#this is all for now but if i think of anything else i’ll make a second post abt it!!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cloudedgalaxies · 3 days

Text

One Night Remains

Leona Kingscholar loves sleep more than anything else in Twisted Wonderland. So he is determined to continue sleeping all through the night when he has to host two freshmen crashing in his dorm for taking a rather stupid deal he had nothing to do with. It wasn't his problem.

Yet for some absurd reason, the three nights that the prefect stays in Savanaclaw, he doesn't get a wink.

Chooser, Chosen

(part one) (part two) (part three) (read on AO3)

Word count: 7.7k | (this is the song Yuu sings during that one part :3)

Leona wanted to rip his ears out. As small as Grim and Yuu were, he hadn’t known that they could be so loud. Or so shrill. It could only be called singing by the most insane souls in Twisted Wonderland. Ruggie had almost tried to escape when they’d started shrieking at the top of their lungs, but if Leona had to endure this torture, then so did he.

“Fine,” he finally spat out, sick of covering his already-flattened ears with his hands. Their voices still got through the tiniest of spaces that he didn’t know he wasn’t covering, and he had no idea how. “Quit your screeching.”

Yuu was quicker to stop than Grim. He seemed to be especially enjoying this, Leona found. But a particularly sharp glare shut him up just fine, he also found, and finally, his ears were saved. “You’ll help us?” the weasel asked, voice hoarse from how he’d been belting without a care in the world just a moment ago.

If it was up to him, he wouldn’t be doing any of this at all. But Leona ran a hand down his face, while his ears rang and throbbed even after they’d closed their mouths. “We’ll see. That’s the best you’re goin’ to get,” he added, giving Yuu a warning look as she opened her mouth again. “Give it a rest.”

“Please never sing again. I don’t think I could take it,” Ruggie begged, looking everything like he would ram his head into a wall if they started back up. Leona would probably join him. “You’re a lot crueler than you look, Yuu.”

Out of everything she could have done, the herbivore grinned. Leona almost wanted to ask where the audacity came from, to be that cheeky while she goaded a lion in his own den. “I’m taking Leona’s advice,” she told him, making the housewarden scoff when he heard it. That only made her grin widen, annoyingly. “I’ll use my spine on you, too, thanks.”

“That’s just askin’ to get taught a lesson,” he growled back, but found that she hardly seemed scared at that. What a strange herbivore she was. “You got a plan, or are you expecting us to go in blind?”

It didn’t take her long to make the final touches in her head before putting it into words. She told them all about what she’d gone through the past two days, and what her torture had taught her about the Octavinelle groupers. And as loathe as Leona was to admit after she had nearly rendered him deaf and crazy, he found that her plan could almost work. “Wow.” Ruggie whistled, and Leona could tell that he was seeing Yuu in a new light. Leona was too, if he was being honest. She wasn’t all that doe-eyed anymore, he supposed. “That’s pretty gusty. Sure you can handle it?”

Yuu just shrugged. “I’ve dealt with them for the past two days, and I’m still standing.”

“What’ll you do if it ends up going sideways?” Leona asked.

That just made her grin again. Leona fought the urge to sigh and just go to bed. “Are you saying you think you’ll mess up?”

Again with the spine. Leona couldn’t stop himself from smirking, as his tail swished with something he almost wanted to call amusement. “I can handle the cephalo-punk just fine. I’m sayin’ I don’t exactly have my utter faith in you to make it work. No offense.”

Leona didn’t know how to feel when Yuu’s grin did not lessen. If anything, that same dastardly, twisted glint from her first night there returned, much more visible now than before, now that she didn’t have the same naive look about her. “If I can’t go back to Ramshackle, you’ll just be seeing a lot of me every night,” she told them, even throwing in a cheeky wink as she did right alongside Grim.

His smirk dropped. “Are you threatenin’ me?” Leona was strangely more surprised than angered. Yuu just shrugged. She shrugged, out of all the things she could have done. Leona didn’t know if he’d wanted one answer over the other to be perfectly honest, but the lack of a clear one certainly wasn’t what he’d hoped to get as a response. He sighed the deepest sigh he had in a long time, holding his forehead as his eyes rolled. It was strange how he was trying his hardest not to laugh even though he felt like he should definitely be a bit more offended than he was. “Here I thought you were a goody two-shoes.”

“I’m certainly more of one than most students here. You included, I’m afraid.” Leona had to make himself give her a hard look instead of let that laugh get even closer to finding its way out of his throat. “It’s up to you if you two want to help us. We’re not forcing you to do anything.”

Of course they weren’t. Grim snickered, sounding a suspicious amount like Ruggie while the sophomore sighed instead. “Only for you, you scavengers,” he grumbled, ears flicking as he mirrored the look Leona had. Except, it was directed at his housewarden a moment after he’d shot it at the herbivore. “What’d you tell him, Leona?” He wished he’d said nothing at all, now that it was giving him this much grief. How did everything become Leona’s messes to clean up in the span of one night?

“You’d better hurry ‘n get some rest,” Grim taunted, a smirk on his face that was much too arrogant for a pipsqueak like him. “This could be your last night of quality sleep, y’know.”

“I’ll get right on that, O Great Grim,” Ruggie leered, shooting both Ramshackle students one last dour look. “Sure glad I ain’t rooming with you guys right now.”

“Says the one who got this all started in the first place,” Leona shot right back, turning his glare over to his dormmate instead of his freeloaders. As Ruggie slinked out of his room, the lunatic grinned at him, giving Leona a wink just as he shut the door. Leona didn’t want to know what exactly was running through the hyena’s head, but he was certain that if he ever found out, he’d want to do more than just beat him in spelldrive.

And then it was just the three of them once again, in beautiful, blissful silence. Only to be ruined once more when Grim started talking again. “You really should be more villainous, minion. It gets stuff done,” he mused, giving her a grin as he hopped onto the couch. Then he yawned, already curling up on the cushions before Leona himself had the chance to make it back to his bed. “I think I’ll sleep, too.”

“You really think you get to, after the stunt you just pulled?” Leona growled, making Grim’s fur bristle as his eyes shot back open at the tone. There were so many ways to make him pay. Leona was having a hard time deciding just which exactly he wanted to execute on the weasel that night.

But then Yuu—stubborn, arrogant, persistent Yuu—just had to smile at him, in a way that was just apologetic enough yet still sure of herself to make his anger dissipate. “We need all the sleep we can get if we’re going to get tomorrow to work,” she reasoned, and Leona didn’t know how to feel about the way he didn’t really want to fight her. “It’ll get us out of your hair, at the very least.”

Leona scoffed, flicking his tail as he rolled his eyes. “This is the last night you’re gettin’ free board,” he reminded, trying to look like he was still irritated more than he really was. “Even if this doesn’t work.”

“Thank you for letting us stay here for the three nights you’ve already let us,” Yuu told him anyway, making his tail swish all the more. “We haven’t been the greatest houseguests.”

“Is that so?” he mused flatly. “Can’t say I noticed.”

She smiled at him again, a little more apologetic than before. So Leona rolled his eyes, dismissing her attempt to apologize when he hadn’t demanded one in the first place. Then she sighed when she turned around, finally catching the way that Grim had taken advantage of her diffusing the situation to fall into slumber. He was already long gone somehow, despite being in the lion’s den that nearly became his grave. Leona didn’t know if it was foolishness or arrogance on Grim’s part, but either way, it wasn’t the greatest testament to prove there was much of a brain in the weasel’s skull.

“One of these days, I’ll beat him to sleep.” There were the hints of a laugh in Yuu’s voice, as she reached out to gently tug the blanket higher on Grim.

“Maybe I’ll get to sleep, too,” Leona added bitterly. It made that laugh become stronger, ringing in his ears despite how quiet it still was.

“Unless we mess up tomorrow,” she reminded, with that devilish smile that only seemed to get more evil each time she flashed it. “Then neither of us will, ever again.”

That laugh returned, louder now as Leona glowered at her with a swishing tail. Yuu just gave him a grin, so he forced his expression to become even darker. “Why are you helpin’ him, herbivore?” he asked, finding that he wanted to know the answer now, when it was all of a sudden his problem, too. “Helpin’ any of the suckers who made a deal, for that matter. It wasn’t your mess to clean up.”

Yuu shrugged. It made Leona’s glower become a bit more real than it had been. “They made some bad decisions. We all do that. They should have known better, but it isn’t right for them to have to suffer so much for a mistake. And besides, some of them are my friends.” Maybe she was still doe-eyed after all, Leona found himself thinking. She looked up at him with those innocent eyes, and the faintest smile appeared on her face. “Why are you helping me?” she asked, making something weak in him almost startle.

Leona gave her an unamused stare in return. “If you really have to ask that, maybe you’re more dimwitted than I thought.”

She giggled. Leona’s tail swished just a bit stronger. “Of course. I hope the great Leona Kingscholar can forgive my threatening of his sleep.” That was all it was. She smiled at him, in that way that told him she was apologizing silently.

There were so many levels of disrespect to that comment that Leona didn’t even want to start unpacking it. So all he did was growl in reply, watching with slitted eyes as she crouched to dig through her bag. It was to get her magic potion, Leona realized, as she procured a small vial that held liquid that was an iridescent, shimmering black. He didn’t exactly think it was the safest looking thing to drink, he realized as he glowered at it. It didn’t matter that it came from the headmage—for all the years Leona had been at Night Raven College, he’d known the man to cut corners and skimp whenever possible. There could be a thousand things wrong with that potion, that Yuu was foolish enough to swallow and take without any questions asked.

Before he could school his features back to normal, the herbivore just had to glance up at him, catching the way his eyes smoldered. “Professor Crewel told me it’s safe. There aren’t any lasting side effects if I stop taking it,” she told him, irritatingly guessing the reason behind his annoyance correctly. “Doesn’t stop it from tasting disgusting, though.”

“Whatever you say,” Leona mused, putting the dull tone of boredom in his voice. He still watched as she uncapped the vial, feeling something strange grip his insides as the potion disappeared behind her lips, eliciting a faint grimace to darken her expression. Leona didn’t know how to feel about the way it made something sour his own tongue, as though he had been the one to take the potion instead of her.

He watched Yuu carefully in those first few moments after she took it. If nothing else, it was certainly effective. The air shimmered around her just like the potion in every way it could—it almost seemed like stardust had surrounded the herbivore for a few seconds, as it glittered in the space around her while it did something magical to her scent. It was the same thing that had happened the first night, and the second. But now he was able to watch and study, to see just what exactly the potion did to her to hide her in plain sight.

Only when Yuu gave him a half-uncertain smile did Leona finally realize that he’d been staring. She’d had this happen to her every night since she’d gotten to this world, no doubt, so Yuu was hardly fazed in the slightest. It left her able to see just how Leona watched her, trying to figure out just what it was that was happening to her. “Some potion he gives you,” he mused dully, pretending he hadn’t been caught. “There’s ancient magic in there.”

She hadn’t been told that, it seemed, because Yuu looked surprised. “There is?” Leona hummed as a substitute for a nod. There had to be a jumble of spells and enchantments weaved together to make something that could do so many things at once. For it to be so potent, there was no doubt there were some parts so archaic that Leona was surprised they still existed. “You can tell?” she asked. Her surprise changed to awe as he hummed again, making her eyes sparkle and shimmer like the potion. “Just from seeing it?”

“Isn’t all that hard, once you know what to look for.” Even so, Leona felt the hints of something proud tug his lips up into something of a smirk, as Yuu continued to look at him in that way. “You’re starin’, herbivore,” he purred, finding that he wanted to see if he could get back at her for the way she’d tormented him earlier.

He almost chuckled at the way she startled, blinking hard as she clasped her hands together and stared down at them instead. It let him catch the hints of pink rising to her ears, no doubt dusted on her cheeks as well. “Sorry.”

“Sure ‘ya are.” The pink darkened.

Worry stung his nose again, but it wasn’t as sharp as it had been before, during the nights when she had been distressed. It was gentle, if anything. It reminded Leona of a fluttering heartbeat, which he wondered if Yuu’s was doing when his smirk deepened. “We should go to bed,” she decided, and Leona wondered what insane part of him it was that almost wanted to stay up just a bit longer.

“Oi. Where do you think you’re going?” he asked instead, making Yuu pause from how she’d nearly joined Grim on the couch yet again. “Come here.”

The herbivore blinked again, that awe swapped out for confusion. “I didn’t think you’d want me to sleep there after I threatened you.”

“So you did threaten me.” Leona grinned at the way that made her face flush once again, changing that pink into a true red. “I ain’t about to banish you just ‘cause you got more arrogant.” Yuu rolled her eyes a little, but she listened anyway, crawling onto the bed alongside him. Even though the potion had messed with the way she smelled, Leona could still make out his scent was on her without much effort, surrounding her just like that stardust had.

He wondered if it would still, once she was no longer staying in Savanaclaw. “I wouldn’t blame you, if you did,” she admitted. “I wasn’t the greatest of people just now.”

“If you think that was somethin’ real terrible, then you haven’t been in this school long enough.” That got Yuu to smile, the tiniest of laughs escaping her lips. Leona’s ears twitched at it, how it still seemed to echo in his mind without fail. “You gotta earn your place, though,” he told her, smirking at the way that made Yuu look at him in equal parts surprise and suspicion. “Sing something for me, if you like bein’ a songbird so much.”

Her head tilted ever-so-slightly, and Leona found himself thinking that it was almost cute, the way she did that when she was confused. The thought was instantly shoved out of his head with a scowl. “You practically just begged me to not do exactly that,” she reminded, the hints of a disbelieving grin appearing despite the way her brows knit together.

“You’re more delusional than I thought if you think I’d ever beg for anything.” Leona hummed as he laced his fingers behind his head, leaning back to let his back touch the headboard. “That couldn’t have been your best shot. Maybe it was the weasel’s, but not yours.”

Leona’s suspicions were proved right when the herbivore huffed, bringing her hands up to nervously fidget her hair into the beginnings of a braid. Maybe she really was a songbird. She certainly got as flighty as them when she was anxious, always moving in whatever way she could manage. “I haven’t really sung for anyone before,” she admitted. “Except my brother.”

The smirk on Leona’s face just grew all the bigger. “Even better. I’m your first,” he purred, making Yuu huff again and shoot him a glare that wasn’t all that sharp when her face was that flushed. “Shouldn’t have sang anything if you weren’t prepared for the consequences.”

Yuu gave him a pouty look, but she didn’t say anything else to argue with him. A sigh found its way out of her chest as she finished braiding her hair and lost her excuse to stay silent, eyes darting across something Leona couldn’t see. He almost thought she was going to deny him. And something strange and oddly gentle inside Leona told him that, if she really didn’t want to, he wouldn’t press. The next time she said anything to get out of it, he would let her.

But then she took in a breath, parting her lips. And she started to sing, making Leona quiet even his breaths so that he could listen.

It was different from before, when Yuu had been screaming at the top of her lungs like a banshee. Her voice started off shaky and hesitant at first, almost fumbling over the first few words as nervousness rolled off her in waves. But then it became a little more confident, as she got through the first verse without a single complaint from Leona. It lost the tremble, replaced with something more intentional that wasn’t quite vibrato, but something just enough to make his ears stay pinned on her.

Yuu was not the best singer by any means. Nothing about her singing was remarkable—it was as ordinary as it could get. She didn’t look at him, eyes fixated on something invisible to Leona but almost seemed to act like a lifeline to her. Especially when her face had dusted pink, growing deeper in shade for every note she sang. He decided that was alright, he found. Leona wasn’t sure what he looked like at that moment, when he realized that Yuu’s voice might be one of the prettiest things he’d heard. He certainly wasn’t sure what he looked like when she reached the chorus, words making him almost sit up as he watched and listened.

I've spent a thousand nights

Lost in your emerald eyes

Lost in a place where I know

You can see my soul

Make me lose track of time

You and your emerald eyes

Finally found a place that I can call my home.

The last remnants of the song dissipated in the wind as she finished, as the words and melody echoed in Leona’s ears again and again. She blinked, and it seemed as though she’d come out of a trance when her hands tugged on the shirt of his she’d all but taken at this point, finally mustering a sheepish glance over at Leona. He was staring at her, he realized with a start, flicking his ears as he recollected himself. It was almost hard not to, when he’d realized that the glow of the moon and stars suited her so eerily well.

Leona smirked to hide that fact, laughing silently to himself about how it made her shoulders rise in embarrassment. “Not bad,” he mused, watching as she hid behind the hand fixing her glasses. “Better than your little performance earlier, at least.”

“I’m better with instruments,” she murmured, still fiddling with her shirt. “My voice isn’t the greatest, to be honest.”

Even though he had absolutely no reason to, Leona found his smirk becoming a bit more teasing. “Where’s that spine now?” Yuu rolled her eyes shyly, making his tail flick in amusement. It was only then that he realized it had found its way around the herbivore, curled around her so that the tip rested on her other side. “If you’re going to use it on me, then use it when you have reason to. Like now.”

At least she didn’t seem to notice his tail. So he kept it there. If he tried to move it away, she would just catch sight, Leona reasoned with himself. That would end up causing him unnecessary issues to deal with at a time he didn’t want to give himself any more problems than he had already. “Do you treat all herbivores this way, or just me?” she asked, the hints of a tease in her voice.

Leona’s smirk grew. “Who knows.”

She gave him a look that wasn’t at all sharp when she could hardly keep from laughing. “Fine,” Yuu relented, sighing a little as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Don’t regret that later, okay?”

The second part of what she said almost went over Leona’s head. It was almost impossible to listen, when he found himself the closest to the scar he’d given her than he’d ever been. He could only try to figure out how she hadn’t been keeled over when she’d first gotten it—how she wasn’t in pain even now, when it looked pink and tender while it still healed. But she’d somehow been the first person he saw when he came to, on that spelldrive field he’d almost turned to sand.

Yuu seemed to know that something had changed with Leona. Her smile changed a little too, growing softer and a little smaller. And for some reason, that made him feel like she was reassuring him. “I—” Leona started, then stopped, finding that his throat was strangely dry. Too dry to keep going, with words he didn’t have. He sighed, pushing his bangs up with his hand as unease churned his stomach. Even if he thought about it for longer than he did, he wasn’t sure if he’d been more unsure of what to say. “What did I do?” he finally got out, and he was displeased with the way his voice sounded. It did not tremble—a lion’s roar could never tremble—but it was not sure. It was not confident, like a prince—a king—should always be.

Leona wasn’t confident he wanted to know. It had been intentional, the way he hadn’t asked Ruggie or Jack anything about what happened that day. All he knew was that when he woke up, his body had ached like nothing before, while sand clung to him like a miasma. Yuu had taken up all of his vision, even though scarlet blood dripped from her head like rubies and matted her hair with grains of sand to make them look like golden flecks. And she hadn’t seemed to care in the slightest about what she looked like, because everything about her had been fixated on him when it shouldn’t have.

