#ignore the fact that two of these tags start with 'and furthermore' in a weird way. for some reason i cannot edit them

[thiefnessman]

“ooooh late-diagnosed people have it so hard it’s so much better for people who were diagnosed in their childhood” stop it! they’re just giving you excuses! i was diagnosed with autism at a young age and my college refused to accept my paperwork because it was “too old”, meanwhile a bunch of my peers are given shit when seeking accommodations and whatnot because “ooh you were diagnosed too late”. no one has it better they’re just telling you bullshit.

[akitokihojo]

Delicate - Chapter 7

Inuyasha sighed out, a barely-visible puff of air appearing before his face as he walked along the length of the gate outside of the schoolyard. He felt abnormally exhausted this morning, and like anyone, he blamed it on the fact that it was Monday, the clouds were dreary, and he may have been up late playing video games. He had a chemistry test this afternoon, and he could only hope to wake up a little more by then to properly focus.

He’d caught her scent just before entering the building, his attention blindly following his nose as his eyes scoured the grounds for her. She wasn’t that far off, standing in a misshapen circle with Sango and three other girls, one of them enthusiastically telling a story that had the lot of them giggling. That smile, the rosy color of her cheeks, the way the tip of her nose was a light shade of pink from the chill of their morning, it was all like a buzz of caffeine for him. The more he watched, the more he listened to the melody of her laugh, the lighter he began to gradually feel.

Kagome was wearing black tights beneath her charcoal uniform skirt this morning as opposed to the knee-high socks she usually opted for, sparing her legs from the small nip in the air. Over her white button up, she donned a dark, knitted sweater, the baggy sleeves shielding her fingers. But, her neck wasn’t covered. Sure, her hair was worn down, waving over her shoulders in their natural order, but what good was that compared to something literally manufactured to keep heat in? The dummy was just asking for a cold. Whatever combatant thought that formulated in his head deliberately went ignored as he turned away from the building to walk toward her, a horrible fluttering expanding throughout his abdomen. Sango’s gaze met him first as he approached, then Kagome’s as the group of girls’ chatter died off into a curious and muddled silence. God, he didn’t think there was anything capable of rivaling the annoying sensation in his stomach at the moment, but when she smiled wider at him as he stopped just a foot or two before her, his heart gave a thunderous pound that he worried would wound his ribcage. His cheeks went hot, then his nose, then the remainder of his face, and the thought of his evident blush only made him heat up furthermore. Her greeting was soft and happy, bringing him to huff out, his jaw clenching, and his amber eyes drifting off to the side. As planned, Inuyasha removed the muffler from his neck, untwisting it so he could hand it over. From his peripherals, he gathered that she was confused, not immediately taking it from him, so he decidedly did the damn job himself before he ended up spontaneously combusting from flames of embarrassment. Carefully, the hanyou looped it behind her neck, twisted, then looped it again so it bunched properly to keep her warm, her raven hair billowed beneath. 

She was staring up at him with large eyes, her pink lips pinching together then growing into a shy and appreciative smile. Son of a bitch, she was fucking cute.

He walked away, heading toward the entrance of the building without a single word, and Kagome’s blush maddened as her friends made hushed and cheery noises at what had just happened.

“So, what? Are you guys together now?”

“When did you two even become a thing?”

“Wasn’t that Inuyasha? I’ve never seen him not mad.”

“Nah, he still looked mad. Just a flustered sort of mad.”

“And to think just a couple days ago you were worried.” Sango teased.

“Yeah, but y-you know happened.” Kagome said, feeling like she was standing under an intense spotlight.

“Uh, we don’t!” Eri stated, bringing the attention back to them. “Hello, hi. Details, please.”

“Oh, look at the time.” Kagome pulled back the sleeve of her left hand to look at the invisible watch along her wrist, beginning to walk backward toward their school building. “I need to - I’ve gotta - I mean, class is starting soon, so yeah. Bye.”

Sango laughed, waving and knowing full and well that her friend was heading to catch up with her favored half demon. 

“I don’t suppose you’ll tell us?”

“Sorry, guys.” She shrugged, smiling. “The best friend privilege is knowing, and the code is not spilling business that isn’t mine to spill.”

Kagome wandered over to his locker in the third row, spotting him just as he closed the small, metal door. He glanced over, his eyes never leaving her as she sauntered his way, and though his cheeks continued to reveal some of his timidness, a soft smile on his lips further ignited the spark between them.

“I don’t need it back if that’s what you’re about to ask.”

“Not yet, anyway.”

“After school. Keep it until then.”

“I actually came to walk with you. If that’s okay?”

“You don’t need to ask, dummy.” Inuyasha replied, though there was the hint of tension in his tone. He gave a notch of his head to lead the way, shoving his hands into his pant pockets to appear as casual as possible. She walked at his side, just as close as they’d walked on Saturday night, and he found it to be a source of comfort. Progressively, his preservation melted away with her warmth, wanting less to hide his affection behind a barricade and wanting more to give it to her so she’d always smile like she had before. 

“So, uh, how’d you do on your last math test?” He asked as they began their ascent up the stairs and to the second floor where their classes were.

“Oh, I totally forgot! I meant to show you!” Kagome opened her book bag at her side, pulling out the quiz after wiggling it free from between two notebooks. She held it out, positively beaming and excited for him to see her accomplishment.

Inuyasha took in the “B” next to her name before taking the paper into his grip, a smile of his own forming as his pride for her swelled. “This is the best one yet! Soon you’re not even gonna need my help.”

“I don’t know about that.” She quickly countered, a little nervous at the sound of losing any easy opportunity to see him outside of school. “I still struggle a bit. And, I mean, you do call me a dummy.”

“Not as an insult.” He chuckled, handing the test back to her so she could shove it back into her bag.

“It originated for a reason, and then just became an endearment of sorts.”

“I don’t think you’re dumb.” Inuyasha said, still smiling. He glanced at her, noticing the uncertainty in her eyes, shielded behind a small grin. Was she looking for validation? He felt something click in him, like he didn’t actually need to question what she wanted. The quick rebut she’d served just a moment ago to his comment, the look she was giving, the warm sensation building in his chest - it made it easy not to second guess his intuition. This was an understanding he’d been privileged to receive from being with her so often, from falling in love. Not a part of him desired to resist what surprisingly and so simply came to him right now, the back of his hand grazing her knuckles until he hooked one of her fingers with his own. They both stopped walking, and he pulled her closer by another inch. “Relax. I’m not going anywhere; we’ll still study together. Maybe you’ll even end up tutoring me.”

“Doubtful.” Kagome muttered with a shy smile, her finger gently clutching his in return.

“Which part?”

“Me tutoring you.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He chuckled, her responding giggle like a gift. The bell rang and he knew the halls were about to get busy as everyone filtered through to class. He took the opportunity he had, never letting go of her finger. “Tomorrow? I’ll walk you home and we can study.”

“Okay.” She nodded, smiling.

Using his free hand, Inuyasha twirled some strands of her hair around his finger, ones that were short, and framed her jaw, and weren’t held captive by the muffler like the rest of it all still was. “Come on, dummy.” He grinned, leading her to her class with a yank on her finger.

—

Sango puffed out her cheeks in a mock pout, standing by a tree with her arms crossed over her chest after school. “Call me repetitive, but I still cannot believe you’re ditching me for a boy today.”

“You’re repetitive.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m not even ditching you,” Kagome laughed. “I said he’d be walking with us. You’re the one who chose to walk home alone.”

“Excuse me, look me in the eyes and tell me I’m third wheel material. I dare you.”

She laughed a little harder from her best friend’s dramatic exasperation. “He’s walked with us before, Sango! It’s just like every other time.”

“Bull and baloney! The last time he walked with us was before you guys got over the majority of your romantic constipation.” Sango ignored the weird look that took over Kagome’s expression, proceeding on with her argument without hesitance. “Things are better now, you’ve both gotten a clue - thank god - and moves are being made. When he said he wanted to walk you home, he meant he wanted to walk you home. Therefore, if I tag along until we hit my route, he’s gonna be uncomfortable up until then and I’m gonna be the cockblock.”

“What? Not even!”

“Oh, yeah.”

“So, you’re just gonna avoid us forever now? This is it? Whenever Inuyasha wants to come with, you’re out?” Kagome grinned, leaning her head to the side in a playful challenge.

“No, of course not. Not forever. When you guys are in an established relationship - and by established, I mean passed the mushy crap - then I’ll make my return. Maybe even sooner if I land myself a stud, because then I wouldn’t be a third wheel.” Sango shrugged.

“You’ve got one guy in mind that can’t even talk to you passed ‘hello,’ so that could take a while.”

“See you on the flip side, my main gal.”

“You realize then that this isn’t me choosing a guy over you, but you choosing your pride over everything?”

“You bet, but I’m still blaming you.”

“You know what? I’m gonna do you a favor.” Kagome cocked a brow, her smile shifting into one of deviousness.

“What? No, wait. No. I know that look, and I hate it. What are you gonna do?” Sango’s face twisted in suspicion, her brows furrowing deeply as Kagome turned about, seemingly searching the school grounds. She had a sinking feeling in her chest as a scheme had obviously just popped into Kagome’s head, and who had she just mentioned? Bad, not good, very bad. “Kay, I swear to Zeus if you -“

“Oh, there they are!” Kagome beamed, practically skipping her way over to the pair of far-off boys.

“I have no best friend!” Sango hissed, quickly ducking herself to hide behind the tree.

Inuyasha’s golden stare transferred from his friend to her as she approached, the plain expression he held while Miroku talked changing to a gentle grin. He notched his head in a silent greeting while his friend finished his sentence.

“Hi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She apologized, stopping before them, a little closer to Inuyasha than in the center.

“Nothing to worry about.” Miroku kindly dismissed. “Since you’re here, let me ask you something: Do you prefer me with or without the rattail? I need a lady’s perspective.”

“Oh, god no, definitely without.” Kagome answered a little too quickly, giving a small grimace when she realize how rude it could have come off, especially as Inuyasha stifled his snorted laugh. “I mean, it’s your choice, of course! I just think the style is a bit outdated. And, this shorter cut suits you much better. Were you thinking of growing it back?”

“Wow. Not anymore.” Miroku blinked, pinching his lips into a tight line.

“Thank you.” Inuyasha boasted, like he’d finally gotten his way. He gave another small nod to Kagome, gesturing in the direction of the gate. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Hang on, I have a question.” She said, stopping Inuyasha before he could lead her off. She looked over at his friend, watching him go from feigned defeat to slightly curious when he realized it was for him. “I’m sorry if this is none of my business, but do you mind if I be a little upfront for a moment and ask how you feel about Sango?”

“Oh god, you’re gonna break him.” Inuyasha murmured beside her.

“No, I promise I won’t tell her anything. I’m just wondering.” Kagome assured.

“You mean, I haven’t made it painstakingly obvious?” Miroku asked monotonously, his grin devoid of any real emotion.

“So, you like her?”

“Something like that.”

“Why haven’t you asked her out?”

“Remember that time, a few months ago, when I stopped you guys on your way home from school?”

“Yeah.”

“I was going to try and get her number then. I had a classic pickup line planned and everything, and yet the only thing that came out of my mouth was her name. I can’t function around her. I panic around her. I freeze, I sputter, and I shave a few years off my life every time I’m around her. You see my problem?”

“Okay, you’re not good with girls. It’s fine, you’ve gotta start some-“

“I’m fantastic with girls, you take that back!” Miroku retorted defensively.

“Really? You can actually claim that right now?” Kagome earnestly asked.

“You really think you have the room to talk when you two still aren’t even dating?” Miroku chided, pointing to both Inuyasha and Kagome. He didn’t even have time to flinch before Inuyasha slugged him in the arm, his pained groan gurgled and deep. “Okay, withdrawn!” He clutched the offended spot, respectfully ignoring Kagome’s embarrassment as he continued speaking to buffer the awkwardness. “Look, there’s just something about her that fucks me up. Little-by-little, I’m talking! I’m getting better! I’m growing! I’m not always melting down like I used to! I’ll get there eventually!”

“What if I make it a little easier on you?” She offered with a simple shrug.

“How?”

“Give me your number and I’ll give it to her. That way, you don’t have to stress yourself out by asking for hers, and that’s one objective down.”

“Wait,” Miroku tilted his head skeptically. “Are you - are you saying she’s interested?”

Kagome feigned a believable frown. “Actually, I don’t know.” She lied. “Sango’s a pretty private person. She doesn’t often talk about her feelings, even to me. I’m just doing this to help you out. You’re a nice guy, and I’m her best friend. Easy in-between.”

“What’s the catch?”

“No catch.”

“No catch?”

“She said no catch. Just do it.” Inuyasha griped. “You’ve been going on and on about this since last year, and now you’re gonna question the opportunity?”

“Because, there’s gotta be a catch! She owes me nothing - you owe me nothing. So, why do me a favor?”

“No catch.” Kagome repeated, shaking her head. “Honestly, I’m just a nice person. If you want to do it yourself, by all means. I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable or push you to do something you don’t want to do. But, if I do it, we eliminate the potential to wreck yourself even more in front of her, and then the ball’s in her court. If she’s interested, she’ll text or call, if not, then nothing happens and you have your answer. Besides, I think she’s already headed home, so I can talk you up a little and say you wanted to give it to her today but she’d already left so you gave it to me to pass on.”

“No catch?”

“No catch.”

“No one’s that nice.”

“I am. Oh, and just think. It’s always easier to talk through text because you have time to think through what you want to say before you say it.”

“He’ll still mess it up.” Inuyasha quietly mentioned.

“Nah, I don’t think he will.” She said, smiling, redirecting the conversation back to Miroku. “Then, you’ll adjust, realize Sango’s super easy to talk to and there’s nothing to be nervous about, and talking to her in person will be as normal as talking to anyone else.”

“Oh, fuck, yeah okay. You drive a hard bargain, Higurashi.” Miroku eagerly opened his bag, bringing out his notebook and opening it to the first empty page. “Inuyasha, your pen.” He requested, holding his hand out as the half demon pulled his pen from his front, pant pocket. Taking the writing utensil and clicking the ballpoint end out, he began scribbling along the upper-right corner.

Kagome could tell it wasn’t just his number he was jotting down, but she didn’t try to peek, instead giving a quick side-glance to Inuyasha and winking so he knew she had this planned. Miroku tore the edge of the paper, folding up his little note and handing it over to Kagome which she happily took and slipped into the small pocket at the front of her book bag.

“Say something nice about me when you see her.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Now, can we go?” Inuyasha spoke, taking back his pen and sliding it into his front pocket once more. Kagome smiled, giving a nod and waving goodbye to his best friend before walking off with him toward the exit. As soon as they were out of the gate, and effectively out of earshot of Miroku - who had to stay behind for his stupid student council committee - he shot her a sly look. “What was that all about?”

“Just helping things along.” She replied, giving a measly shrug.

“Ka-go-me!” The shout was menacing and chilling, over-enunciated for full, grounding effect, and bringing Kagome to look wearily toward a fuming Sango who was running right toward her. Hastily, she dodged around the half demon, using him as a shield to protect herself from the temperament of her best friend.

Inuyasha stood stiffly between the two, thoroughly confused and unsure whether this was actually something he should literally be in the middle of.

“No! Wait! Don’t be mad, I didn’t do anything wrong!” Kagome proclaimed.

“What did you say!?” Sango asked, brows pinching together but no real malice to her tone. She was frantic for an answer, and naturally defensive, but Kagome should have known better than to pull one of Sango’s own stunts on her.

“Nothing about you!”

“Freaking liar!”

“No, I swear! I didn’t! In fact, the one question he asked about you, I lied about and turned the subject back on him!”

“And, what was the subject, Kagome!?”

“About whether he liked you or not!”

“Oh my god! You can’t just ask someone that!” Sango cried, shoving her face into her palms.

“What!? On Saturday, you said -“

Sango shushed her, the noise high pitched and tense. “I know what I said, but that advice wasn’t for me!”

“If it’s any consolation, he said yes!”

“He did!?”

“You said you wouldn’t tell her.” Inuyasha mentioned, turning his head to peculiarly glance at her from the side.

“Oh, because it wouldn’t be obvious when I gave her his number?” Kagome retorted, not yet coming out from the shelter his body provided.

“What?” Sango asked, slightly shocked.

