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beifongsss · 4 years

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flirt [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x earthbender!reader baybeeeeee

Summary: An anon request <3 “ zuko and a super outgoing/confident/flirty reader? all the fics i’ve seen so far are super shy reader x zuko, they’re super cute, just not very relatable to me lol”

i hope i do your request justice :3 also i’m sorry that I keep making the reader a bender but this fits bc they have to fight Zuko lol

.masterlist.

You don’t even know how you ended up traveling with the Gaang.

One day you had been living in a small Earth Kingdom town, helping out the Beifongs as Toph’s etiquette tutor and the next, you found yourself being tugged away from your home by the youngest Beifong. You couldn’t deny the fact that you finally felt free flying on the (abnormally cute) sky bison as you headed to who-knows-where.

You had nothing left for you back in the Earth Kingdom town you had been born in. You were the only daughter of a well-known family who had always been loyal to the Earth King. Unfortunately, they had been captured on a trip to Ba Sing Se and subsequently killed by the Fire Nation. With no family left to turn to, you proceeded to accept the Beifong’s offer to stay with them in return for you teaching Toph about high class etiquette.

Toph was an interesting girl and you found yourself being impressed with everything she did. You were always her number one supporter, especially when it came to her being The Blind Bandit. She was an extremely talented bender and in return for you tutoring her, she was your bending instructor and you became her only most promising student.

Eventually, Aang, Katara, and Sokka all filled you in about the banished Fire Nation prince and how he had chased the Gaang everywhere they had gone in an attempt to capture the Avatar. You and Toph were upset at the stories and were immediately anti-Zuko, promising to help Aang master earthbending as fast as possible.

You got along well with everyone, especially Sokka who was almost as talkative as you were. Of course the good vibes didn’t last long and you all found yourselves arguing as you found yourselves being chased by Azula and her friends. The situation had culminated in a battle at a small, abandoned town. You had arrived to see Aang being cornered by two people, each of them throwing fire towards the young Air Nomad.

Engaging with the person closest to you, you thrust your hands out, shooting a pillar of earth out and tossing the person into the closest building. Sharing a look with Aang, you waved him off. “Go! I’ll hold him off.”

“Be careful,” Aang warned, looking towards Azula uncertainly. “That’s Zuko.”

Your eyes widened as Aang ran off before turning your attention back to the boy in front of you. He struggled to get up before a burst of fire left him, sending rock debris everywhere. Quickly, you sent up another wall of earth, protecting yourself from the flying rocks before breaking it apart and sending it towards Zuko. The banished prince grunted before throwing a few fireballs towards you, causing you to stumble back and fall.

Eyes narrowing, Zuko made his way to you, pulling back his fist as fire formed around it. Groaning, you sat up, finally getting a good look at the boy in front of you. Almost immediately, a flirty smirk made it’s way onto your face. You quickly scrambled to your feet, bouncing up to him without any hesitation. You dodged his attacks, fighting back as you bit your lip.

“So...you’re Zuko?” you asked, dodging another punch. At this point, you were engaging in hand to hand combat instead of relying on your earthbending. Zuko didn’t reply, his eyes narrowing as he kept sending blasts of fire again.

“Aang told us about how you haven’t been able to capture him,” you continued, blinking innocently as Zuko became visibly angry. “But he failed to mention just how handsome you are.”

At your words, Zuko’s eyes widened and he misstepped, losing his focus at your words. You took that opportunity to step back as well before taking a strong step and raising your hands, encasing the banished prince in a slab of rock.

“Let me go!” Zuko cried out, steam coming out of his nose as he struggled. You stood in front of him, arms crossed as you stared at him. He truly was handsome, with piercing gold eyes and soft-looking black hair. You opened your mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Sokka.

“(Y/N)! A little help here?” the Water Tribe boy yelped, narrowly dodging a blast of blue fire from Azula.

“Coming!” you replied, eyebrows furrowing in slight concern before you addressed Zuko once more. “It was real nice meeting you Prince Zuko. I hope to see you again under more pleasurable circumstances.”

With a wink, you sprinted away, jumping in front of Sokka and sending up a wall of earth as Azula struck again. You continued to sprint around, helping out whenever called out to you. The fight came to an end when you all had Azula cornered, and you sent a brief smirk to Zuko as you saw him standing near you. “Finally made it out huh?”

He had glowered at you and you simply rolled your eyes before turning back to Azula. “The whole tough guy act is hot but something tells me you’d look better with a smile.”

You missed his surprised look as Azula shot a blast of fire towards an older man, who you later learned was Zuko’s uncle Iroh. In the ensuing chaos she escaped, and you were left with a shaken Zuko and an injured Iroh. At Zuko’s threats insistence, the five of you left, looking back at him as you flew off on Appa. It was silent for a few minutes before you finally spoke up. “So, why didn’t you guys mention that Prince Zuko is hot?”

The only sound that was heard was Sokka slapping his forehead.

The next time you saw Zuko was in Ba Sing Se. You had been walking around with Katara, having stayed behind with her to plan the invasion. She was talking quietly as you looked around the city, pretending to be listening to her. On your shoulder, Momo was chattering quietly, also looking around with his large eyes.

You sighed softly as you entered a cozy-looking tea shop. You looked around in appreciation before you heard Katara gasp. Quickly, she grabbed your hand and whirled around hurrying out of the shop. You felt yourself crash into someone else, losing Katara’s hand and falling to the ground. You looked at the door before looking at Momo, shaking your head at Katara’s weird behavior.

“Are you alright?” a soft voice ask. You pushed yourself up, ignoring the hand in front of you before looking up. Your eyes widened in surprise as you found yourself staring at Zuko’s uncle. Iroh, you recalled vaguely. Recognition flashed in his eyes as he looked at you, remembering you as the earthbender who had trapped his nephew. Bracing yourself for the worst possible scenario, you nodded in response to his question, holding Momo to your chest.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” the retired general asked, a warm smile on his face as he guided you to a table. “You look like a jasmine type of girl.”

Sensing no ill intentions from the smiling man, you nodded. “Jasmine happens to be my favorite.”

“I see. It is my nephew’s favorite as well,” Iroh continued, gesturing to the boy behind the counter. You smiled as you noticed Zuko standing behind the counter, his back to you as he focused on whatever he was doing. Noticing your smile at the sight of his nephew, Iroh smiled as well. “I’ll send him over to give you your tea.”

“I would greatly appreciate that,” you said, your eyes not leaving the handsome boy.

You played with Momo when Iroh left, silently speaking to the winged lemur as you waited for your tea. You placed Momo in your lap when you heard someone set down a tray on your table, looking up to see Zuko standing there. “Hey handsome.”

Zuko glanced at you, doing a double take when his eyes met yours. “Y-You!”

He grasped your hand, pulling you out of your seat and towards the back as you struggled to hold on to Momo.

“Ow! Ow! Can you stop?” you hissed, pulling your hand away from him. You placed Momo on your shoulder before rubbing your wrist. You glanced down at it, noticing how raw it looked. “You really need to learn how to control your temper Zuko.”

“What happened here?” Iroh’s asked before Zuko could speak again. He gently took your hand in his inspecting the burn before turning to his nephew. “Now Lee, is this any way to treat our customers?”

“She isn’t a customer uncle,” Zuko replied bluntly. “She’s traveling with the Avatar. She is the earthbender who fought me the day you were injured.”

“You’re the earthbender who trapped my nephew?” Iroh looked at you in surprise. You nodded, causing the older man to chuckle. “You are a very talented bender.”

You blushed at the compliment before answering, thinking about Toph. “Thank you, I was trained by the best.”

“We must get this wrapped up. Come with me,” Iroh led you to a back room, where he proceeded to get some type of salve and some wrappings. “Zuko if you could please do this for me, I’m afraid I have to get back to the customers.”

Iroh left the two of you, but not before stopping and handing Momo a few litchi nuts. Momo chittered before jumping off your shoulder, landing on a windowsill as he began eating the fruit. You glanced at the burn once more before looking back at Zuko. “You know, you just gave the term ‘too hot to handle’ a whole new meaning.”

Zuko tried to hold his blush back at your words as he sat in front of you. He grabbed your arm, applying the paste and then gathering the wrappings, beginning to tie them around your wrist.

You hissed when he tightened it a little too much, pulling away from the boy. “Ow! If I wanted you to be rough with me I would’ve told you.”

This time, Zuko could not hold his blush at your double entendre. A faint smirk appeared on your face as you began to wrap your wrist.

“Let me do it,” Zuko muttered reaching for your arm.

“No,” you replied leaning away. “Trust me I can do it myself.”

“Why are you being so difficult,” the boy groaned, lunging for the wrapping. You leaned back too far, falling onto your back as you reached out for something to grab on to. The only thing you succeeded in doing was pulling Zuko down with you.

You stared at the boy above you. “When I told you that I hope we’d meet under more pleasurable circumstances, this wasn’t what I had in mind. Not that I’m complaining.”

Zuko stuttered for a few second before deciding to scowl at you instead.

“If I had known I was interrupting, I would’ve stayed outside. Prince Zuko, I never knew you were so good with the ladies,” Iroh’s voice floated in. You sat up immediately, only succeeding in getting closer to the prince. You tried to ignore the blush that you knew was visible on your cheeks.

