#his family reading to him helps calm and ground him and the library may be where he feels safest

[callmemaeverick]

Haven [Dream of the Endless x Reader]

A/N: I know I posted about something I wanted to write. But I decided to KIV that fic for now. Instead, I got inspired for this. This fic is too long so I separated it. It could be a two-parter, or multi-chap. IDK yet. Supposed to be GN!reader, but do let me know if there’s something overly descriptive.

Summary: You had never truly found a place you belong in. Your only escape were into the stories you watched, read or wrote. Then one day, you found yourself in a library, with a completed book of your unfinished story.  Words: 936 ~ All your life, you never truly fit anywhere. Sure, you had a lot of friends growing up. You were able to adapt your personality to meet the expectations of many groups of people and interact with them without issue. It has helped you in school and it has helped you as an adult.

But still, you have never felt truly at home.

The closest you have felt to absolute peace and safety, was when you are engrossed in a story, whether it be from watching the telly, reading a book or writing it out yourself.

It was the way you would escape when the crippling loneliness of your life got too much for you. Some of your family members would tut about and chide you, saying that you had your head in the clouds too much. They did not know it was the only way to keep you sane.

xxxx

You didn't know how you got there, but the library was exquisite. Shelves upon shelves of books as far as your eye could see. There were spiralling staircases going up stories to fit the expansive number of tomes and there were little nooks that housed cubbies and comfy chairs for one to sit and read.

It was quiet and empty and there were birds chirping at the windows. You took a deep, deep breath, letting the smell of paper and leather, of wood and the crackling fire fill you up to the brim.

It felt like home, you thought.

Smiling to yourself, you wandered about, fingers trailing worn out spines while you peruse titles. Some of them were familiar, some were utterly foreign. You were not really focusing on what you were looking for, until a leather-bound book caught your eye.

There was no title, but the authors name gave you halt. You frowned as you flipped the book open and read its contents.

The more you read, the more it did and didn't make sense. You knew these characters, knew this world depicted in the pages. The writing style was so unique, so familiar, it could have only been from your own fingers. But you did not remember writing it so... completely.

"You should not be here."

You jumped almost a foot in the air at the sound of that voice, the book in your hand flying.

The... man that stood before you was... different, you knew instantly. It may be his pallor, white as a sheet of paper, or it might be his wild unruly, raven black hair. But for sure, it was the hypnotic way his irises danced in the warm lighting of the library, like the cosmos filled with billions of galaxies.

Alarm bells began ringing in your head.

"Wh- What do you mean?"

The man, being, stepped forward and you instinctively stepped back. He seemed powerful. And worse, he seemed upset at seeing you.

"How did you get here?"

"I- uhm- I ..." You frowned when your mind came up blank as you try to recall your past. The furthest you remember was being in the library, surrounded by books. You turned to him, panic rising in your chest. "I don’t... I don't know. I can't remember. Why can't I remember?"

Hands on your shoulders felt grounding as your companion tried for your attention. "Be calm," He called your name. How he knew it escaped you. "You are dreaming."

You shrugged him off. "What are you talking about? What is going on here? Why is-" you bent down to pick up the book. Your book. "Why does this book exist? I never wanted to publish it. Hell, I hadn't even finished it."

The man froze when he heard you. "Wait, you've read it? You were able to read that?"

"What? Of course, I could read it! What I want to know was how is it finished? Because I never did."

He looked at you for a long time, staring at you as if he could see into your very soul. And then, he introduced himself.

When he told you his name, you had very well laughed in his face. Until you saw that he was entirely serious. Then, he told you about the library and where exactly it was, where you were.

"Oh, come on now. This has gone too far." You cut him off. "I’m willing to call you Morpheus. Maybe your parents had a thing for Greek mythology or the Matrix or something. But you can't expect me to believe that this place is a Dream plane and I just happened to unknowingly cross through an invisible threshold."

"Then how do you explain your inability to recall how you arrived here?" He challenged. "Or how your book, one that you had not yet finished, nor intend to  publish, came to be in my library."

"I- But that's- that's impossible. There is no way that-"

You gasped awake in your bed, the force of your inhale pulling up upright. The room was dark save for the light of your candle warmer. Your room was exactly as you left it before you went to bed, except for the now familiar tall and dark figure in the corner of your room.

"Holy sh-"

You scrambled up onto your bed, in an attempt to put as much distance between you and the Lord of Dreams. As much distance as there was in your small room.

"You're real."

Dream stepped closer, to the edge of your mattress, hands in his pockets. "I am."

You sighed, running a hand through your hair. "What is going on?"

"That is what I intend to find out.” ~ [Part 2]

[rouecentric]

Your posts are so beautiful that I couldn't stop myself from reading them over and over. If that's okay with you, may I ask romantic yandere Ludwig Parvis from Actually I Was Real One and platonic yandere Keira and Zeke? Your articles are really nice. Wishing you a good day!

thank you for reading and liking my posts! I hope you enjoy reading this one! :)

-Hoo boy, 'how did you get in this mess of a family in general?' I hear you ask. Well, let's just say you were Zeke's caretaker and now Kiera's personal servant who's a commoner

-As the personal servant of Kiera, you met Ludwig multiple times a day, but he didn't pay much attention to you, seeing you as a maid and just that at the time

-If Ludwig becoming a yandere for you was a fanfiction on Ao3, it would be a slowburn worker and boss to friends to lovers 200k words with the bonus tags: found family, children adopting an adult as their other parent, obsessive love interest, they're soulmates your honor

-So, yeah! Let's just temporarily change the subject to the children

-Og!Kiera would definitely rather quickly become yandere for you, as you were practically the only staff member that genuinely cared for her and freely conversing with her whenever

-You would always be by her side even when you were imprisoned for protecting and supporting her

-When Kiera was back in the past, she became a whole 'nother person, refusing to let you leave her side and even thought about convincing her father to give you a noble title just so she could make you her lady-in-waiting

-Kiera brings you everywhere with you, be it the library, training grounds, garden, her office and even sometimes even her bedroom if she needs something or comfort

-Kiera spoils you with the most random things, the book you were ogling at before time was reversed, sharing treats that another servant brang for her and sometimes just brings you to spend money with her

-Zeke was pretty hesistant to give you up as his caretaker, as he was extremely dependent and clingy with you, but calmed down when Ludwig told him that you were going to be Kiera's personal Servant

-She definitely accidentally called you mom multiple times

-He still is very clingy with you but less dependent, he'll call for you whenever you're not by Kiera's side

-Zeke always used to call you mom when he was younger, now he just does it in private

-Ludwig was curious, his eldest child started seeing him considerably less than she did in the past, but is always seen with you and hanging out at random places, it doesn't help how Zeke was also heavily dependent and clingy with you in the past

-So, as any reasonable person would do, he started calling for you more to stay by his side whenever he had paperwork to do or was taking a break in his office, trying to converse with you and become acquaintances

-The children noticed, Zeke was curious while Kiera was scared, why did he call for you? Is he planning on firing you? What if he took you away from her?

-Although Ludwig wanted you to become acquaintances with him, he started noticing minor things about you, like how nice your hair looks and how it shines in certain angles, the scent you have that he finds himself not being able to sleep without, how your eyes practically shine whenever the two of you talk, how some parts of your uniform loosen or tighten up, making you look more ethereal and- oh, oh

-The poor man fell for your natural charm without knowing he was falling for you

-He now becomes obsessive and protective! Anything you look at for more than one second will be bought without a single thought, appearing nicely wrapped in your bedroom, the asshole that tried to harm you? Already in prison

-That man loves holding your hand or touching any part of you, be it grabbing your waist disguising it as protecting you from falling down, holding your hair and even hugging you

-The kids already noticed their father's obsession with you and decided to team up to get you two together

-Once Ludwig realises, he buys you a noble title right away and tries to court you

-Don't worry if you refuse! He can always kidnap you, mentally break you, confine you in a room, break your legs and chain you to your new shared chambers with him, manipulate you, get your family in debt, so just give up and accept your fate! ❤️

-Kiera and Ludwig would often butt heads and argue for what is best for you, Ludwig wants to lock you up in your bedroom to protect you from the outside world, but Kiera knows that being just in your room is hurtful and can ruin you, she just wants to be with her step-mother!

-While Zeke always sides with Kiera, he is thankful when the two of them argue, so he can have more time to spend with you, lazing around and reading a book or two for him

-By the end of the argument, Ludwig decided to let you walk freely around the household but wasn't allowed to go outside the plot without his permission or unless it was a mandatory banquet/ball invitation from the imperial family

-Kiera absolutely loses her cool whenever she hears someone insult or spread rumors about you, so she forges fake letters of them comitting crimes and just tortures them

-You have two guards who are extremely skilled ex-imperial knights always protecting you, if you don't want them then they'll be in the shadows, watching your every move

-If you're infertile or not afab or not fem aligned and want kids, you can always adopt children whenever you want, but do be aware that your step-children will be jealous

[shytastemakerthing]

Hi, hello! I saw you have your matchups open so if it's okay I would like to request a romantic matchup with Twisted Wonderland <3 You are so sweet and amazing for doing these!

I am a cute, poetic, caring, and sweet person who knows how to listen actively and hold a one-on-one conversation, often getting people to open up more than they expected, otherwise I'm pretty reserved. If I was transported to a magical school, I would do my best to learn the theory and practicalities of magic, even if I couldn't actually cast spells, and try to excel in other scientific fields (and Mozus Trein would definitely be my favourite professor). I have a great interest in the occult (my library is something I'm very proud of) and psychology, but I'm truly interested in all types of knowledge and books. When I go to the used book stores, I can spend hours there, as I go through war, occult, philosophy, science, comics, fantasy, poetry, and all other categories of books, except sports and cooking. I also love music: opera, metal, neofolk, electronic, and all of them together.

I love crafting and learning new things, but I'm most interested in historical and folk crafts, like nålbinding, embroidery, weaving in many forms, making jewelry from bones and other things found in nature, and more! I love making stuff and seeing that I have finished something, that I've made something.

I have a rough history with mental illness and trauma, making me prone to getting overwhelmed easily, and I have to calm and ground myself. I often feel out of touch with my body, like my spirit is a feet out of me. One thing that works is a tight hug and closeness. I'm also very submissive by nature and other ways, so I really need someone who is sure of themselves and also accepting. I don't need pity, I need a helping hand and someone I can rely on.

Other small things: I can play erhu, dance butoh, bellydance, and few different folk dances, I've practiced tai chi with fan, my newest obsession is fountain pens (there's TWST pens by Sailor, but they're so expensive!), I can't eat meat or onions, I always wear a red bow on my head, mostly because it keeps my curly hair out of my face but also because it's just part of me now just like my red lipstick, I only wear dresses (comfy, cute, always fits any occasion), I have blue eyes, and my favourite animal is fox.

Hope this is not too much, and take your time, I'll be here waiting and reading what else you come up with :3

Hello and thank you so much for your kind words! Now that things are finally slowing down between work and college work, I can finally get to all of these! I am so sorry that you had to wait for so long for your match up but I do hope that you like it!

Tw: None

I match you with.........

Jamil Viper

Right off the bat, it was hard to actually get into a relationship with him to begin with. With all of his duties that he has to Kalim, his duties as a vice housewarden, his school and club activities. Plus the belief that he doesn't deserve the happiness that would come from having a relationship, not wanting to burden his partner with the burden that he shares as serving the Al-Asim family (please, this boy needs so much love, it's not even funny)

Then you come along and pretty much destroy all of that. It really threw him in for a loop.

Honestly, just the feeling of someone caring for him after such a long day of making sure that the rich idiot doesn't die or make any stupid decisions, just makes him melt. Having your arms around him after such a long day as he is able to just unload everything from the day, knowing that you are listening with full attention brings more comfort than you may ever know.

He keeps a few red bows lined in his pockets and in his room just in case there was a very rare event that you had forgotten to put it on that day. It had grown on him, and it was a part of you, much like the small beads in his hair were a part of him.

Speaking of hair, he honestly loves to be able to do yours. it is so different from his own. Jamil is a very fast learner. By the end of the day, he knows more about curly hairstyles and how to work with them and he has a wonderful woman to be able to try said styles on.

There was a time where he took you on a small trip to the Scalding Sands, and seeing you dressed in the traditional clothing from his home country had this man feeling all sorts of things as he couldn't help how his cheeks warmed upon seeing you.... yes, Najma teased him relentlessly for it. And yes.... he bought you several of those dresses to take back to campus with you.

Jamil is 100% someone you can rely on (and there is no hidden meaning to what he is doing, not with you). When things are far too overwhelming for you, he is there to simply hold onto you, giving you the reassurance that you need. He will help you and guide you through what it is that is troubling you in no time. This man has plenty of experience.

Overall, you brought a light and happiness into his life that he did not know that he needed. Now that he has it, he doesn't want to let go, he grows a bit greedy for your affection. After all, it is something that is just for him and he finally doesn't have to share. He thanks you everyday for coming into his life and just putting up with him.

[inamindfarfaraway]

Listen. I like a good ‘Comics Tim gets turned into Joker Junior’ fic as much as the next angst-loving Batfam fan. But given that Batman: The Animated Series Tim is just Jason Todd under a different name, on all counts - backstory, place in the Batfamily timeline, personality, right down to his career as Robin ending with his capture, torture and in at least one sense murder by the Joker (literal death vs the death of his sanity and identity) that doesn’t stick - I maintain that if we’re transferring this plot to the comics continuity, it should be Jason. Fifteen-year-old Jason. Aka Robin II, adopted by Bruce out of poverty with a dead mother and criminal father who was killed by Two-Face, aka exactly who Tim is B:TAS. It just makes more sense! And it’s no less interesting!

A warehouse explodes in Ethiopia. Bruce searches through the debris, shouting for Jason, his only thoughts the need to hold his son and a growing banshee wail that he’s too late, too late, too late. He can’t even find a body. Instead he finds Sheila, with minutes of her life to spare. She uses her last breaths to tell him the Joker took Jason away somewhere. Alive. His son is alive. Bruce can - no, will find him, whatever the cost.

He and Barbara, and Dick the moment he returns to Earth, devote every available second (and many that really aren’t available) to looking. For Jason, Joker, his associates, his sightings, any hint or scrap of evidence they can find. But they can’t find much. How they long for Joker’s usual obvious calling cards and attention seeking. Now it’s like he’s vanished into thin air, taking their Robin with him. It speaks of a higher purpose; this isn’t simply luring Batman into a trap, Joker has designs for Jason himself. Bruce shudders to imagine them. That only makes him more determined to find his child. He eats and sleeps as little as possible, lashes out and communicates more with glares and growls than words. He can’t take joy in anything. He can’t give up, he can’t… he doesn’t know how he’ll go on if he’s lost Jay forever.

In the movie, Tim’s captivity lasts three weeks. In the comics, Bruce’s downward spiral after losing Jason lasts six months before Tim interrupts it. I think it’ll need to be a few months here to be long enough for Tim to get involved - you can go with the full six if you want, for maximum angst. Barbara was also already Oracle by the time Jason died, attending his painfully small funeral in a wheelchair, so Dick is out on the streets with Bruce. Tim Drake observes Bruce’s declining mental health and wants to help, as in the comics. He doesn’t become Robin here, but he does volunteer his detective services to aid in the search and grow close to the Bats.

They find Jason. The Joker dies. He takes a part of all of them with him.

Think of the fanfic potential! How does Jason’s recovery go? Does he want nothing to do with vigilantism anymore, not trusting himself to be a hero due to having such severe lifelong trauma, or eventually invent a new heroic identity like Flamebird or Phoenix? If he doesn’t resume fighting crime, what does he do instead? How does the Batfamily as a whole recover and evolve? Does Bruce ban child vigilantism or try to? To what extent do the others agree? Does Jason give Tim his blessing to be the next Robin? When Steph, Cass, Damian and Duke show up, how do their journeys unfold with Jason present as a sibling and role model and Bruce wanting perhaps even more to prevent or at least delay them from frontline crimefighting? How does how the expanding Batfamily operate? Wait, now there’s no Joker to poison Elaine and Doug Thomas’s minds, does Duke even get into crimefighting or associate with the Bats, and if so, how and why? You see how many questions I got just out of the aftermath? How are there no fanfics about this already?!

[chefdoeuvre]

Aftermath

Jay Halstead

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Sister!Reader

Description: People always tend to forget about the aftermath.

Words: 2,122

Requested: yes by anonymous; second, if it's ok i wanted to request a part two to the imagine? i was wondering if you could just explore the aftermath of her assault, as she continues to heal and accept what's happened to her. by this i mean experiencing ptsd and having nightmares, flashbacks and dealing with certain triggers. also, maybe she could still sometimes turn to substances as many survivors do, and just break down sometimes. obviously since it's a halstead sister fic and i love the support system in the last story, i'd love to see jay helping her through everything and being super protective + some scenes with the rest of intelligence? but it's obviously up to you. thank you so much <3

Warnings: mention of drinking, sexual assault, drugs, language, PTSD, Jay Halstead and all of Intelligence being the best.

A/N: This is the long awaited part two to Infliction, and by long-awaited I mean like a month later. I tried to make the end light hearted because it seemed like a good way to go. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors.

—

It had been a few weeks since the party and things were beginning to look up. You and Brayden started hanging out more and it was safe to say the two of you were on your way to becoming best friends. The group of guys had all been arrested and sent far away from you. You, Jay, and Will have been having more frequent family movie nights instead of them heading out to Molly's every free night they got. Intelligence had basically adopted you as one of their own and even went out of their way to hang out with you. Kim and Hailey had girls nights away from the ever-annoying guys they work with. Adam and Kevin practically chauffeured you to hangouts with Brayden and took you out to your favorite diner on the weekends. Even Hank had called you once in a while as a check-in and to keep you informed about your case. Overall things seemed to be getting better for you.

Except for one little detail. Your PTSD was hitting you like a truck. Of course, the only person who even remotely knew what was happening was Brayden because he was the one person you spent most of your time with. Thankfully he was there to help ground you and calm you down when it all became too much for you. This wasn't sudden, it's been building up since it happened and clearly you needed to work on accepting it rather than shoving it all down. That's one thing you and Jay had in common, the two of you always had trouble addressing your problems no matter how big they became.

Currently, you were laying in bed and staring up at your ceiling that Jay had covered in stars for you. If there was one thing about you is that you still are a child at heart. You had been shocked awake by your recurring nightmare. It always followed the same premise of the night of the party but every night there were either different people, points of view, or different actions you took that still led you to the same outcome. There were dried tears staining your cheeks that you hadn't bothered to wipe away and every few moments there would be a soft sniffle to break the eerie silence.

Having enough of staring up at your ceiling you let out a low huff and pushed yourself up to a sitting position. You turned to the side and looked at the clock resting on your nightstand. The clock read 4:19 AM which was clearly too early for you to be up but too late for you to try and go back to sleep before Jay's rustling while getting ready would wake you up. Reaching over to open the drawer in your nightstand you checked the small bottle hidden under the glasses case that held your blue light ones. It was three-quarters full of vodka you had inconspicuously stolen from Jay's cabinet. You kept promising yourself that you wouldn't drink anymore, but clearly, that wasn't really panning out in your favor. Sure you would have a swig or two before braving yourself and heading off to school but it was to take the edge off, not to get drunk.

If Jay were to check through your drawer he'd probably think otherwise. You had stopped with the pills since he had found you, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him so you continued to drink. Obviously, it wasn't a lot and definitely not enough to get you drunk off your ass. You just wanted to be buzzed enough to have the courage to walk into your dreaded school every morning and deal with the numerous triggers you kept on discovering.

Eventually, it was time for you actually start getting ready for school. Jay had already left for work a while ago, leaving a kiss on your head before stepping out the door. You pulled on a random outfit that was comfortable and your usual pair of shoes before throwing your backpack over your shoulder and walked downstairs. Deciding against your worst judgment you made the choice to brave the day without the buzz of alcohol. Waiting at the front entrance of your building was Brayden. Like every morning the two of you would walk to school together if Jay had to go into the district early. If Jay only had paperwork that day he would drive the two of you to school instead, but that didn't happen very often.

The two of you walked to school silently, only exchanging a few words of greeting. Once you had made it to the large building you both had to split up for your classes. The day went on like usual, boring teachers droning on about upcoming assignments and tests. Lunch had arrived after what seemed like forever and you sat at an empty table practically half asleep. You held your head in your hand as you kept your eyes from slipping shut at the exhaustion.

"You not feeling too hot there?" One of your classmates from English asked as he passed by.

You froze at the familiar words before shaking yourself out of the memory.

"Fine, just tired." You brushed off their comment as he nodded with an understanding smile before continuing to his table.

Moments later the door opened and you picked your head up reluctantly. It was a few guys on the football team.

"You not feeling too hot there?" One of the seniors asked you.

You simply shook your head which only worsened the pain in it. The boys walked a few steps closer before placing their hands on your shoulders. They shoved you back onto the bed and immediately your body began to react.

You kicked and punched aimlessly to get them off of you but your movements were uncoordinated and your mind was foggy. There were too many of them and they began to overpower you, their hands wandering to unwanted places.

“Y/N?” Brayden’s voice pulled you out of the flashback.

“Huh?” Your teary eyes darted around his face before focusing on his concerned expression.

“Let’s head to the library, all right?” Brayden suggested already standing up from his seat across from you.

You nodded silently before hiking your bag over your shoulder and walked to the library beside him. Luckily at your school, they were lenient enough to let you head to the library during lunch. Usually, the kids didn’t take advantage of it but it was an unspoken spot of peace for you and Brayden.

The two of you sat at a table near the back and Brayden pulled a chair up beside you.

“Want to talk about what happened back at lunch?” Brayden asked softly.

You bit your lip in contemplation. This had been happening for weeks and every time you’d shake your head and change the subject. But the fact was it wasn’t getting better and you just needed to tell somebody that you weren’t okay. A few tears slipped out of your eyes which led to quiet sobs escaping from your lips. Brayden offered you a hug with outstretched arms, making sure to check if you were okay with it. You leaned forward into his embrace and squeezed his waist tightly. He held you there while rubbing soothing circles on your back until your cries stopped. You lifted your head off his chest and wiped away the remained tears on your cheeks before speaking up.

“Uh, flashbacks. I’ve been getting them for a while. I thought they’d go away, but they haven’t.” You explained with a sigh, avoiding his gaze and instead taking interest in your hands.

“Okay first, if they happen again tell me, or pull on my sleeve and I’ll get you somewhere quiet. Got it?” Brayden bent his head to try and get into your eye line.

You nodded your head with a hum before he spoke up again, “since they haven’t gone away maybe you should talk to someone. Preferably a professional, but if you’re only comfortable telling me then I’m all ears. Although, I’m not sure that I can cure you with magic, wish I could though.” Brayden tried to lighten the mood with his magic comment.

“Thanks, Brayden. Jay actually has been bugging me about seeing a therapist. Said it helped him with his PTSD, I think I might take him up on it.” You looked up at the boy with pursed lips.

“That’s good. Just know we’re not trying to force you into anything, we just want you to feel better however long that may take.” Brayden gave you a soft smile.

“You are wise beyond your years, you know that?” You smiled back with a small laugh.

“I try, I try.” Brayden shrugged nonchalantly.

“Can you come with me to the district after school?” You asked cautiously.

“Of course, not like I’d rather do my homework.” Brayden laughed.

“And there’s the Brayden I know.” You smiled widely.

Soon enough you and Brayden had been making your way to the twenty-first district to talk with Jay and probably the rest of Intelligence. The air was lighter between the two of you once you had finally started to open up. Of course, you hadn’t spilled everything but the little you had told him made the weight on your shoulders lessen slightly.

“Ah, baby Halstead and company, what brings you here?” Trudy greeted from the front desk with a tight-lipped smile. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she had a soft spot for you.

“Can you ring us upstairs? I need to talk with Jay.” You asked.

“You’re lucky they haven’t caught a case today.” Trudy walked out from behind her desk and led you and Brayden upstairs.

“Thank you, Trudy.” You smiled and followed the woman.

“I have a special delivery for Detective Chuckles.” Trudy spoke up once the three of you reached the top of the steps.

Jay’s head snapped up from his desk with a look of confusion when his eyes landed on you. He quickly stood up and scanned you over for anything.

“What happened, are you all right?” Jay cupped your cheek in concern before sparing a glance at Brayden for any sign of something bad.

“I’m okay, I just needed to talk to you.” You reassured him.

“All right. You wanna head into the kitchen?” Jay asked.

“No, we could talk at your desk. They’re all gonna find out anyway.” You gestured to the rest of the unit who was watching the two of you intently.

Jay nodded his head and led you to his desk. You reached out and held onto Brayden’s arm as you pulled him along to take a seat and sit beside you. Of course, at this, the entire unit had gathered around with concerned faces once you started to explain to them. Jay’s expression was held with soft eyes as he listened to you agree with wanting to try therapy and asking for help.

Once you were done Jay stood up and placed a kiss on the top of your head before whispering into your hair, “I’m proud of you.” Jay pulled away to give you a warm smile.

“All right come here you little muffin.” Kim held out her arms with a smile.

You stepped forward into her embrace as she squeezed you tightly, she rocked the two of you from side to side eliciting a small giggle out of you. Hailey joined the hug with a laugh once Kim pulled her by the arm.

Antonio placed a hand on your shoulder once you, Hailey, and Kim pulled away, “I’m proud of you, kiddo.” He offered you a kind nod.

“So proud.” Kevin gave you one of his signature bear hugs.

“Okay, it’s my turn.” Adam squeezed his way to stand in front of you. Which caused everyone to laugh at his eagerness.