“Yeah, see,” Kagome fished the folded up paper out of the pocket of her bag, sliding her arm around Inuyasha’s waist to hand it over. Her friend snatched the note like a monkey snagging a banana from its handler, unfolding it to read its contents. “I didn’t read it, I promise. He really wanted me to give that to you.”

Sango studied what was written, her cheeks becoming a bright shade of pink before lowering the small shred of paper to peer at Kagome, her eyes large and pleading. “Did you seriously ask him for his number for me? He’s gonna think I’m desperate!”

“No! I offered to give you his number for him! I told him I didn’t know if you liked him, but I just wanted to do him a favor.”

“And, he fell for that?”

“Yup. Whatever else that says is all him. I didn’t suggest a note, just the number.”

Sango quickly handed the note to Kagome, making sure Inuyasha didn’t glance to read it, her hand held open for Kagome to return it when she was done. 

I’m sorry I’m weird around you. I literally get dumbstruck by your beauty. I don’t want to mess up anymore, so here’s my number. Give me a chance. - Miroku.

Kagome beamed, slipping the small piece of paper back into Sango’s palm. “So, what do you think?”

“I don’t know. He really has no idea how I feel?”

“Look, I can honestly tell you he didn’t suspect a thing. You can go into this whatever way you want, and the guy wouldn’t know the difference.” Inuyasha testified, leaning his head to the side in a careless manner.

“You,” Sango pointed up at the hanyou’s face, a scowl forming on her own, successfully intimidating him as he flinched back an inch. “Will keep this conversation to yourself, got it? I mean it. Don’t tell him anything that happened here.”

“How are you so scary for a small chick?” He held his hands out defensively in front of him.

“My dad’s a cop.”

“Ah.”

“Believe me, he won’t say anything.” Kagome assured, finally coming out of hiding. “So, are you gonna text him?”

“You’ll find out when your friendship timeout is up.” Sango sneered, pursing her lips and crossing her arms.

“How long!?” Kagome pouted.

“To be determined.” She shrugged, walking off to take a different route home.

“Determine!”

“Two hours.”

“Hours?”

“You’ll be busy anyway, so you won’t even notice.”

“Sango!”

“Bye!” She waved from behind, crossing the street.

“You guys are weird.” Inuyasha remarked, walking on ahead.

“You really won’t tell, right?” Kagome asked, upping her speed to reach his side again.

“What? That Sango likes Miroku? Nah.” He confirmed, his tone level as he gave a small shake of his head. “I kind of figured you wouldn’t just do Miroku a favor out of the blue like that. Even before you winked.”

“So, you blindly backed me up?”

“Yup. Stupid, huh?”

She smiled, turning her head so he wouldn’t see how happy it had made her. The muffled chime of Inuyasha’s phone went off in his pocket, bringing her attention back his way as he pulled it out, his brows giving a small twitch together as he whispered an apology to her and answered.

“What’s up?” She couldn’t hear who was talking on the other end, but she continued walking at his side, minding her business to the best of her abilities, even when Inuyasha grumbled. He stopped walking, pinching the back of her sweater with his free hand to make her stay with him, his head lolling back in exasperation. “Yeah, fine, I’ll go check. I swear, you’re getting too old to leave the house.”

He hung up, grimacing deeply. “My uncle thinks he left the stove on and he won’t be back until late. I can run home real quick and I’ll meet you at your place. That okay?”

“Oh, yeah.” Kagome nodded understandingly. He flashed a small grin, his pace hastening slightly as he walked ahead to the corner, about to cross to the right where she’d just go straight. She watched him stop even though it was perfectly safe for him to go, an unsure expression on his lips as he pressed them together, eventually turning back to her as she finally reached the corner, herself.

“Unless, um, unless you just want to come with me? It’ll be a quick stop.”

Her smile grew brightly, her nod coming before her brain could actually initiate the response. When he smiled back and notched his head for her to follow, she couldn’t help the wild flutter that made home in her belly. She’d never been to his place before. She was excited. 

As if things couldn’t get any better, he’d grabbed her sleeve, pulling her closer to walk at his side again. In all honesty, she’d expected him to let go once he’d gotten his way, but he didn’t. He held onto her sleeve, keeping her with him as they walked, the silence undeniably comfortable. Kagome wondered if it would be okay to actually hold his hand. Would it make him shy away? They practically held hands yesterday, so they may as well, right? Was this the way he preferred it, or should she make the move? Maybe she’d try it slowly to properly read the situation. Because, she really, really, wanted to hold his hand.

Carefully, she angled her hand upward, her forearm following through as necessary, so she could brush the side of his fingers with her own. He didn’t look at her, nor did she look up at him, their eyes straight ahead or on their surroundings. His hand didn’t inch away, and his grip on her knitted sweater slackened, even more so as she brushed his fingers again. That second time, though, she slipped one of her fingers in the curve of his hand, then another when he welcomed her in, helping to build her courage. Inuyasha dropped his hold on her sleeve entirely, taking her hand in his, accepting the way she entwined their fingers and steadily following suit with his own grip. 

Maybe it was due to her infatuation with the boy, but she sincerely felt safe with her hand in his; protected from everything uninviting the world may put before her. After a moment, her embarrassment even faded away, far quicker than she’d ever expected it to. His hand was large and hot, engulfing and wonderfully gentle, his nails never a threat to her, but his unexpected tenderness was, his thumb smoothly rubbing back and forth over the back of her palm, threatening to provoke an eruption of butterflies in her abdomen.

“It’s this one.” Inuyasha said, guiding her through the small, front gate and pulling his small set of keys out of the pocket of his bag. Begrudgingly, he pulled his hand free from hers to open the door, letting her walk through first before following in and shutting it behind him. “Come on.” He walked up the hall a bit, her small, padded footsteps close behind him as he took a left into the kitchen, seeing the stove was off all along. 

“False alarm?” Kagome giggled.

“Better safe than sorry with that guy.” He groaned.

“Your home is nice.” She smiled, turning about to look at the small amount of decoration in the kitchen. It was a man’s home, that was for sure; it didn’t have a typical woman’s touch to it. Nonetheless, it was comfortable, kempt, and rustic.

“Well, it’s his. Totosai’s.” Inuyasha corrected with a dismissive shrug, sauntering back into the hall and toward the living room, making sure she followed.

“You live here, don’t you? And, he adopted you, so I’m sure you’re more than welcome to call this place yours.”

“I don’t know, sometimes I feel out of place.”

“You’ll only make yourself feel more out of place the more you say things like that.”

The half demon turned to her, brows furrowing speculatively. There was no animosity behind it; in fact, his smirk prodded her to elaborate.

“Like, okay say I’m feeling insecure about my looks. I don’t feel very pretty or attractive, and it’s weighing on me. I look at myself in the mirror and then I tell myself I’m ugly. Not just once, but I end up telling myself that on a regular basis. The insecurity will definitely sink through a lot faster than it would if I maybe told myself the opposite. I’d believe it wholeheartedly then. And after that, I’d never feel comfortable in my skin, or my dresses, or skirts, or jeans, or maybe even my frumpy clothes. No amount of makeup would do the trick, either, because what I did was empower my self-consciousness. I didn’t do myself any favors by allowing myself to think my negative thoughts were true. I, instead, made my own situation worse. Why do that? Insecurities, on any level, are natural, and sometimes it’s hard to convince yourself of the opposite, but it’s so much more worth it to try. And, you’d be happier when you come out.” She took a step closer to him, smiling. Inuyasha merely gazed down at her, no air of discomfort about; he simply listened. “Your situation - it’s understandable. I’d even be so bold to say it’s natural to feel out of sorts sometimes. This wasn’t the home you pictured living in as a child, and those feelings don’t need to go neglected. But, this is a home you’ve been welcomed into. Your uncle signed the papers and brought you here. I’m gonna assume you have your own bedroom, and furniture, and your clothes fit you properly so he’s definitely providing for you. You’ve got a key, and look -“ Her grin grew larger, her enthusiasm a little too pronounced as she turned to the mantle and spotted a candid picture of Inuyasha as a pre-teen, sitting on a park bench with much shorter hair. “He’s even proud to have photos of you on display. This is definitely your home.”

Quickly, flustered Inuyasha walked the few paces over to the picture and slammed it down. “Alright, alright. You made your point.” He drawled, looking back at her. “You’ve got a motivational speech for everything, don’t you?”

“Pretty much.” She giggled.

“Mind if I go change out of my uniform real quick?”

“Go for it.”

Inuyasha walked out to the hall, leaving Kagome in the living room, his stomach feeling heavy while his chest fluttered with something uncertain. He’d stopped at the frame of the entry, his hand braced on the polished wood as he looked back at her over his shoulder, watching how she didn’t even seem to notice he was still there. She was carefully resetting the picture of him that he’d planted facedown, the pads of her fingers smoothing over the edge of the cheap frame. 

“Is that what you were feeling?” The half demon asked, his tone husky. Kagome turned to him, slightly surprised, but the notch her head gave told him she didn’t immediately grasp what he was referring to. “Saturday. When you were sad. You mentioned insecurity. Was it because you didn’t feel beautiful?”

Kagome’s nerves flared dully, a small lump beginning to form in her throat. His amber eyes appeared gentle, and she couldn’t help but wonder how many times he’d thought of that night since. The shake of her head came slow at first, hardly there, but then grew into something more steady and honest.

“Will you tell me?”

She swallowed, her lips parting slightly. She still wasn’t fully comfortable talking about it, the humiliation remaining fresh, but he wanted to know and her reservation was superficial. He’d been opening up to her, trusting her, and she should do the same. He’d dropped whatever he was doing and ran to her that night. Literally ran. He calmed her down, he walked her home, he held her. Just him asking, revisiting the topic, had her feeling warmly invited to rely on him with her emotions, despite the minor apprehension holding her tongue. And, if the logic of the situation wasn’t enough, the patience he was exuding as he stood in place and waited for her to speak was. There was no caution in his expression, because there was no caution necessary between the two of them at the moment. The feeling she was receiving from him was almost the same as what she’d tried to procure during her little speech just moments ago. Safety and comfort. And, though Kagome wasn’t suddenly confident in spilling her vulnerability - as anyone would naturally feel - it wasn’t hard to let him in.

“I -“ The hesitance wasn’t planned, but she breathed to push passed it, her eyes inadvertently shying to the ground. “I wasn’t quite sure how you felt about me. I was constantly going back and forth with myself. After a while, it became too much and, um, yeah. That’s what Saturday was all about.”

Inuyasha tensed slightly, entirely unsuspecting of what she’d just stated. He’d racked his brain numerous times since Saturday night, since seeing her cry and feeling the way she clutched onto him for support, pretending he knew the deep ins and outs of Kagome’s mind so he could try and figure out what, exactly, she’d been feeling so he was better prepared to help her out of it should the situation occur again. The typical scenario that pops into a person’s head when told another is feeling insecure is looks, and he felt rotten just thinking a girl as gorgeous as she didn’t feel comfortable in her own body. He’d almost taken it as absolute confirmation when she’d brought up the hypothetical scenario just now. Another idea was her grades, or her future - because she’s in her final year of high school, and what senior isn’t panicking about their future at the moment - or maybe even something pertaining to her family. More specifically, playing backup guardian to her younger brother to help her hardworking mother out. That could easily weigh on a person, and he wouldn’t blame her for crumbling out of sight from the pressure. Inuyasha was almost prepared to make a list of the many positive attributes this one girl holds so he could help her see what he sees; so he could hopefully prevent another breakdown in the future. For some reason, he never thought it was about him. Not with how she was the first to walk into his arms, or with how she called him when she was fighting off tears. After that night, she must have understood how he felt about her, but that’s only three days of security. It made sense now that he thought about it; the half demon wasn’t known for his open displays of affection. There had never necessarily been a person he wanted to be openly affectionate with until now. As he had been coming to terms with his own emotions, gradually forcing himself out of his damaging and abrasive habits, somewhere along the lines he’d just assumed she knew. And, only ended up confusing her. That’s a good chunk of time that they weren’t on the same page, and he had no fucking idea. If she needed more obvious gestures, he could provide that. It was nerve-racking, but he would do it for her.

“Well, I hope you feel better now, because that’s a stupid thing to get upset about.” He watched as she seemingly took in his response, a small smile curving her lips, comprehending his language. “Wait for me, I’ll be right back.”

He came down the stairs, adjusting his hoodie as he went, spotting Kagome at a bookshelf at the far end of the living room as he came back through. Her brown eyes were glued on a photograph, never peering away to look at him as he approached.

“My dad.” He spoke, stopping just inches behind her.

“You look so much like him.” Kagome seemed almost astonished by the resemblance.

“Just the hair. I think I look more like my mom.”

“And the jawline.”

“And the jawline.” Inuyasha chuckled, nodding as he agreed.

“Is that your uncle with him?”

“Yeah, that’s the geezer. Come on, let’s go.”

She smiled up at him happily, following him out the door, waiting for him on the sidewalk outside the gate while he locked up. As he strode back over to her, he gave the shoulder of her sweater a small yank to lead her down the path he took to her place, his fingers casually sliding down the front of her arm until he reached her hand, tangling their fingers as they’d been before.

Their notes and homework assignments were sprawled on the floor of her bedroom between them, mostly used for reference when necessary as he quizzed her with random questions, a movie playing on the tv for soft background noise and their backs resting against the side of her bed.

“Wait, you already asked me that one!” Kagome complained, scrounging through the papers before her for the answer.

“Yeah, you got it wrong the first time, and you still can’t remember the answer I gave you.” He responded, his tone brassy but amused, breathily chuckling as he watched her go from one sheet of scribbled notes to another.

“It’s here somewhere.”

“You never wrote it down.”

“Dang it, Inuyasha!”

“Not my problem!”

“You probably distracted me.”

“It isn’t hard to do.”

Quickly, he protected his face with his hands, laughing as Kagome chucked a small, decorative pillow at him.

“So funny.” She mocked, reaching over and grabbing his notes from beside his knee. “Oh.”

“Hm?” His ear closest to her flicked, waiting expectantly for her to give him the answer.

“Oda Nobunaga.”

“So much for being a history buff, huh?” He remarked.

“You’re so sassy tonight.” Kagome laughed, putting his notes back where they once were.

“Okay, chemistry question: What’s the formula for hydrochloric acid?”

“Do you even know that off the top of your head?” She countered, grimacing.

“Wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.”

“What a nerd.” Kagome murmured, once more shifting through her study material. She sighed out slowly as she searched, her face scrunching like usual, and bringing the paper closer to her face, neglecting the glasses on her nightstand. “H-C-I.”

“Good. Since you’re looking at it, phosphoric acid?”

“H-3-P-O-4.”

“Mhm. Now put the notes down. The next question I ask, you should know by now.”

“Oh no.” She grumbled, complying.

“It’s easy. Say you borrow ten-thousand dollars from the bank. By the time you pay it off, you’ve paid a total amount of ten-thousand, four-hundred. What’s the additional four-hundred represent?”

“Oh, interest!”

“Good. See?” He smiled. “One last question and then I’ve gotta go. You ready?”

She hummed an affirmation, nodding as she turned to fully face him.

“It’s gonna be the toughest one. You get it right and I’ll take you out for ice cream.”

Kagome smiled eagerly, whispering an okay as she waited.

“Alright, you sure?”

“Come on.” She half-whined, the anticipation spiking. She wondered just how hard the question was going to be considering he used a reward as incentive.

“Okay, what’s sixteen divided by two?”

“What? It’s eight.” Kagome laughed lightly, brows furrowing in query.

“Yup.” He feigned a defeated sigh, shrugging and gathering his notes together. “Fair is fair. You busy Saturday?”

“No, I’m free.” She smiled, thrown off since she was sincerely expecting a tricky question.

“Great, I’ll take you out on our date then.”

She perked, her expression faltering minutely out of surprise but then growing into one of subtle elation. “Date?”

Inuyasha picked himself up off the floor, bringing the strap of his bag to rest over his shoulder. He glanced down at her as she followed suit and stood, shrugging his brows and smiling slightly in a meager response to her question. “See you tomorrow.”

“Wait, I’ll walk you out.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” He said, opening the door to her bedroom and giving her head a gentle shove backward. “I’ll text you when I get home.

—

He crossed the street, seeing the designated meet-up spot in the short distance, the sun still barely keeping the sky illuminated. Hues of fading orange and pink danced on patches of clouds overhead, a deep indigo overriding the majority of the sky. He didn’t see her at the statue, and he was glad he’d beat her; he didn’t like the idea of her sitting alone waiting for him. As he approached, he pulled his phone out of the front pocket of his black jeans, making sure she hadn’t texted.

