#i wasn’t moving my body because i was recovering from a knee injury. i have been moving more & i don’t eat as much salt now

[atlas-of-a-human-soul]

Wildest dreams, pt. 14

Summary: Paul is recovering, but is finding the platonic relationship with Y/N more painful than the injuries.

Warnings: fluff, sexual content 

Wildest Dreams Masterlist

————————————

As each day passed, Y/N followed Paul’s recovery with care. In the mornings, she’d come by before work just to lay a kiss upon his forehead, most of which he was asleep for. In the evenings she wasn’t working, she’d bring him and the pack dinner, starting a movie night tradition.

It took a month before Y/N cleared Paul to walk unassisted and another before she had allowed him to go on runs. He hadn’t shifted in two and a half months, partially because he knew Y/N would murder him if he tried and in part because he was afraid. The dreams that terrorized him while he was comatose left a mark – what if he can’t shift anymore?

“What are you in the mood for?” She raised a brow, her eyes focusing on Paul who laid on the couch.

All the time he’s been granted around Y/N has been a gift he doesn’t take lightly, but they’ve mainly been platonic since he woke up and Paul’s slowly started losing his patience. 

It’s not that holding her in his arms isn’t enough, it’s the fact that her big brown eyes drive him insane whenever she looks up at him from where she’s laying on his chest and she does it with so much unbridled innocence that makes Paul want to throw her onto the bed and pin her to the mattress while taking his sweet time showing her all they’ve been missing out on. They’ve both been far too stubborn, the time they wasted can’t be replaced, but they could stop wasting any more of it.

“You”, he shrugs, giving her a quick glance before chuckling as he notices her cheeks beginning to darken with his insinuation.

Being back home the last month saved Paul’s sanity because at the end of the night, everyone leaves…everyone but Y/N and he doesn’t mind her company.

Clearing her throat, she looks down at her phone. “I meant what do you want to eat?”

Snorting, Paul sits up and this time he doesn’t just glance at her – he stares straight at her when he speaks. “And my answer remains the same”, he smirks as her eyes find his. “You.”

Licking her lips, she lets out a heavy sigh. Clearing her throat once more, she runs her fingers through her hair before pressing her lips in a thin line all while avoiding Paul’s gaze.

It’s not like she hadn’t thought about it - fantasized of his hands touching her body like he’s never touched her before, of his lips finding every spot that would make her crumble with just a kiss, of the way he could make her forget about the world and their past stupidity and just live in that moment where they share a single breath. She’s certainly thought about it, but so far, Paul hasn’t made a move and she found herself unsure about whether he ever will. 

Truth be told, she wasn’t sure how to approach the subject. Beyond their flirting, Y/N wondered if kissing Paul would be weird considering she's known him since she was barely four years old. What if they kiss and all the desire and chemistry she feels now just isn’t there?

Being bare in front of someone you've known your whole life is bound to be awkward, is it not?

“Did that make you uncomfortable?” Paul asks, his smirk dropping into a frown.

Inhaling sharply, she clicks her tongue as she looks up at the ceiling only to chuckle nervously. “It made my heart skip a beat”, she admits. “And it also made me want to hide my face from you.”

Heading toward the chair Y/N is settled in, Paul sits on the floor before her. Noticing her still avoiding his gaze, Paul felt his heart sink at the thought of her pushing him away. Gently taking her chin between his thumb and index finger, he turns her to face him and the blush adorning her cheeks would have brought him to his knees if he wasn’t already on them.

“I know our relationship has been on hold while I was getting better, but I also can’t pretend I’m not dying to take the next step.” Taking her hand in his, Paul brings her fingers to his lip for a quick kiss. “So let me take you on that date, because it takes every ounce of self-restrain I possess to stop myself from skipping all of it and just kissing you right here, right now in a manner that would make your toes curl.”

Suppressing a laugh, Y/N leans in slightly. “Never thought I’d see the day Paul Lahote is willing to wait like a proper gentleman.”

“It’s you”, Paul smiles. “I want to do everything right with you.”

Leaning closer, a curl of Y/N’s hair falls out from behind her ear and brushes against Paul’s cheek. Without a thought, Paul brings the lock of her hair to his lips and just as she thinks he will kiss it like men in books do, he curves it into a fake mustache above his lips.

“Could I pull these off?” Paul wiggles his eyebrows and she couldn’t help herself, cackling at his silliness, cutting through the tension they were both consumed by just moments before.

Once their laughter finally died down, Paul rested his head in her lap. Running her fingers through his longer hair, Y/N’s lips are fixed into a content smile. During these past few months Paul had let his hair grow out and it’s nearly grown to below his chin. She never saw Paul grow his hair after middle school. He cut it as soon as he joined the jocks, citing football as a proper reason to chop off his curls and he told her that he kept it short after because of shifting. Of course, she could only admire those curls from afar in the past, but she could play with them now.

“You’re free this weekend”; Paul states and she hums as an answer. “I want to take you out on that date.”

“You do realize that even this could be considered as a date just as many days and nights we spent together before?”

“But it’s not the same”, he looks up at her and she smirks.

“You have literal puppy eyes.”

Rolling his eyes, he sits up. “Don’t even joke about that.”

Chuckling, she nods. “Alright, wolfy. We can come to an agreement.”

Narrowing his eyes, Paul chews on the inside of his bottom lip. “What kind of an agreement?”

“We can go on a date this weekend”, she raises a brow, “but I get to call that look the puppy eyes look.”

Closing his eyes, Paul exhales loudly through his nose. Contemplating to for a few seconds longer, he looks at her with pursed lips.

“Do I get to kiss you at the end of the night?”

“If you impress me”, she winks, “you can take me home at the end of the night.”

Choking on his spit, Paul coughs. Gasping, he places a hand over his chest. “You’re trying to kill me.”

Biting her lower lip, she inches closer to the edge of her seat. Resting her hands on Paul’s shoulders, her lips part as she pulls herself down on Paul’s lap, straddling him with ease.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she brings herself closer to him, purposefully grinding down on him only to elicit a frustrated groan.

Smirking, her cheek brushes his as her lips touch upon his ear lightly. “If I wanted to kill you, I could do it right here, right now.”

“Girl BE MERCIFUL”, Paul exclaims as a drop of sweat rolls down his temple.

He can hardly resist grabbing her and having his way with her. Paul’s promised himself she will be treated right, not like one of his hookups, but Y/N seems to enjoy making it hard for him. Pun intended. And to think she was blushing like a school girl when he had flirtatiously teased her earlier makes him feel cheated, because he’s the one supposed to drive her crazy, not the other way around.

Giggling, she grinds on him once more as she pulls away enough to have her hands at the back of his neck, quite literally keeping Paul at arm’s length.

“Don’t think I haven’t been thinking about us taking the next step too. Because I have and I am just as excited as you are.”

All but whimpering, Paul could feel himself trembling and he knows she can feel it too. “I don’t think I’ll make it to the weekend.”

Smug, Y/N bites the left corner of her bottom lip. “Cave in”, she raises a brow. “Admit defeat and we can take things upstairs immediately.”

Groaning, he throws his head back. “How did I activate devil mode on you and can I please deactivate it before I pass out?”

Shaking her head fondly, she releases his neck and pulls herself up to stand.

Heavy breathing fills the room, Paul still trying to catch his breath but Y/N can tell it’s not helping the fact his grey sweatpants are fully exposing just how tortured he feels.

“One last chance, wolfy.”

Glaring up at her, his nostrils flare. “Let me respect you, damn it.”

“At least a kiss?”

“Not before the date!”

Gasping, she sits back on the chair. “So you’re telling me you’re going to have our first kiss and first time in the same night?”

“No”, Paul furrows his brows. “Sex isn’t until the third date!”

Eyes wide, her lips part in shock. “You’re expecting me to wait?”

“Who’s the player now”, he smirks, finally regaining control again.

“Mmmm, yeah”, she shakes her head. “I’m not waiting for three dates.”

“Too bad, cause I am”, his smirk widens.

“We’ll see about that.” Inspecting her nails, she purses her lips. “I’ve barely touched you just now and you were ready to cry”, her eyes flicker to Paul’s. Trailing to his lips, her gaze lingers for a few moments before reestablishing eye contact. “I wonder what will happen when I actually try to seduce you.”

“You”, he pauses for a proper breath. “You weren’t seducing me now?”

Smirking, she answers with a light shake of her head. “You better prepare, Paul Lahote, because I intend on seeing you naked Saturday night and I promise you will see my new underwear set too.”

Letting out a shaky breath, Paul stands and backs away swiftly. “I need a shower”, he exclaims.

“Need your back washed?” She raises a brow while twirling a lock of her hair. Crossing her legs, she leans back, allowing her lips to part seductively.

With eyes wide, Paul shakes his head vehemently. “ICE COLD SHOWER”, he shouts while running to the stairs. Stopping at the first step he turns to looks at Y/N, “ALONE!”

Out of sight, Y/N covers her face while gigging. She had never been quite so bold before in her entire life, but even the most patient woman would lose it by now and she has every right to test the waters.

If Paul is so free in teasing her, she was surely going to give him a taste of his own medicine. Except she really couldn’t wait anymore and Y/N had made Paul a promise – one she would keep.

He once told her Taylor’s song makes him think of her...she’s going to make damn sure to show him exactly what a wild dream she can be.

Tags: @the-chaotic-cow @xxxjaexxx @captainrogers-19 @bexloxl @laehlaluvs @adaydreamaway08 @sunsetevergreen @volturiwolf @twihard08 @galacticstxrdust @sorrow-and-bliss @ireadthensuetheauthors @missxmarvelous @locokoca @unstablekay @makhaia @venusdelaroix @avadakadabra93 @tearsforhan @a-marie-a @lendeluxe @seagulls-corner @jdbxws @kitabestboy @rottenstyx @itsmytimetoodream @dreamerwasfound​ @avis15 @whatevenisthisname @julia13123

Part 15

[thegettingbyp2]

Congrats for the 100 followers! Can we have a Johnny knoxville x reader, a little angsty, in which they fight because after the last bull in jackass forever, the doctor told him to stop with big stunts but he continues to coming up with ideas? The reader is worried sick and eventually decided to leave him because of this behavior that's hurting her. But pls end it with a happy ending and a reconciliation ** your ff are my fave here on tumbrl**

Thank you!! That honestly means so much to me :') really hope you like this! I've never written Johnny upset so I liked the challenge and hopefully I've done it well!

No More Bulls

Buy me a coffee :)

I knew that by dating Johnny Knoxville, I was signing up for constant worrying when he was filming Jackass, but I had never felt as much fear as I did when I saw him walk into that bullring.

‘Be careful,’ I said just before he entered the ring.

‘Always am darlin,’ he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead as he walked past, giving my hand a tight squeeze. I went to stand next to Steve-O, who as Johnny’s best friend, also became mine and I felt him wrap his arm around my shoulders to comfort me.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion when I saw the bull hit Johnny and he flipped in the air. When he hit the ground, I felt panic set in when I noticed that he wasn’t moving and he quickly disappeared from my sight as he was surrounded by paramedics. My first instinct was to run over to him to see if he was okay but I was quickly stopped when Steve-O’s arm wrapped around my waist, stopping me from going any further.

‘Steve-O, let me go,’ I said, voice shaking as I struggled in his grip, trying to get closer to Johnny.

‘(Y/N), just wait a second, let them get the bull away and then I’ll let you go okay?’ Steve-O said, used to having to talk me down when I stressed when Johnny was hurt. I felt my body still but my eyes didn’t leave the group of people surrounding my boyfriend. As soon as the bull was taken out of the ring, I felt Steve-O’s arm release my waist and I shot through the gate to Johnny’s side, sinking to my knees and grabbing his hand.

I heard a slight groan from Johnny’s throat as his eyes opened slowly. Tears fell from my eyes as I released the breath I didn’t know I had been holding. ‘Did we get the shot?’ he asked groggily making everyone around him laugh at his priorities.

‘We got it,’ Jeff said from behind me.

‘You okay doll,’ he asked, looking over at me as he was lifted off the ground in a stretcher and carried to the back of the ambulance. I climbed in straight after, still gripping his hand.

‘You really want an answer to that question?’ I asked sarcastically, ‘let’s just get you to the hospital,’ I said softly. He lifted my hand and kissed the back of my hand.

---

‘So I was thinking that next time I could have two bulls in there with me and if I can convince some of the other guys, we can do the Toro Totter again,’ Johnny said excitedly as he was jotting ideas for new stunts in his notebook. My head shot up as soon as I heard him mention bulls.

‘You really think it’s a good idea to get back in the bullring babe?’ I questioned, treading lightly around the subject. ‘I mean, you haven’t fully recovered from the last one yet.’

It had been the hardest hit he’d ever had from the bull and ended with him having to spend an entire weekend in the hospital. The injuries he sustained from it was a broken wrist, broken ribs, a concussion and a brain haemorrhage. The fact he wanted to carry on working with the bulls baffled me.

‘Well obviously not yet, darlin’, but when my wrists all healed up then I think it’d be great!’ He said, chuckling to himself. I sighed softly but not as quiet as I thought because Johnny looked up from his pad and asked what was wrong.

‘Nothing, it’s just you heard what the doctors said, they said no more big stunts,’

‘Babydoll, they say that every time I go,’ Johnny said, getting up from his seat and walking over to me, sitting on the coffee table opposite me and took my hand in his one good hand.

‘I know but this time was different. Baby, you’re not as young as you were ten years ago and I still fully support you doing these films because you love it and I’d never stop you from doing something you love but I can’t just sit by and watch you get seriously hurt because what if one of these times, the doctors can’t do anything to help you.’ I said all of this in one breath, needing to get it out, tears starting to spill from my eyes. I looked up to see Johnny staring at me.

‘Are you saying that if I carry on doing my big stunts, you’re gonna leave?’ He asked carefully, eyes trying to discern my answer from the look on my face. I looked down, squeezing his hand in mine as I worked up the courage to say what I needed to.

‘Johnny, I love you but I can’t keep panicking every time you go to work that you’re not going to come back, sitting by the phone worrying that I’m going to get a call from Jeff or Steve-O that something’s happened you’re not going to be able to come back from.’

There was a period of silence between us as we both sat staring at each other for a while before Johnny swallowed heavily and spoke, his words shattering my heart.

‘Sweetheart, I can’t just stop doing what I love.’

