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skzdarlings · 3 months

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bodyguard: the first guard | part one | chan/reader

masterlist.

(part one of the previous story.)

part one | part two | part three | tba

( read on AO3 )

A sequel to the Bodyguard. Miroh's daughter is assigned a bodyguard of her own. The past is confronted when old friendships and new enemies are pushed to the brink.

pairing: bang chan/reader content info: sequel to the bodyguard (felix/reader). this is a new reader perspective. please note this story will contain a great deal of physical violence, some committed against the reader and some committed by her. this will include fighting, training, torture, and parental abuse. there will also be explicit sexual content. chapter word count: 7500 words.

enjoy <3

B E F O R E

Felix takes his place in formation. He is the youngest in the youth regiment at only ten years old, but he is no less competent. They all belong to the same special-ops program, a group of specially selected children raised for armed service. They are in the employ of Mister Miroh – and he says they will save the world.

The world is full of shadows, dank black holes and grimy stains so embedded that no regular agent can scrub them out. The young subjects of the soldier program are not regular agents. Their existence is their mission.

Felix has no life outside of the house of Miroh.

He stands straight. He looks forward. His feet are the appropriate width apart and his hands are folded behind his back. He holds this position as the trainers scour the lined formation, studying the young soldiers and reprimanding any flaw.

They need the best soldier for this mission. This is the most important assignment the regiment will ever receive. Felix has trained his whole life for this.

“Miroh has many enemies,” speaks the head trainer. It is a familiar speech, more important now than ever. “But our target is his local rival. This enemy family has been a corrupting force for generations, taking through inheritance what it has not earned. Miroh is not like The Enemy. Miroh is a solider like you. He came from nothing, fought for scraps, and built his own business one brick at a time. He understands the world and he will fix it through you. You will be his hands in the places he cannot reach. Your role is an honourable one.”

A trainer passes Felix. Felix straightens his spine that last infinitesimal degree. They touch his shoulder but do not reprimand him. It makes his pulse hammer with anticipation.

Felix is one of the best. There is a possibility they will pick him, if only because the actual best has a habit of—

“Oh, cheer up, mate,” Chris’s voice comes from a few rows back. “You know what they say: all work and no play makes—”

He is interrupted by a whoosh of air, probably a trainer punching him in the stomach. Felix closes his eyes so he does not wince.

“Bang Christopher Chan,” the head trainer says, his voice booming across the facility floor. “Step forward.”

Felix hears a frustrated sigh, then Chris stomps through the lines to reach the front row. Everyone looks at him.

He is an unassuming character. Not very tall but deceptively strong. Curly black hair and dimpled cheeks. Felix remembers that smile, the lilting and friendly, “Call me Chris,” when Felix was just six years old and first thrown into the regiment.

Bang “Call Me Chris” Chan is the best soldier here. Or he would be, if he did not hate the honour.

Even now he is glaring. Like the rest of them, he is dressed in combat clothes, the pitch black of Miroh. Unlike the rest of them, he stands with a lazy hunch in his shoulders. His dark hair is dishevelled and he scowls like a petulant teenager. He is thirteen going on fourteen but he is far from a normal teenage boy. Even compared to the rest of them, Chris is something special.

“Bang Chan,” the head trainer says. “You have been chosen for this assignment. Congratulations.”

Felix is not surprised. When Chris is forced to apply himself, it is abundantly clear he is the best soldier in the program by a huge margin. Felix is also not surprised when Chris responds with his usual verve and ire.

“Yeah, uh, you can go ahead and shove your congratulations up your ass, mate,” Chris says. He crosses his arms stubbornly. “Even if we kill this guy, do you really expect us to believe that’s the end of it? You’re putting us in the middle of a fight we didn’t start.”

He addresses the soldiers behind him just as much as the trainer. He even glances at Felix who glares back at him, unimpressed with the rebellious dramatics. Chris never learns. He gets more chances than the rest of them because he is so good. If he wanted, he could be unstoppable. He could use his strengths for good.

Instead, he just looks at the trainer and shakes his head.

“Nah,” Chris says. “You started this fight. I’m not ending it.”

A few of the adult guards move towards him. The gathered soldiers take a collective breath, watching with anticipation. It is common knowledge that thirteen year old Bang Chan can take a regular adult guard in a matter of seconds. When it comes to Chris, the question is not who will win, but will he fight at all?

He stands there like he has no intention of fighting. But before anyone can grab him, the door opens.

Miroh enters.

The room is so tense and silent, his footsteps reverberate like thunder. Miroh is every inch a soldier even in his blazer and tie. He walks with purpose, his face intent.

Walking behind him, keeping decent pace despite her smaller frame, is his daughter.

Miroh is a fighter who does not believe in unearned inheritance, so his daughter is trainee soldier like the rest of them. She is the same age as Chris. She trains with the regiment, one of the better agents, but she was not in contention for this particular job. People have tried to kill The Enemy before and it did not work, resulting in the death of innocents. Miroh wants a strong heir and he is not above putting her through the same grueling regime as the rest of them, but he will not recklessly risk her life.

It is fair to Felix. Miroh’s world makes sense. He believes in it. He believes in him.

So he is rapt as Miroh approaches.

The adult guards fall back and the young soldiers stand at attention. Miroh’s jaw is set with grim determination. He stares at Chris.

Chris drops his crossed arms. He is smart enough not to run his mouth at Miroh directly, but his frustration is clearly simmering beneath the surface. His fingers curl and uncurl in little fists.

Miroh stands in front of him. He speaks loud enough to address the entire room.

“I do not begrudge your desire for information,” Miroh says. “You’re soldiers, not animals. I acknowledge that you wish to know about the long-term goals for this company. But that is not your job or your purpose. This business is deliberately compartmentalized so if one cog in the machine fails, the apparatus does not cease to function. The results of your missions speak for themselves. What we’re doing is good work. That is all that matters.”

“Says you,” Chris blurts. Even he looks surprised by his own retort, though he does not take it back. He looks Miroh in the eye.

Miroh looks back. Then he reaches into the holster beneath his long coat and draws a gun. It is smooth, second-nature. Miroh is used to getting his hands dirty. His steady hand points the gun at Chris.

The trigger has not been pulled but the trainers already flinch. They know Chris is the best and they have worked hard to shape him, even if his stubborn mind is not molded as easily as his body.

Chris, himself, does not flinch. He stares down the barrel, unrelenting.

“You don’t want to do that.”

The soft interjection makes everyone pause. Heads turn and eyes dart, everyone’s attention transferring to the thirteen year old girl in the shadows.

Miroh does not lower the gun but he looks at his daughter. Chris looks at her too. Felix is not sure who is more bewildered.

The girl, herself, is calm. She has indubitably mastered a stoic countenance, not a hint of emotion anywhere on her young face.

“He’s the First Guard,” she states simply. “This is not worth killing him over.”

The First Guard. The other kids in the regiment sometimes call Chris that, though he doesn’t like it so it is usually behind his back. Chris does not like that he has been singled out. Chris does not like anything about the program.

This is Miroh’s second attempt at the youth soldier program. The operation raises soldiers from childhood to fight, to withstand pain, to feel no fear. This training is supplemented with medical treatments, hormonal injections that are only effective if administered in the crucial developmental years of childhood. It aids in building a body for soldiership, to take a hit just a little harder than most.

Chris is the only survivor from the first round of injections. He survived every test that followed. He is stronger for it, even stronger than the rest of them. He is a singular asset. He will never be replicated.

Thanks to The Enemy, none of them will ever be replicated. The Enemy recently attempted to recruit Miroh’s developers and killed them when he did not succeed. Detailed knowledge of the treatment died with them.

Miroh can never accomplish anything with his enemy on perpetual offense. Felix knows the stories like the rest of them, the generations of corruption wrought by a single wealthy family with its iron fist wrapped around the country’s throat. Miroh wants to free them. Felix knows if they kill this one man, if the household is left to rot in the hands of its weak successor, then Miroh can finally set everyone free.

It is a noble honour.

Chris does not see it that way. He never has. Maybe it is different for him, having watched those other children die. Felix understands it was a sacrifice, but a necessary one. The Enemy cannot be killed by a regular soldier. So many more innocents will die if he is left unchecked. Surely that is worth the price of a few soldiers. Wars have casualties. It will be worth it.

It has to be worth it.

Bang Chan, the First Guard – call me Chris – takes a deep breath. It sounds frustrated. He glares at Miroh’s daughter who is unaffected.

Felix looks between them. Then his gaze lands on another soldier in the formation. Seo Changbin is in the first row, a boy one year older than Felix. Not the best soldier, not second best, but not the worst. His most notable trait is his humour and his friendship with Miroh’s daughter. They are close – at least as close as anyone can be down here.

Changbin is looking at her right now, his gaze searing with intensity. Their eyes meet briefly and he shakes his head, a small motion, just enough for her to see. Despite his clear warning to stop, she is not dissuaded from addressing her father.

“With all due respect, sir,” she says to Miroh, “Eliminating Bang Chan would be a mistake. He’s the best soldier in the operation.”

“The best,” Miroh says. He presses the barrel of the gun against Chris’s forehead. Chris goes tense and everyone takes a breath.

His daughter is still unmoved. She is a quiet character in general. Felix has barely heard her speak never mind argue. She keeps her head down and goes about her work obediently. She is a good daughter and a better soldier.

Maybe that is why Miroh hesitates.

“He is not the best if this is how he conducts himself,” Miroh says.

“Father, aren’t you the best at what you do?” she asks without hesitation. “Surely a proper soldier like you should be able to control a little boy. Are you saying you are not capable of that task? It takes no skill to shoot a teenager. What message do you send to the rest of us if you have to resort to desperate measures to keep your own army in line?”

The silence is deafening. Even with a gun plastered to his forehead, a little dimple of amusement pops in Chris’s cheek. Changbin exhales. Felix is sick of standing still but he holds his form despite the growing tension.

The seconds feel like hours. Eventually, Miroh lowers the gun.

“Guards,” he says. The adult guards are immediately at his side. “My daughter has faith in our order. I would be remiss as a father to fail her.” He looks down at Chris and speaks with a snarl in his upper lip, “Let us all try our best to succeed.”

Miroh snaps his fingers and points at Chris. The guards swarm him, two of them taking an arm each. At least Chris is smart enough not to struggle. He is an indomitable force but he does not have an army at his call. He lets himself be seized.

“Take him to the Cell,” Miroh says.

An instinctive hiss leaves the mouths of a few soldiers. They have all been trained to withstand various degrees of torture, but the Cell is one of the worst. Even Felix shudders at the mention of it. It is a small windowless room buried deep in the bunker of the training facility, a small prison cell with no light and no warmth. Everyone has taken a turn in isolation, camped on the hard ground in the damp and cold and dark. Down there, minutes feel like days, days like years. At least literal torture causes sensation. The Cell is a great black nothing.

Chris does not argue, knowing it would be useless, but he does glare at Miroh as he is hauled away.

“Take her too,” Miroh says.

With a snap of his fingers, two more guards surface and grab his daughter. Her stoic expression finally fractures, true surprise bursting on her face.

“Me?” she asks.

“As my daughter, your perspective is acknowledged and appreciated,” he says. “As a soldier, you need to remember your place. Throw them in together. Double the people, double the time.”

Felix would not want to be shoved in that tiny space with another person. Certainly not if the trade was double the duration.

But then, Felix does not like company. He does not understand the exhausted look on Changbin’s face. Changbin isn’t being punished, so why would he feel anything?

Felix watches. He holds his form even where others begin to wane.

The guards and their prisoners leave. The door closes and Miroh looks over the regiment.

“Who’s the second best?” Miroh asks.

There is a beat of silence, the scene settling. The trainer finally clears his throat and looks down at his papers.

“Lee Felix Yongbok,” he says in that booming voice. Felix’s heart soars just as high. “Step forward.”

Felix marches forward, keeps his eyes ahead. Miroh approaches him. Felix does not flinch, not even when Miroh circles him like prey.

“He’s young,” Miroh says. “What do you have to say for yourself, boy?”

“I want to do good,” Felix answers. “I’m ready.”

They put a gun in his hand and a beanie on his head. He enters the world looking like a normal ten year old boy.

He puts a bullet in the head of The Enemy.

He suspects one day he will be back for the son and granddaughter.

He hopes it will be soon.

P R E S E N T D A Y

Despite your father’s remarkable propensity for making you feel like a child, you are a grown adult. You are intelligent and conniving and dangerously competent. In some ways, having been raised like a soldier beneath his merciless iron fist, you are more steadfast, more severe. Your life is carved into his, your fates tethered as one to his success. You are your father’s daughter, a Miroh, irrevocably a product of his upbringing.

You do not show weakness. You do not throw tantrums. You might spend twenty minutes in the lobby bathroom, splashing cold water on your face, and you might spend another five minutes shining your shirt buttons, then ten more folding and re-folding the lapel of your long coat – but walking into his office almost forty minutes late is not the same thing as throwing a tantrum.

You think you’re composed until you walk through that door, then the week’s anxieties expand in the cage of your chest. You are capable but you are not stupid. Miroh might be your father but he is a totalitarian man of influence and it would be foolish not to be wary of his power.

You are more apprehensive than you appear, but you march in there like a soldier, shoulders back and head high. You inherited your father’s marble expressions and stone stature. No one would ever guess your palms were so clammy, your neck hot and damp with sweat.

“I’m here,” you say by way of greeting. You are not characters to indulge in artificial small talk. There is no affection here and pretending otherwise is a waste of everyone’s time.

“I won’t bother with pre-amble,” he says, predictably. ”You know why you’re here.”

“I do,” you say. “And I don’t agree with it.”

“I know you don’t.”

The argument ends just like that. You knew it was a dead-end protestation before you opened your mouth, but you had to say something. You are adamantly opposed to your father’s latest imposition.

A personal, twenty-four hour bodyguard. For you.

The decision was not made lightly. Your father’s business rival perished just under a month ago, the bloody circumstances extreme and mysterious. Until Miroh can ascertain what truly transpired at that house on that fateful night, then he cannot be too careful when it comes to guarding his own legacy.

Your father is a military tactician and business man. He is in the habit of bracing for every eventuality with a detached, pragmatic determination. Of course he wants you watched. This bodyguard assignment is imperative in protecting his house.

“I have a security team,” you say.

“They are insufficient,” he replies.

“I trained them myself.”

“They are too numerous.”

“I’ll cut down the roster.”

“Rotations open vulnerabilities.”

“And who’s to replace them?” Your patience snaps. “One of your dogs?”

“You are also one of my dogs,” he says, voice soft for such a venomous retort. It stings like a slash across your chest. “I would not disparage them.”

“Oh, of course, my apology.” You speak with the same false gentility. “What a thoughtful master you are.”

“I must be,” he says, “because the dogs still come when I call.”

There is so much contempt in his voice. He looks at you with more hatred than he ever directed to his worst enemy. It makes you want to leap across this room and throttle him with your bare hands, like you can shake the animosity right out of him.

You are too old to feel like a little girl on the verge of tears, demanding to know why her father does not love her. You have long since accepted there is no easy answer to that question. You would say that Miroh is simply not capable of love but you know that is not true. He can love. He just doesn’t love you.

You are the perfect heir, his exact replica in ability and countenance, but it is not enough. It will never be enough. No matter what you do, no matter how faithfully you obey him. You have bloodied your hands in the shadows while he takes the public credit. You have helped build the reputation of the family name. You have given him everything.

He rewards you with this.

You are not stupid. Regardless of his excuses, he does not want you under surveillance for your protection. You both know your personal training puts you leagues ahead of the overwhelming majority of agents. Your security team is a superfluous accessory as is.

Miroh has just witnessed the collapse of a previously impenetrable legacy. This does not put him at ease. The battle technician accounts for every possible manoeuvre. You know he foresees his own downfall just as easily as he sees his success. Unseated before his time, reputation annihilated, replaced by someone as savage and persistent as him.

A bodyguard will not protect you from the world. It will protect Miroh from you.

For all your inner turmoil, you are a steadfast rock, standing across your father in his office and exchanging a knowing glance. You are just like him. Of course he is scared of you. Of course he hates you. Of course he needs you.

The feeling is devastatingly mutual.

“Who is it?” you ask, calmly.

“Agent Slump, step forward,” your father calls one of the guards posted at the back wall. “This is your new bodyguard officer. He will accompany you at all times, day and night, including your office hours and service train—”

The agent steps forward as your father speaks. You draw your gun out of your chest holster and shoot when the man steps into your periphery. It blows through his shoulder and knocks him down, all in a piercing shriek that reverberates around the small room. The other guards flinch in the ringing aftermath.

You look at your father and re-holster your gun. You lay the lapel of your long coat back over your chest.

“He leaves something to be desired,” you say. “I would have thought you learned your lesson with these undertrained toy soldiers. Maybe a better bodyguard would have kept your wife alive.”

Your own mother died during complications in childbirth. Miroh remarried a few years later, a woman he genuinely seemed to cherish, a woman who was killed in retaliation for a deal gone sour. Nothing fills your father with more righteous fury than the mention of her. Miroh loved her almost as much as he hates you.

You know better than to retaliate with such childish rejoinders, but you want to hit him where it hurts, see something real on that stoic face. It garners you a flicker of rage, bathed in all that loathing, and it makes you smile.

“Let me know if you can find a competent replacement,” you say. “Until then, I have work to do.”

You turn heel and march to the door. The guards move out of your way despite lack of command. They have never respected you the way they respect your father, but they do fear you and it works the same way.

You are dressed for the office but after an unproductive hour spent stewing in agitation, you give up. The head of your security team accompanies you across town to the primary training facilities. Hidden in plain site, here Miroh has trained and developed some of his most deadly assets.

You are one of those assets. You spent your childhood in this facility, training among an elite selection of children, raised for the purpose of violence and victory. It was a unique program. It has never been revived, the medicant administered to the children lost and yet to be replicated.

