#i am sitting at work daydreaming about running off to another country or making these huge wild changes and becoming my ideal dream self

[girlscience]

deleted youtube off my phone again, maybe it will stick this time. started duolingo japanese again, maybe it will stick this time. started doing math problems to relearn calc and physics, maybe it will stick this time. am going to the gym in the morning (psyched myself out this morning worried about time so I didn't go today), maybe it will stick this time. been working on keeping a clean kitchen, maybe it will stick this time. tried to get healthy(er) groceries yesterday, maybe it will stick this time. have actually read multiple books this year, maybe it will stick this time.... this isn't just a me problem right??? I feel like I am constantly spiraling around the things I want to do and never actually sticking to them. It's kind of exhausting.

[idy-ll-ique]

A Day Well-Spent

Pairing: Mob Boss!Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Genre: It's like... fluff to the extreme

Warnings: mention of guns

Requested: nope

Summary: Y/N has just moved to Brooklyn and doesn't know how things are there. Bucky Barnes runs things around Brooklyn but what happens when they meet? Will she run away or will she still shoot her shot?

Author's Note: Hiya peeps! Okay, first of all, THANK YOU FOR 500 FOLLOWERS I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH I LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH. also i think im obsessed with mob fics????? chile anyways so... enjoy!

---

"Ready to go, sweetie?"

"You know it, babe," Y/N grinned at her friend, Clarice. The two, on their way to work, had stopped by a coffee shop for their daily dose of caffeine. As they walked out of the café, Clarice turned to Y/N. "Finish your story! What did Brad say to you after that?!" Clarice reminded her and Y/N giggled.

"Oh, he was just too sweet! But not my type, ya know what I mean? I didn't know how to turn him down," she sighed. "Poor guy. If he had approached me…" Y/N lightly shoved her friend. "I have his number, should I pass it on?" Clarice turned to Y/N, wide eyed. "Darling, you're too good to me," she spoke with a strong Brooklyn accent.

Y/N burst out laughing. She had moved from another part of the country to Brooklyn for education; along with attending college, she was also working as a waitress at a nice little restaurant. That was how she met Clarice, her being another waitress at said restaurant. The two became fast friends.

Clarice was a few years older than Y/N, a single mother with a 4 year old son. Her son was extremely cute. As Y/N continued laughing, she didn't notice how her friend stopped in her tracks. Clarice was busy staring at the huge hunk of a man a few feet ahead of Y/N, standing in the middle of the pavement with his phone held to his ear, his back to them.

Bucky Barnes.

That man was James Buchanan Barnes, the King of Brooklyn. He ran the whole damn city along with his mob; very important and influential. On top of that? He was hot-headed, easily got angry and people knew what happened when he got angry. Except Y/N. Y/N didn't even know who he was.

As Y/N neared Bucky, still laughing for some reason, Clarice thought of calling out to her. And alert him of their presence? No way! "Clarice, you know I love it when you do your acc—" All of a sudden, Y/N collided into a soft wall, spilling her coffee all over it. Opening her eyes, she found out that it was no wall; instead, she had collided straight into a person.

And drenched his back with coffee.

He was wearing what looked like a very expensive suit and Y/N immediately felt guilty. "Oh my goodness, I'm so fucking sorry!" she blurted out as Bucky pulled the phone away from his ear, turning to look at her. His men, who were loitering around, had her surrounded as they pointed their guns at her. But she didn't notice.

She was busy staring at Bucky, her jaw slightly dropped. Hot damn, he is good looking, she thought to herself. It wasn't until he cleared his throat that she snapped out of a daydream. He had a stern expression on his face and she realized she messed up. He's someone important. Then she started apologizing profusely.

Bucky simply stared at her, taking in her features as he gave her a once-over. She's new, he realized, not from Brooklyn. "Hey, hey, hey, it's okay," he chuckled and she immediately shut up, offering him a timid smile. "I really am sorry, I feel like a total ass. That suit looks expensive, sir, is there any way I can help? Maybe pay for dry cleaning?"

"Do you know who I am?" he instead asked and her brows furrowed. "Oh Lord, am I supposed to know?! One mess up after another…" she grumbled and Bucky couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry. My name is Bucky Barnes, you may call me Bucky." At this point, even his men were surprised, lowering their guns.

Clarice was still standing there and one of the men caught her eye. He nodded his head towards Y/N and Clarice gave him an unsure smile. He sauntered over to her. "She's with you?" he asked and Clarice groaned, dropping her head. "She's new to Brooklyn, and has no idea who he is. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience."

The man smiled at her. "No worries, looks like the boss isn't gonna hurt her. I'm Sam, by the way." Clarice gave him a shy smile. Sam was also very good-looking. "I'm Clarice, nice to meet you." Better to remain on the good side of the mob. Back to Y/N and Bucky… "Bucky, that's a good name. Short for anything?"

He ran a hand through his hair, grinning. It had been years, years since someone outside of the mob had spoken to him so freely and without fear. It felt nice and refreshing, even more so because Y/N was super gorgeous. "James Buchanan Barnes." Y/N couldn't help but laugh. "Named after a president, huh?"

"You making fun of my name now, doll?" he smirked slyly. "Oh no no, I wouldn't dare," she flirted easily, "My name is Y/N. I still feel bad about ruining your suit, you won't even take the money…" Bucky waved her off. "First, Y/N is a wonderful name. Second, you don't need to worry your pretty head over me, this suit can easily be replaced."

"Then how about this? A coffee. My treat. It'll make me feel better," she insisted. Bucky raised a quick brow, thinking that he would be the one to ask her out but oh well, this works too. "Let's call it a date, shall we?" he purred, taking a step closer to her. She didn't back off. "If you'd like," she grinned up at him.

He couldn't help but grin back. "Excellent. Then how about you put your number in my phone and I pick you up next Sunday at 7 pm?" He thrust his phone into her hand and Y/N swore she heard someone gasping in the background. Bucky Barnes was a very private person but here he was now; handing his phone to a stranger.

She quickly put her number in his phone and handed it back, smiling. "I'll await your call." He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I have to go now, so I'll see you later. Say hello to your friend from my side. Sam! Stop flirting, man, we gotta go!" Y/N looked over her shoulder to see his friend flirting with Clarice.

She laughed and turned back to Bucky, who was already looking at her with a goofy grin on his face. "I'll see you next Sunday, Mr Barnes. Again, sorry for the suit!" He waved his arm in dismissal and got into the car, throwing her one last blowing kiss before zooming off. Y/N walked back to Clarice, who was staring at her, jaw dropped.

"I know the hell you didn't just do that."

"Did I do something wrong?" Y/N frowned. Then, all of a sudden, a wide grin bloomed on Clarice's face. "Do you even know who you're going to go on a date with next Sunday?!" Y/N blinked. "Is he someone important?" Clarice made a sound of indignation. "Important? Bitch, he's the Kingpin! The King of Brooklyn! A mob boss!"

Y/N's eyes went wide. "No way," she scoffed. "Yes way! Ask anyone! He runs things around here, babe. It was fun to see him all soft, though, he's kinda hot-headed and hard to impress. Even women stay away from him. And now you two are going on a date?! If this relationship does not end in a marriage I'm suing."

Y/N flushed slightly and punched Clarice on the shoulder. "Clair, we haven't even gone on one date." Clarice shrugged. "A girl can dream. Oh, your children will be the most beautiful! Did you see his right hand man, though?! Mamma mia! Said his name was Sam Wilson, I got his number!" The two reached their workplace.

Inside Bucky's car, he was still smiling, lost in thoughts. "So, that chick, huh," Sam spoke devilishly from the driver's seat. Bucky looked at him. "That's no way to talk about the future Mrs Barnes," he admonished and Sam chortled. "Dude, you haven't been on even one date! Slow down, chicks don't like dudes who plan out a marriage on the first date."

"But I know I'm right, so why shouldn't I plan?" Bucky shrugged. He was more than confident that Y/N was going to become his in the future. The way she looked at him, spoke to him, flirted with him… it was enough for him to become smitten with her at the first glance. "What about you and her friend, huh?"

It was Sam's turn to become flustered. "Clarice Light. Has a 4-year old son, Aaron." Bucky nodded thoughtfully. "A mother. Well-maintained looks," he commented, laughing when Sam punched him on the shoulder. "Why don't you think about your own chick and leave mine alone?"

---

Y/N frantically smoothed out her dress, checking herself in the mirror. She wore a beautiful, nude coloured bandage dress that reached mid-thigh, along with similar coloured heels. Bucky was coming to pick her up in 5 minutes. Even after finding out who he was she didn't back away, instead finding it empowering that the most important man in Brooklyn wanted to take her out on a date.

All of a sudden the bell rang, pulling Y/N out of her thoughts. The first thing she saw upon opening the door was a huge bouquet of red roses right in front of someone's face. He then moved the bouquet to reveal his face and Y/N smiled broadly. "Bucky!" He grinned back at her. "Hi, doll! Here, an extraordinary bouquet for an equally extraordinary woman."

"You're too flattering. These roses smell amazing, thank you so much." She took the bouquet from his hands and kept it away, stepping out of the house. Bucky offered her his hand and she took it, allowing him to lead her out of the building and towards an audacious, ridiculously expensive looking car.

"Everything about you is lavish, huh?" she teased as he ushered her into the passenger seat, sitting next to her. "Bad to have a taste for the finer things in life?" he teased right back, placing his hand on her thigh as the other gripped the steering wheel. "No, I mean, you are the Kingpin. I should expect luxury."

He glanced at her to see her grinning at him. "You found out?" She nodded. "Yup, Clarice told me as soon as you left. I don't mind though, I'm just wondering… why me?" He laughed. "Why you? Sweetheart, you are the first person aside from Sam who has talked to me so freely since… since I was 18. And you're gorgeous. So why not?"

"Again, with the flattery…"

"Just stating facts, my dear."

"Also, my friend has a crush on Sam, so do tell him to ask her out." Bucky laughed harder. It had been years since he'd enjoyed himself so much. "Really? He has a crush on her too! I guess I'll tell him tomorrow." Y/N looked out of the window. "Where are we going?" Bucky gently squeezed her thigh. It was clear he wasn't taking her to a café, like originally planned.

"A picnic in the park." Y/N's eyes lit up. "I love picnics!" she squealed. "Then I guess I made a good choice," Bucky chortled along. The two soon reached the park and Bucky got out of the car first, holding the door open for Y/N to step out. "A gentleman," she noted, making him grin. He then took out the picnic basket from the backseat.

Y/N laid out the classic pink and white checkered blanket that he had brought along, taking off her heels before sitting down. "Ugh, I'd have worn pants if I knew I was going to be sitting on the ground," she groaned as she somehow sat down, adjusting her dress.

"You look gorgeous in that dress though," Bucky commented, "But you don't need to worry about public indecency because it's just you and me in the park." Y/N blinked at him as he sat down, opening the basket and taking out food. "Just us? You booked the whole park?" Bucky smirked at her. "It's easy when you run things around here."

Y/N fondly shook her head. "So much effort." He winked at her. "All for you, doll, all for you." The two maintained a chat as they ate. "So, you're new here. Why did you move to Brooklyn?" Bucky asked her. "Education. I go to [Name] college, actually, and work part-time as a waitress for some additional income," she hummed. He nodded thoughtfully.

"What about you? Is the mob a family business or a start-up?" Bucky smiled at her boldness. "Family business, my dad used to run it before me. I was 16 when I took over." Y/N realized what must've happened and gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry for your loss." Bucky returned the smile. "It's fine, he was no saint."

"No?"

"Yup, hated him actually. Used to be cruel to my mom, to me too… until he got shot. Best day of my life." Y/N gasped quietly. "Bucky! He was your father!" Bucky chuckled mercilessly. "An asshole is what he was. Geez, speaking of, my mom is gonna be so happy."

"What's her name?" Y/N took a bite of her sandwich. "Winifred. She's awesome, raised me and my sister alone, ya know? Dad was always too busy. My mom will like you, I can tell. And so will my sister." Y/N smiled at that. "A sister?" He nodded, excited to talk about his family.

"Rebecca Barnes. She's a few years younger than me, maybe your age. She goes to your college too." Y/N suddenly squealed. "You mean to tell me my best friend from college is your sister? Rebecca Barnes?!" Bucky smiled so wide he thought his cheeks were gonna tear. "You've met her?" Y/N vehemently nodded.

"She's really great, the only person kind enough to introduce herself on the first day I moved in. She was the one who showed me around campus and I found out that she mostly spent time alone because no one wanted to talk to her, her brother being involved with the bad side of law or something. But I didn't care. I still don't. She's awesome, you're awesome."

Bucky felt himself tear up at her words. "Doll, you have no idea how much that means to me." Y/N grinned at him, scooting sideways so she could lay her head on his shoulder. "I'm serious, you know. I can't wait to tell her about this." Bucky laughed in a watery tone, pressing his lips to her temple.

The two quietly ate after that. When the food was over both of them lay down on the blanket, looking up at the starry sky. "It's so beautiful," Y/N whispered, cuddling into Bucky's side as she stared at the gibbous moon. Bucky wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

"It's nothing compared to you."

Y/N laughed quietly and looked up, the same time he looked down. They met each other halfway; their lips connecting softly yet eagerly. Lost in the kiss Bucky sat up, pulling Y/N on his lap as they continued making out. Finally, after what felt like hours did they pull away, breathless. They said nothing; Bucky looked at her as if she hung the moon.

Y/N stared at him as if he were the only thing in the world. "So, when will I get a second date?" she broke the silence, leaning down to press her forehead to his. "Oh, doll, you're not getting rid of me any time soon," he shot back, laughing. Y/N giggled along and stood up.

Both of them packed their things and got into the car, Bucky offering to drive her home since it was late. So I guess it had been hours. As Bucky drove, Y/N's phone chimed. He glanced at her when she laughed. "What's so funny?" Y/N wheezed before answering.

"I've got two texts. One from Becca and one from Clarice."

Bucky couldn't stop his chuckle. "What did Becca say?" Y/N read out, "Girl, just heard you're on a date with my bro? And I— I swear if you don't become my sister in law, I'm suing." Laughter filled the car. "She really said that?" Y/N nodded. "Yup! Even Clarice, on the day we met, said the same thing! It's nuts. We just met and they're already planning a wedding."

"Speaking of, what was Clarice's message?"

"Oh nothing, just that she got back home from a date with Sam a few minutes ago."

"What?!"

"What's wrong with that?"

"That asshole had work today!"

"Bucky!"

All in all, it was a day well-spent.

---

A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a like if you enjoyed!

[chrisevansmaid]

Virginal

Summary: You go to a beach town in search of losing your virginity. The server at dinner is extra cute but it's also young Chris evans.

*this pic is from chris’s twitter*

MUST BE 18+!!!!

I see everyone saying this, so 18+ pleaseeeee. Begoneeeee youngins

Pairing: Chris Evans x female!reader, Young!Chris Evans x minor!reader, (Name inserted but you can switch it to yours)

Word Count: 3393

Perspective: Reader

Warnings: SMUTTT, p in v, mentions of smoking weed / dab pen, oral sex (female receiving), FLUFF AND ANGST, high sex, lowkey rough sex, dirty talk, degrading dirty talk, EXPLICIT sexual content, age gap, minor having sex with non-minor (17F with 20M), 

Authors note: 

FIRST FIC YAY!!!!!! Don't be mean pls <3.

I’m really bad at tenses so if it keeps switching from present to past tense sorry. The only grammar corrector I’m using is grammarly so if something doesn’t make sense oopsie, I’m too lazy from spending a while on this fic to go anal and analyze every sentence for errors. 

Okay so… I’m a pisces which basically means I can never stop daydreaming. Also the backstory is lowkey gonna be my backstory lol. This is how I wished I lost my virginity plus make it Chris evans.

*THIS IS NOT BASED OFF OF CHRIS ITS FULLY FROM MY IMAGINATION* 

Idk I'm bored and it's summer so I have nothing to do. YES THIS IS ABOUT A MINOR BUT IN MY STATE THE AGE OF CONSENT IS 16 SO CHILL.

18+ PLEASE STOP READING NOW IF YOU ARE A MINOR

So I’m a virgin. Not because I am a prude or anything, but it never worked. I like to self diagnose so my conclusion is I have vaginismus. That is basically rolled into my cervix/vagina clenches up whenever I try to have sex so no dick fits in and if anything does fit it's incredibly painful. It's not a matter of being turned on cus I could have Niagara Falls in my panties and it still wouldn’t work, trust me. Even being fingered was awful and I’ve been fingered like 10 times and none of them were enjoyable. My sister says I’m just really tight. Idk. I can finger myself and it's good-ish, I mean how far up can you reach with your own hand? 

But I’ve had enough of being a virgin and I just want someone to blow my back out. Preferably some sexy older guy. And because I’m sick and tired of having an untapped pussy I’ve devised a plan. I am going to the beach in a week or so and I am going to find the guy who I had my first kiss with and have him fuck me. Or some other hot guy I meet. But to make sure my inhibitions are lowered and my vagina doesn’t clench from nerves I am gonna get a little high before. 

1 week later.

My mom, stepdad, and I arrive at the beach and it is so pretty. I love this beach. It brings back so many good memories. I am rooming with my childhood friend, Sarah, and she knows I want to get fucked. We’ve snuck out before and we are so excited for this week. I take a picture of the beach and put it on my Snapchat story with my location tagged. This will let my first kiss know I’m near him so he can hit me up to fuck me. 

The day goes by kinda slow because all I could think of was walking up and down the boardwalk trolling for hot men. Finally, night comes and all the families that are at the beach go to dinner. I was kinda bored but then our server came. He was something else.

“Hi my name’s Chris and I’ll be your server tonight.” Ugh. Even his voice made my whole body warm up. His greenish blue eyes stared into my soul as he took my order. His dirty blonde hair was perfectly quaffed and the way his black shirt hugged his biceps was absolutely sinful. Okay yes, he was probably in his early twenties but who said I was ageist. If anything an older man would know how to fuck a woman better than any stupid high school senior that I would meet. 

I got up to go to the bathroom and saw Chris on my way. We locked eyes and didn't break contact until I went into the bathroom. As I stepped out of the bathroom I saw him again. It looked like he was waiting for me. His body was leaned up against the wall across from the bathroom I had just exited. He stopped me and said “Call me.” and handed me a piece of paper. Before I had a chance to say anything he turned and I was watching his perfect ass walk away. 

I went back to the table as if nothing happened. I don’t think anyone noticed my uncontrollable smile. Throughout the dinner, I could not tear my eyes away from our sexy server. I think Sarah noticed but I was gonna tell her about it when my parents weren’t right there. We finished dinner and all went back to the beach house. When we got back I told Sarah and she was so shook. We were racking our brains on what I should text Chris. I didn’t want to come off too strong but also I wanted this man to fuck me. So we settled on:

“Hey”

Yes. I know it's lame but he’s older defffffinitely older and I can’t act too young. Ugh, I am so scared of his response it's absolutely killing me. Sarah, two other girls that came to the beach, and I decide to go out for ice cream. At least ice cream would take my mind off waiting for a response. As we wait in line I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. I pull it out and it’s Chris. 

“I thought I told you to call me” His response is very bold but for some reason, it only intrigues you more. Immensely more. I show Sarah and she smiles. 

“Guess who’s getting her wish tonight.”

“Oh my god,” I respond. “What do I say?” I am literally so scared that he will think I’m too young or too much of a child. 

“Um, don’t say anything. Call him.” Sarah says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

Do I actually call him? I’m literally getting the worst knots in my stomach and now I have to shit and I’m literally so nervous over a phone call. I am not a spontaneous person. AT ALL. 

“Okay, I’m gonna call him.” I say to Sarah after literally pondering this for 5 minutes.

Oh god. This is so scary. I tell Sarah to get me a vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and I step out of the line. I go to the walkway near the ice cream shop away from the crowd so I can hear better. I dial his number and put the phone to my ear.

It rings like 3 times and he picks up.

“Hey.” He says and his voice is even sexier than I remember. 

“Hey.” I literally didn’t know what to say and I am pacing up and down the sidewalk.

“So you must be the hot girl I gave my number to.”

“And you must be the sexy server.” Some wave of confidence came over me and that was the best response I could come up with.

“So what’s your name?”

“Olivia and if I remember correctly, your name is...” I paused to let him fill in the blank

“Chris.” 

“Chris, that's right.” I wanted to come off like I didn’t hang onto every word he said and so I played it off like his name wasn’t already filling my fantasies.

“So Liv, when am I gonna see you again?” He asks and this caught me a little off guard that he would jump straight to the point but I guess why prolong the inevitable.

“I don’t know, when are you free?”

“Can I pick you up tonight around 12?” Ugh yes. My plan was filling out nicely.

“Sounds great.” I mean what else am I supposed to say? 

“Send me where you’ll be and I’ll pick you up then.” His assertive tone was a panty fucking dropper. 

“Okay. See you then Chris.” I’ve picked up from my previous male experiences that if you say a guy's name he’ll be more inclined to fuck you. I mean I totally pulled that out of my ass but I wanted to sound like a confident vixen, not some 17 year old virgin. 

“Bye Liv.” The way he made up a nickname for me had me reddening in my cheeks and warming in my core. I say bye and hang up. As soon as the call ends I’m running back to Sarah and telling her every little detail. Okay, I really needed to get back home and shit. 

Sarah, the other girls, and I go back to the house and hang out for like an hour, and then it’s 11 and all the parents are asleep. I need to start preparing. So I take a phat shit and then shower even though I showered before dinner but I need to wash off my nervous sweats. I shave everywhere and when I get out I lotion my entire body, put on my sexy lingerie, and douse myself with perfume. I do my makeup but it’s simple and of course waterproof. I text Chris the address of the beach house but tell him to pick me up a couple houses down. I tell Sarah she needs to sneak out with me so if we get caught I can pretend me and her were just hanging outside the house. Sarah and I sneak out the back and bring her cart. I take a couple hits to calm myself down because god forbid I tense up before he can get his dick in. It's like 11:55. God my stomach is in knots. 

It’s 12. ‘Oh god’ I think to myself. I see a white range rover pull up at the end of the block. I say bye to Sarah and walk to the car. I see his face. Oh, fuck still sexy. I open his car door and jump into the passenger seat. 

“Hey.” I say

“Hey, Liv.” He says back. Him saying that little nickname he gave me is so much hotter in person. So so so much hotter. I think he knows what it does to me because his lips curl into a smirk. “Let’s go for a drive.” Chris says.

“Okay, I’m down.” I say back and kinda rethinking saying ‘I’m down’ because he is definitely rethinking how old I am.

We start driving around and talking and thank god the radio is on to fill any silence there could be. It’s on the country station and him liking country music is literally another added bonus. Then When it Rains it Pours comes on and I say “Omg I love this song.”

“Really?” He says back. “I’ve never met a girl as pretty as you that actually likes country music.” 

“Are you kidding? I love country music.” I say back not noting he just called me pretty. We mindlessly chat for like 20 minutes and Chris pulls the car into an empty parking lot that overlooks the whole beach town. 

“This is so pretty.” I say in awe of the gorgeous view. I can see from the corner of my eye that Chris is just looking at me.

“Not as good as my view.” He says back in a soft tone that has me melting to the floor of the car. I look back at him and we sit in silence just staring into each other's eyes. I glance at his lips and they look so kissable. They are the perfect amount of plump without being too big. When I look back to his eyes he is still staring at me. His lips almost form a smile and he grabs and cheek and kisses me. It’s even better than each and every one of my fantasies. I grab the back of his neck and kiss him even harder back. Before I know it the kiss gets more rushed and Chris is running his hands along the curve of my back. Our lips are crashing into each others with fervor like no other. He pulls me into his lap and he ruts his hips upward. He takes his left hand and moves the seat back and starts kissing down my neck. His lips leave little bite marks and he reaches my bosoms. He pulls my tank top down and pulls my breasts out of my bra and sucks on my right nipple as he pinches the left. Soft mewls leave my lips and he stops to look at me and the rush of cold air sends goosebumps across my skin. He leans up and kisses my neck and leaves marks all the way to my ear lobe and whispers “Before I fuck you until you can’t remember your name, How old are you?” 

Forming words is harder than I imagined so between pants I say back “17.” 

“Perfect” he whispers back while still biting my neck. “Come here” he says as he opens the door. I hop off him and outside the car and see the tent forming in his pants. He picks me up and wraps my legs around him and pins me against the car door. He bites my lip and I can’t imagine anything better than this moment. While still mounted on his he opens the door to the backseat and lays me down. He gets on top of me and shuts the door behind him. He ruts against my core and his jeans rub against the soft fabric of my athletic shorts. Although my mind is completely fixed on his engorged cock a thought forms in my mind. What if he thinks I’ve done this before? What If I’m so bad he doesn’t even speak to me again? These thoughts completely cloud my mind and Chris notices.

“What's wrong?” he says as he pulls away. I glance at his bitten lips and pant trying to form words. 

“Nothing just, I... I’m a virgin.” I blurt out. I am so scared I ruined the moment but his expression only intensifies. 

“Oh well we just can’t have that now can we?” He says back and his lust blown pupils grow darker and he kisses me with such intensity my thoughts completely leave my mind. I could get drunk off the taste of him. Chris breaks the kiss and rips off his shirt showing his perfectly chiseled abs. I felt them through the cotton but seeing them right in front of my eyes makes my mouth open. My lips peak into a smile and he picks me up and places my back closer to the car door. He rips off my shorts and starts kissing down my neck to my navel and I run my fingers through his hair. My chest rises and falls quicker as his lips reach my red lace covered mound. His teeth grab the waistband and he pulls off my panties. 

He inhales and says “So sweet.” His husky voice vibrating against my core. His kisses dance around my thighs. As more sounds leave my mouth Chris bites my skin. His hands hold my legs open as he licks down my folds. His tongue flickers across my clit leaving me trembling. I had never felt this way from anyone ever. My fingers run through his short dirty blonde hair and my nails dig into his scalp leaving crescent shaped indents. He slips his middle finger through my folds as he sucks on my clit. His fingers curl up hitting a spot I never knew existed. A feeling in my stomach starts intensifying and spreading through my entire body and I tremble in euphoria. Chris finger fucks me through my first ever orgasm. I shut my eyes tightly and when I open them Chris is staring right at me. I grab the hair on the nape of his neck and pull him back up to kiss me. I can taste myself still on his tongue as the material of his jeans rubs against my sensitive bud. His fingers pinch my nipples as he slips his tongue between my lips. I reach down and feel his throbbing cock through his pants. As I rub with the palm of my hand, throaty moans leave his mouth. Nothing was stronger than my desire to be fucked raw by this sex god. I pulled away from the kiss and say as I stare deep into his eyes “Fuck me Chris.” My words are efficacious to him. 

He licked his lips like an animal locked onto his prey. “Don’t have to ask me twice.” He pulls down his jeans and takes his cock out of his boxers. I have seen a dick before but never that big. My mouth almost dropped to the floor. He pulled a condom out of the back of the seat and wrapped it around his cock. He pumped his dick a few times before running the head along my sodden folds. “You ready?” I had never been more ready for anything in my entire life. Unable to form words I nodded my head. Chris pushes his cock into me slowly. I gasped at the feeling. I wasn’t as tight as I usually was but it still stung. Each inch stung a little more until he bottomed out into me. He stilled. His breath was hot on my ear as our breathing synced. I gasped again as he pulled his hips back. I reached down and pulled him back into me. 

“Don’t hold back.” I said. I wanted this to be as enjoyable for him as it was for me. Chris pulled out and thrust back into me again. The groans that left this throat made my pussy clench around him. He picks up his pace and pain turns into pleasure. My legs wrap around his thighs and I’m pulling him into me. 

“You dirty little slut. So needy.” He whispered into my ear. The sound that escaped my lips drew him deeper in like a moth to a flame. Chris drives his cock into me faster so that all you can hear is breathy moans and the lewd sounds of skin slapping against skin. Chris moves his hand to my throat and squeezes. I try to moan but they catch in my throat and I look back at Chris. His mouth is agape and he is staring deep into my eyes. He thrusts so deep my eyes roll back and I have to shut them. He grabs my chin and pulls my face to meet his. “Look at me. Don’t look away. I want to see your face as I make you cum on my dick.” His cock is hitting places he didn’t even reach when fingering me. Another orgasm rips through me and my body trembles harder this time. Chris fucks me through my orgasm and just as I regained my mental awareness I could feel another one coming on. Chris squeezes harder on my neck as he sucks on my hardened nipples. He bites my skin and takes his hand from my neck and reaches between our sweaty writhing bodies and pinches my clit. A guttural moan leaves my throat as another excruciatingly intense orgasm takes over my entire body. I can tell Chris isn’t far behind because his thrusts become sporadic and he puts all his body weight into his last thrust and stills. The noises he makes me wish he was still fucking me. He leans down to meet my lips once again but this time it is slower and more gingerly. He pulls his dick out and lays down on top of me. 

