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oftenwantedafton · 4 months

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Vent - Steve Raglan/William Afton/Springtrap x Female Reader

Chapters 4-6

Rating - Explicit

Warnings - mental health issues, no explicit content in these chapters

Also available on AO3 Chapter 4 | 5 | 6

Chapter 4 ~ the interview ~

Steve Raglan recognizes you.

It’s the strangest thing; when you’re first guided into his office, his welcoming voice is pleasantly neutral until he looks up from the paperwork on his desk and then the words of greeting trail off weakly. His eyes widen slightly behind the lenses of gold rimmed glasses, his lashes lifting briefly before they drop down once more. You’re convinced he’s definitely seen you before, though you can’t imagine where. The middle aged man doesn’t look familiar to you at all.

“Welcome, have a seat.” He recovers smoothly, gesturing at a vacant chair across from him.

You sit down, setting your backpack by your feet.

The bearded man opens a folder and glances at its contents, his eyes alternating between the pages and your face, his fingers tapping along the paper surface, as if he’s cataloguing something. The awkward silence lengthens and then he speaks again as if there’s been no lull. “So, I’ve got your contact information here. I understand you’re interested in a job at Freddy’s.”

You nod. “What positions are available?”

The career counselor spreads his fingers out. He talks a lot with his hands, you notice immediately; the long, well manicured fingers constantly in motion, punctuating each utterance. “Well, it really depends on where your interests lie and what your abilities are. The remodeling and construction will be done during the first couple of months, then training starts for the employees. We’re looking to get up and running by next spring.”

“We?”

“More accurately myself. Just speaking formally in the third person. I’m the sole proprietor.”

You blink in surprise. “You own it?”

“Yes.” He eases back into the swivel chair, slowly tapping a pen against his palm, studying your face. “Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself?”

“Um, I’m a senior. I turned eighteen this past summer.”

“References?”

“I babysit a lot. I’ve worked at a clothing store in the mall.”

“Experience with a cash register and with children, those are pluses.” He leans forward and marks something down on the paper in your folder. “Do you have a reliable source of transportation?”

“I typically walk everywhere or ride my bike, but my neighbor’s son is going away for college next year and he’s going to sell me his. That’s what I’ve been saving up for.”

“Potentially an issue with inclement winter weather in the near future, but I understand the mayor is planning on reinstating public transportation to the area, so…” Another mark. “What about your future goals? Plans for college? Do you see this as something temporary, or were you thinking about long term?”

Overwhelmed by the barrage of questions, you find yourself stammering your reply. “I…I’m not sure yet. I want to go, I’m just undecided about a major.”

Steve reaches for a glass dish set on the corner of his desk filled with hard candy, selecting one and making short work of the wrapper before popping it into his mouth.

“Help yourself.” He gestures to the sweets and you choose one, thinking it might be rude to decline, but don’t unwrap it yet.

You can hear the confectionery knocking against the man’s teeth as he rolls it with his tongue. “What would you say is your strongest subject in school? What are some of your hobbies?”

You fidget with the sleeves of your hoodie. “I don’t really excel at anything in particular. I enjoy English Literature and Art. I like writing and drawing.”

Raglan nudges the frames sliding down his nose absently, his gaze intent on your face. “What sorts of things do you write and draw?”

You shrug uncomfortably. You’re not used to talking about your interests with other people; not really used to anyone taking an interest at all. For a fleeting moment the yellow rabbit crosses your mind. “I do a lot of journaling. Drawing…I like animals, nature…I enjoy building models too….a bunch of different stuff, I guess,” you conclude lamely.

The older man hums thoughtfully, the pen now slack between his fingers, teeter tottering either end against the halfway filled page. “How would you describe yourself?” He begins to read off a list: “Motivated? Outgoing? Energetic? Team player?” He frowns, dropping the pen and focusing his attention on you. “I really hate these generic questionnaires. Just tell me in your own words. If you had to pick one word to describe yourself.”

“I…I guess I’m pretty introverted. I don’t really get along with people my own age.” You realize you’re not doing much to sell yourself for employment at a party themed restaurant and you hastily add, “I’m interested in the animatronics. I mean, I could do waitressing or food prep or whatever, but the behind the scenes stuff is what I’m really curious about,” you admit, surprising yourself. You’d never really given it much thought before now.

Steve abruptly leans forward, the motion reminding you of a cat pouncing on its prey. “Are you? Tell me more about that.”

“I don’t know. I want to understand how they function, I guess. Construction, maintenance. Everything. Not that I’m qualified for that, I know; but I’d be willing to learn.”

“A lot of engineering relies on the ability to think in the abstract. Piece together connections that aren’t immediately visible to the naked eye. Kind of like solving a puzzle but in three dimensions.”

You nod. “That’s what I find appealing.”

The diluted blue topaz irises continue to hold your gaze. “How interesting. Still waters run deep.”

You frown, puzzled.