His stomach was in absolute shambles, his nerves riddled and wired. Their first date. It was about time, yeah, but that didn’t make the ordeal any less unsettling. He’d never technically done this before, so his worst fear was fucking it up. He tried pretending it was just another ordinary hang out so he’d calm down a bit, but he knew that wasn’t true. This was a date. He was finally taking Kagome out on a date. He figured when they got the ball rolling, it would be a lot smoother since being around each other was easier than he’d ever imagined it would be, but up until then he felt just about ready to puke.

To busy himself as he waited, Inuyasha adjusted his grey t-shirt beneath his jacket, making sure it didn’t look too wrinkled or disheveled. He knew people were technically supposed to dress up for occasions such as these, but outside of his school uniform, he refused to wear another button up unless absolutely necessary. It wasn’t his style. He still looked appropriate, and he vaguely remembered the way her eyes lingered on him the last time he wore this shirt around her.

“Well, well, well.” Inuyasha’s gaze, heating instantly, shot to the side, landing on the tall, slender delinquent that ambled over. He’d been so distracted waiting for Kagome that he hadn’t even fucking noticed the scent of the motherfucker. “Look who it is.”

“Fuck.” Inuyasha breathed, the word dragging out hoarsely. “I’ll give you twenty bucks to leave me alone tonight.”

“Who do I look like, Jakotsu? Gonna take a lot more than that to buy me off.”

“Not tonight.” Inuyasha’s tone was clenched and assertive, staring straight into the dark eyes of the man that continued to approach.

“Why? What’s on the agenda?” He asked, carelessly. An arrogant smile expanded on his face.

“I’m serious, Ren.”

“Yeah, see, the last time we saw each other, you shoved my face into a brick wall. I’m not feeling very understanding at the moment.” He sneered.

“You came at me first.” 

“And, it wouldn’t keep happening if you’d just fix the mistake you made.”

“It’s on my to-do list. Right there next to making you kiss my ass.”

“You son of a bitch.” He swung his fist, but Inuyasha dodged in time, swerving around to the backside of his opponent and giving the quickest look around the surrounding area to make sure Kagome wasn’t in the vicinity. Multiple times he’d gotten out of these fights unscathed, and he hoped, fucking hoped, he could do the same right now.

“I gotta say, not a really good way to convince me to leave you alone.”

“Figured you wouldn’t, anyway.” Inuyasha’s shrug was barely visible, waiting for Renkotsu’s next move. He wasn’t the strongest fighter, but he was a tactical one. He liked to bait Inuyasha along, or whomever he was up against really, getting their tempers to flare so their fighting strategy was sloppy. In addition, he was, unfortunately, fast and nimble on his feet, and even though Inuyasha was good at swooping himself out of the way, Renkotsu was better at getting back in his. 

The hanyou was pushed back, but the stumble was short-lived as he grasped his bearings and threw his fist into the punk’s face, feeling the sting of his knuckle colliding with Renkotsu’s tooth. His lip must have pinched between, because blood was quick to trickle free, painting his mouth crimson as he smiled and laughed.

“You’ve gotten soft, dog boy.” He remarked, his hand hovering beneath his chin but not really even trying to stop the bleeding.

“Shut up.”

“Since when do you hold back?”

Since he was steadfast determined not to come out of this with a single indicator that would tip Kagome off or ruin her night.

“Come on, what’s changed? You been whipped or something?” He lunged, faking right but snagging Inuyasha on the left, clutching the front of his jacket and tossing him headfirst into the statue. 

The pain just above his temple was sharp, instantaneously growing unbearably hot as he picked himself up to a proper standing and felt the light leakage of liquid sliding down the side of his face, the sensation dulling and becoming hardly noticeable over the headache pressing him. There was a physical spike to his temper, his blood beginning to boil as a growl bubbled in his abdomen. Of all the members of that dumb squad, Renkotsu was the most annoying.

Something in Kagome snapped, having watched the guy attack Inuyasha. She knew this sort of stuff was happening, but it was indescribably different when she witnessed it first hand. Shock transitioned to anger. Anger transitioned to infuriation. Infuriation transitioned to irrefutable outrage, and that was that. Her next move wasn’t subconscious; she knew exactly what she was doing. Kagome ran at them, speeding up, sprinting as quickly as her legs would go and shoved the bastard as hard as she possibly could. He was sturdier than his lanky body suggested, only stumbling back several feet before his glare met her challenging scowl. Arms braced around her waist before she could lunge again, a husky voice she knew was Inuyasha’s telling her to “fucking stop,” as he pivoted on his heel and tucked her behind him. That didn’t halt her, though. Demands for him to move were grunted from her mouth as she pushed his arms away, trying to climb her way around his protective stature.

“What the fuck is that, your pet pomeranian!?” Renkotsu jibed, finally taking a moment to wipe the mixture of saliva and blood that dribbled down his chin, and spitting off to the side.

“Funny coming from a guy with premature balding!” Kagome barked, finally getting Inuyasha to let her go. He stood close, though, and she knew he was prepared to snag her out of harms way if anything happened. “Who the hell are you!?”

“Who’s asking?” He smirked.

“His pet pomeranian.” She cocked a brow tauntingly.

“You’re feisty. I like that.” He chuckled. “Name’s Renkotsu. And, you’re interrupting a private conversation between the actual dog and I.”

“And, what problem could you possibly have with him!?” Kagome fumed.

“Many.” Came his brusque reply.

“Kagome, look -“ Inuyasha spoke low, only to her, amber eyes shifting from their offender to make sure he didn’t move any closer, to the side of her face - because her sight was glued straight ahead. “Just wait for me in the park. I’ll be right there.”

“What’s he saying? Trying to act like the hero and send you off?” Renkotsu teased. “He deserves everything that’s coming for him. You know what he’s done?”

“Yeah, pissed you off.” Kagome said, her tone dismissive. “I’m gonna tell you upfront that nothing you say about him is going to change my mind from thinking you’re the little bitch here.”

“If I were you, I’d reel that attitude in, little girl. You don’t know what you’re getting into.” Renkotsu warned, his amusement dwindling away. It wasn’t difficult to determine he was a hothead, easily set off by name-calling and back talk, and he didn’t take kindly to challenges against his pride.

“Am I supposed to be scared?”

“You will be if you don’t back the fuck off. I’ll give you thirty seconds to leave.”

“And, if I don’t?”

“You’ll have to watch me kick your boyfriend’s ass. Then, maybe, I’ll take you and -“

“Finish that sentence, Renkotsu! I fucking dare you!” Inuyasha growled dangerously.

“Get her to leave, Inuyasha!” Renkotsu ordered, his voice on the edge of getting even louder.

“We’re both leaving.” Kagome said with the tone of finality, grabbing onto Inuyasha’s wrist.

“The hell he is!”

“You’re from that group of assholes, right? The one Inuyasha left? Which means you’re just carrying out orders from the top. Well, tell what’s-his-face to suck a dick and to handle his dirty work, himself.” 

Inuyasha shot a look of surprise at her, a smile spreading over his lips, and turning back to look at the bald delinquent, he notched his head in appreciation of Kagome’s profanity.

“You gonna let your bitch fight your battles, mutt?”

He shrugged, still thriving off her recent jab. “She’s doing a pretty good job. How could I not?”

“You know damn well if I take this back to Bankotsu, he’ll have us out for her, too. Shut her up.”

“Bankotsu?” Kagome grimaced, blinking bemusedly. “Are you guys siblings or something?”

“No?” Renkotsu asked more than stated, his brows furrowing deeply.

“What’s with the similar names, then? That can’t just be a coincidence; it sounds so fake. Is that your actual name?”

“They don’t go by their actual names.” Inuyasha mentioned. “It’s one of the common measures they take to help protect their real identities. All of them have a code name ending in, ‘-kotsu’.”

“Seriously? Are you kidding me?” Kagome laughed audaciously, looking Renkotsu straight in his dark, narrowed eyes. “Hate to break it to you, buddy, but twinsy names aren’t intimidating.”

“It’s not what’s in a name,” He began, walking inward, his jaw clenching and unclenching repeatedly, evident from the muscles flexing at the crook of his mandible. “It’s how you present yourself. I’ve never been one for hitting chicks, but a motherfucker just might now.”

Inuyasha swapped their grips, now the one clutching to her wrist and directing her to angle behind him with a firm tug.

“I gave you the opportunity to leave, but you wanted to push your luck. I don’t like women getting involved, but oh well. Fuck me, right?”

“Yeah. Fuck you.” Inuyasha seethed, the scowl returning to set on his features. “If you think you’re ever going to touch her -“

“And, what are you gonna do?” Stopping with a foot’s distance between them, staring into the golden eyes of his original target. “Because you’ve been so successful in warding the rest of us off? You, of all people - if we can even call you that - should know by now that we don’t give up so easily. Now, she’s in the mix. Should have made her leave when you had the chance.”

“Are we done here?” Kagome questioned, her tone sharp. His eyes flickered down to her, a single, thin brow shrugging in insolence.

“Sure. I like that dress, by the way.” He grinned briefly before pursing his lips and spitting on her, his saliva still holding a tint of red and landing in the center of her breasts to stain the pastel pink she donned.

Kagome, though repulsed and disturbed, immediately grasped Inuyasha’s arm, pinching her nails into the sleeve of his jacket so he wouldn’t retaliate. His muscles were flexed and he’d been ready to swing in her defense, and even though he could easily overpower her, he didn’t fight against her. His indignation remained rigid, though, especially with the creep standing so close to them, and she knew, by the way he glared at Renkotsu, by the furious air wafting about him, by the way his shoulders were squared and his fists were tightly clenched, that he wouldn’t hesitate to attack if Renkotsu made another move.

“See you around. Both of you.” He smiled tauntingly, turning on his heel and walking away.

It wasn’t until he disappeared around the corner that Inuyasha’s shoulders deflated, a heated sigh leaving his nose as he slowly, but gently, pulled his forearm out of Kagome’s grasp. She was still angry, but with each breath she took, progressively getting steadier and deeper, her temper was fading away. Finally, Inuyasha turned around, facing her, a frown of disapproval marring his handsome face.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Done what?” She inquired, her attitude still prominent.

“Jumped in like you did! You could have gotten hurt!”

“And, you’re mad at the thought of that, right?”

“You’re damn right I am!”

“Well, I got mad seeing it happen to you! So, I did something about it! It’s the same thing!”

“No, Kagome -“

“Yes!”

“No! It’s not supposed to work this way!” Inuyasha stepped in, leaving mere inches between them as they argued.

“I don’t care how it’s supposed to work! What does that even mean!?”

“That I don’t ever want you pulling a stunt like that again, got it!?”

“Excuse me!?”

 “He might have hit you, stupid! You can’t take punches like I can!”

“So, that makes it okay to just sit back and watch the show!? Like you’re some kind of punching bag!?”

“I would have handled it!”

“Then you should have!” Kagome yelled. “I heard him; he said you were holding back! Why were you holding back!?”

“Because you don’t like when I get into fights, Kagome! I didn’t want you to know this was happening! He came out of fucking nowhere, and I was trying to fend him off before you showed up!”

The tension in her brow decreased exponentially, his words ringing in her ears. She felt like an ass for doubting him that way, but still, no matter, she wasn’t sorry for pushing the jerk away from him. She would never be sorry. “It’s not that I didn’t think you could handle it. I knew you could have. I just got so angry and wanted to help.” Kagome calmly admitted.

“Well don’t.” Inuyasha said, authoritatively. “I don’t need your help.”

“Quite frankly, I don’t care what you think you need or don’t need right now. It’s irrelevant.” He flinched to counter but she beat him to the punch, holding her hand up to silence him. “You’re saying it because you don’t want me in the middle or getting hurt, I get that. But, it’s the exact same way I feel about you, so you and I are only going to end up going in circles about this. You can’t tell me what to do, and you can’t force me to just watch your head get thrown into cement without reacting.”

In all honesty, he’d forgotten he’d been hurt in the heat of it all, more concerned about protecting Kagome than anything. He hadn’t expected her to come flying in like a bat out of hell, fully prepared to square off with one of the lowlives of the city. Especially, for his sake. Once he saw her, he just reacted. Probably the same way she had. “Now you’re involved, though. That’s exactly what I didn’t want.”

“We’ll handle it.” Kagome said, unconcerned. To get a better angle on his cut, she leaned her head to the side, reaching up to gently hold his jaw and bring him down near her height. He showed no resistance, his long lashes fluttering softly as he closed his eyes.

“It’ll be fine.”

It really wasn’t all that bad. It looked like the bleeding had about stopped, but it should still be cleaned and bandaged. Releasing his face, she reached for his hand, pulling him in the direction she’d come from.

His grip on her palm tightened as they approached her home, noticing her mom’s car out front, and the living room and kitchen lights on. If she saw them, him specifically, with dried blood on his head, she’d know the night was disastrous and he’d put her daughter in a dangerous situation. He couldn’t have that. He’d already felt like a failure, but to have someone else think that, too - Kagome’s mother, no less - would be mortifying. Kagome’s attention drifted up to him at his notable discomfort, stopping with his cue.

“Your mom…”

“She’s a nurse, don’t worry.”

“No, I - I don’t want her to see this. I don’t want her to know what happened.”

The realization was evident on her face, but she didn’t look disappointed, her head turning to glance at her house before turning back to him.

“Climb up to my window. I’ll let you in.” She smiled.

“You sure?” He asked, and she nodded immediately, letting go of his hand. Before she could move further, he stopped her, pulling off his coat and handing it over. It made the idea of their date more believable if she came back with his jacket, plus it’d help hide the detestable stain. As she situated it over her arms, he reached down to grab the bottom of the zippers on both ends that landed at her thighs, lining them up together and zipping it for her. Kagome smiled appreciatively, turning around and heading inside.

Inuyasha snuck around the front toward the far left end as soon as she shut the door, grateful the curtains were pulled shut. As soon as he reached the tree he used for footing, he leveraged himself up, climbing until he could silently step onto the small roofing of the second story. Her room was still dark as he waited for her at the window, and though everything was muffled, he could vaguely hear her and her mom talking from downstairs. The specifics of their conversation were hard to distinguish, but he knew Kagome’s cheery tone from her upset one, and to him, she sounded happy. Probably fooling her mom into thinking everything was perfectly fine, despite the fact that she was home so soon after leaving.

Her footsteps grew closer, shuffling along as soon as she reached the top landing of the stairs, and even as she entered her room, she didn’t turn on the light until the door was closed. Her greeting smile was natural, and he couldn’t help but wonder how the hell she managed it. Kagome had every reason in the world to be upset right now, but she truly didn’t seem like she was. And, as she hurried over and unlocked the latch for him, sliding the window open, he was engulfed by the powerfully sweet scent of her that stayed locked up in her bedroom, thoroughly muddling any residual, negative thoughts from the evening.

He shut the window on his own, nodding when she mentioned she’d be right back and taking a seat on the floor with his back resting against the bed. Kagome was true to her word, returning less than sixty seconds later with a small first aid kit in hand.

“No, I told you it’d be fine.” Inuyasha chuckled quietly, taking the initiative to turn on the tv to drown out their voices.

“Cut’s need bandages.” Was her simple reply, not even sparing him a glance as she shuffled through her dresser drawers, pulling out a pair of leggings and a fresh shirt.

“The cut’s already healing. It’ll most likely be gone tomorrow.”

“Humor me.” Kagome rolled her eyes, pursing her lips as she tossed her clothes on the bottom edge of her mattress. “Close your eyes, please.”

Without hesitation, he complied, turning away for added effect. The ruffling of his jacket sounded heavy as she removed it, the material of her dress considerably lighter in comparison. It wasn’t the coldest night they’d had recently, but he still found Kagome brave for wearing it - long sleeved garment be damned. Then, an ache twinged in his chest. She’d worn that for him. And, the gesture hadn’t only gone to waste, but the dress was probably ruined now and he’d never be able to appreciate her in it.

At her signal, he opened his eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to fully look at her, regret taking its hold on him. It wasn’t his fault, he knew, but that didn’t help any. How could he make up for this mess? How could he make her happy like he’d intended to tonight?