We catch our breaths and I say. “Wow, that was.. fuck.”

Chris softly laughs and says “Who knew a 17 year old could have me in the palm of their hand.” 

“Who knew a however-old-you-are would take my virginity.” I say with a smile on my face.

“I’m 20, I probably should have told you earlier.” He says looking a little guilty.

“Don’t worry it would have only turned me on more.” I laugh back and our lips join in a soft kiss. 

Chris and I look at the dashboard and see it's 1:30 am. “Shit I should probably get home before my friend worries too much.” I say looking back at Chris and he nods. We sit up and reach down for our clothes. I reach for my underwear and Chris snatches it from my hands.

“These are mine now.” Chris smirks.

“Fine.” I put on my shorts and pull my top back on. Sadly Chris covers his humongous biceps with his shirt. I lean in and meet Chris with a kiss. We get back into our respective seats and Chris looks at me with a dumb smile.

“Why are you staring at me?” I say with a giggle.

“Oh, nothing.” Chris says and his smile only looks more like a 6 year old who just stole a cookie before dinner. I mean technically he did just steal something but that's beside the point. Chris puts the car back into drive and turns around to back up. 

As he drives me home there's more small talk but then he asks “How long will you be in town?” 

“A week,” I say. Chris’s dumb smile returns. “Okay, what's that smile for?” 

Chris looks at me and says “I’m just excited to fuck you every night this week.” 

[yoongi-sugaglider]

Jungkook x reader

fairy/soulmate au

Warnings: fluff, mentions of war, mentions of bodily injury, ummm...fluff? lol

Word count: Exactly 10k on the dot!!!

A/n note: So this was supposed to be my secret santa/ winter project for December 2020 but some life stuff came up aka my dad had some very severe health issues that kinda broke my brain for a while. He’s doing better now though and I finally was able to just sit and give this story the love it deserved. To @birbdae​ I am so sorry this is late but thank you so much for being patient with me~ Happy belated birthday and I love you bunches~

“Mother, tell me the story again?” The young girl whispered as she clung to the Queen’s multitude of skirts.

“Hush now my love.” The elegant lady gathered her child into her arms, eyes struggling to see her tiny face in the dusky twilight that surrounded them.

“Please Mother, I’m scared…” 

The woman sighed, allowing her silvery hair to fall into her eyes as she pressed her forehead to her child’s and allowed the icy chill that surrounded them to comfort her into speaking.

“Once upon a time, there lived a young maiden so fair that kingdoms bowed down at the very mention of her name.”

“Queen Merialiies, the most powerful of the frost fae.” The little princess sighed, settling into her mother’s arms and allowing the familiar words to comfort her.

“Aye, that she was. And the kindest. A great war ravaged her country. So devastating was it that half the world lost their lives and the balance of life and death were in chaos.”

The Queen clutched her child closer, shivering as her eyes trained intensely on the entrance of the isolated cavern. “When the war was over the maiden emerged from hiding, seeking out her people and gathering them from their hiding places. She knew that if they were to revive the world they would have to come together, for their strength lay in their bond with each other.”

“Because our joined power is always greater than if we are alone.”

The Queen chuckled, nuzzling into her daughter’s hair and placing the most gentle of kisses to her forehead. “Am I telling this story or you my love?”

The child smiled up at her, giggling as she patted her mother’s cheek. “I’m sorry Mother, please, would you keep going?”

“Alright, where was I?”

“You were about to come to the best part!” 

Smiling the Queen nodded, though her grip on her child tightened. “The maiden persevered, gaining strength from her people as they guided the world towards rebirth. But something was wrong. The poor dear, though surrounded by those that loved and adored her felt alone. Something was missing in her life. A love that she could have all to herself. She began searching, hoping to find one who could see through her strength to the innocent and lonely woman within.”

“And she did Mother! She found her own truest love.”

“Shh, quietly my lovely.” Her panicked gaze wandered the dark, listening intently to the wayward sounds that filtered in through the stone and ice.

“You’re right. She found her love. A twin flame to melt away the loneliness in her heart. The one who carried not only a burning love for her, but also the twin pair to her wings.”

The youngling sighed, burying her face in her mother’s chest as her tiny fingers wrapped in the delicate silk of her bodice. “Twin souls. They were happy right? Finding each other?”

“Of course my love. Finding your twin soul is a cause for celebration. And they did. They celebrated for weeks after. Two kingdoms joined together to celebrate the greatest love story in the history of the fae. There was no war, only peace and prosperity.”

The sounds from outside gained in volume. Explosions and cries for help echoed through the cavern as the two held each other close.

“Mother…”

“I know baby. I’m here. It will be okay…”

***

“My Lady where are you?” 

The young woman flinched, tucking herself farther into the frost covered tree as she watched her jailer...lady in waiting, search for her in the gardens down below.

She’d been avoiding the poor harried woman for hours, hoping to not be dragged back to the small cabin they called home and be forced to sit down and study her histories again. The tutor they’d found liked to drone on and on, more busy with facts and numbers than the great stories of heroes and villains that the young woman preferred to daydream about. He’d taken on the job willingly, a poor clumsy scholar that tended more towards the clumsy side despite the brilliance of his mind.

“My lady! Sir Namjoon awaits you! Please stop hiding and come so that he can teach you like we hired him to!”

The woman snorted, knowing she’d be able to hide as long as she needed if it meant she didn’t have to hover protectively over her inkwell while the man droned on. Luck was not on her side this day though. Where normally her fingers would have done their work, gripping tightly to the course bark that wrapped her beloved tree in silvery protection, today they faltered in the cold.

She barely had a moment to react, a silent oh! of surprise slipping from her lips as she took her tumble. The ground rushed up to meet her, its snow covered embrace announcing her hiding spot with a resounding crash.

A gasp echoed through the clearing, swallowed by the sound of rushed footsteps crunching their way through the freshly lain snow. The fallen woman groaned, eyes filled with the sight of the uncaring forest staring down at her as she lay resigned to her fate.

“My Lady you mustn't lay on your back like…” The maid stuttered to a halt, delicate fingers coming up to cover her lips as her eyes filled with misty tears. “Oh...oh your ladyship I...I’m so s…”

“Hush now Solaris. It’s been 14 years.” The woman sat up abruptly, dusting the snow from her dress and rising to brush it off of her back. “I’ve had enough of these woods. Come now, Sir Clumsy britches is waiting for me.”

Solaris couldn’t help the tittering giggle that slipped from her lips. She bowed her head, giving the young woman a small curtsy as they began making their way back towards the village.

“Might I ask why you’re always climbing that tree my lady?” She couldn’t help her curiosity. It seemed her charge was always running off, attempting to find some adventure or another in any attempt to escape her duties.

“Honestly? I’m not sure. I just…” The young woman sighed, fingers brushing at her skirts as she ducked beneath a wayward tree branch and stepped out into the clearing that housed their small cottage. “I’ve always felt like I was searching for something. Even as a child. I suppose I thought if I could see more of the land, see more of the world from up high I’d be able to figure out what that something is.”

“And have you found it my lady?”

The melancholic woman shook her head, pausing at the door to the cottage and glancing once around the clearing. It was a modest little place they called home, situated just inside the wall of trees that surrounded the capital city of their kingdom. They managed to live quietly here, benefiting from the security of the centuries old trees and forest while still being close enough to the large city to fulfill all of their living needs. It was home, though not the one she’d grown up in. That was a fairytale now only to think about in the quiet nights when she tossed and turned with nightmares of the past.

“No...I haven’t found my twin flame. Not...not yet anyway.”

***

“Your Highness! There’s news from the capital!” A hurried Solaris burst through the front door, eyes wide and panicked as she struggled to catch her breath from the obvious nonstop run from the market to their home.

“Goodness Solaris. Take a moment, calm yourself.” The young woman rose from her chair, absolutely grateful for the interruption from Sir Namjoon’s usual rantings as she guided her breathless maid to the chair she’d been occupying.

“Sir Namjoon, would you kindly draw Lady Solaris a cup of water? I’m sure she’d be grateful.”

The usually calm man grew flustered at the request, rushing towards the tiny kitchen area and rifling through the items for the requested object. Surprisingly nothing fell or broke though as the man returned with a tall cup of cold water and handed it to the maid with trembling hands and the tiniest of a dimple filled smile.

“Y...your...your water my Lady.” He muttered, scurrying back to his large stack of books as if terrified to have Solaris’s attention on him for too long.

After allowing the woman to take a few sips to calm herself her mistress took the cup, placing it off to the side and handing over a handkerchief to allow the woman to wipe at her sweat covered brow.

“Now, what’s got you so flustered that you had to burst in here in the most unladylike of manners?” She smiled in amusement as the woman inhaled sharply, almost as if preparing for the most magnanimous of speeches.

“Your highness! The king! He’s come to the capital and he’s calling all the maidens of the kingdom to attend him! It’s required that all, no matter their status, must see him at once!”

“That conquering tyrant.” Where normally she would be calm the woman suddenly burned bright red with a strange fury. “First he takes our country and now he wants all of the maidens to attend to him?” She turned from her hand maid, fury twisting her features as she stomped over to the window to glare out at the surrounding forest.

“No my Lady, you’re mistaken.” Solaris stuttered, sitting up in her chair as she finally allowed her thoughts to settle. “It’s for the First Prince. They’re wanting a marriage of good faith to allow the two kingdoms to integrate peacefully.”

“P..peacefully??” She sputtered as she turned from the window. Throwing her hands in the air she couldn’t help but to rant. “Those hot heads should have thought of that BEFORE they burned our crops and raided our villages! We’d have easily come to a compromise of some sort had they come bearing that same mentality before taking up arms against us!”

“Madame, they…”

“Yes yes I know.” She waved off Namjoon’s words dismissively. “My father didn’t want to send me there. Didn’t want his precious daughter to ‘descend into that den of thieves’” She tossed up air quotes, sarcasm dripping from every word she spoke. “Really, you men and your misplaced pride. It’s ridiculous how foolish you can be when you think with your sword instead of your minds.”

“With our...m..Madam!” The look of shock on the poor scholar’s face would have been priceless any other day. But for some reason the stately lady of the house just wasn’t feeling the need to tease the scholar.

“So how are they doing this?” She made her way to her favorite chair as she spoke, dropping into it with a huff and staring out of the small cottage’s window. The drifting snowflakes outside caught her attention and she watched them dance their way to the ground as she listened to Solaris explain the situation.

“They’ll be sending soldiers to each house bearing invitations for each eligible female.”

“They’ll be tallying each one up too. Make sure they can count each household while they’re at it.” She grumped as she folded her arms on the window ledge and plopped her chin on her forearms.

“More than likely, yes. And adding to that they’ll send the same soldiers out the day of the ball to come and collect the women.” Namjoon chimed in. “They’ll claim it’s a safety precaution but more so it’s to ensure none of them run off.”

“Why would they do that?” Solaris blinked innocently, her dazed expression and glazed eyes giving away how little she understood of the situation. “A ball! Just imagine all of the beautiful dresses we would see. And all of the handsome young men!” Her giggle echoed through the silent cabin. It quickly died off when she realized neither of her companions were sharing in her excitement.

“Honestly, I forget sometimes you weren’t old enough to remember the war and how horrible things were for our kind.” Standing from her window seat she brushed at the gossamer fabric of her dress as if attempting to rid herself of some imagined dust. “When is this ball they have planned?”

“In three days. They’ll begin sending out soldiers in the morning.” Solaris replied, hanging her head sadly.

“I see. Sir Namjoon, we’ll resume my studies once I’ve returned.” She turned away from the teo, making her way to her room and beginning to pack a small selection of her belongings.

“Wh...Miss...what are you doing?” Solaris demanded as she sidestepped the whirlwind of a woman who was now packing small packages of dried meats and medicines from the storage area of the kitchen.

“I can’t be there. If they find me, find out who I am? I just...I have to go.” 

She finished packing, mind a cold void as her determination was already set. After informing the two where she was going she set off, hoping to escape whatever fate was trying to force her way.

***

The woods were lovely, dark, and deep.

She found herself sighing at the sounds that greeted her as she stepped from the tree line to survey her surroundings.

Before her and stretching far off into the horizon was a massive frozen lake, it's surface dappled by the hoof and paw prints of the many animals that dwelled in the safety of the forest beyond and refused to sleep the winter months away. A rare smile graced her lips, one almost as secretive as the hidden cave she turned and began to make her way towards.

Her steps became lighter as she crunched through the snow, the weight of the sudden announcement lifting from her shoulders as she stepped beneath the glistening blue stalactites. The interior was dimly lit from the light that gently filtered through from the ice that protected the entrance from prying eyes.

The only sound that echoed in the place were her unhurried footsteps and a gentle dripping that whispered to her from somewhere further back in the darkness. She'd visited here many times before, a quiet reprieve she'd found several summers ago when she'd come to the lake to escape the insufferable heat of the season.

The locals didn't visit it,claiming it to be haunted by a human's soul that'd taken up residency in the place a millennia ago, back before the wingless race had died off. It suited her perfectly well as it gave her the solitude she needed to allow her poor broken wings a chance to be free.

And she did just that as she dumped her pack beside the cold ashes of the firepit she'd made during her last visit. Unsnapping the corset that since her waist she allowed it to drop beside her pack and stretched out what remained of her wings.

The nerves had died off long ago, the burnt ends though still stung with the phantom pain, a dark reminder of the night her entire childhood was ripped away from her. She sighed, glancing over her shoulders and imagining the wings as they used to be, a swirl of silver color patterned with flames and snowflakes that gave her the glorious joy of flying through the freezing winter air.

Fluttering them once and then twice she stretched them, letting the cold cave air cool them after being compressed within her body heat for so long. It was a shame really, but she didn’t allow herself to dwell on it for too long, she had a camp to make and some relaxing to do.

***

Jungkook had had just about enough of his aides. They hovered at all hours of the day, incessant in their rambling about court protocol and how important it was to not start any fights with the locals. He was well aware.

He’d never even wanted the war that had ravaged the Winter Kingdom. Had begged his father and the generals to try peace over everything else. But in the end the words of a child had gone unheard by the war blinded adults.

So here he sat, shivering violently from the cold as those blasted tittering fools for his aides dashed around his chamber. He could have called on his flaming core to warm him, but after the first day of doing so only to find himself collapsed in the hall from using far too much energy, he’d just decided it was better to suffer the cold than to appear weak in front of his unfortunate enemies.

“Sire! We must leave now. You mustn’t be late for Lord Hoseok’s dance lessons!” The tiny mouse of a man squeaked, trying so very hard to appear contained and in charge despite the dark circles of worry beneath his eyes.

“Jimin, you know that even if I’m early Lord Hoseok will still grind me into the dust for not learning that infernal winter waltz faster.” The Prince frowned, taking in Jimin’s fear-streaked face.

“That may be Your Highness. But should you dally any longer you’ll be late for sword training with Sir Yoongi as well as etiquette lessons with Lord Seokjin. We have to stick to your schedule or they’ll all be displeased and tell your Father!” Jimin squeaked again, petite hands fluttering up to cover the trembling of his lips.

“My father is too busy planning out his next conquest to even pay half a mind to what’s going on with me or my ’schedule’. Never mind…” He sighed, getting up from the window seat he’d been staring out of and making his way out of his room.

“Have Taehyung meet me at dinner. I’ve got something to discuss with him.”

***

The day continued on, lesson after grueling lesson eating away at what little patience the prince had left.

He collapsed into his chair at dinner, too exhausted mentally and physically to pay any mind to the meal scattered out before him.

“Sire, Lord Taehyung has arrived.” 

Jungkook glanced up, a tired smile being all he could come up with for his friend.

“You look like a dog dug you up in the yard and used you as a chew toy then reburied you and shit on the pile of dirt.” The young man commented as he took his place beside the monarch in training.

“You know I could have your head for that.” Jungkook grumped as he tossed a pea from his plate in the young Lord’s direction.

“Ah, you could. But they’d have to catch me first.” His statement was emphasized by the pea he’d caught between two fingers.

He was nothing if not quick. He’d worked long ago as an assassin but now sat as Jungkook’s right hand man as well as his best friend.

Jungkook smiled, probably the first pleasant expression he’d worn in quite some time.

“So my great and glorious super Prince, future king of all that is boiling and frozen, to what do I owe this most prestigious of honors of being called upon and humble myself in your magnanimous presence?”

Jungkook just about choked on his water, laughing and coughing at the ridiculousness that was Taehyung’s words.

“By the flame you’ve been hanging out with Lord Seokjin again haven’t you?” He snorted, dabbing a napkin at his nose to clear out the water that’d streamed out while he was laughing.

“I mean, the man has great taste in puns. As a Master of many things it behooves me to learn the delicate art of insulting royalty at every turn without actually offending them.” Taehyung shrugged, spearing a chunk of glazed carrot and waving it through the air as he spoke.

“Well, I called you here for a favor actually.” The prince leaned forward, eyes taking in the unaffected assassin who’d busied himself munching on the food that Jungkook was decidedly ignoring.

“Is that so? Whelped a brat that needs hiding?”

Jungkook sputtered, cheeks a bright crimson as his eyes darted around the empty dining room.

“Taehyung!!”

“That’s a no. Only virgin cheeks brush that brightly at a subject like that.”

“I’ll have you know!!!”

“Hush now, poppa’s thinking.” Taehyung smirked at the flustered royal. “If it’s not that..hmm…” He tapped his chin, pretending to think long and hard while Jungkook tried to gather his bearings.

“You’ve insulted a young maiden and her father’s come a calling wanting reparations and you need the family off’d?”

“For the love of...Taehyung please!?”  Jungkook collapsed forward, head buried in his arms as he screamed silently into the table cloth. “You’re never allowed near Seokjin again I swear.”

Taehyung snorted, eyes dancing with glee at having gotten under his friend’s skin.

“So, you’re tired of the court and want to escape is it? Get away from the ball daddy King face arranged so you don’t have to marry some country bumpkin ice queen?”

“I!! Wait. No you’re right. That’s exactly it.” Jungkook’s head jerked up, his face a picture of surprise and awe at how astute the man before him was. “How did you know?”

“We’ve been friends for going on 12 years now my little dongsaeng. How could I not know that you’ve been pushed to your limit and need to escape?” Taehyung smiled, reaching across the table and patting Jungkook’s elbow.

“Don’t worry. Hyung will get you out of this castle. I’ll meet you on your balcony at midnight. Pack light and wear that disguise you’re hiding in that secret compartment at the back of your closet.” Taehyung rose, grabbing one last chicken leg as he began to make his way out of the room.

“How did you…” Before he could finish his sentence though the assassin was already gone, having disappeared into the shadowy hall with one last flirtatious wink thrown over his shoulder.

***

The escape from the castle was simple thanks to Taehyung. A cloak and some heavy clothing were enough to disguise the wings that marked the young Prince as the royal that he was.

The two friends departed with reassurances from Taehyung that he’d lead the guards on a few wild goose chases just long enough for the ball to have come and gone. Jungkook counted his lucky stars in thanks for the effectiveness he’d come to rely on in his friend for so many years.

He took flight, the snowflake and flame veins that marked his wings becoming a blur as he darted through the snow covered canopy of the woods that marked the southern boundary of the Winter kingdom’s capital city.

It didn’t matter where he ended up, he just flew, darting here and there through the trees with a freedom and joy he hadn’t enjoyed in flame only knows how long. He allowed his mind to wander, thoughts a chaotic jumble of hopes and dreams he only allowed himself to think of when he was alone in his rooms at night.

Something gave him pause as he flew. He’d been going for quite some time, but a strange light had flashed at him out of the corner of his eye. A blue glittering affair that’d appeared between the trees despite the woods being pitch dark and most of his vision having been obscured by the blur of fluttering snowflakes.

He pulled up quick, wings only barely straining to keep him from slamming into the trunk of a massive tree that’d been in his way. He twisted in the air, eyes seeking the glow and spotting it as the reflection of a strange light glittering off of the surface of a massive frozen lake.

He moved towards it, allowing his curiosity to guide him on. Stopping short at the edge of the lake he hovered, shielding him from view of the woman dancing on the glowing ice.

It was the strangest thing he’d seen, the way the light shone on her twirling frame as she danced through the snow. It was almost as if the entirety of existence had paused for this one moment. Icicles on the tree branches around him chimed their tune, a melody gifted to his ears from the whispering wind to lend a soft winter’s melody to the racing of his aching heart. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, the whirling ice Princess giggling in the snow.

His wings fluttered, prisms of warm light glancing off her form and highlighting the broken and burned stubs of her wings. He knew the look of those wounds and it hurt to think that at some point the war that had torn their nations apart could have taken the joy of flight from such a beautiful fairy. Without thinking he allowed himself to be lifted through the air, his body reacting first to the pull of the sight of her and second to the musicality of her voice as she sang to the winter’s breeze.

The effort of drifting against the freezing weather proved to be too much for the flame that flickered in his core though. His wings faltered, frost having formed along their tips and weighing them down. The ice of the frozen lake rushed towards him and he couldn’t help the cry of fear that broke free of his chest as he crashed through the thick ice. The last he saw of the enchanting maiden was her panicked gaze, eyes wide at the intrusion and lips parted in a frantic yell as his head sunk beneath the surface.

***

A warmth brushed against his skin and he shivered, subconsciously shimmying his body closer to it. His eyelids felt weighed down by the cold, unable to open as he groaned in protest of the aching cold that stiffened his joints and limbs.

“Hush now, the fire will warm you. Just rest and let the heat do its job.”

The soft melody of the femanine voice eased his mind and he buried himself deeper beneath the heavy furs that surrounded his body.

The woman meanwhile continued to stoke the fire, having long since dried herself after diving in to save the hulking form of the foolish fire fairy that’d allowed himself to be pulled into the lake.

She turned her head, shyly eyeing his form as he breathed softly beneath the furs. She couldn’t help but allow herself to admire his soft sleeping face. Watched as his long eyelashes brushed his cheeks and admired the chiseled shape of his jaw.

She was sure that if he were awake his smile would be soft but wide, imagining teeth nibbling at his lower lip as he chuckled at some joke while doe like eyes glittered with his mirth.

Shaking her head she slapped her cheeks. What was wrong with her!? No matter how handsome he might seem this man was an enemy to her people! She scoffed at her own foolishness, though the sound was caught short as she began to question herself.

If he was an enemy why had she risked her life to save him? She’d known instantly from the way the frost had clung to his wings from the brief glimpse she’d caught of him before he’d been pulled beneath the surface of the waves exactly what he was. And yet when she’d seen those soft...brown...panicked eyes sink within the icy grip of the lake something had screamed from within her to save him. It had been pure instinct at the time.

And now as she sat by the fire, admiring the flames as they danced across their wooden fuel she allowed herself to turn her attention back to the strange ache that twisted at her shoulder blades. It’d crept up her spine as she’d been dancing earlier. As the moon’s rays had shone upon her and just before she’d spotted the crashing flame fairy.

She stretched her arms above her head, willing the dull pain to go away. And though her muscles relaxed and her mind stilled the ache remained, just at the base of her wings and tingling up nerves that she’d assumed long dead and gone. It had to have been the heat of the fire.

And so, after tossing a few more logs upon the flame and checking that her rescue was well and truly asleep and tucked in she walked back out into the cold. Her hopes were that the freezing snow would numb the nerves that seemed to want to awaken. As much as she missed flying through blizzards and dancing through the air with the winter cardinals she didn’t much mind having lost them. It was preferred honestly, as those things she missed always reminded her of the one who’d taught her those joys and she just couldn’t bear the thought of being reminded of her beloved and dearly departed mother.

After an hour or so of allowing herself to wander the secluded forest she made her way back to her cave, wings sufficiently numbed and mind at ease. Though the peaceful mindset was instantly chased away when she came back to see the young man she’d rescued moaning and tossing beneath the furs.

Dashing over she dropped to her knees, fingers frantic as she chased his forehead and placed her icy palm against his burning cheeks. Hissing she jerked her hand back. It was known the flame lords ran much hotter than those of her kind, but this amount of heat was worrying. Rising quickly she raced to her pack, pulling out herbs and medicines, sorting through them and selecting a few she knew to be safe for him.

Back to the fire she went, grabbing her tea kettle and filling it with snow from the entrance to melt above the flames. As the kettle began to boil she tossed in the herbs, eyes anxiously darting back and forth to the trembling form that groaned feverishly for his father .

“Hush now dear, I’ll help I promise.” She mumbled, more to comfort herself as she waited for the medicine to brew.

Once it was ready she ladled it into a cup, blowing desperately on it to cool it as she knelt once more by his side. Pushing away a portion of the skins she lifted his head into her lap, brushing at the black hairs that clung to his forehead from the sweat as she cooed softly to him.

“Here now dear one, open your eyes, I need you to take this.” 

He was much too weak to reply to her, muttering in his feverish sleep about poisons and dungeons.

“It’s not poison. It’s holy basil and chamomile. Now drink. It’ll take the fever away.” Her whispered words seemed to calm him. Bringing the cup to his lips she smiled softly as he drank eagerly from the medicine. Eventually he turned his head away, breathing heavily and moaning to himself. The deep husk of his voice twisted her insides, causing a blush to rush to her cheeks as the silken strands of his hair brushed down over his eyes.

She hadn’t noticed that the sides of his head were shaved, something those in the military and the aristocrats of the fire nation tended to do when important events came up.

He must have been intending on going to that fool prince’s ball. She hummed to herself, finding it hard to allow the bitterness that would normally form at the sight of him to rise up within her. He just seemed far too innocent while he slept in her lap. 

Shaking away the butterflies that tried to rise in her stomach she laid him back down on the makeshift pillow she’d made of a rolled up deerskin and tucked the pile of heavier skins back around him. It would take a dose or two more of the medicine to break the fever but she was determined now. He just had to live or the emotions that rose within her would never let her live her own life in peace again.

*** It was unfathomable how two days of caring for someone in such a state could raise such an attachment in her. She’d wiped his brow so many times she’d become familiar with every scar and divot on his face, making up stories for each as to how he could have gotten them.

On the third day he finally awoke, still groggy from the medicated tea but coherent enough to begin eating the gruel she’d made for him.

“Eat slowly now. There’s no point in rushing if you’re just going to throw it all up later.” She whispered to him, knowing that if she spoke any louder the echoes of the cave would only give him a headache.

“Why are you caring for me like this?” he asked, glancing up at her through his eyelashes as he spooned another bite into his mouth.

“I...well.” She paused for a moment, fingers picking at the frayed wood of the stick she’d been using to stoke the fire.

“My mother always taught me that kindness is more important than any grudge we could hold.” Looking up she gave him a soft smile, though a bit of her pain showed through at the mention of the dearly departed Queen.

“She must have been a great lady.” Placing the bowl and spoon at his side he leaned back against the roughened cave walls, finally allowing his gaze to take in the woman that had saved his life.

She was just as beautiful as his glimpsed image of her had led him to believe, though his heart sank one more when he spotted the burnt nubs that were her wings. He thought for a moment to question her on it, but common sense stopped him halfway to opening his mouth. There was no way that wasn’t a touchy subject, so he left well enough alone.

Instead he allowed his gaze to wander the cave, taking in the rough hewn walls and the way she’d seemed to have made the place her own. Herbs hung from the walls on pegs, bundles of various types each used to treat various injuries and ailments. Though by the way they were hung he suspected they’d been put there more as decoration than anything else.  The fire lit the area up nicely, allowing him to see much further into the cave than he’d expected.

Looking closely he noticed that a lot of the formations he thought to be ice drippings were actually some type of crystal. Though he didn’t recognize them he realized pretty quickly that they were absorbing the light from the fire and projecting that light almost like a torch.

“So...is this your home or…”

“Oh goodness no. I reside in town, I’m just here to get away.” She shook her head, giving off a soft giggle that had his heart soaring.

“I can understand that sentiment. Things were rapidly becoming stifling out there. One could hardly blame a lovely young fae such as yourself for wanting to get away.” He chuckled, his grin widening as she blushed at his compliment.

“Is...is that why you were out in the storm? To get away?”

He nodded as he tucked his hands beneath the fur skins. “Duty to your people can only push you so far before it starts to take over who you are. I wasn’t about to let my father dictate who I was going to become any longer. He’s made enough rash decisions to ruin an entire kingdom, I won’t have myself become a part of that any longer.”

The young man’s words rolled over in her mind, bouncing off the image before her along with the events that had brought her to this very cave.

It wasn’t too hard to put together that he was the young prince and a moment of anger had her clutching the stick in her hand and very seriously considering killing him right then and there.

