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yostresswritinggirl · 4 years

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It is time. This took a while but I figured I should give you guys the closure you've wanted, even tho uh it's not really a closure lmaooo. Here's the first part for the new readers!

Xiao's Personal "Chef" Travel Edition

Xiao with a Reader who is not only his Personal Chef but assistant, adventuring together

General/Preparation

A visionless chef with an adeptus by their side, going in a routeless journey together to savor the world that had once been pulled away from their grasps.

It must be the cause of the recent ressurection and defeat of the Lord of Vortex, immobilizing him once more for thousands of years. And in the window time, there would be less worries for the Qixing and Liyue Adepti to worry about. Think of it as a day-off for the Adepti, and a vacation for you.

While you carry with you no traces of elemental blessings and an enthusiasm for swordplay, the blessed Sigil of Permission given to you by your adeptus (whom claimed it was created by Rex Lapis himself before his untimely death) grants you a special connection with Xiao.

Sadly a vacation from Liyue does not mean a break from the constant voices of demons within Xiao's mind. And you've prepared him the medicine necessary to soothe his mind even if temporary, three bottles to be exact, all of which can last him several months.

He looks at you with confusion and silent question, of which you waved away because you had prepared this batch in your room in the Inn to make sure he doesn't run out of stock.

He doesn't tell you this but lately the voices had been not intrusive while he gets distracted by your presence. Like a soothing balm, to numb the effects of the pain. It's still there but not as annoying.

Your adventure or journey usually lingers around Liyue for the first parts of it, looking around the nation to enjoy the sceneries without thinking about errands or protecting the villages from impending doom.

Xiao already uh announced his indefinite leave to the other adepti beforehand, but well, when you wanted to visit their domains, which you countered was PERFECTLY safe (almighty Sigil of Permission has lots of perks) it was a very awkward time for him upon meeting them again. It was inevitable because of the energy the sensed from Xiao and your Sigil.

"Hello again, Guardian Yaksha, were you not on leave?" "Y-Yeah... we're just... passing through"

Field trip with the Adepti!!!! Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper brought you around their domains as if to test you, like Ganyu's trials, while also flexing their achievements and who has the best domain. Humans are rare, but you are a mortal who carries the last blessed Sigil and you're tamed in the ways of the adepti because of your exposure to Xiao.

Cloud Retainer not only teaches you the glory of gliding, but she also has cute and embarrassing stories of Xiao from way back! Xiao is in the background trying not to scream or rage at the ensemble in front of him-

"He really likes collecting Qingxin flowers, always bringing one whenever he comes back from his exterminations. He even offers one to Morax everytime." "Yes, yes, such flowers grow common before, right?" "Wha- (Y/N), what do you think you're writing down in that book?!"

"The devoted that carries the last essence of Morax's powers. We've heard much about you from your adeptus, it is relieving to finally put a face to your name. Tell us, child, what is it that you seek in our domain?"

They pretty much just outted that Xiao talks about you to the others, and he- he's just so done. He's either going to hide, leave the area or pull you out of the conversation before someone *coughCloudRetainercough* starts embarrassing him in front of you.

Once you've gotten the supplies you wanted to collect from Liyue's wild lands, like flowers or ores, your little party will start going further away from the familiar nation.

Comfort on the Streets

Being the chef in the party, a lot of the time, resource collection stops you short from travelling despite the many prepped ingredients you had carried with you. There's a lot of things laying around and you just couldn't let such opportunities go. Your adoptive mother Verr had taught you to indulge in your curiousities, as a mother, as a traveler, and as a cook.

Xiao takes the brute force, the frontline of being the tank and general fighter of your band. He indulges himself with unhinged strength so long as he was sure that you were perfectly safe from his own barrage of offense. You think in the back of your mind that he's enjoying the exterminations but in his mind he indulges himself with your cheers and praises after fending off some pesky slimes that strayed too close to your temporary camp.

Xiao does not need rest and barely breaks a sweat but you're quite fragile of a human being, you still need rest and consumables, things that you had the luxury of despite working in the Inn. Here you were alone to carry your own weight and care for yourself. You look up from the boiling pot that was settled over the bright campfire to see Xiao's figure coming into view, a freshly killed boar in hand as some kind of offering for your sacred stomach.

You guess now the caring isn't one-sided.

When taking things into careful detail that requires precision and undivided attention, it seems the voices of the demons and revelled gods in the depths of his mind disappears, more so under the presence of you.

So it was the perfect opportunity now that no other errands hold you back, to teach Xiao how to make the infamous Almond Tofu.

When you teach him survival he takes into consideration everything despite the bored/blank face he dons.

Oh but he still prefers your way of cooking, he can never get the same soft texture of the jelly that you easily make.

Xiao doesn't really need to eat but he's glad to be your taste-tester for the new dishes you cook from the random, probably edible, ingredients you find here and then.

The stew continued to boil with bubbles popping despite the fire under it extinguished for a while now. It was an unnamed soup you concocted from the various seafood you've gotten from the ocean paired with the meat the adeptus hunted.

It was delicious. Despite being a palette he was not used to, it was something he can stomach. And despite the different meat mixed in, the flavours didn't clash like he thought it would but instead blended the tastes quite well. Xiao hums as he sips the soup politely, tilting the bowl as he gulps down.

"It is manageable, despite your first try, I can see this being sold in one of the restaurants in Liyue Harbour-" he turns to you as he proceeds to hold out his bowl for seconds when he stopped in his tracks, eyes slightly widening a crack at the sight of tears free falling off your chin.

The spoon on your hand was slack, eyes distant yet dilated as you silently cried. When you felt the glove of his hand cup your cheek, tilting your head to make you face him, your expression cracked to that of grief melded with forced laughter. "It's... it's just like what mum used to make." You sob, and his hand wavered from its touch.

Travelling reopened old wounds. For you and for him.

Xiao doesn't NEED sleep nor does he WANT it, despite the many times you had caught him dozing off in the middle of the day during your work at the Inn. Such occasions usually meant that there was an event that needed his aid the night prior.

Your guardian yaksha usually stays up to keep watch and when you wake up, you would find him spaced out or in the brink of passing out, desperately holding himself together

But there are other times when he feels more restless and not content with just standing guard to make sure you are protected—

Those moments are when you are held in his arms, him resting against a tree and you resting against his lean chest, travel blanket laid over the both of you. When the terrain allows it, the sleeping bag would be under your bottom and legs for extra comfort.

When you can't rest, he whips out his flute to play you a soft tune hoping to lull you to sleep. If he sinks into the comfort of the mood, he'll continue playing much softer to prevent waking you up so early

But the guardian yaksha can buckle at the temptation of comfort, a humanistic desire fuelled by the assurance that in his arms you are absolutely safe-

And you two lay under the stars in peaceful slumber. Good night~

Combat-side of Travelling

Kicking the bottom shaft of the jade spear, Xiao swiftly catches it with his other hand, a small smile aimed for himself at the expert action before he raises his eyes back at you where you lay splayed on the floor. Drenched in your own sweat and desperately breathing. A long, wooden stick discarded by your side.

You pried your eyes open when the rays of the sun suddenly stopped invading through your thin eyelids, the shadow of the Yaksha looming over your form with a rare triumphant smirk. "Yeah, yeah, I know what you're gonna say-"

"I told you so."

"Oh hush you!"

His soft laugh was melodic and it made you break a smile despite the exhaustion.

We've already established beforehand that Xiao is your main dps here and you're just support/utility. But you've expressed your desire to AT LEAST pick up some weight, asking the man to help you hone your weapon proficiency, even if you knew he'd decli-

He accepts. Oh. But it's not about swords sadly, it's for polearms. Since it's the weapon he uses, it's the only thing he can teach you.

Will be CONSIDERABLY gentle in training you compared to his massacres, and will be ever so patient so long as progress is made. Surprisingly, Xiao is actually a really good teacher, and you'd find his points to be precise and on the spot.

He'll be there on the side as you try to fight off a hydro slime for the first time, with the aid of your cheap spear you both from the nearest town over. If you get cornered, he'll be there to instantly swoop in. Fortunately you managed, and he gave an approving nod.

Despite his acceptance to teach he's not gonna let you fight actual threats because he doesn't wish to risk your safety. And you're still gonna be a hundred feet away as he does his job

If he ever managed to hurt you himself, it's... it's not gonna be good, not good at all for the both of you... luckily that hasn't happened! Uh, yet lol

Just admire him from afar, he looks pretty anyways, although the black particles that seem to surround him before the end of the fight

But he'll always come back to you, with a slight limp you always notice despite his attempts to hide, and you'll be there to heal him up

Like a knight to his princess? Or healer, more so

And the process rinses and repeats at your generally peaceful trip

"Oh, oh, I see it! Uuup there!"

His honey amber eyes follow where your fingers point, high and up against the cliff until he sees the glimpse of the swaying violetgrass. No orders needed to tell him what the objective is, but as you place your hand on his elbow when he was about to leap, you had different plans.

"Woohoo!" Please be careful, he shouts in his head as you rode the tides of his Anemo currents, gliding over to where the violetgrass awaits for your plucking hands. When the glider retracts as you grip the cliff face, you broke the stem of the flora. A eureka in your voice as you held it up like a treasure before pushing yourself off the cliffside.

The wind on your back was not harsh, carefully constructed and maneuvered as you seemingly float down into the arms of the awaiting Yaksha, as per routine of your retrieval, "Thank you!"

"Is it in good condition?" It didn't bother you that he has yet to put you down, nodding with a grin as you gently waved the perfectly grown violetgrass in your hand. Satisfied, he turns around to go back to your route when

golden, brown and white silhouettes entered your peripherals among the turn.

"Eh?"

"Ah?"

"Traveler, Paimon and Zhongli?"

"Well, it is the most intriguing that we meet again this far out and in such a circumstance, Xiao and (Y/N)."

Party gained 2 ½ members!

I noticed upon writing that after you started travelling with Xiao, the formality in your tone of speaking started to dissipate. Easing into the comforts of your relationship with him, Xiao is relieved.

@kookieyachi @moaa @dandelion-dreams @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel @witchsungie

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #xiao x reader #genshin impact xiao #exile.goblet #exile.flower #sojourner specials #reeeee part twoooo #oh gawd this may not be good as i wanted it to be aww

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sofreddie · 3 years

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Serendipitous Souls 9

Summary: Dean can't believe he forgot.

Characters: Dean x OC!Reader

Warnings: Angst, Fluff

Word Count: 1,760

Dean woke with a start. The cabin was dark and the fire was down to embers. He wasn’t sure what woke him. Y/N was fast asleep beside him and he smiled, kissing her head before slinking from the bed. He threw on his boxer briefs and stumbled to the bathroom. Once done he stopped in the doorway, looking over the cabin in confusion. Something felt off. His sleep addled brain struggled to catch up.

He shuffled into the living area and stared at the front door, his brow furrowed in thought. His gaze traveled down the length of the door to the floor.

No salt line.

Then it clicked.

He was so distracted by Y/N, by this whole thing between them, that he’d lost his common freaking sense. He was wide-awake now as he hurried to grab the duffle with his hunting supplies - thank you Sam - and began putting up basic motel-room protections.

Y/N awoke several minutes later, the sounds of shuffling and hurried movements stirring her. She threw on Dean’s flannel, hastily doing a few buttons, before slinking her way into the living area.

Dean had worked himself into a frenzy. She could see salt lines along the door and windows. Dean was muttering to himself as he took stock of the items in his hunting duffel.

“Dean?” she asked quietly, afraid to disturb him but wondering what had happened. She hadn’t seen this side of Dean yet. The real Deal. The troubled Hunter and tragic hero Dean. She swallowed down the guilt and panic she felt over reality crashing into her again, “You okay?”

He met her eyes with a tired and worried gaze. His jaw was tight and she knew he was upset.

“No,” he shook his head, sighing as he continued sorting his items.

“Is there something I can do to help?” she was trying to tread carefully, knowing how he could be.

He looked up at her again, his gaze softening somewhat when he realized she was wearing his shirt - and only his shirt - and it just barely covered everything. He licked his bottom lip into his mouth, biting down on it, before shaking himself out of it.

“Yeah,” he said, finally packing the items away, seemingly satisfied, “I wanna take you tomorrow to get a tattoo,” he said, dropping the bag to the side and resting his hands on her sides, “This one,” he said pointing to his chest, “Wherever you want. But you gotta get it, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed easily, “What’s got you so worked up?”

“I didn’t salt the doors and windows,” he stated, clearly pissed with himself, “I’ve been doing this my whole life. I know the routine. But I let myself be so distracted-” he cut himself off, seeing Y/N drop her gaze and fight a pout, “-it’s not your fault,” he insisted, lifting her chin to meet his eyes once more, “It’s not. I just lost focus and I know better. I have to keep you safe. Even if everything seems happy and perfect, I have to assume the worst. To keep you safe.”

“Okay,” she responded again, placing a hand over his heart, “I’ll remember too, okay?” she offered, smiling at him.

He nodded, letting out a sigh of relief at how understanding she was. Of course she is. She’s his other half. He wrapped her in his arms, kissing the top of her head and tucking her under his chin. After several minutes of him silently holding her, she led them back to bed. She let him move her how he needed, finding herself back in the hugging position from before, safely in his arms.

Dean was silent and pensive as they packed up their belongings in the Impala. He was proud of himself for not freaking out as much as he usually would the night before. But something about Y/N made him calmer. Still, internally, he was a mess. He couldn’t stop berating himself over forgetting basic protections. Couldn’t stop worrying about her well-being.

What if something had happened?

What if someone was trailing them?

As they drove to the nearby tattoo parlor Dean had found, their conversation was light. Mostly monosyllabic responses to one another. Yet the air between them still seemed full. She was patient and kind and understanding and Dean didn’t feel he deserved it, but was thankful for it all the same.

As they parked outside the parlor, Y/N was beaming with excitement. Her inner fangirl won this round as she babbled on about the tattoo and where to get it and how she’d thought of getting it before. After much discussion regarding placement - and Dean shooting down suggestions that might have the artist seeing more than he’d like of his girl - she chose to have it on her chest, just like him and Sam. The fangirl won another round.

As she laid back in only her bra, exposing her chest for the artist, Dean stood by vigilantly watching every detail. Of course, the tattoo had to be exact. But Dean was more focused on ensuring the artist was a professional and not taking in his canvas. Luckily for them both, he was, and he finished rather quickly. As Y/N redressed, Dean paid him, before helping her back out to the car.

“Awesome,” she smiled as she examined the tattoo, smiling over at Dean. He returned her smile, thankful she was protected.

“So, listen,” Dean said as he began driving down the road once more. He loved how comfortable she’d become in the car, as if she belonged there. And Dean supposed she did, right beside him. “I talked to Sam this morning. There’s a case not too far from here and he needs some back up,” he chanced a glance at her to see the smile slipping from her face and worry etching into her features, “It should only take a few days, maybe,” he continued.

“O-okay,” she responded, forcing a smile onto her face for his benefit, but he could see right through it.

He sighed heavily, “I can’t stop hunting, Y/N,” he grimaced, having to hash out this talk once more. He was tired of it really. Tired of where it always, inevitably led.

“I know,” she agreed with a slight nod, “I wasn’t asking you to.”

“You’re upset.” He pointed out.

“Not with you,” she sighed, looking out the window at the passing scenery. It always helped her think, “I know you hunt, obviously,” she huffed out, before looking over at him, “I just hadn’t really thought about it much since coming here.”

“Okay,” Dean nodded, licking his lips, “Well, it’s only slightly off our road trip and we can continue the trip after-”

“I know,” she said a little more forcefully, “I know,” she repeated more calmly, “You have a job to do. I get that. I watch you save the world every week!” she exclaimed with a humorless laugh. Dean patiently waited for her to continue, “It’s just…every time you go out I gotta worry if you’re coming back now,” she mumbled with a pout, “And I gotta worry if everyone I come across could be a monster.”

Dean let out a long sigh. She was right. He wanted to comfort her, promising he’ll always come back. Tell her she didn’t have to live in fear. But that was his life. Her worries were valid.

How could he soothe her when her concerns were his own?

“I’ve been thinking about this since Chuck paired us,” he breathed out, “Watching our lives from the comfort of your living room is a lot easier than living it. But you already know so much, which helps more than I can explain. I can teach you things, keep you with me or Sam to keep you safe. But what you already know helps so fucking much,” he breathed out.

“It’s just scary and sobering,” she shrugged, “So I guess I’ll hang back at the motel while you two do your thing?” she asked.

He nodded, pursing his lips, “Yeah, I think that’s best. And maybe you could help with research or something too. We could always use another brain and set of eyes,” he smiled warmly at her and she gave him a small smile in return. “You, uh…” he cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, “You don’t want to hunt…right?”

“You mean do I want to willingly throw myself at things that want to kill and eat me?” she chuckled, “No thanks. I’ll hang back at base and chant ‘Go team’,” she snorted a laugh.

“Good,” Dean released a breath he didn’t know he was holding, “Good, that’s…good.” She giggled and they were silent for a while before she noticed Dean’s face pinched in thought once more.

“What now?” she sighed out dramatically, smirking at him playfully.

“That just seemed too easy,” he explained in a mumble and Y/N looked at him confused before he tried to elaborate, “Just usually there’s arguing, fighting, declarative statements and ultimatums,” he pointed out, “I’ve had this talk, too many times, and whether its a woman or a friend or freakin’ Sam,” he huffed out a laugh, “It’s always, always an argument.”

“Do you want me to argue with you?” she asked.

“What? No.” Dean was quick to defend, “It’s just…last night you calmed me down without a fight and today you’re so agreeable and understanding, and still no fight. I don’t like fighting and arguing. It’s just…unusual to not have to I guess is what I mean.”

She shifted in her seat to face him, one leg bent on the seat, an elbow propped on the back of the seat, her head leaning against her fist. “Okay, well, I could argue that it’s dangerous or it’s not just you or a bunch of things, right? But then you’d be all,” she drops her tone and tries to mimic his deep, gruffy voice with an exaggerated pout and Dean can’t help but laugh, “-but it’s my life. Saving People. Hunting Things. The Family Business-” he nods in agreement, a big grin on his face as he continues listening to her, “And we could get all mopey and sad and worry about what might happen,” she lets out a long breath and smiles at him, “Or we can just prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and be happy as much as possible.”

“I like that plan,” he agreed with a nod. She smiles and leans forward, placing a lingering soft kiss on his stubbled cheek.

“Me too.”

Forevers:

@sis-tafics

@lyarr24

@calaofnoldor

@hobby27

@spnbaby-67

Dean Winchester:

@akshi8278

@jerkbitchidjitassbutt

Serendipitous Souls:

@brilovesdeanwinchester

@xhannahbananax03

@440mxs-wife

@crist1216

@deans-baby-momma

#serendipitous souls #dean x reader #dean winchester #oc!reader #reader insert #fluff #angst #spn #supernatural

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supernaturalwritingbunker · 4 years

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Take Back Home Girl-Sam Winchester

Summary: Sam thinks back on your relationship and how much he loves you when Dean shows up and says their dad is missing.

Warning: Language, Talking of Paranormal, Talking of Death of Loved One, SO MUCH FLUFF

Pairing: Sam x Reader

Words: 4,294

Tag List: @elskinner45 @you-a-southpaw-doll @it-is-rebel-owl-ma-dudes @jai-lynne-unknown

A/N: This is based on the song Take Back Home Girl by Chris Lane and Tori Kelly. I listened to this song for days and wanted to write it into a One Shot for Sammy. I love me some Sammy :]

Sam’s P.O.V. ~

“Whoa. Easy, tiger.” I hear the familiar voice say.

A voice I haven’t heard in nearly three years. A voice I honestly thought I wouldn’t hear ever again. A voice I’ve missed a lot. A voice that stops me in my tracks, and has me pausing for a split second.

“Dean?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

My older brother chuckles. “Hiya, Sammy.”

Standing up, I hold a hand out. Once Dean takes it, I pull him up. I stare at my brother in a mixture of shock and disbelief. He’s here. Dean’s here! Wait. Dean’s here. Why is he here? I’m about to ask him when a noise is coming from behind me, causing me to turn and look. Y/N comes out of our shared bedroom, rubbing her eyes.

“Sammy? What’s going on?” She mumbles. “I heard a noise.”

She stops rubbing her eyes and looks over at us. Her eyes widen for a second before looking at me. I quickly take the two steps toward her and wrap my arm around her waist.

“Dean, this is my girlfriend, Y/N. Y/N, this is…” I start introducing them.

“Your older brother Dean?” She looks up at me.

I nod slightly and she smiles widely.

“It’s nice to finally meet you.” She says to Dean.

Dean bites his lip and looks at Y/N from her toes to her messy bun hair. He takes one step toward her causing her to lean into my side.

“Oh, I love the outdoors look.” He says, still checking her out.

I glance down at what she wore to bed. It’s one of my red flannel shirts that are too small for me now and you can see her lacy underwear peeking out from under it. I discreetly start pulling at the bottom of the flannel so Dean can’t see anymore of Y/N’s underwear. What she's wearing right now is for my eyes only.

“You know, I gotta tell you. You are completely out of my brother’s league.”

Y/N and I both sigh, hers more playful as she rolls her eyes, and leans up to kiss my cheek.

“Just...let me go put something on.” She says.

I nod and smile, placing a kiss to her forehead. She blushes as she turns away, but of course, my one-track-minded brother speaks up.

“No. No. No. I wouldn’t dream of it.” He says, grinning. “Seriously.”

“Dean.” I hiss quietly.

Dean steps closer to me, smirking, and not once taking his eyes off my girlfriend. I stare down my brother, and if looks could kill, he’d have been dead three minutes ago. Yes, I love my brother, and I’m glad he’s here, or at least so I can see him again after so long, but I don’t appreciate him staring my girlfriend down like she’s a juicy bacon cheeseburger.

I cough a little to get his attention. He shakes his head slightly, never losing his smirk.

“Anyway,” He starts, talking to Y/N. “I gotta borrow your boyfriend here. Talk about some private family business. But, uh. Nice meeting you.”

I shake my head and tighten my grip on Y/N.

“No. Whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her.” I state.

“Okay.” He thinks for a moment before looking at us. “Um, dad hasn’t been home in a few days.”

I roll my eyes. Dad does this all the time. Why is he coming to me for this shit?

“So he’s working overtime on a Miller Time shift.” I shrug. “He’ll stumble back in sooner or later.”

Dean looks down at his shoes before looking into my eyes.

“Dad’s on a hunting trip...And he hasn’t been home in a few days.” He repeats.

I stare at Dean before speaking.

“Y/N, excuse us. We have to go outside.” I finally look down at her.

She nods slightly. “Would you guys like a drink or anything first?”

“Sure, babe. Thank you.” I kiss her head before walking to the bedroom.

I quickly put on a pair of jeans and grab my hoodie that Y/N steals on more than one occasion. I walk into the living room area to see Y/N had given Dean a Coke while I was changing. He’s smiling at her, telling her a story that I’ve told her like six times in the past 3 years.

“Come on, Dean.” I grab him by his jacket and pull him toward the door.

“Wait!” Y/N calls out.

I glance over at my shoulder at my beautiful girlfriend. She holds up a beer and smiles. I wink at her and take it before walking out of the apartment.

“How come you get a beer and I have to have a coke?” Dean rolls his eyes at me.

“Because she loves me.” I smirk and open it.

Dean and I talk for a few moments, catching up on the last three years. I find out that he’s, to no real surprise, been hunting with dad since I left for Stanford. The real surprise is that dad let Dean go out on a solo hunt in New Orleans, which is where he just came from. He catches me up on this hunt that dad’s been on.

When he gets to the end of that story, he finally asks me how I’ve been. I tell him things have been going good. That Y/N and I have been together for a while.

“I just...I haven’t told her about hunting. I don’t want her to know the life. I don’t want to lose her, Dean.” I say.

“Well, dad always said the rule was that we never told anyone about the life, so I can’t fault you for that, Sammy.” Dean says, glancing at me.

“It’s Sam.”

“What?”

“It’s Sam. Not Sammy.” I say. “Only Y/N can call me Sammy.”

“You’ll always be Sammy to me, Sammy.”

I sigh and shake my head. We spend a few more minutes talking. That’s when I break the news that I have a law school interview first thing Monday morning, so I can’t really afford to leave and go with him. No matter how bad I want to find our dad and make sure he’s okay. I need to do this to better myself and do what I need for Y/N and I.

***

I walk back into the apartment and throw my beer bottle in the trash can that’s in the kitchen. I sigh and shake my head. I can’t believe I agreed to go with him. This better not ruin my chance for my interview on Monday. I walk to our bedroom to see Y/N sitting on the bed with her laptop, probably finishing her paper she talked about earlier tonight. She put on some leggings while we were gone. I guess she hears me step into the room because she looks up at me.

“Is everything okay?” She asks me softly.

I nod after a few seconds. “I have to go with Dean to see if we can find my dad. I will be back by Monday, no doubt about that.”

I walk over to the bed and sit down in front of her crossed legs. She moves her computer to the side and smiles, reaching forward to place her hands on my knees.

“Just be safe, okay?” She leans toward me.

I reach over and cup her cheek before kissing her lips. She smiles into the kiss as she returns it. I can never get enough of kissing her. Slowly, I pull away after a few seconds and look into her eyes. Her gorgeous E/C eyes shine bright in the dimly lit room. I kiss her nose softly before standing up. She blushes at my actions before watching me.

“Do you know where my dufflel bag is? I gotta pack.” I walk toward the closet.

“Don’t bother.” She says, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

I turn around and look at her. “What do you mean? I gotta…”

I stop my sentence when I see her point in a direction. I look over to the chair we have in the room near the window. Chuckling to myself, I see it’s already packed. Man, what have I done for years without this damn woman? I’m so lucky to have her, in my life, as my best friend, as my girlfriend.

“How did you know?” I walk back over to her.

“You haven’t spoken to Dean in years and suddenly he shows up needing your help?” She stands up from the bed. “I knew you would want to help him.”

I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her toward me gently.

“You’re amazing, did you know that?” I whisper.

“My boyfriend tells me all the time.” She smirks before leaning up toward me.

I lean down and softly kiss her lips once last time. After pulling away, she looks into my eyes.

“Stay safe. Don’t let Dean push you out of a moving car again.” She smirks.

I bite my lip, trying my damndest to hide my own smirk. “I’ll see you Monday after my interview.”

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

I kiss her forehead before letting her waist go. Making the brief walk to the chair, I stop and grab my bag before walking into the living room where Dean’s still waiting for me.

“Let’s go.” I walk past the couch and out the front door.

Tell me why I agreed to this again? I throw my bag in the backseat of the Impala, the one that Dean named Baby, before opening the passenger seat door.

“Wait!” I hear my girl’s beautiful voice.

Dean and I look up to see her jogging over toward us with a small bag in one hand and a small item in the other. I raise an eyebrow when she makes it to us. She holds up my wallet with a huge smile. I chuckle and take it, making sure to put it in my back pocket.

“Can’t forget that.” I smile.

“I also made you guys something to eat while you were outside for a while.” She holds up a bag.

I take the bag and look inside to see a few homemade breakfast sandwiches along with some sodas. Man, this woman is perfect.

“Thank you, baby.” I kiss her cheek.

“Two of them have extra bacon for Dean.” She smiles before waving toward him.

She turns around and jogs back toward the building since it is kinda cold outside. I watch to make sure she gets into the building before I get into Baby. Dean gets in a few seconds after me.

“She makes you breakfast?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Every morning.” I nod smiling.

I start going through the bag. I hand him the sandwiches that have his name scrawled on the wrappers before digging into my own. He starts to drive but bites into his sandwich. He moans a second later and nods.

“Keep that woman, Sammy. She’s an amazing cook.” He glances at me while he chews.

You have no damn idea how amazing she is all around. I look out the passenger window as I eat my sandwich, just thinking about her. And how about our relationship. Everything that has happened in the last three years. I think back to our second date. We were just driving around in my car I bought right after I left for Stanford. A 1969 Dodge Charger.

She said she didn’t want to do anything extravagant so I offered our date to just be driving around.

Flashback-Second Date

I drive down some back roads near Stanford. It’s pretty much out in the middle of nowhere but I want to be alone with my new girlfriend. Since we started dating a few days ago, we’ve been crowded by our friends and homework. Which is why I suggested we come out here, just the two of us, some music, and the road.

Y/N happily accepted when I told her I wanted a little “us” time. So, because it’s the weekend, and neither of us has any homework to do, I got her up, told her to put on something comfy, and meet me at the car. When I walked down, I hadn’t expected to see her in one of my shirts, but I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face at the sight.

Even though we’ve only been together for a short time, she’s already started “stealing” my shirts. I don’t mind. It’s nice to see her wearing them. And, to be honest, I think they look better on her than they do on me. Once we were in the car, I headed out, away from town, and where it’d just be us.

As the music plays through the car’s speakers, I glance over at Y/N and smile as I take the curves with care but still just enough speed. She’s got her feet on the dash, bare of her sandals she’d slipped on before we left, and her head back against the seat. A smile, almost as wide as the Mississippi, plays on her lips.

With the speed that I’m traveling at, and the fact that our windows are down, her H/C hair blows and waves in the wind. Before I turn back to the road, I notice she has her own eyes closed. My heart swells and thumps in my chest, pumping not only the blood I need to survive but something else too. Something more important to life.

The United States Declaration of Independence, something I’ve studied extensively since I’ve been at Stanford, along with the Constitution, grants us the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, and with Y/N by my side, and us cruising down this old California road, I realize that I finally have those, and then some.

I have Life. My own life, one I’m making for myself. One that isn’t the same path as my dad and my brother. One that I want. I have Liberty. My own freedom to do as I please. Go where I want. Be with who I want. I have the Pursuit of Happiness. With Y/N. She is my happiness, and I will do everything I need to so that I can fully pursue and maintain it.

I also have one other thing the Declaration of Independence doesn’t mention. I have Love. Or what I hope is love. While it may still be a new relationship that I have with Y/N, I know I’m feeling things I’ve never felt. Sure, my dad loves me. In his own way. And so does Dean. But….it’s different with Y/N. Better. Happier.

I take a deep breath before growing a pair. I reach over toward her and lay my hand on her stretched out leg. She opens her eyes and looks over at me. I stare out the window as I drive slowly with a small smile on my face. I can see her, out of the corner of my eye, as she smiles and places her hand on mine.

She weaves our fingers together while her hand is on top of mine. I smile even wider as I peek over at her. She bites her lip softly and smiles. I wink, causing her to blush before I look back at the road.

