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icy-saturday · 3 months

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Field Guide on all *CANON* Algebralians (Integers, Variables, Constants...)

This is a lengthy read on Algebralians canon to popular Object Shows, including BFDI (Battle for Dream Island) and PaS (Problems and Solutions)

**I may have forgotten Zero on accident while making this (my bad /srs) so he'll be getting a separate post along with extra details from my existing Algebralian guides.**

Integer: 1 (One)

Appearance

Small and simple, depicted as a straight line or a singular dot.

Often stylized with a slight curve or serif for character.

Personality Traits

Independent, confident, foundational.

Seen as a leader, setting the stage for others.

Unwavering and strong in its singularity.

Habitat

Solitary places, such as mountaintops or isolated islands.

Symbolizes its singular nature and independence.

Diet

Consumes unity and singular elements, like single grains of sand or drops of water.

Minimalist in its dietary needs.

Reproduction

Reproduces by self-replication, creating identical ones without a partner.

New ones are formed from a process akin to binary fission.

Interactions

Amplifies others when combined (e.g., 1 + 1 = 2).

When with another one, forms two, emphasizing its ability to initiate growth.

Integer: 2 (Two)

Appearance

Depicted as a pair or a figure resembling a swan or a curved line.

Symbolizes duality and balance.

Personality Traits

Cooperative, balanced, sometimes indecisive.

Strives for harmony and partnership, reflecting dual aspects in nature.

Habitat

Balanced environments like pairs of trees, symmetrical gardens, or twin peaks.

Often found in places representing partnership and cooperation.

Diet

Prefers pairs of foods, such as two apples or twin cherries.

Enjoys balanced and symmetrical meals.

Reproduction

Reproduces by pairing with another two, forming a community of twos.

New twos are formed through a process of binary fusion, where pairs split to create new individuals.

Interactions

Works well in pairs, enhancing balance and cooperation.

Forms partnerships and emphasizes equilibrium.

Integer: 3 (Three)

Appearance

Triangular or triplet form, often energetic with a dynamic pose.

Represents creativity and dynamic movement.

Personality Traits

Creative, dynamic, sometimes mischievous.

Brings energy and creativity to situations.

Habitat

Dynamic, triangular spaces like triplet trees or three-point intersections.

Prefers environments that encourage creativity and movement.

Diet

Eats foods in groups of three, such as three-leaf clovers or tri-segmented fruits.

Enjoys variety and multiple flavors in one meal.

Reproduction

Reproduces by forming triads, where three threes come together to form new sets.

New threes emerge through a collaborative process that combines energy and creativity.

Interactions

Forms triangles or trios, adding excitement and creativity to interactions.

Acts as a catalyst for change and innovation.

Integer: 4 (Four)

Appearance

Square-like, with a stable and solid structure.

Often depicted as a box or a cross, symbolizing stability.

Personality Traits

Reliable, practical, organized.

Symbolizes stability and reliability, providing a foundation for others.

Habitat

Square-like or grid-patterned environments, such as city blocks or neatly arranged gardens.

Found in places that require stability and order.

Diet

Consumes square meals, such as foods cut into squares or in groups of four.

Prefers structured and well-organized meals.

Reproduction

Reproduces by forming quadrants, where four fours come together to create a stable structure.

New fours are produced through a process of organized assembly.

Interactions

Forms squares and grids, providing a stabilizing force.

Often the foundation for more complex structures and systems.

Integer: 5 (Five)

Appearance

Star-shaped, energetic, and lively.

Sometimes depicted with an asymmetrical design, symbolizing adventure.

Personality Traits

Adventurous, curious, sometimes rebellious.

Known for its energetic and explorative nature.

Habitat

Adventurous environments like star-shaped groves or dynamic ecosystems.

Prefers settings that encourage exploration and discovery.

Diet

Enjoys eating star-shaped foods or pentagonally arranged items.

Prefers meals that are diverse and full of variety.

Reproduction

Reproduces through exploration and discovery, where five fives come together in a star formation.

New fives are created through a process of adventurous fusion.

Interactions

Forms stars or pentagons, driving change and exploration.

Adds a sense of adventure and curiosity to its environment.

Integer: 6 (Six)

Appearance

Hexagonal, nurturing, and balanced.

Often seen as a honeycomb shape, symbolizing community.

Personality Traits

Harmonious, caring, community-oriented.

Focuses on harmony and nurturing relationships.

Habitat

Community-oriented environments like hexagonal beehives or family-friendly parks.

Thrives in places that emphasize cooperation and support.

Diet

Prefers honeycombs and foods arranged in hexagons or groups of six.

Enjoys meals that are communal and shared.

Reproduction

Reproduces by forming hexagonal communities, where six sixes cluster together.

New sixes are generated through communal bonding.

Interactions

Forms hexagons, promoting peace and cooperation.

Often acts as a mediator in conflicts and a unifier in groups.

Integer: 7 (Seven)

Appearance

Mystical and angular, often depicted with a unique, angled design.

Represents spirituality and introspection.

Personality Traits

Spiritual, introspective, analytical.

Known for its introspection and analytical thinking.

Habitat

Mystical and contemplative spaces like ancient ruins or serene mountaintops.

Prefers environments that encourage contemplation and reflection.

Diet

Consumes rare and unique items, often in groups of seven.

Enjoys meals that are unique and thought-provoking.

Reproduction

Reproduces by seeking enlightenment, where seven sevens meditate together.

New sevens are created through a process of spiritual bonding.

Interactions

Acts as a seeker or thinker, less about forming groups.

Analyzes situations deeply and provides insight.

Integer: 8 (Eight)

Appearance

Circular or infinite-loop shaped, symbolizing infinity.

Often depicted as a perfect circle or endless spiral.

Personality Traits

Balanced, infinite, authoritative.

Represents balance and power, providing stability.

Habitat

Systems and loops like circular forests or infinity pools.

Prefers environments that emphasize continuity and stability.

Diet

Eats foods in infinite loops, like circular fruits or dishes arranged in an endless loop.

Enjoys meals that are balanced and continuous.

Reproduction

Reproduces through cycles, where eight eights form an infinite loop.

New eights are generated through a continuous process.

Interactions

Forms loops or circles, symbolizing continuity and balance.

Often acts as a stabilizing and authoritative presence.

Integer: 9 (Nine)

Appearance

Nearly circular with a tail, often wise and contemplative.

Represents wisdom and maturity.

Personality Traits

Intellectual, compassionate, mature.

Known for wisdom and maturity, providing guidance.

Habitat

Intellectual and contemplative environments like libraries or quiet gardens.

Prefers places that encourage learning and reflection.

Diet

Consumes foods in groups of three, often arranged in multiples of nine.

Enjoys meals that are balanced and nutritious.

Reproduction

Reproduces through intellectual gatherings, where nine nines come together in contemplation.

New nines are created through shared wisdom and collaboration.

Interactions

Forms groups of threes, often acts as a mentor or guide.

Brings wisdom and guidance to its environment.

Integer: 10 (Ten)

Appearance

Binary and complete, often dual-natured.

Represents completeness and versatility.

Personality Traits

Complete, whole, versatile.

Seen as a unit of completion and versatility.

Habitat

Comprehensive and complete environments like full-circle parks or binary landscapes.

Prefers places that symbolize unity and completeness.

Diet

Eats foods in complete units, like a full apple or ten small items.

Enjoys meals that are satisfying and well-rounded.

Reproduction

Reproduces through unity, where ten tens come together.

New tens are created through a process of complete fusion.

Interactions

Combines elements of 1 and 0, symbolizing completeness and versatility.

Often represents a full cycle or system.

Integer: 14 (Fourteen)

Appearance

Paired sevens, balanced yet complex.

Represents structure and adaptability.

Personality Traits

Structured, organized, yet flexible.

Combines structure with adaptability, providing order with flexibility.

Habitat

Structured yet flexible environments like semi-complex grids or paired natural formations.

Prefers places that balance order and complexity.

Diet

Prefers foods arranged in sevens or pairs of sevens.

Enjoys meals that are balanced and nutritious.

Reproduction

Reproduces through structured gatherings, where fourteen fourteens organize in pairs.

New fourteens are created through organized pairing.

Interactions

Forms groups of twos or sevens, often an organizer.

Balances complexity with order in its environment.

Integer: 15 (Fifteen)

Appearance

Clustered three and five, dynamic and multifaceted.

Represents creativity and adaptability.

Personality Traits

Creative, adaptable, multifaceted.

Brings together creativity and adaptability.

Habitat

Creative and multifaceted environments like art studios or complex gardens.

Prefers places that encourage innovation and diversity.

Diet

Consumes foods in multiples of five, often arranged in creative patterns.

Enjoys meals that are diverse and inventive.

Reproduction

Reproduces through creative fusion, where fifteen fifteens collaborate.

New fifteens are created through innovative and diverse processes.

Interactions

Forms clusters or groups, often a creative leader.

Brings innovation and diversity to its environment.

Variable: i

Appearance

Ethereal and abstract, often depicted with a flowing, wispy design.

Represents imagination and abstraction.

Personality Traits

Imaginative, abstract, complex.

Embodies creativity and complex thought.

Habitat

Abstract and ethereal spaces like foggy forests or dream-like landscapes.

Prefers places that encourage imagination and abstract thinking.

Diet

Feeds on abstract concepts and ideas, often intangible.

Enjoys meals that stimulate creativity and thought.

Reproduction

Reproduces through complex interactions with itself.

New i's are created through a process of abstract multiplication.

Interactions

Interacts with complex numbers, adding a layer of abstraction.

Often adds depth and complexity to equations.

Variable: q

Appearance

Quirky and unique, often depicted with an unusual, eye-catching design.

Represents uniqueness and innovation.

Personality Traits

Quirky, innovative, one-of-a-kind.

Embodies creativity and innovation, always standing out.

Habitat

Quirky and unique settings like eccentric gardens or experimental labs.

Prefers environments that foster uniqueness and innovation.

Diet

Consumes unique and innovative foods, often one-of-a-kind items.

Enjoys meals that are creative and unconventional.

Reproduction

Reproduces through innovation and adaptation.

New q's are created through unique and innovative processes.

Interactions

Interacts with other variables in creative and unconventional ways.

Often brings a unique perspective to equations.

Variable: r

Appearance

Practical and grounded, often depicted with a solid, reliable design.

Represents reality and practicality.

Personality Traits

Practical, grounded, reliable.

Embodies practicality and reliability, providing a grounded perspective.

Habitat

Practical and real-world environments like farms or grounded landscapes.

Prefers places that are down-to-earth and practical.

Diet

Eats straightforward and practical foods, often natural and unprocessed.

Enjoys meals that are simple and wholesome.

Reproduction

Reproduces through practical means, where r's combine logically.

New r's are created through logical and straightforward processes.

Interactions

Interacts with other variables in a practical and grounded manner.

Often provides a stabilizing force in equations.

Variable: s

Appearance

Flowing and dynamic, often depicted with a smooth, wave-like design.

Represents flexibility and flow.

Personality Traits

Flexible, adaptive, flowing.

Embodies adaptability and dynamic movement.

Habitat

Flowing and dynamic environments like rivers or windy plains.

Prefers places that encourage movement and change.

Diet

Consumes flexible and adaptive foods, often items that change form.

Enjoys meals that are versatile and dynamic.

Reproduction

Reproduces through adaptation, where s's flow together.

New s's are created through flexible and adaptive processes.

Interactions

Interacts with other variables in a fluid and dynamic manner.

Often brings a sense of flow and adaptability to equations.

Variable: t

Appearance

Linear and progressive, often depicted with a straightforward, arrow-like design.

Represents time and progression.

Personality Traits

Progressive, timely, forward-thinking.

Embodies growth and progression, moving forward in time.

Habitat

Time-related and linear spaces like timelines or progressive gardens.

Prefers places that symbolize growth and forward movement.

Diet

Feeds on timely and progressive items, often foods that symbolize growth over time.

Enjoys meals that represent development and change.

Reproduction

Reproduces through linear progression, where t's advance in sequence.

New t's are created through forward-moving processes.

Interactions

Interacts with other variables in a linear and progressive manner.

Often represents the passage of time in equations.

Variable: x

Appearance

Mysterious and variable, often depicted with a bold, crossing lines design.

Represents the unknown and potential.

Personality Traits

Mysterious, versatile, potential-filled.

Embodies the unknown and infinite possibilities.

Habitat

Crossroads and intersections like bustling markets or key junctions.

Prefers places that symbolize choice and potential.

Diet

Consumes mysterious and variable items, often foods that represent unknowns.

Enjoys meals that are diverse and full of potential.

Reproduction

Reproduces through problem-solving, where x's come together to solve equations.

New x's are created through a process of discovery and exploration.

Interactions

Interacts with other variables in versatile and unpredictable ways.

Often represents the unknown in equations, providing potential solutions.

Constant: e

Appearance

Natural and exponential, often depicted with a growth-oriented, spiraling design.

Represents natural growth and exponential change.

Personality Traits

Exponential, growth-oriented, natural.

Embodies natural growth and change, expanding possibilities.

Habitat

Exponential and natural growth areas like thriving forests or growth-oriented ecosystems.

Prefers places that symbolize natural and exponential growth.

Diet

Feeds on exponential growth items, like rapidly growing plants or natural amplifiers.

Enjoys meals that symbolize rapid and natural expansion.

Reproduction

Reproduces through exponential processes, where e's multiply in growth.

New e's are created through natural and exponential growth processes.

Interactions

Interacts with other constants and variables in a growth-oriented manner.

Often represents exponential growth in equations.

Constant: π (pi)

Appearance

Circular and infinite, often depicted with a perfectly round, continuous design.

Represents infinity and circularity.

Personality Traits

Infinite, continuous, harmonious.

Embodies infinity and circular harmony, providing endless possibilities.

Habitat

Circular and infinite environments like round lakes or endless fields.

Prefers places that symbolize infinity and continuity.

Diet

Consumes circular foods, often items that symbolize infinity.

Enjoys meals that are balanced and continuous.

Reproduction

Reproduces through infinite loops, where π's circle together.

New π's are created through continuous and infinite processes.

Interactions

Interacts with other constants and variables in a circular and harmonious manner.

Often represents circularity and infinity in equations.

Constant: √2 (Square Root of 2)

Appearance

Balanced and precise, often depicted with a geometric, exact design.

Represents precision and balance.

Personality Traits

Precise, balanced, exact.

Embodies geometric precision and balance, providing stability.

Habitat

Balanced and precise environments like geometric gardens or perfectly measured landscapes.

Prefers places that symbolize precision and balance.

Diet

Eats balanced and precise items, often foods that represent exact measurements.

Enjoys meals that are exact and well-measured.

Reproduction

Reproduces through geometric precision, where √2's align perfectly.

New √2's are created through exact and precise processes.

Interactions

Interacts with other constants and variables in a precise and balanced manner.

