#like a story -- it is highly no one else catches this aside for me

[grapecaseschoices]

Hello! Dropout anon back again! I was wondering if u had a pinterest board for Lloyd and Hayden? I would love to see their aesthetic. 👀👀

i doooooooooo. but i am very - as ive said - nitpicky because i like to organize it a certain away. BUT you lucked out! my indecisive ass flipped a coin and it said to share it.

it actually isn't BAD as is, so that's part of my motivation of sharing it.

the board is split into sections. so here are there aesthetic sections:

lloyd duarte.

Hayden Moise.

[markantonys]

I haven’t read the books but I do know what they have done with Moiraine and Siuan’s relationship is way more than it was in the books. On the one hand they developed it fully, have given them a very clear and deep 20 year relationship. And on the other hand, they also destroyed it fully by the end of season 2. Where do you think they are taking this? Will they stick to the books and give them their other relationships or will they weave them back together. It’s anyone’s guess but am interested to hear what yours is. I like the theory that their fallout was preplanned and part of the reason the episode was called daes daemar. But me liking something does not equal logic and fact to be sure

imo there's 0 chance that either of them will have their book relationships, that's just not happening and i find it a little silly when people (not you! but i've seen others doing it) immediately panic and think the show broke them up for that purpose haha of course i can understand why people are worried and upset! but it feels so SO unlikely that either character would ever have a romance with anyone but each other in the show, so that is one worry i think it's pretty safe to set aside altogether. (for time constraint reasons if nothing else; giving moiraine and/or siuan a brand-new love interest and having to develop that relationship would be far from the best use of the show's limited time. plus, i remember rafe outright called moiraine a lesbian in an interview once, so i highly doubt he's got plans for her, at least, to have a male love interest at any point.)

this got a little long so putting a read more!

personally i don't buy the preplanned fallout theory because i think the waygate scene doesn't work with it. if their goal was to make rand trust moiraine, then they accomplished that with their scene in the throne room; there was no need for siuan to chase them down to the waygate, she could've just let them leave if she was in on moiraine's plan here. the only time this theory felt plausible to me is when someone suggested they were in on it together UP UNTIL siuan saw moiraine channeling after moiraine had told her she was stilled, and so everything before that point was an act but everything after was genuine. but even then, it's tricky to explain why siuan would have even chased them to the waygate in the first place - unless she just wanted to make sure they got away successfully and/or wanted leane & co to think she made an effort to stop them, but then catching moiraine in an apparent lie made her change her mind and actually try to stop them? but yeah, imo there's no way the waygate scene was not genuine, but it's possible (but still unlikely; again imo) that the scenes before it were part of a scheme.

and to me, that's okay! to me, as a queer person myself (but ofc i'm just speaking for myself, not for All Queer People), giving queer characters and queer relationships the same narrative weight as het ones also means letting them be flawed and have conflict, rather than keeping them up on a pedestal of perfection and ultimately relegating them to the background of the story because you won't let them face obstacles or develop. i understand why others don't feel that way and were upset by the way things went down in 2x07, but that's just my personal feeling and that's why i personally wasn't bothered to see siuan and moiraine have major conflict here (especially since, unlike the Queer Traumaporn in so much media, this conflict had nothing to do with them being queer - it just felt like a natural conflict that arose from the two characters' specific personalities and life circumstances, as opposed to feeling like they were being punished by their world or by the narrative for being queer, you know?)

duty is a huge theme of WOT and here we saw how moiraine and siuan are both so committed to duty above absolutely everything else. they are both willing to sacrifice anything for what they each see as the greater good, and here, when they realize they have different ideas* about what best serves the greater good, they sacrifice even their relationship with each other because they feel they have no other choice, because they've spent 20 years training themselves to think that the greater good is more important than their personal happiness. to me it's so beautifully tragic! and to me it felt like the best kind of tragedy, one that's rooted in the specific characterization of the individuals involved and on all the previous choices they've made that built up to make the moment of tragedy an inevitable outcome.

*and both are reasonable and in-character ideas that were set up last season. we saw how in their discussion of "can the prophecies be trusted?" in 1x06 that moiraine is skeptical of tower tradition/protocol because she's been out in the world and largely cut off from the tower for 20 years, whereas siuan tends to trust tower tradition/protocol because she's been in the tower leading it for 20 years. and now in s2, from moiraine's perspective they need to break with tower protocol because the tower is too fractured and they have too many enemies within it, but from siuan's perspective they need to return to tower protocol because they tried going rogue and doing so freed the forsaken and was a huge mistake.

all this being said, i do not by any means think the relationship is 100% dead and over for good. like you say, the show put in work to make their relationship much deeper than it was in the books, and i don't think that was for nothing! i think that siuan in particular has been set up for a really meaty character development arc and that this is only the very beginning for her, and that by the end of the show we'll see the two of them reconcile and come back together. maybe i'm totally wrong and maybe it'll turn out that i shouldn't have given the benefit of the doubt, but as of now i don't feel there's reason to worry the show has completely trashed their relationship for good. but season 3 will be a make-or-break season, so by the end of that, depending on how certain book events play out, we should have a much clearer idea of their long-term plans for siuan and siuaraine!

[runimanio]

2024 Game Clear #26 Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince

Ya'll I'm so happy that Square Enix is finally localizing DQM games again after we missed out on 3 whole Monsters games in the 3DS era, The first DQMJoker is one of my favorite childhood games so when this was announced during a Nintendo direct last year I was hooting and hollering. (slight spoilers below)

And while the game does make some choices that I'm not sure that I really love, I still had a good time with it! I've uh actually haven't played Dragon Quest 4 which this is a prequel too (I'm gonna play it next I just kinda wanted to see how well this game could function as a prologue of sort) but I adore the idea of trying to become king of monster-kind as a premise for a Monster game, it's a neat premise but I do kinda feel like the game gives away some of it's power near the end in favor of a happier ending, I suppose that I wanted to slowly continually decay into a tragic villain but I guess the idea that friendship can save anyone from a tragic fate is pretty powerful tooo i guess...

speaking on that, Psaro talks in DQ4 right? they make the choice to keep him silence, and i'm not sure if I really like it, I don't really have a problem with silence protagonists but Psaro has more active motivations and machinations within the plot than the average silence hero, I can see the argument that keeping him silence helps keep the player at a distance from Psaro just like how he keeps everyone else around him at a distance but I still don't know if it personally works all that well for me.

There's also a lot of pointless "yes or no" dialog trees where if you say the opposite of what Psaro wants the game will just ignore you. i'm not sure why they even really exist at all... though it is funny that you can keep looping the bad ending after Tolien travels back in time to stop you.

But all that aside, i still really did enjoy the story despite my minor grips, and gameplay wise once synthesis gets unlocked, it gets really addictive, constantly scouting and fusion monster together to make your collection more powerful is such a fun gameplay loop, it's easy to constantly compare these type of games to Pokémon and criticizing them for not doing certain things as well as Pokémon, but they're different games, with different goals then what Pokémon sets out to do.

Pokémon gameplay loop tends to be about getting attached to your the Pokémon you catch, watching them evolve and grow more powerful throughout the course of the game, most people will still have their starter on the team for the entire game and you get a real attachment to your creatures by the endgame.

On the flipside in a DQM game you'll probably won't have any of the specific monsters that you used in the early game by the time you reach the end. Power comes at cost and if you want good monster to beat the bosses with your gonna have to sacrifice some monster to synthesis if you want to progress, apposed to Pokémon where at least for the main story stuff you can pretty much just win with favorites, neither style is necessarily better or worst their just different flavors that'll appeal differently to different people

Still if you want a monster catcher game that's not Pokémon, highly recommend you check this out, there so much room in this genre for more than just Pokémon

[dangerously-human]

I was right a year ago, and I was right again now even though I told myself I was being foolish and immediately moved past my suspicion, because why wouldn't I when I was directly told otherwise?

Which is to say: the young whippersnapper asked me out today, after our hike. Sort of. He had written me a letter, and read it, so it was a bit more of a dramatic confession than anything else - but to be fair, that's definitely the vibe I was stuck on with crushes in my early twenties too. It kicked off with "I know we both know I was lying when I said this wasn't what I was trying to do last year," and I had to stop him to say no, I did not know that. That's the one piece of this that does bother me, because I agonized over that misunderstanding, I blamed myself for thinking way too highly of myself and reading the situation wrong, and I would have made different - more careful - choices had I known over the last year that he did have a crush on me. I stopped being cautious not to lead him on, but I don't think I can feel guilty when I was operating off of the information I'd been given. But aside from that, it was fine, and just like last time, I'm glad we cleared the air. I told him I was proud of him for trying, said I've only ever managed to do that outright once and it's hard, but I froze when he asked when because I do not want to encourage the jealousy factor I sense still simmering between him and the adventurer even a year past me resolving my own crush, so I said that was a story for another time, maybe - but at least I have a very good track record of keeping/getting back to normal with these friendships that had this complicating factor in one direction or another. That was apparently part of his worry, that I've been talking more about moving, whether that's the Ireland fellowship or just trying somewhere else for a year, and I "graduate" from young adults Bible study this summer, and he was a little scared of losing me. So again, I pointed out that I've got a good track record of maintaining friendships even when we don't share the same context anymore. He was respectful about everything, not at all pushy (just a tad dramatic), only objecting to my point from last year about the age gap - which I stand by, but it's not the only reason this wouldn't work for me, it was just the easiest one to say quickly last time around.

It feels a little messy, honestly - I'm genuinely surprised Bible study bestie managed not to give anything away when we were talking dating stuff last night (she helped me set up a dating app profile, which is a whole other challenge I feel far less equipped to deal with, if I'm being honest), since the young whippersnapper asked her and her husband for advice, so they were already in the loop. Which makes it easier, doesn't it, I can process with BSB without having to really catch her up on much. These things happen, in friend groups, where everyone's kind of involved to varying degrees. And partially it's a bit flattering, really. But I'm not going to date someone where I'd be the spiritual leader in the relationship, or the more mature in just about every way (among other reasons). I guess the good thing about functionally having this discussion split across a year like this is he's grown a ton in the meantime, so I don't think I hurt him nearly as badly as I would have before. And while I'm frustrated that he lied to me, we did end up with a closer friendship than I would have allowed otherwise, and it's a good one. I just... it's a lot, I guess. More for him than me, obviously. And I hope I handled it with grace.

(But there's a part of me that's yelling I TOLD YOU SO, too. Even in the midst of awkwardness, dang do I appreciate the vindication of being right.)

[bisexual-horror-fan]

Through The Heart Is The Only Way. Chapter Six. "Come Together."

Oh my God, OH MY GOD YOU GUYS!!! SO! I know, it’s been so fucking long, I wanted to get this out a while ago but then we got the apartment, I got a new job, left my old one, moved to a whole new city and did a lot more, it’s been a nuts month for me. So I am sorry this took as long as it did but this is a great fucking update in my opinion, an important point in the story that deserved the proper attention! So I hope you all enjoy it, that it was worth the wait, and any and all feedback is highly encouraged here! Thank you so much for reading!

—

Rating. Explicit. Length. 6.5K. Charles Lee Ray X Tiffany Ray Valentine X FEM! AFAB! Reader. She/Her Reader. Warnings: Making Out. Grinding. Thigh Riding. Vaginal Fingering. Cunnlingus. Hand Job. Cum Eating. Pseudo-Threesome. Biting. Dirty Talk. Praise. Denial. Voyurism. Banter. Taunting. Teasing. Begging. Serious Conversation. Emotions. 

—

You responded to Chucky’s question quickly and simply with, “What are we still doing here?”

“Good fuckin’ question.” Came his response and both of your hands were taken, one by each of them and you were tugged and pulled along out of the store, the book you were initially considering buying dropped on a shelf on the way. 

The walk back was more of a half-jog, you were unreasonably excited, could feel the underwear you wore, black lace by the way, a good call on your part, getting significantly damp. The idea they presented, the contest, was unfairly hot, they really wanted you, craved you, wanted to make you feel so good they BET on it for fucks sake. They bet on the privilege of it. You can honestly say you had never had someone, let alone two someone’s, so invested in you and your physical enjoyment, not just so early on but period. 

Your skates, laced together and slung over your shoulder bounced as you nearly skipped along with them, avoiding snow banks and icy patches, you had never seen their place before and you were curious to see how they lived.  

Soon enough you were in front of a modest looking apartment building, keys procured from his pocket and the door unlocked, you were ushered in, her gloved hand on your lower back, “This way sweet thing.”

You could get used to her calling you that. 

There was no elevator, just a few floors and up the staircases you tread till you were led to their apartment, another door unlocked and you went in with them both. The door was closed and then two sets of hands and two mouths were on you. Heated kisses and wandering hands helped and boots were kicked off, scarves untangled and thrown aside, gloves shoved into pockets and coats unzipped and hastily thrown in the direction of the coat rack. All the outer wear was left near the door, skates dropped without a care too and you were far too wrapped up in them to pay much attention to the apartment. 

First she is kissing you before she is breaking away then he is and her hands are on your waist, she’s behind you, leading you, pulling you somewhere as he is kissing your neck and you soon realise you are in a different room. 

Shit, not just any room, their bedroom. You only get time for a quick glance around, you get only a brief sense of the colour palette and style before you are being kissed once again. 

She is on you once more and you are all too aware of how hot and bothered you are, the thin fabric you wore between your legs felt incredibly wet, his leg is between yours and your hips buck on instinct seeking more friction. The seam of your jeans was well placed and provided some very good friction that made your breath catch. 

You heard him laugh, he pressed his thigh harder, his hands gripping your arms to pull you down as he worked you over again, making you grind once more and your mouth broke away from Tiffany’s with a soft moan. He spoke up, “God, she’s real sensitive, huh? Just like someone else I know.”

“Yeah, she’s already been so fun to play with, can’t wait to taste her all over again.” Tiffany responded as he nipped at your ear making your hips rock again. He asked, sounding like he was smiling, “Right?” 

So much focus all on you was almost hard to take, you weren’t sure what to zero in on, his mouth on your neck or his thigh between yours or Tiffany’s hands sliding under your top and feeling her chest press into your back. Her hands aren’t stopping, moving up and feeling the soft skin of your sides until they are high enough to catch the edge of your bra and you aren’t sure who to arch closer into as Tiffany touches you and Chucky’s mouth is on yours once more. 

You lose yourself to this for a moment, to kissing him back, feeling the ache that had been steadily building since the bookstore and you had the briefest thought wondering what you were waiting for? They made it crystal fucking clear they want to get you off again and that was the whole idea of them inviting you to their apartment and into their bed.

God, you were in their bed, how many times had they done this here? How many times had they fucked sprawled in these sheets? And now here you were, both of their attention on you. It was still freezing winter outside but you were melting inside and between them. Hands trembled slightly as you started to take off your clothing, giving a silent signal that you wanted to progress and they were more than welcome to help you strip, something they both took you up on happily. You broke the kiss to start removing clothing and he let out a breathy laugh, “Eager, eh?”

You nodded as she tugged you off of his thigh as you were taking off your shirt, throwing it aside, the pretty bra you had picked out in hopes of something like this happening on display. She was looking over your shoulder as her hands snaked around your front to start opening your jeans, “Fuck, I have been dreaming about this view.” 

She probably had one of the best bodies you had ever seen and to be fair you hadn’t even seen it yet, not really, through all this she has remained fully dressed, although you hoped that would change this afternoon.

Tiffany practically purred it in your ear, nails lightly scratched as they ran up your sides and she said, “C’mon Chucky doesn’t she look amazing?”

You glanced at him to see him rubbing his thumb on his pants as if he was trying to remove a stain, brows furrowed as you wondered what he was doing until you saw the dark spot. You realized you had gotten so fucking excited it had seeped through your jeans, and onto him. His gaze caught yours, cocky and shit eating grin, you watched as he brought his thumb up and sucked the small amount of you that was there, his eyes slowly starting to move down, taking in the view of you in your bra and being peeled out of your jeans by his girlfriend. You had to say this was a pretty successful second date and you weren’t even out of your pants yet. 

He dropped his hand away from his face, leaning closer to help remove the offending clothing the rest of the way off, “She looks better than any dream I’ve had Tiff.”

Awful flirts and teases and flatterers the pair of them. You needed to turn this back on them. 

“I think you both are a little too dressed still.” You asserted and they pair laughed, “Awe honey that’s cute but this is about you gettin’ off still.” 

Chucky agreed with what Tiffany said, throwing your pants aside, with a wide grin as he said, “Yeah, we still have a bet to settle, then we can talk about us getting naked.” 

“Yeah, worry about us later.” She assured you. Both of them couldn’t stop looking at you in the matching black lace that framed you so beautifully. 

A slight pout and were going to try again when Chucky made a move to start touching you, a hand on your hip and the other sliding easily between your legs when Tiffany stopped him, reaching out, her manicured hand gripping his wrist. “What are you doin’?”

“Starting?” He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and she laughed, “And why do you get to go first?”

“Why shouldn’t I?” He asked and you were stuck in the middle, pressed between the couple, currently arguing over who gets to make you cum first. When did your life become this unbelievable?

You were soaked and honestly wanting them to stop talking and fighting over you and just start doing it. They were stuck in a loop of back and forth and you get an idea, thumbs hook in the sides of your panties and you take them off, holding them up as you spread your legs, playfully spinning the damp garment on your finger, “You gonna keep me waiting all afternoon here?”

A look shared over your shoulder and they realised that no they would not. The fight was dropped, they negotiated much easier after that, since Chucky went first last time, Tiffany got to go first this time. 

You were laying back on the bed and she was making a move to get on her knees but Chucky stopped her, “Uh no way, I don’t think so.”

“What?” She asked with a huff and he said, “You already had your shot at eating out, I say we swap, to make it really fair so she’s had both from both of us. Fingers only for you this time babe.” 

She reluctantly agreed that that made sense with a roll of her eyes. She is fine with this because she is damn good with her fingers and she knows it. He settled in beside you to watch, almost pressed to you, Tiffany is undeterred and if anything emboldened by the prospect of showing off for him. She is on the bed, climbing on top of you, a hand to your cheek and capturing your lips in another intense kiss that shocks you so much it takes a moment to begin to return it. You didn’t have a single care at that moment, fuck your makeup getting ruined, fuck being quiet, you could really let go here in this space, totally safe and not a thing to hide. 

She was very in control, leading the make out easily and you let her, followed along, found a good rhythm of give and take. As her tongue breached your mouth you felt your breathing falter, especially when her hands started to wander again. Fingertips brush over your shoulder, a palm cups your chest, thumb circling your nipple through the thin fabric causing your back to bend, seeking to be closer to the stimulation she provided. 

Just when you felt it might be getting to be too much, just when you wanted to start begging for some serious attention, it’s like she read your mind, her hand now between your legs. Once her hand was there she didn’t waste much time, skillfull fingers tracing up your bare slit, he let out a quiet moan into your mouth. You can hear the smile on her face, pulling away enough to say, “She’s practically dripping over here Chucky.”

“You’re welcome.” He said with that same overly confident grin and she bit back, two fingers working up, starting at your hole and running up and passing over your clit, “Yeah like this is all for you.” 

“Isn’t it?” He asked as he leaned in closer and she leaned over and pecked him on the cheek, “Yeah sure big guy, now shut up. You’ll get your turn to disappoint her.” 

“Ouch Tiff.”  He pretended to sound hurt, a hand to his chest and a giggle escaped you before Tiffany kissed you again, ignoring him in favour of you. She really began then, fingers dipped inside briefly, collecting some of your more than ample wetness and using it to make her touch glide along you easier. 

Every move carried a distinct purpose, there was care there but not in a way that showed she didn’t think you could handle some rougher treatment, the pressure she employed was pretty damn great considering this was her what, second time touching you like this? She seemed to be taking in every hint you gave, reading your body language and the pitch of your moans amazingly well, even the broken and weak words you spoke giving her an even better idea. 

The quiet asks, “Harder?” and “Fa-faster-” and “-a little to the left-oh God!” were taken to heart. 

Something else that was also making this so much better was him. Right here, watching intently, in between breaks of Tiffany kissing you, when her mouth would wander lower, her hand never slowing you would see him. His own gaze going from your face, to watching how your body moved and how easily Tiffany manipulated you with two fingers. 

Her tongue traced over your collarbone and you moaned her name, you could see Chucky grinning out of the corner of your eye, “She’s good, eh?” 

You let out something between a half laugh and a half moan, “Soooo good.” 

“Hear that sweetface? I’m sooooo good.” Tiffany teased with a glance over to him and he was the one to roll his eyes this time, “Stop acting like you got this all sewn up, anythin’ could happen.” 

That phrase and the implication with which he said it made you shiver as if you were standing stark naked in the cold winter afternoon outside. There was so much time left in the day, so many possibilities. In the moment though, your head was fairly empty, only concerned with one thing, how good Tiffany was making you feel. Panting breaths slipping out between parted lips and heated kisses, those kisses were getting fewer as her mouth was moving down lower, it causes you to squirm. 

Especially when her tongue passes over your nipple through the thin lace, the sound you make causes her to clench involuntarily and it presses her to do it to you again and again. It leads her other hand, the one that was still below your waist and currently wrecking you, to hook in and pull down, exposing the last bit of you to her.

The other cup is pulled down until the straps have slipped past your shoulders, still hooked around your arms, the rest of the garment sitting underneath your bust and she breathes out as if totally intoxicated and enamoured by the mere sight and feel of your body, “You really are something special.” 

“Fuck yes she is.” And he reached over, made a move to cup your now exposed chest and you were ready, you wanted to feel them, both of them at once but Tiffany lifted up, her mouth twisting into a small frown as she smacked his hand away. “Ow, the fuck Tiff?-”

He cursed and she said firmly with a point, “It’s my turn. No touching.”

“Spoilsport. If anythin’ I’d be helping you-” He started and she laughed, her fingers picked up the pace and you whimpered from the spike in sensation. “No you wouldn’t, we are competing, we gotta do this solo or it taints the whole integrity of the competition.” 