“It means there’s more to you than meets the eye, basically. Quiet, withdrawn individuals tend to be grossly misunderstood.” He lifts the paper and slides in back inside the Manila folder. You hear the last dregs of the candy surrender to his teeth, crushed and pulverized between them. “You won’t be working at the front end. It would be an absolute waste of everyone’s time.”

“So…what does that mean?”

“Plan your schedule around having some afternoons and evenings busy by spring.”

“That’s it? I’m hired?”

His lips twitch, almost but not quite forming a smile. “Welcome on board.”

Chapter 5 ~ a warning ~

The front door of the pizzeria is no longer boarded up.

You slow your pace as you draw closer, cautiously studying the building, but you see no other signs that anything has been disturbed. You cup your hand and seat it against the glass front, trying to shield your eyes from the glare behind you to peer inside the restaurant. You can vaguely make out an archway just past the hostess’s podium, a checkerboard patterned floor, and a row of empty fifty cent prize machines, the candy and stickers and plastic toys long gone.

Your hand drifts down to rest on the door handle and you hesitate before pulling, not entirely expecting it to be unlocked, but the door swings open easily. It slams behind you after you venture inside, startling you.

The establishment’s interior is dim.

The light from outdoors can only reach so far. You hesitate on the verge of the dining room, eyes roving over the booths and tables. You can just barely see the curtained stage at the far end of the room, where the animatronics perform, now closed off from view by the heavy drapes.

“So you’ve returned.”

You jump again, heart thumping, head swiveling to find the source of the sound.

The yellow rabbit emerges from the shadows at the far end of the room, that tall figure weaving between the seating arrangements as if it is intimately acquainted with their placement. He stops with some distance still between you, leaning against a booth with a stained glass image of the restaurant’s lead mascot, folding his arms. The lit eyes are brighter today.

“You unbarred the door, right? Thank you.”

“No rain today. What’s the excuse this time? Or were you so charmed by our first conversation?” He sounds bemused, as if he’s enjoying some private joke.

“I…I came to tell you. They’re reopening the restaurant. So you should probably find somewhere else to stay.”

He laughs. “Child, I do not live here. And I’m well aware that it’s being restored to its former glory. Is that really what you came here for?”

You flush. “I’m not a child.”

“Barely past it.”

“I was trying to be nice. I thought I should warn you.”

The rabbit’s head tips thoughtfully. “You were genuinely concerned, weren’t you? Then I apologize for my abrasiveness. If it seems I’m ungrateful, it’s because I don’t have the opportunity to interact with others much. He does not let me out often.”

You frown but the strange creature does not elaborate.

“I’ve been hired to work here,” you say to break the sudden silence.

“And what will you be doing?”

“Working on the animatronics.”

“Interesting.” One steel cased finger taps along the forearm of the suit and something in the movement feels strangely familiar.

“Will you…will you be here? When the place reopens?”

You swear the figure is smiling now, impossible to see in the confines of the headpiece but oddly palpable in his speech. “Of course. I always come back.”

Chapter 6 ~ reflection~

The bathroom sink is full of water, the steady drops from the faucet into the plugged basin amassing into a clear pool inside the porcelain bowl.

William Afton stares at that liquid surface, at the ripples that disturb the calm with each drop, and he thinks about who he once was: a husband, a father. A successful business owner. An innovator. And how quickly those marked successes in life had been taken away one by one. How he’d exacted revenge for those losses, little by little, paid in blood.

He bends and plunges his hands into the cool water and splashes it over his face, as if can wipe away that identity so easily. Looking up at the mirrored medicine cabinet, the reflection there is the man he has been masquerading as, this Steve Raglan, Career Counselor. How tiresome the charade is, but needs must. It won’t be for much longer. Construction has proceeded ahead of predicted schedule. He’ll be able to start the employee training soon. He’d gotten a good response from the high school students. Cheap labor. A wise, economical decision he’d learned early on.

He blinks past the rivulets of water trickling over his face and it’s the yellow rabbit’s features he sees, the ravaged mascot staring back at him.

“That’s not why you chose her.”

William scowls. “Why did you let her back inside? Anyone could have gotten in.”

“No one did. No one has come near there for a long, long time.”

“She did.”

“That was incidental.”

“The first visit, maybe. Not the second time. She wanted to see you. She likes you.”

The rabbit shakes his head, his counterpart reflection doing the same. “She’s just a child.”

“On the verge of being an adult.”

The suited mascot leans closer, William’s own face now inches from the silvered surface. “She’s broken.”

“So am I.”

He laughs, the soft sound growing louder as it shakes free, the image in the mirror shifting back to the bearded’s man damp features.

#william afton x reader #william afton x you #steve raglan x reader #steve raglan x you #springtrap #fnaf fanfic #william afton #steve raglan #fnaf movie

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k-dokja · 2 years

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"By the way..."