You are one of the few still living.

Your training was relatively more lax. As Miroh’s daughter, the trainers could not let you die. But neither he nor they had qualms with letting you suffer. Miroh never admonished them and you never complained, at the time naively thinking that if you could prove yourself then he would care about you.

A foolish aspiration long since abandoned.

But the training has served you well over the years. It certainly comes in handy when you need to fucking punch something.

Your security team is comprised of regular soldiers so it does not take much to best them in a fight. The exertion is nonetheless liberating. You have always felt more at ease in action than behind a desk. Combat clothes are less stifling than formalwear. There is a reason Miroh never paraded you at parties the way his late enemy did with his late daughter. Your place is in a fight and always has been.

After a few rounds in the ring, you stop to rest. Your team knows when to leave you alone to brood. You lay back on the mat, flat in the ring.

There is a moment, as often passes, where you question your entire life. It has been a long, vicious fight, clawing your way to your position, that the road back out seems like an impossibly arduous task. Too much has happened, too much pain and loss. It has to mean something.

You cannot surrender now. The very thought has you reeling, physically painful to even consider.

This is where you belong. It is an irrevocable truth. You are a Miroh.

“Yah, murder princess,” comes a voice and the thud of booted steps. “Just three rounds? Tsk. You’re getting soft.”

You roll over, grinning even though you know better. You look up at Changbin who is dressed in similar fatigues, his bulky arms crossed over his broad chest, his dark bangs brushing his smirking face.

“I was waiting for a real fight,” you reply. “Looks like I’m still waiting.”

He barks out a laugh.

Changbin is one of the few survivors of your father’s special-ops program. Unlike others who were imported from your father’s overseas operations, Changbin was raised right here alongside you. You do not even remember meeting him; he has just always been there.

He is a few years younger but he always held your attention, both because of his skill and his ability to retain a sense of humour. It was an often sought breath of relief in the conditions of your training.

You look at Changbin now, grinning and more jovial than someone like him should be. It is a testament to his resolute strength that he can hold a dual personality inside him. He has always been that way. He can flip between a stoic soldier and goofy guy in the blink of an eye. It is part of the reason you have never let yourself entirely trust him. Though you are fond of him, he is like you: just a little too good at what he does.

“Haha, the princess thinks she’s a comedian now,” Changbin says. He nudges you with the tip of his boot. “If you want to make me laugh, you should try fighting.”

“Oh, I see.” You cannot help but rise to his bait, like always. He is a perpetual little brother even though he is not your real brother and certainly not little anymore.

You swipe at him and he jumps back. Just like that, the pair of you fall into a long practiced dance.

It is not the gentle footwork of a real dance, but a violent collision and parry of limbs. It is just as musical and in sync, and somehow almost as tender. You know each other’s weaknesses as well as strengths. You know how to beat each other and how to prolong surrender, where to give advantage so the other can continue. You used to fight until the trainers called a tie, saving you both from selection for the loser’s punishment. To everyone else, it looked like a fight. To you, it was a conversation and consolation. Even if you had been in solitude for weeks, in that moment you were not alone.

Changbin reads you now, in every swipe and jump and dodge. In your matching black clothes and matching strength you collide and converse. Your frustration strains in every vein and his enquires are plain in the deliberate pause of his complicated steps.

“Daddy problems, ah, murder princess?” he asks, grinning.

He catches your fist before it collides with that smirk, twisting your wrist so you are forced to follow with a heavy drop. You roll together, a back and forth until you individually spring to your feet and face each other. You wait for the next move with equal calculation.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” you say, batting a hit.

“Really?” he asks. “Because there are rumours in the pig pen that the general was looking for a big strong soldier to protect his little princess.”

He lets you clock his jaw but it is a satisfying smack nonetheless. A drop of aggravation is wrung out with your sweat. You wipe your brow.

“There was a change of plans,” you say.

Changbin laughs. He is loud, always so loud for someone who can be so stealthy.

“Of course!” he shouts. “Keeping the doctors busy today, are you?”

He really knows you too well. It is mutual. You side-step a movement and body-check him.

“Guess that’s what the general gets for choosing from the pig pen,” you say. You infuse your father’s title with all the sardonic venom it deserves and pig pen with the same playful mockery as always.

“Don’t be jealous,” Changbin teases right back, catching your taunt as easily as he catches your punch. “If you keep practicing, one day you might be almost as good as me.” He has been making the same wisecrack for years, laughing to himself every single time.

“Funny,” you say dryly.

“I am the best,” he continues to tease, embellishing his movements with an unnecessarily dramatic flair. “I’m sure that’s why the general doesn’t want me on bodyguard duty, right? I need a real job, not protecting the princess.”

There are a few rapid-fire moves, too taxing for speech. Then you manage, “Right.” You take his offered opening and catch the back of his knee with yours. “I’m sure it has nothing to do with your probation after the last field mission.”

You expect to take him down but you do not expect the weight of his crash. It is not like Changbin to fully collapse under you, almost like he was truly surprised.

You are just as dazed by the impact. You loom over him, staring bemusedly, like you have no idea how he got on the floor.

It is not like Changbin to take a hit so personally. Of all your father’s soldiers, he was always the best at shrugging off his individuality in favour of a mission. He does not tend to dwell on his losses anymore than he lingers in his victories. The past is a heavy thing to carry into battle. He knows to leave it behind. There is always another job around the corner.

“You’re not still upset about that?” you ask.

The mission was shortly before the enemy’s downfall. Years ago, one of your father’s child soldiers betrayed an operation. Lee Felix switched sides and the enemy did not let your father forget it. But Miroh is an ever-calculating general who knows which battles are worth fighting. After one failed attempt at seizing the enemy’s daughter, he waited until the enemy came to him instead.

When he finally did, you caught him. You sent Changbin after his daughter and waited for the enemy’s imminent surrender. He retracted his operation but Felix, that loose canon of a traitor-turned-bodyguard, fucked the Mirohs a second time and disappeared with her. They all died a week later.

Changbin was noticeably uneasy after the job, but you did not think much of it. You were not worried about Changbin taking the mission too personally. Yes, Felix was a former soldier in this regiment, but Changbin is not sentimental. You chalked up his despondency to his loss. It is not like him to let a target slip through his fingers.

“Upset,” Changbin says. “Me?”

You know him too well. The joking tone is diminished, buried beneath the weight of his gloom. He tries to smile but it does not fit on his face, too big and too wide of a grin.

You tip your head, your regard scrutinous. You have no idea how to talk to him with real depth. You look at each other and understand it, but vocalizing it is another matter entirely.

Like he can read your thoughts, his face scrunches up and he says, “Yah, you, cut that out!” He shoves you as he gets to his feet, both of you stumbling. “I’m fine,” he says. “Come on, hit me again.”

You are certainly better at conversing that way.

You take a starting stance but you are interrupted when someone from your security team whistles. It is a warning whistle, the sharp tone a code for the arrival of your father.

You and Changbin straighten, turning to watch as Miroh approaches with a flank of armed guards behind him. They are all dressed for combat in their black uniforms and black masks. The half-mask is regulation for all field agents. It covers the bottom half of the face and serves as protection in the event of smoke from explosions or exposure to noxious aerosols and gasses.

It also undoubtedly turns a human soldier into a less-than-human figure. It obscures features, faces, flaws.

Sharp eyes stare at you, every face uniform and expressionless. There are half a dozen of them. Your father’s usual security detail trails behind them. Your security team eyes them in turn. The whole room feels like a pot about to boil over.

“What is this?” you demand.

“This is my adherence to our agreement,” your father says.

“Our agreement?” you ask.

“Yes.” He stops in the middle of the room, standing straight and steady. He looks at ease, like he barges in here with a small army every day. “You tasked me to find a competent replacement bodyguard,” he says. “So here is how this will go: whichever agent can beat you in a fight, right here, right now, will be your new bodyguard. If you defeat them all, I will drop the issue and leave the matter of your personal security to you.”

You look at his soldiers then at him. You force yourself to composure. It is not like you to instigate so much confrontation. You prefer to keep your head down and get the job done. Your father does not love you but he knows your work is reliable. Usually that is enough.

This entire escapade with the enemy has unravelled everyone. The house of Miroh should be more stable than ever, your father taking over assets left behind by the enemy, but the whole world feels changed. It is off its axis. You feel unsteady, your body braced for attack with no reprieve. You feel like you are looking at the world through someone else’s eyes. Everything feels wrong.

In difficult times, you fall back on training and soldier instinct. You are a battle technician, just as competent as your father. He is not going to drop the issue and this is a fair compromise. You can fight these guards. Half a dozen well-trained field agents is a handful but not impossible. Your body is built to be a little faster, a little stronger, to take a hit harder.

“Fine,” you say, a single grating syllable. You bite the word. Through clenched teeth, you add, “Let’s do this.”

You and Changbin exchange a look. He reflects your confusion, knowing you can easily take these guards, knowing Miroh knows that too. It makes you feel even more uneasy. Your father must be planning something but you do not know what. But you cannot control him. You can only control yourself. You can fight these guys. You can win.

You take a swig of water then stretch. The first guard takes a position in the fighting ring. You brace yourselves with a starting stance, measuring the other.

You wait, sweat dripping down your brow. You feel their eyes on you, every soldier, your father, your friend. Changbin stands off to the side, sitting in shadows.

It is where your kind belongs. You are not regular soldiers.

The fight begins and you take him down swiftly. Your game with Changbin was just that, a game. This is real. This is a battle. This is what your body was made to do.

One by one, you take out the agents. They charge at you, they swing at you, they even try to taunt you. You deflect it all. Your fist connects with a temple, your foot their knee. You pop joints and flip soldiers and springboard back to action.

You are getting tired by the last soldier but you do not let it show. You sweat profusely, breathing hard, but you run at him and take him down. Your bodies are a swirl of limbs and powerful movements. Then he is on the ground, groaning, and you are rising, victorious.

“Well?” you say. You cannot help but grin, elated from the sheer exertion of exercise, and proud of your triumph. There is a small, stupid part of you that hopes underneath everything, your father is proud too. That he must relent and admit you are good.

Miroh just stands there, unmoving and unaffected. It dims your smile, frustration returning. It simmers hot beneath your skin. It distracts you.

Pain explodes in your left cheek, so sharp and searing it turns the world dark for half a second. You see lightning flashes as you stumble, falling onto your side. There is another guard in front of you, one you did not even see enter the room. Did he drop down from the ceiling?

He is a blurry shape. You blink the stars out of your eyes, holding your throbbing head until clarity returns.

Then your stomach drops.

It is not a guard looming over you. He wears the same black combat uniform and the same half-mask, but everything about him is different, everything from his build to his stance to the ice cold slash of his dark eyes. Emotionless. Empty.

“Ah, I see,” you say, a breathless slur of words. You cannot stop your voice from shaking. “The First Guard. I should have known.”

There are only two living soldiers who can fight at your level. The only two survivors of your father’s special-ops program. One of them is Seo Changbin.

The other is Bang Christopher Chan.

He stands over you in his combat gear, unflinching and barely human. Even without the mask, you doubt you would see any humanity. There is not a single shred of the boy he once was. Chan was a problem for Miroh, once. That was a very long time ago.

That boy, Chris, is dead. He has been dead for years. The soldier in front of you is someone – something – else.

You get to your feet, slowly and shakily. He watches you. He does not speak and he barely blinks, his gaze a meticulous perusal, his body braced for anything.

Chan has the bloodiest, dirtiest hands of them all. He does your father’s worst missions, assignments with details that even you are barred from knowing. He is terrifyingly efficient, deadlier than any weapon in Miroh’s arsenal, and that is saying something because it is a substantial arsenal.

Your own hands are dirty but it is nothing in comparison. He is fast, he is deadly, and he feels nothing. He looks at you like a machine scans a calculation. A broken bone here, a fracture there. You are certain he is already picturing a hundred different ways to contort your broken body.

“Right,” you say.

You are a strategist. You know how to fight. You know when not to fight. But it is like instinct. You look at him and something says fight him.

You feel your father’s eyes on you. You are not sure who is teaching who a lesson.

You take a swing at Chan. He dodges it. He swings too, faster, but you anticipate it. You tuck and roll, moving faster than you have ever moved in your life. You are seldom pushed to the brink of your abilities like this. Even half your skillset is double what most adversaries possess.

But Chan is too much. You spend the fight on constant defense, blocking swing after swing, hit after hit. You take advantage of the smallest opening and crack your fist on his chest, only to realize he deliberately opened himself to it. He grabs your wrist and twists you around before you can retaliate. You are not used to such brute strength. You follow his twisting to prevent a sprain or fracture, which he anticipates. He grabs you by the throat and yanks you into him, right off your feet.

You choke, blue swarming your rapidly blurring vision. He slams you down on the ground, further disorienting you, still clutching your neck.

You dive somewhere deep inside your head. You collect yourself as per your training, then swing your knee up between his legs. It does not fully incapacitate him but it does discombobulate him. He lets go of your throat and you slide between his legs, jumping up behind him. He turns just in time to take a kick to the stomach, blasting him backwards to the end of the ring. He prevents a worse fall by forcing himself down on one knee.

You take the second he is down to catch your breath. You try to calculate your next move but your adrenaline is dwindling. Hopelessness settles in your chest. You cannot win this fight. At best, you can prolong it, but—

For the second time, you are blind-sided by pain. It shatters down the right side of your body, a winded shove that blows right through you. But it is not Chan. Chan is still getting to his feet.

You look up only for Changbin to bring his fist down in your face. It knocks you off your feet and you land with a heavy thud. Your heart races inside your aching chest.

You have never fought Changbin like this.

“What are you doing?” you hiss when he grabs you by the neck and drags you onto your feet. You come to your senses and fight back, but you are hurt and tired and he has been recuperating.

He punches you clear across the jaw and knocks you down again. The world tilts sideways, spotted with black and blue. Changbin drops on top of you. You cannot even wrestle him, so disoriented. He gets you flat on your front and pins you down.

Then he takes a second to whisper in your ear, “Stop fighting me, murder princess. Who do you want as a bodyguard? Me or that thing?”

If you were not so tired, you might have laughed.

Your life is so backwards. Changbin is helping you by beating the shit out of you. But it is undoubtedly helpful. He is right. If Chan beat you, then Chan would be your bodyguard. Your father would win. He would have one of his agents glued to your side. An agent you would never be able to shake no matter what you did.

But it is not Chan over you. It is your friend. Someone from the same shadows as you. Someone your father was not anticipating.

Changbin grabs you by the neck and yanks you up. You look at your father with blood dribbling out of your mouth.

“I win,” Changbin says.

Your father does not look happy. That should upset you. You and Miroh are bound as one.

But it gives you a thrill. His abomination of a soldier looms to the side, still staring at you, like he expects the fight to continue any second. You suppose Chan’s life is one big fight and always has been.

It doesn’t have to be that way for you, you think to yourself, a dangerous thought, one conjured by the feeling of your only friend holding you in his arms. It looks like a death grip to anyone else, purely technical, but you feel it, the way he cups your injuries carefully despite his bulk and power.

Miroh is scared. He is getting desperate. He wants you brought to heel. In doing so, he is only stoking your resentment.

That pot starts to boil over.

“Well?” you say, in a voice as rough as gravel.

“Yes,” your father says with a petty little snarl. “I suppose you have won, haven’t you?”

Changbin helps you off the ground. You suffer through your pains. You can feign steadiness for another minute, for long enough to retaliate.

You climb out of the ring. You pass the other injured guards. You walk right up to your father.

Miroh stares at you. You have identical glares, measuring each other. Two soldiers with the same fire in their blood.

You punch him. It is a nice sharp shot across the face, using all the strength you have left. You are one of the best. Despite your injuries, it is still one fucking hell of a punch.

Miroh falls back in an undignified sprawl, hitting the hard ground with a painful thud. He is good but he is not you. A fall like that would not have broken your bones the way it clearly fractures his arm.

“Until next time, father,” you say.

You step over him. His security team immediately surrounds him, helping him up. Your team comes to your aid as well. Changbin follows too, coming right up to your side. He grabs your arm and slings it around his shoulder, taking the brunt of your weight seconds before you would have collapsed.

You look back over your shoulder. The injured guards are tending their wounds. Chan is looming in the background like a living shadow. Miroh is clutching his arm and staring at you with fury pouring out of him. You walk away, smiling despite your injuries.

Your father should know better than to hit you.

You always hit back.

#bang chan x reader #chan x reader #bang chan x you #chan x you #bang chan fanfiction #bang chan smut #skz x reader #stray kids x reader #stray kids fanfiction #skz fanfiction #skz x you #stray kids x you

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veliana · 10 days

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𝓕𝓲𝓻𝓼𝓽 𝓜𝓮𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓪𝓷 𝓞𝓫𝓼𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓨𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓒𝓮𝓸

TW: Yandere behavior, obsessed!yandere Format: Headcanons A/N: This the first part to this drabble. I plan to quickly release a sequel where I'll detail their first date. I have a lot of ideas for this yandere, I just need to choose between headcanon and fic.

Yandere, an influential and wealthy CEO, is on his way to an important business meeting. His black limousine drives through the neon-lit downtown when his gaze accidentally meets yours as you cross a bustling street.

A shiver runs down his spine, his heart beating faster. It’s love at first sight. Your image is etched into his mind, every detail of your face and posture becoming an immediate obsession.

Back in his luxurious penthouse, Yandere immediately mobilizes his resources. He calls on his hackers to find any possible information about you. Within hours, he has a complete file containing your social media, interests, frequent places, and even close friends.

His private security team is put on high alert, ready to act at any moment. Yandere also starts acquiring everything you might like, filling an entire room of his penthouse with items and clothes you would enjoy.

