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neoninky · 2 years

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TWST Fanfic "Her Ivory Crown": Chapter 16 (FINALE)

This is the final chapter of 'Her Ivory Crown'

Any new readers, I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have revisiting it. I will be posting the second part of the Sacred Crown Chronicles along with the One Shot stories that tie into the sequel as well.

Ch. 16: Their Royal Majesties

The evening was coming to an early close thanks to the Headmistress' earlier curfew ruling. The girls didn't like it one bit but they had already caused enough ruckus for the week as is so each of the Sacred Crown students remaining in the Monstro Lounge bid their new and old friends goodbye and made their way back to the dorm. Reine and Riddle started to leave as well when Reine saw Cowrie still sitting alone at the bar poking at the pasta on her plate. She was back in her SC uniform, worn in her signature casual style compared to her sister who wore it exactly to code always: the powder blue blazer was tied around her waist like a sweater, her white blouse's top two buttons were undone, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and left untucked from her pleated skirt, her dark pink bow tie nowhere to be seen, and the black ribbon choker she always wore was around her neck. The Cerulamare azure blue vest was buttoned properly but that was the only piece of her uniform she ever wore properly. The cherry on top was the Octavinelle fedora still on her head. A few other girls from the Cerulamare dorm were grouped nearby, throwing dubious looks in the free-spirited eelmaid's direction. Reine knew those looks well and frowned.

"Riddle, you can go on without me. I'm going to wait for Cowrie and walk her back," she said to her beau with a soft smile before kissing his cheek, "thank you for everything, love."

The red-head followed his princess' gaze to the scene and picked up on the energy immediately. If there was anything he had learned today is that Reine could and would handle herself in any situation she deemed worthy of her attention. Some gossiping schoolgirls were nothing he needed to concern himself with so he returned a shy kiss on Reine's cheek, not used to public displays of affection just yet, before bidding her goodnight.

Cowrie could definitely hear the remarks her dormmates were making while looking at her back. If the girls were actually trying to be sneaky, they were dumber than Cowrie originally thought. The first year knew it was only a matter of time before word would spread but did they really have to bring it up here?

"Do you really think Dorm Leader Coralette will choose her? They're awfully close...but what a joke right?" the second-year girl said not nearly as quietly as she should have, making the other three girls giggle wickedly.

"Wouldn't it be a little unfair? Talk about nepotism. She'd only be choosing her because she's Vice Dorm Leader Luna's sister..."

Next year both Elise and Luna would be fourth-year seniors and both girls would be spending most of the year off-campus in different internships elsewhere. Therefore, Elise would need to choose a new dorm leader, and given their friendship, rumors were already flying that it would be Cowrie Cerith. This was already garnering a polarized response from the rest of the dorm members that would be left behind: most shared the opinions of the mouthy second year leading the gossip ring at that exact moment but a few underdogs thought Cowrie was the best choice. Cowrie was already an odd duckling being not only one of the top three students in the entire school while seeming like one of the most carefree, if not laziest students in school, but also her grades and test results were so good that she was already planning on skipping a year and starting the next semester as a third year. This was, of course, supposed to be private information but word spread quickly amongst the Sacred Crown girls regardless. Said information just stirred the pot further, making others even more envious.

"I heard she's skipping right over her second year too? Ugh, what a showoff...there's no way she hasn't been cheating this whole time!"

Cowrie didn't react. She just stared blankly down at her plate as if these ugly-talking bitches weren't coughing up shade literally behind her back and bounced her sneaker-wearing feet on her stool's footrest. It wasn't until Jade quietly set another drink in front of her did Cowrie meet his gaze with her baby blue eyes. He was cleaning glasses on the other side of the bar, giving her a soft grin as he did so. He too ignored the other girls as they continued pseudo-whispering. But his presence only added to their unnecessary chatter.

"Did you see her ask that upperclassmen out earlier? She got right up in his face and everything...how desperate can you be? He probably agreed out of pity. Or fear."

"You sure about that? I heard he was a creepy eel too-"

Jade set another glass down more aggressively than he had with the previous one, making the girls jump. At the last comment, both Jade and Cowrie both turned sharp gazes to the now nervous cluster of girls. 'Creepy eel' huh? How surprisingly bold and rude these girls are, Jade thought silently as he broke eye contact to watch Cowrie stare into them. He and his twin had always been feared on Night Raven's campus but it would seem the students of Sacred Crown were more maliciously passive-aggressive. Jade wasn't all that surprised. Teenage girls were more terrifying in their savage packs than boys in most cases.

"Girls, curfew is in twenty minutes," Reine's firm tone made the girls jump again as she suddenly appeared behind them, looking less friendly than usual. The princess' reputation had rapidly evolved since the recent events that had happened both that day and the previous one. Not that Reine minded. A little bit of intimidation felt pretty nice actually.

"Y-Yes Dorm Leader Castilene. We were just leaving," the second year that started the rabble in the first place skittishly said.

"Leave more swiftly and quietly if you please," Reine gave them a smile that didn't reach her eyes as she passed them to approach the bar. The girls fled the area like scared mice. Cowrie gave the princess a low whistle as she sat down next to her.

"I like this new side of you, Reiny-senpai~"

Reine gave the freshman a genuine smile, "Thank you. I do too...pay them no mind though, Cowrie."

The mermaid scoffed and took a sip of the drink Jade gave her, "Let them talk. I don't care."

"You are quite cavalier about this, Miss Cowrie," Jade chuckled as he continued to clean up, "How admirable...scaring them seems easy enough though. Just a thought."

"Just Cowrie. I ain't that formal," Cowrie said to the tall boy before taking another sip, "Besides...when Ellie-senpai passes the dorm leadership to me, they'll have to follow my rules or walk themselves out the door. Hehehe~"

Reine sighed as the freshman giggled, "I'm just disappointed they ruined the surprise. Elise was so excited to make a formal announcement once we got back on campus. Oh well. Since we're ruining secrets, is it also true that you're skipping right to being a third-year?"

"Yup," Cowrie casually stated before shoving another piece of shrimp into her mouth, "the faster I can graduate, the faster I can be free to live as I please. And maybe catch up to Ellie-senpai and Luna."

Reine's smile stayed in place but as she watched Cowrie's distant expression, she felt like there was more hiding behind her meaning than the mermaid had let on, "What do you mean by that, Cowrie?"

Jade didn't say anything but if you were paying attention it did seem like his ears perked ever so slightly even though his eyes were down and his hands were busy. Cowrie just turned to Reine with a laidback smile.

"Meh. Nuthin. Just daydreaming...hey maybe we'll get to be classmates next year, Reiny-senpai!"

"Ooh that would be fun," Reine laughed lightheartedly before her tone turned a bit more serious, "Actually, since we have a moment...I wanted to talk to you about what you and your sister did to Zehn."

Cowrie's eyes suddenly shifted off to the side, looking like she had been caught in the act right then and there, all over again. Jade again said nothing but his grin widened still. He and Floyd had heard about the girls' 'interrogation' of one Zehn Cavalier and both were equally impressed and disappointed that they couldn't witness it firsthand.

Reine sighed and continued, "Granted I was very out of it at the time but still. As a dorm leader, I cannot condone your actions. But...as a friend, I am very grateful," Reine's smile returned as she gently wrapped her arms around the younger girl, "Thank you, Cowrie. I'll definitely ask that you be my escort when I come to visit Riddle in the future. I wouldn't feel nearly as safe with anyone else."

Cowrie giggled cutely and nuzzled against Reine's cheek very much like Che'nya often did. Reine learned long ago that apparently eels also did this to show trust and endearment towards - as the sisters put it - 'their humans.' In a more romantic context, this gesture would also be extended to potential mates. Reine just took it for what it was: a sign of friendship and platonic affection.

"Now finish your plate. We need to head back soon and I don't want you getting in trouble on my behalf again. Especially if you're going to be my fellow dorm leader next year...I refuse to let you ascend with a tarnished record." Reine gave the younger girl a playful grin.

Cowrie pouted like a child being asked to leave a theme park early before scarfing down the rest of the seafood pasta on her plate. She in turn chugged the rest of her drink before neatly stacking her dishes and handing them to Jade with a bright smile, "Thanks, Jay Jay. See you tomorrow~ ...and tell Floy Floy not to ditch or else Luna's gonna be pissed."

Jade chuckled as he took the dishes from her much smaller hands and set them aside, "I'm sure my brother won't disappoint Miss Luna. He seems awfully motivated, after all."

It honestly had been a record number of days that Floyd had been in not only a decent mood but a proactive one at that. A school of wild killer whales probably couldn't keep Floyd from showing up at this rate. Though he was still grumpy that Azul made him stay in the kitchen for most of the evening...

Reine felt like she had been transported back to the day before the music contest all over again once she and Cowrie returned to the dorm. The other girls were all in a tizzy over the dresses they all received either from their families' personal tailors or that they had made arrangements for before the festival even started. Reine was waiting for her in her room no doubt but she was so thoroughly spent that all she wanted to do was just sit in the lounge and enjoy the excitement all around her. The perfectly normal, school event induced excitement. No more dread or drama involving her royal family, rejected suitors, or life-and-death Overblot situations. Just a bunch of high school girls excited for a dance with a bunch of handsome boys. Refreshingly normal and Great Seven above did it feel good after the crazy week they all had. Reine just sighed contently, leaning back on the sofa, watching her fellow dorm leaders and their girls all admire and compliment each other on their gowns that none of them could wait until the actual event to try on. Just in case last-minute adjustments were needed but mostly due to unbridled excitement.

Luna looked absolutely stunning in a shimmery, not to mention form-fitting, black strapless mermaid-style gown that just barely met the dress code and sleek elbow gloves to match. She looked less like a high school student and more like a sexy lounge singer. She was currently zipping up Cowrie into her aquamarine cocktail dress that had an illusion neckline with coral-like patterns dotted with tiny pearls and a short, flowy a-line skirt that stopped a couple of inches above her knees...again, just barely passing the dress code. How the sisters got away with it, no one knew or asked. The boys certainly weren't going to complain.

Manari and Jinnah, both wore dresses very close to their homeland's style of formal wear: heavily embellished in gold beading that matched their jewelry, bright colors on fine silk materials, and the flashier the higher status it meant they held. Manari's attire was a deep purple with accents of gold with a sheer train decorated in peacock feather designs that fell around flared out pants instead of an actual skirt. Jinnah's was a gown that was rich sapphire blue as the main color and accents of the famous peacock green with more elaborate gold trims running along the bodice and had a longer, veiled train that fluttered around her skirt, adding more movement to the overall garment, making her look like royalty. The other dorm leaders and their second-in-commands each had gorgeous dresses that were made just for them in every detail, down to the very last stitch. It was quite a sight.

"And what is our guest of honor doing lumped up on the sofa? Aside from getting wrinkles in her uniform?"

Reine snickered as Elise stood before her, looking glorious in her lavender off-the-shoulder number despite the crossed look on her face. Reine ignored her best friend's comment as she admired the elegant dress with its fitted, sleek, pearl-beaded bust and delicately layered ruffle skirt that made her look like she was floating across the floor.

"How on earth do you look like an absolute dream in that dress and yet you do not have a date, Elise Coralette?"

Elise rolled her eyes, "Well excuse me, Your Majesty, some of us were very busy trying to make all the arrangements for this dance to worry about procuring one single dance partner, you know..." It was true that Elise was in charge of all the planning that went into the actual dance and it was her expert attention to details that made sure everything went off without a hitch. But her response was also a cover for the fact that since Prince Rielle ditched the festival, Elise hadn't really sought out nor desired any other boy to be her date. This was clearly backed by the cynical glances the Cerith sisters were currently giving their stubborn dorm leader.

"Besides. I've had plenty of offers from the Octavinelle dorm so I will have my fair share of boys to choose from during the dance anyway," Elise declared smugly. The eel-maid sisters shared a look before giving matching looks of mischief to Reine from behind their dorm leader. The princess read their minds without question.

"Oh is that so? I'm sure Azul will be waiting with bells on," Reine chimed innocently, "that is if he doesn't already have a date himself, of course. I'd be shocked if he didn't, honestly."

Elise blinked curiously, "Mr. Ashengrotto? I'm...not sure actually. He never even mentioned going at all." Cue the mischievous sisters slinking up along either side of Elise.

"Well of course Azul-kun will be there, he is a dorm leader after all," Luna said cooly as she slowly circled Elise and stopping beside the sofa Reine was sitting on, "I can just imagine how handsome he'll be, dressed to the nines as always. He's always so stylish, isn't he, Cowrie?" she purred with a sly grin.

"Oh yeah. I bet Azuzu will look even better than he does in his Octavinelle suit, " Cowrie mirrored her sister's movement and settled on the other side of the sofa with an impish grin on her face, "Imagine...he'll probably wear extra nice cologne too. He'll smell like heaven while looking good as hell. If he hasn't been snatched up already, a smart girl would definitely pounce when given the chance..."

Elise had in fact indulged in Azul's alluring cologne'd presence on a regular day more times than she'd like to admit. And now her brain was mapping out an elaborate vision of him as the sisters mused on and on about how appealing Azul Ashengrotto would inevitably be tomorrow. That, however, Elise would be taking to her grave.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Ashengrotto is - along with over half the students at Night Raven, let's be honest - very attractive indeed. I think we can all agree on that," Elise cleared her throat, determined to get back on track, "HOWEVER! You cannot distract me from the most important problem we are currently facing! Reine, why aren't you trying on your gown?!"

The eel sisters snickered as their dorm leader tried to save face and helped Reine off the sofa as she rolled her eyes, "Alright, alright. I will go try on my dress. Here I go."

While the girls were both eager and seasoned when it came to formal dances and the like, it became swiftly apparent that not all the boys of Night Raven were in the same camp. At Heartslabyul, there was a myriad of mixed energies all around. Riddle was fortunate in that his future father-in-law gifted him the very same suit his tailors had made for him to wear to the dance and his date was also his future wife. So he was all set as far as he was concerned. Cater and Trey had gotten dates without any issue and if they were suffering any nerves at all, it didn't show in the slightest. Cater being Cater, of course, had a very stylish suit in his closet at the ready. A sleek white tux with black lapels, a dark pink vest, and a bright salmon pink bowtie because pops of color were both charming and always trendy on Magicam. Trey was a bit more classic and subtle in his style: a dark green suit, white shirt, black tie, and shoes. Nice and simple. The first years and any other students that did not have a suit already prepared fortunately had Sam ready to lend a hand. Once the shop owner caught word that a big dance was happening, he took the opportunity to stock up on appropriate attire and accessories for the whole lot of nervous and/or excited young men on campus.

Deuce was looking himself up and down in the mirror in the suit that Sam had provided for him at a reasonable price. The suit was a nice shade of deep blue with a black floral print dress shirt and white tie and it was a perfect fit. He liked it and felt like it looked really good on him but he was still an absolute jittery mess of nerves. He managed to ask Alyssa to the dance and succeeded but at what humiliating cost?! Well, the answer to that...had Ace laughing his ass off.

"I can't believe you completely skipped the first and most simple step and just went straight to asking her to be your girlfriend!!"

Yup. That totally happened. By some miracle Alyssa Ledell, the sweet sunflower angel that she was, said yes to both being his date for the dance and his girlfriend without a hint of hesitation. Deuce was both overjoyed and horribly embarrassed once the word spread across campus like wildfire. Don't even get him started on the fact that he had never been a boyfriend before! Where did he even begin in being one now?!

Deuce just huffed as his face glowed bright pink, "S-She still said yes! You're just bitter because almost every girl you asked said no! Epel and Jack both got a yes from the first girls they asked. Hell, even Sebek got a girl to go with him without being rejected! So what does that say about you, huh?!" Deuce's past thuggish persona shone through towards the end a bit.

Ace immediately stopped laughing and glared at his classmate as his bruised ego flared, "Shut the hell up! Psh, I turned down more girls than the girls who told me no!"

The two freshmen began to argue making Riddle burst into the room with an annoyed expression. Cater and Trey just found the scene adorably amusing. The two freshmen immediately froze up as Riddle snipped at them to quiet down.

"Aww our cute little freshmen, daring to face the perils of wooing the fairer sex. Well, some more successfully than others, eh Deuce?" Cater winked and playfully put his arm around Deuce's shoulders, the attention making him blush even more, "Way to win the cutie's heart! Of course, I think we can all agree that the true triumph goes to our legendary dorm leader and our glorious new Heartslabyul queen! So are you going to be 'Mr. Riddle Castilene' or 'Mr. Reine Rosehearts?' "

Riddle rolled his eyes as the group of boys all laughed at the notion, "Ha. Ha. Hilarious..." Reine had already informed him that she would be taking his name and that he would in fact be His Royal Majesty, Mr. Reine Rosehearts which he was perfectly fine with but he would never admit it to these fools. He would admit, however, the boys referring to Reine as their new queen filled him with an embarrassing amount of pride. The kind of pride that made him want to shout from the rooftops that she was going to be his wife to anyone that would listen and to everyone that would even think about trying to put the moves on her. But again...he would never admit any of that part out loud. Instead, he just let relief and even a bit of warm happiness wash over him as he took in the simple levity filling up the Heartslabyul dorm and no doubt all of the dorms across campus. Like Reine, he truly enjoyed how at ease he felt now that everything had fallen into place and now everyone's biggest worry was whether or not they'd be completely overtaken by butterflies in their stomach come tomorrow night. Not any looming threat or life-altering dilemmas. Just simple, everyday high school level awkwardness and excitement.

Riddle took a moment while his dormmates bantered back and forth to send a quick message to Reine on his phone. He was sure that she was fine now but there was no harm in checking right?

Back at the girl's dorm, Reine smiled when she heard Riddle's assigned chime ring from her phone as she was helping Alyssa into her silver-blue gown. Reine knew Elise and the others were awaiting the two of them downstairs but the girls could wait for a second longer as she quickly sent a sweet message back to her beau. Alyssa was bubbling over with excitement as she was telling her dorm leader about Deuce's adorable albeit clumsy confession. Reine was pretty impressed: first, she got a fiancee, now her second-in-command got a boyfriend. Rosabyrine girls had a reputation of not wasting time on fruitless endeavors but damn this had to be a record!

"He was so sweet," Alyssa cooed as Reine cinched up the laces on the back of her dress, "And nervous. I knew he wanted to ask me out but I didn't expect that!"

"Sounds like he didn't either, to be honest," the princess laughed, "Poor Deuce. Thank goodness you said yes."

"Of course! Deuce is wonderful! He's so cute and earnest..." Alyssa practically had stardust in her eyes as she swooned over her new sweetheart, "I just wish we didn't have to leave after tomorrow..."

Ah yes. The elephant in the room was finally addressed. It didn't seem fair, did it? Everything had worked out so well and now that it had? The girls had to return to their island the day after the dance. Reine guided Alyssa to the full-length mirror with a warm smile, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet, hmm? Tomorrow is still going to be a day to remember and look how lovely you are."

Alyssa had already looked like a little doll on most days but now she looked even more charming, like a breath of fresh air. Her dress had beading and silk cut butterflies all along the scoop neckline and gave way to a flowy tulle-layered skirt that reached the floor. Reine's heart squeezed with adoration, "Oh, you look like a little fae princess."

Alyssa was beaming pure sunshine as she swayed back and forth in the mirror, "Ooh, you think? Not that anyone is going to be looking at me once they see you."

Reine had put on her gown as well and in light of the rapid evolution she had undergone, she decided to change it up and depart from the usual silver and white gowns she had worn in the past. Instead, Reine's dress was a crimson ball gown with rose appliques over the sheer Queen Anne style neckline and down the see-through sleeves that hugged her pale arms, giving the impression that the flowers were blooming on her skin. The rose patterns wound their way down the neckline and bust and tapered off the black tulle that covered her belled-out skirt. It was nothing less than gorgeous and made Reine absolutely show-stopping. Naturally, she was the guest of honor so it was to be expected. Even so, Reine couldn't help the shy blush on her face.

"Riddle's a very lucky guy," the blonde gave the princess a cheeky grin, "His rose garden has nothing on you."

"Alyssa, don't be cruel. How could I compare to those immaculate blooms he cares for so tenderly?" Reine pouted teasingly.

"Well he doesn't swoon over the roses like he does you, that's for sure..."

Reine would never get over the notion that the proud Heartslabyul prefect couldn't hide his affection for her from others even when he tried his hardest to. Nor would she ever get over her feelings of embarrassment when she was reminded how oblivious she had been up until recently...

"Reeeeine! Are you done yet? Elise is going to have a cow down here if you don't hurry up!"

Manari's voice brought the princess back to reality. She shook her head at her best friend's impatience as she linked arms with Alyssa, "Shall we?"

Tomorrow came and passed fairly quickly into the evening hours peacefully. The dire situations that shocked the campus before were forgotten to most of the students, visiting or otherwise by now. Reine couldn't be happier to completely forget her dreadful experiences with the now exiled Zehn Cavalier and her defeated mother. Jasper had to, unfortunately, return home to begin his studies under the current Queen's advisor so he would be fully prepared when Reine ascended the throne but her cousin made sure to send her all the congratulations he could muster over a slew of texts. Also, a fresh batch of her new signature red roses and black ribbon to wear in her hair for the dance. "A queen must always be properly styled! ;) " was his final message and she could hear his snark from miles away. Well waste not, Reine thought as she put the final touches on her hair and make-up. She could already hear the bursts of excitement downstairs as some of the girls' dates decided to meet them at the dorm and walk them to the ballroom instead of waiting for them there. Rook Hunt's poetic declarations and Kalim's excited outbursts could probably be heard across the entire campus. Reine wasn't even in the room but she could feel their dates' shy reactions from where she sat. The princess just giggled as she heard Vil and Jamil's annoyed tones, shuffling the exuberant boys out the door, before going to check on Alyssa.

Alyssa was dressed and ready but also looking rather panicked as she paced back and forth. Unknown to Reine, Riddle and his seniors were in a similar situation back at Heartslabyul with a very nervous Deuce. Reine just sighed in amusement and stopped her vice leader before she wore a trail into the wooden floor, "Alyssa, you're not getting cold feet are you?"

"NO! Er no, of course not! I'm just a little...concerned. That's all," the blonde giggled nervously, "I look ok, right? RIGHT??"

"Alyssa. You look like perfection standing here right now and your boyfriend loses all sense of reason just at the sight of you on a bad day," Reine laughed. Goodness, is this how she sounded not that long ago about Riddle? She inwardly cringed at the thought...

Reine escorted the blonde freshman downstairs before she could argue, "Trust me. You have nothing to worry about whatsoever. Just breathe and continue to be your sweet little self."

The Leech brothers were the next callers to arrive to pick up the Cerith sisters. An uneasy Azul was hiding-er-standing behind them, looking as if the twins had dragged him there by force. Which they basically did. The trio had always looked rather dapper in their Octavinelle suits but they certainly out-did themselves for the occasion. Azul wore a similar style of suit as his dorm one but this one was silver-grey with a black dress shirt and smart, purple pocket square and matching tie, and shiny black shoes. Despite his nervous energy, he cleaned up very nicely. The twins wore matching charcoal grey suits and black gloves but the difference was in the details: Jade, clean cut and sharp as usual, wore a black collared shirt with a light grey vest and bright aqua blue tie that matched the blue poppy flower in Cowrie's boutonniere, and black shoes while his twin wore a more colorful teal shirt with the first few buttons undone like always with a black pinstriped vest, and black and white shoes similar to his Octavinelle ones. Luna's amber-gold calla lily boutonniere was attached to his lapel, giving his look even more color.

Reine and Alyssa greeted them as they waited. "You three look so nice!" Reine smiled brightly. The tweels grinned down at the princess, happy to receive such sweet praise, while Azul seemed to grow a bit flustered. Reine heard Cowrie prance into the room with the same amount of praise at the ready, though a bit more forward per usual Cowrie fashion.

"Ooooh! You guys look hot!" Her usual sleepy-looking baby blues widened and even sparkled a bit. Or maybe that was her darker blue eyeshadow, "Hey hey, Azuzu! Why are you hiding?? You look so good, come out!" Cowrie kept trying to get a better look at him by darting around the twins like a curious little kitten following a laser pointer. Azul looked like he was about to phase through the floor from all the sudden female attention, something he was very not used to at all. Jade smiled as he looked his energetic date up and down in her flirty little dress and delicate pearl accessories pinned in her sleek dark hair. Floyd just giggled as Cowrie kept trying to draw the octopus boy out, "Cowrie-chan, you look like a cute lil' jellyfishie~"

This distracted the younger sister momentarily, "Ooh think so? You like it, Jay Jay?"

The more reserved twin's smile grew some more as Cowrie swished her short skirt back and forth, awaiting his approval, "Oh yes...very cute, Cowrie," he said softly. The moment Luna entered the room, Floyd's jaw practically detached from his face. The finishing blow aside from her unapologetically sexy outfit was her rich smokey eyeshadow that made her golden orbs practically glow and the classic string of pearls hanging from her neck that completed the look. Jade helped his smitten brother out by silently pushing his mouth closed for him. The elder sister floated up to her date with that deadly flirtatious giggle of hers, not even bothering to address the other two boys next to him, successfully buttering up Floyd's ego.

"My, my Floyd~ Aren't you so very handsome? Lucky me." She batted her eyes up at him like a professional, placing her hands on his shoulders and smiling as she felt them tense under her touch.

Had Floyd been in his eel form, his tail would have been wagging at breakneck speed. If he wasn't already, Floyd Leech was definitely hooked now. Cowrie just snickered as she latched onto Jade's arm, "Too bad, Ellie-senpai isn't here to see you guys. She left earlier with some other Octavinelle boys."

Luna sighed teasingly, "A pity really. But we should get going then we can catch up with her. Maybe Azul-kun could sneak in a dance or two with her as well before the rest of his dorm whisks her away for the night," before he could answer, Luna turned to Reine and Alyssa, "Reine could use an escort, yes?"

The princess smiled, silently entertained by the sisters' antics, "Yes, I'm meeting Riddle at the ballroom. Perhaps I could walk with you, Azul? If you don't mind, of course."

Azul snapped back into his usual charming veneer, the very same he always had at the ready when it was time to entertain customers, "Ah but of course, Your Highness, it would be my honor naturally."

Reine linked her arm with his and gave him a playful smile, "Don't worry, I won't force a dance out of you, Mr. Ashengrotto." The other girls giggled as poor Azul's face glowed pink. Jade offered his other arm to Alyssa and followed Azul and his brother out the door with the two much shorter girls on either side of him.

The ballroom looked as if springtime had exploded inside. Instead of letting Kalim's barrage of flowers go to waste, Elise's quick thinking utilized every single one to decorate the room and used just enough magic to keep each flower pristine. Several students had already gathered inside and were excitedly mingling about. Elise was flitting about making sure everything was ready before finally settling in the middle of a small group of attentive Octavinelle students, all ready to soak up her girlish attention. Their hopes were swiftly dashed as soon as Azul and the twins arrived with the very attractive Cerith sisters at their sides. One look from Floyd and Jade made the boys quickly distance themselves as the trio approached. The poor boys took extra care not to stare at the lovely mermaid sisters lest they get themselves into even more trouble. Elise barely noticed as her eyes lit up at the sight of the sharp-looking boys.

"Well you three clean up nice, don't you!"

Floyd's expression turned friendly as he looked Elise up and down, "Oooh Star Fishie, you look so pretty..."

Jade hummed in agreement before smirking at Azul, "Very fetching indeed. You think so too, right Azul?"

"Ahh, but of course. Your Highness' beauty is undeniable," Azul retained his oozing charm without letting his nerves get the better of him. For now.

With both sets of mischievous eels surrounding them like vultures, there was no way Azul and Elise were getting out of this without being thoroughly teased. The octopus tried his best to not lose his cool under the twins' taunting gazes or Elise's adoring one. The princess practically glowed as she looked him up and down, "Oh Mr. Ashengrotto, you're too sweet. But...where is your date?"

Azul wouldn't be surprised if the eels had somehow manifested popcorn into their hands with the way all four of them were watching his exchange with the princess, "A-ah, I'm afraid I am without one. It's been a terribly busy week and all. Surely you understand, Your Highness."

Elise ignored the snickering coming from both Luna and Cowrie as Azul all but quoted Elise's excuses from earlier, "O-oh yes, of course, completely understandable!" She laughed lightheartedly. The way Luna tilted her head in Azul's direction while giving her dorm leader a sly grin didn't escape Elise's notice. She could take a hint and the poor boy seemed to need a swift rescue.

"Well in that case, perhaps you'll allow me to keep you company then, Mr. Ashengrotto!" Elise took the boy's hand and quickly pulled him away from the teasing presence of their four retainers. She threw the sisters a sharp look over her shoulder as she heard Luna whistle suggestively and Cowrie throw some kissing noises her way. Azul wasn't sure if he felt relieved or like he was about to have a panic attack.

Riddle took a deep breath as he searched the room. He fidgeted with his gloves and straightened his already perfect suit for the millionth time making Trey laugh.

"Nervous are we?"

"Hush..." Riddle's tone had no teeth to it as his cheeks flushed light pink, "aren't you supposed to be paying attention to your date, Trey?"

Trey's date was currently in the middle of taking selfies with her fellow dormmates and their dates. And, of course, Cater. Trey just chuckled as the girl waved cutely over to him.

"I decided to take a breather from the Magicam marathon for a second."

Riddle was too distracted by all the electricity permeating the air around him to respond. Alyssa and Deuce had found each other in a bubble of adorable giddiness. Kalim was excitedly hyping up Jinnah to his dormmates and anyone would listen, really making her feel both flattered and embarrassed. Both he and Rook Hunt were absolutely gushing in the most humble yet extra ways about their dates while Jamil and Vil stood off to the side looking exasperated with the whole scene. Manari was just enjoying every second of the free entertainment, not noticing how Jamil's face began to flush as she took his arm. The whole room was buzzing in one form or another until finally, Riddle heard the sweet voice he had been waiting for.

"Looking for me?"

He turned and nearly melted into the floor under the radiant vision that was Reine Castilene. She smiled and giggled lightly at his shocked face, "Sorry to keep you waiting, love."

He couldn't feel his legs. In fact, what were legs?? Riddle's brain short-circuited and turned to gooey butter. It wasn't until Trey gave him a light push before heading back to his own date did Riddle come back to Earth.

"Yes. Always. You're so gorgeous, I don't know how I missed you," Riddle was getting better at expressing his feelings in confidence but his face still struggled to keep its literal cool when faced with his beautiful princess. Her shy gaze made his heart flutter as she closed the distance between them, taking his gloved hands in hers.

"Why thank you, Mr. Rosehearts, you charming sir."

Their moment of intimacy was quickly interrupted once they realized that they were suddenly the center of attention. The entire room was looking their way once the announcer addressed the room and drew everyone's attention to Reine, the guest of honor. She handled it like a champ and gave the room a curtsy as the other students applauded, cheered, and even whistled for her. Riddle applauded his queen as well with a proud smile on his face. Reine leaned in to whisper a soft apology to him, "I'm afraid you're going to be in the spotlight with me for a bit, darling."

Riddle did feel a bit awkward with all the pairs of eyes suddenly watching them but the boy just took Reine's hand in his and kept his gaze on her, "I've been in far worse places. Besides, I doubt anyone is going to be looking at me tonight anyway. You're way too enchanting."

When did this boy get so smooth? She thought as they got into position to open the dance with a waltz, thankfully a dance they could both handle. They were soon joined by other couples on the floor but neither of them noticed anyone else. They could have been dancing just the two of them for all they knew. The first three dances blurred together as Reine and Riddle kept gliding across the dance floor. No one bothered trying to cut in to pull the princess away from him for even a second. With the way they were stuck in each other's gazes, anyone interested knew they didn't stand a chance. It wasn't until the dances became more lively - thanks to the joint efforts of Scarabia and Almascaber mostly - that the royal couple decided to take a break. Riddle stepped aside and let Reine mingle with those who wished to congratulate her and maybe sneak in a quick dance while they had the chance. Riddle just let himself watch his princess radiate grace and contentment from afar, where he thought he was safe...he was incorrect.

"Riddle!"

The boy was suddenly surrounded by the other Sacred Crown dorm leaders who all had looks of mischief in their eyes. He quickly felt like a scared fox cornered by a pack of hounds and Manari was leading the pack.

