#it knows that your previous reblog of it was too priceless

[keiskake]

bird instincts (chapter nine - hawks)

takami keigo x quirkless f!reader (au chilhood friends // characters are aged up 21+)

warnings ~  swearing, petnames, hawks being aggressive + jealous, oral sex (f!receive and m!receive), fingering, cream pie, unprotected sex, degrading names, trauma flashbacks, spoilers about hawks’ backstory from the anime

wordcount ~ 4.742k

summary ~ you and takami keigo grew up together in a shitty hut with terrible parents. he disappeared one day when you were 6, but he never left your mind. the heavens entwine your destinies together, but it’s not a smooth journey you soon figure out.

a/n ~ i honestly didn’t plan for this chapter to be so long, but it was so good as a whole that i couldn’t split it up. i’ve decided to focus on the series a little more, rather than try and upload drabbles everyday! thank you for reading, reblogs + likes are always appreciated.

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"that's real original hawks." you walked towards the handsome blond in a black suit and tie. it caught your attention, his crimson red earrings. you didn't know hawks had his ears pierced. fuck. it made him so attractive. hell, he was attractive full stop. the way his eyes were glued onto you, as if he had blurred everything else around him. tunnel vision. and the way his hand slipped to your waist, pulling you in so he could lower his lips onto your forehead. it made your legs quiver and your heart pulsate even faster than before.

"i'll come up with a better one that's up to your standard next time baby bird. but have i ever told you how beautiful you, and how lucky i am that this is all mine?" his thumb brushed against your cheek, sweeping away the hair that was covering it to lay down a quick peck. you couldn't hide it, your cheeks burned pink as he cooed complements in your ear.

"well...you're looking really handsome tonight, but you're always handsome! so i'm lucky too!" was that the best compliment you could think about? really? babbling a response in a panic.

"oh? you're spoiling me with such kind words tonight y/n, and so many of them." he smirked at your embarrassed and rosy face. his fingers trailed its way from your waist, to your hip, and into your soft hands. "lets go inside, gonna introduce you to my best friend, endeavour. and hey. don't be nervous, you look gorgeous."

you nodded, taking hold of his hand before making your way to the event hall. the path was outlined by a carpet that was almost the same colour as your dress, and bordering the carpet were golden posts that acted as a barrier between the heroes and the media. it was all so grand. cameras and lights flashing, hero names being hollered and an endless wave of cheer around you.

is this how heroes made people feel? excitement, joy, vigour. no wonder kei admired them so much.

as you reached the door to the event hall, hawks pulled his hand away and positioned it so that his hand was on his chest and a gap formed between his arm. you put your arm through his, pressing your chest against his upper arm. an exchange of smiles went between the two of you and before you walked into the hall arm in arm. it was time for the event of the year to begin.

the moment you stepped into the room you were completely drowned in the awe of memorization. your jaw fucking dropped to the floor. the hall wasn't only big, it was gigantic, enormous even. lights beamed across the entire room, not a single dark spot to seen. thousands of tables with a million different dishes and drinks were scattered as far as you could see. and right at the front a stage, where hawks would be later tonight.

"woah." it was the only thing that could escape your lips. it was so amazing and majestic, like straight out of a movie.

"guess it's not everyday you get to experience something like this, i must say they really went all out. spared no expenses." he watched your face as it illuminated with shock and elation. your face was priceless.

"this is so incredible hawks. can we eat the food? oh! and i wanna try a drink. can we? can we really?" you tugged at his blazer, shaking the poor bird side to side.

"you can eat and drink the stuff on the table sweetheart. i'll come with you so that your nerves calm down, alright?" he giggled at your eagerness, petting the back of your head to hopefully calm you down and stop you from shaking him anymore.

"then what are we waiting for? i'm dying to try those giant chocolate covered strawberries." you beamed at him and then dragged him half way across the event hall to satisfy your sweet tooth.

not only were the strawberries in season but they were big and juicy, covered in a thick creamy chocolate shell. and they were never-ending. hawks watched as your face turned into an everlasting ray of smiles, and with each strawberry it grew. he kept close to you so that you had someone to talk to and, most importantly, to keep you safe. god were you beautiful. what he would do to see you this happy all the time.

approaching you was a big, bulky man. his shoulders broad and his face stern. you knew you had seen his face before, it was all too familiar. endeavour. he had the same face as the plushie in your bed. his hair was ruby red and his eyes turquoise blue. a plushie perfect match. he stood in front of you and hawks, his shoulders broad enough the cover the both of you. his eyes glanced past the bird man, fixing his gaze straight onto you.

"woah there buddy, if you stare at her too much she's gonna break down." he jokes, placing his hand on your lower back to ease your nerves. who wouldn't be nervous if a big rock of man started staring at you.

"good evening. who's the girl, hawks?" his arms stood straight by his side, his face stiff. you couldn't tell how he was feeling or what he was thinking, and that was the scariest thing about him.

"my girlfriend, you jealous endeavour?" hawks displayed a grin on his face, pulling you closer to him in order to 'show you off' some more.

"no. though i didn't picture you the type to settle down." he peered over at you once more, scanning you from head to toe. he might as well have been a metal detector.

"i'm y/n, it's nice to meet you. you're the number one hero endeavour, it's a real pleasure to meet you. i'm kinda a fan, well no my friend is the fan, but i still think you're really cool!"

"you're a fan of me too, right baby bird?" he pouted and squirmed as you spouted a bunch of rubbish to fill the awkward space endeavour had created.

"well, thank you for being a fan despite all the punches being thrown at my name currently. she'll keep you in check hawks, don't cause her trouble." he eyed hawks, the kind that your parents gave you when you were about to do something stupid.

"right, right, of course endeavour. why'd you come over? did you miss your buddy?" he nudges the flame hero, poking and prodding at him for a response.

"no i did not miss you, and you are not my 'buddy'. i came to collect you, it's time to go up there." the stoic man pushed hawks' arm away and turned his back on the two of you. he made his way through the crowds of people and tables before disappearing behind a curtained staircase.

"one day he'll admit that we're buddies." he chuckled, straightening his suit and tightening his tie. "but for now, i gotta fly y/n. i'll see you on stage." he cupped one of your cheeks and took you in for a kiss.

"you won't be able to see me silly, there's too many people here tonight."

"trust me y/n i could spot your drop dead gorgeous face a thousand miles away. wish me luck!" he rushed off to the curtained staircase, his wings fluttering slightly as he made his way to the grand stage.

in your heart you were wishing him luck, though really and truly he didn't need it. he'd be fine just the way he was. you couldn't stop thinking about the way his blazer clenched round his waist and the way his white button up shirt displayed the outline of his collar bone. and whatever bottle of cologne he was wearing tonight you were determined to buy a bottle for yourself. it drew you in like a bone to a dog.

you took hold of another strawberry before the lights shut down. excited murmurs spread from every corner of the hall and everyone laid eyes on the main stage. with a little squinting you could make out 10 silhouette figures were standing on the platform. hawks must been amongst the 10. you didn't want to miss a second, and clearly the media didn't want to either with their cameras and notepads out and ready.

head beam lights from below flashed, giving a better view to the 10 shapes. a flicker from the bulbs on the ceiling went off and the whole room was lit with an endless stream of radiant light. claps echoed from every corner of the room, chanting of the hero's names penetrated the air and glasses clinking together in unison. there stood heroes. the top 10 heroes.

amongst the line of heroes were names such as mirko the rabbit hero and wash the laundry hero. amongst the handful of talent japan had to offer was your beloved number two, hawks. he stood proudly with his chest out and wings perked up high behind him. he was facing your direction, even whilst he collected his award and gave his speech his eyes were on you. he really was like a hawk.

but what was he so fixated on? you. and the man next to you who was barely millimetres away from touching your shoulder with his. black long hair tied up in a bun, baggy eyes and a sharp jawline. eraser head. he'd really dressed for the occasion, and that worried hawks. as he spoke to you, laughter left your sweet and pretty lips. but your laugh was his to hear and only his. the thought of another man who could make you as happy as he did irked him deeply.

what lit the fuse to the bomb was when eraser head pulled you in by the waist to move you away from the waiter, that was about to trip and drop a hundred drinks in your direction. you apologised and gave eraser head a big dumb smile, the same kind you gave him during your date. he didn't know that he would feel so enraged witnessing another person touch you, talk to you or laugh with you. what was he so jealous of?

the presenter on stage dismissed the heroes to the event, taking back their awards so that they could be delivered to their hotel room directly. he didn't want to watch another second of it, jumping off the stage with his hands tucked into his pockets. he swerved his way through the mob of people, grumbling to himself and swearing under his breath.

you could smell the faintest scent of his cologne so you turned around, only to face a less than pleasant hawks. his brows were furrowed and his lips were straight, one fist clenched by his side and the other one still in his pocket. you felt your heart in your throat. did you do something wrong? was he angry? you looked to eraser head for some kind of reassurance or confirmation. boy did you set fire to dynamite.

"y/n we're going, now." he took hold of your arm, almost grabbing it.

"b-but why, the real event just started?" you flinched a little, shocked that hawks would behave so aggressively towards you. what the hell had gotten into him.

"we're going and that's final." he started dragging you to the nearest exit, not giving you enough time to pick up your dress so that it wouldn't drag across the floor too much.

"sorry eraser head! it was nice to ━" hawks tugged you closer to him, cutting you midway through your goodbye.

his grip on your arm was so tight you were certain that it would leave some kind of mark or bruise. you wanted him to slow down, you really wanted a break from all the speed walking, but you couldn't speak up. it was physically impossible for you. every time you planned to say something your throat would go hoarse and chicken out on you. no words would leave your mouth.

you were afraid of him in that moment, it reminded you of when your father had beaten you and kei for sneaking out to play one afternoon. you and kei wanted to cry out for help, cry out to express your pain. but no matter how hard you tried nothing came out, it always ended up in silence. you didn't want to put hawks in the same category as that disgusting and treacherous thing you called a 'father'.

hawks took you all the way to his hotel room, which was a penthouse suite with the best view in all of Kamino Yokohama. he tapped his key card on the reader before shoving the door out of the way and throwing you inside of the room. the door closed behind him, loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top of his formal shirt. he made his way to you and your body trembled more and more the closer he got.

"what the hell was that all about hawks?! dragging me out of there with no explanation, i didn't even get to say goodbye to eraser head properly. and then you grab me and take me all the way here, look my arm has a red mark because of you!"

he looked at your arm and seemed to take a step back. you let it all out, all the words that were clogged up from before. you weren't going to stay silent this time, not anymore. what he did was wrong but hawks himself hadn't realised until you started shouting and bursting out on him.

"yeah what i did wasn’t exactly excusable and i'm sorry. but why is saying goodbye to eraser head so fucking important to you?"

"hawks are you hearing yourself?"

"why are you so caught up on him?! just focus on me, that's all that you need. or is it not enough?" he took your hand and placed it on his chest. his heart was pounding to fast and hard that you could feel it through his blazer.

jealousy. the room was plagued with his jealousy. was he afraid of losing you? maybe he was afraid of losing his place in your heart? you never thought hawks was the type to get jealous, sure it was human nature, but he was so confident in himself. on the surface that was.

his body was unsteady from the pent up anger he had hoarded whilst on stage. you knew what he was doing was out of order but somewhere in your heart you understood where he was coming from. the constant fear of the what if. what if you lose the one you hold dearest to your heart? what if you’re so easily replaceable you could be tossed to the side?

tears trickled down his cheek slowly and it infectious, water droplets forming in your eyes as well. it hurt to see him like this. you just wanted him to be his chirpy and cocky self again, you took that side of him for granted. but it was your job as his girlfriend to guide him through his moments of despair. no, not even a job. the bare minimum.

you moved your hand from his beating heart to his face, cupping it gently and lifting his head up to face you. two teary eyed lovers facing the abyss together. you pressed your forehead onto his and let out a little sigh. your big bird was still a baby at heart, and you were going to protect his precious heart.

"i will always need you hawks, there's nobody that could replace you. so please, don't let your fear get the better of you. it's okay to feel angry and jealous, it's human nature, but never forget that i care about you the most. i'm not going anywhere and you're not going to be replaced. you’re enough."

"y/n...i'm sorry, i was just so scared. i hated watching you and eraser head talk, and then when he touched you and you smiled at ━" you cut him off with a deep kiss. that's what he needed in that moment, a piece, a crumble of physical affirmation that you were his.

he was shocked, you never initiated the first move. it was different, like turning the page to a new chapter in your relationship and he wasn't complaining one bit. his hands drew itself to your waist, pushing you deeper into his lips. home. it felt like home to him. he didn't need all the fame or money that he had, hell he didn't even need to be a hero let alone number two. you were enough for him.

"i love you y/n, i'm so sorry for hurting you like that." his lips left yours and his head hung back down again. he took hold of your arm once again, but this time his touch was much more tender. "look at what i've done. i'm a monster. i don't fucking deserve you."

"i forgive you, bird brain. so don't grovelling about it, it's not very hero like y'know." your fingers ran through his golden locks and you laid your head on top of his.

"fuck hero life, i don't need it. why would i? i have you sweetheart and that's more than a bastard like me could ask for." you positioned yourself on his lap, throwing your arms around his neck.

"if you let out another negative comment i will never ever compliment you again, got it?"

"yes ma'am. sorry ma'am."he jumps and turns to look you in the eyes. you were deadly serious.

"i'm glad we're on the same page. i didn't get a chance to say it but congratulations on your award hawks!"

"thanks baby bird, first time anyone has really congratulated me with any sincerity at all." he played with your skirt and his free hand laid on top of your thigh.

"it won't be the last if i'm around! sorry about not having a gift, you got me the dress and a ride but i don't have a thing for you."

"looking at you in this gorgeous dress is more than enough, you have no idea what it does to me y/n."

you felt it. you felt your thigh rubbing against something hard that poked at your soft skin. you knew what it was, and the thought of it made you embarrassed. it wasn't as if you were innocent at all, absolutely not. you had your fair share of lewd thoughts about hawks. it couldn't be helped sometimes, when his pants were just a tad bit too tight you good get a clue or two about the outline of his cock. and you'd be a liar if you said you had never imagined him rubbing his length against your slit.

he looked at your face that was all red, only realising then what was making you behaving sheepishly. "shit y/n, sorry i didn't mean to really."

"it's okay...it's natural. your dick is really hard huh?" you bit your lower lip and unconsciously rubbing your thigh against him.

he picked you up from his lap and sat you on the bed properly, leaning in for a kiss. it was wet and messy, your tongues running around one another. his hand held you by the neck, pressing you deeper and deeper into his lips. your hand was over his clothed cock, teasing it as he pressed a finger against your cunt. "wet already?"

"nghh ━ don't wanna wait anymore, please fuck me daddy." and that's all you needed to do for hawks to make your fantasies a reality.

you turned to the side so that hawks could unzip your dress. it slipped right off you and he left it hanging over a chair. he couldn't take his eyes off your body, you weren't wearing a bra so your breasts were openly on display for him. your skin looked to delicate and soft, thighs and ass plush. perfect in everyway. he kissed his way down your figure. head, neck, chest, stomach, thigh. the slow pace was leaving you on the edge, your red thong soaked in your juices and drip.

your only bit of clothing was ripped off you, hawks' cooing in your ear "i'll buy you a new one princess." his fingers played with your wet fold, a thumb circling against your swollen clit and the two tips of his fingers teasing your hole. you bucked your hips urging hawks to finger you. a grin appeared on his face, "can’t wait? what a slut". the sound of your wet pussy being filled with two of his fingers echo the room. he curves his finger as he pushes in and out of you, reaching your g-spot. and every time he hit the deepest part you'd arch your back, mewling in pleasure and shamelessly moaning out his name. "ahh ━ hawks more, please! wanna cum please hawks!" fuck did your sweet voice make his dick twitch. he fingered you faster. too much for you to handle clearly, grabbing a hold of the bed sheets and letting out even more breathless cries of pleasure. his tongue lapped your cunt and his fingers kept spreading your walls apart, loosening you up for his cock. too much, it was too much for you. your mind was blank from all the enjoyment and the only thing you could think about was hawks playing with your whore of a cunt. he sucked on your clit, making sure to get a real good fucking taste of ‘his’ pussy. you whimpered, arching your back and cumming all over his fingers. hawks pulled his fingers out, spreading them apart to show you the long line of drip and how wet they were. he put his two digits in your mouth for you to taste before running his tongue from the bottom of your slit to the top. "god. you taste fuckin' sweet as candy baby bird."

your legs were trembling, they were weak. you had never had such an intense orgasm, nor did you have a clue that it could feel that good. "my turn." you took hold of hawks' hand, laying him against the headboard of the bed. you positioned yourself between his legs, his cock desperate to get out of his pants. he unbuttoned his blazer and shirt, and you unzipped his pants. your bare skin rubbing against one another made your heart race, a blush running across your cheeks. "take it slow sweetheart, no rush." you nod, taking his boxers off to reveal his red, bulge tip. he was bigger than you had ever imagined, your hand barely able to wrap around the base. you took a breath before pushing the head of his cock into your mouth, enfolding the tip in your wet tongue. hawks groaned and his hips jolted from the sensation your mouth was giving him, watching his pretty girl suck him off made him throb even more. as you moved your mouth up and down his length, you could feel it hit the very back of your throat. it was just so big it started to make you choke, and that was music to his ears. "gonna push it down so you take it all the way, pinch me if you need me to stop." groaning, he took a handful of your hair and shoved the rest of his cock into your mouth. your moans were muffled from the fullness of your mouth, tears running down your face, and your mouth became more and more sloppy and took hawks in. he tugged you off his twitching dick, his face flustered. "y/n lay down on the pillow, gonna put it in okay?"

he flipped you over so that you were the one laying down on the pillow. your legs were spread apart, levered on his broad shoulders. "wanna feel you inside daddy, pretty please." your needy pleas gave him the green light to pound you and drill the shape of his cock into your pussy. he lined it up with your entrance, slapping it on your cunt a few time. he prepped you so well that his entire cock was able to slip in easily. your wet walls wrapped around him tightly, almost milking him. he slammed his hips into you and you could feel his tip kissing your cervix, and he kept hammering your insides. your drenched pussy squelched at every thrust he rewarded your pretty little cunt. you were completely full from him, his dick fucking you dumb and senseless. he was turning you into his personal cock sleeve. you let him infiltrate your every senses, the only thing you could think about was him. "c-cum in me please daddy, give me every drop please!" your arms swung around his neck, trying to keep yourself upright since your legs were becoming weaker as he continued to shove himself into you. "my princess is so well mannered. of course i'll breed you pretty girl." his hand pulled your thigh in so he could reach even deeper, thrusting his cock as his thumb grazed against your cunt. he was giving you the fucking of a lifetime, pussy full and cunt overstimulated. "shit- gonna cum inside of you y/n. gonna fill you up so good."you could feel yourself reaching the limit, moaning, whimpering, digging your nails into hawks's back. his cock pouring every ounce of cum he could muster into your needy cunt. panting, he pulled out and watched the mix of his cum and yours slowly ooze out of you pussy. your insides were painted white.

"did so well sweetheart." hawks fell into your arms, resting his head on your chest.

"you too baby." you pressed a kissed on his head and ruffled his already messed up hair.

"is this the same y/n i know give ME a pet name? i could die happy." he looked at you with eager eyes waiting for an answer, with an underlying feeling of shock.

"well...we're in a relationship so i should start using pet names more often!" you didn't think it that big of a deal but to hawks it was like the world had just granted his every wish, his heart pounding next to yours.

"lets clean up and get some sleep, 'kay? i'll apologise to erase head tomorrow." he got up and headed to the bathroom.

you nodded and followed behind hawks, getting into the shower with him. you took turns washing each others hair and backs, hawks occasionally planting bubbles on your nose. the domestic moments you were having, like drying his hair and vice versa, made you feel like you were on cloud nine. butterflies erupted at the thought of you and hawks behaving like husband and wife.

the hotel had provided you and hawks with a pair of black silk pyjamas. they were so smooth to touchy and easy on the skin. the little pocket on your chest even had your name on it, hawks had the same but just with his name. well hero name. but the clothes were perfect fit. but how did they know you would be staying?

"hawks, why do i have a pair of pyjamas? i mean i'm not a hero nor was i a direct guest." he laid on the bed and you sat beside him, his hand petting your thigh.

"i asked them to get you a pair, pretty cool right."

"okay- but how did you know i would be staying, heck i didn't even know i was gonna stay the night." you poked his chest, your lips pouting.

"bird instinct." you started laughing, how unserious could he be. but it was nice, a change of mood.

"scoot over bird brains!"

he shuffled to the right side to make a little nest for you to lay on. hawks arm stretched out across the pillow, his hand prodding you to come over. you plopped your head on his arm and your face nuzzled in his chest. the light switched off, the blanket wrapped round you and so did hawks. you didn't need city lights to call something home anymore. it was right Infront of you, practically thrown over your entire being.

"goodnight y/n, sweet dreams." he lifted your chin, placing a gentle kiss on your lips, and then your nose, and finally your head.

"goodnight hawks. thank you for being my home.”

[hopeassassin]

I'M IN TEARS READING YOUR TAGS AHAHAHAHAAAA

I LOVE THAT YOU CONSIDER CHARACTERISATION WHILE WATCHING AN EDIT

LOVE THAT. SAME

ALSO YOU'RE VERY RIGHT ABOUT THE "head too full" THIS IS LITERALLY WHY HE PROBABLY WOULDN'T RECOGNISE ATTRACTION IF IT BURNED HIS CROPS AND STOLE HIS RIGHTS (coughs in PXZ2)

... are we sure Vergil knows what a woman is, actually. wait don't answer that-

"Vergil strikes while the iron is hot" W H E E Z E Sparda forging the Yamato like

(also if you're wondering why this is an ask and not a reblog, it's because tumblr hates my kidneys and won't let me reblog that post, specifically, LOL)

ashkjfhjafkhj This made me wheeze myself half to death as well ahhaahha :DDDD you are so right on all accounts, OF COURSE, I mean--!!

But yeah, as someone who has been focused on Fanfiction and making Plausible Things Happen in Fanon for a long, long time, I guess it's become a sort of quirk in my character. If something is GLARINGLY UNLIKELY, it makes it a bit hard for me to get behind. Not like there aren't exceptions to this but I'm sure you understand.

I really love Vergil's one track mindset, but the way you put it is just priceless hahahaha xDDDD

I just HAVE to give props where they are due to Nero's mother who somehow, SOMEHOW, obviously managed to derail that train of thought of his LONG ENOUGH to do stuff that would produce a child. *hearty applause* You, ma'am, are one of a kind for sure!

[donutloverxo]

A Royal Scandal 2

Modern royalty au

(Image from Pinterest)

Cowritten with @lizzygal

I'm so sorry! I made a mistake while posting this yesterday so I'm reposting it now. Hope y'all enjoy💖

Note - Since y'all liked it so much we've decided to post this fic on both ao3 and my tumblr! There will be no taglists for this however💖 You can subscribe to the ao3 story to receive updates!

Please note that my stories are not to be stolen or reposted on any other site. Reblogs are welcome. This blog and this story is 18+. Do not read, follow or interact if you are not 18+.

Summary - Modern ruler, His Majesty King Steven G Rogers, is on a quest to make his long term secret relationship the real thing. He is a man in love and wants his lover and partner to be his queen.

Warnings - Smut (m/f), dub con/non con, sex tape, scandals, mentions of past domestic abuse, soft dark Steve, possessive Steve, spanking, power imbalance, Mentions of previous domestic abuse.

Pairing - King!Steve x reader

Word count - 8k

To be fair, Steven could understand why his mother was so upset after watching the entire footage from the royal steam rooms. He had a far better understanding after having seen the footage in question. The one that had led to his mother’s reaction that very morning.

Seated beside Carol on the ride back, he slipped in his wireless earbuds and pulled up the first video he found online on his phone.

A separate car had been sent for you for whenever your meeting completed. However, he had a whole series of his own back at the palace before his day could be considered over in the administrative offices. Days were never really over for him. Should anything happen somewhere in his nation, he would be informed. As was expected for a ruler.

Until then, he had fifteen or so minutes to kill till he arrived back at the royal palace, depending on city traffic.

Which was how he found himself watching what was obviously some sort of hidden camera. As the royal banya did not have CCTV cameras. Steve found himself making a mental note to himself to ask Carol about it.

After he watched the video.

He had the feeling that this would not be going away anytime soon. Therefore, he needed to know what was on there if he was going to have to defend his actions, or even speak about it.

It was somewhat surreal watching himself walk into view wearing nothing. Not even a towel. Talking with someone who was obviously you.

Based on where the camera was located, Steve could tell it was somewhere in the hallway that led from the steam rooms into either the showers or locker room. Thank all the saints above your back was to the camera. Half of it anyway. You were standing at a turn in the hallway, leaning against the wall. Half of you hidden. A towel wrapped around your body.

Thanking those saints above still that there was no sound, Steve watched on as a voice narrated the video, some celebrity blogger dissecting the footage as if it were a pivotal moment in some sporting event.

Steve watched himself turn to face you, facing the camera too and exposing his entire self to the world.

Not that he was ashamed. He had nothing to be ashamed about. Steve was built tall and powerful like his father and mother’s father. He kept himself in shape and as for the manhood that hung heavy between his thighs, he refused to be embarrassed by that either. The blogger however did have several opinions about what she referred to as, the royal sword.

She also seemed to be very opinionated when Steve watched himself kneel down in front of you. He’d never watched himself go down on you before and found himself transfixed, easily able to ignore the blogger’s excited rambling.

For once, Steve watched your hands sink into his hair as he sank between your legs. He watched your pleasure grow and grow, he watched you sag back into the wall and reach up, grabbing at it like a cat stretching out in the hot sun.

Seeing it happen like this? Steve felt like a voyeur. He felt like he was doing something wrong. And then, he watched you climax on his face. He watched your hands tighten up against the corner of the walls meeting. He watched himself stand and no longer noticed the commentary as he sheathed himself between your legs and proceeded to pound you into the wall without mercy.

His attention caught on one little inconsequential thing. Watching one of your legs that wound over his thigh bounce wildly each time.

