#let the two women be unsure of each other and have misunderstandings at first but eventually become friends please!

[licorice-tea]

Young And Dumb.

Pairing: Trafalgar Law x reader

Content: Strawhat reader, gender neutral reader, reader is flirty and bold, cursing, allusions to sex and a threesome, no actual sexual content!!!, pining, kissing 🤭, misunderstandings/ miscommunication, a little bit of arguing, hurt/comfort <3

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: kind of been in a writing slump these past few days, so i just wanted to write and post something, you know? it’s weird bc i have a ton of wips in my drafts, but none of them really felt finished, so i did this whole thing in maybe 2 hours? hopefully it’s enough to pull me out of my little funk so i can get back to posting more regularly! anyway, enjoy!

Law respects you. He respects your choices, your independence from him, even your crew that he doesn’t always like personally. But one thing he absolutely cannot stand is when you do things like this.

The first thing he hears upon walking up to the deck is giggling. Bothersome, but not too loud or unusual that it throws off his routine. Besides; he’s sure his crew must be glad to be above the waves for once, and happy to have the company of the Straw Hats as well. The two crews had wound up with their ships anchored next to each other in the middle of the sea, and agreed to stay there before their courses diverged once again.

He sees you talking to Penguin and Shachi- the source of said laughter. But, Law does a double take when you let out a shriek of laughter. Then he realizes just how closely the two of them are standing to you. You’re not even on the same crew as them, but you look real cozy with Penguin’s hand around your waist and Shachi’s on your shoulder. Of course, he knows your friendliness can border on flirtation (and desperately wants to be on the receiving end of that flirting right now instead of his crew members) but that logic does nothing to calm him.

Law’s perpetual frown turns into a full on scowl as he marches over to the trio you’ve formed. “Penguin! Shachi! Have you…” he loses his train of thought when you give him a quizzical expression, and realizes there is nothing that they haven’t already done. “Your chores. Below deck.”

“Sure have, captain!”

“Yes, captain!”

All three of you look at him expectantly, unsure of why he’s still standing before you. “Are you ok, Law?”

“Ok?” No he wasn’t fucking ok. How could he be when two of his closest friends were throwing themselves at you, and you were letting them? They didn’t even know how he felt for you- no one does- but still. This was just too much for him.

“I need to speak to you, y/n-ya.”

With regard for his serious tone and expression, you wriggle out from between your two friends and follow Law all the way to his office. When you get there and he finally shuts the door, you don’t sit.

Instead you approach him, “Is something wrong? You seemed really upset.”

He looks down at you with a frown. You can tell he’s contemplating his next words before answering, “…Everything is fine.”

“Oh? Ok, so… why are we here then?”

Law breathes deeply, and exhales in a huff. “I need to tell you something.”

“Is it… serious? You’re being kind of weird, Law.”

“I am not.”

“Hm, well, no; you are. But what’s up?”

“I-“ he stops himself and sighs again before continuing. “So dramatic,” you think to yourself. “You shouldn’t get so close to Penguin and Shachi.”

You blink a few times, shocked. He could either be confessing his overwhelming love for you (which you highly doubted, Law had never seemed to reciprocate your affections for him) or giving you some spiel about inappropriate relationships. “Excuse me?”

“They do this kind of thing all the time, y/n-ya; messing around with random women and men, and-“

“And what, Law? I’m an adult, for fucks sake, I don’t need anyone telling me what to do.”

“You don’t understand, they- they want something from you.”

“I know damn well you’re not lecturing me on my sex life right now, Trafalgar Law.”

His face gets hot just from the thought of it. “I am not! But you can’t-“

“Yes, Law, I can. I’m not going to, wasn’t even planning on it; all I did was flirt with them. But believe me when I say I can.”

He’s silent, with an expression akin to that of a bewildered fish. Then it morphs into more of a frown. “I-“

“Don’t even continue with that thought, because you’ve already managed to piss me off beyond belief. Just- just get out of my way.” You step around him and fling open the door to his office before storming off.

That evening, the two crews gather on the deck of the Thousand Sunny for a feast. You find an empty seat, and soon enough Penguin and Shachi place themselves on either side of you.

“Heyyyy y/n.” The first greets you with a sort of awkward, nervous cadence.

“Hey guys, sorry I left without saying bye earlier.”

“Oh it’s fine, you’re good…”

“We’re sorry too.”

This makes you quirk an eyebrow in confusion and look side to side at either of them. “Why would you be sorry?”

They shoot a quick glance at each other, but it’s very obvious because they have to look across you to do so.

“Did you know that, well… Law sort of…”

“He has feeling for you. Big time.”

You almost spit out your drink. “What? Oh, ok, real funny guys-“

“No, no we’re serious!”

“Yeah! You should hear the way he talks about you-“

“All good things, of course, it’d be hard not to- But anyway he was never going to tell you because he doesn’t think you’re interested, blah blah blah-“

“Which is why we decided to try and make him jealous!”

“…I’m so confused right now. No, not even confused just… surprised?”

“Don’t blame yourself, Captain’s hard to read sometimes.”

“Good thing we figured it out for you, right?” Shachi elbows your side, clearly pleased with himself.

“Uh huh...”

Penguin continues “Anyway, we thought it worked when he said he needed to talk to you earlier, but when you came back you seemed sort of upset.”

“Yeah, well he was kind of acting like a dick.”

He sighs, “Law means well, I swear. He’s just… he’s not the best with matters of the heart.”

“That’s ironic.”

Shachi leans over you to address his friend. “Not the best? C’mon man, he has zero experience.”

“Shh! We want y/n to feel for him, not pity him.”

You laugh, “Right, so… what should I do?”

“Do you like him back?” Such a childish way of saying it.. but you do. And you had, for a while, but you’d never acted on your feelings because he’d never seem to like you as anything other than a friend. Until earlier today, when his jealously led him to say some kind of rude things to you. It was no excuse, but it explained why he’d acted the way he did.

You smile softly and look down. “I do.”

“Then go talk to him!”

“Yeah, go talk to him y/n!”

The two men excitedly get you up out of your seat and (gently) push you toward where Law is leaning on the railing of the deck. You laugh and go along with it- if what they were saying is true, what could be the harm in being honest about your own feelings with him?

You walk briskly toward Law, but with purpose, And when you stop in front of him, he looks up from his cup like a deer in headlights.

He quietly greets you with a nod. “…Y/n-ya.”

“Law. Can we talk?”

He nods and follows you to the starboard side of the deck, far enough from where the dinner and light music is. You come to a stop and turn to face him.

“You know, I’ve been talking to Penguin and Shachi…”

Law deadpans, still annoyed about how they were all over you earlier. “Mhm.”

“And they told me something about you. I didn’t really believe it, at first, because you never… Well you never acted like you do, but-“

“Like I what?”

“Like you… have feelings for me?”

“Shit.” He was going to kill them after this. Or at the very least, make sure they had the worst of the chores on the Polar Tang for the foreseeable future. “They… They told you that?”

“Yes, but-“ Law turns and tries to walk off with his fists clenched, before you stop and grab one of his wrists. “I feel the same way, Law. If it’s true, of course.“

“It is.”

You smile. “If you were jealous earlier, you could’ve just said so. Then I wouldn’t have gotten angry with you.”

“You’re not interested in them?”

“No, we’re just friends… But I didn’t think you were interested in me, either, so I didn’t see the harm in flirting.”

Law shrugs, looking down at his shoes. You’ve never seen him so shy. “Well, I didn’t think you felt the same way, so I never, uh, confessed.”

“Well,” you take a step closer, and risk your chances by gently lifting his chin with one hand. “I do.”

Law’s eyes roam over your face, mouth gaping as he searches for his next words. He wants to say something suave and impressive, to take back control of the situation when you so clearly have him wrapped around your finger. However, he comes up with nothing, and decides to try something new instead. Maybe your boldness has simply inspired him to suddenly come up with this master plan, or maybe he just can’t think of anything else with you standing so close; but he kisses you.

It’s slow and hesitant for the first few seconds- you think he’s probably new to this by the way he lips press into yours forcefully and without much intention. You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him closer, guiding him to sink his lips into yours rather than have them press flat against each other. He follows suit, then pulls away for a quick breath before going right back for you. He sighs into the kiss this time, and your lips part ever so slightly. He takes this as opportunity try and go a little further- his tongue passes in the slit between your lips and you open them further to let him. What had started off as a small kiss quickly becomes a less than innocent make out session. Law is bold with it, too; nipping at your lips and causing you to gasp so that he can take you by surprise and kiss you that much more deeply (on more than one occasion.) You can both practically feel the tension built up over months of pining after each other dissipating.

At long last you pull away, for fear your mouth will go numb if you let him bite your lips one more time.

And Law asks, slightly panting; “How was that?”

You laugh, genuinely surprised that he’s concerned about his performance in what might’ve been was the best kiss of your life. “Perfect, Law. Just perfect.”

[pineforphantompain]

This show could actually be mostly enjoyable (still aside from that one character - it wasn’t bad enough to just be racially insensitive, Dal Sik just has to be uncomfortably creepy and gross as well huh?) if they just didn’t go for a romance with the leads?? Like even if she still has a crush on him at first (just less obsessive), but they develop a completely platonic (maybe almost familial) relationship? We could have convenience store shenanigans, silly misunderstandings, the sisters becoming a part of the family, while the two leads have separate, less concerning and more age-appropriate romances.

[nessinborderland]

Sleepless Nights

Pairing: Cobra x Reader

Genre: Romance/Fluff

Word Count: 2.2k

Summary: Cobra never thought he deserved much in life. All he ever wanted was for his friends to be close and his home to be safe. He fought for it with all he had, but that was it. It almost felt like he was pushing his luck if he asked for much more than that. So he never did. Until you showed up.

Warnings: Smut, Light Angst, Miscommunication, Cobra thinks he's unworthy of love

Notes: This is officially my first High&Low fanfic! Not sure how to feel about it, but I kinda like it. More to come for sure. Tysm to everyone that has been enthusiastic about my passion for H&L lol, love y’all!

Cobra never thought he deserved much in life. All he ever wanted was for his friends to be close and his home to be safe. He fought for it with all he had, but that was it. It almost felt like he was pushing his luck if he asked for much more than that.

So he never did.

Until you showed up. 

It was like the sun itself had entered the diner the first time he met you. You had introduced yourself as Naomi's friend from abroad, and the ease and happiness you radiated almost made him want to greet you with a smile. And then your eyes locked and you grinned at him, and his heart skipped a beat. That's when he started falling for you.

Not that he realized it at that moment.

It took him months of watching you smile and laugh with everyone around him to realize that the butterflies in his stomach meant he was attracted to you, and that the spark of annoyance he felt when he watched a guy speak to you was jealousy. He thought it was only sexual at first, but he soon realized that it was much more than that.

He was taken aback at the realization; it made no sense to him.

You barely spoke to one another. He was sure that you didn't even particularly like him if the way you acted around him was any indicator. You caught him staring once, and the only thing you did was turn your back to him and continue laughing at something Dan said. 

That hurt him more than he cared to admit.

So he tried to bury his feelings for you. Not that anyone would notice any changes in him. He mostly kept to his corner, reading a book or talking with the guys, as quiet and stoic as ever. You being there didn't change that.

Except that he couldn't stop his eyes from wandering to you, or his attention from focusing on you every time he heard you laugh. 

"When are you gonna tell her?" Noboru interrupted his thoughts with a nudge to his shoulder. 

That's when Cobra noticed that the book he was reading had been forgotten in his lap, his eyes now on you as you played darts with Tetsu and Dan. You were smiling at them like he wished you would smile at him. He felt his ears get warm at being caught, shrugging before going back to his book.

"I don't know what you're talking about," was all he said as he pretended to keep reading.

"You can fool everyone else, but I see the way you look at her," Noboru proceeded, almost making him curse his best friend's perceptiveness, "You're not as discreet as you think you are, you know?"

Cobra took a deep breath before closing the book and making a move to stand up. He wasn't in the mood to discuss his crush or to lie to his friend.

"I'm gonna go–"

"She likes you too," those words made him stop in his tracks, before looking back at Noboru. The man was looking at you with a teasing smile pulling at the corner of his lips, "Aren't you curious to know how I know that?"

Cobra glanced at you once more before going back to his seat, arms crossed as he waited for his friend to talk.

"So, I heard Naomi and her talking about you in the kitchen the other day," Noboru started, "She thinks you don't like her because you keep avoiding her, but she definitely has a crush on you."

"Are you sure?" was all Cobra was capable of asking.

"Absolutely," his friend nodded with a chuckle, "She likes your moody ass, for whatever reason."

Cobra gulped as he thought of what you having a crush on him implied. Did that mean that he now had to talk to you about it? Did that mean that you would say yes if he asked you out? What would that even entail? His encounters with women were merely ways for him to relieve stress, nothing romantic about it.

He had no idea of what to do.

So he did the opposite of what he normally did; he ran away.

"Hmm," he grunted in final acknowledgment of his friend's words before standing up, determined to leave the diner as fast as he could, "I'm leaving. There's something I need to do."

He cringed at his own lie, ignoring Noboru's calling and everyone's stare – your stare – on him as he left into the rainy night outside. 

He liked the night. He liked the rain. It allowed him to think in peace as he made his way home, mad at himself. He was a coward, nothing but a sad man undeserving of love. He didn't even know you. He knew nothing about you, and you knew nothing about him.

So why did he care so much? Why did it hearing that you liked him filled his heart with hope?

His phone ringing made him stop under the rain, checking who it was before pressing the red button. He would find a more convincing excuse for Noboru tomorrow. His phone rang again, and again, making him sigh before finally picking up the call.

"Noboru I–"

"C-Cobra?" that was not his friend. He held his breath as he recognized your voice on the other side, "Cobra, are you okay?"

"Why are you calling me?" he didn't mean for his words to sound so harsh, but hearing the worry in your voice made him act defensive – like you had no business having any feelings towards him. He regretted it almost instantly.

"I- I'm sorry," you said before he had the chance to say anything else, "I just noticed you left in a hurry, and Noboru said that I should try and talk to you so… are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said, "I just had to leave."

"Okay," there was an awkward pause where neither of you said anything. He opened his mouth to finally say something when you said, "Can I- Can I have your number?"

"My number?" he asked, confused.

"Only if you want to!" you rushed to say. That's when he noticed the anxiety in your voice. Was he making you nervous? "You don't have to. But, you know, if you want to talk… I can talk."

He was in bed hours later after speaking with you on the phone. He hadn't been willing to say much else besides letting you have his number, and he regretted it now. He couldn't sleep, too restless to even lay still. It just wouldn't happen for him; not tonight. His head was full of thoughts of you and what-ifs.

What if this was all a misunderstanding?

What if you actually liked him?

What if he couldn't protect you?

What if he hurt you?

What if, what if, what if.

His phone buzzing broke him out of overthinking. He reached for his phone, his heart skipping a beat as he saw a message from an unknown number.

Is this Cobra?

Y/N?

Yes! How're you feeling?

fine. it's 3 AM

Omg, I'm so sorry! Were you asleep?

nah. can't sleep. u? 

Can't either.

He didn't know how to keep the conversation going. Did he even want to? His phone buzzed with a new message before he could think too much about it.

Can I ask you something?

sure

Are you mad at me?

no. why do u ask?

I'm not sure, it just seems that I made you uncomfortable and I would like to apologize if I ever did something to you.

u didn't do anything. i'm just not really the approachable type 

Ahh that makes me more relaxed xD can we start over then? Friends?

Friends. Friends. You wanted to be friends. That was fine by him. He wouldn't mind being friends with you.

do u like me?

are u passing by the diner tomorrow?

I am! Wanna have lunch together? :)

sounds good

See ya tomorrow then! Goodnight <3

A heart emoji. Didn't those mean something? What did it mean? What did any of this mean? He reread your convo one, two, three times, now with one hundred percent certainty that you had asked him out for lunch.

He definitely couldn't fall asleep after that.

He rarely ever felt as nervous as he was then, entering Itokan to be greeted by your smile. He joined you at the table, happy that it was only you two and a few other patrons that barely paid him any mind.

Except for Naomi, that sent him a knowing smile as she got your lunch orders.

"Got some sleep last night?" it was the first thing you asked him as you sat across from each other. He nodded, even though it was a complete lie, and asked you the same, "Not really," you laughed, "Had a lot on my mind."

He hummed, wondering if you were as nervous as he was to meet. If what Noboru said was true, that was definitely a possibility, wasn't it? 

You didn't look nervous at all, though. Not to him, at least. You laughed and smiled and talked like he was the most interesting company on earth, even though he barely said a thing. 

It felt comfortable, though. It felt right.

"You have a really pretty smile, you know?" your statement caught him off guard, and that's when he realized that he was full-on smiling at something you were saying. He felt his ears get red immediately, unsure if he should just accept the compliment or try to figure out what you meant by it.

"Thanks?" he said, unsure, "You're pretty too," he decided to add in a hurry, blushing all over his face at realizing what he had said. Was he ever this awkward? His gang would laugh in his face if they saw him right now.

"Thanks," you said with a laugh. Your reaction made him relax almost instantly, and you were soon back to talking and enjoying your food together.

He had to admit, he could get used to this.

You kissed him first.

You had invited him to your home one night when neither of you could sleep. He didn't think much of it; it wasn't the first time you spent time together, just talking.

But that night was different.

It was just a push of your lips against his, but he wanted more. So he did what he had wanted to do for months and pulled your face closer, consuming your mouth with his. You moaned as he kissed you, pressing your body closer to his, making him feel like he was on fire.

It was intoxicating.

"Bedroom?" you asked once your lips parted for breath. He quickly nodded as he went back to kissing you, now with a newfound passion. 

He couldn't stop himself from kissing down your body as soon as he got you naked, wanting to taste you, to be consumed by your essence. And you let him do it like he hoped you would, moaning his name exactly like you did in his dreams when he was lonely and all he had was his hand and fantasies of you.

But you felt nothing like you did in his dreams. His hand could never compare to the warm tightness of your cunt around him, or how your body shivered and trembled at every thrust of his hips against yours.

"Please don't stop," your begging was music to his ears, "Please, I'm so close."

He did just what you desired.

He didn't stop until you came one, two, three times, cunt clenching around his cock and his name on your lips. He was almost blind from pleasure, wanting to finish but too afraid to do so. Your relationship wouldn't be the same after this, and it scared him.

He thought he passed out when he finally came, moaning and shaking as you held him in your arms. 

"Can I tell you something?" you whispered after you were both exhausted and sore, more than ready for sleep to take you. 

He grunted a yes, burying his face in your hair; he didn't want to face you when you told him you regretted this. You took a deep breath and hugged him closer, pressing your face against his chest.

"I think I'm in love with you."

He froze. He knew that was a possibility. He knew you liked him. He just never expected you to tell him that you loved him. That was… a lot. A lot of things he wasn't sure how to process.

"Are you sure?..." he settled for asking. He needed for you to be sure.

"Y-Yes I'm sure," you rushed to say, looking up at him, "I really like you."

All he could think of doing was kissing you. That was the only thing on his mind at that moment; showing you how he felt without using words he had no idea how to use. You kissed him back just as hard until you were both out of breath.

"Does this mean you like me too?" you whispered against his lips, foreheads pressed together. You giggled when he pecked your lips, hugging you closer.

"Yeah," he said, cheeks hurting from how hard he was smiling, "I like you a lot."

[villainess-noble-girl]

Title: The Repeater

An old man came up to us. 

Apparently, he seems to be a business partner of the Schneiver Company.

"Isabella, it seems that something went wrong. I'll finish this real quick, can you wait a bit on the bench over there?"

"It's okay, take your time." 

With that said, I headed for the bench and sat there. 

As I was looking at Ursch who was talking to the old man, a girl surprised me by calling out to me. 