I nodded as more tears fell from my eyes, smiling softly before squeezing his hand once more and disentangling our fingers and standing up, wiping the tears off of my cheeks. ‘I’m really sorry, but I can’t do this anymore and there’s no way I’m going to ask you to choose between me and your job, I just can’t be around to see it anymore,’ I said quietly.

‘Sweetheart,’ Johnny started before cutting himself off, his voice thick and his eyes shining with unshed tears as he gripped at the hem of my shirt. I put one hand on the back of his head and other on his shoulder as I gently kissed the top of his head before pulling myself away. I looked at him and had to quickly look away so I didn’t start crying again. I squeezed his shoulder and let my hand gently cradle his cheek before walking away, not letting myself look behind me.

---

It had been two months since I had walked out on Johnny and every day I missed him so much my heart physically hurt, but at the same time, I knew that I had made the right decision with how much it was killing me seeing him getting so hurt all the time. I was renting a small apartment, not needing so spend extra money on a big place for just one person and I only left it when I needed to go out to buy groceries.

I hadn’t seen Johnny in the past two months but I had been keeping up to date on Instagram with how filming was getting on and I can’t lie, it worried be a bit that I hadn’t really seen any pictures or videos of Johnny on set. I kept having to remind myself that it was no longer any of my business what Johnny got up to.

It was a normal day, I was sitting on my sofa, covered with a blanket and watching my favourite TV show when I heard three loud knocks at my door. Confused because the only people who knew my new address were my parents and Steve-O (he came round when I first got the apartment to check that I was okay), I set my coffee on the small table, shook the blanket off my shoulders and made my way to the door. I couldn’t help the shape intake of breath when I saw Johnny in the doorway. He looked terrible, his eyes were dark as if he hadn’t slept in weeks and they we’re rimmed with red, a sign that he’d been crying.

‘No more bulls,’ he said quietly.

‘What?’

‘No more bulls,’ he repeated when I stepped aside to let him in. He walked into the apartment and turned to face me as soon as the door shut behind me. ‘Don’t be mad but I made Steve-O tell me where you were living.’

‘Okay? Johnny I,’

‘(Y/N), sweetheart, I’m a mess. I miss you, I haven’t been able to film anything because every time I did, I’d turn to find you and you weren’t there. It feels like there’s no point without you. I’m going to stop doing the stunts with bulls.’

‘Johnny, I told you I wasn’t going to ask you to,’

‘This isn’t me choosing between two things I love, (Y/N). This is me choosing between something I love and someone I can’t live without.’ He moved closer to me and took my hands in both of his, I looked down and noticed that the cast had come off his wrist, his thumbs rubbing soft circles on the insides of my wrists. ‘I’ve been miserable without you. I hate it. I found one of your books in my bedside drawer the other night and spent the night crying. Come back to me,’ his voice broke off slightly as tears formed in his eyes. I raised my hand and wiped the tear away, leaving my hand on his cheek when he leant further into my touch.

‘I miss you too. You have no idea the amount of times I’ve made two cups of coffee before I realised that you weren’t around anymore.’ Johnny laughed softly. ‘Are you sure that you’d be okay with giving up the bulls, you love them.’

‘I love you more.’ Johnny replied instantly. ‘Way more. I don’t care if I never even see a bull again. I’ve had this decided for weeks it’s just taken me this long to get your address from Steve-O, he was pissed at me when I told him what happened. I want you to come back. I want to wake up next you, I need to feel you laying on top of me again when you nod off sweetheart,’ he leant in closer so I could feel his breath on my lips. ‘Come back to me sweetheart.’

Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my toes to kiss him. His arms instantly wrapped around my waist and lifted me up. I pulled back and looked him in the eyes.

‘No more bulls?’

‘No more bulls sweetheart.’

[emptifylie]

TW!!! btw i’m fine i’m literally just gonna go to bed after porting this i justalways feel like this and wanted to put it into words

one thing about ana is that your memory will get so shitty that if u “recover” or gain weight, you think back on your lowest weight as the peak time of your life. but god. i just read a random locked thing in my notes app and this is something i wrote when i was at my lowest weight and literally dying from ana: “i want to die. not like how i normally say i want to die but i would never do it. i want to actually fucking die. there is nothing left for me here. my family is fucking insane and making it so hard for me to lose weight. i’m so fucking ugly. i never hang out with anyone anymore. they took a week off work so i have to be with them for a whole fucking week and god forbid he starts to see me get upset on the outside even tho it’s fine if i’m doing literally fucking terrible on the inside. he wants a fake smile. i want to die. i want to literally die. i think i’m going to fucking kill myself if i don’t get skinnier and everyone doesn’t shut the fuck up. dying sounds so incredible right now. like the best thing that could ever happen to me.  die die die” once i read this all the memories came flooding back on how much i still hated myself at 90lbs. i hated myself as much as i hate myself now which is crazy to me. somehow this has turned into motivation for me cuz i know that even if i choose recovery i’ll still hate myself. idk why i’ve always wanted to die so badly. bc my memory had faded so bad i dont remmeber that this has been me my whole life. this made me remember how even at age 6 i wanted to die. i would get intrusive thoughts, picturing my death and praying it would happen. god. why the fuck can i not just live. are there people out there who want to live?? like unconditionally?? you guys just are okay with being in your body and mind and soul and life and just continuing. i’ll never have the guts to act on these feelings cuz i wouldn’t be able to accept ruining the lives of people around me, even if that means living in my own hell 24/7. i don’t know why my brain keeps combing itself that i can recover. god i hate myself so much that recovery is not an option for me. this isn’t a knee injury or a cold i could just recover from. this is my life. it’s ME and i can’t just get up and move on from it. why can’t i be like those girls on tiktok who say they’re in recovery and they seem so fucking happy and they’re still skinny and they get to make their little videos of them munching down on fear foods and they seem genuinely HAPPY now. today i was with some friends and i ate, a lot. even though i planned to fast for this week i ate. and the whole time i wasn’t able to enjoy myself because my mind was tearing itself apart because now i’m even further. i’m further and further from being sicker and it makes me so mad. if i can’t die i just want to be able to starve and feel dead. it hurts so much to be stuck in this weird recovery zone where i’m both alive and dead at the same time. i’m no longer the girl who i was in a physical sense. i’m fat again and ugly and i’m not cold and i’m actually quite hot right now and i’m not starving to death and i’m not pale. yet my mind is exactly the same, constantly screaming at me. but then somehow my body makes me eat again. how come a random switch inside me can flip and just do that to me. i haven’t caught up yet and i’m stuck in the middle and it fucking sucks. what am i doing if not living or being dead. i’m genuinely such a fucking empty void right i’m the body of a pig.

[storiesforallfandoms]

thought i lost you ~ captain jack sparrow;pirates of the caribbean

word count: 1310

request?: yes!

“Hey, I have a request for Jack Sparrow if you want to do it. Something along the lines of the reader getting really hurt in a fight or something, and it was kind of Jack's fault, so he feels immensely guilty about it. And Jack was really scared because he thought he might lose her. Then when the reader wakes up, Jack can't hold his tears because he never felt like that before, so she comforts him and eases his worries and maybe he confesses his true feelings for her and they cuddle?”

description: when she is nearly fatally injured during a fight, jack realizes he may never get the chance to confess his feelings again

pairing: jack sparrow x female!reader

warnings: swearing, violence

masterlist (one, two)

It was a glorious fight. (Y/N) was holding up well on her own against Davy Jones’ men as Jack fought the man himself. She was moving so quickly and seamlessly that it was hard for Jones’ men to even pinpoint where she was before she attacked.

Jack had gotten away from Jones for long enough to look at (Y/N). She was pulling her sword from another of the henchmen. She locked eyes with Jack and smiled. He returned it for a brief moment before his face fell and his eyes widened.

“(Y/N), look out!”

Before she could react, she was stabbed from behind by one of Jones’ men. Her eyes went wide as she fell to her knees. Jack was stunned at first, but was spurred into action when the man raised his sword again. He was quick to close the gap between them, swinging his own sword to stop (Y/N)’s attacker.

There was no time to check on her. Her clothes were already stained with blood and they had to get back to the ship. Jack picked her up carefully and raced for the Black Pearl, Davy Jones’ voice following him as he got further and further away.

His crew were waiting when he got back. Gibbs helped him to gently get (Y/N) onto the ship. Her eyes were glossing over and her breathing was slowing by the second. Jack looked around at the faces of the men who were surrounding them, frantically searching for someone.

“Tia!” he called, getting to his feet and approaching the former sea Goddess. “Tia, please, you have to help her. She was stabbed, she’s lost a lot of blood.”

Tia glanced at (Y/N) over Jack’s shoulder. “I’m not a miracle worker, Jack.”

“Please, just try,” he begged. “That’s all I ask for. Please?”

Tia sighed and looked at the injured girl again. She took a moment to consider before nodding to the two nearest crew members. “Take her below deck. I’ll need to be absolutely alone, that includes you Jack.”

The captain nodded, although knowing he couldn’t be with (Y/N) was killing him. He watched as his two crewmates carried (Y/N) down with Tia following behind them. The two men were gone for just a moment before reappearing. Jack continued to watch the door, wanting nothing more than to join them and be with (Y/N).

“Jack,” Gibbs said. “Jack, we have to go. It won’t be long until Davy Jones catches up to us.”

“Right,” Jack said, snapping out of his daze. “Right. Raise the sails!”

He used the escape as a way to take his mind off of what had happened. But it hadn’t taken long for them to flee the island, and soon, Jack was back to wondering what was happening below deck.

He was pacing when the door opened and Tia emerged. Jack looked at her, anxiously awaiting the news he was about to receive.