You glance up to see Dagyum lounging on the other side of the hot tub. In his hand is a rolled-up magazine he's reading, something which makes you wince a little. Of all the abomination you could have been with, you picked the one who rolls the pages of his books. Truly, the most distasteful of them all.

"What do you think about a wedding in spring?"

You narrow your eyes at him. "When did you propose?"

"Spring is nice but there's a lot of weddings happening around that time," he says without meeting your eyes, "I'm not really attached to the idea, but I'd say if we ought to pick a season, let's avoid summer."

"Are you even listening to me?"

He hums, turning another page of his magazine. Only now that you spot the contents of what he's reading. It's a wedding catalogue. At least, you know where he gets the strange idea from.

"A lot of my friends had weddings at Shilla but..." He turns the contents of the other side for you to see. However, it's nowhere near enough for you to read, you only manage to catch the images of a familiar wedding hall. "What's the point of getting married if we're going to do it like everyone else?"

"I've yet to agree to this wedding," you point out, hoping to end this line of thought before it goes south.

However, he continues, unflinchingly, "There's also Banyantree... Intercontinental... Maybe, Walkerhill?"

"Kang Dagyum!"

At that second, you claim a momentary peace thanks to him pausing to look at you. His expression is uncharacteristically serious. Anyone else would've mistaken it for his normal apathy, but you've grown to read between the lines and see the little frown on his face.

For a moment, you've thought you might have offended him with your vehemence opposition. An apology stands at the tip of your tongue, ready to tumble from your lips.

"Maybe JW Marriott?"

Nevermind.

"Who would even want to marry you, you motherfucker?!" You splash the warm water at him. It does insultingly little to deter Dagyum, however. If anything, he gleams under the light reflecting on the droplets of water sticking to his skin. Seriously, you're not dating a normal person.

Dagyum throws his wedding catalogue to the side. The drenched piece of publication lands with a plop on the ground next to the hot tub. Before you have a chance to continue your line of insults, Dagyum has crossed the limited space within the hot tub and stops in front of you.

He traps you between his arms, no way to leave without passing him. His hands grip on the shell of the tub behind you back. As always, he carries that expression of apathy that you know hide far more than it lets on. This close, you can see the details of his face. He's impossibly beautiful, long lashes with smooth skin accentuating his fine features. His lips, pink and succulent, part like an invitation.

On any other occasion, you would've taken it.

"Elope, it is."

"Seriously, you—Mmph!"

He cuts off your words with his lips on yours. His mouth fits you with practised precision. His tongue moves against yours, prying out delicious moans and soft sighs. Just for a little, you can feel the shape of his smile when he kisses you. For all of his flaws, which are deceptively far more than people expected, Dagyum knows how to elicit every noise he wanted from you.

Every... except the yes to his proposal, apparently.

He parts, a momentary reprieve for air, "So, how about next week for the time?"

"No," you deadpan and he kisses you again.

His hand snakes around your waist, pulling you against him. Easily, your arms wind up around his neck. He takes you like second nature. His other hand slides up the side of your thigh. Your leg moves up with the length of his stroke, stopping only to hook around his waist. He presses you against the shell. The pressure of his entire body numbs yours, evaporating any idea of escaping from your brain.

"You're right," he says, "I'm busy next week, maybe the one after."

"No!"

Ugh, curse him and his love for messing with you.

#dg lookism #dg x reader #lookism #lookism x reader #james lee #james lee x reader #fics

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angryschnauzer · 1 year

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As Sweet As Honey - Chapter 6

Summary: Finding a new life in a new town, you stumble upon a Honey farmer at the town market. You both have pasts that have shaped the way you now live your lives, but can you find a way of putting them behind you to find happiness?

Pairing: ‘Lucas’ Syverson x Female Reader

Fandom: Henry Cavill, Sandcastle (Movie).

Ongoing Genre: Fluff, Angst, and Smut

Story Warnings: Slight Angst, Talk of a car accident in the past, Anxious Sy, Mild Embarrassment, First Date Nerves, Kissing, NSFW, 18+, Smut, Fingering, Grinding, Hot Tub Frolics, Handjob, Titty Sucking, Nudity.

Chapter 6 Warnings: NSFW, 18+, Smut, Fingering, Oral Sex (Female Receiving), Angst, talk of abusive past relationship

Wordcount: 2222

Here is my masterlist and AO3

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5,

I do not run a tag list, instead please follow @angryschnauzerwrites and put that blog onto notifications, you’ll then get an alert each time i post something new. My AO3 also has my entire back catalogue of stories (going back to 2013).

As Sweet As Honey - Chapter 6

Sy had a spring in his step as he returned to his truck, the box from Antonios tucked under his arm and he was thankful he’d left Akia at home for this trip as she would be happy snuffling around in the yard on the long tether he’d installed. He made sure the box was carefully wedged into the passenger side footwell before circling the truck and climbing in, whistling a happy tune as he started the truck and backed out of the space. He was in his own little world and didn’t see his cousin Walter wave to him or hear him call out his name.