Quickly he exited out of the video and blog. Unwilling to watch more. Pulling a bud from his ear, he glanced over at Carol who was watching the city fly by her window.

“Have you inquired as to if the palace guard has looked into how the video was taken in the royal banya?”

Blonde hair dusted her shoulders as she looked at her king. Carol answered without a second of hesitation. “Already done Your Majesty. The camera was found this morning. A webcam of some type. It’s been sent away for fingerprints and I have the best IT professional I know looking into it, to determine if we can track down who it belongs to. The royal guard has also launched an investigation into all palace employees.”

“Thank you,” he answered her with complete sincerity.

Captain Danvers had been at his side since he assumed the throne and had proven herself hundreds of times over. She was his confidant. She was his bodyguard. She was his closest thing to a friend, if Steve could say he had such a thing. He could tell Carol anything. He had told Carol about you. Carol had told him about her sick mother and in return, Steve have given her a cottage on palace grounds while providing a nurse. So that Carol would be able to spend as much time as possible with her mother in her final days. Carol still lived on the palace grounds in that cottage down by the gardens.

“I’ll let you know when I know something,” she assured him.

***

Your return to the palace felt like it took forever. Mostly because your panties were very obviously damp from leakage and you were greatly concerned about a wet stain. The modern equivalent of a scarlet letter. Letting everyone know what you’d done.

Twice you’d checked in a bathroom along with every mirrored surface you came across.

Alas, it seemed you were in luck.

No one would know that you’d had inappropriate contact on a workday, or think you’d had an accident. Granted if someone would have noticed you planned on blaming your monthlies.

By the grace of the many women who came before you, you managed to get back to the palace without being caught and were about to go change your panties when a familiar face popped into your office.

“Hey! You’re coming! I’m not taking no for an answer!”

Wanda.

Bright red hair and a brighter red dress that was far from office appropriate appeared in your office, leaping in like an acrobat leaping onto a stage. Making you look up from where you stood behind your desk, digging through your handbag.

A bunch of different thoughts buzzed through your head.

What was Wanda talking about? Where did she want you to go? Did Wanda wear that mini-dress to work? Cause it was about five inches too short and did downright sinful things to the girls. Wanda could always pull off anything. She looked amazing in clubwear, sweats and those tea-party dresses that Jackie O was always wearing.

“Coming?” Fell from your lips in a valiant attempt to stall till you could make sense of what was happening. “What are you not taking no for an answer for this time?”

In your roommate swept like a hurricane.

“It’s practically six!” She declared, as if that was supposed to mean something to you. It had you staring at her and waiting for more information. Hands paused in their hunt for clean panties and a pantyliner in your bag’o’stuff. “No more talk of this fake boyfriend. You and me are going to go have dinner. We’re going to hit the bars to pre-game and then to the clubs! Everyone is going so you are too!”

Such news had you freezing in your patent leather pumps.

Pre-gaming? Dinner? Clubs? Everyone?

How?

It was only Thursday and then you remembered.

It was a long weekend. The winning of some great victory over the Germans from the big war that you only kinda remembered hearing about. Mostly because you’d been busy with the border issue and the education overhaul. You’d known that it was coming up and the entire four-day weekend would be spent celebrating.

Wanda saw your face. She saw what you were thinking. She was practically a mind reader. Which led her to pointing at you scoldingly. “No! No no no! No checking emails or messages. No more work. No! We’re going out tonight and we are going to have fun! You remember what fun is? Right?”

But…you really did have emails and messages to check. You actually did have a ton of work to do. Granted you always had emails and messages to check, plus work piling up. It was the nature of your job. Helping in the running of a country was a 24/7 gig.

“Wanda…”

“Nope!” She declared, marching on into your office and behind your desk to chase you out. Shooing you. Literally making you hop away and grab your handbag because you just knew Wanda wasn’t letting you back near your desk. That much was for sure.

Like a sheepdog, she herded you around your messy desk as you attempted to protest, to get her to listen, to inform her that you really really did have a good bit of work to do.

“Wait…hold on…wait, Wanda…just one second…gah!”

“No more protests! I’m not going to hear it anymore! I refuse to let you hide behind work or the fake boyfriend.”

More protests came from you. You tried. You really really did. But Wanda was shoving and pushing and hip bumping you out into a hallway that did not look like an office building, instead, it was very obviously a palace.

Your heels clicked on polished white marble that shone. Walls were cream and had priceless art hung around, gold gilded borders ran up along where the ceiling met the walls. Light fixtures were old, bronze and cut glass. Furniture that belonged in Sotheby’s was sparsely decorated around the halls.

Door were old and creaky up and down the halls, wooden with locks that required big iron keys.

It was unlike any other place you’d ever worked.

You could feel and see and even smell the smokey history oozing from the walls.

A few people were hurrying out of their offices and locking the doors behind them, which Wanda didn’t even let you do as she went on indignantly. “No! Nope! Clint from Tinder will not wait forever! He digs foreigners and he has a job and he loves to dance!”

At mention of Tinder, your gut lurched.

Dear god not this again.

Why had you ever agreed to let Wanda make you a Tinder profile? At the time it seemed so reasonable. Let her make the profile and she’d get off your ass about your alleged imaginary boyfriend. Problem solved! How on earth were you to know she’d be on the damn app making matches for you?

“Why don’t you go out with Clint from Tinder,” you wanted to know, earning yourself a roll of Wanda’s eyes as you were dragged down along the hallway to the massive marble stairs. Looking as if they’d been carved from one piece, smoothly curling down a floor to the ground floor. Large chandeliers hung with cut glass that threw light everywhere. A massive painting hung up on the large wall of a long dead large royal family in the palace of past.

“He’s not my type. But he is absolutely your type.”

Somehow you doubted that.

Sighing deeply and focusing on not snapping your ankle on the stairs and in your heels, you followed Wanda down, mixing in with the few stragglers who were leaving work and making mental notes to text Steve and let him know you’d be late coming back to the palace that night. You were then planning when you could check your work emails and work-phone messages. That had to be done in a quiet place where no one could overhear. Maybe you could go out to the club and feign a tummy ache? Then sneak away from Clint? It’d probably be much easily to sneak away from Clint than Wanda.

Click. Click. Click.

With every step you maneuvered down your heels were noisy. You’d managed to fling your sizable bag over your shoulder and just knew Steve was going to be annoyed with you. But he was an adult. Being adults meant the two of you would have to do things that you didn’t want.

“So help me, if it kills the both of us, you and I will be going out tonight and having a fun time! This is a celebratory weekend! There are festivities going on all over the city!” Wanda went on, yanking you along behind her upon reaching the bottom step and heading in the general direction of the ground floor exits.

Hurrying along behind her, you followed but you weren’t happy about it.

God did you have so much work to do and you really really wanted to spend the night with Steve. And maybe if you gave in to Wanda, she’d get off your ass about your fake boyfriend? Wait, no, your secret boyfriend, because Steve was very real, you just didn’t want to be eviscerated all over the internet and tabloids for dating a king.

You’d seen what happened when a pretty actress had dated then married a prince who didn’t rule his country. The only thing you had going for you was Steve’s country was still looked at with some serious side-eye from the world, due to past events and rulers. Plus, he wasn’t a young prince that had grown up before the eyes of the world. He was a son of a tyrant, a citizen of a sizable nation the world still viewed suspiciously with a questionable human rights record.

“You’re going to love the club! It’s totally new and they open at ten. Meaning we can have plenty of time with the girls!”

Girls?

As in plural?

Because of course this would be a group event. Wanda never half-assed anything.

“Wanda…” you began.

Before Wanda could turn her attention on you, loud shrill lady screams came and you were greeted to the sight of Maria, Okoye and Pepper. All three threw up their arms and grabbed Wanda in a big hug, yanking her away from you and freeing you from her grip.

Loud girl screeches followed.

There was group hopping and hugs and laughter.

It should have made you realize that it’d been so long since you had a fun girls night. It should have reminded you that you were young and your life shouldn’t be all about work and sneaking off with your boyfriend whenever the two of you were able to.

Your heart should have been warmed by the sight of your palace coworkers who were clearly part of the aforementioned Girls.

How long had it been since you had fun?

How long had it been since you’d had a night out on the town?

What were you doing?

Were you jumping and screeching and hugging too?

No.

You were digging into your handbag so you could text Steve real quick. To let him know about your change in plans before he began to think you’d bailed because you were a coward and got cold feet.

Just as your fingers touched the smooth surface of your iPhone…

A noise caught your attention.

Movement.

Peering up to the side at the wall, or what you’d assumed was a hallway wall since you were in another hallway nearly identical to the one upstairs. All while the hugfest continued. You noticed that the wall was at a weird angle. As if it were opening up on a hinge and by the time you realized that the wall was actually an opening to a hidden passageway, a hand grabbed your elbow and yanked you in.

No more than a soft squeak came from you.

In you tumbled.

Into a dimly lit hallway that was actually a passageway you found yourself. With a metal sounding click the wall slid back into place and a big hand fell over your mouth. Making you immediately panic, immediately reach up to grab the hand that was silencing you. Making an arm band around your chest and pull you flush back against a broad muscular body.

“Did you honestly think for one moment that I would allow you to go get drunk with Wanda? Or go to a club with a man that she met for you on Tinder?”

Steve.

It was Steve.

His faint aftershave still burnt your nose but paired with the masculine scent that was him, you relaxed only a little bit, just a smidge.

How the hell did he know all of that? Had he bugged your office? Was he following you?

Deep in your chest your heart pounded wildly. Your skin was on fire. Even though it was dimly lit, you swore you could see each nail and groove in the wooden walls of the hidden passage.

Steve’s shoes were soft on the carpeted floor. Yours however never reached. Your legs dangled. Desperately you stretched out to try and reach your toes down, but alas, Steve was holding you up and was simply that much taller than you. Easily holding you up as he carried you.

His voice an angry snarl, a seething whisp against your ear. “That is so disappointing my love. A failure on both our parts,” came his angry voice. Walking with sure footing and a quick pace through the only barely lit halls.

Turning here and there, quickly and suddenly, until you were very much lost.

A protest came from behind his palm that was crushed against your mouth. Your blood heating with every passing second till it felt as if it were boiling. All that sudden fear was turning into anger at this treatment.

“I’ve clearly failed you if you’re unable to announce with nothing but the utmost certainty that you’re both in a relationship and have no desire to go out clubbing with whomever Clint from Tinder is.” The word clubbing was spat out, as if Steve found it vile on his tongue. “As for you? Yesterday we were discussing where to go for your birthday and today, you refused to answer one of my calls! You have work to do tonight to make up to me your behavior today!”

Further down the hidden passageway you were unceremoniously carried pulled to his front. Your brain racing at warp speed.

You had work to do? You had to make up for your behavior?

Had he lost his damn mind?

Had he not seen the video of his naked nether-regions all over the internet? Or the sex that made the footage a sex tape? The two of you were now amateur porn stars and he was mad that you? Because you were trying to be lowkey until the entire situation blew over? Steve was mad because you were being reasonable?

A most valiant attempt was made to free yourself.

You struggled. You kicked. You flailed and shrilled behind the hand over your mouth. No longer taken by surprise or frightened. Now you were growing angry.

On top of being terrified of being found out in that footage and ridiculed by the world, or worse, chased out of this country by a horde of angry people who didn’t agree with you being the kings choice as not only a foreigner, but one from pretty humble roots. You were upset that the world saw such an intimate moment between the two of you and even if Steve didn’t care that his junk was all over the internet, you cared. You cared a great deal. The royal junk was your junk. It was bad enough you had to know he’d dated women before you who’d seen him nude and were intimate with him, but now the world? It was simply too much for you to comprehend.

Steve slowed and turned, using his elbow he made something pop and a slight crack of light where there was obviously another hidden door in the wall appeared.

Using his broad shoulder, Steve pushed the door open and stepped out into a hallway that led down to the royal chambers and split off.

With his knee, he shoved the hidden panel shut and tightening his grip on you, Steve hurried down that hallway.

A completely different one from where the administrative offices were located.

Rich wooden paneling covered the walls. Making everything appear warmer, lusher. An amber haze hung in the air.

Thick carpet was underfoot. Furniture spoke to its age but had been made with a quality that endured. Like this palace. Built when his land was called something else but had stood through time in proof of his claim to the throne.

Generations before him had ruled, claimed spouses and lovers in these halls, grown old and made history and now it was his turn.

Merely that knowledge had him growing excited in his slacks for a second time that day. All of your thrashing and struggling didn’t help. If anything, it sparked a part of his brain that insisted he ravish and conquer you in his royal bed.

Mouth pressed to your ear, till he felt amber and diamonds press against his lips. “I swear, I will spend the rest of tonight inside of you until things are as they were yesterday. Until you remember that when I speak to you in any manner, you answer. Considering how thoroughly you’ve consumed every last part of me, it is only fair.”

And then, in his slowed pace down the hall ever closer to the door that would lead into Steve’s Royal Apartment, he saw a portrait up on the wall that made him pause.

It was him.

Or his portrait from when he’d turned thirty.

There he stood looking down at you both. Dressed ceremonially in his crown, holding the traditional ruling scepter and wearing the robes from kings of past. Fur, jeweled toned fabric that he’d easily filled out with gold adornments, amber buttons and pipping on his shoulders.

What was most striking about this portrait compared to all the others of Steven throughout the palace, was he was alone in it and unlike all the others, at the time, he’d not been single.

Further making that internal fire burn hotter.

Making him stop and force you to look up at it with him. Framed in a gilded bronze heirloom. Up where he had to look at it to be reminded of what could have been.

“Look! Look!”

You stopped struggling and looked, were well aware of his mouth against your hair.

“See? See it? You could have been there with me. At my side. Wearing my crown. Wearing the robes and jewels of my grandmothers. My queen.”

And indeed you saw.

When you’d seen the finished portrait, you had been blown away at how your body reacted to the sight of your lover in his traditional uniform he only pulled out for big special events. How powerful he looked. How sexy he was wearing a crown, holding a golden scepter with an eagle on the end clutching a piece of amber the size of an egg.

The arm around your chest fell so he could point at the empty space in the picture beside him. “Look. Right there. That is where you would have been. Right there. At my side.”

His hand over your mouth still held you flush against him. Pulled tight against him.

That thought, that entire notion of you painted on a portrait, up there with Steve at his side. It was so surreal to you.

When it was just you and Steve it was fire and gold and everything was amazing. When it was King Steve and his Chief of Staff it was stimulating and exciting. You still weren’t sure about being queen. A queen! That wasn’t like being a princess or a duchess. A queen was different. Even the word felt different.

It made your heart start to pound wildly in your chest again. It made you breathe hard against the back of his hand. It made you have a physiological reaction.

***

This was not how Carol intended to spend her night.

It was not how she wished to start her off-time. Having given Val the update on all things that had transpired for the day as she handed off command of the Royal Guard to her fellow captain.

No sooner had she told Val everything, did one of the messengers from communications come hurrying in. A slip of paper in her hand. A note that changed everything for that night, that week and even that month.

It had left Carol walking through the royal apartments towards the Queen Mother’s rooms.

As she knew exactly what King Steven was doing and quite frankly, she wanted no part in disturbing that unless she absolutely had to.

Besides. The message that had been sent to the palace via royal envoy was meant for Her Majesty. It was best Her Majesty the Queen Mother figured out how best to deal with this coming…situation.

Compared to His Majesty’s Private Rooms, Sarah’s were all light and brightness. White marble and ornate touches. Colorful priceless paintings and large bouquets of fresh flowers in crystal vases. Soft plush furniture held little personal touches. A white chenille throw draped over her couch by a fireplace. Pink slippers sat on the floor. Books both new and ancient with various markers holding her place were scattered about. Fresh flowers. She loved fresh flowers. They were everywhere.

As expected, the door to the Queen Mother’s apartments were open.

Carol still paused outside of it to knock gently.

“Your Majesty?” She called out, looking at her watch to see that it was nearing seven. Around seven was when the queen took her dinner meal privately. Of course she’d leave the door open for kitchen staff to bring up food as usual. It wasn’t one of the nights that was reserved for Steve and his mother to have their dinners together.

After the death of her husband the former king, Sarah had effectively thrown open all the doors that he had imprisoned her with.

Her soft voice drifted out.

Delicate and gentle.

The Queen Mother sat in a large chair by a big window overlooking the city. Her pale hair pulled back at the nape of her neck. A string of pearls tightened and loosened around her fingers as she lowered the book she’d been reading. A pleasant smile came over her soft features.

Upon seeing the stone of Carol’s face, the queen frowned. “What is it? What is wrong?”

Only confirming that something was wrong, Carol shut the door and locked it.

Dinner had been brought up. Smells emanated from the queens private dining room off to the left. It reminded Carol that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast that morning. It had been that kind of a day.

Clasping her hands before her, she rocked back on her heels. “A message was sent by Her Highness Janet Van Dyne. She and her daughter will be at the palace tomorrow…”

Janet and Hope Van Dyne?

Steven’s former fiancée and her mother?

Two golden eyebrows rose, making Carol press on. “Her Highness is under the impression that they’ll be staying here? In the palace?”

All of this was new to Sarah.

She had not heard from Janet since Steve’s coronation. When she and her husband had been in attendance. Earlier that particular year, Hope had broken her engagement with Steven to run away with a Maharaja.

It’d been all over the tabloids.

A young princess of the Netherlands had broken her engagement to the crown prince of an incredibly traditional nation to follow her heart. Hope had spent many years splashed across tabloids and blogs with a handsome charismatic Asian Prince. She’d lost her royal title and gave tell-all interviews about how her family had forbade her from running away and how she’d never marry a man from infamous Rogers Royal Line. And then, oddly, she was back home with her family this year.

Sarah had found it unusual. Alas, she was a busy woman with a life of her own to keep her busy.

“Was anything else in the message,” Sarah wanted to know.

Carol shook her head.

It had been a simple message that was very to the point.

Sighing in a most un-Sarah-like sort of way. She set her book down on the arm of her chair and rose. Tall. Willowy. Pursing her lips. Her dress fell around her in a gauzy cloud.

“Do you want me to tell His Majesty?”

Pausing, the older women considered the question. Dare she tell her son? He deserved to know. Nothing good would come from this visit.

If it were Janet alone? Sarah would not be so suspicious. But Janet and Hope? And that they would come so last minute? After the release of this video footage from the royal sauna?

“Is my son with her?”

Silence.

Carol was quiet.

A noise came from the Queen Mother. A clicking of her tongue. Stepping into her slippers, she pulled the hem of her dress up. “I suppose I should not be surprised that you would keep this from me.”

More quiet came.

“I won’t ask. I’ll find out my own way and leave him be for now. Janet and Hope won’t be here tonight. This can be a problem for tomorrow, today has been difficult enough for us all. Let tomorrow be tomorrow.”

Let tomorrow be tomorrow.

On her other hand was her wedding band. A treasure itself. Now on the widow’s finger. It was so symbolic of the cage she’d lived in for the duration of her marriage.

Absentmindedly, she twisted the rings. “Have you eaten yet?” Pulling them up and down her hand. “I had hoped you would come. I had the kitchen bring up extra.” Off slipped the rings that she had to wear in public. In her hand they jingled until she set them down on a smoothly polished table.

With two heavy clicks, they bounced on the wood by a vase full of peonies. Freeing her for the time being.

“I missed you while you were away.”

A blush bloomed over her porcelain complexion at Carol’s words.

As she watched Carol lock the door to her chambers, a warmth bloomed within her chest. Such words were so simple. So honest. They were words she had not heard before in her life. In this new chapter however, in this new time in her life, she had become accustomed to kind words and compassion.

“I missed you as well.” She confessed, stepping closer and still keeping space between them. As some habits died hard. “Stay with me? Tonight?”

“There is nothing I want more, Sarah.”

***

As it turned out, now you were ready to talk.

However.

Unfortunately.

Steve was now past that point and was on a whole other page.

You found yourself protesting when he carried you into his bedroom like some manner of caveman would carry a slab of meat. Shrilling out when he yanked and ripped and tore at your dress, forcing it over your head after ripping fabric and popping buttons, till it was an unsalvageable heap of material and threads.

Which was an absolute tragedy.

You loved that dress.

You even pointed out that fact to him somewhere between the threshold of his bedroom and his massive bed that really was fit for a king.

It was so big!

A headboard wider than Wanda’s itty-bitty car was long. An elaborate collection of regal flourishes and shapes. Dark sheets so soft they were slippery awaited you as you screeched and hollered, letting out an outraged sound when your bra was popped then yanked roughly from you.

“Steven!” You admonished your king, toes digging deep into the thick carpet as you’d lost your shoes back in the hallway leading to his quarters.

This whole evening was going off the rails for you. There was no other way to put it.

Dim sconces on the wall lit the way. Highly effective mood lighting if you ever saw it. Allowing you to see the set in Steve’s face, the firm line of his mouth.

His fingers wrapped around the back of your neck so he could hold you close, ground out for your benefit. “All day long I tried. Calls. Messages. Texts. Did you want to talk? No. You ignored me. Now I do not wish to talk either.”

Pushing you forward, you found yourself stumbling but knew if you didn’t walk on your own, Steve would merely toss you up on his bed. Up on the sea of pillows. Framed by gilded silver and dark curtains that came down from above to allow for privacy.

“All day long you denied me. I’ll remind you what is mine until you’re thinking clearly again. Until we’re back where we were yesterday!”

“I’m ready to talk now! I’m in a place where I can discuss this with you! I am thinking clearly!”

Words were not needed.

Oh no.

Not when the king grabbed your hand, pulled your arm back and pressed your palm against his straining erection. Hot to the touch. Shockingly hard. Painfully so even you were willing to bet.

Your knees hit the bed and you were pushed forward till you fell over, till you wound up on the expanse of bedding in a tangle of hands and knees and that silky smooth material.

A big explosion came from Steve. Feeling like and you were flailing on your stomach, trapped beneath his oppressive weight and the bed. Fighting. Wiggling. Trying to get free from beneath him but bigger stronger arms had your wrists.

Something was being wrapped around your wrists that you couldn’t see, as your vision was impeded by the broad chest in your face. Right there. Blocking your line of sight. Pinning you down to the sea of grey until finally, finally, he was up and you were once more struggling, wiggling, jerking and finding that you were tied to the headboard.

You were tied to the headboard. You were naked and bound to his bed.

Silky fabric that was Steve’s tie bound your wrists snugly together and wove into the headboard, securing you there most soundly.

It was outrageous! It was absurd!

You were tied to his headboard!

It was a first for you.

When your gaze returned to your boyfriend and even that was now a bit questionable, you were greeted to the sight of Steve shedding his suit. Yanking off each garment without pause or care. A few tears were heard and he was far rougher than need be. A button or two may have flown off.

“You cannot be serious! That’s your plan? You’re going to take what’s yours? Are you serious? This is not the dark ages!”

Ignoring you, Steve shoved his slacks down his long legs. Allowing his rigid cock to bob obscenely. Causing an eyeroll to immediately come from you. A hint of something dark on his hip caught your eye. But it was only a flash and as he was moving, yanking off his suit jacket and fiercely ripping open buttons on his shirt, you couldn’t get a good look.

Was it a bruise? A tattoo?

Somehow you doubted kings were even allowed to have tattoos. Or that Steve even had the time to get himself permanently inked. When the hell did he get that bruise?

Momentarily distracted by him climbing up on the bed, you looked up to give your bindings a good hard yank.

No luck.

Steve’s weight was pushing you down. Shoving you into the bed. Pinning you down as you protested, implored and began to plea. Which was exactly what he wanted. After everything you had put him through today? You would beg. You would plead. You would forget all about that video.

“Open your mouth.”

It was an order.

It could be nothing less.

An absolute command that had your lips slowly parting as your eyes widened in surprise at the sudden treatment, this roughness. Steve held his painful erection in hand and pushed his tip to your lips. Pushed the red end of his cock sticky with precum past your lips. Till you were forced to open your mouth wider and wider for him. To take him deeper and deeper into your mouth.

Steve held your gaze and pushed his member in further. Straddling your chest and gripping his headboard in one hand, till it dug into his fingers. While his other hand grabbed your face to hold it tight.

You’d never be able to take all of him. He knew this. You’d never been able to no matter how much you’d tried. But he wanted to see how much he could fit in your mouth tonight.

“Don’t swallow. Don’t let me down again.”

Your mouth was so warm closing around him. Wet. Sacred. It made him want to close his eyes to sink in deep but Steve would not. He would do that soon enough. He would lose himself in your cunt soon enough.

A few small movements from his hips sank his cock deeper into your mouth. Filling your cheeks as you struggled. Until you found a motion of moving up and down his length, running your tongue along his sides. Wetting up his shaft till sloppy noises started to fill his ears and a small little dribble began to moisten the corners of your mouth.

Those blue eyes remained set on your own. Never once showing you mercy.

“Tomorrow. In the future. If I call or text, you will answer.”

There was no follow-up. Nor was it a question.

Long fingers that belonged on an artist or musician sank into your hair tightly.

All you could do was nod as drool rolled down your chin and you suckled his cock like you would a popsicle, without swallowing, sucking on his sensitive flesh as he liked and without the aid of your own hands to steady his member.

It was glorious and Steve could only slightly appreciate it. As the words that fell from his mouth were more important, more vital.

Feeling how wet your mouth was getting was fantastic. Absolutely. Your nimble tongue was a gift. No one had ever sucked his cock like you.

However…he was still frustrated, still angry, still hurt even.

He’d not worked his way through those feelings as of yet.

Perhaps? In your body?

Those feelings teased and taunted him with his unworthiness. Of how you hadn’t been firmer with your roommate. How you had allowed her to drag you down the stairs for a night out with possibly another man? It infuriated him. It sent his hips rocking into your mouth. It had his cock rubbing up along the back of your throat and made your eyes water.

No.

Steve would not lose you. He loved you too much to even entertain such a notion. No. Infact, he would make sure that he ruined you. By the end of the night, he would make certain that you’d never even amused the notion of being set up. He would be completely sure that when you left his chambers come morning, you would never be doubted when you told Wanda or anyone that you had a partner.

