#i'll be back for the festivities later i have to take my sister to the airport but yeah!!! i'lll post an open later today

[kiss-theggoat]

Over the Phone

Billy Lenz x Reader

Word Count: 1.6K

Summary: You and your Sorority sisters have been receiving some pretty scary phone calls, but you’re too embarrassed to admit that you don’t hate answering them.

Warnings: Billy is nasty, Lewd language, Smut, Mutual Masturbation, Billy refers to reader’s female anatomy and female anatomy is used but no pronouns

Ah, Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year, especially in this cozy home. You’d never seen so many twinkle lights, strings of garland, or pieces of mistletoe in one area. All of the sisters really went all out this year, and you couldn’t be happier.

With a record in the background playing Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, you hummed along to the tune while grabbing the hot tray out from the oven. Your sugar cookies had become tradition, and you really liked making them for you and your sisters. The low lighting of the kitchen, illuminated by red and green bulbs along with a few candles on the dining table really set the festive mood, and your heart swelled with Christmas spirit.

You spent nearly an hour frosting snowmen, snowflakes, candy canes, little trees, and a couple reindeer. Hunched over the counter with a bag of frosting in your hand, hair a mess and a smear of blue frosting on your right cheek, you suddenly heard a commotion coming from outside the kitchen. You groaned, as you were nearly done frosting, but wanting to see what was going on in the living room.

The piping bag thudded against the counter as you plopped it down, licking some frosting from your finger.

“What’s going on?” You asked, walking into a circle of sorority girls. They were surrounding Jess, who looked sufficiently upset and had the phone pressed against her ear. Once you saw this you knew. She was on the phone with “The Moaner” as you and the girls so affectionately dubbed him. A creep who’d been prank calling the house for the last couple of weeks, and boy was he vulgar. At first everyone thought it was just a frat house that was messing around, but it’s been going on for months, and the phone calls are getting worse and worse. Bad to the point where you know none of the frat guys are doing it. Or, if they are, you could probably get them in huge trouble.

Jess held up a finger in a shushing motion to quiet Barbara, who was practically yelling at the man on the phone. She liked to antagonize him. You could hear the man’s voice over the phone, and only then you realized how loud he must be talking. Jess scrunched her face in disgust. You knew she hated taking the obscene calls, so you held your hand out to her. She placed the receiver in your hand, and reluctantly, you held the speaker up to your ear. The girls around you waited anxiously for your reaction, and immediately your cheeks went red.

“Piggy cunt, you want my fat cock...I'll stick my tongue up your pretty pussy.”

You were flustered. The feeling that rose to your chest was not entirely unpleasant, and you felt a teensy bit ashamed about the fact you didn’t hate what the man was saying to you. I mean, the term ‘piggy’ was a little strange, but the rest made the butterflies in your stomach bounce off the walls.

You cleared your throat, trying to play it cool. “Who…w-who is this?”

“Suck on my juicy cock! I'll come over…I'll come over and you can…you can suck it. Suck it! Okay?”

The man sounded frantic, yelling loud in your ear. Suddenly, Barb snatched the phone from you.

“Why don’t you call Lambda Chi, they could use some action, creep.” She slammed the phone down hard, holding her drink and cigarette in the other hand. “Just ignore him next time. It’s annoying having to talk to him!”

You stood there, frosting still smeared on your face as you listened to everyone walk away from the phone, arguing with an increasingly drunk Barb. You decided to let it go for now, walking back towards the kitchen.

Half an hour later, your cookies were done and served to your sorority sisters. They lay out on the table in the living room next to three empty cups that once held cold milk. It was later at night now, and only you, Barb, and Jess sat downstairs. Everyone else had gone to bed. The music had been turned down and you flipped through a novel, cuddled up with a quilt and legs swinging over the side of an armchair.

You swore you felt your heart drop when Barb jumped up out of nowhere, still holding a half smoked cigarette away from her face. “Oh…” she groaned, hand on her stomach. “I’m gonna spew…”

She walked quickly towards the bathroom. You and Clare made eye contact, dreading who had to go help her this time.

You held your hands up in defense, pages fluttering. “I cleaned her puke out of Phyl’s sweater last time, you’re it.”

Clare whined as she stood up, throwing her textbook and notebook down back onto the couch. “Fine…” and off she went.

You were happy to be in peace now, reading by the light of the dying fire and the colorful lights hung around the room. The tree in the corner made your heart happy, so you always sat facing it.

Ring Ring.

You muttered a few cuss words at being interrupted again, but during the holiday season, phone calls were important. Usually from family or friends wanting to make plans with someone. Your socks slid on the hardwood as you nearly slipped standing up, book being slammed down on the table.

“Hello?” You said, sounding more unfriendly than you meant to. After all, it was nearly midnight. Who was calling the house at this time?

“Pretty piggy cunt! Billy wants to lick it, wants to touch it.”

You sighed, leaning against the cabinet the phone laid atop. Your brain said to hang up and just leave the phone off the hook, but your body told you to listen to this man, which is apparently named Billy. What’s he saying now? You tried to decipher but instead of words…he was just moaning now. A deep silky voice, usually aggressive and loud was now soft and breathy with soft whines every once in a while. The sound of his moans immediately made you perk up, heat pooling in the base of your stomach.

“Pretty piggy suck on my cock…” he moaned, louder this time in the receiver.

You bit your lip and pulled on the cord in order to check your surroundings. The hallway was clear, and so was the living room. You turned around…so was the kitchen. Barb and Clare must still be in the bathroom, and everyone else was in bed. You decided you were safe to indulge a little. No one would find out, right?

A shaking hand trailed down the center of your chest and down to the button of your jeans. With one hand you popped it open and slid down the rest of the way, nestled inside your underwear. You decided to be a little brave.

“Billy…” you said quietly. “It is Billy, right…?”

A loud moan on the other end of the line confirmed your question. “Wanna fuck pretty piggy cunt.” He growled. Your lips parted as you rubbed circles over yourself, pleasure running through your whole body. This guy had really gotten you hot and bothered.

“I’m going to touch myself, Billy.” You whispered, eyes locked on the hallway that the bathroom was in. All the sound on the other end stopped, and so did you, tensing up. You were suddenly horrified and humiliated, what if this actually was just some stupid frat guy carrying on a joke too long? What if it’s one of the sister's boyfriends and you’d just revealed the fact that you were going to get off on the phone with a stranger?

Your fears were eased when you heard shuffling, and then loud moans once more. Growls and squeals broke up his moans, reminding you he was still nuts, but you didn’t care. There was, however, a new sound. A wet slapping sound on the other end made your stomach erupt with lightning bolts. He was touching himself too. Your fingers moved faster, deftly circling your clit in desperation. You hunched over the cabinet, elbows aching from the pressure.

“Pretty cunt…wet piggy pussy, Billy wants…”

You closed your eyes before remembering to stay on guard, grip so tight on the phone you were sure it’d snap. Without realizing, a few whimpers and pants slid from between your lips despite how hard you tried to clamp them shut. You clenched your thighs and laid your head against the wood, pushing the receiver closer to your ear, hoping somehow you could magically make him even louder, loud enough to fill you completely.

Already, you were close, and from the way he was whining and whimpering on the other end, he was too. You started to cum, dropping the receiver on the cabinet and slapping a hand over your mouth, legs shaking and clenching together as you writhed, struggling to stand up. Billy’s moans filled your ear on the other side, and you both went silent and still at the same time. You laid against the cabinet, taking deep breaths and trying to be as quiet as possible.

Billy hung up the line, more concerned with how beautiful you looked illuminated by the Christmas lights. Or, at least he thought so, from the hole in the ceiling he watched you through.

[boba-beom]

❦ With You | K.TH

pairing: taehyun x f!reader

genre: fluff, bestfriends to lovers | oneshot

warning(s): senior year high school, set in 1984, relationship to be established, confessions, ft. the rest of txt, taehyun’s a lil nervous <3, yn a little bold, kisses.

summary: before the school term comes to a close for the festive holidays, your best friend of four years had asked you to go to the winter ball with him. however, there’s one more thing he wants to tell you.

wc: 2.3k

note: inspired by the last scene in s2 ep9 of stranger things. and the song ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police was perfect after I remembered taehyun talking about it and playing it on one of his vlives at the time :’) this was also written a while ago but I edited it a little and wanted to post this as my last taehyun fic to end tyun month :> thank you again @fairybinie for beta reading and for the advice 🫶🏼

SHORT PLAYLIST (recommended)

the hazy, vertical streaks from the moonlight passes through the open blinds, caressing over taehyun's face as his sister, hyunjae, straightens out the frills of his collar and adjusts the flimsy ribbon after. he turns his body, puffing in front of the mirror, loosening the tension and nervousness in his wrists, tilting his head left and right.

"aw, my not-so-little brother knows how to clean up well." hyunjae coos, lightly patting the top of his head.

"agh, you're gonna mess up my hair!" he swats her hands away, caving over his hair before fidgeting with the front pieces of his hair, making sure they would stay in place until he meets his date.

"so... are you gonna ask her today?"

the young male adjusts his outer coat, brows scrunching as he looks at his sister through the mirror, "ask who?"

"yn? aren't you going to ask her to dance with you tonight?" she sighs as she pinches the bridge of her nose, thinking how her brother could possibly be lacking in basic knowledge of making the first move—especially with his crush.

if there's one thing taehyun is good at, it's definitely being oblivious towards any female kind and their attempt to flirt with him. he's never dated, he's only confessed to one girl in middle school when he gifted her a heart-shaped box of chocolates. she accepted them, but refused to be his valentine, and since then he's never wanted to embarrass himself like that again.

"of course I'll ask her to dance with me. she's my date anyway, and I should tell her then..." he trails his words, thinking about what he would say once he finds the right moment later on in the evening, "I just hope a good song comes on." as cliché as that may sound.

hyunjae sees how anxious he is as he lets out a deep sigh. both their heads turn towards the open window from the sound of a car's triple beep in front of their house. the loud noise was soon followed by a few male voices shouting out his name, almost chant-like.

"good luck, 'lil man." hyunjae reaches out to pat his hair once again, but misses as he ducks and opens the front door.

"ayeeee, someone looks dashing tonight!" beomgyu screams with the upper half of his body out of the window. the other three males starts cheering and whistling as taehyun approaches the car with long, confident strides.

opening the door behind the driver's seat, he sits comfortably as he looks at the rest of them, "not too shabby yourselves guys." he chuckles, buckling his seatbelt.

"how are we feeling, boys?" yeonjun laughs, excitement clear in his voice. he briefly locks eyes with taehyun through the rear mirror, expecting him to answer the question.

"i just hope she doesn't reject me." taehyun speaks without hesitation. kai and beomgyu looks at him with their brows stitched together.

"are you kidding me? i'm sure she won't reject you, it's yn we're talking about." beomgyu sighs.

"and what's that supposed to mean?"

"that you have to be really dense to think she has no interest in you." soobin butts in, looking back at him from the passenger seat.

"he's book smart, just not girl smart." kai joins in.

"okay, okay. that's enough guys. i'm sure our boy can manage." yeonjun cuts off their bombarding banter towards taehyun.

taehyun rolls his eyes at his friends' continuous teasing, completely ignoring yeonjun. the topic for conversation slowly went round to each person—and about their dates—until they arrived at the venue for the winter ball.

the group of five made their way towards the entrance, keeping their eyes out for their dates. it was convenient that majority of their dates arrived together, as expected when asking people from the same friend-group. taehyun watches his friends greet their dates and entering in with linked arms, their outfits complimenting each other's nicely.

"we're gonna go ahead." soobin firmly pats taehyun's shoulder as he nods in response.

a few minutes passes by and taehyun is still standing by the entrance, yet his posture never fails him. he looks down at the cuffs of his black dress shirt, adjusting them out of restlessness, in the hopes he hasn't been turned down.

"taehyun? sorry i'm late." a soft voice speaks.

from the cuffs of his sleeves, he sees a shiny pair of white, mary jane pumps pointing towards him in his line of vision, less than half a meter away from his own black, dress shoes.

lifting his head slowly, his eyes travel up the figure in front of him; skin-toned stockings visible until the thin layer of white chiffon material just about lingers by the knees. he looks up to admire you in your entirety, a sweetheart neckline accentuating the length of your neck with a dainty pearl necklace sitting prettily at the base of your neck.

"yn," his voice almost breathless, "you look beautiful."

you chuckle at his compliment, looking down at the ground before your fingers subconsciously fiddles with the pearl strap of your purse.

"you don't look too bad either, kang."

he smiles at your implied compliment, holding out his arm for you to take, "shall we?"

as soon as the both of you walk through the tinsel curtain, you're met with snowflake-shaped lights projecting on the ground. your peers' arms are linked with their dates while they meet up in groups and you do the same.

you meet with a few friends, separating yourself from taehyun while he went to see his friends too. long conversations were made, and pictures were taken at the open photo booth that the school had hired for the evening. there were props and multiple photos could be taken so you were willing to try it out.

taehyun is sitting at his designated seat on the same table as his friends, locking eyes with you for a split second from across the room before you start making your way through the sea of students.

as you make a bee-line towards him, your eyes are trained on him, getting closer and closer. his side profile was stunning; his sharp jawline in full display as he slightly leans over the table to talk to yeonjun opposite him, and with every laugh, you saw the occasional appearance of his sharp canines which showcased his dimple.

in your four years of high school, you never found anyone just as handsome as kang taehyun himself. and you granted yourself lucky to have him as your best friend.

you approach his seat, resting a light hand on his shoulder until the boys stopped talking, causing taehyun to look up at you.

"hey, want to take a photo together over at the photo booth with me?" the freckles of light from the disco ball sparkles over your face, looking almost angelic as he gets up on his feet.

"that's our boy!"

"go taehyun!"

you hear beomgyu and kai exclaim along with the others as you take ahold of taehyun's hand in yours. taehyun could only pray that you don't look back at him because only then would you see how enamoured he is by you. the heat from his cheeks quickly spread and made its way to the tips of his ears—he's in too deep.

opening the curtains to the photo booth, he picks up a white feather boa and loosely twirls it around your neck accompanied with a quiet laugh from you. in return, you pick up a black masquerade mask for him to wear, only making his full attire look more complete than it already was.

you continue shuffling, making sure you were in the middle of the photo booth, "come closer." you speak up, gently tugging on his sleeve making him shuffle closer to you until he reluctantly resorted to resting his hand on the small of your back.

"i- is this okay?" taehyun was always wary of his hand placements, you knew that and you were more than comfortable with being this close to him.

"perfect, these photos are gonna look really nice." you're smiling at the photographer, posing your wrist as you splay your palm open and the end of the boa hanging off it. all while taehyun looks at you in awe. you've always been one to try new things, even putting yourself out there and not giving a single care to what people think of you. he found that quality admirable, really.

after a few more pictures were taken, and keeping the same props, it was time for the last photo.

"tyun, look at me." you whisper.

he turns his head to face you, your faces within centimetres apart until your noses brushed against each other. you hold the end of his chin still with your index finger and your thumb, closing your eyes, he mimics you until you feel the softness of his lips against yours, it was almost euphoric.

you just kissed your best friend.

the sound of the photographer snapping the last shot interrupted the momentary trance you were both in, the flash visible through your eyelids.

"we'll get them later, let's go." you pull back and hold his hand again. he was trailing after you while you make your way towards the bowl of fruit punch.

"so how did your photos go?" beomgyu comes into view beside you, passing the both of you already full cups of the punch.

taehyun stays silent, taking a sip from the drink while his other hand is still holding yours.

"it was fun, i think you should try it out. i heard there's more props if you ask the photographer." you take a sip from the drink, keeping eye contact with beomgyu while you watch his eyes flick back and forth between you and your date.

"if you say so," he says, walking away with a small smile tugging at his lips.

a new song fills the room, a song that only released last year. you remember hearing it a few times on your parents' radio and it being one of the most replayed songs since it was released. your peers and their partners gather onto the dance floor, girls with their arms draped over their date's shoulder, and some guys nervously resting their hands on their date's waist.

perfect. taehyun clears his throat before taking away your cup and placing both of them down on the closest table. he lifts a hand up, the other tucked behind his back as he asks, "yn, would you perhaps want to dance with me?"

you observe the way he's slightly bowing in front of you, your heart fluttering in your chest from his chivalrous gesture. "perhaps I do, kang." you say as you accept his hand, leading you onto the empty spot on the dance floor.

the lights dimmed down a little more than before, only the ambient lighting from the decorations and the disco ball reflected onto your faces. taehyun's hands were fumbling with the material around your waist, you could tell he was nervous but you wanted him to be comfortable with you like he always is. the only difference this time is that you're both dressed up and he hardly ever sees you dressed up.

"hey, ease into it. left then right, remember?" you reassure him after he visited your house one time and your older brother teased you about dancing with taehyun. your mother made sure to teach both of you the basics.

you hold onto one of his hands on your waist, letting his palm relax against you then letting go and bringing yourself closer so you could rest and bend your elbows over his shoulder, your temples leaning against each other.

a couple of minutes into the slow dancing made you feel so weightless. the strong scent of his cologne lingering by your nose, his soft and controlled breathing in front of you just felt so comforting. your faces were centimetres apart, no different than before, but both your eyes were briefly shut.

"yn?" taehyun speaks up softly, and you hum back in response. "there's something i've been meaning to tell you."

"mhm? and what is that?" you pull back to look at one of the features you love on his face. it's just one of those instances where you capture how his eyes could quite literally encapsulate the entire galaxy if possible.

"as a best friend, you're amazing, truly." he starts. you huff out an airy chuckle with your fixed attention on him. "but I want to get to know you beyond that. I really like you, yn. more than words could ever explain."

your eyes soften from his confession, knowing this was your best friend since freshman year and without a doubt, you were feeling quite the same.

"can i be your boyfriend?" he asks, head slightly tilting down to read your expression.

you pull him towards you, closing the proximity until your lips were just about grazing against each other. "i would love you to be my boyfriend, kang taehyun." you whisper before closing the gap and giving him a longer kiss than at the photo booth. he securely wraps his arms around your waist, chests colliding until your lips part.

"you really thought after i kissed you back there i'd say no?" you nudge his shoulder, catching his cheeks flush the smallest pink hues you could see.

"i really wasn't sure what that was, but if it's a kiss from you then i don't really mind." he shrugs nonchalantly.

"so i could say no as long as i give you kisses?" you tease him back.

"well... not quite, i want both." he shyly smiles with his dimples caving in his cheeks.

you peck his cheek in response to comment, "you really are cute, kang taehyun."

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© boba-beom ; all rights reserved. do not repost, copy, alter or translate in any way or platform.

[grandlovescheme]

A gift fic for @withered-rose-with-thorns

Merry belated Christmas and only the best in the new year, from your secret santa 🩷

Running into Love

When Rhaenyra arrived at the family winter estate two days before Christmas, her younger siblings were already there. Both her brother and her sister welcomed her, showing her how much they’d missed her, by throwing snowballs at her before she was even fully out of her car.

“No fair!” she yelled before ducking at the rear, gathering all the snow she could in her bare hands to take her revenge.

The twins teamed up against her, thoroughly kicking her ass, and when they finally made it into the house an hour later, she was soaked through and her body ached in multiple places where her siblings had managed to hit her. 

“Hope you welcomed everyone else the same way,” Rhaenyra huffed when she was getting out of the wet coat and boots in the hall. The silver haired teenagers grinned in unison. Little creeps.

Alyssa shrugged. “You're the first one here, not counting mom and the little oaf.”

“Don't worry. The rest will meet the same fate,” Baelon said dramatically, rubbing his hands together like a cartoon villain. 