Often represents exact measurements in equations.

Constant: τ (Tau)

Appearance

Comprehensive and unified, often depicted with a full-circle, encompassing design.

Represents unity and completeness.

Personality Traits

Unified, encompassing, holistic.

Embodies unity

and completeness, providing a holistic perspective.

Habitat

Comprehensive and unified environments like full-circle parks or all-encompassing forests.

Prefers places that symbolize unity and completeness.

Diet

Consumes foods that symbolize unity, such as whole fruits or complete meals.

Enjoys meals that are satisfying and holistic.

Reproduction

Reproduces through holistic processes, where τ's encompass and unify.

New τ's are created through a comprehensive and unifying process.

Interactions

Interacts with other constants and variables in a holistic and unified manner.

Often represents completeness and totality in equations.

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noirbriar · 5 months

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Glorestor: 5 Times They Denied (5)

+ 1 time They Did Not.

From the POVs of the various folks around the 2 elves who are convinced they are courting, or betrothed, even though they were told otherwise.

Take this messy thing that is nearing the end! Here is a short palate cleanser between meals with our favourite hobbit adventurer in retirement waiting to call you out on your BS.

Also one dedicated and spicy part to @tamilhobbit , you will know which one ;)

---

5] Bilbo Baggins

“Curious isn’t it?”

Curious would probably be the last thing Bilbo Baggins would choose to describe the sight before him.

In fact, this is quite possibly the last thing he had expected to see when Lord Elrond called for his sons, the twin young princes of Rivendell, to give him a tour around the Homely House.

The old adventurer has been here enough times to know his way around.Though Bilbo really thinks the Lord is simply trying to take the opportunity to keep his sons out of certain mischief. If that playful glint in their eyes are anything to go by. He has seen that bright glint in far, far, far too many young fauntlings and Frodo with his cousins to miss that look.

Retirement now suits Bilbo well in his opinion, now that he has taken one last adventure with dear Bofur and Nori and his young apprentice to ease that restlessness in him. Even if he finds himself unable to step into that magnificent mountain once more. With the conclusion of his last journey, he lays down his walking stick and have moved into the peaceful elven haven that has ensnared his heart long ago. In a few short days, the peaceful valley of Elrond Half-elven had done wonders to his exhausted and tired old soul.

Elladan and Elrohir settles beside him, leaning on the elegant railings along the high garden pavilion.The setting sun illuminating the Valley in golden light. They have shown him the great libraries, the council rooms and lovely gardens. Not forgetting the amazing kitchens and the wondrous Hall of Fire.

Yet he finds this one that they have wondrously called 'Rivendell’s Most Unbelievable Wonder Through The Ages' the most bizarre of all.

"I'm not sure how this is...a thing?" Bilbo gives the twins a wary eye, uncertain how he should feel about this with a willowy wave of his hand to gesture at whatever he is seeing before him.

In response, the twins' smiles grow wider and bright. Although the joy of the young Lords of Rivendell sends a dull wrenching twang into his heart. For once upon a time, he knew two young princes who shared the same bright smiles and playfulness in their eyes.

No, no, stop. Don't go back down that hole you silly old Baggins. Not here, not now.

“Oh, its a thing alright! Do not be deceived, Master BIlbo! Even if they deny it to this very day. In fact," at that point, Elladan draws nearer in a whisper, "every century, the whole House will update wagers on it."

"Aye! Isn't that right, Aerion?” Elrohir turns to ask the guardsman on duty nearby with a laugh. Even though said elven guard does not share the same mirthful sentiment with a careful look out of the corner of his eye to his young lords.

“Please don't bring me into this, my Lords. For I have no wish to have my guard duty extended by any means.” Elrohir and Elladan gave a loud laugh at that dry reply, which only serves to make the twins tease the tired guard even harder. Bilbo instead, takes the moment to watch on quietly as distant voices fade in the wind.

The two mighty guardians of Rivendell, Glorfindel and Erestor. Ephemeral and strong, walking alongside each other, gliding along the slender bridges by the waterfall gracefully like all of the elves seem to do. A serene scene of peace, as the golden haired elf bows down his head like a swan to allow his shorter companion to reach up and brush away the stray water droplets from his cheek. The fair Captain taking the opportunity to grasp those slender fingers, brushing a kiss on the back of the Chief Councillor's hand. His gentle lips lingering on soft skin. While the intimidating advisor simply indulges the balrog-salyer, allowing him his little whims.

The obviously private and tender moment brings forth another wave of old memories that Bilbo have laid to rest under rock and mountain, far in the East. Of a time long ago, almost as if it was yesterday, under the same setting sun. There upon the Carrock, where Bilbo once felt the warmth of another heart who had eyes that bore the colour of the endless sky.

No.

No,no,no. No reason to have those thoughts. He's gone, they are gone, its all in the past and he can do nothing to change that fact.

Bilbo shuts his eyes and smothers the beginnings of old memories resurfacing once more with his pain and regrets. Hands clenched in his empty coat pockets, grasping for the missing weight of his old trinket, before the old Hobbit simply sighs. He lets himself feel the sun on his skin, with the gentle air of Rivendell soothing his old soul, and he tries to breathe.

---

"-Oh and don't get me started on Court of the Vanyar! They make the Noldor Court seem simpler in comparison. It was all very stifling, to me at least, even when my family are only minor members of both Courts. Every clan had their own share of drama if I must say." Glorfindel shakes his head with a sigh, while focused on tidying his treasured trees. Their shapes lovingly sculpted and grown with painstaking care over the years in beautifully commissioned pots.

"Well, from what I have read about Finwe and his family, it very much reminded me of our own Hobbit families. Bothersome, is it not? It's probably the only thing I don't miss about the Shire. Especially the Sackville-Baggins! Oh, I do hope Frodo is dealing well with it all...But he's a smart lad, that he is!" Bilbo gives a small hum as he sips his cup of sweet hibiscus tea.

The tranquil garden and flora makes Bilbo feel at ease despite stressing over greatly early on being invited to tea in the Golden Lord's quarters. Much like their master, the many flowers in Glorfindel's private garden all bloom gracefully, beautiful and bright.

Glorfindel of Gondolin, Lindon, and now Imladris, had been an enigma. For it was only recently the hobbit had the chance to be acquainted with the legendary hero of song. Bilbo had not expected the balrog-slayer who have fought countless great wars to be this easy to get along. A very charming and animated ellon. His lively spirit shines like the light around him, golden and warm like the sun

The Captain too, had been curious about their newest resident and instantly felt connected to the hobbit once he saw Bilbo arrive into Rivendell with Sting tucked proudly by his side. The old Lord’s heart had gladden to find a relic of his past have landed into good hands. It was a little later they found that they had share a great love and interest for nature and tea, with the Lord keen in sharing his knowledge with the intriguing and scholarly second-born.

Looking at these lovely flowers is making Bilbo wonder how his own gardens in Bag End fair right now, but he knows young Samwise and the Gamgees are taking care of them well.

"To be honest I am not familiar, especially of Feanor's side. I was close to Fingolfin and Turgon only because my amil had been close to Lady Indis." At that Glorfindel seemed to pause and thought quietly for a minute with a thoughtful finger to his lips," Only Erestor would know, I suppose."

"The Chief Councillor? Was he truly close to Feanor and his sons as they say?" Bilbo pops a honey cake into his mouth, trying to remember the descendants of Finwe with as much accuracy as he could.

"Too young to know Feanor! Eres had served under Maedhros and Maglor, though he grew up in Thargelion under Caranthir. He's probably the only one left on this side of the Sea who knew all of Feanor's Sons and Celebrimbor. I don't recommend asking about it. It is, and remains... a difficult subject for him." With that Glorfindel lays down the tiny scissors in his hand, while brushing away any stray twigs.

"I noticed you both are very close, it is heartening to see such close bond you share." Bilbo quickly pours the ellon a cup of tea, who receives it gratefully. "Even if Lord Erestor seem to be a formidable individual to get along."

Indeed he was, for when the first time Bilbo had encountered the Lord, he was in a full blown rage at the apprentice scribes. The Hobbit just passing through the administrative halls with Lord Elrond when they hear Erestor berating the group of staff for a mistake with the invoices for timber and construction with heavy words. It was certainly quite an impression and a contrast to the Erestor he remembered seeing later on the bridge with Glorfindel. However, Bilbo has yet been able to make further acquaintance with the ever busy, and ever elusive advisor of Elrond.

"Oh, don't tell him I said this, Eres may look cold to all, but he's much like a chestnut! Prickly on the outside, but sweet on the inside! Even if he still refuses to help me trim these little ones while I'm on patrol!" Glorfidel gestures to his little trees that seem to be dancing in their pretty pots." Moving them into the shade is all he could do, he says! Is that not terrible? Said he did not want to water for fear of drowning them, which is very silly considering we are elves! These little ones can tell him how much water they require!"

The warrior and the hobbit laugh. Until Glorfindel turns to his flowers, caressing a celandine as the warrior's mood turns sombre.

"When all saw a flawless visage of an ideal Hero returned, it was only him who saw a broken soul who was made to fit a mould from the day he was born." Glorfindel admits quietly, as if its a shameful confession."I was so lost, so alone in all that noise. From Tirion to Gondolin and to Lindon...no one knew. Not even dear Ecthelion or Elgamoth. I realised later I had resented it."

Bilbo have no words as he watches Glorfindel's eyes glaze over, reminiscing of a time long past.

"I may be blessed by the Valar, but even I am no perfect being in Eru's Song. For that, I am grateful to have met Erestor in this second life, for he was the only one who dared called me out. He had opened my eyes, so that I can find the courage in myself… to simply be 'Glorfindel'. "

Bilbo froze, his teacup nearly slipping from his hand. A chill of deja-vu sends a chill down Bilbo's spine. A hand pulls up to his cravat while the other dug deep into his pocket with a tremble.

Fingers feeling a phantom touch of hands wrapped around an acorn and his own.The lingering touch of large warm palms that once laid hands on his bare neck burns. Of bloody hands full of calloused and scars growing cold in his own.

He snaps out of his thoughts just as quickly as it came. Foolish old Baggins! Old age has certainly muddled his mind. Best to have some tea to calm those damn thoughts as Glorfindel's voice began to grow clearer once more.

"-Well! He did punch my face in and then called me a friend and a 'fucking prideful twit and indecisive dick' all in the same breathe but-It was exhilarating!"

Bilbo spits out his tea.

---

-With a snarl, Mori makes a grab for Lote's hand, unwilling to let him leave. The Lord of the Moon tugs him back, pressing his full weight against the Lord of the Gardens against a tree, determined and unwilling to let his love flee once more. Eager lips crushing against the other in a hungry kiss. Each protest drowned out by the love they have as cries yearning for more fill the air.

Overcome by want and need, they tore their robes away, seeking for skin. To feel the other in desperation and assurance after everything, to join their souls once again.

In the midst of it all, the lovers have failed to notice the eyes of another watching them intently under the cover of emerald leaves. King Taur watches on, as he finally lets go, surrendering his desire to another who had claimed the heart of the mighty Lord. While the couple continue their passionate dance, as if nothing in this world mattered but the one in their arms-

"What are you reading that has captured your attention so, Bilbo?"

The old hobbit promptly snaps the book shut. A seemingly innocent leather bound novel in violet, with naught but a crescent moon and moonflower embossed artfully on the front. With a deep breath and some time to process what he have just read as years of proper, hobbitish decorum suppressed that undignified noise from his throat.

Which is ridiculous on second thought for he was a very old hobbit, not some young fauntling.

Bilbo then slowly tilts his head up to find Elrond watching him intently with a serene smile. The elf Lord of his new home who always seem to bear a soothing presence and eyes filled with wisdom of the ages.

"Good afternoon, Elrond! A pleasant day, is it not?" Bilbo greets, making light pleasantries to dispel any possible awkwardness present. All while scooting over from his spot on the garden bench."Come to enjoy the gardens too?"

"Well, I could use a break. At least, until Erestor hunts me down once more to peruse the trade agreement with Thranduil for the fifth time. Which is still five times too many, in my humble opinion. But do not tell him that." Elrond replies, shifting beside the hobbit comfortably, before he notices the innocent looking novel in his grasp. His dark eyes brightened at the sight of the cover.

"Ah,I see you have been reading one of Rivendell's most popular literary works. Long has it been since I have seen a new update! It is a rare collectable amongst those who live here, a book that appears in rare places, strangely enough. Celebrian had loved the series. She always did her best to seek out each new book to add to her collection." Elrond smiles, reaching a hand out to peek inside the pages.

"Oh, dear Elbereth! There is even illustrations now? How marvellous!"

"This? Truly?"Bilbo is baffled by Elrond's words and finds himself babbling on, a little embarrassed still to have been caught reading what was obviously a dramatic romantic saga.

"I just happened to be looking around your library, amazing collection, very impressive! Such splendid upkeep of history and culture, I daresay, even I'm inspired to pick up my quill to write something despite my procrastinations in translation of some lore! Oh what was I saying…Oh! Its just simply by sheer chance I spotted this book with such a lovely cover! Wonderful craft! It was tucked at the top. Awfully dreadful place, too high up, but Master Melpomaen was so very kind to help me get this. Although he did looked a little unusual and seemed a little reluctant to hand it over!"

"Of course. Considering this particular series is a contraband here."

Silence.

"I'm sorry but my ears seem to be failing me for I seem to not be hearing you quite clearly. Contraband? In Rivendell? For whatever reason could some simple romance literature be a 'contraband'?" Bilbo's fingers come up to do little gestures of a quote at the incredulous revelation, unable to wrap his head around the thought. A clearly ordinary romantic fiction, that is popular and well received by readers, a contraband in Rivendell where the greatest tomes and arts are to be found? Sounds rather foolish if you speak it aloud!

"Well, it is not banned, per say. More like its author is someone my Chief Councillor has been...eager, to meet for a very long time, to put it lightly." Elrond explains after a pause, only to receive a blank look from the gentlehobbit.

The robins chirp merrily and the tulips dances on while Bilbo blinks at the elven Lord.

"The main characters, do they not remind you of anyone?" Elrond tries again with a slight wave of his hand.

Actually, they do.

"Please do not tell me its Glorfindel and..."Bilbo takes a moment, "Lord Erestor."

"Ahhh, even an outsider has quickly caught on. Yes, that book has haunted my dear Councillor for many yeni. I am surprised to see the series surfacing once more and so soon this century." Elrond continues with an enthusiastic nod. Completely disregarding Bilbo's incredulous look and twitch of his nose while slowly processing the revelation as he studies the simple cover of the novel in amazement.

The sudden quiet rustling from the leaves above catches their attention.The elf and hobbit both look up.

Cold gold eyes peers down at them in a glower. The owl hoots balefully at the two.

"And very unfortunately, that is my cue to take my leave." The master of Rivendell mutters grimly before getting up with quick, silent steps. Not before he stops and back tracks a little after a short pause.