"Heeey Riddle, congratulations on becoming Reine's Rosabyrine king! We wanted to celebrate you and welcome you into our family properly before you could dash off," Manari had a sneaky grin on her face that only added to Riddle's inner panic. The other girls giggled lightly as they formed a circle around him. "Also, I have to say just how happy we all are that it was you and not Zehn Whatshisface. Let's just make that clear right now," Manari continued as the other girls all chimed their agreement, "So with that said...Your Crimson Rosy-Highness!" Manari gave Riddle a deep bow setting off a chain reaction throughout the circle as each girl gave him an elaborate title and curtsy/bow as well.

"Your Majestic Tea-Time Excellency!"

"Your Honorable Hedgehog Highness!"

And so on until Riddle couldn't help but laugh at their ridiculous displays until finally the ring was complete and the girls all gave a cheer as they showered him in white and red rose petals. Across the floor, Reine smiled and secretly hoped her fellow dorm prefects weren't harassing her fiancé too much. She was about to go to his rescue when a familiar figure caught her eye as he entered the room with his crew. Reine's eyes lit up as she caught Malleus Draconia's bright green gaze. She didn't hesitate to go right up to him and wrap her arms around him in another affectionate hug.

"You came!"

The Diasomnia prefect smiled warmly down at his friend as he returned her embrace, "Indeed...though I suppose we are late."

Reine just brushed off his concern, ignoring all the odd stares their little group was currently getting, "Oh not at all. You arrived just in time and you all look so dashing in your suits!"

Malleus was in an all-black tailored suit with a subtle sheen to the fabric and dress shirt with silver lapel pins shaped like tiny gargoyle heads. Very fitting. Lilia wore his oversized, dark green suit jacket over his shoulders in his usual fashion, leaving his white shirt, black vest, and pants in perfect view. Sebek had already zipped away to find his date that had been patiently awaiting him and, very loudly, apologized for his tardiness but from Reine could tell, his suit was eerily similar to Malleus'. Silver was fiddling with the green chrysanthemum boutonniere that Petra had given him, trying to properly re-pin it to his sage green suit jacket. His father frowned in disapproval at the fact that Silver's matching vest wasn't buttoned correctly and his hunter green tie was too loose. Honestly, you'd think someone else taught this boy how to dress! Reine giggled affectionately and stepped forward to help the poor boy out.

"Here, Silver, let me," she offered affectionately before pinning the flowers straight, gently cinching up his tie, and straightening up his vest for him, "There. Much better." She saved him just in time for Petra to come running up to him.

"There you are! I thought maybe you passed out somewhere again!" the other princess laughed before dragging the bashful boy onto the dance floor. Lilia took his leave as well, disappearing to join in the lively dancing. Reine smiled up at Malleus and extended her hand to him.

"This kind of dance isn't exactly my forte but I do recall promising a certain prince a dance and I always keep my promises."

The tall, dark fae accepted her hand and let her guide him onto the floor. At first, other couples that noticed the two started to draw away in surprise but once they reached the center where Manari and Jinnah were showing Riddle and Elise how to follow along with their dance properly, Malleus was the center of curiosity in a whole new way. Azul was also doing his best to imitate the movements, ignoring the eels and their teasing, but was glad for the sudden distraction.

"Girls, may I introduce my friend Lord Malleus Draconia?"

The girls all looked up, like way up, at Malleus with wide eyes. At first, he wasn't sure if he scared them or made them uncomfortable but they soon proves his worries unnecessary.

"Wow...you are TALL." Manari said bluntly, "Good thing we didn't try to make Reine that tall at the music contest, she would've twisted both of her ankles!" she and Jinnah suddenly laughed, lightening the mood. Reine didn't appreciate the jab at her clumsiness but let it slide anyway. Soon enough the other dorm leaders nearby took notice of the new face and also clamored up to him curiously. Charlaine in particular was amazed by his sheer towering figure alone.

"See, I told you he was real, Charlaine!!" Petra yelled over the music as she and Silver were dancing not too far away.

Malleus was very amused and surprised by them all. Clearly, Reine wasn't the only fearless one of the bunch. He was promptly invited to join in the impromptu dance lesson which he agreed to without question. It was a great change of pace to be included so readily. He smiled as he and Reine mirrored each movement until finally, they were dancing together. His heart warmed when he noticed that she was wearing the briar rose around her neck and how happy she would gaze at Riddle whenever their dancing brought them closer to each other.

"You found your King, little rose. I am happy for you."

Reine's laughter bubbled out of her like a happy fountain, perfectly reflecting her true feelings, "Thank you so much, Lord Draconia. I cannot wait to congratulate you when you find your queen someday."

Ah, what a nice thought...he would like that very much.

The night continued in a spiraling reverie amongst friends, old and new, binding them all to each other in one way or another whether they realized it or not. Reine didn't want it to end. Why were the best days always the shortest? The night air felt nice as she and Riddle finally broke away from all the excitement and found the one balcony that didn't have any other couples getting cozy on it. Riddle let out a long sigh as he hugged Reine from behind and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Aww did my girls tire you out, my darling?" the princess cooed and stroked his wine-red hair.

"Shh, just let me enjoy this before anything else happens..." he murmured tiredly, making her giggle. They enjoyed the far-off sound of the music mixed with the soft chirping of crickets in their little haven. Riddle had tried to avoid thinking of it all night but the sad realization finally caught up to him as he felt his chest start to ache a bit.

"I finally have you next to me and now I have to say goodbye tomorrow..." his voice sounded like a fragile bubble about to break. Reine pressed a soft kiss into his silky hair and sighed.

"Only for a little while...we'll see each other again soon enough. Remember, you can come see me if you miss me too much. Then I can entertain you in my dorm's rose gardens. Maybe I'll even adopt some hedgehogs so I feel less lonely in-between time."

Riddle smiled into her soft shoulder at the thought, "You say soon but...ah, I'm sorry. I sound like a child, whining and moping. Don't you dare tell my dormmates about this."

The princess chuckled lightly, "Never. I find your vulnerability so cute. I want to be selfish keep it all to myself."

"You are an angel," Riddle relished in her giggles as he pressed kisses into her pale neck, "...I suppose I can be patient."

He intertwined their ring hands together and gazed fondly at the red gem ring on her hand. Riddle was ready to be entirely devoted to her, hell he already was in many ways, and he had no more doubts that Reine felt the same for him. She showed it in every little look, little touch, every sweet word she gifted him. What was a week...a month...a year or so to wait until they wouldn't have to say goodbye anymore?

"I'm yours, Riddle Rosehearts. I'm not going anywhere." Reine promised in earnest before turning to press her lips to his.

And that was enough to keep his heart chained to hers. Always.

The next week on Night Raven's campus passed by at a painfully slow pace. Everything seemed far too quiet for the boys. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, for once. No magical upsets or sudden supernatural invaders. Just the usual state of affairs: class, club activities, study sessions for upcoming exams...normal, boring school life. Some of the boys were more affected than others. Kalim seemed more distracted and glum in his classes so much that Jamil had to scold him more often than not. Jamil seemed pretty much the same but did take to wandering off on his own to get some space more often now. Kalim's spirits would brighten whenever he received a message from Jinnah or Manari. Even more so when he received a package from the girls full of homemade snacks. Jamil, of course, insisted on checking them first...and not because some of them were made especially for him. Totally not the case at all. Azul was his usual business-oriented self, though he did admit to missing the refreshing charm the girls had brightened Monstro Lounge up with during their visit. Not to mention their generously plump wallets. Jade seemed completely unchanged as if the festival never happened. Floyd was a totally different story: he was a fussy, grumpy dark cloud that his dorm mates wisely stayed away from. He didn't bother trying to hide or curb it whatsoever whether he was in class, at basketball practice, or even working in the lounge. But every once in a while, his phone would chime and the dark aura would turn into sunshine for a few minutes of bliss as he dropped everything to respond to the messages the Cerith sisters - Luna especially - sent him. Both Jade and Azul were relieved that the sisters had given their numbers before leaving as it had become a lifeline of sorts. Jade was a bit more stealthy about responding to Cowrie's texts, making sure no one could catch his candid smiles at all the messages and photos she would send him about her day-to-day activities and her bug collection.

As for Riddle, his reputation as Heartslabyul's tyrant king increased ten-fold once the other students heard about his and Reine's 'execution' of Zehn Cavalier. He went from being an uptight, strict dorm leader to being a resolute force of nature to be respected without question. Not that he minded at all. If anything the Heartslabyul students' attitudes went from fearing him to greatly admiring him almost overnight. He took pride in that and the excitement the other boys showed whenever Reine came to the campus for a visit. They already adored her before but now she always brought them little presents, solidifying her place as their dorm's beloved 'queen'. And she always made sure to deliver Alyssa's handwritten letters directly to Deuce and in return, take his letters back to Alyssa. Yes, the two sweethearts had each other's phone numbers but this was just too cute to not help orchestrate.

Time passed in these bittersweet cycles as the seasons changed and as everyone grew older. There were other festivals, other sporting events, other events that kept them all connected even after they all graduated and settled into their adult lives. The biggest event that brought them all back together face to face was one of the happiest days in Riddle and Reine's life...

- Years Later... -

"Your Majesty, the guests will be arriving soon...shall I fetch the King for you?"

Chamberlain Jasper Elfern, now fully grown into his role in the royal council and his role as both husband and father, smiled up at Reine as she dismissed the remaining council from her throne room. Queen Reine Rosehearts smiled at her cousin, "No need, Jasper, I could use the fresh air."

The royal gardens were abuzz with a flurry of activity. Her trusted staff of servants bustled about making sure everything was in place like clockwork, only pausing to bow respectfully to their queen as she made her way to the more secluded corner she knew her husband favored. Reine stopped to observe the handy work of one particular gardener and gave her praise to the older gentleman.

"The roses look absolutely gorgeous as always, Mr. Cavalier. Well done."

Mr. Cavalier Sr. bowed graciously to his generous queen. While his son was still banned from the royal grounds to this day, Reine found that his father was still a decent and kind man who deserved compassion. His wife and son had left him to relocate to another city entirely, doing what no one knew nor cared. Though the father had originally been a member of her mother's court, Reine remembered from long ago that he had shared his passion for gardening with her before and even offered a few tips to her and the royal family's gardeners at the time. Now he was allowed the joy and freedom of tending to Reine's multicolored rose gardens to his heart's content with no worries or want for anything. Speaking of fathers, Reine continued her walk deeper into the garden as she followed the sound of her own father's booming laugh. She smiled as she found her family under the same gazebo where she and Riddle officially began their courtship so long ago.

Revon Castilene regained his former name and title as Duke Revon Elfern now that his son-in-law took his place as the Rose King. He and Alva divorced once their daughter became queen and Alva Castilene retired to the countryside without a single word of affection for her ex-husband or daughter. The two of them accepted it without a fuss and Reine asked her father to remain in the castle, nearby so he could help Riddle in his early years grow into a fine ruler and also so he could be near his grandchildren. Riddle and Reine's eldest ran to his mother as soon as he saw her. The four-year-old boy was the spitting image of his mother and looked as if he were made from fresh snow with his fluffy, white-blonde hair and his father's dark grey eyes. The little prince called 'mama, mama', reaching up to her with his little arms.

"Hello, my darling," Reine softly cooed as she pulled her little angel into her arms. After all this time, Riddle Rosehearts - now King Rosehearts - still looked absolutely smitten as he watched his wife dote on their little boy. He had grown to be quite the handsome man in time. He was thrilled when he hit a growth spurt right before his third year at Night Raven College. He never reached the NRC giant levels of tallness, but he did stand at a proud 5'8 by the time he graduated and now with a slightly deeper voice. But all that paled in comparison to the pride he felt when his daughter was born. The now two-year-old princess lay curled up and napping in his arms as he sat across from his father-in-law. The baby girl looked like a tiny, more vibrant version of her father with bright strawberry red hair and lavender eyes. And yes, she even inherited Riddle's heart-shaped hairs that seemed to stick up whenever she had a hissy fit. Her outbursts were cute now but the King and Queen had a feeling their little one also inherited her father's temper from his younger days.

"It's almost time, love," Reine whispered as she gazed lovingly at her pair of beloved redheads, "I almost hate to wake her up but everyone's been waiting to meet her for a while now."

Normally, the crown princess would be presented and celebrated soon after being born but the royal parents decided to wait until she was a bit older for a few reasons: 1) the birth had been difficult and there was fear that the baby princess was born with a more fragile immune system than her brother, fortunately, this was found to be incorrect later and 2) Reine enjoyed seeing all of her 'nieces and nephews' and wanted them to be able to meet her little one once all of them were able to travel with their parents. So today was the day and it promised to be just as wild as any day where all of the Night Raven and Sacred Crown alumni got together. Time, marriage, and families didn't seem to change that whatsoever.

The tiny princess' curious eyes charmed everyone who gazed into them as soon as they were in her presence. It didn't matter how stoic or expressive the person was. Her godmother, Elise, was absolutely in love with her.

"Oh, darling angel! How sweet you are!" Elise cooed in delight, giggling at the tiny girl's serious expression. Another thing she inherited from her father, "Riddle, she looks just like you! What a face~"

"She is already quite vigilant," Riddle grinned smugly as his baby girl kept a careful fist clinging to his suit coat even as she looked around the garden at all the people.

The only time the little girl's face changed is when faced with the Leech brothers and their curious little ones. Perhaps it was the fact that the twins had somehow gotten even more monstrously tall before they even graduated school and after or perhaps it was because this was the princess' first time seeing people with sharp teeth. Either way, her lavender eyes were as wide as saucers. Riddle had promised his wife that he'd be on his best behavior but even so, he frowned and held his daughter a bit more tightly as Floyd Leech bent down to coo at her.

"Hiiiii baby goldfishie-chaaan~ You're so tiny and cuuuute, heheheeeeh~"

Even as a grown man who was a husband and father, Floyd's personality barely changed from his school days. If anything, his wife kept him a bit more even-keel. Floyd's son was the same age as Riddle's eldest and the small boy shyly tried to look up at the princess from behind his father's long legs before eventually wandering off with the young prince and the small herd that consisted of Jinnah and Manari's very boisterous children. Riddle had fully expected his daughter to burst into tears out of fear but instead she just garbled some broken words up at Floyd as she gently tugged on his long dark strand of hair.

"Aww, she likes meee~"

Jade and Floyd shared similar bright smiles that eventually made the tiny girl giggle and Riddle breathe a sigh of relief. His daughter didn't seem quite as impressed with Azul but was curious about the octopus' little one that seemed just as curious in return.

Reine was making the rounds, thrilled to see each of her friends and their families again. Playing catch up was starting to make her head spin, however. She couldn't believe her eyes once she saw that Jinnah was once again pregnant and yet somehow still stunning as ever. Both Reine and Manari joked that the poor woman needed a vacation. The woman just shook her head with a sly grin, "Yeah try telling that to my husband..."

The queen had almost greeted everyone in the garden when Jasper announced the arrival of another guest. She smiled warmly once she saw King Malleus Draconia enter with his gorgeous queen at his side and young daughter in his arms. She made her way over to the fae family and curtsied to them all before welcoming them with open arms.

"Hello, old friend. I'm so happy you could make it."

Malleus might as well had been frozen in time. He barely changed at all save for a more defined physique and facial features that only got better with age. His daughter was his little twin, horns and all, and a year younger than Reine's son. The little girl immediately recognized her 'auntie' and reached for her. Reine wrapped the little dragon fae in her arms with such warmth that Malleus nearly melted at the sight.

"Hello, my little dragon queen! Oh, you're getting so big, aren't you? Would you like to meet your newest cousin?"

As if on cue, Riddle joined them with the curious princess in his arms. The two little girls locked eyes as their parents talked with each other. It wasn't long until Reine's son realized his favorite playmate had arrived and rushed over to retrieve her from his mother's arms. The two skittered off to rejoin the pack as Reine took her little princess in her arms to introduce to Malleus properly.

"This is one of Mommy's dearest friends, my little rosebud," Reine said sweetly. Her daughter locked eyes with Malleus as if she completely understood and was sizing him up as he bent down to look her in her bright eyes. The dragon king chuckled as her tiny hands reached for his horns.

"You're as bold as your mother, little rose queen..."

The nickname he once gave Reine stuck as the tiny princess giggled in delight upon hearing it. The old system of the Rose Queendom's next ruler had been done away with, much to the relief of Reine's cousins who wished for a more normal and free life for their own daughters. Reine's daughter was the one and only crown princess, uncontested. With that in mind, Malleus' nickname for her served as a blessing for the little one's future. It couldn't have been a more perfect day, Reine realized as she looked out into the garden and let her heart be warmed by the presence of all her friends and family. Some were friends who had become family even. Trey had found love in the form of Jasper's sister, Scarlet Elfern now Scarlet Clover. It was love at first sight as soon as she stumbled into his family's cake shop to become an apprentice and the millisecond she fed Trey some of her homemade treats. It sealed the deal once he saw how endearing she was with his younger siblings as well.

Deuce and Alyssa stayed together all through their school years but did end up breaking up after graduating simply because Alyssa wanted to focus on becoming the next royal librarian which called for intense continued study, which ended up putting a strain on their relationship. Instead of giving up, however, Deuce focused all of his energy on joining the police force within the Rose Queendom. After a couple of years and a few promotions, Lieutenant Deuce Spade paid a visit to the royal library asking to speak with the head librarian, and asked Alyssa right then and there to take him back. They were expecting their first child as husband and wife within the next couple of months.

Cater broke into fashion design alongside his sisters for a few years before breaking out on his own. He found love during his many travels: an androgynously beautiful male model he met during a fashion show in the Land of Hot Sands a couple of years ago. The two swiftly became quite the power couple on and off Magicam. Reine waved to each couple from across the garden, happy to see them all again.

Ace Trappola, unfortunately, couldn't make it but sent a bounty of presents for Riddle's little ones and even more affirmations of congrats. During his time at Night Raven, Ace had gotten really good at Magift and then quickly drew the attention of recruiters at future events. Before he even graduated, Ace had offers from professional teams ready to scout him as soon as he was out the gate. He lept at the chance without ever looking back and could honestly say it was the best decision of his life.

All in all, everyone had settled into their lives very comfortably...

Riddle and Reine tucked their babies into their beds before turning down the nursery lights. The evening was soft and quiet as they returned to the gardens for a bit of privacy before retiring themselves. The Queen and her King had a nightly tradition that began once they both moved into the castle and continued every day since.

"Are you ready to lose, my love?"

Riddle chuckled as he opened the cage to pick up his red hedgehog companion before calling the matching flamingo over to him, "You say that every time, my queen, and yet I remain undefeated."

Reine sighed dramatically as she gently held the blue hedgehog in her hands, "Yes well it took me years to convince you to ignore the 'no playing croquet after 5:00 rule' and I eventually succeeded. So it stands to reason that I too will succeed in defeating you as well...someday. I will wear you down yet."

Riddle gave his wife a boyishly smitten smile as she readied her blue flamingo. Seven above, he loved this woman. She playfully scolded him for trying to distract her, "Don't you give me that look."

Her husband just laughed and stepped aside so she could take the first shot.

"Yes, my queen."

- the end -

----------------------------

Tagging:

@iscarlettappel @foxwitchaine @aiimee9 @1ndigowitch @nuitthegoddess @victoria1676 @feldya @wysteriadelights @evieyouknow @espada188

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helnjk · 4 years

Text

A Brief Glimpse - C.W.

Charlie Weasley x fem!reader

Word count: 2.5k

Summary: there’s nothing like the rumors that students can come up with about their favorite teachers. especially when one of them is adamant on keeping her private life, well, private.

Warnings: brief mentions of meals, one curse word but that’s it

A/N: a purely self-indulgent, fluffy fic inspired by this ask from kendall ( @lupinsclassroom ) who said that if i taught at hogwarts, i’d be the COMC professor! and i love me some good charlie content. this is also kind of a different style that i’m used to, i hope you guys like it! x

–

The top three favorite professors at Hogwarts were as follows: Headmistress McGonagall, Professor Longbottom, and Professor L/N.

While most students would argue that Professor L/N could potentially overtake Professor Longbottom on that list, there was just so much they didn’t know about her. She was practically the perfect professor; she loved what she taught (Care of Magical Creatures), she was considerate and understanding with students who were struggling with the subject, and her office doors were always open to anyone who wanted to chat.

Still, she kept her personal life very private and of course, the more she refused to answer their prying questions, the more intrigued the students became. All they knew was that she was one of the top students of her year, she was a Ravenclaw, and she fought at the Battle of Hogwarts years prior.

There were many rumors going around the student body of Hogwarts about who Y/N L/N was. The most popular ones were that she was actually Headmistress McGonagall’s secret daughter, because of how close the two seemed to be. In reality, Y/N was just one of Minnie’s favorite students. The headmistress often joked how she should’ve been in her house instead of Filius’.

Meanwhile, Neville was always open with the students, answering whatever questions they had for him, as long as they weren’t crossing the line between professional and personal. They often loved to ask him questions about his friendship with the Golden Trio or his stories of the war.

“They’re getting more creative with the questions they ask me,” he shook his head, smiling slightly one dinner, “They’re trying to see if I’ll slip up and mention anything juicy about you.”

Y/N laughed slightly, eyes glimmering, “What sort of questions have they come up with now?”

“Today Chapman asked me if I’d ever spent the holidays with other professors around my age,” Neville mused, “Or if Hannah was ever jealous that I was working with a girl so close to my age.”

“Oh please, Longbottom,” Minerva tutted, and the two younger professors turned their heads in her direction, “At least your questions still have some sort of delicacy. Griffiths has actually asked me, point blank, if Y/N’s spent her summers with me.”

The collective guffaw of the professors at the head table caused the majority of the student body to shift their attention to them. Of course, the authoritative looks that they sent at the house tables were able to convince them to get back to their own conversations, but now the Great Hall was abuzz with trying to figure out what made the professors laugh so loud.

“I wonder when they’ll stop trying,” Y/N mused as the crowd of students began to slowly shuffle out of the Hall.

“Don’t count on it, L/N,” Minerva smirked.

–

“Professor L/N?” a meek voice sounded from the door to Y/N’s office on Wednesday afternoon.

The middle of the week was rather free for her, therefore she used it to catch up on grading and, if she had time, a little light reading. This afternoon, though, she was in the middle of writing an important letter.

Her owl, Athena, perched at the edge of her desk and her scrutinizing eyes darted towards the fourth year Hufflepuff who stood by the door. Eloise Abbott, a shy young thing with a penchant for Care of Magical Creatures and one of Y/N’s best students, sent the intimidating owl an uneasy glance.

“Come on in, Eloise,” Y/N smiled as she slipped the ink and parchment she was using into one of the empty drawers of her table, “Don’t mind Athena, she’s just impatient to get this letter out.”

The young girl shuffled towards the professor as Y/N asked, “Is there anything you needed?”

“Erm, I was just wondering if you could check my Defense paper,” she mumbled, pulling out a parchment from her school bag, “It’s on Grindylows and other creatures we could encounter in the Forbidden Forest, and I know it’s not really part of your syllabus, but I just wanted to make sure I didn’t get anything very wrong.”

Y/N smiled and held her hand out for Eloise to place the essay. It was silent as she read over what was written, that silence only broken when Athena let out soft hoots or ruffled her feathers.

“Erm, professor,” muttered Eloise after a while, Y/N’s eyes glanced up from the parchment, “I don’t mean to pry, but why does your owl want so badly for you to finish that letter?”

A soft chuckle came from Y/N’s mouth before she answered, “She just loves the person I’m writing to, and I honestly think she would rather be in his care than mine. Even if it were just for a few nights.”

“But you’re wonderful with animals!”

“And he is too, I assure you. Maybe even more so than me.”

Eloise nodded her head slowly, and Y/N could see the gears turning in her head. It perplexed the young student, who could ever be better with animals than her professor? She knew it couldn’t have been Hagrid, as he still lived on the grounds and Athena could visit him any time she wished.

Maybe her favorite professor was friends with the Scamander family. Rolf Scamander definitely had ties to Hogwarts and seemed about her age.

Before her thoughts could go any further with hypothesizing, Professor L/N handed her essay back, “It looks great, Eloise. I have no doubt you’ll get high marks on this essay.”

Eloise could spot a professor’s dismissal anywhere, so she merely nodded as she took the parchment back. As she hurried out the room, she expressed her gratitude over her shoulder, catching Y/N pull out the letter she was writing with a soft smile on her face.

–

The end of the school week came with a surprise visitor to the castle. The students could not stop discussing the presence of a dragon tamer on the school grounds. He had arrived later in the morning, trudging up the pathway from Hogsmeade and making his rounds around the school.

Headmistress McGonagall greeted him at the gates with a smile and a hug before she took his arm and the two of them had tea in her office. Of course, as the students weren’t used to seeing an adult that wasn’t the faculty or the staff in the castle, his presence sparked many conversations.

“I saw him knock on Hagrid’s door!” said Neil Chapman to anyone who would listen to him at lunch, “He had some burn scars all over his arms and really bright red hair. He seemed really cool.”

It was as if the whole Gryffindor table was gathered around him as he told and retold how Hagrid’s booming voice announced that Hogwarts’ resident dragon tamer was back. Rumors floated around the school for the rest of the day, each student having something to say about the mysterious man.

“He’s gorgeous though, isn’t he?” sighed Daphne Griffiths, as she and her best friend roamed the hallways on the way to their next class, “All rugged and handsome. I caught sight of him walking towards the quidditch pitch after Transfiguration.”

All the professors had to stop themselves from full-on grinning at the different things they had heard about Charlie Weasley gallivanting around the grounds, but none of them as amused as Professor L/N.

“Hurry along then!”

Y/N stood next to a small paddock at the edge of the forest, next to its open gate. At the center of it, a cluster of fluffy creatures rolled around and play fought with each other.

“Alright class,” she clapped her hands together, “We’re having a little bit more of a relaxed class to end the week. A crup of one of the Hogsmeade villagers just gave birth about a month ago and her owner’s graciously allowed us to spend an afternoon with the puppies.”

The second year students cooed at the litter of small dog-like creatures with two tails. As soon as she finished her sentence, the group of them rushed to get inside the paddock, each one wanting a turn with the small puppy-like things. Once all the students were inside, she shut the gate and joined them as they congregated around the tiny crups.

Y/N was grateful that her last class of the week was with younger students. They were much easier to please and sometimes more eager to learn. Of course, almost anyone would be enamoured by the litter of puppies running around.

With her wand pointed at her jugular, she began the small spiel she had prepared for the lesson, “Now, as most of you might know, crups are basically magical dogs…”

Most students weren’t really paying any attention to her little lecture, but she told herself that at least she tried. She understood the need to coo over cute little puppies, she could let it slide just this once.

From where she stood towards the other end of the paddock from the gate, she had a panoramic view of the class, just in case anything happened. She doubted anything would, but at least that way she could keep everyone in sight.

“Of all the magical creatures in the world, you chose to teach about crups?”

A strong voice rang through the open space and caused many of the students to turn their heads at the sound. Somehow, Charlie Weasley had made it to the gate of the paddock without Y/N noticing. Upon seeing the redheaded dragon tamer so close to them, murmurs spread among the young students.

Y/N rolled her eyes, taking in the sight of him with his arms crossed and a smug smile on his face.

“Oh wipe that smile off your face, Weasley, you try teaching these kids all week,” she replied, raising her voice slightly so that he could hear what she had said.

“I guess they are quite adorable,” he caved, leaning his forearms against the paddock and seeming as if he was going to observe them their whole class.

The students observed their playful and easy banter, in awe that their professor knew the ever mysterious man.

As her wards were still distracted by him, she said, “Pay him no mind class, he’s harmless. The crup puppies need your undivided attention!”

As soon as the prying eyes were off of him, Charlie sent Y/N a cheeky wink. She couldn’t stop a smile from growing on her face at the gesture, but she shook her head to indicate that they could talk after her class was over.

“Professor L/N?” a young girl walked up to her, sending a furtive glance over her shoulder to where her friends were gathered.

The group of them gestured to her to carry on and Y/N’s eyes lit with amusement, “What’s up?”

“I-er, we wanted to know how you know the dragon tamer guy? The other professors haven’t said much about him when asked.”

The young student fidgeted nervously, picking at the hem of her sweater as she glanced up at Y/N. Despite being in the rather early years of her journey at Hogwarts, she knew that Professor L/N enjoyed her privacy. She didn’t want to overstep.

Y/N sensed this apprehension and gave her a soft smile, “We were in the same year at Hogwarts. He was a Gryffindor and I was a Ravenclaw, but we managed to have a few common classes.”

“Cool!”

Before anything else could be said, the girl scurried off to meet her friends with the small tidbit of information she was able to gather from the otherwise close-lipped professor.

Thankfully, the rest of the hour passed by rather quickly.

As soon as the bell rang, it was obvious to Y/N that the students were stalling. She had dismissed them fairly quickly and had already begun her process of cleaning up. Meanwhile, the majority of the class was still situated inside the paddock, shuffling around in groups.

Inwardly, she sighed, knowing that there was nothing she could do about it, it was the end of the school week and they were free to roam (or stay) in any part of the grounds and the castle they wanted.

Inevitably, Charlie had gotten impatient waiting for them to clear out. Instead, he strode confidently through the gate and towards where Y/N was directing the puppies to stay.

“Charlie? What are you–”

The remaining students, who had been not-so slyly watching the redhead stride through the paddock, all collectively gasped as he pressed his lips firmly on their professor’s.

Y/N began to weakly protest, the logical side of her brain screaming at her that this was definitely unprofessional, but the emotional side took over as she was surrounded by the scent and the presence of her boyfriend. Her boyfriend whom she hadn’t seen in months and made a special trip to Hogwarts just to see her in her element.

Thankfully, Charlie pulled away fairly quickly, his arms still firmly wrapped around her body, a dopey smile on his face.

Once Y/N gained her bearings, she slapped his chest, “Charles Weasley!”

“What?” he grinned.

“You’ve just kissed me in front of my students!”

–

Despite the–shall we say scandalous?–first encounter between the couple, the rest of the afternoon was quite lovely. Y/N showed him all of the creatures under her care and in the section of the forest that was relatively safe. They also borrowed some old brooms from the shed and raced each other out on the pitch until their cheeks were painful from laughter and their noses were red from the cold.

By the time dinner rolled around, of course the whole student body was aware of what transpired between the handsome dragon tamer and their favorite Care of Magical Creatures professor.

This was the first piece of juicy information that they had gotten on Professor L/N, and while they were highly amused at what had happened, they were also not surprised that she was dating someone who worked with dragons on a daily basis.

They also couldn’t deny the fact that she practically lit up in his presence. They had never seen her so at peace and so happy as when she was with Charlie. Anyone with eyes could tell that the pair of them were in love.

Minerva had also graciously allowed Charlie to sit at the Head Table with the rest of the faculty at dinner, which caused quite the stir.

Practically all sets of eyes were trained towards the couple as they ate their dinner fairly normally.

“You two seem to be the talk of the whole school,” the headmistress teased.

Charlie sent his favorite teacher a shit-eating grin, “Must be my dashing looks that’s got them all interested.”

“Please, Weasley,” Y/N tutted, “They’ve just gotten a huge piece of information about me. This is basically their Christmas.”

“Maybe they’ll finally stop hounding me with insane questions now!” Neville chirped happily, and the table erupted in laughter.

–

General taglist: @expectoevans @george-fabian-weasley @gxthsanrio @slytherinscribbles @harpyloon @nuttytani @mesmerisedangel @amourtentiaa @sarcasticallywitty15

Charlie taglist: @pinkypurplemagic

#charlie weasley #charlie weasley imagines #charlie weasley imagine #charlie weasley fics #charlie weasley fic #charlie weasley fanfiction #charlie weasley x reader #charlie weasley x y/n #tw meals #tw meal mention #tw cursing

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forever-rogue · 4 years

Text

In Name Only - Part 14

A/N: Hello friends, I’m so excited to share another chapter of INO with you! I hope you still love it as much as I do! Please note, I did do some research for this chapter, so what you’re reading is pretty much historically accurate! As always, feedback and comments are welcome, and if you’d like to be tagged, let me know. xx

Pairing: Oberyn Martell x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 7.1k

Warnings: mentions of violence and injury

IN NAME ONLY SERIES MASTERLIST

MASTERLIST

»»————-　♡　————-««

The journey back to Sunspear took just shy of a week and was...surprisingly tranquil compared to your brief stay in Starfall. It was such a shame really, because it was a beautiful place and the people were kind, except for the lady of the house herself. She hadn’t been inherently mean, no, you’d be lying if you said she was, but she just rubbed you the wrong way. The very wrong way with her accusations and contrite words against your beloved.

