#glorious. perfect. dazzling

[melien]

my simself is late for bi visibility day but she's never late for simping for galactic crusade

[endlessapples]

When the Dawn Hesitates, the Light Trembles | Oneshot

shen xinghui | xavier x reader

synopsis:

Despite growing up as close companions from childhood, you've always been attuned to the difference in status that separates you and the prince. And yet, as rational as your mind is, your heart on the other hand is an unruly beast that you cannot fully control. With his wedding and departure to a foreign kingdom looming on the horizon, the question still remains on how you'll let go of your feelings and live in a future without him. And if he's willing to do the same.

tags: childhoodfriends!au, royalty!au, mild? angst with a fluffy ending (this is probs the fluffiest/non-dark themes this blog will ever see), unrequited love that's actually requited, prince!xavier x knight!reader

word count: 6.5k

a/n: thank you everyone for the support for the first chapter of my caleb fic! here's a oneshot that was actually written for my friend's bday as evidence that I also write for the other LIs hehe and a throwback to my days writing royalty!aus on tumblr! :> as always, please feel free to send in asks/request!!

You had encountered the prince for the first time as a little girl. He was quiet with the maturity of an adult, despite only being a year older than you. Your mama was his wet nurse. It was only natural for her to introduce you to him.

You remember that your first thought was that he was beautiful—the light of the early spring sun had casted his hair silver, and his eyes were the shade of blue you had heard about only in the fairytales your mama had whispered to you before you fell asleep. He looked exactly like the young prince in the one book your older sister had pointed out when you had passed the bookstore in the square.

You remember pointing at his hair and shouting, “Look, his hair glows like light!”

His gaze, which had looked uninterested, suddenly turned to look at you. Those blue eyes came to life then, and something had shown in them that you, back then, had viewed as mockery rather than amusement. “Is it always your first instinct for you to comment on others’ appearances?”

With a burning heat to your face, you had realized that he was teasing you. You had glowered at him then, and in a fit of childish immaturity, you grabbed a fistful of dirt from the ground and flung it straight onto him. Not your best moment.

Now, many years later, you don’t really remember how your mama spanked your butt red that night and how you had sobbed and said you’d never do it again and how she had forced you to kneel and apologize to the prince and then reverently express gratitude when he had just shrugged it off, when really he had the right to kill of your entire family.

But you do remember how his skin had turned red in his fluster, how his hair still glowed despite the dirt, and how his lips had twitched in agitation. You remember how his eyes had still dazzled you then—emotion, even if it was surprise, had made them a startling azure. These were all things you would always remember, for however long time would pass.

You wouldn’t ever dare say any of these words aloud to anyone. No, these were memories that only you were the keeper of, that you were certain of.

🌙✨

“Haven’t you heard? The King has sent out a declaration that Prince Xavier is getting married!” a maid clamored, as she rushed down the hallway with her friend.

“To who?” her friend gasped.

“To the princess of the neighboring Lucis Kingdom. Oh, I heard she’s a beauty! A perfect match for our prince! He deserves it, after he won over those hordes of wanderers at our border and made a glorious return!”

Her friend tittered in response. “My, perfect might be too strong a word! I bet even a fair princess would have difficulty trying to enthrall our unfeeling prince! I doubt he knows anything beyond the sword.”

She was the first to turn the corner of a hallway, when she collided into a force. “I’m so sorry—,” she was in the middle of her words when she looked up. Her mouth fell open, and her face flushed a bright red.

You had the unfortunate pleasure of being the wall that the maid had bumped into. And, as she probed your face to determine whether you had heard what she had just said (which you had), you opened up your mouth and slowly spoke, “I would be cautious of the words we say aloud in the palace, just as much as we are to be careful while turning the corners.”

The maid looked like she was cowering. But really, you thought, for what reason?

Yes, it was true that you were infamous in the palace for your quickness to anger, especially when it came to the prince. When the royal seamstress had said that Prince Xavier looked less flattering in red, you had threatened to use the blunt edge of your sword and destroy her supplies. But in all honesty, with how calm you had sounded, there really was no reason for her to be looking at you like you were some smoke-breathing dragon.

The maid quickly bobbed her head up and down in agreement. And then her gaze fell to the person behind you, and her face paled white like a sheet. “G-greetings, Y-Your Highness!” she jolted straight up before quickly falling into a bow, and her friend quickly followed her.

You peered around your shoulder, and when you saw a familiar presence lurking behind you, your mouth flattened into a straight line. “Your Highness,” you said flatly, bowing your head down.

He held your gaze, firmly. Your mouth felt dry all of a sudden, and you felt your face redden. This damn temper of yours! And he overheard it all!

But the two of you grew up together. He must’ve been used to your bouts of anger, even now. You don’t even know why you felt heat crawling up your neck. You turned your head away in indignation.

His eyes travelled beyond you to the two maids, and he nodded once. “You may go.” His tone was disinterested, and the maids hastily bowed again before scurrying away past him.

When they left, it was just the two of you left in the hallway. It was tense, and you felt yourself ready to run away, right behind the maids. You tipped your head and was about to turn away when-.

“I didn’t know you still defended me.” His voice was softer this time, unlike the more frigid tone he had used with the maids. “Are we still friends then, I presume?”

Your lips pursed. Memories of last night flooded through your head. You downing the pint of ale. You furiously pointing a finger at him and shouting at him how he could have been so foolish to have thrown himself at you to push you out of the way during battle and get hurt by the sword of the wanderer when it should have been you protecting him and not the other way around. Him yelling back at you—though, what he said and what happened after, your mind could barely remember over the jumble of your brain buzzing with alcohol and anger. You just remember waking up the next day, head pounding and vowing to never drink again.

And here he went again, with that cursed word. Friends. How could you ever be friends? He was a prince, and you were just some lowly ranked girl whose only luck was that her mother had raised him at her bosom. Other than that, you were nothing. You had only your knight title. Nothing like the precious princess of a wealthy kingdom.

You were about to bite out a vicious comment that reflected something along those lines, but something stopped you from spewing out the first vowel.

He would be leaving soon after his wedding. He didn’t have to stay in this kingdom, not when his older brother was already set to sit on the throne. And you wouldn’t follow, not when it would tear you apart to see them together, to keep seeking above your station when you knew it was unfeasible. So friend, that horrible ill-fitting term, you would hold onto until you couldn’t. You felt yourself wilt in response, and you were certain he had picked up that something was odd about you today.

So you sucked in a deep breath and nodded. “Friends, if you can say that, Your Highness.”

The corners of his lips tugged up in amusement. “So you’ll stop calling me Your Highness then? You know my name. Use it.”

Your mouth was dry all over again, and you felt like you were going to heave all over the floor. It must’ve been the leftover ale brewing in your stomach. It must’ve.

You forced a smile. It probably looked menacing. “People will overhear, and it’s not good for someone like me to be calling you by your name when you’ll be mar-.”

His gaze remained steady.

You swallowed. Fuck.

“Is it an order?” you murmured. Your rude tone, if the head palace maid had heard you, would have sent you straight to a flogging. But Prince Xavier, aside from when you had thrown dirt on his head as a little girl and...and last night, was magnanimous. Nothing could unsettle him, well...maybe except for you.

You did remember that time one of the other knights-in-trainings had been spewing insults about your background and yes, you maybe thought then about swinging your sword down on him (blunt or non-blunt side unconfirmed) but you wouldn’t have done it, not when it would have put your own position as a trainee at risk and left you unable to stay by Xavier’s side.

Xavier had been different though. He had challenged that knight-in-training in a duel during practice and left him black-and-blue. And then that trainee had somehow been removed from the ranks and ended up leaving back to his hometown.

But maybe that was all just wishful thinking on your part.

Hearing no response, your eyes shifted back to him briefly. He just stood there, looking almost pitiful. And it seemed like he had turned slightly so that the bandaged part of his arm was even more obvious to you. A prince? Pitiful? You could guffaw in amusement.

You let out a long sigh.

“Xavier,” your voice was barely above a hush.

He gave you one of those rare smiles of his, the kind that had you breathless as a little girl and breathless even now. On days when he did smile at you, you could never fall asleep. Whenever you closed your eyes, you would see his smile and the way his blue eyes had shone. Oh, tonight would be no different.

You needed fresh air.

You swiftly turned on your heel and headed out towards the pathway to the gardens. His footsteps sounded after you, even as you quickened your pace. But let him follow you—it wasn’t any of your business what he was up to in his free time. And honestly, you didn’t even have a destination in mind.

As the sun warmed up your skin and the smell of flowers sweetened the air, you felt yourself reminiscing. These days would be long gone soon. It was already against propriety for the two of you to still be this close, especially after both of you had come of age. Maybe, maybe it would be good for you to leave all of this behind when Xavier left. So that you didn’t spend the rest of your days an old bitter hag surrounded by reminders of the past.

You were lost in your thoughts as you ambled your way. You were about to take a step forward when you felt a tug at your sleeve, and suddenly, you were falling back. Your back hit a firm chest, and you winced at the collision.

“Ow! What’d you do that for?” you grumbled. You turned your head back, about to bite out another complaint, but your mouth hinged open when you realized that your face was much tooclose to his. You could see the flecks of light blue in his eyes, the way his light-colored eyelashes were trembling, and the slight reddening tint to his skin. He was somehow warmer than the spring air, his body heat seeping against your back. And he smelled like soap and something deeper that you couldn’t quite put your finger on.

You turned and pushed him away by the chest, stumbling back and crashing right into the trunk of a tree.

As you swore under your breath, you heard the sound of laughter. You looked over, irritated. He had his finger raised, pointing right behind you. His other hand attempted to cover his face but you could catch a glimpse of his smile.

“You were about to bump into a tree. I was trying to,” he huffed in a shaky breath, “to stop you from falling.”

Your mouth opened in protest, and you swiftly clamped it shut. Some knight you were. You could take down wanderers of any size and difficulty, but a mere tree was apparently your biggest opponent.

And suddenly you were laughing now too. All the anger, resentment, and bitterness from earlier seemed to fade away. You didn’t think of the past. You didn’t think of the future, of him wedding a beautiful princess and raising heirs with his silver hair and her colored eyes, of you never seeing him again for the rest of your lifetimes. All you thought that it felt good to be standing here with him.

🌙✨

The queen was a beautiful woman. With her long silver hair coiled up in an intricate hairdo and her silver eyes, she looked like a celestial beauty that had fallen onto earth in a gown of deep blue. You could see that Xavier had gotten his looks from her. But while Xavier had the mild temperament of the King underneath his seemingly cold exterior, the Queen was all fire and ice.

“Your Majesty,” you kneeled down onto a knee in a deep bow. She was silent for a long time, taking a long sip of tea from her cup. It was one of the petty tricks that she often played when she was displeased. But you were a knight—what was kneeling on a plush carpet for a little bit compared to sleeping on the cold ground of a forest, unable to rest properly in case a wanderer appeared?

After a seemingly endless time passed, you heard her set down her cup. Her voice tinkled out like bells. “Rise, Dame.”

You rose to your feet. You kept your head bowed.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten a good look at you,” she spoke, “Raise your head.”

You tilted your head up but kept your gaze lowered. She hummed out. You could hear the bracelets that adorned her wrists clinking together as she tapped a finger thoughtfully onto her bottom lip.

“You’ve become more beautiful these years. One wouldn’t expect you to be born from a mere commoner. Even unwomanly duties such as knighthood have not tarnished you.”

“This lowly servant is not worthy of Your Majesty’s praise,” you spoke, as you lowered your head again. You felt unsettled. Compliments from the Queen always had another purpose.

“Hush, child. I can see why even my son has softened towards you.” She hummed, her voice light and airy. “You see, when I married His Majesty, I was a year younger than you are now. I had lived as the princess of a small kingdom, so when his proposal came, there was no choice for me other than to agree. But I tried anyways.”

You remained silent.

“You see, the foolish me of my youth had loved a knight then and wanted to elope with him.” She laughed. “But when I tried to run away with him, my father caught me and had the knight stripped of his titles, tortured, and banished. All those years he had spent in service of our kingdom, and look what he threw away for a fleeting passion.” You felt her gaze fall back onto you. It felt sharp, like a blade.

“You understand my meaning, don’t you? Xavier is set to wed a princess. A political alliance with the Lucis Kingdom will be beneficial for everyone’s sake. A commoner like you.” She paused to laugh again. “Well, I am pleased that you have been able to make a knight of yourself. But make no mistake, that’s as high as you can climb up.”

She gestured a hand out, and you saw a wooden chest enter your periphery. “This is more than enough money to support you and any other ambitions you may have. You’d never have the opportunity to get your lowly hands on this much money. Take this money, and leave. Leave the palace as soon as you can, before the end of this season, so that Xavier does not hesitate in his upcoming nuptials with Lucis’s Princess.”

You raised your head to make direct eye contact with her then. Your eyes were fierce as you sternly shook your head. “Your Majesty, this lowly servant is well aware of her own station and does not dare to go beyond it. This lowly servant is not worthy of your noble gift, for her lowly hands would tarnish its value.” You dipped into a bow again before swiftly turning on your heel and marching out of the room.

You heard the crash of her cup hitting the wall from behind you, but you kept marching forward. Though you felt pity for the maids who would have to deal with her wrath, you knew that it would not have done you any good to have accepted her money.

You had been truthful with the Queen. You did know your station, and you also knew that you would never be able to go beyond it.

Your decision had been made long before you stepped into the room. In fact, it had been made even before you had heard news of Xavier’s nuptials.

It was final then. You would leave on your own terms, using your own money.

🌙✨

You knew you couldn’t stay in the capital. Linkon was a place full of reminders. If you peeked close enough, you could see the alleyways where you and Xavier had snuck bags of toasted walnuts when he was still young and still looked sweet enough to hide his stubbornness—though now, this sweetness had melted into a mildness that still hid his stubbornness well. You could remember the place Xavier had gifted you a small flower pin from the day you were admitted to knight training. And you could remember on one of those excursions where your cape had gone loose and he had reached out to tie it—the brush of his fingers against your lapel and the way your head had swelled up in a rush of blood...How could you stay in a place with all these reminders?

Sure, your family would miss you a little, but after your parents passed away and your siblings grew up, they were more worried about making a living and taking care of their own families. And besides, you could always visit them some time in the distant future.

No, you wanted to go somewhere peaceful and isolated, where nothing from the past could affect you.

As Linkon prepared to send its prince off to a wedding, you spent your time preparing for your own plans. When you weren’t training or taking on missions to take down wanderers, you found yourself perusing over a map that you had bought off a passing merchant.

The nearby city was too close, barely a day’s ride away by horse.

The region to the East looked good on paper, but you knew the noble families that had their territories there had close ties with the Queen. It wouldn’t be good for you to stay in a place where it would be easy for her to keep tabs on you. After all, you wanted to leave for the sake of your own freedom away from any royal’s influence.