“I would be honored to be wooed by such an attractive man,” you said, looking up at Zuko through your eyelashes. Iroh raised an eyebrow. “Unfortunately, I simply fell back and pulled your nephew down with me.”

“Well, as an apology on his behalf from earlier, let me offer you a nice warm cup of jasmine tea,” Iroh said, setting down a tray. “On the house.”

You smiled as you pulled yourself up, leaving Zuko on the ground. “It smells delicious but I am afraid I must get going. Katara must be wondering where I am. Thank you very much for the offer.”

You bowed before whistling sharply, causing Momo to fly to your shoulder.

“My nephew will walk you out. It was nice to met you...” Iroh trailed off as he realized that he had never asked for your name.

“My name is (Y/N),” you supplied, smiling.

“A truly beautiful name,” Iroh said, stepping away from the door. “It was nice to meet you (Y/N). I hope to see you again soon. Zuko, please walk her out.”

You bowed once more before you followed Zuko back out to the store. When you reached the steps, you turned around and faced him once more. “It was nice to see you again handsome. Let’s do it again sometime.”

Zuko’s reply was lost as you stepped forward, leaning up and pressing a soft kiss to his scarred cheek. “Have a nice evening.”

Momo’s chittering was the only thing that could be heard as you walked away. Zuko stood on the steps until he could no longer see you, the blush on his cheeks only intensifying when he remembered how your lips felt pressed against his cheek.

“It seems to me that she is the one wooing you,” Iroh said, hiding a smile.

“Shut up uncle.”

You didn’t see the handsome prince again until you had all safely escaped to the Western Air Temple. You had been trying to talk to Aang about learning firebending when you and Toph had felt someone arriving.

“Aang, I think we should be making some plans about our future!” Sokka exclaimed, trying to get Aang to pay attention.

“Okay, we can do that while I show you the giant Pai Sho table! Oh, you're gonna love the all-day echo chamber!” the air nomad replied, already preparing to run off.

Aang came to an abrupt stop when you sent up a wall of earth in front of him.

“I think that’ll have to wait,” Toph said, turning to face the newcomer.

“Hello, Zuko here,” the prince said, raising his arms up in greeting. Immediately, everyone except you took a fighting stance. You didn’t really pay attention to most of the conversation, too busy staring at Zuko’s hair. It had grown out some and to be honest, you thought it looked really good.

“Wait,” you interrupted, stepping forward slightly. “You look really good with your hair like that. Not to say you didn’t look good before but this, wow. you’re even hotter.”

“(Y/N)!” Sokka and Katara exclaimed at the same time. Sokka pulled you back before smacking you lightly. You smacked him back, the two of you bickering nonstop. You missed Zuko’s bewildered expression, along with most of the conversation.

“There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done,” Aang spoke, catching your attention. “We'll never let you join us.”

“You need to get out of here,” Katara added, a hard expression on her face. “Now.”

Zuko looked at you, his eyes pleading.

You sighed before speaking, your arms raised in surrender. “Look, I think you’re probably the most attractive guy I’ve ever seen-”

“Hey!” Sokka cried indignantly.

You ignored him. “But to be fair, you did send an assassin after us. Not to mention everything else you’ve done. I can’t help you handsome.”

“If you won't accept me as a friend, then maybe you'll take me as a prisoner,” Zuko said, kneeling with his hands out. You looked at Katara, a suggestive smirk on your face.

“(Y/N), stop,” she sighed before turning back to Zuko and bending some water. “No, we won't! Get out of here, and don't come back! And if we ever see you again, well, we'd better not see you again!”

Zuko bowed his head and turned to walk away, glancing back once more. For once, you didn’t meet his eyes.

“Has anyone seen Toph,” you asked as you rushed into the courtyard. “I haven’t seen her since yesterday.”

“I haven’t seen her since she stormed off yesterday,” Sokka said, polishing his sword.

“Maybe we should go look for her,” Katara said, noticing your distress.

“We’ll look for her!” The Duke said, rushing off with Haru and Teo.

You whirled around when you heard a loud rumble, only to see a gaping hole in the wall. Toph tumbled out of it, her eyes wide.

“Toph!” you exclaimed, wrapping her up in a hug. “What happened?”

“My feet got burned,” she replied, pushing you off of her.

Her feet were an angry red and you felt your anger rise up as you realized who had done it. “The next time I see Zuko I swear to the spirits that I will-”

“It was an accident,” Toph interrupted you, placing a hand on your arm. You bit your lip as Sokka carried her over to the fountain.

“Ah that’s the stuff,” Toph said, closing her eyes as she dipped her feet in. Soka opened his mouth to say something only to be cut off by an explosion. Being the closest to the source, you were flung back, metal and stone landing on top of you.

“(Y/N)!” you heard Aang yell as everyone else ran away.

“I’m fine!” you called back. “Go I’ll be okay.”

You bended as much earth as you could away from you, only to still be stuck when you realized you couldn’t move the metal.

“We have to get (Y/N),” Toph said, worriedly grabbing onto Katara.

“We will. Hold on,” Sokka said, staring at the blasts Combustion Man was sending their way. After a few more blasts, he was able to tell where he was and aimed his boomerang. The boomerang met it’s mark and they all ran out, Sokka and Toph immediately going over to you.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thanks Zuko,” Aang spoke softly.

“Hey! What about me?” Sokka asked, helping you up. Your leg was injured but luckily nothing had been broken. Sokka was fussing over you, looking at the nasty bruise that had been left from the metal and you were trying to push him away, claiming that you didn’t need his help.

“...I’d like for you to teach me,” Aang’s words gained yours and Sokka’s attention. Zuko bowed.

“Thank you. I’m so happy you’ve accepted me into your group.”

“Not so fast,” Aang said. “I still have to ask my friends if it's okay with them. Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?”

“Go ahead and let him join,” Toph said as the pounded her fist into her palm. “It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet.”

“Sokka?” Aang asked.

“Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord,” the Water Tribe Boy shrugged. “If you think this is the way to do it, then, I'm all for it.“

“Katara?”

“I'll go along with whatever you think is right,” she said simply, glaring at Zuko.

“What about you (Y/N)?” Aang asked, already knowing what your answer would be.

“You’re telling me I’m going to have to see him every day?” you asked, gesturing towards Zuko. “That sounds like a dream come true.”

“Thank you,” Zuko said, redder than a tomato. “I won’t let you down.”

“I’m sure you won’t,” you replied. Groans were heard from everyone else.

~ “Come on (Y/N)!” Toph yelled at you. “Do it!”

You stared at the metal in front of you, trying to concentrate on it. You were in the courtyard, a few days after Combustion Man’s downfall. Zuko and Aang were firebending a few feet away from where Toph was trying to teach you how to metalbend. Ever since you had gotten trapped, she had been insistent on teaching you.

With a loud huff, you closed your eyes. You reached out focuising as much as you could and turning the pieces of metal in front of you into smooth, shiny balls. You opened your eyes when you heard clapping, turning to see Aang cheering softly for you. Zuko stood behind him, shirtless.

“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Toph taunted, bending the balls of metal back into scraps. “Do it again. This time concentrate harder. I don’t know why you’re so distracted today.”

“You don’t know why I’m distracted?” you said turning to face Aang and Zuko. “Prince Handsome over here is training shirtless and you expect me to not be distracted by that?”

“I don’t get distracted by that,” Toph countered.

“Of course not,” you said, facing her again. “You’re blind.”

Aang snickered and Zuko coughed as he tried to choke back his laughter.

“Do it again,” Toph barked. “Zuko come stand next to me.”

Zuko complied and crossed his arms as he stood next to Toph. You found yourself blushing lightly as you stared at the way his arms flexed before focusing on the metal once more. You struggled for a few minutes, feeling Zuko’s eyes on you. You glanced at him once more, watching his arms flex once again as he shifted in place. Looking up at his face, you saw him already looking at you, a smirk on his face.

You looked back at the metal trying not to look at the prince again. He knew exactly what he was doing to you.

It wasn’t until Ember Island that you got to spend more time around Zuko. After the day Toph had made him stand next to her as she trained you, you made sure to train as far as you could possibly get from the prince. That didn’t stop you from flirting with him every other chance you had though, always commenting on how you couldn’t train around him because he made you flustered.

Your comments seemed to make him equally, if not more, flustered.

The day you guys went to see the play, you had sat next to him, intertwining your fingers when the lights went off. He had stiffened up, an unreadable look on his face when he felt your hand in his. Thinking he had been uncomfortable, you pulled back your hand, only to blush when he pulled it back towards him this time taking it upon himself to intertwine your fingers.

Your hands remained intertwined for the rest of the play, even when you exited the private box for the intermission. You didn’t miss the smug looks from everyone else and while Zuko blushed, you had simply leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek the same way you had back in Ba Sing Se.

When the second half of the play started, you proceeded to lean on Zuko, nestling your head in the crook of his neck. His heart racing, Zuko disconnected your hands before wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you in closer. You closed your eyes as you leaned into him, enjoying the warmth that seemed to radiate from him.