Tia smiled at him. “Turns out I am a miracle worker.

~~~~~~

Tia had put a spell on (Y/N) to make her sleep for about a day so she could recover. Jack was there when she woke up, apologizing profoundly for her near fatal injury.

“You have no reason to be sorry, Jack,” she assured him.

“You were out there because of me. I should’ve handled it on my own - ”

“I never would’ve let you,” she cut him off. “That would’ve been way too dangerous to face on your own. Even if you hadn’t let me go, I would’ve tried anyways. Imagine how much worst it could’ve been if you hadn’t known I was out there.”

Without thinking, Jack took her hand in his and held it tightly. He lowered his head to hide his tears, but his shaking body gave him away. With her free hand, (Y/N) cupped Jack’s face and made him look at her.

“Jack,” she said, her voice soft.

“Sorry,” he said.

“No, don’t be sorry. I’ve just never seen you cry before.”

“I was so scared. I thought I had lost you.”

She wiped a tear with her thumb. “I didn’t know you cared this much.”

“Of course I do, (Y/N). I care so deeply for you, I always have. It’s because I - ”

He caught himself then. Jack knew he had already said too much and was considering ways to get out of the situation, but he also considered the possibility of finally telling her. The feelings he had been harboring for so long, he could finally just let them out. There was always the possibility of a negative reaction, but it was better than just keeping this to himself for any longer, wasn’t it?

(Y/N) tilted her head to try and look into Jack’s wandering eyes. “It’s because...what?”

Jack sighed and squeezed her hand lightly. “It’s because I have feelings for you, (Y/N). Feelings that are stronger than just a captain and his crewmate, and even stronger than just two friends. I...I have romantic feelings for you, and I have ever since we first met.”

(Y/N) was stunned into silence. After her near death experience the day before, she was sure there was nothing that could top that shocking moment. And yet here she was, speechless because of what Jack had just confessed to her.

The longer she was silent, the more worried Jack became. Maybe it was wrong of him to admit his feelings. If (Y/N) didn’t feel the same way and knowing he did made her feel uncomfortable, she may want to leave the Black Pearl. It could cause an awkward tension throughout the ship since there was no land for possibly miles.

When (Y/N) finally spoke again, her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible.

“What took you so long?”

Jack looked at her, not his turn to be surprised. “W-What?”

(Y/N) smiled, bringing Jack’s hand to her lips and lightly pressing a kiss against his knuckles.

“I have romantic feelings for you too, Jack. I have for so long. I thought it was inappropriate to have these feelings so I never told you.”

A laugh escaped from Jack’s lips. “How could we both be this clueless?”

“We may be smart, but we’re also pretty stupid?”

Jack chuckled again, or maybe he was still laughing from before. He truly couldn’t tell at that point. He leaned forward, wanting to kiss her, but stopped short. He realized she hadn’t exactly giving him permission for anything like that.

(Y/N) smiled and closed the gap between them, gently pressing her lips against his. The kiss felt right, like it was meant to happen. Jack cupped (Y/N)’s face gently, running his fingers over her soft skin. He didn’t want to ever let go of her. He wanted to keep her close, to keep her safe. He could never risk losing her again.

(Y/N) pulled away from the kiss to suck in a breath of pain.

“Did I hurt you?” Jack asked.

(Y/N) smiled and shook her head. “No, I just moved too suddenly. The wound may be fixed but it’s not completely healed. Tia said it could be another few days before I’m mobile again, and another while still before I’m back to normal.”

“She did the best she could,” Jack said. “I owe her the world for saving you.”

(Y/N)’s fingers lightly brushed over Jack’s face, mirroring his earlier movements. “I owe you the world for saving me. If you hadn’t been there, or hadn’t been so quick, I would’ve been done for.”

“I don’t need the world,” he told her, kissing her hand, “but if you want to repay me, you can start by letting me call you mine.”

“Oh, my captain,” (Y/N) said. “I’ve always been yours.”

[delimeful]

hold my body down (2)

chapter 2 of this fic!

warnings: arguing, mild violence, cult mentions, mild gore mentions

-

Virgil stared at the man, his mind blank. What?

“That’s-- great?” Roman tried, his voice cracking in the middle with bewilderment. The human beamed, beckoning with his hand. Roman reached out and Virgil slapped his hand back, glowering at him.

“What have I said about accepting help from random friendly men?” he hissed, eyeing the stranger warily. Roman flushed, shoving him slightly, but notably didn’t try to move forward again.

The man-- Patton’s smile didn’t falter, but his hand dropped slightly. Virgil refused to feel bad. For once, he was completely sure that his level of paranoia was necessary for the situation.

“Oh, that’s okay,” Patton said, folding onto his knees to sit on the edge of the bag’s opening. “I can just explain from over here. I would come to sit in the bag with you, but last time I did that I got held hostage and Logan put a ban on interacting with terrified strangers without his direct supervision.”

“That, uh, seems rather fair,” Roman offered, still wildly out of his depth. Virgil rolled his eyes, a hand on the hilt of one of his daggers in case the stranger made any sudden moves.

“Who’s Logan?” He asked, eyes flickering up to what little he could see through the opening.

“Oh, he’s the one who rescued you!” Patton said cheerily. Virgil broke out into a cold sweat immediately.

“Rescued?” Roman echoed in disbelief. “Are you talking about the giant? Because I’m pretty sure he just abducted us against our will.”

“No, no, it’s not like that!” Patton insisted, only confirming Virgil’s theory that he was probably brainwashed and/or had Stockholm syndrome. Or both. Or a variety of other, worse options, such as yet another cult member or another giant in disguise.

“Easy, Virgil.” Roman laid a hand on his shoulder, grounding him. “Uh-- Patton, was it? If we’re not being… y’know… kidnapped and imprisoned, do you think you could back up so we can get out of the bag?”

“Of course!” Patton answered, popping back to his feet. “I’ll be right out here, take your time! I’m sure the last couple of hours have been rough.”

Virgil tried not to snort. Rough was one word for it. His amusement died a quick death when Roman began moving towards the opening. He latched onto the other man’s arm like a steel trap. “I don’t trust this.”

“You don’t trust anything,” Roman retorted automatically before softening. “It’s okay, I’m just checking to see what’s out there. Won’t even get out of the bag, on my honor.”

Virgil reluctantly followed him, grabbing onto him tightly as though he could keep anything out there from hurting him by yanking him back into the bag.

Roman ducked his head back under the cloth a moment later. “Okay. Bad news, there is absolutely a giant still out there. Good news, he’s all the way over across the room, reading a book. He is steadfastly ignoring both us and Patton, who waved at me.”

“What.” Virgil clutched at his hair. “What is going on?”

“I suspect we’ll have to ask Patton that. If we want answers, we’ll have to go get them,” He said, patting Virgil on the back encouragingly. “Don’t worry, my Dark and Stormy Knight, I’ll keep you safe.”

“My job,” Virgil grumbled, not releasing his grip on Roman’s wrist as he led the way out of the bag.

Everything was huge. He should have expected it, seeing as this was a giant’s home, but it still threw him off. They were on a huge table, in a huge living room, and the giant was indeed across the room with a huge book, pretending like they didn’t exist. From this distance, Virgil could actually take in all of him without feeling like he was going to pass out.

Patton was sitting a few feet away, and beamed at their approach. Virgil barely tore his eyes away from the giant long enough to nod distractedly at him. “Hi again! Are you guys okay?”

“We’re… fine,” Roman said, uncertain. “I think we’d just like to know what’s going on?”

“That’s totally understandable!” Patton replied, sympathetic. “I was pretty jittery after Logan first brought me here, too!”

“Oh, great,” Virgil muttered to Roman. “Serial kidnapper.”

Roman shot him a look before turning back to Patton. “He brought you here? Could I ask… why?”

“The same reason he brought you two here! I was in danger.” Patton glanced over to the giant with a fond smile before leaning in secretively. “To be honest, I think he was even more worried than I was! I was sort of stabbed at the time, though, so I guess that makes sense.”

“How were you ‘sort of stabbed’? You’re either stabbed or you’re not!” griped Virgil, who was possibly feeling more snappish than normal after one of the most stressful experiences of his life.

“My goodness, you were stabbed?” asked Roman, who had always been a sucker for a dramatic tale.

Patton tugged up the edge of his shirt, displaying a nasty-looking scar that curved around his side and stomach. In Virgil’s professional opinion, there was nothing ‘sort-of’ about a wound like that; it had been meant to kill. “Yeah, the people you met in town, they’re a cult! And they wanted to do a blood sacrifice for the monsters in the woods, and I wasn’t exactly well-liked, so…,”

“They stabbed you and left you for dead?” Virgil finished, a bit of anger leaking into his voice despite his determination not to sympathize with this guy.

“But I didn’t die!” Patton waved his hands a bit as though in celebration. “All the monsters in the woods had already been scared off when Logan moved here, and so he was the one who found me and helped me recover!”

Roman glanced over at the giant again, a speculative look in his eye that Virgil absolutely did not approve of. He scowled, his grip on Roman’s wrist tightening slightly.

“Right, and he just did this out of the goodness of his heart?” Virgil snorted dubiously. “I wouldn’t believe that from another human, let alone someone with a literally huge advantage over us. If your story is true, why didn’t the cult try to gut us? For that matter, if he’s not into human sacrifices, why wouldn’t your buddy over there just tell them to stop? Or, y’know, not kidnap us in the first place?”

“Well, hold on--,” Patton tried, but Virgil was on a roll.

“How do we know that this isn’t some elaborate setup? If he has the magical capabilities to heal a mortal wound, then wouldn’t it be easy for him to enchant a captive into believing that he’s just doing what’s best for him? Before, you said there were other people brought here-- what happened to them? Do you even know?”

Across the room, there was a sharp clap as the giant firmly snapped his book shut.

“They left,” Logan said firmly, the first words that they’d heard from him. “And if you continue to harangue my housemate, I will ask you to do the same.”

“Logan,” Patton said, a little exasperated.

Virgil felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of those huge, dark eyes locked onto him, but he plastered his best snarl on even as he dragged a protesting Roman partially behind him. “We’d be glad to leave, but someone put us on a table ten times our height!”

“Virgil,” Roman tried, but Virgil didn’t have the luxury of not paying attention to the pissed off giant in front of them.

“There’s a staircase down to your left,” the giant informed him coldly, “so if you are intent on watching your companion die from organ combustion, you have my utmost permission to leave.”

Logan!” Patton chided, a lot exasperated. He turned back to them. “He doesn’t mean it like that, I promise.”

“Really?” Virgil snapped, crowding Roman back further. “Because it sure sounds like he just outright threatened to kill us if we leave.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” Logan pinched the bridge of his nose before rising easily from his chair and reminding them all just how big he truly was. “This is why I let Patton handle the talking. I don’t know why humans always insist on making this more difficult than it needs to be.”

Virgil’s heart jumped into his throat as the giant approached, a thousand potential ways they were going to die flashing before his eyes. Behind his back, he flashed Roman a hand sign that meant ‘run for it’, and then released his friend’s wrist to draw one of his knives threateningly.

It was a pointless effort, but he’d known since setting out with his prince that one day he’d die for him.

Sure enough, the giant moved with that same uncanny speed he’d shown in the clearing, and simply grabbed Virgil’s forearm between his fingers as easily as one might scruff a cat, preventing any stabbing.

When Virgil immediately went to grab for another knife with his free hand, he found himself abruptly lifted and maneuvered, and couldn’t help letting out a startled yelp. The giant had essentially flipped him onto his front and settled one hand on his back as a weight, leaving him pinned and the giant firmly out of stabbing range.

More concerning was the fact that he could now see Roman, who hadn’t moved more than a few steps, and not just because he was a stupidly loyal, headstrong idiot. The prince seemed almost dazed, his skin shiny with sweat as he glanced between Virgil and Logan. Something was wrong. “Roman--!”

“You’re beginning to feel it, aren’t you?” Logan said, his cold tone thawing slightly as he looked down at Roman. “The cult of that town has only grown more... inventive with every cruel sacrifice they attempt. Rather than physical injuries, they’ve turned to blood curses, which has made my life exceedingly difficult.”

“Blood-- Blood curses?” Roman managed, looking more pallid by the moment.

The giant set a free hand down, palm up in offering. “I can reduce the effects. If you give me sufficient time, I can unravel the curse entirely, though brewing a countercurse will likely necessitate a drop of your blood.”

“Why go to the trouble?” Roman asked haltingly, meeting Virgil’s frantic gaze for only a moment. “What do you want in return?”

Logan sighed. “If you insist on applying such intentions to my actions, you can call it compensation. It is because of my presence that the cult continues to leave ‘offerings’, and thus your current state is my fault.”

“Then why not just do it?” Roman asked, staring at the offered hand with clear suspicion. Virgil was almost proud.

“Patton has gone to great lengths to teach me manners for interacting with smallfolk,” Logan replied dryly. “The first of which being ‘don’t grab.’”

There was a brief moment of silence as they all looked to Virgil, who was still pinned and sorely wishing he was in biting range of Logan’s hand.

“Manners don’t apply if someone is trying to stab me,” Logan added, a beat late.

Patton waved from where he was half-hidden behind Logan’s arm. “It’s true, my lessons did make an exception for stabbing!”

“Let him up,” Roman requested, his voice lacking its usual bravado. He still appeared concerningly ill. “He won’t stab you, right Virgil?”

Virgil grumbled something uncomplimentary under his breath, before sighing and going limp. “All I want is to protect my prince. If you actually mean to help him, I won’t stab you.”

“Now that stabbing is off the table, I’ve gotta say, it’s knife to meet you,” Patton chimed in, his grin audible in his voice.

“Patton, please,” Logan groaned, lifting his hand off Virgil to instead massage his temples in exasperation. “You’re going to disturb our guests.”

“Aw, are you sure? I think my jokes are stabsolutely hilarious!”

Virgil ignored the ridiculous byplay between the two of them to scramble to his feet and hurry to Roman’s side, ignoring the way Logan moved his arm slightly to be between him and Patton. “Roman, are you okay?”

“Are you? You’re the one who just got gently tenderized by Bignoramus over there for the second time today,” Roman countered, matching Virgil’s whisper.

“Fine, stupid question, clearly neither of us are okay. Are we really doing this, though? We could still run.”

“I’m… not sure we can, actually.” Roman’s hand hovered over his chest, face drawn tight with pain. “They definitely did something to me, and I doubt either of us will figure out how to fix it or get aid in time. … Look. This may be my only option, but you don’t have to--”

“Can it, Princey,” Virgil cut in, dragging a hand through Roman’s hair roughly and ignoring his resulting squawk. “Where you go, I go.”

“Even there?” Roman asked, tilting his head toward Logan’s palm somberly.

Virgil looked over to Logan, watching the attentive way he was listening to Patton speak and contributing words of his own. The giant could have done away with any of them at any point, and he hadn’t. That wasn’t enough to really trust him, it could still all be part of some scheme, but... it had to count for something.

If it was the only thing that could help Roman, Virgil could push aside his fear and his anger.

“Even there,” he answered, and led the way onwards.

[alicee1]

Stupid decisions

Technoblade x GN! reader

Warnings: Injuries, blood, arguing 

Word count: 1.6K

Synopsis: after traveling home at night through the mob infested tundra, you pay the toll of your decisions. When Techno sees the state you’re in when you return he becomes frustrated, when he moves his arms around you flinch in reaction. Angst with a happy and fluffy ending. 

Request:

“HEYY OMG I LOVE YOUR WRITING SO MUCH MY HEART AHH chile anyways-sorry for that short fangirl moment.. 

i wanted to ask if you could maybe write a oneshot where techno and his s/o argue over something stupid that he started, and in his hysterics he moves his hands around and the reader flinches... But i really need a fluffy and happy ending please my heart couldn't handle that much angstI would totally understand if you feel uncomfortable still thanks for reading my request pls keep writing so we'll written stories so I can have fangirl moments at 3 am-"

