#genya safin oneshot

[heliads]

Hello Could i request Genya x Fem!Reader where Y/N is Nikolai's little sister and just about Genya's age so they used to play together a lot when they were little. Since Y/N was from the royal family she had little to no freedom and 0 opportunity to make friends, so Genya was her only one and they grew up together. I just picture her sneaking into Genya's room and climbing into her bed when she had a nightmare because the queen didn't like her sleep being disturbed and Genya braiding her hair until she calms down. Nnow that they're older, they're slowly learning that this friendship could be something more. Just a very soft childhood bestfriends to lovers, you know? Thank you anyway

'my home is you' - genya safin

masterlist

A lot is expected of the princess of Ravka. She must sit straight in every assembly, no matter how long or tedious the function. She must be able to converse with foreign dignities without seeming too exuberant or, worse still, not interested enough in many hours’ worth of old war stories. She must connect with her people, but still float above each and every crowd. And, most pressingly of all, she must be able to learn a hundred state secrets and then abstain from the urge to immediately gossip about them with her oldest friend. Especially if that friend is a Tailor and a lady’s maid to boot.

Genya Safin sits across the small round table from you, fingers idly tapping on the creamy tablecloth. In front of her rests a teacup, mostly untouched. Neither of you are here for the tea itself, more the information that comes with each and every delicate china cup. In the process of growing up and into your role as the darling princess of Ravka, you’ve been doing your best to maintain decorum. It would be wrong to immediately spill your true feelings on the latest round of political appointees to Genya. It would also be exactly what you want to do.

You take a sip from the cup in front of you as a way to buy yourself time. You knew exactly what you were getting yourself into when you invited Genya over to your quarters for tea, but you’d like to at least try to hold out for as long as possible. You can do this. You don’t have to tell your best friend everything.

“Nice weather we’re having,” you muse.

Genya arches a brow. “Indeed. It was also nice out last night at the diplomat’s ball, was it not?”

“It was,” you state, eyeing her cautiously.

The corners of Genya’s mouth flash up into a barely obscured smile. “You looked lovely that night. Have you captured the hearts of any more suitors?”

You feel your cheeks heat up and look away, eyeing the pattern woven into the tablecloth even more thoroughly than before. Every girl blushes to discuss potential suitors with her friends, but for some reason, discussing the men and women that you may marry feels even more embarrassing in front of Genya. 

Although you love talking over anything and everything with the redhead, there’s something about your marriage prospects that feels almost wrong to bring up in front of her. You want to guard her from it, almost, pretend as if you’ll never have to be married off even though both of you know it’s only a matter of time. You’re a princess, and at some point, you may even be queen. Although your two older brothers will likely fight amongst themselves for that title far before you could ever claim it, you’ll still have plenty of merit as a political pawn.

So, when it becomes clear that Genya is still waiting for an answer, you sigh and give in. “Yes, Genya, I danced with several young men. Charming, all of them.”

Genya gives you a knowing look. “Really? All of them were charming?”

The teasing lilt of her voice brings down the last of your walls in one final tug. “No,” you admit in a rush, “They were terrible, Gen. Like you wouldn’t believe. The first one stepped on my feet five times in one waltz. Another wouldn’t stop preaching the virtues of Kerch beer, as if I’d ever willingly drink anything other than kvas or champagne. And the last one–”

You break off into a shudder. Genya leans forward, evidently delighted. “What did he do to be worse than the others? Did he actively declare war on Ravka?”

“Worse,” you grimace, “He said his sister was prettier than I was and offered to put me in touch with her so she could give me some beauty tips.”

Genya’s jaw drops. “No way. He couldn’t possibly have done such a thing.”

“He did,” you declare, still horrified over the memory even though it happened many hours ago, “I mean, it’s already a terrible faux pas to say someone isn’t pretty, but to say that his sister was better– There’s so many problems there, Genya. So many.”

“So many,” Genya agrees, laughing. “Oh, that’s horrific. You poor thing.”

“Don’t make fun of me,” you say crossly, “I have been suffering. And yes, I am quite aware that it sounds foolish to complain of being the belle of a ball, but I was deeply unhappy the whole time.”

Genya smiles again, just barely managing to suppress her laughter. “I’m not making fun of you, darling, you know I could never do that. I just think it’s funny that you’re hung up on some boy who’s that blind. I couldn’t fathom looking at you and not being blown away. You’ve always been pretty to me.”

“Because of your handiwork?” You ask, one brow raised.

Genya shakes her head definitively. “A little bit, maybe, I shan’t deny my talents, but not completely. You’re a lovely, lovely girl. Even when you’re gossiping about political matters that you had better keep to yourself.”

You poke her in the arm. “You can’t chide me for gossiping, Genya, when you’ve been practically dragging the information out of me. You’re a terrible influence.”

She grins broadly. “Don’t I know it? And don’t give me that look, Y/N, I think you need my terrible influence. It makes you well-rounded if you’re both angelic and terrible.”

You laugh quietly to yourself. “Well, I appreciate your efforts. I’m sure the suitors will be glad of it.”

Genya’s smile slips slightly. “Yes, of course. The suitors.”

For some reason, the look on her face makes your stomach twist in an infinity of knots, so you quickly change the subject in an effort to see her smile at least one more time. “So you’ve been at this from the very start, huh? Even when we were children, your end goal was always to improve my character?”

“Always,” Genya snorts, “But maybe I just wanted a friend.”

“That too,” you smile softly. 

You’ve known Genya for a very long time indeed. Talking about the early days now brings back a rush of memories. You were just a little girl when Genya was brought to the palace, and you got along with her instantly. Both of you were about the same age, and although you were quiet around each other at first, it didn’t take long before you were the best of friends.

The Grand Palace of Os Alta wasn’t the friendliest place for a girl to grow up, especially not when you were under the influence of so much political pressure. For once, though, you didn’t spend endless cold winters walking by yourself through the empty halls. Genya was there, and Genya swore that you would never be alone again. From what you’ve seen, she intends to keep that promise for as long as you both may live.

Your parents were always busy with their lives as royals, so you didn’t see much of them. Your older brother Vasily was difficult, less pleasant to be around than not, so you avoided him as much as you could. Nikolai was much better, but he was gone before you knew it, off to the army and university. He was genuinely sorry to leave you, but he left anyway. Genya never left.

You have many, many memories of waking up in the cold darkness of your room, desperately alone and in need of company after a bad dream. You had tried to wake up the queen when you couldn’t sleep once and only once; your knuckles still smart from the memory of that mistake. Instead, on nights like those, you’d sneak into Genya’s room. She’d pull you under the covers so she could braid your hair with neat, skillful fingers, or you would talk quietly until both of you fell asleep.

There had been lovely days when the two of you explored the castle grounds, finding secret rooms or deserted corridors. After you were taught ballroom dance by the prickly dance master your parents employed, you dragged Genya out to one of the many ballrooms so the two of you could waltz around the empty space, twirling until you were dizzy and fell down, laughing, to the ground.

And then you had blinked and both of you were older, almost adults and expected to make your way in the world. Genya is still a constant in your life, but she’s different somehow. She’s more than a friend, but not quite a sister, something more. It’s a feeling you’ve never experienced before, even when presented with the most dashing of princes.

It’s a feeling that keeps repeating itself, over and over again when you least expect it. You try to push it from your mind, but then Genya does her hair differently and your heart won’t stop stumbling over itself. There is a lot demanded from you as princess, but when you’re with Genya, every stress is banished from your mind. All you can do is think about her, how to make her happy, how to chase each and every one of her smiles like seeing even one more will make you live forever.

This is wrong. You know who you are and what is expected of you, your future. The king and queen will pick out a noble or royal and you’ll marry them. Odds are, they won’t even be from Ravka, and you’ll disappear from your home forever to end up on strange lands, cursed to forever wander the halls of a palace that will always be unfamiliar to you. You’ll go to sleep with a stranger by your side, and when you close your eyes at last, you’ll dream of a girl with hair like burnished copper who used to know you better than anyone else, who you’ll never see again.

The future is terrifying, so you ignore it as best you can. No marriage proposals have been finalized, so you don’t have to think about them. Why should you, in fact, when Genya is here to tease you about your speeches at upcoming political banquets and endlessly dream up new ways to style your hair so she can stay close to you for as long as possible. You don’t have to think about anything else but her. You don’t need anyone else but her.

The thoughts feel as if they might consume you whole. You’ve started sleeping less and less, because whenever you dream, your mind torments you of visions in which you are married, but not to some nameless prince, but a girl with fiery hair who smiles at you like she loves you because she does. In your dreams, you have a home together just for the two of you, a home where no one bothers you or separates you. It is a paradise, and every time you wake up, you weep for the life you could have had.

It hurts to wake up from the dream and remember that it will never be yours, so you’ve started pushing off sleep in order to avoid that awful recollection that Genya is not yours, not like that, not ever. Dark circles form under your eyes; Genya fixes them every morning, chiding you for not going to bed early enough, but you never tell her that it’s done on purpose so you won’t be haunted by her.

She must guess at it, though, or at least be able to tell that the loss of sleep is your fault, because one evening when you’re about to push off unconsciousness for yet another night, Genya knocks on your door and announces that she’ll be forcing you to take care of yourself since you seem to be allergic to doing it yourself. When you stammer about it not being proper, she just laughs and says that you’ve been doing this for years, so how could you care about it being proper now?

You’ve never been able to argue with her, not really, so you push off the last of your principles and let her lead you back to bed like you’re a child again and still in need of her to make you safe again. You still need her like that, of course, but it’s different now. Everything is different now.

You let out an involuntary sigh of relief when your head hits the pillow. It’s been a long day, of a long string of long days, and the thought of sleep is, admittedly, quite wonderful at a time like this.

“See?” Genya chides from beside you, “You can let yourself rest, Y/N, no one will die because you decided to get a proper night’s sleep.”

“I know,” you mumble.

“Then why haven’t you been allowing yourself to go to bed?” She presses.

You look away. “Just busy, I guess.”

You can feel the weight of Genya’s stare burning into the side of your head even without looking directly at her. She has always been able to see directly through your lies, hasn’t she? “Just busy, huh? With what?”

“Princess things,” you mutter vaguely. “We have to, uh, think of suitors.”

Immediately, Genya goes stiff beside you. “Suitors? Now? Isn’t that a little early?”

You hate yourself for saying it, for ruining this moment, but it was the first thing that popped into your head. “I guess, but you can’t be too sure. It’s an important decision.”

“Most marriages are meant to be happy,” Genya comments, “Will yours be happy?”

There are many answers that you should give her. Yes. Of course. I’ll find a way. However, what comes out is a desperate, broken, “No.”

Genya lets out a quiet breath, reaching out an arm to pull you closer to her. “Why not?”

Your head is tucked against her collarbone, and you can hear the even rhythm of her heartbeat like a drum guiding you to peace. You don’t have it in you to lie, not anymore, so you whisper in the stillness of this shared night:  “Because it won’t be you.”

It is silent. Absolutely silent. The sound of Genya’s heartbeat seems a hundred times louder in the face of all that quiet. Genya has never had a problem saying the perfect thing as long as you’ve known her, but right now, not a single word comes to her lips. You wait for her to tell you that it’s okay, you wait for her to say anything, but nothing happens. You imagine a thousand scenarios– her, hating you forever, breaking that promise to never leave your side because you’ve done that first by being so stupid as to fall in love– each one worse than the one before it, each one capable of tearing your heart into a million awful pieces.

You should leave. It’s your room, but she doesn’t leave. If she wanted you, she would surely have said something by now. You start to pull away, but just when you’ve lifted your head enough that you can see her face, you realize that she doesn’t look angry at all, not in the slightest. In fact, she’s– she’s smiling.

You sit up slightly. Genya follows suit. “You want it to be me?” She asks at last, voice quiet from disbelief.

“I’ve always wanted it to be you,” you confess. “Is that okay?”

You’ve never seen a sunrise as bright as her expression right now. “Y/N, it’s more than okay,” she declares. “It’s fantastic.”

“Fantastic?” You repeat carefully.

“Fantastic,” she confirms. “I love you, Y/N. I love you more than anything.”

You have heard stories of people having their best and brightest dreams come true, of explorers discovering uncharted territories, of brave generals winning wars and soldiers coming home to their sweethearts. This one night blows all of them away. Right now, you think you are happier than anyone has ever been in their lives. The only person who could rival your sheer delight is Genya, and so long as she’s here with you, you know that you won’t have to fear unhappiness ever again.

grishaverse tag list: @rogueanschel, @deadreaderssociety, @cameronsails, @mxltifxnd0m, @story-scribbler, @retvenkos, @mayfieldss, @eclliipsed, @gods-fools-heroes, @bl606dy, @auggie2000, @baju69, @crazyhearttragedy, @budugu, @aoi-targaryen

all tags list: @wordsarelife

[fanfics4world]

Hello! I love how you write Genya and I thought of something. You could write about Genya x reader x Alina. Some angs with a happy ending. Maybe the reader argues with Alexander and they comfort her. With some alcohol involved.

Not my night

Word count: 1645

Pairings: Genya Safin x Fem!Reader x Alina Starkov

Summary: After a confrontation in a bar and a fight with your brother, you finally return home, with them.

The sound of derisive laughter filled the air as you stood at the bar, drowning your sorrows in a glass of whiskey. 

Aleksander had sent you to "convince" several Grisha to join his cause, you got a few newbies, and the ones that didn't accept... well, they wouldn't be a problem anymore.

You finished your drink in one gulp and placed the glass on the bar with a thud, signaling the barmaid to give you another drink. "Another one? Don't you think it's time for you to go home dear" you looked at the waitress without saying anything, who simply shrugged and refilled your glass.

You were tired, tired of being your brother's errand dog, of doing his dirty work. "Soon everything will change" he said, "we will regain our power" he repeated. But everything remained the same, to the point that you had lost all faith in his plan, and all that was left was guilt.

The cheerful conversation around you had become a distant murmur as you became lost in your own thoughts, but you were abruptly pulled out of your reverie when a gruff voice cut through the air.

"Did you guys see that? Looks like The Darkling has brought his dog back to us. All that's missing is the sun summoner to complete his circus of freaks" sneered one of the men at the nearby table, pointing disdainfully at you.

You clenched your fists in fury, feeling the heat of anger burn in your chest. You were used to the taunts, the looks of fear and disgust, but you weren't going to let anyone make fun of Alina, especially not in her absence. You rose from your seat with determination, facing the group of men with a defiant look in your eyes.

"Do you have a problem?" one of the men asked, rising from his chair with a cocky grin on his face.

"I think I do" you replied, your voice cold as ice. "And I'm willing to solve it here and now"

"Well, well. Don't you need your brother to defend you anymore? Why don't you go back to your stupid palace, daughter of the shadow"

That was the straw that capped it all, the atmosphere in the bar charged with tension as your fist sliced the air with a swift and decisive movement. The blow carried with it all the pent-up frustration and resentment, manifesting itself in an accurate arc aimed at the man who mocked you and Alina. The fist connected with a solid impact, causing the man to recoil in surprise, his expression turning from arrogance to disbelief in an instant.

The room erupted in chaos as onlookers reacted to the sudden violence. you braced yourself for the counterattack, anticipating the man's angry response. However, before you could react, another individual stepped in, throwing a punch aimed at you from the side.

You felt the impact hit your side, a burst of pain that sent you back a few steps. However, adrenaline and determination kept you on your feet, driving you to confront your aggressors with renewed ferocity. With a snarl of rage, you counterattacked, throwing quick, precise blows towards your opponents while fending off incoming attacks.

The fight developed into a frenzy of movement and action, with you at the center of the fray. Fists flew in all directions, meeting their target with dull impacts that echoed through the air.

The sound of blows mingled with the screams of fury and grunts of pain, creating a discordant symphony of chaos and violence. You moved with agility and dexterity, dodging incoming attacks while throwing your own blows with deadly precision. Every move was calculated, every blow a step towards the victory you so craved, you didn't need your magic.

Finally, after a series of swift and brutal exchanges, the fight came to an end, leaving you gasping and covered in blood in the center of the bar. You approached the man who started it all with a determined stride, his gaze reflecting terror, which only satisfied you more.

"I'll tell you only once, speak ill of Alina again and I'll invoke the cut by splitting you in two, got it?", the man nodded frantically, which made you smile. In one swift motion, you grabbed his head and smashed it against the wall, knocking him unconscious.

Before you could do anything else, the doors of the bar opened wide, revealing a group of Grisha, followers of your brother.

Letting out a sigh, you stood up and walked out of the bar, finding your brother's carriage parked outside. You were definitely screwed.

"How dare you! Do you know the trouble you could get me into, are you incapable of behaving yourself just once or what?" Aleksander shouted, you avoided his gaze, focusing on the scenery as you made your way back to the Little Palace.

"They brought this on themselves" you said, still looking out the window, Aleksander growled, before you could react one of his shadows held your face, forcing you to look at him. "I'll tell you only once, make a fuss like today again and I'll-"

"What are you going to do, lock me up like Mom? If you get me out of the way you'll be left without your errand dog, who'll do the dirty work? Because it looks like you're afraid to get your hands dirty now-"

The sound of the slap echoed through the carriage, filling the space with a dull pop that cut through the silence like a bolt of lightning. 

Your cheek burned with the sharp pain of the slap, your brother's gaze burned with a mixture of frustration and contempt. "Don't ever speak to me like that again" he said, the carriage stopped, you had arrived.

You quickly got up and got out of the carriage, heading for the entrance, ignoring your brother's shouts, calling you angrily. When you entered, you quickly wanted to get to your room, but were stopped by your brother's strong grip. "Y/N, I swear that if-"

"No! I've had enough of all this! You may like to play the great General Kirigan, but I'm tired of following your orders and seeing nothing change!"

"And what was your plan sister? To let them exterminate us? To hunt us down until we're finished? Don't you see? With the sun summoner we will achieve our goal" you broke free from his grip, facing him full of anger.

"I swear that if you do anything to her, I will kill you Aleksander" you spat, he smiled, "Don't play the saintly little sister, your hands are as stained with blood as mine, but there is something you don't have and I do... The power to destroy you".

Before you could react, you were pushed against the wall, falling to the floor with a thud. Aleksander knelt down in front of you. "Continue to defy me and you won't like how this ends for you"

"Y/N?" you both turned your heads to see Genya and Alina in the doorway. Aleksander stood up, ignoring their presence he turned his attention to you. "You have been warned" and with that, he disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.

"God... I thought it would never end..." you stood up awkwardly, instantly feeling a pair of arms wrap around you. You looked up to see Genya's worried face, before you could say anything, Alina's hands reached for your face, examining it.

"Did he do this to you?" she asked firmly, you couldn't help but raise a small smile at her protective side. "No... well, he slapped me, but the rest were drunks in a bar" you replied.

"Am I wrong if I say you started the fight?" said Genya, which made you roll your eyes. "I may have thrown the first punch, but I swear on Ravka they started it" you replied, Alina shook her head.

As soon as Genya closed the door, you collapsed on the bed, you were exhausted, both mentally and physically. You felt the mattress sink in on both sides, you opened your eyes to see Alina and Genya watching you worriedly.

"I'm fine, I swear, it's just been a horrible night, I'm sick of following his damn orders! And when I mentioned you Alina... I don't know, I got mad, I've seen what my brother has done to so many Grisha, and the mere thought of him doing anything to you made me-"

Your rambling was interrupted by Alina's lips on yours, when you parted, Alina's hands caressed your face tenderly. "Hey, you don't have anything to worry about okay? I'm fine, I know nothing will happen to me as long as I'm with you two" Alina looked at Genya, who smiled.