Kagome sauntered over, crossing to his right and then sitting at his side, thigh-to-thigh, facing him. The first aid kit was in hand, and she set it on the floor beside her, opening it and taking out some cotton balls in a sandwich baggy before turning to him. She seemed so gentle, her hands light when she pulled his bangs out of the way to asses the cut before doing anything else. As if feeling his unsubtle stare, her brown eyes drifted over to his, curious and large, then shied downward as the smallest of frowns tugged on her lips. Kagome dropped his hair, her hands falling to her lap before she bowed her head slightly, hovering over his shoulder.

Sometimes, you could say those three words to let a person know how deeply you feel for them. Sometimes, you could speak your profound emotions with more, or less, verbally, or physically. And, so badly did Kagome want to figure out how to properly express it all to him. To know Inuyasha, to have him sit with her, hold her hand, tell her things no matter the context, was a privilege she was scared for a while she’d never get to experience. Inuyasha, in his own essence, was such a wonderful gift. To have him care for her, and convey how much he cared through tumultuous anger weighted her heart. Maybe not in the moment could she appreciate the gesture, or clearly see his reasonings, but now that things were calmed and they sat so close, touching, trusting, she understood. How lucky she was. On the surface, Inuyasha was brash and hard-headed, he presented himself in a carefree manner, but truthfully, he was the most beautifully delicate person she’d ever met. 

Finally resting her head against his shoulder, Kagome breathed out slowly, taking in the faint and generic spice of a man’s body wash on her inhale. Funny enough, of all the guys she’d noticed it on, it smelled best on him. What had come over her was the sudden and dire need to tell him everything she felt for him. It had hit her like a freight train; intense and insatiable. Something, she needed to say something to subdue the fire igniting her nerve endings, but as she opened her mouth to speak, all that came out was a whispered, “I really like this shirt.” 

Of course, then, she laughed at herself. Typical of her to chicken out.

Kagome could feel his head come a little closer to hers, his cheek gently brushing against her hair as he said in return, “I know. I wore it for you.”

She smiled. He couldn’t see it, but she smiled.

“Are you okay?” Inuyasha asked, and she quickly sat up straight, forcing herself to appear fully recovered, as if nothing had ever fazed her.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Kagome replied, moving back to her prior task without delay. After opening a small bottle of peroxide, she doused a cotton ball with the liquid. “Could you hold your hair out of the way?”

His expression spoke volumes on how useless he found the gesture to be, but still, he did as she asked, eye roll and all. She gently rubbed the cotton ball over the small wound to clean it, then around the surrounding area to wipe the dried blood away. His attention was roaming over her, and she tried not to pay attention to the way it alarmed the butterflies in her stomach, focusing on her task. It was like his ember irises were actual, flickering chars, and wherever his eyes landed, she felt a pleasant, burning sensation. Her cheek, her lips, her chin, her neck, her collar bone, her lips, her neck, her shoulder, her lips. All alight. 

“Some first date, huh?” Inuyasha remarked, his tone dull.

Kagome’s soft smile in response was unintentional but genuine, dropping the dirtied cotton ball on top of the bag it came out of, and as she chose an appropriate bandage, she shrugged. “That doesn’t matter to me. I mean, we could have chilled and watched tv and slapped the first date title on that, and I would have been perfectly happy.”

“But, instead you got to see me in a fight. Kagome, I’m really sorry.”

“For what?” She asked, opening the bandaid packaging and carefully holding the very edges of the adhesive strips. She angled it properly over the cut, gently sticking it down and smoothing it out. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Besides, the way I see it, I got to yell at one of the jerks that’s been terrorizing you. Trust me, it was a good time.”

Inuyasha laughed, flinching as she rubbed her fingers over the entire bandage. “Ow.” He said playfully, instinctively grabbing her hand and pulling it away. She giggled and mumbled an apology, using her free hand to smooth down his ruffled bangs as he let them go. “By the way, we need to talk about your profanity. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk like that. ‘Suck a dick’? Is that peak Kagome temper right there?” 

“I tend to lose my filter when I’m mad.” She exclaimed.

“You’ve got quite a vocabulary on you. It’s impressive. Remind me not to get on your bad side.” He mildly joked.

He was still holding her hand, his grip adjusted to rest it against his chest, his thumb tenderly caressing over her skin.

“So, you’re not mad at me anymore?” Kagome asked, her voice softening to take on the hint of bashfulness.

“Do I look like I’m mad at you?” Inuyasha responded soothingly. He leaned a little closer to her body, relaxed, warm. “I just - I really didn’t want you getting involved, Kagome.”

“It was kind of impossible not to.”

“I know. I get that. Now, I’m just gonna worry about you whenever we’re apart.”

“They’re not like an actual gang, are they?”

“No, they’re just like you said; a group of assholes. They tend to take their crap out on others and act like they’re tough. Some of them, though, are something to be concerned about. Statistically speaking, they’re not all gonna grow out of this phase. They’re on a gateway path, and I wouldn’t doubt if Bankotsu already had dirty affiliations.” Inuyasha said, letting go of her palm as he leaned even more towards her center, his right hand now braced on the floor by her legs in a casual manner. The closer he got to her, the more comfortable he found he felt. So comfortable, in fact, that he thought nothing of the way her fingers busied themselves in the loose tendrils of his hair along the sides of his face.

“How long were you with them?” Kagome asked.

“Not long enough to actually do anything I’d regret, aside from the obvious.”

“So, you were never actually one of them.” She stated. It felt like reassurance to the stress he already carried about having made the mistake of walking with them in the first place.

He opened his mouth to say something, but his mind blanked. Not in a hopeless way, but in the sense that there was nothing that needed to be said. As he basked in her confidence in him, calmed by the tips of her fingers continuously running through his bangs and loose strands from his ponytail, he realized that neither of them were going anywhere. What the hell was he waiting for?

There was no apprehension in his lean, the fingers of his free hand curving around the side of her neck and beneath her hair, intentionally holding just before meeting her lips. Kagome leaned in the rest of the way, her mouth soft and molding against his perfectly. And, she smiled into his kiss, giggling breathily, happily as they broke.

“I want to be with you, Kagome.” He spoke, tone husky, just as content. “You and I.”

She nodded, feeling so full and light at the same time it was difficult not to be consumed by her elation. 

“Yeah?” Inuyasha smiled, almost teasing because he could tell how shy she was getting from the fresh and deep shade of her cheeks. Again, she nodded, her head ducking slightly. “Is that a yeah?”

“Shut up.” Kagome laughed, taking the initiative to kiss him again, his sigh hot against the side of her cheek while he firmly clutched her to him.

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

[mydeardeath]

To belong with (7/8)

Whole series on tumblr (to belong series tag) or AO3

---

Tim started trashing in his sleep just a few hours after going to bed, awakening Damian with a hit to his face. He kept muttering unintelligible words, but while Damian could not decipher their meaning, he could guess that it was related to the time Tim was away.

He had to hold Tim for five minutes before the Omega calmed down, lost in his nightmares. When Tim finally came to his senses, he did not speak a word. The Omega sank further against Damian, taking all the comfort he could get. Tim had seemed fine since his return. He had calmed down as soon as he had recognized Damian. After that, he had acted as he used too. Mostly, anyway. Tim hadn't asked to go back on patrol. He had not even questioned Damian about the Gotham's current night activities. In fact, Tim hadn't mentioned this part of their life at all, acted as if he was a simple civilian. Those had been obvious hints that should have alerted Damian sooner. Tim had always been one of the most dedicated to the mission.

He may have no idea what had happened to him while he was captive, but he should have deduced that it was no good. And Damian had ignored that so he could play house with Tim.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Damian murmured in his ear, still hugging him.

Tim didn't respond right away. He started tapping softly on Damian's wrist with the tip of his fingers. "I don't know. I don't know where I was. Who had taken me or why. I was alone for weeks. Alone in the dark. Nobody came to see me or to interrogate me."

"You weren't with the others?"

"What others?" Tim asked, confused.

"People started popping off as the same as you did. People presumed to be dead from the attack that took you."

"I never saw anyone else. I had nothing to clutch to while I was there. Nothing to analyze, nothing to work on, all I could do was wait. I never felt that powerless."

"We'll figure out, and they will pay for touching you," Damian promised, determined to avenge his Omega.

Damian had held Tim for over an hour before it became clear that neither of them had any chance of going back to sleep. Thus, he had offered the Omega to go downstairs to spar for a bit. The equipment had got an upgrade since Tim had last been into the room, but he hadn't remodeled the room, so it should still be familiar to him.

Damian dug out some of Tim's old training gear. He ignored the look that earned him. Damian knew pretty well how it looked like: who kept all of someone's stuff, and not just one item of sentimental value after they died? The whole family had already criticized him for clinging to Tim's belongings years after he had died. The Omega was free to judge him too. He had stopped to care a long time ago. He had his own way of coping, and nobody would change that.

"I guess it's a good thing your sentimental," Damian snorted a that, nobody had put it that way thus far, "Sometimes I feel lost when I realize that the world has changed without me to a point where I not always sure I'm really home. I mean, I can still recognize the world, but it could be a mind trick for all I know. Having my stuff makes it easier, anchors me."

They started slowly, not fighting right away, leaving Damian enough time to assess Tim's physical conditions. He didn't have enough details about his captivity to know if he had been malnourished or if he had been able to exercise. Muscle memory would allow Tim to get back pretty quickly, but Damian wasn't sure that his strength was still the same, nor his stamina. Furthermore, Damian had grown a lot during the past six years. It was weird to say, but he was now only one year younger than Tim. After presenting as an Alpha, he had grown fast, outgrowing Dick in a year, and was catching up to his father as the days passed. Not only was Damian taller but also a lot stronger and more experienced than before. Before, he knew how much strength he could put behind his punch to train but not arm. Now he wasn't sure, but he didn't want to restrain himself too much lest that Tim noticed. He wasn't sure the Omega would appreciate the precaution. He had proven himself many times in the past, questioning his abilities would be a terrible insult. Plus, none of them knew how to take it easy after an injury, Tim wouldn't accept to restrain himself. They hadn't had the best example, growing up. So, Damian was a little at loss.

Tim gave the first hit, sensing the Alpha hesitation. He didn't hold back, certain that Damian could take it. The strike did not even connect. Damian intercepted it with ease, faster than Tim had first imagined. The Alpha may have put on a lot of weight, but he was still quick and agile, it seemed. All the Robins had had training, but Damian had been groomed from birth. He was the one with the most techniques and potential when it came to fighting. Damian didn't have to rely on preparation, as Tim did. It had been quite impressive to witness when Damian had first entered their life, and something told Tim that it was nothing compared to what he could do now. He was quite curious to see it all. Tim threw a few more punch at Damian, taking the opportunity to assess the other's movement. Analyzing was what he was best at. Tim was used to facing opponents that were stronger than him, better than him. Smarter was another matter. He would find a way to beat Damian, even if he took hours.

It's only after two hours of pulling punches and dodging that Tim managed to knock Damian off his feet. He had pretended to be more tired by their sparring session than he truly was for the past ten minutes, leading to Damian lowering his guard and giving Tim an edge. That approach wouldn't have worked in a real fight, but he didn't care. He was damp with sweat, and his attacks were becoming sloppy. He wouldn't have lasted another hour. So, he let himself regain some strength for a minute and got his victory. Damian had given him lessons about fighting dirty when he was they had fought soon after meeting each other. So, the Alpha shouldn't hold it against him.

"Well done, Timothy." Damian's words were reluctant, but he seemed proud of Tim at the same time. Probably didn't like landing on his ass.

"Thanks, D," Tim smiled brightly at him, and Damian had no other choice than to return it, mollified by Tim's expression.

***

They spent the rest of the day at home. Damian had promised himself to contact his father today, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew there was a risk of Bruce or Dick showing up unannounced if he ignored them for too long, especially after declaring that he would be looking for Tim. Not that he had been wrong, but they didn't know that. Yet.

In the meantime, Damian was just enjoying Tim's company while they cooked together, or watch shit tv shows.

"You don't have to skip patrol because of me, you know?"

Tim had noticed that Damian had never left at night. The Alpha still maintained his nest downstairs, so he obviously hadn't given up on that part of their life. Watching tv with Damian was nice, but he didn't want to hold him back if he wanted to go out.

Damian sighed. "I don't want to leave you alone, not because I think you cannot take care of yourself. But I'm afraid that if you disappear from my sight for more than a minute, you will disappear forever." Damian honesty was heartbreaking. Tim could understand his fear, he had the same.

"I could come with you. You don't seem to be working on any major cases."

Damian looked away before answering. He wasn't sure the Omega was quite ready to go back, but Tim being able or not to patrol was not the problem.

"I haven't announced your return to the rest of the family," Damian confessed, looking guilty.

"What? Why?" Tim almost yelled.

"They refused to believe you could be alive! I search for you for hours, alone. I know it might be childish, but I wanted to keep it from them. I'm sorry," Damian apologized. It had been selfish of him. Tim deserved to be with them if that what he wanted. He had no right to take that decision from him. "I can call them now if you would like."

"No. We'll go. Now." Tim announced.

"Now? I don't think they will be home."

"Alfred will," Tim interrupted him, settling the matter.

[asherlockstudy]

I get that interview was HBO forced but it sounds insane when last season, he was saying Jaime needed to get away from her for good. I mean no nice post about Gwen after the last ep. I dont believe it was about not wanting to stir the hornet's nest if him and B didnt get together as he posted a huge loving one about Lena and that was a very controversial part of the plot. If hed know posted a gwen one saying"sorry JB didnt get a happy ending but here's me and Gwen in happier times" i dont get it

I think it’s very weird too…Imma analyze it. Not that I’m gonna reach any solid conclusion but I will just lay out all my thoughts.

Whatever the reason Nik doesn’t post or reply publicly to Gwen is, it has nothing to do with his personal preference for Braime or Jaime x Cersei. Even if we make the insane assumption that Nik appreciated that Jaime dumped Brienne to return to murderous Cersei and die with her without serving any purpose in the main plot (what lead actor of 8+ years would ever like being unimportant in the ending plot) and saw “pOeTRy” in it, it still doesn’t explain why he should prefer posting about Lena over Gwen. We would be naive to think he made a post about Lena and not Gwen because he prefers Cersei to Brienne. So, we still have no clear evidence of what Nik’s private thoughts and feelings are for his character after the ending. 

Here’s what we have: 

We have two interviews: one with HBO rofl and one with that journalist who collaborates with HBO and was an insider (I’m not gonna search his name) in which he stans Jaime’s choices, his love for Cersei and the tragic poetry in it all. Then we have him promoting the episodes and the documentary in his instagram and twitter, however he is entirely emotionally detached from his character and his fate. I would say he lowkey looks entertained in his weird af episode promo videos and secretly amused while filming the “thank you” video after the last episode where he says “Come on, it was great” and suggests a petition for an Arya (huh?) sequel.

We have two videos uploaded on yt with him: one is a video of a stalker in which Nik looks uncomfortable and passes the question to the random guy next to him who apparently happens to be a GOT fan, have an elaborate opinion on the last season, hate D&D and think they threw away Jaime’s beautiful character arc. What are the odds…The second is a skit in Jimmy Kimmel in which Nik drags his own character by making him stupid and clumsy, a sad little being because of his maiming and, most importantly, an unrepentant sister fucker. All of Jaime’s worst qualities displayed for laughs, plus that he’s actually a likeable but very stupid person. The skit ends with a dragon randomly burning him and his family alive and those credits

So, we have straightforward criticism towards D&D by Kimmel and NCW actually participates in it. This is what this skit means - that this level of writing, this kind of lame character and that ludicrous death is something that only Benioff and Weiss would like to produce. And, well, the Olsen sisters (although I think they’re cleverer than that). 

So, we have two videos where NCW’s intentions are dubious AT BEST. 

Then we have all the promos. When left to speak on his own, Nikolaj would say how the ending was beautiful and made sense and he once mentioned he sent a letter to thank them for this genius plot…Right. But then when asked or caught off guard (1:04): 

Nobody tries to sugarcoat it, look at the title of the video: … NCW is ‘happy’.  Then of course we have our Lady and Saviour Gwen who tries not to laugh as Nik struggles to find what to say and not just stand up and flee.

Also, this one. The best one: 

I could make a thousand gifs for this but just watch again the entire video:

0:07 - Gwen’s face when Nik says he thought the script was fantastic

1:13 - “N-no..NO!!!” when asked if he would change something in the ending and Gwen’s reaction to that. Then, our leader Gwen proceeds to mock him: “So, it’s an immaculate- It’s immaculate?” to which Nik impulsively replies: “NO!” and goes on “do you ever read a book and think you want to rewrite this?” which implies, that yes he would want to rewrite it but knows he can’t. 