Rhaenyra rolled her eyes. “Make sure to get Daemon. We need to tire him out. If he catches a cold before the run, even better.”

Her siblings both made matching, evilly gleeful faces, nodding along. For a few minutes they discussed their plans in hushed whispers before their paths parted, Rhaenyra heading up the stairs to greet her family while the twins stayed behind. 

She stepped into the opulent room upstairs alone, her lips immediately splitting into a smile.

“Oh hey there.”

Two silver-blond heads by the table turned, her mother and her smaller copy, both of them grinning at the sight of her.

“Honey, you’re here.”

“Nyra!”

“There's my favorite baby sister!”

Visenya slipped off Aemma’s lap to run at her. She was wearing a red Christmas dress, with snowflake and tree prints and a big bow tied at the waist, fully festive with gingerbread man clips in her hair. She jumped at Rhaenyra when she was close enough and she embraced her little sister, able to lift her off her feet easily to spin her around. 

“I missed you,” Visenya breathed, and when she set her back to her feet Rhaenye smoothed down her silky curls gently.

“Missed you too, peanut. Have you been here long?”

Her mother rose to get a hug too, before responding, “We only got here last night. Your father stayed in the city with Daemon to finish some last minute business. They should both get here later today.” 

“Mhh, mhhm, I see.” That was a tidbit of information she was glad to receive. 

“Where are the twins?”

“I don't know. Probably waiting at the door for any newcomers to ambush them with a snowball fight. Though if that's the case they'll be waiting a long time, Laena texted me they're not coming until tomorrow.”

Aemma sighed. “Just us for tonight then. I'll go find the two of them.” 

Her mother stalked out of the room, leaving Rhaenyra with her six year old sister. She booped her nose, making Visenya grin wider at her. “Did you get into a snowball fight with them too?” 

“No! I managed to run away in time.” The girl pulled Rhaenyra's hand to the table. “Come see what I made!”

Proudly she pointed to the numerous pieces of paper scattered on the table, all bearing text in different colors. One said Go my fave Targaryen! The one next to it screamed You can do it! in bright pink. And the one Visenya sheepishly lifted herself to show her read You got it Nyra! with drawn hearts and kissy faces around it. 

“I’m not allowed to run with you guys but I'll cheer you on.” She came closer for a little hug, barely reaching Rhaenyra's chest. “I hope you win. It's no fair that it's always uncle Daemon!”

She stroked her little sister’s hair gently. Visenya’s health got in the way of her running with her family, but Rhaenyra strongly suspected she wouldn’t want to get into it even if she could. Her sister was an adorable little lazyball, content to never move if not absolutely necessary. 

“I know right? Don't worry, I trained all year. Got into the school’s track team. I'm gonna kick his a - butt.”

Visenya giggled with her hands covering her mouth, glancing shyly over her shoulder to make sure her mother wasn't there.

“Will you buy us all ice cream when you win like uncle does?”

“Uh. No. I wasn't planning on it… ” Her sister's demeanor fell a bit, but she quickly raised a hand to stroke her cheek back into a smile. “Hey. You know what? I think uncle Daemon will buy us all ice cream anyway, in celebration of his first loss in, like, a decade.”

Visenya brightened up again. “I'll get lemon! I love lemon. What's your favorite, Nyra?”

❄

The annual Targaryen three-mile race had been taking place at Dragonstone for decades. It had started with her grandparents’ parents, when they wanted to distract their many children on Christmas Eve, to have some peace and time to finish preparing everything for the next day. With such a big family, they needed all the help they could get. 

And so they'd promised a big prize for the winner, remaining the same to this day, but as her grandfather Baelon had told her one time when she was still a child, sitting by his chair in the Dragonstone parlor, the prize had not truly been needed. In reality, the siblings had loved having something to compete in, to possibly be better at something than the rest of the children. For them, the bragging rights had been all the prize they needed.

Yet, it stuck. All the Targaryen children ever since had been exposed to this unusual Christmas tradition, and while a few fought hard to avoid it, claiming sickness and achy limbs to get out of it, some relished in it. Most of Rhaenyra's family was highly competitive, and this was the perfect opportunity to beat everyone. 

This year was different, though. This year it was personal. 

Rhaenyra's uncle Daemon was currently holding the record, his winning streak seemingly impossible to break. He'd won last year, as well as the year before that… and before that. Well, the truth was, the only years he hadn't ended up being the winner, years she could barely remember, were the ones he couldn't get back from business trips in time to participate… and annihilate them all. 

It was safe to say he was the Targaryen three-mile Christmas race champion. But no more. 

Rhaenyra had been training mercilessly, almost cruelly to her body, to make sure his trail of winnings would be broken this year. She hadn't cared as much the previous years… but this time, she needed the win badly, after the year she'd had. University was kicking her ass, draining her mentally and socially, she lost her part-time job after the cafe hired the owner’s granddaughter instead. Then her stupid boyfriend she’d only been dating out of boredom dumped her on her birthday. In the weeks since then she only had too much time on her hands to fully grasp the magnitude of her issues. Troubling… issues that became glaringly obvious each time she thought about her uncle.

Ugh, no, she would not go there.

She needed this. A win in what her family considered the most important event of the year would turn it all around. 

She was certain of it.

… It was better not to dwell on why it mattered so much to her. 

When Daemon and her father arrived hours later, she watched the snowball fight from the upstairs living room window. 

They got ambushed the same way she had, but the twins - and little Visenya - clearly favored their father, leaving him to get out unscathed while focusing most of their energy and snowballs on Daemon. She grinned as he scrambled to fight back, his clothes and hair getting wet immediately, yet a smile undeniably blooming on his face. 

Her heart lurched seeing it, and she quickly dropped the curtain and turned away from the window to dash down the stairs, joining her mother in the kitchen instead. 

She feigned nonchalance as the group loudly barged inside of the house, shouting and scream-laughing in the hall, getting out of the wet clothes. 

Aemma was smiling into the mugs she was filling with steaming hot chocolate. Her mother had no competitive spirit, something only Visenya of her children had inherited but having the house full every holiday season always brought a smile to her face. There was nothing her mother  loved more than her family. This was her most favorite time of the year. 

Rhaenyra sprinkled mini marshmallows into the mugs and together they brought them to the living room. Everyone quieted down as if by magic; or, more likely, by the delicious smell following their steps, rising from the mugs. 

Her mother welcomed Viserys with a wide smile and a kiss, and Rhaenyra couldn't help but glance at Daemon's face as she placed his mug in front of him. 

“Uncle Daemon.” 

“Hey sweetheart.”

And here she was, blushing like a teenage fool.

“Hope you’re ready for tomorrow.” 

“You bet. I hear I have an unrelenting opponent this year.” He took the mug from her, and their fingers brushed slightly, just for a second, yet still making her blood sing in her veins. 

“Mhm. Say goodbye to the trophy. It’s going to a new owner this year.”

“We’ll see.” His eyes sparkled as he tipped the mug and took a sip. She watched with her pulse spiking as he licked his lips, gathering the dark droplets of chocolate with his tongue, before it disappeared in his mouth again. His brows furrowed, and he looked down into his mug wordlessly. 

“What?” she asked innocently. 

“Hmm. Nothing. New recipe?” 

“I don’t know. Mom made it, like every year.”

“Mhm.” He placed his mug back on the table in front of him, and she could hear the hum of other voices and her siblings’ excited giggles, but it all faded away. She couldn't make out a single word as she stared at her uncle's rings, adorning his long, thick fingers and glistening in the low Christmas lights hanging behind him.

Um. What were they talking about again?

“Is Harwin joining us tomorrow?”

Aand the spell was broken with a bucket of cold water. 

Rhaenyra sighed, shaking her head. “You don't know? I thought mom would have spilled by now. Um, we broke up.”

Something shadowed his eyes, but it was too dark in the room to be able to see… what. “Oh. No, I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” His hand reached out, warm from the mug of hot chocolate, and she fought against a shiver. 

“Don’t be. I’m not sorry. It’s for the best.” Despite her words, she accepted his comfort, squeezing his hand back.

“Well then. Good. I never liked him anyway.” 

She squinted her eyes as she glared at him playfully. “You’re saying that now. Because we broke up.” 

“No, Rhaenyra. I’ve been saying it ever since you first brought him along. But you just thought I was being an overprotective uncle.” 

Now she scrunched her nose up. “Well, weren’t you?” 

Daemon leaned back into his chair, the connection of their hands severing. “Yes. I was also right on the money, though.” 

Rhaenyra only shook her head. As much as she’d love to blame the break up on her ex, it had hardly been his fault. All of this… was on her. 

He could have broken up with her any other day during the year, though, except for right before the holidays, on her fucking birthday. That had been a dick move. 

She picked up her own drink in her nervousness, to have something to do, tracing the raised lines of the sleigh and Santa’s bearded face on the mug with her thumb. She didn’t speak, letting the gentle cracking of the fire and the messy conversations next to them fill the silence, until he spoke again,

“What do you need? A shoulder to cry on or someone to break his nose?” His hand appeared again to tap her nose. “Or both? I’m more than capable of both, sweetheart.” 

With a smile teasing the corners of her mouth, she looked up again to find him leaning towards her, his serious eyes dark, set right on her, gauging her reaction. “I’m fine. No need for any of that.” 

“Are you sure? I know you weren’t together long but… You seemed really… into him.” He spoke slowly, carefully choosing his words, and she searched the guarded expression on his face for a few seconds before shrugging again. 

“I’m sure. It was… ah, complicated, between us.”

To avoid his intense stare she lifted her mug and took a long sip of her hot… at this point tepid, chocolate.

“What do you mean? Were you not… exclusive?” 

“No, no. We were. I just…” Swallowing down, she wondered how one could ever bring something like this up… Especially sober, and surrounded by her whole family. As if. “I… God, I can’t tell you this.” 

He frowned, and did the worst thing he possibly could. He got up and… sat closer to her, on the couch right by her side instead of across from her. Her heart jumped into her throat, she looked around the room in panic; no one paid them any mind, though. Her siblings were playing a board game on the floor, and her parents sat snuggled side by side, matching smiles on their faces, watching their kids argue over the game. It was as if… it was just her, and her uncle, in their own little bubble. 

Some things might have changed with her growing up, but in the root of them, they stayed the same. 

Rhaenyra looked down into her mug, her heart hammering. 

“Why not? You can talk to me about anything.” 

A humorless chuckle escaped her. “Not this. You’re on my side now but if I tell you… this, you’ll - you’ll think I’m a major bitch.” 

“Oh please.” She saw Daemon’s hand from the corner of her eye, nearing her again… and finally touching her cheek, pushing away some stray locks of her hair. “I’ll always be on your side, even when you are a major bitch. That's what uncles are for.” 

“Even if I kill someone in cold blood?” “Hmm… especially then.”

She poked his side with a chuckle, then sighed. “Fine, look. The thing is, I was never fully… in, emotionally. I was clinging to him because he was there, he was convenient, and… I needed… a distraction. But that’s all it was, and he finally got sick of it, of me, calling me out on my bullshit. Like I told you, it was all my fault.” 

Harwin had told her much more than that, though… He’d brought up how weird her family was, how normal people didn’t marry their cousins… and how creepily close she was to her uncle. Apparently it was strange that she still sat in his lap sometimes, that she called him first whenever something went right or wrong for her, and that she canceled plans with anyone, her friends or boyfriend, to hang out with him instead, whenever he mentioned he was in town. 

He could never quite grasp how close-knit her entire family was, and it ended up being the last drop for him. Really, they had been all ridiculous reasons to dump her… but not entirely out of hand, either. Not when one knew the real secret she held in her heart. 

“See.” Daemon embraced her with one arm, bringing her closer, and her eyes closed automatically as her nose filled with his clean, fresh scent. “Still on your side,” he assured her in a soft whisper, and Rhaenyra smiled, her body relaxing into his comforting hug. She felt his lips move, tickling her ear, as he continued, “I’m not letting you win tomorrow, though.” 

With a snorted laugh she pulled back, and punched his shoulder. “I don’t need it! I’m beating you, old man!”

❆

She woke first, but she wasn’t alone for long. Soon, the twins tiptoed down the stairs, gleefully joining her in continuing with their plan to win her this year's Targaryen race. 

By the time everyone else was awake, including Daemon, they were ready, everything set to go. 

Her uncle sauntered into the kitchen with a scowl and dark circles under his eyes, but the second he noticed her sitting there with coffee, some of the tension in his face drained away. 

Ah. What the sight of coffee could do.

“Morning. You're not looking too good.” It was a lie. He did look a little worse for wear but still so unfairly good. She wanted to stroke that pale skin… take a bite out of those arm muscles - 

“Couldn't sleep.” As he said it he reached for his mug, and Rhaenyra could swear she heard the twins’ evil laugh from somewhere behind her. She resisted the urge to turn around and shush them. Daemon drained the mug, his throat moving with every swallow, and her fingers twitched with the need to touch his throat as he swallowed…

He placed his empty coffee on the kitchen table, and she blinked a few times, hoping she didn't look as flustered as she felt. “Hm. That was pretty sweet. I don't usually sweeten my coffee but damn, I really needed that.”

“Mhh, hmm.” 

“Hopefully it'll wake me up. You slept okay?” he asked, his gaze traveling over her face, as if looking for any signs of a sleepless night. 

“Like a baby.” Rhaenyra grinned, and his eyes gentled, staring at her. 

“Good. You need to be in your best form if you're hoping to beat me.”

“I am going to beat you.”

“We'll see.” 

“Have some breakfast, uncle!” Visenya appeared, hair in two little braids, another adorable Christmas dress on. She extended both hands full with a tray of all kinds of sweet pastries, still hot from the oven. Daemon smiled at his youngest niece, stroking her cheek as he shook his head. 

“I'm good, darling. I'll just have some eggs.”

Visenya's blue eyes filled with tears in a matter of a second. “But - but I made these.” She sniffed, the tray starting to tremble in her hands. “Won't - won't you try?”

Rhaenyra hid her smile as Daemon immediately softened, cooing and apologizing.

“Of course! If you made these, I have to try. What would the pastry chef recommend to me?”

She made him eat four pieces of pastry, her pleading eyes impossible to say no to. When he finally gently pushed the girl aside, claiming he was too full to eat another bite, Rhaenyra got up with a grin. 

“Anyway. I’m off to welcome the Velaryons. Get ready to have your butt kicked, uncle.”

“Only in your dreams, niece.” 

They both narrowed their eyes at each other, and she walked off without another word. Before she rounded the corner she glanced over her shoulder one more time, and caught him staring as she walked away, his gaze burning somewhere below her waist. 

❄

Her cousins were both participating, but had no idea of the bigger conspiracy at play. It was a secret amongst only the Targaryen children, and Rhaenyra felt strangely protective over the scheming of her siblings. Their plan was silly but brought them a little closer together, something they desperately needed ever since Rhaenyra had  moved out to university two states away, leaving them behind in King’s Landing. 

This was just for them. 

“Isn’t he a little too old for this?” Laenor asked as she  stretched with her cousins in the garden, every inch covered in snow. Rhaenyra snorted, and peeked over her shoulder, finding Daemon glaring from a few feet away, clearly hearing every single word. 

And sure enough, he bit out grumpily, “You can’t kick the ruling champion out of the race until he loses, children.” 

“That’s a made up rule,” Laena called back from beside her, and he squinted at her.

“This whole thing is a made up tradition. Take it or leave it.” 

Her cousin huffed and puffed, though the corners of her mouth were twitching, and they continued their warm up until Viserys called them over. 

It was time. 

Rhaenyra’s palms were sweating. As they took their positions in a well ordered line, her eyes remained glued to her uncle. He still seemed out of his element, barely paying any attention, but she knew he could kill this route even with his eyes closed. No matter what her siblings had done to knock him off his game, she still needed to give this her all. And she would. The Targaryen prize would be changing hands soon enough.

Even if it was just an old compass that had once belonged to her great grandfather, accompanying him on his many travels over the world. The compass itself… was not the point, and they all knew it. 

Rhaenyra’s ponytail whipped her in the face as the cold winter wind picked up. The waves surrounding the island crashed loudly around them, almost swallowing Viserys’ introduction. As if anyone needed any. Every traditional participant knew them by heart. 

“Two loops around the island, three miles in total. Do not stray from the shoveled trail, do not take any shortcuts. Whoever reaches us first in the second lap… is the winner.” Her father smiled, and Aemma next to him huddled farther into her thick coat. Little Visenya in front of them gingerly lifted her You got it Nyra! sign, and Rhaenyra smiled, sending an air kiss and a wave. 

“Good luck, darling.” 

She eyed her uncle up and down, not missing how good he looked in his tight t-shirt and running shorts, all of his muscles on display, taunting her, distracting her. That cruel cruel man. 

Targaryens always ran hot, it was true. That was one of the main things even making this race possible in late December without them putting their health at risk. But still she shivered as she took her own shirt off, throwing it to the cheering section, and straightening up in her sports bra. 

“Don’t need luck,” she threw back, keeping her gaze at him only long enough to see his eyes drop and snag on her chest. “But I think you might.” 

With the megaphone signaling the start of the race, she took off, and left him behind in the dust. She fought hard to keep her smug smile at bay; celebrating too early would only bring her bad luck. 

Rhaenyra ran like the devil was chasing her. And in a way, he was. She felt Daemon behind her already, way too soon for comfort, but she knew without looking that it was him. She would always know, without needing a single glance to confirm; the feeling of a familiar, warm blanket at her back was impossible to confuse with anyone else. 

This familiar blanket was not happy, though. “Cheater!” he fumed, and she could swear he was so close his breath caressed the back of her neck. Fucking hell, somehow even filled to the brim with heavy pastries and decaf, he caught up to her within a few minutes. She needed to do better!

“What!” she huffed back without looking at him, forcing her legs to go faster. “Never - seen a woman running with a top - before? I’ve had this old thing for - years!”

“Yeah, I can tell.” 

What the hell did that even - 

She saw him then, from the corner of her eye, gaining on her, and panic overwhelmed her. With a gasp she let out a loud, garbling cough, and somewhere behind her a person shouted, and a body thudded to the ground. 

“Ow, ow! Crap! I tripped!” her sister Alyssa howled. “It hurts, it hurts! My ankle!” Rhaenyra was racing forward, the sobbing voice becoming fainter and fainter, but Daemon visibly wavered behind her. When she looked back, breathing hard, she saw him hesitating, his pace slowing as his niece whimpered, “Won’t you help me, uncle? It hurts. Ow, I can’t… I can’t get up.” 

“Goddamnit. Come on, Alyssa. I got you.”

What a good uncle.

The cheering of her family soon faded, and then it was just her and the island hidden underneath a blanket of snow. She worked on regulating her breathing but when she glanced over her shoulder again, hearing the thudding of approaching steps, there her uncle was, back and already hot on her heels. What the fuck!

“Any - other - planned - distractions?” Daemon gasped out from behind her. 

She was only able to exhale an irritated gush of air. The turn of the island was close now, and the cheering gained volume again. Visenya's bright dress and slogans came to view first, and seeing them worked like magic, propelling Rhaenyra forward faster.

“Yes, Nyra, go! You got it! You got it!”

She saw Alyssa resting against a bare tree out of the trail’s path, nestled in a coat and face rid of any pain, but her eyes were sharp and intense as she watched the race. She didn't say a word to encourage her sister, but Rhaenyra still felt it from her. 

“Oh no, your shoelaces are untied, uncle!” Alyssa shouted instead. 

Daemon ignored his younger niece, focusing fully on beating the eldest one. 

The second lap was brutal. Daemon overtook her as soon as their audience disappeared from view, and one quick check of the other participants showed both of her cousins were nowhere near them. They were only small dots in the distance along with her brother. 