“I want to start publicly courting you. I want to be engaged this year. I do not want to hide any longer. When people look at you, I want them to know that you belong to me.”

Noises came around his cock that Steve knew were words and he did not care.

“Look at yourself.” Steve stilled, his words harsh, bitter even. “You have my cock in your mouth and I am completely at your mercy. Tied to the bed of kings because I cannot go one night without dreaming of you, fantasizing about your tight cunt and smooth skin. I would give you the world and all you want is nothing. You are the worst type of infuriating.”

As if to prove his point, he steadily pumped his pelvis up into your mouth. Each slide in pushed saliva and pre-ejaculate out, making it ooze from the seal of your lips around his erection. Against your throat his wet balls bounced. His ass rested on your chest and he could not get enough. More. He wanted more. He needed more. Craved more.

The urge to go harder was strong.

Steve wanted so badly to fuck you. To make you feel how much you drove him mad. How you caused him physical pain from longing alone.

With drool smeared down your chin and neck, never looking more beautiful in his opinion, Steve pulled his dick out. Done with your mouth for now. Needing more. Needing to grab your tits and to be closer to your face, looking closer into your eyes.

In a familiar sort of way, your throat bobbed.

“Did you just swallow when I specifically told you not to?”

A moment of hesitation followed from you that had Steve gripping your face, easing his body down yours but holding your slippery chin tight in his grip. Your eyes were wide. Again, probably without even realizing, you swallowed in nervousness.

“I’m…I’m sorry…”

“I’m sorry what,” he demanded, leaning down closer, licking the wetness from your chin and earning from you a most satisfying shiver that wracked your body.

“S-s-sorry, Your Majesty.”

His tongue was hot and wet on your chin. His body was heavy and hot on your own. Skin on skin contact made your brain short circuit. It was a miracle you could string those syllables together. With your hands bound so snugly to the bed. All you could do was take it. Take what he gave you.

Feeling him push your thighs open and position himself between your hips made you gasp. Words failed you.

And then words didn’t even matter because he was pushing into you. Claiming you. Taking what was his because you did belong to him. You belonged to him in every possible way.

A scream exploded out of you when he dove right in. Sank in till his crown was pressed up against the wall of your cervix. Deeper than anyone had ever been before. Hands were grabbing your ankles and spreading you wide. Spearing you on his cock. Stretching your body taut.

“So wet. You were made to take me. Made to take your king.” He whispered more to himself even though you heard. You would have heard a pin drop. You could hear your heart pound and blood rush through your ears, each gasp your lungs took. You could feel every last inch of him deep inside your core. Painfully stretching you open like this. Burning. Tingling. Twisting.

Hands tightened on your ankles till you looked up at Steve. Hovering over you like a pillaging warlord about to ravish his prize.

“You have till Monday to decide how you wish us to become public. I will not wait a day longer.”

Seeing you like this before him. Splayed out. Your pussy curled around his member, plump from being filled with your breasts round puddles up on your chest. It set his hips into a frenzy. Powerful thrusts were sent into your tight walls that made Steve grunt every time from the power behind his motions, from the sight of his cock vanishing up into you. Watching your pussy take him so hungrily as you cried out beneath him each time. Breasts swaying. Skin slapping on skin with the contact. Your hips jiggled, his headboard creaked, his balls slapped soundly against you both.

“Say it. Say the words to me. Say them!” Steve commanded you. Pieces of his hair falling and sticking to his sweaty forehead as he sank in to the very depths of you then pulled out, revealing a glistening shaft before slamming his member right back in where it belonged.

“Yes…yes…yes…yes…” you chanted, over and over, again and again with every thrust in, every withdraw that was like heaven and hell, your body needing him to complete this circuit only the two of you could create. “…yes…yes…my king…yes my king…”

Those words. They were a song to his ears and had your ankles slapped together. Those words had the backs of your thighs slapped wetly against his chest, your feet touching his shoulder as Steve continued to pound into you.

Pumping into your now closed thighs, into your tighter walls at this angle.

“Look!”

Dimly your eyes fluttered, you looked into his burning blue eyes.

“Look. Here.”

You followed his gaze to where he pointed, looking down at his pelvis, where his hip met his abdomen in that hard cut of muscle that was visible above his beltline. The one you loved to lick.

He did have a tattoo.

It took you a second to realize what you were looking at and focus, as his thrusts continued without mercy, pounding away, slamming into you without mercy. Shaking and pushing you into his bed.

Your writing was inked into his skin. Your very own signature.

Your name was forever scrawled into Steve’s skin and then, it hit you. Your climax took you by complete surprise. Your entire body went stiff. A pained noise came from you and you shattered all around his cock. Fingernails dug into your palm and you stared at your name in cruel ecstasy.

Steve fell too. You could tell from his thrusts getting wild, falling out of sync. You could tell because he swore out, clenched his face and held your thighs tight to his chest.

Pumping deeply into you while your body milked him for everything he had to give.

Making him merely a man in that moment with you.

Up on his headboard, you were tightly secured and would soon have bruises from arching up against the silk tie restraining you. Unable to do anything but feel and accept what your king was giving you. On your back. In a bed that past kings had slept in.

None of which was lost on you.

Not as your body felt leaden, filled with molten hot lava. Limp. Your secret garden continued to suck him in, clench around him and spasm, making your eyes roll up in your head, your body dig into his bed and words fall from your mouth.

In a most dignified sort of manner, your king humped into your body like a jack rabbit, chasing the last vestiges of his climax with coral wet lips and dark honey hair now damp with sweat.

A sight for your satiated eyes.

“Let me call my mother in the morning.” You breathed out slowly, as if figuring out how your lungs worked once more after a marathon. Your words making Steve still above you. Though your cunt did not. It twitched around his royal girth and you met his gaze from on his pillows. “Tomorrow you can have Maria release a statement saying whatever you want. Just let me tell my parents myself. They should hear from me that I’m not coming home.”

Whatever wind that may have held up his sails had clearly been withdrawn.

Almost tenderly now, Steve leaned forward to quickly loosen the silk around your wrists and free your hands from his headboard. Stretching out his long powerful body above you. Flushed red now. Glistening. Though he left his tie there. He remained inside of you too. Filling you and stretching you full.

Gently, he pushed your legs down until they wrapped around him and he was able to rest his weight most carefully on top of you. Pressing wet kisses to your nose, your cheeks and chin. Worshipping your face with delicate touches and caresses.

“I’ll fly them out here whenever you want. When we get back from Switzerland, I’ll have them waiting for you.”

Softly you answered, reveling in his softness now that your body had been given her reward, her treat, her pleasure from his roughness. Smelling the musk of his sweat and feeling the wet glide between your bodies.

Leisurely, your hands found their way up his muscular arms to his shoulders. “You know what I mean. I won’t ever be their daughter again. I won’t ever be Wanda’s roommate. I’ll have to quit my job. Nothing will ever be the same.”

Those words, well, they settled uncomfortably in him.

All of them were true.

You would be giving up so much. He would have to make sure to take care of you even more so, keep a closer eye on you. He would need to have a talk with his mother come morning.

“That’s true,” Steve softly conceded, rubbing his nose along your own. Barely grazing his lips over yours. A hint of a tongue touched you before his breath danced over your mouth. “We would be together though. Finally together. You. Me. Not hiding anymore.”

Speaking of hiding.

That word alone had you pulling away from his mouth to lean to the side, to get a look down at his Adonis belt. At the alluring groove that led down to his pubes where your name was now in black.

Nay, your signature.

As if sensing what you were after, your boyfriend tilted up a smidge. Enough for you to see but not enough for him to leave your body. Pray tell that couldn’t happen.

“When did you do this?”

“Do you like it,” Steve asked, as if your opinion mattered. Which was laughable considering how permanent it was.

He’d literally took your signature and had it tattooed on his body.

“Of course I love it. Now you have a part of me on you all the time.” An incredibly modern take on Steve’s royal jewel gift thing, but in reverse you thought. Then grinned as it sank in. “I can’t believe you did it though.”

Why wouldn’t he have done it?

Steve hadn’t thought twice when Maria had gone on about getting her late mother’s writing tattooed on her side, in a lasting forever tribute. Having your writing on him at all times had been an idea that hadn’t left him. Not until he’d had a tattoo artist praised for their work brought to the palace late the other night.

He wasn’t even going to lie, king or not, there was something downright satisfying about having something like this hidden on his body from all. Known only by you and him. A secret only for you two.

Bringing him right back to the thought that the biggest secret the two of you shared would soon be out.

Soon it would be public knowledge and that had Steve brushing his fingertips over your cheeks, kissing the swell of your cheekbone and moving ever just so to make a small moan come from you. “You’ll never regret this. I’ll love you for the rest of my life. I’ll devote myself to making you happy. You’ll never regret becoming my queen.”

[simsadventures]

Mellow Hearts

Bucky x Reader

Summary: You and Bucky take a vacation by the ocean, happy to just spend some quality time together by the beach. 

Warnings: fluff, smut (MUST BE 18+ TO READ THIS STORY)- lovemaking, sweet and tender you guys, nothing animalistic this time

Word Count: 1186

A/N: Some shorter Bucky action for my lovely followers. This is also a super late fic for my friend’s Laura’s @imanuglywombat​ writing challenge #uglywombat4Kchallenge, where I picked the song by Nick Murphy- Talk is Cheap (Talk is cheap my darling/ When you’re feeling right at home/ I wanna make you move with confidence/ I wanna be with you alone,) and the moodboard Beach, which is the picture for this fic. Anyway, enjoy my lovely people, and once again, congrats Laura for reaching such an amazing milestone. 

Bucky Barnes Masterlist __ Masterlist 

His heart beat against your skin, and you couldn’t believe this was happening. Life had been hectic in the past few months, and there were rare moments you and your man could spend together, let alone together for longer than 24 hours. So, the chance of going on a vacation for a week, where you didn’t have to worry about being called to a mission and not seeing Bucky for a week minimum. 

To have him in your arms now was priceless. It was the whole aura in the room that got you going ever since you arrived. The hotel was situated near the beach, so much so that you could taste the salt in the air coming from the ocean when you opened up the French windows. Bucky mentioned multiple times that you tasted a bit salty, but that he enjoyed it immensely because it was something new. And he was all in for trying novelties with you, especially when it came to you and the taste of your skin. 

Seeing Bucky in this new environment, where he didn’t have to be the Sargent, always alert and ready to fight any danger that would come his way. But here he was calm and in peace, smiling freely and not caring about his diet like he did back in New York. He was his best self when he was out of the team, and you often wondered if it weren’t better for you two to just retire after so many years serving the world, and leave for some quiet place wherever he would like, and just live happily there. 

But Bucky thought it was too soon after all that had happened with Thanos, and you let him call the shots because you really didn’t mind either. What you did mind, however, was when he wasn’t rested and happy, and so you pushed on Sam to just let you two off the hook for at least a week so that you could get your strength back. And as even the always-blind Sam saw, Bucky needed to get his mind back into peace, so he let you two go. 

That’s how you found yourselves on the coast of Spain, sitting on the bed by the open balcony door, staring deep into each other’s eyes. 

When you woke up that morning, you felt quite sore from the escapades of the previous days, both in the room and, quite dangerously, even on the beach and in the sea, because, as the trip showed, Bucky was quite the exhibitionist and the idea of getting caught thrilled him to the bone. You didn’t mind some semi-public action either since you knew Bucky and his super-hearing and super-strength would hear anybody actually coming near you and would carry you to safety. 

Bucky was worried that he hurt you from the low moans escaping you in the morning, but you relentlessly assured him that you were okay, just a little sore here and there. When the information finally hit his brain, he realised he didn’t have to go sex-free for the day, and the mood changed quickly. But unlike all the other days, when you two acted almost purely on animalistic instinct, this morning you craved a deeper connection. 

Sitting on top of Bucky who was sitting as well with your legs entangled around his torso, you threw your head back as Bucky’s hips moved from left to right, creating friction on your sensitive clit that you so needed. He always knew what your body was asking for and was very quick to deliver. 

Sweat was glistening on your skins, and in the light of the early morning sun, Bucky looked more beautiful than ever. And you were sure to tell him over and over again. 

“You’re so handsome like this, Buck. Fuck, if you could only feel what my heart feels. It’s so full when I’m looking at you, your pupils blown and your lips just a little redder because of my kisses. You look so happy, and my heart literally swells my love,” you moaned as you ground your hips against his, and Bucky hissed in pleasure. You could even feel his cock do a little jump at your praise. 

It was a long time ago that you found your spot boy had a praise kink, and you used that to both your and his advantage. Every word of love you said was the truth, which made it that more alluring to Bucky. 

“Fuck, doll, you’re so beautiful like this, riding me gently and just staring in my eyes. I feel like I’m staring right into your soul, and do you know what I see? My home. We don’t need to speak, because I often feel like talk is cheap, but I know you, and I know your heart, and you are my home. Fuck, I love you so much!” Bucky was speaking through his teeth, the pleasure taking over his speech, but you appreciated his effort. 

And he was right, you were each other’s home no matter where you found yourselves. This was more than love; this was the complete conjunction of souls. Each move he made was felt not only in your pussy but also in your heart, because of the way he looked at you. Like he would do anything for you. His actions spoke louder than the words, and each thrust of his hips sent you both closer to your climaxes. 

What Bucky saw in your eyes was taking his breath away. You were confident in your love for him, which you conveyed with each little kiss, each little nip at his lips and his neck. Your eyes showed him how deep your love ran that it was interlaced with the very essence of you, and when the realisation hit him, that you were utterly and entirely his, most probably forever, he came with a loud grunt and stutter of his hips, triggering your own orgasm so much, so you shouted and fell into his open arms, where his erratic but happy heart awaited you. 

“We should take time off like this more often, doll, I think it suits us,” he said to your hair, and you chuckled at the relaxed expression on his face when you looked up. 

“Yeah, I think making love three times a day on a daily basis does suit us,” you smirked, and Bucky pinched your side but still laughed with you. 

“We should hit the beach soon if we want to catch some good spots, doll,” Bucky mused, and you just hummed, not really sold on the idea of leaving the comfort of neither the room and Bucky’s arms. He tried to make a move towards the bathroom, but your arms held him so tight he gave up the idea of leaving very shortly after feeling your arms locking behind his back. You wanted him near, and he would give you anything you asked for. Because he would do anything to be with you alone, and he wished this vacation never ended. Maybe leaving the guns behind wasn’t such a bad idea. 

Taglist in reblogs (trying to make these tags work!! Ugh, Tumblr!!)

[angstsfordays]

Beautiful Pain (8)

Chapter Eight- It Starts Today

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Enhanced! Reader

Summary: Post-Blip, you started to feel lost when most of the Avengers team are gone. Coping with your loss, you still find hope in the connection with your remaining friends. However, it is not easy as everyone is trying to figure their lives after the Blip.

Having a long history with Bucky ever since you both saved each other from Hydra, you were still glad you had Bucky after all this time. However, as you try to give Bucky space to find himself after being pardoned for his past, you start to wonder if you should ever cross the line of friendship before it’s too late.

That thought might have to be put on hold though, when you, Sam and Bucky find yourselves having to deal with threats that continue to rise in a post-Blip world.

Chapter synopsis: You aren’t sure how to move on from the aftermath of Latvia. Was it time for you to confront your feelings for Bucky or would you retreat back, pretending as if nothing ever happened?

Warnings: Fluffiness. Slow-burn but we're getting there! Perhaps some tear-inducing moments! 😭

Word count: 61k

Notes: Hi! I’m back after my assignment submission. Currently on a short break before an exam is due in 2 weeks. Ever since the series ended, not gonna lie I was a little unmotivated to write. However, I didn’t want to let down all those who have supported this series so far.

Hope you enjoy this chapter! 🥰 Btw, I legit bawled my eyes writing the last part! 🥲

Please give support by leaving likes, comments or helping to reblogs! Thank you! 🙏🏼

Previous: Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven

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“I’m surprised you’re still here. Figured you would be resting at home after what had happened.” Melissa, the manager of the social service centre you work for came by your desk.

“Sorry, I took urgent leave.” Looking up from the backlog of paperwork that had accumulated, you gave a sheepish smile at how much you had to get done. Melissa leaned her weight on the side of your desk and glanced down to your tired eyes.

“It’s fine, Y/N. But I don’t know if diving back into work is really the best for you now. ” You closed your eyes and let out a heavy sigh. Pinching the bridge of your nose, your eyes opened to see Melissa looking down at you in concern.

You were grateful for her check-in. Despite your so-called Avengers status, she never treated you like you were special. You still recalled the day where you stepped into her office for an interview for an open position on her team. The shell-shocked expression she had when she recognised who had decided to show up for a job interview in her office on a Tuesday morning was priceless.

“I don’t understand. Why would you be applying for a regular job here? I would expect you to continue your superhero career?”

Melissa asked with a hint of doubt before looking through your resume. Tactical negotiation skills do seem like an asset they could really use here in social work….

“There’s no more Avengers now…. Besides, I’m tired of fighting and I’m ready to do something else. I like to believe the real heroic work lies in our community.”

Your response took Melissa by surprise, in a good way of course. There was no hint of superiority that you exuded. What she saw in front of her was a woman who seemed earnest to do good work for her community.

“Any other things you would like to add on to show how you can contribute to the team?” Melissa looked at you in a renewed light and she inwardly smiled at the sight of you deep in thought to find an interesting response like any other nervous interviewee.

“I’m basically a human heater. I could step up to help if the electrical heater is not working in the winter?” The expression you had on your face after giving your reply made Melissa chuckled out loud. You inwardly cringed at your seemingly lame response but eased up when you see Melissa breaking out into a laugh.

“Perfect. Welcome to the team, Y/N.” Melissa extended her hand towards you and yours eagerly reached out to return the gesture.

Working with the social service centre here in New York had been great. You had finally found renewed passion in your life after the events of the Blip and the loss of your friends.

Everyone at the office made up a close-knitted family-like working environment and it was an added bonus that Melissa was an amazing boss too and became an unexpected confidant of yours. You felt like you finally found your place once again.

“Work keeps my mind busy. I much rather be busy than being left alone to my thoughts.” You were referring to your own overthinking with the whole Bucky situation. It had only been a few days since you returned back from Latvia, but it felt painfully long.

Melissa looked over you once more in concern. She knew that you were more than willing to share your thoughts openly with her as you two have established a close friendship outside of work for the past few months. However, she knew that they were still some things that you kept to yourself in private.

While you always maintained an optimistic front, she knew that you were only human and susceptible to darker and deeper emotions especially after all you had been through.

“Hey, Joey is making a coffee run at that new coffee place around the block. They’re having a 1 for 1 coffee deal today. You want your usual?” Nodding gratefully, Melissa gave your shoulder a light squeeze before moving off.

You swivelled your office chair back to face your laptop. The words on the screen didn’t seem to focus as your mind was clouded with the recollection of what had happened after witnessing John did the unthinkable.

What he did back in Latvia had become international news the very same day, the amount of scrutiny and support for him were head-to-head on the internet. The news on television ever since you returned home had been covering it day and night. As you recalled back the order of events that happened back in Latvia, you could feel an invisible weight in your mind and heart.

Sam and Bucky went to find John while you tried to manage the aftermath of everything that had happened. You helped to settle things with Lemar and assisted in the reports that had to be accounted back to the authorities back in the states.

When Sam and Bucky returned back to find you, they filled you in on what happened and you learnt that they had to forcibly take back the shield from John. It was too dangerous to even let John have the shield anymore, given what he had done to Nico. You were sure that it must not have been an easy fight as you recalled the bruises on each man’s face.

The three of you had another meeting once everything was settled. You were disgruntled to learn that Karli and her group were once again on the run and you were all sure that she would now make sure that she’s impossible to be found.

Looking back and forth between your two boys who found themselves at a standstill, you quietly figured that this was the end of the mission regarding Karli. Even if it was for a brief moment, you felt happy to have worked with them. It almost felt like a sense of normalcy as you worked as a team again.

The reality was that you knew Sam and Bucky still had a strict working relationship and you ever wondered if there was a chance for all three of you to work together again as the Avengers. Preparing yourself for the disappointment, you silently watched as your boys exchanged silent looks once more.

“I guess this is goodbye.” You first spoke up amidst the silence. Both men looked up in surprise when you decided to voice out the reality of the situation. You walked over to Sam to give him a goodbye hug and lingered for a moment as he gave you a couple of pats on your back.

“You take care, alright? You know you can reach out to me anytime.” Sam assured you to which you returned a grateful smile.

“Of course, see you soon hopefully.”

As you pulled away from Sam, you turned to see Bucky standing with an unreadable expression on his face. Walking gingerly towards him, you wiped off the non-existent palm sweat on the side of your pants as your heartbeat started to pick up.

“Hey.” It was just one word but you felt yourself choking to utter it out. You weren’t sure how to face Bucky especially from whatever happened back with Karli.

You weren’t sure if you wanted to address the elephant in the room but you figured that you could brush it under the rug if it didn’t seem like Bucky was intending to talk about it too. There was a brief awkward silence before you decided to break it.

“I know you still have unfinished business” Bucky’s eyes glanced off to the side and then to the ground before they met yours. Bucky was not surprised that you understood him so well. Yes, he had unfinished business with Zemo and he needed to follow through with it.

However, he also wanted to badly talk things out with you. Many revelations had come to light unexpectedly from one event to another and he wanted clarity.

“You wanna come?” Giving a brief smile at his invite, you considered it for a brief second. After everything that happened from Germany to Madripoor and to Latvia, you believed you needed to take a step back.

You would have never thought that your deep-seated feelings for Bucky would ever come to light, and it was in the worst-case scenario imagined.

What should have been a private and intimate revelation had turned out otherwise. Karli had inadvertently outed you and you were forced to confront your feelings for Bucky before you were even ready.

As much you wanted to talk things out with Bucky, it was not the right timing. Not with Zemo still out there roaming freely. Unfortunately, work needed to come first in this situation and you had to let it take priority over your heart.

Immediately as you shook your head, you could see the puzzled expression painted on Bucky’s face. He did not expect your response as he figured you would have been more than willing to accompany him.

“You don’t need me, Buck.” You were wrong, Bucky thought. Yes, he could handle Zemo on his own but he wanted nothing more than to have you by his side especially since he had learnt of your deeper feelings for him. He didn’t want to let you leave just yet.

Wrapping your arms behind his neck, you pulled Bucky slightly down in an embrace before placing a short peck on his lips. “See you around, Buck.”

“Change of plans, Sam. Mind if I head back with you?” Seeing you turning your back to walk back to Sam, Bucky could feel a sense of disappointment and hurt washing over him. Tuning out Torres’ comments, Bucky stalked out of the door.

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It was not difficult to figure out where Zemo would have escaped to. As the memorial statue to commemorate those who had fallen in the events of Ultron came into sight, Bucky’s fingers clenched tighter around the gun he had been holding.

“I thought you would be here sooner. Don’t worry, I’ve decided I’m not going to kill you-” Zemo could see Bucky in his peripheral line of sight.

“Imagine my relief.” Bucky returned sarcastically. Zemo turned to meet Bucky before he continued to speak.

“Or your pretty friend.” A small smirk formed on Zemo’s face as he sees Bucky clicked the gun in his hand with a hardened look.

“You touch her and I would end you right here.” It was almost satisfying to get a rile out of Bucky and Zemo knew you were his weak point.

He scoffed at how it was clear as day to everyone that you two had something deeper beyond friendship or camaraderie. And yet, the two of you chose to never address it.

Zemo then went on to talk about how Karli was beyond redemption and that warning Sam had been a futile attempt. He believed Bucky had the will to actually do what’s necessary, given that he was indeed programmed to kill.

Bucky was seething with silent rage. He was not a killer anymore. Zemo’s mere insinuation only served to remind him how people never changed their perspective on him. Bucky responded that he would figure out a way that didn’t pander to Zemo’s drastic methods.

Raising his right arm, the gun was pointed towards Zemo. The rush of emotions overcame Bucky as he thought about how Zemo made his life hell, accusing him of a crime he didn’t commit.

Despite some truths to his words, Zemo was relentless and pragmatic in achieving his goals and he was deemed too dangerous to be left unattended.

Gripping the gun tightly, Bucky cocked back the trigger and let it go. Zemo accepted his fate, knowing he had done Bucky wrong. The sound that followed next was not as deafening as the silence that followed next. Zemo then realised Bucky had indeed managed to move on from his past and did not succumb to his darker desires to kill him.

Bucky watched on as the Dora Milajae came to escort Zemo, with plans to take him to the raft where he would face imprisonment for the rest of his life.

Ayo came up to Bucky’s and advised him that it would be best if he avoids coming back to Wakanda for the time being. Bucky agreed that it was fair.

“Give my regards to Y/N.” Bucky nodded once more at Ayo’s words, however, the masked expression on his face did not go unnoticed by the Dora Milajae’s second in command.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No, uhm-nothing. It’s fine.” Ayo gave Bucky a knowing glance before bidding him goodbye.

“Hey, I might have another favour to ask of you.”

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Sam: How have you been doing?

Y/N: Alright…I’m busy with work. :)

Sam: Have you spoken with Bucky?

Y/N: Not really, I know he’s probably finishing up business in Sokovia.

Sam: Shouldn’t he be back home by now?

Y/N: To be honest, I’m not sure. I haven’t reached out and he didn’t contact me either.

Sam: Hey, are you alright?

Y/N: Honestly….no…I thought I could distract myself with work but my mind has never been rested ever since Latvia.

Y/N: I don’t know how to face him after what went down. Just wanna bury me in a deep hole or maybe get snapped again. Hmmm….

Sam: Girl, have you gone mad?

Y/N: Maybe

Sam: Hey, why not come over to my place for the weekend? You can finally meet Sarah and the boys.

Y/N: Oh no, Sam. I could never intrude.

Sam: What are you talking about? I invited you!

Y/N: ……….

Sam: Come on! Hey, you ever been on a fishing boat before?

Y/N: Not that I could recall of….

Sam: Then that’s perfect! Come check out my family’s boat, although it’s not in the best shape. Been trying to spruce it up and get it back to its former glory….

Y/N: Alright, dad.