Yandere monitors your daily habits through surveillance cameras he has discreetly installed around your home and favorite places. He learns your routine, anticipating your movements and desires.

For the first meeting, he decides to create an event that will catch your attention. He organizes a charity event at a luxury hotel, an exclusive and publicized affair, and sends you an invitation, making it appear as a work-related invitation, knowing it will pique your curiosity.

At the event, he arranges for you to be seated at his table. Using his charm and presence, he initiates a conversation, presenting himself as an admirer of your interests or work.

He treats you with exaggerated deference, his eyes fixed on you with almost palpable intensity. Every word you say is a revelation to him, and he eagerly offers you all the attention possible.

After this first meeting, he intensifies his efforts to enter your life more personally and intimately. He proposes dates and starts sending you lavish gifts. As your relationship progresses, he accompanies his gifts with affectionate notes signed "My King/Queen" or "Treasure."

Gradually, he subtly arranges to eliminate anyone who might pull you away from him, ensuring that he remains your top choice. He uses his influence to offer you opportunities that draw you closer to his world, creating an inevitable dependence.

_♡_♡_♡_♡_♡_

Does any one have an idea for the name of this adorable ceo ? :D

#yandere men #yandere ceo x reader #yandere #rich yandere #soft yandere x reader #yandere ceo #yandere oc #yandere x you #yandere x y/n #yandere obsession #obsessive love #obsessive yandere #yandere x darling

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fatuismooches · 5 months

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fabulam diu oblitus - postlude.

synopsis: The tale of the raven and the sparrow has long been forgotten by most, but some will always remember.

includes: dottore w/ gn! reader

notes: This is the fourth part of this fic, please read the other parts first! It seems that the fairy tale of you and Dottore comes to an end. Follows some of Sumeru's storyline. Warning for death. Angst. Thank you to my mootie @kaixserzz and my all of my dear anons (🎐, 🐓 <3) who kept me inspired to keep writing this fic :3

prelude. first interlude. second interlude. postlude. sequel.

“The raven and butterfly’s happiness continued for much longer. But of course, every creature is aware that nothing lasts forever, and even the lightning in the sky would agree with that statement. All fairytales must come to an end. That was no different for the raven and the butterfly.”

There had been a buzz around the lab lately. Some of the segments had been ordered to leave for a Fatui mission. Which, would have been a normal occurrence, were it not for the place they were headed to this time.

“Sumeru? You’re going to Sumeru?” Your home country had instantly gotten your attention, not only because you haven’t been back in centuries, but also because the segments were never usually dispatched there, instead causing their usual chaos in other nations.

“Indeed. We will see if the Balladeer is able to become the God he so desires to be,” Omega hummed, moving a hand underneath your shirt to record your heartbeat. Ah, that was right. The puppet had stolen the Electro Gnosis to use as his ascension into godhood… and Dottore would be there to see how his experiment plays out. Well, you already had a feeling about how that would turn out.

Moving on to a different subject, although Sumeru was the home you and Zandik were chased out of, you still held fond memories of it. Many happy things happened there for you, so the thought of it made you smile.

“You have to bring back lots of stories for me! And souvenirs! Oh, I would love to see how much Sumeru has changed from all those years ago,” you dreamily smiled. Yeah, your favorite cafe was probably gone by now… but you’d love to see what replaced it!

“Of course. I expect there will be much to say with the God of Wisdom and the Traveler intervening as well,” Omega chuckled, scribbling down something on his clipboard after glancing at the monitor, before fixing your shirt back.

“Your vitals have been better lately,” the segment commented and patted your head, which you happily indulged in. It wasn’t too noticeable, but it seemed like your body was getting even a little bit better. Not much, a little. But that was good anyway. “But run along now. There is much preparation to be done regarding the trip to Sumeru.”

“Okayyyy,” you stretched your words a bit disappointedly, not wanting to leave the segment, but you knew he had a lot of work to do. So instead you settled with pecking him on the cheek which he of course returned tenfold before you went off on your way. You had quite a few segments to say goodbye to, after all! You’d miss them a lot, but, you still had the other segments here with you. And your lover of course.

Surely, they would be back in the blink of an eye. Yes, surely, they’d return just as they always did. You had no reason to think otherwise. And so for the next few days, everything was normal. Time passed regularly. You got through the days as you did with any other.

But one day was different.

You were in your room by yourself, enjoying your alone time. Because as much as you loved being around the segments, you still liked being by yourself too. But all of a sudden, your tranquility was interrupted by literally a bang on your door, which made you jump.

The knock on your door was frantic and loud. Immediately you hopped out of bed to see what could possibly be so important that your door was getting pounded, but when you opened the door there was no one there. You were very confused… how was that possible? This was a pretty long hallway. Even with the segments’ abilities, there was no way they could just disappear into thin air like that.

A bad feeling began to creep up on you, your stomach twisting and turning. You don’t know why, but it just did. But surely you were overreacting. Perhaps… perhaps… actually, you didn’t have any valid reasoning you could think of right now. Maybe though, maybe you should go and check on them. Just in case. You know that they’ll be there, in the lab doing their experiments or perhaps bickering with each other as usual, but there was nothing wrong with double-checking. And then you’ll calm yourself with a nice hug from one of them. It would all be okay.

But you found that your steps were quicker and longer than usual, your breathing heavier than usual. As you got closer to the main lab’s doors, you strained your ears for their voices, anything, something, but heard nothing. You licked and bit your lip that had gone dry, weak legs walking even faster if that was possible, before you swung open the doors, hoping to see those blue mops of hair you so desired to see.

Nothing. The room was empty.

Your footsteps slowed, walking into the room cautiously. It was strange because it looked as if there were people in here just a few minutes ago. Notes that were left unfinished halfway. Beakers that had broken on the floor, with some mysterious liquids soaking the floor. Strange, very strange. And yet no trace of any segments remained.

The bad feeling had grown into something much worse now. Where else? Where else could they be?

Their rooms. You should check their rooms. They were usually there if they weren’t in the lab, doing their own respective work (because their office and rooms doubled as one since they didn’t need to sleep.) So despite how your chest burned, and your legs ached, it didn’t matter if it meant your heart would be soothed and relieved.

You ran as fast as you could, more like you tried to because your illness had really kicked in since your mind was stressing out a great amount. As you clung to the walls, catching your breath, you paid no mind to the random agents who were looking at you funny, nor did you manage to catch their words of “Omega” or “erased” or “gone.”

It took longer than it should have taken you, but at last, you made it to the corridor with the segments’ rooms. You didn’t bother to knock, swinging open the door to Alpha’s room.

Empty.

Beta’s room.

Empty.

Every single room was empty. Fuck, even Zandy’s room was empty. And he was always in there if he wasn’t with you. Your head was throbbing with unease now, your heavy, troubled breathing sounding throughout the whole hallway. Where? Where? Where did they go…?!

“[Name].” A voice sounded from behind you. Spinning around, it was Dottore. Your Dottore! Okay, at least he was still here!

“Dottore,” you breathed a sigh of relief. He would have an explanation for this. “Dottore, where are all the segments? I-I can’t find them anywhere. I mean, I know the lab is really big, but it’s strange for them not to be in these areas,” you placed a hand on your rapidly beating heart, trying to calm it, not noticing your husband’s expression.

“...” The scientist was unsure of how to break the news to you because he knew of the bond you shared with the segments.

“Dottore? Why aren’t you answering me?” He opened his mouth to respond, but paused, seemingly trying to determine the best way to phrase his words. That only worried you more, because he was never one to sugarcoat his words. Your nervousness had returned once more, burning heat from fear creeping up your shoulders. “Zandik, answer me.”

“They’re gone, [Name].” The words took a few moments to settle in, silence overtaking the area for a little bit. But only for a little bit, as your nervous laughter rang out interrupting it.

“Gone?” You repeated. “What do you mean gone? They just can’t be gone. Right? Right, Dottore?” The nervous smile that had etched its way onto your face hurt badly, the laughter mixed with wheezing was painful, but it was all you could do to convince yourself this was a lie.

“Omega has… deleted them in exchange for the Electro Gnosis.” You looked at him blankly, the former emotion on your face gone.

“Deleted? Deleted from this world? From existence?” Your tone got higher and higher as you continued speaking. You didn’t even know Omega had the ability to do that. Or that the segments could be erased in the first place. Dottore just nodded in response.

“But- but why? Surely t-there was another way?” Your voice was on the verge of breaking into tears.

“He wanted to show respect to the God of-”

“Respect? To a God, of all people?” You hissed, bubbles of anger surfacing now through your agony. “He’s a Harbinger, is he not? And he’s stronger than that God! He- he could have easily found another way! He didn’t have to DELETE the segments! Another method HAD to have been possible! Did he even try to negotiate?!” Hot tears ran down your cheeks as you raised your voice at him. It took everything it had in you not to fully scream. You began to pace back and forth, hand covering your already tear-streaked face, whole body shaking. Your husband could only watch.

Dottore wasn’t thrilled with Omega deleting all his segments either, with the endless resources that went into creating them, but what’s done was done. And both the Electro and Dendro Gnoses were acquired. But you? You were on the verge of hysterics. He had never, not once, seen you like this.

You had come to a stop, head buried into your arm as you braced against the wall. Oh, the segments were gone forever. They were never coming back. You could only imagine how they must have been in their last moments. That they only had a few more moments to live. You couldn’t bring yourself to think about what Zandy must have thought in his last few seconds.

And what’s more, the segments had disappeared into… nothingness. There was no trace, no remains of their bodies whatsoever. And although seeing their bodies on the floor would have certainly destroyed you, perhaps this was even a worse fate. Because it was as if they never existed at all. You couldn’t even hold their bodies one last time, or give them a proper farewell. They were just… gone. Oh, how you wished you could have at least been there in their last moments, to provide some comfort, some love, some sense of peace. The more you thought about it, the countless memories with them flowing through your mind, the weaker your violently shaking body became as you struggled to hold yourself up. Dottore instantly noticed and, worrying about your frail condition, walked up to you before you spat out at him.

“Do not come near me.” Out of all the centuries Zandik has spent with you, he has never been on the receiving end of much anger from you. Rather, it was you who dealt with that from him. But this wasn’t just anger. It felt like venom.

“Why…” You pulled yourself up once again before glaring at him with teary eyes. “Why didn’t you stop him, Zandik? You could have, couldn’t you? They didn’t have to die…!”

There was only one answer the Harbinger could provide, even though he knew you would not like it. “It was necessary to obtain the Electro and Dendro Gnoses for the Fatui.” To this, you could only laugh again once more before digging your nails into your palms so hard it hurt.

“I see. I see…” You mumbled brokenly before stepping off to the side, your steps still unsteady and wobbly as you nearly tripped. Dottore once again tensed up, body wanting to move to support you, but the look on your face made him decide against it. You then walked past him, not sparing another look at him before exiting the corridor, tears still silently running down your face. He could only watch you as you left him standing, wondering about many things yet nothing at all.

—

“From that day, there was a drastic shift in the butterfly and raven’s relationship. The butterfly was indescribably hurt by the loss of the other ravens, and could not bear the pain. It was the first time the raven had ever been subjected to such cold treatment by his lover. Usually, it was the other way around. And it seemed like fixing this would not be easy.”

Dottore thought that if he gave you some space, you’d cool off soon enough.

He thought wrong.

You had flat-out been ignoring Dottore since the day the segments were erased. And not just refusing to talk to him. You didn’t even want to be in the same space as him. If he came into your room, you would just leave. As soon as he opened his mouth, you were gone. In order to give you your meds, he had to wait until you were sleeping to slip in, because of the way you were acting. When it was time to eat, he had to leave the meal outside your door, otherwise, you wouldn’t eat. That is if you even took it. The grief made it hard for you to do a lot of things, which made it imperative for him to help, but you didn’t want it. You were distraught, but you were angry too. Why?

Because you truly loved the segments.

Dottore did not. He did not feel the same connection as you did. So he was at a loss. He didn’t know what to do to resolve this. Apologize? No, he suspected even if he did, it wouldn’t mean anything, because you’d know he didn’t fully mean it, and it wouldn’t bring the segments back anyway. Comfort you? You wouldn’t allow him to hold you or talk to you. Il Dottore did not know what should be done.

Omega received similar treatment when finally returned from Sumeru, the Gnoses in hand. Normally, you would be waiting at the entrance whenever he returned from expeditions. This time, however, you were not, which he supposed he should have expected. You didn’t want his stories. His gifts. No, all you needed to know was that he deleted the segments. They were gone because of him, and you didn’t want to see him right now.

Omega was not a human. He was a segment. Though, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t feel emotions. He did - when it came to you. But Omega was a selfish segment. Selfish when it came to a lot of things, you included. And selfishness and emotions do not bode very well, as it becomes… a convoluted mixture.

The segment thinks of himself as a patient man. He knows how to wait, and wait, and wait until it pays off. He can do that for you, too. Wait for you to come back to your senses. After all, they were just segments, right? And the superior one, the best one of them all was still here - him. So surely you won’t be like this for too long.

Just like his creator, he was proven wrong. He learned the depth of your anger a day he tried reaching out to you, wanting to put this whole situation behind. But you certainly didn’t share the same sentiment. It was like any other day, him talking to you and you walking away, but this time he reached out for you. The segment unconsciously longed for your touch, your affection, that was once so commonplace.

But as soon as you felt his fingers brush yours, you slapped Omega’s hand away with a scowl. You didn’t need to say anything. That one action spoke everything you wanted to.

You would never view him the same ever again.

—

“And so the butterfly found themselves drowning and suffocating in grief. Their whole life had been changed, the creatures who helped them through so much were now gone. But that would not be the last of the butterfly’s sorrow.”

You had been giving the cold shoulder to Zandik and Omega for a long time. Considering how clingy and affectionate you were before, they didn’t even know you had it in you. But now, it was as different as night and day. However, it wasn’t as much as it was before, because you still had to rely on them in order to live. Despite how much you didn’t want to, without them, you’d be dead. They were the ones who had to administer your medicine and give you check-ups so your condition wouldn’t get worse (although it already happened after the segments were deleted.) It was funny how easily progress could be reversed. How one thing, one random day, could change everything.

So eventually you had to let them in a bit. Most of the time you just ignored them and rarely spoke. Even during the checkups and shots, you had your head turned the other way the whole time. They would still attempt to talk to you, in hopes you would even grace them with a “yes” or “no” rather than the rare nod of your head. But it wasn’t very fruitful.

Another habit of yours now was that if you weren’t in your room, you were most likely in a segment’s room crying. Especially Zandy’s. Clutching his plushies. Or maybe Alpha’s. Trying to fix up the parts he left lying on his desk. Or Beta’s. Going into his closet to wear his coat. Dottore knew better than to clean out their rooms because you would most likely snap at him again.

You didn’t have much energy to do anything else but lay in your room, blankly staring at the ceiling all day, your head a foggy, grief-filled mess. It did not feel good… you hated the feeling… but what else should you do…? You just wished you could feel the warmth of your segments… the seemingly annoyed but secretly delighted posture of Alpha as you held him from behind. The bitey nature of Beta that didn’t let you go once you were in his clutches. The small, clingy body of Zandy as he cuddled into your body, sweet dreams blessing him instead of the nightmares. But you could only dream about those things now.

Even the regular Fatui agents had noticed this development. The lovey-dovey nature of Il Dottore’s spouse was now reduced to this. You heard them speak about it.

“Have you noticed? Lord Dottore has been far more irritable lately.”

“Oh yeah, both Omega and Prime! I feel bad for those who have to work directly with them…. At least my job is just standing at this door all day.”

“I know. They always were terrifying, but it seems even worse now. Ugh, and now there’s even more work for us since all the segments are gone.”

“Do you know why? Has Lord Pantalone decreased his budget again?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of obvious…” The agent lowered his voice to a whisper. “His spouse, [Name], has been giving them the silent treatment for ages now. Don’t tell anyone this but, I believe that our great Harbinger, Lord Il Dottore… is feeling the effects of this. I’ve never seen them act like this!”

“Is that so? Speaking of, I don’t think I’ve seen them around here very much.”

“Well yes… if you were here for as long as I have been, you’d normally see them all over the lab but, they tend to stay locked up in their room nowadays. And Lord Dottore as well, he doesn’t leave his office much either. Omega seems to take care of much of the outward responsibilities.”

So that was what it was like. You got your answer to if Dottore missed you. You wondered how many people accidentally became his test subjects due to his rising temper because of you. But though it may not have looked like it, not speaking to your husband was hurting you tremendously as well. Because at the end of the day… he was your love, your life. He was your Zandik, the one who meant everything to you. The one who went through everything and anything with you. He was the only one you had… you still loved him, terribly so. Maybe that was a bigger weakness than your illness.

But that didn’t mean you were any less mad at him.

Omega, on the other hand… ah, you didn’t even know what to think anymore… you were so conflicted, it was so hard to even think… when you said you loved all the segments, that included him too. But he deleted all of them… you hated him… but did you love him too? No, you should continue to hate him, he was the selfish one… Zandy was gone because of him… you couldn’t forgive him! So you didn’t forgive him. The days continued the same as always.

Until one fateful day.

Omega was set to head out on a mission. Which was quite unusual nowadays, because ever since the clones were deleted, he couldn’t afford to leave Snezhnaya with all the work that had to be done. All you had heard was that the blonde-haired traveler would be there too, from all the whispering around the lab.

But what did it matter to you? Whether the segment was here or not, it was the same to you. His whereabouts were surely not of concern to you, so you had no feelings on this. Though the night before he was set to leave, he knocked on your door anyway. You immediately pulled the blankets over your face and curled to the side of the bed so you wouldn’t see Omega. The door shut with a click and his boots sounded against the floor.

