#i promise ill hopefully get better the more i write <3

[lemonflavoreddishsoap]

good morning/afternoon/evening, i saw your request open and i was wondering if you'd be up to write some headcanons about risotto & ghiaccio with a gn! s/o who likes to take care of them; whether it's combing/washing their hair, making meals for them, helping them relax after a day of work, etc.

feel free to delete/ignore this request if it's not of your liking. and, thanks in advance (<3).

I actually received another anon request asking for something similar-

- so I'm just gonna lump them all into one big heaping pile of headcanons! Thank you for the requests <333 La Squadra with a house husband/wife who loves to take care of them

Formaggio

Loves it so so so so much

How lucky he is to have an s/o like you, doting on him and putting in so much work for the two of you.

Always goes to you to massage out any aches from the day

Hugs you from behind while you're in the middle of cooking every time. No matter what. It's not a problem at all unless it leads to you getting something on yourself or getting burnt (in that case he'll apologize - then do it again the very next time.)

In return, he tries his best to treat you whenever he can. He buys you sweet lil gifts all the time, leaving them around for you to find while he's out on missions <333333

Illuso

All those pigtails of his? Yeah, they aren't much, but every time he puts his hair into them he considers asking you to do it instead. He never does, but if you find him doing his hair with a dumb smile on his face, that's why.

Need I say this man praises you and your work?

"Smells amazing, doll, whatcha cooking this time?"

"Damn, the room's spotless! You worked real hard, didn't ya?"

gives you a big ol' smorch on the lips....sigh....

Prosciutto

It's the kind of s/o he always pictured himself having, this is just what he expected life to have in store for him.

As a result, he sort of treats the things you do pretty casually. If you didn't know better you'd say he doesn't notice or care.

But of course, you know him better than that. The kiss on your knuckles before every meal and the quick compliments he gives you throughout the day are how he lets you know he loves you and the work you do.

It's the way he intertwines his fingers with yours in the late hours of the night, you two tucked in bed, that lets you know it's all appreciated.

Pesci

Oh Pesci.. oh this boy...

No matter how many times you do all these nice things for him, no matter how much of an everyday thing it is, it makes him feel so incredibly special every single time.

Every sweet thing you do for him has him practically blubbering out "thank you"s and "you're so sweet"s

Oh my GOODNESS. PLAY WITH HIS HAIR. his hairstyle may be strange (all of La Squadra's are), but please please please run your fingers through it, ruffle it around, mess it up a bit, he loves it.

BONUS POINTS if you get a hairbrush and fix up his messy hair afterwards. Oh he's putty in your hands.

Will do anything he can to return the favors, unless you tell him he doesn't have to. augghhh

damn i got passionate about this one

Melone

Remember how I said Formaggio hugs you from behind while you cook? Well, Melone does that too.

But unlike Formaggio he does it while you're doing literally anything. You could be scrubbing the toilet and he's embracing ya and peppering kissing down your neck and. probably distracting you quite a bit.

But also unlike Formaggio, Melone stops when asked, or when it's clear his affection is making it super hard for you to work.

He'd love it for you to braid his hair, and if you have long enough hair, he'll braid your hair too.

If there's ever a day where you aren't doing too hot, sick in bed and he has the day to stay home, he'll be your house husband for the day. A perfect chance for him to give back some kindness ;3

Ghiaccio

It's no surprise that he's coming home with a million things to complain about. So he'll pace around the kitchen and ramble while you make dinner. He's usually irritable at this time, might get picky with how you cut ingredients or how long you cook for.

Still loves everything you make, even if it's not to his exact specifications. Mutters out a "thanks" afterwards and pulls you close to press a looong kiss to your forehead.

Lets you massage the immense amounts of tension out of him. Also wants you to run your fingers through his hair, brushing through his curls and massaging his scalp. For once he stays silent, sighing and leaning into your loving touch.

This man spouts a million words a minute, but he knows he doesn't need to speak to let you know how much he loves you. He just basks in your comfort. Damn, you treat him so well.

Risotto

He loves the caring part of you, he really does, but at the start of your relationship you may need to tell him a few times to stop saying things like "you know, you don't have to do that for me."

Eventually you reach a compromise, and when it comes to cooking and cleaning, you two make it a team effort whenever he's around.

When it comes to helping him relax after work though, he never complains (anymore) about your pampering.

a comforting bath, your hands scrubbing sweet scents through his hair, a moment where he doesn't need to focus on anything except his s/o.

He dreams of having these moments for the rest of his life, holding you close in the eerie silent night and cherishing every second you love him and care for him.

[doe-eyed-dreamr]

hi!! would you be able to do a fic of snufkin taking care of a sick regressor? if you could make the regressor aged 3-4 that would be great!! tysm!!!!!!

Of course! I'm so sorry this took so long, I was actually feeling pretty unwell myself so I was struggling to get any writing done. I also have emetophobia so I had to be a little vague with the illness I hope that's okay ʕ`•̥ᴥ•̥`ʔ

I really like how this came out though and I hope you do too! <3

Snufkin Cares for Sick Little Reader <3

It's been a long couple of days. You figured you were safe from sickness as the weather warmed, but unfortunately the Valley had other ideas. Stuck in bed while the others went off to play and seek adventure had you grumbly and moodier than usual.

It just wasn't fair! How come you are the only one who can't get their limbs to cooperate when you try to get up and walk around? And that was without mentioning the fever and icky tummy.

But Moomin has promised today will be different. He and the others have gone into the woodland to find a rare plant Moominmama spied in Granny's notes that will hopefully bring your temperature down and give you a little more energy.

Snufkin had volunteered to stay back and take care of you. When asked if he was sure (he did have the best eye for plants among the group after all), he pointed them in the direction of the Hemulen (who's eye was even better than his when it came to flora and fauna) and said he was needed more by your side today.

You hadn't known what he meant by that until you felt it. That telltale fuzzy feeling in the back of your mind.

Everything is just so hard right now. You're tired and achy and nothing feels good to eat and all you want to do is cry and stomp your feet.

You're regressing.

It shouldn't be a surprise - days of feeling icky and not being able to play with your friends? A recipe for disaster. Luckily, Snufkin had noticed and appointed himself caregiver for the day.

"It's okay to let go." He says, eyes tilted towards the sky as you both lay out on the grass, cushions from Moominmama propping you up and keeping you comfortable while the gentle breeze attempts to wash your fever away. "I'm here. I've got you."

You feel the tears well up as soon as he finishes speaking. Any resistance you might've felt melts away and you allow yourself to feel miserable in the only way a toddler knows how. You let the tears fall with a whimper and soon you're cradled against a soft green coat, rocking in a soothing motion while you wail.

"I know, I know little one." Snufkin coos. "You've been so brave, haven't you? I know it hurts but I just know you'll feel better soon."

He places a small kiss against your head, and keeps talking when the tears slow.

"And when you do, we'll go on as many adventures as you'd like. To the beach, to the woods, even soaring through the sky. Anything you can dream up, angel."

"Da others be there?" You question, one hand rubbing at your eyes and the other clutching at Snufkin's coat as if scared he might disappear.

Snufkin chuckles and takes over wiping away your tears, much gentler than you yourself had been. He produces a pacifier from his pocket and clips it to your own clothes, giving you the comfort of knowing it's there without pressuring you to use it if you aren't quite feeling young enough.

"Yes, the others will be back as soon as they can be. And you know they love to play with you, whatever age you feel on the inside. I bet each of them has an idea for an adventure, we can ask them later if you'd like?"

You nod quickly, then pout when your head hurts at the motion.

"Owie."

Snufkin kisses your forehead with sympathetic eyes.

"I know, sweet one. Do you think you could manage some soup? I made some earlier and it might help hydrate you more than water. I'd hope it'd be tastier too." He adds, noting your scrunched nose at the mention of water. It feels like all you've been doing these past days is drinking water.

You nod slowly, hoping the food goes down well this time. If Snufkin says it's a good idea, you're going to believe him.

You didn't, however, factor in the fact your friend would have to get up to fetch the food.

A whine passes your lips and you cling on even tighter to his coat.

"Nuh uh! Snuf'in stay!" You protest. Snufkin hushes you, stroking your hair till you calm a little.

"Easy, sweetheart." He coos again. "I'll be right back. Count to ten for me, okay?"

You do so reluctantly, counting between shaky breathes the longer Snufkin is away from you. He smiles encouragingly as he emerges from his tent, large flask in hand.

"There." He says, plopping back beside you before you've even reached the number ten. "I'm so proud of you, little one. I know that was hard."

You get another kiss to your head for your efforts and you can't help the smile that overtakes you. Snukin is proud of you!

"There's that sweet smile." Snufkin says, smiling back as he opens the lid of the flask and pours some soup into it. "Now, I'm going to hold this, just sip carefully okay? And we'll see how you feel once you've tried some."

The task sounds simple enough, and you nod your head with determination. Snufkin boops your nose, and then lifts the soup to your mouth for you to take the first sip.

It's DELICIOUS.

Your eyes widen and Snufkin pulls the lid back as you attempt to gulp all of it down at once.

"Ah ah, not so fast." He says. "I'm glad you like it, but you have to take it easy at first, okay?"

You pout, but nod. Snufkin giggles.

"Okay." He says, bringing the soup to your mouth again.

You sip much more slowly this time, basking in the warmth of the food and the ache in your head fading into the background.

When you can't drink anymore, Snufkin closes the flask and rolls it away from you both, pulling you in to snuggle against him again.

"Now. I think a nap is in order, then by the time you wake up the others should be here to help you feel all better. How's that sound?"

At your clear hesitation, Snufkin continues.

"We can take a nap right here beneath the sky. Together."

You smile and hum in confirmation, allowing Snufkin to lower you both onto the cushions. He tucks your head under his chin, curling into one another, and begins to hum.

The tune isn't a familar one, most likely taking inspiration from the wind, the rustling leaves, the bubble of the stream not so far away.

It sounds like home, and you allow yourself to drift, knowing you are safe, and you are loved.

[anonymousbeefriendfanfics]

April fools

Substituting Horo's milk stash with either water that has white food colouring or buttermilk. Or changing the expiration dates to like a whole month ago.

Stealing Hella's pipe and making it obvious that it was stolen and make her chase to a dead end.

Everyone in the MBCC gets silly little plastic duckies hidden everywhere in their stuff for them to find.

Pranking Rime by replacing all his snacks and stuff with hay bcs that's what deers eat or drawing a lil silly thing on his face

It would be difficult to prank any of the ptn mommies but it would be funny to try.

Ohhh, messing with Irons medical supplies would be funny. Like. Nonessential stuff to be switched up.

Ill probably be back if I get some other ideas

Two contents in one day? Shocking! So I'm finally doing this a whole month later because.... well, motivation is weird. Anyway.

Enjoy your ptn pranks! They're a lil short but hopefully you like it anyway... I was looking for something easier to try and get back into writing, heh.

I switched the last two, to group things a little bit better by fandom... and I have no idea what you could even try to do with the Mommies, so I just did the specified pranks.

Prank #1: Substituting Horo's milk stash with either water that has white food colouring or buttermilk. Or changing the expiration dates to like a whole month ago.

Horo is. Not gonna be happy. At all.

If you switch them, she takes a sip innocently and then gets the most comedic look of shock on her face. If it's water she might recognize the prank and just swallow it, but if you switch it with buttermilk, she's likely just gonna immediately spit it out because what the hell is that

If you change the expiration dates she might not notice immediately, depending on when you do it... I feel like she checks them religiously when they first arrive, but after that, not as much. Truthfully, this prank will not work very well, because she either doesn't notice or throws out perfectly good milk. Listen. Listen. As someone who drinks a lot of milk. You learn to pick up on changes in it instantly. I promise you, if that is all she drinks, she will notice the second it starts going bad. If she's actively drinking it and notices the expiration date is that far back, she's likely to suspect the prank.

Anyway prepare for vengeance either way, especially if you swap it out. She's going to be a little ball of fury for a little bit, but after she calms down, she's going to plan a good prank for revenge, so... pray she doesn't find out it was you.

Prank #2: Stealing Hella's pipe and making it obvious that it was stolen and make her chase to a dead end.

Something something little ball of rage... sounds familiar. Maybe don't prank Horo and Hella on the same day?

She pretty immediately swears to make whoever stole her pipe pay dearly, and is intent on getting it back. Very little will deter her from this task. Don't even ask her to go on a mission until she gets it back.

Ninety-Nine helps her hunt for it, because of course she does. Which makes it even more nerve-wracking if you were to be caught.... good luck.

Someone will inevitably offer to replace her weapon, and she'll reply, as always, that she doesn't want or need anything else. Her pipe was perfect, and she will get it back.

The longer it takes to hunt it down, the more frustrated she gets. Hella does not have the most patience, after all... She's probably cussing like mad and threatening to use her pipe to kill whoever stole it once she finds them.

If she learns it was you, she won't follow through on those threats... but she will be dramatic about it, and will very obviously pout and ignore you for a day or two until she naturally gets bored of it. If you want her back to normal faster, bribes of money and candy will work... even if she insists they don't at first.

Prank #3: Everyone in the MBCC gets silly little plastic duckies hidden everywhere in their stuff for them to find.

Now this is gonna be fun!

The reactions range from thrilled affection to fury. Many of the Sinners 'adopt' the little duckies, and carry them around with them or craft a little makeshift nest for the duckies in their rooms.

Many ducks get names, and several Sinners immediately get customizing with paint and markers. Likewise, Hecate suddenly becomes extremely popular, after she logically begins to paint the duckies she found in her room to match the Chief and other Sinners. By the end of the day, she has a list of orders, a small mountain of duckies overflowing the basket beside her, and an assortment of things she's been given as payment, from money to trinkets to art supplies. She'll spend the next week painting the little ducks in a myriad of different ways, and she seems quite content.

Unfortunately some ducks are, inevitably, viciously destroyed the moment they're found... looking at you, Wendy. Poor thing thinks they're corruptors, most likely....

A lot of them don't really care, they just chuckle a little when finding more, and either put the duckies in one spot in their room or give them to other Sinners. Most of these Sinners keep at least one, though, because they are adorable.

Several of them turn it into a competition. I'm assuming that, in addition to hiding the duckies in the Sinner's rooms/belongings, maybe some were scattered throughout the Bureau.... well, now the hunt is on, and there's a massive competition to see who can get the most. The main competitors are Hella and EMP, but OwO actually wins. She claims it's due to luck, but at least a little has to do with charming other Sinners out of their duckies... and also being able to hunt freely while Hella and EMP try to hinder one another. She keeps them all in her lion's head.

Wolverine doesn't quite know what to do with them, but Pippy loves them. Cute little badger loves playing with them, and ends up with many duckie toys.

Nightingale ends up with a little duckie painted in her likeness (or at least, with her uniform) given to her by Hecate, and, in a somewhat uncharacteristic show of her more relaxed, fun side, glues a magnet to the bottom of it and sticks it to her shoulder, occasionally consulting the "Assistant Adjutant" duck for advice.

All in all a very good time is had by all, and this likely becomes something of a ritual for April Fool's Day. People used to go on Easter egg hunts... the Sinners go on April Duckie hunts!

Prank #4: Ohhh, messing with Irons medical supplies would be funny. Like. Nonessential stuff to be switched up.

Do you want to die?

For the love of god make sure Anne is around. She's probably the only one who can save you.

Iron detests her mania research being interfered with. She is very busy, and most definitely does not approve of this.

If she notices when she has time to spare, she will stop work and painstakingly reorganize her supplies. If not, though... she goes through with whatever procedure she needs to do, grumbling the entire time about the mess. And then she will fix it.

You'd better hope that she doesn't find out you did it, because if so, you're going to have to pay her back for this. If she finds out quickly enough, you'll be the one putting everything back in place, likely with a very grumpy Iron 'babysitting' and instructing you on where everything goes.... or, if you're unlucky, a simple instruction to return everything to its rightful place before leaving you on your own. Fortunately most things are labeled, but unfortunately, she is very particular and will inspect your work when you're done. If she finds out after she's fixed things herself, she'll insist upon you being her assistant in the future, which could entail anything from helping her move unconscious/paralyzed patients to doing strenuous tests as her sample test subject. Good luck!

Prank 5: Pranking Rime by replacing all his snacks and stuff with hay bcs that's what deers eat or drawing a lil silly thing on his face

He's extremely grumpy and will pretend this is the worst thing that has ever happened to him, but he actually finds it hilarious.

Seriously, though, he loves his snacks, and goes to great lengths to ensure that he never runs out of them. Waking up one day to find his entire stash not only gone, but meticulously replaced with similarly-shaped bits of hay and leaves? Yeah. Not happy.

He immediately swears vengeance on whoever has done this. And immediately blames Sage, probably, both because he's the prime suspect and because Rime just... enjoys the excuse to fight with him. Eventually Sage will convince him that he had no idea where the stash even was, and that he'd have stolen snacks long before now if he had, and Rime moves to other suspects.

He practically does a full detective investigation to find out where his precious, precious treats have gone.

If/when he finds out it was you, he'll be quite annoyed, but... so long as the snacks are returned, he will forgive. Eventually. He'll definitely think up a task or three for you to do to make it up to him, though... or, worse yet, he'll forgive you far too quickly and you'll spend the next week paranoid about what he's planning before he inevitably catches you off guard anyway with some ridiculously-detailed prank of his own design. You'll probably end up trapped and/or portaled somewhere, given enough of a fright that he feels you've paid for your thieving ways.

