#i think purple and gold/ yellow tones go surprisingly well together

[grymkoena]

Maniac.

[OC: Valentine Artorius (they/ them)]

[ms--lobotomy]

Horus thoughts. Tagging @angronsjewelbeetle because we were discussing this too. (I need to make a taglist at this point. Who wants in?) (Also this one's for the boys! Hi boys!)

Summary: Horus Lupercal belt loop tugging

Word Count: 857

Content Warnings: Male reader, suggestive? horus more like whorus, not really any plot just kinda y'all being cute together

Image Credit: @squishyowl

It was late at night when you retired to your room. Horus had no need to sleep, but he'd lay in bed night after night for you and you alone. You never knew it when you were sound asleep next to him, but he'd run his hands through your hair and press kisses to your forehead as he relaxed into you. You were still up though, sitting at the edge of his bed, your legs swinging over the side. You were about as tall as you were standing, up to maybe his waist height.

"Tired?" he asked, standing in front of you. He'd cast a shadow had he been in the right lighting, but you were closest to the light. Your smaller form left a little trace on him.

You looked at his belt. He was clad in a brightly colored linen shirt, his chest peeking out. A gold chain adorned his neck, darkly yellow against his pale skin. He had covered his fingers in rings, there was one on almost every finger. Most of them were gold, too. His pants were a dark brown leather, something you would never wear in this season on Terra. They were held up by a black leather belt, its buckle a simple gold thing.

"Not in particular."

You eyed the loops holding up his belt. They were loose enough for you to slip your fingers through. Before another word could escape his lips, you snaked your fingers through his belt loops. You pulled him in.

He looked surprised for a moment, before the corner of his mouth tilted up and he began to follow your lead. He crossed his arms and smirked down at you, his warm honey-brown eyes regarding you with playful curiosity. You felt his hips buck slightly by your hands, and your heart skipped a beat.

As you froze, he leaned down and tilted your head up. You watched as he leaned in, his lips barely grazing your forehead. "Well?" he asked. His voice was husky, yet commanding. "You wanted me closer, darling, and hear I am." His smirk had turned into a full-on mischievous grin.

You whimpered, your grip still tight on his belt loops. Shit.

He kept your chin in his hand as he knelt to the ground. He let out a chuckle as your fingers fell out of his belt loops. Your hands remained in the air for a few moments, grasping at nothing before they rested on Horus's shoulders. The fabric was surprisingly soft under your fingers, bright red and purple and gold shapes interwoven with one another.

"Well?"

You locked eyes with him, a shiver running down your spine. You were frozen in place now, your hands tensing up upon his shoulders. Your breathing was erratic. Against your better judgement you were hyperventilating now, and Horus's smile quickly became less cocky and more inviting.

"Oh, fuck," you said in barely audible tones. "I think... I think I forgot how to breathe."

He lowered himself to eye level with you. "You have?" His breath was shaky on your face. "Come on, darling. I don't want you passing out on me."

Your breaths began to even out with his. He looked at you, his warm gaze intoxicating.

"You need to breathe, okay?" he asked, putting his hands to your waist. "For me. Come on..." he trailed off as you matched your breathing to his. "Deep breaths, that's it..."

You ran your hands along his shirt, bunching up the loose fabric. You tugged on him again, and he let out a breathy chuckle.

"Good boy," he said as your breaths evened out further. "Pretty boy... there you go." He ran his thumb along your lips, slightly parting them. You felt your heart thump wildly in your chest, but your breathing was even now. "That's it, breathe for me."

You stared him in the eyes, still wordless. You wrapped your arms around him as his mouth brushed against yours, twice its size. Your lips parted into a smile as you let out a nervous laugh. His other hand was at the nape of your neck now, his thumb trailing over what skin or scalp it could.

He pressed his mouth to yours, letting you pull him in by his shirt. He was gentle with you, about as gentle as a man his size could be. He eased his tongue into your mouth and you let out an "mmh!" as you pulled him in closer. Before long he relented, and slightly pulled out.

"There's my pretty boy," he said, smoothing your hair a little bit before he went in again. This time, he was rougher, pulling you in with both of his hands. You tugged on his shirt again, pulling both of you down to the bed. He didn't resist; rather, he planted both of his arms next to you, pinning you down. His sleeves went up to around 3/4 length on his arms, and they were rolled up.

He leaned down to put his lips to yours, meet your tongue with his, and you knew you were going to be in for a long night.

[waaaaak]

Sleep Easy, My Dandelion Knight

F/F - Jean/Lisa fanfic 

One Shot [1468 words]

Summary: It's not often that Jean catches up on sleep, used to overworking deep into the night without the assistance from anyone. It's all changed, now there's someone who cares.

Jean is no stranger to her desk being stacked with documents and requests to fill out. In fact, she is beginning to find it homely because of how long she has stayed, locked in, surrounded by a paradox of work. Seriously, she wonders how anything is operating in Mondstadt in reflection of the diversity in her paperwork. For hours, Jean would be conflicted solving political negotiations, to be immediately snatched into umpiring the neighbourhood bake-off. It would be easier to enjoy, if it wasn’t so emotionally exhausting. The atmosphere changes in a blink - way too fast for Jean to adjust and put on a brave face for Mondstadt. There have been times where she wishes to just disappear for a day and really experience life without interference. A life without the reputation of ‘Dandelion Knight’ breathing down her neck.

Today is one of those days.

In one day, she has: fought and defeated 2 ruin guards, taken care of 3 Hilicurl camps, prevented a Klee-tastrophe, and has worked the afternoon away to finish 1 stack of paperwork (with 2 to go). ‘ This is Hell.’ She thinks as she drags her feet to the Library. Everything hurts . Her back cracks whenever she sits or stands upright and her legs are so very very sore. She feels them cramping up and she is not excited to fully experience them tomorrow. Unfortunately for her, it’s evening and her eyes are struggling to stay open any longer. Jean is now preparing her mind to face the consequences instead.

The library reveals itself to be more cosy in the evening; the colours of sunset filtering through the slender windows and delicately blanketing the library in shades of pink, purple and gold. The darker, secluded corners of the Library illuminated by lit candles, causing the fragrance of Valberry to waft around. One deep breath, she intakes the smell of yellowing pages, melting wax and old wood. Already, she’s the most calm she’s been in days.

She turns left, to where Lisa always is resting, and there she is. The Electro mage concentrating on a book next to a flickering candle, tracing over lines in the paper with furrowed eyebrows. Her brunette curls cascading down as she leans over, hunched, over the piece of work. Languid green eyes now restless in searching the text for answers, wide-eyed and curious. Jean wishes to admire her forever, but the creaking floor on her next step awakens Lisa from her meditative state.  

“My my…” Lisa chuckles to herself, watching Jean  “Don’t you look haggard?” Klee must have sparked a catastrophe, probably creating a ‘Paperwork-Boom’ whilst she’s at it. Word spreads fast, even in a place specialising in silence, and she knows all about the mini experiment Klee was inspired to do.

“Yes, ‘my my’ indeed,” Jean frustratedly releases her blond locks from her ponytail, determining that she might as well by how wrecked she looked previously in her blade’s reflection. “I hope the day has gone better for you?”

Lisa hums contemplatively, patting the seat next to her as an invitation. Jean takes it. “You’d be surprised.”

“Really?” She says, astounded. Lisa nods cheekily and Jean allows herself to smile, crossing her arms and her legs, in her ‘give it a go’ pose. “Surprise me.”

“My darling Jean, do you think I just sleep in the library all day?” Lisa smirks and slides closer to the edge of her seat, nearer to the Dandelion Knight. “I have my own adventures too, I’ll let you know.” Jean turns a bit pink at her teasing tone, and unable to deny nor compliment Lisa’s work ethic. Satisfied with her lover’s embarrassment, Lisa leans back into her chair and starts recounting her strange, surprise encounter with Razor in hold of one of her overdue Library books.

Apparently, one book on elemental mastery has been overborrowed for 3 days and Lisa had finally come around to hunting for it. After all, quote, these books are important for beginner vision wielders since they teach how to focus your vision into your skill or burst (unquote). She had a twinkle in her eye, amused, as she continued to describe her confusion when she couldn’t trace the book anywhere in Mondstadt or even Springvale. “What do you think happened to it?”

“Oh, please don’t ask me to think.” Jean joked, eyes half-lidded and barely awake. Lisa couldn’t hold back, guffawing at her lover’s endearing (and idling) interest in her story. Noticing her drowsiness and growing number of yawns, Lisa pats her lap twice as one recognisable gesture. Jean coughs and shakes her head wordlessly. She always grumbles, red-faced, whenever Lisa suggests she rest her head on her lap whenever she’s tired. ‘ But…’ Jean quickly gets over her own embarrassment at a loss to her fatigue, and reluctantly shifts to lie her head on Lisa’s lap - her legs curled-up on the chair. It’s surprisingly comfortable, which is why it’s so shameful. Lisa will tease her until the end of time about how much she “likes her thighs”, twisting an innocent occasion into something vaguely sensual. Sometimes, Jean wonders if Lisa is actually wrong or just exposing her to the mortifying truth.

“Anyways, imagine my surprise when an albino wolf boy came up to me with the book in hand.” Jean’s eyes snap open. Her simple description conveys much to the troubled Jean, especially since the boy was the cause of all sorts of terrors needed to be put to rest in Springvale. “His name is Razor, as I recall, and he was quite timid in contrast to his upset appearance. He muttered a few words of apology and nearly ran away.”

“You say ‘nearly’, what made him stay?”

“He has an affinity for Electro, and -surprise surprise- I do too.” Jean sighs and closes her eyes, fighting feelings of irritation at her sarcasm. “ Why did you make him stay.”

Lisa hums and strokes Jean’s hair habitually, inadvertently pacifying her quietly. “I can’t phrase this well, but his Electro vision seemed too overwhelming to contain. Especially, when he is still in the beginner stages of wielding it.”

“It seemed like wasted potential, is what you’re saying.” Jean softly mumbles, her migraine soothed by Lisa’s actions. The witch nods, although her lover can’t see it.

“The air around him is constantly zapping with electricity. His vision is overspilling, and who knows what it’ll do once it’s host isn’t strong enough.” Her voice became a whisper at the end and her stroking pauses. Jean looks up to see Lisa frowning and eyes unfocused. She reaches up to squeeze Lisa’s hand, sending an assuring stare.

“So what did you do?”

“I took him in as an apprentice, or as his ‘Lupical’,” - She shrugs, forgoing going deeper into her worries- “and I spent the whole of midday teaching him how to control his vision!”

Lisa yawns and stretches her arms out, then smiles tiredly like she was just reminded of the aches in her joints. She loses her upright posture, slumping a bit and massaging her shoulders herself. Jean, who is on the verge of slumber, hums tepidly. Lisa peers downwards, eyebrow quirked and lips pressed together stifling laughter.

The stern, disciplined Dandelion Knight is currently taking a nap on her lap in the Library. Her mop of golden strands, mussed, and her face ceasing all wrinkles - pacified. ‘ Wait until Kaeya hears about this. ’ Jean shuffles a bit, scrunching her face as if she read Lisa’s thoughts asleep. ‘ Cute.’ She gently smooths out Jean’s hair, her hands then lingers on her lover’s warm cheeks. She looks much different, relaxed and unruly, a reminder that the Acting Grand Master is still a woman in her youth hiding under her disciplined demeanor. In all honesty, Lisa was not surprised. Being around her deceptive lover everyday has allowed her to be skilled at understanding her mood, even with the tiniest of twitches. Jean likes to hide her vulnerabilities, fearing that it would disappoint everyone since she’s not as perfect as she seems.

Lisa looks out the tall window, admiring the view of Teyvat enveloped by the dawn. As time has flown by, the sun has sunk significantly into the horizon and the sunlight has become scarce. The weak candles are now the light source in the lonesome library, flickering flames of marigold highlighting their faces. It’s warm, comfortable and temporary.

Her eyes glance over to her book, wondering if she should finish it, but when she glimpses the faint smile on Jean’s sleeping expression, she rejects it. ‘ This is enough.’ She lays back in her chair, shifting as sneakily as possible, gingerly cradling Jean’s head in her hands. ‘ Her by my side and peaceful.’  

She feels her own eyes begin to close, content to soothe her lover’s rest whilst embracing her own with open arms.

[writingamongtheroses-archive]

Summer Gala- Updated

Hello everyone! I updated the piece I wrote for last week’s @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt of Summer Storms, with more plot. Hope you enjoy!

The thunder of a summer storm was providing a backdrop to the music playing inside the National History Museum. The gala for the Hilton Wing of the museum was in full swing.

“Grandpa, not to question you, but why are we here?”

Connor Klein had entered, ranked by his granddaughters. Both Becca and Ella wore dresses- Becca in yellow and Ella in purple. Terra wore a tux with a green bowtie, matching her grandfather. “All of this is from the times Hilton lost to you.” Becca continued. She raised a brow as she took it all in. “And trying way too hard to make himself look better.”

“Becca, darling, as upstanding members of the city, it is our duty to support the cultural institutions of it,” Connor said, looking very proud of himself. “There’s also the fact that supporting the museums is one of the main moneymakers of Klein Enterprise. And…” He led them to a table.

It was overflowing with appetizers.

“Hilton does try way too hard, and this buffet is part of it. He paid for everything on this table.” He pulled out a bunch of plastic Ziploc bags, passing them to the girls. “So fill these up! And make sure to get some of that garlic bread, I promised Elliot some-”

“Mr. Klein!” The group froze. Connor turned, met with Hilton’s angry CEO, Antigona Delvina-Prifti. She marched up to him. “Please tell me that you didn’t just come here to raid the buffet.”

“Um…”

“If so, move. That’s the only reason I’m here.” She pulled out plastic bags from the pocket of her suit.

“I thought you had to babysit Hilton too.” Terra pointed out, emptying an entire tray of brownie bites into a bag.

“I lost him. And he’s being surprisingly quiet, so I can’t track him down unless he makes a scene.”

Connor hummed happily, watching as Antigona chatted with the triplets, all of them filling up their bags. He stuck a filled bag in his pocket and made the mistake of looking up. He gasped, just as a crack of lighting rumbled outside.

Standing at the top of some stairs, clearly having walked in through the side door they led to, was a woman. Her blonde curls were pulled back, revealing a beautiful face. She wore a gold dress with matching gold jewelry, making her stand out. They locked eyes. He whirled away, glaring very hard at the table. “Don’t look behind us.”

The triplets all looked back. Connor groaned. 

“Who is that?” Becca asked

“A cursed villain?” Ella asked.

“A villainous curse?” Terra asked.

“A...man, I hate going last!”

“Worse.” he groaned. “It’s my ex.”

Antigona raised a brow as she considered the woman. “I don’t think she’s on the guest list. If you’ll excuse me…” Nobody noticed her walking away, too focused on the word ex.

“Your ex?!” Becca managed to screech quietly. “As in girlfriend ex?”

“Ex-girlfriend, ex-wife, ex-partner, ex-rival…” Connor listed each one on his fingers. “She’s been everything to me. Which means she’s my ex-everything. She’s also your grandmother.” The triplets blinked as the woman approached. “Watch your valuables.”