It was now just them. 

Rhaenyra glared ahead at her uncle's ass. Distractingly well formed, tight ass. She had no business salivating over it, but it had no business looking this goddamn good. 

He was getting old, shouldn't he be getting less attractive too?!

No. It was just her fucking luck that her uncle was one of those men who only got hotter with age. Great.

Rhaenyra wavered, her foot catching on an uneven blob of snow, and with a growl she shook herself out of the trance.  

He totally did that on purpose.

As the end of the second - and last - loop appeared, Rhaenyra caught up to Daemon. His straining muscles were right next to her, their bodies moved forward in sync, twin puffs of smoke leaving their mouths. She felt his stare but decided to ignore it, her eyes, burning and watering, pinned to the finish line. So close. Yet just as close as Daemon.

Come on, come on! She could do it! 

With only a few meters remaining, she finally allowed her head to turn, and found her uncle still looking at her, unbothered by the track that he should be paying attention to.

His eyes were blown wide with surprise, staring at her like he'd never seen her before. Perhaps he hadn't expected her to do this well. He must have counted on losing her after a few minutes into the race, yet here she was, by his side til the very end. 

His gaze stayed on her even as they crossed the finish line, and somehow they crashed together, their bodies tumbling to the ground in one clumsy heap.

“Fuck!” she yelped, the sudden feel of him against her mostly bare flesh making her skin erupt in gooseflesh. Daemon's arms wrapped around her to protect her from the fall, but they both still ended up on their sides, falling painfully in the snow. The crowd cheered in an awkward, muted mumble, clearly unsure who the winner was. 

For a few blissful seconds, Rhaenyra didn't care. She felt her uncle's hands on her naked waist, his fingers spread wide, pressing into her with gentle pressure. He was sweaty, just like she was, but the dampness of his skin and the unmistakable smell of him only made her shudder in desire. 

He was breathing hard, his jaw clenching under her stare, and when she hesitantly dragged it up to his eyes they seemed to be smoldering. And in those quiet moments she could almost believe he didn't care either. About the prize or bragging rights. About the principle of winning every year. 

Then his hand moved to cup her hip, as if contemplating bringing her closer to him, and Rhaenyra jerked away from this strange limbo. She untangled herself from him and hopped to trembling feet. 

Her family was staring, some with confusion, some with suspicion or glee. 

And it was her father who finally spoke, 

“So. I think it was a tie?”

❆

As Rhaenyra licked a stray drop of lemon sorbet off her ring finger, her eyes automatically flew across the room. Daemon sat at the makeshift throne of Dragonstone, his seat for the upcoming year, with a mint ice cream cone in one hand almost entirely gone. Laena must have said something funny to him because he barked out a laugh, nodding along with her, making Rhaenyra's blood boil in her veins. 

Fucking hell.

What a disaster.

“You okay, honey?” 

“Yep.”

“Hmm. That glare says otherwise.” Her mother squeezed her petite body next to Rhaenyra, where she was taking up most of the space of the couch. Lifting a hand, Aemma smoothed back some strands of Rhaenyra's hair, still wet from the shower she'd taken after the race.

“Just… pissed at myself.” She looked away from Daemon's grinning face. “I couldn't beat him even with cheating. There's really no hope for me.”

She didn't mind sharing the victory with Daemon… not per se. But it still burned, the disappointment in herself sinking into her bones; she couldn't do anything right this year. 

“Of course there's hope,” Aemma admonished her. “You're getting better and he's only getting older.”

Rhaenyra had to laugh, some of the icy self resentment chipping away. For a second she thought she saw Daemon looking at her from the corner of her eye, her breathing hitching immediately, but turning her head his way offered the sight of him still fully entranced by her cousin.

Well.

“You know…” Her mother's voice turned quiet, and suspiciously innocent. “It isn't anything strange. I hope you're not beating yourself up over it.”

“Ah, you know, considering I busted my ass for a year and planned this elaborate sabotage - “

“Not about that.” Aemma sighed, and bumped Rhaenyra's side with her own to make her glance back at her. “About you… and him.” Her meaningful glance over Rhaenyra's head told her everything she needed to know without even following her gaze. 

She went bright red. “Mom. There's not - nothing - “

“No, I know. Shh, it's okay, don't freak out. I know nothing's happening. But I hope you're not beating yourself up over wanting… something to happen.” 

Gods, was she so obvious? 

She stared at her quickly melting ice cream cone. “Mom, please… let's not. It's already mortifying enough as it is.”

“Why?” Her mother leaned closer and whispered into her ear, “It is the Targaryen way. Your father is my first cousin, you know what, don't you?”

Sheepishly, she nodded. The entangled Targaryen relationships were well known in the family, but this was… different. This was her… and her uncle. She was much younger than him. She could imagine how weird and disgusting he'd find the thought of them… together, after having watched her grow up…

He'd want nothing to do with her like that, she was sure of it.

“Honey, I know for a fact - “

“Co-winner.” 

They both looked up at Daemon who stopped by the couch, his smile still on but dimmed now that Laena had gone to the bathroom. Hmpf. 

“Doesn't really roll off the tongue,” Rhaenyra complained bitterly. Aemma got up and walked off silently, leaving them alone, and her daughter glared at her mother’s back.

“Come on. It is your seat as well.” He pointed his thumb behind his shoulder, but she shook her head. 

“I don't think there's enough room for the both of us.” There never had been two winners. She supposed there was a first time for everything. 

Daemon’s lips curled into a sly smile. “You can always sit on my lap.”

Her heart did an embarrassing jump in her chest. “Hmm, I don't know. I was told it is weird.”

“What is?”

“To… sometimes still sit on my uncle's lap.”

His smile melted away, replaced by a frown. “Who told you that?”

“Doesn't matter.”

“No, it does. Who?” When the only response she gave was a break of their eye contact, he sighed, and asked in a not well hidden disgust, “Was it Harwin?” Rhaenyra shrugged. “Well, then I'm even more glad that you broke up. I'd hate for you to date someone who thinks it's weird you sit on your uncle's lap.”

She felt her lips starting to twitch. “Right. We don't want that.”

“That we don't.”

“No such negativity in our lives, hm?”

“Exactly. Now come.” He extended a hand. “Your well deserved seat is waiting.” 

She knew he was talking about the throne… the throne she half deserved. She knew it. And yet when he sat down and brought her to his lap, she couldn't help her silly thoughts wander. 

They wandered. And she yearned.

❄

“Fucking hell.”

“Shh. You'll wake the whole house up.”

Daemon cursed again, but this time under his breath. “You scared me. What are you doing here, sitting in the dark like a movie villain?”

Rhaenyra tapped her fingers against the kitchen table, unable to keep the nervous tick at bay. “Couldn't sleep.”

“Oh, really. How strange. The same happened to me last night.”

Her lips thinned out. “Weird.”

“Indeed.” He took a seat across from her, and she couldn't see much in the darkness but she did see he was shirtless.

Wonderful.

“Is - is your insomnia prevailing?” she made herself ask, her voice embarrassingly high and squeaky. 

A chuckle. “No. I'm tired but my mind is too awake to sleep.”

“Hm. Same.” Her eyes were drawn to him. Always drawn to him, like a moth to the flame, uncaring of the danger lurking. She already felt like she caught fire - this desire had been burning inside of her for years, slowly but surely ridding her of sanity. She'd had crushes before but none of them had felt like this. 

Targaryens really were strange.

“You know,” she said to distract herself, “it was me. I… I wanted to weaken you, to have a better chance, because… no matter how much I trained I still didn't believe in myself. And look at that, you beat me anyway. You - you deserve the win all by yourself.” 

She'd really thought it'd make her feel better. Even if slightly cheating, she knew how much work she'd put into it. It'd still feel good, deserved. But now… she was starting to doubt it. Perhaps there was nothing to make her feel better. Perhaps she just needed to suck it all up.

“I know,” Daemon hummed easily. Rhaenyra blinked to bring herself back to the present. 

“W - what?”

“Did you think you were being slick? Please, sweetheart, I know you like the back of my hand.”

She felt her face go up in flames. “Oh. Um.”

Her fingers were tapping against the table furiously now, but she couldn't stop it, even as the noise grew louder and more annoying. Then her uncle's hand covered hers, and the weight of his palm pressed her fingers flat against the wooden surface. 

“It's alright. I thought it was cute.”

She let out an undignified snort. “Cute.”

“Yeah. The way your eyes glittered. Giggling like a schoolgirl. Unable to hide your glee as you and your siblings sabotaged me. Cutest thing I've ever seen.”

“Pft. Right.” His thumb ran back and forth over her hand, soothing. She relaxed into the chair. “Well. Good thing I'm cute then, if nothing else.”

She sounded like a bitter old lady, and a fresh wave of resentment washed over her. Daemon tutted though.

“Rhaenyra. No. I think you're looking at this all wrong. Listen… I gave it my all. My soul almost left my body, and I barely cleared the finish line. The tumble at the end? My legs gave out.”

She was smiling now, biting into her cheek from the inside to stop the giggles. “You're just saying that to make me feel better.”

“I wish. It's the truth, though. I'm willing to bet you'll leave me in the dust next year. You'll probably be inside, lounging on your throne by the time I even make it to the end.”

“You're so full of shit.”

Now she was laughing at the image of him barely crawling the last few meters to where their family gathered, cheering for them.

“My misery makes you so cheerful?” Though Daemon sounded pretty happy himself, a smile clear in his voice. She thought she saw it, too, in the dark, even the hint of it almost stopping her heart. 

At some point their hands on the table changed positions and were now locked, intertwined, her smaller palm fitting perfectly into his larger one. 

And she felt it again. The longing. To have Daemon… in all ways. To joke and tease and reminisce and then kiss and cuddle and tumble into bed together to have intense sex every night… Was that too much to ask for?

“Rhaenyra? What's the matter?”

“N - nothing.”

His chair creaked as he leaned forward. Oh, Gods.

His smell washed over her, the familiarity of it so comforting. She remembered burrowing into his arms as a small child, her nose pressed against his neck as he embraced her, and she'd inhaled the very same scent into her lungs. Cedar and rain. He always smelled… like Dragonstone. Like home.

“You can tell me anything, sweetheart,” he purred into the gap between them, smaller now, but it might as well be a thousand feet wide, she was scared and trembling all the same. 

‘It is the Targaryen way.’

Right. 

But what if he - 

“Anything,” he repeated, like he could read her mind, like he wanted to coax her into finally spilling her secret. 

Rhaenyra licked her lips, suddenly parched. “Um, I… I was thinking… You know, we - we are… close, and I wondered…”

What was she saying? 

Instead of babbling, she shut her mouth, and wasn't speaking at all. For a second she closed her eyes and cursed herself internally. 

They both stayed silent for a few heartbeats until he spoke again, clearly coming to the conclusion she wasn't about to continue on her own. “You almost got me, you know that?” 

Her mind whirled, trying to understand what he was talking about. “Um. What?”

Rhaenyra felt his feather light touch then, pulling her hair away from her neck, tugging it behind her ear. She went hot all over.

“I knew I wouldn't fumble the race. Not even exhausted and so full I could barely move. I was confident I'd make you work for it…” The tip of his thumb pressed to her hammering pulse, and she almost moaned out loud like some touch starved virgin.

Well. Not that far from reality.

“But then,” he breathed, “you took your shirt off. And ran off in that tiny bra of yours. I almost had a heart attack right there.”

Rhaenyra closed her eyes. Her numb body was awakening, every nerve ending sparking to life with his whispered words. 

“It's - it's not - tiny,” was the only thing she could muster. 

Was this actually happening?

Or had her exhausted mind conjured this fantasy?

“Rhaenyra, your tits were spilling out. I'm convinced you wore it to torture me.” Daemon moved, his hot breath hitting her neck, and she was ready to faint. “Or do you have no idea what you do to me? Are you blind to my every reaction to you?” He tsked, and his lips pressed to her neck, covering her pulse in a soft kiss. 

Oh Gods. Holy fucking hell.

“I - I…”

She needed to get a grip. She was an adult woman, for crying out loud, and she'd had people do much more to her than kiss her neck. Why was she such a mess now?

Of course, she knew why. None of the people touching her had been her uncle.

Daemon turned his head, the wet slide of his mouth climbing up her cheek. “Do you want to feel what you do to me, Rhaenyra?”

His hand dragged hers off the table, their joint touch settling lightly on his lap. On his erection, pronounced through the sweatpants he was wearing. Oh fuck.

Swallowing thickly she fought the overwhelming urge to squeeze, to fondle, to rub. “I had no idea…” 

Had her desire to be normal and ignore all her true feelings completely blinded her to his own lust? 

“I would have told you years ago… But you were always in a relationship, and always with someone who… looked nothing like me.” A soft, humorless chuckle warmed the side of her face. 

Her chest pinched with regret. Of course… Her string of partners was very telling when she looked back at them. Alicent in high school. Criston after graduation. Harwin in university. They were all very obviously… nothing like him. 

Rhaenyra closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She understood what he was telling her. She finally heard it, she felt it against her hand. 

And so she turned her head just an inch, and parted her lips, pressing them gingerly against her uncle's. He exhaled heavily, like a huge weight dropped from his shoulders, and surged forward, both of his hands raising to cup her cheeks. To hold her close, to keep her in place. As if she'd try to run away.

Daemon's tongue caressed her lips, gently asking for permission to do more, and when she allowed him in, all the gentleness evaporated. His kisses were hard, deep, angry ,or perhaps desperate. He supped the breath from her mouth and didn't let her stray from him to take more air into her lungs. 

Offering no complaint, Rhaenyra grasped his hair in one hand and lifted the other from his lap, wrapping it around his forearm; her anchor, preventing her from slipping and falling. 

She knew nothing would save her from this falling, though.

Rhaenyra gasped for air greedily when he pulled back. Her lips felt swollen from the ferocity of his kisses, but as soon as she could, she leaned back in. 

There was no telling how long they sat there, kissing again and again in the dark. Perhaps twenty minutes, perhaps three hours. She knew it didn't truly matter, though. It would not be enough either way.

In the silence surrounding them, he rested his forehead against hers. Their breathing was returning to normal, but her chest still felt like it was growing three sizes. 

Rhaenyra traced his smile with her fingertips. “You better not let me win next time,” she whispered.

The smile under her touch widened. “So you're not canoodling with me just to get me to go easy on you?”

“I don't need it. I'll kick your ass fair and square.”

He hummed, and tipped his head to kiss her again. “We'll start running together. Who better to train you than the seven year champion?”

“Pft. I made it into a tie even without your help, thank you very much.”

“Hmm, but with cheating.”

“It wasn't actually cheating. I only helped myself a little - “

He cut her excuses off with his mouth, and she happily let him. 

Being a co-winner wasn't so bad...

[frozen-snowflakesandsunflowers]

World of Frozen: Disney Parks | Analysis

Part 1

We have gotten our first official look at the Frozen resort in the Disney Park in Japan in a short promotional video on Instagram. It's so beautiful and gives me a mix of Frozen and Frozen Fever vibes - The two of my favourite Frozen movies!

Let's break it down and see what we have because sometimes big attractions like Disney Parks tease upcoming things for future stories like how we have the upcoming podcasts soon and then Frozen 3 later on.

We open the video to a painting of Elsa and Anna similar to that shown in Frozen 2, in "Into the Unknown". Same attire but different setting and pose.

Then we get closeups of Arendelle and a glimpse of the Ice castle in the distance too. All around Arendelle, are buttings of the official Arendelle flag as they are most year round. The foundation is frozen in big snowflakes just like in Olaf's Frozen Adventure.

And the cutest part of how they've designed Arendelle is that they added the Elsa and Anna figures on the clocktower from Frozen Fever!! They're exactly the same except they added details to the bottom of Elsa's dress. Presumably, that means that since Anna's birthday in Frozen Fever, those giant dolls in the Clocktower of Arendelle have stayed there for two years!

Next, we get a look at the roll of a proclamation for an official 'Summer Snow day", which is the event that is taking place in this Park. We see a citizen of Arendelle putting the roll up but we only see the back of her head. She can be seen wearing a ribbon with 3 sunflowers on the bow, very similar to the one Anna wears in Frozen Fever. Sunflowers are Arendelle's symbol in the summer because it's Anna's birth month and season and favourite flower too as we learn in Frozen Fever.

We get a close-up of the latest newspaper from the Arendelle Daily Press. On it, it headlines 'Arendelle Set To Celebrate Summer Snow Day'. For those who can't read the articles featured in this newspaper, I'll write it all out below from top to bottom, and left to right.

"Citizens have finished preparations for Summer Snow Day festivities across the kingdom, and they are expecting this to be the largest celebration yet

Everyone from Arendelle's Royal family to entrepreneur of the year. Wandering Oaken, will be hosting an array of events taking place in the village and forest.

Villagers appear to be the most excited about a royal tour of Elsa's Ice Palace.

In an official statement released early today, Elsa stated that she and Anna wanted to do something truly special for the people of Arendelle.

Through the power of Elsa's ice magic, visitors will be transported to the top of the North mountain and treated to a performance filled with music and fun. This annual celebration marks the day that Anna sacrificed her life to protect Elsa. Anna not only saved her sister with an extraordinary act of true love, but also saved the kingdom from the most severe ice storm on record."

"Local Entrepreneur Builds Sleigh Slide

Wandering Oaken, owner of Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna, is inviting everyone to ride his Sliding Sleighs as part of the annual Summer Snow Day celebration. From the comfort of his sauna, Oaken said, “I was having a steam when an idea popped into my mind, what if we all could ride sleighs in the summer? Wouldn't that be a hoot!”.

After sharing that his attraction is reindeer powered and snowman operated, Oaken spoke a great length about the “big summer Snow Day blowout” at his Trading Post and Sauna. Members of Oaken's family finally stepped in after an extensive pitch for a sun balm of his own invention, and they insisted that he, “Let it go”."

"Northern Delights

Sweets to brighten your days and nights

Across from friendship fountain"

"Tick Tok Toys & Collectibles

Beloved gifts from anytime

Conveniently located in the Clock Tower Square"

"Wandering Oaken's Sliding Sleighs

A real hoot and a half!

This Summer Snow Day

Across from the Fjord in Arendelle Forest

And while you're there, be sure to step inside Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna for the big Summer Snow Day Blowout!"

"Golden Crocus Inn

The Finest Dining in the Kingdom

"We will treat your like royalty” "

"Weather Forecast

Warm and sunny with a chance of scattered summer snow"

"Elsa Seeks to Improve Relations with the Southern Isles

Elsa has invited the Royal Family of the Southern Isles to enjoy Summer Snow Day celebrations in Arendelle. The King, Queen and twelve of their sons were seen entering Arendelle Castle after their ship arrived late yesterday. “It's a lovely display of peace between the two kingdoms.” said local candy shop owner. “I think the gesture is sweet”.

The relationship between both kingdoms has been viewed as chilly following a dramatic attempt by Prince Hans of the Southern Isles to overthrow the Royal Family of Arendelle. It is no surprise that the imprisoned Prince is the only member of the neighbouring Royal family who will not be visiting. Prince Hans is currently recovering injuries from a giant snowball, the details of which remain unclear.

