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genshin-no-simp · 3 years

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Diluc x Reader - Birthday Boy (Smut)

Pairing: Diluc x You/Reader (Female)

Sexual conent below the cut

Warnings: semi-public sex, tummy bulge? fluff ending.

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It took a weeks worth of preparation on your part to get everything in place, all for this one day. This one special day. But it was worth it.

After all, Diluc did deserve rest on his birthday.

You made sure there was nothing that needed doing, nothing that warranted Diluc to leave the comfort of the Manor. You were exhausted but you knew this was only a fraction of the work that Diluc did. It was your motivation to make sure everything was in order, of course with the help of Elzer and Adelinde.

And when the night before his birthday approached, you reassured him that he could take this chance to sleep in for once. Diluc wasn't against the idea but he wasn't sure if his body clock would allow him to sleep in. But little did he know, he was exhausted and only once he hit this pillows did he realize this.

When Diluc had finally woken, he groaned softly bringing his hand up as he ran his fingers through his unruly morning hair, that's when he noticed you weren't beside him. In an instant he shot out of bed, looking around. You never got out of bed before him. About to leave the bed himself his door opened and your figure came into view. You were still in your night dress. Diluc sighed in relief, then raised his eyebrow at the tray.

"What's this?" His voice low and husky since he had just woken up.

You weren't going to lie, his voice was enough to set a fire burning inside you. But today was about him. You smiled with a giggle.

"What does it look like? Breakfast of course. So sit back in bed." You came to his side of the bed.

From this close up Diluc could see properly just how little your night dress left to the imagination. Then he realized, you went to the kitchen like that, and he frowned, anyone could have seen you, which seemed to pissed him off.

"Don't worry I had the kitchen to myself, only Adelinde, Moco and Hillie are here at the moment." You knew what was running through his head. Diluc had a tendency to get overly possessive sometimes. But it's one of his faults that you fell in love with regardless.

Diluc looked away, half embarrassed and half ashamed that you knew without a doubt that he didn't want other people, especially men to see you like this. You gave another soft giggle setting the bed table down.

Diluc cleared his throat and looked at you, "what's the occasion?" He then lowered his gaze to the food and didn't know where to start, everything looked so enticing. He smiled at the eggs that you put a little extra effort in to make look like hearts.

You sat on the opposite side of him careful not to knock the glasses of grape juice over on the tray. You gave a little hum.

"Well what day is it?" You asked him instead. Diluc tilted his head, pulling the fork from his mouth. Once he was finished chewing he spoke.

"Friday." He stated matter of factly.

"Yes, but what date is it?" You cocked your head to the side, watching him. He totally forgot about his birthday didn't he? You thought to yourself.

"Um..." Diluc didn't know why but he felt pressured, as if you would give out to him, if he got this wrong.

Was it your birthday? No that's not till a few months.

Was it your anniversary? No that just passed.

At this point you were struggling to keep your laughter in.

"Luc, come on. It's your birthday." You rolled your eyes laughing.

Then it clicked, it suddenly made sense, from why you told him to sleep in, to breakfast in bed.

"That's it?" He asked, indifferently.

"What do you mean 'that's it's? You only get one birthday, and I'm going to make sure you get the most out of it." Diluc could hardly deny you, not with how passionate you were about it. But it's just another day, birthday or not.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but there's still work-"

"I do believe there is nothing for you to do today. Everything is already taken care of. It's you day." This time you were much more calmer as you smiled sweetly at him.

Now he definitely couldn't say no. He had a feeling you did a lot to get him this day of peace. Besides it's been so long since he's actually celebrated his birthday. Not that he cared to remember it considering what happened all those years ago...but maybe now is the time to move on from that, it's getting real tiring anyway.

Diluc smiled at you, yes from now on he will celebrate his birthday with you.

Diluc had to admit, it was nice, having all this free time AND getting to spend it with you. The two of you spent most your time outside, walking through the vineyard and occasionally eating a grape or two, at one point you started playing hide and seek. Instead of finding it childish, Diluc found it oddly refreshing. Just being able to let loose for once.

Currently he was hiding, making sure to keep his eye out for you and staying on the move, it was cheating of course but it added to the fun, but you were an expert at hide and seek and knew all the tricks in the book. Just as he turned around, you seemingly popped out of nowhere.

"Found yooou~" you giggled tackling him into a hug.

Caught of by both your sudden appearance and the hug he fell backwards onto the ground.

"Thought you could escape me huh?" You nuzzled into his neck.

Diluc chuckled holding you close to his body.

"I thought I would've had a better chance than that." He admitted.

You sat up on his chest, while he propped himself up his elbows. The light from the sun creeped through the cracks of the vineyards many grape pergolas. It wasn't the most private of places but nobody would notice the two of you unless they looked.

Cupping Diluc's cheek, you leaned down to kiss him, which without hesitation he accepted. It was a delicate kiss, both of you could feel the love and affection that you held for each other. It was truly something.

When you went to pull away from the kiss, Diluc pulled you back for more, shifting his weight onto his left arm, his right arm snaked around your waist his hand pressing agaisnt the middle of your back, giving you no chance to move. Diluc wasn't done with you just yet.

Gripping his shoulders you pushed him back down onto his back, Diluc gave a mental sigh finally able to take the pressure off his left arm. Now he had both his around wrapped around you securely. He made you feel so safe, you never wanted to leave his arms but lucky for you, he wasn't going to let go anytime soon.

It wasn't long before his hands started to wander, touching and caressing your body. Soft gasps and pants escaped from you, Diluc used every opportunity to dive into your mouth. The intensity of the kiss was making you lightheaded, but in a good way. Your body burned and your heart was racing. You could tell Diluc was the same, you could feel his heart pounding against his chest right under your hand, not only that but at how brazenly he lifted your pale mint dress up to touch your bare skin. It made you shudder, Diluc had opted to be gloveless today, it was certainly a change in pace compared to his usual leather. Being able to feel his skin on yours right away was making you feel impatient.

Finally allowed to pull away from the kiss, a string of saliva followed. Diluc gazed at you with hooded eyes, his normally bright ruby eyes, dark and heavy with lust. You licked your lips, sitting up on him once again. One of the straps on your dress slipped down your shoulder. Diluc held back his growl and his urge to flip you over. You weren't even trying to seduce him and he was already under your spell.

Gripping your thighs he pushed you lower down until your clothed womanhood rubbed against the bulge in his pants. You failed to catch the moan before it fell from your lips. Diluc smirked, knowing you were just as excited as he was right now.

Diluc was planning on teasing you some more before you had decided to take back some control. Abruptly you grinded yourself against him, biting your lip. It was Diluc's turn to let out a surprised moan as his hips bucked up into yours.

"Ah~ Diluc." You fumbled for his belt buckle. If Diluc wasn't as impatient he would've chuckled and teased you. Maybe it was the sun, maybe it was the free time or maybe it was just you. But he wasn't complaining. Diluc hissed in relief, feeling his member finally free of its painful confinement.

You were going to lower yourself further but he grabbed your arm pulling you into a kiss.

"No time for that." He breathed heavily between kisses. Of course there was time he just wasn't interested in that right now, he just wanted you, in which case he used his Vision to burn the sides of your underwear and discard the rest.

Now with your underwear out the way, Diluc could feel how wet you really were. It was cute how excited you had gotten without any foreplay, perhaps the fact that you were technically out in the open played a part but regardless, he was happy that it was him who made you feel like this.

You moaned against the kiss feeling the tip of his member push against your awaiting hole. Breaking away from the kiss you pushed down against him, taking him all in at once.

"Fuck!" It was so strange hearing Diluc swear but it filled you with a strange sense of pride knowing you were able to break his nobility.

The stretch of taking him all at once burned but it felt good. It was certainly much greater compared to when he would prepare you first. But you weren't complaining at all. Tilting your head back with a moan you began to bounce up and down, your slick made it easy to slide up and down. You gripped the front of Diluc's shirt for support as he snapped his hips up into yours. A series of wanton moans escaped your lips, the harder and faster Diluc went.

Your head fell forward your eyes glossy and your pupils blown wide with pleasure. Now both your dress straps had slid down your shoulders, making Diluc lose his mind. He gripped your hips so tight, there wasn't a doubt that there would be fingerprints even through the dress. You choked on your moans as you swore you could feel Diluc in your stomach. He was reaching places you never thought possible, or your were so drunk on pleasure it just felt that way, but it didn't matter what was the truth, it was fantastic.

"Ngh, haA~ mm close..." you struggled to get the words out.

Diluc grunted thrusting upwards even faster, you had struggled to keep up before but now it was just impossible. It wasn't long before you came all over him. Diluc wasn't too far behind, feeling your release edged him into his, you felt his hot seed fill you up more than your already were, you threw your head back with a shameless moan of his name. You were certain everyone around and in the Manor had heard you. But Diluc didn't care, let them know who was and had made you feel good.

You panted heavily as your body shook from the after math of your orgasm. Diluc too was desperately gasping for air as he came down from his high. Letting a soft puff of air, you looked down at Diluc and grinned leaning in to kiss him. He chuckled kissing you back.

Getting off Diluc he fixed his pants as you picked up what was left of your underwear.

"Luc." You pouted, "you ruined my panties." You huffed and rubbed your legs together, you could feel some of his cum dripped down your thigh.

"My love, they were ruined before I even touched them." He winked with a cocky smirk.

Your face flushed a deep crimson as you looked away from him, Diluc smiled wrapping his arm around your waist tenderly.

"Come on, let's go take a bath." He smiled gently, ushering you back towards the Manor. You snuggled into his side contently.

During the short trip back inside, not one of the employees dared to look in your direction. Instead of it making you feel better you felt embarrassed. You weren't surprised that they heard you but they didn't have to make it so obvious.

"Luc, nobody would look at me." You sounded more mortified than you intended as you pulled your dress off, which only added to Diluc's amusement.

"Good, they shouldn't be looking at you in the first place." He stated stripping himself of his own clothes.

Upon returning to Diluc's private quarters, you were both pleasantly surprised by the already drawn bath, with scattered rose petals and scented candles. It seems Adelinde knew exactly what the two of you needed. You were the first to settle into the bath despite Diluc's confusion, usually he got in first so you could rest against him, it felt weird that he was resting against you.

"Are you sure I'm not too heavy against you?" It was the fourth time he asked now.

"Oh for Celestia's sake Luc, I'm not made out of glass, I'm fine. But you won't be if you keep asking." At least you gave him a warning which he took to heart, despite not having a Vision yourself, you were very capable of looking after yourself.

"Alright, alright." Diluc sunk a little lower into the tub, his head now resting between your boobs.

"Oh." He said softly, he hadn't expected this to be so comfortable. You giggled softly.

"Someone looks content." There was a lot of fondness in your voice that made Diluc's chest flutter. He let out a soft hum and closed his eyes when he felt your fingers massage some herbal shampoo into his scalp.

Diluc couldn't help but think about how lucky he was to have someone like you. Someone so caring and aware of his needs. He didn't expect to meet someone like you, or anyone in general for that matter. He thought he was going to be alone, forever, and he was okay with that. Until he had met you, he didn't at the time realize just how important you would be to him, but he knows now and he's incredibly grateful towards you and towards himself, for letting him step out of his comfort zone and let someone in again.

Before he knew it, Diluc had fallen asleep, between the soothing heat of the water, your massaging and the sweet sound of your voice, they had all lulled him into sleep.

"Luc? You listening?" You asked softly, "Luuuc~" you cooed. Perplexed with his quietness, you tilted your head to the side to peer into his face, where you noticed he had fallen asleep. You grinned with a giggle.

You were so preoccupied with talking, you didn't notice the change in his breathing, as it steadied out. But now you didn't know what to do. You knew you couldn't stay in the bath but you didn't want to wake him either. But you also knew the water wouldn't go cold anytime soon thanks to Diluc, placing a kiss to his damp hair, you decided to let him sleep for a little while longer. After all he deserved it.

#genshin impact #genshin impact smut #genshin x reader #diluc ragnvindr #diluc x reader #x reader #diluc x you #smut #diluc

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kaitycole · 3 years

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serendipitous reunion

Summary: There once was a time where Atsumu couldn’t remember what life without YN looked like, now that’s not the case as he tries to navigate without the love of his life. Will fate shine down on him and reunite them? Probably.

Pairing: Atsumu x gn!reader

Word Count: 4484

Warning: Light angst to fluff.

A/N: This is a follow-up to ‘accidental coincidence’. (but if you like the ending to that, this can read as non-canon if you want lol)

**I had just googled the recipe that’s used throughout the piece, here’s the link if anyone wants to actually make it ( X )

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour. ¼ cup granulated sugar. ½ teaspoon baking powder.

It started as a regular night, one coming at the end of a long practice, ending an even longer day, one Atsumu just wants to be over as he drags himself up the stairs to his apartment, well technically Osamu’s apartment, but his brother had offered the spare room to him after the divorce and he took Osamu up on the offer. His feet shuffle across the slick wood floors, shoulders tense with stress as he drops his gym bag by the door of his room, flopping down on the bed. He presses the home button on his phone, screen lighting up so he can see that it’s Friday and he heart aches. Fridays were dates nights between the two, but now he’s still trying to get used to spending them alone. He leans his forehead against the tile wall, letting the hot water beat down on his tense shoulders, hoping that the steam he’s inhaling would somehow uncloud his thoughts, but it doesn’t.

Six months, that’s how long it’s been since some stranger tapped a stack of paperwork against a wooden podium before looking between him and YN, telling him that his forever only lasted for eight years. Atsumu keeps trying to figure out what went wrong, when things had become so broken that the only way to fix it was to completely separate from another. In all fairness, he was the one who brought it up the topic of divorce, but that was only after months of watching YN slowly change from someone full of life to just an empty shell. Deep down he knows that was his fault, but he didn’t expect his career to skyrocket like it did, for away games to become more frequent, for the insane increase in his popularity that only lead to problems. Atsumu had always been open about his relationship with YN during interviews whether they were post-game or in print, he would brag about his wonderful partner, the love of his life, his better half.

But in the end, that didn’t matter, cheating allegations became a dime a dozen, popping up randomly like the mole in that arcade game, and it didn’t matter how quickly they were debunked, more just came up. He knew that YN didn’t believe them, that his partner knew that every free moment in his life was given to them, that he never missed an important anniversary, called every day he was away, that he simply didn’t have the time to have an affair. That didn’t really matter though, not when YN would read every article, each comment on the post, would get nasty messages on social media about how they weren’t good enough for Atsumu, that they were holding him back and Atsumu felt that no matter how strong a front one could put on, that would have to tear away at anyone.

Deep down he knows that the divorce isn’t his fault, though he can’t help but wonder if maybe he should’ve tried harder, if he should have quit volleyball. Osamu had and he’s really happy, so Atsumu could’ve be happy without it too. He had dropped the idea at a dinner a year before divorce came up and YN had a fit, telling him that he couldn’t quit, that volleyball was his dream, everything he had worked for, he shouldn’t quit before he’s completed everything he wanted to. During the divorce proceedings, he went to see Kita, hoping that his former captain would have something enlightening to say, something to help the pit in his stomach, and he did. Kita told him that there was nothing wrong with loving someone as much as he did YN, but when that love caused one to neglect other aspects in their life, that’s when it was an issue. Atsumu met Kita’s eyes and saw warm sympathy, telling the blonde that he and YN had been doing that, putting everything into their relationship, using love like a bandage on a wound that needed stitches. Atsumu used to think that couples only ended things because they didn’t love each other, but there he was, divorcing the only person he could see himself with, simply because he loved them too hard.

½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest. 7 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened. 1 large egg.

It started as a regular night, Osamu dragging him to Tokyo, telling him it was healthy to get away from Osaka, to visit home more often which is why he’s lying on the floor in his childhood room, plotting a way to get revenge on his twin. The same twin that promised he would be a buffer between him and their parents, a neutral ground for him and the disappointing sighs of his mother when he told her that he wasn’t seeing anyone and the deafening sound of his father flipping the pages of the newspaper, unable to look Atsumu in the eyes. But Osamu practically rushed out of their childhood home when he got a call from Suna, apparently the middle blocker was visiting Tokyo too, swearing that he’d come back tomorrow. He walks through the quiet but familiar house, still knowing the layout even in the darkness that’s only lit by his phone’s flashlight. Knows where the floorboard that creaks is, how to avoid the corner trim that seems to jump out when you’re sneaking through the house, and where the light switch is to gently click it on.

