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egcdeath · 4 months

Text

how the cookie crumbles

summary: when you come back home to austin to help your sister with her bakery, you end up in an arrangement with your high school crush that ends up being far more than you bargained for.

word count: 11.5k

warnings: FAKE DATING, au: no outbreak, pining. so much pining and a touch of yearning, idiots to lovers, high school crushes to lovers, very hallmark-romcom esque, fluff, a touch of angst, more fluff, the reader has a sister but the sister doesn’t have a name, joel’s ex is kinda rude, alcohol consumption, cuddling, miscommunication kinda, unrequited love that’s actually requited love, no use of y/n, not beta read.

author’s note: this is my first fic back after taking my several month long break!! i want to give a big shoutout to my texas consultant and biggest cheerleader @cowgurrrl, who encouraged me to write, gave me helpful ideas, and let me dump my brain and my silly little ideas on her whenever <3

For as long as you could remember, you and your sister had been total opposites. As girls, your sister spent her time playing with dolls, experimenting with whatever new hairstyle on your scalp, and eagerly shadowing your mother in the kitchen, while you preferred to spend your time exploring the city on your bike, reading books in your hammock, and doodling whatever had caught your interest in your hourly. As you entered young adulthood, you were unsurprised as your sister married her high school sweetheart just months after graduating college before setting off to start her own business in Austin, while you moved as far as you could out of Texas and began a prosperous career in New York City.

Regardless of the different paths your lives had taken, the minute your sister had even suggested that she might’ve needed help at her bakery, you were booking a flight back home. The holidays were a notoriously busy time for her business, with people wanting cakes and pies to display as their own labors of love at their family gatherings, or to have their children wake up to a dozen expertly decorated cookies under the guise that that was what their Elf on the Shelf had been up to that night.

Given that you had no holiday plans other than drinking Bailey’s-spiked hot chocolate and watching reruns of your favorite season of The Bachelor, it seemed like a no-brainer to come back to Austin. Part of you was excited for your homecoming, to return to the vibrant personality of the city that was a far cry from the east coast city you’d grown to know and love over the years. The other part of you dreaded your return, not feeling particularly excited to have to run into peers from your adolescence while you were trying to peruse the shelves of your local Costco.

You were welcomed with warm arms the moment that you walked through the door of your sister’s home—metaphorically and literally. She practically hugged you the entire way as you dropped your items off in her guest bedroom, then even more so as she directed you to her car, giving you all sorts of updates about your parents and her husband, but not allowing you to forget the whole reason that you’d come home in the first place.

“You’re not hungry or anything, right?” she asked as she hopped into the driver's seat next to you.

“I think I’m good. I ate at the airport,” you replied, slightly amused by your sister’s eagerness to get you to work immediately. Then again, you couldn’t exactly blame her when you thought about how busy she must’ve been.

“Good! I’m gonna put you right to work then. How does frosting cupcakes sound?”

It sounded fine, and it was fine for the first few hours, until the angle of the piping bag started to make the newfound cramping in your hands unbearable, and your sister had to give you an impromptu tutorial on how not to make your rosettes look so… depressing.

“Look, the Girl Scouts need this order in like, an hour, and my cashier is going home in a bit. Give yourself a little break to shake your hand out, or pee, or do whatever it is you have to do, then you can ring customers up. How does that sound?” she finally huffed, clearly just as frustrated with you for your inability to do a task that was practically second nature to her.

“Anything’s better than frosting these damn cupcakes,” you commented as you tossed your gloves into the trash. “If I never have to frost a cupcake again, it’ll be too soon.”

“I love you, which is why I have to tell you that you will be frosting so many more cupcakes in the next few days,” she laughed aloud, looking down at the army of baked goods in front of her that she was still working on meticulously frosting. “But you’ll get used to it. I’ll have Ben give you better instructions. He’s really good at this, for some reason. I’m convinced it’s because he went to art school.”

You groaned dramatically as you exited the kitchen, only to bother your sister if nothing else. After all, wasn’t it your job as a younger sibling to annoy your older sibling?

As much as you enjoyed doing random tasks that your sister needed done in the back, working in the front was definitely one of the better aspects of working at the bakery. There was far less technique involved in doing anything, and when there was downtime in the storefront, you got to passively scroll on social media, turning your brightness down so you could secretly cyberstalk people from your high school in peace.

Being that you were distracted by the phone in your hand, you paid no mind to the shrill sound of the door’s bell as it opened. As you finished up looking at someone’s engagement pictures, you glanced up once before doing a complete double take.

“Hey, I’m just here to pick up the Girl Scout order-”

There was no way.

You hadn’t seen that face in years. Hell, you hadn’t thought about that face in years, despite your mild obsession with him as a teenager.

Joel had been the definition of so close, yet so far. You seemed to always be in his orbit, butterflies in your stomach every time he leaned over his desk to ask you a question about the material or to poke fun at one of the weirder quirks your teacher had. Yet, just as you’d finally worked up the nerve to confess your feelings to him, word got around the school that he was becoming a father. After many pints of ice cream and late nights of your older sister comforting an inconsolable teenage you, you’d finally gotten over the man, letting his memory become a funny anecdote you shared to friends to display your terrible luck in love.

As much as you hated to admit it, he looked good. Obviously, he was much older now, but much to your dismay, he’d aged more like wine than like milk. Donning a new beard that somehow managed to make him even more handsome and biceps that strained against the sleeves of his shirt, he looked far more attractive than you could ever even remember him, his mature look a good one. You were sure his wife loved looking at that striking face in the morning, before she set off to take care of their adorable young daughter. Their perfect little family, still holding up despite the test of time.

You had gotten so caught up in your thoughts, you’d barely registered the fact that Joel had said your name in a tone that held a mixture of excitement and disbelief.

“I haven’t seen you in years! Since high school?” he asked, despite already knowing the answer. The surprise of seeing him, let alone seeing him looking so good led you to smile dumbly and shrug. “Wow!” he remarked.

“It has been a really long time,” you grinned involuntarily, practically feeling yourself revert back to your younger, immature self simply at the sight of the man standing across from you. “How are you? How’s the family?”

“We’re good. Sarah’s turning 13 soon, which is really exciting,” Joel explained, setting a hand on his hip as he did so. You swore you could see the fondness for his daughter as he spoke. “It feels like just yesterday I was feeding her bottles and carrying her around in a sling.”

“I know, they just grow up so fast,” you agreed, as if you’d had any sort of experience in the field. The fact that Joel still had this effect on you, one that made you want to follow him around like a lost puppy and agree with every word that came out of his mouth was mildly concerning to you—particularly because he clearly had a wife and a child.

“They really do. You have any of your own?” Joel asked, looking deep into your eyes and making you want to melt into a puddle on the floor.

“Me? No,” you dismissed before following it up with,. “I’ve been pretty focused on my career, so it’s not exactly the best time for a family. To be quite honest, I think my cats do the trick plenty well.”

“You’re still so responsible,” Joel complimented, stirring something up deep inside of you that you promptly wanted to push right back down. “Clearly, I didn’t do any family planning. I’d say it worked out pretty well, if you don’t count having to get divorced just a few years after getting married.”

This piqued your interest. You could almost feel the teenage version of yourself cheering internally at the news that Joel and the mother of his child had split. She’d always been a bit of a bitch to you, so to hear that the two of them had split had sounded like music to your ears.

“Man, that’s too bad. I always thought you two would be the one couple from our school to make it,” you lied through your teeth, hoping that your entertainment wasn’t too obvious.

Joel chuckled and shook his head, smile lines appearing seemingly out of thin air, and unfortunately making you melt on the inside, just the slightest bit.

“That’s really too bad. I mean, what happened with you guys? If you don’t mind me asking,” you were definitely taking a risk with this question, but you were hoping that the reward of the answer would be worth every bit of boldness you put together to ask.

“We just had… different ideas for our futures,” Joel explained what you could only assume was a very condensed version of what had actually occurred. “You know, she’s actually in town right now.”

“I hadn’t realized she’d left town. Should we keep our voices down then?” you asked jokingly, although it would be quite awkward if his ex wife walked in while the two of you were talking about her.

“No, we’re good,” Joel chuckled. “Sarah really wanted to see her for the holidays, and it wasn’t like I could say no to that request. Although, getting Naomi to actually come was a bit like pulling teeth. I’m sorry, this is way too much information. What about you? Any special people in your life?”

“No, Joel, you’re all good. You know how much of a gossip I was,” you offered him a genuine smile. “Unfortunately, no. Funnily enough, the thing I was dreading most about coming home is having my mom constantly on my ass about bringing home a good man.”

“I get it. It’s exhausting seeing all the PDA whenever Naomi and Henry come back. It’s like they’re rubbing in that we’re so happy together and you’re still all alone.”

“Assholes,” you remarked, rolling your eyes to show Joel just how on his side you were. “I’m sure you’ll find someone someday. I mean, both of us will. Then maybe my mom will stop bothering me and your ex will finally stop acting all high and mighty for being in a relationship.”

“I can only hope,” Joel sighed. “Well, I apologize for dumping all of my holiday woes on you when I really should just be picking up some cupcakes.”

“Oh no, I apologize for holding you up. I’ll go grab that order for you,” you said before walking off to the back, where your sister had just finished putting the final touches on the order.

“Perfect timing,” she remarked, stepping back and running her arm against her slightly damp forehead. “Who were you talking to back there?”

“Oh, no one,” you dismissed, not ready to hear her reaction. “Just giving good customer service.”

The look she gave you told you loud and clear that she didn’t believe you, but it would be a conversation for another time. Since she didn’t seem interested in pressing, you took it as your opportunity to grab the large, pink box, and bring it out to Joel.

“Here’s that order for you,” you said politely. “It was good seeing you today.”

“Yeah, you too,” he said, happily taking the slightly heavy box when you offered it to him. “How long will you be in town?”

“Into the New Year, I think? Maybe earlier, maybe later,” you shrugged.

“We should get together sometime. Maybe get a coffee or something and properly catch up? I would love for you to meet Sarah, too.”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” you grinned, begging yourself not to revert back to your younger, naive self, but not exactly being able to fight it at the same time. “Well, if you ever need me, I’ll probably be here.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said as he headed to the door. “See ya!”

As soon as the door jingled, announcing Joel’s departure, you let out a deep breath that you hadn’t even realized you’d been holding.

Fuck. You could not be feeling this way about a man you had a crush on in high school.

Your sister always seemed to have a sixth sense for when you were getting antsy, so one evening as the two of you worked on closing the storefront, she pulled you from the monotony of sweeping the floors while listening to the sound of her new favorite pop artist to send you to the grocery store and retrieve a few items that she needed more of.

With her company card safely secured in your wallet, a short list scribbled out on a pink post-it note, and your hands closely grasping the handlebars of the cart, you amaturely navigated the grocery store, unfamiliar with the locations of the items that lined the shelves after years of not visiting Austin.

The evening in the grocery store brought you a sense of serenity, with the rush of urgent people looking to pick up the one ingredient they forgot for dinner mostly gone. After packing your cart full of sticks of butter and bags of sugar, you headed off to the get your final item, relieved to have had a mostly successful trip without running into anyone you knew in your youth.

But just as you had this thought, you caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of your eye. Dark hair and beard imprinted in your mind after your brief interaction with him just one day ago. You did your absolute best to pretend you didn’t see him as you inspected a bag of flour, keeping your head lowered, and gaze averted. Yet, your efforts were futile, as just moments later, you heard your name called aloud as the man approached you.

“Hey!” he said cheerily, blissfully unaware that you were attempting to use the ‘if I can’t see you, you can’t see me’ method on him just moments ago. “Long time no see.”

“Yeah, it’s been like forever,” you added on, looking into his eyes and almost immediately regretting your decision as your gut was immediately consumed with a swarm of rabid butterflies. “What’re you doing here?”

“Grabbing some groceries,” he answered sweetly, despite that being the obvious answer to your not-so-great question.

Duh. What else did people come to the grocery store for? What a stupid question. See? Joel just made you so… stupid! Even after all of the years you’d spent apart.

“Sarah wanted to try making some Christmas cookies to bring to her mom, so…” he trailed off, gesturing down at the flour that was now in his hand. “Got any tips on the best flour to get?”

“That’s definitely more of my sister’s wheelhouse. I just do whatever she needs me to do, like go and get,” you glanced down at your list before continuing for comedic effect, “White miso paste.”

Joel smiled fondly at your joke, only making your insides melt further.

“Remind me to stop by and try whatever has that white miso paste in it. Sounds interesting,” Joel grabbed a package of all-purpose flour and tossed it into his cart, before leaning on his cart.

Fuck. Why did he have to be so endearing, with his smile lines and his kind eyes, and his insistence on treating you like you were the only other woman in the world, despite the other woman customer just standing feet away from you two.

“I definitely will. Has your number changed in the past thirteen years?” you asked, not sure what had gotten into you with the slightly flirty move.

He shook his head, his eye briefly catching on something and causing him to pause in his movements before he returned to the conversation, now looking slightly off in a way that he hadn’t looked just a moment ago. You were so stupid. Of course you trying to flirt back would’ve backfired. You needed to excuse yourself before you managed to embarrass yourself any more than you already had.

“It has not,” he confirmed, smiling at you once more, but not looking like his heart was completely into it. “Any chance you’re checking out?”

“I am!” you said a little too enthusiastically, which Joel responded to by somewhat urgently beginning to walk to the check-out lane. Given that he hadn’t told you goodbye, you followed him like the lost puppy that you were around him.

Just as the two of you stopped in line and had mostly finished checking out, Joel finally seemed to unclench from whatever he’d seen (or whatever you’d said) that had bothered him before. Yet, as soon as it was over, you noticed that same tension washed over him once more.

“Oh, Naomi. Henry,” Joel said, his tone taking a complete 180 from what he had just had with you moments ago, and his change in demeanor suddenly made sense to you. “Didn’t realize you two were in town yet.”

You glanced over to the woman who had seemingly appeared out of thin air to ruin your moment with Joel, just like she had done in high school a million times over. Who you hadn’t recognized was the man next to her, looking a little too put together for someone who had likely just gotten off a flight and was headed to the grocery store.

“Joel,” she said artificially sweetly, the one singular word drenched in annoyance. “We just got in. We’re grabbing groceries for the hotel.”

“I didn’t realize chocolate chips were groceries,” Joel muttered to himself as he evaluated their basket. You were slightly surprised by the sass he had seemed to equip out of nowhere, a far cry from the southern charm he had displayed with you in your past interactions. You desperately wanted to leave the situation, which was clearly none of your business.

“Surely, you remember your ex-wife having a sweet tooth,” the man on her side replied defensively, wrapping an arm around her protectively.

“Something like that,” he replied, glancing over at you with an expression that you couldn’t quite read.

With tensions boiling over with just a few words stated, you finally decided to step in, impulse and instinct guiding you.

“Hey honey, I think we need to get going,” you said, internally cringing as the words left your mouth. Joel’s now wide eyes made contact with your unsure ones and your furrowed brows as you attempted to tell him to just go with it without a single word.

The good thing for you was that Joel was a quick learner, and his hand quickly found the small of your back. Something in Naomi’s expression changed, just for a moment, before she went back to her stone cold facade. You hoped that Joel caught it, the same way that you did.

“Yeah, we don’t want to keep you too long, since we’ll be seeing you plenty this holiday season,” Naomi replied, flashing you a fake smile. “I didn’t realize you two were together. I’ve never heard Joel say anything about you.”

You were sure the sentiment was supposed to hurt your feelings, but you were more unsurprised by the sentiment than anything else.

“Some of us like to leave our personal lives personal,” he shot back, glancing at you before bringing his glare back to his ex-wife.

“Well, that’s cute. I remember, you had the biggest crush on Joel back in the day. Glad you two ended up together,” she laughed and your stomach dropped. Were you that obvious in the past? “Anyway, we’re gonna go to a less busy lane. See you at dinner, Joel. And maybe you, too?” She looked you up and down, and for a second you felt like you were in the hallways of your high school once again, trying your best to avoid the passive aggression of a particularly mean girl.

“Right. Bye,” he said simply, watching the pair walk away as if he were scared that they would turn back around at some point and bother Joel some more.

“Fuck,” he muttered aloud as soon as they were out of earshot, his hand falling away from your back and back to his side.

You immediately launched yourself into a rambling apology, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep or anything, they just looked like they wanted to eat you alive and-“

“No, no, don’t apologize. I appreciate what you did back here. I mean, you saw the look on her face when she thought we were together?”

“Oh yeah,” you laughed out, which also acted as a cover for the deep sigh of relief you needed to let out. “Is she always so shocked when she thinks you’re dating someone new?”

“Well, I haven’t dated much since the divorce,” he explained as the two of you began exiting the building. “So I guess I didn’t really know what to expect. But it totally delivered.”

You couldn’t help but smile as the two of you walked out to your cars together and Joel confessed that not only was he single, but that he hadn’t really seen anyone. Not that it really mattered to you, considering that the two of you had absolutely no shot together.

You weren’t exactly sure where Joel had parked, but he’d offered to help unload your groceries into your car, and you weren’t exactly going to decline that offer.

“Thank you, again for helping me out tonight,” Joel said as he helped place bags in the trunk of the car. “Is there anything I can do to repay you?”

“Actually, there is one thing.”

—

Every year, you absolutely dreaded your family’s holiday celebrations. Specifically, the celebrations where you showed up without a date, and had to spend the night downing eggnog to drown out the sound of your family asking you when you were going to settle down and bring a grandchild, or niece, or nephew into the family.

But this year, you didn’t have to worry about that issue. After running into Joel at the grocery store and briefly pretending to be his partner, he’d agreed to do the same for you at a family holiday party, and to be completely honest, you couldn’t be more excited.

“Again, thank you,” you said to Joel as he opened the passenger door to his truck for you, politely standing at the side of it as you got in.

“It was really the least I could do after you saved my ass back there in the store,” he dismissed, closing the door behind you before getting back into the car.

“I mean, I couldn’t just stand there and let you suffer,” you explained, glancing over at the man as he settled into the seat and started the car. He’d certainly dressed up more than usual for the event, a nice red sweater nicely complimenting your green sweater, and his hair styled nicely. For a second, you thought about your younger self, and how she probably would’ve given anything for a night like this—to just play pretend with Joel just for a moment, since he clearly didn’t see you the way you saw him.

“Well, I appreciate it,” he dismissed, sending you a quick, charming smile before beginning to pull out of the driveway. “Anything I need to know about your family?”

“Oh my god,” you laughed. “Where do I start?”

You more or less talked Joel’s ear off on the drive over, filling him in on family members to avoid; overbearing aunts who would attempt to examine him like a lab specimen, uncles who would try to quiz him on his knowledge of local sports teams, and the occasional family friend, who seemed to be just as crazy as your actual kin. Joel listened politely, taking in all of the information, and throwing in some commentary every now and then, but surely making mental notes on who to try to avoid.

Once you finally arrived at the car-lined street, Joel once again opened the door for you like the gentleman he was, before allowing you to lead the way to the christmas-light adorned house that was clearly bustling on the inside. As the two of you walked up to the porch, Joel looked at you rather earnestly.

“Did I scare you in the car? I promise they’re not all that bad,” you began to attempt to explain, nerves bubbling in your stomach as you thought about how Joel surely wanted to go home.

“No, no, you didn’t scare me,” he assured you, reaching over to brush a stray hair out of your face. “I just… I never got the chance to tell you how good you look. I wanted to say something when you first got in my car, but I guess I got scared. You always look good, but you kinda took my breath away.”

Fuck, you internally groaned. Why did he have to tell you that? Was he just trying to get into character or something? You couldn’t even gather the words for how it made you feel before the front door was swinging open with one of your favorite aunts at the door greeting you.

“Hello, my love!” she practically squealed as she pulled you into a hug. “And who is this?”

“This is my boyfriend, Joel,” you introduced, only slightly alarmed at how easily the word rolled off your tongue.

“Hello, ma’am,” Joel said warmly, setting out a hand for her to shake, which was rejected in favor of a hug. He was clearly a bit caught off guard by it, but also clearly a little into it.

“Sorry,” you whispered to him once she let go and the two of you were ushered inside. “We’re a hug family. I probably should’ve warned you about that on the ride over.”

“I don’t mind, I promise,” he assured you, gently grabbing your hand and looking to you for some sort of assurance. You smiled at him then subtly nodded, lacing your fingers in between his in an act that you hoped would be as practical as it was performative.

As the two of you navigated through the house, you made pleasant small talk with all who you encountered, with you proudly introducing Joel as your boyfriend, and him taking the lead in introducing himself from time to time. After an exhausting hello tour, you had finally made it to the kitchen for drinks, something you’d surely need if you were going to keep up at this rate of socialization.

As you grabbed Joel the beer he’d requested and began to spoon out ladles of the bowl that was tape-labeled ‘ADULT Punch’ into your own cup, you were slightly surprised that you’d finally ran into your mother.