The drive to your place was fairly short, and as he waited at stop signs and went in turn he mulled over in his head all the things he was going to tell you and share the good news. When he finally reached your house he pulled onto the driveway and smiled when he saw you in the garden, hanging laundry on the line so it billowed in the breeze, that same breeze making the hem of your summer dress flip and dance, revealing your soft thighs and the curve of your ass. He didn’t even realise he’d done it but you heard the low growl of appreciation he’d let out as he stood near your porch.

“Sy!” you called, abandoning the remaining laundry in the hamper and running across the lawn to him. He wrapped his free arm around your waist and pulled you to him, holding the box out of the way as you kissed. When you finally pulled apart you rested your hands on his chest;

“To what do I owe this honour of a surprise visit?”

“Just been to Antonios” he said with a grin, lifting the box a little.

“Oh this sounds like good news… what’s in the box?”

Sy smirked;

“Something juicy and round i have to pour my honey over and sprinkle with nuts”

Raising your eyebrows you pretended to be curious whilst trying not to giggle, instead you let out a small shriek as Sy wrapped an arm around you, cupping your ass before hoisting you up onto his hip and you wrapped your legs around his waist; “I’ll show you inside”

In the cool shade of the cottage he set you down on the old wooden surface of your kitchen table, his arm never leaving your back as he stood between your legs. That arm slid up your back and to the back of your neck, curling in your hair as he gently pulled your head back so he could kiss you. At some point he must have set the box down as you felt his other hand cup your cheek, before his fingertips softly brushed over the top of your chest, and he all out grabbed a handful, grunting into your mouth. Breaking the kiss you pressed your forehead to his;

“I so want your mouth on me but i also want to know what happened at Antonio’s”

Sy smirked;

“I guess i could get you started with my fingers”

With a low growl he pushed your legs further apart, his big hand sliding beneath the skirt of your dress and cupping your pussy in his palm;

“Already so warm and wet for me” he muttered as he pulled the soft cotton to one side and his thick fingers tenderly dragged through your folds; “The meeting was incredible… the main man himself agreed that i have a by far superior product”

“I can vouch for that” you interrupted, grinning as you confidently cupped Sy through his jeans, enjoying the feet of his hardness growing beneath the denim.

“As i was saying…” he cut in as he slid two thick fingers into you; “With the onset of summer and customers wanting lighter flavours, he’s placed a standing order for twelve jars weekly for the next three months, to be reviewed at that point”

“That’s amazing!”

“Which part?” he grinned; “The honey order or what I'm doing to your honey pot?” crooking his fingers just right as he found that spot deep inside that made you see stars.

“Both! BOTH!”

“That’s my good girl,” Sy muttered.

Just as you were about to cum he pulled his fingers away, you were about to complain but were cut off as you watched him get to his knees in front of you. Those ice blue eyes stared up at you when he reached both hands under your skirt to push it up, before pulling your panties down. Leaning back on the table you lifted your ass so he could get them off, his strong hands holding your thighs open as he gratuitously stared your pussy.

“Such a beautiful peach” he praised before pushing closer, his wide tongue licking a firm stripe through your petals. He grunted at your taste hit his tongue and you watched as his eyes fluttered shut as if it was the sweetest nectar he’d ever tasted. His tongue worked magic against your clit, pulling you rapidly to the edge of an orgasm, before he pulled away;

“Hey!” you went to protest before you realised he was quickly pulling his t-shirt over his head, tossing it aside before he wrapped his strong arms around your thighs and pulled you closer to the edge of the table. He dived right back in, this new position having you spread wider as he could control the angle of your thighs, this time his tongue was pushing into your velvet channel as he curled one hand around the top of your thigh to rub firm circles against your clit. He was like a man starved; his mouth never leaving you and for a second you wondered if he would need to come up for air, but as the pleasure built in your body your mind went blank and you forgot of Sy’s need for oxygen.

Your hands reached for something to grip onto, your fingertips sliding on the wood of the table before you reached down and ran your fingers through Sy’s short cropped hair, silky to touch and just long enough to curl and hold onto. His grip on your thighs got tighter as he could feel your orgasm approaching, never relenting with his ministrations until you came with a cry, your legs shaking as they tightened around his head.

“Oh Sy…Sy…” you praised, laying on the kitchen table as he pressed tender kisses to your inner thighs. As your mouth was currently disconnected from your mind you kept whispering his name, until your brain connected with its auditory sensors and realised you could hear a light tapping on the glass window of the old door to the back yard; “Sy…” your mind caught up with what you were seeing; “Walter…”

Sy stopped and immediately popped his head up;

“Walter? What the…?”