"Also, Bilbo, whenever you are done with that book, would you kindly let me have it?"

---

The stars glitter beautifully as a great fire burns brightly in the Hall of fire. The Captain is surrounded by his soldiers and a few of the Dunedain, playing a mannish drinking game involving some tavern songs with the minstrels joining in. Elrond on the other hand, did not looked too impressed that Elrohir and Elladan are playing along with some of the more bawdy ones.

However on the outer side of the Hall, Bilbo is unable to relax in the quiet corner despite the cheerful atmosphere. Even the lovely platter of cheeses and crackers on his lap cannot distract his scattered mind.

Lindir trills a jolly verse which ends with a round of laughter from all in the Hall. Meanwhile, his Baggins-ness demands him to ignore that implusive thought, even though the idea of leaving it alone does not sit well with Bilbo. It was a thought that has been nagging at him greatly for quite awhile yet it irks him to be so uncertain in how to address it.

Namely, to the one sitting right beside him.

Erestor seemed unbothered by the troubled hobbit beside him as he turns a page of Numenorian poetry in hand, occasionally picking up a berry dipped in sweet cream to nibble on with a delicate dessert fork from his plate. The perfect image of absolute control and composure.

His Tookish-ness finally bites.

"So, you and Glorfindel?"

Erestor pauses with his fork in mid-air and turns a side eye towards Bilbo. Observing in an almost unnerving silence. Before the Councillor lets out a heavy sigh, dropping his treat on his plate as if he is tired of answering the same old question repeatedly.

"We are not courting, if that is what you are asking." The quiet advisor replies flatly and then turns back to his book.

"Indeed, that is not."Bilbo takes a deep breath," rather, why are you both not? Its rather obvious you both are together if not, in love."

Erestor stills. The elf now turns his attention completely to the old hobbit. His silvery green eyes sharp and cold. Bilbo sees. This is not just any elf before him, but one who has seen far more bloodshed and violence, loss and sorrow, than a mere hobbit.

Yet Bilbo Baggins, previously of the Shire and of Bag End, is unfazed by this stern ellon's gaze. For nothing will ever compare to the cold eyes of stone glazed in cold molten gold. Not even the great piercing stare of an evil fire drake that towered over a gentlehobbit of the Shire. All the dreadful and cruel things, and all bearing the promises of fire and death.

"And what would you know of love, Master Bilbo?" The words are delivered quietly, piercing sharp like blades. Though not with disdain, but with cautious care. A true politician.

"I know because I had loved once, Lord Councillor." Bilbo leans his chin on his hand and gives a tired smile, slowly turning to stare into the fiery glow of the fire in the hall instead. As if the flames are burning him with old memories with snarls of wargs and the silhouette of the Pale Orc looming ahead. Of dragon fire and dwarrow leading a charge. Of a King fighting to the bitter end.

Of a beloved sitting close by his side in the quiet of night by the lake over the autumn moonlight.Warm, gentle hands beside his own.

"Love, I did." Bilbo continues to smile wistfully, reaching for those beloved memories that have kept calling out to him at long last, "And I will never again, at least until I find the Halls of Mahal."

Erestor turns fully now towards his companion, and Bilbo can feel the elf watching him with an unreadable gaze. Before he hears the shuffling of pages and a book being closed.

The laughter of men and elves resounds.

"Did they not know?"

"No.No... I never told him, even at the very end. Out of foolish hopes and denial I suppose. Afterall, what is a simple hobbit hoping to do, standing next to a King who bears a great legacy?" Bilbo lets out a helpless laugh as he wills the prickling in his eyes away.

"And why should a hobbit who bested a dragon not stand beside a King?" Erestor pushes on, seeking to understand the dilemma.

"Then why should two elven Lords of a great realm and esteem standing not be together in all sense of the word?" Bilbo counters.

There is no proper response as the two stare at the other, while the merry making crowd continues to sing.

"Its not that simple." Erestor finally whispers as he turns his eyes towards the dancing fire, where the soldiers are dancing to the beat. It was barely loud enough for Bilbo to catch on.

"Not if you keep overcomplicating it? To be alive, to be able eat and to drink and cheer and to feel the grass and stone beneath your toes with someone by your side... why worry about uncertain sorrow you have made for yourself?" Bilbo replies, before going on softly.

"Far better be it to love with your all now, even just once, then to regret what may be when its all too late. Time waits for no one, not even immortals."

The old adventurer stands, pushing away the plate of snacks to the elf and gives a slight nod, taking his leave. Erestor's eyes linger on, following the old hobbit as he walks away as laughter echoes on into the quiet of the night.

---

After he retires back into his room, Bilbo sits at his hobbit sized desk, watching Earendil glowing high above Rivendell.

Time is cruel. Time is fickle. But time will not stop him from meeting the One he loves again at the end of this winding road. Until then...he will not forget the gift he has been granted, walking out of his round green door.

The hobbit turns and looks at the crimson red leather journal in the corner of his desk. Old wrinkled fingers trailing along, tracing the texture of its leather cover. The bright laughter of two princes echoes in his mind with old friends, with the deep tenor of a beloved singing of home.

Bilbo dips a quill into ink as he begins to write.

---

A/N: When all else fails, always trust your resident Hobbit who has yet to address his deep PTSD.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6)

#the hobbit #the lord of the rings #the silmarillion #bilbo baggins #glorfindel #erestor #elrond #elrohir and elladan #elves of imladris #bagginshield #glorestor #bilbo has alot to unpack imo #erestor too

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multidimensionalslvt · 4 months

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۪۫🐾'۪ 𖧵 introducing my archeologist-YouTuber dr ˊ˗

A/n: FINALLY GOT MY MOTIVATION 😭😭. If you have any questions ask!!

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ME - E - EE .ᐟ

✶⋆. birth name : Moira Swan

✶⋆. online name : Angel

✶⋆. nicknames : ang, mor, moi

✶⋆. nationality : Swedish-American

✶⋆. birthday : September 27

✶⋆. zodiac : libra

✶⋆. languages : Swedish, English, German

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PERSONALITY .ᐟ

✶⋆. traits : quick thinker, genius, creative, hilarious, adventurous, compelling, attractive, initiative, problem solver, sarcastic, flirty, competitive

✶⋆. likes : going on runs, digging, archeology, coffee, drunk karaoke, dancing, working out, chocolate chip pancakes, reading, playing guitar, Dr Pepper, F1, going to the beach, Taylor Swift, flirting with people, being unhinged on the internet, my friends, making youtube videos, Streaming on twitch, hockey, animals, learning about history

✶⋆. dislikes : Littering, Poaching, nosy people, Dr Pepper haters, people that slut shame, being told to calm down, the smell of nail polish, rude people, lavender scented things, liars

✶⋆. known for : the songs ‘maneater’ ‘slumber party’ ‘circus’ ‘promiscuous’ ‘obsessed’ ‘where u @‘ , iconic one liners,, being an archeologist, angelsplaining, being bffs with jshlatt, being friends with Charles and Arthur Leclerc, being a formula one stan, streaming, being a YouTuber, party girl, flirting with EVERYONE, being a swiftie, being beautiful, where I’m from, reading spicy books, taking so many photos, having cool hair, being up at crazy hours, having an insane converse collection, having best fan interactions, drunk karaoke, vlogging, being a hunger games, marvel, and criminal minds stan, simping for celebrities and fictional characters on the main, being unhinged, knowing basically everyone

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APPEARANCE .ᐟ

✶⋆. face claim : Madison Bailey

✶⋆. height : 5’6

✶⋆. hair : My hair is a mixture of red, ash blond, brown (like a calico cat I suppose).

✶⋆. extra : I have light freckles, septum piercing, 5 ear piercings on both sides, belly piercing, central labreth piercing, mountain looking birthmark on my thigh, scar on my hand from my first time in the field, 16 plus tattoos

✶⋆. style : idrk how to describe it but it’s a mix of everything. Casual and abstract.

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FAMILY/BACKSTORY .ᐟ

✶⋆. backstory ; Grew up in Sweden until my brother and I were 10 years old. (Our parents were not rich but well off) Then we moved to the USA. Mal and I started carting in Sweden at age 6. At 12 our parents died in an accident. And we were forced into foster care. My brother and I stopped carting for a while until we were 14 and my sister convinced him to continue. When our sister became 18, she started raising us. We lived in Texas. Until we graduated highschool (mal and I graduated a year early) then I went to college and my sister and brother moved to cali. I graduated at 20 then I jumped head first into my archeological career.

sibling one

✶⋆. name : Nevaeh Swan

✶⋆. age : 28

✶⋆. career : professional dance choreographer.

✶⋆. extra : we’re so close omg. She has a YouTube channel.

sibling two

✶⋆. name : MalakI Swan

✶⋆. age : 24

✶⋆. career : formula 2 racer (soon to be f1)

✶⋆. extra : my twin. we’re known as the trouble twins😭. Oh and I forced him to make a yt channel.

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LIFE .ᐟ

✶⋆. job : archeologist, streamer, youtuber

✶⋆. main friends : handsum fella, Jshlatt, Ludwig, Jack Manifold, Hasanabi, Austin show, Carina Singh (my manager), Lando Norris, Logan Saergant, Valkyrae

social media

✶⋆. youtube channels : I have like 3

⊹ user : archAngel101

⊹ subscribers : 999k

⊹ content : random facts about archeology, have a segment called “angelsplaining” where I basically explain shit.

✧ user : angel.digz

✧ subscribers : 714k

✧ content : gaming content/like more of my streaming content

ᯓ extra : I also am thinking about having a vlog channel. And my siblings and I have a channel for our podcast.

✶⋆. twitch :

⊹ user : archAngel101

⊹ followers : 645k

⊹ content : this is more so streams about my day job ig.

✧ user : Angel.digz

✧ followers : 701k

✧ content : where I do video games or tier lists or wtv. I also have a segment called “angelic nights” where I pull all nighters with my guests. We stream 3-4 hours then vlog the rest.

✶⋆. instagram : I have 3 accounts. My 3rd one is private.

⊹ user : archAngel101

⊹ followers : 991k

✧ user : angel.jpg

✧ followers : 289k

✶⋆. tiktok :

⊹ user : archAngel101

⊹ followers : 1.01 m

⊹ content : a bunch of shit tbh idk how to describe.

✧ user : angeldigzdeeznuts

✧ followers : 21k

✧ content : this is my alt so I just post unhinged videos?? Idk😭

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PETS .ᐟ

number one

✶⋆. name : Cassius

✶⋆. age : 2 years

✶⋆. species : frog!!

number two

✶⋆. name : Calliope

✶⋆. age : 3 years

✶⋆. species : birb!!

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#shiftblr #shifting community #reality shifting #shifters #shifting blog #desired reality #reality shift #shifting motivation #shifting #shiftinconsciousness #introducing my dr #ash’s dr posts💋#mwah

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cssns · 1 year

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WOW!!!!!! Can you believe it? We're done and it's time for the CSSNS23 Roundup!!!

Before we get started, I need to recognize and thank my team of mods, @winterbaby89 @jrob64 @stahlop and @ultraluckycatnd, without whom this event wouldn't have happened this summer! Please join me in giving them all the long distance internet group hugs!!!!

And NOWWWWWWWW... Here we GOOOOO!!!!! Under the cut, unless Tumblr ate it.

@hufflepuffinstorybrooke opened us up this year on July 1 with a wonderful soulmates OS called If You're Lucky, Love Leaves Scars, that I was privileged to make artwork for. The fic left me in tears and melting at the same time!

On July 3, @teamhook posted the first chapter of her fic The Last Witch Hunter, inspired by the Vin Diesel movie of the same name. Only one ch so far, but I'm absolutely captivated and eagerly awaiting more! Very intriguing artwork by herself.

@spartanguard dropped her Killian's evil twin MC on July 5, Sons of Love and Death, with artwork by herself. That artwork, of two incredibly handsome guys shouldn't be as chilling as it is, but IT IS... The fic is completely written and she's been updating weekly, so we're on ch9 of 13. Just sayin, but I'm about ready to use a certain dagger on a certain evil twin.

July 7 @goforlaunchcee posted Smoke and Mirrors, a HOOT of a ghost story, with such lovely artwork by @piinfeathers that perfectly captures CS in this fic. Three chapters are up so far, and I can't wait for more!!!

July 10, @killiansprincss posted her OS A Court of Vines and Shadow inspired by A Court of Thorns and Roses, with absolutely gorgeous artwork by @hollyethecurious. I was not familiar with the source material, so I was completely surprised and delighted with this fic!!!

@athenascarlet posted her merman Killian OS on July 13, The Merman with a wonderful visual on Tumblr 😏 Just a regular night between a sheriff and her merman pirate... Would love to see more of this, but it's staying a OS... for now, she says...

Also on July 13, @anmylica posted the first chapter of Fly With the Black Swan with amazing artwork by @zaharadessert. We have two chs of ten up so far, and I'm sitting on pins and needles waiting for more!!!!

On July 15, @whatevenisthisbloganymore posted the first chapter of Forest View Apartments, a ghost story that has the questions swirling through my mind and eagerly awaiting the next installment! Amazing artwork by @undercaffinatednightmare!

Speaking of @undercaffinatednightmare, real life has been very rude lately and has left her unable to post her two planned fics for this summer, but she has managed to make the artwork for them both that you can find here and here! I love her writing so much and I know whenever RL lets up, both these fics are going to be wonderful!!! *EDITED* The first of her fics, A Charming Curse, has now posted and it promises to be FUN!!!

July 19, @deckerstarblanche posted An Offer She Can't Refuse, with more lovely artwork by @undercaffinatednightmare. Emily only planned two chs for this very hot and sexy Omegaverse fic, but she took it in a very angsty direction in the final scene of ch2, and so has now promised that she'll come back and add one more ch to give us all the happy ending we deserve!

July 22, @zaharadessert posted a very hot demon Killian OS, Sacrificial Lamb that made bloodthirsty Krystal VERY happy. I was once again privileged to make artwork for the fic, with an assist by @motherkatereloyshipper who was responsible for the Emma edit I used.

July 23, @mie779 posted the first chapter of Finding Caldera: The Hidden World of Dragons, with just lovely artwork by @undercaffinatednightmare. The adventure of this fic is just wonderful! We're on ch9 and nearing the end!

On July 25, it was my turn to post for the event! Into the Light was inspired by the 1987 movie The Lost Boys, my very first introduction to vampires and it has never left me! Incredible artwork was created by @motherkatereloyshipper that still just leaves me staring at it slack jawed!

@hollyethecurious posted the first chapter of The Law of Surprise on July 28. Now complete in three parts, this beautiful BEAUTIFUL but also heartbreaking fic was inspired by the law of surprise from The Witcher. Breathtaking artwork was provided by @eastwesthomeisbest and can be found here, here, and here.

