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footprintsinthesxnd · 8 months

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Chapter 1: With Beating Hearts

Eugene Roe x Violet Elwood

Summary: Violet was living a quiet life during the summer of 1941 in Morgan City, Louisiana when she meets Eugene Roe when he stumbles into her families shop. But Violet has a devastating secret that she’s keeping and it’s sure to break Eugene’s heart. They can only hope their love endures and it doesn’t die as a summer romance. Masterlist

8th June 1943, Morgan City, Louisiana

Eugene’s shoes tapped rhythmically at the pavement as he hurried after his older sisters, their curls bouncing as they shouted over their shoulders for him to ‘hurry up’. He wasn’t entirely sure what the rush was, a new convenience store opening in town wasn’t necessarily the exciting point of the summer, or it wasn’t to a 19-year-old boy. Eugene often wondered what his life would be like if he’d had older brothers. They would be out, exploring and playing but instead, he’d been taught to sow with his sisters and cook. ‘You never know when you’ll need to fix a hole in your trousers’, his mother had always told him, and in hindsight, it was a useful skill for him to have. His two younger brothers often got out of the simple household chores. ‘You’re the man of the house’ his father often told him when he went off to work and Eugene believed him, but really his older sisters were in charge.

The hot Louisiana summer had only just begun, and yet for June, it was exceptionally warm. His shirt stuck to his back, as sweat travelled down the valley of his spine. His troubles were not helped by the bundle of bags and the basket he carried, while his sisters skipped along the street in front of him. How he’d been volunteered for this he wasn’t sure.

He could see his sister had stopped beside the shop ahead of him, glaring at him as he quickened his pace to catch up.

“I swear Eugene, if you walked any slower you’d be going backwards,” his oldest sister, Minnie, grumbled and Eugene stuck his tongue out at her once she had turned around. Siblings, who would have them?

The bell above the door chimed, announcing their arrival and the girls quickly scattered, leaving Eugene and all the bags in the doorway. Deciding that no one was likely to steal the bags, he stacked them in the corner before making his way down one of the aisles. He had to admit this shop sure did have everything and he picked himself up an apple on the way past the fruit stand, rummaging to find a nice red one.

Knowing his sisters were likely to spend the next hour investigating the new shop, Eugene headed towards the empty counter to pay. There was no one in sight since he’d entered the shop so he chimed the bell on the countertop, waiting for the owner to reveal themselves. A flash of blonde hair shot past him and dashed behind the counter with a gleaming smile. Her lips were moving in slow motion and Eugene blinked expressionlessly.

He’d never seen someone so beautiful, her blonde locks in perfect curls, framing her pale face, her blue eyes sparkling in the dim shop lightening.

“Excuse me? Can I help you?” She asked again and Eugene stuttered, stumbling over his words as he apologised, asked the girl her name and all but threw his money at her.

Her eyes widened a little as she began to collect the money, picking up several of the coins and passing them back to him.

“Are you okay?” Her eyebrows creased as she questioned him and if Eugene hadn’t been frozen to the spot he might have run out of the store there and then.

“Y-yes…” he wheezed, seemingly unable to breathe at that precise moment. His cheeks grew redder by the minute as he continued to stare at her.

“Okay then,” the girl turned, putting the money into the cashier, “Well, as you asked so nicely,” she laughed and Eugene felt his throat tighten as the jovial tune left her mouth. “My name is Violet, and you are?”

“Eugene, Eugene Roe ma’am and I think you're so beautiful, would you like to go out… sometime… with me… Eugene Roe.” If he could have one wish, he’d have wished for the ground to swallow him up. It’s not that he’d ever been terribly confident with women anyway, but this was just embarrassing.

“Well, Eugene, Eugene Roe,” she grinned, copying how he’d stumbled over his words. “It’s nothing personal but I don’t go out with strangers and I don’t know you.”

Eugene’s forehead creased, “Well how ‘bout ya go out with me and we getta know each other, then we won’t be strangers,” Eugene tried to reason.

Violet tilted her head, “Well, you’ve got me there Eugene, Eugene Roe.”

Before she could say anything else, Eugene’s sisters came around the corner, with bundles of supplies in their arms. He wasn’t sure if they needed all this stuff, they were exactly the richest family but his sisters seemed to be stocking up for hibernation.

“Stop harassing the poor girl, Eugene,” Winnie groaned and Minnie just rolled her eyes. “Go grab the bags, Gene.”

Eugene did as he was told, giving Violet a brief wave before disappearing from view. Violet smiled, watching him go. He was an odd character but he seemed nice enough.

The two girls began bickering as they bundled their goods into two very small bags and Violet took this as her opportunity to escape from behind the counter.

She found Eugene standing outside the shop, his eyes closed and his face turned towards the sky, taking in the late afternoon rays.

“Well, Eugene, Eugene Roe. You don’t seem like a bad guy and I don’t think you’re gonna murder me, so why don’t you pick me up on Saturday at 7?”

Violet was suddenly worried that Eugene was having some kind of heart attack from the way his face paled and she stepped forward before he began nodding animatedly.

“Yes, yes that will do nicely. Yes. Thank you.” Why couldn’t he learn to shut up? Eugene cursed himself mentally. “And Gene is fine.” He corrected Violet and she laughed lightly.

“Sure thing, Gene. I’ll see you Saturday.” She waved him goodbye before disappearing back inside, the clang of the bell tolling and announcing his sister's departure from the shop.

“What was all that ‘bout?” Minnie quizzed him as they began their walk towards home.

“Oh… nothing. Just gave me the wrong change is all.” His sisters didn’t press the subject and Eugene wouldn’t have told them anyway, but he couldn’t help the excited butterflies building in his stomach. He was going on his first date on Saturday.

Eugene Roe had to admit that he was a nervous man, he worried about the slightest little thing and often found his stomach in knots, his anxiety eating away at him when he had something important coming up.

Since his first encounter with Violet, he’d been buzzing with nervous energy. His heart pounding any time someone mentioned her family's shop or Saturday. In fact, his mind was constantly awash with images of her, despite having only seen her once.

He’d sit for hours, tracing her face on his knee as he sat watching his sisters squabble over something irrelevant. He’d even managed to change his route to work, just so he could walk past the shop. Unfortunately, he’d managed to bump into every other member of Violet’s family, except Violet herself.

Saturday came around all too quickly but too slowly at the same time, and by quarter past six on Saturday evening Eugene felt as though he was either going to combust and melt. He wasn’t sure which option was worse but the fear of rejection was worse. What would happen if she changed her mind? What was he supposed to do then?

His mother had tried to reassure him the best she could, having heard all about Eugene’s first crush from his rather annoying older sisters. His younger brothers on the other hand decided to tell him how much they disliked girls, which also didn’t help the argument.

“Would you lot just leave him alone!” His mother's voice had bellowed over the cacophony of rambunctious chattering. The kitchen fell into silence, and even Eugene’s father, who sat in his armchair with his pipe hanging from the corner of his mouth, chose to stay silent.

“Eugene, Darling, you look perfect. No, your hair is fine,” his mother ushered his hand away as he tried to smooth his hair down once more. “Now go. Have a lovely time and be sure to have her home by a sensible time.”

Eugene scurried out of the house as fast as he could, ignoring the shouts of his siblings and his father’s ’go get her son’.

The walk to the store wasn’t more than ten minutes from his house but Eugene found himself dragging his feet. ‘She’d said seven not six forty’, he cursed, annoyed that he’d rushed to get ready but his nervous energy carried him forward.

Once outside the store Eugene could feel his gut tightening, if it was squeezed any tighter he thought he was going to vomit, the stomach acid already building in his throat. Before he could chicken out, his knuckles wrapped against the front door. There was some shuffling around inside before a short, bearded man appeared on the other side. He unlocked the door and glared at Eugene.

“We’re closed! Can’t you read the damn sign,” he spoke gruffly, lighting a cigarette as his eyes bore into Eugene’s soul.

Eugene shuffled nervously from foot to foot as he stumbled over his words, “W-well Sir, I- I’m here to… to see Violet.”

The man continued glaring at him, his eyes travelling up and down Eugene’s frame, squinting when their eyes met. Eugene felt as though he was vibrating and his hand shook as he smoothed it over his dark locks nervously, while he tried not to squeeze the bunch of flowers in his other hand.

“Well, I guess you’d betta come in. Vi is upstairs getting ready,” her father all but dragged him through the door, slamming it closed aggressively.

“This way,” he pushed Eugene through the shop and out the door behind the counter which led into a long hallway. It was rather dark but a light room lay at the end which Eugene assumed was the sitting room. “Take a seat.”

Eugene did as he was told, sitting quickly on one of the wooden chairs. Her father sat opposite him, nursing his glass of whiskey with an unnerving smirk. Eugene dug his fingers into the collar of his shirt, trying to reduce the claustrophobic feeling.

They sat in silence until two faces appeared at the top of the stairs, the girls were giggling and despite his best efforts, Eugene blushed furiously under their gaze. They looked a lot like Violet but a little younger, Eugene noted. The girls were whispering to each other and it was more than clear that they were talking about him before they scurried out of view.

The next person to appear at the top of the stairs was Violet, and Eugene’s legs forced his legs to stand. Violet was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her blonde locks were curled, framing her face while her rouged lips spread into a wide smile. The blue dress adorning her figure, hugging her curves flowed around her legs as she descended the stairs.

“Wow,” Eugene whispered, as Violet stepped in front of him. “You’re da most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

It was Violet's turn to blush, biting her lip nervously as she smiled shyly. “Thank you, Eugene. You don’t scrub up too badly yourself.”

“These are for you,” Eugene pushed the bunch of Violets towards her and she grinned, accepting the flowers and passing them to one of the younger blonde girls.

“Thank you. I see you’ve already met my daddy. This is my mumma,” she pointed to an older blonde lady behind her who greeted Eugene with a small wave. “And these are my sisters, Rose and Lilly.”

Eugene greeted the other girls and the older of the two, Eugene guessed she was Rose, and leant forward. “Vi here hasn’t spoken of anything else since she met you. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.”

Violet smacked her sister playfully and Eugene found himself blushing once more.

“You two should be headin’ off before it gets too late,” her father said, “It’s gooda meet ya, Eugene. You have her back by ten, okay?”

“Sure thing, Sir,” he took her father's hand and shook it before Violet linked her arm through Eugene’s and pulled him away.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” Violet apologised once they were out of the shop. “They can be a little much sometimes.”

Eugene grinned, “Not at all. They seem real nice folks.”

Violet laughed, “Well, they promised to be on their best behaviour so I’m glad ya think so.”

It was only a short walk through town to the local picture house and they reached the old building by quarter past six. The picture house was built many years before and its red wooden panels were flaking and haggard but inside it was reasonably furnished.

“I thought you could pick which film we watched. I wasn’t sure if you’ve seen any of them yet,” Eugene mumbled shyly as they approached the ticket boot.

Violet smiled, approaching the booth, “Can we have two tickets to see…” she pondered for a moment looking at the film posters above their heads. “They met in Bombay.”

The ticket masters passed over two tickets and Eugene passed him the money. Violet grasped Eugene’s hand, pulling him through the crowd, “Come on, let’s get some good seats.”

Eugene followed Violet up the winding staircase to the studio. Violet paused at the top of the stairs, breathing a little heavily now. “Those are some steep steps,” she laughed and Eugene nodded in agreement, despite having taken the steps two at a time with ease.

They found some seats down the middle aisle and made themselves comfortable.

“What made you choose this film,” Eugene asked curiously as he studied her face in the dim lights. Her rosy cheeks reflected pale in the light and Eugene realised that this is what an angel must look like.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, turning to face him with a smirk on her lips, “I’ve only been to the cinema once so I just picked one at random.” She laughed lightly at Eugene’s amused expression.

The lights soon dimmed further as the screen came to life with black and white images. Eugene’s heart sank as the images of soldiers appeared on the silver screen and news of the war in Europe was projected to the audience. It was inevitable that he’d end up fighting, every able-bodied man of fighting age would. As if she could sense something was wrong, Violet grasped Eugene’s hand and gave it a small squeeze before placing their joined hands on the armrest. Eugene was glad of the dark room because if he blushed any more tonight he’d be in a permeated state of red.

The film rolled by quickly and before Eugene knew it the lights came back up and Violet was grinning at him. He blushed, realising he’d been looking at her again, in fact, he wasn’t sure how much he’d actually seen of the film, too busy studying her features.

“If you take a picture, it will last longer,” Violet jested and Eugene looked down at his shoes, “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” Violet assured him, squeezing his hand gently, “I like it when you look at me.”

All too soon they were back outside, strolling arm in arm along the now quiet, cool streets of Morgan City. Eugene’s heart thumped against his ribcage with every step as he tried to keep his thoughts from running wild. Violet could sense his eyes on her and she looked up at him, her blue eyes setting his heart alight.

“I had a wonderful time tonight, Eugene. I can’t thank you enough. I’ve never had an evening like this,” Violet smiled, stopping in her tracks and causing Eugene to stop beside her. She leant forward, pressing her lips softly to his cheek. Eugene couldn’t help but blush again. It was the kind of blushing that shows a person's soul, and complimented his eyes and the delicate sweetness they held within. “Thank you.”

“I think I shou’ be the one thanking you, Violet,” Eugene reached out, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “I had an amazing time tonight. Could’a see you again sometime?”

“You certainly can,” Violet agreed, clutching Eugene’s hand once more. “Come on, my Daddy will be expecting me home.” As the pair continued their walk down the street, Eugene felt a sense of great relief filling his soul, his first date had been a success and maybe, just maybe this was the start of something beautiful.

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#heart to heart #Eugene roe #eugene roe imagines #Eugene roe x oc #Violet Elwood

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friedbaekhyunandeggso · 1 year

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Reason ~ ch. 37

pairing: female oc (devon alba) x levi ackerman

tropes: instructor x cadet, strangers to lovers, male mc falls first

warnings: angst/slow-burn, a bit of fluff, strong language, smut (18+ readers only!! 🙈) [virginity loss (slight mentions of blood), rough sex & that's all i can think of right now bc my brain is fried lol BUT i'd like to believe that i can guarantee you'll feel things while reading this chapter <3 ]

brief summary: This story takes place a few years after the Fall of Shiganshina. Devon Alba is in her final year of the 101st Training Corps (844-847), due to her success as a cadet she gets the chance to meet Captain Levi. She doesn’t think too much of him until he catches her in the midst of doing something that she isn’t entirely supposed to be doing. But surprisingly, this leads to something unexpected...

ch. 1 [...] ch. 36 | chapter 37 | ch. 38

Devon noticed it seconds before it imploded. She’d just meant to pass through the market to get home but couldn’t help but stop at the handmade accessories vendor. In the midst of her browsing she saw a Garrison officer briskly walk past her.

She glanced over to see where he was headed and noticed a little boy stuffing tomatoes into his pockets a distance away. Her eyes widened.

Before she knew it, she was running. She zipped past the Garrison officer and grabbed the little boy's hand.

The boy looked up at her, startled.

She smiled into his dirt-stained face, “There you are! Ah, look at you-you got my tomatoes for me.”

The little boy stared at her with wide eyes as she reached over and paid the seller with a few coins. She glanced over her shoulder to see the Garrison officer staring at them with furrowed brows.

“Can I help you, officer?” she asked, casually. She felt the kids hand tighten in hers.

The officer straightened, “Er-No, ma’am.”

She gave him a half-assed smile before tugging the little boy’s hand. She walked down the street with him until they made it out of the market. He’d been awfully quiet the entire time. She didn’t consider herself terrible with kids but dealing with a situation like this? This would be new.

She glanced down at him, “Wh-“

Suddenly he released her hand and booked it.

Her eyes widened, “Hey!”

She ran after him. It didn’t take her long to catch up to him.

She grabbed his arm and he immediately swung around—pushing at her. All the tomatoes in his pockets spilled out and scattered about. The kid turned around, intending to run again but she grabbed his arm once-more.

“Enough!” her tone was stern, “You’re not in trouble. I want to help you.”

The kid froze, his head hanging down.

She didn’t release his arm as she bent down to one knee. She examined him—his clothes weren’t tattered. A bit dirt stained, yes, but not in the sense that made it seem he lived on the streets. Also to grab tomatoes instead of something typically directly edible like apples or bananas, she couldn’t help but wonder..

“Was that your first time stealing?” she asked, gently.

He didn’t respond, still not looking at her.

“You have to be more careful, that officer almost caught you.” she scolded, “You have to look around and check where the Garrison officers are before trying anything funny.”

The little boy’s head shot up. His eyes wide in shock.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

He nodded.

She released his arm and dug into her bag. Of course, the one time it could’ve been useful she didn’t have any leftovers from culinary school today.

She withdrew a handful of coins and handed it to him, “Go to a vendor and buy yourself a meal.”

The boy seemed to hesitate before silently taking the money.

“Do you have parents?” she asked.

He nodded.

“You live with them?”

He nodded again. She couldn’t help but notice he was shaking slightly.

“They don’t feed you?” she inquired.

He shook his head.

She bit her lower lip, feeling a bit bad about prying since the boy was looking more uneasy by the second. She didn't mean to keep him for long, she just wanted to make sure that he had someone to look after him.

"Where are your parents?" she asked.

A moment of silence followed. The boy merely facing downwards once more. Just as she contemplated saying something else the boy answered,

"Mommy's at work. She's always working." his voice was low, the discontent clear in his tone.

Her eyes widened–he’d finally spoken.

Though she couldn't say she was surprised by his Mother's case. Nowadays with the price of food steeping higher since the food shortage-everyone seemed to be working more. She gestured towards the coins in his hand. In truth, she’d given him enough money to cover several meals.

“Make sure you buy something for Mommy too then.” she murmured.

He nodded, before suddenly running away again.

Just as she shot up to her feet, a familiar voice sounded from behind her.

“Oi, what do you say to someone who helped you?”

She swiftly turned around to see Levi gripping the kid by the collar with one hand. The boy’s eyes were wide with fear as he stared up at him.

The boy looked over at her, “T-thank you, miss.”

Levi released the kid’s shirt as she walked up to them. She gave Levi a lingering look before bending over to smooth out the boy’s ruffled-up shirt.

“Your welcome,” her voice was calm, “Do you know the bookstore by the market?”

The boy paused before shaking his head.

“That’s okay. Do you know where Dr. Bernard’s office is?”

The boy nodded.

“Great! If you keep going straight down that street you’ll find a bookstore. That’s where I work, okay? If you see me inside you can come in and say hi. And if you’re hungry, just tell me and we can share some snacks.”

The boy stared up at her blankly.

She squeezed his shoulders, “You better come and visit. I’ll be sad if you don’t.”

The boy looked away, his voice low, “Why.”

A slightly pained expression passed over Devon’s face before she let go of the boy’s shoulders. She couldn’t blame him for questioning it, she knew her younger self would’ve immediately been wary of an offer that sounded too good.

Her voice came out much softer than she intended, “Because I care. I care about what happens to you.”

The kid’s head snapped up to stare at her. The boy’s eyes glittered with shock.

She offered him a small smile-quickly swallowing back the ball of emotions she felt rising in her throat.

She waved him off, “Okay, go eat now. Don’t forget to get something for Mom too.”

The boy nodded, stepping backwards slowly. The kid seemed to hesitate, his eyes switching between her and Levi before lingering on Levi. Something seemed to flash in his eyes before he quickly waved Devon goodbye and scurried off. Her and Levi stood in silence, watching the kid disappear down the street.

“Brat gave me the stank eye.” he muttered.

A slight laugh escaped her, “I think he recognized you.”

He seemed to hesitate at that before turning to face her, “You sure you want him bothering you at work.”

She sighed, “He probably won’t come. I wouldn’t have.”

She faced him, her voice unconsciously dropping lower, “I didn’t think it would hurt to let him know.”

There was a look of knowing in Levi’s deep, steel gray eyes. He knew she was thinking of her younger self—that her younger self might’ve appreciated an offer like that. An offer of true help.

His eyes dropped to her lips.

She immediately flushed before asking, “How are you here?”

“Erwin dismissed us early.”

Her eyes lit up, “Again? How’d I get so unfortunate.” she teased before moving to sidle up to him.

Just as she was about to slip her arm through his, she froze. Something was off about his impassive countenance.

“What's wrong?” she asked immediately.

His hand slipped into hers, “Let’s go home first.”

She let him tug her along-silently letting him lead her back onto the main street, around the dispersed crowds. It was Friday so people seemed to be out and about, and in good spirits.

She suddenly stopped, her free hand clasping his wrist. He halted, glancing back at her.

“Tell me.” she urged, her voice uneven, “Tell me now.”

He searched her face, his gaze painstakingly gentle before squeezing her hand in his own. “We’re two minutes away-”

“I can’t breathe, Levi.” she quickly rushed out the words. It was true, the second he started to lead them home her uneasiness had grown by leaps and bounds. Her anxiety made her feel like she was going to burst. She knew she should be more patient than this but when it came to something bothering him of all people–she couldn’t take it.

He pulled her aside, so that they were no longer standing in the middle of the street. She slipped her hand out of his, hugging herself underneath her cloak–she needed to stop trembling.

He watched her with a strained expression before moving to take a step towards her. Her head snapped up, the silent question clear in her eyes. He wished she would have waited a moment longer–home was right there.

“I’m leaving in two days.” his voice was flat.

He saw the realization hit her like a bullet. Her eyes immediately widening before her posture gradually shrank in on itself. She looked aside. He wished they were home with a gut-wrenching intensity.

He reached towards her, but she took a step back. Her eyes were glossy when she met his gaze, “How long?”

“That depends.. on how the mission goes.”

“Where are you going?”

“Karanese.”

“Karanese?” she repeated in shock.

He nodded, “We’ll be leaving Wall Rose through there.”

Her brows drew together. She opened her mouth to ask ‘why’ but froze; she was so used to not asking him about his scout duties-due to his ‘rules’-that it felt almost improper to.

He must’ve seen the question in her eyes because he went on to explain, “Erwin has plans for the lands there. He thinks that land can potentially benefit us in restoring Wall Maria someday.”

Her eyes widened, “Restoring Wall Maria—Is that even possible?”

He hesitated, “Not really,” he muttered, “But Erwin’s always thinking ahead.”

She went silent at that. Her mind racing a mile per minute. She could only imagine that the reason why they weren’t attempting to utilize the land outside of Trost anymore was because it was too infested with Titans. There were rumors that the thuds of Titans’ bumping into the walls outside of Trost were more audible than before.

She shivered at the thought only to tense when she realized Levi was going into titan territory regardless.. He was going to leave Wall Rose through Karanese. He was at risk no matter what.

She swallowed. She suddenly didn’t know.. she didn’t know how she let him go to missions before…

She was drawn from her thoughts when she felt Levi reach into her cloak to grab ahold of her hand again.

“Let’s go home” his monotone voice quieter than usual.

The second they got through the apartment door he kissed her. He kissed her with all the strength he had. He couldn’t stop. He didn’t want the feeling she gave him to ever end.

He kissed her as if he were trying to make up for all the kisses he wouldn’t be able to give her when he was away. He kissed her as if he wanted to convey how much he cared for her through his lips. He kissed her like he’d never get the chance to again.

Because he knew that’s how it would feel. Now that he had a taste of her lips, it was impossible-impossible-that leaving for expeditions would be the same. It was different to think of her laugh, her smile, her gestures in bits and pieces throughout the days he was away. And to replay their conversations in his mind in the darkness of the night when he couldn’t sleep. Sometimes he’d dwell too hard on the moments they shared subtle touches-reminiscing in the lingering feeling her touch ignited-and his body would get carried away…

It was pathetic, he knew it was. He was pathetic when it came to her. He was a version of himself that he never thought he could be.