The blonde woman laughed. “Oh, Connor! I wouldn’t steal from children! Unless they had something I wanted or I was bored or...you know!” The woman grinned brightly at him.

Connor grinned back. “Giselle Archer. The Black Widow of Dublin and the Huntress of the Klondike. I thought I heard cloven hooves.”

Giselle laughed again at his comment. “Well, what you thought were the clatter of my cloven hooves was probably your brittle bones settling, Connor Moneybags, you old gilded geezer!” The last part came out harshly, a near snarl painting her face.

Terra leaned towards her sisters, never taking her eyes off her grandparents. “I feel both disturbed and intrigued. Oh, found Hilton!”

The two were pushed aside by a fat blonde man, grinning at Connor. “Oh, hello Connor! This is my date, Giselle.”

“I’m not your date.”

“What’s that? Your ex? Oh, how awkward this must be for you. You must be so jealous, you third wheel-” 

Thunder cut him off, as well as the next song starting up. Giselle held out her hand, offering Connor a dance. He took it, passing his cane to Ella. The group watched as the two headed for the dance floor, taking their positions. The song hit the right note, and they began to waltz.

“It’s been a long time, Connor.”

“And yet, it still feels too soon.”

She laughed into his shoulder. “I guess that’s why your waltz feels so rusty.” Giselle gasped when Connor spun her, clearly to make a point about him being ‘rusty’. She grinned at the reminder. “Not bad. But let me lead.”

She grabbed him and spun him, catching him. He grunted when something in his back popped. Defiantly, he stuck his tongue out at her before managing to straighten. “Anyway, you look good. Younger?”

“I made a deal with a water nymph in Rome. You?”

“Oh, I pissed off a fae queen and got stuck in her timeless dimension.”

“Oh, really?” Giselle said brightly. “Which one?”

“The queen of Avalon, I managed to escape when the courts ended up going to war,” Connor said with a shrug. “I had a feeling that involved you…?”

“Of course! I caused that war! I must’ve just missed you!”

The two laughed, settling after a minute. “Now,” he said, allowing his tone to grow cold. “Let’s get down to business. Why are you really here?”

She sighed. “Why do you always think I’m up to something?”

“Because the triplets can’t be left alone for more than five minutes without something blowing up. They get that from you, you flaming wreck.”

Giselle chuckled. “Well, we can’t all be sparks like you, Connor-”

Hilton shoved them apart, grinning brightly. “Ladies and gentlemen and hated rivals, I am proud to present a new exhibit for our lovely museum. It was dug up by my oil crew in the Yukon. I am proud to present…” He clapped his hands. Behind him, the large thing covered by a sheet was unveiled. “The Yukon Mammoth!”

Connor gasped. “I know that beast anywhere.” He glanced at Giselle. She grinned back at him. She winked…

And the lights went out. Loud gasps rang out as people started to panic. A minute later, the lights were back on.

To reveal the mammoth skull was missing.

As people whispered, Connor looked around. His ex-wife was gone as well.

-_-

The limo screeched down the road.

“Step on it, Kalani!” Connor ordered. “I need to get back to the manor! That’s where she’ll go next!” A throat cleared. The triplets were sitting across from him, glaring. “What?”

“So, quick question.” Becca said, straightening her skirt. “When were either you or Uncle Abott gonna, oh, I don’t know...tell us our grandmother was alive!”

Connor raised a brow. “Theories?”

“Fling with a secretary.” Becca said.

“Fling with a princess.” Ella said.

Terra shrugged. “Fairy?”

“Did your uncle tell you that last one? That was his.” Without waiting for a response, Connor sighed. “I never told you girls about Giselle because, well...she wasn’t important.” All three opened their mouths. “Let me talk. We divorced five months after getting married and just after your uncle and ma were born. Giselle isn’t interested in children.”

“Oh.”

He smiled reassuringly. “Back when I was starting out my fortune, I went up to the Yukon during the Gold Rush- no, Becca, you can’t ask how old I am. Anyway, I made the mistake of allowing your grandmother to join me.” He sighed. “Together, we decided to try and find the Golden Falls.”

Becca raised her hand. “The...what now?”

“The Golden Falls are said to be a series of caves under the Klondike.” Connor said, his smile turning dreamy. “Rivers of molten gold flow through it all in a series of rivers and waterfalls.” He frowned. “But Giselle wanted it all for herself. So, believing I was asleep, that conniving minx tried to steal the map I had managed to create.”

“Did you take it back?” Ella asked.

“I was in the process of doing so!” Connor said, making a swiping motion. “But during our struggle, the map tore in half. Before I could tackle her and get her half, the Yukon Mammoth came after us!” He sighed. “Giselle lost her half into his mouth and we barely managed to escape.” He shrugged. “Presuming it lost, we gave up.”

Ella wailed.

“I know sweetheart. But the half of the map must’ve survived-!” The car screeched to a stop. “What’s wrong? We can’t have-” Connor asked, poking his head out the window. “Oh.”

The girls poked their head out.

Blocking the gate was the mammoth skull.

Taglist (People who enjoyed the first): @vexed-hexed-perplexed, @inexorableblob, @peggydreadful, @anika-writes, @soilrockslove, and @shortlittlestorythings.

@fields-of-ink, @ink-fireplace-coffee, @shattered-starrs, @meteor-writes

[aesthyuckic]

AVENOIR | l.dh - OCTO

Genre: High School AU (at beginning) ; Tarot Reader!Witch!Hyuck

Word Count: 3.7k

Warnings: (will bold if in use) slow but with a purpose, belief contradictions, mentions of r*pe, blood, swearing, violence, mentions of abuse

Pairings: Lee Donghyuck (Haechan) x Reader (F)

THE STAR - hope, faith, rejuvenation

It had been a few weeks since they had met Johnny and joined his circus. To them, it felt odd and almost silly to be considered part of the circus... It never changed the fact, though. They hadn’t really met anyone there yet, at least not anyone to be considered more than a acquaintance maybe. Although, they did met a boy named Jisung, who was one of minor acrobatics, around Cosimia’s age.

They never saw him much, considering he worked in the big tent while they had a smaller tent of their own in the carnival part. They still lived with Ten and Sicheng, so immediately after they were done working they would go back to the trailer for some peace for themselves. It made it so they never really had time to hang out with the other kids their age or just the others there.

They were given a day off when they stopped in Texas, near the coast. Donghyuck was eager about the small break as he was exhausted from having to pick up and go every other day. It was all too much work for him on top of the long, hot days they had to go through. Cosimia remained on the other side of spectrum, excited about traveling and the work she was given. He guessed seeing the sparkle in her eyes whenever she looked out the window of the trailer as it moved down the road kept him going through it all.

They sat on the floor of the living room in the trailer. Sicheng and Ten were eating outside along with everyone else since meals were covered by Johnny at one of the tents. The green of money filed in neat piles in between the two as Cosimia counted the last of it. He stared at it, zoning out until the girl across from him picked it all up and put them together.

“We have around two thousand dollars,” She said, counting the bills again. “But I doubt we’ll spend it all today...”

“How are we even going to spend it?” Donghyuck asked. “We’re in the middle of nowhere and we don’t have phones to shop on.”

“Come on.” She rolled her eyes while getting up from the floor while she took all the money with her as well.

He didn’t really have a say in the matter and was quick to follow after her since half the money was his. She was fast, didn’t let him catch up for a second either as she walked all the way to the tent that had smoke coming out of it. The sound of people talking and coals crackling got louder.

He realized he had stopped for a moment right outside of the dirty white and red striped tent. He saw Cosimia round the corner, in enough time, to which he ran after her, almost loosing her in the crowd of their co-workers. She was walking toward the table Sicheng and Ten sat at. He stood back once he saw the dark haired male stand up and leave, not even bothering to look up from the ground. He still was not on very good terms with Ten, but then again, no one really ever was other than maybe Sicheng.

The other was left with a bunch of other people he seemed to be friends with. The girl continued to walk over to him, unaware she was even there until her hand rested on her shoulder and she bent down.

“Can we borrow the truck?” She whispered in his ear.

She had straighten her posture, him turning to looking up at her while putting his fork down. He moved around in his seat to go digging through his pocket. The familiar sound of keys jiggling rang before he gave them to her.

“Don’t crash it and never tell Ten I let you use our truck.” He demanded.

“Thank you!” She chimed before she walked away.

She had spotted Donghyuck when she turned around. He only looked at her with a questioning expression as he hadn’t seen the keys or anything. She grinned once she walked up to him and place the keys on his chest that then fell into his hands. He was shocked by it and stared at the set in his hands. She continued to walk, presumably toward Sicheng’s truck.

“Are you coming or what?” She chuckled as she turned around and walk backwards.

A slight smile came to his lips at her the sight of her chuckle. He run to catch up with her once again that day. They approached the rusty, blue, beat up truck together and got in. He, of course, drove but it took some time considering it was a stick shift and its age but it still started up.

They had smiled at each other once the engine started before he took off, rather quickly which left a cloud of dust behind them in the dirt.

Throughout the drive he noticed him occasionally looking over at her, just to check in. She remain quiet as she looked out the window, watching as nothing went by. For some reason, he found a little joy within just that. He wished the radio wasn’t busted because maybe then it would’ve made things more fun. The drive wasn’t long, the stores began to appear the further they drive down the road and they came to stop in front of a retro looking thrift shop.

She seemed excited as she jumped out of the truck, leaving Donghyuck to run after her get again. When they got inside, he was saw the clothing racks were full of color, parts of the store were overcrowded with furniture giving it an oddly comfortable feel. There was a section he was drawn to, it was narrow but full of old board games, movies and recorders.

He could see Cosimia dashing around the store, taking things off the racks, impulsively, and carrying them. He could see her fine from the the corner of his as he mostly focused on the records around him. It’s not like he was going to buy any of them as much as he wished, he had no record player but man, did Ten’s music annoy him so much at this point... He sighed to himself as his fingers lingered on the old things.

He had just then noticed his friend was no where in sight. He started to feel panic arise in his chest, not being able to see her anywhere. He went looking everywhere like a lost puppy until he stumbled across a section of the store that had curtains hung up to make a sort of dressing room. It had a three way mirror in the corner that seem to sit in the sun just right. He realized the mountain of cloths that laid on the velvet banquette settee center. They were men’s clothes, in his size and everything...

He was startled when the bright yellow curtains opened suddenly to reveal the girl he’d been looking for. She didn’t pay a mind to him as she walked over to the three way mirror to stand in the middle. She wore a long, royal purple skirt with a gold and yellow pattern of a planchette from a ouija. She smoothed it out while trying to fix the way her white t-shirt tucked into it. To be honest, it seemed like her and it seemed she thought so too by the way she smiled herself in the mirror and twirled, playfully. It made him smile to watch her like that, he’d never seen her act that way. The way the sun lit up the fabric as she twirled was quite beautiful as well, in his thought process. With the skirt glowing around her, he saw she wore black boots, a little beat up but it worked for her. He caught himself staring too much, probably looking like an idiot from how afar he admired her from.

Bags filled up the small backseat of the truck by the time they were done in the thrift store. The vechile was welcomely warm and stuffy when the both of them had finally got in.

“Is there anything else we should get before we get back or are we good?” He sighed as his hands rested on the stirring wheel.

She looked at her hair. The cherry red that was once there was now gone and replaced with a strawberry blonde color. One of which he knew she wasn’t too fond of, on herself anyway.

“We should go get hair dye,” She answered. “You look like you could need some too.”

She ruffled his hair a bit as she spoke. She didn’t seem to notice how shallow her breath got at the smallest of touching she’d done as she buckled her seatbelt. It took him a second to come down and do the same before he drove to the nearest drug store they could find.

It didn’t take long for her to pick a box for herself as they stood in the aisle next to each other. His hair was fading to a chalky, pastel orange. It reminded him of pixie stick dust but fried and crunchy. How he came to end up with orange hair? His friend, Yangyang, decided to bleach and dye his hair an obnoxious color as a prank when he blackout drunk freshman year. It was surprisingly how the color held for so long, his roots barely showing.

“What about you?” Cosimia asked. “What color do you want?”

“I don’t know,” He shrugged. “Don’t really care that much either. The whole dyed hair was a prank and I never got around to dying it black again after it happened...”

“While I do think black would look good on you, I think lighter colors suit you better.” She sighed.

She remained silent as she looked at him for a minute while she clearly contemplated. She reached out and came to hold his chin, moving it around as she pleased to get a different angle. His breath easily hitched in his throat at her gentle action. She had never been one for physical attributes and to know she was doing the littlest things meant so much to him. She was getting more comfortable with him and he loved that fact. She let him go as gently as she had held him. She hummed a bit as she bent down to the colored dyes once again. She grabbed a box of silver hair dye with ease before she handed it to him.

“It will compliment your skin tone,” She have a slight smile. “Make it look more like gold than it already does.”

She turned a way from him with a smile, walking down the aisle, not even daring to look back at him which he was somewhat thankful about. He stood there, in the same place, too lost in himself as he could feel the skipped beats of his heart. He clutched the box of dye in his hand as he could feel the evident, hot blush come to his cheeks before it heated up his whole body. It was the littlest of things.

He didn’t understand it, the feelings that had never been felt before. Didn’t understand what intrigued him about her so much that he’d fake his death just go with her, didn’t understand the attraction to her like magnets or why he liked and hated the feeling as well.

The drive back remained a blur to him. He was too focused on her gestures throughout the day which meant absolutely nothing, to her at least. It was that odd blur where one remembers only how the felt and can piece small things together, but nothing else. He remembers the warm feeling he felt throughout his body, much like a fever as his grip on the steering wheel was hard enough to turn his hands white, but that was it.

When they had gotten back, the grounds were bare, few people were out running around in the dusty area. They went back to the trailer, even called out for Ten and Sicheng as they came back in. The two didn’t seem to be there when they came in which left them wondering where they could’ve gone since they had taken their truck. It didn’t last long though.

Cosimia threw the bags on the couch and grabbed the box of hair dye. She quickly grabbed Donghyuck’s hand before she ran to the bathroom. She even shut the door behind them, not taking into consideration how small it was. There wasn’t enough room for two people, leaving him leaned up against the wall. It was happening again, the hot feeling through his body he hated and loved.

“There’s... not a lot of room in here...” He practically gulped.

“Well, I’m gonna help you and you’re gonna help me,” She smiled with a glint in her eye. “We’ll make it work.”

He banged his head on the wall, on accident of course, after she had gotten closer to him in that moment. How close their faces were left him nervous. She giggled at him as he just held back a groan.

“Now, I definitely have to help you...” She chuckled.

He went first. She stripped his hair of the remaining pastel orange and washed it out. She was gentle, especially around where he has injured him. It felt nice to have someone run their hand through his hair, even if it was wet and his neck was straining. The moment felt nice as well in an unexplainable way.

As he wait for his hair to dry to apply the silver, he help Cosimia dye her own hair. He didn’t know exactly what he was doing but it gave for a few good laughs as the sink, floor and even their skin was stained a red-ish purple. Then it was his turn to have his put in which thankfully didn’t come out as messy since the girl knew what she was doing. The stains left by him where already going to anger Ten a lot, which enough.