Atsumu yelps when he sees a dark figure sitting in a chair by the sliding door that’s cracked open a bit, when they turn he sees it’s his father, a half-smoked cigarette in his hand. It dawned of him during his first visit home after moving out that he didn’t know everything about his parents despite living there his whole life, tonight provides that even more, since when had his dad smoked? The question must’ve been evident on his face, his father lets out a small chuckle followed by a soft expression, the kind that instantly dissolves any anxiety you have, giving you a sense of comfort, the same expression he gave the twins when they lost a game or received a low score on an assignment. Atsumu learns that his father has always smoked, mostly at work or social events, their mother just didn’t want it around the twins and he obliged, waiting for them to fall asleep before smoking at home. He tells Atsumu that it’s just engraved in his habits to continue doing it when everyone’s asleep, embracing the moments alone with his thoughts. When he told his parents about the divorce, he knew his mother would take it hard, she just wants her sons to be happy, but he hears that she’s off worse than she lets on, his father’s been taking refuge in the silence that comes with smoking.

The blonde learns that his mother doesn’t pester him about relationships, about getting out of his apartment, about the idea of dating because she thinks he needs someone in his life – part of him already knows that – but because she wants him happy again, wants to see big, bright, carefree smile of his again. What hits him a bit hard is how his mother wants to make sure YN is okay, that she’s worried about them since they didn’t have any family in Osaka, but she doesn’t want to upset him by reaching out. To his parents, YN became another part of their family, another child of theirs and he wasn’t sure how it felt from a parental standpoint, but he did know how horrible it felt to not know how they were doing, he himself worries about YN daily. The next morning, while his mother is washing the dishes from breakfast, he hops onto the counter next to her, gaining an annoyed expression, he got in trouble for doing this a lot growing up. She just shakes her head, going back to her task, motherly instinct has her checking to make sure he’s okay from the corner of her eye. He tells her that he thinks YN would love to hear from her, that they always looked at her like a mother too and he’s taken aback when she breaks into tears, realizing that everyone lost a little something in their divorce as he pulls his mother into his arms.

Osamu keeps his promise, showing up late in the afternoon, constantly fiddling with his turtleneck as if pulling on it would make it just a centimeter taller. The blonde smiles at his brother, locking eyes across the living room before exacting his revenge, asking him why he didn’t bring Suna over and his mother latched onto the conversation. She all but demands he bring him over next time, shaking her head when Osamu claims that they’re just friends, Atsumu snorts saying they haven’t been just friends since college, right before their father remarks that if Suna was just a friend his neck wouldn’t look like that, without looking up from his paper. Osamu sinks into the chair, face bright red as their mother tells Atsumu they’ve picked on him enough, but he shakes his head, turning to his side to ask YN what they thought before realizing they aren’t there; obviously two years divorced didn’t kill old habits. Osamu picks up on Atsumu’s shift, notices where his twin’s eyes were before quickly offering to treat everyone at his restaurant, rolling his eyes at Atsumu’s wide grin and his mother’s squeal when he promises to invite Suna, if Atsumu everyone promises to behave.

1 large egg yolk. ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons peach preserves. 3 to 4 firm white peaches.

It started as a regular night, Atsumu looks at himself in the mirror, running his fingers through his hair for the third time, the thought to let his natural color grow out crosses him mind, while it wasn’t straw-like, he had to wonder how much longer it could stand bleach treatments. He lets out a deep sigh, tugging on the dark maroon colored blazer, knowing Osamu will most likely have a fit when he sees him wearing jeans, but he just shrugs at the thought before tossing it from his mind. His phone dings, it’s Suna telling him that he’s downstairs and with that Atsumu grabs his wallet, slipping his phone in his pocket as he locks the apartment door, trying to put his watch on as he rushes down the stairs. The car ride is silent, the hum of the radio filling the space as Atsumu’s knee shakes nervously, getting a side glare from Suna that screams at him to quit. Twenty minutes later the car parks, but Suna doesn’t cut the engine off just yet, giving the setter his classic ‘say the word and we’re gone’ expression, but he just shakes his head, telling his former classmate they have to go inside. He tugs on his sleeve again, walking side by side with Suna as they follow an employee who is tasked with taking them to the rose room as the plaque outside it states, everyone turning to shout ‘congrats’ to Atsumu.

When Osamu and his parents suggested hosting him a retirement party, he was against it at first, not really wanting to celebrate the biggest part of his life ending, the uncertainty of his future felt heavy on his shoulders. Eventually he came around, realizing this could be the last time he saw some of his teammates, wanting to spend one last night surrounded by the sport he fell in love with all those years ago, basking in one final daydream before reality sat in again. He puts on a smile, nodding thank-you as he walks further into the room, eyes scanning the familiar faces looking for one in particular, but instead he ends up face to face with Osamu, whose face falls when he sees his twin in denim. Atsumu makes the rounds, he’s always been able to blend effortlessly in groups, leaving no one out as he strikes up conversation, recalling various personal facts he’s learned from them previously, before finding his way at the dessert table. Osamu had offered to make chocolate cake, using a certain recipe but he quickly shut down the idea, feeling pathetic that he got as upset as he did over a simple dessert, but it just didn’t taste as sweet without YN. He lets out a sigh, overall the night has been perfect, nothing that he could complain about, but it feels empty, like something’s missing, or rather someone is missing.

Forty-four isn’t a young age, but it isn’t old, if he wants, Atsumu could continue his career, but if he’s being honest, he’s tired. He’s loved volleyball for as long as he could remember, it gave him great friends, a close relationship with his brother, gave him some of the best years of his life, but it also took away someone that he values more than his own self. Each time he heard chants from his fans at games, he couldn’t help but wonder if they were the same ones that harassed YN, the same ones that fed into baseless rumors and it made his stomach sick. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a pang of sadness in his chest when everyone slowly starts to say their goodbyes, reminding him that he had a great volleyball career, telling him how they couldn’t wait to see what he would do next. He too wants to see what he’ll do next because Atsumu hasn’t really given it to much thought, not much interested him, his life for as long as he could remember was volleyball and YN and without either, there’s just not much there anymore. To make matters worse, there is no longer anything or anyone keeping him in Osaka, no reason that he shouldn’t take Osamu’s suggestion and come back home to Tokyo, going as far as offering him a job at Onigiri Miya until he could find something else.

Atsumu finally lets the smile he’s had plastered on his face fall when he steps into his apartment, not bothering to turn on the light as he trudges through the dark room, heading straight for the bedroom. Osamu and Suna had offered to take him out for a drink, just the three of them, but Atsumu didn’t really feel like being a third-wheel and he didn’t want Osamu to find out just how hard he’d been faking it at the party. He clicks on the floor lamp, the light just barely illuminating the room before he drops to his knees, aimlessly moving his arm underneath the bed until he finally hits the box that he’s been reaching for. Fresh tears start to prick his eyes before he even opens it, already knowing the emotion that will wash over him as he shuffles through the items. There are a few photographs, ones he snagged from the photo album YN put together: ones from high school, from their engagement, even a few from away games. There’s a key ring filled with various keychains that the two of them had collected over the years from the places they traveled to. He flips over the photo frame that’s been facing upside down, the one that holds his favorite wedding picture. It was during their first dance, the picture captured the moment YN lifted their head from his shoulder, turning to look at Atsumu, both looking at the other with such loving expressions. He picks up a seemingly random bottle cap that’s in the back corner, he never saw himself as sentimental, but it also felt wrong to throw the cap from the bottle of lemon tea YN gave him away.

Prep: 30 minutes. Preheat: 375 degrees. Yields: 8 servings.

It started as a regular night, just another one spent running orders around Onigiri Miya, fake laughing at the ‘you look just like Osamu’ joke he hears at least five times a day from some of the regular elderly customers, and being in total awe of his twin. When Osamu said he was going to open a shop, Atsumu didn’t think too much about it, at surface value he thought it was a pretty easy thing to do, make food and serve it. Then he saw how much thought had to go into it, how many hours Osamu spent trying to find an ideal location, various trips to scout out the perfect suppliers and the late nights spent perfecting recipes. Even after having find a great location, amazing suppliers and perfect recipes, Atsumu learned that it didn’t stop there, next came making sure that he had exemplary staff and he heard from Suna that Osamu spent hours conducting interviews, meticulously tearing through resumes to find ideal candidates. Suna even told him that he’d come in during interviews and just stare at them to see if they could handle pressure well, few passed.

Atsumu stretches his arm in the air, leaning briefly to the side in hopes to stretch out the soreness in his back as he lets out a yawn. Calling him tired would be an understatement, he is exhausted, he used to think that the demand from being a professional athlete was grueling, now he knows that working under Osamu demands even more. It’s not too late, but late enough for there to be a brisk chill in the air, making him regret his choice of just wearing a long sleeve shirt with gym shorts. Osamu had told him that he’d make his favorite dessert for their upcoming birthday, for an autumn baby, Atsumu loved all things summer growing up and their mother would make peach tarts for him. Up until YN’s chocolate cake came into play, Atsumu would beg his mother to make them all the time, especially on days he wasn’t feeling the best. He opens the door the supermarket, blinking away the brightness of the light, his brother tasking him with picking up some peaches and other ingredients since he couldn’t go the night before. Atsumu walks through the aisles, picking up some baking powder, picking up a small carton of eggs before making his way towards the produce.

He’s not paying much attention, making sure to remember how ‘Samu told him to check the peaches (squeeze it gently to check if it’s firm or not) when he accidently grabs someone’s hand. There’s a bit of panic that washes over him, accidently tightening his grip instead of letting go, face entirely red when he turns to the side to apologize, but the words get trapped in his throat. Of all of the markets, in all of Tokyo, he didn’t think that he would run into YN, he didn’t even know they were in Tokyo to be honest, and when his brain finally catches up, he immediately drops their hand as if it suddenly burned him. There’s an almost uncomfortable expression on YN’s face and Atsumu can’t stop himself from feeling that it’s his fault, sure he still carried a torch for them, probably always would, but that didn’t mean YN hadn’t moved on. Why wouldn’t they? Mumbling a quick apology, he starts to walk away but there’s a tug on the bottom of his shirt, YN tightly gripping the fabric like it’s a life preserver. Biting their lower lip, YN looks up bashfully at Atsumu, fumbling over their words before letting out a defeated sigh, handing him a card with their number on it before rushing off, leaving him standing there, completely confused.

It’s been a day since he ran into YN, since they had given him the okay to contact them, giving him hope that there was some place in their life for him again. He’s been staring at the card, pacing his childhood room for the last thirty minutes trying to figure out should he text, call, were they still busy? Osamu proved to be no help, simply telling Atsumu that he needed to remember it’s been 8 years since the divorce and that they’ve both changed a lot within those short years. He knows that his brother is right, but YN is YN, the love of his life, they could relearn each other again if they have to, everything would be okay, right? He takes a deep breath, picking up his phone, typing the number, triple checking that’s it’s correct before calling it. Atsumu feels like it’s been ringing forever before he hears someone answer the call, he had told himself he’ll be fine with whatever YN tells him, if they want to try again, if they want to be just friends, Atsumu has convinced himself he would accept it because they’ll be back in his life. But if that’s the case, why does he hang-up when an unfamiliar man’s voice asks who’s calling before tossing the phone away from him?

Mix ingredients. Bake: 20 minutes then 30 minutes more. Cool: 30 minutes.

It started as a regular night, the first one he’s spending in his new house, after finding a place in Tokyo that fits all of his needs, that’s just one stop away from Inarizaki High, where he’s been the head coach for the last three years. Up until now, he’s been staying at his parents, both more than happy to have him back home and he’s thankful they let him stay while he figured things out again, but it was time to spread his wings again. He’s staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep, never really being one who can adjust to new places quickly when the light from the hallway spreads into the bedroom as the door slowly opens up. Atsumu lays there, completely still as he listen to footsteps slowly creep through the room, up to his side of the bed before feeling someone lean over him, to see if he’s asleep, before he yanks them down into the bed, wrapping them in his arms. They try to swat his leg, telling him that he scared the life out of them, that they were too old to play around like this, but Atsumu can’t stop laughing, gently tightening his grip around them and eventually they melt into his touch.

It’s been four years since he called YN only to hang up at the sound of someone else answering and for a brief moment, his entire world felt like it shattered. For years, he’d been holding on to the notion that true love always finds its way back, there’d always been those handful of stories of people separated for twenty plus years and end up together by some stroke of fate. But then his phone rang and he scrambled to pick it up, dropping it in the process of answering it, to hear YN scolding him for rudely hanging up, explaining they had asked a coworker to answer it since their hands were full. He didn’t care that the first actual conversation he had with YN in nearly 9 years was them scolding him like a schoolchild, it didn’t bother him anymore that some random guy answered the phone because YN still had love in their voice when speaking to him and that’s really all that he needed. The two of them proceeded to talk about everything well into the night and early morning, talking about where YN was in their career, how they moved back to Tokyo just a year before Atsumu had and Atsumu mentioned his retirement, and the backbreaking shifts at Onigiri Miya.

After multiple phones, dozens of texts sent back and forth, they met up for a simple coffee date which led to a lunch date and then a dinner date and soon their schedules were just as riddled with one another as they had been in high school. The two fell back into old habits, just like an old forgot sweatshirt still fits when its finally found again, like two halves of a whole being put back together, but this time it felt a little different, the pull between them felt stronger. Even with the effortlessness it took for them to fall back into old habits, to go back to being lovesick teenagers like before, the two took things slow, because while there was still love, there was still a deep scar, the huge reminder that things were great and still fell apart years ago. It wasn’t until last year that they finally started to talk about living together, unsure of how relationships worked at their age, how relationships with your ex-spouse worked, but they managed to make sense of it all. Then came a bigger shock when the paperwork had been finalized for the house, Atsumu dropped down right there, proposing and YN happily accepted. YN had suggested just having a simple courthouse ceremony since they had already done the big wedding, but Atsumu refused, saying he never wanted to step foot in a courthouse over marital issues again which got a giggle out of YN. They did agree to have a simple ceremony, inviting just those closest to them and it was perfect, Atsumu claiming it was even better than their first one. Though he still doesn’t find Osamu’s best man’s speech starting off with “welcome back, everyone” funny, even if YN laughed hard enough to stumble out of their chair.

Atsumu buries his face into YN’s hair, deeply inhaling the citrus-scented shampoo, not in the least bit surprised they still used the same brand, letting the comfort it brings wash over him like a warm breeze. His hand covers theirs, interlocked fingers, his thumb rubbing over the new wedding band, claiming it was bad luck for YN to use their old wedding set and they agreed. He feels YN start to move around, turning to face him, running fingers through his dark brunette hair that’s peppered with silver strands. The first time they were married, their days were spent filling the silence around them with every little thing they could think to talk about, whether it be their day, some online article that had been read, or anything, but this time, they find themselves just basking in the comfortable silence. Some say that the silence between two people that truly love each other can be a beautiful thing, YN and Atsumu would have to agree, both loving just looking at the adoring expression on the other’s face, Atsumu’s hand pressing gently to their cheek. YN buries their face into the crook of Atsumu’s neck, inhaling the sandalwood scent of his body wash, smiling when he wraps them into a hug. The pair had met at 16, married at 30, divorced at 38, reunited at 46, before finally remarrying at 50, it hadn’t a typical relationship, far from ideal, but that’s what made it unique and Atsumu wouldn’t have it any other way.

Read about their relationship before: accidental significance

likes, comments, and reblogs are always appreciated!

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#haikyuu #haikyuu fanfic #haikyuu atsumu #miya atsumu #atsumu miya #atsumu x reader #miya atsumu x gn!reader #haikyuu angst to fluff #hq angst #hq fluff endings #hq atsumu #tw light angst #tw mentions of divorce #reader insert #gn!reader

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forevfangirlwrites · 3 years

Text

stars spelling out your name

Percy’s eyes map out the bumpy texture of his popcorn ceiling, the events of the past few weeks on repeat in his mind, specifically the one week that started it all.

How could one week change his entire life?

A draft seeps in from somewhere, the wind blowing hard enough to rattle the barren tree branches outside his window.

Pulling the blankets tighter around him, he can’t help but miss the warmth of her. Though he knows he shouldn’t, knows he ultimately doesn’t because the moment she walked out the door is ingrained in his memory.

And so is returning back from work the next day to find all traces of her gone, as if she was never there at all.

