#his grandmother just passed recently. he was close. and the girl pretended to go on a date to make him jealous

[rainswings]

It breaks me, sometimes, when I hear about the dreams of my coworkers. One of the men who runs checkout stands went to art school and dropped out because he realized he couldn't make it, couldn't let art become a job, but fell for a girl there so hard, so deeply, she's now halfway across the world doing grad school and going to be an art conservationist, and before having this conversation and hearing this information I'd never seen so much happiness in his face, than when he spoke about how wonderful a job that is. I asked him what he drew, and he produced a little pocketbook full of the most intricate penwork, the berserk sword drawn in such detail I could feel the scrape and rough of the metal, chipped out with little black holes I thought I might fall into.

He's accepted this is his forever job, being a checkout clerk. He's willing to love a girl he won't see for years. I would break bones for him.

[the-void-writes]

“I saw you staring out of your own abyss again”

I want to thank you so much because you got me to actually write Vesely’s backstory 💖 So sorry if it’s a bit long, but the prompt really inspired me 🥰

TW: Implied child death

Freaks of Preston - Angels

“You’re doing it again.”

Gabe pressed his head against the window, watching the swing set in the backyard rock back and forth in the wind. He had only just built it, and yet the wood was starting to split.

“Doing what?” Gabe asked.

“Disappearing.” Vivian slowly twisted her cigarette in the ashtray, unblinking and permanently misty-eyed. “Into your mind, where I can’t follow.”

“You don’t need to be in there.”

“Right.”

He turned to look at her, frozen stiff on the couch. “Are you looking for an apology?”

“I don’t blame you.”

Her voice was so hollow, so flat, that they could both tell she was lying. She clutched her handkerchief tighter… No, Gabe thought, it looks too soft. It was a blanket, the embroidered one they bought for Paisley on her first birthday. Vivian had fished it out of the closet.

“We chose her spot,” she said, mostly to herself. “Right next to Grandmother. She would have loved her.”

Gabe closed his eyes, but she kept speaking.

“My parents are coming early to help set things up, and your sisters agreed to—”

“Of course, they did.”

He didn’t need to know what their excuse was. His family was only coming to reassess the plan, to convince him to try again. Someone in the family needed to pass on the genes, or else Father’s dream would be ruined. Gabe had never understood his desire for an all-Freak world until recently… after watching his daughter from the other side of the flames.

Everyone needed to change, for the good of the world. For all the future Paisleys.

“I’m leaving.”

Gabe opened his eyes, and they both caught each other’s gaze for the first time in a week.

“Why?” he asked.

“I thought I could keep going like this, for our little angel… But it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Viv, what are you talking about?”

She took out another cigarette and lit it, another layer of smoke and misery in their facade of a home.

“I’m not the brightest, I know, but I’m still observant. You could have chosen any girl in college, and you went with me.” She took a long, dull drag. “Because I’m a Freak like you.”

He didn’t try to argue. It wasn’t worth it.

“Paisley was the reason I stayed. There’s nothing else for us.”

“Viv—”

“What?” She glared at him. “Change my mind.”

Gabe could only sigh. It wasn’t fair to her, to keep her when she knew the truth. His vision for the future was being overshadowed by the small part of himself that may have truly loved her.

“I won’t stop you.”

Vivian relaxed her shoulders, surprised by his answer. She silently got up and walked upstairs, while Gabe stared at the rotting swing set once more, unwilling to think about the new plan he would have to make.

——————

The grocery store was oddly quiet, but Gabe preferred it that way. No families to walk around, no children running back and forth in the aisles. Just him and his thoughts, which had been his only real means of conversation since Vivian left after the funeral.

His family had left him alone, as well. Most likely, his father had labeled him a failure and moved on to his other two siblings for hope. It was becoming harder to care about what his father thought of him.

Gabe reached for a box on the shelf without looking, and ended up grabbing someone’s hand.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” the stranger said.

He was ready to trudge his way through another social interaction, to pretend to be the nice man down the street, but something was different this time. Never before had his heart pounded so furiously at the sight of someone.

The man was tall and rather pale, with eyes like ice over a shallow lake. His hair was the color of a fine red wine, running all the way down to his shoulders. The soft, shy smile on his face held more warmth than anything Gabe had ever witnessed before. This man was the living embodiment of an angel.

“Please, pardon me,” he said. “I’m afraid I’m a bit distracted today.”

Gabe shook himself awake. “Hey, you’re not alone.”

It still felt weird to speak so informally, but it was the decision he had made the same day he changed his name. No one could ever connect him to Paisley or Vivian, or his second chance at life would be ruined.

“Must be going around, right?”

He pointed to the box they had both reached for, a single package of children's cold syrup. Gabe had reached for it out of instinct.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He waved the box aside. “You can have it, I don’t know why I was reaching for it.”

“Oh, well thank you.”

Gabe watched him place the box in his cart, which was full of baby formula and diaper packs.

“Kids?” he asked, kicking himself for not being clearer.

“Huh— Oh, they’re for my neighbors! Dale broke his arm, so I’m grabbing stuff for his wife until he recovers.”

“You’re their errand boy, then.”

The man laughed, and Gabe thought it was a noise befitting for an angel like him.

“It’s not that bad. I love helping their family.” His voice faltered slightly. “They’re much nicer.”

Gabe could read his sad eyes like a book. “Believe me, I get it. Some places are nicer than the one you came from.”

“That’s very true.”

The man smiled right at him, and Gabe thought the world was shifting under his feet.

“Well, thank you for the medicine. Sorry for taking up your time.”

Without thinking, Gabe stuck out his hand before the man could walk away.

“I’m Phil,” he said, easily giving his new name.

The man shook his hand gently. “Jason.”

“Jason… Would you want to walk?”

He wasn’t ready for him to leave yet. Not when the world around them finally felt real, like waking up from a long dream. Gabe was pleased to see a light shade of pink covering Jason’s face and he hid a nervous smile.

“I would love to.”

And for the first time since Vivian and Paisley had left him, Gabe felt himself smile.

[darkmulti]

(Yandere and non con warning)

Def not the only one who wants a 18th century h.c of possessive and controlling, husband!Jungkook x forced wife!reader. Jungkook gets jealous after witnessing another man asking you out and when you come back home at night, he breeds you. Please make it rough and non con. Thank you❤️‍🔥

-> you’re definitely not the only one. I can assure you that I’ve thought about this too many times😫

⚠️: NON CON, YANDERE!JUNGKOOK, Squirting/piss play, Physically, mental and emotional abuse, spit play,

-> sorry for any mistakes

Your parents owned a local bakery store

All the recipes were from your late grandmother

You spent almost all of your time there because you were in charge of everything

The store was under your parents’ name but you were the one running it

Sometimes, you even slept there because it’d be too late to walk home

Your dedication to the bakery made it successful

Although, you were the one doing all the work, you parents took all the credit and money

They weren’t paying you because you’re their child

They don’t need to pay you

“It’s a women’s place.” Your father said

You wanted to go back to school however, your parents laughed in your face

“School aren’t for girls, Y/N. Learn how to cook and clean. That’s all you need to know. Let the men handle everything else.”

You were tired of fighting with them and eventually stopped because they threatened to set you up in an arrange marriage

Now, it was just you and the bakery

You had many loyal customers and recently, one has been coming everyday, at the same time

He’d always buy a loaf of banana bread and if he was in a good mood, a blueberry muffin as well

Then, he’d sit in the corner table and eat two - three slices before getting up and leaving

He’d always leave a tip behind and you always kept it for yourself

One day, he didn’t come and you were surprised

For a year straight, he came and bought the same two things

Now, he hasn’t visited in 4 days

Tonight, you came back home for the first time in a while

Your parents had visited the bakery to collect “their” earnings and told you that you have to go somewhere with them that evening

After closing up and cleaning up, you went home and got ready

Your parents were taking you out for dinner as a treat for all your hard work

You were really excited because they were finally acknowledging your hard work

Once you arrived at the restaurant, your parents lead you to a table that already had three people seated

You immediately recognize one of them

It’s that guy who buys your banana loaf!

You sat in front of him while your parents greeted the two other strangers

“Oh, so this is your daughter? She’s gorgeous! Come here and give me a hug.”

You awkwardly chuckled and got up to hug the middle aged women

“Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Jeon F/N, this is my husband, Jeon F/N and this is our son, Jeon Jungkook. We’re your soon to be in laws!”

You heart dropped to the floor

“I-in laws?” You asked, confused

“Yeah, honey. Is this your first time hearing about this? We’ve been talking to your parents for a while now.”

You snapped your head towards you parents and they looked emotionless

“No, no they didn’t tell me anything.”

Dinner with them was hell

Your parents were talking about your wedding arrangements right in front of you

You didn’t know what to do

You wanted to rebel but then your parents would disown you

Just like that, you’d be homeless with little money to survive

In the end, you’d be paying the heavy price

You looked at Jungkook who was staring at you the whole time

You wondered if he knew about this

Maybe, that’s why he came to the bakery everyday

“Did you know anything about this?” You said loud enough for him to hear

“I did.”

“For how long?”

“Since last year.”

You eyes widen, in shock

You were right!

“Why didn’t you stop it?”

“Why would I stop it when I’m the one who wants it?”

You scrunch your eyebrows, in confusion

“What’re you talking about?”

“Since the first day I met you, I wanted to marry you. I told my parents and now, we’re getting married.”

Now, you were mad

You got up and stormed off, catching everyone’s attention

You walked to the bakery and locked yourself in

Here, you thought your parents were acknowledging you for first time, when they were actually setting you up for a marriage so they don’t have to take care of you

You cried yourself to sleep that night

The next couple of weeks, the bakery was closed due to your wedding

The wedding was spectacular

You would’ve love it if you weren’t being forced into a marriage

After the wedding, Jungkook took your precious virginity

He made sure to pleasure you until you passed out

He was so in love with you

Now, he was finally able to show you how much he loved you

And mark you as his

The next couple of months, he was attached to you

He took over his family’s business and you took over your family’s business

He’d visit you every day at work to check if you’re with another man

He was so paranoid about it, sometimes he’d come by 3 or 4 times to make sure you were not cheating

You thought he missed you and that’s why he kept stopping by (which is half true) however, you had no idea that he was possessive and controlling

You had to learn the hard way

Sometimes, you wouldn’t leave work until midnight

You had so much things to do like preparing for the next day, making a to-do list, making a grocery lists, and cleaning every area of the shop

It’s time consuming, so obviously you finish up pretty late

Jungkook absolutely hates that

Although you stay late in the shop once in a while, he can’t stand it

He wants you to be in his arms every night

Jungkook gets angry when you’re not

This was your fourth time staying out late in the shop and he’s had enough

He couldn’t help but feel paranoid about what you were actually doing in the shop

What if you lied and went on a date with another man?

What if you were running away from him?

Or even worse, what if you were having sex with another guy?

He raced to the bakery and banged on the door, which scared you

You saw that it was him and let him in

“W-what’s wrong?! You scared me!”

“Grab your stuff, we’re going home.”

“But I’m not done yet! I only have a couple more things to do and then I’ll come home. I told you already-”

“I don’t think you fucking heard me!” He yelled and grabbed your hair

“Grab your shit, we are leaving right now.”

He pushed you towards the counter and crossed his arms

You let your breath out in shock but scurry to get your stuff

You’ve never seen him like this and it terrified you

“I have my stuff.”

“Good, let’s go.”

He helped you lock the door and wrapped his arm around your waist

The walk home was silent

You were scared shitless

All you wanted to do was run back into your parents’ house

But he didn’t let you move an inch away from him

Once you got home, he started pushing you around and arguing some more

“Jungkook, I told you this afternoon when you came to visit! I said I have to stay late so I don’t have to stress myself out in the morning!”

“Don’t fucking lie to me! Who were you fucking seeing?!” He screamed, frightening you more

“No one! I swear, no one!” You whimpered

He corned you into your shared room and locked the door

“Jungkook, I swear! Nothing happened!”

He didn’t believe a single word coming out of your mouth

It was like you were talking to a wall

He pushed you onto the bed and stripped you naked

Jungkook pushed two fingers into your cunt and pretended to scoop out cum

“If nothing happened, why is your cunt full of cum?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I didn’t have sex with anyone!”

You weren’t very educated about sex, so Jungkook had an advantage

You began apologizing even though you didn’t have sex with anyone

You just wanted peace between you two

“I’m sorry! I didn’t cheat or anything, but I’m sorry if it hurt you! I really am!”

Jungkook slapped you and spat on your face

“Dirty slut. Telling me that you’re not cheating but still apologizing.”

“No! Please, I didn’t do anything!”

Jungkook pulled his cock out and shoved it in without warning

You were still new to sex so when he didn’t let you adjust, you automatically started screaming and crying

“Please, slower!” You cried, holding onto his biceps as he went faster and deeper

“Stop! Please!”

Jungkook loved the sound of his balls clapping against your ass

It honestly made him harder

All night, he was on top, fucking you hard

Your legs were spread apart, tears in your eyes and sweat dripping down your forehead

You looked like a hot mess

And he loved every second of it

“Mmh- Jungkook!”

You squirted around him and had a trembling orgasm

You couldn’t stop releasing your liquids on him and he couldn’t stop pounding you

The bed sheet was soaked by the end of it

He pushed his cock deep inside and came

After Jungkook fell asleep, you cried for while

How were you supposed to tolerate him for the rest of your life?

The next morning

You woke up in severe pain

You lower region was begging for some pain relief

But there was nothing you could do about it

Jungkook was still sleeping next to you

You decided to leave before he wakes up

After getting ready by leaning on everything, you slowly walked to town

When you arrived at the bakery, you saw a big “for sale” sign

You panicked and went inside the store, only to be greeted by your parents

“Mother, father! Why is there a “for sale” sign on the bakery?”

You parents looked at each other in disappointment

“You see, we have to explain the obvious to your daughter. Be grateful that someone willingly married your idiot daughter.” Your father said before walking out

His words did hurt but you cared about the bakery more than your father

“Why’re you selling it, mother? Can you not afford it anymore? Why-”

“Shut up, Y/N! You’re married now, you have wifely duties. You don’t have time for this bakery so the best option is to sell it.”

Your world fell apart right before your eyes

“But mother-”

“Save it. You already made your father upset. I’m warning you now, you don’t want to get on my bad side.”

You cried the whole morning

After you opened the bakery, lots of people gathered in line

All breads, cakes and muffins were going on sale

After you served the people in line, you went up to the tables and took their order

After you served them, a regular customer who was sitting alone gestured you to come over

You went over to the man and asked him if he needed anything

He told you to take a seat and accompany him

Since the crowd died down, you sat down in front of him

“You look a bit stressed and sad. What’s on your mind?”

You were touched by his words

Finally, someone cared about you

You told him you were upset about the bakery closing

He understood and even offered money to help you keep it open

You were flattered but didn’t accept the money

“Money’s not a problem, my parents just don’t want to keep this shop open.”

You talked with this guy for a couple of hours

Although this was your first time talking to him, you talked to him like he was your best friend

When closing time came around, he got up and asked you out on a date

You didn’t know what to do

You were married but you really liked this guy

You were considering saying yes when someone pulled his shoulder back and punched him across the face

“Jungkook! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“You think I didn’t see that?! I saw it all. I saw you flirting with my wife for three hours straight and then asking her out on a date!”

Jungkook beat the crap out of the guy and pushed him outside

He then came back in the store, looking at you with devil eyes

“Yesterday’s punishment clearly wasn’t enough.”

The entire way home, he was yelling at you, slapping you, spitting on you, pulling your hair, pushing you to the ground and choking you

You were crying the whole time, apologizing over and over

When you arrived home, he seriously had no mercy on you

No foreplay, no lube, no adjusting

Just a raw, thick cock being forced into you

You were begging him to let you go but tonight, nothing was going to stop him

He was moving his hips insanely fast, not giving you enough time to breathe

You were choking on your own sobs

“Jungkook, please no! I’m sorry!”

“Why did you hesitate to deny his offer? You are a married fucking women!” With each word a hard thrust followed, knocking all the air out of you

“Answer me! Is he better than me? Does he take care of you? Does he provide money for you? TELL ME!” He was yelling so loudly, it was making you cry harder

“N-no, he doesn’t. He was just the first person to care about me.” You whispered the last sentence but, Jungkook was able to make it out

“Are you saying that I don’t care about you?”

He got more aggressive and fastened his pace

“Tell me, Y/N! Do you think that I don’t care about you?!”

You couldn’t answer him because you couldn’t catch your breath

He was going too fast and you were crying so hard, you couldn’t breathe

Jungkook noticed how much you were struggling and added onto your struggle by holding your neck down

“Apologize, right now Jeon Y/N!”

You softly apologize but it wasn’t good enough for him

He lifted your legs a little, giving him better access and fucked you till you squirted

This time you sobbed your apology and begged for forgiveness

“I’m so sorry, Jungkook! It’ll never— ah! It’ll never happen again! I’m so sorry! Please for- forgive me for my dumb m-mistake. Please! I’m begging you.” You held onto the bed sheet, praying he would stop

He huskily growled and pushed his cock in deep

“For the next 9 months you’ll be swelling with my baby. Now, everyone can back off.”

He shot his hot cum right into you, filling you up to the rim

Sorry for any mistakes. It’s 3:41am 😄

[ghostinthelibrarywrites]

"Take a Chance on Me" for the made-up fic title :D

Here's some modern with magic AU Yenralt:

Geralt and Yennefer were lovers off and on for centuries, but finally ended things a couple of decades ago and have only seen each other in passing since.

A few years ago, Geralt claimed the Law of Surprise after he saved a young couple's lives and didn't think anything else of it... until he gets a call from a lawyer and learns that the couple has recently died and he's now their daughter's legal guardian.

Geralt wants nothing to do with raising a kid, until he meets Ciri and it hits him that he's destined to be this girl's dad.

Unfortunately, her grandmother is fighting for custody in court and her primary argument is that he's a witcher who lives alone and his lifestyle isn't conducive to raising a little girl.

Realizing that there's a good chance he'll lose the custody case, Geralt turns to Yennefer and asks her to pretend that they're back together and will be raising Ciri together.

Yennefer is initially reluctant, but she's met Calanthe a few times and dislikes her, so she decides that she'll put up with her ex-lover for a few months if it means making Calanthe's life more difficult.

Geralt and Ciri move into Yennefer's house with her and they tell everyone, including their friends and family, that they've gotten back together. Geralt and Yennefer make a production of acting all lovey dovey when they're in public, which is easy, because they were together for so long and remember what it was like.

But Calanthe has people following them and most likely watching their house, so they have to step it up. Geralt starts sleeping in Yennefer's room, just so no one notices the lights on in the guest room where he's been sleeping. And then they may as well start having sex, right? It's not like either of them can hook up with anyone else right now? And they're both too old to let a little thing like fucking make things complicated.

You're never too old for denial

Geralt and Yennefer fall into a pattern where it almost feels like old time, except now they have a kid to curb their more unhealthy impulses for. Yennefer grows close to Ciri and starts to forget that she and Geralt are only doing this as a ruse.

They finally win their custody case, granting Geralt primary custody of Ciri. The next day, Yennefer comes home to find Geralt and Ciri's things packed. They don't need to pretend to be a couple anymore, after all.

There's a big blowout fight and Geralt leaves with Ciri. Yennefer is devastated, not that she'll admit it, and Geralt isn't doing much better. It's not until their respective friends sit them down to talk some sense into them that they're both able to admit that their relationship may have been fake, but it didn't feel fake and they've fallen back in love.

Geralt goes back to Yennefer and apologizes for leaving. They both confess that they want to get back together for real and Geralt and Ciri move back in with Yennefer, for good this time.

Send me a made-up fic title and I’ll tell you what I would write to go with it

[calumxkisses]

Dancing In The Sky | a.i.

pairing: ashton irwin x reader

genre: fluff to angst

warnings: death (not main characters)

summary: request - Hi!!! It’s very morbid but, I really want one with ash or cal, where they’re in one of the boys house just the boys and their girls, and then the reader receive a call in the middle of the conversation telling someone in her family is dead and she just in shock and she tells them, and the he hugs her and she breaks!!! Thanks

a/n: recently my granny had to be rushed to the hospital and i thought i was going to lose her - luckly it didn't happen. i felt this request particularly close. i always say 'i love you' to my grandma before hunging up on the phone (we live pretty far away from each other) and i thought about what would happen if i forgot to say it, not knowing it would be for the last time. i'm sorry to anyone of you if this triggers you. i love you.

you should read this imagine while listening to: before you go

➳

The light coming in from the window on your right illuminates the whole room, it’s late afternoon but the sun shines almost as if it were noon. The scorching heat has now passed, there is a breeze that cools the air and spreads the scent of the grill in the garden, alternating the scent of grilled vegetables and steaks throughout the house. The pool water is still moving, the inflatable flamingo is wedged near the pool stairs and you can still see the tracks of Michael's wet feet near the diving board.

Halsey's songs are repeated at a low volume, but the guys sing them out loud and a smile forms on your face as you see how they are always ready to support their friends, not only publicly with tweets or instagram stories, but also in private, enjoying music like normal people do.

You hold onto the sweatshirt Ashton gave you as you grab your cell phone from the sofa and put it in your shorts pocket. Your hair is still wet from the shower you just took and it’s leaking few drops of water as you head outside, where your friends are starting to set the table for dinner.

You don't know how it happened, you have vague memories, but you feel grateful to have them around you, to have the opportunity to consider them as a second family, to be able to hug them and to be able to laugh with them. It is a fortune that not everyone has and you make sure you don't waste this opportunity.

“Honey!” Ashton yells, shaking his hand up and looking at you with an amused look. A few tufts of hair fall in front of his face and with one hand he tries to move them back, only to find them in front of his eyes again. His swimsuit is now dry, his chest is red from staying under the sun all day but his tattoos still manage to stand out in the tan and a huge smile covers his face.

Seeing him so happy, confident, at peace with his mind and in love with life, warms your heart and you almost feel like crying of joy in seeing him like this.

You wiped his tears, hugged him under the covers and held him a million times as his demons took over, when mirrors became enemies and food scared him.

You turned off his cell phone every time he read comments about his body and spent sleepless nights keeping him company while he vented his frustration by playing the drums.

You held out your hand to him while accompanying him in his battle against himself, you kissed him as he went through hell and his joy was worth every single tear.

You are proud of him, of the way he went back to wearing his favorite t-shirts and of the way he has come to love all his flaws, even though you're still sure he doesn't even have one.

As you leave the house, a cool breeze passes through your hair and you instinctively close your eyes to be able to appreciate the moment of coolness in the terrible heat of the last few days.

When you open your eyes, amazement takes over your body: the sky is not simply blue like the water in the pool you've been in all afternoon, but pink and orange clouds cover it completely; the sun hides behind them, tinges the sky with more intense colors and you feel your soul leave your body at the sight of so much beauty.

The sunset is so mesmerizing that you don't even feel the need to pick up your phone and take a picture of it, it's so beautiful that you're sure not even the best cameras would be able to capture such a marvel.

It’s a pink and orange sunset, bigger clouds are the backdrop to smaller more intense colors and the skyline of the city is slowly tinged with black, the lights of the buildings begin to see each other more and the world slows down as it prepares for the quietest hours.

The sunset arouses familiar, nostalgic, certainly not typical emotions in you; it’s so beautiful that you feel like you are living a dream, you pinch your arm lightly to make sure you are awake but Ashton's laugh reminds you that it is reality and, with that melody in the background, you understand that the difference between dream and reality is not that big.

And even if it were a dream, you know that dreaming never hurt anybody.

As the sunset surrounds you in a warm hug, a small white butterfly begins to flutter around you, spinning around and bringing a smile to your lips. The insect is small, but in the orange sky it stands out in an important way, making you feel like a Disney princess. You stretch your hand up, raising your forefinger and inviting the little butterfly to lean on it and, without fear, it leans on it, resting its wings and showing itself even more beautiful than you thought.

It’s white but at the corners of its wings it has black spots, its gaze seems to be directed towards you as its antennae move delicately. A sense of awe and wonder makes its way inside of you and you slowly bring the butterfly closer to you so you can admire it better, noticing how safe it continues to feel with you.

“Is everything alright?” Sierra asks as she sets the plates on the table, she's too busy to notice how you seem to be in symbiosis with the butterfly.

“Yeah.” You whisper while the insect continues to stay on your finger, motionless, leading you to feel a sense of peace in the moment you are living.

Suddenly, while the blue sky is giving its space to the dark night, the butterfly takes off and, after making another turn around you, heads towards the sky and merges with the lights of the stars.

You walk back to your friends, still confused about what just happened, and you see Michael trying to move the fire bowl to the corner of the pool. “Mike, if I were you I'd be more careful, you're not the luckiest person when it comes to fire.” You smile and you hear your friends laughing out loud as a grin appears on Michael's face.

“Don't worry, Crystal has seen enough tv shows about doctors to know what to do if I get burned again.” He replies looking at his girlfriend and laughing.

“Shut up and come here,” Crystal responds by pretending to be offended. “Dinner’s ready.” her lips try to hold back the smile that is forming on her face.

You sit on your boyfriend's lap while Luke sets the meat on the plates and Sierra pours the beer into your glass. Ashton pushes your hair to the side and kisses you on the neck, giving you goosebumps and getting winks from his friends.

“You’re terrible.” he replies while looking at them and squeezing his hands on your lap, his head resting on your back while he rolls his eyes and smiles. Everyone burst out laughing and the sound of their laughter still feels like the most beautiful melody to you.

As you are about to take your first bite, your phone starts ringing and vibrating inside the pocket of your shorts. You put your fork down and stand up, being careful not to trip over Ashton's feet as he gives you a questioning look. You give him a kiss on his head and you go away slightly from your group so you can hear better.