When you had left, your eyes had scanned the wood for any signs of the mysterious woman you had met. You were still questioning your own mental state and really did wonder if you had imagined the whole thing. But surely...you hadn’t made it all up....

That morning at breakfast before your departure, you politely declined the tea that was placed in front of you without so much as a word. Oberyn had glanced in your direction for just a moment but if his suspicions were raised, he didn’t show it. When you had departed, he had briefly asked what happened and you were upfront with him as you had vowed to be. You had nothing to hide from him, and no reason to ever feel the need, so why would you now?

“Moon tea,” you had told him calmly with a shrug of your shoulders as his left eyebrow arch raised in surprise as it was prone to doing. He opened his mouth to say something but you stopped him by gently putting your hand on his chest and giving him a small kiss, “don’t worry...there’s no need. Even if I thought….I could, I would not take it, dear husband.”

“Is that what the hurry to leave is about?” he asked quietly, an arm protectively finding its way around your waist. Stiffening for a moment, you gave him a small nod as he cast a furtive glance back at the castle, “did she do anything to you?”

“No,” you insisted, deciding to leave out the little detail that you had in fact drank the tea yesterday in a moment of confusion and worry, “she just...she drinks it in order to keep from falling pregnant by other men. Apparently she and her husband do not have great relations and she knows she can only have a child when there is no doubt that it is his heir.”

“Oh,” he said softly as you nodded, making sure that no one overheard your private conversations. If something was going to be spilling their secrets, you were going to make sure it was not you, “I see...why would she encourage you to drink it? We are married.”

A small pit formed in your stomach as you looked at him, offering him a soft smile before touching his cheek gently. He keened as into your warmth as he always did, and your heart felt like it broke a little. All the nasty accusations thrown out about him were disgusting and you would never allow anyone to do such a thing again. Next time you would have a more rigid backbone.

“She…” you trailed for a moment as you looked at him, finding his honeyed eyes watching you intently, “I love you, Oberyn. You know that, right?”

“Of course, my sunshine,” he promised, pressing a feather light kiss to the palm of your hand, “and I love you. More and more every passing day.”

“Lady Dayne is not immune to gossip and appears to love stirring up trouble when there is no need,” you decided to leave it at that as you walked over to your horses, pulling Oberyn along behind you. Part of you hoped he would leave it, let it go and be done with it, but you knew your husband better than that. He was silent as he helped you on your mare before mounting his steed. You could practically feel his eyes boring into you, so you turned to him, “Oberyn. People talk and spread rumors of things they know nothing about…”

“About me,” he said meekly, causing you to nod, “about-”

“It does not matter to me,” you cut him short, “I know the truth, you know the truth, and the people that matter do as well. That’s all that matters.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” just as you were growing proficient at reading him, he was the same with you.

“She said you would grow bored of me soon and then toss me to the side,” you finally admitted, “that you would tire of me once I am no longer shiny and new and find another plaything.”

Oberyn’s mouth hung open ever so slightly as his heart seemed to break slightly at your words - the shake to your voice. He reached for your hand and took it in his much larger one, giving it a tight squeeze, “that is not true. None of it. I-I -”

“I know, Oberyn,” you promised gently, almost wishing you hadn’t said anything at all at the upset look on his face, “that is what I meant - she likes to worry about things that do not concern and stir the pot when there is no need. I don’t like the lies or the negativity, which is largely the reason for my request for a sudden departure.”

“You know I would never do that to you,” he said softly, “that is not who I am, and I would not-”

“You have never given me a reason to doubt you, my love,” you insisted. He hadn’t; in fact he proved to you that you were his and he was yours, countless times, starting with when you had worried about a possible reconciliation with Ellaria, “and I do not. I have told you, as you have me, that if there comes a time when you wish to...take another lover you can do so.”

“That won’t happen,” he promised with an air of finality, “no one could take away the shine from my sunshine, not even on the most dreary of days, You have me, heart and soul forever, sweet girl.”

“You are a poet as much as a warrior and diplomat, my Prince,” you could practically feel yourself glowing under his praise as a gentle warmth flushed all over you, “I would be a fool to ever doubt your devotion.”

“Indeed you would,” he agreed with a small smirk, a bit of playfulness returning to his features. He spurred the steed on as he broke away from you, causing you to laugh before you chased after him. You would never have to worry about his love - that much you knew in your heart and soul.

»»————-　♡　————-««

"Oh," the words crashed around your ears like a ton of bricks as you tried your best to keep a neutral expression on your face. The look on his was nothing but apologetic but the words still stung. You had just returned to Sunspear the evening before and here he was, ready to depart again. Although you had spent countless hours together recently, it didn't take this any easier. You'd spend all the hours of all your days with him if you could, “oh.”

"I am terribly sorry, my love," he said as you nodded, "Doran just informed me - apparently this is one of those times when I get no say in anything. But he's too poorly to travel right now, so I must take his place instead as it my duty as both his brother and as the Prince.”

"What about Arianne?" you pouted at him slightly, a last bit of a desperate plea to get him to stay as you tried to keep your lip from trembling too much.

"She is coming with me," he said gently, "she's learning, but she still needs guidance sometimes..."

"And what about me?" you asked as he sighed lightly, not at you, but the situation rather, "its safe, right? Now that the young Stark is King? There's no need to worry-"

"Sunshine," he said gently but with a firm as he reached up and put his hand on the back of your neck, "please, please just listen to me. I know it seems safe, but there are always dangers out there. People will try anything to tear each other down, and in other parts of the kingdom they will not hesitate to do so, with or without the Stark King and Queen in the North. I just want you here...where I know I will come back to you safe and sound."

"What about you?" you were misty eyed by now as you tried to retain whatever little bit of composure you had to begin with, "what if something happens to you? I would never forgive myself-"

"Nothing will happen to me," he promised as he rested his forehead against yours, gently wiping away the few tears that had rolled down your cheeks, "no one would dare tread on the Red Viper. I will always, always, come back to you in one piece."

"Promise?" you asked meekly as you let your lips graze against his ever so slightly. You could feel his tug into a minute smile as he nodded; you never wanted to let him go.

"Always."

"And you'll be careful?"

"Of course."

"And you'll take Jeron and the best of your men with you?"

"Who will that leave you with here?"

"I have Asha," you reminded him of your young handmaiden that you adored beyond measure. You had been glad to reunite with her after almost a month apart, "and besides. I have all of Dorne at my side."

"I'm sorry about leaving so soon," he whispered as his hand started to slowly roam your body, pulling a small gasp from your lips, "I will make my stay as short as possible."

"Please do," you said softly, trying to stifle the moan from spilling last your lips, as he started to place light kisses along your jaw and neck, "I want you back here, in one piece as quickly as possible. I love you..."

"I love you too, sweet girl," he promised, "before I leave, let me show you how much..."

»»————-　♡　————-««

“What’s wrong?” Alistair asked, tugging lightly on your skirts as you turned to look at him. The small boy was watching you with wide, gentle eyes as he held a half eaten cookie in his hand. Your heart melted at the sight, and you quickly bent down to kiss the top of his dark, curly hair. You thought you had been masking your sadness and worry well enough, but apparently your efforts were not enough. It was hard enough to hide anything from a child anyway.

“Nothing, sweet boy,” you promised him, although the lie felt weak on your tongue and out loud, lingering slightly too long in the warm Dornish air, “I suppose I’m just a bit tired.”

“Are you sure?” he asked as you nodded, but before either of you could say anything else, he stretched out his hand to you, the cookie still in it, “do you want this? Cookies always make me feel better.”

“You…” you didn’t have it in your heart to say no, so you took the cookie and bit off a piece before offering him the remainder, which he eagerly accepted. The two of you ate it in silence, and you felt a wave of emotion wash over you, and there was only a moment of hesitation before you scooped him up in your arms and held him tightly to your chest. He quickly snuggled up to you, “you are an absolute sweetheart. Thank you so much.”

“You just looked sad,” he said softly, “my sister always gives me cookies when I’m sad.”

“Well that’s very wise of you,” you said softly, putting him back down, “now, why don’t you go outside and play with the other kids? It’s a beautiful day.”

“Okay,” he agreed, going to the door to start heading out but quickly turned back to you, “if you’re still sad, you can come out and play with us!”

“Thank you,” you shot him a wink as he laughed, giving you a wave before he ran out into the warm, golden sunlight.

“The stress weighs heavy on you,” Asha commented as she came back, causing you to give her a tightlipped smile, “it is best not to worry.”

"How am I not to worry, Asha?" you mused as you started to cut up fresh fruit for a snack for the children, making it a point to avoid the berries that reminded you so much of your husband. Your hands were trembling slightly as you tried to focus on keeping your knife cuts neat and clean, "it has been over a fortnight since I have heard from Oberyn. This isn't like him..."

"Perhaps he's just very preoccupied," she offered, coming over to your side and motioning for you to hand her the knife. Sighing lightly, you gave it to her as doubts swirled your mind, "business can take longer than usual sometimes."

You huffed slightly as you leaned against the counter, "Arianne is home and safe...while couldn't the fool come back with her?"

"It will be okay," she insisted although she too was getting mildly worried. It wasn't like Oberyn to just seemingly drop off the face of the planet like this.

"What if it's not?" you tried not to cry and have a complete breakdown, "what if he's hurt o-or worse? What if he's..."

"Stop," she stated firmly, such an edge to her voice that your head snapped into her direction. The young woman seemed surprised by her own sharpness and she set down the knife and gave you an apologetic look, but you just shook your head, "Oberyn is not...he couldn't be. He's the Red Viper...he wouldn't just die."

Your lower lip started to tremble as you tried not to completely lose it. The idea that Oberyn could possibly be harmed, or even worse...dead was a possibility that you refused to fully accept. Something was causing a delay, you were sure of it. Oberyn wouldn't just...leave. Or unnecessarily delay his return. Right? Right. So then why were you questioning it?

"You're right," you agreed quietly, trying to hide the worry and concern in your voice. She didn't need to worry unnecessarily, and if she saw you worrying, she likely would also. You had to remain strong, for her, for everyone else, and most importantly for yourself. That was your job now, as his wife and one of the heads of the Martell family. You swallowed the lump in your throat before hastily pulling off your apron and tossing it onto the counter, "you're right, Asha. Its Oberyn - he would never let anything happen to him. If his return is delayed, its for a reason. A good one."

"Are you-"

"Stay here," you gave her shoulder a gentle touch, "please finish up my duties for the day. I have to return to the palace...I just remembered that I was to see Doran this afternoon."

»»————-　♡　————-««

Practically sprinting back to the palace, you pulled up your skirts and ignored the curious looks of the people you passed by. You didn’t care, nothing in that moment mattered besides getting back to Doran giving him a little surprise inquisition. He had been calm, terribly calm, the whole Oberyn time had been gone. If he thought something had happened to his young brother, he would have been worried, surely. Doran, you had come to realize, was a lot of things. He was a good man - smart, kind, funny at times, but above all else he was a man that was deeply devoted to his family. Just like all the Martells were; it was a trait that was strong through with all of them. Doran had to know something.

You waved off all the inquisitive shouts of your name and made a beeline for Doran’s study, opening the door without hesitation. You must have startled him greatly because the book that was in his hands fell and tumbled to the desk, and he made a small sound of surprise. Taking a moment to gather himself, he earmarked the page he was on, something that would greatly wound Oberyn if he was there to witness it, before setting it down and softly saying your name before turning to you. You could see that there was just a glint of nerves in his eyes.

“Where is Oberyn?” you asked him before slamming the door shut and striding over to his desk, a look of rage and anger on your face as your chest heaved up and down. Doran’s face paled as he opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to figure out how to answer you. Putting your hands on his desk, you stared the older man down, “where is my husband?!”

“My dear, there is no reason to worry,” he insisted softly, trying to calm you down before you flew into an even bigger fit of rage. It was in that moment that he saw a little of Oberyn in you and he wondered if it was him rubbing off on you or your true self coming out. In reality, you were a calm, composed person, not prone to sudden mood swings, but now, in between your worry and fear, you were beyond yourself, “Oberyn is fine.”

“How can you be so sure?” you asked softly, a dangerous edge to your words, “unless you’ve been speaking with him or you know something I don’t. Now tell me, why wouldn’t my husband tell me where he was or what he was doing?”

“Sometimes the nature of these things is confidential and they can take time and-”

“I’m his wife,” you reminded him firmly, “he has nothing to hide from me - he wouldn’t. If you won’t tell me what is going I’ll just go to King’s Landing myself and find him.”

“You wouldn’t-”

“Try me,” you straightened up and crossed your arms over your chest as you stared him down, “who would dare to stop me? As much as I would hate to resort to this, I will use whatever pull I have, and I don’t think people would argue with Oberyn Martell’s wife.”

“You mustn’t resort to that,” he insisted quietly and you felt relieved and yet...you could see that he was still struggling with something. You signed lightly before softening your expression and coming to the conclusion that you might have gone on too fast and too hard, “I know where he is.”

“Oh,” you said in a surprised tone as you tried to figure out if that was a positive or negative thing, “oh. You knew this whole time? And y-you didn’t think to tell me?”

“It is was nothing to concern yourself over-”

“My husband is gone for weeks longer than he should be, I have been worried day and night and you didn’t think i should be concerned? If you’d at least have told me what was going on I wouldn’t be so upset!” you threw your hands up in exasperation, “I just...I don’t care about anything, but I just want to make sure he’s okay. That’s all that matters.”

“After he and Arianne finished their business in King’s Landing, Oberyn turned his attention to Old Town,” he explained as you almost jumped back in surprise.

“Old Town,” you repeated slowly, almost not able to believe the words he was saying. Your mouth opened and closed a few times as you tried to process the news, “Old Town...that’s the Reach...right by Honeyholt. Why on earth would he go there….without me? That’s my home...he didn’t mention…”

“He did not disclose his business to me either,” Doran admitted with a feeble sound from the back of his throat, “I pressed him to tell me and he refused. I encouraged the fool to tell you and he refused. Oberyn is a stubborn man when he wants to be and will not be forced into doing anything he does not fancy. I am sorry for I too have been a fool. I should have told you sooner - when he first informed me of his extended stay.”

“I just don’t...understand,” you admitted quietly, “what is there for him in Old Town? There’s nothing or there’s....”

Brothels. Plenty of them. Old Town was famous for many things but the most predominant things were by far the Citadel and the brothels that littered the land amply. You couldn’t even bring yourself to say the word out loud.

“Yes,” Doran acknowledged as you held out a hand out to steady yourself. You weren’t mad, you weren’t angry…you were just surprised. Surprised that he hadn’t told you of his whereabouts, of his intentions, of anything really. You were sure that you could tell him anything and vice versa. But apparently you had been mistaken, “I am sorry, young one. But I would not worry about his safety or well-being. He should return soon, and I am sure in one piece. The rumors about him...his tendencies...I would not worry about them. They’re just rumors - folly.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” you pulled your trembling lips into a tight smile in order to keep yourself from crying. You felt like a fool - not because you had trusted or loved Oberyn, you still did to both, but for worrying for nothing. It was not your position to be angry for taking solace in the comfort of other beds if that was indeed what he had done. You’d made that clear many, many times. But you wished he would have told you something, anything instead of keeping you waiting around.

“Do not worry-”

“I am not worried,” you insisted meekly, “not anymore. As long as I know he’s safe, that’s all that matters to me.”

“You do not have to worry about his devotion to you-”

“Lady Martell?” the door to Doran’s slowly opened and a young man who recognized from around the palace grounds stuck his head in. You quieted any sniffles that had welled up and quickly dabbed at your wet eyes before turning to him. You offered him the warmest smile you could muster up as he looked between you and the older prince, clearly sensing that something heavy had just been discussed, “I-I’m sorry to interrupt. The Maester asked me to summon you.”

The Maester. Of course. In your haste and worry over your husband, you’d completely forgotten that you’d agreed to go and see the Maester that very afternoon. Sighing lightly, you nodded at him, “let him know I will be there in just a few moments.”

“The Maester?” Doran asked as you refused to meet his eyes, “is everything alright, my dear?”

“Quite,” you answered softly, “I suppose I will see you at dinner then. I-I’m sorry for coming and causing a scene for no reason.”

“There is no need for apologies,” he insisted as you offered a curt nod in response before seeing yourself out of his study. You did want to pity yourself and your foolish heart, but you didn’t have time for that now. That would wait until later, when you were in your chambers by yourself.

Straightening your shoulders, you tried to hold yourself as tall as possible as you crossed the palace grounds in search of the Maester. You’d never met him before, but you were sure that he would be as kind as everyone else in Dorne. You just weren’t so thrilled that you’d have to meet him in this state. It was no matter though, he was the Maester after all, he’d likely seen much worse.

»»————-　♡　————-««

You knocked on the door to the Maester’s chambers and were quickly called in but not by a voice you had been expecting - it was a soft woman’s voice. Stepping inside, you looked around the beautiful sunlight quarters, already feeling at ease. Scanning the rooms you saw all sorts of vials and bottles containing liquids and concoctions of all different colors and consistencies. The soft, delicate scent of warm spices lingered in the air. At the other end of the large room you saw a woman, modestly dressed with a kind face that appeared to be around Oberyn’s age motioning for you to close the door.

“Lady Martell,” she said gently as she came over to you and held out her hand. Still confused, you reached out and shook it, “it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Y-you’re the Maester?” you asked as she slowly nodded. You shouldn’t have been surprised you realized - this was Dorne after all. Women could be anything they wanted here and were not subject to the harsh realities that most other parts subjected them to. In some ways you were relieved that you were here with another instead of a man.

“Selsa,” she introduced herself as you told her your name, although you were unsure if it was really necessary. She had a warm, comforting presence and some of the tension who had been holding in your shoulders seemed to ease up, “and don’t worry, I was trained by a man-”

You laughed lightly at her little quip as she tried to get you to calm down, “it matters not. I trust you more than any man outside of Dorne. I have no reason to doubt your prowess simply because you are a woman, do I? That would be foolish of me.”

“A forward thinking woman from the North,” she said as she offered you a seat in the soft, plush velvet sofa she had near the window. You sat down it and the cushion deflated slightly, almost as if it was sighing along with you, “that must be why the Prince and all of Dorne adores you so.”

“I am but one mere woman,” you played it off, but you would not lie and say you didn’t appreciate the sentiment, “I just happened to get lucky.”

“Either way,” she said as she stood near you, “we are glad to have you here in Dorne. I hear you have fit in very well. Now tell me, what can I possibly assist with?”

You played with a loose thread of fabric for a moment, twisting it in your fingers as you wondered where to begin. You opened and closed your mouth a few times, and waited patiently for you to speak, “umm...children, I-I suppose. It’s just that for the moment. I want to...would like to...know if there was any way to know if I can have children. If there’s any chance of my husband and I...having one of our own.”

“Oh,” she seemed mildly surprised by your request, but her expression didn’t change or do anything to suggest her shock or that she was appalled. You just gave her a light shrug as she came over and sat down next to you, “well, there are some ways we can try and see. However, right now, there’s no definite way to know...I guess unless you are actively trying and it never happens. The things we can do are strong indicators but they're not exact. Does that make sense?”

“Yes,” you agreed quietly, “sure, whatever it is, we can try it. I figure either way I’ve got nothing to lose.”

“I just have a few questions to get my bearings, “ she said as you motioned for her to ask, “do you menstruate regularly and for how long?”

“Yes...if I remember correctly since around my thirteenth year.”

“Have you ever had excessive bleeding or anything to concern you about it?”

“No.”

“Were you with anyone before your husband?” she asked, “sometimes when a couple is newly trying it can take a while for things to pan out…”

“We-we’re not trying,” you admitted almost sheepishly, “I-I just want to know...probably for my own peace of mind. But I was with someone before...he and I…”

“No need to expand,” she took your hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, “it’s okay. Let me guess - you were not careful to try and prevent a pregnancy?”

“No,” you scoffed at yourself lightly before the two of you laughed, “we were young fools in love and it was never something I worried about. But I’m sure if it was a possibility it should have happened…”

“Hmm,” she mused quietly before standing up and walking over to the other end of the room. She rummaged around for a moment, leaving you to wonder what she was up to, before coming back with a large clay pot. She stopped by one of the large cabinets and pulled something out before chucking it into the pot. When she was satisfied with her handiwork, she stood in front of you and held out the pot to you, “I hope you have to urinate.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s an old test,” she explained as you curiously took the pot, “it’s been around for generations, used by Maesters and healers to check for fertility. Like I said. It’s old and far from exact, but it’s the best thing we’ve got to work with for now. “

“Oh...so you want me to pee? In that pot...”

“Yes!” she said as you just raised your eyebrows at her, “I put some bran into the bottom and you just pee on it. Then we leave it alone for about a week and come back and check it. If there’s nothing there and its clear, it means you are fertile, otherwise if things like bugs or worms get into it, it is supposed to suggest infertility.”

“That’s…odd,” you almost laughed at the little test, finding it hard to believe that people still used it. It sounded absolutely loony, but if people had been using it for this long...maybe it was accurate. Either way, you decided, you had nothing to lose and your bladder was pretty full. “I guess it can’t hurt anything.”

“It’s up to you, My Lady,” she promised and you stood up nodding affirmatively.

“I’ll do it,” you decided, “besides if nothing else it will be an interesting experiment, no?”

“Indeed,” she agreed, showing you to the room she used as a bathroom, “take your time and when you’re done you can just leave it in there. I’ll keep it safe for the week and we can take a look once the time has passed.”

“Sure,” you were nervous suddenly, and wondered just how accurate this would all be. Part of you was also scared that it would confirm the long buried doubt and fear you’d always had, “thank you…”

“It is no problem,” she promised, “and nothing to worry or fear over. We know here that some things are what they are and we cannot change them. The ability to conceive and carry a child does not define you, or anyone else. It does not define your heart or your character - remember that.”

“Thank you,” you answered quietly, relieved and comforted by her kind words. She knew what it would have been had you been married to another man in another part of the kingdom.

“Of course, and don’t worry. This will stay strictly between the two of us,” you gave her a thankful look, “and once you’re back, if you don’t mind, I’d like to take a look at everything in more depth. Just to make sure everything appears as it should.”

“Whatever you need to do,” you agreed, “I guess I just want some answers…”

“And we shall get them for you,” she insisted, “as best as we can.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

Pushing the sheer curtains to the side, you immediately felt a wave of calm wash over you at the sunlight streaming into your chambers. There was a gentle, warm breeze, and everything was illuminated. You decided to change your linens, making it a point to keep things fresh and tidy for whenever Oberyn came back. It had been several more days since your conversation with Doran and there was still no word. You weren't worrying but -

"My lady," the door to your chambers practically burst open and Asha tumbled inside in her haste, almost falling to the floor. Rushing over to her, you held out your hand in order to straighten her up.

"What's with the rush?" you asked, taking her face in your hands and looking her over to make sure she was okay. Besides her erratic breathing and wild look in her eyes she appeared to be okay, "Asha?"

"It's the Prince," she managed to get out, "he's returned."

You could tell that something was wrong almost immediately. Dropping your hands from her face you ran past her, the linens already forgotten and discarded on the floor. You almost tripped over your skirts in your haste to run down the stairs, bounding them down two at a time as you rushed to get outside.

Your heart was bouncing around in your chest wildly as you tried to calm the horrible thoughts already racing in your mind. Every awful little thing that you could have happened was screaming as you burst out of the palace and through the throng that had gathered near the returned retinue.

“Oberyn!” you shouted at the top of your lungs as you spied his carriage and the crowd that was closely surrounding him. Jeron spotted you and his face, which was already in a grim expression seemed to fall even more. He tried to come over and grab you, in order to keep you from rushing straight to Oberyn’s side. His long strides made it easy and you were quickly held back in his strong grip. A small sound of frustration left you lips as you tried to pull away from him, clambering for any glimpse at your husband, “Jeron! Let me go! Oberyn-”

“You need to stop,” he said as calmly as he could, his heart breaking at the sight of the tears that were welling up in your eyes, “please, listen to me.”

“No,” you insisted firmly, “you listen to me! He is my husband and I want to see him!”

“Please, please,” he was practically begging you, a shake to his own voice as you gave up on trying to keep the tears that had pearled up from running over. You were a mess of emotion and all you cared about was seeing Oberyn. You stilled lightly and he dropped his voice, “listen for just a moment. H-he’s hurt. Badly.”

“No,” it was a choked out sob as your worst fears came true. This was what you had been worried from the start, from the moment that he first told you he was leaving again. The fact that he had been gone longer, that he had made a stop unbeknownst to you didn’t matter. Nothing mattered, absolutely nothing except making sure he was okay, “y-you’re lying! He’s...he can’t be hurt...”

“He’s in bad shape right now,” he said softly, an incredulous tone in his voice at the thought that the famed warrior ended up hurt, “I don’t know if you want to see him right now.”

“Oberyn,” his name well forth from your lips as you took advantage of his moment of indiscretion and pulled out of his grip and to the carriage. You shoved anyone who was in your way out of it and pushed to see Oberyn. You heard shouts of your name from Jeron, but you didn’t care - you needed to be by his side.

When the crowd seemed to part, already offering you pitying looks of sorrow you found yourself in front of Oberyn. He was sprawled out on a makeshift stretcher, and even if Jeron hadn’t told you that he was in bad shape, it was immediately apparent. His normally bright, bronze skin was paled and his chest was rising slowly, too slowly. No longer dressed in his normal regalia, but a simple pair of trousers and tunic, light in color, just enough so you could see the blood that had gotten on them from his abdomen. His face was covered in a sheen and his hair mused, a few lacerations on his face. He was not in bad shape - he was in horrible shape.

Your knees felt like they were going to buckle at any moment and you couldn’t help the almost hysterical cry that left your lips as lunged towards him. Several of his retinue tried to keep you back, but you were too quick for them. You dropped to your knees as you reached for his face to gently grab it and try to pull him towards, tears flowing freely as you blabbered incomprehensibly at him. He didn’t even open his eyes as you touched his face and leaned down so your forehead was pressed against his. The tears spilled from your eyes to on his cheeks, mixing in with the sweat that was covering his whole body, “O-Oberyn. No, no, no, please, please-”

“You have to get back,” someone insisted as you turned around and glared at him, not even caring that you were making a scene. A small ground had gathered around to see what all the excitement was about, and they were shamelessly staring. How dare someone tell you that you couldn’t be by your husband’s side, “he’s poorly-”

You quickly stood back up to your full height, wiping away the tears and summoning up as much of a commanding presence that you could manage. You are a Martell now, you reminded yourself, you have to be strong. And you would be damned if you allowed someone to tell you what to do when it came to Oberyn. Jeron rushed back over to you and stood by your side as you walked up to the man that had tried to stop you, “exactly. He’s hurt and he needs help! Get him inside and into bed now. Jeron - fetch the Maester immediately and tell her he needs help. We have to help him and quickly! The crowd needs to go and we need to tend him right now. Move!”

Without another word Oberyn’s men listened to your instructions and quickly sprung into action. It was almost like they had been shell shocked at the Prince’s state that they had somehow forgotten what to do. But in your state of panic, your wild thoughts somehow worked themselves out and you experienced a moment of clarity. Gods knew you wanted to fall apart then and there, but you could do that right now. Making sure Oberyn was safe and well was the first priority.

You watched silently as the men carefully brought Oberyn inside and brought him to your bedroom. You trailed after them, wondering what could possibly have happened to cause such injuries to him. You knew he had enemies, hells, everyone in the Seven Kingdoms had at least one enemy, but you never thought someone would be so bold as to openly harm him. If anything happened to Oberyn, it would be enough to incite a war - if not by your hand, then by the people of Dorne.

Time seemed to still in that moment as you tried your best to keep calm and not completely panic. You needed to be strong for yourself, for him, and for the rest of the family. Once he was settled in bed, and you waited for the Maester to come, you kneeled at his side, taking his hand ever so gently in yours, lacing your fingers together. You weren’t alone, several people were still milling about and monitoring him, but you didn’t care.

“Oberyn,” you whispered softly as you pressed a kiss to his palm, “my love, my moon and stars. Please just...just hang on. You will be okay. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you. And when I find out who did this to you, I will make them pay. They will rue the day they dared to cross the Martells.”

He remained still as ever, and you wondered if he could even hear you. You hoped he could, in your heart of hearts you believed he could. Someone came in and brought some clean rags and water and you quickly set to wiping the sweat from his brow and cleaning the cuts on his face. They didn’t seem very deep and mostly superficial, which gave you the slightest sense of relief. When you were satisfied with that, you moved to pull off his tunic, deciding in your haste to just rip it off instead of trying to slip it over his head and disturbing him more. Your heart felt like it was seized up at the sight of the bandages, bloodied bandages, on his side. It was enough to make your stomach churn in horror as you wondered what was underneath.

But before you could reach for them to inspect the damage, Sesla entered the room and quickly came to your side. You were grateful for her comforting presence and easily let her take over, pulling you to her help before quickly hugging you, “it will be okay, I promise. Nothing will strike down the Red Viper. I will make sure of it.”

“Please,” was all you managed to choke out as she turned to tend to Oberyn. You made a small, almost helpless sound as you watched her get to work. Jeron was standing in the doorway and his presence seemed to calm you down immensely. You strode over to him and he let out a long sigh.

“I have failed you,” he said quietly as you shook your head, otherwise remaining silent. You gave his shoulder a squeeze as you realized that he must have been beating himself up over his. He was one of, if not the most, trust man Oberyn had, and yet...he was the one injured, “I promise you he’d come safe and I promised him that I’d return him safely to you. I have failed you both and now he lies in this state because of me.”

“No one could have known -”

“I am sworn to protect him,” he scoffed at himself, “and I have failed. I should be excused from his service and sent into exile.”

“Jeron,” you insisted firmly, “it was not your fault. I know you would do anything to keep him safe if you could. Right now we both need to be strong for him.”

“Yes.”

“Can you...do you know who did this?” you asked quietly as he seemed to tense up, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“Yes…”

“Who?” you asked quietly and he made a small sound in the back of his throat. You could sense his reluctance to tell you the truth, “Jeron...who did this? Who hurt Oberyn?”

“Your family,” he answered so quietly you almost didn’t hear him. But once you realized what he said you felt like you had been hit in the face with a stone. Your hand went to your chest as you tried to wrap your mind around it, “it was your brother. He attacked him under the cover of night.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Your husband was lying in front of you, on death’s doorstep because of your brother.

Your world felt like it was slowly crashing down around you.

»»————-　♡　————-««

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#oberyn x reader #oberyn martell x reader #oberyn martell #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #in name only

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kaijurakunsobs · 3 years

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Summary: The idea of a soulmate is well known, they will come to you one day, either as a lover or a friend. A single bond made of invisible thread is what will let you feel their emotions, joys and worries, to experience their pain and for them to feel yours.

But beware, for not all blessed unions are meant to be, if you were to hate and push them away, a slow death shall consume them and a garden will bloom within their chest, the flowers will fight and push to feel the sun from the outside, a poetic dead of a broken lover. A beautiful dead for your hollow existence.

You know that your mother was never a good person, or so you have been told.

Miranda meet her when she came from the city to the village, four months pregnant and with the false story of being “sick”, her sickness? She decided to cheat on her rich husband and she wanted to have you away from prying eyes and possibly abandon you here. Your birth giver was upfront about how "Having a bastard could ruin my lifestyle!", Mother Miranda smiled sweetly and had Alcina give your mother refugee and help during the birth, the Lady agreed and housed the woman.

On the night of your birth, Alcina held you in her arms, begging Miranda to let her keep you, but she denied. You were hers and hers alone.

As for your mother? Only Miranda knows what happened to her, but you suspect, that her body is buried somewhere in the forest, alone and forgotten, you couldn’t care any less.

Miranda was the one to raise you, to love you, the one who would be there when you were sick, to kiss your tears away when nightmares woke you up. She was the one to break your body apart and scream in our face how much of a failure you were, just like Alcina or Donna or those pesky lycans running amok outside, but within your failure, she saw minimal success, you were quick to learn how to care for her experiments, which were the signs of cadou rejection and how to treat it, at least, you could be useful until she placed you in the mansion the villagers were building for you.