She meant too much to him. She brought him peace to a degree he knew he didn’t deserve. He wondered how he’d gotten lucky enough to have her return his affection. He often wondered how he got her in the first place.

She brought warmth to his cold, hardened life. The kind of warmth he never wanted to lose. She filled the dark, empty spaces of his mind with something brighter.

He didn’t think that was possible, not after seeing all the things he saw. He’d accepted that no matter where he went, loss and death would follow. It seemed those kinds of things were intertwined with his fate, so he chose not to partake in fickle things like close relationships. They only resulted in someone getting hurt anyway.

It was a rule he chose to live by after he realized he always seemed to outlast everyone; everyone he cared about–his family, his friends, his comrades. It seemed to be a special talent he had. A special talent he was tired as hell of but decided to utilize in honor of those he saw die selflessly before him.

Somewhere along the way, he’d begun truly to care about his comrades. That begrudging respect turned into perseverance. The kind of perseverance that made him think he could see a glimpse of the vision Erwin saw for humanity-even if Erwin’s reasons were ambiguous. Eitherway, he told himself that was enough.

He told himself he’d dedicate his strength to the Scouts vision until death welcomed him in its cold, ruthless arms.

Until he met her.

She pulled apart his tightly knit ideals at the seams. She broke all the rules he’d kept in place to protect himself and she didn’t even have to try. The more he spoke to her the more intrigued he became. He denied his interest to himself more times than he could count.

Refusing to read her file when it sat at the corner of his desk because he didn’t care. Only to realize his denial was futile when he saw her broken, battered body on the Infirmary bed after Carter’s work. It was then that he realized he cared. He cared too much.

It was then that he realized there was someone he couldn’t let death steal from him.

The feeling was overwhelming, dangerous and selfish. It made him realize his ideals weren’t nearly as firm as he wanted them to be. Not even close.

His armor was weak when it came to her. He wanted things he shouldn’t want when she was near. He craved the human connection he forbade himself from. He suddenly wanted to save humanity for different reasons-for a future that awaited more than death.

This realization was enough to send him reeling. It was a train of thought he couldn’t indulge. So he acted on his heart instead of his head, for once. He’d meant to force her hand into joining the Garrison or MP route—not have her sit pretty in his apartment.

It was twisted, really. She hated him and she had every right to. Even then, she was kind to him. Silently fixing up his wounds, leaving extra portions of food behind, never giving him an excuse to worry about the little things. Sometimes he wished she’d be meaner to him, maybe that would dampen his feelings but she never gave him the chance.

He never dared to believe he’d get to call her his. In fact, because fate had brought her so close to him he was even more wary of acknowledging his feelings. He refused to unveil his selfish wish to her when he’d already been selfish enough. She deserved better than that.

He kept his desires to himself–convincing himself that he was only sticking around because she wanted him to–until he saw her fellow cadet mate die in his arms. Corinna, was her name. Her slight stature was all too familiar. Her background a little too close to home. It was the look on her face that jarred him the most. That glassy, pain filled sheen in her eyes that revealed just how much she didn’t want to die. He almost hated himself for letting her get assigned to his squad just because he needed the numbers.

But, for some goddamn reason, all he could think about was Devon. He knew his mind was playing tricks on him because she was the first from Devon’s training corps assigned to his squad. It was a fact that his mind seemed to cling onto because he remembered her as the roommate Devon once complained about for snoring too loud. It was a nonsensical fact that somehow drove him to think of how this girl, dying in his arms, could’ve easily been Devon.

This girl, who had trained the same amount as her, shared the same room as her and chose the same career path as her, reminded him of the fate Devon could’ve shared. The thought scared him to the bone.

It was the type of dread that rendered him frozen–and he never froze on the field. He was transfixed by the deep rooted throb in his chest that spread to every muscle in his body. He’d clung onto her limp frame with all his strength, unable to pry his eyes off of her until he heard someone call for him-reminding him where he was.

He felt guilty afterwards, for considering Corinna’s death an affirmation of sorts. An affirmation that denying Devon entry to the scout regiment was the right decision. He knew it was his selfishness talking but it was all he was grateful for. He was grateful that he’d never have to see Devon injured like that again. He was grateful that he knew where she was. He was grateful that he got to see her live.

The second he made it to town after that expedition he knew he had to see her. He didn’t even bother explaining himself to Erwin, simply dismounting his horse and using his ODM gear to get home as fast as possible.

At first he headed towards the direction of her workplace only to backtrack when he spotted her in an alleyway. He followed her home from above.

He thought seeing her up-close would lighten his need but he was proven wrong-drastically so. When she entered the apartment and rushed to him, he knew he was done for. The second she was close, his lips met hers. And there was no coming back—no coming back from the life she seeped into him.

If this was a part of living, he didn’t mind.

But he did mind how her body shook slightly against his now. How her hands on his chest trembled as she kissed him back. The taste of her salty tears at the corner of her lips. He hated that he had to put her through this. His selfishness had got them here.

She broke the kiss, burying her face in his neck.

“Don’t kiss me like that,” her low voice muffled by his shirt, “This isn’t goodbye. I still have two days.”

He closed his eyes, “Sorry.” he murmured.

He felt her hands fist his shirt, “You’ll come to see me during then, won’t you?” The question sounded all too uncertain on her lips.

His hand running down her back went still-he turned his face towards her, “What the hell do you think.” Despite his words, his voice was soft.

She let out a stifled laugh, “Shut up.”

They decided to proceed as normal, that’s what he wanted anyway. He had asked her if there was anywhere she wanted to go with him before he left and she couldn’t respond. How could she tell him all she wanted was him to stay?

Instead, she reversed the question on him. His answer was simple, spoken after a moment’s pause in his typical flat tone—Anywhere you are is fine by me.

His response had made her want to cry.

Everything made her want to cry. He left many times before and was bound to leave again, she’d accepted that but… this time felt worse—much, much worse. The second he'd told her it felt like a weight had dropped in her stomach, and the weight was only getting heavier with each passing second.

She didn’t want to be sad in front of him. She genuinely wanted him to enjoy their remaining time together, but.. it was hard. It was hard when all she could think about was how she was going to have the apartment to herself again. It was hard because she didn’t know when he’d be back—she didn’t even know if he’d make it back.

She blinked, refocusing on the task before her. She looked to see that her hand holding the knife was shaking. Her brows furrowed as she attempted to work past the shakes by tightening her grip around the knife, only to realize that made it worse.

She inhaled unevenly before clasping her free hand around her trembling wrist—steadying herself.

She resumed cutting the carrot.

Suddenly a tear drop hit the cutting board—making her freeze. She blinked-another tear falling from her eyelashes. She stared as the tear drops seeped into the cutting board, creating small dark circles in the wood.

She wanted to push it away—ignore the emotions she was feeling. She wanted to ignore the way her body felt like it was being squeezed at the center, suctioned inside out. She wanted to ignore the way her ribs ached, as if holding together the weight of her core was too much.

More tears silently slipped down her face, and she didn’t realize until a hand swiftly removed the knife from her hands and set it down on the cutting board.

She belatedly hid her shaky hands behind herself.

“S-sorry.” she muttered, not looking at him.

“Devon.”

She turned away from him, pretending to rearrange the other ingredients on the counter while discreetly wiping her tears with her shoulder.

“Devon.” he repeated.

She picked up a few vegetables she hadn’t cut up yet, “Yes?”

“You don’t have to cook.”

She didn’t look at him when she moved past him, back to the cutting board, “What are you talking about? I have to make dinner.”

“No, you don’t.”

She laid out the other vegetables on the cutting board, “Yes, I do.”

Just as she reached for the knife, he grabbed her wrist—forcing her to meet his gaze.

“No the hell you don’t.” he grit out, “You can’t even hold a goddamn knife straight.”

Her eyes widened before her eyes immediately watered. She wrenched her hand out of his grasp and turned her back to him.

“Wait-“ his voice was low, somewhat frustrated-in a way that seemed to be directed at himself, “That’s not what I meant. I-I’m sorry.”

“No,” her voice cracked, “You’re right. I-I can’t—“

She closed her eyes, forcing her tears back. She felt like there was a block in her throat, making it very hard for her to talk.

She hung her head, squeezing her eyelids shut tighter, “I don’t know what to do, Levi.” she whispered.

The second his hands made contact with her sides, she covered her face with her hands—the dam of tears breaking loose. His chest against her back the only thing keeping her upright as he wound his arms around her.

He dug his face into her neck, his arms around her waist so firm she would’ve stopped breathing if she wasn’t sobbing. He held her tightly against himself, as if inadvertently trying to dispel the weight within her ribs as she cried.

She wished she was stronger, so she wouldn’t have to do this to him. So she could support him the way she wanted to-because she truly did-but it hurt. She couldn’t seem to find it in herself to stop crying. The tears felt endless.

She’d gotten too spoiled. She was too used to his touch, to his voice, his presence. She didn’t want to go a day without it, without him.

“I’m sorry, Devon.” his low voice was muffled by her hair. But it wasn’t monotonous enough for her to miss the undercurrent of self-hatred embedded in his tone.

She breathed in raggedly-trying to think past the tears. She wanted to tell him he didn’t need to apologize—that she didn’t want him to apologize. But her voice came out too small—

“Levi-“

His arms around her tightened more somehow, completely drawing her frame into his—as if trying to merge her body into his own. The strength in his arms made her gasp slightly; she felt the muscles in his arms contract as he didn’t let go.

“I’m sorry.” he whispered once again, feeling sick.

He’d known there was a possibility of this-of leaving being much harder if their relationship were to change. It was one of the many reasons why he convinced himself keeping his feelings to himself was the best course of action, and yet here they were. His selfishness had brought them here.

He had told her he never wanted to be the reason she was hurting and yet, that’s all he seemed to do.

He’d never seen her cry. She didn’t even cry when recounting the atrocities of her past. But somehow, here she was, crying over him.

He wasn’t worth it.

She shifted in the tight-hold of his arms, turning slightly towards him. Her fingers slipped into his hair, gently drawing his face out of the warmth of her neck. Her strawberry scent lingering in the air between them.

Her hand slid down to cup the side of his face, her red-rimmed eyes searching his face. Her face shone in places where her tears had trailed down seconds ago. Her gaze was so gentle, he thought he might shatter.

“You’re gonna come back.” she affirmed, so quietly that he wouldn’t have heard if he hadn’t been so close.

He would—even if he died trying.

“I’ll be waiting,” her voice wavered, “Don’t make my patience go to waste.”

He was quiet for a moment, simply staring at her.

What did I do to earn her?

“C-come back to me first thing.. just like last time.” she continued lowly.

He forced himself to focus on her words, instead of the overwhelming need he felt to kiss her. He knew once he started, it’d be hard for him to stop.

“Just like last time,” he muttered, “ODM gear and all?”

He watched a small smile bloom across her lips, her eyes gazing off elsewhere-as if replaying the memory. The spark that lit her eyes made his insides swarm with warmth. The desire to kiss her seared through him at a thousandfold.

Before he could act, she dropped her hand from his face—looking away to hide her blush.

“I wouldn’t mind..” she murmured. He had looked really good in ODM gear after all.

“Yeah?” His brows furrowed, “What’s that tone.”

“Nothing.” she answered, a little too quickly.

“Then why can’t you look at me.”

She pulled at his arms around her, “Because I need to go—“

He only held her tighter, “You don’t need to go anywhere.”

She laughed lightly as he nuzzled his face into her neck again, “Levi!” she wriggled in his hold, her smile widening. “Let me go.”

His words were muffled by her hair, “Not happening-not til you explain yourself.”

“Explain what.”

“I wouldn’t mind.” he repeated her words-in an overtly suggestive tone that she didn’t use.

“I didn’t say it like that!” she shot back, blazing red.

She bit her lower lip, trying to think past his nose trailing her jaw.

“Fine, but you were thinking something.”

She had to distract him-she wasn't ready to admit that she liked seeing him in uniform just yet.

“I-I was.” she admitted, instantly blushing when she felt him go still beside her.

She pushed at his arms, “But I’ll only tell you after we grab some food. I’m hungry.”

He seemed to hesitate before finally letting his arms drop from around her. She quickly stepped away from him.

He already missed her warmth but he kept his desire to himself as he watched her take off her apron. He didn’t miss the soft blush decorating her cheeks.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

She never told him.

He glanced down at her head resting on his lap. Her dark hair splayed out on his thighs. She had fallen asleep on him.

She had eaten well-heartily, as she always does. She'd picked out the food spot as well so she'd been rather excited about it. She was able to name every ingredient within the stew simply from one spoonful. He mocked her for it but he adored every single second.

They had decided to walk around a bit after, only arriving home half an hour ago. They settled into the couch for the night, intending to read together as they sometimes did-but it seemed she had other plans.

He lowered the book in his hand, only to move his free hand over her head. He wanted to brush away a few strands of her hair that’d fallen over her face but suddenly went still. His fingertips hovering over her forehead.

He didn’t want to wake her.

His silver eyes raked over her features once more. She looked so at peace.. he’d never seen her asleep up-close like this.

He didn’t even remember how she got here. She’d been reading with her back pressed to his arm at first. Then her head leaning against his shoulder, legs half-way bent over his. Then it seemed her head had made its way down to his lap, her head resting on his thigh as she read with her book propped against her bent legs.

Now, she was asleep.

He placed his book down silently. His fingers over her forehead lowering ever so slightly-giving into his instinct to touch her. He brushed away the strands with his fingertips before gently settling his hand into her hair.

She was so pretty he didn’t know how he thought he could ignore her after first laying his eyes on her.

He slowly ran his fingers through her hair, wondering how he was going to go on without seeing her. He looked forward to her more than she knew. She’d become the light of his days.

It scared him sometimes-how much he cared for her. He hadn’t felt this strongly about anything in years. In fact, he hardly felt anything at all–emotionally anyway.

Of course, he cared about his tasks as Captain. He never took the job lightly-it was impossible to. But-aside from his daily rituals-he rarely did much in his personal life. He enjoyed his alone time but this… this was different. This was something he knew he was going to ache for when he was away.

She stirred, her neck arching slightly-leaning into his hand before laying still. A soft, content sigh leaving her lips.

He immediately went still before smiling subtly in realization.

You like that?

He slipped his fingers through her hair once-more, letting his fingertips glide through more strands than before. He wasn’t surprised now that he thought about it. He always liked it whenever she touched his hair..

His mind wandered to a memory of her hands at his nape, their lips locked-on this very couch.

“I’m gonna head to bed.” she spoke through a yawn.

He glanced over to watch her stand up from the couch. She stretched out her arms before reaching towards the coffee table to grab her empty mug. Just as she bent over, he dropped his pen onto his open notebook and reached for her–tugging her back down.

She gasped as she fell back onto the couch, beside him. A look of obvious frustration on her features as she opened her mouth to complain but suddenly froze when she met his gaze. Her mouth gradually closed the longer she looked at him–a bright flush spreading across her cheeks.

He couldn’t ignore the rush of electricity skimming up his spine. He liked that she knew what he wanted.

He leaned towards her, gently pressing his lips to hers. That familiar warm sensation sweeping underneath his skin as they shared a few soft pecks. Each peck followed by another because he couldn’t ever get enough. He held her lips a little longer–tilting his head so he could kiss her more.

Just as he caught himself leaning further into her-he stopped, gently withdrawing his lips from hers. He had a bad habit of getting carried away easily; a habit that he was trying to tame-for her sake. But one look at her made him realize he wasn’t the only one breathless.

Her face was more flushed than before, her lips slightly parted. He couldn’t help but notice the subtle rise and fall of her collarbones against her skin as she tried to catch her breath. His eyes flickered back to hers and suddenly any resolve to hold back slipped away.

His hand found the back of her thigh, easily yanking her towards him. Her hands instinctively went to his shoulders to balance herself. Just as she let out a little sound of surprise-he caught her lips, kissing her with a bruising need. His skin buzzed with satisfaction when he felt her hands slip up his nape, her fingertips in his hair. The kiss only growing more intense when her hold tightened—

He was pulled from his thoughts when she stirred on his thigh once-more. She turned her back to him, changing her position in her sleep.

He glanced down, only to freeze. Fuck.

There-at his groin-stood out a pointed tent. It throbbed uncomfortably–his cock pressing against his pants at a rather bad angle.

He wanted to readjust himself but she was right there. It felt wrong to even be hard with her like this.

He tensed, inadvertently flexing his thighs. She stirred once more, her eyes fluttering open slightly at the sensation. She reached over to fluff her pillow only to grasp something hard.

Her eyes shot open, turning to see that her hand was over Levi’s knee. She glanced around before realizing she was in the living room. She swiftly turned over to see Levi staring down at her, flushed.

She blinked slowly, still a bit groggy. Am I dreaming?

“You awake.” he spoke, his voice somewhat taut.

Her eyes widened when she realized this was very much real.

“Shit.” she propped herself up on her elbows, her book sliding off her stomach and hitting the floor in the process. Suddenly everything came back to her.

“I fell asleep.” she murmured.

“Y-yeah.”

Her brows furrowed before slightly turning to her side, facing him. His silver eyes met hers and his jaw imperceptibly clenched. Something about the way she looked up at him was indescribably attractive.

Can she stop looking pretty for one goddamn second?

She tilted her head, unable to decipher his expression, “You.. didn’t wake me up?”

“Why would I.”

She searched his face, “Aren’t you tired?”

He paused before shaking his head.

“I’m gonna make you tea-“ Just as she rose to do exactly that, his hand clasped around her shoulder.

“No. Just go to bed. It’s late.”

She frowned subtly, “But I want you to sleep too.”

His hand slipped over the side of her face, a touch of softness in his eyes, “I will,” he muttered, attempting to reassure her despite his flat tone, “I just need some time.”

She was quiet for a moment, assessing him somewhat haphazardly-since she was still sleepy-before cupping his hand over her face.

“Okay.” she murmured before slowly sitting up.

He watched her stand, his eyes never leaving her slim frame as she wandered back to her room.

Once the door closed behind her, he let out a sigh. Partly out of relief-because she hadn’t noticed his hard on-but mainly because he’d have to wait to see her again. And in two days, the wait would be much longer..

Devon entered her bedroom, holding the towel around herself with one arm. She stood in front of the vanity, searching for her hairbrush.

Once she found the brush, she raised it to her hair-only to freeze when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her damp brown hair went down past her breasts, it’d grown out longer than she intended. Her eyes lingered on her shoulders and collarbones. An imperceptible frown gracing her lips when she noticed they seemed to protrude a bit more.

Her gaze flickered upto her eyes and swallowed. Her eyes were puffy, vacant and.. sad. Her body always always reflected her mood—she wished it didn’t. She didn’t need to be reminded how easily her emotions affected her physicality.

She hated how her health had declined ever since two days ago—ever since he’d told her he was leaving. It was all she could think about, obsessively so. It made her heart ache and chest tighten everytime she thought about it. So-in order to combat this-she forced herself to keep her mind occupied.

The day before, she extended her work shift at the bookstore. She worked so assiduously that she forgot to take a break and missed eating the lunch she packed. Even Larsa had asked if she was okay after noticing that she had done triple the amount of her typical workload in one shift.

She’d been so tired when she got home, she fell asleep right on the couch. When she awoke the following morning on her bed, a pang of guilt resounded through her. Levi must’ve come home when she was asleep. She’d been too tired to give him any attention, wasting away the already dwindling time they had together.

Now, today was their last day together. She didn’t get to see him in the morning because she woke up late-despite telling herself that she would get up early just to send him off to work. But, she was barely able to send herself off to work because she woke up ten minutes before her shift started. She’d nearly flung out of the apartment, forgetting to eat breakfast or pack lunch.

By the time she got home after work and culinary class, she’d wanted to nap but refused. She didn’t want to miss seeing Levi in case he came home early. Instead, she threw herself into meal prepping for the week. Still not eating a single meal herself-simply because she ‘wasn’t hungry'. Just as she wrapped up and decided to shower, Levi came home.

He greeted her with a deep, spine-tingling kiss that left her lips bruised and body shivering. After she recovered her breath, she told him that she’d join him after she showered.

She sighed as she ran the brush through her hair, trying not to dwell too long on how she looked despite staring at herself in the vanity mirror. She was glad Levi hadn’t noticed—or at least hadn’t commented on it. She wasn’t sure if she could handle it.

She set down the brush before moving all of her hair over one shoulder. She began to braid it, only to freeze when she saw the bedroom door close in the mirror. The sound of the door’s locking mechanism echoed.

She swiveled around to see Levi standing beside the door, his steel-gray eyes dark as he met her gaze. His expression closed.

Her heart stopped. He never came into her room at night. He was supposed to be waiting for her in the living room.. Her eyes widened in realization. I left my room door open.

It was the only plausible answer-she would’ve heard him enter if the door had been closed previously.

If I leave my room door open.. at night.. that means I’m ready.

Her raspily spoken promise echoed within her mind. She suddenly forgot how to breathe.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion—his hand slipped away from the doorknob and he began to walk up to her. Her throat grew tight with each step he took.

Each step was deliberate, purposefully slow. His narrow, gray eyes never leaving hers. He didn’t stop until he stood directly before her.

He stood close enough that his familiar clean yet musky, cedarwood and eucalyptus scent wafted over her—but instead of eliciting the sense of comfort it typically derived within her, his scent awoke something different altogether. She felt hypnotized. She couldn’t look away from him.

Her hand holding her towel to her chest tightened ever so slightly. His steely eyes dropped to her chest, immediately noting the slight action.

She couldn’t find it in herself to speak.

Her breath caught when she suddenly felt his hand slide around her nape, his fingers sifting gently through her damp hair. He carefully dragged his fingers down the length of her hair, she belatedly realized that he was undoing her roughly done braid.

His dress-shirt clad arm grazed her bare arm as he pulled apart her braid with a swift yet precise downward stroke of his fingers. The sensation made her shiver.

Their faces were so close, she couldn’t look him in the eye. She was afraid to move.

She felt his eyes on her when he pressed the flat of his palm to her lower back, drawing her closer. Their bodies were so near—only an infinitesimal amount of space between them. Her cheek brushed against his jaw, causing heat to scatter from where they made contact.

She resisted the urge to shiver when he dragged his palm up her spine, over her towel—his hand stopped at the center of shoulder blades, resting over the towel's edge.

She felt the weight of his gaze on her as his jaw skimmed her once more, his nose grazing her cheekbone—an indescribable magnetism keeping the air charged between them. She felt an odd urge to hold her breath.

Then suddenly, his finger hooked into her towel and with one swift motion the towel loosened and fell into a heap at her ankles. She gasped, instinctively stepping back.

She stood completely bare before him. Her heart ricocheting within her body as she realized—this was the first time she was fully naked in front of someone. She felt vulnerable—exposed.

But his eyes didn’t make her feel that way.

She didn’t need to look at him to feel the weight of his gaze on her body—but she couldn’t help it. She watched his eyes take in her figure, starting at her pronounced collarbones to her chest then her stomach, hips and legs. She felt her body go warm wherever he stared. His eyes were so sharp-so attentive-his gaze would’ve felt calculative if his eyes didn’t flutter and a faint blush didn't appear on his cheeks. His half-lidded eyes were the epitome of lust, the silver in his eyes murky and wanting.

Her stomach tightened, as if trying to dispel the bundle of nerves in her gut. Despite how exposed she felt, his eyes made her feel like she was the rarest treasure. He looked at her as if she was the most valuable thing in the world.

But the adoration peeking through the lust switched to something else within seconds-switched to something much, much darker. It felt as if the weight of his gaze had become twice as heavy, making goosebumps break across her skin and her nipples harden. The air around her seemed to close in on her as she realized-with daunting clarity-what that look was—possession.

