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lexyleblancc · 1 year

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What a woman {Finan}

Summary: You find yourself spilling confessions in the rooms of an Alehouse.

Ragnar x sister!reader Uhtred x sister!reader Finan x fem!reader

Word count: 2.6k

Part 2 to “The kindness of a Dane.”

Part one

Warnings: Nothing other than Athelwold being himself

It came to no surprise to you when Uhtred renewed his oath to Alfred once back in Wessex. It came to no surprise to you when Ragnar sent Brida ahead to gather any and all of Ragnar’s men that would answer the call. What did surprise you, was even once in Winchester, Finan never stayed far from your side. “Finan, you do know that you are free to find yourself a woman to bed while we are here? You do not have to stay with me.” You told the man who sat across from you in the alehouse.

“Oh I’m very aware of my freedom to do so, Lady.” Finan spoke with a grin, watching as a woman passed the two of you, her eyes lingering on Finan as she did. “I’m afraid none of them have caught my interest enough.” He told you, lifting his cup with a grin. The man across from you had finally been able to properly bathe, ridding himself of any dirt caked onto his skin, and you had to admit; Finan was quite handsome.

“Well, you’ve caught plenty of their attention.” You told the man with a small laugh, your eyes falling on an approaching figure behind the man. Ragnar sat at the table with the pair of you, a grunt leaving his lips as he made eye contact with you briefly. “What crawled up your arse and died, brother?” You quipped, a snort leaving Finan as he tried to stifle his laughter.

“You are aware that our brother renewed his oath?” Ragnar asked, accepting the cup of Ale one of the barmaids brought over for him. You nodded your head, you were more than aware of the fact your brother has once become the King's personal lap dog.

“I’m sure Uhtred had his reasons for it.” You told your brother. “He did kill a man of the lord.” You spoke mockingly which made Ragnar crack a small smile at your antics.

“Will you stay with him?” Ragnar asked you quietly.

“Do you ask as a request, or do you ask for fear of me leaving you behind?” You asked, an eyebrow raised as you set down your empty mug.

“Both?”

“I think Uhtred may need me for a while.” You said with a sigh. You didn’t want to leave Ragnar, in fact you wanted to join him anywhere he went. You also knew that this time around, Uhtred would need any person he could to follow him. He needed the guidance and support of his younger sister, and you couldn’t bear to leave him once more. “I do expect a welcome party when I come to visit in Dunholm.” You said with a smirk, Ragnar nodding his head in agreement.

“I thought we were going to deal with the brothers?” Finan questioned the two of you. Your eyes drifted to the Irishman as you smiled.

“Oh, we are Irishman.” You said with a smile. “But after we take care of those bastards we ride to Dunholm and avenge our parents once and for all.” The news of your sister Thyra being alive had only set the plan in stone. If Thyra truly was still alive, it was all the more reason to reclaim Dunholm to the Ragnarsson’s.

The three of you paid for your ale, leaving the silver on the table before making your way out of the Alehouse. You were leaving Winchester and making your way to Guthred of Northumbria. In the courtyard of the castle, Finan assisted you onto your horse, you didn’t need the help but accepted it from the man anyways. Finan mounted the horse beside you before the group departed from Winchester for the time being, leaving Gisela in the care of the King.

Ragnar rode with Uhtred at the front of the group, while you and Finan rode behind them. You drowned out the men around you, rolling your eyes when the King’s Nephew Aethelwold spoke of finding a woman to bed soon. You noticed his eyes burning into the back of your head as he spoke those words, as well did Finan.

“Look at her again, I dare ya.” Finan said to him, his eyes narrowing in a glare.

“And what are you going to do if I can’t help myself?” Athelwold asked with a smirk, this gaining the attention of both your brothers. Ragnar was about to butt into the conversation but Uhtred shook his head, his eyes on the Irishman.

“Then you best pray you don’t fall asleep tonight.” Finan’s voice was low, almost a growl. You rolled your eyes at this, but couldn’t deny the butterflies in the pit of your stomach as he defended you. Your eyes met Finan’s and you offered a small smile in thanks. Amongst all these men, you and Hild were the only two women to join them. You were a seasoned warrior, and have seen more battles than you could even count at this point but Hild was a woman of her God and a warrior as well, neither of you should require protection from one discredited heir to the throne.

When the group stopped for rest, they ended up in Loidis, a small village. Everyone was quick to dismount from their horses, sore from the long journey. “Let me, Lady.” Finan spoke, his hands on your waist as he helped you down.

“Thank you, Finan.” Your hips were sore from the movement of your horse, and it felt good to be on your own two feet once again. Your hand found Finan’s arm as he led the way to the Alehouse Ragnar had slipped into with Brida. You knew people would come at Ragnar’s call, if Danes were anything it was loyal to their leader. The two of you slipped into the Alehouse, while others from the group took the horses to the stables to be fed and cooled down. A small group of you stood on the sidelines, watching as Ragnar’s men exclaimed with joy at the return to their leader, a fond smile on your face.