You couldn't help but smile, if someone had told you that after what happened in the shadow you would find love and be happy, you would surely have punched them. But here you were, sharing your heart with the two Grishas.

"I don't know what I've done to deserve you two" you sighed. "Well, being tremendously sexy, I assure you and also being the most amazing Grisha I've ever met" Alina gave Genya a pinch, which made you laugh. "One of the most amazing" she corrected, before depositing a tender kiss on your lips.

"Because you, Y/N Kirigan, deserve the best" Alina said. "I certainly got it" you replied watching them.

Finally all the whirlwind of emotions around you calmed down, you were home, together with Alina and Genya, you couldn't wish for anything else. The blanket of the night hovered over you, warning you that it was time to end that day, lying on the bed under the covers, Genya and Alina's arms around you. You didn't know what would happen in the future, but as long as you stayed together, nothing else mattered.

A.N: Hello, the truth is that I had never written anything like this, but as angst is my daily food, I have enjoyed it very much and soon I will upload some Alina x reader. As always, thanks for the request and if you have more ideas don't hesitate to write.

[kasagia]

Can't catch me now...

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova/The Darkling x grisha! reader Summary: The Hunger Games in Ravka. 12 districts. 12 tributes. 12 mentors. 11 young people die every year. 1 winner. Aleksander was a mentor to many. But only your face will haunt him for centuries. Inspired by: The Hunger Games. I changed the world of both of them a bit. I was supposed to write something else, but this came to my mind and... Word Count: 4,9k Taglist: @aoi-targaryen @il0vebeingdelulu @chelseyyouraverageluigi Aleksander Morozova's Masterlist ~•♤♤♤•~ Main Masterlist PART 2

"The tribute from District 12! Y/N Y/L/N!"

You doubt you will ever forget this day. Or the terrified faces of Alina and Mal when the Peacekeepers pulled you out of the row and pushed you towards the stage.

An orphan from Kerazmin was sent to the Hunger Games for certain death.

The Hunger Games are held annually to commemorate the Great Battle of Ravka, in which Grisha and the inhabitants of Ravka took part. The House of Lantsov took over the country and strengthened its position by killing the rebels with the help of Grisha, led by the Darkling.

The Darkling helped them in exchange for a promise that no Grisha would ever suffer at the hands of Ravka's rulers again. His successors created the Little Palace, a safe haven for Grisha. The Lanstovs, on the other hand, continued the annual killing of 11 children from the Ravka districts. They put on a show for the people, the snobbish nobility, and the Grisha, who gloated over how the children of their captors were now fighting for their lives in the arena as they used to in the Old Ravka.

If it weren't for the Darkling's help, the world would be different.

Lantsov would not have come to power. The fold would not exist. And the Hunger Games would never have happened.

"12. We are in captial." you smile thankfully and nod to the boy from District 11.

You disembark with the other tybutes, and each of you holds your breath as you see the gates of Os Alta in the distance. Your district was poor, like mainly all of them, and Karemzin was certainly not the most beautiful. But the forest around the city gave you a strange feeling of peace. Home.

"Get in line! You will be checked by medics! We don't want any pandemics in the capital because we brought some rats to play with."

Each of you is bursting with anger at the soldier's words. But with so many Peacekeepers around you, none are brave enough to disobey orders.

You're last in line. You are waiting for a woman to approach you. You know she is Grisha from her clothes—a beautiful red kefta. You feel nauseous as the woman's hands touch your forehead, but you stand still and straight. You definitely won't show them you're scared, especially Grisha.

Grisha frowns. He nods at the peacekeeper. You feel yourself turning pale, your hands clasped behind your back, shaking slightly as you realise something is wrong. You create various scenarios in your head, and when Peacekeeper reaches for something attached to his hip, you already say goodbye to life. You raise your eyebrows in surprise when he pulls out something else instead of a gun.

"I'm not a Grisha." you say firmly, recognising the device the Grisha's use to test if someone has the ability to practice their 'little science'. "I was examined when I was young."

"We shall see." the healer who checked you says.

She nods at the soldiers. You are pushed into carriages. 6 people to one. You're a bit cramped, but it's better than sharing one carriage. You take the opportunity to fall asleep, resting your head against the window, as the quiet conversations and the sound of squeaking wheels hitting the path in the forest lull you to sleep.

You gather in a large room that is too over-decorated for your taste. You were bathed and changed into new clothes, all to appear before the king and the inhabitants of the capital.

You stand tense, playing with the sleeves of your dress. You've watched the Hunger Games once. The tybutits gathered in the great hall before the king and presented their image to Ravka and its inhabitants. The one who sold best gained the most sponsors. And therefore, food, water, medicines, and weapons in the arena.

But apart from the soldiers, there was no one around you.

You shiver slightly when suddenly the door bursts open and several soldiers dressed in black enter. The oprichniki. You swallow as, between them, you see the Darkling himself.

You saw him once in the newspaper at Prince Vasily's funeral.

He was terrifying.

There was an aura of power and composure around him. He dominated a room full of people, and seeing him in person only strengthened your belief that the man in front of you was pure danger and unlimited power.

Rumours spread throughout the country that he would one day depose Lantsovs from the throne. And no one would be surprised if someone from the Darkling's family line finally came to power.

"General Kirigan!" the oprichnik shouts.

The soldiers salute him, and some of the tributes bow. You stand straight, watching him carefully as he slowly walks towards the centre of the room. He stands before you and looks at you all. His dark eyes meet yours in a burning gaze a few moments longer than the rest. He clears his throat, breaking the absolute silence, and begins his speech.

"It is a great honour to take part in the Hunger Games. It is an even greater honour to survive them and become a resident of Os Alta, so do not waste your chance. You will soon go to a meeting with your mentors and then to the throne room, where the king will officially open this year's Hunger Games. You will have two weeks to prepare for entering the arena. But before that, like every year, we will take you through a small test. Don't worry, it will only take a moment." He claps his hands, making some of you tremble. He chuckles, darkly amused, and looks at you one by one again. "Who's first? Maybe District 1?"

Everyone's eyes turn to the little boy. The kid is maybe 12 years old, no more. On shaky legs, he approaches the Darkling. You clench your jaw as you watch the amusement in the peacekeepers' eyes. At least the Darkling and his people had the decency not to scare the boy more or make fun of him.

The Darkling pierces his skin with his ring, creating a small wound. The boy lets out a small squeal of pain but doesn't remove his hand. The Darkling whispers something to him and gives him his black handkerchief. The boy takes it hesitantly, thanks it, presses it to the wound, and returns to his place in line.

And so on. Some come back with a larger wound on their arm, others with a slight bite, like a little boy. Until it's your turn.

You approach the Darkling, staring at the window behind him and the view of the forest from which you came here. You stand in front of him, waiting for him to pierce your skin. But it's not like that. An uncomfortable, disquieting silence descends. You shift your gaze to him and can't help but shiver as you find his dark irises staring intently at you.

"What are you?" he asks, still staring at you, searching for something you can't quite place. You don't know why he does it. He didn't speak to the rest of the tibutes.

"Y/N Y/L/N from district 12." you answer his strange question, proud that your voice isn't hoarse. The last time you drank water was three days ago.

He smirks at your response and at the fact that you keep his gaze on you, unlike the rest of the people who stood in front of him. He is partly disappointed that you're doing it. He decides it would be nice to grab your chin and force you to look into his eyes. But your supposedly brave attitude is a pleasant refreshment for him.

"I asked you… what are you?" he repeats it in a monotone tone of voice.

"This year's tribute, sir." you say, confused, not knowing what exactly he wants to hear from you or what he is asking you about.

"That I can see. Answer the question. WHAT are you?" he insists and you can't find a good answer.

An orphan? Nobody's daughter? A friend?

"I... no one." you say, staring into his dark eyes like hypnotised.

You feel incredibly stupid and tremble as the soldiers' laughter echoes throughout the room.

But the Darkling doesn't join them, there's no trace of amusement in his eyes, now almost black as his shadows, as he watches you carefully.

He's judging you. You don't know why his attention is fully on you or why he needs someone… as worthless as you, but everything changes the moment he raises his hands and summons his shadows.

They surround the soldiers, immediately silencing them, and there is a deafening silence in the room again. You feel like it's just you and him and no one else.

"Interesting... we shall see and find out." he gently brushes his finger against your wrist. "Now, your sleeve, if you allow."

He doesn't wait for your answer or movement and rolls up the sleeve of your dress himself, with a carefulness that amazes you. The Darkling is known for many things, but certainly not for any form of gentleness.

You wait for the pain that will come from his ring piercing your skin. But the wound he gives you is not that terrible compared to others he made for the rest of the tributes. And the strangest thing about it all is that not a single drop of blood leaks from it.

You feel a strange warmth spread throughout your body where he touches you. He tightens his grip on your shoulder more, as if he's searching for something. The warmth is spreading deeper within you until suddenly you feel it piercing right through your heart.

You close your eyes at the intense feeling that washes over you. You stop breathing as suddenly the room fills with blue light emitting from you. The wind picks up, the ground shakes under your feet, and the small pieces of plaster begin to fall off the ceiling. You're not sure, but you think you hear someone screaming echoing through the room.

You meet the Darkling's gaze. He stares at you with some kind of pride and satisfaction. Like a predator when he finally catches his great prey. You pull away your hand from his grip, still holding defiantly his gaze. You probably wouldn't have been so brave under different circumstances, but after all, you were a participant in the Hunger Games. You were already dead anyway.

"Wed'ma." whispers spread throughout the room as everything returned to normal. The other Grisha help one of them, the one closest to you, get up from his lap. He's breathing quickly, he's pale, and you see a trickle of blood coming from his mouth. You realize that you are not bleeding like the tributes before you did from the wound inflicted by the Darkling.

"She is not a witch. Show a little respect. The Merzost Holder is standing in front of you." he announces. Grisha falls silent, staring at you in shock and awe as the others give him confused looks. Including you.

"What the blody hell?" you whisper, but he either doesn't hear you or ignores you, sending everyone else out of the room. Only you and his oprichniki remain.

When the door closes with a loud bang, you somehow regain the ability to speak. You straighten up, looking up to meet the Darkling's dark eyes still fixed on you. You shiver, swallowing, as you gather the courage to ask him a question.

"What the fuck is going on here?" he grimaces at your aggressive tone and crude swearing but decides to ignore it and answer your question. He decides he still has plenty of time to train you once your emotions fade away.

"You wield the merzost. Power from the borderline of little science. Its layers… are within you. The saints have marked you as the living source of this. A little science prevents us from creating new things, and trying to use Merzost is mostly deadly, if not disastrous, for those who try to use it, but you… you can manipulate it to your heart's content. You hold the magic that is hidden at the heart of the world—the power of creation, of life over death."

"I am not a Grisha." he laughs loudly and mockingly at your words, making you shiver.

"Wasn't this little show enough to convince you? It was definitely for me. I've seen many Grisha, but you're one of a kind for now. Your power may have been unheard of, but you exist in our literature. As a myth. A legend, a bedtime story for children. Our ancestors believed that one day a Grisha would appear so powerful that they would be able to move the sea, destroy continents, and restore lives. That there will appear a saviour who will give us eternal greatness and make us receive the respect we deserve. We have been waiting a long time for you, miss Y/L/N."

"Well, then you'll have to wait a little longer. I'm a tribute. I'll probably die in the games."

"You don't think I'm going to let my Grisha be part of this, do you?" he asks you mockingly. Before you can answer, the door opens again, and two heartrenders walk in. "Excellent timing. Ivan, Fedyor, you will escort Miss Y/L/N to the Little Palace. Make sure our Merzost Holder gets all the amenities she needs after the traumatic time she endured in the district and on the way here."

Your first thought is to resist him and run away from there as far as possible, but there is nothing you can do. It's either follow them or go back to the Hunger Games, which you don't want.

So you hide your pride in your pocket and walk between the two men, guided by the Darkling's watchful, careful gaze that makes you shiver. You sigh in relief as soon as the door closes behind you and you're free from his dark eyes.

But something tells you that you won't be free from this dangerous man's company for long.

Especially when, after he touched you, you felt some strange connection to him that you couldn't explain. Something that made you more terrified than your untamed, wild and new power.

The chamber they take you to is ridiculously luxurious. The amount of gold and decorations in it alone could feed your entire orphanage for years.

As a poor orphan, you learned to measure the value of things like food and warm clothes. Probably like other residents of the districts. Only in the capital and larger cities did people have higher values than survival.

Your thoughts returned to Mal and Alina. You hoped that the two of them could handle it until you figured out how to get out of the mess you were in.

You look at your hands, reflecting on everything that has happened in these few days. From a poor orphan, you became a tribute in the Hunger Games and then the holder of some strange Grisha's power that you had no idea about.

And the worst part of it all was that you were still so damn hungry.

Suddenly, someone knocks on your door. Before you can answer, the Darkling himself enters, followed by a red-haired woman in a white kefta and two maids. They both hold the trays, put them on the table, and leave silently, closing the door behind them, leaving you with a woman and a shadow summoner.

The redhead walks up to you and holds your chin, watching you closely and tugging on your hair, tilting your head back. You aggressively push her hands away from you and step back.

"Ouch. I thought districts taught some culture, right?"

"Sorry, I don't feel very cultured when a strange woman comes up to me and plays with me like with some rag doll."

The Darkling chuckles softly as he sits down in one of the plush armchairs. His posture seems a little more relaxed than when he entered the room earlier. There is no longer anger or desire for committing murder on his face.

"Calm down, little wellspring. Genya is here to… gently improve your appearance." he says, pointing at your outfit. You blush slightly at his remark, but you realise that anyone in your situation would look... like they took it out of a dog's throat.

"What for?" you ask suspiciously, crossing your arms, which somehow makes him more amused. He's slowly starting to irritate you.

"And here I thought you'd be grateful that we wanted to get you to… a more human state." he says, revealing the first tray. The black gloves he wore contrasted with the gold tray lid, catching your attention. You wondered why he needed them on such a warm day...

The smell of food hits your nostrils, making saliva pool in your mouth and making you forget about anything else. Your stomach screams at you to eat the food given to you as quickly as possible, but your willpower and common sense win.

"What do you want?" you ask firmly and look at him defiantly.

"The king, despite my numerous persuasions, did not agree to... remove you from the Hunger Games. It probably has something to do with... the type of power you have. The old fool is probably afraid that we will start a rebellion that you will lead. He hopes that you will die in the games, and this will take care of itself for him."

"He is right. We know I have no chance of surviving." the calmness with which you say this surprises him. His mocking, confident demeanour crumbles for a moment as he looks at you carefully, analysing this new side of you he didn't see yet.

However, by the smirk that forms on his lips, you realise that he isn't losing interest in you at all. Your mysteriousness only further ignites the fire of curiosity within him. And being close to him is the last thing you want right now.

"Maybe not alone, but with me as your mentor? We shall see..." he says thoughtfully, his eyes piercing right through you. You lose this little staring contest, feeling too uncomfortable under his scrutinising gaze. "Now eat. You must have strength. And Genya will improve your appearance in the meantime. Don't make this already... demanding task more difficult for her."

You sit on the chair that is furthest from him and take some food from the tray. You chew in silence, watching the two of them. When you're full enough that your stomach won't growl, you decide to put the food aside to share something with him that he probably won't like.

"I won't win. You better get ready for it." You say with great confidence and he raises his eyebrows.

"And why is that, if I may ask?" he asks mockingly, as if he already knew that your victory was a foregone conclusion.

"I am not going to kill anybody during the games." you state, and Genya, who was combing your hair, freezes.

You both look at the Darkling, waiting for his reaction, who for now stares at you in surprise. He clenches his jaw and fists as he realises the meaning of your words. You see anger in his dark eyes.

"Are you mad?" he asks surprisingly calmly, probably surprising both of you. However, you see shadows begin to flow from his hands, circling around the feet of the chair he was sitting in as he gave you a look that could kill and certainly scare many.

"Probably."

"Listen to me carefully. We didn't wait hundreds of years for you to come here with your bratty, saintly attitude, willing to martyr yourself in the name of nothing at the stupid Hunger Games. You're going to win it, and you're going to do everything I tell you to do with a damn smile on your pretty face that will charm sponsors enough to invest money in you. Do you understand, underdog from 12?"

His angry speech and growl through his teeth do not intimidate you. He needs you alive so he won't hurt you, and you'll die soon anyway, so what difference does it make if you show him respect? You lean towards him slowly, bravely enduring his angry glare and returning it with your own.

"You can kiss my ass, shadow man." you speak slowly, loudly, and clearly.

You hear Genya sigh softly behind you, and you see him frown in anger. He throws the tray (which was still full of food and on the table) at you. He leaves your rooms without looking at you and slams the door hard as he takes his shadows with him.

"That… that was really stupid and brave." Genya says that once she has recovered from his small outburst of anger.

She saw people who, for less, were cut in half with the cut form from his shadows. But there you were, coming out of the verbal fight with him without a scratch because you managed to jump away from the tray he threw at you.

"I am dead anyway." you say, shrugging. There was no way you were getting out of this alive.

Genya smiles at you sadly, comfortingly in a twisted way, and gently caresses your cheek with her hand.

"Come. We'll make you look breathtaking before the presentation." she says, sitting you in another chair as she begins to prepare you to perform in front of Ravka's nobility.

The way she talked to you afterwards made you feel calmer and more comfortable. But you couldn't help but feel remorse when the maids came to clean up the food and immediately threw it in the trash like it was nothing. So many people could feed off this...

You came back tired from the presentation. You had to say a few words about yourself, which was extremely difficult for you, and after that, the host mentioned that you were Grisha.

The first Grisha in the Hunger Games.

You know from Genya that this information made some sponsors, curious about your unusual case, invest some money in you. Enough to cover the cost of creating your kefta and providing you with other outfits for future Hunger Games promotional events.

You think you have a few weeks before going to the arena. Before that stupid game for the royalty and nobilities.

You were preparing to go to bed when they allowed you to stay in a Little Palace as a sign of respecting the rules between the Lantsov dynasty and Darkling, when suddenly someone knocked on your door.

Whoever it was, they didn't wait for an answer.

The Darkling walked into your chamber, closing the door behind him. He looked at you and then sat on one of the armchairs, not taking his eyes from you even for a while.

"Normal people wait to be invited before entering." you say, crossing your arms as you stare at him expectantly as he sits back and takes the grapes in his gloved hands.

"Normal people don't want to die, but here you are." he replies sarcastically, at which you roll your eyes. A little more confident, you take a step towards him, giving him a defiant look as he raises his curious gaze at you.

"What do you want?"

"To discuss tomorrow's tactics with you." he replies calmly, eating a grape. Your gaze lingers on his lips for a moment before you meet his piercing, dark eyes again.

"Do you think that after your behaviour, I will cooperate with you in any way?"

"I shouldn't have reacted like that. Not many people surprise me, Miss Y/L/N. Let's just say… I'm not used to having someone who rebels against me in such a brazen way." he says, looking you up and down appraisingly. You somehow stop yourself from trembling under his gaze and calm yourself down enough to answer without an ounce of trembling in your voice.

"You haven't seen my true impudence yet, General."

"I guess… Why are you so eager to die?" the sudden change of topic causes you to frown in confusion.