“Hi honey,” she squealed, pulling you into a hug. “How long have you been here? You avoiding me?”

While past experiences of being single during the holiday season and having to interact with your mother often ended up with you suffering for the entirety of the night–or an entire week, like the time she tried to set you up with a coworker’s son–you felt a newfound confidence with the knowledge that Joel was just a few feet away from you, diligently playing the perfect boyfriend.

“We just got here,” you giggled at her typical overbearing self. For once, your guard was down, knowing that she would not be attempting to set you up with anyone, or hounding you about coming home and settling down with a nice local.

“We?” she asked dramatically, brows raised in surprise. “Is your sister somewhere around here, or something?”

“Don’t act so surprised,” you feigned offense as she stepped back to look at the two drinks in your hands. “I brought my boyfriend,” you glanced back at Joel, who was right where you left him, making enthusiastic smalltalk with one of your cousins about the Cowboys game. Like a good little fake boyfriend, upon catching your eye he excused himself from his conversation and walked over to you and your mother.

“Mom, this is Joel, my partner,” you explained, as your gentlemanly fake boyfriend grabbed your mother’s hand and gave it a polite kiss. You certainly hadn’t forgotten about his charm back in the day, but to watch it up close and personal after so much time had passed was undoubtedly having a bit of an effect on you.

“I’ve heard all about you. Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” he gushed. You had to give credit where credit was due, Joel was a great actor. You’d given him a bit of backstory on your mom on the ride over to the house, and you’d certainly discussed her while the two of you were students, but definitely not to the extent that he was playing up.

“So nice to meet you,” she replied, her cheeks warming at her interactions with the man. Joel was laying it on thick, but it seemed to be working for her. “Miller, right?”

“Indeed,” he confirmed, flashing a pearly white smile at your mother. As you watched the interaction, you were doing your best to keep it together, partially wanting to laugh out loud at Joel’s overdramatic chivalrous act, and partially wanting to melt into a puddle over just how alluring he was.

“Then I’ve also heard a lot about you. My daughter had the biggest crush on you in high school! It’s so funny that you’ve ended up together now. I suppose God’s timing is always right?”

Your eyes grew wide and your mouth gaped open for a second as your mother reinforced your little secret that Joel had heard from someone else just a few days ago. Suddenly, you were feeling a lot less like a liquidy puddle, and more like the bark of a firm tree–if that tree could experience mortification. If you didn’t need it before, now you really needed that drink. He glanced at you and smiled cheekily before looking back at your mother.

“So I’ve heard,” he said with a smirk, clearly biting back a laugh. You were going to kill your mother. And maybe Naomi too, while you were at it. In fact, you might just add yourself into the mix. It certainly couldn’t hurt. Or at least, it would hurt less than the discomfiture of your fake boyfriend hearing from everyone about the huge crush you had on him.

“Mom! I think your other daughter just got here. Why don’t you go say hi to her and Ben?” you suggested, knowing that the best way to prevent her from embarrassing you any further was to distract her with the idea of embarrassing her other child in front of her significant other.

You clearly knew your mother well, because the strategy worked well enough to get her off your tail. You passed Joel his beer as he watched you closely, the same mischievous smirk lingering on his face long after your mother had left.

“Crush, huh?” he teased you, causing you to shake your head as you took a healthy sip from a deceptively strong punch.

“Shut up,” you groaned. “Please.”

As the night went on, you realized that you couldn’t have picked a better candidate to pretend to be your boyfriend at a family gathering. Joel was quite sociable and polite, even more so with a beer in his system. He didn’t even mind entertaining your family members on his own as you went off and caught up with the few members of your family that you could tolerate for more than a few minutes at a time.

Following a rather chaotic series of discussions including when you and Joel were getting engaged (never, I mean, in the next few years. Probably.), the most romantic thing you’d done (backpacking through Europe, according to Joel), and what it was like reconnecting with your high school crush (fucking fantastic), you’d finally lost track of Joel. You did a quick lap around the house before bumping into your sister and cousin, the latter of which desperately described her need for air.

The three of you huddled together outside on the deck, the spot where you seemed to find yourselves at almost every family function regardless of how fun or stressful it ended up being. While you were enjoying the mayhem of the party and enjoying your time with Joel even more, it was nice to have a little break from it all.

“I can’t believe you’ve been home for just a few days and you’ve already gotten your childhood crush wrapped around your finger,” your sister laughed, comfortably leaning against the railing of the deck.

“That’s the power of working for a Fortune 500. All of the men in your hometown just want a sugar mommy for a little bit. Get some presents for the kids and wife for free,” you joked.

“You’re kidding?” your cousin asked, her brows furrowed in a mixture of confusion and intrigue.

“I’m kidding,” you confirmed. “You know, we aren’t even actually dating,” you confessed, lips and tongue loose from your second glass of punch.

“What?” your cousin and sister exclaimed at the same time, the two of them suddenly very alert.

Even in your not-completely-there state of mind, you could tell that you had made a mistake telling your secret. It was now very likely that the entire house would know the truth within the next hour, or that you would not be hearing the end of how terrible an idea the whole ordeal was for months on end.

“I figured you two just hit it off, or had some long distance thing going on?” your sister questioned, peering at you curiously as if your face would reveal some sort of information about your arrangement.

“Nope. It’s kinda a long story, but I guess the short of it all is that we’re pretending to be together for the holidays so certain people get off our asses,” you said casually, finishing off your drink and looking out into the backyard rather than making eye contact with either of your kin.

“Fair enough,” your cousin sighed, finally relaxing once more. “If I wasn’t already seeing Will, I’d probably do the same.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea? He really broke your heart,” your sister asked, grabbing your arm to attempt to force you to look at her, and staring at you with concern.

You were sure you could imagine what was going through her head in the moment, the vision of your heartbroken teenage self and the sound of your prolonged sobs as you questioned what your crush saw in her that he couldn’t see in you. You really couldn’t blame her for being worried. She was your older sister, after all, the task of protecting you instilled in her from the day you left the womb, and clearly not gone now. But things were different now. You were all adults, you had more life experience and perspective, and most importantly, whatever was going on between you and Joel wasn’t real, regardless of how much you might have wanted it to be.

“Yeah, when we were eighteen. I think it’ll be fine,” you dismissed, as if anything was ever that simple.

“And he seems like a sweetie now. I think my own parents were wishing I brought him home for the holidays,” your cousin, ever the peacekeeper, added as she attempted to diffuse the quickly escalating tension between you and your sibling.

“He was also a sweetie thirteen years ago when he led you on, then got someone pregnant,” your sister snapped back with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her back to you.

“Okay, that’s enough,” you declared, watching your breath float away in a cold puff of air. “Can we go inside now? I think my toes are gonna fall off.”

After a side eye from your sister and a nod of agreement from your cousin, the three of you headed back inside, where you made quick work of grabbing yet another drink and finding the fireplace.

A few couches were arranged by the fireplace, some filled from edge to edge with sleeping, snuggling children who were exhausted by the excitement of a holiday party, others with some of the older members of your family who simply needed a break from it all. Among them all, you were surprised to find Joel, enthusiastically talking to none other than your father.

Your father was probably one of the most difficult people in your life to impress. He’d maybe told you that he was proud of you a total of five times in your life. Yet, he looked content, hell, happy as he spoke to your fake boyfriend.

Part of you felt bad as you found your way to the empty spot on the couch next to Joel, but you were cold, and you weren’t going to pass up on the opportunity to warm up by the fire and the man that you had found was a bit of a human furnace.

When Joel caught sight of you, he smiled and beckoned you over, and you made quick work of maneuvering yourself past the coffee table between the couch. Once you sat down, Joel surprised you by greeting you with a gentle peck on the lips. The action temporarily shocked you, and you desperately hoped that the feeling was not reflected on your face. The naturalness of it all almost felt as if you’d done it a thousand times, and you tried your best to suppress the part of you that wanted to do it a thousand more.

“Hi honey,” Joel greeted you sweetly, his hand almost immediately finding yours. It all felt so right, and if you weren’t so endeared by him in the moment, you certainly would’ve been mildly panicking.

“It was nice meeting you, Joel, but I’m old and I’m tired, so I’m gonna head out,” your father explained, giving you a half nod as he began to stand up.

“Bye, dad. I’ll see you on Christmas?” you asked him, ignoring the panicked look that Joel was certainly sending your way.

“Sounds like a plan. Love you. Get home safe,” he bid the two of you farewell before leaving without much other fanfare.

“Why didn’t you tell me that was your dad?” Joel asked you, looking at you with wide eyes. You laughed a little bit at his panic, finding the dumbfounded look on his face more adorable than you’d like to admit.

“Thought it might’ve come up in conversation, or something,” you shrugged, suddenly feeling the exhaustion of the day, mixed with the criminally strong punch set in. “Why do you care so much? Trying to make a good impression, Miller?” you teased.

“You’re the worst,” he groaned, then laughed as you snuggled up to his side. You weren’t exactly sure whether the laugh was coming from discomfort or relief, but with the bone-deep cold you were feeling and alcohol in your system, you couldn’t exactly bring yourself to care. “You’re also really cold. Are you okay?”

“Mmm, you’re really warm,” you replied, settling against his warm body unconsciously.

“Someone’s feeling the punch,” he replied, wrapping an arm around you as you closed your eyes.

“It was way stronger than it needed to be,” you agreed in a murmur against his sweater. “Thank you for being such a good fake boyfriend tonight.”

“It was actually pretty fun. I like your family a lot,” he confessed, trying his best to maintain eye contact with you despite the fact that you were in the express lane to dreamland and your blinks were beginning to turn into miniature naps.

“Everyone liked you too. I owe you,” you yawned, dropping your head from the soft fabric of his sweater to the denim of his jeans.

“Mhm. Wanna head home?” he asked.

“How’d you know?” you responded as Joel chuckled above you.

The ride back home was a mostly quiet one, with Christmas music playing softly on the radio and you dozing off in the passenger seat. Every now and then Joel glanced over at you, and the few times that your eyes were actually open, you wondered what it was that he was thinking. Was he checking up on you to make sure you were still alive? Probably. But you just swore there was something else in his eyes, something you’d seen when Ben looked at your sister, or when your parents looked at each other.

But that was probably just the exhaustion speaking.

Once you arrived at your sister’s place, Joel made quick work of helping you get inside safely, even helping you get to bed at your own insistence. Even in your not sober and exhausted state, you knew that you didn’t want the night to end. Even in your less than ideal state of mind, you knew that the way you were feeling about Joel was unsustainable.

—

The soft, dim lighting of a restaurant that felt fancy even for you seemed to beam down on you, encouraging little beads of sweat to collect at your forehead and the creases of your arms. As much as you were desperately trying to maintain the appearance of being cool and collected, your staccato breaths, wobbly smile, and the rapidly appearing perspiration were quite clearly selling you out. You couldn’t help but to stare down at your menu like it was the most interesting thing in the world, the intimidation of sitting across from your fake partner’s ex-wife’s heated glare far more intense than what you’d expected. Far worse than sharing a brief, yet artificial moment of PDA in a grocery store, and far more than you expected to be able to handle. Yet, Joel had done the same for you, and really, it was only fair that you would do the same.

After the Christmas party, you hadn’t really expected to hear anything else from your date. As far as you knew, Joel had only agreed to play pretend with you for one night, and as fun as that night was, it was all fake.

As much as you hated to admit it, your sister was maybe, just a little bit right about the whole ordeal not being your best idea. You couldn’t help but think about the two of you at the party—how he’d held your hand like your hands were two pieces of a puzzle that were made for each other, how he cuddled with you on the couch and looked at you with such genuine concern when he thought you might not be well, but above all, you were stuck on his confession to you, about how beautiful you looked and how scared he was to tell you.

You couldn’t believe that you were still making these kinds of stupid decisions, the type of decisions that made you want to lay in bed all day with a pint of ice cream and a soap opera playing on the revision, and not do work—the very work that you came back to Austin to do.

But despite your urge to shut down, you tried your absolute best to do what you set out to do. You spent hours tossing ingredients in mixers, whipping egg whites into stiff peaks, and narrowly avoiding burning yourself as you took trays out of the oven. Only at the end of the day, as you wiped your forehead with a flour-covered arm and checked your phone did you realize that you’d missed a call from Joel.

After a quick call-back and an explanation to your sister that you would no longer be third wheeling the night’s tree-lighting ceremony with her, you had somehow managed to renew your little agreement with Joel. Your task being a performance of being the perfect, dream girlfriend to Joel Miller, a task that you hoped you would be up for.

But as you sat at the table next to Joel, nearly sweating your mascara off, you began to question the extent of your capabilities within this particular role.

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Naomi began, the sharp wing of her eyeliner and the depths of her eyes feeling like they were poking and prodding into you, searching for any weakness or insecurity to be exploited. “What are you up to these days?”

“Well, apart from making the most of my time with Joel,” you looked over at him with what you hoped appeared to be adoration, but probably came across more accurately as the fear you were experiencing, and grabbed his bicep–what you hoped to appear like a fond move, but was something more like you bracing onto him for dear life. “I’m a consultant in New York City. It definitely takes up a lot of my time, but it also feels like every second of free time I have, I’m spending it on the phone with this one.”

You and Joel chuckled, your choked out laugh feeling far more artificial than his. You hoped to whatever powers above that you would somehow manage to convince the couple across from you to believe a story that you could barely even believe yourself, although, with the way that Naomi was still glaring at you, you doubted that being the case.

“That sounds fun,” she replied, leaning forward slightly as if she was ready to sink her teeth into you two and absolutely tear you apart. “So how’d you two reconnect?”

Joel, clearly sensing your discomfort, came to your rescue with a quick, preplanned answer. “Remember when I took Sarah to Manhattan earlier this year?” Joel began, averting his gaze from you and onto his ex, who now shot Joel a pleasant, yet, rehearsed smile.

“Mhm,” she replied, seemingly already entertained by where the story might end up going.

“Well, we ran into each other at a coffee shop a few blocks away from her workplace and really just hit it off. The rest is history,” he said, turning his attention back towards you.

“You two were hitting it off in front of our daughter?” Naomi asked, the slight tilt to her head and hint of smirk on her face revealing that her question was less out of concern for their child, and more out of taking an opportunity to antagonize the two of you.

“It was more like reconnecting. I swear, Joel is the only person in the world to think that recommending my favorite bagel shop in the city is flirting,” you attempted to save, not wanting to be labeled as a threat to their child just a few minutes into dinner.

“To my credit, you were selling it pretty hard. You were practically saying, ‘come with me to get bagels tomorrow,’” Joel added on, seemingly lighting up as the two of you added more and more to your fake meet-cute.

“Next time you visit we’ll get all the bagels you want, my love. We can even split them Lady and The Tramp style,” you giggled, feeling your cheeks warm as you imagined you and Joel at the opposite ends of one cream cheese filled bagel.

“Okay, yeah, I get it. I was just joking, anyway,” she replied, clearly fed up with the two of you.

“Sorry,” you apologized, actually feeling a little bad about how long your little bit had gone on. “What about you two? How’d you and Henry meet?”

“It’s actually a pretty cute story,” Henry spoke up after being a passive spectator for an uncomfortable period of time. “Noms had just moved out west a little bit after the divorce, and the two of us met in a yoga class. I accidentally took her yoga mat, and it was… what did you say earlier? The rest was history?”

The two of them shared an intimate laugh, one that indicated that they were referencing some sort of inside joke, just as you and Joel had earlier after you’d shared what you’d been doing with your life since high school. You glanced over at Joel, his pressed smile and slightly furrowed brows a clear indicator that he was not impressed by the two of them. Thankfully, before the tension could go any further, a kind waitress interrupted the conversation with the simple question of whether or not your table was ready to order.

Shortly after ordering, the conversation picked up once again. While you occasionally were able to ask a question or two about the couple sitting across from you, it above all felt like you and Joel were being interrogated about the nature of your relationship. Lies easily flowed from both of your tongues, sandwiched between fond looks shared between the two of you as if there was no one else in the room, and stolen moments of physical affection that seemed to warm you from the inside-out.

As the two of you added more and more onto your story, the more you began to yearn for the more intricate details of it all to be true.

You wanted to receive a bouquet of flowers on your doorstep from someone almost two-thousand miles from you, just because he’d been thinking about you. You wanted to have a reason to come back and visit the city you grew up in, and to learn about every new hole-in-the-wall shop that had come to mean a lot to him. You wanted to take on his hobbies, and have him take on some of yours despite you both being terrible at them, solely because you knew that the other cared about it. The longer the night went on, the clearer everything became: you wanted all of this and more with Joel, but you’d clearly never be able to have him.

It was no longer a question to you of if your arrangement should end, and had clearly become a matter of when it was going to end. No matter how much fun you were having holding Joel’s hand under the table and feeding the man next to you bites of scallop, you knew it wasn’t sustainable to be feeling so strongly about a situation that had been doomed from the start.

You were undoubtedly treading a very thin line between getting your hopes up for what wasn’t, but could be, and savoring every last second you had with Joel, pretending to be something that the two of you were very obviously not. With the arrival and passing of dessert, and the final spoonfuls of a split chocolate cake, you’d realized that your time with Joel had ended; a conclusion as bitter as the dark chocolate garnish on your shared plate.

The two of you held hands once more as you walked out to his car, fingers lingering together even after the couple you’d been putting a show on were safely tucked away in their own vehicle. You didn’t talk much on your ride back home, the air thick with a tension that made you wonder if Joel had come to a similar conclusion of his own during dinner. The radio filled in the silence where words lacked, covers of Christmas songs filling in for the conversation that surely should’ve been occurring.

After a ride that felt like it had lasted forever and no time at all, you had finally arrived at your sister’s place, the final resting ground for whatever your relationship had been.

“Thanks,” you said as you unclipped your seatbelt, wanting to rip the bandaid off and leave as quickly as humanly possible, while also lingering in his car forever. “Have a good night.”

“Yeah,” he looked at you for a moment as if he had something more to say, but was holding his tongue. Taking one long look at your face, then offering you a weak half smile, he spoke once more. “You too.”

Though you were mildly disappointed when you didn’t hear back from Joel, you couldn’t say that you were particularly surprised. Everything about your final encounter in his truck indicated that the very brief chapter in both of your lives of pretending to be what you both were not was over. Still, you couldn’t deny the remnant ache in your chest when your father asked where your boyfriend was over Christmas dinner, or the pathetic way that you secretly hoped every ring of the bakery door would deliver you Joel Miller, much like your first day back in Austin did.

Once again, you attempted to drown yourself in your work, working from open to close at your sister’s bakery and ending the day with sore legs, flour in your hair, and an intense desire to never consume anything sweet ever again. You somehow even managed to convince your boss to let you clock a few virtual hours at your actual job, spending all of the time that you were not at the bakery in your temporary bedroom, doing whatever tasks would set you ahead by the time you returned to work.

You realized you weren’t being particularly subtle with the fact that you were trying to distract yourself from something, and while your sister did her best to be whatever it was that you needed during such a bizarre time, she didn’t exactly press, though you were sure she had a bit of an idea of what was making you feel so down.

“Hey, I have a catering job for us,” she informed you one morning as the two of you worked side-by-side.

“When? You remember I’m leaving tomorrow, right?” you sighed, hoping your sister recognized your mild annoyance as less with her, and more with your time in Austin as a whole. You desperately wanted to leave, but you’d promised to stay until the new year began, when orders typically began to slow down. (“Resolutions,” she told you over the phone as you prepared to come back home.)

“Of course I remember,” she shook her head playfully as she spoke to you. “It’s tonight. At the Spoke. They’re doing some New Year’s Eve thing, and I think it’ll be fun.”

“I think maybe we have two different definitions of fun,” you commented, continuing to roll out the piece of dough in front of you.

“Oh, come on. What were you going to be doing anyway?” she pressed you, her attempt to get you to get out of the house clear as day now. “Working in your bedroom during your break? Sulking for reasons you refuse to share with me? Watching episodes of The Bachelor that you’ve seen a hundred times already?”

“Ugh, okay, okay. I’ll do it. We’ll do it,” you finally conceded.

“Good! Now, do you want a coffee? We’re gonna have a lot of trays to finish today.”

You couldn’t deny that it made you feel a little bit better knowing that you had somewhere fun to go that night. Despite living in Texas for the first portion of your life, you’d never had the opportunity to go to any sort of dance hall, and though you’d probably be spending the majority of your time distributing cupcakes to people, you were excited to be doing something fun regardless.

After your longest and final shift at the bakery, your sister hugged you as tight as she could manage and thanked you for everything you’d helped her accomplish this holiday season, before sending you back home to get dressed up for the dance hall. After deciding to go full cowgirl with your attire, you peered in your sibling’s closet for any article of clothing that you could borrow for the night, and ultimately left her closet with a completely different wardrobe.

