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photogirl894 · 1 year

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"Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire"

Chapter 21

"Discomfort and Doubt"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: Holy crap, why did this take me so long?? 😫

I do apologize for being away from this story for a bit! Things got crazy at the end of the school year, then I started summer break and I've been a little busy since the start of that, as well. Plus, I've had a bit of writer's block in the middle of that, so that didn't help either 😒

Well, we're back with our favorite Clones and things are ramping up for the Imperial gala, which we'll be getting to next time! This is a long one to make up for the wait, so I hope y'all enjoy!! 💜

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @cole-kenxbi , @tech-aficionado , @ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901 , @tech-deck , @thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink , @l-lend , @nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx , @idoubleswearimawriter , @techs-stitches , @fantasyproductions

《 Chapter 20

》 Chapter 22

All chapters (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: Emotions are running high for many as the Bad Batch and Koriena Force make final preparations for the upcoming Imperial masquerade gala.

In a dark hallway, Rina was running from a pursuer who had ill intentions. They called out for her and carried with them a container filled with chemicals they wanted to use on her, which was never going to happen. They had sent two others after her, who were chasing her even faster. She ran as fast as she could. There was no way they were going to use those chemicals on her. It was dangerous and there was no telling what it would do to her. Her heart was pounding as she kept going and ducked into another room. She had to get away.

"It's no use, Rina! You know you can't hide from us!" one of the people chasing her cried out.

"I can and I will," she muttered to herself as she slammed her hand on the door console and made it close, locking it afterwards.

She slowly backed away from the door, still in a defensive stance in case they managed to come through. She figured they wouldn’t blast through the door; that would be too much of a hassle for them. She heard them come up to the door, there were beeps from the console followed by them frustratedly realizing that the door was locked. They spoke in hushed tones, quiet enough that Rina couldn't make out what was being said. Then she heard a whirring sound, a click and then a beep from the door console, the red light on it switching to green. She cursed to herself. They'd gotten the hacker to override the door. She should've known…and now, it looked like that maybe she would have to fight her way out.

The door slid open and the two chasers who'd been after her suddenly leapt into the room and they each grabbed her by an arm, quicker than she'd anticipated.

"Let me go!" Rina shouted.

"Stop fighting," one of them said as Rina struggled against their grip.

The third person walked in, the bottle with the chemical concoction in their hands at the ready. Rina's heart rate spiked at seeing it and the person drawing nearer. She fought harder against those holding onto her, but they weren't letting up. How she wanted to scream for help. Specifically, for Wrecker. If he were there, he could take care of them with no problem. To her dismay, he wasn't there. He and the boys were off on yet another mission. She was left to her own devices, but, as the person with the chemicals drew nearer, it looked like she wasn't going to get out of this one.

With an angry grunt, she yelled at the person as they approached, "I'll die before I let you use that on me!"

"...oh, will you get a grip, Rina? You'll get your color back, but this needs to be done!"

In the refresher room of the Aurora, Kida stood before Rina, rolling her eyes at her friend and unamused at the fact she had to sic Kimber and Lex on Rina to stop her from running. In her hand, Kida clutched a bottle of color stripping solution that she intended to use on Rina’s hair…and Rina was being less than cooperative.

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” Lex warned Rina, who was still struggling against her and Kimber’s grip.

Just then, Irys walked into the room, holding a datapad. “I see you managed to capture our little fugitive,” she commented.

“Oh, bite me, Irys,” Rina replied flatly.

“Look, even though we stole his invitation, the doctor from Balmorra could very well find another way to get into the gala,” said Kimber. “He saw you and would recognize you immediately, even with a mask on.”

“Your hair is a dead giveaway, so we have to get rid of the color,” Kida added.

With a frustrated growl, Rina shot back, “Well, he saw Boss Lady, too! Why aren’t you coming for her hair and stripping it?”

Giving the solution bottle a shake, Kida told her, “Kimber’s hair color is much more common, which means she’ll still blend in just fine.”

Rina let her head fall forward and heaved a loud, heavy and exasperated sigh. “I must be out of my mind,” she muttered under breath. Then she lifted her head up and said reluctantly, "Fine, do what you gotta do…but I’m dyeing my hair again after the gala."

“You’re going to be fine. It’s not the end of the world,” said Irys.

Rina just mumbled in response.

Loosening her hold on her friend, Kimber looked to the other ladies and asked, “Is it that bad?”

Lex answered her, “Rina isn’t a fan of her natural hair color. She thinks it doesn’t suit her.”

Getting more uncomfortable with the whole situation, Rina just waved her hands around and blurted out, “Can we just get this over with before I become sane again?”

Kimber gave her a reassuring pat on the back and then said to Kida, “We leave her in your capable hands, Kida, and if Kori wakes up, we’ll watch him until you’re done.”

“You ladies are lifesavers,” Kida commented as she started unscrewing the cap to the bottle.

While Lex and Irys left the room, Kimber stole one more look at Rina and noticed how uncomfortable she appeared. She really did not want to do this to her hair. The unique coloring of her hair was a huge part of her personality and in doing this, it was almost taking that away from her, even though she knew she could easily dye it again later. Kimber felt she needed something to help her through this, so she told Kida to hold off on starting for just a minute and took off from the room. She made her way to Rina’s room on the ship and grabbed something she knew would offer Rina some comfort. Once the object was acquired, she ran back to the refresher.

“Rina…I think you need this,” she said to her friend, holding out the black and blue sweetblossom-laced tooka doll named Kicker that belonged to Rina, having been given to her from her sweetheart, Wrecker, months prior.

Seeing one of her favorite possessions, Rina’s unhappy scowl softened, touched at the fact Kimber had thought to bring that for her. She reached out and took the doll, running her thumbs over the fuzzy fabric. Then she brought it up to her face and deeply inhaled the sweet aroma of the sweetblossom inside that almost right away began to calm her nerves.

“You know me so well, Kimber,” she stated, her tone now more pleasant and at ease.

“That, I do,” Kimber answered as she flashed her a smile and then exited the room.

As she made her way down the hall, her comm device chirped and she heard the voice of her beloved speak through it, “Kimber, we’ve got the gear and supplies from Cid ready. Where are you and the girls?”

“We’re all on the Aurora,” she answered him.

“We’ll make our way there,” he said.

She grinned to herself. “I’m counting down the seconds until I see you.”

“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to say?”

She snickered, knowing he’d pick up that she’d referenced words he’d said to her before. “Well, maybe I wanted to say it this time, my love,” she replied. “I’ll see you soon.”

She pocketed her comm device and remained standing in the hall for a brief moment, taking in the fact that she was now alone. The boys were on their way, Kida was with Rina and then Lex and Irys were off elsewhere in the ship. Being alone made her thoughts begin to wander and a familiar temptation rose up within her; one she still wasn’t sure why she continued giving in to. Nothing had come from it, which she knew from the beginning would be the result anyway. But she couldn’t shake the feelings she was having, so she decided to duck into Rina’s room, which she knew was unoccupied. Then she took out the encrypted holopad she kept with her now instead of in her pack. Her head fell back against the door for a moment after the door closed.

"I can't believe I'm doing this again," she whispered aloud as she went over and sat down in a chair in Rina's room.

She took a deep breath and activated the device to record her message. Then she spoke, her voice low, "Hey, Crosshair…it’s me again. I really don't know why I keep doing this. My other transmissions haven't resulted in anything from you, which I knew would be the case anyway. I'm sure you probably don't care to hear from me. I mean…why would you? You most likely see me as a traitor…but I promise you, I want nothing but the best for you. That's all I've ever wanted." Her throat tightened and she could feel the tears coming to her eyes, so she rapidly blinked to keep them from falling. "When will this end, Crosshair? When will you open your eyes and come home? I don't know what the Empire did to you to make you turn against us…but if I had known this was what would've happened, then I…I would've accepted Tarkin's offer to join the Imperial army."

Her attempt to keep from getting emotional failed and the tears fell down her cheeks. Through her quiet crying, she continued, "He had threatened to kill all of you if I refused, but I knew if he did, then at least we would all die together. But this…having you apart from us, resenting us and having tried to kill us…this is a fate worse than death to me. If I had known this was what would happen; if I could do it over again, then I would've taken Tarkin's offer to save you, Crosshair. Then, at least, you'd be safe and still with your brothers." She brushed her tears away, taking a deep breath. "I don't know if anything I say has any effect on you at all, but I need you to know that these are the things that are on my mind every moment we're apart. Not a day goes by where I don't think of you and miss you so much, it nearly kills me." She paused again for a moment, wanting to say a thousand more things and ask a hundred questions, but she knew there would be no point to it. Instead, she said in conclusion, "Know this, Crosshair: no matter where you go, no matter what you do…you'll always be my brother and I'll still love you. That'll never change…goodbye."

With that being said, Kimber ended the transmission and it sent. Most likely never to be watched, but she didn't care at this point. This was the only way she was able to cope with Crosshair’s absence and betrayal. It probably wasn't the smartest idea, but she felt she wasn't able to really talk about it with the Clones, so it was the best she had.

She put the holopad in her pocket and sat there for a minute, mulling over everything she'd said. Shortly after that, she heard baby cries coming over the ship's sound system, which meant Kori was now awake. Guess it was time to take care of the baby like she'd promised Kida. Carefully, she snuck out of Rina's room and made her way to Kida and Kori's room.

Though, as she walked inside the room, she found Irys already there, rocking the baby up and down in her arms.

"Oh! I heard him crying and thought I’d come check on the baby. I didn’t know you were already here," Kimber stated as Irys watched her walk in.

"Yeah, I happened to be close by," said Irys, continuing to rock Kori, who was starting to calm down.

Kimber just gave her a nod and moved to leave the room.

"I know what you were doing, Kimber."

She halted in front of the door. "What?" she asked.

With unwavering eye contact, Irys stated, "I know you were sending a message to Crosshair."

Kimber was shocked. How did Irys know? "I..I wasn’t--" she tried lying.

"You don’t need to lie to me," Irys interrupted her. "I walked by Rina’s room and overheard some of the things you were saying. It didn’t take me long to figure out what you were doing."

Hearing that, Kimber knew she couldn't talk her way out of it. Irys had figured her out. Instead, she sighed and explained, "I didn’t tell him where we are or anything. Plus, I’ve been using the encrypted holopad that Rina gave me a long time ago, so he can’t trace the transmission."

Irys's head whipped back to face her, her eyes widening slightly. "You’ve been using it? You mean you’ve done this more than once?"

Kimber rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Twice, actually," she admitted.

Then it was Irys's turn to sigh with exasperation. Setting Kori, who was now calm, back into his bassinet, she said to Kimber, "I don’t think it’s wise of you to be doing that."

"I know," said Kimber, hanging her head briefly. Then she lifted her eyes again. "It’s just…he’s like my brother. I love him and I miss him so much."

"I understand," said Irys, coming around the pram to stand in front of Kimber. "I’m not surprised that, despite what he’s done, you miss him and you’re trying to still reach out to him." She laid a hand on Kimber's arm. "You’re a good person, Kimber, with a very kind heart. Your compassion and trust is something few in this galaxy deserve yet you offer it freely to just about everyone you meet. You trusted us, a group of women with questionable and shady backgrounds, and now look at us…you helped us change for the better. With the way you talked about your boys when we first met, it doesn’t surprise me that Crosshair’s betrayal has affected you so much and you’re still holding onto the hope that you can get him back."

Kimber tried to muster a small smile in acknowledgement of Irys's reassuring words, but failed to keep it and she hung her head again in sorrow.

Removing her hand, Irys went on to say, "Though, I wouldn’t let that hope cloud your judgment. The reality of it is: Crosshair made his choice and it’s likely that continuing to pull on the thread that you can get him back will end in disastrous results. Just be careful, okay?"

"I will," said Kimber. Then she placed a hand on Irys's shoulder. "Please don’t tell any of the lads about this. I don’t know how they’ll react, especially Hunter. I know we promised to not have secrets between us, but…he doesn’t ever want to talk about Crosshair and I know it’s because he’s hurt just as badly as I am. I’m just handling it differently than him."

Irys bowed her head. "I won’t say a word. I still would advise you not to keep this from Hunter or your squad for long, but your secret is safe with me." Then her face fell a little and her tone turned solemn. "You’re not the only one who has to mask their real feelings around those they care about."

Kimber's hand fell away and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What did Irys mean by that? "What do you mean? What do you have to hide?" she asked.

For once, Kimber saw Irys appear hesitant and Irys turned her gaze away and replied, "I may be highly intelligent…but let’s just say that my heart doesn’t always act in accordance with my brain."

"I’m not sure I understand," said Kimber.

The Togruta woman closed her eyes and her head hung just a little more. "Meaning I care for someone against my better judgment...someone whom I know already cares for another."

Kimber found herself a bit stunned at this revelation. She'd never thought Irys had feelings for anyone since she'd never said anything. Kimber was about to ask who it was, but then Irys looked up at her with sorrow in her eyes Kimber had never seen from her and an almost knowing look. Something about the look she was being given gave Kimber the impression that she knew who it was Irys was referring to. She began to reflect on those in their group. It couldn't be any of the Bad Batch. Irys had never really showed romantic interest in any of them; the only one she interacted with the most was Tech, but he didn't have feelings for someone else like Irys said, so it couldn't be him. That left the Koriena Force. Well, all of them all had feelings for someone else, so that didn't seem to help. Kimber began to think of those in the squad that Irys seemed to interact with the most; the ones Irys seemed to have a closer relationship with...and then it became clear to her, realizing there was only one Irys seemed to show the greatest care for.

"Lex," she said aloud.

Irys got the tiniest sad smile on her face as she simply responded, "Yes…Lex." Then the smile disappeared and she hugged her arms across her chest. "I can’t let my true feelings be known, not when I know she’d never reciprocate them." When she looked back at Kimber and saw the sympathy in her eyes, Irys waved a dismissive hand and, going back to her normal demeanor, told her, "There’s no need to pity me. I accepted this a long time ago. She and I are still close friends and that’s all that matters to me."

The words Kimber was hearing from Irys were beginning to sound all too familiar…as she herself had once heard such words from another Clone Lieutenant some months before. Her heart began to ache and she put a hand over her chest.

"Do the other girls know?" she asked.

Irys shook her head. "No. I've carried this secret alone for a while." She sighed quietly and then went on, "That’s why I’ve pushed so hard for her to embrace her feelings for Echo. He’s a good man and I know he’s someone that can restore her faith in love, if he feels the same. I know he can make her happy and that’s what I want most for her is just for her to be happy. I can’t do that for her, not in the way she needs. What she needs from me is my friendship and I’ll gladly give her that for the rest of our lives."

Finally, Kimber couldn't hold back anymore and she threw her arms around Irys, hugging her tightly, which slightly startled Irys. "I’m sorry, Irys…," Kimber said, "...but it’s sweet of you to support her feelings for Echo. You really love her that much, don’t you?"

She felt Irys's arms slowly come up and hug her back and then Irys answered, her voice catching just a little, "I do."

Kimber's arms tightened to try and comfort her friend. "To care that deeply for someone enough to let them go and find happiness with another is incredibly selfless. I admire that about you," she reassured her.

Her mind once again wandered back to Jesse, now seemingly understanding what he went through with her. It seemed easier to sympathize when it was someone else involved instead of herself and not feeling that guilt of having to reject the other. Both Jesse and Irys were in love with people who would never return their feelings, but they were strong enough to accept that and even encourage those they loved to be happy with others. That level of noble loyalty and devotion to someone, despite the pain of unrequited feelings, was unlike anything she could ever imagine.

Kimber pulled back and placed her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Will you be okay?"

With an assuring nod, Irys told her, "Yeah. Don’t fret over me."

Just then, Kimber's comm beeped again and they both heard Echo's voice speak, "Look alive, Kim. We're approaching the Aurora."

"I'll let the ramp down for you guys," she replied. She gave Irys a nod and then left the room.

"Is all of the Koriena Force present?" then came Tech's voice. "We shall need to continue planning for the upcoming gala."

Kimber said into the commlink, "They're here, yes, but Kida is currently putting Rina through torture, so we might need to wait a bit."

"Why is Kida torturing Rina?" she heard Wrecker asked worriedly.

She chuckled. "Not literally, Wrecker. She's fine. Kida's just having Rina do something she finds unpleasant, but it's necessary. You'll see when you get here."

Then a smile crossed her face as Hunter's voice responded, "Be there soon, sweetheart."

About an hour passed before Kida emerged into the back room of the ship and declared with a flourish of her arms to the Koriena Force and the Bad Batch, who had since arrived, "My work is now complete."

Rina came out from behind her looking the most uncomfortable anyone had ever seen her, her cheeks bright red and her attention directed at the floor. The purple in her hair was gone and it was now a darker blonde color.

"Wow…so this is your natural look, huh?" asked Lex, who was lounging on the sofa next to Echo.

"I don't believe we've ever seen it," Irys commented to Lex.

"Shut up…," Rina mumbled.

Wrecker made his way over to her and Rina immediately wanted to curl up and roll away like a Droideka. Not Wrecker, she was already so embarrassed. She hated her natural hair color and now he had to see it.

He leaned from side to side to get a good overall look at her hair and then asked, "Rina, why do you look like that?"

Unsure of what exactly he meant, she asked, "My hair or my face?"

"That look on your face," he answered.

"I hate my hair…," she grumbled.

"Why? I think you still look amazing!" he cried out with a huge smile on his face.

Then Kimber spoke up from behind him, "Yeah, I think your natural color still suits you."

"Even I concur with that assessment," added Tech.

Omega ran up next to Wrecker and said with a heartwarming smile, "I think you look cute!"

"You look great, Rina. Don't worry so much," said Lex.

Kida smirked at Rina and just said, "See? I told you."

Rina blushed again at the support she was getting not only from her now sweetheart, but her friends, as well. She had also seen approving nods from Hunter, Echo and Irys, too. "Thanks, guys," she shyly replied to them.

"Now that that's taken care of, let's get to work and finalize our gala plan," stated Hunter. "What do we already know so far?"

Tech spoke up first, "The details from the gala invitation were that it is being hosted by Senator Gume Saam, the representative of the Techno Union in the Galactic Senate, on his home planet of Tibrin. Cid informed us that it's going to be a front for Imperial negotiations regarding the assets of the collapsed Trade Federation and Techno Union. Our objective is to gather as much intel from the gala as possible."

Raising her hand in the air, Kida said, "I already have half our outfits done."

"Already? It's only been a week," said Hunter.

She just smirked again and replied, "Yeah...I'm just that good, Hunter darling."

He simply gave her an impressed look.

"The first thing we need to determine is how we're getting in," stated Rina, folding her arms across her chest as she and Wrecker came over to join the others. Then she turned to Tech and asked him, "Hey genius, you duplicated those invitations yet?"

Straightening his goggles, Tech answered, "Indeed. There are now seven invitations in our possession."

"Though, even if we have invitations, that might not be enough," said Lex. "We gotta have a reason to have them and, if we're not any sort of Imperial higher-ups or emissaries of the Trade Federation, it could arouse suspicion."

"I agree," added Echo, bringing a hand up to his chin in contemplation. "If we're going in undercover, we need a good enough motive to be there."

"I don't think it'll work pretending to be certain Imperial personnel, not with a team of our size," Irys put in.

Omega stepped up. "What about the entertainment? All parties need music or something to distract the guests."

Wrecker said in reply, "None of us play any instruments."

With a bob of his head, Hunter stated, "Well, actually…Kimber does sing."

Kimber's eyebrows shot up at him making that revelation and all eyes were suddenly on her.

"You can sing?" asked Echo.

It hadn't even occurred to Kimber that Hunter was the only one who knew that about her. She had sung at a bar on Kuat when she and Hunter stayed at an inn some time ago, but after that, she'd never had any occasion to sing around the others.

"I can, yes," she answered timidly.

Pointing at her, Rina cried out, "That's it! Cid can contact an informant and get Kimber lined up as one of the entertainers and the rest of us can be her entourage."

Hunter turned to Kimber and asked, his tone calm and soft, "Do you agree to this, Kimber?" There was also a subtle apologetic look in his eyes as if trying to imply he was sorry for even bringing up her talent in the first place.

While she desperately wanted to say "no", it was seemingly the only good enough choice they had that would work. With a heavy sigh, she said back to him, "Yes, I'll do it."

He gave her a small, reassuring smile in return.

"You said there were seven invitations?" inquired Kida.

Tech said to her, "That is correct. Irys, Omega and I will remain on the Aurora to assist with the mission as well as to monitor your child, which leaves you, Hunter, Kimber, Echo, Lex, Rina and Wrecker."

While tapping her chin in thought, Irys suggested, "Kimber will have to be on her own if she's going to be singing, but it may be prudent to split everyone else into teams. That way, we can cover more ground and therefore, possibly gain more information."

Rina looked up over her shoulder and inquired, "What do you say, big guy? You and me wanna be backup in case things go south?"

With a giddy smile, Wrecker pumped his fist and proudly answered, "Oh yeah!"

Echo then said, "I can sneak off eventually and find an access terminal to the Senator's primary computer. I'm sure he's bound to have loads of information I can gather."

"Lex can go with you and watch your back," said Irys.

Lex's eyes widened. "Wait, what?" she questioned. "I--I don't think…."

"I'm okay with that," said Echo. He looked at her and a pleased grin crossed his face.

Seeing his smile made her feel warm inside, but at the same time, she wanted to turn away, which she did. A week prior, she had finally realized for herself that she had fallen for Echo and that whole notion scared her. Ever since her unfortunate fallout with Dune and his betrayal long ago, she was terrified of opening her heart to another man, even one as kind and wonderful as Echo. Since the night she'd gone to him in the medical room, she'd ended up only avoiding him when she could, even though it pained her to do so. Irys suggesting she go with Echo on the mission was going to make that difficult.

Her reaction did not go unnoticed by him.

After hearing Irys's suggestion, Kida leaned into Hunter's arm and said in a flirtatious yet teasing tone, "That just leaves you and me, handsome. We can scope out the crowd together."

Hunter simply grinned back in amusement. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

"You just want an excuse to flirt with all the Imps," said Rina.

Kida replied nonchalantly, "Maybe…but if you seduce a man the right way, you can get him to spill all his secrets. It's an effective method."

"All right, looks like we've got our plan," said Hunter to everyone. "Tech, Irys and Omega will stay aboard the Aurora to monitor the mission and assist when needed. Kimber is our ticket in as part of the gala's entertainment. The rest of us will go in under the guise as her attendants. Once we're in, Kida and I will mingle through the crowd and keep our ears open for any useful intel. Rina and Wrecker will do the same and serve as backup for Kimber if things go wrong. Echo and Lex will stealth out and find the Senator's primary computer and gather as much information from there as they can. Is that understood?"

"You got it, boss," answered Wrecker.

"Hear you loud and clear, Sarge," added Rina.

Then Tech said, "Now that our plan is finalized, might I suggest we sort through the gear and supplies we acquired from Cid?"