(3:03 - 3:06) - VERY IMPORTANT ONE. When Gwen wondered who was closer to predicting the actual ending, Nik says “I was, yeah” and OMG look at Gwen’s face. It’s very subtle but she’s trying to communicate with her eyes a “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT” to him without being seen by the interviewer. It’s kind of a wife done with her husband’s shit look tbh, that level of subtlety. And Nik answers back with his eyes in equal subtlety and it’s like he says a “What? I truly was right lol….”. To me, this seems to mean that Nik always knew or feared that D&D would eventually destroy all his work and was eventually proven right. Unless this all is about Dany being killed by Jon but I doubt at this point Nik and Gwen cared enough to go all cryptic and eye communicating for this. No, it was about them. 

3:09 - Nik is surprised and then clearly amused at the information by the interviewer that Kit was the one who came closer with his prediction. He can’t hide his smile and says an ironic “good for him” while looking knowingly at Gwen who then says this must be a lie. This shows that it is known amongst the actors that most of them are disappointed and Kit was one of them. Both Nik and Gwen apparently knew Kit hated his ending too and would never expect this to be how the show would wrap up. BTW that writing and that backlash really got to Kit, I hope he recovers soon. But think about this, Kit went into rehab for stress and alcohol, Emilia was devastated and gave a somewhat concerning interview and Nik’s public behaviour regarding GOT is inconsistent and unpredictable. I am thus assuming the writing of the final season and the backlash fucked them up way more than they let on. 

This interview is a gem but here’s the most important part, perhaps the core of what baffles us: 

1:32 - After all the miserable no-nos poor Nik mumbles, Gwen tells Nik what we all think: “I think it’s just a question, you know? Maybe you want to answer it?”

Of course he’s in a total loss for words. Literally, he doesn’t make any sense. Some incoherent sounds come out of his mouth and that’s it. This can mean two things: either he truly thinks the ending is perfect or the ending made him such a mess that he can’t even process it verbally two years later. 

Either Gwen is much braver and Nik is extemely paranoid or Nik actually has many more restrictions in what he is allowed to say. I believe Gwen wanted Nikolaj to be as open as her about it and she still tries to make him open up but he doesn’t. In all the promos without exception, Gwen looks as if she knows Nik is full of shit and secretly agrees with her. If Gwen knows that for a fact, then we can’t argue and it’s actually what makes sense anyway. Nikolaj agrees with Gwen but is not eager to discuss it openly yet, or ever. This could be because he is very professional or because he doesn’t want to get a bad name as a “backstabber” of his projects or it might be a situation of a more sensitive nature. 

If those rumours that the S8 script was changed are true, then Nik and Lena might have had a serious breakdown with D&D and a negotiation might have taken place. For instance, Nik and Lena were really unnecessary in E6, Nik’s scene in E1 could have been eliminated as well and Lena does not appear in E3. Yes, they are big actors but paying them 1,2 million for every episode seems a tad excessive when Emilia and Kit are now famous too and have like 300% times more screentime. All this is wild speculation but maybe they stretched their appearance in the episodes as much as possible and gave them a good amount of money to agree on the butchering of their characters and their importance as former lead actors. I mean, especially Lena was downgraded to a secondary character in this season. Lena had to really fight to see her salary rise in the previous seasons. And now it’s a million for every episode? Wow. How many minutes was she staring out of the window in S8? Maybe they were silenced and payed a shitload of money to stop complaining and promote the show and praise the writing as what it was supposed to be. Maybe they payed them in order to promote Peter, Kit and Emilia for the Emmys instead, who knows. When so much money is involved, things can get frustrating in ways we don’t even fathom. This is wild and rough speculation but all I’m saying is there may be reasons Nik avoids talking freely about his character that we can’t know. 

Besides, it’s not just a Gwen problem. It is not a Gwen problem. Gwen revealed she sent a “Jaime is a fuckboi” meme to Nik privately and he answered playfully as ever (but again as if he’s in denial). They posted a story together a couple of weeks ago. Nik did not just ignore Gwen’s instagram post. Daniel Portman posted the photo and tagged Nikolaj too. Nik ignored him as well. Bryan Cogman, who Nik and Gwen owe a lot to, commented under the photo in a very sweet and emotional way. Guess what, Nik ignored him too! It’s ridiculous to think Nikolaj has stopped communicating and caring about Gwen AND Daniel AND Bryan just because his character returned to Cersei. Furthermore, the fact that they all keep tagging him shows they don’t think their relationships with him have become tense. 

That’s not it. It’s not about Gwen. The only way that Gwen is involved in all this is that she wants Nikolaj to open up so that he would give a little acknowledgement to her character and the relationship with Jaime because she feels very much for Brienne. I’m sad to say, however, that it seems to me that Nik did not take that blow more lightly than Gwen. In fact, his behaviour is more inconsistent and troubling whereas Gwen’s openness about it made her confront that sore subject more healthily after all. I start believing Nik was actually way more devastated than Gwen. At least Brienne remained a decent character, ever faithful to her ideals, ever innerly strong. Jaime was entirely trashed, let alone that he was supposed to be a main character. If Nik can’t even handle a photo that reminds him of his destroyed character arc, I wouldn’t be surprised. Maybe Gwen wants Nik to open up so much for his benefit as well - he keeps it bottled up and she might know first hand how that affects him.

Long story short, the reasons Nik doesn’t post anything about his feelings for Jaime’s character arc, his relationship with Brienne and his collaboration with Gwen probably are both professional, after begrudging deals and agreements and restrictions from HBO, and very personal, inner and private, as he’s still trying to cope with a disappointment that crushed down on him from what used to be his dream job and a role he hoped would be a (or the) peak of his career. I bet all these years Nik was hopeful Jaime would be extremely important and fully redeemed in the end but also extremely scared and anxious that the writers won’t give him what he hoped for and what made sense. Would I exaggerate if I said this should be the biggest professional disappointment he ever experienced, provided that he didn’t like the character’s ending? 

From everything Gwen has said about him, I have surmised that Nik is very emotional and anxious but with a very blasé and superficially amiable attitude. He avoids expessing emotion in real life which is why he might be dissociating a lot lately. He tries to distance himself from that part of Jaime’s character that involved Bryan and Gwen because this is the part that he loved and lost. Honestly, I can’t think of any other logical reason he ignored Gwen, Dan and Bryan one after the other and never made a post about his own character specifically or his good times with Gwen. It’s obviously not that he suddenly hates all of them to the point of not even replying. Even if HBO restricts him on what he can say in interviews for a while, there is no other explanation for this other than that D&D’s genius writing fucked him up emotionally as much as Emilia and Kit and he does not want to deal with it even though Gwen probably thinks it would be for the best if he did. 

Now after I wrote all this, imagine if Nikolaj actually doesn’t give a shit and is just happy going on with his life while I am here wasting time. But… I don’t think so. I will never not believe Nik didn’t love Jaime to pieces. He had big dreams for this role, I am sure of it. 

[plantboipotter]

Drarry Fic Recs

Heed All Warnings and tags etc. They are in place for a reason. 

 I’ve compiled a small master list of Drarry Fanfiction recommendations - excuse the fact that I only read like 4 authors, all their stuff is just really good and I end up falling down a rabbit hole. Irregardless, I hope you find new fics to indulge in! Every single one of these authors are brilliant and I cannot sing their praises enough. 

Short - Up to 20k

Fine I'll hold my breath / til i forget it's complicated by Teatrolley

10k - E

Summary: Harry and Draco become friends with benefits, and Harry thinks it's more complicated than it actually is

Erosmancy by astolat

11k - M

Summary: Blaise was immune to whatever it was people usually felt around his mother, for which he was profoundly grateful, since no one needed an Oedipal complex on quite that spectacular a scale, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a thorough respect for her gift.

Newts by astolat

13k - E

Summary: “I’m twenty-eight!” Harry said. “I’ve been an Auror for ten years! You want me to go back to Hogwarts now?"

Notes: Written for prompt #1 by jokerofish: Harry's about to be promoted to the Head of the Auror Department when Zacharias Smith brings up a 235 year old law that states a department head must be a Hogwarts graduate- now Harry has to go back and graduate Hogwarts - unfortunately that means convincing Professor Malfoy to give him something more than D.

Reparatio by astolat

17k - E

Summary: Draco snorted. “I’m not reduced to penury. I want something considerably beyond money, and I rather think you’re the only one can give it to me.”“You want the Invisibility Cloak,” Harry said, flatly. He’d half expected as much; it was the only thing he had that Draco could want—“Don’t be stupid, Potter,” Draco said. “I want my reputation back.”

Medium - 20k - 70k

Here Be Dragons by birdsofshore

21k - E

Summary: Harry doesn’t want to waste his time investigating illegal dragonhide trading, whether it involves a fetish club in Knockturn Alley or visiting a remote island in Wales. Why the bloody hell does Malfoy always have to be up to something?

The Rules of Matchbreaking by PalenDrome (nerdherderette)

22k - E

Summary:

For Prompt #51: When Draco gets fired, he reluctantly agrees to break up a girl’s relationship for her disapproving mother. Through word of mouth, the one-time gig turns him into a professional Matchbreaker, however he winds up falling for one of his clients and must somehow balance his secret job and love life.

[excerpt]: “So who is it? The Curse-breaker and the Veela? The head of the Department of Magical Transportation?” Draco’s eyes lit up. “The Dragon-tamer?” Now that particular Weasley could be fun.“No. It’s Harry,” Hermione said, the name exploding out of her in a rush.Draco blinked, stunned into silence.“Harry,” he said, after he recovered his faculties. “You want me to break up Harry and the Weaselette?!"

The Critiquer by dysonrules

24k - E

Summary: When Harry submits his cock photo to a renowned Cock Critiquer and gets a terrible review, he decides to take a photography class to hopefully improve his skills.

Draco's Proposal by sibamoono

23k - E

Summary: Based off the film "The Proposal" Draco Malfoy has spent years making ammends for his misdeeds as a teenager. However it seems its not enough, as it continues to hinder his career. That is, until Harry Potter pops in unexpectedly.

Wish Upon A Star (as dreamers do) by ICMezzo

27k - R  (You need an ao3 account for this particular fic - but it can also be found on LiveJournal)

Summary: There’s plant magic and celestial magic and dark magic and the normal magic that allows Harry to use a spell to clean his socks when Myrtle’s taken up in his laundry room again. Then there are wishes, and dreams, and love, and those are even more magical still.

The Four Ds of Apparition (or: Destination, Determination, Deliberation, and Dicks) by eidheann and firethesound

36k - E

Summary: After transferring to the Apparition Department, Harry's life becomes one big dick joke. And all his friends are arseholes. So is Malfoy, but what else is new? AKA Harry Potter and the eighteen twenty dicks.

A Convenient Impracticality by firethesound

38k - E

Summary: Somehow Harry ends up agreeing to a fake relationship with his ex-nemesis-turned-friendly-acquaintance-with-benefits, except for some reason it involves an awful lot of actual dating and, sadly, not much sex. Confused? Harry is too, but when has anything with Draco Malfoy ever been as straightforward as it seems?

The vanishing department by dicta_contrion

37k - E

Summary: The things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, even if that involves a lot more form-filling, bickering, covert glancing, miscommunication, and flying furniture than we might expect.

The Boy Who Only Lived Twice by lettered

54k - E

Summary: Harry Potter is an Unspeakable. Draco Malfoy is the wizard who shagged him. Adventure! Intrigue! Secret identities, celebrities, spies! It's all right here, folks.

Naked by bixgirl1

57k - E

Summary: Harry and Draco are sent on an undercover assignment to catch a Dark wizard — which might not be so bad if it weren't at a Muggle nudist resort.Now Draco has to deal with a very interested Harry, temptation he's long-since learned to ignore, and threats around every corner — including the one to his heart.

A Guide to the Morphology of Magic by wendlaa

64k - E

Summary: When Draco Malfoy is hand picked to investigate a string of curses cropping up in Muggle communities in North America, the last person he wanted to be traveling with was Harry Potter. Still, duty calls, and the two set off on an adventure chasing down mysterious curses, sleeping in cramped hotel rooms, and trying to navigate their newly formed post-War selves as they make their way through small towns and long, dark stretches of highway.

You Open Always (petal by petal) by birdsofshore

65k - E

Summary: Harry’s not the kind of person who pays for sex. He really isn’t. Until he is.

Long - Over 70k

Tea and No Sympathy by Who-La-Hoop

70k - E

Summary: It's Potter's fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It's been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco's getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always. At first, though, the time loop seems liberating. For the first time in his life, he can do anything, say anything, be anything, without consequence. But the more Draco repeats the day, the more he realises the uncomfortable truth: he's falling head over heels for the speccy git. And suddenly, the time loop feels like a trap. For how can he ever get Harry to love him back when time is, quite literally, against him?

Unhook the Stars by jad

70k - E

This is Top!Draco, so if that’s not your thing, maybe skip this one!

Summary: "Love is like a Rubix Cube: there are countless wrong twists and turns, but once you get it right, it's perfect no matter how you look at it." Seventy-thousand words of pornographic discourse between two boys-turned-men that still haven't learned how to communicate like normal people – with words. Guest appearances by Pansy Parkinson, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Blaise Zabini, Teddy Lupin, Gregory Goyle, the Weird Sisters, ex-wives, several Weasleys, a Boggart, and a Honey Badger.

Headlights In The Snow by Saras_Girl

71k - M

Summary: What’s big and purple and smells like tea? Harry is about to find out.

Reparations by Saras_Girl

87k - E

Summary: Harry is about to discover that the steepest learning curve comes after Healer training, and that second chances can be found in unexpected places.

Azoth by zeitgeistic (faire_weather)

88k - E

Summary: Now that Harry is back at Hogwarts with Hermione for eighth year, he realises that something’s missing from his life, and it either has to do with Ron, his boggart, Snape, or Malfoy. Furthermore, what, exactly, does it mean when one’s life is defined by the desire to simultaneously impress and annoy a portrait? Harry has no idea; he’s too busy trying not to be in love with Malfoy to care.

Balance, Imperfect by bixgirl1

91k - E

Summary: When Harry sustains an injury in the line of work, he no longer knows how to navigate the life he loved, and finds help and solace from the most unexpected source.

Helix by Saras_Girl

92k - E

Summary: Seven months after the end of the war, Harry is feeling lost. Fortunately, he is about to be offered an unexpected and sparkling chance to find himself again.

At Your Service by Faith Wood (faithwood)

95k - E

Summary: Hogwarts students are in danger; Harry is determined to save them all. There's only one thing he knows for certain: Draco Malfoy is somehow involved.

Bloody But Unbowed by Lomonaaeren

100k - E

Summary: Nothing in Harry’s life since the war has gone the way he expected. And now he’s the mediwizard assigned to take care of Lucius Malfoy, of all people. But he’s Harry; he grits his teeth and endures. He won’t allow even Draco Malfoy’s flirting, which he knows is just a joke, to disconcert him.

Starts With A Spin by Maxine

119k - E

Summary: It started with the spin of a bottle, and now Harry and Draco have gotten themselves so far into their own game there's almost no way out again. Except to keep playing.

Level Two: Series one by Ashii Black (ashiiblack), blamebrampton, Catsintheattic, dustmouth, epithalamium, incandescent (lmeden), JosephineStone, leveltwo, nerakrose, raitala, Romaine, Vaysh, Writcraft

113k - E

Summary: Witches and wizards are disappearing in a seemingly random fashion. Coincidence? Abductions? But no one is claiming ransom. The Aurors are not even sure the disappearances are connected, then one of the missing turns up dead. Meanwhile, Auror Harry Potter is thrown into the infamous Sirius Black Muggle murder case from 25 years ago. Given a chance to clear his godfather's name for good, Harry is not above accepting even the help of magical specialist Draco Malfoy.

Written On The Heart by Who-La-Hoop

113k - E

Summary: Harry doesn’t mind that so many Slytherins from his year have returned to finish their NEWTs, really he doesn’t. It’s just – do they have to be so friendly? He’s not prejudiced, really he’s not. It’s just – they’ve got to be up to something, right? Unnerved by the attention he’s attracting from everyone – the Slytherins are the least of it, to be fair – and struggling with a raft of changes to Hogwarts itself, Harry wishes he could be happy that one constant remains: Draco Malfoy really fucking hates him.