His father was the reason her parents were dead and her kingdom had burned after all. There was no one here to witness it if she did. And yet a small voice in the recesses of her mind held her back and stayed her hand.

She thought over his words once more, realizing he’d wanted the war no more than she had. What his father had chosen and done should not have been laid on his shoulder.

Placing the stick beside her she began speaking to him. Asking him questions about his childhood and giving her own answers when he asked in turn. They spent the night like this, conversing on any subject that came to mind while avoiding their own identities as much as possible.

The sun outside began to rise and still they spoke, bonding over shared misfortunes and shared goals and dreams when it came to their respective kingdoms.

Unbeknownst to them their mutual feelings for each other began to grow. When she led him out into the light on unsteady feet and he slipped but a little, only for her to catch him, an exchange of touches, barely brief though it may have been, ignited a flame within them both.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and breathing in the frozen scent of her, a crisp smell like the first cold snap of winter. 

“You are...ethereal...did you know that?” He whispered, his lips a hair’s breadth away from her own.

She hummed, mind a haze as her eyelashes fluttered close.”You smell of ash and coal...like roasting over an open fire on a warm summer’s day.”

“Oh?” He chuckled, the sound sending a thrill of excitement through her. “And is that so bad little snowflake?”

“No...I don’t think it is…”

***

The day finally came when the young Prince found himself strong enough to walk on his own. His fever had long since gone and the color was finally beginning to come back to his cheeks.

“You know...we could always just stay here.”

She glanced up at his words, pausing in stirring the stew she’d been cooking over the fire. “What do you mean?”

“Neither of us wants to go back. And well...I rather prefer things out here compared to the hustle and bustle of my normal life.” He picked at a loose bit of string on his clothes, refusing to meet her gaze as he let her mull over his proposal.

“I...hmm.” Sitting back on her heels she stared into the fire. It was tempting, the idea of leaving the stress of her life behind. Having to pretend she wasn’t who her people needed her to be.

“They’ve been too long without a leader.” She whispered.

“I’m sorry?”

Their gazes met, each burning with their own inner fire.

“My people. I may be broken, but they need me. Just as yours need you. One day we’ll have to lead and running away isn’t going to make any of what happened okay.”

Simple words though they may have been they struck a cord in him. More so than anything the multitude of scholars and aids and so called guides could have done. He nodded, determination filling him.

“I may not be able to change much, but one day I will lead, and things will have to change. My father is getting old, as are his war mongering generals…” His words stuttered to a stop, a blush coloring his features as he realized his misstep. “I uh...I mean…”

She couldn’t help but to chuckle. “Don’t worry little Prince. I am well aware of who you are.”

“But..how..”

“Your words may seem subtle or simple but your demeanor can’t be hidden.” She rose, abandoning the spoon she’d been using in the pot.

“And now, I am Y/n the last of the winter fairy monarchs, Princess of Winter and future Queen of my people. It’s an honor to meet you Sire.” With that she bowed, a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips.

“Wait you’re what?? Who?? But how, we were told you and your family…”

“Burned?” Straightening she turned slightly, her wings on display. “My father died fighting yours. And my mother died protecting me. No I did not come out of that battle unscarred.”

“But...why…”

“Why am I telling you?” She tilted her head at him as she returned to stirring the meal.

“I saved your life and nursed you back to health, your people call this a life debt, no?”

He nodded, suddenly realizing just how much he owed her.

“Well, consider this calling in that life debt. A pact between friends you could say. Keep my identity a secret, and on the day you ascend the crown you will find yourself an ally in me.” She smiled, passing him a bowl of the stew.

“That…that’s putting a lot in a man you’ve barely known a fortnight.” He accepted the bowl graciously, barely suppressing a moan at the flavors that danced across his tongue.

“That may be. But life debts are held over everything in your culture. I can trust that above anything else you could give me.”

He huffed, running his fingers through his hair and scratching the back of his head. She’d noticed it was something he did when he was thinking hard on something and had come to find it endearing.

“I mean, I’d have kept your secret even without the pact but...if you insist on calling that as your favor I supposed I truly have no choice.”

The giggle that spilled forth from her made his heart clench and he couldn’t help but grin at her in return, his cheek dimpling and his nose crinkling like a snow bunny.

“It’s settled then.” She announced, standing and taking his now empty food bowl to be washed out.

“Oh? What’s settled?” He stood as well, pulling the empty stew pot from the fire to cool.

“I’ll be taking you back to town come morning and...oh…” She stumbled, her legs suddenly buckling beneath her.

If it hadn’t been for the flame fairy’s quick reflexes she’d have surely injured herself. But his strong arms wrapped around her,pulling her close and checking her over to make sure she was okay.

“By the flame, you’re going to get yourself hurt doing all that!” He frowned, fingertips running along the ridges of her shoulder blades as he watched her blink blurrily up at him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked his frown deepening as she leaned into his touch, lashes brushing her cheeks as her eyes fluttered shut.

“Y/n?” Panic surged through him as he lifted her limp form into his arms.

Where normally her skin was as cold as a winter’s stream it now burned almost as hot as he was and that set him on edge more so than anything ever had in his life. His heart raced as he trudged through the cave and out into the cold morning snow of the forest.

He thanked his flame for the sense of direction Taehyung had instilled in him so many times over the years as his body instinctively turned in the direction of the winter city they’d come from. His wings gave an experimental flutter, barely lifting him off the ground and for the first time since his fall he actually cursed at himself for his midwinter plunge into the icy lake. Walking was his only option.

He continued on through the forest,  moving here and there through the trees in as direct a path as he could manage, all the while whispering soft sweet words of comfort to her when she would toss about in her feverish state.

The only time she paused and relaxed was when the sun would shine through the tree, though Jungkook paid no mind to this, only grateful that she allowed him the reprieve to march on with little struggle.

“N...Namjoon.” She whispered, and for a moment his heart sank. Who was this Namjoon she spoke of? Some lover she never mentioned in all the time they’d spent together.

“Scholar...physician…”

A spark of understanding coursed through him and his steps quickened with a renewed vigor as he came to the edge of the city. A few curt words and ignored glances and he’d arrived at the physician’s clinic, panting from the exertion and praying to every deity he could name that the one she’d spoken of was home.

“Sir! Good Physician! I have need of your aid!” Jungkook announced, using his elbow to force the large wooden door open.

The sound of crashing and halfhearted curses came from some dark corner of the clinic and a tall winter fairy emerged, glasses barely hanging off the tip of his nose as he squinted across the room at the Prince.

“What can I do for you today?” He asked, voice gruff from sleep as he moved closer to Jungkook.

“W...y/n?? Wait, how did she?”

“You know her then? We were out by the lake when she suddenly took ill. I don’t know..what or how but she’d burning up!” 

“Bring her to the table!” The physician rushed off, motioning to a large wooden table towards the center of the room. 

Jungkook complied, ever so delicately placing her down and stepping back to allow the man to work.

As he began examining her he threw a slew of endless questions at the shaken prince who himself was near to collapsing from exhaustion.

“I...I don’t know. She was eating just fine, talking and laughing and it seemed like she was okay. But suddenly...she just collapsed. I just…” His fingers nervously tapped a rhythm on his thighs as his eyes darted around the clinic, searching or hoping for something to look at to ground his mind in the moment.

“Mmm..I’m sure it’s just a cold, or some sort of illness. Though...she’s never been sick a day in her life..” The bespectacled man mumbled to himself as he pressed his fingers against her wrist, checking her pulse and sighing to himself as he stepped away.

“There are a few things I can try just to ease the fever and whatever pain she may be feeling but this is going to take some time…”

“I...I’ll stay with her! I can’t just leave her like this!”

“Your highness...You really should be getting back to the palace.”

“How…” Jungkook’s jaw dropped, eyes bugging out as he stared in fear at the man before him.

“You carry yourself too well to just be some fire nation soldier off the street. And besides, I was there during your coronation. You held yourself well considering the obvious hangover you were sporting.” 

A brilliant blush rose on the Prince’s cheeks as he attempted to sputter out a response. The physician chuckled, patting him amiably on the shoulder.

“Worry not, I’ll do everything I can to ease her pain. I’ll send word to the palace once I know anything. Be off M’lord, you’ve duties to attend to.”

Jungkook couldn’t help the lingering longing look he gave her, a sigh escaping his lips as he resigned himself to the waiting game.

Namjoon frowned as the prince finally left. It’d taken a considerable amount of bribing and fussing to get him to finally walk away but the fact that the young man lingered so long worried him.

“What did you get yourself into this time…” 

***

Panic filled the small room of the physician’s clinic.

He’d spent the last few hours trying every remedy and potion he could find and still her condition deteriorated.

A scream of frustration built in his chest, only barely suppressed by the need to care for her. He sat at his desk, pouring over tomes of old and tossing each aggressively across the room when they proved to be of no use to him.

“Fate’s sake!” He growled, standing from his desk and shoving the chair out behind them.

She’d begun whimpering in her feverish state, every now and again whispering desperate pleas for help and wrenching the knife deeper in his chest. He felt useless, dropping to his knees on the floor beside her and clutching at her hand.

“Tell me, please? How can I help you? What is it that you need?” He whimpered, tears filling his eyes. “How do I save you?”

“M...mommy….tell me a story…”

The words didn’t register at first. Another sentence to him in a long line of whispered desperation.

But a brief flash of recognition hit. “Merialiies…”

He bolted upright, eyes wide and wild with inspiration.

“There’s no way!”

Racing back to his desk he shoved the books and papers out of his way, searching for the small book of tales he’d picked up at the shops a few weeks back.

A shout of triumph burst forth as he held it aloft, eyes glistening with hope as he flipped the pages to one particular story.

“The Heart’s Twin Flames.” He turned to y/n, watching her shift on the table as if trying desperately to escape some pain in her back. “There’s just no way…”

Making his way back he ever so gently turned her to her side, eyes widening at the inflamed skin spreading out across her back from the base of her wings.

“Could it be?” Dropping everything he lifted her into his arms, cringing at the sounds of pain coming from his precious cargo.

“Just hold on, I’ll take you to him. If I’m right...you may just get your wings back.”

He hurried from the clinic, not even paying mind that he’d left the front door open to swing in the wind. 

“Move! Please get out of my way. This is an emergency!” He shouted, shoving his way through the crowd of villagers lining the walkways as he raced towards the castle.

The front gates loomed before him, almost imposing if it weren’t for the sheer amount of panic flowing through him.

“Halt! State your business.” A soldier stepped before him, massive sword held at his throat .

Namjoon showed no fear, spine straight and shoulders squared as he stood his ground against the intimidating soldier.

“I’ve come at the request of his Highness Prince Jungkook of the Fire Fae kingdom. It is of the utmost importance that I speak with him immediately.”

The soldier continued to glare as a second stepped forward and the show of force began to deflate him.

“You don’t understand! I need to see him! It’s his twin flame! He found her and now without him she will die!”

“A likely story! Today is the day of his ball and you expect me to believe that suddenly a woman is his twin flame and without him she will die?” The guards chuckled together, heads thrown back with laughter as they continued to mock him.

“Sir, please! I couldn’t make this up if I wanted to! She’s dying. There must be something we can do?!”

The guard shook his head, a steely gaze pinning the poor man in place. It was obvious he wasn’t moved by their story.

“No matter the reason these gates were ordered to remain closed. Should you have proper documents the case would be different but there is nothing I can do for you. Find her a doctor, or some sort of specialist. But find them somewhere else.”

“Have you no heart man!? We’ve seen the doctor, hell I AM the doctor! There’s nothing more to do for her but get the Prince’s help! Please you must understand?? Surely you’ve heard the legends, are they not told to your children? They are fated to be! The proof is right here!” Namjoon was practically purple in the face by this point, spittle flying as he screamed in the face of the guard who’s grip was forever tightening on his spear. 

Unbeknownst to the arguing pair and barely conscious woman the fae in question had heard everything.

“Sir?” One of the many aids that had been walking with the future ruler gave him a questioning stare, wondering what their next action would be.

“There’s no harm in finding out Jimin. I’m more than suited to handle things should there be any threat.” Prince Jungkook smiled, a rare sight on the man as he handed over the documents they’d been going over as they walked from the main castle to the stables.

“Alright. I’ll take these back to the stable master in your stead. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

The prince grinned, bumping his aid in the shoulder with his elbow. “Now when have I ever done anything stupid?”

“Need I remind you of the state you were in last night?”

“Can’t hear you! Walking away now!” Prince Jungkook tossed over his shoulder as he made his way to the woven metal grating that served as the castle’s front gate.

For a moment he hung back in the shadows, eyeing the tall bespectacled man who seemed to have an almost vice like death grip on the tiny quivering bundle of rags in his arms.

The snow that had been falling began to ease up, revealing a small crowd that had gathered behind them all. As the guard and nameless man argued the townsfolk began to chime in, screaming curses at him and bickering with every word he spoke.

The Prince’s temper only flared when the first stone was thrown, something seemingly so small that it would have been noticeable if it weren’t for the fact that it’d hit the bundle’s back, causing a small squeak of pain to echo through the gateway. He knew that squeak.

“What’s going on here?” He puffed his chest out, spine straight and eyes fierce as he allowed the flames of rage to flow through him. Striding forward with all of the ego and confidence that his position afforded he stepped between the man and the crowd. The mere sight of him had those gathered scurrying away, hollered apologies tossed over snow covered shoulders as they dashed off to whatever tasks they’d been attending to before allowing their chicken like rubbernecking to get the better of their attention.

“Y..your Highness. I just...” The man stuttered, shifting the tiny bundle of cloth in his arms as he struggled to push through his own confusion and panic at seeing the regal object of his desperation appearing before him.

“Guard, can you explain to me why it is that you’ve allowed a mob of people to gather at the entrance to my future home?”

“He was...he just wanted…”

“Sire please! It’s y/n, she needs your help!”

“Y/n?” This peaked his interest. “Is she alright? Is...what happened? I only just saw her a few hours ago!”

“Sire, she fell terribly ill and what was left of her wings has begun flaking off. If we don’t act quickly there’s...there’s just no hope of saving her.” 

Prince Jungkook glanced around, indecision causing him to hesitate for a moment as he watched his guards scanning the surrounding area.

“Alright, bring her inside, we’ll take her to my physi…”

“Sire please, she doesn’t have time for that!” Namjoon couldn’t help the tone of his voice as he shouted at the intimidating man. “You have to help her now, she’s dying the longer we talk about this!”

He dropped to his knees, unwrapping the blanket from the woman’s trembling form and carefully laying her body on the glistening snow.

Jungkook’s feet crunched through the snow, eyes squinted as he shielded them from the glare of the sun reflecting sharply off the glow surrounding the dying woman’s form. A strange itch began in the center of his shoulder blades, that spot he could never reach where his wings joined with the muscles of his back.

Shrugging off his cloak he knelt beside her, heart racing as the strange feeling in his wings slowly spread to the rest of him. The sun burst through the clouds, shining brightly and warming his exposed skin as his fingers brushed her cheek.

“My liege, all you have to do is allow the sun to shine through your wings and onto her. That alone is enough.” Namjoon whispered as he stepped back from them and allowed them their space.

Jungkook couldn’t help but to hesitate. There were so many things that could go wrong should he allow himself to listen to this strange man. If it were a track of some sort his kingdom would suffer if anything happened to him. But as he watched her pained face scrunch once more and as the sound of her pitiful whimper reached his ears his resolve steeled.

Leaning forward he spread his wings, allowing the light of the sun to cast a prism of reflected light over her body. The air filled with a magic the kingdom hadn’t seen in a very long time. Golden dust motes filled the air, sparkling like fireflies out in the mid-day glow. It attracted those that’d hurried away, gathering them in the square and on the streets.

The soldiers shouted, weapons raised in alarm as they watched their fearless leader begin to rise into the air alongside the small wingless form that he cradled so closely to his chest. But just as suddenly as their alarm and rage and fear rose it began to vanish, replaced instead with a calm joy that thrilled through their veins quicker than an adrenaline fueled march into the battlefield.

The people began to cheer as the two bodies were engulfed in light that shone so bright it began to rival the sun. And all along the young man couldn’t take his eyes off her form.

The woman that’d given him shelter in that freezing midnight cave. Her once frail body began to fill with life, color returning to her cheeks and her weak fingers gaining strength as they clung to his royal clothes. Her eyes fluttered open, a gasp escaping her lips as where once there was only burned stumps, now beautiful crystalline wings sprouted forth from her body, fluttering on the breeze before quickly gaining the strength to allow her to hover on her own.

And his own wings lost their brilliant red glow, cooling and shimmering as he beat them gently to keep him aloft.

The glow surrounding them faded and a hush fell over the crowd at the sight. A tiny waif of a girl engulfed in the strong arms of the royal flame.

“My love.”

“My twin flame.”

“I never got to thank you for saving my life.” His words caused her to blush as she looked at him through her eyelashes.

“I think you just did…”

Their hushed voices whispered words of comfort as their bodies slowly returned to earth. They’d only had eyes for each other, but as their feet returned to the earth that’d born them they turned to the people, each smiling with a joy that the once warring people felt throughout the lands. Warriors dropped their weapons, embracing the people they’d fought with for so very long.

Jungkook turned to the winter maiden, long,calloused fingers engulfing her own as he leaned forward to touch his forehead to hers.

“My love, how could I not have recognized you for what you were?”

“My sweet future king. Fate has a strange way of finding lovers and putting them together when the world needs their love the most.” She smiled, warm tears filling her eyes as her heart filled with a warmth only he could provide.

As one they turned to their people, joined hands raising into the air as Jungkook announced.

“I have found my Twin Flame. May peace rain on our kingdoms with the union of our joined blood! May you all find the joy my heart has been seeking. For from this moment on there will be no war, there will be no fighting. WE ARE ONE!!”

The people cheered, warriors embraced farmers, aristocrats feasted among peasants. Fire embraced ice. And as their lips met in a dewy kiss filled with all of the passion of new love, peace did reign. For they were now one.

[ms-demeanor]

While I appreciate that you want a person to live, have you considered that you are just another person who has refused them help? Sometimes it doesn’t get better. For how many years, and from how many people, is a person supposed to be ok with being dehumanized before it is ok for them to throw the towel in?

Telling someone what caliber of gun is most likely to kill them so they can start a savings fund for it isn’t helping; refusing to respond to that with anything other than mental health resources isn’t refusing to help.

But okay we’re going to have the It Gets Better talk.

I am almost thirty four years old. I’ve been getting treated for depression for literally more than half of my life. I have spent even MORE of my life than that kind of wishing that I was dead and occasionally REALLY wishing I was dead and sort of getting off my ass to do something about it. I have the standard CSA/multiple rape survivor Oh No The Trauma backstory and spent the last *nine* years living with an emotionally abusive relative who had recently taken to tracking my activity by filming me in my home.

I kind of hate “it gets better” narratives because you know what, sometimes life is shit and it doesn’t really get all that much better. Sometimes things are bad and the only thing that gets you out of the abuser’s house is the fact that your partner nearly died. Sometimes everything sucks and it sucks for a long time and there’s no end of the suck in sight.

I have friends who are chronically, degeneratively ill. I know “It Gets Better” doesn’t really help them because they aren’t going to get better. They’re going to stay sick, they’re going to keep hurting, and in a lot of cases things are going to get worse.

So “It Gets Better” kind of rubs me the wrong way. I’d like to reframe it.

You get better at dealing with the bullshit.

Sometimes your situation doesn’t improve but how you approach it does. You may be stuck in the same shit but dedicating less mental space to caretaking an abuser’s emotions. You may still be dealing with daily pain but you’ve gotten to know what triggers it and what to avoid. You may be stuck in a miserable, terrifying situation and have a rich and thriving community of fanfic authors you talk to when shit gets to be too heavy.

The people who “it gets better” narratives tend to be really helpful for are young people who don’t have any autonomy who are close to being old enough that they’ll finally get to make some choices about their lives.

It’s harder dealing with feeling trapped as an adult because you can’t generally escape the things that are trapping you by living in a college dorm or getting an apartment with a bunch of roommates or coming out because you may have already done those things OR you may be in a place where those things aren’t possible for you.

So what do you do?

Well, for starters instead of saving up money for the best kind of gun to kill yourself with save up money for something stupid and funny that you like. Save up money for a tattoo, save up money for an arcade-size DDR cabinet and pads, save up money to buy a camera to make a youtube channel of you doing bad cover songs. (And if you don’t have money to save up then take up a free hobby; if you’ve got access to the internet to send me anons about how to kill yourself you’ve got access to the internet to use AO3 and I strongly recommend you start writing self-insert fic where you get to hang out with the cool fictional characters you like because it’s sort of like maladaptive daydreaming but people will stop by and say nice things about it and you feel validated when the numbers go up)

If you *can’t* fix your situation (because you live in a country that doesn’t recognize your gender, because you’re poor and have to live with people who hurt you, because you’ve got such deep and overwhelming anxiety that making the change seems impossible, because you don’t want to abandon someone more vulnerable than you to the bad situation) then do something, ANYTHING, that you and you alone are in charge of. You’re in charge of your bad cover songs youtube channel. You’re in charge of the smiley face tattooed on your ass. You’re in charge of what happens in your totally self-indulgent, fluffy, found family fic.

Find one thing, ONE THING, that allows you to assert your autonomy and everything gets a lot easier from there because A) you’ve got proof you can do something for yourself and B) you’ve now got something to fall back on when you ask yourself “why do I keep going?”

You keep going because you like your gender affirming roleplay group online. You keep going because you want a horrible butterfly tattooed on the other ass cheek. You keep going because you want to see how many kudos the next update gets.

And while you’re doing all of that you’re making a plan.

Let’s not kid ourselves here, suicidal people are GOOD at making plans. Not at keeping them all the time, but good at making them.

So you plan to get out.

You might not *keep* that plan but if you can sit and fantasize about eating a gun so that the pain will stop then you can sit and fantasize about buying a plane ticket or running away or looking for a different doctor so the pain will stop.

Do the little things that you can do. Write fic, go fishing, fold paper cranes, take long walks by yourself, pet a cat, get a tongue piercing, read a book. Do the little things that you can control, that you enjoy, that you do just for you.

And while you’re doing that think about the train you’re going to take to leave, how much nicer the nurses will be at the new doctor, how great it’s going to feel to dress in a way that feels right.

And even if it doesn’t work and you’re stuck living with a shitty abusive harpy who screams you awake and makes you have panic attacks whenever you hear her moving around the house you’ll get better at dealing with the bullshit. You’ll build up a space for you in your head where the bullshit isn’t there.

And then maybe someday the outside matches the inside. Maybe your friend needs a roommate, maybe you get a job that pays better, maybe a new medication is released. You don’t know for sure that it’s going to happen, there’s no guarantee it’ll happen, but at least if it doesn’t happen you’ve carved out a little space for yourself where you can survive.

ALSO

I know that a huge number of suicidal people are suicidal because they feel helpless.

One way to IMMEDIATELY make yourself feel less helpless is to help someone else. Here’s an app where you can give visual assistance to blind and low-vision people: https://www.bemyeyes.com/

The world is shitty and everything sucks and sometimes you can’t make your own situation better, but you can write video and image transcriptions on tumblr and maybe that’ll cheer someone else up.

Anyway, it’s not up to me to say when anybody else has had enough, but I figure you shouldn’t try to kill yourself until you’ve gotten a stegosaurus in an admiral’s hat tattooed on your thigh or something because who knows, that could be the thing that makes you feel better enough to keep going and if you’ve put up with the pain and bullshit this long what do you have to lose by putting up with it a little longer?

[quietmyfearswith]

new year’s day ; andy barber x fem!reader

status — completed oneshot

word count — 3,960 words

warnings — swearing, mentions of active sex life, SMUT, degradation, sir kink, choking, oral smut (receiving), fingering, unprotected penetrative sex (pls use protection), slapping, name calling, drinking champagne off of one’s body, fluff at the end?? porn without plot lol

pairing — andy barber x fem!reader

a/n — HAPPY NEW YEAR! im still high on my andy feels so yeah,, lmk what yoou think!

masterlist

“Fuckin’ hell my eyes hurt,” Y/N groaned out as she rubbed her palms on her eyelids, as if she was massaging the stress away. Rose could only chuckle at her friend’s distress, “Well I did warn you about how you shouldn't have gone to work today; you deserve to take a break once in a while you know?”

Cracking her knuckles once she was done rubbing her eyes, Y/N retorted, “Well it’s not like I had any New Year’s Eve plans so I decided why not go to work?” As she continued to torment her eyes with the light emitted from her desktop. Being her only real friend at the workplace, Rose took it as a responsibility to look after her; for she knew how she wasn’t really close with her family and her other closest friends were on the different side of the country. “Hey, I invited you to that party me and Agnes are going to!”

Tearing her straining eyes away from the screen, Y/N gave the brunette a pointed look, “You mean to say you invited me to party where I don’t know anyone but you and your girlfriend; which definitely guarantees that you’ll both leave me alone so you can fuck.”

Rose didn’t find it in herself to deny her allegation or defend her and her girlfriend’s active sex life; instead she could only give her a sheepish look as she joked, “Guess you’ve been spending too much time with Mr. Barber since you’re incredible at drawing conclusions and noticing patterns huh?” Seeing how much time she had spent with the mentioned lawyer over the past year, Y/N couldn’t help but nod and agree with her.

The soft chime of Rose's Favorite song rang and a cocky, “See! Can’t even wait an hour before you two get to be together,” was quickly being hushed by her friend. “Okay you have a point, we have a high sex drive — but can you blame us? And I need to leave early, stupid bitch burnt herself as she was baking.”

Chuckling without tearing her eyes away from the documents in front of her, Y/N greeted, “Yeah, yeah; don’t need to rub it in. Happy New Year’s Eve, babe.” Before heading to Mr. Barber’s office to sweetly ask to leave early, Rose went to where Y/N was seated and let their cheeks touch as their way of bidding adieu.

Andy was more than generous to allow Rose to leave the office early, “Go ahead and enjoy, you deserve it for being one of the few ones who chose to come in today,” He told her smiling form. Once she left his office, he loosened his tie and undid the top button of his button down shirt and let out a loud groan. Usually, this time last year he would be rushing to go home — if ever his work demanded his presence — in order to celebrate the New Year’s with his family. But now as he mourns the family he once had and lost it as his son was brutally killed by his ex-wife that had gone insane in disbelieving her son’s innocence was now serving prison for her crimes, he had nowhere to be.

After a couple of hours filled with silence and burying his head with paperwork, Andy noticed how there was a soft, melodious hymn coming from the other side of the office. The lawyer wasn’t necessarily alarmed, but he was curious about who was left working since there had only been 7 other people who decided to come in to work today; and to his knowledge they should have left by now.

He decided to check out who was left — but it really was an excuse to stretch his long, lean legs as he felt them cramping up a bit from being seated for too long — and was surprised to see the most diligent employee he’s ever met in his years of practicing law, “Ms. Y/N, what are you still doing here?”

Hearing his deep voice snapped her out of her concentration; seeing her boss in his less than organized state had her taken aback, “Oh Mr. Barber, I’m just doing some work on the Richards case.” Looking at the watch on his left wrist, he took note how it was a mere 15 minutes before the new year dawned on them. “No plans for the new year then?”

Deciding to test the waters she cracked a joke, “Are you talking about the holiday or the actual year? Because I have no plans for both.”Covering up her remark with a nervous chuckle, she was glad to see the older man wrinkle his eyes as he laughed out loud, “Well that makes the two of us; why don’t we grab a drink in my office?”

Eyes going wide and gasping silently, Y/N was pleasantly surprised at his offer but nevertheless nodded in agreement. Quickly shutting off her desktop, she moved out of her chair and decided to leave her footwear and floral kimono by her desk as she somewhat felt restricted by the light cloth. As she entered his post, she settled herself on the gray sofa he had placed near the office’s wall. Grabbing a bottle of champagne and a couple of glasses, Andy sat beside her then poured them a drink.

“Never pegged you as a champagne guy, Mr. Barber,” She thanked him as he handed her a glass which she took a sip of; letting out a small moan of appreciation at the taste, the  sound causing Andy to cross his right leg on top of the left in an effort to conceal his erection. “Please, call me Andy,” He cleared his throat as he took a sip of the liquor, “And whiskey and bourbon are my usual choices of poison; but since it’s the New Year, figured this was more appropriate.”

Y/N surprised the man beside her by drinking all of the champagne in one go and placed the now empty glass on the coffee table in front of them before turning to his gobsmacked expression and giggled, “Sorry, really need that one.” With his hooded eyes watching her intently, he drank some of his before answering, “Don’t be Y/N, it was quite a show.”