He's the last person you want to talk to about why you don't want to kill. You won't open up. Certainly not in front of him—the man who killed thousands without blinking his eye.

"I don't want to die." you decide to give him that simple answer before you also reach for the grapes he's eating and take some for yourself.

You don't gorge yourself in front of him, even though your stomach is growling. You won't give him any more reasons to treat you like an animal. The people of Os'Alta had enough of them anyway.

"But you say you won't kill anyone. That you are going to die." he reminds you, gently pushing the bowl of fruit towards you, which you miss as you think about what answer to give him.

"Because I know that will happen. I won't survive long without killing another, but it doesn't mean that I want to die. I just have humanity in me. Not like the others."

"It will be only a matter of time. Your behaviour will change in the arena. The will to survive is greater in crisis situations than any morality. I assure you. I've seen many good men turn into pure animals after they went to the arena." the faraway look in his eyes as he stares at the fireplace behind you tells you he's not telling you the whole truth. Maybe he saw it, but definitely not in the arena. You wonder what he could mean.

"I would rather die than lose who I am." you answer with all the confidence you can muster.

"You have no choice. I will drag you out of this arena by myself if I have to. You are too important for Grisha to just die." his words make you angry.

You know that some plans for you appeared in his head the moment he somehow activated the merzost within you. You could have seen it in his eyes then. Their strange source of ancient magic was inside you, and he wanted to use it for his plans. But you don't want to be some mythical fairy tale creature for Grisha.

"I am not a hero or any other saint!" you growl through your teeth in anger and clench your fists at your sides.

Unbeknownst to you, shadows begin to thicken around you, and the room plunges into darkness. You only realise what's happening to you when the Darkling stares at you in silent admiration and curiosity, a small smile tugging at his lips as he rubs his chin and his rough, short beard in pure, growing interest.

"You will be whoever I want you to be. Do you understand me?" he asks, ignoring for now this little show of your power.

You have no idea how you managed to amplify his shadows and make them more visible to you. Apparently, you had to learn to control this strange thing before you did something terrible. Again.

You shiver, pushing away the unwanted memory and instead focusing on your anger at him. You decide to respond very eloquently to his threat/order.

"Fuck you."

He just laughs at you as he stands up. Only a small coffee table separated you, and you again realised how powerful and intimidating he was as he towered over you while you still sat on the couch. You feel a chill against your ankle as his shadows gather at his and your feet before disappearing.

You stand up as he walks around the coffee table and walks over to you. He lifts your chin with his gloved hand, forcing you to look into his eyes. You don't feel that strange electricity like before when his skin touched yours, but the tension between us is still palpable. At least for you. Your fingers tingle to touch him, to run your hand over his shadows. You know that the moment you do this, darkness will fill the room again.

You have no idea why, but the thought suddenly seems exciting. You have a strange desire to create something from its shadows. Model them at your discretion. And you're more confused than the intensity with which his eyes stare into yours.

"I give you two days. You'll change your mind, little wellspring. Your power is too great to simply let it waste in the grave. Think about it." he says this and walks past you, gently hitting your shoulder with his. You turn and watch as he leaves and closes the door behind him, leaving you alone in the empty room.

And when you are finally alone, you allow yourself to pounce on the food that has been left for you. Once you've eaten your fill, you start to realise what kind of crazy sh*t you've gotten yourself into.

You look at your hands and close your eyes, pressing them together. You focus on the strange tingling feeling on the inside. You open one eye and gasp as you see the black mass—the thread connecting both of your arms—that is cool to the touch.

A silent scream escapes your lips as you shake your hands hysterically, trying to get rid of it. The black mass disappears the moment you lose your focus. You put your hand to your mouth, letting yourself kneel on the floor as you sob as quietly as possible. You can't hold back your tears as the memories of blood, screaming, metal, and the feeling of shortness of breath come back to you. You rock back and forth, taking shaky breaths. You only wake up from your trance when the first rays of sunlight hit your eyes.

And so goes your first night in the Little Palace.

[sissytobitch10seconds]

Birdsong: Hollow Moon

Fandom: Grishaverse: Six of Crows Summary: Jesper likes taking little odd jobs, they let him meet new people. Very pretty people, that he likes collecting. Despite the fact that he already has four of them waiting for him back home, he can't help but flirt with the woman that just walked into his friend's bar. Warnings: implied unhealthy relationships, implied ableism, alcohol, and implied sexual content Word Count: 6,388 Ship(s): Nina Zenik/Jesper Fahey/Kaz Brekker/Wylan Van Eck/Inej Ghafa/Matthias Helvar

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A/N: I edited and got this ready to be uploaded on the same day that I'm posting it so if there are typos and spelling errors please be kind to me because I wasn't able to spend as much time on it as I wanted. I hope that you guys enjoy this installment! Stay sissy and bitchy everyone <3

Jesper Fahey had been taking odd jobs for as long as he could remember. Back when he was living with his father, across the country from where he was now, he had always signed up to do whatever had sounded interesting. Several of the farmhands that were the same age as him at that time had dedicated jobs that they had to check on every day, but Colm understood that wasn’t right for his son. Jesper was allowed to drift from job to job as long as he completed the tasks correctly and on time. It was what had worked best for him, which is why his schooling had struggled so much before he had the supporte he needed from his partners.

Jesper’s favorite job was working with the local theater near where he lived. It was the first place that he had managed to secure a job while trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life now that he was no longer twenty miles from the nearest other living person. Poppy was the child of a family friend of theirs and had taken him in, but had also pushed him towards the theater. 

He liked acting well enough, but memorizing the lines under the more strict directors that wouldn’t let him improvise was dull so he had to make sure that he avoided them. That limited the amount of acting jobs that he was allowed to take, but he was good when it came to the props as well. The stage crew was always so light that he was allowed to drift from job to job to job while completing about half of each. Sometimes he would leave them and someone else would come and pick them up, sometimes he found himself scrambling to get them finished the night before they had to be used. He liked the rush-rush-rush and changing nature of the theater jobs. It was alway something different and new, never the same show and rarely ever with the same premise.

He had a soft spot for the specific theater that he had been working in not just because it was the first place that really let him thrive as an adult, but also because it was the job that he had when he met Matthias. The other man had just barely moved from Denmark and was struggling to speak English, let alone hold down a job that required him to decipher the language through reading as well. Jesper had been a wonderful conversationalist and helped him adapt to a culture that he didn’t really understand.

They had both been rather lost in the big city, Jesper having grown up on a farm and the new place that Matthias lived being so different than his last one. It didn’t take long before they became as thick as thieves, and then only a week after that was when they had shared their first kiss. Things had been a little complicated in the moment since Jesper was also navigating the relationship that was beginning to develop between him and his two best friends in the entire world.

Tonight brought him a job that he was enjoying at least a little bit, though he was excited for it to end. A friend of his owned a bar close to the one that his boyfriend ran, so Jesper had agreed to be a stand in bartender during the interim of the last one quitting and the owner being able to hire a new one. He hadn’t anticipated that quitting to happen directly when Inej was getting back from the shows that she had been doing in Germany, which made him a little antsy to get back to his home.

They had all finished moving into the estate that he and Wylan had cleared out, which meant that they were all finally back together. It was a bit of a steep learning curve but they each had their own rooms and space so that they could be away from each other when they needed it. Still, of course, they were living together which meant that they had to learn and work around the new quirks of every person in the house.

Jesper had tended a bar before, usually at the Crow Club after Kaz asked him to with those puppy dog eyes that he just couldn’t ignore. Kaz was better at begging with his eyes than Matthias’ dog Djel, which was saying something.

This establishment was different than Kaz’s in the aesthetic and the types of people that it attracted. The layout had tables scattered around the main floor, all of them the same color of dark cherry wood with a different numbers of chairs littered around them. They were all stocked with a bowl in the center that could be filled with peanuts, fries, or chips depending on what they ordered. The walls were lined with booths that had red coverings and silver outlines, along with a couple of tasteful art pieces. There were also TVs littered around the space, pointed in different direction so that people could catch the news or a variety of sports games playing on the cable channels that the bar paid for. The bar itself had the three regular flavors of juice that were mixed into cocktails, as well as the soda gun. The rows and rows of alcohol behind him were kept in place with a thin clear plastic band so that he could see the label for when someone asked for something specific. In front of him were a couple of stools for people to sit on, which Jesper half hated despite his general love for people and communication.

He had been serving drinks to people for the better part of two hours and was growing bored with it. He wished that he could switch the TV to something else to distract him from the growing pile of texts in his pocket. Inej and Wylan were being bad influences on each other and encouraging him to skip out on the rest of his job and come home early so that he could spend time with them. Inej had only been back home for a couple of days so having her around them was relatively novel again, which made the fact that he was away from her during that returning honeymoon period all the more annoying.

The people milling around the bar were still far and few between for how early it was in the night. He’d see a much larger surge in the crowd leaning towards midnight, when the bar closed. His friend owned one of those places where working people were supposed to come after they got dinner with their friends to get a drink before they returned to the monotony of their lives. That meant that he was making a lot of whisky and not a lot of the cocktails that he enjoyed making.

He had recently been experimenting with his recipe’s on Matthias’ behalf to try and find him a non-alcoholic version of the drink that he had gotten at The Blue Jay when he and Kaz had met up a business partner a few weeks ago.

Despite the time, things seemed like they were about to get a lot more interest as a big group entered into the bar. There were two men and four women from what Jesper could see. He didn’t like to assume that kind of thing more than he had to, but he also liked to looked for the stereotypical dramas that played out in a lot of people’s lives. He was always open to being corrected, but speculating about what was happening in groups he wasn’t a part of was one of the only things that kept him sane during the monotony of this kind of job.

Jesper continued to work on the drinks that had been ordered from him, keeping his eye on the group as they found one of the booths towards the back of the bar that was big enough to fit everyone. They were discussing something between themselves, obviously already very close based on the way that they were knocking against each other and grabbing things out of each other’s hands.

It reminded him of being back home with his partners, which made his heart ache. He didn’t realize how much being out of the house at night just a few days after Inej came back home was going to be tearing him up, but it was.

He tried to distract himself as he focused on making the drink that he had been sipping on himself for the last hour. He made a point of not drinking when he was at work even if Kaz could very easily coerce him into having a drink or two when they were having date nights, but he would allow himself one if he fucked up a cocktail in a very slight way. It felt like a shame to waste alcohol and juice just because he had accidentally messed up the ratio away from the vodka.

“Barkeep!” a sultry voice from behind him said. It was rich and deep in a way that would have made a wonderful second alto if she was singing, and entrenched in a very nice accent.

“Yes?” he asked, a smirk playing over his lips as he turned around to face her. She had the looks to match the voice that she had, absolutely gorgeous and very obvious that she was somewhat aware of that.

She had long brown hair that was curled around the side of her face and woven intricately back into a bun on the back of her head. Her jawline was just sharp enough to be accentuated with a tiny bit of bronzer but still soft enough that it highlighted the beautiful plumpness of her body. She had a smokey eyeshadow and perfect catwing eyeliner to bring out the pop of her gray-blue eyes and a matching plumb lipstick. She was wearing a black suit jacket with nothing underneath other than a red lace bra that clung to her skin in just the right way, flush but not squishing anything. Jesper could see the sneaking curve of a feather tattoo resting above her heart, hidden mostly but still visible enough to be tantalizing.

“You’re not the regular bartender,” she commented when he turned around fully.

Jesper pouted at that, tilting his head to the side, “Sorry to disappoint.”

“I don’t think that you could disappoint me if you tried, darling,” she replied easily as she folded her arms on the edge of the bar and leaned forward. 

Jesper had been working with enough sexually promiscuous and exploitative people for long enough that he could tell the difference between someone trying to hit on him and someone trying to get something out of him. She didn’t want free drinks like the last group of women he had tried to flirt with while bartending had, she was genuinely interesting him.

She sighed as she toyed with a single lock of her hair that had been left out of the updo, winding it around her finger until she released it so that it bounced next to her naturally freckled face. “I do have to actually tell you what we want now, though.”

“Oh, do you come here often?” Jesper asked. He had been washing down the bar, and it felt oh-so-terribly cliche to do so, but he moved his arms out wide with the towel grasped in one hand so that he was lower down and closer to her.

The woman tilted her head to the side as a beautiful little smile toyed at her lips. She was clearly enjoying the attention that she was getting, and he loved giving it to her. “I played a show here last week. Something small and intimate to help drive up nighttime numbers,” she supplied. “A friend of mine recently went through a bad breakup and she liked this place so we decided to come back this evening.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. About your friend, that is,” Jesper pointed with his head back towards the table where the rest of her group was waiting. He knew that she had come in with them because he had gotten a decently long look at them, but he was glad he got to see her much closer than he had before. “I could never be sorry about you coming here again because it meant that I got the pleasure of meeting you.”

A rosy glint took over her cheeks and the catlike smile painted on her plumb-colored lips widened. “I can’t say that I’m particularly sad about what happened to the other bartender either, you’re much nicer than he was.”

“I do try my best for pretty ladies such as yourself. Can’t say that I take great care of the dodgy old men that come to leer at the sports,” he smirked back in reply. He was, of course, at least courteous to all of the patrons that came in so that that bar could keep up its business, but it was more fun to pretend that he wasn’t to her.

“Well, I do feel special,” she tilted her head down towards one shoulder as she did a half-shrug. The gesture was cute and it made Jesper feel warm inside to know that it was directed specifically towards him.

“Good, someone was pretty as you certainly does deserve to feel special,” he smiled. He remembered that he was there as a worker and not another patron, so he did have to work. “Now, what can I get you?”

“Well, the table wants a load of shots while they decide what they want to be drinking all evening. And then I’ll just take some soda water for myself,” she replied, a little bit of a pout taking over her beautiful features.

“Soda water?” Jesper wrinkled his nose. He tried not to judge other people for what they wanted, but it was such a bland drink for a woman that outwardly seemed so rich and complicated. He knew that type of dichotomy did exist in some people but it was also the first time that someone had ordered carbonated water from him while he was tending.

The woman sighed, toying with the strand of hair again as she shifted her weight to her other foot. “Unfortunately, I’m the designated driver so I will not be drinking tonight. Someone has to stay sober enough to make sure that Nikolai and Zoya don’t fall into bed with each other. Again,” she cringed, wrinkling her nose cutely.

Jesper had the impulse to kiss her on the nose for just a moment before he pushed the thought from his mind. He had developed crushes on people very quickly before, but that had mostly faded now that he had four partners of his own waiting for him at home. They kept him busy and fulfilled enough things in his life that he never felt like he had to continue looking for anything else.

He cleared his throat and stood back up. He grabbed one of the shot trays from behind him, a wooden plate with indents for the glasses. He placed ten of the shot glasses down in it while he asked, “How about you tell me your favorite cocktail and I’ll make a virgin?”

“Are you really going to be able to do that?” she asked, eyeing him nervously.

Jesper tried not to be offended. A lot of the other bartenders that he had met were so focused in with the alcohol that they didn’t know what kind of flavors could supplement them when it was removed. He also had no precedent with her, so while he hated people doubting his ability to do his work he couldn’t really fault her for it. So he smiled confidently at her and said, “Yes, I can.” 

And, because he had so much trouble being able to contain himself, he said, “One of my boyfriends recently got into vintage cocktails. He doesn’t do very well when it comes to kitchen work and doesn’t want to be getting wasted every night so I’ve been making him virgin cocktails for the better part of two weeks.” It was a bit of a curveball when it came to flirting. Matthias liked to hide the fact that he was polyamorous until he was sure that the relationship was going to lead to something romantic or sexual because his Christian upbringing made him feel so awkward about it. Kaz never flirted with anyone, which was probably for the best. Inej and Wylan usually brought it up towards the end of the first date that they were having with a prospective partner, which didn’t happen very often. Jesper liked to throw it in at the beginning of his flirting so that he could talk about the partners that he adored without it convincing the person that he was pursuing that he was off the market.

She raised her brow at him, “Just had to slip that in there, didn’t you?” Her accent got thicker when she teased him, which he thought was absolutely adorable.

“I thought that it was worth mentioning,” he winked. He was letting the flirting go on a little bit longer than he probably should have as some of the other patrons were nearing the end of their drinks, which usually meant that he’d have an uptick in things that he was supposed to do. Still, he was validating it to himself with the fact that he had brought the shot set and the glasses over with him.

Something that he couldn’t quite read crossed her face as she stood up to her full height. Jesper wondered what kind of heals she was wearing and how tall she would be compared to Inej and Matthias, the extreme end of the spectrum in height out of his polycule. He hadn’t been able to see the bottom half of her outfit when she was walking over to him since he had been trying to distract himself from the heavy heart in his chest.

She glanced back towards the booth where her friends were getting restless before she drilled those piercing eyes back on him. He felt like she was trying to peel him apart so that she could see exactly what made him tick, examining the mechanisms of his heart with the eye of a clockmaker. “You’re not trying to flirt with me so that you can get to one of my friends, right?”

“Darling, if I wanted to flirt with one of those boys over there then I would flirt with them directly,” Jesper said honestly. It amazed him that someone was divinely beautiful as her thought that she would be passed up for the others that she had come into the bar with. While they were generally handsome, none of them held the mystique and grace that she did. 

“Really? You’re not trying to make me feel so special and doted on that I get flustered and send someone else to the bar so you can pounce on them?” she asked, eyeing him suspiciously. “Because Nikolai isn’t the type that you should date and David is engaged.”

“Do you think that I’m gay?” Jesper asked, realizing the mistake that he had made. In trying to tell her a little bit more about his romantic life to show that he was interested, he had made the mistake of leaving out the fact that he could be and was interested in her that way. It was a flub that he had made before, and it would not be the last time, he was sure.

She raised her perfectly penciled brow at him as she placed both of her palms flat down on the table. “What else was that line about your boyfriends supposed to do for me?”

“I may have misspoke,” he replied awkwardly. “I was simply trying to come on to you a bit harder, beautiful. You’re a very pretty woman, it’s easy to get tongue tied,” he winked at her.

Her shoulders dropped as she became more relaxed. He wondered how often someone had overlooked her despite her obvious beauty and wit, to try and get to someone that she cared about. She tilted her head to the side again and said, “I’m Nina.”

“Jesper,” he replied as he mirrored her look. “Now what can I get you, before my boss decides that I’ve done a horrible job and you have to spend the next night getting to know a new bartender.”

She laughed at that, her beautiful eyes sparkling. “I’ll take a virgin pina colada if you think that you can make that.”

“What kind of shots would your friends like?” he asked as he got out the class that her served those drinks in.

“Vodka,” she supplied. She moved to one of the stools and got up on it so that she was able to continue to talk with Jesper without being in the way of the other patrons that might need to come and speak with him. 

He got out the vodka that they kept for when people didn’t give them a specific brand and then filled up all ten shots easily. He moved the plate up towards her on the bar as he got to work on mixing her drink. “Is this something that you do often?” Nina asked, placing her elbow up on the bar so that she could rest her head on her hand.

Jesper shrugged, glancing at her while trying to focus mostly on his work. “I have a bartending license, if that’s what you’re asking,” he replied. “I don’t usually hop from bar to bar to startle people that are used to seeing a certain face back here. Though mine is usually an upgrade.”

“It certainly is for me,” she winked playfully at him.

He felt heat pool in his veins, dripping down from his heart. The longer that he spent time around her, the harder it was to deny. Nina was magnetic. 