Sam: Hey, watch your manners.

Y/N: HAHAHA ;) See you soon!

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You were pumped to head down to Sam’s hometown for the weekend. It was long overdue after hearing about them so much.

Adjusting the strap of your duffle bag, you gingerly walked to the front door and gave a few knocks. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ears, you fidgeted on your toes, hoping that you would be able to make a good first impression.

When the door opened, your eyes first looked to see no one until you averted them down. You saw a young boy with glasses looking up at you with curious eyes. Mustering your best smile, you let out a warm greeting. “Hi!”

“Who’s that AJ?” You heard a woman’s voice calling after the boy in front of you.

“Mum, there’s an Avenger at the door!” The boy hollered back before running back into the house. You weren’t sure what to do next so you remained where you stood. Within a matter of seconds, the woman you had heard about so much appeared right in front of your sight.

“Oh, hi! You must be Y/N.”

“Er-yes, I am!” You returned enthusiastically and Sarah, as she introduced herself ushered you into the door. Your eyes roamed around the homey and cosy décor that filled the Wilson home.

“I didn’t expect you to show up so early! Have you eaten?” Nodding in response, Sarah pointed out to where you could put your bag down and went back to hustling in the kitchen. You told her you already had a quick bite before coming over and she looked at you with a pleasing smile.

“Sam’s actually at the dock right now,” Sarah informed you and you blanched at the thought of being by yourself without Sam to be a buffer for your first meeting with his family. However, your worries were for nothing as Sarah welcomed you warmly.

“Don’t worry, you can join me, I’m heading over too.” Her friendly demeanour eased your initial nervousness and you nodded eagerly in response.

As you and Sarah made your way over to the docks, the two of you fell into easy conversation. You learnt from her that she was struggling to keep the family business afloat and how they couldn’t even manage to get a loan from the bank.

Nevertheless, Sam was determined and managed to call in favours from their close-knitted community to chip in some help. A sudden wave of guilt washed over you when you realised that Sam had been facing real problems of his own and that you weren’t aware of it to help.

You had wished that you had been a better friend. Being the kind soul she was, Sarah dismissed your negative thoughts and reassured you that it was alright. From what Sam had spoken of you, she was eager to meet you herself.

“Sam says you always have his back when you are all out there in all the action.”

“Of course, we are a team. Sam’s a great person so it’s not hard to be there for him when he needs it.” Hearing your answer had Sarah throw a grateful smile your way. She was glad that Sam had someone he could trust while he’s out fighting the threats of the world.

As you two approached a medium-sized boat, you could make out the figure of Sam from a distance. You were excited to run up to greet him but it was the second figure on the boat that you stopped in your tracks.

A high-pitch whistle suddenly burst into your eardrums and you realised one of the pipes from the boat was loose. You saw Bucky heading down to help Sam and you gulped nervously as you continued to watch the scene happening in front of you.

You were definitely not expecting to see Bucky here in Louisiana. Why was he even here? Your eyes moved to see Sarah moving closer to where the men stood and Bucky introduced himself with a charming smile.

Sarah returned his greeting politely and looked over to Sam. “Hey, Sam! Look who I brought.”

Back turned, you were hoping to escape unnoticed, yet you were too slow as you heard Sam calling out for you.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Slowly turning your back, you were greeted by the sight of Sam and Bucky looking with equally confused expressions on their faces.

Not knowing what to say, your eyes blinked far more than times than normal as you tried to straighten up and looked convincing. “Toilet?” You muttered out hesitantly. Sam was not convinced at all as one of his brows was raised in question.

“You came all the way to my hometown, the least you could do is say hi first.” Grimacing and giving a sorry look, you made your way to the boat and Sam helped you down.

“Hey, Sam. Thanks for inviting me.” You spoke as you gave him a hug in greeting. Bucky was surprised, to say the least. He was only stopping by to drop a package for Sam but he never expected to see you here.

He had trouble reaching out to you, crafting messages every other hour and deleting them before deciding to not contact you at all. He was wondering if you were still mad at him from when he last saw you in Latvia.

“Wait, what are you doing here, Y/N?”

“Sam invited me to come to stay with his family for the weekend, like a getaway.” Meeting Bucky’s bright eyes always did something to your guts. Your breath hitched at how he could so simply beautiful with the sea view set against his back.

“Or more like I want to introduce you to my family and planned a surprise proposal so that we can be engaged by the end of the week.” Sam’s arm landed with a slight thud around your shoulders. You turned to see him wiggling his brows and donning a mischievous smile.

Eyes widening once you processed his words, you can’t help a chuckle as you knew that Sam was trying to crack a witty joke to mess with Bucky. Bucky looked like he was about to actually combust and kill Sam with his fiercest glare.

“Oh Sam, what a way to ruin the surprise. I expected you to be more romantic.” You quipped back to play along to his shenanigans. Sam ruffled your hair endearingly before looking to Bucky who didn’t seem one bit amused.

“Woah, I’m just kidding. Would you look at his face? Man, I got you good.” A wide smile broke out on Sam’s face before he started cackling.

“That’s not funny.” Buck look to the side and gave out a short sigh of relief. He looked back at you with an unreadable expression. Sensing the tension in the atmosphere, Sam believed it was time to leave you two alone.

“Remember to thank me later,” Sam whispered into your ear before giving you a pat on your shoulder. Your brows furrowed in confusion as you looked at him walking off to the other end of the boat.

Bucky still continued to stand at his spot and you took the first step towards him. He was still silent and giving you an infamous brooding stare. Bringing two fingers to the corner of his lips, you gently lifted each side up to force Bucky into a smile.

“You are going to look physically 106 for real if you continue to frown like that.” You teased Bucky in hopes that he could ease up.

“Blame Sam.” He huffed like a little child who got nagged by his mother.

“Sam was just joking. You know that.” You removed your fingers from his cheeks and Bucky immediately missed the touch that you gave.

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Give me a smile.” Seeing your doe eyes looking at him adorably, Bucky felt his icy exterior melting. Pretending to clear his throat, he looked to the side before facing you with a tight but warm smile. His smile widened when he saw you returning a big grin.

For a moment, it didn’t feel like what happened in Latvia had crossed both of your minds. It was just back to the way things had been before. It was safe and comfortable. But was it what you really wanted?

Were you just going to ignore your feelings for Bucky forever?

“Are you two continuing to get lost in each other’s eyes?” Sam’s holler snapped you and Bucky out of your moment. The two of you awkwardly shifted before heading over to where Sam was. You both offered to help Sam on his family boat to speed things up.

It was a truly therapeutic afternoon for all three of you. Free from the world fighting and just hanging out as a bunch of friends (more so of your thought than the boys). The entire time, Bucky was subtlety (or not) flexing his strength as he took charge of most of the heavy work.

You could see the impressive looks from some of the community members that walked past and you smirked at how Bucky was trying his best to look unbothered from the attention.

“My welding machine is broken when I managed to find it, sorry Sam.” One of the elders stopped by the boat to tell Sam and he reassured that it was fine. However, you could still see his worried expression.

“I guess it’s time for me to step up.” You exclaimed while putting down the sanding paper in your hands. You asked Sam to guide you to what needed to be welded together. Extending two fingers together to mimic a gun, you gathered flame-like energy and started to weld the pieces of metal together like it was nothing.

You didn’t realise you had attracted a small crowd as everyone gathered to see the woman who was shooting fire out of her fingertips. “That’s so cool!” A young boy yelled in excitement as he jumped up and down.

Once you’re done, you looked to see the several kids clapping fervently. You gave your best smile and threw in a two-finger salute their way.

“Seems like you have fans now,” Bucky remarked to which you smirked coyly. “What are you talking about? I always have fans.”

After everything was done for the day, Sam brought you all some cold beer to end things right. Clinking your bottles, you took a seat beside Sam as Bucky talked about how he needed to get a hotel for the night before catching his flight out tomorrow.

As he spoke, he looked over to you with an expecting look before he took another gulp of beer. Sam scoffed before convincing Bucky to stay for the night with his family. Bucky still awkwardly shifted as he tried to decline the offer.

You felt a slight jab in your waist and turned to see Sam nodding over to Bucky.

“Come on Bucky, I’m also imposing here too. Don’t leave me by myself.” Just when Bucky was sure that he would flat out refuse Sam, your words managed to bring him back. He chuckled at you giving a sad puppy look before he admitted defeat.

As the three of you returned to Sam’s house, you all washed up and got ready for dinner that Sarah prepared. You offered to help despite her insistence that you’re a guest. It was such a nice peaceful moment when all of you squeezed around the now seemingly small table now that you and Bucky joined in.

Nevertheless, dinner went well and the conversations were great. AJ and Cass heard from the kids in the neighbourhood about what you did and asked you to do a little demonstration before they got silenced by their mother.

“Are you like Uncle Sam’s girlfriend?” You choked on the water that you had just drunk and Sam who was beside you helped to pat your back down.

All attention went to little AJ who looked very serious in having his question answered. All the adults at the table didn’t know whether to laugh or panic at his seemingly innocent query.

Sarah handed you a napkin to wipe your face and you smiled gratefully. Bucky was experiencing a gnawing feeling. Sure, it was a kid asking an innocent question but it bothered him more than it should. His eyes averted to where you sat and he saw how you were trying to come up with a response.

“What makes you think so, kid?” Sam quipped in before extending an arm out to wrap around your shoulders. The spoon in Bucky’s hand was on the verge of being bent into half.

“I don’t know. You never bring a girl home.” AJ’s reasoning had you giggling at his adorable nature.

“Well, how about it babe? Should we tell them?” Sam looked at you with a smug look. You turned to see Bucky trying to look neutral but you knew his irritated look when you saw one.

“Sam….” You spoke in a warning tone before he snickered. Sam threw his hands up in defeat before turning back to his nephew to explain.

“Y/N’s a friend, she’s like a buddy to me.” Sam ruffled your hair before giving a pat on your head.

“You have someone you like, Auntie Y/N? Can I call you auntie?” Cass chimed into the conversation and your facial expression betrayed you before you couldn’t even pretend.

You sent a fleeting glance to a person with bright cerulean eyes before you cleared your throat and nodded to Cass.

“It’s a secret.” You spoke with a mischievous glint in your eyes. Finger raising up to your lips, you let out a small spark of energy which wowed the two young boys. You threw in an extra wink before you all resumed dinner.

The spoon in Bucky's hand was saved from being rendered useless. Letting out a relieved sigh, Bucky's heart started to pick up again as he thought about your response.

When would he able to catch you at the right time to talk?

-------------------------//---------------------------

AJ shared his room with his mum while Sam bunked in with Cass for the night. You took Sam’s room while Bucky took the couch downstairs. Sleep didn’t come easy for you that night and you decided to make your way down.

Once you were on the last step, you could see Bucky stretched out on the small couch. You made sure to be as quiet as possible before going to get a glass of water. Once you had your drink, you walked over and stopped a few feet short of where Bucky was.

The moonlight from the window added a beautiful glow onto him and you smiled at how he had a peaceful expression on his face as he slept.

Taking silent steps, you kneeled down near to where his head was. Seeing how he was letting out soft breaths, you believed that he was deep in a peaceful slumber.

You couldn't stop yourself from reaching out to brush the tips of his hair before sliding your fingers to stroke the apple of his cheeks. You smiled to yourself looking at the endearing sight in front of you.

Figuring you didn't want to stay on acting like a creep, you stood up and tucked yourself further into the warmth of your woolly cardigan.

You tiptoed to the front door and walked out to the lake by the Wilson house.

Breathing in the fresh air, you took in the beautiful night view and admired how the moon was reflected on the lake.

“Y/N.” Your eyes were closed and you wondered if you were hearing things. When your name was called a second time, you realised it wasn't just imagination anymore.

Letting out a shaky breath, you turned to see Bucky walking towards you with a nervous look. It dawned upon you that the inevitable moment had arrived. Now that you both had a temporary moment of peace from the non-stop fighting, you figured it was time to have the talk.

Standing face to face with Bucky, your gaze concentrated on the space beyond his shoulders. You weren’t sure how to face him in the eye yet.

It felt like minutes had passed before Bucky gathered up the courage to speak first. His hands were in his pockets as he looked down on the ground awkwardly.

“Did you mean everything? Every word you said to Karli back in Latvia.” Your eyes fluttered shut before looking back to see his intense blues peering back at you.

“Why would I lie?” You answered back in a whisper. Bucky nodded in understanding before continuing. “When did it start?”

“Remember Romania? We were at the farmer’s market and you were intensely deciding between the plums or tangerines. The poor owner thought you were getting pissed at him or something.”

“That’s what did it for you?” Bucky looked confused at your explanation. He thought it would have been some sentimental or romantic moment that you had realized your feelings for him.

“It’s cute. You’re cute.” You justified yourself nervously, murmuring the last part softly.

“Your definition of cute is weird.” He mumbled bashfully as he looked down to the ground in embarrassment. Shrugging your shoulders, you started to feel shy yourself.

“Were you ever going to tell me?” You let out a hum and thought deeply before speaking.

“I didn’t want to give you something to worry about when you’re still unpacking from the Blip, Steve leaving and your pardon. I also know you had your amends….didnot felt like it was the right time. Never felt like there was ever a right time with all the crazy things happening around us.”

“To be honest Bucky, it might have been hard for me but I would have been okay to not say anything at all. Sometimes loving someone doesn’t mean you have to be with them. True love is when you just want that person to be happy.” When you realised you had used the word love, you bit your lips as if to hold your tongue.

You slapped a hand to your lips before turning your back on Bucky, grimacing at the fact that you went that far in your explanation.

Bucky felt an emotion that was indescribable in words as he processed what you had just said. He then realised that you had always been selfless for him even it meant that you disregarded yourself in the process. How could he ever deserve someone like you?

Placing his hands on your shoulder to turn you back, Bucky was a little surprised to find you tearing up. You quickly wiped them away and averted your eyes away from him. Cradling your face gently in both his hands, Bucky gently wiped away a few more tears that cascaded down.

He didn’t want to see you cry anymore. He realised seeing you like this has brought him greater pain than he could have imagined.

He was at a loss for words but Bucky knew what he wanted to do next. He leaned down to place his lips gently on yours and your hands went to rest on the spot where his neck and shoulders meet.

Bucky hummed when he felt you returning the kiss and slid his vibranium hand down to your waist to pull you closer. Putting all his feelings into the kiss, Bucky wanted to let you know what he truly felt.

He slanted his mouth to deepen the kiss. You let out a soft gasp at the surprise but it was not unwelcome. You had always imagined what it would be like to finally kiss him and it was even better than you had imagined. Your arms snaked behind his neck to pull him down while his hands roamed around your back to feel you closer.

The two of you eventually pulled away for a little air after kissing for what it seems like forever. Bucky’s thumb swiped your swollen lips before learning it for another kiss once more. “I don’t deserve you.” He muttered through his breath.

“Don’t ever say that. Stop thinking of yourself as being unloveable. Know that you're the most precious thing to me. I will go through hell and back for you, always.” You confessed with an absolute resolve before turning shy. Your eyes moved to your hands smoothing down the material of his shirt.

Hearing your confession made Bucky the happiest and luckiest man in the world. How was he able to find someone like you who loved him despite everything he was and had done.

There used to be someone like that for him. Yet, in the end, he left Bucky alone in this world. Looking down at how you were shyly avoiding his gaze, Bucky's heart tightened in a good way.

He kissed the crown of your head before pulling you in for a bone-crushing hug as if he didn’t believe this moment wasn’t real and didn’t want to let go.

Once you two pull apart, his arms were still wrapped around your waist while you held his arms. "I love you so much, doll. You're the best thing that's ever happened."

Looking up to meet Bucky's eyes with renewed confidence, you never want him to doubt your feelings for him. He had gone through so much and you just wanted to never make him feel like he's alone.

"I will always be here for you, Bucky. You are my person to love and protect for as long as I live."

Your words were simple yet they were backed by such powerful and sincere emotions. Before he knew it, tears started to well up in his eyes.

Bucky started sniffing as tears started falling down his cheeks uncontrollably.

You were surprised at the sudden turn of events and you went to wipe his tears away with your fingers.

You found yourself joining him in crying as well but you knew that they were happy tears. Bucky brought his forehead to rest on yours as the two of you both cried silently.

"You're my only person. I will love you forever." Bucky spoke quietly before he leaned in for another kiss.

The two of you didn't want to let the other go that night. Bucky suggested for him to crash Sam's room but you were sure that your friend would throw a fit the next day.

You tried to control the volume of your giggles as you squeezed to fit into the too-small couch for two. Both of your limbs were tangled messily and you both embraced each other tightly to prevent yourselves from falling down.

The rest of the night ended in endless exchanges of smiles, eskimo and deep kisses. Both you and Bucky had finally found a home in each other.

-------------------------//---------------------------

The next morning

The sunlight shone throughout the whole room and you were reluctant to open your eyes. You felt Bucky stirring behind you as he tightened his hold on your waist.

"Oh heck no, did you two dirty my couch? I didn't give up my bed for you to snuggle with grandpa here, Y/N!" A sheepish grin formed on your face before you opened your eyes to see Sam standing with his arms crossed and a mocked disapproval on his face.

"Auntie Y/N likes Uncle Bucky!" AJ exclaimed aloud as he and his brother stepped into the living room.

You felt Bucky's chest rumbled slightly behind your back and you knew that he was amused to have riled Sam early in the morning. Pulling up the thin blanket over your head as if it could save you from embarrassment, Sam continued to go on his rant.

"Morning, my love." You turned to see Bucky looking at you fondly before leaning down to kiss the top of your brow.

Today is only the start of your forever.

-------------------------//---------------------------

"Wolves are known to follow one female wolf until death."

- Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

P.S This is my all-time favourite kdrama. Check it out if you haven't! I find that the male lead has many similar qualities I see in Bucky and what a coincidence that he is also known as a wolf in the show just like our white wolf here.

Tag list: @tanyaherondale @spookycereal-s @cataves @archaeoheart @conflicted-noxsirius @archaeoheart @idiotinnit @anxious-stitcher @lindseyrae20 @mads-weasley @taina-eny @intothesoul @oopsiedoopsie23 @detecellie @blueboxesandcats

[grapefruitsketches]

I’ve Been Waiting On You

Rated G, 2,560 Words. Songxiao, Modern AU - Coffee Shop/Cafe, Fluff, First Meetings/Meet-Cute, POV Song Lan (Wen Qing, A-Qing, and - briefly - Wen Ning are here too!)

My third (and likely final!) fill for the Songxiao Reverse Itty Bitty Bang 2020

Inspired by @transgirlsqx’s art on twitter at transgirlsqx/status/1305923577707806720?s=21 (link in reblog to make sure this shows up in the tags; please do yourself the favour of taking a look - the expressions are priceless!)

Event hosted by @touchmycoat

Also for fytheuntamed’s Untamed Fall Fest Day 7: Reunion

Also Available on AO3 (See link in reblog)

He was back again.

He was back, and he had a high schooler with him this time.

How did having a high schooler with him not make him any less…

“-chen! Song Lan! Hello?” Wen Qing’s voice drew him back to the present.

“Mmn?” He said, looking around to his manager, her arms were crossed as she flipped one wrist out to point to the table he was supposed to be serving. Wen Qing ran a tight operation, but her smirk betrayed her: she was not angry. Song Lan would not get off so easy. Instead, she was amused.

He would hear about this again later.

The tips of ears burned, even as he couldn’t help stealing one more glance the man’s way.

He was leaning in close to the laptop, squinting at something. The teen frowned peering similarly at the screen. Then the man said something and the girl’s eyes and mouth widened. She nodded eagerly and began typing rapidly. The man chuckled and leaned back in his seat, smiling approvingly. Song Lan watched him breathe deep and look up from the table. Song Lan gulped and couldn’t help but grin at the kind, smiling eyes behind the thick-paned glasses.

Too late, Song Lan’s mind caught up with reality.

If he could see the man’s eyes then the man could see…

Song Lan’s chest tightened and his breath caught in his throat. He turned his face quickly away and hurried towards the table patiently awaiting the coffees and tea on his tray. He felt his cheeks redden, but he kept his focus on the customers and tried to ignore Wen Qing’s unconcealed chuckling from behind the counter as he said, far too rapid and breathless for the short walk he’d taken, “Sorry-for-the-wait-here-is-the-latte-the-green-tea-and-the-wulang.” He nodded and retreated quickly back to the counter.

He wondered if there was a professional way to sink to the floor and hide until an entirely new batch of customers had rotated into the shop. Not seeing one, he settled for grabbing a bag of coffee beans and slowly running them through the grinder, one of the few tasks he could do when there were no orders to work on that would require turning his back to the café.

“So… should I give you his table, or would that be tantamount to manslaughter?”

“Are you offering to serve him instead?” Song Lan replied skeptically. They both knew that Song Lan was the only server in the small café right then, Wen Ning busy with a stream of people grabbing last minute sandwiches to go before whatever mid-afternoon meeting they were going to, Wen Qing usually keeping herself free to answer a phone call, keep the store well-stocked, address a customer complaint, or to have a discussion anyone who thought that just because Wen Ning was too polite to call out a customer when they deserved it, no one would.

She shrugged, “Maybe. It would really be a pain to have to hire someone else. And what kind of press would that bring us? We just reopened, we can’t afford to have anyone think I’m working my staff to death. Not yet at least.”

But Song Lan still lingered, eyes darting towards the table then back to Wen Qing.

“Come on,” she said, “You had a-Ning serve him last time and Zizhen seemed perfectly capable the time before that. I’m sure he can’t be that scary, no matter what he said to you the one time you served him.”

“You know it’s not—" she raised her eyebrows at his protests, daring him to explain what it was, “Fine,” he said, finally. He took a deep breath, pulled his shoulders back in a vague attempt to seem put together, readied his pen and notepad, and turned towards the table.

Where only the teenager sat, typing fiercely at her keyboard.

He breathed out. This, he could deal with.

He made his way to the table.

“Welcome to Sleepless Café. May I take your order?”

The keys didn’t stop clicking as the teen grumbled, “Took you long enough. I’ll take a mocha, and I guess a white tea for my tutor because he’s boring like that.”

“Your tutor.” Song Lan repeated, replaying the earlier interaction he’d observed which had somehow become even more endearing.

“Yes? My tutor. Sort of also my brother if you really want to know. Is there something wrong with—“ apparently Song Lan’s dumbfounded repetition had finally been what made her look up from her computer screen, “Oh.” And to Song Lan’s absolute horror, a mischievous, gleeful grin that would give even Zizhen a run for his money lit up her face. She leaned a cheek in her hand, “It’s you,” she said, tilting her head to the side, “So, was there something you wanted to say to my brother, or do you just stare at every person who walks in here like that? Because if you do,” she said, matter-of-factly, “That is both creepy and bad for business.”

“I—“ Maybe Wen Qing was right and the girl’s tutor wouldn’t have been scary, but the student herself absolutely was. “I’m sorry I just—“

“He’ll forgive you, you know. Probably doesn’t even think anything of it, to be honest. Maybe didn’t even notice. Wants you to talk to him actually.” Her speech became more blunt as she returned to peering at her screen, which, now that Song Lan looked at it, was zoomed in to something like 150% percent.

What she said sunk in slowly, though, “What, really?” Song Lan felt a little pinprick of hope light up in his chest.

“Mmmhmm. I’d be willing to bet it’s the reason he keeps coming here.” She looked up at him, “It’s very far from where we live.” She smirked as she revealed this.

“What—“ Song Lan was trying to figure out how to ask just how far without seeming like he was trying to figure out where they lived or something, already apparently one strike in on the “creepy” scale, but his voice involuntarily cut off as he approached again.

“Sorry a-Qing, there was a bit of a wait…” he sat back down and his eyes swiveled around slowly, landing on Song Lan. He frowned and looked slowly upwards, pupils moving back and forth a couple of times before, “Ah! Sorry. It sometimes takes me a moment to…” he shook his head quickly, “Hi,” he said, and… was that a faint bit of pink Song Lan saw on his cheeks?

Song Lan found himself completely speechless. Luckily (or unluckily) the girl, a-Qing, apparently, was there and ready to fill the silence. “I already ordered. Mocha for me. White tea for you. Is there anything else you’d like to order, gege?” She ended in a childish, playful singsong, a significant switch from the dry tone she had taken with Song Lan.

“A-Qing… so much caffeine and sugar so late in the day…” the man shook his head, but smiled affectionately, chastising, but not stepping in to overrule her order, “I’m sorry, was she pestering you at all?”

Yes. “No,” Song Lan said quickly.

The man smiled, “That’s good to hear,” he sighed.

“Sorry for lingering so long,” Song Lan said, suddenly feeling very awkward and aware of just how long he’d been standing there, long after the simple order had been neatly noted on the notepad, “I’ll leave you two to—“

“Wait.” The man said, and Song Lan froze. The man took a deep breath, and Song Lan couldn’t help but let his eyes be drawn to his lips, before the man spoke, “I’ll… I’ll kick myself later if I don’t ask but… We’ve spoken before, right?”

Song Lan blinked, “Uh…”

They had. They absolutely had. And Song Lan absolutely knew this. It had been a couple months ago, and Song Lan had assumed the other man had completely forgotten it.

“Sorry… I know you probably get a lot of customers here, don’t worry about it…”

“No… no I do remember!” Song Lan answered, “I just… I assumed you wouldn’t remember.”

Something about that must have struck the other man as hilarious, and he hid his mouth behind a closed fist as he giggled. A-Qing made a show of tossing her head back, groaning, and placing a set of headphones firmly over her ears. But she was smiling.

“Sorry,” the man said, wiping the beginnings of tears out of his eyes, “So. I hope school is still going well?”

It was an abrupt transition, but a welcome one.

Their one and only previous conversation had been short — Song Lan had said that he thought the other man’s earrings had looked cool, purportedly as part of his usual customer service approach, but the light stutter that interrupted his usual cool tone betrayed him. The other man hadn’t seemed to notice or mind, but had thanked him and asked how Song Lan liked working at the café.