Then the herbivore came into his dorm, smiling at him like he was someone worth looking at. She did that even now, when Leona was certain that all she should feel towards him was nothing but hate and resentment. “You made a bad decision.” Leona’s tail thumped on the mattress, certainly loud enough for Yuu to hear. She didn’t look at it. All she looked at was his eyes, with her own that were much too seeing for her own good, even when she was without her glasses making everything clear. “We all do sometimes.”

That was all she said. That was all she would say, Leona realized, as the silence continued to grow instead of lessen. He’d been ready to hear a tale of how he’d nearly turned everyone to sand. How he’d nearly destroyed everything the light touched because he didn’t get his way. How even now, Yuu didn’t trust him not to turn her to dust, and how she’d slink off his bed and away from him in the next moment.

And yet, none of that happened. Despite himself, when Leona next exhaled, it shook ever-so-slightly at the edges. “This might be a bad decision too, herbivore,” he warned, eyeing her and his room and—him, the failed usurper that should have known better than to think that anything could be his. “You got a warning already.”

Out of everything she should have done, Yuu did none of them. She took his hand instead, that had fallen in between them once it had left his hair. Leona was hit again with how much bigger his was, as she took the thing that had left her mangled and twisted and slotted her fingers between his. “You have claws,” she agreed, far too calm than she should have been as she glanced down at what she’d done. “That doesn’t mean they’re always out. And if they are…” Yuu looked up at him then, with eyes that were unspeakably beautiful in the moonlight. And she smiled, something warm and kind and much too sweet to ever be directed at someone like Leona Kingscholar. But there she was, doing just that anyway. “Well, we’ve seen that they can’t stop me.”

Leona stilled. He didn’t know what to do, when he looked at the herbivore and saw the way she looked at him. She was insane. She was annoying, making so many of her problems his without even asking him in the first place. She was an enigma. She was so stupidly, foolishly kind, even to him, even though she had seen just how far that kindness would take her.

And yet. “Big words for such a small herbivore,” he said, trying not to think about how the way her smile grew made something stupidly, childishly warm swell in his chest.

It only grew when she laughed, still becoming everything Leona could ever hope to hear without fail once again. “You told me to use my spine.” Of course he did. Leona had to roll his eyes, because he wasn’t quite sure what he would have done if not that. “Now. Do you want to spend your potentially last peaceful night sleeping, or are you going to stay up talking to me?” she asked, a tease in her voice.

Leona tried not to think about the way that, strangely, perplexingly, he wasn’t quite sure he knew what the answer to that question was. “That’s rich, comin’ from you,” he huffed, trying not to let his smirk turn into a smile as Yuu giggled. She beat him to lay down first, leaving him to be last when she took second place before he could. And yet, he didn’t quite mind.

He didn’t turn away tonight. Neither did she, even as he made the lights switch off with a flick of the wrist and gave her every opportunity to. Hesitantly at first, Leona let his arm drape over her as he lowered it again—because it was more comfortable that way, instead of crammed to fit on top of his side. And then that same deranged, warm thing in him beat just a little erratically as Yuu shifted closer to him, pressing her scarred ear to his chest. He almost wanted to bat her away so that she wouldn’t hear the way it pounded—like an innocent, doe-eyed herbivore, he grimaced to himself—but found that he didn’t have the strength to. Especially when his ear flicked in the newfound silence, and he realized that when he rested his chin atop her head, that this was the most comfortable he’d been in a long time.

“Good night,” the herbivore whispered, as Leona found his hold on her tightening. He hummed in reply, listening to her faint breaths as she started to succumb to rest. If only he had more time to sleep, Leona mused as his eyes closed. He supposed he just had to make the precious little time he had count.

After three endless days of fighting tooth and nail, Yuu and Grim were finally able to return to their dorm. It was just as dank and decrepit as it’d been when they left, but at this point, they wouldn’t have it any other way. This was their dorm, and despite everything it was, they were proud of it.

“Good to be back,” Grim exclaimed, already relaxing the moment they stepped into the foyer. Jade and Floyd didn’t seem like they had done anything substantial to the place in their absence, at least, because it looked largely the same as they’d left it. “And out of Leona’s room. I still can’t believe you got him to let you sleep in his bed. It’s totally unfair!”

Yuu hummed, finding that she’d given up trying to explain it to him. All that Grim saw was bias towards her, and the one way that would make him forgive it was a few cans of tuna sent his way. “I got you out of the deal with Azul,” she reminded nonetheless, laughing a little at the way he shrugged it off like it was nothing. “And I seem to remember you doing a lot more eating than waiting on tables tonight.”

“I had to do that already. It was time for me to get a break.” Yuu rolled her eyes, though there was a grin on her face. Of course. Grim yawned then, sharp teeth glinting in the abysmal lights of their dorm. “I’m beat, though. I wanna catch some winks before we hafta go back to class tomorrow.”

“Did you remember to do your homework?” Grim’s face dropped at Yuu’s reminder, giving her something akin to a glare as he scurried off in a hurry, trying to outrun the lecture he thought Yuu was going to give him. She decided she’d give him a head start, walking slowly through the halls as the reality of the day seeped into her.

Somehow, they had done it. The odds had seemed a million to one, even with Leona helping them, but they had managed to prevail. Albeit with a few scratches, Yuu found herself adding, as she moved her arm and felt the throbbing pain of her new injury burn her collarbone. It was nothing she couldn’t handle, though.

Grim yowled suddenly, cutting through Yuu’s thoughts like a cleaver. He didn’t make that noise unless something was wrong. She quickened her pace, feeling her heart start to pound at a more worried rhythm. “Grim?” she called, as she rounded the corner to make it into the lounge.

“What are you doing here?” he exclaimed, his fur bristling while his eyes were kept wide.

It was then that Yuu saw the uninvited guest in their lounge, sprawled on the couch as though he was the prefect and not her. “Pipe down,” Leona hissed, shooting Grim a sharp look. “You woke me up.”

“So what? This isn’t your dorm!” Leona’s gaze turned into a glare as he sat up, resting his elbow on the armrest and propping his head up on a fist. Sleep still seemed to have a hold on him, and yet, even though his eyes were half-lidded, the emerald rings still held so much intensity and fire in them, as he stared at Grim. He did not leave. “Do something about this, minion!”

Yuu, despite Grim’s clear distress, found herself trying not to smile. “You go on ahead,” she offered, feeling that smile become even harder to hide when Leona’s eyes slid to her, the glare dimming somewhat. “I’ll be up soon.”

Grim didn’t need to be told twice. He hardly spared her a glance that was a mixture of appreciative and mournful as he darted up the stairs and out of sight with record speed. Yuu hadn’t even known that he could be that fast.

Leona didn’t seem to mind, content with lazily watching her just stand there. Yuu couldn't find it in herself to, either, when she finally let that smile faintly show on her face. “I thought you were sick of us," she said, finding that smile grow when he hummed. “You have your bed all to yourself now. I don’t think our couch is better than that.”

“It isn’t.” Yuu couldn’t stop the little laugh that got out of her. She winced slightly as it escaped her chest, making her wound throb with white-hot pain. Leona’s gaze changed at that, his eyelids raising ever-so-slightly. “C’mere,” he called, more a soft demand than anything else. She listened, feeling her heartbeat quicken as Leona sat up when she got closer. The intensity of his eyes never let up, even when her expression returned to normal.

His hand came up when she was finally close enough to satisfy him, though it did not touch her. Leona was waiting for her to say it was alright, she realized, something warm and gentle filling her chest when the way he glanced up at her eyes confirmed it. Yuu hummed, accepting his request, and tried not to let her breathing change when she felt him undo the first button of her shirt. Then the second, before he spread the two sides apart.

Nothing met Leona but bandages, not showing even a trace of skin beneath her neck. It made his eyes narrow, especially as he saw that it wasn’t just snow white that he was met with. Crimson blood had left the tiniest of blemishes, three pinpricks that were hardly anything to the eye, but still enough to make him glower. “How bad is it?” Leona still asked, gaze moving to look up at her face.

Lies wouldn’t go undetected. So Yuu sighed, even though she wanted to shrug it off. But her newly acquired injuries would just make her wince again if she did, and Leona would certainly see through anything else she tried. “I’m on painkillers,” she told him, feeling the warmth of his hand even through his glove and her bandages. “They’ll kick in.”

Even though she’d hoped that would satisfy Leona, it didn’t. He glared at her clavicle as though it had done a great insult to him, even when Yuu brought her hand up to cover his. “You shouldn’t have this,” he eventually said, a growl in his voice as he spoke. “I should’ve been faster. I—”

“I should have been more careful,” Yuu cut him off, making Leona’s ears flatten and his tail thump on the couch next to him. “This isn’t your fault.”

“Sure it isn’t.” The way that he glanced up at her didn’t go unnoticed. She knew exactly where his gaze went, the sight making his lip curl back in a silently snarl directed at only himself. Yuu didn’t know what to do at the way it made his eyes darken, glinting like emerald wildfires in the middle of a rainstorm.

When another moment passed, she decided that she didn’t want Leona to look angry at himself for a second longer. His brow knitted as Yuu’s hand lifted off of his, before his hold on her shirt tightened as he felt her fingers brush against his cheeks. When she finally held his face in her hands fully, ignoring the way his silky hair tickled her fingertips, she tilted it up, forcing his eyes to rip off her bandages to instead look at hers. She knew her plan worked when she watched Leona’s glare become directed at her in his confusion, his free hand coming up to wrap around her wrist to pull it off.

“Leona Kingscholar,” Yuu started, before he was able to rip her hands away, “I have a spine. I have a brain that is not peanut-sized, and it’s telling me that you are blaming yourself that has nothing to do with you.” His eyes narrowed, and she caught the gleam of his fangs when he started to open his mouth, no doubt about to challenge her. “Maybe I wasn’t using it for a moment back there, or back then, but I am using it now. I’m listening to you.”

“You call this listening to me?” he huffed, not convinced in the slightest. “Maybe I was wrong when I told you that. It doesn’t seem like you have any wits sometimes, when you go and make deals with swindlers that get you nothing. Or when you go an’ charge forward to your death when you have no magic to arm yourself with.”

She knew he was trying to hurt her. But even so, she felt his claws scratch her, making something angry bubble up inside her. “Why do you care?” she asked, feeling her own small growl whisper in her voice.

“Because I do,” he hissed, his grip on her wrist tightening. Yuu instantly stilled at the way his eyes flickered, raging like a wild beast. “You went and made things my problem when I didn’t ask. Now this is your problem, herbivore. Hope you’re happy.”

They stayed like that for a long moment, glaring daggers into the other’s eyes with angry snarls draining their lungs of air. Leona was furious. Yuu just didn’t know who he was raging at, between himself and her and a myriad of other people and things it could possibly be. With the abundance of choices he had, she hoped it wasn’t the way he felt about her. Especially when she decided, in her exasperation between how Leona was like this and how the daggers she shot at him were all but dull, it was a smart idea to lean down when his chest swelled with an inhale, no doubt about to continue with another sharp comment. And she gently pressed her lips to his, trying to take the sharpness out of him, too.

Leona bristled, that hold he had around her wrist tightening still until it was almost painful. And for a split second, Yuu wondered if she had just gone too far, and that she had taken everything completely wrong. Maybe she’d be mauled that night in her own dorm, and not in Leona’s room like she’d thought she’d be. Maybe there was the faintest of hopes for her to keep her life, as she started to pull away in order to spew out a sling of apologies at her idiocracy. But then the fist gripping her shirt tugged her right back, practically sending her into Leona’s lap from his strength.

His lips were surprisingly soft, Yuu found herself realizing, as the hand around her wrist came down to hold her waist equally gently in the closest thing to an apology she’d get. It was a dizzying contrast from how rough his voice had been before, as the scent of sun and dust and the faint hint of acacia swirled around her. He kissed her like he was starved, and she’d offered him the first real taste of food he’d had in years. It was all she could do to match him, to tell him all the things she’d wanted to without using words she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to find.

Yuu didn’t know if she even remembered what breathing was as time seemed to stop. The only thing reminding her that she was alive and not just feeling everything Leona gave her was the rapid beating of her heart, which almost threatened to shatter her with how strongly it thudded in her chest. It finally came back to her when her lungs finally burned too hot for her to ignore, making her pull away despite how she longed to burn to ash with him. Maybe he felt the same way, Yuu realized, as she took in how his chest heaved and how he looked at her with eyes so beautiful she thought she might die anyway.

“Maybe I am stupid,” she muttered, finding that she still kept some of the hiss in her voice from before. Yuu found that she didn’t particularly care, especially when the housewarden had the audacity to glare at her again.

“The only way you’re stupid is annoyingly persistent,” Leona growled, before he kissed her again. He was gentler this time, reassured that she cared for him the same way he did for her after she'd kissed him. As if she couldn’t, when she had been hoping that somehow, someway, she could get just a bit lucky for once. She most certainly had, if she was able to be like this tonight, and to have spent the past three nights with him.

It was only after they’d broken apart for the second time that Yuu realized what she’d done. She covers her mouth to make Leona give her a strange look. “I just kissed a prince,” she blurted, almost feeling like she wanted to die when the shock hit her like a wave. She’d probably just crossed so many lines and made so many mistakes in etiquette that it could be a national scandal. Yuu almost wanted to kiss him again, just to get back that feeling of the world disappearing so she didn’t have to face it.

Leona laughed then, the sound filling her ears and making her heartbeat quicken. She adored his laugh, she realized, making her skin turn even redder than it already was after the way he’d taken her breath three times now with that. “You got kissed by one too,” he reminded. Yuu found that she had to hide the entirety of her flustered face, a little too nervous to take on even the room they were in. Leona chuckled, before she felt hands coming up to gently lift hers away. “Don’t go hidin’ on me now, herbivore.”

She forced herself to calm down when Leona let his forehead fall against hers, letting her fingers intertwine with his. This was the most relaxed she’d felt in a long time, between her deal and her homework and all the little worries rooming with Leona had given her. At least those had been for nothing, she mused to herself, finding she couldn’t help but smile at the way his tail had curled around her leg at some point.

But then of course she had to think of something else, to make her stomach knot and unease seep back into her. Leona seemed to know, by the way his nearly-closed eyes opened again. “Is this really okay?” she asked. “You’re a prince. I’m— I don’t have magic whatsoever. I’m not even sure if I have a legal presence here.”

“Who cares. I don’t.” Leona made her anxious huff turn into more of a squeak when he brought one of her hands to his lips, keeping his eyes locked with hers all the while. “The one good thing being second-born’s given me is the freedom to choose. I choose you,” he promised, smiling at the way that made her blush. “I’m also choosin’ to sleep here tonight. Hope you don’t mind, after I so kindly gave you my room for the past three nights.”

Yuu couldn’t help but scoff in a laugh at the way Leona added that, already yawning as though he could doze off in a matter of seconds. “Out here? This couch isn’t as comfortable as yours to sleep on, unfortunately.”

Leona gave her a look like she was the most deranged person to grace Twisted Wonderland. Maybe she was, she thought with a level of satisfaction she certainly shouldn’t have. She had just kissed a prince. “You have a bed. It works just fine, far as I’ve heard.”

“But Grim’s already there.”

“We can move ‘em.”

She huffed, bringing her hands back up to cup his face in disbelief. “You have to play nice with him,” Yuu told him, even though her feigned sternness was completely forgotten when she watched the way Leona nuzzled into her touch. He looked up at her with half-lidded eyes that were no doubt meant to dissuade her, but she kept firm. “We’re a package deal.”

“Fine. But he’s takin’ up your space, not mine.” Yuu laughed as she nodded, knowing that was probably the closest thing she’d get to him agreeing. “Do I get to sleep now?” Leona asked dully, making Yuu hum as she kissed his brow.

“I suppose, Your Majesty.”

“Good.” Yuu almost yelped as Leona surged up, holding her in his arms as though she weighed the same as a feather instead of letting her drop on the ground. He must have noticed the way she was staring at him, because he smirked while he started towards the stairs. “Maybe I’ll make you sing me a lullaby, since you were so willin’ to last night.”

Yuu almost frowned at him, but then she grinned, making Leona falter just for a moment. “Only if Grim can join me,” she chimed, wrapping her arms around his neck playfully. “I know just the song to sing with him.”

Leona huffed, his ears flattening as he no doubt remembered the wonderful performance they’d given him last night. “Maybe I’ll just drop you instead.”

Her grip on him got tighter in response, just in case he decided he really would. “Don’t you dare,” she warned, only met with an amused hum in response. “You’re evil.”

“Yet you still kissed me. Makes a guy wonder about your taste in people.” Leona’s eyes glinted as Yuu made a flustered noise, hiding her face in his chest. “I’m your problem now, herbivore. Hope you’re ready for what that means.”

#ooh leona wants to kiss yuu so bad he looks stupid rn #thanks sm for reading! i hope you enjoyed <3 #twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland x yuu #twisted wonderland x mc #leona kingscholar #yuu #twst yuu #leona kingscholar x reader #leona kingscholar x yuu #three nights remain #cloudedgalaxies

120 notes · View notes

foreverisntenough · 3 days

Text

‘OURS’

Summary: You were his and he was yours but what would it be like adding one more? Thrust into a whirlwind romance you never could’ve imagined that became your forever love. You continue building a new life across the pond with a very beautiful Scouser. A sequel to the ‘You’re Mine’ fic.

INDEX

Warnings: This series will contain fluff, suggestion, smut (unprotected sex,) pregnancy, parenting, mention of the word ‘daddy,’ kind of angsty, alcohol consumption - not sure what else really… if i miss anything please lmk!

Note: Thank you for reading! Please be sure to like, comment, or message me what you think of the series! Try not to nitpick with any real pregnant logistics it’s better if you just read along happily :)

Chapter 9 - Yes, Of Course | ‘Ours’

It was approaching 3 am for you and Teddy in New York. It was early morning for Trent so you decided to give him a call. Teddy was being fussy to say the least but even so she was still in a good mood other than that. She would not go to sleep and she was adamant about not. You thought she’d be tired after the flight but evidently that wasn’t the case but you sure were.

“Hi Daddy…” you cooed tiredly when Trent answered. Teddy squealed excitedly seeing him appear on your phone. “Yeah? Is that dada?” You kissed her cheek laughing a little bit at her reaction. She was obsessed with him.

“What are you doing up, baby?” He asked quietly as he sat at the island in your kitchen having a protein shake back in England. You rolled your eyes adjusting your hold of Teddy. He caught on quite quickly seeing your demeanor versus Teddy’s. “Oh baby bear… c’mon now. Be good for mummy and go to sleep. Aren’t you tired, silly girl?” He asked Teddy as if she could respond saying ‘No, dad. I’m not and I’m keeping mum up who's been awake since 6 am UK time yesterday, having the time of my life.’ She was having a great time. Giggling away, happy as can be.