His mind returns to the familiar question. Could he have seen the cracks if he wasn’t so busy trying to keep his job, pay his half of rent, to just…keep going?

It was all for naught too. After the long hours that he’s been accused of using to cheat, his boss had still fired him, despite the work, despite the overtime.

Now he doesn’t have a job, or rent, or girlfriend.

His gaze wanders to the letter on his nightstand. Even from his side angle he can still make out the bolded red letters.

Maybe he should’ve seen it coming when she came up short for rent last month. Or maybe when they picked a more expensive brownstone apartment, one with more drafts and creaks than the others.

Maybe he should’ve have seen it coming when he moved here with her, with no friends and no family.

Because now he’s here alone, in a small apartment that suddenly feels big and empty, staring up at his popcorn ceiling and trying not to drown in hopelessness.

And to top it off, his stomach starts to grumble, as if he needs another reminder of everything he’s lacking.

It’s only seven PM, but it looks like midnight outside and December’s short days and long cold nights do nothing to lift his spirits.

Trying to ignore his stomach, he closes his eyes, forcing himself into a fitful sleep.

-.-

He wakes up to complete darkness, disoriented and starving.

Fumbling around his nightstand he manages to find his phone, the screen lighting up like a sun burning his eyes, revealing a blurry 12:35.

It actually is midnight, and his hunger has grown enough to prevent him from going back to sleep. So he pads to the kitchen, half-expecting to find something different than the normal nothing.

(It’s as barren as before.)

If he was stronger, he’d fight the hunger or make do with whatever he might be able to dig up if he looked harder through the cabinets.

But he’s not. So he shrugs on a jacket and starts his trudge towards a nearby grocery store.

He can technically afford groceries, but he’s got bills that are already going to push him into a bit of credit card debt as it is. Especially if he can’t find a job.

And the past two weeks have yielded nothing.

The wind has died down from before, but the cold is in full force. The walk to the store is quick, but the walk back is slow, trodden with a few grocery bags.

His hand is starting to go numb but it’s hard to increase his pace, so he just switches hands.

Rolling his shoulders back, he cranes his head to night sky as he pauses his walk for a second.

It’s clear enough to make out the few stars littering the sky. They twinkle prettily at him, and for a second, he just stares.

He’s never really been a superstitious person, but he did grow up watching Disney movies. He’ll blame the fact that it’s midnight, he’s hungry and desperate to explain his attempt at doing something he hasn’t done since he was probably seven.

“Um…this is stupid, but uh…” he mutters to the sky, focusing his attention on the brightest star. “I uh…wish…”

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#percy and annabeth #percabeth #percabeth au #percabeth fic

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the-dimitrescu-seamstress · 3 years

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I Won’t Be Long - A rather long one shot

(I have been working on this, what I call “Magda’s Worst Day”, for a while, and I only recently was inspired to finish it. Hence why I’ve been rather quiet in terms of posts. I can only torture my muse so much.

Basically, this story came about because of the “What have you done to my daughter?!” line. Alcina was in her chambers while saying that, therefore unable to see or know that Ethan was outside. So how did she know what happened to Bela, and who told her?

My answer? Magda.

I did my best to follow the game’s timeline, but there might have been some condensing or stretching in order to make things fit. I’ve also included some brief cameos from other OCs Magda has interacted with.

Please note, this is not an “Ethan Hate” story. Magda is simply reacting as one would in their given situation. Is this a sad story? Yes, in parts. Will you hate me for writing this? Maybe. Will you still enjoy reading it? I hope so.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You must hide. The man is a danger, and I wish for you to be safe. Do your best to keep out of all this. If he approaches you, play the helpless victim. Do not help him, but please do not hinder him either.”

“But I want you to stay safe.”

“You know that I always do, dearest. He is nothing but a man.”

“You literally just said he was a danger.” The press of Bela’s lips against Magda’s was enough the hush the smaller woman and soften her demeanor. “Kissing me in order to maintain the last word is technically cheating, you know.”

“True, but I did learn it from you,” the witch smiled. “I won’t be long.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That conversation happened a little over an hour ago. Since then, Magda had quietly paced the floor of her workroom, occasionally stopping to listen for any sound outside her door. She prayed she’d hear the familiar drone of flies, but nothing came. Everything was unnervingly quiet. Magda did her best to reassure herself. She kept telling herself that the man was outnumbered three to one, that the girls would work together and remove him as a threat, that they couldn’t be killed.

The sudden barrage of nearby gunfire and shattering glass ripped away any comfort she had tried to retain. It wasn’t terribly close, but then again it wasn’t terribly far either. Worse yet, there was no celebratory laughter that accompanied the silence that soon followed. Worry gnawed at Magda’s insides, and she did the one thing that Bela had asked her not to do. She unlocked the door to her workshop, and left her hiding place.

Magda went through the halls in sock feet, wanting to make as little sound as possible. The last thing she needed was to run into the man by accident. Thankfully, the courtyard was deserted. Freezing, especially without shoes or a coat, but it was empty. Even better, the door leading to the dining room was still locked. That meant the intruder had not found a key or harassed one of the few servants who had a skeleton key to the various entryways. Magda was one of those servants. Being a seamstress, and a trusted one at that, gave her a few perks.

As much as she wanted to rush in, Magda knew better. She turned the key slowly, as the locks were heavy and made a distinct and rather loud click when undone. The door she also took time opening, just in case there was an armed madman standing on the other side. Finding none, she closed and relocked the door behind her. Best to keep him confined.

Cassandra’s laughter coming from the Main Hall signaled that she was keeping the intruder well occupied and, rather than risk an interruption, Magda turned to the much plainer door which lead to the kitchen.

Normally the kitchen was a warm place, full of the sounds and smells of cooking food for the human staff, but the rush of cold air that blew in as she entered confirmed a fear she had. Hurrying past the preparation table and ducking under the cuts of drying meat, Magda stopped short in the doorway to the connected storage room. What she saw squeezed her heart like a vice, making it difficult to breath.

Shattered glass and the remains of broken boards framed a large, collapsed pile of frozen flies. The room wavered and suddenly felt hot, despite the open windows. Maybe… maybe this wasn’t Bela, she tried to reason. It wasn’t Cassandra, as she had heard her laughter not moments ago. A small, hateful voice in her head whispered that this was Daniela, that Bela was still alive inside the castle, perhaps happily carving up the man with her sister, and what laid before her was Daniela. Magda hated to even think that, but right now she was mental begging the powers that be for that to be the truth.

Step by hesitant step, she approached the pile, acting as a windbreak when she knelt between it and the broken window. Tears began to cloud her vision as she saw pale yellow flies mixed in amongst the brown and black insects. Again, her heart wrenched inside her chest. Her skin burned and the walls of the room closed in as her anger grew and burst forth in a ragged scream of rage, sorrow, and anguish.

Why?! Why did he do this?! How did he even know?! Did he just get lucky with a stray bullet breaking a pane of glass? Why did he kill her? Why did he go after her? The cold would have been enough to stop her! She would have stopped the chase, and he could have gotten away, but he still decided to kill her! He killed her while she was hurting! He killed her while she was cold, alone, and separated from everyone. He killed Magda’s stea mică… her little star…

He didn’t give a shit about anything or anyone.

Magda’s guttural scream was echoed by a rasping, undead one crawling up from the once boarded up passageway that led to the dungeon. In her emotional state, she hadn’t put two and two together. The boards were smashed going into the storage room rather than out into the passageway. The man had come up from below, meaning he had created a potential access point for the thralls to get upstairs.

“Căcat!” she cursed, scrambling as quickly and as quietly for a container in the other room. It would take the thralls a bit of time to coordinate and stumble their way up the stairs, but they would eventually make it and Magda was not about to let those disgusting things trample all over what was left of Bela.

She would also need to tell the Countess.

Grabbing one of the large basins used to hold drained blood, as well as any discarded towels or cloth she could find, Magda carefully moved every single fly she found into the container, scouring the floor for any the wind may have blown about, but always keeping a careful eye on the dungeon passage. The last thing she needed was to be attacked by those damn thralls as she finished.

The basin was… not as heavy as she thought it would be. That knowledge made her stomach sink and made her feel that much worse. She was carrying her love’s body, and it wasn’t heavy. It needed to be. The woman was seven feet tall! It should have been heavier! These stupid, unimportant thoughts made her tears start to once again fall as she returned to the dining room. “Dammit. I’m sorry, Bela,” she mumbled as a few hot tears fell on the flies.

One twitched in response.

Magda stopped at that. She was seeing things. In her grief, her mind was clearly playing tricks on her. Bela was dead. The cold killed flies. She was dead and the tear hitting the fly only made it look like it moved.

That was when the worst feeling in all of creation latched itself onto her.

Hope.

Leaning in close, she breathed a few times on a small clump of flies, letting her warm breath roll over them. And then she waited… Her heart pounding in her chest as she watched for something. Anything.

…A leg spasmed.

It was small, almost imperceptible, but Magda took it as a sign. A possibility. A tiny one at that, but she grabbed onto it and refused to let it go. Hope was evil like that.

Covering the basin to shield the flies from the cold, she ventured back across the courtyard and towards Alcina’s chambers, locking any and all doors behind her because fuck this man and his doings. Make his shit life harder.

The Countess’ chambers were empty, which sent a chill of dread and terror down Magda’s spine. Had she fallen to the man as well or was she simply hunting him along with her daughters? Should she wait for her to appear? Right now, searching the castle was not the ideal thing to do, as she was unarmed, human, and she had no idea if the intruder would have mercy on her if she encountered him. Thankfully, her questions were answered as familiar heavy footfalls were heard coming up the stairs. Now all she had to do was explain to Alcina what she thought was possible. And hopefully not die in the the telling.

“If I can’t, I’ll do my best to bleed on you as I die, sweetness,” she told the basin of flies, trying to make a joke and do her best to smile. The latter crumbled as soon as the chamber door opened.

“Countess?” Magda’s voice was weak and shaky, full of fear, and she immediately regretted opening her mouth due to the look on Alcina’s face. It was one of surprise mixed with displeasure, which made sense as Magda should still be locked in her sewing room, not running around as she was currently doing.

“Are you not aware of our current situation, Magdalena?” Her tone was cool and reserved, as if she were waiting on Magda’s answer in order to decide the best manner of action to take.

“I am very much aware of the situation, Countess. Which was why I came here as quickly as I could.” she replied, uncovering Bela’s remains. The candelabra the taller woman had been holding streaked towards Magda’s head and the seamstress barely had time to duck.

“What have you done to my daughter?!” she roared, lunging forward and grabbing Magda by her neck. For a moment, fear and terror filled the seamstress’ mind, but she somehow managed to find her voice despite the vice-like grip upon her throat.

“It wasn’t me… the man… did this… the flies… not… not dead…” Darkness had started to creep around the edges of her vision before Alcina finally released her. Landing on the ground hurt, but the deep breath of fresh air she took afterwards was incredibly sweet.

“Explain yourself,” Alcina growled, stretching out those two words in a low and menacing fashion, one not at all suitable for a woman of her standing, but perfect for a mother seeking justice for her child.

“I heard the fight,” Magda rasped, throat still sore. “It was in… the kitchen. I found… Bela. I thought she was dead… but some flies reacted to my tears…. and warm breath. There’s a chance. That cold state they go into. She told me about it. Bela might not be dead. Only hibernating. If she can be warmed, maybe she can be saved.” Magda watched Alcina, eyes never turning away or blinking too rapidly. She didn’t want to give the woman any excuse or reason not to believe her.

The quiet between them lasted for what seemed an eternity, only to be interrupted by a low rumbling and draining of liquid coming from the next room over. They both heard it, though Alcina only gave the most subtle of glances in its direction. The pool in the Hall of Ablution had been emptied. The Countess’ iron grip was suddenly around Magda’s arm, pulling her back to her feet.

“You will take my daughter back to your workshop and you will keep her warm,” she hissed. “You will not leave her side, not even for a moment. Should I find you disobeying my instructions and wandering these halls while that impudent wretch is still in my castle, your life is forfeit. Is that understood?” Magda nodded, fear in her eyes. She picked up the basin, replacing the cover before being roughly escorted out of the chamber.

Once safely back in her workshop, Magda set about gathering her thickest fabrics; the wools, flannels, gabardines, and anything else heavy she had. She removed the blankets and comforter from her bed and did what she could to form a nest or bed for the flies. For a moment, she even considered cutting her forearm and dribbling some blood onto them, but if they weren’t moving then they weren’t feeding, and the last thing she wanted to risk was them somehow drowning in her own blood.

Magda did her best to obey the Countess’ instructions, as she was not about to risk Alcina’s wrath, not with her life on the line. However, if she did end up being wrong about Bela, maybe it would be better to join her in death. What was she thinking? Magda likely would die anyways. But, in terms of when, it would just depend on Alcina’s mood. So, the seamstress sat in silence, waiting and praying to hear the soft buzzing of fly wings as they slowly warmed up.

Instead, she heard someone faintly plinking the keys of the piano in the Opera Hall. Rather badly at that. Naturally, the all too familiar footfalls of an enraged Alcina soon followed. He must not have realized she was hunting him, Magda thought. Because what idiot would actually take the time to play the piano if they were actively trying to stay hidden? The brief retort of gunfire seemed to prove her point. Although she could only hear what was going on, Magda still had a brief chuckle as she imagined the man scrambling for his life away from Alcina.

Not that he had many places to run to. It was either to Magda’s workshop or the library, and as the noise of confrontation began to distance itself from her hiding place, she breathed a sigh of relief. The library it was then.

“How has this man managed to survive this long?” she softly asked Bela’s remains. As if in answer, gunshots rang out once more and the seamstress stood, wondering who he was fighting now. The previously reassuring knowledge that bullets couldn’t harm anyone in this house re-entered Magda’s head… but it was quickly dashed to pieces as she glanced back at Bela. Who had he gone after now? She needed to know.

For five long minutes, Magda stood at her sewing room door, with it cracked open enough to listen. But she heard nothing. No footsteps, no gunfire, no sounds of anyone.

If Alcina caught her, it would be death, a voice in her head reasoned.

So she simply would avoiding getting caught, another replied.

The distance to the library wasn’t far, and she could easily hear the Countess’ footsteps well in advance, allowing her to hide as she approached.

“I’ll be back soon, stea mică. I won’t be long,” she softly told the flies. A few seemed to twitch in response. God, she hoped that she was right in the foolish ‘not dead, only hibernating’ theory. Basin and flannel cloth in hand, Magda made her way to the library, hoping she wouldn’t need what she carried.

Her heart sank upon feeling the chilly air inside. Papers were scattered, vases lay shattered, and, near enough to be in the light cast from the glass skylight which acted as a central decorative point for the room, was another large pile of immobile flies. Magda actually needed a moment to sit and collect herself with this discovery. Little flies, whose bodies glittered in the light, matched Daniela’s hair color.

Alcina will weep, Magda thought as she did her best to keep her own tears from falling once more. Gathering up these remains took longer than Bela’s, but not because they were scattered about. No. For as messy and wild as Daniela was in life, she had collapsed in a neat little pile. It was the weight and knowledge that this was the baby of the family which made this such a long and arduous task.

“You’re not alone, Dani. I’m not letting you be alone. I’m taking you to your sister. You’ll be safe in my sewing room,” She told the flies. Could this have been the first sign of madness? After all, Magda was talking to a container full of potentially dead insects. She recalled the character of Renfield from Dracula. The man went mad in an effort to serve and worship his vampire lord. Perhaps she was becoming something along the same lines. Perhaps she was already dead; killed by the intruder, and this was her own personal hell of gathering up mounds of flies throughout the castle for the rest of eternity, all the while avoiding Alcina. If Bela’s nest was not in the workshop when she returned to it, Magda figured this terrible thought would be reality.

Thankfully, upon opening the door to her workshop, the comforter and blanket that Bela was nestled in was still where the seamstress had left it. So maybe she was not dead and this was not hell. Little miracles were all she could hope for right now.

Magda took her time making Daniela’s nest, listening for anything that would signal they were victorious and this man-thing was dead and gone. She shook her head a little as she used that term. Normally, Magda did not join in on calling men that, but this was a special case. This individual didn’t seem human. The fact that he could best two of the daughters worried her, and a dread feeling that, unless mother and daughter combined forces, Cassandra could fall as well filled Magda’s stomach like a lead weight.