Official Ice Master And Deliver of Arendelle

Summer Ice

New Available "

To summarize this newsletter, Elsa and Anna have created a new annual celebration called, the Summer Snow Day, to mark the day that Anna sacrificed her life to protect Elsa and saved the kingdom from enteral Winter in the first movie or in other words the anniversary of the great thaw. This storyline is set before Frozen 2 and after Frozen Fever. Bearing in mind that Frozen Fever is (just a month under) a year after Frozen and was set around the events of Anna's birthday, June 22, summer solstice, Summer Snow Day is exactly a year after Frozen and a month or so after Frozen Fever. Elsa and Anna also created this celebration as an urge to do something truly special for the people of Arendelle. But the interesting thing is that it also states that the sisters, particularly Elsa given she's the Queen, want to improve their relationship with the Southern Isles by inviting them to their first Summer Snow Day celebration. But although the royal family of the Southern Isles attended, Hans didn't because he's recovering from injuries from a giant snowball (of which details are unclear). When they mentioned a giant snowball we immediately remember when Elsa blew the birthday bugle horn and shot a massive Snow ball to the Southern Isles, specifically right on Hans. The giant snowball went unnoticed by everyone in Arendelle when Elsa accidentally threw it but I'm pretty sure Hans knows exactly where it came from - because there's only one person he knows with ice powers! 😆 But I think the King and Queen of the Southern Isles told Elsa and Anna about Hans injuries to answer for his absence so by doing so, that's how the sisters learn about the giant snowball being from when she blew the horn in Anna's birthday (because I'm sure they wouldn't believe a giant snowball hit Hans out of nowhere with no snow around the Southern Isles either). When the Paper says he is the imprisoned Prince, I believe that his parents must've imprisoned him in his castle with chores to be done etc as punishment and whenever his family have to go anywhere else be it in the kingdom or to another, he isn't allowed to.

Moving on, we have another look at Arendelle and we see Elsa and Anna in their epilogue attire of course, (cosplay versions of course for the Parks) greeting at a local citizen.

We have a closer look at the sisters and a fist look at Arendelle castle. What we see here is the back of the castle but also west of the castle.

Then we get another look at the iconic Clock Tower behind a lamp post.

And finally we see the sisters walking by the Clock Tower and by its side we can see another glimpse of Elsa's Ice Castle.

So that's the whole promotional video for the 'World of Frozen' in the new Disney Park in Japan. Though the storyline is set a year after Frozen and a month after Frozen Fever (given Frozen was set in July), Elsa and Anna in the Parks are in their Frozen 2 epilogue attire for promotional purposes of Frozen 2 and all other media set after, I believe. So that means the Southern Isles and Arendelle are on good terms now. As for Hans, we don't know what he's up to. I'm certain he has recovered from his injuries and his punishment must be over a month or two from the Summer Snow Day. Since then, we have heard nothing of where he is or what he's up to. So his current status is unknown.

But a theory goes that he is Wolfgang in disguise 🥸 But I'll save that for another post. For now, here's the breakdown to the video of the 'World of Frozen' attraction in Japan's new Disney Park.

Part 2 ft more Easter eggs in another snippet of the Arendelle park here...

[insidethebarrier]

Away at Disney

It is Christmas time and Henry has gone for The Witcher  press tour, leaving his poor wife, Whitney, home alone during the holidays. She would have gone with him, but her passion for her occupation wouldn't allow her to be absent for so long. 

Henry has been gone for weeks and Whitney is becoming more and more lonely as the days pass. She wants nothing more than to see him, but understands that his congested schedule wouldn't allow much time for her anyway. 

Whitney and her friend Jillian have planned to take a trip to Disney World this week for the celebration of the park's 50th anniversary, but as the date approaches, Whitney isn't convinced she should go.

"I think you should go. It'll help pass the time while I'm gone," Henry says to his wife over the phone. 

"It's gonna be depressing to be at Disney World without you. Especially at Christmas time." Whitney replies, pleading her case. 

"You'll be with Jillian. You're gonna have a great time." He says 

"It would be more fun if you came," she says

Henry smiles "I know darling. I miss you. I'm in London now, then Madrid for a few days and then home to you. I'll be there before you know it."

Whitney sighs knowing that he is right. "okay," she says softly. 

"Don't sound so upset. It disheartens me to hear you like this."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" 

"Don't apologize to me sweetheart. Go to Disney with Jillian and drink around the world. You're going to have a blast!"

A few days later Whitney and Jillian made it to Disney and were having an unfathomable amount fun. During the day, they would roam the parks. But at night, they'd run into all kinds of interesting people at restaurants and night clubs. They'd story swap, bullshit and bar crawl with anyone and everyone willing  to put up with their buffoonery.

Around day 6, Whitney and Jillian coincidentally run into a family friend at a club just outside of Orlando. Teeter, the family friend, barrel raced with Whitney's older sister, Rosalind. They all grew up rodeoing Colorado. 

Teeter and Whitney haven't seen each other in a few years and they have a lot to catch up on. Teeter explains that she's having her bachelorette party in Orlando and before long, she's convinced Jillian and Whitney to join.

Back at her hotel, Whitney FaceTimes Henry to help her get dressed for the nights festivities. 

"Henry quick," She says when he answers the call "what should I wear?" 

Whitney backs up from the camera and holds up a black dress to her body and then a blue dress. "This dress or this dress?"

"Neither," Henry shakes his head. "Both are terrible"

Whitney's jaw drops. She puts the dresses down and picks up the phone to look at her husbands face. "I thought you liked these dresses!" 

"Yeah. When you wear them for me." Henry remarks. 

Whitney shakes her head. "Okay, but which one?" She props her phone up on the bathroom counter so Henry can watch her mess with her hair. "And should I wear my hair up or down?"

"Firstly," Henry says in his charming accent "Where are you going?"

"We're going to a concert." She answers pulling some of her hair into a pony. "and then the club,”

"With Tater's bridal party?" Henry asks

"Teeter," She corrects " and yes. I'm telling you Hen, this chick is a brute. She can shoot whiskey like nothing you've ever seen before."

Henry chuckles "Sounds like it."

"okay, baby." She picks up the phone again and places it on the dresser so her can see her full body. "Which dress? I'm running late and I can't decide."

Whitney rips off the robe she has on, leaving her in just a pair of panties. Henry watches in admiration as his wife scrambles around the room. He falls silent as he is mesmerized by her beauty. 

"babe?" She asks. "Are you there?" Whitney assumes the silence is from poor connection.

She picks up her phone again to make sure he is still on the line. He is blushing at the screen. He has his mouth covered by his hand to hide his arousal. 

"wear the blue one darling," Henry finally says. "It's my favorite."

Around 2pm the next day, Whitney gets a call from Henry. 

"Hello, handsome." She says answering the phone.

"Hi darling," He replies in his sweet British accent. 

"Did you make it to Madrid okay?" 

Henry laughs to himself over the phone. "yeah. We've been here for 2 days."

"What?" Whitney asks confused. "I thought you were going to Madrid on the 9th."

"I did. Today is the 11th." Henry says tilting his head in confusion.

"Oh my God, it is!" She laughs to herself  checking the date "So you'll be home in 3 days."

"Well darling, that's why I called." He says quietly. Whitney falls silent. She knows that is coming. "My trip is being extended a few days. It turns out I have to go to New York after all."  

Whitney pauses on the other end of the line "I thought they canceled it,"

"I did too, but it was actually just pushed to the end. It's gonna add another 5 days onto my trip."

"Henry," Whitney whines. "You said you would be home on the 14th."

"I will be home Whitney, I promise. It's just a little later than we planned."

"I miss you. I haven't seen you in almost a month,"

Henry can hear the disappointment in her voice, but he knows she is okay. 

He sighs "I know darling. I miss you too." 

"why don't you just tell New York to fuck off and come home?" Whitney kids.

Henry smiles. "I don't think I can do that."

 "Why not?" She pouts "Its Christmas and you aren't here."

Henry chuckles "darling. You aren't even home. You're at Disney World. You want me to sit at home and wait for you?"

"Yes!" Whitney exclaims making Henry laugh "because that's what I have been doing."

"I'll be home soon enough. I promise. I love you," Henry assures her.

"Do you?" Whitney questions.

He blushes and smiles to himself "Very much so," 

Then Henry's publicist walks in the room and tells him it's time to go on stage.

"Hey, I have to go. I'll call you later." Henry says

"Okay," she says. Just before he hangs up you catch him. "Hey Hen?"

"Yeah?" 

"I love you too."

The next day, Whitney and Jillian flew home. Jillian's husband, Connor, picked them up from the airport and brought them home. They convinced her to spend the next couple of days with them so she didn't have to be alone in her house at Christmas. 

After 5 days in their guest room, Whitney decided that she has overstayed her welcome and goes home. Jillian spends an hour trying to convince her to say longer but Whitney insists that she goes home. 

When she walks in the door, Whitney is to preoccupied with hauling her two weeks worth of clothes in the house that she doesn't notice the various misplaced items scattered around.

Whitney takes a load of her things upstairs and whips open the her closet door to put stuff away. She gets a huge whiff of Henry's scent as she does this. 

"Darling?" 

"God I miss him so much, I am starting to hear him." She thinks to herself.

Then she walks in the closet and notices a blue duffel bag that she knows Henry took with him. She spins around too look on the bed and sure enough there is an open black suitcase full of men's clothes. 

Wait a second... Is he- "Henry?"

She waits in silence for the longest 2 seconds of her life.

"Darling, where are you?" She hears in the sweetest British accent. 

Whitney barrels out of the bedroom in search of the voice. She finds him in the laundry room, he was taking Kal outside.

Henry's face lights up when he sees his wife. He welcomes her with open arms as she jumps on him and showers him in kisses. 

"I thought you weren't supposed to be home for a couple more days," She says in between smooches. 

Henry grins, "Yeah, well, I missed you so much so I stood them up!"

With her forehead pressed against his, Whitney laughs.

"What?" Henry joins her with chuckles 

"They cancelled on you didn't they?" Whitney smiles. 

Henry nods in continuous laughter "Yeah,"

Whitney smiles at him and kisses him softly. 

"Happy Christmas Darling,"

[athanza]

"Siren"

Aemond Targaryen xfem!singer reader (one shot)

Tags: Explicit, smut, 18+, romance, soulmates, kissing, bathing, water, fingering, oral (f receiving).

Warnings: SMUT CITY MY DUDES, 18+, rough sex, very primal near the end, a little hair pulling, mild swearing, minors DNI.

Summary: A well known singer in Westeros arrives at the palace to perform for a great banquet and her voice, beauty and mysterious past immediately bewitches the handsome prince Aemond in a way he could never have predicted.

This is a first draft so please forgive my deplorable grammar, I'll repost the final draft later on. I hope you enjoy! ♡

The day had arrived that you thought would never come, the day you had dreamed of, yearned for; the chance to perform for the King and Queen of Westeros in the palace at King's Landing.

Since the day your mother caught you singing a lullaby to your baby sister and managed to get you into one of the best bard collages in westeros, you had dreamed of the day you could sing for the royal family, though you had never thought of it ever coming true.

You sat in your carriage, nervously waiting for it to stop so you could take your first step onto the palace grounds, a far cry from your humble beginnings, but your talents had taken you far, gained you many titles, and now you knew you must give your best performance, for your future depended on it.

Just as soon as you had thought it, the carriage came to a halt and soon the door was opened and you were standing in the palace courtyard, greeted by Queen Alicent herself, as fair as you had imagined her.

You walked over with the elegance bestowed to you by your mother, despite her hardened hands from the work she did to keep you fed through your childhood.

You stopped some feet away from the Queen and your eye immediately caught that of a tall young man, stood behind her with his siblings on the steps of the entance, his black eyepatch standing out from his fair skin and long white hair.

"Lady Y/N, it's such a pleasure to have you here in King's Landing." Said the Queen.

"You're too kind your grace." You cursied politely. "The pleasure is all mine. I'm honoured you would have me."

The Queen smiled warmly. "I trust your journey was fair?"

"As fair as a months journey by sea can be." You smiled in reply.

"Well, I'm glad you've made it safely. May I introduce you to my children? Prince Aemond, Princess Helaena, and Prince Agon, my eldest." She said, gesturing to each as they bowed and cursied in answer to their name, though Aegon barely bothered to exert any effort and was clearly hungover and did not wish to be there.

You cursied once again, not seeing prince Aemond's lingering gaze. "An honour to finally meet you."

"I'm sure you're exhausted from your long voyage, I will have you shown to your chambers." She put a hand gently on your back, ushering you forward. "You will have plenty of time to rest before tonight's festivities, so please make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you, your grace."

You sat in your chambers till nightfall, not needing much to warm you as the air in King's Landing was favourable compared to the harsh damp of the ship you arrived on.

There was not much in the way of sleep as your nerves had kept you far too awake despite your exhaustion. Though you did find your mind wandering to the handsome prince Aemond, who you had met a few hours earlier. He had a cunning in his eye that made you wary, but that smile...that smile had you intrigued; sly and knowing, as if he knew your eye had lingered on him longer than the others, as if he knew your very secrets and desires.

You hadn't realised how deep in thought you were until you jumped at the maid knocking at the door.

Soon it was time to perform and you needed to be dressed and prepared, though that smile remained; echoing quietly in the back of your mind as you redied yourself for what was to be the most important performance of your life.

The crowd of nobles applauded as you took your position amongst the musicians accompanying you and hushed soon after, awating your famed melodies.

Your gown of deep crimson caught the firelight and made it seem as though it was woven with fine threads of blood.

Prince Aemond stood at the back of the room, not originally intending to be there but you're beauty and mystery had piqued his interest and he had nothing better to do.

You closed your eyes for a moment as you breathed deep, awaiting the starting strum from the lyre. When it echoed through the hall, you began.

"You breathe within me

A hot breath that caresses my heart

as soft flames caress paper

You embrace me

And quiet the world to sigh in my ear

Calm and relentless.

You warm my body

And draw the heat from my soul,"

Aemond's expression changed from his usual contemplative stoicism and he took a subconscious step forward as he found himself utterly bewitched. His eye widened and his breath hitched, as if hearing song for the very first time.

"You smile at your success

You sigh as you fail

I love you

I need you

You are the worst part of me

I cannot live without you,"

This mysterious creature that had arrived here had just clutched his heart in a way that he could never have predicted and it took him completely off guard and yet he could do nothing until the song was over and the hall ruptured with applause, only then was he free from the spell that had held him in such a disarming embrace.

Your eyes met from across the room and as they did he swelled with emotions he could not decipher, good or bad he did not know, he only knew that this was dangerous and forced his gaze from you as he left hastily.

He was rarely disarmed in battle, if ever. His station, prowess, and respect had been worked hard for and earned and he was proud of that accomplishment, to the point of arrogance. But to be disarmed by a woman and her siren song was a concept never entertained by his mind, nor thought of as something that would...should ever happen.

He retired to his chambers and sat staring into the flames in silence, unable to take his mind off of this woman, this...beautiful woman who had grasped him in a way he couldn't understand.

The weakness that posessed him in the presence of, not just a woman but a common woman, angered and confused him. Who was she to be able to do this to him? Was she a witch? Was this a spell? Though, it wasn't long before his mind wondered to how the nape of her neck curved, how her hair fell, how soft her lips must be, how warm she would feel...

You had just been undressed when the knock came at the door. The maids wrapped you in a robe which you tied around your waist as the door was answered.

Aemond entered the room with what you could tell as the faintest hint of urgency despite his slow, strong gait.

"Your highness." You curtsied, surprised. "Is something the matter? I'm not quite decent."

"I wanted to congratulate you on your performance tonight." He said, his demeanour no different from the moment you met. "Your talents have won my parents hearts it seems."

"You flatter me your highness."

There was a brief moment of silence as neither of you could find the will to take your eyes off each other.

"You did not come here to compliment my singing." You said. Eyes exploring every inch if him as he stood, stoic and strong before you.

"Perhaps I have not." He admitted, the words escaping his mouth almost of their own accord.

The corner of your mouth curled a little. "That will be all Maylina, Esbeth." You said without looking away from him.

The maids curtsied and left promptly and Aemond nearly leapt forward and took you in his arms immediately, much to his consternation, but instead stayed where he was, eye trying not to wander.

"You came from bravos?" He asked.

"Bravos was one of the places I came from." You replied vaguely you walked over to the freshly drawn bath and poured oils and flower petals into the glistening water, illuminated by firelight.

He watched every movement you made, graceful and calm. You turned to him and smiled, it was now you with the knowing smile.

"You wish to know more about me?" You asked, now pouring a decanter of goats milk into the bath.

Without hearing a footstep, nor a rustle of cloth, a chest pressed against your back and a hand wrapped tenderly around your waist.

Your breath hitched in surprise.

"Who are you?" He hummed low in your ear.

Wanting to melt into his arms, you put the decanter down on the small table beside the bath.

"Your curiosity is...persuasive." You sighed, sliding your fingers over his to undo your robe.

With a dull shuffle of heavy fabric, the robe dropped to the floor between you. He could feel the pressure of his heart beating as his fingertips caught a touch of skin and his eyes wandered to your curves as you stepped into the bath and lay down in the steaming water.

Your fingers still intertwined, you slowly pulled him down with you, his knee coming to rest on the stone floor and his free arm laying on the edge of the brass tub.

You played slowly with his fingers, just barely above the water, and your breasts only half covered, the rest of you disguised by flower petals and the now clouded water.

His gaze came to rest in yours and there was a peace laying beneath the tension that was ever so obvious, a calm that seemed to slow his heart from beating so hard.

Your free hand rose from the cloudy water and fingers tipped with water droplets brushed the scar across his eye ever so gently.

"Who are you?" You cooed, almost at a whisper.

He covered your hand with his own and used both to take off his eyepatch, glancing down for a moment before looking back at you with a gleaming blue sapphire in place of his left eye.

You held his cheek in your hand and brushed it tenderly with your thumb.

He knew it didn't frighten you, he saw no fear in you at all, nor pity; curiosity maybe, but mostly intrigue and admiration of all things.

Your gaze returned and you reached your other hand up to touch the strands of hair that hung over his shoulder and were dipped lightly in the water. Gently, you pulled it, bringing his face closer to yours and, with the slightest of hesitations, your lips met.

His were soft and warm and you let out an accidental quiet hum as he brought his hand out of the water to cradle your face as he kissed you a little deeper.

A warmth swept through the both of you like a fire pushed onward by a hot summer breeze and you needed to be near each other as if your lives depended on it.

You leant back and he followed, his arm plunging into the water and coming to rest on your soft waist as you continued to kiss him. His other hand came up to his collar and began to unbuckle his leather vest but your hand guiding his slowly down between your thighs stopped him.

He pulled away for air and looked down at your lips, then back to your eyes as he felt his fingers brush over your folds.

Your breath hitched slightly at the sensation of him finding your clit and slowly beginning to draw small circles over it and leant up to kiss him again.

Breaths slowly grew heavier as tongues intertwined and the pleasure from his fingers began to build up. Your breasts rose and fell quicker by the minute and Aemond was gaining endless satisfaction from the sounds that were coming from your mouth. The desperate little moans and whimpers that weren't loud enough for his liking and he needed more of you.

In another burst of passion he climbed into the bath with you until he was over you, one arm leaning on the edge above your head and the other reaching down further to allow two of his long, slender fingers to slide inside of you, an act made easier by how aroused you had become.

An exclaimed sigh of pleasure left your lips and as his fingers began moving inside you, you grabbed the back of his neck, tilting your head back as much as the slope of the bath would allow.

"Look at me." He breathed.

With more breaths of pleasure, you looked back in his eyes, and he held you there, looking deep into your beautiful eyes as you writhed and twitched with pleasure in the water beneath him.

You moved your hands to his collar and began to impatiently undo the buckles on his vest. You wanted his skin on yours, you wanted to feel him.

As you got his vest undone he removed his fingers to hastily remove it and his now soaked undershirt.