“She’s not having it. I guess it’s early for her with the time change but I’ll tell you baby, this is not it.” You laughed exhausted in delirium. You stroked her cheek and pinched at her pudgy tummy as she continued a hiccuped laugh. “She’s like wired. I don’t understand.” Trent laughed seeing his daughter try to grab at your phone to get closer to him.

“I’m sorry, baby. I wish I was there.” He paused, taking a sip of his drink. He smiled with a full mouth before he swallowed, making a face at Teddy only spurring her excitement on.

“No,” you laughed. “No, you really don’t.” You frowned as she drooled all over your bare shoulder. Teddy just would latch her mouth anywhere on you whenever she got the chance. “Come here little Teddy bear, let's at least be comfortable, huh?” You pulled her body with yours leaning back against the headboard of the bed. You pulled the blanket up over you both as she sat kicking away in your lap.

“Do you just want to be having breakfast with Daddy? Is that it?” He laughed at you two sitting in the bed missing you a little more. Normally, he’d be right next to you. It wasn’t fun to be apart.

“I wish she’d just want to go to sleep. What about that, baby? If we go to sleep, when you wake up you’ll be that much closer to being able to have breakfast with daddy.” She didn’t pay attention to you. She was transfixed on Trent.

“I’ll be there soon, beautiful. Breakfast with daddy really soon, Ted.” He cooed wishing he could just grab Teddy from you and let you get some rest but unfortunately he couldn’t, leaving him feeling rather helpless.

Trent flew that night after his match to the US. You spent the day with your mum and Lauren catching up and doing some shopping along with Teddy. By the time Trent flight arrived and he made it into Manhattan it was late. You were asleep in the bed when Trent came in. He tried his best to be quiet. He put his things down and didn’t bother to try to unpack. He walked over to where Teddy’s crib was and kissed her forehead but she was out cold. Her tiny snores filling the room. He attempted to take a shower silently but failed miserably when he kept dropping things. For someone who moved so gracefully on a pitch you often felt like he just bulldozed through things like a shower without a care in the world.

“T…” you called out seeing the bathroom’s light on seeping out from the crack of the door. He came out wrapped in a towel looking perfect as ever. “Mmm hi.” You hummed, reaching your arms out for him.

“Shit. I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m sorry, baby.” He came to you and pressed a big kiss onto your lips with a dramatic ‘mwah’ sound. “Missed you.”

“Missed you. Come here.” You pulled him onto the bed further by his muscular arm. He laughed at your eagerness.

“Let me at least dry off more and put some boxers on.” He spoke quietly, brushing his thumb back and forth over your skin. You shook your head ‘no’ adamant he just got into bed with you now so he obliged. He lets out a soft laugh and laid himself completely on top of you, resting his entire weight on you.

“T” You sleepily giggled. He placed light kisses down the side of your neck. The heavy weight of him soothing you, the warmth of his bare chest seeping into yours. His lips pressed against a particularly sensitive spot below your earlobe he knew you liked. You turned your head to avoid his cheeky advances. Trent picked up his head and looked down at you, his mahogany brown eyes boring into yours. He kissed your lips. You hummed feeling his pouty lips against yours. He rolled over dramatically laying on his back and pulled you into him. He kissed your forehead and you cuddled into him nestled perfectly in his embrace until you fell back asleep. You slept soundly back in Trent’s arms. Your eyes fluttered open early as you laid nestled on top of his chest. You nuzzled your face into his soft skin with a sigh relieved you were back encased in his familiar scent.

Warm winter sunlight seeped through the gap in the room's curtains and fell over your eyes. You shifted on top of Trent under the covers slightly, your cheek pressed against his chest. You pressed your soft lips against his bare skin. You dragged your foot up and down his muscular leg. His arm wrapped around your back and he pulled you tighter against him before a voice you love broke the morning silence.

“Comfortable baby?” He asked you. His morning voice always turned you on a little. It had the perfect amount of raspiness but frankly you were too exhausted to entertain that desire right now. You hadn’t slept that great since you got to New York until you got back in his arms. You were unaware he was even awake; you were so entranced in your own world.

“Mmmhmmm” you hummed before letting out a yawn. The haze of sleep hadn’t yet left your eyes. You realized he must have been awake for a while watching you sleep and it brought warmth and a faint blush to your face.

“If you’re still tired, go back to sleep.” He cooed with a kiss to your hair. He was so gentle with you, especially so in the morning. Your eyes gazed up at his usually sharp features but in the early morning light they looked delicate.

“It’s fine. She’s asleep and I want to spend time with you. I missed you, T.” You pulled yourself up more by his shoulders to give him a kiss on the lips.

“I’ll be right here. Not going anywhere you got me for the rest of your life.” He said before he kissed you back.

“Promise?” You giggled, looking back into his sleepy stare. His lips curled into a tired yet perfect Trent smile. There was something that was always so blissful about every morning you got to spend in his arms. You felt impossibly secure. Unfortunately until the off season moments of perfect simplicity tucked in bed weren’t all that often.

“Promise, beautiful.” He kissed you once more before you laid your head back down on his chest but kept your hand up to hold his face affectionately. You laid there melting into his embrace, loving simply existing in his presence.

“I’m glad you’re here, pretty boy.” You stoked your thumb over his high cheek bone. He was really pretty. You never forgot. Although sometimes seeing him first thing after waking up really amplified just how gorgeous he was. The softness of his facial expression. The tired pout of his lips. It just all really was beautiful.

“Where else would I be?” Trent ran his thumb over your plump lips then he gently moved some of your hair off your shoulder and tugged your warm body closer to his under the covers. Loving the press of your soft curves against him.

“Don’t know. I’m just happy you’re with us” you cooed genuinely happy he was back with you and your daughter. Things felt calmer when he was around. He had such a pacified vibe to him. Things just didn’t rattle him the way they did you. It was then in your quiet morning cuddled in bed you heard a whiny cry from the other room.

“Good morning, baby bear.” Trent whispered scooping up a sleepy Teddy who was laying on her belly. “How are you, my beautiful girl? Did you miss me?” She began to giggle as he kissed her all over. “I’ll always be with you two.” He spoke from the other room, continuing your conversation. He walked back into the bedroom with Teddy in his arms. “She’s pretty cute, huh?” he pinched one of her chubby cheeks eliciting a giddy squeal from her being being back in her dad’s arms.

“Very.” You confirmed. “Good morningggg!” You sang to her as she eagerly and frantically reached out to be with you in bed. “You like when daddy’s here to wake you up?" You smiled at Teddy smiling in his arms as Trent rubbed his thumb up and down her cheek. “By the way, Lauren and Win want to go out tonight… well they want to take you out.” You flicked your eyes from her to inform Trent of plans that had been laid out for him.

“We should go” he responded as he handed you Teddy then seated himself back in the bed getting comfortable again. He couldn't help but smile as he looked at the love of his life holding your baby, feeling his heart beating faster with each moment finally back together.

“Or… we could just stay right here.” You thought for a moment about how much you were enjoying your current company. You situated Teddy to sit on your lap in front of you two as she made adorable babbling noises. You leaned your head on Trent’s shoulder taking in the comfort of all being back together..

“Baby… we’re here. We should go with them, okay? Give you an excuse to dress up for me as well.” He rested his head on top of yours while wiping some spittle from Teddy’s face.

“For you? Really? I do not dress for the male gaze, thank you very much!” You pulled away from your nice family cuddle to better look at Trent with a feigned offense.

“Oh come on…. Sure, you don’t want me to stare when you wear all that. Baby, be really for a minute here.” He spoke looking your body up and down remembering all the things you specifically had told him you had worn just for him from skimpy bikinis, to little mini skirts, to lingerie in bed.

“It’s just an added benefit knowing I have you eating out of the palm of my hand with an outfit. It’s exactly what I want. Two birds, one stone.” You teased him. You knew there were things you opted to wear specifically because you thought he’d appreciate them. But dressing for the general male population… absolutely not.

“Is it? I knew it!” He celebrated boastfully by squeezing your frame into his strong embrace. “Just admit you’re trying to impress me, baby.” He laughed.

“Shush. I’m going to shower.” You broke out of his hold to get out of the bed. “You know what else I want?” He looked up at you inquisitively “I’d want you to watch our baby please.” You nodded towards Teddy who was now wiggling on the bed where you had plopped her. You giggled watching her before leaning over to blow a raspberry onto her tummy. “Can you watch Daddy while I’m gone, Teddy girl?” You asked her in an effort to tease Trent.

“Just go shower please!” Trent rolled his eyes and slapped your ass as you turned away from the bed. So you did, hopping into the shower. Trent moved himself and Teddy onto a play mat laid on the floor for her. “Remember what we talked about back home, Ted? Gonna ask mummy to marry me tomorrow. Think she’ll say yes?” He hushly spoke with a big grin. Teddy just replied with a little giggle and ‘puh’ noises smacking her lips together before trying to grab at Trent’s face. “Yeah ‘puh’ is right, that's exactly what I was thinking as well.” He laughed to himself rolling over onto his back and picking her up. He held her in the air above him as she squealed, wiggling. He pressed wet kisses with dramatic ‘mwah’ noises again and again to her till her big brown eyes were shut tight with laughter. He pulled her down to his chest and squeezed her in a hug. “Me, you and mummy, okay? We’ve always been a family, baby, the three of us but now we’re all gonna be Alexander- Arnold’s even mummy.”

You loved winter fashion in New York. There was just something so cozy about it. You were excited to go out and get ready and maybe dress up a little bit for Trent too. You put on a knit strapless top your boobs practically fell out of and a plaid skirt from Prada that if you bent over too abruptly your ass would probably show. You paired it with a pair of Givenchy boots and a Dior bag. It made you giddy to be back in Manhattan for a night out. As much as you were a mum now, currently keeping a close eye on your baby, you were also a girl about to go on a night out lining her lips in the bathroom.

“Yeahh this skirt, baby. It’s good.” He pinched your ass underneath its short hem.

“Hey! Keep your hands to yourself please!” You whined scolding him but secretly loving this attention he gave you. He knew that as well. You picked Trent’s outfit and he looked good, like almost so good it made you weary. You put on a cream colored faux fur jacket before you finally left the room.

“Maybe I’ll meet an American ting tonight. Start a life with her. Have a second baby.” He teased wrapping his arms around your waist from behind resting his chin on your shoulder as you were waiting for the lift.

“Oh shut up!” You rolled your eyes at him jokingly shoving at his arm. You held Teddy stepping in.

“I’m only joking, beautiful. I have the most perfect American and the most perfect baby. I don’t need anyone else and frankly, no one else could even ever compare.” You gave him a smug ‘mmmhmm’ with a side eye. “Do you like mummy’s jacket, baby bear? It’s soft huh?” Teddy rubbed her face into the fur of your jacket. She clearly did. You met your mum in the lobby, gave her a key to your room, and handed her Teddy. After that, you and Trent jumped in a Uber and were off for a rare night out without your baby. Winnie and Lauren decided it would be fun to take you but particularly Trent out to a bar the three of you had loved before you moved or even met Trent. You assumed it could be fun. A night out with Lauren usually was. Trent wasn’t keen about bars typically; it wasn't really his scene but ironically he was the one that convinced you to go tonight. You met at Winnie’s apartment further downtown. Trent had never been before but he was cute just exploring around the tight space. He had all sorts of questions about apartment living in New York and you thought it was sweet as he sat talking to her about where she did laundry. Also slightly ironic considering you weren’t sure Trent really knew how to do laundry. Pretty sure Dianne always did it and now you definitely did it for him. A group of people ranging from Winnie’s age to yours were all going out so it was a chill pregame you were used to. Sometimes you forgot that Trent didn’t experience college life though let alone regular ‘parties’ like this the way you did. You guessed he was out busy winning trophies. This was pretty standard to you but he was fascinated with all the games and the gossip. The whole thing was a whirlwind for him. Thankfully the majority of the people at Winnie’s didn’t follow football so it was great for him. Trent was flying under the radar and loving every minute of it. You ended up at an East Village dive bar well into the early morning.

“How come you look so good all the time, huh?” Trent whispered into your ear as you stood in front of him in his arms. You dropped your head embarrassed. You shook it back and forth disregarding his blatant compliment. “Nah, gotta answer me.” He cheekily squeezed your ass. You just looked up at him in the dimly lit bar. The lights from cars passing by outside shined on the high points of his face. “My” he spoke in your ear as he dragged his hands up your back and pulled you into him. He squeezed you so tight to his chest you were nervous your makeup was going to get all over his black t-shirt “baby.” He grunted the second word from squeezing you so tight. His arms held you to him. You couldn’t move so you just giggled.

“I like that.” you said into his neck as you slid your hands around him attempting not to spill the drink in your hand down his back.

“What, beautiful?” he asked, low and erotic to your ear. Your pussy clenched from the sound of his voice alone. He gripped your jaw tilting your head up with one of his big hands using the other to keep you pressed to him..

“No…” you cheekily withheld what you were speaking about. You just stayed tight to him enjoying the feeling of his body pressed to yours.

“Ahhh, you like when I tell you you’re mine? Well, good news for you, baby because you’re always gonna be.” He kissed your forehead before he dropped his head some for your noses to press against each other.

“Y/N, do you want anything?” Winnie asked, interrupting your moment before she went to get another drink. You shook your head ‘no’ your face still pressed to Trent’s, unable to get out of the haze he had you in until he pulled away from you. He had you wrapped around his finger. You tugged his hand down and whispered in his ear. Your wet juicy lips ghosting over its shell. Your voice dripping with need

“T…” you whined. He hummed and turned his head towards you. He clocked your intentions the second you locked eyes with him. His lips curled into a cheeky smile.

“You wanna go home?” He looked at you with a glint in his eyes. You shook your head ‘no’ at him once again.

“Well, what do you want then, dirty girl, hmm?” He came close to you again. His proximity turning the gears in your head, your thoughts shifting to incredibly lewd ones. You whimpered a measly ‘please.’ “I’ll take care of you. You just gotta tell me what you want. Tell me.” You just looked up at him in desperation. You wanted to be closer than you were right now. The tequila coursing through you amplifying your attraction to him. His drifting warm hand low on your back sending shock waves through your system. He leaned over and whispered behind in your ear out of view for anyone to possibly understand what this conversation was about. You nuzzled your face into his neck and nibbled onto his skin a little. Winnie’s eyes widened and cocked her head to the side interested in what had you two so secretive and handsy all of a sudden. She nudged Lauren who was chatting with one of the guys you were out with. Lauren threw her hand disinterested in something that had happened far too many times before. She didn’t care about you and Trent acting like you’d never hooked up before. That’s what this felt like. The anticipation to see what he did next had you on the edge of your seat. You grabbed his hand pulling him with you, weaving through the crowded bar. As turned on as you were, Tren felt like a teenage boy around you at times. Like he was a virgin getting picked by the prettiest girl at school. Trent turned back to Winnie and mouthed a ‘be right back.’ She rolled her eyes. He laughed and watched your determination pushing towards the bathroom.

“What? Did you need to talk to me or something?” He teased knowing exactly what you two were doing. You pouted at him. “I’m kidding. C’mere baby. You need me, hmm? I’ll take care of you.” You nodded embarrassed with big eyes slyly undoing his trousers.

“Oh see… you’re as turned on as me.” You said as you noticed how hard he already was. His big cock tenting in his boxers. The bathroom was cramped, especially with both of you in it. Trent pushed his knee in between your legs and spread them and pulling you in to straddle him. His hands swiftly moved around you and began to knead your ass.

“Baby, if I’m in the same room as you I’m like this.” He gestured to his cock beginning to leak precum with a laugh.”so you wanted to fuck me, huh? Needed me so bad you couldn’t wait? he breathed, pushing your back against the wall, hooking one of your legs over his hip.

“Uh huh” you moaned in between kisses. His hands bunched up your skirt over your hips before he dropped them to the back of your thighs picking you up entirely.

“Do you know how much I love you?” He put his lips to your ear. The tone was velvety laced with lust. You could feel his length press against your wet core. You breathed into his neck and helped line his cock up with your entrance. He pushed his hips into you without warning. Elicited moans you attempted to keep quiet from both of you. Your long nails dug into the muscles of his back over his shirt. He didn’t wait for you to adjust, you just grinding your hips into his. He slid further in before he began to fuck you against the bathroom wall. He had your legs lifted to your sides as your boots dangling over his arms. He held your body weight entirely for you as he continued to thrust into you.

“I love you so much. Oh fuck, T! You feel so good, baby.” You whined. Your sounds making his hips stutter. He gripped your thighs so hard that you were sure you might be leaving this bar with bruises.

“Baby, rub your clit f’me, yeah? Can you do that f’me?” You nodded desperately at his request. You moved your hand down quickly between you two to rub your clit in sync with his rough pace. The knot in your stomach growing tighter and tighter. “Good girl.” He whispered to you as he nibbled on your earlobe. You mewled as you arched your back gripping onto him even tighter than before.

“Oh my god” You cried loudly letting go of his back trying to cover your mouth. With his pace you needed to grab back onto him though. Your lips remained parted in shaky moans as he thrusted his cock harder and deeper. His veins grazing at your g spot and stretching you to your limit. With each stroke, Trent hit all the places he knew drove you crazy. This was exactly what you wanted.

“You’re mine, baby. Understand?” He said it was a seriousness and a harshness that made goosebumps arise on your skin. You moaned as your vision began to blur a little. Between the tequila you were driving and this feeling your head started to feel light and dizzy. You couldn’t think of any else but the roll of Trents hips. Each thrust clouding your mind. His lips coming to kiss and suck on your exposed collarbone. “Cum f’me, beautiful. That’s what you wanted right? Cum now.” He demanded so you did. Your body quivered as your pussy tightened around him.

“I’m yours, T. Fuck! I’m cumming, T, in cumming.” You let out a whiny cry as you came messily all over his cock. You continued to unravel as Trent let out a breathy moan of his own. His thrusts starting to become sloppier. Your chest rising and falling heavily your nails leaving crescent marks on his tanned toned arms as your orgasm continued to wash over you.

“Doing so good, baby. I got you. I’m gonna cum. Shit! Squeezing me so fucking tight.” He grunted still thrusting into you as his abs tensed. His eyes rolled back a little with deep breaths. He slowed almost to a halt as his cock pulsed inside your warm pussy. He pumped you full of his cum, painting your insides in sticky white. He caught your lips with a sweet kiss, brining your legs down still holding onto your waist. You stood on wobbly feet, barely able to balance in your heels. He took you in his arms and rocked you back and forth in a tight hug. He kissed tiny pecks all over your face. “That was so hot.” He laughed a little. You could only manage a hum with flushed cheeks, falling into his chest with a soft smile. You glistened with the sheen of sweat, slightly dazed from what you just did in the bars bathrooms

“Thank you” you giggled. You cleaned up and fixed your clothes. You stood in front of the mirror, readjusting your outfit.

