

IU then hands you some documents and says, “This is some information I found out about JYP Entertainment. If you look at the third page, you can see that JYP was going to debut a new girl group under the name “6MIX,” but it fell through.”

“Oh, it seems like they had a hard time debuting due to one of their members leaving.”

“Yes, they added another member, Sana. It seemed like they were going to debut, but another of their leader also left the company, so they ended up scrapping the whole thing.”

“Poor girls, so much hard work and training to debut only to have it scrapped.”

“Yes, one in particular has been in their company for a long time. I heard she’s a very good singer.”

“Oh really? If JYP accepts the help, maybe I can ask him to release them from their contracts and send them my way.”

“I’ll keep you posted if there is any news, sir.”

“Thank you.”

“Would that be all, sir?”

“Yes.”

“I have a meeting with one of the girls, so I’ll head to my office.”

“Actually, I’m going to grab a bite at the cafeteria, so I’ll walk with you.” 

The two of you walk towards the hallway, slap IU's ass, and walk the opposite from each other. Little did you know that you were seen by someone, the person IU was going to have a meeting with.

———— 

You get a message from IU that she has received some inflation about the deal with Big Hit and JYP as you are coming from the gym. It’s been a few days since you got any information, so you’re excited to see what’s going on. Without changing, you walk into her office, sit on the couch, and listen to some good news. 

You might not have noticed that Jennie has been curious about the relationship you and IU have since she’s a higher-up than you. She doesn’t know about your real position in the company and only thinks of you as one of the staff members. She was shocked when she saw you slapped IU on her ass and decided to follow you after that. 

Today, she had another meeting with IU and planned on having a light snack at the cafeteria before meeting up with her. Since she finished early, she decided to head up to the administration floor and relax on the outdoor patio before the meeting. She exits the elevator and makes it to the top floor. Jennie walks down the hallway and notices how quiet it is. She wandered around and found Irene’s and the CEO's office before hearing a faint noise coming from the hall. She quietly makes her way to the noises and gets to IU’s office from where the noise is coming from. 

Jennie tries to listen and places her ear by the door. She hears moaning coming from the other side. She tries to make up what the people instead are saying and can only decipher the male voices yelling that he’s going to cum. 

After some silence, she notices that the voices are getting nearer and runs towards the opposite side of the hallway to where the patio is. She peeks her head out and sees you coming out the door and IU fixing her skirt. 

“What the fuck, were they fucking in her office?”

“Omg, he’s getting it on with a higher-up in the company. Maybe I can use this.” 

———— 

Later that night, you get a message from Jennie from your staff phone. You read the message, and it is asking you for help moving some items around the house. You’re not in the mood to message her that you can do it tomorrow, but she is persistent. 

Somewhat annoyed, you put on a shirt and head down the elevator to the floor where their apartment is. You ring the doorbell, and Jennie opens the door within a few seconds. She wears a loose crop top and small shorts that show off her petite body. 

“You said you needed to move some stuff, right?”

“Yeah, it’s in the living room.”

You walk to the living room and see the items she was referring to. You spend about ten minutes moving the things, and Jennie is watching you up close the whole time.

“Is that all you needed?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Alright, I’m going. I’m tired.”

“Okay, but I’ll call you if I need anything.”

“Please, don’t. The stuff wasn’t that heavy. Maybe try moving it between the five of you before calling me.”

You can tell that Jennie got upset by this based on her facial expression. “I don’t know why you’re complaining; it's part of your job.”

“It’s not. I was just doing this as a favor since you all just moved into the apartment, but that was a few months ago. You girls can figure stuff out,” as you grab your phone and head for the door. 

Upset, Jennie yells, “If you’re going to be a douchebag about it all like the CEO, you’re messing around with his assistant.” 

You turn around and see a grin on her face, blackmailing you. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“I know that the two of you were fucking in her office the other day.”

“Lies.” 

“I saw smack her ass a while back, and this time, you were leaving her office, and she was skirted and had a smile on her face.”

“If that’s true, how would you know?”

“I heard the two of you doing it.”

“No one is going to believe you.”

“Hmph, I wouldn’t be so sure. I have the CEO’s number.”

“You’re bluffing. You don’t have his number.”

“Yes, I do,” she said, holding her phone out.

“Alright, do it.”

“Okay, I will” and is about to press the call button but then says, “actually, he might be busy with important stuff. I don’t want to bother him.” 

You know she doesn’t have your actual work number, so you tease her, “I don’t think he’s busy. Why don’t we go visit him and tell him the situation? I think he would be more than happy to hear about it.” 

You can see her expression change, and she says, “No, I think we can just leave it like that.”

You grab her waist, “Let’s clear things up. I don’t want rumors that I’m messing with the CEO’s assistant.” You pull her hand, exit her apartment, walk towards the elevator, and press the button for the top floor.

Jennie looks nervous but tries to hide her expression. “He’s going to be upset that we’re bothering him.”

“I don’t think so, plus you’re blackmailing me.”

When you arrive at the top floor, the elevator rings, and you both exit and walk towards the hallway. You ring the doorbell, but there is no answer. 

With a faint smile of relief, Jennie says, “See, he’s not here, so let me waist go.”

“Hmm… let me try something.” You press the numbers on the keypad and hear a ring, unlocking the door.

“How did you do that?”

You pull Jennie and lock the door. “Seems like no one is home. CEO-nim! Jennie and I are looking for you!”

“Stop, he’s going to be made that we’re inside his home. Let’s go.” 

“No, I don’t want to; let’s have a bit of fun.” You walk towards the kitchen, open the fridge, and grab a beer. “He has some good taste, nice.”

“Leave it; he’s going to get mad!”

“No, he won’t.”

“Yes, he is. I heard that he’s mean.”

“Really? They said that?”

“Irene said that he makes them work to the bone.”

“No, I don’t. Wait until I see her tomorrow.”

Jennie’s reaction changes, and she says, “What did you say?”

“Nothing, forget about it.”

“You said something.” She stops, looks around, and walks to the living room. She sees pictures of you and freezes. 

Frozen for also a minute, she turns around and says, “Are you CEO-nim?”

You want to play it off, but know that the gig is over. Instead, you smile and say, “Dang, you caught me. Surprise!”

Many things go through her mind, like how she ordered you around the apartment, teased you, and even tried to blackmail you. 

“So what’s this about having my phone number and blackmailing me about fucking IU.”

Jennie gets on her knees, rubs her hands together, and begs, “I’m sorry. I was just joking around. I didn't mean it.”

“It wasn’t funny. Why did you do it?”

She bites her lip and tries to come up with a reason, saying, “I don’t know. I just wanted to tease you a bit and got jealous.”

“Jealous? What for?”

“You’re my type, and when I saw you and IU, I wanted to blackmail you so you can do whatever I say.”

“You know, that could have really gone bad and gotten someone hurt.”

“I’m sorry.” 

“If you’re sorry, how will you take responsibility?”

“Ehh?”

“You said I’m your type, and you’re pretty cute yourself. How about we have some fun?”

Jennie can’t believe what your words. She knows she said that you’re her type, but that was as a staff/trainer. Now that she learned you’re the one in charge of the company, she doesn’t want to do anything that might endanger her chance at debuting but, at the same time, finds it kind of hot. 

“What did you have in mind?”

“What do you think?” giving her a smirk.

Jennie knows what you’re thinking; it’s not like she hasn’t thought about it herself. You come close to her and grab her small behind, causing her to yelp.

She’s being this close to her. You know that she’s small and petite, “too, like a doll.”

“What?”

Instead of replying, you pick her up, carry her to the guestroom, and toss her onto the bed. 

“Wait… what are you doing?”

“I’m going to fuck you.”

“I’m not ready yet.”

“I didn’t ask you if you were. I’m telling you what I’m going to do to you.”

Jennie is stunned by your words. The image of you has been turned 360 from ordering you around to the other way around. Deep down, she can’t help but feel small and submissive by someone so huge and powerful enough to change her life.

“Okay, I understand.”

“Since you do, then strip. I want to see what I’m going to be working with.”

Jennie gets off the bed and stands in front of you. She slowly begins to undress herself, taking off her crop top and her small shots.

Now in underwear, she shyly takes off her bra, revealing her small, cute breasts. She tries to cover them, “Don’t forget the bottom.”

You smile as she hesitates to pull down her panties and whines, “Do I really have to pull them down?”

“Do you want me to do them for you? Just letting you know that I won’t be gentle.”

“I…I’ll do it then,” as she slowly pulls them down until it drops on the floor and quickly cover her cunt. 

“Take your hands off.”

“But…”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

 Jennie removes her hands, revealing her semi-bare cunt. 

“Fuck, you have a pretty-looking pussy and a nice pair of tits. Lay down on the bed and spread that pussy for me.”

Jennie feels embarrassed but does what you told her. She lays on the bed and puts her legs up. She tries to spread her legs, but the idea of spreading them open and showing her pussy to someone for the first time is nerve-wracking. 

“Spread them more!”

She widens her legs until you see her whole cunt in view. With both her index and middle fingers, she slowly spreads her pussy lips, giving you a view of her unused cunt. “How’s this?”

“Hot. You’re making me hard.”

“Really? I’m making you hard?”

“Yeah. Want to see?”

Jennie has never seen a cock before in real life, only on the internet when she would masturbate while in the dorms. Seeing one in real life is making her both nervous and excited, “yeah. I want to see it.”

You undo the bottom and drop your buttons, leaving only your boxers and a large bulge in sight. 

Jennie can feel her heart beating faster as you pull down your boxers, which makes your cock springs out. “Wow, it’s so big. Can I touch it?”

“Of course,” you say with a grin.

Jennie, with her index finger, touches the tip of your cock and throbs, “Haha, it’s likes me.”

“How about grabbing it with your two hands?”

“Okay, but I don’t think I’ll be able to wrap my hands around it.” With her small hands, she tries to wrap her hand, almost touching her fingertips.

Turned on, you ask, “Can I take a picture?”

Jennie looks up at you and smiles, “Sure, you’re the boss, right? I have no say.”

“Glad to see you know your place.”

You grab your phone and take a shoot of Jennie handling your cock. “Try putting it in your mouth.”

“Like this?” as she uses the tip of her tongue to lick the head of your cock. “Yes, just like that.”

You record her slowly licking your length, your shaft, pulling the head in her mouth, and even her trying to take a bit of your cock in her mouth as she plays with her cunt.

“Fuck… I knew you were a slut” you say as she has your cock in her mouth. “Hmmm… I’ll be your slut, Daddy,” giving you a devilish smile. You grab her chin in between your hands and say, “We’re going to get along very well.” 

She stands and lays on the bed once more and willingly spreads her legs for you, spreading her pussy, and says, “Make sure you get a picture of this.” 

“You know how to turn on a guy, huh.”

“I just want to please you, Daddy. Plus, I want everyone to know that you’re going to be my first.” 

You can’t wait any longer; you need to fuck her now. You set the phone down, walked back, and spread her legs. She grabs your cock and presses it against her belly, and asks, “Is all of that going inside of me?”

“It’s going to go right in here and reach all the way up here,” as you trace your finger and her wet cunt all the way up to her belly button. 

“Fuck me already, Daddy. Make me a real woman,” begs Jennie.

You grab your cock and rub your shaft against her wet lower lips, spreading them and covering them in her sticky nectar. “I’m going to put it in; just relax.” She balls up her waist against her chest, “Okay.” 

Jennie nervously watches as you align your massive cock against her small entrance, waiting for you to be her first and only cock she’s ever going to taste. 

You press the tip on your cock and slowly insert yourself until you reach her thin barrier, which separates her from womanhood. You look directly into her eyes, signaling that you’re going to go all the way into it. She nods back and tries to prepare herself for what’s to come. 

You grab her small waist and, without mercy, put your weight onto her petite body and slam yourself into her fresh womb. “Fuck!!! I’m cumming; you’re too big; you’re making me cum!”

Jennie’s body spasms, and she tilts her head back as she feels her orgasm overwhelming her. 

“Haha, you just came from me putting it in? Let’s see how many times you cum.”

You don’t let her rest and put her into a mating press. She groans from not being able to ride off her orgasm, “Daddy, wait. You’re going to make me cum again. Let me rest.”

“A girl like you doesn’t deserve to rest; you’re my sex toy. I get to use you however I want,” slamming yourself inside her once again. 

Jennie cries as she feels her insides being rearranged by your cock, “Ahh, you’re messing me up inside! I won’t be able to with anyone beside you! Fuck…you’re stretching my small pussy out!”

Watching her becoming a mess is getting you more turned on. Even if it’s her first time, she’s a natural. You place your hand on her neck and firmly tighten your grip. Jennie panics when she feels your hand choking her, puts her hands around your arms, and looks at you in terror. “Shh… baby girl, calm down; I’m not going to hurt you, just something the both of us to enjoy. Trust me.”

Directly looking at you, she lets go of her hands and instead focuses on you, thrusting inside of her. “You feel so tight, Jennie; I feel like cumming already,” as you tighten the grip of your hand around her neck. 

You see Jennie trying to speak, so you loosen your grip, “Ahhh… cum… cum inside me, Daddy. I… I want to feel your cum in my tummy.”

You tighten your grip on her neck again as you fuck her roughly, only hearing the sound of both your flesh against each other. Little by little, you feel your peak approaching, a cold sensation in your back. 

“Fuck… I’m going to dump all my cum in your tight little pussy!” 

You feel all your cum shoot deep inside Jennie’s womb with your thick cum. Her eyes roll back from how tight you’re choking her as you pump a large load. Her body starts to go limp from the lack of air, so you let go of her neck and see the imprint of your hand around it. 

Immediately, Jennie gasps for air and comes back to her senses. “You’re such a good girl, Jennie. I think you’re going to be my favorite toy from now on.” 

She gives you a weak smile, grabs your hand, and places it back around her neck, “Keep fucking me, Daddy. I’m your dirty like toy.”

The two of you keep fucking all night long, every time you pump your cum in and on her body. At the end, you take a series of photos and videos of your work, Jennie’s body covered in cum and her cunt oozing out a mixture of both your juices.

—————

You wake up the next day and see Jennie under your arms. You try to get up, but she’s holding on to you. Rubbing her eyes, she turned around and said, “Good morning, Daddy.”

“Good morning, Jennie. How are you feeling?”

“Sore. I can still feel some of your cummies in my tummy. I feel my pussy gaped. I don’t think I'll be able to get married anymore, haha.”

“Good. You’re mine, anyways.”

“Jealous?”

“No. I just got like sharing my toys.” You grab her by the neck with a firm grip and say, “Don’t forget that, okay? You’re mine.”

“Yes, Daddy,” as she feels your strong hand choking her. 

You let her go and walk to the bathroom to freshen up. Jennie looks at her phone and sees text messages from her group mates asking if she visited her mom since she didn’t sleep at the apartment. 

Jennie replies to them and immediately gets an idea that makes her smile excitedly, “Daddy.”

“Yes.”

“Since I’m your sex toy, how about making the rest of us your toys?”

“You mean your groupmates?”

“Yeah, how bout it? Sounds like fun, right?”

“Doesn’t sound like a bad idea; I’ll think about it.”

[bella-goths-wife]

Yandere Vees x platonic reader

Vox, velvette and Valentino x reader

Warnings: Valentino

Okay so you know how I move through stories so much because I hyperfixate on something and become obsessed with it? Well guess who watched the hazbin hotel show after watching the pilot episode years ago. And I saw so much yandere potential.

So let me know if you enjoy this and if I should make more.

You were quite a modern soul, with you dying around the 2010s

And you died quite young at the age of 18

So when you get to hell your pretty scared and confused, with no one around who could help you

So you did what you could to live, by surviving off scraps and sleeping rough on the streets

That also leads you into a life of crime as you relayed on robberies and mugging people to get enough cash to afford to eat for the week

But on day you make the grand mistake of trying to mug an overlord

Vox was simply trying to avoid paparazzi by going through the back alleys, that’s until he hears loud music out of no where

See, when you got to hell you were given your own special ability the same way the others had

Your ability was Turntablism

Which essentially means you could manipulate and create new sounds from your environment, similar to how a DJ can use turntables to manipulate and create new music from existing sounds

This means you could silence or enhance sounds around a demon and that you would be able to create a sound from the environment, such as loud music, and it would be able to discombobulate or entertain the demons around you

So you silenced your footsteps before surprising vox by blasting loud rave music to confuse him as you grabbed his wallet and phone before hightailing it out of there

Of course that doesn’t work, vox watches you through the phone as he decides how to deal with you

He sees you climb into your ‘home’ which is in fact a cardboard box built around a dumpster with a small pit outside of it for fires

You intrigued him for some reason and he thought there was no harm in watching you for a few days before he decided what to do with you

He watched how you used your ability to survive and how you were actually white street smart

Eventually, he came to a decision

He appeared to you and claimed that you owed him a debt for stealing his wallet, before offering you a job as his assistant with a room in the vee tower in exchange for you soul

You were extremely cautious of him so you denied his deal, until he points out the fact that you were a young homeless girl who had stolen from a well known celebrity who could easily have killed you

So you shake his hand and your soul is officially voxs

He stuck true to his word and gave you a small room near his in the vee tower, and even if it seemed small to him it was the biggest room you’d ever slept in before

Vox explained the daily tasks he wanted you to be able to complete while you worked there and explained how he wanted to combine his hypnosis with your ability to make it so that the voxtech jingles would be more persuasive and would make more buyers come in

You nodded your head with the doubt that it would work stuck in your mind, but vox owned your soul now and you had to do what he said

He eventually introduced you to his business partners, velvette and Valentino

Velvette could not give less of a shit about you and just barked her coffee order at you

Valentino on the other hand tried to offer you a job in his studio but vox warned him that your soul was already owned, so val settled on just pouting while ordering you to fetch him some lunch

You worked with them for a few months and it wasn’t all bad

Sure, they were all demanding people who would hurl abuse at you if you got something wrong, but vox provided you with food, shelter and clothes so you couldn’t complain really

They all grew accustomed to your presence, so much so that when you weren’t around they had the strange feeling of missing something from their daily routines

Being vox’s assistant was hard because it practically made you all of their assistant, because we all know the vees share everything

So some days you’d work closely with vox, and others you’d be in vals dressing room to assist him with scripts or choosing actors for certain projects (vox told val that you were too young to be in the studio, which you were eternally grateful for)

And other days you’d be with velvette as she scoffed for the millionth time at the fashion designers attempts to please her

Velvette liked having another young eye to look at the designs, she’d never admit that she respects your opinion in a million years though

Eventually after working for the vees for a few months, you held a reputation in the offices

You’d hear your bosses workers whisper the nickname ‘pet’ as you trailed after one of the vees with a schedule in hand

You hated it but you decided to just put up with it, it’s not like you had any authority to be able to do anything about it anymore

But the whispers of your coworkers reached the ears of your bosses and they all seemed to have a shocking reaction

When they sat down and talked about it, they realised that they do view you as more of a pet than a worker

And how they seemed to need you around in some capacity to be able to go about their days normally

That’s when their obsessions began

And you had a long, dark road ahead of you

This is probably trash 😭

But this is just a rough idea of what I’m trying to do so I have loads more ideas

Let me know if you’d be interested :)

[fragilefangirl]

I do think that Coryo fell in love with Lucy Gray, but i also fully believe that such love would never have been possible had he not be given the near-total control over her fate in the games, and by extension, her fate in the Capitol.

Listen. Here is a boy who has nothing but his last name, posing around pretending like he owned everything while scrambling for a scrap of something. Here is a boy who had to share everything he had ever owned, who was never fully in control of anything except for his words.  Here is a boy, who, due to the lie he's been controlling, can never let anyone in -- not even his pseudo-older sister and not even his most affectionate classmate -- for it poses the risk of being perceived, and potentially punished for his lack of ownership.

And then suddenly this boy -- who's so desperate to own something -- is granted the ownership of another person  a full-pass to control everything about her; her words, her image, her story. And sure, she wasn't his first pick, but the thought of having something gave him a sense of relief and dignity his lies could never give him, and that dignity, that slight restoration of confidence, gave way for that first crack on his chest after being guarded for so long.

And then the person he "owned" showed up, and she was the most interesting person of the pick. She gave the people a show and she made a song on top of it, turning his confidence to pride. I truly believe that had he been assigned to another person, he would not have showed up to the train station, simply due the fact that they were not interesting enough to warrant his  visit -- or his grandma'am's roses. Him showing up to the train wasn't just done in goodwill; it was also a stake of ownership -- it was him, acknowledging to himself that this was something worth owning, and like other things worth owning, it could be taken away from him if he lets his guard slips.

And that becomes the initial foundation to their interaction; the talking, the bringing up food... sure, Lucy Gray was interesting, but he was detached of her charm in those first meeting, seeing her in the lens of how others might measure her and her worth. his main focus was "taking care of her"; making sure his precious thing survived, making sure his ownership of her -- and thus his pride -- will not dissipate.