Your pointer finger skimmed towards a small town to the West. It was about a week’s ride from the capital, 6 days if you pushed your horse, and near the border, so it was often experiencing unrest from stray wanderers. You could keep making some money there by going on small missions. And with the wages you had saved up and the money you could get from pawning off the uselessly luxurious gifts Xavier had given you over the years, even when you were old and unable to make money off of fighting wanderers, you could still live quite comfortably.

When you made your final decision, you quickly sprung into action. But when you asked Xavier for some time off, he had peered over his documents and looked at you skeptically. You could see why he saw it odd—you hadn’t taken a day off the moment you had entered knight’s training. But with the issue at the border contained, you were able to convince him that it was for the sake of spending some time traveling to get your head back on right. With reluctance, he stamped his seal of approval on your request.

You set off the following day. You didn’t need to prepare much—just enough money for food and your lodgings. But you felt odd as you went from city to city and then eventually from city to town.

It felt like someone was tailing you. The feeling started the moment you had left the gates of the capital, and even when you were deep into the crowds of an inn, you still felt a gaze on you. But whenever you looked, you would see the faint white of a cloak before it vanished.

It must’ve been one of the Queen’s people. So when you were about to reach your next town, only a day’s travel away from your intended destination, you decided to veer off course. Instead of going straight through the main road, you sharply turned off into the woods and urged your horse deep into the undergrowth. You then quickly dismounted and let your horse stray.

By the time the person following you entered the woods and saw your horse by itself, it was too late. You swung them off their horse, shoving them right into the dirt, and pressed your blade against their throat.

“Did the Queen send y-?” You hissed, reaching out to yank the hood down. The rest of the words you were about to say died in your throat as you squinted down at the familiar face. “Xavier?”

He looked at you with the firm steady look in his eyes, as if that was enough to convince you of whatever lie he had spun. But his ears flushed red—a clear giveaway. “What a coincidence...I was planning on checking the state of the borders, and we happen to be headed the same way.”

You laughed dryly. “Certainly, Xavier. Then you don’t mind if we part ways at the next town. I’m planning on taking a restful and slow vacation, and you must be in a hurry to get to the border then.”

He shamelessly shook his head. “I mean, the issue at the border is settled and wouldn’t change in less than a fortnight. They don’t need to see me there that urgently.” His lips curled up faintly at the corner.

You scowled. This prince! He was lying right to your face, and he didn’t seem like he had an ounce of guilt about it. “Well, what would other people think about us then? Only a married couple would be traveling together. Do you want people to presume about our relationship, Your Highness?” You threw your hands up. “And what about your safety? There isn’t a single other knight here from the squad!”

He shrugged his shoulders lightly. “Well, that’s for them to assume. And if you call me by my name, then no one would know who I am, and I wouldn’t be in danger. Besides, I don’t need other knights either. We’re already a good team, aren’t we, Partner?”

You huffed and spun around on your heel, about to start your search for your horse. There was no winning with him. As you found your mare and hoisted yourself up onto her, you squinted down at Xavier, who still looked idle.

“And where’s your horse?” you crossed your arms.

He looked around for a second and then looked back up at you. “It looks like it left. You don’t mind me riding with you, right? Besides...,” his voice softened, and his eyes looked sleepy all of a sudden, “Sleeping these past nights haven’t been too restful for me. I worried that I’d wake up and you would be already gone. I can catch up on some sleep if we ride together.”

Before you could protest, he had already settled himself behind you. His arms looped around your waist. When you turned around to gape at him, flabbergasted, he already had his head tilted down and his eyes closed.

You turned back and grabbed the reins, urging your mare back to the main road. When you were certain that he was actually asleep, you let yourself relax for a bit. You’d drop him off at the next inn and send a carrier back to the palace. By the time he woke up the next morning (or noon, with how his sleeping schedule was), you’d already be almost to your destination.

You were lost in thought and didn’t notice his grip around you tense a bit, not until you heard his voice murmur from behind you. “What did you mean about my mother? I heard she had forced you to meet with her as of late...What did she do?” Despite its softness, you could hear a slight edge to his voice.

You bit your bottom lip, trying to decide what to say to him. “She didn’t say or do anything. Just that, you know...she helped me realize that it would be good for me to start thinking about my future, beyond the castle.”

There was a pause.

“And how are you planning on doing that?”

You cleared your throat. “I mean...I only became a knight because it was a good way for me to help the kingdom and to stay by your side. Now that you’re getting married and leaving, I...I can’t say I know what my next steps are. But it’d be good for me to see more of the world, beyond fighting wanderers and...and as much as I enjoyed it...beyond being your childhood friend.”

After all, you had naively thought you could have stayed by his side forever. How naive of you.

It was silent. Seconds and then minutes and then more passed. You assumed then that he had fallen asleep.

But even as the ride was quiet, both of you slightly swaying with the movement of your horse and his eyes were closed, you didn’t even notice that his fingers were trembling.

🌙✨

The next town was exceptionally quaint. The two of you had reached it right after when the sky was almost beginning to dim and the heat of the sweltering sun had finally dissipated. There was the smoky smell of meat grilling, and groups of children ran past the two of you laughing and pushing each other around. You could hear string music just ahead, and a crowd was gathered around a skit.

Xavier and you talked little as the two of you traversed the space. Only when you had been planning on buying a skewer of lamb had he gently nudged your fingers away from your coin pouch and placed his own coins down. “Allow me,” he hummed. The two of you walked in silence as you nibbled on the meat—even though it originally came from a more rough cut, the way the vendor had cooked it had made it tender and fragrant.

As you scanned the trinkets of the vendor, your fingers lingered on a small hairpin. It was a white flower with a blue gem in the middle, the same shade of blue as Xavier’s eyes, attached to a fragile silver stick. You thought about purchasing it then. A little trinket, that you could carry around as a memory of the night.

Your fingers flexed, as if to grab hold of it.

And then you dropped them. No, it wouldn’t be good for you to carry around all these reminders. You gave an apologetic smile to the vendor and turned away, carrying on to the next stall.

“Why didn’t you buy it?”

You turned around at the sound of Xavier’s voice and bumped into him. You knew he had been following you, but you didn’t know when he had gotten so close—maybe it was the crowd jostling the two of you together. But, as you scanned the surroundings, most of the crowd had already wandered off to gather around a stage where a play was taking place.

“I just,” you felt flustered at having been caught. “It’s not the most fitting for me. It just seems-,” you swallowed dryly, “like it’s beyond my station.”

The two of you had stepped off into a small quiet corner. Despite how dim the lighting was, you could still see the flecks of light in his eyes. He was quiet for a moment before pulling out something from his pocket.

When you saw the glint of blue, you sputtered out, “W-what! Xavier, you shouldn’t have!”

He tilted his head to look down at you, in a way that made every nerve of yours prickle. His gaze was intense. He reached out with a hesitant hand and placed it tenderly against the side of your head. “May I?” his voice was low.

You relented, nodding.

He nudged your head so that it would turn. With quick nimble fingers, he coiled your hair and slid the hairpin through. But even when he was done, his hand hadn’t left you. It instead slid down so that it was cupping your chin.

“I just remembered how you used to wear the flower pin all the time. But then one day you stopped.”

His thumb softly brushed against your skin. God, your throat was dry again.

“Why?” his voice was searching.

Of course, you knew why. You loved that pin. You still love that pin. And even when you had gone on wanderer excursions you had kept it on you still, tucked under your clothes. But the day you had heard news of his engagement, you had thrown it away.

But you couldn’t say that. Instead, you shrugged your shoulders and reached up to push his hand off you. You couldn’t look straight at him.

“I...I don’t know. It just...fell out of use.”

He hummed out a sound that sounded like disappointment. “Is that like us? Do you think we fell out of use too?”

You jolted and looked at him. “No...Xavier, I’m...I’m not someone who deserves to be close to you. You’re...”

“I’m what?” He sounded almost desperate now. But he couldn’t have been desperate about you, could he?

And you didn’t know what to say, but you knew what you wanted to say: You’re getting married. You’re leaving. You can’t keep giving me false hope that I’m special.

But you didn’t say anything of that. And maybe what you said next was worst than all of those statements combined. You just looked at him, with something that you were certain was akin to anguish in your eyes.

“I love you, Xavier.” And when you started, you couldn’t stop. “I have loved you since the moment I saw you. But...you’re...You’re not mine, Xavier. And you’ll never be.”

The moment you registered what you said, you were horrified. Your hands flew to your mouth and before you knew what you were doing, you had turned and started sprinting.

Your mind was spinning. Screw the waiting until the next morning. You couldn’t keep seeing him any longer. Now that you said everything that you shouldn’t have. You didn’t even look at where you were going but you knew you just had to be away, to gather your thoughts and dignity that the next time you saw him again, you could laugh and pretend that it was just the sips of ale that you had taken earlier and you were actually talking about a different Xavier.

Before you could fully slip away, you felt hands wrap around your shoulder and pull you back. You turned sharply, just in time to miss colliding with a group of kids that had tumbled out of seemingly nowhere.

“You can’t just,” Xavier’s fingers were firm, but you could feel them trembling around your skin, “say that and leave.”

Your eyes darted around your surroundings. God, the play had ended and the crowd was already dispersing. You didn’t want to attract any more attention, but you were frantic with distress. You let him pull you away from the crowd and set you down to a seat, staying silent until you were certain there were no other eyes on you.

“I’m, I, I just can’t,” you were shaking now too. Or had you already been shaking? “Can you just forget it, everything I said?”

He laughed. It sounded sarcastic. “Like I was meant to forget what you had said that night when you were drunk, how you said you would never leave my side for the rest of your life.” His voice softened then. “And how I was meant to forget that you had kissed me.”

You buried your face into your hands and let out a groan. “I’m...I did that? Of course, I said something foolish like that.”

And then you registered his second sentence. You bolted up to a standing position. “I kissed you?!”

He seemed calm, but you knew every detail about him—his ears were flushed red, and you could see that his face was hazy with a soft pink. Oh, how foolish were you?

“My sincerest apologies!” you blurted out. “I should have never, I would have never. I said that? I did that?!”

You were hysterical now. Perhaps you should grab your sword now and stab yourself through the heart with it. Your hand was about to reach for your sheath when a hand stopped you.

“If you had not decided to run away before you could listen, to hear my response to your promise,” he spoke firmly, “you would have known that I have shared the same feelings as you.”

You stopped.

“The moment we met, the moment I saw that girl and had her fling dirt on me and how even when she apologized for doing so there was a fire in her that showed that she didn’t think what she did was any wrong,” he laughed. His hands moved up, until they rested on your waist, “I have to admit that I have been hopelessly captured by her. The way she smiles when she finds the dishes she likes and frowns when they aren’t up to par, the way she falls asleep deeply in a second with her mouth wide open, the way she never hesitates to rush in to defend someone with her sword.”

His hands then dragged up until they were once again cupping your face.

“And how I have never been courageous enough to tell her all of these things. That behind it all, when it comes to her I am just a cowardly man. That I get anxious when she doesn’t talk to me, when she decides to do something she’s never done, to such an extent that I become a foolish man who can’t even say a word out of fear of losing her. Because to me, she is my most beloved.”

He swiped his thumb against your bottom lip. His face was getting closer to you. You didn’t push him away.

The kiss was soft and gentle. It felt like sunlight brushing against your lips. You melted under his touch. Prickles of heat surged underneath your skin. 

When you finally parted, he asked, his voice slightly strained, “Will you forget about this too?”

You hadn’t even registered that you were tearing up until you felt him brush away the first drop as it hit your cheek. “I -I must. You are engaged. You will marry another.”

He shook his head. “And in doing so, lose my beloved? Those were all rumors that the Queen had made to force me into this engagement, because she recognized that I love another. That I love you. That I would only marry one, if she would have me.”

You wanted to implore more then. To ask more questions about what it meant for you to say yes and whether it was truly moral for you to allow your Prince to cast aside his duty for you and would it even be worth it.

But you had spent a long time overthinking and asking yourself all sorts of questions. You didn’t want to worry about the future, about the consequences, and what it meant for you to fully defy the Queen’s orders.

All you thought about was how, out of all the questions you have ever had, he had answered the first one.

That memory of the first time you met, he too was a keeper of them. The feelings of those simpler days, when the two of you were young and not quite aware of the difference in status between you and you had kept watch for the head tutors when he would skip his classes to sleep under the great tree but found your own eyes slipping back to him, surged through you.

And to you, that was enough to let you close your eyes and pull him in for another kiss.

Whatever came tomorrow came tomorrow. If you chose to stay, if you chose to leave, rather than uncertainty plaguing you like it had before, you felt certain that this warmth would never leave your side.

✨Extra✨:

He had been careful to not spoil the surprise. It was the day that you would finally start knight training, and he had spent the last couple of days carefully stitching each petal together onto the hairpin.

He had always acquired skills easily, but even though the tutor had complimented his work, he still felt a little embarrassed of the quality. Sure, you would look beautiful in it because you looked beautiful in anything. But was it good enough for you? Would you like that it came from him?

He felt the pin in his pocket again. Should he wait for you to be done? Where should he wait for you?

You had found him the second you were done, your skin flushed and glowing with sweat. His mouth felt a little dry then as you beamed at him.

“We just started training to boost our stamina but pretty soon I’ll have the sword in hand and we’ll be defeating wanderers left and right!” you motioned a sword with your arms. “But training is pretty intense, as you can remember, Sir Head Knight. I won’t be able to come find you like I usually do.”

He didn’t remember how he got to presenting to you with the pin, but as he placed it in your hands, he remembered his mind went blank and suddenly he spoke: “I bought it just now. It’s not the best quality, so if you don’t wear it, it’s alright.”

You had already snatched the pin from his hands and was already working it into your hair. When you were done, you gestured wildly at it and grinned. “A gift for your future accomplice?”

He swallowed again. You really did look even more beautiful than he could have imagined.

Before he knew it, he had come closer. A thick strand of your hair had fallen out of the hairstyle, and he had it in his clutch, pressing a soft kiss on it. Your smile went stiff.

“No, it’s a gift for my future partner.”

A/N: let me know your thoughts! fics are always unedited so if any grammar mistakes or run-on sentences catch your eye...uhhhh no they didn't! and as always, my inbox is open!

[iamfitzwilliamdarcy]

The Exsultet

Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven, exult, let Angel ministers of God exult, let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud our mighty King's triumph!

Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her, ablaze with light from her eternal King, let all corners of the earth be glad, knowing an end to gloom and darkness.

Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice, arrayed with the lightning of his glory, let this holy building shake with joy, filled with the mighty voices of the peoples.