“Wore this just f’me, hmm?” He teased coming to stand behind you. You rolled your eyes at him as you fixed your boobs to sit just right in your top. “That’s deffo for me.” You shot him one more glare but cracked a smile. “You look beautiful, baby. Always. Let’s go” he kissed your cheek before you practically fell out of the restroom of the bar, stumbling back into the crowd. He laughed into your neck squeezing your body to his from behind. You walked around for a moment trying to find where Lauren or Winnie went with Trent clinging to you. You found them tucked in a corner with two guys. Trent held you close as you slithered through the bar making your way.

“We gotta get back to le bébé.” You practically yelled for them to hear. Winnie nodded as a man she was with jaw slacked as he kept his hands wrapped around her hips.

“You have a child??” He asked wide eyed and shocked. Trent nodded, turning his phone that he was using to get an Uber on, clicking it off and then on again to show him Teddy as his background. Her perfect, beautiful, chubby cheeks, and pouty lips sitting in the car wearing a cozy bear onesie looking, at least in her parents opinions, fucking adorable.

“Oh shit. Didn’t know you were married, that's some real shit.” The kid drunkenly confessed. He was surprised you had had the night you did with everyone despite being parents. It was late, everyone was drunk and you were down in an east village basement bar, it wasn’t exactly the most parental scene.

“We’re not but yeah, it’s very real.” You giggled leaning your head on Trent’s shoulder. It always sent a tenseness through Trent’s body when you said you weren’t married. He hated the tone you said it in. Like you weren’t upset by it, that you needed to clarify to the person you definitely were not. He was weirdly offended by it but he was planning on fixing it asap.

“Soon. Promise.” He kissed your head. Lacing his fingers with yours before he pulled you out the bar, into an Uber and back to your hotel. You met your mum up in your room to relieve her from her duties watching Teddy. She of course was already sound asleep. Thankfully, it was your mum watching her and not a sitter. It was obscenely late. Anyone else probably would’ve been annoyed but she was happy you had a fun night with your sister back at home.

“What were you thinking as far as plans for today?” You asked Trent, watching him pull on his trousers before he came over to you and scooped up Teddy. He kissed her forehead and then looked at you through the bathroom mirror.

“You want to go on a walk, baby? Like up fifth?” Trent asked, bouncing Teddy on his hip in the en suite as you did your hair. You liked that idea. You were excited to show your little British baby your home. The place where you grew up, the place you had met her dad.

“Yeah, that’d be nice. I’ll go.” You brushed your hand over Teddy’s head. Aside from his invitation for the walk back at the hotel, Trent was fairly quiet all afternoon. You assumed it was because he was jet lagged. You slipped your fingers to lace with his, your other arm grabbing onto his bicep. He loved when you did that. Trent pressed a kiss to your hair as he pushed Teddy in her pram up the pavement of Fifth Avenue. You were waiting to cross the street as you stared down at Trent. He was crouched over talking to Teddy. Their identical pretty faces bearing the same smile. It warmed your heart so much to have them both. You’d face everything you’d been through in your whole life all over again if it meant you’d end up right here in this moment on this very corner with them. You’d do anything for the man and baby in front of you. You couldn’t imagine your life without either of them now. He stood up and you flashed a smile at him. Trent’s heart faltered a little. If someone would've told him that a few years ago on the streets of New York City on a lads summer holiday he would meet the woman he was about to propose to he surely would’ve thought that they were having a laugh. Frankly, he would’ve just rolled his big precious mahogany eyes at whoever was trying to convince him that’d be the case. Three years ago, Trent wasn’t exactly looking for someone. He was enjoying his single life and yet there you were crossing the street. His serendipity. You came into his life unforgiving. Creating emotions he had never had the time or care to entertain before. Yet there you were batting your perfectly curled eyelashes up at him under the brim of a hat in the summer sun.

‘Trent crossed the street towards the group of boys nonchalantly, he was playing off how smitten he had just become with a complete stranger

“Like I couldn’t build a more ideal woman, she’s a dream and she just stood there like she was somehow at a disadvantage.” Trent ranted.’

Three years and some days on after you had met you gave him the most precious gift. His first born. His baby girl, his daughter. Her chubby cheeks full of his uninhibited love for you. He could spend hours watching you with Teddy. Watching you through loving patient eyes not wanting to miss a thing. He did just that as you approached the next crosswalk. It was where you met. The place where you both felt like your life truly began. The corner of 78th street and 5th Avenue. A moment and place forever ingraine in your brain and heart. The most pivotal moment of your life happened right here. You pecked Trent’s cheek before turning your attention to Teddy.

“This is where mummy met daddy, Ted.” You cooed, peering into her pram. Trent bent over to what you thought was to re-tie his trainers at the cross. You watched in slow motion as he didn’t tie them and instead moved on to one knee.

“T… what are you doing…” you stood paralyzed by the sight of Trent in front of you on one knee on the corner of the winter New York pavement. You started to shake and not from the cold.

“Baby, listen to me…” You nodded as your eyes welled with tears. “The moment I first laid eyes on you. Right here. I knew in my core that my life was about to change. I felt it. Even my brothers knew it.”

“Why are you being like this bro? You’re down so bad already and you don’t even know her. What did she do to you!” They exclaimed…’

Your eyes looked at him completely shell shocked that this was actually happening. You could tell he was nervous looking at his puppy dog eyes you loved so dearly beneath you but his voice was calm as ever. His words were powerful and simple. You felt speechless so you just listened impatiently for the question you’d waited forever for. “Life with you makes perfect sense. You’re my best friend, baby. I know I was made to be the one for you. Made to take care of you, protect you, to love you and to cherish you. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world who deserves someone’s undivided attention, commitment, and appreciation. I fell in love with you for a million tiny reasons and I want to spend a lifetime discovering more of them.” He took a deep breath and you gave him an encouraging smile as you wiped away tears that were rolling down your cheeks. “Before I met you, days dragged on. I was comfortable just going in and out of matches, laying in my bed. I was at home but I felt a homelessness. Hollow even, maybe? It wasn’t until I met you that I finally felt whole. You filled a voice in my heart I never knew was so big. I had no idea what I was missing. What it felt like to have someone in your corner, in my stadium, in my home, my bed. Meeting you made me feel alive and loving you completed me. My life was just beginning as I fell in love with you. I want to be the best husband you so deserve. I want to build our family with you. Make me the luckiest man, baby. Will you marry me Y/N LN?” His perfect pouty bottom lip began to quiver as he tried to hold back his own tears. You weren’t as good as keeping your emotions at bay. You were sobbing. You always knew you’d spend the rest of your life with Trent but hearing him so sure and eager to do so caused happiness to overwhelm every fiber of your being. It was so overwhelming that you couldn’t stop the tears that slowly continued to flow down your face. Saying yes to Trent was as easy as breathing. You nodded shamelessly as he took your hand.

“Yes… of course, T.” You cried more trying your best to get the words out. They were barely a whimper. You couldn’t really catch your breath. The smile that pulled on his face was the most pure, authentic thing you’d ever seen. His larger hand held your smaller one. He slid the most perfect ring you could’ve imagined onto your finger. Your tears dropped down, splashing onto the back of your hand. You looked at your dream ring with two three carat diamonds nestled together. It had one pear shaped and an emerald cut set on a gold band filled with even more diamonds. It fit just the way it was meant to. Meant just for you. He was meant just for you. “You make me so happy, baby. I know you’re the only one I was meant to share the rest of my life with.” You cupped both his cheeks and brought his face up to yours. A kiss has never felt so right. “You’re sure about this? You giggled overwhelmed.

“Never been more sure of something. It's not a laughing matter, baby. I’ve never meant something more seriously than I do this.” He cooed serious as ever stroking your cheek before he dug into his pocket. He pulled out the tiniest ring you’d ever seen. A little diamond band probably too small even for your pinky. You tilted your head a little confused for a moment why he had it.

“Do you know who this is for?” You smiled coming to understand what he meant now. Trent had gotten a diamond ring for your baby girl as well. “I had to ask for permission to marry mummy, didn’t I?” He spoke, looking into your eyes still. “I asked your dad too about a year ago so don’t worry about that but this one is for our Teddy girl.” He laughed a little knowing you probably were starting to wonder. “You’re mine baby, I’m yours, and she’s ours.” He cooed leaning over to look at Teddy sliding the tiny ring onto her left hand's ring finger. You began to cry more.

“Ted… should I marry daddy?” You asked her with tears in your eyes as she wiggled so you took her excitement as a yes.

“Yeah? Excited for mama and dada, baby bear?” Trent asked her and she squealed. Your mum came and grabbed Teddy shortly after that but you were too overwhelmed to even process what was happening. A lot of people were actually there watching this unfold, you just had no idea. Trent had this planned to a T. “C’mere baby.” Trent pulled you into him. You clung to him on the corner in the cold, never feeling warmer. Your cheeks pressed together embraced

“I've been waiting my whole life for you.” You cried more. He just stroked over your hair keeping you encased in his arms. You kissed his cheek before you pulled away. “Wait a year ago… T, what the fuck?” you laughed at him. He couldn’t possibly be serious. In fact, he was. About a year ago Trent had asked your dad to marry you. He knew that was important to you and to your dad. Before he even got permission though he had been on the hunt for the perfect ring. He looked high and low for the one that was meant for you but no one got it just right. None were unequivocally you. So he found a jeweler to make it for him instead. It took ages to make it but when they finalized it he picked it up and hid the velvet box he had engraved with your new initials in the safe to be saved. When you got pregnant that shifted things a little. He could remember when you announced it to your family, your dad asking what that meant. Tent was nervous you’d think he was doing it because of the baby not because he genuinely wanted to so he held off. The proposal had always been planned and now it finally happened.

“I wanted it to be right.” He cooed looking at you. You laughed at how ridiculous that was but also shocked this ring existed for so long right under your nose. There were plenty of scares along the way though like when you went to get your passports from out of the safe unannounced and Trent practically had a heart attack.

“It was always right.” You kissed his lips. He returned the kiss slow and languid as his big hand came to hold the side of your neck. He rubbed his thumb back and forth over the line of your jaw. You swore you could kiss him forever and never grow tired of it. And now with this ring on your finger, you’d get to do just that, forever.

“Yeah. Me and you. Always.” He gave you a pinky promise. You stuck out your pinky and wrapped it around his. He dropped his hand though quickly from yours and grabbed your face with both hands for a sloppy big kiss and you pouted at just how adorable he was all the time. You started to cry a little more coming to terms with what just happened so you hugged him for a while longer.

Trent and your parents had organized for everyone to meet you and him after at Bemelmans. You absolutely adored this bar. It was beautiful and had the best champagne. Just about everyone you knew was there and you were very confused. You felt like you were always so clued in so you were absolutely flabbergasted everyone had worked this whole plan around you. The whole Alexander-Arnold family had come to New York, even George and as you walked in, low and behold you saw Lauren talking at the bar with none other than Jude. You greeted Trent’s family first. Dianne was overjoyed, crying as she hugged you. She babbled on and on how excited she was to finally have you as a daughter officially. It was so sweet. You were also very eager to get over to where Lauren was. Once you were done with the niceties and congratulations from immediate family you ran to her.

“You knew!!!! What the fuck?” You yelled at Lauren grabbing both her arms, shaking her jokingly. She could only laugh at your dramatics. She gave you a big hug before she pulled away to get a good look at you.

“Y/N, Y/N, Y/N,” she shook her head. “Come on now… a few things here; one, no shot in hell T was going to propose to my best friend without me knowing. I’d murder him.” She picked up your hand to inspect your ring she’d approved of a long time ago finally now on your finger before she was going to continue on with her second point.

“Facts.” Jude then interrupted with a nice adlib to her ramble. You laughed at him before you leaned your head onto Trent’s shoulder while you awaited her next bit of reasoning.

“Two, this boy was ready to marry you after about a week. I don't know why you’re so surprised this happened.” Jude chiming in with another ‘facts.’ She snapped her head at him, annoyed but she did actually think it was a little funny. “Can you not?” she laughed at Jude. He grabbed Lauren by the waist and moved her to the side to come and give you a quintessentially Jude bone crushing hug.

“So happy for you. Trentski’s now forever locked in to be punching for the rest of his life.” He joked, shaking Trent's shoulder. George came over and grabbed you from behind.

“Hiii!” You squealed excited to see him. He gave you a big hug. Probably your millionth of the day but it was still special each one. You took a lot of photos with everyone who came but you weren’t exactly thrilled about it. Your eyes were so puffy from all the crying. Lauren assured you you still looked gorgeous but you didn’t totally believe her. Trent attempted to tell you the same but he just asked you to marry him. It's not like he was going to say you looked anything but perfect. You drank champagne all afternoon and showed off your ring time and time again celebrating your dream come true. Your mum took Teddy for the night and Winnie offered to bring her back to you in the morning. It was really sweet of them and honestly a little cheeky because they knew what was going to happen when you and Trent were alone.

“Ready to go?” Trent cooed, pressing his lips to yours. You smiled up at him. Lacing your hand with his. “C’mon, hmm?”

“Yes, please.” You giggled into his chest, coming for a hug before you went back to the hotel. You changed and Trent took you out dinner just the two of you before you returned for a very long fun night spent in bed with your fiancé.

You woke up in the morning to the winter sun splashing against the diamonds on your finger that rested on Trent’s tanned bare chest. You smiled up at Trent’s beautiful sleeping face. You scratched at the hair on his chin. He woke up slow but quickly pulled you flush against him in a strong tight cuddle.

“Let me goooo.” You groaned sarcastically, wiggling unsuccessfully trying to break away from him.

“Nope.” He popped the ‘p’ sound in the word. “You agreed to this, stuck forever now innit?” He cooed with his lips, ghosting over your skin he was so close to you. You gave in and hugged him back. Rolling to be completely on top of him in a straddle. “Morning, soon to be Mrs. Alexander-Arnold” he spoke softly as you giggled, pressing your lips to his.

“You’re hard, T.” You giggled teasing him able to feel his growing cock underneath you. He just hummed holding you tighter. You didn’t say anything else. You stayed in his arms happy and in love. You fell back asleep on Trent’s chest though too tired from the events that occurred on just about every surface of the room last night. He stayed awake rubbing your back loving the feeling of your warmth on top of him, the smell of your hair, and your newly ring adorned finger laying on his chest.

Winnie came to bring Teddy back. She knocked a few times but you were out cold and Trent was in his own world of admiration. You had given her a key so she popped into the living room space. Trent practically jumped seeing her cross through the room. He shouldn’t have been surprised. This was exactly the time when she said she’d be here.

“Sorry, sorry. I would’ve gotten up.” Trent cooed sitting up further against the headboard to talk to Winnie. You sleepily groaned and readjusted your position on him but not fully waking.

“You’re fine. Fun night?” She laughed teasing Trent seeing your naked back laying on top of him with your arms wrapped around his equally bare torso.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll hear all about it.” Trent responded, brushing a piece of your hair that had fallen off your face. He was referring to you not being particularly the most tight lipped about your life in the bedroom with him. Sharing every dirty detail to your sister and Lauren. They new a lot*.

“Expecting a rave review?” She teased him some more, walking into the bedroom with Teddy in her arms.

“Have you ever heard otherwise?” He asked jokingly but also laced with a bit of seriousness because he had a moment of fear thinking that maybe you had complained about your sex life to them at one point.

“Well, here's your rave review.” Winnie rolled her eyes, handing him a smiley Teddy excited to see her dad. Her small giggles and grunts eager to get into Trent’s arms woke you up. Winnie headed out and you got up eventually. You say at a table in the room eating the room service breakfast Trent had ordered you with Teddy on your lap.

“By the way, baby, I got a necklace to put Ted’s ring on. I don’t want her to try to eat it.” He laughed grabbing a box before he came to sit down beside you two. He pulled out a plain gold necklace.

“Thank you daddy.” You giggled, pressing a kiss to Teddy’s cheek. He slid the ring he had gotten her on the chain and handed it to you. You clasped it around her neck. “Can you say thank you dada?” You cooed. She had no idea what was going on let alone being put on her but it was special to you anyways. Trent reached over the table and picked her up. He squished her tight to him, releasing one arm free to pull you into him. His arm tucking behind your head bringing your forehead to his lips.

“My girls forever.” He whispered against your skin.

“Alexander-Arnold girls is crazy…” you laughed leaning back in your chair. It was unbelievable to you that you’d all share the same surname.

“It’s perfect.” He kissed your forehead again. You began to get ready for the day. Everyone who was in town for the engagement was coming to a party at The Plaza this afternoon for brunch. You were attempting to do your makeup in the bathroom when you could hear Teddy crying away in the other room sitting with Trent. You came out half dressed to see what was going on. Trent was standing rocking back and forth cradling her trying to get her to calm down.

“I think maybe the jet lag is starting to catch up with her. She hasn’t been sleeping nearly enough since we got here.” You cooed, taking her out of Trent’s arms. She clung around your neck, continuing to cry. Her breath was short. She sniffled against your shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Ted. I don’t know if I did something wrong or…” You watched Trent’s eyes sink as he looked from her to you. He felt horrible watching Teddy cry. “I tried everything, I swear. I don’t know how to help her.” Your heart broke a little watching his break. He rubbed his big hand over her back. His natural pout quivered. He rested his head onto her.

“It’s not your fault, T. She’s just tired. She’s okay. You’re okay, right baby?” You asked Teddy as her cries began to slow. Her shallow breaths starting to ease. “You’re such a good dad. Honest, you’re so good with her. She’s just a little sleepy, huh Teddy girl?” You cooed as she laid her cheek against your shoulder exhausted.

“Don’t take this the wrong way but why does she calm when she’s with you though?” Trent looked at you defeated seeing Teddy settling in your arms. “I feel like I do everything I’m supposed to and it’s not enough. I’m starting to think maybe I’m away from her too much.” You could see his mind racing feeling so guilty for the amount of time he was away from home for football.

“T… come here.” You pulled him into you with one arm. You handed him Teddy with the other. She nuzzled her face into the nape of his neck. Her tiny palm spread on his chest as she clung to him. “You’re so good with her. You love her so much and she knows that, she can feel that. Think of how excited she is when she sees you. We’re together as much as we can be. When she’s a little older, we’ll try to travel more to be with you, yeah? She’s so calm with you as well. Baby, she constantly falls asleep on you. Trust me she loves being with her daddy.” You gestured to Teddy who was fast asleep, already passed out on him. He laughed and kissed her cheek.

“I’m sorry.” He rubbed his free hand over his face. “Maybe, I’m jet lagged. Sorry, baby. You really think I’m good with her?” You nodded with a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you. Also, while you’re out here, I know you already picked out your outfit for the brunch but I got you a little something.” He cooed.

“You what?” Your eyes widened as Trent turned to grab a bag from Bergdorf Goodman. The lilac purple bag made your mouth almost water. There wasn’t a store in the world you loved more.