You ran your nails gently down his back as he leant back down to kiss you again and the growl that came from his throat, unknown to you, was not one he had ever made before. You did it again and he pushed his fingers inside you once more, this time his movements far more ardent.

You moaned and held him closer as you approached orgasm, the sounds of the water and the crackling fireplace being completely drowned out as the pleasure quickly approached its peak, his eyes still holding your gaze despite how much harder it had become for you.

With only a few more strokes your climax hit you hard and your back arched in response, your cries of pleasure echoing down the halls leading from your chambers, letting the maids who had returned with freshly washed gowns know exactly how much pleasure the prince could give and they left once again, exchanging excited glances.

Once you had caught your breath Aemond curled an arm beneath you to lift you out of the water.

You both stood on your knees, the feeling of his warm chest against your breasts and his hand on the back of your neck made you burn with desire as you kissed each other so deeply one would think you could steal each other's soul.

He lifted you to your feet and picked you up, carrying you to the bed where he laid you down gently.

He kissed you softly once more before standing up and removing the rest of his soaked clothing.

You sat up on the edge of the bed and looked at him as he tossed his clothes to the side, now completely bare.

He was beautiful.

His fair skin glistened with droplets of water in the light from the many candles that flickered around the room.

"Come to me." You cooed, almost staring into his soul as you looked up at him.

He couldn't resist you. He stepped forward, his hand meeting yours as you raised it toward him and you looked up at him as he nearly towered over you.

You held so much power over him. Was it truly a spell that had him?

You wrapped your arms around him and stroked his back as you left sweet, slow kisses down his stomach to his abdomen, but before you could go any lower he curled his index finger beneath your chin and tilted your head back to look at him again.

"You bewitch me, stranger."

"I hear no protest." You replied with a sly smile.

He lifted you up. You wrapped your legs around him and he laid you down further up the bed this time and he marvelled at your being, every curve, every tiny detail of perfection and imperfection that formed your body. He ran his hands down your chest and over your breasts, down your stomach and up your thighs.

He leant down and began kissing down the inside of your thigh ever so slowly as you gripped the sheets by your head, your heartbeat growing faster the closer he got to your entrance.

He hovered over you, teasingly, looking up into your eyes as he gently blew air over your folds, smirking at the lustful look in your eye.

As his tongue made contact with your clit you sighed with pleasure and your head fell back against the bed.

His tongue swirled around you and you gripped a handful of his silken white hair as he began to suck and flick, sending you into utter bliss.

"Hmm.." He hummed against you, savouring your taste and the feeling of you in his mouth as he squeezed your thighs.

Your breaths were short and jagged as your hips began to move slightly, gently grinding into his tongue.

As he came up for air you placed your hands on his and pulled him back up on top of you, his fingers interwining with yours and pushing your hands into the bed.

You could feel how hard he was as his cock pressed against you, thick and solid, practically begging to feel you from the inside.

Aemond kissed you hungrily and you could taste yourself on him. He pulled away, positioned himself and pushed himself inside of you, holding your gaze the entire time.

You let out an involuntary moan and he did the same, the sensation just too good for him to hold back and you clenched around him.

You squeezed his hand tighter, and as he brushed his hair to one side and brought his other hand back up to clasp yours again, he lifted himself up a little more and began to move.

He bent his head down and kissed your neck, then biting, just soft enough not to leave a mark, then kissing the same spot once again.

It was slow and steady at first, allowing for both of you to feel as much as you could before lust took over and he began to move steadily, faster and faster.

"H-harder!" You breathed between moans, and he growled again.

He pushed harder, the sounds rippling through the room like lightning. Everything began to blur, all sensations became one and you wanted to cum again.

"Harder!" You cried.

He let go of your hands and sat up, grabbing your thighs with his slender but strong hands and began pounding you, hard, almost reaching your cervix, and every thrust pushed another desperate moan out of you. You didn't give a fuck who heard, his mother could hear for all you cared, you just wanted him to keep going.

"Ah!" You gasped, barely able to breathe. "Fuck me Aemond!"

He fucked you harder, digging his nails into your thighs until you felt a familiar heat build and suddenly explode inside of you and you cried out in immeasurable pleasure, loud and primal, gripping the sheets so tightly you could have broken a finger.

Feeling you cum on his cock and clench around him so tightly sent him over the edge like nothing before and he cried out.

"Argh!" He exclaimed, grabbing you close to him and pumping his cum inside of you as you dug your nails into his back and held him close.

Breaths were heavy and chests heaving as you both came down and tried to calm your breathing. He lay on top of you, his forehead pressed against your collarbone.

After a few moments he supported himself on his arms again and kissed you as he pulled out.

He rolled onto his back and you could feel his cum dripping out of you as you also rolled over, placing your head on his still heaving chest.

You both fell into a deep sleep very soon after, embracing each other as if hoping to become one.

But you already had.

~End~

[mads-weasley]

Here With You

Lewis Nixon x Reader

Masterlist

A/N: Hey y'all! I've never written for Nix, but I wanted to try, so here it is! I hope you enjoy it! I do not own any of the rights to these characters.

Summary: During the liberation of Eindhoven, (y/n) and Lew finally share a sweet moment, but it is soon shattered by a drunken local with one thing on his mind.

Warnings: attempted assault, mentions of blood, fighting

(y/h/c) - your hair color

September 1944

The streets of Eindhoven were filled with celebrating Dutch, bright orange flags waving from every window. (Y/n) couldn't help but smile at the sight of a people who were under oppression for so long becoming a free town once again.

As she walked through the happy mob, she made sure to stay right with Lew and Dick.

"Can you believe this?" Nixon asked, looking around them in awe.

She smiled up at her husband. "It's crazy. I know."

Taking her hand, he sent a smirk her way, knowing no one would notice the couple amongst the chaos of the celebration.

Their intelligence had suggested that the Netherlands and Holland were nothing but old men and kids, but they were all wary to accept that. Once they were there, though, the men let their guards down and enjoyed the festivities the town provided.

Pushing through the crowds, people grabbed at them and kissed her cheek. A few even tried to kiss her straight on the lips but she managed to swerve them in time. She rolled her eyes and swatted Nix's arm when he whispered, "Is it my turn for a kiss?"

A few minutes later, a few children came running up to her, attaching themselves to her legs. They couldn't have been more than 5 years old. Dropping Lewis' hand, she crouched in front of them. Their wide toothy grins brought a wide smile to her face.

"Hi, there. My name is (y/n)."

Not responding, one of them reached out and gently pulled on her dog tags, while another pointed at her American flag patch.

"I'm an American soldier."

"Amer-can?" A small blonde boy asked, thick with his accent.

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "American."

Beaming, he put his hand up to his chest. "Finn."

"Hi, Finn," (y/n) whispered, holding out her hand to shake his tiny one.

Little did she know that above her, Nixon was watching on with soft eyes at the interaction. Watching her with the children warmed his heart to no end, and those moments were rare now that they were at war. When they did happen, most of the time they were because of his loving wife.

Even though he was standing in a crowd of people, he felt as if he, (y/n), and the kid were the only ones there. He couldn't help thinking back to the first time something like that had happened; when the world stopped spinning. It was the first time he'd laid eyes on her, and he would never forget it.

1939

"Dad, can I please just skip out on one party? I've been to too many. They're all the same. Ever-" A 21-year-old Lewis Nixon pleaded as he fixed his tie in the mirror.

His father wouldn't budge, as usual. "No. You're going. End of discussion."

With a sigh, Lewis finished getting ready, buttoning up his suit as his sister, Blanche walked into the room, flopping dramatically on his bed.

"I refuse to go to another party where creepy old men try to flirt with me, Lew. I just can't do it."

He turned around from the mirror. "Me, too. I hate talking to a bunch of rich old jerks-"

"Like father," she interrupted.

"Yes, like father."

Their mother's voice made an appearance as she walked into the room. "You two need to give this party a chance. You never know, maybe this one could be different."

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it," he snarked.

A few hours later, Lewis Nixon sure did believe it after seeing a beautiful girl walk down the staircase in a bright royal blue dress, her curled (y/h/c) hair cascading down her back. At that moment, everything stopped. What the man beside him was saying became background noise as he only focused on her.

As she reached the bottom of the steps, she was met with Blanche, who smiled and embraced her. When she returned the smile, the boy lost his breath.

Without taking his eyes off her, he stopped their butler as he passed.

"Who is that?" He questioned breathlessly.

Following Nix's eyes, he smiled. "(Y/n) (y/l/n). She doesn't have a date, either, sir."

Breaking his trance, Lew nodded thanks at the man before walking over to the two girls. On the way, he passed a waiter, quickly grabbing two glasses of champagne from his tray.

"Hello ladies," he greeted cooly.

Blanche didn't spare him a glance. "Hey, Lew."

Looking over at (y/n), he held out his hand. "Lewis Nixon. And what would your name be?"

Grinning, she took his hand but let out a surprised laugh when he brought it up to his lips. "So you're one of those guys, huh?"

"And what type of guy is that?" He asked, intrigued.

She glanced down at the extra glass of champagne in his hand, raising an eyebrow. "The rich, cool, Ivy League student who thinks they can get any girl they want by flashing a smile and bringing a glass of champagne. I bet you live for parties like this to show off your status."

Blanche laughed hysterically, champagne almost spewing from her nose. She cursed as she spilled some on her dress.

"I'll be back", she muttered, heading towards the bathroom.

Turning his attention back on (y/n), Lewis downed the extra champagne glass in one gulp. "Alright. That statement is only half correct."

"Okay, what's not right, then?"

"Yes, I'm a rich, Ivy Leaguer. No, this champagne was not for you-"

(Y/n) chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Yeah right."

"And I actually hate these parties with everything in me."

"I somehow find that hard to believe, Mr. Nixon."

"Lewis, please. And when you've grown up being forced to go to these things, trying to fit into the high-class society gets tiring, and frankly, I wish I wasn't even associated with it whatsoever."

Seeing the serious expression in his eyes, she believed him. Something about him was different. Maybe her assumptions were wrong after all.

"You are something else, Lewis." She chimed, walking away from him. "I hope I'll see you around. And if not, you can ask Blanche where to find me."

Lew ran a hand through his hair, sighing at the interaction. "Oh boy. I'm in trouble." He whispered to himself, drinking the other glass of champagne in his hand.

Present Day - 1944

He's dragged out of his thoughts by Harry asking him something.

"What?"

"I said, we should get moving."

Nix nodded, squatting next to (y/n). "Hey, sweetheart. I'm sorry but we've gotta get a move on."

"Okay," she sighed, saying goodbye to the children who threw their small arms around her.

As they walked further into the town, Lew had a hand gently placed on the small of her back, leading her through the crowd. Suddenly, two girls barreled past (y/n) and threw themselves onto Lewis, who shrunk back from the women, trying to get away. Laughing, (y/n) grabbed his hand and pulled him away from them.

She looked up at him as if to say something but was cut off by his lips crashing against hers. Pulling away, she quickly looked around them, not seeing any Easy Company men watching. In fact, the only one she saw was Talbert, and his attention was fully captured by the girl he was making out with.

"Lewis Nixon. What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm kissing my wife."

"As much as I wish we could, the men can't know."

"Why not?" He challenged, raising an eyebrow. "Why can't they?"

"Because..."

"Exactly! You can't even come up with a reason. We kept it secret in the first place so that it wouldn't cause trouble with Sobel in basic, but now that we're over here, so why not?"

Mulling it over in her head, the young woman couldn't find anything wrong with his plan.

Instead of answering him, she pulled him down by his collar and kissed him roughly. Once out of breath, she pressed her forehead against his. "Yeah. Let em' find out, Lew."

The sweet moment soon ended as Harry pushed past them, grumbling. "Alright. We get it. You two are so in love. Yay for us."

Following him to the other officers, the couple held hands once again. "You're telling me that if Kitty was here, you wouldn't be doing the same thing?" (Y/n) asked, trying to suppress a laugh.

Before he could respond, Buck walked up to the group as they found Winters. "What's up, Welshy?" The blonde asked cheerily.

Harry flipped up his collar with a scowl, looking at (y/n). "Snipers."

She couldn't resist the laugh that bubbled up her throat as she flipped her collar, covering her lieutenant bars.

"We've got to get to these bridges," Dick stated, turning to (y/n), Buck, and Harry. "Round up the men."

With a nod, she started to walk away her arm was caught by Nix.

"Where are you going?" He asked, concern filling his eyes.

She sighed lightly and rubbed his arm, wanting to avoid the overprotective side of her husband. "You heard Dick. I'm getting my men."

"Okay. Please be careful, alright?" He whispered, caressing her cheek softly.

Walking away, she winked at him. "I will be, Lew. Don't worry."

Nix watched her smaller form disappear into the crowd, turning to Dick while shaking his head. "That woman will be the death of me."

As (y/n) pushed through the celebrating crowd once again, her eyes searches for the familiar screeching eagle patch on her men's uniforms. Just as she saw Liebgott in the distance, a rough pull of her hand had her reeling backward, falling into the chest of someone. Whipping around to face them, she discovered it was a man a little bit older than her with a devilish grin aimed right at her. Instantly, she tried to pull away from the hold he had on her arm.

"Let go," she demanded calmly, raising her left hand to show the ring on her finger. "I'm married."

He jerked her closer to him, and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Jammer dat je man niet hier is om te kijken wat ik met je ga doen, meid."

(Y/n) didn't have to understand Dutch for her to get the message as he moved his other hand to grab her butt, pulling her flush against his chest.

"I said let go!" She yelled, thrashing around, trying to get away. His grip only tightened as he angrily let go for a split second and raised his hand to strike her. (Y/n) heard it before she felt it. The loud smacking sound stunned her and was soon followed by a burning sensation radiating from her cheek as the taste of copper filled her mouth.

The man used her shock as an opportunity, smashing his lips to hers. Realizing what was happening, she sealed her lips closed, quickly pulling as far as she could from the man.

Suddenly she reared her head back before slamming it into the man's nose. His hold on her disappeared as he stumbled back, clutching his bloody nose. (Y/n) could see the anger radiating off him as she tried to escape into the crowd.

"Jij amerikaanse teef!" He seethed, following her through the crowd.

Out of breath, she frantically looked for any of her fellow soldiers once again. Tears filled her eyes when she saw an all too familiar head of dark hair sitting in a chair a few feet in front of her.

"Lew!" She cried, glancing over her shoulder at the man who was gaining on her. "Lewis!"

As soon as her desperate cry left her lips, he bolted up from his chair, turning to where the sound came from. The second he saw her terrified expression, he ran to meet her. Just as he was about to bring her into his arms, she yelped, being dragged out of reach by her hair.

"Hey! Let her go!" Nix barked athoritatively, quickly stepping forward and taking a swing at the man.

Being heavily drunk, he didn't have fast enough reflexes to dodge the punch in time. Lewis' fist slammed against the man's jaw with a satisfying crack. Instantly letting go of (y/n), the dutch man wobbled on his feet for a moment, before falling to the ground in a heap.

Nix thought his head was going to explode with rage. He wanted to beat this man to a pulp for what he'd evidently done to (y/n). Moving to crouch over the man do to just that, he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. Dick pulled him back, motioning over to (y/n)'s shaking figure.

"Go help (y/n). She needs you. I'll take care of this." He said lowly.

With a nod, Lew looked over at her and their eyes met. His heart broke at the sight of (y/n)'s face. Tears brimmed her waterline and blood slowly dripped from her lower lip. The worst part was the bright red handprint on her left cheek that infuriated him more than anything before. Rushing over, he pulled her into his arms, kissing her hair lovingly.

“Breathe, darling,” he murmured, fighting off tears of his own. "You're safe, now."

He looked around and found an empty restaurant on the corner. Leading her to the secluded area, he kept a strong arm around her, worried she would fall without it.

Once inside, he sat her down on a chair and pulled another one next to it. Her head was tilted down, facing the floor as she replayed the last few moments in her mind.

She was brought out of her thoughts by her husband's soft touch under her chin, lifting it to face him. Her tears had not yet fallen, and Nix knew she was trying to stay strong.

"It's okay to cry, honey," he whispered, cupping her cheek softly.

At his words, she let out a quiet sob as the tears slipped down her cheeks. He just pulled her closer, allowing her to bury her face into his neck.

"I'm so sorry, Lew. I-I didn't-," she cried, pulling back to look at his concerned face, which quickly morphed into a confused expression.

Nixon's heart broke at her tear-stained cheeks. "You didn't do anything wrong. There's nothing to apologize for," he said softly.

"But I could've fought harde-"

"No," he interrupted. "Do not say that. You did everything you could."

She shot up out of his arms and on her feet, throwing her hands up, shouting. "If I can't even fight off some drunk civilian, how am I supposed to fight in this war against trained German soldiers?"

Nix rose to his feet. "It wasn't your fault, (y/n)!"

"Lewis, I shouldn't be here. I should be-"

"None of us should be here! Half of our men should still be in school, and the other half should be with their families!" He paused, eyes beginning to burn. "W-We should be at home raising a family, not here in Europe fighting, but we are, and nothing we can say is going to change that."

After a few moments of silence, (y/n) walked towards the man, slowly pulling him into a hug.

"Thank you for saving me, Lew," she whispered, voice thick with emotion.

He sighed, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "Of course. Always remember I'm here. Wherever you go-"

"I go," she finished, leaning back and cupping his cheek with one hand. "I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart."

He then connected their lips softly, wrapping his arms around her waist when the doors flew open.

"Sir-oh. Sorry for the interruption, uh Lieutenants." Talbert sputtered, wide-eyed.

Parting slowly, Nix groaned as he and (y/n) walked past Tab.

"Can't I get 5 minutes with my wife, for pete's sake," he muttered.

Floyd stood there shocked, and (y/n) chuckled under her breath as they walked back onto the street. When felt a warm hand enclose hers, she knew she would be okay. She also knew that by the end of the day, their secret wouldn't be a secret anymore, and she was perfectly fine with that.

Tag List:

@typical-simplelove @softguarnere @brassknucklespeirs

[archduchessofnowhere]

I'm finally back home so more thoughts about Sisi & Ich:

This movie was screened as part of a German Film Festival and while I'd never been to one before I felt it was exactly what you would expect for a film festival. Like I can't imagine this movie doing well with a general audience.

The movie is so anachronistic (completely made up fashion, modern pop music, modern hairstyles, the actors look nothing like their historical counterparts) that it's really easy to forget this is supposed to be about Empress Elisabeth and Irma Sztáray; because of that I was able to enjoy it mostly as a story about a very toxic, manipulative and dependant relationship between two women. If you like stories about fucked up people doing fucked up things to each other "out of love" you'll like this one.

This, however, made me wish they had gone full AU because every time the story actually did adapt things from real history it did it in a way it annoyed me: so Elisabeth's eating disorder became in a full on screen portrayal of bulimia (something she never had), and her complicated but mostly amicable relationship with her husband was turned into an abusive marriage. From a historical perspective these were the things I disliked the most, since to me they felt tasteless and only for shock value.

Archduke Ludwig Viktor is a character here, and while the close friendship he has with his sister-in-law in this movie is completely fictional (Elisabeth had been fond of him when he was a child but they had a fell out years later and never again got along), I actually liked it; he is kinda like Ludwig II in Corsage but without the weird kissing scenes.

But the character that completely takes the spotlight is Irma. Sandra Hüller is fantastic as her, easily the best actress in the movie. She portrays both Irma's utter devotion for the empress as well as her rage against her in such a gripping way. Really I think the movie is worth it just for her.

Elisabeth, however, was a bit underwhelming. She feels like a manic pixie dream girl for most of the movie; it's probably on purpose, since we see the story through Irma's POV and she idealised her, but personally I couldn't really connect with her character with how unrealistic she felt sometimes. It was a refreshing take, I'll give it that: it's rare to see an elder Elisabeth who isn't a mater dolorosa who's always sad and miserable.