You suddenly realised the Sheriff was standing at the door, a shocked look on his face as he saw you and his cousin in the positions you were. Your brain caught up and you hastily pushed your dress down as you squeaked and pointed at the door, Sy looking to the door and his face darkened; “What the fuck does he want?” he grumbled as he pulled himself to his feet and crossed the room in three strides, yanking the door open;

“Walt…”

The burly Sheriff held his hands up, the file he was holding hitting the door;

“Sy, i’m sorry. But this is important”

Sy nodded and went to step outside;

“Okay, we can talk in the yard”

But Walter didn’t move, instead he gripped the file with both hands and looked to you;

“Sy it’s not you i’m here to speak to”

A shiver ran down your spine as you saw the name on the file. With as much grace as you could muster you hopped off the table and tidied your skirt;

“Sheriff… Walter, please could you wait in the living room, i’ll be with you in a moment”

He nodded, waited for Sy to step aside before he quickly crossed the room and disappeared from view. Sy quickly came back to you, scooping his t-shirt from the floor;

“Is everything OK?”

You hadn’t realised you were hugging yourself, chewing nervously on your lip;

“I don’t know. It may be about the restraining order, that was the file he was holding”

Sy paused and blinked a few times before he shook his head as if trying to get his mind around something he hadn’t all the information for;

“Do I need to go?”

Shaking your head you pressed your hand to his chest, the skin warm to touch and a comfort;

“No, please stay. You deserve to know about my past”

With a sigh he nodded, turning his crumpled t-shirt in his hands before discovering the soft pink of your underwear, holding them out to you;

“Think these are yours” he said with a small smile.

It was tough but you matched his smile, and as the two of you silently redressed, your stomach flipped as it tightened with nerves. You didn’t want to leave what seemed like the comfort of your kitchen, but Walter had promised if he ever got an alert you’d be the first to know.

You sat on your couch, the photo gripped between your fingers. The still shot from a traffic cam at the state border on Interstate 94 was clear as day. Your blood ran cold.

“All deputies have been put on alert to look out for his car” Walter said quietly; “He told his parole officer he was heading to San Francisco when he had his final meeting a couple of weeks ago. I set the alert up at the borders and this is when he crossed from North Dakota into Montana. We’re all the way over the other side of the state, he could still just be taking this route coast to coast. I’ve reached out to the Butte City Police just for any alerts when he passes through to see if he heads south from there”

Walter’s words were not reassuring. You hadn’t realised you’d been nervously tapping your foot on the floor until Sy softly put his hand on your knee;

“Whatever you need Honey, i’m here” he paused; “But it would help if i knew what we were dealing with”

You took a deep breath. You were nervous, no, you were scared out of your mind to tell Sy, but he deserved to know. Nodding, you held the photo out;

“This is James. My… husband”

“Your… what?” Sy asked, cocking his head to one side, his lips pressed into a thin line.

“Ex-husband” Walter added; “The Massachusetts courts granted the divorce without him present”

You nodded, turning to Sy and lifting your gaze to his. You could feel tears threatening to spill as you gathered the courage to speak;

“I…” you tried to continue but your words disappeared into a gurgle as tears started to flow, the memories too painful. You needed to get out of the room, to clear your mind. Standing you ran for the door, letting it slam shut behind you.

Sy looked from the door to Walter and back again;

“Could you please tell me what’s going on?”

Walter stood, pulling out his phone;

“I need to call her emergency contact”

He stood at the window as he started to make a call, handing Sy the file.

As Sy opened the battered brown folder his heart sank as he started to read the details. Page after page of background information, photographs of injuries, reports from First Responders and the ER Department. The final pages were details of the restraining order, of the change of last name for identity protection, and that her emergency contact was Tamara the veterinarian that Sy took Akia to for shots and flea treatments. Setting the file back down onto the coffee table he looked up at Walter who was standing silently by the window having finished his call;

“She’s standing out by the Lavender, looking out at the meadow… I’ve called Tamara, she’s on her way”

“I’m going out to see her”

“What are you going to say?”

Sy paused at the doorway;

“I don’t know. But i’m going to show her that i’m here for her”

The wind played over the long grasses in the meadow as you watched the dark clouds on the horizon building, a spring storm brewing to ruin the run of good weather. Heavy footsteps on the lawn brought your attention to the present, before you felt a pair of strong arms softly wrap around you, gently pulling you to rest your back on a firm chest. A bearded kiss pressed to the side of your head and Sy’s voice was quiet;

“Whatever you need, i’m here for you”

Turning you nodded, pressing your face into his chest, inhaling the scent of his aftershave and laundry detergent. You heard the tell tale squeal of Tamara’s car as it roared over the slight hill from town, the grinding of gravel as she pulled up abruptly at your cottage. Turning to Sy, you spoke with a quiet tone;

“Can I stay with you tonight?”