Flashback - 6 Months of Dating:

We’ve now been together for a little over a half a year. If you go through my apartment, she has pretty much all her clothes already here. She has a toothbrush on my sink. My right-hand side table is filled with her class books and hair ties. I lay in bed just watching her sleep. I’m not being a creeper but she is so damn beautiful.

Sometimes I can’t help but stare at her, basking in her beauty. She isn’t wearing any type of makeup and she’s in her bunny pajamas. I smile to myself thinking, how the hell did I gain this woman. After the past that I’ve had, I could never picture I’d have a gorgeous girl next to me at night. And I never really thought I’d be able to experience the feelings I am.

The same feeling I had on our second date all those months ago...I know now what it is. Love. I love the girl snuggled up to my side, hair a mess, and a sleepy smile on her face. We haven’t told each other yet, at least we haven’t said those three words, but, I know she feels the same way I do. Now, I just gotta figure out the perfect moment to tell her.

If my mom was still here...I’m sure she’d know what to say...what to do. At least, I hope so. I never met Mary Winchester, but I like to think she’d know, offer up some sort of motherly advice. And, I do know that mom would love Y/N, take her in, adore her like the daughter she never had. If only there was a way for me to introduce mom and Y/N to one another.

Y/N knows that my mom died when I was just six months old. About three months into our relationship, I told her how my mom died in a freak house fire, and that my dad had tried to save her after he sent me outside in Dean’s arms. I just didn’t tell her about the Yellow-Eyed demon that was responsible for my mom’s death and sent my dad on the revenge hunt of the century.

Y/N...if I could have her meet my mom, then she would know how I truly feel about her. She would know that I love her. Wait...maybe...maybe she can still meet my mom. Sort of. Summer vacation is coming up soon, and I know the both of us were planning to stay in the area. Maybe I can convince her to go on a little road trip with me.

I’ll take her back to Lawrence, Kansas. Show her the town where I was born. Where my mom died and is buried in the town cemetery. That way she can meet my mom. In that way. And...I...she can know how I feel. I mean, isn’t bringing your girl home to meet the parents one of the important milestones in a relationship?

I know it’s not the most ideal way for her to meet them, but it’s the only way I can think of for her to meet my mom, and well...as for my dad...that’s for another time.

Flashback - A Year of Dating:

I laugh at her as she pulls me over toward my car.

“Babe, come on! We’re gonna miss the game!” She says, excitedly.

“Y/N/N, we have an hour to get there and it’s only a few miles away.” I shake my head with a smile.

“I want good seats!” She giggles.

I open the passenger seat door and let her get in the car. I close the door behind her before walking around and getting in myself. She buckles herself in before she starts bouncing in her seat. I laugh again as I move to start buckling myself in.

“Babe...It’s only a football game.” I start the car.

“It’s the Championship game!” She says as if it’s obviously important.

“I know, but it’s...” I start.

“It’s exciting! They didn’t get in last year!” She giggles.

I playfully roll my eyes and pull out of my spot.

“Fine, we’ll go to the game but I expect extra cuddles tonight.” I tease her.

“Deal!” She giggles.

I reach over and take her hand in mine as I drive. She calms down and holds my hand in her lap. I smile, driving toward the stadium. When the game actually starts an hour later, she’s cheering and jumping when our team gets a touchdown. I just watch her with a smile on my face.

I didn’t pay attention to the game at all. All I can do is watch my girlfriend, screaming her head off. Laughing with our friends. Dancing along with the music that plays in the background.

All the girls around us are staring, heart eyes at me, daggers at my girlfriend. They’re jealous of her and “in love” with me. In the last year, I have been flirted with and been given phone numbers. All those numbers ended up in the trash. I have the one for me. People have asked her if our relationship is okay and if she needs anything, she just smiles at me and says ‘I’m doing just fine’, knowing we’re both doing better than ‘just fine’.

I know that this girl is my ride or die. The girl I would take ‘home’ and meet my older brother. Maybe meet my father. I’d still make sure she never knows about that part of my life. All I want in my future is this girl, white picket fence, and a dog running in the backyard. After I finish college, I’m going to officially make this girl mine.

After I get a good lawyer job, we’re going to have the wedding of her dreams. Have a few Winchesters running around. Hopefully a little boy then girl. Hell, have as many kids as she wants. Forget the hunting life and worry all about my wonderful, amazing girl that is always by my side.

Flashback Over ~ Present Day:

“You okay over there, Sammy?” Dean says, glancing over at me.

I snap out of my memories to look over at him.

“Yeah. Why?” I raise an eyebrow.

“We’ve been driving for over an hour and you haven’t said anything since Y/N gave us breakfast.” He continues to drive.

I smile to myself as I hear her name. “I’m fine, Dean. You woke me up at 4 am. I’m just a little tired.”

He takes my excuse and nods. Over the next 2 to 3 days, I help Dean try and find dad. We finish the case, a Woman in White, dad had been working on. A woman accidentally killed her kids after finding out that her husband cheated on her so she jumped off a bridge. Her spirit has been getting men to cheat on their girlfriends and wives before she kills them. She tried to get me to cheat on Y/N but I wasn’t having that. In order to take care of her spirit, I had to drive Baby right into their old house. Her ‘kids’ took her away.

Dean tries to talk me into going with him to the next case and trying to find dad. I tell him no. I’m already pushing the time as is. I can’t miss this interview. I can’t ruin my relationship. My future just because my dad decided he wants to hide from us. I fist bump Dean before getting out of the Impala. I make sure I have everything I came with before I lean down and look in the window.

“You’re always welcome to visit us, Dean. Y/N will try and get you over for dinner sometime.” I chuckle.

Dean smiles before nodding. “I’ll call you whenever I’m in town. I told you this once, Sammy, she’s a keeper.”

I nod and smile. “Trust me. I know.”

I gently smack the top of the car before walking into my apartment building. I walk the few flights of stairs before taking a deep breath. I open the door to hear the shower running. I smile to myself and softly close the door behind me. Taking a moment, I look around the apartment. It feels like years since I’ve been in here but it’s only been a few days.

I walk into the bedroom and drop my bag by the room.

“Sammy?” I hear her call out.

“Yeah, baby. I’m home.” I call back.

I hear quick footsteps coming my way. I turn around to see her stopping at the door for a second. She hasn’t even gotten in the shower yet since her hair is still dry. I smile as her beautiful smile appears a split second before she runs toward me. Opening my arms, I happily catch her as she jumps into my arms. I hold her by her ass as she wraps her legs around my waist. Her arms wrap around my neck.

I look up into her eyes. She giggles and leans down, since she’s just a little taller than me in this position, kissing my lips. I kiss her back with as much passion as I can channel into a simple kiss. Moving one hand from her ass to the back of her head, I deepen it slightly. She pulls away after a second before smiling again.

“I’m so glad you’re home!” She hugs me.

I hold her close before whispering. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you! I made dinner if you’re hungry?”

My stomach growls at the thought of her cooking. All I’ve had for the past couple days is burgers and greasy foods from cheap diners and gas stations. Her cooking sounds so good right now. She laughs before looking down at me again.

“Come on, baby. Let’s shower then get some food.” She kisses me once again before putting her legs down.

I gently put her down on the ground. “That sounds amazing.”

She pulls me into the bathroom. I follow behind her closely with a wide smile on my face. She definitely is a girl that I would take back home. My very own Take Back Home Girl.

#sam winchester fanfiction #sam winchester imagines #sam winchester imagine #sam winchester x y/n #sam winchester x reader #sam winchester x you #sam winchester love story #sam winchester one shot

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shreddedparchment · 5 years

Text

Pseudo Princess Pt.20

A King’s Cottage

12/20/2019

Pairing: King!Steve x Reader Word Count: 5,881

Warnings: fluff, cute Peter Parker, smut, subtle trauma flashbacks

A/N: A lot has happened since I last posted a chapter. I lost my desire to write ever again for a bit and it was hard to come back from that. I hope you enjoy this new chapter. It was really very difficult to finish it but once I pushed through it all just came tumbling out. Thank you for being so patient with me. It means a lot to me. All of you mean so much to me and I hope that I haven’t disappointed y’all too much.

“Have you got everything?” Nat is fussing. She’s unpacked your trunks several times, checking them over again and again.

Three formal gowns, just in case. Almost ten casual gowns. Soft and free flowing like the white one you tend to favor. All of them had been newly commissioned for you. Two tiaras were put in a smaller locked chest, again, just in case.

You liked the more casual dresses. You didn’t want this time alone with Steve to be all formality and duty.

Your marriage may have begun as such, but you hope that truly, your marriage is one of love now. You want to know him the best. Knowing you the best is something you hope he wants too.

It feels as if a new chapter has begun in your life and you cannot be more grateful.

“Nat,” You sigh, watching her unpack your gowns for the fourth time.

“Should I get you more nightdresses?” She asks herself quietly.

“Nat!” You call a little louder.

She looks at you, her emerald eyes far away in thought.

“What?” She asks, finally focusing on you.

“You don’t have to worry. I have everything I need.” You promise her, but she frowns at you.

“What if something happens?”

“Let her go.” Grandmother’s stern voice cuts in from behind you, sitting by the window in one of your tea table cushioned seats. “It’s time they reconnected.”

“Yes, but…with her Majesty’s pregnancy-”

“She will be in safe hands. As you very well know. His Majesty the King is not one to cross and is more than capable of protecting his beloved wife.” The old woman argues, her gravelly voice somehow strong despite her age. “The Queen’s cottage is in King’s Peace. No one would dare disturb them there.”

Nat frowns and you know that she’s thinking about Hydra and their lack of worry with upholding rules of honor.

Hydra won’t care that the cottage is in King’s Peace. They’ll invade if they so please and if you’re honest, you’re terrified. You know that Steve is strong. He’s large and his muscles are hard, his body built out of marble…but he’s only a man. He couldn’t take on six men if they stormed the cottage.

What if it were nine men? Thirteen? He’d die trying to protect you and your child.

“Maybe-?” You begin, worry turning you blood to ice.

“Don’t you worry that pretty head of yours, my dear.” Grandmother orders, getting up and wagging her finger at you. “Take your tonic at the end of the night. Eat a hearty breakfast. If you are tired, sleep. If you are hungry, eat. And if his Majesty should give you a command, obey should it concern your safety. Your priority is that baby you’ve got growing in your belly. Are we clear?”

You consider the old woman for a long moment, weighing your life against Steve’s and you know that if you had to choose it would always be Steve. You’d save him if you could.

With the little one in your tummy however, you know that you’d run and leave him to be slaughtered if Steve ordered you to do so.

Sadly, you nod.

“Don’t worry, my dear.” Grandmother closes the space between you and gently caresses your cheek. “Nothing shall happen. You will go, spend a month with his Majesty, and be back before you know it. Back to duty and regulation.”

Well, that doesn’t sound nice at all.

You frown. Grandmother cackles.

“Farewell, my dear. Safe travels. And do yourself a favor, enjoy yourself. Not everyone can marry his Majesty Steve Rogers.” She winks at you.

“Grandmother,” You gasp, mouth dropping open at her playfully suggestive words.

She moves from the room, chuckling happily. “Come along, Lady Romanoff. His Majesty will not tarry for much longer.”

Natasha moves to grab one of your trunks. “Peter?”

“I’m coming.” Peter declares, running in and easily grabbing the two other trunks then moving with them towards the door.

“I wish I were coming with you.” Nat laments.

“You will be. Just two weeks behind.” Steve wouldn’t deprive you of Nat for too long but he is adamant on spending some alone time with you and, if you’re honest? You want it to be just the two of you as well.

“Who will dress you? Who will make your baths? Who will hold your hair up when you get sick?” She worries.

“Nat,” You begin, chuckling slightly. “I grew up in a village where I had to hunt my own food. Preparing my own bath will not kill me, nor will dressing myself. As for tending to me when I’m sick-"

“That’s what I’m there for.”

The familiar deep tone comes from the doorway and both you and Nat turn to look.

Steve stands, dressed in dark trousers, his navy tunic over his usual white linen shirt. Through his arm he has two cloaks, one deep almost blood red with silver stitching along the hem. The other a chocolate brown with gilded thread for embellishment.

What catches you off guard is the bright face that stares at you. The trimmed hair is so short. Just enough to put your hands through, golden tresses that shorter glisten in the light from your window.

His beard, rough and thick, is gone.

Without it, Steve looks years younger. Happier. Lovelier. Though you miss the gruff sight of his facial hair, this soft cheek and sharp jawline is to die for.

“There you are.” Nat says, a slow smile creeping into her face. “I’d wondered where our Steve Rogers was hiding.”

Steve pushes away from the doorframe and reaches up to stroke his chin and cheeks.

“It was time.” He says, sounding slightly ashamed.

“Long past.” Nat tells him, not chastising but stern.

“Yes.” Steve agrees, then with a shyness you’re unfamiliar with, he peeks at you from behind those impossibly long blonde lashes.

Cheeks flushed; he smiles softly.

“Perhaps my love doesn’t like it?” He checks, concern crinkling his brow.

You realize that you’ve been standing with your mouth agape, overwhelmed by your husband’s beauty.

Shutting it, you feel your own neck burn.

“Like it?” You sputter. “I love it, Steve. You look…I can see your face.”

Finally, you smile. Steve does too.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next twenty-four hours are rough. For you especially.

You wish that your voyage had been one of ease and comfort. Steve had been hoping for a lovely trip and you’d wanted it to be perfect too, but the entire first day of your journey was lengthened by your constant need to stop.

This trip, the rocking carriage, the bumps and the trembling wooden wheels do not agree with your pregnant state.

Your early morning sickness had improved as of late but something about the swaying and jostling seems to have disagreed with your poor little one. Nothing has been quite so terrible as grabbing your skirts and hoisting them back out of your way as you haphazardly tumble from the carriage to puke into the nearest bush.

True to his word however, Steve has rushed after you, making small declarations of, “Watch your step, my flower.” and “Y/N, wait. Hold my hand as you alight.” and “Does that feel good? When I rub your back?” and “I’m sorry, my petal. I didn’t think about how the journey would make you feel.”

As you straighten, you assure him that you’re fine. You half force a smile, he hands you a water flask, and you clean your mouth as best you can.

“You don’t have to pretend to be fine. You can be comfortable with me, Y/N.” He shifts on his feet, stepping closer by inches and it makes his newly cropped hair bounce a little. It falls forward onto his forehead where it twitches in the late winter breeze.

It’s brisk and normally you’d be shivering, but your thick linen dress and the red cloak that Steve had bought for you keep you mostly warm. You’ll need a thicker cloak soon if the weather gets worse.

With a tentative hand, you reach up to push the strands away from his face and he freezes. Visibly, he’s immobile and it takes every ounce of strength you have left to keep from laughing as he cheeks are painted crimson.

His blush is pleasing and it fills you with pride that you really do seem to have this effect on him.

Instead of laughing you smile wryly, your cheeks aching from the urge to chuckle.

“I wish I could.” You admit, exhaling forlornly while maintaining your now slightly sad smile. “But it will take some time. You were very compelling in your hatred for me. Your sudden kindness has me quite thrown.”

Steve’s face saddens, but you don’t feel bad about his expression. This is the new beginning for both of you, but it doesn’t wipe away what happened before. These are the facts of your marriage and pretending they didn’t happen would be unwise.

“I never really hated you.” Steve says. “Not really. I hated that I had no choice.”

You nod slowly, seeing it all from his side of things and knowing now with how important his people are to him that he must have seen this marriage as unavoidable. An intrusion to his mourning.

There was never an option.

It was marry you or relinquish the Kingdom and for Steve there was only one choice.

Resting your hand against his cheek, you nod for him. You hear him. You want him to know that.

“I know. But it’ll take time. I can’t just pretend it never happened.” You explain.

“I guess that’s reasonable.” He grumbles, then gets distracted and places his hands on your stomach flipping his hands underneath your cloak to feel you over your dress. “Are you well enough to get moving again? We still have a half day’s journey to go.”

The way he cups your teeny barely formed bump makes your heart erupt into flutters. He places his other hand on your lower back and slowly strokes the aching muscle.

“Should we just turn back and go home?” He wonders.

“No!” You answer, a bit too quickly. “No. I want to go. I just need a minute.”

“Have an hour.” Steve quickly offers, moving a little closer so that your left side is pressed against his chest.

This time you don’t try and stop yourself. You laugh.

“I don’t need an hour. Just a few moments will suffice.” You assure him.

“I wish I could take the sickness from you.” He frets.

A sudden thought occurs to you and because you have no damn filter, you speak it before you can stop yourself.

“Margaret didn’t have sickness in her first few months with child?”

There’s a very thick pause and though it feels as if it lasts hours, it really is just a moment.

“Now that I think about it, she did wake up a few mornings feeling ill. We attributed it to rotten food or an outbreak of the sweating sickness. It passed after a few weeks so we…didn’t think…” He trails off, thinking back, his mind trapped in the past.

“I’m sorry.” You bite your lip hard, regretting your train of thought. You avert your eyes, down to his chest to avoid the look of sorrow you know you’ll find in those sea storm blues. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

Heat lines your jaw as Steve reaches up to cup the side of your face and with his thumb he smooths your lip, preventing you from biting it any longer.

“It was a fair question. I would want to know too. We should have picked up on the signs, but we weren’t trying to start a family although the Kingdom and the council expected it. Because of what we did-”

“Fighting the evils? Like Hydra?”

“Yes. Because of that, we didn’t want to start a family right away which wasn’t normal for my position especially. It was a surprise when I found out that she was carrying what would have been our first child.” The yearning in his voice is heartbreaking.

You aren’t jealous in this moment, but truly sorry. Margaret and Steve seemed to have really loved each other. To have had a child coming and lost it…

Reaching down you curl your hand around your own little swell but find Steve’s hand still pressed to it, his hand a bit firmer but just as careful as before.

“I’m so grateful to you for telling me. For showing me that I could live again. For letting me love you and our future heir.” Steve gushes so suddenly that your heart flips and dips, making you gasp in surprise. “I won’t make the same mistakes. I will cherish every moment we have together.”

“Steve…” You whisper, overcome with awe in how he can make you melt so easily.

Without warning, he dips his head and presses his lips to yours.

It’s a soft kiss, wanting but gentle. Your knees buckle and he catches you, wrapping his arm around your waist.

He chuckles, soft bubbles of air through your kiss. When he pulls back, he’s still chuckling.

There’s beauty in the way he smiles. The happiness in his face. The love in his eyes. It’s gorgeous but not in the way that attracts a person to another. His bliss is pure and radiant, and it fills you with hope.

You feel lucky to love him, but even if you could only see this happiness from the outside, you would be just as pleased. How amazing that you get to be one of the reasons he smiles like this.

“We should get going, your Majesties. This part of the Kingdom gets cold very fast and with night upon is, it will be too cold to stop again.” Peter looks down at the pair of you from the front of the carriage where he sits beside the coachman.

“Don’t you think you’re taking your duties a little too seriously? I’m here after all.” Steve rants, turning to look up at Peter with a look of tempered annoyance.

Peter smiles. “You told me to protect the Queen. I will do as commanded. Hurry up, please.”

Your turn to chuckle. “Do all of your friends talk to you like that?”

Steve sighs. “Just the ones that know me too well. He is right though. It will get very cold soon. Come. Will you be okay?”

“I think the worst is over.” You nod. “I’m ready.”