Your mother's voice is low as you bring the phone to your ear, a smile forms on your face to hear the sound of her voice but the world collapses on you a few seconds later, when her words become understandable while she cries.

The conversation is short-lived, it is mostly made up of your mother's sobs and words you never wanted to hear. Your mouth opens slightly and your heart seems to stop. And when she closes the call, you have a hard time figuring out if you are having a nightmare or if you are still in reality.

“Was that your lover on the phone?” Calum smiles as you stare at your phone screen as soon as you hang up the call. You look up and see everyone's gaze on you as your eyes start to pinch.

“It was my mother,” you take a deep sigh as you try to find the courage to speak. “My grandmother died a couple of hours ago. She's gone and-” and the words die in your mouth.

Your friends' smiles quickly transform as their brows rise and their eyes lose their light. Crystal is the first to hug you, in less than a second her arms are around you but it's all so surreal that you can't even find the strength to move your body. You hear whispers, but your ears are muffled as Ashton takes the place of your best friend and holds you close to his chest, kissing your hair and whispering words of comfort.

It all happens so fast that you struggle to metabolize, it seems to you that the whole world has stopped or is going too fast, it is hard to try to understand as your mind repeats your mother's words all over again.

You talked to your grandmother the day before, you described to her the weather and you told her all the projects you had in mind, including going to see her as soon as possible. She had told you some stories from her past because she knew how much you loved hearing stories from other times and then you said goodbye to her in a hurry because someone had rang the doorbell.

You didn't tell her you loved her and your heart breaks even more at the realization that she left without knowing the affection you felt for her.

Did she know you loved her? Did she know that she was the most important person to you? Did she know you were grateful for all the sacrifices she had made to make you happy? Did she know you were proud of her? Did she know you loved the way she kissed your hands? Did she know how much you cared about her? Or did she pass wondering if you loved her?

If that were the case, you would never forgive yourself.

Part of you, however, is aware that behind those wrinkles and trembling hands, there were years of wisdom and intelligence and that, even when she was sick, she knew that you loved her unconditionally.

You still remember how she was the one who taught you to ride a bike when your parents were too busy working, how her hunched back bent even more as she pushed you along the street outside your childhood house, letting you go on your own when you learned, while still lying to you about how her hands were attached to the bike, to make you feel protected.

You certainly still remember the way she bragged about you, how she proudly used to tell all the ladies at the grocery store that you were her niece, her greatest joy and the best gift she ever received.

And, if you close your eyes and focus, you can still feel the warmth of the old fireplace in her home, of her hands holding yours while your face was resting on her shoulder. You can still hear the sound of burning wood, of her sweet voice singing melodies belonging to past eras while, between one verse and another, her lips kissed your head and whispered words of love.

Most of all, you have memories of how her arms wrapped around your little body when there was a thunderstorm, when the screams inside your house got too loud and when you saw her again after weeks, with your hearts coming back to beat in unison and your lungs beginning to breathe again.

Now that she is gone, who would be by your side? Who would teach you to cook and sew?

You would no longer hear her heart beating when you leaned against her chest, you would no longer hear the sound of her breaths when you slept next to her, you would no longer wake up with the smell of the flowers she grew and, above all, her dry, wrinkled lips would no longer whisper “I love you” to you.

All the fights, all the moments when you were bothered by her calls and all your snorting about the boredom of being with her bring a pang to your heart that tastes of guilt and arrogance, of shame and wasted moments that won't come back.

She was now gone, her heart had beaten for the last time and her eyes had stopped shining and the more time passes, the more her absence starts to hurt.

While your friends are around you to not leave you alone and Ashton hugs you tightly while caressing your hair, everything seems to start to make sense: the butterfly that just moments before had leaned on your hand, the sunset so beautiful and intense - she was there, she was giving you her last goodbye with all the delicacy possible.

She was reassuring you that she will always be there for you, that she will be in the sunsets under which you will fall asleep and that she will be the butterflies that will fly around in the sky, to reassure you that everything’s gonna be alright.

And with this new certainty and a weight in your chest that will slowly go away, you let yourself go, the tears begin to roll down your face and the sobs echo in the silence of the evening, as the stars light up the sky and God gains a new angel.

Ashton knows it won't be easy, that it will be months before that pain will become more bearable and that family lunches and dinners will be harder, that that empty chair around the table will be a stab in the heart every time.

But he also knows that you are strong, that you will be able to overcome everything, that sadness will turn into a smile when you’ll remember her and that, whatever happens, in a way or another, he will always be there next to you, just like your grandma used to be.

—

[softjaehyvn]

when i leave

pairing ;; jung jaehyun x reader (main focus) ; johnny x reader

special guests ;; kim yugyeom (got7) , jeon jungkook (bts) , kim mingyu (seventeen) , lee taeyong , ten lee

genre ;; hanahaki au , angst & fluff

warnings ;; alcohol / drinking , character deaths , cheating

synopsis ;; your grandmother had warned you about it - the hanahaki disease. where the ill person coughs up petals if their love towards someone is unrequited. and of course you had to fall in love with the one person, jaehyun, a stranger, who managed to help you through the rough break-up with youngho. however, he as well had his secrets - just like youngho had them.

word count ;; 9.8k 

note ;; this was requested back on my other blog! part of the collab with @hangsxng, also happy jaehyun day !!

It was only a short video that you had received from your older brother Taeyong, where he filmed your boyfriend talking about you in a drunk state. You couldn’t believe what he was saying there.

“You know, I never loved her. She was so innocent and sweet, she just fell for me”, he giggled, grabbing his cup and taking a sip from it. “She’s so stupid.” Everyone around started laughing; you just stared on your phone as the video ended, getting up and packing your stuff.

You waited for a bit. You wanted to ask him yourself if he meant what he said. Even though he probably would be drunk, you still waited for him.

“Hey Y/N”, he greeted you, definitely sobered up; you noticed that from the way he was talking to you. It felt like you couldn’t breathe for a minute.

“What’s up?”, he asked as he saw your tensed state. You just didn’t say anything but got up. You quickly left the place with your car’s keys.

Wiping the tears out of your eyes, you tried to focus on the road and drove around; not sure where exactly. Your mind was completely blurry and maybe it wasn’t the best idea to drive a car while being in this kind of stage. However, you managed to drive safely and not get into any accident.

You only had left your boyfriend of six months, Youngho; seeing that video of him saying that he only played around with you. How could you be so foolish? How could you trust someone who would betray you like this? You pulled off the car and stopped it quickly before you let out a loud sob. Why did he do this to you? What did you do to him that he decided to make fun of you?

He didn’t care about you the way you did about him. It was driving you crazy.

When you finally calmed down, you started your car and were about to drive off as someone knocked on your window. As you looked out, you saw a young man in front of you, motioning you to roll it down. When you did so, you quickly wiped your tears away again.

“Hey, are you okay? I saw that you were just here and was wondering if you were all right?”, he asked you and you chuckled. Even a stranger cared more about you than your ex did.

“I’m… okay”, you lied and smiled up to the guy but the smile didn’t reach your eyes and the stranger noticed that.

“Come on, don’t lie. I can see it when someone lies. First, come get out of the car”, he instructed you, moving a little out of the way so you would have enough space to open the car door.

The stranger closed the door as soon as you got out. You had no idea what the guy was planning to do. “Great. Now lock your car and let’s go”, he said. “I feel like you need some time out. I know a place where you can try to calm down.”

Should you trust him? You didn’t even know his name. As if he could feel your insecurities, he introduced himself to you; feeling stupid for not doing this earlier.

“I’m Jaehyun, by the way. I’m sorry if I made you feel uneasy. I really don’t want to do anything bad. I feel like you just need someone with you right now.”

You simply just nodded when you followed him the street along. For some reason, you felt comfortable around this guy. It was like you know him for ages. “Was there a reason why you wanted me to come with you?”, you randomly asked him while you continued walking side by side – there was just a small space between you.

“Actually, I was just walking around because I needed some fresh air after studying a lot when I saw you in your car crying”, he explained swiftly. Shortly after, Jaehyun stopped walking – you did the same as you looked around. You had arrived at some cliff type of thing – there was the big ocean in front of you, the sound of the waves crashing against the cliff.

“It’s so calm here… I like it here”, you mumbled. Somehow, this place seemed so familiar to you but you didn’t know why.

Then it hit you.

--

“I love you”, Youngho murmured. You two were lying on a blanket, facing each other. His fingers were slowly playing with your hair. Your eyes closed, you listened to Youngho say those sweet three words like he did the last two days ever since you two had confessed your feelings to each other; listened to the waves crash against the cliff.

“I love you, too. Idiot”, you laughed when he pushed you on your back and laid his body on yours. Youngho did his best not to lower his whole weight on your body. He once again was only looking into your eyes before he slowly leaned down and placed his lips on yours.

“Am I still an idiot?”, he asked when he finally lied down next to you again, looking at you, there was nothing but love in his gaze.

“Yes, but now, you’re my idiot”, you grinned and closed your eyes again.

--

“Everything alright?”, Jaehyun asked you when he realized that you were lost in thoughts. You lightly nodded but Jaehyun wasn’t that oblivious that he wouldn’t notice your teary eyes. “No, I don’t believe you. You wouldn’t be crying if everything was alright.”

You cursed yourself for being so bad at hiding your feelings, gulping before you finally spoke. “I’ve been at this place before.” Jaehyun looked at you confusedly.

“Seriously? Barely anyone knows about it. How come?”

“My ex brought me here once. We were lying on that exact spot together, it was only two days after he had confessed”, you briefly explained, not wanting to go into detail. It hurt you to talk about Youngho.

“I get it, you don’t want to talk about it. However, I hope that I’ll be able to distract you tonight a little”, Jaehyun told you. You didn’t reply anymore, however you decided to nod at least to give him any type of a response.

“You know, I just went through a rough break up as well, just recently”, Jaehyun suddenly said after a while you two sat on the cold stone. You two didn’t talk a lot, just sitting there. For some reason, you felt extremely calm and comfortable around him.

“Really?”, you chuckled. “Seems like we were destined to suffer.”

“Actually, in my case, she cheated on me. I caught her texting to another guy with hearts and ‘i love you’-s. I pretended like everything was alright. I even knew who the other guy was. He was one of my closest friends”, Jaehyun admitted.

“I’m sorry to hear that. It must’ve hurt to know that someone you trusted betrayed you like that”, you told him. He just chuckled and shook his head.

“No, it’s alright. It’s been a few weeks since I found out and I’m better now”, he smiled lightly. “I guess, someone just gets used to the fact that the relationship is over now. It doesn’t hurt as much as it used to, so… be patient. It’ll be better, Y/N.”

“I really hope the pain will stop soon, Jaehyun”, just a few seconds later, he heard a soft sob from you, immediately pulling you into his embrace and tried to comfort you as much as possible.

It was weird for you to feel so safe next to a stranger, but you admit that this was exactly what you needed today.

--

When it got darker, Jaehyun said that you should get going now. He escorted you to your car and even offered to drive you home but you declined. The male was a stranger after all. However, you still exchanged phone numbers and agreed on meeting up a few days later in a café in Itaewon.

As soon as you got out of the car, you started running to your brother’s apartment as it had started raining and opening the door with the spare he gave you. You rolled your eyes when you saw your brother with a girl on his lap and them making out heavily.

“Seriously?!”, your brother exclaimed. “Don’t you have your own apartment?”

“Don’t mind me, I’m going to my room. Have fun”, you said with a slightly disgusted look on your face as you went to your brother’s guest room and threw yourself on the bed. Before you had rented the apartment with Johnny, you lived here. This had been your bed and you had a few heated or romantic moments with your now ex-boyfriend on here. You remembered when he sneaked in to see you; now you knew better and knew that he only pretended to be excited to see you.

“Hey… what’s going on?”, your brother asked you and slowly entered your room. You turned around laughed.

“You look messed up, big bro”, you told him and he giggled; coming closer and sitting next to you. Taeyong slowly brushed over your hair, being the caring brother, he always had been. “Where is your girl?”

“Sent her away. I have a sister to take care of after all”, he said and opened up his arms, silently telling you to hug him. You loved this side of him. He always had shut everyone off just to take care of you; after all, you were the only family he had left. Your parents had passed away during a huge car accident. You two only had each other and he wouldn’t trade you for the world.

“You didn’t have to”, you said, feeling slightly bad for him that you interrupted him from his one-night stand.

“I did and we both know that. I can’t see you being sad and in a bad mood while I have my fun with a girl. That’s just not fair”, he told you and softly stroked through your hair. “What happened? Did… did you watch the video?” You only nodded and hugged your brother tighter; then you started crying and your body started shaking as you remembered beautiful things you experienced with Johnny one by one.

“He… why would he play me like this, Tae? What did I ever do? I did nothing else but loved him. I tried my best to make him feel better whenever he needed it. I tried to be the girl he wants me to be. But he just played me like that?”, you cried.

“It’s going to be okay, baby”, he mumbled softly and caressed your back, trying to comfort you as much as possible. “It’s going to be okay.”

--

It had been a few days since you had left your shared apartment with Johnny and moved in with your brother again. Taeyong had tried to distract you as much as possible by taking you out on random dinner dates with him, he paid for anything you wanted; it didn’t matter if it was clothes, food, or just you dyeing your hair into a random color (which turned out to be a darker blue; Taeyong dyed his hair into a similar color). He did everything to make you happy.

“Thank you so much, Tae”, you smiled and hugged him.

“Of course, love. Do you wanna go somewhere else?”, he asked you but you shook your head.

“No. You already spent so much money for me”, you told him. “I’ll just walk around a little and then I’ll come home, yeah?”

“Are you sure? Do you want me to come with you?”, he asked you worriedly, he didn’t want to leave you alone when you were in a bad state.

“No, thank you. I’ll just come home in a bit, yeah?”, you told him and smiled at him reassuringly. “I’ll come home in a bit.” You hugged him and he softly kissed you on your forehead.

“See you then.” He let go of you, taking all the bags full of clothes from your long shopping tour.

You didn’t think much before you just turned around and walked the whole way to your apartment with Johnny. As you were going there, you received a message with a picture. You were confused as you noticed that it was you and Taeyong right before you left him in the city.

You already got a new one? You’re quick, you little slut

You didn’t know who it was as you hadn’t saved the number. You ignored the message and just continued your way. As you finally arrived there, you took out the keys Johnny had given you just two months ago when you two moved in together. You couldn’t believe that it took him two months so take out his real face and you to find out that he was only playing around.

“Y/N? What the fuck are you doing here?”, Johnny yelled as you entered the apartment. You couldn’t believe what you were seeing there: a girl on his lap and them making out. You had no idea who it was; not that it mattered.

“The question is, what the fuck are you doing here?”, you asked him and pushed the girl away from him.

“Just partying around, the usual”, suddenly there was someone else in the background; it was Ten, one of Johnny’s friends.

“Shut up, Ten, I didn’t ask you”, you yelled. Then you glared at the girl. “And you get the fuck out of my apartment.”

“This isn’t only your apartment, Y/N. It is mine, too”, Johnny told you and came closer to you.

“Fuck you, Johnny. You don’t even care a little about me, why would you care about this fucking apartment?”, you exclaimed, going into your shared room and started to pack another bag full of clothes. He followed you.

“Did you really think I cared about you?”, he asked and laughed. “Did you think I cared about you? The truth is, I never loved you. I never did. I only did it to get into your pants. That’s everything.”

“So, you lied? Every single time you told me that you love me, you lied?”, you asked him; you tried your best to keep up your façade and tried to seem strong. You did your best not to start crying.

“That’s right, I lied. I lied every time”, he said, not daring to even blink.

“Great. Now you hurt me. Are you happy now? Huh? Does my fucking pain make you happy?!”, you started screaming and pushed him away with every single sentence as you finally broke down and started crying.

He didn’t answer you. He stayed silent as you wiped your tears away and grabbed the last few clothes left there. “Fuck you, Johnny.”

Those were the last words you told him and finally left the apartment.

But little did you know that he only lied because Ten was there and he had to stop himself from hugging you and telling you that he loved you. 

The next day, around the time you were supposed to meet up with Jaehyun, you were rushing around at home, trying to get everything you needed together, when suddenly someone knocked at the door. Not even bothering to check who it was, you immediately opened the door and immediately tried to ram it closed when you saw Johnny in front of your door. However, Johnny held the door open with his hand, he was strong enough to easily resist you trying to close it.

“Babe, please, let’s talk”, Johnny said when he finally managed to get into your place. “I really need to talk to you and clear this whole thing out. There are some things I have to talk to you about.”

“Fuck off, Johnny, I don’t want to see you, please, get the hell out”, you yelled, trying to get him out of the apartment. However, Johnny was much stronger than you and easily put his hands on your arms to hold you still.

“Please, let me talk to you once”, he spoke to you in his comforting, soft voice that always managed to make you feel calm. You hated that he still had this effect on you – you didn’t want him to manipulate you the way he always did until now. “I will never even come near you if you let me talk to you now.”

“No. Fuck you, no!”, you yelled and this time, you were supported by Taeyong who finally came out of the shower.

“What the hell are you doing here, Youngho?”, Taeyong’s voice was calm and soft; you were sure that he was trying his best to remain composed. “Get the fuck out of here, I don’t ever want to see you around.”

“Taeyong-ah, please, let me talk to her once. I swear I will leave her alone afterwards if you let me talk to her now”, Youngho tried once again. Taeyong was having none of it, though. He pulled you behind him and finally Johnny gave up and sighed. “Promise, you will let me talk to you one day?”

He just left when you didn’t give him a reply.

--

“Sorry, I’m a little late… I had to deal with something”, you apologized to Jaehyun when you finally sat down across him. He just shrugged it off.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like to drink so I didn’t order anything for you. It’s on me, though, so just choose whatever you want”, Jaehyun smiled lightly, exposing his dimples. You nodded as you shot him a smile back.

“Thank you, Jaehyun… I really needed this today. He just…”, it took you a bit before you could speak up on the issue. “My ex just came over today. He wanted to talk to me but my brother stopped him from doing so. Seeing him again hurt though.“

„I get that… you know, my ex also came over last night. Said she wanted to apologize and that she misses me. Her new boy dumped her”, he laughed and took a sip from his coffee. “Well, it’s her own fault. I don’t care about her anymore.”

“That’s what I love to hear! I’m happy that you were able to get over her… and the pain”, your voice got slightly lower with the last few words. Jaehyun grabbed your hand and softly stroked over the back.

“Your pain will stop one day as well. It will hurt for a long time, knowing the absence of someone who was there for you for a very long time. It will stop eventually, Y/N. I promise. I am ready to help you through it all”, he promised, making you smile lightly.

However, it was a faked smile.

And you hoped he didn’t notice.

--

However, he did notice.

Jaehyun was someone who paid a lot of attention to what was around him. Especially, if it was someone who needed special care after a rough situation. He was used to notice things like that; he started paying attention to people’s facial expressions when he was still a little kid. His mother would smile at him and tell him everything is fine.

Jaehyun would know that nothing was. He might have been little and the way he acted was still childish, but he knew how to divide between a real and a fake smile.

Yours definitely was a fake smile. However, he couldn’t do anything about it, so he never said anything.

“Hey, you know, a friend of mine is celebrating his birthday soon. Do you want to come along?”, Jaehyun suddenly asked you. That surprised you but you would never say no to some distraction. So, you just nodded as a yes.

“Sure thing”, you shot him another smile before taking another sip of your hot chocolate. Sitting here with Jaehyun – who you felt very comfortable around -, just chatting and talking about the most random things, really helped you. For a few hours, you seemed happy and also felt happy after a few days of crying your eyes out.

“Thank you for today. It was quite fun, let’s do this again one day”, you suggested to which he agreed to. Then he made sure you got the address of his friend to come over to the party in a few days. As he had to travel home to his parents in Busan for a few days, he wouldn’t be able to spend any time with you. When he finally left the café, you were once again left to your thoughts.

You decided to walk instead of taking the bus, so it would take you a lot more time to get back home. When you were halfway home, you felt the first drops of rain on your skin. Thinking, it wouldn’t rain, you hadn’t taken a jacket or an umbrella with you.

“Need a ride home?”, someone yelled and you turned around. “Come on, get in.”

It was Johnny. You couldn’t believe he actually had the guts to call you over to his car and drive you home. You’d rather walk the rest of the way home and arrive there completely soaked than sit in the same car as the guy who played with you.

“Please, Y/N. I promise I won’t do or say anything that’ll hurt you. I just don’t want you to get sick”, he said, however you decided to ignore him and just continued walking. Johnny always had been a stubborn person. So, it didn’t surprise you that he continued driving slowly behind you.

“Stop fucking following me!”, you yelled. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want to see you ever again and that I fucking hate you? Haven’t you had your fun already? Wasn’t it enough to humiliate me and play me like you did with your friends? The bet wasn’t enough fun for you?”

“Please, if you’d listen to me once, you would understand everything, Y/N”, he stopped the car and got out quickly and before you could run away, he put his hands on your arms. “Listen to me once and let me explain. It’ll all make sense then, I promise.”

“Fuck, you, no! I told you so many times. No!”, you once again declined and tried to get out of his tight grip. Once again, you failed – Johnny was a lot stronger than you were and he could hold you back easily.

“I’m so sorry but I have to do this, Y/N”, he mumbled and quickly just picked you up and carried you towards his car.

Your cries to let go of you were pointless – no one would hear you. You were in some forest where barely anyone ever walked through. However, that always had been the way you took home, as it was the shortest way.

“I’m sorry, love. I just need to talk to you. It is very important and you deserve to know”, he said when he had you in his car and started driving.

“Johnny, please. I can’t stand being next to you. I just can’t. You broke my heart by saying all these words and you know that”, there were a lot of tears running down your cheeks. Johnny didn’t reply, he just focused on the road.

“You said you had to talk to me but now you aren’t even speaking! Is this another of your games? If yes, please leave me the fuck alone because I definitely don’t need-“

“I’m being threatened.”

When you heard these three, simple words, you didn’t know what you should or could say. What the hell did he mean by he was being threatened?

“It might sound like a lie but Ten and I don’t really get along. The only one I could trust is my friend Yoonoh and your brother. There is so much going on, I couldn’t even tell you about it all right now. Once, Ten made me say all that shit you saw in that video. The one who recorded it was also Ten. The one who sent the video to your brother was Ten. It was all Ten”, he started explaining.

That new info made you doubt your ex-boyfriend once again. Whenever Ten came over to your shared place that you and Johnny had rented just a few weeks before that incident, they always seemed so comfortable around each other.

Was that all an act as well?

“What was he threatening you with?”, you asked him, your voice was really soft and low and you weren’t even sure if Johnny had even heard you.

“He found out about a few things that I did back in the days before I even met you. I really don’t want to talk about it and get the whole thing out again, but there were things that I’d rather have kept for myself”, Johnny explained. You had to laugh – however, it wasn’t a laugh because something was funny or anything. It was more because you were disappointed.

“So, you seriously think I’m going to believe that?”, you asked him but he just shook his head.

“Take my phone.”

“What?”

“Just do as I told you. You know my pin.”

Confused, you just took Johnny’s phone and unlocked it. You then followed his instructions to open his and Ten’s private chat and scroll up until a specific date. 18th July 20xx.

The date Johnny had asked you to move in with him. You remembered that day well – it was the happiest day you had experienced with him. Thinking about that day made you smile slightly, something that didn’t get unnoticed by Johnny.

“Read the chat. If you don’t believe me afterwards, I will never talk to you again. I promise”, he told you and you just nodded, completely focusing on the chat.

Ten

[Video 0:18]

Is this familiar?

You tried clicking on the video but Johnny stopped you. “Just read. You don’t need to watch it.”

Johnny

Where did you get this from?

No one knew about it

Ten

Well, now I do. Would be fun if I’d show this to your sweet girlfriend, wouldn’t it?

Johnny

Fuck you. What do you want from me?

Ten

Break up with her. You don’t deserve her

Johnny

Who does then? An asshole like you?

Ten

Anyone is better than you, Johnny Suh.

Also, if you don’t do what I want, you’ll see the consequences. I’m a man of my words – I will fucking ruin you if you don’t do whatever I want.

“Believe me now? He threatened me, Y/N.”

--

His words still lingered in your head. You had read the chat yourself – he wasn’t lying.

“Jaehyun is here. He said he’ll wait in his car”, Taeyong yelled from the living room while you were getting ready for the party. You hurried up and checked yourself up in the mirror before you quickly grabbed your phone and keys and left the apartment. Only yelling a goodbye to Taeyong, you quickly ran down the stairs.

“Hey there! There is no need to rush”, he laughed when you quickly got into the car. “Jungkook will be happy that I’m not coming over all by myself.”

“Ah, so that’s the name of your mysterious friend? How old is he now?”, you asked him curiously.

“Same age as me, we’re just a few months apart.” Jaehyun proceeded to tell you a little about his friend so you would know a little about him.

“Here we are”, Jaehyun stopped the car close to the house where you could already see colored lights out of the windows and when you got out of the car, you already heard the loud music. It surprised you that the music could be this loud without anyone being bothered by it.

“These boys are pretty much crazy. Please don’t judge me because of their craziness”, Jaehyun laughed when you two entered the house. Just a few seconds later you two were surrounded by a few boys, who excitedly greeted Jaehyun.

“Who is that pretty girl with you?”, one of the guys – Mingyu, as Jaehyun had told you – asked you. “I don’t think we know each other, do we?” You shook your head and shot him a light smile.

“I’m Y/N, a friend of Jaehyun”, you introduced yourself.

“Just a friend?”

“Y/N? What are you doing here? I didn’t expect you to know Jungkook?”, someone yelled over the loud music and prevented you from answering Mingyu. You looked back and widened your eyes as you recognized one from your older friends group, Yugyeom.