He wrapped a towel around his head as she turned to wash her hands, the both of them smiling to each other without the knowledge. Before she could turn on the faucet, the very clear sound of the trailer opening was heard. They both looked at each with panic in their eyes. The girl quickly reached over the locked the door, leaving silver to stain the gold door knob. Ten was most definitely going to kill them for ruining the bathroom and probably the white towels the used impulsively.

The smell of chemicals stunk up the small space, lightly suffocating them. There was no doubt the smell hadn’t lingered out from the crack under the door and occupied the hall. A shadow appeared at the bottom of the doorway which made them jump a bit. A polite knock on the door.

“Haechan? Cosimia?” Johnny called from outside.

They both relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. Cosimia got of the sink to unlock the door and swing it open which startled the man.

“Have a makeover?” The dark haired man chuckled.

“You scared the shit out of us, we thought you were Sicheng and Ten.” She snapped.

“Hm, probably shouldn’t snap at me like that. I am your boss and I came with something you ought to be thankful for.” He said while remaining calm but nevertheless, delivering what he said with a certain tone that was underlined vindictive. “I was going to say I finally found you two your own trailer. A nice one too, definitely bigger than this one. Though, if you’re going to act like that, maybe I should just feed you to Ten.”

“Thank you, Johnny. We’re very thankful but maybe so if you had said it was you when you entered. You also could’ve been an axe murderer for all we knew.”

He looked at her with an eyebrow raised. He practically had a foot on her and he was also more powerful than her in the terms of business. She didn’t stand down for a second as she glared at the elder waiting for him to utter anything in reason.

“Guess you’re not wrong,” He huffed. “The keys are on the counter and you can tell which on it is, it’s the nice one as I said. Probably best you get out of here before Ten shows up too.”

He walked away, leaving Cosimia to shut the door that creaked with the movement. She leaned her back against the door as she looked at the boy while taking a breath. In that moment, Donghyuck realized she was strong. He should’ve been able to noticed that sooner. He liked that, something about the trait made his heart flutter in a, yet again, unexplainable way.

“We should probably wash out the dye and get going.” She said, still leaned up against the door.

“Yeah,” He nodded, still sat on the toilet as he was knock out of his thoughts.

They rushed to wash the leftover coloring out of their hair. The water coming out purple and gray. The towels on the floor were scattered. His towel wasn’t that bad but hers, it resembled red wine, especially after the quick dry job that left it with even more stands. Her hair came out looking like a night purple which brung out there paleness in her skin. Oddly enough, the first person it reminded him of was Raven from the Teen Titans. He thought the character fit her rather well.

They gather the towels and cleaned up the floor and sink as best they could before putting them in the small laundry hamper in the closet in the hall. After that, they turned on the fan in the bathroom to get rid of the obnoxious smell that filled the place. Cosimia grabbed the keys off the counter before she took some of the bags off the couch. Donghyuck close behind her, grabbed the rest of their belongings as she hurried out the door.

It really was easy to find their trailer. It towered a little over the rest, though around the same size in length. It also looked quite a bit nicer than the others around them, a lot newer too. They didn’t understand why Johnny would’ve gotten them one so nice. They were kids and they did think they were getting a cheap one by what he said to them weeks ago. Still, they definitely weren’t complaining, just curious.

They settled in quickly, not that there was much to settle into. There wasn’t any furniture, food in the pantry or fridge with left it up for them to fill it up with what they wanted. There was microwave and coffee maker, though. There was a dusty sheet that covered the bed in back. The two pillows were fine but there was no blanket.

He walked out from the back to see Cosimia sitting on the counter, her back facing him. The sunlight barely hit her from where it slipped in through the blinds. It was the first time he’d seen her purple hair turn into a passionate red due to the light. It reminds of sparks and fire. He didn’t even think about how long he’d been staring from afar.

“What’s up?” She asked, turned around now after she realized the boy behind her who stared in complete silence.

“I’m just kinda tired...” He mumbled. “That’s all.”

It wasn’t completely a lie...

“Go take a nap then,” She chuckled. “We’ve got the rest of the day off and nothing to do with it.”

“What about you?” He questioned.

“Not to be of your concern,” She sighed. “I’ll figure out what to do with myself.”

He shrugged to himself. It wasn’t a half bad idea especially since he didn’t recall the last time he slept... He walked into the back and fell face first into the bed. The pillows were down and he could tell by the way the feathers poked out at his face and the way his head sunk into the pillow. He was still able to fall asleep in seconds of hitting them, though.

Donghyuck woke up with his head pounding and no concept of time. The banging coming from the kitchen is what really woke him up. At first, his sleepily self thought nothing of it until he remembered Cosimia. His mind immediately went to worst case scenario: Ten came to strangle them so he rushed out of bed. Though, he care out to see her just sitting in a stool, in front of her on the counter was her amethyst crystal only this time practically split into two. He also saw a hammer, chisel, some cord and small pieces of metal.

“What the hell?” He muttered as he rubbed his head to sooth the pounding.

“Sorry for waking you up.” She said rather sheepishly. “I was making something for you.”

“What?” He asked, forgetting about his headache.

It seemed like she was aware of what he had been doing though. She pulled out a bottle from her bag and opened it for a couple pills. She handed them to him along with a water bottle. She didn’t have to say anything but encouraged him to take him which he did without a word of it.

“I made you something.” She repeated.

She grabbed something he didn’t get to see before she hid it in her hand. She hopped off the stool before she made him turn around. He felt something hit his chest and could hear her tying of cord behind him too. He looked down and saw a piece of amethyst dangle in the middle of his chest. He turned back around, confused as he held the small piece in his hand.

“Do you remember what amethyst symbolizes?” She asked.

“Yeah...” He hummed, not able to really forget even the smallest details of that night.

“Good,” She smiled. “It’s so you can be protected from evil, even when I’m not around to protect you from it.”

He wanted to ask, what about her? What would protect her from evil? Who would protect her from evil? Why was it her job to protect him from it? But he knew what she would say, that’s not of his concern. She was like that. To be frank, he liked the idea of someone wanting to protect them but he also wanted to be one to protect them as well.

[psychosistr]

Fearsome Facets- Preview

It’s been a while since I posted anything about this story, and I don’t normally like doing previews (my anxiety screams at me if I post things that aren’t finished and haven’t been reviewed at least 5 or 6 times >~<”), but, in honor of my good friend @abbythegamergirl ‘s birthday, I am obliging her birthday request to me and giving you guys a brief preview of the first chapter. Hope you like it! ^.^

Far away, in a solar system light years away from Earth, sits a broken planet filled with a multitude of beings of different shapes, sizes, colors, and functions. One thing they all share though, is quickly obvious:

Gems. Each creature on the planet, no matter its appearance, has a gemstone somewhere on its body.

Amongst the crowds of gems going to different locations or performing different jobs, a pair of gems walk calmly through the crowds towards a majestic blue palace. Well, one of them walks calmly- the other appears to be a bundle of nerves and emotions.

“Do you think she’s mad at us?” The nervous one asks. “I-I mean, we did a good job on that last planet, right? Camille even said we finished ahead of schedule!”

The more anxious of the duo has an interesting appearance compared to the other gems around him. His body is green and appears to be a cross between a plant and a duck- his head even has a petal-rich purple flower instead of hair like other gems around him and his arms are two vines with large leaves at the end to serve as his hands. The stone on his face is a round-cut green sapphire that matches the hue of his body and would easily blend in if not for the way it caught the light as he moved. He has one visible and vibrant blue eye that darts about anxiously as he speaks, the other hidden by a long strand of his purple petal-hair that hangs down over half of his face. The oddly long “hair” actually goes surprisingly well with his outfit: His outfit is a vibrant green dress that looks like it is made of various plants. The main body of the dress looks similar to a type of dark green foxglove flower with the way it billows outward at the bottom to cover his feet, while the puffy-sleeved over-coat on his shoulders that hangs down past his hips with an opening down the middle appears to be made of dark green moss. Accenting the dress nicely is a bouquet of light green-tinted baby’s breath creating the illusion of a frilled collar around his neck, a variety of succulents sprouting up over the middle of the dress to give the colors more depth, and, surprisingly, a cluster of vibrant blue gentians growing closely together over his chest to form a blue diamond shape that angles itself perfectly so that it lines up with the opening of his mossy overcoat.

“Are you asking yourself too many questions? Stressing yourself out for no good reason?” His companion asks with the tone of an experienced salesman about to pitch a product or service to a customer, but with a quiet chuckle to his voice that shows he’s just joking at his friend’s expense. “Then you may be experiencing signs of ‘overthinking your situation and freaking out over nothing’! But, don’t worry, there’s a simple but effective way to alleviate your paranoia and put your mind at ease: Try gem-tested, and gem-approved ‘calming down’, available for a limited time only!”

The calmer of the two gems also has an interesting appearance compared to those around him- even taking his companion into account. For starters, his entire body appears to be made of water and has more of a tall, buff canine look to it than that of a smaller duck like the sapphire. His own gem is also visible further down on his body compared to the other, a rather large royal-blue colored tear-drop shaped lapis lazuli gemstone floating in the water of his right hand. Aside from the more obvious physical differences between the two with their base-species and physical make-up, another glaring difference lies in the lapis lazuli’s outfit and how he carries himself: While the sapphire’s dress is decorative and delicate in nature, the blue gem’s outfit is far more stream-lined and adds to the imposing figure he cuts (well, aside from when he smiles at the sapphire, that is). His clothes consist mainly of a long royal blue colored robe similar to a yukata with midnight blue trim and a subtle rippling wave-pattern in sapphire blue throughout the garment that culminates around a shining blue diamond-shaped insignia on his chest that matches his partner’s, the outfit tied shut with a dark oxford blue sash at his waist. The whole outfit appears to be made of the same water as his body, constantly moving and rippling at the same rate as the rest of his form with the bottom of the robe just being part of the puddle that makes up his feet.

“Oh, ha-ha, very funny.” The sapphire laughs sarcastically while shoving the lapis lazuli’s shoulder, frowning when his leafy hand simply goes through the water before pulling it back out. “Not all of us can be as ‘cool’ as you, you know.”

The lapis lazuli grins and bends his body around so that his upper half is fully facing his friend from the front while his lower half continues walking beside him. “Then maybe you just need to be more flexible.” They share a good-hearted chuckle at the jokes after making sure no one else is within earshot. “Besides,” The liquid gem continues once their laughter subsides. “If we were in trouble, I don’t think HE would be here.”

“Huh?” Looking up to follow his companion’s line of sight, the sapphire lets out a relieved sigh. “Oh..yeah, that’s a good point.”

Sitting on the stairs at the entrance of the palace with a bored expression on his face while idly tinkering with a small light-bulb shaped yellow device is another gem- this one a citrus-colored peridot with a more rodent like appearance and beady black eyes. His triangular-cut gemstone catches the light as he tilts his head to inspect his invention, the corner of his mouth nearly touching the stone on his cheek as he gives it a pleased grin. Unlike the other two gems with their more regal appearance and cool colors, his clothing is brighter and more practical: His outfit is a sleeveless royal-yellow jumpsuit offset with a few decorative lines in goldenrod, ecru, and mellow yellow that look like circuit-lines. The sharp turns and stretches of the lines culminate in the center of his chest to form a multi-colored border around a bright, glittering-gold colored diamond. The few accessories he has are less colorful, consisting of a cyber-yellow belt shaped like an electrical cord, a Dijon colored scarf speckled with a few goldenrod colored spots, and, oddly enough, an ochre colored hat with two gold colored prongs coming out of the top that makes it resemble an electrical plug.

It takes a while for the peridot to notice the arrival of the other two gems, as he’s too preoccupied with his small device. It isn’t until the lapis lazuli poignantly clears his throat that he even bothers to look up and notice the other two, squinting briefly as he looks at them. “Oh, hey…Bushroot, hey Liquidator.” The pause in his speech was apparently him trying to verify who he was actually looking at.

Liquidator grins at the yellow gem. “And hello to you too, Megavolt. So, tell us, are you here for another joint-expedition? Operators are standing by!”

“I guess so.” Megavolt shrugs as he stands up, sticking his tools and the device in a pocket on his jumpsuit for the time being. “That zultanite said something, but I don’t really remember what it was.”

“Camille.” Liquidator reminds him while leading the other two into the palace. “Sources say she would know better than to leave any important messages with you, so let’s go get the product information in-person.”

“I hope they’re not sending us anywhere dangerous again.” Bushroot huffs and folds his vine-like arms. “That last planet was supposed to be easy, but every other creature tried to take a bite out of me!”

“They just knew quality when they saw it.” Liquidator says teasingly with a smirk cast back in the sapphire’s direction. “It must be hard being in such high-demand all the time.”

Bushroot rolls his eyes with a sarcastic tone to his voice. “I could live without the inflated consumer-demand, thanks.”

“But you’re ssssso popular around here.” A voice with a distinctive hiss to it speaks from somewhere high above the trio. A pair of yellow eyes soon appear out of nowhere on one of the nearby pillars. The rest of the body soon follows, revealing a female duck with a long neck and, surprisingly, a white reptilian tail with a marquise-cut color-changing zultanite right in the middle of the extra appendage. Her wild and messy dark blue hair is pulled back into a barely kept together ponytail, making the elegant long-sleeved Egyptian-blue ball gown with its glittering white swirls that frame a blue diamond shape in the center seem out of place with the general energy she gives off. “You sssshould be honored to get sssssso many misssssionsss.” The zultanite teases while climbing down the pillar like an actual lizard, jumping down to the floor with ease once she’s close enough.

“Honored? Sure, Camille. Happy to get chased around by gigantic plant-eating organic monsters half the size of the diamonds? Not so much.” Bushroot shudders at the memory of their recent mission.

“Well then, you’re in luck.” Camille chuckles at the sapphire’s obvious discomfort before turning towards a huge double-doored entrance to another room. “Thissss next one isssss much sssafer……probably.”

At a snap of the zultanite’s fingers, the intricately detailed doors covered in blue diamond-shaped stones open to reveal a grand throne room. At the end of a long blue carpet stretching from the doorway to the elaborate blue marble throne on the opposite end of the room, there is a large figure more than five or six times the size of the gems currently entering the room. The much larger gem is clothed in a long black hooded gown with navy blue lace trim along the sleeves, hood, and the long trail of the dress, making it look lovely but obscuring all but the gem’s blue duck-like beak from view while her head is tilted downward.

Once all four gems have crossed the distance to the throne, they cross their arms in front of their chests with their hands folded back so that their fingertips touch in a way that frames the diamond insignias on their outfits.

“My diamond.” The gems with the blue diamond insignia say in unison.

“Blue Diamond.” The single yellow gem says at the same time.

Blue Diamond lifts her head to regard the four gems properly, blue eyes lined with dark black mascara and equally dark eyeshadow peering at them from within the darkness of the hood around her face. “Oh, you’re here…thank you for arriving so quickly, I know you two just returned from your last assignment and it was a bit more trouble than we anticipated.”

“Not to worry, my diamond.” Liquidator replies with a bow of his head. “Liquidator-brand service is guaranteed arrival in thirty minutes or less, no questions asked!”

“Your promptness is always appreciated, Liquidator.” Blue Diamond’s previously calm voice takes on a slightly more serious tone as she speaks. “You three are the most efficient elites between myself and Yellow Diamond, and you work quite well together. It may be difficult, but I have a mission that I believe the three of you would be perfect for.”