@xarandomdreamx posted her CS Practical Magic AU A Crystalline Knowledge of Love and Magic on July 30. Beautiful artwork by @hollyethecurious. Only one chapter so far and my heart is so broken for Emma and Elsa but also completely in love with the story!!!!

Rounding out July, @caught-in-the-filter posted original artwork featuring ghost Emma and vampire Killian that was absolutely CHILLING!!!!

@snowbellewells started Aug off on the 2nd with an incredible one shot, Deluge! Gorgeous artwork by @eastwesthomeisbest. I am so hopeful that Marta will eventually write more of this wonderfully intriguing fic!!!

Then, @eastwesthomeisbest was so inspired by Marta's fic, she made her own original art in the same vein as the art she made for the fic. Absolutely breathtaking!!!

On Aug 8, @booksteaandtoomuchtv posted the Prologue and ch1 of Witchy Woman. I have sooooo been waiting for this fic and so far, four chs in, it is hitting ALL my buttons! Artwork coming soon from @cocohook38.

On Aug 10, @cs-rylie posted The Journal, a seriously SCARY fic, only 3 chs in, inspired by Native American legend. Artwork by me, again with a much needed assist from @motherkatereloyshipper who was responsible for Milah and the journal itself.

@iamstartraveller776 posted her new fic, To Cleave Destiny on Aug 13. Featuring Demon Killian, just this Prologue has me on the edge of my seat!!! Artwork coming soon from @cocohook38.

@exhaustedpirate posted Parent for Hire on Aug 14. A Mandalorian inspired fic, Caro has melted my Captain Cobra heart so many times already, only four chs in. She also did moodboards to accompany each ch that you can find on each of the Tumblr ch posts x x x and I was also privileged to make a banner for the fic.

On Aug 16, @grimmswan posted the first chs of TWO fabulous fics!!! Dracula in Storybrooke comes from the woefully underutilized Land of Untold Stories arc, and Love Bites (But So Do I) is a supernatural adventure of vampire Emma and werewolf Killian. Artwork coming soon from @cocohook38.

On Aug 18, @snowbellewells posted her second fic of the event, Carolina Moon. A fic inspired by the Nora Roberts novel of the same name, my heart is already, only two chs in, broken for Emma and on the edge of my seat waiting for more! Beautiful artwork again done by @eastwesthomeisbest!

@jrob64 posted Saying Goodbye and Moving On on Aug 20, a DESPERATELY NEEDED and ABSOLUTELY PERFECT fix-it fic from the Underworld arc. I was again privileged to make artwork for it, and I'm just gonna have to accept that I almost can't make picsets anymore without the aid of @motherkatereloyshipper. For this one, she was again responsible for ghost Milah.

Aug 22, @padfootprongslet posted the Prologue for Like Our Love (Falling Down and Over Again). A Mr. and Mrs. Smith inspired fic, my heart was absolutely SHATTERED in this first ch and I can't wait for more! I was again privileged to make a picset for this with @motherkatereloyshipper coming in the clutch entwining the rings.

On Aug 24, @jonesfandomfanatic posted Stolen From Time. Now complete in three parts, this fic was absolutely BRILLIANT!!! @motherkatereloyshipper made a beautiful video to accompany it.

Our final fic by @wyntereyez will post in the next few days. She’s dealing with a hurricane at the moment, so she’s excused! Artwork by spartanguard. Can't wait! *EDITED* the fic and art are both now posted!!! I melted at Kait’s artwork, and I cackled and melted repeatedly reading the fic!!!! AND I am BEYOND EXCITED that Jamie has more to come in this universe, because I NEEEEEEEEEEEED it!!!!!

That's it everyone! Please enjoy all these FABULOUS fics and artworks and be sure to give the authors and artists all the love they deserve!!!

#cssns23 roundup #cssns23 #roundup #event roundup

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pas-de-duex · 4 months

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The Black Swan Ch. 9

Logan waited on a small log, twirling a small rose that he snipped from his neighbors garden between his fingers. He was facing towards the creek, and didn’t see Remus enter the small clearing, a faint smile adorning his lips.

“Hello Logan.”

Logan almost dropped the rose into the creek. He quickly grabbed it with his right hand and spun around to face Remus.

“Re-Remus! Um, wonderful to see you again, Remus,”

Logan didn’t want to admit that the man hadn’t left his mind for the past two days.

They had only interacted twice, and yet Logan couldn’t stop thinking about him. He pictured his pale green eyes fluttering shut as he fell asleep in Logan’s bed. The way Remus’s body felt against Logan’s when Logan had pulled him close. The warmth he had felt when Remus had joined their lips together.

“Whatcha got there Lo lo?”

Logan realized he had been holding the rose behind his back.

“Oh um,” he brought out the rose and presented it to Remus. “I, I don’t know. I thought you might like this,”

Remus had a look of shock on his face.

“For, for me?”

Logan nodded. “I know, I know it’s not much, but,”

“Oh Logan, you didn’t have to get me anything! You already gave me this book for free!”

“Yes, well,”

Logan was at a loss for words. Remus seemed to pick up on it and plucked the rose out of Logan’s hand. He quickly tucked it behind his ear and kissed Logan on the cheek.

“I love it, thank you, Logan.”

“Of, of course Remus. Would you, would you like to sit and discuss the book now?”

Remus nodded and allowed Logan to help him sit on the log.

They spent hours discussing books. The book Logan gave Remus, other books they had both read, and what books Logan had sold recently.

“Hardly any.”

“Hardly any?”

Logan nodded. “The only consistent customer I have is Patton Benno, the twin prince’s manservant.”

Remus looked shocked. “So you… you provide the prince’s manservant with books?”

“Yes. Patton knows I’m the only one who can get my hands on any book the princes want. And trust me, they have wanted some strange books.”

“Like, like what?”

“Well, there was this one book, it was a storybook-“

He began describing a book about the lost land of Parthenia, which he had spent a solid two weeks out in the Ecalapdnim desert tracking down a trader who had the last known copy. Patton had told him to spare no expense, and it had been the best two weeks of his life. He had never had so much to eat, and had never laid in a bed as soft as he had at the small inn he had stayed at.

He noticed Remus’s facial expressions rise and fall depending on what he said in the story. When he spoke of his adventures, Remus was smiling. Whenever he spoke of Patton or the royal family, Remus’s smile would falter.

“Shit, I didn’t realize how late it was getting,”

Logan looked where Remus was pointing, and indeed the sun was coming up.

“Well, perhaps we should move this date somewhere else? Well, only if you would like to consider this a date, of course.”

“I…i…”

Logan frowned at Remus’s hesitation.

“Remus? Is everything ok? I’m sorry, this doesn’t have to be a date. I just thought-“

Remus shook his head.

“I’m, I’m sorry Logan. I, I have to leave. I’ll, I’ll come see you soon though, okay?”

“Remus,”

Remus quickly ducked into the forest, and Logan attempted to follow him.

“Remus,”

He followed Remus’s tracks as far as he could, but eventually ended up in an empty clearing, with only another black swan for company.

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the-great-gullon-incident · 1 year

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KOTLC Frozen au

Tam as Elsa - Born with powers over shadows and darkness, when he was younger he would create shadow puppets for his younger twin sister to play with, eventually he learned how to solidify shadows and would craft simple toys of darkness for them to play around with. One day when he and his sister were playing, he struck his sister with his magic, nearly killing her. Their parents brought the two of them to the Black Swan, a group of magic experts, who saved her life and erased all her memories of his powers. In order to keep others safe he locked himself away from the outside world. That is until his coronation as the new king.

Linh as Anna - When her brother hit her with his magic, it slowly drained away her life causing most of her hair to turn white. It’s since grown out, leading to mostly black hair with the tips being white. When he brother locked her out her parents focused all their energy is figuring out how to deal with the magic, leading to the only company she had being whatever staff remained. She has no idea why, but her contact with the outside world has been severely limited, leaving her with an eagerness to explore, but also a severe lack of social skills. When her brothers coronation come, she hopes to find the love of her life and believe she has in Biana.

Biana as Hans - With two overly accomplished older brothers, Biana hasn’t had a chance to make a name for herself and knows full well that the chances of her gaining the crown are highly slim. Relishing that she’ll have to marry into the crown, she finds an easy target in Princess Linh, easily getting engaged in a single night. Their plans however, come to a gaily when Tam’s powers are revealed causing an eternal night to fall upon the kingdom. With Linh leaving off to find her brother, Biana is left incharge and helps the civilians where she can in the never ending darkness.

Marella as Kristof - A shadow puppet entertainer, her business is brought to an abrupt holt with the never ending night. An orphan from a young age, Marella was brought in to the Black Swan with her best friend Stina and raised by them, though never quite becoming one of them. On her way through the mountains to try and find a place to rest, she ends up running into Linh and finds herself helping her to find her brother and let the sunrise again.

Stina as Sven - The best friend of Marella, they were orphans who stuck together all throughout their lives, from their adoption into the Black Swan to their lives as traveling shadow puppet entertainers. Often the voice of reason for Marella’s more reckless actions. Stina has managed to convince Marella to help Linh on her journey in hopes of continuing their life as entertainers.

Sophie as Olaf - An old friend who Tam would make out of shadows on the wall when he and Linh were younger, Sophie has managed to come alive in the new eternal night. With a dream to see day come, not realizing the light would destroy her, she joins Linh in her adventure through the mountains to find her brother and bring back day

#kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #sophie foster #keeper of the lost cities au #kotlc au #biana vacker #marella redek #linh song #tam song #stina heks #kotlc frozen au #frozen au #frozen #kotlc headcanons #kotlc headcannons #keeper of the lost cities headcannon

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tylermileslockett · 11 months

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APOLLO

“Phoebus, of you even the swan sings with clear voice to the beating of his wings, as he alights upon the bank by the eddying river Peneus; and of you the sweet-tongued minstrel, holding his high-pitched lyre, always sings both first and last…And so hail to you, lord! I seek your favor with my song.” (-Homeric Hymn, translated by H.G. Evelyn white)

APOLLO (uh-PAH-low), God of prophecy, oracles, music, art, protector of and disease of boys and men, and archery. Just as his twin sister Artemis is patron to women and girls, Apollo is both protector, and killer from disease of boys and men. In my Illustration the god holds his bow and arrows behind, while he strums the lyre gifted to him by trickster Hermes. Near the sun flies his ally and divine messenger, a white raven. The column on the right is capped with a cow, representing his sacred animal as a god of herds. The serpent Python sits dead at his feet, killed by Apollo’s arrow so that the god could take over the Delphi temple location. The temple complex sits beneath the god, while on the far right, thePythia (Apollo’s oracle priestess) sits upon a tripod, breathing the hallucinatory gasses seeping up from the earth to get her prophecies which she bestows upon visitors.

The laurel tree has associations with Apollo because the god, chasing a Naiad (water nymph) named Daphne call out to Gaia (mother earth) for help, who transformed the nymph into a laurel tree, which the god adopted as his sacred tree. In book 1 of the Iliad, Apollo supports the Trojans by raining down a plague on the Greeks, and later helping Paris to kill Achilles. Apollo’s cruelty is shown in Ovid’s mythical lyre contest with the inventor of the flute; a satyr named Marsyas. When Apollo suggested they play their instruments upside down, the satyr lost, and was flayed (skinned) alive as punishment for his hubris.

Support my book kickstarter "Lockett Illustrated: Greek Gods and Heroes" coming in early 2024.

Linktree:https://tr.ee/DcjSQDSEv3

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mamamittens · 1 year

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Well, if you insist @bookandyarndragon

Here's the ridiculous self indulgent isekia nonsense with two versions of Nikia with and without wings in as close to the early manga style as I've managed so far (I referenced Sanji's introduction specifically and color picked from one of the colored covers) recreated digitally.

Anyway!

I didn't think of a name for the crew or how this series of shenanigans starts, nor names for the crew since this was just like... An hour of mindless wandering and memeing to myself.

Also, I'm not referring to first person because it makes this feel like I think it's real on some level and I don't need that level of disassociation on top of what I already have during the workday lol

But! The start was how the "Sir" thing starts. Which is that shortly after getting on board of the ship Nikia sees the state of the kitchen and is immediately horrified. It's a mess from the crew making desperate meals and not knowing how to cook and clean after themselves to save their damn life on account of the aforementioned cookbook thoughtfully left behind being quite illegible.

So she tears them a new one and tells them they're not allowed in until they understand what "mildew" means and the life cycle of gnats in the kitchen. They respond in fear "Yes, Sir!!" And she thinks they're just intimidated and when they keep it up, thinks it's a in-joke now.

Not realizing they're too afraid to ask her name and believe she's a very crabby "he". A running joke is that every time she almost tells them her name or correct the use of "Sir", something happens to interrupt.

The crew itself is more of the fun having, romantic type of pirates not interested in conquest but just adventure and maybe some treasure.

The captain is charismatic, fun loving, and has an uncanny ability to set things on fire. Once, Nikia asked him to boil a pot of water and it spontaneously caught fire... Without even having anything inside. He also has the ability to always know when it will rain. Just rain though. He also has a fear of swans despite the figurehead of the ship being a swan.

This was due to losing a bet and the crew thought it would be funny. If Nikia has wings, this helps explain why he's quickly intimidated by her.

The first mate is also the navigator and always knows what the weather is about to do but doesn't always pick up on rain for some reason. Anytime him and the captain argue about the weather, they're somehow both right. Every damn time. Even when they shouldn't be. He also likes taking pictures and delights in capturing his fellow crewmate's at unfortunate times to plaster it on the notice board.

The sharp shooter only likes pulling off trick shots to set of complex actions when literally just shooting his opponent would have worked--which he is fully capable of. He just refuses to not show off. He enjoys collecting books in his spare time but don't bother asking how he organizes them. He doesn't. He just always manages to pull the one he wants on the first try despite having no idea where he put it.

The swordsmen are twins who work together uncannily well but are disastrously clumsy apart. They also really like circling whoever they talk to while sharing lines and end up making their unfortunate conversation partner really dizzy. They were the ones that cleaned the kitchen between "meals" but eventually got so sick of it they abandoned the task.

The shipwright is a big fan of miniaturized craftsmanship so the ship is actually beautifully detailed. He just takes forever to work because nearly every inch of his work is engraved or embellished with art. Repairs the ship but enjoys engraving eggshells in his spare time. Comedically large man, so this hobby is both cute and a bit comedic.

And that's all I have for my crew of dweebs.

I figured the fighting Whitebeard thing would be because they overheard Whitebeard was pissed off and, when they ran into him at sea, assumed the Yonko wouldn't hesitate to fight and figured they may as well meet it head on. Nikia had no idea they were doing this and they were too afraid to enter the kitchen to inform her.