“Well I’m glad that I can be a bit of change in decor for you. You said that you had played here the other week?” he asked, trying to get to know her better. The flirting in between the conversation was usually his favorite part, but flirting just to flirt got a little boring after some time.

She toyed with the edge of the plate with one hand as she said, “I’m in a band with all of the people I came in with, sort of. Alina, Zoya, and Nikolai are my bandmates but Genya styles us to make sure that we don’t look like a complete disaster.” 

He wasn’t able to put the names to faces, but it was nice to be supplied with a bit of information anyway. “I could never imagine you being anything other than immaculate.”

“You’re quite the sweet talker,” she commented. “Not that I’m complaining now that I know you’re not trying to get me involved in yet another relationship drama I can’t even have the fun of being part of.”

“Two of your bandmates sleeping together whenever they’re left drunk or unsupervised does sound stressful,” he nodded. Before he had gotten into his current polycule, it had been a hassle to try and navigate the friends-with-benefits relationships that he tended to become a part of back when he was doing theater full time. 

“It’s not quite that,” she rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed at even the memories that were popping up in the back of her mind. “I do love my bandmates and I’m so happy that we’re back together but Nikolai and Zoya having the weird on-again-off-again thing that they do is the least of my worries.”

“Do tell,” he supplied as he finished up with her drink.

She took the glass with her nimble fingers and then smiled. “You better hope that this is good enough for me to want another so that you can find out more of my drama,” she winked. She slipped off of the barstool and disappeared to the back of the bar with what she had ordered.

Despite barely knowing anything about Nina, he desperately hoped that she would like what he had made her. Both so that she had something to cheer her up since she seemed to be so upset with the way that her life was going and so that she would come back to talk with him more.

---

Jesper tried to get lost in his work. He made sure that he was focusing on all of the patrons equally instead of keeping his eyes glued on Nina, who was sitting with her friends and sipping on her drink. She had sent the blond man over to the bar so that he could order martinis for the drinking members of the group, but Jesper had made sure to just be professional with him as he was taking the order and preparing it. He wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a test of some sort so that she could confirm that he was focused on her, but he hoped that he had passed it.

Given that it was a weekday, even the large rush of people towards the evening who wanted to pregame before they went clubbing was relatively small. Jesper had to card two teenagers that thought enough makeup and a suit would make them look adult enough to avoid that. He had just finished sending them away, rubbing out the headache that was beginning to form on his temples, when he heard Nina’s voice again.

“You were right, you are rather good at this,” she purred as she set her now empty glass onto the counter. “Would you make me another?”

“Only if you spill your secrets for me, beautiful,” he said teasingly.

She was already positioning herself onto the stool that she had been on before, directly in front of his workspace. “My band is called Shadow and Bone. We’ve been together for four years, but we had to take a huge break in the middle because one of my bandmates got into a relationship that wouldn’t let her play with us. It’s not my place to talk about that, but it meant that we couldn’t even practice, let alone make our own stuff. Each of us went and made our own side bands so that we could continue creating, other than Alina, but it’s left things a little twisted now.”

“Something you’re still untangling?” he asked.

She nodded. “I got very popular with my music, but it isn’t something that can work with the type of music that we play as a group. Just the other day I had someone try to accuse me of changing the sound of our music even though Alina and I switch off singing and all four of us write everything together,” she rolled her eyes. 

A mischievous look overtook her face as she said, “If you’re interested in looking me up then my solo work was under the name Heartrender. I wasn’t nearly as good as Nikolai, but he passed on the name of his work to a mutual friend of ours. Have you heard of an artist called Sturmhond?”

She was assuming that he worked in bars more often than he did by asking that, but by some stroke of luck he was actually familiar with the name that she had just given him. “I am. My friend Poppy did a set with him during a drag show she did,” he supplied. He hadn’t been able to attend said show because Wylan and Kaz had both ended up getting a cold and he was the only one that was able to take care of them, but she had told him all about it the next time he was able to show up for rehearsals.

“You know Poppy?” Nina asked, her face illuminating with an excited look. “Small world!”

He chuckled alongside her, basking in the brightness of her warmth. He wished that she could sit by him the entire time that he was working, but he knew that she had come to help comfort her friend through a breakup. Jesper had been around enough broken hearted people and been consumed by it enough himself to know the importance of having support during those times. “Your drink, my dear,” he handed over the finished cocktail that she had ordered.

“Thank you, handsome,” she winked.

---

For the rest of the night, Jesper worked alone. He poured what felt like a thousand glasses of beer and a million shots, until his arms and wrists were sore from the repetitive motion. Nina hadn’t strayed over to the bar again as she continued to nurse the singular refill that she had gotten on her virgin cocktail. He was right about the rush happening closer to midnight, but everyone had already trickled out by the time that they hit eleven.

When they were at the height of the crowd, the owner had slipped behind the bar to help him out. They had worked in tandem with each other, silent but efficient. Jesper was terribly exhausted by the time he finally slipped into the back with a plate of fries and a water to rest up before the last stretch of his shift. He brought his phone out and connected the wireless earbuds that he kept with him in his pocket for when he got overstimulated. He opened Spotify, searching up the band that Nina had given him.

He chose the one that she was in with other people first, clicking on the first song that popped up, obviously their most popular. He could tell that it was her voice crooning to him immediately as the first couple of lines played, “Late at night, when the stars don't look quite right. In the darkness, slowly crawling over my skin. Whispers at the door ‘Let us in, let us in.’ I'm a fool! I've been howling at a hollow moon! There's something burning in the empty room inside of my head. Fill it up with doubt, let it in, let it spread. I won't be sleeping, there's too many monsters in the backyard and I feel them creeping closer, closer, closer. I'm afraid. Is this a bunker or a shallow grave? Either way I'm left holding onto the shovel and rope, digging in the dirt, finding bones, finding ghosts. I won't be sleeping, there's too many monsters in the backyard and I feel them creeping closer, closer, closer. But if I made my bed did I make the demons in it? Set 'em free from my head, did I make the demons in it?”

She sang the chorus over and over again, the notes seeping together and burrowing their way into Jesper’s soul. He had always been a fan of music, which was how he and Wylan had met in the first place. They had been attending the same small music course and immediately hit it off, even if the other had a harder time reading music and instead just memorized a song. He wondered what it would be like if Wylan and Nina performed together, if Jesper would be able to handle it or if it would kill him on the spot.

He favorited her band so that he could come back and check it out later as he searched up the name that she had told him she used for her solo work. It was easier to listen to the more manufactured, pop-leaning stuff while also finishing up the other business than the more raw sounding classical that her band made. He let the songs play in the background as he flicked through the messages that his partners had sent him. He replied to a few and then took a screenshot of the song that he had listened to from Nina and sent it to Wylan so that he could get his boyfriend’s opinion on it.

Almost immediately afterwards he got a text from Matthias, which meant they were like watching one of their medical drama shows while waiting for him to come home. Inej and likely coaxed Kaz into the bath with her, the only person that understood the touch issues he had well enough to have that kind of special intimacy with him.

Jesper felt the fry that he had been eating become lodged in the back of his throat as Matthias informed him that the girl he had been flirting with over Instagram for the better part of the last two weeks also happened to be the woman that he had met at the bar. It really was a small world afterall.

He rushed through the last part of his break so that he could hopefully get back out in the bar before Nina left. He hadn’t want to be so creepy as to obviously check to make sure that she had stuck out the busy part of the night, especially since she would have been there for hours if she had. He made sure to calculate his walk so that he had slipped back into the persona that he used when he was working, suave and smooth, much like acting. He didn’t want it to seem like he was too frantic or desperate to get back to work lest he freak her out.

He had stepped back behind the bar and served two other patrons, switching out with the owner, when Nina finally came back up. The relief that he felt upon knowing that she hadn’t left despite having been huddled in the back corner for hours at that point made him feel a little embarrassed. He ignored it as he looked up to her, waiting for what she had to say.

“I was wondering when you were going to be back,” she smiled as she took the same stance that she had when they had first begun their interaction.

“Sorry for leaving you, baby, but I had to take a quick break,” he explained as he set down the glass that he had just finished cleaning.

“I understand, being that handsome has to take quite the toll on someone,” she winked back in reply, which made his heart flutter. He hadn’t known how Matthias had fallen so hard and so fast for Nina, especially since it had taken him almost a week to get to the point where they could even hold a conversation with each other. Now that she was standing in front of him in all of her smooth, gorgeous, suave glory, he understood. 

“If you keep this up then I’m going to fall in love with you,” he grinned. He was telling the truth, of course. If she continued to treat him like he was something special then he was going to fall head over heels for her the same way that Matthias had. He’d be tender smiles down at his phone and one earbud in to loop the sound of her crooning musical voice into his mind while doing mundane tasks.

Nina had the common decency to look a little bashful at that as she shifted awkwardly. “I have to admit that the idea of that doesn’t sound too bad. I came over here to pay my tab but I was also hoping that I could possibly get a way to stay in contact with you?”

Excitement burst through him like fireworks as he leaned forward like he was going to share a secret that no one else was allowed to hear. “If you ask Matthias then he’ll give you everything,” he winked.

She looked a little confused and scared, as if he had found out that she was somehow trying to give him the runaround. He tilted his head back towards the door he that led to the back room, “When I took my break I searched you up and sent one of your songs to my partner who likes music. Turns out that he was with Matthias and we found out that we had been flirting with the same woman. So it sounds like you’re going to fit into our relationship quite well if you’re serious about pursuing us.”

Immediately the panic left her and she laughed. It was louder than the quiet giggles that she had given her before, all rosy tinkling and shaking shoulders. She then shook her head, causing a few of the curls that had come loose from her tight bun to bounce around her beautiful face. “I should have known when you mentioned the cocktails, it’s all Matthias has been talking about lately.”

“He gets like that sometimes,” Jesper agreed. It was endearing how one thing could take over Matthias’ entire personality until he had discovered how it worked or how he could navigate it properly and then moved onto the next thing.

Nina shifted and handed him her card. He processed it for the tab that the table had wracked up and then handed it back to her. She said, “I don’t want to take up all of your time tonight, but I would like to see you again. I’ll ask Matthias for your handle and then we’ll talk more, alright?”

“I think that the both of us would like that very much,” Jesper nodded. Even if he didn’t actually develop a romantic or sexual relationship with Nina, the idea of getting to have someone as wonderful and mysterious as her in his life was very enticing. He leaned across the bar so that he was closer to her, giving her the hint of what he wanted. Jesper asked, “May I kiss you?”

A pretty smile split across her face and she said, “Polite as well as handsome, color me surprised. You may.” She placed one of her hands on his cheek, letting him feel the calloused nature of her hand. She then leaned in and pressed their lips together in a quick, chaste kiss. She smelled like green apples and lavender, mixing together distinctly to make her smell overall sweet. He could taste the vanilla of her lipstick and the pineapple clinging to her tongue from the drinks that he made her throughout their evening of flirting.

[lunarthecorvus]

Alternate Universe - Modern Setting (Not College/Uni) Kanej fanfiction recommendations

part of Lunar's soc fanficiton rec series

-------------------------------✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧----------------------------------

Stains That Don't Wash Out by @SeeMaree

Wordcount: 79,901 Chapters: 19/19

Characters: Inej Ghafa, Kaz Brekker, Most other characters

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Some referenced violence, mentions of torture, mentions of rape/non-con, nothing graphic described, basically if you've read the books this is less graphic, kaz is a farmer, and inej works with foster kids, basically an angsty slow burn, but also with attempted murder, and intermittent fluff, quite a lot of fluff really, but quite a lot of angst too, Autistic coded Kaz

Author's summary/notes: To think, when Inej had heard that someone had bought the old Rietveld place that ran alongside her family farm she’d been pleased. That was before she met the man. A more unpleasant and insulting person she couldn't imagine. But she's got bigger problems than an annoying neighbor. And as it turns out, so does he. My summary/notes: This fic was so sweet, I loved seeing older Inej being a social worker and running a camp for disadvantaged kids, it was so nice to see her being in charge and more free. I found it so fascinating to read Kaz and Inej meeting each other for the first time in adulthood, the way it adapted their dynamic was so interesting and I loved reading them get to know each other. There is definitely angst though... also Inej's parents are in it aaaa

---------- ☾₊ ⊹

modern setting (series of modern au oneshots) by @whynotcherries

Wordcount: 6,689 Works: 3 Complete: No

Characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa

Author's summary/notes:

1. For a few moments: "If someone would’ve told her this would happen in advance, Inej Ghafa would’ve laughed in their face. This was exactly where she’d found herself waking rather peacefully, though: Kaz Brekker’s sofa, some blanket she’d never seen before carefully arranged to cover her entire body, and with the sound of someone walking around in the kitchen." Or, an accidental sleepover.

2. Will we last the night?: "He was particularly curious why, of all people, she’d chosen him to climb in a ferris wheel with. At the very least, that meant ten minutes being alone with someone that she hardly knew, and at worst… Well, they’d get stuck." Or, Kaz and Inej get stuck on a ferris wheel as their second time meeting.

3. Don't look back, not for anything: "Thankfully, she’d succeeded in getting out of the house with what they’d needed. She had not succeeded, however, in staying alert for the entire ride back to their part of town. Rather, he was fairly certain she’d fallen asleep next to him, her head resting heavy on his shoulder." Or, Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, and the struggles of night trips.

---------- ☾₊ ⊹

When We Collide by @rupturedhaven

Wordcount: 106,364 Chapters: 9/? (still being updated)

Characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar, Pekka Rollins, Dima (Shadow and Bone TV), Genya Safin, David Kostyk, The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova, Jan Van Eck, Alys Van Eck, Marya Hendriks, Nikolai Lantsov, Tolya Yul-Bataar, Tamar Kir-Bataar, Tante Heleen, Eroll Aerts, Isaak Andreyev

Tags: Kanej - Freeform, wesper, helnik - Freeform, modern day AU, Heist AU, Six of Crows, Found Family, AU/Source material hybrid, Other characters will show up eventually - Freeform, Potentially the start of a multi-fic universe, soc - Freeform, Six of Crows AU, Slow Burn, King of Scars

Author's summary/notes: The Bastard of the Barrel. The Wraith. The gambler. The wayward son. The Heartrender. The fugitive. A thirst for revenge brings the six of them together, but can they weather a storm of secrets, deceptions, unlikely friendships and heartbreak? And if so, who will they have become once the clouds disperse? Modern Day AU with a mix of elements from the books and show. Long-running narrative with plenty of time for all our favourite characters to show up... My summary/notes: I've recommended Rupturedhaven before beacuse they are such a good writer, would recommend every one of their fics. This fic has such good world-building and the heist is so fun to read. You will be sucked into this this fic and not want to put it down. The way it adapted the crows relationships was so interesting, its a modern crows hiest (I don't want to spoil it so go read it :)

---------- ☾₊ ⊹

Adiago by @whatanybodygets

Wordcount: 81,074 Chapters: 7/12 (hasn't been updated in over a year but you NEED to read it)

Characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Nina Zenik, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Matthias Helvar

Tags: the gang's all here, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, mentions of past rape/non-con, Aged-Up Character(s), Touch-Averse Kaz Brekker, Minor Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck, Minor Matthias Helvar/Nina Zenik, Slow Burn, Canon-Typical Violence

Author's summary/notes: Inej Ghafa is a principal dancer of the Kerch National Ballet, haunted by a past she'd rather forget. Kaz Brekker is a mob boss who holds the city in the palm of his hand. Perhaps if all were right with the world, two such people would never meet. Or perhaps fate will always give those who need each other a push in the right direction. It begins, as so many things in Ketterdam do, with a murder. My summary/notes: Of course I have to include a classic, its just a masterpiece and one of the most popular well known kanej fics. The writing is just so beautiful and this fic will take you on such a interesting journey. I loved reading Inej's pov in this fic, it really showed her struggles and her strength.

This category was asked for by the lovely @martinakl13 (p.s. check out her fics) <3

[remussl0vers]

requesting guide

updated: 17.06.23

please make sure to read this before requesting anything — i'm hoping that you'll respect my boundaries on what am i comfortable with and with not writing.

MASTERLIST

I tend to curse often in my fics, and are usually comfortable with covering more serious topics, so make sure to check the content warning before hand. I always write warnings when I believe they're needed, but do let me know if you think something should be added!

also senders may request as many as they want <3

FORMS OF WRITING :

oneshot

imagine

headcanon

series

alphabet

I tend to write oneshots over 1000 words, so if you want feel free to specify if you want a long or short story.

CONTENT I WRITE :

fluff

angst

sensitive / triggering topics

gore

smut / spice

most tropes ( best at friends to lovers )

I'm pretty comfortable with writing sensitive topics as well as angst ( anyone who's read my works before will know that they're the things I write best ) however, if I'm not comfortable with the topic as a whole I will DM you, or possibly put it off for a while.

*If you have a writing prompt from somewhere as well, feel free to send it through !!

CHARACTERS :

male reader / ftm

gender neutral

genderfluid

original character

I do not write female readers / characters anymore. If there aren't specified pronouns then I will write it as a male character.

There are also some characters I only feel comfortable writing for with a male reader/character and vice versa, which I'll note who.

PAIRINGS :

love interests

platonic

family

polyamorous ships ; depends on the character

WHAT I WILL NOT WRITE :

support of homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, racism, sexism, pedophilia, incest ; if they're mentioned in a request in terms of the character being bullied / abused ( in the past ) then i may write it but NOT explicitly, only a mention

a pairing against a character's canon sexuality

rape

pregnancy

female reader

anime

WHO I WRITE FOR :

DEAD BOY DETECTIVES :

charles rowland

edwin payne

monty

niko sasaki ( not romantic )

crystal palace ( not romantic )

DESCENDANTS :

ben beast

harry hook

carlos de vil

jay

mal bertha

evie grimhilde

LOCKWOOD & CO :

anthony lockwood

lucy carlyle

george karim

quill kipps ( friends / family only )

MARAUDERS :

remus lupin

sirius black

regulus black

james potter

lily evans ( not romantic )

evan rosier

barty crouch jr

marlene mckinnon ( not romantic )

dorcas meadows ( not romantic )

pandora lovegood ( not romantic )

mary mcdonald ( not romantic )

MARVEL :

peter parker / spiderman ( tom and andrew )

loki laufeyson

kate bishop

yelena belova ( not romantic )

steve rogers

bucky barnes

pietro maximoff

wanda maximoff

valkyrie ( not romantic )

natasha romanoff

tony stark ( not romantic )

gwen stacy ( emma stone )

gwen stacy ( atsv )

*marvel and particularly the mcu is a fandom i'm more comfortable with than most, so if there is a character not listed, then i may or may not write for them

NARNIA :

prince caspian

peter pevensie

edmund pevensie ( only during dawn treader )

SHADOW AND BONE / SIX OF CROWS :

kaz brekker

inej ghafa

jesper fahey

wylan van eck

nina zenik

alina starkov

nikolai lantsov

genya safin ( not romantic )

matthias helvar

STRANGER THINGS :

steve harrington

jonathon byers

max mayfield

robin buckley ( not romantic )

TEEN WOLF :

stiles stilinski ( *i will take most/all dylan obrien characters )

isaac lahey

scott mccall

liam dunbar ( not romantic )

allison argent

malia tate

lydia martin ( not romantic )

kira yukimura

derek hale

THE HUNGER GAMES :

finnick odair

peeta mellark

katniss everdeen

THE MAZE RUNNER :

newt

thomas

minho

X-MEN :

logan howlett

charles xavier ( james mcavoy )

jean grey

mystique

rogue

erik lehnsherr ( not romantic )

wade wilson / deadpool

kitty pryde

bobby drake

*FANDOMS COMING SOON : PJO, DISNEY, HANNIBAL

[swanimagines]

GRISHAVERSE AO3 SERIESES

EVERYTHING FOR GRISHAVERSE

GRISHA TRILOGY

Aleksander Morozova/The Darkling

Alina Starkov

Mal Oretsev

Genya Safin

Nikolai Lantsov

Zoya Nazyalensky (coming)

THE CROWS

Kaz Brekker

Inej Ghafa

Jesper Fahey

Wylan Van Eck/Wylan Hendriks

Nina Zenik

Matthias Helvar

---

(Any of the other characters don't have any requests written nor pending as for now, so I'm unable to have serieses for them as AO3 requires you to have at least one oneshot written to be able to add it to a series, and I can't promise serieses for characters who don't have requests pending/I have no ideas of my own for them)

For anyone who's concerned, THESE ARE NOT ONESHOT COLLECTIONS, they are made using AO3's "series" feature.