“Gyeom? What are you doing here?”, you laughed and hugged your friend, feeling much more comfortable than before. Knowing someone around here made you feel so much better. Yugyeom didn’t hesitate and just pulled you to the kitchen where it was a little quieter.

“I didn’t know you knew Jungkook?”, he asked you while he grabbed a drink for the both of you.

“I don’t. I know Jaehyun”, you told him and thanked him when you grabbed the drink. “We met a few days ago after something happened and he helped me a little through it.” For some reason, Yugyeom raised his eyebrow, but you had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

“What happened? We didn’t even text for the past few weeks”, he asked you and you sighed as you shook your head.

“I don’t believe this is the right place to talk about this. It’s all good, though”, you answered him before you shot him a light smile. However, Yugyeom didn’t believe you. That was understandable, Yugyeom had known you for such a long time now, it wouldn’t be easy to convince him.

“You and I, tomorrow. Where we always hung out. I don’t care if you already have plans or not, you will be there at three, otherwise I will come to your place and drag you out of there”, Yugyeom told you and you knew he wasn’t joking. He would actually come over. You knew that because he did it once before.

“Fine. I will be there”, you sighed when you took two cups of the beverage that was in one of the bottles. When you finally found Jaehyun again in the crowd, you saw him with someone else. She was trying to talk to him while he kept on pushing her away, however, she would not stop pestering him.

“Fuck off!”, you heard him yell at her, his voice was so loud that everyone in the room could hear him. “I don’t want to see you! I don’t want to talk to you, nothing! It’s over, why the hell won’t you understand that?”

So, this was his ex. When you looked at her, you noticed that she seemed familiar for some reason.

Then it hit you.

You knew her because she was the girl you saw in your shared apartment with Johnny when they were making out.

--

“Hey, calm down”, you tried to calm Jaehyun down when he stormed upstairs after his fight with his ex-girlfriend. “Who was that?”

“My ex. She wanted to try again after her new boy dumped her. Fuck, I was just getting over her… why did she have to come here?!”

“It’s alright. Calm down, I’m here. Just… try to calm down, Jae”, you hesitated for a moment, then you just hugged him. He seemed like he needed comfort as he put his arms around your waist and pulled you closer to himself. This moment seemed like it wouldn’t end, everything was so much slower and it felt like, the loud, banging music wasn’t even there.

And for some reason, being in his embrace felt like home.

--

Jaehyun didn’t want to return to the party anymore and as you didn’t know anyone else but Yugyeom, you decided to stay with the young man, so you wouldn’t feel awkward between all those unknown faces. Neither of you were in a party mode anymore, so you ended up lying in that huge bed in the guest room. Being here in this bed was awkward as well – you were lying in one bed with a man you had met a week ago – but it was better to stay here with him than going in another room.

Jaehyun had offered to sleep on the ground but you didn’t want him to – sleeping on the ground could be painful for his back – so you now ended up in this awkward situation. None of you were talking, it was a peaceful silence – ignoring the loud music from downstairs – and for some reason, you enjoyed being here.

You hadn’t really noticed but you fell asleep very soon, only waking up once where you found a little rose petal in front of you on the pillow. It confused you, where did that come from? You hadn’t seen any flowers around. You decided to ignore it and tried to sleep again, just to wake up once again with an extreme cough.

Then you saw the red petals on your hand and everything slowly started to make sense to you.

--

“Baby, there is something I have to tell you about”, your grandmother handed you a piece of chocolate while you sat next to her bed, you were around fifteen, or maybe fourteen or even thirteen? You didn’t remember for sure. “I want you to be careful about love, baby. Please, promise me.”

“I promise, granny, but…  why? Is there something I have to know?”

“Yes, honey, you have to be careful. I don’t ever want to see you suffering because of…”, suddenly she started to breathe uneven and heavier, “hanahaki.”

When she said that last word, the machines around her started beeping like crazy and the last thing you could process properly was that a nurse pulled you out of the room and more nurses and doctors surrounded the old woman.

“Time of death, 4:27pm.”

--

After you had recovered from your grandma’s death, you had decided t go through book and the internet and finally find out what the hell ‘hanahaki’ was. Your results were that it was a disease, that would make a flower grow inside your lungs. Mostly, it was the favorite flower of the person you love, however, who didn’t requite your love. It would make it hard for the person to breathe.

Now, you were sure that these petals meant you fell in love with someone who didn’t return your feelings. Jaehyun.

You quickly got up and left the room while you continued coughing up those red petals. You didn’t want to wake Jaehyun up who still was lying next to you, sleeping in peace. He had no idea…

For some reason, this was confusing to you. It had been a week since you met him. Were you someone who fell in love so easily?

And this would mean that Johnny never lied to you about his feelings. You never had this disease ever before. That meant, Johnny loved you or… it meant that you never had true feelings for Johnny.

You didn’t know what you were feeling. Your emotions were too much for a moment that you stopped walking for a moment to calm yourself down and closed your eyes as you breathed in and out properly.

“Are those rose petals?”, someone asked you, it was a young woman. It was Jaehyun’s ex and also the girl you caught making out with Johnny. “You fell for Yoonoh, didn’t you?”

You raised your eyebrow for a second. Who was Yoonoh?”

“Oh, Jaehyun. His actual name is Yoonoh, though. He uses both names”, she told you, when she came closer to you. You immediately backed off, trying to get away from her. “Don��t worry about it.” She smiled lightly when she put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a few petals. It confused you when you finally realized what flower’s petals they were. Anemone, Johnny’s favorite flowers.

“But you were with…” – “Yes, I was with Yoonoh. I met Johnny through Yoonoh. Didn’t you know that they were close friends? Like, really close friends. I thought you’d knew as Johnny’s girlfriend.”

You knew that Johnny had a friend with the name Yoonoh, however, you didn’t know that Jaehyun’s actual name was Yoonoh.

“No… I didn’t know”, you murmured when you just started walking once again and just walked past the girl. You left Jungkook’s house without another word and started running home to the only person you could trust right now. Taeyong.

--

Your brother was still sleeping when you came back home. Due to the rush, you hadn’t checked what time it was, so when you checked it, you saw that it was only 8am. You knew that Taeyong would wake up in an hour so you decided not to bother him and went to your own room.

You didn’t feel sick – you didn’t even choke out any more petals since you left. Maybe it was that it would just happen if you’re close to Jaehyun.

Your body still was weak – you struggled to move your body and you assumed that the disease evolved faster for you than it was in Jaehyun’s ex’s case. When you finally were in your bed, trying to sleep, however, you couldn’t. You had so many questions; why Jaehyun didn’t tell you that he knew Youngho? Did he know that you two had broken up? Why did he hide these things from you?

Maybe it was also something Johnny had planned? You turned around and tried to get yourself to other thoughts, however it didn’t work out like you wanted. You still were totally lost in your questions and those made you go insane. You hadn’t even noticed that your brother woke up and saw you in your room over the half-opened door.

“You’re back? I thought you would spend the day with Jaehyun”, he asked you and you just sat up in your bed. You shrugged, Taeyong seemed to notice that something was off as he came into your room and sat down next to you. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know… everything is just so weird and I have so many questions, which is why I left”, you explained briefly.

“Do you want to talk about it?”, he asked you and you just shook your head.

“Can we talk about it tonight? Maybe go out for dinner? I don’t really feel like staying home today”, you asked him and felt immediately comfortable as your brother smiled softly to you.

“Sure. I’ll get you after work and we can go to some restaurant, maybe the one around the corner?”

“Sounds good”, you finally smiled at your brother and he quickly ruffled through your hair. Taeyong knew how much you hated that so he ran out of the room and could escape the room before your pillow hit him. You just heard him giggle when you finally laid down again and tried to sleep. This time, you fell asleep rather quickly and slept peacefully.

--

You only woke up when the ringing of your phone didn’t stop. You grabbed it from your nightstand and picked up with a groggy “what?”

“Finally! Goddamn it Y/N, I thought something happened to you”, it was Jaehyun and his upset voice immediately made you sit up.

“No, no, I’m perfectly fine but what happened?”, you asked him then.

“You just left without a word while I was sleeping? Jiyoo told me you left early in the morning and when I tried to call you, you didn’t pick up. I thought something happened to you”, his voice seemed a lot calmer than before.

“Sorry, I just had to leave. There was something with my brother but it’s nothing serious, don’t worry about it”, you lied to him and immediately felt bad for lying to the young man. However, you couldn’t let him know about what was happening to you.

“It’s alright. Do you have some time for dinner tonight? I want to take you out”, you could picture him softly smiling at you.

“Sorry, I already am going to dinner with my brother.” You quickly checked the time and saw that it was already past five pm, means Taeyong would come home in around ten minutes. “In fact, I have to get dressed and go out in a bit. Raincheck?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll call you tomorrow then, yeah?”

Saying your goodbyes, you breathed out shakily. You weren’t ready to meet up with Jaehyun, especially not after all the things you found out about him today. You weren’t sure whether you could trust him or not, so you decided to text Johnny for once and ask him a little about his friend Yoonoh.

Johnny didn’t reply, though. You had no idea what was going on or why he wasn’t answering, he usually replied quickly.

When Taeyong finally arrived at home, you quickly took your phone and bag and finally left the place to go to dinner where you would finally tell him about what was going on with you.

See, this was one thing you absolutely loved about Taeyong. You could always be so open with him, never had to keep secrets from him; he would always notice that something is off and he would immediately try to help you as much as he could.

“Okay, so… uhm, this is a bit hard to talk about”, you opened up the topic. You were slightly nervous to talk to him about this, but you knew that you had to talk about it. “I fell in love with someone else.”

 “That’s great, isn’t it?”, Taeyong smiled at you, he was happy that you managed to come over Johnny this easy. When he saw your nervous expression, his smile also dropped. “Is something wrong with that?”

“Actually, yes, there is. Remember the stories grandma used to tell us. About people who fell in love with someone who didn’t love them back and who died because of the flower growing in their lungs”, when he nodded, you continued.

“He doesn’t love me back.”

Taeyong didn’t know what to say. Was his sister going to die now because of a guy who didn’t love her as much she loved him?

“I… did some research and I could get it removed with a surgery, but… then I wouldn’t be able to love anyone romantically at all and I don’t want that. So, either I need to tell Jaehyun about it and find out if he truly has feelings for me or… if I will die very soon. Taeyong, if I die because of the disease, I don’t want you to be sad. I could never handle you being sad because of me. I don’t want you to mourn after me, I just don’t deserve that”, you told him and it was breaking your heart to see your brother so close to cry but still holding himself not to.

“Will you promise me?”

Hearing these words hurt him. You didn’t want him to be sad and mourn after you, and the worst was that he knew, he was too weak to handle that.

“I promise”, Taeyong finally said. “I promise, I won’t cry.”

However, both of you knew exactly that he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise.

--

A few days passed. Today, you wanted to meet up with Jaehyun and talk to him about your situation. Your assumption that the disease was evolving quicker than in Jiyoo’s case came true as each day passed, you felt so much weaker than the previous day.

You were scared, but you knew that this had to be done. You didn’t know what result this conversation would give, but you knew that you had to go through this all. It wouldn’t be easy for you; you already had a small breakdown when you told Taeyong about all this.

Time didn’t seem like it was passing. Five minutes felt like five hours and you were so impatient for Jaehyun to finally pick you up.

When he finally called to let you know that he was waiting downstairs

You were scared, but you knew that this had to be done. You didn’t know what result this conversation would have, but you knew that you had to go through it. It wouldn’t be easy for you; you already had a small breakdown when you told Taeyong about it and now you would have to tell Jaehyun about it?

Time didn’t seem like it was passing. Five minutes felt like five hours and you were so impatient for Jaehyun to finally call you downstairs.

When that finally happened, you rushed downstairs, however, you had to stop walking when you started coughing again. You held your hand in front of your mouth just to see more rose petals when you looked at it.

You knew what you had to do.

--

“Are you feeling okay? You look like you’re sick. Are you sure that you’re feeling good enough to be here right now?”, he questioned you. You shook your head when you looked up, you looked so worn out and exhausted.

“I’m okay, Jae. I’ll be better soon”, you tried smiling at him but he seemed to notice that your smile was once again not reaching your eyes. It wasn’t a real smile and he knew that.

“Please, tell me if something is bothering you”, he asked you and you sighed, then nodded.

“Yes, there is actually something I have to talk to you about. It’s quite a lot so I understand if you don’t want to talk to me afterwards.” When he nodded and motioned you to continue talking.

“Do you know the story of hanahaki?” Once again, he nodded.

“I fell in love with someone… and this person doesn’t love me back. For the past week, I have been coughing up rose petals.” Hoping, he would take the hint and maybe understand that it was about him.

Jaehyun wasn’t stupid. He already understood when you brought up the topic that it had something to do with him.

“I already told Taeyong about this all and I have to know, Jaehyun. I just have to.”

He didn’t answer and just looked down on his hands. You felt like you knew what he was going to say.

Jaehyun didn’t return your feelings.

You were already aware of that. If he did, you wouldn’t be suffering because of the disease.

“I understand. I just have a few questions, Jaehyun. Or should I say Yoonoh?”

His eyes widened when he heard his actual name. How did you find out? Who told you? He knew that he hadn’t told you, he was sure he didn’t.

“How do you know about that?”, he asked you, gulping nervously. “Who told you?”

“Does that matter? It shouldn’t matter who the hell told me about your close friendship to Youngho or about your real name? More, I want you to answer whether Youngho asked you to spend time with me or not.”

“No! That definitely didn’t happen! I didn’t know Youngho was your ex until I saw that wallpaper on your phone!”, he exclaimed, his loud voice got the attention of a few other customers in the restaurant. “I’m sorry if you thought I did something like this to you. I didn’t. I really had no idea. Youngho kept his relationship a secret – even from me, his closest friend. I didn’t know he was dating until the day he called me where he told me that he was in deep shit about the whole thing with Ten.”

“So, you didn’t lie to me about that. Thank you, Jaehyun. I needed to have that clear, before… well, you know”, you lightly smiled when you got up. “That’s all I needed to know, Jaehyun. Thank you for being there for me at my lowest. I didn’t get to know you much, but you’re a good guy. I loved the times I spent with you. I truly hope you will find the right one for yourself. Goodbye, Jung Yoonoh.”

It took all your patience not to cry in front of him. When you understood what those petals meant, you didn’t even realize that you had feelings for the young man. However, now, you knew that you were head over heels for the boy.

Finally, you were outside where you finally let your tears roll down your cheeks. It was hard to breathe for a moment. You just told the guy you loved to find the right one for himself because you knew that you weren’t the one. It hurt you so much to admit it, but this made you feel so free and lighter.

You only had one person left to talk to.

--

“Thank you so much for coming here, Youngho”, you smiled lightly when Youngho sat down in front of you.

“Of course, that’s the least I can do for you after all I did to you”, he answered.

“Yeah, there were quite a few things you could have done differently. I… I asked you to come here because I had quite a few things I had to tell you and a few questions I needed to ask and clear before…”, you stopped talking for a moment and breathed in to calm yourself down before you started talking once again. “Do you know the hanahaki disease?”

Johnny seemed to understand already what you were on about. He sighed lightly and grabbed your hand. “I know what you’re talking about. Yoonoh already told me”, he admitted and you chuckled.

“Of course, he did. You two were close right? Funny, how he never mentioned that to me, or you”, you snickered and shook your head lightly. “I knew that your best friend’s name was Yoonoh but I didn’t know that he was Yoonoh. I was so disappointed when his ex-girlfriend told me his actual name. Anyway, I just… I just thought I’d meet everyone that meant a lot to me and let them know before… you know.”

It was hard for you to say those words. You were still so young. Now, exactly what your grandmother had warned you about would be the reason for your death. You would leave so many people behind who meant a lot to you.

It hurt you to know that you would leave so many people behind who cared for you. Only because you fell in love with a guy who didn’t care about you as much as you did about him.

“We spent a long time together, Johnny. Even though you did hurt me and I thought I could never forgive you for that, I am. I am forgiving you because I understand your reasons and why you hid all these things from me”, you smiled and quickly wiped your tears away as they rolled down your cheeks.

“Hey, love, don’t cry. Please, don’t cry. I know, this is hard, but at the end, all of us will reach this day. For you, it was just a little too early”, Johnny tried to calm you down.

“I’m so sorry for leaving you all behind just because of my dumb feelings.”

Johnny didn’t say anything more before he got up and took your hand. He pulled you up and escorted you out of the restaurant. “Let’s go somewhere calmer”, he suggested to which you nodded. You didn’t know where he would bring you to.

He didn’t drive fast, however, it was a long way there. When he finally stopped the car, you understood where you were. The same spot Jaehyun had brought you to and where Johnny.

“What a great choice, John”, you laughed lightly and took his hand once again. “I even wanted to ask you to bring me here once more but seems like you thought ahead as usual.”

“Of course, that’s usual for me, you know that, babe”, he grinned and slowly, you two walked there.

While you sat on the cold stones, none of you talked. You just leaned on his shoulder, watching the sun slowly going down. This reminded you of how you had found comfort on Jaehyun’s shoulder a few weeks ago after you had broken up with Johnny. Back then, you hadn’t thought you would come back to this same spot with the same man who had your heart broken.

“I want to ask you for something, John”, you looked up to him and the way your eyes were still a little teary made Johnny feel so disappointed in himself. Maybe if it wasn’t for his mistakes, none of this would be happening.

“Can we pretend like everything was before everything went down? Only for tomorrow and only if your want to, of course. I don’t want to force-“

“Yes. Sure, we can do that”, he smiled and softly pressed a kiss on your forehead. “We can absolutely do that.”

--

That night, you spent with Johnny. You two were in his bed, he was holding you in his arms when you two were trying to sleep. However, none of you managed to fall asleep, both of you just stared somewhere else. The atmosphere was quite awkward, you hadn’t done this with Johnny for a while now, however, you tried to ignore it as much as possible.

Being here with Johnny also made you feel comfortable. You were very calm and even your coughing wasn’t as crazy as it was whenever you were alone or with Jaehyun.

This would’ve been the perfect moment for you to finally let go.

However, you didn’t want to, yet. You just weren’t ready for it.

“Try to sleep, love. We’ll go outside early in the morning, yeah?”, Johnny asked you and you nodded slightly, before you closed your eyes and finally fell asleep calmly.

--

The first place Johnny took you to, was a small café out of town where you two often went to while you were still together. The breakfast you ate there was good and Johnny managed to make you laugh so often. It was like everything was like before and it was so great for you that you managed to forget about your pain for a while.

Of course, everything good went downhill after a while. You started coughing up more petals and Johnny quickly escorted you out of the café and yelled that he would come back in a second to pay. “Hey, calm down, it’s going to be fine, love”, he softly rubbed over your back while he was talking sweet nothings so your coughing would stop.

When it finally got better, he made you sit down on a bench and quickly went back to the café to pay for the food. You tried to breathe properly and when Johnny was back, he sat down next to you. “Are you better now?”, he asked but you shook your head.

“It never will be better from now on, Johnny. Never. Everything will go down and down until I just can’t breathe anymore. It hurts so much and it’s not just the physical pain”, some tears started rolling down and you didn’t have the nerves to speak anymore. “Everything will get worse and worse until my body can’t take it anymore.”

--

Johnny didn’t want to pressure you and took you back home to your place with Taeyong. “Are you sure, you want to be alone until he comes home?”, he asked you, making sure that you’ll be fine. After your little breakdown at the café, he decided to bring you home so you could rest a little. However, he didn’t expect you to ask him to leave.

“Yes, I’m sure. He’ll be home in like three hours anyway, I’ll be fine, Johnny”, you told him while you took off your clothes in your room to change into more comfortable things. Although he had seen you barely clothed very often, he insisted himself to stay outside.

“Alright, I ordered something for you to eat, I’ll get going then, yeah?”, Johnny yelled and a few seconds later, you could hear the door closing and the soft beeps of the door locking.

Johnny really had been a great boyfriend. He always had been sweet, caring, until a bit before you two started spending less time together. Then, you had seen the video of him, where he said that he wasn’t serious about the whole relationship.

Except that, he was the best boyfriend someone could wish for.

Now that both of you were still on good terms and moved on, it was nice to spend time with someone that meant a lot to you before. He still meant a lot to you; however, it wasn’t the same as it used to be.

You decided to watch an episode of your current drama until the food arrived and you could finally eat something. However, your whole body felt so weak, so you had struggles to get up and open up the door when the delivery rang your bell. When you finally managed to get to the door, you took the food Johnny had ordered for you. The guy said it was already paid and left with a simple goodbye.

You slowly moved toward the kitchen and sat down, when you suddenly had problems to breathe. The pain in your chest was making it hard for you to calm down and you sank down to your knees as everything started to get blurry.

Then, it all went black.

--

Jaehyun was just getting inside of his small studio apartment when he felt a stinging pain in his chest. He groaned in pain as he didn’t understand what was going on – the pain just started without a reason. When the coughing started, it was weird.

As he looked on his hand, he saw the dark, dead petals of roses, remembering the stories his mother told him about the dead petals someone coughs out.

The person who’s love was unrequited didn’t survive.

Jaehyun didn’t know what to do when he understood what happened. Soon, someone knocked on his door and Jaehyun opened it. It was Taeyong. 

“I assume, you know what happened?”, Taeyong asked the young man with tears in his eyes. When Jaehyun nodded, the older man handed him an envelope. “It’s for you. She left it for me to give it to you if something would happen.”

Only thirty minutes later, Jaehyun was feeling better so he finally opened up the envelope. The paper inside of it was small and didn’t have a lot of text on it. 

When I leave, please don’t blame yourself or anything. Maybe you didn’t have the same feelings as I did for you, but please, don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault, not at all. It’s simply mine for letting you into my heart so easily. 

- Y/N

--

main taglist ;; @wownajaemin @n8dlesoupguk @winniet @loviehyuck​

other tags ;; @jaehyvnsvalentine​ 

[procrastinatorimagines]

Helping Hand

Fandom: The Originals / The Vampire Diaries

Characters: Reader, Elijah, 

Warning/s: none

Word Count: 4,171

Request:  Hi! Can I get an imagine where the reader is a teenager (about 16) who has powers and she learns that Elijah Mikaelson has a necklace that belonged to her ancestor that will allow her to keep her powers under control and asking him for help?

+

hey ,can u write something with elijah???? love your blog

Summary: The reader moves to New Orleans with her family after her grandmother dies, leaving them with a large property and inheritance. But the reader also starts to develop powers, powers she cannot control, not without the help of Elijah Mikaelson.

Note: I’ve had this first request buried in my drafts for a very long time, I don’t even still have the actual request anymore so idk who sent it but here it is

Your magic was... volatile, to say the least. They’d started to show themselves last year, around the time your family had moved to New Orleans, but despite your best efforts, you were still unable to keep them under much control. It felt like there was a well of power deep inside of you, but no matter how far you reached, you’d yet to find the end. 

You longed to reach the end of your power, to finally know your limits. By understanding what you were capable of, maybe you could begin to learn to control barely contained power within. It was a miracle your family hadn’t found out yet, especially given the whole you’d accidentally made in the back wall of the house, but as much as you wanted to tell them, you didn’t know how they would react. 

The timing of your powers couldn’t have been a coincidence, at first you’d thought it was related to your age maybe, did 15 mean something magical? You obviously had no idea, but the longer you were in New Orleans, you started to realise that that wasn’t the case. Your estranged grandmother had died last year, you’d only met her once as a baby and your mother never talked about her, but she’d left behind a massive estate and inheritance in New Orleans, and following the divorce from your father, your mother had decided maybe it was a good chance for a fresh start. So she’d packed you and your younger twin brothers up, ripping you away from your lives, friends, everything you’d ever known, and taken you to the Crescent City.

It had been an adjustment, especially with the added problems of your powers. Needless-to-say, discovering you had magic was a shock, a big one. At first you thought you were dreaming, or seeing things, but eventually you’d accepted that this was real... and you should really plant a few trees to make up for the damage you’d accidentally done to the ones on the edge of your property line.

That’s where you were now, headphones on, beads of sweat on your brow as you tried to concentrate your magic at a single tree stump about ten metres away from you. Taking slow breaths you listened to the beat of the music pumping in your ears, letting all else slip away as you felt that familiar opening inside of you, leading to the well of magic you could feel stirring in anticipation. It always gave you a bit of a rush when you started, but you had to be careful you didn’t dive in too quickly. 

Too much too fast was your problem, and you’d spent many, many... many, frustrating days trying to master it. You were sure there was a better way, maybe an instruction manual? But who could you ask, New Orleans may have been full of stores and stalls promising knowledge of the occult and the supernatural, but nothing had seemed to do you any good. Parlour tricks mostly, so you were alone.

Feeling that familiar build up of power, you yet again tried to steady it, tried to send a concentrated blast only. You felt your hands tingle, then warm, focusing intently as you felt sweat drip down the side of your face. Almost there...

A bird landed on the tree stump, catching you off guard as it cawed, stretching its wings but refusing to move. At the last second you threw your hands to the side, a blast of power flying into a nearby tree as you tried to reign it back in. 

“Damn it!” You swore, clenching your hands into fists and pulling them to your sides as you stared wide eyes at the giant smouldering hole in the tall tree, the creaking and groaning sound it was making as it began to splinter at the break.

You took a slight step back, casting a dirty look at the black bird still perched on the stump as it watched you, regarding you with a more curious look than you were comfortable with. A loud snapping sound caused you to look back to the tree, now unable to support the weight on top as it began to topple.

“Crap...” you mumbled, pulling your headphones down to your neck as you watched it start to fall slowly. Not again, you thought as it fell, crashing into another tree before falling back and slamming into the ground. 