For some reason, though he usually tried to get in and out of exchanges with customers as quickly as possible, Song Lan had found himself telling the man that he did like it. He explained that he expected it would only be for now, as he put himself through law school, that he was lucky he had old friends who managed this place, who were willing to work flexibly around his school schedule. The other man had thought that that was amazing, seeming embarrassed to admit that his mothers had almost insisted they pay for his own schooling, to let him focus exclusively on his studies. Song Lan had found out that he studied computer sciences, with a focus on accessible technology.

And then a customer had dropped a cup, and by the time Song Lan was done dealing with that, the man had been gone, only the empty teacup, a generous tip, and a “Thanks J” scrawled on the receipt to confirm that Song Lan hadn’t imagined him.

Song Lan was still reeling from the man’s admission that he remembered the conversation at all. Song Lan had thought was only a strange personal fixation of his own. But he was finding it hard to handle the knowledge that the other man not only remembered, but remembered in this kind of detail. Remembered that he was in school, and as they continued to talk now, remembered things Song Lan had forgotten he’d even said.

“It seems like a pretty nice team here. It’s nice to finally see the manager’s brother here… you mentioned him last time, but he’s never been here when I’ve visited,” the man smiled, “But you mentioned before he usually only works afternoon shifts? I guess that was my fault then…”

At some point in the conversation, Song Lan felt the notepad and pen he was holding slowly leave his hands. He blinked and turned his head, to see Wen Qing give him a small wink and look at the page now in her hand, getting to work on the teas these two customers had ordered a long while ago now.

“So is…a-Qing also studying computer science?”

“Yes!” the other man seemed similarly surprised that Song Lan had remembered this detail, “She ended up getting a co-op job at the same place I’ve been interning at. She’s got the same kind of accessibility needs as me,” he waved vaguely at his own eyes, “So she’s been a great second set of hands on this project.”

The sound of a scraping chair. A bump of metal against the back of his legs. Wen Qing clearly was giving him permission to, no, insisting he sit down.

He sat, shuffling the chair forward, and soon she was back, a mocha, a white tea, and a green tea — Song Lan’s standard order — in hand. She set them down, patted Song Lan on the shoulder and walked away.

“Oh am I keeping you from…?” the man’s eyes widened as he watched Wen Qing walk away.

Song Lan chuckled, “No. That was her telling me I’m on a break for now.”

The other man puffed out an appreciative breath of laughter, “Like I said, this seems like a nice team to work with.”

Song Lan nodded, and gently lifted the cup of tea to his lips.

They sat in silence for a while, the whole situation bizarre. Song Lan was rarely so social, and never so impromptu about it. But it still felt right. Peaceful. Like this is something they hadn’t planned to do, but had always expected, somehow. Song Lan kept his eyes mostly to his tea, but each time he chanced a glance up, he caught the other man’s smiling eye and had to look back at his tea as he felt his face flush.

The sound of a laptop snapping shut was what finally shook him out of the gentle trance.

“Time to go, Xingchen-ge.” She looked to Song Lan (whose only thought at that moment was now His name is Xingchen. His name is Xingchen on loop), “We’ll see you again. And…” she picked up the phone lying face down on the table, the one with the frost-covered case lying closer to her brother, not the green one featuring what was obviously some pop culture reference Song Lan didn’t understand pasted all over the back. She tapped at the screen quickly, unlocking it before turning it to Song Lan, “Name and number, please.”

“A-Qing—!” the man exclaimed, and Song Lan was charmed, and a bit relieved, by the faint pink tinting the other man’s ears. But he still wasn’t sure whether he should take the phone being forcefully shoved into his hand.

He turned to the man — to Xingchen — and asked, “Do you… want me to?”

Xingchen’s eager, if still subdued, still gentle, nods were all he needed to see. He entered his contact information quickly, only having to backspace a few times to account for the typos he kept making.

“Thank you, Song Lan,” Xingchen said, smiling a smile that Song Lan couldn’t peel his eyes away from as he took the phone back.

“Ah, you can call me Zichen, that’s what my family calls me,” Song Lan said before he really thought about it, before he could consider whether it might be too forward to ask Xingchen to call him by a name even the Wens didn’t yet use for him. But Xingchen didn’t know that, and only smiled more widely.

“Then thank you, Zichen,” Xingchen said. And any doubt Song Lan had had washed away — that name just sounded so right coming from this man, “I hope we’ll meet again soon?”

“Yes. Definitely.” Song Lan nodded eagerly.

The two left together, a-Qing saying something inaudible that was making Xingchen giggle. Song Lan watched as he tapped her affectionately on the nose, the perfect image of an older brother.

He sighed, but soon felt a wet rag dumped into his hands and was forced to tear his eyes away from the now empty store front, “You’re on cleaning duty,” Wen Qing said, smirking, “You absolutely owe me.”

Song Lan nodded, taking the rag and proceeding to wipe down the tables, still half in a daze.

He went over to deal with the counters, where Wen Ning, enjoying a brief pause from the busy hours, asked, “So, do you think you’ll see him again?”

“I certainly hope so,” was Song Lan’s simple reply.

[fallen-imagine-angel]

Arranged Marriages & Forbidden Love - Chapter 5

Notes: Here you guys go, the updated version of chapter 5 because the original sucked and didn’t work properly! sorry it’s getting to you guys so late, I tried my best to fix it as soon as I could. I hope you guys enjoy, and please remember to like/comment/reblog! It makes me happy and it really helps my writing & blog!

Summary: After a long last semester at Midtown, you finally go off to Harvard. However, at college, you’re left to deal with the mess you made back home.

Arranged Marriages & Forbidden Love - Chapter 5

Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Word Count: 2,555

Warnings: angst and fluff is all

| Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 |

It’s been a full semester since that day. A semester since Peter told you he didn’t want you.

It’s been a semester since Peter last willingly talked to you. You’ve graduated since then. That’s the only night he talked to you, graduation night. He muttered a short ‘congrats’ on the way out the door because your dad forced him to.

It’s not like you haven’t tried reaching out to him, because you have. Countless times. You’ve called him--

“Peter pick up the phone!” You yell into your phone for the fifth time that day. You throw your phone on the couch, shoving your face into a pillow and screaming.

“Maybe you should give up for the day, yeah? He’ll come around eventually, honey.” Your dad pats you on the shoulder. You scoff.

“Giving up isn’t the Stark way.” You repeat the words he told you when you gave up tee-ball when you were younger.

“Touché.” He laughs and walks away. You dial Peter’s number again.

You’ve tried to catch him at school--

“Pete!” You yell, seeing a glimpse of his nerdy science t-shirt from across the hall. You dash toward him, but by the time you’re there he’s gone. Ned stands where he was, a pitiful look on his face.

“I’m sorry, I tried to tell him to stop and talk to you.” He frowns. You sigh.

“It’s fine. It’s not your fault.” You pinch the bridge of your nose, tired of his crap.

“Can you tell him that I just want to apologize?” You ask Ned. He nods.

“I’ll try. He won’t listen, though. You know that, right?” He sets a hand on your shoulder. You nod.

“I know.”

You’ve tried showing up at his apartment--

You knock on the door. Peter opens it, a happy face gone sour when he sees that it’s you.

“Peter--” 

He slams the door on your face. You groan and run out of the building, getting your suit on and going to his window. You try to open it but it’s locked. You tap.

Nothing.

You tried his apartment multiple times--

You knock again.

“(Y/n)! Hello!” May answers the door, a bright smile on her face. 

“Hey, Aunt May! Is Peter here?” You peer around her figure, looking for any trace of Peter. His door is shut.

“Yeah, he’s in his room. He requested for me to not let you in, but I’ll just...accidentally leave the door open.” She smiles at you and walks back to the living room. You slip through the door and walk to Peter’s room.

The door’s locked.

“You can’t hide from me forever, Pete. Please, just let me in.” 

No answer.

You sat outside of his room for hours.

Nothing.

You’ve even tried catching him on patrol.

“Spider-Man, get your butt over here!” You fly across the city, chasing him as he swings from building to building to avoid you.

Eventually, you had to stop a mugging and Peter kept swinging, knowing that you would stop for it if he didn’t.

He always patrolled on the opposite side of the city that you were on every night.

But every time you would get close, he wouldn’t let you in. And that’s where you are now, going to college.

You and Peter are still going to the same college, but you’re not sure how things are going to work anymore. Will he still ignore you?

Honestly, you don’t care at this point. 

Okay, that’s a lie. You do. You care very deeply. But, you’re not going to make the effort anymore. You’ve said your piece, you’ve tried to apologize countless times. By now, he should know you’re sorry.

So it’s his turn. It’s his turn to come to you.

“My little girl is going to college.” Your father hugs you, giving you his award-winning smile.

“I’m not your little girl anymore.” You remind him, giving him a small smile of your own.

“You’ll always be my little girl.” He tsks, patting your head as he hands you your suitcase. You’re at Harvard already. Harley and Tony had come with you to help you set up your apartment.

“Okay, dad.” You roll your eyes playfully and hug him again.

“What, he gets two hugs before I even get one?” You hear Harley’s offended voice behind you. You pull away from your father’s embrace before turning to Harley.

“Oh, I am so sorry.” You feign innocence, hugging Harley. He hugs you back tighter than he ever has before.

“I’m going to miss you.” He whispers in your ear. You close your eyes and smile into the embrace.

“I’ll miss you, too, Harley. But I’ll be home for breaks, remember? You won’t be stuck alone with Tony for that long.” You giggle, pulling away from the hug.

“Whatever you say, (Y/n/n).” He ruffles your hair. You laugh and nudge his arm away from your head.

“Have fun! Call whenever you can! We’ll visit occasionally!” Your dad calls as he ushers Harley away from you and back to the car.

“Okay, dad.” You smile and wave as he drives off. You let out a sigh of relief.

Alone at last.

You go up to your apartment and let it sink in that you’re going to be living in this spacious place alone for the next four years.

You get giddy just thinking about it.

~+~

A couple of months go by and you’ve never been happier. In some aspects, that is. Every time you see Peter, you get sad. He’s still avoiding you, even though you have a lot of shared classes. He won’t even talk to you in group projects.

Until that all changes.

You’re cooking dinner one night when there is a knock at your door.

You check the time - almost eight o’clock. Who could be at your door at this hour?

“Hello-- oh.” You open the door to see Peter Parker standing there, eyes cast downward.

“Hi.” He waves weakly, not daring to look up at you.

“What do you want?” You cross your arms, leaning against the door frame. Your voice is laced with bitterness.

“I...um, can I come in?” He asks, finally raising his eyes to meet yours. You step aside, letting him into your apartment.

He looks around before sitting down on the couch.

“Well?” You look expectantly at him.

“Your apartment is nice.” He stalls. You roll your eyes.

“If all you came to do was compliment my apartment, then you can leave.” You huff, sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

“No, I-- I came to apologize.” He stutters, looking over at you with a face full of sorrow.

“Oh?” You raise your eyebrows mockingly.

“Yes, really. I’m...I’m sorry. I treated you awfully and I had no right. You were...you were only trying to apologize to me the entire time and I was selfish. It wasn’t right for you to keep that secret for that long but it wasn’t right for me to not forgive you sooner.” He sighs, running a hand through his hair as he rambles. Your face softens.

He’s truly sorry.

“Yeah, it was a pretty crappy thing to do on my end.” You nod, reaching over to grab his hand. Your heart flutters but you push the feeling aside.

He is MJ’s boyfriend.

“I’m sorry, (Y/n/n). I shouldn’t have had such an awful outburst.” He looks over at you again, tears brimming his eyes.

“Hey, it’s okay. We were both dumb.” You murmur, pulling him in for a hug. He hugs back tightly. The fabric of your shirt wrinkles under the pressure of his grasp.

“I don’t deserve you,” He whispers, burying his face into the crook of your neck. The tears trickle down his face and onto you.

“I could say the same for you, Pete,” You say, rubbing your hand up and down his back. Then you realize how intimate this could look to someone else.

You pull away softly and push some hair off of his forehead.

“What are you cooking? It smells good.” He compliments. You smile and look into his still-watery eyes.

“Pasta. Care to stay for dinner?” You ask, getting up off the couch. He nods.

“I’d love to.” He smiles back. It’s a smile of relief.

You’re both glad to have each other back.

~+~

“Oh my gosh, and then I completely trashed Flash for picking on you, do you remember that?” You giggle, looking back on memories with Peter. It’s been a couple of days with you two back to normal and now you can say that this is the happiest you’ve ever been.

You would just be a little bit happier if he was your boyfriend instead of your best friend.

No. He’s MJ’s boyfriend.

“That was priceless. I wish I had gotten his reaction on video when you called Mr. Stark to tell him off.” Peter wipes tears of laughter away from his eyes. You laugh.

“Oh, that was so good. And then MJ flipped him off as his posse tried to recover and get out of there!” You reminisce, almost doubling over from your laughing fit.

“That was too good!” He nods, struggling to breathe from laughter. You giggle, grabbing his shoulder to stabilize yourself.

“How is MJ, anyway? She hasn’t called me in like forever. I need to call her tonight.” You ask, wiping a tear from your eye as you try to calm down.

“She’s...I mean, I don’t know?” He questions more than states, becoming a bit more serious than you are.

“How can you not know? She’s your girlfriend, doofus.” You smack his shoulder, giving him a look.

“Wait, she didn’t tell you? We...we broke up.” He furrows his brows, seeming very confused.

“What? She...You guys broke up and she didn’t tell me?” Your eyes widen, all traces of previous laughter gone.

Why wouldn’t she tell you? And why did they break up?

Oh my gosh, they broke up.

He’s no longer MJ’s boyfriend.

“Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I didn’t tell you for obvious reasons. I just...we broke up for two reasons.” He scratches the back of his neck nervously.

“Which are?” You prompt, turning to face him. You give him your undivided attention.

“Well, we didn’t want to do long distance. Too much work. And...she found out I was Spider-Man. I couldn't put her in that kind of danger.” He mumbles the last parts, but you hear it loud and clear.

“She found out you’re Spider-Man? Ha! I didn’t even have to spill for her to figure out!” You laugh, hitting his shoulder.

“Hey! It isn’t my fault she’s smart and figured it out!” He holds his hands up in defense, giving you a cheesy smile. You giggle.

“It totally is! You’re awful at hiding it!” You mock, pressing a finger into his chest.

“Not true!”  He scrunches his nose, grabbing your finger that’s on his chest. You both go silent for a second, just staring into each other’s eyes. You see him glance down at your lips.

You break your gaze, looking down and clearing your throat.

“Um, well, I guess I need to call her tonight, then.” Your cheeks go bright red. You must’ve imagined that, right?

Then again, they have been broken up for a couple of months…

“I guess so. There’s no bad blood between us, either, so everything should be fine if we all hang out together in the future.” He shrugs. You nod.

“Hey, earlier you said you didn’t tell me for obvious reasons. What reason?” You narrow your eyes at him, arching one brow.

“Well, we weren’t talking at the time.” He smirks. It’s more of a joke between you two than anything now.

“You mean you weren’t talking to me at the time. All because you were mad I didn’t tell you a secret.” You correct him. He laughs.

“Well, it wasn’t just because you didn’t tell me the secret. It’s what came with the secret that made me mad,” He says, tapping your nose lightly. You go still as you process what he just said. He seems to have realized he let something slip as well.

“What...what do you mean?” You ask, searching your brain for anything that he could be suggesting.

“N-Nothing,” He stutters, eyes going wide.

“No, you have to tell me now. What came with the secret?” You grab his arm, scooting closer to him. He looks over at you, fear in his eyes.

“I...I was mad because you were engaged to Harley. I wasn’t that mad that you didn’t tell me, I was mad because...I had a huge crush on you and you were taken the entire time. I was mad because I never even had a chance. I still don’t.” He swallows hard as he looks into your eyes, saying everything he feels. Your breath hitches in your throat.

I still don’t, echoes in your mind.

“What do you mean you still don’t?” You breathe out, not realizing how close you are until now. Your faces are only a foot away from each other, growing closer by the second.

Your heart is beating loudly in your chest.

“You’re still engaged.” He whispers, not daring to look away from your eyes.

“My father and Harley aren’t around, are they?” You murmur, not regretting your words. Peter’s eyes widen as he takes a cautious look between your eyes and your lips.

“No...they're not. Are you sure, though? I don't want you to do something you'll regret.” He asks. You nod the smallest nod, barely there but visible enough for you both to know.

He doesn’t hesitate a moment longer.

In a flash, his hands are cupping your face and bringing your lips to his. Your arms tangle themselves around his neck, pulling him closer to you. You’re practically in his lap now, desperately kissing each other. All the pining over the years building up to this moment.

This kiss.

You finally break away from each other, breathing heavily. You press your forehead to his.

“I’ve wanted to do that ever since I saw you in the alley with MJ.” He admits, running his thumb over your cheekbone. You pull him in for another kiss, threading your fingers through his hair. He pulls away this time, gazing lovingly into your eyes.

“I’ve wanted to do that since I saw you at that party.” You whisper, still playing with his hair. Your breath is ragged as you focus on him.

“I win, then, because I’ve wanted to do it longer.” He presses his lips firmly to yours again, hands going to your hair this time. 

You reluctantly pull away, eyes still closed as you rest your forehead against his again. Your noses brush.

“I’m still engaged.” You whisper, your tone heartbroken.

“We’ll figure it out. I won’t let you marry Harley, I can’t…” His voice breaks and you hug him tightly. He hugs you back as tight as he can, almost like you’ll disappear if he lets you go.

You stay this way for a long time, not that you’re complaining. You’d stay this way forever if you could.

“I’ll fight my dad on the matter even harder. We’ll make it through this, I swear.” You press your lips to his again. You’re at home, finally.

As long as you have Peter, you know you’ll be okay.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Tag List: @savedbystark @paintingbellarke @itsbebeyyy @witchyandkin @bonita-juanita @spidey-holland7 @ohbabycal @spiderhemlock13

[redrobinfection]

Coffee, Coffee Everywhere, Epilogue

<< Part 20

This is the final part to the Coffee, Coffee Everywhere series! Or, at least, this is the last part I will be writing for the main series - I will write brief drabbles in the ‘verse, by request, when requests are open, so if you have any ideas for future parts, hold on to them... I may open ask requests soon ;3. Thank you to user ‘SummoningSecrets’ on Ao3 for leaving the comment that inspired this epilogue, and many, many thanks to everyone who has read, liked, reblogged any part of the series!!!

~*~

"Good Morning, Master Timothy."

Tim turned away from the coffee maker, lowering the mug from his lips, and murmured a quiet good morning to Alfred as he entered the manor's kitchen.

The mug caught his gaze and he paused. The corners of his mouth twitched into what Tim knew to be the Alfred-equivalent of a fond smile. "It's good to see you've moved past your temporary aversion to coffee and have returned to your normal habits," he commented dryly, eyes twinkling.

His tone of chagrined amusement didn't escape Tim, who huffed a quiet laugh. "It's not as bad as you think. This" - he waved the modestly-sized mug - "is my first and last cup this morning, and it's not even full strength."

"Oh?" Alfred raised an inquisitive eyebrow challengingly.

Tim's lips twisted into a uncertain smile. "I'm starting at two cups a day, one decaf and one regular, decaf in the morning and, strange as it is to say it, regular at night, right before patrol." He twisted the mug around in his hands absently, brow furrowing as he searched around for the right way to frame his reasons. "I know how bad that sounds, but that combination has worked out best for my sleep and wake cycle."

Alfred nodded understandingly. "That would make a fair bit of sense considering that six at night probably feels, in all likelihood, more like morning to you than six in the morning does," he commented. Tim blinked as he considered that, then nodded slowly. Put like that, it made a lot of sense why saving most of his caffeine for nights had worked out so well so far.

"Oh, and I also have a cup of green tea at lunch to keep me going until the afternoon nap, and then a bit of chocolate here and there, but that's about it," Tim added, taking a nervous sip of his decaf as he waited for any hint of disapproval, but none came.

Instead Alfred granted Tim one of his rare, overt smiles and nodded in approval. "Very good, Master Tim. It seems you've found a healthy balance for your caffeine intake. Now it will be a matter of maintaining that balance…" he trailed off, giving Tim a mild warning glare.

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. Every now and then the temptation to binge on coffee or chug an energy drink pops up, but to be completely honest, I like how I feel without the excess caffeine in my system that whenever the urges hit, I just laugh at them." He shook his head and smiled down at his coffee. "I've been there, done that and I am done with all of that."

Alfred's quiet smile took on a proud tinge, a look he reserved for occasions such as Jason agreeing to come home for Thanksgiving or Bruce telling one of the Batkids how much he loved them. "I'm glad to hear it, Master Tim. So I suppose that means no more crazy coffee-flavored cooking adventures?"

Tim chuckled and tapped his fingers against the mug nervously. "Well, no new ones at least, and when I make the meringues and coffee pasta now, I use strictly decaf instant coffee," he explained, raising his mug for a sip. Alfred raised an eyebrow skeptically and Tim choked. "R-Real decaf, that is," he clarified quickly, hiding his sheepish grin under the rim of his mug as he took another hasty sip.

Alfred nodded sagely, the amused twinkle in his eye at odds with the firm line of his mouth. "Very good, Master Tim. We'll make a self-responsible young man of you yet." He grinned and Alfred surprised him by ruffling his hair fondly - a very rare gesture of affection from the stately old butler - as he glided past Tim on the way to the refrigerator. He began pulling out materials for breakfast.

"I suppose the only trouble now will be convincing your father and brothers to believe you are capable of such growth," Alfred commented drily as he began cracking eggs into a bowl.

"What?"

"I happened to overhear Masters Jason and Dick discussing with Miss Stephanie the odds of your return to obsession the other night," Alfred explained. He shook his head. "It would seem some of your siblings have taken bets as to when you would decline into a relapse."

"Did they?" Tim asked, forcefully keeping his tone light all the while his expression darkened. Alfred noticed, of course, and nodded in commiseration.

"Indeed. From the little I overheard and from the few things I've noticed here and there, it seems most of the family, including Master Bruce himself, have entered the betting pool. The average duration wagered upon is three weeks from the day you resume consuming caffeinated beverages, and Miss Stephanie seems to think you will last twelve days, two short of Master Jason's guess of a single fortnight," Alfred informed him drily, his exasperation with the lot of them shining through clearly.

Tim felt a flare of annoyance but smiled tightly at the elderly butler. "Thank you for letting me know, Alfred. I'll put this intelligence to good use." The one-time spy uttered a demure "of course" but Tim saw the satisfied cast to his expression. Tim tapped his chin thoughtfully. With Alfred on his side…

"I guess if they're all so sure I'll fall back into bad habits I'll just have to prove them wrong," Tim mused out loud, his eyes taking on a wicked gleam as several ideas occurred to him. "Twelve days, huh…?"

Alfred gave him a piercing look then nodded, a sharp gleam of amusement lighting up his own eyes. "I suppose you will, Master Tim."

---

The next day, four days since he had started drinking coffee again, Tim made a point to drink a second mug of something very dark at breakfast, and if Bruce and Damian thought that it was another mug of coffee, then shame on them for jumping to conclusions.

The day after that he had three mugs of coffee-looking beverages with breakfast, alternating between shooting innocent looks at the family members who were giving him side-eye and sharing conspiratorial grins with Alfred behind their backs.

That night, before patrol, he poured decaf coffee grinds into an empty "Regular" container and intentionally waited until someone came into the kitchen before making his nightly coffee, very deliberately leaving the container out on the counter with the label clearly displayed. He made a full pot, poured the entire thing into the mega mug, and had to stifle a laugh at the wide-eyed look Dick gave him as he walked out. He only drank half and snuck the other half into the back of the fridge for a quick iced-coffee the next morning.

After patrol he made himself another large mug of coffee which he made certain to wave around before heading up to shower. He wished he could have snapped a shot of Bruce and Jason's faces respectively - they were like mirror images of stony shock and disapproval. Like father like son? Jason would love that comparison. Tim didn't drink the ridiculously watered down decaf, but just so he wouldn't waste the water, and in full defiance of that one time Jason told him never to shower in coffee, he used the cooled coffee to rinse the shampoo out of his hair.

As planned, he returned the mug to the kitchen just before Jason was about to head up, letting him know in passing that he hadn't drunk the entire mug, and then asking if his hair smelled like coffee. Tim really wished he'd had his camera then so he could have documented the priceless expressions on Jason's face as he went through the full range of emotions, from laughably relieved to dramatically alarmed to full-force horrified as he surreptitiously leaned in for a sniff.

At lunch the next day, he showed up to his smoothie "date" with Steph already carrying a Venti cup from Starbucks, and he ordered a "Café Loco" with regular coffee without a trace of hesitation. Steph looked as if she'd been force fed a whole lemon. Tim struggled not to laugh throughout the entire lunch as he switched back and forth between the Starbucks and the smoothie and Steph winced every time. Too bad she didn't think to ask what was in that Venti cup - the combination of herbal peppermint tea and the chocolate-coffee smoothie was surprisingly pleasant. She probably would have enjoyed a taste.

By the end of the week Tim was giving off all appearances of having matched his previous consumption of caffeinated beverages - three cups in the morning, four cups of tea at work, four cups before patrol and the mega mug right before bed.

In reality he was still only drinking the equivalent of one cup of decaf in the morning, one cup of green tea in the afternoon and one cup of regular coffee before patrol, employing every trick and fake-out he could think of to convince the family otherwise. That meant a lot of herbal tea, decaf iced tea, and plain water hidden beneath the lids of travel mugs.

Actually, since he'd started drinking all this extra water he'd started performing better on patrol and generally feeling better all around, enough so that he was considering keeping up the extra liquids even after he wrapped up this affair. So, besides getting a kick out of everyone's poorly concealed reactions, this game had already had the added perk of improving his hydration habits. Tim was having a great time, and he was only just getting started.

On Monday he began purposefully eating coffee-flavored foods in front of the family. Six containers of coffee-flavored yogurt over the span of a single day, two with each meal - he probably needed the protein, anyway, and his gut would certainly be happy - espresso cheese over coffee pasta for lunch - decaf pasta, of course - and a mocha chip frozen yogurt bar after patrol. All pretty tame, to be honest, but the family was still aghast and poorly concealing it.