“I mean… it’s ridiculous and I don’t understand it but I know you wanted it. Thought it’d be good for today. First bridal thing for you.” He handed you the bag and it made your eyes tear more at the sentiment but maybe just a little as you pulled out the most insane embellished MuiMui crop top. “I got these heels as well, the woman said you needed to have them so if you needed them I had to get them.” He laughed, giving you one more perfectly lilac bag.

“I love you.” You cooed with a big smile. “I already forgot what I was even wearing before.” You giggled coming to hold his waist.

“Love me…” he rolled his eyes. “You just love clothes…” he teased. “Now go get changed.” He slapped your ass. You pressed a kiss to Teddy’s cheek and giddily skipped back to the bathroom to get dressed to celebrate your engagement to the most amazing man.

•

Thank you for reading! Please like, comment, or message what you think of the chapter … 🤍

Next part - Chapter 10 xx

56 notes · View notes

judesmoonbeauty · 2 days

Text

Love Begins From a Mean Lie: Victor Collection Event Story

Fan translation only. Not 100% accurate. Please expect grammatical errors. Cybird owns everything. Feel free to re-blog, but please do NOT post my translations elsewhere. What I obtain is what will be translated. Translation notes are marked with *** Dividers: @/natimiles

It was one day when I went to submit a report to Victor........

Victor: This is a grave situation!

Victor looked through the documents and let out a curt voice.

Kate: Huh, is there something wrong...?

Victor: No Kate, your work is perfect as usual! It’s just……

Victor: WILIAROGJUDROGALELHARIWILJUDELL!

(Uh, is that some kind of spell…?)

Victor: ....This is the order of the cursed people you wrote in your most recent report.

Victor: Do you notice anything?

Kate: Notice?

Victor: I’m not in it!

Kate: Ah, that's true.

Victor often has a busy schedule as the Queen's aide…….

He can't put in as many Crown assignments as the others.

Besides, I had not written a report on Victor recently, as I was accompanying the others on missions.

Victor: ……. Actually, Her Majesty the Queen told me that she didn't have enough information about me.

Victor: So, Kate! Will you write about me with your own hand?

Kate: I'll leave it to me, that's what I do!

Kate: But ..... Is there any mission that you can participate in from now on, Victor?

Victor: That's the thing. Crown assignments are allocated based on everyone's abilities.

Victor: Adding me after the fact would please everyone, but I can't deny that it will detract from the mission.

Victor: Besides, even though Her Majesty the Queen wants the information, the Queen's aide's job is not going away.

Kate: As usual, you've been busy……

Victor: …..Yes! How about you interview me?

Victor: I'm sure Her Majesty will be pleased if you put it all together and give it to her.

Kate: An interview....... Okay, I will! I look forward to working with you.

…….Thus began the interview to write down Victor's information.

Victor: My name is Victor. I am a the Queen's aide and a member of the Crown!

Victor: Height 183.5cm! Birthday is February 20th!

Victor: If you deliver any presents to Crown Castle, I'll be grateful for them!

Victor: Charming points? There are many, but if I had to choose just one, it would be the mole on my mouth.

Victor: This is also one of the "Seven Wonders of Vic," where if you press it, the left and right sides will be switched the next day!

Victor: I’m a cheerful person, who loves everyone at Crown and is loved by everyone at Crown. (👀??? That last bit is news to me.)

Victor: ……Come to think of it, we were talking about how Crown doesn't have a mascot.

Victor: I guess you could say I'm the mascot!

Victor began speaking without pause, and I took notes earnestly so as not to miss a single word.

(…..Hmmm. There's a lot of subjectivity in Victor's work, so we'll have to separate that properly.)

(Any other questions…….)

Kate: Victor……when do you usually sleep? I feel like you’re always awake.….

On sleepless nights, I wander into the kitchen and find Victor busy making sweets.

Early in the morning, I woke up for some reason and was taking a walk in the garden, and I saw Victor watering the flowers……

Victor was always there when I noticed it, so I wondered when he slept…..

Victor: I'm just like everyone else. Sleep at night and get up in the morning! That's the secret to good health!

Kate: That’s right. When we met in the morning, you didn’t even have bedhead, so I thought you weren’t sleeping.

Victor: No way! I'm a normal human being. I need my sleep.

Victor: I have naturally good hair, but I don't miss taking care of it every night, so it's hard for me to have bedhead.

Victor: But, it’s not like I don’t sleep at all alright? If you don’t mind, why don’t you come wake me up?

Kate: Eh…..

Victor: If I could see your face when I woke up,…….I would be so happy that day.

Kate: …..Ah, I’ll think about it.

Victor: Hehe, you’re always welcome!

Watching someone wake up makes me feel like I'm trespassing on their private life, which makes me feel a bit uneasy…..

(The only people who are allowed to see that kind of thing are the people who are really close to you.)

(….. I wonder if even the always energetic Victor is a bit languid when he wakes up from sleep.)

Even though I refused, I couldn't help but imagine Victor waking up.

(....should not. I need to concentrate on the interview! Next question is....)

Kate: Recently, have you done anything bad Victor?

Victor: Hehe...there's always evil in Crown! Good question.

Victor: Bad things…….I guess so. I lied to an innocent child for my own personal greed.

Victor: As an apology, I'm going to prepare a delicious royal cake for the child! That’s usual news.

Kate: Victor is preparing a cake to apologize! That’s new.

Victor: Of course, it depends on the degree of lying....... By the way Kate, what kind of cake do you like?

Kate: I’m torn...... I like anything with chocolate, and strawberry shortcake too....

Kate: Oh, and items made with seasonal fruits are also hard to give up.

Kate: .... But I'm not being lied to by you now Victor, am I?

Victor: …..Do you believe so? Maybe without you even realizing it, I could be telling a terrible lie.

Kate: Then let's go to a cake shop together.

Kate: I have a lot of questions and choices to make, so please bear with me.

Victor: Hehe……You're so cute and confused, I might just buy the whole store.

(Victor would really buy everything …..)

Victor: Now, what's the next question?

Kate: Next, yes….

Kate: Victor is full of himself and cheerful……

Kate: You don’t seem to have anything to be afraid of, but is there anything?

Victor: Afraid of…..huh.

Victor: ……Everyone at Crown.

Kate: Oh, maybe that’s why you’re “afraid of cake”? ***

Victor: "Afraid of cake"?

Kate: By telling people that you’re scared of what you like……

Kate: It's an oriental story where….. you can get what you like from someone who scared you.

Kate: Victor, I think you intentionally said you were scared because you love everyone in the Crown.

Victor: Hehe, that’s an interesting story.

Victor: It's true that I cherish and love everyone at Crown……but what I just said is true.

Victor: If the Crown follows its path to the end and conquers evil with evil…..

Victor: ……Someday I will be judged by them.

Kate: What…..?

Victor: …..I think there is such a possibility.

I didn't think Victor had any crimes that would warrant being judged by the Crown…..

I don't know everything about him, so I couldn't deny it.

Kate: Because you're afraid of being judged... Are you afraid of Crown?

(Like God announcing death, the Crown announces destruction to evil.)

(Victor may also fear Crown as a symbol of his own destruction.…)

Victor: ….It’s a little different.

Victor: If I'm guilty, I think I deserve to be judged. There’s no fear there.

Victor: Just…

Victor: I'm so happy now that I'm spending time with everyone...I'm sad and scared that it will end someday.

(Victor isn't afraid of being punished...he's sad that his days are coming to an end.)

(In that case….)

Kate: …. I don't know what crime you’re guilty of Victor.

Kate: That sin, if it can be atoned for in some way….I don’t know.

Victor: ….Yeah.

Kate: But ……I, too, want these days to continue!

Kate: So if I can help, please give me a shout.

Kate: I will always help you Victor, just as you always do!

Before I knew it, I told Victor that I wanted to help him, and he smiled kindly at me.

Victor: …..Thank you, Kate.

-Then I asked many other questions and finished the interview with Victor.

Kate: Hmmm ........ I wrote a lot, but….

Kate: Does Her Majesty the Queen really want this information .....?

There are some parts where Victor's way of thinking and personality are well written.

Even if Her Majesty the Queen were to read it, it would contain information that would be neither harmful nor helpful.

Victor: Of course, I’m very happy! I'll be sure to give it to Her Majesty the Queen later!

Victor's jewel-like eyes sparkled as he picked up my report and smiled.

Victor: ……Thank you for writing about me, Kate.

When I returned to Crown Castle after the interview, I met William.

In the color of the setting sun shining into the hall, his red eyes that never lose their edge find me, and they flicker happily.

William: …. It seems it took quite a while to submit the report today.

William: Did you have afternoon tea with Victor?

Kate: No, it seems that Her Majesty the Queen actually wanted information about Victor…..

Kate: I interviewed Victor and compiled it into a report.

William: Hmm? …..that’s an odd story.

Kate: What…?

William: Her Majesty the Queen knows Victor better than anyone. She wouldn’t say she doesn’t have enough information.

Kate: What…? Does that mean Victor lied? Why?

William: Regarding Victor's lie this time...Is there anything that concerns you?

Kate: Concerned about…..

FLASHBACK

Victor: ….. Thank you for writing about me, Kate.

What left a particularly strong impression on me was the happy look on Victor's face when he saw my report after the interview.

FLASHBACK ENDS

(Could it be….)

Kate: Victor lied…..

Kate: …..Because he wanted me to write about himself?

William didn't confirm or deny my guess, and smiled leisurely.

William: …..Our work must not be known to others.

William: Only those who walk under the light are etched into Britain's glorious history.

William: There's no need to complain about it. But….

William: Sometimes you may wish to carve it with your own hands and leave it behind.

William: -As Britain flourishes and shines brightly, there is a dark shadow that falls over it.

(Victor wants me to write it down…..?)

(….If so, he’d be happy.)

As a fairytale keeper, I can record Victor's steps and make him happy.

Thinking like that, I became even more motivated.

(Besides, I would like to continue to write about it.)

(…If I do that, I'm sure I'll be able to get closer to Victor.)

***Just a note about the "afraid of cake" scene and being linked to a story or tale in the East. I couldn't find anything myself and I'm 100% sure I translated this scene inaccurately. So, take it with a grain of salt.

[Master Lists]

#Ikevil #ikevil translations #cybird translations #ikevil jp #ikemen villains translations #Ikevil victor #ikemen victor #ikemen villains victor

56 notes · View notes

penkura · 2 days

Text

knowing [5/8]

Summary: Sanji knew you were the one the moment he met you.

Pairing: Sanji x Reader

Warnings: None really. Normal One Piece stuff I guess.

Note: I love Dressrosa, Sanji got to go on a date lol. But obviously things are different here. ;) This one is also a little shorter, I wasn't sure what to do with this, but I'm fairly happy with it. Next week will be much longer! And on time I swear omg.

[Ch. 1] ● [Ch. 2] ● [Ch. 3] ● [Ch. 4]

With the events of Fishman Island behind you, arriving on Punk Hazard, you drew straws with everyone willing to venture to the burning side of the island, being one to join Luffy, Zoro, Robin, and Usopp to scope the place out. You promised Sanji you’d be fine, you’d stick by Zoro even thought Sanji didn’t like that either, he knew you trusted Zoro as much as you trusted him. You knew Sanji would be fine taking care of the rest of your crewmates, even when you make it to the frozen side of the island and see things have gone a bit awry, as your friends are now all swapped around thanks to one Warlord.

“Okay, okay,” you looked between the four as Usopp took out a notepad and pencil to keep things straight, “So, Franky is in Chopper’s body.”

“Super right, buddy!”

“And, Chopper is in Sanji’s body.”

Sanji, or, well, Chopper nodded, starting to cling onto you which felt weird even though it was your boyfriend’s body it was Chopper’s mind.

“Nami is in Franky’s body.”

Nami-Franky was nearly in tears, poor Nami crying over not being herself.

“And…” You looked over the to the last member of your crew, smiling when see they aren’t looking at you, “Sanji is in Nami’s body.”

Slight nod, you nearly laughed at the whole situation, while everyone was wondering how to fix it. You weren’t sure you knew the answer, but thought Trafalgar Law was your only way of getting the whole thing fixed.

You all take to just calling your swapped friends by their names, you taking a seat by Sanji and patting his back while he kept his head in his hand, not having fully looked at you since you showed up. Being in Nami’s body must’ve been a lot for him to take in, especially considering his relationship with you.

“We’ll get you back to normal, Sanji. It’ll be okay.”

He stayed quiet for several moments, before finally turning to give you a hug that you returned.

“It’s probably weird,” Sanji said while almost burrowing into your shoulder, “but I just need a minute, I’ll be fine…”

“I know, I know.”

It was a little weird, to hear his voice coming from Nami, but for the time being, you’d have to accept it. It wouldn’t change anything about your relationship, it was only temporary. Even when Sanji left with Zoro and Brook to go after the torso-less Kin’emon, you stayed with the rest of your crew, helping calm the withdrawal suffering and mostly giant children, as Luffy and Franky ran to save Nami from whoever snatched her thinking she was Franky.

Once Luffy and the others return, with Trafalgar Law at their side, and an alliance planned thanks to Luffy not stopping to ask anyone else. You were all for it, making Nami mostly yell at you after she was swapped into Sanji’s body.

Nami in Sanji’s body was even weirder than the other swaps, but it felt stranger when Nami hugged you as she cried over now being in your boyfriend’s body instead of her own. You looked over at Law, giving him a slight glare that he returned.

“What?”

“I kind of hate you right now.”

You were glad later that day when Law finally switched the two back. Sanji was so happy that the second he got the chance, he hugged you so tightly before running off to help Tashigi and the other Marines while you went on with Nami and the others to help Chopper stop the children from getting the spiked candy.

“I’m glad for you and Sanji,” Nami made a slight face that caused you to laugh, “But thank God I’m back in my body, I didn’t want you guys being weird while we were swapped.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry!! All we did was hug!”

“Still weird.”

Robin smiled hearing your conversation and the near cackle you let out at Nami’s reaction.

Personally, she was just glad Franky wasn’t in Chopper’s body anymore.

+!+

“That little brat.”

“Sanji. He’s a child.”

“He knows what he’s doing.”

You fought back a laugh at the scowl on Sanji’s face while Momonosuke, one of the children you’d helped rescue from Punk Hazard with his father Kin’emon, slept on your lap. Of course, you knew the child had a bit of a bias towards women, whether because he didn’t have his mother or because of perverted reasons, you didn’t want to know really. You preferred to just view him like your little brothers, someone who needed some comfort and attention.

“He reminds me of my youngest brother,” You smiled a bit, watching Momonosuke while Sanji watched you still, “He was four when I left home, I felt awful cause he was crying and holding onto my leg so tightly…I almost stayed.”

“Yeah?”

Nodding, you looked over and gave Sanji a smile that he returned. “He was the baby before the new one my mom was pregnant with, we really thought he was going to be the last one.”

“There are nine of you now?”

“Yep.”

Sanji quietly nodded, turning back to his dinner prep and trying to decide if he should say something else, before finally doing so.

“I’m…one of five.”

“…really?”

“Mm,” Sanji knew you were just watching his back, he was still trying to word things, that was the second thing he’d ever told you about his family, the first being his mother’s name, “I have one older sister…and three brothers, two older and one younger. My brothers and I were quadruplets.”

Your eyes widened and you had the sudden fear of having quadruplets yourself, before Sanji, who turned around to see your fear, quickly calming you down by saying his parents had help and there was no record of natural multiples of that many in his family line, you were safe. At the most you could have twins one day, but even that was rare.

Once Sanji had talked you down from running away with a million bunny trails, he sat beside you and watched Momonosuke sleep.

“I guess he’s kind of cute.”

“Kids are always cute when they sleep.”

The three of you are quiet for a bit, Sanji thinking of different things while watching you and Momonosuke. He wondered if you wanted to be a mom one day, do you actually want kids with him? He’d heard you and Nami talking about the kids from Punk Hazard, how you wanted to help them and the soft spot you both had for children. Having watched you the last couple days, on your trip to Dressrosa, as you spent time with Momonosuke and helped care for him, it made him want to have children with you so much sooner than you probably should or could.

Of course, he wanted to marry you first, but he had decided you would be a wonder mother one day, if that was what you wanted.

Luffy nearly broke into the kitchen a few moments later, shouting that you’d all arrived at Dressrosa, and it was time to get off the ship.

You had already been enlisted by Law to come with him to help hand over Caesar to Doflamingo, which Sanji didn’t particularly like as he was supposed to stay on Sunny with Nami, Chopper, Momonosuke, and Brook. While he trusted Law as an ally, the way you two seemed to be hanging out more and getting closer, it made Sanji a little jealous to see, but he was trying to push it aside after you’d forgiven him for his indiscretions with seeing the mermaids on Fishman Island.

He didn’t want to do anything to lose you.

+!+

"Hey, come with me, moss head."

Zoro didn't have a chance to argue with Sanji about going elsewhere before the blond pulled him into a store by his sleeve. He didn't even get to see what kind of shop he'd been dragged into, what if it was a place he didn't want to be? Once he did see it was a jewelry store, Zoro grumbled to himself about how stupid of a place this was for him to be, he didn't need anything more. His three earrings were more than enough. Why did Sanji even want to be here?

"Hey, what the hell are we doing here?"

"Shut up for a minute." Sanji growled out a bit, before turning back to the store clerk and handing the man a ring, asking to see anything in that size. Once the clerk brought over several rings that matched, Sanji started looking at them closely while Zoro watched him for a few minutes.

He finally had a thought about what Sanji was doing, but there was no way right?

He definitely wasn't doing what Zoro thought he was doing, despite his mumbling to himself about what was too gaudy or too ugly for you.

"What are you doing, curly brow?"

Stopping for a second, Sanji held a small ring in his hand before he looked at Zoro.

"I want to ask [Y/N] to marry me. I don't know when yet, but I want to do it soon."

He really was doing exactly what Zoro thought he was doing. Sanji was trying to choose an engagement ring for you. He'd probably only dragged Zoro into the shop with him so the swordsman wouldn't get lost, but the fact he even told Zoro what was doing was a surprise. You had gone with Law, Robin, and Usopp to hand off Caesar to Doflamingo if all went well, so there was no chance of you randomly walking in and finding out about this before he was ready to ask.

Sanji had known for a while that he wanted to marry you. If you all hadn't separated for two years, he believed he would have asked much sooner, but he also knew things would work out the way he hoped and planned either way. Whether he asked tomorrow or in another year, he felt certain you'd say yes. After watching you with Momonosuke since he and Kin’emon had joined you all, he knew his decision to ask you was going to be the right one, he knew you were going to be a great mother to whatever children you may have in the future.