You stared at it in stunned silence for a minute, glad you were too far out for anyone to have heard. The bird let out a small noise, still watching you, seemingly unaffected by the sound of the toppling tree. “What are you looking at?” You demanded, the bird cocking its head like it was listening, “this is your fault,” you told it, pointing to the mess behind it. 

The black bird actually turned its head, looking to the tree before turning back to you, cawing and flying off over your head. You ducked as it flew past you, wind blowing your hair. Well... that was weird, but honestly, talking to a bird was probably the least strange thing that had happened to you recently.

So with a shrug you turned on your heels, grabbing your school bag and heading back down the overgrown path you always followed back to your house, checking your watch to make sure you wouldn’t miss the bus. Your 16th birthday had been a few days ago, and the balloons your mother had insisted on putting up on the railings of your front porch were still flying as you appeared out of the clearing in the woods.

Your brother’s were waiting by the road as you picked up your pace, noticing the school bus turning down the end of your road and heading to where the boys were stood. “Cutting it close,” one of your brothers, JJ, commented as you rolled your eyes, ignoring him and Nick as you rifled in your bag for your pass, finding it just as the bus pulled up and the doors opened. 

You sat away from your brothers once you got on, headphones back on as you thought about how you were ever going to get a hang of your powers. 

The rest of your school day when like it usually did, you went to class, did your work, ate lunch alone, and researched magic whenever you had some free time. You’d had losts of friends back home, but being the new girl struggling to control dangerous powers didn’t leave you with much opportunity to be anything other than the loner who talked to the librarian more than any of the other kids. 

Your brothers fit in just fine, and the party your mother had been expecting to throw you over the weekend had been embarrassingly empty, so now she was worried about you. Great, another thing you had to worry about. 

Thankfully, your magic hadn’t really ever acted up at school, expect in gym once or twice, but nothing too noticeable. Heightened emotions seemed to make it worse, and the boredom you felt at school seemed to subdue it the most. 

After school you debated getting the bus home with JJ and Nick, but your mom was working until late so you decided to walk into the city instead, trying your luck again at one of the supposedly magic stores or stalls, you never knew, maybe someone might actually be able to help you.

It was a warm day, even into the afternoon as you strolled along the crowded streets. Okay, you actually liked New Orleans, the people, the buildings, the atmosphere, you felt like you could disappear here. If you hadn’t come into uncontrollable powers when you’d moved here... well, things would be very different. 

You ended up walking through the French Quarter, definitely lost but not caring too much, you’d just use your phone to find the best way home when it got a little later. You were so lost in your music and surroundings that it took you a while to realise you were being followed. 

It felt like a cold breeze on the back of your neck, like your magic warning you of danger. But there was so many people arround that you wouldn’t have been able to tell who was following you even if you saw them, so you picked up your pace.

That feeling didn’t leave, cold going down your spine as you weaved your way through the crowds of people milling about the square. You probably would have thought you were paranoid, but you’d learned enough to not doubt your magic right now. 

Spotting a side street you slipped down it, only realising once you were half way down that it was a dead end. You quickly tried to double back, heart pounding as you turned to see a man at the end of the way, blocking your exit.

He was a sharp dressed man, black suit crisp as he leaned against the cool shaded bricks on the wall, hands in his pockets, regarding you with a cool but intrigued gaze. There was something... off about him, something you couldn’t quite put your finger on as your magic buzzed in you with warning. 

“Hello there,” he said casually, pushing himself up off the wall and strolling towards you, hands still in his pockets. He didn’t look threatening, but there was something in his eyes that made you want to run, but where?

“H-Hello,” you got out, not doing well to pretend you weren’t scared as the man smirked at you. There was a lot of times over the past year where you wished you didn’t have magic, this however, wasn’t one of them. You’d never used your power on another person before, but the more scared you got, the more you could feel it burning in your core, ready to burst out to defend you if needed. 

“I’m Elijah,” he introduced himself, British accent clear as he slowly spoke the words. Was he expecting you to introduce yourself? Stranger Danger 101, you were not giving this man your name. He seemed to realise that when you didn’t respond, but he didn’t seem offended. “Very well, I apologise for startling you, but you looked like somebody I knew once.”

“We’ve never met,” you replied, you were sure you would have remembered this well dressed individual.

“No...” Elijah mused outloud, “no I suppose we haven’t, a relative maybe?” The only relative you knew in the city was your late grandmother, you supposed your mother had lived here, but not for the better part of 20 years.

“I don’t think so,” you answered, itching to get away. He seemed to register this, but he still seemed curious about you. What was this guys deal? You scrunched your fists at your side, palms warm with power, your fight or flight response sounding alarm bells in your head as your power threatened to spill out. 

He took another step towards you, glancing down at your hands like he knew what was going on inside of you. Was that possible? You knew that you couldn’t be the only one in the world with power like this, but still...

“I have to go now,” you told him quickly, trying to simply quickly walk past him back to the crowded street, determined to get home as you regretted not just getting the bus with your siblings. 

“On second,” he said, just as you passed him, hand reaching out to grab your arm. As you as he touched you, you exploded.

It happened so fast, one second you were trying to twist out of his grasp, the next a blast of energy had sent him down the street. Breathing heavily, your heart pounding in chest, you didn’t look back to see what you had just done, instead all but running out on the street and making your way back home. 

What had you just done?

-

You made it home before your mom, ignoring your brothers questions about where you had been as you ran up the stairs two at a time and into your bedroom, slamming your door shut and locking it. Only when you heard your lock click into place did you let out a shaky breath and try to relax, leaning against the back of the door and sinking to the floor. Your mind was racing as you tried to process what had just happened.

Had you killed him? You didn’t think so, you hoped not, but he had provoked you, scared you, it had been out of your control the second he’d put his hand on your arm. What were you going to do now?

You groaned and wiped your hands over your face, exhausted and drained. You just needed to think. Reluctantly pulling yourself up you went into your bathroom to take a shower. Every bedroom in this house seemed to have it’s own bathroom, what your grandmother did alone in this place was beyond you.

The water was scolding as you slipped in, but you didn’t care, standing there for a long time as it poured down your face and body, eyes glued to your hands as you thought about the power they contained, the power you possessed.

Your eyes drifted to the pale blue wall tiles, you grandmother had had most of the house redecorated before she died, she’d been sick for a while apparently, but your mom had never told you any of that. This was the room she’d decorated for you, the one she’d instructed you to take in the will, and you had to admit, she’d done a damn good job of decorating it to your taste. Eerily good, considering you weren’t exactly doing much talking the one time you’d met her. 

She’d left you a note too, on the bed when you’d entered. Old people rambling about how you had more potential than you realised, you were special and important and she wished she was there with you... You hadn’t thought much about it at first, but a part of you kept going back to those words in your mind, had she meant this? Had she known?

It seemed crazy, but there had been something not right about that man, Elijah, something cold and... not human? If he had known your grandmother, maybe he would have had more answers about what was going on with you?

With a sigh you finally turned off the water, drying yourself off as you thought about your grandmother alone in this big old house. As you did you walked over the creaky floorboard outside the bathroom door and paused, leaning back on your heel and making it squeek again. You shook your head, thinking you must be reading too much into everything that had happened to you. But as you stepped off of it and listened to it creak again you let out a defeated breath, what the hell, why not? You thought, kneeling down and prying at the sides of the board. 

To your slight surprise it budged, were you really looking for hidden compartments in your room? But your grandmother had left it to you, if your suspicions about her were correct, maybe she’d left you more than you realised. She did, you realised as you got the board free, a dusty box beneath it. This was crazy.

Taking it out you set it on your dresser and got dressed, eyes barely leaving to box until you tentatively tried the latch, it didn’t have a lock on it so you carefully lifted up the old lid, revealing a leather bound book within. It looked like an old-timey journal as you slowly pulled it out, your magic buzzing at the touch. What was this?

You went to sit on your bed, book on your lap as you opened the first page, careful not to tear the pages as you did, it felt fragile but it was definitely well worn, the spine was basically coming apart. The language inside looked like it was mostly... Latin? Maybe, you hadn’t exactly studied it in school, but there were annotations in the margins in English, fresher than the original text, the handwriting appearing to match the writing in your grandmother’s letter.

The more you flipped through the pages, skimming passages and trying to understand illustrations, the more you thought this was a spellbook of some kind. You assumed that was a thing anyway, especially with your grandmother’s notes. 

“Y/N!” A knock on your door had you slamming the book shut probably a little too hard and rushing to put it away, your mother calling you from the otherside. 

“Yeah?” You called back, frantically trying to replace the floor board, barely managing to as she entered, uniform on as she look at you, on your knees n the floor. “Dropped by earring,” you lied with ease and she believed you, it’s not like she’d have believed the truth anyway.

“I’ll have dinner ready in 20, okay?” She smiled and you nodded, standing back up, “how was school?”

“Eh same old,” you told her, deliberately not mentioning your strange encounter with Elijah, she’d freak out if she knew, and you didn’t want her involved in any of this.

“Okay, could you set the table when you come down?” She asked and you nodded again, more than eager for her to leave your room. 

She did after that and you breathed a sigh of relief, you couldn’t be doing any of this in the house, you’d go out into the woods again with the book tomorrow, maybe it was time for a new approach to your magical problem. You just hoped the answers you were looking for had been right under your nose, or feet, the entire time.

-

It was a quiet morning as you made your way down the familiar walkway into the woods, switching into autopilot as you stepped over the roots and stones you had been avoiding nearly everyday for the better part of a year.

You’d tried to sleep last night, but your mind was wide awake, thoughts of that book swirling around in your mind until you finally caved and switched on your lamp, reading through the pages until you’d eventually fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning, book in hand. 

It had been eye opening. Vampires, werewolves, witches... well, you were a witch then, but the fact that the others existed too was nearly too much, your brain becoming so overloaded with new information you barely thought was possible. You’d fallen asleep at a chapter on New Orleans, the different factions there and information on the ‘Original Family’ that had once ruled, the name Elijah Mikaelson had caught your eye, was it the same Elijah you’d met yesterday? It would explain a few things, but it didn’t exactly make you feel any better.

You made it to the area you had been the previous morning, the fallen tree a reminder that you really needed to get your powers under control. You sat on the stump you’d been trying to blast yesterday and pulled the book out of your bag, a torn piece of homework bookmarking a page with a spell you’d decided to test out. It seemed simple enough, and this far into the woods you only had to worry about the damage to the trees, which was nothing new when it came to your magic. 

Leaving the book open on the correct page you stood back up, focusing your breathing as you held out your hands, facing the fallen tree as you reached down into that familiar well of power. But instead of firing blindly like you usually did, you now had a spell that you hoped would at least concentrate the energy.

“Motus,” you said when you were ready, feeling your power blast out of your hands, absolutely shattering the tree you had previously felled... along with a handfull of others in the vacinity. 

“No, no, no,” you muttered. It hadn’t worked, you’d just wanted to hit the one tree, now what were you supposed to do? 

You were so lost in your thoughts you hadn’t noticed that you weren’t alone, jumping and whirling around when you heard a twig snap behind you. Suddenly you found yourself face to face with Elijah. 

“Impressive, uncontrolled and reckless, but impressive nonetheless,” he commented, standing there in a suit as crisp as he had worn yesterday, seemingly unaffected by the blast you’d sent into his chest at your previous encounter. 

“How...?” You stammered, looking around to see where he had come from all of a sudden, what your grandmother’s book had said about Elijah the Original ringing in your mind as you faced him.

“I’m a vampire,” he told you, waiting for your reaction, “so you know what I am then?” He asked when you didn’t flinch.

“I did some reading last night,” you said honestly and he glanced down at where you’d left the book open on the tree stump, recognition flashing in his eyes.

“I can see that,” he noted, wandering over to the book. You wanted to stop him as he reached it, but your feet were firmly planted. What did he want now? “My apologies for yesterday by the way, you just looked so much like your grandmother that I let my curiosity get the better of me, I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“How did you know her?” You asked and he smiled, like he was thinking of fond memories.

“She was one of the oldest witches in New Orleans, most went to her for guidance, she had a gift of sight you see, I went to her from time to time as well, her passing was tragic,” he explained, “how long have you known?”

“Well I found the book yesterday so since then really,” you admitted.

He looked at you in confusion, “but you powers...?”

“Yeah I’ve had those since I moved here, but I never really knew what they were, or how to use them,” you elaborated.

“I can see that,” he said with a nod to the destruction behind you. You looked down sheepishly, embarrassed by your lack of control after so long.

“You know, your grandmother had the same problem,” he began, your head shooting back up to face him, finding that very hard to believe after what he’d just told you about her. “It’s true,” he insisted, noting your hesitation to believe him, “the witches in your family are born with an immense amount of power, more than most could handle, which is why she wore this, to channel that energy and take control,” as he finished he held out his hand, an amulet dropping from it. 

“What is that?” You asked him, drawn closer by the power radiating from the small half moon hanging from his index finger. It looked old, but it also felt oddly familiar in a way you couldn’t quite explain.

“It belonged to your ancestors, passed down from generation to generation since before my family even reached these shores in the early 18th century, your grandmother gave it to me for safe keeping, so it could be given to you,” he told you and you shelved the comment about the 18th century away for another time, your eyes unable to leave the amulet as Elijah held out his hand, offering it to you. 

“Can I?” You reached out for it slowly and he nodded, letting you take it. It felt cold in your palm, so different from the heat you always felt when you were using your power. Elijah offered to fasten it for you and he did, a sense of calm and clarity washing over you as soon as he fastened the clasp and stepped back. 

“Try it now,” he suggested and it took you a second to realise he meant the spell. You swallowed, here went nothing.

Turning until you found a target you held out your hand, your well of magic seemingly contained by the amulet, a smaller opening available to you now as you whispered, “motus,” and sent a beam of energy into a nearby tree branch.

Usually, the whole tree would have been blown apart at least, but you your surprise and delight, only the branch was sent flying off. You’d done it. 

Smiling you turned back to Elijah, “thank you,” you breathed, hand going to the amulet around your throat.

“Of course, I gave your grandmother my word that I’d help you when the time came, but I’ll admit, family matters kept me from even checking to see if you’d arrived in the city,” he admitted, “for that I’m sorry, but if you’d let me, I’d like to help you now, it’s the least I could do for your grandmother.”

Although you barely knew this strange man, this vampire, he seemed genuine and it’s not like you really had many other options. So you straighten up and nodded. “Where do we begin?”

[mrsalwayswrite]

Never Alone (Don “Wardaddy” Collier x reader) Fury 2014

Just something that popped in my head today and I had time to write. Yay! Plus I watched Fury recently and my love of that movie grows every time I watch it.

Reader is written as she/her instead of y/n but no other description is given.  

Warnings: none really. some swearing, sadness, fluff. 

Words:1780

  She had been so excited when the Private told her she had mail. Tearing the envelope practically in half, she did not check who sent it. There was only one person (well two technically) who sent her mail. Her grandparents. Her grandfather was the one who wrote the letters though. He was the one who mattered. Since his own son dumped his toddler on his parents' doorstep and walked away, her grandfather had treated her as his own. Better than his own. 

 Ever since she was able to walk she waddled around following her grandfather. He teased her calling her his shadow, but she knew he loved it. He was the one that taught her to fish, to hunt, to shoot, to defend herself, everything he knew about engines and machines. 

He had been in the Great War, a Captain, but when this war rolled around, age and injury prevented him from joining. 

 So she did. 

 The tanks were supposed to be rolling out soon. This was only a short reprieve until they headed to the next town to liberate and secure it. Nothing unusual. 

 For the brief moments she had, she hid behind her current home- the tank Fury. As an assistant mechanic, she knew every part of the tank, almost better than Grady since she could fit into the smaller spots better than him. The rest of the crew- her boys as she teased them- were getting some hot chow. Wardaddy probably was talking with that stupid lieutenant, that acted like he was better than everyone else, to learn where they were going. For the moment, she was alone. A rarity that she planned on taking full advantage of. 

 She tore the envelope and ripped out the letter, eager for news from home. 

 Immediately she knew something was wrong. 

The words were written in a lovely cursive, not the typical choppy, slant she associated with her grandfather's handwriting. There were dried tear marks smudging some of the words and scattered around the paper. 

 Sweetheart, I don't know how to make this any easier on you, so I am just going to say it. Your grandfather is gone. There was an accident. The neighbor's truck was acting up again so your grandfather went to help and then…

 The words blurred before her eyes, no longer recognizable.  Gone… her grandmother could not even come out and say the truth. He was dead. The man that mattered most to her was dead. 

 She wanted to scream at the heavens, she wanted to cry until there was nothing left in her, she wanted to burn the letter and pretend her world had not imploded.

 Mostly she just wanted her grandfather back. 

 Instead she sat there, kneeling in the mud, staring out over the field next to the tanks, the letter clutched in her hand like her life depended on it. Tears streaked down her cheeks, cleaning away the grime and grease that felt like a permanent stain on her skin. 

 The fog in her mind lifted when she heard someone call her name. Turning her head slowly, she glanced over her shoulder to see Bible approaching her. Gordo stood a few feet away watching her, eyebrows furrowed. She could guess why. She never cried. Even when a chunk of tank pierced her thigh and Wardaddy had to pull it out, no tears fell. Even when everyone else in their unit died, tanks blown sky high, she never shed a tear. 

 "What's wrong, Whiskey? You hurt?"

 Silently she handed him the letter. Words felt like too much effort right now.  Even hearing her nickname felt like a stab to her gut. Her grandfather had instilled in her the knowledge of good whiskey so now she was humorously picky when it came to drinking alcohol.  

 It did not take long for him to understand. "Oh, Whiskey. I'm so sorry." He wrapped his arms around her, putting his chin on the top of her head as she pressed her face to his chest. "He's in Heaven now with our Lord, looking down on you. No more pain, only happiness. He probably found himself a bench with Saint Peter and is keeping an eye on you, yeah? Looking out for his girl."

 She nodded, thankful for Bible's intuition of what she needed to hear. 

 He held her for a few more moments before the cries of 'move out' sounded and men piled back into the tanks, war ready to resume. 

 He let her go but stared into her eyes. "You need to talk, or even a hug, you find me."

 "Tha...thank you."

 "We're family. A bit dysfunctional but family."

 She chuckled, quickly wiping away the dried tears with the sleeve of her jacket, caking her face in grime once again. One more nod to each other, they stood up and clambered into Fury. Gordo squeezed her hand when she slipped into the gunner's seat next to him. Coon-Ass patted her shoulder awkwardly. Wardaddy gave her a brief nod, but it was his gaze, all the sentiment in it almost broke her resolve to bury her pain. 

 Now was not the time. They had a job to do. 

 Best job she ever had. 

 ******

 That evening, under the stars, she leaned against a brick building that once was a cafe but now was half demolished. Cigarette between her lips as her thoughts threatened to overwhelm her. Everyone that was not on guard duty was asleep. 

 Footsteps approached her but she knew who it was without looking. She knew he would find her eventually. He always did. 

 Without a word, he leaned against the brick next to her, lighting his own cigarette. They stood that way, silently, watching the stars as the smoke from their cigarettes drifted upward to join the celestial beings. 

 Giving in, she tipped her head to the side, laying it against Don's shoulder, his arm wrapping around her. 

 "He's dead."

 "Yeah."

 "I don't… I don't know what to do."

 "You keep living." His harsh tone made her peer up at him in the dark, but he continued, staring ahead. "You keep living every goddamn day doing the best you can, to honor them, but mostly cause you alive and they aren't.  You live while there is breath in your lungs because one day there won't be and you don't want to realize you wasted those breathes. Trust me on that."

 And she did. She knew about the scars on his back and where they came from. One drunken night he told her and Bible about it. 

 He pressed a chaste kiss to the top of her head. "I'll take care of you."

 "I know. But when this damn war is over and we go home, I…."

 "I'll take care of you." He interrupted, exhaling, smoke slipping between his lips. 

 "What?"

 "You heard me. You aren't going home alone. You're coming home with me." His statement said, so matter of fact, as he kept staring at the stars.

 "I am?"

 "Yeah, be my wife. There's land behind my folks place. We'll build a house and you can hunt in the woods all day long or work on vehicles in the garage."

 "You want me to marry you?" She needed to make sure she was not hallucinating.  

 "I sure as hell ain't letting you marry any of these other bastards."

 She could not help it. She threw her head back and laughed. God, it felt good. Anything was better than crying. 

 Turning around so she was facing him properly, his arm still around her, hand on her hip now, she stared at him. Taking one last inhale of her cigarette, she dropped it onto the ground. She had always thought he was attractive. At the beginning she may have even had a schoolgirl crush on him. As time passed and she got to know him more, that crush evolved into something deeper. Something stronger. His loyalty, his  protectiveness for those he cared about, his nerves of steel, his sincerity and his ability to think calmly and rationally even in the most dire of circumstances...those things began to mean more to her than just his pretty face. Even if it was very pretty. 

 "You serious? You really want me to marry you?"

 "That's what I said."

 She stared at him, trying to imagine herself as his wife, as living a simple life together. Something she had never imagined for herself before...until now. And with the picture in her mind, she realized she wanted that. More specific, she wanted that with him. "Well, ok."

 He finally looked down at her, lips turned up just slightly. "Yeah?"

 "Yeah. Yes, Don, I will marry you."

 A full, brilliant smile split his face. He dropped his cigarette and cupped her face, pressing his lips against hers in a mad rush. Her own hands grabbed his jacket, pulling him as close as possible as she opened her mouth to allow their tongues to dance. She wondered if this is what it felt like to be on morphine. A lightness filled her, everything felt right with the world, a warmth stirred in her belly. Kissing Don Collier had to be the best thing she had ever done in her life. Well maybe second best thing, since she agreed to marry him and fully expected more kisses in the future. 

 Breathing heavy once their lips unlatched, Don held her close, his chin on top of her head. Her hands still gripped his jacket but now more to steady herself. Her legs felt like limp noodles and her mind was in a euphoria of bliss. 

 "So, this means we're calling you Warmomma instead of Whiskey?"

 She looked over to see Bible standing nearby, a shit-eating grin on his face. 

 "Don't you dare." She glared but his smile only grew and she could feel Don attempting to suppress his own laughter. 

 "We'll don't stay up too late you two…" he pointed a finger at them, "...and no funny business."

 "Night, Boyd." Don said, lighting a new cigarette. 

 Bible shook his head, still smiling before sticking his hands in his pockets and strolling away. 

 "He's right. We should probably bed down."

 "Mmm…" He slowly ran his hand up and down her back. 

 "Want to keep me warm tonight? Gordo stole my blanket yesterday, so…" she shrugged, struggling to keep her voice light. 

 He smirked. "I can do that."

 They walked back towards the others, his arm around her shoulders and hers around his side. She realized in the moment that if they survived this war, she would never be alone. Her future was not how she planned it to be...but perhaps it would be even better.

[oneofyatosfollowers]

Yatori Week 2021- Day 3

@yatoriweek2021

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32090953/chapters/79500055

Fanfiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13905660/1/Yatori-Week-2021

There was a cherry tree in the new neighborhood Hiyori moved to. 

It sat alone at the end of a small park, tucked away in the green bushes and trees. That’s where she met him. It was the day after the moving truck dropped off the last of their things at their new house down the road. Her mother had asked her older brother, Masaomi, to take her to the park since it had a playground. When he wasn’t paying attention, he threw the ball they were tossing too far over her head and it rolled towards the tree.

“I’ll get it!” She called. Masaomi, who was too invested in his video game, just waved. With a huff, Hiyori followed after the yellow ball, approaching the cherry tree. Once the ball was safely in her tiny hands, Hiyori stood. Suddenly, she heard sniffling. Alert and concerned, Hiyori looked around. She peeked around bushes and under benches until she realized the crying was coming from above her. Within the leaves and pink blossoms of the cherry tree, someone was crying softly. Hiyori’s heart sank when she realized it sounded like a little kid, just like her. Turning on her toes, Hiyori ran back to her brother with the intention of telling him, but she remembered her brother made fun of crybabies.

“I don’t want to play with you anymore!” Hiyori declared as she set the ball down at her brother’s feet. There must have been a break in the game because her brother gave her a look of shock and offense.

“Oh, uh, okay,” he said. Satisfied, Hiyori spun around and dashed towards the tree.

“H-hey!”

“I’m going to climb that tree!” Hiyori announced over her shoulder. She watched her brother pick up the ball and sit on the bench. Approaching the trunk, Hiyori slowed, feeling an odd sense of forbidding. She shook it off and stepped towards the tree, hands against the bark, and listened. Whoever was crying must have heard her yell her intentions and stifled their weeping. She huffed and looked around, spotting a rock right next to the tree that would make her just tall enough to reach the lowest branch. As she hauled herself onto her knees, nice oxfords scraping against the wood, Hiyori wondered if the person was nice. With a grunt she looked to the ground, furious with her mother for insisting she wear a dress to the park, then looked up. At first she couldn’t see anyone so she pouted.

“Hello!” Hiyori called into the pink, “I know you’re up here!” Her shout caused the leaves above her rustle. Someone flinched and was trying to readjust to make themselves smaller, instead the person had moved out from the branch they were hiding behind. Hiyori opened her mouth to point out their mistake, but thought better of it. As she continued her way further into the pink wonderland, Hiyori realized this person could be hurt. With another grunt, she sat on the branch and fretted; wishing she brought her capybara toy doctor kit. It would have been just like she practiced! Eventually Hiyori managed to climb up, and up, and up around the cherry tree until she was just under the crying child.

“Excuse me!” Hiyori’s shrill voice startled them and they whipped around to look at her. The boy’s eyes were a startling blue that stood out against the pink surrounding them. His long black hair was a major contrast too, it stalled Hiyori long enough for her to blink a couple times until she remembered her original goal.