“It’ll taint the whole integrity of the competition-” He started in a mocking tone and she rolled her eyes again and chose that moment for her lips to close around one of your nipples, she sucked, tongue lathed and your eyes fell closed with a loud and indulgent moan. She has a very particular want at that moment and she doesn’t stop herself, slender fingers abandon your clit momentarily, slipping down and then inside causing a sharp inhale from you at the sudden penetration. 

“Oh my God-” She sounded near awed as she experimentally thrust her fingers in and out of you, extremely careful and mindful of her nails which were not obscenely long at the moment, did she opt for a shorter style for this exact purpose? You can’t linger on that as she curls her fingers and says, “-you feel…Fuck, I don’t even know how to describe how you feel inside.”

The praise washes over you and makes you arch closer to her, desperate for more of whatever she has to offer you. 

“You felt this yet?” She asked, eyes looking over to her partner and he said, “I did but I was wearing gloves at the time.” 

“Gloves? The leather ones he likes?” She questioned and you realised it was meant for you and you nodded with a whimper. “So I got to feel you raw first, lucky me.” She hummed, fingers not slowing as her thumb circled your clit, continuing to thrust in and out of you. 

“Stop soundin’ so confident.” He said in an annoyed tone and she laughed, “Never.” 

The longer it went on, the better it got, the better you felt and you were less and less able to be quiet. And during this, through the haze of pleasure you did recognize one thing, that Chucky was having a hard time keeping still and to himself. You knew he wanted to be a part of this, to touch. Did he regret setting up this contest?

You had no time or space to think as she continued to touch and talk. “You sound so pretty.” 

Her teeth graze as she praises you, every single part of you and you feel it build, getting so close so quickly, it snuck up on you, the feeling was good, terribly good but it was starting to peak so suddenly and you can’t breathe properly. 

“Oh you gettin’ close?” She teased and you nodded, a small whine as the climb continued and she laughed, it didn't feel mean spirited, it was light and warm, encouraging, “C’mon then sweetheart. Let go.”

What she says is more than enough to push you over the edge and you fall, blissfully and you cum on her fingers with a shudder, it started low and then worked its way up, running through your whole body. Not like you were aware of what you were doing, not really, all you knew is how fucking incredible it felt, not how your body was responding to what she was doing, you think you were moaning something, praise, or yes or her name, hard to tell with how breathless she made you.

Naive. Totally naive is what you are, for thinking for even a moment that the first time you shared with her was as good as it could get, she outdid herself, easily. It was nearly maddening, the fact that she did it with seemingly so little effort. 

When pleasure finally gave way to slight pain and overstimulation, you swallowed hard, your throat felt dry and tongue thick as you reach out blindly and weakly push on her arm, “Ah, stop, stop, fuck-”

She relented, pulled her fingers out and her hand away as she said around a chuckle, “Alright, alright.” 

She brought her hand up and sucked on her fingers, tasting you as she watched you recover, eyes drawing over your body on the bed below as you panted and tried to regain some strength and come back to yourself post orgasm. 

Again almost sensing what you needed you feel her hands on you, warm and comforting, her touch self assured as she started below your knees and dragged her hands up, touched and felt. It did wonders for you. Made you feel much more comfortable, made your breathing slow, deeper, more natural and full. She helped you come down, once she pressed a soft kiss to your lips with a question of, “You good?”

You responded with a nod and a hum, she rewarded you with another press of her lips to yours before she started to get off of you, sitting at your opposite side, and as soon as she is doing that, ass to bed sheets, he is on you. 

The kissing is frantic, needy, in between him pressing kisses to your mouth he was grinding against you, clearly hard as fuck through his pants and pressing himself into your hip. “That was so fuck-ing hot, Christ.”

You let out a moan that was louder than you meant to into his mouth, his tongue passed over yours before he pulled back, “I knew getting to watch would be good but-”

He couldn’t even finish the thought, as if consumed with the need to he kissed you again and your hips bucked up, heat flaring inside you again so quickly. It was as if that fire never went out, it was simply dimmed but him instigating this make out so forcefully fanned the flames and brought it all back, so fast, caused it to burn bright and strong. 

He pulled back again, finally continuing that thought, “-I had no idea it would be like that.”

You can feel Tiffany’s eyes on you now, her watching and the sheer tension of it, the clear want she was feeling, even though it was less than two minutes since she last touched you. Just as he struggled earlier, she seemed to be, and he hadn’t really done anything as of yet. 

In another two minutes he had pawed and groped and worked his way down to where he is now kneeling on the floor and tossing your bra aside and his hands are on your hips, tugging you to the edge of the bed. He doesn’t waste time, he knows how ready you are, see’s the evidence of it clearly on display, on your inner thighs and the sheets themselves and right there. You are soaked and swollen, leaking, literally throbbing, he takes the smallest pause to look at you, really taking you in for the first time at eye level. 

You can’t help but look at him looking at you, see the arousal wash over him, how he is affected by the sight and smell of you so close to his face. And then, he buries his face between your legs, his tongue makes contact first, at your drooling hole before licking a firm stripe straight up over your straining clit making you arch with your finger tangled in the sheets and a call of his name. After that first lick he takes a deep breath, a quiet, “Fuck, you taste good.” 

Was uttered, a lick of his lips before he was diving back in greedily. 

He eats you out differently than she does, almost like he was doing it for his pleasure more than yours, but by doing that? It made it better, so much fucking better, knowing how much he was getting off it only serves to increase the feeling you experienced. He left no part unexplored, you felt incredibly wet, from him or you you didn’t know as he switched between broad strokes of his tongue over your lips and hole and more small and precise licks against your clit.

He has also clearly gotten tips and instruction from her over their time together but he puts his own spin on it. Hard to define, especially when you are caught up in such strong pleasure, but the way he wraps his lips around your clitoris, the way he flicks his tongue and strong fingers dig into your thighs, it feels unmistakably him. Even if it was at one point partially coached or instructed by her before you stumbled into their lives, as if he took what she said seriously, trusted her, but also wanted to do it HIS way. 

His hands move, slide down under your thighs and come to rest near your ass, his thumbs spread you open, he pulls back, looking up close once more as if in disbelief he was here and doing this with you right now. He leaned in, a hard lick over your whole slit and your clit, a choked moan leaving you before he looked again, seeing how you respond, the clench of your hole and the throb of your sensitive bud he is achingly hard.

“You gonna stare at it all afternoon or are you gonna eat it?” Tiffany taunted and he says, “Shut it.” Before he leans in and latches on and sucking deeply.

“Oh God-Chucky yes!” It tumbled from your mouth so fast, eyes squeezing shut and you heard him hum in acknowledgement and satisfaction, the vibration you felt making you rock into his face. 

Not only did it feel amazing, it also felt hot just from that perspective alone, that this is how he wanted to do it. Tongue flicking up and from side to side, through your folds, and down. He kept any deviation up top and as he went along he felt out your reactions, what made you breathe deeper and make your body tense, he focused on a particular rhythm right where you needed it. 

Another curse broke out and Tiffany, who had of course been watching all of this with great interest, said teasingly, “He can’t be that good.” 

He pulled away briefly with a scoff, his mouth wet with you as he asserted, “Fuck you, yes I am.”

“I dunno about that.” She sighed and he threw her a look from between your legs, “Yes you do, you’ve had it yourself!” 

And as if to illustrate his point that he was done with this conversation his mouth locked back onto your cunt and your cry drowned out Tiffany’s retort. 

Considering how quickly you came before it didn’t take much for you to start getting close. You are so sensitive right now that almost anything fleets like it would be enough to get you there, his careful and specialised attention, with that undercurrent of need was more than needed to make you break apart. 

“Ye-yeah, just like that.” You begged, a small plea for him to not stop, to please just keep going, what you wanted was clear and nothing would make him stop. You rocked your hips, ground your throbbing clit on his tongue, unable to hold back, chasing your own end. The view right now was frankly stellar, his eyes were closed as he focused on you, brows furrowed in concentration, strong hands back on your thighs as he sucked on your clit like his life depended on it. 

He was still far too dressed, as was she, it was infuriating, you were naked, totally bare and you hadn’t even seen him without a shirt on. 

You can feel her next to you,  still watching, can hear her heavy breathing over the blood rushing in your ears, she was just as affected as he was earlier, stuck watching but not partaking. Then, the climb reached its peak, you weren’t on the edge anymore, you were over it. You cum so hard, you don’t think a single coherent word makes it through just a mess of weak moaning as you tremble on the end of his tongue, lost in bliss as he doesn’t relent through your orgasm. You aren’t capable of thought at the moment but if you were it would probably be related to a complete inability to choose between them and be the deciding factor in this contest. How could you ever choose? 

Both were so good but for entirely different reasons, both had completely different approaches that felt thoroughly them. It was like comparing your favourite dinner and your favourite dessert, they are both fantastic but both in totally different categories. How can you seriously compare one orgasm between another? The whole idea of this contest is ludacris but really, the competition is nothing more than an excuse and can you really complain when the centre of it is about you getting off hard and often.

Back to the moment you are currently locked in, unable to stay still, his head still buried between your thighs. 

He softens as you reach the end of it, no longer sucking fiercely instead taking it slower, making sure you aren’t too overstimulated until you make a sound that is clearly discomfort and then Tiffany is kissing you before Chucky has even broken contact. 

You rush to kiss her back and she moans into your mouth, you are reaching out, starting to touch her, hands on her shoulders as Chucky finally breaks away, you feel the bed shifting, him moving to be closer. In between kissing her you start to tell her, “I wanna make you feel good, both of you, want it so much-”

Cutting yourself off as your other hand locks onto Chucky’s collar and pulling him to you, stealing a kiss from him that he leans into for only a minute, until Tiffany is asking, “Wait, wait, wait, who won?”

He hummed and broke the kiss with you to ask, “Yeah, who won?”

You aren’t having it, you attempt to force another kiss but he pulls back, “Uh-uh, tell us-” when he denied you his mouth you leaned down and worked at his neck instead and that made his sentence break off. You kiss and touch, your hand slides down Tiffany’s shoulder and ghost over her chest and you don’t let up. Tiffany tried to ask again and you muttered, “You told me to worry about you and him later. And now? It’s later.”

That is enough and makes their shared resolve break. It escalates quickly after that. Mid make out with Tiffany you started to pull at her clothes and he helped, her jeans are taken off and it is more skin than has ever been exposed to you so far. She favoured skirts and dresses with short hemlines, you had seen plenty of her legs so far, but now they were bare, no tights or stockings, and also those deep purple panties and her gorgeous hips totally on display. You reach out and touch, hands on her thighs and you inhale deeply, her skin is insanely soft and warm, she leaned up closer to you with a sigh, wanting more. 

You provide. 

You rush leaning forward, a hungry kiss, deep and needy, her tongue makes the first move to your mouth, another shared moan from the rush it brings to you both. Your hand is between her legs, feeling her up for the first time and your head is swimming as if she was touching you again. 

Chucky isn’t going to be left out like this, he throws her jeans aside and his hands are on you both next, “You forgettin’ about me already?”

You broke the kiss with Tiffany and you affirmed with an indulgent smile, copying her from earlier as you said, “Never.” 

He grabs a hold of one of your hands and brings it down, he opened his belt and pants, you palm him and really feel him as he teases, “You sayin’ I’m unforgettable?”

You close your hand around him, squeeze through his underwear after you had slid your hand into his open pants and you feel his breath stutter slightly and fuck if that isn’t a powerful feeling. “More like insufferable.” Tiffany quips as she touches you, reaching out, vying for more of your affection and attention as he starts to protest, you flex your hand once more and put a stop to another petty argument starting. A fond, “Shut up.” 

He listens. 

A good position for all of you is found. It isn’t spoken about, not seriously, a few brief words and pulls in between making out and you all settle in. Tiffany is perched on your thigh, rocking her hips back and forth, grinding her slick and silk covered slit on you, he had his underwear pulled down and your hand wrapped around his bare shaft as a strange and new rhythm is found for the first time. It’s a little clumsy, definitely rushed, frantic, a bit thoughtless, much more about feeling because fuck, this has been coming a long time. 

It’s all a blur, of hands and mouths and desperate pleas and moans, panting breaths. It isn’t just you working, both of them know the other so well, hands still gravitate to each other as well as you, mouths still meet and before you can really think at all she is telling you she’s close. It shouldn’t be so shocking but it is, sending another rush of heat through you, Tiffany, totally stunning, usually so composed, with well timed and appropriately biting remakes and jokes, with smudged make-up, about to cum on your thigh. 

You feel an intense urge to kiss her, to have her moan her release into your mouth and but the want to hear her is much, much stronger. Your hand slows slightly as you are touching him and he doesn’t complain, in fact he was so close he whispered right in your ear, just for you to hear, “Watch.”

There is no pithy response to that, all you wanted to do was what he told you to and you got to see her fall apart for the first time before your eyes, and what a sight it was. Partially clinging onto him and onto you, pretty manicured nails biting into your forearm as her hips bucked, wonderfully broken moans spilling out from between her lips, slick with sweat and trembling. Christ, you could watch her forever, you wanted to, you wanted to do this over and over and be even more of a direct cause, rather than her just using your thigh to get off. 

One thing pulls you out of your reverie and that is Chucky’s hips moving, fucking into your slick fist, you break your attention from her, sliding off of your thigh slowly as she attempts to catch her breath, you focus on him. It doesn’t take long with all the build up so far, in two minutes he is breathing out a warning of his own end and Tiffany's fingers graze over his thigh as she prompts gently, "Do it sweetface." 

It must have been all he needed to tumble over the edge with a curse, cum pumping out over your fingers. The pleasure is painted clear on his features, brows pulled together, eyes closed, you don’t resist and lean in, kiss him and swallow the groan he let out, hand not slowing until he winced and pulled away and you let him. 

You sat back on your heels and brought your hand up and started to clean up your fingers, sucking the mess up greedily, he tasted surprisingly good and you caught him watching you, a coy smile crossed your face after pulling your cleaned fingers out. 

“Fuck.” He spoke and you had to agree, the tone and cadence with which he said it, that word said it all. 

You took those clean fingers and made them dirty again, scooping up the mess Tiffany left on your thigh and if he tasted good she tasted great. 

You would call this a fairly successful first hook up, there was some closeness shared in their bed after that, everyone not explicitly cuddling but all touching, comfortable silences too. You felt unreasonably happy, still high on how well it has all gone and it wasn’t over, you could feel some lingering energy that there might be more in store for the afternoon but there was no rush. 

One of those comfortable silences broken, a sweet and sincere compliment as Tiffany asked Chucky, “Can you get over how hot-” and then she said your name.

Your blood ran cold. 

In any other circumstance hearing her post hook up sighing your name like that would be a total fucking joy, a revelation. If only it was your name and not just what she thought your name was. 

He was agreeing and said it too and you bit your bottom lip as you cursed internally. You felt so fucking stupid, you totally forgot about the fake name that was given to them back at your job, you haven’t corrected them yet. Man, nothing makes a person crash back to Earth from their post orgasmic high quite like having to grapple with this complex issue wondering if you should just go by this name and essentially lie, or, ruin the mood and admit you have known them for this long going by this false name. 

You seriously thought about it, barely listening but the sinking feeling in your stomach, you knew you had to fess up and come clean before this dragged on any longer. You knew the hook up could continue but coming clean was more important than getting fucked and so you spoke up. It was now or never as you said too loudly as you sat up, “That’s not my name!”

They both paused, looked over at you and she asked, “What?” and he followed up with, “Yeah, what?” 

“I…That name you have been calling me, it isn’t my real name. It’s a um fake name I go by at work, the bartender? Logan? I tell him that if anyone ever asks my name to tell them that instead, all my coworkers do that.” You said it all in a single rushed exhale, metaphorical guts now on the space on the sheets between you and them. 

“And why do you do that exactly?” He asked, his tone sounded genuinely confused and you sighed, “There was a  co-worker of mine, they had a not so great experience with someone at an old club of mine who got too friendly and I had a few not so awesome times myself and it just became a thing I did…A protection thing or a uhm, preventive measure kinda thing.” 

You took a deep breath and said, “I wasn’t expecting all of this when you first asked for my name but I like you both a lot. I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner, I legitimately forgot until you both said my name and I figured now was better than never.” 

You felt better after saying it all but you waited for their response, they looked shocked and to be perfectly honest they were. They were hiding secrets, plenty of them, they thought they had you all figured out, that you were obvious, but no, you were hiding stuff too. You were more like them than they thought and that was a lot to contend with. It was quiet, the air in the room felt different. 

“What is your name then?” Tiffany asks and you give it as easily as you breathe, softly you tell them your real name. 

They shared a look that once again communicated something you couldn’t pick up on, she gave a half shrug and he nodded and she said, “I think I like that name better anyway.” 

“Yeah agreed, suits you much more.” He affirmed. 

That was a small comfort but their body language and the rest told you that this was still not right, you figured they just needed time. You glanced at the clock and the encroaching darkness outside the window and offered, “It’s getting late, I think I might get going.” 

They didn’t fight you on leaving, simply stating, “If you want to.”

You got redressed, they got partially dressed themselves and walked you to the door, a light kiss from him and one from her on your cheek and you departed, tied skates on your shoulder and coat pulled tight around you. 

You felt off but good that you were honest, the ball was in their court, whatever they chose to do with this new information, all you could do was respect their choice. You stepped out onto the street and it felt much, much colder than it did earlier. 

[elcieford]

Tennessee Firewhiskey

a Dramione text/socmed fic - this posts on Mondays to my insta/elcieford stories, and resides in the highlights - you can also catch it on AO3

Chapter 1 - Raincheck

Of all the whiskey joints in all the towns in all the world, she had to walk into mine.

10 years had gone by since he’d seen her. He remembered watching her testify at his trial as if it were yesterday, giving her account of what happened in the manor, that he hadn’t identified Potter to his aunt, and she felt his magic shielding her body from the poison in his aunt's blade, keeping her alive. After the trial, as he was leaving, she simply nodded at him, and gave a small smile. 

It wasn’t much, but that smile had made him feel warmer inside than he had in years; it gave him hope, although he had no idea what he should be hoping for. From her? Nothing. He deserved absolutely nothing from her, and as far as he was concerned he still didn’t. 

He didn’t deserve her kindness, let alone even a minute of her company, and yet here she was. Hermione Granger was sitting at the bar, HIS bar, Blackfire Distillery & Lounge, in the middle of Leipers Fork, Tennessee, sipping a beer his establishment serves from one of the local breweries. 

When he first landed here 10 years ago, Draco thought for sure that he’d never see anyone he knew from his Hogwarts days ever again. That was part of the appeal, after all. When he first arrived in America and registered with MACUSA, his surname only raised 2 sets of eyebrows. No one else seemed to know anything of his name, his past, or who he was. There were no stares or whispers. No judgement in their looks, no sneers. Sure, he’d had to move and start a new life on a different continent, but he finally felt like he actually knew what freedom was, he knew peace. 

He watched her from the far back corner of the room, wondering if his bubble of peace he’d so carefully cultivated was about the pop. He still couldn’t believe he was actually looking at her. Well, the back of her, anyway. 

Apparently, neither could Theo. “Gryffindor’s swotty princess is really here? This is wild, mate. I knew it was her when she walked in the door, but I still can’t believe it’s her. Why do you think she’s here?”

Theo was staring at the back of her head just as hard as Draco was. A view, Draco had to admit, that was still just as breathtaking as he remembered. “No idea. I suppose she could be attracted to a faint, magical trace, but the distillery is so far back on the property I highly doubt that. Maybe she knows someone in the area and is meeting them here.”

Theo snorted, “8 years we’ve been living in this town and’ve never run into her, or any other witch or wizard from here to Nashville. Aside from my wife. If Granger knew someone in the area, wouldn’t you think we’d have known about it? This town is tiny, and people love to talk. Plus, you and I are the only ones with accents. Another Brit in the area would have opened up the gossip lines. No, this is her first time here. But, why?”

Draco looked over at his best friend, meeting the same wide-eyed look of undiluted curiosity he surely carried on his face as well, “I guess I’ll have to figure that out.”

“As much as I’d love to see that, or even join the two of you, I promised Laura I’d be home early tonight. After we tuck the kids in, we’re taking the brooms out into the back pastures to enjoy some flying under the full moon.” Theo’s eyes sparkled, his grin wide as he clapped Draco on the shoulder, giving him a little squeeze. “If it’s not too late, text me about what happens. Otherwise, I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight, mate.”

“Goodnight,” and at that, Draco watched as Theo walked into their office, knowing he’d be leaving out the back door that was only for the two of them, likely trying not to tip off the only witch in the bar that a couple of her old schoolmates were in the same building. 

He watched as she sipped her beer, absently looking up at the telly screen that was showing tonight’s hockey game; Nashville Predators were hosting the Detroit Red Wings. His place was often busy during hockey season, and almost always packed when it was a home game. He wasn’t surprised the only open seat when she arrived was at the bar. Despite the crowd, there seemed to remain an open seat next to her, and he wondered if she’d wandlessly charmed it with Repello to keep any of the muggles from sitting next to her. 

Whatever the reason, he decided to take it as his queue to occupy the seat.

As he approached the seat, which was to her right, she leaned to the left, resting her head on her hand, and took a sip from her beer. From the angle of her tip, it was almost empty. 

“Hey, James! Firewhiskey, please. Neat. And another beer for my friend, here.” He glanced over at her, feigning nonchalance, borderline disinterest, wondering if she’d recognize his voice after all these years. 

Hermione’s chin moved in his direction, but her eyes still hadn’t strayed over for a look. “I wondered if you were ever going to come over and sit down.”

It was all Draco could do to maintain the calm mask he was wearing, but certainly not feeling. “How did you know?”