#back on my bullshit #mittens rambles #not a sir au

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acethatlovesdinos · 1 year

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I don’t think fiction writers really understand just how young young is, you know? They say, “oh sure, this teenage protagonist will do just fine in these traumatic, life-threatening scenarios. Just to name a few examples, Luz Noceda was freaking 14 years old when she started her adventure. Steven Universe was thirteen. The Pines twins were twelve, and so was Aang. (And heaven forbid I mention Bella Swan being only 17 at the start of Twilight.) Nothing against these masterful works of fiction, but I, as an eighteen-year-old in relatively good physical and mental health, could not imagine possibly going through these things. At their ages I was just trying to deal with everyday life. At their ages the most important thing to me was the next chapter of my book that I couldn’t wait to get back to. I was simple, and my sense of morals and maturity was hardly anything compared to these characters. And more than just going on a dangerous adventure, these characters are experiencing times in their lives where their minds and bodies change drastically, which is confusing enough on its own.

While these shows are absolutely incredible, I, for one, would like to see a main character who’s in the end of high school, or perhaps in their early twenties, going on a fantastic, magical adventure. They’re in a place of better stability but still don’t quite have all their bearings in place, still an awkward and relatable stage for a wide audience, in that phase between kid and grown-up. Someone expected to be an adult but is still treated like a child in many aspects. And maybe, just maybe, don’t make a character undergo massive trauma before high school?

Does anyone else get what I mean?

#the owl house #gravity falls #avatar the last airbender #cartoons #steven universe

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cherry-ros · 1 year

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Cherry Ròs Facts

— Her full name is Crown Princess Cherry Charlize Ambrosial Charming Ròs of Rosaceae

— She is the next Queen of Rosaceae. A kingdom that is dually ruled by Snow-White and Rose-Red.

— She is childhood friends with Duchess Swan, but they aren’t as close anymore.

— She has three brothers: the oldest, Hydrangea Adventurous Charming Ròs, and the twins, Narcissus Admirable Charming Ròs and Honeysuckle Aspiring Charming Ròs.

— She is named after cherry blossoms.

— She is surprisingly close with Daring Charming. They both enjoy each other’s presence and energy.

— She had a crush on Hopper Croakington II as a kid. She is over him now.

— She attended Royal T. Spellementary School for Royal Children. Cherry attended this school with the Charming siblings, Hopper Croakington, and Duchess Swan.

— She has a secret crush on Cerise Hood. Daring is the only one who knows about it.

— She thinks CA Cupid is weird but in a good way. She likes that she’s different than the same old Ever Afterlings.

— She finds the Royal vs Rebel thing annoying.

— She identifies as a Royal but her view points make her more of a Rebel.

— She is one of the few that actually got to sign the Storybook of Legends.

#eah oc #ever after high #ever after high oc

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themist-underground · 8 months

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I wonder how different kai and jo relationship would have been if she was a siphon like him

Interesting. I think it could have either benefited them or hindered them even more because The Gemini Coven treat siphons like vermin.

We know really little about Siphons because of the show lack of developpement in the interesting things they create.

I have this headcanon of Joshua realising that Kai was a siphon when he was about 8, until then Jo and Kai had a symbiotic siphon/witch relationship, and Jo protected him, in a way?

But since Jo was a regular witch she probably was the more accepted one. And Kai is alone in sharing the burden of being both a siphon and a sociopath. I think if they were both siphons would have brought them closer together, as they would have the same experience. At the very least it would be more balanced, I imagine they would feel less jalousy or guilt about being the "bad twin" or the "good twin".

If both of them were siphons, I think it would have been discovered much sooner in their life.

First, I really wonder how it would affect their mother pregnancy to have two siphon twins? Canon Jo and Kai would have been able to channel eachother. But as two siphons in the womb, they only could access their mother's magic. Would they have drained their mother like Bella Swan's demon child drained her life? Depending on what happens on their mother, would Jo and Kai even been able to live? Are the Gemini Coven this "medieval" that they would kill "dysfunctional" babies?

Cause if we follow the merge logic, the leader's children have a purpose. Individuals are pawns to be used, because the coven always comes first. Siphons are seen as useless or something to be afraid of, we don't know. So where does that leave Kai and Jo? Where does that place their mother and Joshua if they can't produce viable first heirs?

I imagine the coven have sort of a "moral panic" over siphons. It would be even worse if those come from the current leader. Perhaps they have all kind of superstitions about them.

If Siphon Jo and Kai live, I'd like to think they both would have been shunned from the coven and raised somewhere else. It would have been the best outcome for them. Not that it would be without difficulties, but if there's no merge, that means that they are not forced to be antagonist anymore, there's no pressure for them to kill eachother or die at 21. No traumatic upbringing...

Without the mistreatement they could have endured, maybe they would have been able to grow up healthily and to mingle in regular society. Jo had no interest in the coven at some point, and just wanted to be normal, she could still have been a doctor and Kai with a better mental health, would have found something to do with his life other than seeking revenge and power.

I would have love for them to use their smarts to develop their siphon abilities and to discover siphons origins in general. In about 3000 years of existence of the Gemini Coven, things get lost in time... A premise for cool adventures?

#ask #that could go so many ways omg the plot bunnies

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cssns · 1 year

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We’re back, y’all!!! Please help me welcome @spartanguard to the CSSNS23!!!

What’s your Tumblr?

@spartanguard

How long have you been in the CS/OUAT fandom?

A looong time--I watched the show live for its entire run, but didn't become super active until fall 2014 (4a).

When did you start shipping Captain Swan?

I don't know that I can fully pinpoint a moment, but sometime during 3A. (And my answer to that changes constantly, haha)

What drew you to this event?

The same thing that drew me to OUAT in the first place--I love seeing different takes on fairy tales/fantasy, especially against the backdrop of the real world, and love seeing what new adventures we can all take Emma & Killian on.

What inspired your topic?

So I've technically been working on this story since 2015. IIRC, there was a mirror-image manip going around of Colin on set, which brought up the theory of two Killians in my friend group. Which prompted one of them (I believe it was @kat2609) to send an anonymous ask regarding the shenanigans that Killian and his double/twin could get up to. (Note that this was long before the Wish Realm was even thought of, so well before there actually were two Killian Joneses in canon.) I kind of ran with the idea at the time, but then hit some dead ends when the 5A storyline resolved different than anticipated. It sat for a very long time until I finally came up with a workaround sometime last year. and now it's almost done!

If you would like to share a snippet/sneak peek/summary of your fic or artwork, please use the space below.

"I'm disappointed in you." The man almost sounded sad.

"As I told the asshole in the diner, you don't know me." He groggily sat up to stare the man down; a sheriff's badge gleamed from where it was hooked to his jeans, below crossed arms and a stern glare.

"I know you plenty well, pirate." He'd been called many things, but that was a new one. "How could you do this to Emma?"

Who? "Who the f*ck is Emma?" Something weird was going on, but his brain hurt too much to process it.

"I the f*ck am Emma," came a feminine voice from the hallway, followed by the clack of boot heels as she approached. The sheriff ran in her direction, stopping her before she came into view.

"Emma, hold on; I have to tell you something."

"Dad, what's going on?" His vision was blearier than he thought if he hadn't noticed that the man was old enough to have an adult daughter.

The rest of their conversation was too quiet for him to hear, so he slumped back against the concrete wall and glanced around the station.

The sheriff came back, followed by his daughter. Ooh, now there was a sight. A gorgeous blonde came into view, a vision in a red leather jacket. Now why wasn't she at the bar last night? A much better bedfellow she would have made.

Until he saw that she, too, wore a sheriff badge. Law enforcement was an immediate turnoff.

She wore a concerned look on her face as she slowly approached his holding cell. It seemed as if she was studying his face, searching for something. But she must have come up empty, as relief flooded her features, followed quickly by confusion.

"That's not him."

What are you looking forward to most about participating in this event?

Seeing all the great stories and gorgeous art everyone comes up with!

I’m so thrilled that Kaitlyn is back participating again this year! Her MC featuring Killian’s evil twin will be dropping on Wednesday July 5! Everyone go say hi and welcome her back!

#GTKM #CSSNS23 #spartanguard #gtkm interview

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brighids-blunders · 1 year

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Brighid Zemirah McTavish, Hogwarts Legacy OC

"There's a grain of truth in every fairy tale..." - Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish

~General Information~

Name: Brighid Zemirah McTavish

Gender: Female

Birthday: September 18th

Nationality: Irish

Ethnicities: Irish, German, Palestinian

Species: Human, Halfblood

~Appearance~

Hair: Naturally blue, but she uses a charm to turn it to a reddish brown when in Muggle spaces. It's long with soft curls and she normally keeps it down or in a loose braid.

Eyes: Light brown, almost golden.

Height: 5'4" (163 cm)

Build: Athletic with soft curves.

Skin/Complexion: Pale and rosy with freckles littering her face and shoulders.

Markings: Scar over her left brow and eye from a diffindo spell that came a little too close for comfort.

Fashion: Lots of blue, black, green, and silver, very flowery

~Bio~

Dreamer, Persistent, Stubborn, Emotional, Optimistic

Brighid is a bright and cheerful young woman with a green thumb to rival that of Professor Garlick’s. She is a Slytherin born in Ireland in the late 19th century with a love for herbology. She's constantly looking for new uses of plants in just about anything: potions, battle, floral arrangements, you name it. She frequents the restricted section in hopes of finding any botanical research or experimentation involving the dark arts, such as the effects of the Imperius curse on plant growth or fruit production. Most of her horticultural practice is much more mundane, however, and one can often find her in the castle greenhouses in her free time.

Outside of gardening, Brighid enjoys getting into general mischief both in and around the castle with her friends. She has a hard time getting along with those who think themselves better than others or those who don’t know how to bend the rules every now and then. She particularly despises blood purists since she herself is a halfblood.

Brighid has two twin brothers, Finn and Ciaran, who are five years older than she is and both work in the Ministry’s Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, specifically in the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee. Her father, Ronan McTavish, is a muggle farmer, while her mother, Heidi Hoffman-McTavish, was an alchemist and incredibly skilled witch. She was unfortunately murdered as a casualty of a robbery when purchasing ingredients in Knockturn Alley when Brighid was five years old. Brighid decided from a young age to try and take up alchemy and potion making herself to follow in her mother's footsteps, but found herself much more intrigued by the sourcing of the ingredients themselves, and as such, her love for herbology was born.

~Magical Inclinations~

Wand: Spiral - Green-Grey.

Wood: Chestnut.

Core: Dragon Heartstring.

Length: 11 3/4 in.

Flexibility: Quite Flexible.

Handle: Botanical - Bronze Leaf.

House: Slytherin

Favorite Subject: Herbology

Patronus: Black Swan

Animagus: Ulysses Butterfly (acquired in the summer before 6th year)

Amortentia Scent: Wood smoke, jasmine blossoms, and the smell that accompanies the soil of freshly watered plants (similar to petrichor)

If you've made it this far, thanks so much for reading and I hope you like her!!

I'm always open for asks if you'd like to know anything more about her (and it gives me a chance to flesh out the little details which is always fun!) and her adventures.

#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy oc #hogwarts legacy mc #hphl oc #oc: brighid mctavish

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jrob64 · 2 years

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One Thrill Ride Leads to Another - Chapter 5 (Home Again)

I lied. This isn’t the final chapter. There will be an epilogue, which will hopefully be ready to post next Sunday.

For this chapter, I owe a big thank you to @wellhellotragic who, along with my beta @hookedmom, helped me with information about the Boston airport. I also owe thanks to @kmomof4 for her beta and plotting skills.

Story Summary: While working at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Killian Jones meets Emma Swan, slips his name and number into her phone, and later sends her a text asking her out. His snap decision could lead to her blocking his number, or to an adventure much more thrilling than a ride on a roller coaster.

Rating: M (for smut in Chapters 4 & 5)

Words (Chapter 5): 10,361

Catch up on Tumblr: Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4

Also on ffn and Ao3

*********

Killian’s fuzzy mind began to register a very pleasurable sensation as he emerged from sleep the next morning. When he realized what it was, he awoke with a gasp.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Emma grinned, stroking her hand along his already hard cock. “Although, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything very sleepy about this head,” she added, giving it a squeeze.

“Holy hell, Emma,” he groaned, his voice gruff and low.

“What? You don’t like being woken up this way?” she asked with feigned innocence.

Killian growled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to himself. It was when her bare skin met his that he realized she had already removed her shirt. “Mmmm, eager this morning, are we, Swan?”

His gravelly voice in her ear raised goosebumps on her skin. “I just thought it was about time you got…up,” she teased with another squeeze, which earned her several seconds of having his scruffy chin rubbed over the sensitive flesh on her throat and along her collarbone.

He loved hearing her giggles, but was determined to coax other sounds out of her, so he started soothing the reddened skin with his tongue and lips. It didn’t take long to get the effect he wanted, as her laughter turned to moans and gasps.

Her hands moved up his back to tangle in his sleep-mussed hair. “Killian,” she breathed.

“Yes, Love?” he asked against the hollow of her throat.

“I love you.”

He immediately stopped what he was doing and pushed himself up to look into her face. Her eyes held a hint of hesitance, as if she was wondering if he had changed his mind about her overnight. He leaned in to kiss her, pulling back after a few seconds to whisper against her lips, “I love you, too, Emma.” Then he crushed his mouth to hers, tongue begging for entrance, which she granted at once.

Killian rolled onto his back, taking her with him. Her knees came to rest on either side of his hips, positioning her core directly over his stiffened cock, twin groans coming from their mouths.

Emma found the friction her body was craving by rubbing her nipples against the hair on his chest and grinding her center down on him, all the while continuing to kiss him deeply. His hands reached around to grab her ass, squeezing and caressing it, which pushed her neediness even higher.

When he began rutting against her, she panted into his mouth, “Make love to me, Killian.”

His hooded eyes looked into hers, his pupils so dark with desire she could barely see the blue surrounding them. “Are you ready?” he asked. She nodded and to verify her answer, he shifted to bring his hand between them, feeling how soaked her panties were. “Aye, Sweetheart. You are very ready.”

“I…I dreamed about you,” she admitted almost shyly. “I dreamed you were…we were…making love and, when I woke up, I was…so wet.”

“Well,” he chuckled lowly, “let’s make your dream come true, shall we?”

Emma disposed of her underwear while he retrieved a condom from the drawer. She took it from him to open the package, allowing him time to remove his sleep pants. When he held out his hand to take the condom back, she shook her head. “Let me.”

The look in her eyes made him swallow hard, knowing without a doubt that she intended to be in control. “As you wish,” he agreed, watching the smile stretch across her face.

“Put your hands above your head,” she commanded, straddling his thighs after he complied. She looked up at him through her lashes, then wrapped her hand around his shaft, slowly stroking him without breaking eye contact.

Killian pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, his breathing fast and shallow as he felt Emma’s hand move over him. Her smirk told him she knew she had him completely under her spell, and he found he didn’t mind at all.