The next few days were spent watching Aang and Zuko training as you lounged around the beach house. You spent most of your time with Toph as she kept drilling metalbending into you until you could do it with your eyes closed.

A few nights before Sozin’s comet, you found yourself sitting on the roof of the house, staring up at the moon. You jumped slightly when you felt someone sitting next to you, the warmth emitting from them telling you it was Zuko.

“What are you doing up so late?” he asked, his eyes never leaving you.

“I could ask you the same thing,” you hummed, still looking at the moon. You looked at him to see him scowling. “I couldn’t sleep so I came out here to look at the moon.”

“Sokka’s first girlfriend turned into the moon,” Zuko said, fidgeting under your gaze.

“That’s rough,” you said, looking back up.

It was silent for a few minutes before Zuko spoke up again. “Why do you like teasing me so much?”

You looked at him, bewildered. “Teasing you?”

“Yeah,” Zuko said, turning to face you. “All the compliments and the kisses and everything. Why?”

“It’s called flirting, Prince Zuko,” you said with a smile. “People typically do it when they’re attracted to or like somebody.”

“So why do you do it to me?”

You stared at him in disbelief, wondering if he was joking or if he was truly that oblivious. “Because I like you!”

Zuko’s eyes widened in surprise at your words. “You like me?”

“I thought you knew! I thought that’s why you kept flexing the day Toph kept trying to get me to metalbend,” you hissed poking his arm.

“I was joking around,” Zuko replied, swatting your hand away. “I thought you saying I was distracting you was a joke so I kept flexing to tease you.”

“Well you did tease me,” you mumbled. “Just not in the way you’re thinking of.”

“So,” Zuko said, not meeting your eyes. “You really like me?”

You rolled your eyes before leaning forwards, pressing a firm kiss to his lips. His eyes widened in shock before he closed them, his hand reaching up to cup your face as he melted into the kiss. You pulled back and giggled as his lips chased yours, pecking him once more before leaning back. “Does that answer your question?”

Zuko nodded quickly before grabbing your hand. “I like you too.”

You smiled as you shuffled closer to him. “Good. I’d be pretty upset if you didn’t.”

You gasped lightly as Zuko pressed his lips back to yours, sliding his arms around your waist and pulling you into his lap. Your arms wound around his neck, hands tangling in his hair as you eagerly kissed back. Zuko pulled away first, a chuckle escaping him.

“What?” you asked leaning your head against his shoulder.

“I can’t believe uncle was right,” he replied. At your questioning gaze, he explained.

“You did end up wooing me.”

AHAHAHAHAAHHHH i hope this is good i spent a lot of time on this one and i’m not too proud of it but i hope you enjoy <3

#prince zuko x reader #atla zuko x reader #zuko #prince zuko #atla zuko #avatar #avatar: tla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar x reader #aang #katara #sokka #toph #atla #atla x reader #zuko x reader #sokka x reader #atla sokka x reader #zukoxreader

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sminny-wew · 3 years

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Shard x Silver Nutcracker AU that I’m not gonna get done this year

I wanna thank Sonic Forces Speed Battle for catering to me personally, check it out under the cut

For the sake of the AU Shard is an organic hedgehog

Shard lives with his twin brother Sonic and little sister Anita/Tania/whatever the name of the kid sister from the Sonic manga is

At the family Christmas Eve party, their toymaker uncle Chuck brings them all special presents: a toy sword for Tania, a handcrafted guitar for Sonic, and a nutcracker for Shard made out of pure silver

At first Shard isn't too thrilled about his present, feeling like his siblings got way cooler stuff, but he quickly becomes endeared to the nutcracker and names him Silver

Later, Shard has trouble sleeping and gets up to get some water, only to find that the house has been invaded by small demonic creatures called zeti, led by King Zavok. Zavok uses his power to shrink Shard down to their size to destroy him, but before he can, Silver and the other toys come to life, and a battle ensues.

The battle makes enough commotion to wake up Sonic and Tania, who angers Zavok by throwing her slipper at him. He shrinks them too as punishment.

With the siblings’ help, Silver manages to wear Zavok down, but Zavok pulls a dirty trick that buys his five generals time to help him escape

After the fight, Silver explains to the siblings that he is a soldier from a faraway realm whose memories were stolen/scattered/whatever by Zavok and his Deadly Generals. As he’s about to leave, Shard insists on going with him to help b/c he feels bad. Silver is resistant at first because he doesn’t want to involve innocents, but when Sonic and Tania back Shard up and agree to join too, Silver relents and lets them tag along.

Cue adventures in a magical winter wonderland with slowburn romance along the way; Silver eventually remembers that he wasn’t always a nutcracker and was given the very same curse he was trying to lift from a spoiled princess

Tania takes down zeti soldiers twice her size with her sword, Sonic uses his speed to knock down some foes and realizes his guitar has magical properties, Shard finds something called the Verdant Crystal that he uses to fire magic energy from his hands (or something Idk I’m still working out the kinks), and Silver has both his psychokinesis and a daggerlike sword (Galahad’s weapon baybeeeeee)

After the big Super Silver vs. Perfect Zavok or whatever fight, something happens that sends the sibs back home before they're ready and Shard gets all emotional and tells Silver he'll always love him even if he's stuck as a nutcracker forever

Shard wakes up in bed, disappointed that it was all a dream and realizes his nutcracker is missing. He goes downstairs to ask Uncle Chuck and finds Silver who is very much not a nutcracker and standing in the doorway

There's a happy reunion and Silver explains that Shard's parting declaration of love broke the curse he was under and they're both so happy

Chuck walks in and introduces Silver as Venice di Soleanna, a colleague's apprentice, and says "But I can see you're already pretty acquainted with each other" and Shard's like "Yeah you could say that"

#sonic the hedgehog #shardilver #silver the hedgehog #shard the metal sonic #nutcracker au #mark my words I'm gonna come back to this AU!!!#not for a while b/c I have other stuff to work on but!! just you wait!!!

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damienthepious · 4 years

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time 2 be emotionally fraught baybeeeeee happy LKT!

Going Through Changes, Ripping Out Pages (chapter 10)

[ch 1] [ch 2] [ch 3] [ch 4] [ch 5] [ch 6] [ch 7] [ch 8] [ch 9] [ao3] [???]

Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast

Relationship: Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla

Characters: Lord Arum, Sir Damien, Rilla, The Keep

Additional Tags: Second Citadel, Lizard Kissin’ Tuesday, Established Relationship, (uhhhhh sorta), Amnesia, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, (WE WILL GET THERE…… EVENTUALLY)

Summary: Lord Arum wakes to discover that some things have changed while he slept. Namely, there is a human in his bed.

Chapter Summary: Damien tests his theory.

Chapter Notes: inconsistent chapter length be damned!!! i do what i want! [kicks desk] anyway happy LKT, i love youu

They make poor progress with their research, that morning. Arum is-

He is clearly acting grumpier than he feels, a defensive layer of prickliness that Rilla really isn't surprised by, but she suspects that the lizard slept far less than he implied, too. He looks shadowed and tense in a way that reminds her distinctly and unpleasantly of how he looked the first time she stayed here in the Keep, and she doesn't think that's just because that's basically the mindset that he's in. She knows how his tail coils when he's far too tired, by now.

A lot of the problem with their research is that monsters seem to keep their methods of creating curses pretty damn close to the chest, and Arum himself isn't really in the business. His creations have always been a lot more physical. "Practical," in his words, though Rilla quietly disagrees that a decent chunk of his nonsense projects are practical.

Arum knows a few ways to get rid of hexes and jinxes- ritual words, ceremonies of cleansing, magic potions, the sorts of things that usually frustrate Rilla out of her mind with their inconsistency. Rilla's frustration doesn't much matter, though, because Arum is convinced that none of the above would be effective against a curse like this anyway. A magical-herb-infused bath might knock out some minor blight, but this? It's too deep.

... They do test a few smaller ideas anyway, if only to see if they might weaken whatever it is that's locking Arum's memories away (none of them say, out loud, the possibility that the memories are gone, not just inaccessible), but after each minor test Arum only sags further and shakes his head.

By midday they're all... disheartened, to use a Damien word. Arum more than her and Damien, if Rilla's read is correct. Again- it really doesn't help that he's so obviously exhausted. Damien meets Rilla's eyes over the small lunch the Keep brings for them (it's been picking out meals that it knows are each of their favorites, Rilla is sure that it's deliberate- she thinks she oughta take an aside with the Keep later today, thank it a bit more directly, check in to make sure it's doing alright, considering-), and Rilla knows he's thinking of their conversation this morning. Rilla still isn't enthusiastic about the idea, it seems dangerous, for a number of reasons, but-

Arum pulled Damien back to them with a duel, didn't he?

And, frankly, it's not like Rilla has any better ideas. None that don't involve a near-impossible infiltration and- well. Murder, theoretically.

She catches Damien's eye again as they clean up their bowls, and she gives him a nod, and as much of a smile as she can manage.

Damien nods in return, his expression nervous but steady, and then he takes a deep breath.

"I may have an idea," Damien says, and Rilla's heart thuds at the way Arum's face flashes with hope before he buries it in a frown. "Would you mind," he continues, "if we were to retreat to the greenhouse, to discuss it?"