“Malfoy, I spent over 2 hours…well, and your magic was on me the entire time. It was a lifeline and I clung to it as such. I’ll never forget how that felt, what your magic feels like, no matter how faint of a trace. There was a slight signature when I walked through the door. I almost missed it, but it was enough to tell me you were here somewhere.” 

Her answer had caught him off guard, the mask now gone. He looked at her fully, “and, why are you here?” 

Taking a pull from the fresh bottle of beer set in front of her, she seemed to be contemplating her answer, or mulling over the question. Draco wasn’t sure which, but either one, or both, seemed to have the gears of her mind in overdrive. He couldn’t help but feel the wisps of nostalgia slide up his spine, causing gooseflesh to rise in its wake. He could easily see a girl from 16 or 17 years ago, brow furrowed, as she furiously studied a text nearly half her size in the old school library. He was glad to see that look hadn’t changed, and realised he missed it. 

Since when did I start missing aspects of Hermione Granger?

Before he could go too far down that path of thought, he caught the slightest twitch of her head, and found she was looking at him, the tiniest hint of a smile on the corner of her mouth. “I suppose I could ask you the same thing, Malfoy.”

The clever witch was deflecting. But why? Wasn’t she the chatty one? No, come to think of it, her chattiness had always been at its height when sharing knowledge, talking about classwork, reciting a passage she’d read, or how to properly cast a certain charm or spell. Now that he was thinking back on it, even just briefly, the only thing he could ever recall her talking about that might be considered a more personal level usually had to do with Potter, the weasel, or a fictional novel she’d read. He knew she was fiercely loyal to her friends, achieved the highest marks of anyone in his class, and was a muggle-born witch. But to actually know anything about Hermione Granger, who she truly was, he couldn’t claim he did, and this only served to open the box of all the childhood curiosities he’d had of her, but would never allow himself to admit.

So stupid.

Although, 10 years had passed. If he did know anything of his former schoolmate, would any of that be the same now?

“Touche, Granger. You certainly could. Care to take a walk?” Draco emptied the last of his glass, slid it across the bar, and held out his hand to Hermione. The movement was so natural, as though this was something they’d always done, it hadn’t even occurred to him that this was odd for the pair until she actually took his hand. 

Could she feel his surprise register from his hand to hers? Would she also realise how out of place this gesture was for the pair and let go? Before he could find out the answer to that, he gave her hand a little squeeze, pulled her along behind him, and out of the bar. 

They walked in silence for what had to be about 15 minutes, Hermione suspected. No words, and wherever they were going he didn’t seem to be in a rush to get them there. A couple of times she’d looked down at their hands, still surprised he’d reached out to her, and was still holding her hand, as if they’d done it all their lives. More than that, she was surprised at how good it felt to be holding Draco’s hand. 

After a few more minutes they reached what she assumed was the back end of the property, a full line of trees marking its boundary. However, instead of stopping or turning around, Draco flicked his wrist and a path in the trees opened up. Again she couldn’t help but marvel at how comfortable she felt with him, her old childhood bully, when she didn’t hesitate to allow him to lead her through the trees, and to a gazebo about 20 metres in.

When they sat down, candles lit all around them, illuminating the little cove in the trees. It felt whimsical, and entirely intimate. The glow highlighted his face, and she couldn’t help but openly study the man sitting in front of her. Gone of the angular, sneering schoolboy of her youth. Gone was the young man who looked haunted and tired at his trial. Malfoy’s body seemed to have grown into his height. His back, shoulders, and chest were broad, arms muscular and filling out his oxford, and the kind of bum that would give a satisfying smack if she…

Gods almighty why on earth am I thinking about his bum!!!

Taking a deep inhale, finally breaking the silence, Draco asks, “so, who goes first? You walked into my bar, so I can’t help but think maybe it should be you.”

She could see a bit of mirth in his eyes, as well as genuine curiosity, and she found she wasn’t afraid of telling him the truth. “Mostly, I’m here on holiday. I’ve taken a leave to explore new options in life, and, to make a long, and probably dull story short, I’ve landed here. Currently. Your story, however, I doubt is dull. How did,” Hermione raises her arms to gesture all around her, “all of this happen?”

He cocked his head slightly to the right, seeming to consider his answer, then launched into an explanation she certainly didn’t see coming. “Even though mother and I had been acquitted, the Malfoy name, now directly involved in two wizarding wars, had been tarnished beyond repair. Or, at least beyond the amount of work I was willing to put into repairing the name. Shortly after the trials I learned I had been betrothed to Astoria Greengrass. She approached me, asking if I planned on fulfilling the contract, or if I’d consider nullifying it. As much as she appreciated our friendship, she didn’t want to be attached to the Malfoy name, but was also very much in love with someone else. I was more than happy to honour her request to nullify the contract, but it also gave me pause to consider my life up until that point, and what I wanted my life to look like moving forward. Mother and I decided that neither of us were interested in putting in the work likely required in repairing the Malfoy name, deciding it was best to move on and try to move forward in places that could possibly allow us a clean slate. 

“Already owning her own villa in France, my mother moved there. She’s always loved it there, and has lived a peaceful life since making it her home.

“Not that we needed the money, but Theo and I decided to sell our estates; both of us the sole heirs of our fathers’ properties, both of us wanting nothing to do with them. We decided to come to America, where we hoped no one would know our names or recognize us. Two years we toured around the country before landing here. 

“We were in Kentucky when we came across a bourbon distillery. I’ll be honest, the stuff was nasty. Neither of us could believe that people actually drank it, but it also sparked an interest. We started touring all the distilleries we could, sampling spirits made from all over the south. It didn’t take long until we came to this area in Tennessee, and sorta fell in love with the area. Mostly, it was Theo who fell in love with an American witch he met in Nashville, but this area in particular helped make the decision for us to settle down. 

“It was easy to blend in here, so we decided to buy land and open a distillery of our own. It doesn’t look quite the same as old wizarding money looks like, but there’s a lot of money around this area. We bought 200 acres of land, building both of our houses on it, hidden by the trees, the distillery, and the bar.

“Distilling isn’t really that much different than brewing potions, though no magic is required. The only spirit we use magic in is our own brand of Firewhiskey, which allows us to bring a little wizarding flare to muggles without them actually knowing it. The magic is only in the brewing and distilling process, so it has zero effect on muggles.

“Theo and I have a peaceful life here. He and I run the distillery and manage the bar. His wife runs all the books. He has two little ones now that his wife homeschools, and I get to be the worlds best uncle. Pansy and Neville usually come to stay with us over the holidays, as does my mother. The Notts and I usually go visit her in the Spring. All in all, especially when looking back at what my life used to look like, it probably looks like I lead a mundane life now, but I’m happy.

“Now, can your story really get much more dull than that? How about it, Granger. What have you been up to for the past 10 years, and what really brings you out this way?”

He watched as several emotions seemed to flicker across her face, her eyes no longer meeting his. What happened? She used to be so full of life, so animated. Now she just looked… tired. And maybe that’s all it was, just a day where she didn’t have much energy left, but something told him it was more than that. 

He doesn’t think she’s going to answer him, the pause long, and starting to make him feel foolish for approaching her when, “You ever just want to get away from it all? Seemed as good a place as any.”

“I’m sorry, but is the brave Gryffindor Princess running away from her problems?” He was sure she could hear the smirk in his voice, but wasn’t sure she’d take the bait. Luckily, she did.

“Don’t start that shite, Malfoy. I’m no Princess, and no I’m not running away from my problems. More like avoiding the aftermath of them.” Hermione let out a deep sigh, the kind that said she was exhausted, but not from a day or two’s worth of activities or stress. No, she was deeply exhausted, the kind of exhaustion that came from years of frustration, unhappiness, and mental anguish. He remembered a time when he had felt that exhausted, and empathised with her. 

“Ah. Need an ear?” If she turned and laughed at him, he wouldn’t be surprised. Nor blame her.

“That depends, are you still a prat?” There was the tiniest hint of a smirk there, but he saw it nonetheless accompanying her raised eyebrows. 

“Well, I hate to disappoint you, but gone are the days of my strong affinity for being a most loathsome little cockroach.” Gone were not the days, he quickly realised, of the boy, now man, who had a crush on the only girl who, aside from Pansy, wasn’t afraid to put him in his place.

At the mention of the endearing moniker she’d given him long ago, a full smile took over her face, and completely stole his breath away. Gods, this witch was even more beautiful than he recalled. “You know what, Malfoy? I appreciate it, and would probably take you up on it, but I just don’t have it in me tonight. Raincheck?”

“Do you live in the United States now? Because I don’t frequent England any longer. Not sure when I’ll be able to cash in on this raincheck.”

“No, just here touring around. I’m staying at a bed & breakfast down the road. I needed a quiet moment, to sorta get out of my own head, and decided to go for a walk. I ended up here.” She reaches in to dig around in her purse while she rambles, and he can tell it’s a new one, but with all the same undetected and extendable charms she had on her old purple handbag. Pulling out a small card and pen, she writes down… “Here’s my number. Assuming you have a cell? Text me, and we’ll catch up.”

When she hands him the card, their fingers brush, and he feels like every cell in his hand, up to his elbow, starts tingling. By the light blush creeping up her neck, he was glad he wasn’t the only one affected by the contact. 

“Raincheck it is then. You can apparate directly to the B&B from here if you like.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that. And the drink. It’s good to see you again, Malfoy.”

The look in her eyes as she said it was sincere, but he still couldn’t help but ask, “Is it?”

Eyes still sincere, but now crinkling with a smile and a soft laugh, “yeah. It is.” 

He couldn’t help but note that her apparition was as equally soft as his mothers.

[deafeninggardenerpanda]

Here are 3 different suggestions

Metalor

Metasusie

Metadedede.

I know sort of obvious choices, but I'm curious to see what opinions you have on these ships.

did metadede so its time for metalor and metasusie! putting both of these under the cut because youre getting my double opinion whammy. obligatory "its not every shipper obviously im just generalizing based on personal experience" dont let my opinions stop you from shipping something unless its like problematic obvs lol

theres nothing wrong with metalor but it unfortunately does fall into my "red flag ship" category

ill reiterate my definition of that again for people who didnt catch it in my last rant: what i call red flag ships are ships that are totally fine on paper, but for some reason the shippers and fandom culture surrounding it are just rancid and it throws me off liking the ship all together. and then i get kinda sussed out by people who ship it

honestly i have never gotten the appeal of this one or understood the dynamic at all. and thats fine of course. i did try reading a couple fics about it even, and in them its usually like. meta doing some shit that makes absolutely no sense under the guise of "he has a good reason for it" that just Coincidently happens to land him and magolor into some relationship-implying situation. and also the "good reason" meta knight had for doing whatever was not a good reason and was in fact a huge stretch of a reason for sake of moving the relationship along quicker. which you know i dont shame at all, i get that sometimes you just want to get to the juicy shit and people are absolutely allowed to do that, but that really just sums up my feelings on the ship entirely lol. stretches and stretches of reasonings for them to get together that dont entirely, or sometimes even remotely, make sense but okay they end up together in the end somehow 🤷

the fact that the ship is the two most popular and thirsted over men in the series together is the reason why this one lands into red-flag territory im so sorry. it attracts some um. interesting people who end up being somewhat pretentious about their own interpretations on the characters and some people get a little scary or intense about it. also of course occasionally their relationship being boiled down to whoever ships them nonstop thirsting for both of them but thats like just fandom culture for you, i really cant judge. people do that with metadede too to be fair. also a lot of metalor shippers ive seen are just downright mean for some reason. anyone else notice that or have i just been running into bad people

as people might be able to tell by how fairly neutral about it i seem, this one is yeah one of the less red flag-y of what i consider red flag ships. its totally fine. i personally really dont like the ship but its only like 60-70% of the shippers who i squint at compared to the Abysmal rates of other red flag ships. speaking of, by the way...............

ah the fandoms problem child. its metasusie

i Do think its possible to ship this one in a healthy manner. actually even in a not healthy matter as long as youre explicit about it being not healthy and its just one of those ships you find interesting due to the drama. ive read metasusie fics where it was explicitly about how fucked up the relationship can be and theyre very very fascinating from a story and character perspective if you want to explore a tragically evil but still nuanced susie. i would say highly recommend, but i dont actually because a lot of them just lean into weird unnecessary torture porn. its somewhat of a fine line between tasteful and untasteful

ANYWAYS brief tangent aside, i think its possible to ship this one in a healthy manner because you know me i would be a hypocrite to bash an enemies to lovers ship, but it obviously relies on susie needing to recognize her faults and make up to meta knight in some way, plus improve as a person in general. its somewhat of a grey area depending on various factors, both game and real life perspective-wise, how redeemable one considers the whole mechanization and dehumanization though so i dont blame people who absolutely dont trust the ship

speaking of lets get into the way this one is Definitely the reddest of the red flag ships ever. metasusie shippers what are you doing oh my god

the. the. the the when you the when you woobify susie. i do not use that word lightly in regards to susie in particular because of how often its misused by people who hate her just to mean "im mad that people are making cute friendly content of a character i dont like". no im using it in the actual proper way as in why in the world do i go around and see some metasusie shippers saying "people who hate metasusie are so stupid, susie literally never hurt meta knight in canon!!!" i shit you NOT that is a legit take ive seen a Lot of people have nearly word for fucking word and its like. what are you ON did we even play the same game?? did you even play the game at all??? are you as white and dense as a sack of flour and thats why it went over your head?????

people will try to make the excuse that they have headcanon or interpretation differences that lighten the whole endeavor, which yeah that fair. you can imagine mecha knight was just some suit they put over him rather than anything invasive like a lot of people think. thats absolutely fair. you can imagine that meta knight still retains parts of his super star personality where he was kinda okay with the mechanization in some twisted personal ambition way because hes a power hungry guy who will take any means necessary to be stronger. thats also pretty fair. ah you think this is sounding favorable to the metasusie shippers huh. WRONG. WRONG. YOU CAN THINK ALL OF THIS BUT NONE OF THIS EXCUSES THAT THE WHOLE MECHANIZATION WAS STILL WRONG NO MATTER HOW YOU TWIST IT. tfw mecha knights theme is called "inner struggle" definitely implying that he did Not like being mechanized and was trying to fight against it. tfw the elephant in the room being mechanization is of course a metaphor for colonization which is not a good thing to do to someone regardless whether or not they seem cool with it. tfw THE DEHUMANIZATION. TFW METASUSIE SHIPPERS GO HEEHOO HEEHOO CUTE SHIP AND POLE VAULT OVER THE DEHUMANIZATION. HI.

regardless whether or not you have interpretation or headcanon differences, you Cannot ignore the fact that the game does not exist in a vacuum and its themes are undoubtedly tied to real life parallels. in ignoring those parallels or sidestepping them when theyre so blatant and in your face Yes you kinda are being a huge asshole. susie calling mecha knight an It and being like heres our newest product :) while also having the dissonance of being like hes such a cool strong handsome knight is supposed to directly refer to how colonizers will fetishize the people they colonize while fucking over them and their home because they only like them as a surface level Idea rather than actually respecting their culture and them as fellow human beings right im not just being insane making all this up??? huh???? ive gotten away from my original point i feel but tldr IF YOU PRETEND LIKE SUSIE NEVER HURT OR DID ANYTHING TO META KNIGHT I WILL THROW YOU INTO A GRAIN SILO. NO!!!

anyways if you have susie getting a redemption arc yes youre so cool. if you have them getting together okay thats cool. if you draw susie/mecha knight art and act like its cute im throwing you into the grain silo too. if you dont have susie properly redeeming herself and ship her with meta knight even though shes still weird about him and still colonizing people then i dont trust you and thats the category most metasusie shippers fall in

i also want to bring up the people ship it out of spite, because theres been a big spite-shipping metasusie resurgence in the past year thanks to weird stalking drama sparked by a very certain someone people might remember. yall need to realize that going harder on something that understandably makes people uncomfortable and trying to push back by pretending the ship is (by default) more harmless than it is and pretending that everyone who dislikes it is automatically being unreasonable just because Some people are yikes to metasusie shippers is Not the play to take. it just makes you look like an inconsiderate asshole. two people being assholes to each other does not cancel out it just makes an even bigger fire. get some critical thinking skills yeah

its not the fault of anyone who wants to make cute metasusie content that susie is very explicitly a colonizer and a lot of people have strong feelings about that, bbbbbbbbut i hope it came across in this whole tangent that if you try lessening the blow of her actions against meta knight people have full right to hate your guts imo

EDIT: extremely last minute edit but i just straight up forgot that people who arent lgbtq+ exist in this fandom and thus didnt mention it: can we bring up the amount of homophobes who love this ship purely because its strong cool masculine man x cute pink feminine girl. does anyone remember that one guy who was big on metasusie and had "christian" in his bio and also had "will not do lgbt+" in his commission sheet or is that just me. its so fucking funny. it makes me cry laugh whenever i think about it. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[tampatom12]

your top 5 favorite Gronkady moments?

Anon, this question was both extremely easy and also extremely hard to answer!!!!

Each of these moments means so much to me. They define who they are to each other and furthermore, show how much they truly love one another. 🥺🥹🤧💞

But first, before I get into the moments...!!

If you're new here to my blog or to the NFL fandom in general and don't understand the term "Gronkady":

Gronkady is the ship name for Rob "Gronk" Gronkowski and Tom Brady, two people who used to play for the New England Patriots and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As you will see below, their history together is legendary!!

Now, onto the moments themselves. 🤩🥳🔥💯💥

I have decided to start with number five and count backwards to my ultimate Tom and Rob moment.

I also have four other bonus moments in mind that are just as important, but simply didn't make the Top Five overall...let me know if y'all wanna find out what those are!!

So now, without further ado, here are my

Top Five Gronkady Moments!!!!

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

5). The first time they met!

Rob has told this story multiple times to a variety of sources over the years and he always tells it the same way:

He was in the locker room, taping up his ankle. Tom came over to him, held out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Tom."

Instead of saying, "Yeah, I know," or worse, not saying anything at all, Rob said back, "And I'm Rob! Nice to meet you, man!"

This simple interaction between them may not seem like much, but it was the conversation that stated it all, even though at this point, they still had to formally begin building their relationship on and off the field.

✨✨✨

4). Rob's video edit/tribute that he posted back when Tom retired for the first time!

✨✨✨

This video contains so many wonderful highlights of the public time that they spent together!!

It also features key but underrated moments between them. (Like when Rob says hi to Tom when he's in the parade and is *so* happy that Tom got number six!)

Additionally, it a visual representation of what their bond has been like over the years!

PLUS!!!

The entire thing is set to Queen's "You're My Best Friend"!!!!!

Here it is for you to see for yourself on Rob's Insta page and here it is on YouTube.

(((I highly recommend looking at his caption on the Insta post!! ⬇️)))

✨✨✨

3). The time that they were at a Boston Red Sox game together!

This short clip is so damn chaotic in the best possible way. It is simply SO. THEM. through and through!!

We also got this amazing photo out of that specific day!! :D🥺🥹🤧😍🥰

✨✨✨

2). BAD BOYS FOR LIFE!!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady)

One of the things that I think about the most when it comes to iconic couples is how they all seem to have a little catch-phrase that is theirs and theirs alone.

For Tom and Rob, this catch-phrase is Bad Boys for Life.

It all started back in 2019 for the 2018 season after the Patriots won the NFC championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tom posted this to his Insta page and though I didn't see it when he first posted it because I wasn't at all a fan of his, when I did finally see it, something about it changed me. Them being all showboaty but also silly *and* alone yet together like this is the stuff that fanfics get written about. 💗💓💞

And real quick, just to clarify, "alone yet together" means that they weren't around anyone else in that video but that they were still together as a couple!!

✨Anyway, now that that's cleared up welcome back to the feature presentation!!:✨

So furthermore, the chosen song and it's lyrics are super important for that moment.

Aside from the key one of "Bad Boy for Life", there's also "We ain't goin' nowhere; we can't be stopped now".

Realistically, I know that this is a reference to the entire team and how they all can't be stopped now/aren't going anywhere now that they have won everything except for the Super Bowl at that point.

However, it is worth reading into and noting that Tom and Rob are the only ones who made a video like this.

They could have chosen anyone else to do that with and yet...!!! They decided to exclusivelymake that video with each other. (((Insert the screeching cat emoji, AHHHHHHHH emoji, all the Kermit heart emojis here)))

Not only that, but it is important to me to note that Tom is the one who is holding the phone/camera and is doing the recording. He clearly *wanted* to be in that moment, making a firm memory of his time and opportunity with Rob.

Of course the editing/song part of it all came later, but I don't feel like Tom would have let his social media people choose that song if he didn't feel that it fully fit the moment. He wanted that song to be a part of their legacy just as much as he wanted the world to see them together like how they are within that video.

✨✨AND!!!✨✨

They remade it in 2021!! 🤩🥳🔥💯🙌🏻💞:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady)

✨✨So now, the moment you all have been waiting for...

Here is my ULTIMATE Gronkady moment!!!✨✨

1). Absolutely everything about them together Tampa!!

As I'm sure all of you can tell based on my url alone, I LOVE the Tampa version of Tom SO MUCH.

I've said this before but I don't care; I'm sayin' it again:

Tom was very much a difference person in Tampa than what he had been in New England. His work ethic and overall beliefs/philosophies were the same, BUT he also began to show the public more of his true, easy-going personality from the moment that he arrived in Tampa. He clearly felt free to have more fun than what he ever had before and he wasn't afraid to show it.

And it's not like he didn't have lots of fun in New England because I know that he did.

But there was just something about him moving to a year-round sunshine-filled climate that set off who he had secretly been all along and who he wanted to be moving forward.

Basically, he still worked hard and had just as much fun in Tampa as what he had in New England, but Tampa offered him up a new chance to be more easy-going and super goofy at times!!

✨All of that having been said, to get back into the Gronkady of it all:✨

As we all (probably) know, Rob retired for the first time in 2019, after he and the Patriots had won the 2019 Super Bowl for the 2018 season. He left New England and went on to do retired football guy things while Tom suffered through one of the Patriots worst years ever.