“I could never forget about you, Ruz.” You wrapped your arms around his shoulders as he lifted your toes off the ground.

“Are we done yet? You guys are treating my sister like an attraction.” Jay sassed.

“You’re just mad that you only got to kiss me on the head and not a hug.” You retorted from leaning back into Brayden with a smirk.

“No, not true.” Jay shook his head with furrowed brows.

“Yup, totally jealous.” You nodded convinced.

“How did we go from a serious topic to Halstead and mini Halstead having a sarcasm battle?” Adam questioned with a confused expression.

“I learned to stop questioning it.” Brayden shrugged from behind you.

“It’s how we cope. Halstead thing, I guess.” You said with raised brows.

“Fair enough.” Jay sighed.

[sumsebien]

Your Highness pt.5// Prince Friedrich

series masterlist

summary: Y/N and Friedrich are still very much in the fairytale stage of their engagement. Of course, that is before the Queen gives her verdict on this match.

warnings: none

a/n: final part of your highness. the next part is “i’ll be in ruins for you” and it’s already up so check that out. oh and here is the duclaux piece i've been writing about. okayyy i’m too excited i am posting this right now :))))

When you and Anthony told Lord Wilson of your decision, he was happy for you and even invited you to visit his cottage should you ever find yoursef in Scotland. That alleviated parts of the guilt you felt for having strung him along. You wished him all the happiness and fortune before he bid you goodbye and left for his home. After that, you and the Prince had your last dance of the night, both of you trying to keep your giddiness to an absolute minimum as you spun around the room in each other’s arms.

It was utter bliss.

You hadn’t announced the news to the world just yet. So far, the only people who knew of your engagement were your family and Friedrich. And you intended to keep it that way until absolutely necessary.

Everyone was happy. Mama and Daphne were on board the moment they learned that you would remain close, most of the time, for them to visit. Benedict was just glad you had found your match and that you were generous enough to lend him that oil set. Colin was slightly sad that you’d not be living in a splendid castle in Prussia and allow him a tour whenever he made a stop on one of his continental tours. Little Hyacinth was most excited of all, always wondering what you were going to do the moment you became a Princess. Gregory usually answered before you could, resulting in a chase around the house.

As for you, you found yourself singing alone as you sketched in your notebook all the things that reminded you of Friedrich. And it had only been the morning after the engagement. You could not wait for noon to arrive so that you may see him again for the private tour of Somerset.

“Someone’s happy,” Benedict remarked, falling against the empty seat next to you.

“She has been singing all morning!” Eloise said, looking up from her book.

You smiled, ignoring them and went on with your humming.

“Miss Bridgerton?” Humbolt appeared at the entrance to the drawing room. “From Prince Friedrich, my Lady.”

“Yes?” You stood, leaving your notebook behind on the couch.

From behind him, Humbolt picked up a beautiful arrangement of flowers, almost as tall as he was. You hadn’t even fully registered the impressive stature of it yet and Mama was already touching the flowers and sniffing them.

“Darling, this must be very expensive,” she said, pointing at the two-toned roses in white and pink, along with the vibrant pops of blue from the cornflowers. The bouquet was finished with gardenias, adding a wonderful aroma to the room almost immediately.

“But why cornflowers and roses?” Eloise asked and all of you turned to Mama for an answer.

“Roses are the national flower of England as cornflowers are to Prussia.”

You felt an overwhelming sense of warmth just looking at him like so. You decided to sit down on the bench behind you and began to sketch him, “after that day, I went to the library and did my reasearch. Antoine Jean Duclaux, at the time he painted this, was only a student accompanying a more famous artist. While his teacher painted a Queen playing music, Duclaux made a portrait of her from the back. Perhaps so grief-stricken by the recent loss of her dear friend that she could not show her face.” The graphite version of Friedrich was coming to life and you had all the intentions of repainting it onto a canvas. You tried to capture his gentleness with the way his fingers curled ever so gently as well as his strength held mainly in his shoulders. The Friedrich before you had caught onto what you were doing by now. “You’re supposed to draw something that inspires you! That’s the only reason why we are here, my dear!” “I know! And I am doing just that!” He had no objections to remaining still and allowing you to complete your sketch. It didn’t take as long as you made him believe it would. The last five minutes you spent admiring him but he did not have to know that. After you were done, your family arrived to the Duclaux piece. Friedrich joined Hyacinth and Gregory and messed about in the room while you stood next to Benedict. “I don’t have favorites but if I did, you would be my favorite sister, you know that?” Benedict whispered to you when you came to stand by his side. “Do you love me? Or do you love him?” You motioned towards Friedrich who was now helping Hyacinth with her revenge. “Both of you I adore. For you have such fine taste in arts and in people,” he smiled, swinging his arm around your shoulder. You chuckled, about to tease him further when the your guide stopped talking. Through the door came a guard who cleared his voice, looking to Friedrich, “your Royal Highness, the Queen has requested your presence at once.” Before he turned to you, “And yours, Miss Bridgerton.” Dear readers, This Author believes she has uncovered a royal engagement made in secret. It is not hard to guess who the two lovebirds might be in this town. This morning a large bouquet of flowers was sent to the Bridgerton House. Large enough to mean more than just courting. Should the Prince have found himself a Princess so soon? And in someone other than the Diamond of the Season, as well. How very scandalous!

You remembered the nerves you felt waiting behind the tall white ornate doors with Mama and Daphne. You had tried your best not to mess up and in doing so, you paid no mind to your footing which resulted in you almost falling to the ground in front of her Majesty. It wasn’t as much of a disaster as Miss Featherington who fainted at her feet but it was enough to make a terrible and no doubt, lasting impression on her.

You just didn’t expect yourself to be here again. Behind those white doors, engaged to her nephew, you were going to go in and explain yourself to her the reason why you two had hid the engagement from her and have her found out through reading Whistledown. No amount of sophistication and elegance could save you now.

Before you were due inside, you tugged at Friedrich’s hand. He, for one, was not nervous at all, still smiling. The crinkles by his eyes and the dimples by his cheeks offered you a moment of peace. “And what would your mother say? When the Queen tells her that we hid an engagement from her?” you asked quietly. At this point, anything that could delay the possibility of losing Friedrich was good enough.

“She is in Prussia and should not be here until I ask her to. When she does, she will love you. And,” he gave your hand a final kiss, “we did not hide anything. I would never hide my love for you. Not from the Queen, not from anyone.”

You nodded before turning to Anthony who gave you a small smile. “It’s going to be alright, sister.” But you could tell he was nervous too from the ways he kept fidgeting with his fingers behind his back.

Echoing from inside the throne room were your names and suddenly the doors swung open, revealing the longest walk you’d ever taken leading up to the throne. The Queen sat leaning back, her watchful eyes burning into you three, but especially you. Beside her was an army of lady’s maids in extravagant gowns, Pomeranians in their arms. You kept your gaze low and made sure that you did not trip and that your curtsy was perfect.

So far, everything went swimmingly. Up until she opened her mouth. “Care to explain what this is, Friedrich?” She snapped her fingers and one of the servants brought forth a copy of Whistledown on a tray.

Friedrich held up his hand to stop the servant from moving any further. “Lady Whistledown was correct to assume we were engaged.”

She laughed, “You are engaged? To her?”

“I asked Miss Bridgerton to marry me last night and she has accepted. We were going to tell you very soon.”

“You proposed last night?” The Queen sat up in her seat, about to storm forward but stopped herself and slumped back, throwing a hand over her forehead, “do my opinions mean so little to you?”

Anyone in their right mind would be scared out of their wits by now. You were sure Friedrich was the only one you had ever met who wasn’t terrified of the Queen. You glanced to him briefly. He kept his gaze steady on her, still calm and collected. “I love her very much. As she loves me. She may not be what you are looking for in a wife for me but she is what I am looking for. I hope we may have your blessing.”

The Queen did not seem like she was listening or like she cared at all. You knew this was headed. Your hand brushed his, knowing the inevitable was on the horizon. He didn’t look at you, his eyes burning into the Queen.

“No. And you,” she looked to you and Anthony. Contempt in her gaze and venom in her words, “you shall leave.”

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[goggles-mcgee]

Can we have some head canons from Wish Me Away? Baby!Marinette sounds absolutely adorable!

Of course!

• The first person to find Marinette is Titus and at first Tikki and Plagg freak out but baby Marinette is all smiles and just happily rushes over to the "chiot (puppy)" as she keeps repeating

• Titus looks at this tiny human and just is like, ah yes she is tiny family. Must bring to Damian. Which he does by picking her up by the back of her onsie gently and taking her to down to the Batcave where he knows the family and Damian is.

• Tikki and Plagg of course go along after insuring that the Miracle Box is hidden somewhere safe and that Marinette is in no actual danger with the giant dog.

• Damian just hears Titus's footsteps and turns around to greet his dog but freezes when he sees the tiny infant in his dogs jaw. He literally doesn't know how to react other than to stare until finally he punches his father on the arm and angrily point at Marinette. "Father! Another? I thought I was the last one!"

• Bruce turns at that and is just as, if not more, confused as he take in the sight of the baby that is being put down by Titus. She stares at all of them just staring at her and starts to whine and tries to hide behind the large dog. "I'm fairly certain she's not mine. More importantly where did Titus get her from?"

• Dick is the one to swing into action and approach the small girl, he makes sure to sit down to reduce his height hoping it'll make him less intimidating before he introduces himself. "Hello, I'm Dick, who are you?"

Marinette gave him a big smile and waved, "Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi, Bonjour!"

Or well Dick thinks she said Bonjour, it was a little baby-fied, but he gave her a smile and waved in return.

• Jason is just staring at the small child, but he is trying to be as discreet as possible as he puts his gun back in it's holster.

• Tim is out of his seat as well and sitting on the ground too as he looks at her, "black hair, blue eyes, and a note attached to her shirt that translates to 'They wished me away, Here I am safe'. I don't know Bruce, seems right up your alley." He mumbles with a raised brow and small smirk.

• Now it was Damian's turn to come and sit, he took the note off the girl fast but he tried to be gentle about it. He read and just looks at his father like he is actually absolutely done with him. "Did you seduce some French woman we didn't know about? Father what about the Kyle woman? This child can't be more than a year old."

• At this point Jason can't hold it in anymore and just absolutely loses it and starts laughing, Marinette doesn't know what's going on but she hears laughing and she starts laughing to. Alfred hears commotion going on and goes down to the Batcave with sandwiches and sees this little girl laughing along with Jason and just sighs and looks over at Bruce and shakes his head. "Oh Master Bruce, not again."

• Jason loses it again, and Dick and Tim have joined him, which makes Marinette laugh even harder and Damian even gives a small smirk.

• Once they calm down Marinette gets up and walks over to Alfred who looks down and greets her. All she does is give him a smile and points to her heart then his and says "Paon." Everyone is confused as to why this small child just called Alfred a peacock and the the floating things came out and chaos erupted.

• the Kwami, as that's what they said they were explained everything that happened to the small child and what the were and who she was, there was another long discussion on what was to be done. It wasn't really hard for Bruce to decide he would adopt her but he was rather upset that she was supposedly the Guardian of these gods and the magical jewelry they were bound to and there was nothing he could do about that. Also the fact she did remember her past life so that may make things a bit difficult if not interesting.

• There was also the fact they would need to give her a new identity, Bruce explained it to everyone and everyone wanted to help pick a name for her. Marietta Martha Méh-fùnh Fu-Wayne. The boys had all wanted their picked names in there but Bruce vetoed that very fast as well as the last names because Marietta's name would have been 20 names long already.

• It was work but they were all getting used to having little Mari around along with the little gods that floated around with her. Alfred had quickly made up a room for her and he asked what color she liked and it was no surprise when she yelled out an excited "Pink!"

• It was also hard to adjust to having a baby around especially when they went out to do their vigilante business. It was especially a big surprise when a little bundle of red and black polka-dots knocked Batman out of the sky when he was using his grappling hook with a loud "Dad-dee!"

• There is now a swear jar in the manor after the F Word incident that occurred with Jason and Mari.

• Gotham is in LOVE with little Marietta when Bruce introduces her at a gala. She even meets Jagged again and she melts his heart when she gets excited to see him and goes "Uncle Jagged! Rock an Roll!" And Jagged is just like "Hell yeah I'm your uncle. Penny did you hear that? I'm her uncle!"

• The Justice League all make jokes and just genuinely laugh about the whole thing until they meet her and then Diana bows to the child and calls her Little Goddess and then confusion sets in.

• So many kwami shenanigans because Mari takes them out to play with them and they are DELIGHTED

• Damian is a little jealous of Mari in the beginning but then he catches her trying to copy him when he's training and he can't help but smile at her and help her, then he takes her to the library to draw and that's how they bond, that and with the animals.

• Dick likes to teach her gymnastics. He likes to hear her laugh when he straps her on to him so he can take her on the aerial silks that Bruce and Alfred got him for Christmas one year.

• Jason reads to her with her in his lap. Not just kid books but classical literature, he knows she's paying attention and that makes him laugh a little bit he loves it.

• Tim and her watch movies together, especially if she feels like he's doing too much work and is stressed.

• Alfred and her bake, well she "mixes" things for him, he even bought her a little stool and a matching apron with his. He may have also bought her mini kitchen utensils.

• Bruce doesn't really know what to do with her but he likes to watch her play with her toys that he bought her, but he notices that she likes to watch him while he works in the study so he set up a little desk for her to "work" on. Really she just scribbled nonsensically on papers and showed them off to him. Sometimes he would ask her something about his work and she would babble at him or nod her head solemnly.

• Sometimes Mari has nightmares and it's really sad to hear, the only one she seems to let help her besides the kwamis is Alfred, Cass when she's over, and Jason.

• It was take your child to work day and Bruce took Mari when he had a meeting he had forgotten about, at this point Mari has already turned 2, he takes her in the meeting with him when the other party agrees it's fine. He expects Mari to be her friendly excited self but when they get into the meeting he feels her freeze in his arms when he greets Mrs Emilie Agreste and her son Adrien. The whole meeting Mari is hiding her face in his chest and shaking, he's terribly worried and more so when he sees Tikki glaring at the woman and her son from Mari's backpack.

[alreadyblondenow]

When December comes | Hendery

✦ Hendery x reader x Lucas ✦ Fluff, Smut, Angst, Royalty AU, Nutcracker AU ✦ 3/5 for HOLIDAY SERIES: Once Upon A December

Summary: As an adopted legitimate princess and future queen of two kingdoms, you grew up proving yourself that you deserve the role that has given to you. Nothing is simple about being an adopted princess but being arranged to marry Prince Hendery turned your life upside down.He left you, eventually. And by the time he came back to your life, you have a loving boyfriend, and Prince Hendery…. is arranged to be married to your sister now.  

Word count: 8,690k

Warnings: adopted reader (if thats triggering at any point, please click away) A lot of smut, unprotected sex, mentions of sex, swearing, mentions of other idols, fingering, mentions of rough sex, heavy cheating, major character death

A/N: PURE FICTION. This is a love triangle fic but not much focused to Lucas, more on Hendery. Inspired by a bunch of royalty movies, especially princess diaries, Nutcracker (ballet), inspired by the song Satisfied from Hamilton. Love writing for Hendery so much. Check my recent post for Hendery’s thirst photos whahaha, as per Lucas character here idk I always see him as sweet and lovable and he always knows what to do. The guy has serious good leadership skills if you haven’t’ notice and i think its sexy. I’m glad this didnt reach to 10k bc u know me i hate my works being long af haha enjoy reading mwa!

For @jeongyoonohs​ sorry it took me so long to finish this :( But this is for you! 

OPENING

Once upon a time, in a kingdom not so far away, ruled by a king and queen who can’t have a baby no matter how many times they’ve tried. The sad news spread all over the kingdom and caused chaos everywhere mainly because they were scared for the fall of their beloved kingdom.

But the king is wise. He made an alliance with the kingdom of his truest friend and together they helped each other’s kingdom by making an agreement. “I can’t have a child, but my queen and I have decided to adopt a baby girl,” the king says to his fellow king.

“And my wife is carrying a baby boy”

“It’s settled then. My adopted daughter will be arranged with your son, and someday be married to each other” They shook hands and made the agreement official by sealing it with their signatures and royal seals in front of their queens.

The kingdom that lost their trust with their king is now calmed relieved after hearing the great news of the two kingdoms having an alliance. And to fully earned their trust again, they searched far and wide for a baby girl that will soon be the future of their kingdom.

“And that baby girl is you my darling” your grandfather finishes his bedtime story to you. Caging you in his strong arms, cradling you like you’re truly related by blood. “Grow up as a fine woman and save this kingdom” he added. You embraced your grandfather back and smiled so sweetly at him, tracing his handsome features… then you remembered.

“Tell me the story about the Nutcracker prince,” you singsong to him. He doesn’t tell you the original story, but instead, he always tells you his version and it’s always better. His embrace became tighter, then he looked at his expensive watch to check how many minutes does he have left.

“Okay. I only have a few minutes left, princess” He started by introducing the Nutcracker prince to you which is actually magical because even though you’ve heard of this so many times it never gets old and you’re always excited to hear it again.

He described the prince as a soldier like him, but a younger version he says with a giggle. And that Nutcracker slash prince slash soldier is made specifically for you so that one day, the two of you can rule two kingdoms all at once. “Why do I need a prince?” you pout, and your grandfather is startled by your question.

“Well, jeez, I don’t know. I’m sure you can still be a fine queen without a prince, right?” he says while tucking you in and preparing you for bed. “But let’s just say that princesses like you need a proper man like the Nutcracker because… grandfather will not always be by your side” of course he can’t mention death to you, no, you’re too young to know about these things. So he kissed you goodnight on your forehead and promise to see you early in the morning again.

Growing up as an adopted princess was never easy because the eyes of a judging kingdom have always been against you and your family. That’s why as you grow up, you swore to yourself that you will prove them wrong and that you are the future of this kingdom. At a very young age, you made your parents proud of your gift of leadership and continue to make them proud by doing great in school.

Until one day, the queen finally got pregnant.

The kingdom became so busy about the queen’s pregnancy and literally, every person is excited about your baby sister. You were only nine years old and you were innocent as you can be so you don’t know that the attention is slowly shifting to your baby sister. You didn’t mind of course, again, you were just a kid. But as you grew older and older you can finally foresee a life behind the shadow of your baby sister. The real princess. It’s like she took everything from you… but whenever you remember that you’re adopted, it seems like she’s just taking what’s originally hers in the first place.  

Today is your thirteenth birthday and you celebrated it with your grandfather in an amusement park. He is the only person left in your life who can see you as a rare gem and you’re thankful for him. As you walked around the busy park, with a few bodyguards on your sides, you and your grandfather laugh and laugh while you’re eating hotdogs on a stick.

“Your father told me that you refused to have a ball for your thirteenth birthday? Why?” he asked while enjoying his food.

“I’m not a real princess grandfather, I don’t deserve a ball. And besides, riding that scary rollercoaster is better than dancing with a bunch of princes whom I don’t know in the first place, and playing dress-up the whole night”

“Hmm. Don’t you say that you’re not a real princess, there was a Y/n before your baby sister. And the kingdom is still looking forward with you ruling us someday because you’re older than your sister and you’re still a legi-“

“timate daughter, I know, I understand grandfather thank you for reminding me” you wiped the ketchup on his lips and smiled at him, “What will I do without you? I hope that my Nutcracker prince is exactly like you. Wise and strong”

“Don’t worry about that darling, you’re still young, and I’m still here” he giggles and walks you towards that scary rollercoaster ride.

ACT 1

Things slowly change around the castle and you learned to distant yourself from your parents but not forgetting your duty as a first born and legitimate adopted daughter of the king and queen. And as you enter royal high school, you thought that your life will get uglier but no. Surprisingly, school made you feel alive and less of a princess and more like a future leader.

But most importantly, you finally met your Nutcracker. Prince Hendery.

Usually, prince and princesses meet for the first time during a royal ball, soiree, or a simple lunch at the palace’s garden grounds. But you and Prince Hendery, met in the school hallway for the first first time. It is as if your whole world slowed down, every student walked in slow motion while you and Hendery locked eyes on each other. And the best part is, he did not know that you’re the princess who’s meant to be forever with him.

At first, you don’t talk to each other and just simply exchange smiles and glances from time to time whenever you cross paths in the hallway, eating at the cafeteria, or ‘reading’ at the library. You thought it wasn’t fair that you know everything about him but he doesn’t even know what you look like.

“You know I’ve been flirting with this princess for months already, do you know her name?” Hendery whispers at his fellow prince, Xiaojun, and told him to take a look at where you’re seated. Xiaojun then scoffed at his friend and playfully slapped Hendery’s face knowing that he is completely clueless about who you are.

“I don’t know if you’re always going to be this dumb, you’re going to be a king someday. Anyway, that princess is Y/n. The Y/n” and that is all it takes to make Hendery realize that he has been flirting with his soulmate for weeks now.

From there on the prince has become bold with his gestures. Sitting with you during breaks, even flirting with you in front of your friends and his friends. Prince Hendery has the most beautiful smile you have ever seen, hair is black and soft and you bet it smells good either, he was tall but just right for your height. Not only he was perfectly handsome, but he is a gentleman too. In other words, everything about him screams prince charming.  

You and prince Hendery were the talk of royal school. Everyone knew about your arrangement and the alliance of your kingdoms. You even hear people talk on the hallways that you’re literally made for each other that’s why everyone envied you.

“Let’s grow up first, okay?” Hendery says, giving you a single rose during your school’s Valentine event. A simple gesture that says there's no need to rush on being in a relationship and make everything official between the two of you but also, it was a subtle move to show everyone that you already belong to each other so there should be no competition.

You fell in love with each other from a distance, not rushing through love, taking your time, and enjoying your youth because you have a lifetime together. Although, Hendery likes reminding everyone that you’re his in the most subtle way, may it be hugging you in public, kissing your cheek before you go home, and smiling your way whenever he sees you around the school.

From freshman year until your senior year, you and Hendery waited until you’re both legal of age to finally make it official. The news was all over the TV, tabloids, articles, and magazines that you’re in love with each other. It was a cute high school sweethearts story and every day was perfect.

Senior year just started and you and Hendery decided to study together but the planned study session became a make out session, giggling and cuddling in his bed while still wearing your uniforms. The prince was looking at you, admiring your pretty face touching your features softly then suddenly he noticed that he can almost see your breast. He looked away, of course. And covered his head with one of his pillows as he groans in frustration.

“What? Why?” you asked, completely clueless. He didn’t answer you, instead, he covers your exposed skin with a small pillow. “Oh shit, I’m sorry” you apologized immediately and became shy like him too.

“It’s okay. If I’m being honest I wanted to touch you but, I knew better than that. Can we promise to be each other’s first and last?”

“You mean sex?”

“Exactly, sex”

“Only if we seal it with a kiss,” you bite back in a flirty tone, looking at his pink lips that are slowly coming closer to you. When your lips touched, you returned the kiss and swing your arms around his neck, situating him accidentally in between your legs. Skirt lifted and all. Your bodies are becoming warm in an instant and you both know you need to stop before you make wrong decisions.

“How's that for a promise? Let’s get married when we grow older and have sex every day” he bit the shell of your ear, making you giggle and laugh with him. Being this horny with each other is normal, you thought. You are both young and full of passion, and it amazes you how Hendery wanted to wait until you get married and be kings and queens.

Senior year is perfect. Every day.

Until one day, Hendery’s father died and he stopped coming to school. You hear different kinds of gossip every day. 'Is he a king now? That's why he's not coming to school?', 'School is boring for king Hendery now', 'Are they gonna be married soon?', 'Are they even ready to rule yet?'. Again, you were the talk of the nation. The headline ‘Prince Hendery left Princess Y/n’ was everywhere and you can't do anything about it. You weren’t hurt that he left everything, you were more worried because maybe he’s all alone and grieving. You wanted to ask his family but you respect their privacy.

“So he just left?” you told your grandfather everything. He just came back from his cruise around the world and you’re happy to see his visible tan lines, for sure he had a great time.

“Yep, just like that grandfather,” you walk shoulder to shoulder around the palace’s garden, looking at the flowers and harvesting some fruits.

“Well, I’m sure he had his reasons. Just stretch your patience my darling, you know what they say, love is patience” he pats your hand before picking a lemon. “Enough about the prince, I heard you are making quite an impression now. The king is beyond impressed” he was talking about your win, elected student body president. Apparently, it’s a big deal for your father, because, during his stay in royal school, he was elected as president too.

“I didn’t try too much, I think I won because of my popularity and not because of my leadership skills” you once again doubted yourself but of course, your grandfather is here to straighten you up.

“Show them you’re both. Popular and a great leader”

It was always a good talk with your grandfather, but whenever you remember that Hendery is not with you anymore it automatically makes you sad. You missed him. So much.  

ACT 2

But even though you missed Hendery and it’s like he took a part of your heart and brought it with him, life goes on. You faced Senior year and showed everyone your perfect smiles like nothing is bothering you. But at night, when you’re all alone, you just can’t help but look at your pictures with Hendery on your phone and miss him.

Life goes on.

With or without your prince.

You studied day and night, kept your eyes on the prize, and busy yourself until your heart is finally healed. You waited for him of course, you waited long and hard but you can’t wait forever.

As you continue to know yourself, get involved with a lot of organizations in college, your journey has become even more thrilling when you met Lucas. He’s not royalty nor does he came from a rich family, he’s “just a man who’s brave enough to ask a princess on a date” his exact words.

