#reading through post war stuff with my head in my hands

[soaked-doors]

when it rains, it pours

[strawberrymochin]

A Letter.....Long Lost!

kyojuro rengoku x fem!reader

word count- 12.2k

synopsis- the discovery of an old letter from kyojuro rengoku's room shakes the world of tanjiro. he thought he fulfilled every wish of rengoku. however he missed one. tanjiro needs to deliver it to the one it was written for; but the letter has nothing written except a name 'y/n'. who is y/n and how will tanjiro find her?

genre/warnings- post war timeline/ mentions of death/ slice of life/ angst/ fluff/ lots of flashbacks/ kamaboko trio going on a quest to find reader/ emotionally unavailable parents/ just read it i swear it wont disappoint/ comfort/ scenes of rengoku and mitsuri training/ mentions of mugen train

a/n- i had this idea in my head and i literally wrote this in two days. Loosely based off a film I'm obsessed with...this is my first time writing a long fic. im hella nervous. it will have a sequel with a reincarnation au and smut. not fully proof read, ignore small errors.

Nezuko chimed in as urokodaki made his appearance. Soon more people will join in. Kanao and aoi are helping in the kitchen, making several dishes while inosuke is trying to get aoi give him some to taste.

Tanjiro and zenitsu are spreading out the mats for people to sit and get comfy.

“urokodaki sensei! Please come and join.” tanjiro said noticing his former teacher, carrying a huge basket wrapped in a cloth with water patterns similar to his haori. Nezuko trails behind him bringing another basket.

“i brought some mitarashi dango and some hanami-zake for everyone.” said urokodaki with a soft voice, that made nezuko wonder if he was smiling under his tengu mask.

It's been 2 years since the war ended. People lost their dear ones with a pain bearing smile. Some endured injuries that would sustain through out their life marking them as ‘crippled’; while some sacrificed themselves for the greater good.

Seasons changed since then.

So did several people.

People who turned their hearts into stone, heavy from guilt of their family dying; who suffered from the culpability of being protected���

“giyuu san’s here too, please sit inside with the others while we get the stuff ready.”

“yeah how's your sister? I brought her some new kimonos”

A mild smile forming on his lips.

Tanjiro’s eyes widened a bit. It's kinda still new to him seeing such a soft side of the guy who barely used to smile.

……have let their guard down, allowing themselves to move on, now that there's no more threat hanging in the air.

People who had been afflicted by the remorseful long sleepless nights of trauma; killing the one who once bore them in her womb; whose eyes had become dull and frantic, dying inside in agony…..

“oi tomioka! Move outta my way!” grumbled sanemi, throwing a box wrapped in a delicate green cloth in tanjiro's direction as he catches it with difficulty. Having a hand crippled like an old man is sure a poor thing, not that tanjiro minds that.

“ahh the scary guy's here again! Don't touch the box tanjiro. It must've been poisoned!!!” shouted zenitsu, panicking around, hiding himself behind tanjiro.

“What did you just say?” Sanemi’s eyes narrowed at zenitsu, veins becoming more prominent, ready to throw a first at the blonde head's face.

“Goddamn shinazugawa! Don't scare the kid…” said giyu, grabbing his wrist and pulling him inside. “Wh-you’re such a creep tomioka!”

“Kk.”

“Stop giving me that kanroji face!” sanemi said as shivers ran down his spine. Somehow a smiling tomioka was scarier than muzan to him.

…have let go of their distraught, accepting the dreams which they wanted for their loved ones. Fulfilling it in their place.

“Both of them are creeps!” Zenitsu said digging his nails into tanjiro's skin as he spit curses on them. “Zenitsu they are gone now, can you please give this box to kanao san, it smells of fresh ohagi.”

“I'm telling you…it's fuckin poisoned”

“It's not, zenitsu…don't be like that” tanjiro pushed him away with the box. He then took up a broom and started sweeping any other leaves that fell down from the trees.

Pink flowers blossomed everywhere, now that another peaceful season had arrived.

Kanao had suggested nezuko and aoi that they should spend time together this hanami festival. Nezuko and aoi agreed to that instantly. Thus this is how they ended up inviting everyone at tanjiro's, whose house was surrounded by a lots of cherry blossoms.

Kiyo chan naho chan and sumi chan were playing with tengen’s baby as Suma kept pestering urokodaki san for loosening his face mask (I can't blame my lil curious mommy). Makio was sure annoyed at her behavior while hinatsuru just chuckled. Murata sat stiff in the presence of four former hashiras.

Almost all of them had arrived. Except the rengokus.

Aoi brought them some appetizers, as they kept on chatting. After decorating the food all of them would join outside admiring the moment of bliss.

“Senjuro Kun and shinjuro san ain't here yet right?” Asked tengen.

“They haven't made their arrival yet” announced aoi, “however tanjiro san is waiting outside for them, the food is almost done, we can start after they get here”

“HAHAHAHA…. RUSHING IN LIKE A BOAR!!!” inosuke dashed in with a sakura onigiri in his mouth, from the kitchen. “WAhahhh scar guy!! Fight me!” As expected from inosuke, nothing could ever stop him. At first he was a bit spooked seeing a lot of people at once and sticked to aoi till his normal composure returned.

“Still that dumb boar head! Will he ever get mature?” Sanemi grumbled lazily. “I agree” said giyu, smiling at sanemi, which almost made his stomach churn. Tengen bursted out in laughter, “I see you are still in spirit huh? Quite flamboyant of you.”

“YEAH THE GOD OF MOUNTAINS INOSUKE SAMA IS ALWAY—” Aoi smacked him on his head and dragged him away while muttering some apologies to the hashiras.

“He's still much of energy…and his voice has become much hoarse ain't it? I still remember taking those kids on that mission. And this kid in particular was such a ruckus.” Said tengen, stretching his arms.

“Isn't it good to see all of us after so long without having to fear losing someone?” Said hinatsuru, makio and Suma smiled at each other.

“But we had already lost many people.” Sanemi sighed. He wished he could apologize to genya. If life ever gives him another chance he would like to be a little less aggressive.

“If you keep sulking like that, your brother will definitely curse you from heaven.” giyu took a gulp of the matcha tea, sanemi sent at tanjiro's a month ago.

“Now that there are no demons, you two get along with each other quite well don't you think so?” Tengen threw the snarky question at them.

“what the—”

“I wish rengoku could have seen you guys like this…remember the one time himejima san told us that oyakata sama wanted to see giyu smile….”

“See me smile?”

“Yeah, what a waste of time i swear.”

“Rengoku disappeared for a while to buy glasses in order to make giyu smile.” laughed tengen.

“It didn't work though and then kochou emotionally blackmail me to make him laugh.”

“Oh so this is why you wanted to have sake daikon with me?” Giyu smiled again at sanemi.

“I swear if you make that kanroji face again at me, I will kick you on your balls.”

“Everyone food’s ready, let's go and sit outside!!” Said nezuko halting the heated nostalgic conversation of the two.

Murata finally lets himself relax a bit as the hashiras start moving out. Urokodaki slammed a hand at his back, as he felt his stiff posture return. “Don't be so stiff we aren't gonna ask you to duel.” murata’s cheeks reddened in embarrassment as urokodaki laughed off at the kid's nervousness.

These days are indeed peaceful.

Senjuro made his appearance a bit late. He apologized for his fathers absence, blaming on his health. It's not been that best for a few days.

“Oh goodness, is he really going to be fine, we can go run a check up on him you know?” Kanao offered an idea, worried about the shinjuro’s health.

“Thanks a lot. Actually there's something that has been troubling us for a while.”

“Is everything okay?” Tanjiro's asked with concern lacing his eyes. Sanemi noticed, he had always been kind. He was kind to his brother. During hashira training when tanjiro stepped over the line, it actually made sanemi kinda happy and relaxed. Atleast genya had someone in life he could rely on.

Shinjuro's put down his bowl and chopstick on the mats as he brought his hand to his knees.

“There's something we found a month ago….while cleaning aniki’s room.”

Not only tanjiro but tengen, giyu, sanemi, zenitsu and inosuke froze for a second. The untimely death of the young guy was such a sad event that has ached their hearts for a long time.

Tanjiro could smell senjuro’s emotions and it was odd. It wasn't sadness, or guilt, or anger. It was pity. And somehow it stinged tanjiro, the same way it did years ago.

Senjuro took out some bunch of old papers from the sleeves of his yukata.

Tanjiro's throat felt dry and uneasy. It were a bunch of letters.

All of them looked like they were forgotten for months. The letter envelopes had stained yellow and some even have their edges teared off. But it sure emitted a strong smell. The smell of kyojuro rengoku. Tanjiro's still remembers the distinct hints of his aura. And it somehow still lingered around these letters. Especially the one which was sealed.

“What is it?” asked aoi, finally breaking the deafening silence. A strong gust of wind blew the pink petals along with the letters from senjuro's hand. It's scattered around the mats as all of them tried to collect them.

“Y….y/n?” read nezuko aloud. She hold the sealed letter in her hand as tanjiro extended his palm to grab it. It had tear stains. One side of it had brush marks written ‘to y/n’. The ink has now blurred a bit. But it was still readable.

“What's the meaning of all this?” Tengen asked, grabbing one of the opened letters in his hand. Giyu had hold of one reading in pure shock, while sanemi pondered from the side. Eyes as shocked as giyu’s.

“What happened tengen-sama?” asked makio, seeing all of their disturbed expressions. Zenitsu tried to snatch away the papers from inosuke who was trying to eat it.

“We found these letters from aniki’s room. A lady named y/n had sent those letters to him. An—?”

“And that lady was his lover?” asked giyu.

“What nonsense!”

“He never mentioned any of that to me.” frowned tengen.

“Nor did aniki said anything about it at home. At that time our father didn't pay us any attention. He was drowned totally in despair from the death of our mother. Seeing us only infuriated his anger and sorrow. Aniki would train or be at missions and he was rarely at home. He never told me anything about that….”

‘A letter?’ thought tanjiro. He started sweating all of a sudden. He thought he fulfilled all his wishes but—

“Rengoku san! Please think about yourself, can you stop the bleeding with your breathing technique?” Tanjiro has muttered those words back then, panickingly, devastatingly.

He wanted rengoku to say yes. He wanted him to live beside him, fight beside him, eat beside him. But he didn't get that as an answer.

“No, very soon i'll be dead. Before that happens, i need you to hear me out. I have a younger brother named senjuro. Please tell him to follow his heart. And walk down the path he feels is right.” Rengoku’s face had the same content smile, which warmed their hearts up. He continued, “And tell my father to look after himself…and lastly…”

Rengoku went on and expressed his views on nezuko. It felt like a warm hug. Someone has accepted nezuko. Not because they pitied her but since they saw her true potential and that she was no harm to humans. And now when he remembers it clearly, there was something rengoku whispered before his heart stopped pumping.

It was a faint whisper. So subtle that tanjiro thought it was his ears ringing. But now that he recalls, after he said he trusted them as a slayers, he whispered a few words

“and the lette—”

Rengoku stopped mid sentence as tanjiro kept weeping. He wasn't looking at tanjiro but something behind him. It made him smile as he took his last breath.

“Oni-chan? What happened? Are you okay?” Nezuko pulled tanjiro out of his daze. Everyone was looking at him worriedly. Even sanemi was worried.

“I've not fulfilled rengoku san’s last wishes. I- i haven't. I haven't delivered…how can I be so dumb!!”

“What? Tanjiro san! Calm down! You told us everything aniki wanted to say to us.” Senjuro tried to comfort tanjiro.

“No…before dying he whispered something. I thought my ears were ringing but he did whispered something. It was about a letter.” tanjiro kept on babbling as everyone felt dead silent even senjuro couldn't move his hands.

The sealed letter stayed in tanjiro's hands.

Something that belonged to the girl named y/n.

Something probably dear to kyojuro rengoku.

Some words which were waiting since 3 years.

But…..who is y/n?

The rest of hanami festival gathering went by silent. Senjuro entrusted the letter to tanjiro as per as his request before leaving early since he need to be home before sunset to check upon his father. Murata and urokodaki san accompanied him on the way.

“That's completely ridiculous. None of us have any idea who the fuck this y/n is? how are the fuck are you even planning to find her?” Sanemi spit out bitter words at tanjiro, sitting on the porch, watching the sun slowly turn a deep shade of orange. It reminded him of rengoku’s odd hair colour. It's funny how not only he, but his tsugoku also had weird hair colour— a colour which was dear to Iguro obanai.

Tanjiro lowered his head, smiling a bit. Sanemi changed a lot, even if he speaks harshly, he can only smell pure concern. “But I can't start a new life without paying my debts. Rengoku san saved my life. Whoever lady y/n is….I need to deliver this letter to her.”

“I get what you're saying…but there's no address in any part of the letter. Moreover you are being hesitant on opening it. How do you think you will find her then?” Tengen spoke from the back, alerting the former wind hashira and tanjiro. Both wondered how long he's been eavesdropping them. They expect nothing less. He was a hashira and before that he was a ninja. Even after losing one arm and one eye, he still holds the same power.

“Honestly, I've no idea. But I just can't sit and let it slide.” said tanjiro.

“you’re getting married to kanao next year. Better focus on that. Don't get into useless troubles hanging her off.” sanemi said lazily, yawning and getting up to his feet, stretching a bit. “I will be leaving then. Take care.” Tanjiro didn't reply to him.

Tengen shared a look with sanemi. His eyes shooting a mischievous look filled with pride. Tengen has been in a mission with tanjiro and he knows how stubborn he can be. He knows how pure of a heart he had. And how he even had empathy for demons. He knows sanemi have to surrender infront of him.

Annoyed, sanemi rolled his eyes, “if you're that insistent on finding the girl, then why not refer to kasugai crows. Rengoku's crow might know something about the girl.” He suggested as tengen was in literal awe. He never thought sanemi could ever think logically with his brain. Tanjiro’s head perked up in joy at his idea. Now he finally has a path to look up. Sanemi felt awkward and took his leave, avoiding to look in their eyes.

“Ah! Shinazugawa san! Thanks for the idea!!”

“That brat finally seems to work a bit humane ain't he ?!” A deep laugh bubbled up tengen’s throat.

“I’m happy that he has softened a little now that demons have perished. However, about rengoku san’s kasugai crow, do you know where do I get in contact with it?”

“About that, i would recommend writting letter to kiriya sama. I'm sure he would know.” Tengen patted his head with a reassuring smile.

Soon he took his leave with his wives and giyu, since they were going to an onsen. Basically makio Suma and hinatsuru dragged him along forcefully. Giyu looked a bit tired but he was happy.

Things changed and improved rapidly in a short time. Zenitsu and nezuko got married last year. Murata also got engaged. Tanjiro couldn't help but wonder if the lady named y/n had moved on or not? Will rengoku san be happy if she found someone else? Will he be sad? He looked at nezuko smiling at zenitsu as he played with kiyo, naho and sumi. He looked at inosuke giving his shiniest acorns to aoi. He looked at kanao, smiling delicately, just like shinobu did.

He was happy.

But was the lady named y/n happy in her life?

Kanao looked at him and smiled. She came near him and took his wrinkled hand in hers. “Tanjiro san, you know I would really like you to deliver this letter to y/n san before we start a new life.”

“Even if it takes time?”

“Even if it does. I will wait for you for an eternity.” Tanjiro chuckled as red tints his cheeks. How pure kanao’s heart is? How did he get so lucky to have her in his life? God knows.

“Then I will write a letter to kiriya.”

After a few days, a letter arrived from ubuyashiki's. Along with that two kasugai crows were found circling over the house. Among them one belonged to tanjiro, when he was a demon slayer— tennoji.

The other was the one who accompanied rengoku till his last breath. Kiriya felt sad for rengoku and wrote his kind regards to tanjiro sending the crow to him. His name was kaname.

The crow looked pretty much normal and wasn't as hot -tempered as tennoji.

This was the first time tanjiro had seen him. “Hello, kaname san. Sorry for summoning you all of a sudden. But I wanted to ask you something…” the crow didn't reply, but tilted his head at tanjiro.

“I-ahh- do you know anything about a lady named y/n?”

The crow remained quite for a while, as if reminiscing the days which followed great sorrow. “Master's…y/n sama…master's lover…letters…”

His words were what tanjiro was expecting. Tanjiro finally saw a path clear.

“Can you tell me where she lives?” Asked tanjiro hopefully.

The crow shaked his head,“i don't know.”

Slightly disappointed, tanjiro started asking how she looked. The crow wasn't exactly able to describe her. Accepting his defeat, he asked the crow where he saw her for the first time. Maybe if he goes there, he will be able to find her.

“tokyo…capital…mission..”

the crow wasn't that helpful, they only got to know two things.

First- whoever this y/n is, she was rengoku's lover.

Second- rengoku's crow saw her in tokyo, the capital.

This indicates maybe rengoku and the people who went to the mission in tokyo as said by the crow, if alive, they might know something about it. Tanjiro wrote updates to the others.

A few days later, giyu’s letter came along with some sweets. In that he wrote that rengoku went to tokyo for a battle with lower moon 2 back then. Oyakata sama had assigned him to that mission, before he was a hashira. There were a bunch of people accompanying him, one of them being kanroji mitsuri.

Oh! Mitsuri kanroji was his tsugoku, tanjiro almost forgot about that, he got excited to ask her when reality struck him down. She died after the war. Even if she knew y/n tanjiro couldn't ask her.

He continued reading the letter from giyu as the path which formed in his mind started getting blurry.

Upon hearing from tanjiro, kanao dropped by at the kamado’s. She said she might have one way to get to know about y/n. Tanjiro's eyes perked up at kanao’s remark, which almost made kanao’s heart jolt since he was so cute.

Kanao explained, when shinobu was alive, she had once told her that mitsuri was close to a kakushi couple. She further said that mitsuri used to write letters to them about her missions on a regular basis. Those two even came to congratulate her when she was promoted to hashira. She said it was nice to see that a girl around her age so lively.

Tanjiro wrote a letter to kiriya again. And next week when tanjiro went out with inosuke to sell some charcoal in the city, a couple came to visit them.

Nezuko welcomed them, while zenitsu narrowed his eyes on them, especially upon the male.

When tanjiro returned home he was delighted to find the kakushi couple still waiting for him. They didn't hide their faces anymore. Dressed normally as regular citizens. Honestly they were pretty young, and tanjiro admired how they served the corps group keeping them intact.

“I'm so glad you both came.” Tanjiro bowed infront of them in gratitude.

“Oh no, that's completely fine. We are happy to be of any help. Oyakata sama said you wanted to know about mitsuri.” said the woman.

“Ahh not exactly about her, but for instance, do you have any idea if she ever mentioned a name called ‘y/n’?” tanjiro said pulling inosuke back beside him as he kept munching on the snacks for the guests. The guy gave him a creeped stare as he focused back on tanjiro's words.

“y/n? No I don't think so….she ever mentioned that name. Did she tanaka san?” The woman said.

Tanjiro felt anxious as the guy named tanaka tilted his head to think a bit.

“Nope I don't think she did.”, he clarified.

“Oh….” Tanjiro's voice was barely a whisper, that even inosuke sat straight checking if he's alright.

“Is there something else we can do, tanjiro kun? You look upset.”

“No no…it's fine. I was just trying to deliver a letter to rengoku san's love—”

“Rengoku san? Kanroji san’s master ain't it?” Tanaka spoke before tanjiro could finish his sentence.

“Yeah.”

“Oh my god? The one whom rengoku san loves was y/n?”

“You guys know her?” Hope shined bright in tanjiro's eyes. So did a fervent fear. Fear of disappointment. Fear of not being able to pay his debts. Fear of not fulfilling rengoku san's last wish.

“We didn't know about her name but kanroji san used to tell us about her…isn't it shimi san?” The guy turned to his wife with a fuzzy smile on his face.

“Yeah, she seemed so happy, wanting to have a love like them.” Said the wife.

And for the first time till now tanjiro wasn't let down. “Really? Did she lived in tokyo? Rengoku san's crow said he saw her for the first time during a mission.”

“A mission? No.” The wife let out a chuckle, “it started way before that. Kanroji san said….. ”

“Ahh! Master! Can we please have a break! I'm tired from hitting the sword, my limbs are sore.” Mitsuri cried barely holding another strike from her master.

“Haha you got tired this fast, we haven't even started.” the blazing hair resembling fire, moved swiftly as the guy attempted another strike on mitsuri, but thanks to a call outside, he stopped midway.

“Wait a bit, I will be back in a while.” Said kyojuro rengoku, her master. ‘i will be happy if you don't come back for a while.’ she thought as she collapsed on her knees, to exhausted to move.

“Ahh senjuro kun! Bring me some snacks please!!!” She shouted hoping for the little kid to hear.

A bit later, rengoku comes back. Senjuro looked at his elder brother, frowning while holding a letter. Mitsuri sat beside senjuro, who brought her some onigiris.

“What's that master?” She asked, stuffing another onigiri in her mouth.

“Even I'm confused. It's a letter but it wasn't delivered by a kasugai crow but by a postman.”

“Huh? Maybe it's from some neighbour wanting to lower your voice while eating.” Senjuro said shrugged off his shoulders as mitsuri suppress her laugh bubbling on her throat, almost choking on rice. It wasn't an irregular thing that neighbors anonymously complained about kyojuro shouting ‘umai’ every time he ate.

“Open it.” Said senjuro, curious what type of sarcastic words they might have chosen now.

Kyojuro did as his little brother requested. However kyojuro didn't reacted after reading the letter.

“Today's practice is over. You can relax.” He, then ordered senjuro to boil him some bathwater, shooing him away.

Senjuro obeyed his brother, while mitsuri felt kinda odd, yet she was happy to have a day off.

As soon as both of them left the backyard, rengoku blushed like crazy. The letter was still in his hand as he tried to digest the words.

“A love lett—” a big palm shut mitsuri’s mouth, preventing her from shouting. Yet she was squealing. “I thought you left! You've gotten quite quick in sly footing didn't ya? I'm impressed.” He finally removed his hand from mitsuri's mouth.

“Ofcourse you made me practice for 23 hours without sleep. Anyways, what's written in that?”

“Do you want me to make you practice for 2 days straight?”

“Naah I'm fine! But master, I'm happy.”

“Okay.”

“And curious too. Please let me read it.”

“No!”

After shooing mitsuri out of the backyard he tucked the letter in his sleeves. This letter was sure weird.

“Rengoku san thought that she didn't read the letter, but she had a strong memory and could remember each word after seeing it once. She was so excited telling us about that.” said the wife, looking outside the window at the moon.

The flame of the lantern flickered a bit. “So that might mean that the letter should be among those papers…”

“Woah zenitsu! I thought you were asleep?!”

“How am I supposed to sleep if you're talking that loudly idiot!”

Yeah the paper. There were a lot of papers. Some were smudged and unreadable, so they didn't read all of them. Tanjiro went over their cupboard and brought the bunch of papers.

“Can you identify the letter among them?” He asked the guy to inspect. The couple looked at each other. “Maybe we can try but the writings aren't clear.”

“Please if you can. I need to deliver that letter.” tanjiro bowed his head down begging to the couple.

“You're a nice kid, Tanjiro kun. We will surely help you.”

It's been more than twenty minutes since they are reading each and every paper. Inosuke got bored and slept on the tatami mats. Nezuko was already asleep so they didn't wanted to bother her.

“Yeah maybe this one. From what Kanroji san had explained, this seems to be the one.” The guy tanaka handed the delicate piece of paper to tanjiro.

“However, in each of these letters, she referred herself as his wife…I didn't know he was married…?”

“Huh?” Tanjiro frowned upon the man's words. ‘what?’ he checked the letters again. And the guy was right, y/n did refer herself as his wife. They didn't read the papers as carefully since they were long, they just assumed she was his lover. But rengoku san wasn't the one to hide such crucial information.

Tanjiro was confused, they were so focused on finding the address of y/n that they ignored reading the letters, which could provide information about her.

Tanjiro spent the entire night reading each word carefully. Fingers running across elegant handwriting and smudged ink. As he kept reading those with a pain in his heart. There were in total 7 of those letters, which were written to rengoku. And the one which tanjiro kept seemingly in care— the sealed one; one which has a strong smell of rengoku’s aura; one with tear stains.

The couple spent the night in their house and left the next morning after breakfast.

This helped but not that much. However the path had become clearer.

He knew that the girl was from a nice family who had hands in education from the curves in each characters of her words.

Second, she had mentioned that he had saved her and her friends from a fire, in yokaichi.

“I'm leaving for yokaichi.” Said tanjiro during breakfast.

“Eh? Oni- chan?”

