#sometimes he's stuck though and has trouble telling at distance until they get closer or speak | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

georgiadixon · 3 years

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Harder, Buck

pairing: stucky x reader or something like that

genre/warnings: nsfw, angst, fwb, cursing, mutual pining, fluffy ending, lots of bucky love <3

a/n: i've been messing around with this one for about a year and i think it's about time it sees the light of day. enjoy!

Steve can hear your moans through the wall.

They’re deafening, never-ending, piercing right through his heart and straight to his cock. The ache in his chest will surely never vanish, no matter how often he tries to stop or how excruciatingly tight he grips himself just to relieve a fraction of the heat coursing through him.

Nights like these make him feel like the walls are taunting him, begging his resolve to crush. But no matter how tight he keeps his eyes closed, the truth is impossible to deny.

He is ridiculously, overwhelmingly, unbearably in love.

He wonders if the serum is a curse, if he was damned to a life of untouchable grief. There’s no reason he should be here, no reason he should be so close but ridiculously far from the man he has given his life to time and time again.

Steve wants to punch the wall with the aggression and pain he feels from never saying anything. And then he wants to kick down the door from how he doesn’t even know what or who he would have bothered to admit feelings for. He looks at you and wishes he would have just told the damn truth and he looks at Bucky and wonders if he’s ever thinking about him, too.

Too late. You were too late. Now they’re each other’s and they’ll never be yours.

He can’t help but listen to the intruding thoughts of regret, and he can’t help but feel like the feelings inside of him that randomly creep up just don’t belong to him.

Because as adamant as you are about your relationship being strictly physical, he sees the way Bucky looks at you.

It’s the way he looks at you, too.

He thinks he loves you and he knows it’s wrong because he knows he loves Bucky and he’d be damned before he messes up the first thing to make him genuinely happy in a long, long time.

It’s easy to bury during the day, when the sunlight hits his eyes as you’re laughing at something dumb he said and he can pretend that you’re just friends. That the sound of your laugh doesn’t light up his heart in every way, that you aren’t the most beautiful fucking thing he’s ever seen.

A swirl of emotions are running through him at an unforgivable pace and he swears he would do anything to feel something other than this.

Cheap.

He finishes in his hand with a grunt and an unmistakable pain in his chest.

Because Steve knows you’re in love and he knows this is wrong.

He’s fucked.

Bucky can hear Steve’s grunts through the wall.

He’s unforgivingly pounding into you, nearing breaking the headboard from how hard he’s clutching it and rocking it in time with his thrusts.

Moments like these make him wonder if the serum is a curse.

Because when he closes his eyes, if he lets himself drift, he’s back in ‘44. He’s stuck in a lopsided tent on its last legs in the backwoods of Brooklyn because “Bucky, we have to make the most out of what we have.” And even though it wasn’t much, it was enough to feel his boy in the early hours of the morning and hold him close until sunlight, knowing there might not be a tomorrow. Knowing that every single second needs to last forever because Steve was already slipping through his fingers with every passing one.

He could look his love right in the eyes, sweet and soft and suddenly bigger than him but he was still Steve and he would always need to feel his boy under him. Hot skin and sweat and groans and “Harder, Buck.”

The scratches on his back are burning but the burn is delicious and he needs to be closer.

He needs to be closer, closer to the glowing skin under him that he’s felt time and time again and he’s pulled down by the neck but it’s not him.

It’s not him. Not anymore.

He’s snapped back to reality, seeming impossibly far away but manages to focus on you again.

“What did you say?” He’s breathless, dazed, confused. His mind is clouded from not so distant memories on the other side of the wall and the feel of you squeezing the life out of him.

“I said,” You’re breathless as well, but totally consumed with how much Bucky there really is around you, inside of you right now. You wrap your hands around his neck and kiss him, spit dripping from where your lips collide and you feel like you could swallow him whole.

“Harder, Buck.”

He gives it to you. He gives you what you need, what you want and you’re ok with being selfish because he’s not all here, and this isn’t supposed to mean anything. Not really.

It’s dirty. It’s messy. And you know it’s wrong when the distance in his eyes never leaves and you can’t help but wonder just what is going on in his mind but damn, the Bucky that is here feels good.

You can hear them talking about you in the next room.

It makes you nervous, being able to tell that there were underlying (or resurfacing) feelings between the soldiers from the moment you met them.

It didn’t really have anything to do with you, as you were verbally adamant to Bucky on no strings attached. Baseless, simple, easy pleasure. And damn, did James Barnes know how to deliver.

But you can’t help but think a little too hard about the way they both stare at you when they think you don’t notice, or the way they stare at each other when they think it’s not obvious.

The truth is, you can keep lying to yourself, but there’s no mistake to the feelings you get deep in your chest when Bucky’s holding you, or the feelings you get when Steve’s looking at you like your laugh is lighting up his whole world.

Feelings that don’t belong to you.

“How’s everything with Y/N going?”

You can hear Steve question Bucky about you. It’s confusing, overwhelming. This entire situation is.

You had already assumed Steve knows just about everything involving your relationship with Bucky. They’re best friends. More. But it’s easy to overanalyze and wish to know just how much he was saying when you aren’t listening. How much a “friends with benefits” situation could really warrant discussion.

“It’s alright.” You know that tone. He’s brooding. Upset about something. Or everything, it feels like sometimes. Like something is always missing.

Like the world wouldn't be enough.

“Just alright?” Steve’s ‘captain’ voice is in full effect. He’s trying to get him to talk. It doesn’t seem like it will be successful, but if anyone could pump some life into Bucky it would be Steve. Your chest aches with that thought.

You could never be enough.

You hear Bucky sigh and shuffle around. “It’s good. It’s really good.”

“But?” Steve’s smirk can be heard clearly through his words.

“How’d you know there was a but?” Bucky jokes, but it’s hard to tell sometimes. You know him well enough to be able to.

“I know you better than anyone.”

You almost want it to hurt, to be jealous because if you’re being honest there’s not much in the world you want more than to have all of Bucky Barnes, to be the one who knows him, the one who he lets in. But you can’t, because as annoying as it is, Steve Rogers is always right.

Bucky’s head is spinning.

Steve knows him too well to avoid his question, but his nerves are taking over and he doesn’t know how he’s going to do this, how he’s going to tell Steve everything he’s wanted to since he’s been back and everything that was never gone in the first place.

He takes a deep breath, and he thinks about you. He thinks about how he feels when he’s with you, and he thinks about how even though he knows he loves you there’s something missing.

And then he rips the 80 year old band-aid off.

“I miss you.”

It’s quiet, soft, almost imperceptible, like he’s scared of what he’s saying.

Maybe because he is.

Steve’s response sounds exactly the same.

“I’m right here, Buck.”

He scoffs at that, shaking his head and if Steve wasn’t so damn detail-oriented he wouldn’t have seen his lip quiver in quiet anticipation.

Steve knows Bucky won’t speak next, so he gulps and tries to find the words, at least the next words from the countless speeches he’s practiced in his head for this moment.

“I love her.”

Bucky looks up and locks eyes with him, and for a second Steve thinks he’s in trouble.

But Bucky smiles. He looks out towards the city through the floor-to-ceiling mirrors and sort of nods to himself at how stupid they’re all being for tip-toeing around each other.

“I know.”

Steve’s eyebrows are furrowed as he leans back a bit, waiting for something else. It doesn’t come, so he relaxes and leans further towards the man sitting across from him and stares deep into his eyes, praying he really hears his next words.

“I love you.”

Bucky smiles again.

“I know.”

He isn’t sure if he’s waiting for the right moment or just likes seeing Steve speechless, but he’s sitting on something big and it’s been far too long of almost everything he’s ever wanted.

He’s loved Steve since he was a stupid teenager. He’s been in love with Steve since the first time he punched a guy for him and swore to himself he’d never let him go.

He woke up from years of torture, not just physical but mental and emotional having to be apart for so long and never being able to forget him.

You were an accident. He didn’t mean to fall. He went along with your whole “friends with benefits” idea because he just needed to be close to you. You were entrancing, lovely, intoxicating. He needed you. He needs you. It’s been racking his brain for so long of the growing feelings he has for you and the pure need he has for Steve but he’s learning to let go and say fuck it.

I want you both. I need you both.

“Do you think we could be happy? All of us?”

Steve smiles that smile Bucky knows and loves all too much like the answer is obvious, like it always has been. He loses himself in the thought for only a moment, but long enough to miss Bucky’s face fall with worry.

“What are you scared of?”

Steve speaks as if he can read his mind, because honestly, he probably can, and Bucky looks up at the question and decides they’ve both been through too much for anymore lying or beating around the bush. It’s now, or it’s never. Life is too uncertain to waste anymore time.

“Losing you. Again.”

Steve tilts his head at this, because he’s always felt like he’s the one who lost Bucky. Watching him fall from the train took something from him and putting him back under took even more but maybe that’s not what he meant.

Maybe it never was.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Bucky laughs sadly at Steve’s words and wishes that was a promise that could be kept, that was more simple. None of this is simple. Nothing has been since the 40s.

“I’m not the same person I was in the 40s, Steve.”

“Neither am I.”

He knows this. He knows everything is different, but when he looks at Steve and he’s looking back at him the same way it’s like they never left Brooklyn.

And he finally gets to ask the question that’s been lingering in his head since Wakanda.

“You think you could love me again?��

Without hesitation, Steve knows his answer. He’s known it since he left him to heal.

“Never stopped.”

You try to hurry away when you hear them coming, but they’re both way too clever to not have noticed you.

You stop and let them catch up to you, the butterflies leaving your stomach and making their way up into your throat.

Despite your nerves, you turn and lock eyes with Bucky. Even when the world’s spinning, you can never help but look at him like he hung the stars for you.

Bucky’s looking back at you the way he always does, like he has a million things running through his mind but he loves you too much to burden you with any of them. You just wish he knew he could never be a burden. That you loved him, all of him.

“I love you, Y/N.”

“I know, Buck. I love you too.”

He smiles at your return to his confession, some of his nerves leaving knowing that you feel the same. But then he remembers the man next to him and they all come rushing back. He doesn’t want to lose you, not when he just got you. But he can’t deny his boy. Not anymore.

He glances over at Steve nervously and grabs his hand, preparing himself for what he’s about to say next.

“I love Steve, too.”

You smile at him, appreciating that he’s finally letting himself feel the things you’ve always known he has.

“I know, Buck. I love him too.”

Steve looks up at you at this, questioning what you really meant. You look back at him, smile, and give him the eyes you’ve wanted to ever since you met him. He’s hesitant at first, but as if a switch hits his brain, his face lights up at the recognition of your feelings for him. And with one look from your golden boy, all of your nerves wash away and you know this is right.

Bucky, who still hasn’t seemed to catch on, is struggling to find his words. He’s stressed, and you and Steve watch him run a hand through his hair in frustration. The same smile appears on both your faces watching your boy fumble over himself trying to explain the situation, trying to make everything right not even noticing it already is.

You step forward to push his hair back so you can see his face, and you take a moment to admire just how beautiful he really is. You kick yourself for wasting so much time not telling him that, but you make a silent promise to yourself that you won’t go another day without it. Without telling both of them how amazing they are, and how they both make you feel more loved than any person could ever deserve.

With your hand still on Bucky’s cheek, you lean in close and press the lightest kiss of your life onto his lips, making him smile shyly into it. And then you lean back, grabbing Steve’s face with your other hand and giving him the hardest, most passionate kiss of your life in the same breath.

Bucky wonders why he was ever nervous at all.

You look at the pure, unadulterated happiness on his face and you know you’ve never seen him like this. For half a moment you want to be jealous, you want to be upset that you couldn’t do this for him on your own. But it all disappears when you see them looking at each other and not being sorry for it anymore. It makes you realize that maybe it’s ok you couldn’t be enough on your own. Maybe it was always supposed to take Steve and you, together, to make him whole again.

Bucky kisses Steve, hard, right as he winks your way and grabs Steve’s hand to lead him back to your room which you can catch glimpses of all three of you living in, in peace.

He runs a hand through his hair and just looks so goddamn happy that you swear your heart isn’t capable of loving him anymore.

And then Steve looks back at you and he smiles his golden boy smile and you swear your heart could collapse at how much you know you love him.

Yeah. You’re fucked.

#cat's fics #stucky #stucky x reader #stucky fic #steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers fic #bucky barnes fic #reader fic #stucky x reader angst #stucky x reader fluff #mcu fic #mcu imagine #mcu x reader #cat's stucky fics #stucky x you

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ilikekidsshows · 3 years

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how much do you think Adrien and Marinette's relationship developed from season 1 to 3 ?

Very well, as a self-professed connoisseur of all things slowburn, let me go over the Adrinette development that has happened in the show up until the season three finale and educate this fandom on the subtle beauty that is the Adrinette arc. This is gonna be long, because, apparently, there's a lot of material to cover, because this relationship can fit so much development into it.

Let's go in chronological order (as far as I can tell). In 'Origins', Marinette first started becoming a stuttering mess around Adrien when he opened up to her about how he wanted to make friends, becoming infatuated with the sensitive side he showed. Meanwhile, Adrien is excited over the prospect of having made a friend.

In 'The Bubbler', Marinette only manages to get out an awkward "hey," at Adrien and Adrien mimics her, in lack of a better response. He barely seems to know her at this point.

Marinette begins her infatuation with Adrien by simply thinking about him and fantasizing about him. In 'Stormy Weather' we hear Marinette's daydream, fully fleshed out on the details of what their children should be named, but not sure what their pet should be. Adrien seems pleased to see Marinette, but doesn't seek her out, also maintaining some distance.

Then comes 'Mr. Pigeon'. Adrien finds out Marinette is into designing and is taken aback by her verbal floundering. He also didn't know Marinette's last name. When he introduces Marinette to his father, there's an awkward silence after, like he'd finished the sentence too early, because he did, he never said her last name. Adrien knew Marinette existed, and was interested to know more about her, but that's it. Meanwhile Marinette speaks complete nonsense to Adrien, unable to remember what words even are.

In 'Evillustrator' Adrien seeks Marinette out of his own volition, having the perfect conversation starter in her encounter with Cat Noir. He wants to know what she thinks of him. Meanwhile, Marinette manages to get full, coherent sentences out, but keeps saying contradicting things. Adrien responds to Marinette with a drawn out "okay," starting to learn to just go with it and, at the end of the interaction, pats Marinette's shoulder companionably as he leaves. He thinks they're familiar enough for him to touch her casually, he was just waiting for the chance because he’s so touch-starved.

'Horrificator' doesn't actually show Adrien and Marinette interacting directly outside the acting scenes, where Adrien is very receptive to having Marinette as his co-star, but Adrien gets to see Marinette at her best, helping people out and solving problems. This episode is where Adrien starts to form his opinion of Marinette as someone dependable.

In 'Animan', Adrien knows Nino likes Marinette and is fully supportive. He's convinced Marinette would be receptive to Nino just acting natural and not doing anything special, so he thinks Marinette is a kind and warm person. He has no reason to think Marinette is into him instead. Marinette fumbles around Adrien again, and this time Adrien doesn't react at all: he's used to it.

In 'Kung Food', Adrien rushed to help Marinette the instant he heard from Alya that Marinette needed help. Marinette manages to get her meaning across even as she fumbles. When they have a discussion about Marinette's uncle, Marinette doesn't stutter once, and Adrien holds Marinette's shoulders when he comforts her. They managed to keep to casual interactions during the episode because they have other things to focus on.

In 'Gamer', Adrien is very casual around Marinette, inviting himself over to practise the game and being pretty frank about his insecurity as Marinette's gaming partner. Marinette responds first in a way that devalues Adrien's feelings ("No, you're amazing, I'm bad"), but eventually gives Adrien the lucky charm as a gesture of accepting him as her partner, a gesture Adrien will treasure for several episodes to come. Also, this episode has more casual shoulder-touching from Adrien to Marinette. (Aside note: Cat Noir later mimics Tom's body language in the episode, so Marinette's parents really made a first impression that stuck.)

In 'Volpina', Marinette shields Adrien from Fu's suspicions, but does briefly entertain the thought that Adrien might be Hawk Moth. This could be part of her catastrophizing or realizing she doesn't know him well enough to know for sure. Marinette also saves Adrien from his father, for Adrien's sake, not even revealing her own involvement in the matter to get closer to him. Marinette just wanted to help him out.

'Despair Bear' has Adrien protect Marinette from making a scene and making herself look bad, something he'll do again later in 'Chameleon'. Adrien sees it as his place to interfere for Marinette's benefit in this way and he thinks about the possible repercussions Marinette might have gotten from accusing Chloé publically without evidence. Adrien also instantly gets the idea to ask Marinette to dance when she bumps into him and decides to just roll with him when Alya arranges them into the typical "slow dance" position. At the end of the episode we see the first instance of Adrien invading Marinette's personal space by leaning in to talk to her. All in all, Adrien is just very comfortable around Marinette in this episode.

'Gigantitan' is more about Marinette learning not to overthink, something she didn't entirely learn as she prefers to abort the entire mission rather than enter a scenario with Adrien she hadn't considered. But we see Adrien offering Marinette a ride home even when his bodyguard is impatient. He really wants to do a favor for her.

'Riposte' has the second attempt from Marinette to simply spend time with Adrien, after 'Gamer'. She went into a lot of effort to learn fencing on time for the try-outs. She accidentally compliments Adrien to his face, who is very grateful for the nice things Marinette said about him. Caught off guard, Marinette fumbles once more, but manages to recover. Adrien laughs in enjoyment of the occasion and Marinette shares the laugh. Adrien keeps showing how comfortable he is with touching Marinette when he tutors her. Meanwhile, Marinette is very flustered, but manages to focus on what she's doing, doing well enough for Adrien to notice.

Adrien also questions Marinette's call as the referee, not concerned with Marinette's possible negative reaction and Marinette does respond honestly, showing Adrien that he can trust her judgement. Adrien also gushes about Marinette to Kagami, when he insists that Marinette didn't deny her the point to be mean, and the affection in his glowing endorsement has Kagami immediately note that Adrien likes her a lot.

In 'Befana' Adrien admits that he always carries Marinette's lucky charm with him, which inspired him to make one for her as a gift. The episode even ends with him looking at his own charm fondly, as the narration brings up "the person giving (the gift)", signalling that Adrien is specifically thinking about Marinette, who gave him the charm.

When Adrien asks Marinette for a safe place to hide in 'Gorizilla', Marinette gets over her stuttering very quickly when she realizes Adrien is in trouble to help him. Even in the subway Marinette is able to focus on Adrien possibly getting into trouble at home instead of getting flustered again. Adrien sidesteps the concern by playing the situation down, reminding Marinette that he does, indeed, always carry the lucky charm he got from her with him. At the movies he's more upfront to her about the restrictions he's placed under and why the movie is so important to him. Also, at no point does he point out Marinette is in her PJs, even though he definitely noticed. He probably just thinks it's a Marinette Thing.

'Frozer' has Marinette go all out for Adrien's sake, not because she wants to be with him, but because she wants to see him happy. She gives him advice on how to pursue another girl and asks Luka out on a double date to be there for him. On this occasion Marinette also shows how she's not as selfish over Adrien here as she was back in 'Gamer', when she was very willing to rob Max of something he really wanted in order to spend more time with Adrien. Meanwhile, Adrien gets distracted from his actual date when he wants to make sure Marinette is okay. When Plagg accuses him of "going after Marinette", Adrien is surprised by the suggestion, and assured Plagg that Marinette is just a friend.

An interesting thing to note is that Adrien actually sounds uncertain in 'Frozer' when he calls Marinette a friend, the one time he does so (at least in the English dub). This is why, when Marinette asks him to go skating with her sometime, he does entertain the thought of it just being just the two of them (aka, a date). However, when Marinette assures him it would be a friendly outing with other people too, the moment passes, and Adrien forgets his doubts and agrees to a friend outing. Plagg put the idea in his head, and Marinette could have sealed the deal. This is another occasion where Adrien pats Marinette's shoulder.

'Troublemaker' is the episode where Marinette's self-sabotage really gets going, when she "reassures" Adrien that she'd never consider him attractive in a romantic way ever. Meanwhile, Adrien once again invades Marinette's personal space and implies he doesn't mind modeling if it's for Marinette as he invites her to a photoshoot and says he's glad to have her as one of his fans.

In 'Style Queen', Marinette is actually open with Adrien about her insecurities and Adrien reassures her, and he supports her in 'Queen Wasp'. He also says he'd be able to model for her if she made it in the business, repeating his desire to model for her specifically that he first stated in 'Troublemaker'.

In 'Reverser' Marinette panics when suddenly encountered with Adrien and having to explain what she's doing, but Adrien gets the gist of it, having learned to interpret most of the word vomit Marinette produces and astutely claims: "That's typical of you," about Marinette helping someone out and offers his assistance if she needs any.

In 'Maledictator', Adrien is brave enough to let Marinette know he disagreed with the reason she and everybody else was happy. He doesn't pretend to be fine with the "good riddance, Chloé '' party because, just as Adrien knew, Marinette doesn't judge him for being sad to see Chloé leave.

In 'Heroes' Day', Adrien admits he came to the picnic to tell Marinette just how highly he values her. He shows how much attention he pays to all the times Marinette has helped their classmates and gives the iconic line "You're our everyday Ladybug". Marinette manages to gather up her courage to kiss Adrien on the cheek in response. This is also a notable moment when Adrien opts out of the usual shoulder pat, implying the gesture is something Adrien does to cut away the physical distance between himself and Marinette, since such a thing wasn't necessary in 'Heroes' Day'. (This boy is touch-starved, guys!)

In 'Chameleon' Adrien starts trying to play mediator between Lila and Marinette but, when that didn't work out, he once again protects Marinette from making a bad call with an opponent out to wreck her reputation, but he also acknowledges that Marinette had been wronged and decided to personally support her by sitting next to her since she'd been having such a tough time that day. He just wanted to support her like a friend would.

'Backwarder' has Marinette try to take the easy route of confessing through a letter, which predictably ends up not going as planned. But, as Adrien said, he spent all weekend making sure he could help Marinette with something he thought she really needed help with. Adrien just really wants to be able to do things for Marinette.

'Weredad' gives us an interesting glimpse into how Adrien views Marinette in relation to romance, noting that he "didn't think Cat Noir was her type". He's most likely referring to Luka, since he's the only guy Adrien has seen Marinette with, and Luka is quiet, contained and thoughtful, nothing like how Adrien presents himself as Cat Noir. However, since Adrien doesn't consider himself a candidate, he does most likely consider himself more like Cat Noir than Luka, aka, not Marinette's type.

'Desperada' has one of Marinette's worst freakouts in a while. Adrien showed up suddenly, and Kagami challenged her directly by saying: "Are you here to watch your boyfriend practise?" Marinette also tries to shoehorn Adrien into every situation, be it a guitarist or superhero, possibly as a subconscious attempt to gain more control of the situation with Kagami. As Tikki said, Marinette has a troubled heart in this episode.

'Chrismaster' shows off the fact that Marinette has tons of presents prepared for Adrien in advance for different occasions. These were most likely prepared during the early stages of her infatuation, when she was admiring him from afar and fantasizing about him. Making presents "just in case" fits the fantasy model. At this point, she’s embarrassed over having done it.

In 'Startrain', Adrien immediately relaxes into sleep as well when Marinette falls asleep on his shoulder. This boy is touch-starved, guys, and Marinette's touch in particular calms and soothes him. Similarly, when Marinette wakes up in the middle of their nap, she settles right back to continue sleeping, no panic in sight.

'Stormy Weather 2' shows Adrien connecting Marinette's handwriting from the note on his homework with the valentine he got, and all of the misunderstandings together convince him he was mistaken. "She's just a friend who loves fashion," Adrien says with a downtrodden face, disappointed that Marinette couldn't care for him as more than "a friend who's also in fashion". He thinks of Marinette insisting that she'd never be into him, and of Marinette and Luka skating together, with obvious chemistry between them. And, in the end, when he says it's just someone with similar writing, he sounds wistful.

'Party Crasher' has Adrien insist Marinette is one of his guys, clearly missing her when he's hanging out with his school friends. In fact, when she does show up unexpectedly, he looks very pleased.

'Puppeteer 2' is an episode that sets up obstacles for Adrinette in addition to the misunderstandings listed in ‘Stormy Weather 2’. Marinette finds out Adrien is in love with someone else, and Adrien tries to share more parts of himself with Marinette, only for it to end very badly. Adrien has been getting braver about expressing himself to Marinette, but it's mostly been his opinions so far. In 'Puppeteer 2' Adrien tries to joke around with Marinette, only for Marinette to end up mortified and crying. This convinced Adrien that there's a part of him that Marinette won't be able to accept so he'll have to hold back with her.

Meanwhile, Marinette overcorrects because Manon, as kids are wont to do, keeps airing out all of her dirty laundry regarding Adrien, and so she convinces Adrien he's lucky she even kinda likes him. Adrien connects this with the fact that apparently his sense of humor is something that Marinette hates enough to cry over it.

The rest of season 3 stays on the course set by ‘Puppeteer 2’. Adrien still cares about Marinette immensely, even if he's convinced she doesn't like him nearly as much. He puts himself on the line to protect her from Lila in 'Ladybug', and neither he nor Kagami consider Marinette's presence on their outing third-wheeling in 'Heart Hunter'. Meanwhile, Marinette is pulling away, convinced Adrien and Kagami are the perfect match.

There you go, that's the Adrinette development, broken down step by step, during the first three seasons. As you can see, it's actually quite a lot, and some people might even notice more development tidbits.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #adrinette #lovesquare #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #ml meta #long post #popular

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flowerwrites06 · 3 years

Text

under the moonlight — jjk

Plot: Jungkooks’ omega is in heat.

Pairing(s): Alpha!Jungkook x Omega!OC (Name: Belle)

Rating: G | PG | M | R 18+

Type: Drabble | Oneshot | Two Parter | Series

Word Count: 5k+

Genre: Supernatural | ABO Dynamics | Smut/Angst

Tags & Warnings: abo dynamics, explicit smut, mild violence

Authors Note: repost for those who wanted this!

Elation floated around her mind when she was taken in as a mate by the alpha himself. Only the strongest were chosen so it was no surprise that a sense of pride burst through her body at the decision. Though the result of it all had been a lot more anti-climactic than expected when Jungkook seemed to have no interest in being near her.

Belle would stay close to him in front of the pack, sleep next to him on his bed but he always turn the other way or just sleep on a chair and not a single intimate touch shared between them. The excitement that once reached the roof of her mood now dropped down to a pile of fear and insecurity.

Nothing happened between the two of them but the omega could not help but think that Jungkook grew tired of her as soon as he took her in. Something the betas were quick to assume in front of her while the alpha was not around.

All hope lost for a while until the heat began. That same excitement bubbled inside her again knowing now more than ever, Jungkook would try to get close.

Belle even went as far as to dress herself up in a short, silk babydoll dress with nothing else underneath making her completely ready and open for her beloved alpha. And she waited in the room. The same room that had no memories but of distance and silence. Her legs rubbed together absentmindedly growing impatient until the door finally opened, heart jumping almost out of her ribcages. A smile stretched across her lips when she saw Jungkooks’ eyes trail up and down her body. “Do you like it?”

Jungkook continued to stare as he closed the door behind him. “It’s cold…wear something warm.” He mumbled under his breath quickly turning on his heel towards the bathroom leaving the omega in her pooling lust and pain.

Frustration burst inside as disturbing thoughts passed through her mind, chest rising and falling rapidly glaring at the direction Jungkook walked away.

In a jolt of impulse Belle grabbed a large coat, draping it over her body before rushing out of the room and being rid of her constant disappointment in her uninterested alpha.

Unfortunately a little omega in heat all alone in the forest may have not been the greatest idea.

His body burned like a furnace as soon as he saw her in that thin little nightie, a little see through with her plump thighs peeking out resembling a cake he wanted to bite into. Those gorgeous tender breasts and that fucking smile. So much innocence yet her body spoke all kinds of sin. Jungkook had to grip onto the edge of the bathroom counter to calm himself down, his eyes already darkened with lust as her scent echoed throughout the room hurdling him down to a pit of insanity.

The alpha struggled to keep his control around the beautiful omega and from his observation, the rest of the pack had the same idea. A lot of betas would eye her with dark eyes sometimes whispering all the things they would do to her once she was in heat. Jungkook had to shut them down somehow without showing just how much he hated the thought of anyone else touching the ethereal and delicate creature.

It was simple for him to choose Belle, not much as a second thought passed through his mind when he did. The beauty tried her best to be perfect for him even though really there was no need for a lot of effort since the slightest flip of her hair had him growling in hunger. Every part of his body tingled at the thought of her but he harbored a slight concern of tainting all that innocence.

