#morning manon here now

[suashii]

yandere!yuta who screenshots every picture you post on instagram and puts them into a little album on his phone to refer to every time he jerks off. you’re just so pretty and thinking about you isn’t enough — he’s got to see you if he wants to cum. if he turns into such a mess looking at you on a screen, he can’t help but wonder how good it would feel to have his hands all over you, to be inside you

[aceofsages]

Heyy! Could you do something where Enid was being ignored by someone and she starts crying, but Wednesday comforts her? Thanksss!

find on ao3

When Enid lands in San Francisco for winter break, she has to give herself a pep talk in the bathroom mirror. Her hair is still dyed, her nails are chipped, her face is—well. She ruffles her hair, trying to make it fall in a way that would make the scratches less obvious.

Point is there are a hundred and one points Mom will probably immediately grab to nag her with.

So, all she has to do is make sure she doesn’t get a chance.

“Okay,” she says, staring herself down. “Okay, you can do this, it’s easy, it’s easy. All you have to do is—”

The door opens, a woman walks in and Enid immediately starts looking into her purse, waiting for her to leave. Enid takes her phone out, a message from her dad that reads, Here at the arrival gate!

The woman leaves, giving her a look. Enid smiles at her awkwardly. God, what a bitch.

She turns back to the mirror, her eyes immediately falling to the scratches and fuck, if she can’t look herself in the eye—

“All you have to do is tell her.” She makes a face and winces at the pain that lances up her cheek. “Yeah, just tell her. Fuck.”

She hugs Dad tight when she gets to the gate, who moves a hand through her hair fondly. He doesn’t comment on her wounds, though his eyes do burn silver for a moment. She doesn’t know if she’s relieved or angry at him for not asking.

(He’s never asked, never spoken up. Enid pretends every time it doesn’t hurt.)

Turns out, there is something worse than not wolfing out: wolfing out wrong.

At the end of it all, Mom spits out, “If you want to live you’ll be gone by morning.” Her eyes are golden and her claws are out. Her brothers are watching her with horror, Adam standing protectively in front of the twins. It hurts in a way Enid doesn’t think she’ll ever recover from. “No child of mine is a lycanthrope!”

Just before she flees, she sees her Dad’s fearful face. She thinks it’s one that’ll never leave her.

----

Legend has it that the very first infected were Blood-Wolves. Bitten by Lycanthropes, a type of shapeshifting hound demon, blood-wolves were a by-product of wolf blood mixing with demon venom. They are said to have been used in the war against Cattails by the Lycanthropes. After the war, when a truce had been reached, they were cast onto the Material Plane as part of the concession made by the hound demons.

They intermingled with humans, who welcomed them into their midst, unaware and unheeding of the danger they presented. They never shifted during a full moon. Most of their children, however, did. Those who didn’t—

Well. Their first transformation at blood moon was an eye-opener. They tore apart houses with their bare hands, sank their fangs into babies and feasted on the flesh of their own species. At the end of their spree of destruction, they were decried as made of witch blood and dead moon, to be hunted to their own extinction. The last known blood-wolf descendant died in 1709, killed by Manon Rose, who later went on to create the ritual that would prevent blood-wolves from ever evolving again. Not much more is known about them other than their origins and their actions.

Nevermore’s library feels a little too silent, all of a sudden. Enid closes the book. Yoko looks up from hers. “You found it?”

“Yeah.”

“Not good, huh?”

“Nope,” Enid says, and bursts into tears. Fuck, fuck, she needs to stop doing this. She presses her palms to her eyes. Fuck. She’s not—she’s not a blood-wolf. Distantly, she feels Yoko hug her. None of it makes any sense. She’s not suddenly having the urge to eat babies or whatever. In fact, if anything, she’s even more controlled of her senses now. She remembers her transformation vividly, remembers Wednesday vividly, remembers fighting the Hyde and worrying and worrying and worrying if she was okay, if she was safe, if she was alive. All that mattered then was to eliminate at least one threat to Wednesday, the biggest threat to all of them and not once did she feel like, oh, where are the babies?

Fuck.

She sniffs once, twice, and waves Yoko off, “It’s okay, I’m okay.”

Yoko raises her eyebrows and drawls, “And I’m a normie. Listen, let’s search for answers tomorrow, okay? You’ve been here two nights in a row.”

Enid starts to refuse but Yoko continues, “Do you really want Wednesday to search for you again?”

Enid rolls her eyes and gets up, as if the memory of it doesn’t send a shot of warmth through her. She always likes it when Wednesday shows that she cares. A little too much at times, bordering on not-platonic, but Enid’s not ready to look at what that means, yet.

When she enters her dorm, she’s greeted with the sight of Wednesday on her typewriter. She stops when Enid enters and turns to her to say, “Good, you’re here. I was just about to send Thing after you.”

“Let him rest, I just did his nails today.”

Wednesday rolls her eyes. “You shouldn’t encourage his vanity.”

“And you shouldn’t threaten him so much. It gives him wrinkles.”

Thing taps on the table. All my wrinkles are because of her. Wednesday rolls her eyes again but lets it go. “Did you find anything?” she asks instead.

Enid sucks in a breath and walks towards her, irrationally aware of when she crosses their duct tape line once was. She extends the book out to her, and Wednesday takes and cracks it open. Enid plops down on her bed with a sigh, her hair fanning out behind her. Wednesday’s sheets are so soft. Maybe she should ask for it as a Christmas present.

She blinks tears out of her eyes.

“Well, this just turned interesting.”

“What?” Enid says, sitting up. Wednesday hasn’t looked up from the book. Thing sits on her shoulder.

“If I remember correctly, she married Maximus Addams. It is said that most Addamses thought that she’d end up killing Maximus.”

“Did she?”

“Oh yes, but Maximus took her with him. They loved each other a lot.”

“If you love someone, why would you kill them?”

“You’ll find, Enid, that most Addams’ love follows a similar vein.”

Like you and Tyler, Enid thinks suddenly, and sits up. “I’m going to shower.”

Wednesday waves her off, engrossed in the book.

----

She hadn’t expected the behavior to continue—to spread like it has around the pseudo packs in Nevermore Stupid of her, really. She’s a gossip queen, she of all people should know how rumors were easy to spread and easier to believe.  They’ve taken to ignoring her, going out of their way to show her that they’re ignoring her. People she was good friends with, people she helped, now look at her with disdain or step away from her as if she’s a plague. Some outright bully her. In the following week she finds herself crying so much that she’s perpetually dehydrated, and hating herself so damn much for being such an easy crier.

It’s the middle of the week when the incident happens. Morgan Todd, a fucking jerk, turns up in the quad with boils all over his face and hacking up blood at an alarming rate. He’d sneered in Enid’s face on Monday, gone so far as to pull wolfsbane on her. It was a weaker strain, admittedly, but it served to make them all realise that Enid was really fucking sensitive to it. She’d had to spend the night in the Med Bay, and Enid now knows who’s responsible for this. She’d known as soon as it happened and she’s so fucking angry— 

She confronts Wednesday at night.

“Why did you do that?” she asks immediately.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do!” Her throat feels tight again. She runs a hand through her hair, pulls. A tear or two slip out. “I can’t—Wednesday, I really really can’t do this. I told you not to retaliate.”

“Enid,” Wednesday says, weirdly careful. She steps towards her, hands extended. “Enid, it’s alright.”

“It’s not! Don’t you understand what you’ve just done?! You’ve given them a reason now! They’ll think I did it, they’ll think that—”

“Enid, no one will think anything because Morgan knows exactly who did that to him.”

She stops short. “What?”

Wednesday takes her hands and holds them tight. Her hands are deathly cold. “I couldn’t not do it. He had to learn—they all had to.”

“Learn what?” Enid asks, dazed.

Wednesday blinks and the action throws Enid off-kilter. She suddenly looks hesitant, almost, but her grip on Enid’s hands is sure. “That they can’t get away with it. Not unharmed.”

There’s a sudden clarity that’s rising in Enid, a sudden surety that that was not what Wednesday had wanted to say.

“Because you’ll come for them.”

“Because I’d raise hell for you.”

Enid swallows. She feels like they’re on the brink of something. Falling, maybe. “Why?” she asks, hushed.

“I told you, didn’t I? The mark you’ve left on me is indelible, Enid Sinclair.”

Enid steps closer. Wednesday’s eyes don’t have pupils. She’s never been close enough to notice, before. “Why?” she asks again.

Wednesday closes her eyes. “Because I didn’t know I was cold until you warmed me.”

Enid kisses her.

It’s a short kiss, a simple press of their lips. Their hands are still linked. When they separate, Wednesday chases her back and kisses her again, barely letting her suck in a breath. It’s still simple; achingly sweet and tender in a way she’s never thought to associate with Wednesday. She likes it.

She likes it a lot.

She wants to do this forever.

“Come to the Manor with me,” Wednesday says. Enid doesn’t know how long they’ve been kissing. “Let me help you figure it out.”

“Okay,” Enid says. “Yes.”

Wednesday kisses her again, like she can’t help herself. “Good.”

[throneofsapphics]

I am in need of more Manon x reader with some ✨angst✨ and ✨spice✨

(You’re writing is amazing. Don’t forget to take care of yourself and sleep well ❤️)

running from the truth 

Summary: The words were poison on Manon’s tongue, but she said them anyway. “I should not have, but I don’t regret it.” Your eyes fluttered shut, and she watched another tear drip down your cheek. When your eyes opened, she saw the reputation you carried - not the female she grew to love. 

Word Count: ~2k 

Warnings: angst, infidelity, a sprinkle of smut, not proofread, minors dni!

A/N: thank you you're so sweet, take care of yourself!! reader is fae and has magic 

“I can’t stand you right now,” you nearly-yelled, hands gripping your hair. 

“Then why are you still here?” She raised one brow. You forced yourself to stay calm, not to swallow harshly or give any indication of your nerves. 

“You’re right.” You gave a half-grin, aware you probably looked crazed. You turned on your heel, ready to pack your things and head to your room, when you caught a strange scent. A male scent, one of arousal mixed with Manons. This time, you couldn’t control how your fists clenched and your jaw tightened. “I thought you had more respect for me than that.” You hissed and walked as fast as you could, slamming the door behind you and throwing a shield up, ensuring she couldn’t get through without another magic wielder. 

But, it wasn’t necessary. Manon left your shared rooms and you could’ve sworn you heard “I cannot deal with this now.” 

You dropped to your knees, ignoring the harsh impact of the floor, your nails digging into your hair. The sheets were rumpled, her scent from the night before lingering on the sheets. 

Manon’s hand crept between your thighs as you pressed your back against her, one hand coming around to fist her hair. You shook your head - knocking the thoughts away. 

The ‘exclusive’ conversation happened a mere two months ago. You’d been together much longer than that, but finally agreed for it to be just the two of you. You ran through the day in your mind, you had gotten into a fight this morning - over a female friend of yours. And just that, just a friend you’d never had any inclination of being with, but Manon thought she was too flirty. So gods-damned jealous and you were kicking yourself for staying around in the first place. Your body moved on auto-pilot as you packed as much as you could fit into one bag, but you didn’t have many things anyway so you grabbed what was most important to you - she could throw away the rest for all you cared. 

Where the hell would you go? Your lease ran out on your apartment a month ago, hence Manon’s insistence you should move into the castle with her. She told you she loved you a week ago, and you said it back. Maybe it was time to go home for a while, to go back to Terrasen. In your animal form, you could make it there in a week or less comfortably. You shifted, and a falcon shot skyward through the window, not bothering to close it. 

You didn’t bother sending word you’d be coming, chances are the message wouldn’t arrive before you. Besides, you knew you were always welcome in Orynth. Words from the Queen herself, one of your closest friends. And closest protestors as you moved down to the Witch Kingdom - insisting she needed more female presence around the castle. 

Despair followed you for the first day of your trip, the urge to turn back and go beg her for answers crossed your mind every other minute. Only your pride and sense of worth kept you soaring through the skies. The week's journey turned to five days and you flew, fueled on pure spite and only stopping as long as necessary. Relief hit you when you passed the Anascul mountains. Pine and snow filling the air and flooding all of your senses. Home, you were home. 

-

You shifted at the edge of the plains of Theralis, stumbling over to a nearby pond, checking you didn’t look too bedraggled.  A mile or so out, you soared towards the ground and shifted, smoothly picking up your steps. You decided making the approach on foot would be better, less likely to spook any of the guards. 

By pure chance, and maybe dumb luck, Rowan, your cousin, was outside of the walls, walking with who looked like a new captain for the guard. Or maybe an unlucky soldier. Either way, he scented your approach and quickly whirled your way. You saw his mouth move, him giving a short nod, and the other male scattering as he shifted. Shortly after, he appeared back before you. You knew the scent of your grief and anger was strong. 

“Is Aelin going to torch someone?” He said as a way of greeting, and you let out a weak laugh. 

“I’ll do my best to prevent it.” He cursed under his breath, but kept pace with you as you made your way through the city walls. At least he’s not already lecturing you on why you should’ve never left, like Aelin will be within the next hour. 

Aelin’s incensed anger at your hurt was enough that you kept yourself from telling them anything, beyond it was over between the two of you and you left. As much anger as you held for her now, you didn’t want any harm to come to her. Her and Rowan badgered you for three days before realizing you wouldn’t budge. 

“Stubbornness is a family trait then.” Aelin huffed, aggressively shoving a chocolate in her mouth. 

“If you haven’t learned that yet, I’ve vastly overestimated your intelligence.” You dodged the flaming arrow shot your way, extinguished by Rowan - followed with an exasperated sigh. 

-

You rolled in your bed that night, sheets tangling around you before you threw them off, muffling a yell of frustration in your pillow. A male? Cheating on you with a fucking male. Gods you wanted to throttle her, to scream at her, to have some way to let everything out. But, you couldn’t exactly fly back to the Witch Kingdom and track her down - that would require swallowing any pride you had left. 

Hours later, you fell asleep as the dawn rays just began to peek through. 

Your back arched on the bed, hands fisting the sheets. Iron nails held your thighs apart, digging in to bring that perfect edge of pain to combine with the pleasure - her tongue flicking against your clit, stopping to nip and suck at your thighs, murmur all sorts of filthy things to you, drive you to the edge over and -

You woke with a start and a gasp as someone pounded on the door. 

“Have a nice dream?” For fucks sake, Fenrys was back from his trip.   

-

“Y/n.” Aelin screamed, storming into your rooms. 

“What the fuck is-” You started to grumble, rolling out of your bed,

“Abraxos was just spotted on the Plain.” Your body thumped on the ground as you let out a groan. Her feet came into your line of sight, along with an outstretched hand. You grabbed it and let the Queen drag you to your feet. 

“Only ten days,” Aelin mused. “If she’s not on her knees begging, I’ll turn her to ash.” 

“Not necessary,” you quickly said as she stalked off to your closet. Clothes flew for you, and you caught them - quickly changing into what she picked out. A simple top and pants, simple but ones that showed off your figure in a very flattering light. 

“Really, Aelin?” You groaned and she grinned at you. Not a friendly grin, but one that promised trouble. 

“I’m going with you.” Aelin announced. 

“I’m going with her.” Fenrys’s voice breezed through the door. 

“Nobody’s coming with me,” you said firmly. “I can handle the witch.” 

Aelin grumbled some unintelligible words. 

“She’s only pissy because she hasn’t burnt anything in a while.” The door flew open and a flame shot towards Fenrys and a resounding yelp boomed through the doorway. 

A grin crossed your face, disappearing as soon as you remembered exactly who you were going to meet. A few deep breaths later, you stalked out into your sitting room. A low whistle came from Fenrys and you shot him a warning glance. He held his hands up in a show of innocence, drawing an eye roll and smile from you. 

You could bar Aelin and Fenrys from coming with you, but you had a feeling that a white-tailed hawk would be perched somewhere nearby. Fae bullshit, but you can’t blame them - you’re the same way. 

-

You were waiting, arms crossed as you stood in the doorway of the Aerie, Abraxos landing not far from you. You smiled as he let out a happy noise of greeting, but your expression fell flat as you looked at his rider. You were always good at hiding your emotions, for the most part, but your scent would betray everything. 

“Running in the middle of the night?” She purred, stalking towards you. You held your ground, not daring to reach for any weapons.

“I left in the middle of the day, but you wouldn’t know that - warming someone else's bed now?” 

Manon snarled at you, and you bared your teeth back. “I. Would. Never.” She retorted through gritted teeth. 

“That doesn’t explain your scent ten days ago.” 

“What the hell are you talking about?” You could see iron nails ready to shoot out, and you relaxed your arms - going in reaching distance of your daggers.

“We got in a fight and you slept with someone else.” You deadpanned, but began to doubt yourself. 

“That’s what you meant. ‘I thought you had more respect for me than that.’” Those beautiful burnt gold eyes narrowed, her head tilting. 

“How sweet of you to memorize my words.” Her fist clenched, but no iron shot out towards you. Antagonizing her is one of your favorite hobbies. But - right now it was in a mean spirit, not the warm-hearted banter back and forth between the two of you, you pissing Manon off, and her showing you ‘your place.’ 

Manon’s hand gripped the back of your hair, pulling you back against her chest as one hand snuck around your front, running circles around your clit as you screamed her name. 

“I happened to be in a meeting, thinking of you.” You’ve always been good at reading people, at sniffing out a lie - but Manon was an expert. You waited, giving her time to sweat and see if she would give a telltale sign. Her left temple twitched slightly, and you shook your head. 

You sat under her desk, her thighs clamping around your head as one hand held you tight to her - the other shuffling through the papers on her desk. The only sign of her arousal being the low moans and slight quivering of her thighs. 

“If you’re going to chase me down to my home,” you knew that word would hurt - two weeks ago you would’ve called the Witch Kingdom your home, “at least tell the truth.” 

Her nostrils flared. “I … I was angry. I should not have done that.” 

Gods, you almost wish you would’ve just accepted her lie now. The confirmation was almost worse. Manon’s eyes tracked the tear dripping down your cheek, on instinct her hand reached out to flick it away but you flinched and took a large step back. Her arm slowly lowered back to her side, and her eyes softened for a brief second before they hardened. You were looking at the Manon you met, the cold-hearted and stoic witch, not the one you fell in love with. The switch was instantaneous and you changed your mind, that hurt worse than the lie. 

-

The words were poison on Manon’s tongue, but she said them anyway. “I should not have, but I don’t regret it.” Your eyes fluttered shut, and she watched another tear drip down your cheek. When your eyes opened, she saw the reputation you carried - not the female she grew to love. 

You turned on your heel and left the aerie and she tracked your figure down the steps, all the way to the curve where you disappeared before turning back to Abraxos. Who had a disappointed look on his face. 

“Not you,” she snarled and he huffed. Manon didn’t bother trying to see anyone else, only soaring off into the skies. It was just an hour past dawn, she could get a good headstart and hopefully outrun any Fae bastards or fire-breathing Queen’s. On second thought, she should’ve checked for anything nearby. Too late now, there’s no chance y/n will come back and she can respect her for that. 

[writtenonreceipts]

Rowaelin Month Day Twenty-One: Scars @rowaelinscourt

Find my Rowaelin Month Masterlist here

warnings: none except a joke of editing, ~1k words

Scars

Aelin sighed as she knelt on the stone floor of the washroom before her daughter.

It was mid afternoon and a gentle splash of sunlight cut through the window just behind them, illuminating the small room just enough.  Wynne, youngest of her small brood and current biggest problem of the castle, sat on an old oak stool with her legs kicking idly out in front of her. The wood clicked and groaned as Wynne wiggled about, unable to stay still.  She was barely five years old but already had enough attitude and energy for Aelin to wonder if it was possible for her daughter to be an exact replica of her. Maybe this was the gods' retribution taking place for all the chaos Aelin had caused in her youth.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Aelin asked. She dipped a rag in a bowl of water and tonic on the ground beside her before slowly raising it to Wynne’s knee.  She’d dismissed the servants not long ago, telling them she'd see to her youngest daughter.  It wasn’t well received.  Especially considering Aelin had cancelled a delegation meeting with an advisor from Doranelle, but she’d just send Ren along with an apology and an old weapon from the stores and all would be forgiven.  Hopefully.

Wynne wiggled again and Aelin reached out to put a steadying hand on her daughter’s shoulder.  It was a firm touch, steady and significant.  She met her Wynne’s eyes—emerald green.

“I was playing,” Wynne said slowly. She held up the edge of her dress and stared at the cut on her knee. Already it was welling with blood.

Aelin began to clean what she could, dabbing at blood and dirt.  She tried to remain gentle, but Wynne flinched all the same.  Her pale hair was falling out of the coronet of braids a maid had put it in just that morning.  Fine wisps fell around the little girl's face in a halo.

“Right, you were playing in the stables which I’ve told you not to do,” Aelin said.

Wynne fisted her dress in her hands and looked down. “Meiri and Fin and Coilin were already playing in there too!”

“And papa is talking to them about that too,” Aelin assured her.  Really the stables were no place for any of the children but Meiri.  At fifteen, the eldest of Aelin’s brood, had begun riding lessons in earnest.  But even if she were learning horse care and how to ride well, she shouldn’t have taken any of her siblings out to the stables.   