“Don’t worry, my blossom. I’ll keep you warm.” He whispers then helps you back in as the wind whistles and thrashes the moss green forest around you.

~~~~~~~~~~

Frost bites at your nose, the winter air like pinpricks against the exposed skin of your neck and cheeks.

“Here, bundle up.” Steve says, rushing to pull your cloak’s hood over your head.

In awe you stare at the so-called cottage before you, speckled with random dashes of quick melting snow.

“Steve…” You whisper, and he chuckles, leaning down to bury his nose against your temple.

“I love the way you say my name.” He whispers huskily, body shifting around yours and providing you with more of that delicious heat that you’d cuddled up against in the carriage for the length of your journey.

“I thought you said we were going to spend some time at your cottage?” You gasp.

Steve pulls back, sliding his hand along your forearm until he slips it into your hand and gently gives it a squeeze.

“We are. This was my mother’s favorite place. Empire Cottage. We spent every winter of my youth here.” Steve explains and pulls you forward. “Would you like a tour?”

He seems so happy that you don’t have the heart to tell him how much this is not a cottage. This is a castle. A small one, only about fifteen or so bedrooms probably but it still has towers—two of them with dark slate pointed roofs and parapets—and it still probably has two large halls for feasts and balls. There are extensive gardens lining the gravel drive up towards an arched stone canopy before the front doors for boarding carriages in the rain.

If the pale gray color is anything to go by, it’s a new addition. The rest of the stonework of the cottage is dark and weathered. Aged. This place has stood for many years.

“When our Kingdom was in its infancy, this was our castle. There are a few villages still standing a few hours’ ride out and you’ll find the ruins of the ones that gave up and chose to move closer to the new one. That one has only been around for-”

“Two hundred years?” You offer, freshly versed in the histories of Broklin.

“Yes.” Steve nods, shining with smiles for you before he pulls you along the curving drive.

You glance behind you, watching Peter and the coachman disappear into what must be a stable.

As the rocks crunch beneath your feet, Steve releases your hand in order to jog towards the small slope on either side of the drive where soft green grass grows peppered with bunches of what you recognize as freesias. Pale blue to contrast against the dark and light grays of the cottage behind them.

“My mother planted these. All of them. By hand.” Steve brags, and you can’t help but smile at his childlike excitement.

It feels almost out of place what with him and his big body and the brooding man you’d come to know, love, and fear.

Those storm blue eyes however are three shades lighter as they gleam with wistful but pleasant memories.

“They’re beautiful, Steve.” You move towards him and he holds out his hand for you.

Taking it, you let him lead you forward away from the trembling blossoms.

“I think it’ll probably snow tonight. One last freeze before Spring comes.” Steve tells you, just chit chat.

It’s so out of the norm, you’re not sure how to respond. So, you nod. “Mm.”

“Bucky jumped off of that boulder.” He tells you, pointing across the circular lawn between the curving drive. “Broke his ankle.”

He laughs just once, then looks at you just as you shiver.

“Oh, you’re cold.” He fusses. “Let’s get you inside.”

“No, I’m okay. Show me more.” You argue.

“We can see more later.” He insists and gives you no room to resist as he tucks your arm underneath his and walks you towards the front doors.

Inside you find dark, rich, very well-kept wooden walls and tan stone floors. Your eyes scan the vaulted ceilings, rafters exposed as he leads you through the cottage, up a set of pale wooden stairs lined with braziers along the stone walls that shift back into chocolate wood as the two of you reach the second-floor landing.

There are small coves in which the braziers sit and long, colorful tapestries adorn the spaces on the left and right.

The same insignia from your necklace stitched at the center.

Absentmindedly, you reach up to trace the shape.

Now that you see it so large…it looks like a shield. And really familiar…

“We’re here at the end.” Steve points, showing you the way.

“We are?” You wonder stupidly, still lost in the beautifully aged castle around you. It feels darker and drafty compared to home, but this place is cozy.

You’re beginning to understand why Kings of past have called this a cottage compared to the massive halls you’d left yesterday morning.

Steve stops, turning to look at you as the two of you reach a set of pale wooden doors. Made of driftwood?

You reach for it, fingers eager to feel the silken grain.

“Would you prefer to sleep by yourself?” He asks, and it’s the hurt…the disappointment that makes you look at him.

Despite the emotion you’re sure you just heard, he smiles, soft and kind. A smidge of tightness around his eyes is all that keeps the façade from ringing true.

“No.” You hurry to tell him, grabbing onto his hand more tightly. “No, of course not. I want you with me. I’m sorry, I just…for a moment I didn’t understand what you meant.”

The tension fades from his body.

You relax too. He slides his hand out of yours and you feel the gentle graze of his fingertips as he wraps his left arm around you, trailing that strange slightly warmer than normal heat down along the length of your spine to the small of your back.

He lays his hand flat, stealing your breath as it curves to your body and then he reaches for the handle of the door and pushes it open, still staring at you smiling as if you are the only thing in the world he can see.

For a moment, he’s all that matters. You’re not sure what has shifted between the two of you.

Yes, you’re pregnant. Yes, he knows that now and it’s why he was fussing over you the entire way here. Yes, he’s trying to make amends. Especially after the ridiculousness that happened with Sharon.

Your blood still boils when you think about it and the way she seemed not to care when you’d confronted her.

All of this, you know. What you most definitely know is that something has changed. Something large and permanent. You feel it in your bones as it carves Steve’s name within them and splinters you with his own altered bones.

Steve Rogers is different. You are different. Finally, as Steve leads you over the threshold into a large bedroom decorated in pale blue luxurious silks, linen, carpets, dark pine trunks, a vanity, a table large enough for four people to eat, and a roaring fire already filling the space with heat—finally, your marriage can start.

~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m sorry.” Steve sighs, hovering over you with his hands on the arms of your armchair.

He’s got his weight completely settled there where he’s holding your seat, looking down into your sleepy eyes as you blink them awake slowly and set aside the shirt you’d been working on.

It’s a normal shirt, one of Steve’s, dark red. You’ve been working in a pattern of dark blue and real silver threads. Expensive but pretty. Even with a tunic on, with the pattern worked only into the wrist and neckline, it will be visible and dress up any old tunic he chooses to wear with it.

“Don’t be.” You smile at him, trying to clear the fog of sleep from your mind.

“I am.” Steve insists. “This is supposed to be our time alone together and I’ve spent the first three days in council.”

“Hydra is attacking our people, Steve. I don’t begrudge you your duties. I only wish I could help more instead of sitting here stitching. Are you sure there’s nothing that I can do?” You reach up and stifle a yawn, Steve’s eyes sparkle with delight—at what you just said? He has the strangest reactions to some of the things you say.

At times you’re only making an observation or speaking your mind and more often than not, he pulls you to him and kisses you. Lately, those kisses have gotten slow, languid, like molten iron flowing slow and hot.

He does it this time too.

He hooks his hand behind your neck and draws your lips to his. With a slightly opened mouth, he takes your bottom lip between his and pulls a little before kissing you again, driving your sleep away.

With your mind in a flurry, he pulls back to look at your face, lips still puckered after his are gone.

He chuckles, just a quick bubble of air expelled as he brings his hand forward to stroke your cheek.

“What was that for?” You wonder, finally finding your voice through the swoon.

“For being my Queen.” He explains. “Because you deserve to be.”

“Even if I’m not high-born?” You whisper so that only he might hear. Just in case there are listening ears.

“Especially because you are not high-born.” He promises and places his hand back onto the seat.

You smile, at ease, and finally comfortable with him.

Over the past three days, Steve has spent a total of a few hours in your company.

He’s gone before you wake—"I’ve got to go. Sam and Bucky have come to deliver more news on the attacks to our smaller villages.” He kisses you slow but pulls away before you have chance to wrap your arm around his shoulder and he slides away as your hand slides along his arm until he’s out of reach—and he’s in bed long after you’ve gone to sleep.

He curls up behind you, warming you up with his heat, nuzzling into the back of your neck, wrapping you up so tight that you groan in slight protest because you can’t breathe but he’s only giving you a long squeeze.

When he releases you, you turn to look blink at him still asleep. He kisses your lips and you pucker your own but fall asleep before you’ve finished.

Despite this short time that you spend with him, things feel settled. This is who the two of you are. Both searching for a connection and finally having found it.

Slowly, he squats down hands still holding your chair as you adjust to look down at his beautiful blue eyes.

He opens his mouth to speak but the wind outside suddenly whistles. It seeps through the cracks in the old stone walls and the blaze set to warm the room crackles loudly, the cold wind finding a way to force it to dance.

You look behind you, staring at the window as a sudden fall of white begins.

“It’s snowing?” You gasp, slightly excited.

“Looks like it.” Steve says, then stands and moves to the window. “The ground will be covered by nightfall. It will be impossible to go anywhere in the morning.”

“Bucky and Sam?” You gasp, worried for their safety. “Are they staying?”

“They already left, my petal. Don’t worry.” Steve assures you and throws you a smile. “It’s just us now.”

“And Peter.” You remind him.

“Peter is in the small manor behind the castle, along with almost all of the staff.” He moves towards you, slow deliberate steps. His boots echo with a gentle tap until he stops before you. “We’re finally alone, my flower.”

Your heart seizes up, nervous flutters fill your tummy. You’re wrapped up in a thick woolen shawl, settled over the long and relaxed gray dress you’d chosen to wear while you lounge indoors. It sits off your shoulders in a pattern of dark gray lace.

Steve offers you his hand and you wonder if you’re ready. If this time will be the right time. You’re eager. But you’re scared. Everything that’s happened before rings fresh in your mind as you take his hand and he pulls you to your feet.

Letting you go, he slips his hands underneath your shawl, his calloused fingers stroking the soft skin of your shoulders as he pushes the shawl away and it falls onto the seat you’d just been sitting on.

You can’t breathe. You’re so nervous it’s like your wedding night all over again.

Fear begins to grow as you remember the pleading. The begging. The pain.

“Steve…?” You whisper, looking up to find him watching you carefully.

He suddenly dips down, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you flush against his chest. While you wrap your arms around his neck timidly, he lifts you easily, your feet dangling as he carries you towards the end of the bed.

“I have so much to make up for.” He tells you, his voice pained, hurt. As if it physical ails him to remember what you’re remembering too.

“Steve…” You lament with him, trying to move past the rough images that fill your mind.

“Forgive me, my sweet. My love.” He grieves.

“Steve…” Is all you seem to be able to say.

He puts you down on the bed and before you can catch your breath, he’s kissing you again. With his knee on the edge, his hand holding the back of your head to keep your kiss pressed, he slides his hand down along your leg until he can flip his hand underneath your long skirts.

As his skin grazes your ankle, you gasp and pull out of the kiss to watch him.

“Do you trust me?” He asks, his hand now locked around your ankle.

Every other part of him but the rise and fall of his shoulders as he breathes deep and labored, freezes. He is a statue, waiting for your word.

But you have no voice.

You nod.

He comes rushing back up to meet your lips, collapsing on top of you, the full force of his body pressing you into the mattress as he lays you back. His tongue slides along your lips and you open for him as he explores the taste of your raspberry flavored lips.

Kissing him is easy. You love this. But as his body presses into yours, crushing you against the soft bed, a panic begins to grow in your chest.

It’s a fledgling of a feeling, and suddenly, his body is gone. You gasp as he releases you, searching for him in a frenzy to keep him in view.

But you don’t see him. You expected him to stand up, remove his shirt to expose for you the perfection of his body.

Instead you see the fabric of your skirts rise and then fall again.

Pushing yourself up, you rest on your elbows to get a good look and finally feel Steve’s hands find your legs again.

You can’t see him, hidden as he is beneath your dress, but his hands pull your legs wider and you don’t have the strength to resist. You don’t want to resist.

You’re scared…but you trust him.

He pulls off your shoes and the clatter against the floor. His lips are pressed to the inside of your right ankle, the tip of his tongue trails up along your calf then back down to press another kiss. He repeats this move on your left leg and you try not to hyperventilate.

You don’t want to faint now.

He takes his time, repeats the same movements until your skin is pimpled and your heart begins to slow.

Placing his hands flat against the sides of your knees, he traces them up along your thighs, the rough skin of his hands renewing the stutter in your heart.

Heat puddles between your legs and you’re suddenly very embarrassed.

You try to shut them but he’s right there, already kissing the inside of your thighs. He nips at them, biting down on the soft fleshy bits before kissing and licking at the offended skin.

You’re gushing, too nervous to realize that you’re actually enjoying yourself. His touch feels good. Better than good.

It feels just as you’d wished it had from the beginning.

He pushes your legs apart further, grabbing behind your knees to push them up and over his shoulders.

“Steve…” You whimper, voice high and wheezing.

Hot air floods against your bare cunt as he breathes on you, “Hhhaaaaaaaaa….” It’s an audible breath, muffled only by the layers of fabric still keeping him from view.

He presses his nose to your clit, and instinctively you reach down to place your hands on the bulge that is his head. You don’t push but instinct is telling you to. This is embarrassing.

He’s smelling you. He’ll know your scent…What you smell like in your most intimate of places.

A sudden and very slow flick of tongue spreads your folds and you whimper with shock.

Falling onto you back, you find a spot on the pale blue canopy of your bed to stare at.

“You’re gushing, my sweet…” Steve tells you, and you try to close your legs again but he’s already there and he dives in.

The sound is lurid, a soft slur and squelch as he opens his mouth and suckles on as much of your pussy as he can. His tongue explores your insides, finding your entrance to tickle and savor.

You moan, toes curling against his back as he scoots closer and hooks his hands around your hips.

As he finds your clit and laps at it with a passionate almost hungry fervor, you reach down to pull your skirts up over his head.

You want to see him. This is everything you’ve wanted. Maybe not specifically this, but Steve with you…enjoying your body.

His blonde hair peeks out first but as your skirts fall away to expose his half-hidden face, he looks at you and meets your gaze.

His eyes are dark, blown out from lust as he becomes more aggressive and latches to your clit to suck.

Your hips quake, stuttering as the pleasure begins to press along your cunt.

He breaks away, catching his breath but hurries up to rest over your body once more and kiss you soft.

You can taste yourself on his lips and tongue as he explores the hollow of your open mouth.

“You taste like sugar, my sweet.” He whispers, voice deep and husky.

“Steve…” You moan, and he slides back down to spread your folds with two fingers before tasting you again.

He settles over your clit, tongue flicking at the nub with want and speed. He suckles on it, pressing his tongue flat against the bud.

You whimper more loudly as the pressure catches you by surprise.

“Steve!” You moan, shocked by the rush of it.

“Mmmph.” He moans, shaking his head almost violently. Running his tongue fast against your clit.

It pushes you over and your body is suddenly floating. It’s unreal. It doesn’t exist for this one moment in time.

A wave of numbness flows from your cunt down into your legs, to your toes and feet where they go limp against Steve’s back.

Your hands, curled into his hair, go slack as your body melts into the mattress.

Steve is still there, licking and nipping at your cunt, making you twitch.

You’re wrapped up in bliss and you don’t know which way is up or down, only that Steve is still there, making you want more.

Your hands tighten once more as the moments pass and you try to tug his head up from between your legs.

“Steve…oh, Steve…” You sigh, satisfied and happy. “Kiss me…”

He smiles at you, eyes curling at the corners with the brightness of his own happiness, but he shakes his head.

“Why?” You ask, as he laps at you some more.

When he stops, you can see his chin drizzled with your slick. He licks his lips and a fresh wave of arousal floods between your legs.

“One down.” He says, then hooks his hand into the fold of your thighs and hips to pull you down towards the edge of the bed again. “One-hundred and eighty-one to go.”

“Wha-?” You begin to ask, confused by the number, but then he’s back on your cunt, his tongue working its magic and setting your skin on fire.

#king!steve x reader #king!steve x reader fanfiction #king!steve x you #medieval au #arranged marriage au #marvel fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #captain america x reader #pseudo princess #pseudo princess pt20

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writemywaytoyourheart · 4 years

Text

Onsra-Chapter 31: Broken Like Me

banner created by: @envity ♥️

pairing: vampire!jungkook x female reader (also tae x ga-in oc & jimin x yuri oc)

genre: romance, drama, horror, angst

warnings for this chapter: language, mentions of blood, mentions of past attempted rape, PTSD, panic attacks, and fluffity fluff cuz I'm a weak ass bITch

trigger warning

word count: 8.8k

Onsra: ML, Previous

idek have anything smart to say so let's just get into it :')

____________________________________

You’re staring at him in complete and utter bewilderment.

“Y-you what?”

“You heard me, I said I love you.”

You blink a few times, trying to process what the heck is going on right now. He must be joking, right? He can’t possibly be serious.

“Seungwook-…I-“

“Please, y/n.” He looks at you desperately. “I’ve been looking for you for so long. Ever since that night they took you, I haven’t stopped.”

You don’t say anything, your mind is in a blur of confusion and anxiety. If what he says is true, you don’t know what to say. You don’t want to hurt him, but you don’t see him like that. There’s a pit in your stomach as you try to figure out what to do now. Seungwook takes a step closer to you, “I’ll explain everything. Please just give me minute to talk.”

You nod wordlessly and sit down on a rock. Seungwook sighs and starts to speak. “A friend of mine told me about them…the vampires. The day you saw my journal over my shoulder I knew you were in trouble.” You swallow thickly but let him continue. “My friend was teaching me how to hunt them and how to tell them apart as they were hiding among us. I knew there were some in our school and they knew I was a vampire hunter. That’s why I got so scared when I realized you saw my journal.”

It all starts clicking into place as he finishes. “They steered clear of me for the most part, but they must have seen you being curious, so they targeted you next. That night I was trying to get you and Ga-In out, but they got you before I could. All I really remember was you being dragged into the dark and then Ga-In and I were jumped. She was gone in a minute and they left me unconscious on the ground. I don’t know why they didn’t kill me.”

You nod slowly. “I was afraid they’d killed you when I woke up and you weren’t there.” You say, remembering everything. “I don’t recall what happened after being kidnapped and before waking up. But Seungwook, you don’t understand, the vampire I was with saved me from them.”

He scoffs and you sigh in annoyance, “I’m being serious! They saved Ga-In and I and another girl, we found out later that they aren’t even real vampires. They were humans that were bitten and turned, but they didn’t have them long enough to lose themselves completely. They hate vampires as much as you do.” You look at him pleadingly and his eyes narrow.

“That’s a good story. I don’t blame you for believing them.”

“It’s true!”

“Even if it is true, they’re still monsters! They drink human blood, they have to!”

“They don’t though!” You’re panicking now. “They only drink animal blood. Please Seungwook, you have to believe me.”

Seungwook looks away from your face, his jaw clenching. “You care about him, don’t you?” He whispers angrily. You hesitate for a moment, afraid of what he’ll say if you admit it.

“Yeah, I do. He isn’t a monster, Seungw-”

“You love him.”

After he just confessed to you, you would’ve thought there would be some trace of sadness in his voice, but all there is, is anger and disgust.

“I do love him.” You say confidently, hoping Seungwook will at least try and understand. “And I care about you too, you’re my friend. I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”

He chuckles darkly at that, but you continue. “Please, just understand that they aren’t the ones you want to kill, please don’t hurt them.”

Seungwook looks at you, his expression unreadable. “They have plans to turn you, and more. Don’t go while believing I didn’t warn you. And don’t come to me for help when he betrays you.”

With that he turns to walk back into the trees. You stand up, but don’t follow him, “Seungwook, wait-“ He just ignores you and disappears into the shadows. Your stomach is turning with anxiety as you hold your flashlight tightly in your fist.

He doesn’t understand.

You’re so scared that he might tell his other men and now since he knows where you’re all at, he’ll lead them right to the front door. You look back at the house, then turn out your flashlight and mentally curse. You glance back towards the house once more before taking a breath and walking into the woods where Seungwook just went.

After a few minutes, you hear him walking and relief floods through you that you found him again. He’s stomping through the woods angrily, so he isn’t too hard to follow. After a few minutes he stops abruptly, and you hide yourself behind a tree. You peek out and see two more figures walking towards him.

“Had a bad day, Wook?” One of them says, the other stays silent. Seungwook growls and flips his hair with his hand, “Shut up. Did you find it?”

“Yeah, we did. It’s about six miles from here.”

What is?

What’s six miles from here?

You feel your heart pounding as you try to listen to what they’re saying.

“Good, let’s go.”

“Now?”

“I want to check it out before we do anything.”

Your plan was to find out where Seungwook was staying, then you could warn the boys and come up with a safety plan. You don’t think there are any other safe houses to go to, but you’re sure you can all figure something out. Now, it seems like they aren’t going back to their place anyway, but a nagging feeling in your belly tells you to keep following him.

But, six miles?

The three of them start walking away, so you wait until they’re far enough ahead, but you can still see them from the light of the moon before you sneak after them.

This is a terrible idea.

“What were you doing anyway?” One of the others speaks up.

“Nothing, stop asking.” Seungwook grumbles.

You keep following them for another hour. By now you’re exhausted from trying to be quiet and not trip on the rocks and shrubbery while you walk. But they keep going, barely talking, as they walk without even stopping to catch a breath.

Another hour passes and you’re trying your best not to collapse. You know six miles isn’t much for some people, but for you, it has you in stitches. It’s also the middle of the night and you were already tired before deciding to stupidly follow them.

You suddenly remember promising Seokjin not to run out again and you feel a horrible pit in your stomach.

I broke my promise.

You feel tears pricking your eyes from how tired and scared you are, and the guilt of not letting Seokjin know is eating away at you. But by now, you’re already so far from the house you might as well keep following them. I’m sorry, Jin. Suddenly, you hear them come to a stop, so you hide yourself behind a tree.

Finally.

You peek out and see a building through some trees with a few lights on inside.

Seungwook cocks his head to the side, “It isn’t very big.”

“It’s not. But there are a lot of them inside.”

Seungwook sighs, “How many?”

“I’d say at least fifty.”

Fifty?

Fifty??

Suddenly, this whole idea smacks you in the face as by far the stupidest thing you’ve ever done. You’re guessing there are vampires in there. And apparently, there’s at least fifty of them.

Y/n, you are so stupid.

Then, the door bangs open to the building and the three Hunters quickly hide in the bushes. Your heart is pounding out of your chest as you press your back to the tree after hiding yourself again.

A few vampires step out and one chuckles, “I’m so hungry I think I’m smelling things.”

The others laugh darkly, and they take off into the woods, thankfully not close to where you’re hiding. When you look out again, you watch in horror as Seungwook and the other two Hunters run noiselessly into the dark.

Leaving you all alone.

Fuck.

Oh fuck.

You never gave much thought to the fact that you would have to be finding your way back home.

How stupid can you be, y/n? Apparently pretty fucking stupid.

You feel sick to your stomach as you try to rack your brain to remember the way you came. You know it wasn’t just a straight line. You suck at directions, this is bad. This is very bad.

Tears spring to your eyes, you wipe them away and turn to start back the way you feel like you came from, that really being your only choice now.

I’m so stupid, I’m so stupid I hate myself.

You think miserably as you trudge through the woods and fight the temptation to turn your flashlight on. It seemed like a dandy idea to keep everyone safe when you first thought of it, and now you’d pay anyone to beat some sense into your thick skull.

You’ve lost all sense of time and direction about half an hour into the walk back. You’re mentally scolding yourself as you try to keep the tears to a minimal torrent, when you hear something snap. Your body freezes and you breathe so slowly and quietly that it doesn’t feel like you’re breathing at all.

“Oh sweetie, you make this too easy.” A sultry voice comes from your left and you turn your flashlight on to shine it at the disembodied voice, panic surging through you when you see the tall man’s pale skin and red eyes, his black hair tousled.

Please, please, please, no.

Please, no.

You hear something to your right, then another vampire steps into the light, a crazed look in his eyes as he sizes you up, his bleach blonde hair catches the light of your flashlight. A third one comes up from behind you and puts his hand on your waist. You scream and jump, turning to see him smirking. He’s stockier than the others but still at least a good head taller than you. You back up until your flush against a tree, they advance with each of your backward steps, then you’re feeling the rough bark of the tree scratching your exposed skin.

“Fuck, you look tasty. I can’t believe the luck.”

“What should we do? Share her?”

“No.” The first vampire growls. “I don’t like to share what’s mine.”

“How is she yours, you fuck? I found her first.”

“No, I did!”

You watch all three of them bickering over who gets to drink your blood as you try not to cry. The first vampire looks at you and chuckles at your failed attempt to hide your tears.

“Crying, sweetie? Don’t worry, it won’t hurt.”

You’ve done it now. There’s no way you’re getting out of this one.

“Looks like the cat’s got her tongue.” The brown haired stocky one laughs.

“What are you doing out in the woods all alone, and not far from our place, girlie?” The blonde muses as he takes another step. “It’s almost like you’re begging for us to take you.”

The first vampire laughs, “I think she is. Why not have some fun while we’re at it?” He turns to you, “Ever play tag, sweetheart?”

Your blood is rushing in your ears as you clutch your light, willing your hands to stop shaking.

“Here are the rules.” He continues nonchalantly, “Whoever catches her first, gets her.”

The other two’s smirks widen and the stocky one rubs his hands together. “Fuck yeah.” He looks at you like he’d devour you right then and there if the others weren’t there.

“You heard the game, sweetie. Now play it.” The first vampire watches you carefully. “I’ll let you get a twenty second head start.”

He steps forward, then seems to change his mind. “I’ll make you a deal…you escape, then you can live.” The others chuckle darkly. and he looks at you with an amused half smile.

He wants you to run?

He wants you to run so he can have his fun before he drinks your blood?

This is the worst thing that could’ve happened, and you hate yourself more than you ever have before.

“Five…”

Maybe you should just stay still and let them kill you, they will eventually anyway.

“Four…three…”

Fuck.

“Two…one…run, sweetheart.”

Your legs take off before you can even tell them to wait, running faster than they ever have.

One, two, three, four…

Come on, y/n.

Seven, eight, nine, ten…

Your lungs are already starting to burn but you don’t stop. Then you remember the flashlight in your hand, its beam flying around and making you obvious.

You chuck it over your shoulder and pump your legs faster.

Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen…

Your legs are screaming at you to stop, but your mind screams louder for you to go go go.

Maybe you’ll have a chance.

Twenty…

Then Jungkook’s words suddenly cram their way into your frazzled mind.

Hide, if you run, they’ll catch you.

You need to hide. The twenty seconds are up and they’re already coming. You need to hide, now.

You dive into a random bush and grab the branches to make them stop shaking, then you clamp your hand over your mouth. Not a few seconds later, you hear something.

But it isn’t footsteps.

It’s breathing.

Ragged, hoarse, and breathy.

The sound makes chills go down your spine, as it is only a few feet away from you. If you had thought to hide a few seconds later, he’d have caught you for sure.

You close your eyes and pray silently that your luck stays.

You honestly can’t believe you made it this far.

Maybe you’ll make it after all.

“I’m going to find you, and you’re going to be fucking delicious.” The way the last word rolls off the vampire’s tongue makes your stomach turn. You just stay as still as you possibly can, then the breathing fades away and you let yourself breathe quietly.

When you don’t hear anything for a good ten minutes, you lay your head down on the cold dirt and curl your legs up. You’re not going anywhere for a while.

~ ~ ~

Jungkook walks into the kitchen the next morning, still sour after waking up and not finding you next to him for the second time. His brows furrow when he doesn’t immediately see you sitting at the table, stuffing your face and giggling with Seokjin.

The eldest looks up, “Morning, Kook.”

“Where’s y/n?” Jungkook asks, brushing off the elder’s greeting. Ga-In clears her throat, “She uh, she went to your room last night. Didn’t she stay with you?”

Jungkook ignores the looks of surprise from everyone at the table as the sounds of chewing stop at Ga-In’s words. He shakes his head, worry already seeping into his mind. “She wasn’t there when I woke up, I thought she had gone back in with you.”

“Maybe she’s in the restroom?” Hoseok suggests, but Jungkook immediately shakes his head again, “She isn’t.”

Jin sets his fork down, “Ok, so she isn’t sleeping in and she isn’t in the restroom. No need to panic, maybe she went out for a walk.”

Everyone nods, but Jungkook can tell that Yuri and Ga-In are thinking differently. He just turns and heads out of the kitchen, making his way to the front door and hurrying out.

“Y/n? Y/n!” He shouts, cupping his hands around his mouth to make himself louder. When he hears nothing but the chirping of birds, his stomach drops to his feet. The grass is covered in a thin layer of glistening drops from it having rained last night.

“Fuck.”

“Where would she have gone?” Jungkook turns to see Ga-In and Yuri behind him, worry clear on their faces. “I don’t know.” He mutters. “But I’m going to find her. Tell Seokjin hyung I’m leaving.”

“No need.” Jungkook sees the eldest step out of the door, his brows creased in worry. “I’m coming with you.”

“Me too.” Taehyung speaks up, the others crowding out from behind him. Ga-In looks like she’s about to say she’s coming, but Tae pecks her on the mouth quickly and shakes his head. She frowns, “She’s my best friend.”

Jin puts a hand on her shoulder, “And that’s why you girls need to stay. If she comes back, someone needs to be here. If it’s dangerous, she wouldn’t be too happy about her loved ones joining in.”

Jungkook puts his hood up and walks down the steps, not wanting to waste any time. He heads for the forest, deciding to start at the clearing.

Jin, Taehyung, Hoseok, and Yoongi all follow him. Jimin and Namjoon agree to stay with the girls just in case anything should happen.

“Should we split up or stay together?” Hoseok speaks up as they reach the clearing and find no sign of you.

“Splitting up makes me nervous, but we’ll cover more ground if we do. We should at least go in pairs, though.” Jin sighs, not happy about splitting but more anxious about your safety. Yoongi nods, “Ok, you, Jungkook, and Tae go one way. Hoseok and I will go another.”

Seokjin nods, then he hurries after Jungkook and Taehyung who have already walked off. He catches up to Tae and whispers, “Why are we going this way?” The boy shrugs in response, “Jungkook just said he had a feeling, and it isn’t like we have a lot of options.”

Jin just stays quiet as they follow Jungkook, keeping their eyes open for any sign that you’re around. Jungkook keeps a straight face, glancing side to side as he walks, he looks completely composed.

But on the inside, he’s panicking. He can’t imagine what could’ve happened to you to make you walk off in the dead of night. It’s taking all of his strength not to break down and have a full-blown panic attack. He keeps repeating comforting thoughts in his head, telling himself you just went for a walk and didn’t hear him call, and you would go home and he’d find you safe and sound when he got back.

But a horrible feeling in his stomach is telling him that he’s very wrong.

“Tae.” He suddenly snaps and the pretty blonde jogs over to walk next to him, “Yeah?” Jungkook clenches his fists, “You haven’t seen any signs of her?”

Tae shakes his head reluctantly, “No, nothing.”

Seokjin catches up to them, “She’ll be alright, Jungkook.”

Jungkook fumes at that at first, but then he feels a little spark of comfort in his chest and he silently thanks his oldest brother for trying his best to keep him calm. But he won’t be calm until he knows you’re safe and you’re in his arms.

After a good hour of walking, Taehyung stops the little group as he walks over to a random spot on the ground. He bends down and gently touches a few broken twigs. “Someone was here, I don’t know if it was her though.”

“How can you tell?” Seokjin asks curiously and Tae stands up, dusting his hands off. “The way the sticks are broken is unnatural. Someone had to have stepped on them and broken them to make them look like that. But I still can’t say who it was or when it happened, it could’ve been days ago.”

Jungkook stares at the little sticks, his chest aching as tears form in his eyes. He wipes them away quickly. “Can you tell which way they went?” He asks, his voice hoarse.

Tae crouches again and moves along the ground slowly. “Yeah, I think I can.” A new lift is in his voice. Then he starts off, the other two boys following close behind.

Another hour passes and Jungkook is restless, the other boys trying to calm him down. “She’s hurt, I know she is.” His breaths come in short puffs as he digs his hands in his hair.

“Kook, just take deep breaths. You need to calm down if we’re going to find her.” Seokjin says firmly but gently. Jungkook nods and swallows thickly, then he squints at something a few feet away. He hurries over to it and grabs it.

“It’s one of our flashlights.” He huffs out a breath of relief as he turns the wet flashlight around and switches it off, wondering why it was on. “We’re going the right way.” Then his mind takes a different turn.

“W-why would it be on? And why would she have dropped it?” Panic settles into his mind again and he’s about to say something when someone comes out from the bushes. All three of them turn and see you stumbling out, your hair is in knots and your face covered in dirt. You’re completely soaked as you wipe at your eyes.

When you look up and see them, you flinch, prepared to turn and run as fast as you can in the other direction. But Jungkook’s voice makes you stop.

“Y/n?” His voice is shaking, and he drops the flashlight on the ground before running over to you. You’re engulfed into his arms as Jungkook holds you so close, you’re wondering if you’ll just mash into one body in a second.

“Fuck, y/n. I thought I’d lost you. Fuck, I was so scared.” Jungkook’s voice breaks as he starts to cry. The other two boys just watch, not sure what to do, the relief from finding you letting them take a breath.

You don’t say anything, just keep letting him hold you. Once he can process the fact that you’re real and in his arms, he pulls away just enough to see your face. “You scared me so bad. Fuck. I really thought you were gone forever.” When you don’t reply, Jungkook frowns and touches your face. You flinch a little and his stomach turns. That’s when he realizes you aren’t hugging him back.

“What’s the matter?”

You don’t say anything.

Jungkook tries to cup your face but you flinch away again. Then you seem to realize that you flinched, and your cheeks turn pink.