A/n: Thank you so much for the compliments! I’ll make sure to continue writing and i hope you’ll enjoy this oneshot. I had so many ideas for it and settled on this, it was so much fun to write! If you get more ideas, feel free to send them in! 

Rules, Masterlist

With one last movement of your arm, the last skeleton collapsed into itself. The fighting had started to tire you out as you sighed deeply, your limbs exhausted when your sword slipped out of your hold into the white snow below you.

It stained the snow around it a deep red, the blood that soaked the black metal blade coming from the various mob carcasses surrounding you.

One hand desperately clasped over your side, an arrow stuck from between your fingers, wedged into the flesh below.

With a small groan you crouched down, although the involuntary movement was more akin to falling to your knees instead.

You cursed yourself for not staying in a cave and setting up temporary camp there instead of heading home through the night. The temptation of a warm bed and returning to Techno had outweighed fighting a few mobs at night in your head.

Despite that, you knew how merciless the tundra was at night, the unlit flat land was the perfect place for mobs to spawn in enormous quantities. Still you decided to travel through it, forcing you to now you pay the price.

Yanking the cork out of a potion of regeneration you downed the liquid, sighing at the immediate relief the potion gave you. You used the painkilling capabilities to pull the arrow out of your side, pulling the jacket off your form underneath the thick cape that shielded you against the cold and using it as a bandage as you tied it around your waist.

Your physical activity would keep you warm enough, after all you still weren't home quite yet.

Once the potion had taken full effect you stood up once more, pulling your sword along with you as your hand found the familiar handle of the weapon.

The snow had cooled it but the temperature was a welcome change against your hot skin, a small layer of sweat having built up during the fighting.

Using the last of your pearls to get home quicker, you reached the final stretch, the subtle glow of the cabin in the distance combined with the adrenaline that coursed through your veins gave you enough strength to make it home without any further injuries.

You were sure you looked like a mess when you stumbled through the doorway, pushing the door close behind you and leaning against it as you breathed out.

You were here. You had made it.

Techno looked up, having heard you stumble up the stairs that led to the door.

He sat in his armchair, book in his lap as his eyes scanned the pages moments before. Despite the attempt at reading his mind was distracted as the voices spoke loudly over one another.

It was a futile attempt to distract himself, the lack of your presence had allowed the voices to pipe up loudly over the past days of your trip. He had tried anything and everything to supress them, leading him to this book as a last attempt to quiet the voices.

His armchair was positioned besides the fireplace, which gave enough light to comfortably read with and gave the room a warm orange glow.

The book he had been reading moments before was quickly abandoned as he saw the red liquid staining your cloak and arms. He could see your jacket tied around your waist from in between the fabric of the cape.

He was up in a second, large steps approaching your form as you stood up, properly this time, and set your sword in the rack that stood beside the door, which was usually used for other tools.

The pain had dulled by now, the potion worked quickly, although you knew it'd still take at least a day for the wound to fully close.

Techno pushed the fabric of the cape away, instincts telling him what the only reason could be why you'd take off your jacket in the tundra at night. His hands gentle as he spotted the red stains that had formed on the fabric on your side.

The voices that tainted his mind clashed against one another, half of them going feral at the smell and sight of blood, the other half screaming at him to protect and care for you. They overwhelmed his mind as they grew louder by the second, forcing him to pull away from you.

You however seemed oblivious to the fact as you unclasped the cape from your shoulders, discarding the blood and dirt stained fabric on the ground as you mumbled to try and explain what had happened.

As Techno tried to drown out the voices and take back the control over his mind, he straightened, forcing himself to take care of you first, not knowing the size of the injury in the first place.

He walked to one of the chests shoved against one of the walls, pulling out a first aid kit with proper bandages to treat the wound.

His hands moved gently over your skin as he worked, staying silent as he tried to focus on the task at hand despite the voices that still raced through his mind.

He sighed as he finished, forcing himself to meet your eyes, "Why did you travel through the night?" his voice was harsh, harsher than he meant.

You casted your eyes to the floor as a nervous smile formed on your face, "I just wanted to get home as quickly as possible." It wasn't an excuse, as much as it sounded like one, but you truly just wanted to get home and back to him.

"But you know how dangerous the tundra is at night." He was right, both of you knew that, yet still he felt as if he was scolding a child despite the concern evident in his voice.

"I know, I know, I really shouldn't have. I wouldn't have if I knew what would happen, but I thought I'd make it with my pearls and a few potions." you sighed as you met his eyes, "I just missed you"

It had been a few days since you had left for this trip, and especially the past two days you had been aching to return home.

"But who knows what could've happened out there!" his voice rose as you could see his temper slip, it was the worry combined with the overwhelming voices echoing through his mind.

For the days of your trip the voices had gone feral. They criticized him, spreading baseless anxiety over your location and state, they nit-picked what he did, commenting on his every move, scolding him when things didn’t turn out perfectly.

It was maddening.

"I'm alright though! I used a regen pot right away so it'll be alright!" You tried to reason, although you began to grow irritated as well. You were tired after your trip, you just wanted to lay down and cuddle to recover from everything.

"But you can't always rely on those!" He had started to wave his hands around to try and make his point clear to you, he had never been the best with words and often struggled to bring his point across correctly.

He moved to brush the hair that had fallen into his face out of it. As if his brain encountered an error the movement stopped halfway as he saw you flinch.

You blamed it on the adrenaline that still lingered in your veins. After all you knew Techno would never hit you. Despite that, the small erratic involuntary movement had already been executed, the adrenaline activating an immediate fight or flight response.

It was silent, a silence Techno hadn't known for the past days. While the voices had been constant for the past days, day or night, wake or unconscious didn't matter, they had always been there.

But now they were silent, the flinch that shook your body for a moment shutting up any voice and all thoughts he had instantly.

He tried to apologize, stumbling over his words as he couldn't meet your eyes. It took him a few tries before he dared to look at you again, he could see the exhaustion on your face as he reached for your hand, not quite holding it as he gave you the chance to grab it.

If you had truly flinched because of him he didn’t want to force his touch on you.

Your hand met his as you reached for it, sending him a small nervous but reassuring smile, "It's alright, you just surprised me." You pulled him closer to you, burying your face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around your waist, hands careful of your new injury to avoid it.

"I'm sorry for coming home so late, Tech." your voice was a whisper as Techno grumbled softly, "I'm sorry as well my love, these past days have been stressful."

A small chuckle escaped your throat as you hummed, "I think that makes for the two of us."

You pulled away slightly, "After I changed clothes can we cuddle?" you mumbled, making Techno chuckle as he looked at your dirtied clothes before cupping your cheek and planting his lips against your forehead, "whatever you want, my love"

[bounce-a-coin-off-your-witcher]

And Tomorrow, Too.

I'm back!

Much love and many thanks to @stinastar @hailhailsatan @newnamesamecharlotte and @veritasrose for helping me yank this thing out of my brain!

Please enjoy this hurt/comfort that ends with glorious, glorious fluff.

TW: Blood, canon typical injury, infection

Jaskier was having a very rough day, objectively speaking.

He’d just finished dressing after a dip in the river when a lone bandit surprised him, shoving him to the dirt and kicking him in the ribs to keep him down. Having dealt with a gut-punch from a Witcher, Jaskier had recovered faster than anticipated and tackled the stranger to the ground.

“Foolish troubadour,” the bandit snarled. There was the quick flash of something silver and a sudden white-hot pain shot up the bard’s side from his hip to his ribcage.

“Shit,” Jaskier gasped, clutching desperately at his slashed doublet. The panicked bandit scooped up the largest of the bard’s travel bags and darted into the woods, leaving his bloodied weapon lying atop a pile of leaves beside his victim. When Jaskier pulled his hand away from the wound on his ribcage he grimaced; that was more blood than he’d been hoping to see. “Fucking cock.”

After he stripped to the waist and rinsed off in the river a second time, Jaskier took inventory of himself. The cut started at his left hip and slid up his ribcage to just beneath his left shoulder, and it was practically impossible to bandage; any attempt to wrap the upper half of his injury made him bite his lip to keep from screaming in anguish.

It was agony to move more than a few inches in either direction, since the twisting motion pulled at his torn skin and stung like hellfire. All he could really do was apply a loose poultice of chewed mint leaves to ward against infection and tie his shirt around his torso in lieu of a bandage. His cloak would have to work even harder than usual to keep him warm until Geralt arrived.

“Alright, well,” he muttered to no one as he accounted for the rest of his scattered clothing and supplies. “I need to find somewhere to rest and gather what wits I still possess… somewhere that’s still close enough for Geralt to find me. Shit, this isn’t good.”

The bard thanked every god he knew when he managed to find a small cave less than a hundred yards from the enormous oak tree where he met Geralt every year. He limped his remaining belongings into the slightly cramped space and deposited them against the left wall.

---

Fortunately for Jaskier, the idiot bandit had declared his beautiful elven lute “too bulky and annoying to carry”, and had left Sexy well enough alone. Unfortunately, the ruffian had still made off with all the bard’s coin from at least two months’ worth of contracted performances, most of his medical supplies, and most of his rations, as well.

But Jaskier had spent years at Geralt’s side and the Witcher had taught him how to deal with emergencies of every variety. Jaskier wasn’t about to disappoint his companion by flailing about ineffectively like some noble-born dunce at a time like this. No, Jaskier was determined to be healthy and ready to travel again by the time Geralt arrived in Kaedwen to find him. They only had a week or two together before they separated again for the winter and he wasn’t going to lose a single precious second in Geralt’s presence due to some silly highwayman.

Lovelorn fool that he was.

The bard used his remaining strength to gather a few armfuls of firewood and light some dried leaves with his flint and steel. He laid out his bedroll against the back wall so that he could see clearly if anyone approached from outside and wrapped his arms around Sexy to keep her safe. He re-wrapped his wound with more crushed mint and laid down to try and get some sleep.

Hopefully Geralt would arrive soon with his medical supplies and more water.

Hopefully.

---

After two long days spent huddled in a miserable lump at the back of the cave, anxiously scanning the horizon for any sign of another bandit (or Geralt) and unable to gather food or kindling, Jaskier was exhausted from lack of sleep. The wound in his side ached and burned far worse than it had on that first afternoon, aggravated by sweat and debris that had crept through his makeshift bandages.

Any added pressure around the edges of the cut made the skin nearly creak with the building strain of infection. He whimpered involuntarily every time he took a breath and trembled at any shift in the autumn breeze. It seemed as if his very bones were aching as his body flashed between the white-hot and freezing cold of a raging fever.

Slowly, and with a great effort on the part of his illness, Jaskier succumbed to the injury and sank into the quiet warmth of unconsciousness.

---

“Jaskier?” Geralt called, guiding Roach around another circuit of the old oak tree. “Are you there, Jaskier? We need to make it to the fork in the Pontar before the harvest ends and I’m in no mood for practical jokes.”

Nothing.

All his Witcher hearing picked up on were leaves twitching in the wind and a few rabbits foraging off to his left. Not even Jaskier could stay so still, even for a joke; his heartbeat and the uptick in his breathing would give him dead away.

“Well, I’m going to town.”

Geralt was about to wheel Roach back toward the road in search of a nearby inn when he caught a whiff of something on the wind - something that sent his heart plummeting into his boots.

Blood.

Jaskier’s blood. And it wasn’t fresh.

He dropped silently from the saddle and gave the signal for Roach to stay put. After a few careful breaths and some shuffling through the autumn leaves, Geralt discovered the bandit’s discarded dagger, still rusty-red around the tip and left edge.

“Fuck! Jaskier!” Geralt called, glancing around the small copse in the woods. “Jaskier, where are you!?”

The Witcher closed his eyes and tilted his head back to better clear his airways. He took a deep breath in through his nose and focused every one of his heightened senses on locating the bard. There it was again to his right, but slightly stronger. “Fucking hells.”

Geralt did his best to follow the trail without panicking. It wouldn’t do either of them any good if he lost his head while the bard was in mortal danger. If the bard was in mortal danger, he tried to reassure himself.

But if Jaskier had recovered he would have been waiting at the oak. Geralt knew that. He knew it with every fiber of his being, though he wouldn’t admit anything aloud. Jaskier’s long autumn absence had already set him on edge when he’d caught the blood-smell. “Gods-dammit, bard. Please be alive. Please, Jaskier, I can’t-”

Geralt bit his tongue and continued to follow the bard’s weak scent into the woods. After too many minutes - perhaps five or six at the speed Geralt was moving - the Witcher reached a small cave. The mouth of said cave was nearly covered-over with dry leaves and Geralt could tell, even from this distance, that Jaskier was not faring well at all. The whole area smelled like rot. Like decay. If it weren’t for the bard’s fluttering heartbeat echoing faintly from within the tiny cavern, the Witcher would have fallen to his knees and wept with despair at his untimely death.

When Geralt ducked inside and reached to pull Jaskier into his arms, the bard struggled weakly. “No, please,” he rasped. “D-Don’t kill me.”

“I’m not going to kill you, Jaskier,” Geralt replied softly. He shifted the thick leather strap of Sexy’s case over his shoulder and hefted the bard into his arms in one swift movement. Those usually brilliant blue eyes looked up at him in utter confusion. The irises were dull and foggy with sickness; the Witcher’s heart lurched in his chest and he turned back to the path, doubling his speed in his hurry to reach Roach. “You don’t have to worry any more, sweet Julek. I’m going to get you to safety.”

“If you must kill me-” Jaskier continued, muttering frantically as if Geralt hadn’t said anything at all “-then p-please do me one last f-favor. I need you to p-please find a Witcher. F-Find the White Wolf. Tell h-him… Tell him that I…”

Then the weight in Geralt’s arms seemed to increase by a fraction and the bard went silent. The Witcher shook the sweating, shaking bundle in his arms but Jaskier remained quiet.

“What do you want to tell him, Jaskier?” Geralt glanced down. His eyebrows furrowed deeply when he realized the human had fallen unconscious. The hummingbird pace of Jaskier’s fluttering heartbeat began to hammer even faster and his breaths were far too shallow. The Witcher rumbled out a determined, desperate plea the universe to save his darling songbird, followed by a quiet but emphatic, “Fuck.”

---

“Eskel!” Geralt kicked down the door to the kitchen of Kaer Morhen with one solid boot. He hadn't slept in two days and his body ached from sprinting up the path with a full-grown man in his arms. “Eskel, Vesemir, please!”

“Fuck, is that Geralt!?” Eskel came whipping around one corner at a sprint. Lambert and Vesemir were close behind, Lambert with a sword drawn and a scowl on his face. He lowered it when he saw that Geralt wasn't being pursued.

“Please, Ves, Eskel, please, help him to survive because I can’t- I can’t-” the White Wolf, for all his bravado and stoicism, was panting furiously. His kinsmen knew that he'd be crying if he had the capability to do so and crowded closer to help. Geralt immediately handed a warm, damp bundle to his Eskel with incredible gentleness and care. He looked up at the slightly taller Witcher and begged with all the strength he had left: “Please. I can't let him die.”