Aelin wiped up the blood, being careful when Wynne winced again.

Wynne had yet to display what her magic would be so Aelin didn’t rely on any special healing magic for her daughter.  It wasn’t strange for a fae child to not show any magic, Rowan had assured her.  But even when she was still in the womb, Wynne had been different from all her siblings.  

Aelin worked quickly and efficiently until she wrapped a clean bit of cloth over and around the knee.  Then she leaned over and pressed a kiss to the bandage.

“Now,” Aelin said as she readjusted Wynne’s dress. “What have we said about going to places you're not allowed to go?”

“I wanted to see the baby pony,” Wynne murmured, she clasped her hands before her and looked through her eyelashes at Aelin.

Indeed a new foal had been born just two days ago.  It was wonderful and excited and children just loved when new babies came around.

Aelin sighed. “Why didn't you ask papa or me to take you?”

“You've been busy.”  

The soft admission cut at Aelin and it was her turn to look away.  She remained kneeling at Wynne’s side, running her hand gently over the bandage.  It was true she and Rowan had been busy.  Tensions were running high with the witches even if Manon was an ally.  And then the flooding in Doranelle which was why she was supposed to meet with Ren.  Oh, and a large portion of farmland had been eaten away by locusts that summer.  It was a strange phenomenon that didn’t happen often, but when it did it made things a bit more miserable than usual.

And Aelin had needed to deal with it.  Rowan had been offering services to the training the army and even going on a few expeditions as of late.  He’d long loved the journey and exertion in those sorts of adventures that Aelin couldn’t begrudge him that.

But here was little Wynne who just wanted to see the new foal.

“Oh, darling,” Aelin sighed.  She stood and cupped Wynne’s face in her hands. “Papa and I will always be here for you.  We always want to help you.  But we have these rules for a reason.”

Wynne’s lower lip trembled and Aelin swept her daughter up, holding her closer to her chest.  They stood like that in the small washroom for several minutes.  Long enough for Wynne’s tears to subside and Aelin to hold herself together just a little longer.

She swung Wynne onto one hip, brushing stray hairs from her eyes. 

“Papa and I love you with all our hearts, you know that right?”

Wynne nodded slowly and brought one hand up to Aelin’s cheek.  The touch was gentle and sudden all at once that Aelin could only look into her daughter’s eyes and wait.

“Momma?” Wynne poked at one spot in particular on Aelin’s cheek where she knew was a scar from the war. “Am I gonna have a scar like you?”

Aelin swallowed.  Oh Mala, she hoped not. “I don’t know, love.  Maybe.”

“I just wanna be brave,” Wynne said.  She snuggled herself into the crook of Aelin’s neck and sighed. “Just like you, Momma.”

Tears pricked Aelin’s eyes and she held her daughter tight against her.  This beautiful little soul was already so strong.  She was her own being in a world of voices already so loud and chaotic.  But Aelin knew in her mother’s heart that Wynne would one day do great things.

“You are brave, love,” Aelin said, “brave and wonderful.”

And she meant it.  With all her heart.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

not tagging to try and keep my sanity in tact lol what sanity

[shadowdaddies]

Meant to Be - Pt. II

dark!Manorian x f!Reader

Part One | Part Three | Part Four

Warnings: drugs, addiction, mentions of poison and killing, kidnapping

There was no way of telling how long you had been here, locked away in this beautiful prison. Days blurred into nights, which blurred into days. A shell of the person you once were, most of your time was spent staring at the gardens from your bolted window, wondering how you got to this point. 

You never dreamed Dorian and Manon were capable of what they’d done - your fiancé was gone, and you were cut off from your friends and family. Most days you felt numb. It was easier to shut out the world than to attempt to process the horrors - but some days, you couldn’t push the memories away. You would become a torrent of emotions - trashing and screaming in rage and anguish until you were sedated. 

It became a comfort - sometimes you would lash out just so they would give you the sedative. You learned how to take part of the syrup, and spit some out when they weren’t looking - it helped you think without feeling so much. It helped you develop a plan. You spent weeks pretending to be the docile, muted version of yourself that Dorian and Manon wanted to you be, while inside you were fury personified - determined to bring them down.

This morning, you stared at the stranger who faced you in the mirror - a fractured memory of who you were before all of this happened. You had little connection to her anymore, and you would never be as naive as her again. Dorian smiled behind you as he combed your hair. “You look beautiful today, sweetheart.” 

You cursed the butterflies you felt at his praise, how you’d adapted to feel soothed by his touch. You dug your nails into your thighs, drawing you back to reality. This man killed your fiancé, and he would pay. No matter how genuine those sapphire eyes seemed when he called you his good girl.

Putting the final touches in your braid, Dorian leaned over your shoulder as he admired you in the mirror. His warm breath fanned your cheek, barely containing his excitement as he spoke. “I have a surprise for you, sweet girl.” Your heart raced - not at Dorian’s excitement, of course - but at the possibilities. A change in your routine led to potential for plotting your escape. 

You painted on a happy smile, leaning into Dorian’s touch as you batted your eyelashes - every bit the coquette that you knew sent desire through his veins. “What is it?” 

His fingers traced the neckline of your dress, admiring how you flushed under his touch. Leaning down so he was level with you, Dorian gave you a bright smile. “I thought we could go to the library today.” Your excitement was genuine as you bounced in your seat, whipping around to face him. Your smile faltered slightly as you registered his alarmed expression. Right. You needed to act sedated, easier to control.

You sighed, letting yourself melt into Dorian’s touch as you brought one of your hands to his - noticing how warm and soft it was beneath yours. “I would love that,” you whispered, soft smile and doe eyes locking with his. “When can we go?” you questioned, praying you didn’t sound too eager.

Dorian’s hand moved to your cheek, rubbing soft circles as he pressed a kiss to your forehead. The feeling of his warm lips against your skin distracted you for a moment, and a small part of you realized that although your affections towards your captors were pretend, your body might not be on the same page.

You snapped out of your thoughts to see Dorian’s knowing smile. “We can go right now, sweetheart,” he whispered, offering you his hand as you stood. You linked your arm in his, letting him lead you out the door for the first time in weeks. Pretending to take in the decor through the halls, you made a mental map of each path, counting the windows and noting where guards were stationed.

You arrived at a large set of doors, Dorian throwing them open before he turned to take in your expression. A disbelieving laugh left you, mouth hanging ajar as you marveled in the sight of the grand library. You had never seen anything like this - six stories of bookshelves, stacked with volumes ranging from new releases to hundreds of years old. 

Dorian took you on a tour through the vast space - meticulously organized by genre and author - before he led you to a cozy seating area. Plush velvet couches surrounded a fire, a table full of sandwiches and cakes in-between. Dorian’s arms wrapped around your waist as he murmured in your ear, “I had this set up for you. I picked out some romance books you might like as well. Perhaps we could enjoy the afternoon together?” 

Dorian pulled away to search your face for an answer, and you hadn’t realized how much you had been leaning into his body until then. Stumbling for balance, you merely gave Dorian a nod as you took your seat on the sofa. Before Dorian could join you, however, an adviser came storming into the room. “Your majesty, you are needed in the counsel chambers at once.” 

Dorian’s eyes flashed with anger as he turned to the nasally man. “Can you not see that I am busy?” With a quick look of disdain in your direction, the adviser gave a shallow smile to the king. “Yes, your majesty. But I guarantee that this matter is of the utmost urgency. Please.” Dorian glanced back at you, a look of longing in his eyes before he gave a curt nod to the man. “I’ll be back as soon as I’m able sweetheart. And don’t worry, I’ll retain some guards here to keep you safe.” 

You inwardly recoiled at the thought of being watched like a child, but quickly changed your frown to a pout. “Don’t leave me too long, please,” you pleaded to him. With a kiss to your hand that left a lingering sensation, Dorian promised to return - and left the library. 

You grabbed a sandwich from the table, humming a tune as you pretended to admire the room. Four guards. You weren’t escaping here today, but how could you use this opportunity to your advantage? These people kidnapped you and poisoned your fiancé - they drugged you. Your eyes widened with realization. Poison. 

You had spent every day looking out over those gardens - you could identify every flower down there by heart. You leapt from the couch, strolling along the rows of books until you reached botany. Perfect. Flashing a smile at the guard nearest you, you held up a book, giggling. “I love flowers.” He rolled his eyes, unamused and unsuspecting. To them, you were just the king and queen’s pet, who apparently loved flowers.

Bringing back a stack of books on flowers and their various purposes, you pored over the information for what felt like hours. You smirked as you recognized several flowers from the garden - foxglove was a potential option, but you’d need more information on its effects. Pinpointing the place in the book about foxglove, you were about find more books about the plant when two hands landed on your shoulders. 

The cool of iron nails was noticeable through the fabric of your dress as Manon leaned in, pressing a kiss to your cheek before turning to see the open book. “What are you reading about, sweet girl?”

[gurugirl]

The Queen's Secret | Ch 14

Summary: The fallout from the scene Harry made is expected but Rory has an idea that's not expected. Harry is no longer living a lie.

Warning: Angst

TQS Masterlist

“What now my prince?”

The Queen hoped that Harry had come to the castle with a plan. That he had set up a rescue cushion outside of the window so they could both jump out, hand-in-hand, and then run off through the gates to Harry’s car waiting just outside of the wall for a quick getaway. But she knew that he hadn’t thought this through. The man before her was damaged and desperate. Had she made him this way?

“I just love you and I haven’t seen you for months. I needed to see you,” He leaned his forehead to hers, “I needed to see this,” he moved his hands to her growing bump, “and be close to you for a moment. Even if it means I lose everything.”

Y/n grabbed Harry’s biceps and stepped back so she could get a better look at the man, “You can’t say things like that. If you lose everything, I’m going with you. I’m still here. My heart is still yours. But if you plan to do something so reckless as this then you need to think it through. A strategy first. Where’s your car?”

Harry sighed. He didn’t move his eyes from the Queen. He wanted to take all of her in for as long as possible. He hadn’t seen her belly like this. Her cheeks were fuller as well. He loved every little part of her and seeing the Queen with his child growing inside of her made him delirious. He knew he needed to use his brain and formulate some kind of plan but he thought he would suffocate and die if he didn’t see her that very morning. He didn’t care about the fallout.

“I drove it past the gates. The guards chased me. It’s at the front. I don’t know if I turned it off even,” he laughed at his own ridiculousness. He was ridiculous. He had lost his damn mind.

The Queen slid her hands from his arms back around his body and brought him in close again, “Oh, Harry. This isn’t good. I’m going down there with you to make sure they let you leave in peace. But from now on, before you do something so drastic, call me and we’ll think of something together. No matter where I am, I’m always yours. Don’t ever doubt it.”

The Queen and the Prince walked together, with guards behind them, toward the front where Harry’s car was haphazardly parked. The keys were still in the ignition and he had, in fact, left it running, but it was turned off by a guard after he escaped two men and ran into the castle. The Queen still couldn’t believe he’d gotten past the gates and then through the doors and all the way up to her chambers with guards trying to stop him the whole way. Harry was strong, sure, but enough to fend off multiple guards? It kind of made her feel woozy inside and if it were possible, love him that much more.

The King stood at the steps and watched as his wife made sure the path was clear for his brother-in-law so he could leave. He didn’t like when he saw Harry abruptly turn back toward the Queen before getting into his car and leaning down to kiss the top of her belly and then take her face in his hands and kiss her lips. In front of everyone.

He stepped down from his spot and began to feel anger seethe out of his body. Some people saw this display and now the King would need to do some damage control. He’d deal with Harry’s consequences later, a meeting would be called to determine his fate in Manon. The Queen would be given a talking to, but with her being pregnant and so close to having the child he knew the public wouldn’t like it if she was suddenly banished from the Kingdom. They’d surely side with the Prince and the Queen if he excommunicated her.

Harry was free to leave the grounds but now he was sure he’d be expelled and he’d never get to see his children again. He didn’t know what happened that caused him to finally snap. He’d been slowly losing his grip, though. It was only a matter of time. Even Gertrude saw it. Harry hadn’t cut his hair or shaved his face. He didn’t shower every day anymore and he certainly no longer cared that she knew about his feelings for the Queen.

But she didn’t want to tell on him. She wanted her children to have a father and Harry was such a good father. At one time. She hoped that he’d pull himself together but he only got worse as the weeks progressed. She blamed herself partly so she kept his declining mental state a secret from Edgar. When he ran out that morning she knew what he was doing. She also knew what it would mean for him. For her and the children. They’d lose their father. The kingdom would know her husband, the Prince, had lost his mind and fallen in love with the Queen. And she couldn’t stop it. She tried desperately to control it. To hide the secret. To keep Harry safe and their family intact.

“What was that Y/n?” The King was red in the face and fuming with anger. She could almost see steam traveling up from his forehead and out of his nostrils.

“Edgar, I didn’t know he was going to do that. But Harry is a soft-hearted man. He’s emotional and…”

“YES! He is. And he’s a fool if he thinks he will be allowed to ever see you again. This evening I’ve called advisors and a committee group in and there will be a meeting to determine what to do going forward. I will have to send you away in secret to have the baby. But before you leave, you’ll make a public statement to clear up our end of this mess. I’ve already got most of the details worked out, but for your safety, I cannot tell you what that is just yet.”

The Queen stood from her seat and paced the room, “No. You will not send me away. Edgar, I’m not some pushover. You cannot treat me like I’m not the Queen!”

It didn’t matter. Edgar had already made arrangements. Things worked fast in the kingdom because they had to. Many people already knew about the Prince and what he’d done. And there were even photos of him kissing the Queen. Many people were calling it a tragic love story, like Romeo and Juliet. Lovers unable to be together because of their circumstances. Others made up wild stories about what was happening, some got it right.

The Queen is pregnant with Prince Harry’s baby! The heir is not King Edgar’s!

A love story for the ages…

The young Queen was duped into marriage with the old King and this is the result.

Unhinged Prince Harry barges into the castle and tries to kidnap the Queen!

Article after article spilled into the local headlines on social media and in the paper the very next morning.

The Queen had largely been left in the dark. The meeting with the King’s advisors came and went. She had no idea what they’d decided for Harry or her. And to top it all off, her phone had mysteriously vanished. She would have no easy way to contact Harry.

Her aids packed her things and Rory was to go with her, to wherever she was being sent off. She’d been given a script of what to say before leaving but she’d yet to read the thing. She didn’t want to lie. She didn’t want to do anything to hurt Harry further.

With her bags stuffed into the SUV at the front of the castle and reporters waiting for a statement from the Queen, Rory tried to do her best to comfort her.

“I’ll be with you the whole time. I know this isn’t easy. We’ll figure something out…” Rory was the best advisor the Queen could ever ask for and the most wonderful friend a girl could have.

When a knock came on her door to indicate it was time to go the Queen wiped her tears and took a breath, “I supposed I should see what they want me to say.”

She lifted the paper to read the statement that had been written for her.

Thank you for all of the support and kind comments. The King and I are at a loss for words right now, but I want to take a moment to ease any fears or concerns about this debacle.

First, the child is very healthy and the King and I are so excited to welcome her very soon. Her father is elated to meet her as am I.

Second, what you saw yesterday morning was the result of a man with a troubled mental state. We did not know about this before and we did our best to extinguish the matter before it became out of hand.

Third, and last, this means that I will need to leave for a while. The King fears for my safety and the safety of our child during this time.

When I return, the gates to the castle will be reinforced, ready for anything that may come, and the King and I will welcome our child to Manon.

The Queen scoffed as she read the letter out loud and Rory rolled her eyes, “What will you do?”

Y/n raised her brows and lifted the sheet of paper, tearing it from the top to the bottom, and dropped it to the floor, “I will not say that. Harry is too sweet and good for me to do that to him. I’d prefer just telling everyone the full truth to that mess of lies.”

When the Queen, King, and Rory arrived at the front doors there were only a handful of reporters ready. They had been selected to come to get the Queen’s statement.

“Ready, my Queen?” Edgar looked at Y/n as he spoke.

The Queen nodded and waved at the people and the reporters as the King stood straight and kept her hand in his, “The Queen would like to make a statement.”

Y/n looked at Edgar and smiled calmly before turning back to the people waiting to hear what she would say, “Thank you everyone for your concern,” she spoke clearly as the reporters recorded her statement, and everyone around hushed so they could hear.

“I’m doing perfectly fine. I will be sent away to have my child in peace, but soon, when I return, you’ll all finally get to meet her. I am thankful for everyone and,” the Queen paused when she felt Edgar’s hand crushing hers. She was going off script and this was his warning, but it only fueled her, “…there is nothing to worry about. I won’t comment on what everyone wants to hear because that is a private matter and the Prince isn’t here to defend himself or make his statement. I will only tell you that he meant no harm and his intentions were good.” She swallowed at the feeling of her fingers being squeezed in Edgar’s hand, “Now, if you will…” she stepped down toward the packed vehicle waiting as she waved and smiled, “See you all very soon!”

The King followed her, not releasing her hand from his, “What are you doing? You’re ruining this! Do you want the same fate as Harry?” The King's words were hushed, whispered into her ear so not even Rory could hear.

The Queen jerked her face toward Edgar and furrowed her brows, “And what is his fate, Edgar? What did you decide to do with him?”

Edgar let go of Y/n’s hand and he tried not to let his anger show to the public. It was an embarrassment.

Soon, the Queen and Rory were being driven past the castle walls and away from Manon to a location the Queen didn’t even know herself.

The fallout from her statement could be devastating, or perhaps it would be twisted and misquoted. It was likely that the royal press would only print what Edgar wanted to be printed. But she said what she said and she could only hope that if Harry were to read her words he’d see that she was protecting him. She hoped her words wouldn’t be misconstrued and taken out of context and give him the wrong impression if he did happen to hear of it. She knew it was likely that her words wouldn’t be heard or read verbatim by the public.

The undisclosed location was three hours North of Manon. No one could know of her whereabouts. Not even her family. The royal court decided it would be best for her if no one knew, including herself.

She was given access to a landline phone and internet privileges were limited and heavily monitored. Rory was with her but so were two guards and one of Edgar’s advisors to keep watch on the Queen and report back to the King.

This meant Y/n had no way of reaching out to Harry.

The estate Y/n was sent to was gorgeous. It was no castle, but it was large and set in the middle of a wooded area. Paparazzi were unlikely to find them.

“What of Harry? Have you heard anything?” The Queen asked her advisor as she unpacked her things into the room that would be hers for the next five months.

“I’ve only heard he was sent away. I know nothing more,” Rory gave the Queen a weak smile and helped her put her things away.

The Queen felt like she could collapse. Not only was she exhausted mentally and physically, but her heart was also aching for her Prince. She didn’t want him to lose anything but he’d risked so much by going to see her that morning. She didn’t know if his fate was sealed or if they’d gone easy on him.

After a few days of settling into her new estate, Y/n found that she was given plenty of space and free time. She was worried that she’d be followed and every move documented but that wasn’t the case. She sat in the back garden and read most afternoons. She wrote in her journal the things she’d tell the Prince if she could see him.

Solitude was a wonderful thing, but the Queen began to feel a different kind of lonesome. She had Rory and was able to call her mother and sister but lack of contact with Harry was ripping her soul in two. The not knowing. The wondering how he was doing. How was his soft heart dealing with the fallout? That was the hardest part. Was he okay? Was he sad about what he’d read? Did he believe the things he was told? Would he be permitted to see his children? Where was he? Did he miss her?

Harry was dealing with his own issues at the same time the Queen was being carted off. Due to the likelihood that he would spill their secrets, and at Gertrude’s insistence, Edgar’s punishment for Harry was not as severe as the King wanted it to be. Harry would be expelled from the kingdom but he would still have access to his children on a schedule (all thanks to Gertrude). And because Harry was likely going to talk they didn’t cut him off financially as part of the deal. Not completely. Harry would need to find work at some point but he was offered a small home an hour away from Manon that would be paid for by the royal coffer.

Harry was warned to stay away from Y/n, though. That he would never be allowed near her and that she was in hiding. He was told she was scared and had requested to be moved to a different location so he couldn’t find her, but he knew that wasn’t the case. The news he read, the statement she made, everything was made up. Harry could be sensitive and reactionary, but he knew his Queen would never say the things that she had supposedly said.

It took a few days to get everything ready for him to leave and for Gertrude to get the kids in line for their father’s departure, but it wasn’t a happy occasion for anyone. The royal press stood near their home, waiting to snap photos of Harry driving away, and hoping to get some kind of statement from him or from Gertrude.

Harry apologized to Gertrude over and over again, but he admitted to no longer loving her. He couldn’t deny what he felt any longer. But he hated that the kids were being affected by his weak character. As much as he hated the situation, he was glad he could still see his children every month and that he was no longer living a lie.

With his car loaded he could see the paparazzi at the gates in the street, waiting for him. He was tempted to tell them everything, but if he did that, he’d surely lose all rights to see his kids. He’d already put too much at risk.

Gertrude and the children stood at the front of the house and watched as Harry drove away and past the gates. The bright bursts of light from the cameras pointed at him as he drove off were obnoxious but Harry felt free finally. He rolled his window down and waved as he turned into the street and left his home in Manon behind.