You have seen so many people been brought to the lab, so many lives being taken for a selfish reason, that you grew numb, there was no anger or pain, you felt no grief when the test subjects saw you and begged for help, you did nothing for there was nothing inside you.

You are surprised when Miranda begins to show interest in a kid, you know he was brought here years ago and somehow had managed to survive the horrors your mother put him through. Interest grew into an obsession and then into pride, hope, you will forever remember how hard Miranda screamed when her golden child came out a failure too, cursing at the skies and asking why? He had been so close to being her perfect little boy and he turned out to be yet another fuck up.

But she doesn’t throw him away, her favoritism shows when she moved him from the medical area into a room in her private chambers, never allowing you to go close to him, slapping you and kicking up a storm whenever she saw you too close to his door, even if you were passing by. But you never resent him, you can’t hate him or her, all you can do is nod and go away.

But curiosity is something hard to get rid of, and so you waited for days almost a month until Mother left to meet up with Alcina, using the moment to sneak into his room. A beautiful room, compared to yours, he had a big bed with a canopy, the thick curtains prevent you from seeing him, it feels like a fairy tale when you part the curtain to peer inside.

Truly like a fairy tale...a beautiful boy lays there, his golden hair is going gray, probably out of stress. He has a couple of scars on his face and some new ones on his arms. You feel like reaching inside and kiss him to break the spell, but it feels...wrong, like if you could tarnish him even further by touching him, like if your mother would appear and toss you aside for laying one of your dirty hands on his skin. No matter how bad you wish to be his Knight and save him, the terror you feel over defying Mother Miranda’s orders makes you stay still.

And then, it happened.

It began as an agonizing stab in your chest, it made you trip backwards painfully slamming your head against the wall, gasping for air when the pain as a needle began to pierce through you slowly making its way to your heart, a pitiful sob left your mouth, rendering you useless while your body overcomes the initial discomfort. It takes all of your willpower to get straight and look up at the ceiling through your tears, the light it's blinding and it leaves you dizzy, almost ready to empty your stomach.

Karl Heisenberg, age eleven, lays on his luxurious-looking bed, his entire body shakes painfully, breaking through his mouth, and the fever that's racking his body is the only thing keeping him from noticing that, his soulmate is standing a couple of steps away from his bed.

But how do you even know this?

Because Miranda told you about the concept of someone blindingly loving you for all eternity, who would be your other half and the missing piece to your broken existence, Dimitrescu once said that those stories were silly little fantasies, that love should be won over and one should prove to be the right person for someone else and not just have it “hand it over”.

You used to dream of the day you would feel the connection between yourself and another person, of being able to experience their joy when their eyes fell on you. But this is far from what you wanted, what you always wished for! All you can feel is pain, radiating from so many places in your body, rendering you useless, overwhelmed with anger, grief, sorrow for “yourself”.

Everything quickly piles up, so consumed by what Karl is feeling that you don’t hear the tray that falls and the porcelain plates that shatter, you vaguely register the sting of Miranda slapping you and the distant sound of her screams.

She drags you out of the room and into the cold world outside her home, across the heartless forest and you wonder...if you might end up like your mother, buried under some tree to be forgotten. But Miranda keeps walking until she throws you at the feet of Lady Dimitrescu, speaking to the tall woman and leaving you under her care, forever.

When you were younger, you used to fear the Lady. She was imposing and so strong, a self-made matriarch, but she's so careful when helping you up and guiding you through her beautiful home, her hands are so kind when she helps you to undress and sit in the tub filled with warm water, racking her fingers through your messy hair...so this is what a mother truly is like?

She only leaves you alone when she goes to fetch anything you could wear, looking displeased when she hands you a maid's uniform "We must send for the seamstress, I cannot have you wearing those shabby clothes" that, for some reason gets you to smile.

Later, her movements are soft as she runs a brush through your hair, the fire makes the wood crack and explode, filling the room with a nice warmth, something you never lacked off but that never truly permeated your body.

"Y/N, care to explain why mother Miranda was so angry, earlier?" you hear the concern in her voice, a bit of worry hidden in a stern tone.

Alcina can see you shrink a bit, as if ashamed of what you had done “I saw the kid mother keeps in her chambers” it comes out like a whisper, scared of Miranda appearing at that moment to slap you again “I think he’s my soul mate, Alcina!”

Lady Dimitrescu chuckles lightly and smiles when you turn around to look at her ”Your soul mate, some dirty man-thing? Oh my sweet girl I hope it isn’t real and you were just revolted by the sight of a man!”

“But I felt his pain and his emotions...it was scary, but maybe he will love me!”

“Just because you can feel what he feels, doesn’t mean everything will be alright. That’s why those romances are so volatile, darling! There’s no real reason for them to work beyond being stubborn and tell yourself that it will work out” the lady is classy and gracious in her movements as she poured herself another glass of wine “That the other person at the end of your bond will fall to their knees the moment they see you, but in reality, they might resent your sole existence and end up killing you!”

“Killing me?” that comes as a surprise, you have never heard of this.

“Yes...a cruel and unjust dead” Alcina brings you to her lap letting one of her hands spread over your small chest with a sorrowful look on her face “Your lungs will get infested with flowers, a bouquet of throe will bloom within your body, each day the garden will grow and fight to see the sun beyond your mouth and it will rob you of all air and kill you in no time”

She sees you wonder about it, a million questions that you wish to ask, everything falling apart when her curious daughters come into the room, moved by the rumors some maids had shared about their mother adopting another child. All too eager to know their new sister.

After that day, the topic is never brought up.

You grow and learn everything under Alcina’s guidance, the woman is hellbent on making a lady out of you. She teaches you how to read and write, about math and how to sing, applauding when you show her the gift the cadou in your stomach gave you, Midas' touch.

Her daughters and your self-appointed sisters, all laugh and joke around you, treat you like if you were another human when you are no different from their mother, another failed creation, a remainder that Miranda was cursed to not have what she wants. But the love of your little family drowns those thoughts, leaving the happiness of your existence in a nice home and the ever-presence of pain and resentment in the back of your head.

As you grow you notice, each cut and wound that leaves a scar on your skin turns to gold when made by you, but looks as pale lines when made by Heisenberg. You can’t help but laugh when the idea of being a piece of pottery repaired via kintsugi pops in your head, and for a moment you ask yourself if Heisenberg also has golden scars to match yours?

You cry the day when you finally leave the castle, trying hard to convey your love for your mother and sisters with hugs and kisses, in low whispers, promises of coming over as much as you can. The Lady kisses your forehead and sends you off with some final words of advice.

"Never lower your head and always do your best, remember you have us and we would never let you fall"

You are eighteen when you become the miracle worker of the village, crafting medicines with alchemy, signing at the church when the congregation asks you to, turning anything into gold with your touch, smiling with grace, and claiming to have been blessed with a precious gift by Mother Miranda to help the poor and keep the village off absolute agony. In the end, everything tastes like vile and ash, the forced smiles and the sweet tone of your voice make you gang behind the long veil that covers your face.

The days when you sing at the church, are the only ones when you can feel all his hatred directed at you, each painful stab making your eyes tear, yet you keep on making the people happy with hymns crafted before you were even born. If you could let him feel how similar your anger for Miranda is, perhaps the pain in your chest would dissipate, but you can't because you are hollow.

Among the villagers you are Lady Y/N L/N, the golden touch child, you are adored and blindly loved, Miranda smiles radiantly whenever she hears nothing but good words from her cattle, how much they dote on you, ready to serve without a thought, the eagerness to work under you. You may have been a failed vessel but you are a success as a flycatcher, bringing the sheep down to the slaughterhouse to be sent to the other Lords.

On meeting day, the pain and emotions that you feel seem to amplify the closer you are to Heisenberg.

As you sit beside your adoptive mother, your smaller hand in hers, while Mother Miranda speaks and praises each one of her children, lingering a bit too much on her golden child. The pressure in your chest grows, it feels like when you submerge in the tub as if your lungs were being crushed under an invisible force, ready to cough and gasp for air.

Across from you, he sits, posture closed and annoyed beyond belief when Miranda asks him to stay a bit longer after the meeting is done, you feel relief when Lady Dimitrescu gets up, opting to ignore Heisenberg in favor of bringing you back to the castle for your scheduled visit.

You two aren't even halfway through your journey back when you notice you are missing something, a small gift for today's reunion, a bag of fine jasmine tea.

"Mother, I need to get back. It seems I misplaced something, you go ahead!"

There's no time for Alcina to respond before you volt back to the church, the soft lace of your veil beautifully flying behind your hurried steps, slowly dropping your speed the closer you get to the entrance of the building, from it you can see Miranda, she as shed her mask off and is touching Heisenberg's face the way you have seen brides or wives touch their husbands' faces.

A pulse of repugnance and despise make you stumble back, pressing your back against the outer wall, it feels like the first time you met him, it's blinding and leaves you disoriented for a second, a hand flies up to your mouth when a wave of nausea hits you. He's not only pissed, he feels filthy and is suppressing a murderous intent behind a mask of indifference.

The sensation grows and grows until it's crushing you. One look up and you see him standing before you, a hand caging you between him and pillar.

"What are you doing here, freak? The tall bitch sent you to spy on me? tell her to fuck off" this isn't the first time you hear his voice, but it feels like it, even if his words are filled with malice, they taste like bitter wine for you.

"NO!...I mean...no, Lord Heisenberg. I came back because I lost something, a small bag"

"So you are afraid the dog stole from you, are you calling me a thief?" your mouth opens to explain to him once more, but the burly man only growls and steps away "Think whatever you want, I can't care any less for whatever the scum thinks of me"

Later, in the solitude of your home, you will call yourself an idiot, asking yourself why you reached for his empty hand when he turned around ready to leave, why you didn't revealed who you were, why you didn't cried when the man slammed your body against the wall.

"DON'T YOU DARE TO TOUCH ME, BITCH!" Heisenberg's tobacco infused breath hits your face, the painful stab of hatred felt like if your body were being torn apart "I CAN'T STAND PEOPLE LIKE YOU, YOU MAKE SICK!"

This time, when he turns around to leave, you don't reach out, you stay there, gasping for hair and coughing like if you were drowning, a slick sensation in your throat makes you gag and cough harder than before, both of your hands are cupped over your mouth, scared at the idea of throwing up.

Thank God you don't.

The moment passes and your body calms down, but your eyes grow wide when you see what made you gag.

A single yellow carnation petal covered in spit rests between your hands.

-----

Yelow Carnation: rejection and disdain

tag list: @happygalaxymilkshake @mightybeeb @kittyb2000

#re8 #resident evil village #resident evil 8 #resident evil #karl heisenberg #karl heisenberg x reader

87 notes · View notes

stayndays · 4 years

Text

𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐬! - 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧

part of my anime!skz series, this story is based off of “Toradora!” and will include spoilers on the plot of the show.

genres & tropes: fluff, minor angst (mostly at the end), high school au, love triangle/square, enemies & neighbors to lovers au, tsundere!jeongin (i guess?), gender neutral reader, reader is misunderstood as a cold person

disclaimers: drowning (but no death), mentions of rumor spreading & outcasting, mentions of anxious feelings/actual anxiety, one or two swear words, i have not proofread this so if the last few episodes seem really wonky that’s why

word count: 11k... we don’t comment on that

summary: “Y/L/N Y/N. Yang Jeongin. Kim “Chuu” Jiwoo. Kim Seungmin. You like Seungmin, Jeongin likes Chuu. You’re best friends with Chuu, Jeongin’s best friends with Seungmin. You don’t like Jeongin, but you know about each other’s crush. It’s time to play a game of Cupid, while being struck with Cupid’s arrow yourself.”

a/n: happy valentines day and belated jeongin day! this is the first story i’ve decided to tackle for my anime!skz series as well, so i get to hit three birds with one stone with this fic. also, i decided to take out a couple elements in the original anime (such as the addition of a character that’s like ami, taiga’s family issues, and some events) just so it’s simpler and totally not because i’m on a time crunch. i hope you enjoy reading this! <3

taglist: @skzwriternet @dayawantstosleep @desertofdessert @mr-jisung @dreamylunarnight (sorry if i forgot you i’m running on 0.2 braincells)

anime!skz masterlist is here!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Episode 1: Collision Course

“Psst, look over there!”

“Huh? What?”

“The fennec fox is about to face off against the dark delinquent!”

You turn to face the two students after overhearing the words “dark delinquent”, making the duo back away in fear. Cursing your parents who gave you these intimidating genes, you heave out a breath out of annoyance, and continue walking down the hallway.

Alas, maybe your appearance is the reason why people never approach you unless it’s absolutely necessary. You still manage to give off this dark atmosphere despite how much you try to change your appearance.

“Don’t worry, Y/N,” your best friend, Chuu, attempts to reassure you. “It’s only the first day of school! You still have an entire school year to prove them wrong.”

You’d be lying if you said you didn’t envy your best friend, who basically embodies the definition of the sun. Always smiling and having a positive attitude regarding the situation, you just so happened to be the exact opposite of her. Boys are constantly crushing on her, she’s one of the most popular girls of your year, but she just so happens to be buddies with you.

“Oh, watch out Y/N!” Distracted by your thoughts, you process Chuu’s warning just a second too late, and collide with a particularly tall boy, somehow smacking your face right into the torso part of his male school uniform. The force manages to knock the both off you to the ground, sending your papers flying all over the place.

Oh, that’s right. That’s what the two girls were talking about. You’ve heard rumors of who this “fennec fox” person is, and how he has a really bad temper when you push his gears. But this guy you just bumped into? A fennec fox?

You guess you can see some resemblance of a fox in his facial structure, but his figure literally towered over you, making you feel like an ant standing next to a tree. The small crowd of passing students trying their absolute least to hold in their giggles make you feel even smaller, your neck growing hot because of how embarrassed you are.

“Watch where you’re going next time!” the boy scolds you, brushing off the paper that landed on top of his head. His voice makes you flinch slightly, and it’s only in that moment that you realize the rumors, so far at least, were true.

“Er, sorry,” you quietly mumble out, scratching the side of your face. He definitely looks pissed, you thought, smoke practically fuming out of the guy’s ears. “Here, I’ll help you gather your stuff.”

“I’ll help you guys out, too!” you hear a familiar voice, and meet the eyes belonging to a face you know all too well.

Kim Seungmin: your secret crush that nobody truly knows about (you’ve tried approaching the topic to Chuu multiple times, only to be interrupted by her other friends). He’s the vice president of your school, a role he’s gained through the student body president herself. The definition of hardworking and kind at the same time, who would you be not to fall for a guy like him?

Your breath gets caught up in your throat as you try to answer him. “Oh- Uh- Thank you, Seungmin.”

“Of course! Wouldn’t hurt to help out my best friend, too,” Seungmin replies.

Best friend?

“Thanks..” the boy simply mumbles in response, and you almost did a double take on what you just heard. Seungmin and this guy... best friends? Before you can dwell on it long enough, however, you’re already being pulled to your feet by Chuu, and your papers are back in your hands.

“Let’s go, Y/N!” Chuu beams with enthusiasm, and you could only afford a small smile in return. “Say, which class are you two in this year?”

“2-A,” the boy answers in a composed manner, the anger he released on you must’ve vanished by now, and you could almost see the pink dust coating his face. “What about you, Chuu?”

You can’t even process the way the guy completely skipped over you to only ask Chuu personally before you blurt out,

“We’re in the same class?!”

Episode 2: A Bold Strategy

Bad news: your love letter is gone.

That bastard fox dude, Jeongin, you learned his name was, must’ve taken it when you bumped into him in the morning. Not that you blame him entirely, because how could you remember to grab your letter in the ocean of textbooks and notebook paper?

Good news: you have his own love letter.

Why good news? Well, that just means he’s in the exact same boat as you, and now you can call yourself even with him. An exchange of love letters, it almost makes your heart calm down for a split second.

Until you read who the letter was addressed to.

There’s no way in hell this guy could get with your best friend. Jeongin, based off of first impressions, is a literal firecracker (who, for some reason, shouts at people he just met), while Chuu is a ball of sunshine. You don’t blame him, though, as almost every male classmate you’ve had has taken some sort of interest in her at some point, and you guess he’s no exception.

Then again, you’re in the same situation as him, crushing on somebody way out of your league.

While Seungmin is a star student, always willing to help people out and socialize, you’re a total outcast who can barely get average grades in school. Seungmin just so happened to be one of two (the other being Chuu) who’s approached you willingly, and that’s why you fell for him. That charming smile of his, and his caring nature. It was all too much for you.

As you thought about it more, flipping Jeongin’s love letter to Chuu between the flesh of your fingers, it’s not a terrible idea to help out Jeongin. He may currently have a 0% chance of getting with Chuu, but if you succeed and play a bit of matchmaking, he could return the favor to you.

You like his best friend, he likes your best friend...

You gently rip open the envelope encasing Jeongin’s letter, and start reading.

Episode 3: The Cupid Game Begins

“Uh, Jeongin-” you tap the boy’s shoulder once, which was conveniently right in front of your desk. He continues to talk to the people around him, which makes you tap his shoulder harder.

Jeongin whips his head around to meet your calm eyes, only turning slightly frightened when you flinch at his sudden movement. “Wha- Ah! What do you want?” He says in an aggravated tone.

“Sorry,” you apologize quickly for making him jump, not wanting to cause another scene like yesterday. “I just need to talk to you about something for a few minutes.”

Jeongin lets out a groan, fixing his position so he can look behind him more comfortably. “What exactly do you want to talk about?”

“Something I’m sure you don’t want your friends to hear,” you respond casually, picking at the skin on your fingers. The boy’s eyes visibly perk up at your reasoning, and finally nods. “Thanks,” you say to him and stand up, pushing in your seat.

“Careful Jeongin!”

“Fight back if they hit you!”

You let out a deep sigh at the comments directed towards you, not even bothering to shoot them a glance in response. It’ll only make the rumors worse, you think as you walk out of the classroom, Jeongin trailing behind your footsteps after closing the door.

The hallway was silent once you stepped out of your class, no longer hearing the chattering of your fellow classmates about the latest gossip and homework. You could only hear your very own footsteps, along with Jeongin’s feet, which were behind you. Once the two of you made your way to the vending machines near the school stairs, you take out the coin you were holding in your hand and insert it into one of the machines.

“Which drink do you want?” you ask the boy without turning to face him, fishing out another coin in your mini wallet.

“The melon one-” Jeongin does a double take, not believing what he heard as he watches you insert another coin into the vending machine. “Wait, why are you buying a drink for me?” He questions your antics, slowly sliding down the wall to sit on the floor.

You stick your hand into the machine to grab Jeongin’s drink, making eye contact with him as you hand it over. “Why not? Is there a reason I should be buying you a drink?”

“Well, I mean,” Jeongin scratches the back of his neck in confusion. “Aren’t you supposed to be... a delinquent?”

You chuckle at his explanation, “Does that mean you’re a fox? Our nicknames in this school are only based off of our appearances, isn’t that funny?” Joining him on the floor, you crack open your own drink. “So no, I’m not a delinquent, and I’ll never be one.”

“That’s not what I’m here to talk about anyways,” you don’t bother to check Jeongin’s facial expressions as you continue, starting to take out his envelope before you’re stopped by him.

“Wait! I have something to give you too,” Jeongin stops your movement, slipping out something from his pocket as well.

“Is this yours?”

You both say at the same time, revealing each other’s envelopes. There’s yours, with a tacky, red heart sticker stamped onto the envelope to seal it. Then there’s Jeongin’s, with only the word “To: Chuu” on the back.

Jeongin quickly snatches his letter from your hand, and quickly throws your own onto your lap. “Uh, thanks for returning it. You didn’t- Give it to Chuu for her to read... right?”

“Of course not.”

“And you didn’t read what’s inside?”

“..You got me there, I’ll admit it,” you chuckle slightly, raising your hands in defeat as your face starts to grow hot. Jeongin hums a bit, surprisingly not even a tad bit angry at your confession.

“Well,” Jeongin leans back against the wall. “I guess we’re even then.”

“What?!” you exclaim in surprise. “I mean- Yeah, cool. Actually, this works out perfectly.”

“Why?”

“I have a proposal for you,” you start. “We both like each other’s best friend, right? So we could be each other’s wingman and try to get with our crush. It’ll just take a bit of cooperation, though.”

Jeongin scoffs, “You made me look like a fool on the first day of school, why should I?”

“Well, besides being the apparent ‘delinquent’ of this school, I’d say I’m quite good at matchmaking thanks to Chuu, a cupid, you could almost say,” you cross your arms in defense. “Then again, since I’ve already read your sappy love letter to Chuu, I could always tell her that-”

“Fine!” Jeongin finally gives in. “I’m in, I’m in. I have absolutely no idea how I could get somebody like Seungmin to like somebody like you, but if you’re able to get me and Chuu into a relationship, I’ll try my best to play cupid. Okay?”

“I’m just going to ignore that comment about me and take it,” you shrug, standing up after checking the clock on the wall. “I’ll give you my address on a piece of paper later, so we could meet up and start planning.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jeongin follows your actions, standing up and tossing his drink into the trash can.

“Remind me to pay you back for the drink, by the way.”

Episode 4: His Angelic Neighbor

“How ironic.”

“How ironic, indeed,” Jeongin agrees with you, the two of you standing at the entrance of Eda Apartments Complex, your backpacks on your back.

The studio apartment complex the both of you just so happen to live in, that is.

Part of you is relieved that you live near Jeongin, so maybe you could get to know him better (not as a friend, of course, but to see if Chuu would actually like him), and of course to work out your cupid plans together. However, the other part of you is confused as to why you’ve never even seen him around your apartment until now.

These thoughts run through your head as Jeongin leads you to his apartment, walking up a lengthy three flights of stairs, as opposed to your usual two.

When he’s about to open the door to his place, Jeongin turns around to face you, key in hand. “Whatever you do, don’t comment about my place.”

“Okay...?” you comply with an incredibly confused tone, but it seems to be enough for Jeongin, as he swings the door open.

Soda cans upon soda cans are messily piled up near a trash can, which was overflowing with paper plates and tissues. His bed, which is in the corner of the room (which, to be fair, it’s a studio apartment, and you have the same bed layout as him), wasn’t even made, and what you could assume to be a dining table had leftover Chinese takeout boxes on it.

When you peered into the sink after reluctantly placing your belongings near the door, it’s almost clogged up with muck and filth, making a shiver run down your spine. Not to mention, when you asked Jeongin if you could have a drink from the fridge, all your eyes could see were frozen meals & rows of soda and juice. How long has Jeongin been living this way?

“Uhm, hate to mention this to you,” you close the fridge gently after grabbing a can of soda. “but your place is really-”

“What did I say to you before I opened the door?” Jeongin fires back before you could finish.

You stay silent.

“Exactly. Now can we please start talking about our ‘Cupid Plans’ as you like to refer to it?” Jeongin raises an eyebrow at you, taking out the items in his backpack.

“It’s a cute name, okay?” you respond, making your way to the table as Jeongin pushes the takeout boxes to the side. “And we’ll be studying too, we have a quiz tomorrow, remember?”

“I’ll rather do the studying later,” Jeongin. “So what does Chuu like?”

“Hmm...” it takes you a moment to think about what your best friend likes when it comes to love, which is a bit strange, because you’d think you’d know what Chuu likes after watching people confess to her after all these years. “I think she’d prefer something planned? Even extravagant, if you really push it. She likes plushies and small gifts.”

“What about Seungmin?” you ask Jeongin.

It also takes Jeongin a second to come up with an answer. “He’s always been into nerdy, yet bubbly people, I guess? Since you’re so antisocial, though, he probably won’t like somebody like you right now.”

“Wow, thanks.”

“I’m only trying to help!”

The conversation shifts slightly, and to your surprise, flows well despite your polar opposite personality. You and Jeongin discuss possible ideas as to how both of you could help each other out while studying for your upcoming quiz.

“And for equation 17, would it be-” you lift your head up from your math textbook, only to see Jeongin using his arm as a pillow and sleeping on his own book. You blink a couple times in disbelief, but remember that you’ve been over at his house for a little over three hours at this point. Shrugging, you gently close your textbook and decide to call it a day at Jeongin’s place.

But then you go back to your senses and remember how filthy of an apartment you’ve been at this entire time. The more you look at your surroundings, the more you desire to clean up the place.

A neat freak, that’s what everybody calls you. It’s what your mom taught you all throughout your childhood, and it’s a trait you’ve kept until now.

Your mind goes into autopilot mode as you start moving around his place left and right. Somehow, you were able to find a box of plastic gloves stored in the back of the sink cabinet, so you put a pair on and start cleaning. Tying up garbage bags and cleaning out the sink, you also make the effort to place the leftover Chinese food into the fridge after checking if it’s spoiled or not. Most people would stare at you in confusion, but you shake your head at the thought, only hoping that Jeongin would at least appreciate your efforts.

By the end of your cleaning session, you could now call the studio apartment an apartment, and not some kind of swamp. Pleased at your work, you take out one of your notebooks and rip out a piece of paper, grabbing a pencil along the way. You write a quick note for Jeongin to read when he wakes up:

“Cleaned up your place while you were asleep, I could also cook for you and teach you how to cook? (Chuu likes food) text me: xxx-xxx-xxxx”

Swinging your backpack onto your pack, you leave his apartment and make your way to your own.

Later that night, your phone dings with a message from an unknown number.

[Unknown: i’m so tired of frozen meals and takeout, please cook for me (and teach me how)]

Episode 5: However

“Here’s your lunch, Yang,” you pass your spare lunchbox to the seat in front of you, which Jeongin takes gratefully. Chuu, who was making her way over to the seat next to you, catches sight of your interaction with Jeongin.

“Y/N’s food is good, isn’t it Jeongin?” Chuu strikes up a conversation right away, leaving Jeongin flustered, and most likely burning hot.

“Y-Yeah, it is.”

“Say, you two have been talking a lot lately,” Chuu starts talking as you tilt your head up to take a sip of your drink. “Have you two been, or should I say, has Y/N finally gotten a-”

You choke on your drink, almost spitting it all over Jeongin’s back before catching yourself. Jeongin has almost the same reaction as you, only choking on the food you prepared for him instead. It had only been two weeks of school; two weeks of talking to Jeongin solely about each other’s crush, and yet Chuu believes that you two have something going on.

“Absolutely not, Chuu.”

“Yeah, no way.”

You exchange a glare with Jeongin, almost in a panicked manner. If Chuu believes that you two are dating, that would practically be the end of your chances to be with Seungmin, same going for Jeongin with Chuu.

“Alrighty then, I trust you two,” Chuu leans back in the chair she’s sitting on, before promptly getting up and making her way to the door of the classroom. “I’m gonna use the bathroom.”

As soon as she closes the door, Jeongin immediately leans over to your desk, ignoring his bento box. “We have to do something about what Chuu said.”

“Duh, there’s no way we could let her think that about us,” you agree with him. “What are some solutions? We could try to be more distant with each other, which honestly I don’t think either of us would mind too much. I could simply tell Chuu that we aren’t even close friends, or-”

“You need to confess to Seungmin,” Jeongin bluntly tells you, catching you off guard.

“What- why would I do that?!” you almost yell at the boy in front of his face. His plan is all kinds of crazy, you would’ve never thought of it yourself.

“You’ve known Seungmin longer than I’ve known Chuu, so you have a lower risk of being rejected. And if you actually end up dating Seungmin, then Chuu would know that us two aren’t a couple,” Jeongin crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s a win-win situation.”

You scoff, “And if I get rejected?”

“I’ll like- I don’t know, buy you ice cream?” Jeongin attempts to persuade you, to which you sigh as a response.

“I guess I’ll trust you on this.”

The day passes by without a hitch, to your utter shock, as the churning in your stomach says otherwise. The thought of impulsively confessing to your long time crush makes you feel lightheaded and dizzy, as it was something you’ve never done before. However, your stubbornness is refusing you to back down from Jeongin’s wild plan, so here you are, face to face with Seungmin at the roof of the school.

“Erm- So-”

“The weather is pretty nice today, isn’t it Y/N?” Seungmin casually breaks the ice wall between you two.

The sudden question catches you off guard. “Ah, yes.. yes it is...” Already, you could feel the heat rising up your body, even when the weather today was particularly cloudy. “Uhm, I brought you here to tell you something, Seungmin.”

“Oh, what is it?” Seungmin seems surprised at your statement, but the voice in your head tells you otherwise. He’s smart enough to look through people, you know that already, so why are you trying to hide your feelings when you’re already this far?

It’s time to take a leap of faith, you think, as you take in a large breath before telling him everything. “Uh, you see.. I’ve always appreciated you ever since you approached me that one day. Nobody’s ever done that for me except for you and Chuu, and because of that I think you’re a.. great person... What- What I’m trying to say here is-”

“I like you, Seungmin.”

You tilt your head downwards, almost in shame as you play with your fingers anxiously. Letting out a shaky exhale, you can’t believe that you just confessed all of those things to your own crush. Your heart beating a thousand miles a second, it felt like you were about to explode from either embarrassment or anticipation; quite possibly even both at the same time.

“You, know, Y/N..” Seungmin starts to chuckle, grabbing onto his left wrist with his right hand.

“I used to like you.”

That made you look back up at him in shock, blinking a couple times out of disbelief. “Really?!”

Seungmin simply hums, confirming what he just stated. “That’s why I approached you in the first place. There was something about you that drew me into talking to you. And of course, you didn’t disappoint me,” he flashes you a comforting smile, but it soon goes away at his next word.

“However...”

Seungmin leaves you hanging after that one word: however. His mouth opens and closes, most likely trying to come up with the right words to say. You wobble your feet back and forth, becoming more and more impatient.

But then, he says something. A simple, ten word sentence. Not a compound nor a complex sentence. Easy for a little kid to understand.

“I hope we can be good friends in the future.”

And yet it cracks your heart.

In a blink of an eye, Seungmin has disappeared from your view. An unexpected wind blows through your body, almost feeling like a comforting pat on the back after being rejected; friend-zoned.

You make your way to the front of the school, dragging your feet in a lazy manner. Jeongin’s head perks up when he nears footsteps, only to gaze down at your slumped figure. Letting out a deep exhale, you give Jeongin a glare that could cut him in half; one of disappointment and exhaustion.

“You owe me ice cream.”

The ice cream place is about two blocks away from your apartment complex, decorated in obnoxious pastel colors that make your eyes squint. Jeongin is relatively quiet throughout your walk there, only offering to carry your backpack if it’s too heavy for you, to which you declined quietly. You can feel the burn of his eyes on top of your head, anticipating for you to let out a scream in anger, but you’re simply not that kind of person.

You remain deep in thought even when you sit down, grabbing a menu to cover your face. Jeongin’s eyes remain on your figure, and you wonder if he’s actually, genuinely, worried for you.

“Er, what do you want to order?” Jeongin asks you in an attempt to break the tension. “I’ll pay, since you seem a bit heartbroken right now-”

“Hi, welcome 901 Freeze Treats Parlor-” you look up from the menu at the sound of a familiar, cheery voice.

You forgot Chuu works here.

And you forgot to tell Jeongin that information.

“Oh, Y/N! And Jeongin, hi guys,” Chuu flashes a grin at the both of you, and you can’t help but smile and almost giggle at how Jeongin grows beetroot red. She’s sporting a pair of pigtails in her hair, and the striped uniform topped with a cute hat on top. “What can I get you guys?” “I’ll- I’ll get the banana split Chuu!” Jeongin exclaims a bit too loud, attracting the rest of the customers at the parlor. Chuu, although a bit confused, seems to enjoy Jeongin’s enthusiasm for ice cream and writes down the order.

You set down the menu and point to what you want with a hum, to which Chuu bends forward slightly in order to see what you want. “You always order that, Y/N! Don’t you want to try something else?”

“I’m good, Chuu, thanks,” you give her a gentle smile, praying that she won’t comment about how tired and defeated you look. Fortunately for you, she leaves you alone, and you’re left back with just Jeongin.

“How have my letters been doing?” Jeongin blurts out before he could stop himself, covering his mouth with one of his hands soon after. “I- I mean, I shouldn’t.. really ask when you’re sad.. but I mean I might as well ask you since we just talked to her, right? Sorry-”

“They’re doing good, she likes them a lot,” you reply softly to the frantic boy, and he lets out a sigh of relief at your answer. You’ve spent the past few weeks helping Jeongin write love letters to Chuu, even decorating them with cute stickers. For once, your writing skills can come into play, and you haven’t let Jeongin down yet. “And it’s okay, my head is just in the clouds. At least he let me down gently.”