Jungkook did not earn this position by being gentle on anyone even his previous mates. Though none of their scents swirled in his head as badly as Belles’. It smelled so sweet, calling out for him to taste even just a little.

Thoughts faded when he heard the bedroom door slam shut forcing him to rush back out to the place he saw the beauty waiting for him but now completely empty. The strong scent of her already fading away, frustrating him in mere seconds.

“Where’s Belle?” He immediately announced as he barged out to the main hall where most of the pack were still chatting and eating.

One of the betas shrugged, licking one of her fingers. “She just walked out of the mansion.”

“And you let her?” His eyes flashed amber silencing the entire group as they finally listened to his every word, barely moving.

“We thought she just went out to hunt or something.” Another beta spoke a little less nonchalantly but uncaring nonetheless.

Jungkook was not surprised considering he pushed past most of these betas to get to the precious omega he wanted. The idea burned him with more fury, raking his fingers through his hair knowing Belle would not just randomly go out to hunt. He rejected her while she was deep in heat, any member of the pack would have been frustrated beyond belief.

“She’s just a scrap member of the pack, Kook.” The first beta spoke up again rolling her eyes at how concerned the alpha looked. “I don’t hear a lot of noises from the bedroom so that means you probably taken her yet so—let her freeze.” She quickly came to regret her words when her neck now tightly encased into Jungkooks’ hand until all her breath stuck in her throat.

“She has more use to the pack on her pinky finger than you do in your whole body.” He seethed before letting her drop to the floor coughing.

“Jimin!” Jungkook growled in command for one of the betas as they rushed out of the mansion in search of his omega.

The night was harsh and cold especially since her legs were not properly covered, allowing the breeze to create goosebumps on her skin. Belle had no idea where she was going but the mansion deemed to be an unfriendly and now unsatisfying place to be in. At least it was warm though. Even the mud splotched under her shoes making her feel more exposed, pooling between her legs forced an annoying mixture of desire and disgust.

For a moment she imagined Jungkooks’ reaction of her disappearance. Would he be angry the omega rushed out into the open while still in heat? Would he even care? Hell, had he even noticed at this point that she was gone?

Unlikely, she thought. He probably took in a beta he actually wanted instead of her and continued on with the night in a flurry of pleasure. The vision and thought caused a burning behind her eyes that deemed to be the only warm thing on her body.

A rustle in the bushes made her heart jump as Belle hugged herself even tighter. In a small moment of hope she thought it was Jungkook but the forest looked completely empty. She wanted to call his name out but no sound wanted to be formed. All of her words replaced with shivers. Twig snapped somewhere close by, her ears pricked up trying to back away against the tree trunk until her back hit something.

Except it wasn’t a tree. Trees didn’t have hot breath running down her neck and limbs that tried to wrap around her body.

Belle gasped quickly turning around to see the figure, the tiniest ray of hope of the person being Jungkook now completely destroyed when she came face to face with a man, eyes flashing red and trailing uncomfortable slow down her body.

“Look at you…” He gave her a sinister smirk as she continued to back away. “It’s dangerous for such a pretty omega to be walking around here.” He took a step forward attempting to stay closer distance no matter how much the woman tried to move. “Especially one that—smells so sweet.” His eyes flickered down immediately making Belle press her legs together tight. “Where’s your pack, darling?”

She stammered lightly having that vision of Jungkook again with a beta and her heart sank deeply glancing behind her.

“Oh…” He followed her gaze. “Exiled pup.”

“I wasn’t exiled.” Belle argued. “I—I left.”

He hummed and nodded, plump lips pouting out a little before carefully taking another step, a tiny bit pleased when the creature did not take another step back. “Why did you leave?” The question lingered in the air for a while as the man was now almost overwhelmed by the decadent scent touching his nose.

“My—the alpha—” She gulped down the lump in her throat. “I’m not wanted there.” The reply was simple but saying it made her body close in wanting so badly just to ask Jungkook what she did wrong. But he would never tell her.

“I don’t think that’s the truth.” He shook his head, one more step taken now only closing the distance since the omega stood still. “If I had someone like you in my pack, I would’ve taken you as my mate without a second thought.” Something stirred in his pants even just imagining the idea of this gorgeous creature being his mate. “Especially when you’re in heat…” His deep voice vibrated in her ears a little. “I’d never leave your side.”

Belle gripped onto her coat again averting her gaze to the trees, wondering if sprinting away would be a good idea or could just get her into more trouble. “I don’t know you.”

“Oh my apologies—I’m Taehyung…I lead the pack on the South edge of the forest.” He gestured casually behind him with a small smile.

The omega was a little surprised that this alpha even answered her question. Omegas had no real right to ask anything, they were just supposed to do what they were told and be the butt of everyone’s joke. Part of the reason why all the betas grew furious at her presence after the alpha chose her. The runt of the pack.

“What’s your name?” Taehyung leaned in slightly searching her expression.

“Belle.”

“Belle.” He whispered back, a smile tugging at his lips as his eyes trailed from her bright eyes and slightly glistening pink lips. “I never knew omegas came this pretty.” Taehyung practically stood over her now. “Too bad your alpha didn’t snatch you up when they had the chance.” Fingers hovered over the creatures’ neck trying not to touch the skin just yet. “Good thing I found you. Anyone else would have already grabbed you by now.”

Belle shifted a little to get away from his lingering fingers. “Am I supposed to be thankful?”

“You should always be thankful if an alpha decides not to kill you for being of no use.” Taehyungs’ tone grew serious for a brief moment. Though his expression softened when the omega hung her head not giving him another response. With a sigh, he spoke again. “I’m not going to hurt you. Someone so beautiful should never come in harms’ way.”

“I’m not beautiful.” No one in the pack thought so. Belle never really got to sit at the table with everyone else and on the rare occasion, a few of them sat with her to taunt her about something for entertainment. It sounded like a harsh life but the girl did not really have any other family left to wonder what everything could be like. Besides she felt safe at best in the mansion. Especially since the moment the omega walked out, another alpha sniffed her out in minutes.

Taehyung merely chuckled at her comment. “Would you like me to show just how beautiful you are?” Those wild fingers now hovered over the coat covering her shivering body. “I’ve been wanting a little omega for a while.”

“I’m already—” It would be a lie to say Belle was taken as a mate since she technically was not. But this red eyed alpha was still a stranger no matter how warm his smile looked now. Lying a little might not be such a betrayal. “I’m already taken.”

“Didn’t you say you left?” His brows furrowed but the smile remained. “That means you’re not taken anymore, sweet one. Means you’re open and ripe for any alphas’ taking.” Taehyung’s flashed that deadly color again as he grabbed her chin firmly to force her gaze on him. “So be a good little pup—”

His words interrupted by a heavy growl that echoed through the tress almost making them tremble. In a flash of black Belle saw Taehyung being tackled to the ground, his right eye already bleeding and puffed up before she could even gain her bearings.

Gaze followed the assailant and immediately recognized the long-ish curly hair. His fists practically jackhammered across the other alphas’ face, only giving him the chance let out grunts or cough up blood.

Eventually when Belle’s surrounding came back into clarity, her heart jumped. “Jungkook…” She muttered. The perfect omega inside her wanting to keep her distance and letting the alphas do what they always did. But the part that didn’t want a death because of her running away finally won the battle. “Jungkook, stop!” She grabbed at Jungkooks’ shoulder and tried to pull him back which shocked both the leaders and the beta, Jimin. “I’m sorry…” Her hands moved away from his shoulder back to holding her coat while the two alphas caught their breath.

Jimin glared at her for stopping an alpha fight like that but stayed silent waiting for Jungkook to reprimand the omega instead. The beta did not have any qualm with the creature at all. In fact he thought she was very kind to all the members despite that kindness not being returned a lot of the time. However Jimin knew the rules. Omegas were never allowed to consort with the alpha at all in most cases but breaking up an alpha brawl broke all kinds of tradition.

Taehyung struggled to get himself up from the ground but tried to hide it as much as he could, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping away all the excess blood. “Doesn’t seem like you weren’t wanted, little omega.” He smirked.

Belle merely hung her head not wanting to face anyone and hoped to disappear into thin air. It became harder to be invisible nowadays ever since she got chosen. Everyone either stared at her, whispered or tried to taunt her more than normal just so they could see a reaction that would make her look weak. That way Jungkook would in some way ‘open his eyes’ and figure out she was nothing but a runt. Never good enough.

“You fight dirty as always, Jeon.”

“I told you not to cross to our border.” Jungkook sounded and looked like he had no time for Taehyungs’ smug antics.

“Easy now.” He chuckled. “I just smelled a stray pup and wanted to help. Is that so evil?” His voice was sickly sweet but his wild eyes spoke other things looking over at Belle again causing Jungkook to stand in front of her. “I could get her scent from miles away. It’s almost like she’s never been touched in heat.” He tilted his head.

The omega gulped while Jungkook tightened his jaw.

Taehyung then smiled at the silence. “Ah—she hasn’t.” His eyes flashed red again. “An innocent pup.”

“Don’t come onto my border again or your pack will have to find a new alpha.” Jungkook threatened, eyes still completely amber wanting to rip those wandering eyes out from his sockets.

He raised his hands in defense though as usual taking no real responsibility in considering it seriously. “No more sneaking around. So long as you keep your members in check next time.” Taehyung winked before turning on his heel and disappearing into the forest.

Deadly silence plunged into the forest while Belle’s skin felt like a thin layer of ice covered every inch from how long she had been exposed to the air.

Jungkook stood with his back to her, anger still radiating out of him. “Jimin…go back to the mansion. We’ll catch up.”

Jimin stammered a little wanting to protest but the alpha flashed his still amber eyes forcing him to bow in farewell. He gave a soft glance at the omega trying to be reassuring and not furious but quickly sprinted back into the forest not knowing how much effect it had.

Once the two stood alone in the forest, the alpha spoke.

“All the things you’ve done tonight. You could’ve been killed because of at least one of them.” Jungkook kept his back to her while the omega lowered her head again, staring at her mud covered shoes. “You need to stay out of an alpha fight.”

“I know.” She mumbled.

“And you need to stay indoors when you’re alone and especially when you’re in heat, you know that.” His voice grew more frustrated as the words spewed out of his mouth almost carelessly. “He could’ve taken you by force or even killed you.”

“But he didn’t, I’m fine.” It only came to her attention after a few moments of absorbing his words that this was the most feeling Jungkook had when he spoke to her. Maybe it was just adrenaline from the fist fight.

Jungkook scoffed. “No you’re not. This isn’t fine. A fucking alpha was just about take my own mate in my own territory.” He gestured towards the forest around them wildly.

“I’m not your mate!” Belle snapped finally looking at the male and seeing the glisten of sweat layered on his skin. “You barely even touch me. You just chose me—all I’m doing is sitting, eating and sleeping the same place you are. I’m not your mate, I’m your little unsatisfied housewife!”

He stomped closer to the omega, her scent practically shooting up his nostrils to his head.

“You—you don’t find me beautiful, what’s the point?” She looked down at the covered outfit she had so passionately adorned on her body just to please Jungkook. Only to be once again met with a cold shoulder that seemed to never melt off. “All I want to do is make you happy—but you don’t even want to look at me.”

The alpha stared down at his little omega telling him that she wanted to make him happy. Everyone wanted to make him happy somehow but they always had a ulterior motive and it was never hard to tell. Getting close to the alpha meant getting close to being alpha. But he could sense something else in her tone that never rung with anyone else.

Sincere loyalty.

Not an ambition to fight to the death but a genuine want to please the one she cared about. Jungkook could not express just how much he wanted to do the same thing. “The reason—I don’t look at you…is because when I do, I want to devour you right there and then.”

Belle searched his expression looking for any sign of deceit but it was always hard to read the leader.

“Everything you do…” Jungkook sighed to calm himself down from how much his fingers trembled being so close to her scent. “…I can’t think of anything else. I want to do more things to you than you can imagine.”

She had to close her eyes for a second letting out a shaky sigh, feeling more lust leak out of her making the area between her legs almost drenched. Biting down her bottom lip she held onto his freshly injured hand and placed it under her nightie. Belle had to stop herself from moaning already at his warm hands against her cold skin, riding up her thigh to her soaking wet cunt.

Jungkook growled under his throat finally feeling her cake thighs after so long of just pining and looking. Then the heavenly drench on his fingers pads from making just the slightest contact had him grabbing the back of her neck. Lips stopped merely a breath away from hers trying to keep himself contained from going too wild on her untouched body. Well…now slightly touched.

Belle caressed his chest, gasping lightly as his hand moved achingly slow on her core while her head was kept still dangerously close to his. “Do them to me.” She whispered, a soft, reassuring smile graced her features. “Please…I don’t want to imagine them anymore.” She brushed her own lips against his just gently. Not a kiss but a non-verbal plead. “Take me.”

The alpha managed to keep his control for so long when it came to the omega even though it grew harder and harder by each passing day. Tonight became his breaking point. Now that her scent overwhelmed his entire being, fingers soaked from her juices and those beautiful lips brushing against his, the beast inside him finally broke out of its cage. Leaning in Jungkook took her bottom lip between his twin flesh suckling on the skin and tasting a strawberry hint. Tongue ran across the soft surface as he felt her arms wrap around his neck.

Her heart pounded excitedly against her ribcages finally being able to feel her alphas’ lips again her own. His rough hands shifting from the aching core to her ass, squeezing it a little as Belle parted her lips to invite his tongue happily. Complete submission to the beloved leader had been her wish from the beginning. To see it come true caused a different kind of burn behind her eyes and under her skin.

Reluctantly Jungkook broke away only a little not forgetting to place a trail of pecks before looking into her eyes again. As soon as he gave her that sweet smile, the alpha ducked down and threw her over his shoulder, hand covering the small peek of her ass from her nightie.

Once at the mansion, the whole pack watched the alpha had opted to hold his omega’s hand while he took her to their bedroom. The beta who said for Belle to freeze tried to walk over to them and talk to Jungkook only to have the door slammed in her face.

Jungkook pushed Belle into the room and locked the door behind him. Turning around, his eyes were already blown out with lust raking up and down her body. “Show it to me again.” It was a softer demand but a demand nonetheless.

With a willing smile, the omega unzipped the long coat and shrugged it off, throwing it to the side. It didn’t take amazing eyesight to notice the tent growing in his pants. At this point her juices could leak down the inside of her thighs. “Is it nice?” She played with her fingers which made her look a lot more innocent and Jungkook could actually whine.

“Take it off.” He muttered, his mind rummaging through all the sinful things he could do to his little eager mate. “I want to see you.”

Belle kept her gaze on the alpha as her hands gently hooked onto the ends of her thin nightie and pulled it over her head. The piece of cloth now discarded same as the coat. “Like this?”

Jungkook had already accidently seen her in the shower; blurry sights of what her curves and crevices looked like but it did not give the real deal justice. How anyone could have the guts to call her the runt of the pack he would never know. They would watch their tongues next time they tried however. Walking over to the beauty, his hands immediately found their shaking way to her waist, caressing down to her hips making her utter the sweetest breathy hums. Lips pressed onto her neck, leaving trails of kisses until he came to left breast.

Her hands buried into his hair as he swirled his tongue around her nipple before suckling on it lightly. Knees grew weak at every movement trying to keep herself steady while his lips slid down her stomach to her aching core.

The alpha knew once he got this close to her beautiful heat there would be going back. Every day the taste of her would end up lingering on his tongue until he got to taste it again. The beautiful omega did things to him he could never explain to even her let alone anyone in the pack. Despite knowing this personal risk, Jungkook did what he craved for so long. Tongue moved up from her leaking hole to her throbbing clit. He couldn’t help but smile a little at how her whole body jerked at the new found pleasure.

Belle felt how his tongue licked at one particular spot that jolted a surge up her body making her jerk. In seconds, she felt his lips wrap around the small nub coaxing light moans to spew out of her while her fingers still tangled in his hair. “Jungkook…”

He moaned sending vibrations against her core. With a slight pop, Jungkook broke from his light snacking and bite onto her thighs like he always wanted.

The omega giggled affectionately caressing his head before he stood over her. A few messy steps and Belle dropped back onto the bed. Propping herself up on her elbows, she watched Jungkook strip himself of his clothes until they were both now bare. Lust blown eyes stared down at his twitching, hard member before licking her lips.

“Spread your legs.” Jungkook only had to tap her knee gently for her to move her legs apart more than enough for him to sneak in between. Wrapping his fingers around his cock, he rubbed the reddened tip against her clit making her throw her head back. “You want it, baby?”

Belle nodded frantically.

“I can’t hear you.” His tip poked at her slit. The little game tortured him as much it did her but he wanted to hear her beg.

“Yes, I want it..” She jerked her hips against his movements, gasping when the tip of his cock entered her slightly. “I want it so bad.”

She always knew how to touch that extra nerve in his body every single time. It was almost magical how the omega had so much control over him by being so perfectly submissive. Jungkook pushed his cock into her snug little hole with soaked ease, her cunt flowing making it all the more harder not to just pound her into oblivion. His hips moved slow letting the sounds of watery sloshing ring in his ears. Arms pressed down the sides of her body, hovering over the omega as he relished in her warm walls.

Belle held onto his forearm as she watched her pussy getting stretched by his cock. The amount of times she dreamed of this happening was a little embarrassing. Now that it was happening and his shaft inside her felt so invigorating, she could giggle in glee.

Their foreheads pressed together softly as Jungkook whispered. “You like that?”

She nodded, gasping and moaning. “Yeah…”

The one word was all that needed to be uttered for him to quicken his pace a little, skin slapping against each other ever so slightly. Jungkook shifted down to his elbows now as he caressed her cheek. “Don’t ever leave me like that again.” He whispered a little breathless, still thrusting into her steadily.

“I won’t…” Belle cupped his cheek, struggling to keep her gaze as the pleasure tickled her every nerve. “I won’t, I promise.”

Lips pressed against hers, tongue exploring everything he knew was willingly submitted to him tonight. Once the kiss broke the softness melted along with it as the alpha pounded into her cunt. Arms back up, muscles popping out furiously before hooking one of her legs over his shoulder.

Her moaning became an uneven pattern melting into the sounds of their wet skin grinding and slapping against each other. As soon as Jungkook leaned in closer, Belle muffled a few of her whimpers into a heated kiss while her hand moved down to find that little nub, rubbing it to match with his thrusts. The tight ball in her lower belly exploded before she could even expect it, her legs trembling and a flurry of moans passing her lips.

Jungkook felt her walls clench around him already feeling the pressure around his cock push him closer to his orgasm. His thrusts grew a little more brutal grabbing her hips and hammering into her while she gave him that beautiful, innocent smile to reassure him it was okay to keep going despite her sensitivity.

“Cum inside me…” She managed to say as her body literally shook with the force of his thrusts.

Her adorable whisper was all it took for the alpha to finally come undone, filling his beauty up with his seed in a sloppy and rough thrusts. Only until the last drop did he pull out slowly watching a little bit of his release dripping out of her.

“I’m yours now.” Belle giggled.

Naked, cleaner bodies cuddled together under the blankets now relishing in their new found intimacy after so long suffering distance and silence.

“Would you have gone with him?” Jungkook asked.

Belle sighed, heart sinking a little when all her true thoughts popped in her head first. “I didn’t want to. But I would’ve to save myself, I guess. Otherwise he could’ve just killed me.” She shrugged nonchalantly. Truthfully she did like the attention Taehyung gave her despite his less than chivalrous nature. He had a danger about him that was less creepy more intriguing but still nothing compared to what Jungkook made her feel. Though the omega did not want to ruin the new mood they had so her verbalizing answer only lingered in the air. “Would you have found someone else after I left?” She traced patterns on his chest.

The alpha gulped not knowing how to tell her that he had eyes on her for the longest time to a point where he barely noticed what the other members looked like. Granted they were pretty but a lot of people were ‘pretty’. “Probably not. None of them would taste as good as you.”

She giggled hiding her face in his torso. “You didn’t even taste me then.”

“No but you smelled really fucking good.” He smiled nudging the top of her head with his nose. “I thought I lost you…just for a second.”

“If an alpha came up to me after this, I will fight.”

“You will?”

“Of course…” She propped herself on her elbow and smiled up at him. “I’m yours now, remember?” She lay a small kiss on his chest.

Jungkook caressed her cheek, not being able to help mimicking a little smile of his own. “You’re mine.”

#jungkook #bts smut #bts fanfic #jungkook smut #bts fanfiction #bts werewolf au #jungkook werewolf au #werewolf au #supernatural au #tw: smut

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honeypiehotchner · 4 years

Text

illicit affairs (Spencer Reid one-shot)

This is wayyy overdue! It’s just been sitting in my drafts, waiting for me to edit her, but she’s finally here. This is very loosely based on Taylor Swift’s song of the same title. And it’s 100% me writing out some feelings through fanfiction, so it’s also loosely based on true events. Enjoy!

Summary: You and Spencer have been “dating” without a label for a few months now, until you witness something that has you wondering if it was too good to be true (as always).

Warnings: it’s so dramatic. Angst with a happy ending!

Spencer has no fucking clue what he did.

Well, to be more accurate, Spencer has no idea if he even did anything at all.

One second the two of you were acting as normal as ever, attached at the hip and nothing less, and the next you’re barely able to look at him. You won’t speak to him, you insist you’re fine, and you ask him to leave you alone -- please.

A new case comes and he thinks things will fall back into their rightful place. He expects you to sit with him on the plane, but you choose the farthest seat away from him. He expects you’ll be paired with him when he says he’ll go to the local station to work on victimology, but instead you agree to Morgan’s offer to look at the crime scene.

He’s desperate. He’s a so-called genius, and he’s losing his mind.

“Morgan, help me out here, man,” Spencer pleads, cornering Morgan when he’s getting a coffee. He’s just returned from the crime scene with you, but of course, you’ve ducked away from Spencer.

Derek’s eyebrows raise. Slowly, he turns around, eyeing the desperate genius. “You’re asking for my advice?”

“She won’t talk to me,” Spencer whispers, eyes cutting to you, but only for a second. He doesn’t want you to think he’s creepily staring at you all the time. So far, you haven’t caught him (that he knows of).

“Well, what did you do?” Morgan asks like the answer should be blatantly obvious.

“I don’t know!”

“Alright, let me rephrase that for you,” Morgan’s tone is bordering on teasing, but he can’t help it. The resident genius of the BAU is having trouble talking to a woman. Who knew? “Have you done anything that would lead her to believe you’re not interested in her anymore?”

“What? No!”

“Think, Reid,” Morgan replies, tipping his cup of coffee in the air. “And when you figure it out, apologize.”

He leaves without another word. Morgan joins you and Emily back in the room where the team has set up base. You share a particularly heated look with Morgan, but he shakes his head, letting you know he didn’t betray your confidence. You relax.

Spencer doesn’t know this, but earlier when you were riding with Morgan to the crime scene, you confided in him.

It had been completely accidental. Something about car rides brings out the need to ask for advice. Maybe it’s the fact that there’s the road to focus on, or the case to segway into, you don’t know. But what you do know, is that when you confided in Morgan, he shook his head, and called Spencer a dumbass.

“Hypothetically,” you had begun, and Morgan remembers wondering if you were going to talk about the case, but you didn’t. “If you’ve been talking-- flirting with a guy and going on a few dates over the past few months -- but there’s no label -- but so if you’ve been doing all this and then you suddenly see him outside his apartment hugging another woman -- like arms around her waist kind of deal, face in her neck...what does that mean?”

Morgan had nearly slammed on the brakes. Reid? A two-timer? He never would’ve guessed. The kid could barely get his words out when he first met you, and now he’s playing you?

“Well, hypothetically,” Morgan played into your game. “I’d be suspicious. Personally, I don’t just hug any woman like that if I don’t have other intentions,” he shook his head. What you’re describing is intimate, especially for Reid. “You’re right to think something else is going on.”

“Who said it was about me?”

Morgan looked at you with his usual knowing stare. Sometimes you forget you’re all profilers. You’ve made deals not to profile one another, but you’re sure it still happens. You all have another silence agreement to never voice it aloud, unless needed.

“Fine,” you caved, crossing your arms over your chest. “I don’t know, I just-- I was going to drop off his stupid jacket that he left in my car the night before, and I saw him hugging her right on his doorstep and she kissed his cheek and I just-- I bolted. I don’t know.” You had let out a frustrated sigh. “I thought he was different.”

“If it helps,” Morgan shrugged, “I’ll kick his ass.” He might protect Reid like a mother hen, but he’s not afraid to give him a hard time, either.

“No, no, don’t,” you groaned. “I’m just gonna keep my distance. No sense in putting effort into something that clearly is never going to happen.”

“Oh, come on, don’t talk like that,” Morgan said. You used to talk that way all the time when you first started at the BAU, but it slowly died out the more you hung out with Spencer. Morgan connected the dots, but never told you.

“You know I’ve never been in a relationship?”

This time, Morgan did slam on the brakes.

“What?”

“Never,” you shook your head, motioning for him to keep driving. “Not one. They all fall through. I started thinking something was wrong with me, you know?” Morgan gave you another look, his sad, big brother one this time. “But then Spencer and I started getting closer, he took me on what I thought, I guess, were a couple of dates. I mean, he paid and drove and walked me to my door and all that cute shit. That’s a date, right? I mean, he never kissed me on the lips, but it’s Spencer.” You didn’t even look to see Morgan’s reaction, but he was nodding. “I started to think maybe it was never me, maybe it was the guys--”

“It was the guys,” Morgan argued. “Alright? You’re amazing. Anyone would be lucky to have you. It would be a damn honor. Don’t let that head of yours convince you otherwise.”

You shook your head, the crime scene rapidly approaching. “I’m not so sure anymore.”

You were out of the car and introducing yourself to the police on the scene before Morgan could even blink.

Morgan can only hope Reid had a good reason for having a woman at his door and hugging her, and letting her kiss his cheek. Reid doesn’t give hugs to just anyone, let alone accept a kiss, so whoever it was, obviously she was more than a friend.

The thought of Reid being a player makes Morgan smile. On the one hand, he’s a little bit proud. On the other, he’s pissed. It’s one thing to have one night stands with women who are into that sort of thing, but it’s another to drag someone along -- someone like you, someone who is too good, who deserves better than that.

Morgan had thought about telling you to just talk to Spencer, in hopes that there was a good reason for what you saw, but you’ve made it painfully clear over the past two weeks that you’d rather keep your distance instead.

So, he lets you. He can’t say that he blames you, really. Not after what you told him. He can only hope Spencer will figure this one out before it’s too late.

+++

After the case is closed and you’re back home, you immediately head for the shower. Cases are exhausting enough, but avoiding Spencer made it worse. Going from being attached at the hip to trying to be anywhere except in the same room as him took a toll on you. Not to mention, dodging everyone else’s worried looks. Morgan is the only one you’ve confided in, but that hasn’t stopped Hotch, Emily, JJ, and even Garcia from constantly asking if you’re alright.

Once you’re finished showering and in your pajamas, you head back to the living area. Spencer’s forgotten cardigan lays on the arm of your couch, lonely.

You know you shouldn’t, but you shrug it on anyway. No harm in wearing it. Not like he misses it. He probably has a hundred others.

You head to the kitchen to make yourself some tea, hoping it’ll soothe your nerves and help you drift off to sleep before your mind has the time to make you think of Spencer.

Too late.

Sighing heavily, you place the kettle on the stove. You hum a song while you’re at it, knowing that you’re being endlessly dramatic.

It’s not like you had sex with Spencer. Hell, the most the two of you did was hold hands and you kissed his cheek. He kissed your head once, though you think it was an accident.

Still, there was never a label. Why are you so upset?

Don’t call me kid, don’t call me baby/Look at this idiotic fool that you made me

It’s stupid, really, how hung up you are over this. A few dates don’t exactly mean anything at all. Flirting nowadays can mean nothing, too. You don’t understand any of it.

You cup your cheek gently, foolishly wondering what it would feel like if Spencer’s hand was there instead -- maybe even as he kissed you, but you don’t want to get too carried away. It’s not like anything will ever happen now.

And you know damn well/for you I would ruin myself/a million little times

Maybe you just need more time. This was the first time in a long time that you had let your guard down, let yourself go on dates. So many times it had all gone wrong, so you closed yourself off and focused on your career. You thought since you were stable at the BAU that now it was okay.

You thought Spencer -- Spencer Reid, of all people, you really thought he would’ve been different.

Maybe it’s just your type. Maybe that’s who you attract. The men who don’t want anything serious and never will. They’re stuck in Peter Pan mode. You must be Wendy. It must be a curse.

The kettle boils and you cut the burner off, fixing your tea.

You’re just walking back to the living room when there’s a knock on your door. You freeze, your panicked mind expecting the absolute worst, until you hear Spencer’s voice.

“Y/N?” He calls out. “It’s Spencer-- You probably knew that already.”