And then the tributes started plotting to kill him, only to be stopped by Lucy Gray. Sure, for her, he might seem as if he was doing something a kind -- even if useless -- meeting her in this run-down train station, and that perhaps was part of the reason why she defended him, and part of the reason why she stood by him in that Zoo cage. But for Coryo, his visit was calculated, his rose a chip of bargain, his zoo visit a byproduct of refusing to be caught slipping. For him, Lucy Gray stepping up for him was uncalled for, a surprising kindness.

He tried to rationalize it best as he could, but he was stumped. And I think this was when he started to really listen to Lucy Gray, to stop being detached from her. He was his father's son, and he believed in knowing the things he owned in order to properly maintain it. And it was this desire to know that melted his walls, that made him vulnerable, because to understand her fully he opened himself up to be understood, which had never happened before.

I think Coryo did love Lucy Gray, however tainted and terrible that love was. I think it was the first time of him making the effort to perceive someone and be reciprocated back -- fully, thoroughly, and wholeheartedly. It helped (or didn't help?) That Lucy Gray was a poet, that she fed him with pretty words; the only things that -- up until she showed up -- he'd ever truly owned for himself. For him, that connection -- added over the fact that he had "owned her", as everyone else kept saying -- must have felt like a drug. It must have felt intoxicating, to own something so lovely, something that adored him. It must have been a new, exhilarating feeling for Coryo, who never owned anything but worthless scraps and his pretty, pretty words. And yes, that was such a terrible way to put it, but love is many things; it can be terrible too.

I think Coryo loved Lucy Gray, and had they stayed in Capitol, he would have been able to continue to "love her". Billy Taupe was just some name, the Covey some story. What for Lucy Gray was history, was only pretty words for him. For all he chose to believe in, they could be the same pretty words he said; mostly lie, some exaggeration. In the Capitol, she is his, fully. And Coryo can love only what he owns.

But they didn't stay at Capitol, they moved to twelve. Suddenly, all her pretty words were honest and real, something he couldn't ignore, much less control. Suddenly, there was the Covey, and Billy Taupe, and Mayor Lipp, and even if her eyes were for him only he still had to share the rest of her -- her voice, her charm, her poise -- with other people. Twelve highlighted that he'd never truly owned her, we all know that. But here's another thing that twelve highlighted; it was him who chose to be the soldier in a rundown district, him who chose to follow her. If there was any ownership to be had here, it was her that owned him.

And Coryo? He doesn't share, yes, but worse than anything, he despises being owned.

This is where TBOSAS shone its brilliance; president Snow is the way he was not because he is an unfeeling sadist the was Volumnia Gaul is. He was the way he was because of love. Because of the vulnerability that comes with that love, and the refusal to surrender to it. President Snow would not be as ruthless and despicable had he been desensitized, and it was his feelings, his capability to love, that led him to employ some of the most gruesome tactics to win the games.

Here's the heartbreaking thing; once upon a time, Coryo loves Lucy Gray, and that love was true. Here's another heartbreaking thing; that love was built on poison, and its toxic vines ruined him so completely, decimated him so thoroughly, he was reborn anew evil; president Snow would not have happened without Lucy Gray, without Coryo's time in Twelve.

President Snow said, "it's the thing we love most that destroys us," and he said this as a warning to Katniss, yes, but he also said it to Coryo's shadow, standing behind her, who was looking at the back of the Girl on Fire, thinking the wavy black hair and the whispered songs were that of someone else's.

[greeneyessmize]

Penolise analysis time!

Show Penolise had to break so we can get a healthy Penolise. Let's talk it out.

I think we really need to see how the dynamic of Penelope & Eloise's friendship was unhealthy for both of them.

- Penelope deferred to Eloise's thoughts and wants almost all the time. She might try to cajol Eloise to her way of thinking, but it was nearly always a gentle thing that she easily let go. She never fully contradicted Eloise and put her foot down.

- Penelope deferred to Eloise out of fear. Who was Penelope's one friend that she was able to be close to in a socially acceptable and public way? Eloise. As someone who as a bullied kid got down to only one friend at times? I sure did my best to always be on their good side no matter how I felt about things. No matter the cost or what hurt was still held.

- Eloise has been encouraged to have her voice, to have it loudly, and has been rarely contradicted in any meaningful way even in her own family. She thusly values her own opinions above all. She states herself that she just can't understand why others don't see the world like her. And her cutting comments to nearly everyone around her shows that if full HD color.

- Eloise is the fifth of eight children. Even as the second daughter in that brood, she doesn't have much say over things that matter in the home or in her family. So, she stretches for every scrap of individuality and independence she can find. She has to be different at any cost. And she must always be right.

These factors combine into what we have witnessed in the show so far:

- Penelope clams up to keep peace with Eloise as much as she can, she keeps LW a secret because she must have something somewhere where she is in charge and allowed to express herself freely and actually influence people and events. She gets that nowhere else in her life.

- Eloise runs rough shod over any dissent from Penelope because Pen is so mild in her disagreement that it can't even penetrate Eloise's ego. It's always Eloise's ideas, Eloise's adventures, Eloise's desires. And since they are hers, surely then must also be Penelope's too.

When Eloise discovers that Penelope is LW, not only does it feel like a betrayal for the scandals revealed by Pen, but it shatters the mirror she assumed Penelope was.

Eloise has to learn that Penelope was always her own person with separate thoughts and feelings and ideas and triumphs. She has to learn to listen. She can't yet, but she needs to listen to Penelope's story, all that she ignored and all that Pen withheld. Moreso, she needs to try to understand why Penelope has written the things she has. This will be the only way for Eloise to start to grow up. Eloise has to learn that her perspective is only a small part of her relationships with other people.

Penelope needs to show Eloise who she really is. She has to be comfortable showing when she disagrees. She has to give herself permission to be herself. This is hard because to Penelope, she is only loved conditionally. She is only loved by her mother for doing as she is told and for briefly having Debling's attention. Her sisters never even gave her that. Her dad? Pretty much absent. And the second Eloise found out she was LW? Gone.

I think when they finally manage to perform what I outlined above, that we will see Penolise 2.0 and it's going to be so much better. It can have balance, it can have understanding, and be a deeper friendship than either of them knew was possible.

[freshlove-sturn]

house on the cape.

pt 1 pt2

based on last friday’s video bc im obsessed with it. (events that happened in the vlog may not be in order just so the story flows how i want, also might add or get rid of some things for that same reason ofc). definitely gonna be multiple parts if yall like it so please let me know!!

summary: when the triplets come back home from la, they reunite with their favorite summer tradition, staying in the house on the cape. amidst all of the familiar laughter, and reminiscing on old memories, y/n can’t ignore the feeling stirring in her heart. something that went deeper than friendship. as she grapples with the fact that her feelings for her lifelong best friend, matt, are more than what’s just at the surface, she must learn to navigate and balance the unspoken feelings, and the gut wrenching fear of risking it all.

a/n: sorry guys but i think im scrapping all my old fics. i just have lost interest in them and i dont want to give yall something that i just half assed yk. i just need something new 😖🙏 don’t hate me pls. also i didn’t proof read and i never do so hopefully this all makes sense LMAO

……………………..

“BOYS TRIP!” chris shouts through the house.

the triplets are back in boston from being in la. i’d be lying if i said that i didn’t wish that these visits would last forever. being across the country from my best friends sucked.

“oh yeah , and you’ll be there too. you’re one of the boys.” chris points at me, smiling before loading the car with our bags.

“chris please never say that again.” i cringe, but fail to keep in my laughter.

“i agree. that was disgusting.” nick chimes in.

“just wanted to make sure you know you’re included.” chris throws his hands up in defense.

“thanks.” i smile and shake my head before getting in the car.

we were staying at their house in cape cod, something all of us looked forward to each summer growing up.

we arrive at nate’s house to pick him up. after the group effort of showering him in compliments for his new hair cut, we get back in the car.

sandwiched between nick and nathan, i check the time on my phone. nick grabs my wrist and moves it out of the way to give himself a better view of my lock screen.

“that is such a cute picture.” he says admiringly. it was a picture of matt and i. the picture was taken from behind while matt gave a piggy back ride back to the car because my feet hurt from wearing heels to madison’s concert.

“you took it.” i laugh.

“i know. i really out did myself huh.” he hypes himself up. i smile and roll my eyes.

once we get to the cape house, we unload the car. all of our bags scattered haphazardly throughout our respective rooms. the same rooms each of us have stayed in for years. nate with chris, nick with matt, and me, having been the only girl, with my own room.

“let’s go to the beach!” nate walks out into the kitchen, clapping his hands together.

…

the beach was just within walking distance. matt and i fell behind the rest of the group.

“i’m so glad you’re back.” i tell him.

“me too. i missed you.” he replies.

“i missed you too.” i admit. “a lot.” i look up and meet his eyes. we just stare at each other for a second. we didn’t really need to say anything. it was almost just a mutual understanding that each other were our favorite person.

if only he knew the extent.

the only person i’ve confided in about my feelings for matt was nate. which was precisely why he kept shooting me knowing glances anytime matt and interacted. nate swore that he knew i was in love with matt for years, before i even knew myself.

i can’t exactly pinpoint when i fell in love with my best friend, but i do remember when i realized.

flashback

matt and i sit together in the hammock string between two large oak trees in the backyard of the cape house. the gentle breeze swaying us back and forth softly. the sun was going down just to the right of us. beautiful pink and orange hues paint the sky.

“i could stay right here forever.” matt breaks the silence that had fallen between us.

“me too.” i reply softly.

“oh hey i have something for you” he digs his hand around in his pocket and pulls out a baby pink seashell. he hands it it me.

“i’ve never seen a pink one like that before.” he tells me as i admire the gift.

“me either. i love it. thanks matt.” i smile sweetly at him.

“of course.” he returns the smile.

i feel the heartbeat in my chest racing and my cheeks heating up. the feeling i had been carrying around with me for quite some time became abundantly clear.

i was in love with my best friend.

when i got home that night, i tied a string around the shell, and wore it as a necklace. and i haven’t taken it off since.

end of flashback

that was back when we were 16. 4 whole years i’ve gone hiding my biggest secret from the one person i told everything to.

our gaze was interrupted by chris. “jesus, yall are some slow pokes” he hollers back at us.

we both laugh and pick up out pace.

soon we arrive at the beach. i’ve always loved the beach. it truly is my happy place.

especially when i’m with matt.

nick snaps pictures here and there.

“oh my gosh matt look! this is just like your tattoo!” i hold out a shell to him.

“oh shit you’re right.” he holds out his arm, revealing his tattoo.

“that’s sick.” chris admires the similarity while nick takes a picture.

…

later that night, we all sit in the living room debating on what movie to watch.

“chris im not watching planet of the apes again. we’ve watched it like 9 times already.” nick argues, shutting down chris’s pleads.

“how about grown ups?” matt suggests.

“yes i love that movie.” nate agrees.

“that’s fine with me.” nick shrugs and starts typing it in.

“is that good with you?” matt leans down to where i was sitting in front of him, his voice soft and genuine.

“yeah that’s good with me.” i tell him.

he smiles and pats the spot on the couch next to him, gesturing me to come sit up there with him. i stand up from my spot on the floor and sit down next to him. he drapes a blanket over the both of us.

about an hour or so into the movie, my eyes get heavy. i lean my head on matt’s shoulder, to which he responds with wrapping his arm around me. this was nothing out of the ordinary. there’s pictures going back to when we were in preschool of the two of us practically fused together passed out on the living room floor.

suddenly, a gentle shake of my shoulders woke me up from a sleep i hadn’t even known i fell into. my eyes flutter, slowly regaining focus. when they do, i’m met with matt’s gentle blue eyes.

“hey, you wanna go lay down in your bed? i don’t want your neck to be sore.” he asks, genuinely concerned for my comfort.

i look around, everyone else appeared to have gone into their rooms.

“yeah i probably should.” i say through a yawn.

matt grabs my hand and helps me stand up from the couch. we walk down the hallway. my room came before his and nicks.

“goodnight matt.” i say, slowly turning the doorknob.

“goodnight y/n. see ya in the morning.”

i toss and turn in bed, unable to fall asleep. i stand up from bed, and leave my room. slowly making my way to the kitchen to get a drink, careful to not wake anyone up.

i open the fridge and grab a water. before i can take a sip, i hear a familiar voice behind me.

“can’t sleep?” the sudden breach of silence made me jump a little. i turn around and see matt. he was leaned up against the door frame. his sweatpants falling dangerously low on his figure, his arm under his shirt itching his shoulder, exposing his midriff.

“nope. you?” i set my water down on the counter.

“hm mm” he replies.

we stand in silence for a few moments before matt breaks the silence again.

“wanna go to the beach?”

….

a/n: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LMK IF YALL LIKE THIS. SUGGESTIONS ALWAYS WELCOME AND MY INBOX IS ALWAYS OPEN 🙏 i’m using my old taglist, so lmk if you want taken off or added to it!

taglist: @honestlybabymiracle @pepsiimaxx @creamoncreamoncream2 @mattestrella @luvmxtt @rac00ns-are-c00l4

[kandlewick]

since its taking so long, im gonna drop a preview of my leona's ''i'll dry the villain's tears'....... this one is special because i unfortunately decided mid writing that i wanted it to be romantic but alas that means i had to scrap a lot of twst lore to fit my narrative hghfg so think of this one as an au to my usual entries. an interest check. these entries were MEANT to be strictly platonic but a few of them (leona, MAYBE azul and malleus (between lilia and the reader)), just gave me so many ideas.

SO IT IS UNFINISHED! its 4k words but still unresolved unless people like, want me to scrap twst lore as heavily as i did in this lmao

i'll dry the villain's tears pt. 3.1415926535897

you get reincarnated into a role that became the breaking point of the villain's story and you, be it an unwillingness to cause them harm or a desire to survive, must work hard to make sure they grow into a better (or at least safer) person.

all entries are USUALLY to be read as platonic however this one wouldn't go away. All are USUALLY meant to be taken place in the TWST universe accurate to the game but this one is special because I love leona and he'd be so cool as a manwha love interest.

You awaken one day with perhaps the largest bump you've ever seen placed nearly perfectly center on your forehead. You don't remember how you got it exactly but the two princes never left your side (Falena would not stop crying and despite his claims of laughter at your expense, you can tell his brother was equally worried), only being dragged away by their tutor as soon as they let their guard down.

You looked down at the hands on your lap and clutched your fists open and closed over and over again. Gone were your long fingers and wide palms, instead you looked down at the chubby hands of a child no more than six.

From what your handmaiden had told you, the three of you had been playing spelldrive together and Leona, in his eagerness to best his brother, had shot the disk perhaps a bit too strong and instead of flying in to the goal, it had changed course and struck you hard enough to knock you unconscious for the rest of the early hours of the morning.

You remembered this event. It's what led to Falena's betrothed sticking closer to him and farther from Leona. What once was a well balanced trio had become a teeter totter with Falena and her on one side and Leona alone, unable to change anything with what little weight he had to offer.

Falena's betrothed; that was you. From the story you had read, the two were deeply in love and ruled the kingdom hand in hand towards a brighter future... all while unknowingly leaving the youngest brother in the shadows, forgotten and alone and desperate. You couldn't afford for that to happen.

You don't see the two of them until late that evening. Falena looked exhausted, like the tutoring had beaten any last bit of energy he could spare and with a loud yawn, had eagerly hopped into the cot next to you on your right. Leona was slow to join the two of you but settled himself to your left, his shoulder bumping yours as you turned to give him your attention, curiously returning the gesture. Leona matched your gaze, looking you over for any signs of pain before he opened his mouth.

"You look ridiculous," he spoke aloud, glancing at your bruised forehead. Subconsciously, you reached up and checked the tender spot and gave him an unimpressed look.

“I only look like this because you can’t shoot a disk right.” You huffed, choosing to ignore his presence, instead cuddling up to Falena who was more than eager to reciprocate, easily wrapping a comforting arm around your shoulder and nudging your chin in a friendly hug. “At least your brother is being nice to me.”

However, despite your teasing voice, Falena was quick to come to his defense, “Leona’s just not good at showing he was worried about you. You should’ve seen his face when he saw you fall over, I’ve never seen him run that fast in his life.” Leona rolled his eyes but made no response as his brother laughed, choosing to settle himself in your cot while closing his eyes, his tail lazily curling up behind you. Your beastman tail - you don’t know when you would ever get used to that - sat itself besides his, curling the two into a gentle hold. Leona glanced over at you from the corner of his one opened eye but chose not to comment about it.

Even at your young age, you could tell that Leona communicated in a particular way. His words may be harsh, but his actions were tender.

“Mmm, someone had to.” Leona muttered, nuzzling himself deeper into the pillows, “Falena was too busy crying about you to be of any help.”

Falena made no effort to deny the claims and sheepishly smiled at you, “He is not wrong, haha. I was very worried for you! You should’ve seen the maid’s face when they saw you passed out in the field!” He reached out and plucked your hand into his. When you looked at him, you could still see the red dotting his eyes from how hard he had cried. It was no wonder your body’s original owner had fallen so head over heels for this boy. While he and Leona were brothers, they couldn’t have been more night and day. 

“You shouldn’t have worried too much, Falena! I’m fine, really. Kifaji said that I should be fine in a few days.” You waved his worry off with your hand, gingerly pressing the tips of your fingers against the small lump, “There wasn’t a concussion or anything but he wanted to make s- Hm?”

Falena and Leona both looked up at you with wide eyes, both of their gazes making you feel small. You slumped in your seat and blinked at the both of them, silently feeling sheepish all of a sudden, “Is something wrong?”

“Why are you calling me by my name!” Falena looked almost scandalized as he let go of you, his hands floating at your sides like he was too scared to touch you, “Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”

“Eh? Eh?”

“Looks like I hit her a little too hard.” Leona chuckled, watching in barely contained amusement as his brother’s soul practically floated out of his chest, “What happened to calling him, ‘husband’?”

This body’s former owner was a precocious little child, wasn’t she!!! You couldn’t believe the audacity, calling your ten year old fiance ‘husband’!

As required of any royal belonging to the Sunset Savannah, you were expected to build lasting relations with other tribes and honorable guests much like any other adult and as such, other than the two royal siblings, you were given many playmates. Some were older than you and some were younger, but they were many and varied and always tried to stay on your good side. And as such, they were exceedingly worried about you when you arrived late to your most recent playdate with a freshly bandaged head.

“My liege, what happened!” the youngest cried, quickly latching on to your arm, tears welling up in his shiny eyes, “Are you alright? Does it hurt?” 

You waved them off with your hand, a soft but embarrassed smile on your face. Their eyes watered, their large elephant beastman ears flopping up and down wildly as they looked you over head to toe for any sign of injury. You could hear them loudly sniffling as they bit back tears. They’ve always been a bit of a crybaby from what your memories could tell you. A shy, but friendly young boy… if a little bit of a hypochondriac. One of your older playmates rolled her eyes but you could tell she was worried by the subtle way she refused to leave your side, glancing over at you from the corner of her eye.

“I can’t believe Prince Leona would do something as clumsy as hurting his brother’s fiance!” One of your newer playmates huffed loudly, her eyes narrowed in annoyance, “Really, he’s lucky his brother forgave him so fast - ah! You as well, it’s good you forgave him too!! He doesn’t deserve it if you asked me!” She huffed loudly as she played with your toys, her jaguar tail batting the floor loudly. She paid no mind to your two companions sounds of offense, instead choosing to meet your gaze from over her shoulder.

You blinked at her, your eyes wide in confusion. Your two other companions matched your expression, the two of them surprised she would dare to say anything like that outloud. Leona hadn’t meant to hit you after all! You were playing…

Your newest playmate, so new you could hardly remember her name scoffed at the three of you, obviously annoyed you didn’t join her in her thoughts. “For real, who does he think he is? He’s the second son, he should be bowing on his hands and knees at your feet! You’re the future king’s fiance, he should be grateful he’s even allowed to play with you two! W-”

You don’t know what came over you and why you did it, but you felt your body react to her words, and somehow, your fist made contact with her cheek sending her sprawling on the floor. The sound of her collapsing was loud enough to shock you out of your stupor, a dull ache throbbing around your knuckles. She looked up at you with wide eyes as she cradled her cheek, you staring down at her with equally large doe shaped eyes. You couldn’t believe you had just done that!

“Leona is my friend.” Your lips began moving before you could even think. You were firm on this even as tears began welling up in your eyes. Ah, you sighed. Even if your mind isn’t young, your body still is shaking like a leaf. The hand you had punched the child with quivered from nerves. “Dont - don’t speak that way about him!” Your voice raised in pitch, “His brother and I love him very much!”

The little girl bared her teeth at you, unwilling to take your actions lying down, “How can you say these things? He hurt you!” She hissed.

“It was an accident!” You matched her tone, the sadness quickly evaporating into anger, “Sometimes accidents happen when you’re playing! He’s good and kind and would never, ever hurt me! Ever!”