---

Jaskier woke up with a sharp gasp. His side radiated a dull, persistent kind of agony and he felt sick to his stomach. With a low groan he turned to retch off the side of the bed, into a conveniently placed bucket. He shouted when the movement made his wound ache all the more. “Fuck!”

The bard heard a heavy thud from his left followed by some clattering and a quietly whispered, “Shit.”

“G’ralt?”

“Jaskier!” the Witcher appeared at his side in a flash. Geralt leaned over him with a damp cloth in hand and wiped at the corners of his mouth. “You’re alive! Melitele be thanked. Do you need to be sick again? Would you like some water?”

“You’re o-oddly verbose,” Jaskier managed to half-smile.

“Was worried.”

“There’s my monosyllabic Witcher,” the bard grinned through his blinding pain. “It hurts, Geralt. Rather terribly.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I don’t- We’re all Witchers so it’s not…” Geralt sighed and turned away to rinse the cloth in a bowl of cool water that had been resting on the sill. “We didn’t know which kind of herbs were safe for humans and which weren’t.”

“We?”

“How’s the patient?”

Jaskier's snapped to the doorway and his body automatically jerked in surprise. He whimpered at the reaction it elicited from his injury, his ribs blooming with a sharp sting. “Shit!”

“Fuck!” the red-headed man in the door replied, slamming his hands over his face. “I’m so sorry. Shit in the fucking nine hells.”

“Uh…”

“Jaskier, this is my brother Lambert. Lambert… This is Jaskier.”

“Ah yes,” the shorter Witcher smirked. “I’ve heard so much about you, Master Jaskier.”

“That I’m a royal pain in the ass?”

“Quite the opposite, really. In fact, when the two of you arrived, Geralt was nearly-”

Lambert’s statement was interrupted by a small wooden bowl to the side of the head, chucked across the room by a grim-faced Geralt.

“Nevermind. Anyway, glad to see you’re awake. I’ll let the others know that he's no longer going hand-to-hand with Death.”

“Others?” Jaskier glanced between Geralt and Lambert with wide, confused eyes. “Am I… Am I in Kaer Morhen!?”

“Aye,” Lambert winked. “And you slept through the first two days of snowfall, so I’m afraid to inform you that you’re stuck at Kaer Morhen for the rest of this season. I’ll let you and Geralt hash the rest of the details out in private. Tootles, Buttercup.”

And just as suddenly as Lambert had appeared, he was gone.

The bard turned to make eye contact with the White Wolf and blinked owlishly. “Wh-What did he mean about being here all winter?”

“I’m afraid he wasn’t lying,” Geralt returned to the stool beside Jaskier’s bed and sat down slowly, as if waiting for Jaskier to order him out of the room entirely. “Your injury was heavily infected and you were close to death when I found you in that cave at the base of the mountains. I ran the Killer in two days instead of one and brought you to Eskel and Vesemir for healing; they were the closest people I could think of who knew what to do to save you. I’m so sorry for trapping you here for the season when you should be teaching and composing in Oxenfurt. If you’d like, I can try to contact Yen or Triss and have them portal you back to the University before Yule.”

“Nobody would want to inconvenience a sorceress on their behalf,” Jaskier answered. "Myself included."

“So you don’t mind staying?”

Jaskier glanced up through his lashes, more self-conscious than Geralt had ever seen him before. “Were you really worried about me dying? Did you really carry me up the path all by yourself? In two days?”

“...Yes.”

“Why?”

Geralt felt his heart shatter to pieces in his chest. All these years spent thinking that if he was too obvious about his feelings he’d hurt Jaskier... and Jaskier had simply been waiting for any confirmation of his affections, friendly or otherwise.

"Because I..." the Witcher stood again and started to pace. "Because, Julek, I love you. I can't bear the thought of being parted from you. It's even worse because I know, I know that you're human and that I'm going to lose you too soon no matter what happens. Illness, age, injury... No matter how many years we have together they will never be enough."

Jaskier sniffled and Geralt turned on his heel to face the bard, hands already outstretched to offer comfort. "You enormous fucking idiot."

"Huh?"

"I have loved you since the moment I saw you sitting in the corner, brooding away," Jaskier grinned. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks and dripped onto the blanket. "Why didn't you tell me? You couldn't even look me in the eyes and call me your friend..."

"Witchers aren't very good at romance, if you haven't noticed," Geralt laughed humorlessly. "I knew I was going to hurt you eventually. It was only a matter of time."

"Well now we have all winter to figure things out," Jaskier offered, sliding his hand across the mattress to twine his fingers with Geralt's. The Witcher's skin was cool against his own and it felt glorious.

"Hmm."

"No! No going silent on me now, you fucker!"

"Get some rest," Geralt smiled, leaning forward to press a kiss to Jaskier's sweaty fringe. "I will be here when you wake."

"And tomorrow, too?"

Geralt smiled oh-so-softly and kissed him again, on the lips.

"And tomorrow, too."

[bestruction]

Falling in love with a marleyan pt.2

N/A: It was really hard to write for Eren because of all of his background. That’s why I’m insecure about this one. I hope you can enjoy 

You can read the part 1 here 

- Eren Jaeger 

After the war that started in Marley because of the failure of the founding titan's mission, the government sent marleyan nurses to the hospital of the Liberio District. Since many people had died on the battlefield, it would take some time for the eldian medical unit to fully recover.

You were one of them.

It wasn't your first time taking care of war survivors, but putting your feet inside the district's central hospital and seeing all those poor souls made your heart sink in your chest. The atmosphere was heavy, especially since the other nurses who were with you saw no reason to care for and treat eldians.

What was the purpose of the war? This? More blood and hatred?

You were in charge of caring for the patients in ward B. After a long day cleaning your patients' psychological and physical wounds, you felt relief when you reached the last one.

"Mr. Kruger" was what the chart said and notes below about his amnesia, left eye, and leg.

"Good night, Mr. Kruger"

"Good night, nurse"

"You can call me by my name," You said, pointing to the badge on your chest. "We're going to see each other a lot from now on"

He looked at your face and then at your arm, noticing the lack of the armband.

"You are marleyan" he stated

"Yes, I am" You pulled up a stool to sit "Have you had any pain in your left eye or in your leg?"

"No, nurs-" he interrupted himself and looked at your badge before completing the sentence with your name.

"That's good. Please look at my index finger"

You moved your finger from side to side to test his reflexes.

“I'll need to change the bandages on your leg to make sure it is healing well, and the next week, we will look at your eye ”

He nodded, and you bent down to undo the bandages wrapped around the man's leg. To your surprise, there were no scars or even stitch marks.

"You must have an incredible body, Mr. Kruger" you exclaimed, touching his knee looking for any signs of injury "It's almost as if it's regenerating"

"It would be incredible if that were possible"

"Yes of course! It's just my imagination"

Carefully, you bandaged his leg again. Since he said that he would feel better even if he didn't need to. Of all your patients that day, the man with the long brown hair seemed to have something different about him. He was not in paranoia or outlined any kind of stress, but probably thanks to his amnesia.

You helped him sit down, undress for the bath, sit in the wheelchair, and waited at the door until he was finished to help him get dressed again.

That was your first night with Eren Kruger, one very similar to that of the other patients.

The week dragged on at the Central Hospital of Liberio. In the afternoon, it was time to take the most mentally stable patients for a walk around, and as the days passed and repeated, the more you watched Kruger.

Even during the afternoon hours, he did not walk around like the rest. Unlike other patients with amnesia, he didn't even try to search for a loved one or recover some memory. He was unusual, and you were curious.

Every day, you went to his room to perform the same procedure.

"Good night, Mr. Kruger" You greeted him after entering his room, and he responded by saying your name.

"You look tired"

"Is that your way of telling me that I've been prettier?"

You placed his dinner tray on the small, simple table there and sat next to him on the bed.

"No, just tired, but still beautiful"

You smiled at him more than you would like.

"I will test your reflexes as usual and then I will assist you in the shower as usual"

He was always your last patience. He was the best in health and with whom you talked the most.

"Aren't you going to let me see your eye yet?" You asked, helping him to take off his coat.

"You said it wasn’t necessary since I didn’t feel pain"

You shrugged. He probably didn't want to show it because of vanity.

"It is a pity. I really like the color ”

"Why you say that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm an eldian, but unlike other nurses, you don't seem to be disgusted by your work"

"Why would I, Mr. Kruger?" You asked, unbuttoning the last button on his shirt "I'm sure the blood runs here" You said, placing a hand on his chest "It's the same one that runs here"  and completed placing his hand on your chest "We are the same ”

You didn't notice, but Eren Kruger frowned before pulling your hand away abruptly. At that moment, you thought you were over the line. A silence fell over the two of you after such a simple sentence. That was how the night ended, with you two in silence.

Honestly, Eren Kruger had not been offended by your words but intimidated. The last thing he expected to hear from a marleyan was something like that. Eren was intimidated by your kindness.

Kruger was not just your patient. After that few months, he was your friend as well. It was not easy for you to establish a relationship with the other nurses. The marleyan who came with you avoided you because they saw the way you treated the eldians. The eldian nurses did not know what to expect from you, so they kept their distance. He was the only person you could talk to. After what happened, you were afraid that you had ruined things between you. So in an attempt to apologize, the next day, you took a chessboard to entertain him. It was a simple thing, but it was what the hospital protocol allowed.

When Eren saw you enter the bedroom door carrying the dinner as usual and a box, he thanked you for the poor lighting, or maybe you'd have noticed the blush that appeared on his cheeks when he heard you saying "Good night"

He answered you, but he did not look you in the eye. You left the tray of food on the bed and dragged the wooden table in the room to the front of him.

"I thought we could play a little bit" You suggested showing the box.

"It would be a great idea"

You set up the board on the table after dinner, and in silence, you started playing. You were surprised at how strategist the man in front of you proved to be and even more when he won the game.

“I bet you were a great soldier in the war. Why no one comes after you?"

He remained silent, and you sighed.

“I know I made you uncomfortable yesterday, but it was not my intention, Mr. Kruger. I hope you can forgive me ”

Eren looked at you and blinked a few times.

"You didn't ... You didn't do anything wrong" He ran a hand through his hair "I didn't expect to find someone like you in a place like this"

"Well, I didn't expect to find someone like you either"

The silence fell over you two again, but this time in a cozy way.

"Let me prepare you for your bath"

You took off his coat, unbuttoned his shirt, helped him remove his pants, and sit in the wheelchair before taking you to the bathroom.

Everything as on other days, just like with the other patients. So why did your heartbeat so fast against your chest?

"Good night, Mr. Kruger," You said about to leave the room.

"Eren"

"Hm?"

"Please call me Eren"

"Yes...Good night, Eren"

Your foolish heart was beating so fast that you could barely sleep through the night. The blood hit the walls, reverberating his name in your head, and the same happened with the eldian lying in his bed meters from you.

Time passed quietly, with the two of you talking during the afternoon outings and his daily checks. Eren loved those moments. Being with you brought back a part of him that he thought he lost some time ago.

You made that place without colors, the closest thing he could call home.

You liked how things were between you, but you were afraid.

Nothing good would come from a relationship that shouldn't exist, and you would be sent back to your city soon. So there was nothing to do about it. You thought Eren Kruger would become a good memory, and maybe he would have if you hadn't noticed him handing a letter to Falco.

The moment you saw him hand the paper over to the boy, it all made sense. So he didn't try to find out who he was because he already knew, but why stay in the hospital? Why pretend amnesia? Why send a letter if he didn't seem to want to come back?

When you went to take his dinner that night, you were nervous. How to start a conversation like this? Should you even bring it up?

"Are you okay?" He asked, taking you out of your daydreams

"Yes, just thinking about something"

"About what?" He asked, taking a tablespoon to his mouth

You swallowed hard and, without further ado, asked:

"You don't really have amnesia, do you?" Eren stopped the spoon in his mouth and waited for you to continue. “I saw you handing a letter to that boy, Falco. You wouldn’t send letters if you didn’t remember who you are ”

He put the silverware on a plate and stared at you.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"What I'm going to do…? What do you think I'm going to do? Tell the hospital board? ” You sat next to him “It hurts me that you lose faith in our friendship for so little. I would never do that, Eren. If you don't want to go back… ”You took his hand in yours“ You must have your reasons. I just don't want you to have to lie to me ”

"I wish I didn't have to lie to you, too"

He intertwined your fingers with his own and patted the back of your hand briefly. You were close enough for your legs to touch each other.

Eren raised his free hand to your chin and lifted it towards his face. The months of tension between the two of you succumbed to a calm, slow, almost frightened kiss.

"Sorry. I shouldn't… ”

Eren stumbled over the words. He didn't want to force himself on you.

You knew how wrong it was. Ethically and logically, but none of that seemed to matter. So, you kissed him back.

"I want to kiss you too, Eren" You whispered between the kiss

Eren smiled without breaking the contact. How long had he been since he smiled like that?

The kiss started a spark that turned into a fire of desire. None of you dared to stop or even wanted to. Eren kissed you as if it were the first and last time as if he was afraid to let you go. His hands went down to your back, undoing the apron knot, and yours did the same with the shirt buttons. You removed the usual coat he was wearing and right after the shirt. He pulled you into his lap, squeezing your waist. You had to hold back a groan as you felt his erection against your clothed core.

Eren put his hands on the front buttons of your dress and looked at your eyes carefully. Those jade eyes were looking for your permission. You kissed him again, touched by his concern, and got up from his lap.

You undid the buttons on your dress and took off your underwear, leaving you naked. That was the consent he was looking for.

"You're..." He searched for words looking at your face, at your body "Beautiful"

This time, you saw him blush. Eren had never seen a naked woman, more than that, he was sure he had never met a woman like you.

He undid his belt, and you helped him take off his pants before accepting the invitation to return to his lap. To be honest, he didn't quite know what to do, and if you think he was flushed before, you should have seen his face lying on your shoulder when he said:

"I don't know what to do exactly ..."

So you took one of his hands and guided it to the middle of your legs.

"Here" He pressed his finger above your clit "Move your finger in circles"

He did as you said, and he had to restrain himself not to cum at the exact moment you moaned.

"Keep...Agh...Doing it, Eren"

Eren felt an adrenaline rush up his spine and his cock throb when he heard you say his name like that. He wanted more. See more, learn your reactions, and listen to you say his name like this more often.

That night left a mark on you two forever. There was no turning back. Not because of sex, but because you fell in love with Eren, and he fell in love with you long before that.

Thinking about the afterward was something you avoided, but when your period didn't come a second time. You knew it was necessary.

You planned to apply for permanent leave to work as a nurse in the Liberio District and somehow get Eren out of the hospital. You could live in a more remote part of the district without attracting attention and, if necessary, would use one of the eldian armbands. That way, you would only be more of a couple among many. After all, the government would not bother to investigate the life of a nurse.

You were happy despite everything, but that was until you told him.

"Are you ... What?"

"I’m pregnant"

"Is it mine?"

You opened your eyes wide when you heard the question.

"Excuse me? What are you trying to say? ” You controlled yourself not to raise the voice “Of course it’s yours” You completed feeling a lump forming in your throat.