He doubled his efforts the next day, again using every trick up his sleeve to make it seem like he was eating more than he was. He munched on chocolate covered raisins at lunch to fool Steph into thinking he was attempting to eat a half pound of chocolate covered coffee beans in one sitting. He using food coloring to turn his rice brown to the chagrin of Damian and the horror of Bruce at dinner. Eating three mocha chip yogurt bars after patrol while literally hovering behind Dick in the cave just so he could watch Dick struggle with his inbred urge to turn around and shoot concerned looks at Tim over his shoulder.

Actually, Tim was a little surprised no one had said anything to him yet about his changing habits - no expressions of concern or gentle suggestions to take things slowly. He was a little upset about that. Maybe it was because Alfred was present for most of his shenanigans and appeared to approve for lack of any protest, but Tim knew it was probably because they wanted to test him. Part of their silence was for the benefit of the betting pool, but if that were the only motivator, Bruce would have put his foot down days ago. No, they wanted to see how well he could manage on his own without outside interference, to see if he could be trusted on his own.

Part of him could understand why they want to know - so they could know how much energy to invest in keeping an eye on him in the future - and why they worried in the first place - he'd gone pretty far off the deep end before he saw the error of his ways - but the rest of him resented that the family didn't believe he could grow and change and be better than he was before, that they would stoop to treating him like the subject of an experiment and laugh as they made bets on the outcome. To quote a classic, he found their lack of faith "disturbing."

On Wednesday, one day before had Steph predicted he would crack, Tim laid out his coup de grace. The family was planning to meet that night, first for a quick dinner, then briefing down in the cave before joint patrols. Normal Wednesday night stuff.

Tim coordinated with Alfred and lay in wait, so that when the family began filing into the dining room around seven o' clock, there he was, already sitting with his "coffee feast" laid out before him. All in all, he had "coffee" mashed potatoes, "coffee" broccoli, "coffee" carrots, coffee-rubbed steak, a mug of café leche, and the mega mug of "coffee."

"Uh… Tim," Dick began slowly as members of the family formed a loose ring around him, some taking seats around the table, others lounging "casually" against the wall behind him. He has a pretty good idea of what's about to happen next, and it takes everything in his power to keep a straight face.

Dick sat down across from him and continued. "So, we were all talking and, um, we realized that it was about time that we sat down with you and, uh, talked about how you, um, seem like, lately, that you've been maybe a little too, uh, 'enthusiastic' about, well-"

"Coffee. You're drinking too much coffee again, is what Dickie is trying to say," Jason snapped from over Tim's right shoulder. Dick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. Jason flipped him the bird and Bruce frowned.

"Coffee? Really? I only started drinking it again a few days ago. Have I really been drinking that much?" Tim asked innocently, turning to Jason with a startled expression. Cass stepped up beside Jason and nodded, face twisted in concern and both hands gripping her upper arms in a tense position that screamed worry. He felt the slightest inklings of guilt for worrying sweet Cass, but then he remembered that he had it on good authority that even she had cast a bet into the pool, even if Steph had had to egg her to do it.

"Yeah, Tim, you really have," Steph confirmed grimly from behind him. He twisted around in his seat to look at her and nearly rolled his eyes at the deeply serious expression of disapproval on her face. As if Steph had much room to talk; she was still nearly as bad about coffee as he had been!

"And it's not even just the coffee you're drinking, look at what you're eating!" she exclaimed, pointing to his plate.

"For the love of- are those coffee vegetables, Drake?" Damian asked, looking thoroughly disgusted even as he leaned in ridiculously close to examine the food from Tim's left side. He jumped - for once the little ninja kid had actually managed to sneak up on him - and he dragged his plate away with a scandalized scowl.

"What is it with you and sticking your face into my damned food?!" he demanded.

"Is there coffee in those potatoes?!" Damian shrieked back at him in return.

Bruce cleared his throat from where he sat at the head of the table and silence fell over the group. "This is an intervention," he intoned seriously, the other members of the family nodding along grimly.

Tim was howling with laughter inside, and barely holding onto his composure on the outside. "Intervention? But why?" he asked, letting the pitch of his voice rise high and appalled, and clutching at his chest like some offended Victorian-age maiden. Behind Bruce, Alfred's lips twitched at the corners for his comically over-acted performance.

"Don't play dumb. You know exactly why we're here; why we're doing this. Denying it doesn't make it any less of a problem," Jason scoffed, sounding annoyed. There were several annoyed and impatient expressions around the table, in fact. They were starting to catch on to his act, but clearly not the reasons for it.

Dick nodded, brow pinching as he swept his arms in gesture to Tim's meal. "I mean look at yourself, Tim. Isn't this exactly what you wanted to try to get away from by quitting caffeine and going through weeks of detox?"

"But it's not really that much is it?" Tim asked, pulling out his silliest puppy dog eyes and batting them furiously in one last ditch effort to clue the family in on his joke. Alfred stifled a cough behind his hand that Tim swore was cover for a laugh, but there were still no light bulbs over the heads of the other of the family members.

"'Not that much'? Are you kidding?" Steph exclaimed stepping forward and swiping the fork out of his mashed potatoes. Tim let it happen. "Not that much?! Look at this. Tim, you've put coffee in everything in front of you," she explained, pointing to the fork for emphasis.

"I can't believe Alfred even let you bring this crap to his table. I can't believe you can eat this stuff and not immediately hurl your guts out," Jason added hotly. "I mean, what does all that even taste like?"

"Yeah, that's what I want to know," Steph demanded, stabbing the fork into the potatoes and scooping out a blob. Ignoring mixed sounds of disgust and protest from the others, she made a face and opened her mouth to take a bite. "Probably like burnt tires that have gone through a blen- …"

She cut off abruptly and stared at the fork. Tim allowed himself a tight smile and waited for it. She blinked, then looked down at the plate. "This… doesn't taste like coffee...? It… doesn't taste like anything?"

Damian frowned and swiped a finger through the potatoes and raised it to his mouth. "Huh. It tastes like Pennyworth's mashed potatoes and nothing else," he confirmed, giving Tim a curious look that Tim returned with a "what the hell was that?!" expression, because who just sticks their fingers into someone's food without asking?!?

"What do you mean it doesn't taste like coffee?" Jason asked, leaning forward over Tim's shoulder to get a closer look. "It's brown enough to make me wanna puke, so…"

"It shouldn't," Tim informed them matter-of-factually. "There isn't any coffee in it."

The whole family froze, gears turning as they stared at him, then at his food, and then back to him again.

"Bull," Steph challenged and several others nodded in agreement.

"There's no coffee in any of it except the steak and the café leche, and that is barely half a cup of decaf diluted by a ton of milk," Tim explained patiently.

"But the food-" Bruce began.

"Is colored with food coloring."

Damian cocked his head then swiped a carrot off the plate. Tim sighed.

"Yes, no hint of coffee, simply a carrot," the youngest declared to the room.

Tim pushed the plate toward him. "You going to try a piece of broccoli? Might as well touch all of my food while you're at it."

"-Tt- I believe you, Drake," Damian responded, pushing the plate back. "I knew you wouldn't be so foolish so soon after having vowed never to stoop to such idiotic levels of caffeine consumption ever again."

Tim sighed and shook his head. "Oh. Yes. Of course."

"I'm still not convinced," Jason admitted slowly, rounding the chair so he could look Tim in the eye. "I mean, maybe the food is a fake, but all the coffee you've been drinking lately, decaf or not-"

Tim raised the mega mug and offered it to Jason. The older man took the mug warily and peered suspiciously at the contents.

"That is 90% of all the 'coffee' I've been drinking for the past eleven days," Tim told him.

Jason raised the mug and took a long draw. He froze, then lowered the mug slowly. "That's not coffee."

"Yes."

"That's…mugicha?" Jason asked in a stunned voice. Tim nodded, then grinned as Cass darted forward and slid the mug out of Jason's loose grip and retreated to one side to sip on her newly acquired prize. She shot him a small smile over the rim of the mug and winked.

"What is 'muggy-cha'?" Dick asked with a frown.

"Moo-ghi-chah," Jason sounded out for him slowly. "It's a Japanese tea made from roasted barley. Naturally caffeine free, generally tastes like cereal or unfermented beer, but when roasted well it has hints of coffee or chocolate."

"A tea that tastes like cereal?" Dick asked, eyes widening comically as his eyebrows flew up into his hair.

"Don't tell him that, Jason! Now he's going to steal all of my mugicha!" Tim cried, looking over at the mug in Cass's hands longingly.

"Quit your whining, Timbo, it's not sweet enough for Dickie, in any case." Jason shook his head slowly. "I didn't even think you knew what mugicha was."

"I learned a lot about tea back when I made tea for everyone after patrol that one time, remember?" Tim reminded them. Cass took a sip of the mugicha and nodded approvingly. "It's actually pretty good. The toasty flavor reminds me of a light roast coffee sometimes and chocolate or cereal or beer other times, just like you said."

"Mugicha is actually really good for you. Very hydrating," Jason said slowly, staring Tim down as if waiting for the 'psyche! But actually…'

"Yup. I know," Tim answered simply, waiting for it to finally sink in.

Jason blinked then glanced over Tim's meal. Across the room Bruce let out a long breath and Damian shook his head slowly. Steph stared.

"Wow. You... you weren't kidding, Babybird. You've really been skipping the coffee, just like you said," Jason finally admitted in a awed tone.

"Yep," Tim confirmed. "I haven't had more than the equivalent of two cups of coffee per day since the mac 'n cheese incident," he informed them smugly. "You all lose."

"W-what?" Dick stuttered breathlessly. Around the room several people twitched guiltily. Tim shook his head. So much for inscrutable Bats, huh?

"I know you guys started a betting pool on how long it would take me to crack and fall back into my crazy coffee ways," Tim tells them, pinning each of them with an unrelenting stare one person at a time.

"Tim, we didn't-" Steph begins.

"Alfred told me all about; don't try to deny it," he cut in flatly.

"Alfie! How could you?!" Dick bewailed in an exaggerated tone of betrayal, all the while smiling at the man gratefully and winking.

"I wasn't going to deny it," Steph continues, glaring at Dick. "We totally took bets - don't you even try to tell me you didn't, Dick Grayson because I was there-"

"I was rooting for you, Timmy. I bet it would take you at least six months, if not longer," Dick told him proudly.

"Your faith and confidence in me, is so inspiring," Tim deadpanned drily.

"Stop interrupting me!" Steph snapped, slapping Dick lightly on the arm. She turned to Tim. "Yes, we took bets, but if we're being completely honest with ourselves, we were always hoping we would each lose, that we would be wrong about our fears. This is one of those 'I hate being wrong, but this time I'd hate to be right almost as much' kind of situations'," she explained. Across the room Bruce nodded seriously and Jason shrugged with a chagrined grin. Cass crept up beside him and offered him a new glass of mugicha with an apologetic look - apologetic not just for the mugicha, but for all of it, Tim surmised.

"I still win," Tim repeated, taking a sip of the tea then sweeping a cool glare over all of them. "Because I'm never going back to drinking - or eating - that much coffee ever again."

"Well… good," Steph replied, nodding. "In that case, we're all kind of winners," she concluded, patting him on the back.

"Yes, but I actually won, so does that mean I get the pot?" he asked with a sharp grin.

Bruce cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him. "Well. Actually, no." Tim frowned. He had been joking but, really, to be fair…

"As you all know, I didn't cast a bet," Bruce began.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because you claimed you only wanted to know for 'academic purposes.' Like that's any better," he muttered under his breath. Tim huffed a quiet laugh - he had totally called it - and a muscle jumped in Bruce's jaw, but he otherwise seemed to ignore Jason's interjection.

"But, as an impartial observer, I kept track of the bets-"

Steph snorted. "Yeah, only because Alfred flat out refused."

"And with good reason, Miss Stephanie," Alfred chimed in, sweeping an icy gaze over all of them. "You should all be ashamed of yourselves, testing Master Tim in that way," he informed them bluntly over Bruce's shoulder.

Bruce cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his chair, as if he could literally feel the chill of Alfred's disapproving glare on his back. "Yes, well. If 'never' is your final answer, Tim, then you'll have to share the pot with Damian, because he bet his share of Alfred's oatmeal cookies for a year that you would never go back to consuming that much coffee ever again."

They all turned to stare at Damian, who colored but didn't turn away from their stares. Tim blinked in actual shock.

"Wait! You guys were betting in Alfred's cookies? But-"

"Wait, really? I thought you said 'Drake is an overworking fool who will fall back into his stimulant addiction in weeks', or did I hear that wrong?" Jason asked over him.

"-Tt- You heard correctly, if incompletely, Todd. If you had continued listening you would know I said that he would fall back into his stimulant addiction if and only if we stepped back and let him work himself to distraction once more," Damian explained. His cheeks darkened even further, but he finished off his statement by saying,"What I meant was that, should we withdraw our support, surely he would be driven into self-destructive habits once again. And yes, Drake, we dealt in cookie currency."

The kitchen was a mix of reactions, ranging from proud smiles of differing intensities from Dick, Alfred, and Cass, to wonderment from Jason and suspicious skepticism from Steph. Damian's expression darkened under their combined attention and he began closing off and shutting down in the way he always did whenever he inadvertently began to show he was a real boy underneath his sharp-tongued, aloof act.

Tim stared. "Wow. So…" He cleared his throat. Damian curled in on himself defensively and Tim paused to take a slow deliberate breath. "How many cookies do we each get?"

Damian startled slightly then relaxed, huffing a small laugh and grinning sharply. "By my last count, we have at least three months of triple the usual amount of cookies apiece. Better still, Pennyworth has recently added coffee flavor to the recipe, further complimenting the flavors of the walnuts, chocolate and raisins."

Tim's eyes widened and he returned the sharp grin. "Oh? Is that so? Coffee cookies? Three per day. I can live with that."

"Oh, jeez, Tim, noooo…" Dick moaned.

Tim's grin turned wicked. "Tim, yessssss."

"Not another coffee food, we just… you just…"

"Calm yourself, Richard," Damian soothed him, rolling his eyes. "I said coffee-flavored, not caffeinated. There is nothing amiss with enjoying the flavor of coffee."

"Indeed, they are perfectly healthy," Alfred chimed in, his eyes flashing in amusement.

Dick looked around wildly for support, but Jason merely chuckled and Bruce's expression took on a fond cast.

"Yes," Bruce said, "Just this once. Coffee? Yes."

~*~

The End! Thank you for reading, everyone!!

[typhonserpent]

You Showed Me, Chapter 1

Fandom: Dragon Age 2 Rating: Explicit Genre: Romance/Omegaverse Pairing: Fenris/Anders Summary: Omegaverse AU. Fenris has a secret that nobody else knows. When he has to travel to Orlais to help Hawke and her new friend Tallis steal a priceless jewel, his secret becomes harder to hide. When Anders discovers what Fenris is hiding, what he does with the knowledge is not what Fenris expected. 

Notes: This chapter has been edited to fit in with tumblr’s new tos. For the unedited chapter, please visit ao3. Since posts with links have been no longer showing up in search results, I would appreciate it if you could reblog this post to ensure more people see it! Thank you!

✦ My Writing Tag ✦ AO3 Link ✦ 

Previous (Prologue) ✦ Start ✦  Next Chapter

Fenris was annoyed by Tallis from the start. Something about the amount of confidence with which she spoke and the way she always happened to know things was rubbing him the wrong way. He'd never be rude to her, if for no other reason than because Marian had taken such a liking to the elf. However, it didn't cease his habit of watching her from the corner of his eye while she explained to Marian her intention to steal the Heart of the Many.

Evidently, in Orlais, there was a priceless jewel owned by none other than a noble who happened to be visiting Kirkwall when the city nobility hosted a banquet to honor Hawke's victory over the Arishok. It would take only a letter for Marian to be invited to Duke Prosper's annual wyvern hunt, where they could raid his treasure vault for glory and riches.

Fenris was quite certain there was a reason why Tallis knew all of this, and why she neglected to tell them how she knew these things. Unfortunately, Hawke was never one to turn down a challenge. The mage was as headstrong as she was stubborn, and the more Tallis talked up the gem, the more Hawke's smile had widened.

Fenris was splashing cologne on his neck when he heard the mansion door open, and Marian announcing herself with a shout, "It's only Hawke, don't jump me!"

After tucking the little green bottle into the side of his pack, Fenris lifted the overstuffed burlap sack. The image of a fish with a rock on its back could be conjured as he made his way down the stairs, and Marian covered her mouth to snicker.

"Andraste's ass, are you planning to move to Orlais?" She laughed.

"Is it a crime to be prepared?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No, but you don't have to come prepared for the next blight. Come on, Tallis and Anders are already waiting for us."

He bit back the urge to groan. The season was already making it along trip, but the thought of traveling with Anders now was going to drive him insane.

Hawke led the way to the far end of the docks, where Isabella was crawling over a modest ship. Merrill had her feet dangling over the edge of the water, her big toe occasionally brushing the sea's surface and making a ripple. When Hawke approached, she perked her head like a curious cat. Hawke sat down behind her, wrapping her in an embrace that included both arms and both legs for good measure.

"You'll be back soon, right? I'll come back here and wait for you when you do." Merrill said.

Hawke nodded, "A week, at most. Assuming we don't hit a storm on the way."

"Better knock on wood now!" Isabella called from the ship's deck. Hawke stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry as she knocked on her own skull twice.

Merrill rapped her knuckles twice on the plank below them. "You could have just used the dock, you know."

Hawke planted a wet, sloppy kiss on Merrill's cheek before untangling herself and rising, "I'm going to miss you two so much."

"'You two'?" Isabella echoed.

Fenris had made his way up the gangplank and was just passing by Isabella when Hawke started approaching. "Oh, right! That reminds me." Hawke said as she strode up to her, "Isabella, off the ship."

The pout on the pirate queen's face could have rivaled the world's saddest puppy, "But ... why? You rent a whole ship and I don't even get to play on it? Why?"

Hands on her hips, Hawke scrunched her lips and looked to the sky in mock contemplation. "Let's see," She sighed, and began counting off the reasons on her fingers, "I don't need two rogues on the mission, I already hired a crew, I'd like the ship to return to Kirkwall in one piece,"

"Psh!" Isabella scoffed, crossing her arms. Hawke caught her chin and steered her head before she could turn away.

"And," Hawke continued, leaning into Isabella, "Someone has to stay here to satisfy Merrill. It's heat season. You can smell it on her."

Fenris ducked into cabin and pretended he hadn't heard that.

The first door he opened to the sight of a shirtless mage. Anders back was to him, blonde hair loose and tumbling over a map of scars on his back. Fenris froze in the doorway, lips curling, cheeks flushed.

Anders tossed his hair with his hands and ran his fingers through it before gathering it into a bundle and tying it back with a strip of leather.

Suddenly, the mage spoke, "You can come in, you know."

As Anders stepped aside, Fenris caught full view of the mirror he'd been in front of.

"Never mind. I'll look for a different cabin."

"Hawke and Tallis claimed one, and the crew is staying in the other." Anders gestured broadly to the room around him, "This is it, I'm afraid."

Fenris sighed. If there was one thing he could agree with the mage on, it was that this outcome was also what he was afraid of.

There were two cots across from each other, with a foot locker at the end of each one, and a desk and chair in the middle. A small mirror hung on the wall above the desk. Fenris removed his pack and tossed it on top of the foot locker with an unceremonious thud.

"Did you pack the whole mansion? What in Andrastes name do you think we'll be doing during this mission?" Anders asked.

"It's filled with bees."

"What?"

"Bees. I intend to unleash them at the soiree."

There was a long pause where Fenris watched the gears in Anders' head turn.

"Andraste's knickers," A smile tugged at the corners of Anders' lips. "Can you imagine a manor filled with Orlesians patting at their wigs and masks to ward off bees?" He covered his mouth with his fingers, a light laugh bubbling up.

"It's the perfect plan," Anders continued, laughing, "While they're running away, we'll just walk in and take the jewel."  

The tension in the air melted ever so slightly. Anders returned to dressing himself while Fenris kicked open the foot locker and chucked the bag inside. The lid couldn't lower more than a few inches before being stopped, so he left it loose. Anders was buckling the front of his coat by the time Fenris flopped down on the cot.

"You have a funny way of unpacking." Anders quipped.

"Shut up."

"Fine, fine." Holding up his hands as he made for the door, "Are you coming up to watch us cast off?"

"No, thank you."

He listened to the door shut and Anders' footsteps make their way up the stairs. Once they reached the top step, he counted ten seconds before he scrambled to the foot of the bed, reached past the locker lid, and into his bag.

A few layers of clothes were quickly tossed back into the bin as he dug for the bottom. The first thing he set on the bed was a hand-sized package wrapped up in cloth. He set it aside so he could dig deeper and produce the toy he'd spent an exuberant amount of coin on.

The herbs he would have to ration out, mostly for use during the day so that he wouldn't be distracted in battle. He wouldn't have a lot of opportunities to be alone like this.

The toy was polished silver, a flat base so you could set it upright with a short rod that connected to a bulb. "Feels like knotting." The shopkeeper had said, "Trust me, your omega will not be disappointed."

Which was rather generous of him to say.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. There were a few shouts upstairs from the crew. Water splashed against the boat's hull.

There had to be a few alphas that would do the trick for his fantasy. Of course Danarius and Hadriana came to mind first, and were quickly discarded. Isabella was attractive, her breasts always plump and her shirt just a little too unbuttoned. Though lately she seemed to only have eyes for Hawke and Merrill.

Sebastian had arms as muscular as his ass, and breathtaking eyes. Isabella had passed on rumors of how promiscuous the monk was in his younger days. Had they met a few years earlier, Fenris might have been tempted for a taste. Sebastian's accent was smooth and creamy. Fenris imagined what it would feel like to have his breath against his ear as he whispered what he planned to do.

He took it slow, picturing perfect white teeth nipping at his neck and his hand reaching up to grip long blonde hair. Anders voice in his ear, "You want me to put this in you?"

The ship jerked, and Fenris yelped as the toy jerked in the entirely wrong angle.

He moved the toy away from himself as fast as possible. He was more than annoyed at the way Sebastian had managed to morph into Anders in the middle of his fantasy. No, that simply wasn't an acceptable option. Not ever, and certainly not while he was sharing a room with the mage.

He sighed. The mood was ruined for the time being. He tucked the toy into the deepest part of his pack, alongside the package of herbs.

x - X - x

Late at night, the only sound was the creak and splash of the boat and Anders lightly snoring a few feet away from him. The cabin was never the right temperature. Under the blankets, unbearably hot, and above them, inexplicably uncomfortable. Eventually, Fenris kicked all the bedding off of him.

He slept in his armor, bare footed, sword propped up at the side of his bed in case any would-be attacker attempted to sneak up on him. Even at sea, he wouldn't be caught dead without being armed.

With the sword across his back weighing him down further, his feet make every step creek as he walked to the deck. He found himself bathed in a blanket of stars. In Kirkwall, the sky hid behind towering walls and gates, and even craning your neck, you never saw so many of them in the city. When he walked to the edge of the ship, he could see a flawless reflection of the constellations, marred only by the occasional ripple of waves.

Resting on his elbows, Fenris took in the sight with a deep inhale of fresh night air. The breeze dried the sweat on his forehead, and he felt a little cleaner than before. With his mind clear, his focus shifted to the tight ache in his pants, which had been ever present since his cock’s quick recovery from the day’s earlier events.

Straining his ears, he couldn't pick up a single sound of another person's breathing or footsteps. There might be a lookout in the crow's nest, but whoever was there would certainly not be able to see Fenris in the darkness below.

Clawed gauntlets gently tugged at the tie on his pants.

Eyes still closed, he tried picking up the fantasy where he'd left it off.

Anders - no - Sebastian above him. Whispers of that Anderfells accent in his ear. Creaking floorboards behind him.

His hand shot to the hilt of his sword, his markings bathing the area around him a light blue. He couldn't turn around in his state, but a low growl formed in his throat.

"Don't come any closer." He warned.

"Fine," Anders replied behind him, "Man can't find a little fresh air anymore. Let me know when you tuck your cock back in."

Fenris felt the tips of his ears burn. Anders’ footsteps moved further away from him. At first, he didn't move. A large part of him wanted to disobey Anders just because, but it didn't make a lot of sense to spend the entirety of the trip with his dick out in the air.

Once he had his breeches re-laced, he turned to see Anders on the opposite end of the boat, back against the deck wall. The mage was tipping back a flask.

"Sorry." Anders said as Fenris approached, "I get awful sea sickness. Didn't mean to interrupt anything. Whiskey?"

The mage held out the flask for him. Fenris considered it for a moment, then decided he'd rather be drunk for this awkward moment anyway. Accepting the flask, he flopped down on the wood at Anders' side.

"The first time I was in a boat was when they took me to the circle." Anders spoke while Fenris tipped back the flask, "I was twelve. Spent the whole time locked up in the cabins down below. Smelled awful. Didn't smell any better after I puked everywhere."

The whiskey burned his tongue but then immediately made everything in Fenris' mouth blissfully numb. He returned the flask to Anders, who took a swig.

Anders was as he had fallen asleep, naked save for a loose pair of trousers, locks of hair dangling and framing his face. His adams apple bobbed as he drank.

"Danarius traveled by boat quite frequently." Fenris said.

"You must be used to it, then." Anders held out the flask for him.

"I was not, at first. The smell of the fish always bothered me."

"What changed?"

"Nothing. I grew used to it. There was no alternative." Fenris tipped back and drank.

Anders scoffed a laugh, "Story of my life, there."

When Fenris looked up, he could see a line drawn through the sky where clusters of stars thickened to form a mighty crack. He'd seen it before, but not once since living in Kirkwall.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Anders said, "My father used to be able to name all the constellations."

"You have memories of him, at least." Fenris passed the flask.

"Yes, and most of them good before I developed magic and became a worthless little twit in his eyes."

"He was not wrong. You are a bit of a twit."

There was a pause long enough to distract Fenris from the sight of the stars, and turn his attention back to the mage. Anders gave him a hard stare, eyes wide, thin strands of his hair falling over his face.