“It’s mean to not answer, you know,” chided Hiyori as she settled more comfortably on the branch below him. When she met his eyes again she realized he hadn’t looked away the entire time. Did even blink those big blue things?

“Hello? Can you speak?” Hiyori tried again, this time a bit kinder. He hadn’t stopped crying since she sat down, tears rolled down his red cheeks in thick waves. No matter how he sniffed at his dripping snot or wipes under his eyes, he still looked just as miserable. She noticed he was wearing an off-white kimono, tied shut with a navy ribbon.

“Y-yeah I c-can talk,” the boy whimpered.

“O-oh.” Hiyori didn’t know what to say. Now that she heard his voice, his sorrow, Hiyori’s own lips started to tremble.

“No one -hic- asked y-you to come up he-re,” he hiccuped. That’s when Hiyori realized his eyebrows were knitted. He was annoyed with her.

“I thought you were hurt!” Hiyori defended, “I heard you crying!”

“I’m not crying,” the boy lied, pathetically. The challenge was clear on her face but the boy just let out a loud sniff and turned back around, pulling his knees tighter to his chest. Hiyori pouted again, which turned into a frown and she looked down. Up here, she couldn’t even see the ground. They were surrounded by nothing but pink and brown, the sounds of the world outside were muted as wind drifted through with a sweet scent. It was nice. She would have never come up here on her own- her mother did not condone rolling around in nature- but in any other circumstances this would have been amazing.

“Are you hurt?” Hiyori asked gently. There was a long pause before he shook his head, bangs wagging side to side, then he re-buried his face in his knees. Unsure of what to do, Hiyori played with her fingers, watching her legs swing back and forth. The thought of leaving crossed her mind but instead Hiyori crawled up next to him.

“H-hey,” he sputtered. Hiyori ignored him and situated herself right next to him, their legs dangling side by side. She watched patiently as he wiped his blotchy red cheeks then looked at her with that mild annoyance and baby pout. When he didn’t say or do anything more, Hiyori rubbed his back, hand moving up and down like her grandmother did for her.

“What’s your name?” She asked.

“Yaboku,” the boy said, “but my mom called me Yato.”

“What should I call you?”

“Um, Yato is fine,” he sniffed, “what’s your name?” He watched her pull back and stick her hand out to him with a smile.

“I’m Hiyori Iki!” She smiled as he took her hand and shook it. Yato’s fingers were sweaty and Hiyori wiped her hand clean on her dress.

“That’s a nice name,” Yato eventually said.

“Thanks,” Hiyori smiled. Her happiness quickly fizzled out when Yato just sniffed again and frowned at the ground. From this close she could see his eyes were puffy, his nose and cheekbones rubbed raw. It hurt her heart to see. No one should be that sad. Hiyori reached around him again, and pulled Yato into a hug.

“Shh, there there,” Hiyori comforted, “don’t cry. It’s okay.” The moment Yato’s head rested against her, his eyes instantly watered. She rocked him slowly, holding him tight as she shushed his sobs.

“What’s wrong?” Hiyori eventually worked up the nerve to ask.

“I miss my mom,” Yato lamented. He hiccuped and buried his face in her clothes, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

“Where’d she go?”

“She’s dead.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. My grandpa died recently too. Everyone was sad, I cried a lot too.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Hiyori sighed, “So, what are you doing up here?”  

“I don’t want to be home, but I have nowhere to go,” he sniffed, “this is my mom’s tree.”

“Oh, did she plant it?” Hiyori asked. She leaned back in surprise and Yato moved away from her, but just slightly.

“No. She just liked it. A lot. We used to come here all the time.” He wiped his eyes even though he had stopped crying.

“That’s nice,” Hiyori said, “my family just moved here. So I’ll come here a lot too.”

“Really? You will?” Yato sounded so hopeful Hiyori couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah! Do you come here a lot too?”

“Everyday,” he sniffed, “if you want to play together, we can.” His face looked considerably clearer, he even smiled slightly. Meanwhile Hiyori beamed at the thought of having a brand new friend. Just as Hiyori opened her mouth to gleefully agree, her name was called somewhere below them.

“Hiyori!” Masaomi shouted, “come on, mom said we have to be home by four!” His voice echoed through the leaves and the two children watched his shadows dance against the pink. Hiyori’s mouth opened and shut before she looked at her new companion. Blue met brown as they communicated their reluctantness.

“Hiyori!” Masaomi shouted, a bit more panicked.

“Coming big brother!” Hiyori finally called back. Not wanting to worry him, Hiyori spun around and draped her stomach over the branch, kicking her feet until they met a foothold. It took her a lot less time to climb down but she looked up just before she vanished through the flowers.

“Yato!” She called up to him. It wasn’t necessary, he had been staring at her all the way down, but Hiyori just wanted to say it. Especially when- from below him- he looked like a spirit that belonged among the blossoms.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” She promised. The last thing she saw before she left was Yato’s smile and a wave.

The two become steadfast friends, closer than Hiyori had ever been with anyone her own age. They were practically inseparable; Hiyori making her way to the park at least once a day. Yato would always be there, it didn’t matter what time of day it was, he was always waiting for her at the bottom of the tree. For a while, Hiyori never questioned it, instead enjoying her time with her best friend every day, making up stories of pretend. Until she started her first day of elementary school and she passed by the park.

“Yato!” she called to her friend sketching in the dirt. His head popped up and that beaming smile instantly appeared at the sight of her.

“Hiyori!” Yato charged towards her. They met with their usual big hug, her backpack hindering his advances.

“Are you here to play?” He asked.

“No, Yato! It’s time to go to school!” Hiyori huffed. Confused, Yato cocked his head.

“School?”

“Yes! It’s this way, come on!” Hiyori grabbed his hand and tugged him along the park fence.

“But! I don’t go to school!” Yato fretted.

“Of course you do! Mom says all little girls and boys go to school at six years old,” Hiyori recited happily.

“I’m seven,” Yato informed. This surprised Hiyori, since the boy was much smaller than her, but there were more pressing matters to address. Yato didn’t have a uniform- still wearing that dirty kimono- but missing school was a big no-no.

“We have to go or we’ll be late,” Hiyori huffed. She continued to pull him but when they reached the end of the park,Yato gripped the fence and brought them to a halt.

“No, I mean I don’t go to school. My dad teaches me and my sister at home.”

“You can do that?” Hiyori gawked. She finally let go of him and watched his expression turn to a pout.

“Yeah,” Yato sighed.

“Hey that’s okay,” she rubbed his shoulder, “I’ll see you after school!” Hiyori promised. That seemed to cheer him up and he returned her wave as she jogged away from him. That promise stayed as they grew, Yato would be there when she walked to school and when she walked home. Hiyori’s mother let her stay at the park after school until dinner time.

“When do you go home?” Hiyori asked him once. He was covered in bruises and cuts again- apparently trying dangerous tricks on the playground- and his kimono was getting short and worn.

“When the lights come on.”

“Lights?” Hiyori questioned. Yato pointed to the streetlamps and Hiyori laughed.

“That’s called a street lamp!” She giggled.

“Well I didn’t know!” He huffed, suitably embarrassed.

“You don’t know a lot,” Hiyori said. She wasn’t trying to be mean, it was true.

“You should listen to your dad more when he teaches you,” she lectured. Yato just hummed and continued building their castle in the sand pit. Two springs later, Hiyori saw Yato wear something different for the first time. Just like their first meeting, he was sitting on his favorite branch. However, this time he faced her with a smile and a bruised cheek.

“Look at you!” Hiyori squealed. Climbing up the tree with the practiced ease of a squirrel.

“Me?” Yato cocked his head, holding his swollen cheek.

“You’re wearing clothes!” She exclaimed.

“I always wear clothes.” Yato was suitably confused this time and Hiyori rolled her eyes.

“Yeah a kimono.”

“My mom liked kimonos,” Yato said haughtily. That made sense. The one time Hiyori met Yato’s twin sister- shy to the point of avoiding all other people- she wore a matching kimono.

“Well you look good,” Hiyori complimented. She tugged on the orange capybara shirt and looked at his cargo shorts.

“Thanks! I found them!”

“Found them? In the store?”

“Uh,” Yato looked down, “yeah.” Despite how close they were, there was so much about Yato, Hiyori didn’t know about. But Hiyori wasn’t stupid, she tried to ask once she caught on, but he wasn’t a fan of that. But that didn’t stop them from getting closer.

“So, a haunted house, huh?” Yato snickered, “and what are you dressing up as?” As per tradition, Yato met her under the tree and walked her to school. Even when they -she- moved on to middle school a year ago.

“I’m not. I will be doing the entrance,” Hiyori stated. Spring brought on an annual happiness that could not be explained but Hiyori knew the sweet smell wafting through the air was all Yato.

“Come on Hiyori! No cosplay for me?” He teased, nose coming in far too close.

“Wha-? Cosplay!” Hiyori shoved him away, “And what’s for you?” She turned her burning face away as he laughed. They continued to playfully bat at each other until the school fence was reached and Hiyori fully pushed him away. Cherry trees were budding on her campus as the decorations for the culture fest were in full display. She stopped and stared at it, looking back at the boy who couldn’t even leave the park fence until a little while ago.

“Why haven’t you talked to your dad about coming here?”

“Hiyori,” his smile dropped and he looked to the side, “it’s fine. You know it’s for the best this way.”

“How can it be for the best? You want to, don’t you?” Hiyori pressed. As always Yato squirmed, shoulders sinking in.

“You know how he is, Hiyori. He’s just strict. It’s fine.”

“But-!”

“You’re gonna be late, you know. And so am I,” Yato shrugged. Hiyori pouted as he turned with a lazy wave over his shoulder. He thought he was so cool wearing all black and tying his hair up. With a huff, she rolled her eyes.

“I’ll see you later! Don’t forget what class I’m in!” Hiyori called after him. Turns out she would be seeing him during the culture festival, with the delinquents of her middle school, vandalizing the side and some storage sheds. They were squatting under a cherry tree under the window of her hallway, beating things they weren’t supposed to, laughing at whoever tried to stop them. This was not the Yato she knew. The sweet boy who sat next to pink flowers did not laugh while bullies beat those weaker than them. She had abandoned her post, running down the stairs, out the front door and around the building.                                                                                

“Yato!” She hollered at him. He stopped, wide blue eyes stark against the Cherry Tree behind him. He looked just as shocked and fearful as the first time she saw him, but her face held more fury. The boys were just as shocked at the sight of a girl glaring at them with her fist balled. She was shaking, but the frightened boy beaten against the tree trunk caused her to march forward.

“Uh,” one of the boys faltered.

“Looks like his girlfriend came to save him.”

“Hey girlie, whatcha up to?” Another jeered. Hiyori kept her head down as she reached for the stuned victim’s arm and pulled.

“She’s kinda cute.”

“Yeah, check it out,” the boys were musing in a frightening way. Hiyori could feel their eyes on her as she and the victim stood but she was most aware of Yato. They didn’t do anything as Hiyori turned and tried to walk away, until one of them grabbed her arm.

“Hey, where ya goin?” one of them gibed. Hiyori’s lips tightened as she forced herself to look away.

“Let go of me,” she said.

“Come on, I just wanted to know why a cutie like you was hanging out with this loser,” the boys around her laughed and she felt tears well up in her eyes. Then, it was cut off.

“She said let go,” Yato growled in a way Hiyori had never heard.

“What? Dude what’s your deal?”

“Yeah, back off! I thought you were cool,” the boy holding her hand squeezed and jolted, causing Hiyori to gasp slightly in surprise. That might as well have been a wrestling bell because all hell broke loose. The hand was pulled off of her and Yato was pushed, leading to three other students on the ground. Before Hiyori could even catch up, the main bully was beaten and held against the tree. Two other boys tried to help their friend- to stop Yato from hitting him so much- before their noses met with his elbow and fist.

“Yato!” Hiyori cried, “Yato, stop it! Get off him!” She finally gathered herself and grabbed his cocked elbow. Those blue eyes flashed to her again and Hiyori gasped. She had never seen him so angry, they were alight with terrifying fury under knitted eyebrows. His face fought to smooth out at the sight of her, guilt filling in the tight lines, Hiyori realized for the first time: Yato was much stronger than he looked.

“Hey! What are you kids doing?” A teacher hollered around the corner.

“Run! Scatter!” The bullies immediately took off. Yato dropped the student he was holding, letting him slide down the tree, taking the same position as his victim. Hiyori watched her friend spin around and move towards the fence.

“Wait!” Hiyori tightened her grip on Yato’s arm.

“I can’t let my dad find out!” Yato spoke rapidly when he whipped to face her. For a moment she was shocked by the sudden flip in emotions but her jaw clicked shut as irritation boiled.

“You have to face the consequences of your actions! You can’t just leave!” Hiyori shouted. At one point the victim she helped tried to hold Yato too, only to be shoved off just as quickly. By now the teacher was marching over with two more in tow. Yato struggled against Hiyori, pulling so strongly that her heels dug in the dirt.

“Hiyori, I’m not kidding, let go.” Yato demanded with a low growl.

“Yato-”

“Stay right where you are!”

“I said get off!” With a final push, Yato sent Hiyori to her rear, flat in the dirt. They stared at each other, a mix of shock and hurt rolling across their features. Then, he was gone, up the cherry tree and over the fence by the time the teacher reached them. Hiyori was not like Yato. Hiyori would listen to the teacher, Hiyori would end up sitting in the office and telling them everything, Hiyori would meet her parents after they got a phone call. Hiyori would still go to the Cherry Tree to face him at their usual time, only to find it and it’s branches empty and silent.

Unable to break a promise, or a tradition, Hiyori prepared to meet Yato under the park Cherry Tree that weekend for the viewing. They watched that tree bloom every year before Hiyori left to go with her family or friends. But that short time they spent together was as nostalgic as it was precious. Yato was waiting for her, kicking up against the bark like usual. Except he wasn’t smiling at her with that crooked grin, in fact he wasn’t even looking at her. She didn’t approach him, just stood there with her fists balled. She wanted to yell at him, slap him across his bruising cheek but she was waiting for him to speak first and he knew it.

“I’m sorry.” He said. It was lame and pitiful and he knew it but it was enough for Hiyori to march over to him.

“You better be sorry. How could you? Beating up on someone weaker than you,” she jabbed her finger on his chest, “is that why you’re always beat up?” The realization seemed to strike her just as strongly as it did him. Boys were crazy; what if those bullies have been fighting with Yato the entire time?

“No,” Yato spat at the ground, “I just met them. Couple months ago.” He shared her scowl and Hiyori felt her eyes water with frustration.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t realize I had to. You’re not my only friend, you know. Besides, you have other friends too.”

“They’re not good friends, Yato.”

“I can hang out with whoever I want,” he suddenly glared at her. It shocked Hiyori enough for her to let out a short gasp which caused Yato’s face to drop again with guilt but he looked away before she could glare. Up close Hiyori saw all the bruises littering his face. He seemed to be favoring his right side but Hiyori can’t tell if it’s because of his foot or hand. Honestly Hiyori couldn’t bring herself to focus on street fight bruises.

“Fine then,” Hiyori sighed. She watched her friend pout for a couple moments longer before looking above them. This tree was beautiful, it’s petals completely covered it in the most breathtaking shade of blush and magenta. Despite herself she smiled, this was her happy place but only when the boy in front of her was there.

“You look really pretty,” Yato mumbled. When Hiyori looked back at him, she noticed he was staring at her again. Drinking in her appearance with a blank expression.

“Th-thank you,” Hiyori blinked. Her mother put her in a pink and purple kimono with butterflies sewn around her ankles. Her fingers reached up to play with her hair, the majority of it tied with a hairstick. Damn him for making her forgive and forget her anger so easily. With a hum, Yato watched her for a couple moments longer before he looked back at the ground.

“You should go. Your friends are probably waiting.” This was about twenty minutes earlier than when she usually left but her friends probably were already there. Still, Hiyori didn’t want to leave, even if Yato was okay with it.

“Come with me,” said Hiyori.

“What?” Yato yelped, head popping up. Hiyori didn’t bother elaborating, she just grabbed his hand and pulled him off their cherry tree.

“Wait! Hiyori!” He stumbled but didn’t pull away as she walked him out of the park.

“That boy you beat up is going to be with us. His name is Manabu and I expect you to be nice,” Hiyori huffed. She held her breath as they headed towards the end of the fence. Of course they left the park more often than not these days but it still worried her. She sighed with a smile when he just continued to follow after her as they left the park behind.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? Won’t they hate me?”

“No,” Hiyori giggled, “why would they hate you?” She looked back at him for a moment. Eventually she let go of his hand but was happy to see he still followed. It had been awkward at first, Yato practically hid behind her while her friends gaped and teased. Poor Manabu was terrified and wouldn’t even talk to her unless Yato was distracted. But it ended up okay, everyone had fun and her female friends cooed at how cute Yato’s smile was.

Unfortunately, Yato couldn’t hover around her all the time. It was next spring, before middle school graduation, that Manabu asked her out. He had been so attached to her after her little rescue attempt that Hiyori had a hard time saying no. Fortunately, boys had a habit of falling out of Cherry Trees.

“That’s why Hiyori Iki, please,” Manabu bowed, “please go out with-” He fell to the ground with a thud, squished under another body.

“Yato!” Hiyori gasped. Her friend was rubbing his butt with a pout, refusing to look at her or the boy he now sat on.

“What are you doing?”

“I tripped.”

“Out of a Cherry Tree?” Hiyori huffed at him as he stood, stepping off Manabu as politely as he could. The two friends couldn’t look at each other’s red face but Hiyori at least had the dignity to help Manabu back up with Yato watching her, just like that day. Manabu too, looked suitably embarrassed. His face rivaled that of the apples on an apple tree rather than the pink of the blossoms above them. Before Hiyori could nicely turn him down- and let Yato have it- someone gently weaved their arms together.

“Sorry, but Hiyori has plans with me everyday after school forever. Give up,” Yato stated nonchalantly. He led her away as Manabu and Hiyori worked to close their mouths. The two children didn’t look or say anything to each other, even when they reached the park.

“Forever?” Hiyori repeated.

“Yep. Forever and ever,” Yato said in the same tone he used when they promised that as kids. He was completely turned around but Hiyori could see his red ears.

“And what if I wanted to date him?”

“You didn’t,” that got Yato to turn around, “I could tell.” There was nothing she could say, even with both their faces rising in temperature, he was completely serious. And he was right.

“That and you looked like you wanted to drop through the floor,” Yato finally snickered. With a gasp she whacked him, hitting him more the more he laughed at her, trying to mock her horrified expression.

“I keep telling you to stop spying on me at school! They’re getting ready to cut down that tree!” Hiyori said. At some point, Yato caught her hand and twined their fingers together, grinning despite her embarrassment.

“Come on! Let’s get some ramen. Your treat,” he started towards their favorite noodle bar. Hands swinging, she walked right next to him, refusing to let go or look at his proud smirk.

“You just don’t want to lose your meal ticket.” She muttered.

“Oh come on,” Yato scoffed, “you know you love me!” He cackled at the terrible joke and Hiyori struggled to smile. He meant it as a joke- right?- but that little comment resonated in Hiyori all the way through her middle school graduation. It kept her up at night, bounced around her skull as they walked around town, and vibrated in her chest when he waited under their Cherry Tree with a bouquet of flowers after her graduation party.

The more aware she was of her own feelings, the more aware she became of his. The attention, the neediness, the jealousy, the more-than-friendly affection. Hiyori was almost sure Yato liked her too. But no matter how much she pushed and pried, the first year of high school coming and going, he never did anything more. And if Manabu was anything to go by, Hiyori was still on the market.

There was another boy, Fujisaki, in the grade ahead of her. He had been one of her first friends in highschool and often hung out with her group of friends. Somewhere along the way, they had exchanged phone numbers, spent time alone together outside of school, and talked everyday. Even Yato knew more about him than he should, scowling as she recounted her stories about Fujisaki. There were even a couple times Fujisaki walked her home, staying with her and Yato at the park until she had to go home. They argued, right then and there under the Cherry Tree, over who would walk her home. Fujisaki’s charisma and Yato’s temper had Hiyori pick the former; something she regretted for days but never apologized for. Instead, Hiyori tried to keep their interactions and knowledge about each other to a minimum. But the fact was that Fujisaki was much more determined than Yato’s stubbornness. Before she knew it they had gone on a date, then two. Something Yato saw on social media.

“You’re really going out with him?” Yato had been late, for the first time, to the Cherry Tree one day, marching towards her just as the sun was setting. When he finally did come, he wore a storm cloud over his head and opted to shove the cheap phone he got in her face.

“I-I am not! We just date sometimes!” Hiyori shoved the device away.

“That’s called going out, Hiyori!” Yato all but shouted. His hand slammed against the tree truck right next to her head. Hiyori flinched but she was too offended and embarrassed and guilty to do anything but narrow her eyes up at him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Hiyori wondered when the tiny boy she met grew taller than her.

“It was twice and what does it matter! I’m not doing anything wrong! I can date whoever I want,” even to Hiyori’s ears it sounded forced. Like she was trying to convince herself of something.

“Do you even want to date him?”

“I wouldn’t have agreed to a third date if I didn’t!”

“That’s not an answer, Hiyori,” Yato leveled her with a more serious gaze. Not a jealous, emotional teenage boy, but a concerned friend. She hated when he did that. How he could get so dramatic, get her angry, then make her heart quiver with nothing but honest concern.

“Who says it's not an answer,” Hiyori muttered to the ground. She heard Yato take a deep breath through his nose, sensing he didn’t believe her.

“You don’t see us at school. We hang out all the time,” Hiyori continued, “he’s really nice and we get along.” She had said this line many times to many people and while she felt comfortable acting around her friends and family, it was harder with Yato.

“I can too,” Yato mumbled. When Hiyori returned her glare to him, she saw this time he was the one looking off with embarrassment. No, that wasn’t right, not embarrassment. Fear maybe?

“I can, uh, apply? Go to high school too. With you,” Yato said, rather uncomfortably. He started twitching again but Hiyori took a moment to indulge in old daydreams. Ones where Yato would sit next to her in class and laugh with her friends, play a sport or join a club, let her know more about him.

“Why would you do that?” Hiyori hushed, “Just so you can hang out with those bullies again? You tell me who I can and can’t hang out with while never telling me anything about you!”

“I can’t tell you! There’s nothing to tell! Besides I wouldn’t,” he bit his lip, “I wouldn’t say anything if you actually liked him.”

“I never said I didn’t!” Hiyori argued.

“You never said you did.”

“Well maybe I do.” Hiyori shot. Her declaration rang through the air, it seemed to strike through Yato and his shoulders slumped. Next to her ear, his fist curled, scraping against the bark.

“Then say it.” He dared with a low growl. It hurt to hear, why couldn’t he just grow a pair and give her a straight answer? Or was she wrong and he really was okay with her dating someone else?

“Why should I? Who cares whether or not I do or I don’t, it’s dating. That’s what dating is. And it’s not like you ever-!” Her rage was cut off harshly. She couldn’t bite her lip fast enough and Yato’s eyes whipped up to hers before she could look away. They stared at each other again. The Cherry Blossoms had bloomed over a week ago and it’s brown, rotting flowers had already started to shrivel up and fall around them. But their sweet smell still wafted around Hiyori, mixing nicely with Yato’s cologne and natural scent. They were so close. During their yelling both of them had leaned closer, bangs almost brushing. Yato had bent to her eye level, which made their blushes that much more apparent.

“Would you-” his voice cracked and he cleared it.

“Would you have? Uh,” Yato couldn’t get it out and Hiyori could barely listen.

“Yes.” Hiyori said. She had always been braver than him, even though she didn’t know exactly what she was agreeing to. But when Yato didn’t talk, didn’t look at her, for a long time, Hiyori’s worries boiled over and threatened to spill over her lashes.

“I’m homeless.” Yato said suddenly.

“Huh?” Hiyori blinked, “You’re homeless? You’re kidding! You don’t actually live here?” Her voice took on a hint of a plea as her hands came up between them.

“Well, no, I can go home, when I’m not kicked out. But I don’t, uh, don’t like my dad when he, uh, bullies me.” Yato stammered. As he spoke a dying blossom fell on his head and stuck there.

“Oh, Yato.” Hiyori mourned. Taking in a sharp breath Hiyori reached up to remove the flower, dropping it on the ground and resting her palm on his cheek.

“And I’m not ‘homeschooled’ so much as I’m ‘self taught.’ He did the basics but, uh,” Yato swallowed and let out a painful laugh, “I have no future, Hiyori. All I really have is you, as sad as that is. But, uh, you do. With someone good.” His words were met with silence. Hiyori wanted to be mad, to shout, to apologize, anything. But she couldn’t. All she could do was let the tears fall down her cheeks and sniff as Yato stared. Eventually he pulled her into a hug, slowly and cautiously, resting her head in his chest.

“I’m sorry. I know you wanted to know but,” Yato sighed against her head, “I’m sorry.”

“You have a future.” Hiyori sniffed.

“Hiyori,”

“You have a future here. With me.” She asserted. He offered everything to her yet she wasn’t all he had. Yato had strength, Yato had kindness, Yato had perseverance. But no matter what, Yato had her and Hiyori had him. It was just as dependable as the tree they stood under and just as beautiful. Yato’s smile was sweet like the scent of blossoms as his eyes got a wet sheen to match hers.

“I’d like that.” He hushed. Her own breath hitched as he reached up to wipe her tears and held her face, gently. Moving slowly, ever so slightly, with nervous, jolting movements, they got even closer.