“What exactly did he say?” Jeongin eggs you on, wanting you to elaborate further.

“Something along the lines of us being good friends in the future,” you explain to him. “He even said that he used to like me, but I don’t know-”

“Then you still have a chance, right?” Jeongin doesn’t wait for you to finish your sentence before jumping in. “He left the door wide open for you to walk into, or- something like that at least. And, now thinking about it, I actually do think he used to like you.”

You roll your eyes, “You’re only saying that to make me feel better about this.”

“No, really! He mentioned that he liked somebody quiet and mysterious, and that he was gravitated towards that person. He told me that he would approach that person someday. It must’ve been you! I’ve known Seungmin for years, and this is one of two times he’s told me about his crushes,” Jeongin carries on with his own explanation. “So, in conclusion, I still believe it’s possible to win over his heart.”

Your lips press into a thin line, “You sure? Like, you’re absolutely positive about this?”

Jeongin nods, and for the first time since you’ve met him, he sends you a genuinely positive smile. It’s not like the annoyed snarks or the cheeky smirks he gives you all the time, but rather, something you could find comfort in. Just like Seungmin’s smile.

“Okay then, I’ll trust you.”

Episode 6: Swimming Lessons

“Did you guys hear that the school’s swimming pool is opening next week?” A masculine voice you know all too well, yet you wish you didn’t at the same time, is heard from behind your back. Seungmin locks eyes with you as he tosses an arm around Jeongin’s shoulder while you continue walking down the hallway.

It’s all too weird in your opinion that Seungmin is actually even friendlier after rejecting you. Because, shouldn’t the two of you be distant for at least a week or two? You guess that’s just not how Seungmin operates, then, as he dove right back into talking with you after that dreadful day on the school rooftop.

“Yeah, Seung!” Jeongin answers with a joyful tone, giving you the chance to break your eye contact with Seungmin. You, on the other hand, were not a swimmer whatsoever.

Being submerged into a body of water to the point where your toes can’t reach the ground has never been ideal for you. Any kind of physical action required to even survive in the water is off putting in your option, so you’ve always stuck to dipping your feet into the water and nothing else.

But you guess that changes starting today.

“You know Seungmin,” Jeongin starts to say, “Y/N is actually a pretty good swimmer! I think they could even beat you in a swimming race.”

Your head jumps up in surprise, eyes widening when Jeongin turns to you. He mumbles the words “trust me” before going back to Seungmin. How many times will you have to trust Jeongin and his crazy schemes?

“Oh, really?”

Jeongin hums in confirmation, ignoring the side nudges coming from you.

“Then we should race once the pool opens, Y/N!” Seungmin suggests with visible excitement beaming from his face.

Your gut immediately tells you to deny, but then you have to consider Jeongin’s “trust me.” He seems fairly confident that everything would work out, so is the risk worth the possible reward?

“Oh- Uhm... Sure! Sure, let’s.. let’s race, yeah,” you manage to let out before you could change your mind. “Just give me time to prepare, I, uh, haven’t swam in a while.”

“Of course!” Seungmin grins. “Let’s do it in two weeks, okay?

All you could respond with is a nod, which Seungmin takes without anymore questions. He bids the both of you well, and makes a left to the student council room.

You feel like a puddle of mush, waiting to collapse onto the tile floor of the school hallway. “I. Hate. You,” you scowl harshly at Jeongin.

“What?” Jeongin is caught off guard at your sudden hostility. “You never mentioned that you were afraid of the pool, and I don’t think it’s that bad of an idea. This is your chance to impress Seungmin!”

You scratch your head in confusion and denial. “Isn’t this a bit much, though? And who’s going to teach me how to swim?”

“You could always get me back with any ridiculous idea on how to get Chuu to like me,” Jeongin suggests to you. “And I’ll teach you, I’m a decent swimmer.”

“Sure, sure. Thanks for the idea, by the way,” you comment with a smirk, watching as Jeongin’s expression turns into one of regret.

“Now, teach me how to swim.”

An entire two weeks pass, and with those two weeks, comes the opening of the school pool. Although the vast majority of your classmates are genuinely excited to get a chance to cool down in the recent, scorching weather, you’re visibly less enthusiastic about it. You still try to keep a smile on your face with Seungmin is around though, so he doesn’t see through the lie Jeongin spontaneously made up.

“Y/N!” Chuu approaches you after exiting the changing room near the pool; you’ve already changed prior to her. “Your race with Seungmin is today, right? I see you’re all decked out in floaties.”

“Yeah, I’m just, uh- using them for safety purposes.” you give her a short and sweet response due to the churning in your stomach after being reminded of the event happening today. It’s a shame that your entire class knows what’s going down in just a few minutes, because they’re all anticipating your match with Seungmin. “The Delinquent vs The Student Pet” is what they’ve dubbed the match.

Also, Seungmin was generous enough to add onto the rules that floats were allowed to be used. So now you have floats all around your figure: some attached onto you, some you have to hold.

“Hey Y/N-” Jeongin stops walking towards you after noticing Chuu, her hair in a braid and only wearing a casual swimsuit. “Oh- Hi Chuu!”

Chuu acknowledges Jeongin’s presence, but quickly turns back to you. “I hope you win the race, Y/N. I have faith that you could do it!”

“Y-Yeah Y/N! We didn’t train all for nothing,” Jeongin adds onto Chuu’s comment. Thankfully, although Chuu doesn’t even know that you couldn’t swim prior to now, she doesn’t question Jeongin’s extra addition of training. “Let’s head over to the start of the pool? Seungmin’s already there, I’m just here to fetch Y/N.”

“Okay! I’m referee as well, so I have to be there too,” Chuu claims, and the three

Seungmin turns around from a group of boys to greet you, “Hey, Y/N! Ready for our match?

“H-Hey Seungmin,” you greet him with a friendly, yet shy tone, along with a nod.

“Okay!” Chuu gathers everybody’s attention with just the sound of her voice. “We’re here today to watch the race of Y/N vs Seungmin. On the count of three, I’ll blow my whistle and they’ll start swimming. You must go to the end of the pool, and right back to where we are right now. Ready?”

“3...”

“Also, just to calm your nerves a bit,” Seungmin whispers to just you right before the race begins.

“2...”

“I already know that you didn’t know how to swim before this. It’s okay if you fail, I’ll make sure nobody makes fun of you. Just stay safe, okay?”

“1...”

Your breath hitches for a split second, but before you can fully process what Seungmin just confessed to you, the whistle blows.

Seungmin dives into the water head first, while you jump in measly with your feet touching the water before the rest of your body. By the time you’re able to start kicking your legs, Seungmin is already ahead of you, so you push against the wall using your feet and start doggy paddling. It’s quite pathetic, and you’re sure that’s what everybody is thinking as they watch you swim, but it doesn’t matter at this point.

Or does it?

Because while you’re swimming across the pool, your brain just had to remind yourself about what Seungmin said seconds before the race started. He already knew you couldn’t swim, so it’s not really about impressing him anymore.

Then again, it’s not necessarily about winning, but about showing Seungmin that you’re dedicated enough to try new things to have fun with him.

That’s why it matters now.

However, it feels like you’re sinking.

Throughout the race, you’ve lost float after float, and now you only have the two floats that wrap around your arms. The water is slowly starting to touch your lips, and falling into a standing position, making your situation even worse. Your heart pounds faster and faster in a panicked frenzy, struggling to comprehend what to do.

Thankfully, cupid comes to rescue you.

He jumps into the pool like a lifeguard, placing his hands near your armpits before pulling you out of the water with a surprising amount of strength. Despite the midst of chaos you were put in, you’re able to hear cheers and applauds, signaling that Seungmin must’ve finished the race. Once again, you’re left to vanish, with the only other misunderstood student to help you.

You feel the surface of the concrete outside of the pool on your bottom as you cough out water. Yet, Jeongin is nowhere in your sight.

That’s when you realized. He’s submerged under the water.

You assume that he must’ve lost energy while saving you, resulting in the two of you swapping places. Eyes widening at the sight, you sprint across the flooring of the pool site, screaming your lungs out for somebody to help.

“Shit!” you curse yourself when you finally get the an adult’s attention after being unable to get a classmate to help you. All of your classmates ended up next to Seungmin, aka, the opposite end of where you stopped swimming. It’s only when the teacher pulls Jeongin’s unconscious body out of the water for it to lay down that it grabs everybody’s attention, swarming to see what was happening.

That’s when you snap.

“I’m disappointed in all of you right now!” you scold all of your classmates, something you’d never think you’d get the courage to do until now. “All of you were focused on that stupid race, but you never bothered to check on Jeongin. He could’ve died because of your ignorance! I hope you all know that.”

After leaving your classmates’ mouths agape, you storm out of the crowd, and make your way to the changing room. Nobody, not even Chuu or Seungmin, bothers to approach you.

Later that day, after some of your classmates apologized for not noticing what was happening, you, and a now in-stable-condition Jeongin, walk home after an exhausting day. Not many words are said, just like your regular walks after each school day, until Jeongin turns to you.

“Uhm, I just wanna say..” Jeongin starts to speak,. “Thanks for defending me earlier after I drowned.”

You blink in surprise, “Wait, you heard all of that?”

“Yeah, I was already conscious for a few seconds before you started going off on them. But thank you, seriously. I appreciate it after being misunderstood by our classmates for all these years,” Jeongin sighs, and then gives you another one of his kind smiles.

“Of course...” your mouth forms a thin line after you mumble out those two words.

Why is your heart fluttering like Jeongin’s pair of cupid wings?

Episode 7: All For Your Happiness

“Hey Chuu, listen to this!” you hold your phone right next to Chuu’s ear, which was playing the sounds you’d find at a haunted mansion. She yelps once she realizes what she’s listening to, and pushes your phone away with her palm, making everybody laugh.

Never in a million years would you find yourself sitting on a train with Chuu, Jeongin, and Seungmin all at once. The four of you were on your way to Chuu’s beach house, a place you’ve been to before during every summer break prior to this one, but it was always just the two of you. Now, however, you have your very own crush tagging along, plus his own best friend (and you don’t exactly know what you should call him anymore... Friend? Good Friend? Partner in Crime? Cupid Partner?).

And you and Jeongin have a plan. One time, for once, you came up with, and you believe that it’s less traumatizing than nearly drowning in a pool.

It just so turns out that Jeongin is a horror movie enthusiast, so he slipped multiple DVD sets of horror movie classics into his suitcase to do a watching marathon at the beach house. It also turns out that Chuu is terrified of anything that could scare her, like jump scares. So, the plan is for Jeongin to become Chuu’s knight in shining armor for whenever she gets scared during this trip.

“Why are you making me listen to all of these things?” Chuu whines with a pout. To be fair, you’ve been making her listen to these chilling noises for the entire train ride, to the point where you’re almost at your stop.

“It’s kind of funny to watch your reactions, that’s all,” you semi lie, because while it is a bit hilarious to see Chuu’s dramatic reactions, you’re waiting for the moment for Jeongin to strike.

And it’s at that moment when Jeongin finally speaks up, “Er- Chuu! If you ever get scared during this trip, come to me and I’ll-”

You mouth the word “protect” to Jeongin once he stops speaking.

“Uh- protect you!” Jeongin finishes after looking at you.

“Oh okay!” Chuu gives Jeongin a heartfelt grin. “I’ll make sure to go to you then, thanks!”

Jeongin nods eagerly, something Seungmin chuckles at, and you lean back in your seat at ease. If you’re able to successfully help Jeongin be Chuu’s knight during this trip, you’re certain that Chuu will at least take some interest at Jeongin.

The train reaches your destination swiftly after Jeongin’s interaction with Chuu, and after a quick bus ride and a trek to the beach, you’ve finally reached Chuu’s family beach house.

“Wow, this is awesome Chuu!” Seungmin shouts gleefully as he looks at the house. The house is relatively small and gives off a modern feel, but it’s fortunately enough to fit four people in.

Chuu smiles at the compliment, “Thank you! My family is fortunate enough to own a place like this for the summer. But since my parents are always overseas when summer rolls around, this place turns into a paradise for Y/N and I!”

“Anyways,” Chuu continues. “We should probably clean up the house since it hasn’t been used since last year, but I say we go play on the beach first!”

While Seungmin and Jeongin nod their heads eagerly, a lightbulb is turned on in your head.

“Actually,” you speak up. “I’ll go on ahead and clean up the house first. It’s probably messy inside, and you guys know how much of a ‘neat freak’ I am.”

Jeongin seems to catch onto your idea, his eyebrows rising, “Oh, then I’ll clean up with Y/N too!”

“But you seem really excited for the beach Jeongin,” Seungmin questions, but Jeongin waves it off.

“It’s okay! You two can go play first,” Jeongin insists, and the other two don’t ask anymore questions, heading towards the ocean. “You really are a smart person, aren’t you Y/N?”

There it is; that fluttering in your heart again, but why now? “Well, you’re smart for catching on. Let’s go place scary traps all over the house?”

“Heck yeah.”

After some time cleaning up the house (and making what would be Seungmin and Jeongin’s room especially clean) and placing various objects around the rooms to create a horror effect, the two of you had finally joined the others at the beach. It was then that the “Scare Chuu Montage” officially began.

During your time at the beach, you attempted to kick some seaweed at Chuu’s legs to make her jump, but the ocean water never agreed to your intentions and spared her. That night, Chuu walked into the dark bathroom only to meet eyes with a reflection in the mirror. But when Jeongin came rushing over, Chuu had already turned on the light and saw the makeshift face you created on the mirror using face cream and cotton balls.

The second day, Chuu woke up to the sound of being a woman screaming her head off, making her jump out of her bed in alert. It was simply a sound you found on the internet, but at least it woke up her up. The day was spent shopping at the nearby mall, so you couldn’t do very much to scare Chuu other than to hide at various nooks and crannies. You also ordered for Jeongin to stay by Chuu’s side at all times, but he didn’t do very much other than attempt to hold her hand (which was a very poor attempt, so of course, he failed). At least you and Seungmin talked individually while getting some ice cream, and to your utter surprise, it wasn’t that awkward.

The third day, you finally got Seungmin on board with your plans. Although a bit skeptical at first, you insisted that it would be a fun and harmless prank, and counteracted him by saying he laughed when Chuu got scared during the train ride. With Seungmin teaming up with you and Jeongin (without knowing your real intentions with the pranks), the horror movie marathon started despite Chuu’s pleads (to ensure that Chuu didn’t find any other movie disks around the place, you hid them all on the first day in a location she’d never look).

With Jeongin and Chuu on the couch and you and Seungmin on the floor, you don’t think it’s possible for the two to still be away from each other after this marathon ends. The first movie starts off generally slow pacing, but it’s enough for Chuu to mutter out pleas of worry for the characters. Jeongin quietly laughs at her antics, telling her once more that he’s there if she needs to be comforted, and you give Jeongin a mental high five.

By the end of the night, the two were cuddling, Chuu’s face looking especially scarred, while you and Seungmin finished the massive bowl of popcorn. When the lights finally came on, Chuu and Jeongin finally realized the position they were both in, and quickly scurried away from each other to your amusement.

The fourth morning came shortly afterwards, and with that morning came the end of your trip at the beach house. Although it was spent mostly with your attempts at scaring your very own best friend, you still had fun yourself, and even spent some time with your crush.

And it seemed like your efforts finally paid off, because Chuu wanted to talk with Jeongin privately.

After Jeongin shoots a glance at you while walking off to a private room of the house with Chuu, you quickly shuffle your feet over when Chuu’s not looking, placing your back against the wall. You hear footsteps inside the room before they suddenly stop, and then hushed whispers are all you could hear.

But then, Jeongin’s voice increases in volume.

“You.. You knew that we were pranking you?”

Your next breath gets caught up in your throat once you realize what exactly that meant.

You failed?

Chuu hums, “I did, but I didn’t bother to tell you because it looked like you and Y/N were having so much fun. Actually, I was only guessing that you were pranking me this entire time, until Seungmin came and confirmed it with me.”

“Seungmin?!”

“Yeah, Seungmin! I guess he played you guys,” Chuu laughs. “At least you had fun on this trip! I actually did, too, because I love scary stuff. I’m not afraid of it at all.”

“Oh...”

“Hey, cheer up! You made me happy, and you’re happy too, isn’t that what matters?” Chuu reassures Jeongin. “Anyways, we should continue packing. I just wanted to get that off of my chest.”

You hear more footsteps, and then something that sounds like a cushioned thud.

“Thank you, Jeongin.”

You must’ve heard Jeongin squeak, because he has to clear his throat before answering. “S-Sure, Chuu. Yeah, of course!” Jeongin says the last few words more confidently as Chuu giggles.

That’s when you rushed into the nearest bathroom moments after the door swings open. The shuffling of footsteps is heard again, until they stop once more, and then somebody knocks on the door.

“I know you’re there, Y/N,” Jeongin claims, and that’s your signal to open the door.

“Yeah, but that’s not what matters here!” Jeongin’s eyes are wide open as he lets out wheeze after wheeze. “I- No- We made her happy, Y/N! She really enjoyed these past couple of days! And, and! She gave me a hug, Y/N!! I don’t think I’ll ever get over this, seriously. I’m falling for her more and more.”

It’s the first time that you’ve seen Jeongin as giddy as this, in the several months you’ve known him. Is this what love does to people? Is it supposed to make their heart burst like what you’re seeing right now?

Because, if so, why don’t you feel like that for Seungmin anymore?

Note to self: Jeongin, out of all people, loves hugs.

Episode 8: And He’s Gone

Seungmin has been acting.. rather odd lately.

To be fair, the school festival had just ended, plus the student council election was about to occur, so you’d reckon he must be exhausted as vice president of the council. Perhaps he must be busy thinking of ways to campaign (not that he needs to, everybody agrees that he’s the best person to become the next president) or maybe he’s just getting a good rest.

But that’s not what Jeongin claims.

[Jeongin: he doesn’t want to run for president]

[You: really?!]

[Jeongin: yeah, but he won’t even tell me the reason]

[You: ahhh what do we do now T-T]

[You: on one hand we should respect his decision]

[You: but on the other, the school will crumble without him]

[Jeongin: idk y/n]

[Jeongin: i could try to explain to him why he should run or at least try to get his reasoning]

[You: yeah you should do that]

[Jeongin: cya]

You drop your phone down onto your chest, sighing heavily. Rolling over on your bed to face the window, you ponder as to why Seungmin would make such an impulsive decision like that. He was always so passionate about being a member of the student council, so why is he backing away from it now?

“Bad news: I wasn’t able to get any info from Seungmin,” Jeongin confesses as the two of you walk to school for another day. “Good news: I have a plan in case Seungmin truly doesn’t want to run for president!”

“It seems like all of your plans are either dumb, crazy, or both,” you retort back at him. “But shoot.”

“One of us runs for president!”

“Don’t shoot, nevermind.”

“No no no, you have to listen to me for this,” Jeongin attempts to persuade you. “Because after you hear my explanation, you’ll probably think it’s a good idea.”

You stay silent.

Jeongin continues though, “So, if one of us runs for president, and campaigns really bad, we’re talking ‘I’m going to give everybody six ounces of homework when I become president’ bad, then Seungmin would want to jump in to save the school!”

“Why don’t we make somebody else do it? Like- Chuu for example!” you insist, but Jeongin’s not having any of it.

“Chuu’s too popular, she might actually win. So it has to be one of us.”

“Then you do it because it’s your idea.”

“Nope.”

You sigh in defeat, “Rock paper scissors?” Jeongin nods, and gets his hands out. You’re quite confident that you’ll win, as you’re somehow incredibly good at rock papers scissors. Jeongin seems like the type of person to throw out scissors as a first move, and since this isn’t a best out of three game, you have to take your shot.

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

Your rock is meant with his paper as Jeongin chuckles, covering your fist with his hand.

“Looks like you’re running for president!” Jeongin beams at you.

It’s now a week after your rock paper scissor match with Jeongin, the reason you’re even here in the first place. Next to you is a set of speakers, and in your hand is a megaphone. Taking a deep breath, and taking the time to glance at the boy behind you, you put the megaphone next to your mouth.

“Listen up you morons!” you shout at the confused crowd of students beneath your feet, trying to ignore the burning of your face. “I, Y/L/N Y/N, am running for president! So unless any of you cowards decide to run as well, I’ll be your new president! Get used to it!”

“Y/N’s running?”

“Out of all people?”

“Gosh, why isn’t Seungmin here when we need him?”

You continue on with your speech, going on and on about how you’re basically going to rip this school into shreds. You start to worry that you’ll be doing this until the school bell rings for first period, starting to question how much courage you have left to not collapse out of embarrassment, until he finally shows up.

“Excuse me! Sorry, I need to get through!”

“Why are you doing this, Y/N? And why are you helping them Jeongin?! This isn’t like you guys,” Seungmin demands with a worried expression on his face.

You and Jeongin look at each other, before you decide to answer. “We’re doing this because you weren’t running for president for some dumb reason. This school needs you, Seungmin!”

Seungmin’s mouth forms on “o” shape as he realizes your intentions, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

He chuckles, “You really are something, aren’t you Y/N?” Seungmin’s expression softens when he meets your eyes, showing gratitude. He gently takes the megaphone from your hands, and clears his throat.

“My name is Kim Seungmin, and I will be your next student council president!”

An uproar of cheers follow his announcement, and you let out a laugh of relief. Now you could bail out of the election, leaving Seungmin as the only person the school could vote for as president. It’s a win win situation.

Until the election ceremony rolls around.

All of the students are packed into the gymnasium, each class standing in rows. On the stage you could see the current student council members, along with Seungmin, and your heart races for him.

He’s called up to the front of the stage after being announced as the school’s new president, and a thunder of applause booms through the gym. Seungmin stands in front of the microphone.

“I’m Kim Seungmin, I’m your new president, and... and-”

“I am in love with our former president, Park Jihyo!”

He’s in love... with Jihyo?

Jeongin immediately turns to look at you, his mouth agape just like yours. The rest of the audience starts murmuring to each other in disbelief. Seungmin, out of all people, pulling a stunt like this?

Oddly enough though, you don’t feel the same heartburn that you felt the first time you were rejected. It’s almost as if... you’re okay with this.

“You’re the reason why I’m standing here today; because you gave me a purpose at this school! And I know that you’re leaving to study abroad right after I take your role of president, so that’s why I’m shooting my shot today!” Seungmin explains loudly to the microphone, right in front of Jihyo, who’s standing there with an unamused look on her face. “Do I have any chance to be with you? Any chance whatsoever?!”

By the end of his speech, Seungmin is out of breath from shouting so much, and Jihyo seems to be stunned. She quickly shakes her head to clear out her mind, though, and takes the nearest microphone into her hands.

“And here, ladies and gentlemen, is your new student body president,” Jihyo calmly announces to everybody, not even acknowledging Seungmin’s confession at first.

“I taught him how to be a good leader, and that’s how he ended up on this stage today. I have absolutely no doubt that Seungmin will do an incredible job as body president. I care for him quite deeply, and I hope you will help him succeed at his duties of being president.”

“Please look after my good friend, Kim Seungmin, while I’m gone. Thank you.”

Rejection: unrequited love, but confirmed. To some, it may feel like a glass filled to the brim with water suddenly shattering onto the floor. To others, it’s a gentle, yet brutal, falling of a feather, easing its way to the ground.

While Jeongin thinks that two hearts were broken in that gymnasium, only one truly was.

And it wasn’t yours.

“So you’re saying you’re over Seungmin at this point?” Jeongin’s voice goes higher in pitch when he asks you. “Did I shoot my cupid’s arrow at the wrong person or something?”

You walk in silence for a few moments, letting the both of you ponder for a bit. How do you answer that question without obviously revealing who you truly like?

“Yah,” you ultimately avoid the question. “You never paid me back for that peach drink I bought for you.

Episode 9: Shot an Arrow at Each Other

[Chuu: i think i like him]

[You: who?]

[Chuu: jeongin]

You suck in an unexpected breath, and it’s almost as if your heart stops. Valentines Day is tomorrow, so it’s no wonder that Chuu’s coming to you for love advice. When you don’t reply, Chuu keeps sending texts.

[Chuu: i think i might confess to him on valentines]

[Chuu: and i have suspicion that he’s the one who’s been sending me love letters, but im not too sure]

You gulp, turning over onto your side and tucking yourself further into the sheets of your bed.

[You: then go for it!]

[Chuu: i would but]

[Chuu: i feel like somebody else would be happier with him]

[You: care to elaborate?]

[Chuu: i know there’s somebody else out there who could treat him better than me]

Does Chuu know? Are you that obvious?

[Chuu: y/n]

[Chuu: you have a special connection with jeongin]

[Chuu: you like him, don’t you? ^_^]

That damn emojicon. You could imagine that if this conversation were to happen in person, she would smile at your real big before dropping the bomb.

And you wouldn’t know how to respond. Because she’s right.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Jeongin wasn’t supposed to be nice to you. Jeongin wasn’t supposed to save you from drowning. Jeongin wasn’t supposed to encourage you to confess to Seungmin when you still liked him, and he wasn’t supposed to buy you ice cream

But at the same time, you weren’t supposed to buy him a drink. You weren’t supposed to clean his apartment. You weren’t supposed to cook him meals willingly. You weren’t supposed to help him that much during summer break.

The two of you were supposed to just be each other’s cupid, but because you weren’t, you’ve fallen for him.

[You: but jeongin likes you]

No, you refuse. You refuse to let your emotions get in the way of Jeongin’s and Chuu’s happy ending. You refuse to let your emotions get in the way of what you and Jeongin have been striving for this entire school year. You’re better than that, stronger than that.

But why does it hurt so much?

The next day, Valentines Day, comes faster than you would’ve liked. Normally, this would be your favorite day of the year, because you liked seeing other people happy despite you being alone yourself. The outcasting you’ve put up with for the majority of your school life doesn’t bother you on this day surprisingly, as it’s always fun to see Chuu’s desk swamped with candies and anonymous letters.

It’s fun watching other people be happy.

This year, however, you’re left with a stain in your heart that you’re constantly reminded of throughout the day. Jeongin raves on about how he’s thinking about confessing to Chuu, yet you don’t have the heart or the energy to tell him that Chuu is thinking of the same thing. Then again, it’s better not to get in the way of love, right?

Chuu hasn’t spoken to you much ever since she read your final message to her last night. You don’t blame her, really, but she should do what’s best for her, not what’s best for you.

And Seungmin, to your utter shock, has been pretty chill this Valentines Day, not making a fuss over being rejected by Jihyo. Jihyo has already been abroad for several months at this point, so it’s given time for Seungmin to heal.

You make it through the day without too much distracting you, other than those thoughts buzzing in your head. The bell rings, signaling the end of the draining school day, but Chuu grabs onto your wrist and drags you into an empty classroom.

Your stomach starts churning once more when you see Jeongin and Seungmin in the room. Flinching when Chuu slams the door close a little too hard, you watch as she walks to the center of the room.

“Seungmin, you’re only here if I need backup, okay?” Chuu eases down Seungmin’s nerves, to which he responds with a nod.

“So,” Chuu takes a deep breath. “Don’t you have something to say to me, Y/N and Jeongin?”

You’re caught off guard by the sudden question. “What- What do you mean?”

Chuu only laughs, “You and Jeongin teamed up to make sure I fall in love with Jeongin this year, right?”

You and Jeongin freeze.

“And also, you tried to make Seungmin fall in love with Y/N, yes? But it didn’t work out, which brings us here,” Chuu crosses her arms over her chest. “You know, you almost did make me fall in love with Jeongin. Remember our conversation yesterday, Y/N? About how I was gonna confess to Jeongin?”

You don’t bother to move a muscle, but Jeongin, across the room from you, looks stunned.

“Well, I never bothered with that plan anymore. I realized that I only merely had a crush on Jeongin, and crushes never go that far. So with that being said-”

“Why are you... ruining everything now?” you take the chance to ask Chuu, but your question comes out in a more timid tone than you had anticipated.

“Ruining everything, you say?” Chuu scoffs. “That’s not what I’m doing here! I’m making sure everybody gets the ending they’re happy with.”

“But this isn’t how it was supposed to go!” you finally yell at the top of your lungs. “Jeongin liked you, and now you like Jeongin. The two of you already have a happy ending, why do you need to push this further?”

“Because you like Jeongin, that’s why!”

You shut your mouth before you could utter another word, panic spreading all over your body. Not even making the effort to look at Jeongin’s current expression, you raise your head up to look at Seungmin, who looks like he could offer you no help whatsoever.

It’s all falling apart.

“Y/N-” Jeongin attempts to speak, but you cut him off without realizing.

“I.. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“You’re running away, Y/N,” Chuu states, which makes you grit your teeth.

“Wait, Y/N, just listen to me-”

“Please, not now-”

“Y/N!”

Once Jeongin shouts your name, Chuu accidentally releases her grip on your wrist, and you flee the classroom, sprinting as fast as you could in your school shoes. Chuu stares at Jeongin once you swiftly exit the classroom, to which Jeongin responds by running after you, Chuu following behind right after after thanking Seungmin for being there.

“You can’t force love! You can’t make two people fall in love with each other!” Chuu tries to tell you while running through the hallways. “Love happens naturally. I might love Jeongin, but Jeongin only had a crush on me, that’s not the same!”

“So I’m willing to put aside my feelings to help two people who truly, genuinely, love each other without any doubt in their hearts! Can’t you see? Jeongin loves you, not me. And you love Jeongin, not anybody else.”

And then Jeongin snaps.

“SHE’S RIGHT!” Jeongin booms. “Y/L/N Y/N, you’re the one I love! I love y-”

But you’re already gone from their sight. The school entrance has no people around, not even a silhouette of you running in the distance. The two catching their breaths at the entrance of your high school, their shoulders slump over in defeat.

Of course, it doesn’t end there.

Hours after the incident, hours after crying over the mixed emotions you experienced this Valentines Day, your doorbell is rung. You hesitate on whether you should even answer the door in the first place, sifting through the possible scenarios in your head. Your feet answers first, though, making your way to the door before your brain could even stop your motions.

It’s a letter, and you know that handwriting.

“come upstairs!”

And despite how reluctant you are, you still head to his apartment.

Jeongin greets you at the door, still wearing his school uniform just like you. In his hand is a rubber spatula, which is somewhat odd because you’ve never seen him hold kitchen utensils unless you were teaching him how to cook.

But there’s the aroma of food coming from the kitchen, one of various vegetables, and even the smell of meat. When you turn the corner, you infer that Jeongin was attempting to cook one of your one pot pasta meals, and it seemed to be almost done.

“Honestly,” Jeongin quickly goes back to tending to his cooking. “I wasn’t even sure if you were going to come, and that would be bad because this is two servings of pasta. But I knew you wouldn’t left me hanging.”

You hum, taking a seat at the dining table that was sparkling clean (something Jeongin kept up with even after you cleaned his apartment). Jeongin brings over two plates of pasta, steam still coming off of them.

“Try it! It’s your recipe, so unless I messed up something, it should be good,” Jeongin dives in with a fork, slurping up the noodles eagerly as you do the same.

“It’s good, really good, actually,” you compliment him. “But why did you invite me over here?”

“Well,” Jeongin says with food still in his mouth, but he swallows shortly after. “This is a date.”

You almost choke on your food at the word “date” coming out of his mouth. “But what about Chuu-”

“Didn’t you hear Chuu while we were running earlier? She’s content at the fact that we’re about to become a couple. She told me that she rarely ever saw you as bright and as happy before you met me, that’s a good sign, right?” Jeongin smiles at you, and it’s that smile again.

“A good sign that...?”

“You love me too.”

You pause your movements for a full three second, before you laugh tiredly. The realization hits you while you twirl your pasta with your fork. “This is weird.”

“What is?”

“That we tried to be each other’s cupid, but ended up falling for each other instead.”

Your analogy makes Jeongin burst into laughter, nodding his head excessively. “Yeah, you’re right.”

The two of you eat Jeongin’s food in a comfortable silence for a few moments, before Jeongin speaks up again.

“Does that mean that I shot an arrow at myself then?!” Jeongin gawks at you comedically, almost making you choke on his food.

“Perhaps,” you simply shrug, leaving your, what you assume you could finally call your boyfriend, up to speculate for himself.

The cupid game was finally over, after many, many months of pinning.