The corners of his lips twitched, his shoulders bouncing with heaving breaths as a smile slowly tugged on his lips. One, two, three solid barks of laughter before he choked, the chuckles quickly reducing to hiccups, and then sobs. The flask rattled in Anders' hand, tears soaked his cheeks.

"Anders?" Fenris was at a loss, "Fasta vass. I am sorry. I spoke impulsively."

"No, don't." Anders wiped the tears from his cheeks. He hugged himself, one hand covering a circular scar on his shoulder, "Sorry, that just reminded me of something. It was ... probably not the best idea for me to come on this trip."

If only you knew how true that was. Fenris thought.

Anders capped the flask and turned to Fenris, eyes still red and swollen. He cleared his throat, "Well, better save some of this for the trip back, shouldn't I?"

It wasn't the most graceful walk Fenris had seen the mage make, but Anders made his way back down the stairs with his head hung low. Eventually, Fenris followed, trying his best to leave the awkward air behind him.

[indiegem]

A GUIDE: SEVENTEEN/CARAT INSIDE JOKES AND MEMES

helloww~ 

whether you are a new or old carat, i welcome you to this post! it’s essentially every fandom inside joke/meme that i could think of and boy are there A LOT. For every joke there is an explanation and then some links(: I know this is not all of them, so please reblog with the ones i’m forgetting and let me know if any of the links do no work. I hope you have a fun time reading through this and as always, please love and support our boys!! ^.^

slip into the diamond life 

A phrase used to indicate joining the fandom.  seventeen released a song before they debuted called “shining diamond” in which “slip into the diamond life” is a recurring lyric. The fandom name is carats. Therefore, becoming a carat means slipping into the diamond life.

This birthed a spur of many many “slip into the diamond life” related memes.

hoshi’s many nicknames

(his real name is kwon soonyoung btw)

1.) “naega hosh”:  Alright i’m p sure this one started way back when he was a trainee but it’s been his sort of “catch phrase” if you will.  it means “i am hosh(i)” and you can watch a 10 minute compilation of him saying it (here).  he has a hand motion to go with it and legit even put it in a song (jam jam) because he’s extra. 2.) “10:10″:  soonyoung has branded himself 10:10 because the ends of his eyes are slanted upwards. If his face is a clock and the ends of his eyes are the hands, it looks like they are pointing to the time 10:10. (he even has a cute lil hand motion).  he often shouts “what time is it now” at an audience and is a salty lil bitch when no one answers 10:10 or “ten hour ten minute” (watch here and here). also, here is soonyoung doing both the naega hosh and 10:10 hand motions.  3.) “kwon fire”: during seventeen’s reality show on one fine day (the first time), soonyoung came across his undiscovered talent for starting/keeping up fires. (watch here). he and the boys referred to him as kwon fire.  4.) “kwon spoiler”: excited lil bb sometimes has trouble keeping his mouth shut, that’s really all there is to this one.  5.) “kwon hamster/hamster hosh”:  he looks like a hamster okay, even seventeen acknowledge this. look at his lil squishy cheeks omg i love him. 6.) BONUS: “my name is soonyoung, call me soon”.  yes, these words came from his own lips in this 130709 broadcast 

are you kimbap kidding ??

soonyoung and seungkwan  used to have a broadcast show called “andromeda”. one time, junhui and joshua were guests in a game and competition to make kimbap, and apparently joshua done hecKED UP. (watch here).

seventeen’s “friend” john

this comes from an andromeda episode where seungkwan accidentally swore (the word sounds similar to “john”), and they all tried to play it off smoothly like the idiots they are. (watch here). 

EGGU TART

When seventeen were in hong kong for mama, they got really hyped about eating egg tarts and mentioned it a few hundred times on their broadcast XD (watch here) 

jihoon’s guitar rage

so one time when the boys were trainees, jihoon (woozi) chased mingyu with a guitar as a weapon. It became a thing. (see here and here) 

yes of the yes

i really don’t know. it just became a thing. (watch here). seungkwan, dokyeom, and hoshi are known as the sunshine line, the gag trio, the mood makers, whatever you want to call it. they have branded themselves “booseoksoon”, a term derived from their real names; boo seungkwan, lee seokmin, and kwon soonyoung. 

jun vs. logo

basically, whatever logo is overlayed on the video is always covering jun’s face and he k n o w s. (see here, here, and here). 

YOOOO LADIESSS

on an episode of 17tv (when they were trainees), seungkwan tried to wake jihoon (woozi) up by playing the song “queen” by son dam bi (watch here). since then, they have reenacted it LOL (watch here). 

mal (horse) dance

in korean, mal (말) means horse. dokyeom started a campaign where seventeen does a horse pose whenever “mal” is in lyrics. (watch here and here). 

vernon bubble

vernon impersonating a bubble. it’s cute cause he gets shy shy shy about it. (see here and here). 

michael chanson

dino’s real name is chan, and he worships michael jackson (examples here). since chan is a dancer, this is mainly regards to dancing and performing. there’s so many videos of him dancing michael jackson style, and one of his hobbies is dancing specifically girl group dances michael jackson style haha!

pin dropping joshua

basically, he pin drops all the time and seventeen are 100000% hype for it. (see here and here). fun fact: one time jeonghan tried it and failed. 

jeonghan’s list of claims

just see here, here. here, and here. 

pretty u first win

several members cried when seventeen got their first win, and understandably so. the feeling of your hard work being acknowledged in such a way is incredible, but i can only imagine how it must feel given that seventeen are so self producing. anyways, the members who cried the most are woozi (bb who wrote/composed the song), hoshi (bb who choreographed the performance), and seungkwan (bb who is soft okay). (watch here). now the reason why this is so great: every year, seventeen reenact the crying and it’s hilarious. (example here). fun fact: someone once gave hoshi a crying hoshi doll (x). 

clumsy mingyu

he might be a tall mess, but at least he’s a cute tall mess.

*drops things, bumps into things, forgets luggage passcode, sets off trap in boom boom video (is that a coincidence i think not)*

theres honestly so many instances where this poor baby is clumsy, here are some examples: a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h

boo seungkwan’s many nicknames

1.) “best quality boo”: just watch this video and know that seungkwan is the best quality.  2.) “boonon”: whenever seventeen does part switches, seungkwan and vernon always switch parts. the thing is, seungkwan is actually pretty good at rapping so now we are just waiting for boonon to make his debut. (watch a compilation here).  3.) “diva boo/booyonce”: he’s a sassy savage lil drama queen but in the best way okay hear me out. also one time he uttered the words “beyonce sunbaenim”. there’s way too many examples of diva boo, but see examples here and here.  4.) “boo from jeju”: seungkwan is from jeju-do island and mentions it whenever the opportunity strikes okay the hometown pride is REAL. (see examples here and here and there are so many more). one time he brought tangerines to give to fans and it was so cute, he became sad when he ran out. ALSO seventeen had a mini reality show type thing in jeju where seungkwan was their guide. (watch that here).  5.) “mc boo”: he’s just a variety king and great mc. that’s all there is to this one.

drink water not alcohol / you need jisoos

i’m not 100% sure this is the actual origin of the meme, but one time during trainee period some of the members were doing a vocal practice for pitbull’s “give me everything tonight”. samuel (a previous member) sung the line “i might drink a lil more than i should tonight” and at the time he was like 10 years old or something, so joshua awkwardly but cutely just went “drink water!....not alcohol!...” (watch here). conveniently, joshua’s korean name is jisoo, so “jisoos” (as in Jesus) became a thing. the meme only got better when joshua literally dressed up as a pastor one halloween (see here). 

memesol

vernon’s korean name is hansol, and his entire existence is a meme. it started off with his *embarrassing* videos from when he was a child and there are many. the most famous reference is probably “kidney function is not a right, it’s a privilege” (see here). other than that, he just has priceless reactions to everything and basically all of his english lyrics in his raps have been made into memes. 

thughao

the8′s real name is minghao and judging by his voice, face, and mannerisms you might think he is a cute lil button however you are w r o n g. there is a side to him we refer to as “thughao” because he can be savage AF (watch some compilations here and here). there was one particular famous instance (watch here) that even made a meme appearance at ISAC (see here) honestly i’m still laughing i love him so much.  you may think this is just a reference to all the ways in which minghao has displayed savageness, but no, he was an actual child thug (see photos here). he was the leader of a swag bboy group (see his skillz here and in many current videos) also he is great at martial arts (watch this). 

germgyu

mingyu has a sneezing problem. and a germ problem. just look at examples here, here, and here. 

and there you have it! i hope everyone reading this has a smile right now because of seventeen! if you are new to the fandom, i hope you feel more at home and love the boys even more. 

like i said, i know there’s things i’m forgetting so please reblog this with any other fandom jokes/memes you can think of! 

thank youu!!!!! 

-mickie ^.^

[qserasera]

Rewatch: S1E13 Autumn Banquet

A horrible exorcists rewatch post. What is the horrible exorcists rewatch?

🌹Summary Everyone attends an autumn festival.

🌹Canon Notes +the second appearance of natori and hiiragi, anime-wise +hiiragi tells natsume "you're too kind" when natsume says he doesn't care if other people see him talking to her when it looks like he's talking to empty air ;___: character development +there is medicine that youkai can take that can make them visible to humans for a limited amount of time +the first time we see natori attend a meeting of exorcists (!!!!!) +nanase-san makes her first appearance as an unnamed character

exhibit a: hiiragi being helpful and stoically caring

exhibit b: exorcists. discussing exorcist things.

🌹 Comments I nearly spent twenty sentences going on and on on how Tanuma wins most of the awards for BEST BFF and the scene with him poking ponta with a stick was priceless.

Tanuma's appearance aside, we learn a few more (unspoken) details about Natori from his cameo. He steps in to help the fox child, who was being bullied by an owner of a festival stall and two bigger youkai; in contrast to what he said previously about his dislike of youkai, neither is he the type to just stand by idly when one is in trouble in front of him.

He also commands Hiiragi to follow the fox child around at the festival, whether this is more for natsume's sake or to watch out for the fox child is up to anyone's guess. This would be the second time he has sent a shiki as a spy/scout; it would be a likely possibility that other exorcists also do the same with their own shiki.

This episode also contains the first appearance of something that looks like a meeting for exorcists; natori shows up with a smile and a "sorry, i'm late." nanase-san appears to be heading the meeting, and other than natori, nearly everyone in the quick screenshot of the meeting seems to be wearing a mask. not suspicious at all. the first peek at exorcist worldbuilding adds an ominous note to an otherwise lighthearted episode.

It was a good idea to end the first season on this episode; it brings everyone who has shown up in an episode so far, while also giving natsume a chance to be a little more truthful with the people around him, or with tanuma at least. It would be fascinating to discuss the tanuma-natsume scene here with later ones of teenage matoba-natori; the invisible fish pond/red fish and the tree/red kimono scenes, and how tanuma-natsume's interaction is the result of their friendship and a feeling of "we have a relationship of friendship, so i wanted to share this nice thing with you." matoba-natori's scene meanwhile, is more of "i want to see if you are worth cultivating a relationship with; let me test how strong you are." there was one fic in my past memory which touches on these parallels between these pairs of characters.

At any rate, we know that there are further episodes with natori, hiiragi, and other exorcist-related worldbuilding to look forward to! Feel free to reblog with your own comments or to link and type a separate response post :DDD Previous posts: S1E9 rewatch here. More exorcists meta can be read here. Other rewatch posts will be tagged with ‘horrible exorcists rewatch’

[sleepymarmot]

DS9 season 3 liveblog & notes

[Season index: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 PS]

The Search 1

Um... so what about that treaty about no cloaking on Federation starships, that was such a big deal in The Pegasus?

What's going on with Jadzia's hair...

"We're going to take our only warship into the territory of people who think of us as intruders to convince them we represent no threat" Logic???? What kind of plan is this?

Loaned? Ah, ok.

"When did I start thinking of this Cardassian monstrosity as home?"

If this is "one of the finest collections of ancient African art you'll ever see", what is it doing in their luggage instead of a museum? This is almost as bad as Picard and that priceless artifact in The Chase...

"Maybe it is. Maybe I'm your friend, and maybe I want you to see that you are still needed here no matter what some idiot Starfleet admiral might think." ;_;

Why dim the lights when you cloak? Just to give a visual shorthand to the viewers?

Wow Odo... I don't understand why everyone is so hard on Quark in this episode -- Sisko bullies him, Bashir insults him for no reason, now Odo is yelling at him with more aggression than he's ever shown in two seasons...

Seriously?! Cloaked ships leave a trace, and nobody in all decades of conflict ever noticed that?! I mean, even if somehow only the Romulans know, that means they can detect cloaked Klingon ships, which would mean they could as well have been uncloaked -- that'd be a massive retcon that doesn't work with anything we've seen before.

I still don't understand how replicators can produce foul tasting food... They make exact copies on a molecular level...

Poor Bashir -- it's as if Sisko picked his best friends to leave behind on purpose...

another literal redshirt dead

Class M planet with no star? What? 

Why do these changelings all look like Odo -- imperfect imitations of humanoids? I thought Odo's appearance was the result of trying to fit in Bajoran society + lack of skill to make face more detailed. These changelings live by themselves so they can pick any shape they like, and I'd expect them to have more control over details, so just repeating Odo's design looks like a lazy shorthand to indicate they're the same species -- as if their liquid state weren't enough. They even have the same hairstyle -- which he copied from a Bajoran! If the writers are trying to say "they're just copying Odo" then they should all be played by the same actor.

The Search 2

Oh come on, Kira, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having a lot of questions in this situation!!!

Me: well this story is pretty bad so far, I don't have any expectations for it anymore Screen: Andrew Robinson as Garak Me: interest instantly restored

(I'm certain every person liveblogging this show made or reblogged a post in this vein...)

Alright, Sisko's plotline is definitely some kind of hallucination

Or is it? I thought it was all too good to be true, but maybe the Dominion is just tricking them

Wait, that subcommander is alive and on DS9?

Okay, I didn't like that "Starfleet security officer" and now he's more suspicious. Maybe he's a part of the Dominion. Maybe the changelings are a part of the Dominion. Maybe all these people acting strangely are changelings in disguise. Maybe everything is a conspiracy. I dunno, this entire episode feels incredibly fake. 

"It seems our leaders have simply gone insane" Garak stop reinforcing my impression that you and Sisko are somehow the only real people in this story... Well Dax and Bashir also seem to be alright, but they're a bit too passive.

Oh, Garak didn't look behind himself and got shot, guess he's not real either

FUCKING FINALLY

This is so unsurprising that I can't tell if the writing is to obvious or if I've seen this spoiler before and half-forgot. Probably both.

And they just let them all go. Sure. I wonder how they managed to gain so much power, if they're prone to dumb decisions like this..

What a shitty story. Jfc. The only amusing part was that according to the main characters, the Starfleet admirals are stupid and untrustworthy (what a surprise...), and Garak is smart enough to not only take action when needed, but seem to almost realize the world around him is wrong (but he still somehow fails a spot check in a firefight...). Bashir clearly wants him to join the team and run around having adventures (not a surprise either...). It's funny that the character who comes closest to becoming self-aware is actually one of the simulated ones.

The fakeness of the plot is obvious enough to make me unable to take it seriously, but not clear or fun enough to just relax and enjoy the ride. I don't hate simulations on principle, but I need them to be good simulations. The Federation is too stupid -- it might have worked with some new admiral, since they're often assholes, but we know Nechayev and she was obviously OOC. The editing is pretty telling: there are weird timeskips (worst offender: Sisko gets into a fight and then without a change of pace others come to break him out from the brig), plus I don't think there were establishing outside shots of DS9. And anyway, the very first scene with Sisko where he's in a shuttle even though at the end of the previous episode he was about to be captured, and then Dax and O'Brien show up and we've never seen them escape is a dead giveaway that everything about this group of characters from here on is somehow wrong. And that's 8 minutes into the episode. I thought "Well, maybe it's an editing experiment, and it'll be a how-we-got-here flashback episode" but nope. What a waste of time.

Lmao I just read this in a comment to a review of this episode: "When I first saw the The Search, Pt II I found it unusual that Bashir is in a shuttlecraft with someone and for the first time manages not to annoy his travelling companion. And then the ending reveals why – it was all a dream!" That's right! I actually thought that too! :D

I can say one good thing about this episode: Odo's love of order has always had dark undertones, and I like that it's explored and discussed here as a racial trait which made his brethren into a galactic evil force.

But otherwise I'm not very impressed with his storyline? In the first part his anger and compulsive homing instinct look offputting instead of sympathetic. At one point he makes an expression that is probably supposed to be soft and makes the viewers go "aww", but ends up just looking forced and creepy. And the tender moment with Kira at the end just didn't work for me.

The House of Quark

OUCH

I was pretty scared for Quark, since he's not a big fan of violence, nice to see he's taking this so well

A new pretty outfit for Quark! A beautiful Klingon woman!

Another beautiful Klingon with a great grey mane. Yes, my commentary is very deep today.

I just continue to be amazed by Quark's luck with the ladies. Cultural exchange with a Vulcan in the previous season, now with a Klingon.

Aw, O'Brien actually wants Bashir's opinion now. And Bashir gives good relationship advice to a married man -- compare to their conversation in Armageddon Game!

Doesn't this solve their problem? If Kozak died dishonorably, that means D'Ghor gets nothing. Which is what should have happened in the first place. So now that D'Ghor challenged Quark, Quark's inability to fight will be shown to everybody (as if it weren't obvious enough...), so D'Ghor's lie will be exposed. And then he'd not only have no right of ineritance, but presumably also become a criminal for lying to the coucil.

Quark is awesome

What a good episode. Quark acts cool and noble! Klingon vs Ferengi value clash & working together! A-story and B-story work together well because despite no direct connection, they're both uplifting and thematically linked!

Equilibrium

Oh, of course when Jadzia gets screentime, it's for her to act OOC

Aw, a J&J friendship scene

Time for the annual comment on how much Bashir grew up! I've already talked about his scene in the previous episode, and now there's this lovely, purely platonic scene with Jadzia

How can these Federation weirdos sleep without blankets?

This was okay. But can we have a Jadzia episode not about her almost dying? So far this season is disappointing -- only one good episode out of four.

Second Skin

O k a y. You got me, I really didn't expect this

This is the kind of episode I watch this show for

How do you disguise someone as a member of species for years? I can understand cosmetic surgery like in Face of the Enemy, but to change their entire body so it would show as target species during any medical examination... This concerns the episode Tribunal, too. How are agents so deep undercover supposed to work? She spent all these years helping the Resistance. How does that benefit Cardassia? 10 years ago they wouldn't have known the Federation would become involved and their sleeper agent would work with them

Niiiiice

"Just something I overheard while I was hemming someone's trousers" lmao his excuses are getting more and more ridiculous

Cardassian!Kira *is* more attractive than the real Kira

the real Garak demonstrates how much his reflexes are quicker than his simulation's :D

Honestly, by this point I'm just curious for how many seasons can the writers stretch the mystery surrounding Garak. :D They're having too much fun giving out pieces of the puzzle one by one.

The Abandoned

This beautiful woman with a really impressive chest is Jake's gf? Wow!

Why are they just taking away the wreckage instead of buying it from Quark?

Sisko holding the baby and Jadzia and Julian watching him with smiles on their faces :'))

oh my god Odo used his old bucked as a cache-pot for Kira's plant... :O

wait, weren't the Jem'Hadar much more reptilian?

"It's amazing how some people would judge you based on nothing more than your job" haha

If this boy has so much aggression, why is it only expressed as need for physical combat, and not angry verbal outbursts etc? Another genetically engineered quality -- he needs to be a brutal soldier that doesn't talk back?

I find it curious that this episode answers the question "Is it okay for a 20 year old to date a 16 year old?" with such a definite yes. That's pretty questionable territory, and it's unclear why exactly Sisko changed his mind: his opinion about the girl's job or Jake's interests doesn't negate the age difference.

I like that the show takes Odo's backstory as a lab specimen so seriously. I used to expect exploration of this theme with Data, since he must have spent a lot of time in some Federation research centers before entering the Academy.

Civil Defense

Garak AND Dukat? I like this episode already.

Why are they not asking Garak for help? I know they'd prefer other options, but is kind of an emergency! I know they'll have to, eventually, since he's in the opening titles.

"I never knew how much this man's voice annoyed me" :D I'd actually be curious to hear the announcement in full, personally!

This is such a good excuse for a Disaster-like episode?? Perfect synergy between the setting and the needs of the plot

haha of course Odo and Quark are trapped together

"The only place in the galaxy that still recognizes my access code is a Bajoran space station" So what about that code in Second Skin?

bwahaha it just gets worse and worse

I think this is a good episode to show new viewers who want a taste of the show before starting to watch it properly from the beginning: it gives a good idea of the setting and involves all major characters to some degree, but so far it has very few continuity references

"What? That you'd spend your final hours in jail?"

"Tell me, Doctor, what is it exactly about this situation that's making you smile?" "You, Garak." oh my god...

holy shit this station is something else...

Dukat shows up in person! It's strange they didn't even discuss the possibility of calling him earlier. Of course, he immediately turned this into a hostage situation, so...

Oh my god he's making himself tea in the middle of this... amazing

"If you had been on the station when I designed this programme, I would have made an exception in your case."

HAHAHAHAHA

When Odo and Quark walk out, why are so many people just chilling on the Promenade?! They were about to die seconds ago!

What a beautiful episode :D Probably not as suited for beginners as I initially thought, thanks to Garak&Dukat. But I really appreciate the dark comedy side of it

Meridian

I think I've seen this episode in TNG... maybe multiple times... Jadzia is even worse suited for this role than Deanna. 

welp this was really bad on literally every possible level. i could complain for a long time but i'd rather save my breath

the only good thing about this episode: it's so irrelevant you can easily skip it.

Defiant

I think she needs sleep, not a night out in the bar

THAT VOICE 

I think I'm spoiled about this one...

Second Chances did such a good job not villainizing Tom and then this episode comes and ruins it

ah yes tell all your military secrets to the Cardassians, including cloaked ship detection...

why the random kiss

aaand Riker spends possibly the rest of his life in a Cardassian camp? great. just great. why did someone hate him so much they deemed this necessary? they managed to make me so salty about this I didn't even care about the Cardassian stuff, that's an achievement. Will gets to continue his career and marry his imzadi while Tom, who already spent 8 years marooned alone and didn't even get a promotion afterwards, now rots in prison forever. "You always had the better hand," indeed.

it's hilarious how quickly Dukat can make Sisko sympathise with him just by mentioning fatherhood. worked even better than the last time. if he got half a brain he's doing it on purpose.

I hope Riker at least got to spend some time with Ro while they were both in the Maquis. now that's something I'd like to see

Fascination

"I'm a poor substitute for your wife" "I could have told you that 60 games ago"

do we really need the Odo/Kira/Bareil love triangle?

"I usually make it a point to drop by Quark's three or four times a day at random intervals, just to let him know that I'm thinking about him"

"Jadzia, of course. I've never understood how the two of you could be such good friends. [...] It's just that she gets to spend so much more time with you than I do." "Jadzia and I have been doing this for the past two years."  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

oh O'Briens, pls don't fight over nothing :(

so where is Bashir during all this? because I'm pretty sure he and Garak are not immune to this romance confusion nonsense, and that sounds like a much more intriguing story than what I'm watching

ah, he's with Kira, well at least this one's mutual and not sexual harassment

I understand Odo, but why is Sisko unaffected too?

A question that concerns not only to this episode: why is Kira always the object of everyone's attraction? She's dating Bareil (which I completely forgot about; when she mentioned having a boyfriend in the previous episode I was very confused), Odo has a crush on her, in this episode Jake and Bashir do too, an episode before Riker kisses her, an episode before some creep wants a blow-up doll of her, an episode before Dukat leers at her...

Well... I guess this was less gross than The Naked Now.

Past Tense

I like how Dax adjusts to this time period instantly. was she already born by then?

"Some of these people are mentally ill." *braces myself for some horrible comment* "...They need proper medical treatment." oh thank god

Jadzia looks absolutely gorgeous

surely it's not a coincidence that the only white character among the time-travellers ends up with a millionaire, while the others are locked up in the sanctuary

Sisko and Bashir's discussions are very heavy handed, it's like watching some old moralizing play

I like how Jadzia retrieved her combadge by telling the truth

there was nothing particularly wrong with this story, and it was well-made, but for some reason it didn’t really impress me

Life Support

so. Winn was behind the sabotage, right?

this is like "Ethics" in reverse

haha they want Terok Nor back

"She talks a lot for a female" Nog you used to be better than that...

"Listen to me. I don't care about your negotiations, and I don't care about your treaty. All I care about is my patient, and at the moment he needs more medical care and less politics. Now, you can either leave here willingly or I'll call security and have you thrown out."

now it's more like "The Host". (I can't stop comparing everything to TNG haha)

don't try to make this into a "grey morality" situation. Nog is objectively in the wrong here, the human culture is objectively better than the Ferengi culture in this respect. TNG intentionally wrote Ferengi values to be abhorrent, and DS9 didn't change them but somehow tries to justify them and it just. doesn't. work. Just admit you wrote yourself into a corner, and either retcon the Ferengi to be more tolerable, or set aside your "all cultures are valid" agenda for a minute and admit some things are just bad. this glorification of moral relativism is DS9's version of TNG's worst misapplications of the Prime Directive

wow, are they actually going to kill him off?

"Positronic implants"?! Um. UM. They have working positronic brain now? Since when? Last time I heard, nobody managed to make stable ones since Dr. Soong... Or are implants easier to make than a full brain? Anyway, the possibility of a mixed organic-positronic brain has never even been discussed before, this is kind of a big deal. Dammit, just putting some human skin on Data was something only the Borg managed to do! This sounds 1000 times more complex!

"Major" ah, so that's how they break up, he’s incapable of romance now

ahh, his voice, head movemens and facial expressions are just like Data's

uggh the Jake-Nog storyline went as I expected

wow I didn't expect the treaty to actually get signed!

"I won't remove the last shred of humanity Bareil has left" rude... and that's from the man who befriended Data... I'm disappointed

oh btw if he just casually talks about the possibility of fully replacing Bareil's brain, that means it is possible to create stable positronic brains at will now! this is enormous! Data doesn’t have to be the only one of his kind anymore! Lal can be rebuilt! oh wait, let me guess, this will never be addressed again ever.