He nodded, pressing a kiss to your forehead;

“Of course you can”

Chapter 7 >>>

#as sweet as honey #sy x reader #captain syverson #syverson #henry cavill

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unrequitedloveletter · 11 months

Note

I wanna love you til we’re food for the worms to eat- this one is summer fluff! Give me two activities/events you typically associate with summer, your character of choice and gender pref for the reader, and I’ll write 3000 words with that!

swimming and picnics withhhh nikolai <3

Sandwiches- N.L x gn! reader

Hi! Thank you for sending this in, it was a blast to write and I'm sorry it's taken me nearly a full two weeks. June has been a very busy month and I've only gotten my footing now that I'm in my last full week of school before exams and graduation, but still! Thank you for sending this in and thank you for your unending patience

As for requests generally, things will hopefully start coming out pretty steadily as of friday! I have a ton of wiggle room this week and even more over the next two and will be spending a lot of that time writing, which will hopefully help my productivity skyrocket lol.

I did go off the request a little (I involved genya, david, zoya, tolya, tamar, and nadia because otherwise I wouldn't've figured out how to move the fic forward) but I hope thats okay!

Fic type- this is just. this is pure fluff

Warnings- mentions of the darkling and what the darkling did to nikolai

Summers in Ravka had always been blisteringly hot. It was annoying, almost, but the transition from late spring to early summer came at you faster than you could've expected. Summer always felt like it was pulled out from under a rug and was never something you quite anticipated, especially not the sheer warmth of the sun beaming at you from nearly all directions.

The transition from spring to summer became especially obvious when you noticed the dandelions popping up in the fields, some of which Zoya collected and gave you for the lime and dandelion iced tea you'd make in big batches when the weather was at it's hottest. You loved the process and often could be found by the lake with Nikolai, drinking a glass of iced dandelion tea that'd been spiked with lime liquor or the dandelion wine Nikolai had shipped in from Novyi Zem during early spring.

That day, it seemed, was no different.

Well, it was slightly different. You and Nikolai had packed a picnic basket with all of the best food from the kitchens--sweet rolls galore, Nikolais favorite food and your own, a couple of the sweets you both liked, and the picnic staple: sandwiches.--and had put on your swimming clothes to spend the day in the lake.

The temperature was at a high of 30 degrees Celsius and it was too hot to focus on anything other than how hot it was while cooped up indoors, and as such Nikolai had given Tolya, Tamar, Nadia, Zoya, Genya, and David the day off. You'd not seen them yet but you had no doubt that Genya and David would find you in the lake eventually, Tamar and Nadia at their heels, Tolya and Zoya probably not far off either.

But, for the moment, you chose to enjoy things as they were. The water was cold, the lime and dandelion tea spiked with dandelion wine kept cold in an ice filled cooler, the sun cascading across the lake in beautiful beams of light. You were determined to enjoy the day and not be deterred by work or the responsibilities that you would step back into the moment you woke the following morning.

Your determination had proved to do wonders by the afternoon, when you had not thought of work since Nikolais arms had found your waist as you idly looked through the librarys catalogue and he'd whispered of a day spent by the lake as you soaked up the sun.

You'd spent most of that day just talking to him. Not focusing on work or having work related discussions, just standing waist level in the water with his arms around your shoulders, talking about the absolute, the complete and the utterly mundane. Your lives had gotten so busy that it was nice to not have to focus on work, and it was incredible to just ask him how he was doing and hear all of the boring particulars of being a royal in turn.

You waded further into the water as Nikolai asked: "What of you, love? Outside of work and going to sleep next to you every night, I feel like I don't know anything of you lately."

You grinned. "I've been reading a lot," you said. "Brushing up on foreign policy, helping Zoya maintain her garden and missing you, if I might dare to be completely candor. I love you, Nik, but how busy we've both gotten is ridiculous."

Nikolai laughed, and you laughed, and then you were turning your head and pressing a kiss to the left side of his jaw and your heart was going still, the rapid thump of it dissipating from your eardrums as it calmed. Part of you was waiting for Nikolai to make a silly but flirtatious remark to get it going again, knew that because Nikolai was Nikolai, it was really only a matter of time.

"I know," Nikolai said. "I've been horrid at managing my time as of late. I've got a relatively relaxed next while, though. Had my advisors make sure of it."

You pressed another kiss to his jaw. "I love you,"

Nikolai laughed. "I love you too."

The two of you carried on like that until the sun was burning low and the sunset was near, between an hour and thirty minutes away at least. You carried on laughing, making jabs and growing flustered whenever the other gave a flirtatious remark or a glorious smile.

You'd missed Nikolai more than you had thought, and every time he would laugh your heart would swell, your body filling with so much contentedness that you could've evaporated within the depths of it. Everything about Nikolai was the picture of calmness, assuredness and composure, and his presence was usually a constant as you were a consort--soon to rule alongside him, if he would ever propose--and worked within the depths of his palaces, a member of his council and one of his guards on the night shift a few days a week, waiting for the demon of the Darklings creation to come out of hiding as it did whenever you were not there to put him in the handcuffs he wore while he slept in the Darklings old quarters.