[roboticspacecase]

I'm pretty sure I've made a post like this before, but it's never a bad thing to make another!

I just wanted to say again just how much I appreciate all the support I've gotten over the years. Whether it's been monetary, just liking things, comments, or whatever, I've always seen every bit of it and always appreciate it all! I might not always know how to respond at the moment, so I don't always acknowledge it, but I see all the nice things y'all say and do!

I know I don't do NEARLY as much as I used to thanks to ✨ mental illness ✨ and some ✨ life stuff ✨ but I promise I am getting better and working to make a schedule I can stick to! I really love writing and want to get back into it, so hopefully soon I'll be posting more! :D <3

[diaryoftheunidropout]

DAY 50

Very brief message because it's 3:30AM and all I want is to SLEEP.

I made the reckless decision to brutally go off antidepressants completely just so I can experience the full syptoms of whatever mental illness(es) I have so I can get a better and hopefully more accurate diagnosis and be take more seriously next time I see a psychiatrist.

Three days ago I felt EXTREMELY anxious for asbolutely no reason at all. I wanted to go to the restaurant, I went, and almost as soon as I stepped foot out of my flat, I got anxious. Over nothing. I just FELT anxious. And I was also super irritated by everything. That was the case yesterday too, and a little bit today as well, but it really is less and less.

These past two days I've been feeling super motivated and happy. I can get lots of stuff done and I want to get lots of stuff done. I believe in crazy shit like "I'm going to write a book and have it published" or "I'm going to study 3D animation" or "I'm going to become a tattoo artist". And to think 3 days ago I just thought I was going to do none of that and just work whatever job I'd be given...?

Anyway, I know this is probably very temporary and a relapse is probably going to kick in soon, hopefully in a week or two only, but it's probably more a matter of a couple of days.

I got my Heartstopper tattoo and I'm so so happy about it. I also love my tattoo artist. What I see in her is like... a 15 year older version of myself? We happen to have quite a lot in common except she is under medication that really treats her illness well and therefore she is pretty stable and enjoys her daily life, and that just gives me hope for my own future.

Anyway, I'll try to keep this blog updated more regularly, especially because I wanna keep track of how my mental state evolves, especially since I've had a hard time focusing and remembering anything lately, and also because whenever I feel bad I get sort of "black outs" and forget :')

See you soon hopefully

xx

Update:

I posted the first part at around 3/4AM so in order to update I must do it on the same post.

Around 2AM I felt peaceful and like I was about to fall asleep but I made the very stupid decision to reply to my grandma's messages knowing it was going to take me 2 hours. So at around 4/5AM, when I finally could go to bed, I felt super anxious, I felt like someone was in the room watching like lowkey paranoid. I think I even woke up in the middle of the night hearing someone's breath but honestly it was probably just mine obviously. I think I fell back asleep and woke up again a little before 12PM.

Then I knew I really had to finish preparing my trip to England which is just under two weeks away from now but it made me so fucking anxious. I still managed and ended up taking a lot of pleasure in it! I was pretty much laughing hysterically at everything.

Then I got up to get prepared because I'm getting my 2nd booster against Covid, which I was totally chill about until I left the house and almost had a full blown crisis with tears and anxiety, which I've been trying to fight for the past hour. It's only 10 mins til my appointment. I'm not scared of the shot in itself, I'm just too unstable. I'm not even sure the vaccine in itself is the real cause of my mental anguish, I think it's mostly because I promised myself after this shot I would stop wearing my mask, which should be liberating but instead makes me feel miserable.

We're the 21st of April and it's day 3 (I think) with no medication at all. I refrain from taking anything, not even a bit of medication against anxiety.

At some point I tried to remember what I did yesterday and just couldn't for about a minute. I still feel dizzy when I walk most of the time. When I say or think about the words "death" I just wanna cry. I wish I could die to end the suffering right as I'm writing this but when I think of dying I just get traumatizing flashbacks from my dad's death.

I'm trying to sit down somewhere and collect myself because I really must not cry in front of some poor strangers working at the pharmacy. They haven't done anything to deserve to see me like this.

I am so in pain right now. I wish a doctor would listen and try to help.

[bookuya]

— rushed kisses.

:: scaramouche + xiao x gn!reader (separate)

; fluff, hcs + drabbles.. and lots of kisses of course!

for @xiaosmoon's collab! happy valentine's day <3

content: collab + requested work! doctor reader and healer scaramouche cause i said so! you want to make out with xiao soooooo bad,, not proofread cause that would be torture to read over and over again

author's note: wow im actually writing now, are you guys proud,, to the anon who requested this idea, i mixed this with a collab piece, but hopefully this is what you had in mind! C:

scaramouche

you met scaramouche when he entered your doctor's office for the first time, and you accidentally hit him straight in the jaw while pulling out an adhesive bandage roll.

you haven't met the sixth harbinger before, being a new healer that had just joined the fatui— you didn't consider what role scaramouche could be when you only mumbled an "oops" to return the ill-mannered attitude he was having since he stepped into the doorway.

it pretty much just resulted in you and scaramouche having a full-on argument in your office, even as you patched up nervous put-on-the-spot fatui agents.

as time passed by, though, you got so used to scaramouche just coming into your office, whether it be to: annoy you, reprimand you, or ask for you to heal him even if he could do it himself.

the tsaritsa is the happiest person standing on teyvat when she finds out you two start dating; la signora and dottore win the most surprised award while childe earns the "yay-i-get-to-bother-the-shit-out-of-them" award

you don't know how it started yourself; just seeing him so often and casually in your office got your heart naturally set on him, and the way the tips of his ears burn when you get close up to his figure to heal him doesn't go unnoticed.

you're also surprised when at some point in the relationship, scaramouche gets extremely touchy and open with his feelings.

"scara," you manage to say, interrupted by your own giggles as he cups your jaw tightly but gently in his hands. scaramouche presses rushed, eager kisses all over your face— on your cheeks, eyelids, forehead, nose, and especially your lips.

you guess it's partially your fault for wrapping your arms around his neck in the first place.

"don't you dare get into any trouble while i'm gone," he grumbles between giving kisses, still holding you close even as you keep laughing from his ticklish and warm touch. scaramouche completely ignores the anxious fatui agent in the doorway of your office, fumbling for the sixth harbinger's attention to go on a mission.

"m-my lord," he stammers while hesitantly fidgeting in his position. "we have to go... tsarita's u-urgent orders..!"

you say with a grin, "c'mon scara, you gotta go." you press your own kiss against his forehead as he grunts with a complaint under his breath. he sends a sharp glare over his shoulder right at the agent, making another amused sound bubble out of you. "i promise i'll be right here when you get back."

"yeah, you better be," he retorts with a scoff, but his gaze is soft as it lands on you.

even as he turns towards the door—while narrowing dark eyes at the agent— you smile at the fact of him being a puddle of emotions in front of you, despite his usual stoic intimidating self. la signora was right when she told you that you got him wrapped around your finger.

well... one more kiss wouldn't hurt, you stubbornly think as you step forward, turning scaramouche back around by the shoulder and pressing one last kiss to his blushing cheeks.

xiao

for someone who seems to hate mortals and interaction, he sure loves to kiss you and hug you a whole lot.

he won't go to the extent of kissing you in front of others though—but there was a time you kissed xiao in front of zhongli, and the tips of his ears burned as he just let you do it

with his busy duties as an adeptus, you're usually in wangshuu inn or liyue harbor when he isn't around. the time you do spend together is mostly at nighttime, where the both of you are routinely free in your schedules.

there are times where, in between going out and saving those who need help, xiao teleports back to you with the need and want for touch.

holding your teapot in one hand and a vase in the other, you're trying to debate whether the qingxin flowers you picked earlier today with ganyu and shenhe (and the ones you managed to hide from their urge to eat) would fit on your nightstand in xiao's room or in your teapot. you set the teapot onto the ground and pulled the flowers out of your bag, gently setting them into the vase and onto your dresser.

almost dropping the vase, you perk up and turn around at the sound of sudden, but recognizable footsteps from the doorway. seeing that your assumption of xiao coming back was right, you excitedly smile and step towards him.

"great timing! i need to ask you—"

you are interrupted as xiao closes the distance with quick strides, his lips abruptly meeting yours in an obvious rush. your eyes widen at the sudden touch, stumbling backwards before xiao's hand holds onto your elbow to pin you into place for him.

"sorry," he mutters while pulling away, not actually sorry at all as he shamelessly leans back forwards to chase for your touch. your heart skips as his hold moves from your elbow to the back of your head, pulling you impossibly closer to deepen the intimate kiss even as you squeak in surprise.

you can tell that xiao needs to go somewhere else quickly from the way he's still holding his polearm in his other hand, but you can't say anything about it as he keeps pressing more kisses onto your lips. he gives up on keeping you in place and instead steps forward again, all the way until your back hits the dresser and he satisfyingly gets to kiss you even more.

after a few more moments he (unfortunately) pulls away, the tips of his ears evidently a burning red while placing his lips onto your forehead as a final goodbye. you don't even get to say anything again as he disappears into thin air, back to his adepti duties with the taste of sweet honey still in your mouth.

even when xiao is gone, your heart can't help but keep racing in the mist of his presence.

[honeybeefae]

In Sickness and In Health (Eris Vanserra x Reader)

Summary// While Eris has been away for a meeting with the other High Lords, you stayed behind due to not feeling well. A few days have passed and you have only gotten worse, barely able to rise out of bed, but you refuse to send word to your mate so that he wouldn’t have to come all the way back for you. However, you should know that he knows you better than yourself. 

(This was an anon ask for a fluff piece of Eris! I immediately started writing as I could use all the comfort fics rn. I wrote this in an hour so I'm sorry if it's short! No warnings in this one besides the reader being sick and throwing up. Enjoy <3)

WARNINGS: None

Taglist: @acourtoffaeandfanfic @crazysocklovingfangirl @azriels-mate123 @highladyvanserra @momlo @lovelynesta @mystic-scripture @marimorena06

You could feel the start of a cold coming on the day Eris was meant to leave. It started with a slight chill that immediately caught your mate’s attention, eyebrows furrowing when he saw you bundled up in a blanket by the window. 

“Are you cold?” He asked while walking over to you, pressing the back of his hand against your forehead. “You feel warm, Y/N.”

“I’m fine. I think there is just a draft in here.” You replied with a smile, grabbing his hand and laying a kiss on his fingers. “Besides you’ve got other things to worry about.”

Eris rolled his eyes at your dismissal. “I am sure they would be happy without my presence. You are always my first concern.” 

Your cheeks started to turn pink from his kind words. Eris always played the bad guy role for everyone else, making sure no one saw through the mask, but you were one of the few exceptions. He treated you with tenderness and love that most people would think only existed in the pages of a book. 

And you thanked the Cauldron every day that he was yours and you were his.

“I promise I will be alright.” You repeated before seeing one of his men waiting outside the door. “You will be late if you continue to fuss over me, and if you are I will not hear the end of it from Feyre so go on.”

He smirked at your tone, pulling you into his strong arm and giving you one last kiss goodbye. “Try not to run into trouble while I am gone.”

As he turned to leave you felt your heart clench, wanting to reach out and pull him back into your embrace. It was always hard to see him leave, especially with the way things were going, but you knew others needed him more than you right now. 

Eris gave you a smile and a silent ‘I love you’ before disappearing down the hall, the sounds of his footsteps fading into the air. The chill that had been creeping into your bones came back full force, a shudder making its way through your body. 

You went to your bed and rolled to Eris’s side, burying your head in his pillow that still smelled like him as sleep started to settle in your eyes. This cold would be over with by tomorrow, all you needed to do was get some extra rest and dream of your mate.

It has been three days and the cold you thought you had turned out to be something much worse. Your healer, Emelin, was at a loss for what to do. The chill turned into a high fever, sore throat, upset stomach, and a host of other issues. Thankfully it wasn’t fatal but it was miserable. 

You were certain you had lost weight, unable to eat anything without throwing it back up, while also barely being able to drink due to how sore your throat was. The sheets had to be changed multiple times due to your sweat and sickness. 

Emelin begged to send word to your mate but you refused, knowing he would come straight home and miss the meeting. It was called for by Helion, an emergency that only gave everyone two days' notice. Whatever happened Eris needed to be there and you would survive this…hopefully. 

She gave you different teas and brews, trying and failing to cure the sickness. After the second day, you shooed her away to go help the others who had also fallen ill, ignoring her protests. It was just something you were going to have to power through.

And now, as you lie in bed with your teeth chattering, you were beginning to doubt if you could power through this. The sun was just starting to set and was casting the room in a comforting blanket of pink and orange. It was the kind of sunset you wish Eris was here to see, the two of you reading in the study as he absentmindedly played with your fingers. 

The image made tears spring to your eyes, your body curling into the blankets as you held onto his pillow. It was silly of you to cry over something so small but you truly missed him, dreaming of him every night only to wake up alone. A small part of you wished you had just given in and ask him to stay, knowing his presence would make you feel a hundred times better, but the bigger part knew that he had duties. 

You might be his mate but he was High Lord of Autumn, he had a responsibility that to you always came first. 

A cough rattled out of your chest that ended in a sob. It was so pathetic, letting the loneliness and sickness get to you like this, but you couldn’t stop. The light from the window started to fade as the tears ran down like tiny streams, soaking the pillow. 

“Oh, my darling.” A soft voice said from above, brushing your wet hair away from your forehead. It sounded like Eris which only made things worse, knowing your mind was so far gone that it began to hallucinate. 

Until two strong arms scooped you from underneath the covers and pulled you into a body that felt like home. Your head shot up, stars filling your vision as you stared at him…your mate.

“Eris?” You croaked, lower lip quivering.

His eyes were pained as he took in your appearance, his thumb wiping away your tears. “I’m here, Y/N.”

Your body was exhausted but you used all your energy to throw your arms around his neck, burying your face into his chest as you let everything out. Eris crushed you against him as you cried, head resting atop of yours as your sobs turned into sniffles.

“How did you know?” You mumbled, turning your head to look up at him. 

“I had a feeling.” Eris explained as he reached for the tissues. “I think you forget that I know you better than you do.”

You grabbed a few and wiped your eyes and nose, bunching them up and throwing them into the trash. He helped you sit up and rubbed your back as another cough worked up your throat. 

“I didn’t want you to miss the meeting, it was important.” You said softly while fiddling with your fingers. “I didn’t know it would get this bad.”

He shook his head and scooped you up again, carrying you to the bathroom and turning on the bath. “As fate would have it, Rhysand was telling me about a sickness that had recently plagued his court. I sent word to Emelin but she was mysteriously quiet.”

A sheepish smile made its way across your lips as you let him undress you, the shivers causing goosebumps to rise on your skin. “You had more important things, I was okay-”

Eris softly grasped your chin and made you look at him, eyes serious. “Y/N. You are the most important thing to me. Without you, I am lost. You will always, always, come before anything or anyone. Do you understand?”

You could see the sincerity in his stare, and feel his words wrapping around your soul like your favorite shirt. A small sniffle and nod was your only reply but he was happy with it, kissing your forehead before turning off the water.

“Come now, let me take care of you.”

[mumscarian]

i promised yall that id tell you about my superhero au, so here it is! thanks to all the anons who reminded me abt it, i 100% would not have remembered otherwise. Anyways, take this, and hopefully ill even write it one day lol.

Scar's the hero, Grian's the vigilante, Mumbo's the villain

they are all HORRIBLE at their jobs

You know that one vine by ProZD about the villain who kept accidentally doing good things? that's mumbo. real doofenshmirtz-esque guy.

scar is so clumsy that he practically does mumbo's job for him. he tries to save a cat in a tree and ends up burning the tree down somehow

grian technically can't be bad at his job, seeing as he is a chaotic neutral in his situation. he's charismatic and often gets the better of scar and mumbo, but is very oblivious when it comes to citizen stuff.

there are a few rules to the meta of this au, which are laws of the universe-- unless its really funny or angsty, and in that case: laws were meant to be broken

1. whatever mumbo and scar do, either it is cancelled out by themselves, the other, or grian puts a stop to it. (example situation: the tree scar accidentally sets on fire (mentioned above) is extinguished by mumbo's evil freeze ray, which he was using to try to kill scar. grian was the one who put the cat in the tree in the first place.) 2. Grian, in roadrunner fashion, always gets the upperhand in the end, though there are times when it seems like either the law or mumbo have truly caught him, just for the ✨drama✨ 3. Grian can make anything work, as long as its sticking to the bit. a true looney tunes man. he has the power of the Absurd on his side.

Grian's superpower is his wings, which he can summon at will

Mumbo's is shapeshifting. i dont exactly know what kind of shapeshifting yet, but i did have a cool idea that if he didn't carefully maintain his form, bits of him start flaking away until he's just Void with a mustache tacked on (the mustache never leaves LOL but he does wear a mask as a villain)

Scar desperately hides his superpower, and just uses his outstanding charisma to avoid the question. (he can turn into a cat <3)

As citizens, they are all Very Normal and Not Suspicious At All! Except for grian. lord help that man, he wouldn't know secrecy if it shat on his shoes. It should be an open secret by now, but through a series of comical yet confusing events, his identity is still a secret to the public. for now.