Taehyung steps forward cautiously, “Y/n? Are you okay?” You just look at him blankly and he feels his heart drop. You don’t meet any of their eyes.

Seokjin comes over, walking slowly. “Something happened. Don’t touch her, Kook. Maybe you should step back for a second.” Jungkook looks back at the eldest, fear and confusion swarming his thoughts. Jungkook steps away from you a little to give you some space, but his mind screams at him to hold you close and never let you go again.

“Ok, y/n.” Jin speaks slowly and clearly. “You’re alright. Everything is okay now, yeah?” Jungkook watches you slightly fold in on yourself, his chest aching. It looks like Seokjin realizes something and he takes Jungkook’s arm, pulling him away from you and stepping back himself.

“Tae.” He says gently. “Go to her and let her know she’s alright. But don’t touch her.”

Jungkook looks at him in confusion, not understanding why he won’t let him go to you. He’s the one you trust the most…right?

Tae makes his way to you carefully, then he catches your gaze and smiles softly. “Hey y/n, it’s Tae. Everything is okay now, we’re going to take you home.”

“Home?” Your voice comes out so quietly that they can barely hear you.

“Yes, Ga-In and Yuri and everyone else are waiting for you. You’re gonna go home and eat some good food and get some sleep. That sounds good, right?” Tae says gently.

“Ga-In?” You whisper and he nods encouragingly.

“So, come on now. We’re going to head back.”

You glance over at the two vampires watching you and Tae sees you stiffen. “Hey, look at me y/n. Just me.”

Jungkook’s chest is aching so bad he feels like he can’t breathe. You’re acting like you don’t even know who he is. What happened to you?

You look back at Tae warily, and he reaches out a hand. You stare at it for a second, then you take it. “Can you walk, y/n?” Tae asks and you shrug. “Would you like me to give you a piggyback ride?”

You hesitate for a moment, then nod. Jungkook watches you breathlessly as he sees your bruised and cut up legs through your ripped sweatpants when you walk closer to Taehyung. The boy crouches enough for you to get on his back, then he helps you wrap your legs around his waist.

Seokjin touches Jungkook’s shoulder gently and whispers in his ear, “I don’t know what happened, but she’s scared of us because we’re vampires. It’s a good thing Tae came with us.” Jungkook nods numbly, the worst thoughts popping into his head as he watches Tae start walking home with you on his back, clinging to him.

He tries not to look at you as you all make your way back, but he can’t help it. You look so small and helpless as you stare straight ahead, bouncing slightly on Tae’s back. A memory of him carrying you out of the forest when you hurt your ankle pushes into his mind and he swallows the lump in his throat before looking away.

An hour into the walk, Jungkook sees you glancing over at him. He just smiles at you softly and looks back ahead, willing himself not to cry. “Hold up.” Taehyung suddenly announces as you start trying to get off his back. He helps you down and you walk over to Jungkook, moving yourself closer until you’re practically squished into his side. Jungkook freezes, wanting to wrap his arms around you but not knowing if you’re okay with that. He looks at Seokjin for help, who nods and sends him a small smile.

Jungkook gently puts his arms around you. Feeling you shaking slightly makes his chest tighten and his eyes sting. “Hey, baby.” He whispers, starting to gently rub your back. Seokjin walks over to Taehyung and pats him on the back, “Good job, Tae.” He whispers and the boy smiles.

“Can I carry you, love?” he asks gently, and you nod. Seokjin helps you scramble onto Jungkook’s back, chuckling when you look like a baby monkey wrapped around its mother as you cling to him. Then you four set off once again.

You end up running into Yoongi and Hoseok in the clearing as they had just finished circling around. Hoseok smiles brightly and runs up to you four. “Y/n! I’m so glad you’re okay!” He stops jumping up and down though when Tae touches his arm gently. “What is it? Are you okay?” He asks but you just tuck your face back into Jungkook’s shoulder. Yoongi frowns and pulls Seokjin aside.

“What happened?”

Jin sighs, “We don’t know. She wouldn’t even trust anyone but Tae at first, I think it’s because he’s human.” Yoongi’s frown deepens as he watches you tighten your hold on Jungkook, his eyes scanning over your beat-up legs as the wheels turn in his head. Jin looks at him curiously as Yoongi speaks quietly. “Has she spoken?”

“Only like two words. What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know.” Yoongi keeps watching you, a sad look flitting across his face. “I’ll have to wait and see.”

The group makes their way back and you see Ga-In sitting on the porch steps, her chin in her hands. When she sees you all coming out of the woods, her face brightens and she runs as fast as she can towards you.

“Y/n! Thank goodness you’re alive!” She has tears in her eyes as she looks at your legs, “What happened? Why are you hurt?” When you don’t say anything, her heart sinks and she nods for Jungkook to take you back inside.

He carries you on his back up the stairs, walking as carefully as he can to your room. Yuri opens the door for him, and he brings you straight to your bed. He sits on the side of the bed and lets you slide off his back. When he turns to look at you, you’ve already hidden yourself in the covers, nothing but a little bit of the top of your head showing. Jungkook frowns and kisses your head that is sticking out before he stands and walks over to Ga-In who was watching from the doorway. She walks in and ushers Jungkook out before moving to you and ever so gently taking your wet clothes off. She puts your dry giant t-shirt on you and lets you hide under the covers again as she leaves the room.

“What happened?” She whispers, and Jungkook motions for her to follow him. It physically pains him to leave you, but he doesn’t want you to be overwhelmed. Ga-In closes the door softly and they make their way downstairs to discuss everything that took place.

~ ~ ~

You stare blankly at the wall, the covers up to your chin. You blink a few times, numbness overriding your senses. You’re so exhausted that you just want to sleep. Sleep it all away. But when you close your eyes, all the images crowd into your mind and make you open your eyes again only if to make them disappear.

You start to shake uncontrollably, but no tears come. Just a white blank panic clouding your vision as the images start to appear in front of your face even with your eyes open. You can feel yourself wanting to cry but it won’t come.

Nothing will come.

No one will come.

You’re alone.

You’re alone and it’s going to happen again.

You’re silently screaming for help, but no one can hear you.

~ ~ ~

“We need to know what happened.” Yuri says desperately, wanting more than anything to figure out how to help you.

“Yes, but we can’t ask her right now.” Jin has his head in his hands as he sighs.

“Then what do we do?”

That question is met with silence. Jungkook is sitting on one side of the couch, his hands clenching and unclenching as he tries to breathe steadily and control his urge to go back to you.

“We need to wait for her to tell us herself.” Yoongi speaks up. Ever since he saw you, it seems like he’s been thinking about something, but he won’t say what it is when the others ask.

“What if we-“

Jimin’s suggestion gets cut off abruptly when a piercing scream from upstairs rings in all their ears. Jungkook is on his feet and racing towards the stairs in a split second, Ga-In hot on his heels. He runs up the stairs two at a time and down the hallway. You keep screaming and screaming, making it sound like someone is torturing you. Jungkook opens your door and runs over to where you’re curled up in a ball on the giant bed. Your eyes are pinched shut and tears are streaming down your face as you cover your ears and scream bloody murder.

Jungkook doesn’t try to say anything, he just climbs on the bed and wraps his arms around you. At first you flail around and try to get out of his grasp as you sob, but when you open your eyes and see who’s hugging you, you clutch onto him and sob louder.

“Jungkook, make it stop!” You scream and bury your face in his chest.

Jungkook feels the tears streaming down his face but he pays them no mind, he just holds you and rocks you back and forth, “I’m here, baby. I’m here.” He keeps repeating it even though you’re plugging your ears and can’t hear him.

Ga-In watches helplessly from the door, wringing her hands and not knowing what to do. Jungkook turns and looks at her, then motions for her to come to you. She hurries over and climbs onto the bed, scooting close to you and wrapping her arms around you so you’re encased in the arms of the two people you love most in the world.

The others are crowded around the door, not making a move to go inside, but having come up to make sure you were okay. Seokjin sees Yoongi’s expression and touches his shoulder. “What is it?” Yoongi sees you starting to calm down as Jungkook and Ga-In both whisper softly to you.

“I don’t know what caused it, but it’s what I was thinking. She’s having PTSD.”

Jin looks back at you, wondering what the hell happened last night to trigger this.

~ ~ ~

The others have made their way downstairs again, knowing there really isn’t anything that they can do.

Only Ga-In and Jungkook stay in your room, stroking your back as Jungkook holds you and taking turns whispering calming things to you. When you’ve calmed down enough, now just sniffling every once in a while, Ga-In says she’s going to go and get some food for you to eat so you’ll feel better.

Once she leaves, Jungkook pulls back enough to kiss your sweaty forehead, then he puts his chin on your head and keeps rocking you gently.

“You’re okay, little flower. I’ve got you. Nothing is going to happen to you anymore baby.” His soft voice soothes your nerves and he smiles when he hears you yawning.

“Sleepy, love?” He asks as he pulls back again, moving your sticky hair out of your face. You nod, your eyes half closed. “Do you want to get some sleep?”

You immediately shake your head and put your face back into his chest. Jungkook smiles sadly, “I’m not going anywhere, so don’t worry, y/n.” You nod and he continues to rock you gently.

Ga-In comes in with a sandwich and they manage to get you to eat almost half of it. Then Jungkook lays you down and lies next to you, letting you wrap yourself around him sleepily.

You don’t want to fall asleep.

You know the nightmares will come back the second you do, and you can’t handle it. Not another second of it.

But eventually, you’re so tired that you feel yourself slipping out of consciousness. You grip Jungkook’s hand anxiously and he kisses your forehead, murmuring softly. “You can sleep, love. I’m right here. I won’t leave you, I promise.”

When you’re finally sleeping soundly, Jungkook lets his tears fall. He holds you close to his chest and wishes with all his might that he could just take away all your fear and pain.

~ ~ ~

A few hours later, you peel your eyes open and see Jungkook sleeping next to you, his arms still encircling you protectively. You cuddle closer to him and he sleepily opens his eyes when he feels you moving.

“Bad dreams?” He whispers with his hoarse voice.

You shake your head and he smiles, “Good.”

You two lay there in silence for a minute, then Jungkook speaks up slowly. “I know you’re not feeling well, but is there anything you want to say so I can make it better?”

You look at him for a moment before nodding. “Do you want to tell me?” He asks, but he gets a head shake. “How about Jin hyung?” Another head shake, “Ga-In?” You nod and he sighs with relief. He lets you cuddle him for another few minutes before he calls your best friend. He agrees not to leave you until someone else comes in.

Ga-In opens the door so fast he has a feeling she’s been waiting out there for a while. She walks over and climbs onto the bed as Jungkook gets out of it. She lays next to you and hugs you tightly. Jungkook smiles at the pair of you before making his way out.

“What do you think happened?” Tae asks quietly as they both sit on Jungkook’s bed, waiting to be informed about everything. “I don’t know.” Jungkook says simply, making Tae sigh.

After a good hour, Ga-In opens your door and motions for Jungkook to come to her. When he gets close enough, he sees her eyes are rimmed with red, meaning she cried. She sniffles and clears her throat.

“She’s asleep again, but I don’t think we should leave her alone for long.”

Jungkook nods and invites her to come to his room so they will still be close to where you’re sleeping just in case.

Ga-In sits on his bed and wipes her eyes, Taehyung and Jungkook watching her anxiously. When she finally starts to speak, their horror grows.

“She ran into vampires last night. She said she followed Seungwook somewhere, I couldn’t hear a lot of why she went because she was mumbling. But they ended up at a vampire camp. She said they caught her when she was trying to find the way home. They decided to make the whole thing into a game and made her run so they could chase her and whoever got her could claim her.”

Taehyung releases a very angry but controlled breath through his nose, but Jungkook stays silent as Ga-In continues. “She ended up hiding in a bush and they never found her. But a little later in the night she overheard them saying the things they wanted to do to her. I’m not going to go into any details.” She swallows and pushes on. “She tried to sleep under the bush to wait for morning, that’s when it rained. She was freezing and her body must have gone into shock from the cold and fear. She said that’s when all her memories came back.”

Jungkook looks at her in confusion, “What memories? What do you mean?”

Your best friend wipes her eyes. “The night we were taken. I was separated from her, but I made it out quickly, with a bunch of other girls that ran to hide. Y/n could never remember what happened before she woke up next to Yuri. Last night, it all came back.” She closes her eyes and Tae takes her hand, squeezing it gently.

“They gathered them all into a room, then they started beating them and biting people. She said she remembers pain from someone hitting her and seeing people bleeding and hearing screams. She thought she had been bitten but they only barely scraped her wrist as they were rushing through them all. She didn’t understand anything that was happening.”

Jungkook feels his throat close up, remembering how he had found you right after you’d been through all that, and how he’d treated you. It makes him sick to think about. But Ga-In isn’t even done yet.

“The last thing that came back to her was the night those Hunters kidnapped her. They tied her up and they had her in a chair. When she didn’t give them the answers about everyone else that they wanted, they slapped her.”

Jungkook’s stomach lurches.

“Then they tried to rape her.” Ga-In’s voice shakes and the tears she was trying so hard to control, slip down her cheeks.

Jungkook’s blood boils as he remembers seeing the man kneeling in front of you. He hadn’t known what he was trying to do at the time, he just knew he hurt you. And you never told anyone. You kept it to yourself all this time.

Jungkook stalks out of the room and down the stairs, throwing the front door open and pounding down the porch steps. He doesn’t even flinch at the painful burning sensation when the sun touches his skin. He just marches over to a tree and throws a punch at it, screaming and splintering the bark as his fist makes contact. He punches it again, and again, and again. Until both of his knuckles are shredded and bleeding. Before the skin can start to heal itself, he punches the tree once more. His irises darken and he screams angrily before grabbing his hair and yanking on it.

He wasn’t there to protect you.

He hasn’t done enough to protect you.

And now you’re hurting, because he failed.

“Jungkook, Jungkook hey calm down.” Hoseok comes over to the youngest, having seen him run out of the house. He doesn’t know what’s gotten into him, but he can tell it isn’t good.

“G-get away from me, hyung.”

“Look, Jungkook. I know you’re angry, but why don’t you help me figure out how to help you?” Hoseok tries again, gently.

“You can’t help me! No one can. Not unless you can turn back time so I can stop it all.” Jungkook’s eyes water and he throws another punch at the tree, hating how fast the pain disappears from his hand when the pain inside of him is so much worse.

“Jungkook, tell me what hap-“

“Just get away from me before I do something I’ll regret!!” Jungkook screams angrily and stalks into the woods before Hoseok can even process what just happened.

Jungkook ends up in the clearing under the willow tree. He sits there numbly with the tree against his back after sobbing for at least half an hour straight.

“Kook?” He looks up to see Jimin standing there.

Jungkook just ignores him and looks straight ahead again, his face unreadable.

“Y/n’s awake.”

Jungkook twitches a little at that, but his face remains impassive. Jimin walks over and plops down on the ground next to him, then he leans against the tree.

“It isn’t your fault, Kook.” He says quietly, “You hadn’t even met her when she was first kidnapped by vampires, and you had no idea she left last night.”

So, someone had told him what you said.

“Yeah? And what about when the Hunters took her? What about that?” Jungkook snaps. Jimin sighs and looks at the youngest, seeing his face set in anger but his eyes glistening with tears. “We all went after her that time, and you saved her.”

“I didn’t save her.”

“What?” Jimin looks at him questioningly. “What do you mean?”

“I didn’t get there in time for her not to be hurt, to be scarred. Now her own mind is what’s torturing her, because I couldn’t stop it in time.” Jungkook’s voice wavers.

Jimin shakes his head, “You saved her, Jungkook. If you hadn’t been there at that moment, things would’ve been a lot worse. She’s opened up about it now, so it’s off her chest. She doesn’t have to keep it hidden anymore.”

Jungkook listens quietly, the words sinking into his head as Jimin continues. “And she’s asking for you. She loves you Kook, more than I think you believe…so are you going to go to her?” He watches the young vampire closely.

Jungkook nods and wipes his eyes, then he stands up and Jimin smiles. Jungkook starts running back to the house as Jimin stands up, still smiling. “That’s my boy.”

~ ~ ~

You’re sitting on your bed trying to stomach some toast that Seokjin brought you, insisting that you needed to eat. All you can do is nibble on it, but Jin nods encouragingly no matter how small the bite.

“Where’s Jungkook?” You whisper quietly, chewing on a little bit of the toast. Jin is about to answer you when Jungkook steps into the room.

“I’m right here, love.” He says as he walks over to the big bed and sits on the side of it, close to you. “Hi.” He says sweetly and you nod at him, feeling comforted when he rubs your legs absentmindedly.

Jin smiles softly and announces that he’s leaving. You quietly thank him for the food, and he winks at you, “Jungkook is going to make sure you finish that. Right, Kook?” The vampire nods, but he doesn’t take his eyes off you.

Seokjin chuckles and leaves the room to talk to Yoongi about something that’s been bothering him.

Your cheeks turn pink as Jungkook watches you eat. “Why are you staring at me?” Your voice is so quiet he almost doesn’t hear you. He smiles and pats your knee, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. How are you feeling?”

“Better…it kind of feels like I just had a very bad dream.” You say before focusing on your toast. He nods and brings his hand up to pet your head sweetly. “Is this okay?” You nod and he smiles sadly. “Sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up.”

“It’s okay, you’re here now.” He’s about to respond when you speak up again. “I’m sorry that I’m so stupid.” Jungkook’s chest clenches at your words.

“You’re not stupid.”

“I am though.”

“You’re not.”

“I am-“

“Y/n.” His serious tone makes you stop fighting back. “You are not stupid, ok?”

You don’t say anything, you just keep eating your toast slowly. He feels a pang of guilt for raising his voice at you, so he reaches over and runs his thumb along your cheek gently. “I’m sorry, I just don’t like it when you talk about yourself like that. You’re constantly bringing yourself down, and I hate it. I just wish you could see what I see.”

You feel your eyes water and the toast feels stuck in your throat. When you finally swallow, you clear your throat. “There’s nothing good to see. All I do is break my promises to Jinnie, and make you think I don’t love you, and make everyone worry and come look for me when I was stupid and decided to leave without telling anyone. Everything that has happened to me was my fault, and I deserved it.” Jungkook feels his blood boil at your words.

“I don’t even blame the ones who hurt me. I practically set myself up to be hurt, it’s all my fault. I’m always causing problems and making others fix it. I’m just useless and I hate myself.” Your voice breaks and you set your almost finished piece of toast on the bed so you can bury your face in your hands.

If his heart was beating, it would have stopped at the words coming from your mouth. It would have shattered into a million pieces at the way you fully believe the words you’re speaking.

But all he can feel is a dull ache in the middle of his chest, making it hard to breathe as his hands shake and his throat closes.

Jungkook moves forward, taking your hands from your face and pushing you to lay down as he hovers over you.

Your eyes are flitting between his, trying to figure out what he’s doing. He just leans closer and touches his forehead to yours, his breath tickling your mouth. Then he nudges your nose with his before pecking it.

“I-”

He kisses your chin.

“-love-”

Kisses to your cheeks.

“-all of you-“

One on your forehead.

“-more than you will ever know.”

Lastly, he kisses your lips, deepening it as his hand comes up to caress your face. You close your eyes and just let him kiss you, feeling a warmth spread through your body down to the tips of your toes.

Jungkook pulls away after a moment, “I could say every little thing I love about you, but I don’t want you to just hear me…I want you to listen.” He catches your gaze and stares into your eyes deeply. Looking at his deep red eyes makes you think about when you first met him, and how those unnatural irises terrified you. Now, you can feel yourself getting lost in them and never wanting to come out.

“I’ll prove it to you, that I care about you and I’m not lying. I’ll show you, y/n.” You feel a small smile creeping up on you when he repeats your own words back to you with a cute smile. Jungkook takes your hand and folds it into his, “Nobody else’s hand could fit in mine perfectly the way yours does, and nobody else can make me smile like you do. You’re kind to everyone, and it always makes me happy to see you laugh, the way your nose scrunches up.”

You sniffle as he continues. “No one can hug me the way you do or kiss me like you do.” With those words, he kisses you again. “Nobody could ever make me feel the way you do, y/n. No one deserves to be treated the way you’ve been, and I want you to believe that. You’ve only ever made decisions to do things when you had other’s interests at heart, and I love you for that. Seeing you hurting because of them kills me, and I’ll do whatever I can to take it all away.”

You wrap your arms around his neck and hug him to you, running your fingers through his hair to ground yourself. “I’ve got you, little one.” Jungkook whispers into your hair. You feel your eyes burn with tears as your emotions go into overdrive. Your heart aches with how much you love him, and the fact that he loves you just as much is so foreign to you, you don’t know what to do.

You wish everything would just be okay. You’re sick of being afraid all the time, and never being sure if you all are safe. It seems like all the horrors lurking in the shadows will never be gone.

~ ~ ~

A few days pass, and Jungkook diligently makes sure that you eat and get enough rest. You’re speaking normally soon enough, your brain having started to blur and block out all the images once again. It seems like your brain’s way of dealing with trauma is to pretend it didn’t happen.

A few days after you got back from the vampire incident, Seokjin sees you come down to the table at breakfast time.

“Hey! There’s my girl! How are you feeling, y/n?” He asks you brightly, to which you give him your old bright smile as you sit at the table. “I’m feeling okay, thanks Jinnie.” He chuckles and sets a plate of pancakes in front of you.

“I hope you’re hungry, I made a lot today.”

You stare at the pancakes, wide-eyed and starving. “I am! Thank you.” Jin giggles and goes back to the stove.

Suddenly, a pounding on the stairs is heard and someone bursts into the kitchen, making you and Jin flinch as you turn to see who it is.

Jungkook does a double take when he sees you sitting there, then he sighs in relief. “You scared me, I didn’t see you in your room.” You laugh and cover your mouth that has a bite of pancake in it. “Sorry, Kookie. I was starving.”

Seokjin bites back a smile and turns back to the pancakes he’s flipping.

Once everyone is gathered at the table and eating happily, Yoongi speaks up. “I hate being the bearer of bad news. But we have a problem that we still haven’t discussed.” Everyone turns to him, setting their forks down and chewing while they give him their full attention.

“What is it?” Seokjin is the first to ask.

“Y/n, you said there was a vampire camp.” Yoongi looks at you sympathetically, like he hates to bring it up again. Jungkook takes your hand under the table. “You said there were a lot of them in a small building. I hate to ask you for details, but when I heard you say they were about six and a half miles away from us…” His voice fades but everyone knows what he’s thinking.

They’re too close.

You clear your throat, “It’s okay. I’m sorry I haven’t told you the details yet.” Everyone shakes their heads and a chorus of protests saying that you did nothing wrong floats around the table. You swallow and dive right into it. “My old friend Seungwook is a Hunter. I went to talk with him because I had seen him hanging around close to the house. I wanted to explain everything to him so that he wouldn’t hurt you guys.” Jungkook squeezes your hand encouragingly.

“He didn’t listen, and when he walked away, I figured I could follow him back to where he was staying so I could tell you guys and we could make a plan. When I found out he was going somewhere else, I decided to go anyway and see what was up. There was a small building, but I heard one of his Hunter friends say that there were at least fifty vampires in there.”

The silence around the table after you say that makes your tummy clench in anxiety. Jungkook keeps a grip on your hand as Yoongi nods. “So, what do we do?” He asks Jin.

It’s almost like something has snapped in the eldest vampire. His eyes are hard with anger as he slams his fork down and pushes his chair back roughly, making it skid on the hard floor. He grabs his plate and all but throws it into the sink. His gaze is almost distant as he glares at the dishes.

“We’re going to fucking end this.”

____________________________________

a/n: damn. seokjin fecking snAPped 👀

tag list: @jjungkook99 @ditttiii @rubinora @mygukandonly @elliegrace1999tvd @karissassirak @krystle1990 @your-best-behaviour @lettersforjoon @hopeworld-baseline @squidyelmosquidbutt @howbizarre @nikikookie @adelina1299 @jeonjungkookismyfuture @fekitza @xxxanimangxxx

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slasherkisss · 4 years

Note

Hey! Omg requests are open! Okay I've had this one in my head for ages so here it is! Could I request like a one shot or headcanons on how your of Emry met his s/o? I love him a lot and really need more content for him lol. As always I love your writing!

[I am so flattered that you enjoy Emry so much! It means so much to me that he has a few fans lol. I wrote way too much for thiS SO I HOPE YOU LIKE LONG ONESHOTS-]

Feral

“Fucking pieces of shit,” You cursed to yourself as you kicked a stray rock somewhere into the foggy void of the forest around you, “Why is it always me who has to go ‘find help’? If they had just stopped at the last gas station and filled the air in our tires they wouldn’t be bitching about anything because they wouldn’t be stranded!”

It was supposed to be you and your friend’s last road trip together and, now, it was simply you in the forest as you wandered along a path one of the guys had noticed hidden tight against the edges of the overgrown Louisiana brush. A drawing of straws and a few more rock, paper, scissors matches later had determined that you were the unfortunate soul to explore the singular dirt road in hopes that the end would find you either at a small town or a home with a working phone that could be used to call for a tow truck back to the town that was now far too many miles away for you to walk.

Not that this was any fucking better.

Your body shuddered, not only because of the humid chill that seemed to set itself into the mossy earth, but because of a... sensation of some sorts. A strange feeling that burned into your stomach as your eyes became all too aware of how dark it was getting. Of how heavy the air felt and how thick the world around you grew on your back as your shirt stuck to your body with the sweat of walking for as long as you had been.

A snap of a twig echoed somewhere behind you and birds cawed angrily into the background, making you stop and turn your head with wide eyes. Your heartbeat echoed in your ears as you gazed against the thick trees and shrubs that obfuscated your vision from any possible danger. Your breath shook as you promised yourself that it was just the wind. Just an animal moving through the underbrush and minding its own business as it foraged.

Peter told you about how pigs were the most intrusive species in the south nowadays. That was probably all it was, right?

You stood in the forest, debating whether to keep moving or step back as you moved your feet back and forth with an unsure bite of your lip. You didn’t like this. It was like you were being watched... no... more than that, maybe?

Maybe you were being hunted.

Your feet moved then, but you were unsure of what direction other than forward. Forward and away from the beady nothingness that seemed to overcome your senses and rage at the instincts in the pits of your stomach as you moved. Your walk had slowly turned into a jog and now that was beginning to turn into a run as the mist nipped at your heels like hungry hunting dogs, barking and baring misty teeth at your skin as you hurried with hot, ragged breaths into the night.

Your foot caught on a loose branch, sending you tumbling forward as your ankle made a disgustingly loud cracking noise under the pressure of the sudden juxtaposition. You cried out, catching yourself on the palms of your hands and letting the rocks and twigs dig into the tender flesh as you lay there, breathing heavily as the world around you spun with adrenaline. The silence was deafening around you and you saw a single drip of sweat fall from the tip of your nose down to the floor, where the earth soaked it up with greedy desire.

A crack and a growl echoed around you, the heavy snort of something inhuman shuffling in the dirt made your stomach curdle like spoiled milk and you dared to look upwards with a swallow.

The boar standing before you was massive. You had seen pigs at the petting zoo before but this was not one of those cute, domesticated little things you fawned over so much as a child certainly. Its tusks curled in on itself, sharp and fierce to match the drool along the rest of its teeth. They were stained with what looked to be the trace remains of blood against dirt and your hands dug into the foliage beneath you as you tried to move your feet. The warnings about the aggressive wild hogs eating human flesh made your blood run still as you winced in pain against your clearly broken bone.

The pig shuffled and snorted, its drool increasing as it caught your scent. Its squeal was painful on your ear drums as tears welled in your eyes. Was this how you were going to die? Your mind raced as you stepped back in terror, shuffling on your stomach in hopes that it, somehow, wouldn’t see you.

You didn’t have to.

There was an additional crack in the brush and a growl far more terrifying than the one the pig had squealed out reverberated in the depths of your mind. The shuffling of the earth increased at a fervent pace, as if matching your heart, and you barely registered the blur of a form that broke itself out into the clearing with you and your swiney captor.

The sound of the struggle would haunt you for the rest of your life, just as the sight would. A blur of a human had tackled the menacing creature down to the floor, wrestling vehemently as the pig squealed with anger and surprise. Matching that noise was a set of chattering teeth and snarling growls as the being raised a large, curved hook into the air and sunk its end into the pig’s flesh, making it scream louder as blood spurted out of an artery that the cool metal hit.

It took you a moment of staring to taste the blood on your lips. To register the blurry vision of your gaze. To understand that the blood had spattered on you as the pig’s tusks gnashed and clawed with its own fight of frustration. The struggle lasted for longer than you could understand, time blurring together in your shock until you watched the creature - no, you corrected, the man - reach down with two hands and wrench the creature’s jaws apart, snapping them and its head with a sickening break of bones and rendering it limp in the darkness.

All was quiet then, save for the sound of the man’s breathing as he gazed down at the prey he had killed.

Shirtless and with long, tangled brown hair that molded with grit and blood at its ends, the being stood well over six feet tall. Though you could only see his back, you would be fool not to notice the definition of muscle in the shape of his back, each shape curved with years of athletic exercise and unstoppable power. Scars littered the back and curled around his side to the front, where a chain wrapped itself sturdily against his body. You guessed it was attached to the hook. You didn’t move. You didn’t breath.

The being lifted something off of his face and leaned down. You caught the faintest glimmer of a hungry, wide, and drooling mouth in the moonlight before he descended downwards.

Fangs pulled greedily at raw flesh. They broke through the thick skin and gristle of the dead boar and pulled at the tendons with a fierce movement of his jaw. More blood splattered across the being and he spit out the hunk of useless fur and unchewable skin before reaching down with a free hand and spreading the new wound open to gain more access to the meat beneath it, like a treasure trove.

Handfuls of that sickly copper scented flesh was scooped open and thrust into his waiting mouth. The forest echoed with the heavy, disgusting chews of something you were now sure was just as monstrous as the pig it had killed.

What could you do? What should you do? Your mind panicked.

Slowly you shifted your body, seeing if you could at least crawl a decent length away from the sight before you. To somehow get back to your friends and the safety of your car and-

A twig snapped and his head snapped with it, his gaze forward as he finished a mouthful of raw flesh. You cursed under your breath as you tried to sit up.

The man slid something down his face this time before turning to face you, chest heaving with an out of breath echo as he grabbed your gaze with his own.

It was a mask he was wearing, the design hand crafted and messy to say the least, with one eye hole that watched you with the careful deduction of a predator. Your stomach twisted and you didn’t move again, gazing into his eyes as well as the two of you sat there for a long, endless moment of quiet in the world.

“Um... I think it was... going to eat me,” You whispered out awkwardly as you pointed to the pig, “I... Um... thanks for... eating it instead?”

Another scalding silence. The man tilted his head, some of his messy strands of hair falling into his masked face as he did so. The action would have looked cute on a being that wasn’t holding a giant hook and dripping with fresh pig’s blood. You simply stared back into that bright, curious green eye that held your gaze like a serpent’s might its seductor. You felt like, if your mind would panic less, you might be able to have a telepathic conversation with this guy.

Then he started to crawl towards you.

His fingertips dug into the earth beneath them, his limbs suddenly far too long for his body as he made his way over on all fours like some sort of feral animal. Your fight or flight reflexes echoed again and you scrambled away, only to cry out in pain as your ankle reminded you of its painfully broken sections of bone. The scream did not make him pause in his movements. He did not stop until he was in front of you, the nose of his mask touching your own and his hot breath filtering around the edges of his mask and hitting you with humid gusts. You held your own breath, fearful of its effect as the scent of blood and gore overpowered your mind.

A hand reached out, touching the ankle that was broken and giving it a squeeze. You cried out again as his hand tightened and then let go, as if experimenting. He tilted his head again.

“I... I broke it.” You whimpered out, shutting your eyes tight, fearing that your fate might be one shared with the pig’s who had made you run so fast.

Instead you were suddenly weightless. Your gaze snapped open to find yourself above the ground, in the arms of the masked man who had previously terrified you. His hands smeared blood on your arms and gore soaked into your clothes as his entire form overwhelmed your own with its mere presence. You felt the cold of the chain and the hook dig into your flesh, giving you goosebumps as the edges of his bloody hair tickled your face and made you gag with its rotting scent.

And suddenly you were carried off into the darkness of the woods with nothing but apprehension to keep you from screaming in terror in the grip of such a feral monster.

#Anonymous #emry desteele #emry desteele imagine #emry desteele x reader #slasher oc #slasher x reader #slasher imagines

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mamabearcatfanfics · 4 years

Text

The Ronin - Chapter 5

Eep. I know it’s been a while. And you know when I said this was definitely going to be the last chapter? Well, uh, there’s one more to go. Which is 90% done and that I should be posting tomorrow. Please don’t hate me when you get to the end of the chapter - kthxbye!

“But I wanna go too!” Shippou whined, rubbing his eyes tiredly as they stood in the cool morning air in front of Kaede’s hut. “I promise I won’t get in the way!”

The sun had just peeked over the horizon, making Shippou’s fluffy hair appear even more flame coloured than usual. Kagome bent down to pick him up and squeezed him tight, ruffling his fringe affectionately.

“Not this time Shippou. We should be back tomorrow at the latest.”

It had been Inuyasha’s decision that the kit stay behind, and Kagome agreed with it, but not for entirely the same reasons. Inuyasha was just concerned that Shippou might get himself into trouble, and he would be one more thing to worry about when they were heading into an uncertain situation. Kagome just didn’t want him to know the whole story of how she’d been injured.