“Hello, [Name]. I’m sure you’ve heard by now that I am leaving soon. It is another critical mission for the Fatui, and I suspect the Traveler will be there once again.” He didn’t receive a response from you, which he expected. “But I’m sure this is of no interest to you, anyway.” He guessed right, you thought, you didn’t care. However, even after saying what he had to say, he did not leave. A silence overtook the room as neither of you moved or spoke. But then Omega called your name, with another short silence coming after it before he spoke once more.

“I will not ask for your forgiveness, because I know I will not receive it, nor will I apologize, because I believe I took the right course of action. But…” Omega paused, “I still hold you fondly. I still…” He reached his hand out to your covered body but drew it back before his fingertips could brush you.

“I hope we will be able to talk more once I return.” He seemed to wait a few more seconds, perhaps hoping you would stay something, hoping he could at least see your face before he left, but to no avail. All you heard was the retreating footsteps and the click of your door shutting once more. You pulled the blankets off so you could breathe properly again, as you thought about his words.

What should you do? You didn’t know. The segments had passed quite a while ago, and the pain was still fresh in your heart, but Omega… ugh… perhaps, maybe, just maybe, you could try talking to him once more. Only an attempt. If you didn’t like how it felt, you’d stop. And he wasn’t returning from the mission for a few months, so you had ample time to make your decision anyway.

But Omega never returned.

The next few months flew by quickly, and though Omega had not returned yet, you thought nothing of it. Something must have come up that delayed his return. It’s happened before, it probably happened again. That was until you noticed groups of Fatui huddled together murmuring in the lab. As soon as they saw you, they went back to work and shut up their little gossip quickly, which was very strange. Now you really needed to know what was going on, so you decided to silently eavesdrop on the next pair you found. But you would have never thought of the words you heard next.

Omega had been killed by the Traveler.

Omega was dead.

Omega wasn’t coming back.

You would never see him ever again. The realization made your body weak as you stumbled back, having to cling to the wall for support. He was gone… the tears immediately sprang to your eyes, as you covered your mouth to keep your sobs down. Omega killed the other segments. Maybe a part of you should feel glad. But no, all you felt was red-hot grief and pain, as you crashed into the nearest random room, and cried, and cried, and cried.

If you knew that was the last time you would see him, you wouldn’t have acted like that…

You wonder why things had to turn out like this.

—

“The butterfly never truly recovered from their loss, but as they say, time heals all wounds.”

After Omega died, you didn’t have the energy to be mad anymore. You were just tired. Tired of everything. Everything felt like a chore. Though you saw your husband more often now. Since there were no more segments, and Dottore obviously wouldn’t trust even the best Fatui doctors with you, he was the one who did all the usual medical stuff for you now.

Admittedly, his touch felt nice. It felt good. It felt like exactly what you needed right now. Comfort. So you gave in. When he had finished the usual procedure, as he turned his back on you, you reached out and wouldn’t let go of his hand. Dottore stiffened from the contact - it had been a while since you’d touched him so intimately - but you didn’t let go, and only weakly tugged him closer, which he complied to. You couldn’t bring your eyes to meet his, instead blankly staring at his shoes, but he seemed to get the message anyway. Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around you to gauge your reaction, and when he saw no resistance, he pulled you into his chest and held you. You missed this feeling. You missed Zandik.

And maybe you were scared he would leave you too.

Things continued like that for a while. You’d seek your husband out for his touch. His presence. His voice. Anything that would bring you some peace. Though you still remained mostly silent during these times. You just didn’t know what to say. Sometimes you wondered if he was mad at you. Annoyed. Disappointed. You didn’t want to know though. You were content with the fact that Zandik would hold you in his lap even at the wildest hours of the night.

But now, it had been some time since Omega’s death and even longer since the other segments were erased.

You weren’t quite ready to move on, no, not yet, but it was inevitable. Or perhaps you would never truly move on, instead, they would always be a part of you. You’d always carry them with you. But regardless, you needed to try, at least for Zandy. You think he’d want you to try and smile more often. You were speaking a bit more to your Harbinger friends again, and finding some enjoyment in your hobbies. Not to mention your relationship with Zandik was becoming better again. He had still been there, even when your illness and grief had you at your worst, with no complaints. Even though he had nothing to gain from this relationship. Even though you had become someone different. He had always loved you.

But there was still a rift caused by everything that had happened, that you wanted to fix. Because at the end of the day, in this world, you two only had each other. So you decided to talk to him about it. You had a habit of this, just waltzing into his office without knocking, and came upon Dottore who had a small box in his hand, appearing to gaze at whatever was in it, before he quickly snapped it shut at your sudden arrival. You recognized that box. It was the one where he kept his wedding ring in. So he still had it like that after all these years. You pretended like you didn’t see it as he swiftly put it away.

“[Name].”

“Zandik. Are you busy right now?”

“No.” Both of you knew that was a lie. The Second Harbinger was always busy. You knew for a fact he was stretched thin, especially since he wasted so much time taking care of you along with his Fatui duties, which piled up quickly with no more segments.

“Alright… can we talk?”

“Of course.” Zandik had been especially attentive to your words lately. Perhaps because he missed the times you would talk his ear off.

“I want to make something clear.” Zandik looked at you curiously as you took a deep breath. Many possibilities raced through his head.

“I still love you, Zandik.”

Well, he certainly wasn’t expecting that, and you could tell, even though his expression did not betray his thoughts.

“You already know the reason I’m…” Your voice trailed off, not wanting to say the words aloud, but you continued. “But I… appreciate you for staying by me. For all these centuries, through everything. It’s been a… very long time. And although things are different now, I want us to be… happy again. It might not be immediately but… it’s because I love you, Zandik.” You swallowed, at the end, your voice growing a bit softer. Ah, you hoped that wasn’t too sentimental. Zandik’s expression was blank so you couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“So yeah, that’s all… I guess.” All of a sudden, the silence that followed made you embarrassed, and you wanted to leave there as quickly as possible. “Okay, I-I’ll let you do your work now.” And then you hastily made your exit and left the Harbinger alone, before he started chuckling to himself. He’d expect nothing less from you, his dear, darling spouse.

Though he wonders if you realize time is irrelevant for him. He’ll wait for you as long as it takes.

—

“One thing about the raven and the butterfly that would never change was that they were wholly intertwined with each other. Their fates were one. So even if they happened to go their separate ways, they would inevitably return to one another again.”

It was actually quite scary how fast time flew. From the time you woke up, to marrying Dottore, to the segments passing, to right now… it felt like a blur. You guess, now that your life span was no longer that of a regular human’s, time was starting to skew a bit for you. Well, you were just excited to spend decades more, even centuries with him.

Throughout all the years that had passed since that day, you found yourself falling more and more in love with Zandik again. You suppose that should be normal for a married couple but, it never ceased to amaze you how one man could make you feel like this.

Something that had become somewhat of a habit for the two of you was dancing. Yes, dancing. It had come up during one of your wedding anniversaries. To be honest, neither of you really did or planned anything special for the day. Perhaps there was a bit more kissing along with other affectionate activities, but you two didn’t look at it as something that big. First, because you didn’t want to waste his already precious time, but also because you knew from the beginning the wedding anniversaries would be countless. So every anniversary was more of something you expected, so it was nothing too big to celebrate, especially as people who lived this long… if that made sense. And Dottore… was Dottore after all. Never one to care much for dates.

But on one anniversary you were reminded of how you two danced during the wedding. Your clumsy steps as Dottore guided you through it all, and you wanted to relive that, so he indulged you. And funnily enough, you were a lot better! Your steps weren’t as unsteady and your body didn’t ache as much. Dottore’s feet didn’t get assaulted by yours too much. Even Dottore was pleasantly surprised. It probably had to do with the fact that although you weren’t cured yet, your health had been up on an upward curve. Of course, never the best but, much better than you first were. You were proud of yourself for making it this far.

So now, when you had time, you found yourself rehearsing your steps with him and your husband twirling you around. Perhaps one day you could reach his level.

You found that there were days that reminded you of the Akademiya. Where you could help him with his notes and research like a real assistant would. Obviously, it still wasn’t the best but it was something, and you could see that Dottore liked it. These days often came with you teasing him with embarrassing memories from the Akademiya.

“I still remember when you got motion sickness from piloting that ruin golem, Zandik.”

“For the last time, I did not get motion sickness, [Name].”

“Mhm, sure. If I didn’t drag you out, you would have-”

“That is enough from you.”

You found that there were more days he would take you out into the Snezhnayan winters (you were bundled up to the max) so you could finally see the snow. You found yourself attending your first balls at the Tsaritsa’s palace, as Dottore was now forced to attend himself rather than his segments. He didn’t want to leave you by yourself in the dreary lab so… you were often his plus one, where you spent the evening poking fun at him with Columbina. (You also were the one who publicly took sweets to-go from the parties for him so he wouldn’t get judged.)

And perhaps your favorite memory was when he took you back to Sumeru - yes, to another country - so you could witness the Akademiya Extravaganza festival. He, of course, had no interest in it, but you being you and loving fun things absolutely did. Many things happened, including meeting the Traveler… but that story was for another day.

All in all, you always knew this but, you found that no matter how many years passed, no matter what Il Dottore has done, no matter the amount of sins and wrongfulness he has committed… you were hopelessly in love with him. From the time he was that perpetually irritated but in love student from the Akademiya to his current self, the Harbinger that was a stark contrast to his former self but still possessed you for himself.

Sure, it was a bit lonely at times compared to before, but all the tender moments throughout the years made you happy to have Zandik in your life. Which is why you foolishly thought these times would last forever.

When Dottore told you he was leaving Snezhnaya, and therefore the lab, and therefore you, it jolted you right up from your sleepy daze on his lap.

“What?!” The word came out as a half yell, half-whisper. “What do you mean you’re leaving Snezhnaya?”

“It means I’m leaving Snezhnaya, dear,” he continued on his paperwork (which never seemed to end) as if this was common knowledge. “The mission needs a Harbinger to oversee it, and the task falls to me this time.”

You were devastated. There were times when Dottore only had to leave the lab for a few days to attend to matters in different parts of Snezhnaya. (You spent the time at Columbina’s mansion because oddly enough, she always seemed to be there… how did she manage to shirk her duties so often?) But this was completely different. He would be so far out of reach, for a long time probably too. Foreign missions always took a while. You remember how long you had to wait for the segments to return from them.

“Okay, then I’ll come with you!”

“No, you’re not,” he immediately shut down your proposition. “Missions are still far too dangerous with your current state. You will stay in Snezhnaya, and wait for me to come back.” You knew when he used that tone, things were final, and you hung your head low, all sleepiness gone at the fact you wouldn’t be seeing him for months. Sure, you would be staying with Bina as usual but, you had a feeling it’d be hard to replace the rush of emotions Dottore gave you on a daily basis.

Dottore noticed your dour expression, which he obviously expected, and sighed, setting down his pen. At this point, it was a sort of routine that he had memorized, comforting you and all. Although comfort would never be something he was adept in, years of doing it had let him become somewhat proficient.

“[Name],” he moved his hand to guide your chin up so you could look at him. You were pouting. “These few months, or even less, depending on how quickly the work gets done, will only be a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things. I’ll be back before you know it,” he hummed. Although he certainly was not pleased about leaving you by yourself for so long, such was the life of a Fatui Harbinger. It was at times like these he missed his segments. (Did that sound selfish? Well, he was a selfish man when it came to you.)

A drop in eternity, huh? Well, when he puts it like that, then maybe it would be just a bit bearable. And, when you think about it, he’s waited over four hundred years for you, all alone. So this little challenge couldn’t be too hard, right?

“Alright… I’ll wait for you, Zandik.”

“Good,” he chuckled at how easy it was to win you over sometimes and stroked your cheek. “In the meantime, you can work on the recipe you’ve been vehemently hiding from me and show me when I’m back.” You immediately brightened at that.

“Oh yeah! I promise you’re going to like these sweets better than the ones at the bakery!” You proudly declared.

“Oh? Now that’s a high standard you’ve set yourself to, dear. Are you sure you’re going to be able to live up to it?”

“Hmph, don’t underestimate me. My baking skills have improved over the years!”

The banter always made you two feel like regular humans, despite what you two really were.

—

“The days went by peacefully for the lonely butterfly, but soon that feeling was shattered when they learned of a golden comet’s presence near their raven.”

The days in Columbina’s mansion went by rather uneventfully. Surprisingly enough, she wasn’t home as often as usual. It seemed like the Fatui were really stepping up their business now. You’d have to ask Dottore about that. Maybe the day Celestia is defeated was closer than you thought. But today was a day Bina had some time to indulge in cakes and conversation with you. The chit-chat was mundane but brought a sense of comfort until the conversation somehow ended up with Dottore as the topic. Your friend always liked teasing you about him. Everything was lighthearted and sweet until she idly mentioned his mission.

“I wonder how your Doctor is doing on the mission~”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s Dottore after all.”

“Mhm, that’s right. I do wonder how he plans to deal with the Traveler though.” The mention of the blonde’s name nearly made you drop your teacup.

“W-What?” Your voice cracked as you implored your friend to tell you more. You were now realizing that you neglected to ask Dottore what the mission exactly was, and he did not reveal the contents as well, probably because he knew you’d freak even more if you knew he was most likely going to confront the Traveler. Columbina looked confused.

“Dear, did he not tell you?”

“No! I- ah, he only told me he has a mission in another nation, I guess it slipped my mind to ask him the details!” You now had your hand clutched to your head and another one trying to soothe your now rapidly beating heart. A naive and very stupid part of you thought it wouldn’t have to come to this, but it already did, so quickly too.

Why were you so particularly scared? It was because all you could think of was Omega’s death by the Traveler’s hand, as well as your fellow colleagues. You knew that Dottore was far stronger than any of them but… you were in a panic. All the worst possible scenarios began invading your mind relentlessly.

“[Name], calm down. Dottore is strong. We do not even know if it will end in a battle or not, but regardless of the outcome, he is smart enough to-” Bina attempted to comfort you before you interrupted her and abruptly stood up.

“I need to go.”

“Go? Go to Dottore, dear?”

“Yes. Yes, I need to see him. I need-” Your words were becoming a jumbled mess from the anxiety this piece of news caused. “I need to see him in person if he’s okay.”

“You do not think you should think about this some more? I suspect the Doctor will not be happy if he sees you there, even if it’s you of all people.”

“It doesn’t matter. If I stay here, all I’ll be able to think about is him.” You could already see yourself losing sleep and appetite over this. “But as long as I can see him okay… even if he’s angry, I can deal with it. Anything is better than being over here helpless!” Columbina watched you silently.

“Alright. Be ready in a few days.” You looked at her in surprise.

“Bina? You’re helping me? You’re not going to… stop me?”

“Dear [Name], I will not get in the way of a decision you’ve made for yourself. If this is what you’ve decided, then it is my duty as your friend to assist you as I’ve done in the past. And perhaps this will teach the Doctor a lesson to stop withholding information from you,” the Harbinger sighed.

“…Thank you, Columbina.” You’d have to repay her sometime later.

—

“The raven and the butterfly found themselves reunited again at long last, and would stay together like that forever.”

It was funny you found yourself back here, your home country. It seems like you two were always drawn back here, despite no longer being welcomed. But that didn’t really matter too much, because as soon as the boat you were on pulled into the port, it was clear that today was not a normal day in Sumeru City.

You were too late.

The fight had clearly already begun, probably only recently too, by the chaotic state of Sumeru. Obviously, it’d be out of order if there were two immensely powerful beings in battle with each other. Maybe, if you were just a bit sooner… but you already had your mind set. Although the Fatui agent entrusted with your safety was ready to head back already, his orders to not let you come to any danger, you just tranquilized him. (It was a courtesy device from Dottore in case he wasn’t near.)

And you ran. Was that a good idea considering your illness? Absolutely not, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Was it a good idea to walk into the middle of a battle? Also no, but you couldn’t shake the bad feeling you had this whole time.

Although it was far away, it was easy to spot the place, as for one there were Fatui swarming the area and also regular citizens running in the opposite direction. Though your lungs were absolutely burning, your knees weak and scraped from tripping, tired from bumping into others, illness flaring up even worse from the added stress and exertion, you continued ahead with only one goal. To see your husband.

Throughout your haggard walking, you thought of the future. You thought of how great it would be to see Teyvat change in the next four hundred years just as he did. And this time, Dottore would not have to witness it by himself. He would have you. It would be amazing, just thinking of all the variety of new inventions and such that would be created! You two would surely dissect them and put them back together for fun. You two would do a lot of things, you think, as you finally made it to the door of the grand building the fight was in. It was already rather damaged, but the door managed to remain mostly intact, so you pushed it open.

Just in time to see the Traveler land the final fatal hit to Zandik, his body landing on the floor with a painful thud.

Your worst nightmare had become reality. But… Zandik told you he’d return to you in no time…

Suddenly, all the will you had before was gone in an instant. You didn’t have the energy or focus to call out his name. All you could do was blankly stare at his defeated body while taking some hesitant steps forward, all while mumbling something incoherent under your breath. The Traveler, despite their exhaustion, noticed you and immediately readied their sword again. But, they soon realized that there was no need for that from the exceedingly dull look in your eyes and the way you tripped over yourself again, landing on the floor, reaching out your hand towards the Doctor. You had to make it to him.

You pathetically dragged your body closer to Zandik, every part of it screaming out in part for you to stop. But you didn’t care. You could take it. After all, you knew the pain would soon be over. The Traveler merely watched you, still a bit on edge for what you could do, but you didn’t care. You didn’t care about anything besides Zandik, so you continued inching your body to your husband before you finally reached him. His body was practically motionless, his face revealed as his mask was destroyed to the side somewhere. When you came into view, a flicker of surprise came across his face but it quickly morphed into one of acceptance.

“You’re not supposed to be here.” You half-laughed at that.