“Only if you want to,” Yato’s nose brushed her cheek as her eyes drooped, “if you want me.” Instead of answering, Hiyori used her hand to push him the final centimeter, squeaking when his lips pushed against hers. They took turns letting out soft sounds as they struggled to figure out how to kiss properly. It was awkward, their clumsy movements sloppy and off-beat while they tried to figure out how to breathe. But it was as sweet as it was addicting. Regardless, Hiyori was giddy and couldn’t help but snort at their inexperience, peaking one eye open to see a very passionate Yato with more dead flowers in his hair. Suddenly, Yato’s eyes popped wide open and he looked directly into hers. That did it and she couldn’t help but laugh. He gasped in offense and mortification and Hiyori thought it served him right. Just in case she grabbed his face and pecked at his scowl. In retaliation, Yato kissed her hard, pressing her so tight against the tree her nice shoes slid up the root and onto the trunk.

“Wha-? Hey!” Yato protested as Hiyori spun in his arms and crawled up the tree, limbs moving without thought. She took a moment to look down at him and stick out her tongue, before she disappeared into the leaves.

“Oh no you don’t!” Yato was up the tree in seconds but Hiyori was already straddling his branch, smiling triumphantly. Of course, she wouldn't be for long as Yato managed to re-claim his spot while kissing her senseless. The tree hid them well into the night, the old cherry blossoms falling off, making room for the new yet forever precious beauty.

[hopelikethemoon]

his family (Javier x Reader)

Title: His Family  Rating: PG-13 Length: 3,000 Warnings: Angst w/ Fluff  Notes: Surprise! This chapter is from Javi’s POV. Click this to check out the timeline for Maybe Today, Maybe Forever. Summary: Josie is born.  Tag List: @grapemama​  @seawhisperer​ @huliabitch​ @pedropascalito​ @rogrsnbarnes​@thewallpapergoesorido​ @twomoonstwosuns​ @gooddaykate​ @livasaurasrex @ham4arrow​@hiscyarika​​ @plexflexico​​ @readsalot73​ @hdlynn​ @lokiaddicted​ @randomness501​​@fioccodineveautunnale​​ @roxypeanut​ @just-add-butter​​

He wanted to call Steve. 

He wanted to call his father. 

The phone was right there. Screaming at him. Mocking him.

With each methodic tick of the clock on the wall above the door, he felt like the room was closing in on him. 

Javier rested his elbows against his thighs as he leaned forward, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared at a scuff mark on the linoleum floor.

It had been two hours since the nurse had ushered him out of her room. Two hours since the door shut behind him and he was sent to wait in a waiting room meant for friends and extended family members. Two hours of watching grandparents waiting for their grandchildren to be born, friends waiting to see their new godchildren. He was the only father anxiously waiting to meet his child. 

It was bullshit. He’d had half a year to prepare for this moment but it hurt like a son of a bitch. More than he’d expected. He should’ve been in there with her. Holding her hand, kissing her brow. But instead, he was alone.

So was she. 

He just wanted to call someone — anyone. He wanted to vent, to yell, to point every fucking injustice he’d suffered during this whole goddamn process.

So he paced instead. Up and down the hall until a nurse snapped at him to go wait in the waiting room.

What if he called Steve?

“Hey man, hope Miami’s treating you like shit. Why the fuck did you have to leave? If you hadn’t fucking left, none of this would be happening.”

But he couldn’t even humor a world where he wasn’t about to become a father. She wasn’t even born yet, but that little girl and her mother were his whole goddamn life. He’d suffer it all again, just to end up right there in that waiting room.

Javier scrubbed his hands over his face, sighing heavily. He wanted a fucking cigarette. He hadn’t touched them in months, thanks to her, but he needed one. Just one. 

He bummed one off one of the grandfathers sitting in the waiting room. He seemed thrilled to offer Javier something to get him to stop pacing around the small room. 

He sank back in the seat that had become the bane of his existence, smoking that cigarette like it might just offer him salvation.

This situation had to be punishment. He made that decision as the clock on the wall reminded him that it had been three hours. He was being punished for all the shit he pulled. The hookers, the people he killed, the people he let down. 

He put the cigarette out in the ashtray on the side table, already itching for another to calm his nerves. 

Javier dragged his fingers through his hair, tugging at the strands as they slid between his fingers. He should’ve been in there with her. She shouldn’t have to be going through childbirth alone. What a fucking shitty way to bring a new life into the world.

Once he had his daughter in his arms, he decided, he was never letting her go. Or her mother, for that matter. He still couldn’t wrap his head around it. Him — a father. He’d kept attaching that noun to himself and it still just didn’t feel real.

Made worse by the fact that he was on the outside looking in.

He’d never tell her how hard it had been for him, because it seemed like a jackass move considering she was the one who had been throwing up, losing sleep, and suffering while carrying their baby. He’d tried, in recent weeks, to at least voice his frustrations, but it wasn’t everything. There was a wound that was festering within him and he was willing to just wait it out until it healed.

He pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes before he pried himself out of the chair in search of shitty vending machine coffee . It was down the hall, closer to the maternity ward — closer to where new fathers who didn’t want to be in the room waited. Those assholes didn’t know what they were missing out on. What he wouldn’t give to be in there, with her. 

Javier had never really done emotions. If he had, he likely wouldn’t have hauled ass when it came down to his own wedding. Commitment used to feel like a four-letter word. When he was a young buck who didn’t want to get tied down in Texas. Hell, half the reason he ended up in the DEA was because it meant he wouldn’t have to settle. Different assignments across the country — across the world. Never in one place for too long… until Colombia.

Until her. 

He figured he must’ve known when she first started working at the DEA. She wasn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with him. She’d given him hell within her first week in the office. She didn’t let a damn thing slide and she wasn’t afraid to call him out on shit. God, she’d been a breath of fresh air. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed Steve’s company. But she was different — one of the guys. Except she was more than that. 

He’d fancied her for a long time. Longer than he’d likely ever admit to another living soul. 

Fuck. He still remembered that rush of excitement he’d felt after Steve and Connie dipped out of their farewell hurrah. She’d looked so fucking good sitting beside him at the table. They’d both been throwing playful jabs at each other and he’d spent the better part of the evening wondering what her lips would taste like. He finally had the chance to make a move. Both of them just tipsy enough to forget about all the reasons they shouldn’t. That night had led them to this moment. 

“Señor Peña?” A nurse stood in the threshold of the waiting room, calling for him. She turned, just as he approached, “Señor Peña?”

“Si.” Javier breathed out, fingers gripping his styrofoam coffee cup more tightly. “Mi nombre es Javier Peña.” 

She was ready to see him. 

Javier wasn’t entirely certain what was said to him after that. It was all a blur as he was finally led through the maternity ward doors, the sound of them swinging closed behind him nearly deafening — which he realized was ridiculous. The nurse ushered him back into the room he’d vacated four hours ago, when he’d first returned from the DEA. 

The whole afternoon had been bullshit. 

She’d gone into labor just after lunch and he'd dropped her off at the hospital and returned to work. Was she going to have their daughter while he was working on compiling a report? Would she remember to page him — or would she be too caught up in holding their daughter for the first time? He got fuck-all done that afternoon, watching the minute hand tick down until he was free to leave. 

They let him visit with her briefly before the time came. Before they were pulled apart because he was just a friend. He knew it was coming, he’d prepared for it to come, but it had felt like getting shot. To deny that he had any hand in conceiving that little miracle.

His heart felt like it was going to explode as his gaze fell upon the bundle in her arms. “Holy shit.” He swallowed thickly. Javier drew in a shaky breath as he took a step forward, fingers clenching and unclenching at his side. 

Where had his coffee gone? Fuck. Everything about the last five minutes was a blur. 

“Is she…” 

“She’s beautiful, Javi.” She smiled at him and he felt a rush of pride go through him. His feet carried him towards the bedside, trembling fingers brushing over her forehead as he pressed a kiss there. His fingers moved to her shoulder, giving her three short squeezes as he peered down at their daughter. 

She was gorgeous. Far more gorgeous than she had any right to be, given that she was partly made out of him. 

“Can I—”

“Please.” She sat up slowly, keeping the baby cradled to her chest before she carefully passed her into his arms. “Hold her head, just like that.” She squeezed Javier’s forearm, still smiling up at him. “Isn’t she beautiful?” 

“She’s gorgeous.” Javier blinked, feeling his eyes burn before a tear rolled down his cheek. His chest felt so tight as he stared down at her. He couldn’t fathom how he deserved to be holding something so tiny and pure. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, laughing breathlessly as her little eyes opened to look up at him. “Hi, baby girl.”  

“I still want to go with your grandmother’s name.” 

Javier looked up at her, offering her a watery smile. “Yeah?”

“She seems like a Josie, doesn’t she?”

“She seems like she’s perfect.” Javier looked back down at the baby in his arms, grinning at the way she was staring up at him. “Josie.” He breathed out, cradling her to him gently. Javi looked back towards the bed, brows furrowed. “How did you do?”

She shrugged, gesturing to Josie. “I gave birth.” Javier knew her well enough to know that she was tamping down her own feelings about the matter. 

“Baby, I wish I could’ve been here.” 

“Me too.” She said sadly. “Once we’re home, everything will be easier.” 

Only, he knew it wouldn’t. He still had to go to work tomorrow and pretend that his daughter hadn’t just been born. He’d have to come up with excuses for his exhaustion. None of it was easy. Worth it, but not easy. 

All of it was worth this moment. Holding his daughter in his arms. His flesh and blood. More than he ever deserved. 

“I was thinking about burning through a couple of my vacation days—”

“Javi.”

“I know.” 

“You can’t.”

“I want to.” 

She sighed, “It would be too coincidental.” 

He stared down at his daughter, his brow furrowing. “I don’t wanna miss out on anything.”

“You can’t argue with me, Javi. I just pushed that watermelon out of my vagina.” 

He shot her a look. “Fuck. I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t want to be there.” 

“It’ll get easier.” 

It wouldn’t. But he was willing to take what he got. 

“How do you feel?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, “Exhausted.” 

Javier shuffled closer to her bed, leaning down to press a quick kiss to her lips. “You did such a good job, baby.” He whispered. He wished he could’ve been there with her, been there to hold her hand. But there was no point wishing for something that was never meant to be his. 

She reached up and cupped his cheek, “She was worth all the pain.” 

“Yeah she was,” Javier said quietly. 

 ———

Leaving the hospital when visiting hours came to an end hurt worse than Javier had expected it would. Walking away from the woman he loved and their baby felt like a strange brand of torture. Made worse by the fact he went home to an apartment that hadn’t felt like home since he started spending nights with her. His bed felt too small, tainted with memories he’d traded for a better life. His apartment didn’t have the nursery he’d painted, it didn’t have the crib he’d put together. It was merely a place he slept, not the place he lived. 

She paged him around eleven in the morning to let him know she was being discharged. He was out of the office on a stakeout with Daniel — not free to take her home. When he got back to the office late in the afternoon, she’d called and left a message on his desk phone. The hospital helped her get a taxi and she and baby Josie were both safely home.

Home. Where he should’ve been. 

Weren’t fathers supposed to be there when their kids came home?

“You look like shit.” Chris remarked, kicking back in his chair as he looked across the office at Javier. “What’s your problem?”

“Didn’t sleep last night.” Javier rubbed at his eyes, perching an elbow on his desk. He was counting the minutes until he got to leave. 

“Oh, yeah?” Chris wiggled his brows suggestively. 

Javier glared at him. “Fuck off.” 

“That bad, huh?”

“I couldn’t fucking sleep. End of story.” 

Chris fell silent for a few minutes, right up until the moment he jerked his head towards the empty desk across from you. “At least we’ve got a good month free of her. Something to look forward to.” He squished a stress ball in his hand. “Could be longer. Never know with these bitches when they become mothers. They get all sentimental.” 

Javier felt heat rising up the back of his neck, fingers curling into fists atop his desk. “Watch your fucking mouth.” 

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Javier gritted out. 

“I don’t get how you’re friends with her.” Chris shrugged and dropped the subject. 

The last couple of hours of work dragged. They tried to get Javier to head up an overnight mission, but he offered it to Chris and Daniel instead. He had somewhere he needed to be and that was not sitting in the back of a van getting bullshit intel. 

 ———

“Baby, you didn’t have to cook.” Javier complained as he looked towards the kitchen before his gaze flickered back towards where she was resting on the sofa. “I could’ve eaten anything out of the fridge.” 

She laughed softly, “I needed something to do. I did not like being here all day.” She sat up gingerly, paining creasing across her features.

“Hey, hey. Stay sitting.” Javier urged her, moving to join her on the sofa. “How do you feel?”

She made a face, “I’m going to spare you the details.” 

Javier drew her into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I wish I could’ve been here today.” 

She interlaced her fingers with his, squeezing tightly. “Me too. But I also wish I’d been able to go to work today. I don’t know if I can handle ten weeks of this.” 

“Let me take a couple days off. I’ll say I have to go see my pops or something.” Javier suggested, hoping she’d take him up on that offer. 

She relaxed back against his chest, tilting her head so she could look up at him. “Javi.” 

“I know.” He sighed, dragging his fingers through his hair and down the back of his neck. “But this is gonna kill me. Just a couple days.” 

“Javier, we have to play this safe. You taking off is going to look suspicious.” 

“No, it’s not.” Javier gritted out. “No one would suspect us. No one is going to think me taking a couple days off to see my pops has anything to do with you being on maternity leave.” 

“No, no.’ She shook her head. “You can’t say you’re going to Texas, they can double-check that shit.”

“So what do you want me to say?” Javier questioned. She hadn’t said ‘no’ full stop that time. 

“Say…” She hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip. “Say you’re visiting someone. Someone who might have intel.” 

“Fine.” Javier shifted so he could meet her eyes. “Five days. The weekend and three vacation days.”

She sighed and considered it. “Fine.” A faint smile played over her lips. “Please eat. She’s going to be up again soon to eat and I’d like some company.”

Javier pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he slowly peeled himself out from behind her. He could handle five days. Five days wasn’t quite ten weeks getting to bond with his daughter and help his partner through her own healing process — but it was something. 

Now he just had to hope it got approved. He’d come up with some story, some hooker, some shadow of his past. He could probably get something out of one of them to corroborate his story.  

———

“I’ll get her,” Javier whispered as he groggily sat up in bed, rubbing at his eyes. 

“She’ll want to eat.”

“Just rest, baby.” He urged her as he slid out of bed and padded blearily across the bedroom to the bassinet. Josie was fussing, soft little mewl-like cries that were the start of a much louder cry. “Shh.” He lifted her into his arms carefully, his palm resting against the back of her head. “Daddy’s got you.”

He carried her carefully, settling back down onto the bed. He had Josie nestled against his chest, his heart beating faster as she nestled her little cheek against his skin and quieted. “She’s so tiny.” Javier marveled. 

“She is.” She answered as she turned on the bedside lamp, “And enjoying the skin-to-skin.” Javi watched as she pulled the pillows up behind her so she could recline more comfortably. “What?”

“Can’t believe we made her.” Javier mused as he reluctantly passed Josie off to her mother. He knew she needed to eat, but he just wanted to hold her a little bit longer. It had only been a day, but already there was this deep seated fear that he would blink and miss everything. That he’d go to work and come home a stranger in his daughter’s eyes. 

Javier settled onto the bed beside her as she worked to get Josie to latch on to her breast. That was his whole world right there. None of the other shit mattered. Everything that came before this… irrelevant. 

It felt like just yesterday that she’d told him she was pregnant. Just yesterday, that his entire life narrowed down to just these two people. 

He had never actually envisioned what being a father would he like. His own father used to tell him that once he settled down and met someone he could commit to — everything would change. He’d thought it was bullshit until it happened to him. Until he realized he had to grow the fuck up and be a man worthy of being a father to her child. 

“Hey,” Javier whispered, his fingers spreading out over her stomach as he looked up at her.

“Yeah, Javi?”

“I love you.”

She smiled, “We love you too.”

One day, he hoped he wouldn’t have to hide this. To never have to pretend to have only a passing interest in their lives, when in reality, he was counting the seconds until he could be alone with them again. Where this was the woman that he loved and his daughter. 

Where this was his family.

[ho-ku-o-five]

Kongeriget Danmark

Here is little DenNor oneshot based off the headcanon I have about how the Nations live amongst their citizens and how they must change their persona often in order for them not to be discovered as the immortal country personifications that they are, which is a pretty dark concept if you think about it.

Denmark gets too attached to his human neighbours and struggles with the knowledge that he will always outlive them all. Without Norway by his side, he wouldn't be able to cope.

-------------------

"Nation Persona Registration for Kongeriget Danmark: STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL"

Denmark stared at the document on the desk in front of him, his pen hovering just a few centimetres from the page.

The Danish National Day had been and gone a just a few days prior, on the 5th of June, and although he had been expecting that he would wake up to find the thick brown envelope sealed with the red wax seal from his government on his doormat any day now, that didn't mean he was prepared for it. 

It had been 10 years since he’d last had this form lain out in front of him, and it had been just as hard back in 2010 as it was today.

In order to keep their existence somewhat unknown from their people and ordinary citizens, the Nations must change their identity regularly if they wanted to live among humans to avoid suspicion. Denmark couldn’t imagine a life away from his people, away from his neighbours and community, away from everyone and simply hidden away on a large piece of land all alone in a draughty house, and so he’d always chosen to re-register himself and play the role of an citizen since the 1800’s when it first became an available option to him.

Each government had their own way of doing this and so it could differ from country to country, but the Prime Minister and cabinet of Denmark’s government liked to keep it simple. Every 10 years around the 5th of June, or Denmark’s ‘birthday’ as it was sometimes coined, was when it was time for Denmark to pack up his things and re-invent himself.

He threw down his pen and his head fell into his open palms, sighing heavily.

At present, he was Mikkel Jensen, a 30-something year old Danish man who worked for the electricity board and lived on Maglekildevej in the small city of Roskilde, or at least this is how he was registered and this is what he told his neighbours.

Now, Denmark didn’t hate the responsibility of being a Nation Personification. He was good at his job and his role and in fact he rather loved it, sometimes working for 12 hours or more at a time to support his government. He even hadn’t minded the Viking days or the Kalmar union, even though he did still hold many regrets from that time in his long life. What he hated, truly hated, was the minor inconvenience of immortality. To the average person, 10 years would seem like a relatively long amount of time, but to Denmark it was like the blink of an eye. It felt like only yesterday that he bought this house and Lars Løkke Rasmussen was his prime minister.

Rising from his chair, Denmark walked over to the window and leant on the window ledge. He looked out at the street past the low fence of his front yard and at the house across the road. In the 10 years he had lived here he had got to know his neighbours and the humans that ran the local businesses around him.

Jette and Askel lived across the street in the house that he was looking at. It was a pretty house, all white plaster with a beautiful rose bed in the front garden. They had a baby girl last year, and Denmark had taken them a cake a hamper full of toys and outfits for the little newborn in congratulations. Then there was Eva the friendly bar tender in his local bar. She’d recently got engaged to Bo from the bakers. Denmark had bought them a bottle of Moet in celebration. He would miss them all, but the person that he couldn’t stand the thought of moving away from this time was Lillebeth, the elderly lady who lived directly next door. Denmark did everything for her.

Although he lived alongside his human citizens and had relationships with them, he tried his best not to get too attached for them and go as far as making friends with them, but Lillebeth had captured his heart pretty much as soon as he’d taken the ‘sold’ sign down in his front yard. He’d moved to Roskilde from Copenhagen in the summer of 2010, just after he’d left behind his life as Magnus Jensen, a high rise office worker, and became Mikkel. Denmark liked to keep the same last name and the same initial of his first name each time it came to re-register, not wanting to completely re-invent himself to the point he was unrecognisable from his previous human persona.

On the day Denmark had moved in, Lillebeth had been struggling to bring in her bags of groceries from her car. He hadn’t hesitated to go and help her, despite being exhausted from carrying heavy boxes and furniture to and from his house all morning, part of him genuinely wanting to help an old lady, and the other part of him happy for an excuse to get to know his new neighbours. She invited him in for a coffee and a sandwich that afternoon in thanks, and Denmark found comfort in her right away. He had always longed for a mother or grandmother figure, and Lillebeth turned out to be just that. As the years rolled by, the two had become quite the pair. In summer they would garden together and share Limoncello, Lillebeths favourite tipple, over the fence, and in the colder winter months Denmark would walk with her to the shops and back to make sure that she didn’t slip on the ice. All the while however he knew that he was just making things worse for himself as he knew he couldn’t stay in Roskilde forever.

Tearing his eyes away from the window, Denmark brought a hand up to his cheek and wiped away a tear that he hadn’t realised was rolling down his face as he was deep in thought until he felt it drip onto his collarbone. In a haze, he walked into the kitchen and set the coffee machine brewing, looking around the house. It suddenly felt cold and empty. In his lifetime, Denmark had seen many a movie and read many a book written by humans about the gifts of immortality. Vampires, Witches, even teenage school children were often written as immortal as if it were some kind of divine quality. He scoffed as he thought about it. Who in their right mind would want to live forever? To be devoid of friends, of family? Sure, Denmark had the other Nordics and the other Nations, but nothing would ever be able to fill the hole in his heart where his own family and children should have been.

He couldn’t count how many times he’d started again and how many people he’d left behind over the years, and at times cursed himself for not choosing to live as a recluse and only interacting with other nations and a select few humans in government like some of the other nations did. In his appearance Denmark could pass for a human between his early 20’s and up to late 30’s depending on how he dressed, and over each of the 10 year personas he had repeated pretending to age so many times. Each year that passed he would change his looks slightly, cut his hair a little differently and lose and gain different interests just to really make it believable to the humans around him that he was a man going from a young adult to mature adult, and it was exhausting. He’d run out of hobbies and interests at this point, and had no idea who he was going to be next.

His eyes stung and his lungs burned as he tried his best to hold back his misery, but he couldn’t. Burying his face in the crook of his arm, Denmark slid down the counter and landed softly on the kitchen tiles, sitting with his back against the cupboard and just wept. The sound of his body wracking sobs filled the house and he could feel his throat becoming hoarse. The coffee machine beeped above him on the side and there was a knock at the front door, but Denmark was in no state of mind to care, wanting nothing more than to just scream out in anger. His mind was turning dark, and he could think of nothing other than wanting to throw himself off a cliff or hold his head under the bathwater just long enough to slip away than to go through another 10 years of silent torture, but he couldn’t do that to his people.

Denmark was so detached from the world around him at that moment in his wave of sorrow that he hadn’t heard keys jangling in the lock of the front door or the calling of his name, and hadn’t realised the was someone else in the room with him until he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, pulling him close. He looked up, startled, fighting to slow his tears and blinked blurry eyed into the face above him.

“Norge…” he choked out as a gentle hand brushed the hair that had fallen flat around his face away from his eyes. Denmark struggled to sit up, but soon stopped and instead leaned into the familiar, warm figure as Norway didn’t relax his grip around his shoulders.

“Shh, I’m here.” Norway said, and Denmark could feel the rumble of his chest as he spoke. The two of them sat in silence for a short while as Denmark worked on slowing his breathing and just let Norway hold him. For as long as he could remember, Norway had always smelt the same, and being wrapped in his embrace and breathing in the faint scent of saltwater and fallen pine needles was the closest thing that Denmark would ever feel to being home.

“I had a feelin’ you would’ve had your forms already.” Norway spoke again, his voice as soft as ever, and finally released Denmark from his embrace. He uncrossed his legs and stood up from the kitchen floor, then extended a hand down to Denmark and pulled him to his feet once he’d grasped it. His eyes wandered over Denmark for a moment, lids heavy, as he stood before him, a foot taller, with his broad shoulders slumped and his eyes red and swollen.

Compared to Denmark’s, Norway’s government were a little more lenient when it came to him living amongst humans as the Nation that he was. There was no set deadline in which Norway had to re-register, as long as it was within 20 years of him having previously done so. He knew by now that Denmark had to re-register every 10 years, and that each time Denmark found it harder and harder. Norway’s bosses also knew this, and so he had worked over time the past week to allow some free time to visit Denmark. He’d had to miss out on Denmark’s celebrations on the 5th of June as well as Sweden’s the day after, but after a brief chat, Sweden understood and would rather Norway spend the coming days with Denmark as he packed up his house and sent in his re-registration forms than to get just drunk with him as they could do any other year.

In the last 25 years or so, Norway had gone from Sigurd Helgeson, to Nils Isberg, then to his recent name of Lukas Vik-Olsen which he had registered to two years ago, and currently resided in Tromsø. He was worn out from working so hard the past couple of days, but he was glad that he did it.

Denmark wiped his runny nose messily on the sleeve of his sweater and looked sheepishly at Norway, already feeling a little better at having the one person he loved more than anything in the entire world standing before him.

“They came this mornin’. I’m just so tired, Nor. I can’t start again, not yet.” He said, and his voice came out as just a strained whisper.

Silence fell between them once more as Norway leaned towards Denmark and reached up, cupping his face in one hand and resting the other on his shoulder. His thumb brushed against Denmark’s cheek, and Denmark leaned into the gentle touch, wanting to cry all over again at the way Norway looked at him with such love that he would never tire of no matter how long he lived.

“Do you wanna talk through your plan with me? I can stay for a few days. You’ll be okay, I promise.” Norway said, and nodded to his suitcase that stood by the front door, his jacket and shoes messily discarded beside it from where he had rushed to Denmark’s side upon entering.

Although reluctant, Denmark trusted Norway and knew that eventually he would be alright. Living among humans wasn’t all bad, in fact majority of the time he loved it, and once he’d got settled into his new life he would soon start to feel better.

He nodded as Norway slid his hand away from his face, “Getting my passport re-done is the easiest part, I just need to think of my next name. I mean, I’ve got an idea but…” Denmark mused as he turned to the coffee machine and took two mugs from the shelf behind it, reaching all the way to the back to dig out the large one that had always been Norway’s favourite.