"Good idea, Tech," said Omega with her usual big smile.

"I don't know why you are so eager. You're not going to need any of the supplies," he replied to her.

"I know. Doesn't mean I still can't be excited," she said back.

Hunter grinned at Omega's enthusiasm and then declared, "Let's go then."

He led the way and everyone moved to follow him. However, as Lex got up to move, Echo spoke her name and she halted in her tracks. Why did she have a feeling this was going to happen?

When he approached, he asked, "Have I...done something wrong?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

He went on to say, "Ever since the night you came to me in the med room, it seems like you've been avoiding me. Then just now when Irys suggested you go with me on the mission, you looked uncomfortable. Did I overstep that night or have I offended you?"

She should've known he would notice her behavior, but she couldn't allow him to think it was anything on his part. Shaking her head, she told him, "Echo, it isn't you. It could never be you." When he looked surprised, she said, "The problem is me…and I just can't talk about it right now." Without another word, she quickly left the room and followed after the others.

Echo opened his mouth to call after her, but then decided against it and let out a quiet sigh. He didn't understand what was wrong. Everything had seemed fine that night in the medical room when she'd opened up to him...it had all felt right. Now, she was shutting him out. He wanted to know why, but he also knew it would do no good to push her. He would respect her privacy for now, but soon, he would do his best to get answers from her.

Around a corner ahead, Irys had stayed behind and overheard everything. Lex had run past her and didn't even notice she was there.

"Lex…you hard-headed idiot…," she thought to herself, shaking her head in frustration.

The road those two were on was going to be a long one.

Kimber sat on the bed in her and Hunter's bunk, now just in her blacks, attempting to rebraid her hair as she waited for Hunter. They all had gotten the supplies and gear ready to go for the gala in the coming week and Cid, in remarkably quick time, was able to secure her a spot in the gala's entertainment lineup under the pseudonym Kahna Sora…and that was what was making her anxious.

She knew it was the best option for the mission in order for them all to successfully get into the gala, but…why did it have to be her? Why did she even agree to it? Would she even be able to do what was needed of her? She couldn't understand where all this self-doubt was coming from, but she couldn't shake it. Her fingers fumbled clumsily with her hair, which messed up her braid and she groaned in irritation, pulling it all apart again.

"My love?"

A familiar voice she loved brought her back to reality and she found Hunter sitting beside her on the edge of the bed, now also in just his blacks and looking her over with concern.

"What's on your mind?" he asked her, laying his hand on the small of her back. "I can tell something's bothering you."

"My role for the mission…I don't think I can do it," she admitted.

Taken aback, he inquired, "Why not? You've sung in public before. This won't be any different."

Turning to him, she responded, her voice rising slightly, "I did that willingly and this time, I'm singing in front of a bunch of Imperials. I'm there to amuse people who are wreaking chaos across the galaxy and who knows how many atrocities all of them as a collective have committed. Not only that, I'm doing it alone!"

Clearly hearing her frustration as well as sensing it, he assured her, "You may be by yourself on a stage, but sweetheart, you know you won't be alone. Rina and Wrecker will be there and same with Kida and I. You know we won't let anything happen to you."

"It just…feels so wrong," she said, hanging her head.

He brought her closer and rested his head against hers. "I know it does, but everyone believes in you. You're strong and capable; you've done undercover missions before, which is how I know you'll get through it again. We all have your back and if it'll ease your worries, we can have Kida add more armor and weapons to your dress to ensure you'll be protected."

Kimber rotated her head and nestled into his neck, inching closer against him for comfort. "Please don't go far from me, Hunter," she pleaded with him. "If somehow things go wrong, I need to know you'll be there."

Gently, he urged her back and lifted his head so he could look at her and he told her to turn around. She turned her back to him and he pulled all her long hair into his hands and began carefully braiding her hair, having noticed her distracted attempts at trying to do it herself moments before.

As he weaved the locks of her hair between his fingers, he told her calmly, "Kimber, you know I'll come running to your side immediately…but you also don't need me to." He saw her turn her head to try and debate what he said, but he stopped her by saying, still in a patient tone as he continued braiding her hair, "Just listen to me. You are a soldier; skilled, brave, resourceful and smart. It's okay to be nervous, but you've done this before. Your first undercover mission, you met Wat Tambor, a Separatist leader, and still stood your ground and even pulled a blaster on him without any fear."

"That was a stupid move on my part," she stated.

"But it was still a move that not only proved your loyalty to Echo, but that you were truly a soldier who belonged with us," he said back. "You are fully capable of handling things on your own and you fought to make me see that a long time ago. I'm not about to forgo that now." He tied the end of her braid and pulled lightly on her shoulder, making her turn to face him as he then took her hands in his. "If things go wrong, I will still fight everyone at that gala to make it to your side and I'll protect you with everything I've got...but you don't need me. Should the mission go south, I know you'll be able to take care of yourself. You and I both know it took me a while to bring myself to trust that because all I could think about was keeping you safe."

She very lightly scoffed and nodded. "Yeah, it sure did," she commented.

"I don't need to worry about that anymore," he told her. "The many missions we've been on together as well as seeing you lead the Koriena Force have fueled the trust I have in you to do things on your own without me having to be there. I know you'll be okay. You'll enchant those Imperials with your voice the same way you did with me and keep them distracted enough for us to complete the mission. You can do this. I believe in you and I need you to believe in yourself. Got it?"

Kimber smiled gratefully at Hunter, overwhelmed with love and touched at all the words of affirmation he had just given her. It still amazed her how much he had grown since their relationship first started; from hardly ever considering putting her in any danger to now completely trusting her to hold her own in a dangerous situation. He always knew the right things to say to help calm her down and quell her fears.

With a small nod of her head, she replied, "I will, Sergeant."

Pleased, he grinned and bowed his head.

"Thank you," she said.

"Of course. I love you and I'll always be here for you," he said back.

She laid her head on his shoulder again and said as she felt his lips touch the top of her head, "I love you, too."

Then he shifted backward towards the head of the bed, laid down on his back and then held out an arm to her. "Come here," he invited her.

Promptly, she accepted and laid down beside him, laying her head on his chest as his arm came around her, pulling her closer. His hand came up and held hers that was resting on his chest, as well.

"Forget your doubts, Kimber," he said softly. "You don't need to be afraid. I'm here…and I always will be." Then he placed a kiss on her brow.

Kimber lifted her head and lovingly kissed Hunter's lips before laying back down, now feeling content and protected in the safest place she knew: in the arms of her Hunter.

#star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #bad batch hunter #bad batch fanfic #hunter x oc fic #sun and rain fanfic

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dill-pickel-the-comic · 9 months

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I bought 30 CDs for $30

TLDR: Me and some friends went to this record store (I forgot the name) and there they sold packs of CDs by genre for 10 bucks. 10 CDs for $10. I bought 3 of these packs, 1 alt rock, and 1 80s Hard Rock, and 1 new age pack. I honestly thought that this was going to be an ass purchase. I thought I was going to hate most of the songs and projects I bought but I'm 5 albums in and this has been a really fun experience.

Yapping section:

Me and my friends are really into music and have always sorta fetishized the idea of walking into a record store and buying something you've never heard of and listening to it. So this was that idea on overdrive, they way the packs were packages you couldn't even see the covers of the CDs, just the titles. Most of them are into vinyl but personally I think there overpriced compared to CDs. Plus CDs are so human sized, I cant explain what that statement means it just makes sense in my head. I have always been into a variety of music from different ages, and I have a lot of fun just listening to new music. But I don't like just listening to the most popular music a genre has to offer, I want the weird and experimental stuff that people don't talk about. That just made prospect of random bottom of the barrel never sold and pre owned cd packs for cheap so appealing (and why I dumped $30 on them).

I know its dumb to do so but honestly I had only a vague idea of how I was going to actually hear these songs. I had to do a lot of bullshit just to be hear them in the CD forms. I looked up the one's that I have listened to up to this point and most of them are available on Spotify, and if not in some form on YouTube. But I was really suborned about wanting to listen to them in there CD form. Its not hard to get a hold of a CD player or anything, or even expensive to get something to rip the CDs straight onto my computer. My dad used to be really into CDs and said it wouldn't be hard for him to go by my grandma and grandpa's house to go pick his old stuff up (which I might still ask to do). But what I did is grad this old Blu-ray disk reader and connected it to my monitor. The only problem is that I don't have any speakers and had to figure out a way to make the things make noise. After 30 minutes I came to the realization that my monitor actually had a audio input. So I was legit able to plug in my headphones in directly and avoid all the complicated algebra I was doing to listen to some potentially mid Alt Rock.

I don't want to jinx myself because right now all I have been listening to is the 10 alt rock CDs, alt rock being a genre that I actually have some experience with and know I enjoy. Unlike new age, and 80s hard rock which I have never listened to. I expected to have some of these CDs damaged and the pack that I am the most afraid of hating and or not working is new age (which if you don't know was a movement from like the mid 60s to the mid 80s (but mostly focused around the 70s) so damage and disk rot is almost to be expected for these 50+ year old CDs. But hay I am having a lot of fun hearing these projects, and so far I have only disliked one CD.

I want to make comics and post them and I'm thinking of trying out what I want them to be, maybe Ill make some of my more funny takes on these albums into comics. But I like the idea of posting reviews and written first impressions on what I have listened to. I'm going to keep it 100, I'm a lazy and inconstant artist and I don't like binding myself to one medium. Writing (on a small scale) is a lot faster than painting or drawing so despite my name you should probably going to be doing 98% blob posts.

#blog #music #story

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okchijt · 2 years

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Author's Note: HEY @michu-writeses I ACCIDENTALLY POSTED YOUR REQUEST BUT IT WASN'T READY YET SO I HAD TO DELETE IT, SCREENSHOTED IT, AND PUT IT HERE, SO SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE!😖 Hope you like it though, I'm looking forward to your feedback later!😉 I don't cosplay at all, so please forgive me if this is inaccurate in any way. You might also notice a pattern in this one that I used for all of the ninjas, so sorry if it gets repetitive and boring after a while😖 Also, I THINK YOUR SUPER COOL AS WELL! And lastly, go ahead and check out my masterlist if you want to request anything yourself, thank you, and enjoy!❤ OH AND ILY TOO! >w<

Cole

🪨 Cole would honestly be the most supportive out of the four. He'd be both surprised and confused at first. But the longer he stares at the outfits, the faster he starts to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together, he may not know what it is yet, but he sure is familiar with it!

🪨 Any form of insecurity or embarrassment you feel about it, Cole will make sure to get rid of by giving you tons of praise as well as telling you how he used to wear stuff like this for shows his father practically forced him to do. He never liked doing them, but he won't lie by saying he's always admired the costumes, so this would very much remained him of that. This would be his way of soothing you about it, in a way that he kind of gets it and doesn't think ill of you because of it.

🪨 Cole will have no problem getting used to your hobby. Each cosplay will be treated with special care and respect, just like he was taught while still doing shows. And because of that, he won't even bat an eye at seeing you in one, ever. If anything he'll get excited when he sees you in one because during his childhood it was the only thing he looked forward to while doing shows. So expect a very excited Cole always jumping around you asking you lots of questions about said cosplay, wanting to know the character and purpose of the outfit, not to mention tons of compliments after every sentence!

🪨 Cole would for sure help you make some cosplay if you let him! He'd be horrible at it though, at first. He's a quick learner and would start sewing as good as you in a matter of hours! If you don't trust him with that, that's okay! Just please let him design or draw some of these cosplays for you! Cole is confirmed to be a talented artist, so at least let him do that! He'd be even more thrilled if you let him draw you in them, you'll essentially become his modal. And don't worry, the drawings would be of the highest quality, all of them hanging all over the walls of his rooms. He's just really proud of them and most importantly you!

🪨 If any of the ninjas teases or makes fun of you for it, they are met with the scariest death stare to date and even worse tasting food than they had ever before, that will shut them up real quick. Cole is the strongest ninja physically and the others have no doubt in their minds that he will become violent for you if they don't stop. Plus there's also the fact that the probability of them dying from food poisoning is pretty high, so yeah.

🪨 If any cosplay is from a media you enjoy, he suddenly likes it too! Like genuinely though, he'll want to be included in the said media! He'll watch the show/movie with you, read the comic/manga/book, play the game with you, listen to the music with you, etc. Just about anything that the cosplay is from he'll want to be knowledgeable about it too. Even if he isn't into the media itself as much as you, he'll still do it with you cause your happiness is his happiness, plus now he has an excuse to call these moments mini-dates.

🪨 If your someone who's cosplaying is a job, he'll 100% want you to bring him with you every time. If you let him come to work he'll be on his best behavior, constantly looking for ways to be useful to your team. Whatever task you or your team give him is a-okay with him! Being a water boy? Check. Holding up all of the wires? Check. Helping with the camera? Check. He just wants the job experience to be as easy as it can be for everyone, and you and the team would really appreciate that! And if he isn't doing that and is just sitting on his chair, his eyes won't leave your frame once. No matter what you're cosplaying as his attention is fully on you as well as him spouting compliments every chance he gets! Your team would honestly encourage you to bring him with you every time! Even if he eats all of the souvenirs they have.

🪨 The same can be said if your social media is all about cosplay. This man will get the whole ninja team to help with a video or photo shoot. No one dares to complain because they're all too scared of Cole, so they just stay quiet and help in the best way they can. Cole would forcibly make himself the manager of all of your social media, because yes. He'd report to you about the feedback and your schedule 24/7, it can get overwhelming sometimes so let him know and he'll turn it down a bit. It's just that if he wasn't a ninja he'd honestly want his job to be your manager, that's how much he loves it and you.

🪨 Cole 100% would be into couple cosplay! Any media couple is fine with him and he'd be more than happy to do it, especially if you have to make a shoot for it. He still has some of that theater kid from back then left in him, so it'll be easy for him to get into character, especially if it's a character he knows. But if you just want him to do it with you just because, he'd be silently hesitant, he only likes/wants to dress up when there's a purpose to it, so he'll be very nervous to do it without a reason, but a quick kiss and some encouragement would do the trick.

🪨 If you were to make a cosplay for him, he'd be over the moon! He'll probably get a little emotional when you give it to him, quickly wiping his tears away, saying something got into his eye. That being said, he has a hidden insecurity about stuff like this, mainly because of the amount of stress his dad put him through. So even if he has a deep love for costumes, there's that voice in the back of his head that reminds him of all of the mistakes he did back then and the disappointed looks he got from his dad when he wore them. If you are able to catch on, a good long talk of reassurance will do the trick, give him some time and he'll be wearing that cosplay like it's his everyday clothing!

🪨 If you were to cosplay him, he'll literally get a heart attack from the amount of love he'd be feeling at the moment! He'll probably get a little emotional from it, after years of pretending to be other people while trying so hard not to disappoint his father, just seeing you dressed like him made him kind of accept his past and embrace it. That would be the reason why he'd treat you like royalty for the rest of the day, doing everything for you whether you ask him or not, but that wouldn't be enough for him. Don't be surprised if you see him try and make a cosplay of you as a thank you back. Depending on how you look and dress, it could either be an okay/great-looking cosplay, or a complete disaster, you still love him though.

🪨 Overall I'd say that Cole would be the best out of the 4 to have In this situation. He'd be able to relate on a personal level, which would make reassurance from him hit way deeper than from someone who's never done dressing up or cosplaying before. He'll be always ready to help with whatever cosplay you need, will always want to be included, and just generally wants to be there for you whenever he can. The only problem would be his hidden emotional baggage, which he'll try to not show. But that's an easy problem to fix with the amount of time he's spending on cosplays with you, so just a kiss and reassurance here and there, and the problem would be a thing anymore. Gotta say a 10/10 for sure.

Jay

⚡The minute he finds out, he won't shut up about it. Asking you constant questions like, "How many cosplays do you have!? Can I touch your wig!? Why does this one look like that but the other doesn't? Aren't they the same thing!? Did you make it or did you buy it!? How and why!?" He doesn't mean to offend you by any means of course! He just doesn't think before he talks so if you take offense to anything he says he will immediately zip it and apologize while explaining himself.

⚡If you were nervous or insecure before and Jay's questions made it worse, he'll be devastated. He'll immediately start reassuring you that your hobby is nothing to feel ashamed of and that he shouldn't have opened his mouth in the first place. He'll try to distract you by asking if you can wear some for him. When you come out and show him expect nothing but praise and a drooling Jay.

⚡It would admittedly take Jay a while to get used to your hobby, especially if you do it a lot. Jay didn't grow up in an environment that exposed him to stuff like this, so he did think it was kind of weird at first. But the more he learned the more he grew to like it, linking it with costumes that actors would wear in a show. So don't be surprised when he slowly starts to get better at being nicer and more appreciative about it.

⚡Jay, being a gamer, a comic fan, and almost every other media fan would 100% be able to name almost all of your cosplay's from what media they are and which character. It would turn into a game between you two, that whenever he would see you in a cosplay he'd have 3 guesses each for every category: What character, what media, and what season/version of it if it matters. The game itself would quickly grow on him, impatiently waiting for you to come out of your room anytime you announce another cosplay coming.

⚡If you'd need any help with completing your cosplay in the makeup or mecha department, he's your guy! Jay canonically knows how to apply make-up, so he'd be down if you ask him to do it for you! Just be sure to not ask him in front of the team, he gets really embarrassed remembering that he used to be a show host. Mecha though? You'd give him such an ego boost if you ask him in front of the others. He'd happily make every part of your cosplay that is mecha-related. Outside of that, Jay wouldn't be too excited if you ask him to help with a normal cosplay. Sure it's a cute bonding moment between you, it's kind of relaxing and he's a quick learner, but it's just not his thing. He'd never say "no" to you though, anything to make you happy!

⚡If any of the other ninjas think they have the right to tease you because of your interest, think again! Cause Jay is the only one allowed to do that (not in a mean way of course)! He may be the least intimidating when it comes to physical physic, but he sure as hell makes up for it in the personality department! He'd just harass them all day with various pranks, jokes, and teasing until they stop and leave you alone. It is a fact of nature that you are the only one that can handle his annoying side and still love him.

⚡If cosplaying is a job for you, he won't admittedly be into it at all. He won't disapprove or anything like that, he's just not interested in it. He will automatically assume it's boring since you only take pictures while being surrounded by some random people. Don't ever bring him to work unless you want to see him whine like a child, "(Y/NNNNNNNN) when can we go home?" "Hey, are you done yet?" "How much longer until you're done?". Yeah no, bad idea. Don't ever do that. But if on the rare occasions he is actually well behaved, expect him to have his eyes on you the whole time, him not being able to even mutter a word because of how taken aback he'll be from seeing you in whatever cosplay you have on mostly the revealing ones. His face would be red all throughout the session, as well as not being able to leave his sitting spot, tunning everything out but you.

⚡If it's just a social media thing, I can see him being more bearable to handle. Jay would see you as his little personal project. He'd do your make-up, help set up the equipment and even manage it, and maybe help out with the wig and clothes if you let him or he feels like it. The reason as to why in this scenario he would be more tolerable than in the job one is that everything can be done at whatever pace the both of you want! Not only that but there are longer breaks and he's also managing everything, which means he has something to do instead of watching you from the sidelines.

⚡I feel like Jay would only be somewhat into couple cosplaying. It would depend on which fictional couple you'd like to cosplay with him. If they're from something he really enjoys or just likes the ship then he's more than happy to do it! But If it's the opposite of that, he'd protest immediately. But if you plead or bargain hard enough he'd do it just for you. But don't expect him to be happy about it or even act in a decent way. He'd be very sarcastic to everyone around him, you being the person he tones down his behavior too. He'd basically become a brat, that's it.

⚡If you'd made him a cosplay, it just couldn't be any type of cosplay, I'd have to be someone he likes, no exception. He could care less about the quality of the cosplay, in a sense that if it's bad or good he won't notice it. This man is just a certified brat, no questions asked. He will compliment it, but he won't wear it. Only if it's something he likes would he wear it, but only in private or in front of you. He loves you, but this man does not have the temper to deal with the teasing the other ninja will give him. That said, if he's alone in his room he'd wear it all the time and even reenact a few scenes as the character, he would never admit to doing that to anyone though.

⚡Cosplay him and except to give him the biggest ego boost ever. If Jay was even a little insecure before, he sure isn't anymore! He'd be as red as a tomato while stuttering compliments, he would not handle the amount of love you'd give him at that moment. His face will be red for the rest of the day, he won't be able to leave your side for the rest of the day, and he'd be begging for cuddles constantly. And if you let him, he'll do it while drowning you in kisses for the rest of the day. He'd definitely push you into wearing it more often, it's the quickest way to raise his confidence and it shows. So even if it turns him smug after a while, just please never stop for his sake. As a thank you, he'd definitely try to improve on some of his aspects regarding your hobby/job. He'd try to be less bratty and more open to the things you want him to try, even if he doesn't want to or like it, though just showing some form of affection will quickly remind him why he's trying so hard.

⚡I'd rank Jay as the 3rd best boyfriend to have in this situation. Even if he's low, I won't necessarily call him a bad partner to have when in regards to your hobby. He's honestly just a big baby and a picky one at that, he'd just need time to get better at supporting you. He wouldn't be the best boyfriend at the beginning, but he does try to be respectful about it, any negative remarks would honestly slip out because of his personality, but he'll regret it and apologize immediately. He'll grow to like it eventually by you boosting his confidence and making cosplay also a fun thing for him as well. So basically like I said, he acts like a child, so if you present it in a way as you would to a kid in a matter that wouldn't look down on him or be condescending then you're good to go! I'd give Jay a 6/10, not the worst but could be better.

Kai

🔥 Sorry to say but Kai's definitely confused, the worst-case scenario is him being weirded out by it. You will have to give him a few minutes before he finally snaps out of scanning every piece of cosplay and wig you have, and go "Explain."

🔥 After feeding him with some knowledge, he'd still stand there with his same weirded-out expression until he'll glance up at you and noticed you getting embarrassed and worried. He'll immediately break out of his close-minded mind, rush to you, and start comforting you. Lots of apologies, kisses, and hugs are to be expected, he may not understand your hobby right now, but he'd never forgive himself if he made you upset over it.

🔥 Kai would have the longest and hardest time out of the 4 to get used to your hobby. Just like Jay, he didn't grow up in an environment that exposed him to stuff like this. Except it was way worse for him in a sense he never went to shows with actors so he wouldn't be able to link/justify your hobby by thinning of actors with costumes on. He'll try not to give you weird stares when he sees you in one, instead, he'd try to give you compliments, thinking it will make him get over his close-mindedness faster. He doesn't judge you for it, of course, he just doesn't get it yet.

🔥 It doesn't matter when or how long he's known about your hobby, the bottom line is that he's extremely overprotective about it. He may not get it or even like it, but if he witnesses someone whether on purpose or not mistreating your craft all hell breaks loose. Like, if you were in your cosplay outside for whatever reason and someone says something wrong to you, you'll have to hold him back cause not only is he being aggressive vocally but also tries to get physical too. Like I said, he may not be that into your hobby, but he sure as hell respects the effort you put into it and won't allow anyone to insult you for it.