“That wasn’t part of the plan,” He said more to himself than you“You were not part of the plan” Eren rested his hands on his knees and lowered his head.

You wanted to cry. Not for him, but for trusting him, for making plans for the two of you.

“So this is how it will be? God ... I'm such an idiot ”

Eren looked at your figure with slumped shoulders and closed countenance. He hated himself for causing your smile to end. He hated himself for being not the man you deserved and needed, but he wouldn't leave you by yourself.

Even though he couldn't be that man.

"Don’t go out of hospital tonight" He said breaking the silence. "Under no circumstances go to the speech today"

"What? Why?"

"Promise me you won't, please"

"Eren, you are not making sense"

"Please" He begged you seriously

"Okay"

He told you to wait on the hospital terrace. He would come to pick you up, and once again, you trusted him.

It was difficult to watch the confusion that happened in the hospital. Countless wounded and killed. You never forgot the horror stuck in those people's eyes, and doing nothing to help make you feel guilty.

Is that why he told you not to go? If so, how did he know what was going to happen? Why did he know?

You were about to come down to help when a short-haired woman appeared on the terrace saying your name. If you were confused before by not knowing what was going on, now even more.

"Who are you?"

"Eren asked me to pick you up"

"He told me he would come"

She held out her hand with a tender face that you couldn't decipher.

“You will understand everything. Now come on, we don’t have much time to reach others ”

The wind was blowing hard on the terrace. You thought about refusing, going down, and helping the patients. At that time, you were no longer sure if you knew who Eren Kruger, the father of your child, was. You wouldn't know if it was for fear of what could happen if you stayed or for the love you felt for Eren, but you accepted her hand.

You climbed on the airship with that woman.  The pairs of eyes there were looking at you with as much curiosity as you to them. You hated the feeling of being the only one in the dark, the only one not knowing what was going on.

"We'd better keep an eye on her"

"She doesn't know anything" You heard Eren say without looking at you "She wasn't part of the plan"

"No? So why did you ask to pick her up? ” Asked the man without taking his eyes off you

"She’s pregnant with my child"

All the heads in the room turned to you.

"It seems that conspiring was not the only thing he did during that time"

You had so many questions, but there was no time for any of them right now.

Finding out that Eren Kruger was actually Eren Jaeger was like a punch in the gut. The army agreed to accommodate you, and in return, Eren would be imprisoned since he could leave if he wanted to. The woman who came to pick you up on the terrace answered all your questions and explained the current situation. You didn't know what to say, just that you needed to talk to him.

It took a while, but after so much insisting, the survey corps commander agreed to let the two of you talk under her supervision.

Eren was sitting on the bed when you stopped in front of the cell with Hange at your side. He didn't look at you, and he didn't think he could do it too.

"Eren?" You called him, putting your face between the bars "What does all this mean?" You asked even though he knew the answer "You lied to me"

You didn't want to cry, but how could you not? Especially being more sensitive because of the pregnancy.

"Eren ... why?" A sob cut you off “Now I don't know who you are, I can't go home, and is that all you have to say? Nothing? Eren! ” You hit the bars causing a loud bang.

“Try to stay calm. You can't be exasperated because of the baby, ”said Hange, touching your shoulder.

Eren got up from the bed and went to you. You looked deep into his green eyes, now understanding why he never let you take off the bandages, why he didn't have scars.

“I didn't lie about everything” He rested his forehead over yours on the bars “I know this is hard to believe right now, but I'm not going to leave you by yourself. That’s why I asked Mikasa to pick you up ”

For an instant, you saw the Eren who spent his days in the hospital there in front of you. He wiped away your tears and whispered an apology accompanied by your name before kissing your forehead and apologizing again.

It was unfair how your heart sped at the mere touch of him. Foolish heart.

Falling in love and having a child never crossed Eren's mind when he went to Marley. He didn't feel like he deserved you and even less your love. Several times he wanted to tell you everything, but how?

Hange looked at her watch and said that the time was over. Eren took your cheeks in his hands and whispered looking into your eyes.

“I wasn't lying when I said I loved you. I love you"

Hange took you back to your room and asked if you would accept that she questioned you about your time with Eren. She had waited until the moment she judged it right due to your pregnancy.  As a way to repay all her kindness you accepted.

Eren could have said he wouldn't leave you alone, but while you were telling what happened during that time in a country you didn't know, in a room that wasn't yours and pregnant with a man you weren't sure you knew more about, you felt more alone than ever.

[goldenavenger02]

I can't be alone with all that's on my mind

But the hatred took over, after all. He should've been the green ninja. He should've been the one who was chosen to defeat The Overlord. "I don't want to control it! This isn't anything I don't already feel!"

Takes place after The Forgotten Element

•••

Kai's stomach convulsed as he gripped onto the toilet seat tightly, his knuckles going white.

As soon as the horror had sunk in that Skylor and Lloyd were injured by his greed and that Skylor had been taken, he had bolted to the bathroom and barely made it to the toilet in time before his stomach spilled over.

Which brought him to where he was now, bent over sick in the small bathroom just outside of the main room.

•••

"You have to destroy the staff, Kai!" Lloyd pleaded, running up to him as he continued to blast Chen's lackies.

"Chen was right! This thing's awesome!"

"Kai, it holds too much power! Destroy it!" He heard Lloyd say to someone "if we don't get that staff out of his hands-!"

"No one is taking my staff!" He yelled, anger in his voice. This was his now. He deserved it, after all. Lloyd just wanted to be the special one again. "You had all the power, now it's my turn!"

He shook the thoughts out of his head briefly, glaring at the offending object. "What am I saying? I can't… I can't control it!"

But the hatred took over, after all. He should've been the green ninja. He should've been the one who was chosen to defeat The Overlord. "I don't want to control it! This isn't anything I don't already feel!"

"No, Kai! Don't!" Lloyd pleaded, his arm in front of Skylor. A pathetic attempt to stop him, really, as he started to use the powers, the rush flowing through his body

"I should've been the green ninja!"

And with that, he launched the blast, watching the terror in their faces. He relished it with a grin.

•••

"Kai?" A voice broke him out of his thoughts, resulting in a shudder. He couldn't quite place who it was, but then it came again. "Kai, can I come in?"

A cough cut him off from responding to Cole, but he swallowed it back. "Yeah."

The door opened and Cole sat on the floor next to him, setting his hand against his back, "FSM, you're sweating through your gi." He heard him mutter under his breath, "I brought some water if you're up to it."

Kai shook his head; he wasn't very nauseous anymore, but he also wasn't sure he could keep anything down just yet since the nausea was now being replaced by the sinking feeling of guilt.

"Sensei G's got Lloyd," Cole spoke, clearly knowing exactly what Kai was thinking, "He's got some burns, and he's kinda weak from the whole "powers being sucked out of him" thing, but he's gonna be okay."

Kai nodded, but then the second thought came to his head. 'Nya still thinks I betrayed her and everyone else.'

Once again, Cole cut him off before he could even speak. "Lloyd explained the whole thing, they're not mad. Nya said your plan was dumb, but that was it."

Kai couldn't hold back his chuckle at the mental image of Nya critiquing his plan, but it was short-lived. 'Skylor's still hurt. And missing.'

"No one blames you, you did what you thought was right." Cole spoke softly, gently setting his hand on Kai's shoulder, who finally mustered up the strength to move away from the toilet and take the cup of water from Cole's hand, muttering under his breath as he drank.

"Don't think telling Lloyd that I should've been the green ninja before blasting him was right."

"You weren't in your right mind, the staff-"

"The staff brought out my subconscious thoughts that I've had since we found out about the prophecy." Kai interrupted, setting the empty glass down on the floor.

"The staff makes one greedy, power hungry. I don't know how it does it, but it obviously does. The reason it had no effect on Chen was because the dude was already cuckoo for cocoa puffs," Kai couldn't hold back a snort at the ridiculous phrasing, "and if you don't believe me, you can go ask Lloyd for his two cents."

Kai sighed. He knew he should talk to Lloyd, at least see that he was okay for himself, but at the same time, he had hurt Lloyd, the one he swore to protect when he was fully aware of what he was doing.

"It's up to you. Alternatively, you could help us try to find Chen, but considering you just threw up your guts, I'd go with the safer choice of talking to Lloyd."

Kai used the wall to pull himself to his feet, hitting the knob on the toilet before allowing Cole to support some of his weight since his legs were still shaking before speaking.

"Take me to Lloyd."

•••

Lloyd winced as Nya wiped at the cut on the side of his cheek.

While most of his injuries were from his fight with Chen, that one had occurred when the jet crashed into the basement and the staff hit him across the face as it flew out of Kai's hand.

Although, if he was being completely honest, he didn't remember much of the whole situation.

•••

Lloyd winced as he was pulled to his feet by two of the lackies who kept referring to themselves as Kapow and Chop, his side throbbing horrendously from his fight with Chen.

Despite trying to fight back, he was weak both physically and emotionally, not to mention the vengestone keeping his hands behind his back.

As he was forced down the halls and the echoes of the large serpent hit his ears, he fought back the tears that wanted to stream down his face.

'How could Kai do this? How could he hurt the team like this?' He tried to push back the selfish thought of 'how could he hurt me like this?' and tried to replace it with 'how could he do this to Nya?' but he couldn't do it.

As the chanting grew louder, he tried one more time to break out of the two men's hold, but one just kicked him in the leg, forcing him forward into the large room all four of them had snuck into on their first night here.

But Cole and Jay were nowhere to be seen, and as he looked at Chen, Clouse and Skylor who were surrounded by guards, he swallowed harshly, seeing Kai standing next to them.

The chanting rang in his ears as he was forced to kneel, the vengestone quickly being replaced by two giant chains attached to the floor.

He looked up as footsteps approached, seeing Kai grow nearer; the sadness and fury consumed him as he demanded, his voice thick with tears. "Why would you help them?"

"Don't worry," Kai insisted in a hushed tone, but as Clouse approached, he raised his voice, "it won't hurt. Much." Before walking away from him with a cackle, the chanting stopped altogether.

Lloyd watched as Skylor offered herself willingly to the spell, a pit growing in his stomach as she cried out in agony.

He had to shut his eyes.

But the cries stopped shortly afterwards and he opened his eyes, only to see Chen approaching him with a wicked grin on his face and his stomach dropped in fear.

"And now for the final element," the staff was pointed towards him and out of the corner of his eye, Lloyd saw Kai turn away, "only one can remain."

The white light surrounded him, and he was immediately hit with a searing pain in his chest that sent him to his knees before forcing a scream from his throat.

It was over fairly quickly, but he collapsed onto his hands and knees, trying to regain his breath as his body, now weaker than ever and heaved harshly.

•••

"Alright, that's the last injury," Nya announced, bringing Lloyd out of his thought process to see a joking smile on her face, "unless you're hiding something from me."

"No, you got everything. Thank you." Lloyd smiled softly, receiving a hand in his hair and he couldn't hold back his laughter because of just how normal that was.

"I'm gonna go help them find Chen, but your dad is right outside if you need anything. Get some rest."

Lloyd nodded, watching as Nya exited the room before laying down on his back, biting back the sharpness of the bruising from where he was thrown by Chen with his own abilities directly into the leaderboard.

The pain dulled out enough for him to close his eyes and try to let sleep take him when the door opened and two sets of slow footsteps approached him.

He couldn't stop from flinching due to the sting as a hand gently touched his burned wrist, but he instantly regretted it when he heard the voice. "Lloyd? Are you awake?"

'Kai'

Lloyd opened his eyes, blinking away the blurriness to see Cole and Kai standing over him. "Yeah, I'm awake," he noticed the guilty look on Kai's face, as well as the paleness, "you okay?"

"I should be the one asking you that."

"I will be," Lloyd nodded, getting a good look at Kai's face and already knowing that if he was gonna get any information out of him, they needed to be alone, "Cole, can you-"

"Yeah, I need to talk to your dad anyways," Cole smiled, winking to ensure he got the hint before making his way out of the room.

The door barely closed before Kai spoke up, "Lloyd, I am so sorry about all of this."

"You did what you thought was best, I can't blame-" Lloyd started, but he was cut off quickly.

"I meant the staff."

'Oh'

"Kai, that wasn't your fault-"

"I could have killed you!" Kai shouted, cutting Lloyd off again, "I could've killed you and Skylor, I said things to you that I haven't believed in years!" He had tears coming down his face now even though his cheeks were still red with frustration, "I hurt Skylor, I hurt Nya… I hurt you."

Lloyd wasn't thinking when he wrapped his arms around him, all he knew in that moment was that he needed Kai to stop crying, to stop feeling so bad for something that wasn't even his fault.

He felt hot tears soaking his shoulder as Kai's body shook against him, like he had been holding this in for a long time. 'How do I make him see that it isn't his fault?'

•••

Garmadon wasn't sure what he was expecting when Kai came out of the small room that his son was currently residing in while he recovered.

He definitely wasn't expecting him to come out with tears in his eyes and bright red cheeks though.

"Kai, are you alright?" He asked softly, in order to avoid startling the obviously in distress teenager.

"Yeah," he stopped to wipe his face on his sleeve, "yeah, I'm okay?"

Garmadon raised an eyebrow before motioning him closer. "Take a walk with me, Kai."

"No, you need to stay with Lloyd-"

"Just down the hall and back," Garmadon didn't like the idea of leaving his son, but he also knew that the majority of the elemental masters were nearby, and if there was an emergency, they would be informed before anything could happen to Lloyd, "Lloyd will be fine."

Kai relented after that and the two of them started walking at a steady pace with only the silence lingering in between them.

"You know, Kai," Garmadon spoke softly, watching as the fire elemental's gaze met his, "when I was bitten, I did a lot of things that I didn't have control over. I became corrupted and hurt a lot of people I care about. My brother, my wife, you four ninja, even Lloyd."

Garmadon heard Kai's breath hitch and saw a few tears forming in his eyes. "But after my son saved me, you all forgave me even though I didn't feel as though I deserved it. I still don't know how all of you did that so easily."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, it took me awhile to forgive you for all of that." Kai said in a joking tone, even if his voice was thick from crying and the tear stains on his cheeks were becoming fresh again.

Garmadon shot him a soft smile before continuing, "there are things in this world that we cannot control, things that have to balance out. Although it takes time to heal from those things, to forgive ourselves for those things, that doesn't mean we can't let others forgive us for them and to give us a second chance."

Kai wiped his face on his sleeve again and Garmadon put his hand on his shoulder, feeling his body shake under his touch.

"You don't have to forgive yourself right away from what happened with the corruption from the staff. In fact, I wouldn't expect you to do so. But letting the others in, letting them give you a second chance… It's a good place to start."

Kai nodded, tears rushing down his cheeks at full speed now, "I'll do that."

"Good man," Garmadon smiled as the two of them turned to make their way back down the hall, "and if you need someone to talk to about this again, my door is always open."

"You don't have to-"

"I'll have none of that," Garmadon shook his head, "You will come to me if you need someone to talk to about this again."

"Is that an order?" Kai smiled, the tears finally starting to slow and his mood was clearly starting to brighten, given that his sass was coming back.

"Yes, it is." Garmadon nodded, seeing that he had accomplished what he set out to do, "do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Sensei Garmadon." Kai winked as the two stopped in front of the door, his demeanor growing serious again, "I'm gonna go help them find Chen."