If you want to be informed about new fics for Grishaverse or its individual characters, create an AO3 account and subscribe or bookmark any of those serieses listed above. There are buttons at the top right corner for those, or on top on mobile. I do not do Tumblr taglists anymore.

Subscribe button highlighted:

[sophierequests]

genya safin

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Angst: ☾ ┃ Fluff: ♡ ┃ Hurt/Comfort: ☆ ┃ Smut: ♤

“I am not ruined. I am ruination.”

oneshots

scars don't change a thing (☆) → After the attack of the nichevo'ya, Genya distances herself from everyone, and the reader doesn't know how to deal with that. In a last attempt she tries to ask Zoya for advice.

The people at court called her razrusha'ya - the Ruined - and it made you feel sick to your stomach. Beauty had always been one of Genya’s specialities, her own exceeding the ones of any other Grisha. She was a Tailor, after all, so her affinity with the pretty and aesthetic little things made sense. To you, she was more than just her looks, but it was a harder task to make her see that.

the writing on my arm tells stories of a different time (♡) → Everyone has a sentence written on their arm in black ink, revealing the first words your soulmate says to you. After the first conversation, the ink turns red. The reader almost stopped believing in her soulmate, until she meets them completely unexpectedly.

There were many rumours surrounding the scarred Tailor, but if you had to approve one, it would be that she was absolutely stunning. Her vibrant red hair was curled perfectly, sitting on her head like a carefully crafted wig. Even though her face was scarred, and her missing eye was covered by a flawlessly fitting eye patch, she still looked incredible.

they don't know about us (♡) → Unbeknownst to their best friends the reader and Genya had been dating for quite a while now. But what happens when Nikolai and Zoya are set on getting the two of them together?

“I don't want to irritate you, but I just can't watch the two of you act like little lovesick children whenever you’re around each other any longer.” he insisted, making you roll your eyes in dismay, “Just…go ask her out or something! I can’t take it anymore. The flirting and constant eye fucking is getting way too much!”

will i ever be the one you see while falling asleep? (♡) → Oblivious childhood friends try to figure out whether their feelings are mutual.

It was common for her to have nightmares, even before the king’s advances. When you both were children, she would often sneak into your room and wake you up, telling you about her dreams and letting you comfort her. Even though she stopped doing it as you got older, she still wanted to return to these simpler times, when she could just come into your room in the middle of the night without thinking about it.

all my life i've been heading for hell (☆) → After the threat of the Darkling's reign of terror became a more present threat, the reader decided to leave it all behind. Genya stayed.

Genya watched you silently while you hastily packed as many of your belongings as you could. You had heard her entering, but you didn’t even spare her one look as you combed through your room. She chose her side a long time ago, and you wouldn’t stay to watch this nightmare become reality.

just how fast the night changes (♡) → Nikolai's younger sister has been crushing on Genya for years now, but for some reason said Tailor just won't see her as anything else than the king's baby sister.

“Oh, no, it’s fine. I’m not particularly busy today, so having someone to talk to wouldn’t be all too bad.” The words tumbled out of your mouth rather clumsily, and you internally prayed to anyone who might listen that you didn’t appear too awestruck.

tree decorating (♡) → Genya helps the reader with decorating the Christmas tree.

“Weren’t Tolya and Tamar supposed to decorate the tree?” she laughed, finally entering the room fully to take in the absolute chaos you had produced.

headcanons

being married to genya headcanons pt. 1┃pt. 2 (♡)

lady-in-waiting!genya x princess !reader (♡)

[bookworm-center]

Grishaverse Oneshot Request Rules!

Yep, I'm now going to do requests! Mainly cause I feel bad about not being super good with Dirtyhands and the Bloodbender updates... Anyways, I do have a few rules for requests.

No 18+ requests. Sorry, but I'm not comfortable writing that sort of stuff.

I refuse to do Darkling oneshots. Sorry Darkling stans.

No incest, pedophilia, huge age gaps, basically anything that's like morally wrong? (Besides murder and violence I guess, but this is the Grishaverse)

I'll try to do multi-character ships but I dunno. I will do both x readers and character x characters, as well as platonic ships!

The reader will generally be gender neutral unless specified. I'll definitely try and do both straight and queer ships.

I'll definitely do AUs; those are so much fun. I don't think there are any AUs I refuse to do, but I'd have to see for the requests. I don't know if song fics count as AUs but I'm also willing to do those.

Please give me at least three sentences of a basic idea or summary of the oneshots, though more than this is welcome! The only problem with giving me more information is that it might not live up to your expectations.

I may struggle with some aspects of representation that I don't quite understand or relate to, like if you want the reader to be non-binary or autistic or anything else. I'll try my best to do topics that I don't know a lot about and I will do research but you don't have to request this stuff if you don't want to. If you do request things like this and I don't get it right, please, PLEASE tell me. I will take all criticism into consideration.

As stated before, I'll listen to criticism but please try to be polite about it. I want to improve my writing, but if you are rude about it, I won't listen or even take your request.

Characters I'll do x readers with:

Kaz Brekker

Inej Ghafa

Jesper Fahey

Wylan Van Eck

Matthias Helvar

Nina Zenik

Alina Starkov

Genya Safin

Zoya Nazyalensky

Nikolai Lantsov

Tamar Yu Bataar

Character x character ships I'll do:

Kanej

Wesper

Helnik

Nina-Hanne (I forgot their ship name)

Malina

Genya-Alina

Zoyalai

Genya-David

I might do other characters/ships if you ask, I just might not be thinking about all the ships or something right now. But yeah, feel free to request things. I'm so sorry for the long post but this is all stuff I needed to say about this.

[maximoffgxrl]

hii! i saw that your requests are open and that just like me you're obsessed with genya and taylor swift 😊 I was wondering if I could request a songfic with genya x f!reader based on taylor's enchanted? have a lovely day!

Enchanted {Genya Safin}

Pairing: Genya x fem!reader

Summary: You weren't a big fan of balls, but meeting Genya Safin certainly made the night worth it.

Note: Hello!!! First I want to thank anon because this ask could not be better for my first fic on tumblr, I loved writing it so thank you so much! I would also like to say that english is not my first language so, if you see anything wrong or incoherent here, please be gentle and let me know so I can improve. I basically learned by myself, so sometimes is hard to form good sentences, but I hope you like it and have fun reading it, because I certainly had fun writing!

Balls weren’t really your thing. However, with all the trouble Ravka had faced in the past, King Nikolai decided that maintaining a good relationship with the closest countries was a top priority and, unfortunately for you, that meant a lot of parties. All grisha were expected to attend, so it didn’t matter that you were just a regular Squaller, your presence was requested, and you’d never disobey your King, even if it meant leaving the comfort of your room and making small talk all night.

Of course, you knew this was a necessary evil, but it didn’t make it any less boring. After fifteen minutes of a very uncomfortable conversation with some Ketterdam men, you excluded yourself from the group with the excuse of grabbing a drink. Your cheeks were already hurting from all the forced laughter and fake smiles, and you could practically feel the insincerity that hovered the room, it made you sick to your stomach, and you decided to take a few minutes to yourself.

Leaning on the nearest wall with a red drink that you didn’t really recognize in your hands, you let your eyes shift through the room. Hundreds of people were crowded there, talking and dancing in their best outfits, and you really liked to take notes on the gowns. Even though the ballroom was one of the prettiest places in the Grand Palace, it was the beautiful dresses and diversity of styles that always got your attention.

You had just made a mental note on a fairly pretty black dress when you saw something sparkling in your peripheral vision. Turning your head, you almost choked when you saw who it was, her auburn hair cascading down her exposed back, the delicate silver fabric of her dress that looked like liquid stars and the black eye patch in her left eye, embroidered with the sun summoner symbol. Genya Safin.

You had seen her before, mostly during breakfast in the Little Palace, but you had never talked to her. She was a living legend, a member of the Triumvirate and truly the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen, how could you not know her? What made you shiver, though, was the fact that right now, she was the one looking at you.

She eyed you with curiosity, apparently trying to remember if the two of you had met, and you felt your cheeks flush. Only a second later, she was crossing the room in your direction.

– Hello. - was the first thing she said to you, a beautiful smile forming on her lips while she extended her hand in your direction. - I’m Genya.

– I’m Y/N. - you said in a shy tone, blushing while taking her hand . - It’s enchanting to meet you.

– It’s my pleasure. - she responded while taking your hands to her lips, leaving a chaste kiss there instead of shaking it, and you felt your heart jumping. - I loved your dress.

At this, you smiled. The clothing was the only part of these parties you truly enjoyed, and you particularly liked this dress, its light shade of pink and the way the skirt looked like blossoming petals. It was one of your favorites, and it meant a lot to you that the Tailor also liked it.

– Thanks. It’s one of my favorites. - you answered quickly, feeling suddenly cold now that she has dropped your hand. - I really liked yours too. The fabric it’s just… It looks like it came directly from a dream. Like liquid…

– Stars. - she finished your sentence, arching her eyebrow. - That’s exactly what I had in mind for this dress.

– Well, it definitely works. It was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it. - you said simply, seeing her eyes shine at your words, and you continued with a little more courage. - It’s the prettiest dress in this party, which is only fair, since you’re also the prettiest girl here.

Genya grinned in your direction.

– See, that’s where you’re wrong. - she stated, taking a step in your direction. - The prettiest girl in this ball is you.

Feeling your throat dry and your brain malfunctioning, you merely shaked your head, making her laugh. She was so pretty, so effortlessly charming, you were already enchanted. The night was sparkling as much as her dress and, for the first time, you didn’t want the ball to end.

– Wanna dance? - she asked softly, taking your hand again, and you nodded.

– Of course. - you smiled as she guided you to the dance floor.

Genya took you by the waist, holding you delicately but firmly as your hands rested on her shoulders. You weren’t the best dancer in the world, but she guided you so sweetly that your steps seemed to match hers without much effort, and you laughed out loud when she twirled you, making you feel like a princess.

– So, - she said while welcoming you in her arms again. - I can tell that you have an eye for fashion. Do you like it?

– Oh, I do. - you answered quickly, excited that she noticed. - It’s one of my favorite things ever. In fact, before you came to talk to me, I was analyzing the gowns.

– We’re so much alike. - was her answer, and you looked in her eye again, seeing that lovely shine on it. - I was doing the same.

– I think that’s destiny saying that we should do it together. - you said, a mischievous grin taking place in your lips. - The red one on your left?

– Please, we both know that pink and red rarely match. - she said, her smile matching yours, and you laughed. - How about the lady in black and white, just behind you?

Again, she spinned you so you could see the woman she mentioned, your own dress opening like a rose at the movement.

– She’s got style. - you responded when facing her again. - It’s pretty on its own, but what really made it pop is the…

– Bow. - she finished, and you two shared a smile. 

It was wonderful how your minds seemed to be connected. Talking to Genya was one of the easiest things you’ve ever done, she understood you like no one ever had. It was like the two of you were passing notes in secrecy right in the middle of the crowd, sharing glances and smiles that no one else would get because they weren’t in your little bubble. Being with her, you felt good and seen, and it was incredible.

You were enchanted, that was clear. Everything about her was attractive, from her bright hair to the way her lips curved when she smiled, and you couldn’t seem to look anywhere else. Being in your arms felt just right, talking to her was addicting and you never wanted to stop. You were purely wonderstruck and barely noticed the hours passing by.

The two of you talked and danced all night, and Genya only left you to get something to drink, bringing you a glass of water as well. You sat on the corner of the room, facing her and almost drowning in her words, too marveled by the way her red hair fell down her shoulders. She was so pretty, and the fact that she held your hand the entire time, stroking it lightly with her thumb, only made your heart beat faster.

You didn’t even knew what time it was when Genya stood up, still holding your hand, and asked if you could dance with her again. You would never say no, and that’s how you ended up on a much emptier dance floor, her arms wrapped around your waist and your head on her shoulder.

– You know, - you said softly in her ear. - this is the best ball I’ve ever been to.

– Yeah? - she asked in a playful tone, and even though you couldn’t see it, you knew she was smiling. - Because of all the pretty gowns?

– Because of you. - you answered in almost a whisper, feeling your heart pounding against your ribs.

The seconds of silence that followed your declaration were agonizing. You were ready to apologize when you felt slender fingers sliding through your face, holding your chin delicately and lifting your face so you could look Genya in the eyes, and her smile was even brighter than before.

– You made my night, Y/N. - she said simply. - Nothing could’ve made it better.

You were just about to answer her, your brain too drunk in her presence to form coherent sentences in a fast motion, but before you could find the words, a third voice joined the conversation.

– Genya. - the rigid voice of Zoya Nazyalensky came from your left, and you immediately straightened your posture, knowing by her tone that she was annoyed. - Hi, Y/L/N.

– General Nazyalensky. - you greeted her quietly, too scared to say anything else. After all, Zoya was one of your teachers, and you knew how demanding she was.

– Zoya. - Genya answered in a slightly worried tone. - Is she okay?

At the Tailor's words, you lifted your head to meet the General only to find a probably drunk Nina Zenik leaning on her. Well, you thought, at least this means that is not me she’s annoyed at.

– I’m great! - Nina answered herself, waving at you. - Hi, Y/N!

You waved back timidly, watching as Zoya rolled her eyes and Genya held back a laughter.

– I need your help to get her back to her chambers. - Zoya said, sighting. - The ball is pretty much over, anyways, so you won’t miss anything.

At her words, you finally realized that the reason why the dance floor was emptier was the fact that half the people in the ball had already left, and the other half seemed ready to do the same. You suddenly felt a little sadness making its way to you, knowing it was the time to say goodbye.

But you really didn’t want to.

– I’ll help you, of course. - Genya said before looking at you one more time. - Thank you for the night, Y/N. It was truly incredible.

– You don’t have to thank me. I loved it too. - you quickly answered, seeing her flash a smile in your direction.

– Bye, sweetie. - she leaned in your direction, leaving a small kiss on your cheek before waving.

You knew Zoya waved at you too, and you were pretty sure Nina yelled something with your name on it, but you didn’t even know what it was, your eyes focused on Genya’s back as she crossed the room while laughing at something Zoya was saying. The night had come to an end sooner than you expected, and all you could do was hope that this was just the first page of this story, and not where it ends.

On your way back to the Little Palace, you couldn’t hold back a smile. Your cheeks were flushed as your mind replayed every single moment you just had with Genya, your thoughts echoing her name to no end. When you finally reached your room, you let your body fall in your bed, hugging a pillow as you closed your eyes, trying to calm your heart.

You wondered if she knew just how enchanted you were, if she knew that right now she was the only thing on your mind. You couldn’t help but imagine if she was also thinking of you, wishing she would show up at your door and said she also thought it was enchanting to meet you, her lips curving up as she smiled at you again.

– Please, please. - you murmured to yourself, looking at the ceiling as if talking to the Saints. - Don’t be in love with someone else. Don’t have somebody waiting on you…

You sighed loud before getting up again, sitting on your dresser as you started to take hair pins out of your hair, letting the locks fall freely down your shoulders. You knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep, your heart still beating fast and your mind still caught up on Genya, so you got up, deciding to clean your room before anything else.

You had just finished putting your makeup on the drawer and your bobby pins on the proper box when you heard a loud knock on your door. Your heart speed up in the same second, your hands flying to your hair as if trying to fix it before you opened the door, hoping it was Genya.

You were never so glad to be right.

– Hey. - she said, somehow nervous as she stood in front of you, still in her party dress.

– Hey. - you answered with a smile. - Come in.

She entered your room, her amber eye analyzing it quickly before turning around to face you. She was nervously fingering with her rings, looking anywhere but you, and you took a step closer, putting your hands over hers.

– Genya. - you called softly, seeing her eye finally land on you. - It’s okay. You can talk to me.

Sighing, the Tailor closed her eye for a second before opening it again, staring deeply at you.

– Y/N, I never met anyone like you. And by that I mean that no one ever made me this enchanted after only one night, but somehow you did it. Talking to you felt so easy, holding you felt so right… I spent the whole night hoping it wouldn’t end. - she was speaking fast, but you could hear the truth in every word, and your heart was almost coming out of your throat. - And I still don’t want it to end, I don’t want this night to be just one night. I want to keep talking to you, to sit with you during breakfast, to take you on a date! I know this is way too fast, but I just couldn’t help it and I don’t think I would be able to sleep if I didn’t came to you. I’m sorry, I know it’s late and you probably wanted to sleep, I’ll go, I just…

– Genya. - you interrupted her by calling her again, holding both her hands in yours, and you saw her looking at you one more time. - I spent the past hour in this room wishing you would burst to this door to tell me all of these things. This night was magic and you’re the reason why. I would love to go on a date with you, if you’d take me.

She smiled brightly at you, her hands leaving yours only to meet your waist, pulling your body into hers. You wrapped your arms around her neck and, when she leaned in your direction and your lips met, it felt like fireworks had just exploded on your chest. She kissed you firmly but lightly, her right hand tracing slow patterns on your back while you played with her long hair. It was the best kiss you’ve ever had, and it felt like the perfect ending to your fairytale.

– Meet me for breakfast tomorrow? - she asked, her cheeks flushed from the kiss, her eye sparkling as much as her dress.

– Of course. - you answered before closing the gap between you two once again, giving her a quick peck.

When Genya left, leaving you with a dumb smile on your face and her name tattoed on your mind, you layed on your bed still in your party dress, but you didn’t really matter. All you could think of was that you were just enchanted to meet her.

tagging: @heliads (hey bestie!!! i guess this is the big revelation of 💫 anon, so here i am! i hope you like this at least 10% as much as i like your stories <3)

[tj-wrote-things]

To The Next

Nikolai Lantsov x fabrikator!fem!reader

Two times you decide to stay, and one time you have no choice but to leave.

A/N: mega ouchie, my friends. Just so ya’ll know i havent read the Nikolai Duology, and im like 14 chapters into R&R. Teensie bit of an AU, we’re gonna pretend the Darkling didnt attack the palace until a few days after Nik’s birthday dinner shin-dig:)

Mostly fluff and some poorly(but also well) written angst :)

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14

Nikolai Lantsov was well accustomed to the serenity that came with life in Os Alta. What he wasn’t quite so accustomed to was the sound of your chittering laughter as he lay out in the sun, eyes closed against the orange sky, only a few paces from the edge of the lake. You giggled once more, holding out two bottles as you clamored around your forgotten purple kefta in the grass.