Now, fast forward to March of 2020. Tom has announced that he's leaving New England and is going to, out of all of the teams within the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A month later, in April of 2020, Rob announces that he is officially coming out of retirement to play with Tom on the Buccaneers.

Alright, and now...

This is the part of the story that everyone still isn't so sure about because both men have had conflicting takes on it.

Not conflicting bad, just conflicting in the sense that for some reason, they don't want the public to find out the behind-the-scenes details of what was really said between them.

They want to keep that part of it private/to themselves, and as much as the nosy person in me needs to know what went down for real, I also completely respect them saving a part of this story just for themselves. 🥺🥹🤧💗

All of the above having been said...!!

While the main theory about how they reunited is still up for debate, what many think to have happened is that Tom asked Rob to come back and play with him. Did they have discussions between each other about all of this beforehand? Probably. Will we, the general public, ever know for sure if this was the case? Most likely not.

At the end of the day, the bottom line is this:

Rob was fully in retirement, happy to be free of all of the responsibilities that come with being an active NFL player, when all of a sudden, his non-brother best friend and bad boy partner for life decides to leave New England and head south.

No matter how it happened or what they may or may not talked about before hand, Rob literally came. out. of. retirement (!!!!!!!!!!!) just so that he could play football with Tom again. 🥺🥹😭🤧😍🥰🧡🤍

Why else would he have done that if he wasn't at least a little bit in love with Tom?!

The game had always been very hard on Rob's body; he had so many injuries throughout the first part of his career. 😔😥

By all means, it would have made sense for him to simply stay retired while rooting Tom on from the sidelines.

But he didn't. He wanted to reunite with "the only quarterback he ever wanted to play for" in a place that was far away from New England, both geographically as well as culturally.

Them reuniting in Tampa proves how deep their bond is and how much they admire, trust and respect each other.

Additionally, aside from playing together again, they got to make some extremely cute and fun videos together!!!

This video series are a big reason that got me to see and understand Tom and Rob as more than "Tom Brady (™️)" and "Rob 'GRONK!' Gronkowski".

It is important that they agreed to make this video series in the first place and is a true testament to their commitment to have fun and be free with each other in their new home. 🥺🥹🤧💞

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

So there you have it!!

My Top Five Gronkady Moments!!!! 🤩🥰🥳🔥💯💥🙌🏻💗

I hope that this gives you a good idea of what Tom and Rob are all about and how much they mean to each other!! :D

Also, thank you so much for your patience!!! I received this ask back in November and meant to answer it then but then got distracted by other life things. 😔

I definitely appreciate that you asked about them though, as it has given me an opportunity to talk about some of my favorite people!!! 💞

So once again, thank you, anon!!

We can definitely talk more sometime if you want to!! ☺️

[no--net]

Willing to be punched in the face again for you (Part one) Byomjit Angst

(before reading this I recommend watching the movie detective byomkesh bakshi and watching its deleted scene (mainly scene 3) or else their might be some references you might miss

Hope you like it and I will try to update it soon (suggestions are welcome) and please comment somthing ....yes I'm asking for validation)

It had been a horrible day for Ajit . Why you may ask? Let's rewind I little bit

The last evening Byomkesh and Ajit were on a case ,long story short it turned bloody and Byomkesh had to be dragged home once again. All of the exhaustion might have caught up with the detective but not his friend unfortunately.  While byomkesh slept like a baby Ajit was dragged to the police station for details of the case. So after no dinner and no sleep he thought breakfast would make things better but nope! Turns out Byomkesh had the audacity to get invited to a friend's house. Alone! Eating alone just doesnt hit the same so lunch was a bye bye and now here we are to the present and guess what's happening? Yep Ajit is being dragged to another case ! for goodness sake! "Byomkesh I've went inside and checked out the crime scene and I advice you highly against it" said ajit who went to check on the blood situation inside.

"Mr Bakshi you are our last hope I need you to get on this case" said the police officer "Sir why do you worry I'll go right in and right out and the case would be s.o.l.v.e.d solved!" Mr smartypants boasts "No we will not be taking the case" said Ajit in quite the stern voice "Fine then WE won't...but I will" Announced Byomkesh while going towards the building "Alright listen here" says Ajit as he drags Byomkesh aside "For once listen to me Byomkesh,don't take the case" "Ajit you dont understand this-this is such an important case! It could be the highlight of my career!" Byomkesh says as he throws his hands out trying to prove a point .

"You'll solve the case once you actually process what's going on in there" "What do you mean-"

"Their is too much blood in there,and you completely shut down the moment you see it" Ajit's voice and anger were rising every second "I wont! You'll see it will be fine"

"Byomkesh I saw the mess you were yesterday after seeing a dead body-honestly speaking it wasnt even that much blood but there is blood on the ENTIRE WALL in there , please I cannot do it today . I don't want you to take the case-" "Yeah you didnt say that when it was your father's dead body!"

"Do not bring my father into this!" At this point it wasnt a conversation anymore it was a full blown argument

"No because when it's about YOU and YOU ONLY then you dont care!"

"It was different then!" "It wasnt you hypocrite" Byomkesh whispers in the nastiest tone Ajit has ever heard him in "maybe I was wrong ,maybe your father not wanting a son like you was your fault"

Usually when dialogues similar to this are uttered a punch usually lands on the detective's face which frankly he was expecting but.....that didnt happen. Ajit didnt shout or punch or came up with a comeback He just stood their

So disappointed

So tired

So....heartbroken?

"Fine you go take the case" it was barely above a whisper

Pretending to not notice any of that at all Byomkesh Bakshi turned around to face the building with pride "Yes Ajit ! I'll show you that together we-"

"No" "No?"

"Not WE ....you . I'm going home" he says as he turns around and starts walking

"No but-" it wasnt like his friend ,his best friend didnt try to go after him "Mr Bakshi will you be taking the case then?" The conversation-or the one sided speech that the police officer gave kind of blended together as Byomkesh tried to spot ajit in the darkness "No sorry sir" said the man as he took off after finnaly catching a glimpse of the other man

A few turns and 5 minutes of running later Ajit was nowhere to be seen...shit

"He must have went home...yeah .home"

After Practically running back to his house you could imagine how Byomkesh felt when he saw the door still locked "He's not here"

[hamartia-grander]

so I’ve seen ur adalice propaganda and I’ve heard vague mentions of alice, so what makes her the perfect girlfriend for ada? :)

WAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH *explodes*

This is not going to make much sense and I'm going to be all over the place and I apologise I am just very mentally ill over Alice (and ada x alice)

SO. Alice Abernathy is the main protagonist from the live action Resident Evil film series directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, starring Milla Jovovich as Alice. Alice started out as a highly trained operative working for Umbrella - she could kick some serious ass, and her job title was head of security so she'd basically act as a bodyguard or field agent depending on what Umbrella needed from her. However, once she found out the truth of what Umbrella was creating, all the genetic viruses and bioweapons, and how they planned to do terrible things with them, she worked with another Umbrella employee with the intention of spilling Umbrella's secrets before they released the virus, and then getting Umbrella shut down. Alice failed, because she was incapacitated by Umbrella's own security measures when another Umbrella agent (a bad guy) unleashed the T-virus on the entire Hive (Umbrella's underground facility where they actually worked on the T-virus, and everyone who worked here knew what they were doing). But point is she tried.

Alice is cunning, perceptive, kind-hearted, and strong-willed. She is also very stubborn, and believes she can accomplish anything just because she's not going to stop until it's done or she dies. She's very very dedicated and heroic. She refuses to shoot a single team member even after they've been obviously infected because there's the slightest chance they could find the cure in time, before she remembers there even is a cure. She thinks she can save them all through sheer will. She cares about anyone and is willing to set aside differences to help people. She knows her strengths and she's not afraid to face dangerous situations, even offering to go alone when she can because she doesn't want anyone else to get hurt. And the funny thing is, rather than introducing Alice to the games, Capcom has instead given many of her best traits and attributes to Leon: her heroism, her compassion, her eagerness to help, and her perseverance. (Leon was technically a character before Alice, but if you see the movies versus the RE games that came after, you'll get what I mean, it's very obvious they took lots of inspiration from Alice's character). They also literally ripped off the scene where Leon drives a motorcycle into the Arias monster in RE Vendetta from Alice doing the exact same thing in the second Resident Evil film, years before him. But later on, the movies started giving Alice aspects of Leon's character, because he only shows up in one movie. And when Ada is finally introduced to the films, they gave her and Alice the exact same knife fight as Leon and Ada had in the original RE4. Like, down to the flip thing Ada does to catch her gun. The same scene. That was where the Adalice thoughts first started for me, because h u h??? Giving your main protagonist the same scene with Ada that Ada also has with her love interest in the games???? hm,,,, (also worth mentioning - Milla Jovovich as Alice cannot be in the same shot as another woman without acting like she's in love with them. Like so many Alice ships exist with other women - Jill, Claire, Rain - because Alice naturally creates so much tension with the other female characters and cannot look at another women without heart eyes. It's so great.)

Now the FUN part is, Alice already knows who Ada is and what she does when they meet. She is fully aware that Ada indirectly worked for Umbrella, and was Wesker's top agent. And Ada's story is different than her journey in RE2 when she and Leon met - development wise, Ada's is about where she'd be after re4r. So while these factors are different, and Ada in this film is trying to move away from her past work, she still has Umbrella and Wesker tying her down. Alice knows all of this. And once Ada explains the situation, Alice trusts her. They help each other in this film, because they both have the common goal of taking down umbrella. Now some context, the films are MUCH more dystopian/apocalyptic, as Anderson decided to take the route of a global infection rather than only keeping the t-virus in raccoon city, and outbreaks select parts of the world like the games do. So at this point in the films, Umbrella has taken over the entire world, and Alice is still fighting tooth and nail to bring them down. Ada joins her, they help each other, but they also have mutual respect for each other. And even better, Alice doesn't expect more from Ada than Ada verbally offers to give. Alice is more than willing to complete tasks on her own, but Ada still helps her - even when Alice decides to adopt a little girl on the way who mistook Alice for her mother. (You can tell Ada doesn't really care for kids and it's funny, but she still helps Alice protect the girl). Ada gets to shine as her own character, and while she's definitely not given the same space and consideration that she gets in the RE4 Remake, she definitely gets more than most of the games combined. Ada being allowed to maintain her character and identity without having to sacrifice anything or give more than she's willing to just to appease Alice is one of the BIGGEST ways Adalice differs from Aeon, despite Alice and Leon being similar. (Ada has a type lmao)

Also, side note, here is the only "romantic" scene Ada and Leon share (and notice also how Ada looks at/reacts to Alice instead)

I want Leon dead I want to kill him so bad he sucks extra bad in this film

Anyways I guess what I'm trying to say here is, Ada and Alice have all the good attributes that Ada and Leon have, but without the one-sided obsession and secrets. (And Alice is like if Leon actually respected Ada as a person rather than an object of his desire he views through a warped lens LMAO.) And so there's the intrigue of Alice and Ada's dynamic where they are "on opposite sides", but they work together towards a common goal, respect each other, look out for each other, and care for each other, and it's mutual. And they get the enemies to lovers speedrun edition where they're only enemies for like 2 minutes.

Idk, I don't wanna be like "just watch the movie" but also,,, Resident Evil: Retribution is SUCH a good movie and I think everyone should watch it. It's my favourite live action RE film, and Ada and Alice's relationship just shines in it.

[asweetprologue]

me lámh le do lámh - Part I

Ahh I can’t believe it’s finally done! After a year of working on this beast, it’s finally ready for me to share. This is something I started way back last summer, and I decided to finish it as my project for this year’s @geraskierbigbang. It will be ten parts in total, and I will post one part per day until it is complete! There are several art pieces that were created by the wonderful @herostag​ and Miranda.draws for this story, which I will link when the appropriate section is posted. For a summary and further links, please see the masterpost.

Next | Ao3 | Masterpost

“Alright,” Geralt said. “Don’t laugh at me.”

Yennefer looked up at him with bright eyes, curious and already mirthful. She was sitting across from him in his quarters, reading through a tome she’d found in Kaer Morhen’s disheveled library. Geralt had just come from a bath after hours spent training Ciri in the yard, and the room was filled with the warm evening light, supplemented by the fire crackling in the hearth. Yennefer had insisted on carting dozens of tapestries and drapes to hang around the drafty keep, and the room was nearly stuffy with their bulk keeping the heat in.

Yennefer gave him an amused smirk. “I will make no such promises before I even know what you’re going to say.” The gentle teasing brought a fond smile to Geralt’s face. After the events of the mountain all those years ago, things had been understandably tense. Yennefer had been reluctant to join them when she had finally met up with Geralt after Sodden, but had eventually agreed to seek refuge in the witchers’ keep and teach Ciri to control her magic. Once she’d met the girl it had all been a wash; it was clear as soon as their eyes met across the room that Yennefer was as much a part of Ciri’s destiny as Geralt was.

Geralt had expected that to either mend the rift between them enough for things to go back to the way things were, or make things even more awkward. Instead, they found themselves in a sort of in-between. Over the years his affection for Yennefer had only grown, but he found himself looking to her more and more as a friend—maybe his best friend. After Jaskier, of course.

Speaking of. “I was thinking about Jaskier.”

Yennefer rolled her eyes obviously. “As you are so frequently wont to do. The thaw will come soon enough, dear, and you can run off in search of your bard.”

Geralt felt his ears grow warm. Witchers couldn’t blush, not truly, but he still felt the tingle of it as he fidgeted with embarrassment. “That’s not what I meant,” he said, absently tracing a finger against the grain of the wooden table. There were two goblets of wine sitting between them, but so far neither of them had begun to drink. “Do you know how many winters it’s been since I found Ciri?”

If she was confused by the odd turn in subject matter, Yennefer didn’t show it. Instead she looked thoughtful. “Two, perhaps three? You know I don’t follow the seasons with diligence.”

“Neither do I,” Geralt agreed. “I was thinking the same though, two or three years since the fall of Cintra. Which means Jaskier is…” He paused, trying to do the math. “He was a few years past forty, during the dragon hunt, I think. He must be closer to fifty now than not.”

Yennefer raised an eyebrow at him. “I recall mentioning something about his crows feet. What of it? Humans age. Are you only just discovering this?”

Geralt forced himself not to grumble. In a way, he was only discovering it. He’d known humans across the years, of course, and knew that many that he’d once been acquainted with were no longer alive or were in their twilight years. For decades Geralt had wandered through the world, changing no more than a ghost would, touching the lives of regular mortals for a brief instance, maybe a few times if they were particularly unlucky. No one had stayed by his side, dedicated themselves to a relationship with him, the way that the bard had. The amount of devotion that Jaskier showed to him had made Geralt antsy, in earlier years, and then confused and angry by turn. He had hated the idea of someone needing him, had hated needing someone in return. The way his chest felt heavy when he and Jaskier parted ways had left him furious with himself and the bard.

And then Ciri came into his life, and everything had changed so quickly.

With Ciri, it didn’t matter whether Geralt felt like he should care for her, or if he wanted to. He needed to. Without him, the girl would die, or be kidnapped by Nilfgaard for who knows what purpose. He had to feed her, and clothe her, and teach her, and he had to love her for her to thrive.

She made it very easy. It was only afterwards that he realized how much of an idiot he’d been to Jaskier, and the thought of how he’d treated the bard over the years had plagued him. It had been months before he could find him to apologize, but Jaskier forgave him almost immediately—which Geralt found both relieving and infuriating at the same time. This was the first winter they’d spent apart since. Geralt left the keep more rarely now, heading out on the Path only when the months grew truly warm and returning at the first hint of falling leaves. Ciri was safe on her own, he knew, but he missed her when he was away. And he could admit now that one of the forces driving him back into the world over the last few years had been the itching desire to find Jaskier again and settle the yearning in his chest for another year. He was less inclined to venture forth when his bard, his daughter, Yennefer and his brothers were all in one place.

This winter Jaskier had begged off, saying that he had “work in the south,” which could mean anything from spending a decadent winter in the court of some noble or sludging through the front lines as a Redanian spy. Geralt had learned not to pry too deeply into Jaskier’s business when he wasn’t around. It was often either too explicit for him to stomach or too confidential for Jaskier to share freely.

It worried him, being away from the bard for so long. He could get hurt, or captured by Nilfgaard, or worse. But what really terrified Geralt was the idea that he would find Jaskier in a tavern along the Path and realize that the bard had grown old, to find silver in his hair and wrinkles beside his eyes. “He’s getting too old,” Geralt said to Yennefer, who looked at him with sympathetic eyes.

“You must have known when you started travelling with him that he would eventually leave you,” Yennefer said, not unkindly. “Humans are so short lived.”

“I didn’t exactly get a choice about becoming his muse,” Geralt said with a huff. Despite his improved relationship with Jaskier over the past few years, he still found it difficult to admit that he had always been more than willing to let the bard tag along. If he’d wanted to travel alone, he would have. But he never had. “I just didn’t realize…”

“It always comes sooner than you think it will,” Yennefer sighed. She set her book aside and picked up her goblet of wine, turning to look out the large window their table sat in front of. It faced west out of the keep wall, towards the mountains and the forest beyond. The sun had set below the craggy peaks, throwing the snow covered valley below into darkness. Geralt could just make out the ruins of the old tower, its stones dark against the white landscape. “You can’t cure his mortality, Geralt.”

“We did.”

The look that Yennefer gave him was sharp, almost angry. The firelight in the room turned her violet eyes darker, like mulberry wine. “At great cost,” she snapped. “I can’t imagine you would put him through the Trials.”

A stab of panic shot through his gut at the thought. “No. Of course not. He wouldn’t survive it anyways. Only children stand a chance at all.”

Yennefer nodded, apparently satisfied that Geralt hadn’t completely lost his mind. “The boy hasn’t got an ounce of Chaos in him, in spite of his rather chaotic nature, so I highly doubt they’ll accept him as a late trainee at Ban Ard.”

“There must be other ways,” Geralt said, feeling petulant. “Less conventional.”

“I cannot believe we are actually discussing this,” Yennefer said, rising to her feet. She picked up her book from the table as well as her glass. “There is no way to achieve immortality, especially not without sacrifice. You know that, Geralt. Drop this foolish line of thought.”

Geralt rose after her, reaching out to catch her retreating wrist. A grasp loose enough that she could break it, if she wanted, but Yennefer paused. “Please, Yen. Just… look into it for me? I can’t—the thought of—” He cut himself off, dropping his hand away from her arm. The look she gave him was more pitying than he would have liked.

“I’ll do some research, but nothing more. Don’t get your hopes up, Geralt. There’s a reason there are so few of us,” she said. Her face softened slightly, as much as it ever did. Despite Ciri, Yennefer was still made of more glass and fire than anything else. “I know you love him, even if you can’t admit it to yourself. I promise, I will do my best.”

Geralt nodded wordlessly as she left and wondered if Jaskier's eyes would be as bright next time he saw him.

*

For weeks Yennefer said nothing about his request, and Geralt refocused on spending time with Ciri and preparing to depart for the spring. Lambert and Eskel had already left a month before, as soon as the road down the mountain began to thaw, but Geralt had hung back. The roof needed repairs, a difficult job to do in the midst of winter, and it was a hard task to leave for Vesemir alone. It was always like this, now—him looking for odd jobs to keep him at Kaer Morhen, with Ciri, making excuses until Jaskier’s jitteriness or Vesemir’s raised eyebrows forced them on the road again. Some of that was mitigated this season by the silence he heard when he found himself listening for the sounds of lute strings strumming gently in the background, and Geralt’s increasing anxiety about Jaskier’s wellbeing. Even so, it was hard to leave Ciri behind.

The girl was progressing rapidly as she entered her teen years, the chubbiness of her youth morphing into lean if awkward muscle as she continued to work on her swordsmanship. When Geralt and his brothers weren’t pushing her through drills, she was studying monsters and alchemy with Vesemir, or practicing her magic with Yen. She never seemed to tire, eagerly absorbing any lessons passed on to her and desperate to prove her worth. The only person she seemed to let her guard down around was Geralt, who found himself often goading her into mock wrestling matches (which he refused to throw on principle) and humoring her when she became restless and wanted to explore beyond the keep. Kaer Morhen was dangerous in the winter, but as spring approached and the deep snows on the surrounding mountains began to thaw, the duo spent more and more time trekking through old ruins and sleeping beneath the stars.

He could put off his journey south no longer.

“I’m going to be fine, Geralt,” she said, rolling her eyes at him. He wondered if he’d been this petulant as a teenager. Certainly Lambert had. “I can take care of myself, and Yen will be with me.”

Geralt tapped her wooden training sword with his own, indicating that she should prepare to go again. When he was a boy he’d trained against the other foundlings, stumbling around like pups through drills and sparring matches. Ciri trained against full witchers, and only Eskel ever faked a misstep here or there to allow her to get in a good hit. When she won a fight for the first time, it would be on her own merit.

The girl raised her sword into a decent fighting stance, and Geralt moved to correct her footwork. Her sword work was exceptional above the belt, but she consistently forgot her stances, throwing herself off balance. They’d begun putting her on the pendulums to force her to focus, dancing between posts to attack the dummies. Geralt had spent many a night rubbing salve into her bruised shoulders, gained from taking fall after fall from the low poles. No one forced her, but if there was one thing Ciri hated, it was admitting to weakness in herself. “Sword up,” Geralt said, and launched into his attack.

He stayed on the offense, forcing her to practice the defensive drills they’d started going over recently. “I know you’ll be fine,” he said, continuing their conversation. His breathing was relaxed, almost meditative through the slow exchange of blows. “Just seems cruel to leave you with only the old man and Yennefer for company.”

Ciri giggled despite herself, and Geralt found himself grinning back before he smacked her lightly in the ribs with the training sword. She swore—Lambert, Geralt thought with chagrin—and danced back a few paces. “Gotta focus,” he said, still smirking at her.