When he’s hit by an illegal love-spell though, Harry finds he has more to worry about than whether or not Blaise Zabini actually wants to be his friend. For if everyone affected has been blessed – or cursed, by the look on Malfoy’s face – with a magical tattoo revealing the name of their soulmate, what does it mean that Harry’s skin remains completely bare?

What We Pretend We Can't See by gyzym

131k - E

Summary: Seven years out from the war, Harry learns the hard truth of old history: it’s never quite as far behind you as you thought.

Any Instrument by dicta_contrion

131k - E

Summary: Draco Malfoy wouldn't go back to England for anything less than an exceptional case. Being asked to figure out why Harry Potter can't control his magic might be exceptional enough to qualify.

All Our Secrets Laid Bare by firethesound

149k - E

Summary: Over the six years Draco Malfoy has been an Auror, four of his partners have turned up dead. Harry Potter is assigned as his newest partner to investigate just what is going on.

Mental by sara_holmes

186k - M

Summary: Harry has had quite enough of sharing his mind with someone else, thankyouverymuch. A miscast Legilimecy spell says otherwise.

Turn by Saras_Girl

306k - E

Summary:‌ One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

[creative-frequency]

Ardyn x Fem!Reader: Sweet Disaster Ch. 1

Word count: 4901 Warnings: Eventual explicit content, Ardyn being a douche Notes: Romance, slight angst, broship banter. Includes game rewrite scenes, spoilers ahoy. This is me procrastinating multi-chap fics..... by writing another one. Thanks for the ideas @lucianhuntress! Thanks for the insight on the mentioned injury @alicemoonwonderland! Tagging: some who might be interested @valkyrieofardyn @poisonous-panda @tyncri @insomniacapples

Sweet Disaster -series Masterlist | Playlist for this story

As the first step of tackling the issue that is Noctis forging the covenant with the Titan, your party of five heads down the hot streets of Lestallum. Your destination is the outlook across the main road. From there you can see the Disc of Cauthess and its crystal formations that grow up into the sky. Your intentions are to devise a plan of approach there, even though, as Ignis has just said, “it doesn’t replace being on site, but it’s a good start”.

As you reach the location, you’re greeted by a tall, suspicious stranger. “What a coincidence,” he says with a wave of his hand.

You scan over his... attire in bafflement. Despite the heat that forced you to abandon your jacket, he is wearing at least three layers of clothing; complete with a long coat and several scarves. His hair is a dark auburn shade of red, locks floating airily around his head. The waves look so soft that you catch yourself thinking about how they would feel between your fingers. The stranger’s posture is relaxed, but not without a sense of nobility, which leaves you wondering about the contradictory signals his hobo-esque appearance sends.

Furthermore, the guys seem to know him.

“I’m not so sure it is,” Gladio rumbles with a disapproving look.

The stranger’s eyes stop at you as the last member of your group and he begins to pace forward. His scarf waves with the motion from the steps.

How on Eos can he wear those clothes in this heat?

He doesn’t look old enough to be your dad, but maybe he could be your uncle or something. Weird, hot uncle.

“Aren’t nursery rhymes curious things?” the stranger asks. You notice that his eyes are a peculiar shade of amber, which you haven’t seen before. He also has a bit of stubble.

You and Prompto look at Ignis in utter confusion in seek of advice on how to act, but the advisor’s narrow-eyed attention is fixated elsewhere.

The strange man continues speaking, pointing his words to Noctis, who looks defiantly back at him.

“Like this one: ‘From the deep, the Archaean calls...’”

His voice is pleasant, oily and the words sound like he is reciting a poem in front of an audience. There is certain easiness to the way he speaks and it makes you tilt your head in to listen.

“’...Yet on deaf ears, the gods’ tongue falls, The King made to kneel, in pain,’”– for some reason, he glances at you–“’he crawls.’”

You could swear his eyes were glinting.

“So how do we keep him on his feet?” Prom spurs forward to ask.

The stranger walks away from you to the ledge of the lookout, turning his back to you. “You only need to heed the call. Visit the Archaean and hear his plea.”

He makes it sound really simple.

Then he turns with a tight-lipped, wide grin on his face.

“I can take you.”

The motion is so ridiculously theatrical combined with the rhyme from the cosmogony he just recited, that you barely hold back your snort. Maybe he notices your amusement, but he pays no mind to it.

The guys and you huddle together to mull over what you just heard. “We in?” Gladio asks, looking at Noctis.

“I don’t know,” the prince says. Prompto shoots a suspicious look at the stranger and you follow his gaze to see a lingering, confident smirk. He can hear your every word as your groups weighs the situation.

“We take a ride...” Prompto says conspiringly.

“...But watch our backs,” Gladio ends.

Prompto nods in agreement.

“Fair enough,” Ignis says.

“Let’s do it,” Noct concludes.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” you add.

The stranger shrugs in amusement at your rhetorical question, and his smile only widens. He looks positively creepy and the expression makes you wonder what he could possibly have in mind. With a grin like that, he can’t be without an ulterior motive. Pure kindness from a perfect stranger sounds too good to be true.

“I’m not one to stand on ceremony, but such an occasion calls for an introduction. Please, call me ‘Ardyn’,” he introduces himself, satisfied with your group’s decision and begins to stride towards the parking lot. “Come with me to the car park. That’s where I left my automobile.”

Automobile? Seriously? You blink several times and bite your lips to hold back your laugh. Fortunately, Ardyn is too busy to notice you pulling faces.

The guys trade looks after Ardyn’s parading steps and you grin at Prompto, who quips a brow in question.

“She’s a dear old thing.”

You’re not sure whether Ardyn is joking in that tone of his, or just downright weird.

“Pales next to your Regalia, but she’s never let me down,” he continues as your group skittles after him. None of the guys can think of anything to reply, though it doesn’t seem that Ardyn is even expecting any commentary.

“So we take two vehicles – a convoy of sorts. Shall we?” he suggests.

You take a look at Ignis to see his reaction, which is only a passing furrowing of his brows. Ardyn leads you through the lookout terrace. His car is conveniently parked in the same row as the Regalia and the fact doesn’t escape Ignis’s notice. He is definitely suspicious of the stranger.

“All set?” Ardyn asks and before Noctis can answer to him, you cut in.

“Give us a moment, please?” you flash an innocent smile at Ardyn.

“Of course.” He doesn’t sound surprised at all, but the emotion is obvious on the faces of your traveling companions. You gesture the guys to the side.

“I should go with him. Try to figure out what he really wants,” you suggest, keeping your voice down so the mysterious new acquaintance can’t hear your group conspiring.

Ignis’s brows furrow and he peers at you in thought while humming. “I suppose that wouldn't–“

“What? Absolutely not!” Gladio huffs and crosses his arms over his broad chest.

Noctis and Prompto trade worried looks, but stay quiet.

“There’s no telling what that creep might try to do,” Gladio continues. He shoots a glare at the rest of the guys. It speaks volumes about his big brother instincts kicking in.

You shrug. “Not like I can’t defend myself, Gladio,” you say and take a glance at the auburn-haired man standing next to his automobile, as he referred to it just a moment ago. The silly word makes you smile. The car is a convertible model, a purple-ish shade of red with a white stripe going lengthwise over the paint. The vehicle has a very classical feeling to it and you’re amused by how it suits perfectly its owner.

Eccentric and kitsch.

Happy with yourself from coming up with a description for Ardyn’s style, your eyes glide from the car to the man again. The guys met the peculiar stranger earlier in Galdin Quay, but to you the acquaintance is new. There is a piqued curiosity in your look as your eyes meet his amber ones again. His lips instantly form an inviting smirk and you turn away after flashing him a one of your own.

Your interest is definitely piqued.

“What do you think Noct?” Ignis inquires. He doesn’t want to put you into danger, but the potential chance of finding out who the awfully helpful and suspicious man is, is too tempting to ignore.

Noctis sighs and looks at you. He shifts on his feet, slight worry etching his brows. “You think you can handle it?” he asks quietly and Gladio lets out a groan of frustration. He can’t believe Noctis is even considering.

You nod sternly and find the giddy feeling of excitement and curiosity spur inside you. This is going to be interesting.

“Haha, I don’t feel too good about this,” Prompto says with a nervous chuckle.

You spare another look at the strange man. He seems to be perfectly calm as he waits for your conversation to end. In fact, he looks like he has all the time in the world to wait, but maybe that’s just because he knows your entourage is in hurry.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be okay,” you assure and pull a smile to support the words. It does nothing to calm Gladio, but it suffices for the others.

“Alright then,” Noctis concludes, “Y/N will go with him. We’ll be right behind you so you’ll be safe.”

Ignis inhales and lets out a sigh. “Do be careful.”

“Yeah,” Prompto agrees.

“I don’t mind feeding him his teeth if he touches you,” Gladio grumbles and the sentiment makes you chuckle.

“Thanks Gladio,” you quip and grin, “but I’m sure I can do that myself should the need arise.”

Gladio scoffs and rolls his eyes, though he looks amused.

You return to Ardyn and he looks to each member of your group expectantly. His eyes linger on you, but his confident expression never wavers.

“All set,” Noctis informs.

“You wouldn’t mind the company of a lady for the ride, would you?” you ask cheerfully, all smiles on the outside. Your heartbeat is picking up its pace as the rush of adrenaline from pulling an act enters your veins. You can feel Gladio’s disapproving look at the back of your neck, but you resolutely ignore it.

Ardyn takes a curious look at you. “You might find the cab fare to be more than you bargained for,” he muses and hums as if he said something funny.

“It’s a long drive and I’m sure we could find something interesting to talk about.” Ardyn quirks his brow at your flirtatious tone. “Besides, it’s really crammed in the backseat of the Regalia.”

While the guys hold back their incredulous reactions, you smile sweetly to Ardyn as he thinks about your suggestion.

“I suppose it would be wrong of me to deny the chance of a comfortable ride from a lady. Very well,” he agrees. There is definitely interest in his eyes as he once more takes a look over you. This time you’re sure it’s more as to check you out than just out of platonic curiosity.

“Sounds good,” you purr and continue ignoring your friend’s expressions.

“With that decided, let us be off,” Ardyn confirms and turns to speak to Noctis, “Follow me and drive safely.”

The guys turn to leave and Ardyn opens the passenger seat door to you into his automobile. You have to bite your cheeks to hide the snicker that tries to escape your mouth.

“Here you go, my dear,” he says in a tone more soft than he had talked with before. You can almost hear Gladio gritting his teeth.

“Thank you,” you say and make sure you make eye contact with Ardyn before stepping into the car and sitting down on the deep purple leather seat. You notice a pom-pom on the antenna over the hood and chuckle.

A gentle and musky whiff hits your nostrils with the wave of air when Ardyn sits down on the driver’s seat.

He smells nice. I need to know what cologne he uses.

You look at him blatantly as he ignites the engine and the steady purr of the motor starts. The guys are already at the Regalia, waiting for Ardyn to lead the way.

“Shall we then?” Ardyn asks, turning to face you.

“Yes, please!” you say with a nod and a smile. Your pulse is faster than what is comfortable and you silently begin to question your own decision to hop into the purple car.

You don’t make it out of Lestallum before Ardyn talks again.

“I introduced myself earlier, but I’d very much like to know your name.” You let his soft, oily voice shamelessly coddle your sense of hearing. Everything that comes out of his mouth sounds so sincere, but in almost a sarcastic way – insincere sincerity? The way he talks makes you think of a cat stretching out sweetly. You smile inwardly at the thought.

“I’m Y/N. Pleasure to meet you, Ardyn,” you say politely, but keep up a friendly, conversing tone.

He repeats your name quietly, as if thinking that you surely have met before.

“What is it?” you ask and turn to glance behind to see the Regalia following at a safe distance. Noctis is driving. Poor Ignis.

“Oh, nothing. You have a beautiful name,” Ardyn replies coolly.

“Flatterer. I bet you say that to all the ladies,” you retort, but smile at the compliment.

He laughs at your wittiness. “I assure you, it has been a while since I had the chance to enjoy such pleasant company.”

A wave of uneasiness flushes through you, but you are not one to stand back from a chance to play. Besides, there is something attractive about how he is the definition of a creepy, slimy guy who acts like a real charmer. You kind of want to poke him to see how he responds in that oily voice of his.

“Mm. Is that so? I suppose we should make the most of it then,” you hum complacently. Ardyn glances to see the smirk decorating your features. Your heartbeat still hasn’t calmed down and you hope you can keep your bodily reactions under control.

You take a moment to inspect his profile while he is focused on the road. His hair is fluttering in the wind, wavy, auburn locks no longer framing the strong features that are actually quite handsome. Ardyn looks like he harbors no worry in the world – his posture is laid-back and his grip on the wheel relaxed.

Despite being strange, he is quite charming. Maybe I should ask for his number.

“Tell me about yourself,” Ardyn asks suddenly, well aware of the fact that you’re still scanning over him.

You take a moment to think about what to tell him. It’s obvious that he knows who you’re traveling with, though he hasn’t said a word to hint into that direction. Anyone who knows something about anything could add one plus one and figure out it’s the supposedly dead runaway prince of Lucis, who has business with the Archaean.

“I… was a field nurse,” you reply nonchalantly. You force your thoughts away from the destruction of your home. There will be a time and place to dwell on that, but it’s not right now.

“Interesting,” Ardyn hums, “So you’re the designated healer of the group?”

“Regrettably, yes.”

He lets out a joyous laugh and glances at you with the smirk lingering on his lips, before returning his attention to the road ahead. You’re already out of the long tunnel that leads to Lestallum.

“The guys can be a handful sometimes,” you explain.

“Yes well, the job of a healer is traditionally an ungrateful one,” Ardyn says mysteriously, “I do hope you get your due recognition.”

Is that concern, I hear?

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I make sure the guys know who keeps them alive,” you assure with a chuckle.

“Good,” Ardyn remarks with a hum.

Chatting with Ardyn is actually easy and you find yourself relaxing against the leather seat while trees and occasional buildings pass by as blurred images. He keeps carefully inquiring about you, but not touching the reason of your traveling with the four guys. This suits you just fine and you stay away from the topic as well.

When you think you have warmed the waters enough, you begin to toss questions about Ardyn himself – just out of curiosity, of course.

The answers you get are infuriatingly vague. As if he knows you’re trying to figure him out. Each of your questions are countered with a one directed at you of similar topic, so you end up sharing a lot more about yourself than actually gain the information you joined the ride for.

After an hour or so, you give up the direct approach and decide to continue your flirtations to warm him up to further inquiries.

So you talk about the weather, politics, history of Eos and brush the sensitive topic of the war – before Ardyn apologizes saying he didn’t mean to upset you. You’re still amused by his way of speaking. There’s something old fashioned in the way the words glide from his lips. You smile to yourself, thinking that Prompto would say he talks like a grandpa.

The only thing Ardyn really cares to talk concerning himself, is his travels. You have no idea how someone of his age has seen so much of the world, but he has. When you ask about it, he just offers his work as the obvious answer, but declines your further inquiries. You make a mental note to pry the information of his occupation out of him later.

The dark of the upcoming night begins to creep onto the sky as the sun begins its set. There are still hours left in the day, but Ardyn insist you stop at the next Coernix Station to rest for the night. You’re sure the guys won’t like the plan.

“What say we call it a day here?” Ardyn suggests when the Regalia pulls to a stop next to his automobile. You get out of the car, stretching your limbs.

“’What say’ we continue on to Cauthess?” Gladio snaps back as he leaves the car, slamming the door shut after him so hard that he earns a warning look from Noctis. It’s his father’s car after all.

“The Archaean’s not going anywhere,” Ardyn reminds him in that theatrical tone of his. You notice the clear difference to when he was talking alone with you. The revelation is something you need to come back to later on.

“Neither are we, under your stewardship,” Ignis sasses.

Nice one, Iggy. You toss a beam at him, chuckling lightly. Ardyn sees it out of the corner of his eye and a look of disappointment flashes through him before the usual confident smirk is back on his lips.

“So we make camp… with Ardyn?” Prompto summarizes. He doesn’t sound too happy and to be honest, you didn’t expect the journey to turn into an overnight party either. With or without Ardyn.

“Hell no,” Noctis agrees and crosses his arms defiantly.

You’re not sure what there is to be done any more if your guide refuses to continue and Gladio seems to reach the same conclusion as you.

“Might as well get the tent up,” he says with a deep sigh.