(Therefore, dearest friends, standing in the awesome glory of this holy light, invoke with me, I ask you, the mercy of God almighty, that he, who has been pleased to number me, though unworthy, among the Levites, may pour into me his light unshadowed, that I may sing this candle's perfect praises.)

(V. The Lord be with you. R. And with your spirit.) V. Lift up your hearts. R. We lift them up to the Lord. V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. R. It is right and just.

It is truly right and just, with ardent love of mind and heart and with devoted service of our voice, to acclaim our God invisible, the almighty Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord, his Son, his Only Begotten.

Who for our sake paid Adam's debt to the eternal Father, and, pouring out his own dear Blood, wiped clean the record of our ancient sinfulness.

These, then, are the feasts of Passover, in which is slain the Lamb, the one true Lamb, whose Blood anoints the doorposts of believers.

This is the night, when once you led our forebears, Israel's children, from slavery in Egypt and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea.

This is the night that with a pillar of fire banished the darkness of sin.

This is the night that even now, throughout the world, sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and from the gloom of sin, leading them to grace and joining them to his holy ones.

This is the night, when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld.

Our birth would have been no gain, had we not been redeemed.

O wonder of your humble care for us! O love, O charity beyond all telling, to ransom a slave you gave away your Son! O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!

O truly blessed night, worthy alone to know the time and hour when Christ rose from the underworld!

This is the night of which it is written: The night shall be as bright as day, dazzling is the night for me, and full of gladness.

The sanctifying power of this night dispels wickedness, washes faults away, restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners, drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty.   On this, your night of grace, O holy Father, accept this candle, a solemn offering, the work of bees and of your servants’ hands, an evening sacrifice of praise, this gift from your most holy Church.

But now we know the praises of this pillar, which glowing fire ignites for God's honor, a fire into many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light, for it is fed by melting wax, drawn out by mother bees to build a torch so precious.

O truly blessed night, when things of heaven are wed to those of earth, and divine to the human.

Therefore, O Lord, we pray you that this candle, hallowed to the honor of your name, may persevere undimmed, to overcome the darkness of this night.

Receive it as a pleasing fragrance, and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.

May this flame be found still burning by the Morning Star: the one Morning Star who never sets, Christ your Son, who, coming back from death's domain, has shed his peaceful light on humanity, and lives and reigns for ever and ever.

R. Amen.

[eldritch-alicedoll]

Diasomnia Boy gift s/o an evening gown to attend the NRC & RSA ball tgt Headcanon

Following from my dress sketch design if you haven’t seen it here . They are base from Glorious Masquerade & Playful land events. Basically a sequence I imagine while drawing the dresses XD I also want to mention that when it’s finish 🥺 you can draw it on your oc and even tweak a bit detail to fit your Yuu or OC. It’s meant to be share with everyone, not just my Yuu.

⚠️ Bad English……. I have no idea what is grammar . 😂

╭══• ೋ•✧๑♡๑✧•ೋ •══╮

Imagine a ball between NRC and RSA happening maybe sometime after chapter 7. All students are invited but you are troubling since you have no dress to wear. And for the love of the great seven. Your beloved head master, Crowley just allowed you to join in your NRC uniform……….. great! So much for your kindness!!

Guess who will be the photographer and a background character on this event…..hahaha………

Well maybe you whine too much in front of the wishing well. Someone comes up with a plan. A plan that would make you believe in a fairytale once again!

╰══• ೋ•✧๑♡๑✧•ೋ •══╯

𝔐𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔲𝔰 🐉

You had to be blind to not suspect anything……

Lately Mal is a bit touchy. Not that he isn’t normally but this is different. Sometimes he holds your wrist while mumbles something while going on a night stroll. Sometimes he stares at you and gets lost in his thoughts. He even stands just in front of you and tries to lift you up once.

You are so confused and a bit embarrassed when he asks about your height so you call for support. The Diasomnia’s family counselor aka. Lilia Vanrouge. You went all the way to Diasomnia dorm without telling anyone and sneak in to see Lilia.

But

…….

…..

…………

Is he………….

Is he dancing with a dress just now??

Surprisingly you just witness your dragon boyfriend practicing a dance with a beautiful dress. He hummed ‘that song’ while spinning with the dress. What a beautiful princess gown with dark green silk. It looks so shiny and smooth, something that would delicately touch her skin while being held in that big palm. Imagine how soft that hand craft lace feels when on your chest. He did not spare any piece of jewellery from his procession. He keep bring in dazzling earrings and necklaces to test it with the gown. He would have use the heart of his collection to craft a piece of accessories for you if he doesn’t want to save it for something later in the year. You can see a magical golden thread and needle weaving delicate patterns on the skirt as he continues the dance. Every angle……Every turn………..Malleus is creating a masterpiece. He did it………..for you…….for his princess.

Your face is burning from the love of this dragon fae. Why does he have to put so much effort into it.

Oh no………now you a mess

You open the Pandora box too early and now you have to live with it while pretending not to know a thing until the day. You bit your lip as Mal smoothly tug a strain of hair behind your ears. You can now understand what he mumbles about……rose gold? Sunshine gold? May be one of his grandma’s jewellery set?? (Oh god no…….that’s tooo far for the first gown Mal lol)

Your heart beat so fast until the evening of the event. Malleus play cool by teasing you and being a nice partner who prepare a gift for you.

Boom! You are now in a matching dress. So those Raven feathers on the hip are supposed to match his shoulder then ah………..you are about to take off the veil since it looks like a bride. Before Malleus could turn grumpy…..Sebek yell and lecturing you about how talented Wakasama are! You human dare to question his sense of fashion? Outrageous! Just because he love you doesn’t mean you can ruin his days of afford to perfect this dress

Woops………tongue slip

Well it’s not like you never know anyway. Just pretend to be surprise so Sebek won’t get a lightning strike okay?

Bonus : she doesn’t want to point out that when she accidentally saw Malleus weaving that dress……. his tail wagging. It’s a secret she gonna take to her grave though

Bonus 2 : Lilia does notice that and brag about how adorable Malleus is. How Malleus has grown to fit in the society in front of the other dorm leader………..Oopsie

Bonus 3 : Malleus learn the hard way not to miss the meeting

𝕷𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖆 🦇

Have you heard of the story of the fairy godmother in Cinderella? Well he won’t just roll out and sing bib bi di bub bi di bo and bang! A nice new dress for you. The old man planned while cuddling you in bed……in sofa…..in the gaming chair(?)

He pretends to be busy with something and hasn't listened to you. Even play dumb and say you look cute in the school uniform. Well it’s not totally a lie since he thinks it’s adorable. Why would he poke on your cheek and nibble your neck while you are in your uniform if it’s not because you are so cute to him.

The truth is, this old bat is as excited as you. He lived through the war time and never got a chance to enjoy a leisure party before. Well it’s just a joint event of 2 schools. It can't compare with how grand the royal ball of the Briar valley held a ball but this is the first time he is going to have his lover join him. He doesn’t have to be alert from enemies. Doesn’t have to command his subordinates to search all the parties involved in this event. Just lay back enjoy the day with you.

He had been trying to recreate that dress in his memories just for you. It was around……..hundred? Two hundred?? Year ago??? He walked past this girl on the street and was stunned by her attire. It’s an elegant dress with black velvet and green emerald. Soft flare neckline covered the black corset. Enough skin to show your radiant but not too much.

Well, He was allowed to give you some hickeys before the day of the ball. It got enough fabric to cover all his naughtiness. Wink*

However he was troubled with the skirt since he only remembered just part of it flowing past him. He argued if it’s short or long skirt. He was going back and forth and even tried to summon multiple dresses to compare them…….Then before the final day. He just uses his sense of style to bring it together. Of cause ! Who do you think he is, if not the cutest boy in NRC ? (Self proclaimed……)

He smiles so proudly with your flushed cheek as he teases you. As you put on a golden belt with a bat and thorn on. This is the perfect dress for you. His baby bat. He should had prepare a ring for this big day but well…….there are plenty time for that

Bonus : He pick a perfume for you today and as you dance with him on the floor. It’s totally Lilia’s scent///

This is very long………..more than I expected

I’ll continue Silver & Sebek in part 2 then 😂 sorry I’m so into it with my oshi! I’ll try pack in other dorm in one post! Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy!!

[tearsinlove]

ALL UTA☆PRI SONGS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

A.I

ADVENT ACE

ALIVE IN YOURS

ALL MY MISSION

AMAZING LOVE

AURORA

Ai no REINCARNATION

Ai no Uta

Ai to Yoberu ki no Shita de

Ai to Yume to ANATA to

Ai wo Sasageyo ~the secret Shangri-la~

Akatsuki no Utage

Akuma no Kiss wa Honoo yori Hageshiku

All yours

Alright, All night

Am I a fairy or...?

Ambivalent

Andromeda de Kuchidzuke wo

Angel's Note

Ao no Tsubasa

BE PROUD

BELIEVE☆MY VOICE

BLACK DEJAVU

BLOODY SHADOWS

BLUE×PRISM HEART

BRAND NEW MELODY

BRIGHT ROAD

Baby! My strawberry!

Beautiful Love

Black Panther

Blooming Baby

Bokudake no Kimi Kimidake no Boku

Brilliant Days

CHALLENGE!

CRYSTAL TIME

Canon

Changing our Song!

Clap Hands!!

Clear Sky Message

Code: T.V.U

Colorfully☆Spark

Cosmic Runner

Crown of Agna

DANCING OVER NIGHT (Xmas Rearrange)

DAY DREAM

DESTINY SONG

DOUBLE WISH

DREAM TALE

Dancing Escape

DANCING OVER NIGHT

Dazzling Darling

Dear... Burning my Lady!

Dekiai TEMPTATION

Dizzy Glow

Double Face

Dream Maker

Dream More than Love

Dreamer

Drown in

EMOTIONAL LIFE

ENDLESS SCORE

EVERY Buddy!

EVOLUTION EVE

Egoistic

Eien no TRISTAR

Embrace Ensemble

Emerald City he no Michi

Encore

Eternity Love

FANTASTIC Melody

FLAKE HEART

FLY TO THE FUTURE

FORCE LIVE

FORCE LIVE (Anniversary Rearrange)

FREEDOM

FULLTEN

Fantastic☆Prelude

Feather in the hand

Fiction

First Time

Floating Labyrinth

Frost Dream

Fumetsu no Inferno

Futari no MONOGRAM

Futari no Yume

GAMUSHARA ROman☆Tic

GIRA × 2 ★ SEVEN

GLORIOUS ANGELS

GO!×2 Jet Coaster

GOLDEN☆STAR

GREEN AMBITION

Genesis HE★VENS

Give Me True Love

God Love Keihou Hatsurei

God's S.T.A.R

Grateful friends, Graceful ways

Grown Empathy

HEAVEN SKY

HE★VENLY PARADE

HE★VENS GATE

HE★VENS GATE -Beginning of the Legend-

HOLY KNIGHT

HORIZON

HUG SONG

Happiness

Haruhana

Hatsukoi wa Mata Hajimeyou

Hoshi no FANTASIA

Hoshikuzu☆Shall we dance?

Hurray×2 Dreamers

Hyper×Super×Lover☆

I Am Here.

I LOVE & NEED YOU

I swear...

Ice Pierrot

Ikkiuchi

Ikusen no Evidence

Illusionist

Independence

Innocent Wind

Intimate Distance

Issho ni Hang in there

Itoshiki Hito e

JINN-Ω-RAY

JOKER TRAP

JUSTICE IMPULSE

Jinsei on Sparking

Jounetsu no Déjà Vu Kiss

Junketsunaru Ai -Aspiration-

Just You

KILLER KISS

KIR☆MEKI EMOTION

KISS wa WINK de

KIZUNA

Kakeru Kiseki

Kaleidoscope

Kanbinaru Arcadia

Keiyaku Seiritsu

Kiramekira

Knight no Kiss wa Yuki yori Yasashiku

Knocking on the mind

Koi Kara Ai e...Soshite Mirai ni

Koi no Ondo –melt into one–

Koiiro SENTIMENTAL

Koizakura

Komorebi Diamond

LIFE ~ WITH THANKS ~

LOVE ABLAZE

LOVE AFFAIR

Love Evol

Lasting Oneness

Let's Be Happy

Lost Alice

Lovable midday

LOVE SONG FOR YOU

Love is Bon Appétit

Lovely Eyes

The Forest of Lycoris

Lyrical Poetry

MASQUERADE MIRRAGE

Mune no Kodou

MUSIC FOR LIFE

MUSOU

Maigo no Kokoro

Maji LOVE 1000%

Maji LOVE 1000%-RAINBOW STAR Ver.

Maji LOVE 2000%

Maji LOVE Kingdom

Maji LOVE Legend Star

Maji LOVE ST☆RISH Tours

Maji LOVE☆Revolutions

Makoto ni Tsuki Michite

Marriage

Mellow×2 Chu

Melting of snow

Michibiki Hikari

Mighty Aura

Mirai Chizu

Mirai Yume Arigatou Soshite

Moon Rain

Morning in the sky

Most FORTISSIMO

Mugen no TRINITY

My Cutie... Drive Me Crazy!

My Little Little Girl

NEVER...

NEXT DOOR

NIGHT DREAM

Nanairo no Compass

Natural Identity

Netsuaichuu BANG×BANG×BANG!

Netsujou SERENADE

Neverland no Kiseki

Nijiro☆OVER DRIVE!

No. 1

Non-Fiction

NorthWind and SunShine

Not Bad

ONLY ONE

ORESAMA RONDO

ORIGINAL RESONANCE

ORION de SHOUT OUT

OVER THE TOP

Ok, Hello World!

On Your Mark!

One Day

Orange Rhapsody

Orpheus

Otokogi Zenkai Go! Fight!!

Oumagatoki Mare

Over the Rainbow

PERFECT STORY

POISON KISS

POLARIS

POP SHOWER

PRI☆LOVE∞UNIVERSE

PRI☆LOVE∞UNIVERSE - HE★VENS Ver.-

PRI☆LOVE∞UNIVERSE - ST☆RISH Ver. -

PRI☆LOVE∞UNIVERSE -QUARTET NIGHT Ver.-

Paradise Lost ~Beside you~

Paradise Lost ~Fall on me~

Pirates of the Frontier

Pit a pat

Piyo-chan no Uta

Promise to Sirius

QUARTET CROWN

QUARTET★NIGHT

RAIN OR SHINE

RAINBOW☆DREAM

RED HOT×LOVE MINDS

RISE AGAIN

ROULETTE

Rai Rai ☆ All Right

Re: alive

Ready Steady Race!

Ready to be a Lady

Reimei drops

Romantic days

Rose Rose Romance

SAMURAIZM

SECRET LOVER

SHINE

SIMPLE

SMILE MAGIC

SONG LETTER

STAR WISH

STATE OF PERFECTION

ST☆RT OURS

SUKI×SUKI Hanamaru!