“Okay, now lean your head back, open your mouth, and keep your eyes shut.” Nikolai furrowed his brows, perfectly shaped, as always, and opened one eye at your words. 

“You’re not gonna kill me are you?” The fourteen year old boy glanced up to you, and felt his heart nearly stop. Eyes roving over your face, cased in golden light from the impending sunset, he masked his awe with his usual banter. “Has the jealousy caught up to you? You’ve come to take your revenge because my hair is softere than yours! I knew it!” You cackled as you crouched over his head.

“Shut up,” you laughed. “I don’t want it to go in your eyes, is all. I’d hate to ruin those lovely blue orbs.”

“They are quite nice, you’re right.” he conceded, and did as he was told. “Kindly refrain from poisoning me.” You smiled and poured both liquids in his mouth before he could protest.

He was quiet for just a moment, until a choked sound clawed its way out of his throat. Nikolai rushed to sit up, the concoction dribbling down his chin and onto his pristine shirt, staining the linen a muted orange. You hurriedly dropped the bottles and thumped him on the back, eyes growing in concern and apology.

“Nikolai, oh shit- You're alright?” Nikolai nodded, beating on his chest, smiling despite his watery eyes.

“Too much- Too much at once,” he rasped, and coughed once more. He straightened up and turned to you with a grin. “But, all saints, delicious! What was that?” You grinned, consoled by the fact you hadn't killed the younger prince.

“Sweetened jurda nectar and aged Kvas,” you said, taking a swig yourself. “My father would let me have it sometimes when I was young.” You took notice of an orange droplet, hanging just at the corner of Nikolai’s lips, baiting you to come a little closer.

You reached out without a second thought, and swiped your thumb across the stain, hurriedly sucking the substance off your finger, heart thudding and mind moving a mile a minute, as always.

Oh saints, I’ve done it now. You’re so screwed.

Nikolai sat still as a board as your calloused thumb ran over his lip, all too quickly in his own opinion. His eyes caught yours as you put your hand back into the cold grass, a welcome reprieve from the burning of your ears. He licked his lips, searching for just another drop of the sweet taste, or maybe, his brain argued, you’re searching for the feeling of her.

Suddenly, the towers of the Little Palace began to ring, signaling the call for all grisha to their tables for supper.

“Dinner,” you said softly, looking out into the distance, where the sun had begun to disappear over the horizon. “I should go back.”

Nikolai stilled his beating heart, and laid back into the grass. “Say’s who?”

“The general, Nikolai.”

He shrugged and tugged you down by your sleeve. “Who cares about the General” You collapsed with a small shriek and oomph next to him, giggling once more as you turned to face the darkening sky as he did. “I’d have you stay with me for a while.” He glanced at you, hoping to catch the glow of your face before the darkness took over. “Just until the night sets in.”

You stayed until dawn.

23

Dinners were always particularly difficult for you, as there was no empty corner for you to back into when you were overwhelmed, no sense of privacy, which was something you were hoping for that particular night. You were sitting, stiff as a board at the dinner table, unable to focus on anything but the boy sitting across from you. After all, it was no easy feat to look away from that damnably charming smile when it showed itself, usually after an unbearably vain joke, and especially when it was directed towards you. If fact, you were certain that every heartrender in the palace could hear the way your heart gave a stutter when Nikolai winked at you, or slung his arm around your shoulder, dragging you with him towards the fabrikator workshops.

Dragging. You knew that you would always go willingly, wherever he led you. Nikolai Lantsov could lead you by the hand to your death, and you would follow happily with a smile and a skip in your step, if only for the warm feeling that comes with gripping his palm in yours.

The man in question laughed boisterously at something his cousin had said, and turned to face you once more, with a smile that could only ever be described as contagious in the extreme. 

Nikolai looked at you with meaning in his eyes, trying desperately to send a message. Go on and laugh, he forced them to say. Laugh, please, and lift my heart out of its heavy slump. We both know that you’re the only one who can. He seemed to inflate when you let out a giggle, so small that he was certain only he who was searching for the tinkling sound could hear it. 

Sweet music, he thought. You are so screwed.

Nikolai’s father waved his hand in the air, and all overlapping conversation at the table came to a staggering halt, attention falling solely on the portly king, holding an egg. 

“Happy birthday, Nikolai,” he said curtly, ever the sovereign, never letting emotion past his bristly mustache. “May the saints bless you with good fortune.” He extended the egg to Nikolai, who accepted it with tender hands. 

Slowly, the top began to chip off, revealing a miniature version of Sturmhond’s ship, complete with confetti cannons and little red flag. You slid your hand into the folds of your kefta, gripping your own gift with slender fingers, and suddenly feeling the uneasiness of inadequacy creep down your throat as you swallowed a sip of wine.

Alina smiled from her place beside Nikolai and sent you a quick wink before she spoke up. “Y/N has something for you, Nikolai, don’t you, y/n?” You sent her a small scowl, but masked it when you saw Nikolai smile at you.

“Understandable that you’d want to repay the gift of my company with something of your own.” Nikolai smiled easily and extended a hand out to take the box from your own outstretched arm.

He made quick work of the ribbon tying the box shut and opened it to reveal a copper compass, about the size of his palm, if not a little smaller. He looked up at you with that smile, the delicate words engraved along the edge not gone unnoticed, and you winked before you spoke.

“It’s made of Zemini copper, responibly mined and shipped.”

Nikolai turned it over in his hand twice before smiling at you. “Stronger than any bullet.” You nodded.

“Open it.” He did. For a moment nothing happened, and you faltered, wondering if the contraption had malfunctioned. And in the next moment, hundreds of lights littered the ceiling of the hall like the diamonds strung across the Queen’s neck. Nikolai threw his head back with wide eyes and a glowing grin as he studied the little holographic lights.

“They’re the stars,” he whispered, once to himself, and again to the rest of the table. You nodded happily. 

“It’s calibrated with the calendar, so they’ll always reflect the sky over Os Alta, no matter the day.” You paused briefly. “A reminder of home, if ever you find yourself... lost.”

Nikolai could have died a happy man at that moment, to know that you had taken such care to build him something with your own hands, something meant to remind him of you, of home. Though, the night was far from over. It wasn’t until a few hours later, did Nikolai Lantsov know what it was to feel incandescent happiness. 

He’d strolled down to the lake, as he’d done, many nights, and taken a seat  down at the lake’s edge. 

Right beside you.

You didn’t turn to him, and he didn't turn to you, not for a few minutes. Until he took a breath and produced the compass from his coat pocket. He flipped it in his hand a few times, until the engraving faced the sky. 

In this life and the next

He read the words out breathlessly, and they nearly went unheard over the sounds of the night. You shifted to face him, faces so close it would only take a little push on either of your parts. His breath hit your cheek as his eyes roamed your face, committing every slope, freckle and scar to memory before licking his lips. 

“How terribly awkward would this be if you meant in terms of friendship.”

“What makes you so sure that I didn't?”

Nikolai cracked a smile, inching ever so close to you, eyes flicking between your lips and your gaze.

“I expect you would have shoved me into the lake by now.” He kissed you swiftly, finally, sweetly.

So sweet, you could almost taste the heavy flavour of honey from his evening tea lingering on his tongue, and so loving, he lowered you both to the grass slowly, and with purpose as he situated you on your sides, each with one hand cradling the other’s face, and one hand keeping you from collapsing.

You pulled away with a soft sigh, eyes closed and breathing heavy as Nikolai placed his forehead against your shoulder. After a moment, he turned his face into your neck and smirked. 

“I suppose you’ll be wanting to head back. Although, walking alone in the dark can’t be wise.” He kissed you softly underneath your ear, smiling only when he felt a shudder cross your shoulders. “After all, the field is no place for a young woman, especially at this hour.” You turned Nikolai’s face up to yours as you dipped your head and kissed him, slowly and deliberately, pulling at his bottom lip, and lightly scraping your nails through his hair.

“I suppose I could be persuaded to stay a while. Just until dawn.”

You stayed all night.

23

The heat of battle was sweltering, in more ways than one. The terrain was hot, yes, but so were the flashes of battle. The lightning fast bullets racing past every which way, causing the hearts of a thousand men to quiver in their chests.

Equally hot and suffocating was the fear, inwardly felt, but never shown. Fear of bullets striking where wounds cannot be healed, striking someone else, someone unquestionably dear.

The Lantsov King felt this crushing fear when he watched you tumble to the ground, clutching desperately at the tear in your stomach, gruesome and painful. He raced towards you yelling for a medic who could not hear over his shoulder, and hoisted you up.

He held you close and he scrambled for shelter, away from the cruel rainfall of bullets, one hand held along your face, and the other arm wrapped firmly around your waist, simultaneously holding you up and keeping pressure on the wound he feared may kill him as well as you. He took shelter behind a skiff, abandoned and barren, and set you down against it.

“You’re alright,” he said, catching his breath and keeping his hands on you, if only to make sure you hadn't passed out. “It’s not even that bad. Just a scratch,” he reassured you as your head slumped to the side. He set it straight once more. “Just a scratch.”

You inhaled slowly, and looked up at him, face caked in dust and blood, yours or someone else’s, you couldn't be sure. Your thoughts were beggining to swim, the only thing remaining solid was your husband’s face as he kept pressure on your stomach and yelled once more for a medic, who you knew would not come. A horrid couch drew itself from your throat, and with it an alarming spatter of blood.

Nikolai didnt see it land on his shirt, or bleed into the mass of red already staining his torso.

Bringing your hand over the one holding your wound, you breathed his name in a breathless rasp, once, twice, until he met your eyes.

“Tell me- Tell me about Os Kervo.” He’d built you a house there. For the both of you.

Nikolai shook his head. “It was a surprise,” he said softly, pulling you against him, for he had no need to see your face, not like this. He had long since memorized it, burned it against his heart and soul for all to see, and like a radio broadcast, it screamed, I love this woman. I dare you to try and take her from me.

He sat on the ground and kept you alive, hands holding your body together, while his words tended to your soul. “You’ll see it when I take you there.” He swallowed, tucking his chin over your shoulder, steadying his voice as it shook. “We’ll grow old together, you’ll see. You and me, seventy years old, and still gorgeous, watching the grandkids, and the dogs-”

You smiled, paying no heed to the coolness creeping into your fingers. “I seem to recall you promising me a cat, Lantsov.” The words began to blur, and your grip on his coat slackened. “You- You better- get one when I'm gone.” Nikolai shook his head and moved your hand back to its place on his shoulder, bringing his own back to your head, cradling it against him.

“Together,” he said firmy. “We’ll get one together, no matter how often the wretched thing gets fur on my clothes.”

Inhaling no longer came as easily as you laid your weight against Nikolai, your Nikolai.

You slurred into his shoulder. “Together,” you repeated with dimming eyes as your chest seized and stilled. “In this life, and the next.”

.

.

.

ouchies:)

[heliads]

'time to spare' - genya safin

Based on this request: "my beloved male Squaller is somehow stuck with Nikolai and they just… bicker and ma boi is just teasing him with Zoya like “I know you love her! Because you look like me when I talk about Genya! … and Zoya does too. When she talks about you.”"

masterlist

Keeping a king safe is a difficult and dangerous thing. The task is made exponentially more challenging when the king you’re meant to be protecting is even a little bit obstinate or hotheaded. When the king has lived a separate life as Sturmhond, one of the most infamous privateers to grace the True Sea, you might as well give up hope. Nikolai Lantsov may be the current king of Ravka, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped him from taking just as many risks as when he had commanded warships on the open ocean.

As a Squaller, you’ve been blessed with gifts beyond what a normal man could ever dream of achieving. Over the years, you’ve honed your ability to control wind and air to a knifepoint’s accuracy. You can hear intruders coming from leagues away. You can steal breath from a man’s lungs in the blink of an eye. However, there is one thing you can’t do, and that is to talk Nikolai out of a suicide mission when he feels it’s the right course of action to take.

You had tried, this time. Really, you had. While returning home from an important meeting with Ravkan nobles situated near Tsibeya, Nikolai had heard that some important hostages were being held in a keep just a short distance over the Fjerdan border. He had insisted that he would lead a charge to rescue the hostages, and despite your arguing that this was a terrible idea, the attack had been launched accordingly. You and Nikolai had gone along with maybe half a dozen other Ravkan guards.

Despite your best intentions, however, you were caught in the act of freeing the hostages. Nikolai had directed a couple of his guards to take the hostages and run. Seeing as you haven’t heard of them since, you can assume that they got to freedom, but you and Nikolai weren’t so lucky. A pair of other soldiers are imprisoned in a cell down the hall, and you and Nikolai share a similar block. Your hands are chained above your head, giving you just enough room to sit on the stone floor and lean against a wall for some semblance of comfort. 

Since your hands are bound, you can’t summon your Squaller abilities and Nikolai can’t pick the lock from his angle. The only thing left to do, then, is to wait for the guards to get back to camp and bring reinforcements. Unfortunately, neither you nor Nikolai are very good at waiting.

Barely an hour or two has passed before the two of you start getting impatient. There are Fjerdan guards somewhere out in the hall, although they’ve been careful to keep out of sight so as to disguise their numbers.

Nikolai whistles quietly under his breath. “D’you reckon they’d give me a deck of cards if I promised not to break out of here?” He asks you. “I’m kind of bored.”

“Your hands are chained together,” you note. “How in the Saints’ name would you play cards?”

Nikolai frowns. “I hadn’t considered that. Maybe we could use our toes?”

“I’m not touching cards that your toes have touched,” you tell him.

Nikolai makes a face. “They’re royal toes. I hear some people would consider anything touched by my toes a holy relic.”

“I believe the fact that I don’t think that is a strong reason that you hired me in the first place,” you remind him. “You were afraid that I would sell off your used handkerchiefs or something.”

Nikolai nods slightly, accepting this. “It was a real concern. Of course, you could sell off my handkerchiefs even if you didn’t believe they were religious relics, but I appreciate you abstaining from that. It would be dreadfully difficult to explain to the palace seamstresses if I constantly needed new ones.”

“That would be awful,” you remark. “Also, keep your voice down. If these Fjerdans haven’t clued onto the fact that you’re the king, I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Of course, my trusted guard,” Nikolai says. He attempts to salute you, but the chains make it difficult to fully complete the gesture. “I assumed they would have known by now, though. I saw them sending a scout out. Plus, they kept pointing at my face. I know it’s irresistibly attractive, but there’s no need to single me out like that unless they suspect something.”

You roll your eyes. “Maybe they were commenting on the fact that they’d never seen such a vain prisoner in their entire lives.”

“Or maybe they suspected a Lantsov,” Nikolai murmurs. “I’m out of royal uniform since we were traveling. Unless they’d personally seen me before, they’d have no reason to suspect I was anything more than a highly placed guard.”

You shrug as best you can despite the chains. “True. Then the only thing we can do right now is make sure we’re not here when they send someone who can recognize your face.”

Nikolai glances obviously at the chains securing both of your wrists, then the locked cell door. “That makes perfect sense to me. What’s your plan for getting out?”

You meet his stare unblinkingly. “I’m just the muscle, your highness. I believe you’re the one who’s meant to be coming up with plans.”

Nikolai mutters a few uncharitable curses, then adds on, “I suppose you’re right about that. Maybe Zoya will come and save us all. She’s prone to fantastic rescues.”

You can’t help but chuckle at the soft expression that comes over his face. “Of course your first thought goes straight to Zoya.”

Nikolai narrows his eyes at you. “What exactly is that supposed to mean? I am perfectly capable of referring to my second in command. I thought that was expected of first in commands.”

You bite back a laugh. “Of course it is. It’s just that you’re hopelessly in love with her, and that makes the whole affair rather amusing to watch.”

Nikolai’s jaw drops. He attempts to swat you on the hands for that sort of remark, but he just can’t manage it with the position of his chains, so he settles instead for sort of aggressively tapping your boot with his. “How dare you? Take that back at once.”

This time, you can’t help a proud grin. “Of course I won’t. You’re stuck in here with me, so I’ll say what we’ve all been wanting to say for a long time. You are in love with Zoya Nazyalensky.”

Nikolai’s brows jump comically. “Oh, all of us, huh? I want names, L/N.”

“I’m not going to rat out my own men,” you say exasperatedly, “Besides, I’d have to tell you the names of everyone in Os Alta. Except Zoya, of course. For some reason, she’s just as oblivious as you are.”

“Don’t call Zoya oblivious,” Nikolai says fiercely.

You fight the urge to groan. “See? This is exactly what I’m talking about. You can’t go an hour without bringing her up or otherwise defending her honor. You’re in love, Nik. Admit it.”

Nikolai purses his lips, looking studiously out the bars of the cell door instead of at you. “I don’t have to do anything of the sort. This is pure speculation.”

“It is not speculation,” you insist. “I know you’re in love because you look just like me whenever I talk about Genya.”

Nikolai frowns. “I don’t talk about Genya. No more than my job requires, of course.”

For such a clever fox, Nikolai can be decidedly thick-headed when he puts his mind to it. You fight the urge to scream and instead carry on with your argument. “I should hope you’re not talking about my wife like that. I’m right, though. There are parallels here, Nikolai. Serious parallels. I’m in love with Genya and you’re in love with Zoya. Can we agree on that?”

Nikolai is silent for a moment. At last, the tentative peace in the cell is broken by his quiet question, “Do you really think she loves me?”

You snort. “You don’t even have to ask.”

“I do,” Nikolai tells you. He looks directly at you, as if he could tell your truth from lies by just the movement of your pupils. “Does Zoya love me?”

“Yes,” you say firmly. “She loves you just as much as you love her.”

Nikolai releases a breath, crumpling back against the cell wall again. “Saints. I didn’t even know.”

“You were scared to admit it was a possibility,” you correct. “But I think you did know.”

“Maybe,” Nikolai says. “Kings aren’t supposed to be scared.”

“Men are,” you say simply. “It’s not a bad thing. Saints know I was positively petrified to tell Genya how I felt.”

Nikolai chokes out a laugh. “Oh, I almost forgot about that. You were a mess for days leading up to it.”

You shrug. “And look where it got me. I’m a married man, Nikolai. Things work out.”

“Things work out,” he repeats slowly, going over the words like they were a mantra or a prayer.

Maybe he really did mean it as a prayer, because silence has hardly settled over the cell again before the door at the far end of the hall flies open, slamming into the wall with a deafening thud. The Fjerdan guards rise to meet the challenge, but they’re immediately forced to the ground by a mass of fierce wind so strong it might as well have been a solid wall.

A grin rises to your lips. You’ve only seen one Squaller quite so powerful as that. “Looks like you’ll get the chance to tell her sooner rather than later.”

Nikolai sits up interestedly. Seconds later, two women are standing in front of your cage door. The Squaller who had taken out the guards is unlocking the door, her sapphire kefta dotted slightly with ice crystals from the journey to the stronghold, but you can’t spare one glance at Zoya Nazyalensky, too interested in the the woman next to her, the one in the ruby kefta who’s beaming at you.

“Genya,” you croak out.

She smiles, flying into the cell the second Zoya gets the door open. She falls to her knees in front of you, hurriedly undoing your chains so she can take you into her arms the second the cuffs are off. You can feel the slow rush of blood and power returning to your veins, but that doesn’t feel half so good as being back with your wife.