At the larger gem’s words, Bushroot’s eye widens slightly. Images of a green and blue planet flash in his mind, along with a pink gemstone and scarred battlefield. “I foresee…a planet…a place with a pink gem…and..a battlefield…? No…an abandoned battlefield…a place where a lot of gems lost their lives…a place…a place we know…” The words flow from his mouth absentmindedly, as if he is unable to stop himself from voicing what his mind shows him.

“You’re foreseeing is correct as usual, Bushroot.” Blue Diamond’s beak turns down in a heavy frown. “It has been many years since the three of you last set foot on that planet…but there were certain treasures and a very valuable ship left behind in that chaos when…when Pink…” The large gem’s voice breaks off into a choked sob and she covers her face with one hand as large tears fall from her eyes.

“!!” Before the other gems have time to brace themselves, a wave of blue energy leaves Blue Diamond’s body and tints the entire throne room blue. Instantly, each of the smaller gems end up crying as well, trying to stay standing despite the heavy feeling of depression weighing down on them, with only Liquidator succeeding in his attempts.

“My…My diamond..” The lapis lazuli manages to get the larger gem’s attention, though just barely before a wave of tears leave his dark eyes.

“……” Blue Diamond takes a deep breath and calms herself, the blue energy receding and relieving the others of the depressing feeling so that they can stand properly once more. “My apologies.” She takes another deep breath, picking up where she left off. “There were many things left behind after the war ended. I need you three to recover what treasures and weapons you can from that place. From the Earth.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notes: And there you have it, the first scene of the first chapter. I know it’s not much, only about 2200 words, but that part was the easiest to show without breaking off in the middle of a scene ^^” Hope you guys like what I have so far and, I promise, I do have the first chapter in production among everything else that I’m working on ^^”

[crqstalite]

SHADOW OF THE SITH, Ch. 8

Fair warning, this chapter is primarily exposition because I haven't had many Naji focused chapters. She's not a side character, and deserves some character building just as much as Tri'ama does. It doesn't pertain too much to the story in the end, but some cute Felix/Naji moments in there too.

-

NAJI._YAVIN_IV.

The coalition's atmosphere is strained midst the rains of Yavin. Heavily strained. Whether it's because Darth Marr and Satele have two opposing views on how to best deal with Revan that they hide under diplomatic insults, the little glances here and there that Theron and the Wrath keep sharing but then denying one another, Darth Nox's unneeded strategic thoughts that would surely get them all killed and Whyatt's need to be anywhere but here, Naji is very sure that the coalition is not getting off on the right foot.

Personally, she thinks Yavin should've only consisted of the four that had met on Manaan. At least it would've been a great deal calmer, and figures more would've gotten done by now. She appreciated Whyatt's hand in the war against the Revanites, the Defender of Tython was calmer and more composed than that of Nox, but he was also young, barely 22. He'd just dealt with the Emperor's Voice alongside the Hero of Tython, Tonee Atiya, and had been unceremoniously swept up into the Revanite business nearly immediately afterwards when Tonee had disappeared without a trace. The poor boy was still reeling from the loss of his Master. He had better relations with Satele than most of them did (bitterly she remembers Theron is her son, but Whyatt had known her a great deal longer than the SIS agent had), and she would pay good money to see them fighting together. They had similar strategic ideas and talked throughout the entire meeting as if they were one and the same (meekly Naji added her own from their excursion on Rishi), though curiously Theron stayed quiet on their side of the meeting except for small additions here and there.

Nox and Marr, stars they were very similar. Where the woman had met the Sith lord, she isn't sure and is afraid to ask of how they'd become aligned on this mission. Darth Nox (or as they were introduced, Mierrio Revel-Kallig) is extremely pale, her narrow eyes a shade of yellow she had yet to see from even the Wrath, and the cold, calculating way she glances at Naji gives her the chills. Dark hair accentuated with gold hair clips frame her high cheekbones, and she wears black robes. A tight-black flight suit with a gold belt and black robe over her arms, the woman carries a lavender doublesaber at her hip, purple lightning crackling at her fingertips. Nox is high class, she won't deny her that.

At least Lana seemed sure-footed here, adding in where she could. Lana was in her element among the other Sith, sending their forces wherever need be to accomplish the mission at hand. The three worked like a well-oiled machine until they clashed with the Republic. Then, it was all out war at the table, insults being thrown, basically fighting but the kind you did with eloquent words instead of yelling.

Tri'ama, though, was very clearly conflicted with Theron (she also bickers with Nox, and it's not friendly from what she's overheard). It was written all over her presence, though most of it was covered by a black hood and her respirator. The woman was constantly shifting, pacing around her side of the table as she silently observed. Every once in a while she lifts her head to where Theron was working, datapad in hand. Then, glance back down at the table as if she wasn't thinking about him. Theron would then do the same, fingers stilling on the datapad as he wistfully (that's too pretty a word for what's going on here, but it would have to do for the time being) looks at her when she isn't looking at him. Naji has a lot of questions, such as what had happened in between Rishi and now to have caused such behavior. Though she's sure they didn't so much as suspect, she had been privy to emotions that made her shiver to her core. The Consular wasn't as blind as the Wrath made her out to be. No one just blindly rushed into enemy lines to rescue someone they didn't care about personally. No one stuck around a planet they admitted to despising for someone they hated. There's longing written all over her force signature, even if she runs into a wall trying to delve deeper. Theron's more careful with his thoughts, and she isn't so much as able to to even find a single emotion more than annoyance.

Maybe she's just reading the room wrong. Maybe they were trying to avoid suspicion by Satele or something or the other, putting up a front. It wasn't her business to be prying into their...relationship. Whatever Theron and Tri'ama wanted to get up to was all on them. She had bigger concerns. She wouldn't go as far as to say she wasn't even a tad bit concerned about the two though, and her conversation with Theron over her holocom while she and Tri'ama were putting up sensors confirmed that something was amiss. With Tri'ama or with Lana, she didn't ask. The fact he'd wanted her to slice into the sensor and spy on the Empire was unsettling, if she's being honest. It didn't mean she didn't assist him though, but she regrets it now. Hopefully none of their extremely important secrets became privy to the Republic.

This isn't your mystery to solve (as frustrating as it is), she reminds herself while watching the Wrath hack at a Yavin beast from afar with increasing fury as it refuses to bow down to her or even attempt to run, zoning out as Theron asks her a question she doesn't catch, They're both adults, and you barely know them as it is.

"What're you thinking about?" Felix asks, dressed down, as she opens her eyes from meditation. Not a deep one, not enough to be startled by his arrival, but she's still a little disoriented as her eyes refocus on her bedroom. Everything with Revan was throwing her off and real meditation had been hard to come by for months now. To say her mind was like the holonet would be an understatement - it wouldn't shut off no matter what she did.

"Everything. And surprisingly, nothing." She answers, taking his hand to pull herself up from her meditation mat. Her hair is still damp from being out in Yavin's wildlife (though she'd blow dried it when she returned), but unlike most other soldiers, she was lucky enough to return to the Polaris for her downtime. It's warmer than the jungle, and more importantly it has her crew on it. Zenith and Bisauur have returned from Balmorra, she and Nadia have been more in tune than ever, Tharan has been tinkering away for days in the cargo hold with a promising project, and Qyzen is back from his hunt, "I was only waiting on you to return."

Felix, oh her darling Felix is back in her arms. All is right in the world again, and his soft kisses are worth all the time she spends fighting the ancient evil. All she can do these days is wait impatiently until she can return home. It's out of place in the middle of their campaign, but the crew of the Polaris will always stay with her long enough to watch a silly holo and get the responsibilities of the day prior off her shoulders. Felix is always there until she wakes up, his auburn eyes always twinkling whenever he sees her as they lie in bed, tangled in each other's arms. Somedays, she laughs to herself, it's too cold to leave his embrace early in the morning, though she dealt with much worse when she first met him, "Don't push yourself too hard out there." Felix reminds her when she eventually pulls away from him, a smile on his face, "Won't have any strength left to deal with everything else."

"Might as well be a Jedi with that astute observation." She smiles, and he chuckles at her joke, "And you know I don't push myself anymore than need be, the Sith make me."

"Don't like them?" He asks as she makes to pull her robes off and put them away neatly into their shared storage locker. She raises as a quizzical eyebrow, Felix knows the answer to that question better than anyone after everything they'd been through, and it's a resounding no, "Thought we were supposed to be working with them."

"I never said I wasn't going to. Simply that I found myself being continually annoyed by the Sith and their shenanigans." Naji has a hard time getting her hands back to the zipper keeping her undersuit in place as she says this with disdain, upper arms sore from the fighting earlier in the day, but Felix is quick to pull it down for her with practiced ease. She leans into his warm touch and sighs. He's effectively distracting her from pulling it off by hugging her around the waist and laying his chin down on her shoulder, "Nox especially. She's tormenting Whyatt, trying to scare the Force out of him and off the planet. I don't know what Satele was thinking, bringing him onboard this mission."

"The Defender of Tython, Whyatt Grace?" Felix asks, letting her go as she softly struggles out of his grip with a grin as she slips a t-shirt on, shimmying into a pair of relaxed leggings and out of her boots. Felix didn't often remember the Jedi she kept as company, and she's grateful that Whyatt was among the ones he did. He'd tries so much to understand the Jedi side of her life, and she's more than happy he didn't brush it off in favor of ignorant bliss, "Wasn't he just recognized for defeating the Emperor?"

"His Voice. Not the actual Emperor, that's the one we're chasing down here on Yavin. Poor kid's been through more than I have, and he needs a break before he literally breaks. Satele, I think, brought him out of spite because word was that Darth Nox was arriving to fight the Emperor alongside the Wrath and it would've left the Republic always in the favor of the Empire's choices. I understand some of her reasoning, but Master Catharii would've been a better choice."

"The Miraluka we met back on Voss?" The man had been a curious, temporary, addition to the crew to help with other matters within the Rift Alliance while she hunted down the Children of the Emperor. Catharii (preferred Cat) was a few years older than she was, and more knowledgeable about a lot of things. He didn't laugh when she asked questions, and in fact continued to tutor her even after Syo had been returned to Tython to be rehabilitated. Naji appreciated his mentorship, and she nods in response with a wistful look in her eyes, "Suppose he'd be better than a Jedi who needs therapy."

"He'd be more willing as well. I don't know the full extent of Nox's powers yet, and while Whyatt is extremely powerful, a more experienced Jedi would be the better option here." She sighs, flopping back onto the bed unceremoniously, Felix giving her a knowing look and crawling in beside her after shucking off his boots, "It seems like there's so much to do. I should be able to do it all, keeping a least a small sense of balance between these factions. I ran the Rift Alliance, it feels like it shouldn't be all that different. I should be able to keep them in check and stay the diplomat. But still, they bicker and bicker and bicker over old politics and I'm afraid Revan's going to hunt us down himself if nothing gets done."

Felix is quiet for a moment as she thinks to herself. He takes her hand in his as she curls into him, pressed up against him as her mind slows its panic, "Naj. You can't take the galaxy on without help. Yes, you helped the Rift Alliance, but don't forget that you needed help yourself. I remember you'd been so stressed, running all over the place trying to make everyone happy. I admired you not because you tried keeping everything together for so long, but because you put your heart and soul into it. You cared so much for people you didn't even know, tried to get me, Zenith and Nadia settled in even though you didn't know us." He brushes a curl of hair away from her face, his warm palm pressed against her cheek, "Maybe this is on a bigger scale. I can't say, 'just accept help' because I know it doesn't come easy to you. Just, maybe don't forget that there are people who want to help you with this. Like the man you married years ago."

A grin crosses Naji's lips by the small reference to their marriage on Tython. Felix is right, and he's been her biggest supporter even through the darkest of times. Not everything is her responsibility, but it doesn't mean she doesn't still struggle with it. At the best of times, it feels like her hands stop shaking for a few moments and she can enjoy the quiet, but at the worst of times she can't be around other people without feeling like a disappointment. Naji had always been an anxious child before she'd arrived on the Jedi homeworld, but it was increased by the trials being cut early (Naji worried she wouldn't be taught enough to be worth much), her Master nearly dying (Naji worried she would die and then she'd be alone all over again), the fate of the other Jedi resting on her shoulders as she hunted down Parkanas (Naji worried she would fail and the Jedi would fall), the rise of the Rift Alliance (Naji worried that though she'd been raised a diplomat, that she'd ultimately fail because she wasn't a people person), and the hunting of the Children of The Emperor (Naji worried she wouldn't be able to find them all before they wreaked havoc on the galaxy).

Meditation with Nadia always seemed to help (though at first Naji believed she was only putting her anxiety onto another person; it wasn't), the occasional therapeutic conversation with Zenith (he was good company and offered good advice), and of course, spending quiet time with her husband. Her anxiety hadn't been erased, in fact her hands were shaking now as she pushes herself up to turn the lights in their room off. Naji's worried, she's always worried about something. Something going horribly wrong, someone dying because of her. It's a horrible feeling at the best of times, and she feels like she's losing herself to the void. Sometimes, she wonders if it would've been better to stay solitary and unmarried, so Felix didn't have to do his own worrying about her. It's hard not to feel like a burden to him, no matter how much he says he loves her no matter what.

She drifts off into a dreamless sleep. When she wakes again, Felix is there.

He's always there.

They get dressed together, the process slowed by small kisses here and there over the other's exposed skin. The Polaris wakens with her, caf enjoyed by all as everyone gets ready for the day's adventures. One forehead kiss for Nadia, a cheek kiss for Bisauur. Luck for Qyzen's hunt, a half hug for Tharan, a wave for Holiday, kind words for Zenith. And of course, one lingering kiss for her soldier.

-

"Theron trusted me, and I don't think he ever will again." Naji is about to leave the staging area to head out into the troop encampment, when she can overhear the Sith Lord talking to someone. It's not her business, as she's found most things tend not to be when dealing with the Empire and Sith, but at the risk of seeming nosy, she stands behind a tree, masks her presence, and hopes Lana won't sense her.

"I won't say what you did wasn't wrong, had he not been as strong as you knew him to be, or lapsed in his mental strength, you could've killed him, Lana. Then you'd be out a spy, and if the Wrath is as infatuated with him as you say, you would've lost her as well. Not to mention Satele." The voice isn't distinctly Imperial, in fact it sounds Republic. The other woman's voice drops from a faintly accusatory tone to a softer one, and she sighs, "But you did accomplish something that lead to victory, and it's not like he can hate you forever."

"I know you're right, but the sense of betrayal Theron must feel..." Lana's voice has a sad tone to it. It's surprising the way she talks about it, Naji had previously believed...well that Lana didn't care much for it. Then again, there's always two sides to the same coin and it seemed as if Lana didn't differ from it, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel any remorse for him after what I did."

"I know, I know. But all you can do now is try to be the best version of yourself that you can be. If, and only if, he calls on you for something, try and provide it to the best of your ability. Trust in this galaxy isn't doled out lightly, and it sounds like your agent isn't exempt from this rule either." Something crashes in the background of the connection, and the woman swears in what she thinks is fluent Huttese, "Sorry Lana, but I've gotta go. Damn ship is falling apart beneath my feet and I swear Corso is going to get himself killed one of these days..." The woman chuckles quietly, Naji can barely pick it out, "I'll see you soon, love."