SUPER STAR

Sacred Pairs

Saintly Territory

Sanctuary

Seien BRAVE HEART

Seimei no Ibuki

Seiten☆OHA♪YAHHO

Sekai no Hate Made Believe Heart

Setsugetsuka

Shining Star Xmas

Shining☆Romance

Shining☆Romance (Anniversary Rearrange)

Shinnaru Senritsu wa Saiai wo Utau

Snow Ballade

Souai Toroimerai

Southern Cross Waltz

Starlight Memory

Stars From Microcosmos

Stay with...

Steward Dance

Still Still Still

Subete wo Uta ni!

Sunshine melody

Superb Spirits

Sweet Kiss

Syncronism

TABOO NIGHT XXXX

Thank You

THE WORLD IS MINE

TRIGGER CHANCE

TRUE WING

TRUST☆MY DREAM

Target is You!

Tasogare Hugging

Tears in Love

Tempest

Tenka Muteki no Shinobi Michi

Tenkuu no Miracle Star

The New World

The RUN to the RAY

The Wizard of OZ and...

The dice are cast

Timepiece

Togabito no Requiem

Toki no Jewel

Top Star Revolution

Torrid Love

Triangle Beat

TROIS

Tsuki ni Yume Ai ni Anata

Tsuki no Uta

Tsukiakari no DEAREST

Tsumugu Melody

UP TO THE LIMIT

UUUU

Ultra Blast

Unmei no Toki

Up-Down-Up!

Visible Elf

WE ARE ST☆RISH!!

WHITE GRAVITY

WILD SOUL

WINNER

WONDER☆RONDO (Xmas Rearrange)

WONDER☆RONDO

Welcome to UTA☆PRI KINGDOM

Welcome to UTA☆PRI RAINBOW world!!

Welcome to UTA☆PRI world!!

Winter Blossom

With Ding Dong

Wonderful SMILE

YOUR ADVENTURE

YOUR BIRTHDAY

Yoiyami Secret moon

You're mine!

You're my life

Yume no Kuni Neverland

Yume wo Uta e to...!

Yumeoibito e no Symphony

Zero

Zetsutaiteki☆N・A・G・I

Zettai Reido Emotion

Be the light!

Innocence

☆YELL☆

☆light ☆night

[heliads]

Hi!! I’m so excited your request are open I love your work!! I would like to request Charles leclerc x reader where he finds out the girl he has a crush on is a street racer and decides to finally approach her and talk ending up in him asking her out on a date. I hope this makes sense, sorry if it doesn’t 🥲���

'first sight' - charles leclerc

masterlist

Charles Leclerc has never found himself as thoroughly engrossed in the dynamics of street racing as he is right now. He has, of course, been vaguely aware of it before, as someone who was born in Monaco’s lap of luxury and then subsequently indoctrinated in the grand and glorious art of racing sports cars, but not like this. Never like this.

If he were in the mood to be particularly honest, Charles would admit that he’s not just interested in street racing all of a sudden because of the same need for speed that’s consumed his life and led him to Formula One. Nor is he here because he’s developed a taste past sports cars to souped up tin cans. No, he’s here because of one driver, a woman. A woman named Y/N L/N.

See, this was never Charles’ intent. He would have been able to skip this unfortunate little obsession in his life were it not for the fact that he’s best friends with Pierre, and Pierre is way too fond of his girlfriend Kika to ever say no to her. So, when Kika begged Pierre to come with her to watch a friend’s street race, Pierre decided that he simply couldn’t do it alone and forced Charles to tag along as well, because of course there’s nothing Charles likes more than third wheeling the two of them on yet another flirtatious date night.

Charles had assumed it would be another long night of alternating between wishing he was back home, worrying he should be on the simulator more often, and wondering if he should have dragged along a brother or two so he wouldn’t have to watch Pierre and Kika ogling each other for the thousandth time that night. However, all of that changed when Kika led them over to meet her friend Y/N, who was racing that evening.

Charles is no stranger to pretty people. Every race, some new slew of celebrities gets a tour of the Ferrari motorhome. Charles has seen plenty of actresses and singers pose by his car and wear his merch, but it’s never really meant anything to him. He can tell when they’re fans or if they’re just doing it for good PR. Most celebrities are just people in higher tax brackets with higher rates of avoiding their taxes. You meet one, you meet them all. No amount of perfect smiles or dazzling faces can change that.

Y/N, though, was different. She was gorgeous, and Charles immediately felt as if he might have been run over by his own car several times. One look from her and he was lost in it, tumbling over and over in his mind. She had this charming confidence that Charles could only wish to emulate, the sort of ease you get when you know you’re better than everyone and don’t need to remind people of it because you know you’ll prove it the second you get to work.

If it were not obvious by now, Charles is in love, alarmingly so. Even after Kika makes some quick introductions and Charles manages to shake Y/N’s hand and stammer out a few pleasantries about it being a nice night for a race, he’s still left wishing he could get himself together long enough to be a real human being. Y/N probably thinks he’s insane, but she’s still smiling when she leaves them, so at least he hasn’t done too terribly.

Pierre, by contrast, seems to think otherwise. Y/N is barely out of earshot when the other driver turns him, unable to hide his laughter. “Charles, man, what was that? You look like you forgot your own name.”

“I don’t need to remember mine,” Charles murmurs, watching Y/N go, “Just hers.”

Pierre rolls his eyes. “Be serious. You fall in love a hundred times a week.”

Charles sputters indignantly. “That is not true. And besides, this is different.”

Pierre can’t persuade him otherwise. The drivers on the scene that night start their engines, and Charles watches from the sidelines, captivated, as Y/N accelerates to an early win. Once the race is over, Y/N runs over to Kika, who embraces her friend with an excited hug.

“Well?” Y/N asks Charles once she’s released from Kika, “What does the Formula One driver have to say about that? Fast enough for you even without V6 engines?”

Charles does his best not to fall to pieces. “Um, yeah. It was very great.”

She flashes him a bright grin. “Perfect. See you at the next race, Leclerc.”

With that, she pushes back into the crowd, receiving congratulations and praise from her other friends. Pierre is grumbling something about not getting asked as well since Charles isn’t the only F1 driver around, but Charles just laughs, still giddy on the aftereffects of those shining eyes on his.

Pierre expects him to just bounce back from this little crush, and truth be told, Charles would appreciate it if he could, but no such luck. Even a few weeks after that first race, Charles is still hopeless over Y/N. He scans articles on street racing, memorizes the names of her competitors, and becomes an expert on her win history. She’s fast, super fast, and it looks like the easy victory Charles had seen was just a typical habit of Y/N L/N when it comes to racing.

Needless to say, he was captivated. Although Charles usually tries to keep a little pride when it comes to these sorts of things, he only made it two weeks before caving and asking Pierre if he and Kika were planning on attending any more street races. Charles wondered this for no reason, of course. Just, you know, his natural love of racecars.

Pierre sees right through it. “You want to see Y/N that badly, huh?” Pierre asks skeptically. “Jeez, man, I didn’t think you were such a simp.”

“You didn’t even know what that word meant until Kika taught it to you two days ago,” Charles says scornfully. “Now answer my question. Are you going or not?”

Eventually, and not without a fair amount of teasing, Pierre admits that they were planning to go to another race that Friday. Charles is able to convince his friend to let him tag along, but only under the condition that he would actually get up the courage to ask Y/N out instead of just staring like a lovesick puppy. Pierre’s words, not his.

This time, the race is actually legal. Y/N’s day job is a drag racer, although she tends to get bored on the weekends and shoot for a few undercover street races as well. So the fan Twitter pages say, at least. Charles definitely hasn’t been snooping around enough of those to know.

Now that he won’t get chastised by Ferrari PR for attending illegal races, Charles is free to post as much as he wishes about the race, the cars, and most importantly, the drivers. Barely half an hour has gone by before fans across the Internet are calling him out for ignoring literally every other car there to post about Y/N, but what does he care? Y/N’s probably too cool to look at those sorts of posts. Hopefully, or she’s going to think he’s insane. Again.

This time, though, when Y/N strolls by their area to say hi, she doesn’t just immediately focus on Kika. She says hi to her friend, of course, and thanks both Kika and Pierre for coming, but stops directly in front of Charles. All that separates them is the barrier of the stands. Well, that and the immutable fact that Charles is clearly crushing hard and she is clearly just having fun.

“Good to see you back, Charles,” she says.

Charles grins. He’d promised himself he’d play it cool this time, but he’s already failing at that aim. “You remembered my name?”

“I had plenty of your social media posts to remind me,” she says, one eyebrow quirked.

Pierre facepalms by his side. Charles ignores him. “I was excited,” he tells her as casually as he can. “Is that a bad thing?”

“I don’t know yet,” Y/N muses. “I suppose I’d have to get to know you better.”

“I have no problems with that,” Charles grins cheekily. “How about I take you out to dinner and you decide for yourself?”

In Charles’ peripheral vision, he can see Pierre’s look of desolation turn to slow shock, but come on now, there was no chance Charles wasn’t going to follow through and ask Y/N out. The only thing he needs now is for Y/N to say yes.

She doesn’t answer immediately, but judging by the way her cool smile brightens, it’s less because she dislikes him outright and more because she enjoys playing with him, which is perfectly fine by Charles. If he respects the game, he has to respect the players as well.

“I’ll have to wait and see how I feel after the race,” Y/N responds at last. “Maybe I’ll lose and I’ll be too devastated to go out with anyone.”

Charles rolls his eyes. “I doubt that will happen, but alright.”

Y/N gives him a surprised look. “You’re willing to bet that I’ll only go out with you if I win?”

“I’m willing to bet on the excellent odds that you win every time,” Charles answers with a wink. See, Pierre? He can be smooth when he needs to be.

Y/N laughs at that, evidently pleased. “I’ll have to make sure I don’t let you down. See you after the race, Charles.”

With that, Y/N joins the throng of other drivers heading towards their cars to begin the race. Once she’s gone, Charles turns to Pierre, far more proud than he should be. “I don’t want to ever hear you complaining about my flirting again. Did I not do what I had to do?”

“You did,” Pierre grumbles, “but she still didn’t say yes, you idiot.”

Charles scoffs. “She absolutely did. She didn’t say no.”

Pierre can’t technically argue with this, so it’s up to Kika to distract them both from technicalities by asking them about one of their upcoming races, a surefire method of changing the subject. It does little to divert Charles from his own nerves, though. Suddenly, he’s gripped with an impossible terror that something will happen with Y/N’s car, or maybe she might come in second place and not first, and she wouldn’t want to go out with him after all. He shouldn’t have left it up to chance like that. He should have just gone after what he wanted in the first place.

Charles is a nervous mess the whole race. When the checkered flag waves, though, he’s finally able to relax. Y/N wins, and that means Charles has just scored himself a date with the prettiest woman he’s ever seen. 

Y/N takes her time in coming around to his section of the stands, just to mess with him. At last, though, they’re face-to-face again. Y/N is breathless and thrilled with the victory. Charles thinks he could bask in her glow forever.

“So?” He asks casually, “How about that date, then?”

Y/N grins. “I think it’ll work out. You can pick me up at seven. Does Saturday work for you?”

“Saturday is great,” Charles says a little too quickly, then tries to recover. “Wear something pretty.”

“Don’t I always?” She jokes, gesturing to her race suit.

Charles laughs with her. It’s easy. He can imagine doing it many times again. “Of course.”

Her laugh settles into a quiet smile. Even in the tumultuous uproar of a race that’s just been won, Charles can focus on her instantly. He wants this, he decides. He wants her. And, with the way she’s looking at him now, mirroring the incline of his head towards hers, Charles knows that she wants the same thing. This is just the beginning. He cannot wait to see where they go from here.

f1 tag list: @j-brielmalfoy, @juphey

all tags list: @wordsarelife

[rainforestakiie]

Some people play with the idea that Angels have something acute to bird dances to those they court. Something like hummingbirds, they have certain feathers that give a semblance of a sound depending on how they move them with the wind. Literally making a song through dancing, it’s beauty depending on skill and practice. And Lucifer has six. Of course, Adam would have no idea about this nor have the state of mind to gasp its meaning. But, wouldn’t it be cute, after helping Lucifer clean his wings, he takes all the lose feathers and tires braiding it into his own hair. And tries innocently mimicking the dance back to Lucifer.

awww that would be so cute~

i love the thought of it! ahhh!

Adam was gently stirred from his slumber by the most exquisite melody he had ever encountered. The sound danced through the sweet air of Eden, caressing his senses and painting a blush across his cheeks. He blinked his emerald eyes open, sitting up from where he had been nestled among the soft, newly blossomed carnations. Their delicate red petals, like whispers against his skin, had lulled him into sleep.

But now, something far more enchanting had awakened him, a sound that drifted through the trees, making the leaves sway in a joyful, glorious dance. Adam yawned softly, rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes as he gazed around in wonder. No bird in Eden had ever sung such a captivating song. It was as curious as it was beautiful.

With careful, almost reverent movements, Adam extricated himself from the bed of carnations and stood on his wobbly feet. He squinted at the bright, cloudless sky, where the sun bathed everything in a golden, otherworldly glow. The day was as perfect as any in Eden, yet something extraordinary was calling to him.

With a puzzled hum, Adam began to follow the sound. It was sweet and tender, a melody that seemed to weave through the trees like a delicate thread, drawing him closer. As he walked, he passed the animals of Eden, each one serene and at peace. He paused to gently stroke the head of a mother deer, a tender smile tugging at his lips as he admired her three spotted fawns, nestled close to her side. All the creatures had gathered, captivated by the same lovely sound.

What could it be?

The sound was like a magnet, irresistibly pulling him from his secret sanctuary among the carnations. Even the Angels never found him there, hidden deep within the bed of red flowers. Yet now, he moved through the herds of peaceful animals, his skin tingling as he drew nearer to the source of the mysterious melody. A flush spread over his body, deepening as he finally reached a towering tree.

Adam's heart was pounding, its rhythm echoing in his ears and filling his chest with a sweet ache. He couldn’t fathom why he felt so nervous, so anxious. His hands trembled as he reached out to touch the warm bark of the tree, the sound growing even sweeter, as if beckoning him to step out from his hiding place.

A shiver traced its way up his spine, as if the melody itself was caressing him, its notes brushing against his skin like the softest of touches. Adam almost curled up beneath the tree, overwhelmed by the sensation. But gathering his courage, he inched to the side and peeked around the tree trunk. His breath caught in his throat, his apple-green eyes widening in awe.

The sight before him was breathtaking, more beautiful than anything he had ever seen.