She felt a bolt of electricity lick up her spine when he took a step towards her. Just as his fingertips scraped her hip, she grasped his forearm.

“W-wait,” she managed to choke out in a low whisper.

She faced him, her eyes searching his face. She didn’t realize she was almost checking to see if there was a flicker of impatience or annoyance—but there was none. His gaze was weighted, burning with something so intense it was hard to look at for too long. His jaw was locked.

She forced herself to uphold his gaze, “I.. I want to undress you too.”

His eyes seemed to widen imperceptibly before his forearm dropped from her hand to his side. Her eyes flickered up to his-a bit unsure. She wondered if this was resignation or forbearance on his part. She should’ve known it was the latter.

She reached the collar of his shirt, trying her best not to tremble too hard when she undid each button. It was hard to focus with him so close—his impenetrable eyes and bated breath too near.

Her hands grew unsteady at the last button, right above his groin. She shivered when she felt his breath waver beside her ear. The heat of his breath scattered down her neck—making her skin warm up when she realized just how heedy he was of her touch.

She quickly undid the button best she could. When he saw her reach towards his shoulders to pull down his sleeves, he was eager to help her. Easily shifting out of the shirt and letting it fall to the floor.

Her eyes ran down his shirtless frame. She’d seen him shirtless before but this was different. She never got to openly admire him—not like this. His narrow, tautly wired build was still rigid with muscle, not an ounce of softness to him. Scars marked various parts of his skin-some more faint than others. Her eyes dropped to one of the more prominent pigmented scars, the one along his navel. She remembered patching that one up months ago.

She placed her slightly trembling hand at his sternum, her fingertips grazing his firm pecs as she moved her hand along his chest. She felt him subtly jolt at the action-as if he hadn’t expected her to touch him.

She glanced over to see him facing down-his black hair covering his eyes. She didn’t miss the outline of his clenched jaw or the subtle swipe of color creeping along his cheeks.

She wanted to touch him, so she did. She moved her hand delicately along his skin-not wanting to startle him. She felt oddly at comfort touching him, as if she were exploring more of him. Some of his scars were flat, while others seemed to protrude slightly against her palm.

His biceps were strong and hard, just from one skim of her fingers she didn’t doubt the strength within them. Prominent green veins ran down his pale arms; she touched a trail of one down to his elbow.

His whole body was tense-she knew it was. From the set of his shoulders to the tension she felt brewing under skin. He wasn’t used to being touched. She didn’t dare allow herself to believe she was the first.

Her hand trailed from his elbow to his core; to the tightly compact skin of abs, where he was the most tense. His skin was more pale here, it almost felt more delicate. But she wasn’t a fool, there was no gentleness in the hard muscles of his abdomen. This was a soldier’s body. A man who’s seen and done too much. The only man she wanted.

She could feel the tension coiled in his skin the lower she drew her shaky hand. Her fingers slowly ran down the center line of his abs—moving tantalizingly slow when she brushed past his belly button.

Suddenly her hand stopped, hovering right over his navel when she realized just how much restraint he was practicing.

She’d been ignoring it, but the silent hum of pressure against his skin was nearly palpable. Her breath came out staggered as she felt the weight of the air around her. The closed urgency—his need.

She felt like she was touching a ticking time bomb.

She heard him let out a low, strained breath. Her eyes dropping to the waistline of his pants when she saw his deep v-lines protrude more, and the veins along his lower navel become more prominent.

She gasped when she was suddenly flung onto the bed by forceful hands on her hips. All the restraint thrumming under his skin was nowhere to be seen by the way he grabbed her legs and pulled her thighs apart to stand between them.

She jolted, reaching out to slip her hands over his shoulders to his nape—drawing his face close. She looked up at him, her eyes searching his face wildly as she whispered-hurriedly.

“Please, b-be gentle with me.”

His silver eyes transformed from wanting to molten. Ends of his pitch black hair scraped her forehead as he gave her face a slow once-over.

Her heartbeat sky-rocketed at how handsome he looked over her. Even this close, she couldn’t find one imperfection in his face.

He released her hips and pressed his hands to the bed beside her head—enclosing her in his arms. He kissed her so hard, she wanted to sob. His passion was incontestable, she wanted to drown in it.

His mouth moved against hers in that familiar way, making her body light up to a different degree— making her skin burn for something more. Her hands pulled at his hair, urging him closer.

She cried out when he palmed her breast, needily—the sensation all too new. His lips were still relentless, desperate on hers. She gasped against his lips when he squeezed her breasts harder. His hips bucked into hers-his clothed groin pressing against her warmth.

He broke the kiss and ran his sharp eyes over her face and body-as if trying to memorize her. His grey eyes burned with black fire as he slipped his arm around lower back, hoisting her further up the bed.

She watched him stand from the bed. He unbuckled his belt, tossing it to the floor as he undressed himself til he was bare. She subconsciously closed her legs as she stared at his fully erect cock hanging between his legs. It’s leaking tip touched his navel as he bent over slightly to remove his pants. It was thick, veins running along its sides as it protruded outwards—seeking attention.

She flushed brightly when he met her eyes. He grabbed his cock, giving it a firm stroke before wiping away the white substance at its head.

He climbed over the bed, making his way over her. He kept an arm propped beside her head while gently sliding his other hand along her inner thigh to spread her legs open.

She complied, her heart racing as she felt his firm thighs against the back of hers—holding her legs wide open.

She shivered when she felt his lips scrape the outside of her ear. Her hands went to his biceps, her eyes searching his face.

His silver eyes instantly met hers and he must’ve seen something because he leaned over and pressed a delicate kiss to her lips.

His hand underneath her knee pulled her up slightly as he kissed her. Her cunt grazed the tip of his cock and he hissed. She gasped at the sensation it elicited.

Her hands slid up his biceps to his shoulders, gripping tightly.

“Levi-“ she rasped out.

His arm beside her head moved closer, his hand slipping into her hair—pressing into the side of her face. His thumb ran along cheek.

“S’okay,” his deep voice rumbled.

He pressed his forehead to hers, “I’ll-I’ll be slow,” he stuttered out, “Tell me—tell me when to stop.”

She stared up into his eyes. His eyes glimmered-like the of rough surfaces of obsidian-in the dark. To others he might've been inscrutable, but his eyes felt like home to her. She realized-with a low sweeping sensation in her stomach-that she trusted him. She trusted him with her all.

Her hands slid around either side of his neck as she nodded.

He didn’t remove his eyes from her when he let go of her thigh to grip his cock and angle it so that his tip rested at her entrance. She jolted at the shot of heat that ignited from her core.

His sharp eyes turned black before he closed his eyes. He inhaled raggedly before locking his jaw. She felt his shoulders flex with restraint as he slowly pressed his hips into her.

She let out a small cry, her back arching slowly at the unfamiliarity of the sensation. His cock was warm-and hard, so hard-as it pushed into her. She felt her legs tremble slightly around him.

He went still. His hand at the side of her face slipped to the crown of her head, gripping a handful of her hair in a fist as he breathed out a haggard breath.

“How’s that.” his voice was taut.

Her eyes flitted over his tense expression before nodding. Her hands at his neck twitched nervously.

She closed her eyes when she felt his hips shift again—trying to prepare herself. She felt his cock disappear from within her only to force itself back in deeper.

“Ah!” she cried out, tears biting the corner of her eyes as her breath came out staggered. That hurt.

“Shit, sorry-“ he gritted out. He shook his head before scanning her face worriedly.

He kissed a tear that seemed to escape from the corner of her eye, “I’ll be slower.” he murmured-voice strained.

She closed her eyes when he glanced down between them. She wasn’t the only one trembling, she felt the slight tremors of tension knotting and unknotting under his skin. She knew he was trying to be as patient as he could with her, she wanted to do this for him.

She bit her lower lip, trying not to cry out when she felt his cock slowly press deeper into her. It felt as if he were pushing through something he shouldn’t—as if he were trying to make room somewhere that was too tight but he kept insisting—making room for himself in her.

She gasped-unable to take the pain and the low flickering sensation of heat building up in her insides, making her wetter. She felt filled enough but he still seemed have more-how, oh lord, how—

Her eyes shot open, “Wait-wait-“

He went still, exhaling breathlessly as he stared down at her.

Her eyes fluttered as she wriggled her hips upwards slightly-thinking it might alleviate the pain. The sensation of having something within her all too foreign. She felt his cock slide against her walls.

He hissed, “Don’t do that.”

She felt his thighs and shoulders flex. Imperceptible waves of self-restraint rolling off of him.

She gasped slightly when she felt his cock throb within her—her insides instinctively clamped around him.

His breath seemed to disappear and suddenly his cock was gone from within her. Her eyes opened wide to see that his expression was hard.

“Do you want me to be gentle.”

She nodded, unable to tear her eyes away from his deep silver ones.

He pressed his forehead to hers, his hand fisting the hair at the crown of her head. “Then don’t make this hard for me.” he spoke raggedly.

She held onto his neck tighter-her eyes flitting between each of his as her thumbs stroked ahis defined jaw.

“S-“ his lips cut her off before she could finish her apology. The kiss was fierce, hungry, unrestrained—suddenly he plunged his cock into her at the same depth as before.

She whimpered under his lips. The pain made her fingers curl into his skin—her nails making crescent shaped marks in his back.

He broke the kiss, staring down at her intently as he withdrew his hips slightly-not fully removing his cock from within her.

His expression was strained, “This is gonna hurt.”

Her eyes widened before she completely wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to hide her face in his shoulder. Her hands shook subtly in his hair as her knees drew her legs closer around his hips-inadvertently pushing his cock slightly deeper. His jaw clenched.

“Okay.” she rasped out, only to lose any sense of coherent thought a second later.

He drove the full length of his cock inside in her one detrimental sweep. She screamed-unprepared despite the warning. She threw her head back, back arching against the bed as her tits pressed into his firm chest. His body a rigid weight against her trembling, writhing form—keeping her pinned under him.

Her insides clung to him—squeezing him unbearably tight. A deep moan escaped his lips, traveling down the cusp of her ear to every nerve in her body.

His hand at the crown of her head fisted her hair. His other hand simultaneously sliding around her arched her back, slipping over her ass to further press himself into her cunt. She gasped out, wincing.

Her arms shook around him as she hugged him tightly, her wrapped legs around his back keeping him close. Her breath was weak and uneven as she tried to think past the pain—wanting to give him her all.

She lifted her hips slightly—her cunt tightening further around his cock at the action. His cock made her feel so full. She never thought she could feel like this. Underneath the aftershocks of pain, there was this indiscernible sensation that sparked deep below her abdomen-making her skin tingle and breath hot. It felt like something was suspended inside of her, waiting to come apart.

His hips bucked into her, and a staggered cry left her lips. She felt her insides reflexively squeeze around him and before she knew it, another low, guttural moan was ripped from his throat and she felt his cock twitch in her depths.

Suddenly he straightened, easily unraveling himself from her wrapped arms to pull back his hips. He pulled his cock out a second before spurts of his cum began to pour from his tip. She stared-stunned-as his cock twitched, continuing to spurt out thick, white liquid over her stomach until his cock went still.

Her eyes flickered up to see that his face was flushed, almost glowing in a way she’d never seen before. She stared, watching his sweaty body gleam as he breathed coarsely, his abs hardening with each inhale. The strands of his dark hair that weren’t pasted to his forehead swayed as he looked down at her.

She swallowed, her heart scrambling into different directions at his gaze. She couldn’t describe the pull she always felt with him—as if the atoms in the air were pulling them together, as if being skin to skin wasn’t enough.

She sharply turned her face away, drawing in the shaky breath his eyes had chased away. She could relax now, he had finished. The feeling of his warm cum on her stomach was proof.

She jolted slightly when she felt him bend over her once-more. His silver eyes unreadable as he propped his arm beside her head again.

Her legs jolted sensitively when she felt him rub the tip of his cock against her inner thigh-wiping away the last bead of his cum, before driving the full-length of his cock deep into her cunt in one stroke.

She yelled out-her cunt convulsing around him from the pain. The underlying shocks of pleasure that scattered within her surprised her. Her hands went to his chest as she attempted to even out her breathing.

Her expression was strained as she looked up at him, “L-Levi, what are you doing?”

Both of his arms were propped beside her head now. One hand grasped the hair above her head in a loose fist, while the other pressed into the side of her face—his thumb grazing her panting lips.

His eyes were unrelenting in the dark, “I’m not done with you.”

A loud gasp left her lips when she felt him press his hips further into her.

She groaned, “Levi..” her hands spasmed across his chest before gripping his shoulders tightly.

He pressed his forehead against hers, his voice jagged, “How could I be? After everything you do to me..”

Her cunt squeezed around him and he hissed. His cock bucking into her, “Need t’give this cunt what it deserves.”

Before he could start, her hand went to his throat, “Wait-wait-I-I don’t know if I’m made for this.” she stuttered out, saying the first words that came to mind.

His dark, barely constrained eyes studied her. She felt his cock twitch inside of her and shivered.

“Then why do you feel like you’re made for me.”

His quiet words washed over her skin, making something churn in her gut. Her hands slid over his jaw and cupped his face, she leaned up to kiss him.

Then she was at his mercy.

He kissed her so hard she was crushed against the sheets. His cock pistoned in and out of her at a pace brutal enough to make her see stars.

The pain was immense, but the rising sensation she felt rising underneath her skin was indescribable. She’d never felt anything like it. It made her insides clamp desperately around his cock every time he slammed into her.

She broke the kiss, arching her neck back as her body trembled under his unforgiving pace. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think.

It felt inhumane, animalistic, and otherworldly. He fucked her in a way that didn't think humanly possible-so fast, deep and powerful. It was almost as if he were proving to her that no one else could make her feel like this-branding it within her insides.

His hunger poured through the strength of his merciless thrusts. Any restraint he’d kept before was long gone. His hand fisted her hair, keeping her neck arched as he bit at the sensitive skin underneath her jaw. His teeth marking as much of her as he desired—he didn’t slow down.

Tears streamed down the corners of her eyes as his pace picked up. She didn’t think that was possible-but his strength-she felt it thrumming boundlessly in his skin. She swore his cock had grown in size.

She couldn’t take it. Loud cries left her lips with each body bending fuck. Her arms aching from how tightly she held onto his shoulders. His breaths were short, hot and sharp and beside her throat. His cock throbbed within her.

Suddenly one harsh thrust touched her too deep—deep enough to make her shatter. Her head flung backwards. She didn’t know if she was moaning or screaming but she felt a pleasure so blinding her body buckled underneath his.

The lewd sounds of their sex and the headboard hitting the wall became white noise. Wave after wave of pleasure unfurled at every point of her body—consuming all of her. His relentless pace powering through her, letting the fire brewing within her peak to a devastating degree.

And her mind went blank.

“Have you ate at all today?”

She froze, her hand tightening over the sheets, “No.” she admitted.

She felt Levi’s razor-sharp eyes bore into the side of her head but she refused to meet his gaze. She knew the confession would upset him.

“That explains it.” Dr. Bernard spoke calmly before reaching into his bag and handing her a banana.

She hesitated a moment before taking it.

“Please, eat,” he urged, “It’s no wonder you went unconscious after that much strenuous activity.” Dr. Bernard shot Levi a disappointed look.

Levi didn’t meet his eyes. He wore a plain black tee since she currently wore the dress-shirt he’d been wearing earlier.

Dr. Bernard stood up, re-adjusting his glasses, “I suppose that concludes our time together. Please, miss, I implore you to not miss your meals. Food is our fuel.”

His eyes narrowed as he turned to Levi, “And I implore you to practice more restraint.”

A faint blush bloomed on Levi’s cheeks as his eyes hardened, but he-surprisingly-said nothing. Instead he straightened from his perch against the wall, letting his folded arms drop to his sides as he motioned towards the door.

“I’ll walk you out.” his tone clipped.

Dr. Bernard merely sighed. He turned to give Devon a nod in goodbye before walking out of the room. Just as Levi turned to follow him, he stopped in his tracks.

He glanced over his shoulder to see her struggling with peeling the banana, her wrists wobbling slightly.

He grit his teeth before hastily turning to her and snatching the banana from her hands. He deftly peeled its sides before handing it to her.

She stared up at him for a moment before taking it from him. She knew he’d be mad at her for skipping her meals but it still surprised her.

She waited for some scolding remark but none came—instead he was terse, “How do you feel.”

She’d awoken in the middle of Dr. Bernard examining her so it was only natural for him to want to know. But.. how could she answer that question?

She supposed Dr. Bernard was right in some aspect. She had been feeling a bit lightheaded throughout the day but the only reason why she’d passed out was because of him; that overwhelming sense of pleasure he elicited in her body.

Her throat went dry before her eyes flitted up to him.

“H-how did you do that?” her voice felt low and hoarse to her ears.

His thin brows furrowed, “What.”

Her legs inadvertently squeezed together under the sheets-his eyes followed the action.

She swallowed, “How did you make me feel like that?”

His eyes widened-black fire inflaming within his stare-before he was on her. He bent over her, one hand planted to the headboard while his other hand crept up her knee to her inner thigh, over the blanket.

She shivered, leaning back into the headboard as he cornered her.

His crystalline eyes never left hers, “How’d I make you feel.” his low voice made her heartbeat go off at an erratic rate.

Her throat tightened before losing all train of thought when his hand lightly squeezed her inner thigh. A short gasp leaving her lips as her body jolted. The sharp sense of pain that shot through her was distinct, making her cunt squeeze inwards reflexively. Her insides throbbed, clutching at broken pieces of bliss that she'd felt before.

She glanced down at her now open legs. Last she remembered, she'd mentally instructed herself to squeeze her legs together-to stop his wandering hand, not spread herself wider for him.

Suddenly Dr. Bernard called out from the living room, “Guess I’ll just walk myself out then!”

Levi suddenly wrenched himself away from her-as if having completely forgotten someone else was in the apartment. To be fair, she had too.

“I’ll be back.” he muttered before swiftly exiting the room, shutting the door behind himself.

Her eyes widened when she saw the rumpled pile of sheets stuffed behind the door—an obvious red stain on the old sheets. I bled.. that much? She stared at the stain, feeling a bit unnerved. She hadn't even realized that she bled in the first place.

She glanced down, just noticing that the sheets on the bed were were different than the ones used during their.. sex, he must’ve hastily replaced them before grabbing the Doctor.

She touched her lower belly, belatedly realizing that the cum that’d been there moments ago was gone as well. He was always so particular about his cleanliness… only to fuck like that. She couldn’t quite wrap her head around it.

She swallowed, a wave of exhaustion hitting her. She took a few bites from the banana before laying down.

She thought she distantly heard the familiar low intonation of Levi’s voice speaking to Dr. Bernard. She pulled the sheets up to her shoulders-willingly succumbing to the pull of sleep wafting over her. Her last fleeting thought being—when’s he going to come back?

Unfortunately, it would be a while.

a/n: AHHHHHHHHHHHNSUFBiebijnadsnfuild :)

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agirlwithbigdreamsforher · 11 months

Text

THE BACHELOR

THE NANNY: ONE SHOT

THE BACHELOR

Pairing: Andy Barber x Annie Johnson (OFC)

Summary: Andy’s friends take him to his last day of “Freedom”.

Warnings: none.

A/N: As usual any mistakes are my own.

Word count: 1418

Disclaimer: I do not give permission for any of my works to be copied, used, translated nor reposted anywhere else but here on this blog. Do not steal what you didn’t work for. Minors and ageless blank blogs don’t interact with me or my works. Reblogs and likes are always welcome. Thank you for reading this work of fiction.

GIF'S not mine, you can find the credits in each gif :)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

“Ok, so.” Annie was sitting on the couch, Andy, Sebastian and Anthony were standing in front of her. “You are asking my permission to take Andy to see strippers?”

“No, Honey! No strippers.” Andy said, “Right, guys?”

“No, ma’am. “Anthony replied.

“I can’t promise anything.” Sebastian said and the other two immediately turned to see him, “What?”

“It’s just a small gathering among friends, we are going to the bar and have fun.” Sebastian said.

“Just the three of you?”

“And Neil.” Andy said.

Annie thought this whole situation was funny, they look like three little boys asking for permission to their momma to do something.

“No offense but that sounds really boring. What’s the point of a bachelor’s party if there’s no strippers?” Annie said.

“Right?!” Sebastian answered.

“Wait! Are you ok with me going to a strip club?” Andy said not so sure and Annie just shrugged, “Did you have strippers on your party?”

“What? Of course not!” Annie said and then bit her lip trying really hard not to laugh.

“Oh my god! You’re lying!” Andy said.

“I never lie.” Everyone stayed silenced, “Anyways, you go and have fun.” Annie stood up and gave him a small kiss on the lips, “Take care of him guys, ok?”

Annie went upstairs while the 3 men stayed in place.

“Are we going to the strip club then?” Sebastian said.

“Oh yeah!” Anthony said. “You are in for a sweet long night, Barber!”

-----------------( )-------------------

Andy, Neil, Anthony and Sebastian arrived to a strip club named “The Afterlife.”

“The Afterlife?” Andy said.

“My guess is they named it that way cuz you are in heaven.” Sebastian said and all of them laughed.

They walked in and went to take a table. Anthony ordered a bucket of beers, a bottle of whisky and another of tequila. He served a round of shoots and passed them to each.

“To Andy,” They all raise they shot, “and his last day of freedom.”

They drank the shoot, making a face after the liquor slid down their throats.

“In all seriousness,” Anthony continue, “we’re happy for you, man.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian said, “You deserve to be happy.”

“And you guys make a perfect couple.” Neil finished.

“Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it.” He served himself another tequila shot, “Now,” He drank it, “Let’s have fun.”

“That’s the spirit!” Sebastian said putting his hand on Andy’s shoulder.

Four more buckets of beers, another bottle of whisky and two more of tequila and they were wasted! Neil was already passed out in one of the chairs, Sebastian was throwing money to the girl in front of him, Anthony was in the bathroom, and some girl was giving Andy a lap dance.

--------------------( )--------------------

Annie was fully asleep when the sound of something crashing against the floor downstairs woke her up. She paid close attention and heard a loud “SHHHHH!” Soon after the sound of heavy steps on the stairs were heard, followed by a thud and another “shhhh!” Annie giggled but stayed in her place.

Andy walked into the bedroom, Annie could see his form in the dark; he was stumbling a bit. Annie stood up, lights still off and walked towards him placing her hands on his waist.

“Hi, baby.”

“No,” Andy push her hands away. “’m not your baby.”

“What?”

“I have a wife, ok? And I love her.”

“Oh! Do you?”

“Yes! And I hafff… I go with her right now!” Andy said turning and walking to the door.

“Andy! Where are you going?”

“Going home. Peace!”

“Peace? That’s new.” Annie grabbed him by the belt “Not so fast.”

“I told you I have a wife.”

“Ok, fine!” Annie let him go, and saw him leave the room.

It wasn’t long before she heard a loud bang on the hallway, and of course she ran to where the sound was coming from. She turned on the lights and saw Andy full face against the carpet.

“Oh my god!” Annie kneeled next to him, “Baby, are you ok?”

“Honey?” He turned to see her, “Aw, I woke you…” He tried to sit down and failed, “’M sorry.”

“Let me help you.”

“No, I can, just gimme a sec.”

Andy turned around and eventually could sat down against the wall. All while Annie observed him attentively. He took a deep breath and then turned to where Annie was.

“Honey! Hi!” He got closer and kissed her, “so pretty.” He kissed her one more time and then caressed her cheek.

“Hey, baby. Did you have fun?”

“No, I missed you.”

“Liar.”