Rory had no information to give and the Queen eventually did see the press photos shared of Harry driving away from his home in Manon and waving. She smiled when she saw the pictures and it made her heart swell. He waved. She wondered how he was doing. How he was faring on his own. What his circumstances were.

“Ladies,” one of the guards spoke. Y/n looked up from her writing and Rory sat up straight and put her laptop down.

“The cook is sick and we’ve had to send her back to the castle. She may not return. We will be having food delivered for the next couple of days until we can get someone else in who can take over. I just wanted to let you know,” he lowered his head and then turned back toward the doors.

Rory looked over at the Queen with a look that Y/n knew as mischievous crossed her face, the small grin over Rory’s features meant she had some kind of idea.

“What is it?” Y/n asked quietly with a smile set to her face. She loved Rory’s mind.

Rory looked back toward the house and then got up from her spot to sit next to the Queen.

The smile on her face didn’t falter, ‘Well, if we have to have deliveries then that means we have to allow people into the estate. I wonder if I can’t somehow sneak a certain someone in under the guise of a delivery being made.”

Y/n squinted her eyes and pursed her lips to the side. She understood Rory fully. But she wasn’t sure how it could ever work, “Tell me more.”

“I may be able to find out where he is and get a contact for him. I dated the communications secretary to the royal press a few years back. He and I ended things on good terms and have seen each other a few times since. I bet they know where he is. I could just…” she lifted her cell phone and rocked it side to side, “give him a call and see? No harm, right? He wouldn’t tell anyone I was looking.”

Y/n swallowed and blinked as she looked around to make sure no one was privy to their conversation, “Yes!” She whispered excitedly, “Please do!”

Rory and the Queen both went deeper into the garden away from the guard who was standing near the back door.

A text was sent off to William and while they waited, the pair discussed the different possibilities of getting Harry into the compound.

“But there’s no way they’d let him in. They’d see him and at once, turn him away. It’s impossible,” the Queen spoke in a whisper. Her heart was pounding as they spoke about the idea that it could be possible to at least have contact with him. She doubted it would be possible to sneak him into the estate but to even be able to have communication with him made her body buzz and the anticipation was making her feel lightheaded.

“I might be able to think of something. Don’t doubt it just yet,” Rory spoke with a smile. “We have contacts everywhere. And William is one of the best resources for this sort of thing.”

The Queen normally took a late afternoon nap but on that day she was too excited and her nerves were keeping her awake. She paced her room and chewed her nails (which she knew was a terrible habit but she couldn’t help it). Y/n tried to calm herself, to sit down near the window and read, or to watch a movie or something on television but she couldn’t focus on anything except hearing back from William and learning of Harry’s whereabouts and perhaps getting his contact information.

She finally found herself leaving her room to walk around the house. It was a large house with seven bedrooms (one was kept as an office), a library, two kitchens (one for the help), two living spaces, an indoor terrace that overlooked the back of the property, a formal dining room, and a safe room for emergencies. The property also had a staff house with bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchen space for their own needs during their breaks and in the evening.

The library was well stocked but it was not as beautiful and grand as the library in the castle, though, Y/n actually liked the estate library better. Maybe because she was away from the King and all that royal staff. There was a staff at the estate with her but it was different. This felt like a strange retreat in a way. Despite her unfortunate circumstances.

“Queen, Y/n…” Rory whispered and Y/n turned to see her friend waving for her to come. Y/n followed behind Rory into her bedroom and closed the door behind them.

Y/n watched Rory in anticipation. She had an update it seemed. Rory pulled her laptop onto her bed and opened it up before turning to look at the Queen, “We know where he is.”

The Queen sat down immediately. She was in no state to take big news standing up. Her breath deepened as she watched Rory pace next to the bed, “But reaching him may be difficult. However, William is going to send someone to him. To see if he’ll talk. Maybe even bring him here.”

“And how will they get here? How will he get in?” The Queen looked at the laptop as Rory sat down and pulled it into her lap.

“The person he’s sending knows the King’s advisor who is here with us so he can find out where we are and send in staff or deliveries. He may be able to recommend a delivery service to the advisor and Harry might be able to ride along, but he’d potentially be hidden or disguised even. We don’t know yet,” Rory typed something into her laptop as the Queen watched on, “We first need to make contact to make sure he’s able to come. If he wants to come.”

The Queen smiled, “Of course, he’ll want to. But I’m worried he won’t be able to. Or that he’ll be caught. What else do we know?”

Rory turned her laptop to show Y/n a map. She scrolled into a location and tapped the screen, “He’s here. The paps followed him to his location so they know where he is and they’ve seen him and his vehicle at the home here.”

The estate they were in had disabled location services and wifi was limited so no one that was in the estate (other than the King’s advisor) really knew exactly where they were. But Harry’s location didn’t need to be kept so private.

Y/n leaned in to look at the map on the screen and felt her heart glow and burn. Was it possible to be able to see him after all? Would a plan be made for them? Could this really happen? The Queen had a million questions in her mind as she stared at the screen.

“The person being sent, his name is Scott. It’s happening today. Scott will let William know what he finds out. So, we wait. We should learn something in the next couple of hours.”

To say that the Queen was anxious and uncomfortable for the following two hours was an understatement. Her legs were sore from all the pacing and her low back was aching from the weight of her growing tummy.

“You’re sure that William and Scott won’t tell the royal court a thing? I don’t want Harry in more trouble than he is.”

Rory had repeatedly assured Y/n that William was trustworthy and while she didn’t know Scott, William promised that Scott would have no reason to say anything. The Queen had her doubts. She trusted very few people with their secrets.

Two hours had come and gone. Y/n was beside herself. Rory stayed with her and encouraged her to eat dinner when the time came but she only wanted to hear from Harry, to know how he was. If he was okay or if it was possible to see him at all. She just wanted to hear his voice or at the very least have an update about him, a message from him to her.

“Please. Will you call William back?” Y/n spoke quietly to Rory.

Rory looked up from the book she was reading and smiled at her friend, “Y/n… there was no real set time frame for this. I thought a couple of hours would be sufficient, but I guess I was wrong. I will call William if we don’t hear back before we go to bed tonight. I don’t want to sever the only link we have to Harry by being annoying. He’ll reach out when he knows something.”

The Queen knew Rory was right but her patience was coming to halt. She got up and paced around the library and then walked into the kitchen to get water. It was all she could do to keep herself distracted and busy. But she wasn’t distracted, not truly. She was just doing random things that could make the time pass. But time slid by slowly. Painfully so.

Harry had been nodding in and out of sleep when he heard a knock at his door. The house he was in was a small two-bedroom house in a neighborhood that felt very much like the place he grew up in when he was young. He sat up on his couch and rubbed the sleep from his eyes and felt dizzy. He had not been sleeping well. His sleep happened at random moments of exhaustion where he’d close his eyes and nap for an hour at a time. But each time he woke his heart was crushed by his reality.

He slowly got up from the couch and steadied himself, feeling the daze of sleep falling away from his limbs as he trudged toward the front door. He looked out the window to check and realized it was an old friend of his. Scott.

He cleared his throat as he unlocked the door to his bungalow and opened it to see his old friend with a big smile.

Harry welcomed the man into his new place of residence. He couldn’t imagine calling it his home just yet. They sat at his small kitchen table and drank tea. But Harry was reeling at the visit when Scott told him the reason for his arrival.

“Would you be willing to be snuck into the estate? It could land you in more trouble but it might be worth it to you.”

Harry told Scott everything. From the truth of Edgar’s fertility to the fact that the child Y/n was carrying was his own. And yes, to Harry, it would be worth it to see his Queen.

When Scott explained to Harry how the Queen had requested this his flat emotions and sadness were all but dissolved. This was exactly what he needed.

The plan was simple but wasn’t without risks. Scott was in close communication with the King’s advisor who was with Y/n. He would set up service for delivery and they’d have Harry dressed in a delivery uniform in the back to help unload the items to the kitchen staff. No one should think much of it since the recommendation would come from Scott. But, Scott warned Harry that he would not take responsibility if he were to get caught. That he’d be on his own.

“I’m in. Tell me what you need me to do. Where to be. I’ll do anything.”

Harry was lucky that Scott trusted and liked him or this opportunity would have never been an option in the first place. Scott was taking a risk himself in doing this. Even if he denied knowledge of Harry being in the delivery van it would look suspicious and Scott would certainly be questioned.

Just as the house was growing quiet as the staff called it an evening, Rory walked up to the Queen with a smile on her face, her bottom lip bit into her mouth and she held up her phone to let Y/n see the message from William.

From William: Scott and Harry have known one another for many years and so he apologizes for the delay as they had much to catch up on.

From William: Scott will hire a shopper for groceries to be delivered tomorrow. He’s already in contact with the advisor to arrange it. Expect to be ready for instructions on getting Harry onto the premises. More to come.

Part 15*

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[ccruelgods]

dead plate oc infodump [nobody cheers]

his name is levine moreau, nicknamed "quill", which ill be using to refer to him from here on out. he's 20 (21 at the events of DP), and an agender aroace.

tw for implied s/a and prostitution mentioned.

quill grew up in an entitled, high class family that held his to incredibly high standards, expecting nothing less than the best from him. as the only child, he had a lot of weight on his shoulders, and was expected to carry on the family "legacy".

with a delusional mother who believes him to be a very young girl, even after he became a teenager, and a father who was essentially blind to how it was harmful, quill ended up feeling suffocated in his own house very often and moved out rather early at 17, mostly jumping between hotels, using money he had been saving up.

once he ran out of money for resources at 18, he became somewhat desperate and took any jobs he could, eventually turning to prostitution as a last resort. after being used by a woman named Amira, who left him drunk in the back alley of La Gueule De Saturne , now a 21 y/o at the time of the events, meaning yes, 2-3 years of prostitution, he ended up drunkenly stumbling inside, passing out at one of the tables after breaking in.

vince finds him there in the morning, and begins to criticize him for it, but quill beats him to it, extremely hungover, he begins berating himself out loud, criticizing himself for falling asleep and being hungover, and blaming himself for what happened, muttering about being better, and how he's "better than that".

vince interrupts him, realizing that, judging by his rants, quill isn't just some low class idiot who got drunk and wandered around town, and takes a little pity on him, offering him a job as a cook—a weeklong trial run that quill easily aces, meeting vince's strict expectations and exceeding them.

it was 2 months later when rody came in as a waiter and met quill after bursting into the kitchen to talk to vince. quill took an immediate dislike to him, due to his absurd eagerness and extreme amount of energy. despite this, he made sure to keep rody out of trouble with vince, warming up enough to trust him as an acquaintance and inform him of vince's strictness and how to stay in line as much as possible.

role in:

ending 1: no major role.

ending 2: quill is present at the dinner party as, unsurprisingly, the cook. he is startled to see rody, and can be found later on at the party in vince's room, putting the freezer key in his pocket and shooing rody out, informing him the bathroom is the first room, not the second, and avoiding the question of why he was in vince's room. vince catches rody coming out of the room, and the dialogue progresses normally, with quill missing for the rest of the scene until the freezer sequence.

when rody enters the freezer, which he finds unlocked, quill can be found inspecting the locket, and after a short exchange, it's revealed that quill knew manon vaguely, but not on the best terms, and was unaware of the relationship between her and rody, but was very much aware that vince was corresponding with her.

rody initially believes quill is the one making food from human meat, until quill bluntly states that he only entered the fridge to figure out what the noise from a day ago was, assuming someone was trapped in there. rody, embarrassed, begins to leave the freezer, only to discover it's been locked and barred from the outside.

quill suddenly apologizes, and when rody questions why, quill solemnly explaining that he had no choice but to lure him there, as vince was starting to get impatient and snappish with how perfect the food was, and that it felt suffocating. he tells rody that he only did it to get back on vince's good side and become useful again, but rody dismisses him completely, and is suddenly knocked out. upon awakening, rody finds himself tied up as normal, and also discovers that quill is nowhere to be found.

ending 3: no major role. he can be seen in an end cutscenes stumbling out of the burning restaurant, staring at it before bumping into rody, making eye contact before dropping his gaze and starting to leave—however, rody offers to let him stay at his place.

ending 4: no major role. short cutscenes plays of quill standing beside vince in the kitchen holding a plate of unidentifiable body parts. he turns to the camera with a darkened expression, and then turns to ask vince something. the scene ends at vince glancing up at him in question.

i don't have much official art for him yet, though.

[malulls]

Happy birthday, love

Manorian roommates au

Masterlist

Manon opened her eyes. And regretted it. She had only needed to be awake for seconds, and before she could try to not think about it, the date seemed to lodge like a stone right over her head. Making it pretty clear that it didn't matter that it was almost half the day already, there were still fourteen more hours to endure and ignoring it was not an option.

As soon as she left the bathroom she went straight to the kitchen, to the cabinet where she and Dorian kept alcohol to decide how badly this was going to start. Asterin had already texted her, and as grateful as she was for her cousin, who always found a way to come up with a cupcake or a cookie with a candle even when she was too small to be able to do that, she had no mind to deal with that now. Dorian was already awake, leaning against the counter with a mug that she bet was full of tea.

— Good morning, sleeping beauty.

— Good morning. — she murmured, moving toward the cabinet. Dorian simply slid in front of her.

— No.

— What the hell do you mean with no?

Manon crossed her arms. Dorian knew how her birthday was a day that brought nothing but bad things, and how she dealt with it. He had seen her doing it for three years, promising to keep an eye on her even if he didn't know why. Now that he knew what made her so upset sometimes, he was smart enough to link one thing to another, but there was no way she would talk about it on that day. If he wanted to make her angry she would fight him without a second thought.

— I mean that there are years I've been watching you losing consciousness and today I'm not letting it.

The fucking audacity.

— And since when do you let me do anything?

He smiled, though she was almost groaning.

— Just change your clothes. As beautiful as you look in your gown, I don't think it's going to work where we're going.

She clenched her wrists. He noticed and wisely moved his body a bit away.

— The last thing I need is more reasons to feel like shit.

Dorian's smile faded and he set the mug on the counter, then took her clenched fists and ran his thumbs gently over her fingers until she opened her hands.

— I don't want to make you feel bad, witchling. I just want you to have fun, to distract your mind. If you're really feeling bad, we will come home and you can go into the worst possible alcoholic coma, I'll be here to keep you from dying. I always do it.

She knew he would. Damn Dorian for making her anger go away, the one she had learned to use as a shield to hide the scared, lonely little girl that seemed to never leave her. Now there was only an annoying need to hug him and ask him to just hold her until the day was over.

Distract her mind. It wasn't the first time Manon had wondered if the way she handled her birthday wasn't somehow letting her grandmother continue to have power over her. But it was never enough to make her act differently. She looked down at Dorian's fingers, still playing distractedly with hers.

She was going to regret that. Definitely.

— Fine. — she whispered, and his face was as surprised as she felt for agreeing.

— What?

— I said fine, and you have two minutes to get me to the car before I change my mind.

Manon had barely spoken, and a huge smile broke out on his face seconds before he tipped the rest of the tea in his mouth and pointed to their rooms.

— Then go change your clothes. Let's go.

—

Manon looked at the console for what seemed like the tenth time in thirty seconds. They had been traveling in Dorian's car for more than forty minutes now, and he still insisted on not telling her where to.

— Dorian?

— Hm?

— Are you kidnapping me?

He chuckled.

— We live in the same house.

— You have a point.

She leaned her head against the wall, already feeling regret. Why didn't she stay at home?

— Hey, no dismay — Dorian said as if he had read her mind — I promise that we can go wherever you want, even if it will make me scream like a baby.

That made her raise her head.

— What do you mean?

He didn't answer. But the car made a curve, and when it finished he smiled and pointed to her right. Further down, the road became a high white bridge, right above what she knew was the Istros river. But what caught her attention was what lay behind the bridge, in the middle of nothing but grass and a few buildings. She saw the Ferris Wheel first, then one of the highest roller coasters she had ever seen. As the car approached, they could see the entire length of the park, already crowded at that hour.

— You brought me to Lunathion? — she looked at the size of the roller coaster again, and what he said about screaming made sense

— Don't make that face, we both know how much you like a dose of adrenaline.

Okay, he was right. There was no way she could say she didn't.

— Low blow — Manon muttered. — How many gold bars did the ticket cost?

He looked actually offended.

— No way you're paying for your birthday present. Forget it.

— You're not going to fucking-

— Oh, I've already done it. Deal with it.

She held back the urge to punch him as they pulled into the parking lot. But as they entered, Manon thought maybe she was delirious, because her concern suddenly seemed to mix with excitement.

—

Lunathion looked like a huge party in the form of a park. It was divided in three parts that Manon knew shone in neon lights at night. The water part in blue, the extreme part in purple, and the central part in red. The Ferris Wheel was the exception, in golden lighting.

They walked in, and she grabbed him by the hand, before she could think better of it. Damn it. This was something they were doing quite often now, and she just wanted, needed, to understand what was going on between them, what it meant.

She led him to the Luna roller coaster, the one they saw from the road, her hand no longer so firmly around his.

— We're going on this. — she said, hoping he hadn't noticed whatever weird thing that had just happened.

— I'd rather go into this. — He turned her chin and pointed to a toy a few meters away with three pink clouds where children who couldn't be older than five were playing.

She chuckled. It felt a little weird.

— Fuck you. But we can go on something lighter, so you can prepare your psychology.

Dorian smiled. He liked adrenaline too, but definitely not as much as her.

— Deal.

—

The sun began to set as the roller coaster train slowly rolled along after the last lap on Luna. Dorian's head fell on Manon's shoulder, exhausted from screaming.

— I'll never — he said, panting. — never do that again.

Manon laughed. Really laughed.

— Too much for you, princeling?

He grunted, but ended up laughing too.

— Remind me why I like you so much.

Manon's smile faded. She knew he was joking, there was a playful smile on his face, but... Dorian dragged her out of home and made her smile all day. When he convinced her, against everything that made sense, to go on a water toy in the middle of the fucking winter, from where she came back all soaked while he was practically dry. When he insisted on winning something for her, a black stuffed dragon that was her new keychain, when he yelled much more than he was actually feeling afraid just to make her laugh.

Why he liked her so much?

She let her head fall on his. She had no idea, but she was grateful for that.

—

The lights of Lunathion were finally glowing in the evening and were beautiful from the Ferris Wheel view, giving a calm yet lively air to the park, as if the night was just beginning.

Manon was looking through the windows of the cabin, that soft smile Dorian loved painted on her face. Before he could stop himself, he slipped an arm around her waist. He didn't expect her to come closer, and rest her head on his shoulder.

— We can buy something strong before we get home, so you won't have to end the wine. — he said, breaking the quietness.

— I don't want it.

Surprise made his heart thunder in his chest.

— Seriously?

She lifted her face, and her eyes seemed to gleam with a dozen suns.

— Thank you. Really. The few times I've had fun on my birthday were years ago.

Dorian removed a few strands of hair from her face, his heart clenching for whatever had driven her to this, but also looking as if it would burst out of his chest at knowing that he was able to make her happy.

— Happy birthday, witchling. — It was the first time since they'd met he said that to her.

Her smile slowly disappeared, and he could swear that, just for a second, her gaze drifted to his mouth, making him very aware of how close they were. He lowered his fingers, but instead of taking them away he moved them to the back of her head, his breathing quickening when she didn't pull away. Dorian ran his fingertips along her hair, Manon leaned her face, up — closer to him.

And before either of them could do anything, a siren began to sound and the cabin doors opened. They both blinked, as if coming out of a trance. He hadn't realized that they had started moving again, and apparently neither had she. The two of them parted, coming back to reality abruptly as they left the cabin.

Despite the interruption and without realizing it, holding hands.

—

Manon turned off the bathroom lights, ready to finally fall into bed. As soon as they left the Ferris Wheel, they also left Lunathion. After some discussion, they agreed that she would drive back home. Dorian had passed out after five minutes on the road, which made her smile when she woke him up. It took him a few seconds to realize that they were already home, so he smiled at her. "As I said, I was perfectly able to drive."

He had showered first while she answered some messages from Elide, Sorrel, Vesta and Asterin, the last one promising that she would try to see her in the following week. And of course she couldn't help demanding a full report of the day and pointing out how much Dorian must be in love with her to do that, and that she was glad Manon had him.

Bullshit.

Manon slowly entered the room, closing the door softly.

— Awake?

— I don't know why you still ask. — Dorian said as she lay down beside him. — I always wait for you.

Truth.

— I think I'll sleep for another twelve hours. — she sighed. He reached out and pulled her to him.

— I guess I could stay in bed with you half the day.

Her heart raced, and she wondered when she had become such an idiot. She had had confused feelings all day, especially after what had happened, or not happened, on the Ferris wheel. The way he was looking at her was... Anyway, if Dorian kept saying those things she would probably go crazy.

His voice was so hoarse with sleep that she couldn't tell if the usual mocking tone was there.

— Are you talking in your sleep, princeling?

— No?

His arm relaxed around her waist, and he murmured a good night before falling asleep. Though the hazy thoughts were trying to enter her mind again, she was thankfully too exhausted for that. Besides, Manon had always been a master at ignoring her feelings.

— Good night, Dorian.