Lucas is a whole new adventure to you. He’s the epitome of new things and new experiences. But your favorite thing about Lucas is, he can make you forget that you’re a princess even just for a few hours. He made you happy every day because he never forgets to tell you that being happy is the most important thing in this world. He loves you with every part of his being. And he’s ready to face your world and be with you in every step until you become queen.

“N-no I don’t want to be king. I can be your butler and still love you for all I care” he covers your naked body while you both come down from your highs. Tonight is one of those nights that you can be with Lucas without having your bodyguard. He was praising you during sex, calling you ‘princess’ or ‘my queen’ whenever he thrust and pushes you on the edge, so you asked him a stupid question if he wants to be king. “I just want to be with you, people may see me as a gold digger once the news that you have a commoner boyfriend comes out, but we both know that’s not true right?”

“Of course, not” you embraced him and apologized for the question, hiding your face on his chest. You feel his big hands caress your back to comfort you and soon plant kisses on your temple. He’s always sweet and gentle like this. If only people would see the kind of person Lucas truly is.

“But what if he comes back? What will happen to us?” he was talking about Hendery. When Lucas knew that you’re arranged to be married to Hendery, he didn’t take it lightly. He was mad but not to you. You didn’t talk for weeks and you’re both heartbroken, but Lucas realized that it's better to love you fiercely now than waste his time worrying about the future.

“I will talk to my father, don’t worry about that. Wong Yukhei don’t you trust me?” you kissed his chest to put him back in the mood and change the subject. Of course, he can’t say no to you.  

After getting your degree in college, you started working for the king and queen, spearheading foundations, and knowing the kingdoms that you’re going to rule someday. Remember when you thought your parents will forget about your existence because they had your sister? Well, that didn’t happen. Your parents were proud of everything you’ve achieved and they wanted your sister to follow in your footsteps.

Slowly, you proved to them that you don’t need a king to rule this kingdom. Introducing Lucas to your parents did not go well at first but eventually, they saw that you and Lucas are happy with each other despite having different worlds.

Still, they want to keep your relationship hidden.

It’s Christmas Eve and you’re all dressed up right now, ready to shake a lot of hands and dance with a bunch of princes and dukes and god know what else but you can’t help but take care of a few things before you enjoy this night. You were signing some last minutes contracts and reading proposals when you heard a soft knock from your door, “S-sorry. Come in” you see your boyfriend dressed up in a tux, looking so handsome. He smiled at you before he enters and closed the door behind him, “well you look dashing” you put your pen down and crossed your arms.

“I’m here to pick you up your majesty, the guests are waiting downstairs and your grandfather-“

“Oh he’s here! Perfect!” you exclaimed and express your excitement upon hearing that your grandfather is here. You haven’t seen him for a very long time and you have lots of stories to tell him. “Oh shit- by the way. Lucas, uhm… Can you zip my dress, I forgot I unzip it because it was uncomfortable. Stupid ball gowns” you said, turning your back to Lucas and waiting for him to take care of your zipper. But before he zips you up, he kisses your exposed shoulders and massaged them.

“Don’t forget to have fun tonight okay? I’ll be watching you like a hawk the whole night- well actually, not you. The men that will dance with you tonight” Because Lucas has no rank or title, he can’t earn a dance with you because it’s against the conditions that your father gave.

“All done your majesty,” he says and stepped back to open the door for you.

Every Christmas Eve, throwing an extravagant ball has been your family’s tradition for centuries. It is known by royalties across the globe and this fancy Christmas party is actually part of your kingdom’s history. Different respective kings, beautiful queens, annoying princes and princesses, dukes and duchess are invited and all are here not only to have fun but also here to talk business with you.

The night goes on, dancing with a few guests before you meet and spend some time with your grandfather. You wanted to whine and complain to your assistant but she’s just doing her job so you shrugged it off. “How many more left?” you asked while waiting for the next Prince to ask to dance, “two more your majesty. Your grandfather is next after this” you smiled and thanked her, giving a bow to the next prince who’s about to dance with you. And the moment you lift your head to meet his eyes, you thought you were dreaming.

For a moment you forgot proper princess etiquette and gave Hendery a tight hug, shocking everyone at your behavior but they’re even more shocked about Hendery’s appearance. ‘The son of the dead king has finally shown himself’ you hear everyone murmur around you but you don’t care. You smiled so big seeing that handsome face again. He kissed your hand and asked you to dance which you accepted gladly, now that Hendery is back and you’re all dressed up wearing your tiara, you feel like a real princess finally meeting his prince in a storybook.

“Where have you been?” you whispered to him.

“I’m sorry I left you like that, I was devastated” he whispers back as you two dance in the middle of the ballroom with the other royalties, trying so hard to hide the excitement. While you were dancing with Hendery, you remember that handsome smile that made your knees weak, his sweet gestures to prove his feelings for you, and your promises to each other.

Is it really true that first love never dies or your love for Hendery was just too strong that it never died?

When Hendery was about to hand you over to your grandfather, your father and mother came out of nowhere with your younger sister on their side. Is it because they’re happy to see Hendery too? Or are they going to press you regarding the arranged marriage again? You cling to your grandfather as you get nervous but careful not to show it. “Ah! Hendery welcome back! How was your time in the army, good?” your father exclaims. So all this time he knew where Hendery is.

“I had a hard time your highness, but I made it back in one piece” Hendery answered and made a small joke that made you all giggle and let out a small laugh. Oh you missed him.

“Hendery, I want you to meet Y/n’s younger sister” you watch him kiss your sister’s hand, “and also your future bride to be”

You were completely taken aback by what you just heard and the words that came into your head were, ‘I thought you were mine’ but you didn’t speak your mind and listened further to what your father is saying. But as you listen more, you feel like your dress was becoming tighter and tighter in every second that you can’t breathe anymore. “She will be your queen in your kingdom, and Y/n will be an independent queen here” your father explained proudly.

“But she’s too young” you pointed at your sister but you see how your sister’s eyes are sparkling. Too late. You thought. You watch her be charmed by Hendery’s visuals, that damn smile captured your sister’s heart in an instant.

“Hendery can wait until his bride is in the right age to be married, right son?”

“Of course your highness, it’s my duty” he answered confidently.

After the unexpected talk, you excused yourself, went to your room, and breathed outside on your balcony. You can’t forget your sister’s face as she looks at the man you used to kiss and you used to love. She has no idea what controversy she will face in the future, she is so young and blinded by infatuation…Or maybe you’re being like this because you’re jealous.

“Believe me I’m just as shock as you are”

A familiar voice made your heart race and your body stiffen in no time. You turned around secretly hoped that you’re wrong, but you will never forget his voice and also how his mere presence makes your heart excited. “How did you get in here?”

You hear him scoff and stood behind you, “We used to make out a lot in your room-and mine too of course. I still remember the way to your room by heart” he looked up the stars to stop himself from looking at you. You looked so beautiful tonight that he can’t stop blushing and admiring you.

You were silent. Mainly because you don’t know what to say and you’re not sure what to feel either.

“It’s going to be fine” with all his courage he tried hugging you like how he used to when you were only teenagers. But you pushed him away and stepped away from him. Hendery felt a slight pang in his heart, he never thought that you could do that to him.

“Were not together now don’t you get it? You were gone for years Hendery, a lot has changed”

“You’re hurting me, this is not our fault we love each other what's wrong with that” he reasons out, trying to lower his voice because someone might hear him.

“Loved. Past tense. My sister likes you and you are arranged to be married to her Hendery” you close your eyes as you remember what happened again earlier.  

“If I have known that life will take you away from me, I shouldn’t have wasted my time and showered you with love and affection when we were young”

With a heavy heart, your first love left you in the cold night with a confused mind.

ACT 3

To make it up with your grandfather, you spend Christmas morning with him while drinking tea by the palace garden and telling him numerous stories about Lucas…and also your talk about Hendery last night.

“Don’t do something stupid that your future self with regret” he says, stirring his coffee and chewing his bread with jam. He was talking about cheating, he didn’t tell you exactly but you get it. “Did you tell your boyfriend already about what you felt upon hearing your sister’s engagement?” You shook your head and see your grandfather get disappointed but he understands that everything that’s happening now is not easy for you.

“He’s away, for now, left first thing in the morning to go to Hong Kong for his family” you felt hopeless again.

“Oh everything will be fine. I’m sure he will understand, that man is wise. I’m rooting for him” he says like Lucas is his son.

“What- really not Hendery?” you let out a laugh because your grandfather is cute.

“Nope. Now, don’t ask me why. Figure it out yourself” he winks and continues to eat his breakfast.

As days go by without Lucas, you and Hendery continue to meet each other accidentally whenever he visits your sister. You’re a busy woman, but your mind seems to have time to think whether they kissed already, hold hands, or admitted their feelings to each other if there's any.

You saw flowers on your way to your office and you thought that maybe it's for your sister, from Hendery and you can’t help but to get envious and jealous. He used to give you flowers back when you were in high school and now… he’s doing it to your sister too.

While you were reviewing proposals, you got a phone call from your personal phone and it's Lucas which you’re very excited to answer. “Hey” you singsong, putting the phone between your ear and neck while you continue to scan through papers.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch, everything okay back there?”

No. You wanted to tell him that you’ve been having these weird feelings towards Hendery. “No, baby. Everything’s fine, I’m working now… As usual- how's everyone there?”

“They miss you. They wanted you to visit next year” he says, breathing deeply before he continues. “Listen, I want to stay here for a little longer. I miss them too you know-“

“And it’s fine! Baby, I understand. You’ve done so much for me already, go and be with your family” you felt guilty for caging Lucas in your country. Even though he’s the one who wanted to stay here, still. You can feel that he’s homesick sometimes.

After working in your office, you went straight to your room and purposely skipped dinner because you knew that Hendery is still here. When you opened your door, the same flowers that you thought Hendery gave to your sister is sitting on your coffee table with a small envelope that has your name on it.

Dear Y/n,

Back when we were in high school, I gave you a single rose for Valentine's day and I told you, “Let’s grow up first”

Now that we're all grown up, and still obviously madly in love with each other, I will not hold myself back from loving you. Not anymore.

I’m sorry for leaving, please give me a chance and meet me at the back of the palace at midnight. I’ll be waiting.

H.

Bold of him to think that you’re still madly in love with him. How can he say that?

You look at the letter as you grow weak and let yourself flop on your couch, face first and still undecided if you’re going. Frustrated and guilty, that’s what you’re feeling ring now. Frustrated because you don’t know what to follow, your heart or your mind. Guilty because your heart says you should go.

At the end of the day, you find yourself walking in the dark on your way to the back of the castle to meet Hendery. Hugging yourself as you cling more in your thin cardigan, trying to keep yourself warm as you feel your heartbeat faster by every second you come closer to the meeting spot. You see Hendery at the back of a thick tree, face illuminated because of his phone screen. “Oh you’re here. Sorry I was about to ring your phone” he admitted.

“Why am I here? What do you want?” You asked in the softest way possible. He saw that you’re shivering and invited you to go around the tree. There you see a blanket and small pillows and the lake was perfectly lit by the moon. What a beautiful view. And while you were admiring the view, you feel him place his jacket around you and motions you to sit on the ground with him.

“Please for once let’s pretend I didn’t leave you. I didn’t want my father to die, I didn’t expect our kingdom to suffer. And you’re the only good thing that’s left to me. So please”

You looked at him for a second that soon turned into minutes. You bit your lower lip and you remember that you weren’t mad at him for leaving, so why are you mad at him now?

Slowly, you accepted the warmth that he offered and sat close to him, sharing the blanket and keeping you close. “You’re here to hear me apologize sincerely” he gulps before he starts talking and explaining why he left, looking into your eyes so you know he’s telling you the truth. He told you that his father’s last will is for him to join the army and to be a soldier because in his father’s eyes he’s not yet ready to be a young king so he didn’t have a choice but to leave.

You were heartbroken while hearing his part. “I was never mad at you for leaving. I was worried about you”

He smiled sweetly at you. The kind of smile that makes your body warm and heart flutter, he pulled you close and you let him. “I know. Mother told me you were looking for me, but she can’t tell you anything. I told her I’m the one who should tell you someday. I’m sorry” he embraced you tightly, his cheeks resting on your shoulders. And right then and there everything is clear to you. You still have feelings for him.

“What are we gonna do now? My sister, Lucas” you asked him as you rake away strands of hair from his face.

“I’m not in love with your sister” he admitted without hesitation.

“But I love Lucas” there’s that guilty feeling again. You feel your heart breaking for Lucas, he doesn’t deserve being cheated on like this.

“I thought you were mine” he whispers. And even if it's a whisper the hurt was obvious from the sound of his voice. He didn’t see it coming. He didn’t think that this will be more complicated than he imagined.

“Funny. I thought the same thing when my father told us you're enggaged to my sister” you admitted and scoffed.

“Give me a chance to win you back. And if you're not coming back to me, just let me be with you for a little longer. I beg you”

There was a moment of silence and Hendery understands that you needed that silence to think, “Okay” you said. And saying ‘okay’ never felt so wrong. You cupped his face and tried to turn this moment around, “what's it like to be away from home?”

“Sad. I think of you every day and of course my family but they get to see me but you... not even a picture just our memories in my head”

Now that Hendery is a prince slash soldier, you remember the Nutcracker story your grandfather used to tell you for bedtime. That’s when you realized that you and Hendery are truly made for each other.

But you have Lucas...

As your night with Hendery continues and makes up for lost time, the emotional reunion turned to giggles and laughs when your time together has ended. He invited you over to his own house for a date since he can’t take you out like he used to, and reminded you that you gave him a chance to win you back, and thanked you.

On the next day, your mind was blanked. You can’t believe that you’re cheating on Lucas and have been refusing to answer his calls.

Days went on like this until you’re not awkward with Hendery anymore and you’re comfortable again around him. He showered you with love, you accept it wholeheartedly. Every day was sweet with Hendery even though you’re both aware of the future consequences but no one seems to care for now.

You go to his place and spend time with each other, whether talking the whole night and telling each other stories, him making you giggle and laugh with your legs on top of his thighs while you both sit on his couch enjoying a glass of wine or whenever you’re busy reading something or you brought a little work at his place and he can easily take your stress away by making you laugh.

Today, you came early and decided to cook for him and have dinner together. You don’t know but Hendery is leaning on the door frame of his kitchen with a flower in his hand, watching you chop some peppers in his kitchen. He felt like he finally won you back. Just seeing you hum while you prepare dinner makes his heart so happy. He then walked slowly and hugged you from behind, resting chin at the top of your shoulders, and showed you the flowers he has for you.

You smiled so big, dropping the knife on the chopping board and turning around to give him a kiss.

That’s your first kiss again.

He was shocked but you did it again. You realized he was trying so hard that he’s slowly being successful in winning you back and you’re actually scared of the future but he makes you happy.

“What? It’s not like we haven’t kissed before” you touched his lips and felt his embrace tightens every second. “Dinner in 30 minutes” you smiled and went back to finish chopping the peppers and finding a nice vase for the flowers he gave.

After dinner, a few glasses of wine, cheese, and grapes, you and Hendery are buzzed and talking about work as prince and princesses while enjoying the view from his couch. The lights are turned down low and you didn’t even notice at first but the mood has been making you horny even though your topic was stressful and your minds are clouded with alcohol. You don’t know what came into your head but you sat on his lap with lidded eyes, touching his body feeling his hard rocked abs through his white dress shirt.

He giggles and laughed at you. He’s so fucking handsome when he does that. “Seriously you have to stop you will embarrass yourself in the next morning,” he told you to stop but he fixed the way he sits and made sure you were comfortable on top of him. He teased you more, smiling so handsomely and making your heart flutter.

“I'm not that drunk just buzzed. Want me to prove it?” You challenged with a flirty tone that turns him on.

“Mhmm. Okay,” he tilts his head and waited for this proof you were saying.

“I still remember how we sealed our promises with a kiss. Like that day when we promised to be each other’s first and last” your fingers went up to his hair, ruffling his soft black hair and massaging his scalp.

You don’t know what happened but the mood changes and he’s avoiding your eyes. ”I’m sorry,” he says.

“No no don’t be, you’re here now make it up to me” you kissed his neck while he gets drunk even more because of your kisses. Your hands are placed on his neck like you’re telling him you still belong to each other, rolling your hips slowly to make him horny as much as you are.

“Did you have sex with anyone already?” his question made you stop what you’re doing to him and pulling away from the kiss to look at him, you thought he didn’t like what’s happening. But to your surprise his lips went to your neck, kissing you softly but full of lust. You feel his warm tongue just below your jaw and it felt great.

“Lucas, how about you?” You moaned out, shamefully.

Usually, his heart will hurt whenever you mention Lucas, but he’s the one kissing you now. So instead of getting hurt, he smirked. “A couple of girls. Life can be stressful I need an adult stress release. Any kinks?”

“Not that I know of? You?”

He stopped and looked at you to tell you the story. “Well remember when we were making out and I accidentally saw your breasts?” you nod at him, “I think I developed some kind of breast kink and I always imagine that I’m having sex with you instead of a stranger” he admitted and looked at you clothed breast right now. “That's how much I miss you” he placed a gentle kiss on your lips and went back to leaning comfortably on the couch. He got shy but he can’t stop looking at you.

To be honest your heart swells knowing that he desperately wants you like that. As quickly as you can, you untuck your blouse and removed it in front of the prince. “You can experience the real thing tonight “ you intertwine your hand with his and slowly placed it on your breast.

Breathing heavily. Both of you. You’re like teenagers who are just about to have sex for the first time.

He sat up to meet your lips and kiss you the way you deserved to be kissed, slowly you feel his hand travel to your back to unclasp your bra. You removed and fed his lust, revealing your breast to him for the first time. Hendery was so nervous that his hands are shaking when he removed strands of hair away from your face and held you on your shoulders, slowly he lowered your body on his and started kissing your collar bones and chest before he proceeds to your breast.

It was quiet and all he can hear is your moans and the sound of his wet kisses. You wanted to tell him that his lips feel great against your skin, and simply tell him to fuck you already. When his mouth finally reached your hard nipples and bit them softly, you parted your lips and your arms swings around him and push his head to your breast even more. You noticed he knows how to use his tongue, you figured he has been doing this to someone else for years and years while the whole truth is he always wanted to do it to you. The way he flicked his tongue brings you back to reality and when he sucks your nipples good your grip on his hair tightens and when that happens he bites your nipples again to make you shiver. This man is good.  

He placed his hands just below your boob area to hold you still while he does whatever he wants to your breast. Sucking, pinching, bitting, and kneading. Everything felt good and your moans are good proof. With his strength, he got up from the couch and carried you to his room while you kiss with lust. He lay you down on his king-sized bed and kissed your body down while unbuttoning your pants and pulling them down until you’re only wearing your panties. Hendery then unbuttoned his dress shirt in between your spread legs, kneeling in front of you, stripping until he’s only wearing his boxers briefs. He situates his body on top of you grinding on your clothed private parts, hands all over each other’s body. He then went back to kissing your nipples and sucking them but little did you know Hendery is just distracting you while his hands are slowly coming down inside your panties.

With a great shock, you closed your eyes and parted your lips as you feel Hendery’s cold fingers slide up and down on your wet slit while his mouth is still sucking your nipples. It was a whirlwind of feelings, everything felt good, and seeing Hendery enjoy turns you on too. By the time you had your first orgasm, shaking and body so sensitive with swollen nipples, Hendery was kissing you softly and asking you in the most innocent way if you’re okay. The sound of his giggles makes you calm, the way he whispers soft praises beside your ear while his hands roam freely around your body. Truth is he’s genuinely happy right at this moment because he doesn’t need to imagine anymore.

He went back to kissing your body down until he reaches your wet core and licks it up and down for a while before he lines his cock. In between your widely spread legs, you watch Hendery lick you good and feel him moan from time to time. “Hendery” you called him, kneeling in between your legs in an instant, flashing his beautiful body to you. His skin is flawless, strong arms, perfect abs, and of course, fucking beautiful smile. Everything about him makes you weak right now that you just opened your legs, reach for hard cock, and line it to your entrance yourself. “Woah” he giggled and stopped you, “Okay calm down, I’ll fuck you good I promise” he pumped his cock in front of you and lines it immediately just how you want it and slowly enters you. He wasn’t big like Lucas but he kept his promise, he fucked you good.

So good that you asked for more as you grip his Egyptian cotton sheets and let your body be dragged with every hard thrust he give you.

So good that you asked him to go slower because you don’t want it to end yet.

So good that you asked him to cum inside you and asked for another round.

On your third orgasm, your hole is dripping with mixes of your cum and Hendery’s while the handsome prince is kissing your neck as you come down from your high. “I love you” he whispers but he was too late, you were sleeping soundly already, arms wrapped around his neck. He smiled and kissed you one last time before he pulls out and cleans you up.

He didn’t sleep that night, he just watched you sleep beside him. Let you cling to him in the middle of the night, watch you roll in his bed and expose your body, but of course, he’s quick to cover you again. And when the time comes, he wakes you with kisses on your shoulders, embracing you tightly and kissing you more.

“Wake up” you hear him whisper and you try to open your eyes the moment he told you so. You see his window, it was still dark so you closed your eyes again. “Want to watch the sunrise with me? You’re going to love it” he went down from his bed and opened his curtains so you can have a full view of the sky while you enjoy your comfort in his bed. You sat up and waited for him to join you again and stay warm together. Slowly, you see how the sky became pitch black to deep blue to light blue until you can see the pretty view outside his house. It was calming. He was holding your hand the whole time.

After watching the sunrise with him he fell asleep while holding your hand and you think he’s cute for having a tight grip even though he’s sleeping. While he was sleeping, it’s now your turn to admire his handsome features and watch him sleep before you start your day and make breakfast.

You hate to admit it but it looks like he has completely won you over.

“You look good in my dress shirt” he greets you good morning and kissed you on your temple while you set the table. You feel his hands in your hips, slowly coming down to your butt, and realized that you’re only wearing his dress shirt and thin panties. He still can’t believe that this is all happening, “are you real?” He whispers.

“Yes. Now come on, I have a meeting with the parliament. Need to go home and get ready” you eat some fruits as you scan your schedule for the day and there you see it and completely missed it.

Lucas went home last night. And you left your personal phone in your car. Fuck you said to yourself but didn’t show it to Hendery.

Leaving this morning became harder than you expected and you spent a total of 20 minutes kissing and flirting with Hendery before you finally open the door.

You went on with your day and made an excuse to Lucas as to why you didn’t pick him up at the airport last night. You were at your office with stacks and stacks of paper works and you weren’t even acting stressed when he came in because you were indeed stressed with everything.

“Oh baby, I’m really sorry” you greet him with a kiss and left everything on your desk. Lucas saw how stressed you are so he understood immediately and didn’t even bother asking. “You’re coming home to me tonight right? I missed you” he added and pouted like the big baby that he is.

“Uh-huh. Of course yes, I’m all yours” you smiled and he hugged you so tight before he leaves you to work again.

“Of course. You’re always mine” he said and kissed you goodbye.

The nights are cold for Hendery when Lucas got back because he can’t get a hold of you. No text, no call, no email. No nothing. And once again, he was heartbroken and he felt like he’s losing you again.

When he visited your sister a week since the last time he saw you, Hendery saw you with Lucas and didn’t even think of taking another glance. He had all these emotions ball up in his chest and he needed to release them.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were visiting today” your sister was surprised and invited him into her room. When she turned your back at him, he saw your figure in your sister. He’s back to imagining girls to be you, he’s back to that sick habit of his. But he can't help it. Effortlessly, he flirted with your sister, and surprisingly your sister was horny. Very horny for Hendery. One thing led to another and the next thing he knows he’s fucking her hard from behind kissing her shoulders and imagining that it’s you.

“What’s that noise” you murmur to Lucas while you were having a nap with him. Lucas giggled and whispered back, “I think Prince Hendery paid her a visit and... you know...” he was giggling and keeping you close to him as he went back to his nap, completely clueless that you’re hurting.

Everything that you and Hendery built from the past few days falls down when you came to his house and had your first fight.

ACT 4

“You didn’t call! Or texted that he’s already back you just left me hanging!”

“And that’s a good reason to fuck my sister?”

“It just happened!”

“Bullshit!” You shouted back. Louder than before, completely overpowering his shouts. With all his bravery, he got you a glass of water, came closer to you, and caressed your shoulders to keep you calm.

“I fucked up and I’m sorry, please,” he says sincerely.

Then you realized something.

“You don’t have to say sorry to me. It’s okay if you and my sister fucked because someday you will be married to each other. Were the ones cheating”

He listened to every word you said and begged you to take it back because he’s losing you again. When you finally said, “let’s end this Hendery. Do you want to have more fights like this in the future? What will you feel if I tell you that me and Lucas fucked last night-“

It was like thunder, disturbing the silence of his quiet house when he grabbed the glass of water and threw it in one corner.

“Exactly my point. We don’t belong to each other anymore. I’m sorry”

“Y/n. Please-“ he begged once again but you just repeated everything you said and left him.

The end.

It was the end of your story with Hendery.

But just as you thought that you’re done handling one heartbreak for the day, you’re wrong. Lucas called to tell you the news that your grandfather had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital.

After everything that happened on that day, you never made peace with Hendery and never talked to him again. Lucas saw you at your lowest and took care of you every day after the funeral and never left your side.

Months passed by quickly and Hendery is staying in your palace as per your sister’s request and continue to ignore each other for safety. Sometimes you greet each other for formality but never as friends and as past lovers. Lucas is not stupid to not see what’s happening.