Your shouting was quick to alarm the servants stationed outside your playroom’s walls. Kifaji was the first one in, eyes sharp as he immediately separated you from the other children, stepping in the way with his back to you. “What is going on here?” He questioned. There was no room for nonsense in his expression and his words matched that as he gazed around the play area. The girl cradled her cheek as she glared at you, unwilling to speak up. She may have made the mistake of bad mouthing the second prince in the presence of other children, but she knew better than to say those words around another adult that wasn’t her own parent. Kifaji raised his brow at her silence before turning to your gorilla and elephant companions, silently questioning the two. They shrunk under his glare and made no move to open their mouths instead choosing to nervously shuffle closer to you. 

You tugged on Kifaji’s robes, the fabric soft between your trembling fingers. Glancing over at you, he leaned down and crouched to match your gaze. While his eyes were hard and strict, you could tell that he cared about you and the princes. He would listen to you. You could trust him.

“She was talking badly about Prince Leona…” You whispered to him, “so I punched her.”

Kifaji made a face, but nodded his head slowly. You hoped he understood. With a heavy sigh, he gathered up his robes and picked himself up.

“Come along,” He gestured to the girl, “Let us find your parents. I believe the playdate has come to an end.” and with a gentle hand, he helped her up as she began dabbing away at her eyes but not before shooting you a glare from over her shoulder. You stuck your tongue out at her. As soon as the adults exited the room, you quickly reached up and wiped away the tears staining your cheeks before returning to your friends, the mood sufficiently ruined for the rest of the play date.

It wasn’t until later that evening that Kifaji returned, a cross expression on his face. The guards at his sides were quick to disperse as he approached you, his robes billowing out behind him like colorful plumage. With practiced precision, he kneeled down to your eye level and reached out, bringing your small hands into his. His rough hands itched against your soft ones.

“What you did today could have ended very poorly, my liege.” He spoke softly, but his tone was firm, “You must remember, your position here in the palace is not final. If you cause too much of a ruckus…”

Was the king’s advisor really telling you to ignore this? That you should let Leona be bad mouthed by those in power? You were quick to glare at the older man, ripping your hands away from him and taking a few steps back, eager to separate the two of you.

“I’m not going to let people say whatever they want about Leona.”

Kifaji, shocked, stared for a moment before narrowing his eyes, “This is what I’m talking about, my liege. You are too quick to anger. You must calm yourself. I am not saying you must ignore the problem, but what I am trying to say is, your position in the palace as Falena’s future spouse, is not permanent.”

You hated to admit it but he had a point. You bit your lip but said nothing, cowed under his words. It was the truth. If you wanted to protect Leona, despite having the best intentions, you couldn’t exactly expect to have the sway as an adult. You were a child and easily replaceable. A glorified playmate.

“That is why, my liege,” Kifaji brought himself to his feet, dusting off his robe with a flick of a wrist, “you come to me.”

You turned and looked at him, not expecting the protective glint to his eye. He nodded his head before continuing.

“I will make sure that these things are handled correctly without repercussions. As the king’s advisor, I am not so easily replaceable.” He chuckled, fixing his glasses with a precise motion, “I will admit I am not as… in touch with the other servants in the palace and diplomats are always so careful with their words around me, it’s difficult to gauge their true intentions but with you, they will surely slip up and speak more plainly then perhaps they should.”

You stared up at the man in awe. You couldn’t believe your luck! Kifaji was taking your side and was going to actively help you in your quest to project Leona. Maybe before he was never given the opportunity, never had the time to set aside to investigate. Maybe he never knew. Now, however, he was given the chance with you to defend the prince. You very nearly teared up but were quick to wipe them away as Kifaji laughed, his hand reaching down to ruffle your hair affectionately. 

And so the two of you were quick to act, swiftly cutting contact with merchants and dignitaries that shared less than favorable feelings for the second prince. You and Kifaji would have monthly meetings together with snacks courtesy of the king and his wife as you spoke of matters in the palace. You had a special role, scouting out and spying on maids and soldiers that gossiped in the servant’s quarters. Nobody expected anything when you even brought in your two playmates, Magani and Akut (the gorilla and elephant beastmen respectively) to join in on the spying. This carried on for several years as you heavily vetted all coming through the palace all without letting Leona see the work you pulled behind the curtains. All the strings and wires were yours to control and you were going to make good use of the opportunities you were given. 

But, for some reason, Leona never seemed to want to leave your side. While you worked on your schooling, he would sit and while away the hours under the light of the sun from his favorite perch right beside your desk. Even in this life he was a lazy lion, preferring the quiet you brought then the loud personality of his elder brother. Sometimes you would join him on his naps, your tails quietly intertwining in a silent embrace. It was a comforting feeling. Moments like this were always a relief after the hours you and Falena had to spend together in your diplomacy lessons. A lot was expected of you as the future queen of Sunset Savanna. There were many late nights where you both stayed up till the crack of dawn together, stubbornly unwilling to give up with tears in your eyes as you studied until your vision blurred. It wasn't an uncommon sight for Kifaji to find the two of you bundled up together with books piled at your feet in the early hours of the morning.

Afternoon lunch dates with Falena and Leona were also rowdy and fun. While Falena was always quick to stay by your side and fight for your attention, Leona was seemingly content with letting your future husband monopolize your time. It wouldn’t be uncommon for Leona to doze off while Falena tried to do ‘couple-y’ things with you

It was all perfect.

Until Falena was accepted into the Royal Sword Academy. 

“You’re… breaking our engagement?” 

[wordsarelife]

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫: 𝐢'𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐞 (𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢'𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲)

pairing: theo nott x fem!reader

summary: the line between lust and hate is awfully slim between theo and you, resulting in something that changes everything between the two of you

warnings: (like massive) spoilers for the great gatsby, mentions of sex, cursing, let me know if i missed anything else

notes: i’m just gonna quickly leave this here hehe

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monday felt like you had woken up in a different world. cursed legacy had made it their personal task to spend their time with you, much to yours and theo’s dismay.

they treated you like you were their friend again and while you had to admit that you didn't hate that, you still hated theo and being their friend meant being in his presence the entire time.

it started during math-, when enzo and mattheo decided to sit down in between april and you. leaving no other option but for their friends to follow behind them,- and reached it’s peak during english.

it was the only class that mattered to you, like really mattered to you. you knew it did to theo too, so you couldn’t understand how he had to ruin everything. atleast all had gone great, until the end. then all hell had broken loose.

"okay, we don't have too much time left" mrs walker said with a look to the clock "but i do have one last question: do you think daisy and mr gatsby should've ended up together?"

you raised your hand and mrs walker nodded. "yes, y/n?"

"i don't think so" you said honestly "i don't think they should've been involved with each other in the first place. i get that she had a shitty husband and she should've definitely left him, but she was at fault for everything that went wrong in gatsby's life and her loved her too much to realize that"

"thank you" mrs walker nodded before she gave the word to theo.

you turned your head in surprise. you hadn't even noticed him raising his hand. honstely, you had thought that he didn't even read the book in the first place.

"i disagree" he said.

"what a wonder" you muttered under you breath.

"daisy was everything he always wanted. she was the green light at the end of the peer and he might've been blinded by love, but isn't that what love is about? being so blinded that you would do anything for your person?"

you raised your eyebrows and send a look in theo's direction. you noticed that draco was wearing a similiar look as his eyes glided back and fourth between theo and the book in his hands, probably wondering if they had read the same story.

"sorry" you raised your arm "you could be right, but your're not"

mattheo beside you snorted.

"gatsby threw everything away for a woman that loved him for a short while before she went back to another man. he could've easily found someone better"

"maybe he didn't want to" theo was talking to you directly now "maybe it was enough for him to love her from afar"

"then he could've stayed on his fucking side of the lake" you argued "instead he threw these gigantic parties, just hoping for one single person to show up. is that what it is to you? having an unhealthy obsession with something that could lead to your death and calling it love?"

theo's chair scrapped over the floor when he stood up. you could see the anger in his eyes and stood up from your chair as well.

"you don't know what you're talking about" theo was not far from screaming "he loved her because she wasn't easy. he loved because being with her meant not knowing what's to come, because being with her meant to never grow bored"

"that's what you took from this story?" you laughed in disbelief "did we read the same book?" you caught blaise and draco hecticly turning pages as if they were asking themselves the same thing. enzo and april exchanged glances and the smirk on mattheo's face died.

"because i read a book in which a foolish man spends his entire time obsessing over a woman who doesn't love him, atleast not as much as he loves her and later he dies, because he wants to save her and she doesn't even bat an eye, before she goes back to her husband"

"she had no other choice" theo screamed.

"she had plenty of choices, theo" you screamed back.

"stop! the both of you!" mrs walker screamed.

all eyes turned to her. theo and you sank down in your seats defeated.

"both of you, detention" mrs walker said, right before the bell rang out.

you sighed as you packed up your things and grabbed the detention slip from her, before you left the room.

✦•〰〰〰〰〰★🎸☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★〰〰〰〰〰〰•✦

detention was not the kind of activity you would normally choose to do during your day, but here you were, holding a cleaning cloth and a bucket, while theo was holding the broom. you were standing in one of the classrooms, that hadn’t been used for these past few years.

"alright" mr platt clapped his hands. he was a bit too excited about your detention, particulary because he had a one sided feud with theo, who was always a bit too sassy in the janitors eyes. "you're gonna clean this entire room. you have two hours-" he was interrupted by his ringing phone, which he picked up as he walked away from the both of you.

"this is all your fault" you whispered.

theo huffed. “that’s rich”

“is it?” you wondered “because it’s always you that has to ruin everything”

“calm down, pixie” theo shook his head “i thought you were smarter than this”

“i have to admit i thought you were too, but then you proved me wrong in english and here we are”

“shut the fuck-“

mr platt turned back around and both you and theo put on an innocent smile.

“i have to get a few things for the school banket next week. do you think you’ll be fine on your own?” he looked more in your direction than in theo’s.

“of course, don’t worry, mr platt” you smiled and the janitor nodded relieved.

“alright, i will be back in two hours” he walked out of the room and theo turned his head to you.

“don’t worry, mr platt” he mocked in a high pitched voice. you rolled your eyes, before you slapped him with your cloth.

“come on, just start sweeping already”

to your annoyance and ultimately not to your surprise, theo sat down on one of the tables. “i’m not cleaning anything”

“mr platt just said—“

“i don’t know if you’ve noticed, pixie” he smiled “but i don’t really listen to the things mr pratt says”

you were ready to start fighting, until you remembered how you had gotten into this situation in the first place. this was your first detention and you would make sure that it would also stay the last.

you mindlessly started cleaning the tables around the room. when you were done with that, you filled the bucket with fresh water and cleaned the cloth in the sink until it was spotless again. then you walked across the room to take the broom.

"what are you doing?" theo pulled the broom away from you, when you tried to grab it.

"i'm doing what you should've done" you crossed your arms "i'm not gonna get in more trouble, because of you"

"i'm not giving it to you" theo said and you raised your brows.

"why do you even care? you're not gonna do it? okay, fine" you shrugged "but someone has to"

"it's not your fucking problem, pixie" theo pulled the broom further back "you did your task"

"why are you always so stubborn?" you tried to reach around him, but he pushed you back with his other hand "just give it to me"

"no" the bratty smile on his face made your blood boil.

in a few seconds of uncontrollable anger, you took the bucket, ready to drench him in the cold water you had just filled it up with. "give me the broom" you said once again, as if to give him a last chance.

"you wouldn't dare"

"oh i would" you nodded.

theo stayed unmoving and you raised the bucket from the ground, so that it was now hanging in the air between you. but theo was faster than you. he let go of the broom (which fell to the ground with a thud) before he ripped the bucket out of your hands, making water slip over the edge and directly onto your shirt.

"you fucking idiot!" you screamed, and turned away from the boy, once theo had put the bucket down on the table behind him.

"i actually did not mean to do that" he laughed "but it's pretty fucking funny"

"shut up" you started patting your chest with the cloth in an attempt to dry the water stain on your shirt. you did only make it worse.

you could hear theo giggle behind your back and swerved around, before you threw the cloth in his face. he was not as happy anymore when he took the cloth off his face and let it fall to the ground.

"what did you just do?"

you shrugged your shoulders "not like you didn't deserve that"

he stepped slowly closer "repeat that. i dare you"

you stepped back and he followed. your back hit the wall and he came closer.

"you deserved that" you muttered as you looked up at him. you could feel his hot breath on your cheek and thought about just pushing him back and slipping away, but you honestly doubted that you were stronger than him.

"you're very brave sweetheart" he smiled sarcastically.

you laughed humorless. "i fucking hate you"

theo smiled and the eye contact intensified.

"looks like you're having the hots for me now"

"fuck you, theo"

your breath hitched when he quickly pushed his lips against yours. it took you a second, but then you pulled him closer by his shirt, deepening the kiss.

theo's lips brushed against yours and you melted into his kiss, surrendering to the passion that consumed you both.

the kiss was like a storm, fierce and consuming, yet filled with a tenderness that left you breathless.

you had only kissed him once before, back when you were children. back when kissing was something disgusting and didn't make you feel the things you were feeling right now.

you whimpered when he pulled your head to the side with his hand and started kissing your neck.

"i loathe you" he muttered between kisses "but you look so fucking hot in that wet shirt"

you smiled triumphantly and saw your opportunity to push him backwards, away from the wall and to the teachers table. you connected your lips again, as you turned around and climbed on to the table. he stepped between your opened legs and rested his hands on your thighs as he moaned.

you gripped the hem of his shirt, he stepped back and helped you to pull it off, before you repeated the same process with your shirt. your hands pressed to his chest, while he kissed you and unhooked your bra.

you weren't proud of the things that happened next. and especially not of where it had happened.

when it was over, theo looked almost as regretful as you did.

"this was a mistake" you muttered, as he pulled down your shirt and gently fixed your hair. you weren't used to this side of him, not anymore. but even if you said the exact opposite, your were yearning for him.

"yeah" he nodded and then he frowned "i'm sorry, i shouldn't have-"

"-no, it's alright" you shook your head. this was worse than before, it was uncomfortable and awkward. you would've preferred him yelling at you, but the room grew silent as neither o you said a word.

"we can never do this again" he whispered, but it sounded more like he was telling it to himself.

"i know"

"and we can't tell anyone about this"

"i know"

"we're not good for each other" he said finally.

you wanted to say something, anything. it was like everything between you had just died with a simple touch. you almost missed the tension, because now there was just nothing. you tried to reach for his arm, but before you could do or say anything else, the door opened and theo stepped back from you.

"looks alright" mr platt nodded, once he had given the room a look. "you can go" he held the door open so you could walk through.

"bye" you said and mr platt nodded. "theo" you called, but the boy only quickened his step and left you standing alone in the entryhall of the school.

you sighed, before you decided that theo was right, you should just forget about everything that had happened. your relationship with him had not been anything else than hate lately and you had to admit he was right, it would never work, you weren't good for each other.

✦•〰〰〰〰〰★🎸☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★〰〰〰〰〰〰•✦

the shift in atmosphere did not go unnoticed by april or the rest of the boys. atleast not until the next saturday when she was spending the day with enzo and matt, chilling in their parent's basement before they head to the rehearsal later.

"have you noticed that theo and y/n have been acting weird lately?" april asked "i mean y/n's been totally denying it, but it's weird right?"

"for sure" mattheo nodded with big eyes "i'm glad you said something, i was dying to ask you"

"isn't that kind of normal?" enzo wondered "i mean for them to be weird?"

"you're not getting it the way we are!" mattheo criticized.

"okay, sorry" enzo raised his hands laughing until mattheo and april send him a look.

"i honestly always thought they would end up together" april admitted "and of course i hated the way their friendship evolved to constantly fighting with each other, but at least that was something. now they aren't even talking to each other"

"right?" mattheo pointed at the red-head "i always thought they were in love with each other, but then she dated that scumbag and leo, well" he left the sentence unfinished and the mood shifted.

"i thought the same" april patted mattheos shoulder. “i think what they have yet to realize is that everything that is between them is not hate, it’s sadness”

mattheo nodded and april could see that he was getting sad too. they both felt helpless, like they couldn’t do what they were supposed to do as best friends to theo and you.

all while enzo found it a bit weird how serious mattheo and april were talking about your relationship with theo. it didn't even concern them, yet they were so... concerned.

"it's not really our problem is it?" enzo tried gently.

the looks he received made him shut up immediately.

"they belong together, enz" his brother exclaimed with a roll of his eyes "they just don't know it yet"

"yeah" april nodded "that's what they have us for" she pointed between her and mattheo.

"but you still like me more than him, right?" enzo joked.

april and mattheo started laughing and enzo joined in hesitantly. "not right now, though"

enzo's laughter died down as he send his soon-to-be-girlfriend a betrayed look.

✦•〰〰〰〰〰★🎸☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★〰〰〰〰〰〰•✦

when the three arrived at the rehearsal, theo and you were already there, setting up the instrument and sorting notes.

"woah" blaise said when he and draco entered the garage after mattheo, april and enzo. "it's cold in here"

you send him an aggravated look, before you just rolled your eyes and continued to turn the pages of your notes.

"did something happen?" draco whispered in the direction of april.

the girl shook her head, before mattheo took it upon himself to inform draco about the newest form of relationship between theo and you.

"haven't you noticed?" he muttered not exactly quiet, but you acted like you couldn't hear him. "they've been acting like this all week"

"really?" blaise asked surprised, before he thought for a second "wait, no, now that you say it, it has been a really peaceful week." his eyes fell upon you "too peaceful"

"hey, y/n" draco called and you looked up "i think theo put down the wrong cable for you again"

"oh" you looked down to confirm that he was right "that not a problem, i'll just quickly change it" you walked around theo, without even acknowledging him and draco looked like he had lost his mind.

april elbowed enzo, who shrieked, but then quickly caught the hint. "theo, ehh" he thought for a second "did you talk to y/n about those notes she needs to play differently in cheap wine?"

theo shook his head, before he turned around to look at you. "you have to play two c-chords and then the a-chord"

"got it" you nodded.

enzo and april exchanged a look. enzo looked to his older brother helplessly, who looked as lost as he rest of his friends. he had no idea what else to say, before it quickly dawned on him. he had to force a reaction out of theo and what better way to do that than compliment you? an insult from theo wouldn't be far.

"you look really good today" mattheo said "i like the way you styles your hair"

"thank you" you smiled.

"theo?" blaise asked as the boy didn't react.

"huh?" theo looked up from the cables he had been sorting "eh, yeah i agree"

both you and theo returned to your respective work while the rest of your friends exchanged looks without you noticing.

"theo, i said y/n looks good today"

"i'm aware" theo nodded "i can hear you, you know?"

"we would love to hear your input" mattheo further encouraged.

"you're acting fucking weird today" and to all their shock, you and theo were now exchanging glances as if they were the ones behaving weirdly.

blaise huffed and mattheo and april crossed their arms silmutaneously.

draco seemed to have had enough of the way you were acting. "stop fucking acting this way! can't you just make up or something? or at least get back to hating each other?" he was close to tears.

blaise rubbed draco's shoulder. "see, what you're doing to him. his parents are divorced"

"okay?" you asked confused "i don't see what that has to do with us, though"

"what's going on?" april asked gently "did something happen? you had this until someone cries mentally, well, did someone cry?"

"no" you shook your head "theo and i are just mature enough, that we decided to stop fighting"

"bullshit" draco screamed from blaise's arms. "you're always fighting, even before you hated each other."

you looked in the direction of theo and thought about what he had said to you in that classroom. he had been right, you weren't good to each other, even before you had been at each other's throats constantly. all of it had been so obvious that even your friends had noticed it.

"would you rather have us fighting again?" theo asked with raised brows "we were going nowhere with this"

"you're not even talking to each other" mattheo muttered.

"we are" you shook your head as if you couldn't believe what he was saying "we just did it like a minute ago"

"can we please start rehearsing now?" theo asked and all of you could feel the annoyance radiating off his body. the boys nodded, giving in without further discussion.

you could still feel april's eyes lingering on you. she didn't believe a word you had said.

even if you tried to ignore it, what your friends had said stuck with you. you knew that theo was thinking about it too.

after the rehearsal you stayed longer.

"we have to stop acting his way" you said as soon as the two of you were alone. "they will find out if we don't"

"i know" theo sighed and it was the biggest reaction you had gotten from him all week. it kind of pained you to admit that you missed your fighting, but something in you clearly did.

"can't you just fight with me? just do something so we go back to normal"

"i can't" theo admitted "i can still scream at you, after-"

"after we had sex" you interrupted. he had been dancing around what happened all week, you were tired of not calling it what it was.

"it should've never happened"

"i know!" you said loudly "and i agree, but this is not the solution we need. we can't go back in time, theo, we can do nothing to change it."

"yeah, but i can do as much as possible to make sure it won't ever happen again"

"why are you so bothered by all of this?" you asked frustrated "it was just sex, it was a one time thing, what makes it different? it's just like any other one night stand"

"no it's not"

"then tell me what it is!" you were screaming now "because i'm tired of playing a game i don't want to be a part of! you confuse me"

"can i kiss you?" theo asked and you had almost screamed from shock.