—————————————

Taglist

@strawberries-and-reveries @zoyalovesbooks @notyournymphetish @ladybookstan @witching-by-the-willow @celestialams @rubyriveraqueen @bookishwitchling @gwynkyrie @whoever-you-choose-to-love

[myers-meadow]

House of 1000 Corpses AU: chapter 6.2

Title: Initiation, part two

Previous part. First chapter in this AU.

Summary: Doe Eyes' initiation into the darker part of the family. Her reward that is no reward at all. Shared AU with @immortal-velociraptor and @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better, who Blinky and Selena belong to, respectively.

Warnings: sexual content, oral sex, mild knife play, unnegociated kink, dub-con to non-con, use of restraints, Otis is really forceful and he is an asshole, dirty talk. Some praise kink. Despite the consent issues, Manon is enjoying it.

Word count: 3481

Divider by firefly-graphics.

Sleep didn’t come. Of course it didn’t. Otis never needed much light, it seemed, and he was content on cutting up Neil with the dim nightlight on. It was worse with my back turned to them, so instead I turned around and watched them. He was truly in his element. When I’d had enough, I grabbed my blanket, and stood up.

“Where you going?” asked Otis, looking up from his position crouched in front of the man.

“Sleep in Blinky’s room.” My bare foot hit a sticky wet patch on the floor and I recoiled at the realisation that it was blood.

He sighed, and stood up. With a quick flick of the knife, he stabbed it right through Neil’s throat, and then a few more times, in his chest. With a gurgle and a sputter and a spasm, he was gone. At least his suffering was over now. Somehow it made me breathe a little easier – and worry about how much effort it would take to clean this all tomorrow.

“Happy now?” Otis asked. He stalked past me, and locked to door. With narrowed eyes, I looked at him. He was covered in blood, his hands and arms smeared in it, it had dripped down on his legs and knees, splotches on his face and shirt from when it splattered with each fresh new cut.

“What was that for?”

“Had a feeling you’d be running again. Like a little rabbit,” he grinned. “Now come here.”

“Aren’t you gonna clean yourself up a little before going to bed?” I retreated back to my side of the room.

His grin widened. “A little bloodplay’s never hurt anyone.”

With raised eyebrows, I pointed at Neil, slumped over in the chair. Otis stalked closer, grabbing me by the arm, but I dodged his stained hand.

“Different kind of blood play, princess.” He circled me like a wolf, knife still in hand. “Afraid to get your nightgown dirty?”

With a sudden move, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, one hand slotted in between my thighs to hold me down.

“Otis!” I shrieked. My back hit his bed before I realised what was happening. He followed, hovering over me, one knee in between mine. “You can’t mean that.”

The knife was in his waistband now, thankfully. “Why not? Scared? I’ll be real nice, all you have to do is ask.”

Trying to sit up and push him off, but prevented by his hand on my chest. “I told you it’s not gonna happen again.”

“Because you’re afraid Blinky won’t like you anymore. That’s a bullshit reason, Doe, and you know it.”

“You don’t get it.”

“No. No, I don’t. How can you say that, when just this morning you were all ‘oh I’m so glad you’re home’, ‘with you I feel safe’,” he imitated my voice, mocking me, “even got me such a nice present to let me hunt a day late - and now you’re acting like some stuck-up, lyin’ bitch.”

I scoffed. “What?!”

“You heard me. That moment when you made your little sounds when we were outside, I know you’re into this as much as I am.” He grabbed the back of my neck, similar to how he did during the smoke break before, and pulled my head back to expose my neck. I whimpered, trying to find words, to tell him off, to be as mean as he was- his nails dragged over my scalp and silenced every thought in my brain. With another tug, his hot lips pressed to my exposed neck, just under the jaw. Sensitive spot, nerves close to the skin, the warmth of him, it felt sinfully good. Good in a terrible way. Good in the way it felt good to trick Neil; either so bad it felt good or so good it felt bad – it was impossible to distinguish individual sensations anymore.

“Otis, stop.” but even I heard how breathless I sounded. Teeth nipped at my ear, a punishment designed to be pleasant .

“Already such a whiny little brat? You’re in for a long night if you keep lyin’ to me, princess.”

“I’m not-”

He interrupted me. “Sure you are. Let’s have a look then.” And his hands moved down, underneath my skirt and pulled at my nylons, trying to pull the fabric apart, with enough force to make me bounce on the mattress. I swat his hands away, and in the struggle, elbowed him in his neck – accidentally but with great momentum behind it.

“Oh, now you’ve done it,” he said, expression darkening, rubbing the spot I hit, before forcing me down. He pinned my legs with ease, straddling me, and with so much of my body down, struggling was futile. A hand around my throat made me still, breathing shallowly. He reached to the side, rummaging in his nightstand. A pair of handcuffs, and I swallowed. However much I wanted this to be a joke, it surely wasn’t. No play. The struggle that followed as he captured my hands could barely be called a struggle, as the thought of him overpowering me was paralysing on its own.

His nose bumped into mine as he pushed my hands through the bars of his metal bedframe and locked each handcuff around a wrist, tightening them with satisfying clicks. Hot breath mingled in between us, as he chuckled. He smelled of blood. My eyes flickered closed, at his mercy now, but still dressed.

Righting his back and leaning on his haunches, he trailed a finger down my arm, to my shoulder, playing with me, then around my neck again, testing the pressure until it made my breath hitch from the mixture of danger and excitement. He took his time. Fingers trailing from the neck to the collar of my blouse, hands still stained as he undid it, button by button. He bit his lip as he reached the bra, folding the fabric away, touching the edge of lace, eyes like that of a predator, taking in each tiny expression on my face.  

Even more buttons undone, until the blouse laid open over my chest.

“You wear that just for me, pretty girl?” as he played with the black lace on the bra, tugging at the fabric. He palmed the breasts, squeezing.

“Obviously not, you idiot.” I said, not wanting to be nice to him, despite all the heat swirling in my belly. The handcuffs clinked against the metal of the bedframe as I forgot they were there and tried to swat his hands away.

“Bratty little miss,” he said under his breath. “Would you rather I’d gag you? Or will you play nice?”

“Fuck off.”

“Alrighty then,” and some balled up piece of fabric was shoved in my mouth. It tasted of blood and dust and fabric. Nothing in this house is sanitary, goddamnit. Otis held my face in his hand, pressing fingers harshly in the hollows of my cheeks, turning it to the side, before making me face him again. “Well, I think you look very pretty right now, doll face.”

The knife was back in his hand, and he pressed it to my breastbone. My eyes widened. This can’t be what he meant with ‘blood play’, that’s not- that’s not healthy. Otis enjoyed the horror on my face immensely, grinning wildly as he twirled the blade in his hand, point still pressed into the skin.

“Since you’re so sensitive, I’ll go easy on ya. If-.” He held up his hand, “If you ask nicely.”

I muffled pleas into the disgusting gag, and he chuckled, leaning down. “Can’t quite hear ya. What’s that?”

God, I am going to kill him for this. And I’ll enjoy it too.

“If you wanna try it my way, that’s even better,” smug bastard I will have his head- then the knife dug in, sharp sting making me press my body down into the bed, breathing sharply until the pain faded. When I looked down, it was not even a large or particularly deep cut, but blood seeped from it, the skin being thin over the breastbone. The knife, with fresh blood still on it, slid underneath my bra, pulling the fabric away from my skin. I jolted when the cold steel touched my nipple.

“You like that?”

Not that my answer mattered, I shook my head, trying to plead with my eyes for him to stop. With help of the knife, he pushed the bra cup away, his finger rubbing over the freed nipple.

“You should see how nice you look right now; all spread out for me to do as I want.”

If I had laser eyes, I would zap him to death. Yet, at the same time, his words filled me with a strange feeling. Like I was special somehow. Otis, so mean, so cruel, was spending an awful lot of time admiring me, taking his time with me. I’d be lying if I said what he was doing didn’t feel good – except the knife. He rolled my nipple between his fingers, pinching until it made me whimper. With a swift flick of the wrist, he cut the bra in two, letting the pieces fall away from the skin. A short sting of pain when he wasn’t careful enough and made a scratch on the right breast. Knife trailed down over my stomach, and upon reaching the waistband of my nylons, he stopped, looking back at me.

“Let’s get you out of those,” he said, pulling the fabric away enough for the knife to cut through like it was cutting through butter. I whimpered and pleaded, trying to struggle, the handcuffs clanking erratically. “No? No good? Let’s see what we find under your panties, why don’t we.”

He pulled the nylons all the way off despite my trashing legs. He gave a warning look and waved the knife, which made me still, pleasing him more. The panties were next, made quick work of by the blade. On the left hip, a small cut was left behind, and he pressed his fingers to it, worsening the sting.

“Och, poor Doe got a little cut,” he said, feigning pity. “Does it hurt? Why don’t I kiss it better? Why’re you crying, that usually helps, doesn’t it?”

As he lowered himself and moved down my body, I kneed him in the chest, but he only laughed, and pulled my legs apart with an iron grip. The air that hit my bare vulva shifted attention to how wet I’d gotten. My face flushed red with a surge of heat. How could all of this feel good? How could I enjoy this? Even the gag that stretched my lips apart only served to excite me further, knowing I was powerless at his hands.

Otis pressed a wet kiss to my lower belly, his hair tickling my inner thighs. Grinning up at me as he moved to the hip with the small cut, peppering kisses all along his path.

“There, that better?” And he kissed the cut again, before flattening his tongue against it, licking up the blood. It sent another jolt through me. “Or is that not where you need me, princess?”

The implication of his words, said with such glee, both infuriated and aroused me. His pupils were blown wide with arousal. Each new kiss brought his warm breath just a little closer to my core. He took another moment of hesitation, as he moved from the sensitive skin of my innermost thigh to the clit – letting his breath warm it, tease it.

“I’d wanna hear you right now, but having you like this ain’t half bad.” With the same movements as last time – ridiculous to consider it was already our second time – he flattened his tongue against my lower lips. My sigh was muffled by the gag. Pleasure curled around me as he flicked it across my clit. An added bonus was that he was quiet and no longer bullying me. As he focussed on my core, one hand curled around my thigh, fingers digging into the tender skin, his other reached up, all the way to my face. With no concern for gentleness, he pulled the rag from my mouth. My stretched out muscles took some time to adjust as I flexed them and licked my dry lips.

Otis pressed his tongue inside, shallow but hot. His free hand returned to my thigh, and he leaned up, wetness smeared across his chin. “God, are you wet.” A long finger probed in between the lower lips. “Didn’t get to do this last time, did I?” And his finger slipped inside. I sucked in a breath. The sensation was jarring in its intensity, unfamiliar, but not unpleasant. His mouth returned to suck at my clit, too harshly but simultaneously not enough.

“Bet I can beat my record,” he grinned, smugly, nipping at the tender skin of my thigh as he stared up at me. I shook my head, trying to steady my breathing, but he just grinned and returned his warm lips to my clit.

As he ate me out like he was desperate for it, his finger was joined by a second one, and they set a steady pace, curling to find that spongy bit deep inside each and every time. Curses left my mouth, and it wasn’t long before I spasmed and came, sobbing and biting the inside of my cheek to keep from moaning too loud. It felt like I snapped on the inside, the relief and the waves of sparks that flooded over me were like being washed ashore after being stranded on a stormy ocean for days. I did my best to wipe the tears that almost fell into my ear with the side of my arm. Otis continued until my whines subsided.

“Aw, look at you,” he cooed, victorious as he slipped his fingers out of my core, sitting back on his hind legs. He wiped his hand on the sheets, considering me as my chest still heaved and I slowly came down from the high. “Princess always gets what she wants, don’t she? Well, I’m thinkin’ it’s about time you return the favour.” He leaned over me to undo the cuffs, face close to mine, his scruff glistening still.

“What-” I started, pulling my hands back and sitting up, trying to ease the feeling of the cuffs away by pressing the wrists into the soft sheets.

“Oh, not so quick, it’s not over yet,” he warned, his tone darkening, closer to how it was before when he was still angry. I sighed, trying to muster up the energy after the orgasm made me feel so dizzy. “You know what to do.”

His amber eyes stared at me expectantly. When he didn’t get anything from me, he pulled me off the bed, and I yelped as my knees hit the floorboards.

“You’re not feeling appreciated?” I asked, mocking him, anger flaring as the pain did. “I never even asked you to eat me out, and now you want me-.”

As I tried getting up, he prevented me by pushing down on my shoulders, and re-captured my wrists. The dreaded sound of the handcuffs clicking shut behind my back.

“Fuck you.”

“Or does Doe not know how to suck cock? Too prudish to know how to please a man. No wonder you were here all alone. No boyfriend for poor sad Doe.” He mocked as he stood in front of me, helping himself out of his ripped pants. Scratched his stomach absentmindedly as he enjoyed the sight of me, on my knees, in front of him as I stared up at him with all the hatred I could manage.

“That’s uncalled for,” I said.

“Well, then, if you’re so good at it, suck me off like a good little cocksucker and show me that you’re not someone’s worthless girlfriend,” his tone was mocking, and he stroked his dick with bloodied hands.  

“As if you’ve ever had a girlfriend,” I snapped. The urge to repeat everything that I always heard when my parents fought was strong, but I held back, despite how his words stung. The anger was getting the better of me and my arms twisted painfully in their cuffs.

His hand grabbed me by the hair and he leaned down. “Me? Oh, I’ve had plenty. And if you’re a good girl, I’ll show you how to get yourself a boyfriend.”

I hated him so much. Rage that festered as his words echoed what I’ve heard so often before – but they weren’t the same. And it was Otis. Mean, cruel Otis, who says anything just to get under your skin. Still, anger all the same. Could bite his dick off if I wanted. “What do you take me for? That I’m some blushing virgin? God- Of course I know how to suck dick.”

He laughed, a genuine laugh, satisfied with the intensity of my answer. “Well, princess, open up.”

And I did, wanting to prove myself, to shut him up, to make him see me as something other than some pathetic girl, saved by the good graces of- He was thicker than I’ve had before, the head warm on my tongue. It was salty and bitter at the same time, from the precum that beaded the tip. He was unshaven, white curls at his base. I sucked on the head, flicking my tongue against the underside. I’ll show him.

Otis groaned loudly, not holding himself back in the slightest. “Oh, good woman, I knew those pretty lips’d feel good around my cock.”

It was difficult to not smile at his praise, so I did, trying to hide it by taking more of him into my mouth. This was better than hearing his cruel words by far. The glint in his eye said he noticed, and he bucked his hips. Before I could set a pace, he held my head in his hands and slid himself in and out, slow enough. Each flick of my tongue, each time I passed the ridge before the head with my lips, he moaned. Filthy praises left his mouth.

“You ain’t half bad at this,” he said, then moaning loudly, his hips stuttering from how good he felt. “Ah, fuck. Always knew you had it in you, princess. God, fuck.”

He lost his composure not long after and used my mouth, losing all control, groaning filthy things as my teeth scraped his length with the roughness of his thrusts. His cock twitched and I knew he was close, and before I could prepare myself, my mouth filled with his sticky, bitter cum.

He moaned softly as he pulled out, saliva spilling on the floor. “Now swallow,” he said, noticing I hadn’t yet. His hands left my hair, and he rubbed his face, sighing so deeply, like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

Leaning forward, I spit his cum in a blob on the floor, trying not to make a face from the slimy texture. Having recovered a little, Otis helped me stand up, knees sore, left foot asleep, and pulled me to him by the back of my neck like a ragdoll. My hands were still bound so I needed him for balance. His expression was soft. Not minding the stain on the floor, he plucked up the rag that was in my mouth with his toes and dropped it on the cum, so we wouldn’t step in it.

“See, we get along so much better when we both get what we want,” he murmured. “You did really well for me today.”

With those words lingering in my mind, he closed the gap between us and kissed me. Our first kiss. His thumb was rough as it stroked my jaw, but tender. His chapped lips were warm, it felt good. I was breathless from the intensity of him within seconds. His other arm snaked around my back, pressing me into him, he was warm. So warm. I felt dizzy just from touching him. As his mouth opened as his tongue slipped between my lips with ease, it felt like I could pass out. That even despite how cruel and mean he was, he was tender now. He cared. For me. He enjoyed pushing and prodding me, but never went quite too far – and is now smoothing it over with unexpected, soft words. Our tongues circled each other and he let me explore him. The cuffs clinked as I forgot about them and tried reaching for him, to hold onto him too.

He broke the kiss, chuckling softly, leaning his forehead on mine, our breath mingling between us. “How about I undo those cuffs and we have some rest?”

I nodded, still breathless, world spinning, the center of it were his eyes. He pressed a kiss to my nose and reached for the keys.

[artzychic27]

More Actor AU commentary?

*Juleka, Luka, Myléne, and Alix are having their hair re-dyed*

Juleka: The stylists have a closet exclusively for our hair dye. I’ve never felt so honored.

Luka: *Squeals* We each got our own shelves!

Alix: Yeah, it’s great, but then the fumes really start to kick in, ya’know?

Myléne: I told you guys to go with the eco-friendly stuff, now I’m sitting here not breathing in toxic fumes.

—

Mireille: Come here, we’re gonna show you the Akuma closet.

*Marinette the door to a massive walk-in closet of Akuma costumes*

Marinette: This is where most of the magic actually happens. The artists like to have their space and this is the quietest room to work on designs. Hey, CeCe.

CeCe: *Drawing under a table* Silence!

Mireille: Yes, ma’am. Anyway, the costumes here are all stored here when they’re no longer in use until later episodes when an Akuma returns, or for the design team to come in and make alterations. Like… Oh! Here’s Reverser’s original suit. *Pulls out a black and white Two-Face inspired suit*

Marinette: See, it’s good, but it can always be better. Now, the creators are letting Marc wear it to the red carpet event.

—

Kim: *Doing his makeup* See, unlike most of my co-stars, I do my own makeup for each scene. I’m cool like that.

Marc: *Doing a Smokey eye* We’re cool like that.

—

Reshma: Naturally, we all hate Marc and Kim because they don’t spend three hours in makeup every morning.

Denise: I’d kill for those fine-ass eyes.

—

Nino: To properly look like your typical high school students, we stay up for hours each night to create eye bags instead of using makeup

Marinette: You think students wake up without eye bags? Fuck y’all.

—

Nathaniel: It took all sorts of candy and video games to keep the kids of the original show preoccupied so they don’t tackle me during takes.

Alya: *Laughing* We don’t know why, but kids just love Nath! Ella and Etta are obsessed with him.

Nino: Chris can’t stay off of him. Same for Manon. Whenever they see Nath, they’re clinging to his legs.

Marc: Kiran absolutely ADORES Nath! Sometimes Nath let’s him draw on his arm.

Nathaniel: You won’t believe how thrilled they were when they heard they’d be getting to interact with me more. They’re especially jealous of Manon since she got to do a scene with me first.

—

Aurore: *Opens the door to her dressing room to reveal a wall of parasols* As you can see, I take my character’s love of parasols very serious. You have your holiday-themed parasols, parasols with pointed tip when I need to strike a bitch, and a special one I don’t open. I just walk around with it like a fancy cane.

—

Chloé: Zoé and I are just thrilled to be best friends on the show! Looking at the original script, I’m just like, “God, this dialogue sucks.”

Zoé: Don’t get us wrong, there’s gonna be some ups and downs in my first scene, but we bond over a mutual matred of our mother.

Chloé: Such a wonderful bond!

—

Kim: Behold! The Wig Room! *Opens the door to a room full of wigs* This is where we keep the wigs for Akumas and heroes! Oh! There’s Ikati Black���s! You won’t believe how long it takes the stylists to braid Max’s hair back.

Max: That’s their workout. Because of me, they have amazing biceps.

—

Alya: When filming Lady WiFi, there were like a shit-ton of green screens just everywhere. I’m fact, the characters were forbidden from wearing green during the takes where we had the screens up!

Max: My signature color! Gone!

Tomassian: Uh, how do you I felt? They had to edit in the colors after the shots. I felt so dirty!

—

Sabrina: While everyone else gets some kick ass costume… Mine is literally a green bodysuit. It’s like the one they used for Hagakure in My Hero Academia. And when I’m visible, I look like fucking Silver Surfer! *laughs*

—

Corsette: *Recording on their phone* Observe the blonde gremlins in their natural environment. *Points their phone towards the blonde in the dance studio*

Austin A: And… *Swaying his hips* Sashay. Sashay. *Notices the others aren’t following him* I said SASHAY!

Adrien: What is this even for?

Austin A: Because I felt like forming a blonde dance crew.

Chloé: Dude! Lead with that!

Rose: And you’re working those hips wrong! Watch and learn, Armbruster!

—

Nino/Lila: *Getting their makeup done* Scar Twins, bitches!

—

Ivan: Fun fact, Stoneheart was actually me in a green body suit and everything I threw was made of Styrofoam. Super easy to lift.

Myléne: It was a pretty complicated scene when Stoneheart kidnapped Chloé and I. There were different wires, a mechanical arm, all that jazz.

Chloé: But the thing that wasn’t fake was me getting thrown! It was fucking awesome!

Ivan: Uh! Let’s not forget to add that there was an abundance of airbags below you.

Chloé: Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I had so much fun, I actually went skydiving after the shoot.