She could feel her wetness dampen the panties she wore with how good her name sounded as it left his lips, “Don’t think I ever heard you call me by my first name before.” Worried he crossed the line he was quick to fumble out an apology; but quickly stopped as he felt her hand on his thigh, “It’s okay, I’m not mad or anything. I really like it, actually,” She trailed off once she noticed how he seemed to have let out a quiet, but aroused purr. Tilting her head to the side with an amused expression plastered on her face, “You alright, Andy?”

Years of practicing law and appearing in courtrooms taught him not to lose composure; but with a simple touch and mention of his name had Andy forgetting how to remain calm and collected. But can you fucking blame him when the girl who walks around with so much grace and confidence — who also happens to be the subject of his filthy fantasies — is so close to him that he can almost feel her warmth piercing through his long-sleeved shirt. In that moment, he wasn’t sure if it was a wise or dumb decision to discard his suit jacket, but as their arms touched and he felt a surge of electricity run through his veins, he thought of himself as a fucking genius.

“I am, yeah,” Deciding to test the waters, he grabbed her hand that rested on her thigh and intertwined their fingers together; when she made no attempts at removing her hand from his he smirked, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but something tells me you want more than just this champagne I offered.”

Feeling her inhibitions disappear, she gave him a smirk of her own as she untangled her hands from his, “Well, I do want some more champagne,” Her finger was now tracing his lips as she moved to sit closer until she was now straddling his lap, “Maybe taste it from your lips?”

Silently, Andy brought the glass to his lips and downed the remaining sparkling drink; his free hand settled itself on the back of her neck, pulling her close to him until her lips touched his. As he bit her bottom lip, she opened her mouth and moaned out loud as she felt the alcoholic beverage enter her mouth. Both her hands caressed his bearded cheek as she drank up every last drop that he offered her. Groaning out loud when his mouth was now devoid of the drink, he let his tongue enter her mouth and asserted his dominance; something she willingly conceded to him. His hand on her neck traveled lower and rested on her bum, squeezing the soft flesh which emitted more moans from her.

“Been dreaming about this for so long,” His staff silently, mindlessly let out as she kissed him desperately. “Is that so?” He asked once he broke away their kiss, Y/N whined at the loss of his lips and confused with his question. Chuckling at her groggy state he squeezed both her cheeks with one hand, forcing her to focus on him and answer his question, “You said you’ve been dreaming about this, baby. Is that what you daydream about at work? Me fucking you so hard your dumb brain can’t even think straight?”

Letting out a pathetic whine, she could only nod her head enthusiastically, “Want that so fucking bad, sir.” He felt his cock harden even more at the title she called him; but he wasn’t even done with teasing her yet. “And that fantasy will come true; but first, stand up and strip for me, baby,” With a soft smack on her cheek, she stood up quickly and unzipped her dress. Andy watched her present her body for him as he poured another glass for himself.

Resting on the arm rest was the hand with the sparkling champagne, while the other was palming his erection as watched her push her dress down to the floor. “No bra? Just that poor excuse of underwear?” He moaned out as he observed the fabric that parts at the middle, teasing the paradise that awaits for his cock.

Lowering her gaze, as if bashful, at his filthy remarks before resuming her previous position of sitting on his lap with her hands moving to unbutton his button down. “Such an impatient little thing, aren’t you?” He clicked his tongue at her; to which she pouted as she stared at him with want written on her face, “I’m sorry, sir. What do you want me to do?”

“Ride my thigh like the slut you are, baby,” He commanded her without even thinking about it, which turned her on even more. Situating herself on his thick, lean thigh she moaned out loud as the fabric of her thong added even more friction. She began to ride him with slow but sharp movements, throwing her head back when she felt her wetness taint the fabric of his slacks, “How does it feel, baby?”

“Good, so good,” Her broken cries turned him on even more as he sipped on the champagne, enjoying the tingle it left on his tongue. “Do you trust me, baby?” Surprised at his question, she opened her eyes to look at him, her hip movements not faltering one bit. Upon seeing how serious he was she answered, “I do, Andy. I trust you.”

With a smirk, he then tipped the glass just above her breasts, allowing the liquid to run from her collarbones and down to her breasts. Gasping out loud when Andy runs his tongue on her skin, following the trail that the champagne took, “Don’t stop grinding on me, love,” He reminded her as his lips drank the liquid that landed on her nipple — subsequently sucking on the pebble-like flesh. Seeking purchase on his dark hair, Y/N continued rubbing herself on his thigh — his assault on her breast encouraging her to ride him even harder and faster.

“Time to drink some more,” Andy huskily spoke out as he poured some more of the beverage on her opposite breast  causing the girl to stiffen a bit as she was taken aback by the sudden coolness on her breast. His tongue flattened against her skin, now more focused on kissing every inch of her skin instead of drinking up the liquor. His hand held her breast firmly, raising it a bit so he could suck on it and slurp the booze.

“Fuck, the champagne tastes even incredible on you, baby,” HIid praise got her flustered and she could only whine as she felt herself getting closer. “I’m so close, sir. Can I cum, please?” She fluttered her eyes at him sweetly, hoping he’d show her mercy; but his wicked smile and wink got her thinking she’d be shown the opposite of it. “Not yet, baby,” He was quick to shut her wails up with a smack on her breast, “Sit down on the sofa, baby.”

Even though she denied him her release, she followed his orders without a complaint — working with him provided her a clear picture of what happens when you don’t follow Andy’s orders, and it didn’t end well for everyone involved. As she sat down, she watched as the lawyer placed his glass on the table and reached for the bottle; poured some on her pussy. Y/N watched closely as Andy licked her clit, down to her hole. Without tearing his eyes away from hers, he inserted his tongue in her and tried to reach as far as his long tongue can go. “So good, Andy,” She grabbed onto his hair, pushing his face closer to her. The man was quick to smack her thigh, causing her to press her thighs more into his frame, “You know what to call me,” He warned.

“Sir,” She panted out, “Feel so good, sir.” Pleased with that, he rewarded her by rubbing his right thumb on her clit, making her moan even louder. Loving her blissed out sounds of pleasure, Andy began licking her ferociously; he drank up all of the champagne he poured and all the juices she had to provide. He inserted his left pointer and middle finger in her, taking her aback with the sudden simulation. Her thighs were shaking with how good he was making her feel, too weak to even grab onto his hair and her arms were now limp on her sides, “Sir, please! I’m so fucking close, please let me cum.”

Without tearing his mouth and hands from her he replied, “Then cum on my fucking tongue, you slut,” The vibrations adding more to the pleasure she felt. After a few more thrusts of his fingers, kitten licks of his tongue, she felt apart with a scream. Her thighs wrapped themselves around his shoulders, squeezing him so tight that she felt his beard tickle her delicate skin. Andy pulled out his fingers that were in her, replacing them with his tongue so he can gather all of her juices and drink some of them in. “You taste like fucking heaven, baby,” He groaned as he parted from her pussy, his fingers pushing her juices back inside her so he could use it as lube.

“Wanna kiss you, sir,” Her fingers touched the patch of facial hair above his lips, surprised with how it had her juices. Andy complied, giving her a brief, but sweet kiss. “Want you on your hands and knees, baby. Hold on to the back of the sofa okay?” Y/N couldn’t help but feel mushy with how gentle he was bossing her around — when she knew his next actions would be far from gentle.

Holding on to the back of the sofa, she used it to steady herself on her knees, bending slightly so she could arch her back to accentuate her ass. Andy quickly discarded his clothes before rubbing her pussy again and pushed some of her juices in, before entering in her pussy in one go. His forehead rested on her back as he groaned out, “Fuck baby you’re so tight. Been a while huh?” Anchoring himself on her hips, he slid in and out of her at a steady pace.

Y/N moaned out loud as she felt the back of her thighs meet Andy’s hips; he was thrusting into her with no remorse. Her hand travelled to her breast, switching between pinching the nipple or pulling on it. Grabbing her hair with one hand, the bearded man pulled her so her back was pressed firmly against his chest. You’d think that this would give Andy a difficult time to rut into her but it didn’t; instead it just made him drive his cock in her harder and faster, falling into a drum-like rhythm.

“Why are you fucking touching yourself, slut?” Feeling his breath on her ear turned her on more than she cared to admit and she couldn’t even string together a coherent response since the tip of his dick pushed into her g-spot, causing her to moan out loud. “You’re such a fucking mess that you can’t even think straight huh?”

Nodding pathetically was all the response Y/N could offer as she clawed on to Andy’s toned arms; the lawyer then decided to go all the way with his fun by wrapping his big hand around her neck, applying gentle pressure. “You don’t mind this do you, sweetheart?” Shaking her head no, Andy then smiled as he put more force on the sides of her neck as he rammed his cock in her until the tip of his cock repeatedly hit her bundle of nerves that made tears leave her eyes with how good everything felt. The other hand that wasn't wrapped around her throat then lowered itself on her clit, rubbing the hardened nub.

“If only you knew how hard you got me every time you came to work with a tight skirt or pants,” He breathed out against her ear, tickling her with his breath, “Giving me a perfect view of the shape of your ass,” And to emphasize his point he thrust so hard until his cock was all the way in and spanked her ass. “Walking around the office with so much fucking confidence,” He recalled the time wherein she called out an officemate for talking lewdly about her — that caused him to jerk one off in the office bathroom. “But now you’ve been reduced to a dumb cock hungry whore for me,” She wailed out in agreement as his hand squeezed her throat so tight to the point she was now gasping for breath as his other hand wrapped around her tit, loving the weight and feel of it on his hand, grabbing onto it to move it up and down his hand.

“Are you gonna cum again, baby? Gonna cum around my thick cock?” He could feel her walls clinging on to his cock even more, making it difficult to thrust in her but he was determined to keep on sliding his cock in and out. “Yes, so close, please let me cum,” She trailed off as he abandoned his hold on her tit and throat and returned to her hips so he could maneuver her and ram his cock swiftly and harder. “Cum then you, slut. Let me feel you milk my cock,” Was all the permission she needed before she dug her nails into his forearms as came with a scream, “Thank you, sir!”

Even as she was cumming, Andy thrust in and out of her; though his thrusts weren’t as powerful and quick. Once he felt her spasms die down, he slid all the way inside her and came with a groan. They both could feel his cock twitch as it released his load inside her, filling her up with his hot semen. Littering kisses on her back, Andy could feel his regular breathing return — as was hers.

Carefully, Andy pulled out of her, “Can you stand up for a bit, baby?” She nodded and stood up from her position, the lawyer guiding her to sit by the arm rests. Still stuck in her post-orgasm haze, she watched as he moved the coffee table away and transformed his sofa into a bed. Grabbing the spare bed sheet, blanket, and pillows he kept in the office — in case he had to spend the night in the office — he quickly made the bed before he helped Y/N to lay down with him, wrapping the blanket over their naked bodies.

“How you feeling?” It was amazing how he had a quick change of demeanor; Y/N was lazily tracing over Andy’s face with her finger, making the most out of this intimate moment. “Feel good, really good. Always wanted someone to fuck me the way you did.”

Her curt response had him chuckling, loving the way she was being open with him and the way she traced over his features. “Well I’m glad I fulfilled this fantasy of yours.”

Suddenly, Y/N felt small and insecure; was this a one time thing? Just something to release his frustrations and a fantasy of hers that's been fulfilled? Furrowing her eyebrows, she failed to mask her worry as she wondered, “So this is just a one time thing then?”

Hating what she just said, Andy kissed the wrinkle in between her eyebrows as he spoke, “I don’t want it to be. I really want to be with you; if you’ll have me, of course.” A small smile rested on her lips as her eyes brightened up, “I’d want that and you. You’re so amazing, Andy. I admire your strength, resilience, and determination. For someone who could easily give up in life you choose to carry on and look forward to what the future holds. It’s just a bonus that you have a thick cock and know how to use it.”

Her small speech had him chuckling and kissing her nose, pulling her close against him, “What I said earlier was true; I love how you walk around the office like you own the place. You take no shit from people and do your job damn well. Plus, I love your music taste as well.”

Grinning at him she jeered, “Wow can’t believe you still sweet talk your way even if it’s not in a courtroom setting.” Andy laughed at her retort and just grazed his fingertips on her sides, tickling her so he can hear her giggle. Once both their laughter died down, their lips met for a sweet, passionate kiss. “We have quite a mess to clean up tomorrow, Andy,” Y/N reminded him as she referred to the champagne bottle, glasses, their clothes, and his sofa bed — their whole situation, really.

“I don’t care,” He whispered as smiled at her, feeling so much lighter and better having been haunted by his personal demons for so long, “I don’t mind doing anything as long as it’s with you.”

Her heart fluttered with his simple statement; she was then reminded of the new year countdown. Reaching out for his wrist, she checked the time and noticed how a few minutes had passed 12. “Happy new year, Andy,” She greeted him with a peck on his lips.

A short, sweet kiss was returned to her as he planted his lips on hers again — quickly getting addicted to her, “Happy new year, baby. Can’t wait to spend this year with you by my side.”

[shhhlikeme]

“Losty Aone” / “Losty Mountain Man🏔” Series:

🎉🎊 Special Birthday Outtake Part Two 🎊🎉

(NSFW!)

———————————

A:N: This is Part 2 of the special bday outtake, NSFW, (Read Part One Here) happy birthday aone 💗

TABLE OF CONTENTS

———————————

AUGUST 13TH - 10:45AM - AONE TAKANOBU’S BIRTHDAYYYYYYYYY🎉🥳

Mountain was in the middle of a wonderful dream about you. You and him were making out on his bed. Your lips felt amazing on his and he was so hard. You were wearing that crazy-sexy dress you wore at Katana’s birthday party but Aone had lifted it up to your belly button, exposing your gorgeous smooth legs to him. You started dry humping him and kissing his neck perfectly.. While he ran his hands up your legs and cupped your ass. Aone was grunting, rolling his head back to allow you more access to his neck and biting his bottom lip. You felt so good grinding on his clothed dick. Aone was 2 seconds away from cumming as you stroked him with your opening, trying to get yourself off too when you stopped dry humping and said,

“I really want to suck you off,” in his ear instead.

Dream-Aone is a little more secure than real-Aone, so in his dream he licked his lips and just watched in foggy arousal as you made your way down his body, pulling down his camouflage coloured pj bottoms and caressing his dick lovingly in your hands. Aone refused to look down at you, knowing he’d cum early. His mouth worked though as you pumped him a few times slowly but meaningfully, wanting him to whine.

Aone did.

You then started placing open mouthed lip-only kisses on the tip, all around his girth, then down the sides, making your boyfriend delirious.

“Oh, Y/N......Yes..........” He moaned as he felt your tongue dip out teasingly pressing a few licks to his size.

When Aone felt the tiniest bit of your wonderful tongue on his cock, his entire dick twitched and he could hear you giggle only to do it again in another spot.

He was in agony with your teasing, he wanted you to swallow his cock like you did in his other daydream in class. But at the same time he loved that you were taking your time and that you seem to be having fun with his dick.

After teasing him so much that Aone was edged as fuck, then and only then did you use your entire tongue and run it from the bottom underside of his shaft to the top where he felt most sensitive.

Wait a second—

Moaning loudly because it felt all too real, Aone thrusted upwards in his dream, trying to get you to do that again.

You did, licking him slowly like his dick was your favourite flavour of ice cream cone. Licking him like you were trying to memorize the veins on his dick using tongue-memory.

“Fuck me, Y/N. you’re so good at this-“

“Are you whispering my name in your sleep, mountain man?”

Hm?

A voice echoed through the air in his dream as if he was in a cave.... it was your voice, but instead of coming from your direction below it was coming from all around him. It shook Aone to his core:

(Echo) “🔊Oh you’re going to enjoy this, my baby....🔊”

WHAT THE FUCK—

Flinging his eyelids open from his dream to see his bedroom ceiling, Aone felt something stir at his sweet spot, forcing him to look down.

What he saw would live on to be one of the 7 Wonders of World. He would kick out all the other Wonders just to replace it with this visual—with this feeling—seven times. Aone propped himself up on his elbows so he could see this Wonder and try not to whimper at the sight:

Below him, LIVE AND IN STEREO was you, his gorgeous girlfriend, IN HIS BED, OUT OF A DREAM, doing that same ice cream lick you were doing in his sleep on his impossibly hard REAL cock. Only you weren’t wearing that fuck-hot black dress from the party anymore....

Oh no. This is the tool you decided to use to kill your boyfriend on his birthday:

( The police code is called ‘death by mind blowingly hot blowjob.’ If you were wondering )

“Y/N?! What are y—ohhhhh fuuuuuuuuuckkkkk...,”

Aone’s eyes rolled back in his head as you swallowed his dick, feeling better than he could have ever dreamed of and has dreamed of. While he loved it, today, Aone realized that his occasional wet dreams did absolutely no justice to your talented mouth. In comparison to the real thing, dream-Y/N was no match where Real-Y/N was involved, he wondered if that meant real sex would feel better with you too, even though dream-you could make him cum in his sleep. It must, seeing as NOTHING felt as fucking good as this. His head lolled back as your name left his lips again.

You bobbed your head in a rhythm, sucking on his dick, swirling your tongue, before teasingly and expertly moving back to the ice cream licks that you found out drove your man crazy.

“Good 👅 morning, 👅 baby.” You said seductively between licks with a smile. “Happy Birthday👅.”

Wide eyes staring at the ceiling again, your boyfriend looked down at you with changed lusty droopy eyes, watching your gorgeous self lick his cock and it feeling indescribably good.

Your mouth working his cock made him forget what a birthday even was.

“What? My birth—sh-shiiiiiiiittttt, yessssss-“

Your boyfriend groaned when you swallowed him as best you could again, beginning to give him some good old fashioned sloppy morning head. Aone noted that you were able to take way more of him into your mouth in real life, when you’d only reached halfway in his dreams. Shit.

Takanobu couldn’t believe this pleasure, he had to squeeze the sheets in his fists to distract himself from cumming in the first minute of this since he’d already been worked up fucking you in his dream.

I don’t think anyone has gone through this, Aone thinks to himself....; A part of him wanted to ask males everywhere if anyone else has ever dreamed about the most gorgeous girl giving them mind blowing head......only to WAKE UP from that dream because that SAME GORGEOUS GIRL was ACTUALLY giving them even better mind blowing head—?!?!?!?!?!? This was so hot that it must be forbidden in some countries—it’s unbelievable.

Aone opened one eye, testing, and took the opportunity to take in his girlfriend’s drool-worthy outfit: the lingerie you were wearing shouldn’t even be legal.

His heart picked up speed as he looked at how perfect that blue looked on your skin, fuck. It is important to mention that even in his wildest dreams, Aone’s imagination was unable to conjure up such a sexy fit on you.

He had to still be dreaming—this was all too fucking good. Moaning uncontrollably because you picked up the pace, Aone shut his eyes again quickly, feeling himself on the verge of orgasm already.

Your boyfriend never used profanity in his daily life, unless he is in a high state of arousal or anger. Therefore whenever he swore, you used that as a sign that he loved what you were doing. When his dick started twitching like it had a mind of its own, you went back to licking his shaft impossibly slowly to get his orgasm to last a bit longer.

Mountain man, on the other hand, was so fucking horny from seeing his real-life dream girl suck him off that he didn’t want to draw out his release in the slightest.

“Oh Y/N, feels so fucking good..... please suck it.” He begged.

You moaned yourself because you couldn’t believe you’d just made your uniform boyfriend say something so lewd. Between licks, you wanted to hear him say it again.

“Sorry, birthday boy? 👅 Can you repeat that please 👅? Why can’t you look 👅down at me, sweetheart 👅?”

Aone began to sweat, breathing heavily. “I am unable to look at ...... you because I’m going to explode ...... if I do. You look beyond ..... sexy.” He paused to pant as you continued to lick him and stall his release.

Aone moaned. “I want to feel you ...... suck me one more ...... time ....... before—fuck—before I cum,” he squeezed the sheets so tightly under him that his knuckles were turning white.

“P-please.... Y-Y-N-“

“You’re 👅 the birthday boy...... Whatever 👅 you say....”

you swallowed his length for a third time. You relaxed your throat muscles this time and took him deeper, earning a very loud moan from Takanobu as his leaking tip hit the back of your throat continuously. Your mouth and throat felt so wet and tight around his monster cock, making him feel as though he was in heaven. He began thrusting upwards in your mouth without even knowing it.

“O-o-Kay you can ...... s-stop now ...... Y/N. I am ...... g-going to cum.......”

Ignoring him, you hollowed your cheeks around his cock, getting him deeper and sucking him harder. Aone ripped the sheets he held on to.

His sounds alone were making your pussy dripping wet and you wanted more than anything for this birthday boy (who is also your amazing boyfriend that patiently waited for you for two years) to shoot his load down your throat.

“Shit I’m sorry Y/N, I c-ca-can-can’t hold back any longe-e-er—fuuuuuuck”

You boyfriend had one more thrust in him before he released down your throat, moaning your name with earnest, in disbelief that this wasn’t a dream because a dream never felt this good, and he’d never been awake for his dream-orgasms.....

Once his dick stopped twitching and you were sure he was done, you cleaned him up using your skillful tongue and then gave the tip a kiss.

“Happy Birthday Aone, I love you so much baby. I have to go now because Kenji was only able to get your mom out of the house for a short while, but, I’ll be back later today with more of your gifts.” You winked at your boyfriend who could practically be pronounced dead on the bed, only able to open his eyes halfway and stare at your sexy lingerie.

As he stared though, his dick unintentionally hardened once again. You looked unreal.

Mountain Man’s mind catching up to the fact that you were leaving, he sat up dizzily from his powerful and strong orgasm.

“No. Stay. I don’t want any gifts, I know what I want for my birthday.” He stated huskily as he stared at your tits in this lingerie.

You acted coy as you watched your boyfriend bite his bottom lip whilst staring at the birthday lingerie you picked out for him. It was definitely a winner considering the red look on his face, so you were infinitely happy Kusa and Katana made you wear it.

“And what might that be, baby?” You asked him as you slid your hand down your middle to cup your sex, teasing your boyfriend.

He groaned deeply.

“Please sit on my face, Y/N. Please.” He begged you.

That’s always been a dream of his.

You shook your head lovingly: he looked sooo cute when he begged.

“I’d love to, but today is about you, my birthday boy. I won’t let you switch it up and make it about me like you always do. But don’t worry, because that was only gift number one.” You ran a hand down his chest seductively making the mountain man shudder with lust. “I told you that I’d make you love your birthday.” You added happily.

***

The Gifts

Aside from a few more sex related presents—which your boyfriend will find himself tugging his dick to the memories of every single night for the next month (or two)—you were able to gift Aone with something you’ve been working so hard on!

A gift that couldn’t be bought with his parents money:

So It turns out that you after a long search online you found out that Haqi Nakashima (Takeru’s uncle) owned a prevalent construction licensing company in Japan. You thought it was the perfect coincidence that his nephew would be at your school for a volleyball camp so you introduced yourself and then worked in conjunction with Takeru to make this your boyfriend’s best birthday ever. Knowing that your man was next in line to inherit his father’s oil company but that Aone wanted to learn everything from the bottom up, you were able to pull some strings and get Aone an internship in Takeru’s uncle’s company for the summer after he graduates from Date Tech. It worked!

Aone couldn’t believe it, as he had sent in applications thrice to that specific company, and was rejected all three times.

But you did it. Using your charm and likability, Takeru was able to convince his uncle to give Aone the internship by using your tactics.

It’s the best gift Aone has ever received (well, the best non-sexual gift) and when you told him he just picked you up and spun you around so fast you had to tell him you were dizzy.

Aone decided that today had to be the second best day of his life, after the day at the bowling alley no less!

He couldn’t believe he had such a caring, sexy, and all around perfect significant other like you. You were way above his pay-grade and Aone would make sure to spend the rest of his days trying to catch up and make you feel as happy as you’ve made him.

You also gifted your boyfriend with a pair of new volleyball shoes. Aone was a bit confused by this present, because you knew that he had enough money to buy any pair of shoes that he wanted, not to mention he’d just bought new ones a couple weeks ago, but this gift had a special significance behind it:

“I know you don’t need new shoes.” You smiled as you stood on your porch that Aone walked you to, the night of his birthday. “But a little birdie told me that on my birthday last year when I didn’t know who you were, you tried to get me shoes, so I just had to return the favour.”

DFKM—

You watched amusingly as your boyfriend turned completely red, all the way to the tips of his ears, clearly humiliated.

“W-who-wh-what-h-how di-d-d y—?”

You smirked, leaning in to kiss your boyfriend’s cheek, then his stilled lips.

“I said a little birdie told me.” You paused, pondering something. “Well actually, a little birdie told my friend, who told me.”

Aone was so embarrassed. But he knew.

“Did this b-b-birdie happen t-to b-be big boned?”

Your face broke out into a smile, unable to lie to him. “Hey, don’t get too mad at him babe, but I do think you should remind the second year that Kusa is not a real cop, which means he really does have a right to remain silent after she asks him what’s up.”

Aone suddenly leaned in to kiss you on the forehead and whisper a kind goodbye in your ear. He hugged you.

Then, still extremely embarrassed because that was a secret and HE’S warned Koganegawa enough, Aone turned on his heels angrily—in the direction of a certain underclassmen’s house.

“Aone! Happy Birthday, baby!” You called to him, but he was already too far, and then he was gone.

“Oh well.” You shrugged happily before closing your door. You’d talk to him about everything you found out in another outtake time— but for now..... you’d sleep.

———————————

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Taglist: @crushzone @galagcica @chaichai-the-weeb @nairobiisqueen

A/N: I hope you enjoyed Aone’s birthday as much as he did!! I’m happy that I was able to fit in everyone’s reqs for this: clingy/jealous aone, blow job, shoe gifting..... and that they all tied well together :)

See you in the next outtake!

[lysissisyl]

Here’s my story for the event @raines-stories-n-things organized. Thank you for your hard work.

I don’t know if you knew, but you assigned me a prompt for my fiancée, making it all even more special for us. So... to @patricia-von-arundel , with all my love. 💜

Trick or kiss?

Byleth has always loved Halloween. She could see the kids wearing crazy costumes and going out trick-or-treating in tv shows, all the horror houses, with their mechanical creatures moving and making creepy sounds (she heard people calling them “animatronics”). Even kids’ cartoons had special episodes airing on that day.

When she was a child, it was considered something foreign, an American tradition that nobody followed or cared about in her country, but things had started to change with time. Now kids wore costumes and went out asking for sweets. They knocked at their neighbors’ doors asking “Dolcetto o scherzetto?” Their parents had to hang messages to tell people to get ready, so they had something to give them, and they usually didn’t leave the building or the street they lived in, but it was something. They received normal sweets, nothing crazy, nothing made for the occasion. People didn’t hang up decorations, not many at least. The neighbors had carved pumpkin and put it out of their door once. You could see some funny things in shops, but not much, nothing compared to Christmas, for example (even if even Christmas decorations weren’t as fancy as the American ones). She knew there were Halloween Parties, but chaotic discos weren’t her cup of tea. She tried wearing a simple costume and walking around, she took some pictures once, but people looked at her like she was strange. (To be honest, they often did and it didn’t bother her, but the atmosphere wasn’t exactly thrilling.)

She could notice the difference the moment she arrived at the airport. The shops there were full, literally full of anything Halloween related. They even had pets’ costumes! There were decals and lights and things she didn’t know how to call on display. Some kids already had costumes, even if it wasn’t the 31st yet.

As far as she loved it all though, she never stopped to buy or look at anything for more than a second; she had other things on her mind now. One thing in particular: Edelgard.

Edelgard was waiting (in)patiently. She had arrived at the airport an hour and a half in advance and had been pacing since. After reading the flight landed, she started checking the time and her phone basically every 5 seconds. She only stopped the moment she saw Byleth walking towards her. They both froze for a few seconds before running into each other’s arms. It had been too long. It was always too long. Edelgard was sure she was going to cry any moment, but she categorically refused to cry in public. She needed to keep herself busy and she needed to bring Byleth home. Now.

Whatever was outside the airport doors, Byleth didn’t notice. She could blame the long flight (and she was actually very tired and dazed), but the truth was that all her brain could process for a while was the warmth of Edelgard’s hand in hers.

“...or you prefer going straight home?”

“What?”

The look on her face must have been 50% smitten adoration and 50% pure confusion, because Edelgard blushed and laughed. “I was asking if you want to go and pick up some food or you prefer going straight home and let me make something for you there.” She paused and smiled slightly. “Perhaps I should just bring you too bed though, since you truly look exhausted.”

Was that concern or a timid attempt to tease? Maybe both. And she sure wasn’t too tired to fight back. “Don’t worry about that. Resting my head on your shoulder while you drive will sure make miracles for my awareness level.”