“’M not! Guys took me to this place, “The Heaven”…”

“That’s a cool name.” Annie said, “Sounds fun.”

“…And then they paid some lady to give me a lap dance, and…”

“Was it good?” Annie asked.

“I mean she had good moves…Boobs too big” Andy put his hand in front of his chest trying to indicate the size making Annie laugh, “But she wasn’t you.”

“Aw, and then what happened?”

“I went home! But then I was in a dark room and some woman called me baby and touched me!”

“Really?! The audacity!”

“I know!” He hiccupped, “bu… I said no! I haf a wifeee!”

“I’m not your wife.” Andy turned to see her, disappointment in his eyes. “Not yet, at least.”

“You mean” Andy turned away and crossed his arms, just like Jake when he was upset.

“Hey, no. I’m sorry.” Andy huffed, “You can call me your wife, I don’t mind.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Now how about if we go to bed?”

“Oh! Little wife want me to give her good.” Andy giggled and her face went reder than it was due to the alcohol.

“I actually want you to sleep. But sure, why not?”

“Im gonna rock your world!”

Annie stood and helped Andy to get into and to the bed. He tripped a bit with his own feet falling on the bed.

“Ow! Are you ok?” Andy asked with concerned.

“I’m perfect. Stay right here, I’ll bring you a glass of water. Get undress.”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

She went to the bathroom and filled a glass with cold water. When she came back Andy was out, stretched all over the bed on his back, pants still on, flannel opened and boots on the floor. She shook her head and smiled. She walked towards him, left the glass on the night table.

“Good night, baby.” She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and Andy hummed, “See you tomorrow.”

She took her phone and almost instantly it began to ring.

“Hi, Anthony.” And to her surprise he sounded sober.

“Hi! Hey I don’t know how to tell you this, but we lost Andy.”

“Don’t worry, he is here, he is sleeping.”

“Really? ...He is with her.” Annie heard him whispered. “Gimme that!”

“Hello?” It was Sebastian this time, “Listen lady, we will call the police.”

“What for?” Annie said.

“We lost Andy!” Sebastian replayed with concerned.

“Are you an idiot? I just told you Andy is in his house!” Anthony was heard in the back.

“Pass me Anthony.” She heard a bit of noise.

“Sorry, I’ll take him home.”

“Did you take Neil already?”

“Yes, we just dropped him.”

“Good, have a good night. You are a good friend, Anthony.” And then she hung up.

She turned around and left the room to spend the night in the guest room.

Annie was drifting off when she heard the door opening. Not long after she felt the bed sinking on the opposite side.

“Are you mad?” Andy said with a sleepy drunk voice.

“What?” Annie turned to see him. Now he was fully unclothed.

“I promise I didn’t…” Hiccup, “Touched anyone.”

“Andy I’m not mad.”

“You left me alone.”

“You feel asleep like a dead star, there was no room for me in that bed.” She giggled and Andy nodded. “Although I should be mad at you.”

“Why?”

“You left without letting anyone know you were leaving. Andy baby, you are drunk, something bad could’ve happened to you. Don’t do that again, ok?” Andy nodded again, “Now, go to sleep, you need it.” Her hand went to the nape of his head, her fingers caressing Andy.

“Hmmm.” Andy’s eyes were closing slowly. Andy’s eyes shut down and then, “Marry me?”

Annie giggled, “I will.” And then Andy’s head hung low and started snoring. “Good night, baby.”

Andy definitely had a sweet night, and he had a sweeter hangover the day after.

#andy barber fanfic #andy barber #annie johnson #andy x annie #andy x reader #the nanny fic #andy barber fanfiction #jake barber #andy and annie #the nanny au

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spr1ngy1081 · 1 year

Text

I wrote a story, or well chapter 1 of a story and would like some criticism and opinions on it so far

Concept: Malachi and Kara are our main protagonists, Malachi is more of the chill, sarcastic type person while Kara is more loud destructive and chaotic. The premise goes: Malachi is a demon living in the human world trying to have a normal life til Kara (another demon) tries to steal from his fathers restaurant, from that point forward his life got more and more chaotic, then comes wraith, wraith is the villain of this story and he is a fallen angel whose goal is to enslave all demons and turn humans into his soldiers, and Malachi and Kara fight back against him. Anyway here’s chapter 1 of my story currently called “Angels Hell”

CHAPTER 1

“Malachi! MALACHI, WAKE UP!” *Malachi’s father, Jasper slams his hands on the counter, jolting him awake in an instant

“Wha- huh!? I-I’m up!” *Malachi stammered, still a bit groggy from his sudden awakening. Jasper’s expression showed a mix of anger and concern, concerned about his sons lack of sleep*

“…Just pack your stuff up and head home. I can take it from here,” *Jasper instructed his tone indication a mix of reassurance and sternness*

“You sure..?” *Malachi questioned, looking for confirmation*

“Positive. Now go” *Jasper affirmed, reluctantly Malachi made his way to the back to gather his things*

As Malachi gathered his belongings, a mysterious hooded figure silently entered through the front door of the restaurant. She surveyed her surroundings, trying to get a sense of the place

“Hello, sir… ma’am? I can’t tell; you kinda have a hood on. It’s really hard to make out any of your features. Would you, uhh, like a place to sit?” *Jasper offered, attempting to be accommodating despite the figures suspicious disguise*

"That would be nice, sir," the figure responded, intentionally deepening her voice to conceal her identity. Jasper led her to a seat near the counter and went to fetch a menu. Meanwhile, the figure's eyes caught sight of Jasper's wallet, left unattended on the counter-a tempting opportunity for easy money.

"Don't mind if I just-" she mumbled to herself. swiftly snatching the wallet, unable to resist the temptation. "Yoink," she whispered, for some inexplicable reason, as if it were a necessary part of the act. She began rummaging through the wallet, searching for cash, when she sensed someone's presence behind her.

"I don't think that's your wallet" a voice interrupted, causing her to freeze. Slowly turning around, she found herself face to face with Jasper, who had removed her hood, exposing her startled expression. She let out a loud gasp, caught off guard by his astuteness.

"You're not really good at hiding your voice either," Jasper remarked, his gaze firm. "Now, ma'am, either give me my money back and get the hell out of my restaurant, or l'I have to contact the police.”

At the mention of the police, panic surged through her veins. She attempted to make a swift escape, but Jasper quickly grabbed hold of her. "Running away isn't an option here," he insisted.

"YES, IT IS!" she exclaimed, desperation fueling her actions. In a daring move, she bit Jasper's hand, momentarily freeing herself. Remembering the restaurant's layout from a mental note she had taken earlier, she deduced that escaping through a vent would be her best chance. She sprinted towards the vent but found it just out of reach, causing her panic to escalate. She frantically searched for an alternative escape route and spotted what she believed to be an emergency exit, racing towards it with Jasper in pursuit. However, to her dismay, she accidentally locked herself in Malachi's bedroom.

"Oh, great!" she muttered in frustration, realizing she had trapped herself. With no way out, she felt entirely at a loss. Malachi heard her enter and assumed it was his father, he turns to look at what he believes is his father*

"Huh?" *Malachi's initial assumption shattered as he did a double take, realizing that the person in front of him was not his dad but a complete stranger.* "What are you doing in here?" he questioned, a mix of confusion and curiosity in his voice.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your whole..." *Kara's voice trailed off as she made a random hand gesture,* "...thing."

Frowning, Malachi pressed for a more straightforward answer. "I asked what you're doing here."

"Oh, umm... well, I'm in a little... situation, a bit of a pickle, you know," Kara replied, her words laced with a hint of trepidation.

"Jeez, can you just talk instead of using all these little hints?" Malachi retorted, growing impatient.

Kara took a deep breath, realizing the need for clarity. "Okay, so... jeez, how do I put this in a way you'll understand... big guy... wants me dead."

"Why are you talking to me like I'm a baby? We look like the same age?" Malachi's confusion deepened.

"A really tall demon guy wants me dead for stealing his wallet," Kara explained, her voice tinged with urgency.

Malachi's eyes widened as realization dawned. "...Did his name tag say Jasper?"

"Uhh... yeah, I believe so," Kara confirmed.

"That's my father you're talking about, then," Malachi revealed, his tone filled with a mix of surprise and concern.

"FATHER!?" Kara exclaimed, her gaze fixated on him for a few seconds before resuming her search for an exit. "...I don't see the resemblance, honestly," she remarked, her eyes scanning the room.

"I think we look pretty similar, in my opinion," Malachi replied, a hint of self-consciousness in his voice.

"Well, one is way hotter," Kara blurted out, her words slipping without filter.

"Huh?" Malachi's eyebrows shot up in confusion, caught off guard by the unexpected comment.

"What?! Nothing!" Kara quickly backtracked, attempting to regain her composure amidst the tension of the situation.

*After a frantic search, she came to a startling realization—her only means of escape lay through the window, that Malachi was directly in-front of.* "What? Why are you staring at me like that?" *Without a moment's hesitation, she propelled herself towards him, crashing into his frame and propelling them both out of the window, hurtling into the abyss of a passing garbage truck.* "WHAT THE HELL!? What was that for? We could've plummeted to our deaths!" *Malachi frantically patted his body, relieved to find himself intact.* "Thank goodness we're still alive... but where in the hell have we ended up?"

"Ugh, it smells like straight trash!" Kara exclaimed, wrinkling her nose in disgust. As the garbage truck continued its bumpy journey, she couldn't bear the stench any longer. Jumping up, she desperately tried to brush off the clinging trash from her clothes. "Gross, gross, gross!" she squealed, swatting at the debris as if battling imaginary foes. Feeling frustrated, she decided to direct her blame towards Malachi. "Maybe if you had just let me leave-" Kara's words were abruptly interrupted. "Ugh, shut up!" Malachi retorted. "You're not the only one in this situation, you know? Stop being such a narcissist!" Kara paused, realizing the truth in his words. "You're right... let's just look for a way out," she reluctantly agreed.

"A way out? We're in a moving vehicle! We can't just leave. That stop was their last stop!" Malachi exclaimed, feeling trapped. As she searched amidst the trash, her eyes landed on a slightly broken sled. Curiosity piqued, she inquired about their location. Malachi explained that they were headed to the dump, which was situated atop a nearby hill. A mischievous smirk formed on Kara's face as she giggled. "Perfect! Now, I'm a good person, so I want to make sure you survive too. Just hold onto me, alright?" she insisted. Malachi, confused but compliant, wrapped his arms around her. "Hold on...?" he questioned. "Can you just hold onto me, please?" Kara requested. "Fine," Malachi conceded, placing his arms around her. "Now, hold on!" Kara shouted. With a firm grip on the sled, she leaped out of the garbage truck, with Malachi clinging tightly.

They began sliding down the steep hill, swerving left and right, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic. "How are we going to survive without being hit?" Malachi anxiously asked. "I... I'm not sure. I didn't think this far!" Kara admitted, her voice filled with uncertainty. As they reached the top of a bridge above water, Malachi urgently instructed her to turn right. "Right? But that's off the bridge!" Kara protested. "Exactly!" Malachi replied. Understanding his plan, she swiftly turned right. They plunged off the side of the bridge, splashing into the water below. A moment of panic seized Malachi as he realized he couldn't swim.

Kara, noticing his distress, dove down to save him. With her quick thinking, she managed to rescue him and bring him to the shore. Exhausted, they lay there for a while, catching their breath. Suddenly, Malachi burst into laughter. "That was fun! Probably the most fun I've had in a few years!" he exclaimed. Kara chuckled, realizing the absurdity of their situation. "Right? We almost died! ... We almost died," she repeated, the gravity of the situation sinking in. Looking at Malachi, she asked, "Say, what's your name?" He replied, "Malachi." A warm smile spread across his face. Sitting up, Kara gently rested her head on Malachi's shoulder. "Malachi... I like that name," she admitted, letting out a laugh before teasing him playfully about his unique name.

#writing #demon oc #original story #fantasy #fiction #fiction writing #fantasy writing #Spotify

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meadowmines · 1 year

Text

RGG Tactics Obligatory Scam Substory: Heaven's Water

[Aoyagi is walking across one of the bridges when he’s stopped by a well-dressed mom-age woman]

???: Oh, sir? Sir? Hello! Do you have a moment?

Aoyagi: Me? …um, I guess so? What can I do for you?

???: Wonderful! My name is Yoshino, and I’d love to tell you all about the fantastic new product my company is offering! Our all-natural organic water is--

Aoyagi: …I’ma stop ya right there because somethin’ smells fishy and I don’t think it’s just because we’re standing over the river right now. Isn’t water kind of… all-natural by default?

Yoshino: Well, you might think that! But the water you drink has been so heavily processed with chemicals and filters that all of its essence is stripped away! Our Heaven’s Water comes to you in its raw, natural, completely unprocessed state, with all of its life-force intact!

Aoyagi: None of that sounds right but I don’t know enough about water treatment to dispute it.

[if Doc Nakamura is in your active party]

Doc Nakamura: I know enough to dispute it and I don’t even know where the hell to start.

Aoyagi: Miss, if I could ask ya one thing… where’s the water come from? Some kinda protected spring, or--

Yoshino: Oh, that’s the best part! Our water is locally sourced, from our very own Sotenbori River!

Aoyagi: The Soten…bori…

Nishitani [flashback]: Body comes floatin’ along, ya just pretend ya didn’t see it.

Aoyagi: 😟

Kuroshi [flashback]: It was never that bad, oyasan.

Sugihara [flashback]: Yeah, they usually weighted the bodies down.

Aoyagi: 😧

Kuroshi [flashback]: Usually.

[Camera pans down from the bridge, to the surface of the Sotenbori. There is an ominous blurp of bubbles. Cut back to Aoyagi.]

Aoyagi: 😬

Yoshino: And we’re running an introductory special, so this week you can take home your first ten bottles for only one million yen! With the purchase of the premium subscription plan, of course, which comes out to a monthly fee of--

Aoyagi: A MILLION YEN!? I could dip my own up for free IF I was stupid enough to drink water straight outta the river, which I ain’t! How ‘bout this introductory special--I keep my money n’ you keep your raw garbage water!

Yoshino: Oh! How rude! I didn’t want it to come to this, but, well, I have a quota to think about! Boys! We’ve got a difficult customer here!

[A number of tough-looking goons block all means of exit, trapping Aoyagi on the bridge]

Aoyagi: Oh, come on…

[Tactical battle ensues! Three turns in:]

Goon: Hey, miss! We’re gettin’ the stuffin’ kicked out of us out here! Ya didn’t tell us this one can actually fight!

Yoshino: Don’t worry, don’t worry--here you go, boys! Heaven’s Water will give you the strength of a hundred men! It’s true! The marketing handbook said to tell you that!

Goon: Uhhh… miss, I dunno about this--

Yoshino: JUST SHUT UP AND DRINK IT!

Goons: …yes ma’am.

[The goons all chug the product and are immediately hit with EVERY SINGLE STATUS EFFECT. Oh, and unlike Y7… status effects do stack in Tactics. :3]

Goon: Oooooh… miss… I don’t feel so good.

Another Goon: The colors… the colors are coming to steal all my hair…

Yet Another Goon: Wharrgarbl--[falls over]

Yoshino: What!? What’s happening!?

[Naturally, now that the goons are all Poisoned, Stunned, Paralyzed, Sick, Blind, Asleep, Slowed, and Silenced, Aoyagi’s crew whoops them thoroughly--if they don’t keel over dead from Poison first. The goons all stagger away groaning in pain from inside and out.]

A Goon: T-toilet… I-I need the toilet…

Another Goon: N-no time… Just gonna go in the… in the river…

Yoshino: Oh my God! That--that wasn’t supposed to happen!

Aoyagi: I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess you’ve never actually tried yer product yerself.

Yoshino: Well, of course I’ve tried it! What kind of rep would I be if…

Aoyagi: …

Yoshino: …oh, who am I kidding. God, no. It smells like dead fish and pee. [sigh] Are you… going to call the police?

Aoyagi: Nah. …nah, I got a better idea. Maybe you can make yer quota after all.

[Heaven’s Water Rep Yoshino joins the battle roster as a support unit! She will run out onto the battlefield, deliver her spiel, and if successful, convince a non-boss enemy to buy a bottle of Heaven’s Water. You get a little money, and the enemy gets a random status effect.]

#yakuza #yakuza oc #aoyagi saga #fan game stuff

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nsokolow · 2 years

Text

Little Weasel, Big City: Chapter 5

“Lei-lei-lei?” Duke came up next to her and looked down at the paper. His face dropped. “Oh.”

“No, no, no, this can’t be.” Leilani again ran her eyes over it. “This has to be fake!”

“This…this is fantastic!” Duke exclaimed as he gave Leilani a hug. “We’re married!”

“What?” Leilani tensed up. “Why are you so on board with this?”

Duke grabbed the paper and held it above his head. “This is my chance to start a new life! To be the weasel I was meant to be! I can truly be the Duke of Weaseltown!”

In a rare moment, Leilani, her eyes two sizes bigger, her mouth wide open, had no idea what to say.

Duke walked out of the room and looked all around the living room. “You’d have to make good money to live in an apartment as nice as this, and you’re pretty!”

Leilani’s eyes filled with tears as she stomped into the living room. “No! You’re not starting a new life with me!” She sunk to the floor and lied on her belly. “I was just starting a new life here! Yesterday was my first day as a marketing agent, and the boss noticed me!”

“Oh, do you have work today? Have a good day, toots!” Duke bent down to kiss her.

Leilani blocked his muzzle with her paw. “Yes, I do, but on the way, I’m going to take that certificate to the nearest law firm to see if it’s legit, then I’m filing for divorce!” She stormed back to her room and closed the door.

“Lei-lei-lei?” Duke knocked on the door. “Can we at least at talk about this?”

“What is there to talk about?” Leilani sniffed. “We barely know each other and woke up married because of some flowers. Is it really so bad that I want a divorce?”

“Well…I guess not, but we could get to know each other!”

Leilani slipped on a blue floral print dress with short sleeves. “I’m not too interested in that, but my name is actually ‘Leilani.’ If it’s too hard for you, you can call me ‘Lei.’ A few animals do.”

“Well, since you’re my wife and all, I’d like to give you a short version of my name to call me by, but it’s so short.”

Leilani sighed and looked at the closed door. She felt a little bad for getting so excited. “If it helps, I do like your name.”

“Really? I’ve been told it makes me sound like a hick.”

“That’s weird; I mean, it clearly was invented from the royal title.” Leilani wiped her face with a cleansing wipe. Her smudged eye makeup was quickly wiped away. She opened the door and grabbed her purse. “Well, I’m off. Feel free to get yourself some cereal or something.”

“Oh, okay. See ya later!” Duke walked to the kitchen.

“Wait! You’re not going to steal anything, are you?” Leilani pointed a finger at him.

“Psh…please. You’re my wife, toots! I wouldn’t steal from my wife!”

“Well, fair enough, I guess.” Leilani shrugged and walked out the door.

“This is a legitimate document.”

Leilani sunk into her seat. “I thought so.”

The badger behind the desk clicked her tongue. “I’m sorry for what you’re going through, Miss Musterson, I really am. If it’s any consolation, you’re not the first animal to have too many drinks and marry a loser.”

Leilani’s ear twitched in embarrassment. “No, it was these flowers that sprayed us! Daring Do!”

The badger took off her glasses. “From the news?”

Leilani nodded.

“Oh no. I really hope the ZPD gets those flowers under control.”

“So, how do I get a divorce?” Leilani grinned and nodded as she folded her paws.

The badger put her glasses back on and inhaled through her teeth. “You see, Miss Musterson, I don’t agree with it, but Zootopia’s divorce laws heavily favor the man.”

Leilani’s face slowly dropped. “W-What do you mean?”

“If you’re the one that files for divorce, this ‘Duke’ guy will likely get most of what you have. Also, I don’t know if you’ll like this any better, but the law also says a couple has to live under the same roof for a year before they can divorce.”

Leilani squinted her eyes and grabbed her ears. “This isn’t happening! This isn’t happening! Ma’am, I just bought my apartment…well, condo, actually, among other things! I also have some designer dishes and jewelry inherited from my Grammy! I just moved to Savannah Central, and I just started a new career! I can’t deal with some accidental marriage to some weirdo grifter! He wouldn’t give me a divorce! He wants to stay married because I’m his ticket to a better life!” Leilani sat up and gasped. “He knew about the divorce laws! That’s why he was so calm about me leaving to file for divorce!”

“Well, I’m sorry, Miss Musterson. I don’t know what else to tell you. Maybe…you can try to make things work with this guy? There must be some good things about him.”

Leilani ran her paws down her face. “Well…I guess I could try to make it work. We’re both outgoing, and other than the whole stealing and ‘surprise marriage’ thing, we get along well.”

“There you g—“

“—He’s kinda cute, kinda rugged, and he thinks I’m pretty. His confidence is attractive, too.”

The badger stood up. “Great! So, I think we’re done here, at least for now.”

Leilani jolted. “Oh, yeah.” She stood up and shook the badger’s paw. “Thanks for all your help. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll just live with him for a year, and try to somehow get him to divorce me.”

“You’re welcome. By the way, if I were you, I’d report this ‘Daring Do’ incident to the ZPD. It might help them know who’s planting these things.”

“I will. Thank you. You know, I’ve always wanted to help the police solve a mystery! Maybe I’ll be a hero! I wouldn’t want to wear a cape, though. It would probably get caught on a bunch of stuff.”

The badger gave her a nod. “Yeah, I’m with you there!”

#zootopia #zootopia fanfiction #disney #duke weaselton #zootopia oc

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returnn-of-the-mac · 3 years

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How would the companions react if sole was like dr locklear and would kidnap raiders and other evil people and harvest there organs to make live-saving surgery's

Another old rq; sorry it took me over a year to get to this! I’m not familiar with dr locklear, but the idea of Sole harvesting organs from raiders to save other people is pretty gnarly. Hope ya like it! :)

FO4 Companions React: Sole Harvesting Raiders’ Organs to Save Others

Nick: I can’t tell if this is admirable or deplorable. Damn moral gray areas.

Preston: [closing eyes] I know it’s for a good cause but dammit, General, that’s nasty [gagging, turning away] Urp. I can’t look.

Cait: Ah, c’mon! Just sell the damn organs. We could make a lotta money off them!

Codsworth: Is there not a more…sanitary… way for you to preform this procedure? At least wash your hands first! Or wear gloves!

MacCready: [carefully removing Raider’s lung] Hold up! [abruptly stopping, dropping knife] We’re getting paid for this, right?

Curie: Ah, yes! I can help you effectively exact and preserve zees organs until we find a recipient!

Danse: Using the perfectly functional organs of ruthless savages to save the lives of innocent civilians? It’s both brilliant and commendable.

Deacon: Organ donors never laugh at my jokes. How could they be so heartless?

X6-88: The killing part I understand. The harvesting organs to save others part, that’s what I am failing to comprehend.

Gage: Why’d ya have to kill our guys to save some stupid settlers!? At least sell their organs and pocket the cash!

Hancock: This is twisted, but if it’ll help a fella out, then I’m all for it.

Piper: Huh. You’re like Robin Hood, but killing the bad instead of stealing from the rich, and giving out organs to the dying instead of caps to the poor. I like it.

Strong: WHY HUMAN NO EAT ORGANS!? LIVER IS BEST PART.

Longfellow: I’ll just be over there. Drinkin my liquor. Have fun with that, cap’n.

Ada: [handing Sole a dishrag] You have got some blood on your…everything, [sir/ma’am].