Arum's frown deepens, clearly unhappy not to just out with it right now, but he turns and gestures with a hand for the Keep to open the way.

"A duel," Arum drawls, and the little knight does a poor job of hiding the way Arum's tone makes him wince. Or, perhaps he did not intend to hide it at all. "So you wish to do precisely what the Senate wanted us to, then?"

"By no means," the knight says, jerking his head sharply. "It may be a foolish idea-"

"The reasoning is sound," Amaryllis interrupts, firm, and the knight glances towards her with a grateful smile.

"Well- I hope so. I thought, perhaps- we duel often, you see, to keep our skills sharp, to settle inconsequential matters, to-" he cuts himself off, his cheeks darkening, and then he shakes his head. "So- so I thought, perhaps, that if we cannot strike upon a magical means of weakening this affliction, then maybe there could be a more physical method. If your body remembers- remembers warmth enough to trouble your sleep when you are lacking, then... perhaps your body may remember the strain of our physical activities together as well."

Arum frowns, both grateful and furious with the poet for avoiding the mention of what precise heat his body remembers. It is embarrassing in the extreme, of course, but it is almost more embarrassing that Damien seems to know to avoid specificity in the matter. "So you believe that we may... knock some sense into me, as it were."

Amaryllis chokes a laugh, which is oddly gratifying. Damien, for his part, looks mournful again, wide-eyed and worried.

"I have no desire to hurt you," he insists.

"And yet you wish to fight."

"To duel," Damien says. "To spar, if that phrasing is more... acceptable."

"We do this often?" Arum says, doing nothing to hide his skepticism, and then he eyes Damien, unarmed as he is. Arum, on the other hand, is armed. Excepting his time in their room the night before, his knives have been carefully strapped to his person since the Keep allowed Damien to leave, the first morning they woke together. He... believes that they are earnest, now, yes, but he is not so foolish as to leave himself without defense.

"Like, kind of annoyingly often," Amaryllis says, leaning against a thick tree trunk and crossing her arms over her chest, and the poet's lips press together in something of a pout. "I don't really get it, but yeah."

"It-" Damien furrows his brow, and then he sighs. "If you think the idea ridiculous, or if- if you do not trust that I will not hurt you- if you do not agree, Arum, then obviously we will not try it. We can find another thread to pull, for the afternoon. I only thought-"

"I am unconcerned that you will harm me, little poet," Arum says, halfway to a snarl, and Damien stills, his lips pressing together in an expression that Arum cannot quite read. "And I do think the idea is ridiculous. However..." he growls, looking away for a moment. However. The story they and the Keep have told him piecemeal over the last day-and-half still spins uncertainly in Arum's mind, the idea that he and this slight, soft-eyed little human have clashed steel before and matched evenly-

Arum still cannot quite accept it. He believes them, trusts the pain in their eyes if nothing else, but the idea that he would have lost to so gentle a creature- it simply does not make sense. A duel, a contest of skill, now- Arum cannot say if he is at all convinced it may do anything to loosen the grip of this curse, but nevertheless Arum is tempted. If only, he thinks, for the chance to prove himself.

"However?" Sir Damien echoes, softly, and Arum snaps back to himself.

"If the both of you think it may have a chance..." he shrugs, feigning nonchalance. "It is worth exploring, I suppose."

"Again," Amaryllis says, lifting a pointed hand, "it makes sense, but I don't think we should-"

"Get our hopes up," Arum finishes. "Obviously."

Amaryllis' lip curls up, not quite a smile, and then she shoots a look towards Damien. "Be careful, remember," she says sternly, and the poet presses a hand over his heart.

"I swear," he says. "Always."

The look on Amaryllis' face at that leads Arum to suspect that the poet is not, in fact, always careful. Arum frowns.

"How shall we begin, then? I imagine you suggested that we come to the greenhouse because it will give us ample space, correct?"

"Yes." Damien gives a small sort of smile. "The game is to try to pin each other. Despite Rilla's- frequent suggestions, we have... not yet transitioned to sparring with practice weaponry. Bladed combat is your preferred, and I am rather flexible, so typically we duel with knives." He pauses. "Yours, if you would be willing to allow me the use of one. Otherwise- well, I could ask the Keep to allow me to step into Rilla's hut for a moment to retrieve-"

"We may as well do this properly," Arum says, shrugging, and then he draws one of his knives and, on a strange sort of whim, whips it out to sink into the bark of the tree beside Damien's head. The knight does not flinch, surprisingly, though he does blink as the Keep warbles a chastising note. "Oh be quiet," Arum mutters. "The bark is thick, it will be fine."

Damien turns, carefully pulling the blade back out, his fingers curling around the hilt with a reverent sort of delicacy.

Arum unstraps one set of hilts, hanging them from another tree nearby, then draws his remaining blade, holding it unthreateningly at his side as he spares a look towards Amaryllis.

"Your priorities fascinate me, just so you are aware," he mutters. "Though you did not deign to ask, I will assure you as well that I will exercise caution. I will not cause the poet any undue harm."

Amaryllis presses her lips together, nearly smiling. "Appreciate that," she says after a moment, her tone very strange, and then she shoots Damien a look.

The poet shakes his head. "Keep, if you would?"

Arum blinks, but the Keep sings a note of acknowledgment and shutters the skylights slightly, dimming the greenhouse to a more muted palette.

"So no one may claim that the sun were in his eyes," Damien explains with a wry smile, and Arum wonders briefly which of them that particular amendment were made in deference to. "Is there anything else you need? A moment to collect yourself, or-"

"I am fully prepared to best you," Arum snaps, unsettled by the gentle concern in the poet's voice. "Are you ready?"

The poet inhales very slowly, exhales tranquility, my Saint in a breath, and then his lips tilt into a crooked smile.

"I am," he says.

"You are remarkably amenable to the situation," Arum says slowly, stalking closer, "considering that I did, in fact, nearly kill you yesterday morning. I feel I should give you another guarantee, for the sake of your comfort. I will not hurt you beyond what is necessary to beat you. You need not fear for your life."

"You sound so utterly certain," Damien says, a grin flashing across his face despite the pain in his eyes. "So confident that you will be the one of us who needs show mercy."

"I've never lost, little poet," Arum growls, stiff, and Damien glances for half a moment towards Rilla, and then he laughs.

"Ah, I am terribly sorry to disabuse you of that notion," he says, and Arum's scales prickle at the indulgent tone in his voice, "but that is no longer quite true, I should say."

Arum pauses, stewing in that assertion for a moment before he retorts. "He may have," he rumbles, attempting to smooth over his discomfort with cool, patient anger. "I have not."

"Hm," Damien says. "Yes, not to your memory, I suppose. I am sorry as well that we shall be so unevenly matched in this endeavor, friend monster."

"I will not tie two hands behind my back if you think that will make us more even, littl-"

"Oh," Damien laughs, "no, rather the opposite, in fact. It might be rather more fair if we gave you all the rest of your knives to match my one, I think, but I imagine that may injure your pride rather more than you would allow."

Arum pulls his head back, his lip curling over his teeth in a shocked sort of fury. "What?"

"I've a rather distinct advantage, I'm afraid."

Arum's eyes scrape down Damien's body, his lithe frame, his loose, unprepared stance, the knife held so casually in one delicate hand, and then raise up again to his smug smile. Arrogant thing, he thinks, hissing disdainfully. In need of a lesson. Arum should end this foolish little duel before it begins.

Arum darts forward, faster than a human should be able to see, but-

But Damien moves, a breath before Arum does, backstepping around Arum's lunge without even raising his knife.

"Ah," he says calmly as Arum exhales in shock. "So, we have begun, then? Very well, Lord Arum."

In the heartbeat it takes for Arum to regain his senses, the knight shifts his stance and raises his arm, scraping the length of his blade along Arum's own in a fluid motion, and as Arum flinches back Damien takes a calmer step away and assumes a stance-

A stance that tickles familiar in the back of Arum's mind.

A distraction, whether intentional or not, and Arum raises his blade again just in time to block Damien's first quick, testing strike. Arum growls instinctively, and the knight's mouth curves into a small, strange smile as he swings his knife again, an elegant practiced arc, and Arum blocks, catching the blades together.

"I've had quite a bit of practice," Damien says evenly, over the light scraping of metal on metal, "dueling with you, friend lizard." He angles his body, moving his wrist in such a way that he uses their clashing blades to draw Arum's face closer to his own, a molten heat in his eyes that Arum cannot seem to look away from. "Perhaps I should go easy on you, let you warm up a little."

Damien disengages, spinning as he steps away again, his footwork light as the wind, and it is not until he is no longer so close, until he is no longer invading Arum's space with his heat and his musical voice, it is not until he is out of reach that Arum realizes what the poet actually said. He snarls, sputtering as he brandishes his knife between them.

"Go easy on me? Arrogant- absurd, I do not need such practice to simply skewer such a foolish creature-"

"Go on and prove it, then," Damien says, his voice warm and unbothered.