After the greetings had died down, rooms had been paid for, and everyone was fed until their heart's content, you found yourself sitting around a table. You were squished between Steepa and Finan. “Oh Ragnar, your woman’s got the balls of a bear. I like her.” Finan said with a smile, your eyes watching as Brida left the table, dismissing herself for the night. You sighed to yourself, no longer being able to deny the fact that your eyes had grown heavy. You steadied yourself using Finan’s shoulder as you stood from the chair you were sitting on, and bed the men around you a goodnight.

“(Y/N), one of us will have to share a room with you.” Uhtred spoke up, his eyes on you when you were halfway to the stairs.

“Irishman, you’re with me.” You agreed, locking eyes with Finan from your spot at the bottom of the stairs. Finan nodded his head quickly, watching as you disappeared up the staircase.

“You won’t be touching our sister, Irishman.” Ragnar spoke, ripping Finan’s gaze from the empty staircase and to the blonde Dane. The men quickly finished their conversation, coming up with a plan to easily take care of the issue of Erik and Sigefried. When everyone was making their way to the rooms of the inn, Finan pushed the door to your room open. You were curled up on one side of the bed, furs pulled to your chin. You looked much younger in your sleep, when your brows weren’t frowned constantly, you looked peaceful.

“Bar the door.” You whispered once Finan closed the door to the room. He almost jumped hearing your voice, he expected you to be sleeping. He made sure to lock the hatch over the door, before he started ridding himself of his armor. Your own armor was sat on a chair, your sword placed beside the bed. The man copied your actions, looking around the room and frowning at the realization that the bed you were resting in was indeed the only bed in the room. “Stop standing there like an oaf and get in bed Finan.” You grumbled, rolling onto your back so you could face the man.

Finan could feel like blood rushing to his face as you spoke, but pulled back the furs enough for him to climb under as well. He made sure to keep to his side of the bed, laying on his back as he stared up at the ceiling. “Thank you for today, with Athelwold I mean.” You finally said, breaking the silence. Finan glanced at you slightly, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“You’re welcome, Lady.” He replied softly, making you roll your eyes in annoyance.

“How many times must I tell you to stop calling me Lady?” You asked. You knew that this Irishman in particular was respectful, but after weeks of traveling together you figured he would finally listen to you.

“It’s what you are, no?” Finan hummed in response, a smile tugging at his lips. He knew you hated when he called you Lady, that’s why he insisted on it.

“Lady of Bebbanburg, Lady of Dunholm… how much can a title like that hold when both of your brothers have no claim to their homeland?” You questioned. The two of you laid in silence for a while longer, and Finan had assumed you finally fell asleep. “Where are you from, Irishman?” You asked quietly. Finan didn’t talk about his life before he was a slave, which seemed slightly unfair since he knew so much about you now.

“Small kingdom in Irland.” Finan muttered, memories of his homeland were nothing but painful, even after all these years. “Married a sweet Lady, only did it because her status was higher than mine… but I didn’t love her.” He told you, his voice sounded distant as he spoke. “No, I was in love with my brother's wife.” Finan said with a laugh. “She was nothing more than a milkmaid, and yet there was no doubt in my mind that I loved her… so we fled.” Finan groaned as he remembered everything he did his best to forget. “I was exiled, stripped of my titles and sold into slavery after that. That’s about when I met Uhtred.”

You rolled onto your side to face him, offering him a tiny smile. “Would you ever go back to find her?” You asked, holding the furs tightly against you.

“No, I would not, Lady.” Finan said with a dry chuckle. He had no reason to go back to his life before joining Uhtred and swearing his loyalty to him. “I have no reason to go back there, I enjoy my life now.” You reached out, your hand grasping one of Finan’s that rested over his chest. He squeezed your hand tightly, shifting so he could face you fully now.

“I shouldn’t say I’m glad to hear that… but I’ve grown fond of you Irishman.” you whispered, a smile on both of your faces now.

“I’m quite fond of you too, Dane.” Finan replied, bringing your hand up and pressing his lips to your knuckles. “Let’s save the confessions for the morning, you should rest.” The man added in, trying to let your hand go, and only smiling wider when he noticed you refuse to let it go. “If you’re not gonna let go, at least turn around.”

You raised your brow at that, but turned on your other side to face away from the man. He grinned to himself, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you further into his chest. You only smiled to yourself at the action, closing your eyes so you could finally drift off to sleep.