You smile into your tea, but you make no move for the door. You want-- no, you ache to let him inside, but you know it’s a bad idea. He’s probably here to ask if you’re alright, and you don’t have the energy to answer him. He’s probably going to go back to his girlfriend after this. You really don’t know that you can handle a face-to-face rejection.

“Y/N, please,” Spencer says again, pleading. He knocks once more, quietly. “I see lights are on, so I’m just going to...assume you can hear me.”

You walk a step closer. You don’t want to let him inside, but maybe you can listen. That won’t be too bad, right?

“Y/N, I’m...I’m sorry.”

Oh, tears. Stupid, stupid tears. You wipe them on the sleeve of his cardigan, glad that they’re at least falling quietly right now.

“I don’t know what I did, but I’m...I’m just sorry and I miss you and it’s killing me that you won’t even look at me. I…” Spencer pauses, and you walk closer, biting on the sleeve to keep from letting out a sob. “I’m sorry, I don’t… Please, just tell me what I did.”

You press your back to the door, sliding down until you hit the floor. You keep your knees against your chest and set the mug of tea down next to you. The noise causes Spencer’s ears to perk up.

“Y/N? Is that you?”

“Yeah, Spencer,” you barely speak loud enough for him to hear. “It’s me.”

“Please, tell me what I did,” he pleads, voice breaking. Is he crying, too? “I don’t know what it was, but I’ll fix it. Or I’ll try-- Please, let me try.”

“Spencer…” You sigh, tears falling down your cheeks with no restraint. “Be honest with me, are you seeing someone else?” You pause, choking on a sob. So many times you’ve had this conversation, the rejection, finding out you weren’t the one they wanted. Too many times. But none of them ever hurt this bad. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“What?” Spencer nearly falls over. Why on earth would you think that? “What are you talking about? Of course not.”

“Don’t lie to me, please,” you groan, pressing your hand to your forehead. This is pathetic. You shouldn’t be showing him how upset you are. And through a door, no less. Can you get any more dramatic?

“What are you talking about?”

“I was at your apartment, Spencer,” you mutter, wiping angrily at your cheeks. “I went to drop off this stupid cardigan of yours and you-- You were hugging a woman outside your door and I saw it and I saw her kiss you--”

You cut yourself off, choking on another sob, and Spencer sighs. He understands now.

“Open the door. Please,” he says.

“Why?” You reply quietly. “If you’re just going to reject me, please, just do it through the door.” The last thing you want is for him to see you like this when he tells you he’s seeing someone else, that he didn’t even know you liked him, and so on.

“I’m not rejecting you,” he says softly. “Please.”

You know it’s a bad idea, but how much worse can things get?

You stand to your feet and open the door, careful of the mug of tea on the floor. Spencer’s heart drops at the sight of you. Tear stains on your cheeks, red eyes, your quivering lip as you try to hold things together, and...his cardigan hanging off your shoulders. Somehow the last tops it all off, sends a strike of pain right to his heart.

You wipe some more tears away with the sleeve, motioning for him to start talking. “Go on.”

“She’s an old friend. We did kiss before, once. But she’s not my girlfriend. She was in town and wanted to stop by to tell me she’s getting married...to her girlfriend of three years.”

You nod slowly. For some reason, that doesn’t even make you feel better. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Spencer asks, hopeful tone and all. “Are we okay?”

“What are we, Spencer?” You ask, eyes still watering. “I can’t keep going on the way we were going, you know? It’s agonizing, I just want to know what’s going on in your head.”

Spencer smiles softly. “I want you to...to be my girlfriend.”

Your ears are deceiving you. They must be. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. I thought it was obvious,” he chuckles. “That’s one of the things I talked to her about -- her name’s Jess. She invited me-- us to the wedding. I was gonna ask you to be my girlfriend-- I still want to, I mean, if you’ll have me.”

More tears spring to your eyes and Spencer’s heart jumps, thinking he did something completely wrong.

“What happened? Did I say something?”

“No,” you shake your head. “God.” You wipe at your cheeks before turning and retreating back into your apartment. Spencer has no choice but to follow you.

He spots your mug of tea and places it on the coffee table as he shuts your front door gently with his foot.

“I’m so...stupid,” you mutter, jumping when you see he’s followed you inside. He’s not unwelcome here by any means, you’re just an idiot. A huge idiot.

“You’re not stupid,” he argues. “I wish you would’ve talked to me.”

“Would you believe me if I told you this has happened to me before?” You murmur pathetically, propping your body against the arm of your couch.

Spencer’s heart breaks more. You won’t look at him again.

“I’m sorry,” you sigh, clasping your hands together, fighting the shakes. “I should’ve talked to you, I just-- This has happened before and those times it was… Well, you know.” You finally look up at him, tears falling. “The first time the guy didn’t even try hiding it. The second one did, but not very well because I still found out. The third wasn’t even aware that he was flirting with me, I guess. I don’t know how you can take someone on dates for months and not be aware, but he said he wasn’t.” You pause, looking away again. “I just saw a pattern and I freaked out and I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Spencer whispers, even though you still feel like it’s not.

You shake your head.

“Y/N, it is,” he presses on. “I should’ve...talked to you about how I’m feeling, but I was scared. You’re the first girl that’s-- I don’t know, liked me for me, I guess. Dorkiness and all.”

You chuckle, and Spencer nearly grins. He got a laugh. That’s something.

“How about we both make a deal to communicate better?” He offers. You nod, so he keeps going. “I’ll go first. I really want you to be my girlfriend.”

You can’t help but smile now, all dumb and trying to hide it in the sleeve of his cardigan. “I’d really love to be your girlfriend.”

“Yeah?” He asks, almost like he wasn’t even expecting you to agree, but you nod, confirming it for his genius brain.

The kiss the two of you share is a long time coming. It’s gentle and warm, relaxing your muscles and easing the tension you’ve held in them for the past two weeks. Spencer gathers you in his arms, keeping you close, with zero intent of ever letting you go.

+++

When you walk into the BAU the next morning, you are painfully reminded that you are surrounded by the best profilers in the country.

It’s no secret that you and Spencer have been “dating” for a while, but you never showed PDA -- partly because the two of you were fumbling around your true feelings, and partly because you’re not too sure how relationships stand with protocol here.

Apparently, despite coming in fifteen minutes apart from one another, everyone can see right through you both.

Morgan is the first to say something. He catches you when the elevator doors open and you have Spencer’s cardigan hanging over your shoulders. In your defense, Spencer forgot to grab it when he left your house sometime this morning, so you were just trying to return it -- again.

“Late night?” Morgan raised his eyebrows.

Realizing your mistake, your eyes widen. “Shut up.” You step off the elevator and point a threatening finger in his face. “Not a word.”

Morgan’s hands raise in surrender, but he still has that goddamn smile on his face. “Might wanna take off that cardigan, sweetheart. You’re too obvious.”

Angrily, you shrug it off and walk into the bullpen.

Spencer is at his desk, so you shove his cardigan into his chest. “You forgot this.”

Upon seeing that it’s you, Spencer’s lips stretch into a grin. “Thanks.” He pauses, folding the cardigan over his arm. “I was kind of hoping you’d keep it,” he whispers, eyes darting around to be sure no one is listening. “It looks better on you, anyway.”

You bite down hard on the inside of your cheek. “Give it to me tonight, then,” you wink, earning a light blush on Spencer’s cheeks.

Hotch watches this encounter from the railing and smiles. He’s sure neither of you will do anything to warrant him giving you a stern talk about relationships and work, so he won’t mention anything for now.

Instead, he retreats back into his office, glad you’ve finally gotten over yourselves.

Garcia catches on when you come to visit her in her office only to find Spencer already standing there. He’s animatedly talking about Doctor Who, but stops abruptly when he sees you. It doesn’t take a profiler to understand the glances, the smiles, and awkward goodbyes that were shared so you could ask Garcia a question.

Prentiss is just glad the two of you will look at one another again, but the way you keep glancing over her shoulder to see Spencer is more than obvious. It’s so obvious that Prentiss and JJ share a knowing look, but say nothing. They should’ve placed bets.

You and Spencer catch each other’s eyes more than a dozen times every hour, and he follows you to the break room to conveniently get a coffee at the same time as you.

Yeah, you’re not being obvious at all.

Neither of you notice that the team has caught on, so you take your chances when you find yourselves alone in the break room. You can practically hear the conversations the rest of the team is having out in the bullpen, so you let Spencer pull you into his arms, his chin resting on top of your head.

This is a lot for Spencer, and you too, if you’re honest. Hugs are something you never found yourself enjoying, but when you’re tucked into Spencer’s chest, you never want to leave.

You’re both too busy holding one another to hear Hotch’s footsteps as he enters the room. The clearing of his throat is what finally breaks the two of you apart.

“Agent Hotchner,” you blurt, straightening yourself and taking one too many steps away from Reid.

Hotch smirks. You haven’t called him that since your first day. “New case. Looks like a short one. Conference room in five minutes.”

And he leaves as quick as he came, chuckling under his breath.

You and Spencer share a look before dissolving into laughter and fixing your coffee. You don’t try to walk out of the break room separately, knowing that there’s no use.

Especially not when you get cold on your way to the conference room, and Spencer promptly wraps you in his cardigan.

#criminal minds #spencer reid #dr spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid angst #spencer reid fluff #angst #fluff #angst with a happy ending #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds fanfiction

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storytellerofuntoldlegends · 3 years

Text

tangle up the true and the fable

A/N: empires!scott and empires!jimmy have hella enemies to lovers vibes. so take enemies to hey-wait-were-we-lovers-in-a-past-life to friends. also joel and lizzie make a cameo appearance. title is from Rose by The Oh Hellos! (also reblogs > likes)

Warnings: arguing, death mention, flirting, cave-ins, cave spiders, injury, vague description of cave spider venom effects, nonchalant talk of the minecraft respawn mechanic, near death experiences, explosions, talk of past/alternate lives, angst with a happy ending, hopeful ending

Summary: Jimmy doesn't understand why the ruler of Rivendell doesn't seem to like him. He supposes that going on a mining trip in Scott's mountains without asking permission doesn't exactly help matters much though. But when the two of them end up trapped in the caves, will they be able to set aside their differences to survive?

Jimmy should really start thinking before he did things. Like stealing- ahem. Borrowing some cake ingredients from Sausage, which in turn caused him to steal Jimmy's prized music disc. Or whatever was the deal with the Rivendell ruler, Scott. Jimmy wasn't sure what exactly he did to get on the elf's bad side, but Scott didn't seem to like him very much. Well... at least sometimes he seemed to hate Jimmy. Sometimes it seemed like... something else. Jimmy couldn't quite place it- maybe he did want to be best friends after all? But whatever the case, things were always a little tense between the rulers of the Cod Empire and Rivendell. And it seemed today was no exception.

He was in dire need of more materials, and the swamp wasn't very rich in caves. And Jimmy had already explored most of the caves in his empire. So while he couldn't entirely rationalize why, he decided to go on a trip to the mountains to gather materials. It was a stupid idea, going near the empire of someone who possibly hated him, but part of him hoped that he would see Scott. Maybe he could work out some sort of alliance instead of their squabbling and occasional attempts to kill each other. Besides, he wasn't going to the actual mountain Scott lived on, just the ones near his mountain. Surely that’d be far enough to not anger him, but close enough to suggest an amicable atmosphere? Right?

Wrong. Very, very wrong. Jimmy had barely gotten deep in a cave in the mountains when Scott appeared, like he had some sort of “Jimmy-being-an-idiot” sixth sense. The elf admittedly was an imposing sight- enchanted diamond armor, an enchanted diamond axe strapped to his back, arms crossed over his chest, a golden circlet with antlers branching up from it, and blue eyes glinting with irritation. Those eyes seemed to see right through Jimmy, scrutinizing and seeing him for who he truly was. Not the Codfather, a strong leader- but a swamp boy whose sweet intentions got him into trouble more often than not.

“What are you doing here?” Scott asked, voice cold and unimpressed. Jimmy frowned at the elf’s tone.

“Mining,” Jimmy said simply, crossing his arms right back at Scott. He rolled his eyes in response.

“Obviously, but why are you doing so in my empire?” Scott asked pointedly.

“I’m not mining in your mountain though!” Jimmy protested, a little confused at Scott’s irritation. Scott let out a sound that was halfway between a sigh and a groan, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache coming on.

“Jimmy. All the mountains around here are mine,” Scott said bluntly, dropping his hand to glare at Jimmy. Well now he felt a little sheepish. But still, he didn’t understand why Scott had to get all irritated about it, maybe they could work something out. Jimmy took on an easygoing smile, causing Scott to knit his brows in confusion.

“I know I shouldn’t have been here, and I didn’t realize this mountain was part of your empire. If you want the materials I gathered, I’m more than willing to-”

“Oh, sorry about that, buddy! Tell you what, I’ll give you-”

“I’m not your buddy,” Scott said, cutting Jimmy off and causing his easy smile to melt away near instantly. Jimmy sighed.

“I don’t want anything from you, I just want you to leave,” Scott said, interrupting Jimmy again, and honestly it was getting pretty hard for Jimmy to continue being amicable if Scott was going to be like this for the whole conversation.

“Fine! I was only trying to come to a peaceful resolution here, no need to be a jerk like always,” Jimmy huffed, slinging his pickaxe over his shoulder and starting to head out of the cave. Scott made an irritated sound, quickly following after him.

“Oh, I’m sorry for being mean when you’re the one who showed up in my empire unannounced and unwanted!” Scott fumed, hands gesturing wildly as he kept up with Jimmy’s brisk pace.

“Like I said, didn’t realize this was part of your empire. And I’m leaving now, so you can stop following me,” Jimmy huffed. Scott stopped to stare at him incredulously, and Jimmy paused as well to raise an eyebrow at him.

“This cave only has one exit, you idiot. We both have to go this way,” Scott pointed out with a scoff. Jimmy made a frustrated sound, and was about to make a retort- but heard a hiss and saw a green shape ambling towards them from an unlit portion of the cave. Jimmy didn’t have time to draw his sword, and Scott was too busy glaring at Jimmy to notice the creeper heading towards them. So in a split-second decision, Jimmy tackled Scott to the ground right before the creeper exploded and caused a chunk of the cave to crumble down right where the two of them had been standing. Debris showered over the two of them, and Jimmy instinctively shielded Scott from it, even though he had been shouting at the elf mere moments prior. The dust settled, and it was then he realized how close he and Scott were, their noses practically touching.

“You alright?” Jimmy asked, surprising himself with how soft and concerned his voice came out. Scott looked at him with wide eyes and an almost flustered expression, until he schooled it down into smooth indifference.

“You’re supposed to take me to dinner before you pin me like that,” Scott teased with a smirk. Jimmy rolled his eyes, getting up off of Scott before offering a hand to help him up.

“I think you’re supposed to thank me for saving your life,” Jimmy shot back. Scott scowled at him, ignoring the offered hand and getting to his feet on his own, brushing the dirt off of his clothes.

“Thank you for what? Tackling me and giving me a near concussion? Or the fact that we’re now both stuck here?” Scott asked, gesturing at the cave-in. Following the direction of Scott’s hand, Jimmy looked to the cave opening. Or rather, the lack of a cave opening. The creeper explosion must have hit some loose gravel in the ceiling, because the weak rock had given way to a whole mess of stone to fall and block off their only exit.

“Maybe we could dig through it?” Jimmy wondered. Scott rolled his eyes.

“With your luck, that would only make it worse. Besides I didn’t bring a pickaxe, and I don’t think you could dig that out by yourself. We’re just gonna have to turn around and hope there’s another way out,” Scott said, turning and heading deeper in the cave. Jimmy scrambled after him in protest.

“Or we could stay here and call for help! I’m sure one of my allies would be willing to help me, or maybe you’ve got a closer ally who’d be willing to dig us out-”

“No. We’re better off trying to find our own way out. Besides, I don’t have allies- having alliances means having enemies too, and I’d much rather stay above the conflict if you don’t mind,” Scott said, stubbornly continuing forward. Jimmy groaned, reluctantly following after Scott.

“Fine, have it your way. But you let me know when you change your mind,” Jimmy said, not having the energy to argue with Scott’s weird animosity towards alliances. So instead, he followed his not-really-enemy but not-really-friend either deeper into the darkness, torchlight their only savior.

Going deeper into the cave was not providing them with a way out. They did, however, come across a mineshaft- which was a small but still not great shimmering light of hope. It was possible the mineshaft could be connected to another cave that could lead them out, so braving the mineshaft it was. Besides, there could be good loot to be had- even if Scott claimed most of it since it was, technically, part of his empire. And that was fine with Jimmy, he was trying to offer what he had found to Scott earlier anway. However, there was one problem with mineshafts, and that was the tendency of cave spiders making their nests in them. And it figures with Jimmy’s rotten luck that they would come across one of those nests. And even worse, Jimmy managed to get a hand caught in one of the webs at the edge of it.

“Stop struggling, you’re just gonna alert them that we’re here!” Scott hissed, trying to cut away at the cobwebs ensnaring Jimmy’s hand.

“If you cut at it any slower, they’re just gonna see us anyway!” Jimmy whisper-shouted back, but kept his hand still as Scott asked anyhow. But of course, as if things couldn’t get any worse, one of the cave spiders had noticed them. It jumped at Jimmy, but Scott moved in front of him just in time to intercept it instead, and struggled only for a moment before he managed to kill it. Scott was hunched over for a moment, trying to catch his breath- and despite his warnings not to, Jimmy yanked his hand free from the cobwebs to rush to his side, seeing the glittering red eyes in the distance. He opened his mouth to ask if Scott was alright, but he abruptly stood upright and pushed Jimmy towards a corridor of the mineshaft that was not infested with cave spiders.

“Go, we gotta get out of here!” he cried, running and pulling Jimmy along with him. Jimmy didn’t argue, keeping pace with Scott and cutting down a few cave spiders that got too close. They ran and turned down corridor after corridor, until they were sure that the spiders had lost interest. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath, and Jimmy eyed Scott with concern. He was holding his shoulder and looked rather pale- well, paler than usual.

“Scott?” Jimmy asked, voice gentle. Scott squeezed his eyes shut, like Jimmy had spoken too loudly, and took a beat longer to respond than Jimmy would have liked.

“I’m fine,” Scott said, not very convincingly at all. Jimmy frowned, stepping forward and reaching for the hand Scott had clasped tightly over his own shoulder. Jimmy instantly knew something was wrong when Scott didn’t push him away and let him remove his hand. Scott’s hand came away slick with blood, and Jimmy hissed in sympathy at the sickly green state of the wound. Cave spider bite, right in the gap of Scott’s armor. And it seemed the venom was working pretty fast through his system. Suddenly, as if taking his hand off of his shoulder had sapped all his energy, Scott’s knees gave out and he collapsed into Jimmy. With a startled gasp, Jimmy managed to catch Scott, wrapping his free arm around his waist and trying to keep him somewhat upright. His hand still clutched Scott’s, and his hand had shifted to clutch Jimmy’s back just as tightly. His head drooped down to rest on Jimmy’s shoulder, the antlers of his circlet poking him slightly, and a cold spike of fear shot through Jimmy at how feverish Scott’s forehead felt against his neck. Scott had only just been bitten. If he was in such bad shape already… Jimmy didn’t want to think about it.

“You’re hot,” Jimmy blurted, a little horrified. Scott let out a borderline delirious chuckle.

“Took you long enough to notice,” Scott teased, voice weak with pain. Jimmy let out a startled laugh.

“Scott, quit flirting for one minute, you’re dying,” Jimmy reprimanded, a little shocked at how wobbly his own voice sounded.

“I’ll just respawn, it’s not the end of the world. Nice to know you care though,” Scott said tiredly, although Jimmy could hear the slight smile in his voice. Jimmy froze a bit at his words. Yeah… that was right, Scott would just respawn. He’d lose his stuff and his enchantment levels, but he’d wake up in bed, right as rain. So why was Jimmy so worried for a moment? Why did Scott dying in his arms suddenly feel like the end of the world? And most baffling of all, why did the thought of losing someone who was at most an acquaintance rattle him so much? Yet here he was, clinging to Scott like he would disappear forever.

“I… of course I care! You’re the one who’s pushing me away, not the other way around,” Jimmy said, deciding not to address the fact that he had somehow forgotten about respawning being a thing. Scott laughed humorlessly, and him not having any sort of witty response was extremely telling of how worse off Scott was doing. He had been leaning into Jimmy more and more throughout the weak banter, and Jimmy finally knelt down and shifted Scott to be comfortably resting in his lap, his head still leaning on his shoulder, but turned so that Jimmy could see him.

“Your face makes for a pretty last thing to see before I die,” Scott said softly, and Jimmy blinked in surprise, unsure of how to take that.

“Didn’t realize a side effect of cave spider venom was delirium,” Jimmy settled on, causing Scott to let out a pained wheeze of a laugh.

“Think the side effect is actually brutal honesty,” Scott said, sounding a little wistful. Okay, well Jimmy really didn’t know how to respond to that. Scott, dying in his arms and looking at him all soft and adoring like Jimmy was a- a lover or something. So maybe it was that gentle look in Scott’s eyes even as he was dying, or Jimmy not wanting to deal with the blood of a fellow ruler on his hands, or just not wanting to watch someone die in general that caused him to shift and reach for something in his bag he had found in their journey through the mineshaft. He held out a golden apple to Scott, who looked at it with confusion.

“Nabbed it from a chest when you weren’t looking. I know you’ll just respawn, but cave spider venom is a pretty terrible way to go,” Jimmy said, smiling softly. Scott just blinked, not moving to take the apple.

“Jimmy-”

“Shut up and take the apple, Scott,” Jimmy insisted, for once cutting Scott off instead of the other way around. Scott sighed, and with a shaking hand, he grabbed the apple and took a bite. Almost immediately, color came back to Scott’s face and the green started to recede from the shoulder wound. A few more bites, and the bleeding stopped, the wound started closing up, and Scott was no longer leaning on Jimmy so heavily. He did, however, seem perfectly content to stay in Jimmy’s arms. Jimmy couldn’t really find it in himself to detach himself from Scott either.

“Thanks,” Scott said softly, like he was afraid to say it, after he had finished the apple. Jimmy chuckled.

“I should be thanking you, you’re the one who threw yourself between me and that cave spider,” Jimmy said, immensely glad that he remembered finding the golden apple before it was too late. Otherwise Scott, who usually didn’t seem to like him, would have died because of Jimmy.

“You saved me from the creeper earlier, I was just repaying the favor. Of course now I owe you again, because you healed me,” Scott said with a mock irritated tone, grinning all the while. Jimmy unceremoniously dumped him on the cave floor for that, ignoring his startled shout of protest to instead stand up.

“Well, maybe you could repay me by finally letting me contact one of my allies to help us,” Jimmy replied with a grin of his own. Scott pouted a little, still grumpy about being forcibly moved off of Jimmy’s lap.

“That was rude, I’m still recovering! Jerk,” Scott huffed, but there was no true anger in his tone. Jimmy shook his head fondly, offering a hand to Scott. He took it, and only stumbled a little bit as he got back to his feet. Fortunately Jimmy was there to steady him, ignoring the “I-told-you-so” look Scott gave him.

“You’ll live, thanks to me. Now can I message for help so that we can get out of here?” Jimmy asked. Scott let out a dramatic sigh.

“I guess so. Give them the coordinates for the cave entrance, we can head back in that direction and meet them halfway,” Scott said. Jimmy nodded, getting out his communicator to send a message to Joel.

“Yeah, I don’t wanna stay in this mineshaft any longer than we have to,” Jimmy said as he typed. Scott hovered over his shoulder, correcting Jimmy on the coordinate numbers before he sent the message off to Joel. Luckily, Joel wasn’t busy and responded fairly quickly, saying that he was on his way.

“Ready to get out of here?” Scott asked, once Jimmy had read Joel’s message to him.

“Absolutely,” Jimmy said, pocketing his communicator and walking side by side with Scott.

They reached the cave-in before Joel had arrived, but they didn’t have to wait too long before they heard Joel calling out for them. It seemed Lizzie had come along as well, as Jimmy could hear her voice along with Joel’s. He was a little surprised to hear her, as Jimmy wasn’t officially allied with Lizzie, but he supposed it made sense. Lizzie was married to Joel, and Lizzie’s empire was connected to Jimmy’s by water.

“We’re here!” Jimmy called back.

“Oh good, you didn’t kill each other,” Joel called back, a smile in his voice. Jimmy rolled his eyes, even if Joel couldn’t see him.

“I’ll have you know I saved Scott twice in these caves,” Jimmy shot back with a grin. Scott groaned in annoyance.

“You’re gonna hold this over my head, aren’t you,” Scott grumbled.

“Only a little bit,” Jimmy replied, relieved when Scott wasn’t actually all that annoyed, due to the chuckle he got in response.

“Stand back boys, I’ve got TNT!” Lizzie exclaimed, breaking the moment of banter. Scott and Jimmy exchanged wide-eyed glances, scrambling away from the rubble.

“Uh… you do know that explosions are what got us into this mess in the first place, right?” Scott asked nervously.

“It’ll be faster than trying to dig you out,” Joel replied, before the click of a flint and steel was heard.

“Does it alarm you at all that they have TNT already?” Scott whispered.

“They’re my allies. Or at least Joel is. Not sure why Lizzie came along, actually,” Jimmy replied with a shrug. Before Scott could reply, the TNT went off, destroying the rubble and revealing Joel and Lizzie on the other side.

“When I heard Joel was off to rescue the sweet swamp boy, I had to come along!” Lizzie said with a grin, poking her head through the hole in the rubble. Jimmy’s face flushed in embarrassment at the nickname, while Scott was poorly hiding his laugh behind a cough.

“She was with me when I got your message, I figured the extra help couldn’t hurt,” Joel explained.

“Well thank you, both of you. We really appreciate it,” Jimmy said, climbing out of the hole in the rubble with Lizzie’s help.

“You’re welcome! Although it sounds like you had the rescuing Scott part handled,” she teased with a wink.

“Hey! The only reason he saved me the second time was because I got bit by a cave spider that was coming for him. So I did some saving too,” Scott protested as he followed Jimmy out. Joel looked to Scott with concern.

“Do you need any health potions? I brought some just in case,” Joel offered, starting to dig through his pack.

“Nah, Jimmy gave me a golden apple that he stole from me,” Scott said, nudging Jimmy playfully. Jimmy laughed, pushing at him back.

“I didn’t steal it, I just took it from a minecart chest before you noticed it,” Jimmy retorted.

“A minecart chest that was in my empire,” Scott shot back with a grin. Jimmy was going to snap back, but Lizzie came to stand in between them.

“How about we leave before any more near death situations happen,” she suggested. Both Jimmy and Scott smiled sheepishly, before following Lizzie and Joel out of the cave.

The four of them had made it back to Scott’s home, with plenty of daylight to spare for the long journey Jimmy, Lizzie, and Joel had ahead of them to their own empires. Jimmy had told Joel and Lizzie to go on, saying that he would catch up with them in a bit. He wanted to talk to Scott first. About what, he wasn’t entirely certain, but he felt like he couldn’t just up and leave right away without saying something, not after everything that had happened. But for the moment, the two of them were stood in the entryway of Scott’s house a little awkwardly. Scott’s home was bigger than the last time Jimmy had seen it, but part of him was touched to see that he still had the pufferfish- rather the pufferish- mounted above his door. Jimmy wasn’t exactly sure why he had given Scott a misspelled token of peace, but it had just felt… right.

“So… have you changed your mind on alliances at all?” Jimmy asked, settling on teasing Scott a bit instead of tackling any sort of emotional conversation right away. Scott let out a mildly bitter laugh.

“I… will admit that there are advantages to having alliances. And you, Lizzie, and Joel seem alright. I just… well, if I’m being totally honest, I’m not really opposed to alliances… it’s just- it’s like there’s this part of me, maybe something from a past life, that knows that getting tangled up in alliances can lead to war and loss,” Scott said, heartbreak lacing his words. Jimmy frowned in sympathy. He didn’t know what Scott had been through before starting an empire, but it sounded like it was nothing fun. He put a comforting hand on Scott’s shoulder- and was instantly greeted with a flurry of images both familiar and unfamiliar. A flower forest. Homes carved into hills. Decaying skin and burnt banners. Flowers nestled in teal hair. Being helpless to watch as a loved one- a husband?- was shot down. Darkness, then light again. Then a feeling of home, and a joyful reunion.

Jimmy jerked back from Scott like had been burned. The real world filtered back into view with Scott wide-eyed and surprised as Jimmy was. What- what was that? They felt like memories, or maybe a dream. And the person with teal hair, the husband?! That was undeniably Scott, just far less regal and with rounded ears, not pointed ones. Jimmy wasn’t sure what that was, but suddenly the fear of losing Scott in the mineshaft made a startling amount of sense.