#fallout 4 #fallout #fo4 #companions react #danse #paladin danse #deacon #maccready #hancock #ada #piper #curie #cait #strong #codsworth #gage #preston garvy #nick valentine #longfellow #x6 88

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leviiattacks · 3 years

Note

CASHIER LEVI AND LIKE THE READER IS THE CUSTOMER AND IT’S LIKE THEY HAVE A CRUSH ON EACHTOHER

author note :: honestly not my best at all..... like at all..... this was actually pretty good but the entire draft got deleted and i just lost all my effort but i felt bad for starting it and not completing it for anon so you may take whatever i have managed to salvage. i hope u enjoy it :’( i am extremely sick rn and yeah writing is the only break i am currently getting from anything :-) SO AGAIN I’ M SORRY ANON..... i may write a 10k + word fic on this though so i can redeem myself bc this is just disappointing 😭

word count :: 3.3k

every single thursday you stop by ackermart. maybe it’s because the day is convenient for you or perhaps it’s because of a certain cashier that works the evenings...

HAHA it’s got nothing to do with a cashier why would it have anything to do with a cashier? :-)

today is like any other. you walk through the fresh produce aisle then proceed to make your way towards the bakery section picking up a loaf of bread

it’s stupid, you know it is but... you think you’ve worked up enough courage to speak to him today!!

and who is him you may ask?

levi at till number four. his tired eyes always happen to pierce into yours and his calloused thumbs brush past your skin when you hand him your rewards card

levi is what his bright red name tag says and although he doesn’t look like a levi you’d like to think your crush isn’t stealing someone’s identity so you believe that it’s his real name

anxiously fiddling with your basket you’re beginning to think this was a horrible idea

the girl ahead of you is flirting up a storm with him and although he’s not reciprocating it by any means you still feel deterred

levi bags the last of her groceries and looks up at her when she asks for a way to contact him. he doesn’t look mad... just bored?

“ma’am. this is an ackermart i don’t think it’s appropriate you ask me for my number. the customer service line is listed on our website.”

the woman raises a brow looking completely flabbergasted. okay, if everything before this wasn’t a warning THIS sure was

she stomps off when she realises levi isn’t kidding and you think you’d feel bad for her maybe if she was more respectful about it

“next customer.” levi calls over his shoulder and you shuffle forward pretending to be engrossed in your phone

“cash or card?” he asks plainly.

you hear the BEEP of your groceries being scanned and think on it for a while before replying with “cash”

you’re clearly pretty good at your pretend to be totally into your phone act because levi tries to get your attention but you don’t hear what he has to say till the third time he repeats himself

but even then you’re still unsure what it is he’s said????

looking down you see his hand is stuck out in front of you and now you’re even more confused

faltering for a second you look at his palm and then speak

“um, i guess your hand is nice? it’s pretty big compared to the rest of you actually.”

“i was asking for your cash?” he says and now you look at his palms in mortification

gasping you yANK your hand into your purse as you laugh awkwardly fishing around to find your money

“oh, OH i knew that. just kidding!! i mean- i meant that thing about your hand?? but i thought it was- i funny? yes the joke funny? i’m-”

he leans back into his spinning chair and sighs contently. “you’re not making much sense peaches.”

“pe- peaches??” you repeat. no way you’ve heard that correct

levi lazily points at the abundance of the aforementioned fruit in your grocery bags

“you must love em.”

“i, well yeah i do like peaches but i also like...” um??? what food would make you look sophisticated and professional?

OH YEAH

“FRENCH CUISINE :-)!!!!” you say rather proudly

“...cool. i guess.” levi hands you your grocery bag which is basically an invitation asking for you to get out

he doesn’t seem mad but he’s definitely going to look back at this encounter and laugh his ass off at how stupid you are

hanging your head down low in embarrassment you make your way out towards your car

there’s always next time!! maybe you can practice in the mirror yeah that does sound like it would help!!!

okay so.

it is officially next time.

actually you never got the opportunity to practice in front of the mirror because you chickened out of looking like an idiot even if it was in the privacy of your own home

but!!! you did try to practice some cool pick up lines because who doesn’t like a good pickup line or two??

the two mini milk cartons in your hand and the pack of doughnuts you have tucked under your arm aren’t too heavy so you aren’t too worried about having to wait in the line

for some reason the guy in front of you keeps turning around and glancing at you as if you don’t even exist

you are not casper the ghost

also casper is a little boy and you definitely aren’t a little boy

finally after a good five minutes the man ahead of you is having his stuff scanned but he’s STILL doing it. even levi notices and gives him an odd look which borders annoyance and anger.

“can i pay for your groceries? maybe walk you to your car?” the stranger asks suddenly

so that’s what this is, he’s simply taken an interest in you

my god this is new but it is uncomfortable and you’d rather say no

“oh, i actually walked here and no thanks i can pay for my own. enjoy the rest of your day!!” you hope your white lie is enough to fool the man but instead of agreeing as any other person would he looks majorly deceived

“i saw you in the parking lot.” ok this is getting a bit too uncomfortable for your liking

“c’mon i’m offering to buy your shit too?”

his voice is raising and you’re not sure what exactly you can do but thankfully for you the manager steps in and takes him away before any more threats can be made

the man had taken up so much of your attention you almost forgot levi was even there until you turned back around

“do you want a member of staff to accompany you to your car? it’s getting dark out.” levi’s comment helps ease your nerves and you try to laugh off what just happened

“i’m good :-)” you say shaking a little. you’re unsure if it’s the cold or the fact you still haven’t completely calmed down

“you sure peaches?”

“i haven’t bought any peaches this time.”

“you’re still peaches to me.” your cheeks flush at his confidence

wait, maybe this is your chance. you’re the last person in his line and they’re closing up for the day so...

“could you walk me to my car?”

and to your surprise even before you can take back what you’ve said levi agrees

it stays like that for a while.

every thursday levi walks you to your car by the end of his shift, all the while the two of you exchange a few words together

like last week you asked him what his favourite colour was (he said purple) you’ve learnt about his hobbies (he’s a decent cook), you’ve even found out about some of his own personal problems. he had mentioned suffering with insomnia in passing.

to be honest each and every time he walks you to your car he has to notice that you begin to park further and further away from the front entrance. but if he does notice he doesn’t say a word about it

“is that all you’re checking out?” you ask with a cheeky grin plastered across your face

looking down at your new dress your lopsided grin is far from fading away any time soon. you especially picked this one out after asking levi what his favourite colour was last week

god. this is so embarrassing but never actually have you had a crush this huge

levi who’s sat behind the counter shoots you a look which almost seems to be on the verge of uninterested. he isn’t entertaining this at all or this is just his typical bored face, you can’t really tell

BUT..... you still have a huge crush on him and you aren’t one to give up this easily

for the record you don’t harass him or anything, just the occasional hint is thrown around but he’s either really dense or doesn’t care

his expression does you no favours, you can’t tell what he’s thinking half the time

“you’re always buying energy drinks... might want to cut down on those they’re no good for you.”

warmth blooms in your chest. he’s just saying it to make small talk but the fact he even thinks to bring that up has your heart fluttering

“i- well- yeah i will!! just have a few overdue essays to get over with :-)” twiddling your thumbs together you think that makes your nerves too obvious so you begin to scratch at the back of your neck

if anything is a dead give away it’s your constant neck scratching, thankfully levi hasn’t picked up on it

“so you wore purple today?” his eyes linger on the thin straps of your dress and you feel the goosebumps rise up onto your skin immediately

“oh yeahhhh-”

“did i tell you yellow was my favourite colour last week?” he asks holding up a neon yellow pack of crisps and for the first time you see him smile

he looks so ?!|>\€|^ pretty ?!/)/&

wait?? yellow??

“didn’t you say purple?”

“no?” he crosses his arms playfully over his chest thinking for a bit

“maybe i did but no it’s really yellow.” he says as he hands you your bag

nodding your head you smile “yeahhhh sure it is.”

damn, now you’re going to have to find a yellow dress just to make him revert back to purple because who even likes yellow?? that’s a deal breaker right there??

update

it’s been two weeks!!

and a yellow dress has been found and secured B-)

it’s been a pretty rough day at work and you need to desperately collect a pack of green tea and get going

you don’t know when exactly being a secretary meant you had to babysit your boss’ children but that’s what the last week has entailed

being made to work overtime to this extent has had an effect on you and you’re ready to head home as soon as you swing by ackermart

not seeing levi for a week made you a little :-( because to be honest he’s the highlight of your thursday evening BUT!! you’ll be able to see him today at least

walking in through the entrance you’re met with connie smiling right at you, he holds the door open for you and smile back greeting him

“so you didn’t come last week...?”

it’s weird for him to ask that, after all you don’t really speak to anyone here apart from levi, you’re surprised you’re enough of a regular to be known by name

“oh i didn’t think anyone would notice? but yeah i had to work overtime you know what boss’ are like.” groaning you crouch down and look at the pot noodles on display

“i didn’t notice it. boss man did.”

“boss man?” you ask feeling out of loop

“levi.” connie answers as he hops into the backroom

????

isn’t he just a cashier??

“you still look confused.” connie remarks as he heads back out with a cardboard box full of pringle’s tubes

“levi’s the boss man, this is his store. he literally only ever mans the cash register on thursday evening because of you.”

at that you start laughing because it makes no sense at all to you

there’s no way connie is being serious

“good one.” you say as you stand up with a chicken flavored noodle in your hand

“i’m not kidding?”

turning around you give him a skeptical look

he sighs and shakes his head.

“listen. me and the part timers are tired of making bets on when he’ll give you his number and i bet that it would happen today so if you could confess to each other that would be perfect!!!”

“who said i like-”

“anyone with a brain can tell you both like each other.” he’s rolled his eyes so far into the back of his head you begin to take him a little more seriously now

“i... did i make it that obvious??” you’re directly facing him trying to get out as much information as you can

“yeah. very. at least levi wasn’t as bold.”

“i think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick he definitely doesn’t like me.”

connie gives you an “are you fucking with me?” look and you look away trying to distract yourself with the the canned goods lining the shelves

“he was worried sick when you didn’t come in for the entire week. he even asked me if he scared you away.”

“maybe i’m just his favourite customer?”

“favourite customer my ass he has a crush on YOU. confess.”

playing around with the ends of your sleeves connie sees he’s fighting a losing battle unless he gives you definitive solid proof

“please... i’ll get free barbecue if i win the bet and i’m kinda broke rn :-(” okay, you do want connie to eat well and be treated and maybe this is a good thing. if levi doesn’t like you then you can move on!!

“i’ll think about it.”

before connie can continue talking you make a beeline towards the tea aisle whilst throwing a “see you next time!” over your shoulder.

by the time you’ve gathered all of your groceries your basket is full to the brim. you’ve been lingering as much as you can out of fear but you think you’ve collected just enough courage to ask for his number

looking at the cash register levi is sat there and your shoulders slump. he’s probably going to say no and you’re going to look like a huge loser.

right as you’re about to take a step towards him levi finally spots you and gives you one look before standing up from his seat

“hi!” you wave at him

“...hey!” he smiles wide but he bites it back pretending it was never there in the first place

placing your basket in front of him he eyes what you’ve got

“hm... lots of peaches as per usual peaches.” the nickname that rolls of his tongue makes you tremble a little. will he call you that after you fuck everything up with this stupid confession?

his tongue pokes at the inside of his cheek when he gets to the heart shaped box of chocolates

“a gift for a friend? didn’t know you had those?” he teases as he scans the barcode

“gift for a crush!” you reply back enthusiastically as you dig through your wallet looking for your card

levi doesn’t respond for a few seconds and an awkward silence fills the air. you glance up to see him looking at you open mouthed in shock

“good luck.” he murmurs under his breath he’s not even returning your gaze at this point and is hurriedly scanning through your barcodes

“you okay?” you ask worrying about his mood

“yeah, yeah. great.” he’s quieter than usual.

the rest of your encounter is the same, levi silently bags your groceries and you can’t tell if this is a good or bad response.

just as he’s about to place the heart shaped box into your plastic bag you lunge forward holding his wrist to stop him

“no i don’t need those.”

he cocks his eyebrow upwards trying to analyse your expression and gain an understanding of your thoughts

“don’t tell me you’re chickening out. whoever it is will say yes.” he scoffs as he places the chocolates into the bag handing them over to you with a warm smile

there it is again. the fear returns and you swipe your tongue over your slightly dry lips.

no way.

is he telling you to confess to someone now? so he must not like you?

taking the bag away from him you scratch your neck out of habit and huff feeling frustrated

“he keeps giving me mixed signals.” you say hoping he catches your drift

“give him the chocolates and let him put two and two together. don’t even say anything.” his advice would be great if he weren’t the guy you were trying to confess to in real time

nodding you reach into the bag and bring the box back out before gently placing it in front of levi

“are you serious?” he asks and your face drops seeing the possible displeasure in his eyes

great, connie and the part timers just over analysed he doesn’t like you, obviously he doesn’t like you, why would he like you?

without looking back you hurry out, the embarrassment is eating you away now and the thought of ever returning to ackermart isn’t even feasible in your mind

at this point you may as well change your name, identity, dye your hair, have a few children and wear sunglasses the next time you come back so you look like a soccer mum and not the foolish y/n who thought they had a chance with their cute CASHIER???

god, you probably look like a creep

the sound of footsteps can be heard behind you and labored breaths follow before levi calls out for you

“please wait up.” he grumbles. slowing down your pace you let him catch up to you. he grabs at your wrist and sighs in relief

turning you see him savour the air

is this the part where he confesses he likes you too or—

“your receipt you forgot it.” he gasps as he opens your hand for you and places it into your palm

oh.

fingers clasping shut onto the paper you feel the humiliation seep into your pores

this.

is.

the.

worst.

moment.

of.

your.

life.

“open it.” he offer you a boyish smile and your nerves don’t let you find comfort in it

you grimace as you fold it open, you’re imagining he’s charged you an extra £100 for having unwanted feelings for him and if that’s the case you’ll die on the spot

but instead your eyes light up in joy. you’re pleasantly surprised

...

inside of the receipt is his phone number haphazardly sprawled across in black biro - you even double check by comparing it to the number for the customer service helpline

hello??

HELLO.?.!/)£ HIS NUMBER???

“if you just wanted to return the chocolate this is embarrassing.” he’s the one who’s now scratching at his neck and you find that he’s endearing this way

the streetlight from above illuminates him, the shadows cast over his face and his brows aren’t furrowed as they usually are

you open your mouth to reply but connie cuts you off unintentionally. he can be heard YELLING into his phone ecstatic that his plan has worked out

“I WIN!!! HA BBQ’S ON YOU JEAN!! MUST SUCK TO BE YOU.”

you and levi look at each other and laugh, reassuring the other of what has just happened.

well...

you guess this is the start of something new? maybe??

:-)

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katsumox · 3 years

Text

southern bnha boys: rodeo<3

it's what it says in the title, sweets,, just bnha boys as rodeo boys. i miss watching rodeo invitationals and parties :(

note: a buckle bunny is a person who hangs around rodeo guys because they’re hot and they win a lot :)

warnings: cussing, one (1) mention of beer, general southern headassery.

including: katsuki, izuku, hitoshi, and eijirou<3

KATSUKI BAKUGOU— the south’s biggest rodeo brat.

hell of a bull rider. it’s his claim to fame, really. disrespectfully respectful?? he’s the type to roll his eyes at elders yet still say “yes ma’am” and “no sir” to them, but he slurs his words so it’s more like “yes’m”. he also says that when you’re super mad at him, that’s how you know he’s sorry. also opens doors for old ladies and limits his extensive cursing in front of them, except for the word “damn”,,, that’s a permanent word in his lexicon.

has a big ass drawl in his speech, and it’s really hot. all phrases like, “ that’s my girl,” or “there we are, good girl” also calls you “sweets” and other shit when you do something correctly with him. thinks hell will freeze over before he wears shirts in summer. the best your getting out of him is an open flannel rolled up to his forearms. he works on souping up trucks for the ranch occasionally,, is really mean about the fact that you eat honeysuckle off the ranch grounds because it’s “dirty”,,,bitch,,, it’s nectar?? tf??

hell of a handshake,, the kind that makes fathers smirk and go “that’s a good man” when he’s done. has a small amount of buckle bunnies,,, it’s not because he sucks at rodeo shit, he’s just mean as hell. thinks of you as his lucky charm. you gotta kiss him hard before he saddles up or else he literally will not compete. he’s literally dropped out of a competition because you didn’t kiss him. also likes ranch parties so he can put his hands on your hips as you show him to line dance. pulls you by your belt loop when he wants to go somewhere.

IZUKU MIDORIYA— stable boy at the local ranch during summers.

the sweetest boy you’d ever meet, but he’ll go to war for his mama. very much a mama’s boy; still calls her ma/mama and everything. beat the actual tar out of a cowhand when he heard him say something disrespectful about his mother. lake swimmer. do i need to explain? bc,,, ew. also has a huge habit of saying yes ma’am to ya when you ask for something. known for wearing a wifebeater and some wrangler jeans to work every day throughout the summer.

your mother thinks he'd make a good husband, and she's right. he's sweet, and considerate; he knows his way around a ranch and how to do chores at home. the perfect househusband material in all honesty. quite fond of sneaking sweets to you while he's supposed to be tending to the dogs, yet never seems to get caught. he suspects it's because hitoshi ain't a snitch. also says "i reckon" far to often for my liking, but oh well. that's country boy language.

handshake is kinda weak, tbh. he’s not confident in it, and you can tell, but he grows into it eventually. he’s a huge help around the ranch because he’s fast and the dogs listen to him very well. is a calf roper in rodeo events, one of the best, but wants to start bull or bronco riding. he’d have more buckle bunnies if he were more popular around the ranch, but he just kinda does his job and then hangs around you or the rodeo legacy kids (todoroki and denki)

HITOSHI SHINSOU— the buckle bunnies’ favorite.

like katsuki, a rodeo boy. he’s good at it too. has way more groupies because he’s a bit nicer than kat. known as the playboy around town, but is generally a sweet kid. has a habit of calling you “little girl” no matter if you’re older than him or not. he’s a bronco rider, one of the best around, and wears his winning belt buckles around all the time. not to gloat, it just he genuinely only has prize belt buckles jakskdld. pull him by it and he’ll lose his damn mind.

got you a promise ring with his prize money so that "it'll keep your finger ready for the real one". he's dead set on marrying you. he likes seeing you steal his belts because everyone knows it's his, and by proxy, you're his. makes fun of the way that you don't really care for farm animals, save for the dogs and a few horses. lets you take one out on his break, his large hand up on your lower hip, guiding you and the horse on a slow walk.

also fond of only flannels in the summer, and honestly year round. he’s not very fond is shirts in general. doesn’t like sweet tea, and also isn’t very fond of any jeans that aren’t cavender jeans. he swears up and down that they aren’t as good quality as levi’s or wranglers. takes you night driving on dirt roads and lets you put your feet on his dash. he doesn't do that for everyone.

EIJIROU KIRISHIMA— the south’s knight in shinin’ armor.

chucks your chin a lot, and lets you wear his hat. herding dogs listen to him more than izuku, but only by a little bit. and goes shirtless while working,, almost always, unless he’s fixing a truck with katsuki. then he’ll wear an oil stained white wifebeater. he’s a steer wrestler. it makes sense because he’s so tall and bulky, like a damned brick wall. mothers also consider him marriage material; he's good around the house, he's practical and very respectful.

he has a pretty drawl, like katsuki, when he talks. he isn’t much of a fighter but he will gladly kick ass if someone’s speaking on your name unkindly. nickname around town is "big red" for obvious reasons, and he makes sure to live up to the name. also very adamant on only wearing levi’s to work?? he’s very particular about his work clothes.

has a fixation on calling you his little lady. every time he wins he takes you out to a diner to celebrate, and once, he saved up money to buy you a bracelet with his prize money. also fond of ranch parties where he can drink apple cider and dance with you. he also got permission to drink one (1) coors light with the rest of boys when he's 19 and he takes advantage of that opportunity whenever he can, because parties aren’t often.

taglist:

@smexy-goose @angiebug101 @vanteyves @quincywrites @katsumiiii @mypimpademia @1-800-s1mping @koishiguro @tododekukisses @sobaluvr @silkylious

#bakugou x reader #bakugou x y/n #bakugou x black reader #bakugou x you #bakugou headcanons #izuku x poc!reader #deku x reader #deku x you #shinsou x you #shinsou x reader #hitoshi x reader #kirishima headcanon #kirishima x you #kirishima x gender neutral reader #kirishima x black reader

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tender-rosiey · 4 years

Note

hii, hope your day is good. I was thinking of requesting chuuya, dazai, atsushi and any other character with an s/o that wears glasses, if you dont mind can you write some headcannons about that??

its okay if you dont i know you must be busy but if you can thank you so much! have a nice day/night!! your writing is amazing btw so creative✨❤️

❥ BSD Characters with a s/o that wears glasses

❥— Includes Dazai, Chuuya and Atsushi

ᴀ/ɴ: hey! I hope yours was great as well <3 I am honored you liked my writing and I hope you enjoy this as well 🥺💘

Dazai Osamu:

First of all he will steal it like he does with kunikida

Thief of hearts and glasses

He sometimes purposely picks them from the lenses to annoy you like bitch no >:(

Somehow knows where you keep it all the time

So like whenever you ask him if he has seen them he will get them for you

He likes seeing you different styles of glasses and will give his opinion in a rather— extra way

“THE ROUND GLASSES SUIT YOU SO MUCH BELLADONNA!”

“THESE GLASSES LOOK LIKE KUNIKIDA’S BUT YOU ROCK EM BETTER!”

“Oooooo~ these look wonderful as well!”

“Osamu, you said that all of look good-“

“EXACTLY”

Yes extra way but still useless opinions

unless you want real criticism of course then he will say it in a sweet way :D

“Maybe you could try another one, my love?”

If you get insecure about what how you look with them then worry not cause our cute hot brunette will make that self-esteem hit the roof

“What do you mean you don’t like it? I think you look majestic with glasses.”

“Nope, NUH-UH! Negative opinions are invalid in here. You are stunning.”

Oh yeah he likes trying your glasses too

He will go ‘✨how do I look, belladonna?✨’

If one day you forgot your glasses and Dazai also was lazy to move his ass back to your house and get them for you

Then he will be there by your side 24/7 to make sure you don’t run into a pole and break your nose which he pecked when you were hurt before

Yay nose appreciation too 👌

Oh yeah to end this on a good note

He once sat on your glasses and broke them ☺️

Ended up rubbing his neck and smiling sheepishly

“Sorry my love~”

His face was like ( ´ ▽ ` )

Nakahara Chuuya:

Honey

All your glasses are designer ones

Very Expensive

You are his lover, you take NOTHING less than perfect

Chuuya likes it cause he has more things to spoil you with

Already knew how to ACTUALLY hold your glasses

And is very careful when you tell him to hold it

Because of the money how he knows that it’s annoying to have someone hold it wrong

Another great hype man

“Looking great, dove.”

“I like this one a lot.”

“How about you try this instead?”

Man takes style seriously 🙄

And likes when you turn to him for advice about it

Insecure?

Not in his presence

“Babe wtf, you look A M A Z I N G with glasses!”

“Stfu I love you for everything about you, especially your glasses.”

Oh yeah, he has a whole cupboard for your glasses

Like a ✨ collection ✨

If you feel bad that he spends too much money on your glasses then he will just kiss you to shut up

And

Assure you that he enjoys spoiling you

Honestly I am surprised he isn’t broke at this point

Nakahara Chuuya NEVER and I mean NEVER broke one of your glasses

He doesn’t touch them unless they need to be fixed

that is speaking that he doesn’t just get you a new one

Chuuya and forehead kisses for absolutely no reason

YAY

Nakajima Atsushi:

Way too careful if he holds it

Oml sushi calm down bby

The glasses won’t break if you hold it

“Am I holding it correctly? :(“

Yes honey

Now sushi is at your complete service at this point

Takes care of your glasses really well

And despite his efforts

He sat down on it once and broke it

Then started a chorus of apologizes and saying that he won’t do it again and that he will get you a new one

“PLEASEFORGIVEMEIDIDNTMEANIT”

“ATSUSHI IT’S OKAY!”