"Eh? !! Isabella? Are you Isabella?"

When I turned to the voice, I saw a girl my age. She has shoulder length pink hair and looks very pretty. She has this innocent aura around her. 

"Um... Yes, but..." I'm unsure how to respond. 

Who is this young girl? She stared at her hands with a look of shock. 

"This is not the entrance ceremony of the Magic Academy... This is the first time I've returned as a kid..." 

When I looked at her with suspicious eyes, she suddenly raised her face and approached me.

"That's right!!! Isabella, how old are you now?"

"Well, I'm six years old..."

When I answered, she grabbed my hands and started to rejoice. 

"That's good!!! You are still six years old, right?!! I am Marieta. Marieta Preah!!!"

Marieta... It sounds familiar... 

Marieta... Marieta... Marieta... 

Ah!!! It's the heroine of <Love Magical> Yikes!!!

"Hmm? How does Marietta know me?" 

Speaking of which, she was muttering strange things like 'It's not the entrance ceremony of the Magic Academy' or 'Memories from back then'

No way?!! Is she also a reincarnated person like me?

No matter how much I think about it, I won't get the answer so it's better to directly ask. 

"Is Marietta also a reincarnated person?"

"Rein- What?" she just looked at me confused. 

"I want to ask if you have any memories of the life you lived before." 

Marietta instantly brightened. 

"You too!? Do you remember the last time? Do you also come back repeatedly? I'm so happy!!! I had given up but you really fulfilled your promise!" 

I'm not sure what's going on. 

While I'm trying to get a grasp of the situation, Marietta is ecstatic and teary-eyed. 

"This is the first time that I'm not alone... You were the only one who helped me... All this time..."

Marietta cried with joy and laughter. 

With the current mood, I didn't have the heart to tell Marietta that she's mistaken. I looked at her silently.

"Now that I think about it, it's completely different!!! My aunt is safe and we're going to leave the royal capital... Isabella, you are changing the future!"

Two women with pink hair call Marietta from a distance.

"I have to go now. The train is about to leave." 

I chased after Marietta.

I have to resolve the misunderstanding.

If I don't resolve the misunderstanding right now, I feel that it will be confusing later on. 

We walked side by side and I started to talk. 

"I think you misunderstood, Marietta. The memory of a previous life that I am talking about is living in a different world from here. So, I don't really know anything about the promise that you speak of." 

She looked shocked and sad hearing the truth. 

"So... you're not like me?" 

"I'm sorry, apparently not." 

Marietta sadly gets on the train with her mother and a woman who seems to be her aunt.

We stared at each other through the train window. 

Marieta, who was sitting by the window, opened the window and called out to me.

"Since you don't know, watch out for orange haired girls. When you turn seven, they will steal your life from you." 

What does that mean? 

"You may not believe me but I remember everything... I've been reliving this life countless times. After the world's destruction, I will go back to being fifteen years old and return to the first day of school at the Magic Academy." 

Does that mean you're looping? 

My face turned serious. 

I think I should listen to her properly. 

"Why is the world destroyed?" 

"I can't count how many times I've repeated this life. I tried to run away several times, wasting the opportunity of being able to return. It's useless because one way or another, the world perishes and I end up dying. The only fact I know regarding the world's end is that a great sage is heavily involved in it. 

A great sage involved in the destruction of the world. I don't know anything about that... 

Such a powerful character has never appeared or even mentioned in the game.

"Isabella, please believe me. You, who say have been reincarnated, are different from anyone I've ever met. You're my only hope..." 

Tears started falling from her beautiful eyes. 

At that time, the whistle rang and the train slowly began to move.

While walking along with the movement of the train, I look up at Marietta's beautiful pale green eyes.

"Okay. I believe you, Marietta. I will not let The Great Sage destroy the world. I promised my beloved fianceé that we will travel the world. I'll cooperate with you." 

I run alongside the train as it moves faster. 

Marieta leaned to the window and nodded while her tears endlessly flowed.

"Thank you. Thank you, Isabella... Please help me save the world!!!" 

I run and shout while nearly bumping into people.

"Yeah!!! I promise!!! This is a new promise!!! Leave it to me Marietta!" 

Marieta shouts from the train window as I stand at the edge of the platform. 

"Isabella!!! Please, rescue me from this never-ending world!!!"

[STATUS]

Human race: Marietta Preah (7) 

Lv12

HP: 30/30

MP: 41/41

Identity

[The eldest daughter of the Preah family in the Roserial Kingdom]

[Roserial Kingdom Citizen]

Job Skills

[Magician's Egg] [Swordfighter's Egg] [Cook] [Saint's Egg] [Healer] [Cleric] 

Special Skills

[Blessing] [Transfer]

Inherent Skills

[HP Consumption Mitigation] [HP Recovery Enhancement] [MP Consumption Mitigation] [MP Recovery Enhancement] [Lightning Magic] [Ice Magic] [Holy Magic] [Increased Strengthening Correction] [Space Magic] [Time Magic]

Skills

[Wind Attribute Magic] [Earth Attribute Magic] [Light Attribute Magic] [Wind Resistance] [Soil Resistance] [Light Resistance] [Cooking] [Collection] [Laundry] [Automatic Recovery] [Patience]

Title: Repeater (Replayer) 

I remembered what Ursch asked me to do the moment I encountered any game character. 

A lot of things don't make sense to me. Things left me with more questions than answers. 

--

I noticed that my fianceé is no longer on the bench. 

For some reason I felt a chill in my back and went straight to her location. 

I grabbed her and she looked at me with surprise. I forced myself to calm down. 

"Thank you for waiting. Let's go" I led Isabella away. I want to get her out of the train station as soon as I can.

"Ursch, you won't believe this! I met...-" 

I was too late.

Isabella told me everything the heroine told her. 

One thing is running through my mind while listening. I never should have left her out of my sight.

Contrary to her belief, the only reason I pulled some strings to help the heroine is to keep her away from Isabella. I didn't expect them to meet at the train station.

I didn't want her to meet anyone anymore... It's too dangerous. 

First things first, I should make that organization who is planning to harm my Isabella disappear. 

Fandom: The Villainess Wants To Marry A Commoner

Photo: Not mine

Credit: Click here

Note: I MTL-ed Chapter 86 of the Light Novel (and added some stuff in it.)

[luhanvirus]

Butterfly Effect

 In which a 29-year-old gay LXC married his 26-year-old family friend JC (who happens to be a trans man) out of convenience so that both of their traditional families would leave them alone and let them live their lives, without thinking that he will find love in this marriage.

N/A: Xicheng AU based on that Redditor who shared his touching AF love story.

For the #CultivaTober2020, another story that no one asked me. Incomplete for the lack of time.

Day 23: Butterfly

.

A lot of people like to think that love comes before marriage, oftentimes it doesn't always work out that way. 

Sometimes people get married because of different pressures and expectations put on them by society and their families, but that doesn't mean you can't find love in this kind of situation.

Lan Xichen didn’t expected falling in love with his husband.

They didn’t marry for love, actually they married to make a giant scam on their families.

It maybe be weird, but Lan Xichen was a gay man that came from a wealthy and traditional Chinese family where he managed the business extension abroad. 

And as the current heir of the company after his father’s death, the elders didn’t liked when he came up openly about his homosexuality and they didn’t accept it. No matter how many times Xichen said them that he wouldn’t marry a man, they still wanted him very married to a lady from a good and influential family.

One day Xichen got tired and said them clearly that��he will just stay single, so they should stay out of his business.

That kind of worked for four years, until the last year when uncle Lan Qiren trapped him in a visit with a this “girl” that was the single “daughter” of one of their business allies and left them alone in a room.

Xichen looked at her, she was pretty indeed. His posture emitted an air of confidence and his almond gray eyes resembled storm clouds, like lighting bolts would appear in any moment to attack, her short black hair was pulled into a bun with a purple ribbon and she wore a big violet hoodie that covered all her body curves. 

It was so obvious that neither of them wanted to be here.

Anyways, Xichen didn’t expected that this person would misunderstand the whole situation:

“Listen to me, because I’m not going to repeat myself. I’m a trans male and I’m not out of my family and I DON’T WANT to get married to you”, blunted out the person. “You don’t want to be married with me because I am a MAN, so just leave it!”

Lan Xichen blinked, really shocked.

Did she.... Did he really thought that I set up the visit?

“I don’t even like women, what do you mean?” Xichen babbled, confused at least.

The boy looked at him, suspicious.

“What did you said?”

Xichen massaged the left side of his forehead, without knowing if the should laugh or cry at the turn of the events. “Well, I’m gay.”

When he said it, he didn’t wanted to be funny.

He was serious.

“Oh my god,” mumbled the boy before to start laughing loudly. “My mom will die if she knows!”

At least one of them was having a good time, finding the whole thing hilarious.

Xichen didn’t noticed when he started to laugh too.

Well, could you blame him? This was so ridiculous. Yet, they ended being friends after that unfortunate turn of the events. They even exchanged numbers before to part away.

. 　   ·  ✦

“I knew it was her, she’s perfect. Well mannered and ...”

Uncle Qiren was delighted at the idea that Xichen was cured from homosexuality, the poor man still has hopes that he would change his mind and will fall in love with the little daughter of Jiang Fengmian haha.

If you only know, uncle. Thought Xichen, having a good time that night.

Unlike Wangji who seemed worried, he was his only support in those kinda family meetings.

“Brother.”

Xichen smiled at his brother, relieved that everything ended in good terms even if it was a disaster. “Don’t worry, Wangji. I know what I’m doing.” 

He couldn’t be more wrong.

Wangji looked at him, unconvinced. “If you say so.”

However, Xichen didn’t overthink it in the moment because Jiang Wanyin was someone really nice to talk by the way, so he keep talking with him.

And they talked a lot through nine weeks.

What made both families to get excited at the match, they never got this far with any other candidates. 

So they kept pushing them about marriage.

Xichen didn’t knew why, but one day they just accepted to marry each other. He remember that both were "like yeah, screw it" and that’s how they got quickly married in Yunmeng a summer day of August to get their families off of their backs.

Wanyin moved at Gusu with him and both pulled a giant scam on their families and got away with it.

No matter how you see it, it was a win-win situation. Wanyin lived his own life and take the guest room for himself while Xichen didn’t get more cutting remarks about being gay because he has a “wife” now.

Life was easygoing, so he let Wanyin cut his hair short and stop dressing feminine as his family forced him.

It was a little gesture, but that small change resulted in something unexpected.

. 　   ·  ✦

The things had been so smooth sailing between them that they even adopted a dog, Xichen was having a good time when he come to his house now that he has a roommate and a pet.

It felt more like a home than the place where he’s slept.

He didn’t noticed before, but his house didn’t felt like a home before he married.

Wanyin resume his university studies and made new friends, he was so comfortable and happy that he started to cooking dinner for both of them recently. Sometimes Xichen couldn’t eat with him because he returned at home passed by midnight, but he tried to return early at home to share at least a couple of dinners together at week.

That night Xichen got a little late, but Wanyin stayed with him in the dinning room. Looking him eat everything and even repeating a dish.

“Were you hungry, huh?”

Xichen was used to not talk when he eat because he was educated like that, but he found rude to not reply his husband at the same time. So he did an exception that night.

After all, Wanyin cooked that delicious food for him and waited for him.

“I didn’t have lunch today.”

Wanyin looked at him, with a bothered frown in his eyebrows. It reminded Xichen the first time that they share a dinner in home and he couldn’t stand the spicy food that Wanyin cooked. 

That time he thought he would die, but he survived to Wanyin spicy food.

Now he’s getting to used to piquant food.

“I can cook your lunch.”

“You don’t have to do it, Wanyin.”

“What kind of husband am I if I left my spouse starving?” Wanyin teased him, smirking.

. 　   ·  ✦

Next morning Xichen didn’t expected that Wanyin would fulfill his word and made a lunch for him, even his coworkers seemed surprised to see him eating in his office instead to skipping the lunch when he had important meetings. 

That day he had a meeting with Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao, so they planned to invite him to eat a hotpot without knowing that Xichen would refuse.

When they saw why he refused, they stayed to accompany him.

It seems that it was a friendship duty annoy at your recently married friends.

“Now Xichen-ge gots lovely lunchs made by his wife, I’m jealous”, said Jin Guangyao as he looked for food delivery on his telephone for him and Mingjue, they didn’t want to leave his friend alone if they could tease him.

Mingjue nudged at Xichen, grinning “As your childhood friend, I demand to be the godfather of your first child.”

“That’s unfair, Da-ge! Let Xichen-ge chose the godfather!!”

Xichen smiles nervously at his friends, feeling a cold sweet in this forehead.

“We are not having kids.”

Mingjue raised an eye brown, confused. “Why not?”

Xichen felt conflicted.

Well, these were his friends and he should trust them, right? He wasn’t ashamed of his husband, actually he felt proud that he could be himself since they met.

“Uhm, how I could say this? My “wife” is a trans male, so...”

“Oh.”

“It’s complicated, we got it.” Ends the conversation Jin Guangyao, putting a hand in Mingjue’s mouth. 

. 　   ·  ✦

Months passed fast and it was December when Xichen realized that his husband started to getting closer to him.

Not like they were strangers before, but something changed after Christmas.

Wanyin started to watch tv with him in the sofa when Xichen was in home, eating with him every time they can, buying him stuff and even texting him more frequently, sending photos of him and Huan Huan when he go to walk their puppy. He even started staying in Xichen’s room to facetime his mom because she always complained about how he always facetimed alone so he came to Xichen bed to get him to say hi.

And after a while, Wanyin got tired to get out of Xichen’s bed to go back to his own to sleep, so he moved to Xichen room permanently.

Before Xichen knew, they escalated to cuddling awaken and sleeping.

Contrary to Xichen could think, it wasn’t that weird.

Actually it felt heartwarming to hold his tiny husband on his arms, specially when their puppy dog was in the middle of them. Enjoying the warm between his owners.

It made him feel something, but he wasn’t sure what.

. 　   ·  ✦

“When are you two going to give us a grandchild?” Wanyin’s mother asked them one day via facetime.

Wanyin went all red, screaming. “Mom!”

It was obvious that he didn’t wanted to have this conversation with his mother.

Xichen was beside him in the bed, working on his laptop before to speak in the name of the two. “We want to enjoy our youth first. So no kids for now.”

Hoping that Wanyin wouldn’t mind with his idea.

They didn’t talked about children, yet.

His mother-in-law sounded a bit beaten after that, but she insisted on encourage Wanyin to make his own family as if their dog wasn’t their son already. 

When Wanyin cut the call, Xichen finished his work so he put the computer aside.

“Sorry, Xichen.”

“Why? It’s not your fault that your mother want another grandchild.”

Wanyin looked at him before sprawled out on top of him, doing random things and Xichen was unsure what it means. “Then, how many children do you want?” 

He asked so suddenly that got Xichen out of guard.

“What?”

“I’m joking, do you want children anyways?”

He was always like that since they got close to each other last year, always joking around him.

Sometimes Xichen didn’t know if he was joking or being serious.

“I don’t know, I never thought about having kids.” Xichen blurt out of his mind, smiling at the thought that they have this level of communication to talk about things like this. “What about you?”

“We have Huan Huan, enough for me.”

“I don’t think your mother 

“Well, Huan Huan would be the only grandson that I’m going to give her.”

. 　   ·  ✦

They almost kissed twice, one time when they were cuddling in the bed and the other one when Wanyin started sitting on Xichen’s lap, nuzzling him and stuff like that.

Their faces were so close that Xichen thought they were going to kiss.

It was so close that he could feel his hot breath, but then Wanyin went all red and jumped ship at the last minute. Xichen felt so disappointed that they didn't kissed already, but he thought that he understand why Wanyin might not kiss him.

He must be thinking that he doesn't want this or something like that.

Contrary to what people could think about his husband, Wanyin had the tendency to overthink things.

He still was working on this, but Xichen couldn’t handle with the self-isolation and the romantic? tension in the house every time he saw Wanyin flustering and getting shy around him.

It was odd after met the confident and a little arrogant side of his husband, so this new side made him feel things that he didn’t know he could feel for Wanyin.

Xichen even feel butterflies in the stomach every time they get close for any reason.

He just wants to kiss Wanyin so badly that he felt embarrassed.

He was so screwed.

. 　   ·  ✦

One day, Xichen couldn’t stand the situation anymore. He was still a little unsure about his own feelings so he talked long and tended with his friends at the bar about how he wants to take Wanyin on dates and kiss him and let him speak as much as he wants because Wanyin likes to talk about the things that he loves and how much he loves their dog, he could talk about Huan Huan all day and Xichen wouldn't mind, he loves their puppy too.

In the end, he ended asking advice to asking his husband out.

“I want him be happy and I want myself be happy. So how can I ask my literal husband of nine months to be in an actual relationship with me?”

"Talk to him. Tell him what you’re feeling. Ask if he feels the same way," said Mingjue.

“You made it sound that simple, Da-ge.”

"I think you should let him know that you’re open to having a more intimate relationship. It seems he’s feeling something too since he’s cuddling you,” added Jin Guangyao.

“I don’t know what to do.”

Mingjue take a a big sip of wine before to talk again. “Just close your eyes and jump, man. You got this."

[papichriscnco]

Friends Who Have Sex ~ Part 3

Description: You and Chris are friends with benefits but he gets super jealous of your relationship with Richard. 

Other Parts: Part One, Part Two

It had been a few days since you had seen Chris at the party. You needed time to cool off from both of your actions. You had spent the last few days trying to figure out if you regret your decision to sleep with Richard but you had quickly reminded yourself that Chris had slept with other women and that your actions were perfectly okay. Having had enough of this argument, you decided to drive to Chris’ apartment, ending this argument once and for all. Ringing the doorbell had been the most nervous thing you have done in months but your nerves disappeared as soon as you saw Chris open the door.

“Hey,” you smiled softly hoping for the tension between you both to disintegrate. Chris’ eyes bored into you as you insides twitched in nerves. He didn’t say anything, he just looked at you waiting for you to continue speaking. “Can I come in?” you asked gnawing at your bottom lip. 

He stepped aside and you walked through the door, placing your bag on his kitchen table as always and settling in on his couch. “I’ve been meaning to call you but thought you might need a few days to cool off.”

Chris looked at you with fake shock, “why do you think I needed to cool off?” You squared your eyes at him, giving him a few moments of silence hoping he would continue speaking. “Ohhhh,” he said, drawing it out dramatically feigning realisation. “Because you fucked my best friend. Right and why would that piss me off?” he asked coldly. Chris settled on the recliner across from you as you looked at him starkly. 

“Chris,” you growled in response to his anger. “You have no right to be angry at me!”

“What are you talking about? No right to be angry?” he scoffed out.

“You’ve slept with so many other people since we started this arrangement. Including Anabelle.” you grunt. 

“For fucks sake,” he sighs, “I didn’t sleep with her! I took her back to her own house. I just wanted you to think I slept with her.”

“What? Why?”

“How can I sleep with someone else when my head is consumed with you fucking Richard?”

You took a deep breath, “Listen to me Chris, we owe each other nothing! I don’t owe you anything. If I want to sleep with someone else, that’s up to me.” you argue standing up in frustration. 

Chris stands matching your angry attitude, “so sleep with someone who isn’t my best friend!”

“Oh come on!” you shout pushing his chest with force. “You have slept with three of my friends!” His face falls in surprise after you made him stumble backwards. You chuckle at his response. “What?” you ask. “You think I didn’t know?” you begin to shout pushing his chest over and over again. “Why do you think I cut them out? I couldn’t handle that every time they came around you looked at them like you wanted them instead of me.” 

As you moved to push him one last time, he grabbed your wrists holding them to his chest. You struggled under his grip trying to release yourself but eventually succumbed to his hold. “How could you think that?” he asks, almost hurt.