“Did you… see that?” Jimmy asked. Maybe he was hallucinating, did he get bit by a cave spider too? Maybe this was all some weird fever dream.

“I- yeah. I was kind of kidding about the past life thing… but was that even us? Or just… I dunno, a version of us from an alternate reality?” Scott pondered, looking like his brain was going a mile a minute. Jimmy found himself looking at the pufferish of peace. Was that something significant in that… other life? Or was that truly something of his own volition?

“Must be some sort of alternate reality, I think we were married,” Jimmy said with a laugh. Scott laughed as well, shaking his head.

“Yeah, can you imagine? Why would I marry some swamp boy?” Scott teased.

“And why would I marry a stuffy elf ruler?” Jimmy teased right back. The two of them laughed, but there was regret and maybe a smidge of longing tinged in both of their voices.

“I think I could at least stand being allied with some swamp boy,” Scott said softly, after a moment of silence. Jimmy smiled.

“Allies it is then,” Jimmy said, holding out his hand. Scott gingerly took it, and when there weren't any flashes of alternate or past lives, he shook it firmly.

“Allies,” Scott said, squeezing Jimmy’s hand before letting go. Jimmy bid him goodbye, exiting his home to meet up with Lizzie and Joel. And maybe, just maybe, Jimmy allowed himself to treasure the little flutter his heart made when Scott had squeezed his hand. He was sure his past- or alternate, who knows- self would appreciate it.

MCYT Tag List (ask to be added/removed!): @corazon10000 @damiensaidno @franticfandomfanatic @hetapeep41 @space-ace123

#empires smp #scott smajor #jimmy solidarity #smallishbeans #ldshadowlady #mcyt #angst #hurt/comfort #whump #fluff #sage writes

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witcher-and-his-bard-archive · 4 years

Text

Unsatisfied

doing this thing | day 5 - orgasm denial

I really took liberties with this one and went very off topic (yes I realize this is my own list) bc I was not feeling it. This is actually more like one that I cut from the list (oops!)

Jaskier's still restless as he makes his way back to their room at the inn. By now, Geralt will be asleep and for once, he's glad for it. The last thing he needs is for Geralt to see him like this and ask why. The pair of them have shared much on their journeys together, but this is not something Jaskier is particularly eager to share.

He slips into the room, stepping as carefully as he can and shutting the door quietly behind him. There's a sound from across the room and he stops in his tracks, waiting to see if Gerlt will wake before continuing. He shuffles across the floor toward the only bed and frowns at Geralt's form, taking up the majority of the space. There's nothing for it; he'll simply have to sleep on the floor tonight because he certainly can't sleep with Geralt when he's in this state.

At least if he's on his own, he can deal with his little problem without too much trouble and he won't have to suffer through the night like this. He manages to cross the room in the dark without stumbling or knocking into anything and he sits at the end of the bed, laying out his bedroom. On the bed above him, Geralt shifts and Jaskier freezes again, one hand shoved deep in his pack, searching.

He hears a grunt then the bed creaks and Jaskier shuts his eyes. He knows Geralt is awake now, knows he's looking for him but it doesn't matter if he sees him or not - he'll hear him soon enough, or smell him if he's very unlucky.

"Jaskier?"

Fuck. Or that.

"Go back to sleep Geralt, I didn't mean to wake you."

"What are you doing down there, aren't you coming to bed?"

"Er, no. I don't think so."

Geralt growls at him, low, impatient. "Why not?"

"I, er- I think it would be best if I don't."

"Jaskier," Geralt hisses through the dark. "I won't put up with you bitching all day tomorrow because you didn't sleep well because you slept on the floor."

Well. That's a lot of words at once for Geralt. Jaskier wants to climb into bed with him, would willingly join him any other night but tonight- Although he also doesn't want to be left behind in the morning. He's stuck, it seems, between a rock and a hard place. There's an irony there that he doesn't appreciate.

Reluctantly, Jaskier releases the bottle in his hand and rises to his feet. He doesn't bother to remove his clothes before climbing up over the foot of the bed and pressing himself against the wall. He'll appease Geralt for the time being and tomorrow, he'll just have to find time to slip away and take care of things without Geralt finding out. It should be easy enough, he's done it dozens of times before.

But, as always, Geralt can't let anything be easy for him.

"You're not getting changed?"

"No, I don't think so."

Geralt just grunts in response and Jaskier thinks he's finally free of scrutiny. He turns toward the wall and curls around himself, forcing down the feelings still plaguing him. It's fine; Geralt keeps his distance and Jaskier doesn't have to look at him (because that certainly won't help calm him), but he still can't sleep.

He shifts, rolling onto his stomach in the hopes that it will make it easier to sleep, but it doesn't. So he rolls onto his side. Also no good. But the next time he moves, he feels a hand on his hip and rolls his head back to find Geralt much closer than he was a moment ago.

"What's wrong?" he asks and Jaskier just shrugs.

"Can't sleep."

"Cold?" he asks and when Jaskier doesn' answer, he just shifts closer, wrapping an arm around his waist. Which is... sweet, honestly. And so out of character for Geralt that Jaskier can't bring himself to tell him no. He mumbles a soft thanks and presses his shoulders back as if to prove his thankfulness.

But Geralt's hand slips under the hem of his shirt - accidentally, he's sure - and his thumb brushing lightly against his skin. It's soft, much softer than he would expect from his companion and if he didn't know better, he'd say Geralt was fucking with him. But he does know Geralt better than that and he's already been warned about their early morning, so he's sure Geralt wouldn't intentionally keep him up.

So Jaskier withstands this assault that would regularly be more than welcome. Geralt's hand moves to his thigh and Jaskier has to bite down on his bottom lip to keep from moaning. Geralt is just tired, that's all it is, because sometimes when he's tired and feels safe, he lets his defences down. That's all. And Jaskier's body is just having a very unfortunate reaction to Geralt's trust. Hot breath dusts against the back of his neck and Jaskier shudders against him, his traitorous cock twitching where it's pressed against his trousers. The only thing he has to be thankful for now is that he kept his clothes on before climbing into bed.

Geralt slides closer, pressing his nose into Jaskier's neck and Jaskier can't take anymore or he's going to lose his fucking mind. He's already keyed up beyond words and of course Geralt chooses tonight to become all touchy-feely at bedtime.

He hauls himself forward, pulling from Geralt's embrace and pulls himself into an upright position. He's hunched over, trying to steady his breathing when Geralt stirs next to him.

"I'm sorry, I just can't-"

"What's wrong?" Geralt asks, his voice fuzzy with sleep.

"I just have to go and take care of something," he mumbles. He's already moving, halfway across Geralt when strong hands come up to his thighs, pulling him down so he's straddling Geralt's hips. And the position doesn't go unnoticed. Jaskier's cock twitches immediately and he's sure Geralt must be able to feel how hard he is, though he remains placid as always.

"What's going on Jaskier? Why won't you just lie down and sleep?" Jaskier shifts to pull away but Geralt holds him down. Jaskier looks up and Geralt’s eyes meet his for a moment. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I-" he starts, immediately going for the quickest and most practical lie he can think up, but he meets Geralt's eyes again and his resolve drains at the sincerity there. Of course, now is the time Geralt decides to worry about him. "I had a rather unsatisfying night," he mumbles, hoping it will be enough. Geralt just looks at him expectantly and Jaskier sighs. "Do you mind if I-" he tips his head to the side and Geralt nods, releasing him.

Jaskier slides off of him, lying back on his side and tucking his knees up to keep Geralt from seeing just how badly he's affected.

"After my performance tonight a lovely lad invited me back to his room-" Geralt lifts an eyebrow at him impatiently but Jaskier just waves him off and continues. "Have you ever been with someone who likes to push your limits?"

"Get to the point, Jaskier, I've had enough of your exploits for a lifetime."

"Well, he just- we were-" Jaskier sighs and relents. "He was bringing me to the edge over and over without-" he glances up and finds Geralt watching him expectantly which considering the topic of conversation is a little overwhelming."Anyway he got me really worked up and then his brother came home and he kicked me out! Can you believe it?"

"Why didn't you just take care of it?" Geralt mumbles and his eyes are shut again.

"It wasn't that bad when I got back here, but then you just, y'know-" he doesn't dare risk calling it cuddling lest Geralt shy away from it and never try it again, but he doesn't know what to call it.

"Hmm."

"Thank you for your sympathy," Jaskier scoffs, turning back onto his other side to scowl at the wall.

"If you need to take care of things, I'm not going to stop you."

"What, right here? With you lying next to me? I don't think so."

"I've heard you dozens of other times, I don't see why it should matter." Jaskier splutters at the confession, but Geralt remains totally calm. "Jaskier, neither of us are going to sleep until you come, so just get on with it."

There's something about Geralt telling him to come that runs right through him and his cock gives a twitch of enthusiasm. Reluctantly Jaskier undoes his trousers and slips a hand inside. Having an audience shouldn't affect him the way it does; usually, he enjoys being watched, knowing that someone else is getting off watching him but Geralt is- well it just feels wrong. It shouldn't feel like he's taking advantage, but it does. Geralt doesn't know how he feels about him, doesn't know the things he thinks about him and touching himself while Geralt is right there just feels like an intrusion or something.

Jaskier is under no delusions, he knows exactly how he feels about Geralt and he knows that he shouldn't think about him the way that he does, but sometimes it's hard not to.

"I can't," he mumbles. It feels good to have a hand wrapped around him, but it's not worth the shame that creeps into his chest. He keeps thinking about Geralt hearing him, Geralt hearing him when he was thinking about him. "I can't do it with you watching."

"Why not?"

"I just... it's not right, Geralt, listening in on someone when they don't know."

"I didn't intend to listen. I was just listening to make sure you were alright."

"Oh."

"But you're so very loud."

"So why didn't you stop?"

"You're also very... captivating."

All of a sudden the air feels very dense and Jaskier struggles to catch his breath. "Geralt," he breathes, "are you telling me you liked listening to me jerk off?"

"I didn't dislike it."

"Oh. Is that why you- tonight?"

"No," Geralt says firmly. "We have to get an early start, we both need to get some sleep."

"Ah. Right. Maybe if you... helped? If you like listening you could just... talk to me? Tell me about those times?"

Geralt hesitates for a moment and then, "what should I say?"

Ah. Okay, so they're really doing this. "Tell me about the first time." Jaskier's heart hammers against his chest and he's not even sure he's breathing.

"I was hunting a fiend and you insisted on going off," Geralt huffs what sounds like a laugh and Jaskier relaxes a little. "I knew it was close so I didn't want you out of my sight but you were insistent, so I listened after you. I didn't want you getting hurt."

"When did you realize?"

"I'd smelled it on you before you left, so it didn't take much to piece together what you were doing."

Jaskier keeps his back turned as he snakes a hand down his stomach, slipping under the waist of his trousers. He shuts his eyes, focusing on the low rumble of Geralt's voice.

"What made you realize?"

"I heard swear under your breath and I heard you groan as you touched yourself. Something had you aroused already."

"Mm," Jaskier confirms, "I remember. What did you think?"

"Nothing, at first. I know I take you away from town more often than you're used to. I knew it was just something you needed to do."

"Geralt," he groans, "could you try and be just a tiny bit sexy?"

There's a huff of a laugh and then Geralt's breath against the back of his neck. Jaskier doesn't know when he moved closer, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

"I found myself waiting for the next time. You always stink of lust so I was never sure when it would be. Then one night we were camped by the river and you said you were going to wash your clothes. I knew you weren't."

"You listened," Jaskier guesses, shutting his eyes. His cock twitches against his palm and he squeezes a little tighter. He doesn't realize he's holding his breath until Geralt breathes against him.

"I listened. I liked the way you sounded. Breathless, wanting. I tried to picture what you'd look like."

"Oh," Jaskier gasps. His hips jerk forward and he stifles a groan into his pillow. "Did you-" he huffs, "did you like it?" He knows he shouldn't be so brazen, but his cock aches for more and Jaskier is brave and stupid at the best of times.

"Yes." Fuck. Jaskier groans and throws his head back, hitting Geralt's chest with a soft thud. He hadn't realized he was that close.

"Please," he whispers and he's not sure what he's asking for but then Geralt's palm slides around his forearm, wrapping gently around him before sliding down to his wrist. He doesn't linger long, but just as Jaskier thinks he's about to pull away, he slips his fingers between Jaskier's wrapping around his cock.

"Geralt."

"I thought about this," he breathes, pressing his nose against the base of his skull, "while I listened to you. Imagined it was me touching you, pulling those sounds from you."

"Should've come," Jaskier hums. Gera;t shifts against him, lips brushing against the shell of his ear and Jaskier can feel his breath, hot and damp against his skin.

"I did."

"Fuck, Geralt. Tell me. Please."

Geralt takes his hand, moves a little quicker against him and Jaskier struggles to focus on anything but the pressure around his cock, the unfamiliar fingers coiled around him.

"It gets me hard every time. I hear every word you say, I've heard you come whispering my name and I couldn't tune it out. I didn't want to. So when you'd slip away, I'd settle in."

"Mm, Geralt, please-" Jaskier's hips jerk forward and Geralt breathes against the side of his neck, dipping in to press a kiss under his ear. "Tell me."

"I'd bring myself off to the sound of you touching yourself. Still do, sometimes."

And oh, if that isn't sexy as hell. Jaskier squeezes his eyes shut, shifts back against Geralt and he can feel his cock pressing against him. Geralt is hard and huge, pressed against his ass and when he shifts his hip, Jaskier lets out a low moan.

"Did you think about touching me?" he asks, "like this?"

"And other ways."

"Fuck, Geralt, show me."

The hand around his releases and for a split second, Jaskier thinks he's pushed too far. He doesn't always think before he speaks and with Geralt's hand wrapped around his cock, he can hardly be expected to think clearly. Behind him, Geralt shuffles and Jaskier's hips twitch.

After a moment, Geralt's hands return to his body curling around the hem of his shirt and tugging it up. Jaskier assists, squirming out of it; apparently, Geralt isn't done with him, after all. His trousers come next, shoved down toward the bottom of the bed and discarded, then Jaskier finds himself rolled onto his other side and Geralt wraps an arm around him, pulling him close. And Geralt is naked too, pressed right up against him.

Jaskier stifles a groan in his neck, pressing an experimental kiss against Geralt's skin. It earns him a soft hum in response and he pushes closer, breath stuttering as Geralt's cock slides against his own.

"Is this what you thought about?" he asks, "fucking me?"

"Mm," Geralt tips his head up, pressing his lips against Jaskier's and Jaskier groans against him, wrapping his arms around his neck.

Geralt deepens the kiss, sliding a hand down his back and cupping his ass to guide the roll of his hips. He moans softly against him and Jaskier commits the sound to memory, delighting in the feeling of it against his lips. He hooks a knee over Geralt's hip, pulling himself forward and the gentle kiss quickly devolves into quick, jolting movements and panted groans. Pleasure builds inside him and Jaskier knows this can't last forever but fuck if he doesn't want it to.

"I want you," he mumbles, mouthing at Geralt's jaw, "all the time. Think about you- off in the forest, down by the river. Tonight, in another man's bed I was still thinking about you."

"Next time stay," Geralt breathes. He slips a hand around them both, stroking them both as well as he can with the uneven thrust of their hips. "I won't leave you wanting."

"Never doubted you for a second." Jaskier's breath catches as Geralt's thumb slips up over the head of his cock and he kisses him again, nipping at his bottom lip.

"Come for me, Jaskier." The words are whispered against his ear and Jaskier can feel his entire body melt into him, all resistance gone as though there was any to begin with. He lets Geralt tug him forward, not an inch of space between them and Jaskier rocks against him, hips stuttering as Geralt's hand splays over his lower back, keeping him near.

He lets out a sharp moan, jerking forward sharply and as Geralt's hand squeezes around him, he comes. Geralt catches his lips in a deep kiss, rolling him onto his back and fitting himself against him.

Jaskier is barely aware beyond the blood rushing in his ears, but he can feel Geralt moving against him, hear the soft groans against his lips and he drowns in it. His whole body is alight and when Geralt rocks against him it's almost too sensitive. He wraps his arms around him, letting his fingers explore the planes of his back now that he's not too distracted to enjoy it. Geralt shudders apart in his arms, pressing his nose into Jaskier's neck as he comes and then he's still against him, but for his lips pressing against Jaskier's skin, slow and lazy.

Jaskier slumps, exhausted, but he's not quite ready to let Geralt go. He tries once, to lifts himself from Jaskier's chest, but Jaskier is feeling especially affectionate, post-orgasm and just slips one hand up into Geralt's hair, massaging his head softly.

"Don't you want to get cleaned up?"

"Mm," Jaskier hums, "I think we should sleep."

"I'll come back," Geralt promises, pressing up from the mattress again. Jaskier pouts but really he should have known Geralt would know him so well. He lets him go and Geralt offers a soft smile before slipping from the bed.

"Don't be long," Jaskier mutters, already tugging his pillow back under his head, "don’t forget, we have to leave early."

#geraskier #smut #rex writes #geralt x jaskier #jaskier x geralt #october prompts 2k20

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weirdthinkingdragon · 4 years

Text

Permanent Guest

Animal shapeshifter au. Warnings of blood, injuries, animal harm, animal death, drugging. A slow start.

I’m going to be honest, I don’t even really know what this story is.

The back of my house has a rather large forest area. There’s no other house near mine for a decent ways. Walking at dusk is the best with the sun coming through the trees. My only annoyance is the hunters that like to be around my home.

I’ve tried getting them to stay away, but there’s nothing that could be done since they’re right outside my borders, so it’s fully legal. The far-off gunshots get unsettling sometimes and even spook my cat. I’ve gotten a few deep scratches from them being startled at the sound.

I’m going through my familiar path again. I’ve done this same path so many times it would be possible to walk with my eyes closed. Obviously, that would be a stupid idea though with all the wild animals around.

Far off in the distance, I heard frequent shuffling, like something was desperately trying to get away from something else but can’t. My mind immediately went to the idea that it could be a poor animal caught in some type of trap by the hunters. Walking up towards the noise, the familiar sight of a fox was seen. It has its paw stuck in something. As I got closer, it didn’t take long for the fox to notice my presence. They backed away and ducked down with their ears back. What I saw made me want to hurt those damn hunters. It was a steel-jaw trap. Its paw was bleeding pretty badly. They have been struggling for a while already. I was in a state of panic about what to do. I could just open the trap, but judging by the injury, they’re going to need some help since it’s a deep wound. They’ll most likely run if I just open it though.

That’s just the chance that will have to be taken. I walk over and it drops down as far as it could to the ground. I instinctively put my hands up and get really close. The trap and the fox were within arm’s reach if I bent down. “It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you. I want to help before someone that will hurt you does come,” At this point I’m wondering why I’m trying to talk to it. There’s no way it can understand me. I’ve never seen such a blond-colored fox either before. That’s rather odd. The fox seems to perk up a little bit, but still cautious. “Now, I’m going to open the trap, but please don’t run.”

I push the springs on the side of the trap to make it open. The fox quickly pulls its paw out and takes a few steps back without using the injured front paw. They locked eyes with me, but it wasn’t kept long as I looked back at the trap. “Why are they using an illegal item? These things are so inhumane…” I mumble. A lightbulb goes off in my head. This can possibly be used to make them stop hunting around my home!

Another sudden thought popped into my head though. If I take the trap, they can possibly frame me for having them and trying to get the hunters to stay away from my home. Am I thinking too far into it? Probably. Should I take my chances? Better not. One of the fox’s ears flicked backwards as they looked further from the way I came from. It immediately went towards that direction, but looked back towards me, almost like it wants me to follow. Is that really a smart decision? I stood there, unsure whether to follow or just go back home. It kept waiting for me to come with.

“My house is the other way, come with me and I’ll try to patch you up.” It didn’t come closer. “What could possibly be taking your attention that way?” I question, which is once again ridiculous since it can’t answer. I heave a sigh and start to follow.

Not too far ahead was another trap, but there was something else stuck in it. A… cat?... To be fair, the cat is really big, even for a Maine Coon. But what in the world is a cat doing so far in the woods?

The fox went right up to the cat, making the cat look at it, then at me. The cat has a glare that was far from just unsettling. Unlike the fox, both of its front paws were stuck in the trap. I did the same thing with the trap from before. It immediately tried to take off, but fell. I pick it up and start walking towards my house. He quickly tried to be let free by repeatedly biting and scratching my arms, and even trying to go for my face. It was a struggle, and him being such a large cat really doesn’t help. He kept hissing, growling, clawing, writhing, biting, everything to get me to drop him. I was getting multiple wounds from his struggles.

“Can you stop struggling!? I’m trying to help, damn it! You’re lucky I’m just as stubborn to not leave you out here to die.” I hissed. Almost like he could understand, he quickly lowers his struggles. Looking to my right side, the fox was still following closely, keeping their injured paw from touching the ground.

My arms started getting tired when we finally reached my home. I enter and place the still bleeding cat on the toilet seat in my bathroom. I grab a towel and get it wet with warm water. He still wouldn’t stop locking his glare on me as I wipe his arms. The fox let out a little bark at the cat, making him stop glaring.

“So that’s why you made me follow? You were worried about your friend?” I smack my forehead. “Why do I keep talking like this? They obviously can’t understand me,” I get an old shirt and cut it to wrap around the wounds. “Hopefully that’s not too tight.” I then sit on the floor in front of the fox. He’s a lot more friendly and open to me than the cat is, and even put his paw forward for me. It didn’t take long to clean him with another clean rag and wrap his wound as well. Luckily, I was able to get to them before permanent damage was done. Well, it might still scar though. I then pour peroxide on my cuts and bandage the few that were deeper than the others.

I bring them to my couch in the living room. They keep staring at me as the silence stays. After a minute, I let out a frustrated groan. “Ugh, what now? I could get in so much trouble keeping a wild fox,” I look at the cat. “You’d be fine, but it’s easy to tell you don’t want to be near me. How did you even get here anyways? The only people around are hunters, and they’ve shot my cats before, so you definitely don’t belong to them,” they just keep looking at me. I sigh in frustration again. “You two will just have to stay inside for a few days. After that, you’re both on your own. Judging that you’re close, at least you’ll be together.”

Looking out my window, the sun is down now. “I’ll give two days max until a hunter will be pounding on my door.” I decided to make dinner for myself and my “guests”. They oddly preferred the meat cooked. My orange tabby, Nacho, didn’t care at all and ate both whenever I gave it to them.

After that, I sat on the couch with the now three animals. Nacho in my lap, and the other two cuddling up in a way that’s adorable. They’re incredibly well-behaved for wild animals. They have to belong to someone or something. I rub one of my wrapped cuts from the cat while watching the comedy show that’s on. It’s going to be sore for a while. Fur suddenly rubs against the wrapped wound. It’s a rather deep one the cat got onto my forearm. I look over to see the black cat looking at me, almost in an apologetic way. I gently rub his head for a second. Surprisingly, he lets me. “It’s alright. You were in a panic. Just… try not to do it again, alright?” I asked in a joking manner.

I went to bed not long after. In the morning, the sun went right onto my face. I get up to check on the two sooner than later. What I saw in the living room made me freeze and nearly scream. My hands quickly cover my mouth before a noise comes out and wakes them. Who exactly? The two naked men on my couch. Waking them wouldn’t go well for anyone, especially startling them awake. There was no sight of the fox and cat. The cloth I used on their wounds are on the floor next to the men. What really caught my attention looking at the two men was the wounds on their arms in similar places the cat and fox did.

My mind is flabbergasted as it made the connection the only way this could be is if these two ARE the fox and cat, but that couldn’t be possible! The odd ears on their heads and tails that match the animals as well say otherwise.

I have to force myself to not to look at their lower places. Luckily, it’s easier with the blond laying on the black-haired one. The blond wakes up as I start to walk backwards out of the room. He turns and we lock eyes, both freezing in our spots.

The awkward silence between our stares was deafening. “You two have some explaining to do when he wakes.” I whisper.

“No need to wait.” Replied the black-haired male as his eyes opened to look at me. The blond goes to sit up.

“Waitwaitwaitwait! Don’t get up! I- I need to get you guys towels or something!” They look at me confused. Don’t tell me they’re used to being naked... I get towels and come back to them sitting up straight on the couch. I toss the towels at them with the feeling of heat rapidly growing on my face. They at least did cover their laps with the towels.

“So, first question, where are you two from?”

“We live just a few miles away actually! As to what we were doing around here? We were testin’ our animal forms!”

I nodded. “That explains why you’re around here, but why didn’t you guys transform back to unlatch the traps yourselves?”

“We can’t change to our other form when we’re under emotional distress. It’s the same way we’re not as fully logical either. Our animal form has more of our instincts that control than our regular mind.” The blond elbows the other.

He glares at the blond before looking back at me. “Sorry again for injuring you.”

I shrug. “Eh, once again, it wasn’t really your fault. Anyways, what will you guys do now?” I ask.

“After you went to bed last night, we decided we’ll stay a few days if you’re beautiful self is fine with it. We were actually going to show ya our human side today, but uh… guess we must have changed back in our sleep!” he lets out a little laugh.

“What would staying at my home do? I’m sure I could just drive you back to your home or something.”

“We want to repay ya for saving our behinds from being killed!”

“He wants to. Unfortunately for the both of us, it’s impossible to change his mind.” He crosses his arms as he looks at the blond.

“C’mon, Sho! Ya don’t have to be such a downer about it!”

Sho?... Is that his name? “Oh! And could I get your guys’ names?”

“Of course! Mine is Hizashi! His name is Shouta! What’s yours, our beautiful savior!?”

I look at him weirdly. “Savior? You can quit with that now, I get it. My name is Y/N.”

Hizashi shakes his head with a big smile. “Nope, not gonna stop! And what a great name for such a beautiful person!”

“I’d like to get back to our home sooner than later. Zashi, how about we share our numbers and have them drive us home for now?” Hizashi’s reply was a somehow bigger smile and frantic nod. Before we could do anything else, there was an aggressive pounding on my door. I already have a good idea to whom it might be, and I start to worry. Hizashi looks at me with worry himself.

“Wrap the towels around yourselves and try to hide your animal details,” I walk over to the door to open it. In the corner of my eye the two of them try to wrap the towel around them, but Hizashi has trouble with his extra large and fluffy tail. Shouta was able to manage hiding it within the towel. Looking back at the door, it was the most problematic hunter around my home. Of COURSE it would be him. Oh why fate did it have to be his traps!?

He’s definitely not happy either. Right after opening the door, he forces his way into my house. This isn’t the first time he’s done this. I quickly go over and sit next to Hizashi, almost accidentally sitting on his tail in the process. His ears are still up, but it almost looks like they’re ears on a headband, so hopefully Dabi doesn’t notice. Shouta’s ears pretty much just look like he has an odd hair style. He looks at the two guys with me, then back at me with a hint of disgust, but mostly anger and annoyance.

“I don’t appreciate you setting the damn animals in my traps free. Those fuckers have been coming around my home and killing my chickens.” Oh, gee! That’s SO bad. Seriously, I feel bad for the chickens, but I don’t feel a smidge bad for the man, especially now after he stooped to such a low to such inhumane traps.

“And you’re using illegal traps because?...” I pressure him for answers.

“Because I don’t care, and I want the pests to suffer.” I could feel Hizashi’s tail bristle with anger behind me. I was pretty angry with him myself. “You’re lucky I don’t call security about your illegal act.”

“Does it look like I care? They won’t believe you anyways. Same goes for your “friends”. They know you don’t like me around your property, and it would be easy to pin the blame on you for owning them.”

“You’re a horrible person! Your way of hunting is one I can never dig!” Hizashi pretty much growls.

“Did I ever ask for your opinion? I don’t think I did, nor do I care,” He looks at me with a harsh glare. “Don’t think of messing with my traps again,” He turns around and goes to leave. “Also, you better watch your back. You’ve messed with the wrong hunter.” He finishes and leaves.

The three of us look at each other.

“O...kay… that just happened.”

“We’re staying for a few days,” Shouta suddenly proclaims. Hizashi and I look at him incredulously. His brows furrow. “That man doesn’t seem like he was kidding. It might be better for you to not be alone with him around.”

He has a point, but Dabi hasn’t caused anything to harm me before. Then again, I haven’t touched his traps before. I don’t really want to keep two strange men- er- whatever they are, in my place for long.

“I’ll be fine. His threat was most likely empty. He can’t do anything drastic anyways.”

“I don’t know, he seemed pretty serious.” Hizashi was with Shouta on this, I can tell.

“If you’re so worried about it, I’ll get both your numbers and call if something happens.” They look at each other for a minute, then back to me.

“How about this, we stay for just a day, then you drop us off at our home, and you spend the night a few days after, just to make sure?”

I wasn’t too keen on going to their house from barely knowing them. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t really feel comfortable going to a stranger’s- two strangers’ house, you know?”