“Don't worry nezuko, oni-chan will be back soon.”

“I will also go!” Said inosuke, “inosuke-sama will protect kamaboko gonpachiro, his minon from any harm.”

Tanjiro chuckled at how inosuke shows his care for him, “fine then.”

“Zenitsu san you also go with them…”

“Ehh, but nezuko chan won't you be lonely without me? I know you will be lonely without m—”

“I won't. You guys will be back soon. Till then I will be at butterfly mansion.”

“B-but nezuko channn!!!!” Inosuke dragged him away as nezuko watched the poor soul. She felt bad but she wanted him to be with her brother. She just felt that the three of them should go together.

The three of them finally reached yokaichi town. It was small but quite dense in population. Tanjiro felt that this was an advantage for them since they stories and folks might spread fast in a vast social surroundings.

“Inosuke, zenitsu let's ask the older citizens first, since they might be living here for a while, they must have known about any fire incidents.”

“I was about to say the same thing as you.” Snorted the board masked guy rushing off in the east direction. Zenitsu simply nodded and went in the opposite direction, sulking. He has been giving tanjiro silent treatment since he had to leave nezuko alone.

Tanjiro sighed as he started finding old citizens nearby asking about a fire incident.

After asking a few of them, he sighed, it didn't really do any help, since many weren't able to hear and some weren't able to remember. When he asked the youngsters, they ran away seeing his old crippled hand.

Tanjiro, let down, returned to the spot where they had started searching. Inosuke was already there tapping his feet as he was waiting for the others.

“Did you find anything?” Asked tanjiro.

“Nahh! They were mere cowards. Running way from me. Though I liked it! Everyone should fear the great inosuke sama.” As expected from inosuke, zenitsu was yet to return. Both of them decided to wait till he comes back.

After a while, zenitsu came back. His sulking still hasn't tailed off. “Ahh zenitsu! Did you find anything? You took so long!!”

Zenitsu didn't reply.

He stared at him with dead eyes.

Oh god! Zenitsu’s moody phases are the worst, especially if it's an urgent task. The whining and sulking from a few years ago flashed in front of tanjiro’s eyes.

“You turned mute or what?” said inosuke, already having enough of zenitsu’s tantrums.

But the only reply that came from the blonde was an eye roll. Inosuke got pissed, ready to throw hands at him if not stopped by tanjiro.

“Zenitsu, I will get nezuko chan make sweet washagis for you when we get back home.”

“Really!! You better do that. I can't even explain how much I've missed my dear wife nezuko chan. She must be so lonely without me.” Babbled zenitsu, finally speaking for the first time till they left home.

“She won't.”

“Stop making snarky comments you stupid boar head. What do you even know about pure love between me and nezuko chan?!!!”

“Ahh zenitsu! Did you get to know anything?”

Zenitsu considered tanjiro a while, before giving in, “At the very west of this town, there's an inn. People said it almost burned down about four years ago…I looked for its owner but they said he will be back late.”

Tanjiro let out a breath. If that's the case, then the owner might remember the incident clearly. If only he could provide any useful information.

“Btw do you really believe whoever this y/n is…she's still alive?” Zenitsu scratched the back of his neck, shooing away the mosquitos ready to feed upon his blood. It's been long three of them are waiting in front of the inn for its owner to arrive.

“Let's just not lose hope.” The inn did looked like it suffered severe consequences from whatever happened 4 years ago. Most of it has been repaired but the aura and the smell can still be recognised. There are still some wooden planks with burn marks which are yet to be repaired.

“May I ask who you three are?”

A chilly voice turned their attention. There stood a thin, frail boy, barely an adult. His eyes were small with hair falling down on his brows. He speculated about them with a suspicious look in his eyes(especially on the boat masked guy). Was he the owner? He looked too young for that.

“Ahh good evening! I'm tan—”

“If you're wanting to stay the night, go somewhere else, I'm not opening the inn today.” He replied coldly before tanjiro could even introduce himself.

“Ahh no, you're misunderstanding…. actually we are here to ask you something about the incident four years ago…”

The look on the boy’s face changed from suspicion to disgust.

“Well…I don't wanna talk about it. You guys can leave.”

“No please, at least hear our questions. It's really important.”

“As if I care.”

“Hey fucker! If you don't answer I'll break each and every bone in your body.”

“Stop it inosuke!” This isn't going any better. It's almost night, they also need to find a place to stay.

“tanjiro can you move aside a bit” said zenitsu, without waiting for his reply, he went to the kid. Apparently he whispered something in his ears which seemed to have creeped the guy out.

Tanjiro gulped. He must be desperate to go home and see nezuko. Sometimes he forgets that their coward friend can be hell scary when it comes to nezuko.

“Okay. He's ready to spill anything he knows.” The look on the kids face made it clear he didn't wanted to recall anything about that incident. However tanjiro had no choice but to push him off the edge.

“Hey I'm sorry if we're causing you any trouble, but you know we really need to know anything you know about a girl named y/n.”

“Y/n?”

“Yeah. Heard it before?”

“No. There were none with this name.”

“Eh? Can you try to recall. There must be someone. A girl who was saved by rengoku san. A guy whose hair was similar to fire.”

“Kyojuro rengoku you mean? He pretty much saved everyone. The inn you see here, is small. Before the incident also it was small and not that popular. Only a few people stayed here occasionally. So I can be sure there was no one named y/n.”

An ‘oh’ is just what tanjiro could manage. The boy got inside the house behind the inn. The night fell and they were still in the same position as before.

Inosuke was throwing tantrums in hunger, so they decided to go to an udon shop nearby. Perhaps they should not lose hope. Thinking empty stomach is not always the best option. This they were sitting in the shop waiting for their order to come.

“But she did mention in those letters that she was saved by him. How come the owner doesn't know anything about that?”

“I already told you we should have broken his bones, monjiro.”

“I think it's useless, let's just go back home to my nezuko chan.”

“Zenitsu! What if you were in place of rengoku san? Would you be happy if your last words don't reach nezuko?” zenitsu went silent at that.

They stayed silent till three bowls of hot udon were placed infront of them. Tanjiro and zenitsu thanked the server for the food whereas inosuke just shoved his head into the hot udon bowl. “You guys seem a bit tense, is everything okay? Asked the old man, the owner of the udon restaurant.

“Yeah we're just a bit disappointed.” Said tanjiro. “Haha and why so? Got rejected by a girl? Can't blame her, it's your hand.” The old man pointed at tanjiro's crippled hand. “What happened that's it's such in a bad condition?”

“Oh! It's…from…from a fight.” Tanjiro smiled, it's hard to offend him anyway,“ i already have a fiance and we are getting married soon.”

“Oh my god! Please forgive my mean words then. I wish you both happiness.”

“Thank you.”

“Then why pull a sad face. My udon tastes the best when you eat it with a good mood, ya know?!”

“Haha, I'm sure it will still taste good. Actually we were here wanting to acquire some information about the fire incident 4 years ago.”

“Oh that was such a bad one. If there wasn't that guy everyone would have lost their life…”

“Rengoku san? You mean?” Tanjiro's eyes perked up. “I see, you know kyojuro. Yeah, that boy was a regular in my shop. Although it's been more than three years since he last visited, i wonder how he's doing? Tell him to visit once, the old man misses him.” the man bursted in laughter while the three of them couldn't even managed to smile even once.

How are they even supposed to tell him, tell him that, “rengoku san died three years ago while saving us from…” zenitsu's voice trailed down into nothingness. So did the old man's. They didn't knew if he's aware about demons so they didn't exaggerated it anymore.

No one spoke for a while.

“I see. What did you guys want to know then? I'm sure you were close to him if he gave up on his life for you all…”

“do you know anyone named y/n? I need to deliver this letter to her.” tanjiro took out the yellow stained letter and handed it to the old man, who squinted his eyes on the writings, drawing a wrinkled finger tracing it's shapes.

“Y…y/n…..yeah she asked me to send some letters to his residence. The kid was young and beautiful.” he returned the letter back to tanjiro.

“She did?!”

“Yeah…that kid almost begged me to not tell kyojuro anything about that.”

The three of them looked at each other. “Can you tell us more about her?” “Do you know where she lives?” “Can I get a refill?” The three of them threw questions at the old man's face, whose lips creaked a bit. “Hmm, I don't know where she lives but I can tell you about her.” He said taking inosuke’s bowl to the counter for another refill.

The restaurant was almost empty so they went and sat on the round seats opposite of the counter.

“It was about four years ago when she appeared in my shop after kyojuro left….”

“umm excuse me…” you said

“Yeah young lady, what would you prefer?” asked the owner pointing at the chart hung on the wall which displayed all the items on the menu.

“I will take a hot tempura udon please.” said the girl beside you.

“And you miss?” The owner directed the question towards you. “Umm I will take anything you prefer.” “Ehh is that so? Fine, I'll make you the tastiest bowl of my special udon.”

“Just tell already…!” The girl beside you whispered into your ear, which was audible to the owner, he chuckled a bit. “Can you shut up….!!”

“I will if you say it…!”

“Okay fine!”

“Umm…if you don't mind, is there any way you can ask the address of the man who just left a while ago?” you asked hesitantly, fiddling with your fingers.

“Kyojuro you mean? I already know his residence, he made me deliver udon to his place before.” the owner said trying to keep his composure, young kids are just so bold nowadays.

“Is that so?” your eyes shined dreamily.

“Why harbored a crush on the man you saw a few mins ago? Hahaha!!” you felt blood rush to your cheeks as you couldn't find words to answer his question.

“She wants to thank him for saving her.” said the girl beside you. “Atsuko!” Atsuko just gave a smirk, ignoring how she threw you in such humiliation.

“Ah…if you don't mind then can you please deliver this letter to him anonymously. Don't tell him I asked you to send it. Please…I can pay you for that..”

“I don't need any payment. I will do that. You can just come and enjoy my special udon sometimes.” the owner accepted the letter from your hands, tucking it in his sleeves. “And maybe watch that man you talked about…he comes here around weekends.” The man hinted you the place which kyojuro normal has his lunch. And if you weren't blushing any harder, you felt your entire face burn with embarrassment. But you want to do it anyway.

Atsuko giggled beside you excited to see what happens next.

“So you delivered the letters in her stead?” asked zenitsu.

“Yeah…she kept coming back with letters for a good six months, if i remember correctly. Maybe kyojuro replied to them…”

It fell silent for a while. The only sound echoing was of inosuke slurping on the noodles.

“So, while you delivered letters rengoku san didn't knew her?” The guy with red eyes pointed the question at the owner.

“No i don't think so, she never came when he used to visit, that is, the weekends.”

“Can you tell us what was the name of her friend again?”

“Atsuko…if I remember correctly..”

“Can you describe how she looked?”

“Ehh? I can't really remember people's faces clearly, but she was very beautiful, big eyes with a nice soft skin. Her hair was long and dark. She had a soft voice. She looked like she belonged from a privileged family. So did her friend.”

“Oh is there anything specific you remember about her?”

“Hmm…let me think…if I'm not wrong rengoku once mentioned her name to a boy who tagged along with him. If you go to him i believe he could provide you some answers.”

“Really? Who was he?”

“His name was….daisuke I guess. He used to wear a similar black sort of uniform like kyojuro.”

After finishing their meal, tanjiro payed for everyone and thanked the old man for all that information. They went to a nearby inn and spent the night.

Tanjiro wrote some letters updating each one of their current status. And he sent a crow to kiriya requesting him to take a look if there's any former slayer named Daisuke and used to frequent his missions with rengoku.

The next day around afternoon, tennoji returned from ubuyashiki's. He said there was indeed a slayer named Daisuke. He had suffered severe injuries from the war and now lives in his village.

As directed by tennoji, tanjiro's crow, they went to the south east from their current position. After two days and one night of sleeping in the jungle without the fear of demons, a village appeared. It wasn't that populated. After asking a few kids, they showed the path which led to Daisuke’s hut.

“Umm excuse me? Daisuke san?”

“Yes, wh— ta…tanjiro….aren't you tanjiro?” the guy said, he was blind from one eye similar to tanjiro, with a missing arm and a limp leg. Tanjiro felt sorry for him.

“Yes, they are inosuke and zenitsu. Sorry for being a bother….”

“Oh no please come inside. I will get tea for you…” he said excited.

“Oh, you don't have to. It's fine. Actually we wanted to ask something….”

“Yeah? Please come in. I will surely help you as much as possible.”

They entered the hut and sat on the tatami mats. Even after pleading not to bring any snacks, Daisuke brought some rice crackers for them.

“Please have them.”

“You didn't have to.”

“Oh it's nothing. Now what did you wanted to ask about?”

“It's about y/n.” Tanjiro said as the rest simply focused on rice crackers. A hint of familiarity glistened in Daisuke's eyes. “Y/n? You mean the one rengoku san was madly in love with?”

Madly in love with? Tanjiro felt a pinch in his heart. Rengoku san must have adored you. The sealed letter had tear stains. Did rengoku cried while writing that?

“Ah…yeah…I need to deliver this letter to y/n but I don't know where she lives. Did rengoku san ever mentioned where she lived?”

“A letter? Why sent a letter when he was so adamant about that?”

“Adamant?”

“Yeah…he said that the pages limited his words to her. He was so desperate wanting to see her that he spent like 2 weeks searching for her without taking rest after his missions.”

“Seriously? So how are you supposed to recover from those injuries?” Daisuke said to his senior with an exasperated expression.

“It will heal when I get to see her face.” Said rengoku, bandaging the cut from a demon's blood arts whom he just killed.

“You're gonna exhaust yourself from build up fatigue.” The sun rays kissed the soil painted in crimson from the shedded blood.

“I will be fine. You go and take rest.”

“I can't believe you're going to find the creepy girl sending you creepy letters claiming herself as your wife.” Daisuke let you a sigh at rengoku's stubborness.

“In that case I gotta meet my wife.” Rengoku's laughter echoed among the vast field.

It still echoed in Daisuke's memories.

“So rengoku wasn't married…?”

“Naah. Honestly I think, after rengoku san’s mother died, he had faced severe neglect from his father. He was the oldest son of the family, so he had to be strong for his sibling. But sometimes we forget, even the strong needs someone to back for them. Even they need some kind words to let go all their tiredness and have a tight sleep. Even they need someone who assured them that they have a bright future…”

That's right. Tanjiro had seen how shinjuro, rengoku san's father, disrespected his sacrifice. He was so lost and depressed in his wife's loss that he forgot about the ones who need the most care— his kids.

Daisuke continued, “when the letter came from y/n, rengoku san must have read comforting words for the first time since that. He used to reread those letters a thousand times when he was free. Sometimes I wondered if he ever got bored doing that…but I knew he didn't. A starved man will eat anything. And I knew he was emotionally starving.”

Zenitsu and inosuke stopped eating rice crackers. Rengoku's death solely hurted them as much as it did to tanjiro, but they never thought it was that deep. That it was something beyond his life as a demon slayer.

Zenitsu could relate. After all he was an orphan. And rengoku was too, being in a situation similar to him, where his only parent was emotionally unavailable for him. He felt sorry for him.

No one dared to say anything. The silence was piercing their hearts like splinters of iron.

“Fun fact was that he did find her,” Daisuke chorted a bit before continuing, “and he literally begged her to marry him…”

Rengoku searched from cabin to cabin in the steam train. In the last letter you mentioned you were going to aomori to visit your relatives by train.

After a bit of negotiation he learned that there was only one train which was going to stop at aomori. This is how he ended up buying tickets at the last moment getting in the train, to find you.

He hasn't seen you before. He wondered how you would look. Even more beautiful and kind than your letters. Even more beautiful than the slight hooks of the curved kanjis you had written his name. Even more beautiful than the blazing sun.

He had checked almost the entire train. The content smile on his face has now thinned into pursed lips. He was nervous. What if he fails to find you? What if he never gets to find you? What if he never gets to see your face?

What if he didn't recognise you?

He flashed all the passengers in his head before lowering his head. None of them carried the same demeanor your letters did. He couldn't imagine any one of them being you.

He entered the last cabin. It was empty. However this cabin seemed a bit different. It had a narrow passage on the right with doors while the opposite side had small rooms. It seemed private. One previously booked by someone.

Rengoku turned back to return to his cabin when the door beside him shot open.

Inside was a girl, who seemed to have frozen for a while.

“Y/n?”

The girl’s eyes widened at the name which left rengoku's lips. She shut the door close, but it didn't closed, something was blocking it. The girl looked down, realizing rengoku had slipped his feet in to prevent her from doing that.

He barged the door open. “Y/n right?”

The girl remained silent for some time.

“I apologize to you with all my might rengoku san. Please forgive my intrusiveness.” you said, lowering your head, nervous at the sudden appearance of him.

“God you're even more beautiful than I thought…” you shoot your head up only to see him looking with such dreamy eyes at you as if you're the only thing he's ever wanted to look at. And it made your stomach churn. Guilt rushed in each of your veins.

“Rengoku san, i shouldn't have wrote those letters to you.” You say. Your friend had warned you before. You didn't listen.

“Why?” He took a step closer.

You gulped before answering,“i wrote nonsense, pretending to be your wife I'm very sorry yo—”

“Then don't pretend anymore.”

“Huh?”

“Be my wife.” Rengoku suggested. His face now inches away from yours.

“And then she ran away?” Said daisuke, barely containing his laugh.

“Yeah…did I do something wrong?” Rengoku said with visible confusion plastered on his face. It was rare to see any expression other than his smiling face.

“Of course she would run away.”

“and why so?”

“Rengoku san, a girl thinks about her future first after marriage. She knows nothing about you.”

“But she wrote me lett—”

“Which you didn't answered….since you thought you couldn't fit your words in papers.” Rengoku couldn't say anything in his defense. It was true rengoku never replied to any of your letters. When he received the first one he thought someone was pranking him. But then the letters came continuously, one each month. He slowly fell in love with those. He fell in love with your letters. And somehow, he fell in love with you.

“Then what do I do?”

“Be honest, tell her about your salary and your job, tel her you can take care of her needs.”

“Yeah? Kk I'm going then…”

Rengoku stood at the aomori station waiting for you to get on the train for your return. Upon spotting you, he called out for you. The train had a delay and he had a good 1 hour to make things clear.

“Eh? R-rengoku san!”

“I work in demon slayer corps. And currently I'm in the highest rank which is kinoe. I get a decent salary of 42,500 yen. I live with my younger brother and father. My mother died a few years ago from illness. I spend my day training, slaying demons and rereading your letters,” guilt rushed through your veins again. “I promise, I will fulfill all your needs and treat you like my queen.”

“rengoku san...”

“sorry i didn't replied to any of those, I just couldn't express myself much in writing. If possible I would like to crawl into a hole. However you don't need to worry. I will make sure that I keep you happy.”

You frowned at his words, unable to explain him. How could you do that to him?

“Y/n san, let's make the words on the letters true. Let's be husband and wife. I know that I work in an organization that isn't approved by governm—”

“Rengoku san, shall we walk while talking? We are blocking the road.” you change the topic, not wanting to talk about it.

“Sure.”

Rengoku continued telling you everything…everything about him. From his childhood till his mother's death. From his father's neglect, to his way up to kinoe, from his sword to the number of demons he slayed. You didn't believe in demons before, but now that rengoku tells you about this, demon folks is something you want to believe. You wanted to believe in everything he said. Even if he's telling the dumbest thing, far from reality, you wanted to believe it.

“Y/n san! Look here!” You turn back to rengoku.

Click.

“And did she said yes?”

“Maybe. He didn't mention her answer. He was so happy that finally he met her.”

“You must have seen her then…can you tell us how she looked?”

“I think I might have a photo of her. Rengoku san, asked to recieve a photo delivery, since he had a mission from the previous oyakata sama.” Daisuke got up limping to the one of the backrooms of his hut. He returned a few minutes later, handling a black and white photo to tanjiro.

Inosuke and zenitsu peeped from the sides to take a look at the long awaited moment, when they finally get to see y/n.

The photo was black and white, but tanjiro felt it was still colorful to rengoku san. In the photo there was a girl, young, with long beautiful hair, in a loose braid. She wore a flower hair ornament, which must have shone in gold back then. She was just how the udon owner described her, big doe eyes, pretty mouth, she looked educated. She was dressed in a floral patterned kimono. Zenitsu wondered what sort of colour the kimono would have been. He wondered if he could get a similar one for nezuko as a souvenir.

The girl was beautiful. Inosuke thought, she had similar smile to shinobu, he wondered if his mom’s smile was like that.

The girl's reflection reflected in several mirrors behind her, and one of the mirror had caught the reflection of the one clicking the photo— kyojuro rengoku.

“The last I heard from rengoku san, he said she wanted to meet him before taking the mugen train mission. He seemed happy, maybe she agreed eventually to marry him….if only he didn't…” Daisuke didn't finished the sentence, considering his surroundings.

They sit in deafening silence for a bit.

A bit later tanjiro thanked Daisuke for the rice crackers and his help. He asked if it were okay to take the photo with him. Daisuke had no problem with that. After bidding farewell they continued their journey, unsure what to do next.

After two days of staying at an inn, cluelessly with no idea how to find y/n, inosuke suggests to go to the station from where they got on mugen train.

“If we go to that lord's land and ask the people over there and show this painting of this long haired girl, then some might recognize her.” He had said.

“First of all that's a train station, second it's a photo. How can you still be the same stupid even after 3 years?” zenitsu cringed hard.

“wha—”

“Inosuke’s right zenitsu, we should go there and ask the people over there.” tanjiro said halting the cat and mouse fight which was about to start between the two.

Daisuke had said rengoku was about to meet her before the mission, which means before getting on the mugen train. Even if it is difficult, some locals must have seen even one glance of her.

The next morning, as per inosuke's idea, three of them left for the station.

“Umm excuse me…” said tanjiro, forwarding the photo in front of the local he stopped on his way, “can you tell me if you've seen this girl?”

The man gave a disgusted look at tanjiro. “no I haven't.”

“Ehh? Are you sure you haven—”

“I don't have time for bullshit.” He went off ignoring tanjiro. Strange. People here are less friendly, some even get irritated if stopped on their way.

It's almost lunch time, zenitsu and inosuke had tried to stop the locals as tanjiro asked them about you. It was clear that this ain't ending soon. Especially when they've got nothing good in hand.

“Let's go buy something to eat.”

“YEAH! I'M HECK HUNGRY!!”

“I saw a kid wearing glasses, selling bentos…let's buy some then…she went in that direction.”

Upon seeing the kid, tanjiro asked her to give them three boxes of bentos. It seemed similar to the ones they had three years ago. The girl was about to leave after receiving her payment, but tanjiro's instinct told him to stop her.

“Wait!” The girl turned back to him as zenitsu and inosuke watched him, confused. Tanjiro put his hand inside the sleeves of yukata, taking out the only photo they had of you.

“Have you ever seen this girl around here?”

The girl squinted her eyes behind the round glass frames,“y/n san! Isn't she y/n san…”

Zenitsu’s eyes popped out, he wondered if tanjiro's a mind reader or something, how can he be so quick?

“Yes! You know her? Can you tell us where she lives?” Tanjiro asked desperately.

“She never mentioned that to us…” the girl said frowning her eyebrows.

“Oh…how did you know her then?”

“Well, a demon slayer who saved us three years ago, requested…”

You waited for kyojuro to come. The sun shone brightly above you. The empty roadway started getting crowdy. You've had enough.

“Y/n san. You wanted to see me?” kyojuro had become a hashira now, and amongst his tight schedule he barely had time for you. It's not like you were disappointed, but still…you and kyojuro often talked through phone booths, after you've suggested that casually one day while strolling with him. Last week when he called you, after what felt like years, you said you wanted to meet him soon. ‘fine meet me at the near hinakawa station, I will be waiting.’ he'd said.

Though it was you, waiting for him to come. You've felt distant from him. And you didn't like it.

“I ran away.” You announced looking in his honey drizzled eyes. Though you aren't sure if it were your overthinking but those eyes seemed a bit dull today.

Kyojuro didn't say anything, maybe confused how to interpret your words.

“my family's against us. And I'm against them. I left the old relations to form a new one. With whom I love. Let's get married.” You said taking his hand in yours.

Kyojuro said nothing but wrapped you in his arms. You hugged him tighter, never wanting to let go. “I'm not alone anymore.” He said before nuzzling his face on the crook of your neck.

Yes. You've always wanted to hear these words from his lips. You've wanted to let him know that he's not alone even when he thinks he is. You wanted him to know that there's someone who will always support him even if he's father thinks he has no talent. This was the reason you wrote him letters in first place. This was the reason you let yourself get tangled in a world far different from yours— in the world of kyojuro rengoku.