—

Denise: So, I’m the cast’s unquestioned fitness guru, meaning I help to keep ‘em in shape. Each character has certain muscles the fandom likes to obsess over. Take Nath’s legs for example.

Nathaniel: *Incoherrent yelling as he crushes a watermelon between his thighs* DIE, YOU WATERMELON! *The watermelon gets crushed* YEAH! GIMME A PUMPKIN NEXT!

Denise: Fans are also pretty obsessed with Marinette’s biceps.

Marinette: *Deadlifting a couch* No one! Stop me!

Denise: And Ismael and Nino like to work out to build muscle and look a bit more masculine.

Nino: *Spotting Ismael* Who’s the manliest man?!

Ismael: I am!

Nino: Who’s gonna punch the transphobes?!

Ismael: I AM!

Denise: We have fun. But remember, it’s important to feel comfortable in your own body.

—

Cosette: I’m sure you can tell that Jean’s excited for the upcoming musical numbers.

Jean: *Running around the studio screaming*

Cosette: *Chuckles* I can tell ya, he’s gonna sleep well tonight… Did I mention I’m getting a girlfriend?

—

Lacey: I’m pretty stoked I’m gonna have a big role in Riposte. In the original show, you see me as one of the students trying out for the team, but of course… No lines.

Nathaniel: Well, I’m nervous as hell. I’ve only been practicing fencing for a short time, but I’m still nowhere good.

Kagami: This is why we practice on weekends, Nath. And you’re getting better, so stop putting yourself down.

Nathaniel: Never!

—

XY: *Spooning with Luka and Adrien* We’re rehearsing.

Rose: But this scene isn’t for like another… Thirty episodes-

Adrien: Hush, demon! This is a private rehearsal! *Kisses XY’s neck while Luka nuzzles against his back*

—

Simon: *Having his makeup done while he sits in Denise’s lap* Here’s a fun little tidbit for you guys. A lot of my Gaeilge is unscripted. Yeah, when I have my little angry moments, I can’t help but curse in my native tongue.

Denise: The only thing I understand is ‘shite.’

Simon: And I don’t understand a lick of Spanish. We’re perfect for each other!

—

Reshma: The design team will be incorporating my character’s interest in magical girl anime and anime in general into my clothing, so Sailor Moon jewelry, My Hero Academia bags, Princess TuTu hair accessories, and my true favorite, a Revolutionary Girl Utena jacket!

Ismael: *While Reshma happy flaps* While she’s excited about that, I’m excited about getting some new cardigans. I mean, who doesn’t love a cardigan?

—

Cosette: *Live streaming Nino and Myléne meditating* They’ve been like this for two hours now. Tell me, guys. Should I call for help?

Nino: … *Snores*

Cosette: Oh, thank God!

—

Marc: I’ve gotta say, it’s nice not having to pretend to be shorter than I actually am. It was messing up my back, I… I don’t know why they didn’t just give other characters platform shoes.

Denise: But on a lighter note, Marc keeps bumping into a bunch of stuff! *Cackles* It’s hilarious!

Marc: I’m so used to slouching! *Storms out of the room and bumps into the doorframe* Damnit! Stupid low doorframe! Who needs a door that small?!

Denise: If you’re wondering, Marc and I are both 206.5 centimeters and the doorways here are like 200 centimeters.

—

Ismael: And we’re back to another screening of “Tall People Problems!”

Cosette: Watch Reshma struggle to sit in that chair. *Points her phone toward Reshma with her legs at an awkward position while she’s sitting*

Reshma: … Ugh! *Tucks in her legs* … Forget it. *Sits on the floor*

Ismael: Tragic, isn’t it? Now let’s see how Denise is faring.

Cosette: *Points phone over to Denise, right as they bump into an exit sign*

Denise: ¡Mierda!

Cosette: *Snickers* And now, our favorite subject. Marc Anciel. A young man who just won’t admit he’s taller than a standard doorframe. *Points phone to Marc*

Marc: *Walking off set and comes across the door* … Not this time. *Ducks under the doorframe* HA! I did it- OW! Why is there another door?!

[airi-p4]

The weekend Project - Ch 4

Chapter 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 __________________________________________

Summary: At school, Marinette has no friends in her class other than Alya. With the idea of making students interact more and out of their usual groups of friends, Ms. Bustier assigns her students to a school project that requires spending a weekend with another student of her choice. What Marinette didn’t know was how this project with her partner Juleka was going to change her life.

__________________________________

AO3

__________________________________ Chapter 4: Weekend at the Couffaine’s (2)

As she had expected, Marinette didn't get much sleep that night. Not only because she went to sleep late, but also because of how she slept on a bed and a pillow she wasn't used to, the swaying of the boat, Juleka being mad at her, and knowing that Luka was sleeping behind the partition.

It was a lot.

When she opened her eyes in the morning, she could see that Juleka was still in bed, with her back turned to Marinette. She sighed. She decided to stay under the sheets for a little longer, not wanting to wander alone around a house that wasn't hers, but the noise of silverware and the coffee machine convinced her to wake up. Going to the kitchen, she found Luka there.

"Good morning," he said, when he noticed the girl. "Do you want coffee, Marinette?" he offered.

Marinette blushed. It was late at night when they had first met and she had thought he was handsome despite how dark it was. Now, with bright sun rays brightening the room, she realized he was even more dazzling than she realized. And he was there, with messy bed hair, in his pajamas, offering her a coffee with a very soft and kind smile...

"Ah-no, I—"

Those butterflies again… her blushing was unavoidably back.

"Or anything else? Milk? Cocoa, maybe?" he tried, making her come back to Earth.

"Ah-yes… Cocoa, please?"

"Sure." His smile widened.

Marinette couldn't take her eyes off him as he meticulously prepared her a cup of cocoa, a spoon, cereal, toast, and butter and blueberry jam, in case she wanted some. There was a basket with some appetizing fruits nearby, too.

"Here. Eat all you want."

Marinette took a sip, but she was sure her cheeks were warmer than the chocolate drink.

"Thank you. It's delicious."

"You're welcome. Should I cook you anything? Eggs? Bacon? Don't be shy to ask if you want anything else, okay?" Marinette nodded shyly. "What do you usually have for breakfast?"

"Croissants," she answered. "From our bakery," she remarked.

"Oh, freshly made croissants? No way I can compete with that!" Luka chuckled and she giggled. "I hope this humble breakfast is good enough for you."

"It's wonderful. I really like it," she automatically answered, not sure herself if she meant the food or Luka's company. "T-there's a bit of everything. I think it's quite balanced," she added, mostly to clarify.

"Yes, that's right." Luka smiled. "You may have noticed how picky Juleka is with her food. I can't know for sure if she eats at school, but I try to make sure she eats properly at home, at least for breakfast."

"You really care for her…"

"Of course I do! She's my sister. We've been together almost all our life, for the good and for the bad. Mom, too. My family is my treasure. I like to make sure they're healthy and well." He smiled fondly.

"Wow…" Marinette was fascinated.

"You don't have siblings, Marinette?"

"No, I don't. Whenever I have to babysit Manon or Alya's sisters I'm relieved I don't, but seeing how you care and treasure Juleka is starting to make me wish I did."

"Well, that's flattering."

"I mean it."

"Thank you."

A little embarrassed from their last exchange, they stopped talking and focused on eating breakfast instead. Too shy to look at his face, Marinette found herself staring at Luka's hands, watching him carefully spreading blueberry jam on his toast and eating it. The way his fingertips reached so close to his lips made her blush for some reason. When his hands were on the table, she noticed the details of his nail polish.

"Do you like them?" Luka asked, pointing at his nails with his eyes.

"Ah-!" Marinette jolted in surprise. She had been caught staring. "Yes. I didn't notice at first, but they're not black: there are patterns on them. The level of detail is impressive," she said admiringly. "I love it."

"Have you ever had nail art done, Marinette?"

"Hmmm… I don't think so, no."

"Would you like it?"

"Of course! I'd love to have pink flowers and cute details on them!" She glowed imagining it. His smile widened joyfully.

"Would you believe me if I told you Juleka painted them for me? All the details and everything?" Luka showed a smug smile.

"What-!? Juleka did!?" The girl gasped. "She didn't tell me she liked it!"

"She's a bit reserved, as you know. You should ask her to do your nails. I bet she would love to," he suggested.

"Well, I don't know… She's probably still mad at me…" Marinette lamented. The sympathetic face Luka made encouraged her to tell him more. "Last night, I told her that what was the point of me being here if she was glued to her phone all the time? Then she mumbled something I couldn't understand, and I yelled and told her that it was annoying not understanding a thing she said…" She sighed. "I was mean to her. And I regret it… but I don't know how to apologize…"

"Everything will be okay. Just be honest with your feelings and talk to her, like you just did with me." Luka smiled at her, showing understanding, and she smiled back, comfortable. "There's a reason Juleka checks her phone constantly, but it's not because she's bored or doesn't want to be around you. It's not for me to tell you, but you could ask her. It's… a delicate topic. But I believe that, if it's you, she may open up and tell you."

"Will she…?"

"Not yet, probably, but eventually? I think so, yes." He nodded with a soft smile that made her blush again.

"Thank you, Luka. I'll try…"

_____________

Marinette had been amicably chatting with Luka (which was surprisingly and unusually easy despite being HER and a boy she fancied) when Juleka entered the kitchen. Unsure of how she was going to act, Marinette's body became immediately stiff.

"G'morning," Juleka mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

Then, when she noticed Marinette, she tensed and avoided meeting her eyes, hunching her back as she sat on the farthest stool chair of the bar. She left an empty space in between her and her classmate.

"Good morning, Juleka. Cocoa or café au lait?" Luka stepped in, reading the air.

She mumbled something in response.

"Café au lait it is then."

How did he understand that!? Marinette wondered. Luka was incredible.

Silence reignited as Luka prepared Juleka's coffee. The fight of the previous day was still lingering in the air, heavy and awkward. Neither of the girls seemed like they were going to apologize soon.

Marinette looked sadly at Luka, begging for help with her eyes. He smiled, resigned.

"Hey, Juleka, I was just telling Marinette about that time when you were little and you bawled your eyes out because you swallowed an apple seed and thought an apple tree was going to grow inside your stomach. Remember?" he joked.

Juleka stood up, flustered, hands on the bar and mumbled something in an angry tone and turned her back to them, embarrassed. Luka laughed and signaled Marinette, knowing her answer.

"It's okay, Juleka! It-it happened to me too!" Marinette jumped in. "My father joked that I would turn into a tree, but that I didn't have to worry because he was going to make sure to water me everyday. Mom smacked him and told me he was joking but I cried for hours and it took me a long while until I ate apples again! I was so scared!"

"No way!" Luka chuckled. "It seems you're not alone with fear of apple seeds, Jules!"

Marinette gulped, embarrassed and expectant for the purple-haired girl's reaction after her equally laughable confession. But after opening her eyes, mouth open in surprise, the younger Couffaine averted her gaze one more time and remained silent.

Once again, Marinette let out a dejected sigh and showed Luka a concerned expression. He understood her calling for help. His sister was really stubborn, wasn't she?

"Juleka," he called. "Come here for a minute, please." Her nose scrunched. Then, he put his hand on her back and made her follow him to the other side of the room to talk privately. "What was that just now? I thought you liked Marinette and were excited to have her over?"

"..." She didn't answer.

"Look, I've talked to her and she's trying to listen and understand you. But how are you going to make yourself heard if you don't talk? I know you're shy and nervous, but she's all the same. She wants to be friends with you. Why don't you let her see the amazing girl you are, Juleka?"

"But I'm not…"

"Of course you are! Don't be afraid to show her who you are. Be confident, loud and clear! Marinette is a pure hearted girl, she won't judge you. Didn't you say you wanted to become her friend?"

"I do…"

"Then go talk to her and tell her how you honestly feel. Everything will go well." She showed him an uncertain look. He rested his hands on her shoulders in reassurance. "Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you…" she admitted.

"Good. Then let's go back and let's get along, okay? Let's make our guest feel at home."

"Okay…" she mumbled.

Marinette looked at the Couffaine siblings coming back. She had, in fact, been nervously staring at them while they talked, but she couldn't understand what they said. She got uneasy because Juleka was still looking at the floor, but she felt slightly better when Luka, just behind her, smiled optimistically and winked at her. He returned behind the bar table, but Juleka, to Marinette's surprise, stopped next to her.

"ImsorryMarinette," Jukeka mumbled.

Marinette's eyes opened wide, surprised by both her words and the fact she understood her. She gazed at Luka, who encouraged her with a nod.

"Oh no! I'm the one who's sorry, Juleka! I didn't want to yell at you! I shouldn't have forced you to talk if you didn't want to! I'm sorry…" She felt like she was going to cry. "I want us to be friends and get along…" she admitted, shyly.

Juleka looked at Marinette, and then at Luka, who silently encouraged her, too.

"I want to be friends, too…" the purple-haired girl answered, all the same.

Marinette, finally able to understand her mumbles, beamed and held her new friend's hands in hers and clasped them together. "Friends?"

"Friends." Juleka tightened her hands holding on hers too, while they shyly smiled at each other. Luka looked fondly at the scene. When they separated, Juleka took the stool next to Marinette instead of the farthest one she had taken earlier.

"Well done, Juleka, I'm proud of you."

Marinette wouldn't admit it out loud but she was a bit jealous when Luka kissed Juleka's head tenderly.

"You did amazing, too, Marinette. I told you it would work out."

She hummed shyly and blushed when Luka complimented her, his hand patting her shoulder in support.  

"So now that you've cleared that up and are talking again, why don't we order something special for lunch? To celebrate your friendship. Or I can cook whatever you want, if you prefer." Juleka nodded at her brother's suggestion. "What would you like to eat, Marinette?"

"Oh- I…" The guest blushed. "I'm not very picky so… Whatever you want…? Your mom said you're the best at cooking in this house so…" She looked at Juleka and she nodded in agreement.

"Bold of you to assume that. See how skinny we are? Besides, the bar is pretty low, if you ask me. Not very hard to be the best-ouch!" Jukeka hit his ribs with her elbow and glared at him. "A-Anyway-I mean-Are you sure you want to trust me with food?" He teased with a cheeky smile.

"Yes. I want to. I believe in you and Juleka's taste."

Marinette disarmed him with her honest and loving smile. His cheeks turned inevitably red. Juleka blushed slightly, too.

Marinette was so cute. The siblings telepathically agreed.

"O-okay. Then I have no choice but to do my best and cook something so delicious that will make you want to repeat that." He leaned his head to the side, his hand behind his neck."I'll have to go shopping. Are you two okay being home alone?"

Their begging eyes told him they wanted him with them. He found it touching and amusing.

"Whaaaat? Yesterday you were so worried I would embarrass you in front of Marinette and now you don't want me to leave, Juleka?" he teased, hugging her tightly. "My little sister is so cute! Wanting to hang out with her older brother!"

"S-shut up!" Juleka turned red in embarrassment and kicked him in an attempt to get rid of his hold. "Stop it, Luka! It's not like that!"

He was well aware of what was going on, but he didn't want to miss the chance to tease his little sister and to try to lighten the mood between the two girls.

He knew that honestly, both of them were still awkward around each other. That they wanted to get along and get closer, yes, but both of them were shy and afraid to fight again if either of them said or did something wrong or inadequate.

They found themselves more secure and comfortable with Luka around, and he acted in consequence.

"I know, I know." He finally let her go.

"Hmph." Juleka dramatically turned her face away, her hair floating with the movement. Marinette kept begging him with those pure blue eyes…

"Fine," he sighed. "Do you want to come to the market with me?" The girls nodded effusively. "Okay. Let's finish breakfast and go change, then. You can take your time, no rush."

The girls followed his instructions and got back to the living room after a while. Luka was waiting for them with a shopping list in his hand.

"Okay-If you're ready, shall we-? Hm?" A phone call interrupted him. "Mom? Anything wrong?" He continued talking for a couple of minutes. "Okay. Understood. Take care at work. See you later."

Luka found it funny and cute how the girls' questioning facial expressions matched.

"Mom said she's going to make it for lunch," he informed them. "She also said that an employee and friend from the restaurant she usually eats at offered her to take some food home after she mentioned your school project to them. It seems one order was canceled and they had some leftovers," Luka explained. "Or so Mom said... But I think she had ordered the food beforehand. With her, you never know." He shrugged, amused. "It's suspicious how she called to say this only after I messaged her about us going shopping to cook lunch."

"It does sound like one of Mom's schemes…" Juleka nodded in agreement.

"What about shopping then…?" Marinette asked.

"Nothing. I'll go later, before work, or tomorrow, and I'll cook you something for tomorrow's lunch instead, Mom included. If you still aren't afraid of food poisoning, obviously!"

Marinette's face turned purple in shock.

"Wait! I was joking! It's gonna be edible and safe, I promise!" He laughed. "The face you just made was so funny, Marinette."

The guest's face fell down and turned red in embarrassment. Juleka glared at him. Luka felt immediately bad.

"Oh, no! I'm sorry, Marinette. I didn't want to scare you or to make you feel upset or uncomfortable!" He panicked at her unchanging expression. "I won't make stupid or insensitive jokes anymore. Forgive me, please?"

Marinette found Luka's face very close, his eyes on hers, begging for forgiveness. She immediately blushed again, but couldn't articulate a word out of her nerves, mostly due to his proximity.

"Personal space," Juleka mumbled, and Luka stepped back with a jump.

"Sorry," he repeated. "I'll buy food for tomorrow's lunch instead of cooking, if you feel safer…?"

"No!" Marinette finally yelled. "I-I'm sorry! I know you're not going to poison us with your cooking! It's just—" She gulped, aware of the siblings' attention. "We had a case of someone who claimed they had  food poisoning from the bakery in the past. They were lying, obviously, but the bakery took a big hit and my parents had a rough time for a while… Now, hearing the word again, my body instinctively acted at the past memory," she frantically excused herself sadly. "It's not your fault, Luka. And I don't dislike your jokes. But it took me off guard... I'm sorry!"

He sighed in relief and understanding "I'm sorry this happened."

She took a deep breath and smiled at him before she continued. "I'm looking forward to see what you cook for us and find out why your mom is so proud of your impressive cooking skills."

It was Luka's turn to blush. "Mom said that…?"

"Yes, she did."

"She did." Juleka nodded.

The boy's hand rested on the nape of his neck again, sheepishly. "Well, I'll have no choice now but to cook something special and delicious, in that case. I'll make you say you're proud of me too, Juleka," he bragged.

"That's impossible. I'm not saying it," Juleka mumbled with an evil smirk.

"You little stubborn witch!" he joked and she stuck her tongue out in response.

Marinette giggled at the exchange and the siblings soon joined her laughing.

"Okay, why don't you go do something together, since shopping has been canceled? You could show Marinette your nail art and make up skills. What do you say, Jules?" Luka suggested.

Juleka stiffened but Marinette intervened and looked at her. "I want to see it! Can you show me, please?"

Juleka blushed happily at her new friend's begging despite how much she wanted to smack Luka's amused grin from his face.

"Ok…" she mumbled. "But Luka, too?"

His smile remained despite his resigned tone. "Fine, fine…"

Anything for his sister.

__________________

Juleka did Marinette's make up and nail art carefully, almost like a professional, while Luka offered to dye her hair in pink. She told him it was fine to color the tips of the pigtails and a lock of her bangs. Unsure Marinette would like it enough, Luka suggested using the hair chalk they had previously used when Rose stayed over a few weeks ago instead of permanent dye.

Marinette was delighted. Not only did her hair look great, her makeup and nails (adorned with pretty pink flowers) looked flawless as well. A mix of cute and Rock and roll that fit her like a glove.

Luka wasn't exaggerating at all: his sister was incredibly talented.

The girl had also underestimated her purple-haired friend's skills when she did Luka's makeup. "I'm her guinea pig," he said, shrugging, but there was a smile on his face. And he must really be her practicing face, because despite him being already naturally handsome, that eyeliner was doing things to her insides: the revolting swarm of butterflies didn't seem to want to calm down anytime soon.

Noticing how the girls were feeling more comfortable around each other, Luka decided to sneak out and leave them alone. Being caught up with makeup talk, they didn't realize he left until a while later.

Luka looked at them fondly from afar as he prepared his violin.

______________

The sound of the violin coming from outside surprised Marinette.

"My brother," Juleka said, as she prepared her tarot cards.

"Luka plays the violin, too!?" Marinette jumped. "He's so talented!"

"I guess he is…" Juleka mumbled, A minute later, Juleka called for her attention. "Marinette."

"..."

"Marinette?" Juleka called louder.

"Ah! Yes! Sorry!" She was embarrassed for how distracted she had been by Luka's music. "What did you say?"

"The cards. What kind of fortune reading would you like? Family? School? Money? Friendships? Love?" Marinette blushed at 'love.' She really wanted to know that one, but didn't dare to admit it. "Or I can make you a general reading with a bit of everything if you want, but it won't be as detailed."

"A general reading sounds perfect!" Marinette smiled and Juleka nodded.

The purple-haired girl placed the cards carefully over the mat she especially prepared for the occasion, in a certain pattern that was unfamiliar to Marinette. She knew nothing about tarot cards but she was excited to learn more about them and what they were going to tell her.