Sango knew what had happened, and she was pretty sure that Miroku had some idea, based on his concerned glances towards her whenever he thought she wasn’t looking, and the way he had completely dialed back his usual flirty manner with both herself and Sango. But Shippou didn’t. She knew he was a lot more worldly than a human eight year old, but she didn’t want to see the look in his eyes if either the ronin or that woman said something. She just couldn’t bear it.

“Everything’s gonna be okay, right Kagome?”said Shippou in a small voice, nuzzling into her hand. She hoisted a smile onto her face, not wanting him to worry in their absence.

“I’m sure it will be Shippou”, she soothed, quick to reassure him, squeezing him in a hug which was just as much for her as it was for him. “Do you know what would be really helpful? We’ll probably be really hungry when we get back, and I know you’ve been practicing your hunting skills with the village boys. Do you think you could catch some fish or rabbits for a stew to help out Kaede?”

He stared at her uncertainly for a moment, then nodded.

“Sure, I can do that.”

Kagome glanced at Kaede, and the old miko nodded, confirming that she would do her best to keep the kit out of trouble.

“Travel safely, all of ye”, Kaede said, looking warmly at them. Kirara jumped down from Sango’s shoulder and transformed into her larger nekomata form, allowing Sango and Miroku to climb onto her back. Kagome took a deep cleansing breath of the crisp morning air, then climbed onto Inuyasha’s back as he bent down a little.

“Alright, I’m ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go.”

The sun was well above the horizon when they began to approach the forest not far from their destination. The mist had all burnt away an hour or so ago, although the air was still chilled. Miroku and Sango flew above on Kirara and Kagome snuggled in tightly on Inuyasha’s back, thankful for his warmth. She yawned, wishing she’d managed to get more sleep. She’d been too keyed up to doze off, her mind racing. So much to think about. And not only about their mission. About her and Inuyasha.

She replayed their conversation at the hot spring over and over in her head. She’d told him she loved him. And even though he didn’t say the words back, everything in his expression, his body language, his tenderness told her he felt the same. In the months since Kikyou’s passing, he’d begun to return those little touches and looks in response to her own, as if he were now free to do so. Words had always seemed to trip Inuyasha up, but when you paid attention to what he wasn’t saying, he could speak so eloquently.

When she’d finally managed to get to sleep, she’d been woken by a nightmare. And he’d been there almost before she’d been able to get her eyes open, picking her up, still cocooned in her sleeping bag, and carrying her back over to his usual position against the wall of Kaede’s hut. She’d spent the rest of the night cradled against his chest, that soothing rumble of his allowing her to get back to sleep for a few hours at least.

The weight of her father’s backpack on her shoulders was comforting. He had often walked mountain trails with friends, and his bag was just as he’d left it. For the first time in a while, she felt closer to him, almost like he was hugging her close. She had felt almost naked without her bow and quiver, but having her father’s backpack helped a little. Kaede had offered hers, but Kagome worried that might leave the village defenseless against a random youkai attack.

“Don’t do anythin’ stupid today Kagome, do ya hear me?” Inyuasha rumbled, his voice barely affected by the ground eating pace he’d been setting. They were getting closer now, the large trees of the forest surrounding the village slowing Inuyasha’s pace and forcing Kirara to fly above with Sango and Miroku.

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?” she replied in a teasing tone.

“I mean it wench! I got that feeling in my gut and it ain’t good.”

Kagome sobered immediately. They’d all grown to trust Inuyasha’s ‘feelings’ – he seemed to have an innate sense of when trouble was headed their way; it was probably what had kept him alive so long.

She leaned forward and dropped a light kiss on the side of his neck, sniggering a little as Inuyasha almost missed a step.

“I’ll be careful, but that goes for you too, okay? Don’t underestimate him just because he’s human – we don’t know very much about how many people he’s got working for him. Most of the villagers I saw seemed terrified, but he wouldn’t have so much power over them if he were working alone. He obviously has help.”

Her thoughts drifted to that woman, her expression ice-cold as she’d slapped her, demanding submission, and the probing feel of her fingers as she was held down, the first time anyone else had ever touched her there. She couldn’t help but shiver. She didn’t know what she feared more, the violence of the ronin or the emptiness of that woman’s expression, totally devoid of feeling, like she’d abandoned every ounce of empathy and compassion long before.

Inuyasha’s rumbling purr vibrated against her chest through his back, bringing her out of her thoughts.

“Don’t think about it Kagome”, he said quietly, his thumbs caressing the sides of her thighs.

“How did you know I..”

“Your heart’s beatin’ like a scared rabbit’s, your fingers are pinching my shoulders and you smell of fear” he said gently. He slowed his pace to a halt. “I ain’t gonna let anythin’ happen to you okay?”

Kagome sighed, loosening her grip, and she rested her forehead on his shoulder, sliding down off his back. “That doesn’t seem entirely fair you know”, she smiled, “you being able to work out how I’m feeling without me telling you.” He turned to hold her close, tucking her head under his chin to rub his cheek against her hair.

“Well, I don’t think it’s fair that you smell so damn good. It’s distracting, but you don’t see me holdin’ that against you now, do you?” he replied.

Kagome snorted, not being able to help the blush that tinted her cheeks. This was obviously Inuyasha’s version of flirting.

“Well, I guess we’re even then, because…” Her reply was cut short as Inuyasha suddenly grabbed her around the waist and juked to the right, an arrow passing by his shoulder.

He shoved her behind him snarling, his ears twitching and nose working to find out where their attacker was. He could smell a few men in the area, but it was hard to pinpoint their exact location in the trees above. They watched Kirara swoop down, and there was a startled yelp from a branch not too far away. The nekomata dropped an older man at Inuyasha’s feet, purring at Sango’s praise as she scratched the feline behind her pointed ears.

“Please, don’t kill me, I missed on purpose. I didn’t want to attack you!” The old man sunk to his knees, his bow clattering to the ground. “None of us want this but he has all of them, women and children, locked up in the head man’s house. He’s threatened to burn them alive if we don’t bring you back. Please, have mercy!”

Miroku and Sango approached with Kirara riding on Sango’s shoulder in her tiny kitten form as Kagome turned her horrified gaze to Inuyasha.

“Still want me to go easy on this asshole when we get there Kagome?” he snarled. The man shrunk back a little at the sound of Inuyasha’s snarl, and Kagome squatted down to the older man’s level.

“Be at ease”, she said gently. “We came back to offer our help.” The older man gazed into her smiling face, the bruising still vibrant against her naturally pale skin.

‘Thank the Kami”, he breathed. “They must have brought you to us. Nothing has gone right in our village since we took in this man. Truly you are heaven sent.” He dropped his forehead to the ground, which had Kagome flushing furiously in embarrassment.

“Please, don’t” she murmured, waving her hands in front of her. “It’s just the right thing to do. I could just see how frightened everyone was.”

Miroku stepped forward. “Perhaps you could explain what has been happening in your village, so we know how best to proceed?” he asked.

The man sighed, still looking uncertainly at Inuyasha’s angry expression, then sat up. The three humans sat down near him to listen, Inuyasha choosing to remain standing. Kirara dozed off in Sango’s lap.

“My name is Kenta. Last year, just before the first snow, a man came out of the forest. My wife Haruna found him laying near the stream when she went to do the washing. He was wandering in his wits – he had a head wound that was healing badly and infected. She took pity on him and brought him into our home.

It was clear to me that he was a samurai; he wore silk, and had two swords and armour. But the insignia on his equipment was not that of this land’s daimyo, and we had no idea of how far he had travelled with his injury. The village council decided we should help him. We did not think he would survive, truly there was a night where his fever raged so badly we began making preparations for his burial.

But then the fever passed and he began to regain strength. My wife nursed him back to health. He was a man of few words, but he told us his name was Eto Shinpei, that he was a samurai of a lord far to the north. He said there had been a skirmish with no survivors other than himself - he had been injured and left for dead, and then lost his way. We expected that he would leave to rejoin his lord as soon as he was able. But he made no move to leave the village. Perhaps that should have alerted us as to what was to come.”

The man hung his head and sighed. “I am not sure where he got the money from, but he moved out of our home as soon as he was able and took a room at the local inn. He began inviting men to his room, handing out sake like it was water, drawing followers to his side. He said he would train them before returning to his lord, in thanks for his rescue. Some believed it was a good thing, that he would be able to protect us from the bandits that had roamed the area the previous year, but others were not so sure.

It became apparent soon enough what sort of man he was. Previously our village had been quiet and peaceful, but he began recruiting outsiders, men with an evil reputation. Fights began to break out, and it was not safe for our women to be out after dark. One of the younger village lads, who had initially joined eager to be part of the militia and learn the skills to defend his home, overheard a conversation and went to warn the headman. He had learned that Eto was planning to set himself up in a position of power in the area, and that he planned on never leaving.”

Miroku interrupted. “Could you not have sent someone to alert your lord of this man’s transgressions? Surely he would want to defend such an attack on his land and people?”

Kenta shook his head. “I am a member of our village council. Our daimyo has long been focused on major conflicts to the east, and allows his villages to self govern, as long as we supply him with his dues at tax time. It seems Eto had figured this out, and decided to take a chance to elevate himself. It is clear to me now that he had disgraced himself in some fashion and been exiled, had become a ronin. We may never truly know what happened.”

Miroku nodded. “My apologies for the interruption, please continue.”

“The headman invited Eto to his home, wanting to get to the bottom of things. Before we knew it, Eto had slaughtered the head man and his sons. The boy who had warned the head man was also hunted down and killed by Eto’s men. The women in the head man’s family were kept in the compound, no one has seen them, even though we have tried to approach. Anyone who tried to stand up to Eto was beaten, with threats made against their family.”

His fists clenched tightly. “The members of the council met in secret, and we decided to oust this man and the outsiders he brought into our village. There was a skirmish, but not everyone has weapons. My sons…” his voice caught, and he took a deep breath before continuing. “My family are confident using archery, but we are a farming village – many men had only their farm tools. It was over quickly. Eldest sons from any family that had participated were executed.”

He looked up at Kagome’s anguished gasp, his gaze bleak. “My eldest son. My Daitaro. He was one of the men killed. Nine men in all. All of them good, strong boys, who did not deserve such a fate. My daughter-in-law a young widow, with two even younger mouths to feed. So much pain and suffering as a reward for saving this man. I wish my wife had never found him.” His head bowed lower, his fists clenching on his knees.

“You said he had the women and children?” Miroku prompted. He sighed and nodded.

“All the women and children are there in the head man’s compound where Eto has taken up residence – he and his men ambushed our homes and took them by force during the night. My wife, my daughters-in-law, my grandchildren. Eto was raving, demanding that he would not allow you to escape, not at any cost. I fear the head wound he received has made him unstable, although I do not know for sure, not knowing what he was like previously. But he is a violent, unscrupulous man, who has decided his word is law. We were told that we needed to find you and bring you back, or they would be burned.”

“Even though your Lord is too far away to assist you, could you not request help from a nearby village?” asked Sango. The old man shook his head.

“He has a foothold there too. No one has been able to get far enough away to ask for help, without Eto’s men hunting us down.”

“Don’t worry”, Inuyasha snarled, “it will be my pleasure to help you clean up the filth in this village.” His voice had taken on a deeper tone, and Kagome could feel his youki pulsing. She stood, standing close by and he wrapped his hand around Tessaiga while the other drew her back against his chest. She rubbed the fist clenched around Tessaiga’s hilt soothingly.

“If he has the village men out looking for us, where are his men?” asked Kagome.

“Most are out here in the forest, and some are there guarding the compound, at least five. I’m not exactly sure how many there are,” said the old man apologetically, gazing at Kagome and Inuyasha in wonderment.

Sango nodded. “It sounds like we need to split up. Miroku and I haven’t been seen previously. We could head through the forest and gradually alert the village men and take out the outsiders, and then work our way back to the village. Inuyasha and Kagome can head to the compound so Kagome can get the women to safety while Inuyasha deals with the rest. We just need to figure out how to assure the village men that we are on their side.”

The man let out a low warbling whistle, that sounded similar to one of the many small birds that lived in the Japanese countryside. A tall burly man carrying his own bow dropped out of a tree nearby and jogged over to them. Inuyasha gave a rumbling growl, and Kagome squeezed his arm. He huffed and rolled his eyes, but ceased the growling.

“Did you hear everything Chojiro?” the old man asked.

“Yes Otousan – I will help the monk and the taijiya alert the men loyal to the village, and then we will double back to oust the outsiders”, he said, bowing low to Miroku and Sango.

“What about us?” asked Kagome. “What if we pretend that you caught us – wouldn’t that get us straight into the compound? Then we could easily capture Eto and…”

“No.”

“But Inuyasha, it would…”

“I said no Kagome. I will find a way to get you inside to help the trapped women and children and then guard your escape. You will not be getting within inches of this fucker, do you hear me?” She looked up at his face, and was a little dismayed to see the pale lavender of his youkai markings on his cheekbones, so faint that if someone was not familiar with his usual appearance they would not notice them. She sighed, then nodded her agreement.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

The walked together with the old man through the forest. Occasionally they would hear a low whistle, which Kenta would reply to, and a villager would appear out of the trees approaching cautiously. Kenta would explain the situation, sending them off to find Miroku and Sango. He led them around the periphery of the village, staying out of sight under the shadow of the trees, until they reached the back of the headman’s compound which backed onto the river.

“We’ll take it from here”, Inuyasha grunted. The old man looked at him beseechingly, and he softened his expression. “Don’t worry old man, we’ll get them all out.” Kenta bowed, then disappeared off through the trees.

“I still got that bad feeling Kagome, so don’t do anythin’ ridiculous, okay?” whispered Inuyasha. She smiled at him, reaching up to place her palms on his cheeks then drawing him down for a soft kiss.

“I’ll be good.”

She moved to pull back, but his mouth followed hers, his kiss insistent. He backed her up until they were underneath the cover of the trees again, his clawed fingers cupping the back of her head, his tongue lapping at her lower lip, taking away the faint swelling that remained from her cuts, then nibbling gently with his teeth.

“I mean it Kagome”, he groaned, his mouth dropping to press against the soft skin underneath her ear, taking in deep breaths of her scent. “I’m only just hangin’ on here. I need you safe, and I won’t be able to hold back if he touches you again.”

“Inuyasha, please”, she whined softly as he nibbled at her throat, her hands clutching at his collars as her head fell back against the rough bark of the tree. The rumbling in his chest increased at the sound of her voice, and his tongue lapped at the soft column of her neck. How could him touching her there feel so good? It was just her neck. What would it feel like when they finally ventured into touching other places? She wanted nothing more than to push herself up against him, to kiss him, to explore these new feelings. But now was not the time. “I don’t want to stop this, I really don’t, but we need to go.”

“Just gimme one more minute. I need this.” He eased the collar of her shirt to one side, biting down gently on the corded muscle between her neck and shoulder, fangs pressing gently. This obviously meant something to him, but what? She let her head fall to the side, letting him do what he wanted, and the rumbling purr increased.”

“My Kagome.” Inuyasha released his hold on her, standing up straight, and cradled her face in his hands. “Saiai, please be safe.” He kissed her one last time, his focused gaze burning amber, then turned to squat down in front of her so that she could climb on his back.

He leapt up to the top of the nearest tree, then went from rooftop to rooftop, landing almost soundlessly on light feet, until they were on the roof of the main building in the compound. No one looked up.

“Idiots. There’s no one guarding the back”, Inuyasha snorted softly.

“Maybe because they don’t think anyone will be able to get across the river?” suggested Kagome, keeping her voice to a low whisper.

“Feh. There’s bound to be guards in the room where they’re holding them, so I want you to let me handle it, okay?” Kagome nodded, squeezing his shoulder to show her agreement.

Inuyasha leaped down from the roof, landing almost silently in a small landscaped garden near a covered walkway. Kagome slid off his back, standing up to take in their surroundings. Almost immediately there was the sound of running footsteps, and Inuyasha spun to backhand the man moving to attack them so hard that he flew back against the wall with a crash, his unconscious form crumpling on to the ground.

“Oops?” he chuckled as Kagome glared at him. Another guard appeared, and Inuyasha punched him too. He toppled like a felled tree, and Inuyasha stepped over him to guide her over to the covered walkway.

“A little overkill, don’t you think?” she muttered, as they walked quietly, her attention focused ahead of them.

“Nope.”

She rolled her eyes, poking him in the ribs and ignoring his almost silent snigger. At least punching a few people had improved his temper a little.

“Which way?” she asked, when they came to the end of the path. He placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the left.

“I can hear little kids cryin’ over this way.”

Her heart in her mouth, Kagome walked with him, doing her best to walk as silently as possible. She wished she had her bow – that always made her feel braver. She knew she would never be a physical close range fighter like Sango, but at least with her bow she could protect people she cared about, and fight back. When they reached the corner, Inuyasha motioned for her to stop, then disappeared. There were a couple of thumps, and then he reappeared, his smile wide, holding up two things she recognised instantly.

‘Look what I just found.”

Kagome almost squealed out loud, covering her mouth to stop the sound coming out. “My bow! Where did you find it?”

“One of the goons at the door had it. Don’t look like he used it yet.”

With a beaming smile Kagome took her quiver from him and shrugged it over her shoulder, then grabbed her bow and knocked an arrow in readiness.

“Better?” he asked, a small crooked smile lifting one corner of his mouth.

“Much”, she agreed, taking a deep breath.

They stepped over the two unconscious men, and Inuyasha opened the door. A burly man with a sword swung at him from the side, but Inuyasha had him disarmed and unconscious in moments. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief, and placed her arrow back in her quiver. She padded quickly over to the group of huddled women and crying children, who were looking at Inuyasha in alarm.

“Is there a Haruna here?” she asked quietly. An older woman looked up, surprised to hear her name mentioned. Kagome smiled. “Kenta sent us. He and your son, Cho… Chojiro was it?” The woman nodded, tears coming to her eyes as she heard the names of her husband and son. “He and Chojiro are working with friends of ours to disarm the outsiders. If you come with me, Inuyasha and I will guard your escape. We need to take you a little way from the village, until it is all safe again. Is there a hill or a clearing nearby that would be a good place?”

Another woman spoke, cuddling a baby tightly to her, while a toddler huddled into her lap. “I know of a place. There is a clearing not too far from the river, where Daitaro…”, her voice cracked a little, and then she continued, “where Daitaro used to practice his archery.” The arm of the older woman went around her shoulders, and they shared a look, both blinking back sudden tears.

“C’mon, we gotta move, this ain’t no picnic”, muttered Inuyasha. The group of women rose cautiously, gathering their children and making shushing noises when the children began asking questions. Kagome scooped up the toddler of the woman who spoke, so that she only had her baby to carry, and Inuyasha stooped down to pick up two little boys, who looked at him with wide eyes and then back at their mother. She hovered anxiously for a moment, then nodded, her arms already full of two smaller children. He led them out into the vegetable garden at the back of the compound, halting them for a moment to sniff the breeze, then gesturing them to follow along the river bank. The little girl Kagome was carrying tugged on her shirt.

“Why does he have puppy ears?” she whispered around the thumb in her mouth. Kagome looked down at the small child in her arms. She guessed she was three or four at the most, her dark eyes round with wonder as she gazed at Inuyasha's ears, hair pulled back in small pig tails, and chubby pink cheeks streaked with dried tears. Kagome glanced up at Inuyasha too and almost giggled when the ears in question swiveled back towards them, obviously listening.

“They help him hear better”, she whispered back with a smile, shifting the toddler onto her hip.

“Will he hear the bad men that killed Papa?” A faint rumble was heard coming from the hanyou in front of her, and Kagome swallowed before answering, her throat constricting.

“Yes. That’s why we’re here to help.”

“Good.” The small child snuggled in tightly against her, her eyes leaving Inuyasha to focus on the woman walking beside Kagome. “Mama?”, she asked sleepily.

“I’m here Akiko”, the woman said quietly. She hesitated for a moment, then spoke to Kagome. “I am sorry I could not help you the day he brought you to the village.” Kagome’s eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement, and the woman continued. “Eto was dragging you along the street. You looked at me and asked for help and I turned my back on you.” She bit her lip. "I am ashamed", she whispered.

Kagome suddenly remembered the terrified woman standing in front of her home with a child, who ducked behind the door covering.

“It’s alright,” she replied, giving the woman a small smile. “There is no need for shame. You are a mother – your children should always come first.”

“Thank you for understanding”, she whispered. “If Daitaro had been there, maybe… maybe…” She closed her eyes, pressing her lips tightly together, unable to stop her bottom lip trembling.

Kagome’s breath caught in her throat. She had been going to say ‘everything will be okay’, but for this family, it wouldn’t be. Things would never go back to the way they had before. She took another deep breath.

“When my father was killed, my mother was sad for a very long time”, she began hesitantly, keeping her voice to a whisper. “But Mama said talking about him helped. Talking about all the silly things he did and said, all the things we loved about him, kept him alive in here”, she said, gesturing towards her heart. “I only have a few clear memories of my father, because I wasn’t much older than Akiko, but those precious memories I do have survived because even though Papa was gone, we still talked about him all the time.”

Kagome focused her gaze on Inuyasha’s strong back and the pointed white ears twitching on his head, trying to give the woman as much privacy as she could. Even now they were under the shadows of the trees as they approached the clearing, the tears trickling down the woman’s face were clearly visible. “I am so sorry this has happened to your family”, she said, her voice determined, “but we will do our best to make things as right as we can.”

They entered the clearing, and the women sat down, gathering in a circle with their children in the centre. Inuyasha was pacing nervously and she moved towards him.

“Is everything okay?” she asked. She almost giggled when he sneezed violently, but then she caught his expression. “What’s wrong?”

“I can smell somethin’ – it ain’t a smell I know, but I don't like it. We need to be ready.” Kagome was about to put Akiko down and let her toddle back over to her mother, when Inuyasha suddenly snarled.

“Kagome, get back, he’s here!” He pushed her backwards, away from him, and she only just managed to keep her footing with the added weight of Akiko in her arms.

A small clay pot flew through the air, smashing in front of Inuyasha, and dark yellow smoke billowed out, the stench making him stagger back.

Kagome coughed, doing her best to tuck Akiko’s face into her chest closely to shield her. “Everyone cover their face and try not to breathe in the smoke! If you have a scarf, wrap it around your child’s mouth and nose!”

Inuyasha dropped to the ground, retching suddenly, and with horror, Kagome realised that whatever had been thrown at them was probably targeted to him. Sango carried powdered youkai poisons which she burned to immobilise youkai. Many only stunned but a few were deadly - what had been thrown?

She squinted into the smoke, coughing as it irritated her own throat. Putting Akiko down so she could knock an arrow, she aimed desperately from one point to another, trying to find a target, but it was impossible. She could hear the frightened wails of small children behind her, feel the frightened grip that Akiko had on her leg. Her mother was calling to her frantically, but it appeared the small child was too frightened to move. Inuyasha retched again and Kagome knew they needed to end this fast, so they could find Sango and hopefully administer an antidote.

“Show yourself, you coward!” she screamed, her bowstring pulled taut and ready for release, her weeping eyes focused on the direction of where the clay pot had come from. There was a startled scream from Akiko, and the small child was wrenched away from Kagome’s side making her stagger.

The wind shifted, blowing some of the smoke away, and Kagome blinked in terror. He was there, the ronin, and he had Akiko, one arm wrapped around her waist, and the other holding a short tanto blade against the girl’s neck, the cold metal glinting in the sunlight.

“I’ll cut her throat”, he snarled, shaking the small girl like a kitten as she struggled to get free. At the touch of cold metal on her neck the child froze, her wide eyed stare frozen on Kagome’s face. Kagome could hear the stifled wail of a woman behind her, and the little girl whimpered, slow tears streaking down her face.

“Mama.”

The word was faint, like a whispered prayer, hardly audible over the coughing growl of Inuyasha as he struggled to clear the putrid smelling smoke from his lungs. If her nose and eyes were streaming, he must be in agony. She hoped with all her might that the others might have seen the sudden plume of smoke and would come to investigate. As far as she knew, Sango, Miroku and Kirara were still leading the villagers in an attack against the ronin's mercenaries. Kagome focused on the man and child in front of her, blocking out the sound of Inuyasha’s coughing snarls and the frightened women and children behind her.

She slid her quiver slowly off her shoulder, freezing as the burly man pressed the short blade closer to the child’s neck. A thin rivulet of blood trickled down her pale throat, and she heard the mother moan behind her.

“A child makes a very poor hostage”, Kagome said, trying to keep her voice steady.

“You offering to take her place woman?” he leered. “You very rudely left before we could start anything fun. You coming back for more?”

Kagome’s back stiffened as she heard the frenzied growling from behind her. Inuyasha was obviously trying to stagger to his feet, but then fell again, hard. She had no idea what it was that had been thrown at him, whether it was meant to poison him or just slow him down. She wanted more than anything to turn to him, make sure he was okay. But a child’s life was at stake here. Maybe if she could keep Eto talking…

“What if I did agree to go with you. Would you let the child go? You know she’ll only slow you down.”

She dropped her bow on the ground, and stepped forward, holding her hands up in a gesture of surrender. Her heart was beating so fast she could practically feel it like a hard ball of muscle bouncing in her chest. The little girl blinked at her with wide frightened eyes; she’d stopped moving as if knowing it was useless to fight against the strong grip that held her. Kagome strengthened her resolve. This was the right thing to do. She could not stand by and see a child injured when she could do something about it.

“I promise, I’ll let you take me without a fight. Just let the girl go.”

In a movement that was so fast she hardly had time to gasp, the girl was thrown aside, and the ronin had hold of her, one fist wrapped around her hair, extending her neck so that her face tilted upwards, the other pressing his tanto close to her throat. She could feel the cool sting of the metal against her skin and she froze.

“See that dog? You’ve lost.” The ronin yanked back on her hair so her face was tilted skyward, and she had to struggle to keep Inuyasha in view. “My men are scattered. I will have start over again at another village. You might have destroyed everything I’ve worked for, but you’re going to be the loser. Because I’m going to take this girl of yours and ruin her beyond recognition. That poison should paralyze you for an hour or so, and my men will keep the other two busy while I make my escape. By the time you find her, there’s not going to be much left.”

Kagome’s eyes widened when she saw the pure fury on Inuyasha’s face. He tried to stand, and dropped again, his claws scrabbling convulsively in the earth. Drool dripped from his mouth as he snarled out her name.

“Inu…”, she whispered. “I’m sorry.”

She hissed as the ronin yanked on her hair again. “Not as sorry as you’re gonna be, bitch. Time to leave - you and I are going to get much better acquainted”.

The ronin laughed as he backed them into the trees, away from the clearing. Tears slipped down Kagome’s face as she watched as Inuyasha kept struggling to stand, his frenzied howling of her name growing louder. She tried her best to keep her eyes on him, wanting to convey to him her sorrow that she had been unable to follow his plea that she keep herself safe. The ronin sheathed his blade, then wrapped his fist around her wrist, dragging her off into the shadow of the trees.

#mamabearcat fanfics #the ronin #inukag fanfic #inukag #canon inukag

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thecandywrites · 4 years

Text

Of Heaven and Fire Part 16

And this is the part that will hurt the most. This is it. The fiery crash that no one can look away from, only wince and grimace and watch on helplessly as everything falls apart and goes to shit. The part that will hopefully hurt so good.

@probablyclever @imherefortheforthefanart @funmadnessandbadassvikings

Of Heaven and Fire

Part 16

“Good morning,” you greeted Rhos as you met with her in the market the next morning as she embraced you, careful not to put too much pressure on your abdomen.

“Good morning Sweetheart, how are you?” Rhos greeted before she eagerly put her hands to your belly to feel for kicks before you moved her hands to where you had felt them.

“Good morning Brock.” You greeted him graciously.

“Is it?” Brock sneered before his mother glared at him.

“Brock, have some decency and be nice.” Rhos insisted.

“What? It’s not a good morning, it’s barely a few hours after sunrise and the heat is already getting too high.” Brock complained.

“It was a greeting, you can return a greeting.” Rhos insisted with a look that could freeze lava.

“He doesn’t…” You tried to dismiss.

“Yes, he does, he can have some manners or else the entire clan will think I’m an unfit mother and warchiefress that I couldn’t teach my own son manners.” Rhos insisted.

“Because it’s always about you.” Brock grumbled under his breath and rolled his eyes but you and Rhos still heard it.

“Brock, I swear to the gods that if you don’t pull your shit together right here right now and grow up and have some decency and manners, I will yank down your trousers and beat your ass like you’re 2 and I’ll get everyone around me to help me do it too, you set the tone for how you’re treated.” Rhos threatened as her and her son had a stare off as your cheeks flushed with embarrassment for Brock’s sake.

“Ahem. We’re waiting.” Rhos cleared her throat and stared him down.

“Good morning Ms. Auksa.” Brock begrudgingly offered because calling you by your name was too intimate for him.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m hungry, I’m gonna get something to eat.” Brock huffed before he turned and stomped away.

“Was he like this before?” You asked Rhos.

“Gods no, I have no idea what’s gotten into him. Even when he was 2 he never acted this badly.” Rhos answered. “And I can not apologize for him enough. Come on, let’s go shopping.” She urged you as she started to notice a few items in the market place and suggested you do something similar for Brock’s courting gifts.

Brock watched on skeptically from a chair at a pub nearby as he seemed to want to drink his weight in ale even at this early hour, the stronger the better and was happy to turn a whole chair into gold to pay for unlimited food and drink at the pub for the day as he ate the leg of a roasted hog that had been roasting on a spit all night with a heavy spiced black bread and a spicy sauce on the side for dipping the bread and meat into along with a whole dozen fried eggs.

He almost hated how much abundance there was in the clan, he felt like yesterday everyone was hungy and today everyone was stuffed with food going to waste as the dogs themselves got fat off the scraps. Ale flowed like the river and everyone was opening up their little eateries in front of their houses both in the clan and in Drauch as the short stairwell to it was nearby, where you could get everything from livestock to wild game prepared how you wanted it in addition to all the seafood that now flowed into the clan from the sea and everyone got a share of all the sales of all the seafood in Suchi so that everyone had more money than they knew what to do with.

He hated it because according to everyone else, it was because of your presence in the clan that things were this way. It didn’t matter how much praise he got from the clan for going through all the trouble of getting you here, he felt ignored and abandoned whenever he was in your presence and even away from it because all anyone could do is look upon you with joy and adoration, but yet he felt resentful when their eyes went from you to him. And even now as you walked through the market with his mother and Kari, like you were her daughter or a close friend, it burned him up inside. He felt a jealous rage that somehow you had replaced him in the family and you were everyone’s favorite now. But every time he tried to voice any of this, he couldn’t get the words out and what little he could get out, made no sense to anyone so he kept his mouth shut because who would hear him without contradicting him? According to everyone, you could do no wrong and you were some perfect goddess from heaven here walking about and mingling with them. And he couldn't complain or criticize you in the least because if he did, suddenly he was the mean asshole and everyone came to your defense. So here he sat and stewed.

“So, how did you and Drad court?” You asked her as you strolled through the spice vendor’s booth, putting together spice mixes from the vast array of spices.

“Well, I had it easy, my sister Esri and I were the prettiest women in the clan but one of the poorest families because it was just her and I and our mom Rhidra and we had no father or brothers to go on raids but we made our living by finding mussels and clams and oysters for pearls in waters shallow enough to dive in and clear enough that we could see what we were diving for. We had a little row boat and two mismatched oars and we managed to make a little hut for ourselves and the sale of those pearls was how we survived and the meat from all those shellfish was how we fed ourselves and we experimented a lot with how to prepare it all so that our palattes didn’t get too bored or too sick of the flavor of them. At that time, the current warchief’s eldest son Tar, who Drad had been a commander to, had wanted me as a third wife because I was so beautiful and such a hard worker and he was sure I could give him the sons he craved because his current wives had only given him daughters which he wasn’t happy about but I had no desire to compete for his attention but he felt he was entitled to me anyway and vowed that if he brought back enough gold from the raid to give to my mother for me so she could afford a decent house, he would buy me outright.” Rhos revealed and you could tell even after all this time, she still was repulsed by the idea by the shudder of her shoulders.