🔥 If you ask Kai to help, expect him to be very hesitant and against it, but if you press hard enough, he'll do it. You'd have to give him simple tasks though, if you tell him to sow or stylize a wig of yours, the finished product would be an unrecognizable mess. You'd have to give him the job of ironing or washing them because that's a task he already knows how to do. Though the tasks he enjoys the most are the ones he can do with you helping him or just being near you It would make the work more bearable for him and in rare instances even fun!

🔥 Kai may have not been that into your hobby at first but he'd be damned if any of the ninjas tease or make fun of you for it. He'd be very vocally threatening to the others if they dare speak ill of your craft. Everyone knows that an angry Kai is not someone to mess with so they all immediately back off. The only good thing about this is that Kai will grow to appreciate your hobby because of the number of times he had to defend you for it. It will start to slowly ease into his mind that maybe cosplay isn't as weird as he thought it was and he'd make that apparent by giving you more compliments as well as being more willing to help out with the said cosplay.

🔥 If you'd cosplay as a job he'd be pretty indifferent to it. He doesn't really care honestly. But if you did suggest he comes with you he will, you know, for the experience. The whole time he'll just be sitting on a chair on the other side of the room, eyes either glued to his phone or you. If you or someone from your team asks him for help/assistance he'll do it in a heartbeat and then immediately go back to his seat. He'll only stare at you the whole session if you have a revealing outfit on, to make sure no one around is a pervert towards you and also because he's a little pervert himself, so why deny the chance of seeing his s/o in something he doesn't see every day. In short, he's like a dad waiting for his child in the waiting room, impatient/annoyed but not vocal about it.

🔥 He'd pretty much have the same attitude if instead of working your just doing it for social media, but he'll definitely make himself more present in it. Kai would be more willing to help out with anything you ask of him really. He'd wash and iron your cosplay before the shoot, help set up the equipment, and even get Nya or Lloyd to help because he trusts them the most with helping you and not judging you for it. Once everything is set and done he'll either leave you to it or stay and sit on the bean bag in your room, looking at his phone or you for the rest of the shoot.

🔥 Kai wouldn't be into couple cosplay at all. Dressing up into anything that isn't his gi or street clothes is something he's not happy about. He'll give it a try once and that's it, doesn't matter if he doesn't mind the couple from the media, it's just not his thing. He'll only make an exception if you seriously need a partner to cosplay and start considering someone else to replace him. He wouldn't be happy about it, but he sure as hell isn't going to let anyone get intimate with his s/o in or out of the cosplay, no way!

🔥 If you made him a cosplay he honest to God won't know what to do with it. Don't get him wrong, he loves it and really appreciates it, no matter the quality! But even still, he'll probably never wear it, at least not around the others that is. It's the same with Jay except his temper would do way more than Jay could ever do. So for the sake of everyone's safety, please do understand that it's another reason why he won't wear it except for him getting embarrassed about it. If he's 100% sure you two will be alone for the day or you've been in a bad mood, he'll wear it just this once for the sake of your happiness. Better reward him with a bunch of praise and kisses, it'll only make him consider wearing it more often.

🔥 If all your previous efforts with swaying him to your side about cosplay didn't work, you cosplaying him would be what just might make him rethink everything. Not only would you rise his ego to an egregious amount, but he'll become the biggest prick in the world, to others that is. He'd show you off to just about anyone he can, praising you the whole time until the other person gets annoyed and leaves the oblivious Kai still talking. Unlike Jay, Kai would be very vocal about you wearing his cosplay constantly. As a thank you, he'll try to change his attitude about your hobby as best as he can, he'll definitely be less indifferent about it and more supportive that's for sure! Though he has other things he has to work on, that's still a good start!

🔥 Kai most definitely has the lowest spot out of the 4 of them as a boyfriend with a cosplaying s/o. I wouldn't call him a bad partner to have in this situation, he is weirded out at the start, sure, but it'll later turn into indifference about it. While still not the best, the more you push him lightly into it he'll be more supportive and just better about it. I'd describe him as a parent with a child that they know has an interest in something they don't understand or finds weird but still loves them for it and if they saw the said interest out in public they'd point to it or buy it for them. Definitely a 5/10, there's always room for improvement though, so don't give up on him!

Zane

🧊 Another ninja that is supportive! Zane is one of those people who almost never judge anyone, so at most he would be very confused about the whole thing. But don't let his expression fool you, because in actuality he's extremely eager to hear and learn more because he just finds the whole concept fascinating!

🧊 If you'd express any form of insecurity or embarrassment from it, he'd try his best to comfort you about it. Zane isn't exactly the best with emotions, let alone understanding them, but he won't let you feel bad about having an interest. Even if he doesn't know the process of making a cosplay or designing a wig, he'll point at all of them and identify every good thing about them. No matter if it's big or small, or what quality it is, Zane will only have nothing but good things to say about it.

🧊 Zane will have no problem getting used to the whole thing, at most, it'll take him a day of processing it, learning about it, and just getting his feelings sorted out about it. Once that's over with, he'll be the most loving boyfriend ever, sending you warm smiles and pointing out all of the things he likes in your cosplay. Sometimes if he finds the character you are cosplaying as interesting, he'll ask questions about them so he can understand and appreciate the cosplay better.

🧊 Zane's naturally curious about anything that he doesn't know or doesn't have much knowledge about and will ask you a lot of questions about your hobby. Once you answer all of his questions, expect him to remember all of them and become just as much of an expert as you on it. After a few days, he'll start asking you questions again but in a different way. They will be all personal like, "What is the next cosplay you're planning?", "How did you get into cosplay?" etc. He'd pop them out once in a while and it would be a cute bonding between you two, it's also how he shows his support.

🧊 If you ever need help with anything, Zane is your guy! Zane is an extremely quick learner and will get the gist of any task you give him in a matter of minutes! Sowing, styling, drawing, cutting, etc. Anything is possible with Zane by your side! Heck, this man will even approach you himself about helping you because he actually wants to or you were visible struggling with it. And of course, it would be a huge bonding moment between you two and something Zane would like to do often with you just because of how much he found himself liking it as well as just spending time with you!

🧊 Unfortunately for you, Zane gets teased by the other ninja's a lot and does nothing about it. Fortunately for you though, if you're in that position, he is reacting to it immediately. He doesn't have the advantage like Cole or Kai in being naturally intimidating or Jay's out there annoying personality. The only thing he can do is scold everyone as if he was their parent, what Zane doesn't know is that he can go too far sometimes with his lectures (by that I mean being unintentionally intimidating). He doesn't know about it though, so a few of them are enough to shake the others up a bit to the point where they're scared of even saying anything about your hobby, whether good or not.

🧊 If you do cosplay as a job, Zane is another ninja that would be very well behaved during your shoot. He'd be more than happy to help if anyone needs it as well as bring whatever is needed. But most of the time when he doesn't do that except him to just be sitting in one spot staring off into space as you and your team work. Whenever you'd walked out in a different outfit, he'd smile to himself, sending you silent compliments from his spot, not wanting to disturb the session. He'll 100% ask your team for copies of your pictures and just have them on him 24/7 as his little good luck charms. Before every mission, he'd find himself kissing them and whispering promises that he was going to be okay and will come back to you as soon as the mission was done.

🧊 You doing it just for social media is a-okay with him too! He'll help you set up and everything! Get your outfit and wig ready, turn on the lights, get the background, take your pictures, etc. Just ask him for any of it and he'll do it in a heartbeat, and he'll be happy all the way through it! He'd never do any of it if you don't ask him to or doesn't see you struggling with it though, why? Because this man thinks it'll be rude for him to just barge in your business when you are visibly caught up and busy with it. He just doesn't want to mess anything up for you, but like I said, just ask him and he's already on it!

🧊 Zane isn't opposed to couple cosplay, but I don't see him being that into it either. I feel like Zane just isn't into "dressing" up, preferably staying in the usual clothes he usually wears. That being said he'd never tell you "no" if you ask him. Zane has no preference in whatever couple you decide to cosplay with him, but be sure to start out slow. Make him get comfortable with it at the beginning, give him cosplay's that are more fit with his style and you can go up from there. He won't even notice it, so he'd find himself very surprised by how enjoyable the experience has been from the start and will no longer be silently hesitant about whatever couple cosplay you throw at him.

🧊 Make Zane a cosplay and he'd wear it like it's everyday clothing. He won't show it off, but if someone asked him about it, he'd proudly proclaim that his s/o made it for him and proceed to point out all of the things on his outfit and what he likes about them. Upon receiving it, this man will feel so warm inside, that he'd give you tons of affection and praise immediately after receiving it. But that would only happen if you made a cosplay that was more like his style. Don't get me wrong, he'd love it and shower you with love just as much even if it wasn't something he would wear every day. He's just more comfortable with clothes he's already used to.

🧊 The amount of wholesomeness you'd throw at this man the moment he sees you cosplaying as him is astonishing. He'd have to leave the room for a little bit to collect himself because the poor lad cannot handle these many emotions at once. Once he's done he'd dedicate the rest of his day to you and just you, just hanging out doing whatever you want to do no matter what it is. As a thank you, he'd make you a cosplay himself! With the skills you've taught him, he'd manage to make just about anything! Admittedly, the quality would be lesser than your cosplay, but it still would hold up immensely either way!

🧊 The 2nd best boyfriend to have in this situation! The only thing that is holding him back from being on Cole's level is that Cole is always openly out there to help you 24/7. Whereas Zane is hesitant to approach you about the fact and he won't ever help you unless you tell him so (in the social media department that is). Ignoring that though cause that isn't such a huge issue, he's practically almost just as in love with your hobby as Cole is. He'd never judge you once for it, is always happy to be there for you whenever you need it, and just treats the whole thing like he always knew about it, viewing it as just a normal part of you, 9.5/10.

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grapesodatozier · 3 years

Text

so close to the real thing (closer than you think)

rating: explicit

word count: 6.8k

summary: Eddie's been pining over Richie for as long as he can remember. He loves everything about Richie; especially how much Richie loves touching him. It's a little inconvenient, though. Eddie copes with his pent up sexual tension by constantly checking a porn blog he's obsessed with on tumblr. This guy has the same type of body as Richie, he talks like Richie, his name is even Richie! It makes it all too easy for Eddie to pretend it really is Richie while getting himself off to all of the blog's content.

You'll never guess what he finds out when he starts sexting this stranger named Richie from his anonymous porn blog.

tags: friends to lovers, porn with feelings, love confessions, dom/sub dynamics, bi dom top richie, gay sub bottom eddie, the most oblivious pining idiots in the world lol we love them

notes: this is one of my more ridiculous ideas but I had so much fun with it lol. also as a note you probably should not approach people on the internet the way they do in this fic, but they're just v enthusiastic and everything here is v consensual!! still tho definitely don't take this indulgent fic as a guide on how to approach real people online lmao. okay have fun!!

read on ao3 or below!!

notsfw under the cut

Eddie Kaspbrak’s friends were his entire world; time spent with them meant everything to him. But he also really valued his alone time. He’d always been the sort who needed time to just sit on a grassy hill and watch the trains go by, to catch up on comics in his room, to get lost in Netflix shows or even just his thoughts as he moseyed around his apartment—one he live in by himself, for when these moods hit. He needed time to himself to unwind. And sometimes he unwound by scrolling through some porn blogs on tumblr with his hand in his pants.

There was one blog that he was particularly fond of. There were other blogs more catered to his personal interests, namely blogs that didn’t feature women like this one did. But there was a good balance of genders represented, so Eddie figured he could just scroll past those posts. This guy was worth it. His pictures were ridiculously hot, and his dirty talk was even hotter.

Also, his name was Richie. Which Eddie refused to acknowledge as part of the draw.

It was harder to ignore tonight. He’d been out with the losers, and Richie had just been so touchy. And there was something about the way he'd been talking; his voice was lower than normal, slower in a way that made Eddie’s stomach flip. And his touches had lingered, his hand squeezing Eddie’s hip slow, then lazily brushing against his ass as he dropped it. Eddie could hardly take it. He brushed it off as Richie just being tired from work, but god, Eddie wanted it to mean more. The hardest part was hiding how much he wanted Richie to keep doing it.

There were so many things Eddie wanted Richie to do to him. He wanted Richie to touch him harder, to grab him by his hips with both hands. Richie’s hands were so big; Eddie just knew Richie could manhandle him so easily, so roughly. He wanted to know what it would feel like to have Richie’s hands all over him, grabbing at his ass and his thighs, holding his wrists down, making him feel so small. While Eddie would never admit it, huffing at every short joke Richie made, but he loved being shorter than Richie. He loved how safe he felt when Richie held him. And he was dying to know how small he would feel with Richie looming above him, or sitting in Richie’s lap, bouncing on his cock. He wanted to hear Richie talking to him in that low, slow voice, with that condescension Eddie did his best to pretend not to be affected by. He wanted Richie to whisper in his ear and call him all those pretty names he always dropped so casually, all those sweet ones and also ones that were a lot meaner. He wanted Richie to want him.

But it was easier to think about it than to ask for it. He knew Richie had way more experience than him. Well, okay, maybe not way more necessarily, but they were starting their third year of college, and he hadn’t wasted any time. Eddie, on the other hand, hadn’t done anything more than hand stuff with someone else. The guys he’d hooked up with were nice enough, and hot enough, but they just… weren’t Richie.

He supposed this guy on tumblr wasn’t Richie either, but at least he was everything else Eddie wanted. None of his hookups had been so, well, dominant, and that was this guy’s whole thing. He was dominant and a top and into guys that looked like Eddie. He even kind of talked like Richie, and he was apparently pining over his best friend, just like Eddie was. It had him completely smitten. Plus, internet-Richie’s crush had brown eyes like Eddie, and he ran track, just like Eddie did. Internet-Richie had posted once about his dick getting hard watching his friend at his track meet, and Eddie had come so hard that night, his track shorts around his ankles, imagining his Richie thinking those things about him.

Eddie was in bed now, in nothing but his boxers and one of Richie’s old shirts that had been Eddie’s for a while now. Still reeling from the way Richie had been acting that night, he logged into his porn account on his phone and scrolled through his dash for a grand total of thirty seconds before going immediately to internet-Richie’s blog. A thrill went through Eddie’s body when he saw that he had just posted. He’d written, “god my friends gonna fuckn kill me with that ass, i wanna plow him so bad” then reblogged it and added, “reminder that my asks and dms are always open if any pretty needy little subs need help getting off. please come be sluts in my messages.” Eddie’s breath caught in his throat when he saw that there was a picture, too, one of him gripping his hard cock, his boxers pulled down just enough for Eddie to see the dark hair around the base of his cock. Eddie moaned at the sight. His cock was so nice, so long and thick and pink. And fuck, his fingers. They were so long and slim, almost as nice as his-Richie’s.

Eddie scrolled a little farther down, his heart racing. There were a lot of reblogs, but some original posts here and there, things like, “what i wouldn’t do to have a pretty guy drooling all over my cock rn,” and, “in the mood to get someone dick drunk. wanna fuck a someone so hard they forget their own name.” One that made Eddie nearly choke said, “want someone i can pump my come into whenever i want, over and over again. want a sub i can keep full of my come all the fuckn time.” That post had Eddie getting out his lube.

It also had him thinking about internet-Richie’s most recent post, his post about his DMs being open.

Eddie bit his lip and thought about it. He’d sent internet-Richie some asks before from his porn blog (his blog didn’t have his name on it, just the teddy bear emoji, since he privately thought the teddy/Eddie rhyme was fun and clever, and also it was cute), and he’d seemed plenty happy enough to respond then. Still, it felt like a much bigger step to DM him, to talk to him just one on one. But the more he read his posts, the more he thought about his-Richie and how he’d touched Eddie that night, the easier it was to convince himself to shoot his shot with this stranger.

Eddie just messaged him a simple, “hi,” with a heart emoji. It was innocent enough, but his heart was still racing.

Internet-Richie responded a lot faster than Eddie was expecting. Honestly he hadn’t been expecting a response at all. But he said:

hiya cutie (; ive been hoping youd message me

Eddie flushed. He couldn’t help but hear cutie in his-Richie’s voice—especially given how often Richie used the nickname. really? he typed back.

fuck yes, ur cute little messages make me so hard. i can tell ur a pretty little thing just from the way you type

Eddie was blushing deep. Pretty little thing. That was hotter than it should’ve been. He wanted his Richie to talk to him like that, in that deep, sleepy voice.

there’s no way you can tell that from some messages :P, Eddie sent.

His heart stopped at the next messages internet-Richie sent.

oh, u dont think so?

why dont u send me some pics to prove me wrong (;

Oh my god, Eddie thought, his breath coming short. His head swam at the thought of sending this guy nudes, of showing himself off to someone who clearly wanted to see him, who would know how to take care of him and fuck him the way he liked, a guy with his crush’s fucking name and body type and hands. It had Eddie’s cock hard and leaking, and he slowly slid a finger inside of himself.

But just because the thought turned him on didn’t mean he was gonna send this stranger what he wanted so easily, even if he desperately wanted to.

you’d like that, wouldn’t you?

He fingered himself open as he waited for a response, working his way up to two fingers. It was nearly impossible to ignore his cock, but he didn’t want to come before the conversation even had a chance to start.

fuck ya i would, internet-Richie responded. Then, in a second message, whats wrong baby? you shy? ill show u mine ;)

Eddie's breath caught. God, this guy even made stupid shit sound hot, just like Eddie’s Richie. This was unreal.

i’ve seen yours, Eddie pointed out.

ya and you musta liked it if ur messaging me rn

Eddie bit his lip. ...maybe

aw thats cute sweetheart. u know i can see all the needy little tags you add when u reblog my stuff right?

Eddie blushed. He’d kind of always hoped he’d read them, but he never thought he actually did. i didn’t know you read those

oh ya, read them, jerk off to them. bit of a size queen, aren’t you? ;) it’s cute. makes me so fuckn hard when u talk abt how u want me to fill you up

Eddie whimpered out loud, sliding a third finger into himself. Fuck, he wanted that cock inside of him so bad. But right now one of his toys would have to do, once he was stretched out enough. He sped up his fingers, getting impatient. Gathering up all of his horny courage, he sent, show me.

what, no please? only good boys who use their manners get dick pics babydoll

Eddie pouted and whined to himself, making quick work of sliding his hot pink vibrator inside of himself—well, as quickly as he could without hurting himself. He moaned as it filled him up, making pleasure spread deep through his body. Slowly pumping it in and out, he reached for his phone. please, he typed, please let me see? wanna know what to picture while i fuck myself with my vibrator. He even added the wide eyed pouting emoji to really milk the whole begging thing. He knew he’d been playing a little coy, but now with the way internet-Richie was talking to him he was getting desperate.

well fuck baby since ur begging ;)

Eddie held his breath as he waited for the picture, slowly rocking his toy in and out, savoring the feeling. He wished it was Richie doing it, wished it was his cock. The lines between which Richie blurred; he wanted to get fucked by either of them, both of them.

What Eddie received when his phone lit up was not a picture, but a video. It was short, just a few seconds of Richie’s hand dragging wetly, smoothly over his cock, but it had Eddie drooling. The room was dark, so he’d used a flash, and it made the mix of what Eddie assumed was precome and spit glisten as the swollen head of Richie’s cock disappeared and reappeared from behind his fingers. Eddie must’ve played it at least five times, fucking himself a little faster, before remembering to say something back. And to take a video of his own. fuck, I want you so bad, want you to fucking ruin me, he wrote back. A part of him couldn’t believe how openly desperate he was being, but he found that he liked it; he liked the way it made him blush, he liked the way it felt to beg, to ask for what he wanted.

Richie’s response came fast: show me kitten. show me how you want me to fuck your pretty little ass.

Eddie moaned at the pet name; casual little nicknames were such a weakness for him. He was already so far gone, just picturing Richie’s cock inside of him, picturing him stroking his cock to thoughts of Eddie. The attention had his cock hard and leaking as he thrust his vibrator even deeper inside of himself, pumping it in and out a few more times before rolling over and getting on his hands and knees. It was hard to take a video from this angle, but he wanted to show off his ass and hide his face. Plus, there was something so hot about having his ass in the air and his face shoved in his pillow, looking like the perfect image of someone desperate to be fucked. He loved the way it made him feel, loved the thought of being so open for someone. For Richie.

He ended up shooting a short video as well, about ten seconds of him sliding his vibrator slowly in and out of himself, letting out soft little moans. He was pretty pleased with the way it turned out, his hole pink and smooth and wet as it stretched around his toy. The angle was a little weird, showing a lot of his room once or twice when his hand slipped a little, but overall he thought his ass looked amazing, if he did say so himself. He sent it and said, feels so good. do you want me to go faster?

As he sent it, he got settled on his back, forcing himself to go slow as he fucked himself while he waited for internet-Richie’s response. It was taking longer than before, and Eddie was getting antsy; it was so hard to drag it out, to not get ahead of himself. But whatever Richie was doing, Eddie knew it would be worth the wait. Still, he pouted as his cock ached, begging for attention.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a knock at the door.

He groaned to himself and stayed put, fucking himself even slower as he waited for whoever it was to leave. But then the knocking continued, loud and incessant and obnoxious, and Eddie knew exactly who it was. He also knew he wasn’t going to go away any time soon, which honestly made him smile and blush. Richie had terrible timing, but Eddie would never be upset to see him.

Reluctantly, he slowly slid the toy out and pulled on his shorts, leaving his shirt off. He still had a pretty obvious boner, but his horny brain did not mind the idea of Richie seeing it. So he strode lazily down the hall, shouting a performatively annoyed, “I’m coming!” Finally, he opened the door, cocking his hip to the side and giving Richie an expectant look. “Can I help you?” he asked, a small smile dancing around the corner of his lips. He had to fight off a smirk at the wide eyed look Richie gave him as he ran his eyes over Eddie’s body.

“Fuck,” he muttered lowly, his eyes trained on Eddie’s cock, which was getting even harder the more Richie stared. Eddie bit his lip and grinned a little, making doe eyes at Richie. But Richie didn’t meet his gaze—instead he brushed past Eddie, his mouth still hanging open as he made his way urgently toward Eddie’s bedroom.

“Richie?” Eddie asked, a little let down that Richie’s hands weren’t all over him right now. But hey, if he was heading to Eddie’s bedroom he figured that was at least the right direction. He closed his front door and followed Richie into his room, where he found him staring at the bright pink vibrator on the bed. As confident and horny as Eddie was feeling, that still made him blush. He was only human. Crossing his arms, he said, bashful now, “I was kind of in the middle of something.”

Richie looked over at him, his cheeks bright red under his freckles. Then he got a glimmer of that trademark shit-eating grin on his face. “Eds, you fucking slut,” he said, sounding both delighted and breathless. “You are so fucking hot.”