Two months before your coronation day, you were sitting on your throne with your leg up and pouting as you’re thinking if you’re really ready to be a queen. You see Lucas enter the hall but you did not move an inch. He sat on the cold floor in front of you, reaching for your hand and kiss it.

“I miss him, I wish he could see me as a queen” tears started to fall but Lucas is quick to dry them.

“He saw you as a queen already even when you were only a little girl” you understand what he said and you’re thankful for him for not leaving you at your lowest and choosing to be with you even though he found out about you and Hendery. “So... I wanted to do this, while you’re still you. And not...the queen” he says awkwardly and pulls out a small red velvet box.

But you sit properly and stopped him from opening it and saying the question that will change your life, “how can you stay to a woman who cheats?”

“Your grandfather told me love is patient. I had a meaningful talk with him, you’re right he’s wise. He told me you love me and he said if one day you do something stupid and wrong, which turns out you did... He told me ‘check your heart if you still love her, and if you still do marry her and don’t ever let her go again’"

Tears started to fall from your eyes again. “So will you marry me Y/n. Let me be the one to dry your tears forever?” He let out an awkward laugh, nervous about the next thing that will come out of your mouth.

“Yes, of course, yes” you cup his face, and this time you’re the one to dry his tears away.

Little did you know that Hendery heard everything. And he is beyond heartbroken.

[cheri-translates]

[CN] Gavin’s R&S - Folded Time

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers from an R&S (折叠的时光) which has not been released in EN!🍒

This R&S accompanies the Ch 37 karma, but it doesn’t contain spoilers for future content as it depicts the events leading up to Gavin reuniting with MC in Ch 2 :>

[ Chapter One ]

When Gavin appears in the office of the Public Security Bureau of Loveland City, everyone’s eyes fall on him either curiously or cautiously -

His light-coloured denim jacket is left open in a casual manner. Brown hair is scattered in front of his forehead, revealing a pair of stubborn and intractable eyes. Even though he isn’t looking at anyone, there is a palpable tension.

No matter how one looks at him, his entire person, from top to bottom, is incompatible with this place.

A few days ago, Gavin appeared in the Public Security Bureau of Loveland City, and things happened so suddenly that there wasn’t even a suitable uniform provided for him. As such, he was the only person in the office wearing regular clothes, which further cemented the view that others had of him as a "child of an official”. Gavin didn't put a stop to it. To put it another way, such an understanding was even more beneficial to his original objective.

Gavin doesn’t seem to realise that he’s the centre of everyone’s attention as he walks to the seat temporarily assigned to him.

At this moment, a young man in the police station takes the opportunity to go over, placing a thick bag of files on his desk. As though there’s a show to watch, he speaks up. "Officer Gavin, the chief said that you’ll be taking over this case." Gavin takes the bag of documents and looks at it. Then, he nods, indicating that the other party could leave.

Not hearing the questions and requests for help as imagined, the young man is momentarily stunned. Gavin lifts his head and gives him a sweeping glance, his tone indifferent. “Anything else?”

"N-no." The young man who was planning to find fault with him shivers inexplicably, then walks away in embarrassment. The surrounding gazes also disappear, and Gavin turns back to the case in his hand.

A few days ago, a woman made a report at a sub-bureau that she had “teleported”. According to her, she was walking home as usual, but when she passed by a certain place, she suddenly arrived at an unfamiliar plaza ten kilometers away - as if the distance in between was folded.

After this case was investigated, it was shelved aside temporarily due to a lack of evidence and leads. But over the next few days, different victims made reports to various sub-bureaus in succession. Hence, this strange case was finally transferred to the general bureau, and it has now been handed into Gavin’s hands. 

It doesn’t take long for Gavin to come to a conclusion - this crime involves an Evolver. After flipping through the scattered case reports, he taps his fingers on the desk, then stands up abruptly, casually telling the person next to him, "I’m heading on a mission.”

The police officer next to him is given a fright. When he looks up, he sees a back profile retreating with a free and easy poise. He can’t help but mutter, “As expected, people with special connections get special treatment. Tsk tsk tsk, how easygoing.”

-

[ Chapter 2 ]

A week ago, in an abandoned building, the elevators that were still in operation descended at a constant speed into the ground.

The lights on top of the elevator flickered slightly due to unstable electrical currents. Before the signal disappeared completely, Gavin reported the current situation through the headset. The moment the elevator door opened, he drew the gun at his waist and was the first to step out.

Borrowing the faint light from the elevator, Gavin scanned the surroundings vigilantly. When a member of the STF turned on the power switch, the cold white light illuminated the entire area, making everything in the laboratory visible - perhaps there was a hasty retreat. The room was in a mess. Many documents were not taken away or destroyed in time, and debris was scattered around.

Gavin's gaze swept across the documents, walking straight to the host computer in the corner of the room. Someone had already cracked the password and was recovering the destroyed files.

"How’s the situation?" Gavin asked.

The STF team member quickly retrieved various data and materials, and answered him without even lifting his head. "Some core data has been completely destroyed, but some files can be recovered."

Gavin looked at the recovered files, and immediately determined that these were some experiment reports related to Evolvers. The date of the report spanned from more than ten years ago to the present day. He had no idea how many of such experiments were carried out when Black Swan was hiding in the dark.

"Wait." Gavin suddenly stopped his team member’s movements, and a sharp look flashed across his eyes. "Export this name list."

Not long after, this concealed name list appeared on the screen. Among the densely listed names, Gavin saw a name that was engraved deep in his memory - MC.

For a moment, he found this hard to believe. He suddenly clenched his fist, his eyes flashing fiercely. After taking a few breaths, he managed to calm down, and pointed at the name. “Open this person’s file.”

The screen flickered, and the first thing that popped out was a photo of a girl’s college identification card. In this short archive, the girl's academic experience, her family and friends, and the company she inherited... had all turned into cold words, completely exposed to Black Swan without privacy.

Gavin read the entire file line by line, his eyes growing darker and darker, and the memories he deliberately sealed in time seemed to be shaken.

Six years ago, he was forced to leave Loveland City because of the awakening of his Evol. It wasn't until two years ago that he tracked Black Swan’s operations and returned. In the past two years, Gavin deliberately stayed away from the world where she lived in order to prevent potential dangers around the girl to shatter her peaceful life.

However, these dangers had already existed in the girl's world from the very beginning.

-

[ Chapter 3 ]

Ever since the STF destroyed the secret laboratory, Black Swan’s operations in Loveland City have grown more frequent and radical, and Evolver crimes have also been emerging in an endless stream.

"Aren't you all Evolvers? Why do you want to sell your lives to ordinary people?!" The man who was knocked to the ground by the fierce wind current lifts his head and shouts angrily at the group of people in front of him.

Gavin doesn’t speak, lifting his foot and stepping on his back, pressing the man, who was struggling desperately, back to the ground.

At this moment, the electric current in his earphone buzzes twice, conveying an urgent message to him - "There’s an abnormality near the Central Boulevard”.

"Understood." Gavin hangs up, then hands this newly awakened Evolver to his subordinates before rushing to the spot where the energy wave was discovered.

At the crossroads, a bizarre car accident was prevented. The surrounding onlookers don't seem to have noticed the peculiar scene, and slowly scatter as the taxi which started the incident drives away, leaving behind a girl standing at the side of the road in a daze.

In the city sky where nobody notices, a figure suddenly appears.

Gavin hovers mid-air, countless raindrops falling beside him and dispersed by the wind. He observes what’s happening on the ground, his eyes extraordinarily calm, akin to tempering a sharp edge. His gaze sweeps across the scene quickly: an Evolver with an unknown motive had stopped a car accident, and... the victim.

Gavin's line of sight suddenly stills. Amid the flowing crowd, the girl who brushed past death bends down, picking up the snacks scattered on the ground, staring in a certain direction for an inexplicable reason.

From such a great distance, the figure on the ground seems to have turned into a small dot. But memory has already traced a copy of the girl's appearance for Gavin.

Meeting again catches him off guard. The wind, which is being controlled, seems to know that he isn’t at peace, and it rustles the hem of his windbreaker. From beginning to end, his gaze rests on that figure which has undergone many changes.

Six years pass by in a flash, and Gavin’s memories still linger on that lonely night in the library many years ago. But the details of that day seem to be covered in mist, and are blurry.

After a long time, Gavin presses the call button of the headset, and reports to the command centre in a serious voice. "Agent B-7, energy wave detected in Loveland City. Sending coordinates.”

Almost immediately, he receives instructions from the other end, and he replies, "Target locked. Taking action immediately.”

Gavin's eyes follow the girl as her figure slowly grows further and further, until she disappears at the corner of the street. He recalls the name list by Black Swan, and a shadow flits across his eyes.

Now that the girl’s Evol has begun to awaken, the peace around her may be shattered immediately. By then, the distance he had maintained for such a long time would no longer be enough to protect her.

-

[ Chapter 4 ]

The sky has not been fully lit, and a ray of light passes through a gap in the curtains, falling on the figure in bed.

Gavin catches his breath as he awakens from the dream, lifting his arm to cover his eyes. He recalls the chaotic and fragmented images in the dream: the room raging with flames, the familiar school roof, the ruins after the explosion, and the glaring fresh blood...

It seems he hasn’t been able to calm down ever since he saw the girl again.

After a long while, Gavin adjusts his emotions, gets up from bed and walks into the bathroom. The icy water rushes down the top of his head, dispelling the lingering sleepiness, and making him incredibly clear-headed. Even the words that the man once said to him clearly resound in his ears——

"Gavin, she’s special like you, and is destined not to have a peaceful life.”

"Do you really have the ability to protect her?"

Water patters to the ground, a little noisy in the quietness of the early morning. Gavin lifts his head, allowing the water to flow over his face, down the body covered with various old and new wounds, and finally flowing into the drain.

After a long time, he opens his eyes, an absolutely unshakable resoluteness in them. "I will protect her."

Gavin turns off the water, then grabs a towel and wipes his hair as he walks out of the bathroom. The notification light of his mobile phone on the desk flickers silently — it’s a message from an informant.

Reading the message rapidly, he taps open the address book and finds a number in it. After the call gets through, he speaks to the person on the other end and says, "I have a request related to the follow-up report mentioned earlier.”

If she is their target, it is only at his side that she’d be safest.

An hour later, Gavin follows the lead provided by the informant, arriving at a small lane beside Morrow Way.

It isn’t until the school gate appears before him that Gavin realises that this is where Loveland High is located. He glances at the school gate which seems to have undergone renovation work, but has no plans to "revisit an old haunt". He heads straight to the alley mentioned by the informant.

This is a relatively remote alley, and one end of the alley is connected to a bustling commercial street. The sub-bureau that received the report had already conducted investigations nearby but found no leads. But the surveillance camera in this alley happened to be spoilt that day - as if it was premeditated.

After understanding the situation, Gavin is prepared to leave. At this moment, somebody calls out to him. "Is that... Gavin?”

Gavin turns his head and sees a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties with a dark complexion and gaunt face. It takes Gavin some time to recall who the other party is, and he’s quite surprised. “Your shop’s still here?”

"Yeah. It's really you. I even thought my eyes were playing tricks on me earlier." The man whom Gavin remembers as taciturn reveals a small smile. "Is there a reason why you came to this area?”

Gavin doesn’t conceal the truth. "I’m here on a mission, and am investigating something.”

After being stunned for a second, the middle-aged man reacts. "You’re really working in the police station now?"

Gavin nods. The middle-aged man is a little surprised, but understands quickly. He hesitates for a moment, then says to Gavin, "It's already noon. Want to have a bowl of noodles?"

Gavin is about to shake his head to refuse. But for some unknown reason, he agrees.

As compared to the last time he visited a few years ago, Lynn’s Kitchen is much more spacious now. The wall facing the door is still densely packed with all kinds of small post-it notes as it was in the past. Gavin sweeps a brief glance at it, images of the past flashing in his mind.

He finds the seat where he often sat at in the past. After a few minutes, the boss gives him a bowl of hand-pulled noodles in chilli oil: the light yellow noodles are covered with bright red oil, garlic sprouts, coriander and slices of beef placed orderly along the sides of the bowl. The fragrance accompanying the steam that burrows into his nose is exactly the same as in his memories,  easily evoking the hunger in the Gavin’s belly.

“Give it a try and see if there’s any improvement.” The middle-aged man chuckles a little reservedly. "You haven't eaten it in a long time, right?"

“Smells pretty good." Gavin responds. He lifts up the noodles with chopsticks, bringing them into his mouth. The familiar taste involuntarily relaxes the tense corners of his mouth.

At this moment, along with the sound of the school bell from the nearby Loveland High, a group of students dismissed from school at noon swarm into the noodle shop, and Gavin's surroundings instantly become noisy. Judging from the familiar colour scheme of the school uniform and the logo on it, these are students from Loveland High. They stare at Gavin with curiosity as he appears incompatible with this small shop. Then, they return to laughing and joking with each other, as though they have no worries at all.

The corners of Gavin’s lips hook upwards slightly. He finishes the remaining noodles in the bowl in two or three slurps. After leaving money at the cash register, he leaves the shop.

“Okay, 1.30 in the afternoon at Flower Fair." He arranges a meeting time with a victim. As soon as he hangs up, another call comes in immediately.

"Chief Yuan?"

"This is Captain Gavin, right? Regarding the follow-up report you mentioned, the producer will look for you at the police station at one o’clock in the afternoon.”

"Okay, I’ve got it.”

After speaking concisely, Gavin hangs up the phone with a smile in his eyes.

-

[ Chapter 5 ]

On the main road of Loveland City at noon, the vehicles caught in a jam move forward slowly.

Suddenly, the shadow of a black car speeds past along with a wave of heat. The incoming wind lifts the hem of Gavin’s clothes, but seems to surround him and refuse to leave.

There’s quite a distance between Loveland High and the police station. It’s so far that on the way there, things from the past gradually surface in Gavin’s mind -

A figure hiding under the eaves on a rainy evening.

A dusty “Byron’s Poetry Collection” in the library.

A letter stained with blood.

A piano tune on an afternoon when ginkgo leaves danced in the sky.

A... girl who appeared in his life during his most hopeless years.

Gavin’s brows suddenly soften. The emotions which were suppressed for a very long time are released in this instant, surging and foreign.

Those images that were about to be forgotten over the course of six years become as clear as yesterday, reminiscent of dust on the surface being wiped off suddenly by a hand.

They were separated for such a long time. So long that he almost forgot that he once had such ardent feelings, akin to sunlight in the height of summer.

-

1pm, Loveland City Police Department.

Gavin holds a peaked hat and walks down the corridor at a moderate pace. From afar, he can hear the chatter of Officer Landsman, who has always disliked him, mixed with the responses of the confused girl.

"Word around the office is that he’s the son of one of the higher-ups. Just think, if he’s some big shot’s boy... We should just stay away!"

[Note] I’m using his canon dialogue in EN since we’re familiar with it. But what Officer Landsman actually says in CN is: “I heard that... he’s an ignorant and incompetent child of an official - a pampered son. Just think about it - how many higher-ups have the surname Bai? ...we can’t offend him!”

Gavin arches his brows, turns around the corner, and sees that familiar figure.

The girl’s back is facing him, her height pretty much the same as it was back then. Her hair isn’t tied into a ponytail, and it drapes smoothly over her shoulders. It’s as though Gavin is able to see her eyes widening after hearing the gossip - she’s still as lively.

Hearing Officer Landsman getting increasingly unreasonable as he speaks, Gavin interrupts directly. "Officer Landsman, just who were you saying is a ‘big shot’s boy’?”

Officer Landsman is given a fright, and the girl turns her head. The pair of clear eyes from his memories meets his once again.

As though crossing over the tilted time, the feelings of youth are brought from the past and into his world with ease.

The distance which had once gradually widened between them has finally been folded by time. All the memories and images have settled, slowly overlapping with the girl in front of him.

Gavin looks at the fear straying onto the girl's face, as well as the unfamiliarity in her eyes. He lifts the corners of his lips, and smiles -

"MC, do you remember me?"

[the-crows-typist]

Hello!! May I request a ficlet with a gn reader and Azul with the word ‘star’? I think you can already guess who this is 😂

Indeed I do. I hope you enjoy this little piece, my lovely pianist!

EDIT: Thank you so much to @starry-eyes-inc and @opalmaplehibiscus for proofreading my work. Please consider checking them out, they are wonderful writers

The Possibilities are Endless

“Give me an angel, the nicest angel you have.”

Starlight, star bright, the first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might have this wish I have tonight.

The world above the sea was full of surprises. Azul knew that much from the books he would read in the library while the children played in the yard. From the lessons taught to him in school when his classmates would fall asleep, and to the very first time he came on land, things hadn’t been the same since his eyes were open to the new world around him.

But it was during the night that he was mesmerized the most, when the stars would decorate the night sky with billions of twinkling lights. Stars never existed in the ocean so when Azul saw them for the first time he couldn’t help but stare and count them for hours.

He read a book some time ago that wishing upon a star was of great importance.” Look for two stars; they’re always in a pair” the book said, “look for the stars that shine the brightest in the air. Then look for the second star to the right, her name is Evangeline. And wish, wish with all your might, wish with all your heart the wish you make tonight.”. 

The two stars that shine the brightest were easy to find, he didn’t need to look long. The two stars twinkled in the sky, showing its presence in the sea of its own. Azul closed his eyes and with all he had, he wished. He wished badly.

He wished for someone who could understand him. 

He wished for someone, anyone, to just be there with him.

He wished for an angel. 

The nicest angel a wish could give.

For the first time in a long while, Azul felt calm and content; lending his hopes and wishes to the stars above. He thought about the days he could spend with that person, the angel he wished for. He smiled to himself, allowing the possibilities to run through his mind. 

But that wish was soon forgotten when the reality of life marched through, the school life of Night Raven College was always an uphill battle; it was conflict, a life of trickery and deceit, of persuasion and intimidation. No angels lived in a world like this, not in this reality. There were no friends where he was, no kindness to give without a favor in return. Those who chose to mingle with him were those who needed something from him, a give and take, a deal.

His wish would never be granted. 

The stars would never grant anything, in fact.

Azul had stopped looking at the stars, he had stopped hoping and wishing. He had stopped thinking like the bright eyed child he once was.  He always looked forward, never looking up at the sky he once wished to.

“When you wish upon a star makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you.” 

The prefect liked to sing, humming tunes to themselves when they could.  Azul saw them as just another student, one who had to complete the school’s requirements without their own magic.

 “If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme; when you wish upon a star as dreamers to.”

And yet, they persevered. 

They survived the trials thrown at them. 

All with the song they sing to the stars, all with theirkindness, their blunt words and their strong heart. Even at the times they were alone, when times were hard  they came out on top. Jealousy bloomed in his chest but admiration did as well. The prefect had an edge, they had strength

They were special. 

“Why do you always sing that song?” 

The two of them sat on the field one night. “I like it. It’s a really nice song.” Azul blinked and looked across the empty field, seeing Grim pounce on the night creatures that frolicked in the grass. “It used to help me sleep and it stuck with me ever since.”

“Fate is kind, she brings to those who love the sweet fulfillment of their secret longing.”

They continued to sing under the stars while Azul looked forward, taking  in  the light and airy voice of the prefect, the human incapable of magic. 

“Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through. When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.”

 “Why do you think people make wishes?” He asked suddenly. They caught each other’s gaze, the prefect pushing themselves from the ground, blades of grass dirtying their hair. “The stars have no power to do anything but radiate light for millions of years.” The prefect blinked at him, tilting their head. 

“Never mind. It was a stupid question.” Azul said as he pushed himself off the grass and patting the dirt off his slacks. 

“Have you ever wished for something, Azul?”

There was a pause, a bout of silence between them. Azul stood over them as they looked up at him from the ground. A sigh left his lips and his shoulders sagged. “I once did, years ago. I don’t do it anymore.” 

The prefect looked away and to field before them, bringing their knees to their chest and chin on it. “Wishing opens the heart; it makes us honest and open to everyone around us. When you wish, you show who you really are deep down.”

“Is that why you stopped wishing, Azul?”

The two stars twinkled over head, the star named Evangeline always shined the brightest next to the partner star Ray. 

“Wishes won’t get you anywhere in a world like this.” He said hands behind his back to hide the balling fists from their sight. “Not with the people here, not with the rules we have, nor the magic instilled to us at birth.” 

The prefect was silent.

“I’ll be taking my leave now. Goodnight prefect.”

“Goodnight Azul.”

The next day went as it should have. New contracts were being made and the lounge going through another day of fulfilling order but the prefect was nowhere to be seen. “I haven’t seen Shrimpy during the joint classes.” Floyd commented, sitting on the couches of the VIP lounge. “Not even sea-urchin or crabby saw them either.”

Jade sets down a cup of tea next to Azul, the smell of butterfly pea tea wafted to his nose. "Perhaps they’re under the weather?”

The pen halted for a moment but  Azul continued writing, his gaze blank as he remembered the previous night, their conversation, the question that broke into him and bore his heart.

“Is that why you stopped wishing, Azul?”

“See to it that this week’s collections of contracts are sorted. I’ll be going out tonight. Put the most interesting ones on my desk.” 

“Understood.”

“M’kay.”

The Ramshackle dorm was always a dreary sight to Azul with the trees barren and dry and the wind howling against his ears. But with the prefect and their feline companion,  Grim, living it in it there instilled a feeling of sleepiness and comfort. It was no longer a haunted house but a home to come back to. 

Grim sat by the door, a ghost sitting next to him and petting his fur. “Oh? Were you expecting a guest, Grim?” The jolly ghost with its kind smile floated up, greeting Azul with a bow as Grim stretched his limbs and paws. 

“What’re you doing here, Azul?”

“I came to see the prefect…They weren’t in class today.”

“Ah, yeah, they got stiff neck and couldn’t come to school.” The feline smiled, snickering to himself. “You can come in, though, just don’t touch my tuna cans.” 

“Thank you.” 

Thanks to the renovations made by Jade and Floyd, the interior of the dorm was more home-y and modern. No more cobwebs or broken chairs, the fireplace was always lit to bring warmth to the lounge room. It was home to someone now, a place to relax. 

“Azul?” The smell of spicy mint hit his nose first. “Salonpas?” He asked, the prefect coming down the stairs slowly with a sheepish laugh. “Eucalyptus oil, actually. Who would have thought that staring up at the stars would cause my neck to get stiff?”

He shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. “That’s what you get for looking up at the stars all the time. You’re lucky you didn’t catch a cold either.” 

“Ehehe~”

“Why are you laughing?” Azul’s brow arched in confusion, the prefect shook their head. A smile was on their face, one of happiness and glee. “A shooting star came last night, y’know. Just as you left so I wished and wished hard.”

His once annoyed expression softened. 

“I wished that you would come visit me and it came true!” 

“What am I going to do with you?” Azul sighed, putting his hand on his waist. “Regardless of your stiff neck, I would have passed by sooner or later. You know that.” 

“But still, my wish came true. I wanted you to visit today and you did.” They hissed, holding their neck as Azul stepped in. “Sit down,” he said. “Rest your neck and don’t move it too much.” The two of them sat on the nearby couch and the prefect leaned their neck back on the soft cushions with a sigh. 

“You don’t need to put so much effort to wishing for me.”

“But I want to.” 

“Why?”

“You may not know it, but the stars always listen to those who seek them out. Evangeline and Ray always listen to people’s wishes, you know? They always listen to mine.” 

Azul was starting to get agitated. “How can balls of gas and faraway planets ever grant you anything you ask for? That just doesn’t happen—“

“Because when I wished for a home, I was given Night Raven, Ramshackle.” The dorm leader grew silent, the crackle of charred wood resonated through the lounge room. “When I wished for a family, I was given Grim and the ghosts.”

His eyes were wide in surprise and his voice silent.

“When I wished for a purpose…They gave me you.” 

 “Give me an angel.” Young Azul said, hands clasped together as he looked up at the two shining stars. “The nicest angel you have.”

Azul looked down, lips pressed together in a line. He couldn’t say anything, not with what had been revealed to him. All this time, he had been looking forward and never once looking at the sky. He had neglected to look around him, to see if his angel was ever beside him.

Who would have thought? That the stars had granted his wish, to give him what he had always wanted.  

The prefect’s hand went to his and he made no move to pull away, fingers intertwining with one another. “Azul, what did you wish for?” They asked. He remembers their words of how wishing bares the heart. He looked up to the prefect, there was a smile on their face. It brought him comfort. 

“You.”

Night fell over the Ramshackle dorm, the two stars shined brightly at the two souls that came together under their light.

[thespianbooks]

A Court of Nightmares and Starlight //Chapter 25//

(Masterlist)

(tags: @thron3ofbooks, @df3ndyr, @courtofjurdan, @art-e-mis, @herondamnn, @the-third-me, @im-still-trying-here, @emikadreams, @paytin77, @mis-lil-red, @sleeping-and-books, @lucieisabooknerd, @amandaraey-sunshine, @easy-p-lemon, @azymondias05, @dagypsygirl, @makeshift-utopia, @fantasyshadowhunters) *bold tags don't work!

Thank you all so much for your patience during ACONAS's hiatus! I hope you all enjoy this update! Chapter 26 will be coming on Monday, May 24th to keep in line with my regular posting schedule!