FJ was done so dirty, they just keep making him more and more evil lol.

Every time they made a joke about Katharina Schratt... keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!

The England segment should've been cut out because it felt like a completely different movie that pops out of nowhere, and not only isn't even the right time (the England trips were in the 1870s), but also the only thing that achieved was making me loose my respect for Elisabeth's character (the squire was cute tho).

I've seen this movie as LGBT/recommended for LGBT folks so to not disappoint you I'll give you the heads up that the only gay content we get are two hours of unresolved sexual tension between Irma and Elisabeth (and also between Ludwig Viktor and a guy from Elisabeth's staff, the gays just weren't getting it in this movie). That being said Irma is clearly a lesbian (even tho she is never referred as such) and Ludwig Viktor is also openly gay, so there are LGBT characters.

These are just some of the things I have to say off the top of my head, but I'll try to write a full review this weekend!

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

“Don’t do it.” a voice says. Watanabe Hinata jerks and turns to see a green haired girl standing behind her in the alley. She's dressed in a pair of ripped pants with one side black and the other a pastel blue. She wears a jean jacket covered in pins over a pastel pink tank top with the middle finger emoji on it. “You'll regret it.” the girl says.

“Reg… regret it?!” Hinata snaps. “I’ll regret it? How do you know what the fuck I’ll regret?!” what does this person know?

“I know those are Primordial shoes. I have the same pair in my closet at home.” the girl says. She digs into a pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She takes one out. “You smoke?”

“No,” Hinata says, voice off. She blinks at the girl who so casually confessed to her Quirklessness. She has money, obviously, if she can afford those boots that aren't red. The girl nods and puts the pack back into her pocket while fishing a lighter up. “… what will I regret?”

“You know about magic,” the girl says. She tilts her head. “I bet you've already tried finding a teacher didn't you. Not quite good enough for a wizard to want, no musical talent? The Paladin oath doesn't hold?” Hinata flushes.

“None of your business!” she snaps. It's true. It's all true. She'd hoped and prayed so much but magic just wasn't working. Not the learning way. She had no talent for wizarding magic and she couldn't carry any tune. The oath fell flat and she’d been denied the chance at a temple. She has nothing.

“It's not yeah, but I'll tell you: you're going to regret making a deal,” the girl says as she lights the cigarette.

“How would you know?” Hinata huffs.

“Because I was eleven years old, holding a child in my arms while running from villains when a Fae appeared with an offer,” the girl says. She puts her lighter away. “I was cornered in an alley with no way out and he was my only option.”

“And you regret it?” Hinata asks.

“It's impossible to regret,” the girl denies. “But it's impossible for me to say I don’t regret it.”

“That makes no sense,” Hinata says.

“I was eleven years old. I didn't know what the fuck I was doing when I accepted the deal. I wanted to live, I wanted to protect my sister. I wanted to see my mom again.” the girl says quietly. “But if I could go back in time I'd say no. I'd find a different way. But I can't regret my choices now.”

“How bad is it?” Hinata asks.

“I have my contract burned onto my back.” the girl says. “I carry it with me. He burns me when I fail and he hurts me when I mess up. I sold my soul to a being more powerful than anyone in this world, and I can’t regret saving myself or my sister. I can’t even regret having powers now. But I can regret the pain. I can regret the fear. I can regret I was taken advantage of. So don’t do it.” the girl finishes her cigarette as Hinata watches in silence.

“Whats your name?” Hinata asks.

“Midoriya Izumi.” the girl says before she walks away. Hinata only watches.

Years later, they meet again. Hinata saw her on TV, competing in the sports festival. It's random chance they run into each other after

Midoriya looks at Hinata and sighs, eyes sad. “Was it worth it?”

Hinata feels the burn on the contract, feels her lungs tighten and her scars pull. She snorts.

“No.”

[sparklywatercolors]

Zorya looked down at the pregnancy test. Positive again. It was the fifth one they took this week, just to make sure. But each one, no matter the brand, was saying positive. They held onto their white sink, keeping the test on the counter, not wanting to poke at it or touch it. Their skin became cold.

"A baby?" Zorya whispered to themself, "A baby."

A gentle knock came from the door, their favorite voice came after it, "Zoryana, are you okay in there? We have to go soon to your friend's house."

"Oh yeah! I'm okay just getting ready I'll be out in five minutes," Zorya replied, straining to give a proper response to Ivan. Zorya took a deep breath as they heard him walk away from the door.

Zorya's eyes darted around the bathroom, not knowing what to do. After they cleaned the pregnancy test, it still read positive.

Zorya felt hot tears pouring down their face, their lips trembled. They had wanted a baby for so long, their own little one to raise and love and care for.

And yet, they finally got their wish and it's scary

It's scary.

Zorya lifted up their festive dress, and looked down at their stomach from the mirror. Slowly they placed their hand there.

"Hi whoever you might be, I love you," Zorya whispered.

"Zoryana dear who are you talking to?" Ivan asked from outside the bathroom.

"Ah myself," Zorya replied, their voice slightly trembling. Ivan laughed.

"Okay my dear sunflower, whatever helps you," he replied.

Zorya shook their head and listened for his footsteps to go away again, they glanced down again, "Don't mind your Papa. He's a gentle giant."

They lowered their dress again and noticed the flowers and holly in their hair. Taking a bit of each they carefully wrapped it around the test. And then left the bathroom, stuffing it in their pocket.

"Oh Zoryana!" Ivan smiled, his cheeks turning pink, and his violet eyes sparkling, "You look lovely my dear."

Zorya smiled back at him, "Your sister helped me pick it out. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear it."

He leaned down and placed two kisses on their cheeks.

Zorya grinned and then glanced away, "Hold on I have to scribble something down for later."

They pulled away and rushed over to the stationery station set up in their kitchen. Quickly without Ivan getting a chance to see they grabbed on e of the leftover gift tags and wrote a quick Merry Christmas on it. Carefully they took a piece of tape and applied it to the tag.

They stuffed it in their pocket with the test, and fidgeted around to stick it on.

"Is everything okay Zoryana?" Ivan asked, his voice growing with concern, and a grown spreading across his face. Zorya paled.

"Ah I was just thinking about how one day we'll have our own babies to spend Christmas with," Zorya laughed, holding back from glancing down at their stomach.

Ivan nodded, "I know you want one so bad dear. We will have one."

Zorya laughed, "Oh yeah. Could you imagine you come home and they cover our home in decorations."

"It better be for January," he laughed. Zorya shook their head.

"Oh no. They'll be raised with both Christmases," Zorya replied, their fingers slightly trembling in their pocket as they held the test and it's flowers still.

"Is that so, it sounds like you're planning it already," he laughed. Zorya bit their lip and without thinking they pulled out the test and shoved it into his hand.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Look," Zorya replied. He looked down. His mouth opened wanting to speak but the words wouldn't come out.

"It's real," Zorya replied, "So they're celebrating two."

He looked up at them, his eyes widening in slight fear and excitement.

Neither of them spoke as he pulled them into a hug.

After a few minutes he finally whispered, "Fine, they can celebrate two Christmases."

[doki-doki-lesbians-club]

A little preview...

A cool, crisp October freeze drifted down the row of houses, neatly lined up beside the road. Flinging her front door open, a high school student rushed out, her brunette hair trailing behind her as she attempted to tie it back with a white ribbon. She was running a few minutes later than she planned, and set off speed-walking down the sidewalk. "Mooonikaaa!" No matter how late she was, Monika would always stop and wait for that voice. She finished with her ribbon as she turned to see her neighbor, good friend, and club vice president Sayori running to catch up. Sayori struggled to get up on time in the mornings, but she also loved walking to school with Monika, so they had a sort of unspoken deal: Monika wouldn't wait around for her, so if she wanted to walk together, Sayori had to get up. It worked, most mornings. "Good morning, Sayori! Oh, here, lemme just..." She reached up and straightened Sayori's little red bow, noting her unbrushed hair. "...there!" "Eheh, Moni~! I'm not your little sister or something!" She put on an exagerated fake pout, which made Monika smile. "You're right, but I still care about you, so I do my best to take care of you! Now come on, let's get moving; don't want to be late!" The pair headed towards school, Sayori smiling happily as Monika swiped through her planner app on her phone. She liked to do that in the mornings, even though she knew exactly what she was going to find, and she was the only one who could change it. She was meticulous with her scheduling, always double-checking, never double-booking, and certainly never forgetting-- "EH!?" Sayori jumped. "M-Monika? What's wrong??" "I... I can't believe... I forgot..." She stared at the screen in disbelief: Cultural Festival, this weekend

its just a prologue not really that much yet

This is the first chapter of the first part of a new project I'm working on, writing a non-game AU that follows the girls through their senior year, their last summer after high school, and then beyond (to an indiscernible point?) This is the start of the first part: senior year!

It's gonna be a little awkward at the start, not only because I've never written anything quite of this caliber before, but also I'm trying to get through the game events so that I can delve into the actual content of this fic XD the game is only like a week's worth anyway, this is gonna last months to finish the year!

I'll post new chapter announcements on my blog here since... people follow me? Apparently? Weird to think about it that way. But if you have suggestions, requests, questions, etc you can send those as asks here!

Hope you enjoy~!

[sunnyie-eve]

10 | Festival

Series: Valentine Addams | Wednesday

Paring: (Xavier Thorpe x OFC Addams! Tyler Galpin x OFC Addams!)

Word Count: 1514

Warnings: fighting about Tyler, connecting, light flirting

9. Boys... | 11. Know What I Saw

"You making your great escape tonight?" I joke walking into Wednesday and Enid's room. 

"Yes. You're friend Tyler is diving me to the train station." She tells me. 

"When did you ask him?" I ask confused since he hasn't told me about doing this. 

"A day ago or something." She tells me. 

"Oh, okay." I nod my head. 

"Xavier is looking for you." Enid comes into the room so I roll my eyes. 

"Enid, have you seen Valentine?" Xavier knocks on the door. 

I glare at her so she won't tell him. "I have to open the door." She goes towards it door so I rush to the window going outside to hide. "No, I haven't seen her. Wednesday?" I hear Enid ask. 

"No, I haven't but seeing how she's avoiding you I would advise you to simply give up on trying." Wednesday tells him. 

"If you see her can you please tell her to come by or try to find me tonight." I hear Xavier leave.

"Why are you still ignoring him if he wants to make up?" Enid asks as I come back into the room. 

"Because he doesn't actually mean it. He'll still bring up Tyler and why am I friends with him." I roll my eyes. 

"Then just ignore him when he does. You know Tyler differently so forget what Xavier says about him." Enid shrugs her shoulders. 

"I guess you're right." I huff leaving the room. 

Outside though Xavier was waiting with his arms crossed, "I knew you were hiding in there because Enid was smiling when she opened the door like she had a secret." He says making me throw my head back. "I'm sorry for making you mad." He sighs as I walk to my room. 

"But you'll keep bringing him up as long as I'm friends with him so really you'll never be sorry." I turn to face him. 

"What if I promise I'll try my best not to. Even though I hate that you're friends with him... at least he's good to you." He sighs. "Please forgive me."  He stares at me. 

"Ugh, I forgive you." I tell him making him smile and hug me so I step out of it, "No." I make a face shaking my head. 

"Got it, not a hugger. Wanna hangout later at the Harvest Festival?" He asks me.

 "I'll think about it if Enid doesn't drag me around." I tell him and continue my way to my room.

-

When we all get to the festival I stand with Wednesday and Enid looking at Tyler with his dad. "Val I know your good friends with that normie but are you sure you can trust him?" Enid asks Wednesday. 

"I trust that I can handle myself. And I doubt he would do anything to Valentine's sister." Wednesday tells her. 

"Well good luck and safe travels." Enid tries to hug Wednesday again, "Still not a hugger. Got it. I'm going to find Yoko." Enid leaves us. 

"How are you shaking Weems off you?" I ask Wednesday. 

"I'm thinking." She walks away so I follow her to a game, "You really trust your friend?" Wednesday starts to throw the darts at the balloons. 

"Tyler's never given me a reason not to." I do the same as her, "He was the first person I really opened up to..." I sigh popping every balloon with her.

"Jeez, you two get any better at this, you'll be taking home a whole pack." Xavier shows up on the other side of me. 

"Pandas don't travel in packs. They prefer their solitude." Wednesday says not paying attention to him. 

"All right. Subtle hint taken." He nods his head. 

"She's waiting for someone. I'm just here till then." I tell him. 

"Oh, yeah, who's the lucky guy... or girl?" He asks. 

"What does it matter to you?" She asks as Tyler shows up so I give him a smile. 

"Didn't mean to interrupt." Tyler speaks up. "

You're not. Ready?" Xavier looks at him then me. 

"Huh? I'll find you in a minute." I say so he walks off annoyed making me roll my eyes at him.

"This is gonna be trickier than I thought. Dad hit me with a curfew. We need to go if I'm gonna make it back in time." Tyler let's Wednesday know. 

"She kinda has dead weight she need to lose first." I let him know as the carny hands me a big panda. 

"Meet me behind the parking lot when the fireworks start. Valentine go with him so Weems doesn't think you're helping me right now." Wednesday tells us so I nod my head. 

Tyler nods his head as well talking my arm walking us off as I carry my big panda, "Is Xavier going to be mad you aren't going off to find him?" Tyler asks letting go of my arm. 

"He'll get over. Not really but who cares." I mess with my panda as we get to the parking lot. 

"I went though dads stuff and found this. It's your dad's police file." He hands me a file and I open it and scan over it before closing it. 

"What if he goes back to look at this and it's gone?" I look up at him. 

"He'll get on me but oh well." He gives me a smile.

"Thank you for this. Wednesday will appreciate it as well." I give him a genuine smile. 

"I saw the looks on your faces and I figured you two would like to know more information. Plus you're my only friend and I'd do anything for you." His eyes don't leave mine and my body acts on it own. I drop the panda letting my arms snake around his waist hugging him. He gets tense for a second before for hugging me back, "I didn't take you as a hugger." He chuckles so I get out of the hug, 

"This stays between us." I pick the panda back up. 

"Got it." He laughs as Wednesday shows up. 

"Tyler got this for us. It's dad's police file." I hand the file over to her so she takes it. 

"I'm not used to people engaging with me. Especially with Valentine. Most see us coming and cross the street." Wednesday speaks up looking at Tyler so he looks at me. 

"You guys aren't scary. Just kinda... kooky." He smiles. 

"We prefer spooky." I look offended making him chuckle.

"Now my train leaves in an hour. We're burning moonlight. I know as much as you don't want to... go find Xavier so Weems can see your with him so you can say you have no idea where I am." Wednesday tells me. 

"Okay... Good luck, love." I squeeze her hand before jogging off to find Xavier. 

"There you are." I pop up next to him which startles him. "What does Tyler want with your sister?" He asks. 

"Taking her to the train station. Don't tell Weems." I glare at him before looking away to see Tyler and Wednesday running. She bumps into Rowan and I can tell she has a vision before running after him. "Hold this." I give the panda to Xavier to go over to Tyler. "What happened to leaving?" I ask looking off where she ran. 

"Lucas and the boys showed up. Tried to lose them in the crowd now she ran off." He explains to me. 

"Ugh!" I run after her. "Wednesday!" I call out running into the woods. 

I hear talking so I follow and see Rowan using his powers holding Wednesday up against the tree. "Rowan!" I shout at him but he uses his other hand to fling me away. I hit another tree groaning getting up to see a creature grab him. 

Wednesday falls and I rush over to her as we watch Rowan get killed. The creature looks back at us and growling before running off. Wednesday goes over to Rowan while I stare at where the creature ran off to. 

"What the hell is going on!" I shout before touching my head to see blood. 

"We need to get help." Wednesday grabs my hand dragging me off with her. As soon as we reach everyone I fall to the ground fainting.

The next thing I know I wake up in the infirmary with Wednesday sitting next to me in a different bed. "I fainted after you and after telling Bianca." She looks over at me. 

"Why did Rowan attack you?" I sit up. 

"Said I was destined to ruin the school. Said it was possible for you too but I was 100 percent since his mother told him." She gets out of the bed. 

"Ruin the school? How?" I was super confused so she shows me a drawing that looked like her. 

"That's you 100 percent because that's your hair not mine. But I could be possible?" I say making my head hurt getting out of bed too. 

"I'm staying here to get to the bottom of everything. That's the only reason." She says as we leave to go to our rooms. 

"I believe you."

[bridgertonbabe]

As much as I love every one of the benophie boys, I think william might be my favorite(in your hc worlds) I just love how mischievous yet lovable he can, so it would be great if we got an older teen/adult william drabble! Thank you for the writing btw, I know how hard a creative block can be and just know were just grateful for anything we can get in this tiny Fandom! So take as long as you need we can wait!

I just wanted to say thank you for being so supportive and understanding. I've been on the struggle bus creatively for a while now and it's been very frustrating because I sincerely want to write and update my works and be productive but my writer's block has just left me in a rut. Back in the summer I had all these plans to write a bunch of stuff in the lead up to Christmas, to be churning stuff out thick and fast and creating plenty of content but alas that hasn't come to fruition. I've had asks enquiring when I'll next be updating any one of my works or curious if I'd be contributing any holiday-related content and I've felt so guilty for not being able to provide an answer purely because hell I didn't have an answer for myself. So it's very kind and reassuring to receive these asks of people being understanding and I just wanted to say it really means a lot and I greatly appreciate it.

With that all being said, William is always fun to write for, due to how much of a fun lil shit he is. Here's a lil festive drabble set in the Teachers AU in which William continues to be the biggest stressor in his father's life;

Benedict loved all his four children with every fibre in his being. Charlie and Alex had both recently graduated university, both of them hard-working and dedicated in their pursuits in life, and Violet was perfect in every which way just like her mother, and William... well, William was William.

By no means did he love William any less. William was as much of a blessing in Benedict's life as Charlie, Alex, and Violet were and there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his youngest son - but with that being said, William was the most notorious child in the entire Bridgerton family and his constant naughty antics was single-handedly the biggest source of grief in Benedict's life and had been ever since William had begun walking and talking.

All year round William caused chaos, but he particularly upped the ante during the Christmas season. When he was three years old his biggest mission was to push over their Christmas tree which he successfully managed to do multiple times that year, leaving Benedict to put it back up again and again and again. A couple of years later Benedict had discovered his young daughter crying in a sealed up cardboard box by the front door after William decided he wanted a different sister and had packaged her up in the hopes that Santa could trade her for a new one. During his years at infant and primary school whenever he participated in a Nativity play or Christmas concert he'd take the opportunity to loudly cry out a new word he had learnt that year, vocabulary which had included; penis, anus, fuck, and (most infamously of all after his teacher had welcomed the parents to the concert) nonce. One year he had preyed on Violet's fear of the elf on the shelf and kept moving the elf to unsettle and freak her out all the time before topping off his reign of terror when Violet opened her wardrobe and found William dressed up like the elf and giving her a sinister stare, causing her to scream and go running to Benedict and be left so frightened that she spent the following week sleeping in her parents bed.

Benedict had hoped that as William grew up that he might be capable of maturing - but he thought wrong. A running gag that had stretched on for years was a present being left underneath the tree for Violet with the tag claiming it was from her "real father", with William "accidentally" letting slip that Violet was the result of an extra-marital affair. On the first year he had pulled that stunt an inconsolable Violet had to be assured that of course Benedict was her real father and that her parents loved each other very much and would never cheat on each other. In spite of the upset he had caused, William continued the bit year in and year out, elevating it to now include Sophie receiving jewellery from her supposed lover, much to Benedict's chagrin.