Even as you and your sister arrived at the dance hall early to set up, patrons were already beginning to flood into the venue. Their excited energy was contagious, and you couldn’t help but feel invigorated, your downtrodden feelings being replaced with much more positive ones.

As the night went on, you found yourself having more and more fun, whether it was from distributing pastries to rosy-cheeked dancers who paused to take a break from the floor, or flirty gentlemen who took the brief moment of your fingers touching over a distributed cupcake to ask to buy you a drink. While you were sure that you would’ve had a decent time doing nothing at home, then popping a bottle of champagne at midnight, the night was certainly shaping up to be a memorable one.

Time seemed to be flying by as you stood by the table, offering cupcakes to whoever passed you by. It wasn’t long before Ben arrived, and your sister was excusing herself from the table to share a dance with her partner. You watched the two of them with adoration, thinking of how you would love to have someone to come sweep you off your feet and offer to dance with you–well, someone other than a sweaty patron. As much as you’d tried to convince yourself over the years that you weren’t cut out for relationships, your trip and weird fake dating arrangement with Joel had made you realize something of the opposite. Maybe you’d be ringing in the New Year with a Hinge download.

After passing out the final cupcake you had, you began to break down boxes and put away some of the other items you’d brought to help the distribution process go more smoothly. With your back turned to the dance floor as you dropped leftover napkins into a plastic bag, you were surprised as you heard a familiar voice greet you from behind.

“Joel?” you said as you looked up at the patiently waiting person, surprised to see his face after such an abrupt ending and a period of radio silence between the two of you.

“Hi,” he said, almost shyly.

“Hi. Sorry, we just ran out of cupcakes” you stated, trying to pretend that things were business as usual between the two of you–whatever business as usual meant now.

“I don’t…” Joel trailed off before ditching the idea altogether, surely figuring that whatever he had to say was more important than an explanation of how he was uninterested in the treats you were serving. “Can we talk?”

“I mean,” you hesitated for a moment, wondering if it would be better to avoid everything altogether and simply move on with your life. You could simply tell him no, hop on a plane the following afternoon, then never think about Joel again. It would all be so simple and easy–the exact opposite of what your relationship had spiraled into during your time back in Austin. “Yeah. Sure. Let’s talk.”

The truth was, as easy as you would’ve liked it to be, you were intrigued by Joel’s nervous body language. As he shifted from foot to foot and subtly picked at his hand, you imagined him walking into the hall with his friends, or whoever it was that he came with, seeing you, and immediately going to leave the venue, only staying from the coercion and peer pressure of his peers. You imagined him spending the night working up the nerve to come say to you what was left unspoken the last time the two of you talked, hoping that the beers in his system and all of the dancing would finally get enough jitters out of him to finally address you.

“I’m all ears,” you shrugged, crossing your arms over your chest in a subconscious protective measure. Even though he could do no physical harm to you, your brain was all too aware of the damage he’d done to your heart in the past.

“I’m sorry. For everything. For not reaching out to you after our dinner, and for being an oblivious idiot in high school. And I guess, for being an oblivious idiot now,” he began to blather, glancing down nervously at his shoes as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

You were surprised by his words and slightly unsure of what to say, or even think in response. Now that you had heard his apology, you were beginning to have an idea of the direction that this confession was likely going to take, and you couldn’t tell if you should be leaping for joy or finding the nearest exit. Maybe you could figure out a way to do both, jumping and skipping as you left through the fire exit.

Joel began to search for his next words and you tried to ignore the racing heartbeat in your chest as you attempted to search for your own. Just when you were thinking that it would be impossible for your situation to get any more uncomfortable, a man slightly shorter than Joel and who oddly resembled him sauntered up to the table where the two of you were attempting to speak.

“It’s gonna be twelve soon! Come dance!” the man shouted at Joel, his accent heavy and his words slurred as he grabbed onto Joel’s flannel sleeve. Joel shot him a dirty look, one that clearly communicated his annoyance, but didn’t exactly scream surprised.

“Not now, Tommy,” Joel reprimanded, his gritted teeth and tense demeanor making you want to laugh–if not for his reaction, then over the surrealistic nature of the scene. Mere moments into some sort of apology or confession, the two of you had been interrupted by his intoxicated acquaintance asking him to dance.

“Yes now, Joel. C’mon, lighten up!” the man practically whined, eliciting an exasperated eye roll from Joel. He looked back at you with tense shoulders and worry in his eyes, and you couldn’t exactly tell if he was looking for backup or sympathy. Instead of responding to him with either, you gave him a shy shrug of approval.

“We can talk while we dance?” you suggested, part of you hoping that maybe the distraction of doing something else while you spoke would make your conversation a little less difficult.

Taking Joel’s hand, you followed the men out to the dance floor, where Tommy had disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared to interrupt Joel’s confession. Part of you wondered if this had been premeditated, or if Joel’s drunk friend was simply not able to read the room.

“Before we start, I have a confession of my own,” you began, hoping that what you were about to say would at least lighten up the mood of your conversation. Clearly, the two of you struggled with communicating your feelings, and you hoped sharing what you were prepared to share would at least be helpful in opening up a line of communication.

“Yeah?” he said hopefully. You tried your best to fight the smile that was threatening to appear on your face at the sound of his tone, but ultimately failed.

“I don’t have a damn clue how to do this,” you confessed, glancing over at the pairings around you moving together as if they had done these steps a million times–and knowing your town, they probably had.

“It’s fine,” he said without an ounce of judgment in his voice. “I’ll teach you how.”

And he did, his mouth pressed closely to your ear as he counted off numbers in time with the live band just a few feet away from you, and directed your body left, right, back, and forward until you finally seemed to get the hang of the dance. Though there was still an elephant remaining in the room, dancing seemed to be successful in alleviating some of the tension that lingered.

“Is it okay if we continue our conversation?” Joel asked as the two of you took a synchronized step back. Your eyes were trained on your nearly matching boots, and the thought of having to face your feelings–or the lack thereof–made your stomach churn. Once again, you began to consider the most efficient exit routes.

“Of course,” you replied, doing your best to mask the nerves that had bubbled right back up as you finally met his eye.

“I was so excited to see you, when I found out you were back in town. I guess there was still part of me that wondered what things might have been like if things were different. Then I saw you in the store, and we started doing… whatever we were doing, and I just kept wanting more. It just felt so real, too real, and I started wanting more than what I could have. I mean, you live so far away, and even if you didn’t, I’m sure you have romantic prospects all over the place. Why would you settle for me?”

You almost couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Joel still thought about you? He had begun to want more in the same way that you did the more your fake relationship progressed? He thought he wasn’t good enough for you?

“Joel-” you began, his name slipping off your tongue involuntarily. You desperately wanted to dispute his claims, but he didn't let you finish.

“I guess I just wanted to apologize for how I acted. I didn’t want you to assume that things ended how they ended for any other reason other than me making terrible decisions as usual.” Once again, it was Joel’s turn to look uncomfortable, and you couldn’t exactly blame him after what he shared with you.

“I accept your apology, but it wasn’t all your fault. And you’re not an idiot,” you clarified in between a spin, finishing your sentence as Joel pulled you back to him. “I was disappointed, but I understood. Honestly, I was starting to feel the same way with you. Our fake dating was starting to feel a little too much like real dating, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up when you were clearly uninterested.”

“But I’m not uninterested,” Joel looked at you with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, which only seemed to be highlighted by the fact that his arm was draped across your torso, a welcome result of the spinning move. “I want to try, if you want to try. The distance is a hurdle, but we can give it a shot, at the very least. We can visit each other when we get the chance. We can watch the same episodes of The Bachelor, then discuss it afterward.”

“Oh my god, who told you about that?” you remarked, interrupting his big speech.

“Your sister. At the Christmas party,” Joel replied, his cheeks flush with the adrenaline of sharing his feelings with you and the excitement of dreaming of a future with you.

“She’s unbelievable,” you murmured, shaking your head the slightest bit before Joel continued.

“But that’s besides the point. We can send each other delivered gifts, and can talk to each other every day, like what you told Naomi.”

“What I told her when I was lying?” you asked with a laugh, reminiscing on your dinner.

“Well, yeah… But it doesn’t have to be a lie. I can come visit you, and you can come visit me. We can get bagels at your favorite shop when I come to the city. I can teach you how to dance when you come to Austin. Maybe it’s crazy, but I think we can try. Should try.”

“I would like nothing more than that,” you confessed, an honest truth that seemed to light you up from the inside. Hearing Joel’s almost crazed rant about how passionate he was about trying made you a little less afraid of your possible future together, and a whole lot more sure about your feelings for the man.

“Then let’s do it. Let’s do it right this time,” he said as the music finally came to a conclusion, being swapped out for none other than the chant of a countdown.

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

As cheers of ‘Happy New Years’ rang out, Joel gently directed your face towards his, your noses and foreheads pleasantly bumping into each other. As your lips finally touched, it felt as if two puzzle pieces designed for each other and meant to be together had finally fallen into place, the rumble of fireworks outside celebrating the long-awaited union between the two of your bodies.

In the past, the affection the two of you had shared had felt real, but deep down you were aware that it was nothing more than a farce. A façade to trick judgmental exes and prying family members. But this time, the affection was different.

The growing warm feeling in your chest, the electric sparks on your skin where Joel was touching you, and the look of admiration in his eyes once you’d finally pulled away told you everything you needed to know.

This was real.

#joel miller x reader #joel miller fluff #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller x f!reader #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal fanfiction #the last of us fanfiction #tlou fanfiction #tlou

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inaconstantstateofchange · 4 months

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Halsin and Silvanus

In the course of my recent research on Bane for a lore request fill, I found myself coming across a lot of very interesting information, previously unknown to me, about the other gods of the Forgotten Realms — in particular Silvanus. There was enough there that it inspired me to direct some extra research hours into this writeup, exploring all the reasons why Halsin is a quintessential Silvanite.

If you would like any more information on anything included here, please feel free to drop a comment or an ask, as there is truly so much that I just don’t have the space to include. (I usually end up with about 12-13 pages of source quotes before I begin one of these meta posts.)

My usual note that, as ever, these writeups will align with current 5e lore, and draw from 3.5e for additional supporting information. On rarer occasions – and always noted – I will reference 1e and 2e, but with the caveats that there is much more in those editions that is tonally dissonant with the modern conception of the Forgotten Realms, and thus generally less applicable.

Silvanus is easily one of the most misunderstood gods of the Faerûnian pantheon. This is even pointed out directly within his section of the 3.5e Faiths & Pantheons (an incredible resource if you are looking for more detailed information on the gods of the Forgotten Realms!):

Nevertheless, most outsiders view the church of Chauntea, as patrons of agriculture, as being favorably inclined toward the expansion of civilization, while the church of Silvanus is the implacable foe of those who would settle new lands. Neither impression is correct, yet the church of the Oak Father is often perceived as little different from those faiths that venerate the Deities of Fury.¹ [emphasis added]

Silvanus is most often perceived as strictly and impassively neutral, and intrinsically opposed to civilization in all its forms. While the former is something close to true – he is a very neutral-aligned deity, albeit not necessarily in a way that matches the popular conception of the term – the latter is certainly not. Humanity (if you’ll forgive the use of the term to designate in broad strokes the non-animal denizens of the Material Plane) is another facet of nature, one given equal consideration to the rest – plant, animal, and other – by Silvanus.²

While as a whole followers of Silvanus have a preference for the wilds and the deep forests, this is by no means a concrete rule. In fact, Silvanite clergy – those known as druids – are not uncommonly found in enclaves in larger cities of the Sword Coast and beyond, including Waterdeep.² Typically these druids will “create gardenlike walled areas of wild forest within the city limits.”¹ Wherever they may find themselves, Silvanite druids work to maintain the Balance of nature around them, through education and direct action both.

Silvanus’s dogma has much to tell us about his philosophy, and that of his followers. I’ll be splitting notable excerpts and their relation to Halsin into sections below.

Hold your distance and take in the total situation, rather than latching on to the popular idea of what is best.¹

Halsin was, from the first moment I met him in-game, so notable for his calm self-possession, and the clear forethought he gave to his actions and those of others. He does not feel bound by the expectations or approval of others – as noted in the dialogue he shares with the player if they compliment his choice of successor – but instead makes his own path following the direction of Silvanus’s wisdom and will.

Resort to violence and open confrontation only when pressured by time or hostile action.¹

This is showcased numerous times throughout the game, but perhaps best evidenced by an in-game note, from an unlikely source: the Priestess Gut. The note that you can find from her, regarding Halsin’s capture, notes the following:

Said he thinks there's somethin' rotten inside us. Inside me. Reckons he can help get rid of the rot. I told him we don't need any help from nobody. Never did. And especially not now the Absolute's taken a shine to us.³

Despite the immediacy of his capture at their hands, and the preceding attack already lodged against himself and Nettie⁴, Halsin’s primary impulse is to attempt diplomacy, and render aid. This only changes when his length of captivity has made it clear that there will be no changing the minds of the cultists, and they must be dissuaded by stronger means.

Banish disease wherever you find it¹

The way Halsin is first introduced to the player is as a healer – and not just any healer, but a masterful one, known throughout the region, who has the best chance of being able to assist with any manner of strange ailment. It is clear in all ways, as well as in the scenario referenced in the preceding section, that this is an aspect of Silvanus that Halsin strives to embody at all times.

Seek out, serve, and befriend the dryads and learn their names.¹

Particularly if we understand the reference to dryads here to extend to all fey spirits of nature, this gives new depth to Halsin’s friendship and devotion to the nature spirit Thaniel. Halsin, as a druid generally, and as an Archdruid in particular, would have a solemn and divinely-ordained responsibility to redress the upheaval of the Balance within the Shadowcursed lands. For that reason alone, it is no surprise that it was his primary motivation and consideration for nigh on a century.

However, even above and beyond that, Halsin had an additional motivator. Even before he became a druid, potentially before he was exposed to the teachings of Silvanus in anything but the most vague and general of terms, he was living them out by befriending the local nature spirit, learning his name, and seeking to understand, serve, and protect him.

Make others see the balance and work against those that would disturb it. Watch, anticipate, and quietly manipulate.¹

The primary source text I am using to draw this connection was written neither by nor about Halsin, yet I believe it still clearly reflects on him, for reasons that will become clear. This text is from a logbook recording activities of the Emerald Grove during the year 1371, 121 years prior to the start of the game’s storyline, and some years before the defining events in the soon-to-be Shadowcursed Lands.

6 Uktar: Sent two druids, some of the newer recruits, up north. Village there has had two years of failed crops and are unlikely to survive the next winter. 9 Uktar: A group from Baldur's Gate arrived. They've set up camp on the edge of the forest. Two bears and a fox came by. Their territory has been burned out. Half the fox's cubs died. Paying this new group a visit tomorrow. 10 Uktar: Visit did not go well. After telling me where to shove it, they said they'd cut down half the forest and burn out any wildlife that dared to stick around. Claimed they were going to 'farm the land and make a new city of their own.' Time to get creative. 12 Uktar: Mudslide did the trick. Buried half their farming equipment and made the rest useless. They won't be back any time soon. Got reports of a Red Wizard in the village south of here. Sending three rangers to investigate. If they catch even a whiff of a red cloak, I'm contacting the House of Silvanus.⁵

Given the timeline, while this is unlikely to have been written by Halsin himself, it seems like a strong possibility that it was written by his master, the previous Archdruid of the Emerald Grove, who perished in the fight against Ketheric Thorm. This is supported by the clear evidence that the author was an individual in a position to give direction and command to those around them, and to make the call for how to deal with various situations. Given too what we know of the druidic leadership structure, Halsin would have been the previous Archdruid’s Second, as Kagha was his.⁶

This man, then, would have greatly influenced Halsin as a druid of Silvanus and as a leader both. We can presume that this watchful duty and deliberation was one that Halsin himself took over, charged with doing his part to maintain the Balance of the region around the grove. This last point especially becomes even more significant in light of the following information, which comes not from Silvanus’s dogma, but rather from a description of his followers and traditions of worship:

Members of the clergy work to redirect development and control populations through covert sponsorship of brigands, breeding and selective placing of predators, and other means. It is essential that such work be as secretive as possible, so that most folk view the servants of Silvanus as essentially benign lovers of trees. Wildlife breeding, nursing sick animals, and replanting trees and wild shrubs are all work that should be done as publicly as possible to support this perception – and as necessary work to redress the slipping Balance, of course.¹ [emphasis added]

It is clear from all preceding evidence, and this excerpt in particular, that the druids as a whole put far more thought and strategy into every aspect of their appearance and the perception of them than they would ever want outsiders to become aware of. Halsin himself corroborates this in-game, noting that, while druids might not like politicking, that certainly does not mean they haven’t the skill for it when called upon.

For the sake of… well. (I have been advised by my legal counsel not to use “brevity” here.) Regardless! For the sake of my sanity and your time, I will refrain from going into further detail on specific instances that show this to be true of Halsin. I will merely encourage you, the reader, to consider the value this brings to his character and druids as a whole, and hope to encourage new appreciation for their refreshing complexity.

In closing, I leave you with one final quote:

Superior patience, natural knowledge, and anticipation are the hallmarks of a worthy servant of Silvanus.¹

¹ Faiths and Pantheons. 2002. p. 63.

² Dragon Magazine #412. June 2012. pp. 22-3.

³ Rancid Note. In-Game Text.

⁴ Halsin’s Journal, Vol I. In-Game Text.

⁵ Logbook XII: 1371. In-Game Text.

⁶ Grove Annals. In-Game Text.

#voidling speaks #my meta #bg3 meta #meta #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #halsin #bg3 halsin #silvanus #realmslore #forgotten realms

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sykestarot · 3 months

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what is your destiny?

1-2-3 (left to right)

I DO NOT OWN THESE IMAGES

Hi everyone, welcome to this weeks reading! I was called to do a destiny reading this week! Lmk if it resonates! Also I wanna credit the artist for these pictures that I used! They are Gawki here on tumblr and Instagram I just really loved the style of these unicorns. Anyways enjoy and thanks for stopping by!