Eddie flushed and tried not to squirm, but he couldn’t help but press his legs together, his eyes brightening. Fuck, was this actually happening? Shit, he needed to think of something witty to say. “You gonna do anything about it?” Okay, that kinda sounded like a corny porn, but he had to give himself credit for even being able to form words just after his lifelong crush and personal wet dream had just admitted his attraction to him.

“I think I already have been,” Richie said, still grinning.

Eddie cocked an eyebrow at him. He couldn’t help but smile back. “Oh yeah? How do you figure that?”

Eddie was expecting a confession. He was expecting something along the lines of you think I don’t notice how you look at me? or did you really think those were casual touches earlier? What he was not expecting was for Richie to unlock his phone and hold it up, showing Eddie the video he had just taken, the video he’d sent to internet-Richie.

Oh. Oh. Oh fuck.

“Oh my god, that’s you?” Eddie cried in disbelief.

“You’re telling me you didn’t recognize this dick?” Richie asked, swaggering over to Eddie, clearly enjoying himself.

“How did you recognize it was me?”

Richie nodded toward the Thundercats poster on Eddie’s wall, then to the model train that sat on his dresser. “What other guy has decor like that and the ass to match?”

Eddie grinned and shook his head. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Well pardon me for not being especially eloquent when I’ve just learned that the guy I’ve been masturbating to since I learned how to and been in love with for even longer has been masturbating to me too.”

Eddie’s eyes went wide, all thoughts of getting fucked leaving for a moment. “You’re in love with me?” he asked, his voice as soft as his smile.

Richie was not a bashful person, but the little laugh he let out just then was close to it. “Have been my whole life, but thanks for finally noticing.”

Eddie shook his head and stepped closer, until he had to crane his head up to meet Richie’s gaze. “I love you too.”

Richie’s eyes widened behind his thick frames. Eddie had only seen that look in Richie’s eyes a few times before, but he never wanted to lose sight of it again. He always wanted Richie to look at him like that. But then Richie was closing his eyes and leaning down. It only took Eddie a second to get with the program, drinking in the moment just a little longer before letting his own eyes fall shut as he pressed his lips against Richie’s.

It started gentle enough, if deep and passionate and intentional. But then Richie’s hands were on Eddie’s bare waist, skin against skin, and Eddie was gasping into Richie’s mouth, his hands coming up and resting against Richie’s chest. He curled his fingers into Richie’s shirt as Richie ran his tongue over Eddie’s lips, just before pulling away. He laughed at Eddie’s indignant little whine.

“Oh, you mean you don’t want me to take off my shirt right now?” he smirked as Eddie tried to pull him closer by the offending fabric. Huffing, Eddie conceded and let go long enough to let Richie pull the shirt off over his head.

“Oh,” he said softly, his voice a little, awed moan as he drank in Richie’s chest. It wasn’t like Richie had never been shirtless in front of Eddie before, but Eddie had never felt like he was allowed to really look at Richie all those times. But now he could; now he could touch. And he did, running his fingers over Richie’s smooth, warm skin, over his acne scars and blackheads and freckles. “Fuck, Richie,” he sighed before pressing his lips to Richie’s collarbones, trailing them all over Richie’s beautiful chest.

Richie gave a breathless, almost shy laugh as he stroked Eddie’s hair. “Damn, Eds, never pegged you as a tits guy.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Eddie giggled, bringing his lips back to Richie’s. They both smiled into it, getting lost for a moment as Richie’s hands slid slowly down Eddie’s sides. His hands lingered on Eddie’s hips for a moment before he slid them further down and grabbed at Eddie’s ass, making him gasp.

“Is that any way to talk to the guy who’s about to rail you ‘til you can’t walk?”

“What’re you gonna do about it?” Eddie asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Spank me?”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Richie smirked. He gave Eddie’s ass a playful smack, making Eddie gasp again and fall into him, needing more. Richie’s voice was dripping with adoration as he purred, “Little brat,” and pulled Eddie against him, kissing him again. Eddie went with it easily and happily parted his lips to let Richie lick into his mouth. Richie had one hand gripping Eddie’s jaw and the other on his ass, touching him in a way that exuded a command Eddie was desperate to follow. God, Eddie knew Richie had big hands, but they felt huge on him like this. It was dizzyingly hot. And the way Richie’s tongue was teasing his had Eddie’s knees going weak. His dick was throbbing in his shorts, aching to finish what he’d started, what had been interrupted. When he thought about it all—about playing with himself for Richie, about the video Richie had sent him, about all those things Richie had said about filling Eddie up—he felt himself clench down on nothing, desperate to get fucked. Desperate to feel Richie’s cock so deep inside of him.

“Richie,” he whined into the kiss, pulling on Richie’s belt loops, “please.” He pressed himself urgently against Richie and rutted shamelessly against his thigh.

“Fuck, you’re a needy little thing, aren’t you?” His voice was cocky and teasing, but there was an apparent undercurrent of wonder there as well.

Eddie shoved his face into Richie’s neck and whined, grabbing onto Richie’s wrists without even knowing what his goal was. “Richie,” he whimpered, sounding pitiful and ruined already.

“What do you want, baby?” Richie’s voice made it clear that he was enjoying seeing Eddie this wrecked, and that just made Eddie even harder. “Come on, tell me, use your words.”

Eddie squirmed as Richie held him close, but still not touching him in any relieving way. “I need you inside,” Eddie said, his voice high and soft as he squirmed in Richie’s grip. “God, please, Richie, need you to fuck me. Fuck me so hard I can’t even think. Fuck me like I’m your little toy.”

Eddie could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth, and judging by the gasp he heard Richie let out, he’d caught Richie off guard too. But if the hard bulge in his jeans that brushed up against Eddie was any indication, he was apparently just as turned on as Eddie was. Besides, Eddie knew from his blog that Richie was really into that sort of thing too—and, apparently, really into the idea of doing those things with Eddie. The realization that Richie had been saying all those filthy things about him had him grinding against him with even more fervor, kissing his neck with a heated confidence. Richie moaned, and Eddie could feel the warmth of it spreading through him. “Yeah, sweetheart? You want to feel me inside you? You think you’re ready for me?”

“Yes,” Eddie sighed, looking up at Richie with wide, desperate eyes. He shivered at the new look in Richie’s eyes, the blue nearly entirely eclipsed by how wide his pupils were. He looked hungry for Eddie; Eddie wanted to feel it. “‘M ready, Richie, please, so open for you.” He looked to the toy on his bed pointedly, but Richie only gave a deep laugh.

“Oh honey, that’s cute that you think that little thing is gonna have you ready for my cock.” Eddie’s breath caught; that toy wasn’t small. Before he could gather his scattered brain enough to react, Richie was scooping him up and tossing him on the bed, the toy falling forgotten to the floor. Richie moved Eddie onto his back, and Eddie went happily, pliantly. Richie’s fingers were cool against Eddie’s burning skin as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of Eddie’s shorts, slowly dragging them over his hips and down his legs, tossing them to the floor. Eddie’s cock was dripping with precome, his chest flushed a bright red as he squirmed under Richie’s gaze. Eddie been dreaming of Richie manhandling him like this for he didn’t even know how long; he couldn’t help the way he reacted. And he especially couldn’t help the pleased little sound he made when Richie murmured, “God, you’re gorgeous, Eds.” Then Richie was grabbing him by the ankles, gently but firmly spreading Eddie’s legs, and Eddie let out the most pathetic, genuine moan he’d ever heard. “Fuck, baby, you sound pretty. You like when I spread you open?” Richie asked. He was smirking down at Eddie, but Eddie could see how flushed he was, could see the thrilled awe in his dark, hungry eyes as Eddie nodded.

“Richie, please,” Eddie whimpered. “I need you so bad.” He sat up, reaching for Richie’s belt, but Richie easily pressed him back against the mattress with a large hand on the center of his chest. The confidence in Richie’s dominance took Eddie’s breath away, and he stayed right where he was, nice and obedient, as he watched Richie get off the bed and slowly undo his belt, then his button and zipper. He took his time dragging his jeans and boxers off, enough time to let Eddie’s eyes linger on the reveal of the dark hair under Richie’s waistband. Then Richie’s cock was bouncing up against his stomach, hard and flushed and fucking long. Eddie moaned at the sight and fisted the sheets underneath him. He wanted so badly to get his mouth on Richie, to breathe him in and be nice and good for Richie on his knees. But he was also desperate to get fucked; his hole clenched down on nothing at the thought, and then it was all he could think about again. “Richie,” he repeated, whining now as he reached for him. “Stop being such a tease.”

Richie laughed as he moved easily out of Eddie’s grip and climbed on top of him. Eddie gasped softly at the sight of Richie above him, his dark curls surrounding his face, his full, pink lips pulled into the most beautiful smile Eddie had ever seen in his life. He ran his hands over Richie’s chest and sides, marveling at the fact that this was really happening. Then, his eyes flickering down, he tentatively brought his hand to Richie’s cock.

“Oh, fuck,” they said, both at the same time, making them giggle together.

“Fuck, Eds, your pretty little hand looks so cute wrapped around my cock,” Richie teased in a low, rough voice. Eddie shivered; he couldn’t tell if Richie was praising him or degrading him, but either way it made his head fuzzy.

“‘M not that little,” Eddie grumbled out of habit. But he was clearly breathless. He’d never been good at pretending not to like Richie’s compliments, however teasing.

“Aw, but you are, baby,” Richie cooed, nuzzling his nose against Eddie’s and pressing a lingering kiss to his lips. “You’re so cute and tiny for me. I don’t even know if we’ll be able to fit my cock inside you.”

“I can,” Eddie whined, both indignant and impatient. He bucked his hips up, but Richie held him down. He gasped when he felt the warm, soft skin of Richie’s cock press against his stomach. Looking down, he saw that Richie had his cock lying on Eddie’s stomach, showing just how deep he would be once he was inside Eddie.

“You sure about that, babydoll?” While the teasing note was still there, Richie’s voice got noticeably softer as he said, “I don’t wanna hurt you.”

Eddie’s chest swelled at that. Cupping Richie’s face in his hands, he insisted, “I can take it.” Then he reached down and took Richie in his hand, glowing with pride when Richie let out a low moan. “Richie, please, I want you so bad.”

“Okay, baby,” Richie agreed, turning his head to kiss Eddie’s palm. “Fuck, I want you, too.” But he stalled. “Have you ever… like, been fucked before?”

Eddie flushed. “Well, not by someone else, but I have some toys. I’m not gonna break, Richie.” He huffed, but the way Richie was looking at him soothed any ruffled feathers.

“I’m your first?” His smile was soft, and while his eyes glittered, there was nothing teasing about his tone.

“I didn’t wanna do it with anyone else,” Eddie mumbled. He tried to look away, but Richie pulled him into a kiss.

“Fuck, I never thought you’d want me,” he chuckled. “Sorry, that was depressing, I just mean I can’t believe we didn’t do this sooner, you know?”

Eddie beamed, a small, giddy giggle dancing on his lips. “Well it’ll happen sooner if you stop talking so much.” But his smile, and all of the little kisses he planted on Richie’s freckled shoulders told Richie that Eddie never wanted him to stop talking.

“Alright, alright, sheesh, I know I’m hot but you don’t gotta rush me.” Eddie was still giggling when Richie kissed him, and he could feel that Richie was smiling too. “Where’s your lube?”

Eddie stretched his hand out and patted the bed for a moment, searching. After what was probably only four seconds but felt like an eternity, he finally found the bottle and handed it eagerly to Richie. “Oh, right,” Richie smirked, “you’re already wet for me, aren’t you?” Eddie moaned as Richie swiped his fingers over Eddie’s slick hole, pressing in just a bit. His fingers went in easily, and he pumped them slowly, drawing little, breathy moans out of Eddie. Richie’s fingers were a lot longer and thicker than his own, and they felt amazing, but they weren’t what he wanted in that moment.

“Richie, fuck me,” he whined.

“Aw, no please? Again?” Richie tsked and shook his head, curling his fingers against Eddie’s prostate, making him cry out. “I told you, sweetheart, only good boys who use their manners get fucked.”

“Please,” Eddie cried. He rocked his hips and grabbed at Richie’s shoulders, at his arms, not even sure what his goal was there other than to get Richie closer, to get his attention, to show him how desperate he was. “Please fuck me, please.” He sounded pathetic begging like this, but that just made him harder. And it made Richie’s pupils even wider as he slid his fingers out of Eddie and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“Good boy,” he purred. Eddie moaned and arched into Richie’s touch, but he only gave Eddie one more kiss on his cheek before pulling back and covering his cock in lube. Eddie watched, entranced, as Richie’s hand moved smoothly over his cock, glistening and slick. Then Richie was gently spreading Eddie’s legs even further and pressing the head of his cock against Eddie’s hole.

“Yes,” Eddie whimpered brokenly, grasping at the sheets beneath him. “Richie, please.” Meeting his gaze, he said softly, “I need you.”

“I’ve got you,” Richie assured him in a voice that made Eddie feel like he was glowing. Richie took Eddie’s hand in his and entwined their fingers, using his other hand to guide his cock inside of Eddie, who gasped at the feeling. God, he couldn’t believe this was happening. He couldn’t believe his first time was going to be with his favorite person. He couldn’t believe he was finally getting exactly what he wanted. Love flooded through him, warm and perfect, somehow both soothing and electrifying as he watched Richie’s face. Eddie’s mouth dropped as Richie pressed into him, deeper and deeper and still fucking deeper, until finally Richie let out a low moan and Eddie felt absolutely breathless. The stretch was intense, and he held onto Richie tightly as he caught his breath. “Are you alright?” Richie asked. His voice was strained, but the care and concern in it was clear. “You don’t have to take all of it if it’s too much.”

Eddie wanted to laugh at the remark or roll his eyes, but with how breathless and dizzied by pleasure he already was, he had to admit Richie had a point. “Just need a minute,” he gasped. Richie ran a soothing hand over Eddie’s skin, helping him even out his breathing and relax. The feeling of Richie’s cock twitching in anticipation inside of him had him letting out little moans as he adjusted, getting more and more used to the feeling until he felt comfortable enough to tell Richie he could move. Richie kissed him before he did, his lips soft against Eddie’s, a reassuring weight. Eddie breathed in sharply as Richie pulled back, grabbing at Richie’s shoulders.

Richie immediately stopped. “You okay, baby?” he asked, caressing Eddie’s face.

Eddie wanted to melt. Richie was always touching him, always jokingly flirting with him, but this unabashed concern and, well, love had previously been reserved for dire situations, like panic attacks or injuries. Eddie couldn’t help the dopey smile that bloomed on his face as he tilted his chin up and kissed Richie. “I’m okay,” he said breathlessly. “It’s just a little different from my vibrator.” They both gave a shaky laugh as Richie nuzzled his nose against Eddie’s.

“Better, I hope?” he grinned.

“Can’t tell yet,” Eddie retorted. Another snarky comment was on the tip of his tongue when Richie pulled his hips further back, effectively sucking all the air—and attitude—from Eddie’s chest. And then Richie was pushing back in, and Eddie let out a moan he couldn’t have faked if he tried, relaxing back into the mattress as his eyes fell shut. It was the best thing he’d ever felt, pleasure and relief flooding through his body. They’d been building up this tension for years; Eddie had figured it would feel good to break it, but it really felt magical, like something had just clicked into place. Feeling Richie inside of him, rocking his hips carefully, feeling Richie twitch as he tried not to lose control had Eddie’s head reeling. Eddie’s eyes fluttered open, focusing on Richie above him, on how flushed his face was. When Richie met his eye, pressing in deep, Eddie let out a small, “Fuck.”

“Yeah? Does that feel good, sweetheart?”

Richie was smirking as he said it, but there was something else sparkling in his eyes. Something giddy and awed. Something that made Eddie sigh dreamily, “I love you.”

Richie’s eyes widened for a moment before he pressed his lips firmly against Eddie’s, his hands roaming over Eddie’s body like he couldn’t choose where to put them, where to touch him. “I love you so much,” he beamed, pressing a few more kisses to Eddie’s cheeks. Eddie giggled at the feeling, but then Richie’s hips moved just a little faster, pressing him in just a little deeper, and he was back to melting under Richie’s touch, clinging to him as he rocked his hips with Richie’s. “Fuck, you’re so amazing, baby, so fucking beautiful. You look so good like this, holy shit.”

Eddie smiled almost drunkenly at Richie’s ability to ramble even when blowing Eddie’s mind. “Feels so good,” he moaned, his voice breathy and just a little bit higher than normal. He wrapped his legs around Richie’s waist. “Please, Richie, please.”

“Fuck, baby, wanna make you feel like this all the fucking time,” Richie groaned as he picked up the pace. Eddie whined in pleasure at the change, and that just spurred Richie to go faster, harder, until he was well and truly fucking Eddie, both of them moaning with every thrust.

“Oh my god,” Eddie cried, “ohmygodohmygodhmygod, oh fuck, Richie, please.” It felt so amazing, Richie fucking into him like this, but he needed that little bit more. His cock was throbbing desperately, achingly hard; he needed to feel Richie’s hand on him. “Richie, please,” he whimpered, “please, please touch me. I need you, I need you so bad, please, Richie.” Eddie was pouting now, grabbing aimlessly at Richie, his legs still wrapped tight around him.

“Fuck, you’re so hard for me,” Richie marveled, his voice sweet and condescending as he wrapped his hand around Eddie’s cock. Eddie nearly screamed at the contact, his back arching off the bed. Richie laughed a little, which just made Eddie even harder. The way Richie spread his precome over his cock, twisting his wrist just so as he stroked him had that familiar tension coiling in his lower stomach. “Aw, does that feel good? You gonna come on my cock, kitten?”

“Fuck, yes!” Eddie screamed. He gripped at the sheets as Richie stroked him, his voice washing over Eddie, mixing with the pleasure of Richie’s touch, of his thrusts. “Yes, yes, yes, please let me come, please, please, please.”

“That’s a good boy,” Richie purred, and Eddie could feel himself tipping over the edge at the words, at how low and affected Richie’s voice was. He groaned out, “Come on my cock like a good boy, princess,” and pure pleasure crashed over Eddie like a wave. He arched his back and cried out as he came, his moans filling the room as he squirmed under Richie, grabbed at him, at the sheets. It was fucking ethereal. He felt somehow so in tune with his body and yet so detached, like he was floating. He was barely cognizant of what Richie was saying, but when he put the sounds together and realized Richie had just said, panting, “Fuck, baby, gonna come,” Eddie felt like a live wire again.

“In me,” he said urgently. His mind was still a little too scattered for full sentences, but he knew what he wanted. God, he felt like he needed it. Like he needed to feel that connected to Richie. “Richie, come inside me, please.”

Richie apparently didn’t need to be told twice; he let out a moaned, “Oh, fuck,” before burying his face in Eddie’s neck, his breathy moans like music in Eddie’s ear. And then, as Eddie was coming down from his own high, he felt the holiest thing in the world: Richie’s cock, twitching inside of him, then his warm come filling Eddie up. It was unreal, being this close to him. Richie clutching at him as he came. It was even better than the little fantasies Eddie occasionally allowed himself. Richie was here, in his arms, pressing kisses to his neck as he caught his breath. Eddie was stroking his hair and rubbing his back as Richie nuzzled into him. Richie’s skin pressed against his skin, his legs wrapped around Richie’s waist, then falling to his sides, but still pressed to him. Still keeping him close. There wasn’t a single thought in his head that wasn’t about Richie.

Richie pulled him from his dreamy haze with light kisses pressed up his jaw, then over his cheeks. Eddie giggled at the onslaught of affection, still reeling from how fucking hot and euphoric what they had just done together had been. But he happily accepted Richie’s kisses, his heart bursting, then racing as Richie pulled back to look in his eyes. “Holy, fuck,” Richie beamed, his face flushed and blue eyes hooded from the weight of his orgasm, even as they sparkled.

“I know,” Eddie said, returning Richie’s grin as he basked in the surreality of having Richie on top of him, his dorky yet charming smile framed by lips that were red and swollen because of Eddie. His glasses were knocked askew, and Eddie instinctively reached up to fix them. With a sense of wonder, he realized that his touch was allowed to linger this time. He ran his fingers down Richie’s cheekbones, over his jaw, cupped his cheeks. “I love you,” he said. The words spilled out over his lips like he couldn’t stand not to say them. And while it made his heart race a little to say it out loud now that the adrenaline and tension was all worked through, it felt even better this time when Richie’s face softened and he nuzzled his nose against Eddie’s.

“I love you so fucking much.” Richie’s voice rarely got that soft, that sincere; it felt like a blanket wrapping around Eddie. It felt safe, secure. It felt like a promise. And if there was anyone in the world Eddie knew he could trust, it was Richie. That feeling of everything coming together came back to Eddie as he lay there under Richie, their lips moving together, feeling light as a feather now that everything was finally out in the open.

#reddie #notsfw #reddie smut #reddie fic

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wolfstar-in-color · 3 years

Text

July Colorful Column: Remus is a Crip, and We Can Write Him Better.

There is one thing that can get me to close a fic so voraciously I don’t even make sure I’m not closing other essential tabs in the process. It doesn’t matter how much I’m loving the fic, how well written I think it is, or how desperately I want to know how it ends. Once I read this sentence, I am done.

It’s written in a variety of different ways, but it always goes something like this: “You don’t want me,” Remus said, “I am too sick/broken/poor/old/[insert chosen self-demeaning adjective here].”

You’re familiar with the trope. The trope is canonical. And if you’ve been around the wolfstar fandom for longer than a few minutes, you’ve read the trope. Maybe you love the trope! Maybe you’ve written the trope! Maybe you’re about to stop reading this column, because the trope rings true to you and you feel a little attacked!

Now, let’s get one thing out of the way right now: I am not saying the trope is wrong. I am not saying it’s bad. I am not saying we should stop writing it. We all have things we don’t like to see in our chosen fics. Maybe you can’t stand Leather Jacket Motorbike Sirius? Maybe you think Elbow Patch Remus is overdone? Or maybe your pet peeves are based in something a little deeper - maybe you think Poor Latino Remus is an irresponsible depiction, or that PWPs are too reductive? Whatever it is, we all have our things.

Let me tell you about my thing. When I first became very ill several years ago, there were various low points in which I felt I had become inherently unlovable. This is, more or less, a normal reaction. When your body stops doing things it used to be able to do - or starts doing things you were quite alright without, thank you very much - it changes the way you relate to your body. You don’t want to hear my whole disability history, so yada yada yada, most people eventually come to accept their limitations. It’s a very painful existence, one in which you constantly tell yourself your disability has transformed you into a burdensome, unworthy member of society, and if nothing else, it’s not terribly sustainable. Being disabled takes grit! It takes power! It takes a truly absurd amount of medical self-advocacy! Hating yourself? Thinking yourself unworthy of love? No one has time for that.