“I could say the same to you…” Your voice had dropped to a soft, defeated one. Huffing and panting, you used your last remaining strength to pull yourself up and kneel, tenderly bringing your husband’s head onto your lap. He did not resist. It wasn’t like he had the strength to anyway. “You didn’t tell me you were going to be here, either.”

“It was not necessary… at the time,” Zandik said, looking right at you the whole time with those red eyes of his. “But I suppose I should have expected this. You never do as you are told, do you?”

“Of course not. But you should remember that whenever I break the rules, things turn out fine for us.” You smiled, and you had a feeling both of you were thinking of the same memories. That time you helped him break into the Akademiya’s library when it was closed, or the time you threw a book at someone for him, or the time you two helped each other on what was supposed to be solo assignments. Or the times you ran away from his needles and medicine, or the times you went behind his back and befriended the others. Those times ended out okay, so this time would be okay too.

Then, the building began to rumble, most likely about to collapse. The battle must have been quite fierce. Although the Traveler felt no remorse for the two of you, their kind heart still couldn’t help but feel the slightest twinge of pity. After all, the blonde had read the notes the two of you left scattered around Sumeru. To think that a relationship could last so long, especially one with the mad Doctor… You noticed their expression before you rasped out a mixture of a plea and demand.

“Why are you still here? Leave us now. I want to be alone with him.” Your words were empty of emotion towards them. There was no point in any hostility anymore, not when you had to treasure the last moments with your beloved. The Traveler didn’t seem surprised by your words, as they nodded and threw the bloodied Harbinger one last glance, before running away with the little fairy. It seemed they knew… you’d rather die here along with him than live without him.

You looked back at Zandik’s face, his once brightly colored red eyes now a darkened hue.

“I’ve failed you, [Name].” Since it was the end of the line now, even a genius scholar such as him had to admit defeat. Dottore thought back to all the times he swore to cure you. He swore he would do it so that you could be who you used to be once more. But he failed. He let you lose centuries of your life and left you in pain for your conscious ones. But you didn’t seem to share the sentiment.

“Failed me?” You couldn’t help but laugh at that, despite the tears that began to run down your cheeks. “Oh darling, you have never failed me. Not once in over four hundred years.” Zandik continued to stare at you because that was all the strength he had to do, so you reached for his hand and brought it to your cheek.

“You’ve loved me continuously for so many centuries, haven’t you? How could that ever be a failure?” You nuzzled into his hand, his own blood beginning to smear on your face, but you didn’t care.

“Your love has changed so much over time. From your prickly and thorny yet beautiful love from the Akademiya. To your smooth and unabashed love now. But your love was unfaltering, to me at least. Perhaps I may be delusional, and I overthink how much you love me. But I think it was real, even though you may never admit it, that is what matters to me. So if you’re thinking about the cure, forget it.” Your hands were shaking and struggling to hold his to your cheek for this long, energy spent, but you continued anyway, even as a piece of the infrastructure suddenly caved in and collapsed on the opposite side of the room with a loud crash. “The cure isn’t what mattered. It was you.”

Zandik thinks you are the only person who has forgiven him. Not even he has. He knows he does not deserve it, but he shouldn’t say that to you now. But he thinks, even at this moment, perhaps it may seem sick or morbid, your beauty still manages to surpass that of any other being in Teyvat.

You thought about the Tsaritsa, who had shown you much love and kindness. You hoped she would finally achieve her goals. You thought about the other Harbingers, the ones who were still alive at least. You would miss them. You looked at your wedding ring. It was still intact. How lovely. Lastly, you thought about Zandik as you looked at him, and he seemed to realize something.

“[Name], reach into my pocket.” You were confused but you complied, wincing in pain a bit but successfully reached it and pulled out a box. It was the box he kept his wedding wing in. Popping it open, you were correct, and still couldn’t help but be a bit incredulous.

“You brought it with you?” You were surprised because a part of you still believed he thought the whole thing was a bit dumb.

“I normally do not but, with the length of the mission, I believed it would be a simple and easy way to be reminded of you.” That was cute.

“Sorry. I guess the good luck charm didn’t work,” you smiled apologetically as you slipped the band onto his finger, to which Zandik scoffed.

“You know very well I do not believe in luck.” You only laughed, though it was mostly drowned out by multiple crashes and rocks falling all around you. Being buried was a fitting end, to be honest. No one else needed to know about the two of you. No one else needed to know your stories. It would be best if the two of you ended up forgotten, lost to time. Then, no one would be able to misunderstand or twist your relationship.

Despite all of the pains that had befallen you, the suffering and hardships, you could happily say you lived a good life. You were happy, so happy, thanks to Zandik. Zandik was what made this life worth living… so this was okay. You would have loved to have been cured and lived out many more happy memories with him but… this was alright. But the time was limited, so this conversation needed to be wrapped up in a way that would satisfy you.

“I love you, Zandik.” You don’t expect any response back because of your husband’s poor track record with saying those words.

The times Zandik has said the words ‘I love you’ have admittedly been scarce and in-between despite the centuries he’s spent with you. It was a grand total of… two times. And both had been said when he thought you were sleeping.

The first time had been in the Akademiya. It had been a while since you two were a couple, and he had yet to say it. You expected that obviously. But one random night, when you two were cuddling and drifting off into dreamland, you heard the three words mumbled into the crook of your neck. It took everything in you not to react.

The second time had been when you had recently woken up from your coma. Dottore was around you constantly, taking so many tests that it made your head spin, and you had to take naps more often than not. And once again, as you were just about to slip off into slumber, you heard the three words whispered as he gently bit your ear.

Surprisingly enough, the third time would be now. Perhaps because he had nothing to lose anymore, as it was the end.

“I love you as well, [Name].” Your eyes go wide for a few seconds before you grin widely one last time, and you give him a look that says ‘I know.’ Zandik watched your eyes flutter shut as you leaned down to his face, and he let himself be enveloped in your final kiss, neither of you paying attention to the shadows cast by the multitude of broken architecture about to fall on top of you.

Let the fairy tale come to a close.

—

“In his last moments, the raven was taken back to a memory from centuries ago. It was a memory where he was truly happy with his lovely sparrow.”

Zandik awoke to a blue sky and a gentle breeze. He blinked, immediately trying to gauge where he was. But then the sound of a familiar voice flooded his senses.

“And you know what this professor had the audacity to say to me, Zandik? ‘Figure it out!’ Like, you’re supposed to be helping me, not writing me off! You’re getting paid for this!” You were lying down on the grass next to him, hands folded as you huffed. “At least I have you, Zandik. Way better than any damn professor.” He blinks at you.

Zandik remembers this moment. It was the day when exams and classes were finally over, and you wanted to relax before helping him with his experiments. And you also thought it was the perfect time to rant about all the professors you had to deal with over the last few months. But soon, you just started bringing up random things that occurred over the term. Zandik couldn’t remember the last time he saw you like this. Donning the Akademiya uniform, so happy and carefree… healthy, strong, like nothing in the world bothered you.

He found himself slightly smiling at how stupidly happy you looked, before reaching out to you. But as soon as merely his fingernails came into contact with you, you began to dissolve right in front of his eyes. Immediately, he stiffened and sat up, again trying to take hold of you but you were no longer there. Zandik’s hands began to shake, and that’s when he realized his surroundings were changing.

The blue sky was now fading away, becoming pitch black along with everything else that was chipping away, ready to swallow him whole into the darkness.

Ah, he understood now.

This was the end.

—

“Finally, the twisted raven met his fate.”

Or so he thought. Zandik woke up once more. Everything seemed normal at first, the blue sky was once again there and the Sumerian breeze caressed his hair. Until he realized there was a sticky substance coated all over his hands.

Blood.

This wasn’t an unfamiliar occurrence for him, after all, he would usually get hands-on with his experiments, but he had an… odd feeling about this. Zandik blinked and all of a sudden, there you were lying on the ground in front of him.

Dead. Coated with blood.

Did he… kill you?

All too quickly, before he could reach out to hold your body or begin to process what happened, he was suddenly somewhere else. The desert.

Zandik laid eyes upon you. What he would usually see was you complaining about the heat while you dug through the ruins. What he saw instead was an Eremite plunging a sword through you.

And again. This time he awoke to you being completely cold and limp in his arms. And again. It didn’t take his brain long for him to understand what was happening.

His victims and test subjects could torture him for eternity, yet Dottore would not feel bothered or a shred of remorse. It would be a useless endeavor. But this? This was the perfect punishment.

His beloved being killed in front of him, by the world, by other people, by natural forces, by his own hands. And for all of the power and knowledge he once had, he was powerless to do anything yet again.

… How ironic, Zandik thought.

—

At last, the tiny Archon closed the storybook.

It had been ages since the events in this tale had taken place. The Fatui were no more, Celestia was gone, the Traveler had long left this world, and Teyvat was at peace. So much time, that the Outcast’s name no longer floated around the Akademiya, now long forgotten. The God of Wisdom herself had gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from all the years that had flown by. And even still, she has not forgotten this story.

Yet, in all of her wisdom, she still cannot hope to fully understand the raven and the sparrow. The Dendro Archon found herself coming back to this tale, trying to comprehend their actions and thoughts. She reads it aloud to herself, draws pictures, and crafts the tale with her own words, yet it only leaves her more lost. Perhaps one day she will understand. But perhaps she won’t. Perhaps no one ever will.

After all, there were only two people who would ever truly understand the bond between the raven and the sparrow.

Zandik and [Name].

An unfriendly and cold scholar and a sweet and caring one.

An immoral villain and an accomplice.

A violator of this world’s laws and a supporter.

A Harbinger and an assistant.

Regardless of those titles, perhaps at the end of the day, they only saw themselves as one thing to each other.

Two people who loved each other as if nothing else mattered.

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byunpum · 1 year

Text

Experiment 56 [part 4]

Neteyam x Human reader ( like a mix of human and Navi )

and sullyFAM x human reader, spider x reader , and quaritch x reader (dont blame me )

Tw: mmm neteyam baby, reader being mutant, neytiri being a sweetheart-mother, jealousy, My daddy issues with jake, spider being spider,Watch out for quaritch, all the characters are aged up 20's.

POV: Y/N is surprised that it is an indispensable piece for the human race. Her family will do everything possible to keep her hidden and safe…

Experiment 56 masterlist | Experiment 56 sequel Masterlist

Note: I wanted to write a lot of things in this part, but I didn't want it to be so long. But I still hope you like it. I am really enjoying making this series, soon I will be posting a masterlist of this series to make it easier to find all the parts. Thank you very much for your support. And remember that if you want me to do more stuff about other characters, go ahead, the request is open. From now on I warn you that I am not very expert in this Navi culture, but I did my best. And I'll be using events that happened in the movie, but they won't be exactly the same. And sorry for the spelling. English is not my mother tongue.

The drive was long and very exhausting. It was two nights of travel, jake was already worried about spider and you. You were more fragile than the others, so he decided to take a break, it was 2:00 a.m. on the third night. Jake signaled with his hand for them to land on a small islet. Everyone following jake and they landed.

"Let's get some rest, at sunrise we will be leaving. We are very close to our destination" said jake, as he took some things down from his ikran. Neteyam got off his ikran and helped you down. Neteyam looked down and gave you a small smile. Everyone needed this rest, the exhausted face of the group was visible. Neytiri called you to help her with tuk, tuk might be taller than you, but she was still your little sister. And you knew she was a little uncomfortable, so you sat down on the floor and held tuk in your arms while she was still asleep. Neytiri and Jake were making a improvised shelter, it wasn't the best, but it would give them warmth and a dry place to rest. While from the others, they were taking some things out of their pack.

"Are you okay?" loak sat down next to you. "Yeah, I just…I miss home that's all." Loak put his head on your shoulder, he didn't have to talk to answer you. That's why he was your best friend. A memory comes to your mind, you remember when loak was born you were so impressed, he was your baby, your little brother. You helped neytiri with his food, to walk, to talk. Even kiri and neteyam got jealous, because you didn't want to play with them anymore, you just wanted to take care of loak. When you two were growing up you had many arguments, but you always solved them by hugging and taking a nap. You laughed a little at the memory of those times. "What are you thinking?" Loak looks up." I'm thinking how much I love this family, they are so important to me. Look at what they are doing for me. They could have left me or given me up. But no…they're sacrificing everything…everything" You hadn't noticed that everyone was listening to you. Jake comes over to you, and settles in behind you, so that your back is against his chest. He gives you a big hug "How many times do we have to tell you…you're our girl. No matter what, what you look like, or where you come from. Look" you look up, as jake keeps talking " mama loves you, and kiri, loak, spider, tuk and neteyam love you. And we will do whatever it takes to protect you." Says jake, while kiri hugs you, she was already crying. Everyone comes over to give you a hug. Between tears and sobs, everyone breaks up laughing a little." Ok, everything is ready, let's rest" jake looks you in the eyes, and arranges a little bit your hair.

All the boys including you went to sleep, the order was as follows: tuk, loak, spider and kiri were together. Then a little further apart from the group were you and neteyam. Your back was to him, but neteyam was right behind her, with her tail wrapped around your leg. And one of her hands was on your waist. From the distance, jake and neytiri were watching the scene.

"don't you think… you know?" says neytiri while looking at her partner. "Are you talking about neteyam and y/n?" jake looks at the scene again and sees how you and neteyam are further apart from the group. As they are cozying up. A very common behavior in couples. " jake… I noticed the behavior that neteyam has towards y/n. It seems like they are…. Couple." Jake doesn't know what to say back to neytiri. "we can't blame him love." "but ma jake, they have grown up together. How is it possible" neytiri is looking with confusion at her partner. She couldn't understand how you two could have fallen in love. "love, you know the relationship that neteyam and y/n was never the same as with the other kids, I know neteyam likes y/n since his 8 years old. Yes they grew up together, but we have always paired them up".

"what? now it's my fault?" neytiri slaps jake on the shoulder," hey hehehe remember that time, you said that y/n was the determined partner for neteyam".

"yeah, but it was to get ninat's mom off my back. That woman is crazy" defended neytiri. There was a short silence until neytiri spoke, "I'm not worried about them being together…I prefer it that way. But how will they mate. Y/N will be able to give birth to a navi child?" jake didn't know how to answer this to neytiri. "I don't know, we'll have to wait. Besides…we are assuming they are in a relationship" jake joked with neytiri. "I'm his mother, I know there's something. I know everything." Jake laughed a little, and got up, took neytiri's hand and led her to the makeshift planter to rest for a bit.

At sunrise they all fly to their destination, it wasn't far away. So the trip went quickly. As they got closer, you could notice the whole ecosystem of this new clan, wow… it was beautiful. Crystal clear waters, warm air. Norm had told you several things, about the different clans that were in Pandora. But this was more than you had imagined, it was beautiful. You were landing on the sand, as you watched the locals approaching. You were next to neteyam, his hand was holding yours. You were a little scared, how was he going to ration. After all you and spider were human. You felt someone take your other hand and saw that it was spider. Spider looked you in the eye, he was scared, just like you. I said "calm down…we will be fine". You saw two large figures walking towards you, you knew one of them was Tonowari, but the female figure next to him you didn't know.

"I see you, Ronal, I see you, Tonowari," said Jake as he greeted him. "I see you, jake sully…. What brings you here?" asked tonowari, as ronal examined the family and noticed two small figures." We are here to… ask for shelter" ronal interrupts jake, as he walks over to spider and you. "You have demons near your family" said ronal, while examining spider. "I promise you, they are innocent. The girl is our daughter, and the boy is a friend of the family. They are good, I promise." jake was trying to convince the metkayina clan leaders. "And what is this?" Ronal looks at your braid, she can't believe her eyes. A navi braid, how is that possible? "this is a monst…" before she could finish, Neytiri stepped in front of her, pulling you away from Ronal. Neteyam pulled you close to him, while your other siblings went into defense mode. Oh no, thought jake, he didn't want this to become a problem.

"don't you dare say anything about my DAUGHTER. She is so navi, just like everyone here. You respect her" neytiri and ronal were furious. "calm down everyone…" tonowari said, while jake calmed neytiri down. You were holding neteyam's hand, loak was next to you making a wall style. "We just want shelter… we will learn their ways and adapt" jake looks at ronal and tonowari. They have a little staring match, until the man turns and looks at jake, "it's okay. You can stay, you will learn our culture and you will adapt. All of you" Tonowari looked at the two of you, you and spider swallowed. "yes, thank you very very much".

"my sons, tsireya and aonung will help you adapt" you could see the boy's displeased face. Although the girl looked very happy about her father's comment.

Ronal took another look and looked at the couple in front of him "later we will talk…and they will explain to us how she got that…and where she came from" Ronal pointed at you, while Jake just nodded. Neytiri had had enough of everything and they had just arrived. "Come with me, I'll show you to your new home" tsireya commented to them, she was the only one who was listening to them. You knew her kindness was genuine, you could feel it.

Tsireya guided them to their new home, she told us that the correct name was "marui". You found the differences between you and them interesting. You were behind neytiri, tuk was jumping behind you, while neteyam, spider, loak and kiri followed. "Here is your home, I hope it is to your liking, anything you need let us know" tsireya informs us, "thank you" we all say. You can see how loak and tsireya look at each other and then exchange looks." Heeee easy…we just got here" you joke with loak," shut up!!!" loak wants to die of embarrassment. "oh, one other thing…after you settle in, we'll wait for you on the coast. You'd better start your classes right away. See you" tsireya said goodbye.

"ok, family all together" jake said, neteyam drags loak to his side, kiri sits next to him. You settle next to tuk, sitting her on your lap, while she plays with your hair. Spider stays in the corner. He didn't want to interrupt. "spider I said everyone!!!" jake stated, spider came over and sat next to loak. "well… we're very lucky to have been accepted. i want you to behave yourselves, is that clear?" jake pointed to loak, spider, and you. Believe it or not, you guys were the trouble trio. And you always got neteyam involved. Kiri wasn't a troublemaker, but sometimes she would join them on adventures. "Yes, sir," they all said.