Arum snarls again, crouching lower and watching the human step carefully, edging in an arc around Arum, and then Arum spins, whipping with his tail-

Sir Damien jumps over the tail with ample time, and he does not pause in the descent, swinging his arm down, the blade flashing, and Arum barely deflects the blow, and he needs to roll away to avoid Damien's next two quick strikes.

"Ah, yes," Damien grins wide as he continues to flash his wrist out, relentless as Arum blocks and parries and skips back, trying to get out of range. "It took some time to learn to anticipate that one, I will admit. You've certainly put me on my back more than once with that trick- though you've since needed to find means a bit more clever-"

"Must you-" Arum hisses, ducking, spinning, this little knight is quick, not as fast as Arum in technicality but with each movement Arum makes, Damien aims a blow towards whatever new opening Arum makes. "Must you chatter so, even-" another gasp, and then Arum leaps aside, putting enough space between Sir Damien and himself that he can catch his breath, can manage a sneer. "Not even in this do you cease prattling?"

"If I have breath enough to speak," Damien says, twirling Arum's knife absently between his fingers, "why should I not? I'm quite enjoying my time."

The knight's cheeks are flushed, just barely dark, but his aforementioned breath is even and easy and Arum hisses to hide his own gasping. "Are you?" Arum growls, and something in his stomach twists at Damien's warm smile.

"I always do," he says with a shrug, and then he darts forward, his next set of strikes less swift, but more forceful, more precise. "The exhilaration, the adrenaline of combat, but with the assurance of safety, the knowledge that it will end in laughter, rather than blood- oh, yes, I always take a rather great deal of pleasure in our time together, Lord Arum."

Arum tries to focus on his movements, on holding his ground enough that Damien cannot begin to crowd him backwards again. His words are- distracting, however.

"Is this- your tactic, then? Chattering away, sapping focus-"

"If you cannot focus on your blade and my words at the same time, Lord Arum-"

Arum swings his knife out viciously at that, and Damien grins hard as he spins out of the way. "Ah, there you are-"

His words are distracting- Arum steps back, steps back again, knows that he is losing ground. Damien lashes out, a strike Arum realizes he will not be able to counter, and the lizard throws himself backwards instead, unaware enough of his surroundings that he does not notice the tree behind him until his shoulder collides with it painfully.

"Ah-"

"Oh," Damien pauses, his eyes widening in concern, "oh- are you alright? I didn't mean-"

"Don't patronize me," Arum snaps, ignoring the bruising sting and darting forward. He swings his arm, their blades ringing against each other once, twice, and then on the third blow Damien pushes back enough that they are pressed close, their metal meeting between them with the edges of their blades scraping in a discordant song.

Damien twists his blade oddly against Arum's own, catching the hilts together and wrenching Arum's wrist at an odd enough angle that the lizard needs to lean his body forward to avoid dropping the hilt in pain.

Damien is too close, suddenly, pressing forward at the same time that Arum does, and then he maneuvers his leg just as Arum tries to step away, hooking his ankle behind Arum's and simply allowing Arum's own attempted movement to unsteady him, making his tail swing in a wild arc as he raises his arms to attempt to rebalance, but then-

Damien places his free hand, palm open, directly over Arum's heart, and pushes.

Arum's back hits the dirt before he fully knows what happened, breath escaping in a rush and his knife flying aside with a dull bouncing thud against the ground, and then Damien drops over him, knees on either side of his waist, pinning his lower arms against him as the knight presses his free arm over Arum's sternum like the trunk of a tree, holding him down.

Arum can hardly breathe, not from the pressure but from the surprise, from the rush, from the heat of Sir Damien crowding so exquisitely close, and the knight's eyes are bright and focused and intense. Then, Sir Damien raises his other hand.

The one with which he holds Lord Arum's knife.

Damien swings the blade down, and Arum remembers with self-loathing viciousness the burnt letter from the Senate, remembers the hateful whispery certainty of the hand which wrote the human infection will destroy you-

Arum closes his eyes.

He feels the rush of air on the scales of his face, hears a dull thunk, but-

No pain. No bloom of heat, no pulse of awareness of the blade plunging into his shoulder, his chest, his neck, and his eyes flutter back open in confusion to see how in the name of the Universe the human managed to miss-

The knife is planted in the dirt beside Arum's head; he can see the reflection of his own wide eye in the sheen of the blade. Damien is much closer now- necessary, of course, considering his grip on the hilt, but- but Arum can feel the way his chest moves with his panting breaths, can taste the adrenaline and sweat on the air, can hear Damien's heart, pounding steady, a sturdier beat than the frantic race of his own. The poet stares down at him, his eyes hot and hypnotic, and whatever biting comment Arum intended to make about Damien's aim dies on his tongue before he manages to open his mouth.

"Well, well," the poet says, and his voice is a low, sonorous, strange drawl as he leans heavy over Arum, one hand planted palm-flat to the dirt next to his face, the other (the hand that planted the knife on the other side) trailing up his shoulder, towards his neck. "It looks like the smallest trap is the one you finally fell for."

"I-" Arum blinks. "What?"

"And now," Damien continues, his sharp eyes flicking between Arum's own, "here you are, pinned beneath my claws..."

Damien's hand trails up his neck, his expression far more focused, now, than it had been during the fight, and then he grips Arum's throat, firm and possessive but not hard, not impeding his breath, and Arum- Arum's heart rushes prey-quick even as he understands what Damien is doing.

The words- the nonsense words, not nonsense at all- they must be what Arum himself had said, during one of their duels. Coming from this fierce, surprisingly skillful little creature, they make Arum feel flushed with heat that seems to pulse out from every single inch of his body where Damien touches him.

"A-ah," Arum manages, but not much besides. He cannot even convince himself to struggle against Damien's weight, Damien's hands.

Damien's expression shifts when he realizes that Arum has caught on. He leans closer, his grip on Arum's throat pressing gently to tilt his head to the side, letting him lean closer to murmur in Arum's ear.

"I love to make you panic," he breathes, and Arum flexes all his claws at once. "The sound of your pounding heart makes my stomach growl."

Arum-

Laughs. He cannot quite help himself, despite the fact that his heart is, in fact, pounding, and Damien blinks in surprise.

"Did I- did I really- I said that to you?" he manages, still feeling too hot, too crowded. Sir Damien is... very close.

The poet manages something like a smile, then, though he does not look happy. Arum imagines that he had been hoping... well, hoping that his words would trigger what the physicality of their duel did not. "You did," he says quietly, and his grip on Arum's neck softens, his thumb brushing along Arum's jaw in a way that makes his scales tingle with electricity. "Before you decided not to kill me."

Arum... is not quite certain, about that. Arum knows himself- likes to think he knows himself, at the very least, knows the layers of his lies, and if Damien's words are truly an echo of Arum's in the past, then Arum does not think he could have more obviously begged the knight to acknowledge him, to banter back, if he had outright said so. Could not have said that he preferred Damien alive more blatantly if he had presented his own neck for the blade instead. Perhaps he had not admitted it even to himself, yet, but-

"Ridiculous," he mutters, low and less biting than he would prefer.

Damien leans back, just slightly, his tawny eyes flicking between Arum's own, and his expression softens from his strained smile, going earnest and mournful and strange. He hesitates, biting his lip, and then he lifts his hand from Arum's jaw, drifting his fingers up the scales of Arum's cheek. His touch still feels- hot, sparking, as if the contact were prompting a small fissure of magic at the point they meet, and Arum holds his breath so that he does not gasp, instead.

Damien swallows, his heart beating a little faster, and then his lips part.

"Do you want... to try this?" Damien murmurs, his voice thick with sorrow and desire. "To try... us?"

Arum's breath catches in his throat, and he cannot seem to tear his eyes from Damien's-

He realizes, after a heartbeat, that he does not want to.

"I..." Arum swallows, tries to feel anything besides desperate and wanting. He tries, but- but their eyes, their voices and their tears and their hands- the sound of their hearts- the way the keep reaching for him- "I- I do. I do, Damien, I-"

Arum leans up. He feels- cracked through, his defenses tattered beyond salvage, if they want him- if they truly want him- Arum wants to try, to see if he is capable of earning the loyalty and affection these creatures continue to offer, again and again despite how viciously Arum pushes their hands aside. He wants to. He leans up, because he wants Damien to lean down.

Damien's eyes widen, his breath hitching, his muscles tensing, and Arum realizes with a sensation akin to his stomach falling through the floor that Damien's words were not the true question he assumed they were, not now, not in this moment, they were only-

Another echo. Another attempt to trigger a memory that Arum simply does not have. He was not asking- he does not want-

He does not want me, Arum thinks. He wants back only what he once had.

Arum drops his head, his horns pressing indents into the dirt beneath him, and he closes his eyes. Foolishness- foolishness he cannot even deny, now, and for what? For Damien to flinch away from him, to furrow his brow and pull back-

"Off," Arum manages through his teeth. "You've won."

"Arum, I'm-"

"Get off," he snarls, and when he feels Damien flinch above him he adds, quietly, "please."