Zoro was surprised Sanji hadn't asked you to marry him yet. He saw the gross, lovesick look the chef always gave when you were around him, the far off look in his eyes when he'd watch you spending time with someone else on the ship, and even the tiniest bit of visible jealousy as you spoke with Law about the plans he had for you all in Dressrosa. He knew you were the same way, lovesick looks when Sanji wasn't paying attention, you'd told Zoro many things that he didn't need or want to hear about how you loved the blond, and the way you'd be the first to offer to help clean and wash dishes after dinner.

There were even the few moments Zoro would catch you two on the deck, against the railing. Sanji would have an arm around you, leaning in to whisper whatever he had to say, which more often than not would make you blush and giggle a bit, doing the same to keep your conversation private. Zoro couldn't hear the likely gross, lovey-dovey things you were saying to each other to elicit such reactions, and he didn't want or need to know.

If your relationship was out in the open for everyone to know about, Zoro could only imagine how gross you two would be.

"Surprised you haven't asked her yet."

"Yeah well," Sanji handed the ring he'd chosen to the clerk, who walked off to get it rang up while he took a drag from his cigarette, "Things have been moving so quickly lately we've barely had time alone as it is."

"You gonna ask her once this is done with?"

Taking the bag once he'd paid for the ring, Sanji shook his head while he and Zoro left the jewelry store. "No, I don't think so. I want to ask at the right moment."

"Better not make her wait forever," Zoro smirked a bit, but he knew Sanji wasn't going to take too much longer to pop the question to you, "Who knows, she might fall for Traffy if you do."

"Don't joke about that, you lame ass moss head!"

+!+

Dressrosa was freed in a day, you were glad when the birdcage came down and knew Luffy had taken down Doflamingo, finally. Your part was to help the townspeople after you worked with Robin and Usopp to stop Sugar’s Devil Fruit powers, having run off after your call with Luffy’s group and Sanji’s on the Sunny. Despite your concern for your friends, you were also worried for the regular people who had no part in the whole ordeal. Even with Marines around you tried to be sneaky, as a kunoichi should be, and slip around to help anyone who needed it, but especially the children that had been separated from their parents or other family members. Every moment and reunion made you miss your own parents and siblings, but also made you grateful to have the chance to make a difference in someone else’s life.

After your few days of rest in Kyros’ home and quick escape from the kingdom, you were glad to he back on a ship, even if it wasn’t the Sunny, returning to water made you even happier than you would’ve expected it to, even though it had only been a few days.

Much of your time during your trip to Zou was spent with Robin and Law, Zoro noticed. Or course you’d be near to Robin, she was like the big sister you never had, but Law was a surprise. He didn’t seem like the kind of person you’d be drawn to, let alone friends with, but maybe there was something else going on.

He was joking when be told Sanji you could go after Law if the blond tool too long to propose to you, it wasn’t a real thought in his mind at the time.

Eventually you tale a break from everyone and go to Zoro, sitting beside him and leaning into his arm, which makes him nod towards Law and Robin.

“What’s going on there?”

“Oh, I was just getting an idea of Traffy’s plan. He’s really got things all figured out.”

“Not what I meant.”

Tilting your head, you look back to them, before realizing what Zoro meant and feeling your face heat up.

“Oh. Oh! No, no, no, Zoro, nothing like that!”

“Look just cause the cook isn’t here and you’re still a secret doesn’t mean—”

“Zoro. Trust me. Law is cool and all that, but I’m not attracted to him. Sanji’s the only one for me.”

Zoro shrugged a bit, going back to his drink your interrupted him from. He does believe you, he’d been watching and the look in your eyes while you talked to Law, it wasn’t at all like the one you have when you look at Sanji. That look you have when you’re in love with someone, completely smitten and enthralled by them, you’ve only ever given that look to Sanji ever since you met.

“You’ll be back with your weird boyfriend soon.”

Giggling, you nod and close your eyes, just thinking about seeing Sanji again.

See you in Zou, Sanji.

#one piece x reader #reader insert #sanji x reader #blackleg sanji x reader #knowing fanfic #fem!reader #black leg sanji x reader

53 notes · View notes

distance-does-not-matter · 3 days

Text

in the garden

Dedicated to the lovely @imissthembutitwasntadisaster, who always reminds me how much I love this couple and has inspired me to develop their story!

He came calling three days after their engagement. Her mother was reluctant to leave them alone, but Bhavana insisted on speaking with him. At last, after much hovering and muttering, two cups of tea, and a few hasty promises extracted, she left them to stroll in the garden. She rested her fingertips in his elbow only until they were out of sight of her mother; when they turned the corner, she stepped away, and he stopped.

She looked back at him. “General?”

He flinched.

“Please, don’t call me that,” he said, the first words he’d spoken since they stepped outdoors.

“What should I call you then?” “Just my name.”

The great and rising general of the land, in her garden, next to her overgrown amaryllis, asking her to call him by just his name. Her friend, looking nervous in her garden.

“Claude.”

He smiled at her, a smaller smile than normal.

“Bhavana.”

She kept walking, trying to be absorbed in noting changes she wanted to make, but was soon stopped by his voice.

“I came to break the engagement, if that is what you want.”

When she looked back at him, he was standing straight and proud, but she recognized the clenching of his hand that betrayed his nerves. He looked every bit the decorated General Vallot she had heard spoken about; but that small action, the clenched hand, brought him back to simply being her friend Claude.

“Why?”

“I know you don’t love me, and I don’t love you.”

The breath left her lungs. These days, she had been turning over every interaction of theirs, examining his behavior, wondering what could have provoked the proposal. Romantic love had been the most likely explanation, and yet that explanation had just been taken from her. She almost wanted to laugh: in confusion, in relief, in heaven only knew what.

“Then why–?” “Because Dane was insulting your honor, and as your friend, I couldn’t let that stand. I apologize if I’ve confused you. I came here to explain myself, and to let you leave the engagement if you want. I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.”

Stunned, she stepped closer. “Leave the engagement?”

He nodded. “I would handle it all; you wouldn’t have to worry. I don’t want to saddle you with anything you don’t want.”

When she didn’t respond, he hesitated. “You don’t… you don’t have to answer immediately.”

She blinked and tried to formulate a response, but words failed her. Instead, she took his elbow and led him to a bench. He sat tall and straight on the edge of the bench, just as he always did. His scar flexed as he clenched his jaw. There had been a time when she hadn’t seen the scar; but once seen, it was impossible to miss, even as it hid itself.

“Give me some time to think it over. I….”

At that, he smiled at her, shockingly gentle. It was hard to believe that smile belonged to the man who had earned such acclaim in the court. It looked better suited to a scholar or someone else gentle and removed from the world.

“How long would you like?”

“A week. Please. I’ll write to you.”

He nodded, eyes softening with another smile. Slowly, he stood, and began to stroll further in the garden. From her seat, she was able to take him in. His clothes were simple, but of high quality and cut well. His shirt was muted blue, and his pants were black. It all looked new, except his shoes. They had clearly seen years of hard use. He bent to look at a flower, using his left hand to bring it closer. Left. That was strange.

“Did you hurt your arm?”

He turned, a whisper of shock on his face. “What?” “Aren’t you right-handed?”

He turned back to the flower. “Yes. It was simply a training accident.”

She nodded.

Turning, he straighted. “I should leave now. Thank you for your time.”

She nodded again, but when he began to walk away, she bolted to her feet. “Let me walk you out. My mother will never let me hear the end of it otherwise.” With the reminder of her mother, she began to search around the garden till her eyes landed on the forget-me-nots at her feet. “Here.” She plucked a bunch and tucked them behind his ear, all attention focused on situating them just so. When she was satisfied, she stepped back with a smile. “So my mother doesn’t suspect.”

He blinked, then smiled down at her. “Thank you, Bhavana. Send me word whenever you make up your mind.”

She nodded and settled her hand into his elbow, her heart and head much quieter than it had been a quarter of an hour ago.

#space opera #my writing #all names and etc subject to change #hope u all enjoy!! they're very fun and mostly very sweet #so glad they finally have NAMES #penni yeets her thoughts into the void

31 notes · View notes

madame-fear · 3 days

Note

even after your break-up, you and esteban are still each other’s emergency contact… which becomes apparent when you end up in the hospital.

𐙚 𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌.

ೀ amira speaks.ᐟ : okay so for this one I made them have a platonic, sweet relationship which I HOPE IT’S WHAT YOU EXPECTED AND I ALSO HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS BELLE MY SUNSHINE MY LOVE MWAHHH 💐💋 ˗ˏˋ ꒰ summary : request above. ♡ ˗ˏˋ ꒰ word count : 712.

˗ˏˋ ꒰ genre : fluff, exes to friends(?), drabble. ˗ˏˋ ꒰ pairing : ex!Esteban Kukuriczka x (fem!)Reader

The bright lights in the hospital room caused you to weakly furrow your eyebrows, struggling to open your eyes as you gained consciousness leisurely.

While you managed to open your eyes slowly, adjusting your vision to your surroundings, a dull pain began taking the entirety of your body overwhelmingly— making a soft grunt spur from your lips.

The last thing you remembered, was that you had been on the road, and you could remember that at one moment you began panicking while driving, but didn’t remember exactly why, or what happened; much less you remembered what happened afterwards, and the reason for you to end up in a hospital bed. If anything, you could barely think without feeling physically exhausted, and with your whole body sharply aching.

“You’re finally awake.” you heard a soft familiar male voice coming from your right side. Tilting your head to your side weakly, a little smile began growing at the corner of your lips the moment you spotted Kuku sitting on a chair, by your side. One of his warm hands held your own rather firmly, and his other hand was placed on top of your head, using his thumb to caress you lovingly.

Despite the break-up you went through with him a few months ago, you both remained in the best terms possible. You couldn’t deny Kuku was one of the best relationships you ever had, as you were his— to which, you decided to stay as close friends, and maintain a good bond together. You suspected that the reason of why Esteban was at the hospital by your side was because in your phone, his number stayed as your emergency contact.

“You’re here.” you mumbled weakly, offering him a little smile. His hand kept caressing your head, with his coffee-coloured eyes fixed on your features. Gods, he still adored you very dearly. It didn’t matter if you had broken up several months ago, you still managed to be the one and only girl he was more fond of than anything else.

“Of course I’m here,” Kuku said, “The hospital said you had a car accident and I was your emergency contact. I immediatly came rushing to see you.” christ, you could feel your entire body aching the more aware you became to your surroundings. It must have been a pretty bad accident, you could sense it— but fortunately enough, you were still alive... With the sweetest man to have ever met looking after you. You did well in keeping him as an emergency contact.

The grip Esteban held on your hand tightened gently, as you grinned back at him weakly. “I took a good decision, keeping you as my emergency contact.” you said, “Thank you. for coming” your words made him softly scoff. What did you even have to thank him for? For whatever thing you could possibly need Kuku, he would be there for you in the blink of an eye.

“You shouldn’t even be thanking me, corazón.” he replied, continuing to gently caress the top of your head. “I kept you as my emergency contact too, I don’t think I’ll be changing that.” your grin grew slightly wider, becoming a toothy smile. It was true— just like you had his contact on your phone near enough in case there was any type of emergency at all, he had your own as well. You could consider it a small, very simple display of the genuine trust and affection you still had for one another.

“Now, you should go back to resting.” you had already spent quite some time resting on the hospital bed, but considering how dull your entire body felt, a little bit more would do no harm. “I will get a nurse to check on you, and I will stay by your side as much as possible.” you weakly nodded as a short response.

Leaning closer to you, his lips were placed on your forehead soothingly for several seconds, before allowing you to get back to sleeping for a little while until you felt less vulnerable. It made you feel comfortable enough to know you had him to take care of you, or simply stay by your side— and you wouldn’t change the relationship you had for anything in the world.

◞ ꙳ ๋࣭ ⭑ ` taglist .ᐟ

@luceracastro @castawaycherry @creative-heart @cyliarys-starlight @deepinsideyourbeing @chiquititamia @koiibiito @lastflowrr

#esteban kukuriczka x reader #lsdln x reader #lsdln cast #esteban kukuriczka fluff #esteban kukuriczka one shot #esteban kukuriczka imagine #esteban kukuriczka fanfic #wifey belle <33 #belle <33

44 notes · View notes

buckysgrace · 22 hours

Note

Hi. You’re amazing!

Do you ever write fluff? Like if you found out you were pregnant with Billy’s baby and at first he’s upset and doesn’t want anything to do with you but after you have the baby ( a little boy with blonde curls like Billy) he gets all emotional and wants to desperately be a better father than his dad was to him 😭

Hello! Thank you so much <3 I absolutely will write fluff!

CW: Mentions of abortion, mentions of child abuse, lots of Billy being scared and a lil mean.

Billy's son is also referenced as having blonde curls and his nose, but the rest is ambiguous!

He was scared.

Billy honestly didn't know what he was going to do. There had been many arguments with you about it, but you seemed fairly determined. You were going to have this baby, whether he wanted to be a part of the baby's life or not.

It wasn't necessarily that he didn't want to be involved, but he could feel a crushing fear spreading through him every time he thought about being a dad.

His relationship with his own dad was strained. Things weren’t the best between them. He never really had a positive father figure, someone that showed him how to stay calm even when he was frustrated. The last thing he wanted was to end up snapping at his own child.

He couldn’t be a dad.

“Not mine,” He said once you showed up with the ultrasound, the bloodwork and everything. Denial was all he could think about, all he could process. He couldn’t fuck up your life and this child’s life if he wasn’t involved. It was that simple, “I didn’t knock you up.”

“Uh huh,” Was your dry answer, your eyes looking less than amused, “Do you want a paternity test then, William?” Came your snarky response, because you both knew the truth. This baby was his, there was no doubt in Billy’s mind about that. And it terrified him.

“Don’t call me that.” He said as he pushed his hair off of his forehead, feeling sick as it continued to wash over him. He was going to be a dad. He was going to end up just like Neil.

“Then don’t act like you weren’t a part of this.” You said, looking just as fearful as what he felt. He sat down on the edge of his bed, tapping his foot rapidly as he thought about how good a smoke sounded right now. He’d need a lot more to make him relax.

“It’s still early, right?” He questioned at last, turning his attention back to you. He watched the way your eyebrows furrowed tightly together and then relaxed again. Your eyes softened, telling him what he already knew.

“I’m not getting an abortion,” You said at last, “I’ve made up my mind. You can make your decision, but I’m not letting you walk in and out of our lives whenever you see fit. You can be a part of this baby's life or we can end this. Whatever you prefer.” You were gentle with him, setting out the options softly like you always did. You understood him better than anyone else, made him feel safe. It made him sick to think about how he was hurting the one person he really cared about.

“Can I think about it?” He asked at last, feeling like there wasn’t anything else to do. He didn’t have an answer yet and he didn’t want to end up saying the wrong thing. He was growing angry at himself. He could only imagine what Neil would say once he found out.

“Yeah,” You replied gently, eyes softening as you nodded your head, “But I can’t wait forever. I need to know your answer soon.” Your voice slightly wavered but he looked away, not wanting to see you so upset.

“Yeah,” He responded as he nodded his head and placed his fingers tightly together, “I’ll let you know.” He said at last, staying put until you left. Everything was falling apart, breaking down around him. He couldn’t deal with it right now.

Ignoring you was harder than he’d thought it would be. He looked for you everywhere he went, even though he knew he couldn’t have you. That was his own fault regardless. He’d made up his mind. It would be easier this way.

Yet, when the invitation for your baby shower arrived in his mail he felt his walls caving in. They crashed into him, making him break down as he stared at your handwritten notes on the card. He could tell just by reading it that you were excited, not afraid. He wished he could be more like you.

In the end, he decided to go. He needed closure, as he was sure you needed to. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to stand living in the same town as you, knowing that his child would never know him. Somehow, that made him feel even worse.

He felt lonely as the months drew on. He had no one to confide in for his problems; especially Neil and Susan. He didn’t know what to say when they questioned about your disappearance and he felt even more at a loss when they asked him if you were pregnant. A shrug of his shoulders was his answer. He really didn’t know.

The walk up towards the little gymnasium felt odd, like he didn’t quite belong as he stared at the little balloons and elephant decorations that were spotted throughout the room. There were familiar faces; your friends and family. Some other people that weren’t quite as well known. He still felt awkward, like everyone knew that he was the one who had knocked you up and ran.

“Hey,” You drew out as you approached him, your palm flat against the bump in front of you, “I didn’t think you’d be here.” You said slowly, literally glowing as you stood in front of him. You had a sundress on, your cheeks were warm and forehead a little sweaty. He wondered if it was from the baby.

“I didn’t think I’d come either.” He admitted at last, hating how horrible that sounded. He just felt like he was in a rut, buried deep inside of a hole with no real way of coming out. You were like sunshine through the dirt, warming his skin as he watched you.

“What does this mean?” You asked him at last, tilting your head as your eyes softened over his features. He wished that he had a real answer for you, to tell you how he felt. He was in love with you; deeply. He just didn’t want to hurt you either. It was complicated.

“I really don’t know yet,” He mumbled, “It just felt right.” He decided on, unable to tell you just how much he missed you. He was nearly desperate enough to fall to his knees and beg for your forgiveness. He would if you pushed him hard enough.

“Billy,” You drew out in exasperation, “I can’t have you doing this, being so wishy-washy. What do you want?” You asked him seriously, looking like you were close to cracking too. He wanted to reach out and touch you, to hold you. He needed to apologize.

“I just want to be better,” He replied slowly, “I want to be here. For you and for-,” He stalled for a moment as he looked down at your baby bump, feeling like he was at a loss once again. He wasn’t sure if you wanted him in his life or not.

“Him,” You said quickly, “We’re having a little boy.” Your eyes were glazed over in tears, your lips pulling into the tightest smile. You were clearly emotional, making him feel awful as he reached his hand forward. Your fingers met slowly, molding against one another. He felt sparks traveling up his arms, leaving him resentful of the past few months he’d wasted.

“That’s-, that’s good,” He answered after he cleared his throat. He was already scared to be a dad, but to have a son? He feared that even more. He was sure he was following directly into Neil’s shows, “Have you decided on a name?”

“I kind of like Cash,” You stated as you rubbed at your belly, “Just feels right. C’mon, you can open the presents with me.” You explained as you tugged him along, leaving him a little jittery. He thought about pulling out a cigarette, but figured it wasn’t the right place to do it.

He felt a little lost but slowly grew more and more keen on what was happening. It was still a lot to process, but it felt right being there by your side. You were clearly excited despite everything that had happened. He was grateful that you were so open, that you didn’t hold a grudge against him.

“Where are you living at?” He asked instead, curious as to whether your living situation had changed or not. You were still living at home the last time he checked. He was slightly nervous, wondering if someone else had slipped into his spot.

“Still with my parents,” You admitted as you shrugged your shoulders, “They were upset, but they’ve come around.” Your lips were pulled into a smile, looking less than worried. Apparently things had been fairly well for you.