You had missed him like nothing else, and there was not a moment of that day that you weren't cherishing. It was a glorious day in summer, your mind was not focused on work or the particulars of the palace, and you were determined to enjoy it and do nothing but enjoy it.

You swam for a little longer, engaging in a splash war--which, with great humility, you ended up winning--against Nikolai and laughing when Nikolai tried to get you back for it twenty minutes later, claiming another victory against him within a solid ten minutes.

You relaxed, floated about the lake and let yourself stop thinking for a while, sat on the docks for a break to breathe and look at the sky while Nikolai floated about the lake and remarked about how relaxing it was to do so. You closed your eyes, created waves in the water by idly kicking your feet to keep it from getting too cold.

You opened your eyes again and reapplied sunscreen despite the sunset drawing nearer because you didn't want to take any risks with the health implications of not applying sunscreen at all. Nikolai approached and wrapped his arms around your waist, humming as you began to run your hands through his hair and massage his scalp, a comforting silence settling between the two of you as he idly ran his thumb up and down your hip.

"'M sorry I've been working so much," Nikolai said, breaking the silence as the sunset really started to close in on the two of you, the sky setting off into hues of oranges, reds, purples, light and dark blues and even a couple of spots of a deep blueish green. "Seeing you when we go to sleep or when you're putting me in chains in anticipation of the monster has been good, but I miss seeing you during the day. I'm sorry I let work cloud everything over for a while."

"It's as much my fault as it is yours," you said, pulling a hand through your own hair as your gaze moved to the sky again. Nikolai joined you on the dock, pressing a kiss to your forehead as he pulled you into his arms. The picnic food was to be eaten before the sun fully went down if all went according to plan, but you decided you'd let the two of you have your moment while you still could.

"I've been busy with things around the palaces. Helping Genya plan galas and palace events, helping David and Nadia with their experiments where possible, helping Zoya maintain her garden and looking after it when she got too busy to manage the upkeep, cleaning the kitchens in the afternoons and the early mornings for free sweet rolls and pastries from the cooks when they start baking just a bit after sunrise. We've been avoiding each other, I think, even if neither of us actually meant to do so. We both got really busy really randomly, but we've corrected our course, and everything is going to be okay. You don't need to apologize to me, Nik. I understand how life as a royal can get."

Nikolai smirked. "You'll be one soon enough, provided that I finally get my hands on a good enough ring."

You laughed. "I would be entirely willing to marry you with a ring made out of paper and twine, Mr. Lantsov. I do not need some fancy stone or excellently made ring to marry you. I've been willing to since we were nineteen years old," since you'd met him while he was Sturmhond, since you'd fallen in love with him while the two of you were at sea, and every day since. He was the love of your life, and, ring or no ring, that wasn't changing for anything.

Nikolai pressed a kiss to your lips--it was a quick peck, if anything--and it lingered, even as Nikolai opened the cooler and shot you a grin as he poured the iced lime and dandelion tea with the dandelion wine into two glasses.

You began to sort through the food from the picnic basket, passing out the first of a couple of different things between you and Nikolai when you heard the sound of an oh-so familiar scoff.

"They're not going to be out here," Zoya said as Tolya met your gaze, mouth splitting into a huge grin. "They've been MIA the entirety of today, but to spend the day by the lake? Nikolai is probably afraid that the lake water will ruin his oh-so effortless beauty."

"Or it's 30 degrees out today and effortless beauty be damned, Nikolai and Y/N decided to spend the day by the lake with dandelion tea and enough food to feed a small army," Tolya countered. Zoya met your gaze and just laughed.

"You convinced him, I'm guessing?" She asked. "You do love your swimming and picnics."

"It was entirely Niks idea," you responded. "I was going to spend my day in the library, but he quite literally whisked me away and now we're here. Tolya, there's an empty flask in the basket if you're wanting to pour iced tea into it. Fair warning, though, there's dandelion wine added to Niks taste."

Tolya gave you an appreciative nod as Zoya tossed you a towel from the bag you'd put them in near the edge of the docks closest to land. In thanks, you passed her your glass and let her take the first of the tea while you dried your hair and adjusted so that the towel acted as a barrier between you and the docks, thanking her when she filled the glass and passed it back.

"The AC is working better than we thought it would after the maintenance crews came in to fix the system a couple days back," Tolya said. "Though, true to it's roots, it's only working slightly in some places and doing overtime in others."

"The library in the Grand Palace feels like a bloody ice cube," Zoya said. "The corridors are well ventilated as it were, and they're cold enough to ease the sweating when you're walking around. The common rooms are well enough, too, but the meeting rooms and the dining rooms are less better off."

"Add an additional system," Nikolai said. "See what you can do to have an additional system installed, and make sure that the tea in the samovars is cold, at the minimum. The weather is going to hover between twenty-five and thirty degrees this week, so we need to do what we can to keep cool."