"what?" you asked instead. "theo!"

"i'm- sorry, i just-"

"okay, kiss me" he did not wait for you to tell him twice, before he had already walked closer and pressed his lips against yours.

you really had to stop doing this. well, after this time.

✦•〰〰〰〰〰★🎸☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★〰〰〰〰〰〰•✦

you continued to come to the rehearsal three times a week over the following weeks. the more time you spent in the old loft, the more it felt like everything was slowly going back to normal.

your friends couldn't explain what had happened, but theo and you had started interacting normally again, having your occasional fight, but being friendlier than ever.

even if they found it weird, they accepted it. they were just happy you were talking to each other again.

april had tried to find out what had been going and between you and the boy, but you had stayed strong, not revealing your secret to her, even if she was your best friend.

you were joking with the boys, the forced friendly gestures you used to exchange were long gone and it was no longer uncomfortable to just sit around when you were taking a break.

mattheo told stories of enzo and their vacation in spain, how they had gone snorkeling and how enzo had lost his trunks in the water, making all of you break out into loud laughter.

each of you shared memories of a time where you had not spoken to the others, as if you had to catch up. and it felt good.

even theo had to admit it did. it had been easier than he thought to be civil. he had been sure he was having a stroke, but as soon as he started to act nice, you did too and after everything that had happened between you both these past few days he was honestly just glad.

it was another saturday when you were once again rehearsing. you had gone through the entire setlist (except for daddy issues, theo had said that it was way too slow to play) and now only had to play eight pack of cigarettes, which was one of your favorite tracks to play, especially because it had a guitar solo in it.

you had spent much time learning the solo and enzo had been of great help, teaching you like a proud parent, even if he was younger than you.

the song began slow, theo started singing as the guitar played slow, while the other instruments stayed silent.

in the glow of street lights, underneath the city's haze, you found me in the darkest nights, lost in a nicotine haze.

the drums set in just a second after, making the heavy rock of the song shine through clearly. shortly after that followed mattheo, strumming the bass. draco only joined at the chorus.

eight packs of cigarettes, burned through these lonely nights, trying to drown out regrets, but you're still in my head.

the solo came just after the brige and both enzo and april watches excitedly how you plaed it so effortlessly. theo watched you and he couldn't help the proud smile settling on his face.

in the haze of smoke and dreams, i'll keep searching for some reprieve, but until then, I'll keep the smoke, eight packs of cigarettes full of hope.

the song ended with the last note of draco's keyboard. you admired how they could go from a full on rock song, to a slow and almost sad outro.

you helped theo to unplug the instruments. draco and blaise said their goodbyes pretty soon, walking out of the garage mumbling something about a new videogame, mattheo was close behind them.

enzo and april exchanged a look, before he threw his not broken arm around her shoulder.

"we're going to the cinema" enzo exclaimed when he noticed your questioning gaze.

"okay" you smiled as you send april a look. 'call me later' you mouthed, before you watched them walk out to april's car.

"y/n" theo said to gain your attention "thank you for helping us, really, i appreciate it"

"it's not a problem" you smiled "just, why did you ask me? i know that you can play, you didn't need me"

"you're way better" he smiled "my heart also belongs to the acoustic guitar and it's way more fun to move freely on stage"

you rolled your eyes laughing at his dumb reasons, but nodded understandingly anyway. "can i also ask you something?"

theo raised his brows "sure"

"did you write daddy issues to hurt me?"

"i understand why you might think i did" theo muttered "but back then, no" he admitted "i wrote it for you to listen to whenever you felt like that. i thought about not putting it on the album after everything that happened, but i wrote it for both of you and leo had made me promise"

"typical" you laughed "he demands something and once he leaves everything goes to shit"

"i'm sorry i made you play it" theo muttered.

"it's alright" you took the acoustic guitar from the couch and held it in his direction. "can you do something else for me? could you play it for me? the way you intended it to be played?"

he nodded and took the guitar from your hand before he sat down across from you. he softly stroked the chords and the words that were coming out of his mouth didn't feel like they were supposed to hurt you, they felt gentle, like a hug.

gentle, like the days you had spent up in the treehouse, crying in his lap as he stroked your hair the same way he was now stroking the chords.

go ahead and cry, little girl nobody does it like you do i know how much it matters to you i know that you got daddy issues and if you were my little girl i'd do whatever I could do i'd run away and hide with you i know that you got daddy issues

he played softly, almost cautious, as if he wanted to fix you with his singing alone. he ended the song and you couldn't help but smile at him, even if tears were running over yours cheeks. he put the guitar down and sat next to you on the couch.

"why did you ask me to do that?"

"because i don't want to think of the song as something bad…not anymore" you explained as you wiped your tears away. "not when leo didn't intend it to be"

"he loved it" theo said softly "made him cry like a baby"

"because you're so good at writing" you laughed.

"no" theo shook his head "he cried because of you, because i think for the first time he could really understand how you felt"

"thank you" you said.

"nothing to thank me for" theo smiled softly.

"do you want to hear a secret?" you asked. you knew not everything between you was normal again, but you trusted him enough and right now, there in the garage, was a time where safety was all around you.

"sure" theo nodded and watched you expectingly. you turned your head to look at him.

"i haven't spoken to my dad in a year" you admitted.

"oh" theo breathed surprised. "why not?"

"i don't really know" you shrugged, it wasn't the whole truth, but you were not at the point of telling whole truths yet "but i think it's alright, i don't think there's anything we could still say to each other"

"i'm sorry"

you shrugged "it is what it is, right?" you tried to smile, but theo shook his head.

"it shouldn't be like this"

"it's not like i can miss anything" you shrugged and theo frowned.

"it's just unfair. i'm sorry, y/n"

"where did pixie go?"

"i thought you hated when i called you that"

"i did" you smiled lopsided "but now i kinda miss her"

"do you ever know what you want?" theo laughed and you shrugged, while you shook your head. he looked at his phone, to check the time. "are you free tonight?"

"sure, why?"

"a friend of mine is throwing a party and his band is playing, i promised to come, do you maybe want to accompany me?"

you shrugged "it's not like i have anything better to do, so why not?"

"i feel honored that you spend time with me nonetheless, pixie" theo smiled and you mirrored his expression. for the first time in a while his nickname for you did not sound malicious.

taglist:

@7s3ven @madi-potter @shereadsandcries @getosbeloved @mischieftom @wolfstar-jpg @t00thfairy20 @chcrrysblog @aestramjackson @elina3011 @kr1nqu @hopeless-y @mitskiswift99 @fallingblackveils @ahead-fullofdreams @helendeath @schaebickel @chubbychasermattheotruther @punkprincess03 @subparslytherin @girlbooklover555 @sakanelli-afc @cobrakaisb @ellen3101

[velvetlilacsdaisies]

Shit at Feelings iv

Bodhi Durran x fem!reader

Synopsis: Bonding with dragons? No issue. Killing venin? Unfortunate, but doable. Confronting your feelings towards your childhood best friend? No thanks.

Word count: 6k 🫢

Warnings: swearing (ofc), drinking, angstttt, y/n lore, lmk if I missed anything, not proofread at the end lmaooo

A/n: the long awaited part 4!! Hope y’all aren’t disappointed, trying not to think so hardly on this part bc I scrapped and rewrote this so many times 😅

You're unsure of when it started during the night, but as you sat at the booth with Violet, Rihannon, and Nadine; something stirred in your chest. You desperately tried to look interested in the conversation, trying to meet the eyes of Rihannon trying to focus on the way she animatedly told a story. Laugh when the women poked fun at Violet for something cheeky she’d bring up. Adding input to Nadine’s questions despite having to ask her to repeat herself without having your eyes dragging themselves to look at the other side of the bar.

Who was she?

She wore a dressed down pale blue healer uniform, her skin flawless free of relics and tattoos, glossy perfect red hair that cascaded down her back in waves. She radiated bubbliness from what you observed as she laughed at whatever Bodhi said or did a little dance when her friend sunk a billiard into a pocket. She always seemed to go right back to chatting with him. You couldn’t bear watching her cling to him, but you couldn’t drag your eyes away.

You were well aware you had no right to be sitting there, stomach churning with a bitterness of cold ire…but here you were doing just that.

Rihannon clicked her teeth, making you snap your attention back to the group. You didn’t even try to offer a coy look—this was the second time one of them caught you. You had tried the last two hours to hide your irritation, but it just kept beckoning to the surface. Slowly ticking away within you as if you were going to burst at the seams.

“Okay, what is going on between you two?” She laid her palms flat on the table.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” You took a sip of your drink, acting as nonchalant as you could.

She gave you an incredulous look. “The fact you shied away from him all first year, then the first night of break whatever that was.” She waved her hand. “The other day during breakfast, when Dain came to grab him for the leadership meeting, and it was clear as day he was practically undressing you with his eyes when we first arrived.” she rattled off.

“It’s like I’m watching a romance novel unfold in real time.” Nadine said dramatically, a hand moving to her forehead feigning fainting.

You cringed, “it’s-it’s definitely not like that.”

“Not like what?” Quinn interrupted walking up to your own group. Bodhi and Imogen still had been at the table.

The mystery girl touching his built bicep. He had discarded his jacket an hour ago, his rebellion mark on display underneath his tight short sleeve t-shirt. “Ohhh,” she followed your gaze to Bodhi. “Immy told me all about this.” She said in delight to your dismay, taking a seat next to Nadine.

You brought your attention over to the curly haired blond girl. “Does everyone know about this ‘something’ except the two people this ‘something’ is about?” You snapped.

Everyone seemed to have an exciting interest in the nonexistent relationship between you and your childhood best friend.

Quinn merely raised her hands defensively, Rihannon and Nadine awkwardly sipping their drinks looking at the table interested in the wood grain.

“We’re all in the same wing, same section, Y/n it’s hard to ignore the hot and cold between the two of you.” Violet had a softened look in her eyes, being the most sympathetic toward you.

You flushed realizing your outburst, not meaning to aim it at your new found friends. The gnawing bitter feeling was just eating at you, and you couldn’t stop it from being all consuming.

“Sorry,” you mumbled, a scowl on your lips, staring into the clear fizzy liquid in your glass. Despite the tension you created, you looked at the bubbly girl across from you. “Quinn, who is that girl?”

She had a hesitant look on her face, her brown eyes swirled with trepidation. “Ariante, a third year healer.” She offered a short response, seeming to know more than she let on.

You only nodded, turning back to the other side of the bar watching the billiards tables. Ariante, the beautiful young woman, was lining up to shoot the shot, and shot Bodhi a wink before shooting. A small snarl left your lip unknowingly at the sight, leaving all the group to cast worried glances your way.

You grimaced at your behavior, not entirely sure why you had visibly been so riled up at the sight. “I’m gonna get some water.” You stood up, and left the group without another word.

Ariante skimmed her dainty plain manicured hands over Bodhi’s biceps as she giggled over something he told the group he played with. Usually her advances didn’t bother him, last year he had given in to them as a distraction many times when Y/n avoided him like a disease. Tonight though, his chest hammered in annoyance—maybe not just with her in general, but everything tonight seemed to be so overstimulating.

The loud tavern, how he fought a flinch every time the que would knock against a billiard, the musty smell of alcohol and fried food permeating the space, and how fucking unbearably hot he was.

He knew it had nothing due to the summer weather, that the heat that festered deep within him was caused by something wholly different.

Usually he’d use churam to block Cuir out, but the effects of the few drinks he had made it harder to keep that mental shield up and his dragon’s emotions started to take over. Of course Cuir and Cleasaí chose tonight of all nights to fight.

He had spent a year being accustomed to this, but he worried about you.

You still had been clueless to everything, your dragon stubbornly kept you in the dark, which had frustrated both him and Cuir. You didn’t deserve any of that, and he couldn’t help the pang of guilt he felt when he thought about it. He watched how tense you were at the booth, the girl’s giggling at what seemed like your expense; a scowl on your pretty lips at the interaction.

Another wave of heat filled and irritation rippled through him, and he screwed his eyes shut trying to ground himself. He had ripped his jacket off an hour ago, but to no avail aided any relief to his skin. It seemed it only made the pretty third year healer cling to him more. And the only aid that was brought, was to the disdain that rose with the proximity of her.

“Damn it Henrick!” Quinn stomped her foot frustratedly, making him open his eyes again. “I thought I was playing with an amateur?”

Sawyer had a broad grin as he nabbed the gold coins on the corner of the parallel table across from the one him and Imogen played at. “Beginners luck?” He shrugged casually.

The curly haired blond furrowed her eyebrows at the redhead. “Mhm, sure. Beginner’s luck my ass.”

Imogen cackled at her friend. “You’re the one that suggests putting coins down.”

Quinn mimicked Imogen, before a playful glare settled on her features. “Shove it Cardulo, I’m gonna go wallow in pity now if you need me.” She handed the cue to Sawyer before flouncing off to the rest of the group they came with.

Bodhi’s brown eyes not paying any mind to the feisty third year rider as she joined the booth, he instead had been focused on you again. Watching how your tongue darted in between your soft looking lips licking them, the same scowl still lingering on your face.

He had longed to get a feeling of what your lips felt like since he was barely an adult. Doing anything at this point to have a taste of you, knowing he shouldn’t have felt that way. You had always been just barely out of his reach, but he would have risked anything to have that moment as selfish as it sounded.

You were his best friend.

It was more than the idea of blurring the lines of your friendship that stopped him in the past; you were never meant to be anyone else’s, but who was chosen for you. Your parents had made you a lady of the Aretian aristocracy. The intent to secure a cushy life to make sure you would never have to experience war and hardship like they had—even if it wasn’t a love match. You were forced to take the decision they made for you with poise and grace. Exposed to the corrupt society of the aristocracy that lurked behind the violence since a preteen, never supposed to know war and violence like he had. But by the time the peak of the rebellion happened, and Execution Day arrived—it had been too late for the first hand you had been dealt with. Another decision instead handed to you from a choice that hadn’t been yours to ever make.

It was self indulgent thought, but the moment he knew you safely crossed the parapet—there was a hope that ignited in Bodhi’s chest he hadn’t felt in a long while. Despite the blatant act of avoidance on your part, he quietly watched your every move the first year.

Made sure Imogen spent extra time training with you so you’d be ready for your next challenge, telling her what she needed to critique you on from sparring lessons. Insisting Garrick to convince you to eat more than what you usually did so you could bulk muscle to help ease through the gauntlet. Pleading with Xaden to rearrange squads in the flame section so he could keep a better eye on you. Every action in efforts to aid you from the help of your mutual found family was a coercion from him; so he would know you’d have a shot at surviving this hellscape.

For only a measly chance of you to finally acknowledge him.

It had only been a coincidence (or was it? Cleasaí was known to be petty) you had bonded with Cuir’s other half. The mated dragons hadn’t talked since the end of his first year. The first half of being bonded to the notorious green filled with tumultuous arguments that he didn’t know what started from. They had only been recently mated in the last decade from what Cuir told him.

Bodhi swore he did more supply runs for churam than weapons by the end of the year before they went no contact, and just coexisted in the Vale with one another.

He would have preferred that over feeling the wavering aggression through the bond at this very moment.

“Handsome boy,” Ariante cooed, snapping her fingers to get his attention from across the table. Realizing he had zoned out again staring at you, Ridoc clapped him on the back.

“Yeah handsome boy...” he purred mockingly. Bodhi shrugged his hand off quite hastily. He was not in the mood for the second year’s comedic relief…and the overly inebriated physical touch of the counterpart.

Imogen sensed his discomfort by how tense he had looked, his posture usually more lax, or a boyish grin that had been replaced with a grimace. “Gamlyn, go get us some water.” She barked, face set to a hard grimace.

Ridoc with wide eyes in the fear of the short woman, saluted the group before walking off to the bar.

Bodhi reminded himself to thank her later once he was in a better mood. Instead he twisted his face into something that barely showed interest, not like it mattered, the healer was two shits to the wind at this point. Just caring his eyes were on her. Smiling brightly once he turned back to her, even if it was a stoic look he had on.

“I need you to watch as you lose this round.” She giggled, grabbing the cue from her friend’s hand.

The tawny skinned man watched disinterestedly as she made a show of setting her shot up. She swayed her hips to the table, making sure to press her chest down into the polished wood edges so her low cut tank top showed her cleavage as she lined up her shot. She made eye contact with him, offering a seductive wink, before clumsily shooting and completely missing the pocket. If he wasn’t so aggravated, he could have laughed at the scene.

It was Imogen’s turn now, and he subconsciously let his attention wander back to the booth again, noting you were now absent from the table.

It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but his heart skipped a beat in panic. He scanned the tavern looking for a glimpse of where you could have gone. He could spot you out of a crowd anywhere—from the way you wore your hair to the way you carried yourself.

His brown eyes searched the makeshift dance floor in between tables, the line for the bathroom, the exits of the tavern. The sense of relief when he finally found you should have eased his heart, instead it pounded louder and louder as his vision tunneled. Bodhi’s stomach churned with a burning green feeling, watching you sit at an empty side of the bar with Ridoc, smiling at him as the pair of you talked.

“So yeah, then Imogen told me to grab some water for them, and now I’m here doing that.” Ridoc rambled on about his night. Unbeknownst to him, you had spent the majority of the night meticulously eyeing the group from the booth. But you nodded along, idling swirling your finger along the lip of your cup, letting his word vomit become a white noise in your brain. “Imogen has a scary way of demanding things.”

A smirk had crept onto your face, replacing the frown you wore. Ridoc was always honest, but it was amusing to hear him drunkenly bare his soul at the bar over the silliest details. It had almost been enough to forget the prying animosity that filled your veins.

“Who are you telling? I have known her my whole life.” You reminded him rather distractedly.

Despite talking to him, your attention was still flicking towards the quieter side of the tavern—still invested in the man you’ve been stubbornly hiding your feelings from poorly and the pretty girl that clung to him. The game of billiards was dying down, only her friend and Imogen still playing one another.

Bodhi sat backwards in a chair off to the side, his chest pressed against the back, arms casually draped across the wooden top rail, and head hung low as he sipped from the bottle of ale he had been nursing. Ariante perched in a chair beside him, leaning over into his ear to talk. Her lips mere centimeters from him had your heart thumping so hard that you could hear it in your ears.

“Yeah, but you’re not like her or them in fact.” He shrugged.

That made you turn back to Ridoc, who didn’t realize you were only half heartedly invested in the conversation. Or if he did, he didn’t make it known.

“Like they’re all scary broody motherfuckers, and you're just you. Intimidating sure, but not all broody and aggressive.”

You let out a dry chuckle, “language please, they are my friends.”

He raised his full hands defensively, ignoring the fact he sloshed water all over him. “Sorry. You know what I mean though.”

You leaned your head to the side, a quizzical expression on your features. “Elaborate Gamlyn.”

You might have been aware of what he meant, just for the sake of your entertainment you didn’t mind hearing the inebriated man’s ramble of what he thought. It was the only thing that was keeping the pent up emotions beneath the surface.

“Well, you’re kind of lady-like?” He tested the word then nodding. “Yeah, lady like. Not that they don’t have manners—they have better manners than me, but you’re like a refined woman.” His eyes got big and arms were flailing as he animatedly spoke, water sloshing on him.

“Would you be surprised if I said I had been a lady?” You interrupted his spiel.

“No shit, like tea and biscuits, go for a promenade around the garden kind of lady?” He slurred in disbelief with an attempt of an accent.

The way he had said it made it hard to stifle your laugh. “Dowry to my name and all.” You mocked using a posh accent as well.

He made a strangled noise, as he puffed his cheeks out to prevent laughing. “Shit that was the worst accent I’ve ever heard.”

You tilted your back, laughing loudly as he snorted, unable to contain himself. “Thanks for your honesty, yours was just as awful.” You tried to compose yourself.

“I’m not the one that comes from the Aretian aristocracy though.” He said through a fit of giggles. You scoffed, shoving him slightly, giggling more when you had to grab his arm to keep him from stumbling over.

Once the laughter died down, Ridoc had started to talk your ear off again, but of course your focus went elsewhere. Your breath caught in your throat, the amusement on your face slipping.

Bodhi was shamelessly staring at you when you looked over this time. His eyes dark, and stone faced watching the side you resided on. He tilted his head back, draining the remainder of his drink. You couldn’t help to watch the expanse of his throat as he drank the rest of his drink, watching how his Adam’s Apple bobbed as he did so.

You gulped quietly, suddenly imagining how it would be to nip at the column of his thick neck. If he would squirm under your touch or make any soft noises if you kissed up his jaw…you were just torturing yourself at this point.

He the. swung his leg over his seat, muttering something to the pretty redhead, not waiting for a response as he made his way towards you.

Shit.

You panicked drifting back to the drunk man in front of you.

“So did you have—like—a betrothed before this?” Ridoc asked, rubbing the back of his neck, still oblivious you hadn’t been listening. “Is that why we’ve never seen you hook up with someone?!” He gasped as if he solved the biggest mystery, connecting non existent dots.