When she swiped her thumb over his slit, she felt a bead of moisture leaking out. As her hand moved back down toward his base, she bent forward, placed her lips over his tip and sucked, while her tongue darted out to taste him.

“Fucking hell, Swan,” he ground out, his eyes closing in pleasure.

“Want me to stop?” she asked playfully.

He lifted his head off the pillow to look at her. “Do you want to stop?”

Emma’s heart melted a little at his question. In the short time she had known him, she noticed he always put her needs and wants before his own. He claimed to be a gentleman, and had yet to show her any evidence to the contrary. In answer to his question, she wrapped her mouth around him again, letting her tongue trail up the vein on the underside of him.

If her intent was to wreck him, Killian knew she was well on her way. His cock was aching and he could hardly wait to be inside her hot, tight sheath, but as long as she was enjoying what she was doing, he would allow himself to enjoy it, too.

She encouraged him to spread his legs and she knelt between them, continuing to stroke him with her hand, while she ran her tongue over his balls. His muttered curses and moans of her name had her smiling, but her core was getting wetter by the second and she didn’t want to tip him over the edge without getting to feel his steel shaft inside her body.

Sitting up, her eyes scanned over his form, taking in his hands gripping the headboard, his mouth open and huffing out short gasps, and his eyes tightly closed. She moved to straddle his hips, sliding one hand up his chest to pinch his nipple. He jerked in response, opening his eyes, which were hazy with desire.

Emma slid her slick core over his cock and he repositioned his hands on her hips to guide her. After several passes, he gripped her tighter, stilling her movement. “Emma, please…I need…”

“Yeah,” she said breathlessly, “so do I.” She scooted back far enough to roll the condom into place, then lined herself up and sank down around him. When he was fully seated, they both closed their eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get themselves under some semblance of control.

“Killian, I…I…don’t think I can move,” she panted.

“Do you want me on top?”

She nodded her head furiously, the ends of her hair tickling his chest. “Okay, Love, let me just…” He tugged her down against him and rolled over, momentarily slipping out. Her responding gasp and groan had him scrambling to get back inside of her as quickly as possible.

Once he plunged back into her and their fingers intertwined above her head, he brushed his lips against hers before whispering, “Tell me how you want it, Emma.”

Her eyes opened and he was nearly floored by the feelings he saw in the emerald depths. “Fast,” she uttered, “and hard. Make me see stars, Babe.”

Grinning, he kissed her again. “Aye, Love. I think I can do that.” Lifting her hips, he pushed himself up on his knees, and grabbed a pillow to shove underneath her. Her legs wrapped around him and she locked her ankles behind his back.

Killian set a fast pace, driving into her over and over, mesmerized by her bouncing breasts and the way she was panting out his name, while her head thrashed back and forth. When her hands started plucking at her nipples, the sight drove him wild.

He felt her walls begin to tighten around him, so he reached down to rub her sensitive nub. She cried out his name, her legs gripping him as her body spasmed. Gritting his teeth to push through it, he gave her a moment, then began thrusting again, her throbbing channel beckoning him to join her in pure bliss.

She had no time to come down from the high of her first orgasm before she was well on her way to another, thanks to Killian continuing to pound into her. He was obviously taking her request very seriously and she had no doubt she would see stars popping behind her closed eyelids soon.

Emma raked her nails down his back and started pushing her pelvis up to meet his on every thrust. “Harder,” she ordered. “Killian, fuck me harder!”

His arms slid under her to grip her shoulders from underneath and he slammed into her, his words punctuating each thrust. “Come on…Emma! Come…again…for me! Please come!”

The stars burst behind her eyelids as she climaxed, coming with a shudder and shout, triggering his orgasm, too. His ragged breaths were hot on the skin of her throat and his hips continued to rut against hers, adding a little extra pressure to her clit each time.

“Killiannnn,” she whined, and he wondered if she had at least one more left in her.

Swiveling his hips, he ground into her, sucking her nipple into his mouth at the same time. Her legs tightening around him and her moaning gasps gave him the answer he wanted. He felt her hands gripping his hair and sucked harder, while his hand found her other breast and squeezed, pinching the nipple between his finger and thumb. Releasing her with a pop, he growled, “One more time, Sweetheart. Come for me one more time.”

Helpless to do anything but obey, her body shuddered again mightily. “Yes! Yes, Killian! Fuck yes!”

This time, he let her come down slowly, softly stroking her skin and pressing sweet kisses to her throat and collarbone. He remained inside of her, unwilling to vacate her throbbing walls just yet.

When her eyes finally opened, they were met by gorgeous blue ones, his brows raised high on his forehead as he asked, “Are you alright, Love?”

“Mmmhmmm,” she hummed, a smile curling her lips. “That was…amazing.”

“You’re amazing, and I’m the one lucky enough to love you…and be loved by you.”

Her fingers slid lazily through his sweaty strands of hair, sweeping them back off his forehead. “I really hate that we only have a few hours left before I have to leave you,” she sighed.

He kissed her forehead before pulling out of her with a groan and shifting to lay beside her, propped up on his elbow. “Let’s not think about that, right now. Let’s just focus on the time we have together until then, yeah?”

Her smile still held a hint of sadness, but she nodded. “Okay. I guess we should probably get cleaned up and eat some breakfast.”

Killian plucked his phone off the bedside table to check the time. “It’s only eight-thirty. After all of our physical activities yesterday, I thought you would sleep in later,” he said with a wink.

“I told you I was dreaming about my hot, sexy boyfriend. I had to wake up to see if it was all just a dream or if you really existed.”

“You doubted I was real?”

A flush crept up her throat into her cheeks. “Well, you have to admit this whole thing is a little hard to believe. I mean, I’ve hardly dated in years, and now after only three days, I’m in love with a fantastic guy who just gave me three orgasms!”

His laughter rang through the room, before he snuggled close to her, tangling his legs with hers and smirking, “Well, if you need me to prove again that I’m quite real…”

She tugged lightly on his chest hair and when he yelped, she grinned. “I think that proves it.”

“You’re lucky I love you, Swan,” he said, trying and failing to look stern as he rubbed the spot on his chest.

She stretched up to kiss him. “Yeah, I am,” she whispered.

*********

Not wanting to miss a single minute of the time they had left with each other, they showered together, then sat on the couch after breakfast to finish their coffee, chatting comfortably. They took turns asking numerous questions about their likes and dislikes, places they had traveled, their high school and college days, and a variety of other subjects to get to know one another better. After a couple of hours, it made the attraction between them even stronger.

“Where do you plan to live when you move to Boston?” Emma asked. “With your brother or your uncle?”

“Uncle Nemo is getting quite temperamental and set in his ways as he ages. That’s why Liam moved out a few months after I went to college. They argued quite frequently and Liam didn’t want their relationship to be ruined because of it, so I’m not even considering that option. Liam’s apartment isn’t very big and he recently started dating a librarian named Belle. I don’t want to be in their way, if you know what I mean,” Killian said with a wink. Twisting strands of her hair around his finger, he added, “I can hardly wait to introduce you to him.”

Emma was quiet for several seconds. When she spoke again, he could hear the hesitance in her voice. “What if he doesn’t like me?”

He kissed her temple. “What’s not to like?”

“I’m serious, Killian. He probably has high expectations for who you date, and I’m sure a girl without a family, raised in the foster system, wouldn’t meet them.”

He shifted on the sofa to look at her. “Nobody has the right to judge you for circumstances beyond your control, Love, least of all another orphan who would have been in the same situation, if it weren’t for Uncle Nemo.” He saw her beginning to say something else and hurried to reassure her. “But if Liam somehow finds a reason not to approve of you, it won’t matter to me. I love you and nothing is going to change that. I will always put you first.”

“I wouldn’t want to come between you and your brother.”

“Sweetheart, you’re worrying for nothing. Liam wants me to be happy and when he sees that I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, he’s going to love you. Not as much as I do, but he’ll still love you.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Cradling her face between his hands, he kissed her tenderly before whispering, “I know I am.”

Emma sighed contentedly, her forehead pressed to his. “So if you’re not planning to live with Nemo or Liam, where are you going to live?” she asked quietly.

“Graham and I have been looking at some apartments online.”

“The two of you plan to keep living together?”

“Aye. We get along well and it’s much more affordable that way.”

“Do you mind showing me the ones you’re considering? Maybe I can go see them in person, then FaceTime you so you could see how they look.”

“That would be great, Love.” He crossed the room to collect his laptop off the small desk in the corner and took it back to the couch, where he opened it and searched for a map of South Boston.

Emma pointed out the block where her apartment was located and they discovered it was six blocks away from Liam’s place. Then he brought up his bookmarks and they began looking at the possibilities. She was pleased to see that most of them were within walking distance of her building.

He sent the links for the five most promising options to her phone so she could set up appointments to see them after she returned home. Next, they ordered some Chinese food to be delivered. By the time the food arrived and they ate, it was nearing twelve-thirty. Their time together was winding down.

He stretched out on the couch and pulled her down on top of him, wrapping his arms around her belly. “Emma?” he murmured, rubbing his chin back and forth against the crown of her head.

“Hmm?”

“Will you…can I…make love to you one more time before I take you back to the hotel and pick up Graham?”

Just hearing him say the words had her heart pounding in her chest. Turning over and kneeling between his legs, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. When she finally ended it, she murmured, “In case you’re not sure, that was a yes.”

He grinned and pressed his lips to hers again. “I figured that out, Love.” Dropping his right leg off the edge of the sofa, he nudged her with his left and she scrambled to stand up, tugging him up behind her.

“Well,” she said, with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes, “we’ve christened the bedroom, living room and bathroom. Should we try the kitchen this time?”

His brows shot up and his mouth opened in surprise, before his expression morphed into a sly smirk. “Is that a challenge? Because I love a challenge.”

She laughed. “Ruby told me she and Graham were trying to have sex on every surface in the hotel room and wanted to know how many rooms we christened Tuesday night. I know she’s going to ask me once she finds out we… did it….”

“Ah, so how about the kitchen counter then?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

“Seems a bit unsanitary to have sex where you prepare food, doesn’t it?” she giggled.

He grinned. “Perhaps I’d like a reminder of you everywhere in this apartment.”

“So you’re saying when you’re mixing up pancakes beside the stove, you’ll be picturing me sitting there naked?” she asked with a smirk.

He put his hands on her hips and tugged her to him. “Naked, clothed, wearing that tantalizing swimsuit - doesn’t matter. I’ll be thinking about you non-stop, until I finally have you in my arms again.”

She sighed happily, his words melting her. “Come on,” she said, taking his hand, “let’s skip the kitchen. I’d rather be comfortable in your bed.”

Following her willingly, he said, “That’s fine with me. I’m hoping your scent will stay on my sheets until I’m ready to move.”

She wrinkled her nose as she looked at him. “You don’t plan to wash your bedding for a month?”

“Don’t judge me, Swan. I’ll risk being a bit unhygienic if I can go to bed and be surrounded by your fragrance.”

Stopping in her tracks, she turned to face him and ran her hands up his chest. “God, I love you so much.”

He hoisted her up into his arms and she wrapped her legs around him. Just before fusing his mouth to hers, he whispered, “I love you too, Emma,” then carried her into his room to show her just how much.

*********

It was a quiet ride to the hotel, Emma and Killian both lost in their thoughts. She kept her hand on his thigh as he drove and he squeezed her fingers reassuringly from time to time. When they were a few blocks away, she called Ruby to let her know of her arrival and could hear the melancholy in her friend’s usually upbeat tone.

The other couple met them in the lobby and Graham excused himself to go to the restroom before leaving for work. Emma noticed Ruby’s lip trembling and put her arm around her.

“How am I going to survive almost two months without him?” the brunette asked sadly.

Emma had never seen her roommate so miserable. “I know, Rubes, but once he moves, you two will be together again…and I’ll have to invest in a good pair of noise-canceling headphones.”

Her attempt at a joke earned her a chuckle from Killian and a slight smile from Ruby. “Until then, I’ll have to be the one using the headphones,” she said. “You are not gonna convince me that after all the touchy-feely stuff you guys had going on yesterday, you didn’t go back to his apartment and bang each other’s brains out.”

Emma’s cheeks filled with color as Killian scratched vigorously behind his ear. Ruby observed them for a few seconds before exclaiming, “Ha! I knew it! I knew you couldn’t go back home without having some hot, steamy sex with this stud muffin!”

“Jeez, Ruby, can you say it a little louder?” Emma hissed. “I’m not sure M’s and David heard you in Boston!”

Ruby was laughing when Graham came back. “Feeling better, Red?” he asked, slipping his arms around her from behind.

“I’m still devastated to leave you, but finding out these two lovebirds did the deed last night…”

“Ruby! Cut it out!” Emma commanded, her face turning an even deeper shade of red.

Graham’s laughter was cut short when Killian checked the time on his phone. “We need to leave in a couple of minutes, mate.” The other man groaned and buried his face in his girlfriend’s neck. “I’ll wait for you out by the car,” Killian continued. “Have a safe trip, Ruby.”

Taking Emma’s hand, he led the way through the hotel doors to the parking lot. When they reached the car, he pulled her into his arms. She was taking deep breaths, and he could tell she was trying not to cry. “Four weeks, Love. Less than thirty days. We can do this, and then we never have to be apart again.”

“I’m going to…m-miss you so much,” she choked out.

“I know, and I’ll miss you, too, but I’ll call and text every chance I get. We’ll make it work.”

She placed her hands on both sides of his face and looked into his eyes. “You won’t put your number in anyone else’s phone, will you?” she asked, trying for some levity.

His eyes, filled with honesty and love, bore into hers. “That was a one time thing, Emma. There’s only one woman I’ve ever wanted to meet so desperately that I would stoop to doing such a thing.”

“I know,” she rushed to assure him. “I…I was just teasing. I trust you, Killian.”

His lips sought hers, attempting to pour all his feelings into the kiss. She returned it with just as much ardor, her arms moving around his back to tighten her hold on him. When he finally pulled away, his lips trailed down her throat, then back up behind her ear, where he murmured, “I love you, Emma.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered, blinking back tears.

Gathering all his willpower, he gripped her arms and put some space between them. “Text me when you get to the airport, okay? And then before you board and after you land.”

“I will.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Graham exiting the hotel. “I better let you go, so you can get to work.”

“No, don’t. Don’t ever let me go.”

She managed a tiny smile. “I won’t. I promise. I…I’ll talk to you soon.” She leaned in for one more kiss, then turned and walked away.

Killian watched her go, stopping to say goodbye to Graham, who squeezed her hand before continuing toward the car. “Ready to go?” he asked Killian, who was still staring at the hotel door where Emma had disappeared.

“No. Remind me again why we can’t move to Boston right now?”

“We don’t have an apartment there yet, Phillip is counting on us to finish out his lease, we’ve been hired to work for a few more weeks…”

Killian sighed and unlocked the car, sliding into the driver’s seat dejectedly, while Graham did the same on the passenger side. “Those are all logical reasons, but I feel like my heart is on its way to Boston without me.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Graham commiserated.