Of course, I’m being hyperbolic. Plenty of disabled people struggle with these feelings many years into their disabilities, and never really get over them. But here’s the thing. We experience those stories ALL THE TIME. Remember Rain Man? Or Million Dollar Baby? Or that one with the actress from Game of Thrones and that British actor who seemed like he was going to have a promising career but then didn't? Those are all stories about sad, bitter disabled people and their sad, bitter lives, two out of three of which end in the character completing suicide because they simply couldn’t imagine having to live as a disabled person. (I mean, come on media, I get that we're less likely to enjoy a leisurely Saturday hike, but our parking is SUBLIME.) When was the last time you engaged with media that depicted a happy disabled person? A complex disabled person? A disabled person who has sex? No really, these aren’t hypothetical questions, can you please drop a rec in the notes?? Because I am desperate.

There are lots of problems with this trope, and they’ve been discussed ad nauseam by people with PhDs. I’m not actually interested in talking about how this trope leads to a more prevalent societal idea that disabled people are unworthy of love, or contributes to the kind of political thought processes that keep disabled people purposefully disenfranchised. I’m just a bitch on Tumblr, and I have a bone to pick: the thing I really hate about the trope? It’s boring. I’m bored. You know how, like, halfway through Grey’s Anatomy you realized they were just recycling the same plot points over and over again and there was just no WAY anyone working at a hospital prone to THAT MANY disasters would stay on staff? It's like that. I love a recycled trope as much as the next person (There Was Only One Bed, anyone?). But I need. Something. Else.

Remus is disabled. BOLD claim. WILD speculation. Except, not really. You simply - no matter how you flip it, slice it, puree it, or deconstruct it - cannot tell me Remus Lupin is not disabled. Most of us, by this point, are probably familiar with the way that One Canonical Author intended One Dashing Werewolf to be “a metaphor for those illnesses that carry stigma, like HIV and AIDS” [I’m sorry to link you to an outside source quoting She Who Must Not Be Named, but we’re professionals here]. Which is... a thing. It’s been discussed. And, listen, there’s no denying that this parallel is a problematic interpretation of people who have HIV/AIDS and all such similar “those illnesses” (though I’ll admit that I, too, am perennially apt to turn into a raging beast liable to harm anything that crosses my path, but that’s more linked to the at-least-once-monthly recollection that One Day At A Time got cancelled). Critiques aside, Remus Lupin is a character who - due to a condition that affects him physically, mentally, emotionally, and intellectually - is repeatedly marginalized, oppressed, denied political and social power, and ostracized due to unfounded fear that he is infectious to others. Does that sound familiar?

We’re not going to argue about whether or not “Remus is canonically disabled as fuck” is a fair reading. And the reason we’re not going to argue about whether or not it’s a fair reading is because I haven’t read canon in 10-plus years and you will win the argument. Canon is only marginally relevant here. The icon of this blog is brown, curly haired Remus Lupin kissing his trans boyfriend, Sirius Black. We are obviously not too terribly invested in canon. The wolfstar fandom is now a community with over 25,000 AO3 fics, entire careers launched from drawing or writing or cosplaying this non-canonical pairing. We love to play around here with storylines and universes and races and genders and sexualities and all kinds of things, but most of the time? Remus is still disabled. He’s disabled as a werewolf in canon-compliant works, he’s disabled in the AUs where he was injured or abused or kidnapped or harmed as a child, he’s disabled in the stories that read him as chronically ill or bipolar or traumatized or blind or Deaf. I’d go so far as to say that he is one of very few characters in the Wide Wonderful World of media who is, in as close to his essence as one can be, always disabled. And that means? Don’t shoot the messenger... but we could stand to be a tiny bit more responsible with how we portray him.

Disabled people are complicated. As much as I’d like to pretend we are always level-headed, confident, and ready to assert our inherent worth, we are still just humans. We have bad days. We doubt our worth. We sometimes go out with guys who complain about our steroid-induced weight gain (it was a long time ago, Tumblr, okay??). But, we also have joy and fun and good days and sex and happiness and families and so many other things.

Remus is a disabled character, and as such, it’s only fair that he’d have those unworthy moments. But - I propose - Remus is also a crip. What is a crip? A crip - like a queer - is someone who eschews the limited boundaries placed on their bodies, who rejects a hierarchy of oppression in favor of an intersectional analysis of lived experience, who isn’t interested in being the tragic figure responsible for helping people with dominant identities realize how good they have it. Crips interpret their disabilities however they want, rethinking bodies and medicine and pleasure and pain and even time itself. Crips are political, community-minded, and in search of liberation.

Remus is a character who struggles with his disability, sure. But he’s also a character who leverages his physical condition to attempt to shift communities towards his political leanings, advocates for the rights of those who share his physical condition, and has super hot sex with his wrongfully convicted boyfriend ultimately goes on to build community and family. Having a condition that quite literally cripples you, over which you have no control, and through which you are often read as a social pariah? That’s disability. But using said condition as a means through which to build advocacy and community? Now that’s some crip shit.

Personally, I love disabled!Remus Lupin. But I love crip!Remus Lupin even more. I’d love to see more of a Remus who owns his disability, who covets what makes him unique, and who never ever again tells a potential romantic partner they are too good for him because of his disability. This trope - unlike There Was Only One Bed! - sometimes actually hurts to read. Where’s Remus who thinks a potential romantic partner isn’t good enough for him? Where’s Remus who insists his partners learn more about his condition in order to treat him properly? Where’s sexy wheelchair user Remus? Where’s Remus who uses his werewolf transformations as an excuse to travel the world? Where’s crip Remus??

We don’t have to put “you don’t want me” Remus entirely to bed. It is but one of many repeated tropes that are - in the words of The Hot Priest from Fleabag - morally a bit dubious. And let’s face it - we don’t always come to fandom for its moral superiority (as much as we sometimes like to think we do).

This is not a condemnation - it is an invitation. Able-bodied folks are all but an injury, illness, or couple decades away from being disabled. And when you get here, I sincerely hope you don’t waste your time on “you don’t want me”ing back and forth with the people you love. I’m inviting you to come to the crip side now. We have snacks, and without all the “you don’t want me” talk, we get to the juicy parts much faster.

Colorfully,

Mod Theo

#wolfstar #disability in fandom #disabled remus #crip remus #please write me some crip remus #I beg of you #fandom meta

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devilberries · 3 years

Text

~Tears of Themis~

Marius royalty au

Part ii coming out soon with Marius x femMC

Pressure.

Marius Von Hagen knew pressure very well. In fact, he was acquainted with pressure since he was born. Pressure had been holding his hand since he learned how to walk, and it’s always stuck by his side.

Pressure weighed on his back when he became prince. Pressure weighed on his back when he sat with the neighboring royal children. Pressure weighed on his back when his brother ran away. Pressure weighed on his back when he became the crown prince. Pressure weighed on his back when his parents both grew old and ill.

Pressure weighed on his back when he became king.

And here he sat on the throne. It felt uncomfortable, like he didn’t belong there. The elbow rests of the golden chair were cold, unwelcoming. The seat itself was big. He felt like a small child, sitting there.

It reminded him that he was only king in name. At least, that was what people kept saying. He almost believed them. He really should. After all, how could he rule a kingdom he was never meant to rule?

Was this why his brother left? Were the responsibilities too much? Was this why he ran away, leaving all the heavy burdens behind for his pitiful younger brother?

Marius slumped in his seat defeatedly. It wasn’t like he could ask his parents for help when they were both ill in their beds.

But now that there was a change in power, advisors, military commanders, and neighboring kingdoms were watching for a chance to swoop in and eat up Marius. They were waiting for him to slip and fall, using it to their advantage. They would try and try to manipulate Marius, the ignorant younger prince who only knew how to draw.

He heard the whispers in the long halls. He knew of the names they conjured up for him. He could feel the contempt through their fake smiles.

“Your Royal Majesty,” one of the advisors coughed. Marius snapped out of his daze and looked at him. The advisor furrowed his eyebrow and stated, “As the king of this nation, it would be wise not to mindlessly daydream in the middle of a meeting.”

Marius could hear another counselor scoff under his breath, “King? He’s no king. Just a foolish child wearing a crown.”

He raised eyes at the two men calmly.

“Tell me, old man, who is my father?”

The counselor stared back at him with caution as he answered, “His Royal Majesty King Austin von Hagen.”

Marius smirked when he heard his voice quiver. “Alright, and what is my brother’s title?”

Whispers rush between the men along the long table. It was an unspoken rule not to speak of the original crown prince. They could feel the tension suffocate them.

“H-His Royal Highness… Prince G-Giann von Hagen.”

“Good!” Marius smiled, praising the old man, who sat there, sweating buckets of water. “Now,” he stared straight into his eyes, “what is my title?”

“Y-Your Royal Majesty… King Marius von Hagen II.”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Marius waved his finger at the counselor. “That’s not what you said a few seconds ago. Tell me, oh, wise counselor.” He walked behind the old man, towering above him. He placed his hands on his shoulders and asked, “What did you call me?”

The silence was loud. Everyone could only look down, ignoring the counselor. Marius could feel the man shake beneath his touch.

He knew this wasn’t the life he was meant for. He knew that he was better off painting somewhere far away from the throne. Marius knew he was an incompetent king.

But a king nonetheless.

When the man said nothing, Marius whispered, just loud enough for everyone to hear, “That’s treason, you know? What should we do with you, hmm? We could,” he traced his finger on the shaking counselor’s neck, “slit your throat. Hang you. Maybe both. Or wait,” he snaked his arm around the man’s shoulder and harshly grabbed the man’s cheeks with one hand.

“We could cut that tongue of yours out.”

As if that triggered something in him, the man began to sputter out words, begging for mercy. He’d be on his knees if he could, but he didn’t dare shove Marius away. The young king cringed when he felt the man’s snot and tears drip down on his hand. Hastily, he pulled away and called for the guards.

As they forced the counselor away, he screamed and cried, but they all fell on deaf ears. Marius turned to the others who sat there with pale faces.

“I think it’d be best to end the meeting here today. Good day, everyone.” He turned to leave, and everyone let out a sigh of relief, until he turned around. They all flinched and attempted to compose themselves. “Ah, by the way,” he eyed each one of them carefully. “I wasn’t joking when I said that was treason. If I hear a single one of you utter a word about my father, brother, or me, I will cut your tongues out, and let it be known that your families won’t be spared.”

He swiftly exited the room and headed to his parents room.

Pressure trailed behind him, so he walked faster. It was a hopeless attempt, as it caught up to him in no time. He paused his movement and clutched his chest, taking in heavy breaths. The shame and embarrassment clouds his vision, while fear blocked his hearing. He was simply alone, facing his fellow friend pressure once more.

He could tell it was mocking him. He could hear its laughs as it pointed at him, calling his crown unbefitting of him, a faux king. He could feel the judgement of its eyes as it stared at him, his glimmering jewels and badges and oversized cape.

Even with all the riches and gold covering him, he felt so naked.

When he felt its hand on its shoulder, he turned and yelled at it, hoping the nightmare would end.

“Get away from me!”

There he was, Vyn, his Royal Tutor, hand in the air as it was shoved away by Marius, and wearing a surprised expression on his face.

He quickly erased whatever trace of shock he had on his face and inquired the boy, “Should we skip todays lessons, Your Royal Majesty?”

Marius blinked back at him, not comprehending what he had just said.

What just happened? Did he shove Vyn?

Vyn saw his visible panic and gently placed his hand on his shoulder. The poor boy looked at him with fear.

“Your Royal Majesty-“

“Don’t call me that,” he whispered with closed eyes. “That’s not me. I’m not…”

“Oh, but you are,” Vyn said. “Let’s talk somewhere more private, shall we?”

No words came out of Marius, so the Tutor pulled the depressed king along with him into a private guest bedroom. He softly pushed Marius to sit on the bed, while he himself sat on the chair, watching the boy.

“How do you feel?”

Marius stared at the ground emptily. “Can I answer you honestly, Vyn?”

“Of course. You can tell me anything… Marius,” he added that at the end carefully. The boy let out a relieved sigh once he heard Vyn drop the honorifics.

“You really don’t have to call me all those things in public either, Vyn.”

He smiled, “That would be rude and almost treasonous. Didn’t I teach you that?”

“Argh,” Marius bent over, covering his face. “Don’t even mention the word treason near me again.”

“Why? What’s wrong with that?”

Marius looked up, and Vyn chuckled at his distressed expression. “I may have gotten mad at someone for talking shit about me, so I sent him to the chambers and threatened to cut his tongue off…”

Vyn raised an eyebrow, “Was it someone from the Council?”

“Yeah, it was,” Marius sighed.

“Well, it was very irrational to say, at the least, but at least you took the initiative to use your power. That’s the first step of being a ruler.”

“But I don’t want to be a ruler, Vyn. You know that. This,” he got up and spread his arms out, pointing to himself, “none of this stuff feels right. Being King doesn’t feel right. I don’t feel right. Everything is just so…” He trailed off, rubbing his eyes hard to stop the tears.

Vyn sat there patiently. He watched as the boy just a bit younger than him fall apart. He knew it would happen one day. No, in fact, he hoped it would happen. Perhaps this was Marius’s way to free himself from this mess of a kingdom he was born it.

The Tutor was smart. He was intelligent enough to be a military strategist, maybe even be King, but he was unlucky. He was born with commoner blood, yet maybe he was grateful to have been a mere peasant, a mere servant to serve a spoiled prince because he realized being born with royal blood didn’t mean you were lucky; you were just crushed even more by the endless expectations of thousands of people who entrust their lives to you.

He knew what Marius was going to

Everything was just so suffocating.

———————————

It took a while for Marius to stop crying. Vyn chuckled to himself thinking about it. How old was he? Twenty-one, right? Twenty-one and still weeping like he was five.

“Marius.” The boy who was sitting down on the bed, hugging a soft white pillow, looked up with puffy eyes. They decided it was best to stay until his eyes were a bit better in case word spreads that the King is a big baby. “If the pressure makes you too anxious, how about visiting the Themis Temple?”

“Temple? But I’m not religious,” Marius sniffed.

“I know that, but it might calm you a bit. Visiting the temple may bring peace and tranquil for your mind. Plus, I heard the priests and priestesses there are very kind and welcoming to all, despite social and economical differences.”

The boy raised his eyebrow when he heard the words “welcoming to all, despite social and economical differences.”

Was there really such a place that would overlook such things?

“Plus, I hear that they have this intriguing… we’ll call it ‘tradition.’”

“What do you mean by that?” Marius questioned.

“Well, you see, they believe that all the Head Priestesses that are born inherit Themis’s blood. I hear the Head Priestess as of now has a daughter who is coming of age to become the next Head Priestess, so they’re having this event, almost like a ritual to perform on the girl.”

Marius furrowed his eyebrows. “Ritual?”

Vyn nodded, “Yes, a ritual. I’ve only heard rumors, since the last one was forty years ago, but, apparently, the girl gets hot water poured all over her. It’s suppose to symbolize inheriting the burdens of the last Head Priestess and to make her feel the injustice of this world weigh down on her.”

Marius frowned. That sounded more like torture. He felt pity for the girl. She seemed similar to Marius, born with responsibility and pressure, with a role she never asked for.

“How about you go with me right now? We can use our study time to see whether or not you’ll like it. Plus, I believe it’s an opportunity of a lifetime.”

“But won’t people recognize me?” He inquired.

“The question you should be asking is not that, but if you ‘want’ people to recognize you.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t want people to know,” he grumbled.

“Then we shall dress as normal aristocrats. Come now, I have plenty of clothes that will suit you. You’ll have to make due with a commoner’s clothes, Your-“

“Don’t even think about addressing me like that,” he sneers. “And I don’t mind about wearing commoner stuff. I don’t care for this social hierarchy at all.”

Vyn whistles, “How cute, coming from a person of privilege.”

“You know that’s not what I mean!”

“Right, right, of course. I’ll just have to trust your word then. Now, shall we get dressed?”

The two exit the guest bedroom and head to Vyn’s, which was a couple doors down the hall. They walked side by side. Though the servants and maids whispered among themselves, Marius was occupied with his thoughts.

He couldn’t get his mind off of the girl. Perhaps it was infatuation, or genuine curiosity. He created an illusion in his mind.

In his fantasies, he would speak with the girl. He would ask if she felt proud to be part of this bloodline of Goddess’s, or if she felt as if such a position did not suit someone like her. In his mind, she would hesitantly tell him her true thoughts, that she didn’t want to burn under the wrath of the burning water. He would say he felt the same, that he had always been crushed by the constant expectations of the people. He would hold her hand and promise that he would save her, that the two of them could run away together, and she would agree. And together they would-

“The advisors weren’t wrong about you and your constant daydreaming,” Vyn chuckled as he flicked his forehead. Marius flinched, groaning out loud as he slapped his hand above his eyes. The Tutor turned the knob and held the door open. “Hurry now; we wouldn’t want to miss the performance, would we?”

Marius huffed and stepped in, shoving the Tutor along his way. Inside, Artem sat at Vyn’s desk, reading a few documents. His shirt was slightly unbuttoned, and his face wore a tired expression with the visible frown and disheveled hair.

It would be best not to piss off the Royal Justice.

“Artem,” Vyn called out. The grumpy man turned away from his papers and nodded at Vyn. When he noticed Marius, he heaved himself up to properly greet his king, but Marius quickly stopped him.

“Hey, sit down. I don’t need to hear any more honorifics than I should, and I would really hate hearing them from you.”

Artem sighed as he sat back down, pinching his nose bridge. “Sorry, I’m just completely exhausted right now. Work has been so swamped lately.”

Marius softened his eyes. “Is there anyway I can help you?”

The Royal Justice shook his head, “No. If you assisted me, word would spread that I am incompetent. There’s already enough rumors spreading around the castle.”

He had already known how brutally honest Artem was. Still, he could never get used to it. It ticked him off how Artem brushed him off like that; it felt insulting.

Before Marius could say any retort, Vyn placed a hand on his shoulder. “Artem, how about we all take a break?”

#tears of themis #Themis #marius von hagen #marius x reader #Themis royalty au #royalty au #royalty #angst #Themis angst #tears of Themis angst #marius angst #too many husbands help-#tot #marius x mc

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wolveria · 3 years

Text

Crucible - Ch 7

Pairing: Link x Reader

Prompt: For the Bittersweet Mini Bang!

Series Warnings (18+ only): Eventual smut, slow burn, violence, mild body horror, lots of whump, angst with a happy ending

Chapter Summary: Link takes them on another detour for a friend he hasn't seen in far too long.

AO3

Just around the corner before Inogo Bridge, Link put Raina up for board.

“Why didn’t we stay here last night?” asked his prickly companion. “We could have slept in an actual bed rather than on soggy ground.”

Link had to actually count in his head before answering. He hadn’t had to exercise this much patience since the first time he’d met a certain ornery Rito. Except Revali wouldn’t have been half as polite and would have added something about how Link was a stingy miser.

Link nearly smiled at the memory, the gesturing fading just as quickly. What he wouldn’t give to experience the cranky Rito’s arrogant posturing again.

“We are attempting to avoid drawing attention,” Link explained as he led them both down the path toward the elegant bridge. He glanced back when she didn’t follow.

“Hyrule Castle is to the west. We’re heading east.” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why did you board the horse?”

“There’s someone we should meet first.”

“Another friend?” She crossed her arms and glared at him.

Link couldn’t blame her for being so distrustful, especially after he’d seen firsthand how the guards had treated her. So he bit his tongue and answered.

“That’s right.”

After a few seconds of silent standoff in which she eyed him from head to toe, she finally followed after him.

“I do hope it’s not another fairy.”

Link couldn’t help but smile.

“No. No fairies this time.”

His smile seemed to annoy her, which made it grow wider, but they remained in silence as he led her through the twisting river valley toward Zora’s Domain.

The roads are much wider than they were the last time he’d been here, the route improved by the Zora so horses and carts could actually make it to the city proper. He could have taken Raina, but Link knew the shortcuts and off-paths that would make their journey that much faster. Plus, the way he planned to leave the Zora kingdom couldn’t be done by horse.

As he’d done in Akkala, Link showed Blue the various flora and fauna, especially those that were beneficial or dangerous. Not much here could be a threat; the lizalfos, moblins, and electric wizzrobes were long defeated.

Link shivered at the memory of having to avoid them while being pelted with never-ending droplets of freezing rain. He hadn’t been able to get warm even after reaching the Zora city, the chill clinging to him like an ill omen. And hadn’t that been accurate, after he found what lay inside Vah Ruta?

Now, the sun shone warmly as it crept toward noon, and there were no rain or monsters to slow them down. But still the chill lingered in his thoughts, and Link realized his companion was staring at him. How long ago had he stopped speaking, distracted by old, troubling memories?

“Sorry,” Link said with a smile that quickly faded. “Where did I last leave off?”

“Truffles. Hidden in the dirt underneath the pine trees.”

“Right.”

He looked up the ridge they were currently standing on, the road winding underneath them through tunnels and outcroppings. The lizalfos used this area to ambush travelers, and it had made finding elusive truffles that much more difficult.

Then he spotted the other plant he was always on the lookout for, and he crept along the edge of the small clearing and pointed down the hill.

“See that tall stem with the pink flower on top?”

Blue indicated she did with a nod, and Link’s suspicions were confirmed that she had as sharp of eyes as he did. Already he was wondering at her other capabilities, and how much she knew how to defend herself. The only thing he knew was either her aim wasn’t particularly good, or that dagger was never meant to harm him. He wasn’t about to ask.

Instead, he gestured toward the plant.

“Go on. Pull it up.”

She warily eyed his smile but did as she was told, gripping the green stem and yanking upward. Clods of dirt went flying with the strength of her effort, and she glared at the pink vegetable with such an off-put expression that he had to snort.

“It’s a hearty radish. Very rare and very useful. Cook them right, either alone or with some truffles, and they…”

Link wasn’t sure how to explain that eating certain foods had helped him survive things that would have normally killed him. Just saying it in his head sounded ridiculous, and he didn’t want her to think he was lying or out of his wits.

So he settled for a compromise.

“They increase your vitality. Especially when you’re injured or sick.”

Blue was giving him a look that was different than her usual broody one. It was a bit too keen and observant.

Link cleared his throat and pulled open his pack so she could put the vegetable inside. She did, eyes watchful, but then Link quickly changed the subject by instructing her on the various mushrooms that hid along the crags or in the shadows of tree trunks.

He liked imparting his knowledge on someone else, and he realized for the first time, she was the first person he’s ever shared it with. And what was even more startling was that she listened. Her scowls weren’t as severe, and she paid attention to everything he said.

Despite her unpleasant demeanor and her prickly words, it made Link feel acknowledged in a way he wasn’t used to. She didn’t listen to him because he was Link the Legendary Hero. She listened because she thought his words held value, could be useful to her someday, and that was worth more to him than the deference people showed him because of his titles and notoriety.