Hizashi nods in understanding. “Hmm... Oh! How about you come over for dinner in a week or something then? THAT could be our thanks for saving us?”

That doesn’t really do anything if they’re still going to stay for a day... Screw it. “That will work I guess,” Hizashi gets a big smile on his face again and lunges towards me in a hug.

His towel fell in the process of him standing up. A naked man is hugging me. Back up dude! This is beyond weird. “But could we go to your place to get clothes or something? I’m rather uncomfortable with you guys naked in my house.” Hizashi stops hugging me to look down. “Oops!” He grabs the towel. There’s a light tinge of red that spread across his face. “Sorry about that!” Sorry doesn’t excuse the sheer awkwardness I’m feeling now.

“That seems doable if it makes you that uncomfortable.” Shouta replies.

“Come on then.” I say, and go to grab my keys. Hizashi sits up front with me while Shouta sits in the center in the back. It didn’t take long to get to their house, which was a rather massive log cabin. “How did you guys manage to get such a house!? More importantly, how did I not know this was so close to mine!?”

Hizashi laughs as we get up to the entrance of it. “Impressed?”

“Honestly? Yeah.”

“Well, it just so happens to be easy with owning two flourishing businesses with the help of a few great friends!”

I blink owlishly at them. “How in the world are you smart enough for businesses but get stuck in-”

“Let’s not talk about that. We’re still pretty new to the countryside, ya dig? I’m much more of a city kitty, but Sho wanted to try the country. We stay together so I decided it wouldn’t hurt to try! Let me tell ya though, these bugs here are a nightmare!”

Shouta crouches down and grabs a key that was under a cat statue. The cat was sitting straight with its tail curled around its front paws, and was a light grayish color. The fur of it was long, wavy, and beautifully intricate. Definitely a better spot than many other home’s hidden key spots since there are a ton of other animal statues in the yard, and it's not the closest to the door.

He unlocked the door and the three of us entered. Their house is really tidy, and rather plain. Not many pictures in the living room. The floor is a light gray carpet and it has black furniture. A large corner couch with a loveseat next to it a bit farther up, closer to the flat screen. It didn’t take long for the two to come back fully clothed.

“So, what should we do?” I ask.

“You could show us that area you found us. The area is rather nice.” Shouta replies. I’m a bit perplexed at their decision. “You sure? You both could have died.” I reminded them.

“Oh, trust us, we’re definitely NEVER being in animal form around here again.” Hizashi informs.

We walked my path. There were no traps this time. I got to learn a lot about the two of them. They’re not so bad. “When do you guys need to be back for your companies? Shouldn’t you both be in touch in case something happens?” I question.

“This is our vacation time! Just to be on the safe side though we told them to call if it’s an extreme emergency, like if the building went on fire.” I nodded.

We get back to my place, and I pet my cat while sitting on the couch. Shouta looks in wonder. “Is something wrong?” I ask him.

“He’s wondering what you’re doing to your cat. You did the same thing to him, and he liked it.” Shouta glares at Hizashi for calling him out.

“Do you mean to pet? You’ve never done or seen something be pet?” I question.

“Pet? That’s what it’s called? But that’s what the animals are called, aren’t they?.” Once again, I'm flabbergasted by what they do know and what they don’t know.

“How do you guys not know this?” I question. Hizashi shrugs. “Eh, with our “odd traits” as you guys call them, it got pretty hard to stay in school and hold down a job. We didn’t really have internet for a while, so we couldn’t look this up. Some people dipped from our looks as soon as they came for an interview, but others stayed and work pretty well!”

“Well, I’m glad you guys are doing great on your own!”

Hizashi nods in agreement.

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

The week went by rather quickly after that night. They got rather touchy fast. I tend to think it might be their animal side so I don’t question it. Dabi hasn’t done anything. There haven’t even been any new traps. At least from what I could see. Thinking about it, that does seem a little suspicious though.

I was walking on my path again and got a call from Hizashi. It’s still surprising how well reception is around here. “What’s up you two?”

“Yo, Y/N! We’re already missin’ ya greatly! We were wondering if you could come over for dinner and movies tonight!” Already? It’s only been a few days since we last saw each other. I might as well get it over with now. I’m kind of torn whether to just leave them alone after or keep hanging out with them.

I stop walking, and go to reply. “That sounds g-”

“Chink” Something slams onto my leg, making me stop mid-sentence and hiss out in pain. Immediately Hizashi was worried. “Y/N!? What was that sound!? Are you okay!?”

It was one of those damn traps. So much for not seeing any. I look around my leg and check to make sure nothing is too damaged. I know to stay calm and not move my leg to prevent punctures. It’s not numb either, but it’s going to leave one hell of a bruise. “Yeah, just got caught in a trap.” I reply, and start to try opening it. This one is in much worse shape than the others were with Hizashi and Shouta. Mostly with the rust around it. I’m glad it got me instead of them, or they would have had to of been brought to the vet. That wouldn’t have gone well.

“WHAT!!?” He shrieks once what I said processed through his mind, catching the attention of Shouta when he asks something incoherent in the background. “Shit… Hate to bother you guys, but do you have a crowbar or something similar by chance? This one is rather rusted and I can’t get it open. It didn’t puncture thankfully though, so no worries there.”

There was really rapid shuffling over the phone. “C’mon Sho, we gotta save our babe! We’ll be right there!” Our... Babe...? He hung up.

It would be stupid to keep moving my leg. The only thing that could be done is stand still and wait. To pass the time, I look around trying to find if there might be another one. I think I can see one a ways to the left of me.

The wait hardly took any time at all with two familiar men barreling from the bushes in front of me, almost crashing into me in the process. “Calm down you two! It’s not that serious!” They’re breathing heavily as they look at me. Shouta’s holding the crowbar tight enough for his hands to shake. I grab Hizashi’s shoulders and make him look at me again. He calms down incredibly quickly. It might help since he notices I’m not bleeding. The same thing for Shouta. I lean down and forcefully push down the springs again. “Put it between the jaws by my leg and pry it open.”

Shouta does, and it cries in protest to be opened. He’s able to open it just enough for me to slide my foot out. They both wrap an arm around my back like my leg was broken and I needed help standing. It wasn’t nearly that bad. “You guys are seriously overreacting.” I comment. They keep looking at my leg. “It’s just to be on the safe side. Let us help you now.” Shouta says.

“I can’t believe he hurt you.” Hizashi says angrily. I try to dissuade them from doing anything drastic. “No, it’s my fault for not being more cautious.”

“Don’t be trying to justify his actions. He WILL face consequences for this.” Shouta growls. Hizashi gets happy suddenly. “Hey! We can walk you to our place for the night! We already just put the food in the oven!” That slightly seems to calm Shouta as he nods in confirmation.

I laugh at his optimism. “Sure sounds like a plan! What movies are you guys thinking?” I ask as we walk. Taking one step forward with the leg that was caught, I’m actually thankful they’re helping me since the bruising pain nearly made me fall. They hold me slightly tighter.

“What’s your favorite movie? Hopefully we have it.” Hizashi says. I look at him with a smirk. “What, trying to impress me or something?”

He replies with a smirk back. “That’s for you to decide~” I roll my eyes at him. Shouta grew a small smile as I purposefully leaned more of my weight on Hizashi. “SUCH a charmer.”

“You know it babe!”

Footsteps of someone else came stomping towards us. They picked up on it quickly with Hizashi’s ears twitching. “I thought I told you not to mess with my traps.” Came the all too familiar voice of Dabi. I’ve never heard him so angry before. I tug on the two to turn me around. They did. But weren’t happy about it if anything their frowns go by. I felt their tails wrap around my lower back. “Oh, I’m SO sorry for accidentally stepping into one of your damn traps! You know I always take this route!”

“I’ve been here longer than you. You should know your damn place.” I was angry now. “MY place!? Who’s the one using illegal traps? Who’s the one nearly trespassing on someone’s property? Who’s the one hunting animals when it’s not even the season!? Who’s the one who keeps killing my animals? No wonder the previous person moved out! They didn’t want to deal with you, you sad excuse for a hunter! You give hunters a bad name!”

“Tch, that’s fine by me. They’re just animals. Be lucky I’m not one to hunt stupid people. Same with your damn freak bodyguards. Did you have to kiss their asses just for them to want to be around you?” He looks at Hizashi’s still twitching ears. “And what’s with keeping that disgusting bullshit? Are you wanting to be hunted or something?”

He was about to continue with more than likely another insult, but Hizashi straight up decks him in the face. Miraculously, it didn’t knock him out. He went to try to hit Hizashi back, but Shouta stepped in instead and Hizashi wrapped his other arm around me for more balance. The two share a quick look. Shouta dodges a hit that Dabi tries to throw. Shouta sees something that makes him grow a giant smile, it feels like a rather sadistic smile. I can swear he sees the trap.

Hizashi puts his tail around me again and turns me around back towards the direction of their house. There was sounds of a struggle behind me, but Hizashi wouldn’t let me turn around to look. “Don’t worry too much about Sho, he’ll be fine! He’s just showin’ that dude a hard time.”

“If you say so…” I reply, unsure from the face he had earlier. There was the faint familiar sound of a trap closing as we were a ways away. It didn’t take long for Shouta to catch up. “He can handle the suffering animals have gone through. He can open it himself if he’s desperate enough.” I was horrified. Yeah, he kinda deserves it, but he doesn’t have anything to pry it open if he can’t do it himself.

“Don’t think too much about it! It’s just a little payback. Like ya said, he shouldn't have those in the first place!”

“True, but-”

“Don’t think about it.” Shouta cuts in, bringing his arm around me again. In my distracted state, I didn’t notice their log cabin until it was up close. We enter the house which has the smell of one of my favorite foods wafting through it. They set me down on the loveseat.

I pull my pant leg up to show a massive bruise already forming where my leg was caught. “That’s going to need a lot of ice.” I joke. Neither of them laugh. They go to leave the room, probably to the kitchen. I go to stand up. “I can’t just sit idle in the living room, at least let me come into the kitchen with you two.”

Shouta glares and comes close to me. “No. We’ll get you ice and the food we made.”

That’s rather odd. “Why shouldn’t we just eat in the kitchen?” They stayed quiet as they share a glance. I didn’t get even an inch farther from the couch before Shouta grabs both my shoulders and pushes me to sit on the couch. “Sit.” His harsh tone scares me into complying. I’m feeling more and more like something is wrong with these two.

Hizashi immediately picks up on my expression. “Aw, don’t worry about him! He’s just worried, ya know? We were stuck in those darn things and Sho doesn’t want you to push yourself.” My eyes go to the giant scabs on their arms. Well, the one of Hizashi’s and both of Shouta’s, I guess that’s a pretty traumatizing thing. The scratches and bite marks still healing on me are proof too. He still doesn’t like looking at them.

They go to the kitchen, and come back rather quick with three plates and an ice pack. It’s one of those really nice ones that can wrap with Velcro. Hizashi wraps it around my leg as Shouta passes me my food. Hizashi then grabs a big CD case and gives it to me. Flipping through it, it has many of my favorite movies. I smile at them. “Man, you two got good taste.”

Hizashi lets out a mock gasp of joy. “We have acceptance of the magnificent audience!”

I look at Shouta questioningly. “Is he always like this?” He nods. Hizashi pouts. “Yo, I’m still right here ya know!”

I pretend not to notice, but the giant smile on my face gives it away. “Hm? Did you hear something?” Shouta replies by making his eyes look the other way. Hizashi leans on me. “Y/N!!! Don’t ignore meeee!” I reach over and aggressively rub the top of his head. It nearly makes my plate fall to the floor. Shouta catches it in a rather rushed manner. Guess it would be a pretty annoying mess to clean up. “Oops… Sorry, guess I got carried away…”

They almost seem to have relieved facial expressions from it not dropping. “At least you’re havin’ fun! That’s what it’s all about! Now, let’s pop your favorite movie in!” I hand him the CD of my choice. He plops down on my right as it plays. Shouta does the same on my left. The ads before the movie can play start.

Within the first bite, something seems off. I just… am I getting sick or something? I don’t remember it tasting like this. “Did you guys put something in this? It tastes different.”

“Sorry about that! It does taste a little funny, huh? It was a new spice I wanted to try adding for more flavor. Safe to say I’m not doing that again!”

It didn’t take us long to finish and focus more on the movie. Shouta lays down with his head on my left leg. “Pet me.” I hesitate. It’s rather weird to be petting a human. Or… Something so similar to a human. Hizashi lays on my right leg.

“C’mon, don’t make us beg for it now! We want you to!” I did start petting their heads. Still weird though. Okay, maybe after tonight, I really should cut contact with them. I don’t think I can do the commitment of petting them like this often.

… Why am I suddenly feeling so tired? My hands get a bit more sluggish as the drowsiness gets worse. It’s getting hard to keep my eyes open. Looking around, I notice a few boxes that were attempted to be hidden by Shouta’s side of the couch. “You guys are getting ready to leave already?” I question, voice slightly slurring.

Shouta sighs, “Yeah, something came up. We’re leaving tomorrow.” I was slightly saddened, yet greatly relieved by the news. “Well, I’m definitely going to miss you guys.”

“Sorry little love song, but you’re coming with us!”

“Zashi!”

“What? We might as well tell them.”

… What? Panic settles in rapidly. Shouta grabs my hand petting his head and nuzzles it.

“Fine. If that’s what we’re doing, I’ll also say that man is no more. I made the trap set off on his neck.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He didn’t deserve tha-

“Before you think he didn’t deserve death, did you know he left poison out for your cat? Did you wonder where it was for the past day?” Disbelief and sadness wash over me. Too many things spiraling in my mind at once. “We tried to bring them to the vet and tell you later we took them since they were outside, but it was too late. The poison got into their system,” He nuzzled my hand again. “We will be your pets, just like you’ll be our permanent guest.” My body was already too tired to struggle. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted them. Stupid me not listening to my instinct.

“It will be so fun when you wake up! You’ll be at our real home, and we can always be around each other!” He kisses my hand. “Doesn’t that sound great, our beloved guest?~

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

Definitely not my proudest work. I’m tired of working on this for 4 weeks and it still doesn’t feel right.

#yandere erasermic #half animal erasermic #yandere present mic #yandere x reader #yandere mha x reader #yandere aizawa x reader #yandere yamada x reader #yandere shouta aizawa #yandere hizashi yamada

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trvelyans-archive · 3 years

Text

something to look forward to

mari wiseman x gray black. 4k words.

Is there a piece of popcorn in your hair?

“Mari, are you listening?”

You snap to attention, finally glancing away from the mirror in the bathroom and rolling your eyes. “Yes, Dad, I’m listening,” you reply, holding your phone between your shoulder and your ear while you tug your boots on. “You must not be, though, because I’ve reminded you more than once that it’s only a ten-minute walk to the train station and that I’ll be perfectly fine.”

“I should just come and get you,” Nick says. It’s past midnight now – you had to stay after your shift ended, cleaning up a puddle of Pepsi on the floor that you found accidentally after kneeling down to grab some popcorn from under the seats – and no matter what you say, he insists that you’re going to run into trouble on the way home (even though you have the grumpiest face in the Chicago area – probably all of Illinois – and there’s probably very few people who would approach you because of it without even starting to consider the whole mind-blind thing). “Did you at least bring a hat?”

You pause. “Yes?”

“Mari –“

“Nick, it’s minus ten.” You zip up your jacket and straighten, reaching to grab your phone to make sure it doesn’t topple to the ground while you swing your bag over your shoulder. “That’s nothing.”

“Alright,” he concedes, sensing that you’re not going to budge. “But… call me if you see anyone acting - I don’t know, suspicious, okay?”

“Don’t you worry enough at work?” you ask, reaching for the bathroom door and pulling it open. “Don’t you get tired of it?”

“Button.” You can hear a smile in his voice. “I never get tired of you.”

You nod at the co-worker by the ticket booth as you wander through the lobby, your boots squeaking loudly against the floor. You don’t know how they didn’t dry in the eight hours they spent sitting in your locker – they’re still as wet as they were when you got here earlier today. Well, yesterday, technically.

Jesus, you’re tired. He should be more worried about you falling asleep on the train than he should be about you getting mugged.

Before you push open the front doors of the theatre, you pause and heave a sigh, remembering that he’s still waiting on the other end of the line. “I’ll call you if I see anyone acting suspicious,” you promise, hoping that you sound sincere. And you are sincere – even you don’t want to die by a mugging-gone-wrong. “And once I get on the train.”

“And once you get off the train.”

That gets a laugh out of you – not an entirely frustrated one, either, which is a feat to behold, at this hour and after this much badgering. While he can just tune into your thoughts whenever he wants to hear whether or not they’re ‘ah, that customer sucked’ or ‘ah, I’m being actively murdered’, sometimes – especially now that you’re an adult with a part-time job – he likes to let you pretend that you have some semblance of privacy (even though you really don’t). “Alright, before and after I get on the train,” you repeat. “Anything else?”

“Nope. Be safe, okay, Button?”

“Will do. Bye.”

“Love you,” Nick replies. “Bye.”

The call clicks off before you have a chance to say ‘love you’ back, and after spending thirty seconds deliberating whether or not you want to call him again to do so, you decide against it and brace yourself before pushing out into the night.

Thankfully, it’s snowing outside, and you take a minute to tilt your head back and let the snow hit your face. Most people might complain, but you like the snow. It makes everything in the city look pretty… dreamlike, almost. Still, after breaking yourself out of your reverie, you sigh and stuff your phone in your pocket, regrettably beginning to feel the tips of your nose and ears getting cold already. It’s minus ten, you remind yourself, gritting your teeth and dragging your boot-heavy feet down the sidewalk. And you’ve survived worse. Worse weather, and…

Well, worse.

You sigh a second time like a melodramatic dog that hasn’t yet been fed by its owner and glance up just in time for you to notice a man wandering down the sidewalk towards you. Late forties or so, with a leather jacket and slicked back hair – is he a mobster? He walks like a mobster, at least ones that you’ve seen in movies, and – it’s Chicago. He could very well be a mobster.

Should you call Nick?

You opt not to this time, but tighten your fingers around your phone anyway and hold your breath as he gets closer and closer, close enough that you’d probably be able to pick him out of a line-up if he tries anything, and then, in the span of about two seconds, he walks directly past you without even looking over, leaving you shaking in your boots for more than one reason and sufficiently not-mugged. (No word on whether or not you’re sufficiently not-frostbitten, though.) You’re almost disappointed – do you not look put-together enough to at least try mugging? – and then you remember that going unnoticed by as many people as possible is something you usually like, so you let your phone fall to the bottom of your pocket and keep walking. A little faster, this time, though - just to be safe.

Which is good, because it hasn’t even been a full minute when you hear footsteps behind you – quick, careful footsteps, too close for you to run away from.

Oh, well. It was good while it lasted.

“Mari?”

You frown and turn around – sure enough, Grayson Black is standing behind you, a package of toilet paper stuffed under one arm and a paper grocery bag hanging from his opposite hand, his golden-brown hair tucked beneath what looks like a hand-knit toque.

Great. Just your luck. He looks like he stepped out of a Whole Foods advertisement and you’re wearing a coat that’s about three winters old and smell like stale popcorn that someone put way too much butter on.

“Hey, Gray.” You smile at him, trying to pretend that you hadn’t convinced yourself you were within an inch of imminent death. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh – just walking home from the store.” He frowns. “What are you doing here?”

“Work,” you say, pointing to the theatre down the block. Grayson follows your finger and then sighs.

“Right.” He turns back to you. “Sorry, Nick told me you were working, I was just… surprised to see you out so late.”

“It’s okay,” you reply. It’s not like you have any friends to go clubbing with, so you can understand his confusion. “Uh – okay, well… See you later?”

“Are you going to the station?” he asks. Why is he still frowning?

You nod. “Yeah.”

“I’ll walk you,” Gray offers.

“I – what?” You shake your head. “No, it’s fine.”

“And it’s late.” He takes a step closer, but not close enough to break the unspoken barrier between you. “Besides… Nick will kill me if he finds out we ran into each other and I didn’t walk you.”

Of course he’s only offering for Nick’s sake. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I won’t tell him.”

“Mari.” God, the way he says your name is a prime example of why every girl in Illinois has a poster of him of their bedroom wall. “Can you let me walk you to the train station?”

You stare at him for a second, sticking your tongue against the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from smiling too wide. “Okay, yeah, sure. When you ask so nicely.”

He laughs and moves closer until you walk side-by-side with the usual distance between you, though it feels much bigger tonight – actually, considering his arm is sticking out half a foot farther than it does most of the time because of the package of toilet paper stuck under it, the gap probably is bigger than usual. You glance around at the street while you walk, listening to the crunch of snow under your boots and the gentle hum of passing cars. God, you’d kill to be in a nice, warm car right now – you should’ve taken a cab.

Actually, no, you’re glad you didn’t. You’re probably safer (and happier) on the street with Gray than you are with a potential Ment cab driver.

“So.” You turn to Gray, and he turns to look at you before you even say anything. “Another late night run for Arizona?”

He laughs again, and you try not to let yourself feel too pleased with yourself about it, because he could just be doing it to be polite, right? “No, not this time,” he answers. “Just some… ah… dish soap. I’ve been out for a week, and…” He grimaces, and you get the sense he’d reach up to scratch the back of his head if he had a free hand. “I finally ran out of plastic cutlery tonight after dinner.”

“Mmm… Well, that’s a good reason for a midnight run to the grocery store if I’ve ever heard one.”

“Of course, a couple cans of Arizona just so happened to fall into my basket, and – it would be rude of me to say no...”

“Yeah, yeah, totally.” You smile. “That’d be downright heretical, and Fortitude has a reputation to keep.”

Gray laughs, louder this time, and you feel your smile widen. “Anyway, enough about me,” he says. “How was work?”

“Ah… it was okay.” You shrug absently, feeling his eyes on you while you do (even though he should be looking at the ground so he doesn’t slip on a patch of ice and fall on his ass). “Had to stay late and clean up, which was gross, but… According to Nick, I have some cookies waiting for me when I get home, so that’s nice.”

“Something to look forward to,” Gray agrees, nodding.

As if anything compares to this.

“Yeah,” you say. “Something to look forward to for sure.”

“Are you getting excited for the Academy?”

You cringe. As thrilled as you were to get accepted into Aeon, the prospect of finally starting there is nowhere near as thrilling. Though it’ll be nice to have classmates that are strictly non-Ments – at least when you’re not working with Sally’s class – the idea of being back in any kind of school isn’t… well, that isn’t something to look forward to. Still… “Yeah, kinda,” you answer. “Not ready to go back to school, I think, but I also don’t want to be scraping gum out from underneath movie theatre seats for the rest of my life.”

He makes a face. “That sounds… gross.”

“Yeah,” you reply. “It is. But I’ve snuck into a couple movies so far and watched them for free, so… it’s an okay trade-off, I think.”

“Sounds like it,” Gray muses. He turns to you. “You’re really not excited to go to Aeon?”

“I said kinda!” you protest.

He smiles. “You shouldn’t be nervous, Mari.”

You’re the one to make a face this time. “Who said I was nervous?”

“No one had to.” He angles his head in your direction like he’s sharing a secret. “I can tell.”

“And Nick told you.”

“Nick… may have mentioned it.”

“I’m not nervous.” You’re lying, of course, because you’re nervous about everything. Right now, only half of your brain is tuned into the conversation because the other half is nervous that you’re going to slip on the ice and break your neck, which would both be not hot and so embarrassing that you’d have to write off your friendship with Gray entirely for the rest of your life and become a full-time hermit whenever he comes over for dinner. “I just… I don’t know…” You kick a block of ice and watch it skitter through the fresh snow in front of you. “I don’t want to disappoint Nick.”

“You could never disappoint him,” Gray responds. “You’re brilliant.”

“Psh. Not even Nick could get away with saying that.”

“He didn’t.” Gray adjusts his grip on the package of toilet paper. “I mean, I’m sure he thinks it. I meant that… I meant that I think you’re brilliant.”

Sure, that could be a really cute compliment Gray gave you, but you’re probably just being too optimistic, right? Like – sure, he’s nice to you and brought flowers to your graduation ceremony and sure, he gave you that cute teddy bear for Christmas and sure, he once brought over a 6-pack of Dr. Pepper for dinner because you were having a bad day and he knows it’s your favourite, but… “Gray,” you sigh. “British people say everything is brilliant.”

He laughs. You can’t tell if his cheeks are pink because of how cold it is out or – well, for other reasons that are so impossible that you don’t let yourself continue that train of thought. “That’s true,” he says. “But I mean it. From the bottom of my heart.”

You don’t know what to say to that, but you don’t say anything. Thankfully, you don’t think Gray seems to mind, because he doesn’t say anything else, either.

There’s a crosswalk coming up, and even though no cars are coming and you could easily get away with some perfectly safe jaywalking, you stop and press the button (ha) anyway and wait for the light to turn, figuring you don’t want to risk it if Gray wants to report anything back to Nick. (Because Nick could very well assume that you jaywalking is something to be grievously concerned about.) Although, on second thought, you’re not sure Gray’s paying very much attention right now – he’s glancing across the street with his eyebrows furrowed, a distant look in his eyes. He must be thinking hard about something, so you elect not to interrupt him.

Now that there’s a lull in conversation, you find your eyelids beginning to flutter. You stayed up late last night after falling down a Wikipedia rabbit hole – that’s why you shouldn’t watch documentaries at three in the morning, you think to yourself - and Nick had to wake you up at noon to make sure that you weren’t late for your shift, so… Yeah, falling asleep on the train sounds like a pretty likely scenario.

Gray shifts his weight back and forth from one foot to the other and once again adjusts his grip on the toilet paper package – as he does, though, it topples out of his grasp and lands perfectly in between your feet with a soft, snowy thump. You bend down to grab it the same time Gray does, of course, because you’re the two most awkward people in the world, and there’s a three-second pause before you finally reach for the toilet paper and scoop it into your arms because it would be too awkward now not to.

“Don’t worry, I can take it,” you say before he can protest. “You have your… uh…” You gesture to his bag. “Hand full, anyway.”

He tries to protest anyway. “Mari, let me –“

“No, it’s okay.” You smile pleasantly at him. “You’re walking me, so I can… you know… take one for the team.”

He deliberates for a second before nodding – you think he might only do that because the crosswalk light has started beeping at you. “Okay,” he says. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

The snow is starting to lighten up, now – you can see the train station in the distance. It’s still a few blocks away, which means you more than enough time to make a sufficient fool of yourself. (Or perhaps, continuing the theme of the rest of the night, a not-fool of yourself?) “You know, uh, if you think I’m so brilliant…” You’d put air quotes around it if your fingers weren’t too cold. “Maybe we should have a Scrabble rematch soon?”

You, Nick, and Gray ended up playing a round last time Gray came over for dinner, but Nick stopped halfway through because he was getting bored and decided to go try mixing a new drink instead. Usually you would’ve complained – you like to wipe the literal board with him whenever you can – but it was hard to complain when you were sitting across the coffee table from Gray and splitting a plate of cookies like a couple of little kids. (It’s hard not to feel like a kid around Gray – shy and long-limbed and awkward. Like Bambi, but less cute because you’re a human and also, just generally, not cute.) “I still can’t believe you beat me...”

“Is now a bad time to remind you that I was my school’s valedictorian?”

“Yes, it’s a terrible time,” you reply, watching Gray grin out of the corner of your eye. “English was one of my best classes! I’m supposed to be good at Scrabble.”

“Well… maybe you’ll be better during our rematch.”

Okay. Keep it cool, Mari.

It only sort of sounds like you’re arranging a date with the love of your life and he’s not even taking a couple seconds to be weird about it.

“Oh, I will be better,” you say. “That’s a promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Do you work tomorrow?” He sniffles – he must be cold. This is what he gets for wasting his night walking you to the station instead of going back to his nice, warm apartment. “Maybe I could pick you up after your shift and train with you back to your house.”

“Oh, uh –“ You clear your throat. “Yeah, I work tomorrow! I think I get off at six?”

“Okay, great. Just let me know if – erm, that changes or… something.”

“Yeah, I will,” you reply, a little taken aback.

What in the world is happening?

Did you actually get stabbed by that maybe-mobster, and awkwardly making plans to play Scrabble with Grayson Black is your purgatory?

“Uh… I just – I hope I remember to tell Nick,” you comment. “Not that he’s ever bad when you show up on our doorstep unannounced and ask for dinner…”

“I – I don’t ask,” Gray stammers, “he offers before I can even get a word in, and – and I say yes because it would be rude not to!”

“Mmm… sure.” You shake your head fondly. “You’d probably eat Nick’s dinners every night if you could.”

“Yes, but for the company,” he says, smiling. “Not for the dinner.”

“Not entirely for the dinner.”