The daughters were monsters, yes. By the classic definition, that’s what they were, and Magda did not deny any of it. Blood stained dresses, screams and laughter coming from the dungeon, or even the rare times when Bela’s kisses had a slight hint of copper or something raw tasting to them. They weren’t normal. Alcina was also a monster; perhaps even more of one. The height, the claws, the gray skin that she hid beneath layers of foundation. All four of them shared that same inhuman appetite for blood and flesh. But, they also had human tendencies. They laughed, they cried, they screamed in fright the odd times they were scared or taken by surprise.

Then again, humans could be monsters as well. History showed how terrible they could be. Magda was certainly no angel, and she had the odd feeling that this man wasn’t entirely a good person either. Maybe she was wrong. Magda didn’t know. All she knew was that she was trying to save the small group of friends and family she had left in this world.

Minutes ticked by and still her wing of the castle remained quiet. The longer it stayed quiet, the more she worried. If the man was dead, Alcina would have come to her workshop to see to her daughter. But if the quiet persisted? Magda didn’t want to think on that.

“Should I go out and search?” she asked her charges. Of course, no reply came. Magda thought she saw more movement from Bela’s flies, but she had no idea if they all needed to be restored to a proper temperature, like a hive mind, before they could respond. With the way Magda had layered everything, they would warm up slowly and naturally. No artificial heaters or fires were being used, as she didn’t want to risk damaging them. After watching both mounds for a few minutes, the seamstress nodded, knowing once more what she had to do.

The castle had an unusual quietness, a stillness she had never felt before. There was always at least some sort of background noise; the shuffling of servants, the daughters’ laughter, the general noise of a home being lived in. Where was everyone? Had the man killed them all? Or were Sylvia, Andre, Samuel, Bianca, and the rest hiding in the servant’s quarters, having barricaded themselves in? Vulga likely would have escaped into the walls upon hearing the first gunshot, so she was probably safe.

At least there would be some survivors of Castle Dimitrescu.

Finding Cassandra took a long time. Besides hiding from both the constantly patrolling Alcina and the seemingly trigger happy mad man, Magda had to think like the middle child, who had the tendency to spend time in the oddest of places. While Bela and Daniela could be found in seemingly normal locations in the castle, Cassandra explored. She found hidden areas that were unknown to most of the inhabitants, hard to get to, or simply dilapidated enough and impossible to access unless you could fly. Magda assumed she enjoyed being hard to find.

The seamstress had searched damn near every room, after having briefly hidden for a few heart-pounding minutes in one of the dressing room wardrobes upon hearing Alcina’s approach. Currently, she was sitting in the back hallway, taking a moment to try and mentally collect herself. Magda hated failing, and right now she was absolutely in sync with the idea that she was a failure. Cassandra, as far as she knew, had simply disappeared. Had the man shattered a window and thrown her outside? If that was the case, then the chance of finding the young woman dropped to impossible odds. The castle was surrounded by woods and cliffs with sheer drops. Maybe… if the snow and cold somehow preserved her through the winter, Cassandra would show up in the spring, like crocuses.

At that thought, Magda let slip a sharp little laugh while, at the same time, her eyes began to water. Cassandra would hate being compared to a flower. She would absolutely have hated it. And for as much as Magda wanted to continue to both laugh and cry right now, it would certainly draw unwanted attention from one of two parties currently in the castle. Possibly both.

Wiping her face with her sleeve, she allowed herself a few calming breaths before pushing herself back to her feet and continuing this fruitless search.

The slight draft blowing on Magda’s hand from beneath the door stopped her. Yes, castles were drafty, but not this one. Alcina made certain to insulate everything as best she could so her daughters could survive the winter in relative comfort. But, there was a definite bit of air movement coming from under this door.

Opening it, Magda found the Statue of Pleasure…. with an animal skull in place of the sacrifice’s head. Not even Cassandra or Daniela would be foolish enough to ruin one of their mother’s statues. So, on top of being a murderer, this man enjoyed defacing both art and private property. What the fuck was wrong with him?

The indignity aside, the windows in this room were intact, so where was the draft coming from? The only other option was the fireplace, but if the chimney was that badly cracked, why wasn’t it sealed? Crouching in front of it, the reason quickly became apparent as the entire back of the fireplace has been removed, and the hole led to a set of stairs.

“Cassandra, you little shit.”

Crawling through the passageway, Magda entered what looked to be the remains of a hidden armory, or at least a place to stash and work on things a certain daughter didn’t want her mother to learn about or her sisters to interfere with. It would have been a lovely little room had it not been for the gaping hole in the wall, letting in all the cold air. And there, near enough to the stairway, laid what was left of Alcina’s middle child.

“At least you were smart enough to fight him in a room without windows,” Magda commented as she gathered her up. Cassandra was vicious and violent when she wan’t to be, but she was also calculative and observant. Perhaps that’s why she lasted as long as she did. Had she sacrificed her sisters in order to study this man? If Magda were the girl’s mother, they would definitely be having a talk about that later.

With the last of the Dimitrescu daughters safely bundled up, Magda began to make her way back to the workshop. As it was nearly on the other side of the castle with no direct route, she took great care to move as quietly as possible. She paused repeatedly, and scanned the Main Hall, looking for signs of the the woman in white. For as large as she was, Alcina was a stalking beast. She could be incredibly quiet if she wished to be.

As she crouched in one the small balconies, Magda heard movement coming from below her on the floor of the main hall. However, it didn’t sound… right. It couldn’t have been the intruder, unless he was gravely injured. But If that were the case, Alcina wouldn’t have been far behind, and Magda didn’t hear her at all. Speaking of the Countess, it certainly wasn’t her, as the noise was far too small to be anyone remotely her size.

Chancing a look, Magda peeked over the edge, and a soft gasp of surprise, sounding so devastatingly loud in this silence, escaped her lips as she saw what was beneath her. Luana, the castle’s head servant, the personal watchdog for the Countess, laid collapsed on the marble floor, clothes stained red with blood. Where had they been all this time?! Magda had scoured entire castle… Had they been outside and only just now managed to get in? This just made her life ten times harder. Not only did she have Cassandra to carry back, but now there was the issue of Luana as well.

She could have left them where they were. She could have. After all, Magda was currently disobeying orders and Alcina was already displeased by her previous actions. She should have taken Cassandra back to her workshop and then returned. By then, perhaps Alcina would have discovered Luana herself and… done what? She was hellbent on hunting down the intruder. Would she even have stopped and tended to her servant? Magda couldn’t say. She also had no idea what would have happened if the man found them first. Would he finish the job he clearly started? In all likelihood? Yes.

Tucking Cassandra safely in an out of the way corner by the top of the stairs, Magda made her way down to her fellow servant, glancing into the Hall of the Four as she went.

The doors leading to the Temple of Worship were open.

In all her years there, Magda had rarely seen those exterior doors stand open as they were now. The Countess was strict in her orders about that portion of the castle being forbidden to everyone save herself, and now the seamstress was watching her tall figure ascend the temple stairs. An unknown fear filled Magda with dread at that sight, and she hurried towards Luana.

Rolling the head servant over onto their back, Magda gave them a quick look over. Buckshot, and a few normal bullet holes, peppered Luana’s blood soaked torso. A normal human would have been dead from such injuries and blood loss, but Luana was thankfully not fully human, rather a Lycan-cross. They usually preferred not to speak of their heritage, but Magda hoped they would be happy to have it just this once.

“Luana? Luana, dear, can you hear me?” she asked, opening their eyes to check for any sign of life. She was met with slurred, half-conscious Portuguese. “You know damn well I don’t speak that, but right now any response is a good one, so I’ll take it.” The bleeding had stopped and their breathing seemed normal from what she could tell; no gurgles, bloody froth in the mouth, or sounds of difficulty.

“…Apologies…” they said in Romanian, doing their best to sit up.

“You’re fine. I’m just happy to see someone else, aside from the Countess, alive,” she replied. Their uniform already ruined, Magda removed Luana’s jacket and began tearing off bandage strips. Or at least she started to, as a distant crash and a devastating roar from outside quickly stopped her efforts. Whatever injuries seemed to be afflicting Luana were momentarily forgotten as they did their best to stand, only to collapse almost immediately. As they attempted it a second time, Magda moved to support them. She didn’t even say a word or caution them to take it slow as the two of them made it to the open doorway.

And what they saw? There were no words.

It was huge. A great beast, vast and terrible, with an immense wingspan, lashing tail, and a toothy, gaping maw circled the top of the temple tower; sometimes flying, sometimes crawling along the stonework. It was pale white with streaks of pink flesh, slick and glossy looking as the sun hit it. Muscles bulged as if barely contained by the skin, as tendrils curled and whipped about in an independent fury. It looked both cancerous and incomplete while at the same time horrifically beautiful and awe-inspiring in some inexplicable way. And to top it off, as if in an absurd gilding of the lily, Alcina’s upper torso, looking flayed and monstrous, erupted from between the beast’s shoulder blades. Her voice was distorted, both by rage, vengeance, and sorrow, but also by this transformation. She was lost in this madness, fully given in to it.

Magda’s knees gave way, and she fell to the floor, unintentionally bring Luana down with her. The seamstress was lost. How was this even possible? How had Alcina become this gargantuan beast? Could she change back? A sudden sick feeling rolled over her as all these questions and more filled her head. She was sure Luana was thinking similar things.

All they could do was watch this battle as it unfurled. Stonework and roofing tiles fell freely as the dragon creature did its best to pursue its quarry. Gunfire was heard regularly as Alcina taunted, threatened, and cackled in her torment. The fight moved steadily upwards, with more and more of the building being destroyed until a bloodcurdling shriek was heard and something structural gave way.

Multiple somethings.

Large plumes of dust, broken window, and cracks forming in the side of the building were the indication that the dragon had fallen through all of the interior floors of the temple, landing with a massive crash.

Magda and Luana looked at each other and then back towards the temple. “How about we wait and listen for movement?” the seamstress started to offer, but the head servant was already stumbling towards the building, trying desperately not to once more fall onto their face. They didn’t get very far before collapsing, but Magda was there to lift them back up. “How about a compromise? We get to the temple door and listen before barging in?” At that, Luana nodded a little sheepishly.

If Magda had thought the castle had been quiet, the inside of the temple was a veritable tomb. She just hoped it wasn’t a literal one. At least not for Alcina. Let the man be buried under all that rubble. Unfortunately, her wish was not yet granted, as she saw the limping figure of a man leaving through the lower level door. All she needed was a gun. Why didn’t she or Luana have a pistol? One bullet through the back of his damned head, that’s all that was needed and all this terribleness would be over with.

But instead, Magda just stood there, watching him leave before her gaze turned to Alcina’s body. It was still that dragon creature, but she had just come to accept that this was the Countess. Luana was already making their way down to her, carefully using the broken rubble as a stairway. Magda reluctantly followed suit.

The beast may have remained, but the human torso that was Alcina? That was gone, crumbled to ashes. The body was also still. Seeing that, Magda sat down hard, shocked by it all. Luana at least made it to the corpse, but they soon collapsed as tears began to fall.

Theirs was an ugly crying, one that Magda had never heard from them before. It was a full body shaking, heaving from the gut sort of crying. Luana had been serving House Dimitrescu since they were a teenager, and they saw Alcina as a mother figure, so Magda could only imagine what they were going through.

Letting them grieve for a few minutes, Magda eventually stood and walked over to Luana, placing a hand on their shoulder.

It was then that the beast took a great, shuddering breath.

Instincts quickly took hold and Magda scrambled backwards, not wanting to risk being eaten, while Luana did the opposite and moved closer, overjoyed to see some sign of life coming from the creature. She expected to hear a scream or cry of pain from Luana, imagining the creature lunging forward and devouring the head servant in one or two gulps. But instead, when the seamstress looked back, she saw Luana petting its head, saying soft things to it in Portuguese as it just laid there, barely making any noise.

“You are either very brave, very trusting, or very stupid to be petting that thing,” Magda hissed, keeping her voice down low, as if raising it would trigger the beast to attack them both.

“It knows me… us. It won’t hurt us,” Luana replied calmly.

“How do you know that? How is it even still alive?! Alcina’s torso is gone! The thing should be dead!” In response to Magda’s outburst, the thing growled, slightly turning its head in her direction. “… All right, I’m clearly wrong in my assessment of life and death. But that still doesn’t explain why or how.”

“Separate functioning systems? Maybe it all… pinched shut when the torso disintegrated? Like a limb or a tree branch that’s dying? Save the main body?” Luana offered.

“I would have thought Alcina would have been the main body. Can she regenerate from this?” Magda asked. Luana simply shrugged.

“We take her back to the castle and see what happens over the next few hours or days.”

“Easier said than done,” Magda replied, gesturing to the rock they scaled down and the all too small door was the only other exit.

“If it is a simple creature, then it will respond to simple things like food. She will need to eat anyways. We lure it back with food,” Luana reasoned.

The kitchen was thusly raided and a good bit of the meat that was there removed; both cured and what was still fresh. Amazingly, despite having heard the shrieks of the thralls earlier, the kitchen was now devoid of them. Had they wandered back down into the dungeon after finding no prey? Or were they all dead? Magda could only wonder as she glanced towards that corridor, her eyes wanting to linger on the spot where she found Bela. No, she thought. No, Bela was safe in the sewing room with her sisters. Magda had made a brief detour to deposit Cassandra there, as well as retrieve a pair of shoes for herself, before joining back up with Luana in the kitchen.

Along with the meat, they also brought along two barrels from the tasting room, placed at strategic points along the route back to the castle, in case extra bribery was needed for the beast. By the time they had finished setting everything up, the Alcinadragon… for what else would you call it?… was on its feet, clumsily walking around its temporary enclosure. Naturally, after throwing down the first piece of meat, with it being consumed in a single bite, the beast’s attention snapped to the two of them as it began the effort of climbing its way up towards freedom.

Magda knew better than to run. After all, doing so would likely trigger hunting and chasing instincts. But still, once the massive forelimbs appeared and the beast pulled itself up and over the lip of the hole, she made sure to be a good distance away, keeping Luana between it and her.

While this was something she normally would never state, on pain of death, it was rather easy to lead this version of Alcina around by her stomach. So long as they had a trail of food, she was easy to please and keep relatively docile. In the end, they only needed one barrel as a treat, though it wasn’t quite that. As they passed it on the bridge, the creature must have smelled the contents, or perhaps recognized the shape…. but how that was possible, Magda had no idea, as it had no discernible eyes right now. Either way, the tooth lined maw easily engulfed the barrel and bit down, splintering the wood and draining the contents quickly. Afterwards, the creature seemed more agreeable.

Maybe it had just needed a drink.

By the time they had entered the Hall of The Four, the remaining castle staff had emerged from their hiding places. There were no reprimands or excuses given, only looks and sighs of relief. Bianca, Sylvia, and Mihaela quickly flocked to the form of the Countess who was currently gorging on wine and meat. Samuel latched themself onto Magda with a tight hug; one that she was not exactly ready to receive, but she was also not about to deny them this comfort. Vulga also soon joined in, likely in an effort to make Magda feel even more uncomfortable.

“If you two insist on being this close to me, I will be putting you to work,” Magda told them both before taking them to her workshop and retrieving the three sisters. Sam took Daniela, Vulga carried Cassandra, and Magda held Bela close. The urge to place the daughters next to their mother was great, but caution won out instead. Who knew if or how the Alcinadragon would react to seeing her children as nothing more than collections of flies? Yes, they were becoming more active, but there was no indication they were on their way to reforming back into their human shapes. They just need time, Magda thought. That’s all. They’ve been through trauma, and they just need time to recover.

Even though it was not yet midday, It was decided that everyone would spend the night in the Main Hall. It was the inner most room, central to most of the castle, and it was big enough to house all of them comfortably, even a dragon with a massive wingspan. There would be safety in numbers.

“Do you think he’ll come back?” Magda asked Luana quietly.

“No. As far as he is concerned, everyone here is dead. Whether that is true or not…” They paused, not wanting to say the unthinkable. Understanding, Magda nodded and finished their sentence.

“…It’s best to keep up that appearance.”

“Precisely. We keep everyone centralized for the time being. Close off and safeguard the exit points, stay quiet, and wait. With any luck, things will be different twenty-four from now. Or at least there will be an indication of a difference.” The look the two of them shared was one of tiredness and threadbare hope. There wasn’t much left to run on, but so long as the lady of the house still drew breath, no matter what form she took, they still had their duties to attend to.