Suddenly, the old memories of this place weren’t as heavy as they were a moment before.

Due to his shortcuts and the lack of monsters, they reached the city bridge just as night was falling. Link counted his good luck, because there was nothing quite like coming upon the city as it glowed silver and blue, a beacon in the dark valley. He glanced at his surly companion and was satisfied to find her staring in open awe.

She caught him looking, but Link didn’t bother to hide his soft smile, even after she scowled at him. She moved ahead, stiffness to her step.

Blue made it about five paces before a large figure dropped down from one of the guard towers and landed directly in her path.

Before Link could move, she let out a cry and stumbled backwards, but the figure reached out and steadied her, a large toothy grin on the Zora prince’s face.

“Ho, there! I didn’t mean to frighten you! I do apologize.”

She stared up at the tall figure, mouth hanging open, and now Link was laughing despite his efforts to hold in his mirth. Sidon also grinned wider as he winked at him.

“At least your companion has the decency to act surprised. You hardly reacted at all when we first met!”

The prince released her, and Blue immediately scrambled behind Link. He barely had time to register that fact before the prince wrapped his arms around him and lifted him up in a tight embrace.

“I missed you too, Your Majesty,” Link wheezed.

“None of that, my friend!” Sidon set him down and braced his hands on Link’s shoulders. “We’ve been through too much to stand on formality. How are you? It’s been some time since we last spoke.”

Link had the decency to look away, guilt at Sidon’s question and the blatant concern in it. No doubt Sidon heard reports of Link’s isolation and frequent disappearances.

“I’m all right, Sidon.” And he meant it too. With a purpose again, even a small, temporary one, Link felt more clear-headed than he had in years. “I’m sorry I couldn’t send warning.”

Sidon waved off his concern.

“My scouts informed me of your coming, do not fret. However, they were unable to give me any pertinent information on your companion.”

Blue tried to shrink even more behind Link when Sidon turned an appraising eye on her. She pressed against his back, and Link was too startled to react; she never touched him voluntarily. Or perhaps it wasn’t voluntary. Sidon was very formidable with his towering height, intimidating silhouette, and sharp teeth. Link’s own lack of response at their initial encounter had been due to sleep-deprivation, not courage.

Link had glided down from Kakariko Village, and once he’d landed in the swamp, he’d been constantly chased by lizalfos, bokoblins, and moblins. Inogo Bridge had been the first time something had not tried to kill him, though when Sidon had landed directly in his path, Link had quickly resigned to the fact a seven-foot-tall aquatic being was about to eat him.

Fortunately for Link, Sidon was the friendliest, kindest, most generous being in all of Hyrule. The only thing Link had been in danger from was being overfed by the royal chefs once he made it to the glittering city.

“It’s sort of a long story,” Link answered when it was clear Sidon’s curiosity would have to eventually be quenched in full. “I’m taking Blue to the castle in hopes the scientists can restore her memory.”

“I see.” Sidon gave her a good-natured smile. “Lost it, have you? Well, not to worry! The Sheikah are clever folk, I’m sure they can help you. How did you two cross paths?”

Link glanced around, and even though he was mostly sure they were alone, he asked, “May be speak in private?”

Sidon grew serious far quicker than Link would have thought. He was grimmer than when they’d first met and the prince had been tasked with saving the realm from Vah Ruta’s endless rain. It seemed Link wasn’t the only one who had changed the past several years.

“Of course. You must be weary and hungry from your journey.” Sidon turned his gaze on the huddled form still hiding behind Link. “Lady Blue, allow me to have one of my guards escort you to the royal dining hall.”

Blue stepped out of Link’s shadow, but instead of going with the prince, she turned to stare at Link. Stared at him so long Link realized she was looking to him for guidance.

Well, wasn’t that unexpected.

Link gave her a reassuring smile and said, “I’ll join you when I can. You’ll be safe here. I trust Sidon with my life.”

She continued to fix him with her gaze, and Link had no idea if he had convinced her or not. Only when a guard came, and she followed him wordlessly, did Link finally know she had taken him at his word.

He was so distracted by this new development that he gave a start when Sidon sidled up to him. The prince was giving him a critical eye.

“What?” Link asked, immediately on the defensive even if he wasn’t sure why.

“I never knew you to take on a companion,” Sidon observed with a raised brow. “Not since…”

Not since you were the princess’ knight, is what Sidon didn’t say. Not since an evil awoke, the Guardians betraying those they were sworn to protect, and the kingdom falling into ruin.

But Sidon was too polite to say that, and Link was grateful for that.

“It’s temporary.” Very temporary. In two days’ time she would be Purah and Robbie’s responsibility, and Link doubted he would see much of her after that.

He wondered if Blue would be relieved.

The prince said nothing, and he led them back to his royal chambers where they could speak in private. As soon as the door was secured behind him, Sidon’s concern was immediately upon him.

“Tell me your story, Link, so I may know better how to aid you.”

Link couldn’t say no to the prince’s earnest plea, so he told him everything. How Blue quite literally ran into him in Tarrey Town, about her awakening in the Spring of Power with no memories, and what Mija had said about the goddesses somehow being involved. He described the tattered cloak Blue wore with the strange symbol, and he even mentioned the Yiga symbol on the dagger.

“Hmm,” Sidon hummed. “According to my reports, the Yiga have been quiet for some time. The dagger may well be a coincidence. I did see the symbol on her hood, but I do not know what it means. It nearly resembles the Royal Crest.”

“That’s what I thought, too.”

Link sighed. He stood next to one of the circular windows, staring out at the silver city below. He wondered if Blue was doing all right. He worried a new place surrounded by strangers would be too stressful to her. He should have gone with her.

“Perhaps there is no deeper meaning to any of this, and the divine influence your fairy sensed was from spending so much time in the shrine and the spring. They are both very holy places.”

Link glanced over his shoulder at his friend, eyes narrowed.

“You believe I’m seeing patterns that aren’t there?”

Sidon tried for a casual shrug, but it didn’t quite work with his regal bearing.

“I don’t doubt you, my friend. I am merely suggesting the possibility that you are searching for a connection because you are feeling adrift.”

Even though the princes’ voice was gentle, his words stung. Link shook his head.

“Then explain why we have the same face. I’m not imagining that, am I?”

Sidon approached the window to stand at his side, expression thoughtful as he tapped his chin with a sharp nail.

“Your features are very similar, I will admit, but they are not identical.”

“What? But they are!”

How could Sidon say that? Looking at Blue was nearly like looking in a mirror.

Sidon gave him an amused expression.

“Tell me, when you look at my people, are we all the same to your eyes?”

Link closed his mouth, his cheeks warm as he mumbled, “Well, I can easily spot you in a crowd.”

“I am especially large for a Zora,” Sidon said, his sharp grin returned. “But if you looked at the guards or the citizens, you would have trouble picking out one face from another, wouldn’t you?”

Link stared down at his gloved hands, shame prickling at his skin.

“Do not worry, Link, I don’t take offense.” The prince chuckled, enjoying Link’s embarrassment. “Unlike the Rito, there is not much between Zora to distinguish us besides the hue of our scales. We have to be much more cognizant of details such as scent, voice, and minute facial distinctions.”

Link looked up at the prince, who returned his gaze with surprising gentleness.

“There are small differences between you and your companion. Perhaps if you look closer, you will see them. Though I must admit, you look similar enough that it cannot be random happenstance. Not for a Hylian. Is she a blood relation, perhaps?”

Link shook his head, gaze wandering back to the window but not truly seeing.

“That’s not possible. My family is gone.”

Sidon’s voice was sympathetic, and that somehow stung even more.

“That is why I am suggesting that, perhaps, you are searching for an answer in the hopes that your family is still—“

“Stop.”

Link winced at his own shortness and leaned his temple against the side of the window frame.

“I know what you’re saying, but that’s not what I’m doing. I’m just… I’m just not.”

“All right,” Sidon said with far more patience than Link deserved. “But I would like to remind you that the goddesses have not directly influenced Hyrule in thousands of years. It is their way to work through others. Vessels, like the princess.”

Link knew that only too well. He wasn’t a direct descendant of Hylia, but he was still an important piece in the cycle.

He abruptly wondered what had happened to his predecessors after they’d fulfilled their destines. Gotten married, had children, led a happy life until old age?

Or did they live in isolation, unable to connect with others, their ability to settle into everyday life just a fantasy?

Perhaps they didn’t live at all and perished while fulfilling their roles, and Link was the outlier.

“Do you think she’s something like that?” Link asked quietly, a chill going down his spine. He truly hoped not. He wouldn’t wish that burden on anyone.

“I’m afraid the nature of the goddesses is beyond me, but… I could ask Father. He’s much more knowledgeable of divine history than I am.”

“I would appreciate that. Thank you, Sidon. This means a lot to me.”

The prince rested a hand on his shoulder, and the heaviness of Link’s burdens was a little more bearable.

“I know it hasn’t been easy for you or the princess these past few years,” he said. “It lightens my heart to see you still helping others. Despite everything, that hasn’t changed.”

Link ducked his head at the praise, not knowing what to do with it.

“I just hope I can be of use. Blue has been… difficult to understand.” And wasn’t that an understatement. “She agreed to come with me, and yet, she’s hostile and unyielding, and if I didn’t know better, I would say she strongly dislikes me.”

Sidon gave a loud laugh. Link pouted, which only made Sidon gently shake his shoulder, smiling widely.

“No one could dislike you, Link. Give her a chance to see who you really are.” Sidon’s smile softened as he gazed out of the window. “Her memories may be hidden, but that doesn’t mean they’re gone. It’s possible her mind is trying to protect itself from a wound she can’t consciously remember.”

Link hadn’t thought of that, and the fact he hadn’t prodded him with guilt. He bowed his head and said, “I will exercise more patience.”

Sidon patted him on the back so hard it was practically a slap, and Link coughed.

“That’s the spirit! Now, why don’t we go down to the dining hall and catch something to eat before the chefs retire.”

Link squinted at him.

“You don’t like my cooking.”

Sidon’s smile became a little too forced as he cried, “Perish the thought!”

Link stared. And stared. And stared so long that the prince’s gills twitched in nervousness. Only then, did Link break into a grin. The prince sighed in relief. Poor Sidon had actually believed he’d caused offense at Link’s creative methods of cooking, which not everyone preferred, for some odd reason.

“Blue enjoys my food.” Link pushed away from the window and walked toward the door. “It��s even possible my cooking is the one thing she likes about me.”

“She must not have had many warm meals, then.”

“Hey!”

Next Chapter

#link x reader #link x glowy hand #link x oc #botw #botw 2 #crucible #my writing #my fanfiction

58 notes · View notes

obeyme-kaidii-writes · 4 years

Text

Sick

Mammon x gn!MC

Words - 3275

Content warnings - fluff, crack, my attempt at humor, adult humor I guess? but no smut

Prompt/Inspiration - Mammon gets sick and MC cares for him

Summary - Mammon gets a very minor case of the sniffles and is determined to milk it for all its worth. But he doesn’t realize you know exactly what he’s up to and have a plan of your own in mind.

AO3

It’s not often demons get sick, you’ve been told. Since their bodies heal quicker and are generally more resilient than humans, they are much better at fighting off disease.

So imagine Mammon’s surprise when he woke up one morning, shivering. Yes, he sleeps au natural, but his body temp runs warm to begin with and he kept plenty of sheets and blankets on his bed to keep him nice and snug. If he bundled up right, he’d create his own little cocoon of warmth that he was always reluctant to leave.

But this morning he was cold. After a few moments of staring at the ceiling he decided he should text you and ask you to bring him something to drink.

Of course he wasn’t really after the drink.

He was after your attention.

It’s not often demons get sick after all...and he was going to milk this for all it was worth.

As you headed towards Mammon’s room with the bottle of water he requested, you were a bit annoyed with him. You couldn’t figure out why your boyfriend couldn’t get it himself, and it was way too early in the morning on a Saturday for you to get out of bed. But you figured if he was going to wake you up, the least he could do was let you climb into bed with him and steal his warmth. It seemed like a pretty fair trade.

Only when you got to his room, he didn’t greet you like normally. Instead, you heard a faint coughing sound coming from his bed. Thinking maybe his throat was just dry and that’s why he begged for the water, you headed over to him and sat down on the edge of his bed. Mammon finally rolled over partway to face you, and you immediately noticed how flushed his cheeks looked.

“Thanks,” he said, weakly.

“Are you ok?” you asked, handing him the water and reaching out to touch his forehead. He seemed a bit warm to your touch, but you had no idea what a demon fever was supposed to feel like so you couldn’t tell if he was running one.

“I’m jus’ tired. And a little sore. Nothin’ The Great Mammon can’t handle,” he replied, coughing again, before taking a sip of his water.

“Maybe I should get Lucifer?”

“No!”, he yelped, with a surprising amount of energy, causing you to raise an eyebrow skeptically.

“I mean...it’s jus’...” more weak coughing, “I’ll be fine if you’re here. Prolly just a cold ya know?” He offered you a weak smile.

“A...cold…?” Do demons even get colds? You hadn’t the faintest idea. You knew it was possible for them to get sick, but you heard it happened so rarely you honestly didn’t think you’d ever get to see it for yourself. You were about to ask if it was ok to talk to Barbatos at least, but a tiny niggling feeling at the back of your mind told you not to say anything out loud for now and just to text him later.

“Can ya just...hold me?” Mammon asked, looking at you with the best puppy dog eyes he could manage.

Ok, something was definitely up, you thought.

“Sure babe, let me just get some stuff from my room and I’ll be right back.” You leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead, before standing up and leaving his room. As soon as his door closed behind you, you pulled out your DDD and sent Barbatos a text, hoping he might already be up early. And fortunately for you, he was.

"Hey Barb. Kinda an odd question but can demons get colds?” “Not usually. It would be exceedingly rare. Is one of the brothers sick?” “Mammon says he has a cold. But I don’t know enough to tell how bad it is.” “Can you tell if he’s running a fever?” “He seemed warm and a little flushed. If he was a human I would say he had a low grade fever. Nothing serious.” “Ah. He will be fine in that case. Demonic fevers run very hot to the touch. You would know immediately if there was cause for concern.” “Thanks Barb. You’re a lifesaver.” “It’s not a problem at all. You can message me anytime.”

With a better understanding of Mammon’s ‘condition’ under your belt, you felt relieved to know it wasn’t anything serious. But that still left you to figure out what exactly to do for him. Should you just pretend you were none the wiser and indulge him? Or should you call him out on it?

You continued thinking about this as you gathered up your things - a book, your DDD charger...when a brilliant idea struck you. You knew just what to do to make your poor, sick demon boyfriend feel better.

————

“Hey Mammon, I’m back. Sorry it took so long,” you announced as you entered his room, carrying a large bag. You carefully sat it down on top of Mammon’s pool table and began to unpack.

“What’s all that?”, he asked. Mammon had rolled over on his side to watch you.

“Oh just some human realm cold remedies. I thought I could take care of you like how my family used to take care of me. I’m not sure how effective some of this stuff will be, but at least it’ll make you feel better.”

You turned around and gave Mammon a brilliant smile, and he relaxed into his bed, pulling his blankets snug around him. You were such a good human, looking after him like this. He almost felt guilty for making you work so hard for his sake when he wasn’t all that sick. Almost.

“Where’d ya get all that stuff?”

“Oh Barbatos helped me out. Turns out Lord Diavolo has quite the collection of human things stashed away in his castle. Food too. I guess it was part of his research and preparation for the exchange program,” you said with a shrug.

“Barb?” Mammon tensed up imagining Barbatos talking to Diavolo, who would certainly talk about his “illness” with Lucifer. And he really doubted Lucifer would let him get away with this if he knew.

“Don’t worry, he promised not to mention it to anyone for now. But he wants me to get back to him if you’re not better by the end of the day, because that could mean it’s something much more serious.”

“Oh. Okay. I’m sure I’ll be fine by then. Just need a day ta rest is all.”

Mammon wasn’t sure how he felt about you talking to Barbatos, but it seemed that the butler hadn’t blown his cover, for which he was grateful. Now all he had to do was sit back and enjoy your undivided affection and attention. All. Day. Long.

“Give me your feet,” you said, walking towards the foot of Mammon’s bed.

“Sure babe,” he replied, wiggling his feet free of the covers so you had easier access. You had never given him a foot rub before, and he was getting excited at the thought. This was the life.

His dreams were quickly dashed though, when he felt something cold, wet, and kinda slimy pressed to the bottom of his foot as you tugged some thick, wool socks over them.

“What the hell is that?!” he squeaked, trying his best to keep his voice down and not react too much. He didn’t want to give himself away after all.

“Oh this? It’s a home remedy. You put onions in your socks and it draws out the toxins in your body so you can recover faster,” without batting an eye, you moved on to his next foot.

Mammon really did not like how those socks felt on his feet with the onion slices against his skin. But if this was something you were doing to help him, then he guessed he could let you be. You were being so attentive, he really couldn’t complain.

“Alright, there you go. All wrapped up,” you said, patting the bottoms of Mammon’s feet, laughing inwardly when you noticed him flinch at the sensation, before tucking him back in.

“So can ya cuddle now?”, he asked, making sure to punctuate his sentence with a cough. He really wanted you to hold him and run your fingers through his hair like you always did. Maybe he could even convince you to give him a neck and a shoulder rub too.

“Of course.”

You grabbed a small thermos and your book from the pool table and then returned to his bed, climbing in next to him, “Here, this should help with your throat,” you said as you offered the thermos to Mammon.

He couldn’t help but smile at your thoughtfulness. You really were the best. He wasn’t expecting to get a nice warm drink, but you had gone above and beyond what he had hoped for. Propping himself up in the bed slightly, Mammon opened the thermos and poured himself a small serving.

Yummm, warmed milk, he thought.

But as soon as he took his first sip he realized something was wrong. Very very wrong. Not wanting to insult you after you had tried so hard, he forced himself to swallow, shivering as it went down.

“Err, babe...I think there is something wrong with the milk. It tastes umm...a little funny…?”

“Oh that must be the garlic,” you replied, giving Mammon a warm smile, “It helps with aches and pains, plus it’s supposed to help fight infections.” You returned to your book, careful to position it so that Mammon could not see the stupid grin that had now spread across your face.

“Right...umm...thanks…” Mammon looked down at the portion still left in the lid of the thermos and realized he had to drink at least that much if he was hoping to close the container at all. He gulped, and then decided to just treat it like a shot and tossed it back, trying his best to prevent it from lingering on his tongue any longer than possible.

As soon as he started to put the lid back in place however, you stopped him, “You need to drink all of it or it won’t work.”

“Ha...yeah...of course...makes sense,” Mammon chuckled nervously. The whole thing?! You really expected him to drink this whole thermos?? That had to be at least 4 other servings in there. He almost felt like crying at the thought, but then reminded himself that once he was done, he could get back to his comfort cuddling. If you offered him anything else later, he’d just have to tell you he was still full.

“All...done,” he said, tightening the lid back on the thermos before handing it to you. He was so thankful right now that the thermos wasn’t any bigger. He remembered how you mentioned your family used to do these things to help you when you were sick, and immediately felt bad for your childhood self. Being sick as a human must be awful.

Hands finally free, Mammon turned over and curled up beside you, wrapping his arms around your thighs as he rested his head in your lap. Finally he was going to get to rest and cuddle all he wanted. He let out a sigh of contentment when he felt your fingers start to carefully comb through his hair. Now this was what he had been waiting for.

You peered around your book at the adorable, malingering demon resting so peacefully on your lap. You were honestly surprised he had managed to drink all of that vile milk concoction. You had thought for sure that would be the thing to make him fess up. You however, were prepared for this scenario and had one final trick up your sleeve.

But first, you were going to let your sweet demon of Greed get a bit of rest and some real cuddles in. You did love him after all, and you did enjoy cuddling with him. If he had just asked you to be spoiled for a day, you would have happily obliged him. Instead, he gave you an opportunity to tease him that was simply too good to pass up.

After a couple of hours had passed, you sat your book down and stretched your arms above your head. You had gotten a little bit stiff maintaining your position for so long, but Mammon had fallen asleep and your book was better than you had been expecting, so you hadn’t wanted to move.

As you stretched, Mammon started to stir and hugged your legs closer to himself. You smiled at him and gave him a small pat on the head, which caused him to reposition himself a little so that he could better see you.

“Hey, how are you feeling now?”, you asked.

“About the same,” he coughed a couple times before continuing, “I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it down ta lunch. Ya think you could bring my food up to me?” He gave you another weak cough, then tugged the blanket up to his chest so only his head was exposed.

“Really? You don’t think you can even make it downstairs?” you asked, feigning concern.

“Yeah,” cough cough, “It’s just so far to walk ya know? I’d probably get trapped on the stairs.” Mammon laughed weakly at his own joke, a pleading look in his eye.

“That’s starting to sound serious Mammon. I’m getting kind of worried.”

“Nah it’s fine! I’m sure. I just need ta rest. No big deal.”

“I don’t know Mammon. I'm thinking I should go get Lucifer just in case.”

“Hey, that's really not necessary ya know.”

“Well, I do have one more thing I can try,” you said, sighing, “But if you don’t want to try it then I’ll need to get Lucifer.”

Mammon thought for a moment. So far his luck hadn’t been the best with your home remedies. His feet felt awful, and he could still remember the taste of that milk. But maybe if you didn’t have him eat anything he’d be fine? If it could get him out of talking to Lucifer, then a little bit of discomfort would be worth it.

“A’ight, whatcha got?”

“It’s just medicine. Don’t worry. Nothing you have to eat,” you replied, with a saccharine sweet smile. You really wished you had thought a bit further ahead and set up a video camera, because you were sure his reaction was going to be amazing.

Mammon rolled off your lap, resting on his stomach with his arms crossed under his pillow. He watched you as you went back to your stash of things you had brought with you, and picked up a small green box and began opening the end, removing the products carefully.

“Ok Mammon, I need you to lay on your side, facing the wall.”

“Umm...ok.” Mammon rolled over as instructed, thoroughly confused as to why he had to face away from you to receive medication. Maybe it was some sort of topical cream and you were going to rub it on his back?

“Great, now I want you to pull your top leg up towards your stomach, and keep your bottom leg straight.”

“Alright….” He was starting to get a little anxious now. This position seemed really odd to him, and sorta vulnerable. In fact, it vaguely reminded him of a sex position. Which was silly, he thought, it wasn’t like you were going to try to make a move on him when he was supposed to be ill.

“Perfect,” you said, as you started pulling down the blankets and sheets to get a good view of Mammon’s ass. As soon as the cool air hit his backside though, he became very concerned about what was about to happen next.

“Wh wh wh what are you doing back there?” he asked, trying to crane his neck so he could see you, which was very difficult to do from the position he was in.

“I’m prepping the suppository. I just need to apply a bit…”

“THE WHAT?!” he yelped, slapping his hands over his butt as he scrambled to sit upright in bed.