He laughs. “Alright, you got me. Not entirely for the dinner. But…” Clearing his throat, he adds, “Mostly for the company.”

You can’t exactly disagree. Nick could serve you a plate with nothing more than an uncooked chicken breast on it and you wouldn’t even care as long as Gray was there to get salmonella with you.

You’re nearly at your stop, you realize suddenly. You’re both disappointed and relieved – disappointed because you always hate to leave Gray, but relieved because things have gone too well so far and you’re starting to get suspicious. It’s just like you always say (to yourself) – you’re not lucky. You’re incredibly unlucky. If something is going well, it means that something incredibly unwell is going to happen as soon as possible.

You pause before you reach the stairs to the train platform and turn to Gray to say goodbye.

“Well… here’s my, uh… stop.”

Gray looks at you. “Here it is,” he repeats.

“Thanks for walking me,” you say. He tilts his head, almost in question, but you continue – “You really didn’t have to.”

“Mari.”

Your breath catches in your throat, and you watch carefully as Gray raises a hand like he’s in a trance, reaching out to you like –

Like what?

Is he going to kiss you?

He blinks and the trance breaks, shattering into a thousand little pieces like a snowy sidewalk under a winter boot. “Oh, sorry,” he says softly, and you don’t miss the way he backs up a half-step. Did he really forget about the… well, everything? He never forgets. Gray drops his hand before raising it to his head again, moving it in little circles near his temple. “You have a –“

Following his movements, you reach up, and –

Of fucking course. There was popcorn in your hair the whole time! You make a note to guilt Nick about distracting you when you get home.

“Damn it.” You pull it out of your hair – how did it get so tangled in there? – and toss it onto the ground, hoping that he’s not going to call you out for littering. (Would that even count?) “Thanks.”

“Uh… you’re welcome.” Gray smiles at you again, and though it’s awkward and a little forced, it’s still a Grayson smile. “I should… let you catch your train,” he continues, running his free hand over his head before scratching the back of his neck.

“Yeah, I should let you get back to – uh – doing dishes?”

He nods, laughing. “Yeah, yeah, that sounds right.” With one last lingering look, he smiles a little wider. “Goodnight, Mari. Get home safe.”

You smile back at him, suddenly bashful. “Yeah, you too.”

Should you watch him leave? No, that’s weird, right? You stand under the streetlight and consider it for several seconds before realizing that you’ve watched him for too long already, and then you shake your head, turning to the stairs and bracing yourself to trudge through the snow that’s gathered on top of them (as if you need anything else to be unnecessarily difficult today). The platform is relatively empty when you reach it, save for a couple of teenage girls and a man in a business suit looking entirely out of place at this time of night and at this weather, and you take a seat on a bench, settling in while you wait for the train to come.

You’re much more aware of how cold it is out now that Gray’s gone – even the sweat on your hands feels like it’s going to freeze – so to distract yourself, you look around the platform for something to entertain you. You manage squint at a weird-looking piece of graffiti a few feet away from you when you hear footsteps approaching.

Sure enough, when you turn around –

“Mari,” Gray says. “I’m sorry, I forgot the –“

He points to your lap, where you’ve diligently placed his package of toilet paper.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry,” you say, picking it up and holding it out to him from one end so he can grab onto the other. “I totally forgot.”

“No, that’s alright, I forgot too,” Gray assures you, because of course he does – when is he ever anything but nice and diplomatic? Once he’s tucked the toilet paper under his arm again, he chuckles to himself and continues, “Alright. Erm… goodnight again, Mari.”

“Goodnight,” you reply.

With the toilet paper returned to him, he gives you a short, stilted wave before he turns and heads for the stairs again. You force yourself to look the other direction, making a mental note not to stare at him whenever he walks away from you.

You make a couple other mental notes on the train home, too, though it’s mostly in an effort to keep yourself awake. You definitely need to get more than four hours of sleep tonight if you have a long shift again tomorrow, especially since Gray’s coming over; you probably shouldn’t wear new jeans to work in case you run (or, more accurately, sit) into any more puddles, and you might as well bring a hat with you next time you leave the house, because there’s a spare sitting on the shoe rack near the door, anyway.

You definitely make a note to double-check your hair for pieces of someone else’s half-chewed popcorn before leaving the theatre from now on, too - then, when you think about the possibility of running into Gray outside work after all of your shifts from now on, you decide that you should probably triple-check, instead.

#oc: mari #pairing: mari x gray #my writing #my ocs #hi. this is bad. sorry.#ALSO GRAY IS PROBABLY INCREDIBLY OOC SORRY #there is no point to this except me seeing the option to give button a part time job at a movie theatre and getting excited about it #bc it's so MARI !!! it's as mari of an option as Every Single Morbid option !!!#anyway yes here's this. do with it what you will.#also this is so fucking long for no reason sorry LKSDJFLDSJFLKDS #I JUST WANTED TO TALK ABOUT. THEM BONDING AND BEING DOMESTIC OK.#THEY PLAY BOARD GAMES. THEY HAVE INSIDE JOKES. THEY BANTER. ALRIGHT. IS ME WRITING THAT A CRIME.#ok anyway thanks for reading this tags if you read them loVE YOU BYE !!#long post #mind blind

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votederpycausemufins · 3 years

Text

The bots are all fixed!!! Well, they are physically. Mentally is another question which we’re not covering hahahahahaHAHAHA! also wack, no smp members. @petrichormeraki @helleborusangel

“There, that should do it. We might want for someone to test it out in the near future, but it does look like it’s fixed.” Xisuma spoke as both of the bots powered back on. “I can see why we had trouble before. It looks fine if you’re not actively looking for that problem specifically.”

“Thank you very much Xisuma.” Mumbo said, checking both of the bots over for his own peace of mind.

“Of course. I also got a response from Biffa in the middle of it all, and while he’s not willing to share all the details of his past, he was willing to give a few notes. As these two are player entities, natural world magic is going to help them adapt more to that. He’s willing to come visit in a few weeks to see the two of them if you’re all okay with that.”

Mumbo looked over to Grian who nodded. “That’s more your guys’ call. You both knew him much longer than me. I mean, we interacted of course and he seemed nice, but you know better.”

“Well X, I think that would be lovely.” Mumbo replied, looking back to the admin.

“You know, is it just a family thing to like people in pink, or is it just coincidence.” Grifter spoke up, making everyone look over at him exasperatedly.

“Did you have to follow us in here?” Mumbo groaned, and Grifter just nodded, feathers coming off of him as he moved from stray ones sticking to his clothes.

“Too many chickens outside. Inside’s safer. Besiiiiiiides it’s less boring in here. And I’m the one who even knew what was wrong with your kids. Also yeah, you fixed it, no need for testing.”

“You’re not lying, are you?” Grian asked, crossing his arms.

“Of course not. What would I get out of lying about it?” Grifter shrugged. “They also look like my little pumpkin rolls, so why would I want to hurt them?”

“Didn’t your version of Jrum try killing ours?” Mumbo said with a frown.

Grifter just scoffed. “I told him about the bug! He was going to make sure your kid respawned correctly. I just needed some help and for you not to know. It worked out in the end, didn’t it? It only didn’t work out for those asshole admins and me.”

“Speaking of, Tommy’s old world has a console now. Well, a console other than Grum. Is the hels version the same?” Mumbo asked, genuinely curious, though the smile that Grifter gave worried him.

“Weeeell, the short answer is no, it’s got a new admin. The longer answer is that the new admin is meee!”

“You?!”

“I’m sorry why you?! I’m not the admin here! I’m not even opped!”

“I know you’re fucking not.” Grifter rolled his eyes, pulling a stray feather off of his sweater. “Our worlds are parallel but they aren’t one to one equals, dumbass. And we’re not just influenced by the shit that happens here. May I remind you that I was a Listener when Deevo and Evo started while you only became a Watcher when it ended. Or at least close to the end. And my boys were born before you built these two. The worlds sometimes force themselves together, like NPG staying around when I was gone and my boys not functioning until yours were around or… you know… Tommy being pulled to Hermitcraft after Theseus ran off to Helscraft.”

That got everyone’s attention. “Wait, is that why Tommy doesn’t know how he got here?”

Grifter smirked. “Yeah. After Nightmare got killed, Thee got the admin powers. He was pissed over things and ran off looking for me. Of course I was imprisoned and Dad wasn’t letting anyone near me, so the best he could find was season five. Member changes are always a forced thing, so I guess something pulled Tommy here to fix it that way.

“But wait, won’t that…” Grian trailed off.

“Shove you into the SMP? Fuck no. I’m admin, but I’m not gonna live there. I’m a Listener, I can check on things while living in Helscraft. Besides, things are different with NPG around. I mean, unless I kill him-”

“Don’t you dare!”

Grifter huffed. “I wasn’t gonna! Despite how much I hate him, he was the one person caring for Sense when he was all alone, so I’ll give him that. So no death, maybe just some torture. Anyway, I’m sure you’re visiting, so it balances out. Probably.” He finished with a shrug.

“Oh joy of joys.” Mumbo groaned while Grian looked so done with the world.

While all of this had been going on, both of the bots had completely powered on. At first they just took in their surroundings, staying quiet since it was clear others were in the middle of important conversations. Then they saw each other.

With everything that had happened, the two bots had barely been in each other’s company, and when they were, they were at each other’s throats. Jrum was the first to look away in shame as he could remember most of what happened clearly, but Grum was a bit fuzzy on a number of details. He hesitated, reaching out towards his brother a bit, before just pulling his hand back.

When it seemed the conversation was coming to a close, Grum got Jrum’s attention and used his screen and hands to signal something before looking over to their dads. “Um, Dads?”

Mumbo and Grian both looked over to Grum when he spoke up. “What is it Grum?”

“Could… Could Jrum and I have a bit of time alone? To… talk with each other?”

The pair looked to Xisuma since it was his place. X nodded before helping to lead them as well as Grifter out of the room and to somewhere else.

For a few moments, both of the bots were quiet, just sitting there, unsure what to say. Then Jrum started up the conversation. “I’m sorry for being mad at you. I got all upset at Dad getting upset at family, but then I was doing the same thing.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I was the one who started things. You reacted to my actions and were influenced by those red plants.”

“Yeah, but Dream was messing with you and made you be mean!”

“No he didn’t.” Grum replied, which confused Jrum for a few moments before Grum elaborated. “I started realizing something was weird and I panicked. I was worried I would do something really bad and hurt you. I didn’t know what exactly, and I also wasn’t sure if I could safely tell you. I knew if I said something kindly or nicely asking us to distance ourselves, nothing would work until I explained more. And I didn’t want to have to deal with you asking to stay because I didn’t want you to go either. So I just sort of… let myself be mean. I can’t even blame it on someone else. It was me and only me.”

Jrum was quiet, just processing what his brother had said. Then, after a few seconds, he scooted closer and hugged Grum. “Then that’s not your fault! You didn’t know what was safe to say, and that’s because the admin was - don’t let Daddy know I said this - Dream was a piece of shit!” Grum paused before giggling a bit, not expecting his brother to say that. “What? It’s true!”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just… nice to be with you again.”

Jrum smiled and hugged a little tighter. “Yeah, and now we’re gonna be closer because we went through trauma together! Speaking of which… how long do you think we can milk this?”

Grum pulled away from the hug to rub his ‘chin’. “Well, Dad is more likely to notice we’re up to something, so only a week or two with him. But if we play our cards right, we can keep things going with Daddy for a month. Maybe even more.”

“What? That long?”

“Well, we sort of got stuck in a time displacement bubble for a month all by ourselves and got controlled by different things. We would need to be careful and not make it seem like we’re having a relapse, but if we have a, quote unquote bad day, we can definitely get a lot out of it.”

“I’m going to build a new shop.”

“Good idea, so many people will want to support us. We might even get a discount on some land in Aquoo town. From Scar and not Bdubs of course.”

“Of course, we have more sway over Scar.” Jrum nodded.

“The question is what to sell.”

“Yeah, that part’s gonna be a bit harder. Hmm, maybe a gardeni-”

“Nope! Absolutely not!”

“Ugh, rude. Hmm… Odea two?”

“Ooo, good idea, good idea. It also sounds like we could get some interaction with the SMP after this, we could outsource there. I mean, we already have the connections.”

“Oh definitely. Speaking of, I kinda said Fundy could come visit Hermitcraft a while ago. Do you think that would be allowed?”

“Oh easy. We can even get Michael and his dad to come too.”

“Yes! I’ve always wanted an actual playdate! And this time I won’t be almost killed by a clone!”

“Let’s find our dads and ask?”

“Definitely!” Jrum nodded, and the two bots jumped off of where they were sitting and went looking for their parents.

“Leave me alone Lynn.” Grian grumbled, wings puffing up.

“Not until you tell me what a Listener is doing here!” The other Watcher gestured to Grifter, who was giving her a smirk.

Grian sighed. “Basically I’m making sure he doesn’t destroy everything by keeping an eye on him. Unfortunately that means he needed to come here while I change some records.”

“Really? You changing records? I thought I’d never see the day.”

“Oh shut it. Remember that Watcher I asked about? You couldn’t find anything but I kept looking into it and found two unknown Watchers.”

“And let me guess, you figured out who they were. Was one of them Eyes?”

Grian half shrugged. “Yes and no? Uh, so both of them are my kids and Eyes is like… part of my one kid?”

“Oh you’re an idiot.”

“Hey hey hey! He’s not just an idiot, he’s also a dumbass!” Grifter spoke up, getting glares from both Watchers.

“But seriously. You used Watcher magic to build them?”

“I didn’t think I did! I mean, I guess maybe? But Mumbo was in charge of the redstone and the redstone was the mayoral reservoirs and that’s what was technically using magic.”

“I’m going to have to tell someone about this.”

“Okay. Can you just try to make sure it’s someone that’s not going to completely freak out?”

“Hmm, no promises.” Lynn replied, and then walked off before Grian could say more.

“Oh I like her.” Grifter smiled. “So how do you know each other?”

“She’s the Watcher that was in charge of at least part of the world I grew up in.”

Grifter nodded. “Well I would love to hear the stories she got from there. But that can wait. Where are we going now?”

“Records room. I need to officially list my boys as Watchers and then get their data transferred to their names.”

“Ughhhh that sounds boring. Where’s the cool stuff?”

Grian just groaned and led them to the records room, needing to give excuses to a few Watchers here and there on the way. He was able to quickly grab the needed files since he already knew where they were. Correcting the names was easy enough since they were currently unknown and waiting for the answer. Correcting other forms was harder though. Normally a Watcher had their name officialized before doing much work. Maybe once or twice based on the situation, and that was the case with Jrum seeing as how his only real use of magic was when Grian himself had triggered it. But Grum had a lot more.

Every time Grum accessed the mayoral reservoirs, he was really looking into all the political data that the Watchers had gathered over the years. That alone would be a hassle, but the fact that there was extra paperwork for accessing certain sub categories was causing more issues. Normally you needed permission for data on destroyed worlds, but of course Grum managed to bypass any blocks and get right into the data. And since he was unlisted, it had caused some more logging errors.

Grian half contemplated just flipping the table he was at. It would send paperwork everywhere, but a quick bit of magic would fix it, and it would feel gratifying. But then again, Grifter was here, and who knows how he would react. And Grian expected a worse case scenario there. “Okay, can I trust you for like three minutes to go tell Mumbo it’s going to take a while here?”

Grifter’s eyes lit up a little and he nodded. “Three minutes! Got it!” Grian immediately regretted it, but before he could say more, Grifter was gone.

Mumbo glanced at his communicator for the time. He expected Grian would take a while, but he also hoped he wouldn’t be gone too long. Plus, he was also worried that if the bots were left alone too long, they could get into trouble. He was just about to go check on them when he heard the sound of them running in his direction.

Mumbo couldn’t help but worry about why they were running until he actually saw them. With everything that happened the past few days, his mind kept trying to jump to the worst outcome, but the moment he saw the boys smiling, it calmed him down.

“Daddy! Can we invite people over to play?” Jrum asked, looking hopeful.

“Even with everything that happened, we managed to make some friends. It would be nice to thank them by letting them get to visit here.”

“And I kinda said someone could come visit and they’re kinda our cousin and he knows Auncle Iskall so please please please can they come visit?”

“And Michael was nice too. I didn’t get to interact too much, but he seemed rather nice.”

“Pleeeeeaaaaaaaase!”

Mumbo tried to get them to calm down. “Alright, alright. I’m sure the two of you could use some time to relax and have fun. We just need to wait for your dad to come back so he could get them. It may also be a while since I’m sure he wants to wait for Tommy to want to come back too.”

“Okay! We can wait!” Jrum agreed. “Can we go check the shopping district until then?”

“I’m not sure. I should wait for your dad to come back.”

“But we are perfectly able to go on our own.” Grum pointed out. “And even if something were to happen, the shopping district is so commonly filled with others that another hermit would assist us should there be trouble.”

Mumbo hesitated, but then agreed. “Alright, but see if Iskall is home and then ask them to take you there. I don’t want something happening on the way there.”

Jrum was happy to agree, but for a moment, Grum hesitated, their screen changing a bit. “Could we possibly ask Uncle Scar instead?”

“I’m… not sure he’s around. Grum are you sure you should be going?”

Grum nodded. He didn’t want to leave Jrum alone again. “No. It’s fine. W-We can go see Auncle Iskall.”

Mumbo didn’t look completely convinced, but Jrum’s pleading look got him to look away for just a moment. “Alright, alright. Go on before I change my mind again.”

“Thank you!” Jrum smiled and started pulling Grum away. Grum followed behind, though he still looked reluctant, so once they were in the air, Jrum looked back to his brother. “Oh come on, we’re not actually gonna go get them. We’re just going to say we couldn’t find them and since Daddy didn’t give us a second option, we’re just going on our own.”

Grum nodded. “Thanks.”

“Oh don’t worry! To be completely honest, I completely agree with Grifter about chickens right now and feel like I’ll strangle and turtles I see! I sort of don’t even want to see Professor Beaks any time soon!”

“Is that about the-”

“Yeah it’s about the flipping egg!”

“Sorry.” Grum apologized and Jrum made them land so they could hug each other.

“It’s fine. We already went over a bunch. Life sucked, but apparently that’s like… a family thing. I kinda want to give Daddy trauma though just to make it equal.”

“I think he has enough from dealing with us all.”

“Hmmmm you’re probably right. Okay let’s go scam Scar!”

The two of them eventually reached the shopping district and Aqua Town. It took a little bit of searching, but they eventually found the mayor. He already wasn’t the best and giving good prices for his land, but the fact that he was also up against two traumatized children, one of which he slightly feared, didn’t help his case. In the end, he got seven diamond blocks from the bots and Grum happily started building the new shop.

Jrum went back and forth between the plot and Odea to figure out prices and stocking the place. He was glad to see Grum was happy, and then even more when he saw their dad flying their way. “Dad! Dad! Over here!” Grian heard Jrum and flew down, landing next to the bot. “Look! We’re making a new shop!”

“Oh really? What are you going to sell?” Grian responded, and Jrum had to keep from frowning. The tone of Grian’s voice sounded off. Jrum’s best guess was that something bad happened with whatever he had been doing and he was upset at that, but Jrum also couldn’t be sure.

“Well, it’s going to be a branch of Odea. I’m hoping that if we’ve got lots of people visiting that aren’t all amazing builders and redstoners like everyone here that they’ll want to buy Daddy’s designs! And since everything is moving to Aquway Town, we’re having a place here so it’ll get noticed!”

“Oh, that sounds like a great idea! And it looks like someone’s gotten really far with building already.” Grian looked up to where Grum was standing on the scaffolding, placing blocks down.

“Yeah! I’m glad he looks so happy! Oh! By the way! When you pick up Tommy, can you also ask if Michael and Fundy want to visit? I kinda said Fundy could and then I think Michael would like it too. If his parents have to come along, I wouldn’t mind. And they’re Tommy’s friends so that way he can have people visit too!”

Grian smiled sweetly. “Oh of course we can do that! I’m sure Xisuma would be fine with it all!”

“Yay! I can’t wait!”

“Welp, I’m going to go check on the rest of Aqua Town!” Grian said, starting to walk off. “I don’t want to get too far while I wait for Tommy’s message.”

“Yeah oka- wait. Dad, what did you call this place?” Jrum asked, catching that Grian used the real name of the area.

“Uh… well I better check on Barge Co.! Eep!” Grifter started to back up, but then jumped as an egg was thrown down next to him, followed by another, and then yet another. “AHH! It’s Poultry Man! Run away!!!”

Jrum looked up to see that the eggs had come from Grum, who quickly signalled a sorry to Jrum, which the bot quickly accepted. Grum ended up gliding down to join his brother and the both of them dealt with Grifter, somehow managing to send the helsmit back to Grian, unintentionally making their Dad groan as more paperwork appeared for him.

#hermit!tommy au #hermit!tommy #xisumavoid #xisuma #grian #watcher!grian #grian xelqua #avian!Grian #mumbo jumbo #grumbot #jrumbot #hels!grian #the watchers (evo)

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silma-words · 3 years

Note

Hey please could you do one with#8 and #25 for Adrian x mc.Thanks

N/A: So, this one took a while (sorry!) and I’m not sure it’s any good. I really wanted Adrian and MC to have this chat at some point in their storyline, and these prompts seemed like the perfect opportunity for this (thank you so much Anon! 😊)… but I think I got a little carried away, and kept doubting and changing things around… so I'm not sure it makes much sense at all anymore, but I hope it’s not too bad and that you will like it! Thank you so much again for the ask! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Choices: Bloodbound

Pairing: Adrian Raines x MC (Ellie)

Rating: PG-13

Category: Hurt/Comfort

Warning: A few curses, and talks about jealousy and shared sexual partners

AU Chronology: Bloodbound AU (after book 1 – the events of book 2 never happened) – Before “The right thing to do”

Summary: A business meeting leads to an unexpected argument about jealousy and insecurities.

Inspired by prompts #8 and #25 from Prompt List #1:

8 - “Why are you so jealous?”,

25 - “You’re mine. I don’t share”.

Words: 4400

**Disclaimer: Characters and background plot are the property of Pixelberry.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Experience

“Adrian! Can you slow down, please? I can’t keep up!”

Adrian was fuming, his jaw clenched and his teeth grinding, trying to breath in the warm summer night air to get rid of the tension that had been building inside him all night.

“Adrian!”. Her voice forced him to a stop, waiting silently for her to catch up with him before resuming his angry strides along the street. He could hear that she was struggling a little to match his pace at his side, but right now, all he wanted to do what get her away from there as soon as possible.

Ellie wasn’t saying anything either, clearly aware that he was mad about something. And she had a good idea about what. She knew that what just happened was kind of her fault, but back there she had let her guard down a little too long and was still not quite sure how the situation had slipped out of her control that way. Her curiosity had got the better out of her and had led her once more down a slippery slope. And she could feel that this time, it was very likely going to result in an argument. Their first real argument.

She finally broke the silence, panting as she was trying to keep up with him while making sure he could hear her. “Are you mad at me? About what happened with this guy?”.

Adrian exhaled loudly but did not answer, her words only re-igniting the emotions that had been boiling inside him just a few moments earlier in the club.

This was one of their usual working nights where they had to go downtown to meet with business partners, Ellie accompanying him to assist with the paperwork and protocol side of things to make sure nothing was amiss when deals were struck, or when projects had to be followed up to the next stages. Their last stop of the night had been at Priya’s, where Adrian has offered Ellie to take a break at the bar while waiting for him. The discussion he was meant to have was nothing concrete enough yet to require her to suffer through it.

She had been working with him for five months and was now perfectly accustomed to his world. Most people down at Priya’s were used to see her around with him, and they knew she was under his protection. However, there were sometimes some new souls or bold hotheads roaming around the club that would not know – or would not care – and that would unwisely risk approaching her too closely. And this had been one of these nights. And Adrian, stuck in one of the booths away from the bar with his potential new business partners, had felt the tension build quickly in the pit of his stomach when his attention had been drawn to her by her laugh, forcing him to witness the scene at a distance while trying to keep his poker-face on with his guests.

That man had been incredibly close to her, talking to her ear so that she could hear him over the music, his eyes roaming over her every time she was taking a sip of her cocktail or would smile at whatever he had said. Adrian’s knuckles had turned white under the table when he noticed the stranger eyeing insistently Ellie’s neck, knowing very well that this other vampire was drawn like a magnet to that oh-so-tempting pulsing artery that Adrian loved so much.

“Adrian?”. Ellie’s voice brought him back to the street where she was still racing beside him, anxiously waiting for an answer.

“No, I’m not mad at you…”, he finally responded with a sigh, his reply hanging in the air, unfinished.

“But?...” she pried, noticing the edge of his tone.

Adrian glanced down at her, taking in the concern in her eyes and the pink of her cheeks as she was rushing at his side to read his face despite the long strides he was forcing her to take. Finally realising that there was no point in trying to avoid talking about it, he slowed his pace to let her join him closer, settling for a more relaxed stride that would allow them both to talk more easily… while getting further away from that damn forsaken club.

“It’s just…. the way that man behaved, even after I joined you two at the bar...”, he finally admitted, his eyes still dark from remembering the smirk on that other vampire’s face. “I don't get it...”.

“He was a bit... hum... prying and insistent, that’s true” she chuckled with a shy smile, trying to lighten up the mood, but clearly quite uncomfortable herself at the thought of the awkwardness of that moment.

Her smile did not seem to ease any of Adrian's concerns, though. “No…” he continued, his eyes trained on an invisible point ahead of them. “What I didn’t get was not that guy's behaviour.... it was yours...”.

Ellie shivered upon hearing a sharpness in his voice that she did not recall ever hearing before. She had no clue about what to say. The situation had completely slipped out of her hands at the club, and although she was fully aware of where this had come from, she was not quite sure how to explain it to Adrian. She knew she had to. She knew that she wanted to. But her lips refused to move, her brain frozen by the icy tension that had settled between them as they kept on walking.

“Why did you keep playing his game?”, Adrian could not help but ask, his brow knitted with a mixture of irritation and sheer confusion. “It looked like it didn't bother you much…”.

Adrian’s tone sounded more accusing than he had intended it to be. He could see Ellie’s cheeks redden further, her lips curving up in an embarrassed grin, before she risked looking back up to him with a shy apologetic smile.

“Oh, come on Adrian! You know I’m really bad at telling people off, unless they are being way too inappropriate straight off”, she countered, defensively. “I know I need to learn to be more assertive in these situations, but I’m never really sure at first whether someone is simply being friendly or if they are going to be… flirty”.

Adrian could not help but to chuckle at this. “Ellie… it is Priya’s club. No one in there will approach someone alone at the bar only to be ‘friendly’!”.

She blushed at his remark, fully aware of how naïve she sounded. “Yeah I know… but hope keeps me going!”.

Her innocence and enthusiasm made him smile a little, until she continued, staring at the movement of their feet on the pavement. “It’s just so nice to have random conversations now and then with new people, get to know what else is going on around or outside the city…”.

That sentence made Adrian’s smile drop, stirring something deep in his stomach that he was not quite sure he wanted to acknowledge. Ignoring it to the best of his abilities, he let Ellie continue her attempt at an explanation.

“We only talked about random stuff for a while, really, but gradually… I guess I just got caught in the conversation...”. She could feel her throat tighten as she was trying to find the right words that would best explain how her encounter with that stranger suddenly got a lot more personal.

Her voice was low and uncertain when she finally admitted, “I got curious about his life story and didn't really realise when things started... drifting…”.

Risking a peek at Adrian’s reaction, she could see that he did not seem convinced at all by her justification. His jaw was clenched tight, his eyes fixed ahead of them.

The glimpses of conversation he had overheard at Priya’s were playing on-repeat in his head, and he could not chase these away. Nor make sense of why Ellie would be discussing this with a stranger, out of the blue, in the middle of a random conversation.

His silent reproaches were starting to get to her, and she needed him to respond. React. Shout. Anything. She knew that she had screwed up in there, but did not feel that she deserved the distance that Adrian was now putting between them. He had no idea what that silence was doing to her, while there was so much more to this incident that what appearances were leading him the believe.

They both had things to get out of their chests, but if he was not ready to throw her an olive branch, neither would she. She would take the offensive, pushing his buttons if she had to. Playing dumb if she had to. She had to find a way to make him talk to her, or she would never know if she could admit to him what had been troubling her for so long, and what had let to tonight’s incident.

Her voice brought him back from his silent brooding to their conversation once more, her tone this time more assertive and inquisitive. “I don’t understand why this… tonight... made you so angry though. It’s not like it’s the first time some guy comes to me during one of our nights out, and it’s not like anything even happened with any of them…”.

“I am fully aware of how many times this has happened over the past few months, thank you.”, he snapped coldly, still averting her gaze. “And I hate it every single time.”