Speaking of Grian, he works at a coffee shop, because I'm in love with cliches. Mumbo is an redstone engineer, and scar is a landscaper. Grian wants to be an architect, but he had to drop out of college for a couple of years. He's taking it online this year tho!

they all know each other, but mumbo's the only one suspicious of anyone's identities

grian and scar, disguised in their hero gear, routinely flirt with each other's and mumbo's civilian identities. mumbo can't because a villain cant exactly flirt with civilians without them throwing a brick at them LOL

the flirting has No Effect on mumbo (besides him being suspicious ig) until he figures out their real identities and the realization that oh my god grian and scar are flirting with me kicks in and he gets incredibly flustered.

i mentioned before that the whole "villain goes to hero's house all broken and battered saying 'i didn't know where else to go'" and that definitely happens. at one point. i dont know where or when but it definitely happens once the story reaches a more serious and less cartoony point. ill make it happen. i dont have much of an actual plot in mind, if you couldnt tell. haha.

thats all i have baiii

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

The Long Con Part Two

Previous Part | Masterlist | Next Part Pairing: Marcus Pike x Reader Rating: T Notes: Thanks for all of the encouragement on the first couple of parts of this 🥰💕 I hope y’all had a good week! 💖 Warnings: Cursing; some angst Summary: “Shitty liars need to practice, Pike.” 

“Alright, I’ve got a list,” You said, shrugging off your bag and setting it down beside Marcus’ couch. “A list?” Marcus repeated, coming back from the kitchen with a glass of water for you, “Of what?” “Thank you-- Things that we need to sort out before we get to Austin. Look, you’re a shitty liar, right? Your words, I’m paraphrasing,” You tacked on, reaching into your bag and pulling out your notebook and a pen.

“Uh-huh,” Marcus agreed amusedly. “Right, so  hopefully if we sort out our details now, you won’t feel so freaked when we’re down there. And you won’t be trying to cobble together facts on the fly. That would get incredibly messy— especially if we’re going to pull this off all week.” “A full week of lying to my family,” Marcus sighed, “Talk about a long con, huh?” You glanced up at him from under your lashes, amused. “God, you’re such a boy scout. And technically you’ve already lied to them, you started the second you told Marnie that you were bringing me— though that’s technically not a lie anymore. Just...Don’t think about it as lying, pretend you’re undercover or something,” You shrugged, flipping your notebook over to your list of questions. “So I’d be lying to myself about the lie? Isn’t that compounding it?” “You’re overthinking it, Agent.” “You might want to start calling me Marcus.” “Right,” You muttered, “I will...Remember to do that.” “So what’s on the list?” Your eyes darted up from your list as you watched Marcus shrug out of his suit jacket. You’d seen Pike in less-than-pristine states before, especially throughout the Coleman case. You’d seen him with his tie loosened, his sleeves rolled up, and when you were half-tweaked on caffeine in your cramped office, it was… more than a little distracting. You leaned forward, picking up the glass and taking a pull from it before setting it down and settling back again. “Basics first,” You said, “How we met. I say we stick with ‘work’.” “That’s not a lie.” “I know, I thought you’d like that.” “I do.” “Okay. How long have we been together?” “Uh...Few months at least-- Five?” “I can handle five,” You jotted it down, “How come you haven’t mentioned me to them before?” You glanced over at Marcus, smiling a little when you saw his panicked expression. “Or have you gotten this one already?” You added. “No, I haven’t-- Work has been busy? Again, I think that would be sufficient, so-- Hang on.” You raised your brows as Marcus leaned back against his couch. You could practically hear the gears turning in his head. “What’s happening over there?” You asked. “We should change how long we’ve been together to...Maybe two or three months? If we’d been together for five and I hadn’t said anything, my family would be very suspicious.” You nodded, scribbling out ‘5’ and writing ‘2-3’. “‘Kay. Are there any significant past relationships - serious girlfriends, fiancés that I should know about? I don’t need full details, just, like, broad strokes so that if someone mentions something, I’m not completely in the dark.” “One ex-wife, one ex-fiancé,” Marcus answered without hesitation. You nodded a little, jotting that down, and stilled when he added, “My ex-wife will be at the wedding.” “Good to know. Is that contentious?” “No,” Marcus shook his head, “No, it ended amicably.” You considered Marcus, his puppy-dog eyes, soft smile and kind nature, and you couldn’t imagine it ending any other way. “She’s still close to my family,” He tacked on. “Oh,” You laughed a little, “Great. That’s gonna be fun for me.” “What do you mean?” Marcus frowned. You shot him a look. “Your family is still close to your ex-wife. You’re bringing a new girlfriend home. You don’t think this could get a little tense? Or is your entire family just as nice as you are?” Your brows rose as Marcus laughed a little, his head ducking bashfully at the question. “We try not to judge,” he conceded, shrugging, “I’ve brought a couple of other people home since the divorce. They’re not going to jump to conclusions.” You hummed, glancing further down your list. Your stomach twisted at one question, but it was one that you knew that you had to ask. “Speaking of jumping to conclusions,” You shifted in your seat, “Is there anyone in your family that might run a background check on me?” “A background check?” “Yeah,” You nodded, “I mean, I know my records are sealed and wouldn’t pop if someone ran a normal background check on me, but if anyone in your family is in law enforcement like you and...And went poking?” “No, they wouldn’t,” Marcus shook his head. “You sure?” “I’m positive.” You lowered your eyes, biting the inside of your cheek to stopper asking for a third reassurance as you jotted the note down. “...You don’t trust easily, do you?” Marcus asked softly. The question turned your blood icy for a moment. But for as much ire as it raised in you, you were careful not to take offense. You knew that he wasn’t trying to get a rise out of you - you were doing the guy a favor, and it would be pretty ill-advised of the man to piss you off at this point. “What ever gave you that idea?” You teased instead, giving him a look out of the corner of your eye. Marcus’ lips twitched with a smile and you returned it. “Alright,” You added, looking through the rest of your list, “Let’s see what else we’ve got before we start drilling this stuff.” 

“Drilling?” “Shitty liars need to practice, Pike.” “Marcus.” “Hey, it was better than ‘Agent’.” “At least I’m not the only one that needs practice.” -- 

“Run it by me again,” You requested, tucking one leg up under yourself and leaning back against the arm of the couch. Marcus sighed, scrubbing his hand over his face. He’d ditched the tie, had popped the top few buttons of his shirt, and his sleeves had been rolled up around his elbows. The man looked a little haggard - it was precious. He straightened up, brow scrunching before his head tipped to the side just a little. “Okay. Okay, we met a year ago when I moved to D.C... You work with the Bureau, assisting on cases, mostly art forgeries.” You nodded encouragingly, waving him on. “We started dating two and a half months ago,” He’d settled on that, finally, not wanting to pick two or three, “After we spent so much time together on the Coleman case. You’re an art history professor, you...Have been engaged twice before,” He added, pointing a finger at you. You rolled your eyes a little bit. “Keep going,” You ordered. You raised a brow as Marcus’ brow furrowed a little more, his head turning just a bit. “You don’t have any siblings, you’re not close to your family, and we have not set any plans for the future in stone...Yet.” “Why do you keep tacking on that ‘yet’?” “Because my family knows me. They know I think about those things, and they know I don’t get into relationships unless I really think there’s something there. If they feel me pulling back on that, they’ll think it’s because I’m worried about scaring you off.” “You’re bringing me home not only to meet your family, but to stay there for a week and for a wedding-- which your entire family will be attending. I think that’s a healthy fear,” You retorted. Marcus smiled a little bit, raising his hand in concession. “How’d I do?” He asked. “Much better. You didn’t close your eyes halfway through to remember the details and you stopped ticking things off on your fingers. You do this thing, though, when you’re getting ready to lie, it’s like watching someone wind up for a pitch.” “What do I do?” “You do this--” You imitated Marcus’ furrowed brow and tilted head, “It’s subtle, but you always do it.” “You think my family’ll notice?” “Only if you play poker with them.” Marcus chuckled, slouching back against the arm of the couch and scrubbing his hand over his face. “God, I’m beat,” He muttered. You nodded a little, shutting your notebook and getting ready to tell Marcus that you would get out of his hair. “Wanna go get some dinner?” Was his next question. -- “Did you seriously just order pancakes?” You asked, brows raised. You’d wound up at a diner not too far from Marcus’ apartment - somewhere where the staff seemed to know and were very fond of him. “Yeah,” Marcus nodded firmly, “Dinner is the best time for breakfast.” You chuckled a little, reaching out and taking up your soda. “So, engaged twice?” He asked. You rolled your eyes a little. “Once in college, when I was young and...Quite stupid,” You admitted, “And then once a couple of years ago.” “What happened the second time, if you don’t...Mind?” Marcus cringed a little as he asked. It took you a moment to answer, and he rushed to add, “You don’t have to tell me.” You shook your head. “It’s okay,” You promised, “I, um… I told them that I had a record.” Marcus’ expression softened. “You hadn’t told them before?” “We moved really fast, which I usually don’t when it comes to relationships. I don’t know, usually that stuff is always on my mind when I’m with someone, but with them it never really felt like it mattered. When I did tell them, though, it…” Your eyes lowered to the table as regret twisted in your stomach, “It broke everything.” “Did you tell them what happened?” “They didn’t give me the chance.” The two of you were quiet for a few moments - Marcus digesting this information as you sat in the swirl of bitterness that it had dredged up. “Anyway,” You shook your head, drawing the both of you out of it, “Guess it shouldn’t really matter that they left when they did. I realized later that, given their reaction, they were going to leave no matter when I told them… How much of that you disclose to your family is up to you.” Marcus didn’t say anything for a few moments, searching your face. “Know what I never understood?” He finally asked. “What?” “Why they never nailed any of the people buying from you or your grandmother.” You shot him a skeptical look.  “You know that it’s not punishable by law to buy a forgery or be a rich piece of shit.” “You were a kid,” Marcus frowned. You considered this for a moment, directing your eyes to the ceiling to find the best way to order your thoughts. “...I was a minor,” You contended, “But I was old enough to know that what we were doing was wrong. I… I knew that we were duping people, I knew that it was illegal. I knew the paintings were forgeries, and I knew that the people that we were dealing with were dangerous. I’m just lucky I wasn’t tried as an adult.” “You were raised to do all of that and then left hung out to dry by the person that was supposed to protect you,” Marcus argued quietly. You swallowed thickly, hurriedly looking to the table as you felt tears spring up in your eyes. You tried not to think about these things most days. And for Marcus to have this level of empathy, of understanding...You were sure that the man had glanced through your case file at some point when he started working with you, but hadn’t expected this. Most people didn’t look too far past what you were doing to try and understand how you’d come to be in your position. But then, most people weren’t Marcus. “...No wonder I don’t trust easy, huh?” You tried to joke after you’d blinked the tears away and lifted your eyes back to his, a thin smile on your lips. Before he could say another word on the matter, the food arrived.  

The two of you tucked in quietly, After a few minutes, you nudged his foot with yours. 

“Tell me about Marnie? And her fiancé, um… Hazel, right?” You requested. 

Marcus’ face pulled with a fond smile, and you felt ease wash over you again. -- “So, just let me know what the wedding colors are so I don’t wind up wearing a dress that matches them and we should be all good,” You reached for your bag as Marcus pulled his car up in front of your apartment building. “Sure thing.” “And if you think of anything else that your family might ask about us, you know, so we can plan ahead.” “I will.” “Okay-- Oh! Uh… Are you a big PDA guy? Like, is that something your family’s going to expect?” “I tend to be kinda touchy, yeah, but I can tone it down.” “Well, what are we talking about here? Hand-holding, hugging?” “Yeah,” He nodded, “And probably a hand on your shoulder or your back, maybe a kiss on your cheek or forehead or…” Anticipation thrummed through you as his gaze darted to your lips. “‘Kay,” You nodded a little, feeling your heartbeat tick up in your chest. “We don’t have to--” Marcus started to reassure, but you waved him off. “It’s totally fine,” You reassured him, “I trust you.” Marcus smiled at you, a gentle smile overtaking his lips. “Glad to hear it. I’ll get you those wedding colors as soon as I can.” “Thanks,” You smiled, “Night, Marcus.” “Goodnight,” He chuckled as you got out of the car. Tag list: @hufflepuffing-all-day-long​​​ ; @spideysimpossiblegirl​​​ ; @blueeyesatnight​​​ ; @elen-aranel​​​ ; @yespolkadotkitty​​​ ; @artsymaddie​​​ ; @phoenixhalliwell​​​ ; @lunaserenade​​​ ; @winniedaboo​  ; @empress-palpat1ne​​​ ; @randomness501​​ ; @nutmeg-20​ ; @leonieb​​ ; @the-feckless-wonder​ ; @lou-la-lou​ ; @captain-jebi​ ; @supernaturalgirl​ ; @naturenebula21​ ; @evelynseventyr​ ; @giselatropicana​

[agathasangel]

leave everything behind but me- part 3 (diane sherman x fem!reader)

Ok, I’m back! I haven’t been writing much but life is crazy. Hopefully part 4 will come sooner than this one did.

Warnings: Same as last time, all the things you’d expect with Diane. Sickness, drugging, manipulation, stalking, and the reader gets chained up at one point. Still no smut, but I guess there’s some implied sex?

Summary: You finally know for sure that there’s something... off with Diane. You try to find out more information, and she does everything in her power to make sure that she gets what she wants... which is you.

When you woke up, Your head was on Diane’s shoulder, her hand softly carding through your hair. It felt so nice that you forgot what you saw earlier. But then you remembered.

“Hey Diane?”

“Yes, my love?”

“Why are you logged into Anna’s facebook?”

She laughed, “Why am I what?”

“I opened your laptop. I wanted to look up what my symptoms were but I saw your facebook, and it said you were also logged into Anna’s account.”

“I was just looking at her page, trying to make sure she was safe, you must have been looking at my search history.”

“I thought it was in ‘other accounts’... like you were using her account to... message me... or something.”

“You’re delirious, sweetheart. Go back to sleep.”

She held you a bit tighter and you relaxed and allowed yourself to feel reassured by the excuse and you fell asleep to Diane stroking your hair and whispering to you.

“Shhh... it’ll all be ok baby... I love you... Mommy loves you...”

So you allowed yourself to fall back asleep. When you woke up, Diane was still next to you. She was trying to grade homework, but all she could focus on was watching you sleep. She always did this, every time you fell into a medicine-induced nap she watched you as you slept, and she liked to watch you fall asleep every night too. You knew that it was weird, but you found it endearing, in a way.

“How are you feeling, honey?”

“Better... still weak but better than before...”

“Good... my poor girl... I’m sorry for everything. I know I triggered your illness by yelling at you last night and scaring you but I promise, I’ll never do it again... but you know you’re all mine, right?”

“I know, Diane. I’m yours. I need you. So much.”

“Right. You need me. And I need you too. Come here.”

You rested your head on her shoulder and nuzzled into her as she spoke again.

“(Y/n), you don’t think I would ever actually hurt you, right? You sounded so afraid of me earlier, I’m worried.”

“N-no Diane... I know you wouldn’t hurt me. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, my love. Come closer,” She said as she grabbed you and kissed you deeply. You closed your eyes, kissed back, and allowed her to take full control. Before you knew it, you were lying on your back and she was on top of you, but it didn’t feel right.

“N-no, Diane, stop... not now.”

“Oh, okay, okay sweetie, get some rest. Let’s just cuddle, okay?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

The truth was, you still felt suspicious of Diane. You were worried her intentions with you were bad. That she was somehow making you sick. Before meeting her, you didn’t get sick very often. Now, you seemed to be getting mysterious illnesses often, and they usually got worse whenever Diane was upset.

That night, the two of you had a movie night and she helped you walk to the couch. It was hard. You didn’t want to be suspicious of Diane. You were still in love with her, and there was a part of you that wanted to forget all of it and just let her do whatever she wants to you. To be her baby girl to take care of forever. But you just couldn’t forget that easily. You wanted to have a normal life with Diane eventually, you wanted to be self-sufficient and not to have to depend on her for everything. You needed to figure out what the hell she was hiding.

So you forced yourself to stay awake until Diane fell asleep. Because she liked to watch you as you fell asleep, you just pretended to doze off on the couch. You felt her stroke your hair and whisper things to you... you knew she did this, but you never quite understood what she was saying because you she wouldn’t start until you were barely awake. And because she thought you were asleep, she was a bit more honest.

“I love you, (y/n)... you’re mine, all mine... I’m sorry for hurting you... everything I’ve ever done to you is for your own good... I will never lose you.. my sweet baby...” she continued whispering in your ear as she held you and started to drift off to sleep, but what stuck in your head was I’m sorry for hurting you, everything I’ve ever done to you is for your own good.

What did that mean? Was she making you sick? Did she steal Anna’s facebook and make her stop contacting you? Was she just pretending to be Anna this whole time to get you to come out this way? Did she follow you? Drug you?

These questions all continued to run through your head as Diane fell asleep and you managed to free yourself from her grasp. You ran a hand through her hair to make sure she wouldn’t wake up, and she didn’t. You got out of bed and snuck into the kitchen, still feeling lightheaded but managing. You fell and there was a loud bang of your body hitting the floor, but nobody came. you crawled the rest of the way and then managed to get to the medicine cabinet. But of course, it was locked. She never let anyone in there. You tried for a long time to pick the lock but didn’t know how, and your blurry vision didn’t quite help. You started hearing footsteps and panicking.

Damnit, I must have woken Diane up when I fell!

Then you felt a sharp pain in your neck, and the last thing you felt before everything went completely black was Diane catching you.

The last thing you heard was “Don’t worry, I’m here, Mommy’s here.”