“The suppository,” you replied. It took all of your concentration to keep a straight face at this point.

“I I I I...really don’t think that’s necessary. In fact! I’m feelin’ better already! See?” Mammon flexed his arms, as some sort of show of strength, “Look, even my cough is gone.”

“I don’t know Mammon, I really don’t want to take any chances. If you’re not comfortable with this, I’ll just go get Lucifer, it’s ok.”

“NO! Uhhh... really, I’m feeling much better now.”

You could hear the panic rising in his voice, and the sadist within you laughed in glee. Oh this precious, precious man. How boring would your days be without him?

“It’s fine. I’ll just get Lucifer,” you said, standing up and heading towards the door.

You barely made it a single step though before you felt Mammon grab your wrist, as his confession started pouring from his lips…

“imnotsickpleasedontgetlucfierpleaseimfineiswearimfinenobuttstuffnoluciferpleasepleasepleaseplease.”

You couldn’t contain your laughter any longer, and just started... cackling . There really was no other word to describe it. Tears fell from the corners of your eyes as you laughed and laughed, completely doubled over.

Mammon blinked in confusion. That was not the reaction he had been expecting. As he stood there watching you struggling to compose yourself, he became aware of the fact that he was still completely naked, and not only that, he was standing in his onion socks and the feeling was...not pleasant.

He couldn’t decide if it was safe to let go of your wrist yet, since he had no idea why you were laughing as hard as you were. Would you make a break for it if he tried to grab some shorts to cover himself? Or should he just pick you up and crawl back into bed so he didn’t have to stand anymore in these disgusting socks?

As he was weighing his options, you finally seemed to be calming down, and after taking a few deep breaths you turned to face him.

“Ok...I’m good...I’m good now...phew…” you wiped the tears from your eyes and continued, “Mammon, I know.”

“What do ya mean ya…?” realization started to dawn on him, and Mammon’s cheeks flushed crimson, “But all th th that stuff?”, he stammered out.

“Just some old wives tales and folk remedies.”

“Why…! You…! I drank THAT! That disgustin’ rotten milk!”

You tried to stifle your laughter with your free hand, but were not very successful.

“And...the socks! These nasty slimy socks! You…!”

It was getting harder to contain yourself again as Mammon kept pointing out all you had put him through. Watching you struggle not to laugh made him blush even harder, which only left him more annoyed.

“That’s it ya brat,” he said, and without any warning, scooped you up in his arms.

“Ack! What are you doing?!” you yelped, as you quickly wrapped your arms around his neck to steady yourself.

“We’re goin’ to take a bath and ya scrubbin’ my feet ‘til the onion is gone.”

“What?! Why do I have to do that? You’re the one who faked ill!”

“Th th that’s besides the point…!” he stuttered out, while walking towards his bathroom, his socks making a sickening squishy sound with each step.

You wrapped your arms a little tighter around his neck, giving him a hug, as you laughed softly to yourself. He really did keep your life interesting.

#gn!mc #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me mammon #mammon x mc #obey me fluff #obey me fanfic #obey me crack #mammon fluff #mammon crack #mammon fanfic

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bunnyywritings · 4 years

Note

How would the main 3 react to making their crush laugh so hard they're crying and then they snort-

making their crush cry with laughter

[a/n: thank you for the request anon!! I’m guessing you mean the the main 3 for bnha 🥰 this is so adorable, apologies if it’s a little short hehe enjoy -yours truly, bunnyy -`ღ´-]

izuku midoriya

✰ you caught this poor boy off guard

✰ i think midoriya is the type that’s funny without really meaning to be? Like he’ll turn red and stutter when he’s embarrassed and it makes you laugh a bit?

✰ he doesn’t really mind that you’re kinda laughing at him

✰ he just thinks you have an adorable laugh

✰ plus he knows there’s no ill intent behind it

✰ so when he makes you laugh so hard that you start tearing up and getting red in the face

✰ he’s very very proud of himself

✰ but when you snort?

✰ he starts to giggle a bit because he thinks that your little snort is so very cute and endearing

✰ it’s also a little funny to him that you get embarrassed about it

✰ 10/10 will always try his hardest to get you to laugh that hard

✰ just so he can hear you snort

“There’s no way!”

“I swear I can.” He noddded eagerly, turning away from you. You waited curiously, until he turned back around. Your eyes widened.

His face was contorted in ways that you didn’t think was possible for him. The sharp and deep contours casting half of his face in shadows.

“Not to worry! I am here!” His voice was a few octaves lower. He was impersonating All Might, very well.

“Oh my god!” He watched as your draw dropped and your laugh filled his ears. Keeping up his imitation, he continued to mumble silly things that the pro hero would never say.

“Young Midoriya! I am-“ You eyes got impossibly bigger as the pro hero entered the dorms, pausing as he watched the absolute ridiculousness happening in front of him.

“A-All Might?!” Midoriya’s face went back to normal, blushing and absolutely terrified that his idol caught him mid imitation. The tears left your eyes, hand slapping over your mouth as a short escaped your nose. You were in hysterics. It took everything in Midoriya to not grab your face and plant a big smooch on your lips. All Might could see how his protege looked at you as if you had hung the stars in the sky. With a small smile, he shook his head and made his way over to Aizawa’s living quarters.

bakugo katsuki

✷ you laugh at him all the time

✷ well...let me rephrase

✷ you laugh at the things he SAYS all the time

✷ being apart of the bakusquad was such a delight

✷ there was never a dull moment, especially when Bakugo was yelling at Denki

✷ his insults and comparisons were always hilarious to hear to see what would come out of his mouth next

✷ he stares at you for a bit

✷ he’s kinda confused, he’s never heard you laugh so hard

✷ “the hell are you laughing at?!”

✷ the blush on his cheeks made him all the less intimidating

✷ you couldn’t even answer him, a snort leaving your throat instead of words

✷ the sound surprising the both of you, embarrassment filling your body as your boisterous laughter continued to ring in his ears

You had been chilling with Mina in the common room, minding your own business when Denki comes running in and screaming about god knows what. The sound of Bakugo’s shouts not that far behind him.

“What is it now?” You asked boredly, scrolling through tik tok when a phone thumped into your lap and Denki his behind the couch. Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, you pressed play on the video. It was of Bakugo baby talking a stray cat. He had a soft smile on his face as he scratched the feline behind the ears. Denki and Kirishima’s quiet snickering could be heard in the video before Bakugo turns around. All calmness from his face contorting into anger.

“Oi! IDIOTS!” the blush on his cheeks made it all the more funny. Bakugo stomped into the common room, stopping when he heard your laughter.

“Bakugo, you’re such a softie!” Your laughs made his blush deepen as the others teased him.

“The hell are you laughing at?!” He growled, his voice cracking in the slightest. A snort left your throat, followed by babbling of incoherent words as you continued to laugh. Tears leaking out of your eyes, cheeks a deep red. He tried really hard to be upset but if he got to hear your laughter at the expense of being teased by his friends, he’d do it 100 times over.

He was whipped for you.

todoroki shoto

❆ todoroki is another one who’s funny without meaning to be

❆ remember the hand crusher thing?

❆ he always enjoys hearing you laugh though

❆ he likes the way his heart beats faster and his body fills with warmth

❆ he also likes the way your nose crinkles up

❆ he’s quite used to you laughing at things he says

❆ always having you explain to him why it was funny

❆ so when he makes an off hand joke about his dad

❆ your eyes widened before you basically explode with laughter

❆ so much so that you were gasping for air

❆ causing you to snort laugh

❆ he’s never heard it before but I he thinks it’s adorable

❆ your head was thrown back as you continue to laugh, blush on your cheeks, wide smile splitting your lips

❆ he felt the butterflies in his tummy come alive

❆ he decided that he liked making you laugh like that

He stared, forehead creased in confusion.

“What-?” He couldn’t really think of anyone to say. His cheeks flushing pink when it meowed, pawing the air.

“Isn’t he cute? He reminded me of you.” You were holding up a kitten that you had found stranded in the middle of the street. It had peered up at you with wide blue and grey eyes, paired with the pure white fur. It instantly reminded you of him.

Throughout the day, he saw you give the kitty constant love and affection. He had found himself a little jealous. Even if you weren’t his s/o, he felt very strongly about sharing your attention. Especially with such an adorable creature. Once you had gotten up and gone to the restroom, he took his chance. Picking up the kitten and putting it in his lap, gently scratching its ears and watching in awe as it nuzzled into his palm.

“I have no choice but to think of you as my enemy.” He sighed, the kitten only tilting its head in confusion. “You see, I can’t compete with you. You have something that I don’t. Once I figure it out, I will definitely be the winner in this feud.”

You stood there eyes widening after having listened to everything he had said. You snorted, failing to keep your laughter at bay. He looked up at you and watched as you clutched your chest. Tears coming out of your eyes.

“Oh Sho, there’s no need to compete.” He tilted his head at your words, staring up at you as you approached. Your heart beat as you looked into his wide eyes. “You’ve already won my heart.”

𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔯𝔞𝔩 𝔱𝔞𝔤𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱(open) : @ohbois-biggay-bnha @yuiji-yuiji

#midoriya izuku x reader #midoriya x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #shouto todoroki x reader #todoroki x reader #bnha headcanons #mha headcanons #anon ask #anon request

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dazenightmare · 3 years

Text

AU I just came up with listening to a villain playlist while drawing! Inspired by Friends On The Other Side

So, like, revived Wilbur basically being like “bro I’m going to perform fucking miracles for my own gain”

And he sits down Tommy and Ranboo and offers his magic aid in their problems. At first they’re gonna decline because they know they shouldn’t trust Wilbur, but Wilbur just starts rambling about their problems which they never told him about, so now their interest is piqued

So for Tommy, he presents Tommy’s financial problems and no guaranteed safety, telling him that some magic would help him, and soon enough he’d be marrying (platonically) a certain minor in Las Nevadas (they’re gonna be a happy healthy found family in this AU and nobody can stop me), which would guarantee both

And for Ranboo, he brings up the health of his husband, which was currently bedridden and expected to die in the nearby future due to a sickness (I personally like imagining radiation poisoning but you do you do), and Wilbur offers a cure so Tubbo will live and continue to do so without the illness.

They’re wary, of course, but accept the help after Wilbur assured them that just the results would be enough payment, and if they felt the need to do more, that money would be good.

And to him, the results were the perfect payment. If Tommy got married into Las Nevadas, then as Tommy’s legal brother, Wilbur would also be accepted into the country as a citizen. If Tubbo was cured, then Ranboo would feel indebted to him and more likely to help in whatever scheme he has. Plus, Tubbo did Wilbur more good when he wasn’t six feet under, with all that knowledge. The kid had nukes for fucks sake

So Wilbur does some weird magic spell shit to Tommy (leaving Tommy with a red streak of hair right by the white one) and gives a potion to Ranboo.

So admittedly I don’t know too much about how that would go from there because I started writing this the moment it came into my head, but here’s some more things I might expand upon later when I figure it out or have actually fucking slept

The spell cast on Tommy is basically that Purpled just finds him easy to approach and like, so their friendship accelerates faster than it would without the spell

Ranboo never tells Tubbo who the potion came from, and always sticks close to Tubbo after he gets better in fear of the potion backfiring or having side effects

Las Nevadas is a happy healthy found family where Charlie and Purpled are seen as Quackity’s sons, Foolish is the awkward cousin, Fundy is the cool cousin, and Sam is some kind of distant uncle or best friend, maybe a wine aunt

After they all realize Wilbur’s scheme to take over Las Nevadas (I like picturing it at the wedding, but makes more sense if after), they all take him down and arrest him

After the whole ordeal Wilbur removes his magic in spite. It does close to nothing, because Purpled still likes Tommy the same amount since they hung out so much, and the potion already got rid of Tubbo’s illness a long time ago. The only difference is that the red streak in Tommy’s hair becomes dark gray/black

#mcyt #dream smp #tommyinnit #ranboo #wilbur soot #fic idea #fic ideas

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wolfish-trickster · 4 years

Text

Advent kisses

23/24

Loki x female!reader

Word count: 1 208

Summary: Instead of chocolates, kisses are going to be recieved everyday until Christmas.

Tag list: @gaitwae @lucywrites02 @modestlyabsurd @winterfrostsarmy @spaceyempress @thefridgeismybestie @laramoonworld @birdgirl90 @nickkie1129 @loki-yoursaviourishere @hard-to-be-the-bard

"-okay, I admit, I'm in love with Loki. Are you happy now?"

"Very."

Loki couldn't believe he heard you say those words. It was on accident, sure, but still. He looked out the window and imagined what would life with you be like. How many kids you'd want. If you wanted them, of course. If they are going to have your eyes and smile, or his hair and mischievious nature. Or both. If they are going to be boys or girls. He imagined how both of you'd play with them, teach them, read to them, sing lullabies as they fell asleep. He knows imagining married life before you even date is ridiculous, but having someone to imagine having this with is much more than he ever hoped for. In other words, he couldn't resist letting his imagination run free.

When he walked into the kitchen with you holding his hand all girls smirked. He knew why, obviously. He had to play dumb for 2 more days.

Well, only a day now. After 24 hours he's free to confess his feelings to you. Completely. He couldn't wait. Your voice echoed in his head as he fell asleep.

I'm in love with Loki. I'm love with Loki. I'm love Loki. I love Loki.

New day, new duties. Christmas tree? Shining. Gingerbread? Baked and decorated. Gifts? Bought, but surprisingly not wrapped yet. So that's what most of the team was doing. Others were watching christmas movies with kids or playing in either pool or snow.

Loki's steps were fast and joyful. He was humming to himself as he made his way to the kitchen, hoping to find you there. The only person there was Bruce.

"Why are you so happy? Christmas is tomorrow."

"Can't I be in a happy mood for no reason?" his eyes were scanning the room. No sign of you.

"Y/N isn't here if you're looking for her. Haven't seen her the whole morning, actually."

Loki's eyes narrowed at Bruce. "What makes you think I'm looking for her?" was he obvious enough for him to find out?

"Well, you two have been spending a lot of time together lately. Plus you made her wound heal faster. It's good you found yourself a bestie. You're less lonely. And Y/N is a good girl, no wonder you took liking to her."

"Alright, I am looking for her. Any ideas where I can find her?"

Bruce shrugged. "Try library corner. Or she's hanging out by the tree. I remember how she said she loves the smell of it."

"Thank you," he bowed his head respectively towards him and went looking for you.

He didn't find you by the tree, nor in the library corner. You weren't watching movie or playing outside. He even went into the sauna to ask Laura and Pepper if they've seen you. In fact, none of the Avengers have seen you today.

The only logical place he could find you was your room. He didn't think of it before, because it's so unlike you to stay in the bed this long.

He softly knocked on your door. What if you fell ill? Loki wouldn't mind taking care of you, but he would feel sad for you. Spending this holiday coughing and sneezing in bed.

He heard a weak 'go away' coming from the other side of the door.

Now this was new. "Darling? It's me, Loki. I'm just checking on you," no answer.

"Are you well, love?"

"Loki, please go away," your voice broke. Loki felt anxiety bubbling inside of him. Were you crying? Why? Did he say or do something?

"My love, are you hurt? Please let me inside. I can help you with anything, just please, open the door," he didn't care he sounded desperate. He wouldn't survive if you were hurt and he didn't help you.

After the longest silence in his life you answered. "Door isn't locked, but I doubt you'll help me with this."

He quickly opened and searched for you. You were in your bed, your back turned towards him. You wrapped yourself into a tiny ball, holding your stomach. Two giant steps and he was by your side.

"Y/N, darling, what's wrong? Are you in pain? What happened?"

You turned your head towards him, your cheeks glistened. 'Oh Norns, you were crying.'

"My tummy hurts. It hurts so bad, I don't know what else to do. I took a pill, but it's not working. I hate being a girl," you hid under covers.

'You hate being a girl? What? I don't under- oh.' The realisation dawned on him. You had period cramps. And nasty ones.

He gently pulled those covers from your face so you could breathe and wiped your sweaty forhead. "Love, tell me what to do to make you feel better," he whispered in your ear.

You shaked your head, new tears of pain appeared. "There's nothing anyone can do. I always have to suffer through first days, nothing helps. Just let me be, I'll be fine tomorrow, I promise."

"My love, I am not just anyone," he wiped your teary cheeks with his thumb, "can I lay next to you?"

You sobbed as you nodded. He pressed his chest to your back, earning him another sob, which nearly made him cry.

His lips brushed your ear. "Can I touch your belly? I'll be gentle I promise," his thumb was already drawing circles on your hip, trying to destract you. You nodded again, trusting him fully.

He snaked his hands from behind you to your front. His palms found themselves a place underneath your belly button. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Golden light seeped into your skin.

The more he concentrated the more your body relaxed. He started drawing little circles with his fingers along your skin. Not that the spell required it. He wanted to do it, so he did.

After you relaxed completely he pulled you into him, nuzzling the back of your neck. "There, this should do for the whole day. How do you feel?"

"Amazing, thank you Loki," you intertwined your fingers with his and snuggled even closer to him.

"My pleasure darling," you carefully turned your body around amd stared into his eyes. Hi forhead touched yours, his eyes never left your face. He started telling you fairy tales and little stories in his quiet raspy voice. You interrupted his telling with a big yawn.

Loki slowly sat up and caressed your face with his knuckles. "You should get some sleep, you need it," he moved to get up, but your hand stopped him.

"Stay, please. At least until I fall asleep," fear was evident in your eyes.

Loki smiled down at you and removed your blanket from your body momentarily. "Don't worry my sweet. As long as I'm here, no pain will come back to torment you," his long fingers pulled the hem of your t-shirt up to reveal your tummy. He bent down and gave your hurting belly a little loving kiss. "I promise."

#loki #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #loki x reader #the avengers #christmas fic #fluffy loki #loki fluff #fluff

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sleepysailorghost · 3 years

Text

Arcade wasn't sure what he expected when the Courier asked him to accompany them. They hadn't given a name, only said they were a Courier. It wasn't much to go on, but the Courier had looked up at him with big eyes. And for some reason, it didn't sound all that crazy to venture beyond the fort with them, a natural stanger.

They had listened so reverently when Julie spoke. They had fulfilled any job asked of them by the Followers. Certainly, if they harbored ill will towards the Followers, they would have gotten to their revenge before now.

He had asked for their name, if only to be polite.

"I don't have one. Courier or Six is fine, if you'd like."

"You don't have a name?"

"I guess I probably did once, but I don't remember any more. I just remember the man in the checkered coat- an 18-carat run of bad luck-and then waking up in Doc Mitchell's house. Maybe that man knows who I was. I don't know."

"That doesn't bother you, not having a past?"

"No, not really." The Courier leaned back. "I'm just me. Sure, I can't look back on the road behind me, but I can look forward."

"Interesting. Are you going to look for the man in the checkered coat?"

"I don't know. I guess I could. I'm supposed to, because he stole something from me and shot me in the head."

"Wait, he shot you in the head?"

"Yeah, that's why I don't remember much. It messed with my head too."

"Well, yeah. Getting shot in the head would do that."

"Oh, wait, I do have one hint to who I might have been." The courier starts to undo the many closures of their armor, like a fire's been lit under them. "What do you make of this?"

The Courier drops their armor clumsily on the floor, and then goofily flexes. He doesn't really know what they're refering to, but then he sees the poorly-done tattoo on their upper arm. It's a ring of roses and thorns that raps under their bicep. Despite being very mediocre, it is legible and in color.

"Huh." Tattoos aren't really unique, but it is something. "Maybe your name is Rose?"

"Maybe. It doesn't sound right."

"Maybe you just need to try it out for a while, wear it in." He's trying to help, but the Courier is a near stranger to him. "Or, if you'd like, I could arrange for you to see Dr. Usa-"

"No thanks. Don't want to take up her time." The refusal was off faster than a bullet from a sixgun. "If you're ready to go, so am I."

"Sure." He agreed. It wasn't really healthy of the Courier to act out against the idea of visiting the clinic, but it wasn't something he could force them into. At least, not as a near stranger.

This turned out to be one of the few times the Courier's former-NCR sniper friend wasn't travelling with them. He probably wouldn't have decided to go with the Courier if he had known they had company. Still, it isn't all that bad, even if he feels a little crowded with the Courier, their robot pet ED-E (he hates that thing), the King's robot-dog, the sniper, and the Remnant medical researcher. One more person, and the Courier will have a small army.

Not that the Courier normally has all of them traveling together at once. It's too noticeable, draws too much attention. It might even sound like a joke: an Enclave eyebot, a police cyber dog, an amnesiac Courier, a grouchy NCR sniper, and a medical researcher walk in to a bar...

It makes the Courier happy to travel with him, so he does it on occasion. Those occassions become a lot more frequent after they return from a place they call the "Big Empty".

That had been months ago. Now, he felt like he knew the Courier. Not that he wasn't surprised by the Courier-he certainly was. But he was familiar with the Courier now.

It was a dangerous sort of thing, that familiarity. He was even starting to think that perhaps it would be a good idea to let them in on his own origins.

And he knew how the Courier felt about him.

Leaning against his side while they sat at a fire, the Courier's hands stripping a defeated foe's weapon, they had muttered something.

"Sorry, say again?" Arcade responded. Most of the time, it was just complaints about bent springs or whatever, more to themselves than to him.

The Courier's hands stopped, laying the weapon on the ground.

"You're my brother, Arcade." The Courier says, and then continues before Arcade could interrupt. "Not by blood. Or hell, maybe you are. It's not like I'd remember. Course you are a heck of a lot taller than I am...maybe the tall gene skipped me."

Arcade doesn't say anything, attempting to process what the Courier was trying to tell him.

"No, we're not related by blood." He agrees, although he has no real way to confirm it without knowing the Courier's identity.

"I know." The Courier put their hand up to their chest. "I just...well, I know you're my brother. I, uhh, care about you."

Arcade didn't know what to say about that. It really did feel like it had come out of nowhere to him. A few weeks later, the Courier had gone running off to a place that might have been their home.

Antietam is walking by his side now, but their gaze is drawn over to an old poster. The pre-war store was filled with advertisements for many different products, from Sugar-Bombs to the newest products from Rob-Co.

Shelves, long ransacked and destroyed, have created something of a maze. The laminate tiling on the floor has become loose after centuries of neglect. Decorations littering the area would mark this location as a raider base at some point.

His friend doesn't seem to notice any of that, moving closer to a central display that might have been made of stacked shoeboxes once. Now, the boxes lay in a crumpled heap.

"Antietam, wait-" He says, and the courier stops.

"Yeah? Do you need something?"

"You need to be more careful! This could be a trap."

"I don't think it is. I'm pretty good at finding traps and I don't see any tripwires or bear traps. I've stepped in enough of those."

"Of course you wouldn't see them! It's a mess in here."

"I'm not going far. I just wanna see if I can find some of those."The Courier pointed at an advertisement. It was of a girl with little wheels on her shoes, looking over her shoulder as she spun away. Under the picture, it read "Roll with the punches with Roller-Ray skates!".