“They probably hate me.” He said a moment later, sure that it was true. He couldn’t see how they wouldn’t. He had practically left you. You snapped your eyes up towards him.

“Hate is a strong word,” You told him quickly, “But yeah, they’re not the happiest. Especially dad.” You explained slowly as you continued to rub at your baby bump.

“Great,” He mumbled as he placed his hands in his pockets, “I’m really sorry.” He breathed out slowly, knowing his apology was more important than everything else. He meant it too. He shouldn’t have pushed you away.

“You just disappeared,” You started slowly, “I thought you were gone.” Your voice was soft, full of hurt and distress. He felt his throat tightening, burning as he thought about how much he missed you. He was a fool to ever stray away from you, to leave you on your own.

“I thought about it,” He told you honestly, knowing there was no point in lying, “I don’t want to be like my dad.” He replied at last, getting down to the root of the issue. He didn’t want to accidentally lash out at you or at your future child. He never wanted that for him. It would be better to be alone.

“You won’t,” You told him quickly, sternly as he exhaled deeply, “You’re not like your dad. I promise you.” You cupped his face softly, your hands smooth and gentle against his skin. He leaned against you, craving the feeling.

“What if I lose control?” He asked at last as he drew his eyes over your features, taking in the way you were watching him. You sighed deeply as you rubbed your fingers across his skin. You looked deep in thought as you pressed your nails gently against his stubble.

“You never did that at your swimming classes,” You reminded him, “You should come stay with me. Move in. It would be good for our baby.” You moved your hands to his neck, then to his shoulder and down to his hands. You gripped them slowly, pressing them against your growing tummy.

He stalled for the longest time, blinking slowly as he felt like the world was freezing around him. Underneath your skin he could feel your baby moving. He gulped, eyes wide as he felt the smallest smile curling against his lips. He exhaled deeply as he looked towards you again.

“I don’t know.” He replied nervously as he felt his heart hammering roughly inside of his chest. He chewed on his bottom lip, thinking that it would be easier. He’d be closer for you, for the baby. If he was really going to do this, he needed to be near you.

“You don’t have to marry me or anything,” You started, “Or be with me if that’s what you want.” You said sheepishly, looking embarrassed as you quickly looked away. He felt his heart shatter a bit again, worried that he had truly hurt you.

“You have someone else?” He asked at last, worried that you had moved on. He had done wrong, but he really did love you. You were the only one he was passionate about. He wasn’t sure how to move on if you had found someone else.

“No,” You responded with a smile, “But I just want you to be happy. Even if it’s not with us.” You nodded your head, but looked like that was hard to admit. He didn’t want you to be alone. Not anymore.

“You make me happy,” He said at last, “We’ll work this out. I promise.” He said as he brought your hand up to his lips, savoring the feeling of your skin against his mouth. He closed his eyes, feeling very regretful. He wouldn’t lose you again.

When he returned home he felt odd, but not like he had in the past few months. He didn’t drink away his feelings, or drown his anger out with music. Instead, he worked on packing. He wasn’t going to be like Neil; not at all. He was going to be there for you. He was going to be there for his son. No matter how scared he was. He couldn’t let either of you down.

“Where are you going?” Neil’s voice made him jump, surprising him as he paused with the article of clothing in his hands. He turned slowly, looking at the way Neil was leaning against the door frame. He had his hands crossed tightly over his chest, his eyebrows furrowed together tightly. His features were stoic, like he was deciding whether he should be angry or not.

“I’m moving out,” He said as he turned away, shoving the clothes back into his bag, “I uh, found a place.” Billy replied slowly as he finished zipping up his bag. He wondered how much he’d really be able to take with him. Probably not much if his dad got angry.

“You moving in with that bitch?” Neil tilted his head up as he spoke, like he was trying to make himself taller. His eyes were sharp, cold as his gaze cut into Billy. He felt sick as he gulped harshly, trying to keep his tone at bay.

“Don’t call her that.” Billy responded hotly, feeling defensive of you. You weren’t anything like that and you were letting him back into your life; just like that. You were everything and more to him and he wasn’t going to let Neil speak ill of you.

“Is the kid yours or some little bastard?” His lip curled up in disgust as he spoke, his features filling with disappointment. Billy didn’t care. He was going to be happy with you. He wouldn’t be like Neil. Not ever.

“Mine,” He said roughly, “And don’t you ever call him that.” He snatched up his bag, taking his few items with him as he moved forward. Neil scoffed as he shook his head, irritated as Billy pushed forward.

“She’s going to ruin your life,” He grumbled as he gripped Billy’s shoulder, holding him in place for a moment, “And don’t even think about crawling back. I won’t have you.” He said threateningly, like he might change Billy’s mind.

“I won’t come back.” Billy promised, stern with his answer as he walked past him. He wouldn’t let his son suffer the same way he had. They both deserved better than this.

The rest of the months passed breezily, making him come to terms a little easier as your due date approached. He had done a lot of ass kissing, pleading and groveling until he got back on your good side. He brought you flowers every day, rubbed your feet after work and gave you plenty of kisses.

You complained about how you looked as the final weeks approached, but he thought that you looked beautiful. Stunning. In his opinion, you were glowing. He loved rubbing your tummy too, feeling like he got a deeper connection that way.

Your labor was messy, a little chaotic. Billy was terrified something would go wrong, but stayed close to you regardless. By the end of it, his hand was numb and his wrist aching from how tightly he’d been gripping you.

“Look at him,” You breathed out as you held the little boy in your arms, “He’s so cute.” You sniffled, looking like you were seconds away from breaking down again.

He stared and stared, memorizing his son's features as he came to terms that he was a father. He had a little boy, someone to take care of. He looked so fragile, so tiny. It made him nervous. He was fearful that he’d accidentally hurt him by holding him wrong, or by dropping him. He wasn’t sure how his rough hands were supposed to hold something so soft.

"Billy," You breathed out quietly, making his throat grow raw as he stared down at the little boy. Soft blonde curls and the same sloped nose he had. Everything else about the little boy reminded him of you, "Are you crying?" You asked gently, making him feel even more emotional as he shook his head.

“No,” He said hoarsely, doing everything in his power to keep from breaking down, “S’just a lot.” He mumbled as he wiped at his eyes, inhaling deeply through his nose as he tried to calm himself down. His hands were shaking, his heart thumping roughly inside of his chest.

“I know,” You replied softly as you sat up a bit, gesturing the bundle in your arms towards him, “C’mon. You’ll feel better.” You reassured him, but he still felt hesitant. He pressed his fingertips together before he nodded, accepting the little baby from you.

Names hadn’t quite been figured out yet, but that didn’t matter at the moment. He looked healthy, his cheeks full and fists clenched together as he stretched his arms out. Billy felt a small chuckle leave his neck, fighting over the sob that was threatening to burst free.

He suddenly couldn’t remember why he had been so nervous, or scared. As his son curled against his arms it felt natural, like he already knew what he was doing. He savored the warmth, the way the little baby cooed as he adjusted him in his arms. Everything felt right suddenly.

“I won’t let anything bad ever happen to you,” He promised as he kissed his little head, sighing deeply as he snuggled his little son towards him, “Not ever. I promise.”

#Billy Hargrove #Billy Hargrove fic #Billy Hargrove x reader #Billy Hargrove x yn #Billy Hargrove x you #Billy Hargrove is a good dad #Dad!Billy Hargrove #Billy Hargrove request #Billy Hargrove angst #Billy Hargrove fluff

50 notes · View notes

firstdegreefangirl · 2 days

Note

“You and me, together for the rest of our lives. How does that sound?” from the "together" prompts.

“Hey.” Lucy looks at the shiny steel doors, at the toes of her boots, at the little vent in the ceiling, at the glowing lights on the button panel. Anything to avoid looking at Tim, standing next to her in the elevator car, on the way down to the division lobby.

“Hi.” She doesn’t need to see him to feel the awkward discomfort filling the space around them.

“How have you … been?” She bites her lip as soon as the words are out, wondering if she should have asked at all. He’s only a couple of days back from leave, and she hasn’t been alone with him since … well, since the last time they were in the elevator together.

“Yeah, good.” From the corner of her eye, she sees him rub at the back of his neck. “I mean … fine. Keeping busy. It’s good to be back.”

“Yeah.” Lucy hesitates. “You know, it’s OK ifyou’re not. Good, I mean. You don’t have to be.”

“Sure, yeah. But I am. So it’s … good.”

“Well … if there’s ever anything you need, I’m …” Lucy trails off, uncertain again of how much she has a place to offer. Tim has pulled himself away from her life, and she’s not quite ready to forgive him for it yet.

But still, they’re friends, right? And friends are there for each other. If it were John or Celina or anybody else, she’d offer to help them too.

“Yeah.” Tim’s fingers twitch against his thigh, then he’s reaching out to pull the emergency stop.

“Tim?”

“Do you think …” He trails off, then starts over. “If I’m overstepping, just say so. I’m not … this isn’t to push you toward anything.”

“Tim.” This time, his name isn’t a question. “What is it?”

“Could I have a hug?”

“Oh, Tim.” Lucy turns and reaches for him, all in one motion.

He meets her halfway, stooping down until he can bury his face in her neck. His arms come around her waist, squeezing tightly as she holds on around his neck. She feels the tension bleed out of him, sagging back against her with a heavy sigh.

“I’m working on it,” he says against her skin. “On being OK.”

“I know,” Lucy whispers, bending her arm uncomfortably to slide her hand along his shoulders in a gesture that’s meant to be soothing.

“I’ll get there. I will. I’m not giving up on it. Me. Us. Any of it.”

“I know,” she says again, loosening her grip as Tim steps back out of the hug.

“I’m not asking you to wait for me. But I’ll get there.” He’s staring into her eyes now, focusing his full intensity on her. Even now, even after everything, it’s enough to make her shiver a little bit. “I know I walked away. But if you’ll have me, when I’m ready to come back …”

“I know.” Lucy reaches for his fingers, but aborts the gesture when she sees Tim shift his hand away. “I’ll be here.”

“It’ll be you and me,” he says. “When the time is right. Together, for the rest of our lives. How does that sound?”

“Not yet,” Lucy clarifies. “I’m not ready yet either. But someday, when the time is right?”

Tim nods.

“It sounds pretty amazing.”

Together prompts!

#thanks for asking!#this was a blast to write #seeeeester #rainries #katie writes #kw24 #chenford #lucy chen #tim bradford #the rookie #the rookie spoilers #the rookie s6

23 notes · View notes

eclectic-sassycoweyes · 4 hours

Text

Ideas for tag-games that are inclusive to non-creators in the 911ls fandom!!

Hi guys!!🌼

I’ve talked about this before and it’s on me that I never did anything about it😅 but then I saw an anon ask that @lemonlyman-dotcom got about feeling like an unseen/unimportant part of fandom/feeling like you’re outside of the fun and interaction when it’s something you feel you want to be a part of - which I think is a feeling we can all relate to at times - and it made me go back to idea and want to get started with it!

My idea is to come up with some more tag games that don’t require being a content creator to be a part of! I know for me being tagged in WIP Wednesday and Seventeen Sentence Sunday is so fun and makes me feel more like a part of the fandom-community with traditions and sharing, and prompts me to make posts and it’s a thing that takes little effort to partake in and to include new people in! If somebody is wanting to interact more in fandom but isn’t a writer/artist then I feel like it’s a shame that they can’t have that!

I had an idea a while ago before my trip, which was to do Throwback Tuesday/TB Tuesday, as a means to reminisce and look back while we wait for s5 and to include non-creators! My idea was that TB Tuesday could be anything from scenes to headcanons to fic recs to something one of the actors posted to a fun thing that happened in fandom or to you that was related to fandom - making a new friend, unhinged messages/threads; just, anything at all really as long as it’s a tb of some kind! Anything that you want to bring back and talk(scream) about for any reason! And importantly, which no pressure to include your own creations such as gifs, fics, art etc.!!

Well, I’m critical about my own ideas and maybe somebody has something better😅 - plus, I never got to it before leaving and now I just recently decided to help my friends sail home over the Atlantic so in a week’s time I’ll be pretty much away from fandom again, although only for a month this time due to being busy and living socially in close quarters and having very scarce internet connection.

ANYWAY! I want to help initiate something like this when I get back, so this post is a meant to ask for more ideas for tag games/events that are inclusive to non-creators, and is meant to be a thread where anyone can share an idea with me, follower or non-follower, mutual or not, please, I’d appreciate any sparring or ideas on this!!☺️☺️

All the bestest!!🌼🌼🌼

I’ll tag everyone I’m mutuals with and have interacted with to make sure this doesn’t disappear and help spread the word, but please don’t feel pressured to do anything with it - and to anyone else seeing it, please regard this as an open thread or tag! If you’re one of my few followers, the reason I’m not tagging you is only because I’m also a bit shy and don’t want to step over any boundaries if we haven’t interacted much or at all🫣

@lemonlyman-dotcom @carlos-in-glasses @carlos-tk @paperstorm

@strandnreyes @thisbuildinghasfeelings @alrightbuckaroo @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad

@sznofthesticks @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @ladytessa74 @welcometololaland

@herefortarlos @heartstringsduet @lightningboltreader @whatsintheboxmh

@never-blooms @catanisspicy @chaotictarlos

#911 lone star #Tarlos #tag games #911ls tag games #911ls fandom #911 lone star fandom #911 lone star tag games #Tarlos tag games #Tarlos fandom #fandom inclusion #fandom non-creator #grace ryder #judd ryder #owen strand #paul strickland #nancy gillian #marjan marwani #mateo chavez #tommy vega

41 notes · View notes

heartsforvin · 2 days

Text

BROTHERLY LOVE

needed something fluffy but angsty , cus i feel like all ive been writing is smut recently 🥲 hope you guys enjoy !!

pairing: vinnie hacker x fem!sister!reader

warnings: cussing, bit of angst, mentions of anxiety / separation anxiety, use of nicknames (bubba, bug, etc), use of y/n, mentions of medication use, overall mainly fluffy sibling love

summary: the bond between you and your older brother is unmatched, attached at the hip, how will you react when he tells you he’s moving out?

the bond between you and your older brother was unlike most brother/sister relationships. most siblings bicker and fight, but you and vinnie always got along.

sure you had your moments, but at the end of the day, you don’t know what you’d do without him.

vinnie, you, and reggie were inseparable, always hanging out together. your and reggie’s relationship was very different from you and vinnie’s.

maybe it was because the two of you were close in age, only being eighteen months apart. you didn’t know why it was so different, you loved your younger brother endlessly.

the age gap between you and vinnie was two years, so you weren’t sure why you and your older brother didn’t but heads like you and your younger brother did.

◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

you woke up to the noise of your brothers shouting across the hallway, right next to your bedroom door. groaning, you kicked off your blankets and opened up the door.

neither of them noticed you were standing in the doorway, the loud argument continued to unfold in front of you.

you didn’t care what they were fighting about, it was probably some video game anyways. it was way too early to be up on a saturday.

“can you two please take your argument somewhere else?” you asked, pressing your palms into your eyes at the feeling of a headache already sprouting.

both boys rolled their eyes and just walked away from your room. sighing, you walked back into your room to try and get at least a few more hours of sleep.

a few hours later the sun casting its way into your room had woken you up. checking your phone you saw it was a much reasonable hour to be awake other than earlier.

getting up, you had gotten dressed for the day before making your way downstairs to where you saw vinnie in the kitchen.

running up behind him, you jumped up onto his back and hugged him tightly.

“whatcha doin’, bug.” vinnie laughs as he feels the added weight on his body.

stopping what he’s doing, he cranes his head over his shoulder and looks at you as you smile at him.

“what are you doing today?” you ask, completely forgetting about his previous question.

vinnie thinks for a moment before responding. “nothin’ really, why what’s up?”

you untangle yourself from your older brother and land back on your feet, now being inches shorter than him.

“wanna do something with you is all.” you reply with a shrug to your shoulders.

vinnie chuckles as he nods his head, he turns around to finish up what he’s doing before turning his body around and facing you once more.

“how ‘bout this,” he starts, completely forgetting his manners and chewing his food while talking. “lemme finish this, shower and then we’ll get some ice cream and i’ll take you out to the skatepark, yeah?”

smiling wide, you hug your brother tightly before going up to your room to dress more comfortably for skateboarding.

vinnie took you to the skatepark every now and then, mainly when you weren’t busy with college classes.

since it was summer, classes were out and you were able to everything and anything you wanted.

you promised your parents you’d find a job during the summertime. you’ve had no luck yet but knew one would come eventually.

for now, you just hang out with your older brother. being in his streams, hanging out with him and his friends, and going to the skatepark together.

vinnie’s been teaching you how to skate since before you even learned how to ride a bike.

besides joining his streams with him from time to time, skating is your favorite thing to do with him.

you wished you bonded the way you do with vinnie towards reggie, but the two of you could never seem to get along for more than twenty minutes.

you hated how you bonded more with vinnie. you felt like a shitty sister for it. you’ve tried so many times to mend the bridge between you and your younger brother, but nothing seemed to work.

you stopped trying months ago, figuring this is how your relationship is going to be from now on.

◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

“one strawberry cone and one chocolate, please.” vinnie ordered as you stood next to him, subtly laughing as he ordered his ice cream.

the cashier took the money and gave change back before telling you both they’d be ready soon.

you and vinnie sat at a picnic table a few feet away, waiting for your ice cream.

“chocolate, really?” you laugh at your brother as he just playfully rolls his eyes at you.

“nothing wrong with chocolate,” he tells you. “what about you? who likes strawberry?” he asks.

you laugh and give him a sarcastic smile while flipping him off. moments later you hear your order being called out and you go to grab both ice cream cones.

once back at the table, you hand vinnie his ice cream. as the two of you start to eat the sweet treat, the topic of schooling comes up.

“how’s college goin’?” your older brother asks you.

you still lived at home while going to college, the whole dorm thing seemed interesting and fun, but you decided not to do it this year.

“good,” you reply before licking the side of the ice cream cone before it got all over your hand. “glad it’s over for now though, needed a break.”

vinnie smiles at you as the two of you continue to eat the ice cream. he’s so proud at how far you’ve come in life.

he remembers the anxious little girl who always clung to his side whenever the two of you went out together.

he was so happy and excited for you when you told him you were planning on going to college in the fall after your highschool graduation. he couldn’t have been more proud.

once the two of you are finished, vinnie grabs some napkins for the both of you to wipe your hands off with.

the two of you start heading back to the car in silence. as you glance at vinnie, you can obviously tell he’s got something on his mind but you don’t push the matter, not knowing if he wants to talk about it or not.

◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

“you’re doing a lot better than last time.” vinnie says as he ruffles your hair.

he took you to the skatepark and you couldn’t have been more happy, even if he had said hours ago he’d take you.

it’s been awhile since he had been able to take you, and you were glad you finally got this time together.

the thought of what vinnie is thinking of still hung in the back of your mind, but you tried to push past it and enjoy this time with him.

after awhile the two of you took a break and sat at the top of one of the ramps.

your head was on vinnie’s shoulder as he had his arm wrapped around your back.