"Be careful, it won't be long now." Lana answers, a smile in her voice, "Take care, love."

And with that, it's quiet as the holocom is shut off. Naji makes to leave, she's already heard more of the conversation than she intended to, before she can sense Lana's presence nearly right behind her. Naji instinctively puts her hands up in fright, whirling around to face the blonde Sith, "What are you doing here, Barsen'thor?"

"If you're wondering, I didn't hear anything. I was just going to leave, is all." Her heart is racing again, thumping beneath her rib cage as her breath grows short, "I just saw you talking to someone is all as I passed by."

Maybe because she's scared, but Naji doesn't realize at first that Lana isn't particularily upset with her. Or maybe she's calculating the best way to get away with murder. Naji's never been good at figuring out Sith.

Yes, Naji had lied about how long she'd been there and she feels bad about it, but her curiousity is also fighting for dominance. In the recesses of her mind, she wonders what kind of life Lana leads outside the coalition. She knows she worked for Arkous at some point, but after that she doesn't know much about the pragmatic Sith Lord. Should she ask? Naji hasn't shared much about her own life with Lana, and figures their already strained acquaintanceship shouldn't be tested at this very moment and holds her tongue.

"It's no one important." Lana answers, her voice a hard monotone compared to the tone she used with the woman on the holo, her stature rigid and amber eyes hardened, "Did you need something?" She asks, effectively closing off that topic to her. That's fair, yet again it wasn't her business to press for unnecessary information that didn't pertain to their mission. She hasn't yet told anyone about Felix and hers relationship (she believes Satele is the only one privy to that information), so she's not extremely pushy about finding out about the woman Lana had been talking to.

"Not at this very moment, no." Naji begins, hoping to get away from the awkward situation, before reconsidering, "Do you by any chance know what's going on with Tri'ama?"

Lana looks surprised by the question, "I don't know what you mean by that. Is there something wrong with her?"

"I...it's hard to describe. Don't you just...feel it? Feel the tension in the air? The Wrath is apprehensive about everything, and more prone to aggression than usual. It's nearly suffocating whenever I'm near her. I know it's not really your concern, being busy with everything else and all, but I thought maybe...because you both were from the same faction you'd know something." It sounds bad now that she says it, assuming all of the Imperials were conspiring with one another, but she figures if anyone knows, it's Lana. Or Vette. But Naji doesn't know Vette, she'd rather their relationship didn't start out by her asking weird questions about the Sith Lord she kept company with, "Sorry, that sounded rude." She mumbles.

Lana muses for a moment. Offense isn't taken by the way she considers the question, but she looks genuinely curious now, "I understand your concern now that I think on it. I'm not privy to the Wrath's presence, it was rather hard to detect even before now, but she has been a wild card as of late. The fury I felt the other day when you both returned from setting up the sensors..."

"It's stifling, isn't it?" Naji asks, remembering how it felt to be around her constantly. It nearly smothers her own presence, and if she's feeling strongly about something, it makes her feel as if she's seeing the world through the Wrath's eyes than her own. If the Wrath is angry about something, Naji can feel herself getting ticked off at every little thing someone does. If the Wrath is in one of her lonely moods, Naji feels her own sort of longing for her small family and stars forbid the Wrath is apprehensive about something. It only increases her anxiety tenfold. At least, until the Wrath leaves the immediate area and she can think on her own again, "Doesn't it bother you?"

"No." Lana answers, looking rather confused, "It was little more than a passing feeling I felt off of her. It's the first real emotion I've felt off of her since we landed. I'm surprised you had such a reaction to it. To put it simply, it's a tad odd you would have such an ability to sense it all, especially if it's affecting you directly."

"Oh." So it was an adverse reaction. If Lana hadn't sensed it, and was still assuming Tri'ama had shut herself off to everyone else, Naji was really going mad. There was a reason she already didn't like Yavin and quickly made a mental note to visit Tython for some cleansing when their mission was done, "Never mind then."

Lana bids her a clipped farewell. It will still be a while before she and the Wrath are due head out to the Temple to deal with the Imperial guard, and Felix is probably assisting where he can with the Republic troops in the meantime. If her husband was one thing, he was a solider at heart, and she didn't need to go distract him from what he was doing. She'd have him all to herself later anyways. Naji could wait a few hours.

As much as she doesn't want to.

Yavin is beautiful, but the Force is strong here as well. Maybe that's what's driving her and the Wrath's emotions up the wall, rather than whatever's attempting to haunt her. She wanders about the jungle nearby the staging area, picking a bright pink flower out from the bush it rested on. Its coloring is beautiful in the dim light of the rainy morning, and she'd appreciate it more if the reason for them being here wasn't so dark. It's only then that she wonders what would've happened had she not been sent to the Jedi. Naji has faint memories of growing up on a city world, though where she's unsure. Her records are locked away somewhere, and those memories are always of her mother. Blonde, piercing blue eyes that always had a joke behind them. Naji's not naive enough to not realize just how young she remembered her mother being, barely the age that she is now. Frowning, she wonders what her mother would think of her today. It had been a short three years before she was given away, but infantile memory loss hadn't affected her as badly as she'd first assumed. Her mother had been kind, a bright smile on her painted lips, always. Naji couldn't think of a moment she'd seen her frowning.

She twists the pink flower in her fingers, admiring it before deciding to put it behind her ear. The frustrated presence grows nearer, and she steels herself for the overload of emotions as the Wrath stalks nearer. Her new armor set was a surprise, fully covering her this time. All lighter armor, black. Other than wisps of blonde hair, only her amber eyes were visible on her face.

"Are we ready to head out?" Naji asks, a light grimace disguised as a smile on her face.

-

Naji is horrified for two reasons when they return to the staging area.

One, because she wonders if all Imperials are eating out the Emperor's palm like the deranged Imperial Guard. Naji personally wasn't religious, but even she can't comprehend how the Empire would've dropped so low to present themselves as willing servants of such a mad figure. She'd been so fearful she hadn't even begun to sense their presences as the three leapt on her, the Wrath, Vette and Felix. Her first thought was force shields for everyone, but Commandent Iven (as she'd learned) proved to be smarter than she gave him credit for. He'd managed to push through her other three allies and target her directly, and as crazy as he was, he was horribly aggressive. No matter how much she force cloaked herself, he'd find her again and swing at her.

The other two guards went down faster, but the others remained distracted as she tried fighting him off from a distance, picking out pieces of the old building that wouldn't crash the whole structure on them and chucking them at him to slow him down. Naji had then been cornered, and he's about to slash at her with his own saber staff. Bracing for the worst, she's surprised at the turn of events as the Wrath slides neatly into place to hold him off at the last moment, blood red sabers igniting his pale face. Naji effectively force shoves him away, and the four of them sustain mild injuries but are able to disarm him to the point they could get the Imperial guards that had rushed in to bring him back to base.

The second reason being the burning on her shoulder that she simply can not get rid of the whole ride back. It's an aching, burning pain that she can't shake no matter how much force healing she pours onto it, not even relieving the aches. It feels like it's broken, but as Felix prods over it, they both agree it's not even out of place. However, watching the Wrath closely during the heated decision of how to interrogate the former Commandent, she's favoring the same arm. The shoulder armor in question is dented past recognition, rips in the underlying fabric in some places leads Naji to believe that the Wrath had ended up in a similar situation.

But how?

Naji intends to ask once they've been dismissed from the table, but a nod from Lana to the woman in question beckons her away. Theron tells her to follow him, and she does so. A little while away, all four stand in a ragged semicircle, Felix telling he'll meet her back on the Polaris when she was done.

"Is there something wrong?" Naji asks, standing up straight and trying to roll her shoulder forward. It takes a moment for the pain subsides, but she's trying her best to keep a straight face, "Something Satele and Marr shouldn't know?"

"Wrong? How about this entire operation is unsettling." Theron responds. Clearly, the word relates to him just a little too much on a personal level right at that moment. Given, it makes sense after the most recent mission. (Tri'ama is also standing as far away from him as she can get, an odd choice out of sight of everyone else.)

"According to Iven, there's a device inside the temple they had hoped to use to bring the Emperor back." Lana fills in. Even she sounds disturbed, and Naji's wondering if her chills are justified now. The Emperor is on Yavin anyways, the Republic's...the Jedi's age old enemy. The atmosphere even is beginning to invade her senses, and it's not a welcome feeling, "It's a weapon designed to eradicate all living things on the moon, save for those safely inside the temple."

"Oh, I should like to see that! Just imagine!" C2-D4 sarcastically says, eyes blinking ominously in the darkness. The droid has one thing going for it, and that's a mind of it's own. How had Jakarro managed to come across such a complex droid?

"D4. Button it." Theron responds, mirroring what she's sure everyone present is thinking themselves. Consequently, the droid doesn't respond.

"The device appears to be Sith in origin. That's how the Emperor knew about it; why he chose to retreat to Yavin IV." Lana continues, ignoring the droid and Theron. Damn these Sith and all their apoctalyptic weapons, hellbent on destroying the galaxy as they all knew it.

"Iven's team was going to activate the device; use the loss of life to restore the Emperor." Tri'ama fills in, her uninjured arm on her hip, "Blazes, does no one see the how the galaxy will be destroyed if we keep letting the Emperor get away with these things?"

"I can assure you, some of us do." Lana says, "But yes, and now Revan plans to use it for the same purpose. If we can't stop him, we're all dead." Her voice quiets, lowering her eyes from the rest of the group. That message sinks in fast, Lana's right (as she's typically proven to be since Naji met her). If it wasn't urgent before, it is now. And Jakarro airs the same sentiment.

"Then let's get moving." Tri'ama nearly growls, readjusting her shoulder, "What's holding us back?"

"Weapons? Other necessary resources? A plan?" Naji questions, an eyebrow raised, and the Wrath's eyes swivel to meet hers in annoyance. Naji holds herself back from asking her if she's right or not -- because she is. Later she realizes that her sarcastic response is partially her own annoyance with the Wrath and her violent tendencies, and partially because the Wrath is having another one of her moments that overloads Naji's senses.

"Iven clued us in on a series of complex locks that will get us access to the temple. They're our next objective." Theron informs them. He seems to dismiss them all for a moment, an intangible objective hanging above them all before he sighs, "Lana, Jakarro. Would you mind, we won't be a more than a minute."

Lana doesn't need a second request, and C2-D4 says something else, Jakarro with an annoyed response. Tri'ama hangs back, arms crossed with a pained expression in her eyes. Theron watches Naji for a moment, Tri'ama just as surprised as she makes to heal her shoulder. It's reciprocated well, the tension flowing out of the Wrath's arm as Naji guides it back into place, "Be careful next time, won't you?"

The Wrath has a sort of confused look in her eyes, before nodding. Naji leaves.

-

BONUS: Theron.

"Look, I know we're not exactly on good terms right now." Theron starts. He's nervous, he'll admit that. Tri'ama has been effectively ignoring him since she arrived on Yavin, and her radio silence is eating at him inside out, "And before you say you know, I know that."

Deep breaths Shan, you're only talking to the Sith Lord who broke you both up before anything got started.

"My line of work, you stare death in the face pretty much all the time. I'm sure you do too." He starts, and she has a look in her eyes that says 'get to the point'. "I'm not in tune with the Force at all, but I don't have to be to feel it: if we can't stop the Revanites, that's over. Everything."

He's genuinely worried for her safety. Yes, she's strong in the Force and to boot, the Emperor's Wrath. But something in her eyes makes him want to take her in his arms and remind her everything is going to be okay.

She considers him for a moment, as if she doesn't understand what he's saying. Tri'ama sighs though, unable to look him in the eyes, "I'm strong enough in the Force for both of us. Revan and his misguided followers don't stand a chance."

"That's what I like to hear. Try not to die, okay? It'd be nice to see you again." He says, falling back into old bantering habits without even realizing it. He immediatly regrets it, and Tri'ama doesn't hide her surprise well, but is quick to turn away from him, black cape flowing behind her without even a response.

Later though, he receives an email late into the night from her reading, "And in the end, I will seek you out among the stars." without anything to follow it up or explain her true intentions. It quickly takes over his thoughts, and he can barely manage to get to sleep that night, still thinking about the woman clothed in black that he'd become infatuated with. Does she still value him? Does she even like him right now?

How had things with Captain Quinn gone?, he finds himself wondering as he turns over.

Great Shan, you managed to get the attention of a cryptic Sith Lord.

[insfiringyou]

BTS - Your first time having sex with V

Contains: Fluff. Smut. Vaginal sex. Sex outdoors.

AN: Although this is marked as reader, this is imagined with Taehyung’s OTP, Cassandra. Find our more about our headcanon universe and original characters here.

To read each member & their girlfriend’s headcanon universe fics in order, follow the links here: RM   /   Jin /   Suga /   J-Hope   /   Jimin   /   V   /   Jungkook

Our full masterlist can be found here :) & this scenario can also be found on Ao3 here

(Photo credit goes to: https://bangtan-sonyeon-scans.tumblr.com/)

Rated content below the cut

You saw him from a distance, leaning against a broad-trunked tree, facing the ancient palace and watching as small groups of tourists walked by. You felt your heart thud in your chest, despite yourself, and took a deep breath as you approached him, tugging down the hem of your plain white camisole and adjusting the strap of the fabric tote bag on your shoulder.

“Hi.” You called from behind him. He turned around at the sound of your voice, away from the crowd. He looked a little dazed for a moment, before he smiled softly.

“Hi. I’m glad you came.” Without warning, he leaned down and kissed you gently on the lips. He had pulled away before you had time to register what had happened, but you felt your heart thud once more and you had to force yourself to close your mouth. He laughed gently at your reaction as you looked away from him to the floor. It wasn’t like you had never kissed him before. In fact, you had done a little more than kiss in the past. It was just that, until he had texted you yesterday evening asking if you wished to go for a walk in the woods by Changdeokgung Palace, you had not spoken for three weeks. If you were honest with yourself, the fault also lied in yourself. You had decided not to text or message him until he did so first and so the stalemate began. You didn’t even know whether or not he was your boyfriend. You had been seeing each other for the past three months, yet he had never said as much, and you had never asked.

“I like your skirt.” He nodded towards your long, floaty skirt. It was decorated in jewel toned embroidery; greens and purples and oranges. You smiled and thanked him.

“Shall we walk this way?” Taehyung indicated down a narrow, winding path which led towards a cluster of trees. You nodded and had to stop yourself from letting out a mutter of surprise as he reached down and took your hand in his. You walked towards the park in silence, passing several other couples and families before you met the thick line of trees.

Eventually, he spoke. “I liked your play.”

You frowned, confused. “Which one?”

“Hamlet. At the Jeongdong.” He shrugged. “You made a great Ophelia.”

Your forehead wrinkled even further. “You saw my play? When?”

“Last Thursday.”

You let out a small laugh, without much humour. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going? We could have done something afterwards.”

He looked at you. “I thought you were probably busy.”

You shook your head as you turned a corner and passed a small, stone carving by the side of the path. “I could have at least seen you...said hello.” You sighed before deciding to let it drop. “I’m playing Honey in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf next...at the National. We start practising in two weeks.”

“Oh.” You turn another bend in the path and find yourself passing a small fish pond. “I’ve never seen the play. I enjoyed the film. Elizabeth Taylor was great.”