The knight pulls away. Arum feels cold, and he hears Damien's feet scuffing in the dirt as he moves to stand again, and Arum forces himself to open his eyes again. He curls up, rolling to sit so he can rub at his shoulder for a moment, pretending to test the bruise to give himself a moment to breathe. His eyes flick up despite himself, just as Amaryllis reaches to grip Damien's wrist, squeezing with her lip twitching in a small, comforting smile, and some of the churning despair on Damien's face eases, and then they both look towards him, and Arum drops his eyes back to the dirt with his insides burning, and he hates-

He wants-

He digs his claws into the dirt and then shoves himself to stand. He brushes off his cape, and reaches down to retrieve his blades to slip back into their sheaths.

"Well," Arum says. "I suppose we should be grateful that none of us got our hopes up."

[End Notes: I really don't know very much about How Fighting Works, forgive me <3 ]

#elle's fanfic #the penumbra podcast #second citadel #rad bouquet #lizard kissin' tuesday #lord arum #sir damien #amaryllis of exile #going through changes ripping out pages #aaaaaAAAaaaAAAA DUEL TIME

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nahimjustfeelingit-writes · 5 years

Text

Imagine:

Erik and Reader have a special dinner to celebrate their year anniversary of being together and Erik tells Reader I love you for the first time. She’s afraid to fall in love. 🌺

“Just so you know, you look bad as fuck right now.”

“Thank you, and you look very handsome.”

Erik took multiple shots of Y/N on his iPhone while she stood in a smoking hot red dress with matching red heels and a glass of red wine in her hand. Her pressed hair was finger combed to one side of her head and her ruby lips pouted in the sexiest manner. Erik was proud of himself and this dinner he planned. One of his friends owned their own restaurant and he also catered. He had him make lobster tails, stuffed salmon, garlic mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and a blackened chicken salad that was Erik’s favorite. Dessert included rum cake with butter pecan ice cream.

Erik wore the sleeves to his silk black dress shirt rolled up. Black slacks, and dress shoes to match. After taking one final photo of Y/N, Erik handed her the bouquet of red roses he purchased from a nice black owned flourish shop down the street from his loft in LA. Her eyes twinkled as she grabbed the bouquet, leaning in to kiss Erik softly. Y/N pressed her nose into the roses, inhaling sharply before letting out a pleasant sigh.

“You really out did yourself, babe,” Y/N pulls a single rose from the bouquet, breaking the stem and placing it in the pocket of Erik’s silk shirt, “Perfect.”

Erik couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across his face. Y/N giggles, bringing her arms up to wrap around his neck. She pecked his lips with her matte stained lips before using her thumb to stroke the fullness of his bottom lip.

“A year together already, can you believe that?” Y/N bashfully looks away because of Erik’s intense eyes, “I really appreciate this, Erik, no guy has every taken the time to do this for me. I feel special.”

“That’s because you are,” Erik strokes some of her hair behind her ear, “I-I wanna talk to you about something, Y/N.”

Y/N’s eyes studied Erik carefully while bringing her arms down to grab his hands, “I hope it’s a good thing.” She could feel her heart pounding against her chest.

“All good,” Erik kisses her again, “Don’t worry. Let’s go eat, okay? We don’t want the food to get cold. My homeboy worked really hard on this meal, babygirl.”

“Did you hear my stomach just now?” Y/N jokes, “I mean it’s been at least six hours since I’ve eaten.”

“Oh hell no, I ain’t having that.”

Erik grabs Y/N’s hand, leading her over to a nice table set for two, patchouli candles in the middle and champagne on ice. Luckily it wasn’t a windy night since they were eating on the rooftop. Erik pulls out Y/N’s chair watching her take a seat before walking to his chair. He sat down, scooting forward a little, leaning his elbows on the ivory table cloth, his face now bathed in candle light. Y/N mirrored his moves, flipping her hair over her shoulder, brown eyes going from chestnut to tawny because of the candle light. Erik could see light freckles on her nose and shadows on her upper cheeks from her eyelashes.

“You are...fucking...breathtaking,” Erik grabs her left hand, stroking it with his thumb, “You know that?”

“Erik,” Y/N always felt shy when he complimented her like that, “Stop-“

“I can’t help it. Stop looking so damn good then maybe...never mind I don’t think I could ever stop.”

“My cheeks hurt from blushing,” Y/N looked towards her right, spotting a waitress and friend that he asked to serve tonight walking over with a tray of buttery rolls and honey butter with a salad, “Stop it.”

“You’re getting this treatment all night,” Erik popped the cork on the champagne, letting some of the fuzz spill off before pouring Y/N and himself a glass. Erik’s friend, someone Y/N instantly recognized as Sammie, a tall guy with a brush cut and walnut colored skin, came over with a bright white smile. He sat the food down after greeting them and walked away before turning back to give Erik a thumbs up. It was a guy code so Y/N didn’t interfere.

“Wow, the salad looks bomb,” Y/N grabs the tongs to help herself to some, “and is that...honey butter?”

“Mhm,” Erik grins while grabbing one, adding some butter to the middle, “Homemade and probably better than Texas Roadhouse.”

“Uh-huh, we’ll see,” Y/N forked a piece of chicken with some lettuce and green peppers. She placed the food in her mouth and began chewing. Her eyes closed and a hand came up to cover her mouth so she could speak, “This is soooo gooood. Oh my goodness. Perfect salad.”

“The chicken is well seasoned, right? Best blacken chicken since my mamas,” Erik grabbed some chicken from the salad bowl with his fork.

“Don’t eat all the chicken out!” Y/N playfully slaps his hand away, “Stop that!”

“Make me.”

“And if I do?” Y/N looked Erik up and down, challenging him.

“You won’t, that’s the point. I’ll be making you do some things.”

“Eat your roll, Erik,” Y/N shook her head, her lips twisting to fight a smile.

Erik continues eating, his eyes focusing on Y/N because he couldn’t help himself. The way he was feeling towards her was something powerful. Y/N was becoming his never ending thought. She was the best thing he never planned. He only needed to see if she felt the same way. After they finished their salad, they talked and joked like they always did. Erik’s friend, Sammie, came back again with their delicious meal: Lobster tails, stuffed salmon, garlic mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach. The food was still sizzling and Y/N’s mouth was watering and damn near drooling when her plate was placed in front of her.

“Dig in, make sure y’all chew y’all food though,” Sammie laughs, clapping Erik on the back before walking away.

“One bite of this and my mouth will be a vacuum. Suck all this food down in one bite,” Y/N says while cutting into her salmon. Erik chuckles, looking over at her with playful eyes.

“A vacuum, huh? Your mouth suck that hard?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Y/N rolls her eyes, “You turn everything into sex-“

“You set yourself up for that one, baby girl-“

“Just-no,” Y/N waved him away with an annoyed expression before exhaling, a smirk appearing on her face, “Now, can we talk?”

“I was going to wait until we finished eating, babe,” Erik chews his food slowly.

“I thought it wasn’t bad? If it’s not bad we can talk right now, right?”

“True but-“

“Baybeeeeee,” Y/N begs with that cute little pout of her lips, “Talk to me.”

“Okay,” Erik grabs his glass of champagne to finish the rest, “Here goes nothing. I’m just gonna come out and say it because I’m not gonna deny how I feel about you, girl.”

“Oh...Kay,” Y/N has a gaurded expression.

“Uh, so,” Erik clears his throat, “I love you.”

Y/N grabs hold of her napkin that was placed in her lap, looking away and out towards the city. She felt her breath halt in her chest when Erik said those words. It petrified her. Especially when they came from Erik. It took forever for him to even admit his feelings for her when they started dating and now he was being open about his affection for her?

“Y/N?” Erik called out to her softly.

“...Yeah,” Y/N blinks away from the sunset, looking down at her food. She forked a chunk of salmon, stuffing it into her mouth to chew. Thank God Sammie brought the food out on a skillet so it can stay hot but now Y/N’s tongue was burning.

“See, this is why I didn’t want to mention anything until afterwards,” Erik went back to eating he food as well. Y/N looked up at him, seeing the frown on his face and how he played with his food.

“Erik. I...I don’t know what to say. You love me? Like...you really love me?” Y/N asks with frantic eyes, “I mean, that’s heavy, Erik. You know how I feel about that.”

“I do,” Erik looked across at Y/N with earnest eyes, “Which is why I wanted to tell you and talk about it. I mean what I said, ma, I love you. I know what this is,” Erik grabs Y/N’s hand, “I’ve found a natural drug for all of my pain, depression, anxiety, and anger. It’s your voice. It’s the way you look at me. It’s your smell and your presence, it’s you. It’s always been you.”

“Babe,” Y/N lets out a harsh rush of breath, “I’m scared.”

“WHY?” Erik asks with a firm tone.

“Because LOVE failed me COUNTLESS TIMES.”

Y/N snatched her hand away, looking down at her lap so Erik wouldn’t see her eyes.

“I...I have strong feelings for you too,” Y/N spoke with a choppy voice, “your arms are strong enough to hold every fear, every beautiful broken piece of me. You don’t just make me feel complete. You complete me.”

Erik swallows spit before talking in a shaky tone, “I look at you and I can’t believe someone didn’t think you were enough...you’re my everything.”