“Well you know I’ll take your new passport photo for you, if you want.” Norway said, taking the hot mug of coffee that Denmark had poured as he passed it to him and curled his fingers around it.

The pair walked into the living room. Norway took a seat on the couch and Denmark set his coffee down on the table, disappearing into the study for a moment and then returning with the brown envelope. Denmark was in no state of mind to make any solid decisions right now about his re-registration, but running over his thoughts and voicing his worries with Norway would help his mentality. Sitting down heavily next to Norway, Denmark laid the envelope on his knee and slid the contents out again.

“Y’know,” Norway began, blowing softly onto the hot coffee in his mug in a vain attempt to cool it down, “I’ve always liked the name Matthias.”

Denmark glanced at Norway out of the corner of his eye. No matter where he found himself, or how much he might despise the curse of his immortality, as long as the Kingdom of Denmark had the Kingdom of Norway by his side, he would be alright.

Now, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Matthias, huh?”

[pogueshomecoming]

milestones - Kiara Carrera

requested? Yes: hey! could a request a kiaraxreader imagine? something fluffy, like maybe snippet memories of they’re relationship? like when they met, first kiss, first i love you, stuff like that?  (thank you @johnbsflowr !! i got carried away, I loved this idea 😊 I’m working on your other request now also)

fill out this survey to join my taglist, here’s my masterlist, and my requests are open

warnings: mentions of a grandparent dying, but I think that’s it besides swearing.

word count: 3485

++

First Hello

You were new at the Kook academy, as everyone liked to call it. It was obvious you didn't belong. The whole first day was absolutely miserable. No one approached you, no one asked your name, or where you came from, they already knew you were an outsider.

Even though you didn't want to go back, obviously, you had to. As soon as you entered through the front doors, you saw her.

Long, curly brown hair fell past her shoulders. The top half was pinned back, a style that seemed to be popular around there. Her skin was glowing, literally, because the early morning sun was seeping through the door every time it opened. She'd been turned to the side, talking to a couple of boys, but you also catch her eye.

When you realize she's excusing herself and walking toward you, you start walking to your homeroom. However, she's faster than you and catches up.

"Hello, I'm Kiara, and you are?" As you look over at her, you realize that she's more beautiful than you thought initially. You immediately wondered if she was one of the popular girls you hadn't met yet.

"I'm Y/N."

Kiara smiles only enough for you to see small lines at the corners of her mouth. "Is today your first day?"

Your hopes of getting her to go away with short answers fall to the floor. "Yesterday, actually."

"God, I bet it was terrible, right? I took a much-needed skip day. These people are such pricks, so far up their own asses literally all the time." Kiara rolls her eyes at you, and your jaw drops slightly from shock.

When you don't say anything, she looks over at you, and suddenly she's laughing. "Tell me I'm wrong. You can't, can you?"

"U-uh, I guess n-not. I-I'm surprised-"

"That I'm not one of them? Trust me, I hate being here. I would not be here if it were my choice." She says through her giggles, and you start laughing with her.

"Amen to that."

"You can call me, Kie."

First Goodbye

The end of the school year was here. Most of your classmates were chattering about spending the summer in the Outer Banks. Including Kie, she'd been telling you for weeks now that she couldn't wait to see her three best friends every day again.

"You can ride the ferry over and hang out with us! They'd get along with you so well because I do." Kiara slings an arm around your shoulder, exiting the school building for the last time.

She had really become your best friend. It was fun to feel like you could do anything with her by your side. That mainly meant standing up to these crazy kooks, but you wouldn't have survived this year without her. As much as you hated the people here and what they stood for, you got the full kook experience. On nights you'd attend sporting events and the after parties that followed, she'd stay with you. Then that turned into an almost all of the time thing, and if she wasn't with you, then you were with her. Even your parents had become friends.

"Actually, I'll be spending the next three months out of state. My grandma isn't doing very well, so my family wants to be close when, you know, it happens." You recognize that you're responsible for instantly bringing the mood down, but you didn't mean to. It slipped, plus you were going to have to tell her eventually.

"Oh." Kie stops walking. Your cars are at separate ends of the parking lot, so this would be where you have to part ways.

"I guess that means I should tell you this now." She mumbles, and you duck your head slightly to let her eyes find yours.

"What is it?"

"My parents agreed that if I put in an effort here for one year, I could move the next. I'm registered at Kildare County High School for the fall." Kiara chews on her lips, something you learned she does when she's nervous.

And for some reason, you feel this odd pit in your stomach. This feels like it's more than losing a best friend, but you can't put your finger on it.

"Oh." Now it's your turn to be surprised.

Tears well up in your eyes, and you feel stupid because of it. It's not even from thinking about having to endure these people without her, it's just about being without her. You look up to the sky and try to blink away the water before it falls.

"I know, I should've told you sooner, but I didn't know if they'd still hold up their end of the deal. This isn't the place for me, and I know it's not for you either, but I'm going to take my chance and go." Kie reaches for your hand, and you look at her.

"No, you're right to go, I don't blame you. Just sad cause I'll miss you, that's all." You smile to lighten the mood, it had suddenly felt too serious and dramatic.

She pulled you into a hug, squeezing you tight. "Update me on your grandma, okay? I'll only be a boat ride away when you get back."

When she pulls away, her eyes are shiny too. All you can do is nod, and then you're walking in different directions with tight chests and broken hearts that you'd chalked up to teenage hormones.

You never updated her, but she never asked.

Second Hello

Another school year passed. This one not as nearly eventful as the last. You actually spent most of it at home, claiming to the deans of the school that you were still recovering from your grandmother's death. Whether that was true or not is still up for debate. She was your best friend, and you'd only became closer over her last couple of months. Some days it was fine, and the next, it felt like it had just happened again.

What mattered now was that your parents had bought a house in Figure 8. They'd sold your grandma's house and land to do so. It didn't feel like a big deal to you, but nothing had recently. The house has actually been brought to your parent's attention because Kiaras parents reached out, saying they thought it would be perfect for your family's summer house.

That part hadn't really sunk in until your move-in day. You were driving through the neighborhood behind your parents, observing all of the ridiculously huge houses. It was when you saw Kie's car parked in a driveway, only three houses down from yours that you realized what was happening. Sure, you knew you were moving to the outer banks that everyone else in your class seemed to talk about and love, but you didn't realize it was her Outer Banks too. The dots hadn't connected yet, and now that they were, all you could feel was panic.

Did Kie know you'd be here? Did her parents tell her, and she never reached out? Are you supposed to approach her or the other way around? Or are you supposed to act like you don't know her? Why was seeing someone you used to be attached at the hip with such nerve-wracking and scary?

You went with the ignore option. Pretending you don't know her is easy enough, because you weren't going to go anywhere. None of the kooks particularly liked you. Therefore you weren't getting invited anywhere, so you'd just lay low. That was the plan.

The plan came crashing down when you find yourself at a kegger on the beach. How you got here? A blonde boy doing newspaper routes in your neighborhood had caught you outside. He invited you, and your parents were standing there, so you had to say yes.

And you thought of all the ways you could get out of it, but then your dad insisted on driving you. Making an escape wasn't an option anymore, either.

So you kind of made your rounds. Walking around the perimeter of the party slowly. Some of your classmates said hi, some turned their backs. Either way, you were standing alone with the aforementioned blonde boy approached you.

"Mail girl, you're here. How do you feel about it so far?" He outstretches his hand that has a full red cup in it, but you decline.

"First, you're mail boy, I had nothing to do with the mail." You crack a small smile, and so does he. "Second, it's not my scene. I think I'll ditch soon, but thanks for the invite."

"You can call me JJ instead of mail boy, but whatever works for you. Do you want to meet my friends first? Maybe you'll want to stay." JJ points over his shoulder with his thumb.

In hindsight, this is where your brain should've reminded you of your bad luck and karma, but it failed you. So you nodded and followed JJ through the crowd.

The first two people he brings you to are a tall typical surfer boy and another who was dressed similarly but looked entirely too uncomfortable to be there.

"John B, Pope, this is..." JJ turns to you, clearly waiting for you to say your name, but it's funny to watch him stutter. "Mail, girl."

The smirk that spreads across his face makes you roll your eyes, "Actually, my name is-"

"Y/N?"

The three boys' attention is now on whoever is speaking behind you, but you know who it is already.

You turn on your heel. Your heart is already beating out of your chest. Is she going to be mad that you never reached out? Should you be angry that she didn't? Out of all the possibilities in your mind, what she actually did wasn't one of them.

Kie pretty much jumped toward you, embracing you immediately. It takes you a second, but you wrap your arms around her too. It didn't matter anymore what happened before, who didn't call who and all of that.

"I missed you." She breathes, squeezing you tighter. Your heart swells, but your brain tells you this is more. More than only best friends. It clicks with you why the pain of losing her hurt so badly. You have feelings for her.

"I missed you too." You sigh, letting yourself relax. Your feelings would be a bridge crossed at some other time, but for now, you're going to focus on catching up.

First kiss

Kie was laying against you on the sofa bed at the Chateau. It was late, the moon high in the sky. You were holding her hand and playing with her fingers. Her other arm was underneath you, hand tracing circles on your back. Neither of you were asleep, but you weren't talking either. It was comfortable.

Physical affection was something you'd both grown to love. It was always small things like sitting so close in the van that your knees touched, toying with the bracelets on her arms, or cuddling when you decided to stay over at John B's. It was a way to tell each other the things you didn't want to say out loud yet.

You shifted a little, so your chin lined up with her mouth. She tilts her head so she can look at your face, but you don't budge, you're already starting to blush.

Then, you feel a warm spot on your jawline. A small muah sound follows. Kie kissed you.

Now you're really blushing, your heart is in your ears as you look down at her. You're already so close that your noses brush. Her eyes flicker from your eyes, down to your lips, and back up again. Somehow, you'd convinced yourself that your feelings were one-sided. That Kie was a physical person anyway, but you were wrong.

She's waiting for you because her signal has been sent loud and clear. You only hesitate for a second before you close the tiny gap, pressing your lips against hers softly.

The kiss was slow and gentle, but it felt magical. It was perfect. Kie pulls away for just a second before she kisses you again, both smiling into it.

First date

Kiara told you not to make dinner plans, so you told your parents you'd be with the Pogues and made your way to the Carrera residence. She was standing outside, waiting for you with her car already running.

"Ready?" She gives your cheek a quick peck and slaps your butt as you go around to the passenger side of the car.

"I don't know how I feel about surprises." You laugh. Kie is crazy sometimes, there is no telling what she's getting you two into.

"You'll like this one, I promise."

After a few minutes, you pull up to The Wreck. The lights look like they're off on the outside, but that's normal because the restaurant is always closed on Mondays. "I just have to get something before we go. Will you come with?"

Kie gives you her best pouty face, and you can't help but give in. She retakes your hand when you meet in front of the car, leading you to the front door that she unlocks first. When you enter the dining area, your jaw drops.

Candles are lining the bar, all of the tables are pushed back except for one in the middle. Hot, fresh food is sitting on top of it with more candles in between each dish. Your favorite song is playing softly.

"Are you kidding me? This is the cutest thing anyone's ever done for me." You tug on her hand, so she spins back toward you and into your arms.

"Dance later, let's eat first. I'm going to tell our volunteer cook she can go." Kie wiggles her eyebrows and disappears behind the bar as you sit down.

"Thanks, Sarah!" You call out, laughing to yourself about figuring it out.

"How did you know?" Sarah pops out from the doorway.

"I figured neither of our parents knows, an actual employee couldn't be trusted, and the boys don't keep secrets... So that leaves you." Kiara is standing behind her now.

"Damn, I really thought I had it in the bag."

Both you and Sarah laugh before Sarah excuses herself, tell you two to have a good night.

Most of the dinner is spent talking about the boys and how you should tell them about the two of you. As far as you both knew, they didn't even know you liked girls, so there was that too. Nevertheless, you'd devised the perfect plan.

After you're finished eating, Kie picks up the speaker from the corner of the room and drags you down to the dock. There are fairy lights strung along the rails. She switches the playlist to softer music and takes you into her arms.

The night is spent dancing around, twirling and dipping each other, just having. Good time. The music is sweet, but the sound of Kie's laughter is so much better.

Making it official

It wasn't planned, it wasn't even thought out.

You were at a Kegger. Next to John B and JJ, who were talking to some Tourons that we're giving you dirty looks for being around. Kie was across the way with Sarah and Pope, but you were both looking at each other.

Neither of you were really the jealous type, but you had grown tired of coming to these things and watching each other getting hit on by various guys.

"Excuse me, boys."

You get to your feet, walking directly to Kie, only stopping to throw away your empty cup.

Sarah sees you coming first, nodding at Kie. "Hey, can we talk?"

"Pope, let's go get those tourons away from my boyfriend." Sarah pushes him to get him to start walking, and he obliges.

"Yeah, what's up?" Kiara narrows her eyes, "You okay?"

"I'm tired." You whine. All you want to do is hold her.

"Sleepy tired? We can tell them we're leaving." She brushes her hand against yours and takes a step past you, but you grab onto her side and pull her back.

"No, tired of the others not knowing. Tired of coming here and pretending to be interested in these guys. Tired of not being able to hold you whenever I want to." You jut your bottom lip out in a pout, and she smiles.

"I know, darling. We'll go tell them now if you want to? I'm ready whenever you are." Kie starts to take another step, but you shake your head. Suddenly realizing what you're doing.

"We had a plan, we can't tell them now. I was being irrational, I think I just got flustered all of a sudden. I don't know what I-"

"What do you want me to do, Y/N/N?" She asks, trying to comfort you.

"I want you to be my girlfriend." You blurt, both of your eyes immediately widening.

Kie squeals, a noise you've never heard before, and then she jumps into your arms. "Oh my god. Of course."

You laugh and let go of her. Both of you glance around for a second, she smooths out her shirt. "Totally normal, right?"

"Yeah, totally normal. Anyway, I'm going to tell them we're leaving now." Kie winks at you before she jogs over to your friends.

Telling the Pogues

Kiara held your hand as the two of you stood in front of John B, JJ, Pope, and Sarah. You'd just said it, but none of them had any reaction.

"If you're going to be mad about the no Pogue on Pogue macking, then you can fuck off cause we aren't dumbasses, and we wouldn't ruin this kind of thing." Kie crosses her arms, looking confused. Why weren't they saying anything?

"Okay, cool. So, anyone up for a boat ride?" John B stands up, looking at each person at a time.

"Excuse me? You guys knew?" Kie's tone is slightly frustrated.

JJ is the first one to laugh, and Sarah's face is bright red.

"Sarah! Come on." You groan, laughing with JJ.

"Listen, I only told Pope, so... the rest is on him."

"You told Pope and not me?" John B whips his head around to look at Sarah.

"Hey, that's not the point. None of you have comments?" You ask, still trying to hold back giggles.

"We" re happy for you." JJ comes forward with his arms outstretched. You and Kie put yourself in his embrace, and the other three follow, making it a group hug.

First I Love You

Being in your house today felt impossible and suffocating. Your parents were acting like nothing had happened, so you left.

You found yourself sitting on the dock at the Chateau, feet dangling in the water. John B wasn't home, but you were thankful no one was here to see you cry.

Watching your tears fall into the water seemed to calm you down. The ripples they made were satisfying, at least. You look closer to see a reflection standing over you, and recognize it as Kie. You hadn't even heard her walk up.

"Hi, angel." She sits down next to you, slinging an arm around your shoulder and also putting her feet in the water. "How are you holding up?"

All you can do is shrug your shoulders.

"You miss her. That's normal. Do you want to tell me about her?" Kie leans in to kiss a tear off of your cheek.

"How'd you know?" It's been a year today since your grandmother died. Thinking about it makes you feel like the wind has been knocked out of you.

"I just know." She takes both of your hands in hers and squeezes.

"She was so funny. There was rarely a moment we weren't laughing with her. But she was tired, and she hated being old, so she knew it was her time. I always admired that, that she knew it was coming and she was okay with it. Most of the time, I can feel the same way and believe that she's doing better now. And then other times, I realize I won't ever see her again. I won't get to call her and tell her all that I've accomplished, and it hurts like it's fresh again." Your lips quiver as you begin to cry harder. Kiara pulls you into her lap.

"I love you, Y/N. You're strong, and you carry her memory with you in everything you do. You've made it so far without her, and I guarantee she's so proud of that. So am I."

"You what?" You look at her, your whole body is still.

"I'm proud of you." Her brown eyes look a little lighter in the light.

"No. You love me?"

"Yeah. I do."

"I love you more." You press your forehead against hers, watching her roll her eyes before you kiss her.

++

thank you for reading! don’t forget to reblog or send feedback :)

kiara carrera taglist: @jjfuckr , @newsiestrash123 , @millie-753 ,

[curewhimsy]

Symphony Saga Resonate chapter 1

I was inspired!

Notes: This fanfic is like, a middle/high school-centric fic so my OCs are all middle/high school aged here (youngest= 12, oldest= 18)

Also everyone is gonna age by 6 years eventually 

AO3 link

——————

Can a dream change the world?

Can a song awaken the soul?

Does our universe truly have limits?

Why am I asking all of these questions?

We all each have a story.

We all matter.

If we all join together, how big of a miracle can we create?

The story of Resonate unfolds...

———

Queen Rainbow’s Point of View

In a world where color was scarce... wonder was draining from people’s souls, and warmth was fading from their hearts. The warmth in their smiles were waning... And soon enough, they weren’t able to truly smile any longer.

This world... was called Monochrome.

Being the furthest planet in its solar system from the sun, Monochrome was already quite a lonely place. But everything froze over when Obsidian stepped to the throne.

Monochrome was a painfully boring place, filled with progressively more boring people. It got to the point where the most boring, bitter person of all would automatically be crowned as royalty.

Her name was Obsidian, and she became the Queen of Misery. She did not believe in fun, happiness, or love. Her heart was made of coal. When she breathed out, thick black smoke would fill the air, despite her never being a smoker.

Queen Obsidian’s very existence would always pollute the air with negativity and gloom that would make people lose hope. She was so boring, that her presence would transform sugary donuts into regular old bagels with nothing on them. She was so boring, that her royal fanfare was played on a single off-key kazoo. She was so utterly dull, that she even sent Planet Monochrome into a thousand-year-long ice age after telling one terrible joke.

But worse than all that combined, the Queen of Misery was a selfish, spiteful, and joyless person.

Nobody exactly knew why, but Queen Obsidian hated music... Possibly because of how positive and fun it could potentially be, not to mention the sheer raw emotion and vibes it could could convey.

One day, Queen Obsidian heard a song. It was awful. She hated it so much, that she ordered it to be sent to the Nowhere Of Permanent Erasure Void, or “NOPE Void” for short, where it would be deleted from our reality.

Queen Obsidian wanted to erase all the universe’s music from existence this way, and for people to never make or listen to it again. Ever.

Knowing that Monochrome barely had any worthwhile tunes to get rid of, Obsidian began to target the music on other worlds.

And what better place to start than the magical, colorful planet known as Whimsica?

Whimsica, a charming, fittingly whimsical world filled with magic... It may ideally be peaceful, yet we’ve been attacked by Monochrome for years just for being so idyllic. Apparently, our bright, rainbow colors that can be seen from space are an eyesore for them.

This is also where I come in.

My name is Queen Rainbow... and I’m the Queen of Whimsica. I’m only 16 years old, which is... actually pretty old for a monarch of Whimsica, believe it or not!

Whimsica’s monarchs are usually children nowadays! That’s because we have a childish kind of “whimsy” in our hearts and an arcane sort of innocence to see the world through rainbow-tinted lenses.

A long time in the past, Whimsica had a very strict older queen who forbid the royals, even the ones in the future, from ever befriending commoners.

That queen used a spell, so if a royal was caught being friends with a commoner, they would fall into a long slumber. The length of how long they would sleep corresponded to how strong the royal‘s bond was to the commoner.

Recently, the spell was broken, however! So now I can befriend and hang out with all the common folk I want. To be honest, being that kind of queen wasn’t so great, it was a little lonely, and I always hated feeling so unapproachable... and responsible!

Well, to tell the truth, the eldest of the three princess sisters actually does most of the work. 18-year-old Celestine is the responsible and proper eldest sister. Lunette, age 16, is the middle sister, and a bit mischievous. The youngest sister is 14-year-old Stelle, and she... well... is a bit of a problem child.

Anyway. I had proposed a new course of action against what Monochrome is trying to do. The princess sisters and I, along with Celestine’s best friend Nikamowin, and even the two royal anthromorph cats, Sparkle and Twinkle, have been using our magical powers the best we could to fight against Monochrome’s Queen and royal force, and the monsters they use against us.

But I still feel we need more help. We need the help of magical musicians.

I’ve been beginning to practice making music so I could harness its positive energy and make my songs into magic that can defeat Monochrome’s negativity. Nikamowin is also a skilled singer and can use songs to help us, but I still feel we need to power of more music.

So I assigned a job to Sparkle and Twinkle. Their job now is to look for passionate musicians with pure hearts, who are interested in joining our force to help save music for the entire universe...

———

Haku Yowane’s Point of View

Location: Earth

I zipped up my backpack to the faint scent of dust around the house, tied my shoes, wiped my long bangs from my eyes, and got ready to step out the door to go to school. Another gray day.

Even though I didn’t live with her, my world felt so empty now. My heart felt so hollow.

It was the little things.

Rain pattering on the roof... once a cozy and quaint sound... now just a gloomy and sad reminder.

An old notebook... once a source of joy and closeness... now just cold and distant.

A stuffed cat... warm and beloved... now even more well-loved, and irreplaceable.

All these things I saw right before I left my house to go to school reminded me of her.

My grandmother.

She passed away three weeks ago.

Right before I began opening my door, I looked back, and saw Snowbell, the plush cat Grandma gifted me long ago, eyeing me gently from my table.

I decided I couldn’t go to school without Snowbell. I couldn’t leave her alone.

I picked up the well-loved plush and hugged her gently and sadly, and made my way out the door with her.

Snowbell was special to me.

At the age of five, I was quite meek and lonely, with a reddish nose and wobbly knees. I would catch colds often, and constantly be sniffling, which was how I earned the nickname “Sniffles”.

I was a bit odd. I had strange habits such as pretending I were a cat, even lapping milk out of a bowl at snack time. I liked to draw pictures and play make-believe at recess. I didn’t like strangers or crowds.

In school, I was usually scared and overwhelmed. Once during indoor play time, I sat in my own little corner away from everyone and drew on the walls. When my teacher found the drawings I had drawn on the walls, I got scolded. I spent the rest of the day crying and sniffling, not understanding why I was yelled at.

That was when my grandmother decided my imagination was just too big for such a little girl, so she bought me a friend, a stuffed white kitten, to talk to.

My grandma told me that Snowbell was a special friend, and she was always there to listen. So when I was sad, I would hug and talk to Snowbell and felt I wasn’t alone.

Snowbell was there for me through the good days, and the many bad days... She was there when I graduated kindergarten. She was also there shortly after, when I was six years old, when my parents divorced...

Before my parents divorced, my brother Dell and I were very close. He was technically my half-brother. My father, who I was never close with, already divorced a former wife before marrying my mother. Dell was the son of my father and his former wife. His last name was Honne, his father’s last name. My last name is Yowane, my mother’s last name.

Dell and I would always play and sing together. Even though I was clumsy and fail at his games sometimes, he was very patient and would comfort me when I cried. Sometimes my dad would randomly yell at or scold me. When that happened, Dell would always stand up to my dad and protect me. Even when my parents were fighting and yelling so loudly that I got scared, Dell and I would hide together and he would comfort me. He was truly an amazing brother.

However, when my mother and father divorced, my father insisted on taking us with him. My mother refused to let him take us. There was a huge custody battle over us, and eventually, a heartbreaking compromise was made.

Dell was going to go with my father. I was going to stay with my mother.

I just wanted us to stay together. But in the end, we couldn’t.

One morning after sleeping in, I went downstairs to see around half the furniture in the house gone and my father outside in the moving van. My dad was about to leave. He left me without saying goodbye.

But Dell... He waited until I woke up so he could say goodbye before leaving. I cried with such intensity that he turned around. His face right then shocked me. He was seven years old... but had such a grown-up expression on his face... I had never seen such an look on his face before. So much pain... yet so accepting of his fate.

He hugged me one last time without any words, until I stopped crying. Once my tears stopped, he pat my head, and made his way out the door.

I never saw my brother, my best friend, ever again.

Two years passed. I turned eight years old. My mother, now single, talking to her sister, had an idea.

My mother’s sister had a daughter, who would be my cousin. My mom noticed that without Dell, I was very lonely lately. So she proposed to my cousin and I to meet.

My cousin’s name was Miku Hatsune. She was six years old at the time. The same age I was when my parents divorced. The first thing I noticed about Miku was how cheerful she was, and how accepting she was towards me. I quickly became friends with her, and even though she came over only around once a month and I only got to see her those times, we were really close friends.

The day we first met, we played in the backyard. I was still very shy and awkward at the time.

A butterfly landed on a flower nearby, and Miku urged me to try and touch it. I did, and the butterfly flew away.

I instantly burst into tears.

“Why?” I said, through my tears. “Why does everyone leave me? Like Dell? And my dad? Why...?”

“Don’t cry, Haku...” Miku pat my head to try to cheer me up. It reminded me of when Dell pat my head to say goodbye... it kind of calmed me down.

To cheer me up even more, Miku began singing me a song. She taught it to me, and I began to sing it with her.

We began to sing together, and soon enough, we were surrounded by butterflies. We began smiling and laughing. It was a great memory.

“Miku?” I looked at her fondly. “Promise me you won’t ever leave me, okay?”

“Okay!” Miku answered, smiling.

But one day, around three years later...

My mother called her sister as usual... and every single trace of her, her husband, Miku, and even Miku’s little sister Mizu, had vanished without a trace.