You glance at the small body of water and watch the shimmery gold and piebald yellow carp as they swim just below the surface. “I suppose you’ll be away again by the time it is on.”

“Away?” He turned to glance at you.

“On tour. You’re going to America.”

He paused. “Oh yeah. I forgot.” He sounded a little sad. The pond ended and you passed a group of wooden benches, scattered between the trees. There was an elderly couple seated at one, holding hands as they watched the fish in the pond from a distance. Without really thinking, you squeezed Taehyung’s hand tighter. He looked down at you as you smiled.

“Look.” You made a small gesture to the pair on the bench but kept your voice a whisper. “Cute old couple.”

His expression was incredibly gentle beneath the canopy of green trees. “They look so content.” He held your hand tighter.

“I hope I'm as happy as they look when I’m their age.” You said quietly, passing by them. They dissapeared from view as you turned another corner. The path branched off into three lanes. You chose the left strand. You became aware that the number of people you passed was growing less and less every minuite as you walked deeper into the parkland.

Taehyung moved your hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to your knuckles. “I’m sure you will be.” You continued walking for another five minutes in silence, evetually letting go of his hand and walking side by side, before you finally broke the quiet.

“I wasn’t sure you wanted to see me again.” You admitted as you turned down another path. “I thought maybe you didn’t like me that much.” You shrugged.

There was a pause before he spoke. “Of course I like you.” He sounded confused.

You glanced at him. He looked beautiful in the shade. “I just thought...since we haven’t spoken for a while.” You gathered your thoughts. “I wasn’t sure what I meant to you. Whether we were dating, or...?”

He looked puzzled, his gaze dropping to his shoes as you both subconsciously slowed your speed. “I’d have said we were dating.”

“Oh.”

“We’ve been intimate.”

You felt your cheeks redden. “Yes.” You agreed, remembering how you had taken him in your mouth and how his fingers had pressed against your opening, sinking into you until you gasped into his open mouth. You didn’t question his reasoning. You thought plenty of people would be happy to be intimate with someone without dating them. You took a quick glance at Taehyung and noted how, unlike yourself, he didn’t seem embarassed. His warm, caramel coloured skin seemed to glow in the sunlight as the trees parted into a clearing. There was another small pond surrounded by a low brick wall. There was no one else in sight. You hadn’t seen another person now for over half an hour.

He reached over to you and took your hand in his once more, leading you around the edge of the pond and back into the canopy of trees at the far side of the clearing. Another minute passed before you spoke. “Do you know where we are?”

He shook his head softly. “No.”

“Oh.” You briefly looked around you. “Do you think you can get us back?”

He thought for a moment. “Yes. I’m sure I can.” He turned to look at you. “Are you worried?”

Your eyes met his. “No.” He looked incredibly beautiful. You sighed, leaning in to meet his lips. His mouth touched yours gently as you turned your head and pressed yourself closer. In unison, you parted your lips to allow your tongues to meet. His right hand came around the back of your head and brushed through your hair, holding you against him. His other hand left your own and moved to brush your cheekbone as his tongue brushed against yours. You quickly felt your breath increasing as he kissed you like this; it felt incredibly sexy and, had you not been completely confident that you were alone, you would have felt exposed and indecent. As it happened, having him confirm his feelings for you after months of uncertainty had been enough to make you ache for him. You had forgotten, in the three weeks apart, how good he had made you feel the last time you were alone together. You thought that every time his eyes moved across your features, he made you feel like Helen of Troy. You had never felt more desirable with someone before.

You moaned into his mouth as his palm left your face and brushed the white strap of your camisole down your shoulder, causing the strap of your tote bag to drop to the crook of your elbow. He paused to caress your upper arm gently before repeating the motion with your other strap. You both moved off the loosely marked path without thinking, him leading you backwards until your back pressed against the trunk of a tree. You moved your hands to tug the thin, white material of his shirt from the waistband of his linen trousers. They were tucked in loosely and the shirt came free easily. You ran your hands along his bare stomach, over his bellybutton and delighted in the small sounds he made as your hands came in contact with his skin. Slowly, you moved your palm lower, not really thinking about what you were doing until your hand skimmed along his clothed erection. Like the shirt, the linen pants were very thin and, you fancied, you could feel every vein and groove through his underwear. He groaned loudly into your open mouth before pulling his lips away from yours to look at you. He gazed down through thick eyelashes and you felt your own breath hitch in reply. His desire for you was obvious but he moved his eyes from yours to briefly look around the open space, cautiously. You were no longer in view of the small path but the trees here were still widely spread out.

Slowly, he reached down for your hand and led you over a small incline in the forest floor. The hill soon levelled out before dropping again. You followed him back down until the ground was level again. You thought that even if somebody did walk past on the main path, they would not be able to see or hear you from their vantage. His hands and mouth were back on you as you allowed yourself to be lowered onto the floor, dropping your canvas bag to the side. The ground was mossy and a little spongy, supporting and cushioning your body surprisingly well. You moved your hands beneath you to push aside a few twigs as he joined you.

You thought he might protest as you hitched up the hem of your long, loosely fitting skirt and tugged down your plain, pink panties. After all, this was not the most comfortable place to be fucking, even if it wasn’t your first time together. He simply kissed you passionately in return, however, as you ran your hands along his waistband once more. The air was warm and everything felt still and silent; you would have been able to hear a pin drop in that moment. Despite everything, you thought it felt right that you should do it here and now. You didn’t think you would be able to wait to find your way back to the tourist site anyhow, and you certainly didn’t think you would be able to recapture this moment of utter stillness and silence later in his third story apartment in the middle of Gangnam.

He ran his hand along your right leg, starting at your calf and ending at your upper thigh as he leaned over you. You reached over to the colourful fabric of your bag and unlatched the magnetic button. You felt inside with one hand, the other slowly pulling the white cord of Taehyung’s trousers until the small bow came undone. You found your wallet amongst a few cosmetics and an empty plastic bottle of Coca Cola and pulled it out, quickly snapping open the button which held it closed and reaching inside of the flaps for a condom. Taehyung raised his eyebrow, briefly, a small smile playing on his lips as you pulled out the small square foil and tore the edge. Reaching forward as he balanced himself above you, you pulled down his white linen trousers and plain, cotton underwear to free his erection. As remembered, he was both longer and thicker than you had initially anticipated and you found yourself admiring him through your eyelashes, your mouth lulling open as you pinched the tip of the latex and rolled it onto him slowly. He moaned as your hand grasped him, guiding him to the space between your thighs.

He sank into you slowly. It felt a little uncomfortable due to his size and the lack of preparation, but he anticipated this as he paused.

“Is it too much?” He whispered.

You shook your head and pecked his lips, once. He moved one hand to your face and stroked your cheek a little roughly with his thumb before burying himself fully. You gasped together, pressing your faces close.

“It’s good.” You reassured him as he gazed down at you. “You feel good...” He hesitated for a moment before moving his hips against you, pulling almost all of the way out before pushing back inside. You felt him stretch you; could feel the tip of his cock pressing and brushing against your sensitive walls as he fucked you slowly, all the while watching your expression with slightly parted lips. You moved your head upwards to meet his lips. His hands trailed to your hips as he pushed his pelvis against the backs of your thighs; thrusting into you as far as he could go. You moaned breathily as he increased his speed. You suddenly heard the flapping of wings somewhere above your head, in the canopy of trees as a bird took flight. You thought Taehyung might have suddenly become aware of his surroundings as he pushed against you, now practically slamming into you in an attempt to reach his high. You held onto his shoulders tightly as he moved his mouth towards your chest and began to kiss along your breasts, above the fringe of your camisole; in wet, open mouthed kisses.

You felt him shudder against you as his hips snapped against you frantically. His lips met yours once again and he moaned loudly into your open mouth as you held him. His eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks like the delicate wings of a moth as he came. You felt him twitch inside you and he held you still for a moment, savouring the sensation, before slowly pulling out of you. He reached down, between your slightly damp thighs, to grasp the condom as he withdrew. You exhaled in a long, deep breath as he moved away from you, turning away from you to remove the condom. You took a moment to gather yourself, suddenly feeling a little ridiculous as you looked at your surroundings and a little ashamed at your lack of self control. You sighed and reached for your discarded underwear, slipping them back on and rolling your skirt back down over your bare knees.

Taehyung had knotted the condom and held it in one hand. He reached for your hand with the other and, with a sweet smile, pulled you to your feet. You brushed your cami and skirt down, smoothing out the fabric as you looked at him, your cheeks and chest flushed. He flashed his teeth in a grin as he reached with his spare hand and pulled a few twigs and leaves from your brunette hair.

“Thanks.” You said, reaching down to pick up your wallet and tote bag. “Here...” You reached into your bag and produced the empty bottle of Cola. “I don’t want you littering.” You kept a straight face, still feeling a little bashful as Taehyung took it from you and discarded the used condom in the bottle. You hid it back in your bag, promising yourself that you would get rid of it as soon as you passed a litter bin. He took your hand gently in his as he lead you back up the gentle slope and towards the deserted forest path.

“Does this mean I can call you my boyfriend?” You asked after a few minutes. You had once more passed the small fish pond and thought you would be able to make it back to the tourist path before it got too late and started to get dark.

He turned to look at you and grinned. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he flashed his teeth. You felt your chest ache once more at how sweet he looked, in the warm light of the afternoon. “I hope so.” He squeezed your hand tightly. “I hope I get to see your play...”

You paused. “Hmm?” Questioning.

“Virginia Woolf. I hope I get to see it before I go to America.”

You smiled and nodded. “I hope so too.” You stood on your tiptoes and kissed his cheek, inhaling his gentle, vetiver scent as you walked along the quiet path, hand in hand.

***

Thank you so much for reading. Please leave a like/comment.

To read each member & their girlfriend’s headcanon universe fics in order, follow the links here: RM   /   Jin /   Suga /   J-Hope   /   Jimin   /   V   /   Jungkook

Our full masterlist can be found here!

[chloe-spade]

iZombie Au: Sander Sides

You think your life would harder when you become an adult or get a job you hated the most?

The day my life went...south..for me and for everyone around me.

The day of a The Lake Washington Massacre...

I was a very known surgeon, doctor and nurse. I was very known for it.

Oh my name? My name is Virgil Dusk, a former loved doctor and a loving boyfriend to fiance to....

A brain-eating zombie....

"Sir?"

Virgil looked up at the saleswomen.

"Oh...sorry."Virgil muttered taking the purple die from the women's hand and quickly zoomed away, eyes avoiding every person who walked past him.

Virgil Dusk

28 years old

Has been a Zombie for 4 years straight

He still remembered that day like it was yesterday.

*4 years ago*

"Seeya Virge!"Some co-workers shouted as they aproched their cars.

"Hello, my dear chemically imbalance romance~!"A voice came in front of Virgil.

His fiance, Roman Delightful, his high school sweetheart to the end.

Virgil jumped and laughs."Roman!"

Roman held Virgil in his arms and gave him a tender kiss.

Virgil giggles and pushes him away."Ok,Ok! Are you ready for our date night."

"You bet."

"Hey, Virge! Wanna go to this sweet boat party?" Said Harold Johnson, Virge's co-worker, and a total party animal.

"Seriously? Uh...I'm not much of a party person let alone be being a extrovert in general..that's Roman."

"I think it's a great idea to celebrate your promotion of this amazing job."

Virgil sigh in defeat and kisses Roman's cheek."Wait for me when I get back?"

"Of course."

Virgil Smiles and follows Harold to the car and went off to the boat party.

But it wasn't what Virgil expected.

Virgil stared down at his cup of tea as he look at guys chugging on a weird drink and their eyes turns a deep red and growls left their mouths.

Virgil gasp and trembled as he saw the horrifying imagery as people's skulls opens ans brains were eaten.

Virgil ran off the boat ignoring his badly scratched arm and jumped into the ocean like it was no tomorrow for him.

As Virgil's eyes open, he could only see yellow and he burst his open his bag he was surprisingly in and coughs up the water he gulped.

He looked around and see a scared ambulance men running as fast as he could.

Once I woke up...I suddenly felt the urge to eat... brains....

It was an unexpected urge...but I felt like I needed it...more then anything..

*Now*

Virgil gets up from his bed and groans as the his night was another sleepless one.

He gets up to change to a nice black buttoned shirt and his normal black and purple knitted jacket, grabbing his headphones and phone and trotted to the kitchen, greetings by an unexpected hug.

"Oh, Virgil, why you look...oddly cute as ever." Mrs. Dusk cooed."And I like the purple aesthetic you did with your hair. It's worked."

Virgil cracked info a small smile.

"Hey, kiddo!" greeted his roommate and bestie since high school, Patton.

Patton

31 years old

Virgil's bestest friend/roommate

"Hey, Pat."He said with a smile.

Patton is unaware of Virgil's newly zombie habits, and Virgil prefers to keep it that way cause how fragile Patton is.

"Oh, got to get to work. Also, make sure to pick up my costume for fhd Halloween expo tonight, I'd hate to be there without a costume.

"I'm just happy that you're participating."Thomas, Virgil's younger brother, said with his usual goofy smiles that Virge loved.

"I'm glad to be with the-!?"

"There for the family?"

Virgil Blushes and looks up to see Roman."Come on, it'll at least help us to get what we lost?"

Virgil chuckles."Sure thing."

Roman Delightful

30 years old

Virgil's ex-fiance to current boyfriend.

It's weird to reunite a spark with Roman after I broke things off our of fear but he was to determined to get me back so I let him have a second chance so he won't stop nagging me..

"But seriously, I need to get to work.", Virgil said, leaving the house and walks to the Police Department at the 6th floor at the city's morgue.

"You're lucky to be on time, Virgil."Said a harsh gone, placing the body on the table.

"Nice to see you too, Logan."

Logan Smith

Age 37

Virgil's boss and an extremely smart man

Virgil chuckles and puts in his labcoat and walks down.

"I am sorry for that tone but I am going to be a little more softer."

Virgil worked in Medical PhD for the last 2 years so he can the brains to eat.

"Hey, we just got a body!"Said the cops.

"Duty calls." Virgil shrugs and walks, along with Logan to the park where a women was taken to the hospital.

"Ohh...my god, she's smells..." Virgil gagged and looks away.

"Melissa Margolis, age 55, married with two kids, one's moved away to Canada for college and one is a high school student, known for her smart personality. She's a so called soccer mom.."

"According to her completion, she has been dead for at least 10 hours before someone discovering her inside that Roseburg bush."

"Huh.."

"It's a rare bush."

"She loves roses and planted this specific one here."Said Mr. Margolis."This women found her."

Virgil and Logan starred at the women and gasp.

"Juliet Farin...no thank you."

"We have a no-such-luck relationship.."

Virgil scoffed."The thing is that she tried to ruin me and my boyfriend's relationship..when we got back together, and she went crazy on me."

Urusla sighs."Hope your physic powers help you."

*back in the morgue*

"I'm not staying she had the right idea...she just showed a bit craziness."

"Why is she specifically after you?"Urusla asked

Urusla

29 years old

Homicide officer for 5 years.

When I broke things off with Roman, she hooked up with him and used him for money basically. The reason she broke things off with him was because the stuff Roman bought were my standard of favorite things. She didn't like it. And broke up with him and now he's back with me and she hates it.