He left soon saying he will be back after completing a mission. He said he will send someone to you and asked you to wait for him till then. And you agreed gladly. About half an hour later a girl wearing round steel rimmed glasses along with her grandmother appeared.

“Y/n?” You nodded your head at them. “Rengoku sama asked us to keep you safe till he gets back. If you don't mind then you can come home with us.”

You got to know from the grandmother, how the rengokus had saved their lives two times. You've never seen kyojuro fight, but you knew he was hella strong. Still your heart sinks into your stomach whenever he mentions a mission. You've never encountered demons, once you didn't even believed in them, and now here you are nodding at each of those demon tales of the grandmother.

It didn't mattered anyway as long as he comes back safe. You have to wait for a while for him to comeback….after all you weren't done….you still had an important thing to say.

“Then?”

“Then days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, the slayer never made its return. She left eventually, thanking us. We told her to wait for a while more…but she was too stubborn.” said the girl, fixing her specks again.

Tanjiro couldn't believe what he heard. Rengoku had so many things going on in his life. He had more priorities than him and his friends. Someone who was more important. Someone who left her entire family for him.

Yet.

And yet.

He chose to save them sacrificing himself.

He wondered if the you hate him now.

Zenitsu and inosuke were too stunned to speak. All of them were on the verge of crying. To think…that he couldn't return because of them. To think that they played a role in ruining you happiness. That he died saving them.

“She said she was going to asakusa at her friend’s house, named atsuko.”

Tanjiro bowed at the girl, he couldn't manage thanking her, since he knew if he draws one more breath trying to talk, he would break down right there.

The three of them took a train to asakusa after eating those bentos. They looked similar because rengoku had bought the same boxes from that bento girl 3 years ago.

Inosuke was oddly quiet inside the train. The other two also barely chatted before reaching their destination.

Tanjiro had visited asakusa before and he didn't liked that experience very much. Especially the narrow lanes. This time the city looked more developed than before. And it was more crowdy too. They made their way as the girl has previously informed, that atsuko works as a teacher in a big school for aristocrats.

Coincidentally, tanjiro found the same vendor from his last visit. Back then nezuko wasn't able to savor his ramens since she was a demon. He wished he brought her along. They ordered a steaming bowl of ramen, as the vendor was delighted seeing tanjiro again.

“Where that bamboo girl you carried along with you?”

“She's at home right now.”

“Don't give my wife stupid Nicknames.” ,shouted the blonde at the vendor. Tanjiro apologized in his stead as he kept fuming. “So why are you three here all of a sudden? It's been long ain't it?”

“Yeah we're looking for a girl named y/n. She has a friend who teaches in a big school named atsuko.”

“Y/n never heard that sort of peculiar name…”

“are there any big schools in this area, where aristocrats study?”

“Umm…there are a lot of big schools, you could go and ask at the library. There's only one library here and all the school students or teachers borrow books from there. They must know something about that.”

“Oh really! Thankyou very much.”

Without any further do, the three of them went to the public library after eating.

“Woah this is so big.” Tanjiro said.

“It has so many books shall I borrow some for nezuko chan” zenitsu got lost in his dream world. Inosuke was quite whenever he gets in a new environment with a lots of people, so tanjiro didn't bother checking at him.

However, inosuke tugged on tanjiro's yukata pointing at something with his boar mask tugged on his head. Tanjiro could see his eyes popping out.

“What happened tanji—” zenitsu choked on his spit. Tanjiro’s jaw dropped, his mouth open wide. Inosuke was pointing at a picture hung on the wall. Tanjiro took out the photo hurriedly from his sleeves.

There's no mistake. This was indeed the same girl. Underneath the painting was written ‘princess akiko’ in bold letters carved carefully on metal.

“But isn't her name y/n?” Said zenitsu. What's going on? Before tanjiro could say anything, a woman in her twenties bumped into them while rushing.

The photo slipped out from tanjiro’s fingers.

“I'm so sorr—” the women's words halted as she looked at the photo lying on the ground in front of her. She picked it up before tanjiro could.

“Where did you get this picture from?” She asked as if it were a taboo to have this.

“Ahh you know y/n?”

“Y/n?”

“She looks similar to the girl in that painting” the boy with the boar mask declared.

“For the hundredth time inosuke it's a photo.” said zenitsu.

“She doesn't looks like her. She is her. She is princess akiko. The youngest daughter of the imperial family.”

What?

Three of them couldn't believe their ears. “But her name is y/n…” whispered tanjiro in a low voice.

“Just who are you?” She looked at the picture carefully, as if hiding it from the world, “isn't this rengoku?”

“You know rengoku san?”

“That's the man who saved us from a fire incident in an old town. And then became the main reason of the storms in akiko’s life.”

Tanjiro's eyes widened at the mention of the fire incident “Are you atsuko?”

The women nodded, surprised they know her name. Tanjiro, then explained the whole matter.

“I see.”

“This isn't right akiko…you shouldn't have continued writing letters to him in first place.” Atsuko said trying to persuade her not to run away.

“I can't. I can't live here. They will never accept him. And I can't live without him.”

“Akiko, try to understand…rengoku loves y/n.”

“And i am y/n!” The sound of the rain pouring down increased.

“You are princess akiko. Y/n is just a fake name, you created to hide your real identity when decided to write him letters. I supported you then since i thought it was a one time thing.” Atsuko shook the girl's shoulders trying to bring her to the path she considered right.

“But I don't wanna be akiko. I wanna be y/n…y/n rengoku.” Tears fell from the eyes in front of her as sobs escaped her lips.

“You're playing with rengoku’s feelings. Even if you run away, how do you intend to tell him the truth? You can't pretend to be y/n your entire life akiko.”

The girl didn't answered atsuko. That day slowly came to an end along with the rain. And Akiko did run away to rengoku, away from her pointless life, being a puppet in her family's hands.

“She returned a month after she ran away. When I asked him about rengoku she said nothing. Soon her brother came and took her away.” Whispered atsuko in a voice so doleful, that it was clear, it hurted.

“Did rengoku san knew she was a princess?” Zenitsu asked.

“He probably didn't. Akiko's family arranged several politicians later to set her up but she caused such a ruckus that her family gave up at last.”

“Do you know where she is now…i need to deliver this letter to her.” Each word tasted like bile to him. He couldn't even imagine how miserable it had been. You literally rejected a crystal palace only to live a normal life with him. Which didn't even come true. How feverishly would it have hurt? How apathetic fate was…

“She lives in osaka, running an orphanage. You would find her there. Shall I get someone two drive you three over there?”

“That will be very thoughtful of you” said tanjiro.

Atsuko arranged a driver, who would drive them to the orphanage, they expect to find you in. The car ride was even more silent than the train one. Inosuke, even, didn't make any fuss seeing a car for the first time.

‘So this is where princess akiko lives.’ thought tanjiro. The building was similar to butterfly mansion, nothing that luxurious but quite spacious. The driver left soon after dropping them.

They crossed several corridors of children buzzing like bees. Laughter echoed among the hallways. How wonderful of a place for someone who lost their parents. Similar to them. They wondered if they would have grown up in this orphanage if they were born here.

Finally they reached to what seemed like an office. Similar to one shinobu used when researching herbs, the one which kanao uses now. They entered with a knock.

“Y/n san?”

Your head perked up at the name, which once your beloved used to refer. That beloved who never came.

Your heart ached a bit expecting kyojuro. A melancholic smile forms on your face seeing three kids infront of you. Of Course it wasn't him.

“yes?” you said gently, trying not to give in to your emotions.

But tanjiro could smell it. He smelled the intense grief bubbling within you. He could imagine how long you've bottled up your emotions.

Without saying much, he took the letter out of his sleeve placing it on your desk.

“It's been waiting for 3 years.”

“Huh?”

“Rengoku san wanted me to deliver this to you. Sorry this took so long.” your hands froze at his name. Your chest heaved without even you realizing as you grab the letter.

A single drop of tear fell on the spot which had been previously stained with tears. Tears of kyojuro rengoku.

Your fingers shaked tracing your name on the letter. The name which he used to call. Y/n not Akiko.

You teared the seal, taking out a paper. It was filled with words. Words, he never thought he could express on paper.

Dear y/n,

If you're reading this, then I'm sorry. I might have broken my promise of protecting you forever because by the time you read it— I will be dead.

Y/n i wanted to tell you, that I've loved you. I have loved you from the very beginning. Before even I saw you. You were the one who protected the flame in my heart. While others told me to set it ablaze, you made me learn how to keep the flame burning.

You were as beautiful to me as the rising sun. So bright, so clear. You were the epitome of my life. I wanted to live a peaceful life with you, in which my father let's go of his depression. In which your family accepts us. In which we don't have to hide from others. I wanted you to have my surname.

Your words were like the first rain of summer to me. You saved me from quenching my thirst by your words. I have been starved…. starved for so long that I forgot what being hungry for love feels like. Until you came into my life. you healed my heart, handled it as if it's porcelain.

I thought papers were something I would never choose to express myself with. But look at me now. Haha. I don't know why I'm writing it now, but I just feel like, the time’s soon going to be over. And I feel like I will be gone without seeing your face.

Please don't hate me for that.

If I get to spend my life with you I will probably burn this off, but if this letter somehow unfortunately finds you…I want you to know, I gave my best. I gave my very best to save the ones surrounding me. That I fullfilled my duty till the end. So don't feel sad.

I still can't believe you chose to love me. If possible I would like to meet you in another birth, in another universe without demons, where I will be yours, completely yours. You're the best thing that happened to me, y/n. You're just perfect.

But I must say….you’re dumb for choosing a man who bets his life for others, leaving the silver spoon you had in your mouth.

Sadly, our time was limited in this birth. Good bye princess akiko.

~ your kyojuro

The letter fell from your hands. Your lips quivering as you barely contained your tears, which stained the letter.

You just managed a smile at the kids who brought you this letter. He was no more. And you couldn't believe that. He knew you were Akiko not y/n. The truth you weren't able to tell him.

“I'm sorry for making this long. Rengoku san died saving us from a demon, 3 years ago” said tanjiro, tears staining his cheeks. So do the others, barely containing their emotions.

“oh! But i-im glad you all are safe. H-he fulfilled his duties right?”

“Does it hurts?” Tanjiro asked.

“A lot.” And if he wasn't seeing things, he saw rengoku for one second with a silly smile on his face, maybe wondering how to comfort you.

The second he blinked his eyes he was gone. What remained was his letter. Tanjiro handed the photo to you before leaving. He wondered if in another birth he gets to see the both of you reconcile.

He took a deep breath wanting to return to kanao. Maybe he would just ask her to marry him this year. He doesn't want to waste anymore time away from her.

“Where were you?” Asked zenitsu to inosuke, who went missing for a while. They are currently waiting for a train to go back home.

“To buy this.” Inosuke showed a butterfly hair pin decorated with blue crystals. It was beautiful.

“Woah. Who did you buy it for?”

“Aoi.” Tanjiro chuckled at his bluntness, while zenitsu smirked. It's funny how inosuke still gets both of their names incorrect but he never made a mistake in saying aoi’s name correctly. Who knows they might have two weddings…

Now that tanjiro had finally payed off the debt, he wished you happiness as he looked forward to a happier future. He will remember you, not as princess akiko, but as y/n.

“Let's go! I can't wait to see nezuko!!”

“Zenitsu watch out your way!!”

© strawberrymochin 24 | plagiarism won't be tolerated | comments are reblogs are appreciated | banners are by me |

[uhhhj13iguess]

peter parker x reader: roommates to lovers headcanons

tom!peter parker and fem!reader living together post high school (i really only used fem language in the last hc, the rest can be read however!)

masterlist

you and peter moving into an apartment together during college at mit and becoming a thousand times closer than you were before, if that's even possible

your apartment would constantly be scattered with notes and textbooks from your late night study sessions, the air often filled with laughter at 3am when you're both nearly delusional from the lack of sleep

peter would be in and out at odd hours for his nightly patrols, and you always keep the window in the living room unlocked for him so he didn't wake you up pounding on the window to be let in at the ass crack of dawn (not that you found out from experience or anything...)

while he would try not to wake you, you'd grown to be a light sleeper, knowing most nights he would need help patching himself up. he would beg you to go back to bed, but you wouldn't have it, grabbing the sewing kit and helping him clean up

as shy as he is, I think we forget all too often how SASSY this man is, and he would get comfortable enough with you to snap back

"peter, holy shit you're bleeding!" "oh, is that what the red stuff is? really?"

peter isn't the cleanest roommate, but you never seem to mind picking up after him, knowing he's quite literally too focused on saving the lives of others. it also gave you an excuse to steal a sweatshirt now and then while picking up

speaking of, the first time peter came home from patrol and found you asleep on the couch in his sweatshirt, he nearly combusted

that night changed a lot of things in peter, seeing you in his clothes bringing his childhood crush on you out at an insane rate he just couldn't seem to bury anymore

peter can't cook to save his life, having had aunt may to take care of him up until moving in with you. you, on the other hand, loved to cook, especially for him. he would come home from class to find the apartment filled with the most heavenly scents, and all his stress would just disappear

the two of you would have routine movie nights, decking the living room out with a homemade fort and every single pillow/blanket you two owned. more often than not, you let peter pick what to watch, not able to resist the look of pure joy on his face as he queued up yet another star wars movie

these movie nights led to feelings beginning to fester in you as well, as halfway through, peter would be dead asleep and curled up into your side. sometimes he would fall asleep with his head in your lap as you played with his soft curls, and you couldn't imagine being anywhere else. you knew how hard he worked for everyone all the time, and being able to see his face in such a state of peace made your heart flutter (especially whenever he groaned at your touch in his sleep)

after about six months of living together, the vibes are genuinely unreadable. the lines between friends and more are wildly blurry, but neither of you would know how to say something, too happy in the bliss you were creating to mess it up by admitting your feelings (because what if they aren't reciprated? both dumbasses asked themselves while wrapped in each others arms on the couch)

tony, who comes to the apartment one day looking for peter, only to then see you walk into the room mid-conversation and establish the entire relationship for you

"oh, is this the girlfriend, kid?" "oh she's not, i mean we're not, i don't like, she's just my... roommate--" "I'm just your roommate?" "no! i mean, of course not, i just, we haven't, i mean i didn't-" "seems like this is a conversation i don't want to be here for. give me a ring after you're done with the misses, mkay?"

[writingoddess1125]

i know request are closed but could you post pt 2 of the darling dove? its cute, also maybe a small blurb of them meeting?

I Gotchu Darling! I may have had a manic episode with 3 monsters and pumped this out baby!!

Pt 1 <-

Pt 2 <-

And the Prequel Special!

The Kings Meets A Dove

König x Plus Size Reader

Warning: Medic Stuff (Like war, blood, etc mention), Awkwardness, Fluff, Funny Too

It was your first week as a medic, and you were still getting used to the chaos of the field. Blood, Bullets and Honestly you had really trying to get the stomach of this place.

You had secretly puked twice behind the tent already.

However you had already fucked truly up- Instead of thinking of 'This is a war zone' maybe dress like it- you had stupidly worn perfectly bleach white Scrubs.

The other nurses had already teased you all day about the impracticality of your outfit, but you had committed at this point- Fact is you didn't even have time to take a piss let alone change uniforms..

"(Y/N)" The head nurse called, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"You’ve got a new patient. Cot six. Staff Sergeant Felix König. Shrapnel wound to the left arm. He’s been cleared for basic care for the next few weeks, so you’ll be his primary nurse while he’s here." You knew this was the nurse way of throwing you a bone- a green nurse getting a fairly easy case.

You nodded quickly, glancing toward cot six quickly.

And then you froze.

Sitting on the cot was the largest man you’d ever fucking seen. He was easily over six and a half feet tall, with broad shoulders and a frame that made the cot look like it belonged in a child’s playroom.

Honestly he was honestly cute.. Except for one thing that stuck out to you.

The whispy ginger mustache on his upper lip- it looked so out of place for him.

Your brain cycling through why-

Just..

Why!?

You must have been staring way too long cause his sharp blue eyes were scanning the room clearly feeling someone staring, and when they landed on you, they narrowed slightly. You felt your cheeks heat up as you realized he’d caught you.

Quickly you look back at your head nurse seeing him smirk at you- This wasn't a nice easy one, he was giving you the scariest looking guy in this damn tent!!

Dickhead!

Swallowing your nerves, you walked over clutching your clipboard like a lifeline. "Staff Sergeant König? I’ve been assigned as your primary nurse while you’re here my name is (Y/N)"

He nodded once, his expression unreadable as you felt like crying on the inside.

For a moment, there was silence, and then he spoke, his surprising light voice but carrying a hint of disapproval.

"White uniform," he said bluntly, pointing to you. "You’ll be a easy target, very stupid way to die Täubchen."

You blinked, caught off guard by whatever he just called yoh and the criticism. Your cheeks flushed, and you straightened your posture, annoyed.

You don't comment however, going on with routine as you examine him- He stares at you as you still can't really read his expressions.

As you turn to leave- you hear him again.

"See already blood.. not a good look-" You turn to see him pointing to your side were indeed there is a nice little red stain on your uniform most likely from when you had changed his bandage. You glare at him- Having heard about this stupid white uniform all damn day you sort of snap-

"Well, that ginger mustache isn’t doing you any favors either so shut up about the uniform-"

The moment the words left your mouth, you froze.

So did König

His hand instinctively went to his face, touching the wispy, ginger mustache he’d secretly been proud of. His ears turned red, and he opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out.

You, equally mortified over the snap remark which you regretted immediately, mumbled something about checking on another patient and hurried away leaving König sitting there stunned.

The next day, you returned to König’s cot, your white uniform replaced with standard-issue military scrubs.

You hesitated before approaching damn near hiding behind the curtain for a split second, clutching your clipboard like a shield. König for his part, was sitting up straight, his face now very clean-shaven.

You silently thank heaven that the ginger mustache was gone- showing a far cuter face then befkre.

You stared at each other for a moment, the air thick with awkwardness.

"Sorry-" König said first.

You blinked a bit surprised then let out a small, nervous laugh. "I should be the one apologizing first... I shouldn’t have said that about your mustache. That was unprofessional. Im really sorry"

König shook his head, his sort of stoic expression softened by a hint of embarrassment. "No, I... I shouldn’t have said youd die.. It was... rude."

There was a pause, and then you smiled faintly- clearly seeing how awkward he fucking was.

"For what it’s worth, the scrubs are probably a better choice. And... you look really cute." You didn't say without the mustache though.

König’s ears turned red again, but this time, a small, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Thank you, Täubchen" he said quietly.

You raised an eyebrow, smiling softly. "That word, what does it mean?"

König paused for a second clearly going through his head for the translation.

"Eh.. Little Dove... cause of the white uniform you wore"

Your face flushed at this, as he gives a shy smile.

The tension between you eased, replaced by something either of you really knew what it was. But happy it was there.

Over the next few weeks, as you tended to his wound and König adjusted to life in the medical tent very well, mainly due to you- the two of you found yourselves talking more each visit or when König decided he needed to stretch his legs and would visit your station. You had grown to realize that König unreadable expressions was just a very awkward tendency- making him look scary when in reality he was trying to not walk away as fast as possible.

However it seemed the more you two talked the more at ease he was-

Which often ending up with the two of you in fits of giggles-

Like during one of the days when you were changing his bandages mildlessly chatting and at the nearest station a soilder and nurse started to fight with each other.

The nurse screaming out how he came back positive for a laundry list of sexual stds which he tested positive for and him throwing back he was sure she had given half of them to him. Turning into a screaming match of what they did or didn't do during sex as a weapon against each other for everyone to hear and see.

Slowly you reach over closing the curtain of the cot as if some sort lf way to block out the argument.

You two look at each other- König shoulders shaking as he had a hand over his face- you biting your lip to keep from starting to laugh, before the dam broke and you two hear it.

"I KNOW YOU FUCKED THAT DONKEY!" Be screamed out by the nurse- You and König falling over as you two silently laugh so hard you start to physically cry and König rolled to the floor shaking and laughing like a windex bottle.

It was the most fun either of you had in a while- somehow the harshness of war and blood seemed just a tiny bit easier when you guys were close.

By the time König was cleared to return to duty, you had been rushed to the other side of the medical tent seemingly helping out one of your superiors.

König’s standing there for a moment, Wondering if he should say anything.. Normally he would have just walked out and prayed to a silent God to never come back to this tent..

However that wasn't the case this time.. He may not like the tent, but he liked being with you in the tent.

König glanced out of the tent for a moment, then back at you.. for a second he turned to just leave and just accept he may never see you again. Till he heard you laugh at something it just made his chest do backflips.

He closed his eyes for a second- Willing himself as he walked over to you. Seeing you washing your hands at the sink set up- ignoring the blood going down the drain.

"(Y/N)-"

You look up to him and smile drying off your hands quickly.

"König! I'm glad to see you, I'd thought you'd left already" You say, happy to see him before you assume he ran back to the field.

"I am about to- But.." He hesitated for a moment, shifting his boots to the ground as you looked up to him raising an eyebrow.

"Do you want to grab drinks?.. With me?" He managed out, stuttering a tiny bit as he did so as he mentally slapped himself- Looking to your face expecting rejection but instead you seem to light up giving him the biggest smile he'd ever seen that would forever be seered in his brain.

"I'd love to"

[toorumlk]

Hi I'm so freaking obsessed with your twitter.

Also what's your favorite Romione moment in the books and why?

ohohoho thank you, friend, i’m quite proud of some of the stuff i’ve posted on there B)

and as for my favourite romione moment in the books, when i read the question i first blanked out for a couple minutes, thinking of a bunch of smaller, sillier scenes. but then i remembered that i do have a favourite and it’s from chapter 11 of DH, when remus visited the trio at grimmauld place and filled them in on he goings on of the war -including the implementation of the muggle-born registry. ron’s response upon hearing this (after his immediate outrage) was

and it’s not just the hand holding and the “‘you won’t have a choice’ said Ron fiercely” that played out so vividly in my head like this:

but this scene demonstrates so perfectly the political weight of this pairing (muggleborn/blood traitor) which i think is the immovable narrative foundation of romione. all of their silly moments and idiosyncrasies aside, there is genuine narrative purpose behind this love. ron has always had an astute understanding of the blood supremacist politics of the wizarding world (need i remind that he was ready to curse shitco at the ripe age of 12 for calling hermione the in-universe slur) and just how wrong it is. ron is a pure-blood wizard and by design has so much privilege in this society bc of it, but by virtue of having parents like arthur and molly, he’s grown up knowing the importance of fighting against blood supremacist ideology. always.

so, after hearing about the completely horrifying muggleborn registry ("People won't let this happen," said Ron. "It is happening, Ron," said Lupin.), he immediately turns to his muggleborn best friend and love of his life and says “i’m making you a family member, i’m going to use the protection my family-name has and use it to protect you from the awful injustice of our situation, no you won’t have a choice but to let me help you”

i remember having such a… visceral reaction while reading this scene like holy shit .. these kids, THESE KIDS!!!!! this is the bone-marrow-deep love that makes me feel insane. this dynamic of the blood traitor/muggleborn always there, from CoS all the way to the epilogue. We get to see that romione is the story’s pure blood/muggleborn that finally made it (rip jily and tedromeda :(). we see it in hermione keeping her muggle last name after they get married (oh my god these two actually got married) and we also see it in the hyphenated Granger-Weasley (granger being first!) in their kids’ last names (oh my gof these two had TWO kids). they are a true symbol of change and progress in their world.

also this is one of those moments where i’m so glad that our only window to romiones relationship development is through harry’s narration because it so brilliantly shows the readers this blossoming love story instead of just telling us about it because harry obviously doesn’t have access to the inner thoughts of his two best friends, he can only witness them fall deeper in love. showing the audience acts of love is always more powerful and my god is this an act of showing your love to your beloved.

(and not to go on an unrelated tangent, but this is exactly why i could never ship my girl hermione w any DE or DE-adjacent character. no fucking way. not when the concept of a muggle-born registry exists in this universe, not when the antagonists in this story wish to eradicate people like her from their society. idk about the rest of y’all but im going to keep taking the narrative seriously bc the worldbuilding obviously has real world ties/implications and i like engaging with the canon. tangently to the tangent, i saw someone (a ron basher) on twitter say that ron, OUR RON FROM THE ABOVE EXCERPT, was “one bad day away from becoming a death eater” ohhhh ohhh i ought to beat you with sticks bc HUH? this is the same kid who said he would’ve boarded the train back to kings cross if he got sorted to slytherin, the house notorious for birthing DEs, at the tender age of 11)

anyways, all this to say is that romione is incredibly, realistically, materially romantic and i love them and i love their love <3

[areyoufuckingcrazy]

What Remains

Captain Rex x Reader

Warnings: Injury, emotional vulnerability, PTSD, heavy angst, post-war trauma.