His sharpness made her jump a little, but now that she had finally got a reaction from him, she had to keep him going. “And yet you are more pissed about it tonight than ever before. Why?”.

Adrian had to admit it. Tonight was particularly bad. It was her body language, observed from afar, that had bothered him the most. The way she had been smiling at him, laughing at his jokes, or the way she kept tucking her long strands of hair to her side and blushing wildly at times, exposing her neck casually like she would often do with him. And that damn conversation. What the hell was she thinking?

Ellie could nearly see the gears turning in Adrian's head. His fists balled at his sides, knuckles white from the tension that seemed to have pooled there. His buttons were pushed all right. But she was still not getting out of him what she needed to know.

“Why are you so jealous? Don’t you trust me?”, she insisted, stopping in the middle of the pavement to force him to a halt and answer her questions. “Or is it something else that bothers you?”.

Adrian reluctantly stopped, sighting deeply in an attempt at letting his frustration recede before answering her question. Her – of course – very valid question.

Although this was indeed the right question to ask him after this event, the way she was pushing him for a reaction was obvious, and it was starting to feel a little too odd to him. The way tonight's encounter had played was nothing like ordinary, and he was convinced that he had every right to be bothered about it. Yet, she was insisting on knowing the exact detail of what he felt about it. What the hell was this all about? Was she trying to hide something by turning the argument around?

“Of course I trust you...” he finally answered, struggling to sort out the thoughts in his head about this whole damn evening. “It's just... this guy was... you were...”. Adrian could not seem to find the words to express how he felt without risking sounding even more accusing than he had sounded earlier. He had to weigh his words carefully.

“If your previous conversation with him was not flirtatious then… why did he behave like this when I joined you?”, he finally asked bluntly, planting his eyes in hers to try to read into her reaction.

*Finally*, Ellie thought, relieved that he had finally opened the door for her to explain what had been going on in her head tonight. And many other nights before.

But now that she had to put words on it, she felt ridiculous about the whole thing once more. She had not planned any of it. It just happened, and seizing the opportunity had seemed like a good idea at the time. But now that the hurt and confusion in Adrian’s eyes were burning through hers, she felt plain silly. Young and silly. Young, inexperienced, and undoubtedly silly.

She felt her cheeks burn, dropping her eyes to the pavement beneath her feet, embarrassed and unsure anymore how to explain the whole thing. “I don’t know. We got talking a lot about his own experiences as a vampire, although he isn’t as old as you… and I got a little curious about a few things…”

“Things like?”, he encouraged her, still on edge but definitely eager to know the whole truth.

“Well, you’ve seen where that conversation led when you joined us, so you can probably guess…”

Adrian was getting even more confused, unsure if she was telling him that she had wanted to go home with that man – his stomach clenching at the thought -, or if there was actually more to this.

Guessing that this was not clear enough for him, she ventured, finally looking up at him again, with a little more assurance, and a hint of reproach in her voice, “It’s not like you happily talk about your past very much, Adrian… you are always so vague about the things you’ve done, the people you’ve met… the things you liked…”

Ellie’s voice broke into a whisper, obviously afraid to admit out loud what had been really on her mind. She was afraid that voicing her doubts and insecurities would make them even more real. Or worse. That voicing them would made Adrian realise about all the things that she could give him and all the things she could not.

She did not have much experience before Adrian, being only 22, and it had crossed her mind that over centuries, the vampire probably experienced things that were beyond her wildest dreams. Or nightmares. Actually, she kept replaying in her mind something he had once said, just after Lily’s turning, the night she had fallen for him. After telling her about Celia’s death, and how it had been a tipping point for him.

“Decadence… Indulgence… Every vice you can imagine… There were things even I couldn’t fathom before I experienced them”.

Brushing the thoughts away before she could lose the courage to tell him, she cleared her throat and finally let the words escape her wobbly lips, “I just wanted to understand what it was like for you lot, the way you experience and feel things after turning, the way your inhibitions might go away with time... so I thought I could ask a random guy that I’ll never see again to avoid making this awkward by asking Jax or Kamilah... or you”.

She let her words hang in the air, nervously fiddling with her fingers while waiting for Adrian’s reaction. She knew that he had finally pieced things together when she saw his eyes widen and mouth fall slightly open, with something that might have resembled a slight blush suddenly brightening his cheeks.

“Wait…” It was Adrian’s turn to clear his throat, his voice gone croaky from the surprise of this unexpected revelation. “Did you ask this guy for insights into… vampires’ sex life?”.

Ellie simply nodded with a coy smile, the blood rushing once more to her cheeks vividly. She realised how silly it must seem to him, her discussing intimacy like this with a stranger. Not to mention the odd turn their conversation had taken once her questions had got more specific.

Now that he could see the bigger picture, she could give him the last missing piece of this puzzle: “… one thing leading to another, I suppose that he probably read too much into my questions and got the wrong impression... and thought that I was interested in experiencing some of the things I discussed with him… thought that WE would be interested…. hence why he behaved with you... well, the way he did”.

Adrian let out a long sigh of relief, the events of the evening and the awkward turn things had taken finally making much more sense to him.

After quietly sulking from his secluded corner of the club for a good half-hour, watching Ellie casually chat and laugh with this smug stranger, Adrian had decided to intervene after seeing Ellie turn towards him with a shy smile, pointing his position to the other vampire with a trembling finger, which was met by a weirdly appreciative nod from the other vampire as he was eyeing Adrian from the bar. Not sure whether that was her cue for him to come and rescue her, he had quickly excused himself to join them.

But the way they had welcomed him into their conversation was not at all what he had been expecting. The man was nothing but friendly to him – to say the least -, casually carrying on with his very obvious – and pretty explicit – offers to Ellie, while gauging Adrian’s reactions as if expecting his approval. Adrian’s fists were solidly clenched in his pockets, ready to strike at any minute. And he was about to, especially when he realised that not only the stranger was shamelessly hitting on Ellie right in front of him, but that he also just had the audacity to invite Adrian to join them in further activities. The three of them to go back to his place. In that moment, Adrian wanted nothing more than to clear that seductive and mischievous smile of its teeth.

But what stopped him was Ellie’s behaviour during that entire exchange. She was not objecting. She was not trying to bail out. She did not try to step away from the man and signal Adrian to bring her home, as she usually did. No. She was just… blushing wildly, barely able to carry on with the conversation, as she was glancing back and forth between the two men, observing closely their interaction. Adrian could not tell she was embarrassed by the whole situation or… if she was actually flustered by it. The red of her cheeks was in clear contradiction with the pace of her heartbeat, and the excitement and curiosity he could read in her eyes and smell on her skin.

Adrian could not help but to laugh at the recollection of this, now that he was able to piece the events of the night back together, now knowing the context around them.

“Why didn’t you warn me, or interrupt the guy when you realised what he was about to ask of me?”

“I don’t know, I froze....!” Ellie blurted out, a little defensive but fidgeting around like a child, partly relieved at Adrian's reaction to her confession, but also somehow exasperated with herself and the way she had handled it.

Taking comfort in the softness that had now replaced the confusion in Adrian's gaze, she took a moment to take a deep breath and quiet her nerves. Now that he knew, it made it a little easier to admit the whole truth.

“I know I should have tried to stop him but...”, she couldn't help but to smile shyly at the recollection of Adrian's face-to-face encounter with the man, before finally admitting, “I guess I was also a little curious to see how you would react”.

“Did you expect me to react in any other way than punching his face?” Not that he did. But he surely very much wanted to.

“I don’t know, honestly”, Ellie finally answered.

Adrian frowned a little at this, realising that she probably had been thinking about this for a while but had never mentioned it. “So that was a ploy to find out whether I’d accept to invite another man into our bed?”

Ellie shook her head. “Not necessarily to know if you’d accept but... to know if it’d be something you’d like... something that you might have experienced before, and might be missing... that or other things…”.

There it was, that crimson red rushing back to her cheeks. And those doe eyes that were desperately searching in his to know if she had been right all along to worry about such things.

There was so much fragility in her admittance. So much insecurity. But also so much acceptance.

“Ellie...”’ he sighted, finally taking a step towards her to bring her closer, wrapping his arms around her but making sure that she could still read the sincerity of his words into his eyes.

“No matter what I have experienced before, what crazy kinks I have had and might have enjoyed in the past, I am perfectly content with what I have now... with what we have now... just us... please, never think that you are not enough”.

The power of his words made her feel like an invisible weight had been lifted of her chest. She might have floated away with the breeze if it were not for Adrian’s embrace grounding her to his side. Although there would still have more things to discuss to clear this whole mess up, she was so relieved to have finally told him about her insecurities. And so relieved that he seemed to understand why she made that foolish mistake tonight.

She could see the tension lift off Adrian’s shoulders as well, as they kept staring at each other in the middle of the street, slightly swaying in silence as they were taking the time necessary to gather their thoughts after that oh-so-confusing argument.

Not really wanting to break this moment with any more words, but not wanting to let go of her either, Adrian slowly brought one of his hands to her face, caressing the soft skin of her cheek with his thumb as if to dissipate the pink that was still colouring her features. A silent invitation to let go of her concerns, and leave whatever was left of her embarrassment behind.

Cupping her face with both hands carefully, he bent down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, before slowly proceeding to do the same to her cheeks, methodically, one after the other. Ellie was leaning quietly into his touch, her eyes chasing his between each of his kisses, as if the sight of him was the only thing that could protect her from her doubts and fears. Time seemed to have stopped around them when he finally brushed his lips against hers, taking his sweet time to breath in and let the smell of her flush away the last drops of hurt and jealousy that had been poisoning his veins all night.

Feeling her fingertips dig into the fabric covering his chest in an attempt to get him closer, he finally laid his mouth onto hers completely, as softly as he could, gently capturing her lower lip first, before parting their lips to deepen the kiss and let the taste of each other soothe any lingering doubts in their minds. She was his. He was hers. Nothing else mattered.

They could have stayed like this forever, letting the warmth of their embrace melt their concerns and insecurities away, vaporizing into thin air to be blown away in the breeze.

If it weren’t for the passer-by that inevitably bumped into them while staring at his phone, oblivious to the intimate exchange that he had just interrupted. Adrian and Ellie exchanged a bashful but amused look as the disruption forced their lips to break apart, leaving them both panting and giggling lightly in the middle of the sidewalk.

Adrian reluctantly released his grip around her waist, only to immediately capture her hand in his. “Shall we keep going and head home?”, he offered with a tender smile.

“Yes, please!”, she nodded, her eyes shining with warmth under the streetlights.

Quietly resuming their walk back home hand-in-hand, it was only a few minutes later that Adrian broke the silence, as a thought crossed his mind. There was no more bitterness in his tone, only genuine curiosity – and perhaps a tinge of amusement.

“What would you have done, if I had responded to this guy’s outrageous flirt and had invited him to come home, with us...?”

Ellie gasped, taken aback by his sudden decision to return to the reason of their argument, but relaxing as soon as she saw the reassuring gleam in his eye and the teasing grin pursing his lips.

“I am not sure, really...” she admitted, as much to him and to herself. Although she had been thinking about this for a while, she had never really asked herself whether she would be comfortable with it or not. She had really jumped the gun tonight by letting that conversation slip so far with that stranger.

Adrian could not help but to continue to tease and pry a little, willing to show her that he was open to discuss things openly in the future, but also quite curious to know what she would have done.

“Were you secretly hoping that I would accept his offer?”, he asked, the corners of his mouth quirking up.

“Hell no!” she finally blurted out, chortling at the thought. “I... I probably would have freaked out!”.

Adrian laughed with her at this, taking in fondly the way the pink at returned so quickly to her cheeks at his question, and how her nose had wrinkled as she was trying to figure out what she would have done. He could not resist a final question:

“So… tonight was not a cunning manoeuvre to tell me that YOU wanted us to share our bed with others?”

She turned to him, eyes wide, before bursting into giggles, stopping instantly and blushing even more when she realised that although Adrian was teasing her, he very much wanted to know.

“Absolutely not”, she assured him, stopping him in the middle of the curb once more to press her body against his, her eyes riveted on his.

There was no hesitation in her voice, only sheer resolve and confidence, when she stated firmly: “I don’t want us to invite anyone else in our bed, Adrian Raines. You’re mine. I don’t share”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tag list:

@adriansbiss

@itsjustwinter

@shanzay44

@purvishraick

@choicesficwriterscreations

#bloodbound #bloodbound choices #adrian raines #adrian raines x mc #bloodbound fanfiction #choices fanfiction #play choices #choices #choices stories you play #choices fic writers creations #fics of the week #choices bb

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coeurdastronaute · 4 years

Text

The Story, Ch. 2

Previously on The Story

June was hot, thick with stagnant heat that refused to rustle or move the tiniest branch of a tree nor leaf on a stem. Hotter than any other summer that she could remember, Jamie toiled daily on her garden and the grounds, lugging water to and fro, nurturing the seedlings in the greenhouse, fretting over the last bits of her bountiful spring bloom and hoping to survive until the first cooling summer storm. It was tough work, all-encompassing work, and she’d learned a little late in her life, how important it was to keep busy.

Never one to understand or listen to the story beneath the sound, Jamie missed the subtle changes that had undertaken the manor. Too preoccupied and exhausted from her battle with the sun and the dirt and the grounds itself, she hadn’t given another thought to how often her glances looked back toward the house, nor did she think twice about how she migrated around her duties, following the laughter of the children closer than ever before. Unaware of so much of her movements, her head stuck in the dirt and her hands tangled in the safety of the roots, Jamie was somewhat aware of the fact that she had not spoken, at least not directly or alone, with the au pair since their very first conversation. That was done with such purpose that she spent a large portion of the day willing it to both happen and un-happen.

But things changed in their sullen existence. Homemade decorations littered the stairs and railings while entire science experiments meant trousers rolled up to ankles and wading in the fountain. The curriculum changed with the feeling of the day, and when school was over, the children were happy to take to learning the finer points of housework, turned into games by the crafty au pair who understood how important such things were. Slowly, the gravity fo the grounds shifted from the chaotic mess left behind with such glaring absences.

Like all features at Bly, Jamie knew that the au pair was a novelty and would soon become not unlike the furniture or the statues. She would become innate to the property, just as Owen and Hannah and herself had, she would be usual and familiar and it would pass, Jamie promised herself, unpracticed in physics as she was.

But the addition of the au pair had changed the manor, and in part, had changed many of those left within its universe. Where before there was cold and silence in the absence of the parents of the orphaned children, now nights brimmed with laughter and games, where plays were acted out by the entire cast, and learning was hands on, often out of the classroom and with the help of the rest of the staff. There was this community that popped up, a kinship among those who remained, all loosely tied together by the newest addition.

It was all so sorely needed after the last au pair and the exceeding tragedy that plagued the beautiful land.

It was hard not to want to be part of the liveliness of the manor now. Jamie found herself peaking over hedges to find the au pair reading books as the children drifted and lazed in the grass, and she too, listened to the words and gentle voice, her trimming slowing as a result. And clearly the children were taken with Dani, with Flora becoming much like a shadow, following her about, weaving her dolls and flowers for her hair. Miles became less despondent, though not enough for the au pair’s opinion. Still prone to their bouts of melancholy, it felt as if they returned to being children again sometimes.

Unlike before, Jamie didn’t leave without stopping into the house to see if she might get accidently pulled into an adventure. Before, she would leave without much more than a honk or a wave. But the heat made her shoes stick to the grounds that much more despite the growing exhaustion.

There was something about staying that made Jamie uneasy. It wasn’t in her composition to remain and attach.

“It has to break soon,” Jamie sighed to herself as she pressed a sweating glass against her neck. The chill lasted a moment and that was all, gone in an instant.

“I’ve got ever window open in the house and there hasn’t been so much as a breeze in a week,” Hannah shook her head and continued the slow, gentle fanning of herself.

The ice adjusted, breaking apart and clinking in a glass.

“There’s not much more I can do to save the lawn on the south side. It’s getting burnt. It’ll take ages for it to bounce back if we that rain doesn’t hurry.”

“But the produce has been otherworldly,” Owen offered happily. “What you’ve been harvesting has blown my mind. I haven’t seen such bounty. At least I could never manage it.”

“I don’t know if it’s saying much then if that’s the comparison.”

“Laugh at my expense, but it’s true. I’ll gladly trade the lawn for those carrots.”

“What about you, Hannah, eh? An afternoon of rain or larger heads of cauliflower?”

“I get more than enough veg, thank you. Owen, you’re looney if you think a breeze isn’t worth every pea in her garden.”

“I never claimed to be any different,” he grinned before taking a sip of his drink.

The patio hummed with the crickets and heat so that even their words were too much hot air, and perhaps unwelcomed in the perfect summer evening. It was late, well after sundown, and yet the employees earned a certain run of the place as their own home after dark, when the semblance of adults could be disbanded.

The two prattled back and forth, much to Jamie’s amusement. The absurdity of how blind they both were, or perhaps Hannah’s staunch refusal for no reason at all didn’t much make sense to the gardener. It wouldn’t be right for someone like Hannah to refuse happiness-- someone who deserved it so completely. Jamie couldn’t understand that choice.

“There she is, welcome, welcome,” Owen greeted the au pair as she made her way onto the patio.

The light from inside glowed against her, and Jamie could see the sweat on her neck and the wet ends of her hair that escaped an incredibly high and incredibly tight pony tail. She smiled into her drink at just the thought of it.

“Still having trouble getting to sleep are they?” Hannah asked as Dani took a seat at the small table of friends. “The heat isn’t kind to them.”

“Thank you,” she nodded and took a heavy gulp before she winced at the alcohol content she hadn’t been expecting. “They are just so uncomfortable. I don’t even know what to do.”

“Put them outside,” Jamie offered before three faced turned towards hers. “What? You’ve never slept outside before?”

Two of the three shook their heads, while Owen perked up excitedly.

“We’ll sort them out tomorrow, don’t worry, Poppins.”

“I’m willing to try anything at this point. You should have seen Miles’ face when I told him to just sleep in his underwear.”

There was laughter among the group, and across the table, Jamie watched the au pair more curiously than she ever had before. In the faint glow of the evening, she shamelessly stared, observing the interactions, slunk back in her chair and disinterested with much else.

There’s always been a distance to them that the few feet that separated them now seemed too little, and such an easy stretch to cross. The gardener had seen the au pair in the yard with the children, running and climbing and playing in the sun, her blonde hair whipping around in a swirl as she moved quickly. The gardener had seen the au pair on the terrace, reading in the shade in those damned shorts and her pale skin practically glowing. They shared meals together, but always at polar ends, directly missing each other.

But never had the gardener so unabashedly stared at the newest addition to the trio, or rather the finishing piece of their quartet. She chalked it up to curiosity, because never before had she been so close to an American with a smile like that, or rather, never before had she been close to a smile like that or an American.

Even when Dani met her glance, Jamie didn’t look away, but rather wondered more about the stranger before her.

“I thought I was escaping the heat,” Dani shook her head as the company drew toward the end of their drinks. “This is worse than I could have imagined.”

“It’ll break soon,” Jamie repeated with a bit more assurance.

“You can’t listen to Jamie’s superstitions,” Hannah shook her head. “She thinks her flowers whisper to her.”

“That sounds a bit mental. I’d never say that. But it is going to break. You can feel it.”

“I never would have thought to accuse you of reckless hope,” Owen teased.

“And you never should,” Jamie said as she stood, finishing her drink. “But the trees are dry and the creeks are hard. It’ll break because it always does.”

“Got a timeline on that?” Dani asked, looking up at the body in the dark.

“Sadly, I don’t,” she sighed. “But I believe in the rain.”

As Hannah and Owen debated the weather and belief, the gardener smiled at Dani and nodded her good night.

“I’ll see you lot tomorrow. I reckon it might be time for a camp out.”

Dani smiled, cradling the glass to her neck and cheek. Jamie didn’t look away. The worst of it was, she hadn’t seemed to decide on anything at all. Her mouth just moved and now she was stuck.

XXXXXXXXXX

“It doesn’t seem safe,” Miles complained as he helped lug an armful of bedding.

“It’s perfectly safe. It’s not like you have to worry about anyone walking around the property,” Dani promised. “It’s just like being at a campground or in the middle of the woods, except much closer to the bathroom.”

“We’ve never been properly camping before,” Flora announced. “We did sleep in the living room a few times, and tell stories, and drank cocoa.”

“Well camping is supposed to be fun.”

“Supposed to be?”

“I’ve never gone either,” she shrugged, wiping the sweat from her brow. “But I’ll do anything to avoid the heat.”

“It’s the same temperature outside as inside,” the little boy reminded the group as he tossed his pillow down on one of the carefully placed bedrolls, foraged from the deepest recesses of the garage attic.

“It’ll chill come evening,” the au pair promised. “I never thought you’d be afraid of a little adventure.”

“I don’t mind adventure, but I mind the mosquitos.”

“We’ll take care of that, don’t worry.”

“It’s absolutely splendid, isn’t it, Ms. Clayton?” Flora brimmed as she spun around the camp on the back lawn.

With a surprising show inf ingenuity, it was true that the gardener with help from the chef, had transformed a spot beneath the hornbeam trees into a safari. The fire was already crackling to life as the children finished their last load of blankets, the beds were pallets and the chairs were from the patio, but the true gift was the open-faced tent, hung between a few branches of the wide tree so that the open wall faced the fire and the house.

“It’s better than I could have imagined,” Dani agreed, smiling as she surveyed the set up until she found the person responsible and softened. “It looks amazing.”

When Jamie made the suggestion, the au pair hadn’t really considered it happening, but when she showed up the following day ready to do it, enlisting Owen and even Hannah in some ways, Dani didn’t think twice about joining the event.

“Just a bit of ingenuity and fierce, god-like strength,” Jamie winked, flexing a bit before grinning. “And Owen.”

“It’s nothing,” the chef promised as he checked the sturdiness of his work. ��I was a Scout Explorer. Fifteen years worth of survival and outdoor training with a healthy dose of community service.”

“And what was your reason for being so outdoorsy?” Dani turned to Jamie as she teased Miles’ shoulder, making him look.

“Oh, I was raised by wolves,” Jamie explained, quite seriously, earning a look from the smallest of the party. “True story. Walked on all fours until I was older than you, Flora. Used to be able to talk to them, but it’s been so long.”

“That didn’t happen,” Miles shook his head.

“If you ever run into a pack of wolves, just say you know me.”

He rolled his eyes but thought it over to himself as Dani accepted a drink from Hannah and took a seat, the hard work of setting up complete and the night working its way to them.

It might have been psychological, or it might have been the fire, but the evening did seem to get cooler. It wasn’t a blustery winter by any means, but it felt tenable for the first time in too many days.

For Dani, the best kind of moments were when the children were just that, giggly and smiling, living loudly and with exteriority. When Miles would flash a smile, absolutely smitten with everything Owen was telling him about knots and pocket knives and his own adventures in the woods as a boy. When Flora would lean against the side of the au pair’s leg and pat her knee excitedly as she had to get close to speak so quickly about how important it was to not burn the marshmallows. She could love them better, she believed. It didn’t seem an impossible task sometimes.

For a second, she also lost herself in the magic of the evening. As Flora and Miles chased lightning bugs through the field, exhausting themselves after dinner, and Dani found herself in the company of who were quickly becoming what she might refer to as friends. The three caretakers of the manor and its inhabitants, slightly more willing to stay later for a moment like this as well.

Three s’mores and four stories later, the late hour did it’s best to win out over the young campers. Huddled around the fire, they covered up and listened attentively as the gardener wove a wild story. Dani sat across, her legs stretched out and feet near the fire while Hannah held a bottle tightly beside her before carefully re-filling their cups.

“I almost hate to admit what a good idea this is,” Hannah chuckled before re-corking their bottle as she sat it on the ground. “But they certainly are enjoying themselves.”

“It means a lot to them, for you all to be here and so interested. They don’t know it yet, but they will one day,” Dani nodded, looking over the flickering flames as Miles adjusted, pulling up the blanket, completely engrossed in the story.

“I couldn’t be anywhere else. I’ve been with this family for… goodness, it’s been my whole life it seems.”

“Still, you chose to stay. That means something.”

“I’m not sure what, exactly,” the housekeeper sighed.

“Love. Loyalty.”

Dani watched a small smile creep into Hannah’s cheeks as she stared at the gardener, but didn’t hear a thing, so deep in thought was the housekeeper suddenly that she disappeared, or so it seemed.

Jamie kept talking though, her story winding its way this way and that, hoping to be long enough to tire out the children. Her voice was growing lower to persuade them, and in just a few minutes, Flora fell asleep, her cheek pressed against the gardener’s chest, a blanket wrapped over them both. Dani wasn’t sure when she began to smile at the scene, only that she was and Hannah watched her take a drink to hide it.

“The night we found out about the Wingraves, she spent the entire evening playing with them. When I got the call, I didn’t know how to say it, so we waited for their uncle to come tell them, and I remember Jamie watching them run up and down the stairs, playing some made up game that we couldn’t understand. And she was the one who made us wait. Let them be kids who have parents for just another hour, she told me. Another hour.”

Miles stretched slightly, his arm dipping until his head was on the pillow.

“I’m sorry for the loss,” Dani offered as Hannah looked away from a sleeping Flora.

“They’re adapting. Somehow.”

“You all are helping, you know that, don’t you?”

“Sometimes I’m not sure, but then I look at that,” Hannah nudged her chin at the sleeping children, at Jamie not bothering to move Flora, but holding her tight. “And I know that even in the most inopportune environment, even something kind and loyal and loving can emerge, whether they know it or not.”

“What happened?”

“She ended up here somehow,” she sighed and took another drink before standing. “Let me help you, dear. Don’t want to wake her after finally getting her to sleep.”

Dani didn’t move as she watched the careful task of detaching Flora and tucking her in safely, all in hopes of not having to tell another story to put her back to sleep. The au pair watched Jamie’s movements with a keener eye. She traced the outline of her jaw and cheeks, saw neck and clavicle when the flannel she’d brought slipped down a shoulder with the movements, as if something, some tick, could explain everything that seemed to be an impenetrable fort.

“And with that, I’ve had enough nature,” Hannah decided. “I’m going inside to my bed.”

“Booooo,” the other adults teased.

“I’m too old for sleeping in the dirt, and so are you lot. We’ll see who is in better shape in the morning.”

“I’ll, uh,” Owen stood, patting off his pants. “I’ll walk you in. Grab some more water for us.”

“I know the way.”

“Good, you can help me find the kitchen.”

With a wave, they moved back toward the house, their lanterns swinging as they reached the door. Across from her, Jamie took to a chair, electing to stretch after sitting on the hard ground and beneath another human, tiny as she was, for so long.

“I swear my arse went flat sitting there all night,” she mumbled, picking up the bottle Hannah had left behind. “Gardener by day, lawn chair by night.”

“I don’t think I’m as good with flowers as you are with them.”

“No worries about me pilfering your job, Poppins. I find them exhausting and they are quite taken with you.”

There was a fondness hidden beneath the feigned annoyance as Jamie surveyed their sleeping forms, resting comfortably with the fire flickering light into the tent.

“They like you.”

“What’s not to like? I’m quite a stirring specimen. And I make a damn fine s’more.”

Dani couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she stood and meandered toward a chair, the stiffness that Hannah warned about nestling into her joints until she was certain she’d be locked in the seated position forever.

“You’re not going to abandon me out here with them are you?”

To her credit, Jamie considered it before tossing a lopsided smile toward the au pair who joined her.

“It was my idea to sleep outside, wasn’t it? Can’t miss this. Plus,” she paused to finish her glass of whiskey. “I’ve been drinking. Not too safe to drive.”

“I feel like I should thank you again for all of this. It’s… it’s amazing.”

The stars were bright, unburdened with any rules of order, scattered throughout to the horizon and tree tops. The fire glowed but did not dim them at all, merely enhanced by attempting to add its own embers into the heavens, offering the sacrifice for permanent consideration, though none made it that far.

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t doing anything else. I’ve had worse nights than a campfire and half-decent company.”

“I’ll take half-decent.”

“Oh, yeah… uh, I was talking about them,” Jame furrowed as she looked toward the sleeping children. “Juries still out on you.”

“I’ve been known to be a good time,” Dani promised.

Despite the teasing, Jame tilted her chin to appraise the au pair in the firelight, as if trying to discern if the statement was actually true. She cocked her head to the side as Dani readjusted, becoming oddly self-conscious of the look. A little nervous, she sipped her drink and winced against the burn.

“I might be inclined to believe you, except you ended up here, same as us, and I’m not sure anyone here knows how to be a good time.”

“I don’t know. You put all of this together.”

“A rare flash of brilliance,” Jamie shrugged. “We’ve been dying to know what brought you here, you know?”

“I’m that interesting?”

“New, maybe. Interesting is to be determined.”

Dani smiled into her cup, her body constricting tightly into itself as she was forced to think about things she’d hoped to forget.