You woke up the next morning to shuffling behind you. Desperately trying to blink the sleep from your eyes you rolled over to face the man who laid behind you. “I think it’s about time we get up, my Lady.” Finan spoke, his voice still laced with sleep. You let out a groan laying your head on the man's chest as his arm wrapped around your shoulder.

“I’m not ready to deal with everyone just yet.” You mumbled, the sound of your voice being muffled by Finan’s tunic. He couldn’t deny that he wasn’t either. As soon as you left this room you would be back on the road for God knows how long, sleeping on the forest floor, all before fighting a battle you very well may not make it out of. “Let’s discuss those confessions you were talking about last night instead.” You said, lifting your head slightly to meet his gaze.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Finan said with a chuckle. There was a big difference between Saxons and Danes. Finan most of the time would beat around the bush when it came to voicing his emotions, while you didn’t have time for that, you were blunt and spoke what was on your mind.

“I like you Irishman, so do you plan to do something about that or not?” You asked, making Finan’s cheeks grow pink at your question. Normally he was the one approaching women, not the women approaching him. Never in his life had someone been so blunt towards him either.

“Oh I plan to do somethin’ about it alright.” The man said with a grin, wrapping his arms around your waist and flipping the two of you. Your back met the furs as he held himself over you. “A Lady such as yourself shouldn’t want an exiled Lord.” His lips brushed yours as he spoke, making your head dizzy.

“Then stop calling me Lady, and you and I are the same.” You retorted, nudging his nose with your own.

“You really want to be stuck with a Christian man, Dane?”

“You want to be stuck with a Dane?” Finan grinned, you could always keep up with his quick wit and he loved it. “If the answer is yes, then do something.” You teased. As much as he didn’t want to give into you, Finan knew that would be impossible. It’d been weeks since you helped nurse him back to health, you trained with him when his hands shook under the weight of a sword, you never gave up on him. You saw the man that Finan would be when he couldn’t see it for himself.

He inhaled shapely before connecting his lips with yours, taking your bottom lip between his teeth as he did. You were quick to respond, your arms going around his neck in an attempt to pull him closer to you. His beard tickled your skin as his lips attached themselves to your neck, making you gasp. “God woman, what are you tryna do to me?” Finan growled against your skin, his hand gripping your hip as he spoke.

A knock on the door broke you two apart. “We meet downstairs!” The voice Uhtred called, you couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you while Finan looked from the door and back to you once more. You leaned forward to capture his lips once more, leaving the man dazed as you crawled out of bed and words to put your armor back on. You left the room first, leaving the man who was rushing to ready himself for the rest of the journey.

“What a woman.” He breathed, rushing out of the room to meet the others.

“Might I say, you do look lovely this morning (Y/N).” Finan rolled his eyes hearing Athelwold’s voice ring through the room.

“Athelwold,” Finan spoke, wrapping his arm around you once you were in his sight. “Look at my woman again, and I’ll kill ya, you little rat.”

Athelwold nodded his head quickly, scurrying away from the two of you while Uhtred and Rangar gave each other knowing looks.

“Your woman?” You asked, looking up at the man who was wrapped around you.

“Aye, my woman.”

#finan x reader #finan #uhtred #uhtred x reader #ragnar #young ragnar #sihtric x reader #sihtric #osferth #osferth x reader #athelwold #king alfred #the last kingdom #the last kingdom imagine #hild #father beocca #thyra

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auroracalisto · 1 year

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no time to waste — the reader is an anxious overthinker, who believes uhtred could never love them back. good thing uhtred is well-versed in sneaking around and keeping quiet when he notices that they are confessing to hild. word count: 1.3k words tw: overthinking, anxiety, gn!reader a/n: i don't post any fanfic for well over a few months and i come back with uhtred of bebbanburg? please excuse me. i love this man. also, don't @ me for disappearing. i'm sorry. life happens and it sucks. k, bye. that's all.

“i love him.”

the words spilled from your lips before you could even think to stop them. hild stopped what she was doing, slowly glancing up at you. she had suspected as much, but she never was for certain. it was one thing she had thought for months. however, it wasn't her place. she wasn't about to tell you how you felt. that was for you to figure out, and maybe at some point, tell her about it.

the nun pursed her lips, but eventually closed her eyes and softly sighed.

“then you must tell him.”

“tell him?”

your eyes were wide at the thought of telling uhtred of bebbanburg that you loved him. how could you?

he had lost so much, because of love and because of the whims of the soul—would the dane even give you a second glance? would he even show a sliver of interest in your saxon heart?

no, he wouldn’t.

you clenched your jaw. anything was possible. uhtred and his warriors had proven that on more than one occasion. but would it be the same with you? could anything happen to you? would he truly believe that you loved him?

most importantly, would he love you back?

hild leaned against the table, reaching out to take ahold of your hand.