You could throttle him, trying not to watch the towering figure approach you.

“No, no, no!” You covered your face in your hands, cheeks flushing. “It never got that far, well there were a few arrangements that never went through.”

“Damn, your parents were slacking.” He scoffed jokingly.

“Ridoc,” you glared at him. Any amusement or relief from Ridoc now gone, hitting a nerve within you. The thought of your late parents always causing an ache in your chest and a knot in your stomach.

“Yeah?”

“Shut up,” Bodhi finished for you, coming up right behind him. He jumped, obviously startled by the new presence, and that it was Bodhi nonetheless. But he quickly recovered, turning to the taller man.

“You always jump right in at the most convenient times, handsome boy?” He questioned in a teasing tone. Handsome boy?

Bodhi glowered, stepping closer to your squad mate. “Call me that again—”

“Bo!” A high pitched shrill voice cut him off. It resembled nails on a chalkboard causing you to wince. Ariante appeared from behind Bodhi, a bright bubbly smile as she stumbled around him, grabbing his arm for support. “You didn’t wait for me.” She pouted playfully.

You had to fight the noise of disgust that wanted to escape your lips, but your facial expression gladly showed what you couldn’t verbally. The rational side of you knew you shouldn’t be reacting this way to a girl you’ve never met. You were past the point of rational though.

She then acknowledged you, her eyes a bright teal that sparkled sticking out her manicured hand. “I’m Ariante.”

You subtly glanced at your hands that were unkempt, nails nearly to the nubs with hangnails.

Gods, she really was everything you weren’t even down to the fingers.

You politely stuck your hand out, limply clasping hers. You hoped she wouldn’t feel your calloused fingers or notice how unladylike your hands were compared to hers as you introduced yourself.

“You know Bo?” She mused. Her hold still on him, despite her being perfectly stable. And the way his nickname came out of her mouth, you think you could regurgitate everything you’ve consumed today.

You offered a strained smile. “We grew up together actually.”

“How sweet!” She practically squealed. “I think it’s great how close knit all of you are!”

The tone deaf statement snipped the final straw of your patience and self control. No, you couldn’t let the feelings lay idly underneath any longer.

“I would say we all are,” you nodded. “I guess that’s what happens when all your parents are murdered in front of you.” You said it as if it was the most casual thing to leave your lips. The smile she wore faltered, and you could see Ridoc shove his hands in his pockets, whistling.

“Y/n…” Bodhi warned.

It could be treason speaking so freely of this, you hadn’t cared at the moment.

“What?” You said innocently, brushing off the warning look you know so well. She had started to sputter an apology, but you cut her off. “But how does such a sweet thing like you know Bodhi?” You asked, a smile growing sinisterly.

In your peripheral vision, you see Bodhi’s face pale.

“We’re acquainted.” He quickly answered, getting out of her grip as he reached over and grabbed the water out of Ridoc hands that were nearly empty from him constantly spilling. He gulped the water like a fish needing water, clearly uncomfortable.

“Very acquainted.” She fluttered her lashes towards him, tone suggestive. Brushing off your awkward interaction.

You made a noise of understanding. Everything you thought was confirmed by two words. Your thoughts lingering and spiraling. The idea of Bodhi intertwined with someone else was nauseating…even infuriating. Everything had drowned out by your heartbeat in your ears, Ridocs words were now inaudible, but assuming he was making a joke. Ariante shrilled giggles didn’t even affect you.

Why were you so mad? You had no right, you’ve been so awful to him the last couple of years—there was never a chance for you. Every interaction you two have had was just rekindling your friendship the past week not meaning anything more. Every poke and prod from your group of friends was something they misinterpreted between the two of you. You knew you shouldn’t have thought too hard on their words and jests, but deep down you only felt crushed of the hope there could have been.

Crack. You looked down at your glass that had been in your hand, the glass in between your knuckles nearly crushed.

The group flitted to you and the cup, even some of the surrounding patrons looked towards you warily.

“Are you alright?” Bodhi was the first to speak up.

“Just absolutely peachy.” You murmured, sliding the object towards the other side of the bar.

“Wow, all you riders are so strong.” Ariante laughed nervously. If this could have been any worse, you weren’t sure if you wanted to punch something or cry now.

“Excuse me,” fighting the lump in your throat. Standing up quickly walking towards the nearest exit without a word.

You walked outside, not quite being able to comprehend what just happened in the matter of seconds. Clenching and unclenching your fists, your chest heaving as everything felt as if it was closing in, pacing on the cobblestone outside the tavern. The smell of incoming rain permeating the humid air that blanketed over the quaint town. Usually a smell that eased your mind, was an overbearing semblance to the internal storm inside you.

“Y/n!” Bodhi called out your name, walking out the door you walked out of moments prior. The bass in his voice stoked the fire that formed in the pit of your stomach, ready to burn you from the inside out. Turning on your heel you faced the 6’3 man, brows already furrowed in glaring daggers towards him, chest still heaving erratically unable to control your breaths.

“You need to breathe.” He didn’t let your behavior deter him. His tone smooth and even, several feet away, not meeting your gaze like if he did he would combust into flames from your glare.

You scoffed, “shouldn’t you be inside with Ariante?” Her name dripped off your tongue with venom.

He opened and closed his full lips, setting his hands on his hips; absolutely dumbfounded. “Y/n…” he said through staggered breath. “I came here with you tonight.” He took a few steps towards you cautiously. “I came up to talk to you at the bar, trying to leave her with her friend.” His focus seemed to be on the wall behind you, and not your own eyes as he still walked towards you. “I followed you out here, leaving her in there.” His words slow, as he stepped right in front of you. “Does it look like I give a fuck about her?” He didn’t let you answer.

“Has everything this past year made it look like I give fuck about anyone else, but you?”

Despite the tug in your heart you felt at his words, pulling you out of your blind rage and jealousy for a split second—it was frustrating how he refused to look you in the eyes.

“You were letting her hang all over you tonight, how can I believe that?!” You held your chest with one arm, the other outstretched to the door.

He gave an aggravated shout, lunging and grabbing your arms. You stiffened at his touch, his hands were just as hot as you felt. He seemed to notice as well, flinching at the realization, but his hold stayed secure on you. He leaned down, his breath warm against the shell of your ear.

“If you watched my every move, you would have noticed I wasn’t interested in her. I was only watching you the whole night.” That Gods forsaken deadly calm tone sent a shiver down your spine despite the heat you felt. “Now lift your arms up.” He ordered, the sentence barely above a whisper.

His usual honeyed brown eyes finally locked with yours, dangerously darkened. A silent gasp leaving your mouth agape, unable to pull away from his dark orbs submitting to his quiet demand, your arms rising up slowly.

His rough calloused skin brushing your arms ignited a solely different fire within you as he slid the sweater off your frame. “Fuck, you’re burning up.” He muttered, throwing the sweater on the cobblestone leaving you in the corseted tank top you had on underneath. Lightning flashed in the skyline, thunder following a moment later, and rain started to pour from the clouds moments later. The droplets are warm from the summertime, but still cooler than both your skin, creating a steam that ghosts around the both of you.

“So are you,” you said breathlessly. “Do you have any idea why?” You two were so close your chests brushed together, every time one of you breathed. You anticipated what he would say next, but Bodhi kept quiet, tugging on his lip, seeming to be fighting a battle with himself. He turned away from you, rubbing a hand over his face, looking up at the rain stricken sky.

“You do know don’t you?” You rasped.

“I just want to preface I wanted to tell you—”

‘Don’t. You. Dare. Tawny. One.’ Cleasaí dangerously seethed through your head.

It had been silent on the other side of the bond all night, you tugged the invisible string to her countless times, but no answer. Now she wanted her presence known? Known to someone that couldn’t hear her nonetheless.

‘She deserves to know what you’ve been hiding.’ Bodhi glowered. You were still watching him, and he hadn’t opened his mouth…and he heard your dragon?

A new deep sophisticated tone entered your mind, ‘Cleasaí the inevitable is going to happen—‘ Cuir?

‘That I’ll find out?’ You stood in that mental art studio you were taught to use as your source for grounding. The door wide open letting in the thoughts and voices that freely flew through your mental guards. That one invisible string that led to the door seemed to have an added two now.

“Shit,” Bodhi hissed.

“How long?” You gritted your teeth, focusing on the man in front of you. He stayed quiet. “How long did you know?” You repeated louder.

He looked at the ground, “since my threshing.”

You tensed, how come he knew, but you had been clueless this whole time?

‘It’s not ideal to have one rider running from the other while their supposed mated dragons aren’t even on speaking terms.’ Cuir explained.

You fought the tears that lined your eyes, ‘he gets to know, while I’m left in the dark?!’

‘That was for Cleasaí to tell you, my rider had no choice to listen to us dragonkind.’ Cuir explained with a steeliness.

‘And I told her I would tell her in due time.’ Cleasaí chuffed in the corners of your mind.

It felt crowded in your brain, two additional voices, on top of your grappling emotions. You inhaled deeply, blinking tears away furiously.

“Y/n,” Bodhi came towards you. “I wanted to tell you.”

“When was I going to be told?” You snapped. “When you graduate?!” A couple tears now silently slip down your cheeks.

You didn’t know where to point the frustration at. Cleasaí should have told you it was her responsibility, but if Bodhi wanted to talk to you so badly that would have been the topic to start with.

“Our luck would be they would stick you in Samara like Xaden!” You shouted.

“When was I supposed to tell you? When you were running the other direction?! Or would you have preferred a note during Battle Brief only for you to go into a volatile meltdown?” He argued.

You laughed harshly, “I would have not—”

“Oh yes you would have.” Bodhi rolled his eyes. “That’s why Xaden warned me not to.”

Your eyes widened, “Xaden knew?”

‘Why wouldn’t the Wingleader know?’ Cleasaí snorted humorlessly.

‘I don’t want to hear it from you.’ You growled shutting the mental shield up from her and hopefully Cuir. You didn’t know how this all worked.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “He’s known since before you even crossed the parapet.”

“Does anyone else know?” You crossed your arms.

“Assumedly Violet, but no one else.”

Your eyes narrowed, she seemed to know everything didn’t she?

You grew quiet, mulling over everything as the rain was the only sound that filled the streets. You felt betrayed, not only by the creature that put their faith into you and vice versa, but by the man you had grown to love. Was that why you had felt like your irritation was an out of body experience earlier?

“Why do you think I have a churam dependency?” Bodhi bit the corner of his thumb, looking at you.

“Can you get out of my mind?” You frowned, picking the soggy sweater up off the cobblestone. You sniffled, wiping your face, before proceeding to walk towards Basgiath, wanting to get out of the vicinity of him. To think you could have died without even knowing… what would have happened to the dragons—yet worse—him? You didn’t even want to ponder over the details that entailed that yet.

“Trust me I’m not trying, but your thoughts are so fucking loud.” He muttered, following you.

“Then can you not follow me?” You turned, walking backwards wiping wet hair out of your face. The sting in your eyes is almost blinding from fighting the glaze of tears.

“It’s not safe to walk by yourself this time at night.” He said as if it was obvious.

“I’ll be fine,” you tried to reassure as you slipped the dagger out of your top, you tucked between your breasts when getting ready.

“You’ve been drinking, Y/n. That’s not going to do shit.” He tried to catch up to you, but you were a step ahead, even walking backwards.

“I feel stone cold sober at this moment.” You half lied, quickly turning back around, putting the dagger back where you kept it. You didn’t want him to see how your lip trembled, and you were ready to break. That was the last thing you needed was to have a ‘volatile meltdown’ in front of him. Though that’s what this whole night felt like, a tantrum of a fever dream.

You two came to a fork in the path that led to Basgiath from Chantara. You may have forgotten which path you took earlier in the night. So you hoped as you veered left, you would be going the right way, anything to just get away.

But his hand caught your arm, pulling you around to face him.

“I just got you back, I’m not letting you just be barely out of my reach again.” He seethed, his grip firm, but gentle. His touch was still blistering against your own skin.

“I’m not doing it, Y/n. I’ve already spent years running for you when you just kept running backwards for whatever reason!”

The tears had silently begun to fall again down your cheeks, this time unable to stop. “Do you want the reason, Bodhi?” You could feel yourself start to shake as the words left your mouth. “Because I love you!” You finally admitted, the confession a hushed whisper.

You watched with tears flowing freely as he staggered back a couple steps at what you said. He remained quiet as you continued. “I was never meant to love someone freely. And everyone I loved left—”

Your declaration is cut off by his lips smashing to yours. A primal fiery heat as your lips connected, his hands cupping your jaw, your lips melted with his realizing he was kissing you. The taste of the saltiness from your tears mixed with the essence of alcohol on both your lips was dizzying.

This was everything you could have imagined and more since you were a young woman. Everything you wanted the past five years. You felt his thumbs brush underneath your chin as you relished the feeling as you continued to kiss him with a fervor you never experienced. Your hands sliding up his chest around the back of his neck, gripping on his wet dark curls you’ve always admired. A soft sigh left his lips, and it was a noise you could listen to forever, but of course your thoughts spiraled.

A much more important secret was withheld from you, not only by him, but Cleasaí. A petty love confession that you withheld as a way to protect yourself and what you thought would protect him, when the secret of bonded dragons affected four beings outweighed it all. Whether it was his choice or not.

You pulled away abruptly. “I-I can’t.” You said, feeling your own heart break.

“What do you mean you can’t?” He sputtered, confused.

“Me professing my love doesn’t change any of the circumstances.” You shook your head, letting go of him reluctantly. “If anything it only adds to the risk of this whole situation.”

You needed to think about everything thoroughly, and away from him. If not, you might not think straight. You had to go.

“Y/n,” Bodhi pleaded desperately. He watched you turn and make your way back to the war college. You ignored him, even when your bones itched to turn and run back into his arms. “Do my feelings mean nothing to you?!” He shouted, standing where you left him.

Your steps faltered, and that break you felt in your chest worsened. You turned, with a strained smile on your face through your tears.

“They do, more than you could ever realize.”

Y/n is definitely Violet coded I’m sorry 😅 and the y/n lore will thicken in part 5 hehe

Thank you sm for the comments and support, it means a lot to have people that actually enjoy what I put out and try to have patience for my posting inconsistency!! I love talking with you all about it and hearing your conspiracies through out the whole series. I think there will be 2-3 more part before I finish and move on to my next ventures, but as always like, reblogs, and comments are appreciated 🫶🏻🫶🏻

[aetherdoesthings]

Hey can you write a fic about being in a love triangle with Zoro and sanji(non poly) they fight over reader and they (preferably female reader but gender neutral is good too) are oblivious?

Plus I love your stories!

hey aishabbbb! thanks for the compliment! i'm glad you enjoy my stories!

forethoughts: woah aether posts again on the same day?!?!? this is similar to the love triangle w nami and sanji, but switched out nami, Y/N has a different role this time.

notes: fem!reader, zoro and sanji being competitive, oblivious reader

You were the new seamstress of the Straw Hat Pirates (A role Luffy thought would be cool, since you could always make clothes on the go and funny disguises)

You spent your days in your room separate from Nami and Robin, since your materials took more space. You made different clothes for different occasions. You spent your time mostly locked in your room, since you couldn’t really help physically with the Straw Hats, so you focused on your craft.

The only times you would come out was if Nami forced you to go on a shopping spree with her and Robin, and for meals.

Two people had a really big problem with your habit of staying indoors.

The swordsman who wanted you to go outside more in order to be more healthy, and the cook who wanted you to be nourished with food and enjoy the world.

Zoro and Sani always fight over everything. Literally, you can’t stop them at all from throwing hands at each other. But when it came to you, oh.

Oh

OH THEY WERE GONNA FIGHT.

Since the moment you joined on board, both men had their sights set on you. Sanji because you were a girl, and Zoro because you were an attractive and diligent worker. They implicitly made a bet with each other, seeing who would get you to spend more time outside your room.

Zoro would barge into your room whenever he felt like it, telling you to help him train in the gym. You just went along with the swordsman’s request. You didn’t know you would be sitting on his back as he did one handed push ups. You threw punches at Zoro while he was blindfolded, insisting ‘you couldn’t even hit me if you tried’.

You hit Zoro square in the nose.

Zoro smiles at your hit, reassuring that he was okay and told you that you should join him in the gym, whether to practice your swings on Zoro or just act as a weight.

Sanji hated seeing Zoro treat you, a girl so callously. A weight? The audacity.

Sanji would cook you the most gourmet meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner, giving Zoro the scraps of your meal.

Everytime Sanji sees you exit the gym, he’ll immediately walk towards you and offer to give you a small snack or dessert after Zoro’s ‘inhumane treatment’. You’ll usually turn down, but that’s when Sanij turns from a cook to a salesman. Sanji offers to teach you how to make the snacks and desserts, which you happily say yes to, because you loved learning new things.

To Sanji’s dismay, the treats Sanji taught you how to make found its way into Zoro’s mouth. Knowing how to bake, you gave little protein treats to Zoro to eat after he completed his workout.

Zoro always accepted your little snacks, eating it right in front of Sanji and explicitly stating it was from you, just to make the cook jealous.

Sanji wasn’t necessarily losing the bet though. You now spent a quarter of your day with Zoro, and now baking with Sanji. You could be found in the kitchen learning a new recipe with Sanji, cracking jokes and creating beautiful snacks and treats.

You were completely oblivious to the fact they were doing all of this just to get you out of your room because they loved you, so you relished in getting a good workout with Zoro, and having fun with Sanji.

You’d make oven mitts for Sanji, as you were heavily concerned how he took a steaming hot tray out of the oven so haphazardly. Now, he would always use the oven mitts you knitted for him. 

You’d also make Zoro gloves, since his knuckles always gets red when he fights during harsh temperatures. 

Now it’s a regular sight to see two fully grown man argue about oven mitts and gloves.

“Why are Zoro and Sanji arguing?” Nami asks Robin.

“They’re fighting over Y/N’s gifts she gave them.” Robin answered.

“Don’t they know Y/N gave all of us gifts and not just them?”’

“Do you think they will in the state they’re in?”

[calzone-d]

Always There (Ted Lasso x Fem!Reader)

pairing: ted lasso x fem!reader, mom(ish)!reader x henry lasso

word count: 3.7k (not the most proofread, sorry!)

warnings: henry being kind of sad, reader x henry fluff/comfort, ted being worried, michelle/jake slander, face-sitting, oral sex (f receiving), ass eating (it made the cut), unprotected penetrative sex, creampie, anal fingering

a/n: that last episode gave me ideas, so that’s how this started. then sad ted made me horny, and that’s how this ended. if you like michelle/jake you may not like the first part of this. or most of my blog? anyways, hope you like it! my inbox is open as always!

summary: you and henry have a heart to heart before you comfort ted in a way that only you can.

find my masterlist here.

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Ted was unusually quiet as you ate dinner. You knew Michelle and Jake being in town really struck a nerve, but he’s gotten good at letting that stress go so that he can enjoy his time with you and Henry all together as a family. As you and Henry talked, he kept quiet as he listened in. You decided to not push it in fear of him shutting down, and of Henry hearing. He didn’t visit as much as you wished he could, so you wanted his time with you and Ted to be as happy and carefree as possible. If you had it your way, though, he’d just go ahead and move in. 

Henry had roped you in to help him build a quick lego set before bed. The boy adored you. He had become pretty attached to you, actually. On the couch, Ted watched quietly as you worked together and smiled to himself everytime you’d take over for a while and Henry would lean against you. Henry was obviously exhausted, but he wanted to stay up with you.

Putting him to bed was easy, as always. As he’d gotten older, your usual nighttime books turned into telling each other funny stories and recalling cherished memories. Ted stayed behind to put away dinner while you got Hnery settled. 

“So.. fill me in. How do you like Jake?”

“mm.. he’s okay, I guess.”

“just okay?”

“he only really talks to me in front of mom. and when I tell him things he never remembers… he was the one who told me to be more rough at school! I told him someone hurt my feelings, and he said I should do the same back.. I knew it was wrong, dad’s always told me that.. I guess I was just trying to make him like me. Then he was the most mad at me after.”

you’re silent for a moment as you take in henry’s words. before you can respond, the lasso boy is talking again,

“what do you think i should have done?”

the question shocks you for a split second. you’ve always tried to make it very clear you never intended on being a replacement for michelle. you let henry get to know you at his own pace, get comfortable around you at his own pace.

“well, hen.. i think you should’ve done what you thought was right.”

“maybe..”

“what do you wish you would’ve done?”

“i don’t know? talk to him about it, i guess. kinda like dad talked to you about his feelings the other night.”

your eyes widened as you recalled the conversation. ted was telling you about how he felt michelle had wronged him, which you completely agreed with, but it wasn’t a conversation either of you wanted henry to hear. luckily, with how good of a man Ted is, he didn’t really say anything bad about her that henry could’ve heard, but still. henry’s a kid, his parents relationship shouldn’t have been a concern in his mind.