Edelgard almost let her car keys fall and clumsily opened the trunk. “Give me your luggage, so we can go wherever you want.” The imperative tone told Byleth she hit home. Score! She handed her the big case with a grin.

After they both got in the car Edelgard started the engine and they left the parking lot in silence. Most people would have considered it awkward, but it wasn’t. It was that kind of silence that two people can share when they’re truly close and are just feeling each other’s presence. It was a very intimate silence.

They both liked listening to music in the car and they often did, but not now: this short trip was just for them, to enjoy being together after such a long time, alone.

Edelgard broke the silence first. “From a more practical side...”, she stopped, realizing her voice was going to betray her thoughts again. There was no time to think about the softness of Byleth’s body against hers. Focus, Edelgard! She cleared her voice. “Do you want to stop somewhere for food or not?”

Too harsh. But Byleth smiled. She could read her far too well. “I vote for sushi. Sushi is always good for a date.”

Edelgard silently thanked the darkness for hiding her blush. They had been together for month, but the word “date” still had such a strong effect on her! If felt like she was suddenly so light she could fly and the only thing preventing her from getting lost in the vast sky was Byleth. Byleth being there meant she could fly safely.

Drive safely. She should focus on the road and drive safely. No flying. Why was she even thinking about flying? “Sushi sounds good.” The answer came late enough for Byleth to giggle.

Sushi looked good too. That was Byleth’s first thought in the restaurant. She saw a waiter passing by with some and she suddenly realized how hungry she truly was.

When Edelgard showed her the menu, her eyes literally lightened up. It wasn’t that she had never had sushi, she had it often, but sharing it with Edelgard was different. It was special. She rarely smiled, but even just discussing what to order made her smile. Edelgard had that strange effect on her. She had had it from the start.

Byleth had lived almost all her life barely feeling. She acknowledged most emotions, but...they weren’t truly there. It was like living behind a glass. It was normal to her, but she could still see it. When she met Edelgard though, that glass began to crack and when they got together...it shattered. It felt truly like she came with a giant axe and just smashed it. Gone. In instants. She saved her from a cold she wasn’t even fully aware off. And now...now she was smiling at sushi and she felt like laughing.

The drive home was peaceful. They kept talking about places to visit and things to do. They had discussed them many times, most at least, but it was different now: the time had come. So they kept talking and planning, just because it felt good to. At least, they kept talking until Byleth stopped replying.

Now Edelgard was sitting in the car, parked in her usual spot, uncertain about what to do. Byleth was resting her head on her shoulder, like she had playfully mentioned before, one of her hands was holding onto her shirt. She was sound asleep. Edelgard didn’t dare moving. She felt like when a kitten fell asleep on her lap. Part of her just wanted to stay there and watch her sleep. She could admire her beautiful face, put her hand on hers, kiss her forehead if she turned carefully enough. Part of her though desperately wanted to bring her home, carry her to bed, wrap her arms around her and kiss her, being it just a kiss goodnight or something more. She just wanted to kiss her beaut-

The rational part of her cut that thought there, reminding her they needed to get out of the car, carry the luggage inside, have dinner. Only then it would have been time to go to bed. Together... Feeling her so close against her...and-

Focus! Luggage, then dinner.

She lifted her left hand, then stopped a few centimeters from Byleth’s head. Hesitation. They had been together for month, but she still hesitated. Her thoughts went easily out of control, she often found herself daydreaming until she could almost feel her skin, but her body still stopped, like it wondered if she was truly allowed. She internally laughed at herself, letting her fingers into Byleth’s hair. Messy and soft. She loved it. She stroked them gently, until she felt her girlfriend humming and her hand tightening its grip on her shirt. Cute.

“El?” Byleth’s voice sounded so sleepy... Unusual for someone who always said she completely woke up in seconds. Edelgard’s hand stopped when she found herself unreasonably flustered again. “Sushi is good fresh. We better go.” Too harsh. Again. She sighed, getting out of the car. “I’ll take your luggage.”

Byleth didn’t seem to object, so she did, holding the handle so tight her knuckles turned white. She walked straight to the front door, fully focused on one goal at a time. Keys, keyhole, unlock. She could hear Byleth’s footsteps behind her, stopping when she turned around to close the door. She heard the lock, then another step, Byleth’s hand on her shoulder. She froze.

“El?”

She left the case fall and turned around without thinking, pulling her close and holding her in the tightest hug she had ever experienced. She was there, home with her, she was real.

She was real.

She felt Byleth slowly hugging her back. She held her breath. Neither of them was used to hugs. Byleth was the only person Edelgard felt comfortable hugging and she had no doubt the same went for her.

•~•~•~

For the first time in a while, Byleth didn’t jump on her feet as soon as she woke up. The first thing she was aware of was the warmth of Edelgard’s body against hers. She felt her snuggling closer when she gently stroke her hair, still half asleep. She looked so adorable! She probably would have grumbled at the word, but she was. The thought made Byleth laugh.

Edelgard looked up, suddenly embarrassed, her hands trying to let go of her shirt and failing. She decided to hide her face against her chest instead. “What are you laughing at?”

Tempting, damn tempting… “You’re cute.”

She couldn’t see Edelgard’s face, but she had no doubt it was bright red.

“I am not.” She was clearly fighting herself when she got up. “We should have breakfast. We have an interesting day waiting for us.”

She headed to the kitchen without waiting for an answer, probably to hide the enthusiastic side that was breaking her sulking mask. Cute.

For the first time in a while, Edelgard had had no nightmare.

It wasn’t the first time. Having Byleth there always made miracles for her sleep. Having Byleth in general was enough for an improvement, but…having her there was like a spell. She could let go, she felt safe, like her ghosts couldn’t touch her, like her past couldn’t hurt her anymore. Her demons were tamed.

She smiled, the smile growing wider when she saw Byleth approaching. She knew she would have followed her right after, but actually seeing her there still made her emotional.

She took a pan and a few ingredients and realized she was humming a tune only halfway through the preparations. She hushed fretfully, pouring the mix in. Another giggle, then arms wrapping around her from behind, Byleth’s breath on her neck.

She shivered. “The waffles are going to get burnt.”

“Would it be a big deal?”

“I bought a pumpkin-shaped waffle-plate just to make you Halloween waffles. I would be very pissed.” She was such a bad liar. Her voice betrayed her. She laughed at herself.

Another giggle. “You’re lucky I’m hungry in the morning.” She left a kiss on her neck before taking a step back. “But you still owe me cuddles after leaving like that."

That playful attitude was new too. Byleth always appeared so distant around people… Being allowed to see this side of her was a privilege (even if the little shit loved teasing her). “You shouldn’t have called me cute.”

“But you are.”

Edelgard glared at her. “Do you still want your waffles?”

“I’m not saying another word.” Her grin talked for her though.

The waffles smelled delicious and tasted even better. Edelgard had added fruit on some, poured strange creepy-colored glazes on others. The red one looked like blood, but tasted like cherry. She couldn’t identify the purple and green ones, but food colors were probably involved. She sipped from her cup one last time, inhaling the characteristic smell of Edelgard’s favorite Bergamot tea. She usually brewed some to share when they were together, but today Edelgard had other projects. She had served her some in a black, spooky cup, with a spider-shaped cookie on the side. Byleth sure wasn’t the only one loving Halloween.

“You mentioned projects for today.”

“ Yes. We are going out early. We have some shopping to do.”

She had such a happy look on her face, like a child who was going to show their parents the phantasmagoric new dinosaur toy they just won in a game at the fair. Byleth couldn’t help it. “Cute.”

Edelgard wasn’t actually a big fan of shopping, but this was different: this was Halloween shopping!

She had spent a long time planning it all, thinking about all the things they had discussed, adding more... This was Byleth’s first time truly celebrating Halloween and she wanted to make it perfect for her.

Their first stop was the reason she wanted to go out early. Costume shops usually got really crowded later those days. They spent more than an hour trying the silliest things on, showing each other, laughing together. They ended up dressing as a king and his knight. Those costumes won their hearts the moment Byleth kneeled before her and Edelgard started stuttering something about giving the wrong impression and making her thoughts strange. Edelgard also added an axe to her costume, stating a true king should fight side by side with his soldiers. Brave and strong even when playing around... Was it silly to feel proud? Byleth shook her head with a smile. Did it matter? She was.

The second place was a huge, HUGE store, full of all kinds of things, from forniture to food. There was an entire isle dedicated to Halloween decorations. Edelgard only had a few, but she was determined to make her house spooky this year. The first thing Byleth took was a pumpkin-shaped string lights.

“We could use them for the Christmas tree too.”

“ Halloween stuff on the Christmas tree? Not very traditional.” Edelgard smiled. “ I like it.”

“We could keep some other decorations out too, put a Christmas hat on the skeleton’s head.”

“We don’t have a skeleton.”

Byleth shrugged. “Yet.”

Almost a hour later they had skeletons (humanoids, animals and dragons), three different kinds of spiderwebs, bloody handprints stencils for the doors, a bloodstained mat for the bathtub and many other things. They went back to the car with a heavy cart and a lighter wallet.

The third stop was at the supermarket.

“Are we getting something for lunch?” Byleth was looking at everything with genuine curiosity. The brands and packagings were all very different from the ones she knew. It was something most people would have ignored, but she found it fascinating. She completely forgot about it the moment they reached the produce aisle though. “Pumpkins!” Her eyes were sparkling. “REAL pumpkins!”

They had been talking about carving pumpkins for months. To Byleth, that had never had a chance, it felt like such a nice family thing! She had always wanted to try, but her father wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who likes decorating and such. Everything he did was always for a reason, always had a purpose. The idea of carving pumpkins, attempt strange shapes and be silly together was extremely precious to her and...thrilling.

Edelgard loved seeing her like that, especially since Byleth herself had told her she had never felt like that before meeting her.

She looked at all her smiles and laughs like they were the rarest marvels she had ever admired. Her emotions were a gift to them both.

Byleth was still grinning when they reached the baking products and then moved to other isles. They wanted to make something nice and creepy together, like the funny Halloween party recipes you can find on YouTube. Byleth’s cooking skills didn’t get past a hamburger and noodles, so the ingredients and recipes’ choice was on Edelgard. She had considered many options and was determined to try a few. She wanted to impress her.

Byleth got distracted again by all the sweets and weird...”things” in the next section. Kids sure could get very colorful, strange stuff in their baskets there! There were candies in all shapes, colors and flavors. There were cookies that looked like smiling spiders and happy pumpkins, purple witch hats, green potions, black cats.

Byleth was amazed by how many brands produced something special just for Halloween. In her country she could find chocolate eggs for Easter, panettone and pandoro for Christmas, butnever so many crazy, different themed treats. It was so hard to choose! Luckily they could try many, since they were going to give most to the neighborhood kids on the 31st. At least that’s what she told herself, while Edelgard’s face grew more and more concerned after every trip from the shelves to their cart.

Bringing everything to the car at once was a challenge, but they did it, impressing a few passerbies. Byleth had never been so happy Edelgard had a SUV.

Lunch. Edelgard had projects for lunch too. Something fast, because it was already lunchtime, but fitting. You could only get pumpkin ice cream around Halloween and Byleth had to try it.

Dinner was a whole different thing. Edelgard had made sure they had all they needed to try some funny recipes. They made pumpkin-shaped pumpkin bread. It was a must, one of the first Halloween foods Edelgard had mentioned and one she liked a lot.

The second idea they decided to try was far less traditional and definitely unusual: Frankenstein sushi. They put rice, water and green food coloring in and, after around 30 minutes, they boiled it, then let it cool down a bit. They pressed it into squares around salmon and avocado, topping them with nori sheets as hair. They arranged carrots matchsticks on the sides to look like bolts. More nori, some black rice and truffle sauce made the trick to draw the faces. They had fun changing the expressions and shapes. Those little monsters looked so silly! When they were done, they put them in the fridge to keep them cold.

They decided to make spooky donuts too, as a treat. They had bought a lot of decorations just for those. Edelgard knew Byleth loved them and there were some crazy options there that weren’t available in her country. Once ready, they looked adorably creepy and colorful. Some were covered in orange glaze, with a chocolate spiderweb. Some even had spiders on them, made with a dough ball covered in dark chocolate, chocolate sticks stuck in it to make the legs and big round sugar eyes. Others were covered in white glaze, with red jelly forming veins, colorful candies as the iris and a drop of chocolate as the pupil. Some weren’t even shaped like donuts. Squared ones with green glaze and chocolate provided another version of Frankenstein’s head; pumpkin-shaped ones, with dark chocolate as the carving were a must. Too many to count. Byleth was staring at them with sparkling eyes.

“Do you want one?” Edelgard couldn’t help giggling. “Or dinner first?”

“We could have a reverse dinner.”

“A reverse dinner?”

”We start from the dessert.”

The weirdness of it made Edelgard smile. It was very Byleth. “You want one.” She couldn’t help laughing again and her girlfriend with her. Byleth took an azure one with small sugar pumpkins and bats on it, split it in halves. “I want to share one.”

“Sharing sounds perfect.” Sharing felt warm.

The evening was pleasantly cool, a bit foggy. Edelgard came out of the kitchen with two big knives in her hands and her best attempt at a creepy look on her face. To Byleth she actually looked cute, but the jolt of excitement made her completely forget about teasing. “Pumpkin carving!”

Edelgard handed her one of the knives and she admired the blade. For a moment that simple gesture betrayed her fighting training. She was more comfortable with that weapon than any common person was supposed to be.

A moment.

A moment later she was smiling and choosing a pumpkin from the bags. She studied it with far less ease. “I don’t know where to start.”

Edelgard moved her chair closer, her pumpkin next to Byleth’s on the table. “Honestly, I’m not that good at it, but I know the basics” She explained her and showed her what to do step by step. “First you cut off the crown.” She grabbed two large serving spoons and offered one to Byleth. “You scoop out the seeds and fibers, then the flesh. We can make something with those tomorrow, maybe roast the flesh and toast the seeds.” She drew the eyes, nose and mouth with a marker, then waited for Byleth to do the same. “Careful when you cut it off. You’ll need some strength. Keep your hands far enough from the blade.”

Byleth, the expert fighter, the blades collector, nodded. She loved Edelgard’s caring protectiveness.

Despite her words, Edelgard made a very good job with her pumpkin. Byleth was kinda proud of hers, especially as a first attempt. It was winking.

Once they were done carving, they inserted the candles and put the crown back in place. The cinnamon candles mixed wonderfully with the pumpkins’ natural flavor. They smelled delicious!

They stayed silent for little while, admiring the lights and shadows dancing inside their silly creations, sharing the intimacy. When Edelgard leant her head on her shoulder, Byleth started to gently stroke her hair; their jointed hands were resting on her lap. She could feel her body gradually relaxing, her breaths getting slower and deeper. There was no more tension in her when she was in her arms. She tenderly moved a strand of white hair from her face.

A perfect moment, followed by many others.

For their second almost-halloween night they decided to stick to the tradition. Byleth had never been as big of a horror movies expert as Edelgard was, so there were many she hadn’t seen yet. They both had looked forward watching some together and Byleth knew Edelgard also saw them as a very good excuse for cuddles. She gladly curled up in her arms, as close to her as she could, wrapped in her warmth. That was a night to stay up late, shiver together, then sleep cuddled close.

•~•~•~•

That was the day: Halloween.

It was around noon when she woke up, but it still felt too soon to leave the bed. Edelgard wanted to keep feeling Byleth on her, her hands holding her shirt, her breath on her skin…

She was higher than she was, a trained fighter and a badass, but she still felt such a strong protective instinct towards her…

She wanted to keep her warm.

She wanted to keep her safe.

She wanted to keep her.

Judging by the way she was clinging to her, Byleth agreed.

It took them one more hour of cuddles to finally decide to get up and make some tea. Byleth was extremely smug about eating the donuts they made with it; it was so evident Edelgard couldn’t help a giggle. There were so many things that were quite usual to her and so new to Byleth! And it wasn’t just about Halloween. It wasn’t only about the cultural differences either (some were evident, but there was more). It was like many normal things, family things especially, were completely unknown to her. Edelgard obviously knew why. As for her…she had had no idea how much she had missed those things until Byleth.

They decided to shower and get dressed right after breakfast. They wanted to go out before it got dark and crowded. Edelgard had had the idea the day before. What better place for a King and his knight to spend some time together than solitary woods? There was a trail near her home that they could walk together and she knew places to stop and rest where no one would have bothered them.

Wearing the costumes home was definitely easier than doing that at the store. Byleth wrapped the long, red cloak around Edelgard’s shoulders with a a grin and an admired sound. “It suits you, my Emperor.” Edelgard fumbled helping Byleth with her armor. “It’s a king costume...don’t make it bigger than it is. It’s not... I’m not...”

A giggle.

The Emperor sighed. “I don’t seem to remember many knights being so bold with their lords.”

“Bold?” Something strange in her voice.

“Yes, bol-” Byleth’s lips on hers ended any complaint.

“Is this bold enough?”

“I...advise you to stop if you still plan to go out.”

Her face was so red Byleth almost giggled again, but the way Edelgard’s eyes were staring intently at her made her hold her breath instead. “I plan to come back soon. Or...” a long pause. “...how remote are those woods?”

The pauldron fell from Edelgard’s hands with a loud thud.

Most people go to parties on Halloween night, but neither of them was particularly fond of crowded places and loud music. The only thing they wanted was for that day to be theirs.

They wanted to read horror stories together, maybe try some creepy game. They wanted to hide spooky surprises for each other in the house or share some curiosities cuddled close on the couch.

Byleth didn’t know much about the origin of the festivity. She had heard of kids going out dressed as spirits so the real ones wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart and kidnap them, of people making offerings to such spirits to keep them away from their homes, to keep them friendly. She knew there were many legends, both local and well known in all the States, like Jack-O’-Lantern playing his tricks on the Devil and ending up a wondering soul.

Her knowledge though didn’t go past that. Edelgard was the expert and, luckily for Byleth, more than willing to share her knowledge.

“How do you know so many things?”

“Research, I suppose. You know I like creepy facts, folklore and peculiar traditions. Halloween is a mix of that all.”

“I’m impressed.”

“By my ramblings?”

“That’s not the word I would have chosen...”

An awkward laugh. “Maybe I wanted to impress you... Just a little bit.”

Byleth poked her. “Maybe.”

[itsjustmyfantasyroom]

Sweetheart 2

This was co written with my amazing @thatesqcrush​​ !! Thank you for helping me out with this my lovely your a gem xx

Warning: This talks of readers assault and very slight name shaming

Enjoy xx  

You felt bad about how Rafael had reacted when he seen everything. You liked him a lot, from the moment you met him actually. There was just something about him. You knew how the case was going to end and you knew he wasn’t going to be happy.

You and Amanda had done some more digging the next day and found some other women that he had spoken too, one of them being underage. It was Sonny’s day off, Nick and Fin were sent to question the underage girl and Amanda was out chasing another lead, while you did more internet searches, when your laptop pinged with a new email from Liv.

You opened it and almost fell off your chair when you read it. It was information that Liv had signed you all up to for a Sex Crimes Seminars in New York next weekend, involving all SVU’s around the country. You scanned down the list and Atlanta was on it as attending. It shook you to your core just thinking about it, knowing you had to face everyone again.

Liv snapped you out of your daydreaming when she walked out of her office.

“Y/N, can you run this information to Barba for me? I have to finish our enrolment for the seminar. He has to come too, I need him to sign off on it for me.”

“Yeah sure Liv.” you gave her a small smile.

You decided to make the short walk to Rafael’s office to clear your head, you had managed to lock everything away deep down and kept it out of the way from your everyday life and no one else had a clue. You stopped on your way over to get Rafael a coffee in hopes he still wouldn’t be mad about the on line conversation with his friend.

You walked into the office area saying hello to Camera, when a tall Latina woman walked out with a gold dress. She walked straight passed you, like you were invisible.

“You can go in now Y/N” Carmen said.

You knocked on the door frame and walked in.

“What now?” Rafael snapped. He was standing looking out the window.

“It’s me.” He spun around with a frown on his face “Liv needs you to sign off for this seminar and I brought you coffee” You held up the cup with a smile on your face.  “And I want to say Sorry about the other night, I was just trying to do my job”

A small smile appeared on Rafael’s face and made his way over to the couch to sit down.

“Close the door and sit Y/N.”

You did as he asked, handing him his coffee and the file as you sat down.

“Was that Alex’s wife?” you hadn’t meant to blurt it out but you didn’t think before speaking.

“Yes.” he answered you as he signed the papers handing you back the file, picking up the coffee and sitting back on the couch.  

“I didn’t mean for it to come across like I was taking it out on you. I just….I didn’t know what to think.”

“That’s OK. I understand.”

“And I was a little jealous.” His cheeks slightly reddened.

“What! Why?” you were shocked at his confession.

“That you sent that photo to him.”

“Like I said I was just doing my job.”

“Alex can be very charming. He always gets what he wants.” he sighed rolling his eyes.

“Rafael, I may be young, but I wasn’t born yesterday. He isn’t my type anyway.” You laughed at him and a smirk came to his face.

“What’s your type then Detective?” Rafael smiled at you.

“Green eyes and suspenders.”

Just then your phone rang before he could answer you back, it was Liv.

“Hello”

“Y/N you still with Barba?”

“Yeah, I’ll put you on speaker…….What’s up Liv?”

“We have arrested Alex. The 15 year old sent him photos and he sent photo’s back. I told the DA, he has sent another ADA to handle the case. I'am sorry Barba. Y/N you need to come back, it’s going to a long afternoon” And she hung up.

Rafael hung his head down in frustration using his thumb and pointer finger to squeeze the bridge of his nose letting out another sigh. You put your hand on his knee and gave it a light squeeze.

“I’ am sorry you’re going through this.”

He looked up at you with a smile, placing his hand on top of yours that was still on his knee giving it a light squeeze back.

****

The week had gone by in a blink of an eye. The Alex case went to trail and he was found guilty. You hadn’t seen Rafael the whole week, he seemed to be laying low. The seminar was on that weekend, and the only thing you were looking forward to about that was the fact that he was going to be there.

That Friday night, Nick, Sonny and Amanda were coming over for dinner and drinks. Your guys usual Friday night if you weren’t working. Sonny was going to cook and you brought one too many bottles of wine.  You really didn’t know how you were going to face your old Captain or any other of the squad that would be there. The only person that knew everything that happened to you was Amanda.

“You should have invited Barba tonight.” Nick laughed taking a sip of wine

“Because he would want to hang around you.” You looked over at him putting a fork full of pasta in your mouth.

“Well no, but I bet he would want to hang out with you” They all laughed at you as you went bright red.

After dinner, you and Amanda were washing and drying up on your fourth bottle of wine.

“I bet you guys are excited to catch up with your old squad tomorrow.” Sonny said cheerfully

Amanda felt you tense next to her and your whole attitude changed.

“Yeah it will be good to catch up with them, right Y/N?””

“Yeah” you didn’t even look up from the bench trying to hold back tears. Nick and Sonny noticed your response and looked at each other.

“You OK Y/N? What’s going on?” Nick asked

“Yeah Y/N, you we…” Sonny was cut off by Amanda

“We don’t need to talk about it.” Amanda looked at them both.

“Well clearly we do if you're both acting like this” Nick spat back at her. The tears you had been holding back came spilling out uncontrollably.

“Amanda stop being so strong about it.” You sobbed at her.

Sonny rushed over wrapping his arms around you, you hiding your face in his chest. Nick walked over to Amanda and handed her a dish cloth to dry her hands.

“Sonny sit her down, Amanda go sit, I’ll make coffee”

Sonny guided you over and sat you down next to him, still keeping his arm around you while you cried. Amanda sat across from you stoned faced. Nick made you all a coffee and sat down next to Amanda.

“Now, are you going to tell us what’s going on?” Nick looked between you both.

Amanda told her story first, both Nick and Sonny were shocked at what she had to say. Nick had his hand over his mouth and Sonny had his mouth slightly open hearing the details.

“But Y/N had it worse. That’s why I had to get her out of there.” Amanda looked over at you.

“Why didn’t you leave before?” Nick asked you.

“My transfers were always blocked by the Captain and I had bills to pay, I couldn’t not have a job” you wiped a tear falling down your cheek.

“How long had it gone on for?” Nick looked between you both, his face filled with rage.

“Not long after I started. Stopped a month before I left” Amanda answered them back

“Y/N?” Sonny asked softly.

You stood up from your chair and walked to your kitchen bench opening the last draw and pulling out a folder walking back and putting it on the table between Sonny and Nick. Nick grabbed it first and opened it looking through the contents passing them to Sonny when he finished looking at them.

“He done this to you?” Nick said through gritted teeth frowning at the pictures he was looking at. Sonny had tears in his eyes after he read the medical report and saw the first photo. He couldn’t look at anymore. He reached over and took you into his arms squeezing you tight.

The 4 of you had become best of friends pretty quickly after you started, and the fact that someone had done this to their best friends, they were equally both mad and sad. There wasn’t any romantic feelings between any of you, you guys were just extremely close.

“Yeah. It was the worst attack of them all, he was mad I went over his head to transfer and it was approved by Liv before he could block it. It was my punishment for leaving, and he wanted to leave marks so I would remember him. It was the week I told him I was leaving. Once Amanda left, I always made sure I was never in the bullpen by myself. I was finishing off some paperwork one afternoon and didn’t even realise everyone had left, he called me to his office, I stood in the door frame, but he pulled me in and…..” You trailed off and started to cry. “I went to the hospital straight after. My last two weeks I used my sick days and never went back. When Amanda was there it happened maybe once a month if that, mostly touching, she never left me alone. Once he caught on that we were working together, he would put Amanda on cases with someone else, so she would have to go out, leaving me alone. The boys club knew what was going on, but they never did anything to stop it. But after she left the touching started up again more regularly and it escalated. He recorded that attack and told me that if I told anyone he would show the rest of the squad and send it to my new Lieutenant to show her what a slut I was.”  

“You need to tell Barba, he can put him away.” Sonny said into your ear.

“What no way. No one can ever know, you two have to promise me, promise us not to say a word. I don’t want that tape to see the light of day.”

“Amanda did he record you?” Nick looked over at her.

“Not that I know of, but only he would know”

[madquerade]

In Questo Paradiso ne Scopra il Nuovo Dì (10/10)

Rating: m Ineffable Wives (female Crowley x Aziraphale) Major Character Death, tw: illness, blood Human AU, angst, hurt/comfort, smut, just a lil fluff but like… You can read it on Ao3 @ sherwhotreksings Chapter: one two three four five six seven eight nine ten

Paris. 1851. She’s not sure if she’s real or imaginary, the girl sitting on a chair across from her bed. She sees her though: dark hair, golden brown eyes, dressed in white, Azira’s sister. She can’t be sure anything is real at this point. The only thing she knows for sure is that she’s home now and she’s dying. ~ This is just La Traviata but with the wives. I’m sorry. Antonia is a Parisian courtesan caught up in the intricacies of French society until a young madame, Azira, disrupts her whole world.

Chapter 4

A/N: Here we go! The final chapter! Thank you for sticking with the fic and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

Antonia slips in and out of sleep. It seems like she hasn’t gotten a proper night’s sleep in weeks. The covers around Antonia provide little warmth for her cold body. On top of that, her skin has turned sensitive and even the silk feels rough and scratches her body uncomfortably. She sighs weakly and uses what strength she has to sit up. So this is what her miserable life has been leading to. Fitting that she’ll go out spotted with blood and stripped of love. A life lived for pleasure will only lead to unhappiness. Antonia squeezes her eyes shut, trying to block out her surroundings. They only remind her of pain. At least she managed to do one thing right with her life. She saved Azira’s sister.

Antonia opens her eyes. Azira’s sister stands opposite her in the room. Her dark hair falls gracefully around her shoulders, adorned with flowers and a white veil. Her golden brown eyes sparkle as she slowly glides parallel to Antonia’s bed. The wedding dress she’s wearing brushes the floor and trails behind her as she walks ever closer to her destiny. An invisible wind stirs the hem of her veil and plays in her hair. Antonia tracks her with her eyes. Azira’s sister floats the length of the room and disappears from sight.

Antonia leans forward, trying to catch another glimpse of the girl out of her field of vision, but the doctor enters and chides her for exerting herself. She reluctantly lies back against the pillows. Marceline pulls up a chair to Antonia’s bed side for the doctor. He sits down and thanks Marceline while pulling out his stethoscope. He listens to her heart and lungs, having her lean forward at his instruction. Antonia can’t imagine he’s hearing much over the dark crackle of her breathing. She has to fight for each breath now. It’s an uphill battle and one that she knows she’s losing. The doctor leans over to Marceline, hovering nervously nearby, and whispers something. If Antonia was stronger, she’d try to eavesdrop, but that would take too much energy.