"Hmmm…" Juleka mumbled something after flipping the cards. "I see…"

"What does it mean? What are the cards telling you?" Marinette asked in excitement.

"There are some confusing cards, but I can tell you an overall summary."

"Okay."

"First, we have family: it says your family is going to grow soon, but not as in a baby, but an adult person?"

That confused Marinette. "What does it mean?"

"I don't know. That's all the cards tell me."

"Hmmm… " 'Maybe I'll finally get a hamster?' she wondered excitedly. "What else?"

Juleka told her she was going to get a bunch of new friends, an incoming monetary reward, and strong health. Regarding her studies, the cards said she was going to struggle with them a bit, but that, if she spent enough time studying, she would pass every subject without complications. Her struggle seemed more likely to be finding the time to study than anything, according to Juleka.

"What about love?" Marinette finally asked, getting impatient.

"Love…" Juleka frowned. "Let's see."

Luka's violin sounded as her background music from outside, distracting her with its beautiful music.

"Oh," Juleka pointed out. "That's interesting."

"What does it say?" Marinette asked, both nervous and excited.

"It says that the love of your life could be closer than you think."

"Really!?" She blushed, the violin sounds still playing in her ears.

Could it be…? With more time…

"-and also that if you speak up, your courage and sincerity will be rewarded."

"Okay! I will!" Marinette realized she said those determined words out loud when Juleka blinked at her in surprise. "Ah-! It's not-!"

"Are you in love, Marinette?" Juleka boldly asked her guest to her surprise

"I-I-I-I'm not!" she stammered. "At least not yet…? I think…?"

The violin, the butterflies, Luka's smile… The signs were there, but she had just met him yesterday! She couldn't be sure yet… even if she wished…  Wait—She wished what? To date Luka? The thought alone made her face burn. The violin music wasn't helping to snap out of her wishful dreaming.

"Hmm." Juleka tilted her head to the side "Should I read you the cards again regarding love only to get more accurate results?"

"N-no! It's fine. I like this reading well enough…"

"It seems that luck is by your side."

"I think so, too." Juleka's smile relieved her. She felt lucky for having been paired with Juleka for the project. "What other fortune readings are there, Juleka? And how precise are they?"

"Oh, there's—" Juleka explained with grand knowledge all the types of readings and fortune telling. Trying a few more out, Marinette's love readings, to her relief, concluded the same as the first one every time. She was excited for it!

_____________

A bit earlier than lunch time, Anarka arrived with a big plate of food. She put it in the oven and asked the girls to set the table and go call Luka to come eat with them.

Lunch was lively with Anarka telling them even more of her crazy stories. Marinette found them fun and very creative, and wondered why the siblings looked like they wanted to disappear out of shame sometimes.

Anarka left back to work early, and Luka took care of the dishes and the cleaning. He hummed a song while doing the tasks, and, meanwhile, the girls ate some ice cream in the green room. Luka joined them soon, but not for long since he had to leave to work, too.

"Take care of the Liberty. See you later." He waved goodbye as he rode off with his bike.

So dreamy…

"Marinette. Your ice cream is melting."

"Ah!"

Now she had to wipe the floor.

_____________

Marinette suggested that, since they were looking pretty with the makeup, they should wear pretty clothes, too. But Juleka didn't have much clothing in her closet, and most of it had rips or was broken at some point.

"Sorry…" she mumbled, holding what used to be her favorite dress. But Marinette was fired up.

"Let me fix those rips for you. Do you have a sewing set?"

Juleka nodded and brought a box to her after a short while.

"Oh—a butter cookie box. Classic. Let's see what I can do… oh—nice! This thread will do!"

Juleka watched carefully as Marinette diligently sewed her clothes, forming a beautiful flower pattern to cover for the previous holes and rips. It looked better than new.

"Ta-da!" She showed off. "Fixed! What do you think?"

"I love it." Juleka beamed. "Thank you."

She proceeded to wear it as soon as Marinette handed it to her and she returned showing it off proudly, pretending to be posing for a photoshoot.

"It looks so good on you! Like a model!" Marinette praised, delighted, and Juleka blushed happily at the compliment. "Oh—I know! Let's take some photos!"

Juleka's body suddenly stiffened and her smile fell flat.

"What's wrong? You don't like photos?" Marinette asked, worried for her sudden sulking.

"Hm." Juleka nodded.

"Why not? You're so beautiful!"

"The curse…" she mumbled.

"Curse?"

Marinette blinked in confusion while Juleka walked away, returning back soon with a photo collection on her computer and a photo album. In almost all her recent photos, Juleka looked either blurry or there was something covering her face.

"How is this possible!? It makes no sense!" Marinette couldn't believe her eyes. She became sad when her new friend seemed on the verge of crying.

"Ah!" Suddenly, she recalled something. "There's no curse, Juleka, and I'm going to prove it to you, right here, right now!" The shorter girl searched inside her bag and took something out of it: a mini photo album. She gave it to Juleka. "Here. Mom took these pictures of us last weekend, when you came home. She thought it would be great to add them to our project" Juleka kept passing the album pages. "You look great in all of them, see?"

Juleka stopped flipping photos when she reached the last page. It wasn't a photo, it was a drawing of her. Signed, Marinette. Said girl noticed what the taller girl was looking at and panicked.

"Ah-not that! I'm sorry!" Her hands moved frantically. "I didn't know Mom added it here! I know I should have asked you if it was okay for me to draw you, but you are so pretty that my hands moved on their own and—" She stopped rambling when Juleka started crying. "Juleka! Oh, no! I'm so sorry! Don't cry, please! I'll destroy the drawing if you hate it so much! Let me—"

But Juleka stopped her and shook her head in denial. Marinette held her breath until she spoke, between whimpers. "Thank you, Marinette. I love it. Don't destroy it, please…"

Marinette was so relieved she leaned towards her and tackled her friend into a hug. "Julekaaa," she cried, too. She was glad Luka and Anarka were out so they didn't witness the scene.

"I'm sorry. My makeup is ruined, now," Marinette apologized, laughing, while drying her tears and snot.

"Mine, too." Juleka giggled too, still tearing up.

They laughed and cried together for a while, and they felt their bond grow stronger.

"Thank you for breaking the curse, Marinette."

"Always happy to help a friend." Her smile warmed the taller girl's heart.

"I'll fix our makeup."

"Okay!" Marinette grinned. "Will you let me take photos of you modeling, then?"

Juleka nodded quietly but more confidently. Later, she told Marinette her dream was to become a model and Marinette found the courage she had lacked before to ask her to be the model of her clothing and works. The purple-haired girl happily agreed.

They spent all afternoon talking about clothes and makeup, having fun together.

____________________

Luka returned home quite late in the evening, welcomed by the girls' happy giggles. He couldn't help it but smile in relief. He knocked before getting inside.

"Hello! I'm back," he greeted. Marinette greeted back with a shy nod, a familiar redness returning to her face. "You seem to be having fun. Can I join you?" He asked.

"No, you can't. It's girls' night tonight." Juleka stuck her tongue out teasingly and Marinette giggled, amused.

"No way!" Luka pretended to be offended. "You begged for me to stay earlier and now that I'm back from work you don't welcome me anymore. Great!" He groaned ironically. "You saw that, right? Do you still think siblings are nice, Marinette?" he teased back.

Juleka threw a cushion to his face and Marinette felt bad for laughing. Her laugh was really cute, Luka thought. Before he could protest, Marinette answered his question.

"I think that either a big brother or a little sister like you two are amazing."

Marinette's honesty left them stunned.

'She's too sweet!' Both siblings thought, telepathically, but neither said it out loud. Instead, Juleka hugged Marinette and told her: "I would like it to have you as a sister, too."

"Awwww."

Marinette wasn't aware of how Juleka's words double edged: kind to Marinette but teasing and threatening to Luka, who was blushing with excitement at what Juleka implied. He wasn't surprised that Juleka had read through him so fast: falling for Marinette after listening to her heart song and spending time with her had been very easy for him. A natural attraction.

He should get ready for Juleka teasing him about his crush on her from now on, shouldn't he?

"Fine, have your girls' night, but don't go to sleep too late, okay?" The girls nodded. "Good night," he said before  leaving them alone.

Marinette tried to focus on the videos they were watching together, but she found it a bit difficult when she heard the water of the shower running close by. The thought made her face burn. If Juleka noticed, she said nothing.

When the movie ended, they were already yawning, so they soon went to bed. This time, unlike the previous day, Juleka faced Marinette, and both girls made sure to wish each other a good night.

[tomtenadia]

A Little Braver - 73

So, who is ready for tooth rotting fluff? As promised the angst is over and I love this chapter madly... There’s two giant stepping stones for Rowaelin... Rowan visit an old familiar place and we meet some old friends 

And then the final big surprise... I swear the fluff is through the roof. I love this chapter and the next few ones. Two more to the final one and then the epilogue with 76. I am seriously not ready to let go. I have been re-reading this and I love where they all are, all they have overcome. Fine... no time for crying just yet. See at the very end for a question that I can’t ask here because spoilers...

MASTERLIST

Aelin had been discharged from the hospital ten days later and now, seven weeks after the fire they were back at the hospital to have her casts removed. The doctor had ran a few tests and assured that the fractures had healed properly and was ready to use crutches. She had been allocated a physio schedule to speed up recovery. The neurologist had scheduled a few more visits to make sure she was fully okay and Aelin had been promoted with flying colours.

Now they were both in the car and heading to east station. Rowan had taken the morning off and Ansel subbed for him for a few hours. He had begged Aelin to go home but she had insisted that she wanted to go to the station and be with her team.

They parked along the pavement and Rowan rushed to get her crutches. He almost started explaining her how to use them but Aelin stopped “stop fussing, I know how to use them.”

He grabbed his bag and slowly they walked on the apron and spotted the big doors open. Engine and truck parked outside and her team hard at work washing them “That bumper still look disgusting. I cannot see my reflection.”

The team stopped and turned at the familiar voice. Then chaos erupted.

They all ran to her and enveloped their captain in a huge team hug. She had missed her team so much.

“Easy guys, I am not that stable.”

“Please don’t break her. They just let her free,” added Rowan. He kissed Aelin’s head and went to get changed and left Aelin with her team.

Once done, he went to the ambulance and greeted Elide and Ansel “ladies, I am back.”

“Oh yes, we just finished smooching that girl of yours.”

Rowan grinned and turned to Ansel “thank you for subbing, I know you hate being a paramedic.”

The woman shrugged “you’ll have me next month for a shift for my licence. That will be a fun ride. I need to brush up my skills.”

With the two women he joined the apron and found Aelin sitting on the bumper of the engine laughing happily with her team.

Rowan relaxed. He had feared that this accident might trigger bad memories but Aelin had been okay. Now that she was back home he could keep an eye on her but she had been sleeping peacefully at night with no nightmares. From his own battle with ptsd he had learned a lot and had been trying to encourage Aelin to talk to him if she felt panic rise when in enclosed places or with anything that might trigger an attack. And that she did. She talked to him and he confessed too all of his fears. While she was still in hospital unconscious he had gone to his therapist when he felt his fears were becoming too much.

Aelin’s eyes landed on him and she gave him a bright smile.

Everyone moved to the common room and Aelin went with Manon in her office.

The woman let her captain sit down on her chair and she took the one on the other side of the desk.

“So, acting captain. How does it feel?”

“Do you remember how much Aedion hated it when it was his turn?” Aelin laughed, she did remember her cousin moaning.

“Cap, the paperwork is endless and the report for the high-rise fire took me ages. Then you have payroll, rotas and all the stuff that Dorian dumps on me,” Manon leaned back on the chair “please come back soon because I miss being a simple lieutenant.”

Aelin smiled. She wanted Manon to learn her job, because if she and Rowan decided to have kids she could not work in a firehouse anymore and would ask for a transfer at the fire academy. Manon was her successor. Brullo was another option but she knew the man did not want the job. He had barely accepted to become a lieutenant.

“Manon, it’s the natural progression.”

“Cap, you are coming back. This is your house and your team.”

Aelin played with a pen “you are doing a wonderful job and Dorian would have not appointed you if he thought you were not capable.”

The two women chatted a while longer until Luca’s voice informed them that lunch was ready “Come on acting captain, this girl here is starving.”

When they arrived in the common room she spotted Rowan and Brullo at the stoves “we really need a new candidate.”

They started sitting down when three figures appeared.

“Guess they smelled the food” was Rowan’s comment when he noticed Lorcan, Connall and Vaughan.

“We know that you guys try to have lunch around this time and since we don’t have classes until the afternoon we decided to pop by.”

Lorcan went to Elide and kissed her and she caressed his face. Lorcan, with her help, had slowly adjusted to civilian life and could not believe his luck when Elide stuck with him when he had bad days. He expected her to bolt any day but never did and realised that he had been the luckiest man on heart to have found her. Lorcan went to help distribute the food when dispatch alarm went off but it was a call for ambulance only. Elide and Rowan sprang into action and left the firehouse.

“It’s so strange to see him as a paramedic,” Lorcan confessed to Aelin as he sat at her side “But I don’t think I have ever seen him this happy.”

“Elide did a number on you as well. You smile, commodore.”

The man shrugged “She is… special.”

Aelin grinned.

Food on the table, they all started eating and the guys started telling Aelin some of the callouts they had.

“Manon put to the test her knew found knowledge for dangerous materials. Alex begged her to join him in his team.”

Aelin laughed “I am going to have a word with him. He is not allowed to pinch my firefighters.”

“Hazmat never had a female member,” added Asterin.

“Well, Alex can find his new member somewhere else. Not in my house.”

“Cap, I am not leaving for hazmat,” added Manon quietly “yes, the job is amazing and fascinating. But I am a firefighter.”

Asterin hugged Manon fiercely and Aelin knew that the woman was the only one allowed such acts towards her lieutenant. The two women had been friends for a very long time.

The meal was halfway through when the two paramedics came back and Aelin spotted Rowan run for the bathrooms.

“He is fine,” added Elide at Aelin’s worried expression “just one of the many accidents of the job.”

“Puke target?” Asked Ansel amidst a chorus of groans.

The petite woman nodded “unconscious woman, we were checking on her when she suddenly wakes up again and used Rowan for target practice.”

Aelin grabbed her crutches and slowly made her way to the bathroom where a shirtless Rowan was getting cleaned up.

“If you wanted to show off your muscles there was no need to have gross stuff on you.”

Rowan turned and walked to Aelin then lifted her and sat on her on the counter while Aelin squealed in joy. He stopped in front of her and kissed her deeply. Her hands found purchase in his unbound hair and a moan left her when his tongue teased in a silent permission. Aelin opened for him and tried to wrap her legs around his waist but the movement was still too much.

“We haven’t broken in our new bed yet…”

Since she had been discharged, Rowan had been extra careful with her, but Aelin was done being ill. She wanted him.

“Aelin…”

“Ro, I am okay, stop fussing,” her hand trailed down on his butt and squeezed it “I miss you. I need you.”

Rowan groaned and pulled back and kissed her nose in apology “not in the firehouse bathroom. Tomorrow if you behave.”

Aelin gave him a sloppy salute and Rowan roared with laughter, then went to grab a clean uniform from his locker.

**

The following morning Rowan was off at ten and they were now en route home. Aelin was still getting used to living in the north of the city but she loved being much closer to nature. They had woods not far away and Rowan had told her that he had gone to have a look for a few paths for walking. She was eager to be able to walk more than a few minutes without getting exhausted. Rowan who had gone through a much harder rehab had been helping her and also made sure she did all of her exercises.

The house was still a mess. They had been tackling one room at a time. She had been put in charge of the library. Mostly unboxing all of her books and solving the daunting task of coming up with a cataloguing system. Rowan had started buying paper books too now that he didn’t have to worry about not being able to take them with him. Aelin had discovered just how much a bookworm her boyfriend was. It was sexy. She wanted so badly to drag him in the room and have sex surrounded by books.

It was a few hours later when Aelin was surrounded by books at every flank, that Rowan appeared. She was sitting on the floor and was unboxing them and dividing them. Rowan would be the one shelving the books under her supervision.

“Looks like the enemy has you surrounded…”

Aelin looked up at him and almost laughed when she noticed the apron. He was cooking. She grabbed the hem of the apron and started pulling him down “Is the hob or oven or anything that can burn, on?”

Rowan shook his head “I was preparing the vegetables. No flames.” After two years Rowan had learned all of her quirks in terms of fire safety in the house. Before they moved in she had begged him to have someone to do a testing of all the electrical equipment and also do some checks on the wiring. She had allowed him to keep the fireplace active but only after they had found a protector screen that met her standards and had the chimney inspected thoroughly. He never laughed. He knew that in her job she had seen on plenty of occasion how such accidents could turn destructive. So he happily let her be paranoid.

“Then come down here, captain.” Rowan kneeled. He adored when she called him captain. Even if he was out of the airforce he will always be her captain.

“I thought you were getting hungry…”

The kiss she gave him made his legs go jelly and Rowan was glad he was already on his knees.

“I have a different type of hunger now.” Aelin pulled Rowan fully to her and deepened the kiss. She pushed some book aside and lay down dragging Rowan on top of her. She wanted to straddle him but that was not possible yet.

Rowan’s arms caged her head and he lowered for a sizzling kiss.

Aelin paused for a second and searched for his eyes. There was something she had been meaning to tell him for a while now. A decision she had reached after she had realised all of her fears had finally gone.

“Ro…” her hand caressed his face in a very sweet gesture “I am ready. I am not scared anymore. I am ready for the next chapter in our lives. Ready for our future and our family.” She kissed him again “I want to start trying…” a soft whisper against his lips. His eyes grew wide in surprise and then softened “what about becoming chief?”

She shook her head “I talked to Dorian. Beside that he only made chief three years ago, so it might be a while before he steps up, I am not sure I want the job after all.”

“Too much politics?’

Aelin laughed “I have a spot at the academy. Chief O’Neill wants me to take over when he retires. He hasn’t give up on that yet. And I really love the academy and teaching.”

“Are you sure?”

Aelin nodded “Yeah. I will miss the firehouse, but I want a family with you.”

Rowan’s head went to the crook of her neck and she was positive she heard him sniffle “I love you so much, captain.” He peppered her neck with kisses “you made me the happiest man alive in these two years together.”

She lifted her finger in warning “this stays between us. No word of it at the station or the guys will start taking bets.”

Rowan chuckled “yes, ma’am.”

“Now, captain… what about having good old sex on the floor surrounded by books? I have plenty of steamy romance books that we can take inspiration from.” She grabbed one of said books and started flipping through the pages while Rowan’s hand disappeared under her t-shirt and as they touched her already peaked nipples she let out a loud moan.

“This…” a moan “oh this is a good one.”

“Read away…”

*

 Two days later Rowan was driving to a place he hadn’t visited in a very long time and he felt nervous. When the airbase finally appeared in front of him he hesitated, before driving to the check point and show the guard his papers. He had an appointment and he remembered the strict security protocols. He was given a visitor badge and was told to park in a specific place and Rowan rolled his eyes. The guy was new and had no idea who he was. He parked and left the car looking around him. A loud noise broke the silence. He lifted his eyes and saw a jet take off. He was expecting a pang of sadness to hit him but that never came. He had the life he wanted. Had he been still in the airforce what was about to do would not be possible. What Aelin had asked him in the library would not be happening. No, he had no regrets or nostalgia.

He walked the familiar paths and showed his pass to the guard inside who recognised him “Captain, sir, it’s good to see you.”

“Thank you. I am here to see commodore Matthews. He is expecting me.”

The guard nodded “I assume you still remember your way around.”

When Lorcan stepped down he had to find his replacement, a person good enough to take over and be promoted to Commodore. Captain Matthews had been the choice. He was one of the two officers who had taken Rowan’s side at the inquiry for fuzzy’s death. Matthews was one of the good guys and his appointment had been Lorcan’s last act of rebellion against Clark. Matthews hated the Marshall too and Lorcan had selected just the right man to piss him off. Luckily it was rumoured that the monster was finally due to retire soon and vice marshal Munro would take over. Rowan liked the man.

Slowly he walked the path when all of a sudden a chorus of familiar voices stopped him. He turned his head and saw his students.

“Captain?”

Snitch was the one who called him. They looked so grown up and in their uniform of flying officers. He moved a step towards them “Look at you all. Seems like you are not cadets anymore…”

They all smiled proudly and stood straight. Rowan’s heart ached. It would not take long to wipe that smile from their faces. He had been just the same.

“You are a paramedic, sir?”

Rowan was due on shift after this errand so he had his uniform already on “Yes, I work at east station.”

“That is so cool,” added Racetrack with a big grin.

“Are you still with the hot captain we saw at the navy party?”

“Yes, we are still together.”

“Nice,” added another one of the students.

“We heard…” added snitch quietly “we heard about the commander. He was a great man.”

Rowan placed a hand on the young man “we miss you all… even the commodore,” added Crashdown in a sad voice.

Rowan chuckled “they have a flight school in the south west. The Cadre flight School… go and say hi. I am sure they will be happy to see you are well.”

He chatted a bit longer and then they group excused themselves and Rowan looked at them walk away. His students had been the only reason he remained in the airforce after the trial. He had loved teaching.