“Both my sister and I had an affinity for cooking because we were so poor most of our food was either grown in our garden or foraged for or caught and we learned how to make fruits and vegetables delicious and learned how to make smaller game good in addition to the shellfish because that’s all we could catch on our own and we could walk all over the marsh and find all kinds of healing herbs and we both seemed to know what they were and how to use them instinctively. Anyway, so one day my sister and I went out on a hunt, wanting to get some venison and some herbs while Drad and his brother Sarg went out on a raid nearby with the rest of the warriors from the clan.” Rhos recalled.

“We waited until the roar of the fight died down to emerge from our tent and we found Drad and Sarg trying to drag each other away from the battle ground and in the far distance we could see others from our clan who had fallen. Each of them had a broken limb and had pretty serious wounds and we immediately went to them and helped them back to our tent where we put them on our own bedrolls while we slept on the deer hides inside the tent, thankfully we had each gotten a deer earlier and had skinned them and were in the process of tanning the hides and smoking the meat which that scent is what drew Drad and Sarg to come our way. We used what herbs we had found for medicine and cooked the couple of deer we had managed to kill more quickly to feed them and us along with the mushrooms and other herbs for flavoring we had gathered and we did our best to patch them up and set their bones straight and we saved their lives because of how we were able to mix the herbs together, we got the wounds to stop bleeding and eased their pain and so we just tried patch them up and let them rest and recover in our tent and the other female warriors from the other clan just saw Esri and I outside the tent gathering what we could, thinking we were on a foraging trip and left us alone since we didn’t pose any kind of threat to them and in fact we helped them find their own mushrooms and other herbs and they were happy to leave us in peace and even gave us pointers about where all the good fish in the river nearby was as we tried to make sure they stayed away from our tent to protect Drad and Sarg which worked. They didn't suspect a thing. The next day we went back to the river to the spots the female warriors had told us about and Esri had managed to catch a giant catfish in the river and I had found some huge mussels, these things had to be 20 plus years old, they were the biggest mussles I had ever seen in my life and the mussels had the prettiest most colorful pearls in them when we brought them home and cooked them for Drad and Sarg and Drad took that as a sign and a blessing that I would bring him riches and he let me keep all the pearls from all the mussels because I was the one that found them and gathered them but was very pleased that I shared them with my sister but let him and his brother keep the biggest two so they wouldn’t go home empty handed from the raid.” She revealed as she then picked up a muscle from the pile at one of the seafood vendors and shucked it and found a little pearl in it and handed it to you with a grin because the woman couldn’t pick up any shellfish without finding something akin to a pearl inside it.

“The next day after that we went foraging again and I found a cave where a dragon had once lived, the dragon had been caved in and couldn’t get out of the sea cave and once I got in there, I found it’s skeleton and scales. I gathered all the scales and teeth I could, I made several trips and I made Drad a suit of armor out of the dragon scales along with a brace for his leg and one of the dragon’s canine teeth I made him a dagger and one of the smaller dragon teeth I had made a sewing needle out of so I could sew the scales together and after that, Drad was convinced that I had the god’s blessings because of of my luck with the warriors from the other clan, because all the mussels I got had pearls, and all the medicine I made for him healed him, and the fact that I found a dead dragon in the cave and got the scales and was clever enough to know what to do with them, was enough for him to propose himself as my mate and swear to me that I would never have to compete with anyone else for him and so I agreed and that mating session was quite good because even though he was hurt and couldn’t mount me, I mounted him and rode him like a stallion and he was just in awe of me ever since.” She remembered with a bit of a giggle as her own cheeks flushed a little at the happy memories.

“Once they were healed and could walk, we broke down camp and went back to the clan and by then, everyone realized the failure of the raid and no one from the warchief’s family had survived and the victors had come to claim the lands and the little village itself and Drad being Drad immediately seized the opportunity, convinced the clan that he should be the next warchief because he had survived the battle and was second in command to Tar and had a mate and I was already blessed by the gods and was the “best warchieftess possible” because I was there to heal his wounds and feed him food and make him armor which he was all too proud and happy to show off and what was left of the clan agreed and started to follow him and he put Sarg in charge of the fishing fleet and we set our sights on the sea and rivers, in fact it was this river and this patch of sea since the old ones had been taken by the conquerors who you now know as Hurricane Breaker and this land was unclaimed and it was this river that I found the huge mussels that had the pearls. And that night Drad mated with me, pretty loudly for the whole clan to show how verile he was, which I thought was a little embarrassing but he is hung like a horse and he knows how to use what the gods have given him and he had me moaning and keening and forgetting that the outside world ever existed with how he made love to me and to no one’s surprise I got pregnant with Brock and that was that.” Rhos revealed and all you could do was remember how Brock used to have sex with you and how similar Brock was to his father in that respect.

“So since Brock is definitely his father’s son, what you need to do is show Brock how you’re the best option for him. Give him betrothal gifts that no one around here can match and prove to him that there is no one better for him than you and his sense and honor should do the rest.” Rhos advised as you nodded in understanding.

By the time you came back around to the pub, Brock had drank enough that his inhibitions were out the window and some musicians had started to play music and to everyone’s surprise, Brock was dancing. But he wasn’t dancing like most drunks usually try to do, no he was dancing as if he was born to dance and all you could do is watch in astonishment yet feel somewhat saddened that you wished the old Brock would return to you if it meant he could give up his new dancing skills and you felt jealous when his former courters were dancing with him because ever since he was born again in the flames and they found out he lost his memory of the last six months, they suddenly realized they had a chance to win him back, despite the rest of the clan recognizing you as his betrothed.

“Oh so when Benyana dances, she’s a whore, but when you dance with actual whores, it’s ok?” Rhos chastized him when he was done as the women he had been dancing with flushed with shame because they had tried to move on but the moment Brock was suddenly “available” they came flocking back to him and Rhos made no mistake of calling them out and making sure the whole clan knew who she approved and disapproved of.

“Don’t you two have more money to spend?” Brock spat as he tried to brush her off as he picked up his stien to drink some more but the round of ghastly gasps was the only warning he got when the stein was slapped out of his hands before his dad seemed to appear out of nowhere and punched him in the face and sent him landing on his ass, clutching his face before he looked up at who had hit him and fear suddenly filled his eyes.

“Don’t you ever disrespect your mother, your warchieftess and your future warchieftess boy! Have you lost all sense and propriety?!” Drad thundered as the skanks suddenly dissappeared from the scene as Rhos simply stood and grinned smugly.

“I just...I was...I drank too much and forgot myself.” Brock tried to excuse his behavior.

“Really? That’s the excuse you want to use? Fine. From this day forward, you will abstain from all alcohol l and I don’t care how much gold you give to anyone. Anyone giving you any alcohol in this clan will be expelled from this clan. And any vendor who is not from this clan will no longer be able to sell here if they provide you with alcohol either. This will never happen again, will it?” Drad commanded.

“No,” everyone else readily shook their heads no as Brock’s shoulders sagged in defeat.

“Come on Dad, don’t you think that’s a little too extreme?” Brock tried to reason.

“The alternative is I kick you out of the clan for disrespecting your warchieftess.” Drad leveled as Brock grimaced.

“Fine.” Brock submitted.

You waited until everyone disbursed and Brock got up and dusted himself off before he watched you go to his father and pull Drad aside and talk to him and he could tell just from the look on your face and body language and gestures that you were pleading in some kind of way as Rhos also joined in the conversation as the three of them suddenly made a decision and nodded before even his father put his hands to your belly to feel for the kicks and was so happy when he felt them before even he hugged you and kissed the crown of your head affectionately before you bid them goodbye and quickly left with Kari in tow as you made your way home since all that girl wanted to do was hang out with you and was your best friend despite your age difference.

“Now what?” Brock asked as he came over.

“Your future warchieftess is too good to you. The only alcohol you’ll be drinking from now on, if you so choose to partake in it- will come from her hands and only after you have asked nicely for it and only if she feels safe and comfortable enough with you and welcome in your presence and is sure you won’t make a fool out of yourself if you do drink it and you must drink it in her presence and only her presence all while being the most charming, respectful version of yourself that you can be. And when she cuts you off, you’re cut off.” Drad compromised.

“I’d rather never drink again then.” Brock angrily hissed before he stalked away as Drad kept Rhos from actually killing her son.

“What are we going to do about him?” Rhos growled.

“If he continues to act like a child, then we will treat him like a child. Hell put him on an allowence and put him on restrictions until he remembers how to act right.” Drad suggested before he sat his wife down at the table Brock had occupied and finished the rest of Brock’s meal since they didn’t want it to go to waste as they brainstormed together about ways to make Brock snap out of this childish phase he was born again into as you were at your house and trying to think of ways to court Brock in such a way that he would want to be mated with you before you went over to Dastrin’s house.

“Hey Yana,” Dastrin greeted as he came out from his kitchen, having been helping, well, more groping than helping his mate make some bread, both of them covered in some flour and white handprints all over the other as they did their best to dust themselves off.

“Sorry, I should come back at another time.” You tried to excuse yourself.

“No, no, you’re fine, stay.” Kallimisa reassured you as she sat you down in a chair.

“So how are things?” Kallimisa asked before you revealed what had just happened as Dastrin just let his shoulders sag as he face palmed himself.

“That man is going to be in a world of hurt if he doesn’t knock it off.” Dastrin could only shake his head.

“Well, Rhos has advised me to court him in the traditional orc sense and give him betrothal gifts that have no equal,” you revealed.

“Oh, make him an offer he can’t refuse, smart.” Dastrin grinned schemingly.

“Basically. She told me about the suit of armor she made for Drad out of dragon scales.” You recalled.

“Oooh, that would be easy to replicate. Just go back to Suchi and you’d get crates of dragon scales.” Kallimisa realized.

“And you could use Cugas as your model since Cugas and Brock are near identical.” Dastrin advised.

“You could even make him clothes out of dragon wool and dragon silk to go under the armor and boots from dragon leather. I’ll hook you up.” Kallimisa reassured you since her family bred a lot of the dragons in Suchi and were masters at dragon goods.

“And weapons, commission the best blacksmith you know of to make the best swords and battle axes they can since that’s a gift you don’t have to make yourself.” Dastrin suggested.

“That way, he’ll be armed and protected from head to toe. No warrior would ever turn that down.” Dastrin reassured you as a plan formed in your mind.

You could do this, you would win and earn him back, one gift at a time if you had to.

It took time, about a month in total. But you went with Drauch back to Suchi and got crates of dragon scales of all different colors and patterns and got a ton of help from Kallimisa’s family with all kinds of dragon wool and dragon silk and began to use Cugas as your model to make Brock clothes and armor so that when and if Brock ever saw battle, he would be safe while Kaive also bought his fair share of dragon products so that he and Cugas could match in attire which Cugas thought was the most romantic thing ever.

Your dad helped you make a sword and a battle ax for Brock since your father was one of the best blacksmiths you knew of. Using those meteorites from the first orc attack and other metals that had been mined out of the mountains. They would stay insanely sharp but were harder than any other swords and battle axes and you helped make a special shield for him too. You bought a special bow with dragon toothed tipped arrows for Brock as well.

While you did all that, you gathered every recipe for medicine you could get your hands on along with actual medicines. You had horn of unicorn and dragon bone powder along with milk of poppy and other medicines and had a special satchel made that was embossed with the clan’s symbol and colors and Brock’s name in it and many more gifts and once all these gifts were done and made and gathered, then you got to work making him a feast that would end all feasts, making sure to include dishes that were not only favorites of his but of the clan as a whole too.

You got a herd of cows from another colony known for their amazing beef and these cows were the fattest cows you had ever seen in your life that had been raised im padded stalls and fed grains their whole lives and massaged daily and given sake and beer so that when you butchered them, there was just as much fat marbling in the beef than there was actual meat if not more so. You also got a flock of huge chickens, Brahmas, these chickens were actually incredibly tame and sweet along with several other kinds of chickens so that you had a whole rainbow of eggs. You even got special breeds of milking cows so that you would have a steady supply of milk, cream, butter and cheese. You also bought horses, lots of horses and got the most amazing stallion for Brock along with all kinds of livestock, the best of their kinds, having to build a huge barn in a cloud to keep them all.

You spent three days preparing for this feast since it had to be made by your hands and it could have fed a hundred people but it was only for Brock and his family and his closest generals and commanders, all while battling morning sickness and sexual cravings that were driving you insane because you only wanted Brock to alleviate them but he was the last person who wanted to help so you were stuck suffering and trying to pleasure yourself which the bigger your belly got, the harder that was to do too.

The day before, you had Brock’s siblings and friends help you set up a large tent outside of Brock’s house as you set up the many tables for the food to be brought over and the kegs of different ales and wines were delivered and yet Brock was nowhere to be found and when he came back at midnight, he was as drunk as could be and passed out the moment he crashed onto his bed and everyone seemed to have witnessed Brock getting little flasks of liquor from his former courters but he could only drink it in the safety of the woods away from the prying eyes of the clan. Whether he bedded them for the liquor no one knew but you just had to pray that if he did, his seed would not take root in them because the last thing you wanted for your son was to compete with others for his father’s attention and affection even though Drad and Rhos assured you and reassured you that in their eyes, only your son would be heir and all others would be cast out of the clan and recognized to the clan as the clan’s whores and all their children would be deemed bastards if need be. Which that seemed to be enough to keep all the other women from making any claims or even hinting at a potential pregnancy where Brock was the father.

Meanwhile Brock was just in a perpetual state of frustration. Because even out of spite, he had tried to fuck his whores but his cock was as small and flacid as a seasponge and nothing they could do could entice it to “wake up”. Sea cucumbers could boast of being bigger and harder than his manhood because it acted like he was constantly in the coldest of water. He couldn’t even masterbate. But one look or hopeful smile from you or just the sound of your laughter when you were with his family, he was bigger and harder than a boulder. Like his cock would only get hard with you around and no one and nothing else. And it didn’t matter what you wore, you looked amazing no matter what, you could just be walking and he could see grace in your steps and when you had danced with his little sister Kari, showing her how to dance a particular very innocent dance, you might as well have been naked in his eyes because all he could do is look at you and imagine your body in motion and he wanted you but he was loathe to admit it. Even when you were in the simplest of clothes, his eyes could find your curves and your pregnant belly was especially attractive to him and there were so many times he just wanted to come over to your house and fuck you raw just for some semblence of a release. He was so desperate he was close to his breaking point but he couldn’t admit that to anyone, especially himself and instead he seemed to want to revolt against these leanings. The more he was attracted to you, the meaner he got and the harder he tried to resist this. To the point he lost all freedoms, all autonomy, all privacy and all power and say so in anything unless it was in agreement with you and he felt he couldn’t breathe without his parents, especially his father coming down on him. But all that did was make him even more embittered and resentful.

He could tell you were preparing courting gifts and the closer you got to completing them, the more panicked he felt because his parents had made it clear, that if he didn’t accept you and the gifts, then he was was not going to be accepted in the family and was never going to be warchief without you as his warchieftess. Even his siblings distanced themselves from him, Kari especially wanted nothing to do with him because he wasn’t ‘the same Brock’.

The morning of, you managed to kill four cows and one bull with the help of Brock’s generals and commanders who were all too happy to help you any way they could because they accepted you as their future warchieftess and they wanted to help ensure your success. All of whom marveled at the intense marbling of the beef and while they did most of the heavy lifting, they let you direct them since this was your feast that you were preparing as Cugas and Kaive brought you every delicacy from the sea and Rhos went hunting for pearl mussels, something she had not done in a while but she had forgotten how much she used to enjoy it as she found the best and biggest ones since she had gifts of her own for it while Drad helped keep Brock distracted with other clan matters, mainly where to get all the lumber needed to keep all these building projects going.

When everything was ready, it was arranged in the tent and Brock was brought into it and you ceremonially washed his hands and his feet so that he could sit at the head of the table before you repeated the process to his generals and commanders, making sure each one sat at the table according to rank along with his family. This was seen as the most humble and gracious of acts as hostess and while you had some difficulty because of your pregnant belly making it awkward for you to carry the wash basin, you persevered. All Brock had to do was eat to the point he was stuffed, drink until his heart was merry and accept your gifts with grace and take you to your home where you would hopefully mate and he would hopefully use gentleness with you and that would be that, or so everyone hoped and prayed for.

Once everyone was seated you served Brock first, showing him the marbling of the steaks and letting him pick whatever he wanted before you cooked them how he told you he wanted them as the mates of the married generals and commanders did the same with their mates while Brock’s sisters cared for the others.

“So how do you like the ale My Lord?” You asked respectfully.

“It’s too weak, it tastes like piss.” Brock answered as his generals and commanders nearly spit it out and choked.

“You can’t be serious, this is the best ale in the clan!” Dastrin argued.

“Yana, seriously, this is, hands down the best ale I have ever drank.” Cugas added as the others agreed to those sentiments which left Brock glaring at them for taking your side.

“Well, that is an ale...I do, um, have a stronger, darker beer, it’s a stout, let me get you that and hopefully you’ll like that better.” You tried to appease as you took the ale away and got a fresh stein and filled it with the stout and served that to him before he took a sip and spit it at your feet as it splashed up on the edges of your skirt as others from the table gasped in horror as Drad got up from the other end of the table and started walking over.

“I’m sorry that got on you.” Brock begrudgingly apologized before his father could get to him and beat him into the dirt which finally gave Drad a moment of pause before Brock sipped the stout.

“This is much better, thanks.” Brock begrudgingly offered which made his dad grin smugly before he turned around as everyone blew out a breath of relief.

“Even if it is a bit bitter.” Brock added which had everyone glaring at him as you let your shoulders sag because if this is the way it was going to start, it didn’t bode well for the rest of the meal. You feared that by 12th refill that he was beyond drunk but he would not smile, not laugh, not make any indication that anything you had done had pleased him at all.

In fact, he found fault with every single thing.

The steaks were either too tender and too fatty. So you brought out every other kind of cut of meat from every kind of animal and he found something he didn’t like about all of them, they were all either too lean, too fatty, too tough, too tender, too undercooked, too overcooked, too spicy, too under flavored and he critiqued every, single, thing and everyone by this point was beyond fed up with this and everyone was about to pull their hair out. He even hated the decorations of the tent because they were too luxurious.

He thought that the mussels were too big and the dozens of pearls inside were obviously fake because they were too perfect and you had some how implanted them in the mussles. He thought the complex dishes were obnoxious, he thought the simple dishes were lazy, he thought the scented woods you used to grill the steaks and other foods stunk up the space, he thought the soothing incense was a waste if not distasteful. He thought the beer was too bitter or too smooth or not strong enough, the wine was too sweet or too dry and that you were insubordinate and traitorous because you enlisted help from others for the feast and he berated you for not being strong enough to do it all on your own even though it was his commanders and generals who insisted on helping you. Your betrothal gifts were given the same treatment and all you could do is stand there and watch helplessly as he verbally ripped everything apart.

It didn’t matter how much his family and his generals and commanders tried to defend you, he wouldn’t let them speak. You and they were all embarrassed and ashamed of him and you could tell everyone in the room wanted to kill him for acting the way he did.

All you could do is kneel next to him and do your best to accept his criticisms. But you had to finish the rest of the ceremony at least. You were not going to take him to bed. Even if he did accept these gifts, you knew he was too drunk and too angry and it was too much of a risk to your son if you tried bedding him.

“Do you accept my betrothal?” You asked, even though you could already tell he would not as this nightmare that had been plagueing you finally came to fruition.

“No! Of course not! How dare you try to court me with such atrocious things you wicked, conniving bitch! This was the worst courting ritual ever!” He roared as you winced and barely got out of the way fast enough when he over turned the table, all the food flying off as everyone barely managed to escape getting hurt before he grabbed at the tent and began to pull it down, ripping it off it’s frame before he picked up the gifts you got him and aimed them at you before you and the others fled out of the tent, barely able to dodge the objects as he threw them most viciously at you as his commanders and generals tried to block them before you tripped and fell to the ground, everyone else trying to come to your rescue and stop him from going further into his tirade before he managed to shirk them and get to you and picked you up by your neck and face and all you could remember was the first time he held your face on that first night. How he had firmly held your face to get your attention but not hard enough to hurt you.

Now though, any semblance of control or gentleness was gone, it was all just pain as you struggled to breathe and kick as the others tried to stop him as benar flowed out of your eyes and down his hand before they fell off his hand and arm to the ground as you begged and pleaded for mercy as your moura cloak surrounded you in armor.

“Please, Brock, stop!” You sobbed before he dropped you, your wings barely getting a chance to come out and curl around you to protect you from the fall as you managed to sit on the ground at his feet and cough and sputter and hold your burning throat as Brock was now surrounded by his generals, all of them having their swords and battle axes drawn and pressing at every spot on his body to keep him from moving lest he be impaled.

“Leave! While you still have life in your body to do so!” Brock seethed and you could see the fire in his eyes and his throat, he was ready to burn you as you sat there and all you could do was nod in agreement before you got on your knees and reached into your satchel and retrieved the orb that the water dragons had gifted you as the whole clan gathered around to witness Brock’s worst tantrum yet as all you could do is feel regret that this horrible nightmare had come true.

“Please accept this as a parting gift then. It was given to me by the water dragons and inside is the most precious possession anyone could ever want.” You offered shakily as you held it out in your dirtied and bloodied shaking hands out to him as you kept your head down, your benar falling to the ground at your knees. While you still didn’t know what was inside, you had kept it safe and hidden from everyone all this time and you were suddenly moved to give it to him.

“Please know that I will raise the son you gave me with the utmost care. He will know happiness and love as well as he knows his own shadow. I shall teach him all the great legends of his father…” Your voice broke at the utterance of that term. “And of the legends from his mighty clan of Stormbreaker. Since you no longer wish to look upon my face, I shall do as you demand and leave. I will never again seek to see your face or hear your voice. May you and this magnificent clan know success and prosperity forever.” You bid him before he begrudgingly took the orb before you yanked your hands back to yourself, afraid he would grab them as Kaive, Rhos and Cugas, all who had tears in their eyes quickly gathered you up and Kaive carried you back to your house before Cugas and his siblings as well as Brock’s siblings used their moura abilities to lift your house off the ground and back into the cloud form with a huge chunk of land so that your son would at least have some soil from his clan and flew you away to Suchi as Rhos screamed her own damnation for ever conceiving and birthing Brock and disowned him on the spot as did the rest of his siblings. Kari especially flying up to your house to stay with you and her mother along with Brock’s siblings. Leaving Drad to deal with Brock.

The surrounding waters pooling in the now cratered land and it revealed five large black eggs in an ancient abandoned nest buried deep underground and the moment the water touched the eggs, the waters themselves grew dark with silt before everyone in the clan glared at Brock before they disbursed and immediately started to gossip about what had happened as the wives of the commanders and generals made sure to tell them every detail about how you made the perfect betrothal gifts and perfect feast but Brock wouldn’t accept it and how awful Brock had been before Drad’s servants got to work trying to clean up everything.

“Brock, you will be no warchief of this clan or any other for rejecting your rightful warchieftess and I quit being your commander.” All of his generals and commanders told him before they also went and tried to salvage what they could before Drad ordered for all your gifts to Brock to be gathered in the house so that they could be displayed for the whole clan to see what Brock had rejected as Drad took the orb from Brock’s hand so he couldn’t break it as Brock just growled in frustration and stomped away, his gait ever so unsteady from his drunkenness.

By the time Brock had cooled his rage and came back, Drad was waiting for him on the front porch as all of Brock’s belongings were dumped unceremoniously in the yard as the whole clan had gathered around it, all of them continuing to glare hatefully at him.

“No ungrateful son of mine will ever sleep in my house or eat my food or drink my ale, from this day on, you no longer live here and you are no longer my son because no son of mine would ever treat a woman, any woman like the way you just treated Benyana, she was pregnant and you held her by the throat and choked her and threw things at her, you disgust me and you have disgusted this clan. Since your mother has since disowned you, I also disown you and you are now the illegitimate bastard of a dead whore with no father and all your honor is being stripped of you.” Drad said before he gestured before Brock was seized and put into the ground and tied up before a blade was brought over and Drad cut his own son’s hair off to take off all the beads and all the braids of glory from his head.

“Dad please! Please stop! I take it back! I take it all back! I accept Benyana. I accept her gifts and her betrothal.” Brock tried to desperately plead but everyone could tell, his heart was not in it, only his self preservation.

“You can’t go back and take anything back! The damage and hurt you have inflicted with your own hands can never be healed and never be forgiven!” Drad roared as he yanked his son’s hair to cut it off chunks.

“No one trusts you, no one respects you! You are worse than our greatest enemies!” Drad insisted as pained tears stung his own eyes as his own heart was breaking.

“You are lucky I don’t kill you!” Drad threatened as he let the blade rest on the back of Brock’s neck as Brock began to tremble and fear that his life was about to end for good.

“But death is too good for you! So instead you will be no better than a beast of the field. If you want a roof over your head, build it yourself, if you want food in your belly, you catch it and make it yourself. You will get no help from me, anyone else in my household and definitely not from anyone in my clan, you are not welcome on clan grounds and anyone who helps you is considered unclean and cursed.” Drad announced as his own generals and commanders, the fathers of the very men who had been Brock’s former generals and commanders who were now behind Drad as everyone readily agreed to those terms before Drad had taken most of Brock’s hair off and they let Brock go before Brock gathered his stuff before he was chased off of the clan’s lands, everyone throwing stones at him and chased him into the wilderness onto a small, lone island in the marsh where the mosquitos immediately feasted on him as the flies started to buzz around him and he could do nothing except try to cover himself and sleep on the grasses in the island and mourn for all that he had lost.

“Why didn’t you just accept her?” Brock whimpered as he hugged himself and rocked himself into fitful sleep because even he could not answer such a question.

#Yeah I know #I'm a bad horrible person #evil really #Just a little more hurt then it get's better #this does have a happy ending I promise.#Of Heaven and Fire #Of Heaven and Fire Part 16 #orc #orc reader insert #orc love story #except for this part where there is no love #moura #monster love #monster romance #monster boyfriend #monster reader insert #exo #exophilia #please forgive me

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yuiopiklmn · 3 years

Text

Angel Chapter 2

Word Count: 2380 words

Summary: Angel is about a girl with a secret that she doesn't even know about. Bobby Singer found her when she was only a couple months old. She has an awkward reunion with two of her childhood best friends, and then she is stuck on a hell of a ride till the end of the road.

Pairing: Unknown

Characters: Addison Singer, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Bobby Singer, and John (only mentioned)

Warnings: Language and some sexual themes

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Need to catch up:

Background:

Prologue:

Chapter 1:

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Sammy’s POV

“That was fun, it's been a bit since I’ve seen Addi,” I said while smiling brightly.

“No it wasn’t, what the hell was that about,” Dean said angrily as we walked back to the car, “I mean….Addison is here, she’s doing the family business, and she is looking really good doing it.” He slowly smirked while opening his door.

“Dude seriously-” I began before he cut me off.

“What, Sammy?! You know what happened and I miss our relationship and maybe she does too.”

“Dean, she wasn’t wearing the locket you got her, she barely looked at you or even acknowledged you, and you have probably moved on with more one night stands than I can count. Shouldn’t that mean something to you?” I said, inflamed, as the engine roared to life.

“What does it matter to you?” Dean questioned as we drove to town.

“While for starters I kept my promise to Bobby and protected her throughout high school and college, and I was with her while she experienced heartbreak. I know more about her than you do.”

“You know about that Da-” This time I cut him off.

“What about Dad this time, Dean? You can’t use that excuse. I know it’s bullshit that you had these plans and Dad canceled them because he wanted you to go hunting.”

“That’s not wha-”

“No Dean! I have had it with that excuse.” I was almost shouting now, ”You hurt her and that is all there is to it, okay! We will finish this hunt, get me to my interview, and life will go back to normal,” I breathed out.

“Fine, I guess.” Dean rolled his eyes and continued to drive until we reached town to interview Amy.

Meanwhile, Addison just got to her hotel and parked

Addi’s POV

“I can’t believe this! Sammy and I are going to hunt together again just like old times! I’m so excited, but what about Dean? I mean why does he have to be here in the first place?” I asked myself while sitting in the parking lot of the hotel. I pushed my hair back in frustration. I glanced at my glovebox, and opened it while pulling out the small box. Shoving it into my pocket, I quickly went inside to get out of the cold.

The hotel had a musty smell, I would do anything to sleep in my car and avoid attention if it wasn’t so cold outside. I got a key and walked to the designated room. I opened the door and sighed as I fell back onto the bed. I waited for a little bit before taking the small antique box out of my pocket and stroking it with my thumb, staring at the grooves until I collected the courage to open it. I sat up and stared at the inside. There was blood-red felt lining the inside, and on a small pillow slept my locket. I used my shirt to clean off some of the dirt and dust, and I stared at the letters engraved on the front, A + D. I flipped it in my hand to see the anti-possession symbol on the back. The locket was made of metal, and the engravings were sloppy and you could see where the knife Dean used to write, scratched the metal.

“Why did you break me so much?” I opened the locket and flipped through the 5 photo slots. The first two had family photos: me, the boys, my dad, and John Winchester. The second was taken on April 23rd. It was prom night, with me my date, none other than Dean Winchester himself. My eyes started to water as dark blue flashed in my eyes, then an angry red. I decided to put the silver locket on for the memory, texted Sam the address, and passed out on the bed.

Dream/Flashback

April 23rd, 1997, I smiled to myself as I read the circled date on the calendar. Today was the day my boyfriend of a year and a half, Dean Winchester, was going to take me to prom. He has been one of my best friends since I was 6 years old. He is two years older than me which is fine, but to some, it might seem strange that an 18-year-old is taking a 15-year-old to prom, but that’s because my birthday is in July and his birthday is in January, so it's not weird to us since I'm turning 16.

I went over to my closet and opened the door to find my glamorous dress. It was a dark blue that had some sparkle, off the shoulder sleeves, and was very long and flowy. I absentmindedly started to twiddle with my locket that he gave me for our first anniversary. I was so excited for tonight. I ran to the bathroom and made a lot of noise, apparently, because before I knew it my dad was standing in front of me with his arms crossed.

“Addison you are being quite loud and I’m trying to do research,” he said sternly.

“I know but I can’t help it, it's prom can’t you just stop researching you know everything already, and maybe help your daughter with getting ready.”

“You know I’m not the best at hair or makeup, I can’t really help you.”

“I know dad, but there are other things to do, like get the boutonniere for Dean maybe.”

“Okay I’ll do it, I'll be back in a few, I should get a navy one right.”

“It’s more cobalt/ royal blue.”

“Okay, I’ll go get your royal blue flowers, ya idjit.”

“I’m not the idjit here, I'm the one that knows the difference between blues.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever. I’ll go and get your flower thing.” He muttered as he walked back down the stairs.