⸻

You’d found the distress signal by accident.

A flicker on a broken console. Weak. Nearly buried under layers of static, bouncing endlessly off dead satellites like a ghost signal. Most people wouldn’t have noticed it.

But you weren’t most people.

And the frequency?

It was clone code.

You tracked it to a crumbling outpost on a desolate moon—half buried in dust storms, long abandoned by the Republic, forgotten by the Empire.

Your ship touched down rough. You didn’t wait for the storm to pass. You ran.

And then you heard him.

At first, it was just static. Then faint words bled through the interference—raspy, broken, desperate.

“Hello?…This is CT-7567…Rex…please—”

Static.

“…can’t…move…legs—I need—”

More static. Then a choked, cracking breath.

“I don’t wanna die like this…”

Your heart stopped.

You sprinted through the busted corridors, blaster drawn, shouting his name.

“Rex!”

Then you heard it.

Closer now.

“Please…somebody…I—”

His voice was barely human—childlike, even. Like pain had stripped away all the command, all the strength, all the control he used to wear like armor.

And finally—you found him.

Pinned beneath collapsed durasteel. Blood everywhere. One leg crushed, helmet off, face pale with shock and dirt. His chestplate was cracked straight through.

His eyes were glassy. He didn’t see you yet.

“Help…help…please…Jesse…Kic…Fives—” His voice cracked. “…Anakin?”

Your heart shattered.

You dropped your blaster and knelt beside him. “Rex—Rex, it’s me.”

His eyes flicked toward you, unfocused. “Y-you’re not…I can’t…I c-can’t feel my legs…”

You cupped his cheek. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’ve got you.”

His fingers twitched like he was trying to reach for you. “D-don’t leave. Please…don’t leave me.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” you whispered, throat tight. “You’re safe now. Just hold on.”

Tears blurred your vision as you started clearing the debris, carefully, trying not to make it worse. He winced, hissed, bit down a scream.

“Hurts…”

“I know. I know, Rex. I’ve got you.”

You triggered your comm for evac, barely holding it together. Your hands were shaking. You’d never seen him like this. Not Rex. Not your Rex.

He had always been the strong one. The steady one. The soldier who stood when everyone else fell.

But now?

Now he was just a man.

Bleeding. Scared. Alone.

You gathered him into your arms when the debris was off, whispering to him over and over—“I’ve got you, I’ve got you”—like a lifeline. His blood soaked your jacket, but you didn’t care. He buried his face against your shoulder, barely conscious.

“I—I thought I was dead,” he mumbled. “I kept calling…no one came…no one came…”

You closed your eyes.

“Well, I did,” you whispered into his hair. “I came for you.”

⸻

He woke up in pieces.

A white ceiling. The smell of antiseptic. A faint hum of low-grade shielding. The dull, distant pain in his leg—muted by the good stuff, but still there.

And your voice.

He could hear you before he could turn his head.

“I know you’re awake, Rex.”

He blinked. You were sitting beside his cot, reading something, legs pulled up under you, soft shirt half-wrinkled. You looked like you hadn’t slept much. He hated that.

“How long?”

“Three days since I found you. Two since the surgery. You’ve been in and out.”

He nodded, slowly. “You… stayed.”

You closed your book. “Of course I did.”

He turned his head away from you. “You shouldn’t have.”

There was no heat in it. No real push. Just… guilt.

You didn’t answer at first. You watched his hands—trembling slightly, like they were remembering something he hadn’t said out loud yet.

Rex had always been good at holding the line. At being unshakable. Calm. Controlled.

But he wasn’t now.

He was tired. The kind of tired that lives under your skin. That no bacta tank or stim shot can fix.

“I called for them,” he said suddenly. Quiet. His voice hollow.

You said nothing. Let him go on.

“I thought I was going to die. I was calling for people who’ve been dead for years. I knew they were dead. But I kept saying their names.”

You reached for his hand.

He didn’t pull away.

“I heard your voice last,” he whispered. “And I thought… maybe I was already gone.”

“You’re not.”

He nodded again. Then after a pause—“Maybe I should be.”

Your breath caught.

“I’m not… I don’t know who I am anymore,” he continued. “The war’s over. The men are scattered. My brothers are dead or… worse. I spent years holding it all together and now it’s all just—”

He clenched his jaw. “Gone.”

You rubbed your thumb over his knuckles.

“Sometimes I wake up thinking I’m still on Umbara,” he said after a long moment. “Other times I forget Fives is gone. Or Jesse. And then it hits me again. And again. And it’s like dying over and over.”

You got up slowly, sitting on the edge of the cot, so close your knees brushed.

“You’re still here, Rex. And you don’t have to carry this alone anymore.”

He looked at you then.

Really looked at you.

You, with sleep-deprived eyes and your voice so soft it made something inside him tremble. You, who found him when no one else was listening. You, who stayed.

His voice cracked. “I don’t know how to let go of it.”

“You don’t have to. Not all at once. Not even forever. But maybe… just for tonight?”

You slid beside him, gently, until his head could rest against your shoulder.

He was shaking.

It wasn’t obvious. It wasn’t loud. But it was real.

You wrapped your arm around him.

He didn’t say anything after that.

He didn’t need to.

⸻

Later, long after he fell asleep—finally at peace for the first time in years—you whispered against his temple:

“I came for you, Rex. I’ll always come for you.”

And you stayed, holding him through the silence, while the storm raged somewhere far away.

[starillusion13]

RENT IS DUE! (Teaser)

Pairing: housemates!(Jaehyun,Mark,Jeno,Jaemin) x fem!reader

Genre: SMUT, Housemates, Mature

W.C: (?)k (original plot)

Warnings: PERVERT (all of them are pervert and you can’t change my mind here) there is no important warning here but the original plot will have all necessary SMUT warnings and some manhandling(?) idk coz keep imagining things until the main post drops down.

Note: please I want to thanks to people for reading and reblogging. Reviews are always appreciated . Applause to the ones who come up to me to interact and they know how friendly I am. Okay enough!

From the ask poll!

🫶

“Hi!”

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

Blinking your eyes, you pout a little at the man standing in front of you as to why the person is acting as if he does not know you. You have already checked the message in your phone twice and the third time now and it’s still showing this house. You have already texted the owner about your arrival for a quick look to the new place so the owner should know you would come. Wait you haven’t shared any pic of yours so it might be the reason of this weird introduction.

“Are you Jung Jaehyun, the owner of this house?”

Now the person before you has a frown on his face and blinking down at you. The bare face with red eyes and messy hairs with a white tee worn casually is still enough to reflect his handsomeness. You literally envy when people look good in messy stuffs as you look like you have survived a war.

“I’m not him but I’m one of the owners of this place. Myself Jaemin.”

“Owners? I didn’t know there’re others. Nice to meet you though, here this is Y/N.”

Awkwardly shaking hands with each other, he offers you to enter the house. This dude is really weird and he is still trying to understand the situation. His eyes never left your form after the introduction and the way he is checking you out, anyone can call him out as a pervert but what about you. Meanwhile your eyes roaming all around the big mansion and you are in awe with the luxurious interior of this grand place with expensive items decorating every corner and the most displayed area.

Hands fidgeting by your side and biting your lips, you turn around to find him already looking at you and you feel conscious of your look. Trying to smile a bit, you fail miserably because of his gaze which is piercing on your skin, your choice for wearing a skirt and a plain top is making you to regret now. This dude needs to be changed with his approach with people like why he has to stare at you like this.

“How do you know Jaehyun?”

You blink on his sudden question but clearing your throat, you try to form some words but it seems as if you don’t know how to speak yet.

He smirks at you, “what happened? Caught in a lie ?”

“Huh? No no. I…he is the owner with whom I had contacted few days back for a room to rent and he said that he has one vacant extra room in his house so for the advance payment and quick check through, I informed him about my arrival but it seems he forgot about it.”

“Renting the extra room? That even to a girl?”

You nod slowly.

Poking his tongue inside his cheeks, his eyes trail down your body and taking extra time on your exposed legs to which you shifted in your place and his eyes meet yours, straight away making an eye contact as if daring you to move again and see the consequences. A fear flashes through your eyes to which he gestures you to sit with a smile on his face.

Slow steps towards the sofa, you sit on the middle large one, no wait which do I need to sit on? The love seat one? Or the chair one? Ah. Forget about it.

Turning your head to his side, he is no more standing there but you see him walking away towards a passage way.

“Jaemin, can you call Jaehyun as I need to have a quick talk with him?”

Halting in his way, he looks back at you and nods his head but it doesn’t seem like as if he is agreeing with you but rather agreeing with something inside his mind.

“Who are you?”

Turning your head to the other side, you find a man with black tshirt and trousers staring down at you but not to so happy with your presence. His question is so cold just like his appearance but a guest is a guest. You are a stranger so why asking you like this as if he caught you stealing things in his house. His house? Who even is he?

“Myself y/n.”

“Oh pretty one! I didn’t want your name but thanks for giving me the name to this pretty face. So, what’s my dear Y/N doing here? Who brought you here during this bright daylight instead of night?”

“I’m not here for…on call of anybody. I’m here for the rental room.”

“You mean you are going to stay here? In this house?”

You nod your head with furrowed brows.

He asks again, “ Who let you even know about it? Are you sure that you are not at the wrong address? What’s the name of the owner who contacted you?”

“Jung Jaehyun. I have double checked it and it’s showing the same address where I am currently and Jaemin told me he is the other owner.”

Something click in his mind when his eyes go round and brows raise high as if he realized something very important. You haven’t yet noticed that you are standing on your legs while speaking to him and your hands gripping the skirt tightly, why are they so overreacting to have a girl over for the rental room? It should be you like panicking to see so many men in a single household without any trace of a female and you wonder if you have to live with them or they are just here for some reasons.

“Well hello there y/n! My name is Jeno, I’m another owner of this household and it’s really nice to have you here.”

Shaking hands with him, you feel shy because of his stare along with a sly smirk resting in the corner of his lips. He is not letting your hands go even when you try to pull a little.

You ask him, “Another owner? How many of are you here?”

“Four.”

You turn around on hearing a new voice, a man emerges from the passage way where Jaemin went to earlier. He notices your confused expression and approaches you with a hand hand offering for a handshake. Jeno has already left your hand and gone to sit on a chair nearby.

“So, Jaemin told me about your arrival. Y/n right? This is Jaehyun.”

If the previous men are angels from heaven then this one is the angel who has been created by every angel with a little touch of every beauty. Why all of them are so handsome and hot? I should take control of my mind as what stupid things I’m just thinking about my house owners.

“Yes. I am. Nice to meet you.”

His dimples deepen with the smile and nodding his head, he gestures you to sit back and unconsciously your legs give in and you touch the soft material of the sofa. You are really feeling too weak in front of them. Is it because you are unwell or something about their aura and the stares?

He takes a seat on the love seat and checks something on his phone.

“Is this ‘fantasy love’ your username?”

“Oh yeah. I’m so sorry I haven’t yet changed the name and I just like to keep everything private so I don’t use my real name there. But I can assure you that I’m clean, I don’t have any criminal records and all. Also, I will not cause any trouble while staying here. I need somewhere to stay so urgently that I was glad when you offered me this place on the site.”

He chuckles on your ramblings and also you can hear two chuckling voices from the place where Jeno is sitting. You feel shy under their gazes, you notice how Jaehyun is staring at you as if judging your whole appearance and on the other end, Jeno is being accompanied by Jaemin, who is standing by the side with a spoon in his hand and asking the other one to taste something but their eyes are on you when they caught you watching them.

Your attention brought back to Jaehyun when he clears his throat and lips close rightly making a line, dimples visible again.

“But you have already lied on one thing.”

“What? I haven’t lied anything. You must be wrong somewhere.”

“In the online generated space for some specific basic informations, you have selected the gender as male. But all I can see is a beautiful Angel sitting in front of me.”

Your eyes go wide on hearing his words so you quickly open the site and go through the form of basic informations and then your eyes stop on one place.

Gender: Male(☑️). Female ( ). Not mention( ).

Oh. You and your clumsy ass would never learn how to take things slowly and properly to avoid mistakes but this one is really about your identity of being a liar or not. He must be thinking you as a liar. It really doesn’t matter whatever pronouns people use for you and you need to refer to others but making mistake and have to get blame as a liar is not setting right.

“What the hell….”

“So, why did you lie there?”

“Jaehyun, I didn’t lie there. It’s just that I was must be in hurry and selected wrong.”

You are looking down, feeling guilty on the realization that they must have thought on getting a male visitor today but instead you showed up and that’s why they felt weird earlier. You were ready to apologize and take your leave with the disappointment on your mistake when he spoke up.

“When are you ready to finally come over?”

“Huh?”

“It’s okay. Humans are meant to make mistakes and an angel should be forgiven as they are always so busy for looking pretty.”

You feel shy on the compliment with his seductive voice directly reaching your ears. You tug your hairs a bit and you can feel two other states on you this whole time but you opt to ignore it.

“Do I need to-“

“Gosh! Why nobody woke me up and now I’m running late for the meeting?”

A man with jet black hairs, dressed in a black suit, hands busy putting the watch on the wrist and eyes glaring all around the room. His steps fast while coming down the stairs. You didn’t know but you are again watching this man like you did with the others and when his eyes land on you, a frown appears on his face.

“So you all are busy with a girl that even early in the morning and forgetting about the event at the office. Are you all for real?”

“Calm down Mark, I have told them to start the meeting after one hour as how you came home late last night. Don’t worry.”

He even glared at you before making his way out of the door. Jaemin shouts to have the breakfast but the other ignored the shout leaving behind a grumbling man.

“So what were you saying?”

Oh yeah I was saying something before this little commotion.

“ In two days, I will be coming here to stay with my things and also, do I need to pay you in advance?”

“That’s fine. I will prepare the room for you. So you have the money?”

You shake your head to which he nods.

“It’s okay, you can arrange for it in one week time and if you have any trouble, feel free to approach to any one of us.”

You smile to his welcoming gestures and sweet words. You fell satisfied on finally getting the place to stay.

“Uh I have one more question.”

“Ask away.”

“Do you all stay here as well?”

“Yes. Why?”

Oh. Okay.

“I need to stay here with you all?”

“Yeah. It’s just under the same roof but you have your personal room unless you want to stay in any one of ours.”

He laughs in the end and you laugh along with him. He doesn’t mean anything else right? No no it’s not.

You stand up and he follows you to the door and you can see Jeno trailing behind him.

“It was nice to meet you all.”

“Same here. Also don’t mind Mark, he is like that when something is not in accord otherwise he is really sweet.”

You nod with a smile.

Jeno speaks up, “Also he is the fourth owner and the last owner you are yet to meet properly.”

With waving them and making your way towards the gate in the end of the garden, Jaehyun calls you again. Turning back, your eyes tell him to say.

“Remember, your rent is due.”

Rent is due.

OUT NOW….

Taglist: @mymoodwriting @justhere4kpop @vvshere @anyamaris @yeoobin @icchyi @jwnghyuns @piratequeen-queenofgames @dinonuguaegi @oreharuuu @eriny123 @jaehunnyy

(Open! Send ask/reply/dm) [CLOSED]

[thegreymarveljedi]

Welcome Home Sergeant

(Hunter x Reader)

In honour of all the other Bad Batch stuff I’ve posted over the last few days, here’s another one.

But make it spicy😈

This story was used for something else in my writing career but I decided, fuck it!, I’m using it for Star Wars cause I’m a sucker for Hunter and the Bad Batch.

This takes place pre! Season 7 so before Echo joins the bad batch, (sorry again Echo fans).

(Divider done by @pinkiemme )

Warnings: mentions of injury, overstimulation, gunshot wound, Batch Bad brothers, SMUTTTT, title! kink, praise! kink, pet names, blindfold, handcuffs, spanking, Dom! Hunter/ Sub! Reader, fingering, fisting, anal sex, oral sex, colour system, deepthroating, 69, rough sex. (This is basically just porn with minor plot. Literally is like reading porn)

Words: 7.4K

After a long and difficult mission but successful mission, Hunter wanted nothing more than to cuddle up next to you. Run his fingers through your hair, down your body, kiss your breathe away. It had been too many rotations to count since he had been home but now, finally, the batch had been given some time off.

He and the Bad batch had be gone on back to back to back undercover mission for almost two months and he had hardly slept. His sleep was plagued with nightmares and his senses had been acting up a lot more. Not having you to hold him, to calm his mind and tell him that everything would be alright made his heart ache.

He sat silently on his bunk on the Marauder, doing his best to quiet his mind as he suffered with a migraine. Tech sat in the pilots seat, talking with Crosshair as they flew through hyperspace. Wrecker was passed out on his bunk across from Hunter, resting him arms across his chest.

Even though the missions had been successful, there had been some injuries. Their cover had been blown on the last mission and the separatists had been testing a new weapon, one that severely affected Hunters senses. He had almost passed out from the pain his head was in, his body feeling weak and his senses overwhelmed.

Tech and Wrecker were able to get the information the squad needed, Crosshair staying with Hunter to make sure he was okay. A few droids had snuck up on Hunter and Crosshair, trying and failing to killing. Even though the droids didn’t have their way, Hunter had still taken a shot to the shoulder while trying to take one down, Crosshair finishing the job as he checked in the Sergeant.

When all was said and done in the mission, Wrecker had helped Hunter up the ramp of the marauder, Tech pushing a few buttons on his helmet to enable silencing, darkness and scent dampening. Tech had installed these features on Hunters helmet long ago, wanting to help his brother in any way he could with his heightened senses.

After about 7 hours, Tech pulled the marauder out of Hyperspace over Coruscant, transmitting clearance codes for their safe landing at the GAR base. When they landed, Tech lowered the gangplank, Crosshair coming to the bunks and smacking Wrecker awake.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“To wake you up. You sleep like a brick.”

“Well you didn’t have to hit me so hard!”

“I did.”

“Did not!”

“Did too.”

“Both of you shut the Kriff up!” Hunter growled, glaring daggers at his younger brothers. Both Wrecker and Crosshair could tell by Hunter’s tone that he was not joking around, both quickly leaving the bunks and heading off the marauder. Hunter stayed back for an extra few minutes, trying to get his thoughts in order. He had been shot in one of the more sensitive parts of his shoulder, making the pain even more amplified.

It wasn't until Tech walked back up the ramp that Hunter snapped out of his thoughts, his left hand holding his right shoulder, the pain fully registering even after putting bacta on it. Tech walked over and kneel down in front of Hunter, giving him a once over with a scanner before putting it away, picking up Hunters helmet that had been discarded on the floor.

“Are you alright Hunter?” Tech asked quietly, examining the readings that the scanner had given him. Hunter shook his head and winced, his migraine feeling like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his head. His shoulder was also on fire, the pain radiating like a vibroblade was still stuck in there.

“Let’s get you to the medical wing. I was informed that Metric and the 212th are on leave so we can go see a more familiar face,” Tech said. Hunter gave a small nod as Tech placed his helmet over his head, the sensory features kicking in again. Once Hunters helmet was secure, Tech helped him off his bunk slowly, making his way down the plank where Wrecker and Crosshair were talking with Cody.

"You alright Sarge?" Cody asked as Tech walked with him over to the others. Wrecker noticed immediately that Hunter wasn’t well and too the initiative to take Hunter from Tech, picking Hunter up off the ground so that he wasn’t touching anything.

"No, he’s not. Even though our missions were successful, Hunter was injured. The separatists seemed to have engineered a weapon specifically designed to enhance electromagnetic frequencies. The weapon overwhelmed his senses and left him vulnerable, allowing him to be shot,” Tech explained making Cody’s eyes widen.

“Okay, let’s get him to Metric. I’ll have a private room prepped and everything,” Cody explained and signalled for the Batch to follow him. They did so without question, Tech leading the group behind Cody with Wrecker holding onto Hunter in the middle and Crosshair coming up the rear.

They made it to the medical wing in no time, everything having been prepared for Hunter and the boys. Metric was ready with the supplies needed to fix up Hunter’s shoulder as well as the equipment to help ease his senses. There were few words exchanged as Metric did his job flawlessly, still cracking jokes with the Batch as he went which made them all smile a little.

~Time skip~

(Y/N) sat lazily on her and Hunter’s bed, waiting for her handsome sergeant to return home. It had been too long since she had last been able to hold him or kiss him, but she knew his jobs was important and had to be done. She was just about to get up and go take a shower when her comm went off, she snatched it quickly and with a grin, expecting to see Hunter but she was instead greeted with Tech.

Fear immediately gripped her heart, fearing the worst for her boyfriend when it was his brother who called instead of him.

“Tech what’s going on?”

“There is no need to panic (Y/N) I can assure you. Hunter is alright, just a shot to the shoulder and his heightened senses all over the place,” (Y/N) let out a sigh of relief at Tech’s explanation, happy to hear that Hunter was alive though sad to hear that he wasn’t doing well.

“Is he alright?”

“He is better now. Metric has closed the wound on his shoulder so it should heal in about a day or so. As for his senses, he has been given a remedy that should help, though I do recommend rest for him.”

“Okay. Thank you Tech.”

“Affirmative. We will bring him by shortly. We all know that he is desperate to see you.”

(Y/N) giggled at that, imagining just how much teasing Hunter had to endure from his brothers.

“Thanks Tech. See you boys soon!” Tech nodded before ending the call, (Y/N) stretching with a sigh.

She turned on some music and began to blast it throughout the room, bopping her head to the sound of the Jizz band. Luckily the walls of her high rise apartment were sound proof so no one would hear as she sang to her hearts content.

As (Y/N) was picking up the clothes that were strewn all over the floor and put them away, she came across a set of lingerie and ropes that she had recently purchased. They were stashed away on her side of the closet, ready and waiting to be used when Hunter came home. She smiled at the thought before an idea popped into her head, her grin hardly containable before walking into the conjoined fresher to take a shower.

~Time skip~

Hunter was grateful to his brothers for getting him the help he needed and he was grateful to metric for patching him up so meticulously. He thanked the medic one final time before he and the rest of the Batch made their way out of the medical wing. Hunter went to take a right to head to their barracks when Tech cleared his throat, Hunter turning his head to see his brothers taking a left back to the hanger.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to the Marauder.”

“Why? We’re on leave for the next 2 weeks.”

“Affirmative, though I assumed you would like to go and see a certain female after such a long stint away?” Tech said and Hunter deflated slightly, the thought of you making him relax and smile.

He didn’t argue with Tech any further as he followed the squad back to the Marauder, excited to see his Cyar’ika after too long away. They piled into their ship, Tech taking off and flying them towards (Y/N)’s high rise apartment.

Tech landed the Marauder on (Y/N)’s private landing pad, opening the ramp and allowing Hunter out. He has shed his armour and instead, replaced it with civilian clothes, the comfort of the soft fabric making him feel even more relaxed. As he made his way down the gangplank, he noticed that his brothers didn’t follow.

“You guys coming?” He asked and all three shook their head.

“And have to listen to you two all night? No thanks,” Cross replied, a smirk on his face and a toothpick in his mouth.

“Ya I’d rather just go to 79’s and celebrate!” Wrecker said with a grin and pumped his fists, ready for a drink and some music. Hunter shook his head at the two before turning to Tech quizzically.

“Someone needs to keep an eye on these two and make sure that no one gets hurt.”

Hunter nodded to his younger her brother, stepping fully off the gangplank and watching at the door closed, Tech pulling the ship off the landing pad and flying off. He shook his head at his brothers, though he knew that tonight was just for him and his beloved.

Hunter made his way into the building and gave the proper security clearance to make it to the elevator, pushing the button to get to (Y/N)’s floor. As the elevator closed and began ascending, Hunter’s mind wondered to all the things he could do with and to his Cyare now that he was home. He thought of how he would kiss here, profess his love to her, how he wanted nothing more than to curly up in her arms and fall asleep to the sound of her heartbeat. He thought of all the dirty things they could do, how sinful you’d look with his cock buried inside you, how gorgeous your blissed out face would be after he made you cum over and over and over again.

When the elevator stopped on the correct floor, Hunter disembarked, walking into the apartment that he and (Y/N) had came to share. The place was clean, smelling of softly scented air freshener and cookies. Hunter looked over to the counter of the open concept kitchen and noticed that there were indeed some of Hunters favourites there. He smiled, feeling more loved then ever. He walked further into the apartment and came to the door of his and (Y/N)' shared room, knocking on the door before it slowly slid open.