Sending all you beautiful readers love and healing! ❤️

-Rhysand-

I noticed the change in my mate almost immediately after her period of nesting had lasted a full week. The change was subtle at first; beginning after a long afternoon of Feyre rearranging clothes and ordering my brothers and I to move around the furniture in the nursery no less than ten times that day alone, then choosing to spend the rest of the evening walking the gardens with Elain. It was there, watching from the library window, that I felt the call in my blood—the call that urged me to find a sanctuary for my mate. Months ago, after the birth of his daughter, Kallias had warned me that this instinct would come. As mated fae males, the compulsions we felt in regard to our mates always traced back to the beasts our ancestors were and became especially prominent when they were with child. I had noted as much the minute I scented my offspring present in Feyre's womb, and though I had not been fully aware of her pregnancy until she was, I had instinctually known and formed a new attachment to her—to our son. Like the mating bond, the ties I formed with my unborn child were just as strong and prominent; however silent. I could sense those occasional glimmers that Feyre felt; had even felt that warning tug when they had been in trouble during the attack on Velaris. However, this tug, this preternatural warning, was different—stronger than before.

He was ready. Sebastian was ready to enter the world.

XXX

-Feyre-

"It's time, my love," Rhys purred in my ear as I stared out into the gardens, sitting on the cushioned loveseat on our balcony.

Once I had returned from my earlier walk with Elain, warm and content despite the late autumn chill—thanks to my mates magic warming the grounds, I chose to skip dinner. Somehow finding it more appealing to retreat to the privacy of my bedroom when I realized I had no appetite at all. While that should've alarmed me, my feelings of content remained as I changed into the comfiest clothes I could find; the softest pair of leggings I owned and a long-sleeved oversized tunic that was large enough to fit over my large belly comfortably. It wasn't long after I had found my seat on the balcony that Rhys was at my ear with a warm mug of tea in hand. I took it from him gratefully and relished in the warmth enveloping my face as I smiled at him in return.

"Time for what?" I asked softly, resting a hand on the apex of my belly.

He kneeled in front of me, hands holding either side of my belly as those star-flecked violet eyes looked into mine meaningfully. "For us to retreat to the Cabin," came his equally soft response.

My heart stuttered for a second as I realized what this meant, but instead of feeling the panic I thought I ought to have, I nodded slowly—an all too familiar glimmer pulsing between my mate and I, between that bond that existed between the three of us and loosed a calm exhale.

"Should we tell the others?" I quietly asked.

Rhys shook his head as he again stood, summoning those dark and beautiful Illyrian wings from the shadows. "I already told them, while you were up here getting comfortable," he said with a warm smile. "They expected as much, and they know how...sensitive this is, so they aren't expecting any heartfelt goodbyes."

I nodded, again surprised from the lack of emotion I felt at that sentiment; that I had no real urge to even say goodbye and be showered with well wishes from our family. Suddenly, I registered what was happening; my diffident state had finally arrived. It was such a strange and foreign feeling as the full weight of what was occurring naturally in my body overcame me. While part of me wanted to feel nervous and be comforted by our loved ones, all I could do was look at my mate and felt all the reassurance I needed.

Finishing my tea, I set the mug aside and allowed Rhys to help me to my feet; a small laugh escaping my lips at the effort it took to ease me upright and returned my stare into those violet eyes.

"Let's go," I whispered.

It was all he needed to hear before he lifted me into his arms with heartbreaking ease and took to the skies. I closed my eyes as the wind whipped through my hair, relishing in the cool breeze as I rested my head against Rhys's shoulder; one hand looped around his shoulders and the other caressing my belly. In spite of the awareness of what was to come looming in the back of my mind—the pain I would soon endure, my trepidation was nearly nonexistent.

The healer and our midwife had warned that my withdrawn state could last anywhere from a few hours to a few days before I officially went into labor, but some innate part of me felt that this notion wouldn't drag on for long at all. Sebastian had dropped into his head down position weeks ago and had calmed considerably since my period of nesting began. While his lack of movement had alarmed Rhys and I at first, Madja and the midwife assured that this was also normal. Our youngling, our son, was preparing himself for arrival. His loving glimmer still remained and pulsed through our bond, letting his father and I know that he was there, and that he was just as ready as we were to meet him.

As soon as we touched down to the front steps leading up to the Cabin, I let down my mental shields to Rhys, letting him read my thoughts as he carried me inside. His gentle kiss to my forehead was his only response until we were within the safe walls of the Cabin, the fireplace immediately springing to life as we entered the small living area and he set me on the couch. He came to kneel in front of me as he had earlier, the starlight in his eyes shimmering as they met mine again.

"However long this does last, at least we know we won't be leaving this Cabin until our son is born," Rhys said, a hand coming to stroke my belly gently.

I loosed a long breath as I nodded, my hand joining his. "The next time we go back to the estate...we'll have a baby," I mused as I watched our hands continue to caress the expanse of my stomach.

Our son, our baby Sebastian was just underneath layers of skin and muscle, lying in wait and ready to be born in what could be hours or days. The process would be grueling and long...but that intuitive and serene sense told me that I was prepared, that I could do this.

"You can," Rhysand interjected quietly; my mental shields still left down for him, "and I will be at your side through every second of it."

I gave him a slow smile in return, bringing my hand to touch his face gently. "I have no doubt about that, Rhysand," I said softly.

He kissed my palm before moving from his kneeled position to a seated one beside me, his hand lingering on my belly.

Will you tell me what happens in the Night Court when an heir is born now? I asked through the bond.

Rhys's chuckle sent a warm shudder down the bond as he pressed another kiss to my brow. "You'll find out soon enough, my love," he answered aloud.

Prick.

XXX

-Rhysand-

The labor pains began the next morning.

Only an hour after our arrival at the Cabin the night before, my mate had fallen into a deep slumber while we lingered together in the sitting area. I carried her to bed not long after, keeping a watchful eye on her during the night and sending as many updates as possible to our awaiting family in Velaris. After Mor's persistent "check-in's" every hour, at Cassian's insistence she claimed, I decided to communicate mind-to-mind with Az; who's ever-present composed demeanor was always a comfort no matter the situation, even as I could sense his underlying worry for his High Lady. However, in between the few hours of sleep I allowed myself through the night, I updated and reassured him of Feyre's condition. But, when my mate awoke with a furrowed brow and a pained expression, I sent a direct order for him to send for the midwife and healer.

XXX

-Feyre-

The labor pains came in waves.

When I first awoke from the most tranquil state of sleep I had ever found for the duration of my pregnancy, the muscle contractions in my lower abdomen had felt like the twinges of pain I experienced during my previous cycles—uncomfortable and excruciating, but in the last decade I had learned different techniques in order to cope, such as curling up in a certain position on my side or alternating between heating and cooling blankets laid across my abdomen and back. Like the cramps associated with my cycles, these contractions pulsed and throbbed through my lower body, ripping across my back, stomach, and thighs, but were thankfully manageable with Rhysand's help. The minute a groan escaped my lips, Rhys sprang into action, sitting on his knees beside me and helping me sit upright. He let me squeeze his hand and led me through the controlled breathing exercises the midwife had shown us in preparation for this moment, and for the first few hours they were completely doable.

The tightening would build and build, washing over my body in a flood; my deep and cleansing breaths pushing them back down into nothing...until it all happened again minutes later. From the time the first wave consumed me and dissipated, a minute had barely gone by, and Rhys was still at my ear whispering terms of endearment and encouragement until Madja and our midwife arrived. The duo immediately began setting up our space with the supplies needed for the duration of my labor, and I watched them in a trance. Thanks to the healer and midwife's many lectures leading up to this event, I knew that part of me would be so focused on making it through this arduous process that the rest of the world would melt away. However, there was still a small part of me—perhaps the part tethered to the bond I shared with my mate, that was acutely aware of everything that was happening.

It was all so...primal. As the hours passed, my body continued to endure the waves of contractions and pain that continued to surge, mount, and flood my entire being. I knew what was happening, and despite the pain affecting my innermost being, that innate female shouldered on. Meanwhile, a tiny part of my consciousness watched from a distance at the bridge that connected me to my mate. It was that part of my psyche, the only part unaffected by the unadulterated anguish brought on contraction after contraction, that could hear Rhysand's words; that could register them and find the encouragement I needed in order to push past pain after insurmountable pain.

XXX

-Rhysand-

Feyre's cries and shouts of agony were truly the worst form of torment I had ever withstood in the centuries I had been alive. For every pulse of pain that washed over her body, I wished with every fiber of my being that I could take it away. Despite knowing that I could was easily the hardest part in watching her suffer, but my mate had made me vow months in advance not to.

"Promise me you won't use your daemati abilities to ease my pain," Feyre had said softly.

It had still been fairly early in her pregnancy when she uttered those words; when we had taken a few days to ourselves in this very Cabin and whispered words of comfort and reassured each other that we would be different from our own parents. I had just promised my mate of the outstanding mother she would become for our son, and she assured me the same—dissuading any insecurities either of us had for our ability to be good parents. My forehead was still pressed against hers, eyes imploring as she stared at me meaningfully.

I raised my head, my gaze leveling with those stunning blue-grey eyes as I asked, "Are you sure, Feyre? The pain will be...considerable."

Kallias warned me as much in his letters following Eira's birth. While the experience had passed in a blur, those hours leading up to his daughter's birth had tortured a once vivacious and bright female. If the pains of labor could bring down even Viviane, I knew the same would be true for my mate.

Feyre simply nodded. "If Viviane could do it, if your mother could do it, then so can I," she insisted.

My gaze had softened as I cupped her face gently. "I have no doubt that you can do it Feyre, darling, but if I could make it easier for you-"

"No," she repeated. "Females have been doing it for centuries without any kind of pain relief, and as High Lady of the Night Court, I've more than proven I can handle this as well."

I brushed my thumb along her cheek gently as I nodded in agreement. While every feral instinct in me protested the allowance of my mates suffering, I shoved those intolerant compulsions away. This was Feyre's choice, she was the one carrying my child and would ultimately bring him into the world, so it was her decision on how she wanted to accomplish that task. My job now, as Kallias had outlined to me from his own account, was to support my mate through the ordeal.

"As my High Lady wishes," I purred before pressing another reassuring kiss to her brow.

Her returning smile was bright, those blue-grey eyes shimmering with adoration before either of us noticed the new tattoo forming in the shape of three small stars on both of our right pinky fingers. A small laugh rumbled in my chest as we both watched the stars take shape and solidify on our skin—evidence of our new promise.

"I must say, Feyre darling, if the centuries we have together are filled with more and more oaths between us, I may run out of skin," I teased.

My beautiful, perfect, mate only laughed, the sound resounding through our bond; its melody causing Sebastian's glimmer of delight to thrum between us a moment later.

XXX

-Feyre-

Rhys's was the only voice I could hear over my misery, and during those couple precious moments of respite in between surges of hurt. I was vaguely aware of my own howls of agony as my mate continued to coach me through each breathing exercise; guiding me back to calmer and more controlled breaths whenever they turned into angry or pain-filled sobs. I could hardly keep track of how much time had passed, or anything at all for that matter; my mind too focused on getting me to the end of each earth-shattering contraction. That innate part of me left on the bridge of my bond couldn't tell if the ground beneath me was actually trembling or not, and I was too exhausted to actually ask whenever the conscious part of my being was alert to my present surroundings.

There were slivers of minutes when I was able to hear Madja and the midwife, mostly talking to Rhys and offering advice; one suggestion being to actually get me out of bed and walking around the space of the Cabin. From what I could actually discern of the conversation the older females were having with my mate, they explained that any movement might help things along—staying idle and writhing in pain while lying in bed would apparently only prolong my suffering. So, while I was still aware, Rhys helped me out of bed; one arm wrapped around my back to keep me supported, and his free hand gripping mine. I kept my other on my hip, eyes closed as I shuffled out of the small bedroom with his help.

I could hear Rhys's voice again in my ear, full of nothing but love and support, as I felt the beginnings of the stabbing pain return. "You're doing so well, my love," he said softly.

I yearned for the peace the timbre of his voice once offered me, clung to the shreds of it as the next contraction sent me from my feet onto all fours on the ground beneath me. I could only feel Rhysand's hands on my back, rubbing soothing circles as I howled in pain, my groans staying loud as I followed the patterned breathing as best as I could. Somehow, this position—being on my hands and knees, made the contractions easier to cope with. Remembering the midwife's explanation that labor was such an exacting primal act in itself, that instinctual female in me realized that in order to carry on for the duration of this process I would need to follow whatever natural tendency wanted to take control.

Once the pain finally began to ebb away and my breathing regulated, I felt Rhys's hands try to lift me up. I shook my head immediately.

"No," I rasped. "This feels good," I said as I turned my head to meet his starlit gaze.

He nodded in return, hands resuming the comforting circles he made on my back whilst the magic of the Cabin supplied a plush blanket underneath me—to keep my bare hands and knees from being pressed to the hardwood floors. I realized then that my loose nighttime shift was the only piece of clothing I donned. Sometime between waking and now, Rhys must've used his magic to change me into simpler clothing.

"You won't be needing much else for this process," came the midwife's voice from behind my place on the floor in the middle of the sitting room; probably guessing my thoughts as I looked over my attire.

I raised my weary gaze to her, both her and Madja offering a kind smile in return as they sat on the settee across from me. "We've been performing hourly pelvic exams in order to check your progression in between contractions," the healer explained.

I nodded, vaguely remembering their voices explaining what they were doing and when during the few moments of alertness I had been granted thus far. Another part of me recalling the crucial details the midwife had previously explained to my mate and me. In order to reach the final stage of labor, the pushing stage, the opening of my womb had to reach a certain level of thinning out and my bag of waters hosting the baby would have to burst in order for him to pass through and officially enter the world.

"You're about halfway there," Rhys said, answering my unasked question.

"Of course, when the time comes, you'll feel that preternatural urge to begin pushing, which is a tall-tale sign for the final stage of delivery to occur," the midwife explained.

"How long has it been?" I asked, my voice hoarse from my earlier groans.

"Hours," Madja answered, waving a nonchalant hand. "The timing doesn't matter, so long as you and your youngling continue to tolerate the process well, there isn't anything to worry about."

"Which you are," the midwife added. "Doing well, I mean."

"You're doing brilliantly, Feyre darling," Rhys repeated, pressing a kiss to the side of my temple as he continued working those reposeful circles on my back.

I could only offer a brief smile in return before another gut-wrenching wave overwhelmed me once again.

XXX

-Rhysand-

There seemed to be no end to Feyre's suffering as pain continued to seize her body, the intervals of contractions growing shorter and shorter as the hours continued to pass. Still, in spite of my heart shattering every time the Cabin was filled with her agonizing wails, part of me watched my mate in admiration as she fought her way through the excruciating convulsions and followed whatever insights her body called her to do in order to manage each one. We switched from her position on the floor, to walking around the small space of the Cabin, leaning against walls and different pieces of furniture for support as the contractions persisted; the midwife and healer checking her progression with pelvic exams at every mark of the hour. The day was now transitioning into early evening, and the contractions were starting to last longer—to the point where Feyre could hardly speak, or barely register anything at all as she endured them. During those pain-free intervals, she was able to nod in acknowledgement at whatever few words were spoken to her, engage in brief conversation, or give a simple shake of her head when she wanted to continue moving around the room or into a new relieving position.

The stronger the contractions grew, so did Feyre's reaction to them. She still whimpered in pain, her groans nearly coming out as growls as she battled to keep pace with the breathing exercises I coached her through. But with my focus kept solely on my mate, I hadn't realized I was no longer updating Azriel until I felt a gentle plea from Mor. Feyre had just undergone another contraction when I heard Mor's timid entreatment. Apparently, my mate's roars of pain had been so profound, that they had shook the expanse of mountains across our court. I had been too engrossed with guiding Feyre's breathing to notice, but our family back in Velaris had. They knew it was a sign of things advancing; that the next heir of the Night Court would soon make his entrance. So, I updated them as quickly as possible, promising that my next update would come when Sebastian did, and turned my attention back onto Feyre.

XXX

-Feyre-

Somehow my journey around the Cabin had come full circle, and I ended up on all fours on the cushioned bed in the bedroom. In the time my last contraction ebbed away, and I found Rhysand's violet eyes to offer a bleary-eyed appreciative smile, I felt my body shift. Still panting and recovering the breath I had used during the last contraction, I gripped Rhys's hand, silently asking him to help me upright. He obeyed, and I leaned back against his chest for support as I rested on my knees with a sigh of relief...my eyes widening a second later when I felt a gush of water burst between my legs.

My head snapped in the direction of the mess now spreading on the once clean sheets of the bed before Rhys helped me off and back onto my feet, the magic of the house changing the sheets without a second thought. I stared wide-eyed at my mate, but he only smiled warmly in return before pressing a kiss to my brow.

"M-My...bag of waters broke," I said, still astonished.

He nodded. "Just like the midwife told us it would," he added, rubbing my back in reassuring strokes.

My hands held my stomach, suddenly feeling lighter at the loss of fluid that had built up over the last several months. "T-This is really happening, Rhys," I whispered, knowing this moment of clarity would soon pass as the next contraction started to edge back in.

"You're doing it, Feyre," he said with another kiss to my brow. "It's almost over."

I didn't have enough time to respond before the full weight of the contraction hit in an entirely different way than I had previously felt. Rhys helped me back onto the edge of the bed, and I gripped his hand hard as the pain began to mount and surge through me—a newfound pressure building at the base of my pelvis alongside with it, and my breaths came in fuller and deeper rasps. Madja and the healer, who had remained in another room of the Cabin to allow Rhys and me some privacy, must've heard the change in my breathing because they entered the room seconds later.

The words exchanged between the older females and my mate seemed far away, barely discernible to me as I closed my eyes in concentration. The painful pressure I felt continued to build, and I realized that preternatural urge to push was here. The groan that slipped through my lips must've been indication enough, because I soon found myself in the center of the bed with Rhys holding me upright and the midwife at my feet as she performed her final pelvic exam.

"It's time, my Lady," the midwife said, as I forced my attention on her. "It's time to start pushing."

My heart shuttered at the words, and I turned wide eyes to my mate, who kept an arm wrapped around my back, allowing me to partially rest against him while I squeezed his free hand.

You can do this, Feyre, darling

His warm voice echoed through the bond, reaching my innermost self left on the bridge between us, and I nodded as I felt the surge of pain return. I groaned as the intense pressure grew stronger, the urge to push becoming forceful by the second, and heard the combined voices of Madja and the midwife quickly instructing me on how to position myself on the bed. With my upper body being supported by Rhys, and my legs drawn up and open, I quickly sucked in a deep breath as the females instructed and bore down in my first push.

XXX

-Rhysand-

Feyre pushed and pushed for what felt like hours, but in reality, I knew it had only been one—judging by the path of vanishing sunlight outside the window that finally gave way to night as it always did; dark orange blending into a mix of magenta and indigo before the all-consuming dark sea of stars swallowed them up and lit up the sky. I was all too familiar with that pattern, had watched it countless times in my lifetime, but had never felt it drag on as long as it had tonight. Perhaps Feyre's continued screams of anguish as she pushed were the reason why it felt so prolonged now, but I forced myself not to linger on watching it as I honed in on my mate.

She slumped against my chest, exhausted and spent after offering another hard push, and I dabbed at her brow and neck with a cool, damp cloth. I lost track of how many she had done but kept a brave face as I encouraged her further. She was indeed the strongest female I had ever seen in my centuries of life, and I held onto that reverence in order to battle the guilt that raged within me. It was my offspring she had grown in her belly; mine she now choked back tears for as she drew in another deep breath and pushed again, brows sweaty and furrowed in pure concentration, face red with splotches as she growled in pain with her effort.

It was both the most beautiful I had ever seen her, and the most harrowing.

While my chest ached with remorse for seeing my mate in such a state, it was also filled with so much more love and devotion I had ever felt towards her. I pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze as she pushed, silently letting her know how much I loved her in this moment.

XXX

-Feyre-

"I can see the head my lady," Madja cheered as I pushed.

A snarl of agony ripped from my throat; my eyes still clenched in concentration. "Get it out!" I growled without breaking my effort.

"You're nearly there," came the midwife's response.

I groaned, panting heavily as I slumped against Rhys again. He whispered loving words of support as he dabbed at my face and neck to cool me down, and I knew the all-consuming heat I felt had nothing to do with my powers and everything to do with this struggle. Not even the messy bun I had thrown my hair into seemed to cool me down in between my endeavors, so I was grateful when Rhys had begun using a damp washcloth to provide relief—the only kind afforded to me during this ordeal. It was all starting to become too overwhelming to endure for much longer, and I felt my resolve slipping. My eyes met with Rhys's for a brief moment, and instead of offering him a tired half-smile I had done so far, I broke into sobs.

"I can't do this anymore, Rhys," I cried.

His hand squeezed mine, the starlight in his eyes flickering as the hand on my back tightened gently. "You can," he promised. "Sebastian is almost here, Feyre, just imagine our little Bash here at last,"

I sobbed at the thought, the images of my baby I had been dreaming of for months flashing through my mind before I felt the devastating pain returned. I cried again, loudly claiming I couldn't do it, and was met with a chorus of voices encouraging me—claiming I could, and would. Deciding not to keep fighting it, I rallied my strength together with another gulp of air and bore down with the hardest push I could offer.

My attempt heralded in another round of voices animatedly telling me to continue, and though I couldn't differentiate the female's voices, I heard one of them tell Rhys to watch as our son's head began to emerge. My eyes were squeezed shut with my effort, so I couldn't see the look on his face, but a yelp of pain emerged from my throat a second later as I felt the strain of my baby's head coming through with the force of my pushing. The midwife quickly told me to take several deep breaths instead, and I did as I was told, gasping aloud when I felt a painful burst.

"The head is out, my lady," the midwife said with a meaningful look as I finally opened my eyes.

I gasped for even breaths, nodding before I looked to Rhys; whose violet eyes were silver lined as they met mine. He had shifted to my side for a better view of our son coming forth, his and Madja's hands holding either side of me, balancing me upright.

"He's so beautiful, Feyre," Rhys said tearfully as he lowered his head to rest his forehead against mine, a tear trailing down the side of his cheek.

I sobbed again, bringing a hand to brush that tear away briefly before grasping his free one as my body yielded to another throbbing contraction. "Just one more big push, my lady, and your babe will be in your arms." Madja promised.

"One more, and you're done," Rhys vowed, repeating the healer's words.

Instead of voicing my agreement, I continued my hold on to Rhys's hand while I gripped my knee with the other and sucked in a quick gasp of air before offering what now had to be the strongest and hardest push my body could muster. My eyes squeezed shut as I fixed all of my attention into this push, near-feral growls emerging from my throat at the unbearable pain that tore through me, my cries drowning out the myriad of voices cheering me on.

Soon, however, all the pain vanished the second I heard the tiniest, most magnificent wail I would ever hear in my entire life.

[pact-with-faith]

Satan's Firecracker

This is a gift-fic for my friend @fictionsthings ! I wrote this for them, based off the song Firecracker by Cami-Cat! I hope you enjoy! :D

Satan wasn’t typically one for parties, much preferring the comfort of his room or the library, being surrounded by books, near infinite knowledge, all ready and waiting at his fingertips. However, unfortunately, his attendance was mandatory, according to the eldest Avatar. As much as he’d love to avoid it like the plague out of spite, his brothers would never let him hear the end of it, and there was one thing making it tolerable. Well, one person, he should say.

Tadashi. One of the human exchange students, and his partner. In chaos as much as in romance.

He started to look around the giant ballroom for them, eyebrows furrowing a bit in frustration. Curse demons for being so tall. Or humans for being so short. Either or. Despite their bright green hair, he still somehow managed to lose track of them. They’d promised it’d only be a minute, they were going to get a drink before Beel got to it all, and would bring some back for him as well.

Unable to ignore a small nagging in the back of his mind, he went in search of them. It helped that he was already in his demon form, similar to most of the demons present, as it meant that people cleared out of his path much easier. No one wants to be in the way of the Avatar of Wrath, after all.

Frowning to himself once reaching the buffet table, Satan glanced around. Beel was seemingly taking a break, perhaps drawn away by someone to ensure that others had a chance to get at the hors d'oeuvres, as there weren’t any particularly familiar faces at the table. Let alone one framed by radioactive green.

However, he noticed that same shock of green out of the corner of his eye, disappearing through a doorway.

Bingo.

He followed after them, his relief at having caught sight of them faltering when realizing they were heading outside. To the garden. Where were they going?

Satan broke into a light jog to catch up, easily taking the stairs down two at a time. “Tadashi?” He called out, relieved when they stopped. At least they weren’t upset with him in particular.

They turned back to him, their expression turning sheepish. “Hey, Satan.” They greeted softly once he caught up to them, fidgeting with the buttons on their coat.

“Is something the matter?” He asked them gently. “Did someone say something to you? If they did, I swear-”

He was cut off by them gently grabbing onto his boa, letting out a laugh. “No, no, no one said anything.” They reassured. “I just…”

When they trailed off, Satan gave them a concerned look as he gently put his hand over theirs, giving it a soft squeeze. He wouldn’t rush them to explain what’s bothering them.

It took a bit for them to steel their nerves. “I just… don’t feel like I fit in. Especially there, with so many big important demons…” They explained. “I’m just a human, and I don’t even have magic like Solomon does… I’m pretty sure the only reason anyone in there even tolerates me is because Lord Diavolo wants me here for the exchange program. I was never really a party person to begin with, then adding that in…” They shrugged, looking away almost guiltily.

Satan listened closely to their explanation, giving their hand another gentle squeeze to prove he’d been listening. “That’s understandable… most of the demons in there are up on high horses anyways. Lord Diavolo has… a lot of work ahead of him, with trying to get the three realms on equal footing.” He admitted.

“But where were you heading?” He asked after a moment, tilting his head a tiny bit.

Tadashi got awkward again as they answered. “I was gonna head back to the House of Lamentations… It didn’t really make sense to stay if I didn’t feel like I really fit in, but I didn’t want to disturb any of you.”