When I heard this, I was devastated. I began to wait a little while... but soon it became apparent that Miku and her family were gone... maybe in a freak accident or disappearance... and weren’t ever coming back.

I remember sitting under a tree, and just crying.

After that, I really only had my grandmother. My mom was always kind of distant and neglected me emotionally.

My grandmother, however, was warm and understanding. She was also very fun and always made me smile. She was the most magical person I ever knew, because she always told me amazing stories. Sometimes I wondered how she even thought of them. I always told her perhaps she should become a writer and make them into books.

I was inspired to become a writer myself because of her. I used many of her stories as inspiration, because I thought she needed a lot of recognition. She also always wanted to be a musician, and so did I, but I was always much too shy. My grandmother couldn’t pursue music because of her health condition and age, sadly.

Now that she’s passed, I think I will try to fulfill my grandmother’s dreams in homage to her.

Thinking of these memories may have left me sad... but I’ll at least always have the precious memories of these people in my heart, even though I may never see them again. In memory of them, may I live my every day to my fullest.

[7team7]

Have you two met before?

Chapter 5: The Fifth Hokage

Sasuke isn’t Tsunade’s favorite person, but she just melts for his daughter.

A/N: Part of a multi chapter fic I have going on ao3 and ffnet, just haven’t uploaded the other parts here before, but here’s an update. 

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Tsunade was enjoying retirement and traveling, but Konoha was home, and there were people and memories she could never stay away from forever.

Sakura symbolized many things for the sannin, but mainly a better, brighter future. Tsunade taught her everything she knew, and Sakura had even surpassed her to become the finest kunoichi around. So that brat Sasuke better know how lucky he is to have her as his wife. He’d caused enough trouble for the village and for her precious student.

The Uchiha and the Senju had a long, contentious history, but Sasuke’s actions had very personal consequences. Sakura wanted to get stronger to bring him back to the village, leading her to beg Tsunade for training. But Tsunade also had to witness Sakura’s heartbreak and longing for years. She nearly lost a very talented group of ninja in an attempt to retrieve him from Orochimaru’s clutches, and she had to endure Naruto’s whining for what felt like an eternity.

She also knew how the circumstances of his life had punished him more than she ever could, but she still had no trouble reminding him that she was a very powerful woman, and he had better treasure Sakura, or there would be painful consequences.

So in short, Tsunade didn’t hold Sasuke in high regard, but she wasn’t going to actively make his life worse, if only to please her favorite student. And as her student, Sakura was subject to unsolicited advice and motherly nagging.

But Sarada — she made Tsunade just melt. All the tongue lashings she was prepared to give the new couple were forgotten when she laid eyes on the newest Uchiha.

Tsunade could admit it, the Uchiha were a famously good looking clan. But combined with Sakura’s genes, Sarada was just too cute for her own good. Her dark eyes and hair were traits from Sasuke, but they were softened by Sakura’s features.

Tsunade wasn’t sure what Sarada was to her, because if Sakura was her daughter (which was a stretch on it’s own), Sarada would be her granddaughter, and Tsunade being a grandmother just sounded too old. But it didn’t matter. The little cutie had a permanent place in Tsunade’s heart.

                                                        5 Months

When Tsunade returned from her own round of travels to find out her precious student was not only married to the Uchiha brat but that he knocked her up too — she wanted to say she was surprised. But she knew Sakura and that huge heart of hers would always be stuck on Sasuke, so she supposed this was the best outcome for everyone. They were happy, and that was all she could ask for.

Sarada was only five months old when she first met Tsunade and stole her heart.

“Shishou, I’d like you to meet our daughter. Her name is Sarada.” Sakura had only just passed her tiny form to Tsunade’s arms but Tsunade was speechless. Long, dark lashes fluttered and round midnight eyes opened to gaze up at her. A chubby hand reached up to grab one of her golden pigtails.

“Sure, I can watch her for the day.”

“Huh? But I didn’t even—”

“It’s really not a problem, Sakura. Anything for my favorite student, right? We’ll have tons of fun, won’t we?” Sakura didn’t bother arguing. Being a mother was as rewarding as it was exhausting, and if there was anyone who she felt was capable of watching over her daughter, it was Tsunade.

“Uh, okay? Just bring her back later tonight, I guess.”

Some days, Tsundae was just tired. She had lost so much and lived so long. But moments like the ones she shared with Sarada reminded her that there was more work to be done, more people to help. Yes, she was looking forward to seeing the next generation blossom in their own way.

                                                           5 Years

Tsunade had, yet again, so graciously extended her babysitting services for the day. She was going to be in town for a while and gambling just didn’t seem like much fun that day. Both her students deserved a break: Shizune, from running around with her, and Sakura from hospital work and caring for that precious little gumdrop.

Sasuke was hesitant at first because he had to come to the bitter realization that a long mission only he could complete was unavoidable. His departure inched closer with every passing day. He wanted to spend as much time with his daughter as possible, but when Sakura propositioned a little date night for themselves, he gave in.

Sarada, for one, was thrilled. She loved Tsunade because, like most people in her life, she spoiled her rotten. And she had excellent stories about her mama.

When they got to Tsunade’s apartment she kept for the occasion she found herself in Konoha, she asked Sarada what they should do for the day.

“Dress up! I wanna play dress up!” She loved pretending to be Mama or Papa or a princess at home.

“We can do that. How would you like to dress up as the Hokage?”

Her eyes lit up, “Hokage? Yes! Yes!” She never thought about dressing up as Uncle Naruto, but it seemed FUN!

Tsunade chuckled and got to work. She pulled Sarada’s short, dark hair, so different from her own, into low pigtails. She even got out her makeup and painted a purple diamond on the center of her forehead.

Sarada laughed again and touched her own wide forehead, “Just like you and just like Mama!”

“That’s right, smart girl.” Tsunade even took off her own green cardigan and slipped it around Sarada’s tiny shoulders. Perfect, adorable, stunning, spectacular…

“Alright, Lady Sarada, do you have a mission for me?”

.

When Sarada was eventually dropped off at home, she was tired from playing all day, but otherwise content.

“So what did you two get up to today?” Sakura asked as she held Sarada in her arms at the door. She didn’t carry Sarada too often now that she was running around on her own, so it felt good to snuggle together.

“She wanted to play dress up, and I think you can see who she looks like now. TonTon had fun playing with her too.” The little pig was normally a little distressed, but she seemed to find as much joy in playing with Sarada as Tsunade did.

“And we played cards!” Sarada chimed in. They never really played cards at home; would she be able to beat Mama or Papa?

“Cards?” Sakura asked suspiciously. Sasuke was farther inside the house cleaning up after dinner, but even his ears perked up at this. What type of card game?

“I taught her Go Fish, I swear that’s all! Who do you take me for?”

“Hmm, maybe Tsunade The Legendary —”

“Don’t say it.”

“Babysitter.”

“You always were a smart cookie,” she praised.  

Sarada spoke up once again, her voice muffled by the way she leaned into her mother, “Can we play again soon?”

“Yeah, I’ll be back for you real soon kiddo.” She leaned in close enough to press a kiss to the girl’s forehead and squeezed Sakura’s shoulder.

To live a long life as a shinobi was full of heartbreak and loss, but sometimes she got the chance to be healed.

.

.

A/N:  some of it is a little repetitive but I liked it so I kept it lmao. It’s my fic Sasuke leaves when I want him to! Anyway I’ve updated/posted a lot recently so check out my other stories if you’re interested. Until next time! <3

[choco-ganesh]

Linked Worlds

You were a helper. It was in your nature, it was how you were raised. You had made a name for yourself around Lestallem, whether it was helping a street chef with orders to lending a hand to a hunter, you were always there. Over the past months, you had subconsciously decided that Lestallem was your new home, and after the recent events you had heard from a resident about a near by kingdom named Imsomnia, you had also decided to scerelty guard Lestallem and it's citizens.

A few days has passed and slowly but surely, groups of refugees began to setltle in Lestallem. While helping the injured, you learned about a specific group of three refugees who made their way into the city. There was a child, about 8 years old, a girl most likely in her teens, and an older man with a bad limp. You were informed that these three seemed to be dodging the public eye and any help that was offered to them. Curiosity blossomed within you as you kept hearing about these refugees.

Having not yet seen this group after a day, you decided that you would walk the pathways, and search for them. You looked for the older man , hoping you would see him wondering around with the others. He must have been injured while escaping..' you thought yourself. A couple hours passed and you had yet to spot him. You were about to give up and go home when out of the corner of your eye, you spotted the little boy coming from a shop. In his hand was a potion, and his face had a terrified look upon it. He wore a red plaid shirt, kaki pants and a pair of sneakers. You watched him scurry through a crowd and then up a short pair of stairs that lead to a hotel called the leville. You let out a sigh of relief and in that moment you decided to gather what information anyone might know.

People greeted you as you entered the market place, children yelled hello, hunters gave you a single nod and small smiles. Your face softened and you smiled at everyone, spending about an hour catching up with your neighbors, and asking about the newcommers. From the little things you gathered, you figured out they were some form of nobility, and were some of the many others that escaped the disaster of insomnia. "I heard that girl talking to what looks like her grandfather. Saying that she called this 'Noctis' guy and that they're on their way with potions." You hummed at the hunter who told what he knew. You thought for a while. That feeling of wanting to help getting stronger. "I know that face." The hunter chuckled "What're you up to, Y/N?" You smiled and stood from the stool you sat at. "Potions won't be enough. I can tell." You bid the hunter farewell.

You decided to shop a little, gathering food and whatever your home was missing. While in a small convenience store, you spotted a black cane from the corner of your eye and stared at it. "Y/N? Sweetie?" The clerk pulled you from your small trance and you looked at her with slight wide eyes. "Someone needs help, huh?" She giggled at you while handing you your goods and change. You blushed slightly and looked away. "Jeez, I guess I am that readable." You huffed out a laugh. The clerk looked at you for a minute, studying your behavior. She turned, suddenly, and opened the small door that led to the back of the counter, walking towards the cane. She then picked it up, turned to you and held it out for you to take it. "Whoever needs this, you should give it to them." She said quickly. You stared at her and began to pull money out of you pocket. "No, no!" She touched your hand, mmaking you pause. "Its been a while since anyone cared so much about our community. We've always had to look out for each other, and since you you arrived those months ago.. life had been a little easier. Even my grandmother thinks the same." She smiled at you again. "It.. you make me want to help people, and if giving you this cane helps, then I want to do it." You didn't know what to say, or how to feel. To have such influence on someone like this.. it made you strangely proud. You smiled at the clerk and took the cane. "Thank you. I'll pay you back one day." You said your goodbyes and you made your way back into the warm sunlight.

You decided to have lunch and spend time with yourself after you had finished your shopping. You looked at the view of the forest below while gripping the cane tightly. You were waiting for the right time to make yourself known to the refugees, as you felt you didn't want to bother them too soon after their arrival. "Y/N?" You turned around to see the hunter from earlier walking up to you. "Heard something from a friend of mine. Said a bunch of men in all black are making their way here now. I'm guessing it's for the girl and the others." You nodded and looked around to see if they had already arrived. "They aren't hear yet. Maybe another half an hour. Heard the girl asking for a medic, though. I told them I know someone and I though I should come to you." The hunter crossed his arms and motioned with his head to follow you. You gather your things and began to follow him with haste in your step. "Thank you." You smiled, making your way to the leville.

Shortly after your arrival, the hunter decided to post himself outside and keep a look out. As you entered the building, The hotel clerk immediately knew your role in being hear and began to lead you to the room that the refugees were staying in. "Before we enter, the guests have a request." The clerk suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to you, speaking in a serious tone. "They ask to not be mentioned outside of thier room. After you leave, pretend you don't know them unless they ask for you." You felt threatened in a way by this, but you could feel a sense of protectiveness coming from the clerk. Nonetheless, you understood the request and nodded, looking at the the clerk straight in the eye. He nodded after a few silent moments and proceeded to lead you to the second floor and to the room that held the refugees. The clerk knocked two times and waited. A moment had passed and you wondered if there were people even in there anymore. As you started to think nothing of this situation, the door was cracked slightly open. Your eyes fell upon the child you saw earlier, his eyes still held sadness and terror you saw from him earlier. You felt your heart tug and you wondered how he was feeling after going through so much. Your own small wave of sadness washed over you when seeing him so scared and timid. "The medic you requested is here to serve you." The clerk bowed slightly. 'Bowing... I wonder who there people really are.' You thought to yourself. The door suddenly flung open, reveling the child to you. "Will you help us?" The child began to cry. You looked at him and then at the two eldest figures in the room. They looked at you with exhausted and pained eyes. Without hesitation, you looked to the small child and grabbed his hand gently, leading him inside the room. "I hope this isn't too much trouble for you.." the girl spoke up as you reached the bed she was sitting on. "Please, it's no trouble at all." You said as you looked over both of them, making sure there were no serious injury's. "I know it may be hard, but if you can, please tell me what you remember." You spoke to them softly as you sat the child down next to the older man. You kneeled in front of the child and looked at them all. After a long silence, the girl spoke up again. "My name is Iris... This is Jared and Talcott. Were from... Insomnia." She said shakingly. You nodded and waited patiently for her to continue. You learned of a piece treaty that went South, two Kings fighting, demons running around, soldiers called MT's attacking their home. "I had learned through some travelers about this.. I'm so sorry for your losses." You whispered to them all. You looked towards Iris and gently touched her hand. "You were very brave and you got your friends out. You did a good job." You reassured her. Iris nodded and smiled slightly, wiping a stray tear that fell. "Thank you.. me and Talcott are fine, just a little sore.. Jared was hit by a stray bullet, though. We got it out and used a potion but it didn't seem to work. There's something else there.." Iris got off the bed and came to kneel next to you. She gently pulled up Jared's pant leg and reveled his wound. 'What is this..' you thought to yourself as you let out a shaky breath you didn't know you were holding. The bullet wound was slightly closed but wasn't sealed properly. There was a slight infection and not only that.. there was black ooze forming around the wound and it was slightly pulsating. Something you've seen before..

You sighed deeply and gently touched Jared's leg, but he winced and pulled away from your touch which caused you to quickly retract your hand. "This may hurt a little, Jared. But please don't worry, I'll heal this right up." You smiled up at him, trying to relax him as much as possible. "I believe you." Jared struggled to reply. You gave a single nod and focused your attention on his wound again. You take a deep breath and hold it while closing your eyes. The three watched you carefully but with puzzled faces. Within a few second your hand began to glow a faint green. You opened your eyes and started mumbling to yourself quietly. Your hand become warmer, and it began to glow brighter. "She's a wizard." You could hear talcot whisper. "I.. think you're right." Iris whispered back. You tried not to smile, for you thought the spell would be interupted. You regained focus, and gently touched Jared's wound once more. You heard him hiss in pain again, so without hesitation you grabbed one of his hands with your free one and held it tightly. "You're almost done." You mumbled, pressing your hand harder against the wound. The black ooze that littered Jared's leg stopped throbbing and began to glow the same color as your hand, and bit by bit, it began to break away into thin air. Iris gasped and held on your arm, squeezing it. Suddenly your hand stopped glowing and you pulled your hand away quickly. It was done, the wound was closed and you were strangly exhausted. Everyone was staring at Jared's leg, which was now cleared with a slightly discolored scar. "You.. how did you.." Iris couldn't find any words to say and neither could you honestly. Suddenly talcot latched onto the older man, capturing him a tight hug. You smiled and sighed. 'Another success.' you thought to yourself. A knock pulled you all from your relaxed state. "Lady Amicitia, your brother and the prince have arrived." The clerk said from the other side of the door. The party gasped and looked at each other. Their eyes were wide, like they had just gotten some news. You didn't know if it was good or bad, but by the sudden disappearance of Iris and Jared's touch and all of their smiles, it seemed it was good news. They got on their feet and rushed to the door, making their way down the hallway, leaving you alone. You could hear a mixture of voices down the hall, joy and relief present in their tones. You slowly got to your feet and looked at the open door and smiled, taking that as your cue to leave. You picked up the cane you had brought for Jared and laid it on the bed for him. As you made your way out of the room, you turned to your left, opposite of where the others fled to. You didn't know why, but you felt like you should leave the them to their reunion with their friends and make a quiet exit. You also felt as if you reached a limit of meeting people today. Everyone in Lestallem was taken care of, and these new arrivals sound like they're in good health. As you reached the bottom of the stairwell, you heard Talcott exclaim, "See?! I told you guys! She's a wizard! She disappeared into thin air!" You finally let yourself laugh. You opened the back door and we're met by the warm sunlight again. You already knew you were magical, but hearing it from an exciting personalty like Talcott made you feel good about yourself and you were hoping you would see him again. "Everything all set?" You heard the voice of the hunter behind you. You turned to see him leaning against the support colume. "Yes. The older man, Jared was the only one with a wound. The other two are fine." You waited till the hunter was at your side to start walking again. "Good." Was all he said before staring straight ahead. "You know, you don't always have to keep an eye out. We're safe here." You whispered to him. He sighed and stayed silent, eyes never meeting with yours. "I have my orders." Was all he said to you after a few minutes of silence. You shrugged and decided to just let it go and enjoy the rest of your day.

[amoralityplay]

Kiev, 1992

The baroque house in Kiev was very quiet during the day, only interrupted occasionally by footsteps or hushed conversation between the maid and the handyman—Max was one of very few vampires who still kept thralls, of a sort—or sometimes by the jingle of a cat’s collar bell; Max had always rather liked cats, much to the chagrin of his wife…but, they hadn’t lived together, or really even seen each other in more than just passing, in centuries, so he’d have his cats if he wanted to. 

Audrey wasn’t particularly fond of cats, either, but hadn’t said anything about it. After all, her grandfather had been generous enough to let her move into his sprawling home after her finances had taken a disastrous turn; she’d already been living in Kiev, just a few blocks away from his home there, but the forced sale of her apartment had left her with only two options: stay with Max, or limp back to Boston. And Audrey was not going home, not yet. 

[Cut for length]

“You know, Audrey…it’s been nice having someone around the house again,” the older man mused, setting a teacup and saucer down in front of his granddaughter, the china rattling in his unsteady hands. Max had been turned when he was quite a bit older than many vampires—a member of the Roman senate at the time—and looked to be about sixty, though of course he was much, much older than that. He wasn’t a frail man and looked much like a living version of the Roman marble busts one might see in a museum, but the harsh military life he’d led before joining the senate sometimes showed in the tremor of his hands. “I know the circumstances weren’t ideal…but we never got to spend much time together, once you grew up and started moving around so much. I’m glad you’re here.” Audrey forced a small smile as she looked up. “I know, grandfather. I’m glad, too.” The truth was…Audrey wasn’t glad to be there. The life she’d planned on had unraveled over the last couple decades, starting with her arranged marriage, then her mother’s death, and now financial ruin. Audrey loved her grandfather, but this was not the future she’d hoped for. 

Max nodded, sitting across from her at the small table, set into a corner of a parlor room. “You don’t have to lie for my sake,” he said, reaching over to pat one of her hands where she’d flattened it against the table to keep it still. It wasn’t uncommon for vampires to develop the ability  to read another’s thoughts, and most vampires as old as Max were very good at it…meanwhile, vampires as young as Audrey tended to be equally as bad at keeping their thoughts quiet and were easy to eavesdrop on. 

“I know you don’t want to be here, and it doesn’t have anything to do with me. It’s just been nice, regardless. And you don’t seem so melancholy lately. Is it the birds? Do they help?” He lifted his own cup to sip at the contents—blood, warmed until it steamed slightly. Audrey disliked blood much above body temperature and left her own cup to cool down somewhat. 

It might have been true that Audrey was getting out a bit more than she had for years, really, testing the water here and there at various vampire gatherings…though she wasn’t sure her melancholy had been cured. 

“Well…Cyrus ate one of them,” she said with a small sigh, glancing in the direction of the huge white cat, wearing a blue velvet collar with a golden bell, that was lounging on the rug nearby. The birds her grandfather referred to, a trio of canaries exactly like the ones she’d tried to keep as a little girl, had not, in fact, helped her feel much better. If anything, they’d only soured her disposition further, given the first’s untimely demise and the remaining two that refused to sing at night, just like the ones of her childhood; that had not been an experience Audrey had wanted to relive. “They’ll sing plenty for the maid when she opens the curtains during the day…so I told her she should take them home. They’ll be happier with someone who can let them see the sun a little.” 

“Ah, well, don’t be cross with Fedir for sending them, he hadn’t seen you since you were a teenager. It was what he remembered about you.” Fedir, a vampire Max had sired in the early 1700’s, had always taken a bit more interest in Audrey than anyone—especially Audrey—liked and had been, apparently, rather crushed when she was matched to someone else--he’d long lobbied Max to use his sway with Phersipnai to ensure Audrey was matched with him—and was equally elated to hear the wedding was called off and she’d returned to Kiev. He knew how vampire matches worked and that Audrey was still betrothed regardless of what her current feelings towards her fiancee were, but had made a handful of attempts to garner her attentions regardless. Max thought it was harmless and Audrey found it mildly annoying and certainly hadn’t encouraged the efforts…but she hadn’t exactly put an end to it yet, either. 

“I don’t get cross.” Audrey frowned down at her teacup. 

Max chuckled and nodded. “You have a tendency to be cross, my dear…isn’t that what this is all about? Why you’re in Kiev to begin with? You’ve been cross with Rowan for twenty years, don’t pretend you don’t get cross.” 

“Please don’t start with that,” Audrey groaned. 

“Well. It’s the truth. And your grandmother is supposed to call today—any minute, I think—to talk to you about it, so best you hear it from me first.” He shook his head, running a hand over his short cropped, grey hair. “You should head upstairs, take the call in your room.” Phersipnai hadn’t alerted Max that she’d be calling that day, but after nearly two millennia together, they often had a sense for what the other was doing or feeling, even across continents. Audrey didn’t move immediately, looking down at the blood in her cup as it started to congeal. As she had any time she had been away from her grandmother, she’d remained close with her, writing often or, in more recent years, speaking by phone…but since she’d been in Kiev, the calls had gotten tense…and thus Audrey often avoided them. “Go on. You know she won’t let it slide if you won’t answer.” Max stood and nudged Audrey’s shoulder, and the younger vampire stood with a small sigh. As predicted, the phone rang within a couple minutes of Audrey stepping into her room; she sank into the armchair beside the small pedestal table and lifted the receiver. “Hello?” “Audrey, finally. Do you know how many times I’ve called and that silly little mortal maid your grandfather keeps told me you were out? Have you really been out, or are you avoiding me?” Phersipnai’s voice was unmistakable, lilting with a faint Italian accent. 

“I was out, grandmother. I wouldn’t avoid you.” “Oh, don’t lie, you’re terrible at it. When are you going back to the States, Audrey?” “I don’t know. Maybe never.” 

“Stop that. It’s been twenty years and you’re being dramatic, I think that’s plenty long enough to have this little tantrum. You need to go home and sort things out with Rowan. I know he’s written you all those letters and you haven’t even had the decency to write back.” 

Audrey drew in a small, angry breath. “That’s unfair.” “No, Audrey, what’s unfair is I went to the trouble to make sure your life was comfortable and you never wanted for anything, and then made sure to find you a match that could do the same for you and was a decent person, and you turned around and repaid me by running off to your grandfather the moment things got a little unpleasant—“ “A little unpleasant? He humiliated me, grandmother! There were a hundred other vampires sitting in that church, he could have asked to delay things at any time, but he chose then to do it! People still talk about it when I walk into a room at coalition meetings! Not to even mention he was already practically married and you couldn’t even mention that to me!” “You will not shout at me, Audrey Lavinia Alden.” Phersipnai’s tone dropped low with warning. “People still talk about it because you’ve been punishing him for it for two decades. Rowan has been apologetic and there’s no reason you shouldn’t have at least spoken to him. If you had come back after a few months and sorted things out with him they wouldn’t have anything to gossip about. And I didn’t tell you about his partner because it was irrelevant to your arrangement. Do you really think, with as long as we live, vampires only engage in monogamous marriages where they’re romantically in love with their chosen match? You’re naive. Their partnership existed outside of our rules about marriage—call it a loophole, if you want—and thus had no impact on yours or the obligations you have to each other. And you’re lucky enough that Rowan actually does care about you, even given the circumstances and that it isn’t required of him, and you still treat him like you have.” “No impact? You don’t think that would have an impact? Are you insane?” Audrey had never taken such a tone with her grandmother before, but she couldn’t believe she’d have the gall to tell her that her fiancee already being married to another man wouldn’t have any impact on her own marriage to him. “You don’t care about what I want at all! All you care about is getting a great-granddaughter for your precious line to carry on. I’m not anything more to you than a prized cow you want bred.” Phersipnai didn’t say anything for a moment, the line quiet and Audrey nearly wondered if she’d hung up, but then the Elder finally spoke. “You’re right about part of that, but you’re no prize cow, Audrey. You’re an ill-tempered heifer and I can only hope that any child you have has their personality curbed by their father’s influence.” She paused a beat, drawing a slow breath. “Pack your things. I’m coming to get you. I’m not going to tolerate any more of this nonsense. If you want to act like a child, I will treat you like one. You’ve made it clear enough that you can’t take care of yourself and you can’t be trusted to make reasonable decisions. You have 12 hours.”  Audrey’s hand were shaking so hard she nearly lost her grip on the phone receiver. She wasn’t going back. And it didn’t matter to her if Phersipnai was an Elder. She was going to prove that she could live without her grandmother or Rowan or anyone else. “No.” “No?” Phersipnai parroted, incredulous. 

“No.” And with that, Audrey hung up. 12 hours was plenty of time to get a head start on the Elder…and Audrey had always wondered what Tokyo was like.