To his surprise, he found (Y/N) lying on their shared bed, her private earbuds in, listening to something. He smirked when he realized she was watching something very naughty on the holonet, hand down at her southern lips, moving her fingers slowly. He licked his lips and watched for another minute or so with hunger in his eyes, his pants beginning to feel tight.

"Whatcha up to there mesh’la?" Hunter said as he walked further into the room, breaking his silent observing as the door sliding closed behind him. He reached behind him and engaged the lock just as (Y/N) shot up from her laying position, removing her hand from her cunt and facing Hunter with a look of surprise. She smiled widely as she laid eyes on him, quickly throwing on one of his shirts before throwing herself into his arms.

Hunter chuckled lowly and hugged (Y/N) back, holding her close. He had one arm wrapped around her waist and the other gently cradled her head to his neck as she wrapped her arms around his. He could feel her heart beating quickly, the scent radiating off one of apples, cinnamon and vanilla. He could smell her arousal, the sweet smell making him harder by the minute.

"I missed you Hunter," she said and a few tears falling from her eyes at finally having her sergeant back in her arms. Hunter held her tightly, stroking her hair and giving her hips a gentle yet loving squeeze.

“It's ok my love, I'm okay. I’m home and I’m safe," He said, giving her head a kiss and running his hand up and down her back in a comforting motion. She smiled into Hunter’s neck and held onto him tighter, relishing in the strength of his arms and the heat of his skin through his shirt.

Hunter chuckled as he picked her, making her wrap her legs around his waist. (Y/N) yelped in surprise, clinging to Hunter as he lifted her. She locked her legs around his waist, pulling back from the hug only a little and planted a gentle kiss to Hunter’s forehead before capturing his lips with hers. They shared a passionate kiss as Hunter laid her on the bed gently, moving himself to cage (Y/N)’s body under his.

Her legs didn't let go though, keeping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, koala hugging him. Hunter laughed and lifted her back up before sitting on the edge of the bed, just holding her in his arms. (Y/N) kept her face bury in Hunter’s neck, taking in the scent of his soap and his natural smell of oakwood and carbon scoring.

Hunter ran a gentle hand through her hair, kissing her forehead and cheek every few seconds to remind her he was home, that he was safe and okay. (Y/N) smiled and pulled away slightly to look at Hunter, resting her forehead against his in a keldabe kiss. Hunter smiled at the action, resting his hands on her hips once more and closing his eyes, relishing in the feeling of being in her arms.

"Welcome home Sarge,” (Y/N) said softly with smiled, kissing his nose teasingly. Hunter returned her smile and kissed (Y/N)'s lips, smiling into the kiss when she kissed back. It was an innocent kiss full of love and affection, their lips moving together in sync.

They both pulled away and smiled at one another, the aura in the room light and comfortable, "It feels so good to be home ner sarad," Hunter said, running his hands up and down (Y/N)’s sides and thighs, the warmth of his hands making her squirm. (Y/N)’s hands found their way up into Hunter’s hair, slowly untying the bandana from around his forehead. Hunter groaned at the relief, sighing contently as (Y/N) ran he fingers through his hair being as gentle as possible.

"How about we go have a shower Cyare? I could use a nice hot one," Hunter said. (Y/N) nodded and gasped again as Hunter effortlessly lifted her up, his strength still surprising to her some times. He lifted (Y/N) up and carried her to the bathroom, carefully sitting her down on the counter, and slowly, teasingly pulling his shirt off her body. (Y/N) gave Hunter a mischievous look causing him to laugh, finally taking the shirt off and tossing it back into their room.

Hunter stopped for a moment to admire the women in from of him, taking in ever physical feature he loved about her. Her round plump breasts, her wide juicy hips, her gorgeous legs, he loved everything about her. She was perfect in his eyes, perfect for him, someone he didn’t think he deserved to have in this lifetime. Hunter brought a hand up to her face, resting it in her cheek and stroking her cheek lightly with his thumb. He could admire her all day everyday for the rest of his life if the maker would allow it. He was enamoured by her in every way and he would make sure to tell her that for as long as they were together.

"Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum ner cyar’ika. You’re absolutely stunning. Like a goddess handcrafted by the maker himself," Hunter whispered to (Y/N), placing a lingering kiss to her forehead. She smiled at his declaration, tear threatening to spill from her eyes once more. She leaned into his touch and his kiss, enjoying the more relaxed, softer side that Hunter only displayed around her and his brothers.

Hunter was almost always on edge, his position as the squad’s sergeant a very tiring one. He was their leader, the receiving and giving the orders, his responsibility to his brothers one of great importance. He was always looking out for them on missions, always ready to throw himself in the fray to protect them. They were willing to do the same, evidence of that displayed today by how they got him help and brought him home to her.

When Hunter was with her, he didn’t have a care in the world. He trusted Tech to be in command when he was otherwise preoccupied. Every once in a while, he had the chance to come home to his Cyare and he could pretend that the war didn’t exist. That he was just a man coming home to his girlfriend after a long day at work.

"I love you Hunter," (Y/N) said, looking up at Hunter with a wide smile. She leaned up and placed a kiss to his jaw before moving her hands down to the hem of his shirt. Slowly she lifted his shirt off, tossing it to the floor before looking back at him. She took a second to admire his body, his tattoo carrying down his body and disappearing below the waist band of his bottoms. It was the she noticed the bandages around his right shoulder, the bright white wrapping smelling of bacta. (Y/N) ran a gentle hand over the bandages, being careful not to touch it too much.

"How’d this happen baby?" She asked softly, leaning over to kiss the bandages before looking back at him. Hunter smiled at her concern and pulled her into his chest, resting his head on top of hers.

"It's okay my love. The separatists had a new weapon that made my sense go haywire. Cross had to stick with me while Tech and Wrecker got what we needed,but a squad of droid snuck up on us and got a hit on me. I’m okay though, I promise," Hunter explained and he could feel (Y/N) tense slightly at the mention of his sense being fucked with.

(Y/N) hugged him tighter, running her fingers gently through his hair. Hunter just kissed her head and pulled away from the hug, removing his pants and boxers in one swift motion. (Y/N) stared as Hunter finished removing his clothes, walking over to the shower and turning it on. She admired the way his hips swayed as he walked, the definition of his muscles making him look even more sexy.

(Y/N) licked her lips as she stared at Hunter’s ass his globes quite plump and big and she loved to tease him by smacking it. She hadn't even noticed Hunter walking backwards toward her until he stood in front of her again. She blushed and looked away, embarrassed at being caught admiring His backside.

Hunter laughed and picked (Y/N) up by her thighs, her arms wrapping around his neck. He brought her into the shower before gently setting her down on her feet. The couple smiled at one another as they washed themselves and each other teasing each other as they showered. Hunter would grope (Y/N)'s ass or breasts while she would 'accidentally' brush his now mostly erect cock. She reached around his body and grab his ass as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Fuck it," Hunter mumbled and pushed (Y/N) up against the wall of the shower, pinning her hands above her as he kissed her passionately. (Y/N) kissed back with an equal amount of passion and aggression, wanting Hunter to just fuck her already.

Hunter moved his left hand down her body, groping her breasts as he went before finally making it to her lower lips. His left hand remained raised, occupied holding her hands above her head. (Y/N) moaned as Hunter rubbed her clit in rough circles, enjoying the sounds she made. Her lips looked so kissable, so plush and pretty as she moaned. He leaned in and kissed her, swallowing her sounds as he pleasured her.

"H-hunter, please," (Y/N) moaned and tossed her back gently as Hunter broke the kiss, "Please sergeant, please," Hunter smirked at her whining, slowing his fingers down to a snail’s pace.

"Please what mesh’la? What do you want your sergeant to do to you?" Hunter asked huskily and ran his fingers up and down her folds, teasingly slipping one in and out from time to time.

"Please! Please sergeant...please fuck me, I need you so bad," (Y/N) cried, bucking her hips into Hunter's hand. Hunter smirked and stopped his movements completely, his fingers resting directly over her core.

"What do you want me to fuck you with my love? Do you want my fingers, my mouth or my cock?" Hunter said seductively, his voice low and sexy as he began to circle ber clit relentlessly again.

(Y/N) moaned loudly again and moved her hips in time with Hunter’s fingers, "Fuck me with all three! Sergeant please fuck me with your fingers, your cock, and your mouth! Please!" (Y/N) begged, making Hunter smirk, his cock hardening fully.

He didn't wait another second before plunging three fingers into (Y/N)'s core, forcing a scream of pleasure from her lips. (Y/N) moaned as Hunter finger fucked her fast, moving his fingers at a relentless pace. He added another finger into her core, somehow moving his fingers faster and deeper inside of her. (Y/N) was practically riding Hunter’s fist, moaning loudly and lewdly in pleasure at the feeling of him filling her up. Finally Hunter added his last finger, now having his whole fist inside her dripping, pulsing pussy.

(Y/N) moaned, panting between moans as Hunter continued to fist her. He stopped and pulled out of her for a second, (Y/N) whining at the loss of contact and fullness before Hunter turned her around and pushed her chest against the wall. (Y/N) moaned at the feeling of the cold tile wall on her chest before letting out a pornographic moan as Hunter began to fist her again.

"Oh fuck yes Sergeant! Fuck it feel so good!" (Y/N) moaned as Hunter smirked triumphantly, knowing just how to play her body like a fiddle. He let go of her hands and brought his right hand down to her other hole, teasing her asshole with two of his fingers.

"Will you be a good girl and listen to your sergeant? Will you be a good girl for me cyar’ika? Do as I tell you?" Hunter asked, slowing his movements down until he stopped moving his fist all together. All he received in return was a strained moan and a nod from the woman before he brought his hand down on her ass cheek.

"Speak Mesh’la. You know you need to use your words or you get punished," Hunter all but growled, smirking as he watched his beloved squirm even more. (Y/N) moaned before turning her head to look over her shoulder at Hunter, her eyes filled with longing, lust and obedience.

"I'll be a good girl for you sergeant, sir, please. I will listen and do as you tell me. I'll be a good girl," (Y/N) said, her submissive side winning the internal battle. She wanted him to dominate her, use her for his own pleasure like a toy.

Hunter smiled and ran a hand over (Y/N)’s reddened asscheek, moving his fingers to her pussy and slowly pushing three inside her again. "Good girl. Such a good girl for me," He praised and kissed her shoulder, "Now, I want you to spread your ass for me. Show me your tight hole so I can fuck it," Hunter growled and (Y/N) moaned, spreading her ass cheeks apart for him.

"That's it. Good girl," Hunter praised before he slowly moved two of his fingers inside her ass as he continued to finger her pussy. (Y/N) whimpered and moaned at the sensation, feeling so full and stretched by her lover. Hunter always knew how to get her going, how to work her body and how to making her feel good. It was one of his many talents that she admired and she could never get enough of him.

Hunter added another finger to her tighter entrance, moving his fingers in time with the one buried in her cunt. By now (Y/N) was chanting Hunter's name like a prayer, her eyes rolling around in pure ecstasy. The cold wall of the shower felt so good against her heated skin, her cheek pressed heavily against it. With an obnoxiously loud moan, she came, Hunter pulling both his hands from her roughly, watching her squirt. His eyes lit up as he watched the filthy display, (Y/N)’s body convulsing as she came. He hands flew back to the wall of the shower, trying to find some stability as she moaned at the feeling of her orgasm.

Hunter moaned just watching her cum, diving right back in and pushing his fist into her pussy roughly, hard and fast before pulling it out just the same making her squirt again. His other arm found its way around her waist, holding her up as her legs threatened to give out.

"Sergeant please!" She cried as he repeated his action for a third time, Hunter smiling as he pushed his fist into her again, leaving it there and waiting. She moaned as he did, feeling so fucked out already and he hadn’t even fucked her with his cock. She could feel it resting on her hip, erect and waiting for her.

"Please what ner cyar’ika? What does my Cyare want?" Hunter teased and kissed from her shoulders to her neck up to her cheek. (Y/N) panted leaned her forehead against the wall, the words dying in her mouth. She was struggling to formulate any kind of coherent thought, all thoughts in her head filled with Hunter and how good he felt inside her.

"I-I-I w-ant y-" she couldn't finish her sentence before her knees buckled, Hunter pulling out of her cunt and catching her.

"You okay mesh’la?" He asked, genuinely concerned if he had hurt her. (Y/N) nodded and swallowed, taking deep breaths to regain her bearings, "I need words doll. What colour are you?" He ask and stood her up under the gentle flow of the now warm water.

"G-green… Yellow. I-I just need a minute,” She said and rested her head against his chest. Hunter smiled and help her as she breathed, him breathing with her as he rinsed his hand clean. After a few minutes Hunter felt her place a few kisses to his chest, drawing patterns on his abs and tracing his sinfully sharp v-line.

"Green, sir," she said and Hunter smiled, using two fingers to lift her chin before leaning down to kiss her. (Y/N) kissed back, smiling at the gentle kiss and display of affection that was such a contrast from the rough display mere minutes ago. Hunter smiled as well before carefully picked her up by her thighs, wrapping (Y/N)’s legs around his waist once again as he turned the water off and exited the shower.

(Y/N) smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as he made his way back into their bedroom, gently laying her down on the bed. Hunter pulled away from her for a minute, taking in her gorgeous form and beautiful smile. She was drop dead gorgeous I'm his eyes, a vision from the maker himself.

“Mesh’la,” he whispered as he stared, his eyes taking their time ravaging her body before moving back up to look into her deep (E/C). The eyes that he could get lost in, the one he has gotten lost in and never wanted to leave. The lips that he could kiss for hours, red and swollen because of him.

"What is it Hunter?" She asked innocently and Hunter couldn’t help but smile fondly at her.

"Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum (Y/N). You are so beautiful and I am so happy to call you mine," Hunter said as he took one of her hands in his.

(Y/N) smiled up at Hunter, her innocent submissive act slipping away as she gazed up at the soldier above her, "I love you too Hunter. So so so much. My handsome soldier, my handsome man," She said. Hunter smiled and leaned down to kiss her gently again, the hand hold hers coming up and resting both there hand next to her head. His other hand followed and rested on her cheek, stroking the soft skin with such care and love.

Soon the kiss turned heated, Hunter running his tongue along the seam of (Y/N)’s lips, asking to be let in. She complied without a fight, allowing Hunter in to explore her mouth. He nipped at her lips as he went, his hands moving down to caress and worship her body. (Y/N)’s hands found their way into his hair, running her fingers through his loose curls.

Naked, sweaty bodies pressed against one another, quiet moans and whispered praises were all that could be heard throughout the apartment. No one was the wiser, the perks of having a sound proof and private apartment all to themselves. Hunter ground himself against (Y/N), grinding his hard cock into her dripping pussy without entering her. She moaned and bucked her hips up, trying and failing to entice him to fuck her already.

"Ah ah ah, not so fast cyar’ika. You know what happens when you do that," Hunter said and smirked at her. (Y/N) pouted but continued to buck her hips up, the innocent expression on her face a contrast from the mischievous behaviour she was displaying. Hunter growled and pinned her hips to the bed with his own, pinning her hands above her head.

"Please sergeant. Please. I missed you so much," (Y/N) begged while giving Hunter the puppy eyes that he was so rarely able to refuse. He stared down at her for a moment before shaking his head, not wanting to give into her just yet.

"Soon Cyare, very soon. Let your sergeant have his fun first okay?" Hunter said as he traced one of his hands up and down her side. (Y/N) pouted, faking sadness that her puppy eyes didn’t work on Hunter this time before nodding, accepting the fact that Hunter needed to do this.

"Yes sir," (Y/N) said and stopped moving, waiting for Hunter to continue with his ministrations at his own pace. Hunter stopped and stared at her for a moment before moving his hand to tilt her chin up, forcing her to look at him.

"What is it mesh’la? What's wrong?" Hunter asked, kissing her cheek. (Y/N) sighed again and looked at Hunter with a hint of tears in her eyes.

"I missed you Hunter. I thought about you everyday. I craved you and still do crave you. I want you so bad. I want you to make love to me; rough, passionate, breathtaking love. I want you so bad. Please. I can't wait any longer please. Please take me," (Y/N) begged, trying her best not to move her hips in time with her words no matter how desperate she sounded.

Hunter stared at her for another minute before leaning down and giving her a gentle kiss to her lips, then her forehead, "I missed you too Cyare. Everyday I thought about coming back to you, how I would come back to the safety of our home. I thought about only you and those thoughts are what kept me going when things got tough. I'm sorry for making you wait so long my love, " He said and kissed her again.

"It's okay Hunter, I understand," She said and gave Hunter a smile. Hunter returned her smile before moving away for a second, coming back from the closet with a blind fold and a pair of handcuffs.

(Y/N) mewled at the sight of the toys, rolling over onto all fours and moving up the bed to the pillows, slowly and teasingly swaying her hips. She had planned to wear her new lingerie set and show Hunter the rope she had bought but that could wait for another day. She stretched out on purpose, sticking her ass in the air to give Hunter a view of her dripping pussy. (Y/N) smiled as she heard Hunter groan at the sight before he flipped her back over onto her back.

"That's not very nice cyar’ika," he said in a sinfully deep voice. (Y/N) giggled, smiling mischievously at Hunter before her caught on, smirking right back at her, "You did that on purpose, didn't you ad’ika?"

"Of course sergeant. I love the way your eyes light up when I tease you," (Y/N) whispered seductively. Hunter groaned and pinned her down with his hips again, making quick work of cuffing her hands to the bed and placing the blind fold over her eyes, with her consent of course.

"I'm going to punish you for that pet," Hunter said making (Y/N) to moan. Hunter expertly flipped (Y/N) back over onto her stomach, lifting her ass in the air and spreading her cheeks. He groaned at the sight of her gaping pussy and loose asshole. He slowly brought his hands back to her ass, his left hand coming down on her left ass cheek before his right came down in her right one.

(Y/N) moaned and tried her best to keep still, very much enjoying her punishment. She loved the pain and when Hunter spanked her again, she couldn't help but bend further, lifting her ass higher for him. Hunter smirked and spanked her again, loving the way her ass jiggled when he smacked it.

"How many is that mesh’la? How many times has your sergeant spanked you?" Hunter growled out, teasingly running a hand over her abused cunt.

"F-four so far sir," she said and Hunter stopped for a second, looking down at her quizzical before the realization dawned on him.

"Ahh. Smart girl, the one in the shower," He said as (Y/N) nodded, answering with a sickly sweet, “yes sir.” Hunter smiled at her, even if she couldn't see it through the blind fold.

"Good girl, you're such a good girl for me mesh’la," Hunter praised her. (Y/N) moaned, the praise making her even more wet. She was a good girl, she was his good girl.

"Now, you've been a good girl but you're still going to get punished for teasing me. I'm going to give you six more spanks and you're going to count from five saying 'thank you' after each one, okay?" Hunter explained and (Y/N) nodded, whimpering out another, "yes sir."

Hunter took a minute, admiring his lover's round, plump, red ass before brushing his hand over it. (Y/N) knew what he was doing, simulating her so she wouldn't know when he'd strike, the anticipation making her squirm giddily. Finally, Hunter brought his left hand down on her ass, giving her a hard smack.

"Five! Thank you sir!" She mewled out, tugging at the cuffs that restrained her to the bed. Hunter brought his right hand down in her ass this time, a red mark on her ass where his hand landed. He watched with satisfaction as (Y/N)’s ass jiggled, he plump ass looking even more beautiful with his hand print on it.

"S-six! Thank you sir!" She moaned. He was claiming her as his, even if she already was his, his hands marking her ass as he continued.

*SMACK* "seven! Thank you sir!"

*SMACK* "Eight! Thank you sir!"

*SMACK* "N-Nine! Thank you sir!”

*SMACK* "TEN! Thank you sergeant!"

Hunter dealt the final blow to her ass, her cheeks red and pulsing, her cunt dripping and clenching around nothing. Hunter smiled at the sight of her holes, clenching around air, gaping because of him

"You've been such a good girl for me cyar’ika. My good girl," Hunter moaned out as he leaned down to her ear, nipping at it teasingly. (Y/N) moaned and nodded, the blindfold soaking up her tears of pain and pleasure.

"I am your good girl s-sergeant. I'll always be your good girl," (Y/N) moaned out, tugging at the cuffs again. Hunter smiled and undid the cuffs, massaging (Y/N)’s wrists before gently placing her hands on the bed. He laid down on top of her, his chest against her back as he ran a hand up and down her side.

"Now, let's continue shall we?" Hunter said before moving his hands down her body to her cunt, dipping two of his fingers in. (Y/N) moaned as Hunter pulled his fingers out, moving them up to her tighter hole before pushing them in. (Y/N) groaned at the feeling, her asshole being stretched once again, Hunters fingers feeling amazing inside of her. Hunter smirked and dipped two fingers from his other hand into her pussy, scissoring them a bit before pulling them out and moving them along side his other fingers in her ass.

Hunter began to fuck her ass with four of his fingers, stretching her out and open. (Y/N) moaned loudly at the feeling of Hunter stretching her open, both her entrances abused and leaking. Soon he removed his fingers from his right hand and replaced them with all the others on his left, his right hand moving to her pussy again.

Before (Y/N) could fully register what was happening, she felt Hunter push his right fist into her core before his left fist slowly made its way into her ass. (Y/N) screamed in pleasure as Hunter began to move his fists in a pleasuring rhythm. Hunter smirked and picked up the pace of his movements, fingering her fast.

"FUCK! YES sir! Fuck yes! THanK yOu!" (Y/N) screamed and came on Hunter's fists. Hunter pulled both his fists from her holes, watching as they opened and closed rapidly in time with (Y/N)'s breathing. They were red and gaping, having been stretched open by him in the shower to start and now here.

"That was fucking hot baby," Hunter moaned. He flipped himself over and slid under (Y/N)’s hips, pulling her down onto his mouth. (Y/N) moaned as Hunter began to furiously eat her out, lapping his tongue up and down her holes, cleaning her dripping juices. (Y/N) moaned again before she got an idea, sitting up on shaking knees as best she could before tapping Hunter’s head twice from between her knees.

Immediately Hunter stopped and slid out from beneath sat up, holding her in his arms and pulling the blindfold from her face, "Is everything okay doll? What colour?" He asked. (Y/N) smiled and rested one of her hands on his.

"Green, sergeant. But I want to pleasure you too," she said, love, lust and desire swirling in her eyes. Hunter smiled and kissed her forehead, knowing exactly what she wanted to do. He flipped them around and rested his head against the pillows, pulling (Y/N)'s legs towards his head again.

(Y/N) positioned her cunt right over his mouth, her face right above his raging hard cock. It was very well above average in both Length and girth, leaking precum from the very angry red tip. She smiled and leaned down, kissing his cock before taking it in her mouth. Hunter moaned and dove back into her cunt, slurping up her juices as if they were the only thing keeping him alive.

(Y/N) moaned around Hunter and began to bob her head up and down on him, deepthroating him as far as she could. 69 was one of their favourite positions, pleasuring one another at the same time as much as they wanted. They were both givers, their time spent apart making them starve for each other. They continued their ministration to one another until (Y/N) felt Hunter twitch. She hollowed her cheeks and began to suck harder until she felt Hunter moan against her and release his load into her mouth. She swallowed all that he gave her before, rapidly yet carefully dismounting from Hunters face.

Before Hunter could process what was happening, (Y/N) had pinned his hands above his head and began to kiss his neck and chest, nipping and sucking everywhere she could reach. Hunter moaned and tried to move his hands but found he couldn't, even with all his strength. It was no secret that (Y/N) was strong, she was almost as strong as him but because of his injury he wasn’t at his full strength.

"I'm sorry sergeant but I can't take it anymore, I need you inside me," (Y/N) moaned and lifted herself above Hunter’s already hardened cock before sinking down. Both let out a loud moan and (Y/N) began to bounce on him, riding him like she knew he loved. Hunter moaned and began to buck his hips up in time to meet hers, increasing the pleasure for both of them.

It wasn't long until Hunter flipped them over again, (Y/N) on her back as Hunter drilled into her. Their moans mixed together as their hands linked together and held onto one another, their breaths mixing together. They were making love, not just having sex. They always made love even in the most heated moments.

Once again Hunter flipped her over so (Y/N) was now on her stomach, expertly making sure that he never left her pussy. Hunter stopped for a moment and moved his tip to her ass, teasing it for a second before pushing in all the way. (Y/N) moaned at the feeling, gripping the sheets beneath her till her fingers turned white. It felt so good to have him inside he again.