When you woke up, you were in a dim room you didn’t recognize. It must have been the basement of the house, because you could still hear Diane talking to herself and singing upstairs. You were chained to the radiator. You had some room to move, but you couldn’t look up the stairs to see what was going on or what Diane was doing.

Why was she doing this? What did she plan on doing to you?

“Diane! DIANE! What’s going on? Where are you? Diane!” you yelled as loud as you could.

“Diane! Help me! Please! let me out!”

“I’ll be right down sweetheart!” said Diane in the cheeriest voice, as if you weren’t chained up and screaming for help.

She came down the stairs and you immediately asked her

“What the fuck is going on? What are you going to do to me? What do you want?”

“What I want, (y/n), is for you to stay with me. For you to be my baby... forever. And that can’t happen with you doubting, or questioning me. You were wanting to run away, weren’t you, (y/n)? They always do. They always try to get away from me.”

“No, I just wanted to see what was in the medicine cabinet. I was- I was afraid that you were making me sick. I’ve never been this sick, this weak before in my entire life until I met you.”

“And if you found out, would you run away?”

“I don’t know, Diane. I should. But I don’t know if... I don’t know if I could.”

“Oh please, they all do. But don’t worry, I’ve been preparing something to make you forget everything, and make you my baby again. You’ll wake up, and this will never have happened. And you’ll be mine, forever. You’ll be protected from this awful world, and I’ll have someone to love. It will be perfect, if you’ll just cooperate!”

“So you were.. making me sick?”

“You were sick. You were so sick, (y/n), and I took care of you and that’s all that matters.”

“But- I could be okay now... I could still be with you, and everything can just be normal... you don’t have to do this.. we could have a real life together, Diane! Please.”

Diane looked at you sadly, “But then, you wouldn’t need me. And you would leave. Like my daughter, my husband, everyone else I’ve ever loved. Once they didn’t need me anymore, they just ran away. But you won’t.”

You didn’t know what to do. You were chained up and even if you were to find a way out, you had nowhere to go, and Diane could so easily follow you, and yo could end up right back here.

“No. I won’t leave. Diane, I won’t leave just please stop...”

Diane went into a closet to pull out some suspicious looking chemicals and syringes, and started making something with them.

“Diane, what are you doing? What the fuck are you doing? Are you... are you going to kill me?”

“No! Don’t ever say that (y/n), I would never! I would never hurt you, and I couldn’t bear to lose you! And I may have done some bad things, but I am not a murderer. I would never..” said Diane, starting to cry a little bit as she dropped what she was doing and walked over to you, wrapping her arms around you. You tried to resist, but considering that you were bound, there was just about nothing you can do.

“(Y/n), I know this is all very scary. But I promise, it’s for your own good. I know what’s best for you, baby. You need me, you need this. You need someone like me. I will love you and protect you the way that your parents never could. No one had ever given you the love you deserve, or even the love you need. No one understood you. Not your parents, your teachers, the other students. Your whole life, people have hurt you. Your parents neglected you, your friends always let you down. You felt less than, you felt unworthy of love. I know how you used to dream of the day you would meet someone who just made you feel good enough for them. You deserve so much better than that. I’m going to give that to you, if you’ll just let me. I love you, (y/n), more than anyone else ever could. My love is intense, I know, but just let me give you what you need. Please (y/n). Baby, my sweet little girl...” you started to cry while Diane said this, she made you want her, but you felt so helpless at the same time. You let Diane alternate between kissing you and whispering sickly sweet things into your ear.

“Baby, I’ll be right back. I need to get something for you from upstairs.”

[midnight-in-town]

About the current (last?) arc of AnY and going full circle

Sorry if some fans already mentioned those ideas but I’ve been rereading the current arc, because it’s been quite long and the pace has its flaws sometimes, so I wanted to broaden my perspective on the story. 

First of all, as an introduction can I just say that I’m, as always, impressed by Hak’s character. He had so much cliché and shallow potential when the story started (I really used to roll my eyes at him), but he became one of my absolute favorite by how deep and strong-hearted he actually is, once he allows people behind the walls he built around him. Anyway, my love for his character & development knows no boundary. I had to say this, ok. I’ll explain why later in the post. Moving on. 

A conflict of generation

If there is one thing I love about Kusanagi-sensei, it’s the feminine touch she adds to her writing. For example, when she naturally addressed periods during the Xing arc and it fit perfectly, because that’s just how her writing goes. In this arc, it shows through the initial bold move to tell us readers about the past through the thoughts and words of a character we’ve never met, that is to say, Yonhi, Yuhon’s wife and Suwon’s mother. 

And yet, it made absolute sense, because Yonhi was the reason behind the cataclysm that eventually led to Yuhon killing priests, as well as the falling-out between him and his younger brother, Il. All along, Yonhi was the silent but pained witness to this feud, watching as the ego of two brothers destroyed everything when none of the two backed down, leading to first Kashi’s death, then Yuhon’s murder and finally Suwon’s coup. 

So, in a way, even if I think Suwon makes a far better king than Yuhon or Il, his circumstances kinda precede the logical decision to get Il out of the picture before he completely annihilated his own kingdom in poverty and war, because there is too much resentment and hatred that fueled Suwon while growing up, even if we readers know that his motivations are primarily about saving Kouka from war against the Kai Empire.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely despise both Yuhon and Il but, unfortunately for Suwon, Yona growing up sheltered and mostly unaware of the horrible truth highlights her own decisions throughout the series to be completely selfless and wanting to own up to her father’s misjudgement, rather than trying to get back at Suwon, effectively breaking the cycle of hatred amongst the royal family. 

Why the Wind Tribe kept on supporting Il when everyone else could notice that he was betting on his daughter as the reincarnation of King Hiryuu to save his country is beyond me (Mundok plz explain). Not that Yuhon was better, preaching wars, and I’m glad that Il eventually reconciled with Yonhi, telling him that he would accept Suwon’s judgement but...

...I can’t forgive him for his words. 

Like Yonhi, I’d rather he would have hoped that his conflict with his brother did not reach his children than entertaining it the way he did.

Hopefully though, now that Yona read Yonhi’s memoirs, she will work towards achieving that goal. Not that I have any doubt, since she never really managed to hate Suwon. 

Speaking of the past generation, reading the latest chapters I couldn’t help but wonder about Yona's sad dream... could it be that she inherited Kashi’s gift? Kashi did say that she had these prophetic visions since very young which doesn’t seem to be Yona’s case, but I’ll keep the idea in mind, because it’s interesting. I mean, from Yonhi’s memoirs, it seems that Kashi envisioned that the child she would have would be Hiryuu’s reincarnation (whoever the father was going to be), so Yona inheriting the same prophetic gift from her mother would make sense. 

What an ironic parallel to Suwon inheriting the Crimson Illness from Yonhi if that’s the case, am I right? 

Yona as Kouka’s next Queen

And by that I do not mean Keishuk’s plan to marry her to Suwon, because of her popularity with Kouka’s people. Obviously, the story always was to conclude in Yona getting her throne back and that’s even easier to imagine with Suwon’s disabling illness, but becoming a ruler is tough work and Yona had no real experience acting as a leader for an entire country. 

She didn’t know much before her father’s murder and, even after she became a runaway with Hak and the rest of the HHB, she finely dealt with crises affecting some parts of the kingdom but never the whole kingdom at once, like it’s doomed to happen with the war against the Kai Empire. 

So I really appreciated her stepping up when Suwon couldn’t, because that’s definitely good training and we see the results in the latest chapters:

To be fair, I always thought that Keishuk would be the biggest thorn in Yona’s side during this arc but, as many characters have said in this arc, he’s rather clever and honest about what he intends to achieve, which is why it’s not in his interests to get in the way of Yona if they share a similar goal. 

Looking forward to her facing even greater challenges. Good luck, Yona. <3

War against the Kai Empire: there is strength in unity

The Kai Empire has been depicted as the story’s big bad for a long while now and the common goal for which Yona’s faction and Suwon’s allies could unite, but I’m glad to get more specifics and new characters to explore that part of the plot.

Namely, Mei and Vall. With Chagol, they seem like the perfect foil trio to Suwon, Yona and Hak, except that Chagol seems like a real thorn in the other two’s backs, when a strong bond still ties our main trio in spite of the sad circumstances of the beginning. I particularly love the mirroring reflection between Mei and Yona...

&

...except that Mei is not at odds with one kingdom but with two and that she also deals with the Crimson Illness. :/

Now that war has started, the big threat that South Kai represents will obviously be dealt with, but Kouka kingdom will need more than its five tribes to win this. That’s where I’m sure we all expect to see old “enemies” come back, namely Xing Kingdom, since Kouren signed a military agreement with Suwon, thanks to Yona and Tao. I would bet that this won’t be enough either, but Xing are the only known allies that Kouka kingdom has. 

There is another “enemy” we know from the previous arc though, who have strong feelings against the Kai Empire, specifically about rulers treating their women badly and they are...

...Ying Kuelbo and the Tully tribe. 

The big difference between Xing Kingdom and the Tully tribe is that Suwon never met or dealt directly with Kuelbo the way he did with Kouren and Tao. The Tully tribe lost and Kuelbo ran away, betrayed and having to find a new way to take on the Kai Empire. That’s why I think the Tully tribe would eventually make for a good ally in this war: it showed good promises when Yuran and Yona got along and I think Yona understood where Kuelbo was coming from, especially now that Mei is with them and can probably tell them in details about Chagol.

Not saying this will happen soon, but since there is someone who met and fought against Kuelbo, probably gaining his respect, if this person was to seek the Tully tribe to make them Kouka Kingdom’s ally on Yona’s guidance, I think Kuelbo would give it a thought. That’s right, I’m talking about Hak, who’s currently on his way with Yoon to the Earth Tribe to fetch a drug that will not be able to save neither Suwon nor Mei, thanks Zeno for spoiling us. 

That’s what I meant when I said that Hak slowly became one of my favorite characters throughout the story. While the Sky Tribe seems to be taking bets on who between Yona and Suwon will eventually sit for good on that throne, there is a good chance that Hak will be one of the key players when it comes to winning that war against South Kai. Not that we should expect any less from the Thunder Beast. <3

To be very honest though, I expected this arc to be very tough for his character, because the truth behind Il’s death and Suwon’s coup would never be easily understandable to him (Yona’s own words, not mine): 

Yet, surprisingly he was able to at least listen and, no matter if he will ever understand Suwon’s choice or not, he decided to trust in Yona’s decision to back Suwon in the rising political issues.  

In general, I love how Hak is the least bound by the past before Suwon’s coup. He did respect Il as his king, but he did not protect Yona in the beginning for anyone else’s sake but her own. Just like Kashi once asked him to always protect Yona (which is sweet since she could see the future) but, considering he never even thought about her words once in the story, it’s likely he doesn’t remember that at all, making the choice to be by Yona’s side defined as solely his own. 

It’s this strength of his that eventually led him to say recently that he would go fetch that drug with Yoon, knowing that it was for Suwon’s sake (surprising Suwon himself), just like he will definitely fight for Kouka Kingdom, not because Yona wants him to but because it’s clearly his own desire (see ch211 where he let Yun go alone so that he could help the Earth Tribe fight):

All that makes Hak the wildest card of every agency in the plot, not simply because he’s strong and reliable and the biggest worry of the Sky Tribe, but because...

...Yona and the four dragons will never give him up.

Through Hak, Yona will be able to assert her political weight and he will be there for her, like he always was, making it impossible for their little group to lose. What a power move, I love it. 

I think I should stop there because I already rambled so much. Looking forward to the rest of the arc, it’s going to be a wild ride!! 

[starlightrows]

At The End of My Rope

Pairing: Din Djarin x f!reader

Word Count: 2.8k

Tags: Angst, pain, hair pulling, biting, co parenting, insecurity, a bit of comfort, early stages of a new relationship

Summary: All kids go through difficult phases, just because Grogu is an old man baby, does not mean he doesn’t go through phases that drive his caregivers crazy

AN: Normally I tend to write Grogu like we see him in the show. Sweet disposition, a little cheeky and mischievous. But I wanted to try something a little different, I was inspired to take on this challenge by this post. I hope I did an okay job!

Din had bid you and Grogu farewell earlier in the day. Giving his son a gentle pat on the head, and you a hesitant but warm embrace. A newer development in your budding relationship. He promised he would com if this job took him longer than the usual 3 days. You weren’t too concerned, this was the set up after all. He hunts, you take care of the child and the ship. But this time was different. You knew you were in for a long couple of days when he refused to eat his favorite dinner. Grogu beat his little hands against the table, tossing away the plate of steamed vegetables and seared meat.

“You better not be getting sick mister,” you warned, mostly to yourself. His skin didn’t feel hot, and he didn’t seem to be having any symptoms of illness. But it was very unlike him to turn down any food, especially his favorite. You cleaned up the fallen bits of food from the floor, and attempted to offer him some of your dinner. But he smacked it away as well.

You sighed and gave him a ration bar. For some reason he was happy to devour that instead. You would have preferred he eat the fresh food. Ration bars are no substitute for fiber and natural vitamins, and even though Grogu outnumbered you in years he was still a growing boy.

After dinner, you put him on the floor on one of the soft blankets you had purchased for him, and tried to entice him into playing with toys or reading a story from the datapad. But he wasn’t having any of that either. He seemed to be disinterested in everything that normally amused him. The only thing that kept his attention now was throwing anything you offered him.

“I think it might be a good idea to have an early bedtime,” you grumbled after catching the datapad mere inches from the floor. Those things aren’t cheap and you’ve only got the one.

You began your evening routine with Grogu. Dimming the lights in the hull. Bringing him into the fresher to wash his face with a warm rag, and brush his six tiny little teeth. He never liked that part, so you tried to be quick about it.

“Ow!” You yelped, recoiling your hand. “Grogu! Not nice. Don’t bite” The bite wasn’t bad enough to break skin, but it sure did hurt for such a little creature. Grogu squeals with delight, apparently unaffected by your scolding and discomfort.

You took him back into the main area of the hull, and tried to place him down in his crib. That wasn’t happening either. The moment you put him down he shot right back up, and yelled for your attention. He had always been a troublesome sleeper, waking up at least two or three times a night. So you picked him up again, and began walking slowly up and down the length of the hull. Braced against your shoulder, and being bounced gently usually did the trick. But tonight, he couldn’t get comfortable. He cried and complained. And you just couldn’t figure out why. So you just kept walking up and down the hull. Over and over and over again, until your feet were numb, your hips ached, and your eyes began to droop.

Grogu finally seemed to be drifting off. You figured you’d be able to keep this up until he was fully asleep, then you’d be able to get some rest too. A quick glance at the chronometer jars you out of your rhythmic pacing... it’s nearly morning. You’d been pacing all night long. Grogu stirred at your shoulder, snapping you back to the present moment. You continued your walking, and he settled easily.

When you were sure he was fully asleep, you lowered him into his crib, and tucked him in. Without bothering to wash your face or even change out of your day clothes, you collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

It felt like not even a full minute passed before your eyes shot open again, Grogu was awake and howling for attention. He had managed to climb himself out of his crib, up the storage crates, and up further on to the wall of the crest and gotten himself tangled up in the cargo net attached to the wall. He was dangling from his foot, and wailing. You launched yourself out of bed, and went to disengage him from the netting.

“How did you even get up there?” You ask him. He just giggles and babbles, squirming to get out of your arms. Another glance at the chronometer tells you that the both of you had gotten at least a couple hours of sleep. But not nearly enough by your reckoning. Hopefully he would tucker himself out by playing and the two of you would be able to take a nap in the afternoon. But first, breakfast... another battle of throwing his food at the walls, spitting and crying.

“What’s with you lately?” You ask the little one “You love oatmeal with moon peaches,”

He whines in response. You shrugged your shoulders and took the bowl away from him. Defeated, you unwrapped another ration bar and gave to him. He happily munched on it.

“I know you’re like 50 something years old, but this absolutely has to be your species equivalent to the terrible twos,” you told him, trying to wipe some stray oatmeal from his face and ears. He tried to nip at your fingers again, causing you to pull up short.

“Hey!” You scold him “We talked about this. No biting, remember” He peered at your with those big dark eyes, and shoved the rest of the ration bar into his mouth. You shook your head, and continued cleaning the floor where he’d dropped his oatmeal.

The day dragged on, things got a little better after breakfast. He seemed a little more interested in his toys today, and was content to play mostly by himself. By the early afternoon he was getting cranky and definitely needed a nap. He crawled up into your lap, and whined for some affection. You placed the datapad to the side, and brought him up to rest his head on your shoulder.

“You done being a grouchy pants?” You whispered, patting his back gently “Wanna take a nap with me?” He whimpered out a quiet little response. You decided it would be better not to even get up, instead you leaned back against the wall and closed your eyes. You’ve napped in stranger places.

You woke up again sometime later to intense pain in the side of your head. Your eyes snapped open, and you yelped at the pain. Grogu had a fistful of your hair and was yanking with such ferocious intensity it scared you.

“Grogu! Let go! You’re hurting me,” you cried out. He didn’t seem to be awake yet, it wasn’t on purpose. You shook him as best you could, trying to rouse him from sleep.

His own little eyes snapped open and he gave a final yank. The searing pain intensified as he pulled out your hair. You shrieked in pain. Grogu released the larger chunk of hair still attached to your head. You could not help the tears welling up in your eyes or the pained moans escaping your lips.