Pile 1

"force my eyes into the pictures" (6 of swords; 4 of wands (rx); ace of pentacles; 7 of cups (rx); 8 of pentacles; The Hermit) Hi pile 1! I hope you guys are doing well! For you guys I see that you have a hard time either accepting your destiny or you don’t believe that destiny is at play. In terms of you believing that you make everything happen in your life. However I see that you’ve been trying to start new journeys for yourself and they haven’t exactly been panning out or been as lucrative as you thought they would be. That’s because your destiny in this lifetime is to learn flow and let things come to you. For example maybe you really wanted a promotion and you worked extra hard all of the time for it but someone else got the promotion you wanted without even trying because they were in a state of receiving. I’m not sure if this is making sense because the universe doesn’t not want you to work hard, it’s more like take a break and see what comes to you during that break. If you are constantly manifesting then there is no room to reap the benefits of your manifestations. I hope that makes sense, however in this reading I do feel underlying notes of you feeling like you're destined to be married to your work and be alone romantically, maybe even in terms of friends. This is another example of you not having space for other people because you put your work so far ahead of everything else including yourself. Are you a Capricorn? LOL. But I feel like you’ve lived many lives like this so in this life it’s time to put less value on monetary possessions and material things. Nurture your emotional self and you will be paid back more than you could ever imagine. Stop fighting against the grain and go with it. Work with the universe and yourself, not just the societal norms that you think you should be doing. I see you have a beautiful big house but it’s empty and you don't feel fulfilled because you don’t have anyone to enjoy it with you know? I believe in you though Pile 1! You can totally do it! Signs: youthful; cars; f1; soft grass; ponies; daisies; cameras; photography; 777; calabasas; office building; new york flat; city lights; bustling streets

Pile 2

"is it wrong of me to want this?" (queen of pentacles; ace of pentacles; 2 of swords; 10 of wands (rx); two of cups; 9 of wands (rx)) Hello pile 2!! Your energy is so fun and fresh. I’ve been cheesing the whole time I was channeling. Anyways about your destiny, did you just meet a romantic prospect recently? Or maybe you have a new coworker or friend in your circle?? I know you can feel the tension between the two of you. This is a heavily destined connection for you in this life, I feel like you and this have felt each other's energy for a long time but now you are in physical proximity to each other and you can just cut the tension with a knife. Now I don’t want you to feel any type of pressure to feel you have to be with this person in case you or them aren’t ready for anything but you guys are meant to cross paths now for a reason. There’s not much I can say on the way the relationship will play out and be in the future for you but I can say that this person will teach you how to let down your walls and trust again. Maybe you’ve been alone for a long time, or had a really bad break up that changed how you function sexually, or emotionally. This person is here to show you a softness that you’ve forgotten. I also feel like this person wants to worship the ground you walk on because they just can sense the divine energy you carry. I also feel the need to tell you that you do deserve a person who worships all that you do because you have done so much work in this life, whether for yourself or for others. You deserve to be the center of someone else’s universe just like how you make other people the center of yours. Also I do feel like this person watches you on social media and just adores everything that you do. I’m not getting creepy energy and this definitely feels reciprocal for both of you. This person wants to give you the world on a silver platter. They also want you to be able to feel safe enough to be vulnerable and they will go at your pace and match you where you are. They feel that you’ve been hurt before and just want to kiss it better. But also they wanna do so many 18+ things with you. Like genuinely they find you to be irresistible, but I feel like they just love everything you do pile 2! Signs: red energy; sexual tension; love; musical theater; red lipstick; opera; singers?; dark rooms; red wine; femme fatale; high heels; soft touches; stolen glances

Pile 3

"ooh i care i care i care" (2 of swords (rx); king of cups (rx); 7 of wands; 8 of wands; ace of swords (rx); Death (rx)) Hi Pile 3! So this one’s a bit of a harder message so please take a moment before you read and check on yourself if you are ready to receive this message. No hard feelings if you can’t! Always put your mental health first. Now I’ll hop into the message at hand. I see for you guys your destiny is to accept the changes in your life. However I see that for most of the changes in your life you have refused to accept them and then blamed the universe for hating you. You actively choose not to change and wonder why there is no growth in your life. I feel like you are tired of how monotonous your life is but you choose to not add any color to it. I can feel your want to go and change things but you are frozen in fear of change for whatever reason. Change overall is a very scary prospect, especially if you are most comfortable in patterns and are very direct in the way that you function. However I feel you guys being frustrated and feeling like everyone else is getting things that you wanted or that they are ahead of you in life, but instead of making an active change in your life you sit and throw yourself a pity party. Then instead of taking the blame and accepting the fact that you aren’t trying to reach your goals you blame the universe, and it’s just a very vicious cycle. I think there’s a small part of you that acknowledges it but not enough to work on the shadow. I think all in all your destiny is to face the change, want the change, and make the change. I feel you want to do all these things, it’s in your soul. Facing a rebirth of the self is always challenging and scary. If you feel like the change will make you lose yourself, maybe that’s exactly what you need? I also want to stress that if you’re not ready for something then it won’t happen, but if the universe decides you are it will be much harder of a rebirth than if you chose it for yourself. I feel that you have lots to think about in terms of how to rebirth yourself. I also feel like you overextend too much for people who don’t care about you in the same way. For this pile I feel like the destined path is to choose to grow out of a place you have been in too long. Such as a friend group, small town, relationship, or family. I believe in you pile 3, change is scary but you have so much time to truly bloom, let yourself have that. Signs: purple; snakes; ribbons; coquette fashion; ocean breeze; violin; pink; smiles; meadows; bunnies; ethereal vibes; angels; church; small town; trailers; dirt roads

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holybibly · 2 months

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I'm brave and not sending this anonymously... but I had this thought earlier today about if san wasn't an idol what occupation would he be in, and my mind went Farmer/Cowboy... the tan, the muscles, the ranch and farm, the animals, most of all... HIS STAMINA...

My mind went all mushy with this thought, and I don't regret it 🤤

Well, let's go on with our week of hard hours with my brave bunny and the sweet farmer, San.

I think of how shy he would be in response to your praise of his looks and the touch of your hands on the moist golden skin of his biceps. That damned blush and that sweet, dimpled smile—you're not going to let him get away from you in any case.

Living so far away from the city on his small farm, he would be very unaware of his appearance. Your praise would turn his head so much that he would start to hang on to your every word, waiting for the words of praise to roll off your tongue.

San would be so focused on your glistening, glossy lips that his mind would begin to form images of those lips wrapping around the head of his cock and sucking on it like a piece of candy. He would shyly ask you if he could use your mouth, and hell, it would be just what you were hoping for—to take him all the way to heaven.

He may not have the longest cock, but he sure as hell has a size you can count on. San couldn't keep his mouth shut about how good it feels and how tight and wet your pussy is when he pinned you against the wall of the barn while he fucked you into oblivion. And I've got to tell you, those muscular thighs know how to get what they want. You'd be clawing at his wet back, feeling the muscles under your hands tense and roll with every thrust of his cock. You'd be squeezing his firm buttocks with your hands, digging your nails into the soft flesh, and God, he'd be moaning like a whore. San's terribly tough; once he's tasted you, he's going to give you a real rodeo, desperate to please you.

Maybe he pours milk or cream on your naked body. He admires the way it drips down your body while his tongue traces the path of the sweet milk drops.

"Dirty boy."

Your words would cause his eyes to roll back in his head and a bright red blush to spread across his beautiful face and neck. One hundred percent, you'd leave hundreds of hickeys all over his body. He's just so delicious. How could you possibly resist him?

He would definitely be a hungry boy who would cling to you as if his life depended on it. He would eat you up in the shower, with your legs resting all the way on his muscular, broad shoulders. Oh, a fucking show of force would send you over the edge, and you'd literally be riding on his pretty face. But San would be totally cool with all that.

He'd be mooing, whinnying, and asking all the time.

"Do you like it this way? Am I doing well?"

He's not quite sure if he's doing it right; after all, you're a city girl spoiled for attention, but San is full of enthusiasm and endurance, and he learns how to rub your pussy properly with his tongue.

And this would go on for hours and hours until you would literally have to pull him away from your cunt. And even then, San would still be licking his lips and giving you sultry, wet looks. You are so sweet, and he has such a terrible sweet tooth.

You had no idea your visit to the farm where your parents do p's would be like this. Eventually, you begin to understand what "Save the Horses, Ride the Cowboys" really means.

And damn it, that is exactly what you have been planning to do.

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fancyfeathers · 3 months

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Rain and Dirt (Yandere Rex Lapis/Zhongli x Goddesses!Reader)

Chapter Three, Ghosts of the Past

Sequel to The Moon Will Sing and Time Alone

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Summary: Stories are told of Rex Lapis the God of Contracts and his darling the Goddess of the Moonlight, but what people do not know is the truth of what their relationship really is. People think at Rex Lapis’s death that his wife would be the first to weep, but what if she is the first to smile.

You began your journey to Jueyun Karst with Lumine and Paimon, acting as their guide. As you walked along the road that ran through the Guili Plains and into Jueyun Karst you looked around at the sky above, it was starting to get dark as you were nearing the abode of the Adepti. You wondered what would have happened if you ended up coming here for the Rite instead of staying in the city, would they be made at you, violent even? No you shook that thought aside, they would never harm you even if your husband wasn’t there to protect you anymore.

No, no, no! You did not need him to protect you, have you forgotten you are a goddess? It is well within your power to protect yourself… but some nights when it gets cold, being held by someone helps. Or the pain of thousands of years gone by, sharing that burden with someone else… but he also gave you a burden-

“(Name), Are you alright? You seem to be drifting off?” The voice of Lumine’s floating companion grabbed your attention and you smiled and nodded in response with a small hum.

“I am alright, it is just….” Your eyes drifted up to the peaks out the mountains approaching in the sky, knowing what you are about to encounter. You sighed as your eyes fell back down to the path you walked on and the ground below. “It has been awhile since I have come here. It feels strange, especially given the circumstances.”

“You mean the death of the Geo Archon, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“You know, Paimon noticed that while most are in shock and crying over Rex Lapis’s death, you remain totally calm, why is that?” Paimon stepped in, poking you with a question.

“I….” The question made you stop in your tracks, why was it so easy for you not to cry? The answer should be easy, because of all the things he has done to you. But did you honestly know that answer? Did you hate him? “…don’t know…”

“Really?”

“Really, honestly for all the people’s praise of him I do not know if I can make myself follow him like they do.” You paused again before forcing a smile and changing the topic. “Well what brings you to Liyue? I doubt it is just the sights if you are willing to do all of this.”

“I’m… I’m looking for my brother. He was taken from me.”

At Lumine’s answer your heart ached for her for you knew her pain, what it is like to lose a sibling. You had no idea where your sister is today, thousands of years later. You can still remember the sound of her voice, the life in her eyes, the joy in her smile.

“I’m so sorry, I understand your pain but it still hurts, does it not?” A look of surprise came across Lumine’s face at your sympathy.

“You understand?”

“I do, a long time ago my sister set out to explore Teyvat and I did not go with her, I have not heard from her or about her since. I would be lying if I said I didn’t regret going with her, I think about it everyday.” You reached down and gave Lumine’s hand a squeeze. “After this I promise you I will help you find your brother, I have all the time in the world.”

“Thank you, that means so much.”

—————————

You were reaching the abode of Mooncarver and you knew that full well that he would call out your true nature on the spot so as you got closer you acted like you needed a break but urged Lumine and Paimon to go on ahead.

“Are you sure, (Name)?” Paimon questioned, to which you smiled and nodded.

“Yes, yes, I will find you both in a bit, I just need to rest my feet. I am afraid that I am not so used to walking such long distances.”

“Alright if you say so.”

You watched two walk off as you sat against a tree for a bit of shade so that you were covered from the sun’s heat. You ran your fingers through the grass and hummed, closing your eyes. You have been here before, not just in Jueyun Karst but this exact spot. When was the question?

You closed your eyes to think and you must have fallen asleep because you felt a hand brushing the hair out of your face stirring you awake. You opened your eyes and seeing the person there made you gasp.

“Menogias?”

There was a laugh and nod from the Yaksha, one who you thought to be dead for so many centuries. “Hello my Lady.”

“Why- wait- how are you here?” You asked, springing to sit up. You pressed your back against the tree, sitting there next to your old friend, for lack of a better term.

“What do you mean, I am supposed to be with you today.” He sighs and shakes his head, his fingers coming to rub his temples. “My Lady, did you forget? Today your husband is off at a meeting with an Adeptus in Chenyu Vale. I was placed to guard you until his return.”

Ah yes, how could you have forgotten? Morax had even told you the night before. He would be gone all day and perhaps a bit of tomorrow as well. Really you must get better at remembering these things.

“Apologies, it just feels like my mind is off these days.” You say curling your legs inward towards your chest.

“Off? May I ask how so?”

“I do not know how exactly to describe it, almost as if I have been tricked into something.”

“My Lady, it’s best if you don’t dwell on these things for too long, it would be bad for your health.” Menogias answered swiftly, almost to cut off your idea. “Your husband would not be very pleased with that.”

Your husband…

Rex Lapis…

Morax…

Zhongli…

All the same person…

All caused the same suffering…

“Menogias, can I ask you something…”

There was no response…

“Menogias?”

Again, no response?”

“Menog-“

You were cut off by the scream that ripped from your throat as you turned your head to look at the Yaksha, only to see him dead. His skin almost looked shredded and he was bleeding profusely out of a wound in his stomach.

You snapped awake, sweating and gasping for air from the dream. It was just a dream, but one that came from your memory to an extent. Menogias did watch over you some days when your husband was away, but so did the other Yaksha. Beyond that the rest of the dream weee just the ghosts of your past. Honestly out if all the Adepti, you hated Menogias the least, he was kind to you but still did nothing to dissuade your husband’s possessive tendencies.

As you rubbed your eyes in an attetonwak yourself up from that horrid nightmare you heard voices, shouting, and approaching you. Before you can even turn your head you are seized up by the forearms and find yourself face to face with soldiers of the Millelith.

“You are under arrest as a suspect in the assassination of Rex Lapis.”

Oh dear…

—————————

You were dragged along by a Millelith soldier, deeper into Jueyun Karst to find Lumine and Paimon, the other suspects. You panicked as you got closer and closer to Moon Carver’s abode, and you tried excuses like you would rather be tamed back to the harbor so you could be proven innocent already,mor that you had no idea who they were talking about when the described Lumine and Paimon, but none of it worked.

Then your heart sank the moment you turned on the path and your eyes laid on not only Lumine and Paimon, but the mighty and illuminated Adeptus, Moon Carver. His deer form was as proud and strong as ever and no doubt he retained that strength to carry that pride.

“It’s the assassin, they dare-“

The moment the soldier spoke and caught the attention of Moon Carver you knew all was over. The Adeptus’ eyes went from the soldier speaking, to the one who was dragging you along, then lastly to you. The moment you made eye contact with him, his eyes lit up in pure and untamed rage. He raised his front hooves up and stopped them on the ground, and the sound that echoed from it rang in your ears and even was enough to shake a few stones off of the mountain peaks.

“YOU DARE TOUCH HER!? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO EVEN LAY YOUR EYES ON HER!”

The Millelith soldiers look back and forth at one another in pure confusion, meanwhile you just hang your head low and wait for this all to be over.

“Mighty Moon Carver we-“

“One does not care for your excuses, unhand her at once!” At the demand of the Adeptus the Millelith did not care to stay much longer after that. The grasp of your arm slipped away as the soldiers backed up away from Moon Carver and once they were far enough they turned on their heel and started running. You watched them run before turning to face Moon Carver and your eyes landed on the confused Lumine and Paimon as the Adeptus approached you. Slowly Moon Carver lowered his head before you in a bow before rising, his eyes meeting your own. “My Lady.”

“My Lady? What is this crazy deer on about, (Name)?” Paimon questioned, looking at you who were probably bright red in your embarrassment. Before Lumine can add something, Moon Carver gazed down at the floating Paimon, rage in his eye, not as much as with the soldiers, but still visible.

“You dare to call her by her name, you have no right-“

“Moon Carver!” You shouted, cutting the deer off. He looked almost ashamed for a moment at the sound of you raising your voice. “Please, I let them, they are my friends.”

“Very well.” He nodded towards you before facing Lumine and Paimon. “One humbly apologizes for such abrasiveness towards my Lady’s companions.”

“Lady? What’s going on?” Lumine asked, looking at you and you sighed.

“Really it is nothing important-“

“Nothing important?” Moon Carver scoffed at your statement, as if now he was scolding you. “Is being the bride of Rex Lapis not important? One thinks not.”

“Bride of- wait.” You watched as Paimon slowly clicked together the pieces in her head and she let out a loud and rather dramatic gasp when it clicked. “You’re the wife of the Geo Archon, you’re the goddess that Childe told us about. That’s why you knew so much about Liyue.”

“That is… true.” You sighed and stepped forward, not forcing a smile like you did before. Now you wore your true emotions, a face that suffered for thousands of years. “Allow me to properly introduce myself, while I still am (Name), I am the goddess of moonlight and rain and…” you felt yourself choke on your words for a moment, but you quickly swallowed the lump in your throat. “…and the wife of Rex Lapis, the Geo Archon.”

#yandere genshin x you #yandere genshin #yandere genshin x reader #yandere genshin imagines #yandere genshin impact #yandere genshin impact x reader #yandere zhongli #yandere zhongli x reader #yandere rex lapis #yandere rex lapis x reader

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keikikait · 3 months

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ʙᴜᴛᴄʜᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ (ɢᴏᴊᴏ x ꜰ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ)

this is the final part. part one, part two, part three

pairing: gojo x f!reader (not au, gojo is 29, reader is early-mid 20’s), some nanami x reader

word count: 3.2k

summary: you hang on to gojo's words for too long, and find yourself in the presence of another

warnings: (FOR THIS LAST PART) no outright smut but it can get suggestive so 18+, ANGST, kinda mean gojo, kinda mean nanami, light violence (pushing), my wolf motif from part 3, nickname use [baby, sweetheart], death implications, mention of blood, no use of y/n

a note: this is the final part.

please reblog and like, it means a lot! let me know what you think!

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧

"How close is soon?"

"Close enough."

It’s been almost three months, and here you are, your routine unchanged. You’re starting to wonder if this was ever really worth it. If Satoru Gojo is worth all of this effort. You feel yourself travelling further and further into the wolf’s den, your protective light slowly flickering out. Soon you’ll be left in total darkness, with only the wolves to comfort you. You wonder how long you’ll be able to get by, feeling the damp walls, etched with his poison, with your fingertips before you trip over the corpse of someone else who came before you.

Within the depths of your being, a conflict raged. One part of you yearned to continue, to press forward despite the darkness and uncertainty of a life with Gojo. The other part, weary and wounded, longed for escape, for a way to retreat from the perilous path you had set foot upon. You had ventured into the unknown, leaving behind the familiar and safe, all for a glimmer of hope. But as time passed, the shine of that hope seemed to diminish, replaced by an encroaching sense of despair. The wolves followed you all this way…you couldn’t let them down, could you?

The bell rings.

You’re snapped out of your thoughts, blinking a couple of times to stabilise yourself. Right. You were at work. You clear your throat and start packing up, preparing for the lunch break. The students quickly file out of the class, eager to enjoy the sunlight that just started peaking out from behind the grey clouds.

Gojo sits on the edge of your desk, smirking down at you. “Hey.”

You smile softly. “Hey.”

He glances back at the door before looking at you. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

Fuck. Your eye twitches a little. You had a sneaking suspicion. “What are you thinking about?”

Gojo smirks, reaching out to stroke your cheek. “You bent over the desk, spread out all pretty for me…maybe I’ll gag you so no one interrupts us.” Your eye twitches again. You didn’t want to fuck Gojo right now, but you know you can’t just tell him ‘no’ without him trying to fight you. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. Maybe he would cum quickly and not even worry about your orgasm. You sigh, shutting your eyes for a second, and before you can speak there’s a soft knock on the classroom door. He immediately jumps away from you, returning to his desk before mumbling, “Come in.”

The door opens and Shoko peeks her head in her eyes immediately fixing on Gojo before speaking, “Hey. Are you still coming out with me and Akari tonight?”

What? You look between the two of them, confused. Gojo was supposed to be going out with you tonight, and even though both of you would have to leave the city and travel separately to avoid suspicion, you had been looking forward to your weekend away with him.

Gojo smirks, adjusting his blindfold. “Of course. Same place?”

“Yeah, same place.” Shoko looks at you, and her eyes widen as if she’s suddenly remembering that you exist. “Oh, sorry! We meant to invite you but…Akari’s car can only fit three.”

That’s the biggest fucking lie you’ve ever heard. What car can only fit three people? You smile as genuinely as you can. “No worries. I’m busy tonight anyways.” Shoko seems to brush off your response, saying a quick goodbye to Gojo before exiting the room.

Gojo turns to you as soon as he hears Shoko’s feet shuffling away. “Sorry, I didn’t tell you. I know you wanted to go out tonight but…I can’t say no to her. She’ll get suspicious if she sees me with you.”

You feel like the capillaries in your eyes are about to burst. “You promised we would go out tonight, Gojo. I was looking forward to this.”

Gojo sighs. “I know, baby. It’s just that she asked me to go with her, and I knew that if I said no she would ask about my previous plans, and I can’t just lie to Shoko.”

"But you can lie to me?" you ask, your voice tinged with both disbelief and a hint of hurt.

Gojo groans, running a hand through his hair. "Don't say it like that. It's not like that at all. I'm just...protecting my reputation."

You raise an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Your reputation? Being the strongest jujutsu sorcerer in the world? The unbeatable Gojo Satoru?"

Gojo sighs, a sheepish grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "Well, yeah. But there's more to me than just that, you know. I have a carefully crafted image to uphold."

You scowl. "Right. Because being the most powerful sorcerer in the world isn't enough. You also have to be an unattainable bachelor."

Gojo chuckles, reaching out to gently cup your cheek. "It's not about being enough. It's about maintaining a certain mystique. It's part of the job."

Even though you know his act is purely for show, you find yourself believing it anyway. “You don’t have to lie to me to keep your reputation, Gojo.”

He nods, his expression serious. “I know, it’s just…it's not just about me. It's about the jujutsu world, about maintaining the balance. You know how important appearances can be."

You push his hand off. “Whatever. I hope you have fun.”

He scowls. “Don’t push me away. You know I don’t like that.”

You laugh, standing up and grabbing your bag. “I don’t like being played with.”

Gojo reaches out and grabs your arm. “I can play with you however I like. You’re mine. Don’t forget that.”

“Whatever, Gojo.” You say, pulling your arm away and leaving the classroom, harshly closing the screen door behind you.

During your lunch break, you find an unexpected sense of tranquility. In the past, the mere thought of eating alone elicited feelings of isolation and longing, you yearned to sit next to Gojo. However, lately, you've discovered a newfound appreciation for this solitary time away from him. The absence of Gojo's magnetic pull allows you to explore different facets of yourself without the influence of his opinions or expectations of you. You can finally think, and you find yourself again wondering if this is all worth it. If Gojo Satoru is worth all of this trouble. You don’t want to hang onto him, letting him drag you along and fill your ears with false whispers and forgotten promises, but you can’t help yourself. You love him. Or, at least, you love the version of him in your head.

He doesn’t speak to you for the rest of the day, rushing out after class to head into town with Shoko and Akari. You ride the train alone back to your apartment, the wolves stalking you and hiding in bushes when you turn to face them. You reach your apartment and change into something comfortable. Maybe a long walk along the river will help clear your mind. Maybe Gojo will feel guilty and call you, begging on his knees for your forgiveness.