Ardyn tilts his head. “Oh, I’m afraid I’ve never really been one for the outdoors. I shall foot the bill, so let us stay at the caravan over yonder.”

The guys trade looks. You shrug when Noctis looks at you inquisitively. Maybe he is waiting for you to warn him that Ardyn is planning on murdering all of you when the night falls.

“Suits me,” you say and reach the Regalia to grab your bag. Ardyn is pleased by your show of faith and the others start gathering their overnight supplies as well. Ignis begins to ponder out loud what he should prepare for supper, while Gladio marches past you to the caravan and you can hear him mutter under his breath.

While Prompto is helping Ignis with the food supplies and Ardyn has gone inside the station to pay for the overnight rent, Noctis motions you to him.

“What did you find out?” he asks in a low tone, eyes peeking to each side to make sure Ardyn isn’t within hearing range.

You heave a displeased sigh. “He’s cleverer than he seems. We gotta be careful,” you say, “He really won’t tell me anything important.”

Noctis cocks an eyebrow at you. “So what did you talk about for the whole ride? The weather?”

Your cheeks feel warm. “This and that after I realized I can’t get anything out of him.” Your eyes escape the prince’s examining stare.

After the amazing supper that Ignis cooked is eaten, your entourage sits outside of the caravan, talking and joking around as per usual. Ardyn paces for a while, claiming it’s better to move around a bit because of the long ride in the car. He is telling even less about himself to the guys than he told you, when Ignis shoots him with sharp questions. Somehow Ardyn manages to weasel his way out of each one or twist the replies into so ambiguous mess of words that no one can really make any sense of them.

Ignis follows your footsteps in quickly giving up the cross-examination and moving on to more pleasant topics.

Oh and Ardyn can be charming when he so chooses. You and the guys are laughing at your shared stories and jokes, and even Gladio, who seems to still hold a grudge against Ardyn for appropriating you for the car ride, is booming with laughter despite the man’s presence.

At some point of the evening, Prompto takes out his camera to snap a few more shots. He calls you to pose dramatically, like he usually does, and you have good laugh about the next addition to the on-going series of “camp-side supermodels”. Prompto shows the photos he has taken during the day and Ardyn seems quite pleased and surprised when his image pops on the display.

“Well, well, if it isn’t yours truly,” he says in that ridiculous, theatrical tone of his that is very far from the voice he used when speaking alone with you.

“Um, if you’d rather not be in photos…” Prompto starts. He seems a bit awkward about the fact that he hasn’t told Ardyn he is being photographed.

“Oh, I don’t mind at all! Snap away – for His Highness’s collection.” The smug grin on Ardyn’s face is almost amusing.

Noctis turns his head. “Err, what?”

You lean back in the chair, exchanging meaningful looks with Ignis. So far Ardyn has not clearly mentioned that he indeed does know who Noctis is. Maybe he just didn’t want to make noise out of it in public, because you refuse to believe he doesn’t have everything about your journey figured out already. You make another mental note to ask about the matter later.

It’s getting late and Ignis is the first one to turn in, soon followed by Prompto and Noctis, even though you know they’re gonna stay up longer than the others and play King’s Knight on their phones.

Gladio yawns and stretches his arms in the air.

“Would you care to join me for a small stroll around the premises?” Ardyn asks from you and offers his hand.

“At this hour?” you question with a curious glance at the outstretched palm.

“I believe a little exercise lets one sleep better,” Ardyn explains with an innocent chuckle.

All the while you talk, Gladio’s look skips between a worried one towards you and a downright murderous towards Ardyn, who seems to be blissfully oblivious of it.

You place your hand on Ardyn’s palm. Excitement bursts your heart into pounding like a drum. His hand feels cool and the leather of his fingerless gloves is soft, but worn. You catch another whiff of his alluring scent.

“Don’t go far,” Gladio says in a warning tone more to Ardyn than you.

“Don’t worry,” you shoot him an assuring smile and resist the urge to wink. It’s best to not rile up the Shield any more than he already is. Besides, if he didn’t trust your ability to take care of yourself, he wouldn’t have let you go with Ardyn in the first place.

“We will stay within your sight at all times,” Ardyn assures to Gladio as you stand up from the plastic garden chair. You’re sure Gladio rolls his eyes at Ardyn’s words, but he lets out an almost approving grunt.

You begin to pace forward at a leisure pace. Ardyn let go of your hand as soon as you were on your feet and the brief touch left your skin tingling.

“The stars are so bright here,” you say quietly to make a conversation.

“Oh?” Ardyn looks up too, as if he only just realized the stars are visible, and then his amber gaze lowers down to you.

You shake your head under the curious look. “Insomnia has… had… so much light pollution that you couldn’t really see them,” you explain.

“You said this is your first time outside the city?” Ardyn questions, quickly steering the topic from an unpleasant one. You’re grateful for his thoughtfulness.

You turn your head to look at him walking next to you, and realize that he is really tall.

Suddenly there’s no surface under your sole. You step into something that feels like an endless pit and land awkwardly on your right ankle. There is a weird sensation of something shifting and you can barely even start thinking about what just happened, when a flashing pain makes you wail aloud. You stoop forward and end up on your knees and palms on the asphalt.

“Oh my! Are you alright?” Ardyn is already crouching next to you, caring hands on your shoulders and ready to help you up. “Looks like there was a hole in the road…”

You can hear Gladio’s quickly approaching steps. You move your legs and wince again. Your knees and palms sting, but the pain is secondary to the one burning your ankle. You can literally feel the blood rushing and pulsing inside it.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Gladio asks in a concerned tone. You know he is ready to pick you up if you just say the word, so you focus on clenching your jaw and cursing under your breath.

“I just tripped…”

After a good while and with Ardyn and Gladio’s help, you sit on your rear on the cool asphalt. This was not how you wanted your day to end.

Fulgurian’s hairy ass.

“I think it’s sprained,” you say finally after very carefully examining your ankle. It’s tender and hot to the touch and pulses of pain course through it constantly. Ardyn and Gladio follow your motions; waiting for any instructions on how to aid you.

“Can you walk?” Gladio asks. A little panic enters his voice and his hands hover over you, unsure of what to do to help.

“Yeah, it just hurts a little,” you assure. Or more like hell.

Ardyn shakes his head while tutting quietly. “My dear, let us help you back to the caravan.”  

You ignore the glare Gladio throws at Ardyn and take hold of both of the men’s shoulders. They help you up to stand. You take a couple of calming, deep breaths and extremely carefully begin to put on weight on your right foot.

Okay, careful now…

The instantly following jolt of pain makes you yelp and you lift the leg again.

Nope.

“So you can’t walk,” Gladio gathers with a huff.

“I’m gonna need some ice for it,” you say while hopping forward with one leg. You have a tight grip on Ardyn’s sleeve on your right side and your arm on Gladio’s shoulder on your left side.

“I think there was an ice machine by the gas station,” Gladio says. You’re almost at the caravan and, oh boy, aren’t you glad that Ignis is already sleeping, so you don’t have to listen to his nagging.

The men help you sit down on one of the plastic chairs. You’re still not putting your feet down and the pain is getting worse by the minute. You must have stretched or torn the ligaments on the outside of your ankle.

Great. Just perfect.

Ardyn crouches in front of you, amber gaze finding your pained expression.

“You should take the shoe off before it swells, my dear,” he says calmly, “May I?”

You nod and brace yourself for the torment.

“I’ll go get the ice,” Gladio says and jogs off after throwing a cautious look at Ardyn, who is now holding your leg gently.

Ardyn opens your shoelaces as much as possible, and then slowly begins to work the shoe off your foot. You stare at his focused face. His brows are lightly furrowed and his lips pursed together, yet the look in his eyes is tender and somehow it makes your stomach flip. His motions are very careful and, to your surprise, you don’t feel any sharp stings of pain.

You release the breath you didn’t realize you were holding, when Ardyn places the shoe on the ground.

“Thank you,” you mumble and when he looks up to you with sincere concern in his eyes, your cheeks feel warm.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help but feel a little responsible of your injury,” Ardyn says softly and straightens his back, but doesn’t stand up.

“What? Why?” you ask with raised brows.

Ardyn just looks at you with an inscrutable expression and lets out a wry chuckle.

“Here you go,” Gladio suddenly rumbles next to you and a bag of ice appears into your view.

It takes two seconds of you to rip your eyes off the smile that has appeared on Ardyn’s lips and you turn to accept the bag from Gladio. “Thanks…”

Despite holding the ice on it for a good while, your ankle soon becomes swollen and every little bit of movement hurts, making you grit your teeth in pain. A nice set of lilac bruises soon flower on your skin and you’re no longer wondering did you twist your ligaments or not.

Next Chapter

[thebestandworstdayofjune]

Queen in the North {Pt. 6}

Requested: By the loveliest people to ever walk the Earth

Pairings: Robb Stark x Reader

Previously: {Part 1} {Part 2} {Part 3} {Part 4} {Part 5}

Summary: Y/N was sent to live with The Stark family at a young age, and ever since then, she seemed to fit perfectly, maybe even more than she had ever noticed.

Warnings: none that I can think of tbh

Word Count:  2,149

Tag List: @secretschuylersister @rainwing-galaxy @mystic-platypus77 @ly--canthrope  @beautifulsomethings 

“What are you doing today?” Robb asked from his spot on your bed, his hand running lazily through Grey Wind’s fur.

“I planned on helping Sansa bake a few lemon cakes, and Arya had asked about-”

“I already cancelled your plans.” You lost track of the braid that you were currently working into your hair as you turned to give Robb a dirty look.

"What do you mean that you have cancelled all of my plans?"

"I mean that we are having a 'Just Us' day, and that I was not going to wait around for you to have a free day in order to make it happen."

Just Us days were a tradition that had stuck with you from your first few weeks in Winterfell. They were exactly what they sounded like. A day that you and Robb could spend alone, taking the time to slow down in between your many lessons and duties through the years. They were getting harder and harder to coordinate as you grew older.

"Robb, we just had a few weeks worth of just us days." You said, moving to sit opposite him on the bed. I think that my other responsibilities are a bit more pressing than sitting around with you and Grey Wind, as much as I adore the both of you."

Robb's hand found yours, gently looping your pinkies together in a way that caused your heart to flutter. "A few weeks of you waiting on me hand and foot. I hardly think that counts as a break for you."

"I have so much to catch up on and-"

"Winterfell didn't fall apart because you neglected your responsibilities for a few weeks. I think that everyone can last one more day while you take a break."

You searched for a reason to say no, but what Robb was saying did make a lot of sense. Furthermore, Grey Wind was giving you the same eyes that he did while begging for table scraps. You all knew that they always worked.

You sighed and managed to meet Robb's eyes long enough to nod once. Robb grinned, taking both of your hands in his and allowing himself a moment to think before standing up and making his way to the door, Grey Wind following close behind him. He paused in the doorway, eyes sweeping around the room. "I will meet you at your bench as soon as you are ready." He made his way down the hall, and you hurried to finish the braid in your hair and pack a few necessities in a bag before rushing down the stairs to meet him.

“I have absolutely no idea what took you so long.” Robb laughed, linking your arms together and throwing your bag over his shoulder.

You caught Sansa’s eye as Robb lead you across the courtyard. Even you couldn’t miss the twinkle in her eye before she turned and made her way inside. Thankfully, the day was warm, and Robb’s light hearted laughter was enough to draw your attention away from wondering what Sansa might have been planning.

The walk to the woods felt shorter than you remembered it from when you were children. That might have had something to do with the fact that your legs were considerably longer, and you were distracted by Robb’s pinky, which was currently linked with your own. You found the pond in record time, Robb taking the opportunity to spread out a blanket while you played with Grey Wind in the clearing. You couldn’t help but laugh as the direwolf pranced around the clearing.

You had missed this. You loved your family, but there were times when your responsibilities piled up. Robb had always somehow known when it got to be too much, and you were forever grateful for his weird sixth sense about your stress levels. You chased Grey Wind around the clearing laughing when he turned and pounced on you, causing you both to tumble to the forest floor.

“I spent all this time laying out a blanket so that you wouldn’t get Sansa’s lovely new creation dirty, and here you are rolling in the dirt.” Robb’s voice was stern, but when you managed to tear your gaze away from Grey Wind, you saw him smiling. An honest to gods, Robb smile. The one where his eyes crinkled at the sides. It was one of your favorite smiles of all time, and you were happy to have it to yourself today.

“Up you come,” Robb said, offering you a hand and pulling you off of the ground. You underestimated the amount of strength he was going to put into pulling you up, and meant to stand up on your own. This resulted in you practically launching yourself onto him.

“Hi there.” You said softly, your nose a few centimeters away from Robb’s.

“Hi.” Robb was making no move to step away, until Grey Wind began to whine at his feet. “I think someone is hungry.”

You glanced down at the direwolf and you couldn’t help but smile. Grey Wind was loyal and fierce, but you and Robb did love to spoil him rotten.

Robb chuckled to himself and took your hand before leading you over to the picnic that he had set up for the two of you. He had managed to get all of your favorites, even though some of the fruit was out of season and sometimes proved troublesome to get to the North. There were lemon cakes, strawberries, and even a large piece of mutton for Grey Wind. You tossed him his well earned treat before tucking into one of the lemon cakes.

“I hope you saved some of these for Sansa. You know that if she finds out you didn’t she won’t speak to you for days.” You said, grinning in between bites.

“Always looking out for me.” Robb laughed, while you pretended that your face wasn’t warming up. “I did leave her a few, only because I knew that you would yell at me the entire trip back if I didn’t.”

“Let’s do something fun.” You say, sitting up and glancing around the clearing. Grey Wind had fallen asleep, and Robb looked like he wasn’t far behind his faithful companion. “Let’s climb a tree.”

After Robb chose to ignore your perfectly reasonable suggestion, you decided that you were going to do what you wanted. You marched over to the tree and only spared Robb one last look over your shoulder before hiking up your dress and making your way onto one of the sturdier looking branches.

As you sat down on the branch, you couldn’t help but feel proud of yourself. Maybe a little too proud of yourself for what you had actually accomplished. Although it was something that would seem insignificant to others, you were always a clumsy child, and had never actually made it up and into a tree before you fell out or someone yelled at you to stop before you hurt yourself.

Robb let out a surprised laugh at the sight of you perched on the branch. You couldn't help yourself, and before long a giggle became a full on belly laugh. You grabbed your stomach that was starting to ache from the laughter.

That was a mistake.

Before you could stop yourself, you were sliding off of the branch. It all happened so quickly that you were not even able to let out a scream. Grey Wind was by your side in seconds, Robb not far behind.

“I should have known better than to let you into a tree.” Robb said softly, allowing you to lean against him while you acclimated to being in the ground.

“My arm hurts.” you said softly into the crook of Robb’s neck.

“I know. We will have it looked at as soon as we get back.” Robb scooped you up in his arms, being as gentle as possible. You walked for a few minutes, before you remembered the picnic that was still laid out for the two of you in the clearing.

“I’m sorry.” you said quietly, breaking the silence that was hanging between the two of you. Robb simply rose his eyebrows at you. “I know that you probably had better plans for us today. You know, ones that didn’t include me falling out of a tree.”

“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.” Robb’s voice was soft, but there was a quiet command in it as well.

“I knew I was clumsy before I climbed up that tree.” you said, moving your uninjured arm to loop around his shoulder.

“But you also knew that I was usually there to catch you. Maybe I should be apologizing.” Robb muttered, refusing to meet your eyes.

“Robb,” you said quietly, forcing him to look at you. “I feel safe with you. This is no one’s fault. Not really.” He was silent again, and you knew that it would be better to let him work through his feelings on his own. “It’s fine” you said quietly, running your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. “I’m fine, or at least I will be when we get back.”

The two of you were nearly back to the castle, and you could feel at least a bit of the tension beginning to melt from his shoulders.

“I could walk, you know.” Robb grunted, barely acknowledging what you were saying. He merely shifted you in his arms, somehow managing to pull you closer to him.

You sighed to yourself, and allowed him to carry you up into the infirmary. Robb began to explain what happened as Old Nan gently examine your arm. All of the words fell on deaf ears, until Old Nan confidently announced that your arm was not broken. “Although there will certainly be some bruising, as long as you stay away from trees, everything will be fine in maybe a week.”

“That’s good,” Robb said, once again linking his pinky with your own. “We wouldn’t want you in a sling for the wedding.”