She poked her tongue out at him childishly and reposted off of one of his blocked attacks. He easily swayed out of the way, but the movement was fluid and smooth, which meant someday it would be fast, faster than he could dodge. He gave an encouraging nod.

They continued to spar for another half an hour or so before breaking, heading to the well to fill their water pouches. Geralt sat on the short ring of stones and Ciri slumped on the ground beside him, leaning against his leg. The simple trust and familiarity she exhibited around him still took him by surprise, sometimes. “I’m leaving tomorrow,” he said, rubbing a hand over the top of her head. Her hair was almost as white as his.

She sighed, wiping dripping water from her chin as she tossed her water pouch down. “I figured,” she said. “Say hello to Jaskier for me, when you find him? I missed his songs this time.”

Geralt’s caress turned into a playful ruffle. “I will. Any requests for books?”

“Ones about Elves,” she said immediately, “and Skelligan alchemy. It’s different from ours, did you know? The Druids—”

Geralt chuckled. “I know. You’ve said half a dozen times. No fairytales this time?”

The girl hummed, reminding him for a brief and touching moment of himself. “Just bring Jaskier back. He tells about your adventures so much better than you do.”

“He’s certainly made a career out of it,” Geralt grumbled, feigning annoyance. “I’ll do my best. You know how he is.”

“You missed him too,” she said, hitting his knee with one closed fist. “I know you did. You get all…Well, more grumbly and mopey than usual, when he’s not around.” She wrinkled her nose up at him in exaggerated disgust. “It’s gross. But I do want you to be happy.”

Geralt knocked back against her gently with his knee, swallowing around the feelings that rose in his throat. “You just think I’m a boring old man who won’t help you put toads in Eskel’s bed. But you never even ask. I’m the expert, not Jaskier.”

Ciri laughed, bright and crisp in the morning air, and Geralt felt warm despite the fading winter chill. Tomorrow he would leave, and he would find Jaskier, and next winter he would tell Jaskier that he had to stay at Kaer Morhen. For Ciri, if nothing else. And if it was more for Geralt’s sake than anything, well, no one had to know.

*

Yennefer found him before he left, saddling Roach in the stables.

“Go to Triss,” she said by way of a greeting. Geralt knew what she meant by the gravity in her tone and the tension sitting in the corners of her mouth. “Ask after Ida. I don’t know where she is or if she’ll speak with you, but a Sage is the only one that might be able to give you anything.”

Geralt reached out to grasp her hand firmly in his own. “Thank you, Yen,” he said honestly.

The sorceress sniffed. “Well, you owe me one, I suppose. I hope you find what you're looking for. But be careful.”

“I won’t do anything that might put him in harm’s way,” he promised. “I swear it.”

“Good.” She gave him a slight smile before leaning in to brush a kiss over his rough cheek. The simple touch warmed him from inside out. “Say hello to the bard for me. Tell him I heard about that disastrous competition in Vizima. Ought to have him stewing for a good long while.”

Geralt rolled his eyes. ���I’ll give him your love as always.”

“Goodbye, Geralt,” she said, patting his arm lightly. “Be safe. You know how to reach me, if you have need.”

“I do,” he said. “I will. Take care of Ciri.”

“It’s more the other way around, I’m afraid,” she said with a soft smile, and Geralt understood exactly what she meant. Ciri had saved them both, in more ways than one. Every time he left her was more painful than the last. Someday, he knew, they might travel the Path together, a witcher, a sorceress and their daughter. Maybe even a bard, if he was extremely lucky.

Geralt hoped he would be.

[jadegreenimmortality]

Bungou Stray Dogs Men as Househusbands pt.1 - Sakunosuke Oda

A/N: I’m sorry that this isn‘t a request, but this brain rot has been going on since forever and now I can’t resist it anymore. I totally blame @hanazou for this. There will also be a part two featuring Chuuya, but his part has a completely different feeling to it, that's why I'll post these separately. Besides of that, this is basically an “Way of the Househusband!AU”. Go watch the show or read the manga if you don’t know it, it’s absolutely hilarious! This is mainly focused on them as househusbands, but since you are their spouse, there’s also a bit of reader insert. Also, a lot of Oda as a dad to his orphans. And the whole thing is feat. Dazai. (^^)

Pairings: Oda x gn!reader

Genre: Crack, domestic fluff

Warnings: none

Summary: You, Oda and the orphans move in together. While you become the working spouse, your loving husband stays at home and becomes a full-time househusband.

pt. 2

First things first - If you agree to marrying Sakunosuke Oda, you are also agreeing to become the parent of five children. Oda loves you and you are one of two main reasons he’s leaving the Mafia, the other being his life purpose. But if he’s leaving the Mafia, he’s keeping those kids in (if they want him to of course, but you can’t tell me they don’t, come on -)

So yeah, be ready.

He only cooks spicy curry at the beginning. The curry shop owner gave him the exact recipe of his favourite plate as a goodbye gift and that’s the only thing he is cooking for days on end. He has some basic cooking skills, but this is the only really elaborated dish he knows how to prepare as of now, so be ready to suffer from the spice. It will go on like that until all six of you you and the kids hold an intervention for him. The kids will paint nice banners like they were going to a demonstration saying "No more curry" that they hang up in the living room and he’ll be greeted by your sorrowful face when he comes back from buying groceries.

“What’s this?” – “Oh honey, I’m so sorry, its just…” – “WE CAN’T TAKE THE SPICE ANYMORE STOP COOKING CURRY ALREADY!” – “…I mean…yeah.”

Of course, he’ll be a bit embarrassed and disappointed. May scratch his neck and look to the side thoughtfully. But he’ll take your plead seriously.

This is also how you bond with the kids for the first time. Congratulations, huddling up against someone is always the best way to bond!

He works hard on his cooking skills after that and becomes quite the formidable cook. He takes suggestions from you and the kids and will try to learn how to cook anything you might fancy to eat. It’s really important to him that all of you are happy and cooking may be the most important job of a house spouse, so he takes it very seriously.

There will be curry Tuesday though. One day of spice hell. Enjoy.

Please picture Oda in his usual attire, wearing a beige “kiss the cook” apron over it and bunny slippers. You’re welcome.

He'll learn how to make anime and cartoon-themed bentos for the kids, so it's highly probable you'll get cutely designed bentos as well. Again, you may drop suggestions, he’ll absolutely take them into considerations. Octopus sausages, bunny apple slices, cute bear faces made out of rice, he’ll learn to do them all. He isn’t too sappy of a person, but if he’s feeling romantic while cooking, your rice could also have the shape of a heart. Either way, your co-workers will be very envious of your food and your husband.

Oda iss the master of negotiation at the food market. He’ll be completely stoic all the time, not aggressive or dismissive at all, but he’ll point out little flaws of the products in a way that most shop owner’s won’t be able to deny and that’s how he gets discounts. He doesn’t want to cheat anyone out of their money, but he does have seven mouths to feed.

He may not look like it, but if any of the kids tag along for his grocery shopping, it's really hard for him to deny them something if they beg for it. He may seem unnervingly calm all the time, but he’s a big softie, especially for those kids and for you, and if they hang at his sleeves long enough, they’ll get that ice-cream they want so badly. That doesn’t work on pricier items though, he can be a strict parent when really needed.

Oda is great at handling the finances. He’s well aware that he has to be thrifty with five kids. Still, there is one thing where he struggles to keep his control: books.

If you agree to it, the apartment will have an absolutely minimalistic interior, but! In your living room, there will be a shelf full of books, so big it covers a whole wall. That’s it, that’s Oda’s only weak spot when spending money.

It’s not only books for him though. He buys books for you when he sees something from your favourite author or genre. He buys books for the kids so they learn the joy of literature. Poems, bed time stories he wants them to grow up appreciating the possibilities of the written word.

You can bet that he’ll read them bed time stories. Only one book for all five of them though, so one kid gets to choose a story each day.

He’ll read to you as well if you want him to. His voice is incredibly calm and soothing, he’s a really good reader. There’s a high probability you’ll fall asleep while he reads to you. You can cuddle up in bed and rest your head on his shoulder or sit on his lap and hide your face in the crook of his neck, feeling the vibration of his voice in his chest.

Whenever he has some time to spare, he’ll retire to your shared bedroom to write. Mind you, that won’t happen often. It happens mainly on weekends, when the kids are with friends and/or you are at home. If you want to do him a favour, consider cooking on the weekends, he’ll be more than thankful for the opportunity to submerge in his beloved writing. But don’t worry, it won’t consume him – he’ll always put some time aside to spent with you, without the kids, as well ¬‿¬.

He's so polite with the neighbours. Will pay all his neighbours a short visit together with the kids to introduce himself and bring little gifts. Just imagine him standing there in the door frame, witih all five kids around his legs, smiling at their new neighbours angelically - what's not to love?

He really wants to maintain a good relationship to all of them. Basically, he’s the perfect neighbour – always polite, always up to a little chat, always ready to listen to neighbour A complain over neighbour B without snitching. He’s mainly concerned for the wellbeing the kids though. He wants them to feel part of the community and often arranges play dates with the neighbour kids. If it's possible at the neighbour’s house because five kids are a lot to handle already…and when they are all out of the apartment, it’s cleaning time.

Oda is an angel of patience and the ultimate multitasker. He isn’t left with much of a choice with five kids, but thankfully, calm lies in his nature. You may see him explaining Sakura her math homework while cutting vegetables for today’s lunch. Then, he’ll take a quick glance out of the window to see if they boys are still playing on the street where he can see them and then he’ll check on Sakura again. Isn’t he lovely?

His ability is unexpectedly helpful for all of this. If he’s in the living room to clean, his ability will alarm him if the food’s about to burn. If he’s around the kids, he’ll know in time if one is about to trip. If you come home from work so tired you fall asleep face first in your soup, he’ll be able to catch you. So useful.

He’s a very attentive and loving husband. His love is mainly expressed by keeping the house as clean as he can and putting a lot of effort into cooking. Your work is hard enough, he takes it upon himself to manage everything else. He’ll also try to have the kids well-behaved so they don’t demand too much from you after you come home from work. Though if you decide to pull yourself together and give them attention and love even when tired, he’ll be more than thankful. He knows it’s a lot to ask to be a parent, especially to not one, but FIVE kids that are not yours by blood. So if you actively seek to have a close bond to them, it will make him so incredibly happy because he knows it’s not the natural course of action for everyone.

Will give you head, shoulder and foot massages after an especially excruciating day of work. His hands are skillful and he knows where to touch to make you moan to release the tension from your muscles.

Likes to lie his head in your lap after both of you had a long day of work. Yes, you may be the provider, but keeping a house clean and five kids under control isn’t an easy job either! So, he’ll seek peace laying his head on your thighs and closing his eyes while you tussle his hair and tell him about your day. Don’t expect more than a mumbled “Mm” or “I see” from time to time, but be sure that he’s listening.

And the Port Mafia? You’re in luck - since he was the lowest-ranking member, The Mafia, by which I mean Mori isn’t bothered that he left. He refused to kill anyways, he’s to no use to them him.

Of course, Oda will try to be absolutely sure there is no hidden reason for Mori to hinder his leave beforehand, or to resent him for it. The last thing he wants is to endanger you or the kids by leaving his job as a criminal.

If he ever meets a member of the PM in public, he'll act as if he doesn't know them. He may give them a polite nod if they make eye contact, but that’s about it. It’s not that he resents them, but he really wants to start a new life here that isn’t connected to killing and cruelty at all. If they approach him he'll be very polite, but try to keep the conversation short, even if they seem to have no ulterior motive.

Of course, there’s one member of the Port Mafia that marks the exception, by which I mean to say that you’ll have Osamu Dazai over for tea regularly. No, he won’t announce himself at all. The first time he appears at your apartment, you’re just finishing to unpack. He’ll tand at your doorstep all of a sudden to tell Oda that Mori already knows where he moved to. Oda will just nod as an acknowledgement. He expected as much. And then he’ll give you a questioning look. If you nod, he’ll officially asking his friend to stay for dinner. You’ll be having curry.

From then on, he’ll just drop by whenever. You may come back home from time to time to find dinner ready, the kids in bed and your husband and Dazai drinking. If you join them, you will have some truly joyful evenings spend together. You’re Oda’s chosen one, so Dazai is a bit more inclined to let you get close than he is with others. You may make a new friend in the process.

It doesn’t take a lot of time for the kids to start calling him Uncle Dazai. He’ll actually be Uncle Dazai before they ever call Oda Dad or you Mom/Dad. It will take them mere weeks to call him uncle, but months, maybe years to call the two of you Dad/Mom. It will happen eventually though, and the day it happens, I assure you that you will see Oda spill tears of happiness. He’ll be looking away, wiping his face with one hand and smiling. He never thought he would want this, but now he knows he does.

Back to Dazai! He’s reserved with the kids at first. As we know, he doesn’t feel all to comfortable around “childish behaviour”. But kids are like cats, the feel drawn to the one that’s most cautious. By which I mean to say that they are all over him. Literally. Oda will leave for five minutes and when he’s back at the living room the kids will have tackled a slightly unnerved Dazai on the floor. Sakura wants him to see the drawings she made, Katsumi, Kousuke and Yuu want to play, Shinji wants to ask him what's under his bandages. He’ll have no choice but to oblige and it goes surprisingly well. Oda may abuse him as a baby-sitter when he visits from then on.

Then suddenly, Dazai stops visiting altogether. You are worried, but Oda, for some reason, isn’t. Even more, whenever you ask him about it, you may catch him smiling to himself in a satisfied, proud way. No, Dazai didn’t tell him anything. If Oda would know, it would endanger all of you. But he knows. He knows that Dazai finally made his choice to leave the Port Mafia and needs to lay low now. And that’s okay.

It takes Dazai two years to come back, which will be just as sudden as him leaving. You’ll be astounded to see him a changed man at first sight. Oda will scold him for not sending any notice and then everything is normal again. And after some more years, he’ll start bringing along a scrawny kid with white hair.

A/N: Wow, this is the first post I put a "keep reading" link in because it's so long! That's kind of a milestone for me. ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this! Thank you for reading!

[solomonish]

Way To Go MC, You’ve Allowed Yourself to be Poisoned (Demon Brothers)

CW for: descriptions of food and eating, brief descriptions of choking-like symptoms. (mainly in the intro, though the individual stories mention coughing, (light) blood and fainting). there will be talk of food and keeping an eye on what is being eaten in the individual character stories as well.

Ahh thank you nonnie! I got tired and stopped at the demon brothers but I’ll finish the nowdateables later if you want! Which let’s be real, I’ll probably do soon because I wanna write for Solomon lol

I hope you like it!

---

It started off like any other night, with you grabbing a seat at the dinner table as the last of the food was placed in the middle. Someone beside you took your plate and gave you your portion for you, smiling at your murmur of thanks as they set it down. You waited until the last person, Levi, sat down, smiling at him as he muttered something about finishing a level to nobody in particular. 

The moment you ate your first bite of food, something felt...off. Your tongue was tingling the slightest bit and you swore you could feel an uncomfortable heat follow the food as it slid down your throat. Thinking it was just a weird Devildom spice - after all, you’ve been here for how long? and nothing has happened yet? - you take another bite and immediately regret it.

Though such a food was no big deal for demons, it was powerful enough to knock you out of your chair and hunch over, grabbing your stomach as you cough forcefully in a desperate attempt to get the food out. Your insides were burning, your airways closing in and your chest crying out in pain the more you coughed. Soon enough, tears clouded your vision, and though you could hear the chaos around you, the only thing you could focus on was what felt like fire burning you from the inside out.

When you start coughing:

The moment you let out a little cough, his eyes are on you curiously. It’s just a remnant of the days when you were still so new to it all: the fragile little human makes a strange noise, be prepared to save a life.

He almost let his eyes fall from you, but he noticed that you weren’t stopping. It wasn’t the first time you had caused a scene at dinner, saying something afterwards about it “going down the wrong tube.” Still, this seemed...different.

When you fall off of your chair, he’s out of his before you even hit the ground. He’s kneeling by your side a second later, trying to tilt your head towards him so he can fully understand what is happening.

He finally realizes that you aren’t just choking and this is much more urgent when the blood starts coming out of your mouth.

He takes his attention away from you for a moment to ask who cooked dinner, and the brothers promptly rat out Mammon.

Though Lucifer is clearly agitated at that, he decides to lecture later and instead ask what Mammon put in the dish. Everyone erupts at once about halfway through because “How could you have forgotten what that will do to a human??”

That’s the last thing you remember for yourself - whether from the poison itself or being unable to breath through all your coughing, you passed out fairly quickly afterwards

Taking care of you afterwards:

Lucifer isn’t the type to panic in the moment. He’s very accustomed to taking the lead and having everything under control.

That’s in the moment, though. When he has Satan mix up the remedial potion, he’s fine, checking over you and keeping his brothers a safe distance away while he makes sure you’re still breathing. Once you’re safely in bed, brothers having been banned from your room until at least morning, and he’s the only one left lingering in the doorway, that’s when it all begins to set in.

There’s less regret and more general uncertainty in these moments - it starts with him wondering if he should really leave you alone, and soon enough it spirals into him reminding himself just how careful he needs to be with you in the Devildom. (And really, after taking charge of seven demon lords on accident, isn’t it just like you to get killed by a spicy leaf? Honestly, he should’ve known better.)

Once you finally do wake up, he tries to act like his normal “down to business” self - “I’ve told my brothers they are not to overwhelm you today, though we both know how that will go. I’ve made Leviathan figure out what bland foods are safe for humans, you’ll have to take it easy for now as your stomach is still irritated. Let me know immediately if you feel woozy or nauseous for any reason-” He prattles on and on, and though you’ve stopped paying attention you can still feel the softness in his tone

He tries to be gentle with you, and you have to remind him that you were just poisoned, not bedridden for months. Sometimes he’ll shoot you a glare and try to justify himself by saying it’s just like you to make another foolish mistake, but others he just won’t say anything and will keep the hand he has placed on your lower back “for safety”

Firmly believes in establishing as many preventative measures to keep this from happening again, so the next few weeks are going to be....a lot.

Sets up an alarm so he can remind you every lunch not to pick any of the “not safe for humans” options. Probably also gets you a seat in a class that goes over poisonous plants in the Devildom. 

Do not try to skip this. It’s easier for everyone if you just let him ease his mind how he likes.

When you start coughing:

At first, Mammon assumes that you just heard the joke he made and (naturally) started laughing so hard your weird little human body couldn’t take it

So essentially, you start choking and he starts laughing at you thinking you’re laughing together

That all stops the moment you fall out of your chair and double over, suddenly dry heaving on the floor.

He sort of short-circuits for a second, not entirely sure what to do until one of the more knowledgeable brothers stoops down beside you

They tell him to just keep your airways clear and make sure you’re still breathing while they go to get the elixir they need, and he does. It’s one of the few times they see him so serious - he just doesn’t want to mess up, so he doesn’t focus on any of their comments or bite back

(”Gee, Mammon’s actually stepping up for once” “Yeah, too bad he was the one that poisoned them in the first place”) 

(Lucifer: he WHAT)

Taking care of you afterwards:

Mammon is usually the first thing you see in the morning, so that doesn’t come as a surprise. What does surprise you is how quiet he’s being. 

When you sit up and groggily ask, “Is something wrong?” (barely getting the words through your swollen lips) he is torn between trying to say something smooth (”N-not now that you’re okay!! not that i care....”) or calling you a dumb human. So instead he just stares at you

Eventually you can get it out of him what happened, and it explains why your face feels like it had been burned and your stomach feels gross

Mammon says he’s going to come up with a surefire way to protect you so nothing like this ever happens again, but his version of protecting you is sticking by your side 24/7 and he already does that so?

You’re the one that’s going to have to take the lead. Make a list of common ingredients that are SUPER deadly to humans and make sure you both have one for reference

Soon enough, though, he figures out how he can help you without your guidance and you catch him pointing out what’s safe without you having to ask

He follows you to the lunch line and examines the clear plastic boxes until he can point out a few human-safe options. He’ll bend to whisper in your ear in line at some fast-food joint. If you’re not sure, he’ll be the first to ask before you even remember that’s something you should be doing anyway.

He’ll even try to make dishes he thinks you’ll like without the poisonous ingredient! Sometimes it takes a few tries but if he wants you to try something with him, he WILL make it himself

When it comes to you, Mammon really will give you the best care he can. Sometimes he just needs that extra push to think things through.

(And if this wasn’t a push. a hard shove. over a cliff. into shark infested waters)

(don’t do this again, mc. his demon heart can’t take it)

When you start coughing:

Levi has never mentioned how his brother don’t normally speak much to him at dinner and he’s just learned to be highly attuned to you. He notices a lot of little things you do, and is normally the first to realize when you’re choking or something.

That’s why, when you start coughing this time, he is the first one to panic. He knows that that isn’t a normal cough, he just doesn’t know what to do about it.

He looks down at his plate and realizes what’s on it, something he cries out right when you fall to the ground, clutching your stomach. You’re on the other side of the table and his brothers are already crowding around you, so Levi doesn’t get to see the blood and can only hear your coughing.

When your coughing gets weaker as you faint, he freaks. the. fuck. out. Did you die?? Even as he tries to look over his brother’s shoulders, he can’t get a good grasp of what happened until somebody tells him.

(It doesn’t matter much though. He’s still stuck in a loop of wondering what he could’ve done if he had gotten to dinner sooner, if he had managed to score a coveted seat next to you, if he had just looked at his plate or offered to take over for Mammon...)

Taking care of you afterwards:

You wake up in your bed and Lucifer is the one who comes in, asking you how you feel and if you’re up to classes to die. 

Being poisoned sure does take a lot out of you, so you ask to stay. Lucifer gives a quick nod and warns you not to shirk your duties, wishing you a fast recovery and letting you know that (human safe) food has been set aside specifically for you.