“What?”

“How could you think I’ve ever wanted anyone more than I want you?” he looked into your eyes searching for the answer but he couldn’t find it. Instead he could only sense the pain between the both of you. 

“It’s different,” you sighed as he let go of your wrists. “You don’t feel for me the way I feel for you.”

“What are you talking about? We’re friends. We care about each other.” he says trying to justify the emotions you both felt.

“My gosh Chris!” you exclaim frustrated. “I don’t just want to be your friend. Don’t you get that? I’m in love with you.” You look at him just as surprised as he is. You hadn’t expected to say that. 

“You’re what?” he asks, surprised.

“Nothing.” you mutter, “I have to go. I can’t be here with you.”

“You can’t just leave. You just told me you’re-” 

“I told you nothing!” you shout turning around. 

“So what? I’m supposed to pretend this never happened?”

“Exactly.” you grunt slamming the door behind you. 

Rushing back to your car you find yourself rushing to Richard’s apartment. Since sleeping with Richard, you had both continued to talk every day. You hadn’t brought it up to Chris, afraid that he would take it the wrong way. Richard knew how you felt about Chris and you needed to vent to someone about the confession you had just let slip. 

“Hey shawty, what are you doing here?” he asked, letting you inside.

“I just told Chris I’m in love with him.” 

“Oh damn.” he laughs.

“Don’t laugh at me! I can’t believe I just did that.”

“Sorry. Sorry. What did he say?”

“I ran out before he could say anything.” Richard rolls his eyes grabbing the pillow on the couch next to him and screaming into it. “What?” you question, baffled at his reaction.

“I need you to hear me out when I say this and not misunderstand me, okay?”

“Okaayyy.” you say wearily. 

“One of the reasons I hit on you and slept with you is obviously because you’re hot and I wanted to. Yeah?”

“Rich, now’s not really the time for-”

He put his finger up signalling you to stop, “Just keep listening.” Your open mouth shuts in response. “The other reason I did all of that even though I knew that Chris, my best friend, hated me for it was because I was hoping that it would bring the two of you together. Neither of you realise how much you both love each other. I figured a little competition would help Chris realise how much he cares about you but you’re both so stubborn!”

“You think he loves me?” you ask, biting your lip with excitement. 

“Of course he does!”

The next few days you spend your time replaying your conversation with Richard. Chris hadn’t tried to call you and it didn’t help you believe he was in love with you. It is almost three in the morning when your phone starts to ring, groaning you reach over and see Chris’ name on your phone. Confused, you figure that he’s trying to booty call you. 

“What do you want? I'm sleeping.” you grunt out in frustration. 

“I love you too.” he says clearly. It was so unexpected you weren’t sure how to respond at first. Sitting up in your bed you stay quiet for a few minutes thinking you misheard him. “Did you hear me? I said I love you.”

“You what?”

“I love you. I’m so in love with you and I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to tell you.” 

“Are you drunk right now? Is that why you’re calling me? Is this some kind of drunk joke to you?”

“What? No of course not. I was just at home and I’ve been thinking and I realised I’m in love with you. I had to tell you straight away.”

You roll your eyes moving to lay back into your bed. “Tell me that when you’re sober,” you spit out before hanging up the phone. You try your best to fade back to sleep but some time passes when you’re forced to drag yourself out of bed as someone begins to bang on your door. In fear, you look through the peephole, covering yourself with a robe and holding it closed with your fist. Opening the door, you roll your eyes as soon as you meet Chris’ eyes. It was too early in the morning to deal with another fight. “What do you want?”

“I’m not drunk,” he says. “I know you thought I was drunk but I’m not.” Looking in his eyes for any signs of alcohol you realise he is completely sober. “I’m here now at this time in the morning because it’s all just hit me at once. I know I’ve done some fucked up things but every time I slept with someone else I was praying to God, they would make me feel the way you made me feel. I explained my feelings for you as friends who fuck but the truth is I’m in love with you and I just didn’t realise it. I hated when you slept with Richard because I was jealous. So jealous. When you told me you were in love with me,” he took a moment to think about his words, “it made me realise I can’t keep pushing you away. Friends who have sex? I realised what that means. Friends who have sex is just another way of saying two people in a relationship.” 

You looked at him stunned, unsure what to say in response. You could see the vulnerability in his eyes and instead of saying anything, you grab his face pulling him in towards you. Immediately your robe opens and his hands slip around your waist pulling you up so you can wrap your legs around him. As you tangle your hands into his hair you couldn’t help smiling. He loved you. Here you were desperate for each other in the ways you had never been before.

“Say it again.” you mumble against his lips.

Chris chuckles, “I love you. I’m in love with you.” Chris pulls away from your lips, supporting you up with one day and holding your face with the other he leads you to your bedroom. “I’ve missed you so much. Never again are you telling me you need a break.”

You smile, down at him as your hands play with his hair, “I love you so much.”

Laying down on the bed, Chris has a knee pressed to your core applying pressure as he pushes your hair behind your ears. You close your eyes letting yourself feel the pleasure of his touch again and Chris watches your facial expressions. 

“I love you watching you.” he mumbles against your ear. 

“I need you.” you say desperately. 

Chris chuckles in excitement, kissing your lips and biting harshly. He takes his hand slipping it into your underwear as instantly begins creating figure eight’s on your clit. His lips attach to your neck sucking softly.

“Do you like that baby?”

“So good.” you mumble.

Biting on your neck, he begins creating a mark on your body. “I want everyone to see that you’re mine now. Completely mine.” He slips his fingers further down, letting them slip past your folds and filling you up with two fingers, you arch your back. You didn’t need foreplay today, you need all of him. You could feel he needed you just as much too. You took his hands away from your panties and stood up. “What are you doing?” he asks but you don’t need to answer. You're quickly pulling your robe away and unclasping your bra. Following your lead, Chris stands up and begins to take off his own clothes. “Leave your panties on.” he winks. 

Blushing you walk around to Chris’ side of the bed and push him onto it, moving to straddle him. He’s still in his boxers and even though you’re incredibly wet and don’t need to tease yourself anymore, you begin to grind down onto his thick length. It had been over a week since he had filled you up and part of you was concerned you would need to adjust all over again. Letting your hips move against him, Chris rests his forehead in between the crook of your neck feeling the pleasure overcome his entire body. 

“Fuck Chris.” you groan as he grabs your ass firmly. 

Chris quickly rolls you onto your back and stands up. Leaning down, he pulls your panties down your body, looking at you with hunger. His head hovering over your core, he leans down running his tongue up your folds and flicking it over your clit. Your hips buck up in pleasure and he smirks pulling away from you. 

“I can’t wait anymore.” he smiles. “Put your head on the pillow.” he demands, as he pumps himself in his boxers before taking them off. Repositioning yourself on the bed, Chris moves to hover over you biting down on his lip in anticipation. Chris lines himself up with your entrance pushing his head in slowly. Your body jolts in surprise but your hands move to his back gripping him in pleasure. As he carefully pushes himself in deeper and deeper, your eyes stay closed taking a moment to relax your body. “Are you okay?”

“Keep going,” you breathe out.

Chris smiles, the entirety of himself inside you and he begins moving his hips. Usually Chris starts fast, the both of you slowing down at the end and drawing out your pleasure but the love flowing between you both in causing this to be the most passionate sex you’ve ever had. Slowly he thrusts his hips and you move yours maximising the pleasure for the both of you as your clench around him. 

“You’re so fucking good baby.”

“Say it again.” you request.

“Say what?” he asks jokingly. Slapping his back in frustration, he laughs before moving down to kiss you, “I love you baby girl.” You can feel yourself coming closer and closer. Chris knows your body better than you do and he moves his hand to your clit again. Bracing himself on his forearm, he leans his head further down to your neck creating another mark on your neck. “Are you close baby?” he asks, even though he already knows the answer.

“So close.” you almost squeal as his hands continue increasing your pleasure. 

“Me too mi amor.”

With a few more thrusts and movements from his hands, your shaking underneath Chris as your nails dig into his back. The pain your inflicting encourages Chris to reach his own high and he is spilling inside of you before he almost collapses in joy. As he moves off of you, he pulls you closer so you’re pressed into his side.

“I love you.” you smile leaning your head on his chest. 

Chris tries to catch his breath as he leans down and kisses the top of your head, “I love you so much.”

“Oh, by the way.” you say looking up to him.

“Mmm?” he asks looking at you.

“Never call me hermosa again or you’re in trouble.” you threaten looking at him angelically. 

He laughs at your demand, knowing straight away why you’ve made this demand. “Never.” he promises.

---

Taglist 

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[lavendertwilight89]

Replacement

request by @inuyashaloverforever

Shippo is having a rough time accepting Kagome’s pregnancy--how can Inuyasha resolve this?

This can be a stand alone--but it is a continuation of Mine

You can also read both on here.

Just a fluffy piece, smut was in Mine though if you want to go back and reread that

Tags:

@dangerouspompadour @lemonlushff @keichanz @akitokihojo @sarah-writes-stories @ajoy3fanfics @superpixie42​ @inuyashaloverforever​ @umacaking​ @procellaxletalis​ @smmahamazing​ @murdergiraffe​ @faulkner-blog​ @sapphirestarxx​@swaggingtomboy​  @cstormsinukagblog @clearwillow

It had been an eventful year since Kagome returned to the feudal era. The first three months had been difficult without Inuyasha’s love and his added constant avoidance to talking about their feelings, but once they cleared up the misunderstanding with Satsuki the headman’s daughter of their… ‘engagement’, and the beginning of Kagome’s priestess training, things had gone really  realllllllllly  well. 

Inuyasha revealed to her he had built a hut for them if she had ever decided to return to him from the well. In his foolishness of thinking she desired anything other than a life with him, he neglected to share with her that he had built them a home. Kagome had been confused of course; he had stayed on the roof of her hut every night since she had returned or if it rained, he came in and slept on the other side of the room from her. She had questioned why he didn’t sleep in his own home… In bashfulness, he revealed he couldn’t be away from her… even if they were just friends. The confession still made her smile.

She had been grateful for their new hut he had gifted her—not that she wasn’t thankful for her first hut, but it was a spare. It never really felt like it was truly hers. Honestly it was probably because Inuyasha and her weren’t exactly sharing it. But, now that he had shown her their new home, and divulged his plans of the future with her, she couldn’t feel more at peace. She couldn’t wait to move her few belongings into his hut once she had seen it more thoroughly. It was more private than the one she was currently residing in because it was inside his forest. He had used some of the ideas from her future home—obviously, he had her comfort and well being in mind. Some of the framing, metal work, and shelving stood out to her the most. She wondered if Totosai lent a hand to him.

They had met with the headman the evening after they mated and received their blessing fully to be married. Satsuki had been… missing when they arrived. Haruki said Sango had escorted his daughter home but refused to listen to his words about Inuyasha. Kagome felt slightly guilty, like she misled the poor girl. She, more than anyone, knew what it was like to be in love with the half demon and him not love her back… or at least think he didn’t. Inuyasha had made sure to console her out of her guilt, telling her he never made eyes at Satsuki and he had not been unfaithful to the young girl whatsoever—Kagome was always his woman. He thought he had made it clear… If anyone was at fault aside from Satsuki, it would be him.

After they had moved all their stuff into his home in the forest, news had begun to travel around the village. Inuyasha had been overwhelmed by the support and respect they received for mating, as well as their upcoming marriage. No one knew of their night in the woods; but they did mention to the headman they performed the demon ritual to be bonded and married but would also respectfully want to bond the human way as well—especially since Kagome was training to be the head priestess of the village. Kagome knew that the villagers wouldn’t have been a problem, but then again, he never asked her for her opinion. He had been too afraid of total rejection or humiliation. All he could do was grumble and pout over her teasing. 

Months grew busy with the winter season approaching and they spent more time apart gathering, harvesting, and helping everyone prepare for the cold temperatures. Kaede and Miroku performed an actual marriage ceremony right before the first snowfall. It was quiet, small—much to Inuyasha’s preference. Only their pack was invited to the ceremony and while the village headman threw a banquet afterwards, Inuyasha found a way to ‘miss’ it. Kagome didn’t complain either—she couldn’t get enough of the way his mouth drew hot flaming desire from her. Honestly, since she hadn’t even had a moment to talk to Satsuki and didn’t want the drama—she just wanted to enjoy her mate and husband’s attentions more than talking to a young girl over her unrequited feelings.

As the weather began to shift, Inuyasha had become fearful exposing Kagome to the harsh winters that she wasn’t totally used to and Kaede had agreed. She had assured Kagome that Miroku and her could handle any duty that was spiritual or healing related for the time being until she got more acclimated. The dirty old bird also hinted to spending more time as husband and wife so she could get some grandchildren.

Kaede had gotten her wish—after three months of marriage, early spring, Kagome announced she was a couple moons pregnant to their pack. By later summer/early fall on her year anniversary she was showing noticeably. There was a more than obvious swell to her abdomen as she made her rounds with the older priestess and her very overly protective husband. She tried to ease his anxieties by allowing him to escort her around… but that didn’t mean it didn’t drive her absolutely insane. Oddly he wasn’t her biggest worry though. 

Shippo had been gone for most of the winter and came back in the spring but had begun acting strangely when he came back. He was nervous, fought with Inuyasha more than ever for her attentions, often grew extremely upset when they discussed adding onto their already fair-sized house, and often opted to stay with Sango and Miroku instead of them…

While Kagome enjoyed her alone time with Inuyasha, she still missed her loving fox child. He had been respective when they were first mated and slept in the spare room unless Inuyasha had to leave for an extermination; then she would sleep in his room with him. But something changed, right after Inuyasha recognized her scent of pregnancy.

“Kagome, are you tired? Do you need to rest?” Inuyasha questioned, hovering at her side.

“No, I’m okay—you let me sleep in this morning so that definitely helped from yesterday,” she smiled gazing into those beautiful worried amber eyes. She reached up on her tiptoes kissing his cheek and nuzzled under his chin to show she was still being submissive but didn’t need to rest. She had felt bad; she was rather far along with her pregnancy and they hadn’t been able to make love in fear she would go into labor early. They explored other ways to find release but even then, he was so determined for her safety and comfort, it was usually just her being pleasured. He explained to her multiple times how mate-ship worked—how it was his job to comfort, protect, provide, and care for her. His needs would always be secondary compared to hers.

“Kagome, child, I think our rounds are indeed finished for the afternoon. Why don’t the two of ye go pick some herbs and enjoy the nice day. I will come visit ye later for ye’s checkup, hm? I would like to examine your area and see if ye are any further along than yesterday.”

“Sure, thank you Kaede,” Kagome said with a bow taking her husband’s arm and proceeding towards the woods. She had begun having contractions last week. Very far and few between each one but when she was checked yesterday, she was starting to dilate. Last night, they started to come more frequently to where she had been struggling to sleep. Kaede had encouraged her to make rounds with her today to walk a bit, to speed things along so she didn’t have to endure another sleepless night. Inuyasha had begrudgingly agreed—only to help Kagome be out of pain quicker.

“Inuyasha?”

“Hm?”

“Have you noticed Shippo is acting… I don’t know… kind of strange lately?”

“Not really—just like a male demon who can’t be close to a female who has been mated,” he gruffed.

“I don’t think it’s just that though…” she said stopping in the middle of the road.

“What then?” he asked concerned. “Kagome?”

“I just… feel like I’ve done something to upset him…” she said trembling.

“Uh-uhm-Kagome! Don’t cry! I-I’ll talk to the runt, ok??”

“I-I can’t help it,” she said leaning into his chest crying. Not being able to get in closer to him upset her further until she was in full hysterics. Her stupid bump made her cry harder! She was done being pregnant, emotional, huge, ugly—

“Ka-kagome??”

“I’m a freaking whale!! I can’t even hug you right!!!”

“Kagome!” Inuyasha chided her. Gods, he was probably sick and perverted but honestly, he thought his wife and mate never looked sexier to him. Plump and filled with his pup? If he could keep her that way he would—but she had been starting to show some discomfort and lose her self-confidence. While he continued to assure her his perceptions of her were unchanged, ultimately he couldn’t wait for her to birth their future child. He was just unsure how to calm her down. Her mood swings were worse than normal with her lack of sleep and now her worrying about Shippo.

“Lady Kagome? Lord Inuyasha??”

Inuyasha turned to see Satsuki standing a couple feet away from them. She looked slightly hopeful… and almost comforted at the scene before her—him, his pregnant hyper-sensitive mate crying in his arms; Gods, he prayed they would kill him right then. He really didn’t want to have console two women, one of which he would have been happy to never see again.   

“Sa-Satsuki?” Kagome hiccupped.

“Is everything alright?” Satsuki asked.

“Yea, she’s just… worried,” he said. He had learned after the first three moons to watch his words and not say the first thing that popped into his mind—it had made the beads became a very appealing tool for her. Then after they were used, there’d be more tears. Guilt. He was probably just as tired if not more so than his mate. Thank Gods pregnancy was only nine moons.

“Are you sure? Lady Kagome?”

“Yes, yes I’m fine. Just hormonal. My mate is doing a good job comforting me though,” she looked up at him smiling softly. He returned her smile, swearing all the sits were worth it. He loved this woman beyond measure. He’d permanently live in the ground if that was what she wanted… well as long as he was able to still have her ride on top of him, anyway. After tasting what it was like to be with her, he could never be celibate ever again.

“Oh, that’s uhm… Good. Yes. Very good.”

Kagome could hear in her voice she was in fact disappointed it was not an actual serious fight. She could feel her now agitation rising but with Inuyasha arms tightening around her, she was able to reign herself back in swallowing thickly.

“Sorry we haven’t been able to talk Satsuki…” Kagome offered.

Satsuki was holding back, and she could tell. She was trying to smile but it didn’t reach her eyes let alone the rest of her face. “It’s okay, Lady Kagome. You were the obvious victor after all… no need to rub salt in the wounds.”

“’Victor’?”

“Of course, anyone who would give their body so willingly would be able to win the man.”

Inuyasha started to growl and Kagome began to shake with anger. Had she seen them that night in the Sacred Tree? But how? No one else in the village had treated her any differently… then again, she was never really alone with anyone… 

“What are you saying, Satsuki?” she asked as she tried to shift out of Inuyasha’s arms. He briefly snarled but she pressed her hand to his upper arm and allowed him to wrap his around her waist as she turned to face Satsuki fully.

“I know about the evening you had… shared yourself with Lord Inuyasha. I was honestly surprised to witness that you had taken such a rash course of action when you found out he was to be engaged to me…”

“Satsuki that’s not—”

“Kagome!” Sango called from down the road running towards her.

“Sango? What’s wrong?” Kagome looked to her friend.

“Shippo took off again! He’s really upset! Miroku tried to chase after him but fell victim to one of his tricks! Inuyasha! You need to speak with him at once! This is getting out of hand,” Sango protested.

“We’re a little busy here at the moment, Sango,” he seethed looking at the woman standing across from them trying to threaten his pregnant mate.

“Inuyasha, I can handle her, please, go—Please! Go get my Shippo,” Kagome looked to him frantically trying to not erupt into more sadness. He swore internally. He couldn’t  not  go get the kit, but he also didn’t want to leave her to handle this crazy little bitch.

“Inuyasha, I will stay with your mate,” Sango said approaching and blatantly ignoring the girl that stood in front of them. Sango was the best beta he could have ever asked for in his pack. While Miroku was his brother in arms and spirit, Sango was a fierce warrior and communicated well with him in a way that made his instincts relax. He looked down at his wife and nodded then kissed her lips fiercely; he hoped to put on a show for the bystander to make sure she knew who the fuck she was talking to—and that he loved and desired and longed and craved and yearned for his mate—that he adored her and worshipped her, would seek out embarrassment for her to feel secure—that he wanted more than just her body. 