"mom, I want to go home" said tuk, while neytiri stroked her cheek, "hey, what does your father always say?" neytiri looks at them all." The sully's are always united." Jake claps a little." Cheers guys!!!! "jake tries to cheer up the situation, he takes tuk in his arms and carries her outside the marui, so she could see the view. Neytiri accompanies them, after all this was going to be their new home.

"Wow, I'm dying" you say, as you lie down on the ground. Spider laughs at you and imitates your movements. "I keep forgetting you two are a couple of lazy bums." Loak complains, "but yeah, I'm exhausted" he lays down next to you. Kiri laughs a little." Believe it or not, I'm happy…we're all here…together" kiri joins them on the floor and lies down. Neteyam sighs a little," hey come…come here." You wave your arms, inviting him to join the loose group. "come on!!! I know what you want, just for a moment." You tell him winking at him, neteyam laughs and walks over to where you are. He literally lies down on top of you. You scream a little, but you hug him. "yaaa…don't start with your lovers stuff." Says loak, as he tries to get neteyam off of you. Spider looks at the scene a little serious, even though he didn't want to admit it he was a little jealous, your relationship with neteyam.

"You're jealous" said neteyam, fighting with his brother." jealous!!!??? Of what?" loak, keep pushing him " of me not hugging you" neteyam slides down and ends up on top of loak and hugs him." Yaaaaaaaa let me go!!!" you laugh as you watch them play. You had your differences, but you knew they loved each other. You turn your eyes to see spider, "is something wrong?" you ask him, his face was very serious. "no, it's nothing" spider changes his expression. You knew something was wrong with him, he was usually happy, he was the most cheerful of them all. You assume his change is because they were in a new place, that must be it.

Jake and Neytiri come back in, and notice that Neteyam and Loak were already fighting. Kiri was laughing and you and spider were trying to get things out of the boxes. "hey guys!!" jake looked at them" sorry" neteyam looked at him sideways. There was silence, until jake jumps on top of the boys. Neytiri sighed and let them play, there were few times when Jake was not so strict with the boys. Neytiri walked over to where you and spider were setting things up. "Thanks for helping…spider" said neytiri, you don't comment anything, your mother naturally isn't nice to spider, but you see she is trying.

Later, you all go out to look for tsireya and her brother aonung. "hey, we're here, come on !!!!" shouts tsireya, as everyone jumps in and jumps into the water. You were frozen on the edge. "come on, it's okay. It's safe here" tsireya tries to convince you, but what she didn't know is that you weren't a big fan of the deep, you knew how to swim, but you didn't like it. Neteyam knew that, so she went to the edge and raised her arms, "come on, come down calmly and I'll hold you". "but I'm going to drown!!!" you say as you try to calmly lower yourself into his arms, aonung laughs at you "you guys seem to be very good in the trees, but here…" tsireya gives him a smack, and looks at him telling him to get a grip. You finally enter the water, you were holding neteyam's neck. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it," said tsireya, and you did. A week had passed and you were already competing with loak and spider to see who could hold their breath the longest. Spider got used to it very quickly, you didn't know how he did it… but he learned everything so fast. You admired that about him, you could barely swim.

It wasn't until it was time to ride an ilu, you were so excited. Aonung had told you that there were some smaller ones, and they were the perfect size for you. For Jake this wasn't enough though, he was right next to Aonung, making sure everything was okay. As soon as you saw the ilus, you fell in love with one in particular, it was very pretty. The creature came up to you, and nuzzled its face into your stomach. You laughed a little. Aonung indicated that you could now join her, you took your braid and connected it to the ilu. Aonung was surprised, because the creature remained calm. You pulled the creature up, and it began to swim. Wow…this was so new to you and you loved it. A smile came out of jake's face, it was the first time he saw you bond with a creature, and you had no problems, he was so proud of you.

You loved it all, they had never questioned your appearance, neither yours nor spider's. You had heard some comments from the younger metkayina, though. But even Ronal was accepting of you…you liked to go where she would teach the other clan girls how to prepare medicines. She even prepared a special cream, for you and spider to put on and protect you from the sun. You loved spending time with tsireya, tuk and kiri, and discovering places with loak and spider. But most of all, you loved meeting neteyam in a secret place. According to neteyam, he found it by accident and realized that no one went there. So, in the evenings, you two would meet there. To spend some time alone.

It was in the afternoon, everyone was finishing their tasks, neytiri had told you to look for some shells on the beach, you weren't complaining. You weren't a big fan of swimming all day, so you went without a problem. Besides, your snail collection needed new pieces. You were walking along the beach, until you heard someone approaching, you looked to see who it was and saw spider coming up.

"hello!!!" said spider, as he runs towards you," hello…Are you done with your tasks?" you ask, as you continue collecting snails. " Yes, actually there wasn't much to do. So everyone went home" replied spider, while trying to tell you something else.

" Is something wrong, I've noticed you're acting a little strange?" you ask, as you sit down on the sand. Spider takes a seat next to you. "Well yes" you knew spider was nervous because he started playing with one of the decorations on his loincloth. "You and neteyam are a couple, right?" says spider, you knew how this was going to end. "Well, we're a couple…we haven't bonded before eywa yet. But…" spider interrupts you." You can't do that…. y/n, you and neteyam are totally different", you couldn't believe what spider was telling you. "wait what????" you question him.

" Yeah, what will your parents say, and everyone else. You guys are different in everything. Don't take this the wrong way, but you must be with someone just like you." Says spider, very confident. You take a deep breath, you get up from the floor. "Listen to me spider, you had your chance… and what did you do to me? You humiliated me, you said I was weird, that you wouldn't be with someone like me. And now when I'm happy, when I finally find someone to love me. You come to claim me?" you say annoyed.

After the first reject that spider gave you, at 17 years old you two decided to go out. It was not for a long time, but it was long enough to hear how spider talked to other navi guys, that he was only dating you because he felt sorry for you. You remember how it hurt, and how neteyam was always by your side. Still, you forgive spider, and you continued to be friends.

Spider stands up, "wait no, I don't want you to be annoyed with me…I just." Spider looks down, "you nothing!!!! I've given my neck for you…I had you brought to us. And here you are claiming me who I want." You yell at spider," And I thank you, but he doesn't deserve you. y/n" spider tries to grab your arm, but you break free from his grip and keep walking to the house. You hear spider shouting from far away.

Neteyam was on his way to the beach to check on you, but he saw you walking in disgust. As you were getting closer, you stopped "hey, what's up?" asks neteyam as he gets down to your level. You walk over and hug him. "Ma neteyam, they keep hurting me. They keep doing it…and I can't shake this feeling of guilt" you say, as tears stream down your face. "what are you talking about?" neteyam caresses your back and takes your face in her hands, to give you a kiss. "Hey, why don't we give these snails to mom and then go to our place, okay?" Neteyam says as he adjusts your hair a little. You nod your head, as you go ahead to go to the house. Neteyam gets up and walks behind you, but looks back. He notices how Spider is walking in the same direction you were coming from. Spider was already getting on Neteyam's nerves.

On the other side of Pandora…

"It's been two weeks already…two" screams General Ardmore . "I know general, but we didn't find anything. They're missing" says Quaritch, trying to defend himself. Lyle was at his side, and gave him a worried look. "Colonel, I need you to bring that girl to me. And I don't care if she's still alive. I want her in the facility in a week. That's a damn order" Quaritch nodded with his face. He lifted himself from the seat, and walked out of the briefing room. Lyle followed him, not daring to say anything. Quaritch stops dead in his track "you know what the problem is, Lyle" said Quaritch "what is it, sir?" Lyle walks forward, "I don't want to catch her…something in me tells me to leave her alone. It's like a force telling me to leave her." Quaritch brings his hand to his chest, as he looks at Lyle with concern," it won't be…that thing the navi say. what is it? mmm eywa?" Quaritch laughs a little at Lyle," you're really crazy, you don't believe in that stuff?" miles wanted to think Lyle was crazy, but inside he was thinking the same thing. " I don't know, you know that these….. points to his body are connected and blah blah blah blah with that spirit stuff. And who knows, if they're telling you something." There was a silence between the two men. Quaritch gave Lyle's shoulder a squeeze, "who knows, who knows? But if so…whatever it is is talking to me. It's telling me I should have her…to myself." Miles chuckled a little to himself. As he kept walking to get everything ready.

p.s: I wanted to focus more on the relationship of the characters, than on how they lived together in the Metkayina clan. The good stuff is coming soon ahhh. I hope that between today or tomorrow chapter 5 will be ready. Kisses!!!

Neytiri babies: @st4rrry @valeriinee @inutheangel @gielrmn @sloppierjewel @purple7theparty @itscheybaby @ssc7514 @namorslit @ducks118 @tpwkstiles @elli-aesthetics @nao-cchi @uselessbutinteresting @msjae @austynparksandpizza @gamorxa @andyyy4444 @itssomeonereading @meivap @barbii04 @mm-nope @dorck26 @nessrin @purple7theparty @ssc7514 @sloppierjewel @yeosxxx @legendleopard100 @pandoragalora @jayzes-blog @ducks118 @laylasbunbunny @kyriekurokami @heesoftiefreak @teamanime @d4rno @dumb-fawkin-bitch-bitch @burdeningbitch @allsouls-emma @aceofheartzzz @famousbagelhandspurse @fanficblogs @lilyofthetigers @mjnij

@cherrywinesab @sloppierjewel @bubbleguppy0315 @ellielovesrobinarellano @mrs-sullys-blog @lovekeeho @vectoriscommitingcrimes @kimtaehussy @bimbotinkerbell @aceofheartzzz

If there is any problem with the tags, let me know. I have had many people asking me to be on the tag list, if you are not on the list yet you can send me a message.

#avatar the way of water #avatar 2022 #avatar x reader #avatar x you #avatar x y/n #neteyam sully #neteyam #neteyam x reader #neteyam x you #neteyam x y/n #neteyam x human reader #neteyam x fem reader #neteyam x mate reader #neteyam imagine #human reader #human y/n #female reader #female y/n

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lno-x · 1 year

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What about character design in Tristamp?

A person had a question for me, what is it about character designs in tristamp? It's like Vash from Tristamp and Vash from Trimax/98 adaptation are COMPLETELY different characters, and my answer to that is: they are REALLY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS, and I'll explain why right now.

To begin with, I would like to note that I have a great deal of trust in the Orange studio and its co-founder, Eiji Inomoto. Orange is one of the best CG studios in Japan, known for such acclaimed adaptations as "Beastars" and "Land of the Lustrous". These are not just some studio, but a really big guys, and by big I mean that Inomoto's experiments with the frame rate in the film adaptation of Lustrous at one time were a revolutionary thing in animation, which was picked up by the animators of the spiderverse and then that's all led to the beloved dynamic animation of the "Puss in Boots" sequel. I mean, these are THAT big guys. I'm not talking about the fact that Inomoto boosts the development of 3D in the anime industry as much as possible and literally shits from a high bell tower on the fact that everything is spitting with 3D animation purely out of principle.

Okay, the studio is cool, it is unlikely that they will make a bad product, we figured it out, but what about the designs? They don't even look like themselves! Vash does not look like a mop at all, he has lost his leather pants and berets, and looks like some kind of sucker in sweatpants and a windbreaker, and Meryl gives the impression of a schoolgirl who has strayed from the school excursion, instead of the stately lady in caprons, as we used to seeing her. Only Wolfwood hasn't changed much, except that he doesn't know how to tuck his shirt into his pants and has undergone whitewashing (which, by the way, I'm not ironically upset about). So, is that mean designs is bad as hell? Nope. Just because things look different doesn't mean it's inherently worse. Again, remember that tristamp is a REMAKE, and their task is not to stupidly repeat the same thing, but to breathe new life into the franchise, looking at it from a different angle. And I think they did a FUCKING GOOD job on it.

In interviews and at conventions, director Kenji Muto and producer Katsuhiro Takei have repeatedly said that they are big fans of the original manga and the film adaptation of 98, but it was important for them to touch and reveal those aspects of the story that their predecessors did not reach their hands on.

That is why, despite the fact that the Tristamp is very close to the original source (manga), the studio plays out many details differently or even saves them for later, so that the audience can fully experience the development of the characters. Therefore, in Tristamp, everyone looks much younger than their previous versions and / or very different from them.

The easiest way to prove this, however strange and unexpected it may seem, is by the example of Meryl. In the manga and anime 98, we immediately see her as a stately lady with a bunch of derringers under her cloak, but they don’t tell us how she came to this and what led to this. Yes, there is literally a page in the manga about some colleague who told her about self-defense and sort of taught her how to shoot, but finally he is drawn on one frame and, in general, we don’t give a shit about him.

While in Tristamp, this colleague has a name and is one of the most main characters - this is Roberto. Throughout the series, he acts as Meryl's senior mentor, protecting her whenever possible and pulling her out of trouble by the scruff of the neck like a kitten. That is why she looks so youthful and charmingly stupid compared to her previous version. Throughout the series, she literally hits herself with her heel in the chest, saying I AM!!! MERYL!!! STRIFE!!! I AM NOT NEWBIE!!! while Roberto calls her the same way, ignoring all her protests in this regard, and I think this was done for a reason. Specifically, in Tristamp we see her almost in the past, when she has not yet learned to protect herself and be fully responsible for her decisions, although she is very eager to do so. Although Roberto is a character, for the most part he is still a crutch and trigger for the development of Meryl. Through his death and the transfer of HIS gun to her, we see right before our eyes how she changes and from a shy "newbie" turns into the confident Meryl Strife. And after the timeskip, they generally show us the scene of exactly how she becomes the senior and takes Millie under her wing. And by the way, her image visually changes too.

I repeat once again, there was no such development of the character of Meryl in the manga, in the 1998 film adaptation nether.

Orange build her development completely differently and in their own way, despite the fact that she, in fact, is the same Meryl Strife no less than other versions of her. She just a little different character, which goes to the image already familiar to us, passing through kind of other events

The same thing happens with Vash! At first, he doesn't look like himself at all, but towards the end, we see how he takes on a more recognizable image. I think that in fact by the second season they will all mature and look much more "canonical", this can be seen from the concept art but in general

Tristump characters go a different way and get a different development, as happened with Meryl above, therefore, I I think we should perceive them rather as completely different characters that have common roots

And by the way, the studio Orange discussed everything very closely with Yasuhiro Nightou (author of the manga) and he gave her green light and creative freedom, because he saw how reverent people are about their job and want to develop the story. He even drew his and studio designs together!!!

All in all, the tristamp designs are really quite different from the original, but I don't think that's a bad thing, as the studio does it purposefully and cleverly to give them the development that the manga or the '98 film adaptation lacked.

Again, this is my personal opinion, and it’s worth notice here that I’m far from being an old fan and I flew into the fandom just a month and a half ago, so the character design initially did not cause me rejection, like many old fans.

But in this tirade, I tried to be as objective as possible and describe what was what, thanks to come in my ted talk

#trigun #tristamp #trigun stampede #long reads #long post #i love meryl stryfe if you dont get it yet #meryl stryfe #roberto trigun #vash stampede #nicholas d wolfwood #lno-x talks

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sunshine-for-serotonin · 1 year

Note

hey!!! how are you doing? first i need to say i love the way you portray erik, your writing is so cool <3 would you mind doing a sequel to that shot where erik was desperate to be with the reader, but now with her actually there? he is so miserable i want to fuck him :(

Ofc!! Thank you for requesting, darlings!

part two of this one shot!!

By the time Erik had woken up, the fire in the corner of his room was all but out. Groaning, the man pulled his makeshift you closer to him, and buried his unmasked face in the area of fabric that would have normally contained your chest. Inhaling deeply, he could smell the faint whisps of your perfume and Erik couldn’t help but shove his blushing face deeper into your hoodie as let out a small, tired, whisper of your name followed by a string of ‘Je t’aimes’. Rolling over onto his stomach, Erik began to kiss the area where he imagined your neck to be, moaning softly as he pictured you petting his head and calling for him. In fact Eriks daydream was so vivid, that he didn’t realize that you actually had been wandering around his house calling for him, until you opened his bedroom door anyway.

“Hey Erik, sorry to bother but it’s kind of important, have you seen-…????..!!!!!!”

Looking around the room, you saw several of your things scattered around, including what you had just come to see him about. Your favorite hoodie that you had been looking for was wrapped in the arms of a wide eyed and unmasked Erik. Trailing your eyes further down the bed, you also noted the lingerie just off to the left of Eriks blanketed hips. Erik couldn’t do anything but gape dumbly at your form that seemed to glow with a soft light from fire embers. In any normal situation, he would have gotten lost in how beautiful you looked, but now when he was literally stripped bare before you, Erik could only cover his face with one hand as the other reached for you desperately.

“(Y/n)!! Please I-I-I-”

Erik couldn’t even finish his sentence before the shame overwhelmed him and his other hand went to cover the remaining area of his face.

“Please, don’t abandon this hideous beast who loves you so.”

As he began to sob, you walked over to Erik’s bedside and gently shushed him, sitting on the other side of his bed against the head frame. Gently, you pulled the hands he had pressed so violently to his face away and his teary eyes swam in your vision. Erik allowed you to guide his bare form to sit in in your clothed lap before pulling a blanket around the man’s shaking body. Erik really wasn’t sure what your next move would be, but you pulling him in for the sweetest and first kiss of his life was certainly not on his list of possibilities. Erik couldn’t fight off the absolutely carnal moan that escaped from his throat into your mouth, immediately pressing his body closer to you. The tears wouldn’t stop flowing from his eyes down his malformed and smooth cheeks alike, his lips desperately trying to chase after you as you broke the kiss.

“Je t’aime, je t’aime, je t’aime, je t’aime! I love you mon ange!!! Can, can I have m-more? P-please? More kisses?”