You doze off soon after (hey, a sick day may as well be spent sleeping in, right?) and when you wake up, somebody else is there, looking at you with inquisitive orange eyes and nearly scaring you half to death.

When you scream, he screams, backing up into your dresser and knocking some of the things off of it. 

“I-I’m sorry-! I was just- told to check up on you- just in c-case....I’ll leave now!”

Boy’s gonna make you chase after him when you’re basically sick smh

If you go to his room and demand to be let in, he will - and he’ll let you stay under the guise of “well if you have to check on me every hour it’ll be less of a hassle if I just stay here...”

You won’t be able to get him to say he feels guilty for letting this happen, but when you pick up on the signs ensure him that he’s doing fine taking care of you. HIs cool room helps soothe your mouth (which is still a little irritated), and you’re honored he has an alarm set to check up on you

You know he’s feeling better about it all when an alarm goes off and he just asks “Hey you good?” and he chuckles a little bit when you respond “Hold on I gotta check my own pulse....... yeah i think i’m good”

Overall he is worried but he doesn’t know how to communicate it? So it’s a lot of quick, worried glances and double checking nutrition facts on packages before he hands them to you.

He kind of leaves you to your own devices, but he does send you worried glances every now and then until you’re recovered. He also makes it a point, when Mammon’s on dinner duty, to tell him exactly how he prepared the meal, though you don’t know if it’s for your sake or just to bother him. Probably both.

When you start coughing:

Satan has taken to leaving his books in his room for most dinner and talks to you in their place, so he notices what’s in the dish pretty quickly.

However, the second step of realizing what it could do to a human doesn’t quite hit him until you’re already on your second bite.

He reaches out to grab your wrist anyway, watching you cough while also staring at him in confusion. As he watches your face redden and your mouth swell, you take your wrist from his grasp and cover your mouth with your hand.

He’s the one who knows what to do, so he appoints someone to keep and eye on you while he runs (yes, runs, but he’ll act all cool about it if his brothers bring it up later) to his room to get some potion that’ll (hopefully) negate the effects

(Don’t let him hear me say this but) he’s similar to Lucifer in that he’s very level-headed when it happens - somebody needs to be focused on the cure when some of his more dramatic brothers are screaming (looking at you, Mammon and Asmo)

Taking care of you afterwards:

Satan might be the best at taking care of you, but he’s probably also the least fun.

Once he realized a while ago how fragile a human could be (and that he was interested in actually keeping you alive rather than just watching how long it takes for something to hurt you), he put in an effort to read up on how to help a poisoned human in the Devildom.

He knows how you must be feeling, and he offers you soothing teas or even a (human safe!) numbing lip balm to help you out.

(He finds great pleasure in how ridiculous you look, now that the danger’s passed - though he won’t tell you outright, you can tell it by the amused grin he isn’t even trying to hide)

Don’t be surprised if you catch him eyeing your plates of food for a while after the incident, and any time you catch him in the act he’ll look at you, take a drink out of the nearest cup and lift his eyebrows in a weird little acknowledgment that he’s been caught before saying “It looks tasty.”

Overall, he’s the standard amount of worried? Even though he will take every opportunity to tease you about how you looked afterwards or how feeble you are to be taken down by something so small (jokingly), he won’t ever get out of the habit of double checking your food to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

When you start coughing:

Asmodeus eyes you warily when you start coughing, but continues with his entertaining until you hit the ground.

He’s by your side in an instant, hands hovering over you as if he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself (he doesn’t).

He doesn’t remember calling for Satan, but Satan is the one who kneels by you, so maybe he does? His focus is on you and deciding on something he can do to help.

This ends up shielding your face, puffy and a mess from your tears and retching, from the others who are all peering over at you in concern. He knows it’s not the most pressing detail, but he figures that maybe he can preserve your dignity a little bit, no?

He follows the action with his hands covering his mouth nervously, watching as they have to force a potion down your throat now that you’re unconscious. He’s allowed to stay by you once they determine that you’re safe since he normally doesn’t cause too much of a fuss - not when he looks as pale and miserable as he does now, anyway.

Taking care of you afterwards:

He’s not too experienced in the healthcare field, but boy does he know self care! He knows how to get your skin feeling less gross after the rather...irritable reaction it had and the best way to rest is if you feel totally physically relaxed, right?

For a while, if your stomach still feels like it’s churning or you’re otherwise unfocused, he’s the first to defend you from anybody who thinks you’re overreacting. 

Also makes sure nobody outside of the house knows how...unsightly of an ordeal it was. He isn’t shaming you internally or anything, but he’d loathe to have such an unpretty picture in people’s heads when you’ve been nothing but showstopping the whole time beforehand!

Will make sure to grab a seat across from you juuust before you take a bite for a while. It doesn’t matter if he’s across the room in the middle of a story or if you’re at a cafe with someone else and he’s still home. You’ll find him sliding in wordlessly to the seat across from you and watching you intently, making sure you’re eating something that isn’t going to burn you from the inside out.

Has multiple websites bookmarked on his D.D.D. that tell him what is poisonous to you and makes sure YOU are aware of what you’re putting inside your body before you eat it. He seems to genuinely think you’ll forget to save yourself from such a life-threatening situation, but the pout he gives you when you try to get him to stop is enough to convince you to live with it.

When you start coughing:

When you start coughing, he reaches over and starts patting your back absently in the way that usually helps.

He notices the way you grasp onto the table in an attempt to keep yourself up, coughing into your other hand as it gets worse by the second. When you almost slip off, he reaches out to catch you before you hit to floor

Is ready to do the Heimlich when one of his brothers stops him because 1) he’d probably snap you in half, and 2) that’s not what’s happening

He watches blankly as Satan approaches him, laying you down gently as instructed. That’s probably worse, watching you writhe on the floor like that.

He’s the one instructed to help hold you down so they can feed you the potion cure. He wants to hold your hand but it’s covered in blood, and he doesn’t want to risk loosening his grip on you and you somehow spilling it.

Taking care of you afterwards:

He’s the one most shaken up about the whole ordeal, I’d think? While the others are definitely worried he’s the one that has the BIGGEST problem with the feeling of helplessness so I think it would bring back some memories

He definitely keeps a watchful eye over you until you can tell him coherently that you’re okay, and even then he’s still treating you like porcelain for a short while

He can’t help it! Any time he’s reminded of just how frail you can be (and how unexpectedly something horrible can happen) he just...needs a few gentle moments to collect his thoughts.

Does NOT want you even looking at anything that has that plant in it (or anything else poisonous for that matter). Will straight up eat an entire dish from the pan if you give it a glance that he thinks means you’re thinking about eating it. He can usually get away with it since that’s similar to what he already does, but every now and then you see the look in his eyes and wonder if there’s something more to it

He’ll warn you in the future if he knows something is poisonous, but if you’re trying something new he’ll automatically ask you “Can you eat that?” If he doesn’t know, he can at least remind you to check for yourself.

When you start coughing:

Very few things can snap Belphegor out of a drowsy dinner stupor. You suddenly falling on the floor and coughing your insides out is one of the things that can.

If his brothers weren’t so concerned with you, they’d have a few quips about how quickly he startled awake

The first thing he does is dart his eyes back to the table, where he quickly realizes that they just inadvertently poisoned you. When he turns back, it seems the others have already come to that conclusion and someone is running off to help you

He knows that he doesn’t have much to offer in terms of help, but he will tear somebody (Mammon) away from you and kneel next to Beel.

He keeps himself under control by comforting Beel as he holds you down. 

There’s definitely a sick feeling in his stomach, something familiar about you lying on the floor and bleeding that he doesn’t like. He pretends to be averting his eyes at the sight of them forcing a potion down your throat and not some regrettable memory.

Taking care of you afterwards:

You wake up and Belphie is curled up next to you in your bed. Nobody else is in the house and it’s 3 PM. You feel gross and you can’t reach your phone to actually confirm what time it is and you have no idea what the fuck is going on until he wakes up

Which he does, after you poke and prod him enough and he’s very grumpy about it

“yeesh, you get poisoned and suddenly you think you’re the princess of the devildom”

“I get WHAT”

Definitely is planning to get Mammon back tenfold

He tries to act nonchalant about it but he does keep waking up ever few hours and lifts his head to like. check that you’re good for the first day or so. 

Sometimes he gets this sad look in his eyes and you have to smooth his hair back and reassure him that everything’s okay. It works a little but if he thinks he can trick you by pretending to sleep and then steal a few moments where he can Brood on his own while STILL cuddled up next to you, he will.

Suddenly takes an interest in what you’re eating. Every day. Every meal. 

He doesn’t go to check on you but he does text you a few minutes before lunch or if you’re getting dinner somewhere other than the house “What are you planning on eating?”

Gets real huffy if you don’t give him a straight answer. Usually will respond with a “Whatever don’t get yourself almost killed again”

If you decide to get cheeky and answer “Probably straight poison, like right out of the mysterious bottle with a skull on it” he will just say “ugh, sounds like you. have fun.”

“...”

“...”

“...seriously, don’t do that mc.”

he sets alarms to wake up so he can make sure you don’t ingest literal poison be a little nice to him please

[witcher-and-his-bard-archive]

Someone Else (I'm Still Right Here)

also on ao3

minor warning for Geralt coming on to Jask when he doesn't know who he is, but nothing comes from it. 

 They've hardly been in town long enough for anything to go wrong and yet, Jaskier finds his thoughts interrupted by banging on the door of their room. If it was Geralt, he would simply let himself in even if he didn't have his hands free to open the door properly, so it must be important. Jaskier rises from the bed, setting his lute aside with a sigh. He detests being interrupted while he's working for anything less than an emergency - and judging by the fact that the knock hasn't come again, this is hardly an emergency.

He saunters to the door, pulling it open to find the face of the innkeeper's wife staring back at him anxiously.

"Sorry to interrupt," she says, "it's your Witcher, sir. Something's happened and no one is... well, they're all afraid to get too close to him. They called in the healer from the next town, but-"

Jaskier frowns. The contract was for a pair of drowners, not even a nest of the damn things. Geralt could have taken them out in his sleep - so what went so terribly wrong?

Jaskier lets himself be led downstairs, doing his best to mask worry with intrigue, but it isn't working. The innkeeper's wife leads him to the edge of the forest where her husband is waiting, a look of pained concern on his face. Jaskier's stomach drops as the man just points into the trees, and he hurries forward without delay. If the people in town won't help Geralt, he will certainly do his best.

When he finds him, Geralt is in a bad state. His eyes are still dark from the potions - probably why the locals wouldn't come near - and there's blood streaked down the side of his face.

Jaskier stays quiet. It's bad enough that Geralt can hear his pulse racing, he doesn't need to make his fear any more obvious to him. He kneels down on the soft ground, assessing the damage before moving him. He's learned from experience that one wrong move can make a wound worse rather than better.

"Okay," he says once he's satisfied. "I'm just gonna pull this off," he taps on Geralt's left pauldron, "make sure your head is the only thing you banged up." Jaskier frowns as he says it, but Geralt seems, as usual, unconcerned. He's much better behaved than usual though, which strikes Jaskier as being particularly odd.

He ignores it and pushes through, tearing an already ripped piece of Geralt's shirt to wipe away some of the blood. Geralt will be grouchy about it later, but if Jaskier replaces it, he can't be too angry. He does his best to clean Geralt's skin and he finds just the one injury - a hefty blow to the head. Not that it seems to be bothering Geralt any.

But when Jaskier cups his jaw, tipping his head to one side, Geralt hums. It catches him off guard and Jaskier jerks back to look at him.

"Your hands feel nice," Geralt breathes and leans into the touch. Okay. So maybe the head injury is more serious than it appears. The innkeeper's wife said a healer was coming, Jaskier will mention it to them when they arrive. Or maybe it's just the blood loss. Either way, the healer will be better prepared to deal with it than he is.

"What are you doing here?" Geralt asks.

"The innkeeper's wife came to collect me. Figured someone ought to come and collect you."

"No one else would even get near me."

"Yes, well, I'm not everyone else, am I?"

"Hmm. Guess not."

Jaskier comes around to look at him, straddling his thighs and Geralt leans forward, resting his head on his shoulder and nuzzling into his neck.

"Yes yes," Jaskier hums, "I know you're tired, darling, but we have to get you up and back to town."

Geralt is reluctant, but he lets himself be hauled to his feet and doesn't even complain about Jaskier propping him up as they make their way back toward town. He's quiet, which is to be expected, but Jaskier is worried that he's keeping something from him, that he's worse off than he seems because Geralt seems quite happy to let himself be assisted - something he would regularly fight against.

As they make it back to the inn, Jaskier knows everyone is watching them and he scolds a couple of them for not offering to help when a man was injured. He takes Geralt up to their room and ducks out from under his arm, leaving him alone for a moment so he can get the fire lit and ready the bed for him. But before he can do either, he finds himself pressed up against the room door with Geralt's face mere inches from his own.

The dark veins and darker eyes are… sexier than they have any right to be and Jaskier swallows back a groan, pressing a gentle hand to Geralt's chest. The Witcher is still woozy and unsteady on his feet, but he resists being pressed back and Jaskier frowns at him.

"Mm, as much fun as this is, I doubt you'll think so highly of me in the morning, darling." Geralt smiles slyly and, for a split second, Jaskier worries that he's become Geralt's quarry, that the toxins running through Geralt's body are really as bad as he always claims they are and that he is, in fact, in real danger around him. But then Geralt leans in, bumping his nose against Jaskier's and any thoughts of fear dissipate immediately.

Instead, Jaskier ducks down and away, holding both arms out as Geralt follows him.

"Geralt," he asks, "what's gotten into you? Not that I mind, but-" he eyes him carefully and Geralt just grins at him again.

"Don't be coy with me, bard, this is what you brought me here for."

"Um. No? I brought you here to rest, to put you to bed not take you to bed, and find you something to eat. This is our room, Geralt, not my room. They only had one left and I didn't think you'd mind-"

"Our room?" Geralt interrupts and Jaskier nods. Worry creeps in and he looks closely at Geralt. His eyes are black still, though the veins are retreating and he seems brighter than usual, not so gloomy.

"Yes?"

"Why would we be sharing a room," Geralt huffs, "I've only just met you."

Jaskier gawks at him. It's not like Geralt to play games, that's Lambert's area of expertise - and this is stupid and obvious even for Lambert's tastes. But something is off about Geralt tonight. The worry turns to fear and Jaskier suddenly wonders if the man he's brought back is his Witcher at all.

He's never met a doppler, but he's heard Geralt tell stories about them. For the most part, they're harmless, but Jaskier suspects they can be paid or bribed like anyone else and the thought of a stranger here in the room with his things, with Geralt's things-

"I thought you wanted sex," maybe-Gealt says again, slightly confused but not at all dissuaded. Normally Jaskier would take it as a compliment that he was still so enthusiastic about fucking him, but this feels very, very wrong. And yet a part of him still considers it.

If it is a doppler, there's no harm really. He's consenting and Jaskier is more than happy to fuck a man with Geralt's face (he doesn't think too much about how that will affect him after it's fine). Right? But there's still a nagging feeling that this isn't a doppler. He'd know, he thinks, if he brought someone else home with him.

"Can you just-" he says, backing up toward the bed where his bag is sitting on the floor. Maybe-Geralt just watches him with confusion as he crouches down and pulls his dagger from his pack.

It's just a little thing, but it's pure silver, gifted to him by Geralt in case of emergency.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Jaskier says, holding it out, "I just need you to touch this."

Maybe-Geralt gives him a questioning look but reaches out and takes the dagger from him, turning it over in his hand. Nothing happens.

"Hmm," he says, "nice weight, well made. A little decorative maybe-"

"Doesn't hurt?" Jaskier asks and maybe-Geralt, who is seeming more and more like just Geralt laughs.

"Not unless you stab someone with it."

Jaskier valiantly ignores the little smirk and shuts his eyes.

"Okay," he says, "start at the beginning, what do you remember?"

"I… woke up in the forest and then you showed up," he smiles at him and Jaskier is already preparing a refusal.

"Listen, Geralt, I am your friend and you would probably even argue that-"

"How come? You're very handsome and you've been helpful and kind-"

"But it's not like that, Geralt. It never has been. I offered once and you were… less than impressed with me." Geralt says nothing and Jaskier takes the opportunity to reign the conversation in. "Can I clean you up now? Something is obviously wrong and we have to get you to a doctor."

"They said a healer was coming."

"I was thinking of someone a little more professional," Jaskier says and Geralt gives him a look. "We have a mutual friend who may be able to help. But for now, you've got me and I'd like to take a look at that wound."

Geralt relents and Jaskier finally succeeds in getting him sat on the bed without Geralt trying to come on to him again. He pulls Geralt's hair back and ties it out of his face, it'll need to be washed later, but he's not going to try and explain how it's fine for him to wash his hair but not fuck him right now.

The wound itself it's so bad, a bit swollen, a bit bruised, but the actual gash is small and very manageable. He cleans it first with water and then with vodka and applies a good amount of salve. He doesn't know which herbs Geralt combines for a poultice, so he bypasses that for the time being; when he gets him to Shani if the wound isn't healed on its own, she'll be able to tend to it.

He finds linen wrap at the bottom of his bag and presses it to Geralt's forehead, gently wrapping it around and tying it at his temple.

"Should be good for now. I'll go down and have supper brought up. Do you want a bath?"

"No. Thank you."

"Alright. Just… stay here, I'll be back."

As soon as the bedroom door is shut, Jaskier closes his eyes, but he waits until he reaches the main floor to lean against the wall and sigh. He has no idea what he's going to do. He never thought he'd be sad to see the day Geralt tried to get him into bed, but it feels so wrong. He'd rather spend the rest of his life failing to impress Geralt than spend another five minutes with him like this.

He takes his time ordering food, half-hoping that Geralt will be asleep by the time he gets back to the room, but their supper is ready quickly and Jaskier reluctantly takes it back up to their room, setting the tray on the table beside the bed.

Geralt at least spares him conversation while they eat and then Jaskier sets the dishes aside and strips out of his clothes for bed, already dreading having to share a bed. He keeps his shorts on and waits until Geralt is already in bed before climbing in after him.

The fire is burning low already, so he's not worried about it, but he blows out the candle beside the bed and pulls the blankets up over himself. He faces out into the room, preferring not to see Geralt right now. It feels weird to want to avoid him and it makes his chest ache because this is Geralt, but it's not. He just wants his Geralt back.

He shuts his eyes and tries to sleep but Geralt is cuddly like this, shifting closer and pressing up against him. He gets an arm around Jaskier's waist and Jaskier squeezes his eyes shut. It's everything he thinks about during the long nights sleeping around a campfire, but he can't let himself give into it. But it feels good because it's Geralt's arm around him, Geralt's chest pressed to his back, Geralt's breath against his neck. He very nearly whines because it's so damn unfair.

But then Geralt's lips press against the back of his neck and a little gasp escapes his lips, unintentionally. He ignores it the first time, but then he does it again and when he shifts closer, Jaskier can feel the length of his cock pressing against his ass. And fuck, that's hard to turn down, but Jaskier wrenches himself out of Geralt's arms.

"I can't," he whispers, unconvincing even to himself.

"You want it, though," Geralt hums, "I can smell it on you."

"Maybe," Jaskier confesses, "but not like this. Not when you don't know who I am. Not when fucking any other person in this place would be the same for you. I can't, Geralt. Go to sleep."

Jaskier hates how disappointed Geralt sounds when he pulls away, but he doesn't try again and Jaskier almost finds himself wishing he would. He tugs the blanket a little tighter around himself and pulls his knees to his chest, trying to force back the fear that he might not get his Geralt back.

In the morning, Geralt wakes first and Jaskier is relieved to find himself alone in bed, although he worries about where Geralt has gotten to. But when he drags himself out of bed, he finds Geralt packed and ready to go with a hearty breakfast waiting for him.

"What's all this?" Jaskier asks, "trying to get away from me all of a sudden?" It comes out more bitter than he intends and he winces at the tone of his own voice.

"You were so sad, last night," Geralt says quietly. "I don't know how to fix this, how to remember you, but I thought you'd want to get started early. I had breakfast brought up." He offers a soft smile, gesturing to the food and Jaskier's heart flip-flops.

"Oh. Thank you."

"I've eaten. Take your time and we can leave when you're finished."

"Right."

Geralt just sits on the bed while Jaskier eats his breakfast and contemplates the fact that this is still his Geralt, as much as it doesn't seem like it. His own things are still ready to go and he has no idea who to go to to collect the reward for the drowners, but it couldn't have been much anyway, so he's not worried about it. Geralt won't be pleased about it when he remembers himself, but there's only so much Jaskier knows how to handle and he wants to get Geralt to Shani as quickly as possible.

They head out mid-morning, and Geralt insists on letting Jaskier ride, which is… nice, in a concerning way. Roach is equally confused and concerned, but Jaskier does his best to comfort her. Thankfully, they aren't far from Oxenfurt or Jaskier isn't sure how he would cope.

Geralt walks alongside him, happy enough apparently to let Jaskier ride. He hums as they travel, a low wonderful sound that had Jaskier's heart fluttering, but it tears him in two because the song is his which means Geralt does remember something, but he's also so sad to see him this calm and relaxed knowing his goal is to take that away from him.

For now, he won't say anything, will just let Geralt enjoy the journey. When and if they find a way to get his memory back, he'll explain everything and give Geralt the chance to decline if he wishes. The selfish part of him hopes he doesn't.

They carry on in much the same way, but even when Geralt talks, Jaskier struggles to find it in himself to be too enthusiastic about anything. He's already in a difficult spot and he just wants to get through this, whatever the outcome. But it's obvious Geralt notices and that he's trying to distract him from it.

Jaskier tries to cheer up a little, if only for him, but he finds it difficult because he knows Geralt can tell how he's really feeling. But Jaskier appreciates the effort, either way.