"Cheers for a trying soccer mom..and may the odds of losing my voice in my favor.." Virgil prayed and took a bit of his brain egg omulet.

"Didn't think you pray of being a mom.."

"That's Patton's job."

"True."

As soon as I gulped it down i felt an urge to run to Roman and give him a big hug and kiss for missing him to much. She's a perfect wife too.

*Next day*

"So, where were you around 2:30 to 3:00."Urusla asked Keith Margolis, hef husband who was sitting next to the table in front of them.

"At work, I usually work at 6am to 7:45pm."

"Poor thing...you must be very exhausted."Virgil whines, his hands trembling.

She has major anxiety... I can go with this

"That's what Melissa would say, always feel bad for me at every turn. Her anxiety was pretty bad, it wasn't like a disorder or anything it just...it can lead to a certain paranoia phase she would have..it would annoy a few, like Hailey, our daughter before she left fof college, but soon we got used to it cause we love her."

Urusla groans."So she was very heighted?"

"Yes, very so."

The conversation was interuppted by a huge bang by a accidental coffee spillage to the wall.

That's when Virgil's first vision in this brain started.

*The Vision*

Keith angry banged the table pointing his finger at Melissa.

"If this doesn't end, I can and I will go back to my mistress to get away from you!!"

*vision ends*

Virgil gasp as he looks around.

"You had a mistress?"

Kieth stopped his talking immediately.

"Did you or did you not?" Virgil ordered angrily.

"Yes! I did have a mistress, it was because I got so tired of her worry I left the house. And met Isabel."

"Can we call her in?"Urusla asked, her arms folding."You got your alibi."

A few minutes, Isabel walked in to the room, and sat down, glaring at Virgil."I heard about you, boyfriend kisser."

"You accidentally kiss a guy in school and you're new name is "Boyfriend Kisser"..."Virgil sighed.

"Where were you at the time at the murder."

"Talking to Hailey, she was visiting my place since we had a... special bond...Hailey never got along with Melissa, she would tell me, Melissa was a very strict mom, and never did things that she didn't approve of Hailey of doing. That was unfair cause when Jennifer was born, she let her do anything she wanted. Because Jennifer was a sporty type like her, adventurous, snarky too. So Hailey was glad to get out of state to college."

"So you and Hailey both can prove it."

"Yes."

Virgil looked to see Logan mentioning him to leave the room.

Virgil got up and went to Logan.

"I found something... Intriguing in her jacket. Divorce papers, 2 weeks delivered before the murder."

"So Keith was planning to divorce her anyway."

"Yes, and I also found out that they got married in October 29, somewhere in the 1998s, And look is born after."

"Hailey Margolis, born November 5th, 1998."

"So?"

"In your terms, you might say, she 'baby-trapped' him."

"And probably did it again when it came to Jennifer. She was processive of him.."

"He had motive." Urusla said behind them."If she did those things, that means..."

"There's more."Logan added."Melissa was granted 1,500,000 grand from him. Keith is wealthy, from a wealthy background so it's no surprise that..."

"A gold-digger?"Patton interuppted."You forgot your lunch, Logan."

"I told you, you don't have to, Pat."

"Well I wanted to."

*In a vision*

Hailey looked up from her book in an angry matter."What if you wanted to!? You realized you out dad in a lot of misery! He had to drop everything cause of us!"

*Vision ends*

"She wanted to do that. She wanted to baby trap Keith...and that causes him to go angry and find a witness."

"Isabel mentioned that her and Keith met on January, little more than 5 month ago. And according to her apparence, she's pregnancy. Turns out he was planning to raise the baby with her and leave the family."

"So she sent the divorce papers but got him back."

*Hailey's interrogation*

"Isabel said you were with her for the last few hours of your mother's murder."

"I was. I was overly excited to be her new daughter since Dad found the divorce papers. That's when we got a call from Jennifer saying that we both rot in hell."

"So Jennifer hated Isabel."

"Dearly with all her heart. She always says that Isabel ruined the family, but in reality, it was mom. She baby trapped him with me and his life was screwed."

"And when was this phone call?"

"Around 2:54 to 3:00, she kept ranting."

"The murder weapon wasn't present. She was poisoned." Logan said, from behind Virgil.

"We couldn't identity it. But we knew it was dangerous and the name is so Russian I can't even say it. But it was used for tea and other liquids."

"Isabel did used to work at a factory, for poisoning goods. She stopped once she became Pregnant..."

"It was a gift. So I accepted it and then one day I found it missing. Both Jennifer and Hailey were with me but Keith payed a visit and ..."

"Hs stole it and he used it on her coffee...she drinks it around 3:00, her coffee break.."

*The final interrogation*

"So, it wasn't easy to crack."

"It's was so."Virgil said, standing up."You stole Isabel's poison from her place and used it on her coffee, and then you gave it to her and took her to the park and saw her faint down as she drink her whole coffee, organs and brain stopped working and she was dead. This was so you didn't have to pay her for child support and the funds you owe her after the divorce."

"Exactly. She baby trapped me twice and you think I was gonna let that slide?! She ruined my life and my family's reputation as a whole cause she wanted me all to herself."

"Keith Margolis, you have the right to remain silent, anything you or say will be against you in court."

Something sparked inside me when I was said those words. It reminded me of me...when I was with Roman. I did kiss him accidentally but it wasn't a regret, like how Melissa fooled her husband. It was a need, but needs can be poisoning and some lead to unsatisfactory in a person. But there's was one thing I didn't regret? Going to that boat party. If I haven't gone, I would never learn anything about myself with the help of the brains I have eaten, I would never face myself to tell Logan about me being a zombie. And now I'm back to be with Roman again....so... somethings you may regret could be things you'd never regret cause who knows what impact it has on your life. Good or bad....

Virgil came home to find Roman.

"Welcome back."Roman greeted.

"Hey, can we talk...I've been thinking about...us, we've drifted since that boat party and now we're back together...so I don't regret being with you again cause it opens my eyes for the past year of us being together...it made me miss out on the things we...loved .. about each other and..."Virgil's voice started to break and Roman pulled him into a tight hug.

"I know you do...but since we dated... And now we're back to were we are..and now I've decided...to.."Roman picked out Virgil's old wedding ring out of his pocket."Thank we try again...for marriage?"

Virgil's tears couldn't stop rolling down and nods."Of course...I'd regret it if I did say no,.... I love you so much."

Roman pulls Virgil into a warm embrace and kisses his forehead and said,"No matter who you are, Zombie or human..I will love you no matter what..."

This took 5 hours....but I'm glad I did it!...but ouch..

But enjoy this little segment to my favorite show ever.

(if you wanna watch it, it's on Netflix)

[valerievanity]

Urban Decay Game of Thrones Eyeshadow Palette

Hey everyone! 

What is hype may never die. I was SO excited to get a chance to test drive the new Urban Decay Game of Thrones collection a few weeks early. It retails for $65 and can be snagged right now at Ulta, Sephora, Macys, Nordstrom, and Urbandecay.com. 

The packing of the palette itself is pretty cool. It is very bulky and not at all travel friendly, but I do feel like that effort they put into it justifies the higher price point. If you are at all a fan of Game of Thrones (obv you are...right?!), the pop up throne and Daenerys quote are pretty cool. The palette comes with a rather large mirror, and the shades themselves pull put from the palette. 

I initially though $65 was a tad steep to drop on a palette, but you get 20 shades, and the four metallic finish shades are in larger pans. This coupled with the cool packaging makes it a worthwhile collectors item at the least. 

Let’s get onto the colors! The shades are broken up into four different Houses: House Targaryen, House Lannister, House Stark, and White Walkers.

House Targaryen

Stormborn is a purple metallic with iridescent micro shimmer. This shade was blacker when worn than it looks in the pan, almost smoky. Lots of fallout with this one. 

Bend the Knee is a lilac with a blue shift. This shade was SO pretty. Very smooth and nice pigmentation, usually colors these light need to be packed on a but, but Ben the Knee applied very well with just a fluffy brush. Really pretty when worn on its own too.

House Targaryen is a pale rose-gold metallic. I don’t really agree with the description that this is a rose gold, but I liked it anyway. Very smooth application, good color payoff, no fallout. 

Dothraki is a gold metallic. I am personally not a fan of yellow golds like this, but that’s just me. A little patchier than the other shades in the palette, but still pretty good overall. 

From left to right, Bend the Knee, Dothraki, House Targaryen, Stormborn.

I am a doofus and didn't take shots of the rest of the shadows in a group as I did above with House Targaryen. Oh well.

House Lannister

Lannister Red is a burgundy brick matte. One of the more excellent shades in the palette. Applied very smoothly and had a wonderful payoff. Little fallout and blended very easily without disappearing. A Gem!

Casterly Rock is a dark bronze metallic. Little to no fall out and okay payoff. Not one of the more wow-ing shades in the palette, but I am enjoying the equal inclusion of warm and cool shades.

Red Keep is a warm copper metallic. Super pretty! I don’t think I have a color quite like this in any of my warmer pallettes, including Naked Heat. Very bright and warm. Medium level fallout, but it is a little sparklier than the other metallic shades.

House Lannister  is a peach matte. I am loving this as a trasnition/crease color. I can see myself using this in addition to shades from other pallettes. I would love to see this one become permanent. Just very soft and light, but it’s meant to look that way. One of my top 5 in this collection for sure.

From left to right House Lannister, Lannister Red, Red Keep, Casterly Rock.

House Stark

Weirwood Leaves is a deep plum satin. This one is very pretty, but I have found myself having a hard time using it as the star of the show in a look with this collection. It’s does an ok job of darkening up the crease and outer corner, but I would love it to take a more center role in a look. When applied all over the lid, it can come out a little patchy and fights blending more than the other shades here. This shade also had a lot of fallout that I wasn’t expecting, you can see it in the swatches below. Slightly disappointed in this one. 

The Sight is a metallic green with iridescent micro shimmer. Another one of my favorites. Smooth and buttery, blends great. I feel like this helps balance out a lot of the warmer shades in the palette. 

Nymeria is a warm terra-cotta matte. Weirdly this is my #1 in the palette. Smooth, extremely pigmented, soft but not with too much kick up in the pan. I never would have guessed I would have loved this one this much. I definitely find myself going back in and trying to use it every time I pull this palette out!

Winter Is Here is a dark brown with iridescent micro shimmer. Not a groundbreaking color but good execution. I can see this shade being used more daily than some of the other colors in the palette and I think it fits well with the Stark Family theme here. 

From left to right Weirwood Leaves,  The Sight, Nymeria, and Winter is Here. 

The White Walkers

Frozen North is a deep teal with iridescent miscro shimmer. Holy fallout Batman. Expected with this one, since it is SO sparkly, so can we really knock it for that? Otherwise, it is gorgeous. So bright and smooth. Love it. 

Free Folk is a silver metallic. This one performed similarly to Frozen North but with far less fallout. This is another one like Weirwood Leaves where I seem to be having a hard time incorporating it without the help of colors from other palettes. It might be because there are fewer cooler toned transition shades and mattes? I just don’t see myself being pulled to use it as often. 

White Walker is a blue shift. A really pretty inner corner and brow highlight. It doesn’t sit well over other colors like the transformative shades do. Really pretty when paired with the Winterfell Eyeliner Pencil.

Take The Black is a jet black with iridescent micro shimmer. The shimmer in this shade doesn't really translate in practice when used with a brush. It is cool in the pan, but I have only been using it as an eyeliner and to smoke other colors out. Still useful! Very little fallout surprisingly. 

From left to right: Frozen North, Free Folk, White Walker, Take The Black.

Bay of Dragons is a sparkling pink transformative shade. A lot darker pink than it looks in the pan. I love using this a highlight with the warmer colors in the collection. A little chunky, but that was consistent across the transformative shades included in the palette. 

King’s Landing is a pale gold transformative shade. The least chunky of the transformative colors here. Very pretty and useful, I especially love it over Winter Is Here and Casterly Rock. 

Winterfell is an antique gold transformative shade. Another one of my top shades here, maybe my number 1? To me it is a bit too dark to be used effectively over other colors in the palette, and I feel it performs best alone. I like this one applied best with my finger, a brush kind of just kicks it around everywhere. Noticeable fallout. 

Hardhome is a sparkling white transformative shade. Another really pretty shade here. Almost champagne-y, rather than a truer white. Makes a great highlight shade like King’s Landing. 

From left to right Bay of Dragons, King’s Landing, Winterfell, Hardhome.

Overall

A pretty solid palette. Top shades are 

Winterfell

Nymeria

Frozen North

Winter is Here

House Lannister

Bottom performers are

Weirwood Leaves

Take the Black

Stormborn

Dothraki

My biggest concern with this palette was the price point. $65 is a lot for a palette, but it is balanced by a few things that I think make it worth the spend if you are a fan. You get 20 shades, and the four transformative colors are much larger pan sizes than normal, so the value is there in that regard. Also, almost all of the shades performed very well, which you usually don’t see in limited edition palettes. 

The packaging is great and perfect for the theme. I love the pop up Iron Throne and the large mirror. The one negative here is the packaging make this palette not very travel friendly, which may be important to you.

Color scheme is not terrible. I feel we are missing a few more matte transition shades as well as matte highlights for any skin tone. I’ve had to dip into other palettes for every look I have put together, so it isn’t very all inclusive. 

Overall I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the show or Urban Decay. Very solid release!

You can pick this bad boy up for $65 USD at the following retailers:

Ulta

Sephora

Macys

Nordstrom

Urbandecay.com

[poison-basil]

Part 4: What’s on the menu?

Summary - Dick thought she was working the bar.

Dick was supposed to be in Blüdhaven this weekend. Though as he was about to make his way out of Gotham he got a text from Barbara mentioning that he was needed for a case that Temperance was currently on. Dick hadn't seen her since Monday due to her going undercover to work. Only going back and forth between the apartment and club.Something about drugs being forced onto the people working there.

It would be a good opportunity to see her again before he left for Blüdhaven and it was always exciting to see her in action no matter what she was doing. Dick started up his bike and gripped the handles in excitement. It was going to be so good seeing her again.

Though they were on better terms these days, Dick still felt as though there was something else he could do to make it better. Temperance smiled more as of late, but they're not the same as they used to be, when she was flying around as Robin. They seemed to get lost, along with her laughter and jokes. Lately though, she was becoming more like her old self, willingly hanging out with him, Damian and Jason.

She was still as beautiful as ever, Dick found it hard to not want to touch her every time he was near her. Dick liked to congratulate himself on not touching her in a way that could be thought inappropriate. Though that was getting harder and harder. The hugs he got now are way better than when she was younger, there was substance and muscle to hold onto, the temptation to make it something more was always lingering in the background, to turn the hug into a grope or a kiss. He had to distance himself, and that usually meant hugging Damian to calm the adrenaline rushing through him.

The ride over to the club that Temperance was investigating was one of invigoration. Thoughts of Temperance as she did her thing behind the bar, leaning over to wipe the counter and pulling the tap to pour a drink. Dick suddenly frowned. Wasn’t this a Dance club she was working at? How had he not thought about this before? Dick thought about all the sleazy men she would have to serve drinks to and whether they flirted with her, touched her. Dick squeezes the handles and tries to calm himself. She’s fine, she one of the most trained Vigilantes out there. She can handle herself!