Welp. You know, right before I started this episode, I was mentally complaining about Bareil, like "kill him off already". Whoops! I feel bad now. This episode didn't go as I expected, and was more important than I expected too, which is good.

Jake and Nog's storyline and the positronic stuff -- less good. Honestly, the more I think about these two points, the angrier I become and the less I like this episode.

I thought that A and B plots were annoyingly unrelated, but actually... I think they share the theme of "peace above all", on a very different scale. Because the Bajoran-Cardassian treaty doesn't sound very fair to me either. "There's even the possibility that the Cardassians will issue a formal apology"?! Is that really enough? "Even the possibility"? Meanwhile, people like Dukat not only walk free but remain at their high posts. Cardassia|Nog was the offending side, Bajor|Jake did nothing wrong, and yet rather than declare that and demand justice and apologies, the latter can only hope to achive mutual tolerance -- even that is hard enough. Well, let's just hope the show isn't going to try and justify the occupation, like it did with Nog's misogyny...

btw, since we're talking about international politics and status quo: what about the Dominion threat? everyone was really scared for a couple of episodes, and then things went back to normal. we went to the Gamma Quadrant once for no reason (nothing about the plot required that!). the Defiant, a unique warship sent here for defend DS9 and the wormhole against Dominion attacks, is regularly used as a shuttle/runabout for random trips. way to disperse all sense of danger, change and excitement.

I certainly like Bashir in this episode more than I liked Crusher in Ethics (or in The Host, lol). He can get pretty intense when it comes to saving his patient's life. Not "fly to Cardassia to face a former head of secret service" intense, but still.

It's nice to see Winn humanized a bit. The writers have spent a lot of time making Dukat likeable, she deserves the same treatment. I'm so used to mistrusting her, I spent the entire episode being confused whether she actually wants the treaty to succeed or is plotting to make it fail for some reason, whether she wants Bareil alive or dead. But I guess I was supposed to take everything she was saying at face value for once? 

I don't know what the hell is this season doing with these Ferengi B-plots that, I guess, are supposed to be humorous (???) but are wildly offensive instead. Are we supposed to just calmly accept Quark and Nog's extreme misogyny? It was played for drama pretty well in Rules of Acquisition; this is a noticeable step back.

Heart of Stone

I love Sisko and Bashir's casual conversation about a male ensign's pregnancy! Sure, he's an alien, but it's still progress for this show.

Odo and Kira's storyline is so cliched... I don't even make an effort to listen to their technobabble

As viewers we all know Kira will be saved somehow at the last minute, but in her and Odo's place I'd already start discussing a mercy kill. Phaser blast from a friend >>> asphyxiation

"I'm in love with you too" ???????????????????? YOUR BOYFRIEND LITERALLY DIED IN THE PREVIOUS EPISODE

Sisko, he's just a kid. I know you're testing him, but there's no need to go that far.

Okay, I'm going to sound like a broken record, but: what about misogyny? The previous episode made a point of showing that Nog upholds Ferengi values regarding women. And that's completely incompatible with Starfleet. Isn't anyone going to mention that?

heh... there was a thought at the back of my mind that a changeling might be involved

aww, good, stand up to Quark, you two! :)

Well, most of this episode is very boring, contrived and derivative, but it does give Odo some character development (even if it includes the dreaded romance, ugh) and has a good excuse for this plot device at the end.

Destiny

"I also had Chief O'Brien reprogram the replicators to provide Cardassian food" Um, why wouldn't it already be on the menu? I assumed the replicators weren't replaced by Federation ones, and in season 2 Keiko gave a Cardassian dish to  Rugal. I went back to check, and she literally said "I found some Cardassian recipes in the memory bank of our food replicator"!

It makes sense that the Bajorans don't want the Cardassians in their Temple

let me guess, there'll be an unexpected third Cardassian and suddenly the prophecy will sound much more believable

"Now those are about the two friendliest vipers I've ever met" Hey, maybe don't make jokes like this immediately after someone walks out of the door...

Told you so

Damn, the third "viper" seems to actually deserve that name! Will she be the "bad" one, or, in subversion, the only trustworthy one?

"Men just don't seem to have a head for this sort of thing. That's why women dominate the sciences." ah yes hello reverse sexism trope

Cardassians flirt by bickering? Never heard that before... I thought this was more like Klingons.

Okay, they played it straight with Dejar

That's lovely! But "vipers will return to their nest in the sky" doesn't make sense -- how did the comet fragments return to their nest?

The Prophets don't "want" anything! They just can tell you the future because they don't exist in linear time!

Well, this was a lovely episode, if not the most engaging. But the subplot with O'Brien and the scientist was completely unnecessary.

Prophet Motive

Was! This! Necessary?! I don't need to see sex on screen! And yes that includes oo-mox!

Aw Bashir

I can't believe we're getting a story where Bashir is the one who suffers because his friends won't shut up. Karma is real...

nice job breaking it, Quark

The story is pretty shallow by itself, but makes me ask some interesting questions. Would it be ok to nonconsensually transform a bad person into a good one? Especially a person in a position of power? I know I'd be tempted to do this to some politicians... But even if we assume the ends justify the means, who would define good or bad? Sadly, this episode doesn't take these issues seriously.

After 2.5 season of Bajoran religion, it's actually nice to meet the "Prophets" in person again in all their creepy, clueless glory.

Visionary

Time to torture poor Miles with more unreality!

why are both sides being so dumb? just say "Odo was separated from the rest of his people as a baby, grew up with no knowledge of them, and only met them 1.5 times"?

"I'm always diplomatic" *cut* "THAT WAS THE MOST RIDICULOUS THING I'VE EVER HEARD AND I RESENT THE IMPLICATION!"

my first thought: the transporter genuis who beamed in the device was O'Brien

this one doesn't make sense... the sleeping Miles should know about the disaster and the radiation device too...

As usual with time travel episodes, it's very fun to watch, but the mechanics break down at the end and spoil the impression. I like that, as in Civil Defense, every time you solve a problem it gets worse.

It's only season 3, and "O'Brien suffers" as a type of episode is already getting old.

Distant Voices

There's a Cardassian writer named Shoggoth? :D

"Still the man of mystery?" "Oh, you wouldn't have me any other way"

Melting Odo is a genuinely disturbing sight...

"There's hope for you yet, Doctor"

Very predictable story, but it has some character development and lovely scenes with Garak.

Through the Looking Glass

when Mirror!Garak looks in indignation at Sisko kissing Kira: honestly same

Mirror universe Terok Nor is less riot-proof than our universe's was...

Episode: boring and pointless as I feared

Mirror Kira: somehow even worse than the last time, at least watching her hit on herself was mildly entertaining

Mirror Garak: still a giant waste of Andrew Robinson -- seriously, he appears rarely enough, and for the third time in this season he's not playing his real character

Sleeping with alternate versions of friends/subordinates: incredibly gross

Well at least Bashir and Dax looked really hot with these haircuts lol

Improbable Cause / The Die is Cast

Ahh, so many of my favourite things. Odo investigates! Garak confronts his past and justifies his reputation for once! International conflict! Dominion is dangerous again!

The cliffhanger where Garak joins Tain is the most thrilling thing that happened on the show recently! But I'd be severely disappointed if he didn't do that. 

The torture scene is very impressive, but there are some things I don't understand about it:

What, "They're still my people and I want to go home" is the big secret that's worth all that torture? Seriously? Anyone could have told you that. How is this information new or relevant?!

Nevertheless, "he never broke" is a lie, right? Odo did break and confess, even if I think his revelation was completely useless. Don't the intelligence agencies of the two biggest police states in the galaxy have security cameras in their interrogation chambers?!

I could understand if Odo forgave Garak eventually, but not so soon and easily! He tortures you horribly, then you never even mention it and invite him to hang out only several hours after! Sorry, what?!

It's becoming a trend to start Garak-centric episodes with something bad happening to him. :D Oh shit, Garak's hand got bitten! Oh shit, Garak has a migraine! Oh shit, Garak's shop blew up!

Explorers

Come on, O'Brien, is this really more ridiculous than building ships in bottles? :D You of all people should understand!

"For a moment there I thought that you had been put in charge of the Cardassian Ministry for the Refutation of Bajoran Fairy Tales"

Miles, just say the word! :D 

Fireworks in space! :D I don't know what I love more -- the beautiful and uplifting moment itself, or Cardassians going "Shit :))) We gotta be really nice today :))))) Congratulations :)))))))"

After the epic intense two-parter -- 45 minutes of pure fluff :D It has so many things that are specific to DS9: Sisko and Jake's family bond, Bajoran culture and Cardassians being jerks about it, Sisko and Dukat's passive-aggressive skyping, Bashir and O'Brien's slowly developing friendship -- all leading to the celebration of the “boldly go where no one has gone before” spirit, and everything, for once, ends well.

Family Business

"If I were Curzon, I'd have stolen her from you by now" *facepalm* let's just pretend this stupid heteronormative line doesn't exist

this house looks like a Hobbit hole

Quark and Rom's mom is awesome. get rekt you misogynists!

omg Miles & Julian, how old are you? :D

Rom is so nice in this episode

I like Kasidy

Ishka is 10 times more awesome than it seemed

Rom really rocks in this episode

aaaand the ship sails :D

I wish Ishka could make a public statement, and Quark would 

Good episode: interesting family dynamics, amazing Ferengi feminist, cute new ship

Quark and women is a fascinating topic. He's a traditionalist when it comes to Ferengi women, but in daily life among other species usually manages to come off no worse than any 20th century misogynist, and finds strong and outspoken women attractive rather than repulsive. Apparently it boils can be traced back to mommy issues: Quark isn't just a "good Ferengi", he's being reactionary towards Ishka, but at the same time she clearly is a positive influence on him, even if he won’t admit it. Too bad in this episode he refused to take even one step forward as he did in "Rules of Acquisition"...

Shakaar

Shit, things are really going downhill on Bajor... separation of church and state, what's that?

"We spent so many years fighting the Cardassians. We spent so much time hoping and praying for a Bajor that was free. Now that we won, how can people just hand their freedom over to someone like Winn?" "It has been my observation that one of the prices of giving people freedom of choice is that sometimes they make the wrong choice."

Why can't those reclamators be replicated?

"I wasn't aware that our relationship needed solidifying" 

Great episode! (If I set aside the question of replication... Seriously, what's the law here? The Bajorans on DS9 can use the replimat, but Bajor can't ask the Federation to replicate some farm equipment? I don't think it would be physically impossible, surely it's not made of something like dilithium or latinum.) Winn hasn't reminded me of our sad reality so much since her first appearance. The B-plot was completely irrelevant, but I always enjoy seeing this sort of thing.

Facets

Quark... are you trying to convince the station commander's 16 year old son to write porn for you? seriously?

Ah yes, people closest to Jadzia, aka all of the main characters... and a dabo girl who appeared once for 45 seconds

don't do this... especially in front of all of ur friends...

Dax has a multi-Doctor episode! :D

CurzOdo and Quark's reaction to him are beautiful :D But how can he drink?

Poor Jadzia :(

Go Rom! Quark is too much of an asshole this season...

This is messed up... 

Typical man: he's attracted to a woman, so he takes out his frustration and her and nearly ruins her life

How do Trill memories work? Why is this ritual needed when all memories are already in Dax's head? Are some of them in a .zip and need to be decompressed to be appreciated fully? How did Jadzia not know of Curzon's crush? Is it possible to hide some of your memories from the next host(s) on purpose? You know what, nevermind. Rene Auberjonois (whose name I had to copy-paste, I must admit...) clearly had fun with this episode, and so did I.

The Adversary

yes finally! :)

When they introduced the word "changeling" I was like "that's dumb, that's not what the word means" but now I understand. tbh I love them as enemy -- this story is so beautifully paranoid

why are they all assuming there's only one changeling on board

Well, they certainly know how to end the season on a dramatic line...

This season, my honeymoon phase of "oh my god, serialized Trek" finally ended, and I started thinking about whether or not I like these serialized stories. So I felt compelled to write longer notes after each episode, and don’t have any general remarks this time.

[ask-de-writer]

FRIEND AND THE IMPERIAL EGGS : Part 4 of 7 : MLP Fan Fiction

Return to the Master Story Index

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FRIEND AND THE IMPERIAL EGGS

A Daring Do tale

Part 4 of 7

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)  

8927 words

© 2020 by Glen Ten-Eyck Writing begun 05/13/16

All rights reserved.  This document may not be copied or distributed on or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the express written consent of the author.

This is a Fan Fiction based on My Little Pony.  Canterlot, Princess Luna and the name Daring Do are owned by Hasboro Inc.

//////////////

Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may reblog the story.  They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions, provided that such things are done without charge.  I will allow those who do commission art works to charge for their images.  

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fictions is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

The Eagle chicks in Friend’s nest were all a-flutter.  That was exactly what she wanted and her happy smile showed it.

Daring  Do was now allowed to sit part way up, back supported, in her Hospital  nest.  She was watching the chicks and happily chomping a sprout burger  with milk shake on the side.

She remarked, “I am so glad that you  are allowing me solid food now, Friend.  I think that not being able to  eat for that week and a half was the hardest part of my recovery!”

Returning  a grin, Friend, who was still learning repartee, agreed, “It was for  me/us too, Matunen!  Your complaints almost wore out my/our ears!”

There came a respectful tap at the door.  Friend immediately called out, “Come in, please!”

The  door slammed open against its stop and an armed Gryphon in uniform  popped in!  Glaring about, he self-importantly called, “The room is  safe, Empress!”

Chirping frantically at the disturbance, the Eaglets fled for safety under Friend.

Stepping  around the carriage that she was helping to push, the Empress, eyes  slitted, crest flat, stormed in and grabbed the guard by the wing  shoulder and pulled him around to face her!

“Sargent!  What  possible excuse do you have for this abominable behavior!?  You were  told that every being in this room has OUR ABSOLUTE TRUST.  You have  just treated them like hostiles!

“It is a good thing for you that they were so restrained in their response!”

Too  upset at the very public rebuke to think straight, the Sargent, crest  set in outrage, demanded, “Restrained? THEM!?  A nurse!  A bed ridden  invalid!  That, that CHANGELING on a nest like an overgrown hen!  The  Eagles are worse, and they don’t have the room to attack effectively!”

The Empress’ crest suddenly shot up into snicker!  “Nurse Grayyk, would you please show this bonehead what he missed?”

Contemptuous,  Nurse Grayyk pulled up the back of her uniform enough to show both  throwing knives.  Then she reached under her left wing and pulled out  the 8 mm pistol.  She carefully replaced the gun.

Crest set to  amused grin, the Empress asked mildly, “The invalid in the bed?  Doctor  Daring Do?  Would you please show the Sargent what he missed?”

Daring  Do pulled the coverlet back from the lumpy wrinkle with her left hoof.   There in her right, was the big, long barreled semiautomatic.  Her  beloved 13 mm Spiderly revolver was in her lap, next to both throwing  knives and her combat knife.

Ostentatiously, she pulled the  coverlet back over the weaponry, leaving the semiautomatic aimed  directly at the Sargent’s midsection.

The Empress gently shook the  Sargent for emphasis as she pointed to Friend.  “That changeling that  you dismissed so foolishly?  She is probably the single most deadly  being in the entire Empire.  Remember the Banquet where the First  Creationists attempted to assassinate not only Daring Do but the entire  Throne of Empire at the same time?

“To save her life, she stopped  Doctor Do in some fashion still not understood.  While doing that, she  totally sealed the room!  Arrokk tried to escape by flying out through  that thin looking magic.  He was so totally shredded that we needed  brooms and mops to pick him up!  Along with that, she gathered the  traitors and hauled them all to a heap before the Throne!

“She did all of that at once while never loosing track of taking care of her Eagle eggs, too.”

The Empress turned to Friend and asked, “Friend, I am sorry that this one frightened your nymphs.  Is he a failed nymph?”

Never  looking up from soothing her frightened chicks, Friend replied, “No,  Empress.  He is not failed.  The Sargent is only stupid.  Give him time  to grow and he will learn.”

The Empress, crest lifted to command,  called out to the hallway, “Captain!  Remove Sargent Raat and put him to  medium security facilities guarding!”

Grata and Hisst pushed the carriage with the Imperial Eggs into the room. Friend  did look up then.  She smiled hugely at the sight of eggs!  She managed  a very good bow and said, “The Throne of Empire honors me/us with this  trust.  I/we shall love your eggs most carefully.  These all return  my/our love properly.  I/we have taken the liberty of checking that  already.”

Bouncing in delight, Friend inquired, “May I show the Throne something?”

Daring  Do, having an excellent idea of what was wanted, pulled over her lunch  plate.  Besides the half eaten sprout burger it had a pile of meat  strips set on it.

She held one up.  Friend took one of her Eaglets  on her egg claw.  She soothed it a bit and then gently got it to look  across the small space between her nest and Daring Do’s Hospital nest.   It spotted the dangling meat strip.  It fluttered eagerly.

Friend  gave it a gentle bump to encourage it.  Fluttering like mad, it managed  to cover the distance to the coverlet and scrambled for the dangling  meat!

Soon all of the Eaglets were on Daring Do’s coverlet, grabbing the meat that she was dangling for them!

Friend,  eyes sparkling, gestured at her now empty nest.  “There will be no  conflict between my Eagle nymphs and your lovely eggs.”

The  Empress herself, crest set to a smile, said, “Thank you for sharing your  nymph’s first flight with us.”  She carefully handed over the new eggs,  one by one, until Friend had all six.

Friend began at once to settle the arrangement of her new eggs, crooning gently as she did.

////////////

Baron  Yoksonu chuckled to himself as he reboarded the train at the Empire’s  border check.  He ruminated happily, “That card was worth every bit!   They stopped me, just like I planned for them to!  First, they told me  that my costume was in awful taste and that the Baron was banned from  the Empire!  I congratulated them on spotting that rotten makeup and  showed them my Equestrian Railroad Security card and explained how the  Baron was thought to be headed this way!

“I told them that I  needed to consult with my Empire counterpart at the Imperial Aerie and  they let me go right on in to the Empire!

“What a priceless jest, indeed!”

Watching  the train pull out of the Border Check Station, the Imperial Border  Guard turned to his superior and said, “It makes no sense at all!  That  was the egg snatching monster Baron Yoksonu!  Why did we have to let him  into the Empire?  I wouldn’t let him near my poultry, let alone my  nest!”

His superior nodded, crest set sourly, “I know, Raffik.  I  know.  I know something else too.  They know that he is coming.  Our  orders were perfectly clear.  We don’t have to like them, just follow  them and hope that the Throne knows what they are doing.”

He held the order flimsy with the Imperial Seal on it out for Raffik’s inspection.

“It is known to the Throne that the criminal Baron Yoksonu is attempting to enter the Empire.

“It  is vital to Realm Security that he be allowed to do so.  You must not  be too obvious about it.  Allow him to bluff his way into the Empire.

“Notify the Throne immediately when he has passed your checkpoint.  Use the Emergency Code 5 in your signal manual.”

////////////

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[ask-de-writer]

FRIEND AND THE IMPERIAL EGGS : Part 4 of 7 : MLP Fan Fiction

Return to the Master Story Index Return to MLP Fan Fiction

FRIEND AND THE IMPERIAL EGGS

A Daring Do tale

by De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

Part 4 of 7

8927 words

© 2018 by Glen Ten-Eyck Writing begun 05/13/16

All rights reserved.  This document may not be copied or distributed on or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the express written consent of the author.

This is a Fan Fiction based on My Little Pony.  Canterlot, Princess Luna and the name Daring Do are owned by Hasboro Inc.

//////////////

Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  

1.) They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact.

2.) They may use the characters  or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works,  cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

3.) All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction are actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

For new readers, this link leads to the beginning of  

FRIEND AND THE IMPERIAL EGGS

This story is a direct sequel to

DARING DO and the GRYPHON’S QUEST which begins here.

///////////////////////

The Eagle chicks in Friend’s nest were all a-flutter.  That was exactly what she wanted and her happy smile showed it.

Daring Do was now allowed to sit part way up, back supported, in her Hospital nest.  She was watching the chicks and happily chomping a sprout burger with milk shake on the side.

She remarked, “I am so glad that you are allowing me solid food now, Friend.  I think that not being able to eat for that week and a half was the hardest part of my recovery!”

Returning a grin, Friend, who was still learning repartee, agreed, “It was for me/us too, Matunen!  Your complaints almost wore out my/our ears!”

There came a respectful tap at the door.  Friend immediately called out, “Come in, please!”

The door slammed open against its stop and an armed Gryphon in uniform popped in!  Glaring about, he self-importantly called, “The room is safe, Empress!”

Chirping frantically at the disturbance, the Eaglets fled for safety under Friend.

Stepping around the carriage that she was helping to push, the Empress, eyes slitted, crest flat, stormed in and grabbed the guard by the wing shoulder and pulled him around to face her!

“Sargent!  What possible excuse do you have for this abominable behavior!?  You were told that every being in this room has OUR ABSOLUTE TRUST.  You have just treated them like hostiles!

“It is a good thing for you that they were so restrained in their response!”

Too upset at the very public rebuke to think straight, the Sargent, crest set in outrage, demanded, “Restrained? THEM!?  A nurse!  A bed ridden invalid!  That, that CHANGELING on a nest like an overgrown hen!  The Eagles are worse, and they don’t have the room to attack effectively!”

The Empress’ crest suddenly shot up into snicker!  “Nurse Grayyk, would you please show this bonehead what he missed?”

Contemptuous, Nurse Grayyk pulled up the back of her uniform enough to show both throwing knives.  Then she reached under her left wing and pulled out the 8 mm pistol.  She carefully replaced the gun.

Crest set to amused grin, the Empress asked mildly, “The invalid in the bed?  Doctor Daring Do?  Would you please show the Sargent what he missed?”

Daring Do pulled the coverlet back from the lumpy wrinkle with her left hoof.  There in her right, was the big, long barreled semiautomatic.  Her beloved 13 mm Spiderly revolver was in her lap, next to both throwing knives and her combat knife.

Ostentatiously, she pulled the coverlet back over the weaponry, leaving the semiautomatic aimed directly at the Sargent’s midsection.

The Empress gently shook the Sargent for emphasis as she pointed to Friend.  “That changeling that you dismissed so foolishly?  She is probably the single most deadly being in the entire Empire.  Remember the Banquet where the First Creationists attempted to assassinate not only Daring Do but the entire Throne of Empire at the same time?

“To save her life, she stopped Doctor Do in some fashion still not understood.  While doing that, she totally sealed the room!  Arrokk tried to escape by flying out through that thin looking magic.  He was so totally shredded that we needed brooms and mops to pick him up!  Along with that, she gathered the traitors and hauled them all to a heap before the Throne!

“She did all of that at once while never loosing track of taking care of her Eagle eggs, too.”

The Empress turned to Friend and asked, “Friend, I am sorry that this one frightened your nymphs.  Is he a failed nymph?”

Never looking up from soothing her frightened chicks, Friend replied, “No, Empress.  He is not failed.  The Sargent is only stupid.  Give him time to grow and he will learn.”

The Empress, crest lifted to command, called out to the hallway, “Captain!  Remove Sargent Raat and put him to medium security facilities guarding!”

Grata and Hisst pushed the carriage with the Imperial Eggs into the room. Friend did look up then.  She smiled hugely at the sight of eggs!  She managed a very good bow and said, “The Throne of Empire honors me/us with this trust.  I/we shall love your eggs most carefully.  These all return my/our love properly.  I/we have taken the liberty of checking that already.”

Bouncing in delight, Friend inquired, “May I show the Throne something?”

Daring Do, having an excellent idea of what was wanted, pulled over her lunch plate.  Besides the half eaten sprout burger it had a pile of meat strips set on it.

She held one up.  Friend took one of her Eaglets on her egg claw.  She soothed it a bit and then gently got it to look across the small space between her nest and Daring Do’s Hospital nest.  It spotted the dangling meat strip.  It fluttered eagerly.

Friend gave it a gentle bump to encourage it.  Fluttering like mad, it managed to cover the distance to the coverlet and scrambled for the dangling meat!

Soon all of the Eaglets were on Daring Do’s coverlet, grabbing the meat that she was dangling for them!

Friend, eyes sparkling, gestured at her now empty nest.  “There will be no conflict between my Eagle nymphs and your lovely eggs.”

The Empress herself, crest set to a smile, said, “Thank you for sharing your nymph’s first flight with us.”  She carefully handed over the new eggs, one by one, until Friend had all six.

Friend began at once to settle the arrangement of her new eggs, crooning gently as she did.

////////////

Baron Yoksonu chuckled to himself as he reboarded the train at the Empire’s border check.  He ruminated happily, “That card was worth every bit!  They stopped me, just like I planned for them to!  First, they told me that my costume was in awful taste and that the Baron was banned from the Empire!  I congratulated them on spotting that rotten makeup and showed them my Equestrian Railroad Security card and explained how the Baron was thought to be headed this way!

“I told them that I needed to consult with my Empire counterpart at the Imperial Aerie and they let me go right on in to the Empire!

“What a priceless jest, indeed!”

Watching the train pull out of the Border Check Station, the Imperial Border Guard turned to his superior and said, “It makes no sense at all!  That was the egg snatching monster Baron Yoksonu!  Why did we have to let him into the Empire?  I wouldn’t let him near my poultry, let alone my nest!”

His superior nodded, crest set sourly, “I know, Raffik.  I know.  I know something else too.  They know that he is coming.  Our orders were perfectly clear.  We don’t have to like them, just follow them and hope that the Throne knows what they are doing.”

He held the order flimsy with the Imperial Seal on it out for Raffik’s inspection.

“It is known to the Throne that the criminal Baron Yoksonu is attempting to enter the Empire.

“It is vital to Realm Security that he be allowed to do so.  You must not be too obvious about it.  Allow him to bluff his way into the Empire.

“Notify the Throne immediately when he has passed your checkpoint.  Use the Emergency Code 5 in your signal manual.”

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