Often ends up staring and admiring your eyes :0

Gets super flustered when you point it out

Is AWESTRUCK when you try different styles of glasses

“This one looks really pretty on you!”

“Hm, maybe another one would do your face more justice?”

“IAMBOTBLUSHINGYOUAREJUSTTOOPRETTY!”

He asks if he can try your glasses awie

Somehow suits him too?

You don’t like how you look with glasses?

Ma’am this adorable bean will compliment the hell out of you with such determination

“WHAT!”

Is his reaction when you told him you don’t like how you look with them

“YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL BOTH AND WITHOUT THEM!”

“It makes me sad that you don’t see yourself the way I see you; you are a literal angel that is as beautiful as the sunset!”

Poetic Atsushi?

I think YES

do not copy or plagiarize or you will be reported

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friedbaekhyunandeggso · 2 years

Text

Reason ~ ch. 18

Pairing: Female OC x Levi Ackerman

Tropes: Instructor x Cadet, Strangers to Lovers, Male MC falls first

Warnings: angst/slow-burn, strong language, upcoming smut(18+ readers only for those chapters pls 🙈), physical assault/violence, mentions of scars

Brief Summary: This story takes place a few years after the Fall of Shiganshina. Devon Alba is in her final year of the 101st Training Corps (844-847), due to her success as a cadet she gets the chance to meet Captain Levi. She doesn’t think too much of him until he catches her in the midst of doing something that she isn’t entirely supposed to be doing. But surprisingly, this leads to something unexpected...

Chapter 1 [...] Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19

Devon opened her eyes when she felt a warm ray of light hit her eyes.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes to see that she’d left the curtains open. Sunlight streamed through, creating shapes along the floor and walls.

She groggily stood up and was about to pull the curtains close until she saw the sight of people living their normal lives below her.

It then hit her that this was the first night of peaceful sleep she’d gotten in a long time. No alarm to wake her up. No classes go to. No training to go to.

She couldn’t believe this was real.

All because of Levi…

She immediately ran out of her room to see if he was there. Her eyes darted around the small yet neat expanse of the living room and kitchen but he was nowhere to be found.

He’d left for the Scout headquarters after their talk yesterday and hadn’t returned.

A part of her wanted to see him again, although she’d never admit that to herself.

She still couldn’t believe he was offering her his home.

She wanted to stay mad at him-truly she did-but this…opportunity he offered her meant more to her than he realized. It was something she never thought she’d have the chance to have. A chance to live a normal life.

And Levi wasn’t expecting a penny back.

She’d been sleeping in a filthy shed the night before and now she was sleeping in her very own bedroom.

How is this even possible? Is this how life is going to be like now?

She would’ve felt giddy if it didn’t feel so…unreal.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when her stomach rumbled. She wandered over to the fridge only to find a bag of milk and eggs within. She grabbed an egg before noticing a bunch of dollar bills and coins on the counter.

Her eyes widened as she remembered that he said he would leave her money for food and other necessities.

She picked up the dollar bills in awe. She could buy more than two weeks worth of groceries with this.

She swallowed nervously.

She couldn’t decipher if the nerves were rooting from anxiousness or excitement. She decided to focus on the latter—and a small smile slowly spread across her lips.

“Looks like…I’m doing groceries today.” she grinned.

She ran to the bathroom to freshen up.

She stood at the entrance of the market feeling like a new woman.

For the first time, she actually had money to buy something from the carts instead of having to sneak around and steal. She felt like someone would turn around and recognize her as a robber at any second—but she knew it was impossible. No one knew her here.

She truly had a fresh start.

She walked over to a food cart. An array of vegetables were all laid out in an orderly fashion.

The lady standing beside the cart offered her a warm smile, “Hello, is there anything I can get you?”

Devon stood completely still for a moment. Sellers never greeted her like that. She was used to their aggravated scowls and their harsh kicks.

Is it because I don’t have dirt on my face? Is it because I’m wearing fresh clean clothes?

“Ma’am?” the woman inquired.

Devon blinked, “Y-yes. I’d like…” she pointed to a couple vegetables.

“You got it.” The woman smiled before turning around to retrieve a bag.

Devon stared at the woman packing her vegetables in silence.

The woman glanced at her face before double-taking in astonishment, “Oh no, are you okay?”

She furrowed her brows, “I’m….fine?”

She absentmindedly raised her hand to her cheek and realized she felt something wet. She hadn’t even realized she’d started crying.

She quickly wiped the tears away—embarrassed.

“I’m fine.” she reassured, more confident than when she’d said it before.

The woman offered her an uneasy smile before continuing to pack her requested vegetables.

She dried her face with her shirt-sleeve.

“I’m fine.” she murmured, more to herself than the woman before her.

She unlocked the door to the apartment and hastily set down the grocery bag on the floor.

She clutched her aching shoulder as she hissed in pain.

Her eyes immediately opened when she thought of Levi possibly being within the apartment.

She walked further into the living room, glancing around once more to see if he was around…but he was nowhere to be seen.

Her shoulders sagged. She didn’t know what she was expecting. He had said he would be at the Scout Headquarters a lot but she’d hoped…

She shook her head.

Stop. Just because he decided to let me stay at his place doesn’t mean he has to constantly be here.

She supposed she missed the company. After seeing her friends' faces everyday for the past three years it felt weird to be alone.

A pang resounded through her at the thought of her friends.

Where are they? How are they doing? Did they get my letter?

Her heart squeezed. She wished she’d been able to give them a proper goodbye. They deserved that much.

She raked a hand through her hair.

“No point in regretting it now.” she mumbled to herself.

She walked over and picked up the bag of groceries and set them down onto the counter with a sigh.

Devon’s eyes snapped open when she heard a sound. She was pretty sure it originated from the kitchen.

She swiftly grabbed her pocket knife off the nightstand and made her way to her door. She opened it just a crack and peeked through only to see a glimpse of Levi’s form walking about.

She immediately ran out.

“Captain Levi? When did you get here?”

He turned-startled-before giving her a slow perusal.

She immediately felt self-conscious. She’d just woken up so she wasn’t exactly in the best condition. She’d slept with her hair in a braid so she was pretty sure it was frizzy and she was still using his spare clothes as her pjs.

“What did I say.” His monotone voice rumbled.

He was suddenly standing directly in front of her. The intensity in his gaze rendered her speechless. She didn’t understand how he moved that fast.

“Call me Levi.”

Just as she moved to take a step back, he grabbed her hand.

She went still. Her eyes widening as she stared into his half-lidded eyes. His thumb caressed her wrist as his fingers ran over her hand…only to withdraw the pocket knife from her grasp.

He snapped it closed within his hands, “Did you think I was an intruder?”

She blinked-several times, “F-For a second.”

He placed it back within her hand, “There’s a pistol in the floorboard beside your nightstand.”

Her lips parted in shock when she realized he was giving her permission to use it. His eyes dropped to her lips.

A low sizzling sound could suddenly be heard.

“Shit.”

He was at the stove in a millisecond—snapping it off.

She squeezed the pocketknife in her hand. Closing her eyes for a moment to recollect herself.

Get it together.

She straightened and opened her eyes to see him stirring the leftover soup she’d made last night.

“You reheated that?” she questioned.

She stepped forward, “I could’ve–” she averted her gaze, “Never mind.”

I could’ve made you something fresh–Is what she wanted to say.

But there was no need for her to be too nice to him just yet. She still hadn’t forgiven him for ruining her career. He still hadn’t offered her a proper justification for it either.

She frowned. It shocked her how instinctual it’d been for her to offer making him food.

He glanced over at her, “How’s your shoulder?”

“It’s much better.” she swallowed hard. It was nearly fully healed now.

He turned around with a bowl of soup in one hand and a spoon in the other, “Was the money enough?”

“Are you kidding? It was more than enough. I could buy a month’s worth of food with that.”

He sat down at the kitchen table, “Great.”

She watched him sip down a spoonful of soup. He momentarily closed his eyes–as if savoring it. She almost smiled but caught herself when he opened his eyes and spotted her staring.

She took a hesitant step back. She turned around to head back to her room. Being in his presence was conflicting with her thoughts.

“Devon.”

She stopped and turned to look back at him.

He paused-wanting to say so much but instead settled on, “How are you?”

The question felt oddly personal coming from his lips.

“I’m…fine.” she muttered-a bit thrown off.

She thought she saw his grip on the spoon tighten momentarily before he nodded. He took another spoonful.

“And you?” she asked.

He glanced up, “What about me.”

“How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“I got a job.” she blurted.

He froze in the midst of taking another spoonful, “Yeah?”

“Yeah…It’s at a bookstore.”

His eyes scanned her face-trying to gauge her reaction to that. “Where is it?”

“It’s close. Ten minute walk.” She kept her eyes trained to a random spot on the floor.

His jaw clenched. Her avoiding eye contact bothered him more than he let on.

“You..like it?” he asked, “Working there?”

“Yeah,” her arms subconsciously went around herself, “I used to work at one so I know what to do.”

Her eyes flickered to his, “But you already knew that.”

It was his turn to look away.

She couldn’t help but ask, “Imada told you, didn’t she? Were you her ‘friend’ too or something?”

His brows furrowed as he snapped, “What-”

“Did she send you to get me too?” she demanded.

He stood up, his chair skittering back, “No one sent me to do shit. I came after you because I wanted to. She just happened to be the one who showed me your pathetic letter.”

“Pathetic?” she almost screamed, “You don't even know how I was feeling–You don’t know what it’s like to have the one thing you want get taken away from you.”

“You don’t think so?” His voice was ice-cold.

She swallowed–suddenly feeling embarrassed. She hadn’t considered that.

“Unfortunately, I know a little too fuckin’ well.” he said mutedly.

“Then why would you do that to me?” she whispered.

His eyes on her were pensive as he responded, “Devon, if that Kate thing never happened. Do you think you would still wanna be a Scout?”

She opened her mouth to respond but then closed it. Her brows drew together. She hadn’t ever thought about that before. Even as a child she barely dreamed of having a nice job; she didn't think that was an option for people like her.

Lost in thought-she didn’t notice him move to stand in front of her. His narrow eyes were mellow as he watched her.

When she looked up her eyes widened. She met his gaze for a millisecond before turning away. But suddenly his hand was on her cheek—preventing her from doing so. His touch was gentle.

“You ever think about that before?” His dull gray eyes were probing.

She shook her head.

“You can think about it now. Fuck everything else, just think about you. Figure out what you want.” His deep voice tugged at something within her.

His fingertips skimmed her neck as his hand fell. “Not everyone gets that chance.”

She was speechless. It was hard to formulate a proper response when he stood so close.

He glanced down and pulled out his pocket watch.

“I gotta go,” he sounded weary, “Wash my dish for me, yeah?”

She was still for a moment before nodding.

He gazed at her a moment longer before turning around and heading towards the door. He grabbed his Scout regiment jacket off the back of the chair on his way out.

Just as he opened the door he stopped midway and glanced over his shoulder.

“Take care of yourself.”

She blinked, “I will…”

He seemed to hesitate in the doorway. His grip on the doorknob tightening before he pulled the door shut behind him.

She hastily tied her hair back into a low ponytail as she walked into the kitchen. She was finally ready for work and now she just needed to make herself some breakfast before heading out.

Just as she was about to open the fridge something on the table caught her eye.

Her brows furrowed as she double-glanced at the object.

She walked over and picked it up to see that it was a brand new, hardcover cookbook. Her eyes widened as she examined it front and back. She held it with the utmost care; something about the feel of a brand new book in her hands felt all too satisfying.

She opened the first page and a note slipped out.

She picked it up. In neat, swirly, ink-black handwriting it stated—

Congratulations on the new job

The smile that lit her face was unmatched.

She immediately blushed after—embarrassed by how giddy she’d gotten. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d received a gift. Nonetheless, a congratulatory one.

The idea of Levi going out of his way to find her a gift made something inside her soften. She couldn’t even picture it. She shook her head before folding up the note and slipping it into her back pocket.

“I’m still mad at you, asshole.” she told herself.

She ended up re-reading that note several times during her work shift that day.

a/n: if the chapter 19 link above doesn't work pls use this one -> ch. 19

i just realized maybe i should've inserted the link to the next chapter at the bottom so it's easier for y'all to not have to scroll all the way up but to go back now & do that for all 36 chapters out so far????? :D ! yea, imma have to do that on a day i'm not feelin lazy :') hopefully that comes soon. either way, happy reading !

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gc-genshin · 3 years

Text

Chapter Four: Epiphany

Epiphany (n.): a sudden insight or understanding of something.

Pairing: Various x female reader

Summary: You get an idea of what's going on… sort of.

Warnings: Explicit language.

Word count: 12.7k (holy shit my bad)

A/N: Uh… *taps mic* hello?? Is this book still relevant?? Did y'all miss me? Lmao, lot of shit happened the past months so I wasn't really able to focus on this story unfortunately. I hope this extra long chapter makes up for the wait! Plus this isn't proofread and I'll add the taglist later, I'm ready to post this chapter.

Happy reading!

Your first week of working at the Wangshu Inn was… uneventful, to say the least.

Other than being hectic trying to take care of guests because of Lantern Rite, nothing really surprising has happened. Which you suppose was a good thing.

After your little drinking incident that happened a few days ago…

—

“Perhaps…” Xiao started and you waited with a baited breath, nervous as to what he was going to say. “You are in need of some assistance, you imbecile.”

You looked at him with hazy and unfocused eyes. In your drunken stupor, you could only respond to him with an embarrassed laugh.

“Aha, yeah…” You trailed off awkwardly. Your eyes then began to droop dangerously low as a sudden wave of drowsiness had hit you. Xiao could only watch as you instantly passed out in his arms while letting out small snores. The adeptus let out an aggravated sigh as he picked up and carried you to your shared room, already regretting the decision of taking care of you.

—

It was safe to say you didn't see him for a day or two.

Today was Friday. One day before the Mingxiao Lantern was released. Goldet had decided to already pay you for your two weeks because of how hard you were working, which you tried to decline, but Goldet was as stubborn as you so you reluctantly accepted the money.

You were sweeping the reception area, bored out of your mind. You were done with all of your chores but you still wanted to work and be productive. You turn your head when you hear Goldet heave a sigh.

“Lantern Rite is nearly here, why don't we decorate the inn this year?” She asks you.

That line sounds familiar. You tilt your head, feigning confusion. “Lantern Rite? What's that?”

Goldet looks at you surprised. “Oh! Don't you know? On the first full moon of the first month each year, Liyue celebrates the Lantern Rite. It's a festival to commemorate the heroes from the past. After dark, the people release Xiao and Mingxiao Lanterns into the night sky.” She began explaining. “Ah... "May the flames of wisdom spread to all, and never be extinguished." This is the meaning of the lanterns. We believe they act as the beacons in the night, guiding bygone heroes back to their homeland.”

You gaze at her in wonder. “That sounds like a magnificent festival.” If I cried during the cutscene from the game, I wonder how much of a mess I would be if I was able to see it in person.

“Do you want to get involved in the Lantern Rite?” Goldet asks.

You nodded. “From the way you were talking about it, it sounds like a wonderful experience.”

Goldet clapped her hands excitedly. “That's great! The festive period leading up to the day itself is all part of the celebrations. If you're looking to take part, it's not too late.”

You thought for a moment. “Wait, so you're telling me that I don't have to work?” You asked Goldet.

She let out a small gasp as if she was shocked you would even suggest such a thing. “Oh Archons no! I would never ask you to work on a holiday such as Lantern Rite!” She exclaimed. You blink at her a few times, caught off guard by her slight outburst, and she laughed at your expression. “Haha... During this time, we pray to bring peace and ward off bad luck. Liyue locals call it "bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new."

After hearing Goldet exclaim, Huai’an, her husband and the innkeeper, came to see what the commotion was. “Verr, are you alright? I heard you yell.” He asked with a concerned look.

Both you and Goldet turned to him. “I'm fine, dear. I was just explaining to [Name] the history behind Lantern Rite.” Goldet tells him. “Can you believe this will be her first time celebrating it?”

Huai’an gives you a look of surprise. “You've never experienced Lantern Rite?”

From the way they were talking about it, you almost felt embarrassed to say no. You hunch your shoulders and meekly shake your head at him.

Huai’an noticed your timid state. “Well isn't this exciting?” He quietly asked Goldet. He then turned to you. “Lantern Rite truly is a wonderful experience so I have no doubt that you'll enjoy it. Plus I can teach you how to make Xiao Lanterns!” He gives you an encouraging smile.

You give them both a wide eyed stare. “So… I'll be able to go to Lantern Rite? You don't need me for anything?”

Goldet shook her head while laughing. “No, you silly girl. Everybody will be in the city to release lanterns, so the inn won’t be very busy that night.” She gives you a soft smile. “Go and have fun.”

Shit I might just cry. You looked at Goldet teary eyed. “Boss!” You wept comically. “You're too kind, boss! Paying me in advance, giving me a roof over my head, letting me go to Lanter Rite! What did I ever do to have such a wonderful boss?” You cried out and glomped her into a hug. You were totally using your younger appearance as an advantage to act more childish because you would have never done this with any other boss.

Goldet laughed at you, reciprocating the hug. “And what did I do to deserve such a wonderful employee? You've been working so hard since you've started, it would be cruel of me not to let you go and enjoy the festival.” She tells you while swaying side to side. You've come to realize that Goldet was starting to become like the older sister you never had.

You both pull away from the hug. “Plus,” Goldet began, “I paid you early in advance so that you would be able to go shopping.” She gives you a cheeky smirk. “Can't have you wearing my clothes and your uniform the entire time you're here.”

You laugh at that. “You're right.” You grin at her and Huai'an. “Thank you both so much, for all that you've done for me.” You say sincerely.

“Of course [Name]. Now go have fun shopping.” She gestures to the balcony. “I think you've just about swept the floorboards down to splinters.”

You thank Goldet again and give her one last hug before running to your room to change. But as you were making your way up the stairs, Goldet called out to you. “Oh [Name]! Um… also,” she trailed off uncertainly.

You crinkle your eyebrows in confusion. “What's up?”

“If you're able to…” she cleared her throat. “... could you... try to convince Xiao to go with you?” She asked. She then let out a sigh. “We're not close, I wouldn't know how to ask him myself. But it seems that you've grown familiar with him.”

You look at her confused. You? Being close with Xiao? Yeah, the thought sounds nice but there's no way you have already ‘grown familiar’ with him in just a week. If anything he tolerates you at best since you've forcefully wormed your way into his life.

“Really?” You tilt your head. “Xiao doesn't seem to be one for crowds.” Sorry Aether, I might have to steal your idea. “I mean, I'll try and convince him but I can't make any promises.”

Goldet let out a resigned sigh. “I suppose you're right… Anyway! Just thought I'd mention it. You should get yourselves down to the harbor.”

She then shoos you off with a smile. “Get going! If you leave too late, the city will be crowded with people and you won't be able to make the most of it.”

You nod enthusiastically. “Yes ma’am! Happy Lantern Rite!” You wave to her and Huai'an.

They both wave back. “Happy Lantern Rite!”

—

You burst into your room, practically vibrating in excitement at the thought of having your own clothes. You hurriedly started to strip out of your uniform, unaware of the curious gaze that came from your current roommate.

Xiao was currently leaning against the railing on the balcony that accompanied the room and was wondering why you were in such a rush. As he turned to question you, he instantly turned back around upon seeing you reach behind yourself to start buttoning your dress, keeping his gaze on the scenery before him. Xiao let out a deep breath and rubbed his forehead in aggitaion. I just can't get used to her doing that.

However, when you start to undress, you notice Xiao quickly turn around out of the corner of your eyes. Halting your movements, you call out to the young adeptus as you buttoned your uniform back up. “Sorry Xiao! I didn't know you were there!” And you made your way to the bathroom.

Hearing you say his name made Xiao tense up in surprise and furrow his eyebrows. He was one hundred percent certain that you would have just kept undressing in the middle of the room, being the shameless mortal that you are, but you didn't. You instead moved to change in a different room. Huh… perhaps she does have some decency.

You quickly came out of the bathroom after that interaction, dressed in Goldet’s clothes for the last time. Seeing Xiao still out on the balcony, you walk up to his side while enjoying the warm breeze.

Xiao looked at you from the corner of his eyes, nearly seeing the excitement radiate off you. “Where are you going in such a rush?” He asked. You perk up when hearing his voice and swivel your head to him.

“Goldet is letting me go experience the festival!” You exclaimed excitedly. “Isn't that great?”

Xiao rolled his eyes and let out a scoff. “What's so great about releasing glowing trash into the sky only for it to return to the sea?”

You hummed. “Well, it's like any other tradition I suppose. It's not so much the actual festival or ritual that matters but more of the meaning behind it instead.” You shrug. “Plus it gives me an excuse to go shopping, you coming with?”

“No.”

You let out a groan and roll your eyes. Even though you were expecting it, you couldn't help but feel a little disheartened at his answer. “Why not?” You question. Although I already know why.

Xiao gave you a look. “I don't enjoy large crowds of people.”

You let out a sigh. “Fiiiiine,” you drawl out, “no means no so I guess I'll stop bothering you about it.”

Xiao raised an eyebrow. Really? She's going to quit just like that? He looked at you dubiously.

“For now.” You added mischievously with a smirk.

There it is. Xiao should have known better. He found out that you were too damn stubborn to give up easily pretty quickly. He shook his head at you. “Do you plan on leaving soon?” He changed the subject.

You nod. “I was going to leave as soon as I changed but then I saw you and just had to talk to you.”

That made Xiao scrunch his eyebrows. “You just had to talk to me? Why's that?”

You look towards him and give him a closed eyes smile. “Because I wanted too! Plus you're my friend and I enjoy your company.”

Xiao gave you a once over. A heavy feeling settled in his chest when you referred to him as a “friend”. That word left a bitter taste in his mouth. Everyone that he ever considered a friend had either died or left him in some way, and he never bothered to keep in contact with the current adepti, so the thought of you wanting to be in his company was worrying. Who knows how long it'll be until his karmic debt finally catches up to him…

And drags you along with him.

Xiao narrowed his eyes at you. You immediately took notice of his tense state and swallowed at the harsh glare he gave you. Uh oh. You let out an uncomfortable laugh. I don't think he liked that.

“What have I told you about getting close?” He asked harshly which caused you to curl in on yourself slightly.

“In the thousands of years that have passed, I have taken countless wraiths,” he began, “so if you want no trouble, it’s best you keep your distance from me.” After he finished scolding you he turned to leave, going to do who knows what. You watched as he seemingly stormed away. Slightly panicking that he was leaving because you had upset him, you steeled your nerves and asked the first thing that came to your head.

“But what if I want trouble?”

Your question made Xiao stop in his tracks. He turned to look at you confused. You wore an expression that was full of confidence that waived slightly.

“What if I don’t want to keep my distance away from you?” You continued. “You told me to “stay out of your way or all that awaits me is regret”, right?” You quickly stride over to him and jab a finger in his chest.

“Well guess what honey? That's a risk I'm willing to take.” You tell him fiercely. “I make my own choices and if I happen to make bad choices then I will deal with the consequences of those choices.” You place a hand on your chest and glare at him determinedly.