"Remind me where we're going?" Geralt asks and Jaskier realizes he hasn't told him, Geralt just trusted him not to be leading him towards certain death.

"To Oxenfurt," he says, trying to sound cheerful, "it's one of my favourite places on the continent. I have a friend who practices medicine, she should be able to help."

"You don't have to pretend for me. I know you're sad, I know you miss him. Me. I wish I could give you your friend back."

Jaskier's heart clenches and he takes a steadying breath. "I'm fine," he says, "and I can't miss him, he's you and you're right here." He feels odd, like he's talking to a child, but Geralt just smiles at him, softly but like he doesn't believe him. Jaskier wouldn't either, he's never been good at lying to Geralt.

There's a heavy silence that falls after that and for some time they continue forward unspeaking. Jaskier twitches to feel the silence, to sing or talk to something just to keep from thinking that Geralt is upset with him. Then, abruptly, Geralt speaks.

"What kind of man am I?" Jaskier doesn't even have to think to answer that.

"You're kind," he says, "more than anyone gives you credit for. You always try to take the less violent route, even though your job is to kill monsters. You're generous and loving and you care so deeply for your friends and family."

He pauses for a moment, swallowing a lump in his throat. Because he's not included in that group. He knows Geralt must care for him, but not in the way he loves Eskel or Lambert, or even in the way his friendship with Shani or Zoltan comes so easily to him. Next to him, Geralt is silent for a moment and then.

"Jaskier are you-" Jaskier shuts his eyes, dreading whatever is coming next. "Do you love me?"

"Of course I do," he says, forcing cheeriness into his voice, "You're my best friend."

"But it's more than that, isn't it?"

"Geralt-"

"I know I don't really know you, but I… think I love you, too."

"Geralt, don't say that," Jaskier shuts his eyes tightly, "you can't know that."

"I feel it."

Jaskier wants to scream. It's so unfair to hear those words from Geralt's mouth and know they’re not true. He pushes Roach a little quicker forward, but Geralt stops him.

Roach comes to a full stop and Jaskier grows frowns at Geralt as he comes to stand next to him. Geralt raised a hand up, cupping his jaw and guiding him downward.

"I feel like you won't hear it from me again, so I love you." He's soft, almost breathless, and when he stretches up to kiss him, Jaskier doesn't stop him.

It's just soft, no urgency, no want for something more than just a kiss and Jaskier can't help but lean into it just a little. Because those are Geralt's hands on him, Geralt's mouth against his own, soft and slow.

But Geralt moans softly against him and Jaskier remembers himself with a start. He pulls back from the Witcher, almost unseating himself, but Geralt steadies him.

"I'm sorry," he breathes, "I can't, it's not fair-"

"To me?" Geralt asks and there's sadness behind the humour in his voice.

"Yes."

After that, they spend the rest of the day in silence and Jaskier feels bad for Geralt - he can't imagine losing his memory and not knowing who he is - but he can't stand the fruitless hope. Because Geralt doesn't love him, he's made it known that they're not friends and how could Jaskier hope for more when he can't even attain friendship?

Then again, the man walking next to him now still is Geralt. He doesn't feel like Geralt and he doesn't act like Geralt, but he is. Jaskier isn't sure how people usually react when they lose their memories, so he doesn't have a basis to judge by, but it is still Geralt.

When they stop for the night, Geralt sleeps close enough to keep him warm but doesn't cuddle up like he did the night before and Jaskier hates himself for it. Maybe Geralt has a chance here at a new life, one where he can be happy and not weighed down by the memory of his childhood. And if he does, if he wants it, who is Jaskier to deny him that?

He's not sure he could be a part of it, though. Even thinking about him now, wishing Geralt would come a little closer, curl an arm around his middle, he feels like he's betraying his friend, betraying the old Geralt as the case may be.

Either way, he'll get Geralt to Oxenfurt so they can speak to Shani and see if there's anything that can be done. If there's not, he doesn't have to worry about making the decision to leave or stay, but if there is- If there is a chance Geralt can regain his memories, Jaskier has to let him make that choice alone and then make his own depending on what Geralt wants.

They reach Oxenfurt a few days later after what feels like a month-long journey and Jaskier is just glad to be somewhere warm where he can have his own room and not have to worry about wanting to be close. He leads them immediately to the inn and rents two separate rooms. It's fairly costly and he's reminded of the reason they needed to take the last contract, but he could be in Oxenfurt for a while depending on how this goes and he'll be able to pick up work easily enough.

Jaskier heads up to his room and makes sure Geralt gets settled, then he heads down and orders food and a bath up to Geralt's room before heading out to find Shani.

The first place he looks is the hospital, but the nurse working informs him that Shani has her own clinic now and she's located near the centre of town. Jaskier thanks her and doubles back, following the directions she'd given. Shani's clinic is tucked between two other buildings and Jaskier knocks before entering. There's no one inside but it's only a moment before Shani emerges from a back room, the neutral look on her face quickly growing into a smile. When Jaskier doesn't return the gesture she frowns.

"I take it this isn't a personal visit," she says and Jaskier can feel something inside him slip. He shakes his head.

"No, I'm sorry. I- we need your help."

"Geralt?" she asks and the last bit of his self-control gives way and he chokes on a sob. "Hey," she says, "come sit down."

Shani guides him to a back room and sits him down on a plush soft, surprisingly nice for a medical clinic. She shuts and locks the door behind them and sits next to him.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Geralt," he chokes, "hes'-" he takes a deep breath, swallowing back another sob. "Shani, he doesn't know who he is. He doesn't know who I am."

"Oh. What happened?"

"I wasn't there. I just- they came to get me because no one else would get near him. It was just supposed to be a drowner contract but he got hit in the head or something. I don't know what to do."

"Where is he now?"

"Back at the inn."

"Here?" she asks. Jaskier nods. "Why don't you take me to him, I'll take a look."

"I- I don't know if he'll want to be fixed? He came with me but Shani, he seems happy."

"Why don't we go and see him first. We'll figure out what's wrong before worrying too much, hm?" Jaskier agrees and Shani packs a bag and they head for the inn.

They find Geralt in his room, having eaten and bathed and he looks good. He's got his hair down around his shoulders and he's shirtless and Jaskier has to avert his eyes. He takes a seat in the corner and lets Shani introduce herself and asks to look him over. Jaskier stays quiet and watches cautiously as Geralt easily lets Shani look him over. Once she's finished with his body, she examines his head.

"Well," she says at last, "you obviously took a pretty hefty blow to your head, but the good news is it should be simple to reverse the memory loss."

"Good," Geralt says quickly. He spares a glance for Jaskier before turning back to Shani. "What do we have to do?"

"It's simple really, just a shock to your system should do it. I have a friend who can help."

As Shani goes into the details, Jaskier tunes out. He hears something about neurons, but he's more concerned about getting Geralt alone for a couple of minutes before he makes a decision. He loves Geralt, wants nothing more than for him to be happy, so he wants him to go into this knowing everything Jaskier can tell him.

"Can we have a moment Shani?" he asks and Geralt looks at him as Shani nods and ducks out of the room.

"You want to do it?" Jaskier asks and Geralt nods.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You're happier like this," Jaskier whispers, "Geralt, I've never seen you this relaxed. In twenty years, you've always been miserable. I just- I want you to make an informed decision."

"You say you want me to be happy," Geralt says, "but since I told you I didn't know who you were you've been so sad. How is it fair for me to be happy like you say when you're still suffering." He tips Jaskier's chin up with two fingers and looks into his eyes. "What I said before, I wasn't lying. I don't know where all these feelings are coming from but I know you are so important to me."

He pulls up a smile and Jaskier knows how this is going to end. And he'll be happy to have his Geralt back, but know him like this? To know this Geralt wants him, even in some weird, imaginary way? He doesn't know how he'll be able to continue.

"Okay," Jaskier relents. "I just… wanted you to know what you were getting into."

"I'm sure it can't be all bad. I have you."

Jaskier's heart clenches, but he doesn't get another chance to speak because Shani enters the room. Thankfully, Geralt has stopped touching him, but he's still close and she gives Jaskier a look.

"I put out a call to my friend," she says, holding up a box that looks vaguely familiar. "Xenovox," she explains, "Marilla is a mage. She should be here in the morning."

It's late afternoon now, so that means spending another night at the inn and Jaskier is torn. On the one hand, he wants Geralt to be back to normal, but on the other- he's selfish and he wants Geralt like this. He wants so badly to have anything and- no. No, he can't.

Shani leaves them shortly after assuring Jaskier that it will be alright, that Geralt will be fine. He wishes these were better circumstances, that they had come to visit Shani instead of asking for her help, but she waves him off with a smile.

"Come and visit when things are back to normal," she says, "I'll see you in the morning."

Jaskier sees her off and then returns to the room to find Geralt sitting on the edge of the bed, contemplating. He's still shirtless and Jaskier finds it hard to look at him directly. He sits in the bed next to him, hands folded in his lap.

"Well," Geralt says, "we have the night. Things will be different after I get my memory back, right?" He turns, reaching out to cup Jaskier's cheek. "Be with me tonight," he breathes, "just for tonight, let me take care of you while I have the chance."

Jaskier huffs a humourless laugh. "That's the problem, you always have the chance, but you never want to take it."

"Then let me now," he hums and his hand falls to Jaskier's thigh.

And it's so tempting. Because Geralt is right here offering everything he's ever wanted, if only for a night. But this is not the Geralt he fell in love with. This is not truly his Geralt's consent. When Jaskier looks up, it's obvious that Geralt knows his answer before he even speaks.

"I'm an idiot," he says softly, "to not jump at the chance to be with you. If I don't remember tomorrow, I want you to know you're important to me." Jaskier nods weakly, but he can't find the words. "Maybe we should turn in early? We have a long day tomorrow, I think."

Jaskier nods and he lets Geralt pull him down to the bed and tonight, he lets himself be held, curls into Geralt's hold and presses his nose into his neck. He doesn't let himself think, just buries himself in Geralt's scent, so warm and familiar and shuts off his mind.

Jaskier awakes to a knock on the door and realizes he's still in his clothes from yesterday. Geralt answers the door to Shani and Marilla, and Jaskier is only just climbing out of bed when they come into the room. He gets a look from Shani, but if she's feeling any particular kind of way about finding him in Geralt's bed, she doesn't say anything.

The actual process doesn't take any time at all. Marilla comes in and does something to Geralt, what she does is unclear but he falls unconscious and Jaskier panics at first, but Shani holds him back.

"Sorry," she says, "I should have warned you."

Jaskier does his best to make Geralt comfortable in the bed and he leaves with the two women to let him sleep. He thanks Marilla desperately and asks her to stay until he wakes, but she tells him she has other business to attend to and after dipping down to kiss Shani briefly, she disappears down the stairs.

"Friend, huh?" Jaskier asks and Shani smiles at him.

"Don't try to change the subject."

"Actually, can I ask you about something?"

"Of course. Why don't we get a drink, he could be out for a couple of hours."

They head down to the common area and Shani orders them a pair of drinks while Jaskier finds a table out of the way. He's never understood why Geralt likes corner tables, but right now he gets it. He doesn't want anyone to talk to him and he just wants to be able to sit and drink with Shani.

When she returns, she slides his drink across to him and slips into her seat.

"What did you want to ask about?"

"Uh," Jaskier starts, turning his mug in his hands, "when I first took Geralt back to our room, just after he was hurt. He tried to kiss me. He… thought I was bringing him back there to fuck him."

"Oh."

"You don't sound surprised."

"I'm not, really. I'm surprised he acted on it, but-"

"What does that mean?"

"Geralt doesn't have any brain damage," Shani explains, "something just… got knocked loose, so to speak. He was still him, Jaskier. His thoughts, his feelings? That was all him, Jask."

"You're telling me-" abruptly, the memory of Geralt telling him he loved him comes back to him and his mouth goes dry. "You're telling me that was just him?"

"Mmhm. Without all the baggage and self-loathing."

"I don't- he can't- if he wanted me that way, I would know."

"Would you?" Shani asks, "because I think you would be the last person to know. Wait till he wakes up, talk to him."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Shani, for this and for everything."

"Happy to help."

They finish their drinks and Shani heads home. Jaskier thanks her again and promises to visit when things are better and waits until she's gone before heading back up to Geralt's room.

The first thing Geralt knows when he wakes up, is a pain in his head. He blinks awake to find himself in a bed in a nondescript inn. A better look around finds Jaskier asleep in a chair next to him, but he stirs as Geralt sits up and then he's scrambling to pass Geralt a mug of water.

He feels woozy, but Jaskier's presence soothes him; he knows from experience that Jaskier would never let anything happen to him and is willing to risk his own health and safety to assure it. There's no one else he'd rather see upon waking. But he doesn't remember falling asleep. The last thing he remembers is taking a hit and stumbling away from the scene.

"Geralt?" Jaskier asks gently. He looks up and the first thing he notices when he looks at Jaskier is how sad he is. The emotion wafts off of him, but Geralt doesn't need his heightened sense of smell to be able to tell.

"What's wrong?" he mumbles, his voice thick.

"Tell me what you remember. From the start."

Geralt thinks back, going through the events of the hunt, none of which are very interesting until he was thrown into a tree. Water hag, he remembers, chucked mud and blinded him. Then he's stumbling away, all three monsters dead and then- fuck.

His gaze snaps up to Jaskier's face, looking for any sign of recognition, but he remains eerily calm, even as Geralt recollects kissing him, pressing him up against a wall and- fuck, what was he thinking? The more he thinks about it, the more comes back to him, but in bits and pieces.

Kissing him, touching him, pressing up against him in bed. The memories are all foggy, scattered, but they feel too real to have been a dream. But Jaskier shows no signs of being assaulted by him.

"I'm-" he starts, but sorry doesn't feel like it's enough. Jaskier is open with his affections, but he wouldn't be okay with that.

Geralt tries to push himself up, to get out of bed and away from Jaskier because he can't stand the thought of doing something like that. He can't remember why he did, but the more he thinks about it, the more real it feels.

"Geralt," Jaskier says firmly, "I'm not mad. But I think we need to talk if you're up for it."

He doesn't want to talk to Jaskier. He would rather find out from someone else, he can't bear to hear the words from Jaskier. And he knows Shani was there. Shani and another woman who he didn't recognize.

"Where's Shani?" he asks.

"She's gone home, darling. Are you hungry? Can I get you anything?"

Geralt looks up at him and he feels hopeless. Jaskier is exhausted, he can see the bags under his eyes, the dark circles. And he doesn't seem any less sad than he did initially. It doesn't take much to realize what happened.

"I'm sorry," Geralt mumbles, "about what I did- when I kissed you, I-"

Jaskier stops, already halfway toward the door and sighs deeply, stopping in his tracks before turning around.

"Okay," he says, "we're talking about this now, then." He comes back and seats himself on the end of the bed, facing him. "Tell me exactly what you remember, Geralt."

"I remember taking the contract, fighting off the drowners - and a water hag - got mud in my eyes, stumbled and something hit me, threw me into a tree. Probably one of the drowners pushed me. I took them out, started back toward town but I must have passed out, the next thing I remember is-"

"Me."

"Yeah. You took me back to our room, I thought you were- I thought you wanted sex."

"I know, you were fairly adamant about that."

"Fuck. Jaskier I'm sorry-"

"You didn't know who I was. If a handsome stranger took me back to his room, I'd think the same. When you didn't know who I was I was… terrified. I didn't know if I'd get you back." They're both silent for a moment and then Jaskier prompts him to continue.

"I remember that. I remember talking to you," he lowers his eyes, "I told you I loved you, I don't know why." Immediately Jaskier's sadness intensifies and he catches it in the twitch of his lip, the way he glances away.

"You asked if I was in love with you," Jaskier explains, "and told me you loved me. What else do you remember?"

"I remember asking you to- suggesting we- I propositioned you. And I remember being in bed- Jaskier, did we-?" He can't imagine anything worse than sleeping with Jaskier while he's not himself, than having the chance to be with him and not truly being present in the moment.

Because he certainly won't have another chance, especially not now that he's gone and muddled things up.

"No," Jaskier confirms and for the first time a small smile tugs at his lips, "not that you didn't try. But It didn't feel right. I knew when you had your memories back, you'd hate me for it and I couldn't-"

"I could never hate you," Geralt interrupts, "if anything I'd hate myself for pushing you into it."

"No," Jaskier says, shaking his head, "Geralt you don't understand. I wanted to. I wanted so badly to just say yes last night when you asked me. I tried to work it around in some way that you wouldn't hate me for taking advantage, but every time I just feel terrible to even think about it. The reason I didn't sleep with you is because I couldn't bear the thought of fucking you when it wasn't really you. Because I didn't want him, even if he was you. I wanted- I want this you."

"You do," Geralt snorts, "someone who throws himself at his friend because he doesn't remember, someone who tells him he loves him unprompted-"

"Do you think," Jaskier suggests, and it's clear by the look on his face that he's considering his words very carefully. "That maybe what you said to me and what you did- what you offered," he corrects quickly, "was because you do have feelings for me?" His voice shakes just faintly and Geralt can smell the anxiousness coming off of him.

It's cloying, overwhelming and it mingles with the scent of sadness and fear and just the faintest hint of something hopeful.

"It's just that Shani said there was nothing wrong with your mind, it was still you in there when you asked, when you said that." Jaskier looks up at him and Geralt feels years of emotion welling up inside him and he doesn't know how to hold it back any longer, not what Jaskier is asking him outright.

"Jaskier, I-" he takes a deep breath, focuses on a mark on the blanket between them. "I don't remember everything. But I did mean what I said. I do… I love you," he whispers, "I didn't want you to think less of me or," he glances up and Jaskier's eyes are shiny like he's trying not to cry. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to find out like this."

"I'm not sad," Jaskier says, "Geralt, I have been following you around for half my life, caring for you, singing about you and you didn't think for maybe a moment that I could love you back?"

"You-" Geralt stumbles over his words as Jaskier's confession sinks in. "You sleep with everyone. Everyone but-"

"You don't even call me friend, Geralt. Why would I try and take you to bed with me thinking you don't care enough to call me your friend?"

"Oh."

"Oh? You didn't consider that?"

"You're not my friend," Geralt says, by way of explanation, "but you're not a lover, either. You're not a brother. Not a comrade. I don't know what you are."

"Oh."

"But you could be… a lover?" the word feels strangely heavy in his mouth and he nearly regrets saying it at all until he sees the way Jaskier's eyes light up. A smile tugs at Geralt's lips and he leans forward, reaching out to take Jaskier's hand, tentatively turning it over.

"Jaskier," he whispers, "can I kiss you?" A wide grin spreads across his face and Jaskier tips forward toward him.

"Darling, I thought you'd never ask."

[starglow-xx]

(About the brother!atsushi) aRE YOU READING MY MIND MISS?! Because that has been on my mind for MONTHS. TYSM For writing it was amazing!! If you don't mind, may I request (if requests are open) atsushi, still an older brother, but with a sister that's 10-13 yrs old? It's totally fine if you don't wanna do it. Keep up the good stories, ily mwuah!