Dick shakes himself and concentrates on the road. The quicker he got there the sooner he could see for himself. There was no point in worrying about it now, there’s nothing he could do sitting here on his bike. He rushed along the streets taking the corners sharply. It took him no time at all to get there with the speed that he was going.

Parking the bike and taking off the helmet Dick made his way over to the entrance he straightened out his jacket and tugged down the sleeves. He entered without trouble and made his way in.

It was dark and smokey in the room. Rich with deep reds and purples, everything was embroidered or painted with gold. The music within the room was loud and the main lights on the stage were bright. At the center of the room was a circle stage with a pole in the middle. There was no doubt as to what that was used for.

Dick made his way over to the bar and took a seat in one of the stools. Looking for Temperance, he checked to see who was manning the bar, but all he could see was a male bartender and a waitress collecting drinks. If Temperance wasn’t here where was she? Dick checked his phone just to make sure that this was the right place.

Well it was definitely the right place. Same name, same co-ordinates. Just as Dick was about to call Barbara to ask what was going on there was a sudden bright light in the back of the room that light up an entrance, there was a woman standing there and over the intercom came a tinny male voice. “Welcome to the stage, the one and only Girl Wonder.”

Dick couldn’t believe his ears, Girl Wonder? What was wrong with these people? Most of them had probably come across the bad side of the real one. The woman slowly made her way to the stage, swaying her hips and blowing kisses at the men sitting in the seats surrounding the stage.

The costume itself barely resembled anything like what Temperance had wore, there was no practicality or safety, just a dangerous amount of skin on show. Finally on stage, Dick could see all the little details of the suit. There was a small cape at her back, a red and yellow bra that firmly held the breasts in place, red bikini type bottoms, with green fishnet stockings and gloves, and to top it all off was the black domino and black platform stilettos that came up her calf.

Looking past the costume, Dick started looking at the person that was supposed to be dressed as Robin. Surprisingly he saw that the dancer's muscles were tight, which he supposed they got from dancing on the pole, and that the hair was striking a good match for the real Robin. Dick looked to the face and for a moment his mind went completely blank. Staring at the dancer in front of him, he made his way to the stage and stood there. He didn’t know what to do. That was not a Temperance impersonator, that was Temperance.

Dick could tell the moment that Temperance recognised him, the way her shoulders tightened and her mouth firmed at the corners. He watched as Temperance grabbed the pole and swung around it until she had loosened up. She flicked up the lenses of the Domino and made direct eye contact with him. Dick felt a sudden rush of heat that went straight to his groin. Thinking the smart thing to do would be to wait this out as quietly as possible, he took a seat facing the stage.

As he sat down he saw Temperance give him a small nod. Okay then, Dick was going to have to watch this play out. That wasn’t soo bad. He could do this. Temperance starts to use the pole to hold her weight as she leans back. Dick decides that he cannot handle thinking, if he cannot sit through a basic routine without having to shift to make himself comfortable, there was no way he was going to make it through the main dance.

Trying to calm his mind, he tried to think of this like training, when he helped her on the bars, or helped her with yoga. Though she never wore anything that revealing or suggestive. Though now he was thinking about her in these clothes while doing those things and that did not help at all. He did not need the image of her in a handstand while he held onto her legs, touching the nets on her calves.

Shaking his head, he looked back to the stage in time to see Temperance grip the pole and draw her legs up the bar. Slowly spinning her way down it. Some of the guys had made their way to the stage. Standing way too close for Dick’s liking, not that he could do anything without making a scene. He saw a man lean forward with a twenty and tuck it over the band on Temperance’s bottoms. Dick clenched his fist and grinded his teeth together.

Dick slowly took to seething in his chair as he watched the dance go on. He was just happy that it this wasn’t a strip club. He wouldn’t be able to stop himself from hurting the patrons, especially if they kept touching her like they were. It was getting harder to watch these men touch her in ways he has not allowed himself to.

Just as the routine was ending he saw one of the men lean in close to Temperance with a wad of cash in hand. Focusing in on them so he can hear what was being said to her “ -me, you wanna show this ol’ man jus’ ‘ow flexible yo’ are.” Dick quickly made his way over to the pair and just as he was about to interrupt when Temperance put a finger to the man’s mouth.

“S' sarry, sugar. Don't think ah rightly can t'night. Y' see, I got m'self another nice boy already paid up in advance. An' he jus' happens ta be right over ya'lls shoulder waitin'.” The southern accent stumped him for a second, the warm rich tones of the accent rolling over him. “Mebby some other time, sweets.”

The man turned angrily towards Dick, looking like he was about to hit him; he must of thought better of it, though, since it never came. He roughly pushed past Dick, and made his way over to the bar. He didn’t mind, though, this was his chance to talk to Temperance. Dick felt her fingers wrap around his wrist and tug slightly.

“C’mon, let's get somewhere mo’ comfortable.” Dick was lead to a booth at the side of the room, the chair was more plush and comfortable looking than the other chair he was sat in. Though it wasn’t private, if anyone were to look, they could see everything that was going on. Temperance pushed him down and swung her legs over his lap. His mind was short circuiting, was this really happening? Had he fallen asleep or something. This couldn’t be real. “Beautiful? Ya wit’ me honey?”

Temperance’s fingers felt like sweet kisses against his face. “I - I - Te - I just - What’s going on?” Temperance’s smile made up for how much of an idiot he felt.

“Ma names Amber, Sunshine, bu’ you can call me Robin.” Dick could see the twinkle in Temperance’s eyes and it made Dick want to shift in his seat. He couldn’t though with her on top on him, it would be obvious that he was adjusting himself.

“Robin,” It felt like butter on his tongue calling her that again, it had been years. “I don’t know what to do.” Dick floundered, he has never felt so out of his depth, he didn’t know how to handle this at all.

She was coming closer to him. He could do nothing but stare, and she was suddenly pressing her lips to his ear and her hands held onto his shoulders. “Dick, there are cameras all over this room, you have to make this look good, or they might think something's up.” She lifted her left hand to grab his and brought it to her back and returned her hand to his shoulder. “I won’t be here much longer, Jason is going to be coming through in ten minutes to turn this club upside down. I got all the evidence I need for the case, so this was the last night.” She started to run her hands up and down his chest, it felt so good, he wanted her to keep going. “Why are you here?”

Dick felt her lips skim his cheek as she moved back, her breath fanning his face. This was sweet torture. “O said that you needed me?” Dick was so confused. Jason was in on this case? If he was coming why did Barbara tell him to come. Dick felt an overwhelming sense of dread. Did Barbara know?

Temperance was frowning. “What? Why?”

Dick shrugged. “I don’t know, I thought that you were going to tell me.” Dick tilted his head, there was something he wanted to know though. “I thought you were supposed to be working the bar?” Dick ran his hands run up and down her back, he could feel the dips of scars, her skin felt like silk.

“I was, at the start of the week, but I had to work my way into the back. Since the case has to do with dead, drugged dancers.” Feeling the fabric of the glove work against his jaw was extremely nice. “The owner thought I looked a little like the third Robin and that it would draw more people in with a chance to touch the untouchable.”

Well that explained it, though he didn’t like it. “Well Robin,” He grinned at her small smile. “I am glad to see that you are ok.”

“Of course I am Dick, I can handle myself.”

Dick’s hands slid up her sides. “I know that, I just worry about you, that’s all.” Her smile is bright as she looks at him. It makes him warm in the pit of his stomach.

“You are a good brother Dick.” He felt a sting in his chest at that; he had to rectify this, make her see that he doesn’t see her like that anymore.

“Robin, I -” Just as he was about to talk it out with her Jason come in, literal guns blazing.

“A’ight you sleeze bags, put the women and drinks down and hand ya selves over. There’s no need for this to get worse.” Jason’s voice coming through the synths made him sound meaner.

Dick can tell when Jason sees them. His head tilts just slightly.

There is a sudden noise behind Jason that make him turn just as the man from earlier rushes at him with a glass bottle. Jason stands his ground and ducks below the bottle and cocks the man in the head with the butt of his gun, knocking him out instantly. With the man now on the floor Jason places a foot on him and looks at the others in the room.

“Now that wasn’t very nice. Anyone else want a go? I won’t be so nice to the nex’ one.” Jason points his guns at the men in the bar. “Now tell me where the owner is and we will get this lil show on the road.”

________________________________________

Dick was back in the cave pacing back and forth waiting for Temperance. As soon as Jason had dealt with the owner and the police had shown up, Dick could not afford to be there as Dick Grayson and Temperance had to stay behind to give her statement. Though she had given him her word that she was coming back to the cave as soon as she was able, it has been two hours since he had left the club. Maybe she wasn’t coming? Just told him she would so that he would leave her alone.

Damn, he should of waited for her, so she couldn’t run away. Dick pulled his phone out of his pocket to give her a call. There was no way that she was running away tonight. Just as he was about to call her, there was a roar of an engine coming into the cave. Dick felt his breath catch. She was here! She came! He could not hold the smile back as he saw her park the bike and take off the helmet, he watched as her black hair fell in waves.

Dick walked towards her, she turned towards him and smiled. He was glad she was dressed in skinny jeans, tank top and jacket, it allowed him to think, rather than be distracted by all the skin that was on show earlier.

“Temp!”

He grabbed her in a hug and took in a breath. She smelt different from the club. Better though, something intrinsically Temperance, rather than the sickly but also sweet smell that clung to her in the club.

“Dick! I can’t breath!” She pushed against him and laughed at the sad eyes he was giving her. Letting go Dick stood there and just looked at her. “What?” There was confusion written all over her face.

“Nothing! Nothing, I’m just really happy to see you!” Dick was grinning. It was so good to see her in the cave, it was natural and made Dick feel all warm.

“You saw me earlier?” Dick cannot help but think that her frown is cute. Everything about her was cute.

“I know, but this just feels… more like us, y’know?” Now she is scrunching her nose and Dick just cannot help himself, he taps her on the nose and watcher her blink rapidly. “Sorry, had to.” She just gives him a long suffering look and goes around Dick making her way over to the computer.

She sits down in the chair and rapidly starts entering data into files. Without stopping, she looks over to Dick for a second before turning back. “So what did you want to talk about?”

Crap, Dick had gotten so excited about her just being here he forgot there was a point to asking her to be here. “I, urm, well, the thing is, something has come to mind, that I thought we should sort out.”

“Like what Dick?” Temperance tilted her head, still typing.

“Us.”

The incredulous look Dick received gave him pause “Us?”

“Yeah, you and I.” Dick waffles his hands back and forth between them, even though he knows she cannot see it.

“What about us?”

“I think there is something I need to make clear about our relationship.” Dick pauses and thinks of how to carry on, he has to think carefully about what he's going to say.

Temperance has stopped typing and is looking at him with questioning eyes. “Relationship? What are you talking about Dick?”

“Our one, there’s something that needs to be cleared up.” Dick clears his throat and decides to just jump in, so he doesn’t lose his nerve and flounder. “I don’t see you the same way that I used to.” Dick was grasping for words now. “I just, had to figure out how I do see you, and tonight I made up my mind as to what I want to see you as” God, what was he saying? “Seeing those other guys touching you was the worst case of jealousy I have ever felt, even worse then when I thought you and Superboy had a thing going on!”

“Kon? You thought we had a thing? Why would you think that?” Temperance looks offended that Dick would even suggest the possibility that she and Superboy had a thing. “Dick, you have to start making sense. Nothing that you’re saying right now does!”

“I just, thinking about other people touching you and getting the right to be around you makes me mad. All I wanna do sometimes is take you back to Blüdhaven with me, and not let you leave the apartment for days, maybe even weeks if I could.” Dick hear the words coming out of his mouth and the only word he could think to describe them were petty. “I haven’t thought of you as a little sister for a while, thinking about how I could bring this up and not make you want to run in the other direction!”

“So you were jealous and that made you realise that you wanted me in ways that were not brotherly?” How was Temperance not getting this? She was supposed to be the smart Robin!

“No - Yes? I don’t know Temp, I found out a while ago that I thought of you in less than brotherly ways. The jealousy was always there, but I just thought it was because I wanted to protect you, make sure you were safe! Now I know it’s because I want to be the one you share your snacks with, smile at and tell all your problems with. To want to spend time with me in other places other than the Cave and when we are on patrol.” Dick smiled, hoping that he was getting through.

“Dick, I don’t know what you want me to say here, what is it that you want from this? Because to me this all sounds like stuff friends can do, and we’re already friends.” Dick supposes that she had a point, alright time to make the point more obvious to his apparently blind bird.

“I want you to tell me whether you think it’s possible for us to be more than what we are?”

“Like fuck buddies?” How did she come to that conclusion? Did she really think he would ask her something like that? What made her think he - no never mind that was his own fault. “You know that I don’t actually do relationships like that right?”

Dick shook his head. “No, no, no, not like that, not like that at all!” He had to make her see that that was not at all what he was thinking! “I mean as in, you and me, together, partners in more ways than one. Someone I can come to at night.”

“Together?” She sounded even more puzzled.

“Yes together! Why is this so hard? I like you Temperance! More than a sister! I want us to be together until we are both old and grey.” Dick did not think he could be making this clearer; he has never had so much trouble asking someone out, though Temperance wasn’t like other girls, so maybe that was the problem?

“You like me?” Her voice grew in pitch.

Dick tilted his head and frowned. “Why are you just repeating everything that I’m saying?”

Temperance is now holding up a hand.“Dick, you have got to give a girl a minute to process stuff like this.” Her frown was clearing and making way for one of the most beautiful smiles Dick had ever seen on her face. “I just found out the dude I have been crushing on since I was like three wants to go out with me. I think I’m allowed to freak out a little ok?”

“Oh…” Well then. Dick just stood there, mind blank. She liked him, for that long? How had he not noticed that?

“Yeah, oh.” Temperance was laughing at him now. “Don’t get me wrong Dick, this makes me super happy, but I think you broke my brain.” Suddenly her face is all business taking Dick by surprise. “You’re serious right, you want to give us a try?”

Dick could feel his cheeks hurting with the smile on his face. “Yes! Super serious!”

“Well, alright then, we’ll give this a shot.” Dick could see her thinking about something so he gave her a moment to collect her thoughts. “But you have to be a hundred percent sure that you want this.”

Closing the gap between them Dick grabbed Temperance’s arms and pulled her up. “Im am two hundred percent sure!” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and breathed her in.

“Dick, that's not possible, though I understand your meaning. Just let me finish up here and I will meet you upstairs, ok?” He let her go and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Sure, sure, I am so glad that you agreed to go out with me! This is going to be so fantastic!” Dick practically skipped to the steps with how happy he was right now.

Temperance was now sitting back at the computer and typing again. “Im sure, now be gone with you, the quicker you leave the faster I shall be finished.”

“Oh, by the way…” Dick said as he was making his way up the stairs, his face lighting up. “You still have the clothes from the club?” Knowing better than to stay Dick ran for the clock entrance.

“Dick!” He heard Temperance scream and he could imagine the blush that was certainly now on her face.

Dick laughed all the way back to his room, God, this was going to be so much fun!

Note: Sorry for any mistakes, I just really wanted to get this chapter out :)