“How did you find us?” You ask, cupping Genya’s face gently with your hands.

She smiles. “The scouts sent word as fast as we could. After that, we wasted no time saving you.”

“No, you didn’t,” Nikolai says. Zoya has let him out and they’re standing opposite each other, exchanging nervous and tentative glances. You know those sorts of looks, you’ve had your share of them with Genya.

You glance back at Genya, who’s smiling softly at the scene, and take her hand. “Let’s free the other guards,” you suggest quietly. “I think these two might want some time to talk.”

Genya nods, leading you back out into the hall. Once you’re free of the cell, you pull Genya in for a sweet kiss. “Thanks for the rescue,” you tell her.

She beams again. Alina Starkov may be the only known Sun Summoner, but you swear there’s pure sunlight in each one of Genya’s smiles. “Any time,” she says. “Just don’t make it a habit.”

“I’ll do my best,” you promise. It’s one oath you don’t mind swearing. Your favorite promise of all has already been made, but this one isn’t all that bad, either.

requested by @reinekes-fox, i hope you enjoy!

grishaverse tag list: @rogueanschel, @deadreaderssociety, @cameronsails, @mxltifxnd0m, @story-scribbler, @retvenkos, @mayfieldss, @eclliipsed, @gods-fools-heroes, @bl606dy, @auggie2000, @baju69, @crazyhearttragedy, @budugu, @aoi-targaryen

all tags list: @wordsarelife

[fanfics4world]

Nothing else matters

Word count: 1250

Pairings: Genya Safin x Fem!Reader

Summary: Shadows loom over both of you as you try to escape, you have one thing on your mind, protect her.

You were running through the stone corridors fleeing the darkness, looking for some source of light. You could hear the Nichevo'ya behind you.

Your hand was tightly gripped in Genya's, you were not going to let go, you were not going to lose her because of your brother's madness.

You turned a corner and came to a dead end corridor. You looked at Genya, whose face had an expression of pure terror.

"We're going to die…" she said defeated. You turned and held her face in your hands, lightly stroking her scars.

"No, do you hear me? We're not going to die, I won't allow it," then you saw it, a door to your right, you cursed yourself internally that you hadn't noticed.

"This way," you opened the door and both of you stepped inside, you had reached one of the kitchens. There seemed to be no way out. You heard the Nichevo'ya approaching the door.

No, this would not end like this. You ran to the dumbwaiter at the back and lifted the door, there was space for one person.

"Come in" you said to Genya, she hesitated for a moment, but finally entered the dumbwaiter.

"Y/N, how will we do it, there's only space for one-", before she could finish, you lowered the door and placed a board to lock it.

"Y/N? Y/N?! What are you doing?", Genya desperately tried to open the door, knocking as she watched you through the small mirror of the dumbwaiter.

"You will go up to the kitchens upstairs and wait for everything to pass" you said ignoring Genya's pleas for you to open the door.

"NO! Y/N! Please! I can't lose you, open the door!" tears welled up in Genya's eyes, the sight broke your heart, but it had to be this way.

"Genya, look at me, everything is going to be fine. But you have to promise me that you won't come out until it's completely safe" you said, Genya shook her head, but finally nodded.

You heard the Nichevo'ya knock on the door, they were coming in. "When you come out, find David and meet up with Alina and the others. I will come and get you, I promise" you said placing your hand on the glass.

"I love you Genya" you said before pressing the lever for the freight elevator to go up. You heard her screaming your name, but you snapped back to reality when you saw the kitchen door fly out and two Nichevo'ya coming in.

"Were you guys hungry? I'm afraid we finished all the soup" you said drawing your shadow sword.

"That was… heartwarming…" you saw your brother coming out from behind the Nichevo'ya. "Love… That was always your weakness little sister" Alexander said. You knew Alina wanted to take his life, but if the opportunity presented itself, you would do it yourself.

"At least my weakness was real, and not for the purpose of gaining more power" you replied, you saw Alexander's face become serious.

Genya had told you many times that your words would end up killing you, maybe the time had come.

"Everything I did was to protect us, to protect you!" he shouted, another lie…. This was starting to get repetitive.

"You did it for you, for your own ego. You said you created the shadow to protect the Grisha, and I believed you, I forgave you, because I thought you could change…. But I was wrong, you didn't change Alexander, you simply hid your plans…. And you almost killed us all" you answered.

"It hurts me that you think like that…. But I want you to remember, I gave you a choice" he said before disappearing surrounded by shadows.

[...]

Pain… That was all your body felt…. You fought, you tried, but those monsters were practically indestructible, not even your shadows could protect you.

And there you were, sitting against the kitchen wall, blood emanating from the hole in your abdomen, you would have rather died.

You felt your body numb, unable to move and you felt how with each breath, the next one became more difficult.

With all the pain going through you, you moved your hand and pulled out of your pocket a small black felt box.

Genya always said you should change color, but black would always be with you, even if you didn't want it, a constant reminder of your ancestors' deeds.

You opened the box with the press, and looked sadly at the ring, a red ruby on top.

Genya… The only light that was able to remain in your darkness, the light that guided you to do something you never thought you would experience again… Happiness…

"She's okay, you saved her…" you reminded yourself, and in that moment, nothing mattered. She was your world, and if she was okay, nothing else mattered.

"Y/N? Where are you taking me?" you turned to see Genya, hair was down and she had a smile on her face, there was a black blindfold covering her eyes.

You find yourselves walking through the corridors of the Little Palace, it was night time and everyone else was resting in their rooms.

"I have to show you something, it's a surprise" you said as you pulled her towards one of the balconies.

"Mmmm, I already deduced that from the tape covering my eyes" you couldn't help but laugh, which made Genya's smile widen.

You both stepped out onto the balcony. "Do you trust me?" you asked, you knew the answer, but you loved hearing it.

"Always," she said. You let go of her hand and closed the door. You stood behind her. "Ready?" you asked, Genya nodded. You removed the tape and watched as her eyes lit up.

The stars were shining brightly in the sky, reflecting in her pupils. "It's a beautiful night Y/N" she said looking at you. You grabbed her hand and both of you walked over to the stone railing.

"Despite the darkness of the sky, the stars shine, managing to pierce the darkness. In the old days they were used as maps to reach destinations, as guides" you explained while looking at the sky.

"You are my star Genya Safin, you broke through my darkness and shone, guiding me" you confessed.

Genya turned to look at you and your gazes met, you could get lost in those eyes a hundred times, you loved it.

"You are my light, my guide. You stayed with me despite my darkness, and I can never thank you enough for that" you said clasping her hands.

"But I can promise you that as long as you are with me, I will do everything in my power to make you happy, I will give you the world if you ask me to" you added and you could see how Genya tried not to cry.

"I love you Genya, as I have never loved anyone" you confessed.

Before you could say anything else, Genya's lips caught you. The kiss was sweet, but in that moment all promises were sealed.

Your hands traveled to her waist, pulling her closer to you. That moment was yours, nothing else mattered.

When you parted, your hands remained on her waist, and your foreheads pressed together.

"I don't need the world, because I have you Y/N"

"I love you" she said, in that moment you felt like the happiest person in the world. You were together, she was yours and you were hers.

You blinked several times coming back to reality.

You clenched the ring tightly in your hand.

"Forgive me Genya…", you let the darkness consume you with only one thought in mind.

Her.

A.N: Hello! I know I've been missing for a while, but I'm back with new ideas that I'll upload soon. As always, if you have any ideas or suggestions, write to me

[kasagia]

Can't catch me now... pt. 2

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova/The Darkling xgrisha! reader Summary: The Hunger Games in Ravka. 12 districts. 12 tributes. 12 mentors. 11 young people die every year. 1 winner. Aleksander was a mentor to many. But only your face will haunt him for centuries. Inspired by: The Hunger Games. I changed the world of both of them a bit. Word Count: 4,4 k Taglist: @flostvs1508 @watersquirtpewpewboomm @aoi-targaryen @summersummoner-pat @il0vebeingdelulu @chelseyyouraverageluigi @msblacklupin Aleksander Morozova's Masterlist ~•♤♤♤•~ Main Masterlist PART 1 ~•♤♤♤•~

"You look like death. Have you even slept an hour?" You shrug at Genya's question. The woman sighs and works on your face to make you presentable. "The general was furious. He's a good man, despite everything they say about him. You have to understand that... he didn't expect this turn of events, and his stoic attitude was violated. I swear, this is the second time I've seen him lose his cool. And I've been here since I was a child."

"When was the first time?" You ask curiously, not believing her for a moment. You couldn't trust anyone here. You could only count on yourself and no one else. You missed Alina a lot.

"I will tell you this with a complete twist. Anyway, if someone asks, you didn't know it from me. 40 years ago, in the Hunger Games, the General was... asked to be a mentor. Her name was Luda. She was brave and beautiful, with a good heart and a pure soul. She was a healer in her village. She volunteered. In exchange for her younger sister."

"And what happened? He scared her with his shadows because she was a vegetarian and didn't want to eat meat to get stronger?" You mock, as she is making final amendments to your look.

"She died." An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Genya was blindly combing your hair, obviously thinking about her. You could see from the look in her eyes that she must have been especially close to this tribute. "She was... close to the general. He had been mourning her death for a very long time. And I don't want to spread rumours, but the tribute who killed her and won the Hunger Games was found hanging in the forest near his home village. His family was soon convicted of conspiring against the crown and hanged in a more… spectacular way."

"I feel like you're not telling me this just to satisfy my curiosity." You guess as she finally pulls away from you.

You don't know what's worse, when she fixes your face with her strange power or when she looks at you intently, looking for something else to improve your appearance. You weren't used to caring THAT much about yourself. Because who would want to look at an orphan?

"I just want to warn you that… our choices don't necessarily affect only us." You roll your eyes at her attempt at intimidation. Of course. He couldn't make you do anything himself, so he sent his minions to convince you. Quite pathetic, like for the terrible Darkling, who everyone feared.

"I am an orphan. There's nothing he can take from me. I... I have nothing left to lose or to care about..." You say it quietly, rubbing your wrist with your hand. You try hard not to think about Alina and Mal. Your only family... all you have left after those you lost.

"And your life?"

"We're all going to die someday, Genya." Your soft whisper seals the uncomfortable silence.

You think about your parents and siblings—everyone you lost—and the life you could have had that fate ripped from you before you learned how to fight for yourself. You lost everything as a child. There's nothing left for you. At least nothing good.

"Here. You look amazing. There is only one thing missing." She says this with a smile and takes out a long, black coat with black and white embroidery from the closet. It's a kefta. A fucking kefta.

"What the hell is that?" You ask angrily, standing up from your chair and looking at the piece of clothing in utter disgust.

"The general ordered it especially for you. You are a Grisha. You are one of us, and you should present yourself as such." She says this and puts the kefta on the chair.

You walk up to it and run your hand over the material. You expected something rough—just like the general's character—and uncomfortable to wear, since the keftas protected Grisha from every blade and bullet, but this... was nothing like armor. It was soft and cozy. Like velvet. Nothing you may have experienced in your district.

"Black? Isn't that his colour?" You ask, trying to reassure yourself of how terrible this damn thing is.

"Merzost is closely associated with the Darkling bloodline in our culture, since he used it to create the fold. Consider it a… coincidental coincidence." You snort when you hear her explanation. If anything, it was a sign of belonging. The general's new toy. Freak of nature. What a pity he'll lose you before he can use you for the good of his fucking Grisha.

"Other people won't see it like that. You know this, so stop lying to me." The redhead sighs, running a hand through her hair.

"Just put it on. People need to know that the king broke his word to Grisha to force you to participate in the Hunger Games, breaking part of the covenant between us."

"This isn't my war to fight, Genya. Besides, I'm going to die in games anyway, so what's the difference?" Your response only enraged her more.

She didn't raise her voice, and you wouldn't have recognized her emotions unless you saw her hands tremble slightly before she placed them behind her back. You wonder how many times she has had to hide her true feelings.

"You have Merzost in your veins, the most powerful force you can draw from. Do you really want to give it all up? Lose the opportunity you have in front of you? Do you know how many of us have been waiting for you?" She asks with resentment in her voice, but you really don't want to argue with her.

You know it doesn't make sense because they are all here believing in some stupid children's story, a fairy tale that made you a savior in their eyes, and now, since you have finally arrived, you are supposed to fly around and pretend to be a hero you know you are not. As if you could do anything you wanted.

"I was dead long before I was chosen for The Hunger Games. Year after year I was only prolongs the inevitable. I am sorry, but that's the truth. Don't get your hopes up."

"I see that my favourite suicide is in good shape today." Your discussion is interrupted by the appearance of the Darkling. You sigh, rolling your eyes at him. You seriously considered throwing yourself at the spear of one of those ancient armored knights that decorated the halls of the palace. At least you wouldn't have to endure his presence any longer. "Are you rested? Fed?"

"Don't you have something else to do instead of keeping an eye on me? Or send your minions to do it for you? This is getting tiring and irritating." Genya gives you an offended look. She huffs, leaving the chambers as she gets a nod from the Darkling.

"I am your mentor. It's my duty to take care of you." He says, clasping his hands behind him once you're left alone. He looks at you carefully and takes a step towards you. This time, you don't step back but stare at him defiantly.

"Then it is with great pleasure that I would like to relieve you of this obligation." Your words only make him chuckle. He straightens a piece of your hair, tucking it behind your ear. His fingertips brush against your cheek, making you shiver. However, you do nothing to let him know how much his proximity bothers you.

"Oh, you won't make it. Only a king can do this. Do you like your kefta?" He asks, changing the subject. You turn your head towards the offending fabric still hanging on the chair.

"It looks like a floor rag." You say, not hiding your disgust. He chuckles darkly again. He takes the kefta in his hands and unfolds it, pretending to look at it carefully as he walks over to you again.

"Then Karamzin must be richer than I thought, if this is what your floor rags look like. Especially the orphanage."

"Have you been rummaging through my files? What for?" You ask in shock, trying to mask your fear. If he finds out about Alina and Mal… you don't want to have any more deaths on your conscience.

"Better put it on if you don't want to find out very soon." You decide to follow your better judgement instead of your pride and turn your back on him, letting him put on the hideous kefta. Surprisingly, the material hugs you perfectly. You feel warm and soft—the complete opposite of what you know. You gasp in shock as he reaches for his belt and pulls you towards him. You bump into his chest as he tightens the belt around your waist. "Good girl. Now, put your hand in the crook of my arm and smile nicely, and everything will turn out great today. And if you keep behaving as a good girl, you'll get dessert tonight."

"I'd rather gouge out my eyes and sew my mouth shut than be an obedient little doll that you can dress however you want and show everyone."

"I'd reconsider it if I were you. The chefs baked a chocolate cake today. With chocolate-covered cherries on top. Have you ever had a chance to eat something like it?" He smiles, almost mischievously, as he stands next to you, still waiting for you to follow his instructions.

"Son of a bitch." You mutter under your breath and he laughs. He must have been drunk. He couldn't be in such a good mood. Not him.

"That's actually very ture, my little wellspring." He says and leads you to a slaughter worse than the Hunger Games... he leads you to a party for the Games. Among the nobility. You shudder just thinking about this nightmare (not because he puts his bigger hand on yours).

"You have a very beautiful dress!" You force a fake smile on your lips when a noblewoman compliments you.

"Thank you." You say, sipping your glass of wine. The only good thing that happened to you at the party was alcohol. And even then, the Darkling tried to limit you to this one pleasure, making sure that you didn't drink too much.

Your head hurt from all the nonsense conversations with all these people who were only famous for being born into rich families. Terrible. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice several tributes also struggling to maintain their composure. At least you weren't the only one.

However, after you turned out to be Grisha, the rest of the tributes tended to avoid you. You knew from the beginning that you wouldn't have any friends among them, but it would be nice to have one friendly soul in this terrible place.

"I didn't think the people of District 12 would fit into our community so well, but you, darling, look absolutely perfect." You barely stop yourself from throwing the glass you're holding at her. Instead, you tighten your grip on him and smile politely at her, gritting your teeth in anger.

"I'm glad I can surprise you."

Fortunately, you don't have to talk to her anymore. The general approaches you quickly, noticing your tenseness, and with his natural grace, he places his hand on your waist, starting a conversation with a woman who turns out to be a close friend of the queen. Oops. It's better that he came to you, because you wouldn't apologise if you accidentally allowed Merzost to break free and turn her into a volcra.

As you stand next to them, as larger crowds of women begin to gather around you, you realize a terrible truth. The Darkling was your only support here. Him and Genya.

You flinch as he suddenly tightens his grip on your waist and guides you away from the group of noblewomen, who giggle as you both walk away. You allow yourself to roll your eyes at them.

"What the hell was that?" He asks you angrily, setting your glass down on the table. You automatically reach for it again, but he grabs your hand before you can take it and keeps it away from the alcohol.

"I was just about to ask you the same fucking thing." You respond in a defiant tone, glaring daggers at him. Your stomach was starting to growl, and the bastard wouldn't let you touch anything to eat until you fulfilled your end of the bargain and behaved yourself. As you and he can see, you didn't do very well.

"Don't grimace around them as if they were pouring salt into your open wounds." He says it angrily and lets go of your hand. He reaches for something from the buffet. You freeze when he hands you a tiny plate with some fruit. You lick your lips, staring at your food for a moment before looking back at him. "It's for avoiding causing a drama. Partly. Try harder, and I'll let you eat whatever you want."

"But that's what they do! Do you have any idea what it's like to have to stand there smiling and nodding your head while these snobs from the capital talk about how your people and the city are octopus and beneath them?!" You hiss so only he can hear it, but you take the plate of food from him anyway. God knows when you'll get something again.

"I'm Grisha. I know exactly what you are going through." You would laugh at him mockingly if you didn't have a mouth full of food. He looks at you disgusted, and you quickly get the hint and eat smaller portions.

"Please. You've been doing fine since the Hunger Games. At least your people don't have to die every year to the delight of a bunch of sadistic idiots with stuffed bras and fake hair." Your comment makes him bite his lip, but he still can't help but smile a little. Few people could make him laugh and laugh at the same time. As you can see, Merzost wasn't the only special thing about you.

However, your hostile look reminds him that you are in the middle of an argument, and it is his turn to present his argument. God, how much work he had to do with you. You will kill him before he can get you safely through the Hunger Games.

"But years ago we were hunted by all of you, and somehow I don't spit on every Ravkan and kill them for it."

"Because you didn't experience it. If you were there, you would act differently." You sound confident. He shakes his head, wondering how you would react to the truth. Although now he seems to be more interested in food than in anything he has to say. He had to finally feed you. His Merzost Holder couldn't go hungry. It's enough that you experienced hunger and poverty in District 12.

"You think?" He asks, setting your empty plate on the table and offering his hand to you. You look at him for a moment, confused by the sudden… change in his attitude.

"General?"

"You can dance, can't you?" He asks, taking your hand, and without waiting for your response, he leads you to the dance floor. The rest of the mentors have no such idea, so you both are closely watched by all the participants in the ball.

"A little." You say shyly, something he's experiencing from you for the first time. He smiles fondly at you, which, of course, you don't see, too embarrassed to look at anything other than your shoes. But others see. The general's small smile does not go unnoticed by his closest soldiers.

"I guess I have to work with that." He says this and gently lifts your chin to look at him. He places a hand on your waist, and the other holds yours in an iron, steady grip. "Eyes on me. Put your hand on my shoulder and try not to fall. Keep up with me, and everything will be fine."