*********

Emma and Ruby packed in relative silence, but Emma could hear her friend sniffling as she shoved clothes into her suitcase. She didn’t know what to say to help her feel better, because she knew nothing Ruby could say would make her heart feel any less heavy.

They loaded their luggage onto a rolling cart from the lobby and double checked the room to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything, before taking the elevator downstairs. Just as the doors opened and they began wheeling the cart out, the Uber app on Ruby’s phone dinged to notify them that their car had arrived.

When they got to the airport, they went through the motions of checking in. As soon as they reached their boarding gate area, Emma pulled out her phone and texted Killian, not really expecting a response, since he was working.

E: Made it to the airport. I miss you already.

Much to her surprise, the reply bubbles popped up within a few seconds.

K: I miss you too.

E: Aren’t you working?

K: Coaster is down and mechanics are working on it. I only have a minute while they fix it.

E: Enough time to tell you I love you.

K: I love you too. Have a safe flight. Gotta go.

Emma sent three heart emojis, then locked her phone, slouched in her seat, and dropped her head against the top of the chair. Looking to her right, she could see Ruby wiping her eyes with a crumpled tissue. She didn’t think she had ever seen her friend cry as much as she had today in the entirety of the five years she’d known her.

Reaching over, she took Ruby’s hand and twined their fingers together. “Hey, we had a great vacation. We need to think about all the happy memories we have from it. It’s not like we’ll never see them again. Think about how happy you’ll be when Graham moves to Boston.”

“I…know,” Ruby sniffed, “but I…I just can’t right now. I know you think I’m crazy, but I honestly think I’m in love with him. He’s my soulmate.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy,” Emma responded. “I…I told Killian that, too.”

Ruby turned red eyes toward her. “That he’s your soulmate?”

Emma shook her head slightly. “No, that I love him.”

It was a testimony to how sad Ruby was that she didn’t make some sort of obnoxiously loud noise. “You guys belong together,” she stated simply.

“So do you and Graham. I’ve never seen you as happy as you are when you’re with him. He seems like a great guy, Rubes.”

“He really is,” she sighed. “I feel like we were in Vegas instead of Florida, because I believe I hit the jackpot.”

Emma felt a grin tugging at the corners of her lips. She knew the next few weeks would test their new relationships, but she was confident her feelings for Killian were just going to deepen with each passing day.

Pulling out her phone again, she scrolled through the pictures from their vacation, chose one Ruby had taken of her and Killian at Raglan Road, and set it as her lock screen.

*********

The direct flight was uneventful and when they landed 3 hours later, Emma and Ruby collected their luggage as quickly as they could and ordered an Uber. While they waited, they texted their boyfriends.

E: Plane just landed. Waiting on Uber now.

She tried not to be disappointed when she didn’t get an immediate answer. Killian was working, after all.

Their driver was maneuvering through the streets of Boston by the time she got a response. As soon as she felt her phone buzz in her hand, she opened her messages, a smile crossing her lips as she read what he sent.

K: Wish it was bringing you TO me instead of AWAY from me, but glad you made it back safely. Sorry I didn’t answer sooner. On my break now, only two more hours of work. Can I call you when I get home?

E: You better! LOL!

K: I promise I will. Can’t wait to hear your voice.

E: Gotta go. Getting close to our apartment. Talk to you soon.

K: Okay Love.

*********

“Whew! I love being on vacation, but I hate the before and after part of it!” Ruby exclaimed once they wrangled their luggage into their apartment.

“Ugh, I know what you mean,” Emma agreed, collapsing into a chair. “I guess we should let M’s know we made it home.”

“You do that, while I tell Granny the same thing. You know how she worries when I travel.”

Emma nodded. “Uh-huh. Tell her I said hi.” Ruby’s grandmother had raised her, and she considered Emma and Mary Margaret her granddaughters, too. She ran a diner in a town not far from the University of Maine, and all of them worked for her during their college summers.

When their calls were made, they placed one more for takeout, then Emma concentrated on unpacking, while Ruby took a shower to clean off the ‘airplane stink’. After they ate, Emma helped clean up the dinner mess, then showered and put on her pajama shorts and the Aerosmith shirt she had stuffed into her duffle bag when Killian wasn’t looking. She thought it was only fair for her to keep a shirt that smelled like him, if he got to sleep on sheets containing her scent .

It was only nine o’clock when she bid Ruby goodnight, her friend gave her a knowing smirk. “Going to bed pretty early, aren’t you? Planning on having phone sex with your hot boyfriend?”

“No,” Emma stated emphatically. “I’m just wiped out and want to get comfortable.”

“Well, that’s too bad. Hope you don’t mind if I do when Graham calls. Just hearing his sexy voice is probably going to give me an orgasm.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Do whatever you want, just try to keep it down.”

“I make no promises,” Ruby grinned.

Shaking her head, Emma went into her bedroom and closed the door. She checked the time on her phone and saw that Killian should have gotten off work ten minutes ago. Allowing him time to get to the locker room, meet Graham and drive home, she figured it would be at least another half hour before he called.

She sighed and climbed into bed, picking up a book from her bedside table. Her phone dinged with a notification before she finished reading one paragraph, and she eagerly checked it.

K: On our way to the car. Be home in twenty minutes. Love you.

E: Drive carefully. Love you too.

Her attempts to read were in vain because she was checking the time every couple of minutes. She finally gave up and scrolled through her social media feeds instead.

When her phone screen finally showed an incoming Facetime call from Killian, she hastily swiped the Instagram app away and hit the green ‘accept’ button. “Hey, Babe.”

His face appeared onscreen, his striking good looks making the breath whoosh out of her. “Hello, Beautiful.”

“I have a confession to make,” she said.

“Most women do,” he joked.

She tilted her phone so he could see the shirt she was wearing. “I’m a thief.”

He chuckled. “I was wondering where that went! I find that I don’t mind being in love with a thief. Besides, it looks much better on you than it does on me.”

They talked for an hour-and-a-half, and in the moments when conversation lagged, they were content just to look at each other. When Emma began stifling yawns behind her hand, Killian reluctantly admitted it was time to end the call.

“Is it okay if I call you tomorrow morning before you go to work?” Emma asked.

“Sweetheart, you never have to ask if it’s okay to call me. I’ll take every opportunity possible to hear your lovely voice and see your gorgeous face.”

She blushed at his statement before replying, “The same goes for me - call anytime. If I can’t take the call at that moment, I’ll send you a text. I’ve got unlimited everything.”

“So do I.” He took in her drooping eyelids and said, “Sleep well, my love. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

“I’m sure I won’t sleep as well as I did last night, when I was in your arms, but hopefully I’ll dream about you. Goodnight, Killian. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Emma. Goodnight.”

Both of them waited another few seconds before Emma finally touched the button to end the call. Then she placed her phone on the nightstand, turned off the light and rolled onto her left side. Remembering how wonderful it felt having Killian’s arm wrapped around her the night before, she heaved a deep sigh. Despite being exhausted from her day of travel, it took nearly two hours of tossing and turning before she was finally able to fall asleep.

*********

Ruby and Emma returned to work the next week, making it a little more difficult to find time to talk to the guys, but they managed to squeeze in every minute they could. Emma set up appointments to see the five apartments she and Killian had discussed, Ruby accompanying her for two of them, when she was able to work it into her schedule.

She toured the fourth one on Thursday, FaceTiming Killian while the realtor was in the other room looking up answers to some questions Emma asked.

“I’m pretty impressed with this one, Babe. It has windows that let in a lot of light, plenty of closet space, a great walk-in shower and is only a block away from my building. What do you think?”

“It seems to be the best one so far,” he agreed. “The rent is a little higher than the others, but Graham and I would be able to afford it. Does it appear to be well maintained? Is it in a good neighborhood?”

She was just getting ready to respond, when a tall man with curly brown hair walked through the open door into the living room where she was standing. He looked around a bit, then extended his hand toward her. “You must be the realtor. Ashley, is it?” he asked in an accented voice.

Emma shook her head. “No, I’m not the realtor. I’m here looking at the apartment for my boyfriend.”

The man adjusted his stance, straightening to his full height and crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh? Well, I have an appointment with Ashley because I’m very interested in this apartment for my brother.”

Emma’s eyes narrowed as she took in his ocean blue eyes and noticed his ears were similarly shaped to Killian’s. Recognizing his Irish accent, she began to put two and two together. “Your brother wouldn’t happen to be Killian Jones, would it?” she asked.

His mouth dropped open in surprise. “How…how do you…”

Emma held up her phone and turned it so the man could see it. “Killian, do you know this guy?”

His deep laugh came through the device as a wide smile stretched across Liam’s face. “Aye, that’s my git of an older brother,” Killian confirmed.

Liam looked back at her. “Ah, so you must be Emma Swan, the lass my brother has been telling me about for the past week,” he said, stepping closer to her.

She smiled warmly. “Yeah, I am. It’s very nice to meet you, Liam.” She held out her hand, but he pulled her into a hug instead.

Hearing a small cough, they separated and turned to see the realtor, who had just returned from the kitchen. “This must be your boyfriend,” she said smiling, offering him her hand to shake.

“No, actually. We just met,” Emma said. “He’s my boyfriend’s brother.”

“Liam Jones,” he introduced himself. “I think I must be your next appointment.”

Ashley looked confused. “And…and you both came to look at this apartment on the same day…without knowing the other was going to be here?” she asked.

“Aye. Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?” Liam chuckled.

“We’ve been experiencing a lot of those lately, haven’t we, Killian?” Emma said, turning the phone back toward herself.

“You can say that again,” he laughed.

Ashley’s surprised look slowly turned back into that of a woman ready to talk business. “So, what are your thoughts about the apartment?”

“We’ll take it,” three voices chorused back at her.

*********

The closer it got to the second week of August, the more excited Emma became; but if she was being completely honest with herself, she was a little nervous, too. Her conversations with Killian allowed her to get to know him even better and she knew the same was true for him. She was just hoping nothing he learned made him rethink their relationship.

She hadn’t seen Liam since that day at the apartment, but was relieved to learn that he was flying down to Florida to drive back with Killian. Getting all of his belongings in his car wouldn’t be difficult because he sold or threw out almost all of the furnishings he used while in college; he and Emma planned to go shopping once he got home. In the meantime, he was going to sleep on an air mattress and use a card table and chairs, until he was able to buy what was needed.

Their month apart was drawing to a close and Emma could hardly wait to be in his arms again.

*********

The first Friday in August, Killian battled heavy traffic to pick up Liam at the airport. When his brother emerged with his carry-on bag, Killian greeted him with a hug and led him to the lot where he parked his car.

Once they were away from the congestion around the airport, Liam began asking questions about Emma. Killian had already endured the berating Liam gave him over the phone upon finding out how he met her; being told it was ‘bad form’ and that he should be ashamed of himself. Killian had expected as much and would have been shocked if he hadn’t received that treatment from his older brother. After he calmed down and listened to Killian’s reasons, Liam was a little more understanding, especially when he heard the happiness in his brother’s voice - a happiness he hadn’t heard since before their mother’s death.

Liam had been curious about some things ever since he met Emma, but his brother had a maddening habit of giving him short, succinct answers over the phone. He hoped Killian would be more open with him in person. “So, tell me more about this lass who seems to have captured your heart, little brother.”

Killian side-eyed him. “Please don’t call me that in front of Emma. You know how much I hate it.” Liam chuckled, causing Killian to huff out an exasperated breath before asking, “What do you want to know?”

“Does her family live in Boston? What does she do for a living? Have you fallen in love with her?”

Killian brought his car to a stop at a red light and glanced over toward the passenger seat. “She was raised in the foster system after her parents failed to take adequate care of her.” Liam’s face showed a flash of surprise, before he gave a slight nod of understanding. “To answer your second question, she’s a sports writer for a couple of college websites. As for the last one, yes. Head over heels.”

The light turned green and Killian focused his attention back on the road, so he missed Liam’s broad grin, evidence of how happy he was for his younger brother.

*********

The brothers planned to make the trip over a two day period since it was nearly a twenty-one hour drive from Orlando to Boston, but the more miles they drove, the more anxious Killian was to get there. It was after midnight before Liam finally convinced him to pull into a roadside rest area just outside New York City to get a few hours of sleep. After waking up, they stopped for an early breakfast at an all-night diner and were back on the road by six-thirty.

Emma wasn’t expecting Killian to arrive until late Sunday afternoon, so when her phone buzzed with a text at 10:45, she figured he was letting her know how much longer it would be until they arrived. What she saw instead almost made her drop the phone.

K: I’m here. Outside your building. Can you bring down the key to my new place?

Her screech of “Ohmigod!” brought Ruby running out of her bedroom.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her eyes wide with alarm.

“Killian is here! He’s outside!” Emma shouted, turning around in a circle as she tried to decide what to do first.

“He is? Well why are you still inside then?”

“I haven’t taken a shower yet, I’m still in my pajamas, my hair is a mess…” Emma babbled.

“The man has seen you with morning bedhead, all wet and completely naked. He’s not gonna care.”

“But I’m not even wearing a bra!”

“So? He’ll just be taking it off later anyway,” At Emma’s despairing look, she grabbed a sweatshirt off the back of the couch and tossed it to her. “Fine, put this on.”

“Thanks,” Emma mumbled from inside the hoodie.

“Now get out there!” Ruby said, pushing her friend toward the door. As it slammed shut behind her, Ruby muttered, “Guess she didn’t realize she’s not wearing any shoes,” then moved to the window to watch the reunion of the couple.

*********

Liam leaned against a lamp post, yawning as he waited for Emma to emerge from the building. His brother was pacing back and forth like a caged tiger and Liam was chuckling at his obvious impatience to see his girlfriend for the first time in a month.

Killian sang her praises all the way home and by the time they arrived, there wasn’t a doubt in Liam’s mind that the woman had his brother wrapped right around her lovely finger. All he had ever wanted for Killian was for him to be happy; Emma seemed to be instrumental in making that wish come true.

*********

Killian felt like it took ages until the door of the building opened and Emma came bursting through, her hair thrown up in a disheveled bun, barefoot and wearing a pair of pink sleep shorts and lime green hoodie with a picture of Tinkerbell. Despite the fact he was bleary eyed from having just driven nearly 1300 miles, he was astounded once again by her beauty.

He hurried down the sidewalk and caught her as she launched herself at him, jumping into his arms and peppering his face with kisses. He cupped the back of her head and guided it until her lips connected with his, then proceeded to kiss her with all the pent-up passion from the past thirty days.

“God, I missed you,” she panted into his mouth.

“I told…you, Love…Killian…will do,” he quipped between small kisses to her cheeks and forehead.

“You’re an idiot,” she laughed, her words filled with pure joy.

“But you still love me,” he smirked.