And it ended with a pair of cupids, in love with each other.

it’s promo time baby!

follow my networks @fluffyskzclub and @/angstyskzclub, our members provide you with sfw fluff & angst content for you to read!

i’m starting an official taglist for my fics! there’s one for oneshots like these, and one for my stray kids ot8 reactions & scenarios! (not gonna bother with one for my blurbs, don’t waste your time on a 2 minute read fic LOL) just let me know through my inbox as to which one(s) you’d like the join.

thank you so incredibly much for reading “a pair of cupids!” this story was physically and mentally draining. i wrote the first 3 sections last week, took a 3 day break because my family visited another state, and then wrote these last 6 sections in a span of... 5 days? it was NOT FUN my back is killing me oh my gosh have mercy on me if you think this was bad

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bowtothewitch · 3 years

Text

Synopsis: I had this idea at 3am one week ago and couldn't get it out of my head. So, here you go, Beauty and The Beast AU!

Word Count: 1,206

Triggers Warnings: This first episode is focused on the curse, so a little bit of angst.

A/N: I have no excuse for this. 100% self indulgent fanfic. Click on the gif for HD quality. Also, english is not my first or even second language, so sorry for any eventual mistake. But I hope you guys enjoy it anyway!

Tag List: @jj-arms

"Agatha Harkness, are you a witch?" The matriarch's voice echoed through the walls of the castle's main hall, her question directed to the girl kneeling in the center of the circle made by several other women.

"Yes, I am!" She replied, writhing against the magical bonds that held her hands.

"And yet, you have betrayed your coven, stealing knowledge that goes beyond your understanding, putting us in danger of being discovered in front of the entire village!"

Agatha shook her head, "that was an accident, I swear! I couldn't control it, I-"

"Enough! I don't want to hear your excuses anymore! None of this would have happened if you hadn't tried to use black magic, breaking all of our rules!"

Before they even discovered that the book of the damned had disappeared from the library, it was already possible to feel the weight of black magic deep-rooted in the thick walls of the castle. It had started out subtle, like a shiver, a bad feeling on a full moon night.

Soon, however, it became unbearable, the air slowly being corrupted with each word that was read and turned into a spell. The bell of the west wing tower rang, alerting of the theft of the book and starting a search through the castle and its surroundings.

But Agatha had never been a fool. She could be called many things: prodigy, intelligent, and even rebellious, but never foolish. Some preventing spells avoided the book from being discovered in her possession, but it was not enough.

As much knowledge as she acquired, the witch was still very young, inexperienced, and black magic was not as simple as the one taught by her coven. Unlike that, it was a savage force, which was hardly controllable.

And then, one day, something broke inside the witch. On one of the visits to the village, more precisely. Agatha had a real fondness for flowers and always brought some back to the castle, even though the garden was already full of them. But this time, as she held a rose, one of the thorns pricked her finger and as soon as a drop of her blood dripped on the ground, her vision blurred and the voices that began as mere whispers in her mind began to scream, causing the witch to fall on the ground in despair. In the blink of an eye that glowed blue, several tents burned for no apparent reason, causing hysteria in people and chaos that would certainly last for many days. Now that paranoia had settled in the population, how long would it take before suspicions were raised against women who faithfully followed their widowed queen? There were already enough rumors about the hilltop castle and its inhabitants, and that was the spark ready to start a witch hunt.

And so it became undeniable that the culprit for practicing the darkest magic was Agatha. When her eyes opened again, she was back at home, being prepared for the trial.

But nothing had changed, including her thinking.

"I didn't break your rules, they just bended to my power," Agatha smiled arrogantly, feeling the eyes of all witches against her. Still, she kept her head up, never taking her eyes off the matriarch, who simply lowered her eyes, feeling her heart break. There was no alternative.

When silence was the only answer, everyone else understood what it meant. Soon the silence was filled with murmurs and the darkness was filled with the blue light that shone from each of their hands.

Agatha looked around, finally realizing what her penalty was. Death. Her blood ran cold, as tears filled her eyes, "please wait! I just wanted to learn! I have no control! Help me," when her pleas fell on deaf ears, her eyes turned to the matriarch, "mother, please , mot-"

And then everything became pain. It was sudden, the blinding light hitting her, making her body burn from the inside out, fire running through her veins. Agatha felt her throat burn with her screams, but she couldn't hear them, and her eyes only saw red.

But just like in the village, something happened. With one last cry, her body spasmed and the pain stopped. As if she were underwater, rising back to the surface, her senses became more and more clear. The murmurs had turned to grunts. The red and blue had turned to purple. And where she had previously felt paralyzing numbness, now only got stronger, breaking the bonds that bound her.

Looking around again, Agatha realized the reason quickly. Her body was absorbing the powers of the other witches, also taking their vital energy. She could have stopped, saved their lives, but the understanding was too satisfying for that.

Her eyes then met her mother's before the hall fell into darkness again, the sound of the bodies hitting the floor bringing her back to reality.

"Mom, please ... I can be good," her voice broke and Agatha didn't even try to stand up.

"No, you can't," tears fell from Evanora's eyes, "I failed you once, but I will not fail again."

"Are you going to finish what they started ?! Are you going to kill me ?!" She sobbed.

"I could never do that, Agatha. I am your mother," all there was in her voice was pain, "but I will not let anyone else suffer your wrath, your thirst for power has gone too far."

And once again the hall was filled with light, temporarily blinding Agatha. When her eyes adjusted, she could see her mother, hovering in front of her, her dress and hair fluttering with the strong wind suddenly coming from the window, holding a rose. The same rose from the fair.

"Agatha Harkness, I now judge your crimes as matriarch of our coven. You were consumed by the desire for power and it costed the lives of our sisters! Your punishment will be to remain here, in the castle grounds, hidden from the rest of the world and forgotten until someone you learn to love, someone that you'll be willing to sacrifice yourself for, and that returns your love, arrives; loving you even in your changed form. But remember: this must happen before the last petal of this rose falls, or the curse against you and the rest of the castle will be eternal!"

Before she could react, a blast of light took over the entire castle, the magic spreading quickly, faster and more dispersed than Agatha could absorb, transforming everyone it touched. The forest closed and rose, blocking all roads, while a transparent mantle covered the castle, hiding and isolating it, along with all of its inhabitants.

With one last look at her daughter, Evanora teleported herself behind the magic barrier, using all the magic left in her to seal the curse so that Agatha could not break it unless its conditions were met. Her heart was in pieces, but there was still hope for her daughter, she knew it was.

Within the castle walls, however, hope was the last thing Agatha felt as she looked at her black-marked hands, felt fangs growing in her mouth just like the horns on the top of her head.

For, after all, who could love a monster?

#agatha harkness x reader #agatha harkness x you #agatha harkness #wandavision #alternative universe #imagine #fanfics #kathryn hahn

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wiyodreamz · 3 years

Text

𝑽𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 | 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑺𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒘𝒂 [04]

⌜Nari is a college student at Seokhye University. One day she got off on the wrong foot with Seonghwa, throws her coffee on him and curses him out. Later that day she learns about the internship she signed with Hwa Corp. That same day, she learns that the same guy she threw her coffee at, is the CEO of that company! How will things go for Nari if she has a target on her back from that encounter? ⌟ Office AU

01 | 02 | 03 | 04

Contains: fluff, angst, smut, alcohol drinking, cursing, and more as the story goes on.

Tag list: @seonghwaskitten @reeateez

Warnings: another make out session, dani being sort of annoying, yunho interrupting an almost smut scene (yeah these r the warnings)

A/N: it’s been 84 fucking years. And I’m finally back writing this. Also Nari and Seonghwa are in a established relationship in this chapter :)

Things between Nari and Seonghwa have been going smoothly. They’ve been talking to each other more and a relationship has started to spark between them. Nari has managed to even get into the Top 3, since Seonghwa isn’t making it very difficult for her. They even found a new secretary for him to replace Ms.Lee. But Nari is kind of supiscious of her.

Nari was finishing making herself a cup of coffee in the break room, when someone walked in.

“Do you mind making me some tea?” She looked up and saw Seonghwa with a reusable cup.

“Yeah sure” she said as she smiled and made more hot water. “So how are you liking your new assistant?”

“She’s not as fast with her tasks as Ms.Lee, but she gets them done on time at least” he sighed as he crossed his arms.

“Maybe she has to get used to this place first. It may be different from her different job. Give her a month or two and she’ll get the hang of it” she said as she grabbed a tea bag and poured the hot water into his reusable cup. “Anyways here’s your tea.”

“Thank you” he said as he grabbed the cup from her hands, their fingers grazing a little. They stared at each other and Seonghwa started leaning in closer and closer until she felt his breath on her lips, but someone walked in before he could get a chance to kiss her.

“I didn’t expect you two to be in here” Dani said as she walked by the coffee maker to make her a cup of coffee. She then raise en eyebrow at their flushed expressions. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No! I’ll see you around Mr.Park!” Nari said as she bowed at him and left the break room while sipping her coffee.

Seonghwa then bowed towards Dani and left the break room to go back to his office to finish some paperwork.

“There’s something off about them....” Dani said quietly as she looked at the two of them.

Nari was finishing the last of her report that was due this week. She was typing away with her headphones in and someone suddenly pulled them out.

“What the...” she trailed off and turned behind her and saw Yunho.

“After you finish your report, do you want to go get lunch together?” He asked and she nodded.

“Sure, I just need to finish this last sentence and I’m free to go.”

Nari pressed the ‘submit’ button on her report and then grabbed her bag. “Let’s go. I know this really good place we can go eat at.”

The two were now seated in front of each other with a plate of pizza in front of them.

“How’d you get off of Mr.Park’s bad side?” He asked curiously as he took a bite of his pizza.

“I don’t know. I got lucky I guess” she lied as she stared down at her plate.

“I heard this weird wacky rumor is that you guys are in a relationship” he said and that made her choke on her cola, which made him scared. “Are you okay Nari-ah?”

“Uhm...yeah” she said and took a bite out of her pizza. “Where exactly did you hear that?”

“From Dani. But you really can’t believe what she says without proof, so she’s pretty much telling a tale” he answered.

Nari then sighed in relief and looked up to her friend. “If something was going on between us, I’ll tell you first then Yunho.”

Yunho smiled and continued eating his food. Nari felt bad for lying to him, but it wasn’t a good time to tell him, especially since Dani is highly suspicious of them. She then shook out the thoughts from her head and went along eating with Yunho.

It was now 4 in the afternoon and Nari came home from work. The full paid internships will be announced next week and she was nervous. Even though she was dating Seonghwa, she still wants to prove that she can work better.

Nari heard a knock at her front door and went to open it. She turned the knob and there stood Seonghwa with a bag of ingredients.

“I remembered from a few days ago you were craving stirred udon, so I came to fix it for you” he said with a smile. He was changed out of his suit and now was wearing a white buttoned shirt tucked into some black pants. “Can I come in?”

Nari cleared the way of her front door and he went into the kitchen and put the bags on the counter. Nari sat on one of her bar stools as she watched Seonghwa rummage around her kitchen for a pot to boil water in.

“You need to invest in some cookware” he said as he found a pot to boil water in.

“I would but I burn water” she joked as he chuckled lightly as he put the pot on the stove.

“Since it’ll take a while for the water to bowl, how about we do something to pass the time?” He asked as he walked over towards her and biting his lip.

He grabbed her waist and leaned in. The kiss started out slow and gentle, and then it went to heated in a second. Nari wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her up on the island. His lips then went down towards her neck and leaving red marks along her neck. She whimpered as he found her sweet spot.

“Found it” he whispered as he went back to leaving marks on her. Nari’s hands traveled down towards his shirt and unbuttoned some of his buttons, as Seonghwa was in the process of trying to remove her pants.

Before he could successfully take of her pants, a knock interrupted them. They jumped at the knock and waited for the person to say something.

“Nari-ah! I have the notes you let me borrowed last week! Are you in there or are you sleep?”

It was Yunho. Nari quickly jumped off the counter and fixed her pants that Seonghwa almost took off.

“It’s Yunho! You have to hide!” She whispered as Seonghwa hurriedly buttoned back up his shirt. Nari pushed him in the closet in her living room, where she usually keeps her old coats and jackets and other things.

As she closed the door, she heard the code being entered and Yunho entering. “Were you sleep?”

Nari shook her head and then hid her neck after she saw it in the mirror in the living room. “I wasn’t sleep, I was just busy putting something in the closet.”

He put the notes down on her coffee table and walked towards her. “Why are you holding your neck? Did you strain it?”

“No. It just hurts from me overworking” she said. “You should go. We have exams and you should be studying really hard.”

“Yeah, but I’m also excited to see who gets the paid internships. I hope me and you get it” he said.

“Same” she agreed. Yunho bid a goodbye and closed the door. Nari looked out her window to make sure he was gone from view and then Seonghwa stepped out and looked over at the stove and the water was now boiling.

“Looks like it’s time for me to cook and after we finish eating, we can continue what we were doing before Yunho interrupted.”

It was now the week of the paid internships. People have been working hard over the weeks to get it, but Dani kept pushing the objective that Seonghwa and Nari are indeed dating, but people just called her crazy.

Hongjoong came by her desk and gave her a coffee. “I know about you and Seonghwa.”

Nari choked on her coffee and looked up at him with wide eyes. “H-how’d you know?”

“Did you forget we’re friends? He told me about it a few nights ago over a drink” he said. “Make sure to keep it a secret if you get the internship, the women here love to talk.”

Nari thanked him and continued to drink her coffee. Sunji and Dani came back from a meeting they were in and sat down at their desks.

“Sunji-ah, didn’t you see Seonghwa and Nari eating dinner together a few days ago?” Dani asked as she whispered towards Sunji. Sunji looked nervous as she looked over to Nari.

“Dani, I don’t know about this...” Sunji trailed off and then was cut by Dani saying something rude to her.

“Why is so crazy to find out stuff about me?” Nari asked as she bit her lip nervously.

Now it was 4 P.M. everyone huddled around Seonghwa to found out who got the paid internship. Nari held her hands nervously as he looked over the paper.

“You guys worked hard over the months, but like I said in the beginning, I’m choosing half of you. So if your name is called, you got the internship.”

“Choi San, Jeong Yunho, Kang Sunji, Moon Nari, and Lee Dowoon. Those 5 worked harder than anyone I’ve ever seen and it was only fair to choose them” he said.

Nari was happy that she was chosen. She looked over towards Dani who looked angrily.

“Yah! Mr.Park! How could you choose Nari over me? I worked harder than her in all the things. I did every task I was supposed to do!”

“If you call spreading rumors, talking bad about your other peers, plus my employees I hired. Then I guess that’s your definitions of tasks” he said as he crossed his arms. “My decisions are final.”

Nari smiled at Seonghwa and then Mr.Park and grabbed her things. When she was on the first floor of the office, she felt a shove behind her and an angry Dani.

“Did you really sleep with Mr.Park just so you could get the internship?” She asked angrily. “I never knew the Moon Nari is that kind of girl.”

“Dani just admit it. You’re just angry you couldn’t get what you want this time. And besides, you barely did any of the work, Sunji did your work” Nari said and walked out of the building.

“You’re going to regret saying that Nari.”

“You’ve done well these past months” Seonghwa said as he took a sip of his wine.

Nari had an identical glass and took a sip of hers as well. She was too distracted on what Dani said to her to even hear what Seonghwa was saying to her.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he caressed her cheek worriedly.

“Hmm. Yeah, just thinking about some things” she said.

“What were you thinking about?” He asked.

“Nothing. It’s just what Dani said to me.”

“What did she say?”

“Oh it wasn’t important. Just her talking nonsense.”

“How about I go run the two of us a nice, warm bath and fall asleep for the night. How does that sound?” He asked and she nodded.

“That sounds nice.”

#ateez #ateez angst #ateez fic #ateez imagines #ateez scenarios #ateez smut #ateez x reader #seonghwa #seonghwa fic #seonghwa imagines #seonghwa scenarios #seonghwa smut

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chrwrites · 4 years

Text

Bad Ideas - Chapter 1: “I'm his girlfriend”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I wrote this for @astronavigatrix for the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Secret Admirer Exchange! The prompt was Fake Dating and I decided to write '5 Times Luka and Marinette pretended to be dating and one time they didn't need to'. I had a lot of ideas for this and I ended up splitting it in chapters. I hope you like it! 💖

read on ao3

Marinette's mouth twisted at the scene in front of her, an unpleasant feeling making her stomach twist.

Luka was standing in front of his locker, nodding at a girl Marinette had never seen, a polite smile on his face as she got way too close. She was tilting her head, one finger twirling around a strand of platinum blonde hair as she raised her free hand to his arm. Her long fake nails danced slowly up and down his bicep.

His expression twisted in annoyance and he tried to shrug her off and put some distance between them, but yet again she leaned in and all Luka could do was roll his eyes at whatever she was saying.

Marinette grit her teeth. Didn't that girl notice how uncomfortable she was making him? Or how he wasn’t really enjoying her presence at all? Damn, Luka wasn’t even the type of person to show his annoyance like that. He was usually calm and collected. What had she done to make him act like that?

Marinette couldn’t just stand there and watch without doing anything. She had to do something before that girl, whoever she was, made Luka feel more and more uneasy. She watched him look down, his fingers twisting the spinner ring on his thumb, before deciding to take action.

“Lu!” she called, sliding her arm into his as soon as she was close and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as a greeting. She felt Luka stiffen before he relaxed into her, his eyes wide in surprise at her unexpected display of affection. “Marinette?”

The girl in front of them finally took a step back, a startled expression forming on her face while she studied them. She blinked before speaking. “And you are..?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as she focused on Marinette.

Marinette frowned, but her mouth twisted in a sweet smile as soon as she looked back at Luka, “I'm his girlfriend,” she chirped.

Fortunately, her voice didn't betray her. She slid her hand to hold Luka's and squeezed tight, looking up at him.

His eyes were wide, and a strangled sound escaped his lips before he shut it close. Marinette giggled and gave him a confident smile in the hopes that it would reassure him. She leaned her head to his shoulder and Luka didn't flinch away, but all he managed to let out as his thumb brushed the back of her hand and tried to keep himself grounded was a choked out “Yeah…” that got him to clear his throat.

“You have a girlfriend? Since when?” the girl asked, feigning innocence in a way that sounded so familiar that made Marinette's blood boil.

Luka opened his mouth to speak, but Marinette cut him off, “That's none of your business,” she snarled. The girl huffed in annoyance, and Marinette glared at her. Luka next to her straightened up and took a deep breath, and Marinette gave a comforting squeeze to his hand.

She then turned her attention back at the girl, who had crossed her arms as her eyes went up and down to study her.

Marinette held her gaze and didn't flinch at the disgusted expression forming in front of her. If she was going to come up with a hurtful comment, Marinette was ready to snap back. It’s not like she hadn’t dealt with disrespectful brats over time, and she wasn’t letting some cheap dollar store Barbie imitation — okay no, actually, she was pretty, but that couldn’t make up for her personality — put her down or harass her best friend. She was Marinette, she was strong and—

“But aren't you a seconde ? Such a shame Luka here's into little girls… you could do so much better,” the girl said in a saccharine voice while fluttering her fake lashes at Luka.

Marinette felt Luka's hold on her hand tightening. She raised her free hand to his chest and gave him a reassuring look, trying to wordlessly tell him that she could handle it, but his jaw was still clenched when she spoke.

“Yeah, I know, a 16-year-old dating a 17-year-old. Shocking,” Marinette gritted through her teeth and pulled Luka towards her, making the girl scoff and check her nails. Good, now they could leave.

“Come on, I don't want us to be late for class,” Marinette said, holding Luka’s hand tighter and walking past the girl. She didn’t miss the chilling glare Luka sent her way.

When they were far enough from Luka’s locker, Marinette started walking faster, as Luka didn't have trouble following her nervous pace with his long legs. The closed doors of the classrooms and the colorful posters on the walls passed through her eyes in a blur even as she tried to focus on them instead of the anger that was building inside her. Marinette didn't want to let some stupid Barbie wannabe ruin her day, but all she could think about were the girl’s words. The deprecative tone in her voice when she called her a seconde and told Luka that he could do much better. She didn’t know what she was talking about.

That was stupid, Luka never failed to remind her how extraordinary she was. Even now as she led him through the school and he followed her quietly, he took the first chance he had to shake her from her thoughts.“Marinette, that's not where your class is…”

“I don't care,” she said, looking for an empty classroom she could calm down in. Luka squeezed her hand reassuringly, and his thumb slowly brushed the back of her hand. Marinette took a deep breath, but his action didn't help her forget about long nails moving on his arm and the words still ringing in her head. It actually made her think about it more.

Who the hell did she think she was?

She had no right to belittle her, to imply that she wasn't worth enough for Luka to spend time with. It didn't matter if it was only because she was trying to hit on him and Marinette was rightfully putting herself between them. She was being disrespectful towards him, invading his personal space, and Marinette couldn't just stand there and watch, right?

No, Luka was her friend and she had every right to rescue him from unwanted attention. It's not like anyone cared about who they were da—

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she realized what she had done, and how Luka had just silently rolled with it and was still holding her hand. Why would she even say something like that?

She picked a turn, opting for the art classroom that was always empty in the early hours of the morning and, when she finally found it, she slammed the door closed behind them.

“Marinette, what the fuck ?” Luka said. His bewildered expression made Marinette’s stomach twist unpleasantly.

She groaned, letting his hand go to hide her face and lean to an empty desk. “I’m so, so sorry. I know I shouldn’t have said it, but she was making you uncomfortable and I wanted to help you get rid of her.”

Luka let out a breathless laugh. “By saying that you’re my girlfriend?”

“I couldn’t come up with anything better, I’m sorry! And if you think she’ll spread the rumor, we can just say that we broke up or something. We’re not even together in the first place and I know I was stupid and I understand if you’re mad at me, but I did it because—”

“Marinette,” Luka interrupted her, his hands reaching for her wrists to gently pull her hands down and reveal her face. As he looked her in the eyes, he held a soft expression that made her feel incredibly better. “I don’t care about the rumors. Honestly, I should thank you for stepping in. I’ve been trying to let her down gently, but it didn’t work. I’m sorry you had to deal with her, too,” he said, his voice tense.

She reached for his hand and squeezed it gently before speaking. “It’s alright, Lu. I’ve learned to deal with that,” she said.

“I know, but you shouldn’t have bothered...” he sighed.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I’m your friend Luka, and friends help each other out,” she said. Luka nodded, but something about him seemed off. She knew Luka was the type of person to handle things by himself, but he never rejected Marinette’s help when she offered it.

“Are you sure you’re not mad at me for saying that I’m your girlfriend?” she asked hesitantly.

Luka looked up at her and gave her a small smile. “I’m not mad at you, Mari,” he reassured. “You’re fine. Just… don’t catch me off guard with stuff like that.”

Marinette nodded and leaned to wrap her arms around him. She felt his chuckle rumble through his chest as he held her, and when she pulled away, she could finally see the easygoing smile she liked so much.

“Who was she, by the way?” Marinette asked.

“Just some girl from Terminale D. We met at a party last weekend and she got a bit clingy,” Luka said sheepishly, one hand going up to rub his neck.

“That's putting it nicely,” Marinette chuckled.

“Well,” Luka sighed, “I did tell her I wasn't interested in her, so having her still trying to catch my attention was kinda frustrating.”

“Just a little bit,” Marinette teased, pinching her thumb and index together.

Luka chuckled. “Yeah, okay. Thank you for coming at the right time.”

Marinette giggled, and the uneasiness she felt from making up a lie to rescue him from someone's hold disappeared. “I'll be your fake girlfriend whenever you need.”

You could be my real one.

Luka shook the thought out of his mind. Sometimes the feelings he hid deep down in his stomach made their way back up to his heart, and all he could do was push them down again. They'd already been through this, and Luka was happy with being close with Marinette without wanting more. It was only in times like this, when she was careless and maybe made some stupid choices to help him out (like, for example, saying that she was his girlfriend) that they would resurface.

But he learned how to deal with that. A few deep breaths, thinking about the smell of the Seine, and he would be fine. No more thoughts about being more than friends with Marinette.

They had known each other for years and, now that they went to school together and grew closer, he was happy that Marinette had found he was someone to count on. It was the same for him, even if sometimes it meant that he had to control the impulse to kiss her on the spot or scold himself for staring at her for too long.

The sound of the first bell rang, making Luka wince and Marinette giggle in response. He shook his head, taking a moment to recollect himself and clear his throat before speaking. “Can I walk you to class?”

“Don’t you always do that?” Marinette teased before walking to the door.

There was only easy chatter after that, and Luka took a breath of relief as he realized he was listening to Marinette without focusing on the way her lips moved or the feeling of her shoulder brushing against his. She was complaining about some group project she had to work on in the afternoon when they reached the door of her class.

“Well, let me know if you need to be rescued again from some overly-clingy girl,” Marinette said.

Luka shook his head, letting out a small laugh. “Of course, I will.”

Marinette smiled at him but, before she could reply, the second bell rang.

Luka's hand ruffled the hair on top of her head, making Marinette wince, and his mouth moved before he could even realize what he was saying.

“See you at lunch, girlfriend.”

#lukanette #LBSC Exchange 2021 #endgame lukanette #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #my writing

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fandomsilhouette · 4 years

Text

engarde to the graveyard (send the people our regards)

They’re nothing more than children, arrested in their growth. They’re the adults of the future, a future that they loath. They’re secret keepers, mysteries, people made of histories too big for their skin. They’re never going to win.

Happy @felinettenovember, y’all! Or honestly, at this point, not very happy but you know what? There’s catharsis. @emzurl coerced me into it and @musicfren held me to it, so there is... an amount. No further promises, though! This is a complete story as of this post.

Part 1 complete. Part 2 complete.

Their delight was palpable, tangible in the stiffly shifting smirks that shuffled from person to person when Marinette walked hand in hand with Adrien into the classroom on a Monday morning. In the way Bustier grinned slyly as she announced a permanent seat change that brought Marinette shoulder to shoulder with him every day, holding herself firm in the full force of his lovestruck besotted gaze.

Even at his sappiest, Felix had always looked at her with weight behind the fluff, with respect and admiration as the scaffolding to cotton candy sugar. Marinette thought of the way she used to sink into beanbag chairs, swallowed whole in the vast endlessness of it, completely lost to herself when she returned from its maw.

Felix found himself next to a girl he had already broken up with and knew immediately the rumors (the truths) hadn’t spread far enough yet.

Their teacher reminded each of them, quietly, after class that she was there to keep them safe and happy, and as their guardian she was happy to make the changes to allow them to sit where they would be most productive.

Neither of them had been productive in weeks. It didn’t seem to matter.

Akuma fights were almost better. Chat still tailed her, kept her back secure. He took more blows meant for her than he used to, and Marinette stayed awake at night playing them over and over in her head, guilt curdling in her gut like spoiled milk, souring the bitter realization that flooded through her veins when she thought about the way he used to throw himself at her to push them both out of the way, and the bittersweet relief of not having to touch him like that, not getting to touch him like that.

She shivered in the naked air over her suit and didn’t lean into his shoulder. He twitched in repressed anxiety and didn’t curl his tail around her waist.

The worst days were the ones where the akumatized was a child. The thing was, adults had long been trained, practiced in the habit of learning how to handle a breakdown. Teenagers had learned what to expect, how to cope, because akumatization was nothing more than more of the feelings they’d already learned to function under the crushing weight of. No one believed them anyways, right, when they said they were hurting, that it was too much, that they needed help.

To the teenagers of Paris, Ladybug and Chat Noir were heroes not because they defeated the akuma but because they stuck around, held their hand, swung past their window at night and winked, stopped by with cookies and hot cocoa and a hug.

They were heroes because they were friends, mask or not.

Children hurt, and it was all they could know for as long as a butterfly plagued them.

Felix was losing more and more of himself to this charade they had going on, and Marinette was more duct tape than person, and Chat and Ladybug looked at each other in the aftermath of an akuma attack that left another child sobbing inconsolably in the middle of the street, and watched teenagers (fifteen, sixteen, older than either Felix or Marinette could imagine being, now) who remembered too well what it was like to feel that helplessness come forward to rock this child to sleep because their guardian was halfway across the city and wouldn’t know what to do, anyways.

There were no words left to exchange. Chat’s ring had a minute longer than her earrings, so he stuck around to watch the child while she detransformed in a flash of pink. Marinette walked out, and the teenagers (children, all of them, anyways) parted for the now-familiar face around post-akuma emotional wreckage. Marinette untangled the child’s fist from around Chat’s tail, which he had been flicking gamely if only for a momentary reprieve, and pulled the child into her embrace.

They burst into sobs, soaked her shirt.

Me too, bud, she thought. They didn’t hear it. Felix might have (heard, listened, understood), but he had slipped away already.

There were too many children who had stopped being children for this. It needed to end.

There was something about working together for as long as they had that meant they didn’t have to talk about it. Maybe they should. Maybe they couldn’t. But they knew, and they fought for it as if everything they had been doing was little more than a play-fight, a mock reenactment of a battle, never mind the slaughter strewn through their lives.

But Marinette started training at nights, and she came to school looking like the way she feels, which was broken and exhausted and in pain, but she studied harder and started goading Hawkmoth through their masks, and set up traps for fake miraculi and tried so hard not to cry.

Felix made a chart of everyone who's been akumatized, because Hawkmoth has admitted between one of Ladybug’s taunts and the next that he's been akumatized, in some perverted, sick kind of boast. He started interviewing people and following butterflies, and writing class notes in duplicate to slip under her door because he's studied all this before. She hasn't.

They turned heroes to detectives, because what was another mask to wear?

They found him, and it was so anticlimactic.

Gabriel wasn’t arrested. Emelie was already dying, disconnected from her preservation container (coffin, Felix scoffed under his breath, and Marinette snorted at the truth of it). It didn’t make sense to rob Adrien of both guardians at once, even if he had assumed he’d lost one of them already and was rapidly losing the other. It seemed kinder for everyone involved just to let her go. Instead they pushed Hawkmoth into therapy and broke patient confidentiality just enough to make sure the therapist reports that he’s showing up. Felix lost another guardian in all but the paper trail, and knew how not to flinch this time.

Ladybug and Chat Noir, or maybe just Felix and Marinette, stood hand in trembling hand, surveying the battlegrounds of a war waged by a guardian of two children and two miraculi he had no right to, the bloody remnants of a childhood visited by trauma and responsibility, the conniving burden that it was, leaving them destitute and on guard for a threat that always, always came.

There was no funeral coming for what they had lost, no mourners or witnesses for these alter egos finally laid to rest. There was no one coming to save them save the people they had become to save the world, the people they had become to sacrifice the best parts of who they used to be. They stood there in the wreckage of everything they have been and have become, not sure if there's enough of them left to feel whole again.

But he held her hand, and she could feel his pulse fluttering, an echo of her own barely-there heartbeat but present, so present, still alive.

There was something to be valued here, even if it took all the half-broken pieces left behind in the two of them combined, and the rest of their lives.

Because they had that, now: a rest of to look for. A rest to look for.

There was still so much left to do. Marinette broke up with Adrien, or tried to. He held onto her, grabbing onto one part of her and then another while she extricated the first. Eventually it wore on her, exhausted her, between his befuddled, bewildered refusal to accept her decision and the heavy judgemental glares of the classmates gathered to watch this spectator sport.

We did this for you, Marinette. We wanted you to be happy. What are you doing, Marinette? Why are you throwing it all away?

Don’t we matter to you as much as you matter to us?

Yes, she thought. I don’t matter to you at all. She bit off whichever part he grabbed onto, left it behind, another sacrifice, another memorial at an unmarked grave. May this be the last, she hoped, and cauterized her wound with rage.

Felix was there, a phantom in the audience, ghostly pale and nearly translucent under the yellow fluorescent lights.

He caught her eye, and didn’t stop looking.

It felt like, for once, for the first time, the right choice.

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thefanficmonster · 3 years

Text

Vulnerability

Karl Heisenberg (Resident Evil 8: Village) x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Mentions of blood and injury, Swearing, Spoilers for RE8

Genre: Angst, Romance

Summary: With the only person he’s ever truly cared about, the only person who can calm him down and force him to take care of himself and balance his life out is taken from him, it’s safe to say the takers are bound to pay.