“Don’t day these things to me if you truly don’t mean it,” Y/N couldn’t hide her cries now. She frustratingly dabs her eyes, careful not to remove makeup, “I love you too but I’m so fucking scared that if I let this happen it’ll all come crashing down. It just feels too good to be true.”

“That’s why it’s called a leap of faith, Y/N. You don’t think I’m scared too? I am. I’ve never been in love before. You know who I am and who I once was. I didn’t have time for love. So, now that I do, I want to embrace that. Do you even realize how amazing you are to me? I’ll never finish falling in love with you. If you’re not ready, I’ll wait. I’m here. I’m patient. I’m not going anywhere.”

All of his words were exactly what she wanted to hear from a man.

“I found someone I want to annoy for as long as I live.” Erik says with a smile while grabbing her hands from across the table. Y/N giggles before landing her teary eyes on Erik.

“So, are you ready for me?” Erik asks with a steady voice.

“...Yes,” Y/N took a labored breath, “I love you too and I am ready. I want to be ready. I’m tired of being afraid of my feelings for you. I’m tired of being comfortable where we are now. I want to grow with you. If it’s a dream, fuck it, I’ll accept that because this is the best I’ve ever felt.”

Erik’s whiskey colored eyes were glossy. He clenched his jaw before taking his thumb to rub the tears away. Y/N reaches across the table, grabbing his chin to make him look at her.

“We’ve come this far, we got more time, baby,” Y/N wipes Erik’s eyes with her fingers, “Hey, handsome, you got me, I got you. Let’s give this love thing a try. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Erik licks his full lips, “I’m not perfect. I’ll annoy you, piss you off, say stupid shit then take it back but put that all aside and you’ll never find a person who cares or loves you more than me.”

“Id rather have bad times with you than good times with someone else.”

The smile he gave her made her heart grow with delight.

——————

The sex that night was the best sex they ever had. They couldn’t even make it to his place. Erik parked his car, Kept the radio on low, stepping out of his car to her side. When he opened that door, Y/N was pulled into his large arms. Erik pressed her body against his car, hands resting on the hood of his car while his lips molded and meshed with hers. Y/N grabbed his face, running her fingers along his scruff. Erik’s groin pressed desperately into her crotch. It was heated and passionate. When Erik broke the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers before opening the back seat. Erik grabs Y/N’s hand, pulling her with him and over his lap in the car. The kissing continued, Y/N’s dress up and around her waist while Erik palmed her ass. It was cramped but she was so wet and needy for him.

“Take care of me,” Erik whispered to her over the Donell Jones- This Luv, playing low on the radio, “I need you to take care of me, baby girl. Can you do that for me?” His fingers were tickling her puss on the outside of her lace red thong.

“Yes, baby,” Y/N whispers against his lips.

“Thank you, baby,” Erik spoke softly before pressing his lips on her neck. Y/N’s eyes fluttered shut as she enjoyed Erik’s tongue on her throat and his hands slipping between her thong and wet mound. His fingers spread her honey bucket open, fingers instantly coated in her wet sweetness. She whispered please shallowly from her lungs. Erik’s fingers found its way inside of her. Three. He worked her up to it so many times. Her hips began to grind into the palm of his hand. Her fingers wrinkling the fabric of his silk shirt. She could feel her essence dripping to the seat. Heated breaths warmed Erik’s ear. He could even hear her pussy talking to him. Her pussy was letting him know that he was pleasing her. Y/N could already feel her release coming before she could even adjust. Short, sharp gasps filled the car, Y/N’s thighs squeezing Erik’s waist as her sugar flowed on his lap and back seat. His quickened heart beat thumped against her chest, his fingers still there .

“Baby,” Y/N spoke with a shivering inhale, “I wanna ride you nice and steady.”

“Take what’s yours, baby,” Erik kisses Y/N’s cleavage, “Take all this big dick. It’s yours. All yours to play with.”

Y/N loved that a lot. More than she could put into words. She sat back in his lap, undoing his pants and pulling them down and around his upper thighs. His dick was then pulled out of its compressed confines, a growl coming from Erik. Y/N stroked him while sucking on his bottom lip. Lifting slightly, Y/N places Erik’s dick between her folds before pressing him in between her right walls. She swallowed him with her pussy. Erik’s head went back, eyes closed and mouth hanging open. Now that she was fully filled, Y/N uses all her strength to ride Erik’s hard. She purposely made her ass clap against his upper thighs. Short, harsh, gasps flowed from her mouth as Erik stared at her beatific expression.

“Damn, baby, that’s how you take care of me,” Erik massaged his tongue with hers, “Yes, that’s how you handle all this dick.”

“Fuck,” Y/N felt Erik suck on her neck. She would have a hickie there in the morning.

“Feels so good, baby, don’t stop. Take care of me first.” Erik begged.

“Okay, Daddy,” Y/N bounced. She grabs the back of the couch, “her ass arched while giving him her all. She could feel her pussy pulling on his dick. Y/N could only imagine how Erik must feel. She knows her pussy is tight. She knows Erik’s dick is really thick. Imagine a unyielding pussy and Erik’s girthy length moving against eachother. He could feel everything. She could feel everything.

“Fuckkkk, your pussy is so tight on me, girl.”

“Uhhh!” Y/N quivers, “Damn, baby you’re so thick.”

Erik started moving his hips to meet her strokes. They fucked eachother in that back seat. The rose Y/N placed in Erik’s shirt pocket was smashed and losing pedals.

“Shit, girl. I’ma cum in you,” Erik grabs her waist, moving her himself, “let Daddy take care of that pussy now.”

His hips shot off into hers like a loaded gun. She was extremely wet. His dick slid in and out easily. She could still feel his length and thickness but since she was so damn drenched it made the experience even better. Y/N has never been that wet before with another man. Ever. Erik has the magic touch.

“Ooooo, fuck, yes, mmm, babyeee, oooo,” Y/N pressed a single hand against the foggy glass of the window, “Yes, Daddy, give it to me, ahhhhh-“

Y/N sucked in a quick breath before cumming on him. He still stroked her just as fast and hard. His balls slapped her ass and his fingers squeezed her hips.

“Mmm, Damn, I’m about to bust all in you, shit don’t make no sense, fuck, Ugh.” Erik’s eyes widened before a harsh and uneven breath escaped his mouth. His body shook as his cum fired off into her puss. He hissed heavily before placing his sweaty forehead against Y/N’s shoulder.

“I love you. So damn much.” Y/N spoke with a weak tone, “I feel like we just remade that iconic titanic sex scene.”

“This one was better,” Erik shuddered before placing a weak kiss to Y/N’s cheek, “I love you too, baby girl.”,

#killmonger imagine #killmonger x reader #killmonger fanfiction #nahimjustfeelingit-writes #erik killmonger

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doedipus · 3 years

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we did the tourney yesterday!

I was losers' finalist this time! considering I went 0-2 last month, I think all the training I did 110% paid off.

things to work on:

this is super minor, but I noticed that I always did forward throws even when my back was against the corner, and I think that weakened my offense a lot, especially as annie since her mixup is very throw-oriented. I want to develop the presence of mind to like, throw people backwards more

I still have some work to do with keeping my annie combo straight, but that's mostly a familiarity thing.

I ended up backing down from my new eliza combo because I wasn't doing it consistently in casual matches, which I think was probably the right call for a tournament, but I absolutely want to have it on deck next time. it does like 10% more damage and won't flag IPS if I try to restand instead of super/reset at the end, so it's a pretty necessary tool going forward

things I'm patting myself on the back for

4-2 baybeeeeee

I feel like I managed to not pull a single punch all night, and that absolutely made the difference in most of my matches. I'm very happy with how my eliza setplay worked out

I made really good use of eliza's assist this time I think. I managed to convert off a few hits with it, and I was able to throw people after blocking a ton too. very big fan of butcher's blade assist now

just in general I'm really liking how this team fits together. I think at some point I might try incorporating robo fortune as a third but for now annie/eliza feel like they complement each other pretty well

I'm really surprised I made it past tunatoda's big band. usually I have a hard time against that character but I made sure I knew what to look for going into it and was able to survive a lot of band's bullshit

I still can't fucking believe I got away with doing super on wakeup three whole times lmao. that was dumb as shit

#fg post mortem

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kayayeteae · 5 years

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Costume: D•A•N•T•E (feminine rendition)

Series: Devil May Cry 5

Jacket is basically done (lol u can see the clips). Need to make his wraps and aside from the jacket, everything is pulled from my closet. Rebellion turned out flimsy :( so I’ll have to find a way to keep her strapped to my back bc I can’t pose with it. It’s what I deserve for making it in like 2-3 days (if I can get it DONE).

The lining of he jacket looks like the wallpaper of the shop. Not intended at all. I was apprehensive with it and was gonna go with something plainer, bc I feel like its more Vergil than Dante. Oh well!

Didn’t have time to add snaps so I found these sick button things at Joann fabrics.

The fabric which is a faux leather (a poplin that’s been laquered of the sort) was actually supposed to be used for DMC3 Dante when I initially planned a Dante costume. That was about 5 years ago. It was a fabric I couldn’t pass up. And since DMC5 got announced, I still planned to make DMC3 Dante. Lo and behold I’d beat 5 and this coat would be one of my faves.