You set Grogu down on the play blanket, he rolled over and went back to sleep. The strands of your pulled hair fell to the ground. You rushed off to the fresher to look at the damage. You were relieved to find that it wasn’t all that bad. True he has gotten a fistful to pull on, but he had only yanked out a tiny amount. And it bled a little. Still the pain was excruciating, and it scared you to think your sweet little boy could hurt you this way.

“It’s not his fault,” you reminded yourself. “He didn’t do it on purpose,” You wiped away the blood with a wet cloth, doing a rather haphazard job of it. You went back to Grogu, and did your best to pick up the hair he had plucked.

You hoped the remainder of his nap wouldn’t last too much longer so he would sleep tonight. But alas, luck was not on your side this week. He slept far too long, threw more food at dinner, cried while you bathed him and insisted on being rocked all night long... again. The one silver lining being, he fell asleep at least a little earlier than last night.

The morning came again, and things seemed to be better. He ate two full bites of his oatmeal before throwing it at you. But he ate all of the moon peaches. You decided to count that as a win. He played with you today, and seemed to want your affection. But he refused a nap and by the late afternoon he was getting grouchy and mean. It all came to ahead when he reached up for your datapad when you weren’t looking, and knocked off the edge of the storage crate you placed it on. The screen made an awful crunching sound, and you knew without even looking at it... it was toast.

Grogu was frustrated. He wanted to read stories, but the datapad wasn’t working. “It’s broken honey,” you tried to tell him “it won’t work. The screen is cracked... and there’s probably something else broken on the inside,”

He whined and complained, and just could not be consoled. It occurred to you that he hadn’t had the opportunity to play outside, or with others aside from you and Din in weeks. Maybe this was the reason for his misbehavior and frustration. Maybe if this job Din was on went well you could convince him to take a day or two off at park the ship on one of the safer planets he knew of to let the kid run around and blow off some steam.... but you also knew that he had to keep hunting, and it was your responsibility to keep the kid entertained and safe.

By the end of the night, Grogu was exhausted, not having taken his nap, and unwilling to cooperate. So you skipped washing his face and brushing his teeth. You didn’t even bother cooking dinner for him or yourself, you just gave him the ration bar you knew he would eat. He seemed content to get in his crib, but wanted you to sit by him and rub his back. Exhausted you sat down beside the crib and indulged him.

He’s gone through so much in his little life. And it’s not like human children don’t go through difficult phases. But you were at the end of your rope. Not sleeping or eating enough, you hadn’t showered in a couple days, your head still hurt a bit where he had pulled out your hair... you didn’t even want to think about what you looked like right now.

You wished Din was here. Not that you’d feel comfortable asking for help. He had his own responsibilities to take care of and figure out. But the two of you had grown close in the last few months. A few heated moments and admissions of deeper feelings, but you were both still trying to figure out what it all meant and how to proceed with one another. In this moment you just wanted him close by, if for nothing else another person to witness that you were doing everything you possibly could in this situation.

You fell asleep that night leaning up against the cradle, head bent at an uncomfortable angle and your jaw hanging slightly open. And that’s how Din found you. After pushing his quarry into the carbonite freezer, he was shocked and mildly horrified to see you in such a state.

Puffy bags under your eyes, hair in disarray, what looked like dried blood hastily wiped away on your neck and chin. Grogu on the other looked perfectly fine. Tucked up in his little bed, sleeping peacefully.

Din decided it would be best to take off and leave this planet first, safer in hyperspace. He went up to the cockpit to start the flight sequence. Next he removed all of his armor except the helmet and boots. He gingerly placed your arm around his neck, wrapped his arm around your torso and the other hooked under your knees. He lifted you off the ground, and carried you the short distance to the bed.

He checked you for wounds, the source of the dried blood. He was confused to find no injuries or markings. He would have to ask you about it in the morning.

When morning came you became aware of two things. First, you were warm.... very warm. Warm from being held all night by strong arms, against a warm body. Second, someone was screaming... immediately you bolted out of bed and left Din scrambling trying to figure out why you had moved with such urgency.

Grogu had once again climbed himself up the storage crates, and somehow gotten up even higher on the cargo net before getting stuck. You climbed up on the crate and pulled him down as carefully as you could. Din tumbled out of the bunk, and watched you.

“You have to stop doing that,” you told Grogu, trying to tuck back his whispy white hairs. Only for him to bite your finger, again! You yelped in pain, and retracted your finger. That bite was harder than the first time.

“Hey!” Din’s sharp voice cut through the chaos. You turned to face him, still holding Grogu. Din stuck his arms out to take him, you passed him over.

“Grogu. Did you just bite her?” He asked sternly. Grogu’s ears flattened out, looking guilty.

“We do not bite. You know better,” he scolded. He took Grogu over to the corner of the hull, farthest away from the galley, the bunk, and the storage crates; and set him down.

“Sit there,” he said “And don’t move,”

Grogu’s big eyes watered, as he watched Din walk away. You stood by the door of the fresher, watching this interaction. You turned away, ducking into the fresher when Din turned to you. He followed you.

“Hey” his voice was gentler now “are you alright?”

You tried not to look at him, keeping your back turned. You knew you looked awful, and were feeling extremely insecure about your parenting skills at the moment. So to keep him at bay you nodded your head, “Mhm, I’m fine,”

He took another step towards you, and caught your hand tugging gently. You knew you wouldn’t be able to hide forever, so you gave in and turned to him.

“It’ll be a couple hours before we get there. Why don’t you take a shower and have a little down time,” he said

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m okay really. I’m just a little tired and a little frustrated with this phase he’s in right now,” you replied. His thumb stroked lovingly across the back of your hand.

“You’ll feel better if you rest. He can come sit with me in the cockpit for while you shower and eat. When he goes down for his nap, I want to talk to you about why there’s blood on your neck,” he said carefully. He wanted you to rest, but he also needed you to know that he was worried.

You’re hesitant to accept. He still needed to fly the ship, and probably had to have a video com with Karga. And someone had to mind Grogu while he did those things. You must have taken too long to respond, or maybe he can really just see right through you because he kept speaking.

“You’re not a bad parent for taking a break and having time for yourself. And it’s not your fault he’s going through a phase,” he told you, giving your hand a gentle squeeze.

You drew him in, needing to feel the pressure of his embrace. “Thank you,” you whispered. He rubbed your back. Before he pulled away to let you bathe and rest, he couldn’t help himself, he had to ask.

“Why is there blood on your neck?” His voice was measured and careful, he really wanted to know, but didn’t want to show how much he was freaking out over it.

You gave a somewhat hysteric laugh, “He yanked a clump of my hair out,”

“Stars! Are you okay?” He was utterly shocked, that was the last thing he would have guessed would come out of your mouth.

“I’m fine,” you shook your head “We really need to let him play outside. He’s got too much energy, and not enough stimulation in this bucket of bolts,”

Din shook his head, “Yeah, if he’s bored enough to pull out someone else hair, we definitely need to get him out for some fresh air,”

[perfectpaperbluebirds]

A Darcy Day Off

As promised, I present ~6,800 words of a sick, miserable Fitz/willi/am Dar/cy. I’ve been working on this on and off for an embarrassingly long time so I’m glad to finally clear it out of my WIP folder to make room for new things. But honestly, it was a pleasure to write, and I hope some of you take pleasure in reading it as well!

Definitely he first chapter, and honestly the first 2 chapters are mostly exposition, so if you want to skip straight to the sickfic goodness and reduce the word count, head to chapter 3. But I had fun writing (and worked hard on) the banter and conversation in the beginning, so I opted to keep it. 

( @chezsnez @empresskaze @groundcontrol21 you all asked so nicely, so I hope this is what you were looking for! )

1.

“Darcy, dear, what’s keeping you? I thought we were to meet in the library for tea,” Elizabeth called. She found him still in his study, hunched over the desk. She danced to his side, planting a kiss atop his head. He leaned against her briefly in greeting.

“I’m sorry, my dear. I had more business to attend to today than I’d realized. Just finishing up now.” He rubbed his eyes tiredly, then his nose, trying to be rid of a tickle that had been infuriating him all day.

“Always at your work. I wonder our estate isn’t the finest run in Britain. And here I used to think people of high class such as yourself worried for nothing but amusing themselves all day.” She gently rubbed his neck where she knew he always got an ache when he wrote. He kissed her hand fondly.

“You are of such a class, too, now, my love. And how do you know it isn’t the finest? I’d be willing to wager a year’s salary this estate could be measured against parliament’s own estates and be proven worthy, if I have anything to say about it.”

“You pour your very soul into all that goes on here, and it’s one of the many things I adore about you. I am proud every day to be the mistress of such an estate. Only I wish you wouldn’t work so hard and take more time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

“Are you accusing me of ignoring you, dearest? Only say the word and I would throw all my responsibilities to the winds and devote myself fully to your entertainment.” 

He kept his tone light and playful, teasing her, but looked at her closely even as he did. Had he been neglecting her too much of late? He had had several pressing business matters on his mind these last weeks, and he knew he had been at his desk more than usual. Lizzie had not complained of course, and had been nothing but supportive and helpful, but the last thing he would ever want to do is make her doubt where his priorities lay, namely that she was foremost in his mind and heart, and in all things.

“Not at all, for you well know I’m quite fond of my own company. However, I can't help but worry about you. You put too much responsibility on yourself; you are positively careworn these days. I only wish your more lighthearted side could see the light of day now and again, and not just when we’re alone.”

“I am my truest self when I’m with you.” He kissed her hand again, then rubbed his nose. “I will always struggle being lighthearted while working. The two have never gone hand in hand in my experience; gravity and soberness were expected whilst doing business in my growing years under my father, and others. All the more reason I have need of your influence.” 

She kissed his head again. “Very well, I accept the mantle of helping you find levity in your working hours. If only so that the strain you put on yourself will not affect your health. You put on a casual, careless demeanor in public, but I know better. You bear the weight of the world on those broad shoulders of yours, and that is a burden no man is meant to carry, even by his own choice. So come now, and join your wife for tea. The letters can wait another hour or so, surely.

“Indeed they can.” He stood and stretched stiffly. The chill winter wind howled outside and the sound made him shiver, glad for the roaring heat from the fire nearby, and in every room in the house as he moved to escort his wife to the library. 

~~~~~~~~~~

The couple spent a pleasant hour or two in their favorite room in the house, chatting warmly at times, and sitting in comfortable silence at others. The relentless wind made Darcy feel sleepy and lazy, and he wanted nothing more than to take his wife’s advice and take the rest of the day to relax. He would have been content to remain here for the rest of the evening with his favorite person and simply read and chat and perhaps nap. But he had two more letters that needed to make the post tomorrow, and if he did not finish them now, he never would. He stood quietly and brushed his lips across his wife’s cheek. She nuzzled back, then watched as he lingered before the library fire longer than necessary, warming his hands and rear.

“Are you all right, my dear?” she asked.

“Oh, yes. I’ve developed a slight headache is all, and it makes the task of my remaining letters all the more daunting.”

“I can imagine. I wish you would take a day off sometime soon, so that you may rest for longer than a few hours at a stretch. I believe it would do you wonders. Winter is generally a time for peaceful contemplation, but it’s been a frenzy of activity for you these past months. You are overdue for some leisure, my love.”

“You are right, as usual. Sometime very soon, dearest, I will take a week or two off and we will spend all the leisurely hours together you could wish. Perhaps we’ll even have a romp outside in the snow. Within the next month, once this mess is more or less cleaned up. Would that suit you?”

“It would suit me very fine indeed. While you could never be accused of neglecting me, I have been missing my husband of late, most especially his smile. That has been the most absent part of you.”

“For that I am sorry. I don’t like to bring my business affairs into our life together. My lovely, patient wife. You are too good to me.

“Well and I could say the same of you, so there. Enough of that. Come kiss me again, then go to your work before you fall asleep standing up.”

“As you command.” He was truly in danger of this, as he felt his lids growing heavier all the time, so he forced himself to move away from the pleasant heat, going to her side and kissing her fully this time, savoring her sweet lips before reluctantly pulling away. “Away I go. See you soon, darling.”

 Mr. Darcy could not rid himself of the clinging fatigue for the rest of the evening. His remaining letters took longer than usual, and he knew they were not as well done as they ought to be, but at least they were done. When they were finished, he tossed his pen aside eagerly and stretched his stiff neck. Perhaps he should take those leisure days sooner rather than later. He really hadn’t been feeling his best lately, and the wintery weather that had had them in its grasp for weeks certainly wasn’t helping. Also, he missed his wife, though he had just seen her. He missed spending time with her, and not just in stolen hours here and there. 

Right now all he wanted was to curl up beside her in bed, and talk of sweet nothings, and perhaps make sweet love. Hopefully that would help shake this irritating headache. Yes, they were long overdue for quality time spent together. He would make arrangements for some time away immediately, hopefully as early as a fortnight from now. The thought immediately made him calmer as he finished up a few small things, then hurried to find her and begin the more pleasant part of the evening.

2.

“Heh-KERRR-CHOOOOO! Heh- heh- KITSHHH’CHOOOO”

A bellowing sneeze startled Elizabeth from her book the next morning, and the even louder one that followed caused her to go investigate it’s source. To her surprise, following the sound of the miserable sniffles led to her husband’s study, where she found him ineffectually wiping his dripping nose with an already-damp handkerchief. 

“My dear Mr. Darcy, is that you making all that racket? My heavens, bless you! I don’t know as I’ve ever heard a sneeze so resounding in all my life. Were you holding it in all morning for it to grow to such a volume?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he sniffled sourly. “It was merely a sneeze.”

She quirked an eyebrow, amused. “I would beg to argue. You sneeze particularly violently, my dear. Likely because, as I noted, you hold them in until you can’t anymore.”

“Well, since you are evidently the expert,�� he muttered as he pressed on with his work, coughing softly. 

She rarely saw this severe, prickly side of him these days, and this, more than anything else, concerned her and made her know he shouldn’t be teased at present. He really must be feeling poorly. She moved to his side and pressed against him as she had the day before, rubbing his shoulder. He did not respond, physically or otherwise.

“You are unwell, my love. You should go take some rest. You quite look as if you have gotten the wrong end of this cold of a sudden.”

“I am fine. Don’t worry yourself. I am only in need of some tea and I shall be quite well.”

“I’d be happy to fetch you tea, but I’d be happier to fetch it for you in bed, or at least in your chair in the library. I fear these large windows will do you no favors with the draft.”

“I have many things I need to see to today. I cannot take time to rest. And all my files are here in the study. I haven’t been ill since I was a boy. I’m certainly not going to be ill now.”

Lizzie sighed and shook her head at the foolishness of males. “Have it your way, then. I’ll see you get some tea. Was there anything else you’d like?”

“Just a scone or two. Thank you, dearest.” He finally turned his gaze to her, and she saw true gratitude there, despite the reddened, watery eyes and dripping nose. “And forgive my rudeness when you came in. You startled me, but I should not speak to you like that. Please forgive me.”

“Of course you’re forgiven, and I am sorry I startled you. You know I only worry about you because I love you.”

“As I love you, my Lizzie.” He coughed wetly into his handkerchief. “Now please, if you’d leave me. I really do have much to do, and you are ever my truest distraction. I will see you this evening. And please know, I am doing all this so that we can have our time together very soon.”

“Yes, my dear.” She sighed softly and made her way out, stopping one of the servants to request her husband’s tea and scones. She gave explicit instructions for the type of tea and what was to be in it, things to soothe an aching throat and ward off fever. If he wouldn’t have a care for his own body, she would be forced to do it for him. She only hoped he would see reason sooner than later and take himself off to bed before he caught his death in that drafty study.

~~~~~~~~~~

Of course, Darcy was endlessly studious and conscientious, not to mention stubborn, and so he stayed in his study, or was running around with different servants and community members all day. He did his best to conduct his business as excellently as ever, despite how very unwell he was beginning to feel.

When their paths would cross later in the day though, she could see he was flagging. His cough had become quite the nuisance, and his nose and lips were raw and chapped. Dark circles began to show under his eyes, vivid against sickly pallor. Every now and again, she heard a massive, wet sneeze disturb the air from wherever he was. She gave him sympathetic smiles and little encouragements whenever she could, but what she truly wanted was to see him to bed and tend to his every need there. The misery on his face made her ache for him. If only he wasn’t so proud. And yes, stubborn.

She was quite relieved when he joined her at their evening meal, wearily announcing he was done working for the day, and she told him such. He was quiet and withdrawn for the remainder of the evening, aside from his frequent sniffles and coughs, and the occasional explosive sneeze, which never failed to make her jump, even as they became more and more frequent. 

Taking his lead, she also said very little, reading exhaustion in every line of his frame, especially as his sneezes and coughs harshened. If she had been another woman, and he another man (indeed, her parents came to mind), she would have said again that she wished he would take the day off tomorrow. But it was not in her to nag, and if she had he would only have become angry, or withdrawn completely. She had said her part this morning, and she knew he had heard her and remembered. What he did from here was his choice alone. 

She watched him unobtrusively as he dozed by the fire that evening, feeling such love in her breast for her dedicated, hardworking husband, but no small amount of worry either. They had been married nearly three years, and she had never once seen him ill. She hoped it was truly only trifling, as he kept insisting it was whenever anyone asked. 