"Do you..need those?"

"Well, no. I just think they would be cool. Just rollin around town."

"I'll go with them." Boone added, if only so he could keep an eye on them.

"Yeah, plus ED-E's sensors haven't picked up on anything. I can handle myself while looking for skates, Arcade."

On that note, the Courier and Boone go to pick through the rubble. When they returned, Antietam raised their arm triumphantly.

"We found them! A little dinged up, but I can fix that. C'mon, lets go outside to try them!" With the hand not holding their skates, Antietam grabbed at Arcade's sleeve.

"Okay, okay." He said, because Antietam's enthusiasm for things was infectious sometimes. They exited the store, entering that had once been a parking lot. Rusted-through cars sat abandoned and the sun hung low in the sky.

Antietam dropped to the floor, strapping on their skates. They were metal and fit awkwardly with their combat boots and spurs. Awkwardly, like a baby radstag on ice, the Courier stood up.

"Okay,so I just." The Courier lifted one leg as if to take a step. Their balance was offset by the movement. Next to him, Arcade saw Boone move to catch the Courier if they fell, but the Courier braced themselves on a car instead.

They took a few more awkward steps.

"Yeah, I think I'm getting the hang of this." Their movements were jerky, but in time, perhaps they'd be alright at it.

Then they hit a skid in the destroyed asphalt and took a spill. Their left side collided hard with a rusted shell.

"Ouch." they groaned, and then collapsed onto the parking lot. "I'm just gonna rest here for a second."

Arcade laughed a little, and then helpfully whined about the sun.

"Alright, alright. Okay, getting up." The Courier pushed up from the asphalt with both hands, rising from their crumpled mass.

"Nothing broken?" Arcade asked, seeing Antietam avoid putting too much weight on their left side.

"No, probably just bruised." They replied, but that was what Arcade had expected. They were still extremely hesitant to be medically examined, even if it meant concealing and ignoring injuries. It stung Arcade-someone who the Courier allegedly loved like a brother-to be held at arms' length. That being said, he couldn't be upset with them either. The Courier had suffered greatly and been stripped of agency by doctors. It was a mark of pride that Antietam trusted him.

Actually, he could still be angry with them for concealing injuries.

The sun was beating down as steadily as it always did in the Mojave. A bead of sweat formed on Arcade's neck.

"Oh shoot." The Courier murmured, looking over their hands. They wore fingerless gloves, and a pip-boy on one arm. Arcade examined the injury. It would be a lot of work if the Courier came down with tetnus. "It's just a scrape, Arcade."

"It's not just a scrape. It's dirty and could get infected."

"Hottest part of the days coming up. We should wait it out in the store." Boone added, helpfully.

"C'mon, listen to your big brother, ok?" Arcade tried with a smile. The Courier looked up at him with their wide brown eyes.

Arcade was not above emotional manipulation.

Half a year ago, if someone told him that he was going to play big brother to a Courier who knew nothing about their past and hated doctors, he'd have likely sent them to see Dr. Usanagi.

The Courier ran their gloved hand through their short white hair. It fluffed up their bangs (despite the pin staying in place) and revealed the twin scars on their forehead and the surgical scar that ran around their skull.

"Okay." The Courier responded, sticking their wrist out to him for treatment.

"Oh, that's a nasty cut." he said, "Let's head inside so we can get this treated.:

In the end, even if the Courier was a hassle sometimes, he was glad to be their brother. He was turning into such a sap.

#arcade gannon #courier antietam #fallout new vegas #fnv #ED-E #craig boone #roller skates

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what-the--curtains · 4 years

Text

In a Week

Part 3/4 - Snowballs and cigarettes

(Frankie Morales x f!reader)

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

Summary: The snows finally stopped and its about time you got to work unburying your car. With your friends all prompting you to move on from your toxic ex you find yourself becoming more and more aware of the kind of person you’d want to be with. And how Frankie was ticking all those boxes.

Authors notes: Ugh okay I was over the max block text so the finale is split into two parts!! But you get them both tonight💕🌻💕 .

Warnings: mentions of toxic relationships, allusions to sex (nothing depicted), PTSD, smoking, drinking, swearing

Tagged: @agingerindenial @icanbeyourjedi

Word count: 4.0k

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

Day 4

It had only been three days but you had found yourself in a routine that you hoped you never fell out of. Each morning he’d wake up first and you’d be predictably wrapped around him for another 2 hours or so. He found it hard to believe you were able to wake up before 10am, let alone that you were up at 5am most days but he’d love to be around to see it happen. For the first time, he saw something he’d long given up on. A future with someone else ingrained into his and his daughters life. Maybe it was stupid feeling this way after a few days, but he was old enough to know when he felt a real connection, and he’d never felt as good as he did when he was with you. He would make his feelings known to you, one way or another, he’d regret it forever if he let you slip through his fingers. He just had to find the right time to do it. It had been a long time since you’d woken up with someone in the same bed as you and even longer since the person was someone who made you feel safe and secure. There was something calming about knowing that even if you pushed your freezing cold feet between his calves in the middle of the night he wouldn’t get angry, or push you off he’d just grumble and pull you closer.

It sounded pathetic but it was the nicest a guy had been to you in years. You knew how stupid it was to catch feelings this fast, and it definitely wasn’t like you to feel such strong emotions. Since the funeral you had actively decided to forego them although. This benefited your work, helped you in your field, made you a better doctor, but keeping all your emotions bottled up took its toll. Primarily on your love life. You’d had your fair share of flings with other residents, nurses, friends of friends, but between classes and shift work there wasn’t time. Plus what was the point when you had no idea where you’d be moved to. At least that’s what you told yourself. Then Jonathan came along and you’d let him in, let him know you and you fell for him in the process. Then he’d started dating someone else, told you he didn't realize you were exclusive, and it shattered you completely. You’d pieced yourself back together and once you were better, once you were finally over him, he’d cycle back round to you, determined to keep you on retainer. The whole ordeal had left you tired. You’d never had a real relationship and you were already done with them. You never understood how people would want to live with someone for the rest of their lives until now. Catching feelings had always happened in periphery to your life making it easy to push by a crush by simply avoiding them, but you couldn’t avoid Frankie. Each day you spent trapped inside with him he’d continued to grow on you, cementing your feelings for him tenfold. You yawn and stretch your leg out over Frankies torso propping yourself up onto your elbow so you can reach over him and grab the glass of water on the nightstand. He exhales as if your movement across him is an inconvenience to his meticulous strategy for winning whatever game he was playing on his phone. You take a sip and put the cup back down, rolling off the bed and opening the curtains.

“Hey!” you shout, causing Frankies head to shoot over to you, “It stopped snowing!” you exclaim, gazing out over the parking lot where the snow had fallen. The powder undulating overtop the cars buried beneath it. You stretch your arms up catching an unsavoury whiff coming from your armpits causing you to pull a face. Turning around just in time to see Frankie laughing from the bathroom door.

“Seriously man? Do you have to beat me to everything!” you pout, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Gotta be faster sweetheart.” he says, closing the door behind him. From anyone else the term would have driven you into a rage induced frenzy, but it was endearing not condescending coming from him. You take the time to call Stella, you’d been texting with her since you got stuck but you felt it was time to officially announce your arrival as permanently cancelled.

“Hey girl”

“Hey babe what's going on? You calling with good or bad news?” she asks, a constant bustle evident in the background.

“Don’t shoot the messenger, but only bad news on my end. I am so fucking sorry, I should have just flown down like you said” you offer, leaning back against the window allowing the chill of the outside to cool you off.

“Well this is why you should always listen to me, but i’ll forgive you just this once.” she laughs.

“God I can’t believe the one wedding I actually care about I’m going to miss!” you exasperated, shifting away from the window and flopping down onto the bed.

“Well I definitely won’t miss you, especially considering you’ve already sent a gift.” she teases.

“How, very dare you” you punctuate.

“Yup long con paid off, 10 years I pretended to like you just to get you to buy me a toaster from ebay” Stella laughs.

“You could have just stolen mine after the first year, then you could have had me gone!” you state.

“Ugh a huge mistake!!” she overemphasizes dramatically, causing you both to burst out laughing.

“So….” you say after your giggles subside leaving a gentle ache in your ribs that always occurred when you talked to Stella.

“What?” she asks, sniffling.

“ Did John make it out there?” you ask, in a painfully transparent way.

“Why?” she spits, her tone suddenly lethal. She hated the guy, she was the one who was always left dealing with you after he’d used you up, helping to piece you back together, just in time for him to get a hold on you again.

“He asked about me?” you query, once again failing to convey your intentions.

“I’m not indulging this anymore, it's bad for you. He’s bad for you, there's only so many times I can watch him emotionally manipulate you” she rants.

“Ya, but it's easy and it's so good with him.” you emphasize.

“It’s not easy, take it from someone in an easy relationship, it's not supposed to hurt that much.” she chides, determined to have you see the light.

“But..”

“Nope, I'm drawing the line for you, find someone else. You’re a gorgeous single doctor,

“Almost doctor” you interrupt, but the statement is ignored.

“Aren’t you currently shacked up with one of my stupid brothers friends?”

“Yes? And?” you say, your heart suddenly beating faster as your head turns to see Frankies hat on the nightstand.

“Frankie right? Statue like, soft curls, kind, deep brown eyes? And don’t pretend like you didn’t notice I know you like the back of my hand!”

“So what if I have, doesn't mean..” you whisper, not wanting him to hear you.

“Nope, don’t sell yourself short, I say get cozy with him and finally move on from dickhead McGee, even if it's just for a night, cleanse the palette. Besides, you know he’ll be doing whoever looks his way at my wedding.” you hear a muffled shout “alright I have to go, something about the bridesmaids fighting.”

“Your sisters? Fighting? Who could have seen that coming” you deadpan.

“I know, god I wish you were here.”

“I wish I was as well i'll call tomorrow in case you get cold feet, I have a five point plan”

“I won't” she chimes.

“ I know because you love her”

“And I also love you” she says

“And I love you” you respond before hanging up. Not even a minute after hanging up you get a call from Santiago

“Hey, I just wanted to verbally apologize for trapping you with ‘Fish, though he's definitely one of the better ones to get stuck with.” he says.

“Well that’s good to know” you laugh, rolling your eyes.

“He hasn’t tried anything has he? If he has I'll kill him, and get away with it, you'll have to help me with the body but...” Santiago starts.

“Santi, it's fine he's cool, really sweet, actually,” you offer heat rushing to your face for some unknown reason.

“Good. He touches you ill..” he warns.

“You’ll kill him ya I got it!” you snap, you understood why Santiago felt like he had to play big brother for you but sometimes he was a touch overbearing. “Is John there?” you try and ask casually, failing to head Stellas advice.

“Don’t...” Santi starts, you can practically hear his jaw clench over the phone “you know if I see him tonight i'm gonna knock him out for how he treats you”

“It wasn’t that bad.” you whisper.

“It was, still is, I heard him bragging about how if worse comes to worse he always has his plan D,” he offers, not to hurt you but to try and free you from the cycle.

“That dick. You know what Stellas right, fuck him!” you exclaim with a newfound determination to rid him from your life.

“Oh my god, are you finally seeing the light?” Santi asks “Praise the lord!” He shouts up into the sky.

“Ya I guess so” you say staring at Frankie as he dries his hair with the towel. “I gotta go, see you soon.”

“Not soon enough” he laughs as you hang up.

“Whose that?” Frankie asks, still curious about who you’d been hoping to see at the wedding and what they’d done to earn your affection.

“Pope!” you say with a smile, pushing your back off the bed and sitting up.

“Threatening to kill me?” Frankie predicts.

“Ya we have a plan” you murmur.

“We?” he asks, a twinkle in his eye and his mouth upturned at the sides.

“Well he'll kill you but, I cant have him go to jail so i'll have to hide your body.” you explain

“Good glad that got sorted” he says, his smile now in full effect.

“I'll go grab some breakfast” you say.

“No ill get it, you’re always getting it, plus gives you time to shower, I can smell you from here.” He prods, grabbing the key.

“Rude!” you yell out after him.

He's back when you exit the shower

“Oh thank you, you say grabbing the plate form him”

“Just what the doctor ordered, hey?” he asks, smiling stupidly big.

“Ouuuf that that was bad truly apologize to me” He laughs at how serious your face gets “You're laughing? I had to listen to that joke and you're laughing?” you say through a mouthful of eggs. “Here's something that'll wipe that stupid smile off your face, snow stops which means we have to clear off my car.”

“Using the royal we are we?” he asks

“Think of it as repayment for the pun,” you say waving your fork in his face

“How will we be clearing it off?” he asks, leaning over the counter.

“Brush” you say, as if it's obvious

“Where's the brush?” he asks, resting his chin on the back of his hands and smiling sweetly at you, waiting for an answer.

“In the….oh” you say, face dropping when you realize that the brush was in the car currently buried under a snow pile.

“Not so smart now” he laughs pushing back off the counter taking your empty plate with him, washing it up for you.

“Well I guess we just have to get to the door with our hands then” you say smiling.

“Once again, about this we,” he says, drying his hands on the dish towel, turning to see a dramatic pout plastered across your face.

“Fine, I'll only help because I think you may disappear in the snow if you go in alone” he responds, the truth was, he couldn't deny you.

You both get dressed into the most winter proof clothes you had, neither of you having packed for a snowy expedition. As you exit the room you see him grab a pack of cigarettes he’d been hiding, not wanting you to see his worst traits.

“Those will kill you, you know,” you say, causing him to roll his eyes dramatically.

“Okay mom” he laughs grabbing the lighter despite your disapproving glare,

“You have a daughter to think about” you say, feeling like you'd be letting your profession down by giving up so easily.

“It's why I smoke, the safest way to calm the nerves while staying clean” he murmurs with a look on his face that is enough to get you to drop it for now. You weren't about to pry into his struggle with addiction and you certainly weren’t one to judge, you’d faced similar issues after your brothers passing.

“I used to smoke,” you confess as the elevator doors close in front of you both.

“Seriously?” he remarks, not able to believe it.

“Pack a week for about a year” you say, slowly nodding your head as the two of you walk through the foyer towards the parking lot.

“You quit?” He asks, impressed.

“Ya I don’t think it was long enough to form a habit. When did you start?” you offer as you move your legs through the snow, it was dense your legs would be sore tomorrow.

“What? Are you gonna assess the state of my lungs?” Frankie laughs, moving easily through the snow you were struggling so hard against.

“Yes, but i'll only tell you the results if you want to know”

“Few years back, after...” he stops himself before confessing the worst thing that ever happened in his life.

“The mission” you finish for him, remembering how Pope had picked up similar habits once he finally returned home. “You were there with Santi?” you question

“He told you about it?” he asks, sterner than you’d seen him before, he was afraid that you knew what a monster he was. You shake your head, no and he thanks the gods. “You think i'm going to?” He queries lighting up a cigarette and taking a drag, making sure not to blow it out anywhere near you.

“I don’t know, maybe. It’s the one thing he wont tell me about, figured it would be easier for you if you were talking to a stranger about it.”

“Not much of a stranger now” he laughs, but there was something behind his eyes, a similar sadness that you saw with Santi when he talked about it. Your thoughts are interrupted when something cold hits you in the face, your mouth drops open, your forehead scrunches in disbelief.

“Shit, I wasn’t aiming for your face I swear!” he looks up panicked

“I guess it's what I get for asking so many questions” you say, hand still over your face playing into it as you formulate your attack.

“No, oh my god! No! It wasn't because of that, let me see” he says, you let your hands drop and you smile wickedly up at him. Before he has time to react, you rub a handful of snow into his face.

“Oh... you're gonna pay for that.” he draws out, wiping the snow from his face.

After 15 minutes of all out war, and a brief truce that was to be officially signed once back inside you managed to get to the door handle and lean into the back seat grabbing out the brush. You offer it to Frankie, but he's already started clearing off the rest of the car with his arms.

“Hey can you grab my spare charger out of the compartment there?” you say cleaning off the trunk, the front doors now accessible.

“Ya, holy shit is this a knife?” he asks, pulling out a knife.

“Maybe.” You say staring into his eyes as his mouth hangs open in amusement. “For safety, I didn't know who I'd be driving up with! You coulda been a murderer” you explain palms up.

“And you were planning on what? shanking me?” he laughs a huge smile on his face, weirdly endeared by your thought process.

“Only if I had to.” You say chuckling between shivers, the cold now seeping through your makeshift snowsuit hitting against the sweat you’d worked up.

“You want it?” He offers.

“No i'm good, thanks”

“Because you don’t think I'm a murderer or because you have another one hidden in the room already?” he laughs, but he stops when you tilt your head slightly and raise your eyebrows, averting your eyes.

“Wait, do I need this knife?” he calls as you trudge back through the snow.

You both change into less sweaty attire and you settle into the couch turning on to watch the latest forensic files rerun. You shiver as you sit down having caught a chill. Noticing you shaking, Frankie goes to the wardrobe and grabs down a spare blanket throwing one at you so it lands directly over your head. He laughs when he sees you slowly turn towards him beneath the blanket, like someone in a makeshift ghost costume.

“Excuse me!” you laugh

“Hey you should be thanking me, can't have you freezing to death.” he says, “Are you asleep under there?” he asks, when you don't respond

“I'm not a cat! I don't fall asleep when someone throws a blanket over me!” He's not paying attention to what he's doing and the bottle in his hand shatters against the counter, a shard slicing his hand open.

“Fucking shit.” you him sigh.

“Are you okay?” You ask maneuvering out from under your blankets to see Frankie in the kitchen, glass on the floor and blood coming down his arm.

“Wow you're out of my sight for 2 seconds and you maim yourself” you say laughing, stopping when you see the panicked look in his eye, the event evidently triggering something deep in his psyche. You quickly stand up and he goes to move towards you.

“No don't move Frankie, stay where you are.” you reassure softly, watching as his eyes lay into your own, his breathing calmer now “You're in socks, can't have you cutting your dancing feet” you say.

“You’ve heard of my dancing feet,” he says, grounding himself again.

“Only bad things” you say, throwing him a pair of shoes that he carefully puts on before moving toward the closet where the broom is “No come here, let me see your hand. The mess can wait, you're more important,” you stress leading him over to the couch and sitting him down.

“Wow, first time I'll be able to afford professional health care “ he jokes as you take his hands in your own.

“Ow” he says when you press down onto the hand to assess the damage.

“It's fine, not deep enough for stitches, should heal up on its own. I still want to clean it though, to stop any infection.” You return with a small bottle of over priced vodka opening it and dabbing some onto a cotton pad. He doesn't flinch when the alcohol cleans the wound and he watches as you bandage his hand up.

“You carry a med pack with you on every trip?” he queries, but you don’t hear him you’re too focused on wrapping his hand.

“There! good as new,” you say standing up and cleaning up the glass on the floor. “Hey did you bring a swimsuit?” you ask, dumping the glass into some newspaper that was left in the room.

“Why?” He asks.

“Answer the question Frankie” you say, folding the paper around the shards before placing it into the trash.

“Yes, you wanna go hang out at the pool with the fifty families stuck here?”

“Ya. You don't? Seriously this room is wildly expensive and has a huge jacuzzi tub, I'm getting in your welcome to join, but bathing suits are mandatory.” you offer.

“I was gonna get in fully clothed,” he offers, not missing a beat.

“Perfect even better”

As per usual he beats you to the punch and settles into the tub that was more akin to a hot tub than a bath, he wanted to get in first partially to annoy you and partially so his body wouldn’t be on full display, he wasn't as jacked as he once was and he’d become insecure about certain areas that he’d let go once his kid came along. He watches as you walk in and his eyes can't help but follow your figure around the room, a beautiful person behind a beautiful personality, he thanks the universe for placing him into your orbit.

“That why they call you catfish?” you ask drawing him from his daydream back into an equally pleasing reality.

“What?” he responds, blushing at having been called out on his gawking.

“Cause your mouth hangs open like a fish out of water when you're zoned out” you smirk, lowering yourself down into the tub.

“Rude” he says splashing after you settle in.

“Alright, Frankie, what is it?” you ask, causing his face to look up to you “what's your deal, apart from smoking? You gotta have flaws”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” he charms

“Sinister” you laugh, but he doesn't, you reach your foot up tapping his cheek with it,

“Disgusting,” he chuckles, grabbing it and rubbing the arch before pushing it back into the water.

“God, I miss the ocean” you confess, “ I hate the city sometimes.”

“You’re not planning on staying in Chicago after you're done?”

“Nope, gonna get myself out to the coast, or at least somewhere without winters.” you say stretching your arms out across the tub. “How about you, are you planning on staying?”

“ Probably, no reason to leave, plus it's close to my mom so she can take care of Arianna when I'm at work, though I wouldn't be opposed to moving if the opportunity presented itself she's young enough that it wouldn’t be too hard.” he says, wanting you to know that if you asked, hed follow you anywhere.

“Arianna, beautiful name. Did you pick it?” you ask looking up when a few minutes of silence pass. As you do you notice that the somber look from early had returned. “You okay?” you ask.

“I don't deserve her, I don’t deserve something so good.” he states, suddenly realizing he didn’t deserve someone like you either. You wouldn’t be sitting in the tub with him if you knew what he’d done.

“Frankie that's not true” you reassure

“You don't know the shit I've done. I'm not... I'm not a good person,” he says, still not looking over to you.

“Well, I…” you begin to refute.

“Seriously, I've done bad things… awful things'' he clears his throat, afraid to look at you, afraid you’d be terrified by him.

“People make bad mistakes, but that doesn't make them irredeemable, not if they are willing to change. You understand what you did was bad, that says something.” you reassure, knowing the guilt was likely left over from the military.

“Well, wise words coming from someone who's never done anything bad”

“You don't know me that well Frankie, I’ve done my fair share of stupid things, crappy things to numb the pain. It's what we do to make up for those shitty actions that count. At every turn, you’ve shown me that you're not an evil person. Everything I’ve seen is good, and funny and incredibly kind.” you finish and you continue to nudge him with your foot until he finally cracks a smile.

“Well now you're smiling again, my missions complete and it's time for bed” you say stepping out of the tub and drying off, unaware that you’d just made Frankie fall even harder for you. His eyes helplessly following you as you leave the bathroom.

“Since I'm an outpatient, does that mean I get the good side of the bed?” he calls out after you. You roll your eyes but let him have it, you preferred the sleeping situation the way it was.

#In a week #part 3 #frankie x y/n #frankie x reader #frankie catfish morales #triple frontier fic #triple frontier fanfiction #frankie morales x reader #frankie morales x you #pedro pascal characters

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nonbinary-octopus · 4 years

Text

Virgil the Wee Vampire Chapter 14: Negotiations

Summary: Terms are discussed and a deal is made.

Warnings/Contains: blood, vomit

Wordcount: 2.7 K

Chapter 1: The Hungry Little Vampire

Masterpost