“You have no say in what I ultimately can and can't do, Xiao. Only. I. do.” You finally finish and place your hands on your hips defiantly.

Xiao looked at you blankly, trying to process what you had just said. When he finally did, he looked at you sternly. “Is that really what you want?”

“More than anything.” Your eyes bore deep into him, not wavering in the slightest in your decision. “You saved my life. The least I can do for you is offer you my company and assistance in any way for not letting me splatter all over the ground. Even if you don't want it.”

After a few heartbeats of silence, Xiao reluctantly gave in and sighed while crossing his arms. “You are the most troublesome human I've had the displeasure of knowing.”

You smiled triumphantly. “Glad we're on the same page!”

“Well I'll be heading off now. Do you need anything?” You ask as you start heading towards the door.

“Nothing in the city would be of use to an adeptus.” He responds. “Don't forget your blade.”

You promptly made a 180 turn and walked towards your nightstand where a little dagger laid. Since you weren't able to fully wield a bigger weapon and don't understand how they do the whole whooshy thing to make their weapons disappear, I think he called it “particulation” or something like that, Xiao insisted that you had some form of weapon to protect yourself with.

You grabbed the knife and clipped it parallel to your belt, allowing your shirt to conceal it. “I don't see the reason as to why I have to have this thing. Aren't the Millelith scattered along the road to Liyue?” You then turn to Xiao and tilt your head. “Plus I can just call you whenever I'm in trouble.” Though that would probably be a last resort for me.

“I don't trust those lousy soldiers.” Xiao huffed.

You raised your eyebrow and pursed your lips, nodding in agreement. “Yeah… I don't blame ya.”

“Anyways,” you shrug, “are you sure you don't want to come with me?”

Xiao only shook his head. “Best you go alone. There's no need for me to be there.”

You look at him with big doe eyes, trying to convince him to at least walk you to the harbor. “But the road from here to Liyue Harbor is long and full of dangers... I need someone to ensure my safety!” You exclaim, seemingly scared.

“That's why I gave you your blade.” The adeptus gave you a bored look upon his handsome face.

You then startled Xiao when you clapped your hands into a prayer position and brought them to your head. “O Vigilant Yaksha, please escort me safely to the city!” You cry out.

Xiao tensed at your sudden decloration. Normally, Xiao was used to other’s praying to him and hearing their wishes but when you did it, it made him feel… fidgety. You seemed to hold yourself in a high regard that you didn't let anyone have control over your actions, so it was odd to see you with your head bowed to him.

Xiao crossed his arms and looked away from you. “Quit that. There's no need for you to bow to me.”

You perked up, an excited gleam in your eyes. “So you'll come with me?”

“So be it. I won't be going into the city though.” He retorted.

You throw him a smile. “That's fine!” You straighten back up and open the door. “Come on, let's go!” You wave at him.

Xiao shook his head at your antics and began to follow you. And to think that she's a grown adult. “Wait.” He called out.

You stop in your tracks and look back at Xiao confused. “Huh? Why?”

Xiao walks up to your left side and grabs your bicep. You looked at him even more perplexed. What is he doing?

You then began to feel a strong gust of wind swirl around you and in an instant, darkness flooded your vision and a familiar feeling of nausea came over you. When you opened your eyes again, you saw the gates of Liyue below the hill you were on.

You put your hands on your knees, trying to keep from puking everywhere, as you begin to process that Xiao had just teleported you both to Liyue.

“Here we are.” Xiao released your arm.

“Would have been nice to know beforehand.” You groan. After feeling like you weren't going to empty your guts out, you look up and let out a small gasp.

In front of you stood an archway that led to the bridge that entered into the city. Looking beyond that, you could see the beautiful Chinese architecture of the buildings that filled Liyue Harbor with the magnificent decorations of Lantern Rite along the city. You gaped at the scene before you. Holy shit…

Xiao swiveled his head to give a hard stare. “Don't go and cause any trouble.” He warned you.

That caused you to let out a snort. “Yeah, yeah, sure. What are you, my dad?” You raised an eyebrow at him. “Why did we teleport?”

“So I wouldn't have to listen to talk my ear off all day.” He responded bluntly, causing you to let out an offended gasp. “And I told you,” he continued before you could tell him off. “so long as you are in Liyue, it is my duty to protect you and not let any harm come to you.” Xiao reiterated.

“Wow… you really are my dad. But that's a pretty big responsibility. You sure you can follow through with it?” You question.

“Are you questioning my abilities as an adeptus?” He asked gruffly. He then leaned in closer to your face. “I always take care of my duties.” Xiao finished while staring you straight in the eyes.

Your eyes widened in surprise at his declaration. The way he said that so firmly and confidently made your chest feel light before tightening, a familiar feeling of guilt settling in, causing you to look away and frown. Shit… not now.

Noticing the change in your demeanor, Xiao tilted his head confused. “What's wrong?”

Shaking your head to get rid of the self-deprecating thoughts that were forming, you look up at him with reassuring eyes. “It's nothing.” You tell him with a small smile.

Going back to your seemingly old self, you give Xiao a look. “Alrighty,” You turn towards him and hold out your pinkie, “pinky promise it then.”

He gave your pinky an inquisitive look. You furrow your eyebrows in confusion. “You have heard of a pinky promise before, right?”

Xiao squinted his eyes at you. “Is this another strange human gesture?”

“Eh, I wouldn't necessarily say it's strange. More endearing than anything.” You hold your dominant hand and make a “give it” gesture. “Give me your hand.”

Xiao hesitantly puts his hand in yours. You close it into a fist, only leaving out his pinky. You then bring your own pinky and lock it with his own. “Now say your promise again.” Xiao looked at you reluctantly. You let out a groan. “Come on dude, just do it please?” You say giving him your best puppy dog eyes.

Xiao sighed. “I promise, so long as you are in Liyue, that I will protect you and not let any harm come to you.” He looked at your still entwined pinkies. As he said this, a gentle breeze drifted between the two of as if it was sealing the promise between you and Xiao. Xiao watched as the wind suddenly made your hair flutter around you and the way the afternoon sun casted just the right amount of shadows on your features as you looked up at him. At the moment he didn't see the fifteen year old features that made up your current face but the mature, more sharper features that he saw from your most recent pictures and student ID.

“Now what?” Her hands are really warm.

You give him a smile. “That's it!” You then let go of his pinky, bringing your hand back to your side.

He looked at you confused. “That's it? Nothing special happens?”

“The special thing about pinky promises is that the person who broke the promise gets their pinky cut off by the other person who made the promise.” You say to him.

“That's quite gruesome for such a little act.” Humans confused him so much.

“I think it was more of a scare tactic for kiddos than anything really.” You shrug. You then started walking to the city. “I'll see you later Xiao!” You call out with a grin.

“Be careful.” He told you with a subtle nod, which made your smile somehow even brighter, before teleporting away. You then turned back around and practically skipped to Liyue.

—

You made your way down the hill and soon came upon the gate that led to the city. In front of it stood two guards, you couldn't bother to remember their names, who gave you a nice ‘welcome to Liyue Harbor’ as you walked past them. As you walked over the bridge you saw the Mingxiao Lantern standing tall in all its glory. Continuing on, you finally stepped foot in the city. With a look of amazement on your face, you spun around while trying to take in all of the decorations.

I can't believe I'm actually here… You let out a disbelieving laugh and began to feel your eyes become misty. Am I really tearing up right now? Oh my God I am. You shake your head trying to get your emotions in check. As you carry on walking further, the infamous somewhat creepy shipowner, Bolai spots you looking around like a lost puppy. Which you really weren't, you were just hypnotized by the decorations.

“Hello young lady!” He called out to you. You whipped your head towards him, slightly startled. When you realized who was talking, you made a small grimace. Oh… it's that really creepy guy that I don't like.

As he makes his way towards you, you put your guard up as you straighten your back. “Hello.”

Bolai raised an eyebrow as he stopped short of you. “What a strange accent. Are you perhaps foreign?” He questioned.

You furrow your eyebrows. I have an accent? “Something like that.” You reply with a shrug your shoulders nonchalantly and a ghost of a smile on your face. Ain't no way in hell are you talking about yourself to him.

Bolai narrowed his eyes at you suspiciously. How interesting. “Quite the mysterious one, you are. Tell me, young lady, where do you hail from? Fontaine? Sumeru?”

“Sure.” You tell him halfheartedly. Why the fuck is he grilling me so hard? I should probably give him some sort of answer so he'll leave me alone. “I traveled a lot so I never really had a distinctive place to call home.” You smoothly lied. Well… it wasn't entirely a lie.

Believing your little fib, Bolai’s face softens into a look of realization. A young girl like you didn't have a home growing up? Is that what you were hinting at?

Taking notice of the subtle pity look that crossed his gaze, you groan internally. Great, now he's going to think that I never had a home. Whoops!

“Well just know that you are always welcomed here in Liyue,” He reassured you, kinda. Your eyebrows raise slightly in surprise from that. “And if you ever need anything, and I mean anything, you can always come to me.” He finished ominously while giving you a smile that seemed a little too kind.

You leaned your torso away from the strange man and looked at him mildly creeped out, yet kept a polite smile on your face. “Duly noted… thanks.” Trailing off, you maneuvered your way around and sped walked away from Bolai. A fake shiver runs through your body. Ugh… just as creepy as I remember.

You continued further into the city. Your head was constantly moving from left to right, up and down, taking in the gorgeous decorations that littered the buildings and streets. Pulling out the Mora pouch that Goldet gave you, you recounted the money that you earned from your first week working. 60,500 Mora… that should be plenty right? You paused. Actually, isn't that a lot of money? This seems like a lot for just a week of work. After pondering a few moments, you shrug the thought off.

You made sure to visit almost all the food stalls that were on the harbor to experience Liyue’s cuisine authentically, as well as how to make Xiao lanterns. After doing all the activities you possibly could, you made your way up the gigantic steps that led to the main road of the city.

As you made it to the top, you put your hands on your knees trying to catch your breath. From being on your feet all day from working plus the training the Xiao puts you through, it's safe to say you were pretty damn tired. You're kidding me. I can not be this out of shape! You thought.

Heaving one last breath, you straighten back up. You looked out to see the streets bustling with people with a slight grimace on your face at the crowds of people. You absolutely hated crowds of people because being around them just completely drains your energy.

However, your curiosity and astonishment motivated you to move forward. As you walked through the city, you kept an eye out for any clothing shops because you needed your own clothes, since that's pretty much what you came here for.

Letting your gaze continue to search through the windows of various different shops, your eyes landed on an article of clothing that caught your attention. You quickly make your way to the store and opened the doors, causing a bell above the door to let out a little chime and alert the store owner and other shoppers of your presence.

“Welcome!” They called out. You give them a small wave in response as you make your way over to the outfit. Once you made it, you reached your hand out to feel the smooth silk of the fabric. It was a beautiful sleeveless, purple dress that reached the middle of your thighs. Around the skirt of the dress laid two longer pieces that were a darker purple and draped along the sides. The top of the dress was two different colors, the right being a dark purple that were the same color of the longer pieces while the left was a lighter purple that matched the skirt, and had a high collar and with an opening in the chest area. The dress also adorned what looked like a wide obi belt, but you weren't too sure. The whole dress was trimmed with gold accents and had gold swirls all along it. Next to the dress were a pair of low ankle boots that matched the color theme.

This was the one.

You yoink it off the rack and look around for the owner. When you found them, you asked if they had any dressing rooms to try on the dress to which they led you to one. You begin to strip as soon as the door closes behind you. I really hope it fits otherwise I'll be heart broken.

As you slipped the dress over your head you zipped up the side and fastened the button on the collar. When you turn around to face the mirror, your eyes widen in surprise. Holy shit… I've never had a dress fit me so well. The dress sat magnificently on you and accentuated your curves. However… You looked down at your chest to see that your bra from your universe was most definitely visible thanks to the opening that went from the collar of the dress to the belt. I'm gonna have to do something about that. Looking back in the mirror you took notice of your tattoos. Those as well. You thought for a moment. Plus I don't particularly like wearing dresses unless I have leggings or something underneath it.

You begin to take the dress off and put your other clothes back on. I wonder if they would have some kind of body suit or something… You put the dress back on the hanger but continue to hold on to it. Making your way back towards the racks of clothing you begin your search.

As you walk through the aisles of clothing, you notice a black full body suit hanging on one of the racks. Bingo! You thought with a smile. You made your way to the suit, but you failed to notice the other body that was backing up into you.

Feeling a sudden weight on your right side, you stumble a little due to the force. However, the person that ran into had lost their balance and started to fall to the ground. Eyes widening in surprise, you were quick to catch them by grabbing them under their arms. When you looked down to check on the person to see if they were okay, you felt your breath hitch.

Staring back at you startled are lavender colored eyes that were lined with dark, thick lashes that belong to the one and only Ganyu.

You begin to feel your cheeks grow warm as you look down at the gorgeous half-adeptus in your arms. Ohfuckohfuckohfu– “Are you okay?” You asked worriedly. When you looked up to see what could have caused her to trip, you were greeted with the sight of a man that looked a little too pleased with himself. As he looked away from Ganyu and up to you, you made sure to give him the coldest glare you could manage – which made the man’s smirk falter and back up just a little.

Fucker.

Ganyu blinked as she came back to her senses. “Y-yes! I'm alright.” She gives you an appreciative smile. “Thank you.”

You return her smile. “It's no problem.” As you help her upright, you lean closer to her ear. “Do you know this guy?” You whispered. She looks at you from the corner of her eye and subtly shakes her head no.

You looked up to the creep and gave him an ‘innocent’ smile. “Is everything alright here?”

Realizing the slight hostile undertone in your voice, the man gives you a strained look. “Y-yes, everything's fine!” He stuttered and gestured to Ganyu. “I just thought I'd give this young lady a little help.”

Your eyes flicker from her back to the man. “She looks to be just fine on her own. What does she need help with?”

The man’s opens then closes, trying to think of a good excuse. “I… uh… well, she-!” You cut the man off with a raised hand.

“I'm going to stop you there. You're making yourself look like a fool.” You chastise. “It's obvious what you're doing and you're clearly making her uncomfortable. I suggest you stop now before you keep digging your grave even deeper.”

Eyes blown open and mouth agape, the man stares at you in shock from your words. Was I really that obvious? The man thought. He felt himself cowering in on himself under the heavy gaze of the two girls.

“Well, whatever.” He scoffed while avoiding eye contact, seemingly trying to act tough. “It's not like she was actually attractive.” Yet he received no reaction from either of the girls, as they continued to stare. The man began to fidget from their silence, then quickly turned around and left the store.

Both you and Ganyu let out a sigh. “Thankfully, that's over.” You tilt your head at Ganyu. “Does that happen often?”

“No, that was the first time it has ever happened.” She reveals. She then bows toward you. “Thank you for helping me.” When Ganyu straightens back up, she places a hand on her chest while giving you a sweet smile. “My name is Ganyu, secretary of the Yuhai Pavilion.”

God, she's even more gorgeous in real life… You flush a little as you give her a small bow in return. “It's nice to meet you, Miss Ganyu. I'm [Name] [Last Name].”

“It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss [Last Name]. Again, I do apologize for bumping into you earlier.” She tells you.

You wave your hand dismissively. “Just call me [Name], please. Calling me by my last name makes me feel old.” You joke.

Ganyu tilts her head curiously at you. “If I may ask, how old are you?” She asks innocently.

You pause, processing her question. Damn it. “I'm fifteen.” You manage out. I really hate telling people that because then they'll treat me like a child…

“Really?” She wonders aloud. “You're quite mature for your age and you seemed to know exactly what to do in the situation that happened earlier…” She trailed off.

You freeze hearing that. Oh shit! Has she caught on already?! You let out an awkward laugh. “Yeah, mature…” You say while making a subtle face. Although Xiao would disagree otherwise.

“Anyways, thank you once again for helping me. Is there anything I can do for you in return?” Ganyu asks.

You bring a finger to your chin and hum in thought. “Actually there is.” While Ganyu waits patiently for your request, you give her a smile. “Would you know of any stores that would have a body suit?”

The beautiful half-adeptus perks up in response. “As a matter of fact, this store has the same ones that I wear. Let me show you.” She then beckons you to follow her.

You do so with a skip in your step.

—

You and Ganyu soon left the shop, with you now wearing your new outfit that screamed main character. Thankfully the body suit was able to cover all of your tattoos. As you continued through the city, making light conversations with Ganyu, you watched as two little boys, who looked to be around the age of ten, chased each other around the streets while laughing. You watched them with a small smile. While you didn't like kids, you didn't necessarily hate them either. Plus it was kind of your profession to be able to take care of them as well. But you definitely didn't want any kids. Well, right now at least.

You watched as they weaved through the legs of strangers, trying to avoid getting hit. However, as the one with light blue hair raised a hand out in order to tag the other little boy with darker blue hair and an asymmetrical cut, a man that wasn't paying attention to what was in front of him went to take a step and kneed the poor boy hard in the head. The pale blue haired boy went down in an instant.

You let out a snort and raised a hand to your mouth to hide that you were laughing. “That poor kid just ate shit.” You couldn't help but let out a few chuckles at the kids unfortunate situation. Ganyu looked at you confused from the corner of her eyes. I'm a horrible person.

“I'm so sorry, buddy! Are you okay?” The young man that hit the boy asked as he crouched down. He received no reply as the boy laid still. The man started to shake the boy, seemingly beginning to panic.

“Hey…” He called out once more. “Are you okay?” He shook the boy frantically. Still, he received no reply. “This isn't funny, kid. Wake up!”

You stopped laughing and straightened your posture as your ‘doctor mode’ kicked in. Now you were getting concerned. Thousands of scenarios ran through your mind as to why the kid wasn't getting up. Is he concussed? Is he faking it? What's going on?

The other little boy that was running away, turned around when he heard yelling. His orange eyes widened in fear. “Chongyun!” He cried out and began running back to his friend.

Realization dawned on you. Those kids were Xingqiu and Chongyun. Your feet moved before you even noticed it as you rushed towards Chongyun and the man. Ganyu jumped when you began running and raised a hand to stop you. “[Name], wait!” But you were too far away to hear her over the people walking around.

A crowd began to form around the two to see what was happening. This caused the young man to panic even more. He looked up to the crowd. “Is there a doctor here? Please, anyone!” He cried out desperately, yet no one made a move to help.

You shook your head at the crowd. I see that the Bystander Effect is still a thing here. Xingqiu made it to Chongyun before you did, then got to his knees as soon as he reached him and started tapping Chongyun on the shoulder. “Chongyun?” He asked. “Wake up ‘Yun!”

You finally made it to the crowd and started elbowing your way through. “Excuse me! I'm a doctor, please let me through!” You yell out to the pedestrians. They turned and looked at you skeptically. Your lip curled up into a sneer at the people's ignorance. I don't have time for this.

“I said MOVE!” You yell out startling them in the process and forcing them to move. “Thank you!” You say exasperatedly, not forgetting your manners apparently. You quickly made your way over to Chongyun and got to your knees behind his head, gently placing your hands on either of his cheeks in order to stabilize his neck, in case he had injured it. Xingqiu noticed you and looked at you with tears eyes, worried out of his mind for his friend.

You looked to the man who started this whole mess. “What's going on? What happened?” You asked hurriedly while you checked Chongyun’s pulse.

The man seemed to be in a daze as he answered. “This kid just came out of nowhere. I had accidentally hit him with my knee and now he's not waking up.” He explained shakily. “Then this other kid just now showed up.” He pointed to Xingqiu. He then looked at you confused. “Aren't you a little young to be a doctor?”

You look at the man and give him a glare. “I don't think that matters right now since I'm the only one who even bothered to step in and help the poor child.” You glared at the rest of the crowd when you finished which made them avoid eye contact with you. Murmurs started to float through the crowd. What was this girl doing? Who is she? She's clearly too young to be a doctor.

You ignore their not so quiet whispering and look over to Xingqiu, giving him a reassuring smile. “Hey buddy,” you started softly. “What's your name?”

The normally composed boy let out a sniffle. “Xingqiu.” He responded. “My friend, Chongyun, isn't opening his eyes! Can you help?” He asked pleadingly.

“Don't worry baby, I'm a doctor.” You tell him, the pet name subconsciously slipping out of habit from when you worked with kids. “I'm going to help him and make sure he's okay.” Seventy beats per minute. Normal heart rate. Nineteen breaths per minute. Normal respiratory rate. If he wakes up soon, it'll most likely be just a slight concussion. You mentally start going down the checklist for head trauma patients when Chongyun finally opens his eyes.

Quickly taking notice, you yell at the crowd. “Everyone back up please! The kid is waking up so give him some space!” The crowd immediately backs away. You look back down at the boy who was wincing from the sunlight.

“Hey honey,” You gently try to get his attention, “can you hear me?”

Chongyun opened his eyes fully and looked at you, confused before squinting from the sunlight. From his position on the ground and the way the sunlight was hitting his baby blue eyes, you were able to see that his pupils were equal in size. Good. No anisocoria, no serious brain damage.

“Wha…?” Chongyun groaned out. With your hands on his cheeks, you gently tapped them to shift his attention back to you.

“Hey honey, look at me.” You instructed. “What's your name?”

The boy paused for a moment. “Chongyun.” He answered.

Alright that's one question. “It's nice to meet you Chongyun.” You smile at him. “Chongyun, do you know how old you are?” You continued.

“I'm ten.” He responded a little quicker this time. You nodded your head at him. That's two.

“Do you know where you're at, Chongyun?” You made sure to keep saying his name so that he would focus on you.

After a moment of silence, he responded. “I'm in Liyue.” He then closed his eyes and let out another groan. “My head hurts.”

“I know, dear. One last question, okay?” You tell him. He nods. “Do you know what happened to you?”

He thought for a moment. “I was… I was chasing Xingqiu,” said boy perked up in response to his name, “we were playing tag. I almost caught him then it suddenly got dark.” He opened his eyes and looked at you. “Why did it go dark?”

You give him a look of reassurance. “Your noggin got hit pretty hard and you fell down. You were asleep for a few minutes but you'll be okay.” You tilt your head. That's the last question. A and O times 4. He's alert and aware. “Does your head still hurt?” You asked as you began to palpate his neck, feeling for any serious injuries. You removed your hands when you found none.

He nodded. “Do you feel pain anywhere else? How about your neck?” He shakes his head in response.

“Good. Do you feel like sitting up for me sweetie?” You ask. Chongyun slowly moves to sit upright with your help and you guide him to the curb to sit on so he was out of the road. Xingqiu crawled over to his friend to see how he was doing, with you reminding him to overwhelm Chongyun. As you look out towards the crowd, you see Ganyu, who was carrying a cup of what you assumed was water, make her way over to your little group. She hands you the cup, which you thank her profusely, and you give it to Chongyun.

“Drink it slowly.” You advise him. “I don't want you choking on me now that you're awake.” You tease gently while sending a subtle wink to Xingqiu, causing the young boy to giggle.

He gingerly takes the cup from your hand. “Thank you ma’am.”

“Thank you, ma’am!” Xingqiu tells you as well.

“It's not a problem.” You reassure both of them with a smile. As soon as they saw that Chongyun was okay, the crowd dispersed and continued what they were doing. However, not without whispering amongst themselves how seemingly a teenager knew exactly what to do when taking care of an injured child.

You continued to sit with the two boys to monitor Chongyun, in case something suddenly went awry. Ganyu stayed as well, astounded at the young girl before her.

“What you did was quite impressive Miss [Name]!” The half adeptus praised. “I didn't know you were so vast in medical knowledge, and at such a young age too.”

You let out a few chuckles. “Well you only just met me today Miss Ganyu.”