Once he felt his wife was thoroughly ravished, he smirked down at her blushing face and scent of arousal he had coaxed then kissed her forehead, “I won’t be long.” He quickly headed off in the way of Sango’s home to catch the runt’s scent.

Kagome stood and watched flustered, blushing hotly as her husband ran off after th-th- thattttttt  . What was he trying to prove? She rested a hand on her stomach and then she heard a scoff making her turn back to—  ooooooh . THAT was the point he was trying to prove. That he loved her and not Satsuki. If anything, he only basically pissed her off further. She felt Sango wrap an arm around her shoulder giggling at the show her friend had put on making Kagome turn her gaze to her best friend, still madly blushing.

“I’d say he is getting anxious about just having you all to himself,” Sango teased.

“Hmmmmm,” she hummed happily distracted until Satsuki groaned again from being ignored. She thought maybe the young girl didn’t like the idea Kagome was lost in thoughts of her husband… the man the girl pined after.

“Satsuki, I’m honestly not sure what the problem is here—Inuyasha loves Kagome. He has always loved Kagome. While you think he fell for you while she was gone, that was just simply not the case. He was awaiting Kagome’s return,” Sango chastised.

“If that were true Lady Sango, why didn’t he make his intentions known? Also, Lady Kagome never showed her interests until after my father spoke with Lord Inuyasha—which, I can’t say I blame him for choosing her. She gave her body so freely to him before marriage—humping him against a tree—no wonder such an honorable man had to marry a—”

Sango grabbed the girl by her kimono and pulled her close to her and glared down into her eyes, “Don’t. Finish. That. Sentence…”she threatened.

“Sango—Stop!”

“Kagome! She was about to dishonor you!”

“It’s alright Sango,” Kagome tried to soothe. “What happened is in the past. I don’t regret my decision to share myself with Inuyasha that night. Or ever. He is my mate and husband. Satsuki clearly does not understand what that means to a demon.”

“She also doesn’t know what it means to be patient or wait at home like I told her to when I dropped her off at the village after our bath,” Sango added, releasing the younger girl’s kimono.

“I was worried about Lord Inuyasha and apparently had every right to be!”

“Satsuki, demons don’t just take lovers or are that easily enticed… Demon’s typically only mate once they find their true-mate. While demons have more basic instincts attuned to nature, they also have more… control. That night, he bonded with me; the act is something a demon wouldn’t do unless they instinctually knew the other person or being was their true mate—someone to share their lifespan with, be with for an eternity,” Kagome explained.

“Lord Inuyasha is not just a demon!”

“No, you are right Satsuki,” Sango said. “But his human heart also chose Kagome long ago… you were young when we all traveled together to gather the Shikon Jewel shards and probably don’t remember how Inuyasha used to be—but Inuyasha had chosen Kagome. When Kagome returned, his human heart was what actually kept him from claiming her—because she had wanted to continue with her priestess training. He had thought that he couldn’t be with her. She proved to him that he was wrong by well…” the slayer blushed knowing what exactly happened in the tree. She had made Kagome tell her every detail. It was so romantic and daring—she almost wished she had a demon husband to launch them into a tree to try it.

Kagome cleared her throat and blushed slightly, “Anyway… it was not to betray you Satsuki or to even take him away from you. Didn’t your father talk to you? Inuyasha said he had already declined the proposal before he met us by the hot springs.”

“He said that, but I didn’t believe him; so, I went in search of Lord Inuyasha and that was when I had seen you two in the tree. I had wanted to confront you at your wedding but you two missed the celebration my father had decided to throw for you… I see why,” she gestured towards the baby resting inside Kagome’s womb.

“Satsuki, I did not become pregnant until the late winter. But yes, we did what married couples do the evening of our wedding…”

“Satsuki, in the demon world, Kagome and Inuyasha married the night they were in the tree. It is not for you to cast judgment upon what they did or how they did it—they were and are still very much in love with each other. They love each other so much they are bringing another member into our pack,” Sango informed as she lightly grazed the bump that would be her niece or nephew.

Satsuki looked like she was backed into a corner. She looked hurt, confused, and disheartened. Kagome felt bad for the poor girl. The poor thing really didn’t understand… Honestly, Kagome wouldn’t have either back when she was fifteen, but after traveling with Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku for a year she learned a lot about demon nature and the world you didn’t learn in a village.

“I hope… we can be friends, Satsuki… I’m sorry you felt I betrayed your trust,” Kagome reached out to lightly rest a hand on her forearm before she retracted it, then looked to Sango and followed her back to her home to help Miroku.

Before they got too far, she winced making Sango stop short and gather her friend in her arms, “Big one?”

“Uhhhhhh…” she groaned gasping a little for air when she caught herself holding her breath. “Biggest one for far. Gods, how’d you do this twice?? Ugh, and allow him for a third round??” 

Sango giggled and rubbed her shoulders soothingly, “Shhh, it’s okay; take a deep breath. There you go; let’s get back home quickly. Once we get Miroku out of his prison, I’ll send him to retrieve Kaede.”

 Where the fuck was that damn runt?!! He had been upsetting Kagome for months now and he was over it. The little fuck was going to get a fucking piece of his mind! He had no idea what had gotten into him! He was fine when they mated and fuck—even when he made the tyke sleep in the spare room rather than with Kagome he only bitched a little.

He finally caught up to him—he had stopped by the river and he was—what the fuck? Why was he crying?!!

“Shippo! What the fuck is your problem??” he yelled landing next to the fox kit.

“Go away, Inuyasha. Go be with your happy little family…”

“What are you talking about?? Kagome is worried about you and you should know that’s not good for her or the pup!”

“I don’t care!!!”

“…What the fuck do you mean ‘you don’t care’?!” Inuyasha was starting to lose his patience. His inner demon blood was boiling at the thought this other male demon held no remorse that he could be potentially endangering his mate let alone their pup.

“I mean that I. Don’t.  Care !!!” Shippo yelled glaring at the older half-demon. “There’s no place for me so why should I care?!!?”

“There’s no—” Inuyasha paused… No place for him? What the fuck was he talking about?

“Shippo… What—Are you fucking  stupid !?!?”

“Leave me alone, Inuyasha!”

“Shippo answer me! What is your deal?! Why the fuck are you saying there’s no place for you??”

“Because there isn’t!!!”

Inuyasha took a moment and watched his young pack member break at the seams… Of course there was a place for Shippo. Hell, if there was a place he could call home, a mate he could call his, of course the runt belonged!

 “Shippo, your place is with us. You’re part of my pack.”

“No! Not anymore! Sango and Miroku, I understood! They’re human—I understood why they wanted children of their own. That was fine; I still had you. Then when Kagome returned it was great! We were our own happy family! Then—then you pupped her! You’re replacing me! Someone with your own blood! Then Sango is pregnant again! I’m just not enough! I’m not wanted!” the fox demon cried.

Inuyasha was in an awkward and uncomfortable position. Kagome was better at this kind of crap than he was. But for her sake, he’d try. He needed to get some of the stress and worry off her before she popped.

“Look—Shippo—just because Miroku and Sango are having another kid doesn’t mean they don’t accept you… Just because Kagome and I are also gonna have one soon… fuck… If Kagome heard you say that, it’d break her heart, Shippo. She loves you. She calls you her baby. Like—like she actually is your mother. Watching her with you… it was one of the reasons I thought I was ready to be a father, because she was so ready to be a mother. Not that I think I’ll be very good at it—I’m kinda a fuck up when it comes to you but, I figured with Kagome as a mother, everything would be alright.”

Shippo looked up at him and took in his words. He began to calm down and rubbed his eyes to wash away the tears, “You—You really think I’m a part of your family?”

“’Course I do. Kagome wouldn’t have it any other way. Besides, your little brother or sister is gonna need you to look for them.”

“You’re better at being someone’s old man than you think,” Shippo offered making Inuyasha raise an eyebrow.

“Whatever. We should get going… your  mom  was having some signs of labor and Kaede was supposed to come check on her.”

“Really? Already??”

“Well, you have been avoiding us recently. It’s been stressing her out.”

“Am I to blame??” Shippo’s face fell as his voice rose in panic.

“Nah, pup is fully grown anyway and ready to come out. Come on, you can ride on my shoulder,” Inuyasha offered.

“Thank you… Old man…” Inuyasha smiled at the term of endearment the fox kit gave to him as he launched to cling to Inuyasha’s shoulder as they ran. 

 When they were en route to return, he knew something was wrong. He could smell anxiety, fear, and worst of all  blood . He sped up with Shippo gripping onto his shoulder and saw Miroku and Rin outside his home with the girls and their son.

“Miroku?? Wh—” he was cut off by the agonizing scream his wife made and almost lost his shit.

“Inuyasha! Kagome went into labor while you were gone—she’s alright! Sango and Kaede are helping her. You should remain out here—”

“Are you fucking crazy?!? My MATE is in there giving birth to my PUP!!”

“Lord Inuyasha, Lord Miroku is right, it is improper for the husbands to be present in the birthing room,” Rin chimed in calmly while playing with the girls and young boy.

“Inuyasha isn’t just Kagome’s husband though! He’s her mate! He should be allowed to go in if he wants!!” Shippo protested hoping off Inuyasha’s shoulder to stand in front of him.

“Inuyasha?” Sango said from the doorway catching everyone’s attention. “Kagome is asking for you—if you’re alright with that.”

“Of course I am!!!” he yelled and stomped past her. He stood with Sango at his side gazing at his mate who was laying down panting heavily, sweating from exertion, wincing from the pain. His ears flattened and he leapt without a second thought to kneel beside her.

“Inu—yasha—“Kagome gasped brokenly.

“Kagome—I’m so sorry—“ he apologized lifting her hand that was grasping a towel on the floor. He felt terrible she was going through this pain. He had done this to her. Shit. Not to mention he had left her alone—

“Yash—it’s not your fault. This—is  normal —” she cried out in pain again feeling another stupid tremor in her lower back, burning down to her core, feeling an immense amount of pressure build.

“What can I do Kagome? Tell me—I’ll do anything,” he whined.

She caught her breath and looked at him and reached for his ears which he lowered his head to let her reach while he side eyed the other two women in the room to make sure they kept their comments to themselves. Thankfully, they only smiled at the couple as they continued to get additional towels laid out and brew a pain reducing tea for Kagome.

“Yash—Can I—”

“Anything Kagome. Just name it.”

“Can I lay my back against you?” He nodded fervently and moved behind her then slowly lifted her so she was reclining against his chest between his legs as he held her to him, stroking her arms, pushing her hair out of her face and pressing comforting chaste kisses against her head as she took deep breaths.

She reached for one of his hands and he quickly gave it to her as she tensed up, crying out her pain of her next contraction—they were getting closer and closer, lasting longer each time. Kaede came back and lifted up the yukata Kagome was wearing and looked to Sango who nodded and went to Kagome's side, wiping the sweat from her brow lovingly with a cold wet cloth.

“Okay Kagome, it’s time to start pushing, alright?”

“M-mhmmm,” she winced.

“On my count child; next one we will, alright?” Kaede prompted

Nodding Kagome swallowed and shifted her cheek against Inuyasha's chest for comfort. He began to rumble deeply not caring anyone else was present—he needed to relax and comfort his mate. His human half that felt embarrassment from the action could go to hell at the very moment.

“Alright child,” Kaede said calmly after a few minutes which felt like seconds to Kagome. “One, two, push.”

Kagome grasped Inuyasha's hand tightly, squeezing her eyes shut and let her body do what it needed to do while screaming out her pain. 

“Few more seconds; keep going child,” Kaede coaxed. “Alright. Take a deep breath. We’ll go again here in a moment.”

“Oh God—” she sobbed. This was horrible. How did women do this multiple times without pain medication??

“Kagome, you’re strong. I’m right here. But you’re stronger than you think. You can do this—come on—” Inuyasha soothed resuming his rumbling.

She nodded and Kaede gave her the signal it was time; she pushed again clenching her teeth and then whimpering the final moments before she couldn’t exert herself anymore.

“Oh Kagome,” Sango gasped happily holding her leg and rubbing it softly. “The baby—”

“What?? What’s wrong??” she panicked.

“No-No! Nothing is wrong. The baby has his ears! Just like you wanted,” Sango encouraged.

Kagome half-laughed half hiccupped from a sob trying to come out. Inuyasha kissed her temple and nuzzled her with his chin.

“Alright Kagome, once we get past the shoulders it’ll go easier. Ready? Push,” Kaede commanded reassuringly.

Kagome gave it all she had; she just wanted to hold her baby in her arms. She wanted to be out of this pain. She—oh fuck! She still needed to inquire about Shippo!

“Kagome relax—it’s okay,” Inuyasha soothed sensing her panic. “We’re almost there.”

“Shi—Shippo?”

“He’s outside. He’s fine. He wants you to have his brother or sister—focus Kagome,” Inuyasha pressed.

“Kagome, child, relax—ye need to start again, now,”

Kagome cried out again and felt like she was burning,  tearing , Gods help her! 

After a few more prompts from Kaede, strong reassurances from Sango, purrs and kisses from Inuyasha, finally she was at her last push when the baby cried out making her gasp. She looked back up to his face and saw him smiling softly down at her.

Sango moved away to help Kaede cut the cord and then moved to clean the child before wrapping the baby. Kagome watched worriedly but smiled tearily as Sango came back and knelt beside her placing the babe in her outstretched arms, “It’s a girl.”

Kagome gasped thickly and allowed her tears to fall freely moving her head back to see Inuyasha again who wrapped his arms around the both of them to steady her shakiness.

“A—a girl??” She looked down at her lovely baby girl; she was almost identical to her father. Bright silver hair, pointed ears on top of her head, but bright amethyst eyes. “Heyyyy there,” Kagome swooned quietly, scared her voice might break.

The baby’s ears twitched making Kagome sigh in delight and her hand attentively reached over to stroke one.

“Kagome, we need to deliver the after birth.” Kagome nodded giving the baby to Sango and did as she was told by Kaede’s instructions. Once she was done and cleaned up, Inuyasha lifted her in his arms to lay on the futon; Sango had laid out some towels to catch any additional bleeding and positioned the pillows they made to prop her to a sitting position. He removed his haori and engulfed her in it before he went outside while Sango helped Kaede finish cleaning up after offering Kagome the baby to feed her.

“Yo, runt. Come meet your baby sister,” Inuyasha said.

Miroku, Rin, and Shippo smiled while they gasped their joy. Shippo ran in as Miroku and Rin congratulated the half-demon. Sango and Kaede emerged encouraging them it was time to go only to be shocked to see Satsuki standing at the hillside with a basket in her arms. 

Biting her lip, she stepped forward and rested the basket between them and stepped back. Inuyasha could only surmise it was what appeared to be an offering of peace.

“I just wanted to apologize to Lady Kagome for my behavior this past year… I will do what’s right and speak with the villagers—not that they took my words to heart anyway… And—I—and to you, Lord Inuyasha; I apologize for my misunderstandings of your intentions. I—I am glad you picked Lady Kagome as your mate and wife. It seems she understands you better than anyone…” she bowed to extend her respect.

Everyone watched to see what Inuyasha would do—not only had this girl just caused an unpleasant encounter with them today, she had apparently been spreading things throughout the village. Kaede had heard the gossip and quickly smothered it and Kagome’s pure heart diminished any other sign of distrust or malice within them. Her powers remained strong and that was more than enough proof to them what kind of woman Kagome was. The villagers had seen such a change in the half-demon, none of the men questioned Kagome’s morals—they all knew the half-demon loved her from the beginning. But the punishment or forgiveness was left to Inuyasha. 

He stared at the girl, having to take deep breaths. It had been a long and difficult day. But he had to remind himself—this wasn’t about him. This was about Kagome. He looked to Sango knowing she had finished out the altercation with the young deluded girl earlier and she nodded to him. 

Sighing from exhaustion and annoyance he finally spoke, “Satsuki, while I’m still angry with ya, Kagome only wanted to work things out between you two. Sorry you mistook my feelings for you—but I have been and always will be in love with Kagome. I… appreciated your kindness while my mate was away, but my thoughts were only with and of her. For her sake, if nothing else, I forgive you… But so help me God if you—”

“No, no Lord Inuyasha. No more, I promise. I would like nothing more than to be friends with Lady Kagome.”

“Fine. Come back later this week… My wife needs to rest.”

“Of course, I will let the other village women know and we can try to make you baskets for congratulations on the baby to help out,” she said bowing and hurriedly taking off.

Kaede patted Inuyasha on the shoulder and motioned for the others that it was time to go. She informed the hanyou when and how much tea to give Kagome, also letting him know there were two different types, one for pain and the other for lactation.

He thanked them then as they left and walked back into his hut. He stopped short at the sight of Kagome feeding their daughter with Shippo perched up on her shoulder asking questions. His heart had never felt so full. Watching his new family, he thought about how much he loved Kagome. About how he thought he had seen her at her most beautiful underneath him as he ravished her body. This though—her flushed from birthing their pup, feeding her, that delicate kind caring loving smile adorning her face, Shippo propped on her shoulder gazing down at the new babe…

“Inuyasha?” Kagome asked tiredly.

He was so lost in his train of thought he hadn’t realized she had caught him staring. She beckoned him over and slightly scooted herself so he could cradle her from behind again; a position he’d happily take. He lifted Kagome up so she wouldn’t hurt herself further and placed her between his outstretched legs, leaning his head down to watch his pup feed greedily off his mate.

“Inuyasha, what are you gonna name her?” Shippo asked quietly.

“Huh?”

“Shippo wanted to know what you’re going to name his sister,” she leaned back heavily, enjoying his embrace after such a tiring ordeal. 

“Oh… well…” he paused. He knew what he wanted but he also didn’t want to dishonor Kagome. She had done all the work and wanted her to know how much it meant to him she not only had been more than happy to conceive his child, but carried, and birthed their pup… he needed her to know what it really  meant  to him. “Why don’t you name her, Kagome?”

“Wh-what?”

“You…. You did this. You gave me a pup. A family… I-I’d have nothing without you. I owe my life to you…”

“Inuyasha…” she said tearing up looking back at him. He kissed her cheek and nuzzled against her rumbling happily.

“So Kagome! What are you gonna name her??” Shippo interrupted.

“If it’s okay with Inuyasha… I’d like to name her Izayoi. After his mother.”

“Izayoi...” Shippo repeated mystified watching the pup feed from his adoptive mother.

“Re-Really?” Inuyasha asked.

“Mhm, if that’s alright,” Kagome offered.

“’Alright’? It’s more than ‘alright’! Kagome I—”

“I know,” she finished kissing his cheek. He bent down and locked lips with her in a passionate kiss making an ‘ew’ erupt from Shippo. Kagome giggled but snuggled closer into Inuyasha.

Once Izayoi was finished, Inuyasha helped settle Kagome to lay down. She immediately moved once he was lying down to use his shoulder as a pillow then she adjusted Izayoi to be held by her on his chest. Inuyasha encouraged Shippo to lay down by Kagome’s shoulder—it wasn’t like they were going to be doing anything sexual for a while anyway. HE also had to also get used to the idea Shippo was not just another pack male, he was technically their son… It was okay for a family to share a futon in transition.

While the day had not been what he expected, he was…happy. Kagome always made him feel whole, complete, wanted… and now she had given him this—a family. He closed his eyes thankfully embracing his girls and couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow brought.

[nev3rfound]

before everything - p.2 : b.b

brief summary: this is about who you and bucky were before the war. before bucky became the winter soldier. back when he was still that boy from brooklyn with all the charm.

word count: 1.7k requested: nope, I had this idea a while ago and felt like the angst/fluff tonight warnings: angst, mentions of ptsd but nothing major

* masterlist of sorts *

commissions (something I’m trying)

part one / part two / part three / part four 

You trail behind the four of them, feeling like a younger sibling forced to go out as they cannot be left home alone. Even if it isn’t said, you can feel it from Bonnie and Connie, the misunderstanding of why you’re tagging along on their double date. 