Satan’s expression softened, gently pulling them closer and giving their hair a playful ruffle, just laughing at the glare they shot up at him for the action. “You wouldn’t have disturbed us, and it would have been safer to let us know.” He reminded gently.

But before they had the chance to feel guilty, he let them go and took two steps back, giving an exaggerated bow towards them, one arm outstretched to them and the other across his waist.

“But if you’ll humor me… Tadashi, may I have this dance?”

Their face flushed red, clearly surprised by the sudden shift in tone. But it didn’t take long before they were breaking into laughter of their own, falling into a half curtsey, half bow of their own.

“But of course, good sir~” They teased as they took his hand. Satan just chuckled, the couple standing up straighter.

They could faintly hear the waltz being played in the castle, but they paid it no mind.

Instead, they focused on their own rhythm, their breathing, their heartbeats. That gave them the beat to dance to. Their steps gradually picked up pace, the duo moving away from each other so their hands were the only connection they had, only to take three more steps and be chest to chest.

Satan left his tail loose behind him, the ends of his boa and the tips of his hands, feet, and horns occasionally lighting with the faintest flickers of green fire, a little added flare that came from the raw emotions he felt, being able to focus so heavily on this moment with Tadashi.

Tadashi.

A mere human, with no powers to their name, but more confidence than any of his brothers. Willing to face death itself to defend them.

A human, the human, one of the few people in all three realms who looked at him and saw more than his Sin. Saw more than Wrath. Who saw a bookworm who felt too much, who’s rage wasn’t even always his own. They saw him at his worst, and helped bring him back down to calmness, softening his edges. Shared quiet moments with him in front of the fireplace, reading and enjoying each other’s company. Sharing the excitement of new developments in books they were reading. Taking turns reading to each other.

Tadashi, the human who gave him the world.

The same Tadashi who humored his mischief, who terrorized Lucifer alongside him. Who wasn’t afraid to call someone out, no matter how powerful they may be. They felt a lot too, but instead of it being explosive and destructive and all consuming, they were warm. Exciting. They make people happy, even beyond his family.

Comparing himself to Tadashi, it felt like comparing a canon to a firecracker.

That’s the best way to describe Tadashi in a single word.

Firecracker.

So as Satan spun them around before letting them back away again, their pace having picked up enough to make both of their hearts pound, he let his magic flow through them too. Just a little, not enough to risk hurting or overwhelming them.

When Tadashi’s free hand flew out behind themselves in a grand pose, licks of green flames flew from their fingertips. They faintly felt the heat on their hand, which left an icy cold in its wake, prompting them to look at what had just happened.

Satan just chuckled and gave them a gentle tug, guiding them closer to himself and shifting their weight to dip them backwards, easily holding them up. He let his tail sweep just above the ground around them, followed by a trail of the same green flames.

“Thought I’d… spice it up a little.” He explained, his voice just over a whisper.

Tadashi snorted in amusement, shaking their head and grinning. They leaned up just enough to plant a small kiss on his nose, turning the Avatar of Wrath pink as he helped them both stand up again to continue their dance.

With each new twirl and dramatic movement, both of them danced with the hellish fire, seamlessly passing the lead back and forth.

The impromptu dance came to an end as Satan gently pulled Tadashi close to his chest, an arm around their waist. His free hand reached up to gently rub at their cheek, his expression soft and eyes swimming with emotions as the glow of magic faded while he worked on catching his breath and calming his heart.

Tadashi tilted their head into his touch and shut their eyes, letting out a content sigh. “That was...wonderful.” They admitted quietly, so hesitant to break the silence by speaking too loudly.

Satan hummed his agreement, leaning down to place his forehead against theirs, letting his tail slowly and carefully wrap around one of their legs, ever so careful not to let the bony appendage scratch their skin. “It truly was…” He breathed.

“I love you… My Firecracker.”

[softyandereblog]

Surviving in Ohkasis, part 1

You are a servant in the Ro'Meave family's employ, tending to the library. Unfortunately for you, his Holiness Zane Ro'Meave, the last remaining prince of Ohkasis, has decided to visit today. And where is that book he had been reading?

Working for the Ro'Meave family was surprisingly pleasant, you mused as you dusted the furniture in the library. Sure, they were known for being cruel, but you weren't their personal servant, nor did they pay you any mind at all. The pay, as well, was fantastic, but what else would you expect from the most powerful family in the Ru'an region?

You were alone in the library, one of the only servants that the caretaker allowed to clean the shelves.

"These books belong to His Holiness," She'd scold. "They should only be handled with the greatest care."

Although you couldn't read, you still found great comfort in the books, the way they held so much knowledge, the smell, and you did treat them with care. In fact, you barely touched them, usually only cleaning around them.

Your work in the library was peaceful. That's why you liked it. No yelling, no scolding, no worrying about assassination attempts. Just you, and the books you couldn't even read yourself.

The door creaked open, you heard, and you made sure to move deeper into the library. Your shoes were leather, and cheap, so they didn't make much noise with no wooden or steel heel to clack against the ground. You learned to stay out of sight from most people, especially the one who had just arrived.

"'History of the Divine'." The High Priests voice was calm, but like always, it held a hint of malice. You wondered whether he ever took time to truely relax. His gloved hands tapped a table, judging by the noise, and you heard the librarian give out a small breath.

"Y-Yes your Holiness?" The stutter and sharpened breaths gave out the obvious fear she was feeling. You stayed in the aisle you had walked into. The silence of the library was suffocating now. You decided to wait till he left to continue your work.

"Where is it."

You froze. 'History of the Divine'. You couldn't read, but judging by where his Holiness was standing in the library, which table he was tapping, you silently cursed yourself. You had put that book away in an attempt to be helpful.

It's not like you meant to annoy the high priest, it wasn't on purpose, but when did he care about that? It would be better to find it and give it back before he blamed your mistake on the poor librarian.

You nearly stumbled through the aisle to find the book as the librarian stumbled through her words to explain to his Holiness.

Finding the book, you grinned in triumph.

Yes!

It was the same book, golden trim on the pages, on the cover, lapis guilded into flowers and beautiful designs. You made your way back to where your two superiors were, keeping your head down.

If you made eye contact with his Holiness, there was a high chance that he would kill you, and you liked living, thank you very much.

"Your Holiness, if I may..." You held the book in your hands, bowing to him. Judging by his stance, or what you could see of it, he was relaxed, but you wondered if you'd see tension in his shoulders if you looked up. His Holiness was smart, good at hiding things, but the shoulders might give it away. It was harder to hide the tension in the shoulders.

You felt a piercing stare on your head, and you forced yourself not to shiver. You liked your job, you found comfort in it, the servants were kind, and it paid well, but the royal family of Ohkasis was something else. Cold, calculating...

You were sure your friends who served the family directly missed his Highness Prince Garroth.

The High Priest took the book from your hands, and you were so thankful that the way you were holding the book made sure that he wouldn't have accidentally brushed against your hands.

You did not want to die. Not so soon into your life.

You glanced at the librarian, who smiled softly at you, a silent 'thank you' lingering between the two of you.

The High Priest placed the book on the table, a quiet 'thump' seeming to echo across the room.

"Name." You paled. Dammit. There goes your calm demeanor for the rest of the week. You steadied yourself as best you could and bowed lower. Oh, how you wished to tell him that you didn't want to tell him your name. But, his Holiness was cruel, and merciless, and your employer, so you could only obey.

"(Y/N) (L/N), a servant who serves Okhasis and the royal library."

"I didn't ask for your life story, (Y/N)." You grit your teeth. Irene, he was annoying. Maybe if you cared a little less about your life, you'd tell him that.

"Apologies, your Holiness." He waved you off, sitting on one of the cushioned seats around the table.

"Do not touch the books on this table, understood?" You bowed lower.

You wondered if bowing any lower than this would make you topple.

"I understand, your Holiness." He let out a hum that seemed to be of approval, but Irene, he was so hard to read without being able to see anywhere above his waist. Or, nowhere, considering the fact he wad sitting now.

"You're dismissed, (Y/N)." And you were out of there. The Traveller was known well for his speed, but he would have envied how swift you were in your escape to the second floor of the library.

Collapsing on the ground, you heaved out a sigh.

Irene, You thought, grasping your chest as you stopped yourself from hyperventilating from the encounter. Why did I think anywhere in the Ro'Meave castle would be peaceful?

[theamberwriter]

OKAY SO OMEGAVERSE- can I please have Todoroki, Bakugou and whatever other characters you wanna write for when their omegas nest gets destroyed by something (maybe a friend, a parent, whoever) and they’re really sad about it? I just need some protective alphas rn. (Thank youuu)

Pairings - Alpha!Todorki x Omega!Reader, Alpha!Bakugo x Omega!Reader, Alpha!Kirishima x Omega!Reader, Alpha!Yaoyorozu x Omega!Reader, Apha!Ashido x Omega! Reader

Word Count - 9722

A/N - Wow, this took waayyy longer than I thought it would to write. But it’s also kinda long, lol Anyway, I really hope you like it! I had lots of fun writing it! Also, I’m going to apologize now to Denki lovers for the last one!

~*~

SHOTO TODOROKI

Todoroki was a force to be reckoned with, especially where it came to his mate. 

Nobody got to fuck with them.Much less his own father.

Endeavor had made it painfully obvious he didn't like his son's chosen mate.

Especially since they were a seat higher in hero ranking than Shoto.

He couldn't believe his own son had been outranked by an omega.

Shoto didn't mind, in fact, he was very proud of you.

He may not have known you in school, but your mother had embarrassingly boasted a laundry list of your accomplishments when you introduced him.

She also gave him a very detailed rundown of every single step of your hero training. Starting from a young age.

You could've died of embarrassment.

Shoto listened intently, taking in every single detail.

He firmly decided that you deserved your seat, maybe even a higher seat than that, and he made sure you felt proud of your ranking too.

Since your position pissed off Endeavor, Shoto always found a way to wedge it into conversation with him.

Anything to make the old crackpot flame.

It made family gatherings rather awkward and difficult.

Usually the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

As hard as Fuyumi tried to make things chill and normal, Natsuo and Shoto made sure Endeavor knew they liked you more than him.

So to say that your relationship with your future father-in-law was nonexistent was an overstatement.

Endeavor couldn’t stand being in the same room as you. Shoto refused to allow you to be in the room with him, especially alone.

The two of you were basically strangers connected through a mutual.

Honestly, it was stressful.

He was going to be at family gatherings, he would be at your wedding the following year, he'd be grandfather to any pups you raised - no matter what, he was always going to be there.

You couldn’t escape him. So you might as well make peace, right?

You had a bad feeling, but you couldn't keep walking on eggshells.

You made sure Shoto didn’t know what you were up to. And waited until you had a day off and Shoto was at work.

You already knew he’d disapprove of the olive branch you were trying to extend.

You and Shoto lived in a lovely house on the outside of the city where his agency was.

Shoto wanted it built as an early wedding present. You'd only been there for about six months.

It had large, beautiful gardens, a good amount of land, and a pond. It was your own personal wonderland.

Having this little spec of gloom in your personal paradise wasn't ideal. But you had to put a truce on this.

It was noon on the dot when a knock came to your door. 

You were still not mentally prepared to handle this on your own. 

You smiled as best you could and opened the door. “Enji.”

“[Name],” he said in disdain.

 You bit the inside of your cheek. “Thank you for coming. Come in, the tea just finished.”

He glared at you for a long moment but then walked into the grand foyer.

Enji glanced around blankly. You couldn’t tell if he liked the house, or if he hated it because it was yours.

“Shoto designed everything,” you noted. He nodded at that. “Uh, the dining room is this way.”

You led him through the library and down a hall.

You opened the door, allowing him in first. He entered without so much as a glance at you.

“Take a seat.” You gestured to the two chairs where your lunch and fresh tea was laid out. 

Endeavor sat stiffly in one, and you in other.

“The cooks Shoto found make the best food I’ve tasted,” you noted awkwardly. 

Shoto had hired some staff to help since you two were so busy.

“For you, I’m sure,” he grunted but picked up his utensils anyway. “Thanks.”

You two ate in tense silence for a minute. Your heart pounded in your chest, it nearly made you gag with nerves.

You should’ve waited for Shoto.

You cleared your throat and took a sip of tea.

“I’ll be frank, Enji…” you started. “I asked you here to extend an olive branch.”

“An olive branch. Really?” Enji seemed more annoyed than ever.

“When Shoto and I get married, we’ll be family. - I’m not saying you have to like me. Or that we have to talk to each other. All I’m saying is that I want to make a truce. So we can be...civil?”

He grunted. “Does Shoto know you’re doing this?”

You shook your head. “He’d probably disapprove. But I thought I’d try. So if it doesn’t work out, he’d still come around. You know how he can be. He’d be even more furious with you, and probably wouldn’t go any family functions for a while.”

“You seem to know my Shoto well enough,” Enji noted.

You shrugged, laughing uncomfortably. “We’ve been dating for five years, engaged for almost two. So I’m hoping I do.”

After another few moments of silence, he asked, “May I use your facilities?”

You nodded and gestured. “Through that door, make the left, follow it down the hall, and it’ll be on your right.”

You cursed under your breath when the door finally shut. It was a relief being out from under those eyes. Away from his alpha stench. It was burning your nose, and making your eyes water.

You didn’t think anything of it until fifteen minutes had passed.

Had he gotten lost? Definitely not, right?

You left the dining room, going down the hall to find the bathroom door open and the room empty.

You followed the hall down and around and finally back to the foyer.

That’s where you smelled it. The undeniable scent of smoke.

You followed it up the stairs and down one wide hall and then another. 

Your heart felt like it snapped in half as you watched smoke pour from the door with a sign (lovingly made by Momo) that read Nest Sweet Nest.

You launched yourself into the doorway. Sure enough, Endeavor was slowly lighting item after item on fire.

“What the -” you started, walking into the room with a sleeve over your face.

“I will never make peace with you,” he snapped. “Extending a branch without so much as consulting Shoto. How degrading and insulting to your alpha. And being outranked by an omega of all people. It’s disgraceful. Shoto deserves that spot you occupy. As well as an omega stronger than you.”

You felt something in you snap. And then you were consumed by overwhelming energy. 

Your quirk had activated, and you hadn’t done it consciously.

The energy surge lifted you up, engulfing you in the form of a bear that barely fit in the room. Luckily the energy could be phased through objects if you wanted. 

The translucent white-blue bear roared and growled at Endeavor.

“Get. Out!” you snapped from where you controlled the bear from within.

Endeavor shot fire at you. But the bear stopped it from entering your energy form.

You took the bear’s massive paw and swatted at Enji, pinning him under it.

Your bear leaned down, shifting into the form of a lion. It snapped and snarled at his face. 

Endeavor showed no fear. Though you could smell it through the lion’s nose.

You picked him up in the mouth of the lion. Putting just enough pressure to pin and threaten him. But not enough to crush.

The lion and you squeezed through the door, swept down the halls, and back to the front door.

Your butler stood, waiting with the entry open. “I’ve instructed the others to put the fire out.”

You nodded at him, then squeezed out to the front path. The lion grew even larger, dwarfing the house.

“Consider this war, Endeavor,” you snapped, voice echoing through the lion. “All branches have been burned. And I will be telling Shoto.”

The lion tossed him out into the middle of the front lawn.

You watched as he hit and rolled across the grass. When he stopped, he pushed himself up and glared at you. Then he lit up and readied himself.

As soon as he launched into the air, he was caught in a flow of ice. 

Only one person could do that.

Walking up the drive was no other than Shoto, home early. 

You’d semi-lost your mind to the beast. A struggle you’d been having since your quirk emerged. Only rage made you lose your mind now.

The lion roared at Shoto, stalking up to him. But he showed no fear. You couldn’t even smell it on him.

He placed a hand on the lion’s snout, staring at it as blankly as ever. The lion sank into a laying position. 

Shoto climbed up on it and forced his way into the energy field. Like you’d showed him, just in case.

He was pulled to the center, where you were. Immediately, he took you in his arms, cradling you against his chest.

You struggled at first. But calmed down at his cinnamon scent.

He rubbed your back and kissed your hair, pumping out comfort pheromones.

You felt the energy draining and you wrapped your arms around him in turn. With a sigh, the two of you settled to the ground.

“Shoto,” you yawned, your quirk completely deactivated. “You’re home early.”

“Got a call about a fire,” he grunted. “I can see why now.”

Shoto released his father, who hadn’t bothered melting the ice on his own. The two just stared at each other, then Endeavor left without a word.

“What happened? What was this all about?” Shoto asked as he hauled you off the ground. 

You were worn out. Rage energy was much harder to control. It was much more draining than how it was when you did hero work. At least you had control then.

You explained the situation to Shoto. He was not happy, to say the least.

“What were you thinking? You should’ve waited -” he started to scold.

You couldn’t help the tears that flowed. “That’s not even the worst part. - Come see.”

Tiredly, you pulled Shoto up to the charred room that once held your nest. 

Fond tokens of love and memories were burnt to ash. The blankets and clothes and pillows you’d hoarded were all gone now. Nothing was left of what was except the charred Nest Sweet Nest sign on the door.

“He...he burned everything,” you wheezed, wiping furiously at the tears on your cheeks.

“That bastard,” Shoto cursed under his breath. 

He held you closely, glaring into the blackened room. He wasn’t going to let his father get away with this. But, for now, you were his priority.

He got you changed into clean clothes, then took you down to the entertainment room. 

Shoto put on your favourite movie, had tea brought down along with snacks, and cradled you in his arms until you zonked out.

He’d never seen you like that. He had to admit, it was terrifying.

Honestly, he never thought he’d have to use the emergency maneuver you’d taught him. You were so good with your control.

Of course, Endeavor would be the one to break it. Natsuo and Fuyumi were going to hear about this. 

However, revenge was for another time. 

Right now, his omega was the most important thing.

~*~

KATSUKI BAKUGO

God, you were just too cute and you didn't even fucking know it.

Katsuki smiled to himself as he cast one last look at you in your nest before going off to work. 

He'd bought you a body pillow cover of himself as Ground Zero as a joke. But here you were, curled up with your face stuffed in it and a leg thrown over. Drooling like a kid.

He'd scented the entire thing for you. There was no getting rid of that smell for a while.

He never thought he'd find this with anyone. He was so caught up in work, romance was the last thing on his mind.

But one chance encounter changed everything. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

With that, he left for work. Unaware of what would soon transpire.

All of Katsuki’s friends loved you. In fact, there were times they preferred you over him.

But not all of your friends loved Katsuki.

The shallower ones of the bunch were jealous you’d nabbed a hero. But they were all concerned about your safety. Not just from villains, but from Katsuki himself. 

They found him too brash, too rowdy, too aggressive. And they were worried that would turn on you. 

Not that they’d ever tell you as much. But you could tell they weren’t fond of him.

They’d never seen the side of him you had. Or even the sides of him that his friends got to see.

He was usually busy when you hung out with your friends.

Even when he was home, he didn’t like to get in the way of your friend time. Which was becoming fewer and farther between. No matter how much you wanted him to hang out with you all. 

They weren’t exactly begging for him to come along either.

Your friends had seen him in the media. Seen the way he acted in battle, the way he talked to the press and yelled at the paps. How he bullied even fellow heroes.

They didn’t trust him as far as they could throw him. 

It was the weekend and you were having them over for the day while Katsuki was out on patrol.

You had everything ready by the time they arrived for lunch.

There wasn’t really much to do. Katsuki kept the house tidy, while you did laundry and dishes. You took turns giving the dog a bath, and that was that.

Your dog, an Amstaff named Pooki - a name she came with, much to Katsuki’s chagrin (he did try to change it, but she wouldn’t respond to anything else) - barked when a knock came at the door.

Behind it, stood your main little group of six. They all seemed on edge, except your best friend of the group - Haruto.

He grinned and hugged you immediately.

“I’m so glad you all could make it! - Did you all find it okay? I know we’re a little out of the way,” you said and moved so they could enter.

“Uh, yeah. We found it fine,” Akari, Haruto’s sister, said.

Haruto was already baby-talking the dog. 

“Is he -” started Sota, a friend you’d made in middle school. Your other friend, Mei, nudged him.

You shook your head. “No - my boom boy won’t be back until this afternoon. He’s out patrolling.”

Misato, the most serious and mom like of the group, came and put a hand on your shoulder. “It’s good to see you haven’t lost your spunk.”

“What’re you -?” you started, then shook your head. “Nevermind. C’mon, I have a game loaded for us to play. I promise you’ll love it.”

You led them to the living room. It was a decent size with two chairs, a four-person couch, and a loveseat. Katsuki had a gaming station set up around the electric fireplace.

Your friend Yuto pushed his way to the front of the group. “No way is that -”

You nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking about. He wouldn’t shut up about it in the group chat.

“But that hasn’t even come out yet -”

“Katsuki got it for me,” you laughed. Tension in the room spiked. “It was a thank you from the company. He saved their building from being destroyed, you know. This game never would’ve been released, if it weren’t for him.”

“Remind me to thank fireball later,” Yuto noted half-heartedly. He perched in one of the chairs, grabbing a controller. The others followed.

You were squished in between Haruto and Akari. Pooki took up residency on your lap. You were going to have to put this dog on a diet.

“Help yourselves to the snacks. Made them fresh just before you got here,” you noted.

It didn’t take long for them to dive in.

The day was going nice for the first few hours. What you didn’t expect was another knock at the door. 

Pooki shot off your lap, racing to it. You were surprised to find Katsuki’s friends.

“Mina, Eijiro, Hanta, Denki - what’re you guys doing here?” you asked, letting them in.

“Here to see you, of course.” Eijiro hugged you tightly. The others followed.

“Besides, Katsuki said he wanted to chill today, anyway! Just so happens that we all had early patrols,” Mina explained.

“Katsuki won’t be home until later -” you started, moving with them as they made their way to the living room.

“We like hanging out with you, ya know?” Denki said, rolling his eyes.

“Who’s this?” Haruto said, looking over the back of the couch as you all entered.

You glanced between the two groups. “Uh....well, this is awkward….Guys, these are Katsuki’s friends. Eijiro Kirishma, Hanta Sero, Mina Ashido, and Denki Kaminari. - Everyone, these are my friends. Haruto and Akari Ito, Yuto Watanabe, Misato Yamamoto, Mei Nakamura, and Sota Sato.”

Katsuki’s group said their hellos. But your friends all stared in tense silence until Misato spoke up. “Hello, it’s very nice to meet you all.”

Pooki nearly knocked Denki over jumping on him.

“Sorry, she’s gotten fat since you saw her last,” you laughed.

“Still cute as ever though, aren’t you girl?” Denki replied, baby-talking to her.

Eijiro’s eyes moved to the screen. “What’re you all playing?”

“Remember that gaming company that Katsuki saved the building?” you asked.

Denki’s eyes lit up. “Really?! That one!”

You grinned. “Mhm. Someone can take my spot. - I’ll go get chairs.”

“Don’t worry,” Eijiro chuckled, patting Pooki. “We can get them ourselves. That’s the manly thing to do.”

With that, the four of them left. You laughed under your breath, rolling your eyes after them.

“How long are they staying?” Sota asked snidely.

You shrugged. “Until Katsuki gets home, I suppose. Trust me, you’ll like them -”

“I doubt that,” Haruto said, slumping back into his seat. 

You settled awkwardly back between Haruto and Akari, your legs crossed under you.

That’s when the others came back with chairs. Well, at least Hanta and Denki anyway.

“I’m just gonna sit on the floor,” Mina said with a shrug. She came and sat in front of you, leaning her back against the couch. 

Eijiro sat on the floor across from you, leaning against the coffee table to pick at the snacks.

“Here, Denki,” you called, tossing him your controller. “I know you’ve been dying to play it. Just - don’t zap another controller, please? I thought Katsuki was going to kill you last time.”

“Awesome!” he cheered. “[Name], you’re the best!”

They started the game back up. It was Denki, Yuto, Mei, Sota, and Haruto playing.

“So,” Misato started, clearing her throat. “You all have been here before?”

“Oh yeah,” Eijrio laughed. Pooki begged him for a cracker. “We helped them move in. Pook here was just a pup then.”

“And you come even when - Bakugo - isn’t here?” Haruto asked grouchily.

“We come here all the time when they’re home alone,” Mina noted, scrolling through her phone. “We love hanging out with [Name].”

“Katsuki thinks I need protecting,” you chuckled. “So he sends in the heroes.”

“You do!” Hanta interjected.

You rolled your eyes. “From what?”

“From -”

“Pooki’s too cute to be handled alone, it’s dangerous!” Eijiro interrupted. He was wrestling with her now.

“You’re going to break something.”

Eijiro grinned. “Nah, besides -”

Pooki chomped down on his arm. A few of your friends gasped.

“Pooki!” Akari scolded. “Let him go -”

“It’s fine, she does this all the time. She thinks I’m a chew toy, see -” Eijiro hardened up his arm and moved to show the one in Pooki’s mouth. “She can’t hurt me.”

“Wait - you’re Red Riot. Aren’t you?”Akari realized. 

Eijiro laughed. “You caught me! Guess my secret is out.”

“None of you are exactly hiding,” you stated, rolling your eyes. “Besides, I told you guys Katsuki was friends with heros.”

“All of you are?” Mei asked, glancing around. 

“Chargebolt,” Denki announced, throwing a thumbs up and grinning.

“Pinky!” Mina laughed and held up a picture of her in costume.

“Cellophane,” Hanta said, beaming.

“Are any of you heros?” Eijrio asked.