“But you don’t have to share,” Jamie added quickly, feeling the shift in the mood of the night. It was far too lovely out and the au pair was far too pretty sitting there, politely looking for a way out. “Doesn’t matter how, just that you got here. In my experience, it’s a bit of ill-fate that brings anyone here. Hannah and the cheating husband. Owen and the sick mother.”

“You, and the love of plants?”

“Yeah,” she grunted. “Me and my curse for growing things.”

Jame ran her thumb along her cup before turning back to the au pair beside her. She wasn’t fond, suddenly, of upsetting her, and she didn’t want the conversation to end because unlike most others, she was incredibly invested in simply hearing Dani’s voice.

“And me,” Dani decided, stiffening her spine a little with a deep breath, “Running away from everything back home because I just…” she looked at Jamie, willing her to understand how cowardly and weak she felt. “Couldn’t handle the pain anymore.”

Her glance was strong, was inquisitive and kind, and Dani looked away from the warmth it offered.

“You don’t have to run anymore. And you don’t have to have anymore pain.”

It was an oddly comforting option and perhaps promise, Dani realized, one that she knew Jamie was in no place to give, but still she did, and for the first time, despite all of the people at the funeral and the hospital and in her life who let her off the hook, or at least thought they did, she felt as if she might be able to finally do it.

Jamie’s hand was warm in her knee where it gave a squeeze, but did not let go, resting there as the gardener moved her head, twisting to be in the au pair’s view. Dani looked at her and couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“I know you’re not alright. That’s okay, too. You don’t have to be yet.”

Simultaneously, the weight grew and shrunk on her chest, but Dani relaxed at the feeling of it all.

“I’m around, you know? Not really the best at talking, but I’ve got ears that occasionally work.” Dani couldn’t help but chuckle. “There it is, Poppins. No sense in having a pretty girl upset. It’s probably the greatest sin around.”

“The greatest?” she scoffed, clearing her throat as the hand on her knee was retracted.

“I haven’t been to church in a while,” Jamie confessed.

“I couldn’t tell.”

“That’s what happens when you’re raised by wolves.”

Once again, she filled up the cups, and Dani felt the gardener relax slightly beside her. She found herself envious of the apparent ease with which she moved through life.

“I almost believe you.”

There was another grin, lopsided and knowing. It was oddly frustrating, to feel so bare and understood by someone who was unreadable, but Dani challenged her before taking a drink.

“Wolves don’t have to howl in the night and live in the forests or have fangs and claws.” Jamie paused and swirled around her drink. She looked up to see the lantern of their third returning. “Sometimes they wear suits and work at the bank or a department store, and they find a weakling and they do what wolves do. Suit or fangs, there isn’t much difference. I was raised by wolves.”

Dani didn’t register Owen’s return. She looked at Jamie who refused to look at her, but rather smiled as the chef sat down, prepared to tease him incredibly for his display with the housekeeper. But the au pair was struck with the first thickly veiled, but honest moment she might have ever had with the stranger beside her. She wanted more. She wanted to press and learn what it all meant, not the story, not the tale of it, the fiction and flowers and metaphors. But she found it was enough for the moment.

“I found out why Poppins is at the Manor,” Jamie announced proudly as she tossed Owen the bottle. “She robbed a bunch of banks.”

“I think she might be pulling your leg,” he shook his head. “Doesn’t seem the type to care about money.”

“She did it for the thrill. She’s mad. Hide the silver.”

“Don’t tell people that,” Dani scolded, hitting Jamie’s arm. “I’m just a teacher.”

“A notoriously underpaid lot. She definitely did it for the money. Owed huge gambling debts. I don’t know what to tell you, Owen,” Jamie shrugged. “That’s the truth.”

“Please don’t believe her.”

“I hardly ever do,” he promised.

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beblade-a · 3 years

Text

@livingprophecy / mal’s letters aka zee choose death 🥰

i'm sure by now you know that i was reassigned to a new unit. i would have told you myself that i was leaving, but you didn't look like you wanted to see me. i couldn't blame you. part of me thought i'd be back soon enough, and maybe by then you'd stop looking away when we were in the same room. that's looking less and less likely by the hour. they say this new position might be more permanent than anyone expected. you know how these leader types are, they can never make up their mind about anything. i probably shouldn't tell you that, though. the last thing i need is you reprimanding me in writing.

shit, sorry. getting off topic. the point of this is, i don't know when i'll see you again. maybe i should have talked to you before i left. said something. i know you wouldn't have listened, but it would have been better to get it off my chest then. except you're too stubborn for your own good, and i didn't want you to hate me for pushing you more than i did that night. i couldn't help you the way you wanted me to, and maybe that's on me for being too willing to see what you didn't want anyone else to. i'm never going to regret the choice i made then, you needed someone to tell you to stop. you deserved to be able to grieve. you still do. i'm just sorry it pulled us apart.

there's a lot i didn't say then that i guess i should say now, but the trip was long, and daylight is ending soon. i'll write again. you haven't gotten rid of me yet, nik. looking forward to hearing from you too, if you can find time in your busy schedule to pick up a pen for me. but i'll understand if the masses keep pulling you down with a hundred more complaints about needing softer blankets and more salt for their slop.

best regards, mal.

p.s. sorry, that last part was a joke. i think i'm getting worse at them.

it's safe to say most of us underestimated just how long we'd really be here. the most "permanent" has ever meant is a few weeks, at most. just enough time to prove we've got numbers on our side, just enough to spill a little blood on both sides.

that was grim, sorry. i don't want this letter to be about that. here i was, ready to talk about the beauty of the mountains and how the air tastes different here than it did there. sometimes i forget this all leads back to war anyways, but it's easier to let yourself get distracted by the small pleasures in like. the first rays of sunlight and how they cast shadows over giants, the way plants bloom here that are strangers to what other forests have held. i wonder if you'd let yourself see this place the way that i do, if you'd love to lose yourself in it the same way. i remember you once said you wanted to see the ocean, and how your eyes lit up when you described it. i hope it makes you feel the way being on mountain tops has made me feel: at peace and just a little more alive. i think you deserve that, after everything. i know you do.

maybe we can see it together sometime, if that's not asking for too much.

speak to you soon, mal.

a few weeks passed since i last wrote. sorry, i guess i got caught up in everything. you know how it is, the work of a tracker is never done, etc. etc. not that i mind the work, of course. i'll take the fresh air and clear skies over being stuck in a stuffy tent with a bunch of soldiers any day. i still don't envy your meetings and boring talks of treaties that never go anywhere, or the way they always seemed to cut our mornings short at the worst possible moments. it's a miracle dominik didn't resort to anything worse than glaring at me for making you late, i always thought he'd get me thrown into the brig just for being annoying in his presence.

i still think about him sometimes. more than sometimes. i heard he had family close to the capital? you'd know more about that, i suppose. it feels stupid, but i feel guilty that i didn't know him better. did he laugh at stupid jokes, did he turn his head up towards the sky when it rained, did he see an end to this war? it doesn't seem fair that you're the one who has to carry him. someone else should remember him. i pray you learn you don't have to shoulder this burden alone.

but that's not what i was writing to you about. or, rather, wanted to write to you about. are you even getting these? i hope you are, but i know how tricky sending mail is. it once took five months for one of alina's letters to get to me, you know, so it wouldn't surprise me if you never saw these.

i met some people. well, if you could even call them people. they're idiots, really, the both of them. added onto my unit just last week, though i don't think they know a thing about tracking. that's fine, though, they're good guys and it's easier not to fall into thought with their incessant babbling going on in the background. it's hard to get close to people in times like these, but they seem too harmless to keep away. hopefully they get to stick around for a while, but we can't be sure of anything, can we?

that's all i had to say, i suppose. i'll end it here before this gets any longer.

take care, mal.

i think about how we left things. should i have pushed more, come to see you when i knew time was running out for us? it didn't seem to be within my right. we always knew this would end somewhere, just ships that pass in the night, but the tide seemed to carry us further away than i’d anticipated. it’s hard to wrap my head around how awful it felt when they gave out my orders, the way it seemed time was hacking me to pieces when all i wanted desperately was to help you keep yourself together. but you wouldn’t even look at me in the days that led to that moment. it was like i stopped existing for you, and you couldn’t see me as i floated away.

this isn’t to say i blame you. i don’t. saints, i don’t think i could ever place the blame on you for anything. but we were friends, right? if nothing else, we were friends, and now it feels like we’re nothing. the memory of your hands on me is a ghost that lingers, the proof that it wasn’t all just a dream. it’d be easier if it was. then i wouldn’t have to lie awake at night, wondering if you’re reading these. if you are, i’m sorry. i don’t blame you, i swear i don’t. grief is a monster that claws through all of us, and you lost the most important person that you had. if one day i got word that alina was gone from this world, i would destroy myself in that pain. but you had to watch him go, you have the memory of that now.

i’m sorry. if you get nothing else from this letter, just know that i’m sorry and i’m still here. if you need me, i’m still here, nik. i know it isn’t much, but it’s all i have to offer.

your friend, mal.

all of my writing seems to be reserved for you and alina. i don’t have anyone else, i guess, but that’s okay. they sent me out again, caryeva this time. it’s only for a few weeks, but i don’t mind traveling to this one. alina’s here, said something about the cartographers trying to make sense of the caves. i don’t know how much sense they expect to make of her drawings, but, hey, she’s here. so that means that all of my writing is reserved for you, at least until i have to leave again.

i'm sorry about the last letter. i shouldn't have sent it. that's one i really hope you didn't get, but i guess you wouldn't know that if you aren't getting any of them. there's only so much i can keep bottled up, though, and it's not like i can tell anyone else about you. i've thought about telling alina, a few times, but then i look over at her and forget how to breathe and thinking about you gets a little harder to do. it's always been like that with her, though, but i can't put words to the feeling when she's the one i'm talking to. she's familiar, like you were for those few months. like you'd still be if one day we met back in the middle of this war.

princes go on to do princely things, and our story probably ended already, but i'm just unlucky enough to be stupidly optimistic. i see an end to this war, and i see you becoming a great leader, and i see it all unfolding in front of my eyes. see? stupidly optimistic. it's alright, though. someone somewhere has to have hope. why not let it be me?

your stupid optimist, mal.

we left caryeva this morning. just me and the poor idiots who came here on their way to make the journey back to sikursk. i hugged alina so tight i think i would have broken bones if we'd held on any longer, but she didn't complain. just wiped the tears away and called me stupid, in that same tone she uses when she's not trying to make things sadder than they are. i missed her the moment my back was to her, my feet carrying me hundreds of miles away from her again. the ache never left me when i was with her, but she makes everything easier. now she's gone again, and i can't help but let the loneliness creep back in.

i'm an orphan, did i ever tell you that? it's hard to say, never comes out quite right. like saying "i have nobody who cares about me" or "everyone who should have loved me is dead." that's what people look at me like, at least. pity and sadness and the way the war keeps taking and will keep taking more. but that's not true. i have someone. her. we've always had each other.

i have alina, and i still feel alone.

you haven't responded, or you never got these letters, or you did and haven't even read them. i don't know which one makes this more painful. doubt muddies everything and the lack of answers rips away any security i had in what we had. but what did we have? a few nights of stupid choices, where i could have drowned my troubles away in anything but you chose me and that felt good enough to mean something? i said i wouldn't blame you and that's still true, i can't put this on your shoulders on top of everything else. mostly, i blame this war.

i've thought about not writing these anymore. they don't make me feel closer to you. they just make the distance seem longer. but i don't want to leave you alone. i'm sorry, i don't know what else to do.

i suppose i'll keep on holding hope for a little longer.

running out of things to put here, mal.

it's late, and the stars are shining high above, and i can't sleep. dubrov's snores could shake the mountains, but that's not why i'm awake. i stopped believing you're getting these, so i guess it doesn't matter if i say it now. i miss you. being with you was easy, which is why i know it was never real. what we had only ever existed in my head, and you forgot about me the moment i wasn't around anymore.

were we friends, nik? were we at least that?

i have to believe we were. because if we weren't, what does that leave me with?

i never thought i'd get to keep you but a part of me was looking for a happier ending, a more satisfying conclusion. you were the first thing i didn't want to run from, that i didn't even realize you were never there with me to begin with.

all i’ve said in these letters is sorry, but i can't apologize for this one.

mal.

it'll be a year tomorrow.

by the time you get this, if you get this, it'll be longer than that.

i can't help but think about you sitting in your tent, alone, shoving that grief down as the time ticks by. or do you drown your sorrows in someone else, the next petty face that catches your eye? is it wrong to say that? i don't know. and you're not reading these anyways.

that's not fair to you. i told myself i wasn't going to be angry writing this one, and saints know i still ache to think about you feeling any of that grief alone. but it's been a year, and it could be two years, and i know that this is it. you're never going to write back, and i suppose that's on me for expecting you to.

i'm sorry. i'm sorry that i'm mad and i'm sorry about dominik and i'm sorry i let you push me away when all i wanted was to be there. i can't go back and change that, i don't even know if i would want to. were you always so stubborn, or is that what you told yourself you had to be?

please let someone in, nik. even if it's not me.

mal.

i should stop writing these, but you know how it goes. one more letter turns into two, two turns into a chest full of them. there’s no telling if i'm sending these to the right place anymore, if you've moved on. they said they'd find their way to you anyways, but that's hard to put any amount of faith on. there's too many unanswered letters for me to make up my mind on what's happening to them.

i keep thinking that you might have found someone else and can't help being jealous despite knowing it's probably for the best. maybe we can both find something to keep us feeling a little more human, a little more whole.

if i kiss someone and all it does is remind me of you, does that still count as trying to forget you?

swallowing the idea that one day you might disappear from my memory is hard, though i shudder to think of the alternative. nobody tastes like you. the only person who's ever made me laugh like you did is alina, and even my love for her is different. it doesn’t burn like yours did. like it still does.

what i'm trying to say is: i don't think i can forget you if i tried, but saints i wish i could. and i hope it’s harder for you to forget about me than it is to ignore these letters.

everything i have left, mal.

this was supposed to be an apology for something, but the words won’t come out right. here it is, nik. by this point, i’ve spent more time being ignored by you then i ever got to have you. if you never get these letters, i hope you spend the rest of your days thinking i forgot about you. if you did, i hope you never read this one.

you said i could keep you as long as i wanted, and i wanted to believe that was true. so much that i put my heart in your hands. even though we never called it love. there was always a part of me that knew it was a mistake. i understood then that it was a lie, just like i know now that you're never going to write back. i gave you my heart. i gave you everything. i should have asked for it back when i tucked my things away that final night.

i said i wasn’t going to blame you, but then that just means we’re both liars.

you should have looked away that day our eyes first met. you should have told me to leave when all i wanted was to spend every waking moment right next to you. if you knew we didn’t even get a chance, that you were never going to keep me, you should have pushed me away before i felt your teeth sinking into my heart.

maybe we were both naive and stupid, but you always knew, didn’t you? i did too, but you can’t tell a lovestruck boy what he can and can’t do with his feelings. that’s what it is, isn’t it? i cared too much and you cared too little, or you just didn’t care about me more than you cared about letting me go.

war has never been kind but it feels less cruel than what you’ve done to me, and if i were to die tomorrow at least i wouldn’t have to think about you anymore.

saints, let your memory be purged from my body.

this isn't a letter. this is a eulogy. and an apology.

i don’t want to hate you, but hate pours out when i write these. there’s nothing healing about wanting to say my piece to you, and getting nothing back. like arguing with a wall. at least i’d know if a wall was there. so, this is the last one, nikolai. there’s nowhere else for me to put my feelings down for you, so i’ll bury them in this ink and move on.

if i loved you once, i can no longer separate that love from the pain your absence has caused. there is nothing more empty than being faced with your silence, no greater frustration than knowing you’re out there somewhere and we walk the same earth on startlingly different roads. you were never mine, and i was always yours. but you didn’t ask for my love, and i’m sorry i gave it so easily. a lesson for next time.

i hope you get to see the ocean, nik. i hope whatever doubt that lives in your heart can be replaced by something or someone else. if one day i hear that you’ve done great things with your life, i want to hear your name from the mouth of a stranger and think only fondly of our times together. you deserve all of the love a country can give for a great prince, and an even greater man. but more than that, you deserve to be happy.

maybe someday, when we’ve both found a place to put our love, we can meet again. maybe by then we’ll be ready to call each other friend.

i won’t hold my breath, but i choose to believe there’s a silver lining here somewhere.

goodbye, mal.

#livingprophecy #livingprophecy ( nikolai )#[ what the fuck do i even tag this as DF;LKGSJDG;LDKJFGFD;GLKJGLKD ]#[ 3k words and for what??? to make you cry zee???? ]#first army au tbt.

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queensparklekitten · 3 years

Text

A raid from the POV of a villager. Inspired by the raid I just fought off in Minecraft.

(contains mentions of blood and murder)

When your iron golem died in battle some days ago while the local player was in the nether, it’s scary enough to see a zombie.

But a zombie is desirable compared to a small group of pillagers across the river from here, brandishing crossbows and fully ready to slaughter us all.

We’re a small village, and even though I’m a weaponsmith, none of us are really capable of combat. My job isn’t useless, however, as the girl in enchantment-glittering diamond armor proves time and time again when she sells me tons of coal and iron ingots for cheap prices. I’m a journeyman by now, and she’s helped me with it a lot.

Speaking of her, I hope she comes here soon. The pillagers know where our village is, and our iron golem is dead, which... is not a good combination. Were the player here, she could kill the pillagers, or sell me more iron to make a new golem, or-

"Well this sure wasn’t what i was expecting from this trip, but okay.”

I recognize that voice. It’s her.

Dear lord, what a relief. I’ve seen her bludgeon a zombie to death with a wooden shovel. She’ll have no trouble against a few pillagers with that diamond sword... hold on. Her sword wasn’t black before.

No. Freaking. Way. She has a netherite sword. I’ve heard of netherite, and I believed it was real and felt vindicated when she excitedly told us that she found some, but hearing about netherite and seeing it for yourself are two different things.

I can’t help but watch as she fights the pillagers. She takes a few arrows, but within several minutes, she’s slaughtered them all. The last one she kills is the tallest one, which drops something on the ground. From across the river, I can’t tell what it is, but she seems to know, since she picks it up and stares at it for a minute.

“Oh god. She didn’t!”

I notice for the first time the librarian next to me, watching the player place down the item. From where she places it, I can see it better now: A banner of some kind, with what looks like a pillager face on it.

I realize that pillager wasn’t very tall after all- it just had a banner on its head. But wait, didn’t I hear somewhere that’s a bad omen?

As if hearing my thoughts, the librarian responds. “Raids almost always happen after a player arrives, and they usually have a banner that looks exactly like that!”

“Wait, are you saying we’re going to get raided? But the iron golem is dead!”

The librarian points to the player. She’s standing still, looking at us from across the river, taking out golden apples and her crossbow. Preparing for battle.

“Oh shit.”

She runs into the village, golden apple in hand.

The farmer must have seen too, because he’s running towards the bell, and rings it like crazy. The librarian rings it too, right before the player arrives, frantically ringing the bell so hard it’s almost horizontal, screaming at us to get inside now in what I can tell is panic. She doesn’t stop ringing the bell. Getting the hint, I run into the nearest building and shut the door behind me, making sure to not be visible from the window.

A few minutes later, the bell-ringing stops. I hear the sound of a horn in the distance.

Trying to stay as far away as possible from the window, I listen to the sounds of battle. Arrows hitting shields, pillagers and the player and the librarian all screaming over each other, fighters falling backwards and eventually the unmistakable sound of something being killed with a very sharp object. A moment later, I hear that sound again, but slightly different. And again, but slightly different again.

And then approaching sounds of faint panting. Something catching its breath.

I don’t hear any more pillagers. Is the raid over already?

I take the chance to look out the window. The player is standing there, blood on her chestplate, arrows strewn around her on the floor, the dead bodies of pillagers near her. No alive ones in sight. I see others leaving their houses, so I leave the building. No arrows fly towards me.

Did she win that fast? Holy crap! Netherite really IS as powerful as they say-

“Why are you outside? The raid’s not done!”

“But you killed them all-”

“That was only the first wave.”

She rings the bell again, golden apple in hand. “Get back inside! It’s not safe yet! Get back inside! It’s not safe yet!”

I run towards the first building I see. The fletcher must have seen that same building, because they’re running towards it as fast as I am. The player is following them. I can see why. Everyone with half a brain can tell the fletcher is the player’s favourite member of this village. They dip her arrows in poison for only one or two emeralds per 5 arrows. She can’t get enough of the poison arrows. Obviously, her only source of them needs to be well-protected.

The minute the fletcher gets inside, the player takes out the first block she can get to start barricading- wait, no! I’m not in yet!

I speed up, charging for the house as fast as I can, my legs hurting and my mind racing. I scream to her, telling her to wait up, and dive into the house the moment she places a netherrack block in front of the door, blocking us from getting out and the raiders from getting in. The fletcher slams the door, and I collapse on the bed, gasping and panting.

“Oh my god... a millisecond to spare and I would have been locked out with the raiders!”

As I try to collect myself, I hear the horn again, and the second wave begins.

The fletcher is looking out the window, so I decide to take a peek too, see what’s going on out there. I can see them. Most of them wield crossbows, save for one, wearing a banner and carrying an iron axe. I don’t see the player. She’s most likely barricading the rest of us indoors.

Then I hear someone scream for help.

It’s the farmer, still outside, looking for a house to hide in- oh god. He’s much closer to the pillagers than the only thing currently capable of defending us is.

I run to the door to look for the player. I see her through the acacia door right as she turns to where she heard the scream, and runs towards the raiders as another scream goes up, netherite sword gleaming with enchantment and a mix of fear and fury in her eyes-

She stops running.

I run to the window. What I see makes me want to scream myself.

The farmer is dead on the ground, arrows stuck in him in four different places.

The fletcher actually does scream. I cover their mouth, and they begin to break down crying. The fletcher and the farmer were always hanging out, chatting before work and sometimes staying in the same house. Now one of them is dead, and the other may well soon be.

As I’m hiding under the blankets with the fletcher, I hear a loud enraged growl, as if from some kind of wild animal I’ve never seen before. I assume the raiders have brought some sort of beast, but then I hear the voice of the player coming from where that growl was. Only lower, and overflowing with fury. The same voice that made that sound from before.

“You BASTARDS.”

I look out the window in time to see her charge. She swings her sword and blocks arrow after arrow with her shield, hitting raider after raider. The one with the iron axe hits her shield right, and it seems to stop working for a moment, causing her to take a hit from an arrow, then one from the axe, then a couple more arrows. She swings her sword again and then runs.

Wait, what? She ran? But she’s our defender, why is she running? How badly did she get hurt from the arrows?

She returns a moment later, surrounded by the pink haze of regeneration.

Ah. Golden apple break.

This time, she places another netherrack block, and jumps to place another beneath her, towering up and up until I can’t see her anymore.

A moment later, arrows rain from the netherrack tower, the poison tipping them getting into the raiders’ blood and taking effect immediately. Not even a minute later, she’s breaking her tower to get back down to the now weakened enemies.

“Hey, look! She’s avenging him! And she used your arrows!”

The fletcher looks up, and looks out the window just in time to see the player dismember a pillager before collecting her missed arrows and stabbing another pillager.

I cannot describe the sound the fletcher made. But I can describe the sound that came after that- namely, their screaming that the pillager deserved it for FUCKING MURDERING HIM, before starting to cry again.

The player finishes off the third pillager and runs off to get the raider with the axe, who had run off while she was on the tower.

The two of us hide from the window, the violence we witnessed playing on loop in our heads, shaking and thinking maybe we should try looking out the window again to see what’s going on and not looking out the window again and wondering what will happen if this raid lasts until night and hugging pillows until the moment we hear another horn sound.

I hear more carnage outside. I don’t want to look at what’s happening out there, but part of me wants to. I want to see what exactly is going on. Or maybe I just want to see a netherite sword in action. I am a weaponsmith, after all, and after enough time working with weapons, you begin to really love the stronger ones, admire the beauty of a shining sword made of black metal excavated from the Nether itself and fused with gold. Or maybe I just want assurance that the player isn’t dead. Even if she can cheat death, she’d still have to return here from her base, giving the enemy plenty of time to do whatever they want.

What makes me give in to the urge to look outside is hearing a roar that I know was not from the player.

I look in the direction of the roar and see what made it, and instantly wish I hadn’t. What the hell is that thing.

It’s enormous, that’s for sure. And it has horns, and appears to be saddled with some form of armor. And its face... its face is far too much like ours for anything that isn’t our species. The eyes are almost the same, the eyebrows, the nose, the only thing making its face look different from those of your average villager or pillager is the dark gray complexion and its enormous jaws with sharp teeth.

It roars, and the sound itself seems to knock the player backwards, throwing her into the center of the village. She cries for the iron golem before remembering it’s dead, and realizing she has no choice but to kill this thing herself.

She loads up a poison arrow in her crossbow and fires at the monster’s creepy face. A direct hit. The thing doesn’t go down.

I go back to hiding and listening as arrows are shot and both raiders and the player take damage. As the battle rages on outside, I start wondering why the player came here at all if she knew we would get raided if she didn’t turn back. Was there a reason she couldn’t go home?

I get so caught up in thinking about this I don’t even notice when the sounds of battle stop until the door opens. The player is standing there, covered in blood. I can’t tell how much of it is her own and how much belonged to the raiders.

“It’s safe to come out now. We won.”

As everyone comes out from the houses they took shelter in, one by one we take in the scene.

The streets are red and littered with the bodies of pillagers, some of them dismembered or sliced clean in half or decapitated. There are small puddles of poison where the missed arrows landed, and at least one damaged crossbow lying on the ground. One of the corpses is of that massive beast I saw, with at least five arrows stuck in it. And standing in the middle of it all is the player, panting in exhaustion, looking like she’s about to collapse.

“Holy crap...”

“Well someone’s gotta clean that up.”

“You saved us!”

That last one gets repeated. And... they’re right. She saved us. She saved us all.

The librarian sets off a blue firework, blazing bright against the red sunset, and the village rejoices.

“Hey, it’s getting dark, and it takes a while to get home, you guys mind if I crash here?” asks the player.

“Sure! You can stay wherever you want.”

She enters the nearest house and collapses from exhaustion almost immediately.

The next morning, the dead bodies have been moved away and the player has collected the saddle. We insist she not help us, but she says she should, and we can’t argue with her.

The whole village is offering her discounts for heroism, and she trades and trades with us. By the end of the day, she’s sold every iron ingot she currently has on her, and made tons of paper for the express purpose of selling it.

I overhear her conversation with the fletcher.

“I’m sorry for your loss... you don’t need to give me discounts. I understand if you’re mad at me for failing to save him.”

“It wasn’t your fault, it was the raiders. And you did avenge him. I think it’s perfectly reasonable that you only pay 22 sticks for an emerald.”

“Well in that case, I suppose. Oh yeah, by the way, I could not have defeated that ravager without poison arrows. Those things are made to fight iron golems, even with full diamond armor they’re super hard for a player to beat.”

“You want more poison arrows? That’ll be one emerald for five poison arrows.”

“Hell yeah I want more poison arrows.”

Ravager, huh. Is that what that thing was?

That afternoon, the village gathers in the center, along with the player and our brand new iron golem. We talk about one thing only: the raid. And somehow, the discounts have evolved into free stuff- for everyone.

It starts with the armorer giving the player a free chainmail chestplate, which the player reacts in excitement to despite having an enchanted diamond one. Then the fletcher gives her some arrows.

The player herself, meanwhile, has baked us all some bread.

“Free bread! Free bread for everyone! Who wants free bread!”

I take the bread. I also give her a free stone axe, which she accepts at once, saying she could use something to chop down a tree with for more sticks to sell and apples to make golden. I even see her using it later on, and feel a swell of pride knowing that the hero of the village is using the axe I gave her.

A baby villager is born soon afterwards, and the player gets a free chainmail helmet and boots to go with that chestplate, plus two free books, though she continues to trade with us.

As I’m wandering the village looking for something to do, I spot her by the small sugar cane farm she set up on the beach next to the village. She’s holding the banner from earlier, as well as a few more.

“Collected some of these from the raiders. Don’t see much use for them.”

She throws the banners into the ocean, and returns to the village. She’s humming a song I’ve heard her hum before.

“Do you ever hear it?”

I can tell at once what she’s referring to. The player speaks of hearing beautiful music from everywhere at once, as if the world itself is singing to her. You can always tell when that is even when she doesn’t hum along, because she often appears to be on the verge of tears.

Normally, we never hear this music she speaks of.

But in this moment, if I try to hear it, I can.

#minecraft #mineblr #my writing #the baby villager became a farmer and gave me both a pumpkin pie and a cookie for free btw

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