Secretly, Steve is relieved you’re with them. Bonnie couldn’t be less interested if she tried much to your disappointment. If everyone could see the Steve you saw, he’d be struggling to see over the girls lining up to have a chance with him.

Looking around, all you can see are bright lights, flashes of electricity passing through and the sound of excitement buzzing through the crowds. As your eyes are wandering the sights surrounding you, Bucky keeps glancing back, checking you’re still around. He can’t hide his smile when he spots the eagerness etched in your face. How wide your eyes are as you follow the trails of light toward the stage, not even seeing Bucky stood in front of you.

Before Bucky can open his mouth to check on you, Connie grabs a hold of his hand, dragging him closer to the front of the stage where Howard Stark is due to come out at any given minute. 

Excitement buzzes through everyone as the ladies walk on stage. You stand alongside Steve, Bonnie now moving to be next to Connie forgetting Steve exists. “There’s a girl out there for you, Steve.” You tell him with a smile, knowing he’s not listening at this point. 

Bucky keeps his eyes fixated on the stage as his hand rests on Connie’s waist. Howard Stark walks out and cheers fill the room. “He’s so handsome.” Connie mutters to Bonnie, causing her to giggle. 

“And here I thought I was the handsome one, doll.” Bucky feigns being hurt, only to receive another giggle in response as Connie shuffles closer into his embrace.

Stepping back you mutter to Steve. “I can’t stay and watch this all over again.” You look down, only to see Steve’s gone. “Steve?” You look around, but he’s nowhere in sight. “Shit.” 

“Where’s Steve?” Bucky approaches you, concern heavy in his eyes. You glance over his shoulder, seeing the girls are now infatuated with Howard Stark rather than Bucky. You shrug your shoulders and Bucky sighs. “Come on.” He takes a hold of your hand, dragging you through the crowd to the open space. 

Once you’re in the clear, he still keeps a hold of your hand. “I’ll go toward the park, he might be there.” You tell Bucky, who nods in response as you slip your hand out of his. “Can’t imagine this is how you anticipated spending your last night.” You mutter to him, catching him smile to you.

“I’ll always be looking after Steve, even if I’m not here.” He states calmly before crossing the street whilst you turn the corner, glancing back at the boy who’ll be a soldier as of tomorrow. 

Wandering around you listen to the music becoming fainter the further you walk away. The lively music is replaced by catcalls and whistles, causing you to keep your head down as you search for Steve. Walking back toward the expo, you can feel the calls coating your skin making you feel uncomfortable. 

“Y/n!” You lift your head up, seeing Bucky wave to you. 

Within seconds you cross the road and stand in front of him. “You found him?” You ask with hope lacing your voice, and Bucky nods secretly thankful to see your bright smile. 

“He’s trying to sign up again.” He quietly tells you and watches as your smile drops, that sadness creeping back. “I don’t think he’ll ever stop tryin’ doll.” 

You let out a heavy sigh, watching as Steve stands in front of a stand of a soldier. His face doesn’t fill the gap and he steps backwards. “Let me speak to him, okay?” You ask Bucky, placing your hand on his arm and he nods, allowing you to walk over. “Hey, Steve.” 

Steve turns around, shrugging his oversized jacket up on his shoulders as he avoids your eyes. “Hi.” He states. “Don’t come here and try to stop me trying, Y/n. I, I want this.” Every time he tries it ends with disappointment. “I want to help, I want to be out there to serve my country, be a man that is honourable, noble and worthy.” Steve explains and you look around, seeing the pictures, the propaganda and the insights of those already out there. “Why won’t you guys understand?” 

Walking alongside Steve, you sit down on the bench inside of the building. “It’s not that we don’t understand. We’re just worried.” You try to reason with him, but you know it’s no use. “I get it’s hard, Steve. I really do.” 

“I just want to help fight the war.” Steve reiterates his point to you. “Is that so hard to understand?” He lifts his head up, his eyes meeting yours as sorrow takes up residence in his pupils. 

“I understand, Steve. And, and if it’s what you want I can’t stop you.” You shut your eyes, knowing Bucky will curse you out for siding with Steve on this. “But please, please be safe Steve.” You turn to face him. “I can’t afford to lose you both.” 

Steve brings you into a tight hug. “Just, stay safe Y/n.” Steve mutters into you as you pull away. “You better wait for him.” Steve winks to you and you roll your eyes. “I mean it, Y/n. Bucky loves you.” He whispers and rises to his feet. 

Before you can say anything else, Bucky walks past you and to Steve. “I’ll wait outside.” You tell them both, allowing them to have a private moment. 

As the fresh air hits your face, you can feel the tears falling. The crisp July breeze taking them away as you sniff. “You told him to do it?” Bucky leans against the wall, irritation in his voice as you wipe your eyes. “Why’d the hell you tell him that?” 

“He wants to fight, Bucky. You can’t stop him when you’re already there.” You bluntly tell him, knowing he can see the redness in your eyes. “Steve wants to be someone. He won’t be that someone if he’s back home, doin’ jobs and you know that, Buck.” 

Bucky sighs as he slips his hat off, running his fingers through his short hair. “You drive me crazy, Y/n.” He mutters before slipping his hat back on. “What am I goin’ do without you?” 

“You’ll manage I’m sure Buck.” You laugh it off, not wanting to take it too seriously. 

“I’m not sure doll.” Bucky steps closer, his hand reaching for yours causing you to turn your body to face his. “If I don’t tell you now, I think I’ll regret not having the chance.” He leans down, his lips hovering over yours. “I’m in love with you, Y/n.” 

“And you chose to tell me the night before you leave?” You whisper back, feeling your heartbreaking. 

“I guess we better make tonight count.” He smiles before his lips reach yours as the fireworks from the expo drown out the noise of the city allowing you two to remain in your moment, wrapped up in each other’s embrace. 

*

Opening your eyes, you long at the spot beside you. Bucky left before dawn, Steve was gone and you truly were alone for the first time in your life. 

You smile to yourself, having the memories of last night lingering in your bed, on your skin and in your body. He might not come back, but at least he knows how you feel about him. 

“Y/n, baby!” Your Mother yells from downstairs and you rush out of bed, tieing your gown around you as you reach the kitchen, seeing her stood with her arms crossed.

“Yes, Ma?” You ask her, sitting down on one of the chairs around the table as your siblings rise to their feet, walking out of the room. “What’d I do wrong?” 

She lets out a huff before taking the seat opposite you. Her following action is unexpected as she reaches out for your hands, taking them in hers. “How’re you holdin’ up?” She asks softly much to your surprise. “I heard James here last night and, and I’m glad you had time together.” She smiles, ignoring the heat rising through your body as your eyes widen. 

“I think I’m okay.” You tell her, still feeling yourself in the midst of last night as you haven’t woken from your dream just yet. “It’s still kinda numb.” You admit, unsure what else to say.

“You know I mentioned that job? The paper wants you, honey.” She beams to you, a bright smile on her face as pride is evident as she squeezes your hands. “They want you to write for them!” 

Your jaw drops as she nods to you, ensuring it’s the truth. “They, they want me to write?” You repeat, not believing her words. 

“Yes. They want you to start next week.” She explains and you rise to your feet and pour a cup of coffee for you both, ready to hear more about this job. 

*

Months have passed by and there has been nothing but silence from both boys. You didn’t anticipate letters from Bucky, but you thought Steve might want the comfort from back home. 

Typing away on the typewriter, you all sit in silence as you work. Every now and then your boss walks through the door, wandering up and down and placing new resources on every desk. Of late you’ve been instructed to write about the lost men in the war. You list their names, knowing someone reading it will be distraught. Thankfully, Bucky hasn’t appeared on the list, not yet at least.

The door opens and your boss walks in. A tall broad woman with deep brown hair. She holds a small pile of letters as her eyes focus on the floor. It’s that time again. The reports of those missing. 

“Miss Cecelia.” She calls out and you turn your head, seeing the blonde in the corner slowly rise to her feet, her hands shaking. You listen as a series of names are called out, watching as they all try to hide their cries. 

As the seven women rise your boss steps forward, handing each of them their letter. She gives her sympathy to each of them before they sit back down and try to avoid smudging the ink with their tears. 

Another day has passed by and you’ve not been called, you’re one of the lucky one's today. 

next chapter (p3)

[wetookanoath]

Can I see some post breakup kiss?

This… got out of hand, I’m so sorry. Based on this kiss prompt list. TW: There’s a conversation about internalized biphobia, and it kinda has some angst here and there. Edited by @chaostheoryy ~

(Read on AO3)

Shane froze at the sight in front of him. He frowned, not sure of what to do next. Ryan was sitting on the ground outside his building, probably waiting for Shane to buzz him in.

The man hadn’t seen him just yet. Shane could easily turn around and lose himself in the city, maybe go hide in someone else’s apartment. Scott would probably let him stay the night without Shane actually having to tell him what was wrong. But his feet didn’t move in either direction.

What was Ryan doing in the cold, sitting on the ground like a lost child waiting for his parents to pick him up? Shane swallowed, finally deciding to face whatever was coming.

“Ryan.” He called. The man looked up at him immediately, standing up so fast he seemed to get dizzy.

Shane sighed, walking towards him as his ex-boyfriend tried to hold his stance, one hand lingering near his forehead. 

“Are you okay?” Shane said, taking him by the shoulders.

Ryan looked at him. His big eyes said nothing but the same story as two months ago and Shane was tired of hearing it, tired of being told he wasn’t enough. Ryan had one hundred and a million doubts he couldn’t solve with Shane at his side. He bit his bottom lip, letting go of Ryan before taking out his keys.

“Uh, I just— I wanted to talk to you.” Ryan answered while Shane looked at his keys to avoid making eye contact. “Shane, can— can we talk?”

“Sure.” He sighed. “Step into my office.” He signaled inside, opening the door to the lobby and the stairs.

They walked in silence towards the elevator, but Shane’s heart closed his throat. He couldn’t have Ryan upstairs. It would drive him crazy to have the couch where he was sure he was going to cry later today smelling of him. Slowly, he walked to the stairs, taking two then sitting.

“Uh,” Ryan frowned, but followed his lead and sat down. “Okay…”

Neither said anything for a while, just dwelled in the presence of the other.

For two months, Shane thought of many things he wanted to tell Ryan. He had wanted to say he was sorry, even when he knew fully well and had been told he had done nothing wrong; he wanted to beg to be taken back at one point, and later as the weeks passed, he wanted to say hurtful things and make Ryan feel as empty as he had felt when December came and he was alone in his apartment, packing to go see his parents with tears in his eyes.

It had been too hard to say something. And now, he was in need of words.

“I think… I think I owe you an explanation for my actions.” Ryan said after a long minute or two.

Shane looked at Ryan for a few seconds, then at his own feet. He wasn’t sure what the man was talking about, if he was talking about their break up two months ago or his happy social media life during their time apart. Hell, it was really a surprise to see him here, looking like this.

He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks, stopped eating well, and was in desperate need of a shower and a cup of hot cocoa. Los Angeles wasn’t as cold as Schamburg, but right now it felt like Iceland.

“What do you mean?” Shane murmured.

Ryan cleared his throat. Shane could feel his eyes on him. “I mean… “ He sighed. “When…when I asked you to take a break. I told you I needed space.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’ve… I’ve had a lot of time to think and a lot of space. Like, way too much space…” He trailed off. Shane finally looked at him, trying to stay strong for whatever the hell Ryan had in mind now. “And I just…” 

The man looked away. Shane’s eyes followed his hands and he noticed Ryan was playing with a stray thread on the sleeve of his jacket. 

He blinked a couple of times.

“I was afraid.” Ryan said, looking up at Shane’s face. He nodded, unsure of what else to do or say. “Because you are the first man I’ve ever…” He swallowed. “Being with you took me out my most selfish comfort zone, which was saying I’m bisexual and only daring to date women so nobody would ever…say anything bad to me.”

“Uh.” 

Shane looked away, clenching his jaw as he tried to calm his nerves before he could punch Ryan in the face. If he started an actual fight with the man, he didn’t stand a chance. But god-fucking-dammit, he wanted to.

“Please, don’t misunderstand this, I know I’m fucking up even more, It’s just…” He said quickly. Shane looked back at him again, his jaw still tense. Ryan looked away. Maybe his expression gave away just how angry he was feeling. “I know, I know— Internalized biphobia, all that jazz. I know.”

“To the point, Ryan.”

“I’m sorry.” He said, letting out what sounded like a sob. Shane sighed and looked away. “I’m so sorry, I know I was wrong… I should have told you what was actually happening, but I thought that if I tried to get back to the way I was a year ago, maybe the guilt would go away.”

“Guilt?” 

Ryan nodded.

“I felt like I was doing something I shouldn’t.” He said. “Like, everyone expects me to be one way, but every day together I was the complete opposite of that, and I was afraid I was disappointing someone.” His eyes filled with tears and Shane’s throat closed again. “But I was so happy. I liked who I was becoming and— all that. How much we laughed together and how it was becoming easier to be myself. But…” 

He swallowed again. His nose had turned red and a tear crossed his left cheek. Shane held his breath, restraining himself from drying it.

“The more open we became, the more people, like— on Instagram and Twitter, started to notice. I got terrified of what would come. A… Guy I studied with in high school sent me a DM one day, asking if you were my boyfriend and I froze. I couldn’t just answer yes, and it wasn’t— it wasn’t because of you, I swear—”

“Oh, Jesus Christ.” 

Shane moved, trying to stand before Ryan noticed. Ryan immediately took his arm. Shane thought of pushing it away but didn’t. 

“Shane!”

Shane just kept looking at the ground, waiting for Ryan to finish whatever speech he had planned for today. His heart actually hurt. Not just in the squeezing kind of way either. No, it actually hurt every time it hit his ribcage and Ryan just kept talking. And maybe he shouldn’t be listening to this with an empty stomach because it felt like it was eating itself and it burned.

“Shane, I mean it— It’s not you, it really isn’t it,” Ryan insisted, “It’s different for you. You already went through this when you were younger. But I hid it away for so long… and I thought I could just bury it and be happy. I should have taken care of it before but I didn’t. And I hurt you because of that.”

Slowly, he looked back. Shane wondered how many nights Ryan had spent awake thinking of all this, rehearsing his words and trying to figure out the right thing to say. He looked sincere, crying as he was. Hell, he looked scared. 

It was Shane’s turn to swallow. He closed his eyes, trying to get his own lonely nights out of his head as he searched for the best way to put his hurt on display.

Ryan was right: he had hurt him. If he had known all this, maybe they wouldn’t have broken up. Maybe he could have helped Ryan find a better way to deal with all the baggage. It was shitty, to be so scared to be yourself and he understood it well.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand, Ryan.” Shane hoped his anger would go the hell away now that he was thinking straight. “Why didn’t you say anything that day? You just said you needed space and to me, it sounded like you wanted an out from me.” He swallowed. “I could have helped you. We could have figured it out together, why—?”

“I don’t know. I don’t. I just— I wasn’t even sure of what I was feeling back then, Shane.” He confessed, letting go of Shane’s arm and drying his tears. “Look, I… I know this sounds like a shitty excuse—”

“Okay.” Shane said. His jaw tensed again as he licked his lips and took a deep breath. “Thank you for telling me this, I guess.” He looked at Ryan. The man blinked a couple of times. “Why are you here?”

Ryan’s mouth opened. He wanted to say something but he couldn’t find the words. He looked down for a few seconds, then swallowed. Holy shit, were they a mess. They’d never been like this before, not even during the first awkward weeks of their friendship when they were getting to know the other.

It was like the way Shane and Ryan used to anticipate what the other was thinking never happened, as if Shane had dreamed it all along and this was all it really was: silence and cold between them. Ryan’s eyes showed so much despair it was unnerving.

“I wanted to see you.” Ryan said finally. 

Shane sighed.

“Just that?”

When the man looked at him, Shane tried his best to smile. It probably looked crooked. He was trying his damn best not to burst into tears on Ryan’s shoulder. So instead of crying, Shane got closer until their arms were touching. He saw Ryan’s eyes open wider, lips parting, but this time he just pressed against his face.

His eyes were closed now. Shane took a few seconds to admire the view and finally gave up, closing his eyes and sinking into the kiss he had prayed for two months.

It was such a strange kiss, somehow unreal.

Shane had dreamed of kissing Ryan so many times during the months they had spent away from each other. And every time it had been empty and had left him crying. This kiss was warm, but Ryan’s lips were dry and chapped. He probably hadn’t been applying chapstick like Shane had told him to a million times before. 

One of them shivered, or maybe they both did. Shane opened his mouth and moved his head to the left, deepening the kiss without using his tongue. His ex-boyfriend didn’t try anything either. They kept moving their lips as slow as any first timer would and it told Shane everything he needed to know about this situation: space was no longer necessary and maybe things could change for the good. 

The kiss tasted of hope and long nights thinking of each other, the yearning of each other’s arms, of kisses so intense yet sweet that give another meaning to the act itself.

Shane had missed Ryan and it felt good to know he had been missed as well.

They needed air eventually, and maybe another talk. Shane leaned his forehead on Ryan’s, listening to his heavy breathing and letting his fingers slowly caress the hair on the back of his neck. He couldn’t open his eyes, see what was lost and then pretend like if he could keep going. This kiss hadn’t felt like goodbye, but it wasn’t something he wanted to say again so soon.

“Take me back.” Ryan murmured against his lips. Shane opened his eyes without actually looking at his face. Instead, he was looking at his lap and the stray thread on Ryan’s sleeve. “Please? I know I’m a mess, but I think I’m doing better at last.”

“Just like that?”

“No.” He swallowed. Shane pulled back to look at Ryan’s face. “I know it didn’t look that way, but these past few months I was miserable… thought there was no way I could come back. Then I stopped acting like an idiot, started all over again.” He smiled. It was tiny but it made him look more like the man Shane had actually fallen for. “And there’s something more.”

“What is it?”

“I love you.” He said, sighing before allowing his smile to brighten. Shane stopped breathing, recognizing it was the first time Ryan ever said the words to him. “I… every day, I fall deeper for you. And I think you may feel the same. I want to be with you, Shane.”

Shane licked his lips again, looking up at Ryan. 

“You wanna come up? I think we should talk about this further.”

“Uh.” Ryan nodded. “Okay, yes.”

Finally, Shane smiled back. It was the first time in a long time he did so too. His cheeks almost hurt and his eyes were filled with tears he didn’t think he had anymore. But he didn’t cry again. He just leaned on Ryan and kissed him.

This time it wasn’t a surprise, not something that wasn’t supposed to be happening. It was a start.

[goosegoblin]

Hi Jess! I really need advice from someone in a long term relationship. How do you make it work? Me and my boyfriend have been together for over a year now + long distance and we are taking a break for several days and i think it is about me wanting too much attention? The same has happened before and i always blame myself although he told me that it’s not about me(he has some problems going on now) but im still worried the same gonna happen? How do you guys make it work to maintan relationship

Hello! Long post incoming, haha.

So first of all, we haven’t been long distance (for longer than like, a month or two over summer holidays), so I’m not sure how much help I can be there. That being said, we have indeed had fights when temporarily apart, and 99% of the time that came down to a misunderstanding in communication. Text, especially, is notoriously easy to misunderstand. I’ve gotten into the habit of asking ‘what do you mean by that?’ if I’m unsure on what something means, and it’s definitely saved us some fights, lol.