“Even if the man isn’t coming back, no one is going down to the outer gatehouse and drawbridge by themselves. One of the lords is currently weakened, you are still recovering from being shot multiple times, and while my mind may be playing into the medieval hierarchy of things, I wouldn’t put it past other things going wrong and our current situation being taken advantage of. We’ll go together. It’ll be faster that way.”

Despite initial outward appearances, the castle was rather impenetrable once locked down. A drawbridge, three heavy doors of varying designs dividing the exterior gatehouse, a massive portcullis at the Carriage Gate, and a smaller, but just as fortified, portcullis on the interior of the entrance hall that kept the front doors closed from the outside. For all intents and purposes, they would be safe and secure.

More of the staff wanted to assist in the closing of the gatehouse, but they were dissuaded by a few other duties; securing the door leading to the temple, keeping an eye on Alcina, and gathering up any supplies they would need for the night. They were also greeted by another unexpected task upon opening the castle doors.

In the middle of the Carriage Gate rested four crates; three of a similar size and one that was noticeably larger. Nothing had been ordered, and the Duke had packed up his caravan, vacating his usual spot some time during the battle with Alcina. Yet the note tacked onto the larger crate was in his elaborate, flowing script:

I’d wager these treasures are of more use to you than I. Think of this as a thank you for your years of patronage, as well as a farewell gift for the time being. Keep them safe.

Bonne chance,

The Duke

The lids came off easily, and inside, nestled amongst packing material were… statues? Odd ones at that. Beautiful, crystalline, and perhaps a bit macabre, they were three busts and one massive torso with what seemed to be very familiar proportions. Either the Duke had a sick sense of humor or this was something else.

“Take these inside,” Magda instructed, still a bit confused as to what they were. “Be careful with them. Don’t damage them.” She then hurried to catch up with Luana who had decidedly not stopped to investigate the crates.

While neither of them ventured out into the village, the lack of the noisy day to day life that would normally filter up from it was obvious and more than a bit unnerving. Yes, there were the occasional barks and growls from whatever lycans were still prowling around the buildings, but there were no sounds of people. That lack of background noise twisted Magda’s stomach and made her raise the drawbridge that much faster.

“Tomorrow… Tomorrow, we will search the village. Look for survivors,” Luana reassured her.

“I don’t think there are any other survivors,” she replied morosely, as her thoughts immediately went to the one person outside the castle that Magda actually cared about. Stay safe, Donna. Please God, keep her safe.

With each barricade put into place, Magda felt both safer and more alone… cut off from everything. But this was what needed to be done. As the final portcullis fell into place in the entrance hall, a burden lifted from her shoulders. There was still that sick feeling in her stomach, but her back felt lighter.

Why? She didn’t know. She didn’t deserve to feel better.

Everything was starting to blur together, and she didn’t care anymore. Magda remembered entering the Main Hall and seeing the Alcinadragon curled protectively around the crystalline torso that shared the measurements of the Countess, growling at anyone who came near it. She didn’t care or wonder why. Someone called out her name as she climbed the stairs, but she ignored it, legs carrying her faster and faster as she went. She didn’t want to talk. Her head, neck, and chest felt hot. She felt smothered and unable to breathe. She needed to get away.

By the time she was in the Hall of Joy, Magda was running. The library was a blur, as was the opera hall. Her eyes were open, but they saw nothing, as if her brain was on automatic. All she cared about was getting away.

She slammed the door to her workroom shut, turning the lock as well in order to keep herself physically, mentally, and emotionally away from everyone. She managed to go a few steps into the room before her knees gave way and she collapsed into a heap. That’s when the floodgates of emotion just opened up. She screamed and wailed, tears falling uncontrollably. All the pain and the burdens accumulated from this day, from these past few hours, came roaring out.

She had no idea how long she cried, nor how many in the castle heard her. She didn’t know if anyone knocked on the door to check on her, nor did she care. She would have ignored it anyway. At one point early on in her anguish, her stomach heaved. Only bile came out, as she had eaten nothing this entire day, but the wretching continued until even that was entirely discarded from her system. She cried until her tears ran dry; until only hiccuping breathes and weary, burning eyes remained.

Throughout all of this, there was one constant in Magda’s mind. She knew that if anyone, and she did mean anyone, interrupted her in this moment, there would be hell to pay. The staff had seen her mad and frustrated before, but they had never seen her rage. If anyone tried to comfort or hold her right now, they would be met with punches, thrown objects, and a slew of filthy, hate-filled words that she would likely regret at a later date. Perhaps even shears to the intruder’s throat, if she could reach them in time.

She didn’t want comfort. She wanted this pain. She wanted to hurt.

But most of all, she wanted her Bela.

Eventually though, the pain did subside. It slowly dulled and dissipated. To say it was completely gone would have been a lie, but it had settled for the time being. Magda’s body ached, as did her head. The floor beside her was a mess, but she made an effort and took the time to clean up the bile. She couldn’t stand having such a thing lingering in her workshop, no matter her mood or the circumstances. The process also helped the seamstress return to a semblance of herself.

After a change of clothes, a quick washing of her face and brushing of her teeth, Magda made her way back to the main hall. Samuel was lingering in the hallway, shuffling around a bit in an effort to entertain themself while probably waiting for Magda to re-emerge.

“Hey, Magda? Are… are you okay? Do you need anything? A hug maybe?” they asked, holding their arms open. Magda just shook her head and continued on. “Ice cream, maybe? We could sit and watch a movie together Not a scary movie or anythin’, but I’ll sit and watch something you’d like if it makes you feel better.” At that, Magda just sighed.

“Sam? Right now, what I want? I can’t have. So, please? Just let me go sit in peace next to what is left of the woman I love. All right?”

“Yeah, um…. about that? Okay, so we brought the statue things in like you said, but as soon as we did, the dragon thing that Lady D turned into? Yeah, she got real defensive and grabbed the big statue and isn’t giving it up. So, we then took the smaller ones and the fly piles got really active. Like super, super active. I mean, they’re not buzzin’ around like normal or human, but-“ Magda didn’t even wait for Sam to finish. Once more, she was off and running.

The daughters were on the opposite side of the fireplace from the Alcinadragon, though pretty much everyone was on the opposite side from her, as she took up an entire length of the hall. Samuel had actually been right, as the flies were more active since the last time she saw them. While not swarming, they were crawling over the statues, or rather, individual statues. Now that she was able to look at them properly, Magda could discern the shapes of the daughters in the torsos. Bela’s she knew well enough, and Daniela was a bit slighter than Cassandra… and all the while the appropriate flies were crawling over the appropriate statues. She still had no idea what they were for, but clearly they held some importance.

Whether it had been intentional or not, someone had set Bela in the alcove under the stairs, allowing a bit of privacy and seclusion if it was needed. Obviously, Samuel or someone else had taken Magda’s breakdown into consideration. Normally, the seamstress did not enjoy having special things done for her, but at the moment, she was not about complain.

Sitting on a blanket with her back against the wall, Magda actually managed to take a breath and relax for the first time that day.

They were alive.

Whether due to the added heat, time to recover, or whatever these odd statues were, the daughters were alive and moving around. They would be all right. The Alcinadragon had a forelimb curled around her own statue, surrounded by her favorite maidens, and was practically asleep, if her breathing was any indication. She would be all right. None of the servants had been gravely injured in the long term. The current state of the castle was an odd miracle, but it was a miracle nonetheless.

Looking at the crystalline statue beside her, Magda gently placed her fingertips upon it, in hopes that it would pulse or feel abnormally warm. That wasn’t the case, but one of the pale yellow flies that had been idly traversing the torso’s clavicle almost immediately changed direction and climbed onto her hand. Smiling, either from happiness or exhaustion, she brought the insect closer as it proceeded to march into the palm of her cupped hand. It happily buzzed and bumped its head against her skin, settling down in the warmth as Magda gently stroked it.

As if energized by her touch, the fly took to the air and landed in the hollow of the seamstress’ neck, where it buzzed and bounced around more; its little wings tickling her just enough to elicit a soft laugh from Magda.

“Hi, stea mică…” she said softly, body instinctively relaxing to that sensation. Magda wasn’t sure if it was her exhaustion or something else, but as her eyes closed and sleep began to take her, she could have sworn she heard Bela’s voice in the drone of the fly.

I won’t be long.

EPILOGUE:

“Magda? Magda, wake up. Somethin’s happening,” Sam’s voice cut through the blackness of sleep. The seamstress groggily rubbed her eyes and looked around, remembering where she was. Instinctively, she looked over at the Bela statue, worried for a moment at that she would find. The concern was unfounded as it was mostly covered by a swarm of flies, more than what she had seen prior to falling asleep.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked, standing up. The Alcinadragon was still asleep, her harem of maidens still tending to her. If it was possible, she too looked healthier.

“There’s something goin’ on in the village. Luana told me to get you. They’re in Lady D’s bedroom.” That made sense. The Countess’ chambers had a view that overlooked the village. It was a smart place to scout from.

Making her way there, Magda discovered that night had fallen, meaning she had slept most of the day away. Why hadn’t they woken her up sooner? She didn’t need to have her sleep schedule even more messed up. However, the not so far off explosions made her decide otherwise, as she quickened her steps up the stairs.

Luana was out on the balcony of Alcina’s chambers, watching a veritable firefight going on in the village. Massive waving tendrils were erupting from the ground, knocking what looked like military helicopters out of the sky as explosions and gunfire rocked what was left of the buildings.

“Have they come towards the castle?” Magda asked after taking it all in.

“No,” Luana replied.

“Then unless they come towards the castle, it’s not our fight. I’m not about to start something with a group that has guns, explosions, and…” An airstrike briefly interrupted the seamstress as she talked. “Whatever the hell that is!”

“I simply thought you would like to be made aware of this. It was wise that we closed up everything when we did.” Magda didn’t know why Luana was making her seem more important than she actually was. They were the head servant. She was just the seamstress.

“…… You’re going to sit out here until it’s over, aren’t you?”

“Of course.” At that, Magda sighed.

“I’m not staying out here all night. It’s too cold. I’d suggest that you come in from the cold as well, but you’re just as stubborn as I am. I’ll be inside on the chaise lounge if you need me. Please don’t freeze out here, Luana. I’m not about to lose you after keeping you alive.” With that said, Magda went back inside and made herself comfortable on the Countess’ furniture, something she’d never do normally, but this wasn’t exactly normal circumstances. Come to think of it, the large hole in the floor was also out of the ordinary. That hadn’t been there earlier today… What had happened here after she left with Bela?

She must have fallen asleep, since the next thing she knew, Magda was woken up by the sudden slamming of a door, followed almost immediately by being rocked off the chaise lounge by an earth shattering explosion. Broken glass rained down on her as the shockwave smashed the windows. For a brief moment, she thought a nuclear device had gone off and she waited for the incineration wave to burn her to a crisp. When none of that happened, and the castle remained standing, she looked around.

Luana was crouched against the door leading to the balcony, covering their head out of instinct. Brushing the glass from her hair, Magda cautiously stood up and looked out the window. Smoke filled the air, but as the wind carried it away, she could see a decently sized crater in what had been the ceremony site. There was nothing left of the tendrils from last night, just like there wasn’t much left of the village.

“What in the hell happened?” she mumbled. “Do you even now think there are survivors?” she asked Luana. In response, they simply pointed to the distant shape of a quickly retreating helicopter. For a moment, anger blossomed in Magda’s chest. If that man was on that thing? How dare he be able to escape so easily after causing all this destruction. But the feeling and hatred vanished along with the helicopter. If he was gone, then so much the better. Better for him to be gone and forgotten than to remain a problem for them all.

“Goodbye and good riddance, stupid man-thing,” Magda said, before turning her back on the sunrise and returning, with Luana, to her family.

#drabble #one-shot #LONG oneshot #bela dimitrescu #Ethan Winters #alcina dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu

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mandareeboo · 3 years

Text

Unfinished Work #44: “Untitled”

Title: Untitled

Summary: Hilda wages war to protect the Lost Clan

The other from my patreon! Here's a Hilda oneshot I still love the idea of; Hilda staging a public protest against the Safety Patrol to protect the Lost Clan, trying to find a way to cement them as long-term residents, and Ahlberg involving Johanna to try and keep Hilda out of his hair. I've wanted to write some Hilda and Johanna since season 2.

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"Of course I've seen them," said Hilda, brow furrowing, as she tapped her pencil on her desk. Science homework was so unnecessarily complicated sometimes. Who cared how hot the center of the planet was? It wasn't like she was allowed to go into it. "Baby woffs aren't half as cute as you'd think. All hairless and squinty."

David hummed thoughtfully. He'd taken refuge on what was, technically, Hilda's bed, propping his work up on an errant book. "Like regular babies, then."

"Regular babies don't fly, David."

"Woff babies don't either."

"He's got you there," Frida supplied. She'd long-finished her school homework, taking to drawing various spell circles in chalk on a tiny blackboard Tildy had given her. "Scientists think their flying is kept in the fur... somehow? Woffs are weird."

David raised his hand. "If white woffs are so lucky to magic, wouldn't a white woff familiar be, like, cheating it's so lucky?"

"Actually, it's the opposite. Woffs are revered for being all free and floaty. 'S considered bad to tie one down like that." Hilda caught the two staring and flushed. "I, uh, I asked Kaisa."

"Hilda, were you going to bring me a white woff?" Frida asked, eyebrows raising.

"Not as a familiar! That's my job. But I thought that maybe helping raise one might make you super magic lucky."

"Do you know how to raise a woff?"

She considered it, then shrugged. "Can't be much harder than human babies."

"I don't think that's how it works," David replied, "but I don't know enough about woffs to dispute it."

The air shatters with a gentle pecking on the window. David immediately went to the sill, face relaxing at the familiar visage of a pigeon. Then he saw the inhabitants. He unlocked the window and pulled it open without permission, letting them inside. "Bartell! Agnes! You look awful!"

Agnes snarled at him, but didn't have the energy to spit. Bartell smiled weakly, using his shoulder to support the elf. "Few extra battle scars never hurt anyone, lad. Wouldja mind if we took a quick rest here, Hilda? It's a long flight back to the others."

"Mind?" Hilda blurted out. She held her hands out for them to climb on, holding them close to her chest with a frown. "I only wish I could do more. I'm afraid I don't have any elf-sized plasters."

"I can help with that." Frida pointedly waggled her wand. David quickly dug through the bedside table, pulling out a pack with little weather patterns on them.

Once they're sufficiently shrunken, Bartell gladly receives them. "Thank ye, lass. Yer a lifesaver." He opened a plaster and stuck it to a cut on Agnes' arm. The woman shrieked. "Keep the language to a minimum, Agnes! There's kids about."

"I heard unfortunate langua-" Alfur started to say, opening the door to his little home. He saw the situation and paled, ears falling. "Oh. Oh, my. Are you all alright?"

Hilda held her hand up, and Alfur gladly crawled on, getting set on her bed. Hilda quickly bunkered down on her knees, resting her chin on the blankets. "What happened, Bartell?"

"Ah, the usual bad bit of combat." Bartell lowered his voice. "I fell to the ground. Got swatted away and couldn't hold onto my bird- and poor Agnes was hit by a bug zapper."

Alfur gasped, hands to his face. "Not a bug zapper!"

He nodded soulfully. "Aye. It'd be lethal to the average elf."

"Truly, Agnes is a being beyond our simple comprehension." The elf did a polite bow to the old elf. "You will go down in history for all of elfkind to know, my friend."

Agnes slowly nodded her head. She looked pleased.

"But what were you fighting?" Frida pressed. "If this was normal elf-on-elf combat, you would have never gotten near any bug zapper, let alone be swatted."

"Who else?" Bartell asked. "Those blasted humans. The one with the gloves."

#Unfinished Work #Fanfic #Fanfiction #Hilda Fanfic #Hilda Fanfiction #Hilda the Series #Hilda #Frida #David #Agnes #Bartell #Alfur

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giorno-plays-piano · 4 years

Text

Creatures in the dark Part 3

Pairing: witch!Steve x Reader

Warning: yandere, obsession, kidnapping, dubcon.

Words: 2116.

Summary: A monster dressed in human flesh was waiting for you in the woods.

Part 1

Part 2

P.S. Kinda not sure about this one, but I hope you're going to enjoy it!

_________

"Come on, love, you know you've lost." Steve murmured against your lips, kissing you again as he caressed your back with his palm. "You have to keep your promise."

"No, I don't! You cheated!" You groaned and tried to evade his kisses, cursing yourself for carelessly using all the blackberries you gathered in the forest yesterday.