“How am I doing?” Antonia offers a feeble smile, voice barely above a whisper.

He gives her a reassuring pat on the arm. “You’ll make a full recovery, ma cherie.” He says it with such conviction, but his facial expression betrays him, twisted into a concerned frown.

It’s okay. She knows he’s lying anyway. She’s nearing her final chapter.

The doctor pulls Marceline aside to another room, presumably to offer her advice on how to care for her in her final hours. Antonia reaches under her pillow, retrieving the letter delivered to her almost two weeks ago from Monsieur Donadieu. Though her hope has long since faded, it brings her a small comfort. She rereads it once more, fingers taking care to not rip the paper at the worn creases.

Madame Crowley,

You kept your promise, so I will keep mine. The duel has taken place! The Baron was wounded, but is recovering. Azira was not harmed.

Her heart flutters at those words every time she reads them. Even though she could not offer her the life she desperately wanted, Antonia was not the cause of losing that chance all together. One day Azira will be able to reach her destiny.

Azira, heartbroken by your act, has gone abroad. I’ll admit I was not planning on revealing your sacrifice, but I was moved by your letters.

Antonia spent quite some time thinking about what letters Gabriel meant. The conclusion she landed on was that Marceline found her unsent letters to Azira and mailed them herself, otherwise a letter fairy delivered them against her wishes.

I myself wrote to her as soon as I made my decision. She will return to ask your pardon. Take care of yourself. You deserve a happier future.

Gabriel Donadieu

Antonia holds back a sob. It’s too late, now. She’s waited too long and now she’ll die before she gets here. She throws back the covers, a sudden determination to keep her strength flooding her veins. She’ll survive long enough for Azira to arrive.

Shakily she puts her feet on the floor, testing her legs ability to hold her weight before standing. All seems right for the moment, so she chances it, and manages to walk to her vanity. She picks up the brush and messily runs it through her hair before picking up the mirror.

“Ah! How I’ve changed,” Antonia exclaims. The person looking back at her is a stranger, pale and weary. Her bright fiery hair has dulled. Her skin is grey and so dry it looks as if she might shed and become a snake. The only spot of color is her lips, but even they are unnaturally dark, stained red from the blood she’s been coughing up. She can feel her breathing get heavier and knows if she doesn’t retreat soon, she’ll have a coughing fit.

She slams the mirror down onto her vanity. “Adieu, sweet dreams of the past, with this disease every hope is dead!” Antonia turns back to her bed, taking small hesitant steps. Her lungs feel like they’re bursting, too late to stop her cough. She doubles over as she reaches the bed, one hand on the mattress to keep her up. Her cough is rough and hacking. She’s given up on using a handkerchief to contain the blood, it just soaks through to her hand anyway.

“Smile upon the woman who has strayed,” Antonia pleads with the air and whoever is listening, tears mingling with the blood on her lips. “No cross nor name will mark my bones when I’m gone.”

Marceline overhears her cries and rushes into the bedroom. “Merde! Antonia! What are you doing?” She grabs Antonia’s arms and urges her into bed.

Antonia tries to wave her off, but it doesn’t work. “I just wanted a change of pace and some air. This bed is suffocating.”

Marceline helps Antonia get situated in bed again, fluffing her pillows, and helps her sit up. “Let me open the window for you, but just for a moment. I don’t want you catching a chill.”

The sounds of outside come filtering in, muffled by the thick curtains, cheers and laughter.

“Is today a holiday?” Antonia stretches, trying to see out the window where Marceline is pulling the curtain back.

“All of Paris is going mad. It’s Carnival today.” Marceline opens the window more and leans out, examining the crowd gathering in the streets in front of their residence. “The parade will be happening any moment-” Marceline squeaks out a noise of alarm and quickly closes the window, pulling the curtains tight. “Madame, you must not get excited. I want to prepare you…”

Antonia’s heart speeds up. There’s only one reason Marceline would request she not get excited.

Footsteps echo down the hallway, getting louder as the visitor approaches. Azira appears in the doorway to the bedroom and freezes there, taking in Antonia’s state.

“Azira!” Antonia cries, trying to read her body language. She can’t tell if Azira is happy to see her.

Azira rushes to her side and scoops her into her arms. It feels like her hands are everywhere; on her hips, her back, her sides, her face. Azira peppers kisses all over her face and hair. “Antonia, mon amour, please forgive me. The fault was all mine- I know everything now. My father told me what he made you do. I felt like I was dying away from you.”

Antonia closes her eyes, focusing on keeping calm. “I felt the same, but it’s proof grief can’t kill because you’ve found me alive.”

Azira slides under the covers, helping Antonia adjust until she’s in her lap and laying back against her chest. “Nothing will be able to take you from my arms now, not man, nor demon, or angel.” She smooths the hair back from Antonia’s face. “We’ll escape Paris and live in the country again. We’ll make up for our heartache, and your health will come back again. You’re the light of my life and the future will shine upon us.”

Antonia is lulled into the daydream by the steady beat of Azira’s heart. “We’ll leave Paris,” Antonia echos. They can do this. They can be happy together finally. Her illness doesn’t have to stop them. Now that Azira is back she can fight it. She pushes herself up from Azira. “Azira, please, let’s go to the church.” She stands, fighting her wobbling legs.

“You’re so pale-” Azira gasps, but Antonia cuts her off.

Antonia sways, grasping her chest. “-It’s nothing! I’m just overjoyed.”

Her legs give out from under her and Azira jumps to her feet, catching her heavily. “Mon Dieu! Antonia!” Azira holds her weight completely and Antonia’s head tips forward limply against her chest.

Antonia takes a ragged breath. She breathes but she’s not getting any air. Her illness’ end feels near. This can’t be how she ends. This can’t be it. She just got her love back. The air around her feels thick and humid though it’s the beginning of January.

Antonia’s voice comes out like a wisp of her former self, “It’s only my illness, just a moment of weakness. I’m better now. See I’m smiling.” She attempts a smile, but it falls only a second later. “Marceline, get my dress.” She motions towards the dress hanging on the door.

“Now? Wait!” Azira tries to lower Antonia back to the bed, but she struggles and breaks free of Azira’s arms.

“No! I want to go out.” Overcome by the manic fervor of her creeping reality, she rushes to the dress herself. She manages to pull it down from the hanger, letting the weight of the material and gravity do most of the work, but the material is too heavy for her to hoist over her head, and she doesn’t have the balance to step into it. “I cannot!” Antonia breaks down sobbing.

Azira collects her back into her arms, letting the dress fall to the floor in a heap. “Marceline, call the doctor!”

Marceline rushes out of the room to send word.

Antonia cries into Azira’s arms, still standing for the moment. In between her gasps she calls out to Marceline hoping she’ll hear her, “Tell the doctor that Azira has come back to her love. Tell him I want to live again!” She slides out of Azira’s arms, sinking to her knees not unlike the dress next to them. “If your return has not saved my life, then nothing on Earth can save me!”

Azira holds her in her arms, letting her scream.

“To die now, when I might have at last stopped my weeping!” It’s Antonia’s turn to rage. Her fingernails bite into the center of her palms as she squeezes her fists shut. “I kept my love alive in vain!” She smacks the floor with her fists and throws back her head, letting out a scream that would break the hearts of anyone who heard.

Azira tries to reassure her, a look of abject terror on her face. “My breath of life, my pulse, you must stay calm! My tears flow with your’s, but we must now more than ever keep heart.”

Antonia looks up and sees that Azira is indeed also crying. However, her words do nothing to steady her heart. She’s losing control. Her chest heaves with each cry. If her lungs were healed she would be hyperventilating by now.

“My Antonia, be calm! Your grief is killing me! Please, be calm!” Azira’s own panic increases. She wraps her arms tighter around Antonia, hugging her with enough pressure to ground her.

Antonia calms after a few moments and Azira picks her up and carries her back to her bed. With her hair splayed out around her like a halo, she looks like a tragic painting. Her tears have left trails that glitter against her sickly skin in the dusky light. The doctor comes in, without his bag, followed by Marceline. Antonia smiles up at him. “See? I’m dying in the arms of the only dear one I have.”

The doctor shushes her and takes a handkerchief from Marceline, dabbing at her forehead. He passes it off to Azira, who wipes at her salty chest and cleans the blood from around her mouth. The doctor instructs Marceline to do something, and reprimands Antonia, probably for leaving the bed, but she isn’t listening anymore. Antonia leans over to her bedside table and pulls out a locket.

“Take my portrait of days gone by.” Antonia holds it out to Azira. “Let it remind you of the woman who loved you.”

Azira’s eyes flash and she pushes Antonia’s hand away. “No! You must live my darling!”

Antonia gasps and coughs up blood, splattering all over the sheets and her nightgown. Her lungs ache and burn, but she must survive the hellfire before she’s granted the peace she so desires.

“Please... “ Antonia doesn’t catch her breath this time, instead taking in small gasps of air. “...take it.”

Azira’s hand closes around Antonia’s slipping the locket into her hand.

“Remember me when I’m among the spirits.” Antonia relaxes into the pillow, closing her eyes.

If only she had more time with Azira, but there isn’t anymore time. The clock has struck midnight and it’s time for her to go to bed.

“Please, God, don’t take her from me!” Azira leans forward and sobs into Antonia’s lap.

Marceline carefully places her hand on Azira’s shoulder. “God calls her to her side.”

“Please live…” Azira begs Antonia taking both her hands in her own, “or a single casket will return both you and me to the soil of our Earth.”

As if through some magic, or a miracle, perhaps from love itself, Antonia sits up. “My palms! The spasms have ceased!” She holds her arms out in front of her, amazed at the improvement. “My energy! My life is back!” Antonia gets to her knees on the bed. “We can get married, Azira!”

The doctor glances to Azira, who is looking at him apprehensively. A single shake of his head is all she needs to know. Azira climbs onto the bed next to Antonia and wraps her arms around her love. Antonia takes one final deep breath and slumps back in Azira’s arms.

The room is silent save for the singing of Parisians outside.

Make way for the quadruped Queen of the festival, Wearing her crown of flowers and vine leaves.

Make way for the tamest of all who wear horns, greet her with music of harp and flute.

People of Paris, open the path to the heroic Queen. Light-hearted maidens, and frolicking lads, pay her due honour of music and song!

People of Paris, open the path to the triumphant Queen. Make way for the quadruped Queen of the festival wearing her crown of horns.

[itwillbeall-dwight]

sonata no. 4

kate denson/yui kimura; fluff; love confessions; music performances; 3085 words

a/n: bro i love country roads so much do you Know how much i do. do you know.

i’ve been sitting on this one for a while, i’ve been kinda nervous to post it because this isn’t something i relate to as a trans mlm. but i think i did a good job! they deserve so much happiness. also this is a call for kate to please call me god ma’am you are So pretty.

likes < reblogs, any comments in the tags are appreciated

ao3 mirror in the reblogs!

Preview: “Well, uh… any requests?” She seemed almost sheepish now that she sat there, self-conscious that the old thing was oddly silent.  Yui leaned against the top of the piano, folding her arms atop it and resting her chin on them. “Go wild. Beside you singin’, I’ve never… heard your music.” “You’re not missin’ much.” “I’m sure I am.” She looked up with a soft smile, face going a little red as she cleared her throat, hands hovering over the keys as she muttered to herself, before she began to play. 

Another day, another trial in the fog, four poor souls fighting for their lives for the entertainment of some eldritch crowd. This time, the dusty horizons of Glenvale were the sight of such an event; the trial ground mostly silent aside from the occasional scream of pain from one of her fellow survivors. Though that hadn't been often - thus far, with two generators powered up and ready to go, the four of them running circles around the Hag, the poor forest witch so out of her element amongst the dust and sand of the American wild west. That wasn't going to make them pity her, though, and her bony fingers still swiped at them like claws, and she still growled with the same hunger and malice, seeming to only grow angrier with each failed attack.

 The gentle creaking of the nearby hook from a silent wind was only drowned out by the sounds of turning gears and electrical sparks, the smell of rusted copper wires carrying up to her nose and making it wrinkle as she gently crossed over another pair of wires, routinely, as she had learned to do from her trials before. From the corner of her eye, sunkissed arms reached out from the depths of the generator to pull down a nearby leaver and turn a crack, listening to the machine groan and sigh before it purred to life, lights atop it flickering on to signal the third one down-

Before she could stand to her feet and revel in the small victory, the gentle yet surprised yelp to her side caused Yui to look down the trap door atop the gallows down at Kate, now sitting on the dusty ground below, rubbing her tailbone with a pained wince on her face.

"Break your back, cowboy?" She called down, with a small smirk on her face, squatting with her elbows resting on her knees.

The singer looked up with a pained grin, laughing weakly, that in itself sounding like music. "S-sorry... kinda forgot it did that.

Yui chuckled a little, trying not to pay attention to the way her face glowed when she smiled, hoisting herself down the hole with a bend of the knees and a light thud, before holding a hand out to help Kate to her feet.

Which she took. Her hands were soft, like silk, and her grip was somehow both delicate and firm as she pulled herself up to stand, taking a moment to almost shake her hand before pulling it away and resting it on her hip.

(Yui hoped she didn't notice the way she instinctively moved to grab it again, just to hold it for a little bit longer.)

"Well, those generator's ain't gonna finish themselves, huh? Let's get  a move on." Her instructions were like honey - sweet, and thick with kindness and a southern twang that was distractingly enticing.

But she held it together, just enough, to nod. "Yeah, got it. Saloon?"

The other survivor nodded, a default sweet small befalling her features. "Great idea, hon." 

After the two had checked along the horizon of the dusty town to find nothing more than a loose tumbleweed, Kate led them through the back of the saloon, where even the sound of her boots against the old rotting floor, or the way she talked to herself as she dispelled out the talisman's left in the wood with her flashlight was enough to make the stonecold expression so default to Yui's face soften.

 So she had a crush on Kate Denson. Who wouldn't? The girl was perfect, practically untouchable, even in the fog, always excited for a new adventure in every trial and willing to try anything more than once, always celebrating when they escaped but never solemn or disheartened when they didn't, always willing to lend an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on, and never short of a song to get everyone happily singing along. Yui'd had crushes before (she was only human, after all), but never like this - they were always fleeting, passing by before she would care to even give them a chance, her work and ambitions drowning her. But here in the fog, there was no tarmac, no smell of burning rubber or old gasoline, the only roaring not coming from old dirtbikes but from whatever monster of the week wanted them dead... but with Kate, she was head over heels for her, and wanted more than anything to be her girl, to be the wind on her back, but somehow always knew there would never be a chance. Maybe that's why she hesitated, even with a thousand chances.

 She was so caught in her thoughts that she didn’t realise that Kate had stopped walking in front of her, bumping into her back with a quiet litter of a sheepish apology before stopping. “Hey, Denson?”

“Huh?” She seemed to snap out of her own head and look back to Yui, before glancing around. “Oh! Oh, right. Generator.”

“What’s up?”

“Uh, nothing bad, just…” Kate looked back in front over her, as Yui looked over her shoulder and followed her eyes to the old piano, the racket as if someone was falling on the damn keys, over and over. 

“...You play?”

“Vaguely. Helps to tune your guitar, gives it somethin’ to tune it to, ya know? I did lessons as a kid, ‘n my mom would take me to recitals with a camcorder and freak out every time.” She laughed, that sweet honey laugh, that slowly fizzled out into a sound that came from sadness. “...I kinda miss playin’, sometimes.”

That made sense. Yui knew the feeling; tearing up the road on a bike wasn’t the same as kicking up dirt running on adrenaline from an asshole with a knife, but it was the closest she was ever gonna get until they got out of here. Her hands hovered over Kate’s shoulder’s for a moment, before she gently placed them there, weathered palms holding perfect skin, warm to the touch. “We’ll figure somethin’ out. For now though-”

“Generator. Right. You’re not subtle.”

“...Sorry.”

Kate giggled, shaking her head in dismissal, not really minding the acknowledgement of her reminiscing was far from the point of them being there, letting herself be pushed upstairs to the generator on the balcony.

 They were mostly quiet, though Yui did ask for her to talk about the piano more, mostly just to hear her voice. The things Kate was saying didn’t entirely make sense to her (she was never the most musical, but understood when things sounded nice, at the bare minimum), but hearing her sound so excited was more than enough.

The conversation eventually stopped, shifting as Adam came to join them, short of breath and bleeding through his coat, medkit in hand and asking for assistance, which Kate was happy to give. Yui kept her focus on the generator, as best she could, but the ghosts playing the piano just below her kept catching her ear. And as Kate came back to the generator, happily talking to the teacher that now joined them as if they weren’t in a trial trapped in the old west, she knew what she wanted to do.

 They escaped with relative ease, the struggling with never really catching up with them, all four of them escaping with some new items in hand, thanks to Zarina, who had done an excellent job keeping the Hag occupied in the dusty streets. Yui hadn’t seen Kate much for a while after that. When one was busy, the other was not, and when one was enduring a trial, the other was scouting out a realm for any clues to their escape (routine exercise). But that was fine, in terms of her little plan - the less she saw, the better. And besides, she didn’t think Kate would notice, or even care. But soon, they spoke again, after another group of four were sent to fight for their lives.

 “Hey, uh, Yui?” Her sugary sweet voice gave the survivor a start, jumping as she was cleaning a flashlight from the small pile she’d accrued.

“Ah- oh, uh… hey.”

“Hi! Uh… can I ask you somethin’?”

For a moment, her mind jumped to the best-case scenario, but Yui cleared her throat before she could daydream any more on that. “Um, sure?”

“Have you seen… any coins?”

“...Coins?”

She nodded. “Well, Jake was checking through the stock and, uh… says we’re missin’ a few. Haven’t seen him that riled up about somethin’ since… well, ever.”

Yui almost laughed. “That boy is a damn dragon, I swear.”

“Think he likes to just… have things.”

“Things like coins we can’t even use?”

“Well… yeah.”

Yui scoffed a little, rolling her eyes before she put the flashlight down on the log beside her, resting her elbows on her knees and leaning forward where she sat, looking up at the singer. “I… have an idea. But you’re gonna have to trust me.”

“I… OK? You can tell me anything-”

“No, no,” she cut her off. “...I want you to come with me, somewhere. Just the two of us.”

She raised an eyebrow. Yui quickly picked up on the signal.

“...Nothing bad, promise.” The street racer offered a hand, beckoning with a slight movement of her fingers.

She took her hand with hesitation, though quickly squeezed it to affirm her choice. Yui gave her a small smile, hoping it wasn't shaky, before standing to her feet and leading her away into the forest, taking a path with downtrodden leaves, as if she’d taken it before.

 It wasn’t long until the fog cleared again, old leaves crunching under their feet replacing with the grains of sand and dust, trees becoming rotting wooden buildings, while the sky above them twinkled with stars, no air pollution in sight.

“...The saloon.” Kate said from behind her, as Yui stopped them in the walkway just in front of the imposing building. “Is there something here?”

“I… yeah, in a way. ...Look, you wouldn’t tell Jake-”

“Yui, you didn’t…”

“It’s not like we need them anyways! ‘Sides, I thought that old cowboy might appreciate ‘em, and then I could, ya know… negotiate.”

“...For what?”

“Well… the piano.” She cocked her head back towards the instrument, before looking back at the singer, who’s face had softened a little bit from the lecture she was about to give. “You said you missed playing, and you give so much to everyone else, so I thought…”

As the street racer trailed off, Kate smiled, cupping her hand between two of her own, and shaking it. “Well, that’s… mighty kind of you.”

“Y… yeah.” With a free hand, she rubbed the back of her neck, before letting herself be led inside, to the piano, noticing that as Kate sat down, she was hesitant to move her hand away, to flex her fingers and prepare herself.

 “Well, uh… any requests?” She seemed almost sheepish now that she sat there, self-conscious that the old thing was oddly silent. 

Yui leaned against the top of the piano, folding her arms atop it and resting her chin on them. “Go wild. Beside you singin’, I’ve never… heard your music.”

“You’re not missin’ much.”

“I’m sure I am.”

She looked up with a soft smile, face going a little red as she cleared her throat, hands hovering over the keys as she muttered to herself, before she began to play.

It was a slow song, soft and loving, and though she was rusty and stumbled her words as she missed a key or hit a wrong note, she still powered through. Yui watched her face, the way she performed even when no one was watching, and how her music really was like sugar and honey, sweet and enticing. She tilted her head and smiled to herself, looking at the features on Kate’s face with a deep, profound love, as if she could stand there and listen to her forever - and she would, if forever was the time they had.

 She finished with a bittersweet note, slowly opening her eyes and looking up to Yui, face flushing a little from the way she was staring at her. “It’s… nothing special. Just a little somethin’.”

“Well, it sure sounded special, to you. And that makes it special.”

“I… guess? Thank you, Yui.” She gently pulled the cover back over the keys, resting her elbows on it. “It was based on a… dream, I had. I remember writing that on the school bus and working on it all day, ‘cos a teacher of mine tried to take the sheet music off’a me when I wasn’t payin’ her mind… can’t stop me grabbin’ it back when she left the room though.”

“Dick.”

She laughed, nodding in agreement though never saying it outright, gentle laughter fading into silence and a soft smile that they shared before the singer averted the gaze put on her.

 “What was the dream about?”

“Hm?” She looked back again, as Yui was still looking at her.

“The dream you had, about that song. What was it?”

“Are you… sure you want to hear it?”

“Kate, we have as much time as we want. Only the ghosts’ll hear you.” Yui pressed her back against the side of her piano, folding her arms across her chest. “C’mon.”

The musician took a pause, sucking in a breath and then letting it out slowly, before she caved and told her tale. “It was… a drive, some red car with the roof sawed off, a crappy convertible that can’t withstand the rain. Ferrari, I think. We were going pretty fast. It was twilight, against the backdrop of the ocean from the cliffside, the pinks and oranges were so… vibrant and free. I stuck my head out of the window and yelled, you know, like a drunk girl at a concert, came back in with my hair across my face, smile stuck to me. S-she was smiling too, my sunset lover. Auburn hair, cut in a bob, sunglasses so big you could hardly see the freckles that dusted her cheeks. Plump lips with bright red lipstick. A dazzling smile. She moved her hand from the gearstick to hold mine, brushed her thumb against my knuckles. She smelled like… pineapples? Or mangos. It was a tropical smell. Very fruity, and nice.”

Yui watched her twirl a bit of her hair between her fingers, face going a little pink as she recalled her dreams, the light dusting of the blush overlaying the freckles and reminding the street racer just how deep she was.

“We pulled up to a car park, near some old beach bar I think, right in front of a bamboo fence that separated the tarmac and the sand. She reached in the back to grab her sunhat - ya know, one of those big floppy things - but I grabbed it from her first, and after she playfully tried to get it back to me, our faces were so, so close… I could smell her fruity smell, and I… we kissed. God, it was like heaven, it was like the world was nothing but at the same time everything, because she was… well, she was it. I dropped her hat out of the window and I’m sure the wind stole it, but I didn’t care. She didn’t care.”

 Yui looked down as she finished, watching Kate fiddling with her hands as her elbows leaned against the piano, trying not to look too embarrassed but failing miserably. It was almost adorable. She swallowed. “...Does it have to be a car?”

“Huh?” Kate looked up to her. The other survivor averted her gaze.

“T-to go on your twilight beach trip, does it have to be in a car?”

“I.. I suppose not? Why does it matter?” She blinked, and paused… before a shy smile spread across her face. “Yui, you-”

“I just- I have… a bike. Means a lot to me. I’ve taken a lot of girls for a ride, but I’ve never… rode to the beach before… maybe, you know, if we make it out of here, I can… take you to that beach.” She fiddled with her collar, forcing herself to meet Kate’s eyes, feeling the heat on her face. She took a breath, before taking to shooting her shot. “...Maybe I can be your sunset lover.”

 Everything else was a rush after that, but at the same time everything around them seemed to stand still. Kate ran hand down Yui’s arm, her touch like silk and skin like sunshine despite the dirt and grime of the fog, fingertips brushing against her softly and delicately before she held onto Yui’s hand, looking down at her perfect nails and running a thumb over her knuckles before she looked up to the other woman through her eyelashes, the smile she had never leaving her face, like an invitation to come in closer. An invitation which Yui took with grace, as with her free hand she cupped the singer’s cheek, moving down to plant a kiss on her lips, one that was slow and tasted like sweet fruits, as she’d always imagined it would, moving her hand down to hold onto Kate’s hip as she still sat at the piano. As she pulled away, she couldn’t help but smile, feeling the other survivor’s lips twinge into a smile of her own as she took Yui’s chin between her forefinger and thumb, grip both firm and gentle and oh so welcome, keeping her close and looking deep into her eyes, her other hand interlocking with the street racer’s that she still held, going in for another kiss; quick, and sweet, before letting her move away again, moving her hand to twirl her curls (perfect and blonde as ever), between two fingers.

“I… wow.” She was breathless, looking down for a moment.

“Yeah?” Yui laughed, then making the singer giggle in response, rubbing the back of her neck rather sheepishly - why did she say that?

Didn’t seem to matter much, though, as Kate seemed… almost… charmed. “...Yeah.”

 She stood to her feet, looking down at the hands still intertwined, gently rocking the union back and forth before she felt a forehead pressed against her own, the two of them sharing a smile that no one else would see, by the window of the old saloon. Well, no one except the old cowboy who had just returned, watching them from across the way, flipping an old, coin in between his fingers.

[icecream-and-gadreel]

Nostra Parentela Ch. 2: Trust Issues

Series Summary: Jack goes missing days after his father betrays their family by joining another syndicate. Everyone suspects Lucifer but instead of sitting around wondering, Castiel goes to the best detective he knows: Dean Winchester. The cynical detective has lost his lust for life and doesn't want to make his miserable days anymore miserable by being caught between the two biggest crime families in the country. Ever persuasive, Castiel is able to recruit him and start a relationship that neither of them expected.

Summary: Castiel can't focus on anything but Dean during a meeting with his lawyer. Meanwhile, Jack gets out of the rain.

Pairing: Destiel, Sastiel(one sided)

Other characters: Jack, Cain, Sam, Gabriel, Chuck(mentioned)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Language, alcohol, kissing, violence mention

Word count: 2800+

A/N: I like to think that Castiel is a gentlemen, despite all of the death threats. Enjoy! (Thank you to my awesome beta @cajunquandary​ for making this chapter sparkle!)

Masterlist

Six days missing

Castiel

Castiel stares at the clock on the wall, watching as seconds tick by in an agonizingly slow pace. He never cared about time before. Really, days used to blend together if he wasn't paying close enough attention. But with every second that passes he gets more restless. If Jack is even alive, he's probably cold and hungry. If he's dead...A lump forms in Castiel's throat, the thought of it making him sick to his stomach.

“Why didn't you call them off?” Sam asks, pulling Castiel from his thoughts. Ah, the lawsuit. A few foot soldiers 'persuaded' a witness to not testify in court, and despite there being no evidence, the opposing lawyer still wants to meddle.

“It's not my garrison,” Castiel says, eyes focused on the clock. “My father sent them out,” he adds.

“I...guess you gotta relay this to Chuck,” Sam says, turning his eyes to Gabriel. Sam goes over a list of possible charges, pointing them out on his sheet as he does. Castiel wants to care, he really does, but his mind is a million miles away. The only good news thus far is the detective saying yes. He smiles as his mind trails to Dean, a hum rumbling in his throat. What kind of lunatic smiles with a gun pointed at him?

“Interesting,” Castiel mumbles, chuckling to himself. Frowning, Sam clears his throat.

“Just...tell Chuck how serious this is,” the Winchester says, glancing at Castiel with a frown. Gabriel yawns, stretching his arms above his head.

“Will do Sammich, meeting adjourned?” Gabriel asks, smiling when he gains a nod. Castiel continues staring at the clock, his mind drifting between Jack and Dean. Gabriel waves his hand in his brother's face. “Hey, you good?” he asks. Castiel raises his eyebrows, looking around. He didn't even notice Sam leaving.

“Hypothetically.” He flicks his eyes to his elder brother. “What if I found someone willing to help me find Jack? A detective so good that he...hypothetically traced a few bodies back to Mikey.” Gabriel's face sinks, the cheery air that usually surrounds him dissipating.

“You're bringing a cop into our business?”

“Someone had to do something,” Castiel retorts, throwing a hand up. “You already know how well Michael and Balthazar covered their asses. If he was able to track them, imagine what he could do to find Jack.” He glances at the clock once more, standing up. “Can this stay between us?” he asks. Gabriel nods, draping an arm around Castiel's shoulders as they begin to walk.