You shook your head and smiled. “No. - We were put in the ‘Useless Quirk’ club.”

“I dunno, your quirk’s pretty cool. I’m surprised you didn’t work for the police,” Mina said. 

You shrugged. “Wasn’t really into law enforcement. I’m happy running a shop.”

“[Name]’s right, though. None of us could ever make it as heros,” Haruto said. He seemed a little warmer to them now. “I can turn small objects into cubes, Akari can change her skin into whatever material she touches. Misato can make a flower sprout wherever she touches. But only one flower at a time. Yuto can change the color of his eyes, nails, hair, and teeth at will. While Mei can turn anything she touches red. And Sota, well -”

“Just say it,” Sota snapped. “I don’t have a quirk.”

It was tense and silent a moment. You wanted to hide. This was not going well. 

Didn’t Katsuki tell them that your friends were coming over today?

Misato interrupted the quiet. “[Name], where are the facilities?”

“Uh - oh.” You were snapped out of your stupor. “That way and down the hall on the left.”

You couldn’t wait for Katsuki to come home.

Everybody rotated controllers. Each leaving on occasion to get water or use the bathroom.

Pooki followed everybody in and out of the room.

Everything seemed fine until Pooki started barking in the living room doorway.

You got up to see what was wrong, supposing it was just a delivery man you hadn’t heard ring the doorbell.

Instead, you followed her to the upstairs hallway. She stood with her nose pushed against the door to your nesting room.

“What’s wrong with you, silly girl?” you laughed. “If I show you there’s nothing wrong will you take a nap?”

You were not expecting the sight when you walked in. Torn blankets, charged clothes, broken pictures and knickknacks. Everything was ruined. Nothing in the room had gone untouched, except one pristine Ground Zero body pillow. 

Pooki growled at your feet.

You stared. Your chest becoming a hollow cavity. So much had happened in this room. And all the fond memories held in the items were all ruined. You couldn’t stop the sob in your throat. Pooki rubbed against your leg.

You wiped at your tears. You didn’t even notice someone special had crept into the house.

“There’s my omega,” Katsuki’s voice said. 

You flinched, eyeing him at the top of the stairs.

He halted in his pace when he saw your wet face. “What’s wrong? Who’s ass am I kicking?”

He came and wrapped you in his arms. You gestured to your room. As soon as he laid eyes on it, his scent became threatening, murderous.

“Yo man, you okay?” that was Eijiro, the only one brave enough to face Katsuki in this state. He was coming up the stairs. 

Katsuki glared him down. “You and those idiots better not have done this.”

“Done wha -” Eijiro stopped short, staring in the room. “What happened? We’ve been downstairs all day.”

“You better not be lying -”

You stopped Katsuki. “It’s okay - alpha - I, I got this. Do you mind, Eijiro?”

Eijiro nodded. “Do what you got to.”

“Look me in the eyes.” 

Eijiro did as he was instructed, and you activated your quirk. Your irises swirled with the whites of your eyes. Hypnotizing him.

“Tell me, Eijiro,” you started. “What was the purpose of your visit today? Was it to do this?”

“No,” he said robotically. “We came today because Katsuki invited us. He was worried your friends were up to something, so he sent us to watch over you. I had no part in what happened to your nest.”

You nodded and blinked, releasing him. 

Eijiro blinked too, rubbing his temple. “I forgot how weird that felt. You haven’t done that since I told you Katsuki was going to ask you out. - But see. We were just here to watch out for you. Nothing more. We’re your friends [Name]. And it’s totally uncool to do this to a friend’s nest.”

Your heart sank. That meant only one thing then.

“I can go -” Katsuki started.

You shook your head. “They’re my….friends….I’ll do it.”

You took Katsuki’s hand and went to the living room. His sent still smelled like death walking.

“Everything okay?” Misato asked. “Hello, Bakugo.”

You nodded, then went to sit back between Akari and Haruto. Katsuki grunted, leaning on the doorframe with Eijiro beside him.

You waited a moment, then flinched and rubbed your eye.

“Ow - I think I have something in my eye. Can you look for me Haru?” you asked, and turned to him.

He twisted to face you. “Sure.”

You caught his eye and he realized what you were going to do. You activated your quirk before he could turn away.

“I really hate to do this. But - tell me, Haruto,” you sighed. “What was the purpose of your visit today? Was it you all who destroyed my nest?”

Mina gasped. “Wait, what?”

“Shit,” you heard Akari mutter under her breath.

Katsuki’s friends were tense, ready to tackle the first person to move and break your connection.

“We came today to see you. But also to wait for Katsuki to get home. We were going to destroy your nest, but frame him for it. That way you two would argue and break up. When his friends came, we decided to make it look like they did it. Then you’d break up with him because of his awful friends. I couldn’t bring myself to destroy anything, though. So I told Pooki to get you.”

“Wait, you ratted on us?!” Sota yelled.

“Why would you do that?” you asked, tears beginning to flood your vision.

“Because,” Haruto continued. “We wanted you back. We don’t see much of you. And Bakugo is too violent for you. He’s going to hurt you - like he does to the paparazzi and all those villains.”

You sobbed and hid your face in your hands, breaking the connection.

“We were just doing what was best for you -” Misato started.

“What would you know about what’s best for my omega?” Katsuki snapped, the thick scent of burnt caramel nearly suffocating. “Do you think hurting them like this was the best way to tell [Name] your concerns? Wouldn’t it have been better to sit them down, like normal people?! Also - you all are a bunch of fucking dunces if you think I’d ever hurt them!”

“Katsuki may have a temper, but you didn’t know him before he met [Name],” Eijiro said. 

“But -” Haruto started.

“It’s true,” Denki countered. “He was totally different.”

“We didn’t even meet y’all before today, and we’re here a lot,” Mina noted. Katsuki uttered, too much under his breath. “So you obviously haven’t even made the effort to hang out with them both. And see for yourself how he is.”

“I think it’s time for you fuckers to leave,” Bakugo growled.

“We were only trying to help!” Mei shrieked.

“You were trying to solve a problem that didn’t exist!” you cried. “Just - leave. Please.”

“[Name]....” Haruto pleaded.

“Haru just - just go,” you sighed, watching as tears dripped onto the couch.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered and then got up. 

Once they were gone, Katsuki changed into lounge clothes and sat next to you on the couch. 

Mina and Eijiro moved from the floor to a regular seat. Hanta and Denki put the kitchen chairs back and went to occupy the empty spaces.

You curled up into his protective grasped, watching as they played the new game.

Your heart, though sad with your nest being ruined, felt full knowing that you’d always have Katsuki and his friends on your side.

~*~

EIJIRO KIRISHIMA

Your mother hated the fact that you were an omega. She thought, with your parentage, you should have been an alpha.

Imagine her disgust and disappointment when you showed as an omega. The only in blood family to be. 

Her rage grew when you met a hero named Red Riot once you joined an agency. An alpha with a musk like strawberry cream. He was just as sweet as he smelled.

Your mother had hoped you'd grow to be an alpha. Your scent changing, and your behavior.

Or even that you would take on alpha characteristics, even while biologically being an omega.

But you were still the same at twenty as you were at twelve when puberty hit and you emerged as an omega.

You may have been more adult in appearance and a little more patient. But you were just the same in many other aspects.

You'd taken to Red Riot right away. Although you tried not to be the clingy omega everyone else typed you as.

You didn't think he was into you. Even as he'd pat your head, and stand just close enough to rub a little scent on you.

 He was Red Riot, after all. His face was all over the news, even as a first year in high school!

And you were...well, you.

Little did you know that he was just as taken.

But it wasn't just with your scent. You were gorgeous to him. And you were so kind with a smile that melted him. You'd made him so nervous the first time that he could only blurt out random facts. You found it endearing.

But none of this mattered to your family, especially your mother. 

Some forgave your nature due to picking up a top hero. At least you were bonded to someone with status.

Your mother, however, had been furious when she met him. Hero or not, there was simply no way your family could be the type to be owned by someone.

It didn't matter how many times you explained that Eijiro didn't own you. She pitched fits, started arguments. Banned him from the house. She even started to lock you out!

Eijiro tried to apologize, and break it off with you. For your own good. But an explanation on the matter made him understand that nothing he did was going to help.

Not to mention, you were already so in love with him and he with you that he was quick to move you in with him.

His roommate, Ground Zero aka Katsuki Bakugo, didn't mind. As long as you "cleaned your shit up and didn't fucking bother him". 

Getting your stuff was a different story.

You had to break into the house while everyone was away.

Luckily, the neighbors liked you and didn't call the cops.

Katsuki, Eijiro, and a few of your collective friends had you all moved out in a matter of hours.

The rest was history.

You knew your mother had been trying to find you for months. But you'd changed your number and gotten a new phone. Your hair was different now, and Eijiro bought you clothes you actually liked. 

You were everything you wanted to be. Everything your mother hated.

But Eijiro loved you more every day. Watching you grow and become the person you were meant to be. 

You were helping him grow too. And Katsuki, not like he'd ever admit it. But he did like you. And didn't mind having you as a roommate.

The trouble came a day in late autumn, both the alphas of the house were out. You were home alone, taking a week off for the impending nesting that was coming. 

Katsuki was at work, and Eijiro had taken the day off to be with you. He'd run to get some groceries and supplies to keep in your nest.

With you smelling like heat, he was afraid you'd get harassed if you when on your own.

You'd been meticulously fiddling with your nest all day. Trying to get it just right, and make it big enough for two.

You'd thought nothing of it when there was a knock on the door. You'd ordered food for when the guys got back.

But, instead of a delivery person, there stood your mother. Her face unreadable.

You tried to slam the door in her face but she stuck her shoe in. She shoved the door back open, and invited herself in. Pushing you back into the apartment.

"I finally found you. You gave us all quite the scare there." Her voice dripped with the same venom you'd heard villains shout at you with. "What the hell are you wearing? And look what you did to your lovely hair!"

"Get. Out." you growled. "You are not welcome in my home."

"Home?" she laughed. "Smells like a brothel in here. You little whore. I can smell more than just your…hero...here. Look what that little red rat has turned you into -"

"That's his roommate! He already lived here when I moved in! It's not like that!"

She started to open all the doors. "Right. That's what you say now, at least. You are just a needy little omega. Just a bitch in heat. And, sooner or later, you're going to want any alpha you can knot you. Maybe even a few of them at the same time - This your nest?"

Your mother shoved open the door to room that homed your nest. The scent of Eijiro flooding out. He'd gone a little overboard with the scenting.

"It looks warm...cozy... it'd be a shame if someone ruined it all."

You stood in the doorway glaring her down. "Don't you fucking -"

"Then come back home," she snapped, narrowing her eyes at you. "Drop that sickeningly sweet alpha. And move. Back. Home. We can teach you how to be an alpha. How to let people not push you around. Look - you let me walk straight into your apartment. And you haven't laid a finger on me!"

"That's because I know you. I use my quirk and you go to the press about your abusive hero child. You'll blacken my name."

"Would I ever -"

"Yes! You would! I remember when you didn't like uncle's second wife! You smudged her name, destroyed her reputation so much she went into hiding! - I'm not going to let you do that to me."

"So you're moving back, good. Pac -"

You took a step towards her. "I'm not moving back either!"

"Fine!" your mother shouted. "Be the pathetic, useless omega you are!"

Your mother had an air quirk, she could make tornados. She kicked one up in the small room, sending objects flying. You ducked as a poster Eijiro bought you flew towards you in its metal frame.

It landed and broke somewhere in the living room.

You dove, hiding behind the couch. More things came flying. You heard clanking and shattering. You covered your ears and pinched your eyes closed tightly, a sob welling up in your chest.

You didn't hear the front door open. You didn't see them come in. You didn't notice as it went quiet. 

Then a hand was on your arm. You screamed, the waves sending the person flying across the room. 

"Hey," the person coughed. "Hey, [Name], it's okay! I-I-It's me!"

You opened your eyes, spying Eijiro standing up from the kitchen floor.

"Eiji!" you yelled, launching yourself into his arms. That's when the big tears began to flow and the sobs started. "Sh-She - and I - omega - useless - nest -"

"Hey, easy, I'm here now," Eijiro cooed. He wrapped his arms around you and squeezed you tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I should've been here. It wasn't supposed to take that long. Wasn't very manly to leave you alone for so long. But I got mobbed by fans at the store. Katsuki came home early and called me, he's dealing with her...I've got you."

Eijiro rubbed on you, scenting you with the comfort pheromones pumping out of him. 

"You fucking bitch!" Katsuki roared. "I'll fucking kill you. - Doesn't matter if they aren't my mate. - You trashed my fucking house!"

You chuckled into Eijiro's chest. The pheromones finally starting to work.

"Get moving!" Katsuki yelled. You watched as he shoved her out the room towards the front door. He had your mother in power dampening cuffs. "I'll take her to the police. You're going away for vandalism and destruction of property. You crazy bitch!"

"This is your fault [Name]! I'll ruin you all. You'll never be 'heroes' again -" your mother shrieked.

Katsuki shoved her. "Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before. - Move!"

When they were out the door Eijiro chuckled, "And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids."

You chuckled, relaxing into Eijiro's embrace. But the damp, sad scent coming from you was undeniable.

"We'll fix it -"

You pulled away. "But she ruined everything. Come look."

You took his hand, guiding him to your nesting room. The tears came again as you looked around.

The pillows had stuffing bursting from them. The blankets were nothing more than shredded fabric and batting. Trinkets he bought you were broken and embedded in the walls. Picture frames were cracked, the glass shattered. Clothes were just tatters now.

You weren't getting that security deposit back.

"Everything is gone," you wheezed. 

Eijiro wrapped his arms around you, tucking your head under his chin. He held you tightly.

"I should've been here to stop this, I'm so sorry. - We'll fix it, I promise. We'll make it better."

~*~

MOMO YAOYOROZU

Momo was the kind of alpha every omega wanted. She was kind, patient, and overly nurturing.

Momo went a little crazy when it came to your nesting. She had an entire fucking treehouse built, and had dozens of the lushest blankets and pillows imported.

She was a spoiler.

Your happiness and comfort was her number one priority. Even if you begged her to stop spending so much on you. 

But Creati's love knew no bounds. Neither did her spending habits.

So it pained her when, after a lovely day together, she had to sit you down in your nest and break a bit of bad news.

"[Name] you know I love you, right?" Momo asked. You were curled up under her chin. Nose against the rose-scented gland in her neck.

You hummed, squeezing her tightly. She gently pushed you away. "Mocchan, what's wrong?"

She smoothed a hand through your hair. "I'm having some old classmates over for some really important hero business tomorrow."

"Oh," you muttered. "You don't want me around."

"It's not that I don't want you around!" she panicked. "It's just really important and top secret, and you...can't know what's going on. Not yet. And unless it's super important, we can't have any interruptions."

You nodded, a little sad. But you understood. It was crucial hero stuff. "Okay, Momo, I won't bother you guys. I'll stay in my nesting tree."

She smiled, wrapping you back up again. Momo was going to make sure she gave you extra love tonight. To make up for the following day.

The next morning, it was starting to get cloudy when Bakugo, Kirishima, and Todoroki showed up at Momo's door. 

You two had just finished brunch, so you went to hide in your nest. You had everything you needed to keep occupied in there.

Momo took the group to the dining room and shut all the doors. Then drew the curtains. If they were so sure their agencies were bugged, she didn't understand why they were having this meeting at her house.

Then again, it didn't really matter. Todoroki was a close friend, but it was more than that. The four of them went through hell together in high school. They'd go through hell together now.

They locked down, ready to plan for whatever was coming.

Momo made sure she sent food out to you. Cause she knew you'd forget to eat. While she had the house make tea and snacks for her and the guys.

They sat for hours, mauling over all the information they had.

The sky outside got darker and darker.

Before you knew it, it was thundering and lightening. The rain was sheeting down. The winds howled frighteningly outside.

It was dark out when you fell asleep. You didn't know what time.

Your tree rumbling and groaning woke you up sometime later though. Trinkets vibrated off the walls, crashing to the ground. 

You panicked, wanting it to stop. You didn’t know what was happening.

Then there was a huge CA-RACK and you along with everything in the room flew towards one wall. 

Before you knew it, you were covered by pieces of wood, glass shards, and ripped pillows. You could see the grass under you.

You groaned crawling out from the debris into the rain. Something sharp caught your calf and cut you all the way down. You hissed.

You stumbled into the open. The treehouse was in shambles. The tree split in half. And your darling nest and building were scattered all over the yard.

Nothing was salvageable. You would've cried if you weren't pumped full of adrenaline.

"Does this qualify as important?" you wondered aloud. But the stinging in your leg gave you the answer. You didn't want to look down at the cut. Too afraid of what you'd find.

You trailed blood, rain, and mud through the marble halls as you found the dining room. 

You could hear them inside, but couldn't understand what they were saying.

Your heart was pounding. You felt bad interrupting.

"Are you alright? - The mistress will want to know about this. I do believe that needs stitches," said the butler outside the door. His eyes were wide, staring at the gash on your leg.

You nodded, swallowing thickly. Then pushed open the door to pop your head in.

"Uh, Mocchan…" you muttered weakly.

Todoroki turned to you. His mouth settled into a hard line. His forehead creased in worry.

You smiled at him weakly and waved.

Two pairs of eyes watched you from the other side of the table. You didn't really know them, but you knew who they were.

You waved at them too.

Her back was to you. "[Name], I told you -"

Momo stopped as she turned to you. Her eyes grew wide at the blood trickling down your face.

Momo pulled you into the room. You whimpered at the sick pain shooting through your leg. She moved the papers around and sat you on the table.

"Are you okay? - Well obviously not. - Why do you look like this, [Name]? What happened?! I thought you were in the treehouse -"

You were caught off guard by a sob in your throat. "It's all gone."

"Gone?! What do you mean it's gone?!" Momo began to make gauze, a towel, and wipes for your leg. You hissed as she sopped up some blood then wiped the cut down. But she kept fumbling as she tried to wrap it. 

She couldn't take her eyes off the puddle of blood that had dripped on the floor.

"I - I don't know. The tree just...broke? And everything just…" You made an explosion noise. "It's all gone…"

The adrenaline pumping through Momo made her shakey. The gauze was just not wrapping.

"Dude, I think you should go to the hospital!" Kirishima said.

"Can I?" Todoroki asked.

He gestured to your leg, then glanced between the two of you. You both nodded. He put your foot on his stomach and began to wrap the cut up tightly.

Momo held your hand, not wanting to be away from you.

"Sorry I'm muddy," you muttered.

Todoroki shook his head. "It's fine, I wash. But you really should get to the er."

"But your meeting -"

"Screw the meeting," snapped the blonde behind you. "The three of us can stay here. Ponytail, get your omega to a doctor."

You pouted. "But Momo -"

Momo wrapped you immediately in her arms as Todoroki stepped away. She squeezed you tightly, her face pressing her face into your neck. "No, you're going. They're right. That looks bad. And we need to get your head looked. You could have a concussion."

"I'm sorry I got blood on the floor."

Momo laughed sadly. "Stop that. It's fine."

You wiped at the tears on her face as she pulled away. But it didn't help when you were wet from the rain.

Momo began wiping at your face too. She tried to absorb the blood trickling down your forehead.

"Let's get you a hospital."

Momo hauled you up on her back and piggybacked you out to the waiting car, although you offered to walk. 

She was tense and silent for the whole ride. Gripping your hand as though you might slip away from her.

You arrived and were quickly put up in a room.

When the doctor came in he checked you over, confirming the need for stitches on your leg. 

They simply cleaned up the cut on your forehead and used a bit of liquid stitch to keep it from bleeding again.

After your leg was stitched up, you were taken to be scanned and examined. 

"You're lucky," the doctor said, looking over your results. "No internal bleeding or injuries. No broken bones. No concussion. Just some strained muscles. You can go home tonight. Make sure you keep your leg clean, the stitches can come out in four to six weeks. I’ll caution you against strenuous activity in the meantime, you don’t want to tear those. We’ll send you with some pain medication, you can take it as instructed."

You weren't surprised at the verdict of nothing being broken. That was your quirk after all - indestructible bones. 

They were made of light but durable material with complex structures that made them very hard to break.

That didn't do much for your skin or organs though.

You and Momo thanked the doctor. The relief was visible on your alpha’s face.

She piggybacked you to the car again.

"You can sleep with my tonight, if you want to,” Momo said once you two were settled. She put an arm around you to tug you into a side hug. “I'm sorry you went through that alone. That must've been scary."

"We couldn't know that would happen," you whispered, hugging her back.

She kissed the top of your head. “We can rebuild, make everything better -”

“I’d rather have a room in the manor to make my nest. If that’s okay?”

You couldn’t see it, but Momo was crying again. “Of course. I want to keep you close.”

When you arrived back at the manor, you waited briefly on a couch outside of the dining room. Momo was catching up with what the guys had come up with.

They wished you well before leaving.

“Let’s go get you cleaned up.” Momo guided you to her bathroom and ran a bath in the large clawfoot tub.

You undressed and climbed in, then Momo did the same. You leaned back against her, her chin on your shoulder. 

The warm water untensed all your knotted muscles.

Momo held you closely. “I promise, I’ll never leave you alone again.”

~*~

MINA ASHIDO

Mina loved Denki to death, he was one of her best friends. But he just did not treat his poor omega right.

Mina thought she could do it better.

She'd wanted to court you long before Denki did. She was just too nervous. 

What if you didn't want a female alpha?

Honestly, she seared with jealousy when you came into work freshly scented like him.

You were happy. So that made her happy.

But your rose colored glasses didn't last long. Mina saw through your facade immediately.

You didn't smile as brightly whenever Chargebolt came in.

You didn't happily call him "alpha" as you'd done before.

In fact, you nearly hid every time you saw him.

And it didn't take long before Mina saw why - Denki seemed to think omega was equal to pack mule who bends to every whim.

He made you carry his stuff, then would pat your head and baby talk you.

He was always having you get stuff. And brag about how good you were. But complain that you were whinier than he'd expected.

Mina hadn't heard you complain about his actions once!

She didn't think it was her place to tell you to break up with him. But all the hints she tried to slip Denki about how he was treating you went in one ear and out the other.

She wasn't the only one to see it either. But she was the only one who bothered to help.

It pained her to watch you. To see you struggling to keep a smile on.

"I don't think it works like that," you told her when Mina finally told you to cut it off. "I don't think omegas can break it off with alphas."

"You are a strong, independent omega, [Name]," Mina scolded. "You need to stand up for yourself. You can do whatever you want. You're still your own person."

Honestly, you hadn't really even wanted Denki as your alpha. But no one else had shown an interest in you. Especially not Mina. Not in your mind, anyway.

Mina had been the one you wanted to court you. But Denki came along first. And he was kind of pushy.

So you accepted. It didn't take you long to regret it.

Nothing about it felt right. You felt like a maid, not a mate. You were pretty sure that wasn't what an alpha was supposed to make you feel like.

Denki couldn't even relax you. He didn't seem like he wanted to help you with your issues at all. 

In fact, he made it all worse.

Denki had even invited himself and his friends to your apartment. Only giving you a day's notice.

He wasn't going to help with food or cleaning. He laughed and said that you could figure it out.

You were at your wits end.

You were Starlight, one of the top heroes in your agency. Not a doormat.

Still, you scrambled to clean. Mina came over to help. You tried to get food and snacks together. You updated your gaming system. Pulled out any movies and board games you could find.

Your house was visitor friendly by the time the weekend rolled around.

You'd never actually met three people who came. But you knew of them. Each being heroes that were in class with Mina and Denki during high school. 

You'd also run into them when you were out with Denki. But he didn't have the courtesy to introduce you.

They introduced themselves as Bakugo, Kirishima, and Sero.

"Are you sure you're cool with this?" Kirishima asked, lingering in the doorway. Denki was already being loud with the other two.

"Would you shut up? We just got here," Bakugo snapped.

You shrugged. "I guess I have to be. Right?"

Kirishima's face twisted up into something between disapproving and pitying.

He hesitated before going into the living room. You saw him speak briefly with Mina. Their eyes flicking to you every now and then.

"I didn't know you had all these, Denk," Sero noted, flipping through your game library.

Denki shrugged coolly. "Yeah, you know -"

"Don't let him fool you," Mina interrupted. "Those are [Name]'s. Denki doesn't even have the newest generation console."

"Yeah, Denki's is an old brick," you joked.

"Baabbbee," he whined.

The guys chuckled, and you caught Denki's face flush red.

"Whatever, it's not that impressive," he huffed and stalked off to the kitchen.

You watched quietly after.

"You guys can play whatever you want," you offered. "I don't get to very often. So don't worry about copying over any saves. - Denki did that on the one game I did play…"

You trailed off awkwardly, earning you weird looks. 

"I'll get snacks." 

Mina trailed after you when there was a crash. 

Denki was standing in the middle of the kitchen, staring at the plate of food he dropped.

"Uh, sorry. You mind cleaning that up? Thanks. Oh and don't forget to bring out some sodas for everyone. Love you!" Then he ran to join Sero and Bakugo in the living room.

"I'll help you," Mina said, and you pointed her to the broom closet.

"That was super unmanly," Kirishima noted, grabbing some paper towels. "Does he always do this?"

"Uh, n -" you stuttered.

"All. The. Time," Mina groaned quietly.

You sighed, taking a few paper towels. "Mina, don't -"

"But you don't deserve to be treated this way!" She aggressively swept across the kitchen.

"Mina's got a point, dude. He's my friend, but it's super uncool of him -"

"The hell happened here?" Bakugo grunted. 

"Denki." You three said in unison.