They went to bed earlier than usual, her feigning equal tiredness for his sake, so he wouldn’t feel he was being a burden. But indeed, all she wanted of the rest of this day was to lie beside him in bed, perhaps rub his back, and just be near him for whatever he needed. To her delight, that is exactly what happened. He said very little, and asked for nothing, stifling sneezes now and again even as his frequent, chesty coughing fits worsened, but merely lay beside her and let her rub away at his aches and chills as he fell asleep.

3.

Darcy and Eliza were both early risers, and both loved to greet the day while it was still fresh and full of promise. Being the man though, Mr. Darcy was always up and about before his wife, for it took him far less time to dress, and there were several things he liked to see to before breakfast, though he never neglected to kiss her goodbye as he left.

Imagine her surprise then, when the next morning found him still soundly asleep beside her when her maids came in to help her dress at their usual time. The sound of their arrival woke her, but her poor husband hardly stirred. She hurried out of bed, calming the poor, startled ladies in hushed tones, assuring them they had done no wrong. They helped her dress and fix her hair simply and comfortably before Elizabeth shooed them out again, saying she wasn’t sure what they should tell the other staff, as she had no idea what mind her husband would be in when he finally woke. 

Lizzie sighed as they left. Now it would be all over the house that he was sick abed, and who knew what other irrepressible rumors. He would hate that. However, at present it was the truth so he would just have to deal with it whenever he woke. In the meantime, she picked up her book and read in the chair by the fire, wanting to be close when he woke.

That turned out to be shortly thereafter. He first began to toss and turn a bit, then he started to cough, then he nearly made her jump out of her chair with one of his tremendous sneezes. 

“Heh -KER- CHUUUUHHF!” The noise was thick and miserable-sounding, more than hinting at painfully clogged sinuses and a raw, scratchy throat. While he was mopping the mess from his face with his handkerchief, his lungs decided to take their turn at clearing themselves as well, and he erupted into a series of wet, strenuous coughs. 

She made her way to his side during this sad display, gently stroking his tousled hair as he quieted. He groaned softly when he was able and pressed into her embrace, still holding the handkerchief to his nose, eliciting a cluck of sympathy from his wife at his sorry state.

“My poor dear,” she murmured. “Your health is much worse this morning.”

“Mby head is like a lead weight od the pillow,” he croaked. “Fatigue weighs dowd mby limbs dreadfully.”

“Then you will not work today?”

“Mby wise wife advised that I look after mby body more, and today mby body tells mbe I must rest, so rest I shall,” he murmured sleepily. “As long as you’ll keeb mbe company?”

“I would love nothing more. This is perhaps not the leisurely day we had hoped for, but I’ll accept it just the same." She tenderly caressed his cheek, frowning as she felt it. "You are terribly feverish, darling." Yet she hardly needed to feel, for just by looking at his flushed, sweaty face and seeing him shake with chills, the fever made its presence known.

"And yet I'mb chilled to the bone. I had forgotten how beastly udpleasant it is to catch cold," he rasped with a thick sniffle.

"Indeed, it makes one feel for your poor sister all the more. It seems she is laid up with a cold every other week. Now, how does tea appeal to you? And perhaps some food? You hardly touched supper last night."

"Tea would be lovely. Mby abbetite still eludes me however. But, if only to please you, I would try sumb toast and an egg."

Lizzie had servants running for his requests in short order while Darcy tended to his nose, blowing it over and over, soaking through more than one handkerchief. His tray was delivered in record time. Seeing it arrive, Darcy slowly levered himself to a sitting position, pressing a hand to his temple.

"Mby head is throbbi'g," he mumbled.

Elizabeth pressed the cup of tea into his hands, looking sympathetic. "Drink some. It may help your head."

He did as he was bid, drawing his knees to his chest like a boy as he drank while she rubbed his back. However, another tremendous sneeze almost made him spill the whole thing. 

“Ah- ah- KITCHSHOOOOO! Ugh…” He sought his handkerchief desperately, and when Elizabeth handed it to him, he pressed it harshly against his streaming nose to stem the flow, groaning as he did. Elizabeth hastily took the teacup from his again, for it seemed in danger of being upended at any moment.

"Bless you! My poor dear, what can I do for you? Besides keeping a stack of handkerchiefs here for your poor nose."

"I would ask you to help mbe dress in a few moments," he said, his voice muffled behind the fabric as he tried to rub away the headache between his eyes. "While I will be as quick as I cad, I must speak to mby steward and give hib sumb idstructions for mby absence."

"Can you not write him instead? I fear for you going out in the cold, lest this settles in your chest."

"Mby head aches too miserably to do a probber job with writing. I fear I would forget somethi'g crucial. Ndo, I'll quickly  go dowd and speak to hib, and thed I'll return. Ndo going outside for mbe today, never fear."

She sighed and nodded, knowing he would not be dissuaded. "At least finish your tea and try some egg before you go so you don't collapse on the stairs."

"I'mb far from collapse mby dear, I assure you." His general appearance said otherwise though, as he had been miserably coughing into his handkerchief throughout the whole conversation, and had yet to stop shivering. However, she held her tongue and served him breakfast instead. 

Lizzie saw he made an effort to eat as much as he could, and though it was only a few bites, she was slightly placated. She knew he would not relax until he had set what affairs he could in order. So, after his tea was gone, when he rose and began to dress, she assisted him, for she realized the sooner he left, the sooner he would return.

"I'd rather not ri'g for mby valet, as I'd be worried I would sdeeze on hib," muttered Darcy, looking embarrassed as she straightened his jacket while he futilely tried to blow his nose, which only served to make him cough yet again.

"It's no trouble at all, dear. Only please hurry back. I truly worry for that cough." 

"I'll be back under your watchful eye as quick as I cad, dearest," he murmured, grazing her ear with his lips as she slipped an extra handkerchief in his pocket. With that, he was gone, his boots thumping down the hall wearily.

~~~~~~~~~~

Time dragged as she waited for him. While she knew he could take care of himself and she didn't need to be here the moment he returned, she also knew he would want her to be. Her husband was a strong man, but at times like these, he depended on her, and she was not about to disappoint him. So, while there were plenty of things she could have seen to around the manor herself, she waited in his sitting room with her needlework, keeping the fire high. 

Finally she heard him in the hall. She rushed to open the door as he shuffled in, looking spent. 

 "Darcy dear! I expected you an hour ago!"  she said, helping him shed his coat. Suddenly she felt his shoulders hitch under her hands as his breath scissored:

"Ktt-tsshhEEW!" The wet spraying sneeze was his response, only partially stifled by the sodden handkerchief he held. She blessed him worriedly as he again mopped his face.

"I'mb sorry, dearest," he finally managed. "I was stobbed many tibes between mby study and here to answer questions. I cabe as quick as I could."

He fell wearily into the chair nearest the fire with a deep groan and a deeper cough. He bent to try and remove his boots, but his efforts were hampered, as his nose streamed dreadfully if he bent over. He had to keep a hand pressed to his face as he tried to undo the fastenings with the other. 

Elizabeth knelt in front of him and gently pushed his hands away, loosening and removing the boots herself as he leaned back in the chair, sniffling wetly. 

"Thagk you, mby love," he croaked. 

"Here, have some more tea, I've just had Mary bring some. There, now what suits you best? Shall we cover you warmly and sit here by the fire, or would you like me to fetch you some soup? I won't ask if you want to call for Dr. Bishop yet since I know what you'll say, though I have half a mind to."

"There's ndo need for the doctor," replied her husband. "Whad I most want right now is to lie dowd and sleeb sumb few hours yed. Mby mind is sluggish. I cad hardly grasp on a thought except how exhausted I amb."

"Then take my arm and let's get you to bed, poor man. I imagine some more sleep will do wonders for you."

"I don't need help walki'g mby dear, I'm not invalid, only full of cold." Even still, he took her proffered arm as he stood and rested a hand on her shoulder warmly as she led him to the bedroom.

"That may be, but I'll see you there myself just the same to make sure there's no distractions along the way." She kissed his hand and caressed it fondly as they made their way to the bed. She helped him remove all the clothes she had helped him don not long before and replace them with his nightshirt. While he clearly needed to sleep, he also seemed loath to let her out of his sight. He remained sitting on the edge of the bed for a moment with her pressed against his side. She scratched his back fondly. 

“You should lie down, dear. You’re more asleep than awake.”

Instead, he wrapped his arms around her unexpectedly, burying his face in her abdomen with a weary sigh. Elizabeth was slightly startled, but gladly reciprocated the embrace, burying her face in his hair. Her husband was an affectionate man, but not usually physically so. This gesture from him, while not at all unwelcome, was unexpected. 

“I feel terrible,” he groaned, barely audible, leaning most of his weight against her. “Mby body runs amok with mbe.”

“So it seems. I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t wish this cold of yours on anyone.”  

She held him for a few peaceful moments. Just as she was about to again suggest he lie down, for it seemed he was in danger of falling asleep against her, his back twitched violently and he tried to pull away.

“heh-GIHH’CHOOOO! Hehht-kk’CHOOOOOF!” 

Neither had time to react as poor Mr. Darcy sneezed thickly, his face still pressed against his startled wife. She couldn't suppress a little gasp as he pulled away, stammering apologies and wiping his traitorous nose. 

She was silent a moment appraising the state of her dress, then an unladylike snort of laughter escaped her, sending her into a little fit of giggles even as she comforted her overwrought husband, pressing him gently back against the pillows. 

“It’s all right, my love. Such things happen. ‘Tis only a dress, and I have plenty more. It seems neither of us are coming away from this cold of yours unscathed. But there now, you’re completely spent. You can hardly keep your eyes open, red as they are. Take some more rest, my love.”

“You’re too good to mbe,” he croaked, fighting against his heavy eyelids but already nearly asleep, the handkerchief still in his limp hand on the bed.

She reached out, caressing his face and brushing hair from his brow. “No more of that. Close your eyes and sleep, for how else do you expect to get better?” She clucked her tongue softly again. “You really are painfully warm, poor man. It is most worrisome,” she said, more to herself than him.

“I’ll be alright,” he mumbled, the last word turning into a snore as he finally gave in to the needs of his body.

~~~~~~~~~~

4.

That was to be the last interaction Mr. Darcy would remember for quite some time. He fell into a deep sleep then, and everything that happened over the next few days would be blurred flashes in his mind at best, hazed by illness and fever.

Of course, the same could not be said for Elizabeth. After he fell asleep, she left him and tended to some of her duties around the manor (after changing her gown, naturally). She did not want to hover in the sickroom, both for her sake and his, so she forced herself to stay away for several hours, knowing he would ring if he needed something.

Still, in the late afternoon she returned, unable to stay away any longer. He was exactly as she had left him, snoring softly. He didn’t seem to have moved at all in his sleep, which was most unlike him. She again went to feel his forehead, sensing something amiss. He was much warmer than before. A knot of worry pulsing in her heart, she tried to shake him awake. He opened his eyes and seemed to look at her, but she could tell he wasn’t truly awake, and didn’t respond when she spoke to him, only grunted and coughed, trying to roll over and sleep again. 

Without further ado, she sent for Doctor Bishop, pacing the halls outside Darcy’s rooms until he arrived, wringing her hands in worry and opening the door to check on her husband every few minutes, to ensure he got no worse.  

The doctor arrived quickly, heading right into the sickroom. He did a thorough examination, listening to Mr. Darcy’s heart and lungs, checking his pulse and 100 other things. Darcy woke briefly a few times, but only managed answers of a word or less before he dozed off again. His large frame looked somehow both bigger and smaller than it should, curled up limply on the bed, with only his breathing as evidence of life. After he was through, the wise doctor scrutinized his patient, deep in thought. Elizabeth remained silent, waiting with baited breath. Finally the doctor turned to her. 

“You said he’s been overworking himself and run down lately, yes?”

“Yes, doctor. Business has been troubling him of late.”

“Hm. So it seems. Well, overall his vital signs are normal for a man with a cold. I see nothing overly alarming, excepting the high fever. That is a touch worrisome, but can at times be seen in such cases. No, I don’t fear any illness has befallen him except what you’ve said, a bad cold. I think he’s simply exhausted, and this cold has caught up with him and brought everything down at once. I’ll wager the fever will subside in a day or two, and the rest in the days after that as long as he gets the rest he sorely needs. I shan’t prescribe him anything except what he already has here with you, Mrs. Darcy. Let him sleep as much as he wants, keep him hydrated and don’t cover him too warmly, and I think this will run its course soon enough.”

It was as if great weight fell off her shoulders as he spoke. “Oh, thank you doctor! Indeed, I shall do just as you say, and make sure he does as well.”

“Please do. The stubbornness of the Darcys is well known to me, for my father and his father have been treating this family for generations. I’ll come round to see him every day until I’m satisfied he’s on the mend, if that suits you.”

“Oh, yes please, and thank you kindly. You have my deepest gratitude, sir.”

“My pleasure, madame. Until tomorrow.” He tipped his hat and was gone.

With a huge sigh of relief, Elizabeth collapsed on the chair at her husband’s bedside. After a moment, she found his hand under the quilt and held it, needing to feel his touch, even if in unconsciousness. After a moment, he unexpectedly squeezed it. She looked up to see his eyes were fluttering closed, but his face was angled toward her now. She took a moment to appreciate that fine face, though currently his nose, cheeks, and eyes were matching shades of red against the sickly pallor over the rest of him.

She sighed and softly kissed his hand. “Get well soon, my dear.”

He certainly took his time doing so, or so it seemed to Eliza. Either she or Georgiana were at his side at all times. He slept constantly, barely waking even to drink water. He spoke hardly at all and asked for nothing. He would intermittently shake with chills, or else sweat profusely. He sneezed in thick, messy fits, several at a time, but then would go hours between, until the sensation again overpowered and woke him. He coughed more often, since that it seemed he could do even as he slept. 

Yes, he slept, but he was overall restless. Noise in the room roused him. He stirred when he was touched. He stirred when he coughed. He woke when he sneezed. His sleep didn’t seem peaceful, which was perhaps why he never fully woke, because he wasn’t fully resting. 

The first night, Elizabeth slept in her own rarely-used bedroom (she much preferred sharing his), wanting him (and herself) to rest as much as possible. The second night though, she was achingly lonely, missing his touch, his voice, and his smile. So, she crawled into her usual place beside him in his bed, pressing herself against him. She found herself cold, as she had been since he was ill from the worry, so his warmth was more than pleasant. 

She herself relaxed immediately as soon as she was against him, but more surprisingly, so did he. He didn’t wake and hardly stirred when he felt her, but his breathing quickly deepened and he relaxed more fully as they rested against each other. Basking in the sensation of enjoying one another’s touch, they both slept the whole night that way. 

~~~~~~~~~~

More than 48 hours after he first fell asleep, Darcy finally woke up completely. Naturally, it was a sneeze that did it. 

“Heh’gihh’CHUUUHFF! AHHGK-CHOOOF! … ow….”

Something in the tone made Lizzie turn. She had been sitting facing the fire with her needlework, but glancing at the bed, she saw her husband sitting up, one hand to his temple, the other wiping his nose, and looking aware of his surroundings for the first time in 2 days. She dashed to his side, feeling his forehead at once.

“Bless you, dear. My, but it’s good to see you awake! Oh, and your fever is much decreased, how wonderful! How do you feel? Is your head hurting you? Here, drink some water, the doctor said you’re likely dehydrated…”

She wanted to prattle on, but she saw he was a bit overwhelmed, so she forced her tongue to be still. She gently grasped his hands, to calm him as well as herself, and kissed them fondly. She then handed him a glass of water, and he drank gratefully as she looked him over. He seemed a bit better, but he continued to look around in a dazed way.”

“Have I been asleeb long?” he finally rasped, his voice totally gone, and still stuffed tight with congestion.

“I would say so. It’s been two days darling.” She did her best to keep the worry and accusation out of her voice. He couldn’t help that he’d been ill.”

“Two days?! Good heavens.” He fell back against the pillows with a groan and a cough. “Ndo wonder I feel so sluggish.”

“Yes, but it seems you needed it. The doctor has been out every day, and he says you were suffering from exhaustion. Your body was taking the rest it sorely needed.”

“So it seebs.” He rubbed his eyes wearily.

“How are you feeling? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Sumb better, I thingk,” he said with a wet sniffle. “Less fevered. I am still weary, and will sleep another night soundly through, but I hope I’m on the mend now.”

“As do I.” She kissed his hand again, squeezing it tightly.

~~~~~~~~~~

5.

Mr. Darcy was indeed on the mend. He was moving about his rooms freely the next day, and 2 days after that, he was allowed by the doctor (and his wife, grudgingly) to resume his duties, though at a reduced basis, for his cough still lingered, along with some fatigue. Yet he was incredibly cheerful to be leaving his rooms, and everywhere he went, he had a spring in his step.

That same day he was freed found Elizabeth curled on the settee in her rarely-used personal sitting room, wrapped in a coverlet and trying to read. However, her dripping nose and throbbing headache prevented her from making much progress in the story. 

A barking cough burst out of her against her will, making her drop her book. With a feeble groan, she reached down to retrieve it, holding a handkerchief to her streaming nose. She had known she likely wouldn’t escape catching her husband’s cold, but that didn’t make it any less unpleasant. However, she was not about to spoil his first day of freedom with her own illness, so she was hiding here to avoid him as long as she could.

Just as she was thinking this, she heard his boots in the hall, and she suppressed another groan. He knocked softly, then peeked in the door, looking happy as well as confused when he saw her.

“Mary said I might find you here, but I thought she must be mistaken. Whatever are you doing? I was hoping to meet you for tea.”