“As long as you keep our family affairs within the family,” he whispers, patting him on the chest. “No matter who you are –”

“Dad sends rats floating down the river,” Castiel finishes. The elder Novak nods, cracking a grin as Sam approaches.

“So, when are you gonna let me buy you dinner?” Gabriel cooes, wiggling his eyebrows at Sam. “Just imagine this handsome mug covered in spaghetti sauce.”

“Great visual, but I'm good,” Sam chuckles, shaking his head. Gabriel pokes his bottom lip out, playfully smacking his brother on the arm.

“I keep forgetting you're head over heels for my baby bro,” he grumbles. Sam stutters over unformed sentences, his face flushing crimson.

“I-I don't – Castiel it's not – I –”

Silently, Castiel ducks out of the room, pulling out his pocket watch .“See yourself out, Sam, I'm running late.”

–

Dean

“I really don't like you right now,” Dean groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. If working with the mafia under death threats wasn't hard enough, Castiel was making it a lot damn harder. “Let's review. Common places Jack would be?”

“I can't tell you that,” Castiel says, leaning back in his seat.

“Uh huh. Friends and acquaintances?”

“I can't say.”

“Contracts with businesses?”

“That's another no.”

“Any fucking thing?” Dean growls, throwing his hands up. Castiel stares at him silently, an impossible to read look on his face. “You come here, beg me for help, and when I finally say 'fuck it' you fight me every step of the way! What am I supposed to do?”

“Make it work,” he says, shrugging. Dean stands from his desk, staring down at the notes he has written. Jack is in his early twenties. Jack is a Novak. Jack went missing. He might be with his father – in an undisclosed location – but he might not. This is the entirety of the information Dean was given. “Well? Are we done?”

“Are we done – ” Dean cuts himself off, mouth agape in disbelief. “I'm losing my mind.”

Castiel scoffs, standing from his seat. “I told you everything I could, Dean –”

“Nah, no you didn't,” he grunts, making his way around the desk. “You told me enough to cover your ass.” Dean brushes past him wordlessly, snatching open the door and gesturing at the air. “But yeah, we're done,” he says, a forced smile on his face. Silently, Castiel stands from his seat, taking a deep breath before turning to the other man.

“Look.” Castiel darts his tongue over his lip, stroking his jaw in thought. “I'm...I can't tell you anything that could put my family at risk,” he says, shaking his head as he closes the space between himself and the detective, leaving only inches of space between them. “But I do need you.” Dean gulps thick, flicking his eyes to the ground. Why the hell is his heart racing?

“You gotta trust me if we're gonna do this,” Dean says, trying to keep his voice steady. Alright, being so close to this psychopath is making it hard to think, though he'd never admit it out loud. As far as Dean can tell, the Novak's are blessed – cursed? – with equal parts insanity and good looks.

“I've known you for four days, we need more time to establish 'trust',” Castiel says, tilting his head with a small smile perched on his face. Dean curses under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I need a drink,” Dean grumbles, chewing his lip.

“I'll buy the first round, I know a place” Castiel retorts, jetting out of the room before the Winchester can respond.

…..

“This is fine,” Dean whispers to himself, a stale smile on his face as the bartender hands him two beers. “It's just a drink.” He scans his eyes over the bar, stomach twisting at the familiar faces. Being a decorated detective in a bar full of criminals is never ideal. A few try to avoid his eye, while others won't stop staring. “Just a drink in a bar full of people who want me dead,” he whispers, clenching his jaw when his eyes land on Castiel.

Bastard.

When he said 'I need a drink', he meant in his tiny little home listening to jazz records in the dark. Dean slams the beers down, pointing at Castiel in a warning.

“You seem...upset –”

“Why here?” Dean snaps, trying to keep his voice low. Shrugging, the Novak sips his beer, frowning.

“My father helped fund the bar, I get free drinks here,” he says, speaking slowly. Dean chuckles and swipes a hand over his face.

“So – So not only am I surrounded by people who daydream ways they're gonna kill me –” Dean snatches his beer up, snarling – “I'm in a bar bought with a goon loan?!” he hisses.

Castiel stifles a laugh, holding a hand over his mouth and nodding. “You're fine, detective –”

“Don't say detective!”

“– No one will touch you. You're with me,” he says, that same soft smile on his face. Dean huffs, crossing his arms over. They sip from their beers silently, stealing glances periodically. Finally, the Novak clears his throat, gesturing to the bartender to come over. “I find that tequila and limes are great for bonding.”

“So that's what we're doing? Bonding?”

“I need to know I can trust you, so yes,” Castiel says. He orders a bottle of tequila before continuing. “Even our lawyer did it, though I'll never challenge Sam again,” he says, a disgusted look going over his face. Dean's eyebrows shoot up, and for the first time all night, a wide grin breaks across his face.

“That's a story I gotta hear,” Dean says, smacking the other man on the shoulder. The bartender sets down a bottle of Jose Cuervo, six lime wedges and two shot glasses. Castiel sighs, clenching his teeth.

“Your brother is a demon. Long story short, I'm puking in the street, Sam almost destroyed three bar tables and my nephew is actively trying to stop our eldest brother from shooting his gun in the air,” he says, the smile on his face wavering.

“Huh, didn't know Sammy had it in 'em,” Dean chuckles, filling both shot glasses and offering Castiel a lime.

…..

Castiel pulls Dean out of the taxi, slinging his arm over his shoulder with a grunt. Rain is beating down, and there's no sign of it stopping. Quickly, Castiel helps Dean to his apartment, shaking his head.

“For a borderline alcoholic, you're a lightweight,” Castiel says.

“Shuddup,” Dean grumbles, squinting his eyes. The bad spins are coming. “Gotta le'down,” he slurs, holding a hand over his head. Admittedly, Dean let the drinking get a little out of control. After finishing the bottle of tequila, six beers each, and some brown liquor Dean was too drunk to read the label of, they finally called it quits and headed back to the detective's apartment. They struggle up the stairs, trying to lean their weight on each other. As they reach the top of the stairs, Dean fishes out his keys, humming as Castiel rests a hand on his back. “M'gonna le'down, you comin' in?” he asks as he finally gets into his apartment.

“Only to get you to bed,” Castiel says.

Dean begins stumbling forward, pausing in his tracks when he realizes that Castiel isn't following. “You comin'?” he asks, a cocked smile on his face.

“I think I need to stay here,” he says, rubbing his nape. Dean frowns, throwing a hand up. The detective's thoughts are everywhere, and though he wants to stop himself from speaking, the words come flying out anyways.

“What if I asked you to come with?” Dean says, gaining a chuckle. Silently, Castiel leads Dean to his bed, gently urging Dean to sit at the edge of the bed.

“Shoes off, get some rest – Dean –” Castiel laughs as Dean pulls him flush against him, taking a deep breath.

“I know it's not jus' me,” he says, voice a near whisper and he pulls at Castiel's suit jacket. “Can't get any closer than this,” he adds. Castiel presses a chaste kiss against Dean's lips, pausing when the detective lulls his head back. With a sigh, he flicks Dean on the forehead, shaking his head.

“You're far too drunk,” he grumbles, pushing Dean down to the bed. 

“You're hot even when I'm sober,” he blurts, squeezing his eyes shut tight. He can't shake the spinning away. “You already got me in bed, come on,” he whines, squinting open an eye.

“Look at me, Dean,” Castiel says, gripping the other man's face. Dean lulls his head to the side, a drunken grin on his face. “I'll regret this in the morning, won't I?” he asks, cursing under his breath. Castiel raises up on his knees, pulling his suit jacket off with a huff. He drapes his jacket over Dean, pointing at him in a warning. “If you were sober,” he says, shaking his head and making his way out of the room. “God, if you were sober.”

Dean chuckles under his breath, wrapping himself in the suit jacket before allowing himself to drift asleep.

–

Jack

Thunder shakes the tiny house, sending an uncomfortable shiver up Jack's spine. He stares blankly ahead, slowly rubbing the plush bath towel over his hair. He closes his eyes as a blanket is draped over his shoulders, his shivering body thankful for the new found warmth. Jack glances up at the other man as he makes his way to the stove, heart pounding in his chest. He gulps thick as a bowl of soup is placed before him, pulling the blanket around himself tighter.

Cain.

Just the mention of his name sends even the most decorated goons into prayers. He's notorious in circles big and small, and all he's known for is being a sick, demented man with a lust for blood. As the smell of fresh garlic and rosemary fills his nose, Jack's mouth waters, his stomach whining.

“Hope you eat pork,” Cain grunts, cracking open a beer and gesturing to the bowl. Jack remains silent, picking up the spoon and scooping up a heap of vegetables and shredded pork. “How was the shower? You needed one desperately,” he says, chuckling. Again, Jack remains silent, save for the pleased groan that escapes his lips as he tastes his food. Outstanding. “You like it?” he asks. Jack nods slightly, glancing up at him. If it weren't for Cain, he'd still be squatting in the alley, wondering how the hell he'd get through the next few days. Still, he's wary.

“How much?” Jack asks. The other man cocks an eyebrow, swigging from his beer. “You know, for helping me. What do I owe you?”

Cain ponders over the words, a smile flitting across his face before being replaced with a bored look. “Manual labor,” he begins, tilting his head. “Tend the garden. Mow the lawn. Help with the chickens. Other than that, don't bring trouble to my home and we're even,” he says, standing from his seat and turning to leave. “Your room's down the hall.”

“Wait, just...chores?” Jack asks.

“Just chores. Not gonna make you pay rent if you're useful.”

Jack frowns as the words register. “You're not like what I heard,” he says, his voice a near whisper. Cain runs his fingers through his locks, and Jack catches his gaze lingering a bit too long. It's like being in the presence of a god. Do you grovel? Do you cower? At this point, Jack is ready to do both.

“What've you heard?” he asks.

“That...you're the one I should check for under my bed,” Jack says, laughing awkwardly. “I still don't get why you took me in.”

“You're a kid, I don't leave kids out to rot.” He makes his way to Jack, scratching his scruff. “Since we're getting familiar with each other, why are you so far from home?” he asks. Jack shovels another spoonful of food into his mouth, turning his eyes away from him. “A Novak won't let their own sleep on the street.”

It probably wouldn't make sense to anyone looking in. Living on the street instead of the huge, gaudy house his grandfather graciously allows everyone to stay in? You'd have to be insane to do that! But, for Jack, he'd rather be on the street than stuck between his father and grandfather's petty feud. Trying to choose between either leaving his family or turning his back on his dad would have ended bad either way.

“How about you?” Jack says, flicking his eyes up to Cain. “I didn't think someone as infamous as you would run a farm.”

Shrugging, Cain sips his beer. “When you know what I know about the family, you do whatever the hell you want.”

“Oh...”

“Yeah,” Cain grunts, sucking his teeth. “Alright, finish that and get some shut eye. Tomorrow's gonna be a long one.”

Eternity squad: @sheinthatfandom​ @greenshinigamieyes @lipstickandwhiskey​ @feelmyroarrrr​ @bcarolinablr​ @mrswhozeewhatsis​ @mssunnyone​

[hs-devote]

1. I N E F F A B L E

Moodboard // Content // Masterlist

Disclaimer:

All characters and situation in this story are fictitious. Resemblance to any person living or dead is only God knows.

1. INEFFABLE

Erskine Limited. A well known multinational company in U.K. Is a home for 20,000 employees across the country. One of the prestigious companies.

This head quarter looks more extravagant than the branches. Of course.

Never in her wildest dreams she thought would be sitting here. Greyish, sleek and shine furniture. Looking around, everything look sophisticated, professional.. while daydreaming about how come this opportunity was offered to her. Until a smooth yet firm voice calling her up close.

“Miss Y/L/N?”

Turning her head, a woman smiled at her, offering warm gesture. She's tall, her short black hair look nice against her delicate brown skin.

“Yes, I am.” Smiling, Y/N shake the woman’s hand.

“Sanaa Martinez.”

“Y/N YL/N”.  

Now, sitting face to face with her made her nervousness increase. Well, sitting in front of your new boss surely makes your worries skyrocketed. But, looking how she welcomed her, she's positive this would be good.

“Firstly, apologies for coming late. Having small problem back at meeting and.. your boss ask me to meet you before we met him.”

Hold on, this gorgeous woman will not be her new boss? If Y/N remember correctly, Mr. Adams said she would meet the new boss directly.

“Oh, I suppose he would be so busy.”

“Yeah.. yeah, perks of being the man who hold the highest level .”

“Pardon?” Y/N could not hid her shocked face, until something she think inappropriate in this situation came out of her mouth, “I’m sorry. I have no idea, I will working with the....”

“The CEO? Yes. The Owner? Can be. The man is in both position. I believe Mr. Adams did not tell you that?”

“No, ma’am.”

She sighed while massaging her temples, “Poor girl. I think he a bit bitter of you moving here. But this is your good chance.”

“Honestly, I was quite surprised when the offering letter came. Did not think I have a chance here. I mean, I work in a small branch office in Swansea. Now, I’m here, in the head quarter, in London.” Y/N smile, keeping the eye contact while deep down in her heart, she tried to calm herself. How the fuck it could be? She never dreamt being work together with board of director, let alone the CEO, the Owner themselves.

She laughed, “Non sense. If your performance can offer something more, why not?”

“I guess?” Y/N mumbled, giving her shy smile.

“Well, I have your resume here. But, tell me about yourself.”

.

.

.

.

Day one went smooth.

Day two went alright.

Day three, four.. until a week being here in her new office, everything went perfect. Y/N got a week training before starting her task as Executive Assistant to the owner this company. Mrs. Davies, or Rita, the lady in her mid forties who was her tutor for the this past week, patiently taught her about everything will be done as a EA.

“I must admit.. that you are indeed deserve this job. I’m amazed how you could cope with these, Y/N” She said in her desk, while screening Y/N tasks in her screen. “Never thought  a young lady will filling the EA position. I’m impressed.”

She grinned, “Thank you, Rita. It’s all because of you could guide me well.”

“Not really. You learnt quickly and I think.. pretty little head of yours can memories everything perfectly fine.” She hummed, “I am still responsible for you until next month. So if there are complaints coming, of course I will see you again.”

“And oh, Madeleine just told me Mr. Styles is in his office right now. I think it’s good for me to introduce you to him before you move to your office in Monday.”

“Madeleine?”

“His receptionist? Well, you will work with her too. Let’s go, Y/N. Your new office is quite far from here.”

Walking to her office was quite far because it was on a different level building, they separate the BOD’s building and general employee’s. Y/N eyes gawking around, admiring how people seem more professional doing their works.

“One thing I haven’t said.. be patient with Mr. Styles, he’s kinda having short temper.”

When the lift door opened, Y/N see a woman sitting behind her large desk. She must be Madeleine.

“Good afternoon Mrs. Davies.” She squeak, standing confidently. The moment her eyes move towards Y/N, she could see clearly her smile falter slowly. Weird.

“Hello Mads, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is Madeleine.”

“Nice to meet you, Madeleine.” Y/N smile while offering a hand, think shaking hands is normal and professional, apparently not for Madeleine. She just nodded while giving they both access card, “I’ll let Mr. Styles know you guys are here.” Y/N take it awkwardly.

“An access card?” Y/N mumble, glancing at Madeleine was on the phone.

“Everyone require an access card to the his office. I’m sure Madeleine will prepare one for you.”

“He’s ready. Waiting on his office. He just has 30 minutes tops. ”

“Thank you Mads.”

“Rita?” Y/N murmured, while looking at her surrounding.

“Yes?”

“Why Mr. Styles needs an assistant while he has a receptionist? Madeleine looks capable being an assistant too.”

“Well, actually Mads was once tested by us, but the results were not satisfactory. Everyone wanted to apply this job but.. you come with outstanding results. So, congratulations.”

They stopped in front of solid door that engraved Harry E. Styles in gold letter, Rita scanned her card until the door opened revealing a man focused on his Macbook. His gaze turned to Y/N for a moment.

Shit.

The first thing caught her off guards was the green eyes, and the cheekbones. Sharp jawlines followed, with pinkish thin lips.

“Mr. Styles? I'm here with your new EA.” Rita said, introducing her to him.

“Have a seat, Rita. Don't standing on the door.” He smiled. For a second, Y/N was cursing at her ignorance for not asking her boss profile, so seeing a man look younger than she think, doesn't shock her at all. He must be no more than twenty-seven years old, quite a young man he is – she think.

“This is your new EA, she is from Swansea office. She will ready in Monday.”

“Nice to meet you, I'm Harry Styles.” He gave Y/N small smile, offering his hand.

“My name's Y/N Y/L/N.  Thank you for the opportunity. Glad to be part of head office.” Shaking his hand, Y/N could feel his firm grip yet skin was very soft. She glanced at small amount of glitter on his nails, was he wearing nail polish?

“My pleasure.”

“Well, that's it. We do not want to interrupt anymore. And oh, Harry. Please do not be hard on this one. God knows how hard to find a competent EA.” Rita teased while pat Y/N shoulder. Mr. Styles, or Harry, just laughed while escort they both to the door.

“I never know Mr. Styles is that young.” Y/ N muttered, letting the lift door closed, ready taking them to the ground floor.

“I think you know, no?” Rita frowned. Y/N sighed, shaking her head.

“Well, maybe I just forgot that part. He is young, just turning twenty-five last February. Running this company after his father death three years ago. But young Harry has been helping the company since he was in college. That's great because not many children are successful in continuing a family legacy.”

“He's great business person too, but like I told you before. He's temperamental. If you get his wrong side, he won't afraid barking at you in front of people. And that's not a sight to see.” She added.

.

.

.

.

Monday coming. Y/N woke up at 6 in the morning, like usual. When she was still in Swansea, she could wake up at 7 because her home just 10 minutes away from office by bus. Here in London, Y/N needs at least 30 minutes to arrive on time.

Arriving the North Tower, which office level that Y/N wil working in. Madeleine was nowhere to see when Y/N stepped on her floor. She had no idea where is her desk. Seems like Mr. Styles haven't arrive yet. It's only 8.30 am, no wonder the office is still empty. The cleaning lady still doing her work. She has 30 minutes left until work hours begin. Suddenly, Y/N's phone buzzed. A message from unknown number.

Y/N, it's Madeleine. If you arrive earlier than me, your office is next to Mr. Styles'. It doesn't need access card, except if Mr. Styles ask for it.

After replying a thank you to her, Y/N walked to Mr. Styles' office. Noticing a door next to his, that must be hers. Her office was pretty spacious, Y/N has her own desk, shelves. Quite surprisingly to find an iPad next to the iMac. Smiling happily, she turned on the iMac, running the email first.

1 new message from hstyles@erskine.co.uk

From: Styles, Harry <hstyles@erskine.co.uk>

Subject : Introduction To: executive_asst@erskine.co.uk

Y/N

Good luck on your first day. Your office, your desk, everything has been fullfiled for your needs. If you are wondering, you will often join me in meetings. I think the iPad will be more efficient than you try to bring the iMac. - I'm joking. I will send your next tasks separately.

HS.

Giggling, Y/N reads the message one more time until realise that was sent at 8.00 am. He arrived earlier than her, didn't he?

While retrieving another message to come, Y/N bring her tumbler to the break room, hoping to find coffee or tea at least. Madeleine just arrived at her desk in hurry, while her hand quickly opened her Mac.

“Morning Madeleine?”

Her head shot up, “Hi. Have you set your finger print yet?”

“Yeah, already set.” Y/N nodded, “Want something? Maybe I'll find tea or coffee in break room.”

“No no thanks.”

“Right.” Y/N mumbles, walking away.

The break room was huge. Y/N could find anything. Professional coffee machine, huge fridge, wine cellar, anything.. you named it. It was more to say the kitchen of a professional chef. Y/N decided to make espresso because she sure need caffeine to work first day with Mr. Styles.

“Jesus Christ!”

Turning around, Y/N was absolutely shocked to find Mr. Styles standing behind her the whole time, only few centimeters away. His eyes looking sharp, his green irises darker than usual. His aura was different, a bit sinister than Y/N first met him the other day.

“Mr. Styles?” She spoke quietly, gripping her tumbler tightly. But he didn't budge. He was so intimidating. “Do you want something, Sir? I can bring it to your office?”

He suddenly closed his eyes, shaking his head once. Now, his irises looks like back to normal, light green. But the greenest she ever seen.

“I'm sorry. Uhm, I didn't sleep much last night. Think need a coffee, yeah.” He mumbled.

“Need me to bring it to you?”

“No, but thanks.”

“Alright. Excuse me, sir.” Y/N smiles, leaving him alone. It was undeniable she feel a little bit strange with his behaviour. Leaving her desk for a while, there was already about twenty incoming emails with almost all of them have attachments. None other than Mr. Styles was the sender.

The clock ticking at 2.00 pm when Y/N look at her phone, didn't realise time passed quickly. Until someone knocked her door. Madeleine bring a small box in her hands.

“This is your stationery and and your personal business cards.”

“Thank you Madeleine.” Nodding, She take it and put it on the desk. She hummed, turning her heels towards the door. Y/N grab her paperwork, ready to dial Mr. Styles' extension but her office phone rings first.

Incoming call: 621 – Harry Styles

Speaking of the devil. It was Mr. Styles himself.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Styles?”

“Hello, Y/N. About the monthly report, please finish tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Because you have to focus on Barclays paper, they arranged a meeting this afternoon. I'm sorry for sudden notice.”

“Oh, it's okay. Actually, both are done. I might deliver to you right now?

“Already?” Y/N frown, somewhat confused to hear his shocked voice, “Err, yes?”

“Amazing. If you have the softcopy, it would be nice if you send me both of them. For the Barclays paper, you can keep it because you'll join me in the meeting. I'll see you in the lobby an hour from now. Thank you, Y/N.”

After he hung up, Y/N send him both of softcopy and rush out to grab lunch. This is her first meeting and she doesn't want to pass out in the middle of meeting because she was starving.

.

.

.

.

The trip to Barclays takes 20 minutes but seeing the traffic is a bit crowded, maybe they will arrive a little longer. Along the way, Y/N prepares meeting material while Mr. Styles busy behind the wheel. Surpising enough a big boss like him drives himself.

“Mr. Styles? Samantha from Barclays just emailed new adress for meeting. It won't held in Barclays office.” Y/N spoke lowly, not sure what she said. It's strange that huge company like Barclays suddenly change their meeting place without any apparent reason. From the corner of her eye, Y/N can see him rolling his eyes.

“Where?”

“It will take place at Shangri-La The Shard.”

“Please push back until 4.15 pm, I'm afraid we can't be on time because the traffic.”

“Right away, sir.” Typing away his request, Barclays team confirmed it in less than five minutes, “Confirmed at 4.15 pm, level 34, Yi Room.”

“You know, you will get used to things like this, sudden meetings, sudden change of place, hours. Event cliet. So, don't be surprised.” He said, one hand stay still in the steering wheel and the other touching the LCD screen.  Y/N just realised, his left hand's fingers filled with rings except thumb and ring finger. Ink sticking out of his wrist even though it's covered by his suit jacket sleeve. She wonder how many tattoos he had underneath. His pinky nail was polished with chipped black nail polish.

“Fancy listening some music? I'm not very used to driving in silence.”

Y/N smiled, “Go ahead. I don't mind.”

Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine roaring softly throughout the car. He hummed happily while tapping on the wheel. She doesn't expect, despite his appearance, he has this kind of an old soul. Staring at him from the corner of eye, his looks doesn't need to be questioned. He has a very beautiful face. His charisma is extraordinary, even when they were walking together in the lobby, she could feel it. Y/N swore there was many females who can't take their eyes off of him when he walks.

“Something wrong Y/N?”Y/N was caught off the guards, didn't think he was aware the whole time she was staring at him. Even behind his sunglasses, Y/N swore his eyes were wrinkled in humour.

“N- No. I just didn't think you have an old music taste.” Y/N startled, her cheeks heated.

“Oh, do you want to change the song? What do young people usually like? Ed Sheeran? Justin Bieber? One Direction?” He muttered, tapping the screen. He look like he was talking to himself rather than talking to Y/N.

“Ew no.. no. I'm fine. I just quite surprised. Didn't mean any harm. I'm sorry, sir.” Y/N laugh, massaging her temple. It didn't occur to her he could joke like that, many high profile people like him are always rigid and strict. He laughing along, letting Everything Has Changed go next.

“You not need to call me Mr. Styles or sir if it doesn't involve work, you know? I feel like an old man with big belly if you keep calling me that. Tell me, how old are you? You are no more than twenty-four if I may guess.” He asked.

“Uh huh, turned twenty-two last January actually.”

He nodded, “Well. Before we met them, one thing you need to know about Barclays, they're a bit sneaky, like to make their clients feel uncomfortable. Don't be surprised if they're too blunts. To be honest, I'm not comfortable taking you there.”

Y/N frowned, watching him from the side. “If you don't mind me asking. Why?”

He sighed, “ Just be careful with Mr. Higgins.” When he turned the wheel, Y/N could see The Shard at the end of the road. This is her first time setting foot in luxury hotel, she was ecstactic and nervous at the same time.

.

.

.

.

That meeting went well, even though it was tense up a little, Mr. Styles or Harry could soften it. He was so damn calm throughout the meeting, but Y/N was sure from the look of his eyes, he really want to end it quickly. Especially when Mr. Higgins kind of made a comment of her, Harry defended her well. Y/N really wanted to speak up herself, but it was better to be quiet, playing the good – obedient assitant.

Sending the agreement back and forth for almost two weeks, Erskine and Barclays finally found a deal.

That day, she was arranging Harry's meeting schedule for the next two weeks. Aware of number of meetings he has to attend, the more tasks awaits her. It's not that she was not happy, but her lunch hour was falling apart. Ring of her phone startled Y/N, without seeing the caller id, she grab it. “Y/N”

“I need you to come to my office right now, we have some serious issue to deal with.” With that, he hung up. Y/N frowned, Harry doesn't usually speak grimly like that. Rushing into his office, she found him sitting in his chair, one hand cupping his chin. His eyes blankly staring at some files on his desk.

“Is there anything I can help sir?” Y/N ask slowly walking toward him. Without looking at her, he nodded, “Have a seat.”

“Are you aware we have two contracts which are a little deviated from the absolute procedur?” He asked, his tone was low. “Well, it's really deviated.”

“No, sir.”

He sighed, not satisfied with her answer. “Both are big clients, and it has been going on for months.” He grab two big files, giving it to Y/N. “You read this, find and point out the mistake.”

While Y/N read the papers, Harry dialled Madeleine's extension. Asking someone who was unfamiliar to his office. 10 minutes passed, someone entered the office. Y/N dare to not looking, just focus on the papers and scribbled some points that she feel weird.

“You called me, sir?” A male voice. She could feel Harry stand up from his chair, hands resting on the desk. He whispered to Y/N to move to the couch.

“Did you drew up contracts with companies during 2018? All of them?”

“Only from April to September.”

“Did you know you messed up?”

“Pardon? I don't understand-”

“Two god-damn big companies could bail on us, Ethan. You didn't read it or didn't understand?!” For the first time Harry raised his voiced, you could see him trying to hold back his anger. This Ethan guy shaking in his boots, his head hang low, both hands tangled. Y/N glad Harry didn't scream a bloody murder, if he did, she was sure this room is soundproof.

“I'm sorry Mr. Styles, b-but it was under your knowledge. I asked you at that time but you shoo me away. Even I asked Carlton, he said everything has been discussed by you.”

Harry froze in his desk. He seemed shock, but shouldn't he not be surprised if the agreements was under his acknowledge?

“It was?” He asked, half unsure at what he said himself. Ethan nodded in confirmation. He excused himself after Harry told him to leave. In less than 30 seconds, the door bursted open revealing a man with fancy clothes, curly blonde hair, hands in his pants. Y/N never seen him in this company before. Harry sighed in disbelief, dialling Madeleine's extension immediately.

“Don't you know what function of the phone or fucking intercom is on your desk?! I didn't say I'd be available for another guests.” He hissed.

That blonde guy looking at surrounding, until his blazing blue eyes caught Y/N busy figure on the couch. He taking closer step to her, tilting his head. “I've never seen you before.” He spoke lowly. Y/N just offered a small smile.

“Hey, Harry. Is this your new birdie? You didn't tell me you got a new beau.”

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Unedited.

What do you think? Let me know!

[ampleappleamble]

oh god every spare minute is spent writing or daydreaming about writing or re-reading my own writing, why am i like this, why do i like it

ALSO! thank you all, as always, for your kind words! ao3 soon i prombise <3

Chapter 4: Watcher

Aloth sat alone at a small table in the corner of the tavern, silently counting out rigid increments of time, one after another after another. It had been 26 minutes, 45 seconds since she'd gone upstairs to his room. Their room.

This was a mistake.

"Ye dinnae conne tha' yet, lad."