"What colour ner cyare?" Hunter breathed out as he leaned down to her ear again. (Y/N) was breathing heavily but managed out a breathless 'green', and that's all Hunter needed. He pounded into to her faster and harder before pulling out again and plunging back into her pussy. He thrusted into her roughly until she screamed and came for the....she had lost count of how many but it felt so good.

Hunter held her hand as he thrusted one final time into her before letting out a guttural moan and releasing his load deep into her throbbing cunt. (Y/N) moaned at the feeling before Hunter collapsed on top of her. She smiled as Hunter rolled off of her, pulling out of her before pulling her into his arms, kissing her shoulders and neck, coaxing her back to reality.

"You were so good cyar’ika. You were such a good girl for your sergeant," He whispered, rubbing gentle circles all around her body. (Y/N) smiled and slowly rolled over to face Hunter, placing a gentle kiss to his lips before snuggling up to his chest.

"Welcome home Sergeant."

—————

I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

[imsorrythatimweird101-blog]

MINI SHIFT STORY

FRIDAY MAY 9, 2024 {2:47am}

I remember waking up randomly on Friday night, I went back to sleep. Saying affirmation that I am manifesting. Nothing about shifting

Idk where tho, i didn't even attend too. First I was in a dream, I didn't really have awareness or anything but slowly start smudge into me waking up in some really fancy bed where my dogs were on the bed. FIt was fuzzy at first, like a dream. The more I grab stuff and examine, the more it start to become solid and real.

I kept touching stuff and start to feel real-like, like I was actual there. I was messing this diary and had like steel bars. The more I touch, the solid it got. I was kinda tripping out because I was having a wtf moment. I open these curtains to the small window like middle ages (blarney castle) castle but had a beautiful stain glass. I was thinking hairy Potter then I went to open the door and lóok down stairs. I didn't go down but I kinda crotch to see my parents legs. They where talking to someone. My dad was leanI on the counter, my mom next to him and some person that was wearing black slacks and shoes.

I turned around and see a panting- it was a lady with a umbrela and she was looking at herself through mirror but their was like multiple mirror behind that one. Idk how to explain it like stacking up against each other until it looks infinite while it was only her reflection (maybe I was between?). It read something about being a lady but I was kinda too busy freaking out. Then I went and close the door. I was slowly thinking "what the fuck".

I was trying see if this was a dream and I went to this other door and open to laundry mat- I saw this girl sitting there- she was a little younger with blonde hair and brown eyes. I play along and said "oh where's my maid dear sister" (sister part came naturally, I wasn't planning say that) but I had like a British accent. She tells me that the maid was going come. Something about Sarah?. Then she grab my hand and was telling me how much she loved me and nothing between us of the war. My mind race, what war? I realized how light my skin color was so I wasn't me. Then I start talking on my own while my awareness sat in back. I kinda freak out and didn't know what to do or say so I thought of my cr body, like I normal do when I'm lucid dreaming. It normally takes me back instantly, and I feel my awareness come back in front of my head. It took a while because nothing happened until I intended. When I did, it felt extremely natural

After feeling

Dog shit and depressed. Everything happened so naturally yet I couldn't help but feel depressed. It was nothing like lucid dreaming, I just knew I shifted because it was completely different from all the lucid dreams and awareness I had. But since everything didn't meet my expectations, it kinda just felt sad? I was expecting something big and grand but it literally just waking up somewhere (which felt natural, like I always been their) then closing my eyes and going back- naturally. I was expecting going through the motions of flashing lights or guiding through the stars but no. The more I think about it, the more I felt like shit.

It's been 5 years of trying to shift on my own and no luck until this one week break and suddenly I did it without even thinking about it.

What????

Ig it conflicts with my own belief because I was taught that hard work equals reward. Being consistent will eventually work. Idk even know how I even shifted? Last night, I just lay down- saying my affirmation for another desire and then woke up somewhere else. I can't help but wonder what the hell is lesson? Maybe I was pressuring myself?? Like what going on?

On a funny note, I am sharing my consciousness with a bitch named Penelope that is starting a war 😭 I think she was princess or something- that was the vibe I was getting

Anyway, I'm still on the break. A little update y'all. Hopefully I get time to post. Love y'all

[chutefullofholes]

Little! Bucky with a blanket?

sooo sorry it took me months to get to this!!! content warning for (not nsfw!!!) age regression below the read more. since it's been a bit just an author's note that all my age regression stuff takes place in show canon during the war/post war. (:

---

Gale had gotten good at sensing when it was one of those days.

Sometimes it happened slow, creeping in at the edges, so gradual that he didn't particularly notice until John was already there. With his shoulders curled in a little tighter, words simpler, eyes a little too floaty when Gale asked him something.

He figured he preferred that to when it came on faster, making him flinch mid-sentence in a way that made something in Gale’s chest ache.

Today, it had been the kind of regression that came in on a careful, even paced approach. 

John had followed him around the house closer than usual, seeming more interested in that then the projects he'd been working on just the day before. He could see it edging in when he curled up on the couch with his blanket midafternoon, tugging at the frayed edges, rubbing it between his fingers methodically as he listened to the game on the radio. He wasn't talking back to the announcer the way he normally did, his usual snark replaced with just a few mumbled words, his voice pitched a little higher.

He had been holding onto the blanket for the bulk of the day, but at some point- Gale noticed- he must have dragged it along the floor too rough. He could see the smudges of dust clinging to the fabric, a bit of a grime clinging to the knotted braids hanging off of the edges.

“Should let me wash that, hm?” Gale said as he walked over and sat on the arm of the couch, keeping his voice light.

John’s whole body stiffened.

He didn’t look up, just hunched in on himself a little more, curled his fingers into the fabric a little tighter. 

“No.”

Gale sighed softly as John kept talking.

“Don’t need t’ wash it,” he mumbled, voice stubborn, but thin. “‘s fine.”

He had half a mind to know the argument was coming- though it lost its edge when he was like this. It was easier to handle that way, at least. 

“I do, though, John.” he continued, reaching forward to push a hand through his hair, bringing his fingers down to scratch just behind his ear. “You’re not gonna feel very good if you get sick,”

John swallowed hard, eyes flicking over Gale’s face before they dropped back down to his lap.

He was scared. Not in any real, rational way- Gale knew that. 

But it was real enough to him. He could see it all over his face as he swiped over his bottom lip with his tongue.

“Not gonna take me that long, I promise.” Gale tried; voice softer.

Fingers twitching against the fabric, John still didn’t say anything for a long minute, the pattern of his breathing changing like he was bracing himself for something. 

Eventually he let go, one hand at a time.

Moving carefully as he reached out to take the blanket off of him, Gale was careful not to yank on it too hard. John let out a shaky breath the second the fabric left his hands, wrapping his arms around himself, head lolled back against the back of the couch, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

“Thank you for listening.” Gale said, pressing a kiss to his hairline as he stood up.

When he turned the sink on in the kitchen, the sound of running water filled the space, and he heard the shift of movement behind him after a couple minutes.

“Daddy.”

Gale turned slightly, just enough to catch sight of John hovering in the kitchen doorway. His arms were crossed loosely, cowlick in his hair sticking almost straight up.

“I’m working on it bud,”

Gale turned back to his task and felt John a few moments later before he saw him, the warmth of him pressing slowly into his back. He dropped his chin to rest on Gale's shoulder, arms circled loosely around his waist with his hands fisted in his shirt. 

Wiping his damp hands on the towel before resting one over John’s, Gale brushed his fingers lightly over his knuckles before giving them a slow, reassuring squeeze. His other hand came up to tangle gently in John’s hair, stroking through it easy and slow. 

John exhaled,  tilting his head to nuzzle into his neck, eyes fluttering shut. 

“Love you,” Gale said, his voice warm as he pressed a slow kiss to John’s temple, lingering there for a moment before tilting his head just enough to catch the curve of his cheek. His lips brushed over it, light and doting as he repeated himself. “Love you.”

John made a quiet, content sound, pressing in closer- his fingers relaxing just a little where they clung to Gale’s shirt.

[avatarrecom]

Since you've been getting hate from A$$holes who don't have anything going for them, could I please request Poly recoms where they respond to their lover getting hate for doing something they love?

Guess who's bf just broke up with her via text on valentines day, which also happened to be their birthday? 🥹 That's right, me! Yay! And guess who found out through a friend that the said bf got back together with his ex two months ago? That's right, also me! YAY!

So anyway: 🎶Happy birthday to me🎶 🎶Why did I not see🎶 🎶That my boyfriend cheated🎶 🎶Happy birthday to me🎶

But anyway, I cracked up reading this, I love this request, so here it is!

Imagine they walk in on you ranting and swearing.

Of course their first thought (or the guys first thought) is that you’re mad at them. Walker and Z-dog know that you’re not mad at them because they never do anything to really piss you off.

But anyway, you’re pissed.

Originally, you didn’t tell them what was wrong, because they would make your problem, their problem.

But they find out.

How? nobody knows.

Let’s just say that you got this anonymous message: “Your posts are so shit like just give up and get a grip rat” (Thank you to whoever send me this, I love using it for content)

They are all ready to throw hands the moment they read the message.

How dare they insult you for doing something you like.

Ja, Lopez, Fike and Brown somehow get into your account and post a sweet little video.

Just throwing some insults and threats around.

The kind of, “I’ll find out where you live” kind of stuff.

No biggie.

They actually wanted to do that, but Prager stopped them.

So you guys end up having this conversation: You: Where are Lopez and Brown? Fike: Doing something stupid. You: Hm, where’s Prager? Fike: Stopping Lopez and Brown from doing something stupid. You: … and where’s Ja? Fike: Stopping Prager from stopping Lopez and Brown from doing something stupid. You: Okay… and why are you here? Fike: I’m here to stop you from stopping Ja from stopping Prager from stopping Lopez and Brown from doing something stupid.

Meanwhile Miles, Lyle and Mansk are the more level headed ones.

They are pissed AF at whoever send that message, but they reassure you that it’s bullshit.

But one more message will be a declaration of war.

And last but not least, Walker and Z-dog have already found the anons name, address and everything else that there is to know.

They are already on their way.

Lyle is covering for them (don’t tell Miles).

[a-whispering-echo]

hello. below is me rambling about my new au - the ancient city one - and what i have down for it all right now. its just me rambling, and i tend to talk like im actually TELLING people about my ideas? like im sitting across from someone explaining it, and i try to imagine im speaking to someone who knows nothing about the sanses to try and like, GRIP the characters right, yknow? so yeah - lol

uh gore warning ig? its only descriptions for now, but i WILL be drawing them at some point!

oh yeah its bsp too lol

Story starts with Cross, who was disowned by his father after the death of his brother, which happened slightly after a very large argument between Cross and said brother. this is set in an old-ish setting. not quite modern day, not quite old timey. more fantasy set time - anyway yeah, Cross gets kicked out and shamed . oh hes human too here, you'll see later-

Cross is supposed to read as slightly unlikable, not fully, but with enough character flaws to balance out his good traits. Hes cold, very ambitious, but quite selfish too. he finds it hard to put himself in others shoes, and is focused, at first, in his own self interest. at the same time, he can be incredibly sweet, and self sacrificing when he wants to be. a hero truly. hes adaptable, and strong willed, even if he can sometimes break down in an anxious mess.

Cus Cross has been disowned, he decides to set out on his own path, alone, with not much on his other than his own survival skills - as all men from his town are trained for war and go through mandatory service, as he decides to treck and explore the world, figuring maybe, if he was luckily, he'd find a NEW home and family..

Eventually, one night, Cross is attacked by wolved while out setting up camp for the night. they destroy everything he'd worked for, and would him near fatally,

One of the wolves got a bit to his head, biting right into his right eye, leaving an awful bite mark over it that forces his eye shut forever. he isnt TECNICALLY blind, but he cant really open it without massive pain, ( it will eventually get infected and need to be removed. but thats WAYY in the future.)

Cross in his mad bid for safety, managed to scale a slight cliff edge, and find a very tight cave on a said cliff edge, managing to climb up over this ledge covered in lichen and algae, and sneaking into the gap that the wolves cannot reach. unfortunately, Cross wasnt expecting the drop.

When Cross wakes up, hes in what can only be described as the ruins of an old settlement, a… city? he thinks? the stone buildings are all destroyed, looking like a bomb has gone off through it, the stone in rubble, but miraculously, there are these glowing blue lanterns handing off posts that make up bridges connecting the little 'islands' of rubble to another in a pattern, those lanterns dim, but glowing faintly enough he can see his way… hes lying in a small pond, or a well or somthing, glowing blue algae covering the water, and HIM by extension, the water cold and soaking him to the bone.

What the hell happened here?

its as Cross is trying to right himself and fugure out where the HELL he is that he sees three figure in the distance...

They move, they walk, but theyre… theyre skeletons...

.... mostly. a couple of them look like they have a LITTLE flesh covering them, but its all mouldy and rotten. theres three of them, and all of them are dressed in dark robes, and covered in that ALGAE-lichen stuff, all that glowing cyan and black colour, spreading over their limbs like a plague. they seem all slightly confused on Cross entering their domain, the shortest one looks at his suspiciously under their cowl, and the tallest, with his awful head wound, pokes and prods at Cross and his broken body with fascination. the other one, with pitch black oozing eye sockets, seems FACINATED with him, excited even, theyre rubbing up against Cross like a cat and getting that black/cyan stuff all over him, Cross to scared and in pain to push it away from him

are they… inhabitants of the past settlement, maybe?

Turns out they can, mostly, speak english. they speak with an accent like no other, one Cross cant place, and use what Cross can only describe as odd and outdated words sometimes, but they seem to be able to understand him, at least. and they understand hes hurt, and needs help..

theyre kinda… well, theyre creepy as shit, no doubt bout it, but theyre not… TRYING to be? theyre curious and weird and a bit gross, but theyre almost CAT like? they purr, they nuzzle, they even fucking SNIFF him at first, and dunk his head under the water when they find his scent distressing. - thats Killer to note - they have fucking TAILS - he sees them when Goopy turns to chirp at his friends-

theyre in different states of decay… though the flesh they DO have is little, and covered by that lichen stuff holding it to their bones like stitches, theyre not ACTIVLY rotting anymore? nor do they really smell?

The smallest one seems to speak for them, not really out of any leadership, but because Goopy doesnt seem to really understand, and Head Wound seems to only make rumbling chirping noises - they ALL make those noises, but… Scarf seems to understand him best, even it they CLEARLY dont trust Cross…

they work for their Master, and lover, a Creature named Nightmare. a being made from that black/cyan stuff, and the one who destroyed this previous kingdom entirely, killing all residents

well all, bar three? are.. well, are they dead or..?

Killer mostly moves on all fours, close to the ground, almost like a spider. he CAN stand upright, but its painful for him, and hes quicker lower to the floor. Dust is the shortest and has these glowing red spots that act like pupils in his eyes, one of them corrupted by the cyan stuff. Horror has an actual EYEBALL still in his left socket - the side with the big wound - while the other is empty. Dust is the least 'decomposed' and still has slight bits of pale tinged-purple-blue skin held to his bones with the algae stuff, but he seems to try and hide it under his layers of clothes. both Killer and Horror have claws, while Dust has his filled down and softer, though still SHARP! Killer is much more intelligent than he appears.

all three of the skeletons used to be human! theyre of a different race to any Cross would know, and mostly lived in caves and hollowed out mountains - theyre usually small people - Horror being what the kingdom would call 'a giant', with a range of skin tones but most being a soft brown, and hair that stems from black to dark red and oranges - they mostly all have dark eyes better suited to dark environment, and good senses

Dust is the most 'intelligent' of the three, seemingly knowing an array of languages and seems to know how to heal. Killer has spikes and bone shards and teeth sticking from his clothes and has a dagger attached to his belt - maybe some kind of warrior? Horror carries a spear with him that he leans on as he walks. he seems to be able to walk fine without it, but uses it almost as a cane - maybe a pain condition over physically not being able to move? with the head wound.. well, does that even MATTER anymore?

Anyways, yeah, noot noot-

Nightmare used to be a spirit of protecting for the city, until a disagreement with his Other Half, quite literally, his twin brother Dream - two beings born of the same soul, which caused Nightmare to corrupt.

Nightmare doesnt show up until at LEAST halfway through the story!

this story will eventually conclude with Cross joining them, and them all falling in love, Cross getting the answers he wants about them, and getting his FAMILY that he desperately craves.

im still working on this obs, but im gonna be doing some drawings of them not lol - obviously theres gonna be a bit of a gore warning -

[sjsmith56]

Making It Clear

Summary: Bucky’s girlfriend reminisces about their relationship while he is on a long mission. She also recalls how one member of the Avengers tried to bring her down.

Characters: Bucky Barnes, named OFC, Sharon Carter, Sam Wilson

Warnings: Body shaming, self esteem issues, bullying behaviour, gaslighting.

Author notes: Set post-FATWS. Captain America 4 and Thunderbolts* have not happened. Instead, the Avengers were restarted with Sam and Bucky as the leaders. This happens a couple of years after that. A certain MCU woman character is the antagonist.

📚 ☕️ 🥙

It had been two weeks since most of the team went on the mission. Two weeks since I last spoke to Bucky. Two weeks since we last made love. We had only been living together for six months, six glorious months where I finally believed that I found a diamond in the rough. I was in love and with everything he said and did, I believed he was falling in love with me.

I'm not an Avenger. I'm nothing special, just an ordinary woman who was doing an ordinary job of working in a used bookstore in New York, one of two jobs I held: the other transcribing doctor's audio notes into a readable file, then uploading it into the healthcare database. I could do it from home, which suited me fine. One morning, as I was working at the bookstore, I became aware of the most beautiful man I've ever seen glancing at me as he looked at some books. Our eyes met and I felt a pull to his blue ones unlike any other connection I've ever had with a man. I smiled; he smiled back, then he smiled again when he brought his small stack over to buy the books he had chosen.

"Nice selection," I said, as I rang them through.

I looked at the hardcover illustrated one about the horse Seabiscuit. I thought it was an unusual choice, although it was a good book. He noticed my attention on it.

"I actually saw Seabiscuit race," he said. I looked at him strangely. "I'm Bucky Barnes. I was a young man then." He placed a gloved hand on the book cover. "It brings back good memories."

"You are really him," I stated. "You're different than you seem on TV. You're smiling, for starters."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the media. Sometimes I feel as if they're waiting for me to screw up so they can point the finger and say I should never have been pardoned." He shrugged and looked around. "A bookstore is one of my safe places."

"$25.67, please. I've never seen you here before."

He offered his bank card and placed it on the terminal. "I only just found it this morning, but I think I'll be here more often."

Producing a cloth bag out of his pocket, he held it open while I slid the books and receipt into it. He nodded his head and turned to go to the door then looked back.

"What's your name?"

"Robyn."

He smiled again, his almost perfect white teeth showing briefly. "It's nice to meet you, Robyn. I'll see you next time."

That was how we met and true to his word, the next time was five days later, when he returned with his cloth shopping bag. I heard the bell on the door ring and got up from where I was rearranging a shelf. He was there at the end of the aisle.

"Hi, you're back," I said, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"I am. I finished the books. The Seabiscuit book was good. Do you have other sports books that might interest me?"

I smiled. "Well, I took the liberty of looking you up on the internet." He raised his eyebrows. "Not the bad stuff. The good stuff from before the war. You were a boxer." He nodded. "There's a book called The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling. It was published in 1949, after you were declared dead, but it's considered one of the best books about boxing around."

I walked behind the front desk and opened the cupboard, pulling out a stack of books. Finding the boxing book, I put it on the counter for him. He smiled that brilliant smile again and picked it up, reading the back cover, then opened it and scanned the first few pages.

"That looks good. What else do you have there?"

"You'll like this one, even though most of the story happens after the war. It's called The Boys of Summer. It's about the Brooklyn Dodgers until the 1955 World Series. There's some criticism that it's too worshipful in tone but for a loyal fan of the Dodgers it's supposed to be an excellent read."

His eyes lit up and he picked it up, reading the back, then the first few pages of the first chapter.

"You're batting 2 for 2 so far, sweetheart," he said, then he looked at me. "Sorry, bad habit. I know women now don't care for those nicknames."

"I don't mind," I smiled back. "It reminds me of my grandpa." He made a face at me, which made me laugh. "I'm not saying you're old enough to be my grandpa because it's true that you are. You're just from a different time, that's all. It doesn't offend me."

The next book was The Natural, by Bernard Malamud. I described it to him, telling him it was made into a pretty decent movie as well. Sticking with baseball, I showed him Shoeless Joe, by W.P. Kinsella, and described the plot.

"They made a movie out of that called Field of Dreams," I said. "Whenever I'm home and it comes on, I watch it with my dad. Even though there are differences from the book it makes me cry every time." I put the final book in front of him. "This is No Cheering in the Press Box. The editor interviewed 24 sportswriters who were active between World War I and World War II. They basically just talk about the memorable sporting events and athletes they wrote about. Oh, and there was a movie about Seabiscuit based on the book you bought but the book was better, in my opinion."

He sifted through the five books then pushed them all towards me. "Ring them up. I'll take them all."

I scanned the barcode on the back of each book through as he watched me.

"You're not full time here," he noted.

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "I have another job that's almost full time, but I do it at home. This one gives me spending money. New York's expensive."

"Yeah, it is, but I still like the energy," he answered. "How much do I owe you?"

"$54.35." He put his cloth bag on the counter, and I packed the books while he placed his bank card on the terminal. "I hope you like them."

"I'm sure I will. If you want to pick out some books on science and technology for next time I would appreciate it. I'm still trying to catch up on what I missed."

It looked like he was going to ask me something else then he nodded politely and left the store. I went back to rearranging that shelf, then a few moments later heard the bell on the door ring. Just as I started to rise, he was there, offering me a hand up. It was a nice gesture and I thanked him. He stood awkwardly for a moment then took a deep breath.

"If you're not busy sometime I would like to have coffee with you, if you want, and you're not busy yourself. I can imagine two jobs keep you busy but I found it easy to talk to you and I just don't like going through the dating apps and judging people based on a photograph. If you don't, it's okay."

His voice trailed off and he looked so vulnerable for a long moment.

"I would like that, too, except I'm a tea drinker," I said. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at my schedule. "I'm free at 5 today. We could make it drinks and a light meal, maybe? There's a nice bistro around the corner that makes good coffee, tea, and great paninis."

The smile that erupted out of his face was so sweet and I could feel my stomach do a little flip flop at the sight of it.

"Yeah, that would work. Shall I meet you here and we walk over together?"

"Sure, but let's exchange numbers, just in case something comes up. I imagine that in your line of work you're on call all the time."

Agreeing with that he produced his phone and handed it to me so I could enter my information in his contacts. He texted my number and watched as I saved it to my list. Then with a wave he left the store and I returned to that shelf.

Bucky showed up at 4:55, walking in as I was finishing with a customer. He smiled at both of us, then stood at a shelf, looking at the selection, until I walked the customer out, locked the door, and pulled the blinds down on the windows and door.

"I just have to put the cash into the safe," I said. "The owner will be in tomorrow morning and will do the tally for the bank deposit."

After I printed off the sales record and emptied the cash drawer, I opened the safe and placed all the cash in it. The door was closed, the dial on the safe was spun, and I locked the cabinet. Then I grabbed my purse and jacket, and came out to the front.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I nodded and unlocked the door so he could leave ahead of me, locking both locks on it, then I asked for his help to pull the grate down and locked it into place. Like always, I sent a text to the owner that everything was secure for the night.

We arrived at the bistro just a few minutes later and I ordered a London Fog Tea Latte, and a chicken Caesar panini, while Bucky ordered a regular coffee and two roast beef paninis. It was common knowledge that he needed more food due to being a super soldier, so I wasn't surprised. We took a seat outside in the shade of the awning and waited for our food.

It was one of the best dates I had ever been on. Bucky was charming, in an old-fashioned way. He didn't monopolize the conversation, instead he asked me a lot of questions about myself. When I did ask him something he got nostalgic, but not in a complaining way. There were just things that he missed from before and he was sorry they didn't last.

"What about new things?" I asked, as our food was served. "What do you like about the present?"

"Food," he said, immediately, as he took an appreciative bite of his panini and smiled as he chewed before he spoke again. "Some things were better then but things like this, and the variety that's available is good. Healthcare is better. I mean, so many things were bad then, like cancer, tuberculosis, polio, and diseases that needed better antibiotics which didn't exist yet to be cured." He shrugged a little. "I prefer the old music but I'm making my way through the newer stuff and finding out what I like."