“hun, i’m sorry you heard that. that was an adult conversation. you know your dad loves your mom very much-“

“no, he’s just nice to her. she hurt his feelings and broke his trust, so he doesn’t love her”

honestly? henry was right. spot on, even. he was a smart kid, but your heart hurt at the thought of him coming to those realizations by himself. you knew michelle didn’t play a part in explaining anything to him, and ted tried the best he could, but sometimes it was hard.

“trust is a really tricky thing, hen-“

“not really.”

“how so?”

“i mean, i trust you. remember that time i fell and scraped my knee? i was sad that you only had brown bandaids and you promised me that we could go to the store the next day and get blue ones.”

you nodded along, remembering the day very clearly.

“the next morning you took me to get them. so now i don’t worry that you won’t be there for me, because i know you will.”

“i’ll always be here, bub.”

“i trust dad. i trust my friends ellie and spencer in class. i trust grandma, and grandpa- ooh and your mom! i like her too. she’s always nice to me when i visit. her cookies are so good-“

henry’s rambling made you chuckle and you pulled him in close.

“…but dad doesn’t love mom. i promise i’m right, y/n”

“and what makes you think that?”

“because he loves you, and kisses you, and tells you how pretty you are.”

your cheeks reddened, “well, he does do that”

“and even when you aren’t there! he always tells me how nice you are and how much you love us. mom doesn’t like to talk about dad, and it’s usually about how he talks too much. her and jake get mad when i talk about my dad.”

it frustrated you the way michelle so easily talked bad about Ted, especially in front of henry. especially when she was the one who seemed to have done some immoral things.

“i’m sorry, hen. you shouldn’t be in the middle, ever.. it isn’t fair. if i’ve ever made you feel that way, i apologize.”

henry shrugged his shoulders and played with the hem of your t-shirt.

“s’okay.. it isn’t you. i just wish i could stay with you and dad. dad is happier now, and you guys order pizza every week.”

you cackle before you can stop yourself, “only when you’re here, hen.”

“oh. well still. being here makes me happier. i like your cat, too. she always comes and sleeps with me at night..”

his eyes fluttered closed as the aforementioned cat hopped up on his bed. you brought a hand up to rub at his back over his shirt, something you always did when he was trying to fall asleep. 

before he could get too comfy, ted came in. he was dressed in his pajamas and his hair seemed as if he’d been running his hands through it often. he sat down next to you on the bed and reached a hand out to smooth henry’s hair on top of his head.

“you tired, buddy?”

henry nodded.

“well i’m gettin’ there myself. i love you, hen. if you need anything come wake one of us up, y’hear?”, ted said before leaning over to kiss henry’s head. you smiled ad ted’s interaction with henry. the way he was as a dad made you swoon. 

“i love you too dad.. goodnight”, henry said as he cuddled back into you. 

after ted walked out, you spoke again. 

“your dad and i love you so much, baby. even if you’re not here, if you’re ever sad or confused or angry.. or anything, you know we’re only a call away.”

he huffed before murmuring, “wish mom would just let me stay.”

your eyebrows furrowed. you wish he could stay, too. his confession tugged at your heart as you pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

“love you, y/n”

“i love you too, henry bug.”

you scratched his back until his breathing evened out and he was asleep. when you were finally able to sneak away from his room, you tucked the blankets around him and turned off his lamp.

ted was sitting on the couch, hair wet and floppy from a quick shower. he looked so domestic and cozy in his t-shirt and flannel pajama pants, but the smile he gave you when he met your gaze didn’t make his eyes crinkle like usual. it was clear something was up.

his eyes stayed on you as you took a seat next to him and snuggled into his side like henry had previously done to you.

“you okay, teddy?”

he contemplated telling you he was fine for a moment. contemplated just brushing it off like he’d been practically trained to do in his marriage for so long. 

“are you happy?”

“beyond happy, hun. i’ve got you, got henry bug, we just kicked ass building that lego set together, too. m’doing just fine.”

ted nodded softly as he mulled over your words. your hand played with a loose thread on his pants until he spoke again.

“just wonder if sometimes i should be doin’ more for you, y’know?”, ted’s words were soft and timid. behind them you could feel the side of him that was terrified of rejection. more specifically, your rejection.

“like what?”

ted’s shoulders shrugged, “dunno. maybe a trip to paris?”

“i don’t want a trip to paris, ted.”

his eyes were sad as he turned to look at you, “where do you wanna go, then?”

you shook your head at him softly. if you listened close enough it almost sounded like he felt you demanded a trip or some grand gesture.

“ted i don’t want a trip anywhere, i want you. i want you and henry, and i have that. i’m happy. with you, our relationship, all of it.”, you paused for a moment. 

 “have i done something or said something to make you think otherwise?”

ted shook his head immediately. “no, not at all! i just.. i’m used to having to guess.. and even when i guessed, everything was still wrong. i just don’t want you to be unhappy and me not know, o-or bored, or-”

“you’re spiraling, honey.”, you grab both of his hands in yours. “i fucking love you, ted. more than you could ever imagine. henry, too. you two make me so damn happy, and there’s not a single thought that’s ever crossed my mind that has anything to do with splitting us up. we’re a family now, ted. we’ve got something fucking great going. m’not interested in losing that, or you.”

ted chuckles at your firm tone, and although it’s a watery chuckle, it makes you smile.

“y’mean it?”

he sniffles and smiles more when you nod. you use his hands to pull him closer so that you can press a gentle kiss to his lips. after that, you move to his cheek, across his cheek bone, and over to his ear.

“i’m more than happy, hun. more than you know.”

ted let out a content hum before putting his hand on the back of your head and pulling you in for another kiss.

this one was more intense, and you swung a leg over his lap as you moved to straddle him. his warm hands found a home on your hips and he gave them a loving squeeze. your lips pressed slow, warm kisses to his neck. soft sighs left his swollen lips as he let his head fall against the back of the couch.

“you make me a happy man, darlin’..”, his voice was low and full of need.

you hummed against his neck in response as you slipped a hand under his shirt, and brushed across the hair on his belly. he let out a soft moan at the way you angled your hips forward to reach the other side of his neck. the sound made you chuckle and you brought your lips to his ear.

“shh, honey. gotta stay quiet for me.”

your words made him whimper, especially combined with the slow movements of your hips against his throbbing cock.

“ohhh-“, his groan was cut off once your lips were on his. his tongue swirled and prodded against yours as you found a rhythm grinding on top of him. you swear you heard him whine when you pulled away.

you bit your lip and smiled at the way his lips chased yours.

“can’t fool around on the couch tonight, baby.. we gotta go to the bedroom, c’mon”

his eager “yes mam” as he got up to follow you only made you more excited.

as soon as you stepped into your room, you slipped out of your shirt and sweatpants, ted mirrored your actions with a smirk.

ted pulled you in by the waist before you could lie back on the bed. his hands were warm against your bare skin and the hair across his abdomen tickled as you pushed yourself up against him. his mouth captured yours in a hot kiss, full of need. his teeth were biting at your bottom lip, tongue swirling with yours as your breathing grew labored.

one of his hands slid up to tangle itself in your hair. he pulled your head to the side as his lips made their way down your neck, and across your shoulders. ted sucked and nipped at your collarbone, leaving marks you hoped wouldn’t be too noticeable tomorrow.

“oh… honey”, you whispered.

ted hummed against your skin as he softly brushed his fingers over your belly and down to your pussy. you knew you were soaked. just the thought of having him to yourself, knowing he was all yours, had you burning with desire.

his thick fingers slid inbetween your lower lips, spreading your slick arousal and occasionally swiping over your swollen clit.

“need you to use me, honey..”, ted’s words were almost inaudible as he moved up to kiss your jaw. a smirk found it’s way to your lips as you batted your eyelashes at him.

“oh?”

“need y’to know i’m all yours. want to make you happy, please baby.”

you pulled him to get on the bed as an idea quickly formed in your brain. ted was always so eager to please, such a giver. he got off on making you feel good and loved being the one to make you orgasm. just knowing he was the only person seeing you and touching you that way was enough to make his cock throb.

you smiled and bit your lip as you instructed him, “lie back, teddy.”

a cheeky smile grew on his face, he immediately knew what was going on. one of his hands reached down to palm himself through his boxers while you straddled him and made your way up his body. by the time you were hovering over his face he was practically drooling in anticipation.

his eyes were lit up once you lowered yourself on him. ted’s arms came up to hold your thighs before he went to work. your eyes locked with his when he took that first lick, and you could tell by the look in them that this was exactly what he’d been hoping for.

he dragged his tongue up and down your folds, moaning at the taste of you. the nose of his you loved so much would bump against your clit every so often, making you whimper. 

you watched as his eyes fluttered closed and he let himself get lost in the taste of you. his tongue seemed to never stop, prodding at your entrance, swirling around your clit, weaving through your lower lips. after a few minutes you brought your hands down to stroke at his hair, but your light touches soon turned into you full on grabbing his hair and using it as leverage.

ted admitted pretty early on that he loved when you pulled his hair. it was one of the first “new” things he’d realized he enjoyed after having sex with you.

your finger tugged gently at his thick head of hair and you slowly ground your hips down on his face. his hands moved from your hips to your ass cheeks, encouraging you and helping you move. the tip of ted’s nose pressed firmly into your clit with every rock, drawing moans out of you like it was nothing.

“mmm, ted.. that’s so good, fuck!”, you had to mentally remind yourself to stay quiet. it was a huge change from your usually loud moans and pleads.

as your orgasm built, you realized it was a good thing you were sitting on ted’s face. he was never good at keeping quiet. it was too easy to get lost in you.

when he finally opened his eyes to meet yours, his pupils were blown and his lids were hooded. you kept his gaze as you reached a hand up to pull at one of your hardened nipples, still using your other hand pull at his hair.

you opened your hand up to palm at one of your tits. the feeling combined with ted’s hands kneading your ass had you right on the brink of what you knew would be another amazing orgasm. ted was moaning into your pussy like a mad man, and the only thing more crude was the sounds that came from him putting in every effort to make you fall apart on his tongue.

“shit, oh- i’m right there baby..”

ted didn’t dare ease up on his grip as you came, holding you firmly against his face as you trembled on top of him. he worked you through your orgasm and when you went to get off his face, your thighs felt like they were going to give out.

as you lifted off him, he continued to lazily tongue at your now dripping cunt. he seemed to follow it with his mouth as you pulled away. you flopped beside him, your chest heaving, as you attempted to catch your breath.

ted, on the other hand, didn’t miss a beat. as you were practically gulping down air, he rolled over and began kissing over the swell of your tits. his face felt wet against you from where he ate you out, and just thinking about the dirtiness of it all had you wanting even more.

your breath hitched in your throat as his teeth scraped lightly over one of the pebbled buds. his lips were red and glistening, making them look even more perfect as he wrapped his lips around your nipple. almost like a chain reaction, the feeling had you squirming underneath him.

by the time he was satisfied, both your nipples glistened with the mixture of ted’s spit, and the remnants of your orgasm.

“you got another in you, darlin’?” his voice was gentle but full of need. his fingers softly stroked the sides of your quivering thighs.

“mhm.. want you deep, though. need to feel you..” your mind was hazy as your words trailed off.

“you know i’ll take good care of you, sweet thing..”

he softly grabbed at your hips, pulling you closer before flipping you over. you were entirely his, completely at his mercy. you needed him so badly you would’ve let him do whatever the hell he wanted.

ted’s hands pulled your hips into him, arching your back in the process. you’d grown needy, and when you softly pressed back onto him it was obvious he’d shed his boxers sometime throughout the night. the hair at the base of his cock was scratchy as it brushed over the skin of your ass. his cock was hot and thick against your swollen pussy, and you could barely form thoughts that weren’t of him.

the feeling of him backing away made you whimper in protest, but before you could speak, his hands were on your ass cheeks. you felt him pull them apart before his tongue collected more of your sweet arousal. ted squeezed your ass as he used it to pull you further into his face, completely burying his face into your most intimate places.

you gasped in surprise as his tongue moved upwards and prodded against your other hole, licking at you softly as his thumb came up to tap against your clit.

“ted, oh my god..”

he barely pulls away, “too much?”

“no no.. fuck please keep going honey”, your words were rushed as you were eager to get his mouth back on you.

just the thought of how dirty it was had you panting and groaning into the sheets. the action itself had your pussy clenching around nothing.

ted’s tongue poked and prodded at the tight ring of muscle as his fingers dug into the flesh of your ass. his thumb continued to tap and rub at your clit, making you whimper and push back onto his face. the man clearly didn’t mind. in fact, it felt as if he pressed his face further into you.

the hair of his mustache tickled but didn’t deter you one bit. ted’s spit was practically dripping between your cheeks when he pulled away.

words weren’t even forming in your brain, but you didn’t need them because a few seconds later the head of ted’s cock was brushing through your soaked folds. luckily, he didn’t tease you and eased himself in.

taking ted’s cock was always a stretch, but with your orgasm earlier and ted’s love for foreplay, it felt a tiny bit easier this time. ever the gentlemen, he still gave you time to adjust before pulling out and pushing back into you.

“honey you’re- fuck, so fucking tight.”

you could only moan in response as you worked your hips back against him as best as you could. with each stroke, his cock brushed your g-spot before nudging against your cervix. your face was buried in the pillow, because at this point, it was the only way for you to stay quiet.

as ted worked his cock in and out of you, you turned your head to the side and rested your cheek against the pillow.

“ted.. can you- shit- put your thumb- mmf, oh fuck!”

it was like he could read your mind. before you finished your sentence ted had brought a thumb up and was spreading the wetness from your previous activities around the tight ring of muscle seated right above where his cock was stuffed in your pussy.

you knew your only choice was to shove your face back into the pillow under your head as he slowly worked the tip of this thumb in. it was the only way for you to be quiet. ted’s cock hit the deepest part of you while he worked his thumb in and out of your ass.

“that feel good, darlin’?”

what he could barely make out as a “yes” left your lips as moans poured constantly from them. ted’s other hand reached around so he was able to rub at your clit, eager for your impending orgasm.

“shit, I can tell, baby. squeezin’ me so tight, ugh”, his accent had gotten thicker and it only added to the mess of fog in your head.

he worked you perfectly until you were on the verge of an orgasm.by now he knew every tell, every cue.

“i feel you, baby. that’s it.. come on my cock sweetheart, take it..”

ted’s filthy words combined with the perfect stretch of his cock, the added sensation from his thumb, and the tight circles he was rubbing on your clit sent you right over the edge.

the little sense you had left is what kept your face in the pillow as you came. your thighs quivered as ted shoved his cock as deep in you as he could manage before you felt his warm cum fill you up.

he eased his thumb from your ass as he pulled out and lied down beside you, immediately taking you into his arms.

“you okay, honey?”

“i’m… im good.. fuck, ted.”, you panted.

ted’s smile was confident as he pulled you in to kiss your face.

“i love you so much. i’m so glad you’re here for us.. so glad you love us.”, he murmured into the top of your head.

“m’not going anywhere, teddy.”

he hummed in response as you both came down from the post-orgasm high coursing through your veins.

thanks for reading!

[obxsummer]

Reunion // Ghost of You

summary below cut to avoid spoilers for s3 ep1-3

let's jump right on in.

part of #obx3celebration

navigation -- series masterlist

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summary: after being rescued from your island paradise, you're unexpectedly ripped from the pogues and pushed straight into another fight for your life.

warnings: kidnapping, violence, cursing, minor character death

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The noise of an airplane propeller shook you from your sleep. Ever since you touched this island, you were sensitive to every little sound or movement. Sitting up sharply, you looked to see Pope doing the same. The two of you were quick to catch sight of the plane dancing in the clouds and started shaking friends awake.

“Guys, plane. Plane!” Shaking JJ’s shoulder aggressively, you collected your ratty shoes from the sand and ran towards the shoreline. 

Taking a look back, you could see the uncertain expression on JJ’s face. In the time you all had spent on the island, he had made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want to leave. This was JJ’s element, his safe space. He was with you, his family, and they were making things work with scraps. This was the Full Pogue experience he had always dreamed of.

“Hey! We’re down here!” John B was suddenly next to you and waving his arms aggressively to draw any ounce of attention to your group. Pope and Cleo took off up the field to light a fire in hopes that the pilot would see.

A defeated sigh left your lips as the plane looked like it would continue on before making a last-minute change and turning.

“Guys, guys. He sees us!” Kie shook your arm in excitement.

“He’s gonna go to the pond. Come on, come on!” Your brother slung his shoestrings over his shoulders and grabbed Sarah’s hand to tug her along up the hill.

JJ caught up to your side as you guys jogged behind your friends. You could tell he was displeased. You tried to understand why he would feel this way, but part of you just wanted to go home. Watching the aircraft make a successful landing, your boyfriend let out a sigh. 

“Come on.” His fingers were rough as they intertwined with your own. You squeezed, trying to give him some sort of comfort about the idea as you caught up with everyone.

The stairs of the cockpit lowered just above the water as a middle-aged man climbed out. He was quick to join in on the noises of celebration coming from Cleo, Pope, and John B. “Well, what do we got here?”

John B glanced back at your group before responding. “You know, just some castaways.”

“Well, I’ll cross that off my grocery list. Uh, hang on! I got just the thing for y’all.” He disappeared back into the plane for a moment. “Two things you need on a deserted island: first aid and rum!”

The bottle splashed in front of Sarah’s feet. She seemed distraught at the sight in front of her, no doubt fearing that her father may be involved in some way. You didn’t blame her. The constant feeling that you need to look over your shoulder was exhausting, but you were hoping it would change.

“So, what’s the story? You guys sank a boat?”

“Jumped off one,” You replied, watching as Sarah bent down to grab the alcohol out of the water. For some reason, you weren’t as hesitant to get out of here as you probably should’ve been. After a month or so of living like this, you would take the Chateau back in a heartbeat. 

The pilot chuckled. “Well, have no fear. Jimmy’s here. I got you.”

Cleo cheered and threw her hands in the air. “Well, all hail Jimmy, guys! Let’s go.”

The pilot, Jimmy, welcomed you all as John B led the way into the plane. Kie gave you and JJ a look before following wordlessly. It seemed a little too good, but who were you to say anything?

You turned to JJ, taking the chance to check-in. “You okay?” Your hand rested on his collarbone, thumb tracing his jawline as you observed him. His whole body was tense; the fun demeanor you’d witnessed after cliff jumping yesterday disappeared without a trace. JJ’s expression was sharp when he made eye contact with you. Thrown off guard, you frowned and dropped your hands to your side. 

“We said we’d never go back, remember? You said you wouldn’t. And here you are, running after a plane that would take us right back into hell?” He shrugged his shoulders before looking away. You were a bit surprised by his hostility, feeling like he was blaming you for everyone else climbing onboard. 

“Who said we’re going back to the OBX?” You countered as you gestured towards the plane. “There’s no way that thing would fly that far anyway. We’re all gonna be together no matter what.”

JJ let out a heavy breath and refused to look at you. “You don’t get it.” He hauled his boots up before brushing past you to head after your friends into the aircraft. You turned on your heels, the fight leaving your body at the idea of him being so upset over leaving this place. There was no point in arguing right now. 

With a huff, you climbed on board, thanking Jimmy for letting you all come before settling down between Sarah and Kie. The idea of being able to take a shower and put fresh clothes on was amazing right now, so you tried not to hold onto JJ’s poor attitude personally. 

“So, what are you doing all the way out here?” JJ asked as the engine started up. 

“I got a little guide outfit in Saint Vincent. I was spotting fish. You know, the usual. Wahoo,” Jimmy replied as he began flipping switches and steering. “I’d hang on to something. Gets a little spicy on takeoff.”

You shared a look with Pope, the two of you not big airplane people to begin with. Grabbing onto nearby straps, you clenched the fabric tightly. The plane jerked once before things steadied out and you could eventually see the water and island far beneath you from the sky. 

Taking a deep breath, you leaned your head against the metal behind you in hopes that it would calm your racing heart. You were grateful for the opportunity to hopefully go somewhere a little better, but the lack of safety equipment in this plane made you nauseous. 

“Wahoo don’t run in September. Ever, alright?” JJ’s voice broke you out of your self-induced trance. You opened your eyes to see him leaning toward your group as far away from Jimmy as he could get. “So, whoever this man is, he’s not a fisherman.”

“No, I know what this is,” Sarah said as if the answer was obvious, “He’s working for my dad, and he’s probably been looking for us this entire time.”

Pope considered the idea. “Alright, we gotta find out. Start looking for some sort of… clues.”

JJ and John B were quick to create a plan to distract Jimmy. While your brother busied himself with asking pointless questions, JJ dug straight into the satchel hanging on the seat. A few books tumbled into his hands. A photo slid out of the first one, Sarah being quick to grab it. You peeked over her shoulder to see a crisp clear photo of the Coastal Venture.

“This is the boat we were on, with Eberhimi and the cross,” She whispered.