You felt your entire body tense up, and your eyes widen. Old Nan quickly sat down the wrap that she was putting away and made her way out of the room.

“What did you just say?” you asked, timidly. You might have misunderstood him, maybe you were all attending a wedding in a few days. It wouldn’t have been the first time that you all were required to attend some distant cousin’s wedding. And most of all, you didn’t want to get your hopes up.

“I was thinking about our wedding. You would still look beautiful in a sling, but I think that it would be better for everyone if you were mobile”

“Robb?” Your heart was racing. Robb truly was talking about your wedding. The only problem was that he hadn’t proposed yet. “You haven’t asked.”

“Asked what?”

“You haven’t asked me to marry you yet.” Robb blinked a few times, as if you were speaking Valyrian all of a sudden. “I mean, unless you were just assuming that I was going to say yes. I mean,”

“That’s what I forgot to do today.” Robb was grinning to himself. He sat down across from you on the bed and took both of your hands in his. “I had a much better setting planned out for all of this, I’ll have you know.” Suddenly, you were grinning too. “I had great speech planned out too. Guess it’s kind of useless now.”

You could feel your eyes watering, and if Robb’s hands weren’t holding your own, you were sure that they would be shaking.

“It doesn’t matter. This is perfect,” you said, your voice hardly above a whisper.

“So, will you?” Robb looked as if he was on the verge of tears as well. “Marry me that is.”

“Of course I will, you absolute dolt.”

The both of you were grinning, and maybe even crying a little, and then he was kissing you. And even though would never admit it, you had imagined this a thousand times over. But this? This was even more perfect than you ever could have imagined it. You felt yourself smiling into the kiss, and then Robb was smiling too.

He pulled away slowly and then gently rested his forehead against yours. “I love you.” he said,  before pressing a soft kiss to your forehead.

“And I you.” Before you could say anything else, Grey Wind shoved his head in between the two of you, having gone without attention for long enough. “And I love you too.” you laughed, leaning down to plant a kiss on his head.

“Have I mentioned how much I love the both of you?” Robb asked, smiling down at the two of you.

You leaned back onto Robb, resting your head on his shoulder. “You have, but you could always tell me again.” 

[coffee-randomness]

Hugs and prayers

Word count: 1,394 (I got a bit overboard with this, sorry)

Warning: Religious mentions

Tagging: @speedypan @maruthor @nightwing-rules @insideoflit

At night, the church seemed like a whole different place; more sacred, more private and ironically, less religious. Somewhere to truly connect with God and not with people; and perhaps that was exactly what he needed.

He glanced at the suffering expression sculpted in the face of Jesus Christ and lifted his fingers to his forehead like he had saw the people doing at the mass from a couple days ago.

Jason knew that it was a stupid idea. But he didn’t care; he needed to proof himself that he didn’t belong in some place like Arkham, or worse, in hell. He laughed at the thought, hell was pretty much close to being all he knew, so why was he so afraid of it?

The truth is he felt ridiculous somehow. People go to churches to find acceptance and approval, and he felt like he was in the wrong place to look for forgiveness, especially when all the company he had there was himself.

He sat in front of the altar, thinking that maybe it would be more comfortable to say all the things he haven’t and won’t say again, that way. Taking a deep breath, he let his guards down and closed his eyes.

That’s why he didn’t notice Lucy walking with careful, little steps a couple meters behind him. And she didn’t notice him until she tripped and hit a foot with one of the stalls closest to her.

All while hissing and tilting her head up, her eyes stumbled upon the unfamiliar figure sitting by the altar. It was a tall, masculine figure, with strong arms and an extensive back. That was all she could register before she heard him cry. A little, broken sound that made her heart shiver. Lucy fixed her gaze on his shoulders, watching them shake, almost violently, and not so sure of what to do next.

Inside her mind, she made a list of all the reasons why someone would come at a church late at night: They needed a place to spend the night, a meal… or consolation. Taking a good look at the built body of the man, he didn’t look like needing the two first ones. That left her with consolation, and a feeling of uneasiness started growing inside her stomach.

The sisters were the ones in charge of comforting people; talking to them about God and making them feel loved. She had seen them doing so, but she knew better than anyone the differences between thoughts, actions and experience. Besides, physical contact wasn’t exactly her thing.

She approached him silently, trying to have a better view of the intruder and to decide on her course of action.

Close enough to see his clothes, the color of his hair and, if he turned around, his face, Lucy realized he was wearing a leather jacket and jeans that, by the shape of the bundles on them, had some kind of weapon hidden underneath; weapons were clearly banned from the church.

But weapons had never scared her, growing up in Gotham city; they were a common object for her, like a chair or a light bulb. Furthermore, they weren’t a threat to her life.

It was his voice that made her freeze on her spot.

‘’Hello God, if you’re really there’’ Deep and rusty with sadness, Jason’s words echoed through the walls, filling the air around them for a brief moment, and even though she was told to close the main doors by the father, she couldn’t find the courage to tell him to get out; after all, that was not what the sisters had taught her.

‘’We haven’t talked in quite some time, how are things up there? How’s mom? ... You know? You better not answer that’’ Lucy saw him lifting a hand to run it through his hair, an uncomfortable gesture. ‘’Look, I know I pretty much fucked up by doing what I did, and I know I haven’t been the best of your sons… damn it, I feel ridiculous doing this’’ He let out a sigh and another cry escaped out of his lips.

Lucy took a little step in his direction, she felt as if she was interrupting a private moment, but she also felt like she needed to do something for the sake of that man. He sounded broken, lost.

‘’Look, I’m just so sorry, even if they fucking deserved it, I know I shouldn’t… It’s just… Shit, I don’t promise anything, all I’m asking for is a chance to do better, so… I need you holy crap, I need to know at least you are here for me, that at least you will…’’ His voice cracked and he was unable to continue talking, for a couple minutes, whines and cries filled the room.

‘’You know, God is always there, whether you need him or not. He’s there, and he’ll always be’’ She didn’t know where she found the strength to talk through the knot in her throat. ‘’I don’t think you are as bad as you say you are, I don’t think God thinks it either’’

‘’You don’t know me’’ He replied shaking his head, without moving to look at her. She wondered if he knew she was there all along.

‘’I don’t need to. Bad people don’t feel guilt’’ Jason turned around to look at her, his eyes a light shadow of red, tired, his gaze cold. ‘’God loves and forgives everyone, no matter how…’’

‘’It’s easy for you to say that, sister’’ He responded sarcastically, taking a look at her nun habit.

‘’I’m not a nun yet’’ Lucy clarified ‘’and that doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that God loves you’’

‘’Go away; you don’t want to get close to someone like me. I could hurt you, I could…’’

‘’I’m not scared of you’’ Lucy cut him off, standing in front of him and connecting her golden eyes with his blue ones, trying to let him know that she was being sincere. ‘’I’m sure you’re not a bad person’’

Jason gave the impression of danger, like the kind of guy the sisters would tell her to avoid because he came followed by sin. But he also seemed fragile and lightweight to her, like the kind of guy who needed warmth to confirm his right to exist in the world.

And that’s why she decided to surround him, a total stranger, with her arms; aware of the uselessness of the action, but willing to try it anyway. Kneeling down, it felt weird at first, and he restarted his crying, giving up to her and ignoring the tight squeeze around his shoulders, where her chin rested.

‘’You’ve been given a second chance tonight pal, you don’t have to right all your wrongs, but you can try to go on with your life, try to make things better’’

Biting her lower lip, Lucy shifted the weight from one knee to the other, surely, she’ll have red marks on them the next morning, but that wasn’t what preoccupied her at the moment. Maybe he didn’t want her to hug him; after all, they didn’t even know each other’s name. Maybe she was making him feel uncomfortable.

Feeling insecure, she tried to pull away, but was surprised when Jason rested his hand on her elbow, preventing her from moving. She felt his other hand in her high back and let out a sigh of relief: he was hugging her back. Letting the self conscious thoughts slip away, she fidgeted till her head was pressed against his chest, and he imitated her moves, his face nesting in the space between her neck and shoulder; his tears still falling, getting her blouse wet.

It was not for her to care about who he was and the horrible things he claimed had done. All that Lucy cared about was that he regretted it. Regret it to the point of willing to stop his cries and turning his regrets into actions persecuting his own forgiveness. Regret it to the point of willing to be better.

‘’Thanks’’ Jason said after a while, truly meaning it. Hugging Lucy like that gave him a feeling of calm, like he was being granted with a piece of heaven for a short amount of time.

And before she could answer him, they heard the shots coming from outside.

[eddiejpoplar]

2017 BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo – A Complicated Love Affair

The news that the BMW 6 Series range as we’ve all grown to love it will be retired after the current Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe models have run their lifespans shocked a lot of people. A lot of us already knew that the 8 Series was in the making and that the revival of this iconic nameplate would probably lead to a sort of cannibalization between the two. Even so, the thought that the 6er will be dropped was kept in check with our never-ending optimism. And then the confirmation came and we learned that the 6 Series range won’t be completely retired but that it will simply…transform.

When the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo was unveiled, it was already too late, we knew that there’s no going back and that this is the only model that will keep using the number ‘6’ on the boot moving forward. It was a bittersweet moment, to be honest, one that made me wonder just how good the new GT will be, considering my previous experience with its predecessor, the 5 Series GT. A true trailblazer in my view, a car that I thoroughly enjoyed, basking in its comfort and ample room but which fell short when it came to what matters most to the vast majority: the looks department.

It’s true, the 5 Series GT was no looker. It was peculiar, weird and boxy, especially in its original guise. The facelift that came afterwards managed to change some shapes, especially at the back, making the boxy rear end look a bit rounder, a bit less blunt but even then, you couldn’t say it was a good-looking car. The advantages were obvious though, if you could just ignore the exterior looks of the 5er.

BMW wanted to offer a more practical alternative to those looking for the ultimate luxury and comfort…

Inside the car you’d find room for even the largest and tallest people out there, rivaling the 7 Series in terms of leg room and then rattling its crown as the roomiest Bimmer out there by having more headroom thrown in for good measure. Get the 5er GT with a panoramic roof and the sense of space was even more overwhelming. But there were obvious drawbacks, the most obvious one being the weight of the gran tourer.

Back when I tested the 5 Series Gran Turismo I remember saying to myself and my readers that it was the perfect surrogate if you really didn’t want to buy an SUV. It offered all the space and comfort inside while allowing you to ride closer to the ground and therefore more compliant when pushing the car to its limits. On the other hand, if you put the 5er on a scale and then an SUV right afterwards, you might notice that the needle would rest in roughly the same position. It was a heavy beast.

Therefore, those two were the main culprits that made the 5 Series GT a peculiar offering in the 5 Series range: the looks and weight. Could the 6 Series Gran Turismo overcome those handicaps? From the get go, the 6er lines up at the starting grid with a huge handicap in the collective mind of the audience it’s appealing to. You see, the 6 Series range as a whole might’ve been a bit heavy overall, but those cars were still regarded as high-precision tools, fast and enjoyable, not to mention drop dead gorgeous. Nobody can deny those claims and that means the 6 Series badge comes with a certain prejudice that will simply block some people from seeing what the Gran Turismo is supposed to be all about.

Some will get in and try and reproduce the driving dynamics of the old and now retired F13 6 Series Coupe and that simply won’t happen. It will then leave them angry and disappointed, without even trying to understand the car that’s sitting in front of them.

The Gran Turismo is a different kind of 6 Series. It’s a new breed if you will, a car that aims at offering the ultimate comfort and luxury for those looking to save some money compared to a 7 Series. The two have almost identical exterior dimensions. In terms of length, the standard 7 Series – not the long wheelbase model – is just 7mm longer while the two are exactly the same in width. However, the higher roofline of the GT makes it over 70mm taller and all of that translates into extra headroom compared to the limousine.

By now, you should get the picture: BMW wanted to offer a more practical alternative to those looking for the ultimate luxury and comfort inside a Bavarian machine but the size of the Gran Turismo isn’t the only thing that confirms my theory.

The car is also quick off the line and keeps you secure at all times, rising the confidence levels even higher.

Unlike the old 5 Series, the new model now also comes with all the latest tech the 7 Series brought out in the first place as well as the being built on top of the same CLAR architecture. This is actually important as it means the 6 Series GT now managed to drop considerable weight compared to its predecessor, thanks to intelligent use of lightweight materials. yet don’t believe that the 6 GT is now a light car on its feet but it did drop 150 kg (331 lbs) off its hips which is noticeable in all types of scenarios. It also comes with the latest adaptive drive suspension and integral active steering which, combined, make a big difference in how the car handles.

However, a big part in that is played by the engine choice as well. In the US, the entry-level model is the 640i GT. It comes with the familiar B58 3-liter straight six engine we’ve all grown to love, making 340 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque. It’s a rapid machine that will reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.4 or 5.3 seconds, the latter for the xDrive all-wheel drive models. All cars come with an 8 s-speed automatic gearbox as there’s no manual on offer. Then there’s also the 630i model but, unlike what the name would suggest, it’s powered by a powerful and yet small 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged engine.

The remaining models in the range are diesels and, therefore, not available in the US. You get to choose between a 630d with or without xDrive and a 640d xDrive model which can’t be had without all-wheel drive. Both cars use 3-liter straight six diesel engines making either 265 HP on the former or 320 HP on the latter. But that’s just half the story. On a car this heavy, torque is what matters the most and both of them have it by the plentiful. There’s only 60 Nm between them, with the 630d having less of it, of course, the 620 Nm (457 lb-ft) kicking in at 2,000 RPM.

It was this model that we had for testing purposes for a longer period of time and, to be fair, it felt like the best buy of the range. There’s plenty of power from down low, the car will do 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6 seconds flat and it handles great, never leaving the impression you’d need more grunt under the hood. Furthermore, the magic BMW applied to the chassis works wonders in favor of the new Gran Turismo in the range.

With the Executive Drive option ticked, our tester came with active anti-roll bars which did they job brilliantly and managed to keep body roll in check most of the time. Take the car up to 9/10 though and yes, there is some dive to be noticed if you enter a corner with too much speed but considering that the behemoth I was driving tipped the scale at just shy of 2 tons, the way it kept its composure was admirable. Some of the credit also goes to the active steering which makes this tall and ungainly car feel like it’s on rails and that simply left me dazzled. How could such a big beast keep its composure like that?

It was, without a doubt, a combination of factors. From the air suspension on both axles to the active anti-roll bars, everything works together perfectly, like finely tuned orchestra, offering a great show to the person sitting behind the wheel and I’m not talking only about when pushing the car to its limits. The ride feels composed at all times and the steering is direct and confidence inspiring but lacks the feedback everyone is talking about these days. The car is also quick off the line and keeps you secure at all times, rising the confidence levels even higher.

But you might want to take things down a notch every once in a while, especially when you pause for a moment and look around while sitting inside. As I already mentioned, there’s ample room both in the front and in the back but there’s also luxury on par with the 7 Series. The dash looks almost identical and you get access to all the optional features you can possibly want, from Gesture Control to the latest lane-keeping assistant and the Bowers & Wilkins sound system. Our tester also came with massaging seats up front as well as Individual Black Piano trims and Nappa Mokka leather upholstery. In a word, the car was expensive.

The price tag added up to over 100,000 Euros and we were still looking at a dash covered in Sensatec and missing some options that could’ve taken things even further up the scale. And that’s expensive, no matter how you look at it, turning the 6 Series GT into a niche model, if I ever saw one. But then again, there are things working for it, even at this stratospheric price range.

Compared to a similarly equipped 7 Series, the 6er comes in a bit cheaper even though it is also more practical and offers more room. In terms of practicality one has to mention the cavernous boot that offers 610 liters of storage space which is more than the 515 liters of the 7 Series or the 570 liters of the 5 Series Touring. Furthermore, fold the seats and things go up to a ludicrous 1800 liters, 100 more than the Touring 5er, making the GT one of the most practical BMWs you can get these days, including the SUV range. As a matter of fact, the X5 only offers 70 liters more with the rear seats folded and that’s something you might want to keep in mind.

Another thing you might want to remember when driving or parking the 6 Series GT is the high-rising tailgate. With the boot open, the rear end of the car looks like a hippo with its mouth open, allowing you to stow away all your stuff thanks to the flat floor and the secret storage bins underneath it. On the end of the tailgate you’ll also find an active wing that raises at speeds over 100 km/h (62 mph) for from Performance Junk Blogger 6 http://ift.tt/2pxC1hz via IFTTT