She took a breath to answer, but instead the urge to sneeze snuck up on her. She shoved her elbow against her face, turning away from him to stifle the stubborn urge harshly:

“HXXT’GH! HNNKT! HXXTCH! Guh…” she mumbled at the end, which turned into a painful cough that she hardly had breath for.

Darcy was at her side in a moment, kneeling by her arm and feeling her forehead just as she had his so many times the past few days. Concern and regret crossed his face. “You have a fever, dearest. It seems I’ve shared my cold with you,” he said, stifling a little cough.

“You always were the gentleman, never failing to share with a lady,” she groused weakly.

His low chuckle was warm. “I’m truly sorry. Yet I heard you hardly left the bedchamber while I was ill, so I suppose it was inevitable.”

“Especially since you sneezed on me,” she mumbled, trying not to smile.

“Indeed,” he chuckled again. “I’m sorry for that as well. But now, enough talk. Rest your voice. Come up to bed and I’ll see you get some tea and toast.”

“Perhaps I don’t want to go to bed, did that occur to you? I’ve spent all week in that bedchamber and I’d prefer to not be forced to go back,” she muttered petulantly. 

“I can tell you’re feeling unwell, for you’re never so irritable. That more than anything tells me I must see you to bed immediately.” His tone indicated some teasing, but mostly seriousness. Without further ado, he scooped her up in one motion and stood, carrying her toward their bedchamber, a little smile playing around his lips. 

“Why you--! I’ve never been thus treated in my entire life. Put me down, you terrible man!” Yet she couldn’t keep from laughing, miserable though she was, which of course turned into a cough. She hadn’t felt so ill in a long time. In fact, the overwhelming urge to sneeze was coming over her again. She struggled weakly to free her arms from where he had them pinned, but it was too late: 

“Hhh’rrrrushh’eeeew! Herrr’CHEW! Hihhh’knn’CHOOF!” She sneezed explosively against his chest, covering them both in the spray. His steps paused as he looked down at her, open-mouthed, while she stared back, reddening in embarrassment, but slightly triumphant.

“...bless you, my Lizzie,” Darcy finally said, an odd smile on his face.

“Thank you. I’m terribly sorry!... But what choice did I have, when I can’t move my arms? Now we’re even, I suppose.”

“Indeed,” he chuckled again as he resumed walking. “And I suppose if you must sneeze on someone, it’s best if it’s me, as I can’t very well catch this cold again. But all the more reason for me to see you to bed. You look a mess. In the loveliest possible way, of course.”

“How charming you are, Mr. Darcy. You have quite a way of flattering a woman.”

He chuckled again, but by this time they had reached his bedchamber. He deposited her on the bed with the utmost gentleness, and proceeded to assist her in changing into more comfortable clothes. She shivered miserably as she changed so that her teeth nearly chattered. Darcy tucked her in warmly and quickly rang for some tea, then began to remove his own boots and coat. She watched him curiously, though with heavy eyes, for she suddenly she found herself exhausted. With pleasure she realized he planned to join her in bed. 

He did just that a few moments later, pulling her close against himself and wrapping her in his big, warm arms. She nuzzled in gratefully with a sniffle and a cough. He buried his face in her hair as they settled, coughing as well. 

“What are you doing, Darcy dear? I thought you had many things to do today,” she mumbled, already nearing sleep. “You’ve had so many days off yourself. You needn’t take another for me, though it seems we’re quite a mess still.”

“This has become the most important thing I must do today,” he yawned. “You were a saint to look after me this whole week, so now I must return the favor. I’m not likely to let an opportunity pass to spend time with you after these past weeks, for I’ve learned my lesson.  And I too am already weary, for this cold hasn’t quite left me. A nap would suit me fine, especially if I can warm you in the process.” 

When a servant arrived with tea, no one greeted him, and when he opened the door with the tray, he found it best to simply leave it nearby and duck out again, for Mr. and Mrs. Darcy were fast asleep. 

[terra-sprout-imagines]

S/O Surprises them at a game they said they couldn’t be at headcanons (Daichi, Sugawara, Kuroo) Part 1

Written By: Terra

Warnings: Anime spoilers for Season 2 (Daichi), Season 3 (Suga) and the Land VS Air OVA also known as “Riku vs Kuu” (Kuroo)

Request: How would Suga, Tanaka, Bokuto, Kuroo, Daichi and Hinata react to their S/O surprising them by showing up to a game that they had previously said they couldn't make it to? by @myheroesaretired

Author’s Note: Here’s part 1! This is my first time writing for Haikyuu so I would appreciate feedback! Part two will be written by Sprout because we both wanted to try writing for Haikyuu and show you guys what headcanons would look like from each of us. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy!

READ PART TWO HERE: Tanaka, Hinata, Bokuto - For whatever reason, this link does not show up on mobile, but part two is out and can be found on our blog

Sawamura Daichi

You were part of the music club at Karasuno, your specialty being the piano.

You had a huge recital coming up, so your instructor set up individual one-on-one sessions with each member so they could gauge each of your current abilities and offer more individualized feedback

Unfortunately for you, your one-on-one session happened to be the same day as the Miyagi Volleyball Inter-High Preliminaries.

You couldn’t reschedule your session with your instructor, but at the very least, your session would be over by the afternoon

That would leave you enough time to catch hopefully all of their second match

But only if they managed to beat Wakutani South first.

Out of all of them, honestly I think Daichi would be the most okay at hearing the news

I mean sure he wants you there, but he knew when you started dating that there was no way you’d be able to make every match

You already support him more than enough with what games and practices you do sit through

And he makes sure to support you in kind with your music

After all he knows how important it is to you

So when you had to tell them that you wouldn’t likely make it to his first match of the day

He just gave you a soft smile and pressed a kiss into your forehead.

“It’s okay, I know you’d be there if you could.”

“Just make sure you’ll be careful out there.” You responded.

He chuckled, “I always am.”

And that was all he said about it really

During the game, he wouldn’t be casting his eyes up into the stands looking for you.

He’d be completely focused on the game in front of him, knowing that you were still cheering for him in spirit, even though you were back at the school.

However, what Daichi didn’t know, was that the student with an appointment before yours had to cancel due to a sudden illness.

This meant that you would be able to come in early, and hopefully you would be there in time to catch your boyfriend’s match.

And sure enough, it was only a quarter after ten in the morning when you were rushing through the doors of the Sendai City Gymnasium where Karasuno was competing.

In your rush to find the doors to the stands, you happened to pass by the medical office.

You caught familiar swath of blonde hair in your peripheral vision that had you stopping in your tracks to do a double take.

Yachi was standing there just outside the door, her gaze clearly worried.

Realizing that someone on the team had been hurt, you turned on your heel to walk over to the young manager, wanting to check that whoever it was on the team hadn’t been hurt too bad.

After all, you had come to care for every member of the team in the time you had been dating Daichi.

Hearing someone approach her, Yachi tore her gaze from the door and to you, her eyes widening when she saw who it was that was walking towards her.

“Yachi? Did someone get hurt?” You asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder to try and calm some of her nerves.

“I-it’s Daichi!”

You felt a cold sense of dread wash over you upon hearing those words. Daichi got hurt?

“How bad was he hurt- is he okay?!” You snapped your gaze now to look at the white door to your right

“H-he and Tanaka both dove for the ball a-and they c-collided. The nurse said he would be okay, but that he needed to rest and let the bleeding in his mouth stop before he could go back. I didn’t want to disturb him, so… I’m waiting out here.”

You felt some of your worry go knowing that he was going to be okay and that he wasn’t seriously injured.

Of course, hearing that he was bleeding still wasn’t news you wanted to hear, but it was better than hearing that he had gotten a concussion or broke a bone or something.

“Thank you for waiting Yachi. You can go back to the game if you want, I can keep him company until he’s cleared to go back.” Your smile was gentle, reassuring as you looked back to Yachi.

She nodded after she asked if you were sure, tripping over a quick “thank you!” before she turned to run back to the match.

You took a quick breath before entering, opening the door carefully so as not to make too much of a disturbance as you walked in. You exchanged a few words with the nurse on duty before taking a seat next to the bed where your boyfriend was currently lying down with an ice pack pressed against his cheek and his eyes closed.

“Hey.” You cooed softly as you pulled up a chair to sit next to him. You reached out with your hands to clasp his free one in between your own.

Daichi opened his eyes, his gaze widening in surprise when he saw you sitting next to him before his expression melted into tender adoration. “Hey, I thought you said you weren’t going to make it.”

“The student before me had to cancel, so I was able to go in early. But how are you? I heard from Yachi what happened.”

His hand squeezed yours. “It looks worse than it is. A little more rest, and I should be good to go back in.”

You sighed in relief, before looking back at him with a playful glare. “I seem to recall you promising me that you were going to be careful.”

Daichi smiled in response, and at least looked a little guilty. “I’m sorry, I just got so caught up in the game that I was moving before I even had time to think about it.”

You shook your head, a smile upon your own features. You leaned over and kissed the top of his forehead. “It’s okay I forgive you. Now you better hurry up and get better, Captain. Or your team is going to win without you.”

His chest shook as he laughed. “You know, I think I’d like to see them do just that.”

Sugawara Koushi

It was the day of Karasuno’s match against Shiratorizawa

You had been to their semifinals match against Seijoh the day before, but unfortunately for you your neighbor’s son had woken up with a fever.

His mother had tried to call off of work to take care of him, but she was only able to take a half day after trying to plead with her boss.

Because of the last-minute nature of the emergency, she had asked if you would be willing to watch over him until she was able to get off of work until her mother arrived later that morning to take over.

Of course, you weren’t able to say no. Having watched her kid before on multiple occasions, you were quite fond of him, and besides, you weren’t one to turn away from someone who clearly needed your help

So you had sent your boyfriend Suga a message as you gathered some of your things, letting him know about what happened and that you might not make it to his game like you had wanted to, but at the very least you would make sure to watch the live broadcast and cheer him on from home.

And Suga, even though he felt a pang of disappointment at the news, would never hold it against you.

Of course having you there in person to cheer him and his team on was what he would prefer

But he would never get upset for you helping out someone else who needed it, especially since he likely would have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed.

Just knowing that you were out there cheering him on, even from far away, was enough for him

But even still he would find his eyes wandering to the stand as Karasuno took to the court, going directly to your usual spot in the stands only to fight down the slight disappointment every time he found it empty.

You were still there, cheering him on, just not physically. He would be okay… right?

At least that’s what he kept telling himself. He did understand 100% but it still sucked that you weren’t there, especially a match as important as this

So caught up in his own conflicting emotions, Suga found that the pressure of the match was starting to get to him when Coach Ukai called him over to put him in the game

His hands were so cold… when had they gotten that way?

He brought them together, trying to warm them up and get his head in the game. Karasuno was depending on him, and he wasn’t going to let them down. He wanted to go to nationals too after all

A sudden warmth enveloping his hands snapped him out of his own thoughts

He opened his eyes (when had he closed them?) expecting to see you in front of him

He couldn’t help the slight flicker of disappointment in his eyes when it was Kiyoko who came into focus instead of you.

She must have seen it, because she only smiled at him, pulling Suga’s hands away from his face and gesturing to the stands behind him.

“Someone’s here to cheer you on.”

Suga’s eyes widened at her words and he whipped around, a giant grin stretching across his face when he saw you waving to him from the stands

Your face was flushed, and you looked to be a little out of breath, clearly you had been in a rush to get to the gymnasium.

The moment he set his eyes upon you, warmth filled him and chased away the lingering chills.

As he played, he could easily pick your cheers out from the rest of the crowd, even above the deafening cheers of Shiratorizawa’s admittedly impressive cheer section.

From your spot in the stands, you couldn’t help the proud smile that you wore as you watched Sugawara on the court.

“You’re late, you know.” You turned your head to see Tanaka’s sister Saeko giving you a teasing grin.

“Better late than never.” You replied with the same grin

When the game was over, you were the first one to rush down to the court, not caring that you technically weren’t supposed to be there.

Suga was quick to a tight sweaty hug the moment he saw you running towards him

He placed a quick kiss to your lips resting his forehead against yours.

“I’m so happy that you made it.” He whispered

“I got lucky that his grandma showed up earlier than expected. I was able to get a ride to the gym with some friends from my class who were kind enough to wait for me.”

He let out a breathy laugh “I’ll make sure to thank them later, right now I only care about celebrating with you.”

Kuroo Tetsuro

You really wanted to be there; you really did with everything in your whole being

But you had a doctor’s appointment for the same time as your boyfriend Kuroo’s qualifying matches for Spring Nationals.

In the complete opposite direction of where Kuroo was competing.

Even though the appointment was just to remove the cast on your (previously) broken arm, the travel time alone was what worried you. Even with the earliest possible appointment time, traffic in Tokyo was never anything to joke about, and even taking a train to the gym would take more time than you were comfortable with.

It was kind of stupid how you broke your arm in the first place really

What was supposed to be a run in the rain to the nearest convenience store for date night movie snacks had turned into date night at the hospital while you got a cast fitted on your currently broken (and thankfully non-dominate) arm after you had stepped in a rather slippery puddle on the sidewalk.

Who knew puddles could be so slippery?

Certainly everyone else except you

And of course, the date to get your cast removed had been today of all days. But alas your doctor was booked solid all month so moving the date of your cast removal had been impossible.

Kuroo had known about this weeks in advance, but he was still disappointed that you wouldn’t be there to cheer him on like you usually were.

“Even if I don’t make it to today’s game, I’ll make sure to make it up to you by being there at Nationals.” You had told him that over the phone when you delivered the news about your appointment.

“You better.”

Still, as Nekoma lost their match to Fukurodani, and Kuroo looked to the stands to see Alisa and Akane cheering for their brothers, he couldn’t help but wish that you were there with them.

“You’re off your game.” Kenma had shown up behind him as Kuroo had been lost in his own thoughts.

“Are not.”

“Are too.”

After a solid minute of the two going back and forth in that manner, Kenma sighed and shook his head. “They promised they’d be there at Nationals, right? Then you need to make sure you keep up your end of that promise by making sure we get there.”

Kuroo sighed knowing that Kenma was right. He had to focus on the match ahead. Their next match against Nohebi would determine who would be taking the final spot for Spring Nationals.

He had to make sure that Nekoma wins, just so he could see your face, hear your voice amongst the crowd even once more cheering him on.

By the time, the match against Nohebi started, Kuroo was mostly back to his usual self

His determination to have you there cheering him on at Spring Nationals something he clung to in order to keep him in the moment and not fixating on the empty space in the stands where you would normally be.

The match however, proved that Nekoma was going to have to fight a lot harder than anticipated.

Yaku twisted his ankle early into the match, and Nohebi was living up to their reputation for being suck-ups to the refs.

It’s not that he doubted Shibayama’s skill as a Libero, but Yaku was a third year, and had a lot more experience in the position than his underclassmen.

Thankfully, Nekoma took the first set, and while they were switching sides of the court, Kuroo spared a glance back to the stands, immediately doing a double-take

There you were, gazing down at him with a wide grin upon your features, your now-free arm waving back and forth in wide motions.

Any weariness that Kuroo might have felt from playing vanished instantly when he saw you, newfound energy coursing through his veins.

You’d made it after all, and Kuroo knew that now there was nothing left to worry about except securing their place at Nationals.

When the game ended with Nekoma’s victory, the two of you were quick to find one another, Kuroo pulling you in for a quick yet passionate embrace and kiss.

“You were amazing out there.” You breathed against his lips as you two pulled away

“Of course I was. I had you cheering me on.” His lips were cocked in a smirk, but you could see in his eyes how genuinely happy he was that you were able to make it, even if it wasn’t the whole game. “How many speeding tickets did you manage to get on the way here anyway?”

You laughed and threw a light punch against his arm. “None, thank you very much. But I am lucky that I still got here in time to see the end of your game.”

“It’s okay, you’ll be able to watch all of the matches when we head to Nationals.”