“So he was looking for us?” Cleo asked as she got a look at the picture for herself. A nervous feeling built in your stomach at the thought of this man searching for you on purpose, maybe even for Ward’s bidding. 

A sharp movement of the airplane had you all bracing for some stability as Jimmy called out about turbulence. Kiara looked over your shoulder out the window. You followed her gaze to the window where land was creeping into the blue of the ocean. “Whatever it is, it’s happening fast. Look.” 

“That looks like Barbados. I’ve been there with Terrance,” Cleo piped up as the rest of your group observed what would most likely be the landing place. 

“Okay. There’s six of us, one of him. You know my vote, we storm the cockpit.”

You gave JJ an incredulous look at his suggestion. “No, who’s gonna fly the plane, dumbass?”

“I’ve seen Pope fly simulators.”

“I crop dusted for my uncle last summer, that is not the same thing!”

The group continued to bicker back and forth before ultimately deciding the best option would be to land safely and book it as soon as you got the opportunity. John B was quick to start a conversation with Jimmy again so JJ could sneak the books back into the satchel. It seemed like all was well until the pilot happened to glance over his right shoulder, exactly where JJ was scrambling in his stuff.

The plane jerked aggressively as the boys broke into a fight. Screaming echoed around you with shouts to fly the plane overwhelming as you grabbed on for some sort of hold. The water was approaching rapidly when Jimmy finally turned back around in an attempt to save everyone. Admitting defeat, you closed your eyes tightly and braced against the wall when the first hit came. 

The plane bounced across the ocean, sending the six of you into a mess of tangled limbs against the floor. Someone’s elbow jammed into the weak spot of your back as you cried out. The water started flooding the ground as you all scrambled for an escape. 

“Everybody good?”

The cool liquid sent a chill up your spine once you finally found some footing. John B shoved the door open and crawled out first. You could barely see the people crowding the beach at the sight of the accident.

“They do not look friendly.”

You looked closer, noticing the weapons and vests they were wearing to separate them from casual observers. Slipping on the wet metal, you shifted through the water as everyone began scrambling from the singing airplane. 

“Y/N, let’s go!”

You spared a glance back at where Jimmy was passed out in his seat. A tug pulled in your chest, the idea of leaving someone to drown not sitting well with you. Cursing to yourself, you pushed through the water to grab onto the pilot and tug him out.

“No, no, no. Y/N, let’s go!”

“Hurry!”

You ignored the shouts of concern and worked on tugging Jimmy into the open water. Your feet kicked as hard as possible to keep you both afloat as he slowly started coming to. You waited until the sand was under your feet and bystanders came to help to let go. 

Coughing up water, you turned to glare at the man you’d rescued. “You lied to us.” Adrenaline was pumping through your system, the fear of what had happened taking over. 

The sound of ATVs flooded your senses as you turned to look over your shoulder. The beach was crowded with a series of men, all in tan tactical gear, and all of them heading towards you. 

“You should get out of here.”

Ignoring Jimmy’s useless advice, you took off up the shore in hopes that you could lose them in the mass of people. A rotting boat was taking up part of the shore but you quickly navigated through an opening to hide in the darkness of it. 

You held your breath at the sound of footsteps, a pair of boots coming into view. As soon as the person’s eyes came a little too close, you lashed out and kicked him away from your hideout.

“She’s over here!”

“Shit!” Crawling as fast as possible, you moved through the sand in hopes to avoid the oncoming hands but fell short when a foot tripped your own. Sand clouded your vision as two sets of hands latched on to you and pulled you back up. “Let me go!” You yanked and struggled against them in a desperate attempt to free yourself.

 Eventually, the back and forth became too much for the two men who resorted to picking you up out of the sand to move you into a waiting pickup truck. One of your attackers was quick to slide a thick black zip tie around your wrists, effectively ending any sort of backlash as they pushed you into the tailgate corner. 

“We lost the others. We’ll keep searching.”

The words coming from the man’s radio brought you a slight bit of comfort knowing that the rest of the Pogues got away. You sagged against the side of the truck in exhaustion as the adrenaline began to seep away. 

Jimmy suddenly popped into view, your anger quickly resurfacing at the sight of him. “I save your life,” You sneered.

“I know. I know. I’m sorry. I’m gonna try to help you, okay?” He sighed, “I swear. I didn’t know it was gonna be like this. Look, if you don’t fight, if you just do what they say, these guys prob… probably won’t hurt you.”

You shook your head and glared. “Because that’s so reassuring. What did Ward promise you?”

“Who?” He didn’t wait for you to answer the question and continued, “Hey, just take my advice and do what they say. Good luck.”

The truck engine started a second later, one of the guards climbing in the back with you before the vehicle took off. You groaned, tears fighting your eyes at the idea of being taken from your brother and your boyfriend once again. You were sick of this violence around every corner, sick of always being taken from your loved ones.

The sun was warm on your bare skin but did nothing to ease the anxiety building in your chest. You were not equipped enough to keep handling this shit by yourself. The drive continued until you took a right turn down a private road lined with palm trees, blocked with more guards. A watchdog circled the truck as the other guards surveyed who was in the vehicle before it was allowed through. 

Surveying your surroundings, more guards, ATVs, and weapons were at every glance. Your heart sank, knowing there was no way you would be able to outrun everything on your own. One of the guards came to pull you out of the back once the truck came to a stop. You were led up to a large white-colored mansion, the sight of even more guards making you sick. 

The front door opened to reveal a woman dressed in a maid-styled uniform. She took a brief glance at you before letting the both of you through. The foyer area was decorated with expensive artifacts and paintings as you walked. “Take her upstairs. The Orinoco Room.”

A different guard took place and pulled your elbow up the stairs and practically tossed you inside the room, only sparing a second to cut the ties around your wrists.

“Why am I here? Who are you working for?” You took a step back away, the idea of being locked in a room with no escape again haunting your mind. 

“Dinner at eight. I’d clean up.” The door slammed and locked a second later without another word. Your feet stumbled backward until you collided with the bed frame. A sob choked through your throat as the memories became heavy, this feeling all too familiar to you. You didn’t even know if you could be rescued by the Pogues at this point. You were royally fucked.

An hour or two passed before you were able to get yourself out of bed to explore the room. A handful of identical dresses hung in the closet with a note to pick your size attached. Alarms went off in your head at the creepy aura surrounding the gesture before you dropped the paper to the carpet. Moving into the bathroom, a shower was 100% necessary first and foremost. If you were going to go headfirst into this by yourself, might as well clean up when you can.

The products in the shower had to have cost a fortune based on their looks and efficiency. As terrified as you were, this was much nicer than being trapped in the Cameron household endlessly. You took your time to get decent and explore the rest of the room. Dogs barked occasionally from outside, a reminder of the ever-present guards at every corner. 

A sharp knock startled you back to reality as the housekeeper from earlier entered. “He’s ready.”

You didn’t question it, standing up and smoothing out the fabric of the dress as you followed her down the winding staircase. She guided you into one of the rooms connecting to the entranceway before leaving. 

There was one other person in the room, dressed in a tux with their back to you as they poured liquor into a glass. You cleared your throat slightly. “Excuse me?”

Your heart dropped as the person turned around to reveal Rafe Cameron. A fresh buzz cut to his hair made him almost unrecognizable, but he still invoked the same horrible fear in you. This was slowly becoming your worst nightmare all over again. Chest tight with an approaching anxiety attack, you wondered what the hell you were going to do without John B and JJ.

“Y/N?” He looked shocked for some reason and quickly closed the distance between you as his expression shifted to one of anger. You immediately took a step back in return. “Are you trying to weasel in on my deal right now? Is that what’s going on?”

You stared at him for a moment while trying to process what the hell was actually happening. A voice from the other half of the room seemed to hear your thoughts. “I wondered if your little reunion would cause sparks, you know.”

The two of you turned simultaneously to the man who had spoken. He too was dressed in a suit, holding a glass of whiskey as he walked towards you. 

“Who are you?” Rafe didn’t hesitate to ask the obvious.

The man pointed to himself like he was surprised the question was even asked. “Me? My name is Carlos Singh. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cameron. And Miss Routledge, I do apologize for the rough tactics in bringing you here. But please, come, sit down. Come now, I don’t bite.”

There was a period of hesitation before you finally took the initiative to step forward into the sitting room, leaving Rafe to follow behind. “Rough tactics?” The Kook repeated. “What about me?”

“Yes, Mr. Cameron, false pretenses, but the ends justify the means, I’m afraid.” Carlos poured himself another hefty drink before asking Rafe to sit again. “We have a lot to talk about.”

“Why are we here?” The question you’d been wanting to know the answer to since the moment they came after you on the beach. Why? Why you and why here?

Carlos stood in front of the two of you and took a sip. “Well, Ms. Routledge, Mr. Cameron. We share certain interests, you know? Objectives.”

“Is this not about the cross?” Rafe’s already limited patience was wearing thin and you feared he would snap any second when he didn’t receive answers. 

“It is. Tangentially, it is about the cross, but it’s also about something much, much bigger.” Carlos turned around to face a framed painting on the wall that depicted a deep grassland with pyramids of gold. “By orders of magnitude… the completion of a grand quest. You see, the story goes that 450 years ago, a Spanish soldier came out of the Orinoco Basin with a few gold beads. When they asked the Spanish soldier where the beads came from, he replied that he got them from a peaceful Indigenous tribe who lived in a city of gold. El Dorado. For the next 450 years, people tried to find that gold, you know. They tried. Conquistadors, knights, captains of ships, tribes, entire nations. All fighting each other in a race for the end of the rainbow. Thousands of lives. And it falls to me, you know. It falls to me to complete the task, to bring full circle to a quest that has gone on for almost 500 years. Perhaps…perhaps the greatest quest in the history of the western hemisphere. And you two are going to play a part in that.”

“What about you, Ms. Routledge? Are you interested in history?”

The question made you want to roll your eyes. “I’m more of a future person.”

Rafe spoke up, “You know, I almost didn’t listen to a word you said, okay? How much you gonna keep philosophizing?” You honestly wanted to thank him for his straightforward attitude when it came to this.

“You are direct, aren’t you, Mr. Cameron?” Silence followed.

“What do you need from me?” At this point, you were willing to give him whatever he asked for, so long as it was within reason. You wanted out.

Carlos spared you a glance. “I’ve come to believe that you and your friends are in possession of something that can help me get what I want. An old manuscript, a diary actually.”

For a moment, you blanked on what exactly he meant. Then it hit you, Mr. Sunn had given Pope the diary of Denmark Tanny during your hunt for the cross. And if the cross, the gold, and this… El Dorado were all related… you had the key to where you needed to go. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Rafe replied as you shook your head lightly.

“I don’t know anything about a diary,” You added, “My brother and dad are the treasure people, not me.”

Carlos looked you dead in the eye. “How else could you have learned that the cross was on the Royal Merchant?”

Shrugging instantly, you stared him right back. “Look, I want to help you, but I can’t. I don’t have what you’re looking for.”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that you know, because unfortunately… I don’t believe you. You and your friends couldn’t have found that cross without it.”

“He’s not my friend.” The statement was short and sharp in nature as you spat it back at him. Fuck this dude for pulling you away from your friends, and fuck Rafe for all he did to you.

The Cameron next to you clapped his hands and got to his feet without warning. “Well, this is ridiculous. Okay? I’m out. I don’t know anything about a diary, okay? So-” He moved towards the open door but was forced back the second an armed guard appeared. 

“Do I look like a fool to you, Mr. Cameron?” Carlos repeated his question when Rafe didn’t answer. “You have the cross. She and her friends had the cross at one point. So one of you has the diary. And if you really don’t know, I suggest you convince your friend here to give it to me.” 

A finger was directed towards you, pulling Rafe’s gaze with it as the two of you held each other’s attention for a moment.

“Once I have the diary, you’ll be free to leave.” When nobody made a comment in return, Carlos moved towards the door to leave. “Enjoy the grounds during your stay. I must warn you though. I’m not a man of infinite patience. You have one day. Go to the window for a little demonstration. I think you’ll enjoy it, you know?” He placed two solid pats on Rafe’s bicep before exiting the room. 

The door was forced closed a moment after, Rafe calling out in shock as the lock clicked. If you weren’t freaking the hell out before, you sure as shit were now. While Rafe attempted to wiggle the door loose, you moved over to one of the sheer curtains covering a window and moved it aside. The guards and dogs were still circling, but this time a new figure joined. Jimmy was being pulled along onto the patio.

“Who the hell is that guy?” Rafe was suddenly so close to you, your whole body going rigid in response. 

“It’s Jimmy Portis,” You kept your reply simple. No need to converse with him beyond the bare minimum. He didn’t deserve it.

Carlos showed up through the glass a moment later, sparing the time to turn and find the two of you in the window before he pulled a gun from his waistband. A sharp gasp left your mouth as you figured out where this was going next.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”

Every inch of your being was telling you to look away, not that you could see them underneath the rooftop of the patio. The loud bang came fast, an involuntary flinch wracking your body as the gunshot echoed. 

“This diary. Hey, no bullshit. Okay? Do you have it?” Rafe was inches from your face, the warmth of his breath on your cheek as you continued to stare forward. “Y/N?”

You turned to him sharply. “No.”

--

You hardly slept that night. The silky tank top and pants that were laid out made you so uncomfortable, not to mention the threat on your horizon if you didn’t figure out what the hell to do. Not to mention, Rafe was sleeping not even a foot away on the floor. With so much “gracious hospitality”, Carlos Singh couldn’t even be bothered to spare another bedroom.

You hoped JJ, John B, and the Pogues were at least doing better than you. Maybe they’d found a way home by now and we’re just waiting for you to escape. Even if you guys didn’t make it out of Barbados, you just wanted to be back with them.

Taking a glance at Rafe’s sleeping form, you pushed yourself off the bed to go by the window where guards had been stationed on the connecting balcony. Body moving before your consciousness, you tapped on the window to get the person’s attention. 

“I need to talk to Mr. Singh,” You tried to keep your voice somewhat quiet. The guard looked at you confused, so you repeated the statement slower.

“What are you doing?” Rafe had woken up at the noise and rushed over to you. “Shut up, shut up, shut up. What the hell are you doing?”

You turned around to glare at him. “Like I owe you an explanation for absolutely anything.” You brushed past him to the other door in the room.

“Think for a second, Y/N! What are you doing?”

Ignoring his question, you began to knock on the wooden door separating you from the rest of the house. “Hello?” When Rafe wouldn’t stop pushing, you snapped. “Don’t fucking talk to me.”

“You’re lying, about this diary. You know where it is?”

You shook your head. “No, I don’t.”

Rafe let out a groan as you moved away from him again. “Okay, listen, I wouldn’t tell me either, but he’s never gonna believe we don’t know something, alright? Listen to me! Singh killed that-”

The second his hand touched your shoulder, you whipped around and smacked him. Hard. “Don’t fucking touch me!” The two of you stood there for a moment, tensions high with the looming death threat. 

Rafe raised his hands in surrender. “Look around you. I’m the only friend you got.”

You were prepared to shut him down a second later, but the click of the door lock interrupted the opportunity. The guard from the balcony appeared in the doorway and you were quick to move toward him without a thought. Ignoring Rafe’s annoying voice from behind you, the guard escorted you out of the room and relocked the door. 

Carlos Singh didn’t look surprised at your presence when you entered the study. You stopped short of the table he was seated at. 

“I lied. I know about the diary,” You admitted, fingers clenching the fabric of your clothes. “I don’t have the original, but I can get you a copy.”

He looked you over for a moment before nodding slightly. “I’m relieved to hear you say that, you know. May I offer you something to eat?”

“I’m not hungry.”

He almost laughed at how quick your response was. “Relax, nothing’s gonna happen to you now. You’re cooperating, and I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“I just want to get you what you want, and then I want to leave,” Your voice was stern right back to him, refusing to show a hint of weakness. “I know where it is. But I have to go by myself. Alone.”

In the back of your head, you’re praying that the Twinkie is still alive somewhere on the OBX. Somewhere you can get a copy of the diary and maybe make a run for it.

“How would I know that you’d come back? I need some collateral.”

“Rafe’s here.” There was zero hesitation to offer him up for your sure-to-be disappearance. You didn’t give a shit what happened to him. “Keep him.

Signh laughed at your offer. “Rafe. No, I’ve heard tellings about what happened between the two of you. How did someone so young, get into so much trouble?” He rose from his chair to walk past you. You were quick to follow him.

“Look, I know where the diary is, and if you let me go, I promise you I can get it to you.”

Carlos shut down after that, his responses snippy and harsh until his phone broke the tension. He paused and rubbed his face before going to look at it. You were shocked when he looked at you and laughed. “Amazing. A text from our friend Jimmy Portis. From beyond the grave apparently. It seems Mr. Portis has captured your friends.”

The phone turned towards you to show a picture of John B and Sarah sitting next to each other with the message I got these two underneath. It was obvious they were trying to stage it out to look realistic. They had no idea what had happened. Singh called out for one of his guards.

“Get the big trucks and meet me outback.” His orders were quickly obeyed before he called on another guard. “Fenton. Get Miss Routledge.”

“Mr. Singh, Mr. Singh, please!” Panic was bubbling in your throat as the guard almost slammed into you before removing you from the study area. “You can’t hurt them, please! They’re all I have left, just leave them alone!” Your voice cracked with the strength of your yelling. The guard didn’t falter amongst your struggles and continued to push you up the stairs and back in the room without another word.

Rafe watched silently as you crawled into a ball at the foot of the bed. “What happened?” When you didn’t answer, he let out a sharp breath. “You’re gonna have to talk to me at some point. Okay?”

“Do I have to remind you of everything you’ve done?” You shot back as you looked at him. “You killed Peterkin. Do you remember that? And everything you’ve put Sarah through. Everything you put me through?”

“Peterkin, I was protecting my father, okay? I did what I had to, so don’t.” He walked away from you to sit in one of the armchairs. “I’m as much a victim as she is.”

You turned to give him the nastiest look you could muster. “Kook King Rafe Cameron, a victim of what? Consequences of your own fucking actions? Daddy issues?”

You hardly listened to the so-called explanation he tried to give. It was hard to find any empathy in your body towards the person in front of you. You couldn’t care less about what Rafe thought he was owed. All you cared about was getting the hell out of here, with or without him.

“Look, I have a boat that can get us off the island, okay? But first, we gotta get out of here, and it is better if we work together.”

The sound of yelling outside had the two of you on your feet and heading to the window. Two trucks were lining up for guards to climb into, an assortment of weapons on them.

“They’re leaving?” Rafe asked. 

You took a deep breath, dread flooding your chest as you watched them drive away. “They’re going to find John B and Sarah.”

“Sucks for them,” Rafe said as if he wasn’t talking about both of your siblings being at risk. “That’s good for us though. This may be our only shot of getting out of here.”

--

Rafe was quick to create a plan, something that would pull the guard from your door so you could slip out. Did you like it? Not in the slightest because it was a little to close for comfort. 

“I’m gonna kill you, Y/N!”

You screamed in response, running into the wall to make it seem like Rafe had actually shoved you while he threw a glass vase to the floor. He held a finger to his lips as the guard outside called for the two of you. You continued to lay still, one leg hanging out of the bathtub, knowing your feet would be the first thing in eyesight.

“Hey, you two! What’d you do?” Silence followed the voice on the other side of the door before you could hear the lock click.

Everything moved fast from there; Rafe slammed the guard with the bathroom door and exchanged punches with him while you managed to grab the fallen gun. Rafe was quick to grab the man’s phone while you tore a curtain off the bedframe and handed it to him so he could restrain the guard.

The two of you took off, moving through the house as quietly and quickly as possible. You managed to talk him into exchanging the gun in your hands for the phone, knowing exactly what clues the Pogues would need. You snuck around to get a quick photo of the painting that Carlos had been so intent on explaining to the two of you before following Rafe out the side door.

A grain delivery was occurring just outside, a large truck pulling away just as you stepped out. Your eyes followed the road along the grass line before you were moving, calling for Rafe to follow. The two of you managed to find a gap in the bushes just as the truck hit the corner going slow enough that you could climb on. 

You weren’t prepared, however, for there to be a worker in the back. Rafe moved before you even blinked to attack the man in front of you, eventually gaining the upper hand to throw him off the vehicle into the trees. 

Your eyes were wide as you faced the eldest Cameron but you didn’t have time to question his anger when you heard a familiar noise. The sound of bells was always a comfort in your life. When you and John B were kids, it was the way your dad would tell you it was time to come inside. The pattern coming from the local church was identical to the one your dad would do. Chills raced down your spine at the noise, wondering if maybe it was John B trying to draw you in after all.

--

You weren’t sure how much time passed under the tarp, out of prying eyes with Rafe Cameron. You were beyond done with his presence and just wanted to jump off the truck, but thankfully you guys were able to make it to the marina where his boat was docked. 

Climbing on the large pristine boat, you swore you could hear the bells ringing again, even this far away. You stopped short of untying the bowline, suddenly against the idea of getting on a boat with just Rafe Cameron. 