You walk along the river, admiring the reflection of the streetlights in the inky dark water. Your mind wanders, and you wonder what it would feel like to jump in, to feel your lungs fill with water as you sink into the abyss. You wonder what it would be like to choke on the salt, reaching for the surface, your hand outstretched, hoping Gojo’s own would reach in and pull you out.

As you sit on the bench along the water, lost in thought, someone sits next to you. Turning your head, your eyes widen in surprise as you recognise the person—Kento Nanami. It has been weeks since the festival, where you profusely apologized for Gojo's behavior after he dragged you to that isolated classroom. The memory of that day still makes your cheeks flush with embarrassment, and you can't help but feel nervous as you face Nanami again.

"Hey," you manage to say, your voice slightly higher than usual. "It's been a while."

Nanami nods, his expression unreadable. "Yes, it has." An awkward silence settles between you, and you fidget with your hands, unsure of what to say next. You want to make a good impression, but the weight of your past interaction with Gojo hangs heavily in the air.

Finally, you speak up, your voice calm and measured. "I wanted to apologise for what happened at the festival. I know Gojo's behavior was inexcusable, and I should have done more to stop him." Nanami’s face shows slight surprise but you continue anyway, "I understand if you don't want to forgive me. But I wanted to take responsibility for my actions and let you know that I regret what happened."

He shakes his head, waving your concerns away. "It's not your fault. Gojo is the one who should apologize."

You smile faintly. "Thank you for saying that." The tension between you begins to ease, and you find yourself relaxing in Nanami's presence. You can't help but admire his calm demeanor, and as you talk, you realise that there is more to Nanami than you initially thought. He is intelligent, thoughtful, and possesses a quiet strength that draws you in. The more you speak, the more you find yourself enjoying his company. Maybe a little bit too much.

He suddenly stands, stretching a little. “I’m hungry. Have you eaten dinner yet?”

You shake your head. Eating was the last thing on your mind. “No. I could eat, though.”

He sticks his hand out in your direction. “Sweet. I know this great takoyaki stand nearby. Wanna come?”

You nod, smiling. “Sure.” You reach out and grab his hand, and you feel warmth pool in your stomach as your hand fits perfectly in his. His hands are so big, rough, and warm and your mind starts swirling as you imagine what they would feel like on your body.

You walk hand in hand toward the takoyaki stand, the warmth spreading all over your body. Your cheeks flush as you find yourself thinking, is this a date? Gojo has never taken you out on a date, not even once. It would be, as he always said, suspicious. You’ve eaten takeout with him in your apartment while watching TV plenty of times, but that isn’t really a date. Yet here Nanami is, taking you on a date.

As you stand in front of the takoyaki stand, waiting for your order, you can't shake the feeling that something special is happening. The air is filled with anticipation, and your heart races with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. He doesn’t let you pay, another stark difference from Gojo. You barely eat, just admiring him as he talks through another corporate world story. You feel something in your gut, and you can’t help the fact that you’re falling for Nanami, and he seems interested in you too. At least you think he is.

You both finish your food and he walks you back in the direction of your apartment. He continues to talk about himself and his corporate job, and even though you find it incredibly boring, you listen anyway. He’s done so much for you just this night alone, it’s the least you could do to repay him. You make it to your apartment door, and in the heat of the moment you invite him in, and the smirk on his face as he accepts causes your thighs to squeeze together.

Sex with Nanami is different. He’s much more caring, more loving than Gojo. He doesn’t slap you, choke you, or hurt you. He’s gentle, gentle with his movements, and gentle with his kisses. You clean yourself up and return to the bed, already thinking about a movie you two could watch while you cuddle, to find Nanami gone. You text him, asking if he’s okay, and his response is plain. “Had to head out. I had fun.” You try not to overthink, you’ve done enough of that with Gojo. You set your phone aside and watch the movie alone, fantasising about your possible future with Nanami.

After two weeks, you finally say what you’ve always wanted to say to Gojo; “I want to break up.”

He laughs at you, leaning his elbows on your kitchen counter. “Funny joke, sweetheart.”

You stand your ground, your arms crossed. “I’m serious, Gojo.”

Gojo's laughter fades, and he looks at you with a more serious expression. "You can't be serious," His voice is laced with disbelief. "We're perfect for each other."

"I don't think so," you reply, your voice shaking slightly. "Things have been...difficult between us lately, and I don't see a way to fix them."

Gojo's face hardens, and he takes a step towards you. "You're making a mistake."

You start to shake. “No, I’m not.”

Gojo laughs again. “This is because of Nanami, isn’t it?”

You hesitate. “It doesn’t matter, Gojo. I want to break up.”

Gojo reaches out and grabs your shoulders. “Quit being a dumbass, sweetheart.”

Your eyebrows furrow. “Don’t call me a dumbass—”

“I can call you whatever I want,” Gojo says. “You’re mine. You’re not dumping me for Nanami. You’re not dumping me for anyone.”

You try to push him away. “I’m tired of waiting around for you, Gojo.”

Gojo pulls you to his chest, squeezing you tight. “Maybe if you weren’t such a bitch I would fall in love with you faster. Have you ever thought about that? No, you haven’t. You only think about yourself.”

Your words die in your throat, and you can feel the familiar presence of the wolves at your ankles. Nanami had come to your rescue, brandishing a torch to scare away the wolves that Gojo had left you surrounded by. You haven’t felt their presence in so long, you thought you had finally gotten away, but Gojo picked you right back up and threw you back in the den.

He shoves you against the wall. “Fine. Go with him. See if I fucking care. You’ll come crawling back to me after you realise he isn’t any different.” Gojo leaves in a huff, slamming the door of your apartment behind him. You did it. You got away. You escaped Gojo Satoru’s clutches.

Your heart sinks as you soon realise the harsh truth in Gojo's words. Nanami, the person you've been cautiously and gradually getting close to, is no different from the rest, you've been merely a casual fling, an object of desire providing temporary pleasure and companionship. That’s all you were to him, an object, and the bitter realisation leaves you feeling betrayed and dejected.

Weeks have passed since you first embarked on this uncertain journey with Nanami. You've shared meals, conversations, and even some tender moments late at night when the lights go out. During one of your late-night trips to the takoyaki stand, you ask him the age-old question What are we? With food still in his mouth, he looks at you, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as if trying to understand your reaction. His blunt words hit you like a ton of bricks: "Oh, I wasn’t looking for anything serious with you."

The pain is palpable as your heart shatters into a million pieces. The chopsticks in your hand tremble with the force of your grip, threatening to snap in two. A mix of disbelief and anguish floods your being, leaving you struggling to process the situation. A simple "huh?" escapes your lips, a feeble attempt to seek clarification or perhaps a desperate plea for him to reconsider. But the damage has been done, and the truth is laid bare before you.

He swallows, setting his food down. He pauses, gathering his thoughts, he speaks slowly, trying to choose his words carefully. "Listen," he began, his voice tinged with a mix of regret and awkwardness, "I want to be honest with you. You're an amazing person, a great girl in every way. But I have to confess, my feelings for you aren't romantic. As much as I value your body, I can't see us in a dating relationship. You aren’t exactly dating material. I don't want to lead you on or anything, but I just don’t want to date you."

You swallow hard, looking down at your lap. Maybe this was your destiny. Maybe you were supposed to be stuck in situationships, always being the one wanting more, always being someone’s but never being theirs. You mutter an apology to Nanami before standing up and quickly walking away, back towards your apartment. You expect, you hope, that Nanami will chase after you, but he doesn’t. He just goes back to eating, as if you were never even there.

You make it into your apartment, collapsing to the floor and sobbing. Was this your fate? Was this a punishment for your hubris, a long-term karma? Gojo had devoured you. Gojo had butchered your world, leaving only scraps of you. Scraps no one wanted, scraps not worthy of use.

You’re back in the den again, surrounded by the corpses of those who loved before you. You were just another person in Gojo’s book, another person in the walls that surrounded the den.

You hear them.

You feel them.

The wolves. They’re coming for you.

Run.

You try to run, but you can’t. You keep tripping, and tripping, and tripping, unable to escape, unable to climb over the bodies of those who loved him first.

You see the light on the other side, the exit to the den, and you get so close, and you’re almost out —

You trip again. Your body hits the cold, hard cave floor with a thud, the impact knocking the wind out of you. Your heart pounds against your chest, adrenaline coursing through your veins, as you scramble to your feet. But it's no use. The wolves have caught up to you, their relentless pursuit echoing off the stone walls. Time has run out.

You turn instinctively, desperation fueling your movements, trying to crawl away on trembling limbs. But your feeble attempt is met with a chilling realisation – they are already there. Towering over you, their hulking forms block out the dim light, casting eerie shadows. Their menacing growls reverberate in the air, sending shivers down your spine. Their muscular bodies tense and coiled, poised to pounce.

Their muzzles are contorted, revealing rows of sharp, glistening fangs, dripping with saliva. A feral hunger burns in their bloodshot eyes, as red as fresh blood. You can almost taste the metallic tang in the air, a grim reminder of the fate that awaits you. Paralysed by fear, you brace yourself for the inevitable, as the wolves close in, their ravenous jaws inching closer. The darkness of the cave closes in, consuming you whole.

You succumb to the wolves and their sharp teeth as they tear you apart. The way they bite and gnaw at you is almost comforting. Beside you is a puddle, and you watch your reflection as they butcher you. They tear out your heart, the one that once belonged to the strongest, and the one you thought would belong to a businessman. Your last thoughts are of Gojo, and you spend your last waking moments wondering if he’ll walk all over you, even in death.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧

epilogue is here

★taglist: @heijihattorisgf, @strxxberries, @sadmonke, @mo0nforme, @whereflowerswenttodie, @mwtsxri, @tuliptoot, @certainduckanchor, @softhrted, @mystarlightswiftt, @kaizestar (italics mean i couldn't tag you)

#keikiwrites #gojo satoru #gojo x reader #f!reader #jjk gojo #gojo angst #jjk angst #tw: violence #tw: sui mention #jjk nanami #nanami kento #✿: gojo!

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virginiaoflykos · 9 months

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What to read after Light Bringer? (Series similar to Red Rising)

August 2023 update!

Red Rising is my favorite series of all time, and since I first read it, I have sought series and books similar in both spirit and execution. Some of these recs are books I haven’t read personally, but have often come up in discussions with other users!

1. The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

Status: ongoing, expected 10 books in total, 4/10 out at the moment

Book 1: The Way of Kings. The Way of Kings takes place on the world of Roshar, where war is constantly being waged on the Shattered Plains, and the Highprinces of Alethkar fight to avenge a king that died many moons ago.

2. The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone

Status: finished, 6/6 books out.

Book 1 (in publication order): Three Parts Dead. Comprised of 6 standalone books set in the same universe, the Craft Sequence tells the tales of the city of Alt Coulumb. The city came out of the God Wars with one of its gods intact, Kos the Everburning. In return for the worship of his people, Kos provides heat and steam power to the citizens of Alt Coulumb; he is also the hub of a vast network of power relationships with other gods and god-like beings across the planet. Oh, and he has just died. If he isn’t revived in some form by the turn of the new moon, the city will descend into chaos and the finances of the globe will take a severe hit.

3. Hierarchy by James Islington

Status: ongoing, 1/3 planned books out

Book 1: The Will of the many. The Will of the Many tells the story of Vis, a young orphan who is adopted by one of the sociopolitical elites of the Hierarchy. Vis is tasked with entering a prestigious magical academy with one goal – ascend the ranks, figure out what the other major branches of the government are doing, and report back. However, that isn’t quite as easy as Vis or anyone else thought it was going to be…

4. Suneater by Christopher Ruocchio

Status: ongoing, 5/7 books out

Book 1: Empire of Silence. Hadrian is a man doomed to universal infamy after ordering the destruction of a sun to commit an unforgivable act of genocide. Told as a chronicle written by an older Hadrian, Empire of Silence details his earlier adventures and serves as an introduction to the characters and the setting.

5. Dune by Frank Herbert

Status: completed, 6/6 books out

Book 1: Dune. Set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or "spice", a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities.

6. The Expanse by James S A Corey

Status: completed, 9/9 books out

Book 1: Leviathan wakes. Set hundreds of years in the future, after mankind has colonized the solar system. A hardened detective and a rogue ship's captain come together for what starts as a missing young woman and evolves into a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

7. The First Law by Joe Abercrombie

Status: completed. 3 books in the original trilogy + 3 standalone books + 3 books in the newest trilogy

Book 1: The Blade Itself. The story follows the fortunes and misfortunes of bad people who do the right thing, good people who do the wrong thing, stupid people who do the stupid thing and, well, pretty much any combination of the above. Survival is no mean feat, and at the end of the day, dumb luck might be more of an asset than any amount of planning, skill, or noble intention.

8. Cradle by Will Wight

Status: completed, 12/12 books out

Book 1: Unsouled. Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan. When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must rise beyond anything he's ever known...and forge his own Path

9. Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons (one PB’s favorites)

Status: completed, 4/4 books out

Book 1: Hyperion. The story weaves the interlocking tales of a diverse group of travelers sent on a pilgrimage to the Time Tombs on Hyperion. The travelers have been sent by the Church of the Final Atonement, alternately known as the Shrike Church, and the Hegemony (the government of the human star systems) to make a request of the Shrike. As they progress in their journey, each of the pilgrims tells their tale.

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alta1red · 3 months

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HAZBIN HOTEL . IMAGINE . II 'The Darling Artisan from the Clouds'.

𝑺𝑼𝑴𝑴𝑨𝑹𝒀 : [ NAME. ] Is exploring Pentagram City, and runs into a certain Radio Demon..

𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮 : [ NAME. ]'s luck might either be the worst, or the best no in-between . Alastor being a creep . OOC Alastor . Small amount of dialogue .

𝑷𝑻. : II.

— Well, congrats ! You somehow managed to avoid probably all the wrong kinds of people in Hell ( that being certainly 99% of its total population.. ) , was it due to sheer luck? Or by some stupid twist of fate something else awaits you in your path? Maybe, maybe not.

• As you wandered the streets of Hell and witnessed around One.. Hundred incidents of violence, abuse, prostitution, people getting mugged and drug dealing —You remained peaceful (?), ( you held your art matierials closer to your figure. ) although your inspiration did take abit of a dark turn in its source. Your cloak, and subtle presence helped you alot in hiding your angelic features .

• But your presence certainly didn't manage to slip by a certain .. Shadow Minion of a Radio Demon.

• 'It', 'He'? Observed you with careful precision, you certainly didn't think you'd be able to just waltz around in Hell unnoticed, did you? As you wandered mindlessly through Pentagram City blissfully and ignorantly prancing around as you gazed at horrid theatrics.

• How interesting ! Oh how 'His' smile got even wider ,

• As you accidentally bumped into people left and right in the Enertainment District, you always muttered small apologies —As if the reciever was even sober to hear it.

• Your manners were impeccable, how kind of you ! It's almost as if you don't belong here.

• 'He' knows you don't.

• You feel it, the feelings been gnawing at your back for awhile now.. Someone has been following you, and so that's why you were practically near a sprint as you ran through Districts, and Border zones —Fully debating on using your wings to get away from 'It' entirely, but weighing the pro's and con's were obviously needed before taking such a drastic option and life threatening decision.

• And since you didn't want to be hunted down, or even worse —Reported to the King of Hell, you took alleyways and random directions hoping to run away and have its sight's lose you. ( Dumb Decision. )

• Now DEAR. You didn't think you'd run away so easily now do you? After all, the site of an angel after the extermination was worrying ! How he wanted to try Angel Meat —However, he must introduce himself to you first !

• As you ran into another alleyway —" Shit! Dead end — "

• A dark murky shadow formed behind you, your instincts caused you to turn into fight or flight mode — Your halo glowed violently reacting potently from your panicked emotions,

— START OF MEMORY.

" No need to act so —violently, My Dear ! " The Demon's voice had a static filter —possibly done on purpose, he donned a transatlantic accent —He felt powerful, yes —but you've been enhancing your ability, even when Heaven was probably the most peaceful place in the entire universe, despite the fact Adam caused a ruckus every now and then —but he's already dead, so peaceful it was once more;

The Demon found your panicked expression comedic, hilarious, fun.

Like Prey facing Predator.

Could it be you felt fear? Panic? Whatever it was, it was certainly messing with your train of thought— you needed to rationalize yourself !

Talking a sharp breath and sucking it up, you then inquired — " I'm so sorry Sir, I was just rather startled .. " Your tone was geniune, yes —But your actions certainly told what you actually felt —Your hands quivered and beads of sweat started to form under the hood of your cloak.

" What a frightened Swan ! What's an Angel like you doing here ? " 'He' mused, relishing within your frightened presence. Your gaze turned cold as you felt your sweat turn freezing, your jaw slightly agape—

You looked at him before saying, " —

— END OF MEMORY.

• Your encounter with the Radio Demon was far from pleasant, but you wouldn't admit it. It's not nice to do so,

—FIN.

#hazbin hotel x reader #Hazbin #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x you #hazbin hotel x y/n #hazbin hotel imagine #hazbin alastor #hazbin x reader #yandere hazbin hotel #yandere hazbin #yandere alastor #alta1red #hazbin hotel fanfiction #hazbin x you #hazbin x y/n

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merrybloomwrites · 2 months

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I Hear Them Calling (Chapter 5)

Story Summary: Alpha Harry Styles and omega Y/N Y/L/N meet under less than ideal circumstances. Overtime their paths will cross and they will be drawn to one another in ways they never expected.

Chapter Summary: Harry and Y/N spend the weekend together in Chicago

Previous Chapters: Prologue ; Chapter 1 ; Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4

Word Count: 3.8k

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“So, what are we going to see in the city?” You ask Harry. You’re both on the couch eating fruit, since Harry insisted you needed some sort of snack to hold you over until lunch.

“Well, first, we should swing by your hotel. Figured you might want to get changed,” he replies. You laugh and nod in agreement. While you wouldn’t mind living in Harry’s comfy clothes doused in his scent, you know that going in public, with him, wearing his clothes, is admittedly a terrible idea.

“Then obviously some lunch,” he continues. “And after that, I have no idea. Maybe see where the day takes us?”

“I like that plan,” you answer. Normally you like to have everything totally scheduled out, but you’re excited to see what experiences might happen naturally.

“We can keep your things in the car while we’re out and stop back here to drop them off on our way to the arena later,” he adds.

“Am I staying here tonight?” You inquire.

He pauses, trying to find the right words. “I would like for you to stay,” he finally says. “It’s just, you’re only hours out of a drop. And you said that hasn’t happened for a long time. I would like you to stay close to me in case something happens. And uhm, my alpha is fairly attached to your omega at the moment.” Harry blushes and his eyes look down at his fingers as he finishes his sentence.

“Harry?” you say, and his gaze meets yours. “I’d love to stay.”

His anxious face instantly morphs into one of excitement and he says, “Fantastic! Okay, I’m going to call a car to take us to your hotel and we can start our adventure.”

“It’s only a couple of blocks, we could walk it.”

At this he seems nervous again and he quickly explains, “It’s probably best if we drive. We’ll be more under the radar that way, and I don’t necessarily want to be seen in public too much.”

“Oh, right, of course. That totally makes sense.” There’s an insecure part of your brain telling you that it’s because he doesn’t want to be seen with you, just some average nobody, but you tell that voice to shut up. Harry would never be so callous, so shallow. He simply wants his privacy.

A few minutes later you’re back in your quiet hotel room. Harry is waiting in the car, so you quickly get changed and freshen up. You spray on our scent blockers and are disappointed that you no longer smell like Harry. He put on blockers before leaving his hotel as well so now it will be hours before you’ll catch his scent again. If you’re lucky. You remind yourself this whole situation is temporary, and you should take what you get.

Your belongings are mostly packed so it only takes a minute to get everything together. When you reenter the car you let out the breath you’d been holding while separated from Harry. You admit to yourself you are still feeling the effects of the drop, and you allow yourself to revel in the presence of an alpha. Normally the idea that you need to rely on an alpha for anything would make you mad, but not right now. Not when that alpha greets you with a shy smile as you slide into your seat next to him. And especially not when that alpha reaches over so your hands are resting close enough to just barely touch.

It's a bit of a drive to the restaurant Harry picked out, and you pass the time making small talk. You discuss your families, hobbies, favorite vacation spots, anything you can think of. Nothing is all that crazy or interesting, but Harry is locked in on every word you say. It makes you feel warm inside, having his full attention and knowing he truly wants to hear what you have to say.

Harry is so absorbed in the conversation that even he is surprised when the car stops outside the restaurant. He gets out, quickly moving around the car to open your door for you and lead you inside. The diner he’s chosen is lowkey, giving hole in the wall vibes, and you think it’s perfect.