My partner and I are not perfect people. These days we’re better at catching arguments and turning them into discussions, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t had misunderstandings or issues in the past. I mean, we got together as two mentally ill teenagers with undiagnosed developmental conditions lmao. We’ve put a lot of work into improving our communication (me in particular, as the methods I was taught growing up boiled down to ‘ignore them’ or ‘yell at them’), and it’s really paid off.

I think that arguing is fairly normal for couples, but for me, how matters. Name-calling, prolonged shouting, threats of violence or anything similar are not okay. I also feel that passive aggression is not okay, and I’m disturbed by how normalised it is, especially among women. Giving your partner the cold shoulder, one word answers, heavy sighs, sarcasm etc are designed to hurt, not to help. If you find yourself thinking ‘this will make him realise I’m upset’ or ‘this’ll make him feel how I feel’, for the love of god, STOP. Take a break. Go for a walk, play loud music, talk to a friend, do some exercise, do anything else. 

(sidenote: as this comes up often, the difference between ignoring and taking a break is that the former is denied, while the latter is communicated. ‘I’m NOT ignoring you’ v.s. ‘I’m feeling quite overwhelmed and I’m going to take a break from this conversation- I’ll be back in thirty minutes or so’. I also like to throw in a ‘I’m safe and I love you’.)

I know I bang on about it constantly, but honestly, communication solves... nearly everything in a good relationship. I say in a good relationship because communication is a two-way street. You can be the best communicator in the world, but if your partner is not, you will get nowhere. So if you’re reading this post and thinking ‘that’s great, but my partner would never agree to do that...’, that’s a really red flag.

There are various tools you can use in disagreements to make them more productive. ‘I statements’ are really basic but really nice- rather than saying ‘you always do [x]!’, you reframe it to be ‘I feel like you do [X] often, and it makes me feel [Y]’. That way you’re clearly explaining what the actual problem is for you rather than slinging out accusations. Read those two examples, and think about how you might reply to them. The first is a lot more likely to trigger ‘No I don’t!, whereas the latter incites useful discussion. There’s lots of good examples of using this tool online.

I’ve noticed that we tend to thank each other for sharing their perspective, and to make sure we’re acknowledging the other’s point of view. So like, for a hypothetical:

“I feel like I do the dishes most of the time, which is frustrating because it makes me feel pressured. I know you do other chores and I’m grateful for that, but I need help with the dishes.”

“Thank you for telling me it makes you feel under pressure, I didn’t realise that. How much more help would you want with the dishes?

like, it’s not always that perfect, but trying to remember to listen to what the other person is saying and thanking them for sharing helps a lot to slow the pace of things down. I try to never talk over him and I don’t let him interrupt me when I’m talking either.

The ideal is you + your partner VS the problem. Sometimes though, something your partner does is the problem (or vice versa), and that’s obviously a bit more difficult. You can still be on the same team, obviously, but I am very very wary of a dynamic I often see online where women ask for advice/solutions for their boyfriend’s behavioural problems. There’s a difference between asking ‘how can I approach him about this?’ (what I feel you are doing) and, say, ‘my boyfriend says he doesn’t understand what emotional labour is- how can I help him?’. I very frequently see women doing all the work to try and make their boyfriend a better partner, and frankly, that sucks.

It’s also important to be your own people, with your own interests, hobbies and friends. We are... not especially good at this one. We try! It’s something we’re working on. It’s important to maintain a sense of identity and personhood separate from your partner so that, if you do have to take a break or similar, you aren’t left spinning quite as much. 

Feel free to message me again with follow-up questions or anything more specific- I’m happy to try and help.

xx

[the-coldest-goodbye]

Ivar (Vikings) x plus size reader headcanons

Ivar x plus size fem!reader

Requested by Anonymous.

A/N: Sorry if this feels a little OOC for Ivar. I’ve never written for him before and I wasn’t really sure which direction I should run in with this. I toyed around with a couple of darker versions, but ended up settling with a more fluffy/vulnerable Ivar because sometimes you just need some fluff in your life. Also, sorry it’s kind of long and seems more like a bulleted story and less like actual headcanons for the first half of it. I just felt like it needed the setup. (If you’re ever looking for brevity, you ain’t getting it from me.)

Some NSFW stuff towards the end.

► Ivar fell for you because you accepted him and didn’t fear him. You saw through the imposing and cruel persona that he had built for himself and instead saw him for what he really was deep down: a hurt, vulnerable boy who just wanted to be loved.

► Both of you would be insecure of your bodies in your own ways, but the two of you found refuge in each other.

► Ivar was observant and was familiar with most people in Kattegat, so he was surprised when one day he showed up at Floki’s cabin and found you chatting with his old mentor. He had never seen you before, which intrigued him.

► This caught Ivar off guard and made him a bit tense. He had come to Floki’s cabin that afternoon as a refuge, a place where he could drop the big, cruel persona he built up and instead could just be himself. Ivar crawled up to the hearth where you and Floki sat, a distrustful look plain on the boy’s face. Noticing Ivar’s wariness, Floki jumped to introduce you. “Ivar, this is my friend Y/N.”

► “Ahh, so you’re the famed Ivar the Boneless,” you smiled as he sat himself next to you and the older boatbuilder. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” And it’s true — you had. You had heard countless tales of his affliction and of his cruelty. However, Floki had been a close friend and mentor of Ivar since he was a little boy, and Floki’s stories were much more sympathetic. This discrepancy made you more curious than anything to actually meet the youngest Ragnarsson and learn for yourself what he was actually like instead of taking the rumors about him at face value.

► “Then I’m sure you must be eager to run from me in fear right about now, hm?” Ivar replied, both teasing you but also curious. Ivar knew of his reputation and of how people avoided him. Ivar’s viciousness towards others was largely a defense mechanism. By scaring people away with his attitude and cruelty, it made him feel a little less powerless. It hurt a little less telling himself that people avoided him for his callousness, something he did have control over, than because of his legs, something he had no control over.

► You laughed. “No, I don’t fear you.” A smirk crossed Ivar’s face. He was partly confused and partly impressed. “You don’t?” You replied, “No, I’ve only heard stories, but I don’t believe that rumors can ever capture all sides of a story, all of the intricacies.” You paused for a minute, a small smirk spreading across your lips. “Would you prefer it if I feared you?” Ivar thought for a moment, unsure of how to answer you, before saying, “No, I don’t believe that I do.” He began to smirk too. “At least not for now.”

► That broke the tension. The conversation between you, Floki, and Ivar flowed easily for the rest of the afternoon. (Insert Floki giggling in the background, delighted at his friends getting along). Ivar enjoyed your company, finding you funny and clever, with a biting wit and a slightly snide sense of humor. Most shockingly to Ivar, you were kind and warm towards him, and you showed no hesitation or fear around him.

► Throughout the afternoon, Ivar becomes more and more intrigued by your body. It’s quite different from most women in Kattegat. He was used to seeing a lot of women who were thin and small, much like Margrethe, the only woman he had ever been with and touched. Your body, on the other hand, was thick and lush. It looked soft and warm. Ivar couldn’t help his brain from wandering to how your body would feel against his.

► In the confines of Floki’s cabin, you radiated confidence. You unapologetically took up space. It felt like your body was demanding to be looked at. (And, boy, did Ivar look. He wanted to bury his face in your breasts and wondered how they would feel in his hands.)

► Before you left Floki’s cabin, Ivar (seemingly) confidently asked you, “So, Y/N, when will I see you again?” instead of asking if he could see you again, because there was no question in his mind. He must see you again. Despite how confident he tried to come across, he was terrified of you rejecting him. With a playful glint in your eye, you answered that you could often be found on the sandy shores of the coast when you couldn’t sleep, and then you bustled off.

► After you left, Ivar discussed you with Floki for a bit, and Floki had nothing but lovely things to say about you. This cemented in Ivar’s mind that you were a good person, someone he wanted to know better.

► Ivar crawled out to the beach that night and found you sitting in the sand, watching the waves, just as you had promised. You met that night, and many nights after that. You would sit in the sand and watch the waves, stargaze, talk about everything and nothing all at once. You were like no one Ivar had ever met, and he was amazed at how open and vulnerable he could be with you. You understood things and you didn’t judge him. Ordinarily, Ivar would be kicking himself for admitting to anyone the things he would tell you, but he trusted you more than he had ever trusted anyone else.

► However, as the weeks went by, Ivar became increasingly dissatisfied with your arrangement. Why could he only see you at night when no one else was around? Terrible thoughts swirled in Ivar’s head until one day he admitted to himself that you must be too ashamed to be seen with him because he was a cripple. As the hours drew on that day, getting closer and closer to your meeting time, he dwelled on this, his rage and bitterness increasing. He thought you had been different. He thought he had finally found someone who saw past his legs and through his cruel persona, but apparently he was wrong. This betrayal crushed him, which in turn infuriated him. He would have to confront you that night.

► “Good evening, Ivar,” you greeted him warmly before you realized his face was hard with anger. The next thing you knew, he was blurting out an enraged rant about how you had lied to him and were stringing him along, about how you were just like everyone else. You were paralyzed with confusion and alarm, not sure what you had done to cause this kind of reaction from him. By the end of his tirade, tears welled up in his eyes. Finally he bleated out in a very small, cracked voice, “I am a fool. I trusted you, and now my heart is broken.” His face crumpled and the tears began to flow.

► You reached out to hold him, but he yanked his body away from you. Your voice was quiet and shaking. “Ivar, what is this about?” Tears had begun to well up in your own eyes. You were shaken by seeing this boy you cared so much about be so hurt by you and yet not knowing what you did to cause it. Your voice cracked as you started crying. “What did I do?”

► “You never want to see me in the daylight. You never want other people to see us together because you’re embarrassed by me. I thought you were different,” he whimpered.

► You began to cry harder, realizing the misunderstanding and scolding yourself for letting him think that he was the reason for your behavior. “No, Ivar,” you gasped out. “It’s not you. It’s me. There’s a reason why you’ve never seen me around Kattegat before. It’s because I don’t want to be seen. Whenever I go out, I feel people staring at me, at my body, making rude comments, cruel jokes. I can’t bear it. It’s not you, Ivar.”

► Hearing your confession made Ivar weep harder, but this time he was weeping for you. The thought of someone as lovely as you experiencing that level of shame and insecurity, that feeling of never quite being at home in your own body, crushed him — because it was a pain he knew all too well, one that he wouldn’t even wish on his worst enemy. He had found you so confident when he first met you in Floki’s cabin that he would never have guessed that you felt the way you do. It finally occurred to him that Floki’s cabin was a refuge for you, much like it was for himself — a place where you could both be comfortable in your own skin without fear of judgment from others.

► Ivar wrapped you in his arms, pulling you close to him. “No, my sweet Y/N. You’re beautiful and you shouldn’t hide yourself away. You’re special and the world needs to know about you.” He tearfully kissed your forehead as your body shook with quiet sobs. As the tears began to subside,  the two of you would sit side-by-side in the sand, you resting your head against his shoulder, and him resting his head against yours. He wrapped his fur shawl around the both of you. You sat together in a comfortable, understanding silence as both of you let your tears stop and breathing return to normal.

► Gently, Ivar said, “I want you to come have supper with my family tomorrow. I can meet you at your home and escort you to mine so you won’t have to do it alone.” You conceded.

► The next day, during your trip through the village, you felt self-conscious and you were afraid that everyone was looking at you. You were worried that Ivar would become embarrassed by being seen with you and that he might resent the unwanted attention that you drew to him. When you sadly admitted that to him, he just laughed and reminded you about who he was. “They’re not staring at you. It’s the fully grown man dragging himself through the mud that they’re looking at.” He paused for a second. “I’m used to it. At least now when they stare at me, I can show off my pretty lady,” he added playfully.

► Ivar would take it upon himself to be your protector. If anyone dare to harass you or make you feel small, they could expect a rather unpleasant interaction with Ivar the Boneless.

► With the two of you seeing each other more often and more openly, your relationship quickly became a committed one. (His family adored you because your presence seemed to quell a lot of Ivar’s pent up rage and made him a bit more even-keeled.)

► He loves your soft body, holy shiiiit. Not only do his legs ache from his condition, but the rest of his body is in constant pain from having to drag himself around everywhere through the dirt and over rough terrain. The softness of your body is a welcome reprieve. At night, he would just let his body melt into yours, letting all of his tension slip away.

► Also, his legs ache more if they were cold, so the extra heat that your body would generate under the furs with him in bed would help him a bit with his pain.

► He loves making out with you in bed, with him sitting up against the headboard and you on your knees, straddling his lap. It would give him easy access to everywhere he loves to kiss and grope. (Oh, and he finally gets to live out his old daydreams of burying his head between your tits. It’s even more amazing than he had imagined.)

► For a while, both of you would be reluctant to have sex with each other because neither of you wanted to reveal your bodies. He was very insecure about his legs, and he had always refused to show them bare to anybody. You were already insecure about how you looked, which was made worse when you mistook his reluctance to take your physical relationship to the next level to be because he wasn’t aroused by your body.

► One day, you decided to take the plunge and tried to slip your hand into his trousers to stroke his cock. He stopped you, and you began to tear up, humiliated by his rejection, thinking that he wasn’t attracted to you. Shame took over his face, and he quietly said, “No, Y/N, I… I can’t. It was foolish of me to think this could actually work.” He paused for a beat. “Maybe you should be with a man who could actually pleasure you.” His face began to contort into a look of bitterness. You were so confused. “What are you talking about?” He admitted to you that he was unsuccessful in his one attempt to have sex in the past, so he wasn’t sure he was able to do it. Plus he was afraid of you seeing his legs and being repulsed by his body.

► You were relieved and horrified at the same time — relieved that he wasn’t disgusted by your body, but horrified that he thought that you would ever be disgusted by him or his legs. You assured him that you could never be turned off by his body, and then you revealed your own insecurities about your own appearance. “You could have any woman you want,” you sighed. “You’re a prince and the son of Ragnar Lothbrok. I don’t know why you would want me.” Hurt crossed Ivar’s face. “No, I can’t have just any woman, not after having you. No one has ever understood me like you, and no one has ever loved me like you, and I’m certain that no one else ever will, not the way you do.” He comforted you and assured you that he thought you looked so beautiful and soft, and how your body was like his own little slice of Valhalla on earth.

► You begin to chuckle. His eyes reveal hurt, thinking you’re making fun of him, and then his face contorts into anger. “What? What’s so funny?” You reach your hand up to stroke his face. “It’s just that we have both been so worried about our own bodies that neither of us could enjoy each other’s company.” A weak smile slides across his face. You kiss his forehead. “How about we try to stop worrying so much about our own bodies and instead just focus on trying to make each other feel good?”

► “I want nothing more than to pleasure you, Y/N,” Ivar groaned, “but my damn cock just won’t work. What kind of man am I if my cock won’t work?” You lean into him and purr into his ear, “There are other ways for us to please each other.” This definitely piqued Ivar’s interest.

► When he finally takes off his pants revealing his legs, he flinches, afraid that he’ll see a look of disgust or pity on your face when you see them. Instead, he’s blown away when you look down at them lovingly, gently run your hands up and down them, and lean down to press a kiss to one of his thighs. After you move yourself back up to kiss him on the lips, he would quietly mumble, “I thought surely that would have sent you running.” You smile reassuringly. “Never.”

► Similarly, you were afraid to look at him when you finally took off your clothes, revealing every bump and roll on your body, nowhere to hide. You looked off to the side, embarrassed. “Y/N, look at me,” Ivar gently urges. You slowly turn your head to face him. A giant smile is on his face, awe in his eyes. “You look like a fertility goddess. Now come here and let me worship you.” He cannot keep his hands off of you. Your soft form is intoxicating. He wants to kiss and nip at every surface of your body.

► His legs are sickly thin from lack of use, and so he finds something so glorious and erotic about your thick legs, particularly your thighs. His hands are always kneading them and squishing them, sometimes even leaving little bruises from how hard he gropes your soft flesh. He would also love to be between your legs, his face buried between your lush thighs as he pleasures you with his tongue and fingers. When his fingers aren’t working themselves in and out of your folds, you better believe that they’re running up and down your legs, caressing your thighs.

► One of his favorite things to do is to lay on top of you and suckle on your heavy breasts as you run your hands through his hair and whisper to him. It makes him feel so calm and so connected to you. (I’m not saying that he has a weird breastfeeding kink because his mother continued to breastfeed him well into childhood… but yeah, that’s precisely what I’m saying.)

► He didn’t realize how much it would mean to him for you to worship his body until you were actually doing it, gently and lovingly stroking every surface and covering him with kisses, whispering your praises. At first he’d want you to stay away from his legs, still scared that you would be turned off by them, until you reminded him that they were a very special part of him. “Your legs have made you the person you are. For that, I think they’re beautiful.” Though the thought of you touching his legs would initially be a horrifying idea to him, he would eventually grant you permission to stroke and massage them, alleviating some of the pain that ran through them. Eventually this became a very erotic experience to him, one that he looked forward to.

► Loving and accepting each other’s bodies would be so cathartic for Ivar and would help him work through some of the self-loathing and rage that has been pent up inside of him for so long. He was so in love with your body, and it confused and hurt him whenever you would talk negatively about your own appearance or how uncomfortable you were in your own skin. He wanted nothing more than for you to be able to see yourself how he saw you. It soon began to occur to him that maybe this could be applied to him as well. You always told him and showed him how much you adored his body, so maybe you saw something he couldn’t see. Maybe he wasn’t the disfigured monster he always imagined himself to be.

► The path to self-love is a hard one, but the two of you on that journey together makes it a little easier to ride out.

[fa-nfiction]

Thunder #42

“He’s fussy today. I don’t know what’s up with him. I’m really sorry, if I had known I’d have left him at my Mum’s …”

Teddy was bawling his eyes out while I was desperately trying to make him calm down by pushing his baby carrier slightly back and forth. 

It’d been that way since we got off the plane. 

“Easy, darl’. Hold up. I’ll park right over here.” Michael took a turn and parked the car at a rest area that had magically appeared. 

There, he exited and got Teddy out of the carrier in an instant. I procured a bottle of milk and passed it on, and in a matter of minutes Teddy managed to calm down in his dad’s arms. A couple of minutes more, and the boy was sound asleep, his tiny fingers wrapped around the bottle.

“Don’t ever say that, Cas. That you should’ve let him stay at home. He’s my boy.” Michael said as he rocked him gently.

“I know. I just feel bad. That he’s been this way, and-”

“Don’t. It’s fine. Look at him, all asleep and happy now.” Michael looked at the boy and I felt my heart soar.

“Besides. It’s probably just the English air. He doesn’t like it.” He said and picked his box of cigarettes from his pocket before handing it to me. I lit one up and made sure to stand a bit from Teddy so the smoke wouldn’t bother him. The nicotine shooting through my body made me feel calmer.

“Oh, is that so? The dreadful, English air, huh?” 

“Mm-hmm.” He replied while rocking Teddy gently. “You should have seen me. The first couple of weeks I was crying my heart out too. We don’t like it.”

I bit my cheek from laughing too loudly at his remark.

“Oh. Yeah, I understand. It must be terrible.” I teased back and put out the cigarette. Michael put Teddy into the carrier again, and miraculously, he didn’t wake up. Within moments, we were back on the road.

 “You sent out the RSVPs yet?”

“Not yet, no.” I replied as we took a turn from the motorway and headed towards the central London. Teddy was still sound asleep. “Planning to do it tonight, though. I’ll just send them by Facebook.”

“Facebook? I thought you were going to mail them.”

“Not the way it works today, old man.”

Michael smirked at my remark and grabbed my thigh, teasing me. “What about Yasmin? I’m sure she doesn’t have one.”

“You’re dead wrong about that.” I scrolled through my phone to find the document I was searching for. We were going to have a big going away party, but nobody knew yet. That’s why I was creating an RSVP on the phone, readying it for to be sent tonight. I dreaded the girls’ reactions. I knew they were going to support me no matter what, but I also knew that they’d have a thing or two to say about it as well. 