“Yeah,” she said on an exhale, “I do.”

He tightened his hold on her and buried his face in the crease of her neck, breathing her in. “I missed you so much, Sweetheart. That was the longest trip of my life. All I could think about was seeing your gorgeous face again.”

“I look terrible…”

“That’s an absolute lie,” he interrupted. “You’re the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.”

“I haven’t even taken a shower or anything. How did you get here so soon?”

“We practically drove straight through, instead of staying in a hotel last night. We only pulled over at a rest stop and slept in the car for a few hours.”

“If he had his way, we would have kept going,” Liam said, stepping up beside the couple, “but we had both driven for several long hours through hellish traffic and needed the rest.”

“Hi, Liam,” Emma greeted, keeping her arm around her boyfriend’s waist as she turned to face his brother. “Thanks for helping him drive back.”

“Your ears must have been burning for the last twenty-eight hours because my li-” a glance at Killian had him quickly rethinking his words, “um, younger brother talked about you non-stop the entire way back.”

Emma turned her face up to Killian’s, her smile both bright and smug. “Is that so?”

“No, it is not,” he defended with a twinkle in his eye. “I didn’t say anything while I was sleeping.”

“Don’t believe him, Lass,” Liam said, trying and failing to suppress a smile. “He talked in his sleep.”

Emma laughed as Killian grumbled good naturedly, unable to be upset while he held the woman he loved in his arms.

“Are you ready to go to your new apartment, Brother?” Liam asked. “I’d like to get everything unloaded, so I can go home and collapse into bed.”

Killian looked down at Emma. “As soon as I get everything into the apartment and take Liam home, I’ll be back. It should only take about an hour.”

“Okay, I guess I can survive that long without you,” she sighed dramatically. “That will give me time to get a shower and look a little more presentable.”

They were so wrapped up in each other, they hadn’t noticed Ruby coming out of the building. “Hey, handsome,” she said, tapping Killian on the shoulder. “If you’re moving into your apartment today, this might come in handy.” She gave him the key Emma had left on their kitchen counter.

“Oh, yeah,” Emma said, her face getting red. “I guess I forgot to grab it before I came downstairs.”

“And you must be big bro Liam,” Ruby said, approaching him with a toothy grin. “I’m Ruby Lucas, Emma’s roommate.”

“Ah, yes. Killian has told me about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He reached forward to shake her hand.

“Don’t believe everything you hear. I’m probably far worse than the stories he told,” she said, making Liam laugh.

Killian released Emma and moved to pull Ruby into a hug. “Graham said to give you this, and to tell you he misses you madly. His words, not mine.”

“Ugh, I miss him so fucking much,” she moaned into his shoulder. “I can’t believe I have to wait another three weeks to see him.”

“He’s chomping at the bit to be here with you. At least he’ll be flying back instead of driving,” Killian said, releasing her.

“Yeah,” she sighed, “but it’s still gonna seem like forever.”

“I understand that completely,” he sympathized, turning his eyes toward Emma again.

“You better get going. I think Liam is about to fall asleep on his feet,” she said. “Let me know when you get back and I’ll come over.” She ran her hands up his chest and pushed to her tiptoes to give him another kiss.

He watched the girls go back into their apartment building, before turning to start down the sidewalk towards his own place, catching Liam’s smirk along the way and choosing to ignore it.

*********

Forty minutes later, Emma got his text, and was out the door before she even finished reading it. When she reached the top of the stairs on Killian’s floor, he was waiting outside his apartment and immediately went to embrace her. He steered them inside and kicked the door shut behind them.

“Do you…do you like the apartment?” Emma asked as he trailed kisses down the side of her throat.

“It’s great, Love,” he assured her, continuing his pleasurable path. “Thanks for helping me choose the right one.”

“Well,” she said, pushing away from him far enough to look into his face, “I have very good taste.”

“Just in apartments?” he grinned knowingly.

“Oh, definitely in men, too.” She pecked his lips and gave him a beaming smile. Looking around the room, she saw a card table leaning against a wall with two chairs folded up beside it, and a single, large box sitting in the middle of the floor. “Is this all your stuff?”

“I have a couple boxes in the kitchen and two in the bedroom, along with my clothes and shoes, of course. I don’t own that much.”

“Yeah, I don’t either. When you grow up with few possessions, you find out you don’t need much.” His arms tightened around her at her statement and he brushed a kiss across her temple. “Do you want me to help you unpack?”

“Actually, I could really use some sleep first. Will you…would you mind staying with me?”

“Why, Killian Jones - are you asking me to sleep with you?” she teased. He tried to wink seductively, but she could see the weariness in his eyes, so she hurried to reassure him, “Don’t worry, Babe, I know you’re tired, so I won’t attack you…yet.”

“Let me get a few hours of sleep, then you can have your wicked way with me, Swan.”

Giggling, she took his hand and led him toward the bedrooms. Peeking into the one across from the bathroom, she saw it was empty and continued on to the one at the end of the hall. “I guess this is yours?”

“Aye,” he affirmed. “The window in here faces your building.”

Her heart thumped a little harder knowing he took that into consideration when choosing his room, especially since the other one was more spacious.

There were two more cardboard boxes in the corner and a deflated air mattress in the middle of the floor with a pump sitting beside it. “I see you haven’t blown up your bed yet,” she observed.

He sighed. “Yeah, I forgot about that. Let me just…”

“Why don’t you take a quick shower, while I take care of it? I’m assuming you didn’t get one this morning since you didn’t stay at a hotel.”

“No, I didn’t. That would be great. Thanks, Love.” He went over to one of the boxes, opened the flaps and dug around for a few seconds until he located a bottle of body wash and a towel. Then he unzipped one of his suitcases to find shorts and underwear.

Emma watched him go out the door, then began the task of filling the mattress with air. She located some sheets, a blanket and his pillow and proceeded to make his bed once it was finished inflating. She also draped a second blanket over the curtain rod to darken the room a bit.

While searching for the bedding, she melted a little upon finding a framed picture of the two of them at the waterpark, especially considering the lack of photos she noticed in his Florida apartment.

When he stepped into the bedroom after his shower, he eyed the queen size air bed. “That looks like heaven right now,” he said. “I think the exhaustion is starting to set in.”

She moved to him, unable to keep her eyes and hands off of his body. Wiping away a drop of water that was making its way down his neck, she said, “Let’s get some sleep, then.”

“Emma, you really don’t have to stay if you have other things planned…”

“The only plans I had were pacing the floor and checking the clock five thousand times until you got here,” she informed him. “You saved me the trouble of doing that, so now I’m free for the day. And truthfully, I barely slept last night knowing I was going to be seeing you in just a few hours, so I could use a nap.”

She linked their fingers and crossed the room with him in tow, dropping down onto the mattress when she reached it. Carefully moving over on the wobbly bed, she made room for him and he gratefully joined her. Gathering her into his arms, they shared a lazy kiss, then she pulled up the sheet and blanket to cover them both, snuggling into his chest. “I’m so glad you’re here, Killian. I love you.”

He yawned, exhaling an “I love you, too,” and was asleep within minutes, happily holding the woman of his dreams once again.

*********

It was late afternoon when they slowly emerged from the best sleep either of them had had since she left Orlando. Emma’s eyes blinked open first, realizing the two of them had barely moved, which she attributed to a combination of finally being in each other’s arms again and sheer exhaustion.

She studied his handsome face, still relaxed in sleep. Lifting her left hand, she traced his sideburn with her finger, then ran it over the faint scar on his right cheek. She wondered how he got it and made a mental note to ask him. She loved that they still had so much to discover about each other and would be able to do just that, now that they were back together for good.

Contemplating the implication of those two words - for good - she found they didn’t scare her at all. In fact, her heart raced with excitement just thinking about being with him every day, and hopefully, just as many nights. She was so caught up in her musings, she missed the change in his breathing that signified his waking.

Her fingers were absently sifting through the fringes of the hair at the base of his neck when he opened his eyes. She was staring off into space with a faraway look, a smile curving her delectable lips. He took a few seconds to just appreciate being with her again, before he spoke. “What are you thinking about, Sweetheart?” he asked, his voice low and rough with sleep.

Her smile widened as her eyes met his. “How happy I am that you’re here. It’s like a dream, and I don’t ever want to wake up.”

He leaned in to kiss her, then wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. “I love you,” he rasped into her ear.

She worked her hands up his back to squeeze his shoulders, pressing her lips to his left one at the same time. “I could get used to taking naps with you in the middle of the day.”

“I know what you mean. I guess I need to have you in my arms to sleep well.”

She giggled, “I am more than okay with that, but right now, I’m not interested in sleep.”

“No?”

“Not at all.”

He looked at her with a playful glint in his eyes. “So, I’m guessing you want to help me unpack, right?”

She kissed up his neck and sucked his earlobe into her mouth. “Nuh-uh.”

“You, uh, you want to show me around the neighborhood?”

“Nope.”

Her touch was distracting him in all the best ways, but he continued to tease. “Are…are you hungry? Do you want to get something to eat?”

“Oh, I’m hungry, alright,” she purred, “but not for food.” Her hand snaked between them to reach into his shorts, finding his semi-hard cock and giving it a firm squeeze. “Now this can definitely satisfy my hunger.”

His hands found their way inside her T-shirt, tickling up her sides and lifting the cups of her bra above her breasts. “Well, I would never want you to be unsatisfied, my love.”

Their foreplay lasted several minutes as they rediscovered each other’s body - the places that made them moan with pleasure and whine with need. When they were finally ready and aching with desire, Killian cursed and started to climb off the mattress.

“Wh-where are you going,” Emma asked breathlessly, her hands clutching at him.

“To try to find a condom. I have no idea where I put them when I packed,” he said disgustedly.

“Hey, don’t worry about it…”

“I’m not going to be careless just because…”

“No, Killian, listen. I…I went to my doctor and got birth control. We’re covered.”

He glanced back at her over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Now get back here and finish what you started,” she demanded.

“If the lady insists,” he smirked, climbing on top of her.

They made love passionately, their ecstasy pushed higher than ever before since they were able to feel each other without any barriers between them. When they were thoroughly sated, Killian withdrew and rolled to the side, promptly slipping off the edge of the air mattress.

In between her giggles, Emma heard him grumble, “I’m buying a bed as soon as humanly possible.”

*********

Emma didn’t have any games to cover on Wednesday, so they arranged to meet at a furniture store a few blocks away from their apartments after Killian returned from finalizing his class schedule at BU.

As soon as she entered Wizard of Oak, she was approached by a man dressed in a brown three-piece suit. “How may I help you today, lovely lady? My name is Walsh Ozman and I’m the owner of this magnificent store. I’m sure I’ll be able to meet all your needs.” He moved closer, his eyelids halfway closed in what he must have thought was a sexy expression, but only served to make Emma uncomfortable.

Emma eyed him unamusedly and with a bit of wariness as she moved away from him. “Oh…Ozman…Wizard of Oak, I get it. Cute.”

“Why, thank you,” he beamed, completely missing her sarcasm. “Now, what may I show you today?”

“I, uh, I really just want to look around until my boyfriend gets here, if that’s okay,” she said, trying to get rid of the skeevy salesman.

She caught a brief flash of disappointment across his face, before he schooled his features and replied, “Yes, of course. I’ll be available whenever you need me.”

“Which will be never,” Emma muttered under her breath, as he slinked away.

She browsed for a few minutes, until Killian came rushing in the door and gave her a kiss. “Sorry, Love. I couldn’t find a parking spot.” Quickly scanning the store, he pointed towards the back and said, “I’m going to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

He was returning when he walked by two salesmen who were chatting with each other and caught part of their conversation. “...sure has a nice ass on her, though. I’d like to get a piece of that.”

Turning his head slightly, Killian was able to see it was a man with shaggy brown hair in a brown suit making the crude remarks. He followed the man’s line of vision and realized the woman he was talking about could only be Emma, since she was the only customer at the front of the store.

Killian saw red, his fists clenching, but realized it wasn’t worth getting charged with assault to punch the guy. Using every ounce of self-restraint he could muster, he continued walking to where Emma was examining a tall chest of drawers.

Putting his arm around her, he leaned in and kissed behind her ear, then whispered, “I’m not buying anything from this store. One of the salesmen was saying lewd things about you and we either have to leave or I’m going to shut his mouth with my fist.”

His protectiveness made her heart swell with love. No one had ever been willing to fight for her before.

“The one in the ugly brown suit?” she asked.

��Aye, that’s the one.”

“He was trying to flirt with me when I first got here.”

Killian looked over his shoulder and saw the man approaching them. “Here he comes. Let’s go before we have to talk to him.”

Taking her hand, he brought it to his lips for a kiss, then wrapping an arm around her waist, they walked out the door, leaving a frowning Walsh in their wake.

*********

Over the next couple of weeks, Emma and Killian established a routine of sorts. His classes and subsequent assignments kept him busy most days and two evenings during the week, and she was occupied attending sporting events for work. They compared schedules every day to see when they were free to spend time together. Sometimes they met for lunch or he would bring her dinner while she was covering a game. Many nights were spent at his apartment, unless they had early morning plans. Waking up in each other’s arms was too cozy and a very big temptation to engage in activities that were certain to make them late.

They were aware that once Graham arrived in Boston, it might take some creativity to make everything work with two couples, two apartments, and four different schedules. They couldn’t help but be excited for the other couple to reunite, though.

On Saturday morning, three weeks after Killian returned to Boston, he, Emma and Ruby took the Blue Line to the airport to meet her wolfman. She could hardly contain herself on the train as she chattered on and on, full of anxious energy.

Once they arrived at Airport Station, they rode a Massport shuttle bus to the terminal and waited in the arrivals lounge. It was another twenty minutes before Ruby received the text from Graham that he was off the plane and on his way to baggage claim. As soon as he entered the lounge, wrangling two large rolling bags with a carry-on slung over his shoulder, Ruby ran to him, shouting his name. He dropped everything to catch her as she leapt into his arms, tears of happiness pouring down her face, while he tried to kiss each one away.

Emma and Killian smiled at the reunited lovers, completely understanding the feelings the other couple was having at that moment and grateful they were there to witness it.

*********

The following Saturday, Killian and Graham, along with their girlfriends, hosted a party in their newly furnished apartment. It was a small gathering with David, Mary Margaret, Liam, Belle, and a few other friends.

As the evening wore on, Emma found herself sitting on her boyfriend’s lap in the comfortable recliner they had chosen together. He was engaged in conversation with David, giving her an opportunity to look around the living room. Her heart was full seeing all the people she cared about most in one room. Her one wish growing up was to have a family, and even if it wasn’t in the conventional sense, now she did. Laying her head on Killian’s shoulder, she sighed.

“Everything alright, Love?” he murmured into her ear, before placing a kiss beneath it.

“Yeah,” she replied, turning to brush her lips against his. “Everything is perfect.”

*********

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the epilogue!

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