It’s not empty, but the crowd there doesn’t bat an eye as you two walk in. A quick glance around the room shows that you’re the youngest people there by far. Everyone is engaged in conversation or reading the newspaper or a book they’ve brought with them. It makes you feel comfortable, relaxed, and you know you’re going to enjoy this lunch.

You’re seated together at a table towards the back, and a waiter comes over to take your drink orders. After he walks away it’s quiet for a moment, both you and Harry reading through the menu. He comes back a few minutes later to take your food orders. Once he leaves again you fold your hands on the table in front of you and look at Harry.

He’s sitting the same way, hands folded just inches from yours, and his eyes are already on you.

“So,” he hesitantly begins. “What’s your favorite song?”

“Like, of yours?”

He laughs before saying, “No, just, in general. But I am also curious what your favorite of mine is.”

You think for a moment, and you catch him chuckling and your very serious thinking face. “I guess all-time favorite song might be ‘Annie’s Song’ by John Denver. It was my parents’ wedding song, so we played it a lot at home. Makes me think of them.” You smile and think again for a moment before saying, “And my favorite song of yours, well, that’s harder to choose. I think maybe ‘Canyon Moon’. It’s just so fun, and upbeat. It’s the first one that really hooked me on your music.”

“That is a fun one, yeah. Kind of bummed it’s off the setlist if I’m honest. And I too love a little John Denver occasionally.”

The discussion on music lasts until your food is placed on the table. The delicious smell alerts you to how hungry you are, and you immediately dig in. Conversation stops again so the two of you can eat.

As Harry settles the bill (which you attempt to help pay for, but he quickly denies) he says, “We’ve got about an hour before we need to head back to the hotel and get ready. There’s a park nearby. What do you say about a little stroll?”

“That sounds perfect,” you reply.

He stays close to you as you walk the couple blocks to the park. His hand reaches out towards you multiple times but he pulls it back like he’s afraid to make contact. It keeps your mind spinning, wondering what’s he’s thinking when he does this. Is it an unconscious gesture? Is it a protective one? Does he just want to be touching you the way that you want to be touching him?

Once in the park he leads you to a bench by a small lake. The bushes grant you both some privacy from the few other people who are walking nearby.

“So,” he says timidly. “How are you feeling today? After the drop and everything.”

You take a moment to assess in order to answer truthfully. “Honestly, I feel pretty good right now. Like, better than I have in weeks. I think my omega really needed that break.”

“You said your meds lost their potency right? And that’s been going on for weeks then, at least since the first show you came to. How have you been coping with all of that? Do you nest at all?”

“I tried nesting in the past, but it never brought the peace people said it would. I guess cause most people are betas now so it’s harder to get alpha or other omega scents. And without those nests aren’t as comforting.”

“That has to be frustrating. I’m sorry it’s so difficult for omegas. I wish things were different for you guys, I truly do.”

“Thanks. Me too. Can I ask, why do you keep your alpha status a secret?”

“I guess because people have certain views of alphas. They think we’re mean and controlling and yea, a lot of alphas are these days. I just didn’t want people to judge me before getting to know me. Plus, some record labels and managers don’t want to work with alphas. Say they’re too unpredictable or difficult.”

“Seems like it’s tough for alphas too.”

“Yea, but at least we’re safe. No one tries to cross us or control us. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have your free will taken away by an alpha command.”

“It’s definitely not fun,” you say, shivering at the memory of being frozen and silenced just by a knothead alphas words.

Noticing your slight distress, Harry places his hand on your knee and says, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up, I know you have bad memories with that.”

You’re instantly soothed by him, and you reach out to place your hand on top of his. You have no idea where the courage to touch him like that comes from, and you’re about to pull away when he flips his hand until your palms are touching and he’s able to intertwine his fingers with yours.

The sound of your purring is sudden and surprising. It’s not something that happens often, and you almost cut it off, but you see the smile that breaks out on Harry’s face. You sit there, holding hands, and purring softly. Neither of you tries to start a conversation, just enjoying the moment.

Harry’s phone ringing brings you both back to reality. His driver is on the line, reminding Harry that it’s time to head back in order to stay on schedule. He lets go of your hand as you leave the bench, and though you’re disappointed, you remind yourself of the media frenzy that would ensue if Harry was caught holding hands with a girl.

You’re especially soothed when he reaches out for your hand again once in the privacy of the car. Just like the earlier drive, you get to know each other better, this time discussing favorite books at length.

He insists on carrying your luggage into the hotel for you, and letting you have the first shower. You’re in the living room finishing your hair when Harry walks out of the bathroom, having finished his own shower. He’s wrapped in a towel, water dripping off his hair and down his chest. You pray that your suppressants still work well enough to at least prevent unwanted slick production. Because you would literally die of embarrassment if the telltale scent of honey filled the room.

“Sorry, so sorry, forgot to grab clothes,” he says as he dashes into the bedroom to grab an outfit from the dresser. He jogs back into the bathroom and closes the door behind him. You let out the breath you’ve been holding and quickly reel in your thoughts to ensure your face isn’t still beet red when he comes back out.

You force yourself to focus on perfecting your hair in an effort to erase the image of a practically naked Harry. Or at least, erase temporarily. While you’re in his presence. It works, because by the time he comes out again, now dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, you’ve fully contained your thoughts.

“Car will be here in five minutes, you almost ready?”

“Yup, just gotta grab my phone,” you say before walking back into the bedroom to get the phone from where it’s been charging. Harry’s scent is strongest here, likely because he’s been sleeping there for weeks, plus he was broadcasting his scent the night before during your drop. It’s so potent that you almost feel dizzy. You shake your head in an attempt to clear it, quickly get the phone, and rejoin Harry in the living room.

He's distracted during the drive over, checking updates on his phone that he’d been ignoring during the day. It’s hectic but organized at the venue. There’s so much to be done but it’s a well-oiled team and everyone does their job well. You hang out in Harry’s dressing room for the most part, wanting to be out of the way.

There’s a brief moment after Harry is ready and before he needs to go on stage, and you need to find your place in the crowd. You’re finally alone again, and the two of you are standing facing each other. He reaches out to hold both your hands between his and he says, “I have another question for you.”

You’ve been asking each other questions all day, most lighthearted, some serious. But you can tell by his tone that this may be the most important one yet.

You meet his eyes, encouraging him to go on, and after a moment of nervous hesitation he says, “I’ve really like spending time with you. I’ve known for awhile that my alpha had formed a connection with your omega, and I thought that’s where my feelings for you came from. But after today I know that I just like you. You’re funny, and smart, and beautiful. So, uhm, I was wondering, will you go on a date? With me?”

You’re speechless for a moment, so you nod your head yes while trying to process everything he just said.

“Can I take you out tomorrow morning for brunch?” He continues.

Finally, you find your voice and say, “Yes, Harry, that sounds perfect.”

The brightest, most boyish smile spreads across his face. Harry’s about to speak again but there’s a knock on the door and a voice telling him he needs to leave the room in one minute.

Harry quickly says, “Can I scent you? Before you go out there?” You again nod yes, knowing that he needs this, needs to protect you in this way even though you’ll be in a VIP section with plenty of security.

Plus, you’ve decided that you’d have to be insane to ever say no when he asks that question. One of his large hands cups the side of your neck while his nose moves to the scent gland on the opposite side. It slides against your skin, and you’re surrounded by his mouthwatering smell. He presses one gentle kiss directly near your mating spot before he pulls back, gives you one last dazzling smile, and walks out the door.

Jada walks in to find you still standing, dazed, in the middle of the room. “Need a minute?” she asks with a knowing smirk.

“Just, uhm, gonna use the…bathroom, real quick,” you stutter out before fleeing through the door to the attached restroom. You quickly take some deep breaths and grab toilet paper to clean up the slick that had escaped. Thankfully you’d held it in until Harry left, and Jada, being a beta, would be none the wiser. Still, you need to pull yourself together and get your desire under control before you embarrass yourself.

Once you’re ready she leads you to the VIP section. You feel amazing, completely opposite from the night prior and you know that you owe it all to Harry. Not once during the entire show do you feel dizzy, or anxious, or any of the negative emotions you’ve been feeling for weeks. Instead, you feel electric, especially during the handful of moments when Harry’s eyes find yours in the crowd, sharing a special look with you.

You’re screaming along with all the other fans as Harry runs out of the venue. Jada then leads you out to the car the two of you will be taking back to the hotel. The ten-minute drive turns into almost thirty with all the post-concert traffic.

Back at the hotel, you knock on the door to Harry’s room. Technically it’s also yours now, and yes, you do have a key, but it still feels weird just walking in while you know he’s there. It takes a moment but finally he’s opening the door for you. As you take in his appearance, you realize you made the right decision to knock. His hair is, once again, wet, he has pajama pants on and is quickly throwing on a shirt. Obviously he’s just showered again, and you know you would not have survived seeing him with any less clothes on.

“There you are,” he says, smiling and pulling you in for a hug as the door closes behind you. For a moment you’re surprised, but quickly melt into the embrace.

Before pulling away he says, “Why don’t you change into some comfy clothes, and we can put on a movie.” You head to the bedroom, grabbing your own set of pajamas before changing and washing your face. Once you feel clean and comfortable you join Harry in the living room.

He’s already laid out blankets on the couch and pulled up the latest Rom Com on the TV. After confirming that you want to watch it, he presses play and you snuggle under your blanket.

You try to pay attention to the movie, truly, you do. But Harry’s right there, sitting next to you, looking perfectly cozy and domestic, not a single scent blocker covering the delicious smell that’s started to feel like home to you.

It’s not surprising when you start to subconsciously shift closer and closer to him. He notices the small movements, and without hesitation, wraps and arm around you and pulls you close to him. He adjusts the blankets so that you’re tucked in before leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head.

Feeling safer and more content than you have in possibly your entire adult life, you fully relax. The next thing you know, you’re being gently placed into the bed. Sensing that you’re awake, Harry smooths down your hair and says, “Get some sleep, love,” as he pulls the covers over you.

***

Waking up with Harry’s arm slung around your middle is unexpected, but entirely welcomed. Everything feels so warm, so safe. His arm unconsciously tightens around you, and you snuggle deeper into the embrace.

It isn’t long before Harry wakes up, stretching out beside you and saying, “good morning.” His husky morning voice has you practically melting, but you still manage a “good morning” in reply.

Neither of you move for a while, choosing to lay there holding each other for as long as possible. It’s nice, once again feels rather domestic, and you have to stop yourself from imagining this happening every day. Your mating spot practically tingles at the thought of you and Harry bonded to each other, raising pups together in your home.

An alarm rings on Harry’s phone, thankfully stopping your daydream from getting too out of control. You take turns getting ready before heading to the car for your first official date.

Brunch is absolutely perfect. Harry had booked a private room to ensure fans and paparazzi wouldn’t be able to spy on your date. He steps away to use the restroom at one point, and you think about how it’s going so far. It’s just like any first date you’ve ever been on; better even.

It’s almost easy to forget that he’s this world-famous popstar. When it’s the two of you together, focusing on each other, he really just becomes the man of your dreams. The fact that he’s a respectful and gentle alpha is the icing on the cake.

After brunch you head back to the hotel to repack your bags before flying home. Harry watches sadly as you prepare to leave him. You ignore your own feelings for the moment, not wanting to cry in front of him. But truthfully, the fact that you have no idea when you’ll see him again is borderline devastating.

Once you’re packed and ready to go, Harry pulls you in for a hug. You stand there holding each other for a minute before he pulls back. You look up at his face, mere inches from yours, and note how his eyes are looking between your own eyes and your lips. His hands slide up your arms, your neck, until they’re cupping your face. He leans in and presses one simple kiss to your lips.

His eyes meet yours again, silently asking if that was alright. You can’t help but lean back in, giving him a couple kisses of your own.

It doesn’t go any further, and that alone brings you some peace. He’s not just doing this all to get into your pants the way many alphas would. Honestly, this whole weekend with him feels more like puppy love than anything.

“Would it be alright if I scented you before you left?” Harry asks before adding “Since you’ll be at the crowded airport and everything, it might be safer if you smelled like you have an alpha.”

Some omegas might find this controlling, overwhelming, overprotective, but you know that’s not his intention at all. So you agree, and close your eyes as he leans in to scent you once more. It’s electric having him so close to you. It takes all your self-control to hold back a needy whine when he presses a kiss to your scent gland.

“One more thing,” he says after pulling away. You watch in confusion as he walks back into the bedroom. He comes back out a minute later holding his green Pleasing sweatshirt. He hands it to you, and you can immediately tell he’d scented that as well. Without hesitation you slip in on, catching the satisfied smirk on his face as you do so.

You get a text from Jada letting you know a car is there to take you to the airport. Harry pulls you in for one last kiss, and having to leave his embrace is nearly physically painful for you. After saying a final, quiet goodbye, you grab your bag and walk out of the room.

All the stress of traveling seems miniscule compared to separating from the man who is quickly becoming one of your favorite people, not to mention is the alpha your omega seems to crave.

You arrive home pretty late that evening. The last thing you want to do is wash away Harry’s scent, but you desperately need a shower after an afternoon of travel. Thankfully you have his sweatshirt to burrow into.

You sleep peacefully that night, still surrounded by Harry’s scent, knowing the last text you received before bed was a message from Harry saying, “Sleep tight, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: Thank you so much for reading! So sorry for the long delay between chapters! Hoping to get the next chapter out much sooner!

Taglist: @akkatz @pandeebearstyles @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite@theekyliepage@numafarawayglxy @booberry019-blog @hillzrry@ssareidbby @gem1712 @acesofspadess@houseofdilfs@shaquille-0atmeal-1@kissitnhekitchen @amateurduck @poguestyleskye@n0vaj3an@snwells@drunk-teens-doing-drugs ; @fdl305@creativelyeva@daphnesutton@selluequestrian@lovingfurypanda @stardream14 @tbsloneely@eversincehs1@boomitsallie1@rose-garden-dreamz @fictionalmensblog @buckybarnessimpp @ottawaoutlander @storyschanging

#harry styles x reader #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles x you

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thelargefrye · 3 months

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NEW JEANS, NEW ME ... one - shot ( 17+ )

pairing : rowdy boy!hongjoong x powerpuff girl!idol!f!reader ; crush!idol!seonghwa x powerpuff girl!idol!f!reader ; fanboy!mingi x powerpuff girl!idol!f!reader x fanboy!san (platonic)

genre : powerpuff girls au, idol au, fluff, comedy, mention of rivals with benefits, mutual pinning

word count : 1.9k

warnings : language, powerpuff girls canon violence, jealous siblings / fighting (but add superpowers to it), sister / girl code and breaking it, talks about relationships / situationships

suffer tag : @sanjoongie

note : ALSO– new header type for this fic because i wanted to try something new!! make sure to let me know what you think about this au

playlist : POWERPUFF GIRLS UNITE

years ago you use to fight crime with your sisters. you all were known as the powerpuff girls to the city of seoul. you have since quit the life of being a superhero and instead chose the path of becoming an idol.

you were furious. you felt nothing but rage and your vision red as you stomped up the stairs and to the room that you knew your sisters would be in. more specifically where your sister haneul would be.

you threw the door open, it reared back and slammed into the wall, startling your three sisters.

"y/n? what's wrong?" julie, the youngest of the four of you, asked as she sat on the bed, flipping through a magazine.

"you fucking bitch! i can't believe you!" you say, pointing at haneul. julie lets out a shocked gasp at your language. the eldest of you all, celine, also looked shocked as she and julie watched you march up to haneul who sat at the vanity.

"you know i like seonghwa, and that i have been talking to him! what gives you the right to try and flirt with him!" you say looking at her, ready to shoot laser eyes through her if you could.

haneul only lets out a laugh before she's turning back to look at herself in the mirror. "gosh, y/n, is that why you came storming in here like a madwoman? because of the nation's boyfriend, park seonghwa?"

"why are you like, haneul?" you ask, hands on your hips as you look at her in the mirror. she seemingly ignores you for a moment, too busy putting her blush on to answer you. this causes you to let out a laugh, and she stops to raise an eyebrow at you. "i know what this is about."

"oh do you know?"

"yeah," you say walking around her, slamming your hand on the vanity and effectively slamming it in half. "you're jealous."

"me? jealous of you? why the hell would i be jealous of you?"

"come on you two, don't fight," julie tries to speak up, but you ignore her.

"because i'm more likable than you, haneul! i'm smarter, prettier, popular, and seonghwa likes me. not you," you can't help the smirk on your face as you watch haneul let out a huff and an eye roll.

"whatever," she says, shoving past you to walk to the closet. "i am not jealous of you, y/n. i'm not the one that quit the group to be a stupid pop idol," she says as she pulls out a top from the closet. more specifically your top.

"and that's my top!" you say, pointing to the pink, sequin top with the heart cut-out that was in her hands. you grimace at her manicured hands touching your things and it only makes you angrier.

"you bought this top months ago, and haven't worn it. what does it matter?"

"it matters because i bought it and don't want your bitchiness all over it," you yell, feeling your fist clench tightly and heating up ready to blast her.

"enough you two!" celine says, getting between the two of you before you could get any closer to each other. "if you both can't say anything nice, then shut up!"

"tell her not to flirt with seonghwa!" you yell, looking at celine hoping she would take your side on this. "it's totally against sister code or something!"

"y/n, i understand what you are saying, but you cannot just come in here and destroy things," she says before turning to haneul who looked bored out of her mind. "haneul, you have been acting like a total bitch lately and it's getting on my nerves. put the top back, i don't care if y/n hasn't worn it yet or not."

"ugh, whatever," haneul says tossing the top haphazardly back into the closet. "i can't believe you need celine to defend you, y/n. what? your stupid singing and dancing made you too weak to defend yourself?"

"i can handle you, don't forget whose stronger than who."

"we're not kids anymore y/n, you not as strong as you think you are anymore. and i'm sure seonghwa knows that too," she pauses, a smirk gracing her lip gloss covered lips. "maybe that's why hongjoong also wants me more than you as well? haven't you wondered why he hasn't called you back in a while?"

"what the fuck did you just say?" you couldn't believe she was now bringing hongjoong into this.

"you heard me, me and joongie have been getting to know each other quite well lately," she says and you watch her pull out her phone, flicking through it with her ugly nails before shoving the screen in your face. and sure enough there was a picture of her and hongjoong hugging, haneul was making a kissing face and hongjoong was grinning his stupid face off as they posed together.

you felt something surge through you the longer you looked at the picture. then before you could think, you snatched the phone from her and chucked it out the window. the phone smashed through the window, sending glass everywhere. julie let out a surprised scream scooting away from the flying glass as if it would actually hurt her.

"you bitch! i just got that new phone!" haneul screamed at you as she reached past celine to grab at you. celine did her best to stop your sister, but it was pointless. not like you wanted her to stop haneul anyways, it had been awhile since you fought anyone anyways.

haneul easily pushed celine away, the eldest and leader of the group stumbled a little before regaining her composure. you could see the rage in celine's eyes, like she was ready to duke it out with haneul as well.

then without another thought, you jump at haneul, your fist coming and landing a harsh punch to her face. the two of you fall to the ground and you can hear julie yelling at you both to stop. you feel haneul landing a punch to your jaw and you know your manager and makeup artist will have a stroke, but right now in this moment you don't care.

you feel someone pull you off of haneul and your sister uses this moment to bring her leg up and kick you. thanks to her super strength – that all four of you have by the way – she sends you flying across the room and through the wall. you are sent outside of the house, rubble flying all around you as you regain your self. hovering in the air, you glare at your sister who stands at the hole in your house before she's now hovering in the sky as well.

then without a second thought the two of you are flying at each other, throwing punches and laser beams at each other. at one point, you grab haneul by her top before throwing her across the city, watching as she zooms further and further away from you. but you quickly fly after her in order to continue your assault on her once she crashes into either the ground or a building. whichever one, you didn't care as long as it hurt.

you easily glide between buildings before you see haneul laying in one of the city intersections. she lets out a groan before she's standing back up, a glare on her face as she looks up at you before jumping back up into the sky.

"wow, i can't believe how low you've become," she says with a smirk on her bruised face. "to come fight your sister over some guys!"

"says you, hannie! you're the one that's desperate to go after boys that i like and you know like me back," you throw back at her. she scowls at you before shooting towards you; however, before the two of you could continue your fight a figure appears in between the two of you.

"fuck off, hongjoong," you say immediately recognizing the figure in front of you. the former villain turned hero lets out a laugh as he turns to look at you. "this doesn't concern you."

"doesn't concern me? pretty girl, i think it does when it comes to destroying the city," he says turning fully to look at you.

"whatever," both you and haneul say in unison with a huff and it reminds you in that moment how you are both sisters. haneul doesn't say anything else before she's flying away, zooming past both you and hongjoong and leaving the two of you alone.