“Oh darling, if you would have just said you fancied me earlier, I would have accepted y’know? I love you too, Erik, and I suppose since you were so good for me…”

You trailed off and pulled him in for another kiss, but this time you wanted to take it a step further. Trailing your hands down his sides, your fingers found his hips and gripped them softly as you moved your lips from Erik’s mouth to his neck, slowly kissing up and down the sensitive flesh. You kept your eyes open to gauge his reaction and see if he wanted you to stop, but all you were greeted with when you attempted to look into Erik’s closed eyes were moans and pants of your name as well as something hard pressed against your stomach.

“I didn’t think it would be this easy to get you so excited, my darling.”

Clearly embarrassed, Erik only tried to pull himself even closer to you, and buried his face in your neck as you chuckled softly. Upon doing this though, Erik discovered that by shifting even slightly, he basically was grinding his erection against you and he didn’t think he would be able to stop with all the pleasure that was spreading and overtaking his senses.

“You look so cute like this, maybe I should give you a few lovebites to properly mark you as mine?”

“G-god yes! Please mon ange, je voulais ça depuis si longtemps!”

Slowly moving to his neck once again, you took your sweet time kissing up and down, making sure to leave no part of Erik’s throat unloved. Upon hearing him let out a loud moan as your lips made contact in the dip between Erik’s neck and collarbone, you smiled lightly and began to suck gently, making him gasp before letting out a high pitched whimper as his arms grew tighter around your beautiful figure. Erik couldn’t believe this was happening, the love of his life, his angel, was actually here with him right now. Touching him, holding him, kissing him as if he wasn’t some hideous monster, but as if he were a man worthy of your love. The way he was seated so comfortably on your plush thighs, the way his erection was pushed so snuggly in between your bodies, the way your lips were on his and on his neck and the way you told Erik you loved him was starting to overwhelm him with pleasure. It felt so good, it felt so good, good, good- Erik couldn’t hold on for much longer he was so, so close!

Since you were just going to see Erik, you hadn’t bothered to dress in the appropriate attire for the era, instead opting to wear a pair of shorts and a cute jumper from when you were back in your original timeline. To Erik, the feeling of your exposed thighs against his being was indescribable, as well as the your hands roaming about his body and your lips, oh your lips, he couldn’t get enough! They tasted so sweet, and the way you used them to leave marks on his skin had the poor man’s teeth sunk so far into his lip that he was sure it was bleeding. You seemed to notice this, and before Erik could process, your hand was cupping his normally masked deformities and your lips were slotted so sweetly against his and when you gently sucked on his bottom lip he came completely undone. Erik had you practically in a death grip as he ground himself into your jumper and stomach, riding through his orgasm, crying, begging, and pleading for you to hold him tighter all the while. It only took a few minutes for the pleasant haze to fade, and for Erik to realize that he had basically cum untouched. Fearful that you would shrug him off because of his inexperience, Erik began to shamefully apologize with tears in his eyes.

“Mon ange… I’m so sorry- it-it-it just felt so good, a-a-a-and I couldn’t hold back anymore please forgive me, please! I-I-I—mmm! Aaaghh! M-mon an-ange? Mmm, good, so good, yes! W-wait! What are you doing? You aren’t leaving me are you? Please-”

Taking your hand off Eriks cock, you had stood up after maneuvering the pitiful man off of your lap. Gently shushing him and stroking his face as you stood up, kissing him passionately. Erik started after you only for you to gently push him back onto the bed, stating:

“Don’t worry darling, I’m not going anywhere! I just have to take these off, unless you want to stop, which I don’t mind~”

“NO, no, no- please, keep going please!”

You had only been teasing, of course, but seeing the normally composed and serious man in tears in his need for you only made you body hotter and your pussy wetter, you thought to yourself as you rid your body of clothes and undergarments. Seeing you taking your clothes off just for him made Eriks erection come back with full force, and by the time you joined him back on his bed and straddled his lap, Eriks cock was oozing precum like never before.

“Alright darling, what do you want me to do with you?” You asked teasing your hands along his inner thigh and v-line, yet never quite touching Erik where he needed it.

“Mon ange, can I-” He cut himself of abruptly with a swallow, as Erik salivated at the mere thought of his desire coming to fruition. “Mon ange can I use my mouth on you? Please? Je veux que tu te sentes bien!”

“Only since you asked so nicely, amour.”

Just as you were about to move and lay on your back, Erik ducked underneath you and gripped your thighs. He was about to pull you all the way down to his eager mouth and tongue when your voice resounded through Eriks chamber.

“Darling, what are you doing?”

“I-I, I want you to sit on my face, please mon ange!”

“Erik, as much I would love to indulge you, I’m worried that putting to much of my weight on your face would hurt you, and I can’t bare to see my love in pain!”

“B-but mon ange!”

“Ah, ah, ah darling! How about a compromise? I won’t sit on your face, but if you let me lay on my back for you, I’ll give you more lovebites on areas other than your neck, how does that sound?”

“Oui, please mon ange!”

Erik honestly wanted to argue and try to convince you to still ride his mouth and nose, but he was so needy for your taste that he couldn’t focus on anything other than getting your juices on his tongue. Quickly, you maneuvered yourself off of him and laid down on your back, propped up on pillows so you could look down at Erik’s face as he got comfortable between your legs. As soon as he was properly settled, Erik wasted no time spreading apart your thighs and hoisting them over his shoulders as he practically drooled at the notion that he was going to finally get to eat you out. But as much as he was excited to please you, Erik was also incredibly nervous, he wanted to make absolutely sure that you orgasmed and that you enjoyed yourself to the fullest. Deciding to take it slow at first, Erik licked a stripe from your vagina, all the way up to your clit, making you gasp his name quietly. The moment he got his first taste of you and heard you say his name, Eriks plan of taking it slow was tossed completely out the window, now he just wanted to indulge himself and taste all of you that he could. As he gripped your thighs he decided to push each one against the sides of his head, all the while Erik shoved his tongue as deep as he could into your pussy, moving the wet appendage all along your walls in short thrusts and flicks as his nose rubbed up against your clit. It was clear that Erik was inexperienced, you thought to yourself letting out small moans of his name and allowing your hand to rest on the top of his head, but he was so eager and the rapid pace that he used made up for it. Looking down at him, it was clear as day he was enjoying himself. The man had both of his eyes closed and his hips were grinding against his bed trying to relieve some of the pressure in his aching cock. As though sensing you were looking at him, Erik opened his eyes to peer up at you with an absolutely debauched expression, attempting to press himself further into your touch without separating himself from your pussy. At this point he was audibly moaning into you, and the way his mewls of pleasure vibrated your insides had you calling out to him.

“J-just like that, Erik! So good for me, such a good fucking boy! And all mine, you’re my good boy Erik!”

Your words had Erik absolutely keening, his moans getting higher and his hips grinding rapidly into the mattress, but what really made Erik come undone was your next words.

“I-I’m gonna cum! Erik! Oh fuck, doing so good for me, Erik! I-I-I, mmm-!”

Your hips began to grind against his face and Erik pushed your thighs as tight against himself as he possibly could, effectively smothering his airway. As Erik felt your body tense and tasted your juices as they leaked out of you into his mouth, stars flooded his vision and he orgasmed all over his stomach and bed, whimpering and moaning for you all the while. Before you could even open your eyes and look down at Erik to check in on him, you felt his tongue start to rapidly plunge in and out of you once again.

“ Erik! Mm- w-wait! I-mmm! I’m sti-ll ah! s-sensitive!”

Pulling his mouth away from you, Erik gazed up at you desperately, not wanting to stop eating you out.

“But mon ange, I want more! You taste so good, and I want to serve you! I want to be your good boy!”

“Maybe next time Erik, besides, don’t you want me to hold up my end of the deal?”

“Well…I suppose so, are you sure you don’t want me to keep pleasuring you with my mouth? I-I should really like to keep going!”

“I’m sure mon amour, besides-” you cut yourself off as you helped Erik get comfortable lying down on his back and straddled his thighs. Leaning close to his ear you whispered, “I like marking you up as mine~” Placing a quick kiss to the shell of Erik’s ear, you began to slowly move your body down his until your face was level with his lower stomach. Gently, you began to kiss all over his abdomen, the taste of Erik’s cum from previous orgasms making itself known to you. As you peered up at the malformed man, you saw him quiver and shake with every progression your lips made across his body. ‘If he’s so sensitive from me just kissing his stomach of all places, I wonder how my darling would react if I did this?’

Making your way to his v-line, you placed a slow experimental kiss right on the outer edge, and oh goodness did that make Erik tremble and moan. ‘Jackpot.’ Sucking the sensitive flesh into your mouth, you gently bit down and used your tongue to toy with Erik slightly.

“M-mon ange!”

Moving from the outer edge inwards, you allowed your teeth to catch and snag on Eriks skin as dark purple marks were left behind, like paint on a fresh canvas. Soon enough you made your way to Eriks thighs, and as you gave a slightly rougher bite you felt his body jolt as he tried to push his hips closer to your mouth.

“Someone’s needy~ Do you like it when I leave bite marks behind?”

“Please, please, please, leave bite marks on my hips, please.”

The words left Erik’s mouth in a breathy whisper filled with pleasure, the need for you to claim him further evident in his eyes. Moving his hands down to yours, Erik gripped them softly and moved them to his pelvic bone, pressing down on your digits so that they worked circles into previous hickeys. Moving your body up once again you smirked at the trembling man underneath you, exposing your canines, an act that made Erik’s cock twitch against his stomach.

“Of course, sugar~”

Grazing your teeth over Erik’s hips once again, you began to bite and suck roughly on his taut flesh to the point were the indents of your teeth would be left behind but Erik’s skin would remain unbroken. Thrusting his lower abdomen towards you once again to try and feel more of you against him, Erik let out low keening sounds as a particularly harsh bite sent his eyes rolling back in pleasure.

Leaning back to admire your handiwork, you traced your fingers lovingly down Erik’s ribs which sent shivers down his spine.

“Is there anything else you want me to do to you, sugar? Or do you think you’re ready to take the next step?”

“M-more kisses, I need more kisses! P-please! I-I need your lips on mine! Mon ange, I need-I need- mmmh!”

The second your lips made contact with Erik’s, you could feel him relax and draw his arms tightly around your waist. Moving and pushing his body up into you, Erik parted his lips and allowed your tongue to enter and entangle with his own. Separating your mouth from Erik’s, a string of saliva connected the two of you, just the sight making Erik whimper and try to reconnect his lips with yours. Cupping his face, you allowed Erik to kiss you several more times, and each time he seemingly became a little more desperate.

“Mon ange, I-I think I’m ready.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to do anything you don’t want.”

“Im certain! I really, really need you!”

“Tell you what Erik, if you want me so bad,” You leaned closer until your face was a centimeter away from his. “Beg for me.”

Erik didn’t even need to hesitate.

“Mon ange, (Y/n), please! I need you! Need you to fuck me until I can’t think! Please! Wanna be your good boy! Fuck me, please!”

“Now that’s what I like to hear~ Sit up against the headframe, darling.”

Shuffling underneath you, Erik did as you ordered and wrapped his arms around you once again.

“Alright, are you ready amour?”

Shaking his head rapidly up and down, Erik let out a gasp as you loosely gripped his shaft and pumped him a few times in preparation. Raising yourself up on your knees, you used your hand to hold Erik’s cock steady as you lined him up with your entrance. Teasing the tip of his head with your dripping pussy, you placed small kisses on his neck before engulfing Erik’s lips with your own and dropping down onto him completely, letting out a small moan. A loud and high pitched mewl erupted from the back of Erik’s throat as the arms around you tightened to an almost painful degree. The pleasure was positively overwhelming, your walls were so silky and warm, and you fit Erik into you perfectly, just like a puzzle piece. Unable to handle the completely unfamiliar sensations, Erik lowered his face into your neck as he began sob, moan, and pant harshly, all the while sucking and lightly teething on your neck to try and regulate his reaction to both his emotions as well as the physical sensations you provided him with.

Concerned that the man was giving such a strong reaction before you even started moving, you began to stroke his head and play with what hair he had.

“Shhhh, shhh, shhhh, are you okay darling? Do you want to stop? It’s alright, I really don’t mind, I just want you to be comfortable.”

“N-non, non, non, mhhh! I- ahh! I w—ant- aghhh- I want to keep-mmph-going! You just fe—el so-mmm! Good, g-good, so good, so fucking g-good!”

Eriks words made you clench around him, causing a loud keening noise to spill past his lips as he pulled you in for another kiss and his hips unconsciously tried to buck up into you.

“M-mon ange, can you, mmh, can you move on me n-now? Please?”

“As you wish, sugar~”

Keeping your eyes locked onto Erik’s in case he made any expression of discomfort, you began to bounce on Erik’s cock. Erik had a fucked out expression if you’ve ever seen one, his mouth was open wide, he was drooling, and when ever he wasn’t looking at you, his eyes were rolled nearly into the back of his skull. Erik was big, and he managed to stimulate the inside of you perfectly, but you needed some clitoral action if you wanted to orgasm anytime soon. Removing one of your arms from around Erik’s neck and shoulders, you reached down and began to rub slow circles into your clit while letting out breathy gasps of Erik’s name. Erik seemingly took notice of the extra stimulation you were giving yourself, and removed one of the arms around your waist to take the place of your own hand.

“That’s my good boy, Erik! Making me feel so g-good, wanna fuck you-mm~ Wanna fuck you absolutely senseless! You’re my good boy, nobody else’s! You’re entirely fucking mine!”

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I’m all-nghh-yours! I’m your good boy, I’m yours, I’m yours, mmmhmm! I’m yours! I love you! Je t’aime, je t’aime, je t’aime mon ange!”

As you bounced on Erik faster, the speed of the circles he rubbed into your clit also increased. You could feel his cock pulse and twitch inside you every time you bottomed out or praised him, and you knew he was close even though you hadn’t been fucking him for terribly long, but luckily for him, so were you.

“That’s right Erik, just like that. You’re doing so good for me-ahh!”

“M-mon ange!! I’m going to- I’m going to-”

“Cum for me Erik, cum right inside of me!”

With a cry of your name, Erik kissed you with a fevered passion as he felt the cord in his stomach snap and release inside of you. Eriks orgasm triggered your own, and you bit down on Erik’s neck softly as you fucked yourself through your orgasm. Panting, you got off top of Erik and laid down on your back briefly before speaking in a quiet voice.

“Are you okay darling? I’m so proud of you, you did so well for me. I love you Erik, so, so, much, and I hope I was able to make you feel good.”

“Mon ange, you made me feel absolute bliss and beyond, but, did- did I really do good? I wanted to make you orgasm so badly…”

“I can assure you, Erik, you did. And don’t worry, you made me cum twice! I’m going to go grab some towels and water to clean us up, but I’ll be right back, amour.”

You began to stand and grab towels from Erik’s washroom. But before you could rise up entirely, you were stopped by a soft grip on your wrist.

“Please, can you just lay here with me just a little bit longer, mon ange? And then we can take a hot bath together later?”

Turning back to look at Erik, you couldn’t do anything but cave in against the pitiful look he was going you. “I suppose,” Settling back into bed you patted your chest gently. “C’mere darling.” Resting himself on top of you, Erik wrapped both of his boney arms around you and wedged his head into the crook of your neck as you placed your hands on his scarred back.

“I love you, (y/n).” You heard Erik murmur tiredly. Smiling to yourself, you closed your eyes.

“I love you too, Erik.”

—————————————————————————

Ahhhhh! This took forever and completely drained me mentally :,)! First post of 2023 at one in the morning lololol.

#erik destler #erik destler x reader #yandere erik destler #phantom of the opera x reader #phantom of the opera #erik destler smut

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mountttmase · 9 months

Text

A Mountain To Climb: The Sequel

Chapter Nine

Note - this chapter might not make total sense unless you’re from the UK so if there’s any parts or things people are confused with please just let me know I’ll be more than happy to explain 🩷 but I hope you enjoy and feedback is appreciated 😘

Pairing - Mason Mount × Reader

Word count - 4.7k

Warnings - series will contain fluff, smut and angst

Masterlist

Running errands day had to be one of your favourite days. Walking round your favourite shops, smelling all the different fabric conditioners and checking out what new snacks they had got you so excited so you made sure you were up and dressed to leave as soon as you possibly could.

You were just putting your shoes on at the bottom of the stairs when the front door swung open, a smiley Mason walking back in through the door and your face changed to one of confusion and soon as your eyes met his.

‘Mase? Why aren’t you at training?’ You asked, standing up so you could slip your hoodie on and he dumped his bag before making his way over to you.

‘Power cut’ he shrugged, pulling you in by your waist so he could place a soft kiss on the tip of your nose. ‘The pitch has frozen over outside and it’s fucking freezing inside so they’ve given us the day off’

‘Oh thats annoying’

‘A little bit, but at least we can spend the day together now. I’m thinking we order breakfast and cuddle for a bit’ he winked before kissing your cheek.

‘No can do. I’ve got errands to run’ you told him, watching the way he dropped his bottom lip but you kissed it away. ‘Why don’t you come with me?’

‘Where are you going?’

‘B&M first, need to stock up in some cleaning supplies and i want to get a new shelf for the shower so that I can’t put my shower gel and bits on. If they don’t have it there I think there’s a home bargains near by. Then I need to pop to dunelm for some pillow cases and paint and then I think there’s a halfords next door so I can grab some more of that screen wash and then sainsburys to top up the food shop’

‘Bloody hell, sounds exhilarating’ he laughed sarcastically and you tapped him on the chest in jest.

‘Fine, you can stay here on your own then’ you winked, moving out of his hold but he pulled you back to him with a huff.