He scowled into his goblet of wine. "Do not tell me what I do and don't know, rube," he hissed.

He made sure to keep his head down, face lowered behind the pages of his grimoire. Lest this evening's incident repeat itself. Although, he doubted any more trouble now after his and Axa's entrance almost an hour ago.

The foreigner gets frog-marched out of the tavern by three soused churls, only to return scarcely fifteen minutes later with another foreigner, who then proceeds to order two bottles of wine and nothing else...

"I stell whisht ye'd 'ave lemme batter 'em."

Aloth rolled his eyes, lifting his goblet to his mouth. "Your preference has been duly noted," he deadpanned softly as he took a sip.

28 minutes and 50 seconds. They had agreed on 30.

...Maybe. Maybe this was a mistake.

---

She was alone.

She looked around slowly at her new surroundings. Someone else's room at a run-down country inn.

Better than a dirty wooden floor in the common room at a run-down country inn.

Alone. She hadn't really been alone, truly alone alone since--

--the Land, before he--

Axa strolled a bit too quickly across the room, threw herself into a sitting position at the foot of the enormous, lumpy bed. Her hands trembled. She willed them to stop.

Let's think about something else. Right now.

30 minutes. She had 30 minutes alone, and then her new traveling companion would rejoin her. They had managed to get a good rapport going once she had been able to sit and relax a bit in the tavern, and they'd shared their histories with one another, although they had kept it cordially laconic. She was a “disgraced scholar looking for a fresh start,” he was a “wizard from a noble family looking for a patron.” Good enough for me.

He surprised her by proposing they travel together, citing that he found traveling with companions tended to be safer by far, especially in the Dyrwood, and she had already proven herself resourceful and courteous. Axa surprised herself by accepting his proposal.

--another lying, flattering elven man? you foolish--

He had graciously suggested they share his rented room upstairs that night ("Meaning nothing untoward, of course," he'd added hastily, ears reddening) and had agreed to give her some time to herself before settling in for the night. The next morning, they would most likely start seriously planning to make for Defiance Bay, to look for lodging, paying work, and some sort of expert on souls. Camping supplies, food, water-- all would be necessary for the trip, so doing some odd jobs in the village before setting out might not be a bad idea. Earn some coin, get to know the area, the customs.

Tell Calisca's sister about her death.

Axa paused.

She yanked her boots off of her aching feet and hurled them across the room as hard as she could in a flash of rage. The first tears hadn't fallen yet, but they were on their way.

...Ah. This part. Finally.

She rose to her feet unsteadily, pulling at her clothes. She didn’t have time for this crying shit, she had to get undressed, cleaned up, ready for bed. She was shaking too hard to get her belt undone or her scarf untangled, but she struggled with them until they were at least loose enough to pull her tunic up and off.

No. Go on. Let it happen. You need to feel this. You need to process it.

She clutched at her face, trembling harder, digging her fingernails into her flesh. Now the tears fell, hot and relentless, pouring down her burning cheeks.

Hey. You held on as long as you were able. Maintained yourself, your dignity and your sanity. But this was bound to happen eventually. You can let go.

She collapsed to the floor in her stocking feet and linen shift, curling up on her knees and elbows. Agonized wails tore out of her throat; great, heaving sobs that choked her, left her breathless and red-faced.

No one can hear you down there in the tavern, no one is judging you. Only the gods, and they don't count.

You're all alone, Axa.

She felt it.

---

32 minutes, 45 seconds.

Aloth clutched his empty goblet in his hand, knuckles white with tension. They had agreed on 30 minutes.

Maybe just... make it an even 35. Just in case.

"By th' Wheel, lad, quit yer ninnyin' an' gerrup them stairs. Am shattered."

The elf fidgeted in his seat, lowering his gaze to his lap. "I will, I will. I just... I'm not quite ready yet." He had been stalling, and he knew it.

"An' fer why I should haftae wait fer mah kip? 'Cos yer afeart o' th' wee lass?"

He gritted his teeth, grateful that only his half of the conversation was being spoken aloud this time. "I am not afraid of her," he whispered, slowly turning a page in his grimoire. 33 minutes, 50 seconds. "I just want to make absolutely certain that when I go up there, I'll have given her ample time to finish up any... personal rituals she might have wanted to attend to in solitude. It's common courtesy. Not that you'd know anything about that." He allowed himself a little smile at that, preparing to start to carefully and deliberately ease his grimoire closed. 34 minutes, 5 seconds. He could hold out for 35 even. Easily. He rose smoothly from the table, gliding out of his seat with practiced grace.

A harsh, braying cackle of a laugh. "If'n I conne ye true, lad, yer jes' sayin' yer afeart ye'll burst in oan 'er wi' 'er baps oot if'n ye're up too soon, aye?"

Aloth's fingers spasmed, and his heavy grimoire slipped from his hands, landing on the floor with a resounding thump that echoed in the half-empty tavern.

Every single remaining patron was looking at him.

He'd lost track of the time.

---

Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh no.

Axa kneeled on the bed, brushing the red hot embers from the thick woolen blankets with her bare hands. She had somehow spilled her pipe while lighting it, and now it seemed she had this situation to deal with.

How had it come to this? She tried to remember. She'd had her cry. She'd laid on the floor for... a bit. She'd gotten up and washed her face and hands. She'd had her drink. Well, her second drink. The first one had been downstairs, with that elf. The weird one. Aloth. That was his name. She liked him. ...No! She'd tied up her hair. Then the second drink, the one she had up here, then the third, then probably one or two more. She couldn't really remember. But anyway. Once she'd had her drinks, it was time for her smoke, and--

...Smoke. The pipe? The blanket-- SMOKE!!!!

Axa discovered, to her dismay, that brushing the exact same spot on the blankets over and over while reminiscing about the events of the past half hour did not solve her problem in its entirety. The other clumps of smouldering whiteleaf strewn across the bed were quickly leaving hideous scars all over the already badly abused blankets, and she rushed to slap them out, wishing that she had tied back all of her hair and not just half of it for some reason.

Once she was sure she had gotten it all, she packed her pipe again-- carefully this time-- and stood in the middle of the room, smoking and assessing the damage.

Honestly... he might not even notice.

There was a knock at the door. She pretended not to hear it, smiling blithely at the rug.

"Axa? Forgive my tardiness, the time got away from me and-- and I, uh--"

Aloth swung the door open slowly and gently. He was met with a view of the little orlan woman standing in the middle of his room in her chemise, clearly drunk, clutching a lit pipe and regarding the brand new, still-smoking holes in the blanket on his bed.

She looked at the blanket, looked at him, eyes wide and bloodshot-- and exhaled a plume of smoke directly into Aloth's face.

He blinked rapidly.

"...Fit like, lass?"

---

He arranged some blankets and cushions for himself on the floor, even though she practically begged him to at least take the bed by way of a proper apology. He insisted, and she acquiesced, although not before expressly forbidding him from using the blanket she'd burned.

He lied when she asked if he minded her smoking, and she could tell he was lying, but she smoked until her pipe was burnt out anyway. It had been a hard night, and something told her sleep would not come easily.

"You always talk shit to people like that?" she asked, peering at his prone figure in the dark room. "In Hylspeak, I mean."

Aloth sighed, fidgeted in his bedding. "It's an old habit. From childhood."

"I see." Axa yawned and stretched, and he could hear her joints popping. "You might try to knock that on the head, friend. Or at least learn to insult yokels in a language they don't sort of understand."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Excellent suggestion. Any recommendations? I hear Rauataian is popular these days."

She grinned to herself in the dark. Still can't get a straight answer out of you about all that, eh? Good thing I'm too addled to care right now. "I could teach you Ixamitl. Little bit of Vailian."

"As long as you're a willing teacher, I'm a willing student."

"As long as we steer clear of Ordhjóma, I'm a willing teacher." Gods, she was drunk, telling him that.

He wanted to ask, but knew better. "Fair enough."

The pair fell silent, and they fell asleep.

---

Axa had expected a difficult night ahead of her. After all, she'd had a difficult day.

Exhaustion, wine, and whiteleaf put her body and waking mind to sleep easily enough, as they tended to do. But her subconscious mind was restless and turbulent, thoughts and memories and half-dreams all swirling together in a maelstrom of emotion, fear foremost among them.

Whispers. Shadows.

It was all... familiar, somehow. The more she looked, the more she saw, and the more she saw, the more she remembered.

The pillars. The machine.

Had she... been here before?

No. That wasn't possible. She'd only ever been to Ixamitl and the Land before this. She had never been to the Dyrwood, never--

--from Creitum, my dear?--

Axa thrashed violently in her bed. Sweat matted her fine, golden-bronze fur and her breath came in shuddering gasps. Her eyes snapped open--

--and she was standing in front of that tree again, the one in the middle of town. The corpse tree.

The corpses were all wrong. She knew for a fact that the blond fellow who'd smiled at her as she'd started off toward the inn earlier that day hadn't been hanging from it last she looked. But he was hanging there now, still smiling his lopsided smile, still clutching his pipe.

"Welcome to our lovely town." He said it, but he didn't. She didn't hear his voice, and his face didn't move. But she heard him, in her mind, somehow.

Is-- is this what ciphers-- oh, Wael's eyes, am I a cipher now or something?

Axa had no time to dwell on the thought as the monstrous tree slowly began to move, twisting around and down toward her, brilliant violet flames flickering to life all over its gore-caked branches. It loomed above her, below her, all around her, blocking out all light except for the sickly purple glow of the souls hanging from it like overripe fruit.

And front and center, mere feet from Axa's own face, hung the dwarf woman. The animancer that horrible magistrate had so crassly introduced as "an example of what happens to those who lie to our Lord."

Axa could only stare in abject terror as the woman's corpse noticed her.

It lifted its head, wrinkled and deflated like a gourd gone rotten, and stretched out its swollen, distended neck, pushing its maggot-ridden face to within inches of Axa's own. The head tilted to one side and blinked its empty eye sockets, and if she hadn't been on the very bleeding edge of a complete nervous breakdown, Axa might have noticed it smile gently.

The corpse's mouth opened wide before Axa's quivering eyes, blasting her with a wave of rotting stench that threatened to overwhelm the little woman entirely. She didn't know how much more of this she could bear, but at the same time, she couldn't look away. This was, she somehow instinctively knew, far too important a message to look away from.

The dwarf's corpse, like the blond man's, spoke directly to Axa's mind. But it spoke aloud at the same time, evidently to ensure that her message made it through any and all defenses the orlan woman could offer up, whether mental or physical. The corpse's rancid breath, its voice like a dull blade drawn across a gravestone, her essence, all issued forth to assault and cradle and engulf Axa, all focused on the conveyance of one word:

"WATCHER."

---

Her eyes snapped open for real, this time.

A multitude of glowing purple figures stood over her, watching her as she lay in her bed.

She screamed, a shrill, panicked howl of pure terror. She flailed desperately to escape, and ended up landing painfully on the floor face-first before scrabbling madly for the corner.

Aloth was up in an instant, groping for his grimoire, clambering to his feet in a panic. "What's-- Axa?" The elf stumbled toward the cowering woman in the muddled pre-dawn light, reaching toward her with an open hand. "Axa? Are you alright? What's going on, did--"

She shrieked, throwing her arms up in front of her, shielding herself from him, from them, pushing herself against the wall with her trembling legs. "DON'T!! DON'T TOUCH ME!!"

Aloth did not. Instead, he froze-- then very slowly drew back, clutching his grimoire in front of his chest with both hands, trying to ignore the little woman as she shook and sobbed, face hidden in her hands.

I... shouldn't be seeing this. This isn’t right. I shouldn't be here. This is something private, and I'm intruding, and... He sighed, lowering his gaze to the floor, his ears drooping.

...This was a mistake. I should... I should tell her I can't--

"I want to go to that tree again."

Aloth snapped his attention back to Axa. She was still in the corner, sitting with her knees drawn to her chest, but her face peered out from beneath her curtain of crimson hair.

The apparitions were gone. "I want to see her. The dwarf in the tree. I have to see her."

Her amethyst eyes fixed themselves on his.

"Will you go with me?" Tears trembled on her eyelashes, but her voice was steady and strong.

"...Certainly," he replied softly.

---

[nathanicls]

*  ◜  timothée  chalamet  ,  cis man  &  he / him / his  ◞  *  according  to  school  records  ,  that’s  nathaniel jessop walking  on  campus  grounds  with  their  usual  hot chocolate  from  the ancient  grounds  cafe  .  they’re  known  for  narrowed eyes  and  are  often  spotted  at  the secret garden  reading  the catcher in the rye  .  almost  everyone  knows  their  family  is  worth  like  one hundred million dollars ,  so  we  suspect  they’re  a  member  of  labyrinth  ,  you  know  ,  the  one  for  new  money  .  do  you  know  where  they  were  the  night  that  the  scholarship  student  died  ?  they  claim  they  were  on a date with a new partner ,  must  be  a  philosophy  thing  ,  right  .  and  hey  ,  don’t  you  agree  that  the  senior  reminds  you  of  snow flurries covering the ground in soft layers, the sight of the country sky on a clear night , the scent of fresh bread just out of the oven ?  you  better  watch  out  perseus  before  something  dangerous  happens  to  you  and  life  ends  at  twenty-two  .*  ◜  jack  ,  23  ,  est  &  she/her/hers  ◞  *

the laziest about you ever did see!

nathaniel jessop (call him nate!) is born to colin and marianne jessop. he has three older siblings; in order, they are matthew, corey, and joshua. his father owns a grocery store; his mother runs the bakery. they are never a rich family. they go without and sometimes it’s breakfast for dinner because cereal is cheap and it is all that is left in their cupboards. it’s fine. what they are rich with? love and compassion and good will.

nate doesn’t really get that they are poor, not until he starts school and kids pick at his hand-me-downs and laugh when he can never afford to go to school events or on field trips. because of this, he pulls back. that said, he is shy to begin with. he sits with his brothers at lunch when he is able; his brothers’ friends are his too because he never really finds his own.

he goes to school then he takes the school bus home to drop off his backpack. he walks the quarter mile to the grocery store and pulls on an apron to help his mother in the bakery. he kneads bread for hours, feeling smooth dough underneath his rough fingers. it’s quiet, good work. he’s skilled at it. his mother suggests he could help her there instead of going to college or to trade school. he thinks it’s a good future; he’ll be close to home and close to family.

when he is twelve, his father gets an inheritance from an estranged uncle. it’s a lot. it’s more than he or marianne have ever had in their accounts before. they don’t splurge. they make a few repairs on the house and they buy a new engine for the family car. but the bulk of the money? it’s put into the bakery. marianne had been told for years that she had a magic touch in the kitchen. the jessops never had the money to expand or sell beyond the bounds of their little town. the money goes towards new ovens and mixers; a website is set up and they research how to ship.

beyond what they could ever imagine, the little bakery business booms. suddenly, the bakery is too big for the grocery store and its moved to their own storefront. then, it’s moved again. marianne (and by proxy, nate, too) is featured in food magazines and on television shows. business keeps growing. an investor reaches out. how would they like to open another location?

they do it. and then they open another. and another. finally, there are five jessup pastries up and down the eastern seaboard.

nate is seventeen and the family is no longer struggling with money. in fact, their pockets are overflowing. he doesn’t have to want for anything. he has chances and opportunities that weren’t there for his parents or siblings. he is pushed into a future that he never imagined. gone are the dreams of inheriting jessup pastries. instead, he is told to think about university and a career.

he goes to clemonte. he is invited to labyrinth and at first he nearly says no. the texts in his groupchat with his brothers are riotous. they tell him to take chances.

it’s four years later, he’s a senior now. he feels as lost as ever.

the laziest personality facts

he’s shy. he hardly talks first. it’s a pain to start a conversation with him, really, it’s like pulling teeth, unless he knows you.

why is he quiet? he worries he’ll ruin everything by mispeaking

another why: why philosophy? it seemed like a rich thing to do. he plans on teaching after he graduates. isn’t that something rich people do? so he’s very lost

he can be pressured into doing almost anything because he has a lot of guilt saying no to anyone

if he could be left to his own devices, he’d never go out on the weekend

DID I MENTION HE’S A ROMANTIC. yeah. when he’s in love, the boy goes the whole nine yards. flowers and poems and freshly baked pastries and breads. he lets himself fall quickly and more often than not he lets his heart get broken

daydreamer soft boy

misses the small virginian town he grew up in

soft gentle boy

feels empty

someone could take a bite out of him and he’d probably let them, if only to feel something stronger than the numbness

wanted connections more fleshed out than anything else because i am a piece of garbage (also are all of these based off of either taylor swift or richard siken? yes)

i knew everything when i was young: how do you break your own heart? you put it in the hands of someone else willingly, and then they squeeze. imagine him, wide-eyed and vulnerable, finally feeling like he’s truly in love. it’s perfect — it’s magic and every moment spent together is delightful and perfect and — there’s little more to be said. then, his lover decides that he’s not for them. it’s over. and suddenly nate knows what it feels like to be destroyed. whether his heart was broken out of cruel intention or genuine falling out of love? we can decide.

he won’t tell you that he loves you, but he loves you: broken boy refuses to give his heart to another because what if it breaks again? he pines and he yearns with sad eyes and soft glances. words die on his tongue, tangled and choking because he’s bursting with all the love he could possibly give. maybe they know of nate’s feelings because surely it must be obvious (starry eyes and rose-stained cheeks and — he’s a boy in love) but maybe they don’t. maybe they think he’s a friend, or maybe they’re unsure of his intentions. maybe he’ll never say anything and maybe he’ll be the cause of his own heartbreak once again. 

you can call me babe for the weekend: now one hundred percent nate isn’t the sort for hook-ups or one night stands, but what if it happens. it’s brief — boundaries are drawn. but just because rules are made doesn’t mean they’ll be followed. who breaks first? who falls in love or decides it’s too much? who gets hurt and who ends up unscathed? is it newly ended or is it long since passed, only too-long glances when they pass on campus to hint that something happened?

we have not touched the stars: there’s something special about platonic intimacy, something that goes unnoticed more often than not. but nate and them sit on a bed, heads pressed together as they stare at the ceiling, finding constellations in cracks and coming up with the stories behind them. they talk about dreams and the future, of fears and impossibilities. does anyone know them better? probably not, but they are content with this. friends forever is a dreamy thing, but together they feel it’s a possibility.

so i got wasted like all my potential: floured fingers, a sticky brow. in the wet heat of the bakery, nate knew who he was. he knew who he was supposed to be — but then the bakery grew beyond him and his mother, and he was pushed out. i’ve said he’s lost so i imagine he might do things to try and feel something. maybe it’s discovering vices, maybe it’s feeling a rush of adrenaline going beyond the bounds of what he normally does. i don’t imagine he’d seek out many things on his own, so maybe someone is “guiding” him — maybe it’s pressure or maybe it’s genuine goodwill. either way, this could be beneficial or super toxic.

generic connections that can be expanded on

bullies

exes (come on. come on.)

roommates

friends

not friends

study buddies

[of-wrens-and-whirlwinds-blog]

What’s a King to a Schoolmaster?

First commission by the ever-wonderful @turtletotem! Commission info is here!

~

Being king, Edward mused, was absolute shit.

Having been a prince, he was jaded to all this luxury. The power would’ve been fun, except if he wanted to keep the throne until his wife had a baby, he had to share it with the councils. This wasn’t even a big country and he was tired of ruling it. What he would give for a fine, strong son to take the throne so he could move far away and be a goatherd or something.

“Daydreaming again, sire?”

Edward perked up and turned with a grin to his oldest friend and current guard captain. “More like pouting,” he replied, “But I suppose the day’s getting better.”

Wilhelm smiled back a little, lop-sided. “Her majesty the queen is anxious to see you again,” he informed the king.

Edward scoffed and waved his hand. “She’s always anxious. That’s why Father picked her, because she’s anxious and if she kills me no one will suspect her.”

Wilhelm stopped smiling. “That was fast,” he remarked. “Do you hate her already?”

“No, but I suspect she hates me. I give her everything she wants and never ask for anything except her presence at state functions and an heir. She wants to be needed and I can’t give her that.” Edward shrugged and stretched, smirking as Wilhelm’s eyes flicked up and down his body. The current court fashions were tighter than Edward liked, but if it made Wilhelm flustered, he’d take it. It was always fun to fluster Will. “Poor lady. Maybe I’ll run away as soon as she has a child,” he mused. “Boy or girl.”

“That would not do, sire,” Wilhelm said stiffly. “You are still king.”

“And you are still obsessed with honor.” Edward stood, walked over, and yanked Wilhelm down for a quick kiss. “I’m telling you, a little chicken-blood, signs of a struggle, and we can make it look like you killed me and ran away. We can be goatherds together!”

Wilhelm finally, actually smiled, and put his hand on Edward’s waist. “Eddie, you don’t know shit about goats,” he retorted, but fondly. “And I can’t make cheese. So there.”

Edward laughed and embraced him.

~

It was another holiday feast, and Edward was bored out of his mind.

Sarah was having fun, talking to the other court ladies and comparing notes on whose secret lover was better. Edward didn’t mind that she had a lover. Someone to make her happy, keep her sane in this endlessly boring existence as queen. Well. He assumed it was boring.

Wilhelm was looking handsome, as usual, shadowing Edward as he stood by the fireplace and discussed the military with some of his nobles. Edward hated the military part of ruling, but the Vassa Legions were gathering next door and his ministers were nervous about war. Gods, they were so nervy.

Edward looked around the ballroom, and frowned. Everyone looked nervous. Was he missing something? He’d have to ask his spymaster what was going on. Or Wilhelm. Wilhelm always knew.

Finally, finally, his ministers drifted away, and Edward strolled over to sit in his throne again. A servant hurried over and handed him a goblet of wine. Edward nodded his thanks and toyed with the goblet, not really in the mood for more alcohol. Wilhelm drifted up to him and leaned down to murmur, “Sire, I suggest you and Queen Sarah adjourn early. There’s too much tension.”

“Oh, so you noticed it too.” Edward looked around again, frowning once more. No one would meet his eyes. “Huh. I think I will take your advice. How should I approach Sarah?”

Wilhelm raised one dark eyebrow and looked aggrieved. “Sire, you know I am exactly the wrong person to ask about that,” he replied dryly.

Edward coughed to hide a laugh. Yes, he did know. Wilhelm had never had a lover, woman or man; he just wasn’t interested in anyone, he’d told sixteen-year-old Edward, blushing.

Well, that was alright. Edward wasn’t very much into lovers, either. So sweaty, and what did one get out of it? A few minutes of pleasure that you could easily get on your own if you had the privacy? No, better to spend his nights reading and sleeping, although he always remembered to do his duty by Sarah.

Just as Edward set down his goblet and stood, Wilhelm straightening and stepping back to give him room, the doors of the ballroom slammed open, and armed men in chainmail swept in. Everyone shouted or screamed, and scurried away; but it all sounded fake and looked practiced. Edward glanced at Sarah; she was smiling. She looked over at Edward and said softly, “Sorry about this, Eddie.”

Edward grinned back. “No harm done,” he assured her cheekily. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to be a goatherd.”

She looked stunned, but then Wilhelm grabbed Edward’s arm and dragged him to the secret door.

It was quite interesting, how the rest of the king’s guard did not seem to be in their places. Wilhelm swore under his breath as he hustled Edward up the stairs, to the emergency exit.

“So this is what I get for spending my days with the new recruits,” he muttered furiously. “They all turn on me like dogs.”

“Oh, no,” Edward drawled, panting, because despite his joking he really was frightened enough to run. “Whatever shall we do? We’ll have to go into hiding. You know, my mother’s family has this lovely castle they never visit, we could hide there—”

“Shut up, Eddie.”

Edward shut up.

They made it to his quarters, barely. Wilhelm grabbed Edward’s sword off the wall and tossed it to him; he caught it easily and buckled it on. They had planned this, and practiced. There was a small bag under Edward’s bed containing loose, rough clothes, and several purses scattered in secret places. They gathered all of these quickly, as someone started hammering on the door. Then, while Edward slung on his cloak, Wilhelm opened the second secret door, which led into the stair way down into the dungeons. Built by one of Edward’s forefathers who liked to get off on watching people being tortured. But from the dungeons, they could get to the stables.

They followed this program quickly, and Edward began to tremble as he realized that they couldn’t hole up in a castle. They really would have to travel secretly to a barely-civilized part of the country for protection.

No more wines, he thought in a detached manner as Wilhelm slew two men who tried to stop them. No more velvets and jewels. He pulled off his signet ring and crown and dropped them in a pile of horse manure. No more fine dining and the newest books.

But also, no more being royal.

That thought made Edward suddenly happy. He was still terrified for his life, as he saddled his mare Breeze and jumped in her saddle, and following Wilhelm out of the stables, to gallop to the gate and out into the royal city. Crossbow bolts whizzed past his ear, but Breeze was faster, and soon they were in the silent city streets, sticking to shadows and avoiding the City Guard.

“So,” Edward whispered, as Wilhelm looked around sharply, “Where shall we go?”

Wilhelm hesitated, then sighed. “We should leave the continent,” he murmured back. “Or, at least pretend to. We should continue south, anyway; much more land to search to the south.”

“True enough.”

They rode in silence, far into the morning. They stopped in the woods, by a stream, and sat down while their horses rested. And then Edward felt tears in his eyes.

“Damn it!” he snarled, thumping his knee with his fist. “I told her! I told her if she asked I’d abdicate in her favor! What is it with royalty thinking they have to kill people to get what they want?!”

Wilhelm reached over and put his hand over Edward’s fist. Automatically, he uncurled it, and wove his fingers tightly with Wilhelm’s. “There was always a chance you’d come back, or others would rally around you,” he said gently. “No royal worth their salt would allow that, even if she did believe that you would never try for the throne. What if you had a son who challenged hers? The web of politics is not straightforward.”

Edward leaned over to lean his head on Wilhelm’s shoulder. “Can I be a goatherd now? They live such simple lives.”

Wilhelm sighed. “No, Eddie. We can set up as a disgraced merchant and his bodyguard in some small city, and you can be a tutor. You like teaching, don’t you?”

“Well, yes,” Edward admitted. “It was fun, teaching those youngsters about economics. But would it work?”

“It will work,” Wilhelm replied firmly. “We will make it work.”

~

If one were to ask the jovial, aging schoolmaster and his quiet blacksmith friend where they had come from, Schoolmaster Ed would laugh, and Blacksmith Will would just shake his head and smile.

“Oh, it doesn’t really matter,” Ed would chuckle. He still had an accent when he spoke. “They didn’t want me there, anyway.”

Will would just shake his head and refuse to answer.

Some of the town gossips were sure they were… peculiar. But there were never any signs. They lived together, and if one were to watch through their window (which, given the fact that their cottage was smack in the middle of the street, was never unnoticed), Ed liked to read aloud to Will, and they sometimes fell asleep on the same couch. But nothing else.

One bold young girl, Niamh, snuck out from her foster home one night before she could be caught and hurt (the wheelwright had a nasty temper and took it out on everyone) and crept into the back garden of the schoolmaster and the blacksmith, just in time to hear Ed say, “I got a letter today, from Sarah! She said she’s given birth to twins!”

“She found us?” Will asked sharply, and Niamh shrank back in the bushes, frightened by his tone.

“Yes, but it’s fine, my love. Her new husband has straightened out those courtiers too annoying to be useful, and now the country is stable again. Just in time for the births. She asked if you would mind terribly if she named one after you, the only loyal man in court.” Here, Ed faltered. “I… haven’t written back yet. Do you have anything to say to her?”

A long moment. Then Will sighed. “Tell her I thank her for the honor, and for thinking of me. That’s all I have to say to the woman who tried to have you killed.”

“Oh, but didn’t I tell you?” Ed said merrily. “She laid out the entire plot in that letter, every scrap of detail, she said because she couldn’t live without me knowing. They weren’t going to kill me! Rough me up, yes, torture me, probably, but they knew if they killed me there’d be an uproar. So they were just going to imprison me. Oh! We seem to have a visitor!”

Before Niamh could figure out what that meant, Will was looming over her, frowning. She shrank back, beginning to shake with fear, eyes huge.

But then he smiled, and said, “You’re Niamh, right? Well, come on out, child. You’ve heard quite a bit already.”

“That darling child living with that nasty wheelwright?” Ed gasped, also coming around the corner as Niamh stood slowly. “Oh, my dear! You shouldn’t be hiding in the dark and cold like that. Come, come, have tea with us. Did you run away?”

“Yes,” she answered in a small voice, as she followed them to the graveled area in front of their backdoor, where they were having a final cup of tea before bed. “I… I was scared. He was angry.”

Will frowned, but in a worried way. Ed nodded and smiled sadly. “Understandable, my dear. He’s an alarming man. Do you take sugar?”