“It’s going to work out.” Michael could sense my uncertainty and he caressed my thigh while simultaneously maneuvering the car through the traffic.

“They’re gonna yell at me. I know it. Especially Cait.”

“What, for moving here?”

“They haven’t really come round to you, I think.”

Michael sighed and took his hand back to the wheel.

“And you?” He looked straight ahead, focused, concentrated, seemingly emotionless. I knew that wasn’t the case. He was anxious. 

“All is in the past.” I said and tried to block the memories. “All is good now.”

“Good. I have something that you have to see.”

“Yeah, what are we doing here?” I looked around and recognized the area of Kensington and Chelsea. It wasn’t long until we drove into the Notting Hill area. On and on we went, until we were headed down a small road. 

He parked the car, waved at a man seemingly waiting for us, and lit up a cigarette. I was completely dumbfounded, but managed to get myself and Teddy out of the car. The boy had now woken up and happily accepted the piece of bread I offered him. 

 “Steve!” Michael waved at the man, who now came closer. He was about Michael’s age, dressed in a casual suit, and carrying a briefcase of sorts. He had a very realtor-esque look about him.

“Steve, this is … Cassie. And our boy, Teddy.”

“Hello, how nice to meet you.” Steve said and shook my hand. Teddy waved at him. 

“Likewise. Eh, if you don’t mind me asking - what’s … all this?”

Steve chuckled lightly. “He hasn’t told you, has he?” Steve turned to Michael. “This is your new home, if you’ll accept.”

“A … what? How?”

Steve chuckled again. “Not to your liking, or?”

“Of course it is. I just … I’m sorry, Steve, I just need to talk to Michael for a bit.”

“No problem. I’ll be waiting out here, you can talk inside if you like to.”

With a wink at Michael, he unlocked the door and showed us inside. I could feel how completely shocked I looked as I walked in.

 It was beautiful. To the left, there was a large, light kitchen and to the right, a large open space, perfectly fitted to become a living room. In the middle, a large wooden staircase led up to the first floor. 

Teddy seemed just as fascinated as I was, as his large blue eyes scoured through the room. I put him down and he began to crawl around.

Michael stepped  up at me from behind and carefully laid an arm around me.

“If it’s… if you don’t like it, we’ll sell it and find another. Just say so.”

“Sell it? Wait, it’s ours already? Why haven’t you said anything? Ugh, that’s so typical you-“

He moved to stand in front of me, a sad expression on his face.

“It was my Dad’s. I got it after he passed.”

“Oh my God, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“It’s okay. It’s just … I’m just a little unsure about it.”

Teddy had crawled all the way to the wall and tried to stand up. He hadn’t quite figured out how just yet.

“Why?”

“It was my Dad’s. We didn’t exactly have the best thing going on.”

“Oh, it’s a too many bad memories thing?”

Michael nodded, brows furrowed.

“I think it’s beautiful, Michael.” I took his hand as I spoke and he looked up at me with a half-smile.

Teddy’s happy baby talk made the both of us look to where he was standing. He had now managed to stand up, and used his chubby baby hand to support his balance. With a gorgeous smile, he looked at Michael and like that, out of the blue, he spoke his first word.

“Daaaad!” 

We looked at each other, baffled and amazed, before we exploded in cheers and laughter.

 ( … )

 It didn’t take more than a couple of minutes for, well, everyone, to reply as I’d sent out the RSVPs.

Yasmin was the first to respond with an all caps “I KNEW IT” and a ton of heart emojis.

Megan wrote a completely neutral “congratulations!” but it seemed like there was a lot more to it than that. Caitlin called my phone, and I didn’t answer. I was trying to tuck Teddy in, but just as Michael said, he hated the dreadful English air. Also, there were the entirely new surroundings of Nathan’s apartment which we had borrowed for our stay. There had been way too many new impressions for him today, and there was no way he would go to sleep early tonight.

“Pick it up!” A message from Caitlin read.

“Can’t. Tucking Teddy in.” 

“We need to talk about this.”

Ugh. For fuck’s sake, Cait. 

“I had hoped you’d be happy on my behalf?”

“I am. I hope you’ll be happy.”

“I am happy, Cait.”

“That’s good, then.”

 I didn’t know what to write back to her, and I put my phone away and tried to sing a song for Teddy. It seemed to calm him down, and as I laid down beside him and laid my arm around him, he finally began to close his eyes. I did the same, only to rest for a moment.

 The nightmares came quickly. They were about the same things that they were usually about. Some were with horrible scenarios where Teddy was missing, and I had to run through the entire city of Kenmare to finally find him. And when I did, I would find him in Michael’s arms, and Michael would be surrounded by beautiful women. Or, when the nightmare was particularly bad, there would just be one. One that was now his girlfriend. One that would have me kicked out of our home, one that would be Teddy’s new mother. This night, it was a particularly bad one. It had me tossing and turning until finally, I sat up in the bed with a scream. Sweaty and distraught, I flew out of bed and didn’t stop until I collided with Michael in Nathan’s hallway. He grabbed me by the arms and stopped me from running further.

“Cassie? Cassie! What is it?”

“You … you ... “ I cried. The memory of the dream was etched into my brain, and I was still in a state between sleeping and being awake. “You were with somebody else.”

He released me and I heard him sigh. 

“How many times do we have to go over this?” I heard his voice change from worry to anger, and like that, I began to become angry as well. “How many times do I have to apologize?”

“I dunno, Michael. Start now and stop in 80 years?” I snarled back at him.

He backed away and let out a dry laugh. It only served to make me even angrier.

“What do you want me to do? You can keep on doing this-” He gestured vaguely with his arms. “Or you can accept that I am sorry, that it won’t happen again, and that I love you. But I need an answer.”

“How can you EVEN imply that I’m just delicate. How can you FUCKING not see that I’m like this because of you?” 

“Lower your voice. Teddy might waken.”

“I’ll bloody well scream the house down if I want to.” I replied, but with a lower voice than before.

“Fine. But you have a problem. You weren’t exactly a saint, either.”

“A saint? What the fuck, Michael? At what point did I do something that made you go “hmm, well, yeah. I’ll screw someone else.” Fuck off. You fucking idiot. You fucking twat.”

I could feel tears running down my cheeks, tears that came from the entire situation. The dream, Michael’s misunderstanding, our argument, and the fact that he was right. If we moved in together, this would never end. I would always wake up from nightmares. He would have to deal with this jealousy forever. Teddy would, at some point, begin to understand that Mum and Dad weren’t good friends right now. I could feel my heart breaking at the realization. I sat down, back turned against the wall, and cried.

Although I didn’t deserve any of it, Michael sat down next to me and with one arm, he pulled me in next to him. I could feel him kiss the top of my head as my crying kept on, quiet as the night around us.

[carmenlire]

Hi! I don't know when/how you take prompts but i would love if you wrote about malec having a misunderstanding (not necessarily fighting) and how they communicate and understand each other's point of view, only if you want and like the idea of course. Thank you 💛

Hi dear!! I’m always taking prompts– it might take a little while for me to write them but my inbox is always open if you ever wanna stop by and leave one just like you did! I loved this idea and I hope you enjoy this! Thank YOU for the wonderful request!!!

read on ao3

“Darling, what do you think– Royal or Navy?”

Alec looks up from his book and sees two near identical shades of blue. Magnus is holding the swatches of fabric with an expectant look on his face and Alec inwardly winces. He bites his lip, eyes moving between the two but he doesn’t want to say anything– he doesn’t want to say anything wrong.

“They both look good, babe. It’s up to you,” he defers.

He looks back down at his book, missing the way that Magnus’s face falls. His eyes don’t track the lines of text, though. Instead, he’s busy thinking about why Magnus had asked him such a question.

They were getting married in three months. Magnus had said yes to his stumbling proposal last month and now the two of them were going to exchange vows as the leaves turned and the air grew chilly.

Alec was more excited than words could say. There were times, when he stopped and thought this is my life now, and it felt like this feeling rising in him was too much for a physical body to contain. Sometimes he looked over at Magnus and his heart swelled fit to burst.

His life was so different now than it’d been five years ago. More difficult than he could’ve ever imagined but infinitely more rewarding. He woke up beside Magnus every morning and went to bed knowing he was safe and loved and cared for by his best friend.

Magnus had started asking him leading questions about his preferences over the past few weeks. Magnus wanted his opinion on colors and menus and flavors of cake. There were decisions to be made about flowers and locations and guest lists. It was enough to make Alec dizzy and he didn’t know how Magnus was handling it all and his high warlock responsibilities without a hitch in his step.

While Alec appreciated that Magnus took the time to check in with him about the wedding, he didn’t understand it. In shadowhunter culture, the man asked and if the woman accepted then she and her other women friends and family members planned the thing. The man was expected to show up and draw the wedded union rune as neatly as possible.

While Alec scoffed at the heteronormative roles his society dreamt up on a regular basis, he couldn’t quite shake this one, no matter that he was marrying a man. While he’d been in perpetual and suffocating turmoil during his brief engagement to Lydia, she’d handled all the details like a veteran general. Alec’s opinions had been neither needed nor asked for and he hadn’t seen any issue with that.

Especially since when he’d thought of that wedding, it was like a vise was choking the soul out of him.

This time around, Alec was happy. He was happier than he ever thought possible. But, he still hesitated and ultimately declined to tell Magnus anything. He wasn’t as sophisticated as Magnus. It wasn’t sad; it was just the way things were. This was Magnus’s first– and if Alec had anything to say about it, only– wedding and he wanted him to have the day of his dreams. He didn’t need to feel pressured to accommodate Alec’s preferences or requests when he was just full of joy to show up and claim the love of his life for the rest of his days.

Hell, they could marry in a field of chickens during a thunderstorm and Alec would be content, so long as by the end of things they both had their wedding bands glinting in the golden autumn light.

Alec startles out of his reverie, imagining a dozen different wedding scenarios, as the book is snatched out of his hand and tossed carelessly to the floor. Alec is just about to exclaim that it was one of Magnus’s books from the eighteenth century when the man in question slides into his lap, wrapping his arms around Alec’s shoulders and playing with the hair at his nape.

His glamour is down like it always is when it’s just the two of them in their space and Alec gets lost for a minute as he watches the last rays of the evening play over Magnus’s face.

It only takes a minute, though, for him to realize that something is wrong. While Magnus seems as comfortable as ever straddling Alec, there’s a line of tension running through him that Alec can’t help but notice.

He lays his hands on Magnus’s hips, pulling him just a touch closer and Magnus smiles, faintly.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

Arching a brow, Magnus sniffs. “If I didn’t know better, I’d wonder if you wanted to marry me at all, Alexander. You’re the most opinionated man I’ve ever met and you don’t care about anything to do with this wedding–”

“I proposed,” Alec splutters, brain going a million miles an hour as he takes in Magnus’s words. What the fuck is he talking about? Alec is confused as he sees the flash of hurt and disappointment in Magnus’s eyes.

Magnus rolls his eyes. “Yes, you proposed. You asked me to marry you in the most adorable you way possible and then it’s like you stopped caring! I ask what colors you prefer for the scheme and you shrug. I prompt you to decide on a wedding cake flavor and you just eat every sample and talk about how they’re all delicious. I show you a dozen different fonts for the invitations and your eyes look a million miles away. I know that this isn’t really your thing but I thought you’d at least have one or two requests for our wedding.”

“You.”

Blinking, Magnus echoes, “You?”

Alec shrugs, can’t help the soft smile that comes over his face as he watches Magnus work himself up into a state. He wishes he’d known that this was bothering Magnus but now that he does, they can work it out.

“I want you. That’s all I need. I need you to show up and look beautiful as always and say, ‘I do.’ That’s it. Everything else can make it look pretty and romantic but at the end of the day, all I need for my wedding to be perfect is for you to be standing next to me. Honestly, I probably won’t even notice anything else, not when I’ll have you to look at all evening.”

Magnus melts against Alec, leaning forward and gently connecting their lips. It’s a chaste kiss, if lingering, and Alec hums a little at the taste of Magnus’s chapstick. Magnus pulls back after a minute and the loft is quiet, hushed.

Smiling, Magnus reaches out and sweeps his thumb over Alec’s cheek. Such a simple gesture still makes Alec’s heart skip a beat and his eyes close as he nuzzles into Magnus’s palm.

“You say the sweetest things, my love.” He looks confused as he asks, “You really don’t have anything you want at your wedding? Just one or two thing that you think would make the day just a little bit better?”

Uncomfortable, Alec jerks his shoulder. “It’s your wedding.”

Magnus shakes his head, the hand not cupping Alec’s cheek reaching down and intertwining their hands. “It’s our wedding, Alexander, and I want this to be the best day of your life like I know it will be mine.” He cuts Alec off before he can say anything. “Yes, I know me just showing up in a garbage bag would be fine but I want this day to be more than fine. I want it to be a representation of us. Our favorite colors and foods and friends and interests.”

Alec is quiet for a moment and Magnus lets him think. Often, Alec wonders how Magnus seems to know him so well, knows just what he needs and when he needs it and just how much.

“I’m a shadowhunter,” he starts, biting his lip. “I never meant for a single second to make you doubt that I wasn’t the happiest man alive to be able to marry you. It’s just that– I’m a shadowhunter.“ Alec repeats helplessly. "I proposed. That’s all I’m supposed to do until the wedding day. I didn’t mean to put all the planning pressure on you; I just assume you wanted it.”

Shaking his head gently, Magnus settles against Alec more firmly. “You know what they say about making assumptions, darling,” he teases. “I’ll admit that I’m surprised at that attitude, though now that I think about it, I don’t know why. Really, I should’ve figured that you wouldn’t be interested in the details.”

There are words at the tip of his tongue and Alec bites them back, unsure. Magnus looks at him, puzzled, before tentatively offering, “Why don’t we agree right now that whenever I ask your opinion on something about the wedding, you tell me the truth?”

Alec can’t help but blurt out, “But what if you don’t like it?”

Surprised, Magnus raises his brows. “What do you mean?”

Alec clears his throat. “What if I say something you don’t like or we have opposite opinions?”

Smiling, Magnus wraps his arms around Alec’s neck and leans forward until their foreheads press softly together. In the space between them, Magnus murmurs, “Then we can talk things out like the mature adults we are or–” his voice drops, making Alec shiver, “I can think of how to convince you to my way of thinking.”

Alec’s helpless to do anything but close that remaining inch. He kisses Magnus with startling intensity, all the more devastating for its gentleness.

They kiss for long, lazy minutes. Alec will never, ever get used to kissing Magnus. No matter the context, the simple pleasure of feeling Magnus’s lips against his grounds him, pleases him, in the most visceral way.

They break apart, breathing hard and it takes Alec several seconds to remember what they were talking about.

“I just don’t want to disappoint you,” he says, voice husky. “This is your wedding and I want it to be everything you want.”

Magnus’s eyes are liquid pools of adoration as he strokes his thumb across Alec’s bottom lip. “What I want is for us to plan our wedding together. It doesn’t need to be stressful or time consuming. We have a few months and luckily, I’m a warlock.” He waves his hands, letting blue sparks fall from it and Alec laughs, a sound of pure joy tinged with amusement.

The two of them are leaning towards each other and Magnus’s eyes are heavy, dazed with desire. Without thinking, Alec breathes, “Royal.”

Magnus blinks in surprise, before pulling back. Alec’s hands travel under the hem of his shirt, resting on the warm skin of his back as he grins.

“Royal blue,” Alec repeats, firmly. “It’ll bring out your eyes more.”

Magnus smiles, positively grins as he processes Alec’s suggestion. He chuckles, shaking his head. “I knew you had opinions.”

“You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into, babe.”

“Oh, I think I do,” Magnus says absently, eyes glued to Alec’s mouth. “And I can’t wait.”

[princessofthedarkrealm]

The Ape King’s Raine (A Dawn of the Planet of the Apes story)- Chapter 5 {part 2}

(Caesar x human female)

As soon as we got back, one of the chimps started hooting. Loudly. Like he was raising an alarm. Then another joined him.

I glanced nervously at Blue Eyes. “What does that mean?”

He shrugged. Iris came running, followed closely by Thorn. I knew their shapes and markings well now.

I held out my hands. “What’s going on?”

Iris hugged me. She actually hugged me. I shot Thorn a questioning glance, but he didn’t say anything. Finally she let me go.

“Where were you? Are you alright? We all very worried. Caesar very worried.”

Her hands were moving so fast, I almost couldn’t keep up. But I caught her meaning well enough.

I held out my hands again. “I’m fine. What’s going on?”

And then I saw him. It was like the sun breaking through the clouds. Which was saying a lot because it was very overcast right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if it rained soon. I could tell just by his stance that he was agitated. Jeez since when did I get so good at reading ape body language? Or rather his body language. We slowly approached each other.

I couldn’t tell by his face if he was pissed off or just worried, but I had a feeling I was going to end up getting an earful either way. This was exactly why I didn’t like getting close to people. Once emotions started getting involved, it was nothing but a complication. That’s why I preferred having female friends. They understood other women.

So I was just going to have to teach Caesar to understand me.

“I had some uh…issues in the woods this morning.” Keeping my voice soft and my eyes downcast, I lifted my arms to show him my wounds. I gave him a small smile. “Lesson learned. Always keep your arms covered when picking berries.”

His expression softened a bit as he eyed my arms. So far, so good. Maybe he wouldn’t fuss too badly.

I held my string of fish out to him, my smile broadening. “I caught some fish. Blue Eyes taught me. It was a lot of fun being out there…”

My words died in my throat as I fully met his gaze. His eyes…they were pleading, desperate. Desperate for what?

I had never wished so badly to be able to read minds. I felt a drop of rain on my cheek. Another on my arm. I would have to find shelter soon, but I didn’t really care to be in my new room right now.

I lowered my voice for him just him to hear. “I won’t do it again. I promise.”

“You broke…rules.”

My mouth fell open. Was he serious?

“Must face punishment.”

His eye twitched. Like he had blinked. Holy shit! Did he just wink? Caesar just winked at me.

“I didn’t know of any rules.” My voice shook, but not from fear. Was he actually suggesting without making it obvious that he wanted to speak to me? Alone? Was he just acting angry to save face?

Fine. I could put on a show as well. I lowered my gaze. “I am sorry if I have been misunderstanding some things around here. It is impossible for someone to learn the rules of any place within a few days, especially when I am treated as a guest one minute and a prisoner a next.” Ouch. That had to have stung. But I wasn’t done yet. I had learned more than a few things from my cage within the last several days. And one of them was this—no one disrespects Caesar. I lowered myself into a crouch, my head lowered as well. I reached out my left hand, palm upward and fingers bent. Like I said, I’ve learned a few things. “I apologize greatly for any offense or for any worry I may have caused. I promise that I will try harder for the betterment of myself and this colony if I am to continue to be a guest here.”

Nothing happened at first. No one even spoke. The first thing I felt were cool, tiny raindrops peppering my skin. But then I felt something else, something just as soft—feather light fingertips brushing along my palm.

Caesar had forgiven me.

I got back to my feet. The rain was definitely coming down harder now, the drops larger.  My face burned. There was no way it wasn’t flaming red right now.

My eyes flashed to Caesar’s face. Shit. What in the hell had I just done? I needed to get out of there. Oh. Wasn’t there something I was supposed to do?

I turned to Blue Eyes and held out the fish.  “Here. You know what to do with this before I will. Oh and the bear. Tell him.” I pointed to Caesar.

Blue shrugged. Shit. His hands were already full. I passed the fish to Ash then tried to make my way around him to stand next to Iris. As I did I noticed Caesar’s eyes following me. Well I had gotten his undivided attention. But right now he needed to pay attention to his son.

Blue told Caesar about the bear.