"Just a little bit." As he pressed one more kiss to your chin, the boy casted a bonding spell, and the blue light slowly wrapped around your body, making it glow softly. "You know your enemies aren't going to play fair. If you really want to be a strong witch, you have to remember it."

He shut you with a kiss, eagerly swirling his little wet tongue in your mouth and moaning when you gripped his horns again - although it often brought him some pain, he just loved it when you clenched them in your hands, kissing you even more ardently.

"You hurt me." You said with irritation, your knees still burning from your fall.

"Then hurt me in return." His feverish whisper made you tremble with need as you kissed the boy willingly, slowly grinding your hips against his and watching him blush and moan. You'd lie if you said you didn't enjoy that sense of control you had over him as you were on top of Steve, guiding him with your hands on his antlers. "Yes, just like that, ahh... You're so good to me, love."

Since you were unable to move away from him because of the spell, you thought you could indulge yourself a bit more and forced the boy to keep his head higher, kissing his pretty pink cheeks. He let out a soft sigh, his hands on your back and hips as he gently touched you, pressing kisses to your face.

Well, technically, you did lost him in that fight after Steve taught you how to summon the wind, despite him using a few tricks to outpower you. You lost all the blackberries trying to get to him, and now there wasn't much you could do to push him away. Thankfully, the boy wasn't trying to really hurt you, and you were still taken aback by his peculiar behavior.

"Sometimes I think it's all a dream, and I'm afraid when I wake up, you won't be here." Steve whispered to you and moaned lightly when you grinded your hips against his cock.

"You know I can't run from you." You grumbled and bit down in his lower lip softly, drawing a symbol on his forehead with you ash-covered fingers. "Why are you scared, anyway?"

"You don't know how it is," he said quietly, averting his eyes, "when all you do is wandering in the dark. No one to talk to, no one to touch, no one to share your concerns with, no one to ask advice from. You are all alone in the whole world, and no one cares if you're alive or not."

You stilled on top of him, watching his face and furrowing your brows. Steve looked pitiful. But why, dear Gods, would you pity the monster who kidnapped you from people you loved so you would wander the woods with him?

"You can conceal your form. Why not to go to the people and pretend you're one of them?" You asked, your tone icy.

"Because I'm Yeev's son." Steve gave you a weak smile as you stared at him, hard. "I can't leave the forest for more than a few days. Don't think I didn't try, my mother had paid with her life trying to bring me back to people."

You fell silent, thinking whether he lied to you or told you the truth. You didn't know much about Steve's past as he was never eager to talk about it, but you knew his mother escaped Yeev when his son was a child, still. Since he was alone for a long time, you suspected something had happened to her.

"Kiss me." He demanded harshly, and you immediately attached your lips to his, following his command and cursing the magic he used silently. This time Steve was almost trying to eat your mouth with his, sucking and biting, his hands on you as he started stripping you of your clothes impatiently.

You let out a groan, pushing his chest, but the more you struggled, the closer bonding spell was bringing you to him. Soon you could feel the cold air on your skin as your lower part was completely naked, covered only by the skirt of your dress. Steve growled when he pushed his already hard cock past your dripping folds, entering your cunt gently but then losing his patience and slamming his hips, thrusting into your core painfully as you moaned.

"Steve, it hurts, it hurts!" You pleaded when you felt the tip pressing into your cervix.

"I'm sorry, love." His voice was low when he bit his lips, shivering from pleasure and trying to withhold from moving, giving you time to adjust. "It feels so good inside you, ahh... Sweetheart, bite me."

You leaned closer, brushing your nose against the boy's neck and sucking his skin, touching it with your teeth carefully as the dark spot bloomed on his neck beneath your lips. You couldn't bring yourself to hurt him badly, and Steve growled, squeezing his eyes shut as he caressed your ass under the skirt. He was painfully hard, basking in the warmth of your soft body, but stayed still to give you time to adjust. You were too good. You couldn't harm him despite all the hate you threw his way earlier.

"I don't care how much you're going to hate me." He whispered against your lips hot from kisses, feeling your soaked walls clenching him like a vice. "But I won't let you leave. You can hate me, hurt me, but you're gonna stay here, with me. Do you understand?"

You moaned on top of him, gripping his antlers again to stabilize yourself on top of him, his back pressed to the huge oak tree.

"This is not right, S-steve." You said feverishly, bucking your hips as the pain ceased.

"It's not." He agreed, kissing you on the lips briefly. "But if you're going to feel better hurting me, then do it. I can take it. I'll take anything."

You moved up a little on his cock, gasping when the boy slammed his hips into yours impatiently, gripping your thighs and picking up the pace. Although he took your virginity not so long ago and it was still painful to have him all inside, it felt damn good when Steve was taking you like that now, hitting that spongy spot that made you mewl on top of him. Slamming that little monster beneath you against the tree with your arms on his antlers, you tried taking initiative yourself, massaging your walls with his cock shamelessly. Steve moaned openly at that, his cheeks red with embarrassment and need, saliva glistening on his pouty lips.

"Yes." He whispered, closing his eyes, a sickly sweet smile on his face. "I'll keep you close. Like t-that, ah. You're mine, my girl, m-mine. Ah!"

You moaned simultaneously with him when he hit your cervix with the leaking tip of his cock again, and suddenly the boy moved over, pressing your back to the ground and getting between your legs as he thrusted harder, touching that spot again and again until you were starting to see stars.

"My girl." He growled lowly above you, something animalistic, possessive in his gaze. "Mine alone."

He grinded his pelvis against your clit roughly, making you squirm beneath him as Steve pounded into you, speeding up. You felt his cock twitching inside, ready to fill you up to the brim. The symbol on his forehead started to glow warmly, and you threw your hands around his skinny angular shoulders, bringing him closer, feeling his hot breath on your skin as you moaned his name. When Steve's hand found your clit, your inner muscles contracted around his cock so hard you screamed, your voice echoing in the forest as you cummed hard, nearly delirious from the intense pleasure. The monster boy above you groaned, chasing his own orgasm and finishing soon after you, his knuckles turning white as he nearly fell down on top of you, pressing his fists into the ground.

You were slowly coming from your high, your body going colder as you shivered on the ground, barely covered by the grass. Steve was near, getting his breath back when you snuggled closer to him, seeking warmth.

"I'm cold. Do something." You whispered as you hid your face in the crook of his neck. Now he felt so small, feeble. You felt the urge to cuddle with him, throwing your arms around his back.

Turning his head and looking at you with such naked love and affection, Steve left a kiss on your head, saying something in a language you had never heard before. Immediately you felt the heat rising beneath you as if the grass were turning into a warm bed, and you whispered a quiet thank you, relaxing against his body.

"Next time we're going to do it in bed, Steve." You exhaled tiredly, keeping your eyes closed. "Maybe I can't run from you, but you will have to become more civilized."

"And if I say I like being a beast rather than a man?" The boy smirked and then moaned right when you yanked his antler down. "Yes, yes, I'll get you a bed! A whole house!"

"Good." You murmured and brushed your soft lips against his cheek, moving your hand down to gently massage his head where the antlers were growing, making him tremble with delight. "If you want me to be yours, you will have to listen to what I say."

Grinning widely at you at you like a kid, Steve gave you a peck on your cheek and got up with a groan, giving you a hand to help you stand up. As you rose from the ground, brushing the dirt off your dress and gathering what Steve had left on the grass in haste, you sighed, watching the boy try to erase the symbol from his forehead.

"Love, you don't have to do this every time you lay down with me." He pouted as he came closer, asking you to wipe the ash off his skin silently. "I assure you, I can control myself. I won't harm you."

Rubbing his forehead with your thumb, you rolled your eyes, "My thighs still hurt, you know?"

"Then I can put some balm on them-"

"And jump on me in the process. Honestly, I have never thought such an innocent-looking boy like you can do all those... filthy things." You grumbled as he laughed at your words, picking up his lantern from a stump and watching you clean yourself and dress. "Arghh, I'm tired. Let's find a place for a halt before it gets too dark, monster boy."

He smiled, lowering his uncomfortably adoring look and taking your hand in his, leading you somewhere further into the woods from the clearing, his lantern lighting the path. It took you a couple of fights to prove you were worthy of defending yourself, but once you followed him on his way to the forest Steve wasn't trying to hurt you. Instead, he started teaching you magic as the power the Plague had given you was growing. You realized you had a good chance of outpowering him one day.

"Will you like me more if I become more civilized?" He suddenly asked you, picking up a few blackberries from a bush on his way and handing them to you. Furrowing your brows, you expected it to be some trick, but nothing happened as you hid them in a pocket of your dress.

"Maybe." You said honestly, looking at his deceptively feeble body. "I don't know how much human you are since you're the son of an evil spirit, but as long as you try to be good, I promise to stay with you willingly."

"I will try! I promise!" He snapped his head so fast his antlers trembled a litlle. "I'll build you a house and make you a soft bed. I promise I won't put spells on humans unless they hurt you or me."

Smiling to yourself, you rubbed his hand with your thumb as you kept walking forward, a few blackberries in your pocket. You knew the path you were taking wasn't easy, but maybe it was worth a try. It was certainly better than hurting each other all the time, wasn't it?

THE END

___________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki @helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin @void-hoechlin @abyssaint @heeeyitskay @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @navegandoaciegas @rosalynshields @lovelydarkdaydream

#steve rogers x reader #dark steve rogers x reader #dark steve rogers #steve rogers #captain america #yandere #skinny steve rogers #pre serum steve rogers

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wrienne · 3 years

Text

My Cheating, Amnesic Fiancé

Chapter 6: Lies and Pressure

Shoot.

Because it wasn’t as if though he had a famous girlfriend he had been cheating on you, his ex-fiancée, with for who knows how long. And though the amnesia had seemed to make him more mellow - probably because he recognized nobody else but you and therefore clung to that sense of familiarity - you would still not consider him a friend. Also, technically, he was still an idol and probably had an endless sea of fans that adored him in every and any way possible.

So, he was neither eligible nor a friend, in addition to being an idol, and here you were, wallowing in your feelings. Great.

Before you allowed yourself to sleep, you decided to check with Sejin. The man was pacing back and forth in front of the door, and opened his mouth to speak when he spotted you. Immediately, you put a finger across your lips, silencing him.

“He’s finally asleep,” you whispered as you poked your torso through the opening between the door and the frame. “I’ll stay here until morning, but then I need to head to school. I think it’ll be good if someone can be here by then to guard him against nosy journalists or stop him from being all too problematic.”

“I can be here by six-thirty,” said Sejin.

“That will be perfect,” you said. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” he said instantly. “I can’t even imagine how the situation would have turned out without you here. The kid is lucky to have someone like you.”

You blushed at the compliment. “I’m just doing what any good friend would do.”

“I thought you said you weren’t friends.”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” you admitted hesitantly.

“Are you dating?”

“No!” you blurted, startled by the question. You slipped out of the room and shut the door as gently as you could after you, as not to wake Jungkook. “We’re just… family friends.” This was sounding a bit repetitive even to you now.

Kim Sejin regarded you closely for a beat, but then relaxed. “Good. He already has one girlfriend to take care of. I would have hated to see him grow up into a type of guy to have several women on the side.”

You were tempted to laugh, but managed to rein yourself in. “Agreed.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then.”

You fell asleep almost before you had returned to the vacant hospital bed. Now, your plan had been to wake up before Jungkook and sneak out quietly as not to disturb him. But what you had forgotten from your earliest days of acquaintanceship - sleepovers, yes, there had been numerous of them during your childhood - was his eerie ability to wake up before anyone else. By the time your alarm went off, he was already awake, watching you in the dark.

You yelped.

“Scared you.”

You only barely discerned his smile through the dark. “Stupid,” you grunted as you tried silencing the harsh ringing. “I could have attacked you and injured you even more. Colored your eye to match the splint.”

“Didn’t take you for the fashion-conscious type.”

“You didn’t react to me threatening to throw a punch at you.”

“I know you’re violent,” he replied. “Besides, I know Taekwondo. I would like to see you try.”

His voice was smooth, like a soothing summer eve’s breeze. Or rather, as if he just had drunk from the glass of water standing on the bedside table between the beds. You sounded like a troll, and probably smelled like one, too.

“I know you do,” you grumbled as you sat up and fumbled for the glass. “Now, what did you just say about my fashion sense?”

“You never struck me as someone who cared about his or her appearance, that’s all.”

You downed the glass of water. “‘His or her’? Gee, thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Still tired?”

“Not a morning person,” you answered as you rubbed your eyes. “Why are you so talkative? Didn’t you drink last… er, about six or so hours ago? Shouldn’t you be the sour, surly one?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Did you drink so much you-- oh.”

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you - amnesia is contagious”

“Clever,” you said with a chuckle. “But no, it’s not. I just have a case of bad genes.”

Your body ached as you rose and you stretched. You hadn’t slept in the most optimal position, nor any way near the amount you needed, and your body and mind made sure to remind you of that.

“You were going to try and sneak out without waking me, weren’t you?”

“Yup,” you replied.

“You know you can’t lie to me, right?”

You threw up your hands defensively. “I merely thought you needed to sleep some more.”

“As do you.”

You turned on the lights and immediately found the room flushed with pallid light. You made a face and replied, “I don’t really have the freedom to do so. I have school and then errands to run because of you.”

You hurriedly unplugged your phone and checked the fourteen notifications you had received, thirteen of which were concerned texts from your parents’ driver. The last one was a message from Se-Eun, who wondered if you would pick her up as you usually did Monday mornings. You shrugged on your jacket and purse while replying to both of them. You didn’t think you could make it to Se-Eun’s, however.

“Try to rest, Jungkook,” you said absentmindedly while typing. “Be polite to the doctors and nurses. And eat something while you’re at it.”

“I’m not hungry.”

Just then, a growl erupted from his stomach. You raised an eyebrow at him.

“I won’t sit here, being fed by some stranger who treats me like I’m an infant,” he said sternly, his large brown eyes defiant.

“Just like you won’t wear the hospital gown or follow any other kind of normal hospital regulations?”

“Just like that.”

“You don’t remember you’re a world-famous idol, but you sure do behave like a diva.” You snorted. “Have fun starving until I get back then. I don’t have time to force-feed you right now, but I will later.”

Jungkook snorted, too. You headed toward the door after refilling the glass when he stopped you.

“(Y/N), before you leave…”

You spun around. “Make it qui--”

You felt your chest tighten. He was holding up your engagement ring.

Jungkook had picked it up and kept it after you left him.

“Is this what I think it is?” he asked. “I mean, I don’t know what type of guy I was yesterday, but I don’t think I’d just walk around with gold and diamonds.”

“Maybe a new trend in the K-pop industry?” you managed stiffly.

“It’s too small for me,” he said as he slipped the ring onto his little finger. It stopped halfway down the digit.

You didn’t know what to say. This was your chance to tell him the truth: the two of you had been engaged ever since you were eighteen. But then, he had cheated on you and you had broken the arrangement. You could change all of that now. To be frank, you didn’t hate the idea as much any longer. You were the only person he trusted and, as you had acknowledged a few hours ago, you were starting to actually like him, no matter how scary that felt. And you would fulfill your promise to him - you would help him get through the amnesia.

But you couldn’t get the image of him and Park Yi-Jae out of your head. So even though it hurt more than anything else in the world, more than when you had broken your collarbone falling down a hill, more than all of Hye-Bin’s words and “pranks” combined, you decided to lie.

“There was a girl visiting you earlier,” you began as you felt your hand clutch harder around your phone. “Do you remember her? Slim and pretty, with short, curly brown hair.”

He frowned, but nodded. “Yes, she was just as weird as the guys.”

“You and she were--are in a relationship,” you went on while you inwardly prayed that you sounded convincing. “A romantic relationship. She is your girlfriend, Jungkook.”

“My… girlfriend?” The furrow between his brows deepened. “I don’t remember anything about a girlfriend. What’s her name?”

“Park Yi-Jae,” you replied.

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“That’s the thing with amnesia,” you said with a voice you hoped sounded light and playful, at least in his ears. “You loved each other very much.”

“So you’ve seen us together?”

You forced yourself not to grit your teeth in anger. “Yes, I have. Just yesterday. You looked very happy together.”

Jungkook didn’t say anything. He simply held your gaze, his eyes trusting yet suspicious.

“If you say so,” he finally said.

“Yeah, well, anyway, I better leave now,” you said as you broke away. “I’ll be back sometime late afternoon with clothes and food. Call your parents if you want to be a bit helpful meanwhile.”