A deep sigh left him and finally kept walking until he reached the door he needed. A very familiar door. He knocked and he entered.

His friend was sitting at his desk working hard.

“Commodore?” He offered a very sloppy salute with a wicked grin.

The man stood “Damn it Rowan, look at you,” then his smile faded “is that how you salute a commodore?”

Rowan chuckled “With Lorcan I would use my middle finger on occasions.”

Rowan took a seat “how does it feel to be a commodore?”

The man in front of him sighed deeply “some days it sucks big time but it makes me happy when I ruin Clark’s day.”

A deep groan left Rowan “I thought he was going to retire.”

“Three weeks and he is out. So I am making sure I make his life as miserable as I can. Munro is going to be such a nice change.”

“Are you going to have a nice party?”

“I am in one mind to allow everyone a day off and go and get wasted to celebrate.”

Rowan laughed out loud.

“How’s paramedic life treating you?”

“I love it. We have good days and bad days but at least no one is trying to shoot me down.”

The commodore laughed “you can put that response skills to use when dispatch alarm goes off.”

“Turns out that firefighters are much better than us at scrambling.”

“I met Vaughan a while back, he told me that the three of them have opened a flight school for civvies.”

“They did and it’s really good too. I helped them before the opening to check all the planes.”

Matthews laughed “Oh, you elite boy…”

 “Another life… another me…” he looked at his watch, he was due to start his shift in and hour.

“So what is this project you need help with?”

And Rowan told his friend his plan and he promised he was going to do his best to help him out.

Back in the car he had a big smile painted on his face.

*

At the station he parked quickly and ran to the lockers. It was shift changeover and second team was coming off. The PIC walked to him “we had a hell of a busy shift and came back from the last call only twenty minutes ago. The rig will need restocking. Sorry, Rowan.”

“That is fine, don’t worry.”

Elide was not there yet so he did an inventory of the ambulance and went to the storage room. When he came back ten minutes later with two baskets full of supplies Elide was just approaching the vehicle.

“Are you having fun without me?”

“Second shift had been really busy and had no time to restock. I got here early so I just got on with it.”

Elide looked at him “you have a strange light in your eyes. Did you and Aelin do something?” She gasped “oh my gods you eloped.”

Rowan chuckled and grabbed Elide’s wrist dragging her inside the ambulance. Then closed the doors.

“You are very close to Aelin, but what I am about to tell you stays in this ambulance.”

The woman nodded.

“I am going to ask Aelin to marry me.”

“Holy fuck, finally.” Elide’s arms went around his neck “oh, is it going to be a romantic proposal? Maybe at a hockey game? Or in the woods? Or while doing some crazy stunt?”

Rowan shook his head and told her.

“That is so friggin perfect. Oh my god she is going to love it so much. She is bound to say yes.”

“No words of this with anyone. Not even Lys. Please.”

“No of course.” Elide squealed happily “I am so happy for you both.”

“Now we just have to convince Lorcan…”

“Ah, he and I are okay where we are just now. Lorcan is in a good place and we need a bit of stability.”

Elide had told him all about Lorcan struggles. He had a few bad months after he left the airforce where he struggled with adapting with civilian life all the while ptsd had eventually decided to pay him a visit. Both Elide and Rowan had helped and he slowly got better. Rowan would meet with his friend and they would discuss how to transition to a less structured way of life. According to his last report from Elide he was doing much better and working at the flight school made him happy. The man had finally learned how to smile. He would be forever grateful to Elide. His friend was like a brand new man and finally happy.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if one day he decides to pop the question. You made a miracle happen with him.”

Elide grinned.

“Come on young lady, we have an ambulance to stock up.”

*

 The part that Aelin hated the most about her recovery was being stuck at home. Yes, there was still a lot to do in the new house, but Rowan did not want her to do anything too strenuous without him around. She had finally finished organising the books and had to wait for Rowan to actually fill up the shelves.

She was parked on the sofa and had just finished a book and could not start a new one yet, she was still processing the one she just terminated. 

The tv offered little distraction so she had an idea. Lysandra was off, so she texted her friend.

It seemed that Lys was just as bored because she replied very quickly and in less than thirty minutes they had organised to have lunch together. 

Since Aelin had not been cleared for driving just yet, Lys had offered to pick her up and she felt bad at having her over eight months pregnant friend to drive.

Aelin was waiting for Lys in the driveway. Once she arrived she climbed in the car happy for a bit of distraction “Look at us, both benched and forced into boredom.”

Lys groaned “Chief Harker keeps telling me that I should take my maternity leave, but I want to do a few more weeks.”

“Hey, at least if you have the baby at the academy you are surrounded by paramedics.”

“There is no fucking way I am letting the students put their hands on me.”

Twenty minutes later they were pulling inside the car park of the shopping centre. Neither of them being able to walk for long so they had decided to stick to the shopping centre. It had shops and places where to eat all under the same roof. It had been an easy choice.

“Do you want to do some shopping before we stuff our faces with food?”

“The bookstore has comfy chairs.”

Aelin laughed “look at us… choosing a shop based on the fact it has chairs or not.”

“Hey, I am carrying a watermelon.”

The two friends had ended up spending more time than planned at the bookshop and the in the food court where they feasted on tacos. They were now wandering around a shop for baby clothes when Lys stopped.

“You okay?”

“Indigestion? I think I had far too many tacos.”

“Lys, are you having contractions?” Aelin stared at her friend flinch.

The dark-haired woman shook her head “probably just Braxton Hicks.”

Aelin looked at Lys, clearly not believing her “Let’s go and sit down.”

Lysandra groaned and Aelin had a feeling it was not Braxton Hicks.

They were on the escalator to the lower level when Lysandra swore and looked at Aelin in panic.

“Was that your waters?” Aelin pointed at the little pool that appeared on the metal steps.

“Shit,” groaned Lysandra.

They finally managed to find some seats while Lysandra’s grunt were getting stronger.

“I cannot have this baby in a shopping centre.”

“I am calling the ambulance. If we are lucky it’s Elide and Rowan.”

Lysandra leaned back against the wall and breathed in through the pain “it fucking hurts.”

“Lys, you have delivered a few babies, what did you tell all the mothers?”

“Breathe.”

Aelin brushed her head “Yes, breathe.”

A shopping centre attendant approached them and asked if they needed assistance but Aelin replied that the ambulance was on its way.

She was calming down Lys when she spotted a head of silver towering over the crowd “look who dispatch sent?”

“Good,” groaned Lys in pain “two paramedics I can trust.”

“Aelin?”

“Shush.” She told him before he could lecture on why she was not at home “water broke about five minutes ago. Contractions are getting closer very quickly. She is definitely in active labour.”

“Ambulance, now. We will examine there in privacy, ” ordered Elide.

Rowan nodded at Elide’s order and loaded Lysandra on a gurney and Aelin slowly followed behind, Rowan slowing down on purpose to walk with her.

“We just spent the time in the bookshop and had tacos. I am fine.”

Rowan kissed her head “ride with us.”

They arrived at Med ten minutes later and Elide and Rowan did the drop off and then joined her in the waiting room “I can’t get through to Aedion. He must be on a call.”

Rowan stopped in front of her and his hands cupped her face “we have to go back to the station, will you keep me posted, please?”

“Yes, of course.”

Rowan stooped for a kiss and then they left and Aelin tried to call her cousin once more.

It was almost an hour later when he answered. Sorscha had asked the nurses in the maternity ward to allow Aelin in until she could get in touch with Aedion.

“Aelin, what’s all these missed calls?”

“Lys is in labour. We are at Med. Maternity ward, room 255.”

Aedion did not even answer. He hung up and she was sure he went to call Dorian to have his lieutenant to sub for him.

Aelin went back in the room to an exhausted Lys.

“I got Aedion, finally. He is on his way as soon he clears it with Dorian.”

“I will forever blame the tacos.”

The two women laughed.

Aedion burst through the door like a tornado a little later. He still had his bunker gear on and Aelin knew he must have ran like a crazy man.

“Ae…” Lysandra stretched her hand towards her husband.

“I am here… sorry, I was on a call that took ages.” He kissed his wife gently on her head and then turned to Aelin “thank you for looking after her.”

Baby Aidan Gavriel Ashryver came to the world twelve hours later. A little boy with his father’s hair and his mother piercing green eyes. The most gorgeous baby Aelin had ever seen.

She was sitting at the bottom of the bed “Can I hold him?”

Aedion passed her nephew to her “hello wonderful,” the baby cooed at her “I am your aunt Aelin and I am going to spoil you so much,” a soft kiss on his head “you are going to have so many girls fighting for you when you grow up.” She looked at the couple “you have such a wonderful boy.” She passed the baby back to Lys and Aelin took some picture to send back to the guys at the station. Her mobile had been inundated by messages as soon as the news spread and Manon had sent her a video of Ansel running around the engine shouting firehouse baby.

“I hope you are ready for mayhem to descend on you two as soon as they are off shift. And remember there are two firehouses.”

QUESTION: NOW THAT WE KNOW ROWAN IS GOING TRO PROPOSE... HOW DO YOU THINK HE WILL DO IT? SEND ME YOUR THEORIES 😂

TAGS:

@rowaelinismyotp @swankii-art-teacher​ @whimsicallyreading​ @elentiyawhitethorn​ @aelin-bitch-queen​ @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity​  @mis-lil-red @thegreyj​ @sailorsassley​ @leiawritesstories​ @clairec79 @morganofthewildfire​ @sv0430 @heartless--aromantic @autumnbabylon @rowanaelinn @backtobl4ck​ @susumaus98  @gracie-rosee @mybloodrunsblue @tanvee1231 @avenrebekah @whoever-you-choose-to-love  @theywillnotsingforme @universallytreepost @black-daisy-water @goddess-aelin @whispers-in-the-darkest-heart

[pearblossommina]

ToG Read-A-Long, Empire of Storms, day 11

SOMEHOW I DIDN’T REALIZE HOW CLOSE TO THE END WE ARE. I think it’s because I checked this book out from the library virtually to make it easier to carry with me, and I’ve just been reading on my phone. I pulled out the physical copy to read this morning since it’s my day off, and now I realize this the last 100 pages. The traditional, SJM style, shit-hitting-the-fan smorgasbord.

(Bring it on)

Ch 65

Did anybody else try to pair the gods with their main cast counterpart?

“one that was of sea and sky and storms” Rowan

“one of many shifting voices, both animal and human” Lysandra

“one who saw all with wise, calm eyes” Elide? Or maybe Dorian?

“the one of darkness and death.” Lorcan

“the one with a voice of steel and shields and arrows.” Maybe Gavriel? Or Aedion, I guess?

“The one with three faces” Manon

“The princess whirled, her hunting leathers stained and damp, the gold tips on her braided hair clinking.”

NEHEMIA! I missed you so much, honey!

This isn’t Nehemia though, it’s just an echo, just a memory, but oh, it’s still so good to see her again 😭

Ch 66

“When Aelin and Manon had vanished into that mirror, Dorian suspected it was only Aedion's roaring that had made Rowan snap out of the blood fury he'd descended into. And only the throbbing bruise on Dorian's cheek that made Rowan refrain from giving him a matching one.”

He didn’t know what was about to happen though. Idk. I feel like it was a pretty genius idea, there was no way he could have known shit was about to hit the fan. And that they wouldn’t be back.

(They’re gonna come back, right?)

“Maybe Manon Blackbeak would help her do it. Maybe they'd rule over the ruins together.

He wished he'd had more time to talk to the witch. To get to know her beyond what his body had already learned.”

I wish you did, too, Dorian, but you were too busy being horny! Lol

(I can’t say I blame you)

(Live your best life Dorian)

Ch 67

“Rowan had not possessed an army of his own to give to Aelin. To give to Terrasen.

So he had won an army for her. Through the only things Aelin had claimed were all she wanted from him.

His heart. His loyalty. His friendship.”

Omg, Rowan 🥺

GET YOURSELF A MAN WHO GIVES YOU HIS HEART. HIS LOYALTY. HIS FRIENDSHIP.

That’s how you know. He’s top tier husband material.

If Maeve hurts Elide I’m going to scream.

I’ll riot.

I swear.

Ch 68

It’s so fucking devastating to read about Nehemia, plotting her own very violent death.

That shit was so traumatic.

NEHEMIA. I kind of don’t forgive you? Like, did you even realize? How fucked up it was? To die - so violently - so horrifically - but - you didn’t HAVE TO. Aelin was the one who HAD TO. You gave Elena your death.

And for what!

To traumatize your friend into action!

I hate it. I hate it SO MUCH.

The Elena pulling the strings behind it all reveal here. It’s very unsettling, in a high fantasy kinda way. I like the way it feels, that ultimate pain, ultimate sacrifice, chosen one trope, but I don’t believe for a minute that Alien has to die to save the world.

I know we can find another way to solve this riddle. Maybe that’s why Manon’s here. She’s nameless, too, in a way, since she was disavowed as the Heir to the Blackbeak clan.

Or maybe you can give up your name, symbolically. And then be truly nameless. Maybe you can trick Maeve into giving up her name, and kill two birds with one stone here.

Ch 69

(Nice)

This fighting continues.

ABRAXOS is back! Babyyyyyyy! ILU so much! Thank you for coming back so triumphantly!

Ch 70

It feels so unnatural to stop here

I wanna finish reading!

I wanna know what happens next!

[foreverfallingforthestars]

here's a fact. hating someone is exhausting. [part 4]

Here's the final part of this fic! Thank you all for reading this!

Word Count: 2166 Content warning: explicit language, implied sexual content Read on AO3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

~~~~~~~~

The sex had become regular for them. 

Sleeping over? Not so much, but it happened here and there.

Eating breakfast together the next morning? Unheard of.

Until today.

It was weirdly domestic, and Aelin kind of liked that. She had never been in a relationship long enough to get to the “stay over and eat breakfast” stage, and it was weird that it was with a guy she wasn’t even dating. But at this point, they technically were?

With a week left until the interview, their squabbles at work were still the same, but it was barely antagonistic, merely playful. People would quietly gossip about how an HR complaint hadn’t been made in close to two weeks.

Whenever they were alone in their designated seating area near Manon’s office, they would just talk about anything and everything while working. That was the friendly relationship she had wanted with Rowan when he had first started, and Aelin was secretly glad to have finally gotten that with some great sex on the regular.

She had learned that Rowan was a fantastic cook thanks to him living on his own since he was 18, and Aelin could now back that up as she enjoyed the omelet he made her with onions, tomatoes, and green bell peppers. Something else that she had learned was that Rowan was not afraid to tease her while at work. As he told her that his mom had forced him into piano as a kid, he mentioned that he was almost as good at the piano as he was at playing her, causing her to blush and then chuck her pen at him. He laughed, and unwillingly, so did she, and she learned another thing about Rowan at that moment.

She really, really liked his laugh. It was exhilarating to watch the way his face would transform while he laughed. His eyes crinkled at the sides, barely open, accompanied by a bright smile, and whenever Aelin could make him laugh, she felt as though she had accomplished something.

Besides her learning more about him, Aelin had also told Rowan things about herself like her penchant for doodling all over anything and everything, about how her first love was drawing and then business — that the reason she wanted the communications position was to be able to combine her academic and creative side of things in her work. 

He seemed enthusiastic to hear about her art and what she was passionate about, just as much as she was to learn everything about him. It was dangerous to get to know Rowan like this in a way that made her want him more than just in a physical sense, especially because they were competing for the same job, but she couldn’t help it. She liked him, more than she thought she would.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Rowan asked with a gentle kick to her ankle from underneath the table, jolting her out of her thoughts. “You’ve been mindlessly chewing for a bit. Or is my cooking blowing your mind?”

Aelin contemplated how to express what she was thinking. She was typically direct and straightforward when she was thinking of something — partially why the animosity between her and Rowan hadn’t been secret — but how did she go about telling the man she very much disliked a few weeks ago that she very much liked him?

“The food was great,” she instead started off with. In that split second, Aelin decided to approach this indirectly at first, and said, “I would love to try your other cooking too.”

“Maybe we’ll get around to it one day,” Rowan responded after a moment of silence. Aelin quietly nodded, forcing a smile on her face. She didn’t want to wait for one day. She wanted it to be today, tomorrow, and the day after that.

She didn’t want to believe that their relationship would have a deadline as the interview approached. Aelin wanted to believe that despite everything, they would get through it together, and if she had to quit if he got the job, then so be it. 

With that thought in mind, she decided to go for the direct route.

“I meant tonight,” she clarified, voice wavering. “I want to be able to come over just to eat with you or watch TV with you again tomorrow, the day after that, and the day after that. And don’t ask me if it’s just because I want you to feed me — because after this omelet, I totally do — but because I want this,” she said, waving a hand between the two of them, “to be more.”

Rowan didn’t respond at first, simply kept chewing, and Aelin felt disheartened, but she could deal. She tried to convince herself that it might’ve been better off anyway, but then Rowan reached for her hand and quietly held it while he kept eating. Confused, Aelin stared at him until he squeezed her hand gently twice. He was looking at her with a gentle smile. It wasn’t one that made his eyes crinkle and her heart skip a beat, but it was still one that filled her with warmth.

“I’ll make you pasta for dinner. Tomorrow we can go try out that new Chinese place. How does that sound?”

Aelin smiled, her heart soaring. “That sounds wonderful.”

With a week left to go till the interview, she was officially dating her office (ex-) nemesis, and everything was falling into place. 

It wasn’t until the day before the interview that everything came crashing down.

~~~

Aelin walked through the hallway of the building, finally feeling free in a way that she hadn’t felt in a while. The everlasting pressure on her shoulders regarding the job and the CCO promotion had finally gone away in the last week, and with only a day to go until the interview, she was ready to give it her all.

Go big or go home — literally.

She was on her way to meet up with Manon in the conference room to tell her that she would be resigning if she didn’t get the promotion. It didn’t even matter if Rowan got the promotion anymore. If he got the job, it would be fair and well deserved, but she also deserved to get that promotion. It was about time that Aelin recognized her worth, and she knew that a different company would give her the promotion she deserved if it wasn’t here.

Aelin took a deep breath as she approached the conference room that Manon was in. Her boss had a meeting this morning regarding the interview with the panel, which should’ve ended ten minutes ago, and Aelin focused on the clacking on her heels against the linoleum floor to ground her. She was doing the right thing. 

What she didn’t expect was to stop short a few feet from the glass door to the conference room when she caught sight of a man she hadn’t met before in person, and yet she recognized him from the photos in boyfriend’s apartment.

It was Rowan’s uncle, and the realization hit Aelin with such force that she took an involuntary step back. She would’ve tripped over her feet, but her back hit someone’s chest before she felt an arm snaking around her waist to steady her.

Instinctively, she knew it was Rowan. She was familiar with the weight of arm, the sturdiness of his chest, and the scent of his cologne, but the fact that his uncle was going to be on the interview panel made her want to hurl. The anger and hurt bubbled up inside of her. No one but her knew the connection between the two — if Manon knew, he’d never be on the panel — and the fact that Rowan was going to use his connections to get a job when he could’ve just joined his dad’s company caused ugly words to rise to her throat. 

She knew he’d be hurt, but she wanted him to hurt just as much as she did. He was pitying her this entire time, knowing that he’d get the job, and she’d have to resign either way. Rowan was using her, and she was done. 

Aelin ripped herself out of his embrace and turned to look at him with her emotions written clearly on her face. She wanted him to see it all, and she wanted him to feel the sincerity of the words she was going to say. 

“You,” she seethed, raising her index finger at him, “knew that he was on the panel. You knew he was going to want to hire you. Is that why you’ve been so nonchalant about this entire thing? You don’t want to work for daddy because he hurt you, but you certainly don’t mind using your fucking connections to get a nice, big promotion.”

“What are you talking about?” Rowan asked, confusion clear in his voice.

Aelin scoffed. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, or are you blind and can’t see your fucking uncle sitting in front of our boss?”

Rowan tilted his head slightly to look into the conference room and recognition filled his features.

“Aelin—”

“Stop, Rowan. How much farther are you going to take this, seriously?” She could feel her heart cracking in her chest, and the worst part was that she hated herself much more than she could ever hate Rowan.