The enchanting melody was coming from his angel, his guardian Archangel, Lucifer. Perched gracefully high up in the tree, the angel looked utterly divine. His soft blue cheeks glowed as he sang, the sound pouring from his cherry-red lips. All six of his wings were spread wide, their iridescent feathers shimmering with the sunlight, casting a dazzling array of colours throughout the small clearing in Eden. Adam had never seen Lucifer's wings shine so brilliantly, each feather like a tiny prism of light.

But Lucifer wasn't alone. A small gathering of birds surrounded him, their wings fluttering in harmony with his, adding their own sweet notes to the symphony. Adam gasped softly, his heart swelling with emotion as Lucifer's sparkling sapphire eyes opened and locked onto his own, as if the angel had known he was there all along.

Startled, Adam ducked back behind the tree, his pulse racing. Yet the divine melody didn't falter; it only grew louder and more insistent, urging him to look again. And when their eyes met once more, Lucifer slipped from the branch with a graceful ease, his glowing wings twinkling like the stars in the night sky.

Lucifer, with an impish glint in his sapphire eyes, began to glide effortlessly through the air, imitating the courtship dance of the birds around him. He dipped and swooped with breathtaking grace, his movements so fluid they seemed to merge with the melody that still filled the air. Each dive was a display of elegance, his wings shimmering with an ethereal light as they caught the sun’s rays. He twisted in the air, performing acrobatics that defied gravity, his every motion a flawless blend of power and beauty.

Adam watched, utterly enchanted. His breath hitched each time Lucifer ascended into the sky, only to plummet with a swift, controlled descent, the arch of his wings catching him just before he reached the ground. The archangel’s performance was hypnotic, a mesmerising dance that seemed to be crafted just for him. 

Every so often, Adam would find himself overwhelmed by the intensity of it all, and he would duck back behind the tree, his heart pounding in his chest, only to hear Lucifer's melodic voice calling to him once more, coaxing him out of hiding.

The angel's song, sweeter than any earthly tune, floated through the air like a tender caress, its notes wrapping around Adam and pulling him back into the open. Lucifer was patient, his voice a gentle lure, each phrase of the song like a delicate thread weaving its way into Adam's heart. He would peek out again, unable to resist the pull, and each time he did, Lucifer would flash him a playful smile, his wings flickering like a thousand tiny stars.

Lucifer’s pendulum flight was the most captivating of all. He soared high above, then allowed himself to swing back and forth in a graceful arc, as if he were the pendulum of some grand celestial clock, marking the passage of time with each elegant swing. The way his wings caught the light, refracting it into a kaleidoscope of colours, left Adam breathless. It was as if the entire sky had been painted with the hues of Lucifer’s feathers, creating a dazzling display that filled Eden with a radiant glow.

Every movement Lucifer made was a silent invitation, a beckoning for Adam to come closer, to share in this moment of divine beauty. Adam felt his heart swell with an emotion he couldn’t name, a mixture of awe, longing, and something sweeter, deeper. Each time he retreated behind the tree, it was with a pounding heart and flushed cheeks, only to be drawn out again by the angel’s persistent song.

Finally, as Lucifer performed another series of spiralling dives, his laughter—light and musical—rippled through the air, mingling with the songbirds that had gathered to join in his performance. Adam’s eyes widened as Lucifer soared straight up, only to dive with breathtaking speed, pulling up just before touching the earth, his wings spreading wide to catch the air in a final, triumphant arc.

Adam’s heart raced as he shifted once more behind the tree, his cheeks aflame with a warmth that only intensified with each passing moment. He watched as the birds that had danced alongside Lucifer fluttered away, drawn toward smaller, more delicate companions of their own kind. Their playful courtship made Adam’s heart flutter, a strange shyness settling over him as he observed their tender interactions.

“Adam?” Lucifer’s voice, soft and melodic, called out to him, his tone a gentle chirp that mimicked the birds. The sound was impossible to resist.

Peeking out from behind the tree at the call of his name, Adam startled, a soft yelp escaping his lips as he found Lucifer suddenly on the other side. The Archangel was hovering effortlessly, his back arched as his hands lightly touched the bark of the tree, his fingers mere inches from Adam’s. Their closeness sent Adam’s pulse into overdrive, his breath catching as Lucifer’s glowing eyes locked onto his own. The angel’s cherry-red lips curled into a sweet, wide smile that made Adam’s heart skip a beat.

The air between them was thick with an unspoken connection, a bond that had been woven through the dance, the song, and the sheer, overwhelming beauty of the moment. Lucifer tilted his head slightly, that knowing smile deepening as he inched closer, his voice a soft melody that wrapped around Adam like a warm embrace.

“Why do you hide from me?” Lucifer asked, his tone teasing yet filled with a deep affection that made Adam’s heart race even faster.

“I—I…” Adam stammered, his words failing him as he struggled to find a response. The angel’s presence was overwhelming, a mixture of awe and comfort that left him breathless. Finally, he managed to whisper, “I—I couldn’t help it. You’re… so beautiful.”

Lucifer’s smile broadened, his expression tender as he reached out, cupping Adam’s cheek with a soft, warm hand. The touch sent a delightful shiver down Adam’s spine, and he instinctively leaned into it, his eyes fluttering closed as he exhaled a shaky breath.

“You’re so cute,” Lucifer murmured, his voice laced with amusement as his wings continued to shimmer in the sunlight, casting a kaleidoscope of colors around them. “Did you enjoy my song and dance?”

Adam’s eyes flew open, surprise coloring his voice as he gasped, “That’s what it was? A song and dance?”

“Yep,” Lucifer chuckled, stepping back slightly as his feet touched the ground, his six wings ruffling and stretching wide. He ran his hands over his iridescent feathers, his blue eyes glancing down at them with a fond smile. “I was singing and dancing to impress you.”

“Impress me?” Adam echoed, his gaze fixated on Lucifer as the angel’s fingers brushed through his feathers with such care. “Why?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Lucifer teased, his voice playful as he chirped once more like the birds around them. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he took in Adam’s captivated expression, a grin spreading across his face as he stepped forward, gently curling his hand around Adam’s wrist. With a gentle tug, he guided Adam down to their knees on the soft grass of Eden.

“Would you be kind enough to help me with my wings?” Lucifer asked sweetly, his tone dripping with charm. He knew what he was doing. “I need to groom them, and with so many feathers, it’ll be a real pain to do it all by myself.”

“Yes!” Adam exclaimed eagerly, his voice brimming with enthusiasm. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Lucifer, his heart swelling with the desire to help.

Lucifer laughed softly, a sound like the tinkling of bells, before leaning in to nuzzle his cheek against Adam’s. The gesture was affectionate, almost intimate, and it sent a wave of warmth flooding through Adam. “Aw, you’re so sweet and kind, Adam,” Lucifer purred, his voice filled with genuine affection. “Always so willing to help the little old me.”

Adam’s heart soared at the angel’s words, his hand reaching out to gently touch the soft, iridescent feathers of Lucifer’s wings. He felt as though he was floating in a dream, the world around them fading away. He adored Lucifer’s wings, finding them so soft under his hands. 

“Adam~” Lucifer chuckled, his voice a melodic tease as he reached up to Adam’s hair, gently plucking a red petal nestled among the soft curls.

Adam gasped, his eyes widening as he watched Lucifer bring the petal to his lips, the angel’s tongue flicking out to taste it. A blush bloomed across Adam’s cheeks, his breath hitching at the sight. “Um, well, they’re—from my… carnations,” he stammered, his voice trembling with shyness. “I-I have a carnation bed now…”

“Oh, do you?” Lucifer purred, his voice smooth and filled with a sweet, almost playful curiosity. His fingers traced delicately along Adam’s skin, following the soft blue veins that pulsed beneath the surface, each touch purposeful and electric. Lucifer’s gaze drifted to the red petals woven throughout Adam’s hair, his pretty blue eyes sparkling with admiration. The sight was so endearing, so utterly charming, that Lucifer found himself wishing the petals could stay forever nestled in Adam’s hair.

“So that’s where you’ve been hiding?” Lucifer’s tone was laced with amusement, yet there was a gentle affection behind his words, as if he already knew the answer.

“Um, not hiding, j-just…” Adam’s voice faltered, his words trailing off as the warmth in his cheeks deepened. His entire face was a vibrant shade of red, especially as Lucifer released a series of those endearing bird-like chirps, the sound playful and sweet.

Lucifer’s laughter bubbled up again, light and musical as he leaned in closer. “You’re even more adorable when you blush,” he murmured, his voice low and intimate, sending a shiver down Adam’s spine. Lucifer’s fingers continued their gentle exploration, tracing patterns along Adam’s skin as if committing every detail to memory.

Adam’s heart raced, his thoughts a jumbled mess as he tried to find the words to respond. But all he could manage was a shy smile, his eyes flickering up to meet Lucifer’s as he felt the angel’s warmth enveloping him, both in body and spirit. Every touch, every word, every glance between them was filled with a tenderness that left Adam feeling as if he were floating, lost in the overwhelming sweetness of the moment.

"Hmm," Lucifer sang out, his voice a soft, melodious hum that sent another familiar shudder down Adam's spine. The sound wrapped around him, making his heart flutter in his chest. Lucifer’s gaze lifted to the red petal in his hand, holding it with delicate fingers before finally releasing it to the wind. They both watched as it was whisked away, dancing through the air like a tiny flame. "I bet the petals would look lovely with my wings."

Adam blinked, his mind immediately conjuring the image. He could see it so clearly—Lucifer’s shimmering wings adorned with the vibrant red petals, each one adding a touch of fiery beauty to the angel's already breathtaking form. His hands trembled slightly as he continued to clean the wing closest to him, his fingers moving through the soft feathers just as Lucifer had taught him. The task was soothing, almost meditative, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Lucifer’s words, to the way his heart raced at the mere idea.

As he worked, Adam noticed the loose feathers that effortlessly fell away, their beauty still intact despite their shedding. They were perfectly healthy, each one a masterpiece of nature’s design. Adam had never quite understood why Lucifer’s wings shed them; they appeared flawless. It always seemed such a waste when Lucifer simply discarded them.

"Can I have these?" Adam asked quietly, gathering the feathers into his hands, his voice barely above a whisper.

Lucifer hummed sweetly, the sound much too close for comfort, and Adam felt the angel’s warm breath tickling his cheek. His cheeks flushed with heat, and his heart stuttered as Lucifer gazed down at the feathers, amusement dancing in his blue eyes. "Sure. You can keep whatever you want, Addie."

"O-Oh," Adam stammered, the affectionate nickname sending a jolt of warmth through him. He shuddered again, instinctively shuffling forward in a vain attempt to create some distance between them. But it was no use. Lucifer simply shifted his wing, the one Adam had been cleaning, blocking any chance of escape. The human found himself trapped in the most tender of cages, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. "T-Thank you."

Lucifer’s smile broadened into a radiant beam as he let out a low, satisfied purr. Before Adam could react, the angel wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into his lap with effortless grace. Adam’s breath caught in his throat as he found himself enveloped by Lucifer’s warmth, the angel’s soft feathers brushing against his skin like the gentlest of caresses.

Adam could barely think, his mind clouded by the overwhelming sensation of being so close to Lucifer. The steady beat of the angel’s heart beneath his ear was a lullaby, soothing and rhythmic, grounding him even as his emotions threatened to spiral out of control. He was lost in the moment, in the feel of Lucifer’s arms around him, the sweet scent of the angel’s skin, and the comforting weight of his wings wrapped protectively around them both.

~#~

A full week had passed since Lucifer had given Adam the feathers, and now, Adam found himself with a collection of beautiful, iridescent treasures. He held one between his fingers, tilting it in the sunlight, gasping as it shimmered like a rainbow. As he marvelled at its beauty, a soft hum emanated from the feather, a sound so reminiscent of Lucifer's enchanting song that it sent a shiver down Adam’s spine.

Adam didn’t understand the things Lucifer did, and it often left him bewildered. The Archangel seemed to take great joy in Adam’s confusion, and though it puzzled him, it also caused his heart to race in a rhythm that sometimes made him pause, pressing a hand to his chest to calm the flurry of emotions within. The memory of Lucifer’s captivating dance lingered in his mind, refusing to fade, no matter how hard he tried to focus on other things. It had become such an obsession that he found himself watching the birds—Mockingbirds, he had recently named them—performing the same dance for their partners. He didn’t understand the significance of it at the time, but later, he would wonder how he could have been so blind.

Now, as he gazed at the feathers laid out before him, Adam shuffled his hair and settled onto his knees. He began to braid the feathers into his hair with gentle hands, working quietly and with focused determination. He wasn’t intending for anyone, least of all Lucifer, to see him. Lucifer had told him just yesterday that he would be away for a few days, as Heaven had grown much too busy with the birth of the first woman. Lucifer hadn’t seemed too pleased with the development but had appeared relieved when Adam showed no interest in the thought of the woman.

Adam didn’t know where the idea had come from, but it had appeared in his mind as soon as he woke up that morning, squirming in his bed of carnations. The thought was persistent, refusing to leave him until he acted on it. So he continued threading the feathers through his hair with as much care and gentleness as possible. Once he was sure he was done, he crawled toward the lake bank, peeking at his reflection in the water, and giggled. The sunlight shone over him, catching the feathers and creating a small, sparkling rainbow around him.

Adam giggled even more as the Mockingbirds seemed to take notice. A few landed on the branches above him, perching together and peeking down at him with curious eyes. Immediately, they released a chorus of chirps and calls of delight. Adam smiled up at them, pushing himself to his feet before twirling around with joyful abandon, spreading his arms wide and bowing in their direction.

“What do you all think?” he called out innocently, his voice light and carefree.

The Mockingbirds responded with another chorus of sweet calls, beginning to hum together in an adorable tune that made Adam’s heart swell with happiness. He grinned widely, twirling around once more as the Mockingbirds leapt off the branches to dance around him. Their wings caught the sunlight, reflecting the same colourful patterns that adorned Adam’s hair, and together, they created a dazzling display of light and colour that filled the air with a joyful, harmonious energy.

Adam’s heart raced with excitement as he watched the Mockingbirds dance around him, their wings flashing in the sunlight like tiny rainbows. The memory of Lucifer’s enchanting performance played vividly in his mind, and an idea began to take shape—a desire to mimic the beautiful, fluid movements he had seen, to feel the same joy that had radiated from Lucifer and the birds.

Taking a deep breath, Adam spread his arms wide, imagining them as wings, and began to move. He twirled on the balls of his feet, trying to replicate the graceful dives and acrobatics that Lucifer had performed so effortlessly in the air. Without wings, he had to stay grounded, but that didn’t dampen his enthusiasm. He leaped and spun, his feet barely touching the ground as he attempted to mimic the pendulum flight, swinging his body in a rhythmic motion that made him feel as if he were flying, if only for a moment.