“I can’t get it.” You lied easily, faking a pull on the rope. “I need some help.”

Rafe let out a loud groan, barking for you to move since he ‘had to do everything’. The second he untied the line, you shoved his chest harshly, watching as he splashed into the water below. You took off, hopping up to the cabin area to move the boat out from the dock. Rafe yelled hysterically below you yet you couldn’t help but smile once you got moving. Pulling the phone from your pocket, you typed a quick message, your heart racing in anticipation.

After docking at a different marina, you waited, foot tapping excessively, for some response that they were coming. The church bells kept continuously ringing, freaking you out even further that maybe they didn’t know where you were.

Eyes on the sidewalk, you watched anxiously for some kind of sign. It came straight towards you in a light blue button-down. You moved quickly the second you made eye contact. “JJ?”

JJ’s whole figure drooped in relief at the sight of you, unharmed. He had felt so much guilt, so much anxiety over the way you two weren’t on the best of terms before you were taken. His feet moved rapidly, body colliding with yours as he lifted you off the ground. Your legs wrapped around his waist out of habit, holding him as tightly as you could.

“Holy shit, you’re safe. I’m right here, I got you.”

You let out a sob, tears streaming down your cheeks before you kissed him heavily. Nothing was as calming as being wrapped in his embrace, feeling his hands on your arms, his lips on yours. You took a moment before separating, your feet returning to the ground before you were attacked by another set of arms.

John B was fucking terrified. The moment you got yanked out of the sand, Sarah was holding him back from going after you. Everything felt too real now, too heavy. Knowing that the second one of you disappeared could be the last time they saw you was scary. He was sick of losing, and he wasn’t about to stand by and watch it happen to you all over again.

More shaky hands piled onto you and your brother, your friends wiggling their way into a huge group hug of relief. Kiara’s hands grabbed your cheeks once everyone stepped away. “You’re not hurt, right?” You could see her eyes scanning for any sort of injury.

You shook your head, brushing tears off your face. “No, no. I’m okay. I’m okay.”

“Are you kidding me, babe?” 

You followed JJ’s gaze to the large boat you had climbed off a few moments ago. You laughed, “Oh, yeah. Rafe let me take it for a spin.”

“Rafe?!”

You ignored the rapid onset of questions as your group piled onto the boat. You froze, however, at the sound of the bells tolling. Now you knew it wasn’t John B, and based on the way he was looking back at you, he was questioning them too.

“You don’t think-”

“There’s no way.”

Both of you spoke at the same time, glancing towards the hillside the church was located on. What would be the chances that your father happened to be in Barbados of all places, coincidentally when you crash-landed there?

“Yeah, so I have just a couple of questions,” JJ interrupted your sibling moment as everyone gathered around the two of you. “A Lagoon 620 with twin 150 Volvos. You understand we can go anywhere with this thing, right? Way to be discreet, by the way.”

You rolled your eyes, giving him the middle finger. 

“What did they want from you?” Sarah asked the question that the group had been pondering over for two days now. “You swear Rafe didn’t hurt you?”

You sat down on one of the couch cushions. “No, no. I’m fine, promise. I um… Singh wanted Denmark’s diary, of all things.”

Pope frowned at the revelation. “Why?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. Said it leads to a treasure that’s bigger than the Merchant.”

“A bigger treasure?” JJ repeated as he sat next to you, arm naturally wrapping around you to pull in close. “Sign me up.”

A moment of processing followed before your friends decided it was time to split and started prepping to leave. JJ moved with them, going to untie the lines. You decided to follow John B and Sarah up to the top deck.

“She’s right, we really need to go,” Sarah reiterated as she tossed a line down below. 

The bells chimed again a few seconds after she finished, both you and John B looking towards the church before glancing at each other. 

“Okay, you definitely heard that, right?” Your brother turned towards his girlfriend for an answer.

“Yeah, I do now.”

You crossed your arms over your chest. “That’s exactly what Dad would do to call us home. That pattern those bells.”

Sarah stopped her movements to look at the two of you. She could see the lingering sadness, the defeat that maybe he really was dead and this was a coincidental joke tugging at you. She also knew John B, and she knew where he went, you were usually close behind. 

“Okay. I get it.” The two of you snapped up to look at her. “You wanna go to the tower to go look? Go look.”

John B seemed shocked at her willingness. “You sure?”

She took another glance at you and nodded. “I’m serious. Hurry, and take this.”

“Sarah…” You walked up next to them, hesitant about leaving them again so soon.

She smiled at you. “Yes, yes. You don’t think I know the two of you? He’s gonna drive us all insane if he doesn’t look, and you’re not gonna let him go alone. So go look.”

You shared a glance with John B before darting down the stairs. JJ was on the dock, untying another line when you collided into him. 

“Whoa, hey. You okay?”

“I gotta go.” You didn’t give him a chance to react, John B already climbing off the boat behind you. “I’m going with John B. We’ll be back, okay?”

JJ looked panicked at the idea of you leaving when he just got you back. He knew better than to question you though, and if John B was going, it was enough for him. He gave you a nod, hands coming to rest on your cheeks before he kissed you softly. “I love you, okay?”

“Love you more,” You whispered back, giving him one more kiss before taking off after your brother. Not only were you two navigating a foreign area, but you needed to keep low from Singh’s men too. John B kept glancing back at you, slowing to stay with you when he could.

You slowed your light jog at the top of a hill, the church almost within reach? “Do you really think it’s him?”

John B paused, the two of you taking in the sound of the bells again. “I just… I have this feeling. And I need to know.”

He understood why you were hesitant. Your relationship with your dad wasn’t the greatest, especially as you got older. John B was always the favorite, which would’ve been fine if your dad hadn’t just started neglecting you in return. That’s where you clung to John B, why the two of you grew to be so protective of each other. 

The climb up the side of the mountain was rough, but you managed to do it without any slipping. You honestly didn’t know if this was something you were ready for, but you’d do it for John B. Even if your dad didn’t speak to you, it would be fine. You both deserved answers. 

The church itself was gorgeous with stained glass windows and coiled staircases. You followed your brother silently up the steps, unsure of what to expect. Every creak and groan of the building had the two of you hesitant to keep moving. 

You came through an archway before John B followed a shadow across into the other stairwell. From the glimpse you got, your heart started racing in your chest. You moved down the stairs slowly, the two of you stopping short halfway. 

There, at the bottom of the stairs, stood Big John Routledge. Alive.

“Dad?”

Your father turned to face the two of you, taking in the sight of his two children in the glow of the sunset. “What took you so long, kids? I’ve been ringing for hours.”

John B practically ran down the rest of the stairs and straight into your father’s arms. You stood, frozen in place at the sight before you. Emotions weren’t easy to process. You were a lovely combination of anger, sadness, and joy right now, your mind turning Inside Out at the idea of your father standing here after so long. 

“My baby bird.”

The nickname sucked all the air out of your lungs as you realized your father’s eyes were on you. Your feet moved slowly, hesitant about what exactly you were signing yourself up for, but the moment your dad had you within grasp, he hugged you as tight as he could. You felt like an innocent little kid all over again, with her big brother and Dad always there to protect her. 

“Oh, kids. We have a lot to talk about, huh?”

--

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[lixzey]

Letters

warnings: child abuse, mentions of blood, starvation and dehydration of a child, locking up a child in a basement/cage, beating up a child, etc.

a/n: PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION ‼️‼️‼️This has very detailed scenes which may not be suitable for everyone. The next six letters will be the same, so heads up!

The Twelfth Letter

Timothée held the twelfth letter in his shaking hands. He wanted to go and just rip the damn letter open, but he was scared—of what he would read in the letter inside the tear-stained envelope. Timothée had an idea about what was written in the letter, making it harder for him. A part of him wanted to know about everything she had been through. But the other part of him was already furious and will not be sorry for what he might do to the people who hurt Y/N based on what he would read.

Timothée sighed, running a hand through his hair before taking a deep breath. He slowly opened the envelope, his fingers running over the adhesive, before pulling out the letter dated August 8th, 2023.

Dear Timothée, 

So, where do I begin?

Can you please, please, promise me that you'll keep this a secret? Swear, this one you'll save?

Okay, okay, so here's the story of my life.

The day I arrived at my aunt's home, I had no idea how my life was going to turn out. At first, she was kind. She made me feel comfortable, like I was her own child. But after two weeks of being in her care, the nightmare started.

I was advised not to go to school for the time being because of the trauma I had gone through. I loved it, honestly. I stayed at home, ate cookies and chips, and watched TV—all that normal kid shit. But one day, when I was sitting in the living room, peacefully watching Baby Loony Tunes, my aunt suddenly grabbed me by the arm, dragged me all the way down to the basement, and threw me against the hard wall. As a little girl, I didn't understand; I was confused. What did I do to deserve this? Was I a bad girl? I had so many questions running through my mind at that time. It turns out that my parents' assets were repossessed by the bank. All the money, jewellery, and house are gone. My aunt only agreed to take me in because of the benefits of it, and once it ran out, she turned into the devil.

She left me in the basement for days without any food or water. And whenever I would cry, she would come down and throw me across the room and tell me to shut up, or she would beat the crap out of me. I was terrified. I hoped and prayed that it was just some sort of nightmare and that my parents would get me out. I spent my nights in that basement curled up in the corner, hugging my knees to my chest and wondering why I was being treated like that, trying as much as possible to sob silently until my body just gave out and I lost consciousness.

It went on for weeks. It got worse and worse each and every day. She treated me like an animal locked up in a cage. I was given, occasionally, mostly scraps and leftovers, and given my situation, I was grateful for that, even if my body was suffering from starvation and dehydraton. At that point, my mind knew what I was: an orphan who no one wanted to take care of. A burden, a waste of space, nothing.

I get beat up almost every day, like the time she lost a pair of earrings. I remember it vividly, like each and every one. She accused me of escaping the basement and stealing her precious jewellery. I told her I didn't; I begged her not to punish me; I begged and begged, but all of it was in vain. I got kicked in the stomach hard until I was spitting out blood. She split my lip, almost knocking out a few teeth. My face got bruised and puffy from all the slaps I got. After she was satisfied by all the blood, she tied me to a pipe in the corner of the room. She left me there for another week without food or water. The blood on my shirt dried on my skin, and every time I moved, it hurt so much that it felt like I was tearing off my skin every time I tried to move. Days later, I was jolted awake when my hair got yanked hard, pulling away from the corner. I was thrown into a cage—a real fucking metal cage—and doused with ice-cold water. The water felt like knives against my skin as I felt the dried, blood-soaked shirt tear away from my body. I screamed and cried as I tried to stay away from the water, like a tiny kitten. I was left in the cold and dark room, naked and curled up in the corner of the metal cage, whimpering as the pain settled throughout my body.

You might be wondering, “Why the hell did no one do something?”

Well, no one could hear me from the basement that was nearly three feet down. Or maybe no one really cared.

The basement didn't have that much stuff—only old books, magazines—which I've read to pass the time before I got thrown into a fucking cage like I was dangerous or what—and a full-sized mirror, where I used to sit in front of and look at my bruises. I often lay there in the dark of the night, fearing monsters like any other kid would. But the real monster was the person I called my 'aunt'. I kept holding on to a dream; maybe that's the one thing that kept me sane in that prison. I had nothing else left, only memories of the past.

During those days, the memories of the past gave me hope. That one day everything will be back to the way it once was, but it never happened—nevertheless, I kept holding on, like I said, because it was the only thing I had left of my past life. But now, the memories of the past haunt me. I keep on trying to leave it all behind, but somehow, life has got it in for me.

I was a kid. A kid who didn't know anything better. A kid who only wanted her parents to protect her from all of the monsters. But instead, I was left to fucking fend for myself in the cruel, cruel world. I didn't know how to cope with it, so all I did was cry. Which made my suffering much, much worse, whenever she heard me. So, as much as possible, I tried to muffle my sobs. Maybe there was a monitor down in the basement, because how the fuck would she hear me from three feet down?

Anyway, that's all for now, I guess.

There's still more, Timmy. I swear, the next years of my life were….I'll just write it down in the next letter.

Always remember that you are the light of my life, alright? The only good thing left in my life, even if you're not mine, is that I love you.

All my love,

Y/N. 

Timothée felt his blood boil. Everything in Y/N's letter was far worse than he had expected. The anger he felt for Y/N's so-called 'aunt' was beyond words. How in hell could someone hurt a child? A ten-year-old child who had just lost her parents in an accident in front of her eyes, for fucks sake! Timothée took a deep breath, folding the letter and placing it back in its envelope before standing and walking to the plane's bathroom. As soon as he locked the door, he buried his face in his hands. He wanted to scream, so badly it hurt. He wanted to hurt someone, and that someone, who was first on his list in red marker, was Y/N's aunt. There was so much that Timothée wanted to do, but right now, he knew he couldn't. And it was making him crazy—crazier by each second, probably. He couldn't understand how Y/N lived through all the suffering. He couldn't understand why life made her suffer at such a young age. He couldn't understand what Y/N did wrong to deserve such misery.

Timothée slowly lifted his head and faced the mirror. Tears were streaming down his face as he realized the feeling of guilt that was eating him alive. Had he received her letters earlier, maybe he could've helped her. Maybe he could've been there for her in some way, making her feel better. But he didn't, because the letters came a year late. Anything could have happened in a year, or even in a month, for that matter. Timothée opened the tap, splashing water all over his face to ease the myriad of feelings that were slowly eating him up. He stared at himself in the mirror. His curls clung to his forehead and neck, water droplets cascading down his pale face, his eyes starting to get puffy and red, and his lips quivering. He sighed, grabbing the individually wrapped, warm towels from the nearby stack and wiping away the remaining water on his face. The warmth made him feel a bit better, though there was still a lingering feeling of guilt in the back of his mind. What was he supposed to do now? He had this sickening feeling about the last six letters. But he wanted to know more and understand each and every ghost of her past that kept on haunting Y/N.

@helens3amstuff @gatoenlaciudad @thebetawolfgirl @lovemelikecrazyiloveyoucrazy @tchalamss @lilmaymayy @ashlynnmalfoy @crazycat-ladys-blog @michakune @mxltifxnd0m @spencerr3idd @dangelnleif @sthkate @ferrjulie @imnotoverlyobsessive @mel-vaz @elsagreeer @lovely-maryj @meowmeowmau @bobthe-turmpetman29

[junosmindpalace]

i find discourse around the rdr women so...fascinating and infuriating at the same time. because a lot of the time it doesn't seem like rdr fans want to apply the same level of complex analysis to the women like they do for the men, but when they do, it still doesnt seem all that well-intentioned or that it does right by their characters.

this is a very long analysis/spam/defense so be warned :,)

even though the majority of sadie's character revolves around the fact she not only lost her home and her husband and was thrust into a new life of crime, but was actively struggling with robberies BEFORE the events of the game, people instead choose to focus on whether or not she had feelings for arthur or whether he actions in the game were actually impactful. she helped saved abigail and john when no else would, she fought alongside the men against the army, she helped john set up a stable life, she helped rob the payroll train, helped ensure colm’s death, she fought alongside arthur TIME AGAIN and took over in a leadership role when half the gang was absent in the guarma chapter. to say that she did nothing more except “be badass” undermines all of these contributions to the story that she was either at the forefront of or helped bring to fruition.

in my opinion, abigail is the EASIEST character to defend out of any of the women, and yet somehow she receives the most backlash from dudebros. I lose ten braincells every time i have to read a theory post over whether or not she slept with other camp members besides john, whether or not she was a rat, and about how much shes a nag. the woman has not known a moment's rest in her entire life. by the age of eight she was working in a cathouse. she was a child prior to then scrapping whatever money she could earn at her young age in saloons and dive bars as a woman and child just to survive as a orphan. jack's birth was clearly not planned, and she has voiced multiple times her grievances at the circumstances of his upbringing. everything she does is for a better life for her son: a life she never had. her constant nagging to get john to man up and be a father is for her son's benefit, not her own. she even says so herself when she tells him that she doesn't mind if a relationship between them doesn't work out, but to at least try being there for jack. she can't work a job because she is a mother living a life of crime and danger; she can't afford to leave the camp and her son unsupervised. she still does her share around camp. why would anyone blame her for not wanting to return to a life that has made her miserable, especially now that she has a child who she wants to model a good life for? many people seem to somehow also forget that she herself was a child when she gave birth to jack; only 17-18. she is 22 in the game in a bad situation with the father of her child and financially. she is doing her best to raise her son when she is not fully equipped to do so. how can anyone even blame her for being skeptical of john when hes affectionate in the epilogue when for so long hes been distant? she does not even ask much of john--just to be there for him sometimes, and to live honestly. she is also incredibly kindhearted. comforting other women in the camp, offering a listening ear, taking care of john when hes injured. she puts in her share of effort when it comes to finding a job in the epilogue and maintaining beechers hope.

molly is a young woman who is presumably incredibly far from her home where her family is, and trying to navigate a way of life completely unfamiliar to her. her stuck up nature comes not only from the way she was raised, but also dutch's uplifting affection and presumed lovebombing in the early stages of their relationship. shes even been suggested to be somewhat sociable until dutch and her became somewhat of an official item, in which she grew somewhat of a bigger ego with a mentality that she was his right hand. she deeply depended on dutch for her stability in every way, and its evident in her eventual spiral. she hated being seen as weak and pitiful as somewhat of an outsider among outsiders. she seemed to be close to no one besides dutch, who repeatedly cut her off when she attempted to talk to him about her growing feelings of anxiety, paranoia and sadness. the loss of the one thing that had built her up, coupled with immense tragedy she just wasnt used to, and desperate for a semblance of respect and dignity that she had presumably been all too accustomed to, of course she was going to come off brash and confront dutch about his distant, high and mighty attitude. it's why by the end, she doesnt care if she is killed: there is nothing left for her. karen's comment about her pretending to rat them out for the sake of attention is also interesting in terms of their relationship and parallels, which i dont see ANYONE talk about.

karen very clearly struggles with...a lot. she has even said so herself when talking with molly. she struggles to accept help, evident in pieces of dialogue where she brushes off concerned gang members about her drinking (mary-beth, arthur, javier), and when she seems somewhat ashamed and embarrassed having to have been rescued by arthur in the valentine mission (SAYING EXPLICITLY "i dont much like being saved"). she struggles with believing people have good intentions/feelings toward her, illustrated in the way she's constantly rejecting sean, yet seemingly disappeared further down the bottle after his death, and her conversation with mary beth and tilly about the world having no equal and fair place for women. her negative experiences in the world as a woman could also influence her view of the world, perhaps being why she finds herself somewhat hostile toward feminist mindsets and why she, for a while, enjoyed the outlaw lifestyle: it was her little slice of freedom. her hatred for the rich can also be because she has experiences as a poor woman, perhaps some direct experiences in which rich people have negatively impacted her life. though molly and karen don't get along through most of the game, karen actually tries to step in and help her near the end, and its this action + defending her after her death that shows she was sympathetic toward her situation and on some level able to relate to it, both craving some kind of love beyond superficial things.

@/cryptidcr3ature said it very well in a post i reblogged recently: mary is essentially "her brother's keeper and her father's caretaker". she herself lives somewhere middle class with traditional notions of the time impacting her views on arthur's lifestyle and anything below those middle class standards being deemed as socially unacceptable (which is evident from the very first letter mary sends to arthur, in which she seems confused on what a polite term would be to refer to prostitutes, who were obviously thought very lowly of in the time). i also don't think its fair to criticise her condemnation of arthur's lifestyle when pretty much all audiences, contemporary and not, including members of the gang, acknowledge that it isnt anything pretty. killing is not fun. running from the law is not fun. mary was not only influenced by her father's views of arthur (a person that, despite being horrible, she still deeply loves), but looking after her own family, herself, and arthur's wellbeing when she ended their relationship + suggested they run away. she had given him an opportunity at compromise. perhaps the first time, scared and unfamiliar with his lifestyle, she had offered arthur an ultimatum: her or his outlaw life, but later was willing to also leave behind her brother and father, two figures that tie her down and make her life more miserable than need be despite loving them very much, in order to settle somewhere with arthur and start over. her asking for arthur's help comes from a place of desperation and excuse to allow herself some semblance of stability when she hadn't had it; at least not since her mother and husband passed. if arthur refuses to help her, she is incredibly understanding and sympathetic. she does not lash out. if arthur does help, she is immensely grateful, and even tries to bond with him despite their years apart.

this post isnt to excuse some of their more negative behaviours and aspects of their characters'-- but im saying that they deserve to be fairly treated and analyzed just like any of the rdr men. many of them are young. many of them have unique challenges as women. that isn’t to say the men have it easier, but their struggles and less prettier aspects of their characters are always met with more sympathy than the women. why do arthur and john get passes as reformed absent fathers and criminals? why does sean receive sympathy when karen rejects his pushy advances? why does hosea get a pass at being better than dutch when he still groomed younger members of the gang for a life of crime alongside dutch? why does dutch get a pass by having his downfall be justified by tough circumstances? lets just be fair