"hey, y/n–

"i gotta go, hongjoong, see ya later," you say, cutting him off, remembering the picture your sister had shown you and her and hongjoong together. you quickly fly in the opposite direction that your sister flew in and now leaving hongjoong by himself.

"well what the hell did i do?" he asks himself.

"and she tried to wear my fucking top!" you say, throwing your hands in as you wrap a bandage around your arm. mingi and san look at you with wide eyes, shocked at the story you had told them.

you had arrived at the two's apartment after your fight with haneul which was now trending on multiple platforms and gossip pages.

you had effectively plopped yourself down on their couch, mingi was the one to run and grab a first-aid kit before sitting next to you. you let out a huff as you began treating your injuries.

"like she broke major sister code, who does she think she is, huh? and stupid hongjoong!"

"rowdy boys' hongjoong?" san says a little surprised that you are bringing the hero up. how did hongjoong fit into this when he thought haneul was trying to steal seonghwa away from you.

"yes, that stupid bastard! we've had an agreement for a while now, and he should know my sister is off limits!" you say, throwing your head back against the couch. your head rests against the back as you look up at the ceiling. their ceiling fan on and humming annoyingly in your ears. you honestly felt like shooting it from the ceiling, but refrained yourself. you couldn't go damaging their apartment when they're nice enough to let you crash here.

you remember when you first met the two males. both of them having been fans for years and it was only when mingi risked his life to help you, that you wanted to know them both to repay the favor. which is how they ended up becoming your best friends and also letting you bum off them when you were too mad at your sisters – mainly haneul – to return home.

"are you saying there's something going on between you and hongjoong?" san asks and you turn to look at him, deadpanned and tired expression.

"its a situationship," you begin to say, "we have this kind of benefits relationship. i go to him to blow off steam and he comes to me for the same thing."

"whoa, who would have thought," mingi said, completely shocked by the news that you just told him. "so what's up with him and haneul?"

"the fuck if i know!" you say, standing up and throwing your arms in the air. "i'm honestly so fucking mad at haneul, i can't even see straight. i need to go lay down, can i stay here tonight?"

"uh, sure," mingi and san say in unison and you thank them before trudging off to their spare bedroom. you close the door behind you before collapsing on the bed, not even bothering to pull the blanket over you.

you let out a sigh before you close your eyes and allow sleep to consume you, knowing you will have to face the consequences of your actions later.

but first a nap.

tag list : @frankenstein852 @watamotee33 @kawennote09 @mixling-blog @marahleiwhen @kpopnightingale @harry-the-pottypus @pyeonghongrie @sanniesbum @marvelahsobx @khjcoo @mysticfire0435 @exfolitae @dementedaly @simeonswhore @moonm1st @nvmbheart @spooo00oky @frgogh @sookacc @seongwin @burnsmepls @ad0rechuu @tunaasan @northerngalxy @silverpixiedust23 @cheesekimchi @confusedmoonchild777 @mjyungi @innieontop @iweirdthingsblog @s0obinluvr @worcesheshestershiresauce @moonlightgrleric @wineyoungie @jeongwangjessmina @lemineso

network : @cultofdionysusnet @cromernet

#cultofdionysusnet #cromernet #kdiarynet #ateez x reader #ateez blurbs #ateez imagines #ateez hongjoong x reader #ateez seonghwa x reader #ateez mingi x reader #ateez san x reader #ateez fluff #ateez humor #ateez superhero au

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little-diable · 4 months

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New Year's Eve with a Stranger - Modern!Tommy Shelby (smut)

So, this is a bit of a self sufficient fic, since I am spending NYE alone in one of my fave countries, I simply had to write this. Nevertheless, please like and reblog if you enjoyed reading this, your comments keep us writers motivated. Enjoy my loves and a happy new year! xxx

Summary: The reader planned to spend NYE on her own in another country, but when she crosses paths with a handsome stranger she can't help but give into the way she feels towards him.

Warnings: 18+, smut, piv, age gap, choking, soft dom!Tommy, but mainly lots of fluff

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x fem!reader (2.8k words)

picture credit to So It Goes Magazine

She kept her eyes focused on the big window, sipping on her hot drink, barely sparing her surroundings any attention. It was still early in the morning, allowing (y/n) to watch the sun rise above the snow covered mountains, making a smile tug on her lips at the beautiful sight.

Yesterday she had found her way to this hotel, checking in with anticipation thumping through her veins, excited for a few days on her own, solo travelling a country she had always loved. And now, as she was eating breakfast in a quiet, cosy room, she felt all too comfortable, knowing that there were no meetings she’d have to attend, nothing but the plans she had made for herself.

“Is this seat taken?” A gruff voice ripped her out of her thoughts, forcing (y/n)’s eyes away from the big windows, focusing on the features of a handsome man. With a soft smile tugging on her lips, she murmured a quiet “No”, watching him sit down. “I hope you don’t mind the disturbance, but I didn’t want to miss out on this view.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I totally get it, it’s breathtaking.” She allowed herself to study the man for a few seconds as she took another sip. His piercingly bright eyes were hidden behind a pair of round glasses, his salt and pepper hair was slightly slicked to one side, exposing his side cut to her curious eyes. He was at least ten years older than her, but she couldn’t help but let her gaze flicker down to his hand, checking for a wedding ring, unable to find one.

“Have you been staying here for longer? I haven’t seen you at breakfast before.” (Y/n) tried to pinpoint his accent, wondering where he was from, and why he had found his way to this very place.

“No, I arrived yesterday. What about you, how long have you been staying here?” The man took a sip of his coffee, piercing eyes momentarily finding hers. A shudder ran down (y/n)’s spine at the intense gaze, wondering if he picked up on the attraction she oh so clearly felt for him, drawn closer without knowing a thing about the man.

“I come here every year, I enjoy the quietness this place offers. Is it your first time here?” An unfamiliar warmth flooded through her at the interest he seemed to find in their interaction, not used to being treated this kindly by a stranger.

“It is, but I am already in love with this place. Are there any things you’d recommend doing around here?” He pondered over her question for a few seconds, gaze focused on the pink and orange sky, painting a picture so beautiful (y/n) had to fight against the need to take a picture of it, holding onto the need to enjoy moments rather than pictures she took in these moments.

“Well, it depends on what you’re looking for, there are some museums you should visit, a few rather hidden book stores you’ll find in some alleys. If you want to, I can take you to some of my favourite ones.” (Y/n) couldn’t stop a surprised expression from tugging on her features, not expecting him to offer some of his time to her.

“I’d love that.”

……

Over the past hours (y/n) had learned that the handsome stranger is called Tommy, and that he lived in Birmingham, a city she had always wanted to visit. He had taken her to the history museum in the morning, followed by some coffee in a small store he seemed to frequent whenever he came to visit this town, already friends with the owner of the store.

He hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary, and yet he had won (y/n) over within the first few moments of meeting him. The way Tommy treated her was so unfamiliar to her, she wondered if he was real, filled with kindness, respect, and something glimmering in his eyes that filled her with excitement.

“Didn’t take you for a Dante fan, but I have to say, it fits.” Her whispers left Tommy laughing, thumping through the old copy of Dante’s Inferno he was currently holding in the hands (y/n) found herself staring at way too often. Even though (y/n) tried to focus on the endless rows of old books, her eyes were drawn back to Tommy’s frame at any given chance.

She tried to curse herself for being that interested in a stranger, and yet Tommy didn’t feel like a stranger, he had something familiar to him, something that left her wondering if they had crossed paths in another life. Whatever it was that left her feeling like that, (y/n) didn’t ever want to get rid of this feeling, clinging to it like it was her life vest, protecting her from drowning in uneasy waters she had been stuck in for the past weeks.

“Don’t tell this to anybody, but I can recite most parts of it by heart.” (Y/n) shook her head with a grin tugging on her lips, arms slowly crossing in front of her chest.

“Prove it.” A challenging look was thrown Tommy’s way, watching the man’s tongue kiss his teeth as he tried to stop a smirk from widening on his lips. He turned towards (y/n), leaning against the bookshelf with his hand still holding onto the old copy.

“Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost. Ah me! how hard a thing it is to say, what was this forest savage, rough, and stern, which in the very thought renews the fear. So bitter is it, death is little more; But of the good to treat, which there I found, speak will I of the other things I saw there.” With another laugh bubbling out of (y/n), Tommy stopped reciting, letting go of a laugh himself.

“I have to say, I’m impressed. Do you have any other talents I should know of?” He took a step closer, almost touching her, eyes not daring to break contact with hers once. Both were clearly aware of the buzzing atmosphere that engulfed them, wrapping itself around them.

“Many, but I’d rather you find out about them yourself instead of telling you about them.”

……

The next morning (y/n) found herself in the same spot she had sat in the day before, once again watching the sun rise as she ate breakfast. This time Tommy had joined her at the entrance of the room, pulling her in for a hug, allowing (y/n) to inhale the scent of his expensive cologne.

Their day together had flown by all too quickly, ending with a quick dinner before they had parted ways, leaving (y/n) with a heavy heart. She didn’t know what it was, but yet she had instantly missed him the second Tommy had left her side, promising to meet her again for breakfast the next morning.

“I have some meetings I can’t miss out on today, but if you want to, we can try to catch some auroras tonight.” The smile playing on Tommy’s lips left (y/n)’s heart skipping beats, already filled with excitement at the mere thought of spending some more time with him.

“Absolutely, wait, let me give you my number, so you can just call or text whenever you’re ready.” She was too focused on reaching for her phone to pick up on the warm smile settling on Tommy’s lips, watching the young woman fumble with her phone. There was something swimming in his pupils that was all too unfamiliar, even to Tommy himself, she was doing something to him he hadn’t ever felt before, not wanting to leave her behind for even a minute.

(Y/n) reached her phone out to Tommy, watching him add his contact as she finished her drink. Their fingers touched as he pushed the phone back towards (y/n), making shudders run down her spine like bolts of lighting striking her body.

“If we’re lucky we can catch a few before midnight, so we can come back before the fireworks.” (Y/n) had almost forgotten that today was new year’s eve, a day she had always disliked, not one for drinking, partying, and staying up for endless hours. With a smile shot Tommy’s way she murmured a soft “Sounds good”, hoping that today would be another day she’d remember for months on end.

……

The cold wind teased their limbs, wrapping itself around the two as they were sitting on a bench, cuddled into their jackets with their eyes focused on the dark sky. For the longest time it had been (y/n)’s dream to see the auroras dance on the night sky, green and blue stripes of light that almost drew tears to her eyes.

“Worth the wait, right?” Tommy’s soft voice broke the silence, momentarily forcing her eyes away from the sky. He was sitting close to her, arm touching hers, leaving her feeling all too comfortable around the man.

“Definitely. Thank you for taking me here.” Since her eyes wandered back to the sky, (y/n) didn’t pick up on the way Tommy’s eyes flickered down to her cold hands, giving himself a few seconds to overthink his next move before he slowly interlaced his fingers with hers. Her heart skipped a few beats at the touch, making heat rise in her system, eyes momentarily finding his piercing ones.

Both couldn’t stop their smiles from widening, holding onto one another as the auroras kept dancing in the sky. (Y/n) silently prayed that whoever was listening would freeze the moment, not wanting it to end just there and then, not ready to part from Tommy just yet.

“Do you have any new year’s resolutions?” Once her eyes were drawn back to Tommy’s features, studying the man as she thought about his question, a question she had never spared much attention, not believing in resolutions most would forget about after a week or two.

“No, not really. Sometimes I want to be a bit braver, do a few more things to get me out of my shell, take a few more risks. But that’s about it, what about you?” Her breath hitched in her chest as she watched his gaze flicker down to her lips, for just a second, a second (y/n) undoubtedly picked up on.

“What kind of risks?” (Y/n) didn’t understand what was guiding her body, urged on by the unfamiliar tone of Tommy’s voice, moving closer with her gaze set on his lips. The seconds blurring by felt like minutes, hours even, with her heart racing and her breaths stuttering. Would he pull away? Would he stop her from pressing her lips against his?

But Tommy didn’t pull away, one of his hands found her cold cheek, encouraging (y/n) to close the distance between them, softly kissing Tommy. The touch left her panting, not expecting the kiss to make her feel like this. She had never believed in these cheesy descriptions of clashing teeth, fireworks going off in the distance, but now, as Tommy kissed her breathless, taking over the kiss before she could even try to lead, (y/n) couldn’t help but feel just like other people had always described to her.

They didn’t part as Tommy pulled her into his lap, kissing her beneath the colourful night sky, making them feel as if they were reliving a scene from a movie. Neither of them wanted this moment to end, wanting to stay connected till the end of their time. But with shaking heads and aching lungs they eventually had to part, staring at one another with excitement and anticipation laced in their gazes.

“Take me back to the hotel, Tommy.”

……

She had her back arched off the bed, eyes squeezed shut, hands tugging on Tommy’s hair. The man was settled between her thighs, grinning against her naked skin as he ate her out. Tommy touched her as if they had done this numerous times before, careful enough to pick up on the wordless signs her body was throwing his way, though rough enough to let (y/n) choke on her gasps.

“Fuck, Tommy, feels so good, don’t stop, please.” His chuckles vibrated on her skin, leaving (y/n) whining as she tried to hold on, not wanting to give into the sensation just yet. His fingers fucked her fast, curling against her swollen spot whenever he got the chance to. She was putty in his hand, unable to do anything but give into the pull she felt.

Tommy could tell that she was close, about to fall over the edge with his name burning in the tip of her tongue, with her hands balled into fists, and with her lungs struggling to hold onto any air. He held some kind of magic over her, (y/n) had never felt before.

“Look at me, doll, keep those pretty eyes open for me.” These were the last words (y/n) managed to pick up on before she came. Tommy’s tongue kept lapping at her folds, guiding her through her high with a satisfied smile tugging on his lips. A few praises were murmured against her soft skin, fingers lazily fucking into her for a few more moments before he let go of her.

Within seconds Tommy was towering over her once again, lips caught in a heated kiss. They didn’t part ways as she helped him out of his shirt, nails scratching at his skin as he undid his trousers, needing to feel her naked body pressed against his.

“Are you sure you want this? You can always tell me to stop.” He murmured the words against her skin as he kissed his way down her throat, groaning as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing her naked cunt against his dark boxer shorts.

“Fuck me, Tommy.” He didn’t need to be told twice, letting go of her to free his cock, grinning as he felt her wide eyes taking in the sight of his twitching length. (Y/n) watched him roll a condom down his cock, aligning himself with her heat before he wrapped his hand around her throat, keeping (y/n) pressed against the mattress.

The eye contact both held was intense, and yet it had something awfully intimate to it, forcing her heart to skip even more beats. Tommy fucked her rough, not holding back as he added more and more speed to his thrusts, fingers tightening their grip around her throat. Her senses were heightened, wondering how far he’d take it with her, and yet she felt awfully safe with him around, knowing that he wouldn’t hurt her in a way she wouldn’t enjoy.

“Such a desperate girl, begging to be fucked.” A whine left (y/n), a sound that made Tommy chuckle against her lips, feeling powerful with her buried underneath him. His lips met hers in an almost rushed kiss as he fucked her, hips meeting hers with every thrust. “You fit so perfectly around me, as if you were made for me.”

“Just for you, Tommy.” A moan left them in unison as her walls fluttered around him, wordlessly begging for more friction, needing to feel his fingers on her clit to give into the sensation threatening to claw through her. (Y/n) felt herself getting lost in his pupils, wide from the lust thumping through his veins, making them appear darker, more dangerous than the piercing colour she was used to.

Both were close to letting go, wordlessly communicating their every thought, knowing that there was no holding back. Tommy let go of her throat to sneak a hand between them, lifting himself to spit onto her pulsing bundle, rubbing her skin with his warm fingers.

With (y/n)’s fingernails clawed into his skin, she came, head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut. Tommy kept fucking her, thrusts perfectly positioned to prolonge the intense sensation. He watched her fall apart with a grin, unable to stop himself from kissing her again before he came, groaning against her mouth.

The sound of fireworks going off ripped them out of their trance, unable to stop laughing as their eyes found the window. Wordlessly they watched the colourful lights alight the sky, still connected with their hearts beating in sync.

“Happy new year, Tommy.” His eyes flickered back down to hers, lips meeting (y/n)’s swollen ones before he repeated her words with a grin glued to his features.

#Tommy Shelby smut #Tommy Shelby x reader #Tommy Shelby imagine #Peaky Blinders smut #modern tommy shelby

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unabashednightmarepizza · 4 months

Text

𝐹𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑒𝑦𝑣𝑎𝑡, 𝑇𝑤𝑜 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠

Genshin Masterlist

Mondstadt was far too peaceful, compared to the modern world of your planet. There was more greenery, more land to run around and just sit back and relax, trees and flowers weren't withered or tainted with cement...

And now, you were taking your words back as fast as Usain Bolt once ran.

Perhaps the outside of the city was just as you described, but the city? The City was the worst.

Children crying and screaming, people flocking around you and exclaiming their gratitude, elders praising you for your strength and beauty while telling how pretty and strong children you would have, how you were one of the fairest and most fierce maidens of the city and how blessed you were for having a face very similar to their Champion...

Aether's situation was worst, as he was soon surrounded with the teens of Mondstadt who had literal heart eyes for him, staring at his naked abdomen time to time as he blushed deeply while trying not to break anyone's heart...

You were starting to reconsider your early thought of settling here one day.

Your brain was turned into a puddle of jello, their constant talking doing nothing to relax your already throbbing head. Not even rubbing your temples worked, something that eased your school stress which often made your poor nape throb.

And the only way to just ease your poor abused mind, was to come to the Windrise where it was most peaceful with the almost-there hum of the nature and the huge tree

"Don't you think Lisa and Amber are like sisters?" you casually tell to Aether while extending a hand to touch the branch above your head as the shorter male looks up at you from the food he was eating, a kind of sandwich from your world that he was sure he would beg you to prepare more often.

It was one of the best snacks he ever had, and even tasted...familiar.

"Why do you say so?" He raised his brows with a questioning look, already preparing to hear yet another bizarre thing out of your mouth like you usually did whenever you were too bored, while wiping the leftovers on his lips with a napkin you offered so that he didn't use his dirty hands like an uncultured boy.

Nah uh, not on your watch.

" Amber does all of Lisa's footwork. Elder sisters also ask, rather demand, their little sibling to do something for them to laze around." You hummed all-too-knowingly with a shrug, slapping the branch softly with a smile.

He only hummed for a few seconds, pondering for an answer while looking through his previous memories with his sister. Although he forgot most of his memories, he was still able to remember Lumine and all the bickering they did.

And that alone put a smile on his face.

"Hmm... Since me and my sister are the same age, we always used to decide with playing rock, paper and scissors. How about you Y/N?"

"Oh... Uh, It's actually... Something I really don't want to talk about." you trailed off, clear discomfort written on your face as you and Aether sat side by side with Paimon laying on the green field like a starfish, looking up at the Tree of Vanessa and watching the slimes slowly go away to their path, totally unaware of the awkwardness that hung on the air.

But you also knew, from the almost teary eyes Aether had that he missed Lumine and needed to just vent... Even if you didn't wish to speak of your life back on Earth.

"How about Lumine? How is she like?" you asked him with a sigh, tightening your hold on your folded legs and resting your head on your knees as you turned your head to look at him with a soft smile. From what you vaguely knew, while Aether was a sunshine and more approachable due to his cute and round face, Lumine seemed more calm and collected and more likely to beat someone up and not be sorry.

Though she also had her soft and loving moments occasionally. As a matter of fact, you saw yourself in her even when you hadn't actually met her yet... A girl, looking so tough and strong, also sarcastic and funny in her own way, but is actually very vulnerable and in dire need of someone understanding her struggles and pain, and still loving and being there for her.

You could have become such good friends with her...

But you just... couldn't help wondering what happened to them. Why were they there? What did they see or experience enough to leave this world in a hurry? Why the Gods of this world didn't leave them be? What was beyond what others saw in them?

What did the Celestia plan for them this time?

You widened your eyes as your heart started beating erratically, all the while trying not to alert Aether, who was looking at the horizon, from your sudden fear, your mind was suddenly blank at what just crossed your mind. What was even this Celestia you just said? And what did it mean "this time"? You were so sure that you didn't know this world, you couldn't possibly know anything since you just started playing the game and getting into the lore, watching theory edits and such.

And you definitely hadn't read any books about the history of this world either. Then what was that sudden thought thar crossed your mind? Why did it sound like you knew this would happen and this Celestia?

The only thing you had gotten close to knowing about this world was that time when you first met Storm Terror and... a strange bard who talked to that dragon...

Who stared at you with a shocked face, eyes wide with terror and sadness as he looked at you tearfully, as if he had seen his lost lover after years of death taking his love away.