While he was gone I was able to finish my makeup, which was quite neutral, nothing too special, and started to curl my hair. Soon I heard the door open and close and Bobby yelled up to me that he was home with the boutonniere. I finished my hair, and ran back over to my room, tripping on the way over to put on my dress. I was struggling with my silver heels as I heard the doorbell ring. Then I heard HIM. Dean, the man I am mesmerized by, while he was talking to Bobby. I smiled widely as I walked to the top of the stairs. I heard a conversation going on below about a promise to keep me safe or whatever. I was too excited to be bothered by the details. I slowly descended down the steps, watching my feet so that I wouldn’t fall. Right, when I got off the stairs and looked up I was met with the forest green eyes that I love more than the world itself. We both smiled at each other while inching closer.

“You look amazing Addi, you truly are one of a kind.” He said with an even bigger smile. His voice cracked a bit like he didn’t know if he should say it or not in front of my dad.

I blushed while I said, “You look so...” I looked at Bobby scared that I might get in trouble, but he nodded showing he didn’t care, “so handsome Dean I could just kiss you right now.”

“What’s holding you back?” He said with a smirk on his face.

“My dad,” I whispered to him as my eyes glanced in my dad’s direction. He heard me, as clear as day, and turned to face the wall instead while letting out a disappointed sigh. We kissed, and it was one of my favorites so far. The love and excitement and-the...the moment was cut off with a cough from Bobby saying that was enough of that. We took pictures and I put on Dean’s boutonniere while he put on my corsage. As we were about to walk out the door I heard my dad call both of our names. We spun around to face him.

“What’s the plan kiddos because you have a curfew, Addison Singer?” He sounded mad like he didn’t want us to do anything which I doubt we would, buuuut we might.

“Well the dance itself starts at 8:30 pm, Bobby, and I was thinking of going to dinner, that's why I’m picking her up at 5 pm so that we can eat. I know her curfew is 11 pm sharp and I promise not to be late, and finally, the dance ends at 10:45 pm.” Dean said in a tone that shows that he must’ve practiced this, he clearly planned every detail including this speech.

“All I say is that you are back here either before 11 or at 11 on the dot. One more thing NO FUNNY BUSINESS Winchester, or you are dead! Hunted and killed by me because that is my daughter. It's a stretch enough that I’m letting you date her and take her to your prom, but I trust your dad and your family. Don’t mess this up, boy.” I looked at my dad pissed but scared before turning my head to Dean.

“Yes sir, no killing will be necessary.” He stood firm and then relaxed as he saw my face while he turned to face me. He linked his arm with mine and we walked out the door. Right when the door was closed I quickly said,

“Sorry about dad, he is super overprotective.” I facepalmed while he answered,

“I know, and don’t worry about it. I planned this all in my head.”

“I don’t think you planned the night correctly because the dance ends at 10pm.”

“I know I have stuff planned, sweetheart don’t worry about it.” I blushed at the nickname while looking down and then as I looked up I saw the impala.

“Your dad is letting you take Baby!” There was excitement in my voice.

“Of course babe she is my car now, my dad took another car on his little hunting trip.”

I got excited and ran to the door, but Dean beat our little race, that I didn’t know we were having, so that he could open the door for me. I got in while he closed the door and then he got into the driver seat. He put in our mixtape that had all of our favorite songs on it, and we just jammed all the way to the diner. Once we got there, Dean said his name for the reservation he had, and we got seated. Dean was hit on by the waiter and he completely ignored it while we continued eating. We finished eating and then left to get to prom since it was about to start.

When we got there, there was a long line to get in because of the ticket situation, but it went by fast and soon enough we got in. We got there and went to the dance floor and partied like animals. It was a magical night of laughter, smiles, slow dances, and a few kisses here and there. I absolutely loved it, but the night at the dance came to an end since we left early. Dean had other plans and I could tell by the look in his eye. The look he has had since the moment we started dating, the look he had the moment I walked down those stairs, the look he has had every time we are together. The look of lust. I may not know where we are going, but I know what we are doing.

TIME SKIP

We got to a little spot near nothing really except a couple trees. A song on the mixtape played and it was the very last song, a song we never got to. Things got heated pretty fast and let's just say that backseat is amazing in more ways than one, and Dean...DAMN SON!!!! He is truly something special. This was mine, as well as his, first time. I was shocked when he told me that because he is good. It is only 10:30 and we are back on the road. He never told me why, but I feel like something more was supposed to happen like there was more to this night. Before I knew it we were back at my house. We both went inside, Bobby wasn't around and I needed to freshen up, so that Bobby doesn’t get suspicious.

I ran upstairs and quickly went into my room, while tripping of course, and sprayed on some perfume while fixing my hair. Since I was upstairs I took off my shoes. While I was slipping off the second one I heard a familiar engine roar to life. I looked out my window and saw Baby’s headlights on. I was confused so I ran back downstairs and saw Sammy on the couch doing homework.

“Sammy? What are you doing here, and where is Dean?”

“He left with dad,” he went silent before looking up at me, “Did he not tell you he was leaving?”

“No he didn’t, but it's okay he will be back right?”

“I think so, but when dad goes away he isn’t back for a bit.”

I gave a fake smile, and I turned to go back upstairs before I heard Sammy say, “Don’t worry Addi, I will always be here no matter what, I promise you, just like we promised.”

I nodded while I realized what the boys promised to my dad at the beginning of the night, well what Dean promised clearly Sam gave his promise recently. I slowly made my way back up the stairs, and I heard Bobby’s voice say my name faintly. I was clenching my locket as I walked into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and realized I was crying. I wiped my tears away, even though more kept coming. I whispered to myself, “Always and forever more like never.” I washed my face and changed out of my dress and into pajamas. I went into the covers and hid my head while holding my locket and crying silently to myself. There may be two Winchester brothers but only one knows how to keep a promise.

A/N: Still trying to work out a posting schedule. My editor is in AP classes, so she hasn’t had a lot of time to edit, so now I have to edit all of it. Sorry if this chapter seemed long. I changed the ending a bit from my original idea. I hope you liked it and I can’t wait to edit more since I have the next couple chapters written. I just have to edit them now. See you in the next chapter my bumblebees. Buh-bye!!!

#supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester #bobby singer #spn #hunting #saving people hunting things #angel #original character #addison singer #story #original story #good story to read

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screamingatanemptyroom · 5 years

Text

I Can’t Eat Love pt 18

New part here, life moves on after the engagement is broken.

Master post linked here

Enjoy!

_______________________________

“Well, people are definitely still talking.” Rig leaned back in his chair, placing his feet on top of my desk.

I glanced down at them, trying to decide if I cared about the papers beneath his shoes enough to tell him to move. I didn’t. Shrugging it off, I focused on his words instead.

“Let me guess, it’s not very flattering to me, right?” I smiled grimly, remembering the backlash of my previous life.

_______________________________

“You can’t go outside!” My mother screeched as soon as she saw me enter the outer hall. “Get back in your room!”

“But… I…” I hesitated, unsure. It had been a week since Ronan had broken the engagement and announced that he would marry Edith. I hadn’t heard anything from the queen since. I had thought to go try to see her. Seeing my mother’s expression, however, I second-guessed myself.

“Do you know what people are saying outside?” She laughed bitterly, pouring herself another drink. “They’re saying that you were either too incompetent to be queen and he had to break it off... or that you were unfaithful.”

I stopped in my tracks. “That’s ridiculous! I had passed the Queen’s training AND I’ve barely even left this house other than to go to the palace, much less spend time with another. When could I have been unfaithful?”

“That’s not what they’re saying out there.” Mother tossed back her drink in a single shot, wincing before pouring another one. “Apparently you were going to the Royal Gardens to meet other men fairly regularly.”

“But I was with Edith the whole time! She’ll vouch for me!”

She smiled at that. “Will she?”

_______________________________

“Quite the opposite, really.” Rig laughed. “The Queen stepping forward when she did helped quite a bit, and apparently your teacher Mrs. Rendler has been telling anyone who will stand still long enough that you were the best student she had ever had, a genius.”

A broom swung down at his propped-up legs, swiping them off the desk. Rig’s feet slammed to the ground and he looked up, insulted, at his attacker. Hallers, clutching the broom, a self righteous expression on his face, didn’t respond, only cleaning off my desk and sorting the papers quickly before stepping back towards the wall.

Rig frowned, but didn’t put his feet back up on the desk. “You already have a great reputation within the duchy, due to the reforms you’ve done with the government, as well as financing so many to go to school and learn a useful trade. Most of the families here feel that they personally owe you, and word has spread that you would have been a perfect queen.”

I shuddered at the thought. “And marry that idiot? I’d rather shovel manure.”

“And that’s what everyone else seems to be thinking as well.” Rig’s grin widened. “There’s even a song that street performers are playing called ‘Ronan the Ridiculous.’ It’s about an idiot who cheats on a wonderful woman, drinks himself silly and falls into a latrine pit.”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that. “What? It’s only been a week! How did they write a song so fast?”

Rig shrugged. “I don’t know, but it must of come from either a very creative, or very vindictive mind. It’s an extremely catchy tune, and the nickname for the prince is becoming more popular by the day.”

From behind me I heard an evil chuckle. I turned around to look at Hallers, but he only smiled very professionally at me, with no sign that he had been laughing at all. I ignored the small suspicion building in my mind and turned back to Rig.

“I’m happy of course that I’m not considered a failure, but I worry about what kind of backlash we might see from the palace, given how much ridicule the prince is suffering.”

I thought again of the smile the king had at the party, and how nervous it had made me at the time.

“Well, the Prince left a hunting trip right after his party and has been gone for the last week. He may even be unaware of how poor his reputation is right now, but I doubt that will last long.” Rig smiled viciously. “He’s coming back today, and my sources say that the King has already arranged to speak to him privately later tonight before he retires for bed. “

He started to lean back and prop his legs up again, but after a sharp glance from Hallers, he sat back up with a sigh. “I would love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation!”

“… Do you know where they are meeting?” I asked, my mind racing.

Rig looked confused. “Well, apparently in the King and Queen’s visiting room?”

“The one that connects the two suites?”

“Yes…. Why?”

I gave a devious grin. “Rig, how do you feel about a field trip tonight?”

_______________________________

I gave him instructions about where to meet me, and a short while after the spy had left, Hallers knocked, announcing that I had another visitor.

For a moment I thought it might be Nate, and I strangely, I found myself smiling. I hadn’t seen him since the party a week ago, which I thought was odd. I had a lot I wanted to discuss with him…

“Introducing Lady Erica.” Hallers stepped aside to show the lovely young woman from the party. I felt a pang of disappointment, and shook my head, confused. Why would I be disappointed? How foolish.

I stood up to greet her with a smile. “Lady Erica, what brings you here?”

“Can we speak privately?” She looked around, clearly nervous.

Studying her for a few short moments, it was easy to recognize a familiar air about her. I had probably looked very similar in my previous life multiple times.

She was desperate.

“Let’s take a walk in the garden.” I led the way, and she silently followed behind me.

As we entered the flower garden, I heard her take in a deep breath. “Wow, this is very beautiful, you must have a wonderful gardener!”

I looked around at the thriving flowers surrounding us with a smile. “Nope, that’s just Henry.”

“…The Duke’s heir?”

“Yep. That’s him.” I found a few benches, sitting down.

She sat down as well, staring at me. “He likes flowers?”

“All plants, actually. But he took one look at my pathetic attempts of a flower garden and banned me from meddling.” I sighed. “It’s beautiful, of course, but it’s a little insulting to not have any say in my own garden.”

Erica laughed, the first happy sound she had made since arriving at my home. She seemed to catch herself, falling into silence. Letting her think through things at her own pace, I simply enjoyed watching the flowers, knowing she would speak up when she was ready.

It didn’t take long.

“I need your help!” She clasped her hands together in her lap, they were trembling. “I know you don’t know me very well, and have no reason to help me… but I heard that you help others and I didn’t have anyone else to turn to…” Erica was babbling at the end and I held up a hand, stopping her stream of anxious words.

“What do you need?”

Her face turned bright red. “So… I’m in love. But...” She hesitated again, looking at me pleadingly as if hoping I would know without her saying

“It’s with the Captain of the Eastern Guard, rather than your earl fiancé.”

“H-how did you know?” Her draw dropping in shock, she visibly gathered herself together. “I hope you won’t tell anyone…”

I permitted a small smile to cross my face. “You would be horrified of the secrets that I am privy to, Erica. Yours are comparatively a light burden to bear. Now, you’ve been in love with him for years, what’s the issue now?”

“I- well, I…” She shook her head. “I think the Earl of Beral has known for a while, he seemed to make a few attempts to discredit my Robert, but somehow those charges always ended up going away.”

The earl certainly hadn’t done much this lifetime. In my last, Erica’s love had been ruined and had “disappeared.” She had been forced to marry the Earl of Beral a few weeks before my engagement was broken. This time he seemed much more distracted…

It’s probably because mother’s spending all her time away from home.

I chuckled quietly at the thought. I had seen or heard very little of her since our confrontation. She came for birthdays and other major events as instructed, but otherwise was staying in one of the earl’s homes.

It would explain why there was not as much rush from his end to force his young fiancé to marry him. The few rumors he had paid to start about the Captain stealing money from his troop were easily dispatched with by Rig and his group. I had thought we were in the clear now that the time of their wedding in the last lifetime had passed.

But perhaps that wasn’t the case.

“Lately… things have gotten worse. Robert was attacked by some thugs on his way to his post several days ago. He fought his way out and escaped, but he thinks they were too well armed and prepared to be simple thieves. He thinks they may have been hired to kill him.” Her knuckles whitened in her lap. “I’m so scared for him!”

I studied her carefully. “What do you want of me?”

“Well, I heard that you have a few schools where you teach others to become seamstresses, and then help find them work.”She stared down at her hands as she spoke.

That surprised me. “Are you looking to be a seamstress?”

Finally she looked up, a determined light in her eyes. “I am a skilled at sewing, one of the best. I want to run away with Robert and start a new life. But to do that, I need to have a job.”

“Well, points for having some practicality.” I stood up, pacing as I thought. “If Robert leaves… he’ll be charged with desertion.”

“Yes.” She didn’t flinch away from the word.

“You’ll have to leave the country, otherwise they’ll find you two and you’ll be much worse off than you are right now.” I muttered as I walked back and forth, my thoughts racing. “He’s a skilled guard… and you can sew…” I looked up. “Are either one of you skilled in numbers, would be able to look after the books, run a business?”

Erica looked confused. “I know Robert manages the money his troop receives so that his men get paid... but neither of us have business experience.”

“Not ideal, but you can be taught the rest…” I stopped in my tracks, smiling. “Okay, it’s decided.”

“What is?”

“You and Robert work for me, now. I have been looking to open up a new branch of Prosperity in a nearby country, and you two may be just what I need. You will take orders and sew, Robert can guard the shop and help with the accounts.”

“Wait, what?” Erica’s face fortunately had no trace of resentment on it for me planning their lives, and only showed bewilderment, “You own Prosperity?”

I paused. “You didn’t know? I thought that’s why you were asking for a job.”

“I thought you might have connections because you always have such beautiful dresses!” She shook her head. “I never suspected…”

“Well, now you know.” I patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll arrange the paperwork for you to cross the border, and for somewhere for you to stay while you set the shop up. But you’ll need to leave soon… will next week work?”

She stood up as well, smiling. “I’ll talk to Robert, but I can’t see us getting a more generous offer.” Throwing her arms around me, she gave me a hug. “Thank you!”

I waved a hand, dismissing her words. “Don’t worry, I needed to open a new branch store anyways, so it’s to my profit.”

“Still…” She looked unconvinced.

“I’ll contact you in a few days once arrangements have been made, but first...” I stopped, feeling the need to change the subject. I looked around as an idea struck me. “Let’s get you a flower to take on your way!”

I made the offer and bent over a bush with large yellow blooms. But just as I reached out to pick one…

“HOLD IT!” Henry rushed towards us, his face as angry as I had ever seen. “Why are you touching my beautiful geraniums?!”

I stepped back, holding my hands up to show they were empty of flowers. “I was just…”

“Just tearing out one of my prized blooms as a present?!” He sighed. “Have I taught you nothing, cousin?”

“Fine!” I rolled my eyes. “How do you propose we give her a flower then?”

Erica looked between the two of us, her eyes wide. “I don’t need a…

“Of course we’re giving you a flower!” Henry snapped. “Everyone should have a flower! It just has to be done right!”

He then proceeded to carefully dig a flower out of the dirt, preserving it’s roots and replanting it in a ceramic pot. He then lectured the poor girl extensively on the proper care of the plant before gently placing the pot in her hands.

Hallers saw the slightly confused Lady Erica out, and I turned to walk back to my office. But Henry patted my arm, stopping me.

“Oh, cousin, before you go… this was mixed in with the letters I received today.” Henry reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a letter. “It’s addressed to you.”

Curious, I opened the seal, and read the words in the letter:

_______________________________

To the Lady Lenora:

I apologize for communicating through this letter, but I wanted to assure you I wasn’t dead or run back to my country without saying goodbye.

Your former fiancé dragged me along for his birthday hunting trip. We’re returning today, but I worry that I won’t be back earlier enough to be able to visit.

If you permit it, I would like to stop by your home tomorrow. I greatly miss our talks together. If nothing else, it will be a reprieve after a week spent in Ronan’s company. If I hear one more comment about how wonderful his horsemanship is I may be physically ill.

I look forward to seeing you, and hope to find you in good health and high spirits.

Yours truly,

Nathaniel.

_______________________________

“Good news?” Henry asked.

I realized I was smiling as I read it, and wiped the expression from my face as I folded the letter once more. “No, nothing important.”

I felt a pain in my stomach again, and rubbed it absentmindedly.

_______________________________

Later that evening I snuck out of my home again, meeting Rig at the usual spot.

“So what’s this about, girl?” He grumbled, looking tired and stretching as he spoke.

I grinned. “We’re going to spy on the king.”

That caught his attention. He paused mid-stretch, his mouth wide open in shock. After a few moments he recovered, and dug a finger into his ear as if trying to clean it out

“Sorry, I think I misheard you… What are we doing?”

I laughed. “We’re sneaking into the palace, and we’re going to listen in on that conversation between the Prince and the King.” I looked up at the sky. “Before the king retires to bed was when they arranged to meet right? We should be right on time if we leave now.”

Rig stared at me. “You’re crazy.” He sounded impressed.

“I am, but not about this.” I grabbed his arm, pulling him along. “Come on.”

“But… how…”

“I know how to get in, AND a secret passage behind the visiting room.” I felt a moment of anxiety, trying desperately not to think about the LAST time I had been in those tunnels.

“It’s risky, girl.” He shook his head, even as he followed behind me, making no other sounds with his movement.

“It’s necessary.” I thought once more to the king’s cold stare. “I need to know what they’re planning.”

“Well, if you say so.” Rig shrugged. “You only live once, right? Might as well make it interesting.”

Smiling I pulled him along. “Not exactly true for all of us, but still, let’s go.”

#writing #i can't eat love #part 18 #second life #second chance

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banditchika · 5 years

Text

lost and found

fandom: star wars: the clone wars (loosely assorted canon)

words: 17,421

ship: ahsoka/barriss

author’s note: what if we used to be best friends until you betrayed me, and ten years down the line you save my life and give us the chance to start over... aha... just kidding... unless?

anyway @mirrormystic and i are proud to present our barrisoka post-clone wars collab! barriss has a gun. ahsoka, being ahsoka, is perfect. what more could you want from a piece of transformative fiction??

They had chased her across two planets now. A combination of luck, skill, and an insistent go run flee pulsing through the Force has kept Ahsoka’s head firmly attached to her shoulders so far, but the Inquisitorius is relentless. Having a hot meal in a cantina? Bam, Inquisitor kicking down the doors-- Inquisitor sprawled on the floor, Purge Troopers tripping over him, fumbling for their blasters, and Ahsoka, forced to eat and run for the third time in a month. And if it’s not them, it’s bounty hunters, or pirates, or worst of all, slavers. She’d been careful not to let them catch her going anywhere important, but there was nowhere she could go where they wouldn’t eventually sniff her out, so she’d thought, kriff it, and flew straight to Coruscant. If she was going to be dogged no matter where she went, she might as well send a message: “I’m better than the very best you can throw at me.” It had been a plan Anakin would have been proud of. It almost worked, too. Then the Force-- the very same Force that saved her from droids, bounty hunters, pirates, old friends and enemies and the order that killed everyone Ahsoka ever cared about-- saw fit to send her careening into a dead end alley, with no way out besides the way she came... …Right into the arms of the hooded figures flooding the alley, neon lights glinting off their eyeless masks. Thanks, Ahsoka thinks venomously at the Force, sacred lifeblood of the universe. Thanks a lot, really. Ahsoka stops counting bodies after five. The Inquisitors don't deign to speak as they ignite their sabers--or whatever that dual-bladed spinny thing is supposed to be. If they're not bothering with banter, Ahsoka won't either. It’s almost gratifying to know that she’s annoyed them as much as they’ve annoyed her. For a moment, no one moves. Ahsoka catches her reflection on the blank, gleaming plate of the lead Inquisitor's helm and bares her fangs. The alley erupts into chaos. Motion. Heat. Ahsoka becomes the pure white eye of a blazing red hurricane. Ahsoka ducks and weaves around flashes of red lightning, some figurative, some literal. The air fills with the whirring chop of lightsabers spinning like buzzsaws, but Ahsoka isn’t intimidated. She darts through the chaotic melee with grace and poise, a far cry from the clumsy brutes arrayed against her, shoving past one another to land the prestigious killing blow, unable to press their advantage of numbers. And what numbers! There must have been a dozen Inquisitors packed into the gritty side street. Ahsoka wonders-- in the midst of darting aside sloppy slashes and swatting overly-telegraphed blows aside-- if they had simply joined forces as more and more of them picked up her trail, or if the Empire had sent so many after her from the very beginning. This many Inquisitors on the same planet, much less the same city, is astounding overkill. Ahsoka’s almost flattered. Filthy red light flashes through the air and cracks against Ahsoka’s blades. She shoves them back with a thought, feeling the Inquisitors’ frustration rippling through the air. The Inquisitorius seemed to think a red lightsaber and a nice hat were all it took to scare any fledgling Force-sensitives into submission. They must not be used to fighting a Jedi worthy of the name. But even if they were amateurs by comparison, there were a lot of them. And all it took was one slip, one break in Ahsoka’s guard… She sees the feint. Two low, one high-- two to sweep her legs, the third to catch her when she jumps. She curls her legs beneath her, lets the Force flow down from her core into the soles of her boots, and leaps over all three… ...only to see the waiting line of a half dozen hands, stretched, palm-out, towards her. The coordinated Push hits her like a freighter lighting its drives. It snatches her out of mid-air and hurls her down the length of the alley. Ahsoka wheezes as she’s smashed against the far wall, the breath forced from her lungs, her lightsabers clattering to the pavement. She crumples to her knees, hugging herself, a spiderweb of cracks spreading across the duraplast wall above. Ahsoka gasps, teary-eyed, willing some air back into her lungs. Her insides feel like jelly. Her vision blurs and shifts. She sees the shadows of the Inquisitors looming above her, closing in like wolves. One of them barks an order into his helmet mic, and the others stand aside. He strides forward to the head of the pack. He’s been hunting her the longest. This is his kill. Ahsoka swears she hears him lick his lips behind the mask. He ignites his lightsaber. It begins to spin-- A blaster clicks. The Inquisitor whirls and brings his saber up too late to deflect the shot that cracks against his arm. His lightsaber falls from numb fingers, still spinning, cutting glowing gouges in the pavement. Ahsoka twists the Force in her fist and dashes him against the wall. A hail of acid yellow bolts cascades down the alley, forcing the Inquisitors on the defensive. Their opponent stands at the entrance of the alleyway, casting a shadow that stretches narrow from their feet to titanic against the filthy alley wall. Ahsoka sees the shape of a hood and cloak, and when their blaster barks in their hands she catches the briefest glimpse of pale skin and a narrow, snarling mouth. A shiver runs through her. She feels it from the tips of her montrals all the way down to the pit of her gut. Ahsoka knows this stranger, but who-- She almost pays with her nose for her distraction. The Inquisitor whose helm she shattered against the alley wall leaps to his feet and lashes out with his spinning sabers, blood drooling from the cracks in his helm. Ahsoka catches a blade with her main saber and lets the motion of it drag the Inquisitor within thrusting range of her shoto. Another Inquisitor lunges, but a shot cracks against their helmet. A glancing blow, but it still distracts them long enough for Ahsoka to whirl and turn her thrust into a slash, searing through their saber arm. The Inquisitor falls. The other, with his spinning blades, lets out a ragged cry and pounces. Blaster fire harmonizes with the hum and crash of colliding sabers, a frantic, dissonant symphony. Something strange is at work here-- even if it weren’t for the horrible, lurching knot of familiarity sitting in her gut, the stranger’s shooting would have tipped Ahsoka off eventually. Blasters are great for crowd control. Blasters are great against people who couldn’t deflect them as easily as one might shoo an annoying insect. Blasters should not be anywhere near effective in a fight consisting entirely of Force-users. But this stranger’s shots are landing. Not lethally and not often, but the stranger is proving to be capable of more than just cover fire, and that-- that alone would be worth noticing. Unfortunately, it seems the Inquisitors have finally picked up on it. In frustration at being distracted from their quarry, the rear ranks of Inquisitors adjust their grip on their lightsabers and tighten their deflections. When the hooded gunner looses their next volley, the bright yellow bolts are angled right back where they came from. The stranger shifts their weight, darting away from their deflected fire with a speed and efficiency of movement that gives Ahsoka pause. If Ahsoka had had any doubt this was no ordinary concerned bystander, it’s long gone. An Inquisitor barks a garbled order over their helmet radio. Down the street, a squad of Purge Troopers rounds the corner, bringing their rifles up to aim. A second blaster appears in the stranger’s off-hand, as if conjured out of nothing. They gun down the troopers barreling down the street with clinical efficiency and absurd precision, single shots, quick, clean. They don’t even bother turning to look. And when the last trooper falls, the stranger turns their attention back on the alley, toggling from single-shot to full-auto with a click. A storm of searing yellow bolts stitches its way up the side of the neighboring complex. A creaking old fire escape is sheared from the wall. The Inquisitors cry out in alarm as the aging structure crashes down on their heads in a heap of sparking metal. Ahsoka channels the Force down into her feet and propels herself over the wreckage and the rising dust cloud, joining the stranger on the street. Already, she can hear the buzzing of spinning lightsabers scything through metal, the first Inquisitors emerging from the debris. In an instant, the stranger has their twin blasters up and firing. The stranger’s pushed their luck too far. The Inquisitor spins their ring blade, and this time, the storm of deflected bolts makes contact. An arm. A hand. The stranger cries out as a bolt clips their hood and the impact throws them to the ground. That voice. Ahsoka knows that voice-- A flash of red streaks past her face and stops just shy of carving into her chest. Ahsoka catches the blade on her own, grits her teeth, and slices her opponent open with a tight, scissoring slash. As the Inquisitor crumples, she sees two of his compatriots already rushing forward to take his place, the others already picking themselves off the ground. Ahsoka snarls, hunkering down against the renewed assault. The Inquisitors are finally getting serious-- or maybe she’s the one getting sloppy. Distracted. She’s distracted-- but she can’t get that voice out of her head. She senses the Inquisitor trying to sneak up on her from behind. She senses him, but she can’t stop him-- her lightsabers are locked against the two in front of her. Ahsoka grits her teeth. She cries out, takes a pair of glancing cuts along her bracers as she punches her blades across two throats. She feels something. A tug at her waist. Behind her. She whirls around, bringing her lightsabers up to defend. Too slow, too slow-- And she sees the Inquisitor go stiff as a board, a blade of acid yellow plasma punching through his spine and coming out through his chest. The stranger swipes the blade aside, and the man crumples. The woman-- and with her cloak pulled aside and her tunic hugging her curves, her womanhood is impossible for Ahsoka to ignore-- raises the yellow shoto in her uninjured hand, pulling her hood back up onto her head. Ahsoka blinks, her thoughts spinning. The shoto Anakin had given her years ago. Her empty belt pouch. The sensation of the Force pulling something from her belt. And those eyes. Though the woman tries to hide them under her hood, the yellow glow of her borrowed shoto catches her ocean-blue eyes, illuminating the faded arch of diamond tattoos across her nose. Ahsoka gasps. “Barriss?” Ahsoka’s senses flare in warning and she whirls around, catching an Inquisitor’s blade on her twin lightsabers. The Inquisitors descend upon them, snapping and snarling like wolves. Ahsoka stands her ground like a cliff against the sea, blocking strikes from every angle, swatting aside incoming attacks, letting her foes overreach, pull themselves off balance. And in her shadow, Barriss prowls, Ahsoka’s yellow shoto like a dagger of light in her hands. Barriss circles around like a jungle cat, hunting for weaknesses, plunging her shoto into every broken guard. The next few minutes feel like hours. Finally, the last member of the hunting party lies broken on the pavement, his helmet radio crackling. Barriss stabs him in the throat without batting an eye. Barriss deactivates the shoto and shifts it into her injured hand with a wince. One of her blasters, she scoops up from the sidewalk where she’d dropped it. The other, sparking from a ruptured power cell, she leaves where it fell. She turns to find Ahsoka staring, so intently she squirms and looks away. It takes Ahsoka a long moment to deactivate her lightsabers and put them away. Ahsoka exhales. It’s been years. What is she supposed to say? That’s when Ahsoka hears it-- the crackling of radio chatter. Armored boots hustling their way. “Where’s your ship?” Barriss asks-- the first words she’s said to Ahsoka in over a decade. “Why, you don’t think we can take ‘em?” Ahsoka asks dryly, with a daredevil grin. Barriss’ lips curl into something almost like a smile. Ahsoka feels a flicker of… something in her chest. Something old, and bittersweet. It doesn’t last. The blurts of helmet comms and tromping boots get ever closer. “Your ship,” Barriss echoes, rather more urgently. “...Right,” Ahsoka mutters. “Follow me.”

continue on ao3

#barrissoka #barriss offee #ahsoka tano #star wars #star wars: the clone wars #peents writes #product of two beautiful weeks of collaboration!!

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seoulnotes · 5 years

Text

Luce in altis | i. The Festival

S Y N O P S I S | Passed down from centuries worth of history, the remnants of a hatred between two kings reside in a small village that serves as a border between their two feuding kingdoms. y/n lives in that village and must seek aid from one of the kings. Her trust is tested when she learns of the king that is truly wicked.

C H A R A C T E R S | Kim Taehyung, Park Jimin, reader (y/n) ; (mentions of other members)

G E N R E | fantasy, romance, drama — royalty au

W A R N I N G S (chapter specific) | none

W O R D C O U N T | 5k

All parts here

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When I wanted to tag along with my older brother, Namjoon, on his hunting trip, my mother tugged the back of my shirt before I could step a single foot outside of the cottage door.

Namjoon turned to me with a sympathetic smile before a small, “Good luck,” was mouthed from his lips. With his quiver of arrows slung across his back and a bow in hand, he disappeared out the back door towards the woods. He had known what today was and that’s why he shot that sympathetic smile my way.

“Winter Solstice is tomorrow and that means tomorrow is the festival. You will have to spend today preparing for it and most definitely not wallowing in that forest getting dirty,” my mother seemed to scold me before I had the chance to speak. Her words were brief, but she was serious.

Tomorrow would be the Winter Solstice festival, a festival held on the longest night of the year. It’s the first night of the weeklong tradition where young women in the Village would be given the chance to change their status through marriage.

The tradition had been passed down through generations.

The week beginning with the Winter Solstice festival is also a week filled with bar fights fueled by hatred passed down from centuries ago from the War. The young lads fighting weren’t even of existence when the War happened, yet the Kingdoms passed down this hatred.

This week, magic would flood the Village once again from the hands of the nobles. The nobles of Hemera and Erebus come from their respective kingdoms to the Village to possibly find wives. No one knew why this became, but most would like to believe the bullshit fairytale of the young noble who fell in love with the poor girl from the Village we were told as naive children.

Although some have begun to look down on the tradition, many unwedded young women dreamt of being chosen.

Being chosen would mean living in one of the kingdoms and most important, moving up in the caste system. It would bring their family out of the dirt poor and although still stuck in the Village, they never had to worry about money. Their daughter would be able to provide.

I did not dream nor prayed to whatever gods would be listening to being chosen, but I could not hold anything against the tradition, no matter my personal opinions. After all, it is the only thing that could change our lives for the better. It is really the only hope we had.

You’d be lucky to have caught the eyes of a noble from Hemera. He would bring you the best life possible to live in the Kingdom of Light, but you’d still be lucky to be chosen by a noble from Erebus. Their king was cruel, and people were known to be as cruel as their king’s reputation made them out to be, but life would still be better than one in the Village.