All you can do is trust him, which you do with surprising ease for him. Somehow, he can't take his eyes off you. You looked gorgeous in the black kefta, especially with his symbol embroidered on the back—a little thing you didn't need to know yet. And so, looking at you, Aleksander can't help but wonder what it would be like if he met you under different circumstances. Maybe if he were younger, less experienced... if his mother's words didn't ring so loudly in his head every time he started to feel something akin to tenderness towards you. Maybe if he hadn't lost so many...

Meanwhile, you try to fight the strange feeling he gives you every time his skin touches yours. You feel a strange pull, a calling, and you realise how your power, the same one you tried to ignore and forget for so many years, comes to life under his touch. You hated it. And him. For trying to break down the walls that you put up for so long and so hard. For trying to make you the Grisha you hated. For making it so easy for you to sink into the arms of the Black Heretic ancestor.

And at the same time… it was nice to feel important for a change… even if just for a moment.

So you dance with him, agreeing to this little moment of truce between you two. Deciding that you would look for answers later as to why you felt so attached to him. And why every time he touched you you felt so… powerful.

"That was awful." You groan as you finally return to your chambers, with the Darkling by your side, of course.

He hasn't left you since that dance. He was always somewhere next to you as you talked with the nobility. You have gained several sponsors and the favour of important people in Os Alta. The Darkling was pleased. And you're exhausted.

"And wonderful. You did great, much better than I expected. The servants should bring our dinner soon." He says, sitting next to you on the couch, watching as you take off your kefta and throw it in the corner of the room. He bites his lip, deciding not to comment. He already expected a lot from you today. The manners lesson could have been taught another time.

"Our?" You ask surprised, not expecting him to stay longer than necessary.

"Do you mind?"

"Yes." You answer honestly and straight away, to which he just laughs.

"I wish I cared." He replies with a mischievous smile. You roll your eyes as you take off your shoes and try to pick any pins out of your hair. Genya seemed to enjoy tormenting you. There were definitely too many of them. "So a healer? Really?" He asks, referring to your last conversation. Someone asked you what you wanted to do before you got into The Hunger Games. You decided to answer truthfully once. Of course, you were laughed off and called a sweet, naive soul willing to help. You wanted to vomit on their polished, gold-plated shoes.

"Why not?" You ask angrily. He raises his hands defensively with a smirk, seeing how fed up you are with everything that happened today.

"It's rather… a thankless profession among the common people. Healers usually come to them when they are dying. Relieve suffering. They are the harbinger of death, almost like a reaper. Usually, they are not coming to actually extend their lives."

"So you must have had similar experiences." You scoff, making him think about it. This wasn't what you expected. You were expecting a rather harsh answer. Not a pensive, almost sad look. For a moment, you think that maybe he, too, could just be human. You shake your head. No. He was just one of them. He couldn't have any... human feelings or know the real pain.

"Painful but true. They don't get excited when they see me either." His whisper should make you change the subject, but after the terrible day he put you through, all you want to do is stick a pin in him where it hurts the most.

"I wonder why..." You start, but he cuts you off before you can finish.

"Don't mock. You were behaving so nicely. I prefer you to smile than spit acid."

"I wish I cared." You repeat his words from a while ago, trying to imitate his tone of voice. He rolls his eyes at you, but somehow you both do nothing more than make snide comments to each other. Taking advantage of the relatively quiet moment between you, you decide to ask him honestly. "What do you want from me?"

"To win." He replies simply, playing with the ring on his finger. He rolls it over on his finger, resting his chin on his hand as he looks at you intently. A shiver runs through you as the dark depths of his eyes meet yours. Undeterred by his short, evasive answer, you continue, knowing that this is your only chance to get something from him.

"And then what? You won't let me go back to my district." You say, knowing perfectly well that this is not an option for you. IF you win.

"You are right. You will live here. With Grisha. The people you belong to." You frown, dissatisfied with his answer. You weren't Grisha. You will never be. No matter how much he pushes and forces you to become one of them.

"Unless I die, which is very probably since I am not going to kill anyone on the arena." You remind him. He doesn't seem to take your promise seriously. You don't convince him. He will see for himself in the arena how serious you are about your decision.

"You won't die." He says it firmly, as if it were an obvious fact.

"How can you..."

"YOU WON'T!" He yells at you, standing up. You sit stoically in the same position as before, watching as the shadows in the corner of the room gather around him. He sighs and waves them away. "I've been waiting a long time for you, Y/N. You are the one of your kind and even more precious than a Sun Summoner. I won't see your dead body. No matter how much you want it."

"Leave." You say, too tired to argue with him, to tell him that you have no intention of being an obedient tool in his hands, that you won't be a weapon that he can use.

"That's my palace." Furious at his words, you get up to face him. You look at each other with pure hatred.

You are too tired to notice that a dark mass is beginning to form around your arms. But Aleksander sees it. And he watches with fascination as you let your powers slip through. Out of curiosity, he summons his shadows behind you. Just a small black cloud. However, for some reason, under the influence of your powers, the room is plunged into complete darkness. He looks at you in shock, realising that you had unknowingly empowered him by providing him with energy from Merzost. Unbelievable.

"And my room for a while, so prove to me you can sometimes be the nobel man everyone told me you are and leave me alone." You whisper; all you can see in the dark surrounding you are its irises, analysing you with undisguised fascination and admiration.

If only you trained, if you learned to control what was inside you... Aleksander wouldn't have to take anyone into account; he could just declare himself tsar, threatening the Ravkans to expand the fold if they didn't recognise Grisha's greatness. All he needed was you.

"As you wish." He says, deciding to let you win this fight. He takes your hand and holds it tight as he calls his shadows back to him. They come back in a second. One blink, and the darkness in the room disappears. Impossible. Even his mother didn't have that much control in her glory days. He wondered if you would have this effect only on him or on other Grisha as well. But no. He won't share this secret with anyone. Not yet. For now, you were only his little wellspring of power. "Tomorrow is the first day of your training. 7 A.M. Don't be late, or I will drag you out of your bed by myself." He says, letting go of your hand and walking towards the exit, trying hard not to steal glances at you. He would have to look into his grandfather's journals and old books. You were a real mystery. And he was just waiting to see what more you could do besides complete him perfectly.

"Go to hell." You mutter under your breath, rubbing the hand that was in his iron grip a few moments ago. You felt that stupid electric thrill again. It definitely had to have something to do with your strange connection. Darkling and Merzost Holder. You had to find out more about it. Maybe you need to start being nice to Genya after all...

"Excuse me?" He asks, turning around in the doorway when he hears the insult from you.

"Sleep well." You reply with a sweet, cynical smile. He shakes his head in amusement and decides to ignore your behavior. He'll give you a hard time at training tomorrow. See how far your skills range. With a little training, who knows... maybe you'll be able to bring people back from the dead.

Involuntarily, his thoughts turn to Luda. If he had you by his side earlier… no. He couldn't think about her. He knows that history would have turned out the same way. Because even if you had revealed yourself to him earlier, he would have been too busy with you to see anyone else.

Aleksander promises himself that he will do everything to prevent you from becoming his second Luda. He had enough ghosts of his past tormenting him at night. And you can't become another one of them. If necessary, I will kill these tributes myself. He will find a way. He always did.

Unless someone dares to interfere with his plans... just like last time. That's why, immediately after leaving your chambers, he goes to the only person he knows who will be able to protect you from his greatest enemy.

"Ulla?! Sister?! I have an offer you can't refuse!" He calls from the shore of the lake in the gardens of Little Palace.

[my-beautiful-wylan]

Ketterdam University Pt 1

A Nikolai Lantsov fanfic

This is going to be the first in a series of modern au stories about the grishaverse characters! I'm also going to be running the official "Ketterdam University" school blog soon!

Nikolai Lantsov, typical rich boy and the most sought after guy in London strode into Ketterdam University for the first time since last may. It was the beginning of his Junior semester and he couldn’t be more thrilled to be back. Last summer was so boring that it was almost cruel. He had been stuck behind a desk all year, writing reports and answering phone calls for his family’s successful business. His parents owned the wealthiest company in the world, and because of that, Nikolai had grown up never wanting for anything. He was so spoiled that some people referred to him as a prince.

Of course, it was only ever as a compliment, since Nikolai Lantsov certainly didn’t make enemies. Sure, he wasn’t best friends with everyone, but he didn’t have time for that. He had to pick and choose which people he spent his precious time with, and this year, time was a luxury he could only dream of having.

Nikolai was in his third year at the most prestigious university in the world. Despite the fact that he hated working for his father’s business, the legacy he would be left with was important to him. Therefore, when it had come the time to make a decision on his career, he had settled on business and communications. What he planned to do with it, however, wasn’t what his family would think. He wanted to change the way the company was run once it was handed to him. No one would say the Lantsov business was boring ever again. He was going to bring the company overseas and expand it to the far reaches of the world. But before any of that, he was going to get rid of their terrible logo and aesthetic. Seriously! What’s appealing about a crown?

“Oh my gosh it’s Nikolai Lantsov!” A giggly voice interrupted his planning. Nikolai looked to the other side of the school grounds, where three girls were pointing at him and grinning like a bunch of lovesick fools. A rush of adrenaline ran through him at their attention. If there was one thing Nikolai loved, it was being the center of attention. The lucky people he had chosen as his friends told him it was called having an ego, but Nikolai knew it was just self confidence. After all, weren’t all people supposed to love themselves? He was only following this simple command. And anyways, it was common knowledge that he was the most gorgeous student in the school, so he might as well embrace it.

“He looks hotter than he did last year!” One of the other girls commented, and Nikolai smirked. Deciding to excite them, he waved, winking when he caught the eye of the first girl who had spoken.

“Hey ladies!” He catcalled. “Welcome back!” That was obviously the icing on the cake, because the girl he had winked at collapsed into her friend's waiting arms. He laughed to himself. It was no wonder so many girls had their eyes on him, but even though his parents insisted that he should find a suitable bride sooner than later, he had no intention of doing it. They would have to be quite the woman, and he wasn’t so sure he wanted to put himself out there again. He had been in love during his freshman year at the university, but he and Alina Starkov were never going to work out. They were best friends now, but there were times when he wondered what things would have been like if she had said yes.

But there was no use dwelling on the past… not when the future was waiting for him. He had so many expectations for this year, but right now, all he wanted to do was find his friends and spend his first day partying with them. They had barely seen each other over the summer due to their separate living situations. Thank goodness for things like FaceTime, because they had to have talked on the phone almost every night. But it still wasn’t the same as seeing them in person.

A newfound determination to see his friends burning inside of him, Nikolai broke into a jog as he made his way across campus. Nikolai was an athlete, and that was another reason he was glad to be back. He was the captain of the track team and a key player in the football team. When he wasn’t studying or partying with his friends he was working out so that he could uphold his reputation as the star athlete. The only rival to his physical prowess was Tolya Yul-Bataar. Tolya and him had been friends since they were little, and they had been on the same basketball team in high school. But where Nikolai obviously excelled in track, Tolya was the star of the show in football. Maybe this year I’ll show him who’s king of the field. Snickering to himself, Nikolai added “best Tolya in football” to his mental list of things to do this year.

“Watch where you’re going, idiot!” The angry tone of voice caused Nikolai to stop in his tracks. No one got angry at him… ever. Annoyed, maybe, but it was a well known fact that all of Ketterdam University loved him. He glanced at whoever was upset, and he was astonished to see a bigger girl with a red v-neck shirt and semi fancy black skirt glaring at him. Next to her was a much smaller suli girl with piercing eyes who was rolling her eyes at the other girl. The bigger girl turned to her friend, who spoke before Nikolai could say anything.

“It’s fine, Nina. he’s obviously in a hurry.” She locked eyes with Nikolai and gave him a warm smile. “I’m sorry about her. She doesn’t know when to stop.”

“I hate you.” The bigger girl glowered, but Nikolai knew sarcasm more than anyone, and he knew that the two of them didn't mean what they were saying.

“If you hate me then don’t expect free waffles from the cafe anymore.” The two girls began to chatter about something related to whatever cafe the smaller girl had mentioned, and Nikolai knew it was his cue to leave. They weren’t fawning over him, and he had promised to meet his friends outside of the dorm building in five minutes. He was already on the path to being late, and he refused to give them a reason to make fun of him.

With this newfound determination set in his head, Nikolai practically sprinted to the dorm building. A smile broke out on his face when he saw all of his friends gathered there. Alina Starkov was sitting down on the grass, her head resting on her boyfriend’s lap. Malyen Oretsev was smiling at his girlfriend as he ran his hands through her white hair. Tolya and Tamar, Nikolai’s two oldest friends, were currently in the middle of an arm wrestling match that was being observed by David Kostyk. Genya Safin and Zoya Nazyalensky, both of whom had worked for his family business over the summer, were in the middle of an animated conversation about who knew what.

When no one noticed that he was there, Nikolai made the decision to let his presence be known. He cleared his throat, his signature smirk written on his face. “Now that I’m here, the party can really begin.”

Mal was the first to respond, and Nikolai shook his head at the exasperation on his friend’s face. “You’re late. The party started hours ago.”

“I’m never late, Mal… everyone else is simply early.”

“Are you quoting the princess diaries again?” A look of amusement crossed Zoya’s face as she walked over to him. “You’re such a dork.”

“I have many names, but I wasn’t aware that dork was one of them.”

Zoya rolled her eyes, but there was a warmth in her eyes that Nikolai realized he had missed seeing. They had seen each other a few times over the summer, along with Genya, but without the rest of their friend group, it hadn’t been the same. All of them had been through quite a bit of trauma a few years ago, and the bond they had made during that time was unbreakable. Being separated for a long time, even if it was over summer break, was still hard. Nikolai truly hadn’t realized how much he had missed them until now, seeing all of their smiling faces.

“Believe me, your majesty.” Zoya mocked him with a fake bow, her blue eyes full of that familiar spark. “There are plenty more names I have for you.”

“Do they include sweetheart or handsome? Because if that’s the case, I would love for you to write me a list.”

“Darling, you would detest every single one of them.”

“Oh, I’m not so sure about that.” Nikolai’s hazel eyes were sparkling, and he could feel the familiar spark of adrenaline run through him. “Darling wasn’t so bad.”

“Wasn’t it?” Zoya’s brow flew into the air, but before she could say another word, Tamar broke the silence.

“You two flirt way too much for your own good.” She commented, and Nikolai and Zoya exchanged a look. Zoya was different from the rest of them. She was cool and harsh around the edges, but when she was around her friends she was a completely new person. She thrived off of Nikolai’s sarcasm, and he had to admit that a part of him thrived off of hers. She was either a terrible or a great influence on him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever find out which one it was.

“Come on,” Nikolai’s eyes twinkled again. “You know you love it.”

“We actually hate it, but whatever you say boss.” Tolya’s comment earned a sharp glare from Alina, who instantly stepped away from her boyfriend to face him.

“You can’t say stuff like that! It gets to his head!”

“I do have a big head!”

Alina turned to face Nikolai, unable to keep the grin off of her face. “I know. And how many times is that head of yours going to get you in trouble this year?”

“Me? In trouble?” Nikolai winked at his best friend. “Come on… we all know I’m a perfect angel.”

Alina scoffed, shaking her head sarcastically. “That’s impossible.”

“You know, when people say impossible, they usually mean improbable.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Nikolai laughed, his loud voice echoing throughout the school grounds. “Not at all.”

[morgensdale]

"Together." Mal X Alina OS

Mal comforts alina after a child is sick at the orphanage.

Warnings: panic attack/ trauma mentions.

Alina walked inside the kitchen and pulled out the chair, to perhaps sit down, take her breath. She didn't, she couldn't. She tried to make sense out of what she was feeling at that moment and why, all her past trauma and her trying to ignore it came piling down on her. She placed her hand on her pregnant stomach and the other on her mouth to silence her sobs.

A kid at the orphanage has been sick for some time now, alina and mal have been trying all doctors, all medications, even had him set up for surgery at a young age and things were going perfectly for him. Then it came back, and he wasn't feeling okay again. Alina hated to think the surgery didn't do him well, it failed. They failed a child they didn't carry. Even mal requested for zoya or any other grisha to help but they're not capable of helping such things.

The child would often be in pain and alina would call for genya to help her, bring her a heartrender to try and ease his pain, put him to sleep. But it was getting worse, and genya couldn't cover for her much longer. Word can't get out for nikolai- despite being a friend - alina didn't want to take advantage of him and his grisha. So she stopped asking for the grisha help and tried her best to help the little boy with medical ways instead of small science.

Alina choked out a breath before she heard footsteps and wiped her tears in case it was another child that needed a cup of water or some food. Yet it wasn't, it was mal. He was standing in the door way. His blue eyes flashed as he noticed she was crying. He learned to not question why she wasn't okay, he just acts on it. He walked closer to her instead.

"How is he, mal?" Alina asked, sniffling. Her other hand placed on her still growing stomach. "He's asleep, and.." mal broke off, he looked to the side, he usually did that when he was hiding something. A flare of anger passed through alinas eyes and fully turned his way, glaring at him. "And what, mal?" He stayed quiet, grabbing her hand she pushed it away. "Please don't tell me you had to call grishas help.."

Mal just nodded. "Goddamn it mal! I said we shouldn't have to do that anymore, we can't rely on grisha, nikolai-" she broke off but mal interrupted her. "I know, I know. I couldn't watch him suffer longer, I wanted him to sleep and he was in too much pain to do so, please alina. I had to, I can't promise I won't do it again. I don't care if nikolai locks me up in a cell." Mal said and alina huffed in annoyance.

"Yeah so you leave me here, So we could have our child, first child when you're locked up in a cell and you know how I want this to go perfectly!" Alina yelled as mal just walked closer to her. "Alina, please calm down-" mal said but she shook her head and looked down, tears pouring from her eyes, she was tired. Entirely, she didn't know how she could handle all this. She felt mal's fingers slide against her damp cheeks and she looked up at him. "I'm sorry-" she cried once more. "I know, me too." He said and placed a kiss to her forehead.

"You're not gonna get locked up in a cell." Alina whispered and mal just smiled, it warmed her heart. Mal's hair has grew out longer than before. She couldn't help but run her fingers through his shiny curls, she leaned up and kissed him. His hands went around her waist and brought her closer to him, she couldn't imagine a life where she didn't have mal, where she didn't hug him after a stressful day. Anywhere with him was home, because he's home.

"Even the king can't keep me away from you." He said against her mouth before a throat was cleared at the door and they broke apart immediately. "Wow, that was adorable." Genya said, beside her was a heartrender. Alina just smiled and hugged her friend.

"I'm sorry, gen. I know what position this puts you in." Alina said, before glancing behind her at mal, he didn't seem to care that called grishas help as long as the little boy was alright. "Nikolai owes me, if anything I'm willing to help everyday if I have to. It is up to me, Thank you malyen for giving me the opportunity." Genya said, a small smile placed on her scarred lips. "The boy is fast asleep, as you requested, I shall be on my way." Genya still had the smile on her face before she left with the other grisha woman.

"At least it wasn't zoya." Mal said and alina broke into a laughter. Leaning against the counter, mal just watched her, he loved making her laugh. Ever since they were kids, her laughter had a tone to it and every time he heard it back then it would make him laugh, but now when he hears it it's like he's a child all over again, with his best friend at the same orphanage. Surviving together, Now they're having their own child they're gonna raise together at the same orphanage they both run, together.