"I don't think they do romantic songs well now, not like they used to," I commented. "It's more about sexual attraction instead of the emotions, although there are still a few singers of the old stuff. I remember watching my grandparents dance at weddings when they played the old stuff and it was sweet, you know? It was romantic that they still felt the same way even after so many years." He got a pained look in his eyes for a moment, and I wondered if he was remembering something sad. "What were you like then? I've seen the pictures of you in your uniform and you were, and still are a handsome man. You looked so confident."

"Yeah." His voice softened. "I went out a lot, dancing. I was popular, mostly because I didn't kiss and tell. A woman's reputation was everything and it was easy to destroy if someone said something that really wasn't their business. I'm more introverted now as I don't have much in common with most people. I've had a few relationships, but they fizzled out and I never really figured out why as they said it was them, not me. Hard to believe that when you hear it several times."

"You like books," I replied. "That's a big plus for me. You're polite, attentive, and you have manners. That puts you above a lot of guys in my generation."

"You don't date much?" I shook my head, then took another bite of my panini. "They must be idiots. I think you're interesting and I'd like to see you again."

His words made me feel warm inside and I smiled at him. "I'd like that, too."

After we finished, we walked around, talking some more, then Bucky saw me home, sitting on the train with me. When we got to my apartment door, he hesitated for a moment then he gently brushed his lips against mine and watched as I entered, telling me to wave from the window when I was safely inside.

That was the beginning of our relationship, and it was wonderful as it developed over the first two months. We saw each other whenever we could, even if he sometimes just came and sat in my apartment to read as I worked on my medical transcriptions. He always made sure I had something to eat and drink while I was doing that. Sometimes, he would massage my shoulders when it looked like I was stressing out over some of the more unintelligible voice recordings, as accuracy in the transcription was paramount.

The first time he stayed over was incredible, as it started to rain hard while he was there. I wasn't going to send him out into the rain, so we made soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. When the power suddenly stopped, we made out, which led to our first time together, which led to him staying over. He was so giving, wanting to make sure that I was satisfied before he was. I can honestly say he made love better than any man I had ever been with, not that I had a lot of experience in the matter. It didn't matter, I was falling in love with him and by the words he said to me, the feeling was mutual.

My world fell apart a little just over two months after we started dating when the bookstore was broken into overnight, robbed, then set on fire. I wasn't working that day, but my boss phoned me in tears that someone would destroy her livelihood like that. Bucky came with me in the middle of the night to comfort her, as we watched the fire department try to save what they could, which ended up being nothing. Even with the insurance, she couldn't afford to reopen it and I was out of one of my two jobs. Two weeks later, the medical transcription service I worked for was sold to a conglomerate, who promptly terminated the contracts of over half the staff, me included. Because it was a contract position, there was no severance pay. It wouldn't be long until my savings ran out and when it did, I would be homeless.

"Move in with me," offered Bucky. "The suite I have at the tower is huge and I'm sure you can get on with the support staff there. All I have to do is ask Pepper Stark."

"Bucky, I don't want to use you like that." I appreciated it but it seemed wrong to use his friends to get another job and I didn't want to impose on him. "I'll find something. I can manage on my own."

He looked at me with a strange, soft smile on his face.

"The thing is, you don't have to. You're more than qualified to work at the tower and we're together so much already that I feel like we're already living together. Please, let me help the most important person in my life."

My interview with Pepper Stark went well, and I got a job, a good job, in the IT department. She even paid for my things to be moved into Bucky's apartment, although most of the furniture went into storage because his apartment was furnished already. Almost everyone was welcoming to me and I felt comfortable there.

There was one person who seemed friendly at first, but I found when Bucky went on longer missions that she wasn't on, she could be a little cold. Sharon Carter, who was apparently related to Steve Rogers' girlfriend from World War II, was beautiful, smart, and a very capable operative. As a CIA liaison with the Avengers, she was often sent on undercover assignments, with various Avengers, occasionally Bucky, to infiltrate secure places. In front of him and the others she was very complementary to me. But when they were away and we were alone, or with some lesser agents, she would make comments that could be seen as snide or hurtful, although she always worded them in a way that made me wonder if I was just imagining it.

Once, I came back from working out. I knew I wasn't at the level of fitness most of the agents or Avengers were. I just did stuff to keep active and Bucky never said anything to the contrary. On that day, I felt good about what I did, actually pushing myself with the weights. I stopped to get a bottle of water from the communal fridge. I took my sweaty T-shirt off and was in my sports bra and leggings. Sharon sat at the table, reading something on a tablet. As I walked past her, she hummed.

"I don't mean to be critical or anything," she said, in that confident voice she had. "Are you gaining weight?" I looked at her as if I couldn't believe she would say that. "It's just that you seem to have a bit of a muffin top forming. Maybe you shouldn't be eating ice cream for a snack so often. Just a word of advice. Bucky likes his women fit."

That was the first time I ever felt misgivings about my body. Even though I knew I looked good, she planted a seed of doubt in my head that day. Ignoring her, I left for our apartment and stripped down, looking at myself naked in the mirror. I grasped my midsection and tried to see where the muffin top was. I couldn't see it and even though I dismissed the thought, it percolated in my head, and I found myself cutting back on my food during the rest of the week. When Bucky returned, he made a big show of picking me up and holding me tight as he kissed me. There was a mirror wall and I glanced at it, seeing Sharon while he was doing it. She was jealous; it was clearly all over her face that she wanted Bucky. During dinner with everyone, she was polite again. As soon as we finished Bucky and I went to our apartment, locked ourselves in and didn't come out until morning. I wanted to ask him about Sharon, but something stopped me.

"Robyn, are you alright?" Bucky was looking at me as we brushed our teeth. "You seem off."

"I just missed you," I replied. "I'm glad you're back."

"Me, too," he smiled. "We have a lot of catching up to do. I've missed this."

He wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my neck. Then he frowned.

"Have you lost weight?"

"I don't know," I lied. "Maybe I've been grabbing food on the go while I'm working instead of stopping for a meal."

"Don't lose anymore," he said, softly. "I like you with something extra to hold. You've got a beautiful body."

His words soothed me, and I felt better. Our relationship progressed and we said the "love" words to each other often. The time apart while he was on missions was hard, but he bent over backwards to make it up to me on his return. Sharon made little comments when he wasn't around, but I ignored them as best I could. That lasted until he had to go on a long mission again, this mission that he was currently on. Thankfully, Sharon wasn't at the tower as she was on assignment in Los Angeles. But the day before Bucky got back, she walked into the common room, where I was sitting alone, minding my own business. She flopped onto the sofa next to me then looked over.

"You changed your hair."

"Just got it cut."

"It looks alright, I guess. Has Bucky seen it?"

"On FaceTime. He likes it."

"Oh." She was quiet for a moment. "Maybe when he gets here, he'll change his mind."

I shouldn't have let what she said bother me, but something flipped inside me at that moment, and I turned to her, glaring in anger.

"What is your problem? Why do you say things like that?"

"Like what? They're just observations. Whether you listen to them or not, isn't my problem." I got up to get away from her, but she just had to have the last word. "You know his relationships don't last. Something always goes wrong. It just depends on when you realize that he's not cut out for something long term."

I kept going until I got into the apartment. Then I cried, feeling stupid that I let her words hurt me. All the old insecurities from her first hurtful comments came up and even though I knew I should just let it slide off me, something must have hit the mark because I couldn't let it go. That night I slept terribly, unable to put her words out of my head. Eventually I fell asleep for a bit but was awakened by the sensation of someone getting into bed with me. With a start I sat up, only to see Bucky smiling sheepishly at me.

"You're back early!"

"We left early, and I flew at top speed to get back sooner," he said, reaching out to caress my face. "Was hoping to be with you before you left for work."

I clutched at him, kissing him frantically, until he laughingly pulled me off of him. Then he looked closer at me and saw how tired I still appeared. Immediately his whole mood changed into something more serious and concerned.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. "Didn't you sleep last night?"

I looked down and shook my head. He waited to hear more.

"Sharon got into my head, and I couldn't shake it off."

"She what?" His voice hardened. "What did she say to you?"

"It was nothing."

"Robyn, it wasn't nothing if it bothered you. If you don't tell me then I have to ask Friday for a playback."

I explained how her comment on my haircut triggered me into confronting her and she gaslighted me into making it my fault I was offended. His face went steely. Then, haltingly, I told him what she said about him and relationships; that he wasn't cut out for something long term.

"How long?" I looked at him blankly. "How long as she been messing with your head?"

I told him about the snide comments about my appearance, and lack of fitness. It all came pouring out of me in a torrent. By the last words I was crying and he held me, pulling me onto his lap while he kissed me and told me over and over how much I meant to him. When my crying finally slowed down to shaky breaths and occasional sniffles, he placed his hand under my chin and raised my face to view his.

"Understand this and believe it," he murmured. "I love you. Living with you has made me feel like a new man and I wake up every morning smiling because I know that you're here with me. I want to wake up next to you for the rest of my life. That's not a proposal but it is a promise that someday, sooner rather than later, I'll ask you properly to marry me." He kissed me sweetly on the lips then he took another audible breath. "Sharon Carter is another matter. I turned her down once because I honestly don't like her. She's a good operative and I've had her back while she's had mine. But she's got a mean streak in her that comes out without warning, and she doesn't care who it hurts. My last girlfriend before you, said something about Sharon and then left, not wanting to elaborate. I didn't put it together then I met you and put it out of my mind." He looked up at the ceiling. "Friday, can you compile recordings of any interaction between Sharon and my previous girlfriends and with Robyn. Specifically, any that involve criticism of the relationship between them and me? Include any comments that were critical of the girlfriends."

I looked at him in a new light. "You think it was her who sabotaged your relationships?" He nodded. "She planted the seeds of doubt and watered them every chance she got." I rubbed my face. "She wants you for herself."

"It's never going to happen." His tone was firm, then softened as he gazed at me. "I have what I want right here, right now."

I unbuckled his tac suit jacket, slipping it off his shoulders then tugged his singlet off between tender kisses and caresses from both of us. He took off the rest and showed me how much I meant to him in the best way possible. All my fears about us were dealt with and we slept afterwards wrapped together for several hours. When I woke up to get ready for my job, he let me shower alone. When I came out, he went in for a quick shower then dressed.

"Let's go for breakfast," he said. "I have a video to show everyone."

Together we came out to the common kitchen and dining area where everyone was making or eating breakfast. Sharon was sitting at the table with a pastry and coffee, pretending not to notice us but Bucky made sure he had his arm around me and kissed my head often. He made me a tea and gestured for me to sit at the table while he brought our food. It was close to Sharon, but I ignored her. Bucky brought our food then went back and poured himself a coffee, sitting next to me.

"I do like your hair like this," he said, running his eyes over it. "It looks even better than it did on FaceTime. What do you think, Sharon?"

"It's fine," she answered, as if she were bored.

"I guess fine is better than alright," he said, looking straight at her. "That was the actual term you used, wasn't it?"

"I dunno."

"You know, maybe it's because I was out of practice or maybe it's because I thought we were colleagues, but I never once thought that you would stoop so low as to try to sabotage my relationships."

She made it seem like he was boring her then looked at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Let me refresh your memory then. Friday, playback video compilation from this morning."

The large wall screen came to life and a series of videos began of Sharon with Bucky's earlier girlfriends. Everyone stopped talking and watched in confusion, with open mouths, as they heard her say some nasty things to the other women. There were many comments about their hair, weight, lack of style, lack of fitness, but mostly how Bucky wasn't capable of being in a long-term relationship with anyone because of his PTSD, or because he was more interested in playing the field. To her credit, she sat there and took it, although her face hardened throughout the playback. When the video got to what she said to me, I could feel the mood in the room turn completely against her. Sam Wilson, who hadn't said anything until then, finally stood up and looked at her with daggers.

"I think you should put in for an immediate transfer to another agency," he said. "By what I've seen and heard just now I don't think anyone wants to partner with you on any missions. Whatever trust we may have built up with you during and since the Flag Smashers is gone, by your own actions."

She breathed out angrily and stood up, looking briefly at all of them, then finally on Bucky and me. With a shake of her head, she left the table and the room. Sam advised Friday to lock her out of any systems that required clearance. As far as he was concerned, she had no clearance with the Avengers anymore. Then he looked at me and Bucky.

"All of us can see what you mean to each other. You make Bucky happy and that means a lot to all of us. I'm sorry we didn't know about her behaviour sooner. It was unacceptable."

He left to file a formal complaint about Sharon and why he fired her summarily. Others came to offer hugs to me and even Bucky, who took them. We sat back down to finish our breakfast. I couldn't help it, but the tears began again. He put his knife and fork down, then turned towards me, cupping my face in his hands. Gently, he wiped the tears from my cheek then kissed me on the lips. He didn't say anything, just gazed at me so lovingly that I stopped crying and nodded that I was okay. It was the truth. I was great. In front of me was someone I loved very much, and he loved me just as fiercely. Whatever the future brought we would face it together.

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[butchhamlet]

hi!! i’m rlly into shakespeare’s tragedies and am curious about the histories, but they’re pretty intimidating. i started to read henry viii a while back, but it didn’t click. what are your thoughts?

i’m curious most abt richard iii bc he’s a blorbo of mine historically (a sentence i never thought i’d hear, much less say)

oh i fucking LOVE the histories i have been going crazy about the histories lately. if you're looking for advice on how to parse the... well, history bit, this post may be helpful! the hardest part for me was the number of characters who change their names or have multiple names (i know it's often based on location/which part of england they're in charge of, but Oh My God), but if r3 is a blorbo of yours you might be ahead on that already.

re: henry viii: i feel like this is hands-down the worst one. so if that turned you off, rest assured it gets better than that. i am sure there are people who like henry viii and have said very smart things about it, but i could not tell you one damn thing that happens in that play besides the doctor being called doctor butts. because it is so fucking boring. HOWEVER! henry viii is outside of the main sequences of histories--not sure how familiar you are, but for you and anyone else who might not know, most of the histories are broken into two tetralogies, and then hviii and king john also exist. (and merry wives, i guess, but that's not really a history, it's just a falstaff play.) those being the war of the roses (written first but chronologically later historically--the three h6 plays and r3) and the henriad (r2, the h4 plays, and h5). so you don't need to read henry viii unless you are on a deranged completionist grind. which i was and i still don't remember what happens in it

as to richard iii--if you're nervous about jumping into the histories, you honest to god can just read that one first. it comes chronologically last (except hviii), but imo it's the history play most capable of standing alone, and also it fucking rocks. i love richard iii. i love the play and i love the guy. i don't know what the historical consensuses on Real Life Actual Richard III are, but i assume you know that shakespeare's ricky is, uh, um, well, he's not, like, good PR for richard's historical reputation. but he IS a deeply fascinating character that i fucking adore. every single scene he's just lying. he's like do you wanna see something fucked up? and then he does it. it's also a play with a lot to dig into re: disability especially (again. not very good rep on shakespeare's part, but lots of good scholarship/intertextual responses), but also gender (women haunting the narrative). awesome play i love it so much.

also, if you like richard (the guy), you may also like henry vi part 3, because he's there and killing people and carrying decapitated heads around; i am sorry to say that the first two henry vi plays are much less fun but they do exist. i am a henriadhead myself but there are lots of wars of the roses people on shakespeare tumblr who write excellent analysis, so here's an open call to the crowd if anyone has stuff to share esp. re: richard. if you have any specific questions about the histories, i'm also happy to try my hand at answering :3 english history is not my era of expertise but i am rereading through the plays right now so i'm having lots of thoughts about kingship and gender and such

[wildshona]

A Swim and a Chat

I know my followers have been waiting for this post and it has taken me a while to put together not least cos there is chat in it and I had to really dig my memory out to get the sense of it – so this is a bit different to the usual but I can’t help that - it was what it was.

Amelia, Zoe and I turned up in an uber at Toni’s at about 2.30 on Saturday afternoon. Amelia look impressed when she saw the house but didn’t say anything. Zoe thought we had come to a palace. Well it does look impressive starting with gates in a six foot wall leading to a gravelled parking area.

Mrs Lewis, that’s the housekeeper, met us at the door and took coats and stuff and ushered us through the reception hall and the lounge into the garden and to the extension with the swimming pool where a naked Toni was already doing laps. When Mrs Lewis called to her she pulled herself out of the water like a goddess and came to greet us, a chaste kiss on the cheek for Amelia, a kiss on the lips for me (not so chaste) and a hello and a kiss on the top of the head for Zoe.

If Amelia was surprised by seeing her doctor naked she didn’t show it and instead commented on the beautiful house. I was concentrating on Toni’s beautiful body.

Old money, said Toni, if you think this is impressive you should see my brother’s. All started from exploiting the peasants and a few fortunate wars hundreds of years ago.

Are you a princess asked Zoe? She looked like one to me. I could feel myself getting wet and my nipples harden. No munchkin i’m just a doctor, which she said in a way that implied far more than that.

Sweetie, that was to me, show the ladies where they can change into their swimming things. Feel free to go sky clad if you want – a remark lost on Amelia but meant naked to me.

Zoe had a little one piece that had lots of polystyrene floats in pockets all round it so she could float and have her arms free. This is not my costume said Amelia looking in her bag. Heh, heh. When we went shopping Amelia had bought a boring one piece for herself – she hadn’t owned a swimming costume before. But I, knowing her size, had bought her a nice purple bikini which would have been very modest by my standards but was almost scandalous to Amelia. That was what she found in her bag.

I might as well be naked, she said. That’s OK, I’m going to be.

So out we went to the pool. Me sky clad, Amelia in the bikini looking self-conscious but, I have to admit beautiful, and Zoe like a rotund umpa lumpa.

We had a good time in the pool. Splashing and playing chase and Toni showing Zoe how to swim. And after there was ice cream which pleased Zoe.

Then we stretched out on loungers, Toni suggesting that Amelia at least lose the bikini top. I thought she looked tempted but didn’t. Zoe soon fell asleep. We chatted for a while until Mrs Lewis gave us a half hour warning for dinner.

Mrs Lewis showed Zoe and Toni to a bedroom where they could change and I was sent to my room where I found that Toni had left a loose red silk cocktail dress out for me. No bra, a very small thong and heels. When we all emerged it seemed that Toni had got Zoe and Amelia’s sizes from Chris. Amelia was wearing an outfit subtly different from mine. It was tighter, but had a bra so, unlike mine, the nipples were not evident. I suspected that her knickers were a bit more substantial to mine. Little Zoe was dressed in a princess like concoction in lace.

Amelia protested at the clothes. Not the style but that Toni had lavished such presents. Toni waved it away with Old Money and I thought it would be nice to dress for dinner. A dinner which was as good as always with a nice wine,  whilst Zoe had things cut into knight and princess shapes which she giggled over before biting their heads off.

After dinner we sat for a while and Amelia read to Zoe until she fell asleep and was placed on a sofa. I sat next to Toni who casually draped her arm round my shoulder and pushed her hand down my dress so that she could play with my breast and nipple. Amelia sat in an armchair looking demure. Years of watching me in all sorts of situations with daddy meant she wasn’t phased by Toni’s tit play.

At some stage Toni said something like; it’s funny how your father split your femininity. Tragic really. Amelia as the chaste wife and mother and Shona as the lustful whore. Yet they are both aspects of the same thing. A whore can be a wife and mother and the chaste wife can also be lustful and sensual as you are dear Amelia.

Amelia tried to explain daddy’s philosophy. Are you a Christian, asked Toni. Yes, Amelia replied. I knew she was pretty secure in that although she had not been to church since she had come back to England and I knew by now all about the cult like church she had been a member of in the States.

Did you know that the Catholic church invented the veneration of Mary because they could not prevent Christian women adhering to elements of Goddess worship? Toni asked. The church tried to suppress the cult of Mary at first – it was inconceivable to those dreadful misogynists in the priesthood that a woman could be elevated to almost equality and they had killed and tortured their way through thousands of women suppressing Goddess cults. In the end they recognised that the best way to deal with Goddess worship was to co-opt it by elevating Mary. She was hardly the first virgin goddess after all. She wasn’t even the first virgin mother figure.

But they had to keep to the denial of the wholeness of the Goddess and of Woman. Women had to pray to Mary to prevent themselves revealing their true natures as Eve the Corrupter who had to be thrown out of Eden because of the Original Sin.

Yet here you two are both different aspects of the Goddess, Shona finds it almost impossible to love and will likely never be able to have children but enjoys the pleasures of the flesh and is the perfect Goddess of Lust whilst Amelia loves and trusts and cares. A different aspect of the Goddess. If only we could give Shona the ability to love and you the ability to embrace your sexuality you would both be perfect.

She turned and kissed me then. A full blown on the mouth tongue kiss.

The conversation went on a while longer. I felt almost jealous that Toni was giving so much attention to Amelia just as I had been jealous that Amelia had escaped the full treatment that I had got when we were young. Jealous yes – but Toni was wrong. I do love Amelia.

We talked about aspects of the Goddess for longer. Amelia was surprisingly articulate in her arguments and explanations although why I was surprised I don’t know – she had been brilliant at school. (same as me).

In the end it was time to go and Zoe was scooped up still in her princess dress and we left with the invitation to use the pool any time just make the arrangements with Mrs Lewis.

Now I know that you men – and probably women – followers were hoping for some lesbian love fest and i am sorry to disappoint. I have thought this over and over and you can tell cos i lost my usual freewheeling style which is cos I have re-written and revised about half a dozen times.

It is what it is.

[endursent]

- God Shattering Star

【 content; morax | rex lapis x reader , slow burn , mutual pining , multi-chapter , archon war period , afab!reader 】

【 note; i also want to ask you to keep in mind english isn't my first language and i tend to mix my "it's" and "its"-es in the flurry of writing. i go through it and run it through a spell-checker but if you spot any errors please let me know. this one is also a little longer. tumblr is all caught up now as well, so expect some days between updates. i might also post a sunday one-shot before the 6th chapter, cant get this stupid bird outta my brain, we'll see. | read on ao3 】

【 word count; 6.204 | previous chapter - next chapter | masterlist 】

- Chapter 5 - Putrefaction

You scratch your cheek awkwardly, avoiding Guizhong’s gaze and smile. You were supposed to head back home soon, with the infected now fine and healthy… 

  Tossing your stuff together back in the basket you brought with you, a knock had come to your door and an attendant had given you summons to Guizhong’s palace, a short walk through a few hallways. It was decorated in a subtle manner, no big wall scrolls or long hanging silks, but the wood along walls and ceilings was all carved and the floors centred with decorated carpets. 

  What you assumed would be a formal goodbye, as it had been a greeting when you came first into the palace… had turned into a proposition. 

  A god had fallen near the western border, and the already crumbled settlement from the heavy earthquake yesterday, was now drenched in miasma from the quickly rotting essence scattered by their death. A report had been sent to the capital with request of a cleanser, the worst of the injuries have been patched and thus they decided not to allocate more hands to the west, but with the scarcity of skilled cleansers, there is never one on-site at the borders, hence why such–usually rare–cases were brought to you when you were down south. 

  “I know you must be looking forward to returning home,” Guizhong’s voice is gentle, she stands in front of a low table in the… workshop? Office? There’s clutter everywhere. “But only you are suitable for this task… of course, you will be compensated for the trouble–oh! Speaking of.” She reaches behind her to a box that sits on her desk, she turns back to you and sets it in your hand. “For you.”

  “Me?” you look down at the box, it’s a golden colour, decorated with dark streaks that represent gushes of wind. Should you open it now? Save it for later?

  Before you can look up to try and gauge whether Guizhong is waiting for you to open it, she takes your shoulders, spins you around, and practically walks you out of her office. “You can thank me later, off you go!”

  It’s a four day’s journey by cart, so there’s no time to waste, and your sense of duty and compassion prevent you from saying no to the request, so you obediently hurry off after she practically shoo’s you away. There are people hurting that need your help, perhaps the days of sitting in small villages and cleansing rotting wood are coming to an end. “I suppose I’m packed already,” you say and give her a wave as you retreat down the hallway, and the God of Dust smiles, the mere raise of her lips comparable to a beam of sunlight. 

  Standing by the gates at the peak of the high steps leading to the places, you read over a copy of the report that was sent in the aftermath of the heavy earthquake. The outpost Morax went to had collapsed almost entirely, with only a single building with a roof able to shield them for the night. The outpost is southwest of the capital, and you wonder if the quake was connected to the death of the god beyond the Guili Assembly, it would be quite the coincidence if it wasn’t…

  You hear footsteps behind you and turn to see a familiar face that almost makes you laugh.

  “Babysitting duty again?” your mouth twitches, barely able to hold back a grin from the frankly stinky look Moon Carver is giving you. 