[smellss]

invisible

zuko x reader pt.1

gif credit: @hadesgal15

a/n

hello lovelies,

sorry i’ve been away for so long i have really missed writing but with holidays starting hopefully i’ll have more time for writing. i’ve been working on this series for a while i think it will be 2 parts but maybe 3 if you guys like it! send in those requests x

- smells x

zuko has always been a mystery to y/n. the way he had that cocky smirk whenever around the women of the kingdom but then a sweet smile whenever he was with his friends.

but whenever y/n was around he was cold, distant even rude treating her as if she was invisible.

she was only a worker at the palace cleaning, cooking mostly spending her time looking after avatar aang and katara.

both of them agreed the way zuko treated y/n was strange.

y/n hastily walked with the tray to aang’s office hearing voices inside she knocked before entering

“yes come in” aang soft voice rung before y/n entered

“well if it isn’t my favourite person” aang smiled at y/n as she placed the tea on the table earning a smile from katara

zuko resting against the wall pushed himself off sniffling a little

“aang, i will discuss this with you later” zuko coughed sounding quite horse, nodding his head at the couple adverting his eye contact with y/n

“zuko are you feeling well? you sound quite sick”katara stated with a furrowed brow pressing the back of her hand to the fire lord’s forehead

“i’m fine katara, honestly ” the fire lord stated waving goodbye to the couple avoiding all eye contact with y/n

y/n let out a saddened sigh before going back to pour the tea

“i just don’t get it, he really seems to dislike me and i don’t know what i’ve done” y/n explained handing katara and aang their teas before the couple gave each other a look

“y/n come sit” aang gestured to one of the chairs positioned around the table to which she hesitated but aang nodded before smiling warmly

“zuko has always been well quite reserved when i first met him i thought he was well an asshole and rude” katara explained a chuckle leaving both y/n and aang’s mouth

“but when he began to truly trust me things he still was an asshole but became better and now he really is one of my closest friends”

“the thing is y/n, don’t give up on zuko just yet i promise he will come around” aang comforted the young girl placing a hand over her own

y/n lay awake in her bed that night tossing and turning, thoughts swirling around her head

so maybe zuko isn’t so bad after all

how am i supposed to get him to trust me?

y/n’s eyes began to shutter close to drifting off to a restless sleep of tossing and turning

she was woken abruptly by a loud bang at her door, quickly jumping putting on a robe and slippers she hastily opened the door

jia one of the maids quite all out of breath looking quite dishelleved

“jia is everything alright?” y/n asked wrapping her robe around her tighter looking at the girl with wide eyes

“the fire lord has become ill he has a high fever katara has asked to please collect cloths from the kitchen and go to his chambers immediately” jia instructed her frantically

y/n sprinted her feet carrying her as fast as she could, arriving at the kitchen she frantically collected the bucket of cold water filled with towels

running the water sloshed in the bucket and thoughts sped through y/n’s head

i hope he’s okay

katara is the world’s best healer

he has to be fine

right?

approaching the fire lord’s room a blue glow illuminated the girls face

katara stood moving her arms gracefully over the large bed a circle of glowing water wrapped around zuko’s body a small gasp leaving y/n’s lips

y/n had never seen him look like this so small, meek and fragile always standing tall and proud

“great you are here, my part is mostly done this a virus so healing isn’t to much help but it does relive a bit of the fever” katara sighed pushing zuko’s hair back her eyes dreary with exhaustion

“katara why don’t you rest i can look after the fire lord for a while” y/n smiled sweetly, grabbing the bucket of clothes moving beside zuko’s resting body

katara yawned shuffling back to her own room, y/n dabbed the sweat off zuko’s face he was profusely sweating and shaking

how can i make him feel better?

y/n smiled beginning to think of a song that her mother used to sing to her when she was ill as a child softly she began to sing

The moon is bright, the wind is quiet,

The tree leaves hang over the window.

zuko began to stop moving his breaths becoming slower, the girl could see him relaxing she began to brush the hair out of his face as she continued to sleep

Little one, close your eyes,

Sleep, sleep, dreaming sweet dreams.

the fire lord now fast asleep had a small smile on his face, one y/n had only seen a handful of times usually reserved for his younger sister or mother

y/n stretched letting out a yawn fatigue beginning to take over looking over at zuko calmly asleep she began to drift off

i’ll just rest my eyes for a moment

when y/n awoke the sun peaked into the room little slithers of lights danced across the room she stretched her arms then began to check on zuko

“fever is down but still there” y/n mumbled biting her lip in concentration pressing her knuckles to the fire lords head

“good to know” zuko croaked out with a chuckle his eyes opening to show his gold orbs

y/n’s cheeks glowed bright red in embarrassment she began to bow with a stutter

“fire lord zuko i apologise for my presence i am not in uniform nor the correct-t, it’s just you were very ill and i was helping katara and then i just rested my eyes and fell asleep in the chair and i” y/n stuttered out avoiding eye contact with zuko glancing up to see a amused look on his face

“honestly it’s fine don’t worry about-t” zuko’s body was wracked with coughs

“spirits okay i’ll be back soon with some healing tea and katara” y/n exclaimed quickly walking towards the door with haste as she put her hand on the handle though zuko piped up behind her

“you know you have quite a lovely voice, y/n” the fire lord said with a smirk

y/n paused smiling widely a tinge of blush on her cheeks appeared before she walked out searching for katara.

[fictionalmenmistress]

Shadow From The Window (Leonardo)

Imagine your scared of the dark and alone, but your sexy hero-in-the-half-shell comes to sleep at your side, after a long partol. Exausted, he forgets how easy you startle, and comforts you.

(SFW but blushy, leaning Fem!Reader/ but also gender-neutral, Bayverse Leo, no swearing, FLUFF, a lil spooky at the start but all sweet and completely handle-able. Its safe 💙)

(So, this is my first official post here and I'm so excited! First of all, HI EVERYONE! I'm so happy to have found my peoples and to be here uwu, I love you all. Hopefully, this brings you comfort to rest before bed, or in the middle of the night. Want me to do one for all the boys? Lemme know!💙)

I am writing this at 2-3 am, after imagining this scenario to comfort myself, settling down to rest. The thought of Leo hiding in the dark, makes the dark a lot less scary. (Tho I decided to write it instead of resting lol) LETS GET IT!

Its 3 am in your studio apartment.

You've been living in New York city for a while now, but its always been a hassle to fall asleep in your own place. That's been the hardest adjustment after leaving home... how scary it can be on your own. Truth be told, you're 'scared of the dark'. Not nescessarily scared of the darkness itself, but the shadows in the corner of the room... the random noises and things that go bump in the night... the mere thought in the back of your mind that something, as ridiculous as it sounds to others, will come and get you once your guard is down.

There you lied, stiff as a board on your back. The covers, pulled up to your neck, as you breathed in and out as silently as you could. Why did you still feel like you had to hide from monsters or bad guys in your own home? "Dang it, y/n..." you sighed, wiping the nervous cold sweat from your forehead, overheating internally from the anxiety.

"WHY... why did I have to watch that horror movie with Donnie?" You thought, internally shouting at yourself. "He said its not scary, that its 'too absurd to be plausible, and thus won't trigger a reaction of fear'. So much for a slow and steady introduction to the genre!"

You should have known when Raph said "Nope, I'm out." Donnie sat there the whole time, laughing at the movie at the scariest and most ill-timed moments... and you recall just glaring at him, teeth chattering, whispering to yourself:

"Yeah, he's cracked alright."

Just because something isn't scientifically proven, doesn't mean it can't happen... or hasn't happened, right?

"Ugh..." you groaned, curling your lips into a gremace, scared your groan was too loud amongst the unsettling silence. "I can't sleep with the lights on again..."

Glancing toward your phone, you noticed a blue light illuminate the screen, informing you that you got a new text. But that blue light... it instantly made you think of the blue-loving turtle you so dearly loved. The light of your life.

'Leo would protect me.'

Ah, that comforting reminder that you would feel so safe in your boyfriend's arms... if only he were here with you.

But... he wasn't. He was probably out on patrol, far away, and unable to come any time soon, even if he could.

"That's it." You said, taking and deep breath and mustering up all of your courage, throwing the covers off and dashing to the light switch.

*flick!* And... everything in the room was normal. It was comforting, but you scolded yourself for not accepting that everything was already secure, and nothing was lurking in the dark.

Everything was still, as you closed your curtains and lied back down in bed.

"Light on it is." You sighed, before the light suddenly flickered by itself.

"Oh crap-" you muttered, taking a gulp, as the power went out. "OH CRAP, ITS JUST LIKE THE MOVIE-"

Now, you felt screwed. You lied as still as possible, for what felt like forever, refusing to close your eyes. Dang it... DANG it!

Grabbing your phone light, you quickly tip-toed to the bathroom, trying to pee as fast as you could, so you could get back to your warm bed where it feels semi-safe.

As soon as you opened the bathroom door, you noticed your curtains flowing and twirling in the night wind. Street sounds from the never-sleeping city below echoed faintly through your widely-opened window.

"My window... is open?" You thought in horrified shock, examining your surroundings in the dark carefully.

You froze in your tracks, as your phone light turned itself off.

BATTERY TOO LOW TO USE FLASHLIGHT, PLEASE CHARGE.

A chill went down your spine, as you stood there in the center of everything, slowly backing to a corner, where you planned to crouch in the fetal position, so you could see all angles of the room for the rest of the night.

You took another step back, and another, before you bumped into a large mass, standing behind you.

'Not the wall...' your brain registered, feeling the heat of whomever or whatever this tall thing was, radiating against your back.

"Hello, beautiful~" A deep voice chuckled, startling you.

Jolting around, you saw a dark, tall shadow, looming before you.

The fear disoriented you, quickly rushing adrenaline through your body, as your fight or flight reacted. You quickly let out a shriek, chucking your dying phone at the shadow and darting quickly toward the window.

The shadow caught the phone instantly, with lightning fast reflex, as a large hand suddenly wrapped around your wrist, gently yet firmly pulling you back into the room before you crawled out onto the fire escape.

"WHOA, hey hey! Y/N easy! Its okay." A gentle, farmiliar voice assured, gently pulling you around to face him. "Its just me!"

"L-let go!" You whimpered, still not realizing who it was. "P-please..."

"Hey, its me..." he softly whispered, as your breath began to steady, blinking a couple of times as his identity fully set in. "Shh, sh sh sh." He lulled.

"L-Leo?" You squeaked in disbelief.

The figure slowly leaned into the moonlight, casting over you from the open window, revealing his GORGEOUS, icy blue eyes. Those intense-yet-soft eyes... that you knew and loved more than anyone else's. That comforting, strong, lovingly soft gaze, that instantly reassured you that you were safe.

"Your aim is getting better," he softly chuckled, smirking with his adorable grin. Leo slowly slid your phone before you, onto the moonlit sheets, barely revealing his outstretched, chiseled, manly hands. "I'm so sorry I scared you, love. I didn't mean to... I would never on purpose..."

Leo's voice sounded composed, but also ashamed and regretful, as he became more serious to apologise. He always spoke so softly to you...

"Leo, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I-" you desparately assured, bursting into tears. "I-"

"Hey hey, I should have knocked, or called. I'm sorry I scared you, sweetheart. I thought I would suprise you in a good way, not startle you." He murmured, reaching his large hands out to gently grasp you, holding you in his arms.

"Oh... I'm so happy to see you!" You sighed, falling against him.

"Donnie felt bad about that scary movie, he told me about how scared you were and begged me to check on you." He whispered, with that composed, reassuring voice.

"Oh Leo... you really came." You whispered, sniffling back your tears.

"Of course, my love... I came straight here after patrol. I would have come sooner, but Raph was getting his shell handed to him by this big..." he hesitated, biting his lip.

"Leo?" You asked, wondering why he stopped.

"-You know what? It doesn't matter." He gently corrected, changing the subject.

"What? What was it?" You innocently asked, curling up against his warm, sculpted chest.

You could feel Leo's skin grow warmer with a blush, as he slowly and sweetly welcomed your embrace, holding you close.

"I'll tell you during daylight. Just... sweetie, I'll never let anything bad happen to you, as long as I live. You're safe, whether I'm near or far. Okay, sweetheart?" Leo promised with his deep innocent voice, planting a soft kiss against your forehead.

Suddenly, you heard a generator power on through your front door, and the power flicked back on.

You could at last see him. See his muscled arms around you, and the tails of his worn out blue mask resting against his chest, along side you. His plastron... rising and falling as he took in slow breaths.

Leo was so careful holding you in his arms... like you were this precious, tiny thing, that he adored with his entire existance.

"Hey, you... you there?" He muttered, growing increasingly bashful in his tension.

"I'm here." You gently assured with a smile, before pulling away to examine his handsome face.

Leonardo. Sexy, handsome, justly-confident, fierce leader. This fearless, giant turtle mutant, who was unlike anyone else in the world. His jaw clenched from sudden bashful nervousness, as his gaze shyed away from your eyes. Your stare always overwhelmed him... it was such an intimate thing to meet his eyes.

Leo cleared his throat, as he slowly reached out to your face, ever-so-carefully wiping away a tear from your cheek, watching intently and focusing as he did so.

Over cautiously gentle so he wouldn't risk hurting you with his strength.

"There we go..." he softly whispered in satisfaction, sighing with a relieved smirk.

"Can you..." you began, with every ounce of security and confidence you could muster. "Can you... stay? With me, all of tonight?"

You felt your cheeks blush intensely, blooming red, as Leo bit on his bottom lip. His eyes widened, as he fully realized your question.

"Y-yeah, o-of course I can..." Leo answered, all of a sudden a thousand times more innocent and adorable, intensely flattered and touched that you wanted him to stay at your side. "Uh... I'll... uh-" he began, moving back from kneeling on your bed before you, aimlessly pacing into your tiny kitchen.

Leo usually was so bold and certain, organized and authoritative, when he was on the move.

You recalled how you had seen first-hand how he can lay out the strategy of attack for the boys. He could be flipping into action, or running through the rooftops as he did it, with perfect coordination in his speech and movements. But with you and only you, Leo wasn't able to get the words out when he was this nervous or bashful.

He had a tendancy to overthink things.

Leo wandered into the cupboard, beginning to steep some tea on the stove as his tongue caught up with his brain.

"Do you want... tea?" He gently asked, clearing his throat.

Such husband material...

"Ah, sure." You grinned, sweetly answering.

You realized how safe and secure you felt now, with him in the studio. You weren't alone anymore.

Leo didn't say much while he prepared the tea. He hyper-focused to distract himself from the nervousness of staying at your place, ALONE with you for the night. He paced around without speaking... doing little thoughtful things, like closing the window and locking it for you, shutting the closet and bathroom door, and picking out the perfect cups for the two of you, from your DC glass cup collection.

(Leo liked the Nightwing one since it was blue, and he always gave you the batgirl one, because you loved purple. He loved it when you would geek out and tell him how those heroes were the perfect couple... it reminded him of the both of you, and hoped that you gushed about him like that when he wasn't around.)

Leo brought the cups over, moving carefully with his eyes on the glass, gently placing one in your hand, and his own at your bedside.

"I"ll sleep right here, beside you." He thought out loud, examining the hardwood floor panels.

"Ah, Leo, you're not sleeping on the ground." You ordered, taking a long drink from your cup.

"Its no trouble," he assured, unlatching and taking off his belt and sword straps, placing them on your countertop. Leo sat down across from your bed, and began taking off his customized traditional ninja footwear, so all that remained were his pants and mask.

Why did this make you blush and get so flustered, the way he lifted those muscular arms over his head? Its not like he's taking anything revealing off...

"Modest like Leo... modest like Leo..." you whispered under your breath, recomposing your wandering thoughts.

He slowly walked up to you, lying you back and pulling your covers over you. Leo gently placed his hand against your cheek, staring deep into your eyes, as a soft smile rested over his lips.

He slowly nuzzled his nose beside yours, cherishing every small movement, before planting a soft kiss on your forehead. Then, he pulled away.

You felt your arms involuntarily reach out to him, taking his face into your hands. You both stared innocently into one another's eyes, before you made a bold move, planting your lips against his. You gently kissed Leo's lips, and he kissed you back, in the most respectful, admirable, and sentimental way possible.

Kissing Leo always felt so intimate and special... even as soft and innocent as it was. Leo made the tiny gestures special to you again.

"Leo, would you please... hold me?" You whispered, tightly closing your eyes and resting your forehead against his. "Please, sleep with me tonight."

"S-sleep with-" he panicked, turning vibrant red. For the first time that night, he realized that you were wearing blue pj's... and you looked gorgeous in them. Suddenly his heart began to pound through his chest, as his posture stiffened. "Sleep... together? Like... m-make love together?"

"Ah not like that!" You bashfully assured, unable to hide your shy grin. "Just... sleep together, at least for tonight."

He took a deep breath in, that sounded shaky, like the remenants of your kiss and closeness gave him the chills. The thought of you being together in the most close and intimate form made him overwhelmed, causing him to slightly tremble. Leo invoulintarily giggled, pecking a kiss against your nose, before he pulled his mask off.

"Alright." He grinned, suddenly much more eager and confident, leaning close to you as he set his mask on your night stand, switching off the light switch with a mere stretch.

Suddenly, it was dark again. But, a peaceful dark.

"Will you, Leo?" You muttered.

"Yes." He whispered, so softly and so intimately, gazing bravely into your eyes. "Yes, Y/N."

You beamed with joy, resituating to the side of your bed, curling up and watching Leo with an adorable, excited expression. Leo broke out a nervous, adorable chuckle, as he hesitantly sat down on your bed, realizing how massive he was on the size of it. He downed his tea like a shot, (wanting to finish it as fast as possible, so he could do this soft and intimate thing with you) and clearing his throat. Blushing, he slowly lied down on his back, slowly turning to his side that faced you, and hesitantly placing his hand over your shoulder, unsure of what was too much touch.

You giggled, sliding his hand on your waist, so you could sit up and pull the covers over him. "O-oh..." Leo murmured, stiffening up from his shyness.

This was very overwhelming to him, since he really liked taking things slow and was inexperienced to everything involving romance before you. But... you loved that. It was like everything was new to you again too. It endeared you beyond belief.

You lied on your side, examining his face one last time, as he examined yours, trailing your fingertip across his sharp jawline.

"I really love you..." he whispered, meaning every word.

"I really love you too, Leo." You softly agreed, as you continued to smile.

You and Leo talked quietly for a bit, sweet whispers between soulmates, as you scratched his shell and caressed his shoulders to help relieve his stress and tension. He would slowly drift off more and more, talking less and less, gifting you with tiny, soft, slow kisses, all over your face instead.

You both drifted off to sleep, and slept wonderfully side by side, as safe and sweet as can be, just the two of you.

And, as you found out in the morning, Leo was a total, clingy cuddler in his sleep. Throughout the night, he had nuzzled closer and closer, wrapping his arms around you and cradling you, until you were cozy against his body, sharing the same warmth.

💙 Sweet dreams.💙