"Very well." Garmadon smiled, watching as Kai pulled his hood over his head before running to join the others outside.

[gemma-collins-ily]

Hello, I wanted to ask for a request with Jesper? I wanted to see him being very protective of the reader. Maybe he saves her from a fight during a job or something (like, she can handle herself just fine but ended up getting trapped by a lot of guards idk) and he comes and shoots them at last minute and is very worried because she did got hurt. Then later she can be all like "it's nothing, I'm fine" but he insists on patching her up and caring for her wounds (maybe make it a soft moment with him being all gentle and lovey with her), kinda blaming himself for her getting hurt, and maybe then confessions are made? Thank you :D

Fools In Love

a/n - yessss more Jesper appreciation! He needs more credit! It sounds a bit creepy in the beginning I'm sorry 😭 Also Jesper and the pet name lovely ugh my heart! Thanks for the request xoxo💕♥���

Warnings: knives, blood, alcohol (used for cleaning of injuries), brief mentions of nausea and not sure what else!

Partners.

That's all you were. That's what Jesper kept telling himself, at least.

But it was so strange with you - he felt so strange with you. Like he should protect you, admire you, love you, care for you whenever he could.

He felt you should always be in his heart, and you were. Some part of him, yet every part of him, was saved for you.

On the days he was truly tired, had run errand after errand, participated in a heist, anything that exhausted him, he would save just a simple smile or two for you.

Because he felt he couldn't, and shouldn't, leave you without one. He needed you to be in his life and wanted you to need him too. He wanted you to rely on the him as he would you, and most importantly, deeply desired that you could love him the way he did you.

This was not in a warped version of reality, a figment of his mind and imagination as a sick, manipulative goal, he only wanted to be loved.

By someone. Alright, anyone. Any person. Admittedly, one specific person.

He wanted to be loved by you.

Jesper knew he did, in fact, love you. And when he realised, his heart had raced, Nina looking up in alarm before seeing the lovestruck bliss upon his face.

Jesper Fahey was in love with you.

And boy, was he in trouble now.

Chaos.

You were extremely similar to Jesper in that way: the way that meant it followed you wherever you went. There was no escaping the chaos, not when you were apparently born from the very depths of it yourself and had a friend quite the same.

A friend.

That's all you were.

It sent a pang of agony rippling through your chest, possibly enough to send you to your knees, but you swiftly shook the thought away.

Focus was what was needed.

Although, it seemed so tempting to think of him, to picture his face in your mind's eye one last time. One last time before you died.

Because it had been going well. But later, there was a high chance of fatality. But, you decided to do what you did best, instead of giving into the niggling voices that told you to remember every brush of the arm, every smile across a room, every chair he pulled out for you; instead, you decided to give into something else.

You decided, to give in to the chaos.

Your strategy was giving fairly good results, just as you had anticipated, considering it always did. Going with your gut seemed to be the best way of going about it, and it was.

Until it wasn't.

Since you were now improvising and no one appeared to be taking any notice of the shots fired, or grunts of pain heard, when even more men than previously swarmed the alley, you were taken aback.

You had not predicted how much effort the rival gang you were on a heist against would gamble on you, sending out what seemed to be the majority of their forces for just one person.

You supposed that meant whatever Kaz had up his sleeve would work fairly easily now though, the level of guard lowered and their numbers dilapidated.

He better thank me later.

Just as you flipped a man over your back, quickly and efficiently leaning down over him, your shadow looming as your hand reached for your knife that was meant to be in your belt.

"Looking for this?"

You gasped and your eyes boggled as your dagger, that the man beneath you had obviously stolen, plunged into your side, the hilt far from buried in your torso as you recovered from the shock as soon as you could find it in your abilities to.

Another knife was ripped out of a corpse beside you and burrowed in his chest, right above his heart, before he could register what was taking place.

You stood, groaning as you clasped the sore flesh surrounding your wound, not yet having pulled out the weapon to prevent further blood loss.

You spun to face the remaining gang members behind you, grimacing as you felt the bile slip upward in your throat, stubbornly rising no matter how many times you swallowed.

Now you had nothing. Nothing to defend yourself with and nothing to help you in this fight. Nothing and no one.

Dying alone was a nauseating fear, circling through your head and running rampage, sending you into a frenzied panic.

Your back hit the wall, the skin burning as it was grazed against the bricks and your heart racing as you failed to bend to the side, only a grunt sounding from your throat as your hand pressed further against your abdomen.

In that moment, you closed your eyes and prayed. Simply prayed to the Saints you had once ridiculed with Kaz, hoping there was a chance, if even just a miniscule one, that you could be saved.

And maybe Inej had been right all along, that you owed her an overdue apology, because maybe, just maybe, Saints did exist.

And perhaps, Jesper Fahey was yours.

He came barrelling around the corner, your eyes clenched tightly shut as you heard gunshots ring out, believing that moment could be your end, that heist your undoing.

But no, because when you peered through your lashes, swaying precariously on your feet, he was there.

You gaped in shock, confusion and finally, joy. You wanted to jump into his arms, tell him of your gratefulness, all because he hadn't left you alone.

Dying was no incredible feat: it happened in Ketterdam everyday, bodies piled in corners and rotting in the dank, narrow streets. To die with no one to close your eyes, only being forced to gaze glassily into the deep grey sky, or no friend to comfort you in your last seconds or less, even, seemed terrifying.

Although, now you wouldn't have to worry about that. Because he was here.

Jesper rushed to you, nimbly leaping over corpses and stepping around barrels or other obstructions, eyes full of concern that only grew when his line of sight landed upon your side.

You could only weakly smile as his arm was slung over your shoulders and his other was suddenly dipping below your upper leg.

"Jes, I don't need picking up!"

"Hmm... I beg to differ, darling. So do your knees apparently."

That was when you realised just how they had buckled and how much of your weight you were making him support. You sighed and gave a sheepish yet irked nod, giving consent to let him swoop you off your feet, and he did so without hesitance after he observed your approval.

He traipsed through the streets, using his knowledge of shady back alleys to keep away from crowds and even if he had swaggered down the main street, no one would have batted an eye.

Or offered help. Ketterdam was not the place for helpful neighbors or friendly coworkers, and often the inhabitants were cruel, selfish and overall generally appeared to be disappointed with their whole lives.

Go figure.

The capital of Kerch was not an actual hospitable place, but some little nooks and crannies could just squeeze you into a sort of community. You had once known a baker that had given you free whole loafs of bread, shaking you off when you tried to pay.

Your palm was still positioned flat over your wound, digging in uncomfortably and your fingers splayed slightly in the air. You didn't dare move it, not making a sound either, only letting soft whines out when Jesper shifted you in his arms, to which he would respond with an apologetic gaze, no words said.

The scratch was not life threateningly deep, just shocking, and well, frightening; it reminded you anything could happen, just one simple change of plan could kill you.

It mortalised you in a way, made you think of how easily it could all be over. Sometimes, galavanting off with the Crows, searching giddily for trinkets with Nina and Jes made you feel as though you could do anything, stay in that moment forever.

But you were human. And right then, you had a knife in your side. Maybe it would have been better to pull it out, considering now every jostle sourced from your friend's sharp steps, heels tapping forcefully on the stones, could possibly send the dagger closer to your ribcage or organs.

"Jes."

"Yes, love?"

"Pull it. Please."

It was a beg for help, and a desperate one after he had only glanced down at you as he continued walking when answering to his name.

He did as you asked, laying you down to the side for a moment. He always had, providing whatever you needed and doing what you thought was best when it came to you.

"Ready? It'll hurt, lovely."

"You're making me more stressed, just do it already!"

It was true. You had broken a sweat as he had been trying to prepare you, beads of perspiration forming on your hairline.

If you had expected another warning, he certainly surprised you by wrenching the mini sword out of your side without anything else said. You cried out, gasping like a fish out of water and feeling just so, the crusting of the aging blood aiding that.

"I know, I know. Just give me a sec, okay? It'll be fine."

Jesper continued to mutter reassurances as he wrapped your scarf around your lower back and torso. The hardest part was when you had to lift your hips and rotate your body slightly so his slender fingers could grasp the other end of the garment to tie it together fully.

"I know. It's okay, yeah? It's fine."

He was in now way immature but his voice was definitely becoming higher and squeakier in fear: the tell tale lurching of his stomach appeared as he accidentally took a glance at the deep crimson blossoming over the scarf and staining his hands, managing to seep into the creases of his palms, depositing itself under his previously pristine nails and cuticles.

You could tell he was worried as he picked you up once more, yelping out a 'sorry' when his wrist brushed your blazing, sensitive flesh.

It was a troublesome trip to return to the Slat, Jesper aggravating the cut when he shifted to prevent you from slipping downward.

Once you were there however, you were adamant you could treat your injuries yourself, only really having a few minor scrapes and bruises, especially a sort of natural eyeshadow in the form of a black eye that had not fully appeared, yet was still already prominent.

You practically tumbled out of Jesper's arms, limping up the stairs to your room while the Zemeni followed closely behind you, a hand on the small of your back to support you while you found your balance, ticklish tingles spreading from the spot his fingertips made contact with your shoulder blades.

"Jes, I really don't need help, like, at all. Just let me-"

You were cut off as he pulled the alcohol out of your grasp, grinning in that charming way only he could pull off, only serving to irritate you further as he winked.

"Sure you don't. It's just that I can help. And I will, alright? I don't care if you don't agree, it's happening."

With that, the scarf was gently pulled from your skin, a hiss drawn from you as the rag he had tipped the alcohol onto touched your side. You forced yourself to control a flinch, only shying away a little as his unoccupied hand came absentmindedly and immediately to your unharmed side, pushing you back to have the cloth back on your skin, scooting you along the desk you were perched on.

"Just a bit more. I promise, darling."

You nodded, gritting your teeth against the pain until it subsided, choosing to focus on the warm and calloused hand resting on your other side, not yet removed.

"Alright, now it's only the little things."

Your mouth opened to protest, explain you could easily do that yourself, but Jesper only tutted under his breath and used two fingers to close your jaw and tilt your head simultaneously to observe the shiner decorating your eye.

"None of that. Now, all we've got is this, which I can't do much about, and that nasty gash on your arm."

He didn't think about what he was doing, how casually and carefully he was caring for you, as though you were a china doll, porcelain and fractured, broken with any move that was not delicate.

You didn't think about how much you enjoyed someone looking after you for once, taking such a chunk of his time to simply stand between your legs and help.

Suddenly, as you pouted and your bottom lip was drawn between your teeth, withholding a groan while he cleansed your upper forearm, his thumb came up to untuck your lip, barely ghosting over it, although the feeling was still so delicious. Tantalising.

And his arm dropped, cloth soaked with a random drink dropping to the rug as his gaze stayed on your lips. And he leant in, as did you, finally sharing a sweet kiss, tender and loving, all things beautiful and wondrous.

His stare burned into the floor as it drew downward, a murmur heard drifting through the air a few seconds later, "You know, I was so worried about you?" You moved to speak before he hushed you, "No, just let me... I'm saying, I was more concerned than a friend probably should have been. Maybe, I mean I don't know. Actually nevermind..."

But he never had a chance to finish as his locks of chocolate brown were swept away from his forehead, a kiss planted there in replacement.

"I'd love to go out with you, Jes, love. Or, I mean, whatever you want to do..."

Chuckles filled the room pleasantly as you both laughed together, cheeks flushed and lips almost swollen, at your embarrassment and haplessness, plus the lack of tact.

You supposed you were just fools in love. And in that moment, you wanted to be suspended there, floating forever.

With him.

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine leaving the fire nation with Zuko when he was banished and helping comfort him when he’s having his breakdown.

Your years of banishment had been pretty uneventful at first, just travelling the seas and every corner of the earth looking for the avatar who didn’t exist. Then he suddenly did and your life was turned into an endless chase. You honestly didn’t care that the avatar was the biggest threat to the fire nation but as it was Zuko’s mission to capture him you helped. Then after Zuko’s many failed attempts Ozai sent Azula and you went from being the hunters to the hunted. You, Iroh and Zuko all had to go into hiding and Zuko took it the hardest. He’d been in an awful mood for days but when Iroh offered to teach him lightning bending he perked up and put all his effort into learning the skill.

You however, were more than happy to stand and watch from a distance. You had always been scared of lightning and although you’d done a good job hiding it in the palace (if you showed it you knew Azula would constantly do it so you managed to stifle your flinches) you still didn’t want to get too close. So you stayed by camp preparing food for later when suddenly you heard yelling. You stood up and frowned to see Iroh and Zuko arguing. Zuko was clearly angry at Iroh and pushed past him storming away. You ran over to Iroh and watched as Zuko stalked away from your camp. “What happened, what’s wrong with him?”. Iroh sighed “he wanted me to fire lightning at him but I refused and now he’s heading out into the middle of a storm”. You frowned looking up at the sky, it was drizzling but it didn’t seem like storm weather. "I’ll go after him, see if I can get him to calm down" you suggested and Iroh nodded “thank you y/n”.

As you rushed after Zuko you were hit with the irony that this was what you always seemed to be doing. Following Zuko around, trying to calm him down, but that’s was friends did. When Zuko was banished you weren’t sure if it was the thought of being truly alone in the fire nation or just all the pain and sadness you knew he must be feeling but for some reason you demanded to go with him. The whole point of a banishment was to make people leave not stay and so you managed to talk your way into accompanying Zuko easily. You helped Iroh nurse Zuko back to health from his injury and it was really hard at first. When his burn was fresh it was so angry and painful but Ozai didn’t let you have the royal physician work on him. It was mainly up to you and Iroh and you did everything you could. At first the main worry was if Zuko would lose his eyesight or even his eye but Iroh managed to save both. When Zuko did wake up he was in excruciating pain constantly and it killed you to see him lie so clearly wreathing in pain but refusing to show it. He thought he deserved it and that killed you further. You wanted to shake him and yell that it wasn’t his fault, that it was Ozai’s but Zuko had a problem seeing who his father was. You’d given up trying to tell him and for the sake of your friendship decided to just support him, Iroh assured you Zuko would eventually realise the truth of everything and you prayed he was right.