Making a split second decision to talk to Manon later and working the rest of the day from home, Aelin stalked away, making sure she stepped far enough away from Rowan to avoid touching him. She wasn’t sure why, but she expected to try to come after her to explain, and maybe it was the hope she had in her heart, but he never came.

~~~

Aelin found out about the results of the interview fairly quickly after all of them had been finished. Manon came up to her with a big smile on her face and hugged her before she even said a word.

“Congratulations, Aelin. I’m sorry it took this long, but it was very well deserved.” Aelin forced herself to smile as best as she could. The only thing that had gotten her through the interview was pure determination and stubbornness, but now that it was over, it felt like she had been run over by a truck. She hadn’t seen or heard from Rowan since the argument, either.

“Thank you, Manon,” Aelin responded. Manon scrutinized her for a moment before a sigh escaped her.

“Are you thinking about Rowan?” Manon asked, and Aelin jolted. 

“No—”

“Because even if you are, you shouldn’t be worrying. He’ll be okay, and you two are going to be magnificent together.”

Aelin was getting exponentially confused at what was going on. “What are you talking about?” she asked, but instead of a response, her boss just giggled and walked away.

“Well, that was weird,” Aelin announced to herself as she turned away to go back to her desk, but she stopped short when Rowan entered her view. 

“Congrats,” he said with a small smile, hesitantly stepping closer to her.

“Thanks,” Aelin replied with a bitter smile. “I guess you weren’t using your connections if they gave me the job, instead.”

“I never was, darling.”

The pet name struck her heart, but so did his previous words. “What do you mean?” 

“I resigned two weeks ago, Aelin. I had a job offer to be the CTO in a different company, and I took it. Today’s my last day. I was never going to be interviewing. I wanted to surprise you, and I didn’t want you to take the interview easy if you knew I wasn’t competing.”

Rather than feeling any form of happiness or relief, Aelin just felt an intense wave of exhaustion pass over her. She had been stressing and going out of her mind with the way she had hurt so badly over what had happened the previous day, and all he had to do was tell her the truth, but he didn’t.

Then again, it wasn’t like she’d given him the chance.

All of this must’ve shown on her face because Rowan stepped towards her quickly with worry in his eyes, and he wrapped his arms around her. She took a deep breath, finally allowing herself to take solace in his presence the way she wanted to yesterday. 

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled into his shirt, emotion clogging up her throat. “I should’ve let you explain.”

“And I should’ve told you earlier, so I’m sorry too.”

“I can’t believe we’ve reduced ourselves to apologizing,” she spoke, “I think that’s what regular people in healthy relationships do when they fuck up.”

“I don’t think we’re regular people.”

“I swear I thought you were going to say we didn’t have a healthy relationship.”

“I mean, considering how we started off, we didn’t at one point.”

“You’re right.”

“I’m always right.”

“Why can you never take a compliment?”

“I’ll take the compliment when you stop being a dick.”

~~~~~~~

@morganofthewildfire @fireheartwhitethorn4ever @story-scribbler @swankii-art-teacher @larisssss @thegreyj @vasudharaghavan @aelinchocolatelover @tomtenadia @live-the-fangirl-life

[house-of-slayterr]

Mother Knows Best:

An: Blinky’s old life comes back to bite them in the ass.

Cw: ableism, mentions of suicide, child abuse and sexual assault

Blinky’s POV:

It was one of those days, where I just couldn’t explain what the problem was. Everything felt wrong, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. My stomach felt queasy and my head hurt. But I knew better than to assume these were related to physical illness. I just felt this way sometimes. Like the world was crashing down around me and all I could do was watch.

I thought I was doing a good job at hiding it, but my heart sank when Otis cornered me in the kitchen. He was the last person I wanted to talk to right now. I was pleasantly surprised when he didn’t start yelling right away. Perhaps Manon had finally gotten through to him.

“Blinky, are you- are you ok?”

“Why would you think I’m not ok?” I asked, putting on a fake smile and raising my voice a few octaves.

He sighed heavily.

“You been sitting in that damn chair all day. You didn’t even eta breakfast this morning and I haven’t seen you move in four hours.”

Had it really been four hours? Dang it, I really needed to get out of this funk.

“Otis?”

“Yes?” He asked, pulling out the dining chair across from me and sitting down.

“Do you believe in retribution?”

“Retro-what now?”

I laughed at that. I hadn’t meant to absorb some of Manon’s dialect, but it seems it was inevitable.

“Revenge, suffering the consequences of your sins?”

“Christ Blinky, have you been hanging out with Ghost again? Enough with this sins shit!“

I frowned.

“What, worried you won’t go to heaven when you die?” He asked a bit harsher than I expected.

“I wouldn’t want to, heaven sounds boring.”

“Then what’s the problem kiddo?”

“I don’t know, there’s just- I feel like-“ I sighed frustrated, raising my voice at the end “something entirely awful is going to happen and I can’t stop it.”

“Kid, nothing bad is going to happen to you on my watch. Don’t care who I have to beat up to make that clear.” He laughed.

I couldn’t help but smile at that a little. I wouldn’t say Otis was good at pep talks by any means, but he was getting better.

“And what if you’re not there to stop it?”

“Blinky, I don’t even know what it is. But I’m not leaving you kid. You’re stuck with me.”

“Forever?” I asked.

“Damn right!”

He held out his hand and gave me a little fist bump. It helped me feel a little better.

“You done stinking up the place with your worrying?”

I couldn’t help but giggle at that a little.

“Hey Otis?”

“Yes Kid?”

“The best part of my life was knowing you.” I said definitively.

I got up from my chair and walked away. I could tell he debated following after me. His feet shuffled on the floor awkwardly, but he remained seated. I went up to my secret spot on the roof. Ever since we fixed it, I wasn’t really worried about falling through again. It was the best place to go to think, not being surrounded by the walls for that house. Feeling trapped. I felt ungrateful whenever I was like this. Otis had basically saved my life, so why couldn’t I just be happy and down there with him right now? Why must my brain drag me down with its madness?

The hair on the back of my arms stood up again and I could tell something was horribly, horribly wrong. I saw a car pull up from the distance. It wasn’t often anyone drove directly out to the house, so then who sent them. I squinted my eyes at the vehicle, it was far to fancy to be a local. I leaned over the edge of the roof, crawling so I was less visible to anyone on the ground. They were wearing a big fancy hat, and my heart nearly stopped in my throat when I finally saw their face.

I scurried back on the roof and threw my hand over my mouth, trying to calm my breathing. What was my mother doing here? How did she find me?

Selena was the one to answer the door, I could here her voice clearly.

“Hello? How can I help you.”

“I’m looking for this boy, have you seen him?” My mother asked.

Supposedly holding up a picture of my brother. Selena let out a sigh.

“No ma’am, I have not, let me go ask the others. They might be able to help you.”

“Other people live here?” My mother asked.

I’m assuming Selena nodded. She wasn’t very good at impromptu concerts Akins with strangers. So she was probably itching to get as far away from my mother as possible. And frankly I didn’t blame her. My mother was a snake. A mosquito that sucked the life out of people.

I heard the click of Manon’s heels, she was supposedly grabbed by Selena.

“Can I help you?” She asked.

“This woman is looking for someone.” Selena explained.

“I’m not sure how much help I will be then. Perhaps Otis know where this boy has gone.”

I wanted to get far away from the house. Hide away somewhere where she couldn’t find me. But fate wasn’t on my side today. My mother was seemingly startled by Otis’s presence and stepped back enough to see me. I didn’t dare move my eyes off her as my breathing picked up. She ignored anything he was saying and zeroed in on me.

“There you are you little brat!” She spat at me.

Otis wasted no time. It’s didn’t take him long to figure out I was one the roof, I was the only one who lurked up there.

“Excuse me?” He challenged my mother.

I didn’t even bother using the ladder, I hurled myself over the edge, catching myself on the ledge and slowing my fall so I could land on my feet.

“Ewch adref mam.” I said simply. “There’s nothing for you here.”

I tried to keep my voice steady, but it betrayed me. Before any of us had time to react, my mother grabbed my arm harshly.

“You don’t speak to your mother that way.” She said coldly.

“I think you should remove your filthy hands from my child.” Otis warned.

I watched Manon tense beside him as she started to figure out what was going on. My mother tried to play nice, like she was some sort of hero.

“You people are sick! Taking a mothers daughter away from her. Where is my son?”

“Ma’am I really think it would be best if you leave.” Manon tried to deescalate the situation.

But it was useless, my mother was stubborn, but Otis even more so. He’d already made up his mind then and there on how this was going to go.

“Rwy'n mynd â chi yn ôl at y cythraul bach” tightening her grip on me.

I could tell it was going to leave a bruise and I started hyperventilating. Spaulding seemed to have caught on to the little altercation at the front door, because he stepped out holding his shot gun.

“I don’t know who you are, but I’m gonna give you one chance to get the fuck off my property.”

My mother had the audacity to laugh in his face.

“You people kidnap my child, and you think you can threaten me? I wonder what the sheriff will say about this.”

Spaulding didn’t waver in his stance. Doubling down and itching his finger on the trigger.

“Why don’t we go inside.” I offered.

I knew once she was inside, there would be no chance of her escaping.

“Only smart thing you’ve ever said.” She commented.

Pushing past Otis and dragging me into the house. My eyes never left Otis, silently pleading with him to help me.

“Where is my son.” She tired again.

Of course she didn’t come here looking for me. She didn’t come back for me, only him. Selena stood behind Spaulding, awkwardly shuffling on her feet. She didn’t know how to help. I knew Spaulding wouldn’t want to let off a gun in the house, it would only cause more repairs for us to make. But he would if he had to. Otis let out a curt laugh.

“You think this is funny?” My mother asked, egging him on.

“Considering your sons fertilising our garden, yeah, it’s a little funny.”

My mothers eyes widened, and her grip tightened impossibly so. I let out a wince as I felt the bone in my arm creek under get death grip. I had gotten stronger since I’d been here, but apparently not strong enough. Manon clenched her fists at her side. They had to figure out how to get her away from me before they could attack.

“You wanna know what I did to him?” Otis pushed on, stepping forward.

“I first started with cutting out his tongue, and watching him struggle not to choke on his own blood.”

My mother looked absolutely horrified that someone could do that to “her little Angel”

“And then I started breaking his bones, hearing his gurgled pleas as he begged me to stop. Only after I skinned him alive did I grant him the mercy of death.”

She finally dropped my arm, lunging forward at Otis. She was making her bed at this point, there was nothing I could say and do that would convince them to spare her at this point. Manon rushed to my side, pulling me into a hug as I finally let the tears slip. She pet my head.

“Shhhh, Blinky, it’s ok. You’re ok, I’m right here. We’re not gonna let her hurt you again.”

Selena protectively stood behind me, rubbing circles on my back. Spaulding was quick to use the end of the gun to hit my mother over her head, knocking her out. There seemed to be a silent conversation between the two men. Which was dangerous. If Otis and Spaulding were agreeing on something, nobody was safe. Both men were fiercely protective of their family.

I tried to stop my tears and I turned to look at my father.

“Don’t kill her right away. I want to talk.” I said.

“Wouldn’t dream of ending her life so quickly.” He said.

He stayed away from me. Otis couldn’t control himself when he got in a state like this. He was afraid of hurting me by accidentally, which is more than I could ever say for my mother. She did it on purpose, she enjoyed it.

“Blinky, let Doe Eyes look at your arm please.” He said a little softer.

I watched as he and Spaulding dragged my mother away to be tortured. I was used to being the one looking over injuries.

“I’m fine Doe, it really doesn’t hurt. There’s nothing you can do for a bruise.” I sighed.

“Then let me put my mind at ease.” She asked.

I nodded, letting her lead me to the couch. Selena stayed close by, not daring to leave. I winced when Manon touched my arm.

“Oh Blinky-“ she started.

“She’s down worse, I’m fine.” I said coldly.

I didn’t mean to be upset with her, I really wasn’t. I was thankful she was hear right now. But I could feel myself becoming quickly overwhelm. My mother probably blamed me for my brothers death. But it was his fault, all of this was his fault.

“I gotta go.” I said, quickly standing and running to my room.

Ghosts POV:

I was worried about Blinky. They were usually so carefree and joyous. I’d never seen them look so terrified before. Like the devil himself came to claim them. It was Heart breaking. Blinky could turn almost anything into a joke, but right now they weren’t laughing. She was crying. Full on, sobbing.

I looked to Manon for help. She was so good at keeping everyone calm and collected.

“I don’t know Ghost, I don’t know.” She said, shaking her head.

“Do you think this is like My Sisters?”

“God I hope not. I can’t stand to see one of you go through that again.”

I knew it wasn’t right, but I couldn’t help it. I followed Blinky to the room where their mother was being held. And I lurked outside the door, listening in on their conversation. Her mother was spreading profanities left in right, she was almost worse than Captain Spaulding.

“You fucking little shit! I wish I never gave birth to you?” Her mother yelled.

I was surprised to hear Blinky’s voice stay calm, not shaky like it was earlier.

“I am your mother! Have some respect.”

“You are not my mother.” Blinky said coldly.

I’ve never heard their voice like that, it was icy and devoid of emotion.

“You have never been my mother. You mean nothing to me.”

“You ungrateful bastard child.”

“Your bastard child! You did this, you’re the one who cheated on Father and had me. You’re the one who let him do those things to me.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about little girl!”

“Don’t I? You can’t seriously be that deluded. Or do you not remember all those times in the back of the church? With father with his other priest friends. Of course you wouldn’t remember, you were off being a mother to him instead.”

“Your brother needed me.”

“No, I need you!” Blinky yelled.

“I needed a mother. And you couldn’t even give me that.”

“I raised you. And you’ve never shown me any gratitude for that.”

“You raised me? I raised me. I bought my first bed, my first car, my school books, my own food. I cleaned the house, I made sure he didn’t fail in school. I was on course to make you proud, and you never showed me any gratitude for that. You never gave me anything. All you do is take mother, you’re a parasite, it’s what you do.”

“These creeps have gotten into your head.”

I peaked around the corner of the door to try and get a better look. Their mother was strapped down tightly to a chair, struggling wildly. And Blinky remained on the other side of the room, Adam crossed and with an empty look in their eyes.

“No, they saved me. They’ve protected me from people like you. People like father, and people like my brother.”

“You’re not gonna get away with this, people will know I went missing. They know I was looking for my son, and they’ll track us both down to this house.”

“Then we’ll deal with that when it comes. Enjoy your time Mother. This is the rest of it.”

They went to leave but there mother said something I couldn’t quite understand in Welsh. Blinky’s slightly odd accent made more sense now. Their mothers was much thicker.

“What did you just say to me?” They turned around, their body shaking with rage.

“I said you never should have been born you little shit. Do you know how embarrassing it was to raise a child you? I should have given you up like your father had asked, maybe then I’d be sitting at home with my two boys.”

“Oh, mother” they condescended, “father never loved you. You were convenient to him. A walking, talking green card. And he left you just the same didn’t he? When he blew his brains out in our garage, he left you nothing. He gave it all to his son. He would have taken my brother and left you cold and alone.”

“You take that back.”

Blinky crossed the room, leaning closer to their mother, and placed a hand on her face.

“But don’t worry, you’ll be with brother very soon. Say hi to dad for me will you, fy butain o fam.”

“You can’t let them kill me.”

“See that’s the beautiful thing mother, I don’t let them do anything. I don’t control them, that’s now how family is supposed to be. They’re doing this to you because they love me, something you’ll never understand. Goodbye Mother.”

The pushed themselves off the chair and stomped into the hallway. I tried to move, not to be spotted but it was useless.

“It’s not polite to listen to other people’s conversions Selena.”

There voice wasn’t loud, or threatening. It was disappointed. Something I never wanted to be aimed in my direction again. It felt bad to have Blinky displeased with me.

“What did your father do to you?” I asked.

Tears brimming in my eyes. I may have Ben sheltered, but I wasn’t stupid.

“What didn’t he do to me?” They said sadly.

“We’re gonna fix this.” I tried to lighten the mood.

“I appreciate the gesture Selena, but there’s no fixing this. There’s no changing the past. What’s done is done, you move on, you get stronger. That’s the way these things work I’m afraid.”

I felt bad watching them walk away. Felt like I should do more. But I didn’t know how to comfort them, I wasn’t good at these things. I instead turned my attention to their mother, stalking into the room.

“And who are you supposed to be little girl?” She spewed angrily.

“The names Ghost, and I’m about to be your worst nightmare. You heart Blinky, and that is unforgivable.” I said.

Of course I knew Otis wanted final say in her death. But he wouldn’t stop me from making her suffer a little first. I couldn’t comfort Blinky directly, so this was the next best thing.

Otis’s POV:

I was fuming, absolutely livid. How dare she come here, to this house. How dare she lay her hands on Blinky. I was going to break all of her fingers until she could never dream of holding anything her again. I thought their brother was awful. He’d been a right bastard, totally dipshit. But now I see where he got it from.

This thing that called itself their mother. If she thought she was going to take my Kid from me, she was dead wrong. The audacity of this bitch.

“Otis, you need to calm down.” Manon tried.

“Calm down? Calm the fuck down? How can you be calm right now? You have eyes don’t ya?”

“Yes, Otis, and we will handle this. But getting yourself all worked up isn’t going to help.”

I looked at her in disbelief. Suddenly Selena entered the room.

“What do you want Ghost?”

“Did you know Blinky’s mother was letting their father assault them?”

“What?!?” Manon and I roared at the same time.

Oh she’d done it now. It was gonna be weeks before I let this bitch die.

“I hope you dont mind, I roughed her up a little, but she’s all yours Otis. Blinky would want you to do your worst.”

I was going to, there was no question about that. I was going to make her beg for Mercy.

“Maybe I should go talk to Blinky” Manon spoke up.

“Don’t bother, I’m right here.”

We all turned to see them standing in the door way, a small backpack on their back.

“Blinky, what are you doing?” I asked.

“I can’t be here, not while she’s here. I don’t want to be in the same house as her.”

“Kid you can’t leave, where would you go?” I was getting concerned now.

They wanted to leave, leave me. I couldn’t let that happen.

“I have somewhere I can stay, please don’t worry Otis. I’ll be back home before you know it. I just- I need time. I need to think. I can’t do that if she’s right down the hall.”

“Blinky-“ Manon tried.

“I promise, I’ll be safe. I’ll keep in touch. Please.” They begged.

I let out a sigh.

“I’ve got my knives on me, if anyone tries anything I can handle it.”

I brought them in for a hug. I wasn’t much for psychical affection but it felt important in this moment.

“You better come home to me.” I said.

“Always.”

“I’m gonna make her suffer.”

“I know you will, thank you. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Selena gave Blinky a sad wave, and Manon joined in on the hug.

“You get in any trouble, you come right back here ok?”

“Ok.”

I watched stiffly as Blinky walked out the front door. Something I never wanted to see. But they were 18, they weren’t a child. They could do this.

Blinky’s POV:

It broke my heart leaving then. But I had to do this. I pulled out my cell phone and dial the one number I needed.

“Hello?” Her voice rang through the phone.

“Hey Macy, umm, I’m gonna need you to pick me up.”

“Did something happen, are you hurt?”

“I’ll explain when you get here, just please, hurry. I really need you right now.”

“Meet me at our spot.”

“I’ll be waiting. Oh and Macy-“

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too Blinky. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Perhaps this was a good thing. I could finally meet my girlfriend Family. Learn more about her life and let her into mine. All this lying was getting to me and I couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe now was the best time to make things official. Maybe I could bring her home to Otis when this all blew over. That would be nice.

Welsh: “go home mother” “my whore of a mother”

Tag: @myers-meadow-selfship @oceansrose2002 @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better

[manonslayme]

Your telling me Manon isn’t considered a cryptid in the ironteeth?

Pythia nudges Mila with her elbow, shushing her friends grumbles as she gestured to the white haired figure a few feet away. “Look.” She whispers and Mila grumbles. “What? You didn’t have to shove me to stare at a-“

Mila cuts off once she catches sight of the figure.

“Oh.”

Pythia nods.

“What is she doing here? She and her coven never come to these sorts of things.” Mila asks and Pythia grins, wiggling her fingers at Mila.

“I bet it’s to eat the hearts of her lessers.” She teases and Mila elbows her. “Shut up, she does not!” She whisper-shouts and Pythia giggles.

“She definitely does, look at her! She got those weird eyes,” Mila shivers at the reminder of their heirs eyes. Completely golden and bright and completely creepy. Whenever they were on you they stayed there, like she was���hunting you.

Mila had had the unfortunate honor of having those eyes on her when she had tripped during a training session and the heir had watched her for the rest of the session.

She still felt like they were on her sometimes, when she was walking through the halls late at night.

“And her iron teeth, they look so weird! It's like she’s got wolf teeth in there.” Pythia smiles and snaps down her own iron fangs, which look a lot like her normal teeth but are sharper and a little animalistic.

Mila doubts Pythia’s fangs have anything on Manon’s though, she wasn’t lying when she said wolf teeth. Mila had seen them when Manon had snarled at a sentinel mouthing off, and her teeth were curved and long and horribly wolf-like. They were also deadly sharp, like she sharpened them every morning. She probably did.

“I’ll bet anything she probably tore out a wolf’s teeth and put them in her own mouth.” Pythia says and Mila rolls her eyes, elbowing her friend again.

“How would she even do that, idiot-“ Mila stops herself when she sees Pythia pale and she follows her horror stricken gaze to see the same heir they were talking about staring directly at them.

Oh goddess, she heard them.

Mila freezes as she sees those haunting golden eyes on her and she swears, on her own iron teeth, that the heir laughs. It’s only for a second, barely a smile and a fleeting chuckle Mila barely hears, but it only helps to make Mila feel even more scared.

Then that smile widens until Manon is snarling now, iron wolf-teeth on display and Mila and feel Pythia start to shake beside her. Manon runs her tongue over her fangs, half snarling and half smiling, and then she takes a step forward-

Mila squeaks and grabs Pythia by the hand and drags her friend away, starting to run once they're out of the main room. She doesn’t stop until they reach her room, but Mila swears that she still heard Manon’s laughter follow her to her door.