The Mockingbirds, sensing his intent, joined in with exuberant chirps and trills. They swooped and soared around him, weaving through the air in intricate patterns that mirrored the very dance Lucifer had taught them. Their song was the same one Lucifer had sung—a melodious, enchanting tune that filled the garden with warmth and light. 

Adam moved to the rhythm, his heart swelling with a joy so pure it nearly brought tears to his eyes.

He was so caught up in the moment, so lost in the dance, that he didn’t notice the presence that had quietly returned to the garden. Lucifer, having descended from Heaven earlier than expected, let out a gasp of wonder as he caught the sight. The Archangel moved high up into the trees, gazing down at Adam with a mixture of amusement and deep affection.

Adam’s movements were clumsy compared to the Archangel’s, but there was something endearing about the way he tried so earnestly to recreate the dance. He leaped and spun with all the grace he could muster, his laughter mingling with the Mockingbirds’ song. The feathers in his hair shimmered in the sunlight, catching the same rainbow hues as the birds’ wings, making him look like a part of the vibrant, living tapestry of Eden.

Lucifer’s heart swelled with love as he watched, a soft smile curving his lips. There was something almost magical about seeing Adam, the first human, so full of life and wonder, moving with such joy in the garden they both cherished. The Archangel had always found delight in Adam’s innocence, but this—seeing him dance, hearing his laughter—this was something else entirely. It was a moment of pure, unfiltered beauty, and Lucifer found himself utterly captivated.

As Adam continued to twirl and leap, completely unaware of his audience, Lucifer felt a wave of warmth wash over him. The human’s delight was infectious, and soon, without thinking, Lucifer began to hum along with the Mockingbirds’ song, his voice blending seamlessly with theirs, adding a richness to the tune that made Adam pause mid-twirl.

Breathless and flushed, Adam froze in place, his eyes wide as the familiar sound reached his ears. Slowly, he turned toward the source, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw Lucifer perched high in the trees again, watching him with a gaze so full of love it made Adam’s heart skip a beat.

“Lucifer!” Adam exclaimed, his voice filled with a mixture of surprise and embarrassment. He immediately stopped his clumsy dance, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red as he realised he had been caught.

With a clap of his hands, Lucifer grinned. “Aw, don’t tell me you’re finished? Don’t stop on my account, Addie~”

“Um…” Adam blushed even brighter than before. 

Lucifer slipped off the branch and approached Adam with a playful glint in his eyes. “You were doing wonderfully.”

Adam’s embarrassment melted away at Lucifer’s words, replaced by a shy smile. “I was just… trying to do what you and the Mockingbirds did,” he admitted, his voice soft. “But I don’t have wings, so…”

Lucifer’s smile widened, and he reached out, gently brushing a stray feather from Adam’s hair. 

“You don’t need wings to dance, Adam. Your heart is what makes it beautiful.” He glanced at the Mockingbirds still circling above, their song continuing in harmony with the garden around them. “And it seems they agree.”

Adam’s heart swelled with happiness at Lucifer’s praise, and without thinking, he moved closer, his hand slipping into Lucifer’s. 

“Would you dance with me?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, but full of hopeful anticipation.

Lucifer’s eyes softened, and with a tender smile, he nodded. “Of course,” he whispered back, his voice carrying the same enchanting melody that had first drawn Adam to him.

Together, hand in hand, they danced beneath the dappled light of Eden’s trees, surrounded by the vibrant chorus of Mockingbirds. Though Adam remained on the ground, and Lucifer’s wings spread in elegant arcs around them, it felt as though they were both soaring through the air, caught up in a moment of pure, unbridled joy that would linger in Adam’s heart forever.

[dystopicjumpsuit]

Whoo hooooo! I think you would create magic as always with this prompt: the first initial kiss being a simple peck, then they immediately go back in for a stronger, more passionate one.

Could I request it with your choice of Tup… or post-stasis Kix… or Hunter? 🫦🥹💙

A/N: Thank you for the ask @freesia-writes! I’ve been wanting to write a fic with a meteor shower for ages, and this was the perfect opportunity. I hope you enjoy!

Pairing: Hunter x Reader (GN)

Rating: T, but minors DNI as always

Wordcount: 740

Warnings and tags: fluff; sensuality; pop culture in my SW fanfic (it's more likely than you think)

Summary: You and Hunter watch a meteor shower on Pabu.  

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“I’m gonna turn in,” Wrecker said. “I’ll take the kid back to the house if you two want to stay and watch the show.”

“I told her she needed to take a nap if she wanted to stay awake long enough to see the meteor shower,” Hunter laughed quietly, passing Omega’s sleeping form to his brother.

You grinned. “In her defense, if my dad had told me to take a nap when I was twelve, I definitely would have stayed awake just to spite him.”

Wrecker let out a booming laugh. “Didn’t realize you were such a rebel!”

“Ssshhhh!” you and Hunter shushed Wrecker in unison.

“Oh, right,” he whispered. “I’m headin’ out. See ya later.”

You waved goodbye at Wrecker and then flopped back down onto the blanket you’d spread on the sandy beach of Pabu, staring up at the glorious night sky. Hunter soon joined you, not quite touching you, but lying close to your side so you’d both fit on the blanket.

“You’re lucky Omega’s such a great kid,” you murmured. “I was a holy terror at her age. I couldn’t even stand myself; I don’t know how my parents survived.”

“I find that hard to believe,” he chuckled. “The proper schoolteacher of Pabu?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” you replied. “I was a teenage dirtbag.”

“Is that why all the kids love you?”

“They sense a kindred spirit under my respectable facade,” you said with a giggle.

Hunter huffed a quiet laugh, and the two of you lapsed into silence as you watched the sky. It was a dark, moonless night, and for once, the sky was entirely free of clouds—a perfect night for stargazing. You could see the entire galaxy stretched out above you, the stars shining brightly enough that they reflected as pinpricks of light on the tranquil ocean.

“Look there,” he said, pointing to a section of the sky close to the horizon. “It’s gonna be a good one.”

Sure enough, a brilliant streak of light soon shot low across the darkness, its flash bright enough to illuminate the beach faintly. As it burned out, you turned your head to stare at Hunter.

“How do you do that?” you asked softly.

“I can hear them,” he replied.

He lay on his back, his eyes fixed on the sky, and you took a moment to watch his face in the starlight. “That’s amazing.”

It was difficult to tell in the darkness, but you thought he smiled. “There’ll be another over there.”

He pointed across your body to a section of sky far to your left. He propped himself up on one elbow so he could see over you, and you turned to the sector he pointed out just in time to catch the vivid burst of light. The meteor split in two as it hit the atmosphere, putting on a dazzling show, and you could hear the distant sizzling as it burnt itself out.

“Even I could hear that one!” you exclaimed, turning to Hunter in excitement.

He was much closer to you than he had been when he was lying on his back, and you caught your breath when you realized that your faces were almost touching. Your pulse began to race, and you silently willed yourself to calm down, knowing that Hunter would be able to hear your body’s reaction to him.

Another meteor shot directly overhead, its bright light illuminating his face, and you realized he was staring at your lips. On impulse, you reached up and kissed him. It was quick and light—barely a peck—and by the time it was over, the beach had plunged back into darkness, leaving you uncertain about his response.

“Sorry,” you whispered. “Was that—”

He cut off your question abruptly, his lips crashing into yours in a passionate, urgent kiss. His hand dropped to your waist, rolling your body against his as his tongue grazed your lips softly, sliding into your mouth. The moment he tasted you, he let out a short, desperate sound, almost a growl, as his hand slid possessively up your back. Overhead, a spectacular meteor burst into the atmosphere, its flash so intense that you could see the illumination even though your eyes were closed. You opened them just in time to see the light trail die out.

As your lips parted from Hunter’s, you whispered, “We missed that one.”

He kissed you again, softly. “I prefer the view down here.”

[feralgodmothers]

I think I cracked it you guys. A part of why Elvis (2022) has such a hold on me (and why you should watch it too if you haven’t already).

The first time I watched it, I didn’t really have any expectations - I wasn’t a fan of Elvis, because my mother hated him, and I grew up without any real exposure to him or his music. I also wasn’t a fan of Baz Luhrmann, because I found his directing style to be too over-the-top, chaotic, and truthfully - obnoxious. So neither of those two big names attached to it were a draw-in for me. And on top of that, I didn’t know Tom Hanks was in it, and I didn’t know who Austin Butler was - not to mention there’s been an abundance of music biopics lately. The only thing that captured my attention was how accurately the trailer portrayed the fangirl spirit. I was like ‘Yeah, that’s exactly what it’s like. I can relate to that’, lol. So with that being the only thing that held my interest, I put it on and just shrugged and thought ‘Who knows, this might be fun’.

I was completely blown away.

I had seen a few clips of Elvis prior to this at some point in my life, so I had just enough reference in my memory to go on while I watched Austin do his thing, and he nailed it. It took no time at all for you to feel like you were actually watching Elvis Presley, not just some guy playing him. Austin Butler was flawless - he’s received a tremendous amount of praise for his performance, and quite frankly - I don’t think there could ever be enough praise for what he was able to accomplish here. It is one of the best performances of all time, and that is no exaggeration. It was so exciting - the amount of movie magic (that’s been sorely lacking from films lately) was on full display here, and it gave me new life. I felt a real connection to a completely different era in our history, a connection to a whole other generation of people/fans, and to a music legend that I knew almost nothing about, and who pop culture had twisted into some mythical caricature of himself. This film accomplishes so much, and I was caught up in a whirlwind of something truly eye-opening and magical. The main takeaway I had from my first time viewing was pure excitement and adrenaline, from just being transported somewhere else entirely, both emotionally and spiritually, and from unlearning some misconceptions I had about Elvis Presley. And, as a bonus, I now had a new celebrity crush in Austin Butler (and we all know - stumbling across someone new to thirst over will always be a profound part of the fangirl experience, lol).

The second time I watched it, I was going in still riding that high that I felt - and I was ready to immerse myself into full, thirsty fangirl mode. And obviously I did thirst - but by the end of the film, I was so incredibly emotional. I cried so much, and felt so sad. Of course, I felt sad by the end the first time I watched it too - Elvis died tragically early, and the way the movie highlighted his final performance was so effectively heartbreaking and moving. But I think the more positive feelings I had experienced before had prevented me from sinking too low into my feelings. But by that second viewing, man… the dam just broke, and I was legitimately mourning this man. I’m not kidding when I say this is probably the best biopic I’ve ever seen, and possibly one of the best movies period that I’ve ever seen. I cannot express strongly enough how much it truly resonates with me.

Anyway, my whole point in saying that I cracked it, I say as a fangirl through-and-through - I think the two biggest impacts that can ignite a fangirl’s spirit into a full, dazzling and glorious blaze is: thirst and heartbreak. And this movie provided both of those things in spades. It’s so beautiful to watch - Austin’s beautiful, the storytelling is beautiful, the cinematography is beautiful, the care, dedication, and craft is beautiful. To me, it is absolutely perfect, and it has completely taken over my mind, heart, and soul. I cannot recommend this film highly enough. It is everything to me right now, and the more people who are willing to give it a chance and enjoy it, the better.

[live-emotion]

Live Emotion Song Lengths

Timed from when the album art fades in to when the 'Live Clear' text shows up. May not be perfectly accurate depending on a few factors like varying load times. *Will make a nicer graphic for song info later.

Lovely Eyes - 1:30

Ready to be a Lady - 1:32

Ai wo Bon Appetit - 1:33

Snow Ballade - 1:37

HE★VENS GATE -Beginning of the Legend- - 1:38

STATE OF PERFECTION - 1:38

My Cutie… Drive Me Crazy! - 1:38

Michibiki Hikari - 1:38

JUSTICE IMPULSE - 1:40

Akuma no Kiss wa Honou Yori Hageshiku - 1:40

Dreamer - 1:40

Grown Empathy - 1:41

Torrid Dance - 1:42

Trigger Chance - 1:43

Dazzling Darling - 1:44

LIFE ~With Thanks~ - 1:45

Feather in the Hand - 1:46

Visible Elf - 1:46

Oresama Rondo - 1:46

BRIGHT ROAD - 1:46

Ultra Blast - 1:47

OVER THE TOP - 1:52

On Your Mark - 1:54

Dekiai Temptation - 1:55

TRUST☆MY DREAM - 1:55

Rai Rai All Right - 1:56

OK, Hello World! - 2:01

Be the Light! - 2:02 *ten second silent intro

Beautiful Love - 2:02

SONG LETTER - 2:02

Maji LOVE 1000% RAINBOW STAR ver. - 2:02

Southern Cross Waltz - 2:05

Zettai Reido Emotion - 2:05

GLORIOUS ANGELS - 2:06

Hyper x Super x Lover - 2:07

KIR☆MEKI EMOTION - 2:13

QUARTET★NIGHT - 2:14

You're Mine! - 2:14

Maji LOVE Kingdom - 2:19

Maji LOVE Starish Tours - 2:22

BELIEVE☆MY VOICE - 2:22

DESTINY SONG - 2:26

Be Proud - 2:27

Winter Blossom - 2:36

Start Ours - 2:37

Welcome to UTA☆PRI KINDGOM!! - 2:39

Kishi no Kiss wa Yuki Yori Yasashiku - 2:52

[ladyfauxhawk]

WIP tag game

I was tagged by the amazing @applysome and @glorious-blackout several days ago to share the first lines of some WIPs...and I'm just getting to it now. But I can't resist sharing, even if I'm late to the party.

Also, I locked down my fics on ao3 this week. I hated to do it, but I also hate that tech bros are scraping it for feeding AI. Fanfic is a conversation, not a product, and I hate the idea that others are trying to profit from what we do for free. So if you can't read one of these, please get an account.

Two Visits to the Paradiso: (on ao3, very much in-progress)

The air brakes on the bus hiss as Alex is jolted from his nap. Grumbling, he rolls over, rubbing his face on the pillow in his curtained bunk. Miles is laying there next to him, arm still encircling his waist. A puff of hot breath triggers goosebumps at his nape.

A Paris Affair: (on ao3, this is my own original character and Jarvis Cocker. It's mostly a romance)

It was my first real party after moving to Paris, and I needed to get my mind right. I’d come over from New York to begin research for my PhD. As I applied my makeup in the tiny flat bathroom, I couldn’t help but wonder if my decision to study cultural diplomacy was as sound as I thought it was. I wanted to dazzle and make friends and feel alive tonight. Thinking about how to present my research project and why I would be a cool Américaine friend should have excited me more. My project dug into the cross cultural influences between American popular music and French culture after the second world war. Three years ago I started at NYU. I thought this project was a perfect mix of being hire-able and a desired colleague. I filled my head with fantasies of  tenure track positions at research centers in major metropolitan areas. On the side, I could write longform articles for the New Yorker. Maybe I could even be a guest essayist in museum publications? At LEAST it would be a fun opportunity to talk about Johnny Halliday and Elvis at dinner parties. 