So of course once the festive season came around again, while others were stressed with Christmas shopping and hosting their family during the holiday, Benedict Bridgerton's Yuletide stress was totally and utterly as a result of the dread he felt from whatever it was his eighteen year old son had up his sleeve.

"What's he pulled this year?" Michael asked.

It was Christmas Day and the whole Bridgerton family was celebrating together, the first time they had done so for a couple of years, what with Anthony, Colin, and Francesca celebrating with their in-laws during the previous Christmases. Dinner had just been finished and everyone was spread out across the large home Violet and Edmund resided in. While everyone else was enjoying the festivities, Benedict was keeping a constant eye on his youngest son to see what he would do.

"Nothing yet." Benedict replied. "Which makes me only more worried."

So far the only things William had done were return from his first uni term with newly dyed red hair and white frosted tips ("tis the season" had been his shrugged explanation), as well as send a Christmas card pretending to be Sophie's make-believe lover in which he begged her to run away with him and bring Violet too so they could finally be a family. Benedict just knew that there was more to come. William simply couldn't plateau his typical Christmas shenanigans like that.

"So no gifts for shock-value underneath the tree this year?" Colin asked.

He was referring to Christmases gone by in which Alex had once unwrapped a copy of Oedipus Rex, leading to both Alex and Charlie to whack William around the head for being gross for what he was implying, as well as another Christmas in which Charlie had unwrapped a present that had resulted in Benedict shouting on Christmas morning; "YOU ARE FOURTEEN YEARS OLD! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU BUYING A FLESHLIGHT FOR YOUR BROTHER?!"

"Fortunately not." Benedict said through gritted teeth.

"Shit. You think he's going to pull something here?" Eloise wondered.

Typically if William was suspiciously low-key on Christmas morning at home, it meant he had something dastardly planned for the day spent with the extended family. The most infamous incident had been the Christmas when the fire brigade had been called out after he had set off a fireworks in the living room - it was the most mortified and stressed Benedict had ever been because of his youngest son.

He gave a small nod to confirm Eloise's suspicion, his eyes still firmly fixed on William, who noticed his father's stare and sent a disarming wink back at him.

"What do you think he's got planned?" Michael asked.

"I have no idea. All I know is that he's plotting something."

Since returning from uni William had been curiously quiet and Benedict had come across him having hushed conversations on the phone as well as sneaking out of the house everyday and slipping back in later on. He truly couldn't fathom what it was that William had concocted this year and even dwelling on what he could have come up with was putting Benedict on edge.

Suddenly there was the jingling of bells and everyone's attention was brought to William, who had stood up with said bells in his hand.

"Hey everyone! If you could all gather round. There's a little something I've prepared which I hope everyone will enjoy." he announced.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god." Benedict fretted, already holding his head in his hand, dreading what exactly his son was about to do in front of everyone.

What if he had gone to the extreme lengths of hiring an actor and bringing him along to introduce as Violet’s real father? Or what if he was going for something far more simple than that and simply drop his trousers to moon everyone in the room? When it came to William, the terrifying possibilities were endless. 

"Now if all the cousins don't mind assembling." William motioned to the front of the living room by the fire place.

Much to Benedict's confusion, all of his nieces and nephews, as well as his other three children all followed William's instruction, and all of them were smirking, giggling, and nudging each other as they convened together.

"Wait; has he roped them all in on it this year?" Colin frowned.

"Oh fuck." Benedict groaned - he wouldn't have been surprised if William had convinced other mischief-makers like Charlotte, Oliver, and Amanda to help him with whatever he had planned, and he could see William's younger cousins being influenced and following his lead, but the fact he had roped in his older cousins, his more mature and level-headed cousins, and even Violet had left Benedict flabbergasted.

"And if you oldies would like to sit yourselves down." William addressed to his grandparents, aunts, and uncles with a cheeky grin.

"No, no, no, no." Benedict was muttering under his breath has his parents, siblings, and in-laws began sitting down on the sofas and chairs facing the younger generation.

"Ben. Ben? Look at me." Sophie had appeared and reached out a hand to his cheek. "It's fine. It's going to be fine, okay?" she tried reassuring him. "Charlie, Alex, and Violet wouldn't go along with anything bad now would they?"

"But what if he's blackmailing them?" Benedict hissed. "What if he's blackmailing all of the ones who wouldn't normally go along with it?"

"Honey, I don't think William has that much influence."

"Hey, mum?" William called out. "Could you save telling dad you're leaving him for a few minutes please?"

"Now, William!" his grandmother warned with the shake of her head.

"Apologies, Old Violet." William smirked, using the nickname his grandmother abhorred and received an unimpressed glare from her. "Now," William beamed to the rest of the group and pulled out a conductor's baton from his sleeve, "this is dedicated to you, grandpa." he addressed his grandfather, with the family patriarch's jaw dropping in elated surprise. "This is our present to you."

William then turned back to the thirty-four other grandchildren of Violet and Edmund, clearing his throat performatively and holding his hands up ready to begin conducting.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god." Benedict muttered under his breath, bracing himself for whatever it was that his son had organized.

Sophie clutched his hand in hers to provide him comfort as much as she was trying to alleviate her own anxiety.

"And a one, and a two, and a one, two, three!" William said quietly, waving his baton before commandingly pointing it.

"Holidays are coming," the older male cousins at the back of the group began to chant, "holidays are coming, holidays are coming,"

"Tis the season!" Amanda and the Bassett girls sang when pointed to by William.

"Watch out!" the younger cousins chorused. "Look around! Something's coming, coming to town!"

"Coming to your town!" Amanda and the Basset girls chimed in again.

Benedict and Sophie's mouths both hung wide open with the ongoing harmonies and just how good it sounded. The youngest cousins were ringing bells, bouncing their knees excitedly in time with the song, and every last one of Edmund Bridgerton's grandkids had the biggest smile on their face.

"Something magic! In the night! Can't you see it? Shining bright!" they continued, all the while the older male cousins kept up the "holidays are coming" chant.

"Shining bright!" Amanda and the Basset girls as well as Katie, Charlotte, and Violet sung melodically, the last note extending as more harmonies overlapped with la la las.

Benedict and Sophie's amazement was mirrored in the faces of the rest of the older Bridgerton siblings, their partners, and Violet and Edmund as the grandchildren continued their collective choral efforts.

"Tis the season it's always the real thing!"

After a last few "holiday's are coming" William gave one last wave of his baton and the singing and jingling came to a unanimous end.

"Bravo!" Edmund jumped to his feet first, clapping madly and wearing one of the biggest smiles he had ever had on his face (which was saying a lot considering how generally smiley a person Edmund Bridgerton was). "Bravo! Bravo!"

"Oh... my god." Sophie breathed as the other adultier adults got to their feet to cheer and applaud.

Benedict stared in abject shock as William took a bow before being pulled into a crushing hug by his grandfather. He couldn't quite believe his son had done something that was entirely pure and wholesome. 

Growing up Edmund had always sung the jingle to the Coca Cola Christmas advert as he served up his children Coca Cola bottles at Christmas dinner, as per their little family tradition. He had never stopped singing it over the years so naturally his grandchildren were just as familiar with the classic advert's song and got as excited as their parents did whenever the advert played or whenever their grandfather sang it to them.

"I can't believe you all planned this!" (Old) Violet remarked.

"It was actually all William's idea." Amelia said.

"Yeah he was the one who organized it entirely." Miles added.

"Oh, William, my boy!" Edmund boomed and hauled his grandson into yet another bear hug.

William? Being so thoughtful for good? To have been plotting all this time and sneaking around all in the elaborate effort of providing a sentimental surprise for his grandfather?

"Oh my god." Benedict muttered.

Hell had frozen over, pigs were flying, and by all accounts his most meddlesome son had finally turned over a new leaf.

"Wow. William really played a blinder this year." Anthony said a little later on after they had watched their father give every last grandchild a massive hug.

"I know." Benedict nodded, still in a state of disbelief.

"He really blew everyone else's presents out of the water with that." Anthony continued. "You have to hand it to him. It was unbelievably impressive."

"Daddy?"

Little Mary had come up to her father and uncle and immediately they clocked the wobble in her voice and the way her eyes were filling up with tears.

"Oh, sweetheart, what's wrong?" Anthony asked, scooping her up in his arms and cuddling her.

Mary gave a sad little sniffle. "W-W-William said that I'm only your second favourite daughter." she sobbed. "And th-that Violet's your favourite daughter and m-m-my half-sister."

Instantly Benedict heaved out a groan.

"Yeah. Yeah, there it is." he shook his head - he should have known William couldn't not be a little shit for one Christmas.

"Oh, baby, your cousin was just teasing you." Anthony comforted his daughter.

"WILLIAM!" Benedict bellowed out and marched over to his son for his regularly-programmed Christmas bollocking.

[littledreamling]

For your ask thing (if you're still doing it): 30, 38, 50

Hello! Thanks for the ask! I wasn't sure which ask game you wanted me to answer so I'm answering this with my spotify wrapped fic ask game!

30. For Tonight by Giveon: For this song, I would probably write a modern human AU; Hob and Dream are both college students (maybe even roommates) who absolutely hate each other. Hob is far too upbeat and optimistic for Dream and Dream is too surly and prideful for Hob. They're constantly complaining about each other to their friends (in Hob's case) and family (in Dream's case). Finally, the tension snaps and they fall into bed with each other for a fantastic round of hate sex. They both hate themselves for it after and vow never to speak of it again, but neither of them can stop thinking about it, especially because they live in the same room (though Dream tries his best to avoid Hob at all costs, even going so far as to sleep on Death's couch for a week until she kicks him out to face his own problems). Hob eventually corners Dream to try to talk about it, but they end up having sex again without resolving anything and it becomes something of a habit. They hate each other, they'll complain loudly and at length to anyone who asks, but they're also hooking up regularly and it's a very complicated situation. Dream has had his heart broken too many times to be able to commit to anything while Hob pours his whole heart into everything and feels very rejected by Dream's inability to even talk about it. It all comes to a head when Hob, pushed past his limits, brings another guy back to the room to hook up and Dream is finally forced to confront just how deep his feelings for Hob are.

38. Monsters by Hazlett: This song is very difficult, mostly because the lyrics (for me personally) don't really resonate; I just love the vibes, but it gives off the energy of loving life without having any real direction and finding out who you are through experimentation. For this song, I would probably write a fic about Hob living his best life even without Dream. It would be set in the late sixties and early seventies, right at the height of Woodstock, drug culture, and the hippie movement of free love and opposing war. I feel like Hob would've experimented a lot with sex and drugs at the time, especially because he couldn't get STDs or overdose, so he could quite literally go as wild as he wanted. It would probably be a collection of vignettes of Hob trying various things out; getting high, going to an orgy, protesting against war in the US against Vietnam, participating in the Civil Rights Movement, attending music festivals, and just fully immersing himself in the hippie (and yippie) culture. But I'm still on the fence about this answer, so if I come up with a better one, I'll put it in the notes!

50. Wherever I Fall - Pt. 1 by Bryce and Aaron Dessner from the Cyrano Soundtrack: I actually have a fic planned out for this song because I cry every time I listen to it. The general premise is that, the first time Hob went to war, before he met Dream, his regiment was given a suicide mission; they knew that the chances of survival were slim to none. The night before marching out, the only literate man among them went around to each soldier, asking who they would be leaving behind and if they wanted to send a letter home for their loved ones in order to say goodbye. One by one, each soldier tells their story: their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, fiancees, best friends, etc.

Years later, after Hob gets his immortality, he remembers how much that gesture meant to him and the rest of his regiment to have someone write down their words and promise to deliver them. He takes it upon himself to learn how to read and write, if only so he can ensure that his fellow soldiers' last words make it to their loved ones. He can't die, so he might as well use that to make sure that the people who do get to say goodbye

Anyway, that got sad, but thank you so much for the ask!!

[ayatoscupid]

the camellia forms ripples on still waters

xueyato (xue yin (oc) x ayato) | 5k words | pre-established, retrospective, no warnings

note: xue yin is not a self-insert, but an oc (and a rom f/o!). he's ayato's secretary, and an adeptus. intro post to him here!

a/n: a look into how xueyato's relationship develops, set during preparations for irodori festival. this is the first work i ever wrote for this pair, and months later i still love it. so i hope you enjoy! also there's a part 2 that i'll post eventually lol. :p

Xue Yin emerges from his quarters just as the sun peeks between the clouds, making the flowers outside the Kamisato estate glisten with morning dew. It had been raining all night, though nothing like the rolling thunder and pelter of rain he's become used to during his stay in Inazuma. Rather, it was a light shower that served as background music to help Xue Yin sleep better after his eventful and eye-opening week. He had spent the past couple of days with the traveller from beyond, urging them to accompany him during festival preparations. What started off as a friendly hangout turned into a somewhat catharsis from his long withheld yearning. His yearning to come back home, to see his sister again.

It embarrassed him to let his emotions out, to say the least. He had only intended to show the traveller the ropes of the trade, to teach them a couple of things they could take on their journey. How to negotiate, how to persuade and reel their bait in. But the traveller was so kind and earnest when they had told him what they wished for at Amakane Island that he couldn't help but open up his heart a little, letting them catch a glimpse of his longing under the everblooming cherry blossom trees.

"I'm sure she misses you too," the traveller had signed, smile sincere, "And she would want to know how you've been."

"Yeah!" Paimon agreed, giving a vigorous nod of her own. "And now that the borders are opening up, maybe you can visit again!"

Xue Yin had finally come to the conclusion back at the Yashiro estate that he might return home, once the festivities have wrapped up. That even though it scared him to face Liyue after all the changes it's gone through without him, nothing will make him happier than seeing it again.

"Will you miss Inazuma?" The traveller asked, and the question made Xue Yin go quiet, staring out into the ocean to contemplate. With all the emotions running through his head just from that simple question, his answer was obvious.

"More than anything."

——————��———

"Ah, Xue Yin."

Xue Yin smiles when he opens the doors, unsurprised to see Ayato already awake, tending to the papers at his desk. From the looks of it—the slight ruffle of his hair, the faintest of dark circles under his eyes, the way he's fiddling with his pen—he probably only slept for a couple of hours. While to any other onlooker, Ayato looks as pristine as ever, Xue Yin isn't just anyone. From the eight years he's worked with the Kamisato clan, Ayato in particular, he knows him like the back of his hand.

"Good morning, my lord." He says, bowing his head in greeting. "It'll be sunny out today, despite the rain that fell last night. You should be safe to go between meetings without an umbrella, but I advise you to take care walking around puddles. …And to take an umbrella nonetheless. Don't worry, I'll remind you in case you forget again."

Ayato laughs goodnaturedly, and anyone would think nothing of it—maybe they'd indulge in it a little, the lightness in his voice so rarely heard that only Ayaka, Thoma and Xue Yin have. But Xue Yin notices the edge in his voice, the slight shake of his hands, and frowns in worry. The festival preparations have been going smoothly, and everything seems to be falling into place. What could be bothering him?

"You seem on edge, my lord." He's not afraid to point out, walking over to sit on the other side of Ayato's table. He, again, notices Ayato pointedly looking away from him, the grip on his pen tightening as he tries to concentrate on the paper in front of him. "If there's anything that's not up to your expectations, I'll go out and have it fixed as soon as—"

"No." Ayato says abruptly, sitting up and looking startled at himself for interrupting. Through the worry, Xue Yin smiles fondly. It's always cute whenever Ayato becomes less composed than he usually is. "It's..."

But Xue Yin has a feeling he already knows what Ayato wants. "If you need, I can stay with you to work through our errands today."

Ayato looks up, embarrassment obvious in the tinge of pink on the tips of his ears, and Xue Yin has to bite back a laugh. As calculated as Ayato may be, always two steps ahead of everyone, Xue Yin is but a mere one step behind, making it much easier for him to fall into the same stride as him. All he needs to do is to step forward first.

"...Yes." Ayato chuckles. Xue Yin notices his hands have stopped shaking. "That's what I had planned for you."

"Then how could I say no, my lord?" Xue Yin laughs. "You need only ask if you want me to stay."

He stands up to fetch his own pen case from his room, and once far enough, doesn't notice Ayato's expression dimming, looking back down at his paper with a mumble.

"…I see…"

——————————

Paimon had asked Xue Yin during their time together why he was working for Ayato despite being an adeptus, and his answer was simple. Xue Yin has always been the type to repay people with his trust whenever they save him in times of need. His sister used to tease him for it, claiming he was always so quick to fall. Xue Yin would always say he just had the intuition, the ability to see people's intentions, and that there are more good people in the world than everyone seems to think. Ayato, of course, was no exception.

Xue Yin usually had no trouble traversing through the lands of Inazuma. He'd been to the nation close to a hundred times, having seen its changes (or lately, lack thereof) during the millennia he's travelled around Teyvat. But this particular visit was problematic—nothing seemed to go his way, not with all the thunderstorms and trouble stirring not only outside of Narukami Island. It seemed that treasure hoarders, Nobushi and the like had set camp between the city and towns as well. Usually, Xue Yin would wipe them out with a flick of his wrist, but his fatigue was proving to take a toll on him, and on this particular rainy night nine years ago, he had no choice but to skid left and sprint into Chinju Forest to rid the treasure hoarders at his trail.

He had lost them by the time he made it out, probably due to the pranks the bake-danuki decided to pull on them. He'd been in this forest enough times to not be fooled by those pesky creatures anymore. But no thanks to this detour, Xue Yin found himself on his last legs. He had planned to go to his accommodation in the city, but it was already dark, and his feet could no longer take him further than a mile. So Xue Yin hobbled over to the nearest shelter, his vision growing blurry as exhaustion surrounded him like a weighted blanket.

He had then woken up under one, the sun already high enough to blind his eyes as he sat up, trying to recognise his surroundings. Who saved him?

A man with blond hair slid the door open then and almost startled to see Xue Yin awake, careful to not jostle the tray in his hands. "Oh! You're awake." He had smiled, quickly regaining composure as he set the tray down next to him. "My lord found you just outside the estate last night, and you looked worse for wear, so he had you taken in. Luckily, you seem to be fine. I'm Thoma. You're currently in the Kamisato estate."

"So, that's it?" Paimon asked when he retold the story, a bewildered look on her face. "You became his secretary because he saved you once?"

"It wasn't just that, of course." Xue Yin had laughed, a particular softness in his expression that Paimon and the traveller side eyed each other for. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. "I heard whispers after I left the estate. It was almost the previous clan head's death anniversary then. All of these mumbles between the townspeople about how sorry they felt for Ayato, and how he had the whole clan's future resting on his shoulders. And yet he saved me and took me in."

Xue Yin sighed, looking out on the cliffside of Amakane Island to Inazuma city. "Thoma told me I could leave after breakfast, so I did. But I bumped into Ayato on my way out. Of course, I had to say my gratitude. He seemed tired, but so… earnest. Genuine and headstrong. I could feel the determination within him even in those brief seconds and upon hearing what had happened to him, I knew."

"Knew what?" The traveller asked, and Xue Yin laughed behind his hand.

"I'm sure you already know, dear." He winked, but nevertheless looked back out to the city lights, the yearning in his eyes hard to ignore. "I knew he was going to make it work, and I wanted to stand beside him to see him prosper."

——————————

"You tell me to stay beside you for work today, but I was hoping you would let me join your meeting with Lady Guuji, my lord." Xue Yin teases with ease as Ayato steps out of Uyuu Restaurant. Miko laughs behind her hand, mirth in her eyes, no doubt at hearing the Kamisato clan head being lightly jabbed. "I assume the meeting was more amicable than usual?"