“We will be more careful. More watchful,” Caesar signed back.

A gust of wind caught me and I shivered. Time to put on my jacket. I glanced up at the sky. It was an angry grey. As I finished pulling my jacket on, I caught Caesar’s gaze again. Still watching me.

What?! I wanted to holler at him.

Finally our group started to disperse. Yay. I decided to go with Iris and Thorn back to their place. No need to be climbing to my tower in this weather. I started to follow them, but Caesar’s voice stopped me.

“Raine?”

Yes it is doing that, I wanted to retort. I so had a love-hate relationship with my name.

“Come. I must speak with you.”

Did I want to follow him? Not at the moment. Should I want to follow him? Depends on who you ask. Did I follow him?

Like the moon follows the earth.

**********

It was pouring now. Thunder rumbled. Luckily Caesar had a meager fire going in the middle of the room. There were two logs next to it, adjacent to each other. “Cold?” His voice was right next to my shoulder. I nodded. “A little.” “Come. Fire will warm you.” His voice was gentle. I couldn’t tell if he was offering or commanding. Caesar sat on one log. I sat on the other. The rain was a thick grey curtain. I would give almost anything to know one time what it would be like to sleep up here—with him. I placed my hands on my knees. “Are you...hurt? Your arms?” Boy he didn’t waste any time. “A little. It’s more of a burning feeling.” “Let me...see them?” I glanced up at him from under my lashes. My hands shook as I pulled up my sleeves. Caesar moved towards me and I turned sideways so that he could crouch in front of me. “They’re really not that bad. It shouldn’t take them long to heal.” Caesar’s large hand covered my left one. I sat stock still. His eyes, full of concern met mine. He slid his palm down mine. Then the fingertips. Then he lifted his hand and ran his fingers down my palm again. He glanced down at my hand then back up to me. “You know what this is? What it means?” I swallowed and slowly nodded. “It means forgiveness. That was an easy one to learn.” He removed his hand. “Please!” I had said it with more force than I had meant. Caesar froze. “Please keep doing that. Keep...” I took a deep breath, “touching my hand.” “You want me to touch you?” “Yes.” My voice was breathy. “I want you to touch me.” He took two fingers and, starting at the base of my palm, slowly ran the tips of them down my palm, all the way down my fingers. He repeated the motion. I watched him the whole time. If I had been chilly before, I was not so now. He did it again, then curled my fingers and enveloped my hand in his own.

“You are…sad? Being here?”

Iris definitely talked to him.

“Not really. I mean…I haven’t been. More just frustrated. This morning…I was very frustrated.”

“What happened?”

He ran his thumb over mine. Gosh darn it. Who would have thought he could be so gentle? So sweet?

“Yesterday I uh…I ruined something. A moment. You were trying to share something amazing with me and I got…” I had to explain this to him. “I got scared. I’m not very good with people. At connecting with them. Especially men. There was a guy a long time ago. We were very good friends. Then one day we decided to take it…further.” Memories of the day before, of Caesar holding me, came back to me. And for the first time since that happened, I felt at peace thinking about it. “It messed up everything.” I met Caesar’s gaze. Then I leaned in towards him. “I don’t know what I want to happen between us. But I do know that I don’t want fear to be a part of it anymore. These last several days have been so, so amazing, Caesar.” I covered his hand with my other one. “You told me that I didn’t want an ape to touch me. You were wrong. There is nothing,” I shook my head, “nothing in this world that I want more than that.”

Caesar’s countenance totally shifted. The crease in his brow went away. His mouth grew slack. And his eyes. His eyes roved my face. It was a look of relief. That was the only way I could describe it. He lifted his left hand and brought it to my face. I didn’t shy away this time as the pliant leather of his palm touched my cheek. He ran his thumb along my bottom lip. He moved even closer to me and I shifted, unsure of what he was doing. He moved his hand to my slightly damp hair and then brought his face next to mine, just like he had done before. I closed my eyes and brought my hand up to caress his chest. His fur was damp as well.

“Wait.”

He pulled back a little. I started to remove my jacket. Then I threw it behind us. Caesar rubbed his hands along my arms. His eyes had darkened a bit. I reaaaally wanted to take things slow, but how could I get him to see that without hurting him again.

“Hey why don’t we sit and watch the rain for a while?”

That seemed to defuse him a little bit. He gave me a half smile. “That would…be nice.”

I tilted my head at him. “Really? I’m sorry. We can still cuddle though.”

Now Caesar smiled. “Then I have just the spot.”

He stood and held out his hand to me. I took it. We went around the fire to a pile of furs. Uh…was this his bed? Not what I was going for, sweetheart. He must have sensed my sudden trepidation, because he stopped short. He turned to face me, still holding my hand.

“I will not…hurt you, Raine.”

I glanced down at the furs and tucked in my bottom lip. Please don’t ask me to have sex, Caesar. You don’t know what you would be asking.

Poor Caesar. I had just told him I didn’t want to be afraid of him anymore. But old habits did die  hard. I glanced out at the rain again. Still white out. I pulled my hand away from Caesar and took down my ponytail. I put it on my right wrist then sat cross legged in the fur. Caesar moved off to the side but still stayed close to me. I sensed him crouch down right next to me. His hand came up and brushed my hair aside. For some reason I got an overwhelming desire to snuggle against his chest. Why not? I shifted my position ‘til I was turned sideways. Caesar went to rest on his knees.

“You can’t be comfortable like this,” I told him.

“Only you I worry about,” came his gruff reply.

I let out a strangled moan as his mouth found my earlobe. He started sucking it.

I gasped. “Caesar.” I reached out and grasped his shoulder.

He leaned down further and started doing the same to my neck.

“Uh.” I started to lean back and put my hand out to brace myself. He slid his hand across my stomach. His face ended up in my hair and he inhaled deeply.

His mouth was back at my ear. His heavy breath sent chills straight down to my core.

“Only Raine I want to see. Want to feel.”

His teeth went down on my earlobe as he nibbled it. His hand sliding up to cup the edge of my breast over my shirt. I moaned and dug into his shoulder.

“What if...” He pulled away to loom over me, “what if someone walks in on us.”

“My home,” he said in a growling voice. “Mine.” He covered my breast with his hand. “No more cage.” He put his forehead against mine. “No more waiting.”

Waiting? Waiting for what?

“Touch me.”

Definite command. I reached up to touch his chest again. Then slid my hand to cup his neck. We stayed like this for a minute.

“I thought we were supposed to be cuddling,” I muttered. Caesar sighed. Then without warning he reached out and wrapped his arms around my midsection. I let out a yelp as he went over sideways and onto his back, bringing me with him. I busted out laughing. “Cuddling with ape...going to get rough.” I was now laying completely on top of him. I struggled to get lose, but his arms were like super thick hairy chords. Caesar’s chest reverberated with a chuckle. Finally I gave up and let my head lay limply on his chest. “Alright. You win. I guess I’ll just have to fall asleep.” I let myself go completely limp and started making fake snoring sounds. Lightning fast, Caesar’s hand was up in my hair, behind my neck.

“Ah.” I threw my neck back. He dug his hand in some more, tickling me. “No, no! That tickles.” My whole body flared up with goosebumps. He brought his hand to the side of my neck. I let out a high pitched cry.

“Shhh.” Caesar stopped altogether. “Apes will hear.” His voice was more serious now. He let me go and I rolled off of him. I scooted myself to a seated position between him and the fire.

“Well you started it,” I said in feigned anger. “I can’t be held responsible for my actions if you’re going to start something like that.”

Caesar hoisted himself up to a half sitting position, his face now serious.

“That was a joke, by the way. I can be sarcastic sometimes, so you just as soon get used to it.” I scooted down again next to him, my head propped up on my elbow. “If you want to,” I added.

Caesar ran his hand down my arm. He smiled at me. A smile of contentment. And at this moment I knew…we could make this work.

Whatever this was.

He reached up to caress my face with the back of his forefinger. “Nothing else in this world…I want more.”

@imaginesblvd

[julyshewrites]

What makes a love story really great? Here’s what I’ve learned so far...

It’s all in the Proof of Love!

I’ve been really diving more into studying the structure of stories, especially love stories. It’s my favorite genre – not just as a stand alone, but because you see it paired with other genres all the time. My favorite story guru, Steven Pressfield’s editor Shawn Coyne (author of The Story Grid), says that if you had to pick one genre to learn how to write, choose Romance, for this exact reason. Romance is not limited to the women’s section in the bookstore. Romance is EVERYWHERE.

So… what makes a love story so good that it fills your daydreams, puts your heart to flutter, or as we call it, gives us “the feels”?

Well, to start, a love story typically has 3 pillars:

1- The Lovers Meet (Inciting Incident of your plot) 2- The Lovers Breakup (Midpoint) 3- The Lovers Reunite (Resolution)

Sounds simple, but I’ve read (and written) plenty of romances that follow these pillars, yet still fall short of being anything close to a good love story. They feel cliche and melodramatic.

Love stories like these fall flat because they lack a crucial element in between the the breakup and the ending that if nailed right, drives that cupid’s arrow right in our heart and gives us the satisfaction we crave.

This crucial element is called the Proof of Love scene.

Really then, when writing your story, you should have 4 elements:

1- The Lovers Meet (Inciting Incident) 2- The Lovers Breakup (Midpoint) 3- Proof of Love (Climax) 4- The Lovers Reunite (Resolution)

What then is a “Proof of Love” scene?

Well, it is simply what it says – it’s when one of the lovers proves their love to the other. When we think of typical romances, it’s the “run through the airport to profess your love” scene. But those can be cliche, right? 

The romances that really get us are the ones that have a proof of love that is so powerful, we know that the couple is truly, deeply in love and committed. 

I think of two examples. First, the classic Pride and Prejudice. The ultimate proof of love is when Elizabeth finds out that Mr. Darcy orchestrated her sister’s marriage to his enemy, and by doing so rescues Elizabeth (and her family) from being tainted by the scandal her sister created by running away with a rogue. There were other things Mr. Darcy did along the way that started to soften Elizabeth towards him (which I’ll discuss here later), but that event was the clincher – where she realizes that Mr. Darcy absolutely loves her, and she loves him just as much.

Another example is from The Notebook. It’s at the end, where we see that Noah tells Allie their love story day after day, year after year, only to gain a few seconds of her remembering him. Even when she forgets again and pushes him away, he is there by her side. We understand that no matter how many times Allie forgets Noah, he will never forget, and will return the next day and tell her the story again, even till the very end of their lives. Sniff

Why are these proof of loves scenes so powerful? How can we emulate them?

In order to have a powerful proof of love scene there are a couple ingredients you need:

1- A breakup scene where it’s almost impossible for the lovers to reunite 2- A sacrifice made without any expectation of return of affection

Let’s talk about the second ingredient first – SACRIFICE. 

Loving someone without any expectation is Unconditional Love.

This is someone loving us because they love us, without any selfish motives. It is what we all truly crave in life, and why love stories are so powerful. Don’t we all just wish that someone would see us and love us for who we are? That we don’t have to do anything to be worthy of that love other than being our true selves, flaws and all?

This is what Darcy does for Elizabeth. He really doesn’t think that Elizabeth will ever talk to him again, much less like him, but he goes out of his way to help her. He does it at the cost of his dignity, having to work with his enemy Mr. Wickham, whom he hoped to never have to deal with in his life ever again. He bends over backwards to fix the situation. And, he does all of it as anonymously as he can, making Elizabeth’s uncle take the credit, and asking that her aunt and uncle keep his role from Elizabeth. Now, that is proof of love!

Noah’s proof of love to Allie, although different in its expression, still has that same ingredient of sacrifice without expectation. He has gone to live with her in the nursing home, even though he is perfectly able to take care of himself. He doesn’t know when, or if, Allie will ever remember him. Now, he has hope, but that is different from expectation. Hope is still unsure. Expectation is demanding. But for Noah, no matter if Allie remembers him or not, he shows his children (and us), that that doesn’t matter. He will be by her side regardless. He loves her so much, and she doesn’t even remember him. What a powerful statement about unconditional love!

Now, let’s go back to the first ingredient – the BREAKUP!

No proof of love scene can work without first having a gut-wrenching, how-will-they-ever-get-back-together breakup scene.

The lovers must breakup, and not just temporarily. They must be so broken up that we can’t see how they could possibly repair their relationship and reunite.

This is a hard one, and also something that we as writers often don’t push far enough (myself included!). Here are some ways the breakup scene falls flat:

– The lovers breakup, but only for a short time (I’m looking at you 50 Shades of Gray/50 Shades Darker – 3 days?? Really??).  – Or they break up, but it’s all just a simple misunderstanding, that can be solved with a conversation. This one can work when that misunderstanding is done like in Pride and Prejudice (I’ll talk more on that in a second), but often its done where the misunderstanding is pretty simple.  – Or, they break up because of circumstances, but those circumstances are easily overcome. 

These are just a few examples, but you have probably seen more yourself. There’s just that meh feeling when it comes to the breakup. 

In other words, you really can’t go half-ass on your breakup.

Let’s talk about the Pride and Prejudice breakup. Their’s is a doozy. Their’s is based on misunderstanding, but oh what misunderstandings abound! Their misunderstandings stem from deep personal flaws, rooted also in their positions in society. Their misunderstandings comes from being on two complete sides of the spectrum. Plus, their personal flaws prevent them from even wanting to understand the other side and thinking they each are 100% right in their own views. We can almost see this clash coming, because we know they have been building their own views all along, so that argument they have is the culmination for all that. It’s not just that they’ve gotten along the whole time, and one simple situation created a misunderstanding that can easily be cleared up with a conversation. No, this misunderstanding is rooted deep in their souls.

And when they have their blow-up argument, Darcy has a lot to account for – treating Elizabeth and all her friends and family like dirt and even preventing her sister from marrying someone she loves because he feels it’s beneath his friend. What a jerk! I wouldn’t want to marry him either. Of course, Elizabeth is no angel herself. Although her family’s poor, it’s not that so much that as their terrible behavior in public, and Elizabeth’s fairly blind eye to admitting it. It’s her own haughtiness at thinking that she’s better than those snobby rich people, and her tendency to also judge people right away. With all that between them, and now their real feelings out in the open to each other, how on earth will they overcome that?

Well, they do, slowly but surely, but it takes some real work. Darcy’s proof of love culminates in the service he does to help Elizabeth’s sister marry Wickham, but it begins to build by the other changes he makes. Darcy tries to show he’s really a nice guy. Not just fake show it, but really be it. He even helps Jane get back with Bingley, and admits he was wrong. The proof of his love is in the pudding of action (and remember actions develop character).

The Notebook is a little trickier. We have a really good breakup scene in the middle of the movie (can you figure out why it’s a powerful breakup?). But, we also have that true, how-will-they-ever-get-back-together scene coupled with the proof of love. It’s because Allie has Alzheimers. How do you overcome that? You can’t, really. The only way Noah can try is to be a consistent presence in Allie’s life, and the last comfort of being in each other’s arms as they die. Okay, here’s my heart now. <X3 ;;o;;

So, to make your love story really great, let’s focus on these 3 pillars instead:

1- The Lovers Meet 2- The Lovers Breakup (and make it a good one!) 3- The Proof of Love (knowing the Lovers Reunite will fall naturally out of that)

If you can nail those you’ll be giving your readers “the feels” right and left! It’s something I’m slowly but surely working on myself. 

Whew! So that’s a lot to cover I know, but my hope is that by diving deep into these concepts our stories will be better for it. Romance it up!

[korporxie]

♡ for mitsu and zul? :eyes:

send a ♡ and i’ll fill this out for our muses !  i’ll bold what i want for their relationship, italic what i could see and strike out what i don’t .

For Mitsu!

FRIENDS.   childhood friends  /  work friends  /  family friends  /  recently friends  /  turning antagonistic  /  turning into something romantic  /  stable  /  falling apart  /  friendship of need  /  friendship of circumstance  / pen - pals or internet friends  /  coworkers  /  partners  /  other.

ROMANCE.   childhood sweethearts  /  newly entered  /  soulmates  /  skinny love  /  unrequited from my muses side  /  unrequited from your muses side  /  friends with benefits  /  awkward  /  fading  /  turning  toxic  /  toxic  and  destructive  /  other .

FAMILIAL BOND.   sibling bond  /  older sibling figure to your muse  /  younger sibling figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  parental figure to my muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal  guardian  /  other.

ENEMIES.   dangerous to themselves  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  passionate  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into a sexual tension  /  developing into a romantic tension  /  based off family matters  /  based of circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based of misunderstandings or lies  / other.

Like we talked about, I would absolutely LOVE and could absolutely see these two becoming very close and sisterly in nature. I think it would be easy enough to write them as having encountered each other somewhere at some time as children - whether it be visiting the same tailor for fancy kimonos, entertaining at festivals, or maybe even Mitsu seeing the parade of pretty maiko and geisha girls and Misaki being the friendly thing she was and waving to her and a friendship springing from there. Misaki is very quick to build sisterly bonds - it’s pretty much all she’s known, living exclusively with women who became her family not by blood, but by bond and circumstance.

At the same time, I could see some of the rumors and legends flying around about Misaki, the yakuza, family legends, and the real circumstances of her birth could cause some misconceptions and initially make Mitsu a little wary of her and unsure of what to make of her at first. Definitely a lot to work with, here, and I am psyched. 

For Zul!

FRIENDS.   childhood friends  /  work friends  /  family friends  /  recently friends  /  turning antagonistic  /  turning into something romantic  /  stable  /  falling apart  /  friendship of need  /  friendship of circumstance  / pen - pals or internet friends  /  coworkers  /  partners  /  other.

ROMANCE.   childhood sweethearts  /  newly entered  /  soulmates  /  skinny love  /  unrequited from my muses side  /  unrequited from your muses side (maybe more sexually than romantic, though?)  /  friends with benefits  /  awkward  /  fading  /  turning  toxic  /  toxic  and  destructive  /  other.

FAMILIAL BOND.   sibling bond  /  older sibling figure to your muse  /  younger sibling figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal  guardian  /  other .

ENEMIES.   dangerous to themselves  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  passionate  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into a sexual tension (more on Zul’s side)  /  developing into a romantic tension (this one seems unlikely for both of them, but maybe) /  based off family matters  /  based of circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based of misunderstandings or lies  /  other .

So. SO. These two. I could definitely see these two having crossed paths while Misaki was a prisoner to Garlemald, depending on when Zul stopped working with them. When she was there, especially at the beginning, she was a pretty desperate and confused girl. I picture her seeing Zul, seeing the scales, and just kinda going… “What the fuck, man?” I don’t think she would initially have bought that he was there by choice and would have tried to connect with him, on some level, so that she wasn’t so alone in the dark. Even if he wasn’t Hingan, he was close to her neck of her woods, and she’d be grasping at straws.

At the same time, I definitely could see it becoming a very antagonistic and unhealthy relationship if he didn’t respond to her sweetness and trying to befriend him, or if he responded but it seemed more like he was manipulating her than being genuine. Misaki tries to see the good in people, despite being a bit of a hard person herself, because she is soft and squishy and Too Good Too Pure Too Kind at her core. She would see his pain and want to help him, but she wouldn’t let him be unkind to her. As for the unrequited romantic/sexual stuff – Misaki is a character that’s almost built for that. She’s easy to love or to just be very physically attracted to. She’s beautiful, she’s tough, she’s smart, she’s kind – and she’s very unavailable, having been in love with her partner since just about the time they met. Misaki is incredibly loyal and so while she may find Zul to be handsome, she’d never stray from Etsuji.

Another pair I’m interested to explore and see the interactions of! Both Mitsu and Zul seem like really cool characters and I am EXCITE. Thank you so much for the ask and sorry for getting long and rambly!!!

@spottedscales / @toxicblades / @shiivermetimbers