Untitled Mr. Snarl and His Companions fic: (this one's on the back burner, but it's gonna be filthyyy)

It's 6pm and Alex and Miles are sitting in the back of the artists' section of the VIP tent. The Monkeys are eating dinner but Alex isn't hungry after having two massive ice creams. It's peak summer festival season and they're in another generic backstage area in what would otherwise be a quiet park. It's hot. Unusually so. It's so hot that Alex peels off his leather jacket and drapes it over the high back of the barstool he's perched on. He used to hate these tall stools for making him feel small. His legs always dangle like a child's. But today, the feeling fits. He is small. And his favorite giant is playing with Queens of the Stone Age at seven. And his favorite person is currently shielding them any from prying eyes in the tent. It gives him an idea.  A wicked little idea.

Untitled Milex wedding fic: (A PG sappy wedding thing, from me? Yes, because I want to write their mums and their friends. Then I want to write a very romantic X-rated fic where they go to Black Box on their honeymoon and make TLSP3)

It’s been twenty years since they met, and the question was still asked. Their responses were a laugh, a joke, a quick line to respond to anyone in their little circle of friends and loved ones when the question was raised: When are you going to make an honest man of him? from aunties at Christmas suppers. It even came from their bandmates’ children occasionally on birthdays. Are you and Miles married like mum and dad? tugging on their trousers to ask with eyes wide.

“Well I reckon if he’s not sick of me, we may tie the knot when we retire,” Alex would say with a smirk.

Or Miles might respond, “If I’m still pretty enough for him, maybe Al will take me when we’re forty.”

The favourite response was some variant on, “I’m a romantic. It’ll be the twenty year anniversary of meeting this lad and not a day before.” The words of their response changed but the disappointed questioners knew what to expect. A smile. A polite delay. If they were lucky, they’d see the lads give each other a hand squeeze or kiss on the cheek. It was well-known that they weren’t settling down. They were rockstars. Very private rockstars, at that. A wedding? With creeping press and guests and gifts? Bloody unlikely.

But one fine, cold Saturday, as they enjoyed a lie-in between Miles’ never-ending tour schedule, all that changed.

Untitled historical queer romance in progress: (be gentle, this is my heart)

As the gray March sunlight streamed into the upper studio, David pulled the threadbare silk banyan tighter around his torso. The faded saffron damask, like everything in the studio, was property of the academy. As he raised his arm into the pool of sunlight streaming through the sooty window, he smirked. The grey afternoon light went straight through the cloth. But it had a faded beauty, like so much of the art world he’d immersed himself in. The room was somehow colder than it had been this morning. He surveyed this term’s group of artists. In his experience, these life-drawing classes were a mixed bunch, ranging from rich boys with time and money to spare to old perverts to the rare journeyman portraitist, sharpening his skills and padding his reputation with the name of the academy. They neatly fell into a familiar pattern. The old eyed him hungrily, as if eager to assess his flesh. The journeymen, a casual nod or perhaps even a direct smile or invite to pose in private. The youngest and shyest? Those sweet lads averted their eyes when their gazes met. That lot could make his heart skip a beat. Well, at least the shy ones. Maybe they just deemed him unworthy of recognition, like every other man beneath their class. Best not to dwell on it too much. He could pick the direction he faced when he posed, so it was no matter. He could turn away from the ones that made his blood boil.

Anyway, sorry for the delay, and thanks for thinking of me! If anyone actually wants to read these, I'm curious about what you'd like to see. My asks box is open.

And if wants to participate in a tag game and share, consider yourself tagged!

[gremlinmodetweeker]

A Man Among Ruins

So do any of you guys remember this one post HERE where someone told me about phantom of the opera!König? Well it's stuck in my head now. I'm gonna be reading the books, but before I did I wanted to start out with this little drabble here to set the stage.

TW: references to König being a nazi colonel (he left the army because he was disgusted by the nazis)

Wordcount: 1.5k

Art from This Post

Story below the cut

A Man Among Ruins

In 1861, construction of an opera house began in Vienna. Over the course of many years, an elaborate building of columns, gold and marble was constructed. Stone was shipped from across the land to build up into the towering building, carved to perfection by the finest sculptors Austria could find. It took decades of work, but the Vienna State Opera opened its doors to the public.

Music echoed from the great belly of the beast across the land. Many came to take in the great and elaborate shrine of the arts, a beautiful and majestic plinth upon which life, death, romance and tragedy was acted out upon, dazzling spectators for generations to come.

Glorious, beautiful, and tragic.

During the world wars, the building was bombed by Allies, reduced to naught but rubble. There were no sculptors who came from generations of artisans, most had died in the war. There were less painters of great standing, for they had died in the war as well. All the greats of the time were lost, and the people were left to weep over what once had been.

However, in this tragedy, there came a small miracle.

A man, tarnished by war and now an outcast among his cohorts, found refuge in the basements beneath the building. Nobody saw the man slip in, nobody cared when he disappeared amongst the halls and stages of the rubble. Who could care? And why? He was a homeless man who could matter less, so why bother him when he slept among rubble and bones?

Maybe, that’s where he belonged. It certainly seemed that way, at least.

He was left to his meager kingdom, and so he relished in it. He took from the scraps left behind, fashioning himself a gentleman in costume garb. He found a great cloak, one big enough to hide even his grand size, and he managed to fashion himself a pretty mask from some remains. He then hid himself in the darkness fro years to come, only leaving at night to feast from rubbish bins and off local scraps. Occasionally, someone would find him and give him offerings, taking sympathy on his sorry state. He’d thank them in broken words, and retreat back into the darkness where no being could ever have the misfortune of laying eyes on him.

But the Vienna State Opera lived on as more than a memory. This man, no longer able to remember his name of who he was, was awoken by the sound of machines and men’s voices. He ventured forth from his lair, hiding among the ruined gardens to dare see who would trespass on his lands.

To his surprise, they were architects. They were overviewing the building, debating its demolition or its salvation. The man suspected they would disappear, but they came back. He feared they’d destroy his home, but they did nothing of the sort.

In fact, they built around him.

These practical people were stable and pragmatic, undeterred by whispered stories of giant men who lived among the ruins. Instead, they took to teasing each other as they cleared out what was lost, and rebuilt what they could. 

The man watched as his palace was built around him. Great stone columns stood tall and proud in the yard. Cherubs fluttered in pairs above doorways. The man watched the building rise around him, and though once he was afraid, now he saw himself as a king of a new land, and so he called himself as such.

He would watch from below as painters lay on their backs as they brushed billowing clouds and lush forests onto the ceilings. He saw designers bicker and argue over which curtains to hang on the main stage, hidden just out of view in the newly built seating area. He would crawl through the catwalks to follow set designers shaping the stage to their views. 

And he was proud.

He had been a soldier, a good soldier at that. He’d risen up the ranks, but when he learned of the war he was fighting, he fled. All the titles he’d earned, once glorious and beautiful, now were blemishes to his name. He would tell you he fled the world because of the blemishes that consumed his face, but this was not so. Rather, he could not live to be a part of such an evil on earth.

So, shame followed him wherever he went, a shadow of a deserter cast onto the walls behind him.

Now, he was different.

It started one day when a young actor caught sight of him on the catwalks.

He only knew she saw him because she raised her finger at him, and called out a word he’d never heard used against him before.

“A ghost!”

A ghost? Was that what he was?

He didn’t stay long enough to figure it out. Instead, he swung out of sight and back into the darkness. He worried someone might shoo him from his home like a common gutter rat, but instead, he was more welcomed than before.

“It’s a ghost,” he heard someone whisper when he crawled through the backways of the building, now perching to peer down at the backstage where the actors had huddled.

“It must be a man who was here during the bombing,” said a big, burly man with a resonating voice.

“Do you think it’s possible?” a strawberry blonde waif of a woman perched on a velvet stool before her vanity.

“I saw him with my own eyes!” the blond woman from before declared, “it’s not just possible, it’s real!”

“Do you think he means any harm?” the woman on the stool finally turned to her coworkers.

The blonde woman thought for a moment. She pressed a finger to her chin in deliberation, then said, “I think he was more afraid of me than I was of him.”

“Well, if he was afraid of you, what’s the likelihood he could do any harm?” the big man’s laughter rolled like thunder.

The man smugly thought that he could kill them all within a minute of descending down on them, but was quite content to keep such things to himself. He’d come to like these patrons of his home, considered them a sort of family by now. He was more than happy to let them stay, as long as they didn’t try to drive him out.

And they didn’t. Instead, they welcomed him in with new rumors, and to his delight, gifts. They said that if the phantom accepted your offerings, your performance would go smoothly. The man was more than glad to ensure all their performances were exemplary, so long as his stomach was full.

He didn’t take too kindly to one woman begrudgingly complaining that ‘the phantom’s going to get too heavy to sneak so silently if this keeps up’, but he still ate her offered truffles happily, and when a stagelight looked as though it might fall, he held it in place the entire evening. Only when the last guest left did he let go, where it tumbled down into a cacophonous mess. She notably left out two boxes of truffles the next time she was set to go on stage.

The man relished in his palace. He was a beloved being, a mascot for the theater. They adored him and showered him with gifts, and he took them in kind.

Of course, looking from the balconies could be lonely. He watched them perform, acting out beautiful stories of love and joy below him, and he would imagine himself as the great hero below. He envied the men, sometimes. However, he still took their gifts and watched over them. They were all part of his watch, and he’d treat each of them in kind.

When the stage was empty and nobody was around, the man would go down and onto the stage. There, he would sing to the empty chairs. His voice would project, following all the tips those singers gave each other, and he would fill the entire building with his beautiful, sonorous voice.

So there he stood on his stage, singing The Marriage of Figaro’s ‘Se voul ballare’ so brightly to an empty stadium, accompanied by a silent orchestra. He sang with all his heart, his voice carrying across the entire hall and resonating back at him. Beautiful, glorious and true. He was glad, and you could only imagine his surprise when he heard a small set of hands clapping.

His eyes snapped over to the source of the sound, and there he laid eyes upon the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life. And just as soon as he was spotted, he dashed to a stage ladder, scrambled up to a series of props, and ducked behind them out of sight.

As he raced back to the basement, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He could hardly believe he’d let himself be seen. And for how long? He’d finished the song by the time they made their presence known. A part of him wondered what they thought of his singing. Did they like his voice? He’d trained for so long, but he’d never expected an audience. He was never quite good enough for that.

But they had clapped for him.

Warmth bloomed in his chest.

Yes, they had clapped for him, and they had done so happily.

He would need to keep watch over this new little songbird.

Konig Dump

Konig AU stories

[beloxiia]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CAEL FROM LOVEBRUSH CHRONICLES, YOURE SO BEAUTIFUL, HANDSOME, PRETTY, ELEGANT, BREATHTAKING, GORGEOUS, ATTRACTIVE, CHARMING, HEAVENLY, STUNNING, EXQUISITE, CUTE, MAGNIFICENT, DIVINE, ALLURING, PLEASING. LOVELY, DELIGHTFUL, APPEALING, ENGAGING, WINSOME, RAVISHING, GORGEOUS, GLAMOROUS, IRRESISTIBLE, BEWITCHING, BEGUILING, GRACEFUL, ELEGANT, EXQUISITE, AESTHETIC, MAGNIFICENT, HOT, SEXY, FOXY, TASTY, DIVINE, BEDDABLE, PULCHRITUDINOUS, DAZZLING, FASCINATING, FINE, GOOD LOOKING, GRACEFUL, GRAND, SPLENDID, SUPERB, WONDERFUL, SUBLIME, STATUESQUE, RAVISHING, RADIANT, IDEAL, NICE, EXCELLENT, ENTICING, CLASSY, ADMIRABLE, FANCY, ANGELIC, BEAUTEOUS, LUSCIOUS, FETCHING, ADORING, ADORABLE, SCRUNKLY, EMBELLISHING, FLAWLESS, PERFECT, PERSONABLE, DESIRABLE, SEDUCTIVE, SNAZZY, STRIKING, SHOWSTOPPING, GLOSSY, EYE-CATCHING, FABULOUS, PRIME, TOP-NOTCH, SENSATIONAL, PREMIUM, TEMPTING, MAGNETIC, CAPTIVATING, PREPOSSESSING, BRIGHT, MY LIGHT, CURVACEOUS, TANTALIZING, ENCHANTING, PLEASANT, FLAMBOYANT, GLORIOUS, SPECTACULAR AND FANTASTIC

[glazedsnail]

This work is part of the Week of the Winter Star Feast 2024 organised by the Stardew Valley Fanfiction Writers Guild

@stardewfanficwriters

Going a little personnal for this prompt.

Who said Fern was ever a self insert? PFFT. No.

Day 3: Family

Mind the tags 🫡

Ao3 Link there

Shane and Fern enjoy a glimpse of what people would call a traditional family day, sparking an upsetting but necessary conversation.

This takes place between chapter 11 and the Epilogue of the fic Fern is from. Misery Loved Company.

Bright sun explodes in crystals on the fallen snow. The only sound in all of the valley is the sloshing of Shane’s feet in the melting ground, as he walks back from his morning shift. 

Tomorrow is the feast of the Winter Star, and he’s grateful the event gives him a long weekend. This would be mainly the case last year. But this year, he is grateful for so much more. Sobriety, for one, as he succeeded in finding a perfect balance between enjoying a rare treat, and seeking a forever numbness that was slowly killing him. His most glorious achievement, however, lies at the end of the dirt path he is now leaving his footsteps on.

 

He reaches the wool farm, slowly making a name for itself, and knows to head for the barn. He can hear her, them, as he walks around the wooden walls. The chatter, and the laugh, bounce in his heart, stretching his lips into a dazzling smile. Oh how much more often he was smiling now.

Arriving at the half closed barn door, he sees her, the winter light from the window reaches her focused eyes. 

On her lap, a sheep is surprisingly serene as she inspects its teeth, taking her time, showing its gums to her two students. Jas and Vincent are also surprisingly calm, sitting on the dirty floor, listening to Fern’s singing voice explaining the importance of healthy teeth for sheep, and children. 

She lifts her head and sees him, Shane, leaning against the half door, outside of the barn, smiling, looking at them with intense softness in his gaze, the winter sun exploding behind him. As a deep smile creases her cheeks, the two children turn their heads. Not only is Uncle Shane back from work, but it also means it’s lunch time. 

They all walk to the farm, the younger ones rushing, racing each other, leaving behind Fern and Shane. 

‘How was your morning?’ Fern asks, grabbing his gloved hand, knowing the man’s shyness had not disappeared, yet. He squeezes her hand, inviting her in his pocket to warm her cold fingers.