“I will. See you later.”

“Yeah.”

You left before he could add anything to prolong the conversation. You didn’t want to be there any longer. Still, though it pained you, you were proud of yourself. You had chosen the right option.

Yeah, sure you had.

Down by the front desk, you met Kim Sejin while he was purchasing some coffee from an old beverage machine. You doubted he had gotten much sleep, judging by the still present bags underneath his eyes, and gave him a half-hearted smile.

“He’s awake, hungry and probably a bit tense,” you greeted him with. “He’s not exactly convinced about the whole thing, but he has agreed to let me try and help him.”

“I’m afraid I have worse news,” he said grimly. “I spoke with a specialist just now, and he told me there’s a big chance that Jungkook won’t ever regain all of his memories.”

“That's not the worst thing in the world,” you replied, furrowing your brows. “He could have died.”

“Yes but with the situation being the way it is now, I don’t think Jungkook will ever be able to perform again, at least not with the rest of the kids. The director is already considering kicking him out of the group.”

“Why?” you exclaimed. “It’s not like he’s lost a leg or his mind or something - he can still dance or sing or whatever else you need him to do!”

You ignored the sharp look a nurse sent you as she hurried past. You were fuming. Here they were, this large company that probably made a fortune out of these seven guys - out of Jungkook. And they were just dropping him as soon as something - an accident - occurred?

“They just launched their biggest tour yet,” Sejin explained in a calm voice, though he also seemed disappointed. “The company poured a lot of money and planning into this. The boys are supposed to perform on a lot of shows and be on programs as well. But how are we - or anyone at all - supposed to work with a kid who refuses to cooperate with people he doesn’t know? Who can’t seem to recall a single song or performance with his members? And don’t make it anything personal - the director is desperate not to lose him.”

“But what are you going to do without him?” you wondered. From what you had heard from Se-Eun, Jungkook was one of the most significantly popular members of the group, which probably meant his mere presence generated quite the revenue. And judging by yesterday’s concert, he had the most lines in their songs overall.

“I don’t know,” he muttered, probably considering the same things as you. “They might make it, they might not. Chances are, however, that without Jeon Jungkook, the Bangtan Boys will disintegrate.”

You placed your hand against your forehead and exhaled. You weren’t sure exactly what the idol life consisted of, but you had caught bits and pieces from Se-Eun whenever she rambled with her friends about the group. It wasn’t what you would have chosen to spend your youth doing. It just seemed too risky.

And now, all of Jungkook and his hyungs’ accumulated effort from years of work, promotion and practice could crumble.

His childhood dream could crumble.

“I’ve grown too fond of them to let it end just like this, though.”

You shook your head to clear it from your brief reverie. “What can you do?” you asked, hearing a budding idea in his tone.

“I think I can convince the director to cancel most of the concerts,” said Sejin as he scratched his stubble. “Though it might be a little tricky, it won’t be impossible or detrimental to the company since the money is best in Japan, which is where the tour ends. If the kid could somehow perform by then, I might still have a job tomorrow.”

“But as you said, he can’t and won’t cooperate with anyone,” you pointed out. “Not even with medical personnel.”

Sejin drank from his coffee cup, then grimaced. It had probably gotten cold from all your talking. “The doctor told me there is an unorthodox way of reintroducing memories to a person with any kind of memory loss. Unorthodox because it isn’t scientifically proven and because, more often than not, it fails and proves fruitless.”

“What do I need to do?”

“You really are a great friend,” he said, giving you an odd look of sympathy. “All of this relies on your ability to remind him of his life before the accident. Since you’re the only one he trusts, he might be more receptive to you showing and telling him about the other boys, their music and their performances. All and anything that might cause it to fall in place inside his head.”

“This sounds like a movie trope or something,” you said skeptically.

“As I said, it’s unorthodox. But it’s all we really have. There are no known cures or proper treatments for amnesia.”

“Very well then.” You managed a smile even though you felt the heavy mantle of responsibility weighing your shoulders down. “I’ll try. I have at least until the end of the year on me, right?”

Sejin’s expression fell and he groaned. “Damn it, I forgot you don’t know their schedule like the back of your hand.”

“What is it?” you asked. “What do you mean?”

Tension and trepidation already tightened your throat, but your heart was beating steadily. When you had offered to help Jungkook that night, you had known it would be tough. And as the conversation with Kim Sejin had continued, you had had a feeling that whatever he was going to say would be the opposite of good. Still, you hadn’t lost faith in Jungkook’s recovery. Even now, looking at his manager, you knew it would be bad since his face said as much.

But you had never thought it would be this bad.

“The beginning of the end of their tour starts May 30th. That means you only have a little more than three months to restore him, (Y/N).”

#MCAF #wrienne #ao3 #bts fanfiction #bts x reader

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nooneelsecomesclose17 · 3 years

Text

Go to the ends of the earth for you - Part 1

I truly have no idea where all this writing is coming from, and I have no willpower to actually sit on a fic until it's finished before posting, so enjoy.

I've tried to research but I'm probably WAY off here with any charges etc but soap magic...just enjoy it and don't take much notice of reality!

(AO3 link)

“Well it’s not quite that simple.” Ethan pipes up and Aaron spots a tiny roll of his eyes as he looks from Vic to Cain. “From what I’ve been told, you did actually hit this Lee Posner, but I don’t think it should’ve been classed as GBH with intent originally, which automatically became a murder charge.”

“Wait, are you saying Wise trumped up the charges on purpose? Why?” He reaches for Robert’s hand again, he sounds completely bewildered and he doesn’t blame him, his own head is spinning.

“Not exactly. What I’m saying is, all of his convictions are now in doubt. We’re talking cases going back years.” That has him freezing, gripping Robert’s hand even tighter because if they were looking at everything then that meant…He stops himself from going down that road, there was nothing they could do, Gordon was dead, it was over. “It means there’s a case for your charge to be reduced to involuntary manslaughter, or more technically subjectively reckless manslaughter because it can be argued that you didn’t actually intend to kill him, and given the harassment you were subjected to. I don’t know why your last solicitor didn’t make more of that really.” Aaron can’t help raising an eyebrow at that. “Which would obviously carry a much lighter sentence than a murder charge. I think, even with the absconding we could get a sentence of eighteen months to two years, likely only half of which would be custodial.”

Aaron’s not sure how long they’d been there, not speaking, the only sound was Seb’s occasional giggles as he watched a cartoon. Robert’s standing at the window staring out over their garden and he’s in the chair by the fireplace watching.

“Robert, talk to me.”

“I don’t know what to say.” He’d barely said a word since Ethan had spoken. It had been left to Aaron to convince them to leave them to it, give them some time alone. Vic had protested, Cain had complained about the cold, and in the end he’d all but shoved them out the door. Only Ethan had nodded an understanding and Aaron was glad of it. He still had no real idea who the guy was but he seemed alright. He knew Vic wouldn’t stay away that long and still he and Robert hadn’t spoken. “It doesn’t feel real.”

“We need to decide what to do though, because I know your sister and she’s going to be banging the door down soon enough.”

“You want to go home don’t you?”

He doesn’t answer straight away because honestly he doesn’t know. Going home means Robert going to prison, albeit for a much shorter time. It means seeing his family again, dealing with all that stress. But it also means Robert won’t be classed as a murderer any more, it means they can go where they like, when they like without worrying about what’s round the next corner. It means they can have Seb back in their lives.

“Aaron? It’s ok if you do.” Finally he turns round.

“What do you want?” A shrug is all he gets. “I can’t make this decision alone Robert, we both have to agree on this. What are you thinking? I’m not going to get mad or ‘owt, but I need to know.”

“I don’t…” He perches on the arm of the sofa, hand running through Seb’s hair. “I don’t know that I want to go back to the village. I’m always going to be the Robert Sugden who killed someone, the Robert Sugden who cheated, there’s too much history and not much of it good.”

“Ok, so we find somewhere else.”

“Just like that?” He nods. It’s simple enough to him. “I’ll still go inside.”

“Yeah.” The thought of it alone leaves him cold. “You will, but it could be just a year Rob, maybe less with a great barrister. We were expecting that anyway weren’t we? And I’ll be there, every week, I promise.”

“What if…what if they decide it’s murder anyway? I did kill him, DS Wise didn’t lie about that?”

“I don’t think Cain would’ve come to us with this if he wasn’t sure. That Ethan seems to know what he’s talking about. If we go back then we just have to take a big leap of faith. But if you don’t think you can do it then we’ll just stay where we are.”

“Without him?” He nods at Seb. He was the major sticking point. It was clear that neither of them was truly bothered about going back to Emmerdale, but staying meant Seb wouldn’t be with them, he’d have to go back to Vic.

“How are you…I mean about Rebecca?” He’d not said a word when Vic had told him about the accident, how she’d been called by social services looking for next of kin for Seb.

“I…everything I didn’t want for him is happening. I let him down, left him behind, he’s lost his Mum…how did this happen Aaron? It was all going to be so different for him.”

“You can’t make life perfect Robert, all you can do is deal with what comes along. He’s loved, he’s safe and he looks fairly happy to me. Surely that’s the main thing.”

“Maybe. Doesn’t help us decide what to do though, does it?”

“Talk to Ethan again, just you and him, no interference from anyone. Find out how sure he is about all this, and then whatever you decide is what we do.” He knew already, he knew Robert wouldn’t leave his son again, and there was nothing tying them to the village anymore, they could go where they pleased, just like they could now he supposed, but this way they’d be together. He just needed Robert to come to that realisation himself.

—————

“Ready?” He puts the key into the ignition, looking over at his husband. All he gets is a nod. “Right then.”

They’d decided to go home, like he’d known they would. Robert hadn’t wanted Seb living with Vic, he wanted him with them. He’d always be grateful for her taking him in when she had her own newborn to cope with, but he couldn’t leave him without his Daddies any longer.

“You know I won’t get bail don’t you?”

“Yeah. Like Ethan said though they want all this sorted so they’ll get to you pretty quick. Besides one of the advantages of remand is I can come and see you every day.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Don’t be an idiot. Besides I’ll be glad to get out of the village won’t I? By the time you get out I’ll have everything sorted and then we can go where we like. Can even come back here if you want.”

“You’d want that?”

“Sure. Seb would love it here, he could grow up bilingual and all.”

“That’d be handy seeing as your French ends up getting us into trouble.” Their laughter fills the car for a few moments before Robert sobers. “We’re really doing this, I’m really handing myself in?”

“Looks like it. Ethan’s going to meet us at the train and go with you, and I’ll carry on back to the village.” They’d been over and over it. He’d wanted to go with him and Ethan but as Robert reasoned there was little point, he wouldn’t be able to see him once he was arrested. All he could do was go back and wait by the phone. “I’ll book in at the B&B.”

“You could go to Mill, you own half of it.” Robert tells him as they head out onto the main road, the cottage disappearing from sight in the rear view mirror.

“No. I don’t want to go there now. It’s not home anymore. Paddy saw to that.”

“Are you going to see him again?” Robert sounded concerned and he couldn’t blame him.

“I doubt I’ll have a choice. No doubt Mum will be round as soon as she knows I’m there. Don’t worry, I can handle him. All I’m interested in is seeing Seb, getting all that sorted, and visiting you. Everything else can wait.”

“I wish I was coming back with you. I don’t like you being there alone.”

“Like I told you when we left, getting arrested for murdering Paddy isn’t going to help our situation is it. I’m done Robert, I’ve seen now, I know what was going on and that’s it, it’s not happening anymore. I’ll be fine.”

“Hmm.” He looks over, then pulls the car into a lay-by.

“Listen to me, when you’re in there, I don’t want you worrying about me, ok? I need you to concentrate on yourself, getting yourself through it, keeping safe and out of trouble.” Robert nods. “We’re going to get through this, and then it’s just going to be you and me, and Seb and we’re going to live our best lives. Trust me.”

“I always have.”

The rest of the drive is quiet, only his chatter about nothing in particular breaking the silence, trying his best to keep Robert’s mind off everything that’s coming. He’s relieved when Robert falls asleep, needing the peace just as he had when they were making the reverse journey. This felt much harder, going home, leaving Robert for who knew how long. He had to be strong, to not let Robert see how worried he was. For so long it had been Robert who was the strong one, the one he knew he could always lean on, even when Robert himself needed someone. This last year he’d been the strong one, trying to keep them both together and he just had to do that a little while longer.

————

“How much longer?” Robert’s pacing and driving Aaron slightly crazy. They were parked up near the station, waiting for Ethan.

“Come here.” He holds a hand out to him, waiting until he relented and sat beside him on the bonnet of the car. “He’ll be here.”

“I just want it over with.”

“I know. He text me, he’s nearly here, and he’s set up a meeting with one of his colleagues so we can get the ball rolling on Seb coming home to us.”

“Don’t bring him. To prison. I don’t want him to see me in there.”

“Ok.” It wasn’t as if Aaron wanted to take Seb into that place either. “But don’t you go getting any ideas about cutting off my visits. I know you, you’ll get some noble idea in your head, but don’t. I’m going to be there as much as I can, like I told you.”

“I promise.” He looks round, seeing a car pull in next to them, recognising Ethan in the driver’s seat. “Well…”

Now the moment is here, Aaron doesn’t want him to go, wants to hold onto him as long as he can.

“Sooner you go, sooner you’re home, right?” He gets up, relieved Ethan’s staying in the car, giving them some time. “Call me, the minute you can.”

“I will.” He can’t help it, steps closer, holding onto both his hands, foreheads touching, savouring every moment. “I love you so much.”

“Love you too.” He still doesn’t move, not until he hears a car door open and Ethan’s quiet cough behind him. “You better go.”

“I could come through with you.”

“If they stop you it’s better you’re with a solicitor. It’ll be just as hard to leave wherever we are.” He kisses him then, trying to commit the feel of him to memory, hoping it won’t be that long before he comes home. “Go on. I’ll see you soon.”

He watches him go, eyes locked with his until the car has turned and he can’t see his face any longer. Only then does he get back into his own car.

———-

The village looks exactly the same as he pulls to a stop outside the B&B. It’s mid afternoon and there are people milling around although he doesn’t recognise them. He can see Vic’s car outside the house and he decides to go over later, to see Seb, but first he wants to get inside the B&B without running into anyone he knows.

“Well, well, well, look who the cat dragged in.” He can just manage a tired smile when he hears his Gran’s voice. “The proverbial black sheep.”

“I’m too tired for a lecture Gran.”

“No lectures here love. You’re not the only one on the naughty list this year. Now, I guess you’re after a room?” He nods. “Just you?”

“Yeah.” He tries really hard but he can’t help but check his phone again. It’s on it’s loudest setting along with vibrate, he doesn’t want to miss a call, but there’s nothing. “I don’t know how long for.”

“Here you go, number five. Go on, I’ll bring you up a nice hot cuppa. You look like you need it.”

He all but collapses in the chair when he gets to the room, worn out and worried. It’s the first time since he first came to the village that he feels as though he has nowhere to go. Now he’s here, it’s harder than he thought. Knowing his family are right there and could come up to him at any time isn’t at all comforting. He knows he has Cain to go to for help, but other than that he’s not sure who to turn to.

Just as there’s a knock on the door his phone rings. Grabbing it he answers as he opens the door to his Gran.

“Hello?”

“Hi.” Robert’s quiet and he holds the phone closer as if that will make him closer to him.

“Robert. You ok?”

“Yeah. Are you home?”

“Just now. Gran’s just brought me a cuppa. Where are you?”

“Still at the station. They’re moving me soon I think, I don’t…I don’t know if I can do this Aaron.”

“Yeah you can. You’re stronger than you think you are Rob, and you’ve got me, and you’ve got Seb and we love you. We’ll be right here, whether you like it or not.” He wipes his tears away with his sleeve, sensing his Gran sitting beside him. “We’re not going anywhere.”

“I know. I have to go.”

“Yeah. Get Ethan to let me know where you are and I’ll come and visit as soon as I can…You know.”

“I know.” He’s barely hung up when his Gran is gathering him up and holding him as the tears he’s been holding in since they made the decision to come back finally fall.

“Come on now love, this isn’t going to help him.”

“I know.” It was just everything finally getting too much, he’d held it all together until he knew Robert was as safe as he could be and now he couldn’t do it any longer.

“Come on, drink up and then go over and see that little boy of yours.”

“I don’t know. I’m not really up to running into Mum, or Liv, or Paddy, not yet. Might just stay here tonight.”