Requested by Anon. Hi dear! Thank you so much for your request and I’m so sorry for the long wait you’ve had to endure but here it finally is - I hope you still come across the fic and take the time to read it despite the long time that’s passed. If you do so, I hope you enjoy it! Love, Vy ❤

“THAT BITCH DID WHAT?!“

The unlucky maid that was sent to Heisenberg’s factory as an alternate way to be killed rather than turned into wine cowers in fear as the metal-controlling man sends the majority of the objects around them flying across the room, crashing into against the walls in his state of uncontrollable anger that has the girl frightened to no end. Although, if she’s being honest, Heisenberg has every right to be furious right now. Who wouldn’t be after being told their enemy snatched their lover to use as blackmail.

And this poor maid was the messenger who had to deliver the news to Heisenberg about two days after the capturing of Y/N, Karl’s lover.

The two weren’t known to be a couple by anyone but rumors started floating around - especially among the rest of the Lords - when they kept seeing this woman around the factory and by Heisenberg’s side, sometimes even during the meetings of the Lords.

Leaving her out in the open and so vulnerable, so easy to be grabbed by the filthy, ill-meaning hands of the Dimitrescus, is a fault of his own he’ll never get over. He’ll never not regret not keeping a watchful eye on her at all times, even when she claimed she needed space after the two had an argument.

When that happens - though rarely, it still happens - Y/N tends to wander off, either in the village or in a complete separate part of the factory which is thankfully large enough for them both to enjoy their privacy without running into each other unless they want to. So, when Karl hadn’t heard from Y/N for a day and a half he didn’t think much of it, seeing as how she had a tendency of leaving him in silence for a day or two to cool her head and let him cool his and avoid further complications of their argument.

But when she didn’t show even after those regular forty eight hours of silence, Karl started worrying. And, as he’s come learn only minutes ago, he was right to do so - Alcina had snatched Y/N while the girl was walking around the outskirts, not far away from the factory itself. The girl barely had time to scream before being knocked out cold and dragged to the Dimitrescu castle.

Heisenberg should’ve known showing off his vulnerability so openly would only bring him headaches and heartaches - he knew having a vulnerability in the first place would be a huge inconvenience and a risk, especially when said vulnerability is vulnerable in and of itself.

“What does that bitch want?!“ He growls at the girl who’s gone as pale as a ghost, looking so tiny and fragile in comparison to the enraged man towering over her. He’s already taller and bigger than her, but this anger only adds to his huge presence and intimidating appearance.

“S-she told me to tell you her and M-Mother Miranda knew of...your plans. They’ll give you back the girl when you agree to lay off the plans and...“ The girl trails off, terrified of the reaction she’ll receive for the last bit of the negotiation.

“And?!“ Karl has no patience for reluctance and most certainly has no time to waste when the girl he loves is in the clutches of one of the people he’d want to drain the life out of with his own two hands.

“And, as proof, burn the factory down...with everything in it.“ The girl finishes, grimacing and hiding her face behind her arms when she does, expecting to be hit or screamed at or even killed. This man has never been in his right mind to begin with let alone now that the most important person in his life has been taken from him and is in grave danger.

The long moment of silence she’s met with surprises her. It’s gotta be the calm before the storm, she thinks to herself, slowly lowering her arms to look around in search of the man who she thinks has already left the room. But no, Karl is standing in front of her, wearing a smile upon his face. A menacing one. One promising that it is indeed the calm before the storm.

“Alright.“ He says in a scarily light-hearted tone of voice, one that is so calm it sends chills down the maid’s spine, “Return to your Mistress and report back that I agree to her terms as long as Y/N’s delivered to me by tomorrow morning.“

The maid cannot believe her ears nor her eyes but there he is - Karl Heisenberg, the most dangerous of the Lords, agreeing to drop his reputation in the water to save the love of his life. All with an unfaltering smile across his face.

* * *

“Mother Miranda? I’m calling with some great news to share with you.“ Alcina Dimitrescu smiles a pleased smile as she looks at her reflection in the vanity mirror before her, “Heisenberg has chosen to stand down. Yes Mother, you heard me correctly, the stupid man-thing has chosen the pathetic woman over his own reign which I’m sure he wouldn’t have had the chance to carry out anyway thanks to your unmatched power, Mother Miranda, but now it’s official. He’s taken the ultimatum and has agreed to all the terms we laid out for him. In exchange, he hopes to get the girl back by tomorrow morning.“ A reply comes from the other side and Alcina laughs a low, mocking laugh, “Oh, he will be receiving her tomorrow morning, he needn’t worry. I’ll make sure to send him the wine bottles she’ll help us produce.“ The other woman on the line laughs as well, filling the Vampire Mistress with a sense of pride and accomplishment. “I have no doubt the gift will find him we-“ The tall woman’s word die down in her throat when a sharp pain spreads throughout her chest, leaving her breathless and disoriented. The ache spreads to her head where the screams of her daughters echo like an agonizing chant.

“Mother! Mother please help us!

“Mother these monsters will kill us!“

“Mother, save us!“

The hurting mother drops the phone, attempting to get up to her feet, just to be knocked back down by the intense pain. The pain of a mother losing her daughters.

The daughters that were about to gruesomely murder Karl’s lover in the dungeons right below the castle. The three vampire girls were no match for Heisenberg and his army of lycans which he unleashed upon the whole castle, sending them in search of Y/N who he was quick to find in the dark torture chambers, beaten and bloodied but alive nonetheless.

“Darling, please, talk to me. Don’t do this to me, Y/N, please wake up.“ Karl ducks down in front of the seemingly lifeless body of Y/N, taking her face in his hands, gently holding her head up after he unchained her from the cuffs and contraptions meant to ensure her escape impossible. “Look at me, doll, come on. You’re safe now, you’re safe. Those bitches won’t live to see the light of day tomorrow let alone thing to bring you harm again.“

Although exhausted and weakened past the point of a lifeless doll, Y/N manages to force her eyes open and look into the concerned ones of her lover, Karl. “You came for me.”

“And what else was I gonna do, Y/N?“ He asks softly, gently smoothing back the hair stuck to her sweaty and bloodied forehead, “I would’ve come sooner had I known...“

She cuts him off, “But you didn’t, and that’s ok, you couldn’t have known. I knew you’d save me eventually. I never lost hope.” Her voice is coarse and low, each word painful to push past her sore throat. “I knew you would never let me die.”

“I could never, doll. I don’t know what I’d do without you.“ He presses his forehead against hers lovingly, allowing her a moment to catch her breath before carefully swiping her up in his arms, “Come on, angel, let’s go home.“

Y/N may be his vulnerability, but she’s also his greatest strength. Without her, he would’ve never taken revenge on the Dimitrescus and would’ve never been this determined to end Miranda’s reign and ruin her plans. Without her, he would be half the man he is now.

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spideyxmee · 3 years

Text

The Moon's Dark Side Loves Better

A/N: Hi everybody! Thank you for giving time for this short oneshot of a (messed up) scenario I had.

On a serious note, please read in caution. This mildly contains serious topics which I won't specify in case I spoil everything. If you have any trauma or anything in regards to serious and disturbing topics, please proceed with caution or just don't read this at all and move on to the next fic.

Lastly, it is not my intention to hate/bash any canon characters.

I hope you would enjoy it!

socials | ao3 | intro

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Word Count: 3k+

Warnings: Specific traumas I won't specify (please go to the next fic if you don't want to see any), some swear words

Pairing: Lily/Male OC, Jily

Genre: Dark

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Elio Gebber was a normal Ravenclaw with a pure heart. He was always kind-hearted and sweet to everyone he came across. The teachers adored his witty attitude in class and his clean reputation. It attracted a lot of people, even the ones older than him. He had attractive features that could charm anyone, long dirty blond hair, and grey-blue eyes. You could see his confidence in the way he walks and talks.

The students know nothing about Elio's hobbies and personal life. He would let others talk about themselves rather than tell something about him. Others describe him as reticent, while others call him mysterious, but this didn't stop students drool all over him.

It all changed when he showed interest in Lily Evans suddenly at the start of his 5th year. Though he was a year younger than her, he didn't care at all what others say. The news spread like wildfire and eventually alerted Lily's other courter James Potter, who was the complete opposite of Elio. But he was as popular among students.

"He's no match for me, right, Sirius?" James asks his best friend for reassurance that his long-time crush would eventually pick him rather than that "nerd." His best friend, Sirius, offered to bully and threaten Elio until he wouldn't even mention Lily's name. James was mature enough to turn down his offer and be a better man for his love.

"Hi, Evans!" Wearing a charming smile, the sanguine Ravenclaw leaned into a pillar to talk to the redhead in front of him at the Gryffindor table.

"You look wonderful today. Would you mind having some Butterbeer with me this Saturday? I would like to get to know you better."

Lily was staring at Elio, astonished. The whole table chattered, and the event eventually reached the far Slytherin table.

"Damn, that was smooth,"

"Maybe I should take him out, huh, Prongs." Sirius's gay heart leaped, while his group of friends shushed him and comforted the down James while he can only watch as the girl he liked for many years gets taken by a boy below his year. He refused to do his old tactics of aggression and respect Lily's decision.

From all the peer pressure, she agreed to give Elio a chance at dating. From what she knew, he was decent boyfriend material, but she would also like to know other things about him. They met up in the Three Broomsticks and had a successful date. He was nice enough to pay for everything they would buy.

On their second date, they enjoyed playing with the fallen leaves and buying candy at Honeydukes. He had great humor. He asked if she would like a kiss, both knew it was too quick for that, but he presented a muggle chocolate Lily adored called Kisses.

For their third date, a month later, they announced that they were officially dating. Elio knew everything about her. Now it's his turn to share things about himself. He told her that he had a hard childhood and didn't like sharing it with anyone. She understood him and promise to avoid mentioning it in the future.

"Hey, Lily! How are you doing?"

An old friend of hers, Frank Longbottom, approached them while sitting at a table in the Three Broomsticks. He was visiting Hogsmeade for a break from his Auror training. She tried to hug him, but Elio was being overprotective and pushed Frank hard away from her. It was the first time anyone saw him being physical.

"Elio! That is so unnecessary," she pulled the boy back and stared at him in shock while asking herself why he was out of character.

"This is my friend, Frank. Frank, this is my Boyfriend, Elio." She blushed while she helps her friend stand up from the fall. The boy that wore a dark expression didn't even apologize and sat down again. He wanted the other two to sit down and ask questions that sound too protective for other people but seem normal to him.

Frank had to go and was only passing by to say hello. The boys both looked at each other intensely. That wasn't a good first impression with Lily's close friend.

As they walk back to Hogwarts after their date, Lily asks Elio if he was ok and grabbed his hand. It was cold and clenched tight.

A few dates came and go, but it got worse and worse. Elio became more aggressive over Lily's simple mistakes like misplacing borrowed things. He turned into a two-faced idiot that seems nice when people were looking. But when alone with his girlfriend, Elio sounded manipulative and self-centered. He wanted the love of his life to be perfect just for him.

After no time at all, she broke up with him. He threatened her that he would die if she broke up with him, but this didn't work on the bright woman at all. She was over his idiotic tactics and two-faced ass.

She told the whole school about him, but none of the students believe her. Elio became depressed and suicidal, and Lily was the one he blames. The entire school despised her, and rumor spread that she only dated Elio for his popularity and looks. The teachers could only do little for the broken-hearted's well-being. Their respective House heads talked to them he looked in a better state. Lily has no proof of abuse to accuse him.

"Lily, can we talk?" James patiently waited for her to come out of their House Head's chamber. Now is the time to at least comfort her.

"Since when do you call me by my first name, Potter?"

It was hard for her to hold back tears from her talk with Professor McGonagall. The teacher offered to look more into her ex for her. But that's all she can do for now.

"I-" Before he could get to say anything, she attempted to walk away. James went in front of her to stop her and gave her a concerned look. Lily stood straight and raised an eyebrow.

"I am here to say that I trust you and know that you would never lie about what Elio has done to you. You can always come to me if you want to talk."

She doesn't have any reason to trust the toe rag back after what he's done to her ex-best friend in their previous school years. But from what he's done this year and the Shrieking Shack incident, she feels that James is a better person and less of a toe rag.

Weeks went by, and the two talked more and more each day. Elio thought this was preposterous and made a scene breaking down and crying every time he sees them together in public. People around felt sorry for him and criticize the two friends that were soon to be a couple.

The school soon didn't care about the drama anymore and focused on other things, which Elio didn't fathom would happen. He hid and kept a low profile for years.

On his 17th birthday, Elio obliviated his mother to erase every memory of him. His mother, Sharon Gebber, didn't care about her own child. Ever since his mother and father divorced in the summer before his 5th year, his mother abused him. She would often use him as a slave and never notice the achievements that he did so that his own mother would pay attention. This lead to his thirst for recognition in public.

Elio successfully erased her mother's memory so she could fuck off his life. He learned about the power of the spell for a specific plan of his. But clearing his mother's memory was just a practice run.

After he graduated, Elio took a job at the daily prophet to earn some money. People there think he's mental. He credits every team achievement to himself and seeks attention every chance he gets.

And even after five years, he was still not over his "love" for Lily. Elio wanted her to love him since he believes that he deserves her.

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While Lily was shopping for baby Harry's stuff at Diagon Alley, she came across an old friend of hers. Elio was sitting at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, writing on a notepad about news from Gringotts. She winced as she recalled all the unpleasant memories of him shouting and making her feel bad about herself. Though it was a long time ago, it still left a faint scar on Lily.

When Lily was about to turn away, he looked up, and they met eye-to-eye. He ran up to her and was about to hug her until she stood back.

"Oh Merlin, Lily! How are you?"

She thought of getting mad at him and ignore him for the things he did. But she thought, what if he's changed? He's matured physically, maybe emotionally and mentally too.

"I'm ok. How about you?" She talked slowly, and her voice was softer than usual.

They sat down and chatted for a bit. Lily was clearly uncomfortable, while Elio was very talkative and talked about himself a lot.

"He didn't seem to change a bit." She thought as she prepared an excuse to leave.

"Elio, I think it's time for me to go."

"Oh, you're already about to leave? Why so soon?" he smiled and talked at the same time, looking like a maniac planning. Which he indeed was.

"I have to really take care of my son, excuse me." she grasped her bag hard, trying to hold back the tears as she watched the same smile Elio wore when they dated fade. She left sniffling and wishing that her spouse, James Potter, to be on her side. But he was protecting their 2-month-old son from the dangers ahead.

"Son?" Elio realized that his first love has had a family with another guy. He gave out a psychotic laugh and cried his heart out. People around stared as the adult threw a child-like tantrum.

Lily heard this from far away, but she learned to never look back.

While crying, Elio thought of something. He then chased Lily and decided that it was time for his plan.

He cornered her in a dark alleyway between shops. He covered Lily's mouth with his hand and chanted a spell to stop her from making any noise. He then snatched her wand, tied her feet, and tied her arms behind her with rope from his wand.

"I have wanted to do this ever since I heard rumors of you and that Potter guy's marriage. Now you and he have a child! I can't stand it, Lily. I thought you loved me!" He stopped and scanned around the environment. "Bystanders will notice all my shouting."

"How about we talk at my humble flat here in London. How does that sound?" Elio wrapped his arms around his sweet childhood sweetheart. Lily tried to scream in hopes that someone or anyone would help her. No sound came out of her mouth as she shed tears silently. She fought her best against the stronger, more muscular man armed with a wand she wished she had.

After not long, they apparated together to his flat. To no surprise at all, his place was eerily clean, and the walls painted white. It pretty much looked like a well-furnished white torture room.

"Sit, my love." Elio dragged Lily, holding her arm with his nails sink into her skin. He locked all the doors to keep Lily in his living room as he'll get some water.

When he left, Lily tried to remove her arms and legs from the rope, but she had no luck. She tried to wriggle her limbs out and cut the ropes using sharp objects around. Alas, none of her tactics worked.

Elio returned, seeing Lily with her face wet with tears.

"Oh, love. Don't cry. I'm here. Drink some water." He wore his demented grin again. He was talking to her like nothing happened between them. It was like they were dating again.

She shook her head and bit her lip, making her facial expressions more emotional and angry.

"Wouldn't hydrate, ey? Not drinking water and keeping hydrated is bad for you, baby."

He raised her chin and looked at her face with awe. Lily tried to bite his finger off, but he pulled it away immediately.

"Ah, a little feistier than I remembered." Elio came closer to her lips as he prepared to kiss her. She gave him a painful headbutt, giving both a throbbing headache.

"Ok, Lily. I have had enough. We will come to my room and have some fun playing, won't we?" He sprung to his feet while rubbing his head to relieve the ache. His voice and face were a mix of angriness and excitement.

Knowing what he means, she got to her knees and attempted to talk, "Why, Elio. Please, I have done nothing but be nice to you."

He stopped from pulling her into the bedroom. He sat to her level to meet her eyes.

"That's the point. You did nothing to make me happy." Elio continued to pull her. The chains he used to attach Lily to the bed were ready. The whole room was filled with candles and rose petals, all ready for their steamy night.

"Don't resist me, my Lily! I deserve your love. I need your love." He clenched his teeth, making his words sound hard and scary.

It was the last thing she heard before all of her trauma.

⌇⌇⌇⁃⌇⁃⌇⌇⁃⌇⁃⌇⌇⌇

The morning sun arose. Elio prepared eggs and toast for breakfast without releasing Lily.

"Your bed in breakfast is here, love!" He places the small table on her lap. Elio was covered in bruises which he calls hickeys. The sleeping Lily was the most bruised, not just physically.

Elio obliviated her, confident that he replaced all of her memories with false memories of both of them together, being a happy and normal couple. He didn't know that he messed up.

"If you ever tell anyone about all this, I will kill you and your whole family."

He was removing her chains and undoing the silencing spell when he heard a knock on the door. Aurors arrived at his house for the interview he needed for an article. It was scheduled for 8 pm, but they misunderstood it for 8 am.

While Elio was away attending the Aurors, Lily woke up remembering everything except Elio's face and identity. She did, in fact, hear the mysterious man's threat involving her family. Lily wanted to get out immediately. She found all her stuff and clothes in the room. Luckily with the help of magic, she left out of the window and gently fell to the ground without scraping her already damaged body.

Elio returned to the room after chatting with his guests. He found no one there. He thinks this was mind-boggling and impossible. He prepared all this thoroughly, and he saw no one to blame but himself. The thought of it made him ask his guests to leave his home and throw things around the house.

Lily healed her scars that left unnoticeable traces at first glance and then apparated back to her home. She told the worried Order of the Phoenix members and her panicked husband that she went to her muggle friend's house that had no telephone. She also assured them that she was unable to contact anyone since it was an emergency.

⌇⌇⌇⁃⌇⁃⌇⌇⁃⌇⁃⌇⌇⌇

"James, I'm pregnant."

Her husband celebrated while carrying and dancing with baby Harry in his hands. While he was happy, Lily worried if it was actually her husband's baby she's bearing.

The whole Order of the Phoenix knew. Others say to be careful of this new baby because they know that the he who must not be named is coming for their first child.

While doing an interview at the Leaky Cauldron, Elio looked terrible. Dark circles under his eyes, and he reeked the smell of alcohol. The good-looking young man was nowhere to be found. He worked day and night, punishing himself for losing "his whole world."

He was a workaholic without any motivation for any other things, even the news of Lily's second child he overheard from a random person at the bar.

"I deserve this miserable life. I don't deserve happiness, and most importantly, Lily." he thought after wrapping up the interview and ordering alcohol.

⌇⌇⌇⁃⌇⁃⌇⌇⁃⌇⁃⌇⌇⌇

After a long day of work, Elio didn't stop find stories for work. His workaholic ass made him travel far. He reached West England just for the story about the undiscovered magical creatures around the area.

While searching around a village called Godric's Hollow, he heard a familiar scream. In a house, he saw a silhouette of a woman fall to the floor through a window. Elio wanted to see what happened, but he didn't want to be a suspect. So he covered any trace of him like wearing removing his shoes, wore gloves, and summoned a hairnet. It looked ridiculous but at least he won't be seen by the Aurors as a suspect.

He rushed inside to see James Potter, lifeless. He then realized. Lily must be the woman. He hurried up the stairs thinking about multiple things. "What happened? Will I report this? Who did this? This might make a good story. Is her child dead too? Is Lily dead?"

The first thing Elio saw was a swaddled, blonde infant cooing. Despite the cries of the toddler and her inert mother, she remained calm and silent. The sight of the infant made Elio's heart warm. She looked a lot like him.

His sharp and quick mind made it seem that this little bundle of light that reflected his past beautiful self's features is his own child. The thought pushed his panic buttons. He told himself, "I have made enough mistakes. I let Lily down and abandoned her. I will fix all of them."

Elio left the house with the child, and still, she didn't cry.

He did everything he can for his child. He quitted his job, changed his identity, and started a new life just for his child. He met a woman and he planned to obliviate her into thinking they have a family, and the girl is their child.

Without knowing it, Elio's wand was broken when he chanted the spell. He forgot all his memories that involved Lily, which was a lucky coincidence. The bad things he did to her? Kidnapping Lily's child? All forgotten.

He also forgot his act of acting to be nice and friendly to his "family." Elio's personality changed to match the kind of person he pretended to be.

He's successfully released a magazine of his own. He raised his girl to be better than his old self, even after his spouse died when their daughter was nine. The smart, little Ravenclaw girl loved everyone better than the person she reflected. And after all the bad things Gebber has done before, he helped some hero complete his mission.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

This was the life of Xenophilius Lovegood.

#hp fanfic #oneshot #original character #lily evans #dark #harry potter fandom #harry potter fic #harry potter au #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter #marauders era #lily/oc #lily/james #lily evans fanfiction #lily evans x oc #jily #lily evans oneshot #hp one shot

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mysaldate · 4 years

Note

30 – Zaphrael

Backstory: As a little boy born to a pair of temple workers, Zaphrael spent most of his time alone by the statue of Dura, reading and building a connection with the Light. Even as the land was stricken by famine, he wouldn't abandon his spot and never lost hope in the goddess. The lord of the land, however, made a deal with the Hypogeans and spread a rumor that the temple was hiding food from the people. Enraged, the people stormed the temple, killing everyone they came across including Zaphrael's parents. Zaphrael himself was saved by a woman who remembered how his parents helped her in the past, and she sent him off secretly to another temple. Zaphrael grew up into a soldier who threw himself in countless battles to save the innocents. Among them was a young girl named Lucretia who immediately fell for him. Not long after she joined the army as a nurse and before long found herself with Zaphrael's squadron. When he got badly injured during one fight, and she happened to be his tending nurse, she broke down im tears and in front of everyone asked him to marry her when he gets better. Reluctantly, he agreed, though he was never interested in the first place. Shortly after his marriage, the god of lightning had perished in the battle and Zaphrael was offeres his place. Ever so loyal to his duty, he took up the offer, leaving Lucretia behind. The next time he saw her was when he came to exterminate a village of heretics trying to bring a terrifying demon to the material world. The finak sacrifice and intended host was his and Lucretia's son. Zaphrael hesitated, wavering in his duty for the first time but he soon realized how hopeless the situation was. The child was already dead, the demon taking over his body entirely. Zaphrael did what he had to, eradicating the host from existence. Unfortunately, he didn't explain to Lucretia, who, desperate as she was, made a pact with the demon, becoming its host instead. The two of them clashed many times afterwards, eventually meeting at the Barred Gate as Dura was sealing the Hypogeans away. Zaphrael was the one to deliver the final push, embracing Lucretia and apologizing for the pain he caused her, before being sealed away together with the Hypogeans. Because of Lucretia, all church stories and reports of Zaphrael were erased and it was as though he never existed in the first place.

Class: Mage

Personal opinion: Unpopular but Zaphrael is amazing. The more I learned about him, the more awesome he became to me and I really hate how this fandom treats him. If the roles were reversed, I just know people would despise him because this isn't about what he did or didn't do. This is about people siding with a hysterical woman over a duty-bound man. But anyway, back to Zaph. His lack of understanding of feelings honestly makes him really interesting to me. He's someone who always put his duty before everything else in his life and the clash of his logic with Lucretia's emotion is just really cool. I wish we got more people honestly taking their time to consider his side of the story because as it is, he gets written off as a jerk when really, he's just a bit lost and bad at feelings.

Headcanon: Though I usually don't like assigning sexualities to characters, I seriously like the headcanon of asexual Zaphrael. It makes a lot of sense as his own story never even mentions Lucretia at all and her feelings for him seem utterly one-sided. Zaphrael really only ever focused on Dura and on his duty and never pursued any romantic or sexual relationship when he very well could. Just my two cents tho.

#afk gaming #afk arena #afk zaphrael #zaphrael

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bbwoulfc · 4 years

Text

Instincts Sucks Ch.11

Look at that, I finally updated! This chapter gave me quite the struggle. Not fully satisfied with this chapter but sometimes you just gotta suck it up and just post it and move forward.

You can follow the fic here on Ao3 or ff.net

Hope you enjoy the update.

The sun rose above Paris for a new day as the light penetrated through the curtains in one of Le Grand Paris’s hotel rooms. Movement rustled beneath the bed sheets until teal-tipped black hair surfaced, along with a pair of tattooed arms following behind, arching into a stretch.

Head leaning back into the pillows, a stream of a sunbeam peeked from the center of the curtains caught Luka’s eyes, making the young man flinch back from the sudden brightness.

“Fuck,” he hissed, turning to his side, back facing the window to hide from the sunlight. One of the worst ways to wake in the morning.

Feeling the warmth of a body next to him, Luka wrapped his arm around Kagami’s waist and curled against her, revealing the warmth skin-to-skin contact. He hummed and nuzzled his nose against his fiancee’s cheek and neck, earning himself a hum from her as she began to stir awake.

“Good morning, my flame,” Luka whispered, laying a kiss on the shell of Kagami’s ear. He slid his hand beneath the sheets and ran his fingers along the bare skin. “Did you have a good night?”

“Very much so,” she sighed.

She spun around, pushing Luka on his back so she could lay on his chest. Head resting between his shoulder and collar bone, her right hand laying across his chest. Luka’s right arm curled around Kagami, holding her close. He loved waking up in the morning with his muse, his love.

“Since you held your end of the bargain of giving me one hell of a romantic night,” he felt her breath mumble against his skin, “I’m curious about this favor of yours you wanted?”

Luka rubbed his hand back and forth along the curve of her back, “Well... I need you to distract Marinette today.”

“Oh?” a dark brow raised in interest, Kagami’s caramel gaze flickering up to sea blue.

“Our golden alpha friend wishes to go shopping for some courting gifts.”

“I see,” she hummed, “He’s finally learning to not hesitate.”

The couple chuckled, it’s become a common Tsurugi saying and every time it brought the two to a fit of laughter.

“Very well. I can distract Marinette for the day. I’m sure she could use a girl’s day out with friends from everything that’s been going on.”

“Perfect. But please be careful. Without knowing who’s going after Adrien and Marinette, anyone could be dangerous.”

Kagami rose up and pecked Luka’s lips, “You worry too much, my song.”

Pushing herself up, the sheets flowed down her body, bunching up in her lap, “Whoever is responsible for spreading these rumors and info of their private lives can’t be too much threat if that’s all they’ve done. They sound like nothing but a coward who’s hiding behind anonymity.”

Luka rose himself up, leaning his weight on his hands as he looked at Kagami. He admired her courage for believing that strength will overcome situations such as this, but when it revolved around anything with her, Marinette, or Adrien, he couldn’t help but feel partially uneasy. Other than his mother, his sister, and his sister’s girlfriend, these three were his family too, his personal pack. He couldn’t afford to be non-cautious.

“I understand, love, but remember when we thought the same with your cousin?”

He watched as Kagami froze from her process of getting out of bed. Her body stiffened, back facing him, her hands curling into the blankets. It wasn’t an intention to bring the memory back, but he knew it was the only way to ensure Kagami understood his fears.

Luka heard her shutter before speaking, “She should have told us, Lu. We could have helped her, saved her before she disappeared.”

Kagami felt the weight shift on the bed until the warmth of her fiance’s arms wrapped around her stomach. His breath breathing against the skin of her neck as he rested his head on her shoulder. She placed an arm over his.

She heard him softly state, “I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure you understood my fears. You know I’d go insane if I lost you or the others.”

“I know,” Kagami turned around in his grasp and kissed him.

Once they broke away, she offered him a smile, “You’re very protective, even though people wouldn’t think it. I love that about you.”

Pushing herself off the bed, she turned, facing Luka. His gaze glancing over her bare body didn’t go unnoticed by her. Leave it to her mate to be easily taken by her bare skin. Damn, she loves her omega.

“Besides,” she watched Luka snap attention back to her, “Marinette will have two alphas and a beta, who can easily pass off as an alpha with how Alya acts. We’ll be fine.”

Luka smiled, “I trust you.”

Feeling pleased, Kagami made her way to the bathroom, disappearing around the corner and turning on the shower. With the water running, she poked her head out and saw Luka leaning back, head up and eyes closed with a soft smile on his face. He was too handsome for his own good she always thought.

“Aren’t you coming?” asked Kagami.

The hilarity of the way his head snapped to her, eyes wide and confused. She was surprised he didn’t get whiplash.

“What?”

“Come on,” she soothed, “my omega deserves an award after taking care of his alpha last night.”

She disappeared back in the bathroom again, biting her lip from laughing at the sound of his whimper, and the soft, “this sexy beast is gonna be the death of me.” Damn straight she is. She was gonna make sure he felt the exact way he made her feel last night and leave love bites on that handsome skin of his.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt they would be running a bit late this morning. Though she’s sure the others could wait a bit while she spent more time with her mate.

Hearing the footsteps making their way towards the bathroom, Kagami walked into the large shower and awaited Luka.

******

Adrien was waiting on the front steps of the Agreste Mansion when Luka pulled in front of the mansion in his black Audi Q7. The blonde watched as the passenger’s tinted window rolled down to see Luka, sporting his sunglasses, leaning over shouting him to get in.

“So, where are we headed?” asked Adrien.

“We’re heading to the La Defense Business District for the Les Quatre-Temps Mall. I figured that would be our best bet to find anything of interest for your courting gifts for Marinette.”

Making a right down the next street, Luka quickly glanced over to the young alpha before reverting his attention back onto the road.

“Were you able to figure out a list as I asked you to? Knowing how romantic you are I’m feeling confident that you jotted down appropriate items.”

He heard Adrien chuckled as he shifted in the passenger seat, “Of course I did, professor.”

Luka sighed out a laugh as he heard Adrien pull out his phone and unlock the home screen, “And you made sure it wasn’t items simply for value? That all items you thought of were for the purpose of the union?”

“Of course,” stated Adrien as he pulled up the notepad app with his list, softly mumbling, “...even though it was hard.”

Even though it was mumbled, Luka heard Adrien’s slight pout clearly and burst out into laughter.

“Adrien...I know you have all the money to buy anything you can, especially for Marinette. But when it comes to courting your mate, money isn’t always a necessity. And you and I both know that Marinette isn’t one for expensive items because she would like them. Like a true omega, she values what comes from the heart.”

Adrien sighs, “I know. It’s just so hard not to just spoil her. She deserves everything.”

“I can understand, believe me. I deal with the same viewpoint through Kagami. She wants to spoil me with everything she thinks I need when I really don’t need them. You two are the same. Two sides of a coin. The two of you show your love and affection with your wealth, but know that none of that matters to us more than the meaning behind the gift itself.”

“No wonder why Marinette always talked to you growing up, you’re so easy to talk to.”

The blonde heard his omega friend chuckle as the car came to the large mall area.

Cutting back the speed of the car, the two came upon some open parking spots and pulled into one. Once Luka shut off the car, both men stepped out and were greeted by their two shopping companions; Nino and Nathaneal.

“Hey, dudes!” greeted Nino.

“Hey, guys! Thanks for joining me today,” replied Adrien.

“It’s no problem, man,” said Nathaneal, smiling. “Chloe was insisting I get out of the studio for a bit. Plus, I might buy some more art supplies while we’re out and about. Running low on some items.”

“Yea, man,” came Nino, “Can’t let our bro down, you know. Bros help bros.”

“Well then, us bros better get started then,” stated Luka.

Before heading off, Adrien took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. Turning to Nino, his friend handed him an extra cap hat, a simple black one as he placed it on top of his head and flipped it backward.

Smiling, the blonde looked at Luka and smiled. The older man looked at his friend with a raised brow, curious for the sudden add ons.