The coat overall digresses from the actual design. I used a ton of references ranging from the Prime1 and kotobukiya figures to mod screenshots and everything in between. However, I changed a few things—the lining, the collar, the sleeves (which are intentionally short sleeves! Mine are long), etc.

There’s a lot of things that could be done better, but hey I’m not a pro. A ton of techniques applied were new to me. And if I wanted it done better, I would’ve bought it. I made it to make it mine and mine alone. From the template to the fabrics, it’s all me baybeeeeee.

#devil may cry #devil may cry 5 #dante sparda #cosplay #PLEASE LET ME GET REBELLION DONE #😩😩😩#its late here #and i have work #good night!#snd yes! those are hearts on my gloves lol theyre cute!

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survivesalem · 4 years

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Episode 6 - “I made merge!! Now I can keep dating my boyfriend” - Gizmo

I made merge!! Now I can keep dating my boyfriend because I'll make jury. I'm really excited to link back up with some of my old tribe mates. I'm also really liking some of the new people. I've already gotten further than I thought it would so now I'm simply vibin

Gizmo and Dylan have confirmed to me that Lukas is going around saying that Jessie, Mac, Jay, Brien, and I are a strong 5 that needs to be taken out. That's not true at all. While I am in an alliance with 3/4 of them, I'm only really loyal to Brien at this point. But it seems like he is shooting himself in the foot with this meddling, so whatever. At least this proves that Gizmo trusts me. I am thinking about throwing this challenge because I do not want a target on my back so early, but I am scared of an idol from Lukas. We will see how I feel by the time the challenge starts.

So I made jury . No idea how I actually did that probably because we only we to tribal once . Anyways I’ll give an actual confessional full detail later but I’m still vibing with my trio that needs a better alliance name and I’m vibing with Liam it’s nice to be back on his side again .

Gizmo created an alliance with Brien, Cameron, and I because he wants to go against Lukas. I like this alliance sans Cameron because I do not talk to them a lot. Gizmo seems really smart and is already spilling his idol hunt details. This alliance will help me go against Lukas later. I definitely have the votes to get out Lukas now. Me, Brien, Gizmo, Cameron, Dylan, Zach, Jay, Mac, and Jessie. One or two of these might not, but I have a strong feeling they will all vote out Lukas when the time comes. After this vote, I want to get rid of a nobody for an easy vote like Paolo. Then, at F10 I want to start going after Mac. I do not know what will happen after that, but that is my game plan right now.

there's literally no tea to spill. i'm just bored and wanted to write one of these.

Raffy wins immunity, kinda like that. I’ve heard Lukas’ name which is cute. What I wanna hear is who Lukas throws out. Do I get Liam to be a mole? We’ll see. Not sure if Raffy is as close to Lukas as I once thought but who knows, it’s always good to think of those suspicions. Plus when I say things to Jay and Brien about it, that will ensure they’d keep me over Raffy which is ideal. Jessie and I have shared what we’ve got, except me having the Idol and Nullifier. Sorry sis it’s too valuable for you to know about x Me and Liam are full on sleuths figuring out the idol system which is hot. Liam is my ride or die and I don’t ever see myself getting rid of the Aussie king. He’s too helpful to me.

OKAY my strategy for this vote is literally anyone but me! I'm scheming with Mac about targeting Dylan, Raffy & Zach! Jessie & Mac in the final 3 with me would be ideal. I think for the time-being I can work with Brien but he is also the only one that knows that Mac & I are really close. YA BOI IS WORRIED but I'm ready to SLAY

Made it through the first immunity challenge! I didn't win immunity but that's okay. This first vote is going to be nerve wracking just because of seeing where the numbers are going to fall. I think I'm safe, but that good good anxiety won't let me relax. However, no matter where I place now, unless its final 3, I will still be on jury. So that makes me relax a bit, I can only do as well as I can.

With my alliances, I plan on voting out Lukas. We also want to split the vote on Mac because he's been acting very aggressive in PMs, according to Gizmo. Apparently, Mac confronted Gizmo in PMs about being a duo with Cameron which is very weird and suspicious. Mac needs to go sooner rather than later.

The tribe is very silent at the moment which bothers me since this is the first merge tribal. I think this means that I will be blindsided during tribal council, but I will not be the one going home, so I will just keep to myself as I have been doing.

Going into merge. I personally haven’t heard a name besides Lukas. Maybe this is an easy vote? But part of me thinks someone could be bubbling. An idol? A secret majority? I guess I’ll find out! But what’s for certain, is that I’m worried because I don’t have all the knowledge.

Have really only heard one name going around today so this tribal seems straightforward. However, I have been on the wrong page before so you never know when that is going to happen again. Here's to hoping this all goes smoothly.

OMG YA BOI MADE THE FUCKING MERGE!!!!! This is my first ORG so a lot of this is a huge learning experience for me and I can now safely say I CAN make the merge in an ORG! Now it's time to kick it into gear and win this game I'm going to slay people and hopefully get myself into a good position. I'm extremely nervous. I'm gonna talk to Mac so we can like swap as much info as we possibly can and hopefully we can find a good middle ground and get a group of 7 together.

I'VE MADE MERGE FINALLY YES YES YES YES

** Host note, I think this was meant for the last episode, oops sorry**

youtube

MERGE BAYBEEEEEE! I’m here and I get to see my fake husband Liam! AHH! Unfortunately Alex was cut from making the merge. Now. I have a suspicion that Raffy *might* be with Lukas, along with Dylan and Zach. Liam mentioned to me that Dylan and Zach are close, with Raffy being friends with them and me having suspicions with Lukas and Raffy being a secret duo, that makes that 4. I have Liam, Brien, Jay, most likely Jessie, and Liam saying he can pull Paolo. Cameron and Gizmo are also rumoured as a duo which is something to look out for. It this first vote is an 8-4 vote with most likely Dylan or Zach leaving, you bet your buttocks I had a hand in that.

At merge, I already linked up with Dylan and Zach. They're both really good friends of mine and we just assumed we would work together. I feel down to work with them and Zach made an alliance called Toes for the three of us. I began to talk with Gizmo and Paolo about how their last tribals went, and I feel a really strong bond with Gizmo. He seems really sweet and he seems willing to flip on his previous tribe if need be. I gave him some excuses for why we voted out Keegan because I don't want to reveal my cards to him just yet. I did reveal some of my disdain for Lukas, however. How I see it is that if everyone knows I'm going after Lukas, then they will not see me as a threat just yet since they know where I stand. He told me that Lukas also rubbed him the wrong way which is a good sign for me. Paolo is going to spill the beans after a meeting he is in about the tribals he was at (which I already know all about). I promised to give him information in return, but I don't know how much I will tell him. I know Paolo in real life which I hope he is keeping on the down low, and I've seen him play. He is a bit of a rat, but I'll try to sue him out with our conversation. I need to link up with my alliance and get them to think that I'm not as social as I am being so they (meaning Mac) do not see me as a threat.

Gizmo is spilling all of his information to me. He sees Dylan and Zach as a strong duo which seems like indication that he wants to target them. He also wants to go for an original Tituba member because they have 5 compared to our 4 and 3. He made a mistake telling me this as I have Dylan's and Zach's backs, but I don't know when I am going to tell them. I want the focus to be on Lukas, so I don't want to reveal too much information that might shift the target on to someone else. However, if Gizmo is just going to sell his information for basically free, I am glad to take him under my wing as my rat. Brien says that he's liking Dylan's vibe which works really well for me.

Mac just thinks he can react to things and he will be good his doom in this game is coming sooner than later bc of the way he is playing in my eyes wether it’s by my hand or someone else’s we must wait to find out. Well we merged and I’m happy I made it however I think it’s gonna immediately be a mac vs raffy war and I will need to choose a side when I don’t want to bc I don’t want my 2 closest allies to be going at each other but I think I’ll just see where everyone else wants to go with this first vote and get in the majority bc there is no reason to make myself a target at this point. Some people may say im playing scared but I say I’m playing conservative and in this scenario it’s a good thing 😆. I’m gonna make my move at the right time however the timing is not correct at the merge. I certainly don’t think I’m in any trouble at this first vote maybe if Lukas has way his side may vote for me but i don’t necessarily wanna burn my bridge to Lukas as he has seem to have done with me smh. I consider myself a free agent for any group to use as a number at this point i wanna show agency so that everyone things they can use me as a number and if they wanna make a move they come to me about it.

New idol system, kinda. I feel like it’s more of an extension that a complete change. This adds the Love Spell which I have no idea what it will do. I have a theory it could be the binding spell, forcing two people to work with each other. If I haven’t mentioned, I have an idol nullifier. All I need is Olive Oil for my idol. That’s it. Olive Oil. The amount of times I’ve said Olive Oil in my host chat. Far too much. Anyways here is tea. Lukas told Liam that me, Raf, Jay, Jessie, Brien are a “tight 5” sis that’s a lie. A tight-ish 4 maybe with Jessie. Lukas wants the swapped Osbourne tribe to knock off this group, but I feel like he won’t include Raffy. Liam is my mole who’s told me so much, along with Brien, about who’s connected to who. Thank you social game <3.

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