  “Hmph,” he walks past you, and despite not confirming that he was the one to escort you, it was an educated guess. He didn’t object when you followed him down the steps. “This one has other duties to tend to far from the capital but keeps getting called back to walk you around.”

  You fold your arms over your chest, ensuring the basket on your back doesn’t slip as you bounce down the stairs. “Like what? What do adepti normally do on the job?” you touch your chin. “Babysit… other humans? On a wider scale?”

  “It will take too long to walk,” he grumbles something else under his breath as well, ignoring your pondering entirely and you wonder what other option there is to get there. You suppose a cart tugged along by a horse or ox will speed it significantly, but no one mentioned anything about it. “We are short on time.” 

  The next moment brought you both momentary awe and prolonged terror, a gust of wind nearly tosses your balance on the steep steps as a glow of green and brown, the warm hues of autumn leaves and a setting sun, nearly blind you. You barely manage to squint and make out a form next to you where Moon Carver had been standing when you feel a sudden tug on your basket. 

  He hooked an antler under the strap on your shoulder and tossed you onto his back, you clumsily adjusted yourself, blinking in confusion and surprise, you look down to see his legs lift and take a step down the stairs… quite a high step for–

  You almost lose your balance again as he suddenly trots into the air, you wrap your arms around his neck as wind flies past your head. “N-no flying!” your pleas are useless as roofs become the size of cubed tofu below you, and you squeeze your eyes shut. One would think there would be a sense of weightlessness when taking flight–but all you could feel and focus on was the demanding law of gravity trying to pull you down back to earth. “Slow down!!” 

  “Stop whining, this is much faster.” 

  Of course, you’re aware that adepti can fly, countless tales and paintings depict them above the clouds or mountains… but not usually with passengers!

  You were sure you were choking him with how tight your arms were wrapped around his neck and likely hurting him by digging your feet into his sides, but he didn’t complain. A ride on an adeptus bird might be smoother, because Moon Carver hops and trots in the air, as if he were jumping between rocks to cross a river, or clouds to pass between mountains causing your body to lift off his back (making you think you’re about to be tossed off) before hurting your poor hip bone when you hit his spine again. You didn’t dare look down, keeping your eyes closed tightly and face buried in the softer fur of his head and neck, the hairs along his body being shorter and stiffer. 

  “How high up are we?” you dare ask, but refuse to peek your eyes open just yet.

  Moon Carver is silent for a few seconds. “High. Do not look if it scares you.”

  With that useless information, you finally squint your eyes open despite his advice and thankfully you don’t see the ground below you, a dooming invitation. Clouds cover your view of the ground as the adeptus leaps between puffed peaks, the sun feels significantly warming so high above the ground and feels so close you feel like reaching out to try and grab it like a rare gem–but that means letting go of your iron grip around the poor stag’s neck, and your body doesn’t let you consider it for more than a second and a half. 

  The ride was, frankly, terrifying. But leaping several kilometres in one hop means you got to your destination before the sun’s top half had sunk beneath the mountains. The air had gotten colder quickly once the sun sank, and you were thankful for reaching your destination before you began to feel the cold on your nose. The descent was possibly more terrifying than the ascent, Moon Carver didn’t give you a warning before he suddenly dove down and you lost your grip for a moment. You really did think you were about to fly off and meet the earth in a flattening embrace.

  Moon Carver didn’t change back once you got off his back, he did let you lean against him as you readjusted to standing on the ground, only inclining his head–and almost knocking his large antlers into your forehead. You pat his back. “Hahh… I never want to do that again, let’s go by ground next time,” you nod to yourself, as if it had been decided with your words alone. “I thought I was going to die four times through that.”

  “You were never in any danger,” Moon Carver makes a snorting sound, shaking his snout slightly–you aren’t sure if he’s actually scoffing at your (in your opinion) very rational fear of death up there, or just making a normal huffing noise animals make sometimes. “In any case, the outpost that stood despite the tremors is just up ahead.”

  The area is thick with trees, they’re far taller than you’ve seen before, stretching high above your head as you follow a road wheel-marked by the Millelith taking supplies and soldiers back and forth between outposts and the main road. It’s almost eerily quiet, as if all animals and bugs have left the surrounding area behind, leaving only your shoes and Moon Carver’s hooves hitting the ground with every step. 

  You arrive at a clearing sitting at the foot of a high hill with a watchtower stretching into the sky, the sky has darkened and the stars sit high in the sky, distant dots you must squint to make out whether they flicker or are static. The outpost is livelier than the empty forest, but the air is distinctively tense, a Millelith soldier stops as he’s carrying a bundle of firewood when he sees the two of you approach and Moon Carver side-eyes you. “Looks like it can be taken from here, I’ll be going now.”

  “Oh, uh–fly safe,” you turn as he does, he makes the huffing sound again but says nothing more and leaves into the forest again. You look back as the Millelith soldier approaches you. “Hello, I’m–”

  “The cleanser that was sent for. I remember you,” he says. “I had mild symptoms and only stayed for a few nights, but I saw you in the ward.”

  Damn, this guy must be unlucky to have been in two situations like this within a month. Hopefully that doesn’t rub off on you. You give him a small, polite smile. “I’m glad you got better.”

  “Come, I’ll show you where the affected are,” he sets his bag down by the side of a cracked wall as he brings you to the–barely–standing building. You see lights inside and can practically smell the miasma coming from inside, you pull the left collar of your robe up over your nose as you follow the soldier inside… and the sight is far worse than the smell. 

  Twenty-four soldiers are either lying down on the floor or sitting up against the surrounding walls, tables have been stacked on one side and space made for them to fit in one part of the three story building. Only two healers are present to tend to them, rushing between patients to either check wounds, help them adjust their position or administer treatment. Among the two is a familiar silhouette, Morax’s hood is pulled down as he holds the leg of an injured man between his hands, a golden glow emanating from his clothed hands. His eyebrows are furrowed in concentration as dark, gooey blood leaking from the pores of the man’s skin and onto the cloth laid on the floor under him. 

  You don’t want to break his concentration, so you busy yourself by setting your basket down and fetching your tools, bundling them up in a cloth and slinging across your torso and shoulder. You kneel beside a man by the door, his breaths are raspy and desperate, as if every inhale requires immense effort to make–he barely seems lucid, eyes fixed on the ceiling and making no indication he even notices you. 

  Alongside the terrible stench of blood, rotted flesh and bodily fluids, is the air in the room that was terribly thick. It’s difficult to breathe it in, like when you were young and hid from old Lin trying to drag you back to the archives by lying under four layers of fur for too long. 

  His stomach is wide open beneath the bandages, it’s as if all blood had dried up from his body, the bare flesh is dry and quivers under your touch. The man doesn’t move or react even as you prod at open muscle, it’s all stiffened up and firm… and peeking between torn tendons are pulsing and writhing organs. Your nose scrunches up as the dark mass twitches when your hand touches the flesh close to it–as if it were trying to shrink back. You would’ve expected an organ to have a sheen to it, to be moist and slippery, but its texture looked like a steamed bun. 

  As soon as you poked at the sensitive, open flesh, your finger nearly sank into it. You quickly retracted your hand, the amount of foul energies in his body was almost disgusting. Your finger felt as if it had just stuck itself into wet mud–somehow without the moisture–and very cold to the touch mud at that. 

  You slap a talisman on the floor next to you and scribble on it, the energies are spread throughout his whole body, which requires a more lengthy process than if it were just condensed in his arm or leg… even just in the skin or one organ. You look up to find any open windows, the air is already heavy, if you light incense it’ll make the air so stuffy not even you will be able to breathe without sneezing. 

  All of the windows are already open, so the heavy air you have is the best you’re going to get for now. You take out a few sticks… how many do you even have? You didn’t exactly shop before you set off… you’ve made them yourself a few times–but they don’t work as well as ones crafted by temples. One will have to do for now, cleansing the man will likely take its time, and you want to properly assess–

  As you stick the incense into the small portable pot, long fingers wrap around your wrist. 

  You almost jump from the sudden touch, head whipping up and almost knocking foreheads with Morax behind you. Thankfully he tilts his head back in time, but his fingers remain around your wrist. “Don’t start yet,” he speaks strangely quietly, as if he doesn’t want anyone to hear your conversation. “Put your hand to it and hold it.”

  He guides your hand to the man’s belly, to the open muscle below torn skin and lets you press your fingers to it… it’s gross, but you keep focused. Squinting at the tissue, you try to feel for whatever Morax is trying to bring to your attention. It takes a few seconds of consideration before you feel it. 

  A squirming, warm mass beneath the cold muscle. It brushes against your finger and you yank your hand back again–Morax lets go and doesn’t hold your fingers to it. “U-urgh, what was that?” you make a face. It had been under the muscle, so you wouldn’t feel it properly–but it was like it touched you through the barrier of flesh, touched your brain. It felt like a sharp stone being ground quickly across the surface of another stone, like it was trying to slip into your spine. 

  “I am not sure,” Morax mumbles, you feel his warm breath fan over the skin beneath your ear and you turn your head. His conspicuous eyes had the same soft glow to them as usual, and you briefly wonder if they glow in the dark when he goes to sleep. “Not all of them have this… passenger, it’s possible the spirit has not departed yet, the remains are yet fresh.”

  You don’t usually deal in ghosts and spirits, but extracting the miasma left behind, as well as the soul, uses the same method… just a lot more practice, focus and energy. 

  Wait.

  You give him a slightly startled look. “If it’s the spirit… it’s not good to keep the afflicted all in the same room, the soul grows stronger if the shards of it are close together. They should be moved apart, even just three together could be dangerous.”

  “The deceased’s soul was scattered halfway over Teyvat, the dust settled on twenty bodies won’t produce much danger,” Morax shakes his head. It is less than a fraction of the dead god’s soul, it won’t be able to do much damage even if it were to combine. 

  “Not to you, no,” you blurt out, then immediately regret it when he raises his brows. You stutter a few times. “W-well, I mean–we’re just human, even a small fraction of a god can kick us around like a cuju ball!” you accidentally raised your voice slightly in your hurry to explain what you meant and caught the attention of one of the two healers, giving you a confused look–as if judging you for talking about cuju now of all times. You just gave them a crooked smile before turning back to Morax. 

  He considers you for a moment. He would put a stop to any foreign power if he felt it, and with his presence in the room, it wouldn’t do much damage before he notices–and they don’t have much in terms of whole buildings, building tents for every individual injured would consume more resources than he wants to allocate. “We will have to work with what we have, if anything comes up then I will handle it.”

  You nod and can’t help but feel a bit silly, of course they didn’t cram them all into this space because they had an abundance of other options… 

  You feel like you’ve been sitting in a hot spring for too long, the thick air feels like warm steam coming from the water and your body feels the need to stretch out. You’ve barely been in here for half an hour and it’s already so stuffy and uncomfortable. 

  Morax’s eyes watch you as you look down to the silent man next to the two of you, his iris flicker from your face down to your hands and the way you clench and then stretch your fingers unconsciously. His voice catches you off guard as you are trying to adjust to the environment. “Let us speak outside.”

  You blink up at him as he stands and leaves, you stuff your incense back into the cloth bag across your torso and follow him. The cooler air is immediately a relief, it’s clean and flows right to your lungs uninterrupted. You stand and bask in it for a few seconds before looking around to see where the god went off to… where did he go?

  Only the higher centre of the building still stands, the stretches of what were probably barracks have crumbled and leaves little but broken rock and wood sitting on the ground with a few ominous stains licking the bottom of one larger piece of rubble. You avert your gaze from the destruction and spot Morax’s white robe by the end of a high fence, walking to him, you slow your pace as you get closer.

  He turns to you and inclines his head for you to follow, you do as asked and fall into step next to him as he rounds the fence. Your hand immediately moves to your nose again–almost as if the simple barrier of wooden fencing had been protecting you from a fouler scent than even the one inside the building, this one strikes you like a stone wall. 

  The corpses had been covered with sheets… but it hardly did much to cover the stench emanating from them. Coin purses had been laid on their chests already, indicated by the small bump under the sheets, but you had an inkling that there was something missing, something that required your hands. 

  “They passed during the quake, thankfully we did not lose many… but their bodies were exposed to the scattered ashes until the morning after,” Morax says, facing you and only regarding the dead with a turn of his head. “Both their lingering spirit and body will intertwine with the rotting essence if left to it, possibly creating corrupted beasts or ghosts.”

  You’ve only had to cleanse a corpse once… and it was a relatively fresh corpse. You feel sick already and you’re a good three metres away. “I see…”

  He turns his head to you, a pinch to his brow. “I know this is… unpleasant. I would not ask it of you if it was not necessary…” 

  You quickly raise your hands, waving them about. “No, no! It’s my job–it’s what I'm here for, it’s okay!” You’ll complain about it… inwardly… but you’ll still do it. 

  His expression doesn’t change much, but you see a tinge of… gratefulness? Appreciation? You’re not entirely sure what it is, but the mild softening of his furrowed brow and the small movement of his bottom lip are a noticeable change when his face is so often still as a rock. “I’ll have new clothes brought to you so the smell doesn’t stick to the ones you’re wearing,” he says and walks past you. “I have a matter to attend to, come to me when you have finished.”

  Looks like you’ve a task to complete before you can tend to the afflicted. You’re not entirely sure if this should take priority… but it’s likely they want the bodies to be taken back to the capital as soon as possible so they can be buried before they decompose too much. You hope the injured can hold on for a while.

  Thankfully, extracting from a corpse is far less of a ‘careful’ operation. Removing miasma that has burrowed itself into a living body causes pain when extracted, but as the corpse is still and not living, you can allow yourself to be a bit rougher. Thankfully you’re not extracting the spirit out of them either, so you can make quick work of it. 

  After changing into the robes a soldier brought to you–though they’re clearly made for a man much larger than you, so the sleeves droop down far beyond your fingers–you prepare your equipment and get started. Your sleeve almost knocks over your trusted bell and you decide to tie them back, ignoring the chill of the night. 

  Removing the sheet off of the first body causes the stench to increase tenfold, and exposes you to a gruesome sight. The man had been crushed by something, his head and left shoulder torn off–likely when his body was pulled out from under whatever had crushed him–leaving only stretches of muscle, skin and bones sticking out from the unnervingly flat side where the body usually continues on, the left arm is lying next to his torso, likely severed from the shoulder and chest after they were crushed. You shake your head and look further down the torso to try and not stare at the uncomfortable sight.

  The left side of his abdomen and the severed arm are completely white, and ice cold to the touch, similarly to the man from earlier–though he had been alive… you hope. Inky black veins web across the pale skin and near pulse as you poke at them, the skin ripples like water when poked, blood spurting out of the stumped ends and you have to turn your head to try and not puke at the sight. Focus… you’ve done this many times before. Just locate the source of entry and drag it out. 

  You prod at the squishy body and only glance at it in the corner of your eye… it almost feels like everywhere is the source of the energy! You suppose it makes sense, you had heard it was like dust, and if it scattered all over the body… you’ll have to try and bait it towards one point and drag it from there. You had been asleep as the golden essence had fallen from the sky like snow, so you missed it completely. Thankfully the capital is protected with seals and barriers, so it brushed the dust off and no one in the city was afflicted, most people were asleep anyway. 

  You don’t like to bait this type of miasma, but it has to be done. 

  Lighting a single stick of incense should be enough, you’ll have to ask for more to be brought with the next supply cart. It’s not necessary for a cleanse, but it prevents jumpy energy from simply hopping around and possibly entering a new host or vessel to burrow in, or just fleeing out a window–and since you’re out in the open, it can go in any direction. Thankfully the soldier still has his weapon, and it’s clean of the energy. You unsheathe it a bit and press the back of your index finger to it–a place that won’t be used much or be an annoyance when you’ll definitely need to use your hands in the coming days. A thin drop of blood–as well as a burning sting–indicates you’ve cut through the top of your skin and you withdraw your hand. Even a small cut like this is enough.

  You take your bell and hold it as you press the wound to the man’s cold skin, your eyes slip closed… and you think hard. The miasma left by dead gods are usually heavy in negative energies and emotions, defeated in an attempt to protect their land, killed by those they trust in a struggle for influence and power, struck down at the end of a long and exhausting battle… it seeks out more negative energy to feed on and grow.

  Negative emotions, you dig for what the energy seeks.

  It’s always the same sight. Your mind’s eye turns to the same event when you imagine what has brought you distress in the past. 

  A clap of thunder, rain so heavy it brings you to your knees, dust and grime settle between your fingernails as you dig and push away stone and mud. Your heart thunders in your chest, so loudly you’re not sure whether it beats twice in place of one, or if it’s the constant rhythmic thunder flashing across the sky when you find a hand between the crumbled walls.

  The absolute despair and agony it brought once it didn’t move when you wrapped your fingers around hers. How cold the skin was, you tugged and pulled, but the rubble was too heavy, you weren’t strong enough to lift it, nor to pull her out. Your hands shake as you close them around hers and try warm it up, it’s just because of the rain, it’s cold because winter is coming, it’s not because–

  You feel a prick of warmth and your eyes snap open, you were too caught up in your head. The dark miasma has gathered around your finger and latched onto the small cut so tightly it raises goosebumps on your entire arm. You shake your hand with the bell in it, and it chimes quietly–but the inky dark tendrils quiver and twitch as if it had been struck, their grasp loosening on the host body. 

  You close your fist, a streak of black stretching from your finger to the corpse, and pull harshly. 

  In your haste–and being distracted by the foul stench–you realise you forgot to prepare a jar to trap the miasma inside. You pull your hand further and higher away from the body, but it stubbornly clings to it, a thread connecting your hand to the torso. You pull more, jaw clenching as you cling to the energy and refuse to let it snap back into the corpse. Why is it so stubborn?! You’ve never seen energy like this cling to the body it’s tainting with such stubbornness, your arm trembles with strain, until with a snap; like a tight rope breaking apart that topples your balance as the ‘rope’ snaps back into your raised fist.

  Your ass is saved from a harsh blow against the ground as a warm hand grabs your bicep and holds you up, at the same time as six glowing stone pieces lock around the dark energy swirling around your hand. You blink, momentarily disoriented from almost falling and look up to see Morax’s chest barely a cup’s distance away from your face.

  You quickly right yourself and nearly hop away, startled by his sudden appearance–weren’t you supposed to go to him later? What a fortunate time for him to appear. “M-my lord…?!” you blurt out, still unsure how to address him. 

  The cubed rock and ore which strangely resembles a burr puzzle you saw kids try and put together at a festival a few years ago, hovers in the air for a few seconds before drifting into Morax’s open hand, settling there. “Please be more careful, you could have hurt yourself.”

  Your neck warms up with embarrassment, this is how you show your cleansing abilities to him? By forgetting–you never forget!–a part of the process and almost falling over like an idiot?? “Ah… I’m sorry–I’m usually far more careful than this, I swear,” you bow your head, as if asking for forgiveness before raising it again. “I… thought you were occupied, did you need something…?” 

  He’s silent for a moment, as if contemplating how to answer your question. You miss the way his eyes glance down to your hand and then back to your face. “No. I merely… sensed something amiss, so I came to ensure everything was alright.”

  “Oh… ah, thank you,” you clasp your hands together and look at the floating cube in his hand. “I can… purify that for you.” 

  “No need,” he says and the cube lifts into the air, the golden ore in the centre of the edges lights up and it twitches a few times, before it lowers again, now dim. “It’s vanquished. Do you need assistance? I can call for someone to stay close by.”

  You shake your head fiercely. “No! Not at all! That was an accident, I promise you–I’m perfectly capable of handling this, please don’t worry about me!”

  He seems hesitant to just leave, but doesn’t want to seem like distrusts you either. Morax looks down to the cube in his hand and extends it towards you. The ore lights up again to a dim hue as it floats to your open hands. “Keep it with you. It will react if the energies get out of hand.” 

  You bow at the waist, still terribly embarrassed and hoping it might hide the heat of your cheeks as he finally turns and leaves. “Thank you! I’ll take good care of it!” 

  You sigh in relief when you’re finally alone again. You look down at the stone cube in your hands and frown. “... I’ll never get over this,” you mumble to yourself. This definitely will keep you up at night…

  Thankfully, the other corpses didn’t give you any trouble–not now that you were expecting this weird, sticky miasma that clung to all of them. Usually, it’s misty and easier to manipulate with your hands, it doesn’t resist and follows gestures easier, but this seems like it’s trying to wrestle you at every turn, and when you finally get hold of it, it decides to stick to you instead with fierce stubbornness.

  When the final jar was sealed, you sighed with relief and didn’t linger for long. You put the sheets back over their bodies as they had been before and made sure the mora was touching them and not on top of the large cloth. 

  Now, to find Morax… this outpost isn’t very large, especially now that there’s really only one ‘place’ to be in. 

  Finding him was relatively easy, but your energy had been thoroughly drained from tugging back and forth and you were hardly in the state to start extracting from living beings that might thrash or try to kick you away from them… you still feel a phantom sting from that one guy at the ward some time ago that had been very deeply afflicted and kicked you right in the bottom of the sternum. 

  The room is just as stuffy and uncomfortable as it was when you entered it first, you were starting to become accustomed to the smell… kind of. The smell of the corpses was worse, but this isn’t much of an improvement. 

  You squat down next to Morax as he’s examining a man with a darkened forehead, it bulges and looks almost soft–as if it would burst if you poked it too harshly. “Any progress?” you say quietly. 

  “Hm,” he makes a noise of acknowledgement, but doesn’t give you a proper answer. After a while, he lowers his glowing hands and shakes his head. “It’s difficult to say… I must have you perform an extraction, with a specimen outside of the body it will be far easier to examine.”

  Hah… you can feel the tug of your tired body, but ignore it the best you can–you’ve been able to do mostly idle work for many days now since the last of the ward patients left, some hard work won’t do you in for once. 

  One injured person was taken out of the room and placed outside where you would do the cleansing in the case that it will act strangely or lash out when extracted, you prepare everything… and prepare yourself mentally as well, not only are you tired, but you’ll have to do it directly in front of Rex Lapis. You just hope you won’t look like an idiot for the second time today, or third.

  It had been the man with the bulging forehead that was brought outside, and you can’t help but wonder if the one with the open stomach was even still alive… you dip your brush into ink and draw a half-moon on each side of the dark bulge on his face, between the gaps, you neatly write down the appropriate characters to seal the energy inside the space of his forehead it inhabits, so it won’t try to escape your grasp. 

  You clean your hands and get to work. 

  Thankfully, there’s no need to poke around and try to locate the source… it’s very obvious. You just hope the mass won’t explode and spew pus, blood and other gross liquids on your face after the extraction is done. 

  Morax stands opposite of you, on the other side of the table that was brought out to lay the man on, he watches your every move like a hawk–he’s probably just curious… or has nothing else to really look at, but it’s making you nervous. 

  As soon as you finish preparation and place your hand on the bulging mass, you shiver. There’s something swimming inside. You steel yourself and concentrate, then close your fist and pull gently. 

  It’s like a wet eel, it slips between your fingers thrice before you get a good hold of it, your eyebrows furrowing in both frustration and concentration. “Be calm,” Morax’s voice sounds gently into your ears, he notices your frustration, born both from the slippery energy as well as your tired body aching for rest in this prolonged wrestle. “It’s almost done.”

  The simple reassurance was surprisingly effective. You raised your hand slowly and poured every mental and physical energy into pulling the corruption from the man’s head–with a final tug of defiance, the energy is separated from him far earlier than you expected, but you were ready this time and shoved it into a jar before it could wrap its weird, slimy tendrils around your hand…

  Just in time for you to hear a strange pop.

  And an absolutely foul stench invading your nose as the mass on the man’s forehead opens, the sound of the skin tearing violently and spewing out the liquid inside in a burst akin to a flask that had been sealed and gathered pressure. It wets your robe and lands on your cheek and neck, the white and red fatty liquid drips down and makes you cringe when it touches your collar as you try to swipe it away, but you’re too late.

  Quickly hunching down next to the table, you retch and return the early lunch that had mostly digested by now, splattering on the grass and dirtying your shoes. Your knees tremble slightly from the strain the extraction brought and you have to hold onto the table to not fall over.

  A hand softly touches your back, the warmth radiating from the palm both welcome and not as you cough with nothing left to puke out. “Did any of it get in your eyes or mouth?” You shake your head. “Good… I apologise, I should have known it would tear with the pressure of the corruption gone… I’ll have your clothes returned to you and you can rest for the night. I will examine what you extracted in the meantime.”

  … you’ve definitely earned a good sleep, and a wash. Or three.