"Your lord was slightly more agreeable today." Miko plays along, even though Xue Yin is sure they both sense the slight exasperation in Ayato's polite smile. "Have you finally managed to tame him?"

"I believe I wouldn't know how, even if I wanted to." Xue Yin chuckles, resisting the urge to beam when he feels Ayato squinting at him. "But it's alright, I think he's best this way."

"Ever the faithful secretary, hm." Miko sighs dramatically. "Shame, I can't help but feel jealous that your loyalty isn't directed towards me. You would fit right in with the Yae Publishing House."

"Well, I suppose that's just too bad, isn't it?" Ayato interjects, a little more bristled than usual as he slides an arm around Xue Yin's waist, making the other freeze for a second too long. Xue Yin carefully regains his composure. What's with him all of a sudden? "I know Xue Yin's one of a kind, but you'll just have to accept that I've taken him."

"How overprotective." Miko muses, a mischievous glint in her eyes. She says nothing more about her job proposal, though—and as friendly as they are with each other, Xue Yin wouldn't take her up on the offer no matter how hard she tried. He's sure all three of them know this. "Don't worry, I know full well where his loyalty lies. Sometimes it's nauseating to hear about."

"L-Lady Guuji!" Xue Yin stammers, composure breaking upon the sudden impact of Miko's teasing.

But Miko only laughs, of course, bidding the two goodbye and walking off before Xue Yin can even recover from the blow.

Ayato's silent, but his hand on Xue Yin's waist speaks thousands that Xue Yin feels he shouldn't process just yet. So instead, he reaches into his sleeve to bring out a small plastic bag. Two milk tea drinks sit in it, and he takes one out to hand to Ayato. "I stopped by Kiminami while waiting for you, and figured you needed one. You haven't had lunch yet, after all. Tomoki's currently situated at Ritou, so unfortunately I couldn't go to his store instead."

He would never say it out loud from how embarrassing it is, but Xue Yin has long since admitted to himself that one of the greatest joys in his long life so far is seeing Ayato's expression turn from calm and composed to pleasant surprise. The thought of surprising the cunning Yashiro Commissioner himself makes Xue Yin prouder than he can admit, and he can't even complain to himself at the sudden lack of warmth around his waist as Ayato takes the drink. He can never complain, not when he can see Ayato quirking up a youthful smile before taking a sip. "How attentive of you, Xue Yin."

Xue Yin finally lets himself beam then, all bright and unabashed. The brief tension in Ayato's shoulders goes unnoticed as they make their walk back to the estate.

Tens of proposals signed and a few meetings set at the estate later, and Xue Yin finds himself a rare break in the late afternoon. He reserves his breaks for walks around Narukami Island or for tending to his flowers, but his recent workload means the garden hasn't been tended to for a while, which is a shame. Ayato has some more work to do, but surely he wouldn't be opposed to Xue Yin taking a rest from duties, right?

"Wait—" Ayato stands, almost knocking over his papers in the process. He's been on edge for the entire day, Xue Yin notes in mild worry. From staying by his side, they've gone through their work quicker than usual, so he thought the company and decreased workload would help ease Ayato's sudden nerves. He's worried now, seeing that it hasn't.

"Yes, my lord?" But nevertheless, Xue Yin stays composed, because he knows pushing wouldn't provide anything helpful.

"...Would you mind," Ayato breathes out, as if choosing his next words carefully. Which he usually does, of course, but not as obvious as he is right now, "If I joined you?"

"...In tending the garden?" Xue Yin blinks, unable to hide the bewilderment in his voice. It's known throughout the estate that Ayato barely has any free time, and he would prefer if he didn't. If there was something he could do that mattered more and better impacted the clan and Commission as a whole, he would spend all of his time doing it if he could, because it was his duty, and it was what he loved doing most. Ayato proposing to join Xue Yin when he still has papers left to tend to is… unheard of, to say the least. "My lord, you still have papers to sign…"

"What good will signing those papers do if I'm far too tired to read through them properly?" Ayato points out as he walks up to Xue Yin, obvious to the other's eyes that he's trying to keep calm, from the way he wrings his fingers. "Besides, sometimes I see you tending to the flowers from my office, and I can't help but watch whenever I do. I hope you don't mind teaching me how to do it?"

'He… watches me?' Xue Yin blinks, red rising to his cheeks before he could will it down. It's more embarrassing because he talks to the flowers. They have words to say, much like any living being would, but he knows any mere mortal would find it strange. But maybe Ayato isn't just anyone either.

"...Of course." Xue Yin says after a few moments, finding that this will be good for him. As much as Xue Yin admires how hard Ayato works, he would never oppose to him getting more rest from his duties. Of course Xue Yin worries sometimes, just like anyone would for someone they cared about this much.

And of course, anyone would have the same fluttery feeling in their chest upon seeing that person's shoulders relax, right? Butterflies in their stomach when they see them smile with so much comfort and ease. Is it not normal for Xue Yin's heart to skip a beat when Ayato takes his hand and holds it tight, even if only to lead him out of the office?

Of course, Xue Yin's no fool to not recognise what these complicated feelings mean. But maybe there's no harm in pretending for a while longer, only because he hasn't calculated how to take that step forward yet.

——————————

As it turns out, teaching a Commissioner new tricks proves to be a more amusing task than Xue Yin had expected.

"Here?" Ayato asks, garden shears too close to the leaves for comfort. "This part's sticking out a bit…"

"There are too many flowers close to it, my lord." Xue Yin laughs softly, moving to take Ayato's hands and lead him to a leafless branch sticking out so he can snip that instead. If he feels the warmth radiating from Ayato's cheeks from here, he doesn't say anything. He's sure they've both noticed already, anyway. "I mostly trim the garden to make sure it's safe to walk through. Little imperfections such as these make it more… charming, don’t you think?"

Ayato steps back to admire his work—he had trimmed this flower bush all on his own after ten minutes of Xue Yin teaching him. Kind of. He's usually a fast learner, so Xue Yin can't help but be amused at how many times he'd asked for help. He wonders if Ayato even needs help, or if he simply wishes for Xue Yin to stay by his side. He doesn't allow himself to indulge in that thought for long, though.

"I have to agree with you. It's rather cute." Ayato hums, a proud little smile on his lips that Xue Yin inwardly coos at. Even Kamisato Ayato has his boyish charms.

But if not for Xue Yin having to walk past him to get the rake, he wouldn't have heard what Ayato says next, voice so soft it almost gets lost in the wind.

"I wonder how the garden will fare when you're gone…"

Time seemingly slows down then, the setting sun only further revealing the sombre glow in Ayato's eyes. It's nothing Xue Yin hasn't seen before—he has in rare nights, in the cold of winter when Ayato allows himself a moment of vulnerability to think about the ones dear to him he has lost.

Or the ones dear to him he might one day lose.

"...So that's what you've been worried about." Xue Yin smiles, nothing short of fond as he walks back up to Ayato. Ayato looks at him and surprise flashes across his face for a brief moment, before making way for sheepish guilt and such inexplicable longing that Xue Yin has to take a breath upon seeing it.

"My apologies for not telling you." Ayato chuckles, hands behind his back as he looks out towards the sea. "I couldn't help but eavesdrop on your conversation with the traveller and their companion last night."

Xue Yin smiles, the twinge of guilt strong in his own chest. Who knows how Ayato could've felt upon hearing that his secretary was thinking about leaving, to go back home? When he's been so loyal all this time?

"I respect your decision, though." Ayato speaks up, and although he doesn't doubt his words ring true, Xue Yin notices the slight hesitation in his voice. "We both know how important family is, and it would hurt me as well if I kept you from coming home any longer.

But perhaps I allowed myself to be a bit selfish today." He chuckles sheepishly, the sunset concealing his flushed cheeks just barely as he looks back down to the flower bush. "I had barely given myself time to process what I heard, and the thought of parting with you… I had to drown myself in work to stop thinking about it. So I couldn't help but ask for your company today."

Normally, flatteries such as these would make Xue Yin's heart skip a beat. He knows he's doing good work for the Commission to make not only his lord's, but his other coworkers' workload easier. He's good at what he does, and he doesn't need to be reassured such. But that doesn't mean it doesn't feel nice whenever Ayato reminds him of how indispensable he is to the clan. That sense of belonging comes back stronger every time he does.

So that's when Xue Yin laughs—softly, behind his hand. Not in ridicule, but Ayato gives him a confused look anyways, boyish pout only making him look even cuter in Xue Yin's eyes.

Xue Yin stops quickly though, aware the lack of context could make Ayato more upset, and takes his hand to hold tight, revelling in the way Ayato flusters just a tad. "Come. We still have the camellia trees to tend to, my lord."

The camellia trees lined up at the back of the estate stand tall but hidden, a perfect spot of seclusion from any visitors. It's where Xue Yin finds himself gravitating towards to relax, the sweet whispers of the camellias never failing to lull him to a peaceful nap.

Xue Yin wordlessly hands Ayato the garden shears, and Ayato hesitates for a moment—understandably, after being left hanging from his vulnerable confession—but the look in Xue Yin's eyes leads him to take them, unable to resist the sweet openness within them. Ayato may be the one who leads Xue Yin due to his higher rank, but he always finds himself surprised at how in tune Xue Yin is with him. At times, even more than he is with himself. And what is even more surprising is that he can't find it in him at all to mind being wrapped around Xue Yin's finger from time to time.

So he lets Xue Yin be one step ahead of him this once, and they work in silence for a few minutes, the only sound to accompany them the satisfying snip of shear to branch.

"...In Fontaine," Xue Yin finally speaks up, resisting the urge to giggle when he notices Ayato tense with bated breath, "Camellias send a message different from what we might be used to here."

Breaking his own rules, he decides to snip a couple of fully bloomed flowers—one red, one pink. "Red camellias signify nobility here. A warrior's strength, of bravery no matter the odds. They symbolise the honour of those we have lost protecting us. I've always admired how meaningful they are."

He smells the flowers, as if to take a deep breath to calm his nerves, and walks up to Ayato. The both of them put down their shears, and Xue Yin smiles at how in tune Ayato is with him. He puts the flowers into his hands and holds them. When he looks up, he lets himself be a little selfish and bask in the way Ayato seems to glow, with the sun disappearing into the ocean behind him, purple and blue making him look even more handsome than he already is, despite the adorable slight fluster on his face.

"In Fontaine, pink camellias are given when you miss someone." Xue Yin says, unable to hide the slight waver in his voice—not that he wants to, anyway. He's not the type to show vulnerability to anyone, but Ayato isn't just anyone. "When you long to see someone, and you long to be with them, you send these to express such yearning."

Ayato is silent for a moment, looking down at the flowers and at their hands, and the newfound soft firmness in his eyes when he looks back at Xue Yin's is enough to set off those butterflies back in his stomach. "And red camellias?"

Xue Yin smiles, knowing. He knows Ayato doesn't even need to ask. "I'm sure you can guess, my lord."

He takes a deep, shaky breath then and looks down, his grip on Ayato's hands tightening as he thinks about what to say. Not because it'll be hard for Ayato to take in, but because he still hasn't quite come to terms with it himself.

"...Ayato, I have no place left in Liyue." He says after a long moment of silence, feeling Ayato startle a bit at being called by name. "It's changed drastically. I've told you, haven’t I? Rex Lapis came to me in a dream and told me what had happened. That my contract… was over.

It was all too hard to process. Too hard to face the truth that in my last moments as Liyue's protector, I did no such protecting. I couldn't. I felt helpless, like I had nowhere else to go. My contract was to wander, to travel wherever I pleased but to always come home whenever home needed me. And in the final time that it did, I couldn't be there. I longed to see my sister again, but after that… I wasn't even sure if I could."

It's still a more sensitive topic than he had expected it to be, and he doesn't even register his shoulders shaking until he's pulled into an embrace—one he's grown familiar with behind closed doors, as Ayato had been there to comfort him throughout his grief.

But Xue Yin steels himself and gulps audibly, not wanting Ayato to say anything until he's done. "But you remember what you said to me that night, don't you? When I told you everything. I could never bring myself to forget it."

Ayato speaks up after a beat, and the tenderness in his voice doesn't go unnoticed. "That you belonged here."

Xue Yin chuckles, the small lump in his throat forcing a few tears out. Ayato pulls back a little as if he sensed it, wiping at Xue Yin's cheek before he could do it himself.

"And that I do." Xue Yin reassures both Ayato and himself, arms sliding around him and gently squeezing. "I had almost forgotten in my grief, and I felt it with the others too. It was hard for all of us adepti to find new purpose in our life, but some of us had almost forgotten that we already found it."

Xue Yin smiles again, this time brighter than he has since the passing, as bright as he had when the Yashiro Commission hosted its first festival after being on the brink of collapse. It's a smile of pride—pride that he was part of something so great—and a deep, inexplicable adoration for the man he worked alongside to make it work. For the man he believed in and swore his loyalty to, all those years ago.

"And mine is with you, Ayato."

Even in this tender moment, Xue Yin can't help but giggle at the hundreds of flashes of emotion that cross Ayato's face in a split second, but nothing could prepare him for the gentle press of his lips against his forehead, leaving Xue Yin to go through a myriad of emotions on his own. Always one step ahead of each other.

"So…" Ayato starts, still a nervous edge to his laugh when Xue Yin's too slow to regain composure. As always, when it comes to him. "You're not going back to Liyue?"

"Not forever." Xue Yin reassures, shaking his head. "I was only planning to ask you if I could take a week's leave after the festival."

"...Gosh, how silly of me." Ayato laughs, this time unrestrained like all the weight's been lifted off his shoulders. It's so light, so beautiful that Xue Yin feels all his worries disappear as well, his own genuine laughs carried into the wind. "And here I was, acting like a spoiled child being left alone for the first time."

"I'm not surprised." Xue Yin teases as easily as he breathes, always easy whenever he's around Ayato. "Sometimes I wonder what you would do without me."

"You know perfectly well I would do just fine." He tsks back, the smile on his lips Xue Yin is sure no one else but him has seen before. "In terms of work, at least. But I have to admit, you help me feel at ease. The fact that I want you around is the reason why I need you."

"You flatter me." Xue Yin hums, reluctantly pulling away from the hug. He won't admit it, not yet, but the longer he spends in Ayato's arms, the more willing his knees are to give in. "But I know the truth, my lord. Two pairs of hands are better than one."

"Perhaps." Ayato chuckles. "So it wouldn't be selfish of me to ask you to stay?"

…Xue Yin grins, moving forward himself to press a kiss on Ayato's cheek and relishing in the way he jumps, just a little. How cute. "I told you, all you need to do is ask."

Ayato shakes his head a little to compose himself after a few moments of shock, laughing in mild disbelief. "I wonder how long we're going to keep trying to outsmart each other here."

"Do you not think it's fun?" Xue Yin pouts, taking the garden shears and looking over the camellia trees one more time to make sure they're well trimmed. "I think it is. After all, I'm the only one who can truly challenge you in a game of shogi, my lord."

Ayato shakes his head again, expression fond as he follows Xue Yin to the corner. But before they can round it to be visible to any public eye, he takes his wrist and tugs him back, one final question burning on his lips.

"Xue Yin." He starts, Xue Yin turning around with a confused, but amused expression. They both know Ayato's only asking now so he gets the last laugh, but Xue Yin's right. Their little intellectual games are some of Ayato's favourite pastimes.

"This red camellia…" He looks at the flowers in his hand, and back up to Xue Yin, revelling in the soft colour of his cheeks. "What does it mean for us?"

Xue Yin takes a breath to answer, head tilting as he hums in thought. Then suddenly, the smile on his face tells Ayato that he may not get the last laugh after all.

"I'll tell you when I return. We have more papers to sign, don't we?"

Ayato watches in stunned silence as Xue Yin steps back, wrist free from the slack in his grip. He only comes to when he hears Xue Yin laugh loud and bright as he rounds the corner, and Ayato splutters despite himself, almost tripping on his feet to try and catch up. He does nothing to hold back the sparkling laugh bubbling from his chest, the ripples of heart beating wildly even in still waters. "Hey—!"

When Xue Yin notices the vase of red and pink camellia by Ayato's table when he comes into the office the next day, he says nothing of it. Because they both already know.

[troutfur]

Oh my god the festival! Yes they would 100% reenact the festival under the roles of their future clans! That would be a golden opportunity for them to be stolen you are so correct I'll note that down for later.

Yeah Frostflower really wasn't sure about Firepaw and even though she insisted on his place in the clan due to the prophecy she personally kept a distance. Firepaw does earn her respect eventually though, helped by her mate Lionheart having a soft spot for him since he acted as his mentor before Bluestar stepped in. Makes it worse when it all crashes down. They do manage to reconcile after Bluestars breakdown though, largely due to Cinderpaw still being close to Fireheart and partially out of necessity.

About the Dogs: So it was super important to me that I kept the canon injuries for the sisters so Brightpaw still goes with Swiftpaw to hunt down the dogs. However shes not entirely untrained, when Cinderpaw was injured they ended up swapping training for a while and Brightpaw trains under Whitestorm (since 3 apprentices between 2 cats is already a handful). Swiftpaw is fed up of being an apprentice for so long and Brightpaw gets caught up in the thrill of being a warrior - although the change in training was temporary Bluestar isn't in the headspace to make readjustments and isnt listening to Starclan and by extension Frostflower. When Brightpaw ends up wounded the mentorships switch back and once recovered a bit she is back to the herbs.

Related to the above though I will say Brightheart and Cinderstream (am I referencing Silverstream? Perhaps) have an interesting dynamic once Frostflower is gone. They are both Augurs, with Brightheart as the Matriarch, but often switch between themselves what roles they carry out. They manage to balance out so that neither has to entirely give up warrior duties and stay stuck in the Augurs den. When Brightheart is expecting though Cinderstream takes the role full time until Brightheart is ready to come back. I just dont see either being fully content without having some outlet for their warrior side.

Yeah DoveIvy and HollyLionJay are around the same age here! With no Bracken around Thunderclan theres no HoneyCinderPoppy so instead the apprentice gang for Po3 would be BerryHazelMouse, DoveIvy and HollyLionJay (you could even throw in AlderSpark if you wanted to be REALLY chaotic)

With BrightCloud I must admit I haven't thought that hard about how the clan sees them, I just knew I had to keep them together because they were my very first OTP when I was like 10<3

AGAIN SORRY FOR THE WALL OF TEXT BUT GLAD YOU LIKE IT!

Don't apologize! It's all very readable and it always leaves a huge grin on my face knowing I've inspired someone else! You've got a great thing going on here, if you are inclined to considering writing this out as a fic or something you'd have my full support.

I'm glad Frostflower and Fireheart managed to reconcile, that's nice for them. Love how he interacts with the Frost family, it's a very sweet if turbulent dynamic between them all.

I like that for them! 3 apprentices at once is certainly a lot and I'm sure the augurs' den was really cramped during that particular period. I like the idea that officially Brightheart gets the title of matriarch as the one initially supposed to stay in ThunderClan but them swapping duties every so often. Certainly an unorthodox way to run things, but Brightheart has the authority to make it so.

YES! The huge apprentice generation in Po3 is my favorite, wish we'd seen more of it! Not to mention how it shifts the dynamic between Jay, Lion, and Dove if they're the same age-ish. Augur AU is already a no powers AU so it's already drastically different anyway, but I still like what this shift brings to the table. I like the idea that in another version of events they could've all been really good friends and I love the possibilities in Jay, Holly, Lion, Dove, and Ivy growing up together.

They deserve to be together, truly!

Thanks for all the delicious thoughts once again, you guys are the best. <3