You continued following Zuko but through the countryside but he was moving very quickly and you struggled to gain any ground on him. Soon Zuko disappeared from your view altogether and you just carried on hoping you’d find him. Iroh was right and soon the light rain turned into a downpour. Then the lightning started and you jumped every time a bolt boomed across the valley. If it was anyone else the lightning would’ve scared you off but Zuko was your closest friend, you had to find him. Your foot slipped as another lightning bolt lit up the sky and you sighed but continued to follow the direction Zuko had gone in. You were beginning to give up finding him when you came to the top of the hill and saw him stood on a cliff edge. You paused taken back at the sight and then you realised what he was yelling. He was  screaming for lightning to hit him, sobbing and yelling at the storm to strike him. He looked the most broken you’d ever seen him. Even worse than when he was first banished, at least then he’d had a mission he pretended was reasonable, now as a fugitive hiding from Azula as well as the earth kingdom he didn’t have that. He didn’t have any hope. Zuko was broken and Ozai had done this to him. The thought alone brought tears to your eyes and reaffirmed the fierce protectiveness you felt for him. "Zuko!" you yelled through the storm and somehow he heard you. He turned around shocked before returning his gaze to the lightning "what are you doing here y/n?". "I’m making sure you’re not doing anything stupid like trying to get hit by lightning". Zuko didn’t respond to your joke "go back y/n" he said simply and you paused. "No i...Zuko this is dangerous the storm is really close". "So go" Zuko said yelling at you now. He was angry at the world and you were the nearest thing for him to vent it through.  "I don’t want you here i didn’t ask you to come with me! If it’s so dangerous then go! You never should've come here with me anyway, you should be back in the fire nation not here with me". "Wait why is this about me leaving the fire nation with you?" you asked and Zuko glared. "Because you and my uncle are always so selfless, it makes me sick! You changed your whole lives for me, you helped me recover from my burn you both try and appease me but it’s useless! I will never accomplish my mission, i will never be able to take us back home! I’ve ruined both of your lives and seeing you trying to help me makes me sick with anger. I can’t fix it y/n, i can't repair the damage, i can’t get my honour back, I can’t" he yelled and collapsed on his knees shaking with tears. You wrapped your arms around him and held him as he carried on sobbing. "No wonder father prefers Azula i’m useless! Useless, useless" he carried on hitting the ground with his fists until you grabbed them so he couldn’t. Zuko kept repeating the world useless however and so you just held onto him tightly as he cried. Eventually he stopped talking and just sobbed into your neck. You were crying too seeing him so defeated and just held onto him tightly. The rain was mercilessly pelting you both but you didn’t even register it, you were too focused on what was happening to your best friend. "You’re not alone and you’re not useless" you told him "we don’t care for you because we think you’ll save us but because we love you, you are worth it Zuko" you told him raising his face to yours "you are worthy". Zuko just stared so you hugged him again and Zuko clutched you tightly. The rain showed no signs of stopping and after a close lightning bolt you managed to get Zuko to stand and come with you. You found shelter in a small cave and led him inside. Zuko collapsed on the floor as soon as he was inside and you helped him lean against the side of the cave. He was shaking and still crying so you wrapped your arms around him again. Zuko leant into you and you patted his back trying to soothe him. Finally Zuko stopped crying but he didn’t move away from you. You supposed he needed the comfort and had no intention of denying him that...but you were still so close to all the rain and cold. Your feet and hands were freezing and you were itching to make a fire and move further into the cave. After waiting as long as you could you spoke softly "Zuko we should make a fire....you’re freezing". Zuko got off you without a word and followed you as you walked further into the cave. You found the makings of an old campfire and the wood lit instantly. Zuko moved closer to the fire and sat hunched over his knees. You came to sit beside him and silence settled. You were sure he must be hungry and searched through your bag for some food. It was soaked but you managed to find an only slightly damp packet of fire flakes at the bottom. You opened it and held it out to Zuko. He glanced at you over his shoulder and you shook it "we won’t be able to travel in this weather so we'll be stuck here for the night, i’m sorry but this is the only food i have". Zuko sniffed "it’s okay" and took a handful. You both sat munching on the food quietly until it was all gone. You added the packet to the flame and tried warming your hands on the fire. "You’re shivering" Zuko noticed and you shrugged "it’s okay". "No it’s not, you’re soaking wet and trapped in this cave all because of me". You shook your head "not because of you, yes i choose to follow you but not because I had to. I did it because i wanted to, i’m not your responsibility". Zuko shrugged "i guess but you wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for me". You knew he actually meant this whole situation not just the cave and sighed worried he still blamed himself. "Maybe but we are here so the only thing to do is to make the best of it, how about we try to sleep? Things will look better in the morning". Zuko didn’t reply but you laid down close to the fire and hoped he’d copy you. "Make the best of it" you heard Zuko mutter "okay". Zuko suddenly grabbed your shoulders and began dragging you to the side of the fire nearest the cave opening. "What are you doing?" you asked laughing and Zuko smiled "making the best of it, if we have to sleep here then you should be near the fire but we also need to make sure it doesn’t go out so we’ll block the wind with our bodies and still get the benefit of the fire”. The wind blew angrily against your back and you frowned before Zuko sat down putting himself between it and you. He blocked the cold and the fire’s warmth was more noticeable. "Better?" he asked and you nodded "thanks". A massive lightning bolt struck right outside the cave and your whole body jumped. Zuko laughed “what was that?”. “I...I hate lightning”. “What since when?” Zuko asked and you shrugged “since forever, i can usually hide it when i’m safe inside but when I’m in the middle of a storm....” you trailed off when another bolt struck and you flinched again. They seemed to be getting closer. Zuko smirked “it’s okay it can’t get us in here”. You nodded “i know that but...”. Zuko paused and cautiously put an arm around you “does this help?”. You managed not to blush but you couldn’t look at his face. “I...yes”. Zuko nodded and he smiled slightly before pausing. "Y/n about today....". "It’s okay" you said immediately but Zuko shook his head. "No it’s not, i didn’t mean to yell at you but i did and that was wrong. I’m so sorry". "You were just upset" you shrugged and Zuko nodded "i was but you are not the person to direct that at, all you and my uncle have ever done is be there for me, even changing your whole lives for me and i guess i feel guilty about that, like i’ve dragged you down with me". "You didn’t drag me anywhere i came willingly and so did your uncle because we care about you, you don’t have to be held responsible for that, we don’t hold you to that and so you shouldn’t. We made our decision and neither of us would change it". "Really you’d still decide to follow me out here in the storm?" Zuko asked with a smirk. "I’d like to say yes but i can’t feel my toes". Zuko laughed but noticed you were indeed still shivering. Zuko moved closer to you again and tightened his grip on you. You didn’t manage to hide your blush this time but luckily Zuko was looking away to also hide his own blush so he didn’t notice. "Thank you" Zuko said suddenly "that’s what i’m trying to say....i don’t know what i did to deserve someone like you in my life but somehow you’re here and i want to thank you, i don’t do it enough but thank you for being with me, for not giving up on me, it means a lot". "I’ll always be here for you" you smiled. "Really?" Zuko asked smiling, you knew he was joking but could also hear the sharp undertone of his voice, that part that was seriously asking, scared you didn’t mean it. "Always" you nodded and laid a hand on his cheek. Zuko’s blush deepened and you pretended not to notice. "We should go to sleep” you smiled and Zuko nodded still pink "erm good idea". You lowered your head against his chest to hide your smirk at Zuko’s awkwardness and folded into his side. With the rain pouring outside and the warm fire you were actually very comfortable. Zuko seemed to be too and you smiled as he stroked your arm absentmindedly "goodnight y/n" he said softly and you smiled "goodnight Zuko".

[carelesswispe]

Yo! Could I get an angst fic with Hubert, where the reader has lost an eye in battle?

Losing an eye in battle 

Uwaa~ this was more fun than I thought it would be! Thank you so much for requesting! I had to rewrite this a couple times because I think I misread your ask or smth at first haha idk whats up with me--anyway,, I hope you enjoy it ><

>genre: mostly angst

>pairings: hubert x reader (gn)

>warnings: mentions of blood, injury, fighting, the reader losing an EYE and implications of death (tell me if i missed any !)

‘You can do this, (name), after all, you’ve made it to the final stretch’ you hyped yourself up as you marched into the battlefield beside Hubert. The both of you were stationed at the back of the battalion to focus on supporting the front liners. Were you scared? Most definitely. Although this wasn’t your first battle, there was something nerve wracking about this battle being a huge step towards an end to this bloody war. But no matter how much you try to convince yourself, you couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in your gut that told you that something was going to go wrong. 

Hubert, your ever reliable classmate and the man you adored, noticed the tense expression on your face. He clears his throat, loud enough to catch your attention. “As we approach this big hurdle in achieving Lady Edelgard’s goals, let’s keep up the good work” although it was awkward, you could tell that the man was trying to encourage you and it definitely helped to clear your noisy mind, even just a little. 

You flashed the man a small smile, a determined look shining upon your eyes. This gesture made a rare smile play on his lips as well, the corners of his eyes softening slightly. As you watch the brunet’s broad back move farther into the battlefield, you realise that he too, was feeling anxious about this battle. And as strange as it sounded, you were comforted by this fact, hastening your steps to join him in the battlefield.

The first few battles were pretty tame, supporting Professor Byleth from behind, covering the professor whenever there was the slightest bit of an opening in the professor’s movements. But after a while, maybe it was because you weren’t paying attention but you found yourself separated from the professor. 

Mumbling a curse under your breath, you survey your surroundings to find yourself in a torrent of dust and smoke. You feel dread pool the bottom of your stomach as you see a large silhouette approaching you. 

You assume a defensive stance as the figure becomes clearer and clearer as the ring of dust and smoke settles, a chill creeping up your spine as you see a head of blond hair coming into view. 

Dimitri’s gaze upon you hardens as you retain your defensive stance. Although the two of you certainly weren’t close, the thought of having to kill a person he used to be schoolmates with left a bitter feeling in his mouth. “...I have to do this...to stop this senseless killing. I will stop you from taking away another life here and now!” and with this, his resolve hardens and the air around him shifts. You steel yourself as you prepare yourself for the man’s next course of action, taking a deep breath.

His slow strides quickly sped up and he began charging towards you at full speed, his weapon raised up in the air. You were slightly taken aback by the man’s speed and you scrambled to avoid him and made a pathetic attempt to injure him before he reached you but whatever you tried seemed to have no effect on him as he continued to charge towards you.

As a last resort you used up whatever energy you had left in you in an effort to widen the distance between the two of you and it worked, so you thought. Although you managed to put some distance between you and your assailant, it was futile as the prince flung his javelin in the air with surprising speed, aiming for your head. 

You didn’t register the javelin flying towards your right eye quickly enough, only noticing it when it was too late. Almost immediately, you feel a blazing hot pain blooming from the right side of your face, spreading all the way down to your neck. A shout rips through your throat as you fight to clutch the right side of your face in favour of clutching onto your weapon as you continue to attack. 

You felt dizzy from the amount of blood you were losing and you could feel your consciousness slip away with every movement you willed your body to take. You honestly had no idea how you had the strength to continue swinging your sword and you didn’t know how long you could keep it up. 

In a last ditch attempt, you mustered all the strength you had left to shout at the top of your lungs in hopes of attracting the attention of others. As the battle went on, so did the throbbing of your head, screaming at you to lay down and stop moving. Gritting your teeth, you desperately latched onto whatever consciousness you had left.

Just as you were about to take another blow from the prince, you felt a strong wave of magic strike down from where Dimitri was standing. And with this, you felt hope surge through your veins as you looked around the battlefield with urgency. A growl leaves Dimitri’s grit teeth as his eyes land on Hubert. 

Hubert, however, didn’t relent in his attacks, not giving the blond a chance to recover from each of his spells. Eventually everyone else gathered to fight against Dimitri and at that point, any resistance the prince put up was futile against the whole army. But still, he continued to fight until the very end. And before you knew it, it was over. The battle has been won and all there's left to do is to put a stop to Rhea and the remaining soldiers of the church. 

All the adrenaline from the battle had faded and you had become more faint with each step you took. This did not go unnoticed by Hubert. He hurriedly excused himself from Edelgard’s side, something the ever loyal servant would never do under normal circumstances and walked towards your weakening figure. 

“(name)!” Hubert called out to you, worry evident in his panicked voice. The sound of Hubert’s shout brought you out of your daze, making you snap your head towards the source of the voice. You wince at the dizziness your sudden movement brought you and suddenly, your body couldn’t take anymore and your knees buckled from underneath you. The only thing you could hear as your consciousness faded was the sound of hurried footsteps towards your person accompanied by someone’s worried shouts.

When you came to, you were laid on a soft bed with a killer headache, unable to see out of the right side of your eye. In a panic, you sat up from the bed and assessed your surroundings the best you can as your blurry vision slowly clears up. You felt a sharp pain in your head, particularly at the right side as a result of your sudden motion. A pained groan escapes your lips as your hands instinctively shoot up to clutch your head. You feel for your right eye only to feel bandages wrapped around the right side of your head.

You remember now. The javelin, heading straight towards your right eye as you failed to do anything about it. It’s gone now. Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door creaking open slowly, a black shape emerging from it. “You’re awake.” a certain classmate’s voice of yours came out of the blurry figure which you came to recognise as Hubert’s as your vision focused on it and you could properly make out its features. He was carrying a tray which contained a bowl of soup and a glass of water which he placed on the table at the side of the bed.

“...How was your rest?” Hubert asks with a tone you’ve rarely heard from him. Turning your body to face him, you could see that he wore an expression of worry, his brows furrowed and his normally sharp eyes were soft.

You opened your mouth only to close it again. You didn’t know what to say. On one hand, you wanted to lie and say everything was fine but you knew there was no way in hell you could say that. Especially not with how you no longer had two eyes to look through. Hubert knew that and yet he couldn’t do anything but watch as you sat on the bed with a bitter expression. 

“I prepared some soup for you. I feel regretful for having to keep it light since you are still in the midst of recovery but rest assured, I will prepare something better once you recover.” Hubert spoke, breaking the tense atmosphere. Gently moving a tray table over your lap, he places the tray of soup on it. 

Watching as you simply stared at the food in front of you, Hubert felt a pang of guilt hit his heart seeing your dejected state. He knew all too well of the consequences of war but all this time he thought that it was okay, as long as it was for her lady Edelgard but now, all he wanted to do was end this war as fast as possible, as naive as that sounded. If only he had gotten there more quickly, and then maybe you wouldn’t have to lose an eye. Then maybe you needn’t have suffered. 

Clenching his fist tightly, Hubert drops into a curtsey “Get some rest” he couldn’t do anything for you right now but offer you his silent support. And right now, you need time to yourself. As he left the room, Hubert threw you one last glance, his heart tightening at the way you aimlessly played with your food, a blank expression on your face

okay i know this was a bit short but i might make a part 2 on my own time. im not too experienced in writing fight scenes so i feel that the fight scene was a little wonky >< i will try my best to improve so please tell me some of your opinions on it ! any sort of feedback is very much appreciated and i will try my best to take them to heart in order to improve my writing