“you must. life is too short. the good lord has shown us time and time again. tell him before it is too late for either of you,” she said, a soft smile adorning her features. "our hearts are made for love. we are not made to live life alone. i chose to give my love to god. but you... you should give your love to uhtred. i know you love him dearly. i've seen it for so long."

she was right. you knew it. but a part of you didn’t want to admit it.

life was short. you had lost so many people—neighbors, friends, almost every member in your own family. and you knew that it was the same for uhtred. if anything, he would understand that life was short. he saw warriors die more often than not. warriors that fought alongside him for so long only to die at the hand of a dane, or a saxon, or deadly flu. no one knew their end—no one knew when the love of their life would never wake up, staying asleep in perpetual darkness for the rest of eternity.

“what if he doesn’t feel the same?” you asked, pulling your hand away from the woman as anxiety pitted itself in your stomach.

you often had a problem with overthinking. today was no different for you.

“i think you’d be in for a surprise if you were to just speak to him,” she said. “if anything, it would do you some good to talk to him, even if you didn’t confess. you could find where your heart truly is and see if your head could follow it.”

“i know where my heart is… but… uhtred. he…” you trailed off, not watching as hild’s eyes grew wide. you would have continued, burying your face in your hands with a groan.

“uhtred what?”

that oh-so-familiar voice spoke right beside your ear. you flinched, head shooting in his direction, hands nearly slamming on the table underneath them.

the very man of your conversation stood there with that cheeky grin he always had.

“you’ve been talking about me?” he teased, sitting down beside of you and grabbing your cup of ale. “do tell. i’d love to hear it.”

hild silently excused herself, squeezing your shoulder as she passed by.

“i.. we were just… we were just discussing how you will be leaving again soon,” you said, looking up at him. you could feel your cheeks burn from embarrassment, although you didn’t know what you were truly embarrassed about. he didn’t know what you had really been talking about.

he grinned. “i think you’re lying.”

there’s no way he heard, right?

he downed the rest of your ale before he slammed the cup down on the table, his grin unwavering.

“i think it’s time the two of us talked,” he said. “if that’s what you’d like.”

"what would we even talk about?" you blurted. "there is nothing i need to tell you. is there something you've been needing to tell me?"

he raised an eyebrow, hands raised in mock defense.

"y/n, i am not here to interrogate you. i can tell when you're nervous. do i need to rough someone up?"

"what? do i need—no, i don't need you to rough anyone up," you replied, dejected as he continued to not confess his own feelings. if he confessed that he loved you, that would make everything much easier, right? he just needed to say it. then, you could say, i love you, too. uhtred was a psychic—he could read your mind. surely, he could. that would be so simple.

but when had your life ever been that simple?

it was as if the universe decided to throw you into the mud as soon as you were born. they were not about to let up, either.

you stared down at the table, silence floating thickly between the two of you.

uhtred let out a soft sigh. "i heard you," he said.

you paused for a moment.

you misheard him. yes, that was it.

"what?"

"i heard you," he repeated, this time his voice much softer. he brought a hand up to your chin, tilting your head to face him. "i heard what you said to hild."

your eyes began to burn as tears of embarrassment formed. you pursed your lips, eyes trained on his.

"and you did not think to lead with that?" you said, trying to keep your tears at bay. he did not need to see you cry. he already heard your most vulnerable confession. that was enough for one day.

you pulled away from his grasp, standing up in the process.

"y/n—"

"—i understand, my lord. you do not feel the same. you do not need to humor me."

"y/n."

"i will take my leave. we have a journey, and i need to prepare—"

"—y/n."

he stood up with you, hands cupping your cheeks to keep you from talking any more.

"please allow me just a moment to confess, as well," he said, frustration evident on his features.

you swallowed thickly, eyes not meeting his.

"like you said, life is short. the gods do not allow us any warning. they take. they take, and they never give..." he trailed off, his eyes trailing down to your lips. "but at times, they allow us to find the people we need. the people we love."

you paused, eyes darting up to his.

"uhtred?"

"i love you, too. i had planned on telling you in a more... appropriate manner, but as you can see, i needed to tell you before you believed the opposite."

your eyes widened. you did not mishear, this time. you heard him loud and clear.

he leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of your lips, restraining himself. he let go of you, giving you a faint smile.

"well, off you go. you do have to prepare for the morning, do you not?"

you froze in your spot, staring up at him in disbelief. without wasting another second, you leaned forward, a hand on the back of his neck. decency be damned—you pressed your lips to his, your lips molding perfectly together as he wrapped an arm around your torso.

your saxon heart had long been taken over by the dane, and you'd never trade it for anything... despite how unsure you were at the beginning of the night. you would have to say something about him eavesdropping, later. but for now, all you could think of was the fact that he was actually kissing you—and it wasn't in your daydreams.

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