Tolya nodded as you took a sip of the tea, grinning at your beloved as he draped an arm over your shoulders and pulled you close.

"Enjoyed a day in the sun, then?" Tolya asked as Genya and David joined the four of you in relative silence, Nadia and Tamar also joining up not long after.

"We've been busy," Nikolai amended. "Took today to catch up, relax, and cool off while still getting enough vitamin D."

"You overbooked yourselves?" Tamar asked as you passed her a sandwich and grabbed your own. "At the same time, too? Saints, you're idiots. Idiots in love, but idiots even still." You glanced at Nikolai, who was barely managing to stifle a laugh.

"It's funny because it's true," David amended. You pressed your forehead against Nikolais shoulder to keep yourself from giggling, your shoulders shaking with silent laughter instead. You ate the first of your sandwiches and grabbed another, neither you or Nikolai saying anything and instead finding yourselves content to let your friends fill the silence instead.

You grabbed more tea for yourself and thanked the saints that the deserts you'd packed hadn't managed to ruin within the blazing heat of the summer sun once the deserts started getting passed about, idle chatter about up and coming events still swallowing the silence in random fits and starts.

You were content in the silence, though. Extremely content, so it seemed, and the bouts of silence were ones you didn't at all mind or feel bothered by.

How often did you get to have evenings like that one, anyway? Evenings where you, Nikolai, Zoya, Nadia, Tamar, Tolya, Genya, and David all crowded on the docks and ate all of the food you'd packed because some part of you had anticipated a few of them joining up anyway? How often did you get to get tipsy off of lime and dandelion tea with dandelion wine while you chatted with the people you loved like family and the man you were absolutely, completely and utterly certain you would marry?

The answer to that question was simpler than one might've thought. Nights like that were rare--so rare that you almost could not recall a night like it having occurred in the years since the civil war had ended. You were cherishing every moment, every bit of banter-y argument between Genya and Zoya, every quick kiss shared with Nikolai and every time your hand would find his where it rested on your shoulder and give it a squeeze.

It was summer nights exactly like that one that you loved the most. In the summer heat that Ravka typically dealt with, drinking tea with your closest friends.

At some point--likely close to eight--Tamar accidentally shoves Genya into the water. David goes to help her out and back up onto the dock, but she just grabs him by the hand and pulls him right in. Zoya jumps in before she can be pushed or shoved or experience an attempt at cajoling by Tamar or Nadia. Nadia dives in after her wife and Tolya does a cannonball that manages to have resounding water that falls gracefully in an arc over you and Nikolai onto the docks from a solid ten feet away.

You glance at Nikolai, grinning lightly as you catch the glinting mischief in his eyes.

"You've won against me in our water fights twice today," he said, smirk crossing his features. "What do you say I try to claim at least one victory before we head back into the palaces?"

You quirk an eyebrow. "Willing to make bets, Mr. Lantsov?"

"More than."

"If I win, we get the day off tomorrow. If you win, we can work a double for all I care."

"If I win, we ease up on our schedules in the evenings for the rest of the week, have picnic dinners out here, with more dandelion tea and wine than either of us will possibly be able to sanely consume."

You jumped into the lake at that, getting a safe distance away from him. You let him claim the victory and laugh as you realize your water fight has instigated another water fight where it's been split into teams of three, Tamar, Nadia, and Zoya against Genya, Tolya, and David.

You swam to join Zoya as she used her wind to make the splash of the water that much more powerful, where Nikolai joined David at his side.

"Easy week?" She asked as you sent a wave towards Nikolai.

"Easy evenings, lakeside picnic dinners."

"You picked good," Tamar said as she switched positions, Zoya on your right and Tamar on your left. "Not in the aspect of wave fights, but in terms of work."

You laughed. "I know I did," you said. "I have no doubted that I picked excellently for a moment since the very day I realized I had fallen in love with him."

"Contrary to your beliefs, I think Nikolai is the lucky one," Nadia amended as she sent a wind up and laughed as a large wave swathed her brother in law almost completely. "He's got the one and only person who makes decent dandelion tea in all of Ravka."

"I second that," Zoya said with a laugh. You sent a wave so big it got all of the opposing team at once, shouting your victory as Nikolai, Genya, David, and Tolya devolved into laughter.

Your heart was happy. You were so content in that moment that you never wanted it to come to an end.

Sometime later, after it had gone midnight and everyone else had gone to bed, you and Nikolai were drinking the last of the lime and dandelion tea and idly eating some of the unopened sandwiches that still remained. You were almost asleep, could feel Nikolais heartrate slowing beneath the palm that rested on his chest and indicating that he was just as tired as you were.

You were so overwhelmingly happy in that moment, the tea drank and the last of the food not having gone to waste in the end. You had a couple days more of sandwiches and dandelion tea to come, and you knew you'd appreciate each of them as much as you appreciated that day in and of itself.

#nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x reader #shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix

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