‘Buy me lunch and I’ll come’

‘Deal’

‘And I’m driving’

‘Don’t want much do you?’ you laughed and he shook his head shyly. ‘Go get changed, I don’t need you sticking out anymore than you already do’ you told him and with a quick kiss to your cheek he was running upstairs, changing out of his training gear and into a sweatshirt and some comfy shorts before you both jumped into the car.

‘So what do they sell in B&M? You talk about it all the time but I don’t actually know what it is’ he asked as you eventually pulled into the car park.

‘I mean it’s more like what don’t they sell. Food, home stuff, furniture, toys. It’s like Disneyland for adults’

‘How big is this place?’

‘Massive’ you smiled and he rolled his eyes before covering his face with his hands.

‘Can I stay in here?’

‘No way, come on you’ll love it. I’ll let you push the trolly too’ you told him, batting your eyelashes at him before he silently agreed, getting out the car and following you over to where the trolleys were.

He pushed it around but you kept yourself sandwiched between him and the handle as you first walked in, his body pressed up against yours and you giggled every time he kissed your cheek. It wasn’t long before you got to the confectionery aisle, his eyes lighting up at all the different sweets they had and you chuckled at him as he showed you all the ones he’d never seen with an excited smile.

‘I didn’t even know these existed’ he told you, starting to add them to the trolley already and you wondered if you’d have to step in soon to restrict him. ‘They must import them or something’

‘I didn’t come here for chocolate, Mason’

‘I know, sorry. You go get what you need and I’ll come find you’ he told you, not even looking at you as he looked for what other treats they had to offer but you realised you were going to have to stop him now before it got out of hand.

‘Mason, sweetheart. You know you’re not allowed all of this stuff’ you told him, picking up everything up out of the trolley and you watched as he pouted and held what he had in his hands close to his chest. ‘You can pick three’

‘But baby-‘

‘Mason’ you told him sternly, trying to stay strong as you knew you could quite easily fold at the sight of his pouty face. ‘I’m looking out for you. Your nutritionist will murder you if they find out you’re eating all this stuff’

He knew you were right, but he was still going to sulk about it. Grabbing everything into his arms so he could pick his three favourite before putting the rest back and turning to you with a pout so you pulled him into a hug.

‘Good boy’ you whispered, kissing his lips as he blushed and squeezed your bum gently.

‘Stop it you’ he laughed ‘wait till we get home, then I’ll be your good boy’

‘I look forward to it’ you winked, dragging him and the trolley through the shop and into the cleaning aisle. ‘I’m thinking of changing up the fabric conditioner scent, what do you think?’ You asked, eyes scanning the shelf before opening one up to sniff and passing it to him.

‘I don’t think i have any thoughts about that particular subject’ he told you, taking a sniff before pulling a face like he didn’t like it. He made a point of smelling each one after that before picking his favourite and you popped it in the trolley along with some washing tablets. ‘I didn’t have you down as an ocean escape kind of man’ you teased but he just rolled his eyes at you before helping grab everything else such as dishwasher tablets and washing up sponges.

Mason stayed pretty well behaved until you got to kitchen appliances aisle, trying to convince you that he needed a three in one sandwich toaster and a special machine just for eggs but you knew he’d use them once before they collected dust in the kitchen so you told him no and he scrunched his face up adorably.

‘You wait, I’m gonna come in here on my own and get everything I want so you can’t tell me no’

‘Pretty strong words coming from a man who didn’t even want to come in at first’

‘Well I was young and naive back then’ he laughed, kissing your nose as you smiled up at him, pulling him around the rest of the shop so you could pick up some things for the bathroom and you let him get lost in the toy section, picking out a few things for Summer and Mila for the next time they came around.

You popped into Dunelm next, Mason helping you pick out some paint for your room, paint brushes and some matching cushions before you dashed into Halfords for your screen wash. It was at this time he started complaining he was hungry so you sent him back to the car with the bags, promising to get him his lunch like you said and the giant Greggs sign caught your attention so you ran in to pick him up a few bits.

‘So I wasn’t allowed the chocolate I want but you’re quite happy for me to stuff my face with whatever this is’ he laughed.

‘Greggs is a delicacy’ you told him seriously, passing him a bottle of Pepsi and you watched as he rolled his eyes at the sight of his face on the side of the bottle. ‘Now would you like to see what I got you?’

‘If you must’ he laughed, watching you root around in the bag to find him his things. ‘When I said you can buy me lunch I was hoping I got to pick’

‘Well my tastes are superior to yours quite clearly’ you winked, handing him the pizza first and then a sausage roll and he looked at you like you’d gone insane.

‘This is all beige’

‘Yes, my favourite food colour. But I think you’ll find the pepperoni is red’ you winked and he gave up trying to argue with you, digging in and if you didn’t know any better you’d think he was enjoying it. ‘You ready for cake?’ You asked when you noticed he was all done and he nodded whilst gulping down half of his Pepsi. ‘I got you two to choose from, I’ll have the other’ you told him, pulling out the little bags and peeking inside. ‘So there’s a yumyum in here or Tottenham cake in here’

‘I’m sorry, a what now?’

‘A yumyum or Tottenham cake’

‘You expect me to eat something that has the word Tottenham in it, are you insane?’

‘Hey, it’s nice’ you pouted, passing him the yumyum as you opened your cake up and you saw him peek over to take a look at the pink icing.

‘Maybe you can save me a bit and I’ll try it’ he teased it you made it your mission to eat the whole thing so he couldn’t but you were too full up to finish and he smiled when you offered him a bite. ‘Not bad, we’ll have to call it something else though’

‘Well my dad always used to call it shit cake’ you told him, watching his face turn to a look of surprise as you never mentioned your parents but he smiled warmly at you. Letting you know it was okay to talk about them if you wanted to as he gently took your hand so he could kiss your knuckles.

‘Oh yeah, why’s that?’

‘Cause Tottenham are shit’ you laughed and he nodded enthusiastically at you.

‘Then we must carry on the tradition’ he winked before starting the car up again. ‘So Sainsbury’s then home?’ He asked and you nodded as you got yourself plugged in. ‘I think I’ll get painting straight away when we get in, it’s only the one wall isn’t it? I can try and burn some of this lunch off’ he laughed and you gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before you set off.

You were only in Sainsbury’s for 15 minutes or so and you offered to put all of the shopping away so he could get started on painting. By the time you were done he was just under halfway through with painting and you watched from the open doorway with a smile on your face as carried on, blissfully unaware of your presence.

He’d stripped down to just his shorts, his bare back facing you and you let your eyes flicker over him. Your mouth almost watering at the way his muscles danced under his skin with every move of the brush and you hand to hold yourself back from going over to place kisses all over him.

He must of caught you looking out the corner of his eye, doing a double take and looking back at you with a shy smile before laughing and motioning for you to come over.

‘You gonna stand there looking at me all day or are you gonna help?’ He teased but you stayed rooted to the spot.

‘I think I might stay here, I’ve got a pretty good view’ you told him, a sense of triumph washing over you at the way he blushed from your words. ‘I’ll just get changed and I’ll come help’ you told him, changing into an old pair of shorts and a sports bra that you didn’t mind getting messy. His eyes were all over you when you got back, you ignored him though and picked up the small brush so could could start neatening the edges up and with a kiss to your cheek he carried on himself.

The pair of you chatted over the low music in the background, him giving you his opinion on your thoughts for the room and making plans to pick up the last of your stuff before you had to give your keys back. It didn’t take that much longer for you to finish and you didn’t know what came over you but with your last drop of paint you’d dragged the brush across his chest and down his abs casing him to look at you with his mouth agape.

‘What the fuck’ he laughed, looking down at the mess on his body before dipping his hands into the paint tray and covering them fully. ‘Come here’ he laughed and even though you tried to run away, he backed you into a corner with a devilish smile on his face. You couldn’t do a thing but stand and squeeze your eyes shut and when you felt his wet hands grip your face you gasped in surprise.

He was kissing you right away though, silencing any protests as he trailed his paint covered hands down your neck and the pair of you laughed into each others mouths before pulling back.

‘Don’t mess with me’ he laughed ‘I’ll get you back ten times worse’

‘Noted’ he winked before dropping another light kiss on your lips.

‘We best go get cleaned up, I’ll get the shower going and then we can make some dinner’ he told you, leaving you to quickly tidy up the paintbrushes before joining him.

‘Bloody hell, Mase. I’m covered’ you laughed as you caught sight of yourself in the mirror. Paint all down your cheeks and neck and you picked your phone up to take a quick mirror selfie so you could remember the moment, Masons bare torso in the back as he threw up a peace sign making you laugh.

‘Come on, it’s ready now. I’ll help you get it off’ he offered, both undressing and heading in so you could clean each other off. Once all the paint was washed off of your body he turned you around, grabbing some shampoo and squeezing it onto your hair before starting to massage it in. His fingers were like magic, your knees almost buckling under you as he massaged your head and you hummed appreciatively. ‘How’s that?’

‘Really nice’ you told him, feeling his fingers move to the back of your head and slightly down your neck before heading back round to the top. You didn’t want him to stop but he eventually did, lightly pushing you under the stream of water so he could rinse it out for you. He then picked up your conditioner and brush so he could detangle your hair and you could feel yourself blushing as he looked after you. Eventually turning you around so he could place a quick kiss on your lips. ‘Thank you, Mase’

‘Love you’ he whispered against your lips and you repeated his words back to him before he kissed you deeper, holding your face so you couldn’t move as he walked you back under the running water to help rinse out your hair. You both laughed as the water trickled all over you but you didn’t stop kissing him, his hands sliding all over you back and bum and you tugged on his hair slightly, pulling a low moan from him. ‘Come on trouble, let’s get dry’ he smiled, your heart thudding as you looked up at him. Tiny droplets if water trailing down his face as his warm soft eyes looked right into yours and you couldn’t help but reach up and give him one last kiss.

Once out, he handed you a towel for you hair before reaching to the towel warmer to grab one he’d put on there for you just before you’d come into the bathroom and you smiled as he wrapped the warm fabric around you as he grabbed his own. The mirror was foggy but you attempted to wipe it so you could check all the paint had gone and you smiled when you noticed you were now paint free.

As soon as you were back in the safety of your bedroom, you could see Mason pulling you out some clothes for you to change into and you smiled as he pull out of your favourite comfy tops of his to put on.

‘Baby?’ Mason quietly said once you were fully dressed and you turned to find your boyfriend looking at you shyly, the bridge of his nose a deep red and you raised your brows at him to get him to carry on. ‘Could i dry your hair for you?’

Your heart fluttered at his proposal and you felt all the blood in your body rush to your face as you nodded at him, taking his extended hand so you could sit on the end of the bed whilst he got everything he needed before settling behind you and took your hair out of the towel. He was so gentle, brushing through your hair as carefully as he could before grabbing the dryer.

You couldn’t stop the smile on your face as he dried your hair, being as careful as he could while running his fingers through it to stop it tangling and you couldn’t help but reach out to touch his calf that was next to you so you could trace gentle shapes into his skin. Needing to feel him in some way as everything felt so intimate but you felt your heart race when he turned the dryer off and began section your hair out so he could plait it.

‘You don’t mind, do you?’ He asked but you knew your voice would falter if you tried to speak so you shook your head to let him know it was fine to carry on, blushing even harder as he kissed the back of your head. ‘I’ve been practicing on Summer so I can get it right’ he laughed, carefully weaving your hair into two neat braids before securing it with a hair bobble.

You wanted to look at him so badly so as soon as he was done you shuffled round and his face softened at the sight of you.

‘You’re so pretty’

‘Oh shush’ you laughed but he grabbed your face so he could keep looking at you.

‘No way. Have you looked in a mirror recently? Absolute perfection’ he smiled before he face got more serious. ‘You make me feel so lucky’ his whispered, his thumb stroking your cheek and the tone of of his voice made your eyes sting.

‘Where’s all this coming from?’

‘I’ve just had a really nice day with you. I know we don’t get to do things like this often but every time we do it just reminds me that it’s all worth it, you know? And I love you so much and I love spending time with you. I’m just really happy’

‘I am too’ you gulped, pouting up at him so he would lean down to kiss you, and he placed the most gentle and loving kiss on your lips that made your whole body tingle.

You wanted more of him though, reaching up to hold his neck so he couldn’t pull away as you laid down and pulled him with you. He positioned himself in between your legs but kept his weight off of you so he could pull back ever so slightly.

‘I thought we were going to make dinner’ he laughed against your lips up you shook your head before kissing him softly again.

‘I want you first’ you murmured and your confession made him moan into your mouth as his pressed his hips against yours. ‘You promised to be my good boy when we got back remember’

‘I did’ he laughed, his cheeks flushing almost instantly as he knew what was coming.

Mason loved having his way with you, but you knew secretly he loved you having your way with him even more. The way it always got him riled up when you praised him and all the pretty noises he would make for you told you as much but you always made sure to only bring out his subby side for special occasions so you didn’t overdo it. With how you were feeling about him after your day today though there was nothing more you wanted than you appreciate your man the way he deserved.

‘Go sit up there for me’ you whispered, nodding towards the headboard and with one final kiss he was crawling up the bed to sit where you’d told him to.

Once you were undressed you were making you my way over to him, his wide eyes following you like you’d hung the moon until your fingers landed on the waistband of his boxers and they darkened instantly. You didn’t need to ask him, he lifted his hips for you instantly before helping you straddle his thighs.

All you could think about was his lips on yours and making him feel as good as possible so as he hands come to rest on your thighs you placed yours on his chest before dipping to kiss him instantly.

He was starting to get hard underneath you in no time, moaning into your mouth as you began to rock over him before pulling back and shuffling down his legs so you could see all of him.

‘I want you to touch yourself for me, Masey. Make yourself ready for me’

‘W-what? You mean…?’

You could tell he was nervous and slightly unsure so you took his hand in yours before wrapping it around his length so you could pump him a few times. His eyes flickered shut for a second before you pulled away, leaving him on his own to carry on but he stopped until you leant forward so your face was on line with his.

‘Touch yourself. Show me how good you can make yourself feel before it’s my turn’ you told him lowly and the tiny whimper he let slip soaked you immediately. You knew there was no way you’d be able to watch him get himself off without giving yourself some relief so you bought one leg in, hovering over just the one thigh now before sinking down so you could ride it.

‘Jesus Christ’ he breathed, one hand slowly pumping himself whilst the other griped your hip in an attempt to help you grind you hips down onto his thigh and the intimacy of it all made you tingle. You and Mason weren’t exactly saints in the bedroom but you’d never done anything like this before and the deep blush on his cheeks was telling you just how much he was enjoying himself.

‘Does that feel good, Mase? You look so pretty like that for me’ you murmured, the sounds now pouring from his mouth we’re unholy and it took everything in your power not to grind down on him even harder. But it was true, he was beautiful. His hair a mess, the bridge of his nose a deep red to match his cheeks and the adorable whimpers that were coming from him were driving you insane. You could tell he was hard enough now and you couldn’t wait anymore so you lifted your hips and positioned yourself back in his lap so you could line him up with you.

If there was a moment in time you wish you could freeze it would be this one. The anticipation, the look of lust on his face and the way his eyes were wide as he squeezed your hips as you lowered yourself onto him. He felt delicious as he stretched you out and you knew you wanted to torture him a little bit so when he was fully in you moved your hips as slow as possible.

‘B-baby please. Please go faster’ he mumbled, the bruising grip on your hips only adding to your pleasure and even though you wanted to give into him you also wanted to draw this out for as you could so you tutted at him whilst shaking your head playfully.

‘Nuh uh’ you breathed, your lips littering small kisses all over his cheeks but you ignored his pouty lips. You could tell he wanted to kiss you but you laid no attention to him. ‘Come on Mase, be my good boy and take it’ you breathed, revelling in the way he groaned at your words before his hands traveled down to hold your bum in a tight grip. ‘You feel so good, Mase. You like it when I fuck you like this, don’t you’

‘Y-yes. Fuck yes’ he stuttered, his chest now heaving as he was loosing control. ‘Please kiss me’ he begged and you couldn’t deny you were itching to press your lips to his again.

‘Do you think you’ve earned it?’ You asked, lips by his ear as you trailed them down his neck. The sounds of his shallow breathing really getting you going and you picked up the pace of your hips ever so slightly.

‘Yeah, just please kiss me. I can’t-‘

You cut him off with you lips, moaning into his mouth as soon as you tasted him before his arms wrapped around you even tighter. You were as close as too bodies could be and you could tell by now Mason was close and had been for a while so you pulled back and placed your hands on his shoulders for leverage before moving your hips as fast as you could.

You knew you needed help, knowing Mason was dying to buck up into you so you dropped your eyes, staring right into his dark ones as you smiled at him cheekily.

‘Fuck me, Mase. Come on, finish me off I know you can’ you demanded and that seemed to be all it took. His hands were back on your waist as he manoeuvred you up and down, practically using you at this point but it felt like heaven. Your high hitting you like a truck out of nowhere and the distant feeling of Mason shuddering under your fingertips let you know he was done to.

He pulled you into his arms instantly, his head hidden away in your neck as you both tried to calm down and once you knew he probably was you tried to pull back however he didn’t seem to want to let you, pulling you tighter into him if possible.

‘Mase?’ You laughed, being a bit more forceful this time and whilst you were able to free yourself he was still hiding his face. ‘Hey, what’s wrong?’

‘Nothing’ he laughed, finally looking at you but the deep blush on his cheeks and shy eyes told you everything. He was embarrassed, not because of anything that had happened but more because he’d enjoyed it so much.

‘You good?’ You smiled, watching him kiss your arm before nodding up at you.

‘Perfect’ he smiled before you leant down to kiss him again. ‘You’re absolute insane, do you know that?’

‘In the best way possible though right?’

‘Most definitely’

Tagged: @chaotic-taco-collector-blog @mm-vii @footiehoemcfc @masonmount07 @aundercover