“Come,” my mother grabbed my hand before lightly tugging me along. In her other hand was a coin pouch, a reasonable saving that had been saved yearly to be splurge on this event every year. Every piece of gold, silver, and copper that my family had leftover from a month’s spending was thrown into this pouch. It wasn’t much; perhaps, one month would only donate a few silvers and coppers and on a good day, maybe a gold piece. The pouch jingled as she moved, still pulling me to the front door. “We must pick up your new gown, some ribbons, and accessories today.”

Even the poorest of families splurged on the event every year. Of course, their daughters must be presentable to the unwedded nobles. Ribbons of the most beautiful and vibrant colors would be tied around the waist of our finest gown and tied into our hair along with other clips and bobbles. Mothers took out their finest jewelry they owned for their daughters to wear. If we were lucky, we’d get to purchase a new gown. This year, I was getting a new dress, booked at the tailor’s months in advance.

The chances were slim, but everyone still tried. Most of us would end up marrying back into this village, but some were lucky. Even so, we would be dressing up for the festival and not just to impress those from the kingdoms.

The town square was a ten-minutes walk away from my family’s small cottage.

A fresh layer of snow had covered the ground and upon spotting it, my mother had sighed. “At least, the snow hadn’t covered much. It won’t ruin the festival tomorrow.”

My worn boots crunched onto the snow beneath as I began walking down the path. Mother’s palm hit my back lightly as she tutted, “Straighten your posture. No husband would want his wife to have bad posture.” Her arm linked onto mine as I, myself, attempted to raise my neck slightly higher trying to bring my back straighter. I had thought my posture was perfectly fine.

Another week of girls being decorated for future prospector husbands to practically purchase like at the market, but there was no choice. One would only be selfish and hoping for their family to suffer if they didn’t participate in the event.

When I had entered the village’s center, chatter, and excitement warmed the winter’s bitter cold air. Mothers and daughters scattered about; the ribbon and jewelry shops crowded. They’d get the best business within this week.

“I heard the king of Erebus will be coming,” a pair, mother and daughter, spoke behind me. They weren’t far behind and I knew mother’s ears had perked up at this newly found rumor. “You must try to catch his eye.”

“Mother, no one even knows if this rumor is said to be true. It’s probably just a rumor and it would be silly for a king to come and choose a poor commoner to wed,” the daughter responded. Although, it was unmistakable the slight excitement laced in her tone at the chance of meeting a king and him being here to court a wife.

Mother pulled me from shop to shop for hours on end. She spent the most time at the damn tailor shop, checking over my dress over and over again. Thankfully, all the changes she wanted were minuscule enough to be done on the spot.

Only when she had been inspecting a particular hairpin for a minute and without turning her attention to me did I manage to slip away.

I glanced at her as she turned the hairpin over in her palm then placing it down and picking up another one. I imagined the pain my hair would feel tomorrow night when it was actually pinned up.

I took this time to make my escape. We were practically finished purchasing everything anyway; she won’t need me for anything else.

One last glance, she was still examining the pin and my feet began to back slowly. Once I had backed a few feet away, my eyes glanced at her one last time and I turned and bolted. I sped down the shops and turned a corner. I craned my neck once more to check and continued to speed walk myself into a wall, except the wall was not particularly firm.

“Ahem,” and walls most definitely did not speak. “I believe you had just run into me.”

My hand made its way to my forehead, a habit out of embarrassment. For an unknown reason, I didn’t conjure any words as my mouth was sealed shut. I lifted my head slightly and my stare caught his, but not long before my eyes wandered his face.

He was striking and I awed for the shortest millisecond at his beauty; the jawline his face bore and the beautiful pair of eyes.

“Can you speak?” The millisecond of admiration I had was gone with that tone dripping with arrogance. It was a shame his tone didn’t match the handsome face he bore.

My lips had begun to form an apology, but the moment his haughty question came out, it was gone. I lifted my head swiftly and narrowed my eyes. “Well, I was going to apologize for my misstep, but it seems I need not to.”

Surprise gleamed in his eyes at the response I conjured, and I took the chance to walk around the male, stepping to the side slightly and continuing in my path.

“Well, it’s alright since you bumped into me,” he spoke loudly, and that same cockiness was laced in his tone. I sighed and silently prayed that he wasn’t here to attend the festival and most definitely not here to choose a wife.

God save whoever had the marvelous honor.

—

“Namjoon!” I shouted at the entrance of the small meadow of the forest. A creek ran through the area and the forest opened up to a small piece of land surrounded by the trees, most of which were stripped bare from the winter with the exception of the evergreens.

He laid with his nose pointed at the sky and his eyes closed, ears listening to the sound of silence of no one. Next to him, the creek ran gently. Upon hearing your voice, he sat up, a feigned frown on his lips, arms crossed. “Mother is most definitely going to kill you for leaving her,” his deep chuckle escaped his mouth breaking his serious demeanor.

“How could I miss a day at this place?” I spun around once with my arms out. The warm sun was hidden behind clouds, but the meadow was never dark during the day for no trees covered the place.

Namjoon stood from his spot, cloak soaked from the snow and reached to the area next to him, a couple of rabbits he had hunted. “Not as lucky to find a deer, but it’s good enough, eh?”

I nodded. Namjoon was the reason our family was able to eat meat during winter without much of a cost aside from leaving money aside every month for arrows or parts for his bow when it needed repair.

We were grateful. Thankfully, our family wasn’t amongst the poorest, but we weren’t the wealth of the village either. It wasn’t like the wealth paid any attention to us commoners anyway. Although, the wealthy were nothing compared to the wealthy in the kingdoms.

With the sun finally peeking through the clouds, the layer of snow glistened and began to melt leaving me to step in slushy muddy snow.

We trudged down the path created from the use of the same trail for years back to our cottage. At the edge of the forest, our frozen garden and the back of our home came into view.

“Good luck,” Namjoon who was previously behind me had stood next to me. He patted my shoulder with one hand before beginning to walk towards our cottage.

Upon entering through the back door, I paced slowly, taking off my boots and making sure my steps were quiet on the old wooden floor.

“I’m home!” Namjoon shouted as he turned slightly right into the small kitchen area. The mapping of our cottage was onto two bedrooms, the main space divided into the sitting area with the fireplace to keep warm, and a small kitchen with a table for meals. There was an attic that Namjoon had used as his bedroom after having given me the actual bedroom when we had grown out of sleeping in the same room.

Namjoon’s shout had caused my mother to turn around from the stove at which she stood and upon seeing me behind him, an unpleasant frown was on her lips, but it seemed she already knew my ways and simply said, “Get changed and help me prepare dinner.” It was aimed towards me.

I let out a sigh of relief.

When I had finished changing, the sound of the front door shutting echoed through the cottage and I knew that my father had arrived home from his travels. He traveled with merchants and was part of the reason our family was more well off in the village.

“Father!” I was the first at the door having practically ran from my room to the front door. My arms had engulfed him in a tight hug. A clunk at his luggage hitting the floor sounded as his arms had risen to reciprocate the hug. When I let go, mother didn’t miss a second and Namjoon was beside me with a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

It was only truly home when the four of us were together.

And I swore in a strange way that this night’s dinner was the warmest we’ve had in a long time.

My father had, of course, mentioned the festival tomorrow night, wishing me the best of luck, but also added that he wouldn’t it would be okay and didn’t mind one bit if nothing happened this week.

I always was grateful he was more lenient than my mother.

—

The next day had passed by in a whirl of waking up early and preparing for the festival tonight. Mother had woken up at the crack of dawn as if the little light that slipped through the horizon had been an alarm. She had pulled me out of bed no later, practically having whipped the blanket from my bed and pulling at my ankles as I clung to the bed frame for dear life.

The sun was low in the sky by the time my mother had begun tying the ribbon around my waist.

What took so long? I have absolutely no idea.

I stood in front of a full-length mirror staring at the pale pink chiffon dress I wore, high in the neckline as usual, and the complimentary ribbon around my waist.

It was a tradition that the family would go out to the festival together and then if a noble had spotted your daughter, then they could wisp her way for the duration of the festival and return her home afterward. Sons of the Village would join the event as well, it was a celebration for all. Some might find their other half tonight.

Although I was fully dressed when the sun was low in the sky, it was hours until the moon would show herself and the festival would begin.

In those hours, my mother had taken it upon herself to gather various pigments used as cosmetics and add color to my lips and cheeks.

Then it was time for the festival. Just like my mother had said, by today, it was warmer, despite being the longest night of the year and the light coating of snow had melted during the day. My gown was long enough to cover my feet and I insisted on comfortable shoes but lost the fight when my mother had pulled out a pair of flats.

There was chatter among the air when we exited our cottage from nearby neighbors and the path in front of our cottage had more walking than usual; everyone heading to the village center for the festival. We joined them on the dirt path.

Before reaching the village center, the sound of multiple instruments playing in harmony had filled my ears along with a blend of voices. Lanterns were hung around and the four streets dividing from the village center were filled with people. Storefronts had stayed open selling little things here and there and some were selling various treats and foods.

Everything was lively.

Despite the looming tradition, this was my favorite time.

“You again.”

I really need to watch my way more. And I silently cursed underneath my breath before lifting my head.

A deep chuckle ruptured from him, “You really need to stop wanting to meet me.”

And all the while, my family had decided to distance themselves preoccupying themselves, especially my mother, with talking to a neighbor, but from the corner of my eye, she was flickering glances over.

I scoffed, before walking passed him. “I’ll make sure I won’t.” A hand wrapped around my forearm and I turned slightly. “Yes?”

“Um,” the male scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “I’m visiting and was wondering if you could show me around?”

His question had caught me off guard as sudden as it was. What the hell? “Excuse me, what?”

“It seems there’s a, uh, celebration going on.”

A part of me wanted to emit a sarcastic sounding ‘no really’ but I had refrained and settled with, “Mhmm,” while looking around without meeting his eyes.

“So,” he paused for a second, “Do you mind showing me around? Just for tonight since I don’t know really know what’s going on.” He gave an awkward half-smile.

There was a sudden spark in me and I don’t know why I responded with, “Fine.” Perhaps there was something charming in the way he was nervous in asking. Or perhaps it was the atmosphere of the festival that caused me to act rationally. I managed to return a slight smile.

Before I had even begun to walk towards my parents to inform them where I was going, my mother had her hands out ushering me to go. She then ran forward to hand me a small tin. “For your lips,” she whispered.

Absolutely ridiculous.

I turned around.

“I’m Taehyung, by the way.”

I slowly drew a breath, “y/n. Wait, Taehyung like the king?” My eyes widened at the conclusion I drew.

“Spelled the same way, pronounced the same way, but unfortunately, no, I’m not the king,” he smiled awkwardly, hand scratching the back of his head.

As we walked along the gravel path, I watched people passing by, happy, celebratory. He didn’t speak once so I took it upon myself to create conversation. I couldn’t abandon him after agreeing to show him around the festival. “So,” I drew out slowly, “Where are you from? Since you’re not from here.” It still came out awkward and my eyes remained in the ground.

Asking which kingdom he hailed from seemed impolite in my head, as if accusing him of lying for coming for the festival.

“From the kingdom,” he answered simply.

My brows crinkled in confusion and I tried to hide the small frown from appearing on my lips. He must’ve noticed anyways and quickly added on, in a quiet tone, “Erebus.” Silence settled between us and I rushed over to a nearby stall upon spotting the food. We’d walked down the food street unknowingly.

“Come on, it’s a favorite during this time of the year,” I briskly changed the topic and approached the stall selling sweets. “Two of them, please,” I pointed a finger toward the fresh pastry. I reached for the pouch hanging from my wrist and drew back the string as his hand reached over to stop me.

“How much?” As the woman behind the stall said the price, he had a piece of silver already in his hand as he handed the coins over with a smile, “You can keep the rest.”

“Thank you,” and immediately a wide smile spread across the woman’s lips. He was paying handsomely over the price she was selling.

Guess the people from the kingdoms definitely had different meanings to money from us villagers.

It only took one bite and his eyes grew wide. I grinned. “How is it?” I asked, although my tone gave way that I knew it was delicious and it was evident on his face.

His answer was another bite.

We reached the end of the street and turned around to walk the other side.

We spent hours roaming the few alleyways the village center, each with different goods to sell. The alley adjacent to the food alleyway was filled with arts: furniture handmade from craftsmen, paintings and portraits that the wealthy decorated their houses with. The other two diagonal alleyways contained thread, fabrics, and products made from them and the other filled with goods brought to the village from trade.

When we had finished, I showed him what our small village had to offer. We didn’t have the lovely treasured cities the kingdoms had nor the luxury most lived in, even their poor lived better off, but we had something. We had our own culture and community.

We arrived at the center again and I’d lost directions of where my family had gone. At this time, the sky was a display of hues, a rainbow of purples, pinks, oranges, and red and a group of musicians had gathered at the center of the wide opening. People still walked about, but many had stopped either to listen to the beautiful music the harmony of instruments played.

It was a tradition for the festival. The same musicians gathered playing every year, not really in hopes of making any money, but to build onto the lovely atmosphere.

I, myself, had stopped to wrap my arms around myself and stand in awe from the melody being played. It was then that a hand wrapped around mine and my glance moved to meet Taehyung’s eyes, dancing with a certain twinkle.

“Let’s dance,” his lips spread into a wide smile and for some reason, I could not refuse to the delight in his face. There had been a clearing near the group of musicians; no one had taken the first initiative to start dancing and Taehyung was pulling me towards it.

“No, I can’t dance,” I attempted to explain before we both looked like fools in the village center.

“No one would care, come,” he gave my hand another tug and I reluctantly followed.

The musicians had continued to play an upbeat song and Taehyung naturally led and I followed.

I laughed when I nearly tripped over myself trying to follow him and I saw a certain look on his face. “What?” My cheeks felt warm from his stare.

“Nothing, you’re doing great.”

“Great for a human who’s forgotten how to use her two feet,” I commented. In one pull, I was deadly close, and his lips were next to my ear and I could feel his breathing.

“I meant great for someone who claims they can’t dance,” and he pulled back just as fast as he came.

And suddenly, I felt like the most naive girl alive. My hand rose to my chest as I tried to swat at my stupid heart for that small jump it made.

We were the only ones half dancing and me half tripping over my feet for another minute before a few had joined us in the opening to dance. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so alone as I saw out of the corner of my eye, another girl blushing from a misstep. It seemed her partner had taken a liking to her already and didn’t care.

We danced with our feet following the rhythm of the music and me nearly falling half the time with my terrible ability to coordinate. We danced until my forehead was beaded in sweat regardless of the cold and I was nearly collapsing from laughter and there was utter happiness inside my chest. We danced until I felt sweat soak the back of my neck and my hair was out of place, but I didn’t care.

Even though my palms became slightly sticky from sweat, Taehyung didn’t let go once. After many upbeat pieces later, the other instruments had stopped, allowing the next piece to begin with the solo of a violin.

It was a slow piece. Everyone around us found their partners and we paused. My heart was still pacing and my breathing rapid.

My heart did the stupid skip for the second time tonight when Taehyung presented his hand as he slightly bowed. Without a second thought, I placed my hand in his as we began the slow dance. His hand placed itself onto the small of my back and the other still guiding my hand.

He must’ve seen my uneasiness and spoke quietly, “Just follow me.”

Once again, he extended his patience as my feet stepped on his multiple times.

“Sorry,” a guilt-ridden smile on my lips. He only smiled and shook his head.

“You’re doing fine.”

A silence filled the space between us, and a courage spiked me as I leaned closer. It wasn’t necessary, but when he didn’t back away, the space between us naturally became smaller.

It was so easy with him. In the hours that had passed, I broke an important rule to not trust a stranger easily, especially someone from the kingdom, yet, I felt that I had placed some trust in him regardless.

When the song had ended, I almost had a longing, a wish inside that didn’t want it to. We’d both pulled back slightly as the center filled with applause and we joined in applauding.

The musicians began another song, but most had begun to focus on the main event: the lantern release. The sun had completely set meaning the sky was a beautiful midnight blue. Vendors had appeared in the center with their handcrafted lanterns, each with different colors and paintings.

“What’s that?” Taehyung asked as his hand tapped on my arm.

“It’s time for the lantern release,” and I swore when I spoke, the smile on my lips was the widest they had been all night. It was mine, along with many others’ favorite part of the festival. “Come on.”

I had sworn I heard a chuckle erupt from him as I giddily skipped towards the vendors, but I didn’t care.

This time, I purchased both our lanterns, refusing the coins he handed my way.

“We light the lanterns at the bottom and make a wish,” I explained as we walked towards the river edge. It was away from the crowd at the village center and the chatter had become muted.

“I suppose the wish is what makes it magical?”

I looked down and shook my head. “No, actually, it’s seeing all the lanterns fill the sky for me. It means everyone got the chance to make a wish for something they want.”

As I glanced behind his head, it seemed the first of the lanterns had been released. “Come on,” I walked towards the small bridge.

I struck the match onto a nearby rock and lit his and followed with mine.

As the lantern released, I saw the light and joy dancing in his eyes. I released the breath I was holding, and it appeared in the air as cold smoke. The moment the lanterns reached a distance, I remembered to clasp my hands together and close my eyes.

A moment of silence passed, and I knew right beside me, he was also wishing.

“What did you wish for?” He asked from beside me. When I turned my head, he was still watching the sky with his eyes as the lanterns floated higher.

“As it goes, you can’t tell anyone or else it won’t come true,” I said, my tone teasing slightly. That’s what everyone said, birthday wishes, any wishes: don’t tell anyone or it won’t come true.

“Well I don’t believe in that,” he lowered his gaze, turning his head as his eyes met my stare. “I wished for peace.”

It sparked a curiosity in me and I asked, “For what?” My brows crinkled slightly.

“Everything.”

I didn’t know what it meant as an answer, but it felt like the only answer he could give and he had meant it. Whatever everything was in his life, he wished for peace.

Since he had told his wish, sighing I spoke, “I wished for happiness.” Well, it seemed both our wishes were simply worded, yet the hardest to grant.

He nodded, moving his glance to the lanterns shining upon the midnight sky. Silence settled between us, but it wasn’t the terrible silence. It was peaceful.

—

I ended up having to walk home from the festival and of course, Taehyung didn't let me walk by myself. If he had beheld the smile my mother had given him as he said his goodnights when he had turned around, I swore I would have been turned a million shades of pink and red.

“Mother!” I whispered when she looked ready to run after him.

I didn’t get rest until late that night when she continued to pester me of what we did at the festival and if he was nice. I hadn’t spoken of the kingdom he was from. I knew the judgment that would come from her.

“Was he nice? Did you dance with him?” The questions had been never-ending. My face flushed as I thought of the dancing and my mother elicited a cheer as I stayed silent, all yeses to her questions. My brother and father stayed on the other chairs, chuckling to themselves.

I was finally able to escape her questioning and gone to bed. I had to determine whether the night had made me tired or the insane questioning I had gone through. Yet, I still laughed to myself thinking of the day as I walked to my bedroom.

—

“Can you help me fill the vase with water?” My mother was at the stove, stirring porridge in a pot. “Trim the flowers’ ends and place them in too?” There was no doubt my father had bought a bouquet.

I happily did as I was asked, a smile adorned on my lips. Darn myself, I couldn’t get rid of it no matter how hard I tried. Something about being at the festivals with Taehyung last night and the amount of carefree happiness I experienced willed the smile to remain.

A knock sounded from the front door and I rose to answer it when a shout came from near the front. “I got it,” Namjoon’s footsteps sounded.

I finished the last of the flowers, placing them in the vase as Namjoon called for my father and mother.

When I had spotted a good place for the flowers, I started towards the spot on the table.

“I came here to ask for your permission for your daughter’s hand.”

I knew that voice and the flower vase in my hand slipped from my grasp and water slushed at my feet.

a/n

not much changed from the original except i really needed to edit it. hope you enjoy this chapter!

yours truly, Selene ♡

feedback <3

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my-proof-is-you · 5 years

Text

The Greatest Punishment - Ch. 7

Summary: You and Dean were happy together. The only thing that really frustrated you in your life was the hatred you felt from his brother. You didn’t even know what you had done to him. You just knew that he couldn’t stand you, and the feeling was mutual.

As events unfold, will all that change? You never know what can bring people together.

“To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves.” -Federico García Lorca, Blood Wedding and Yerma

**I do not own any gifs or pics

Masterlist | Tag Yourself!

Song referenced: Misguided Ghosts by Paramore

After an evening of downing shots, you were pretty drunk. Sam had stayed sober enough to drive, thankfully. He took you both back to the bunker in the wee hours of the morning. He had to help you out of the car because you were swaying so much.

When you got right outside the bunker door, you stumbled some more and Sam had to catch you so you wouldn’t hit the hard ground.

“Okay, Stumbly,” he said, picking you up and carrying you bridal-style, “let’s get you to bed.”

As he carried you, you closed your eyes from the dizziness and haze the alcohol gave you. You leaned into Sam’s shoulder and caught a whiff of his natural smell. He smelled of books, pine, and a manly musk that you couldn’t put your finger on.

You took the hand that was around his neck and lifted it to touch the soft ends of his hair. His hair was silky smooth, and you were almost jealous of it.

“S-Sam Winchester, do you use c-conditioner in your hair?” You slurred.

You felt his chuckle reverberate through his chest. “Yeah. You won’t remember that tomorrow anyway,” he said, still chuckling.

“Don’t you underestimate me, Sammy,” you said in a voice that didn’t come out as stern as you had meant it to.

Soon you were at your room and Sam opened the door and turned on the lights before laying you down on the bed. He pulled off your shoes for you and you wriggled under the covers.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” he said, turning to leave.

“Sam?” You asked before he got to the door.

“Yeah?” He asked, turning around.

“Why did you hate me so much?”

Sam stood looking at you for a few moments, unsure of what to say. “We should really talk about that some other time, Y/N.”

“But I wanna know!” You whined.

“And you will,” he said, walking over and kneeling next to your bedside. “But right now you just need to sleep.” He leaned over and placed a small kiss on your forehead, and you felt your cheeks warm. He pulled back and looked into your eyes, and you felt your heart speed up a bit. Within seconds, though, he was gone. He closed your door, leaving you in your dark room. You didn’t have much time to think about the moment, though, before the exhaustion and alcohol took you into a deep slumber.

The next morning you woke to a sliver of light shining on your face. You opened one eye and immediately squinted it when the bright light hit it.

“Oh, God,” you said, your hand going to your throbbing head.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Sam said, walking into your room.

“Ugh, kill me,” you said with a raspy voice.

“Here,” Sam said, handing you some aspirin and water. You sat up and took them gratefully.

“God, did I drink the whole bar last night?” You asked.

Sam sat down next to you. “You had a lot. Do you even remember it?”

“I remember most of it,” you said, trying to smooth your wild hair down. “I remember laughing a lot.”

A small smile graced Sam’s face. “We did have a pretty good time. I think there was a pretty clear correlation between the amount of alcohol you were drinking and the amount of fun we were having. You were pretty entertaining.”

It was true. It was the first fun you had in the time since Dean’s death, and it was nice.

“Well it was good to get out. We’ll have to do it again sometime so I can practice some moderation.”

“That sounds good,” he said. He smiled at you, and for once it reached his eyes. You hadn’t seen him smile like that in a long time, and you noticed how handsome his face was. It was already handsome usually, but when he smiled—wow.

Sam patted you on the knee and got up to leave. You spoke just before he reached the door again.

“I didn’t forget about our conversation last night,” you said. He stopped in his tracks but didn’t turn around. “You will tell me why you hated me so much.”

Sam stood with his back to you for another moment before continuing out the door, leaving you alone.

After your conversation the two of you had a few days where you didn’t spend much time together. You spoke enough to know that you both had been searching for cases, though. You finally got a hit on something and went to tell him about it. It was fairly late at night, but you hadn’t heard the sound of Sam shuffling down the hall to bed, so you figured he was still up researching.

“Hey, Sam, what do you think about this hunt—“ you began, walking into the library. You stopped mid sentence when you saw him.

Sam was sitting at the table but he was sort of slumped over. There were bottles everywhere—beer, whiskey—all empty or almost empty.

“H-hey Y/N!” He slurred.

“Hey, Sammy…” you said. He was clearly three sheets to the wind.

“Y-you wanna drink?” He asked.

“No, I’m good. I’m not sure there’s any left anyway,” you said, picking up an empty bottle and trying not to laugh. You pulled out a chair across from him and sat down. “Been drinking a bit there?”

“Yeah. I-I just-st needed a break,” he responded, leaning forward on the table.

“A break from what?” You asked. You looked at his face. His cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, and his long chestnut hair was disheveled. His pupils were dilated, and you could barely see any of the hazel irises he had.

“A break from being sad.” Your heart clenched a little at his words. You knew exactly how he felt. The pain and sadness was unending. You almost envied him, but you knew that the pain wasn’t even really gone when you were drunk.

“Well, Sam, you know you could have come to talk to me. You didn’t have to do this,” you said, gesturing to the bottles.

Sam shook his head with his eyes closed. “Nah, I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” You asked.

He leaned forward and gestured for you to come closer like he was going to tell a secret. “D-don’t wanna get too clos-se,” he said.

“Too close to me?” You asked, backing away a bit from his alcohol-soaked breath. “Why would you say that?”

He scrunched up his face and shook his head. If you weren’t concerned about him, it would have actually been adorable.

“It’s a secret,” he said finally.

“Does it have to do with why you hated me?” You asked. You knew it probably wasn’t right to take advantage of his state to get information, but you had been dying to know what you did wrong.

“H-Hated you? I never hated you, Y-Y/N,” he said with puppy dog eyes.

“I think you did, Sam,” you said. There was no misinterpreting his actions back then.

“I love you, Y/N. Not hate. Love,” he said. Your eyes grew wide at his statement. You weren’t sure if this was just Drunk Sam talking—like how you love everything when you’re drunk—or if he meant it. You knew now was not the time you were going to find out, though.

“Alright, cowboy, let’s get you to bed,” you said, standing up and walking to his side of the table.

“Dean loved cowboys,” he muttered as you helped him stand.

“He sure did,” you said, helping him to put his arm around you.

“Ha, you’re short,” he said before bursting out into what could only be described as giggles.

“Another ringer,” you said sarcastically.

“Now it’s your turn to put me to bed,” he said, booping your nose with his index finger. You were surprised he was coordinated enough to even do that.

Walking him to bed was no easy task. He was swaying everywhere and he was a lot of inches taller than you. When you finally got him to his room, he plopped down on the bed, laid on his stomach, and immediately started snoring. You pulled his shoes off for him and laid a blanket over him before turning off the light. You stood for a moment in the doorway, watching him sleep by the light coming in from the hallway.

Sam had insisted twice now that he never hated you.

Then what the fuck was his problem?

After Sam recovered from his hangover, the two of you headed out for the hunt you had found. You were a little nervous getting back to hunting, and a lot emotional going without Dean.

The two of you didn’t speak of the night he was drunk. You had taken care of him with aspirin and water like he had for you, and even cooked him a greasy breakfast, which he ate under duress, saying it was “so unhealthy.” You made him eat it, though, since you knew it would help soak up the alcohol and cure his hangover faster.

Sam poked you, bringing you out of your thoughts. He was driving the Impala. Neither of you had wanted to take it, but it was the only car that was all set up for hunting.

“You okay?” He asked.

You shook your head a little to clear it. “Yeah. This is just hard. But you know that.”

Sam nodded with a sigh. “Should we listen to some music?” He asked.

You smiled a little and pulled out Dean’s box of cassettes. You found the perfect one and popped it in.

When the opening of “Ramble On” by Led Zeppelin came on Sam turned to you and smiled. You smiled back through tears, starting to sing along to what was Dean’s favorite song.

The rest of the drive was weird, but good. You and Sam talked openly about Dean for the first time since he died. You listened to all his favorite tapes, different songs reminding you both of different memories you had with Dean. You told stories and laughed and cried together. By the end of the trip, you felt closer to Sam than you ever had.

He pulled up to the motel where you were staying. It was in a small town that was just outside of Sioux Falls. Jody had emailed you info about the case and you had looked into it before deciding to go. It was a pretty cut and dry vampire case, but Jody was so busy with the girls that she didn’t have time to take care of it.

Since you arrived late at night, you checked into the motel to sleep before starting in on the case in the morning. You opened the door to room number twenty, whose numbers were barely hanging on by their screws.

The only room available had only one bed, so you and Sam were going to have to share. You were a little nervous about it. Not only were you going to share a bed with a giant, but you would be sharing a bed with someone for the first time since Dean.

“So, are you sure you’re okay with this?” Sam asked, gesturing around the tiny room.

“It’s fine, Sam.” You put your bag down on the bed and grabbed everything you needed to take a shower. You went into the small bathroom and started the shower. You took a fairly long shower, letting the warm water wash away your nerves. You sang as well, something that always made you feel better.

Now I’m told that this is life

And pain is just a simple compromise

So we can get what we want out of it

Would someone care to classify

Our broken hearts and twisted minds

So I can find

Someone to rely on

And run to them, to them

Full speed ahead

Oh you are not useless

We are just misguided ghosts

Traveling endlessly

The ones we trusted the most

Pushed us far away

And there’s no one road

We should not be the same

I’m just a ghost

And still they echo me

They echo me in circles

You stopped singing and turned off the shower, drying yourself off. You put on your pajamas and left the bathroom, drying your hair with the towel.

Sam was sitting on the bed. He wasn’t doing anything, which kind of took you aback. Usually he would be researching some more or preparing for the next day’s case.

“What’re you doing?” You asked. He looked up from the floor and at you.

“I was listening to you,” he said.

“To me singing?” You asked. You blushed a little when he nodded. “That’s embarrassing.”

You hung the towel over a chair and sat down next to him on the bed. He turned to you, his face serious.

“Y/N...don’t be embarrassed. You honestly have the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard.”

You didn’t know what to say. No one had ever said that to you.

“I mean that,” he said, his eyes meeting yours.

You couldn’t speak. He was being so heartfelt and sweet. Your heart sped up, and Sam’s eyes were shifting from yours to your lips. He slowly leaned in, and you weren’t going to stop him.

That is, until you remembered something.

“Sam,” you whispered. Your lips were inches apart. “I can’t do this. I need to know why you hated me.” You leaned back, taking in his disappointed face.

“Y/N, I told you, I never hated you,” he said, running his hands through his hair.

“Sam, you and I both know that’s not true. You treated me like shit every day, and I never gave you any reason!”

Sam stood up, pacing and running a hand down his face. “I had to, okay? I had to push you away!”

“Why, Sam?” You asked angrily.

“Because I was in love with you!” He yelled. You sat frozen at his words. “I am in love with you. I’ve been in love with you pretty much since the day we met.”

“Wha...h-how…” you stuttered.

Sam sat next to you again. “That’s why I acted the way I did. And I’m sorry, I know I was horrible. I shouldn’t have acted like that and I shouldn’t have said the things I did.”

You still said nothing, unable to form words.

“Honestly, if Dean hadn’t asked you first, I would have asked you out. But I didn’t, and I regret it everyday. But...he was my brother. And I knew if I was nice to you—if we had a friendship—I would just want you more.”

Everything he was saying was just confusing you. You couldn’t wrap your head around it.

“Y/N...I never wanted to do anything to make you uncomfortable. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you this. It’s just...since Dean died, I knew I couldn’t be a jerk to you anymore. We needed each other to get through this.”

He reached up and grazed your face with the back of his hand before tucking stray hair behind your ear. “I know I couldn’t get through this without you.”

You were so conflicted. Getting close to Sam had been great, and something felt...right about it. But you felt like you’d be betraying Dean if you took it any further. Plus, could you really forgive him that easily for treating you the way he did before?

“No.”

“No, what?” He asked

“No, I can’t do this. You—you were awful to me. You could have just been honest, but you were awful instead.”

“Y/N, I—“ he began.

“No,” you cut him off. “Let’s go to bed. We have a hunt in the morning.” You quickly got under the covers, putting yourself as close to the edge of the bed as you could. You heard Sam sigh before the lights were turned out and the bed moved next to you as he climbed in.

You tried hard to sleep but knew it would be almost impossible after the discussion you just had.

Forevers:

@malfoysqueen14 @divadinag @lynne1993 @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @infj-slytherclaw @onethirstyunicorn @sammykb1994 @lilulo-12 @mellorine-paprika @tranquility-or-chaos @collette04 @differentstudentrunaway-e70bf763 @hoboal87 @bi-danvers0 @miraclesoflove @defenderrosetyler @babypink224221 @fabfan00 @calaofnoldor

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