“Wallowing isn’t going to help. I know for a fact that your Mum has taken your little sister into Hotten and Paddy was complaining of a day full of calls this morning so you should be just fine. Liv’s at college.”

“Sister? I thought…”

“We all did love. Bit of a surprise. They called her Eve, bonny little thing she is too. Didn’t Cain tell you?”

“I didn’t ask. Last time I text Mum she didn’t reply so…” He’d taken it to mean she’d sided with Paddy, wasn’t surprised. How often in the past had she sided with anyone but him. “She’s…she’s ok right?”

“Perfect. I’m babysitting tomorrow in fact so I’ll introduce you.” That makes him smile and he nods. “Now, like I said, go see that little boy of yours. You can’t do anything for Robert right now, it’s time to take care of yourself.”

———-

He’s just leaving Keeper’s when he sees Ethan’s car and he jogs over. An evening with Seb had been just what he needed and he’d only left when he’d put him to bed.

“Ethan! Do you know where he is? Can I visit?” He realises he’s being a bit over the top when he opens the car door for him. “Sorry. I…spoke to Robert. Was he ok when you left?”

“He’s ok. He’s been moved to Hotten remand centre, and he should get a court date in a few days. You can visit tomorrow.”

“Thank you, for everything…and it’s like you said? Involuntary manslaughter?”

“The prosecution are willing to go with that charge. Like I said before they want all this to go away. Given Robert’s lack of previous convictions, the mitigating circumstances, the fact he’s not a threat to the wider community and his guilty plea, I’m pretty confident. Try not to worry.”

“Why are you helping us? You don’t even know us.”

“I won’t lie, this kind of case for a relatively new solicitor, it’ll give me a leg up. Mostly it was because Victoria wouldn’t let me rest until I did.”

“That sounds about right. Well, whatever the reason, thank you. You don’t know how much this means. I owe you.”

“Well I don’t do this for free.” He laughs, he likes him. “But you can always buy me a drink if we happen to meet in the pub.”

“I’m not sure you should have to pay for a drink again for doing this. Thanks again.”

“Anytime.”

He looks up at the pub when Ethan’s gone, knows it’s inevitable he’ll have to go in at some point but he’s not ready. The whole place feels alien to him now, their little sanctuary in France feels so far away and Robert feels even further.

He takes one more look before turning away and going back to the B&B. It can wait. Now he just wants to get through his first night without Robert.

#robron fic #i'm afraid the writing tap is going to switch off again soon enough #so i'm doing it while it lasts lol

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butgilinsky · 4 years

Text

honest man // tt

warning; language, underaged drinking, and mentions of smut if you squint real hard, a little angst, mostly fluff

summary; where you and topper are hiding from the world, even if one of you wishes you weren’t. based on the song honest man by ben platt

word count; 3.2k+

There's something about you in the moonlight But your eyes go so well with the day You won't let go of your layers But your power can strip me away

“why are you staring at me like that?”

it wasn’t his fault. the way that the moon casted a blue light across the high points of your cheeks and shoulders had him realizing just how deep in it he was with you. he’d never seen a person glow the way you were glowing right now, and he would’ve given everything to stay like this, with you, forever.

“you’re the most beautiful thing i’ve ever seen.” you didn’t think you were capable of smiling so wide. the ache in your cheeks was quickly over powered by the slight dizziness your mind brought upon by his confession.

the two of you had only been together for a little less than a year, but he swore he’d spent ten lifetimes pining after you. sure, you both had been with people before you ultimately ended up together, but that felt like an entirely different lifetime.

topper thought he had fallen in love before. he thought that he had experienced the greatest heartbreak when he’d caught sarah cheating on him. he thought that was the pinnacle of how it feels to get everything stripped away from him, but the sheer thought of losing you was ten times worse than what he had felt back then.

“topper thornton, you’re quite the charmer.”

this was his heaven. having his arm wrapped around your back, pulling you against his chest while your own arm hooked around his neck. having your bright smile directed up at him in a way that had his heart beating at a mile a minute. he swore he’d never felt anything as sweet as the feeling of your lips pressed against his lightly, just enough pressure to call it a kiss.

he felt you smiling against his lips, though he didn’t mind as his own lips turned upwards at the feeling. he swore he would’ve traded everything in his life for you to kiss him like that for the rest of your lives.

“i love you.” the words were soft and sweet, but it felt like they held the world within them. it was enough to make topper’s stomach flip, the thought of having the girl of his dreams let the words drip off of her tongue so easily felt like a dream to him.

It's easier for us to hide If you come out, then so will I Promise that I'll meet you halfway 'Cause I see every part of you And I can tell you see me too By the way that you say my name

“do you ever get tired of hiding?” topper hated sneaking around the island with you. he wanted to go anywhere and everywhere with you.

sure, it was exciting at first. doing things in secret, having you all to himself, it was a dream. he wouldn’t have done anything different, but he was growing tired of keeping you a secret. he was tired of being a secret.

topper wanted everyone to know. he wanted to tell his friends that it didn’t matter that you lived on the wrong side of the island. he wanted to see your friends’ eyes bulge out of their sockets when he took your hand in public. he wanted to show up to the boneyard with you under his arm, and he wanted everyone to stare.

“sometimes, i guess.” you shrugged simply, slipping one of topper’s long sleeves over your head before turning over your shoulder and crawling back up to him.

he sat against his headboard, eyes locked on you while you moved up to sit beside him. his chest still bare from the moments prior to now, taking in the sight of his shirt hanging off of you as if it had been made specifically for you to wear.

“so why are we?” his voice was soft, the fear stepping in with every word he let slip. he was scared of ruining things, scared he was pushing too far.

“you know how that would end, top.” he sighed softly, figuring you’d say something of that sort. he knew where you stood on the issue, having far more to lose than he did.

he knew rafe and kelce would get over it. they’d tease him for a bit, but accept you with open arms. he knew kelce liked you, despite the fact that you were a pogue, because he had said so once or twice. rafe didn’t care for you, solely due to your class ranking, but topper knew that out of all of the pogues, rafe would pick you for his best friend over the others.

your friends, on the other hand, would not accept this deal with open arms and wide smiles. your friends would throw a fit, shocked by your betrayal of falling in love with a kook. you knew it shouldn’t have mattered, given kiara’s technical kook status, along with the fact that john b had been involved with sarah for over a year now.

but it didn’t matter. if anything, having sarah in your group made it that much harder. sure, if john b loved a kook then so could you, but what happens when sarah and topper have to spend time together? topper wouldn’t care, because he hadn’t thought of sarah in that light since before the two of you had gotten together, but you weren’t sure the blonde bombshell felt the same way.

“maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as you think, though. i mean, what if they don’t even care-” he stopped himself, seeing the deflated look on your face as he spoke. he didn’t want to push you, but he didn’t want to hide either. “we’re in it together, y’know?”

you nodded, settling your cheek against his chest. you hear him let out a sigh through his nose, only making the thoughts in your mind race more than they had already been.

I'm an honest man Why can't you take my hand I'm not what you planned But I'm a safe place to land I'm an honest man

you hadn’t expected to fall for topper. you were just trying to assure him that he didn’t deserve the hurt that sarah had dumped on him. nobody deserved that, kook or not.

but it’s now, as you stand across the beach from the boy who had managed to steal your heart and sweep you off your feet, that you realize you’ve made a mess for yourself.

all he wanted to do was hold your hand as you walked to the keg, swiping beers from jj, who was dishing them out for the night. he wanted to have his arm around you, as a silent tell to anybody with a pair of eyes that you were taken. you were off limits, and it killed him that nobody knew that.

“earth to top.” rafe snapped his fingers in front of topper, shaking the boy from his thoughts and tearing his eyes away from the group across the beach.

“what? sorry. what’s up?” he shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thoughts that were invading his mind for the past few weeks.

“just go talk to her. something’s clearly bothering you, has been for weeks.” kelce shrugged his shoulders, raising his cup to his lips as he downed the rest of the golden liquid.

“i don’t know what you’re talking about.” topper tried to wave them off, claiming that he had no knowledge of what their allegations were hinting at, but his friends weren’t stupid.

they’d caught topper looking at you on more than one occasion. the fact that topper had a crush on you at the very least was anything but a secret to the two boys that spent way too much time with him to believe otherwise. rafe had also connected the dots one night when topper blew them off, again, for some mysterious set of plans he wouldn’t say much about.

kelce and rafe knew. topper hadn’t told them, and there was room for error in their hypothesis, but they knew topper too well. they knew him better than he’d ever assumed, so a ten month relationship was harder for topper to hide than he’d originally thought.

“topper, what do we care if you’re shacking up with a pogue? sarah left your ass for one, kelce and i have our fair share of our nights with pogues. who gives a shit, dude?” topper’s eyes snapped over to rafe’s for a moment, slightly shocked that he was anything less than an asshole about the whole situation.

it took everything in him to stop himself from spilling the truth to his friends. they saw the way his knuckles turned white from gripping his cup tightly, his eyes locked on you, just yards away.

you were dancing with pope, a reasonable distance that allowed topper’s mind to ease ever so slightly. but the way you smiled, the way your hips moved in a fluid motion, and your laugh filled the air, was enough for topper to want things to go as smoothly as you’d asked many times before.

“i seriously don’t know what you’re talking about, rafe.”

You're so afraid of tomorrow So you build your walls up today You won't believe that you're ready But I'd never lead you astray

“you’re never going to be ready if you don’t at least try, y/n!” you groaned again, balling your fingers into your palm to stop yourself from lashing out on the boy.

“you just don’t get it, topper!” he could see the gears in your head turning, he knew your mind was racing but you were biting your tongue from saying what you were truly thinking.

“what don’t i get, y/n? i love you! isn’t that enough? what else do i have to do to show you that i don’t give a shit about what your friends think?” you groaned loudly, feeling the lump in your throat slowly subside as the tears poked at your lash line.

“i care what they think, top! i love you, topper, i really do, but i just- i can’t do it, top. not right now, at least.” he scoffed then, a sarcastic smile pulling at his lips before he ran a hand over his face in an attempt to wake himself up from this nightmare.

“what’s the worse that could happen, y/n? they don’t like me? i already know they don’t! i get it, i have a past with them, but how’s it any different than john b being with sarah?”

“see! you don’t get it! this is the same shit you always spew when we talk about this.”

“then help me get it, y/n!” his voice was back up, screaming across the room to reach your ears, though you would’ve been able to hear him all the same if he had spoken at a normal tone.

“i can’t, topper!”

“why not?”

“because you’re a fucking kook!”

topper’s face dropped, his shoulders slumping as a sarcastic laugh dripped from his face. of course you’d go there. you always went there. it wasn’t anything he didn’t already know, it was pretty obvious that he was a kook and you were a pogue, but he didn’t need the constant reminder that the one thing he couldn’t change about himself was your least favorite thing.

the thing that was holding you back from telling the world about your relationship.

“and you won’t let me forget it.” topper grabbed his things, not even bothering to slip his shoes back on before he was walking out of your house, slamming the door behind him hard enough to make the windows on the same wall shake slightly.

you let out a frustrated scream, one that he heard even out by his car. he paused in stride, having half a mind to turn back around and comfort you, suspecting that your cheeks were wet with frustrated tears while you chewed angrily on your bottom lip.

but he didn’t. he just got back in his car and drove the distance from your house back to his on the opposite side of the island.

I know I've played with hearts before Don't have the heart to play with yours I only swear to do the best I can 'Cause when you put your trust in me How beautiful our love could be If only you would take a chance

you’d heard the stories about topper long before you’d fallen for him. you’d spent too much time listening to random tourons, the repeats and the newbies, swoon over the boy who caught their attention quickly.

after sarah spending more time with the pogues, it only got worse. you’d heart the mess of it all, practically having the notion of topper thornton being kook trash ingrained into your mind forever.

you knew he’d done less than redeemable things. he’d done unforgivable things to your friends, and you’d never let him forget that.

but your topper was nothing like the stories. he was gentle and kind, soft and sweet. he noticed the little things, and helped you when nobody else noticed you were in the mess of it all. he was there for you when nobody else was, and he provided a sense of comfort you’d never found in the pogues.

topper, your topper, was the brightest light in your life. sure, you had walls built up, but he’d done everything in his power to break them down. he’d never hurt you, and you knew that. you knew he loved you with everything he had, and you returned the sentiment easily.

you weren’t scared of how things would end between the two of you. you were afraid of the outside pressures. you were afraid of your friends’ disapproving glares and harsh words. you didn’t want the criticism that came along with dating topper, but you couldn’t pick and choose any longer.

if you didn’t decide what you wanted sooner or later, you were going to lose topper, and the thought alone was enough to have you in tears for multiple nights afterwards.

you had to choose between topper and your secret. there was no more hiding.

I'm an honest man Why won't you hold my hand? I'm not what you planned I'm a safe place to land I'm an honest man See me as I am, show me that I can You make me an honest man

you knew he was on the golf course. it was friday, which meant a 12 pm tee time. you’d been with this man long enough to know his weekly routine, and golf was always written into the schedule.

to say you were nervous had to be an understatement. your ripped jeans and crop top that you’d already worn once this week was a stark contrast from the rest of the people on the course, all dressed in recently dry cleaned polos and khakis, or tight tops and tennis skirts.

you were walking around the course with no sense of direction, not having been on the course since the last time you helped pope deliver groceries, but that had been months ago.

you didn’t know where the boys were teeing off from, since topper never told you that. there was no use of you knowing which hole the started and ended on, but it would’ve been useful information right about now.

you swore the sky had opened up and handed you a gift on a silver platter when you caught sight of rafe’s tall stature on the green. he was laughing loudly at something that kelce had said, giving you enough of a hint to find him quickly. his eyes found yours, a smirk stretching across his face as you changed your path to walk directly over to the boys.

“top, your girlfriend’s here.” rafe called out, stopping topper mid swing.

he turned over his shoulder, muscles tense and face pulled together in confusion as you jogged across the course. he was confused, not having seen you in a few days at this point, along with never seeing you on the course in the entirety of your relationship.

“what the hell are you doing here?” he wasn’t mad, that much was obvious enough, but he was surprised and confused.

“i don’t want to hide anymore.” the words were falling from your lips before you could stop them, a sense of exhaustion hanging heavy in your mind as you begged him to connect the dots himself.

“what? but i thought you said-”

“fuck what i said. i don’t care what anyone thinks anymore. i don’t care about anybody else’s opinion but yours, top. i love you and i don’t care who knows about it.”

topper swore he’d never smiled so large. the realization sunk in quickly, resulting in his head filling with too many thoughts to decipher. to have you there, standing in front of him, telling him everything he’s wanted to hear for the past ten months, was more than he ever could’ve asked for.

“you sure?” you laughed softly, eyes flicking over his shoulder to meet rafe and kelce’s gaze, who were both biting back gentle laughs. your nose scrunched softly, a sight that topper would’ve paid to see at any moment of the day.

“it’s a little late for me to rethink all of it, don’t you think?” you lifted your chin in the direction of his friends, making topper look over his shoulder for a split second before rafe was waving his hand in front of him.

“we’ve known for a while.” your eyebrows pulled together, confusion evident in your expression. “kind of hard not to pick up on it when he can’t keep his eyes off of you for longer than five minutes.”

“alright, alright.” topper laughed gently while turning back to face you, trying to end the slightly embarrassing moment for him. “i’m serious though, are you sure? because i don’t care about-”

“i’m sure. i don’t want to hide anymore. if my friends don’t understand, then fuck them.” you shrugged gently, a wide smile spreading across your lips. “i love you, topper.”

“i love you too, baby.”

“just kiss already, so you can take your shot and we can move to the next hole.” kelce called out, earning a soft snicker from rafe and an eye roll from both you and topper.

topper broke out into an equally large smile, wrapping both of his hands, one gloved and one not, around your cheeks to bring your face close to his. your eyes shut before you felt his lips on yours, a sense of euphoria flooding through you on impact.

you loved topper with everything you had, and he loved you all the same. the two of you might have been hidden form the world for the first part of your relationship, but you had a feeling that’s what made the two of you so strong.

sure, the pogues might have had a problem with it at first, but if they were your friends they would get over it eventually. your happiness should’ve been a priority of theres.

it sure as hell was for you.

I've said all I can I am who I am And I am an honest man

#topper x reader #topper #obx #the obx #the outer banks #outer banks #outer banks netflix #austin north #imagine #one shot #song fic #topper thornton

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