As if a war had wracked both him and whatever he held dear to himself forever to not give what he once blissfully had but never realized it. As if he had seen the ghost of a friend, or a lover right before him when he thought he would never.

Why am I thinking about such things? I mean sure, he was pretty cute with his big green and turquoise eyes and I literally felt my heart broke for him after he made such a kicked puppy face but... I don't even know him! Who is he anyways, and why do I feel like I know both him and that dragon? Why did such a terrifying creature literally whined at the first sight of me?

And your eyes just drifted up, where a land was floating slowly above, close to Mondstadt as if flauntly, as if to showcase its own power, to tell the humans below that they were the ones in power and that they could end them with just one single blow...

Arrogant jackasses... Those fucking, good for nothing Gods, thinking so highly of themselves yet still hiding...

Something inside of you told you that for whatever reason, you would see both that bard and dragon once again and then, you could demand some answers from him. Maybe it was a bit harsher than usual saying in such situation where you didn't even know that bard and therefore couldn't have any problem to begin with but, could anyone blame you for your fear, nerves and behaviour when you didn't know anything and anyone, not even about your travelling partners?

So, as weird as this whole situation was and you were getting the creeps because of it as if you were being watched, you were still happy to be here with Aether and hopefully learn more about him and his sister.

Maybe I could become friends with her too when all this ends and we find her? I wonder what she likes though, I hope she doesn't beat me up because I would be really sad but happy to be beaten by a strong, pretty-

At his silence that made the little balloon in your mind pop, which was enough to tell you that he wasn't ready to talk about her yet, you pondered for another way for him to open up without causing discomfort to him.

"What... exactly happened when you wanted to get out, Aether? And above all, why did you want to get out in a hurry?" you asked softly, not wanting to startle and trigger him since his eyes seemed lost as he concentrated on somewhere far away and also, not to dive deep in your own thoughts of being beaten by strong and pretty women.

He turned to you when he heard your voice after minutes of silence, focusing on your eyes as he shrugged his shoulders. He trully didn't remember much, he even barely remembered telling you that he and his sister was leaving in a hurry.... Perhaps, it was another play of that Unknown God to make him weaker, to enslave him forever.

He was going to have his revenge oh so badly, he swore it.

"I don't remember... All I remember is that feeling of panic and fear before the Unknown God came and another shooting star protected us before everything went black and I woke up near that shore."

You nodded your head absentmindedly, plucking a Windwheel Aster to play with as your mind played the familiar screen play where you needed to choose one twin over the other to save.

Which was just a while ago before you suddenly woke up here.

However, it was strange enough that there was a shooting star which protected them from the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, Asmoday, though he was yet to know her true name. From someone way too powerful than anyone on Teyvat, even the Archons.

But yet again, it was only normal. Archons were once normal Gods who lived in Celestia, before whatever it was that resulted in the ruined buildings, abandoned castles and desolate lands all across this vast world.

Yet...

Since the world was changing with your presence here, obviously since you were not from the game and lore... Would you dare to change the destiny of this world? Of all the people you will meet, of Aether and Lumine? Of Paimon on who you had no idea over as to what or who she is?

Do you dare to go against Celestia, as a human who didn't have a chance against Them even when a God had a slim one at deceiving and fighting that power?

These were definitely not in the game... Just what else is different than the game version?

Apart from the uncertainty this new reveal brought to you, which was initially another side that excited you, life in Mondstadt was... Peaceful for the most part.

It seems their Archon did a good job with maintaining what they were created for: Freedom.

Even imagining what future days may hold for you in this city, the secrets those ruins held, the kind of history they hid and what you could discover there filled you with a buzzing feeling that almost made you shake with excitement. After all, playing through a screen and actually witnessing them were way different.

Spoiler alert: You didn't like those Ruin Guards.

But even amidst your happiness, the one feature you had thanks to your more shy and reserved self back in your world since no one really paid attention to you started working: Picking on the mood of people close to you.

And in this case, it was Aether who was your stark contrast, sitting with a face close to breaking apart.

At first glance, Aether almost seemed like he didn't care about what happened to him. His eyes were hard most of the times, even when he didn't talk about his sister, and since he was kind of selectively mute because he didn't understand Teyvat language and you and Paimon were the ones who talked to him and communicated with others in his stead, that's why people often thought of him to be too harsh and hard to get close to.

If only they knew how wrong they were, if only they knew he had such a golden heart as you stared at his teary golden orbs as the boy slowly broke apart after months of being alone.

"And just like that... I lost both my sister and powers as some kind of seal was casted upon me and now, we are trapped here." Aether spoke out in a whisper, too low for you to hear had you been a few meters away from him as he clenched his hands angrily, veins popping up by the sheer force he applied at remembering the smug face of that Unknown God that trapped him here.

You always knew how lonely and hard it must be for Aether, with no one else to talk to like you did and no one to spend time casually with. Humans, whether on Earth or some other universe, always needed to be social whether they liked it or not. The humankind had always been that way, always seeking out closure and companionship and never wanting to be alone. If asked "What do you fear the most?", most people here would answer with "Archons." probably with "being alone" being the second most given answer.

But Aether had been alone for the longest time and possibly fought with many Gods in other worlds and this one, just to get out of here with his sister.

He experienced all the fears of ordinary people.

Paimon could always fly to wherever she wanted and eat without a problem, and even go for her own journey if she wanted. You could always ask for help from people and even hang out with them freely without worrying about anything and there wouldn't be a huge language barrier between you and them as well, unlike a certain short blondie.

Paimon could find another travelling buddy, you could settle down here and even build a new life for yourself.

Aether had no one and no way to do such things.

How could I be so stupid to not see this before?! He must have felt too bad as I hung out with Kaeya! Like a lonely kitten only wanting its owner..!

"You know... You are not alone here." you tentatively spoke, after internally scolding yourself for being carried away from the excitement of being in Mondstadt, carefully weighing your words as you slowly touched his hand, to which he lifted his head slowly in shock and stared at your star-shaped eyes that seemed to captivate him even more with each day.

"What do you mean? Have I suddenly started to understand their language or something?" he sarcastically asked with a slight hint of amusement, which he only did with you and not Paimon because your reactions were better, making you sigh out and pinch his cheeks harshly with a giggle as you cooed at his flustered state.

"Getting sarcastic now, are we? Oh my, I didn't know you had that side of you!" he rolled his eyes sarcastically at your dramatic gesture, swatting your hand away. But as the noisy little shit you were, you kept pestering him and nudge him with a wide smile that Aether couldn't dare to erase.

Enjoyment, nowadays, was hard to find for him after all.

He continued to look at you and listen to you excitedly talk, even though he knew it was because of your nerves by how hard you were chewing on your lips and fiddling with your fingers. Unaware, you kept on talking while putting stray hairs behind your ear to push them aside, all futile attempts too mask your nervousness from what you were about to stay...

And whether they would come off as offensive.

"I mean, obviously, me and Paimon can't be like your sister and we absolutely have no intention to do so but we are your friends. If you have something troubling you, you come to us. If you want to talk about anything, absolutely anything, you come to me. Because let's be real, Paimon would probably pull it towards foods and I'm rambling but you got the idea-

"Thank you... Y/N..."

"And I mean, I know I could be very-wait, what?"

You stammered nervously in shock at what left Aether's mouth so softly with a deep emotion, not expecting the chuckle that left his lips breathlessly next at your shock. His giggle was really cute, something that eased your worried heart and almost made you think everything was back to normal and that you two were just simple people hanging out together and not trying to roam this world for a way to get out.

But he was trully grateful, grateful for your attempts of making him feel better, always looking out for ways to look after him, being his friend...

Everything.

"I know you don't trust us yet, but I can assure you that as long as I am alive, I'll make sure you see your sister again and travel worlds again." you finalized what you had to say with a firm yet soft pat on Aether's back, promising him just like the time you had to choose one of them with a heavy heart and let the other be taken.

Like the first time you felt like a true villain.

Aether only gave you a wide yet tearful smile as he nodded his head, the light of the Sun of Teyvat hitting on both of your skins and making them appear to be so soft that you almost thought it was coming behind a silk cloth.

After all, he wasn't going to be alone anymore... After fighting his demons in the dead of the night for so long, without anyone really understanding his struggles...

He now had another friend, another one who understood him and how traumatic it was to be trapped in a completely foreign world.

Seeing you finally broke every kind of ice between you two, and since you didn't want to be sad all day when the weather was so nice, you hugged him tightly from his shoulders with a wide smile, opening your palm to show the vast greenery before you which was a blessing of Mondstadt and their Archon... well, whoever that fucker was now.

"Besides! You can't really get rid of me that easily! I have this bad habit of never separating from those I deem very close," you whispered the last part almost threateningly, leaning closer to his ear with a hand covering your mouth and his ear as if there was someone that could hear you, unaware of the heavy blush covering his whole face while he avoided looking down at your lips unconsciously...

A sudden, soft murmur broke you two apart harshly.... And saved Aether from the embarrassment by giving him enough time to dip his whole face to the cold water at the Windrise.

" So, does this make you and Aether my siblings, Y/N?" you flinched when you heard the childish yet sleepy voice of Paimon suddenly, who grew on you even if she sometimes got on your nerves. She was stretching as much as her tiny body would allow, slapping her lips loudly as she yawned and looked around with wide and curious eyes as if she wasn't here hours before she slipped into a deep slumber

Nonetheless, you couldn't help but coo at her cute question with a hand over your chest as Aether chuckled next to you while looking at Paimon who was sitting in front of you both before patting her head and confirming her...

Well, that was before she decided to become a little menace to you once again.

"Wait, wha- Aww you are so cute for-"

"Since you do all the footwork and I float-"

A cheeky grin from her as you groaned.

"Are you fucking serious right now?" An irritated scowl was plastered on your face with brows raised in question at the floating emergency food, the latter wheezing at the expression of your face while Aether tried to cover his giggles to be spared from your wrath ( which only earned him a slap to the back of his head because how dare he get satisfaction from such thing!).

But as much as betrayed you were from Paimon fooling you, it was also... kind of funny, what she said. She was really like a kid who didn't have a filter on her mouth and mind, never knowing when and what was the appropriate time to say something... That was perhaps what made her endearing in your eyes.

"Come on, Y/N, I can see your smile! I know you found it funny!"

"...Maybe, yes, it was funny." you grumbled to which they let out a loud yay! and you smiled at their enthusiasm with tired yet content eyes as silence settled once again. Paimon eyed you and Aether for a few seconds, admiring how pretty and strong you looked as you allowed Aether to lean his whole weight onto you and laid his head comfortably on your shoulder while she wasn't in any different position as she laid across your lap, with your hand slowly caressing her hair and pat her head.

For some reasons, you always gave off of a comforting vibe ever since they saw you or well, you saw them, timidly getting close to them to ask if you could sit with them near the fire they had built, promising that you wouldn't hurt them. They were suspicious at first just as any normal person would be, but Aether couldn't find it in his heart to decline you when you looked so helpless, just like he first woke up in Mondstadt apparently and didn't know anything, desperately in need of help.

You reminded him of himself, helpless and unaware of the dangers that laid ahead.

What sealed the deal for you and them, since they had eyed you all throughout the night for any suspicious move, and since Aether was laying down from the deep cut he got from his abdomen and bleeding, but was only met with a happy tune you muttered under your breath while getting warm with a contented smile, was how easily you got up and drew your dual blades- which they soon learnt them to be actually a spear that could be connected to each other- to protect them from a horde of hilichurls and even two Abyss Mages, with burning red and blue flames engulfing your blades and later the enemy.

The only thing you gave to them that night was a serene smile as you pointed to his wound with a worried expression, which made them both wince with guilt from how badly they thought of you when you only cared to protect them.

"Your wound looks bad... I have some ointments I made myself and I know how to sew a wound, letting it stay open like that would surely make it get infected. If you allow me, may I help you, young travellers who helped me?" and then a gorgeous smile that captured them.

And as you prepared everything while making small talk with Aether to draw his attention elsewhere from the numbing pain of his wound, initially learning you both were not from this world, that was when your fates aligned together which would change the fate of all of the Teyvat.

Suddenly, you three had become each other's companions and the others' everything.

And as she laid on your lap comfortably Paimon felt... bad and even saddened for you, feeling like crying suddenly as she stared at your protective hold on both of them even while you rested, being completely exposed to any kind of danger, although they knew there were no hilichurls or Abyss Mages close by.

You have always been there for both of them, protected them even when you barely knew them, patched them up, cooked them food and even gave some of yours to Paimon because she loved that particular dish so much or to Aether both because he was hurt and he was usually the one who did most of the work and needed energy more than you...

You have always been sacrificing something for them and what had they ever done to repay beck for all the kindness and love you gave them?

So far, nothing... They didn't exactly have a lot of Mora , even with new commissions they were taking and besides, you always refused to have a share of it since you three needed to either buy food or medicinal items and strictly prohibited them from buying anything for you like a mother scolding her children from spending too much for them.

"I don't need anything to know that you care for me and love me, sillies! Just be happy, healthy and make sure to not hurt yourselves too much and we're fine! Seriously, you are giving me grey hairs..."

Perhaps they couldn't show their love however they wanted to, per your orders, but she could definitely tell you how much you and Aether meant for her!

"Besides the footwork joke... Paimon never really had a family, or at least doesn't remember having one. So, Paimon is very happy to have such strong and caring siblings!" she smiled serenely, genuinely as she tilted her head to look up at you both, knowing full well that neither of you were actually sleeping from the small smiles you both supported. She nuzzled closer to your lap happily with a relaxed sigh, not caring whether you heard or not because she was so damn sure you did.

Paimon really could be so damn adorable when she wanted....

She didn't have to know, but both you and Aether were keeping your eyes closed just so that Paimon wouldn't get worried because of the tears that blurred your visions from what she said so earnestly, her touching words reaching the depths of your heart.

"We really are a strange Trio, huh? Two Outlanders, one pixie baby who refuses to be our little emergency food-" you idly sighed out with hands smoothing down their hair gently, making them both sigh and nuzzle closer to you... Though Paimon was just a tiny bit agitated because of what you said about her.

"For God's sake, come on!" you giggled in the most evil way possible at her growing irritation and kicking her legs up in the air angrily but continued anyways with little to no care.

Hah, that's what you get for always teasing me!

"One can easily understand this world's weird language and also the language of his other outlander companion, but doesn't have any other super powers-"

"They are called Visions!"

"And even so, it seems that some people noticed our strange behaviour..." You mumbled to yourself in worry as your hand momentarily stopped in mid-action, head lifting up to look at the city far from you three, standing on the lake and bustling with energy.

Oh yes, Lisa and Jean had their own suspicions about your powers. Both you and Aether seemed like normal people on the outside, but Aether could easily use Anemo vision and not get affected by the venomous tears of the dragon Dvalin.

And you? You used a different, much more powerful kind of fire than anyone else, wielded a long and heavy spear (something less than 3 people or so did in Mondstadt), and somehow... Understood Teyvat language and Aether's mother tongue without any difficulties even when you weren't from either one of the worlds.

"It's still very strange. Even if It's obvious they are exceptional and strong people, neither Y/N nor Aether seems to be affected by Dvalin's tear..." Jean mumbled curiously from her position near the window, staring sternly at you two as you shuffled closer to Aether to shield him and Paimon. That was, until your attention was taken away by Lisa who circled around you like a predator does to its prey, a finger touching your chin and turning your head to her direction flirtitously with a slight pout.

"Besides, StormsTerror seemed much calm and soft when its eyes landed on our cutie Y/N... I wonder why, have you ever interacted with a dragon before perhaps?"

To be honest, you also didn't have the answer for that. While you were floating up in the air with Aether, cross firing at the vicious dragon to stop it from harming the City....

You felt a sudden sting deep in your heart which threatened to tear you apart when its eyes found yours.

And no, it wasn't because of the glider Amber gifted you weighing on your back, making it harder to breathe since you weren't used to... floating.

It was as if you were hurting a very dear old friend, a family that was once your everything and a part of your soul.

Besides that chest piercing pain you still continued to experience even after that dragon flew away, what was that mysterious voice that helped easing your scared heart as the wind gently caressed your whole body and mostly face, as if phantom fingers rubbed your cheeks and head to map your whole face, and helped you with making StormsTerror leave Mondstadt for some time right after helping Aether with some shitty Mages that appeared out of nowhere?

Don't worry Windblume, I won't let you go. Not this time... Now concentrate and feel the wind in your veins just like you did before...

It was so soft, so loving yet... Also so pained, so hollow as if he missed a great part of him, as if he was trying to make up for a mistake he has done as you felt a sudden surge of power in you, a sweet pain on your back and just like that...

Five Mages were down with a flick of your spear.

"I just hope we didn't make their job harder than before with our presence..." You sighed after a long while, those thoughts still lingering at the back of your head and tapped their heads gently to get them to move since the sun was slowly setting and you needed to go back to the city where Jean kindly prepared a room for you three in the headquarter... After she asked what you needed since you three saved the city.

All of you first declined, but after Paimon and Aether left the room completely, you turned to Jean and with a stern face, asked for only a room which Aether would never have even a speck of information about you asked for it.

Fortunately, she understood your reasoning and with a kind smile, and even more respect growing in her for you, she offered whichever room you wished to have alongside new clothes and three courses of meal and told Aether that it was a "special thank you to the Honarary Knights from the Knights of Fovanius" and to have both of you closer in case of emergency.

Thank her and her brains, no wonder she is the Dandelion Knight and the Acting Grand Master...

"But just as Amber said, the number of hilichurls and Abyss Mages decreased significantly! Paimon wonders if it has something to do with Aether or Y/N!" Paimon exclaimed curiously as she watched you pack up and usher them both to go to their merry way as you turned abruptly, pointing to your chest unbelievingly and looking around.

"Me? Why though?"

She kicked her legs up in the air frustratedly, swiping her palm through the air and showing the nature around her as if it was an obvious fact and you were a fool for not seeing it....

And you trully didn't get it.

Seeing your confusion, Aether chuckled as he lead Paimon to float before you two started bickering again as he started to explain as much as he could.

"They always liked hanging out with you and even protected you... An insane part of me even thinks that they know you're in Mondstadt and therefore, don't want to disturb you since they know you are safe and happy."

Life truly didn't turn out the way Aether had wanted, and probably would never. His life had taken a sharp tune as soon as he and Lumine chose this world to travel next and... All of you knew how it ended.

But now, it wasn't so bad like it used to be months ago. Every day, even every hour, he was met with yet another extraordinary person or habit and it intrigued him a lot. Learning all about the people of Teyvat, what they did for living and their history, hanging out with people... He loved doing all those things, it made him feel like he was back to being the previous Aether before all the chaos happened.

Even though he knew he shouldn't get too attached and form bonds that would be broken in the end inevitably... when he finds his sister and leave the world behind. But maybe... Maybe he could get to bring you and Paimon with himself too? It wasn't like you couldn't, you definitely could land on another world since you were also an Outlander. There was a chance that Paimon couldn't, since he still didn't know of her origins, but he would fight Gods and Archons if he needed, so that he could keep his family together.

His sister, who was the literal half of his soul. Paimon who was always there to help him out and make him enjoy the life Teyvat could offer while guiding him and you... You, who always had tragic yet also comedic stories to tell them from your world whenever they get uncomfortable in some ways. You, who roasted people with your sharp tongue and quick mind, while being a total menace and gremlin, whenever they didn't take no for an answer since Aether didn't want to offend anyone and just did everything they wanted as the "helpful boy" he always was...

or whenever people didn't believe him whenever he said he was probably a lot older than their Archon because of his young, baby face.

Oh yeah... He was very doomed as he already got attached to you and the floating baby you always sweetly called.

"If you can consider being in a city where people worship 'The Champion' that eerily looks like me who fought alongside Barbatos for many times and face a huge statue of the said-champion every day being happy and safe... Then yes, I definitely am!"

Aether snorted at the sarcastic answer he got from you and the dramatic flip of your hair, not being able to help the fake-disappointed shake of his head as he watched you fondly with hands on either sides of his hip.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Probably bear with me and my awesome self and amazing jokes, and also love me!" You turned around with a gleeful smile, hair floating up and dress swiping through the sudden wind that engulfed you softly and in that moment, he wished that the smile you always had would never disappear.

That you wouldn't loose the happiness and hope blossoming in your eyes with each new day greeting you.

And he thought, whatever strange things revolved around you and the mysteries even you didn't know about yourself...

He would always be there for you, just like you did and will continue to do with him.

You would get to solve all the mysteries and puzzles about just who this "Champion" was and their link to you. Meet and demand answers from that Archon about his sister and the Champion whom he was always depicted together with and maybe... Maybe, at least one of you would be able to get rid of that fog which clouded your memories.

And with that, three of you entered the safety of the walls of the City of Freedom once again... A place where you already started calling "home".

Unaware of what was waiting for your group in the headquarters.

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