“Trying to stay conspicuous from the media,” said Adrien.

Luka shook his head as Nathaneal laughed, “We’re hanging out with Luka the rock star, Adrien. It might be hard to stay conspicuous.”

“Well, hopefully, my absence from Paris in the past few years will prevent Parisians noticing me right off the bat.”

With that, Luka took the lead, ready to get this trip started. As the men started heading down the shopping center, Luka asked for Adrien’s list to look at as they walked along the crowds of fellow shoppers.

“Not a bad list, Adrien,” said Luka.

Thumbing through the phone, Luka hummed until he nodded his head and handed the phone back to Adrien.

“I’m thinking we should start with the craft stores. That way Nat could grab what he needs” -looking at Adrien- “and we can start off easy for stuff to buy Marinette.”

******

“No.”

Adrien felt the slap against the back of his head along with Luka’s command.

The blonde swerved to look at his omega friend, “I wasn’t going to buy it!”

The young alpha watched as the rocker raised a brow and pointedly stared at him with disbelief.

“I wasn’t!” Adrien shouted in defense.

“Sure you weren’t,” replied Luka, still disbelieving Adrien’s response.

And to Adrien’s utter disbelief, Nino sided with Luka on the matter. What kind of best friend would betray him for another friend?! Well, both Nino and Luka were his best friends but it still stung. He wasn’t that impulsive when buying things. Even for a special occasion.

“Sorry dude, I’m sticking with Luka on this one. I know how you can be when buying things at times. And with you being all new to this...these hormones of the alpha, there’s no denying that you’ll go on an unnecessary splurge of purchasing, especially for Marinette.”

“Thank you, Nino.”

Adrien pouted as he softly glared at the two men beside him, “Traitors,” -he sighed and mumbling- “I bet Nat would understand as a fellow artist and the needs for Marinette.”

“As artists ourselves” -Luka pointing a finger between him and Nino- “We know what Marinette may or may not need. I can assure you that Marinette doesn’t need all these things, particularly a new sewing machine.”

Adrien’s whimper only added to the humor of the situation. Both Nino and Luka rolled their eyes at the theatrics of their alpha friend.

If left uncharged, Luka was sure Adrien wouldn’t waste time buying Marinette enough supplies that could easily turn her bedroom into a home studio. And if there was anything Luka knew as Marinette’s confidant, she valued the more thoughtful supplies than new and updated supplies just because they were top of the line’ quality.

“Remember, we’re here for the thoughtful and heartfelt items, not new and expensive,” stated Luka, setting his foot down. There were days like today that he felt he was a father fighting against his child, but he guessed that’s what it was like when you adopted someone like Adrien as a metaphorical brother.

Feeling sympathetic for his friend, Luka walked up to Adrien and laid a comforting hand on the blonde’s shoulder. Giving his shoulder a light squeeze he looked at the row of sewing machines, “I know you want what’s best for her, but perhaps when you decide to ask her hand for marriage,” -Luka looked down at Adrien, smirking and enjoying the reaction of a red-faced alpha- “you can then buy her a new sewing machine. The one she has now is one she cherishes for a different form of value. But I promise when the time comes you can spoil her to your heart’s content. For now, focus on the most desired necessities that she could use more and has a harder time gathering.”

Luka’s smile softened in relief when he felt the alpha’s shoulder’s relaxed.

“Thanks, Luka.” He looked at said omega and raised a brow, “You know, you’re better with words than you give yourself credit too. Seriously. If it weren’t for your love of music, I think you’d make a great guidance counselor.”

That made Luka break out in small laughter, “Thanks, but I’m a little naturally too quiet I think for a job like that. I’m just comfortable with the people I care about. For now, let’s focus on the goal we set out for today.”

He hummed in question, receiving a smile and nod from both Adrien and Nino.

“Alright. Now, let’s go to the fabric section and see what kind of fabrics they have that Marinette would like. As you put down on your list, fabrics were one of the items you wanted to get for your courting gift.”

Giving a nod to Luka, Adrien smiled and led the group towards the fabric section.

Within thirty minutes of browsing the fabric aisle, Adrien managed to reel in a total of five fabric rolls he deemed the most important to purchase for Marinette. However, being the romantic man that he is, Luka, Nino, and Nathaneal had to reel in Adrien a couple of times from buying half the fabrics inventory. Leave it to the son of a fashion designer willing to buy the store's stocks.

Eventually, Adrien gave in when Luka explained he only had so much space in his car and that they still had to search for his other courting gifts. The omega knew he was in for a busy day, he just hadn’t imagined he’d spend most of the time, keeping Adrien on track from going overboard with his spending.

Though the moment he thought about Kagami and what she had been willing to do in the past with buying stuff for him, and is still doing every now and then, he assumed there wasn’t much that should have surprised him. His fiancee and Adrien were practically similar to a core.

With each member of the group grabbing rolls of fabric, the young men traveled to the front of the store for the checkout counter.

The young women managing the counter looked up to greet them as they approached.

“Hello,” she greeted with a friendly smile. “Did you gentlemen find everything you needed today?”

“I think so,” answered Luka. “Our friend here” -gesturing towards Adrien- “wanted to buy some fabrics for his girlfriend and surprise her.”

“Aw, how sweet,” she smiled as she looked at Adrien. “She’s a lucky lady. Did you need the fabrics cut at all or are you buying the entire roll?”

“No, thank you,” replied Adrien. “I plan to purchase the entire rolls, please.”

“Excellent. I’ll get these rung up for you.”

As they piled the five fabrics onto the counter, the cashier began to scan each roll of fabric. Clicking a few buttons, the cashier read off the total amount for the bundles of fabric.

“Alright, your total cost for the five rolls of fabric will be two hundred and seventy-nine euros and eighty-nine francs,” the cashier smiled.

As Adrien pulled out his wallet for his debit card, the group didn’t notice the cashier glancing at Luka with a questioning look.

When Adrien pulled out his debit card to swipe it, the cashier finished the purchase and handed over the receipt to the alpha when she finally spoke to Luka.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but” -the cashier was debating whether to ask or not, but in the end decided to take the plunge- “you wouldn’t happen to be Luka Couffaine? International rock star by chance?”

Luka’s shocked face and overall reaction to the comment answered the young woman’s question. Behind him and Adrien, Nathaneal glanced at Nino and grinned. Holding his hand out in front of Nino, he mumbled, “Told you.”

Annoyed and rolling his eyes, Nino pulled out his wallet and placed a twenty euro into Nathaneal’s hand.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe you’re back here in Paris! How long are you staying in Paris? Can I get a photo with you?”

On and on, the young woman kept firing questions as she pulled out her phone from her back pocket and began snapping pictures and recording video.

The commotion snagging the attention of the other employees in the store.

“Rachele, what’s going on up there?” one of them asked as they walked into view a few feet away.

The young woman looked over in full excitement, “We have a celebrity here! The one and only, Luka Couffaine!”

Her co-worker raised a brow in confusion, showing no knowledge of who she was speaking about. That eased Luka a little, already being nervous that the current situation might jump into pandemonium if more people knew he was in town.

However, the other employee glanced over to Adrien beside him and recognition took over.

“Oh my goodness,” the woman stated, “Adrien Agreste?”

That was enough for Luka to decide it was time to leave the store before hell broke loose. The last thing he needed was to end up spending the day running around Paris being chased by fans.

“It was lovely meeting you ladies but we are on a tight schedule,” he gave the cashier a tight smile and grabbed some of the supplies. Turning to the boys, “Alright, let’s go.”

Following Luka’s lead, Nino, Nathaneal, and Adrien all grabbed a roll and speed-walked out of the fabric store. The moment the door closed behind them, all the boys broke out into a run towards Luka’s car. After tossing the materials into the trunk, all four of them hopped in the car and drove off, heading to the next location for the next item, hoping that the little encounter wouldn’t come biting them in the ass.

******

After the little hiccup at the fabric store, the day went along smoothly as the boys hopped from store to store, helping Adrien find the best among the items on his list. The simple shades and hat provided enough of a disguise for Adrien as they walked among other Parisians.

However, after the small incident at the fabric store, Luka stopped by the nearest store that sold clothing and bought himself a beanie to hide most of his hair. Sure, his highlights were one of his easiest trademarks, but hiding most of it under the beanie seemed good enough to prevent fans from noticing at first glance.

Grabbing the second and third item on his list, Adrien led the group towards the nearest jewelry store. As the group came upon the entrance of the store, the three other men looked surprised.

“Dude,” Nino being the first to break the silence, his voice soft and small out of surprise. “When we joked around about marriage, we didn’t mean it literally.”

“I’m not going to buy an engagement ring you guys, I promise,” replied Adrien. Even though the thought of buying one then and there wasn’t tempting. “We’re here to buy a nice and simple necklace that Marinette can wear when she wants. I was thinking of one of those necklaces that has a piece that displays something like their hobbies. Like, a piece that is an image of a sewing machine or fashion related.”

“Hmmm, that’s actually a nice idea,” spoke Nathaneal. “I think I’ll see if they have anything for Chloe here. Maybe one with a bee.”

“I wonder if they have anything with fencing and music,” mumbled Luka.

Smiling at his friends, Adrien led the group into the jewelry store, and each split into their own ways in search of a specific piece of jewelry for their significant other.

Surprisingly for the group, after an hour in the jewelry store, they managed to each find something related to their partners in jewelry. Nino found a pair of earrings with Microphones and a pair with books. Knowing that Alya had pierced her ears last year and her spike in journalism, the earrings felt like a nice homage to her skills. He was glad that Alya wasn’t always into the fancy side of jewelry. She never had the taste for bright and shiny jewelry bits. It was more of the simple and basic meaning of the jewelry she enjoyed most. Plus, he felt this was better suited for when she was out doing her journalism side gigs.

As for Nathanael, he found a necklace with two bees and purchased a custom bracelet with variations of art supply pieces and fashion to symbolize their relationship. And most importantly, he made sure they had a nice amount of diamonds throughout both pieces. He knew how much Chloe liked her diamonds, no matter the worth of the diamond. The redhead omega was proud of his queen bee as she grew into a person that Chloe herself could be proud of and shine. She might have had struggles with her distant mother in America, but his queen has proven what a protector she can be to those she holds dear.

For Luka, he purchased a custom necklace design with small diamonds and a silver custom fencing foil hanging in the center. Second, he purchased a silver bracelet with engravings of music notes and their nicknames for one another. Smiling, he placed the items in their specialized box and into the bag. Next to him, Adrien smiled excitingly as he purchased a custom design necklace and bracelet with fashion icons and pink diamond. He knew Marinette always had a love for pink and felt that it fit her bubbly personality, however, he did pay for a second one with sapphire gems to match her dusk blue eyes thinking it would go along well with more formal outings such as events or dates.

Placing the necklaces and bracelets in their boxes, Adrien grabbed his back and followed the group outside, each one of them shouting their thanks to the employees of the store.

Crossing off the fourth item on Adrien’s list, the young alpha was beaming in pride as he felt things were getting accomplished for his courting for Marinette. Looking back at his list, the group jerked in surprise when the sound of a cell phone ringer echoed out. All four men reaching into their pockets, Nino, Nathaneal, and Adrien glanced at silent phones but looked up to see Luka’s expression confused.

“Everything okay, Luka?” asked Adrien.

They watched as Luka’s brows furrowed in confusion staring at the screen.

“I’m not sure who this number is? I wasn’t expecting any calls from work since I’m taking a vacation right now.,” stated Luka.

“Perhaps you should answer it,” came Nathaneal's voice, “If it’s from work, they might be using a different phone to get a hold of you.”

Still confused, Luka gave a small nod, “Perhaps.”

Answering the call, Luka held the phone to her ear as he greeted the caller on the other end with a hello.

As the other boys watched in silence, the peaceful day they had begun to sour as they watched Luka’s expression turn from confusion to wide-eye shock.

“W-what do you mean she got attacked? Is she okay?!”

The other boys grew worried as they listened to Luka’s panicked conversation with the caller on the phone. They watched and waited patiently when Nino’s phone went off for an incoming message.

Glancing at his phone, the young beta unlocked his phone and read the text message he received from Alya. Squinting at the text, Nino’s expression turned to shock as he glanced up at the others.

“What’s going on?” asked Adrien.

Before Nino could speak, Luka hung up the call and glanced at the group, and ordered them to get in the car.

“Luka, what’s happening?” Adrien asked again, panic starting to seep into his mind.

“Everyone get in the car,” ordered Luka.

“Luka!” stressed Adrien.

“Get in the car!” demanded Luka.

Adrien hunched under Luka’s glare. The bright bluish silver hue glow of Luka’s omega eyes pierced straight into him and froze him in place. As terrified as he should have been by the older member of their pack, Adrien saw the worry and fear glinting within the omega’s stare. More concerned about his friend’s fear than the repercussions of his demand.

"Luka” whimpered Adrien.

The alpha watched as Luka flinched and snapped out of his hunch position and leaned away from Adrien. The blonde watched quietly as Luka took a deep breath, his eyes never wavering from the omega form. And looking closer, Adrien could see Luka on the verge of tears. Whatever fear was lingering within Luka, he knew he wasn’t looking forward to knowing.

“I’m sorry,” breathed Luka, “but I was informed Kagami is in the hospital. I need to get there.”

‘Kagami in the hospital?’

Hearing that Kagami was in the hospital dropped a pit in his stomach. Though what added to the fear was if Kagami was in the hospital, where was Marinette?

Nino’s voice broke through Adrien’s internal struggle but it didn’t help the fear turn into full-blown panic.

“I know what you’re thinking dude,” Adrien and the others turned to Nino to find the same dread in his eyes. “Marinette’s in the hospital too. Tom and Sabine contacted her to get to us. She’s making her way there now.”

Without a word, Luka and Adrien rushed towards the car, Nino and Nathaneal following right behind them. Throwing the bags, uncaring where they landed, Luka started the car and sped off into traffic towards the hospital shared to him from the call.

******

How they managed to get to the hospital without ending up in a car accident or simply crashing with the way Luka sped through Paris, they had no clue. Though the main concern of getting to Marinette and Kagami outweighed all the ‘hows’ of miraculously making it to the hospital unscathed.

Screeching into the nearest open parking spot, Luka shut the car off, Luka and Adrian were the first to rush out of the car and speed through the parking lot and through the lobby of the building.

Luka quickly rushed towards the window and gathered the nurse’s attention, Adrien moving right beside him.

“We’re here for Kagami Tsurugi and Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” stated Luka.

“Can I ask the two of you your relations to either of the two?” asked the nurse.

“I’m Luka Couffaine, Kagami is my fiancee. Adrien Agreste is Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s boyfriend. We were informed by the family to come.”

Turning to the computer, the nurse punched the two names in and looked behind them gesturing to Nathaneal and Nino. Luka and Adrien explained they were friends of the family and were asked to join according to the family. Not that the nurse needed to know the little lie.

Entering the names of the other two, the nurse looked at the group, “Ms. Tsurugi and Ms. Dupain-Cheng are located on the fourth floor in room 29B. They’re in a shared room. Go right on up.”

Giving the nurse their thanks, all four men rushed to the elevator and made their way up towards the fourth level.

The moment the elevator doors opened, they ran down the hallway until they came upon room 29B.

When Luka and Adrien entered the room they stood by the entrance and looked shocked at seeing their mate both covered in bandages along with scrapes and bruises.

Moving past the shock, both men ran over to their mate.

Luka whimpered as he stood beside Kagami’s bed and stroked her cheeks, thumbs rubbing over the scratches that took over part of her skin.

“Oh, Kagami,” whispered Luka, leaning his forehead against hers as he tried to calm himself down.

He looked over and took in the bandages that covered arms and a section near the junction of her neck and shoulder area. Taking in the disheveled appearance of his mate, Luka looked across from him and took in the similar state of Marinette. Adrien himself looked over her injuries and fretted over her bandages, scratches, and bruises.

What the hell happened to them to end up in a state like this?

Luka felt rubbing along his hand as he took in Kagami running her thumb along the back of his hand as she gave him an assuring smile. He knew Kagami was strong and could take care of herself. There wasn’t anybody he knew that could make Kagami Tsurugi cower.

Yet, the question laid in front of him that brought on a rage within. Who the hell attacked his mate and Adrien’s? Who would dare lay a hand on an alpha and omega?

The tension within Luka tightened as the protective nature of his omega instincts grew stronger from the sight of his alpha and fellow omega curled an unfathomed hatred towards their attacker or attackers. Luka wasn’t a hurricane by nature, not like an earthquake that Kagami can be as an alpha, but when the winds kick in he could be a storm brewing to release at any given time if it called for it. And right now, the raging storm within him was ready to release its fury on the person who left the wounds on his mate and friends.

He felt the soothing touch of his alpha, Kagami’s burning copper eyes trying to calm the inner beast. He was sure his eyes shifted and canines elongated from his inner turmoil. Judging by the growl across from him a few feet, Luka was sure Adrien was in the same mindset and behavior.

“Who did this,” growled Luka. He was going make sure those responsible would regret the day they harmed loved ones of a Couffaine.

“I’m not sure, Luka,” said Kagami. “I didn’t catch a glimpse of the one that ran from Marinette, but the one that I fought against I’ve never met before. Though I’m sure I ingrained into them what happens when they fight against a Couffaine-Tsurugi.” She gave him a small smirk and wink.

As much as hearing her say her future name, it didn’t ease the surging anger brewing within him.

“Well, fortunately, I know one of them,” came Marinette’s voice.

Luka and Kagami turned to Marinette as the two of them and Adrien looked on with waited breath. They watched Marinette breathe and glanced back at Adrien.

“It was Markus.”

The electricity that surged within Adrien ignited fiercer hearing the name of the man he despised to the core. Having the audacity to attack Marinette again was a mistake too many. The growl that broke out of him echoed throughout the room.

“He’s going to regret it the moment I get my hands on him,” snarled Adrien.

“Unfortunately he escaped near the end of the fight before the medics arrived,” informed Kagami. “However, the other assailant is here somewhere in the hospital.”

That drew both Luka and Adrien’s attention to the young alpha. Unfortunately for Marinette and Kagami, both bound to the beds, and Kagami is beginning to regret she ever mentioned it. Both she and Marinette knew that once Luka and Adrien were angry they had a set goal in mind. And without them there to reel them in, they were both loose without any restraints.

“Luka, don’t,” said Kagami, not even trying to force it as an order. “You have no idea where this man is. There are too many floors to go searching.”

She watched as her mate glanced beside her and Kagami turned to follow her gaze and noticed the bags containing both her’s and Marinette’s clothing.

The silver-blue hues burned brighter in Luka’s eyes as he glared at the bags and grinned, his canines glinting under the ceiling lights.

“Then it’s a good thing I can sniff him out.”

If there was any mistake you would ever not want to get yourself into, it was to fall under the wrong side of Luka and Adrien.

One from wealth and one from chaos, those who fucked up and earned the wrath of an Agreste and Couffaine were in for a rude awakening.

#instincts sucks #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #kagami tsurugi #luka couffaine #adrinette #adrienette #lukagami #adrien x marinette #luka x kagami #ml #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug and chat noir #omegaverse #a/b/o #werewolf tendencies/traits #ml fanfic

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wiyodreamz · 3 years

Text

𝑽𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 | 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑺𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒘𝒂 [05]

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05

Contains: fluff, angst, smut, alcohol drinking, cursing, and more as the story goes on.

Tag list: @seonghwaskitten @reeateez

Warnings: slight cursing, dani making me want to punch her through the screen, seonghwa and yunho being total sweethearts

A/N: the next chapter will be the last chapter of this series

Nari stirred in Seonghwa’s bed as the sunlight from his windows started to peer in from his bedroom. She turned her body to face him, still asleep. She smiled slightly and then looked at his clock on hid bed side table and that smile soon faded.

The time read ‘12:15 P.M.’ She jumped up and ran her hands through her hair.

“Fuck.....” she trailed off silently as Seonghwa stirred in his sleep and then opened his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” He asked as his voice was still full of sleep.

“We overslept Hwa! I was supposed to be out 6 hours ago, before anyone sees me” she said and he rose up instantly.

Nari gathered her clothes as she put them on in a rush. Seonghwa then came out of his closet with a black hoodie and a black bucket hat.

“Put these on, they’re going to be a bit big on you, but no one should really notice you” he said as he handed them to her.

She put on the clothing items he gave her and walked out his room. Once they were outside the gates of his house, a figure popped out from the corner.

“Mr.Park!” Dani said as she appeared. “I came to talk to you at your company, but your assistant said you weren’t here. So I figured out where you lived and drove here” she said and then noticing Nari’s figure in the black clothing. “Oh, and who’s this?”

Seonghwa got in front of Nari and glared down at Dani, crossing his arms “That’s my sister and she doesn’t want anyone seeing her without her makeup on.”

Dani didn’t buy it and rolled her eyes. She pushed Seonghwa out the way off guard and snatched the bucket hat off of her head, revealing Nari.

“Oh look who it is” she said in a mocking tone. “It’s Moon Nari. Now I know how you got the internship, and the others will too.”

“Dani, it’s really isn’t like that! We truly do have feelings for each other!” Nari pleaded as Dani shook her head.

“I told you Nari, you’re going to regret it and I mean it” Dani said and then dropped the hat on the ground, walking away towards her car.

Seonghwa then went to hold Nari’s trembling body, as tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. “Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay! She’s just bluffing, Dani doesn’t really do as she threatens, trust me.”

Nari trusted him, but she will soon regret listening to his words, despite him trying to cheer her up.

The paid internships don’t really start, until a week after graduations. So Seonghwa just wants the others to focus on exams and graduation.

Nari walked down towards the courtyard of the school. It’s been months since she’s actually been in class than having the lecture recorded and emailed to her. As she was walking in, people were pointing and whispering things at her.

She was confused on why people were whispering about her. She walked inside the school and Yunho immediately spotted her and grabbed her arms.

“You really need to see this” he said as dragged her over towards the crowd.

“Looks like our guest has officially arrived” Dani said as the other students turned towards her, some angry with her. “So how does it feel to steal a spot for someone who was more fit for the job?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about” Nari said nervously, as her hands started to sweat.

“I mean you did spread your legs to get that spot right?” She asked accusingly as she started walking towards Nari slowly. “No wonder Mr.Park liked you. You guys probably planned to make it look like you hated each other in the first place, right?”

“What you’re saying is all wrong! I told you we really do have feelings for each other! I didn’t use him!” Nari said as tears were welling up in her eyes. “You just like to spread rumors on anything you see.”

“Because you Moon Nari, I lost a perfectly good opportunity, you bitch” Kim Ara, a girl who was going up for the internship interjected with a glare. “We can’t have nothing nice because of girls like you!”

Before tears were about to fall on her face, she tried to leave the crowd, but people stopped her from doing so.

“Oh look she’s going to go cry since we figured out what she was doing.”

“She’s just a fucking crybaby!”

“She’s really going to ruin the name of this school.”

“Let’s see if the principal lets her graduate once he figures out what she’s done.”

Nari finally gained enough power to push the people away, with tears falling down her face. She ran away and noticed Sunji far away from the crowd, watching what happened.

“Nari! Wait up!” Yunho called out as he ran after his friend.

After a few minutes of running, he finally caught up to her and turned her around.

“What do you want Yunho?” She asked as she wiped her eyes from the tears.

“Nari-ah, are you really dating him?” He asked.

“What if I am? Are you going to shame me like those others, because of the lies Dani is spreading?” She asked as she sobbed. “If you are. Leave me alone!”

Yunho pulled her into a hug. He felt Nari relaxed in his hug. “Nari you know me. I’ll never shame you in anything. You are my best friend and I’ll be damned if anything happens to you. You really love him and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Nari just sobbed into his chest. “I just want to go home. Please take me home.”

Yunho just nodded and led Nari towards his car. He drove in front of her apartment and she immediately rushed out the car and went inside the apartment and was planning on not coming out for days

Seonghwa was worried about Nari. He’s been trying to call her, but it kept going to voicemail. He assumed she was too busy studying for her exams, but she would check her phone for any missed calls or texts. He didn’t want to barge over there, so he called Yunho.

“Yunho. I’m worried about Nari. She hasn’t been returning my texts or calls. Is she busy studying for exams?” He asked into the phone as he was signing some papers.

“About that. Dani wasn’t bluffing and told the whole school some lies about Nari saying that she seduced you into giving her the paid internship. And if Nari shows her face here at school, she will be ridiculed to the point where it will get physical. Luckily it didn’t get physical a few days ago” Yunho explained.

Seonghwa’s grip on his pen tightened. The look on his face could kill anyone. Seonghwa also blamed himself on telling Nari not to worry.

“Where is she now?”

“She’s been stuck in her apartment. She hasn’t come out for anything, but I do sneak over there and place meals on her doorsteps if she hasn’t eaten” Yunho said. “But it’s going to be over for her once the principal overhears about it.”

“I’ll go over there once I finish my job here. You should probably go study or go to class if you have one” Seonghwa said and then hung up.

Seonghwa was going help Nari anyway she can and clear up her name, even if that means getting his hands dirty.

“Yah! Kang Sunji! Come back here!” Yunho said angrily chasing after the girl.

“W-what do you want Yunho?” Sunji asked frightened by his tone.

“Why don’t you say anything about Dani? I know you have stuff against her that can clear Nari’s name!” He asked angrily. “You can actually help her.”

“I’m just scared. Dani has some stuff against my family which can hurt my future. It’s already bad since she uses me for information” she said as she tightened the grip on her bag.

“You really going to cower in fear, while Nari might not even have a future?! The word already got out to the principal and the board and they’re thinking of not letting her graduate and expelling her for ruining the schools ‘name’. She might not even have a future if you don’t speak up” he said angrily. “But oh I forgot. You have to protect your future while another ones get ruined.”

Yunho stormed off and left a stunned Sunji. She never thought about it like that. If she kept the truth in, it would greatly affect Nari. But if she does, she can help Nari.

“What should I do?!” She said to herself as she bit her fingernails nervously.

Seonghwa made it towards Nari’s apartment. He knocked on the door, hoping she would answer. Five minutes passed and she hasn’t answered the door. He took the liberty to push in her code and went inside her apartment.

He walked inside and saw the meals Yunho brought to her, uneaten. It looks like she hasn’t left for days, since her curtains were closed. He opened her curtains slightly and made his way into her room.

Seonghwa walked in and saw Nari wrapped in her blankets, while staring at the blank wall. She turned over and saw Seonghwa in her door way.

“What are you doing here? Haven’t you ruined my life enough?” She asked in a hateful tone which hurt him.

He sat on the other side of the bed. “I came here to check on you. Yunho has been worried for you, I have been worried for you. I’ve been wondering if you ate, drunk water, or went outside.”

“Well I’ve done none of those things. Now thanks to those lies, my future might be in jeopardy. I regret letting you kiss me at that party! I regret falling in love with-“

She was cut off with a kiss by him. She responded to the kiss instantly. He felt tears coming from her, wetting his face. He leaned away from her and saw her puffy eyes that shown she’s been crying a lot.

“I don’t regret falling in love with you” he said with a smile as he wiped away her tears. “What have those people been saying to you?”

Nari got up from her spot and went to her laptop and handed it to him. He scrolled through multiple emails from people bullying her and even as far as death threats. He took a USB from his pocket and put it in her computer.

“What are you doing?” She asked curiously.

“Just something your other graduates are going to regret” he said and then finished with the USB, taking it out of the computer.

Just then, he received a text and pulled out his phone from his pocket.

From Unknown [2:15 P.M]: Hello Mr.Park Seonghwa, I’m Principal Han from Seokhye University. Can you please come to my office at 8 AM sharp? I would like to talk to you about a relationship between you and a student enrolled here? Thank you.

“Who is it?” She asked.

“It’s your principal, but don’t worry I got everything covered” he said with a smile. “Now let me make you something. You must be starving.”

It was the next day and Seonghwa walked into the school. People instantly recognized him and started whispering, but he didn’t mind. He was going to get justice for Nari.

He walked inside the office and the principal noticed him.

“Hello Mr.Park. Please have a seat” Mr.Han said as Seonghwa took a seat. “I would like to discuss the relationship between student Moon Nari and you.”

“What is there to discuss?” Seonghwa asked as he crossed his arms and Mr.Han looked offended by that question.

“W-what’s wrong?! What she did was basically cheating. That internship should’ve went to a student who actually deserved it and not some girl who sleeps around to get ahead” Mr.Han said angrily. “I was being nice and inviting you here to break up with her, before I go through the process of expelling her. Besides your age gap is too big!”

It was Seonghwa’s turn to get angry. “I hope you know those students are sending her mean comments and death threats to her email! She did not sleep around to get the internship, she worked hard to get it than the person who’s spreading these rumors! And now you’re expelling her without looking into the rumors? You’re basically going off of lies! Besides our age gap isn’t that huge, she’s 24 and I’m 28!”

“And who is responsible for these rumors that you say aren’t true?” Mr.Han asked.

“Jung Dani” he said and then gave Mr.Han the USB. “You probably want to look at this since your students are, ‘oh so innocent’!” Seonghwa said.

Mr.Han plugged in the USB and his eyes immediately widened at the comments. He didn’t think it got that bad, he just thought it was just some small bullying and whispering. Not actually sending death threats and threatening of coming to her house or other things.

“B-but these could be-“ Seonghwa cut him off.

“If you let them graduate hook free, I will expose these to the media and they won’t have to worry about their future, because it’ll already be ruined by me, especially Jung Dani. I will also expose you as well and you won’t have a big freshmen class in the fall” Seonghwa said in a threatening tone. “And you can repay Nari by letting her graduate and not letting her take her exams, her knowledge can back her up. I’ll be leaving now since you’ve wasted my time.”

Seonghwa left out the office with a big smile on his face, he knew threatening Mr.Han with bad exposure will get Nari the justice she deserves.

Dani was now crowded by a group of people, hoping to her more lies about Nari.

“Dani-ah? Did she really do that to you?” A classmate asked.

“Yeah, but I heard she’s getting expelled so karma is hitting right back at her” Dani said in a smug tone. They heard the sounds of shoes angrily heading towards them. Dani looked and saw Sunji and Yunho.

“Oh looks it’s Sunji! Tell them more things about Nari’s real attitude” she said.

“No” Sunji stated.

Dani was shocked, she stood up and tried to intimidate Sunji. “Did you just say no to me?! You know what I can do right?”

“Cut the bullshit Dani! You’re not innocent, Nari is innocent. The first day we tried for internships, you tried to ruin her reputation! But those people didn’t pay no mind because they hate people just like you! You said Nari slept with Mr.Park just so she could get it, don’t act like you also didn’t plan to do that also. You were going to do way worse and you’re mad that he fell in love with Nari. Just admit it Dani. You’re jealous of Nari and all of her success, aren’t you?” Sunji said in a smug tone.

Whispers started to form around Dani. She was seething in anger, she didn’t plan for that to happen today, before she could get a hit on Sunji, people crowded her.

“So, you were spreading lies? Wow I can’t believe I believed you. I should’ve known you can manipulate people into believing anything” another classmate said in a disappointed tone. “I wish I could take back those emails I sent to Nari.”

Classmates now started to curse at Dani. Yunho grabbed Sunji’s hands and led her away from the classmates who are now angry at Dani.

“You did great, Nari is going to be really grateful of you” he said with a smile. “Now let’s go before any chaos happens.”

A few days later, after all the chaos. Dani couldn’t graduate and got expelled the next day after everything was exposed. All the other classmates, except Sunji and Yunho, had received punishments. Nari was able to go to school without any obstacles, and people soon started apologizing to her.

Graduation was only a few days away and things were going crazy. But Nari was happy that her life is going back to normal like it should’ve been.

“Are you ready to graduate?” Seonghwa asked.

“Hmm I’m not sure. I’m not really that ready to step out in the real world” she said as she twirled her pencil around her fingers.

“Don’t worry, you can move in with me after graduation” he said.

“Are you sure?” She asked and he nodded.

“Yep” he said and then pulled something out of his pockets. “Here”

He slid the extra pair of keys across the table. It was the key to his house. She took the keys gratefully and smiled at him. “Thank you for helping me through this mess.”

“You’re welcome” he said with a smile. “Let’s go get you home, you have to prepare for graduation.”

#ateez #ateez angst #ateez fic #ateez imagines #ateez scenarios #ateez smut #ateez x reader #seonghwa #seonghwa fic #seonghwa imagines #seonghwa scenarios #seonghwa smut

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