‘Horrendous.’ He laughs. ‘What about yours? I see the fitness club dropped the kids before their retreat.’

‘Marnie was quite excited, so was Jas. She loves the farm.’ Fern trails. ‘Vincent had quite a hard time leaving Jodi. She had to explain multiple times she was coming back tomorrow.’

‘Can’t really blame the kid.’

‘I know. But I’m glad we can also let Sam have an evening of peace.’ She chuckles. 

Lunch was simple, the only oddity being the table seeing four guests instead of its usual two, sometimes three. All messy eaters anyway. The kids had helped with the setting, while Shane and Fern were in the kitchen, working on a simple pot of mac and cheese needing constant attention. Jas and Vincent excitedly recounted the morning to Shane who was assiduously listening, slowly forgetting his own painfully crawling shift at work. How they had helped Fern refill the troughs and clean the water. How she had taught them how to handle a sheep, and how Vincent was “just a bit” scared of them at first. 

Fern was glad Shane had a half day. In no universe would she be able to deal with two kids for a whole day on her own. He had been the one to offer his help to Marnie once their Tuesday fitness club were invited in the city, and Fern was more than happy to help, especially as it meant Shane would be spending the night on the farm too. When Jodi heard about it she quickly made sure she could drop her own son. As long as they didn’t have to take Sam in the bargain. 

Despite Fern’s concerns, she managed to keep them entertained all through her morning chores. And with Shane’s help, the afternoon was a breeze. They went on a walk to Cindersap forest to play with the immaculate snow before hurrying back to the farm to warm up with hot cocoa. At dinner, Vincent and Jas could barely keep their eyes open, exhausted by the farmer’s schedule and snow war. Drifting off to sleep was an easy task.

Leaning against the wall, Shane watches as Fern slowly leaves the door ajar to keep the comforting light in the dark guest’s room. She happily sighs, the day is over.

‘Doing ok?’ He asks, walking her to the couch.

‘Didn’t imagine kids could be that draining.’ She laughs. ‘Had a good day though.’ She nestles into Shane’s arms, letting her weary head rest in the crook of his neck. ‘Don’t let me fall asleep, I need to finish a couple of Winter Star gifts.’ She yawns, stretching out, quite ready to doze off. Shane laughs, kissing the top of her head, tightening his embrace. The fire is dancing in front of them, the soft orange light kissing their tired faces. Tired, and content. 

‘It was a good day.’ Shane repeats softly, the hardship of this morning completely out of his mind. The feeling of a stable homestead, a warm meal shared with family, Jas and Vincent calling them Aunt and Uncle so naturally. An afternoon of laughs, painless exercises. No craving, no yearning. Plain, unadulterated, feelings. And her laugh. Her smile. Her happy hazel eyes falling on him, on the kids, on the day ahead. 

‘T’s a shame we only have ‘em for one night, m’gonna miss’em’ Fern mumbles from her half slumber, nuzzling into Shane’s chest. 

‘You’re welcome to house Jas anytime she wants.’ Shane grins. ‘And me anytime you want.’

‘You know you can stay here forever, if you want.’ She extends her arm, softly wrapping it around Shane who tries to suck his gut as she chuckles. ‘I love you.’ 

‘I love you too, so much.’ He replies, lifting her head to kiss her forehead, her nose, and finally her lips. ‘What else do you need to make for Winter Star?’

‘Finishing a scarf for Gus, and weaving the ends on the jumper I made for Jas.’ Fern attempts to sit back up, leaving Shane’s arms and warmth. She rubs her eyes, and tries to find the strength to grab her wool work. ‘I’m quite happy with the result.’ 

‘She’ll love it!’ Shane exclaims, excitingly grabbing the small thick woolly jumper. The yarn had been dyed a deep pink hue, and within the intricate stockinette stitches, Fern had managed to weave in color block the image of a blue chicken. He caresses the design with a sheepish smile. ‘It’s like…It’s like she’ll wear a mix of both of us.’ He says, blushing. ‘Your yarn, craft, and my chickens!’ 

Fern softly laughs, seeing such raw happiness in her partner’s deep green eyes. She lets him look closely at the jumper while she grabs the long yellow and blue work resting on her knitting basket. Just a few more rows, and Gus’ Winter Star present will be ready. She feels a bit sneaky, gifting them all a woolen product from her own farm. But it will be the one and only year, she promises. After all, she only just started getting her skeins of wool out in the city, she needs to advertise in her own town. 

Fern sighs, content, the crackling of the fire a soothing background to the regular tik-tik-tik of her knitting needles. Leaning against Shane who watches the snow silently falling against the window, absentmindedly caressing her shoulders and humming, stopping every now and then to plant a kiss on Fern’s skull. 

‘You ever think about that?’ Asks Shane, breaking the comfortable silence.

‘About what, my love?’ 

‘Y’know…’ Fern feels him shuffle, embarrassed. ‘Like, a mix, of both of us.’ He ends in a whisper. Fern almost drops her needles, failing to save a few fallen stitches. She lifts her head to the fire, suddenly feeling much too strong, too bright. The couch itself now feels too rough, hard, and prickly. Air is hardly reaching her lungs as the walls seem to be closing in. Was the room always this small? As she closes her eyes, she feels carried away and hears the front door opening. The cold air slaps her face, and suddenly a burst of ice penetrates her lungs, like insufflated with new life. ‘Are you ok?!’ Shane’s voice reaches her buzzing ears. ‘I thought you were going to be sick there.’ He adds in a laugh. ‘Didn’t think the idea would disgust you that much.’ He chortles, but Fern can definitely hear he’s hurt.

‘No, no, oh Yoba, no.’ She pants, leaning against the doorframe. ‘No Shane, absolutely not. It’s…’ She takes a deep breath, exhaling painfully, slowly reaching for her chest. The moment had to come. It had to be discovered, somehow. It’s not something that could be kept hidden. Especially when she desperately wants to spend her whole life with Shane. Knowing fully well this could sign their relationship away, being considered a “deal-breaker”. 

As if Winter Star wasn’t already hard on Fern. Happy complete families. Children laughing. Parents beaming. Her own family repeating the eternal question. Every year. Every damn year. Until they were cut off, and she was seemingly free. 

With a last deep breath, she closes the door, and invites Shane into the kitchen. She feels his worried gaze on her back as she boils some water and prepares cups for a late night herbal tea. The silence is heavy with unsaid words. The comfort is gone without leaving a crumb. Fern hands the steaming cup to Shane with a smile she wants reassuring, but he can’t miss the mist in her eyes. 

‘Is…Is everything ok?’ He attempts, sitting at the table. He watches her slowly make her way to another chair, her eyes fixed on the filled cup. She looks defeated, exhausted, and scared. 

‘Have you…ever thought of that before?’ She finally asks, her voice low but certain. She doesn’t lift her head, but her eyes slowly rise to him. The pain emanating from her hazel pearls shoot arrows at Shane who struggles to find the words.

‘I mean, I guess. Not, like, for real, or anythin’.’ He grabs the back of his neck, softly blushing. ‘Just today…When I was watching you with Jas and Vincent… You were making them laugh and you were laughing and…’

Fern chuckles, shaking her head slowly.

‘Yoba, I love you so much, Shane.’ She sighs. ‘I hope you know that.’

‘I do… What’s wrong, baby?’ He extends his arm across the table, reaching for her hand she grabs quickly. 

‘I suppose it’s better if it’s out early in our…relationship’ She starts, looking at the still water in her cup. With a deep inhale, she finally looks at Shane, straight at his dark green eyes overflowing with worry. ‘I would understand if it’s, you know…’ She lowers her voice, her throat tightening at the mere idea of letting those words out in the air. ‘A deal-breaker or something…’ Shane swiftly stands up, rushing to Fern who started trembling, her hands shaking around the warm cup. She restarts. ‘You know, when I saw all of us round the table today, and this afternoon… You carrying Jas, holding Vincent’s hand…And your smile. I too thought a bit about, well, us.’ She smiles, the corner of her lips meeting with the slow tears falling down her cheeks. ‘I know you would be a fantastic…dad.’ She softly laughs, pressing her finger on Shane’s mouth to forbid him from even scoffing at the notion. ‘And I did think that… I would love to give you a child but, well. I can’t.’ 

Shane crouches to Fern, softly grabbing her hand warmed by the cup. He looks at her teary eyes with a painful heart. Him? A dad? The idea itself is laughable in every way imaginable. Still, with Fern, the time they spend with Jas, and the events of the day, it did cross his mind. Why, Fern definitely had those….”motherly” ways with the sheep, so it wasn’t very far fetched to imagine her being a good mother. To his kids. Their kids. 

He never thought of the possibility that the concept of parenthood could be so painful. And seeing Fern’s distress, fear, even shame, in her eyes as she recounts the tale of how her body is simply broken, he curses at himself for daring to bring it up in such a light hearted way. The struggle of accepting part of life will never truly be hers to choose. Grieving the loss of what was never hers. And what could have been. 

On top of it, she adds the ridiculous idea that he would leave her because of it?? 

By the time she finishes explaining, they’re back on the couch, Shane holding her tightly, wiping her tears and pink nose as she cradles herself in his arms. The fire is dying down, but would fail to compete against his warmth anyway.

‘I’m sorry, Fern.’ He finally says. ‘I didn’t know, but I…I shouldn’t have just dropped it on you like that.’ He grabs her chin to lift her head to him, softly kissing her brow. ‘It’s not a…Damn, hon, it’d never be a “deal-breaker” or anythin’ like that.’ 

‘Don’t you want a… A family?’

‘Ya dork, what do you think we are?’ He laughs, making Fern bounce on his chest. ‘Y’know perfectly I never had much of a family ‘nyway growing up. Never even dared to hope I’d end up with...Y’know…’ He clears his throat, cuddling Fern in his arms. ‘And I love you.’ He punctuates with a kiss. 

‘It’s just… It’s my grief, and I don’t want to impose it on you.’

‘What are you talking about? D’you have any idea how many kids are in foster care?’ He scoffs. ‘Once we’re married we can just…’

‘Once we’re what?’ Fern sits up, a giant grin on her face, looking at Shane’s crimson face trying to disappear in his shirt. ‘Is that my Winter Star gift?’ She teases. 

Shane softly pushes her, looking away, red falling down his neck. 

‘No.’ He grunts. ‘When I… IF I ever ask I’d do it nice n’all with fancy shit, not like that.’ He adds groaning, grabbing the back of his neck, still refusing to look at Fern. 

‘I’ll act surprised then.’ She laughs, falling back on his chest. ‘All this is also hard cause of tomorrow. I’m excited but… Dreading it.’

‘Why that?’ Shane wraps himself around Fern again, squeezing her in his strong arms. 

‘It used to be the time my family would gather. The whole shabam. And it’d never miss. You could be sure each and every one of them was going to ask me about kids. “When are you going to give your mother a grandchild?!”’ Fern mocks. ‘“The biological clock is ticking”. Or my favorite, “You’re never truly a woman until you’ve given birth, you’ll see.”’ Shane just groans, stopping himself from being insulting. But what a bunch of morons. Fern resumes. ‘And now that, obviously, the whole town knows we’re a couple, I’m scared they’ll ask me when I intend to give you a child, a “proper” family.’ Her voice breaks. ‘And I do want to. Yoba, I do!’

‘Hey’ Shane starts in the softest voice he can. ‘First off, I’m sure everyone in town is still wondering why you spend your time with me.’ He laughs, receiving Fern gentle slap on his shoulder. ‘Second, we’re a proper family. I’d personally fight anyone who’d deny that.’ He ends in a tight squeeze of his arms around Fern.

‘We’re a strange little family.’ She says, amused.

‘Oh babe, we definitely are.’ Shane exclaims, slowly nuzzling against Fern’s cheek, his prickly stubble making her giggle. ‘And I wouldn’t want it any other way.'

[lotus-pear]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BESTIE!!

Imagine being 17 that’s so cringe /j

Anyway here’s ur present from me

OH MY GOD HELP HOLD ON FUCKING GOD I WHAT OMG I CANT WHAT SUMIIIIIII⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️

THIS FIXED MY MARRIAGE CURED MY DEPRESSION GAVE ME STRAIGHT A’S WATERED MY CROPS BECAME MY THERAPIST TOOK ME BY THE HAND SHOWED ME THE LIGHT INVENTED HAPPINESS BECAME THE TEXTBOOK DEFINITION OF GORGEOUS ASCENDED TO THE HEAVENS INVENTED NEW COLORS BECAME MY WILL TO LIVE MY SOLE GUIDE IN LIFE

BRO IS SO BEAUTIFUL, HANDSOME, PRETTY, ELEGANT, BREATHTAKING, GORGEOUS, ATTRACTIVE, CHARMING, HEAVENLY, STUNNING, EXQUISITE, CUTIEFUL, MAGNIFICENT, DIVINE, ALLURING, PLEASING, LOVELY, DELIGHTFUL, APPEALING, ENGAGING, WINSOME, RAVISHING, GORGEOUS, GLAMOROUS, IRRESISTIBLE, BEWITCHING, BEGUILING, GRACEFUL, AESTHETIC, HOT, SEDUCTIVE, FOXY, DIVINE, BEDDABLE, DAZZLING, FINE, GOOD LOOKING, GRACEFUL, GRAND, SPLENDID, SUPERB, WONDERFUL, SUBLIME, STATUESQUE, RAVISHING, RADIANT, IDEAL, ENTICING, CLASSY, ADMIRABLE, FANCY, ANGELIC, BEAUTEOUS, LUSCIOUS, FETCHING, ADORING, ADORABLE, SKRUNKLY, EMBELLISHING, FLAWLESS, PERFECT, PERSONABLE, DESIRABLE, SEDUCTIVE, SNAZZY, STRIKING, SHOW STOPPING, GLOSSY, EYE CATCHING, PRIME, TOP NOTCH, SENSATIONAL, PREMIUM, TEMPTING, MAGNETIC, CAPTIVATING, PREPOSSESSING, BRIGHT, LUMINOUS, CURVACEOUS, DOLL LIKE, TANTALIZING, FLAMBOYANT, GLORIOUS, SPECTACULAR, FANTASTIC, DANDY, JAW DROPPING, RAPTUROUS, BLISSFUL, SUMPTUOUS, LUXURIOUS, PALATIAL, SWANKY-

[sacredhyacinth]

Beautiful Gorgeous Stunning Radiant Exquisite Breathtaking Elegant Enchanting Magnificent Sublime Lovely Resplendent Graceful Dazzling Heavenly Mesmerizing Angelic Glorious Divine Lustrous Ravishing Splendid Beaming Glamorous Ethereal Sensational Delightful Immaculate Luminous Striking Refined Glowing Bewitching Polished Sparkling Fascinating Chic Picture-Perfect Serene Majestic-

Thank you :3