*sobs* you’re so kind thank youu 🤧🤧

i wrote this a bit differently i hope that’s okay anon! at first i planned for this to be mainly abt atsushi and the reader, but i decided to add in relationship hcs with the agency bc i ran out of ideas

if you guys liked this don’t worry! im planning a special part two for this one so be the look out for it hehe

atsushi with a tween! sister

ft. the armed detective agency

like in my baby sister hcs, you’re still the most important thing to him period

the two of you got picked up by dazai and kunikida when he was 18 (obviously) and when you were 12

for a 12 year old, you were a bit small bc of malnourishment (which makes atsushi feel so bad) so both dazai and kunikida thought you were a bit younger than you actually were

they assumed you were about 9-10ish

you and atsushi both share a favorite food !! chazuke :)

so when kunikida treated the two of you, he made sure you got more bowls bc like i mentioned above, he feels really bad that you were malnourished and under weight

(don’t bring this up but kunikida felt bad too hehe)

when dazai went with your brother to the warehouse, you were with kunikida

imagine the surprise of the other ada members when kunikida came in with a little girl dressed in rags that popped out from behind him

kenji was the one who vocalized his thoughts 

“kunikida-san you have a daughter?! wow! i didn’t know that! :D”

when you found out your brother was a tiger, you were a bit concerned but you were actually kind of excited

you were even more excited when you found out the two of you were going to be taken in by the agency

anything was better than the stupid orphanage

and besides!

you got a tiger for an older brother and a bunch of other super powered agents to take care of you! who could want anything else?

at your age, you’re very impressionable and can be influenced easily so atsushi makes sure to teach you more in depth of good morals and the importance of kindness

his heart swells with pride and relief when he catches you being kind to others

pride bc he’s proud that even after all the two of you have gone through, you still ended up being a good kid and having a bright view of the world

and relief bc he hasn’t failed as a big brother

pfftt like he could ever fail

but please, from time to time reassure him that he’s perfect and the only big brother that you’d ever want bc he rlly needs that kind of validation

with his salary and savings, he tries to buy nice things for you

what a sweetheart 🥺

he saw you eyeing that one dress at a store window? fast forward abt a week and half and it’s inside a pretty gift bag for you

you wanted to try that dessert from the nice bakery? that’s dessert after dinner at one point

but other than buying you things, he sets money aside for you

like all the time

(y/n), here have this, you might need it”

“but nii-san you just gave me—”

“take it”

#1 spoiler

also your #1 confidant and source of physical affection

you tell him anything and everything (except crushies and those kinds of things)

atsushi loves it when you talk abt your day and he can see the big smile on your face and the sparkle in your eyes

it gives him the strength to keep going 😖😖

the two of you aren’t as touch starved as you’d probably think, but that’s only bc the two of you had each other

in your opinion, no one can match the hugs of your big brother

and it got even better bc YAYY he has tiger arms now ٩(◕‿◕)۶

if you ask, he’d carry you around too hehe

you also get nightmares quite often so he’ll always be there ready to calm you down, talk if you need to, and rock you back to sleep

god i love him 🤧🤧

atsushi will do everything in his power to protect you and make sure you get to grow up happy, supported, and loved

port mafia attack? oop he’s already taking you to the nearest escape route

someone is starting to harass you? they just got suckered punched into the next week

you want to go out to have some fun? he’ll go ask the president for a day off

you’re not feeling well? he’ll take another day off and take care of you

whatever you want to do, he’ll do it with you! (as long as it’s within reason)

will always be your #1 supporter! and he’s the president of your fan club hehe

he loves you so so much and will do anything for you; your life and happiness will always be more important to him

you are his reason to keep going

agency head canons !!

atsushi is your big brother, but kunikida is most definitely some sort of father figure

everyone can see it

except kunikida of course

kunikida scolds you lightly if he thinks your manners need work or if you make a mess in the agency

you listen to him of course and in turn as some sort of a reward, he’ll give you pieces of stationary

he always gives you the nice, good quality kind and you’re over the moon

atsushi adores it when you come running to him showing your new notebook or fountain pen and blabbering what you’re going to do with it

sometimes it isn’t even as a reward for being a good child; he’ll just give it to you and he’ll say smth like “i noticed you’ve used up your last notebook quite quickly, so here’s another one” or “did you run out of ink? here have this then”

he usually has a soft spot for children in general, but he most definitely has a soft spot (or a thousand) for you

yosano is kind of like a motherly figure to you

she gives you the guidance a mother should and goes on shopping trips with you!

atsushi always gets dragged along by you, but he thinks it’s worth it seeing you look so happy

yosano being a doctor also tries to teach the things you should know, or things that would be helpful to you

she’ll teach you the basics of cooking, sewing, how to treat a cold/fever, etc

also gives you excellent advice 1000% of the time

“remember (y/n)-chan if someone hurts you come tell me and then i’ll chop them into—”

“yOSANO-SENSEI DONT TELL HER THAT—”

fukuzawa is like a father to most in the agency but you see him more as a grandfather figure

bi weekly tea and gossip sessions hehe

along with cat talk!

most of the time though, it’s just you talking and him listening to you, but the two of you enjoy it nonetheless

“and then kunikida-san ended up crashing into a pole and dazai-san started to laugh at him and i did too because it was really funny but we ended up getting scolded—”

“hmm i see...”

he’ll let you stay in his office as he fills out paperwork; you’re usually doodling or drawing in your notebooks

sometimes he’ll meditate and you’ll join him, but 4/7 times you’d fall asleep

you always wake up with a blanket over you

dazai is like a cool but a highly concerning and kind of high maintenance uncle

frequently takes you out with him when he ditches work

walks in the park, eating at uzumaki so he has the excuse of treating you so he doesn’t have to pay his tab avoiding kunikida and sometimes chuuya and akutagawa, all that fun stuff

also tries to not talk abt suicide in front of you especially if it’s just the two of you alone

he knows that you mean the world to his pupil and that said pupil would probably hate him for putting suicide inside your brain

he teaches you random but useful things like how to pick a lock, how to steal kunikida’s notebook if you’re looking for some information, how to sweet talk your way out of things, etc.

is also the one to tell you that if you ever get a significant other to introduce them to the agency first

he always wants all of your gossip; some of them work pretty well for blackmail

“dazai-san! dazai-san! did you know that kunikida-san lost his glasses and he was looking for them for nearly an hour when he was just holding them the entire time??”

“woah really (y/n)-chan?! hey hey can you say it again into this recording device so kunikida-kun would believe me when i tell him—”

always ends up giving kunikida a heart attack when he says that you’ve been with him all day

ranpo is also like a cool but a highly concerning and kind of high maintenance uncle

will share some of his snacks, but don’t push it or you might not get anything at all

loves it when you compliment him

if you tagged along with him and your brother on a case, he will show off to impress you

“...and that’s how the crime happened”

“UWAHH RANPO-SAN YOU’RE SO COOL”

atsushi is lowkey and kunikida is highkey stressed that ranpo’s eating habits will rub off on you

“ne (y/n)-chan do you wanna try this highly caffeinated drink and this concerning amount of sugar filled snack?”

“can i really?!”

“rANPO-SAN NO—”

ranpo definitely does stuff like that on purpose 

the tanizakis are like siblings to you!

a weird set of siblings but siblings nonetheless

the two of them adore you and think you’re precious

atsushi definitely knows how to do your hair whether it’s long or short but he got even better at it when he asked the two

hehe braid trains are definitely a thing + kyouka and kenji (and maybe even dazai)

sometimes you have sibling swap days

you’re with junichiro for most of the day and atsushi is with naomi

strange i know

each of the tanizaki siblings try to make it fun bc they know that the two of you did not at all have a happy upbringing

junichiro likes spending time with you by taking you out to different places that naomi likes to frequent

like the mall, different stores and restaurants, the park, places like those

naomi does the same thing with atsushi so if you ever bump into them, you go out and eat together :)

besides atsushi, the next one in line who spoils you the most would be junichiro (and yosano & kunikida both coming in at a close third)

he honestly can’t help it; you remind him of how naomi was when she was younger

and besides

he’s always been a sucker when it came to the happiness of a little sister

“would you really buy this for me junichiro-san?!”

“of course! don’t worry about it” :)

wanna talk abt boys/girls/celebrity crushes things like that? naomi is your girl

you feel a bit embarrassed to go talking to yosano or your brother abt that and kyouka does not know a thing abt them either

“uwahh naomi-san look at all these people in this magazine! they look so good!”

“right?! but of course onii-sama is still the best—”

you get along with kenji and kyouka quite nicely being roughly the same age as them; they’re also like siblings!

just pure, wholesome vibes from the three of you

you’re over the moon when she finds out that kyouka is staying with you and your brother

atsushi is twice as happy seeing you talk your mouth off and finally having a girl around your age to talk to

“do you think demon snow can change how she looks?”

“hmm... im not sure...”

you and kenji talk abt anything and everything

he even teaches you how to take care of plants!

sometimes the two of you are kind of in the same boat bc you don’t know much abt yokohoma being stuck in the orphanage and kenji doesn’t know much abt cities in general

“wait where are we again kenji-san?”

“ah we’re close to the ports! but im not really sure how close because i don’t know what the symbols on this sign mean”

“don’t worry! neither do i!”

bonus things!

yosano was kind of too late teaching you abt you know what

“NII-SAN IM BLEEDING IN BETWEEN MY LEGS”

you’re sobbing in the agency’s bathroom and atsushi is panicking trying to get you to open the door

“Y/N?! H-HOLD ON LET ME GET YOSANO SENSEI”

ranpo overhears and cackles making everyone around him confused

suddenly atsushi bursts in the agency basically on the verge of tears rambling incoherent sentences abt the bathroom, you, and blood

it just clicked for everybody in the room

(im going to pretend that kenji has sisters back home so that atsushi is the only one who remain oblivious here hehe)

atsushi is genuinely confused and sort of concerned that no one is freaking out with him

yosano waves her hand saying smth like that she’d take care of it and junichiro pulls atsushi to the side to talk to him

fast forward like half and hour and dazai and ranpo are cackling on the looks of both of your faces

honestly not sure who’s more traumatized, you or your brother

“why does this have to happen” :(

“ne ne (y/n)-chan!~ you’re too young but at some point you’re not going to have it!”

“uwahh really dazai-san?” :D

“yeah! but first you have to have ANFK—”

next thing you know your ears are being covered by your brother and dazai is thrown across the room by kunikida

you know

the normal

you’re twelve and have never gone to school, but the agency takes care of that

it’s too dangerous to go to school so they teach you what’s necessary and whatever else they can

kunikida takes care of math (obviously)

yosano takes care of science/biology/anatomy/health (whatever you wanna call it)

ranpo even dragged poe to help you with english

atsushi even got lucy to help you out with english too!

as tanizaki and naomi used to be students, they give you their old work books and they try to teach you all the other subjects

sometimes kyouka and kenji are there learing with you too!

sorry if there’s some errors! i’ll read through it again later :)

and as always, reblogs and shares are appreciated! i hope you all stay safe! and just in case nobody told you they loved you today, i love you! you are enough! <3

writing belongs to me! please do not plagiarize! the reblog button is there for a reason

[agirlwhoisaphantom]

Shades of Winter - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: You finally get to meet James Bucky Barnes. You two are an instant click but would this eventually lead to something good or something bad?

Word Count: 3140

Warnings: The reader talks about past memories such as: kidnapping, torture, starvation, violence. A bit of angst. Also If you like the Hobbit movies, I'm so sorry (yes this is tw) Also if there is anything else let me know.

Author’s Note: A little bit more in-depth on who y/n is in my Bucky fics. Other than that this has been in my archives for a hot minute so.

reblogs/feedback/likes are greatly appreciated & highly encouraged! But please, DO NOT repost/steal ANY of my fics!

It has been a couple of years since you returned to the Avengers Quarters. You had been on the run before the blipped happened. But you have finally told yourself that enough is enough. You always knew that the Avengers would be your family, so you decided to go back to them.

The first person you were excited to see after a while was Sam. So, you decided to go to his hometown and give him a visit.

When you arrived, you notice that there was a party. You felt a little bit left out. But you pushed those feelings aside since Sam didn’t know that you were coming along as well.

Once you laid your eyes on Sam, you knew that you needed to sneak up on him and scare him.

There was loud music playing in the background, so you took that as an advantage. You quietly sneak up to Sam, getting on your toes as you try to cover his eyes.

Sam turns around, putting up his guard. When he notices that you tried to sneak up on him, you could see the relief on his face. He didn’t think twice but to hug you. “Where have you been? You go incognito mode and don’t visit me. I’ve been worried about you.”

You hug him back, “I just needed a break from the world and traveled a bit.” You chuckled a little bit. “But I’m back and better than ever.”

He starts to ramble as you two catch each other up on everything that has happened the past couple of years. You two start to walk up to the docks. You notice how beautiful it was with the sun setting how the sun reflected on the water. You were amazed.

“Hey, I’ll be back. Do you want anything to eat?” Sam pointed to the table that had nothing but plates of food in it. Your small smiled formed on your face as you shook your head.

Walking around, you notice so many little kids running around and having fun. It was such a positive place to be. You could feel the aura around you just filled with joy.

Without noticing where you were walking, you bump into someone. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t-“ you look back at him. The first thing that you noticed was his ocean blue eyes. You could stare at those eyes for hours.

Breaking the eye contact, you took a few steps back so that you wouldn’t be close to him anymore. “I’m Bucky.” He places his hands in the pockets of his black jean jacket. There was a smirk on his face.

“uh, y/n” you had a confused smile on your face.

“y/n,” Bucky says in a deep flirty tone of voice, he looks around, and that smirk became a smile. “I’ll see you around y/n,” he winked as he walked away.

Why did your name sound so much better when he said it. Something about him made you curious. You were on the fence if whether or not you wanted to know more about him or just let him be a mystery. But either way, you knew the moment you bumped into him, Bucky was going to become a trouble.

During the blip, when you helped, there would be moments that Steve would tell stories of Bucky when they were younger. In those stories, Steve would describe him as the most caring friend and always attached to a book such as The Hobbit.

Throughout the day, you would occasionally interact with Bucky. He would ask you random questions such as what your favorite color was? What flowers did you like? He wanted to get to know you.

“So, you are telling me that I should watch the movies and how there are three of them.” Bucky takes a sip of his drink.

You chuckled a little bit “yes, I like the book versions better. But it’s so nice seeing them come to life.”

“I’ll make a note of that, Doll.”

Going back home, you never expected to talk to Bucky again. You didn't have any of his contact information either way, and he didn't have yours.

A couple of days pass by when you receive a message from an unknown number.

10:38 AM "hey there, are you busy this afternoon?"

You decided to ignore the message; it might have been sent to someone else instead of you.

10:45 AM "shit, sorry, It's Bucky."

The moment that you read that, it was Bucky that sent you that message. You wondered how he got your number. Could it have been Steve? Sam? Nat? That gave him your number.

These thoughts were running through your head and were interrupted by that number calling you.

"So, are you busy this afternoon?"

"No, Hi, how are you? How is life? Just going right to asking me what I'm doing this afternoon, what a great start James." You said in an annoying tone of voice.

"Hi, Doll. How are you? There is that better," he said in a mocking voice. Even though you couldn't see him, you could tell that he was rolling his eyes.

You wanted to hang up, but a part of you didn't want to do it. "So much better, thank you." You said sarcastically. "I'm doing nothing later. I'm probably just going to go home and make some dinner."

"You can always say no. But I just bought the three Hobbit movies, and I wondered if you wanted to watch them with me? And Tony is throwing a party tomorrow, and I thought if you wanted to go."

This took you by surprise, it hasn't been an entire week of knowing him, and he is already asking you over to his apartment. "Yeah, that would be fun," you said once again sarcastically. You didn't mean to sound it like that.

When you agreed that you would watch the series with him and to the party, a part of you knew that you had done something you might regret in the long run, but the other part you wanted to see where this would take you, and you wanted to explore it. Something about him made you curious, and you wanted to know why. Why, out of all the people that you had met, he is the one that sparks curiosity in you.

Once again, these thoughts are interrupted by him "I didn't hear a no, so I'm assuming you said yes. I'll send you my address. Meet me here in two hours." He hangs up.

Two hours pass by, and you were unsure what to bring, so you brought a couple of snacks. Walking into Bucky's apartment, there weren't many decorations. It seemed like he had just moved in. There wasn't much besides a small sofa and a tv. It was a very dark place with little to no light coming through.

Bucky notices that you were looking around "sorry if I had more time, I would have cleaned a bit better."

Your eyes widen as you were confused. You look around once again. His place was way cleaner than what your apartment looked like. "you consider this dirty. You should see mine" Bucky goes near the light switch and turns on the lights of the kitchen.

The instant he turned on the lights, that's when you notice what he was wearing. He was wearing a white muscle shirt with a pair of gym shorts, and his hair was messy, and you were able to tell that he had a couple of curls.

If heart eyes were a thing, you would have had them at this exact moment. Bucky was way more handsome than he was when you first met him. As the thoughts continued through your head, you knew that you needed to stop them before you ended up drooling over him.

He points to his bedroom. "I'm going to go change. I have to hide this." He was referring to his left arm. He wasn't sure how you would react to it, and he thought that he should have worn something to cover it before you decided to show up.

You grab the wrist of his metal arm. "It's okay. I don't mind. Besides that, I think it makes you more attractive" the moment that the word attractive escaped your mouth, you could feel your cheeks turn red and your body heat rise. Why did you say that? Especially towards him. Your mind was full of regrets, but at the same time, you didn't care because he was truly attractive.

Bucky covers his mouth with his right hand, trying to cover his laugh. You playfully hit his arm "this isn't funny, Bucky. I'm so close to turning around and making you watch the Hobbit alone." You crossed your arms together. You were getting annoyed with him. All you wanted to do was come over and watch movies with him.

"Fine, I'll stop. But it doesn't mean that I'm not going to hold this against you." Bucky chuckled.

Bucky goes to his bedroom, brings a blanket, and tries to ensure that his place can be as cosey as possible, even though it was dark.

Halfway through the third movie, you could see that he was extremely disappointed. If he could rate the movie, you would 100% be sure he would give it a -1000 rate. "Why the fuck did Peter tell me that these were great. They are complete garbage" Bucky raises his voice. Deep down, he did enjoy the movies. He just wanted to see a reaction out of you. But you were calm since this was your 5th time watching these films.

You couldn't help but laugh at how disappointed Bucky was. He turns to face you and notices the face of amusement you had on "this isn't a joke, Doll. I thought they would be great." He rolls his eyes.

When the movie ended, he put on the sports channel and started to watch it. As much as you loved watching sports, you slowly went to sleep. You felt comfortable around him. It had only been a couple of days that you had met him, so you found it odd.

You fell asleep on his right shoulder. When Bucky felt that you placed your head on his shoulder, a small smile formed on his face, he was unsure why he felt comfortable with you. But he knows that you were going to be one heck of trouble from now on.

Bucky looks at you and notices that you were fast asleep. He can't help but to carry you in his arms and take you to his bed. He made sure to tuck you in.

After he tucked you in, he went back to the living room and continued to watch his sports.

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

Around midnight, you woke up. Not because you had a nightmare, but because you felt like you were in an unknown location. As soon as you woke up, you panicked and started to look around. You immediately went into fight or flight mode in case If you were in danger. Walking outside of the bedroom, you notice Bucky was sleeping on the floor.

Seeing him on the floor, you drastically put your guard down. You sighed in relief that you were with him and no one else. You go into the kitchen to grab a mug to make yourself tea. When you prepared your tea, you went back to Bucky's bedroom and opened the window outside to let some fresh air in. You wrapped yourself with the blanket Bucky gave you, and you held your knees up to your chest as you drank from the mug.

This was the first time you had ever woken up without having a nightmare. You wondered why was it because of Bucky? As your thoughts were running, you could hear someone come into the room. You turn around and notice it was Bucky. "Someone is up early." He chuckled.

A smile formed on your face. "It looks like you are up early too" you rolled your eyes.

There was silence between you and him. You hated being silent, but with him, you didn't mind.

"Is everything alright?" Bucky whispered. You turn your head towards him, and you nodded. "you can tell me anything, you know." He places his hand on your shoulder.

You lift your eyebrows, unsure if he was messing around with you. "I just met you, like yesterday. Why would I-"

"Five days ago, to be exacted." He said in a snarky tone of voice as he interrupted you.

"Fine, you want to know.” You looked away from him because you knew you would start being vulnerable, and you didn't want to see Bucky's reaction or what face he was making. “For the longest time, I've had nightmares back-to-back. But oddly enough, tonight I didn't have any."

"if you don't mind me asking," Bucky takes a big gulp before saying anything. He knew that you were a bit uncomfortable, and he didn't want to push you. "Why do you have nightmares?" "I used to have them constantly because of who I was. It took me time to understand that the winter soldier wasn't me, and jeez, till this day, there would be moments where I doubt myself, but I'm getting better."

Hearing him tell you a little bit of himself made you feel more at ease. You take a big breath before you start telling him why you would have these nightmares. "At a very young age, both of my parents were killed. My brother died as well, trying to protect us. One of the Hydra agents forcefully made me go to one of their camps. I fought for the first couple of months, trying to get out. But eventually, I gave up. I thought they provided me a roof to stay under, and even though they barely fed me, I was somewhat grateful. I could have it worse. They taught me how to fight, how to hold a gun, etc. When I was a teen, I was tortured, starved more than before, and experimented on."

He grabs your hand and tries his best to comfort you. He knew that this was a lot for you to tell him. "They wanted to see if they could make me into a mutant but with every little alternation of genetics. Nothing worked. Even if it did, I didn't want them to know about it. At that point, I just was numb; I didn't want to live anymore. So I let things happen to me. Hoping one day my body just gave up. Till this day, some of those things that they did I don't remember, nor I want to." You take a small pause as you heard yourself. You felt so comfortable telling him about your past.

Your voice started to crack as you thought more about your past. You tried your best not to cry. "After I escaped, I moved to Washington, Nat found me there, and I started to work at SHIELD. Nat was the only person that knew me and helped me get better."

Bucky was unsure how to react to what you had just told him. He had mixed emotions. He didn't know why he felt anger, sadness, grief, and disappointing feelings towards you. But he knew that it took you a lot of courage to tell him all of these things. He sits on the floor next to you and hugs you. The second that he hugged you, you couldn't help but cry. He was the second person to know your story. "I'm sorry, Bucky. I shouldn't have told you. You've been through much worse, and I wish you didn't-"

"Doll, don't apologize. None of this was your fault. I'm glad that you told me. We both didn't deserve anything of that." he held you for a couple of more minutes and let you cry. He wanted to tell you more, that he was glad that you left when you had the chance. That he hated that you were in that position, he wanted to comfort you. He couldn't find the words. So all he did was hold you.

After a couple of minutes, you were grateful that he listened to every word you said. But you were mentally exhausted, and you just wanted to go to bed. You got up and placed the cup on the nightstand, and started to get ready to leave. When Bucky grabs your arm, "stay the night, it's already late enough to walk around." His voice was small and a bit shaky. "You can stay in my bed, and I can sleep on the floor. Please stay."

You agreed to stay the night with him, and he goes to his closet and grabs you some clothes to sleep comfortably. They fit all baggy on you, but you didn't care. You didn't want to sleep uncomfortably. The moment you got out of the bathroom, Bucky chuckled as he looked how big his clothes looked on you. You ended up rolling your eyes.

Bucky laid on the floor next to his bed. As you were closing your eyes, you felt some guilt, so you look to where Bucky was lying. "Buck, come up here." You whispered.

"Nah, I'm comfortable sleeping on the floor." He turns around, facing away from you.

You grab a pillow and throw it to him "well, I'm not. So get your ass up here before I drag you."

"I would like to see you try, Doll." He chuckled. Once again, you threw another pillow at him, accidentally hitting his head. "Fine, I'm going." He grunted.

Lucky enough Bucky had a queen bed. So you had enough room for yourself and him. "One thing, don't invade my bubble, and we won't end up fighting. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go to sleep."

Within minutes you two were in a deep sleep.

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

When you two finally arrived at Tony’s Party. Bucky couldn’t help but be curious about what was happening between the two of you.

He couldn’t help it anymore. He decided to ask you, “So, what are we?”

“What do you mean what are we, Bucky?” there was a confused smile on your face.

“yeah, like are we friends, or I don’t know?” he nervously laughed, unsure if he should be asking this.

You laughed a little “Friends is a bit too much. I don’t think we are there yet.” You teased him. You gently punched his arm.

“Are we acquaintances?”

“I like that. We are for sure acquaintances.” You chuckled.

“you think it’s funny, but I can live with that, Doll.” He shrugs his shoulders.

And just like that, two strangers who never planned on caring for one another became the most inseparable pair.