She then gives you a sheepish look. “I was surprised to see you help him so quickly,” she leans in closer to whisper to you, “given that you were laughing at him earlier.”

“Oh… yeah,” You let out an uncomfortable laugh. “As long as they're not seriously hurt or in any danger, kids getting hit or falling is hilarious to me.” You let out a wince. “Wow, that sounds awful.”

“Yet you didn't hesitate to help him as soon as you saw that something was wrong.” Ganyu pointed out.

You lifted your hand to pet Chongyun on the head. “Well I've always wanted to be able to put my life to good use and help people in some way, so what better way than this? Helping people in their times of need.” You give Ganyu a cheeky smirk. “I may act all tough but I'm actually a big softie.”

“I'm well aware of that now.” Ganyu chuckles.

As you visited with the half-adeptus and two young boys, you failed to notice a pair of red eyes gazing at you with a look of mischief.

—

After triple checking that Chongyun was okay and him constantly telling you that he was, you wave the boys goodbye who returned it in full. Ganyu then tells you that she should continue running errands for Lady Nigguang and you may or may not have freaked out a bit inside when you heard her name. Waving to the half adeptus as well, you continue to wander aimlessly through the city.

You soon found yourself at the Wanmin restaurant, chef Mao working swiftly in the kitchen. He soon brought out your order and after paying, you made your way to the south side wharf. As you make your way to the dock, you sit down on the edge and look out at the ocean before you while swinging your legs. You welcomed the smell of salt water and the ocean breeze that fluttered around you, yet it did nothing to quarrel your racing thoughts.

I can't believe I've already been in Teyvat for a week and still don't have a fucking clue as to how I got here in the first place. You slide your hands down your face and clasped them together in front of your mouth. And Xiao has been no help to me in that matter unfortunately. The guy still doesn't talk to me that much anyways. Plus training with him has been difficult as well. I've learned that he's a super strict teacher and I've only managed to construct only two Geo items with him this past week but that was only when I was extremely frustrated or upset, so I have no clue as to how I'm going to be able to properly control the element… or that ‘particulation’ thingy with the weapons as well.

You drop your head in your hands and let out a whine. This is all so confusing! I really wish someone or something just give me some fucking answers!

You then look up and run your hands through your hair. Turning your head to the left, you see the giant Mingxiao lantern that was ready to be released once it was dark enough. You let out a sigh and try to relax. I should probably start looking for a place to watch it when it releases tomorrow. You stand up and start walking back to Feiyan Slope. Soon you crossed over the little bridge that connects Chihu Rock and Feiyan Slope. You decided to stick closer to the buildings to try and stay away from the crowds.

However, as you were too preoccupied to not hit anybody, you didn't notice a hand reaching out from an alleyway until it was too late. You felt a harsh tug on your left arm which caused you to let out a yelp. You quickly caught your bearings and when you turned to slapped your assailant, you froze as you saw a pale face that looked to be thirteen years old inches from yours. Red eyes with strange, floral shaped pupils came with the face and was framed with dark hair that faded into red.

Holy… Hu Tao? You wondered. But she looks a lot younger? Younger than this “me” that's for sure.

You give her a confused smile. “Um… hello?” Am I just going to meet every character in Liyue today?

“You're the one Mr. Zhongli told me about!” She exclaims. “It's nice to meet you! My name is Hu Tao!”

You swore you felt your soul leave your body when you heard his name. ZHONGLI?! HE’S LOOKING FOR ME?! OH SHI-! You're cut from your thoughts when Hu Tao starts pulling you. “Hey! W-wait!”

“C’mon! Mr. Zhongli is waiting for you back at the funeral parlor. It seemed like he wasn't too happy with you so we shouldn't keep him waiting any longer!” She giggles.

Yup, I'm officially dead. Maybe now I can go back to my world and be normal again.

Soon the young girl brings you to the doors of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. You gnawed on your lower lip. Fuck… I'm more nervous now than I was when I was taking the MCAT. Maybe because I'm meeting a FUCKING GOD?! You begin to slightly hyperventilate, the reality of the situation finally sitting in. FUCKFUCKFUCKFU-

You are once again snapped out of your internal freak out by Hu Tao pulling on your arm. The girl pushes the doors open while bringing you with her. The inside is about what you expected from a funeral parlor with coffins lining along the walls along with different types of shrines. After a few twists and turns, you and Hu Tao reach a very intricate door with a plate on it that says “Consultant: Zhongli”. You clench your jaw as you could practically feel the intense aura that radiated from him even through the door.

Without even knocking, Hu Tao busts through his door. “Mr. Zhongli! I found her! This is the girl you were looking for right?”

The wind gets knocked out of you upon finally seeing him in person and your knees about damn near buckle from underneath when you make eye contact with him. If you thought Xiao’s eyes were intense, then you don't even know how to describe Zhongli’s.

The Geo Archon narrowed his eyes towards you. “Indeed it is, Hu Tao.” His deep voice rumbled throughout the entire room and shook you to your core. “You may take your leave now.”

The young girl pouted. “Aw… and I wanted to see you scold her.”

A quick glance from the corner of his eyes was enough to make Hu Tao take the hint and leave, however not without whining on her way out.

As soon as Hu Tao was gone, Zhongli stood up and took large strides towards you, causing you to start panicking. Hu Tao, why did you have to leave me alone with an Archon?! Soon the man towered over you, forcing you to look up at him. The shadows that casted over his being due to him blocking out the overhead light made his striking amber eyes all the more intimidating. You felt like you were about to be pounced on like a mouse cornered by a barn cat.

Then Zhongli lowered his face closer to yours. “So you're the outlander who took my vision without permission.” He accuses. You feel your breath hitch in your throat and your palms beginning to clam up. You had never been more intimidated in your life and you have fought against people twice your size no problem before!

“Oh…! Um, t-that was me?” You stutter out. Your eyes widen when you realize just how fucking stupid you sounded.

Zhongli coolly looked at you. “Of course it was you. I knew that you were not of this world the moment you arrived in Liyue.” He tells you firmly while staring straight into your soul. “Now, do inform me on how you were able to acquire this power without a Vision granted from me?”

The silence was deafening in the room. You thought you were just about to faint until your experience from working under pressure in the emergency room decided to kick in and not fail you as you quickly composed yourself.

“In my defense,” you raise your hands. “it was completely out of my control.”

Zhongli raised an eyebrow, unconvinced.

You let out a sigh. “Here's what happened. A saw a Statue of Seven in Guili Plains, in all of its glory, and as soon as I was near it I felt a pulling sensation. Later that day I was extremely frustrated and all of a sudden a rock pillar just came out of the ground.”

Zhongli hummed in thought before finally standing back to his full height, allowing you to breathe again. He brought a hand to his chin and looked down in thought. “Interesting. I have not heard of such instances where that has ever happened, with me or any of the other Archons.” His eyes met yours again. “So what makes you special? So special that even the adeptus Xiao has decided to look after you?”

You couldn't help the exaggerated laugh that bubbled out of your throat. “Ha! I wish I knew, but your guess is as good as mine sweetheart.” You pause. “I also know that you're Morax too… if you haven't figured that out yet.” You finish meekly. WHAT THE FUCK AM I SAYING?!

The Geo Archon’s eyes widen at you. “How did you know that? Where exactly did you come from?” He interrogates.

You quickly explain to him the same thing that you told Xiao, that he was from a video game and that you were aware of what was to come in the future as well as how you somehow physically de-aged.

“Interesting.” Zhongli thought for a moment. “It appears that you come from a similar universe in which our’s exists but in a completely different manner.”

“How much of our universe do you know through this ''game”?” He questions.

“I know of some future events that will happen, but the lore of the story is still a complete mystery. We don't even know how long the main story of the game is.” You say.

Zhongli pondered. “I see. If you know what is to happen in the future, then it would be best to let things run their course and not intervene with it.”

“Yeah, the butterfly effect and shit like that.” Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise as you subconsciously swore. You quickly slap a hand over your mouth. “Sorry… it's a bad habit.” You apologize quietly.

Zhongli decided to ignore your mishap. “So you're aware of what could happen. And since you're already aware of my identity, I presume that you know that I go by Zhongli now?”

You nod your head. “Yes, I do.” You then realized that you haven't introduced yourself. You quickly bowed towards him. “My name is [Name] by the way! [Name] [Last Name].”

Zhongli nodded. “It's a pleasure to finally know the name of the outlander that took my Vision without consent.”

You make a face at his snarky comment. “Is it a pleasure though?” You muttered rhetorically.

“Let's continue with your situation.” Zhongli diverted the conversation back on track. He then looked towards you. “Perhaps if you tried to remember the events that happened to you before you came here, that may give us a better idea as to the reason why you're here.” He then gestures to one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Please have a seat. It will be easier for you to remember if you're comfortable.”

“I do remember being on a bridge but that's the only thing I know now.” Moving to sit down, you tuck your dress skirt underneath you and cross your legs, trying to look somewhat professional. You take a deep breath as you gather thoughts. What happened before coming here? What was I doing? You lean forward and rest your elbows on your knee while interlacing your hands, then put your forehead against them. You close your eyes and your eyebrow twitches into a furrow as you begin to concentrate. [e/c] eyes move rapidly behind eyelids as memories start to form.

“A hospital…” You began. “I was working a shift in the hospital.”

—

“Hi Miss Bradford!” You cheerily call out as you knock on the door. The old woman looked up from her magazine and smiled at you with dull blue eyes.

“Dr. [Last Name]. How are you doing sweetheart?” She asks softly. Miss Bradford was a quiet old lady in her seventies with salt and pepper hair and the brightest, most gorgeous blue eyes you had ever seen.

That was before she had started chemotherapy.

Miss Bradford was your most recent patient. You had treated her a few months ago when she came to your emergency room with intense chest pains. After taking multiple different CAT scans and MRIs, you and several other doctors had concluded her diagnosis as breast cancer. Although you admitted her to Oncology, she kept having complications when she had started chemotherapy; causing you to see her quite frequently.

Today was the day Miss Bradford would start her third round of chemo and you decided to bring her her favorite lunch before starting. Miss Bradford was hell bent on beating this cancer but after her most recent round she had started to lose her appetite. Which was never a good sign for a cancer patient.

“I'm doing well, thank you. And I thought I told you to call me [Name]?” You grab a chair and pull it up next to her bed.

She gives you a small smile. “But you worked so hard to earn the title of a doctor. I'm only giving you the respect you deserve.”

You shook your head playfully at the older woman. “How're you feeling today?”

She let out a sigh. “Tired, but better than yesterday. I'm ready to get this damn treatment over with.” She grumbled.

“That's good! Do you feel like eating today?” You ask.

She shook her head. “Not really but knowing you, you'll probably force me to eat anyways.” She looked at the plastic sack in your hand. “Whatcha got there?”

“Well hopefully this will bring your appetite back for today. It's your favorite!” You raise the bag higher and place it on her food tray. “Almond Tofu! I remember you telling me that it was your go to desert when you lived in Singapore, so I had one of my foreign exchange friends teach me how to make it.” You let out a dramatic sigh. “I can't tell you how many times I messed up baking this damn dessert.”

Miss Bradford looked at the sweet treat with tears in her eyes. “Oh, [Name]…” She let out a wet laugh. “You didn't have to do that.”

You smiled at the older woman. “I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to.”

She suddenly reaches over as quickly as all the tubes hooked up to her allowed her and brought you into a tight hug. You fretted over her before she cut you off.

“Thank you, [Name].” She whispered. You reciprocated her hug gently.

“You're welcome, Miss Bradford. Though I can't guarantee it'll be just like the real thing.” You playfully warned.

She let out a laugh as she pulled away from the hug. “I'm sure it will be wonderful.” She gives you a grateful smile. She then evenly separates the dessert and gives you half of it. You shook your hands no at the offer.

“No no, Miss Bradford, I made this for you so you don't have to share it with me.” You politely decline.

She glares at you but smiles. “I know I don't have to but I want to.” She quipped.

You gasp. “How dare you throw my own words back at me!”

“Just take the damn dessert, Dr. [Last Name].” She laughed out loud.

Letting out a sigh, you grab the plate from her and begin to eat with her. You both chatted for a couple of minutes after finishing before you were paged to be back down in the emergency room. You grabbed the plastic container the dessert was in and threw it away. As you moved the chair back to its proper place, you looked at Miss Bradford.

Reaching a hand out, you place it over her own. “Thank you for eating today, Miss Bradford.” You tell her sincerely. “I know it's getting hard but all of the nurses are telling me that you're doing great.”

“Just two more rounds and it will be over.” You encouraged her.

The older woman nods as she grasps your hand and gives it a tight squeeze. A nonverbal thank you.

“Do you need anything else before I leave?” You ask.

She shakes her head. “No, Dr. [Last Name]. I'm quite alright. Now go save some lives.” She lets go of your hand and shoos you off.

You roll your eyes teasingly. “I'll be back to check on you after your treatment. Try not to see me this time around!” You open the door and wave back at her. “Good luck! You got this!” You then swiftly leave the room and head back to your station.

As soon as you were gone, Miss Bradford’s smile dropped immediately. She laid her head back and lifelessly looked at the ceiling. Tears started to fall from her cobalt eyes as she thought about you and the gift you had made for her.

“I'm gonna miss you, [Name].” She whispered into the empty room.

—

After three days, you fortunately had the day off from working so you immediately went to go see Miss Bradford.

You soon made it to the familiar room. “Hi Miss Bradford! How do you feel-” You stop in your tracks upon seeing Miss Bradford lying in front of you. The older woman looked nothing like what you had seen three days prior. Her beautiful salt and pepper hair had begun to fall out and her skin looked like it was barely hanging onto her bones.

You quickly come back to reality. This is what chemo does. And elderly people tend to not survive the drug. You remind yourself.

You take a deep breath and walk towards the bed. “Miss Bradford?” You call out. “It's me, Dr. [Last Name].”

The woman slowly opened her eyes. Her bleary and glazed over eyes tiredly searched for the voice calling out to her before landing on your form. Her dull blue eyes light up in recognition.

“[Name].” She croaked out yet still gave you a smile.

You give a smile right back to her. “Hi Miss Bradford.” You greet softly. You squat down next to the bed so it was easier to make eye contact. “How're you feeling?”

She let out a tired sigh. “Like shit.”

You chuckled quietly before you both sat in silence for a few moments. You open your mouth to say something but the older woman beats you to it.

“I don't think I'm gonna make this round, sweetheart.”

You clench your jaw hearing her statement. “Don't say that.” You tell her firmly. “I thought you wanted to kick this cancer’s ass?”

The poor woman couldn't even manage a chuckle. “Don't all patients say that?” She asked. She looks past you and out the window. “I think it's my time. I can feel it.”

She then closed her eyes and gave you a grateful smile while reaching up to cup your cheek. “Thank you, [Name], for sticking by my side even when my own children didn't. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful doctor to take care of me.”

You held the hand that was on your cheek and gave the older woman a sad smile as if to say “I'm sorry for not doing enough”, yet she seemed to understand what your smile conveyed as she began to caress your cheek as a means to console you.

“Keep saving lives, Dr. [Last Name].”

The steady flat note of a heart rate monitor tells you that your patient has finally passed away.

Her hand that was on your cheek laid flaccid on your own. You closed your eyes and let out a shaky sigh. After a few minutes of sitting in silence with your deceased patient, you press the nurse’s call button. You then place her hand next to her on the bed. Shortly after several nurses come into the room and begin to console you while covering Miss Bradford’s body with the sheet. You watched them as they wheeled her out of the room.

She told you to keep saving lives and you plan on doing just fucking that.

—

It was dark out when you finally left the hospital after you said your last goodbyes to Miss Bradford. The temperature had dropped significantly causing a shiver to run down your spine and goosebumps form on your arms.

You're not going to lie. Even though she told you that she was ready and already accepted her death, you couldn't help but feel like you failed her; so you were feeling pretty depressed. Everybody was so determined to get her healthy again, to go back to a somewhat normal life again. But it was never that easy.

You passed several buildings as you continued home. Soon you were passing your current town's local park when you suddenly stopped, a sudden feeling of anxiety had come out of nowhere. It felt like there were eyes on you, watching your every move. Your face sets into a hard glare to try and look intimidating. You turn around in a circle trying to find any suspicious people, yet you only found yourself alone in the street which unsettled you even more.

A sudden rustling causes you to whip your head to the right. Your eyes immediately lock onto a bright pair of golden ones that look at you from the tree line. Neither one of you refused to blink or look away, seeing who would back down first.

Your eyes widen when the other set of eyes seem to just dissipate into thin air. After a few moments of trying to process what the hell just happened, you shake your head.

I must be going insane. You thought. When you turned around to continue home, your gaze caught sight of something on the sidewalk. On the sidewalk was what looked like gold flecks of dust hovering in front of you. Being the completely logical person you were, you tried to kick the dust away from you. However doing so only caused more gold flecks to appear and soon a trail of them started to manifest that led into the forest where you saw the pair of eyes. You looked at the trail bewildered. What the actual fuck is going on? You drop your head and let out a defeated sigh.

“Yeah, I'm over this.” You mumble out loud. You walk through the trail dead set on going home and sleeping for the entire day tomorrow. Now you weren't going to lie, yes you do get upset whenever one of your patients pass away, but normally not this upset because that was part of your job; it's bound to happen. But Miss Bradford’s death seemed to be taking a bigger toll on you than you thought.

However, as you tried to walk through the trail it forcefully turned your body to walk to the forest. Your eyes widen as your adrenaline spikes and your fight or flight kicks in as you start thrashing around, trying to release its invisible hold on you.

“Hey, wait! Stop!” You cry out. You whip your head in all directions, trying to look for someone to help you. “Help! Anyone, please!” Yet all you received was silence from the empty street. While the gold dust continued to push you toward, you still tried to fight against it though you quickly began to falter thanks to the mentally and physically taxing day you just went through.

As if it had sense you were giving up, the trail abruptly stopped pushing you. For a split second you thought about running off again but decided against it. You watched as the trail formed and led even deeper into the forest where the bushes and trees were so thick that not even the bright moon that was above could illuminate it. Your eyes flicker down to the trail before going back to the forest then back down to the trail. You grimace at the trail as if you were saying “do I really have to?” to it.

All of a sudden, your head whips up to the tree line as you hear music softly playing from it. From your limited musical knowledge, it sounded like it was a harp or some type of string instrument. You feel your muscles relax and your heart slows its frantic pace as the soft melody coursed around you, like a warm comforting blanket that had just come out of the dryer, and a sense of peace had washed over you.

The logical side of your brain was screaming at you to not listen to it. To not be a dumbass and see where it was coming from. To run away as fast as you could while screaming for help, yet you already knew that wasn't going to work. But the hypnotic song that the harp-like instrument was playing kicked that side of your brain to the curb as it lured you into the forest.

Your feet moved before you even realized it and soon you began to bush limbs away. After a few minutes of trying to follow where the music was coming from, it started to get louder and then light filtered through the trees. You quickened your pace and pushed away the last of the trees, but froze in your place as the music suddenly stopped and at what you walked upon.

In front of you was nothing but a vast and endless bright blue sky. From above where the sun continued to glow brightly but seemed to be twice the size of what it was before, to below you where you could see a single hint of land anywhere. Clouds rolled by thanks to the gentle breeze that blew past you and tall pillars were littered throughout the area, some were even floating!

You turn back to the forest behind you with a confused expression before looking back at the open sky. Wasn't it just night before? And why is this… oddly familiar? Where have I seen this before? You wondered.

You jumped nearly ten feet in the air when you heard a noise at your feet. You look down to see individual slabs of concrete form a bridge several feet out in front of you and the gold trail resumes onto the bridge.

You stare at the bridge processing what just occurred. You could practically hear the Jeopardy theme song playing in the background. You sharply inhale and your eyes widen when finally realized why this was all familiar.

Motherfucking Genshin Impact! I thought I recognized this loading screen!

You place a hesitant foot on the bridge, expecting it to crumble but it stood sturdy. You take another step, then another, and after four steps the bridge begins to form out again. You keep walking as the bridge does so. You do this for a few moments, giggling to yourself about what is actually transpiring.

“I really have gone insane.” You laughed. “Ah, and my future was so promising.”

A loud boom from below cuts you off from your self deprecating thoughts. What the hell? You get down on your knees and crawl over the edge of the bridge to see a huge black rip in the sky.

“Outlanders,” A voice boomed out. “your journey ends here.”

And out stepped the Unknown God.

Oh shit. You gasp quietly as your heart rate accelerates at the sight of her. She's hotter in person. You looked around for the twins and quickly spotted them on a platform just below the Unknown God.

“Who’re you?” The queen herself, Lumine, calls out.

“The sustainer of heavenly principles.” The Unknown God summons a black cube in her hand. “The arrogation of mankind ends here.” She then creates a cube below the twins, forcing them to jump out of the way. They spin in the air and summon their, much cooler than the ones in the game, wind gliders with swords in hand.

The Unknown God sends multiple horrifying trails of cubes after the twins, forcing them to fly and twirl out of the way of them while causing the whole sky to rumble somehow. Soon the twins fly towards the Unknown God and collide with her creating a huge explosion.

The explosion caused the bridge you were on to shake due to the force. You grabbed on tighter to the ledge in hopes of keeping your balance, but an aftershock made you slip off from the edge. You let out a terrified scream as you suddenly began to fall.

Your scream caught the trio's attention and made them look at you. The twin’s faces morph into a shocked and horrified expression as you fall while the Unknown God’s eyes narrow in recognition. “There you are.” And sent cubes after you, yet you are completely immune to what's happening around you thanks to the wind that was blowing in your ears.

Lumine quickly yelled to her brother. “Aether, catch her!” She diverted her attention back to the god. “I'll take care of this!”

Aether jumped into action and quickly flew to you. He willed his wind gliders to move faster than the cubes and was soon on you. He then flies underneath you and catches you bridal style. You let out a loud “oof” as you roughly collided with something and opened your eyes, which had subconsciously closed when you fell, to see Aether flying away with you in his arms and away from the cubes.

Aether looks down to your wind blown form. “Are you okay?” He asks gently. How you could hear him over the wind, you didn't know, but you could only stare at him in shock, not actually believing that he was real.

Taking in your silence as being in shock from the fall, he flies higher in the air and turns to the Unknown God to see his twin getting sucked into the god’s cubes.

“Lumine!” He cried out. He looked between you and his sister before ultimately throwing you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes while keeping a firm hold on your thighs. He zooms to the god at high speeds which catches you off guard.

“What the fuck?!” You screech. You were starting to get a little motion sickness from all of the sudden movements.

Aether dips behind the god and swings his sword at her which causes an even larger explosion than before. You let out a scream at the loud sound. You could feel Aether’s chest rising and falling rapidly under your legs due to him panting. You hear him gasp and you turn over his head to see what was happening, though you already knew.

However, the sight of the smoke from the explosion coming back and encasing Aether’s hand was more terrifying in real life than it was in the game.

“Hold on!” He orders then quickly readjusted you so that he had a hold of your waist. You wrap your arms around his shoulders and cover your face in his shoulder, bracing for any sort of pain. Soon your vision started to turn black, but before it covered it entirely you heard Aether scream out to the Unknown God.

“Wait, don't go! Give my sister back!”

—

A/N: Kazuha is now officially the ninth member of the harem. Also, y'all... Inazuma? Lord help me I want to add Gorou and Thoma to the harem as well.

Side note, for all of the male characters that have a "young adult" physique like Aether, Kazuha, Xiao, etc. they're taller than they are in the game, from 5'6"-5'8" (Xiao still being the shortest) while those with an "adult" are anywhere from 5'10-6'2", because I said so lol.

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