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "You got anything to drink?"

"I was going to - I can -" you started, beginning to stand. You hissed as a piece of plate cut your palm.

"I can get it myself, just tell me where it's at. I'm a grownass adult."

Mina stood carefully. "I'll get you a band-aid. Bathroom cabinet, right?"

You nodded at her, then pointed to the fridge. "Whatever I have is in there. Sorry it's not much. I wasn't sure what you all liked and Denki refused to go to the store with me -"

"He's kind of a crappy alpha, isn't he?" Sero asked joining the party in your small kitchen. "Don't worry. He's watching a tutorial on how to play the game."

"You know, if you're not happy with him, you can dump his dumb ass," Bakugo noted. He tossed Sero a soda can. "Just because he's an alpha doesn't mean that he gets to decide everything."

Kirishima stood and dumped the paper towels of food you'd both collected in the trash can, before washing his hands. "Yeah, it's your relationship too."

He then grabbed the broom and began sweeping.

"He's our friend but he's being an idiot, we're on your side." Sero gave you a grin and a thumbs up.

"Uh, thanks, guys," you muttered.

"I finally found you a bandage," Mina announced. "Let me see your hand."

You stood and put your hand in hers, palm up. The touch put you at ease.

"It doesn't look too bad. Let's clean you up."

You let her lead you to the sink and wash your hand. Then she dried it and put antiseptic ointment on it before sticking the band-aid over it.

Your whole body filled with heat as she kissed the back of your hand. Then she grinned at you.

The guys could feel and smell the shift as soon as Mina started taking care of you. 

It was unvocalized but unanimous - you needed to dump Denki for Mina.

Once the kitchen was clean again, everyone crowded the living room. 

"Hey, babe, it's kind of chilly. You got any blankets?" Denki asked.

You shook your head. "No."

"But I'm coollldd," Denki groaned.

"I haven't washed blankets in a while."

He groaned, but conceded as you sat close to him. 

After a bit, your body heat didn't seem to be effective enough for him.

Denki got up and disappeared. You didn't think anything of it.

No until he came out into the living room a few minutes later with a pile of pillows and blankets. Special ones. 

Your heart stopped. "D-Denki...where did you get those?"

"These? Oh - the second bedroom. So much for not having any clean -"

You bolted to the spare room. You couldn't believe your eyes. You sank to the ground. He'd ruined the carefully crafted nest you'd been building for years.

"Hey, [Name], are you okay?" Mina asked softly behind you.

"My nest," you uttered. Tears welled up, threatening to spill. 

Mina put a hand on your shoulder. Getting immediately what you meant.

"Hey, babe, can you -" Denki started.

You shot him a glare. He stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked incredulously.

"You ruined their nest, idiot!" Mina snapped. A glare beaming from her dark eyes. "What the fuck is your problem, Denki?! You have like...the most perfect omega, and this is how you treat them?!"

Your heart leapt, heat rushing into your face at the words.

"What're you talking about? [Name] is happy to -"

"No," you sobbed. "I'm not. I'm not your maid. I'm supposed to be your mate. But…"

"You treat [Name] like garbage!" Mina kneeled to wrap an arm around your shoulders. 

"But you're my omega -" he started, a little desperation in his voice.

"No!" you yelled. "Not...not anymore. We're done. Just - get out!"

"But -"

"Out!" Your eyes flashed a deadly shade of blue-white.

You leaned into Mina. She sighed, and held you tightly. She was pumping out comfort pheromones.

You eased right away. Nothing like this had happened with Denki.

"Fine. C'mon guys, let go -" he started.

"Not them," you sniffled. "Just you. They can stay if they want."

Denki held a smug face until he realized no one was going with him. "Oh come on guys!"

"Sorry, dude," Sero said awkwardly.

Kirishima shrugged. "But you did kind of treat them like dirt."

"You're a dumbass," Bakugo snapped, not even looking up from the game. "You fried your brain one too many times."

Denki looked like he wanted to say something snarky.

"Denki, dude. You fucked up," Mina said over her shoulder. "Just...leave. You already ruined [Name]'s nest."

"Fine!" he pouted and slammed the front door as he left.

"Can I see your phone, please?" Mina asked softly. You handed it to her, just in time to have Denki call. He was too predictable. She rejected the call and blocked his number. 

“I guess I can always rebuild it,” you muttered. “I need to wash everything. It reeks like him.”

Mina nodded. “I’ll help.”

You and Mina spent the day washing all the sheets and shirts and blankets that had been in your nest.

You were more content around her than you’d been in a while. You hadn’t realized that she didn’t mind you being glued to her side.

Even when she made sure to stay late into the night so you could finish your nest. 

You didn’t even question letting her in, it felt like the most natural decision in the world.

~*~

[mcyt-amber-tftsmp]

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭... 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟... {𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐛 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫}

Request?: HeartsYeallow

Character: Ranbob

Side Character(s): Basically the rest of The Lost City of Mizu cast

Story-type: Starts out platonic but it's mainly Angst and a bit of fluff Romance but not too much

Story Length: 3455 words

AU or Not: AU of sorts but Ranbob being in his enderwalk when he went full-murder on the fishermen

Time Period: Future basically

Plot Summary: It the incident where Ranbob killed the fisher men but Y/n tagged along while the four were mostly exploring Y/n actually got to know Ranbob a bit then when Y/n saw he killed Cletus I believe she came to be uh scared but still knows hes not doing it and such, anyway time skip when its just Isaac, Charles and Y/n are the only one left alive and Ranbob trapped them but Y/n rushed her self to Ranbob and snapped him out of his murderous mind— and saving the others and she told the two to go ahead and leave Mizu and she'll catch up with and she talked to him and comforted him in a way

Small Info: Ranbob has the enderstate where he does things he doesn't know he does like the murders- and he didn't open up with anybody til Y/n come and her friends came to mizu also Y/N is like Isaac's little sister who's younger by two years with Isaac being 22 years old and everything else

Keywords:

Y/N = Your Name

Trigger Warning:

- Burning To Death Twice - Slight Blood - Small Panic Attack - Repeated Words - Mentions Of Death

Normal Warning: Cringey as heck-

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Y/N's Point of View~

The only thing I could see outside while walking around the place was just water and the aquatic life going on with it's lives in water. Now people might be wondering, where the heck am I exactly? Well you see we are currently exploring an underwater city called the City of Mizu which happens to be the Underwater City of Beauty and they got the beauty part pretty much right!

Basically what happened is that my older brother, Isaac took me with his three friends to wherever they usually go until I found this book lying on the ground which talked about Mizu. So we basically decided to go over to explore the area and while doing so we met an enderman hybrid named Ranbob.

From what I know about him is that he's pretty socially awkward considering when he met us he was a bit nervous when he introduced himself and Cletus was practically making him uncomfortable by sniffing him or doing something which was annoying him. I would sometimes yell at Cletus to stop it saying that he's making him uncomfortable.

I mostly tagged along with Ranbob while Isaac, Cletus, Charles and Benji were exploring and walking around the place. I was able to get to know him a bit more which actually helped him talk to me freely without getting nervous or something.

He was actually a really nice guy even if he looked pretty intimidating and all. What I liked most was his heterochromatic eyes which on his right side was yellow and on the other it was purple. He was also pretty tall and handsome- okay moving on!

Yeah I may or may not have somehow fallen in love with him too. I don't know what it is but I guess I could say it was just us basically having a conversation together and getting to know each other so well and maybe it's his voice cause it's pretty calming and I like it. His voice is something I could fall asleep to if I wanted.

Right now we were just walking around in the library. My brother and his friends ran off somewhere looking through somethings while i was looking through names of books trying to see which one I could read and that was when a certain book caught my eye.

The cover of the book was black and it look slightly dusty like it hasn't ever been touched by anyone. I slowly took the book out of the shelf carefully so as to not accidentally make the other books drop from the shelf. I then dusted away the small dust particles as I looked at the book.

"The Enderstate?" I said in a small questioning and confused tone.

"I see you found this book." I heard a voice behind me which made me slightly jump as I looked to see it was Ranbob as I left out a huge sigh of relief.

"Oh it's just you and I did I guess? Do you know what's it about?" I asked as he stayed silent for a bit before he spoke.

"Well... How do I put this into words?" He said while looking pretty hesitant.

"The Enderstate or Enderwalk is similar to sleepwalking or dissociation, where endermen hybrids like me have little awareness of surroundings, and it may last for hours at a time. You could say that... we do things we don't intend on doing at times and we don't have control of ourselves in the process. You would have to knock or slap them back to reality... if it's possible." He said explaining as I listened though I did notice the slight nervousness in his voice which I shook off thinking it was nothing.

It was something pretty interesting to know considering I have never known about this. I eventually put the book back in its place as Ranbob continued with the tour. Later Isaac found small lever key which lead to a tree dome.

Isaac handed the key to Ranbob who led us down the hallway to a closed room. I saw Ranbob place the lever key in its place as he pulled it down as the door slowly opened to reveal a glass dome which consisted of a huge tree in the middle.

I stood awed as I looked at the tree. It was really beautiful. Isaac and his friends were just looking around the place as I stood in place but after a while I realized that Ranbob was nowhere near me. I didn't even know where and when he ran off.

I snapped back from my thoughts when I heard my brother yell as he pointed towards the tree saying that there is a chest on top of it. We were all trying to figure out on who would climb the tree to get the chest. We then decided that Cletus should go over to retrieve whatever was inside the chest.

As Cletus was about to go up, I heard Benji say something which made Cletus come back as they argued and Charles was trying to calm them down. I then heard Isaac say if I had seen Ranbob in which I shook my head since I had no clue where he was.

Then after a few minutes Cletus reached the semi-top of the tree saying he found the chest as he slowly opened it. Isaac asked what it said in their but then something caught my eye. I thought it was nothing but then I heard a voice which I recognized very well.

"People don't live after coming here. They die." I heard Ranbob said as he jumped down from God knows where as I noticed the fire on top of the tree.

"Is it on fire?!" I heard Isaac exclaim looking at the tree and looked at Cletus who was cornered at the edge of the tree.

Charles and Benji were telling Cletus to drop the book and to jump down but then I saw how Cletus was set on fire as Ranbob then pushed him back only for Cletus to fall to his death. I stood stunned and scared as I looked at Ranbob with fear but then I realized something.

What if he was in the enderstate? He wouldn't do this in general, right?! I had so many thoughts running through my mind but it was interrupted as Isaac grabbed my arm and ran out of the room. I was about to say something but he already pulled down the lever to trap Ranbob in the tree room.

Isaac read the book as he led us down to wherever we are supposed to go. After a few, we came to a room which had lava but there was something on top of the wall. Benji said that he would be the one to retrieve what was inside the chest as he jumped on the stone platforms as he slowly parkoured his way there.

I was too scared to look considering he was taking a huge risk parkouring over the platforms and if he accidentally missteps he will fall and burn in lava. I looked over at him to see he was doing fine and he was just two steps away from reaching the place.

But I may have spoken too soon cause I don't know what happened but Benji somehow tripped over the last step and fell towards the flowing hot lava. I saw Isaac running after him as he reached out a hand but it was too late. I choked back tears as I saw witnessed Benji burning to death. There was nothing we could do.

Then I saw Isaac give his books and other things he had to Charles saying that he was going to get to the top to retrieve the item in the chest. I widened my eyes. I couldn't lose him. He was the only family I had after our parents died.

"Isaac no! Please I can't lose you!" I said as Isaac gave me a hug.

"I will be okay just hold on for me okay. I promise." he said letting go as he took a deep breath and jumped onto the first platform.

I was shaking as he slowly parkoured over to the platforms. He looked pretty hesitant and scared knowing one wrong step and he will die. By the time I knew it he took the last step and reached the chest. I saw him take out something from the chest which looked like a lever key.

Isaac was saying that it was the final room key which could help us escape. Then he said that he was going to jump down from the slightly huge height as Charles said he would catch him. he took a deep breath as he jumped down and somewhat landed in Charles' arms as he fell backwards.

"Are you okay?" I asked as Isaac stood up only to slightly limp as I looked over at his foot to see that it was slightly bleeding.

"Not really but I will be fine. Are you alright Charles?" He asked looking over at the younger boy who nodded.

"Yeah just a little hurt in the head but overall okay." He said as he gave back Isaac's things as Isaac led us to the new room.

Isaac put the lever in it's place but stepped back a bit. I looked over to see he was looking really light headed as I helped him breathe as Charles helped. I could imagine that was very scary and the fact that we saw both our friends burn to death.

But I was still thinking if Ranbob was in his enderstate cause I don't think he would do something like this. Isaac told Charles to flip the switch but he then suddenly interrupted him form doing so as he said somethings.

"Okay I don't know what is in there but no matter what? We are gonna make it... For Cletus and Benji okay?" He said as Charles and I nodded.

Isaac then pulled down the lever as we entered the final room. The room was very unusual considering the amount of diamond armor was lined up on both sides of the walls along with diamond swords placed behind them.

The room was also decorated with green pillars and obsidian like walls. There were a few barrels and chests placed on the sides but they were all empty according to Isaac. Then he went over towards the white tiled steps which led to a glass window. I followed behind him to see what it was.

Behind the glass room was a marble statue of a man who wore armor and had a sword hung from the sides. The armor design was slightly hidden by the cape and he happened to wear a white mask. Charles then came up behind us to see what we were looking at.

"What the heck is that?!" He said as he looked at the statue.

"What is this...?" Isaac said looking at it.

"That is the weirdest thing I have ever seen..." Charles said.

"Looks like a cave." Isaac said as he looked over at a small opening from across the room which was definitely an exit.

I then heard small footsteps as I looked behind me to see Ranbob coming over with a netherite sword in his hands and he looked slightly dazed but I don't think anyone noticed that. I started to think this was something to do with the enderwalk state.

I looked over to see Isaac and Charles panicking like mad saying things about how he killed Cletus and all the other things that have happened recently. I seriously just stood and watched in shock.

"Everyone here had an idol that they worshipped. That's why the rooms were all themed like one of the idols from the past." He said stopping for a bit as Isaac spoke.

"Is yours Ranboo-" He was saying until he got interrupted.

"And mine was Dream!" He said I looked at him and then back at the window to look at the statue.

"Is that this man?" Isaac said coming towards the glass gesturing towards the statue as I noticed Ranbob coming towards us.

"Yes. Like I said nobody-" Ranbob responded in a monotone voice but was interrupted.

"Was Dream a good man?" Isaac asked slightly scared as he held onto my arm as Ranbob paused taking in his question.

"Yes yes he was a very good man..." He said as Isaac broke the glass as he stepped dragging me with him as he slowly let go but made sure I was near him.

"... Depending on what you think good is..." he said as Charles came in the room backing away from Ranbob who slowly came behind him.

"Nobody- nobody leaves here..." He said as I saw him coming slowly towards Charles.

"What do you mean nobody leaves here...?" he said as I saw Ranbob raising his sword and was about to strike Charles.

I couldn't let this happen so I broke into a sprint as I pushed Charles out of the way. I heard Isaac scream my name as I looked to see the sword about to hit me but I was quick enough to stop him as I grabbed him by the wrist with both my hands to stop him from hitting me but he was pushing back with a greater strength.

"Are you seriously asking for a death wish Y/N?! If so then that's what you will be getting." I heard Ranbob say as I felt my right arm burn in pain as I saw five claw marks as blood started to pool out from the freshly cut skin. I yelped in pain as tears welled up in my eyes but that didn't stop me.

"N-No... But I know the real Ranbob won't do this! Wake up! Just f***ing wake up Ranbob!" I yelled at him as tears streamed down my face as I made out the shocked expression on Ranbob's face.

I quickly kicked him on the knees with my foot as he lost his balance and that gave me the chance to punch him in the jaw as he fell to the ground slightly hitting his head first. I was at this point panting and breathing too hard. I thought I was going to die.

I looked over at Charles and Isaac who were shocked and confused. Then I looked at the sword as I kicked it out of sight. Then I heard a small groan as I looked over to see Ranbob slowly sitting up as he rubbed the side of his head with his right hand.

"W-what happened? Where-" He stopped himself as he had a look of realization as he noticed the netherite sword on the side and the fresh claw marks on front arm.

"D-did I-I... What did I do...?" He said looking pretty scared.

"What do you mean 'what did I do'?! You literally killed Cletus and nearly killed-" I heard Isaac yell as I stopped him.

"Isaac stop! He was enderwalking! He wasn't in control of himself and didn't know what he was doing!" I yelled back which made him stop as he in shock.

Then I heard heavy breathing beside me to see Ranbob looking down on his knees while his hands were over on the side of his head. He looked like he was having a panic attack and this made me worried.

"No no no no no no no. Not again not again not again. Please no I can't..." I heard him whisper repeatedly as he was in tears.

I looked over at Charles and Isaac who seemed to look at him in slight pity and worry. I knelt down to Ranbob's level as I put a gentle hand on his left hand hoping it would clam him down. I then looked at the two.

"Isaac? Take Charles with you and go ahead. I will catch up to you guys later." I said and I could tell Isaac was going to protest but Charles put a hand on Isaac's shoulder as he stopped and went over leaving both me and Ranbob alone in the room.

"Ranbob? Please look at me..." I said as he was still in tears as he slowly looked up but didn't make eye contact with me. He looked so broken that it made me want to cry.

"Ranbob calm down... it's alright." I said trying to reassure him but it seemed to make him upset.

"How is this okay Y/N?! I killed one of your brother's friend and the other died trying to help you guys get out and I nearly killed Isaac and Charles in here! I hurt you and nearly killed you!" He yelled out in frustration as he broke down in tears again.

I gave him a huge hug as he wasted no time to hug me back as he buried his head in my shoulder as i could feel it getting wet due to his tears. How long has this been happening? Was this the reason he was very nervous when he met us? He was scared that he would kill us.

"It's not your fault... You weren't in control of yourself..." I said as I could feel him lift his head as he looked at me.

"How can it not be my fault when I hurt and nearly killed the one girl I loved the most!?" He exclaimed as I looked at him shocked after hearing what he said.

He... loved me...? I didn't know what to say other than blush at his words. I looked at him to see his head down as he was scared to look at me thinking I was not going to return my feelings. I understood why he might be thinking this considering the things he has done. I hugged him back as he flinched at my sudden action.

"It's okay Ranbob... I love you too. It's okay." I said and I could tell he was in shock from my response not even expecting it.

He then slowly pushed me away form the hug as he made him face me and then he slowly leaned as he connected his lips with mine, kissing me. I slowly kissed back as I used my hands to slowly move away the tears from his face.

We gradually pulled away as he gently pressed his head against mine while I had my hand on the side of his head. I hated seeing anyone sad especially Ranbob. We sat in silence as we stayed in the same position.

"Please don't leave me..." I heard him choke out as I let out a small sigh.

"I promise i won't... I will always come back to you..." I said closing my eyes as we continued to stay the way we were.

"Things will get better for you Ranbob." I finished saying.

I prayed things would get better. I know they would!

I believe in him.

I love him so much for this.

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[come-on-shitty-boys]

//arranged marriage headcannons//

Characters: Bokuto Koutarou/Sakusa Kiyoomi/Oikawa Tooru because I couldn’t resist him being a prince too

Request: Arranged Royal Marriage!AU Scenarios with Bo and Omi cause we self indulgent af- 😂

Warnings: some swearing

Word Count: 1.5K (~500 a piece)

Notes: Bokuto may have approximately 37 weakness, but I have one and that’s Royalty AUs

Bokuto Koutarou

Oh, he was excited

Finding someone to sit on the throne beside him had been stressing him out since he was 15, so when his parents told him that he had been arranged to marry someone from one of the neighboring kingdoms since birth?  He was relieved. 

He was counting down the days until he would meet you for the first time, but it was still a little wild to him that the first time he’d be meeting you, he would also be getting married?

But, the life of a prince, you know?  And he was just glad that the hard part had been done for him.

Things are a little rocky at the start of your relationship, for sure.  You two were raised very differently and tended to butt heads.  He was still pretty young at only 18, so this prince liked to have his fun, riding around the countryside and neglecting his important duties with some of his most trusted knights.

You, however, were brought up more refined and preferred to focus on your royal day to day routine before doing more of the fun things around the palace.

But, one night as the two of you were laying in bed, just getting to know each other, you had mentioned that you had never gone horse-back riding.  

WELL, Prince Koutarou was not about to have that.  So, here he is, pulling you out of bed at 2 a.m. to take you down to the stables and show you one of his favorite pastimes. 

When I say it was a disaster, I mean it was an absolute fucking disaster.

It started off fine.  You were sitting in front of him so he could hold on to you to make sure that you didn’t fall.  

And you didn’t!

But, he sure as hell did.  He always rode bareback, but because you were riding in front of him, he had to sit further back and uhhhhhh poor prince just slipped right tf off.

You, of course, wanted to stop and check if he was okay, but one problem.  You know nothing about horses.  How did you stop this thing?  Did you just jump off and hope the horse would stop?  Did you say, “Stop”?  You weren’t really even sure how to steer.

Thankfully, Bokuto’s got a pretty loud voice, so he was able to call his horse to a halt as he pulled himself off the ground, limping towards you because the poor baby definitely hurt himself from that fall.

But, he helps you down and decides that maybe you guys should just walk back to the palace.  So, he’s got a hand holding onto the reins of his horse while his other arm is slung around your shoulders for support so he doesn’t further injure himself.

He did eventually teach you how to ride though and when both of you are feeling restless and can’t sleep, you’ll go on midnight rides around the grounds together, sometimes going down to the lake in the woods to skip rocks or play around in the water like little kids.

It does take a while, but you two warm up to one another and form a genuine loving relationship.  He’s a really fun, kind-hearted prince and becomes an even better king to his people

Sakusa Kiyoomi

ANGRY BOY

Okay, he’s not super mad, but he’s definitely less than pleased about finding out that he’s engaged to someone he hasn’t even met.  

He’ll demand to meet with you before the official wedding, stating very clearly that if he doesn’t like you, he will call off the entire thing and just be a lone monarch.  And that’s no empty threat and his parents are well aware of that, so they agree to his terms and arrange for you to arrive a month before the actual ceremony for the two of you to meet and get to know each other a little better before actually getting married.

Kiyoomi didn’t know what he was expecting, but he was not expecting his possible bride-to-be to trip out of her carriage and stumble into his arms.  He certainly was not expecting you to laugh and look up at him and say-

“Looks like I’ve already fallen for you.”

He would’ve dropped you right then and there if it wasn’t rude.

No, I’m kidding.  He thought it was kind of funny, because he found himself laughing along at your cheesy joke.  

Honestly, you were really glad that Prince Kiyoomi requested to meet before the wedding.  The idea of having to move to a whole new kingdom and marry a complete stranger all in one day had you worried and fighting a number of anxieties.  

He would show you all over the kingdom and the castle grounds, but the two of you would frequently find yourself tucked away in the library, telling stories about your respective homes.

The way that your eyes lit up when he would ask you about the history of your kingdom or the bright smile that took over your face when you’re telling him about your favorite shops in the village?

Oh he’s smitten now.  It’s the level of love and respect that you hold for your own kingdom that makes him believe that you would treat this new home the exact same way.  

Scandalous premarital hand holding in the gardens while you’re hidden under the boughs of a willow tree?  Where the two of you are just sitting on a bench, making jokes or making plans for the future and he just sorta . . .  takes your hand? And places a little kiss on your knuckles??  Yeah that’s the good shit right there.

His kingdom’s number one export is precious metals so that got incorporated into his wedding attire.  Like, oh, I don’t know, a black tux with silver and gold embroidery yeah i’m looking at you elle

Oikawa Tooru

He’s not mad, but he’s not happy about it either. 

Tooru sees this as his parents not having faith in him to pick a partner who would be good for the whole of the kingdom.

In reality?  It was a political move.  You were from one of the more powerful kingdoms in the land, so it made sense that the two of you should be united for a physical representation of the new alliance between the two nations.

He moped about it for weeks after the wedding, which only led to you being unhappy as well and writing to your family about how miserable you were with your new husband.  

Your parents were furious, thinking that your new family wasn’t treating you right.  They were close to ending the alliance right then and there, taking you back, and going to war.  Poor Tooru really almost started a whole ass war smh

But, his parents pretty much told him to get over himself and deal with it, because it had already been done and he couldn’t get out of it.

So, Prince Tooru actually took the time to get to know you and?? You were actually?? Really interesting?  Amazing what giving someone a chance will do huh tooru

You both had a very similar interest in novels and would often find yourselves droning on and on for hours about the meanings of certain passages

There’s a lot of just sitting in silence to read together or sitting in his office and reading to him while he worked on whatever he needed to get done for the day.  

Once he’s warmed up to you, he’s a complete tease, but only within the confines of the castle, because that’s filthy and we can’t have that

But, Prince Tooru is full of shit, so the time will come for the two of you to actually have your first kiss and he’s a flustered mess

Like, I’m talking red faced, not looking at you because he’s embarrassed.  He’s never done this before? How are you so calm? He’s convinced that his heart is going to jump out of his chest and you’re just smiling happily at him? 

I promise, this happens before all of your firsts.  First time you hold hands?  His palms are kinda sweaty and every time he remembers that he’s holding your hand he’s panicking internally

But he’s convinced that he looks cool and collected he doesn’t

But it’s fine, because you think it’s kinda cute and it makes you feel better because you’re just as nervous as he is.  You just hide it a lot better.

Please take care of Prince Tooru.  His people have always seen him unfit to lead because of a past injury that never properly healed.  But, it was only because he worked too hard for his kingdom.  He’s a really kind ruler and just wants what’s best for his people.