“can i tell you somethin’?” the voice of your older brother broke the comfortable silence.

you lifted your head to look at him. “anything.” you said with a smile.

it took him a minute to reply. he wondered how you’d take this news he was about to share.

he knew for sure that you’d be so happy for him, but that it would also break you.

with a deep inhale, he quickly calmed his nerves and just said it out there in the open.

“i’m moving to LA.”

you looked at him wide eyed, not knowing if what he had just said was real. a million things started processing through your head.

vinnie saw your blank expression and pulled you back into him, your head on his shoulder as he rubbed your back.

it was silly, almost like you were overreacting. you couldn’t help it though.

“why.” is all you could say, too focused on trying not to cry over this.

vinnie sighed. “remember how i got into modeling but it never really got anywhere?” he asks.

you glance up at him and nod with a smile. “well,” he starts. “a modeling agency called me and said they’d love to hire me on, i’d just have to live out there.”

the world stopped for you. you’re happy for him, ecstatic even, but you don’t know what you’re gonna do without him.

you felt dumb for letting his life effect you like this. vinnie was his own person with his own life and responsibilities, of course he wasn’t going to be living with you forever.

maybe the fact he’s moving to a different state is what’s hitting you so hard. you didn’t know what for sure, all you knew was you’ll be okay again eventually.

“don’t cry bubba,” vinnie wipes your tear stained cheeks, kissing your forehead softly. “this is good, then you can visit me, and it’ll only be a few hours time difference.”

you smiled at how he was seeing the situation. you’re happy for him, but the separation anxiety you have towards him is what’s keeping you from wanting to say go for it.

“what am i gonna do without you?” you ask.

vinnie sighs, he knows he’s your number one supporter and he’d do anything for you. you just don’t know what you’d do when he’s not here.

“you have your college friends, right?” the blonde asks, you nod. “see, there you go. just found out what you’ll do while i’m gone.” he smiles.

you give him a small smile and his heart breaks. he hates seeing you so upset. he didn’t mean to upset you with this news, he thought you’d be happy for him.

“i’m happy for you, vinnie,” you say after moments of silence. “i’m just so worried how my anxiety will be, you’ve helped me through it the most.”

he nods. “i know, bug,” he hugs you tightly. “you’ve been doin’ good though. that doctor you see prescribed you meds right? you takin’ them?” he asks you.

you nod. “yeah they help. you help better though.” you reply.

vinnie smiles at you before hugging you again. he and you both knew this would be an adjustment for the both of you, but you’ll get through it.

as the sun starts to set, the two of you decide to pack up for the night and go home.

“hey you know what you can do now if someone in the house starts to piss you off?” vinnie asks as the two of you walk to his car.

you smile, already knowing what he’s about to say. “what’s that?” you ask.

“i’ll buy you a ticket out there so you can get away for awhile.” he says with a laugh.

you laugh with him and give him a hug. “i love you vin, thank you for everything you’ve done to help me.”

he smiles at you, expressing so much love for you. he knows you’ll be okay in the end, and he’s always one call away if you need anything.

“i love you more bubba. my number one supporter forever, right?”

you smile widely and nod, he ruffles your hair before the two of you get into the car.

you knew deep down you’d be okay, it just might take some time to get to that point.

hi hi hi !! i’m sorry i’ve been so inactive, i was super busy this past weekend and im just so mentally exhausted i think LMAO

but i hope you all liked this !! its a bit different from what i usually write but i had this idea and decided to try it out !!

tags: @anqeliclust , @cosmicanakin , @forevergirlposts , @bernelflo , @visualbutterflysworld , @slvthrs , @venusblakes , @leqonsluv3r , @louloulemons-blog , @lovingsturniolo , @pepsicolapussy333 , @hallecarey1 , @0strawberrysorbet0 , @laylasbunbunny , @kriissy4gov , @kayleighh , @defnotayonna , @violet0182 , @st4rswrld

#vhackerr #vincent hacker #vinniehacker #vvhacker #vinnie hacker smut #vinniehackerfanfic #vinnie hacker blurb #vinnie hacker fluff #vinnie hacker imagines #vinnie hacker headcanon #vinnie x y/n #vinnie x reader

25 notes · View notes

mazzystar24 · 21 hours

Note

idk who else to go to with this but i have so many people sending me hate because i don’t like bucktommy when i literally never even post about them????? they keep calling me toxic and a hater and i’m not i just have shipped buddie for years and i don’t vibe with tommy…. it makes me sad because this fandom used to bond over buddie so much but now i just see angry tommy fans (and admittedly some buddie fans but nowhere near as many) spreading so much hatred and rudeness while turning around and calling buddie fans toxic when we just want to ship our 6 year long standing ship… and like i said i genuinely never post about bucktommy, and if i do say something about them that can be perceived as negative then i always tag it “anti-bucktommy” and i NEVER tag it bucktommy so that they don’t have to even see it! It hurts to open up the app not knowing if i’m going to have another person calling me homophobic or a fetishizer (i’m literally queer) or calling me a toxic bitch when i literally don’t do anything but post happy buddie content 9/10 posts! and like i said i know i’ve seen some buddie accounts go to extremes and i’m not defending that, but i’ve seen people who will call out even the slightest apprehension to bucktommy as if they stepped on someone’s grave, while simultaneously bullying and harassing buddie shippers for minding their own business… like i can’t even go into the buddie tag and it’s people attacking us left and right while the bucktommy tag is nothing but everyone gushing over them… i hate that we can’t enjoy a 6 year old ship anymore because half the fandom decided to jump to this other one that has barely gotten any screentime between two characters that don’t really have chemistry with each other and they want to berate us for it and call us names. I’m not a fetishizer and I’m not toxic, I’m just a late 20s queer girl who wants to talk about buddie without a barrage of hate and insults thrown at me but I can’t do that anymore… 9-1-1/buddie used to be my safe place but now i can’t even come on tumblr because i’m worried a stan will be lurking in my asks/replies waiting to tell me how awful i am.

i’m sorry to dump all of that on you but i just opened a really nasty ask and it hurt a lot to read what they said about me and you were the first person on my dash

Hey anon!

Okay so I can already guess I’ll be late posting this cos i think I’ll be replying to this in increments throughout my day today, and also I can tell this is really bothering you so I don’t wanna just give like a short rushed answer - oh wow I actually wrote this in one sitting cos I can’t shut up once I start

Yes the fandom has been a downright mess lately and it’s like I always say, people if you wanna engage in discourse that’s your prerogative and no one is faulting you for that but it’s the utter lack of fandom etiquette these toxic fans have that’s the real issue and I also feel like as you said a huge issue is this kind of imaginary high horse they seem to have

Like I totally agree that there is like this section of toxic bucktommy fans who try to warp not liking bucktommy into being biphobic- which look if people are actually being biphobic by all means call them out but when you’re going to actual queer people who posted 166283894 posts celebrating bi buck, only to attack them for not liking the ship?? Then that’s just plain stupid I’m sorry, like being happy to have the queer rep and not liking bucktommy isn’t mutually exclusive and it’s ridiculous people are trying to make it out to be

Like I’ve personally been sent an ask like that where they implied that I was biphobic for not being a big fan of bucktommy and that “I don’t know how exhausting it is for bi people” - which I gotta say made me go what about my blog would ever make someone think ah yes straight 🤩

And thing is at the time they sent that my most note filled post was my celebration reaction meme extravaganza to getting bi buck which I feel added some fun irony to the whole thing

And calling people shipping two MEN (buddie) homophobic takes a special kind of cognitive dissonance that I gotta say I’d almost be impressed with the leaps in logic if it wasn’t so annoying

Now I personally don’t know what state the bucktommy tag is in cos I mostly stick to the 911 abc and the buddie tag but I know how the buddie tag has been and I agree the misuse of tags to make a negative space is absolutely ridiculous and again that all goes back to the etiquette part

And the fetishising thing is also just another thing that absolutely grates my nerves, because these toxic fans really need a dictionary thrown at their heads because buddie is like the polar opposite of that.

First of all a large section of buddie shippers im aware have asexual Eddie headcanons and that aside let’s say we want gay Eddie and buddie and all those things, let’s even say we want them to fuck nasty *gasp🫢* and sloppy and write 156273 smut fics where they plain fuck like rabbits (*nun faints in the background* also probably some pearl clutching occurred upon reading this),

THAT’S NOT THE POINT HERE- the point is the main appeal of buddie as a ship isn’t that ooo look two hot guys kissing; it’s the history it’s the friendship, it’s the vulnerability, it’s the will scene, the shooting, the trust, the parallels, the understanding of each other, it’s the domesticity and it’s all these moments that have nothing to do with sex or objectifying their dynamic or mlm relationships but rather shipping them because they are two people with this amazing connection and these experiences

and THAT? That’s the furthest thing from fetishisation

Now I could be controversial and talk about how SOME and some is the operative word of this sentence- SOME toxic bucktommy fans have been blatant in not really caring about the story or the characters or buck and Tommy as individuals or the team dynamic or anything other than seeing these two men kiss, these being a lot of the same fans who refuse to watch the show other than the bucktommy and Tommy scenes and then will act like they somehow understand the show more than fans who’ve been here years or seen the whole show BUT I digress because I know that saying this is me basically asking for spam hate (so shhhh let’s pretend I didn’t say that 🤫)

who said that? 👀not me👀damn that’s crazy a ghost just ran across my keyboard 🙄

Anyways back to you specifically, because I really do think it bares mentioning, if you’ve been respectful to others then that’s all you can do and thank you on the behalf of everyone cos it really makes a difference, and I wanna say sorry on the behalf of every asshole who’s deciding to attack you for ridiculous reasons, the best advice I can give you is to genuinely not let it get to you I know it’s easier said than done but you know who you are and you know your intentions and some dumbass sitting behind a screen who can’t even properly comprehend what biphobia or fetishisation actually is (or worse DOES know what it is but is just using it as a way to put others down over a tv show to have an imaginary high ground) isn’t worth your time or your distress and they cannot change who you are

This part might be over explaining the obvious but in case you don’t know/ are new to tumblr or whatever: If you wanna continue to have fandom spaces as a safe place filtering should get rid of a lot of the posts and so should blocking but ofc you’ll see a few so just skip past and enjoy the content you like, if you wanna make posts and are scared of asks from toxic shippers maybe you can turn off your asks temporarily until you feel like you’re in a better place mentally to deal with it

Oooo or an idea that might work is you can ask your followers and mutuals (who are the ones most likely to be sending the nice asks) to use an emoji at the start of their asks to indicate to you that this is an ask you’ll like then you can delete any ask without that emoji without even having to look at the hate if it’s causing you that anxiety - if that makes sense?

I hope my reply somehow made you feel better and I really hope that you can have your fandom space and enjoyment back 🫶🫶🫶🫶

#hope everyone who ever sent me a ranting ask that as I’m replying to you I’m channeling the energy of a little old lady #*knows that as #giving you hot cocoa or tea on a rainy day #evan buck buckley #buckley diaz family #911onfox #911 fox #911 #evan buckley #buddie #eddie diaz #911 abc #911 discourse #fandom discourse #asks open #send asks #send me asks #answered asks #asks

21 notes · View notes

officialtayley · 3 days

Note

So... Plot twist

Hi everyone, is Emily/em/Sparks9397, make yourselves a snack this one’s long.

I have a lot I'd like to say, but think a good place to start would be that yes, I’m very sorry for how this played out and for what I did, though, the pics were about as far as the lie went, guess doesn’t matter either way but yes, I am a lawyer, yes I live in Australia, yes that’s my dog, yes I have a boyfriend, etc.

Honestly, I'm not mad at the anon in fact I was kinda expecting it? (someone was bound to get that’s not my pic), but you did caught me off guard last night and I panicked cause I thought better disappear and leave no trace behind, they all hate you anyways (you guys have been way too nice and fic gate is kinda funny), but I do like to twist the knife and did go back to it in the morning to check how badly i'd fucked up, is why i'm sending this.

if you want me to explain myself, well I was in a bad bad place last year when I started writing, the writing really help me through lots of stuff and for personal reasons i thought it was better not to add my pic, stupid me thought it was a good idea to share another person’s photo, who kinda looks like me if you want to believe that or not, but seems way happier, more stylish, more fun, etc and well you know how that ended...

Was it necessary to keep posting more pics that weren’t mine, no obv not, yet believe it or not somehow in the past year my life got way better and I made it out of that dark place and was excited to share more of my life, my mistake to not just come clean instead of keep pretending I was someone else.

Anyways, I could keep going with the apology but I don’t think it matters very much now, does it?

So I’ll just use this time to say I'm realy really sorry Meike @paramorewillbelegends and I’m really so so sorry Reese @dnd21, you both were really good friends to me and I'm so grateful to you both for being there for me when I had no one to talk to, sorry I couldn’t reciprocate and be a better friend to you.

Ps. A03 was more leveled headed than myself during this time and though I deleted everything and didn’t have backup they sent me a copy of everything which I can repost if that’s what you want, but yeahh guess that's it for me, and thanks to Ash if you end up posting this (no pressure).

i think your apology matters. you've obviously seen what i've said about what you did so i won't say anything more, but if you mean this then it's something people can forgive you for and move past.

i think it's better to do this than to do something drastic. as you can see, no one hates you, even any of us that may have sounded quite harsh, that's not hatred either. anyway, i appreciate that you sent this and i'm sure everyone else will appreciate it, especially your friends, so i'll post it because i think it's important and you didn't have to send it at all but you did, so again, i think it'll be very appreciated.

also you do whatever you feel is right with the fics. a lot of people may still want them but ultimately it's up to you and if you feel comfortable doing so.

#anon #answered #what a way to end ficgate

20 notes · View notes

emtb319 · 2 days

Text

Fishtank week Day 5. Today's theme: Comfort Food/Food on the Go.

‘Do we really need to go back right away?’

‘Gordon, I’m tired, it’s been a long day, and we’ll both be over our flight hours soon.’

‘1 hour, tops, I promise.’ Virgil sighed. It was really hard to say no to Gordon when he got a thought in his head. Just how did he have so much energy right now? The mountain rescue had been long and tiring. There was barely enough coffee on 2 to get him through the flight home.

‘For what and might coffee be involved?’

‘They usually have coffee, but I’m not sure. I know it’s apple cider season, and they’ll have gallons of their homemade stuff on hand. Oooo…they probably even have those donuts that Scott loves.’

‘You want to stop by the orchard?’ Virgil asked him. It was a tempting argument. Their homemade goodies always hit the spot.

‘Yup!’ Virgil debated a moment. It wasn’t easy to park Thunderbird 2 near there, but this would make Gordon very happy. They’d even get to bring some home too for everyone else.

‘Hold on Gords. I need to find a place to land my bird.’

‘I already asked Mr. Jenkins. He said that we can borrow his lot, even offered us some of his corn.’

‘Ok, so corn from the Jenkins farm and the rest from the orchard.’ Just as Gordon promised they were only down for an hour. They brought back 2 carts filled with stuff. Corn and apple pies from the Jenkins farm. Fresh fruit, homemade apple donuts, and ice cream from the orchard.

‘Here I saw you eyeing it, so I got some for you for the ride home,’ Gordon said as he handed Virgil some raspberry ice cream.

‘Thanks. I haven't found anyone else that can make raspberry ice cream like them. Let’s eat up and get going. I’m tired, and I’m sure Mr. Jenkins wants his lot back.’

‘You eat your ice cream. I’ll fly the first leg home.’

‘You sure Gords? I’m fine to fly, just a little tired.’

‘I know she’s your bird Virg, but I promise to behave and not hit anything.’ Virgil chuckled.

‘Ok, ok. Just the first leg while I finish this, then I’ll take over.’ Famous last words...Gordon flew the first leg, then all the way home. As he was eating his ice cream, Virgil relaxed and fell asleep. Gordon didn’t have the heart to wake him, but he made sure to grab the ice cream and store it before it fell out of Virgil’s hands.

‘You could have woken me up, you know.’

‘I know, but you were tired. Let’s put this stuff away and get upstairs. I know I need a shower and a nap….and don’t even think about shutting off my water again.’

‘Why, you don’t want to smell like ‘hard work’?’ Virgil barely had the words out of his mouth when something flew past his head.

‘It wasn’t funny then, and it’s not funny now,’ Gordon said. ‘Keep it up funny man, and I’ll start giving Eos humor lessons again.’

‘Ok…ok, you win. Go, I’ll finish up here and send some of this up to John before everyone jumps on it.’

#fishtankweek #fishtankweek2024

18 notes · View notes

photogirl894 · 3 days

Text

Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire

Chapter 32

"The Gamble"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: Well, I know I said I was gonna wait until all my celebration requests were done...but turns out, I lied! 😜 I got hit with inspiration for this chapter and I was starting to miss it, so I went ahead and wrote the chapter anyway! I'm sure a lot of you are complaining 😜

Plus, it's just all been on my mind since season 3 ended and man, I am gonna miss this show so freaking much, but this story will continue on! We've still got a long way to go and a lot of things yet to happen; lots of twists and turns still to be revealed in the future 😆

Enjoy this, my loves!! It's a little shorter than normal, but fun nonetheless!

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @legolkenxbi , @tech-aficionado

@ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901

@thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink

@l-lend , @nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx

@idoubleswearimawriter , @techs-stitches , @fantasyproductions , @sverdgeir , @totallyunidentified

《 Chapter 31

》 Coming soon!

All chapters (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: Risks are taken when Omega decides to take on dejarik matches for money.

When Kimber, Omega and the Koriena Force returned to Cid's parlor, they found the building empty save for Cid sitting at a table with Bolo and Ketch, all of them in the middle of a game of dejarik.

“Wow, I think we're gonna have trouble finding a seat, girls. It's packed to the walls in here,” Rina remarked loud enough for Cid to hear after taking a drag of sweetblossom from her vape mod.

“I know, it's amazing how popular this place is right now,” Kimber added sarcastically.

Cid looked up at them, displeased at their remarks. “Ha ha, you all are hilarious,” she responded flatly.

As the ladies filed in, Irys informed Cid, “Jido's credits have been acquired and have been transferred to your account.”

“Let me double check, make sure it's actually there,” Cid replied, leaning over and picking up a datapad from right next to her.

“You doubt my skills?” Irys questioned.

“Or our credibility?” Kimber added.

With a sneer, Cid snapped back, “I don't trust anybody, especially when it comes to my money.”

When she went back to her datapad, Kida asked in comment, “Honestly, ladies, should we have expected anything else?”

Sighing with defeat, Lex answered, “Probably not.”

A few seconds passed and then Cid declared, “Would ya look at that? You ladies came through.”

“Doubt doesn't become you, Cid,” Kimber said back.

“And I believe you owe part of that to us for getting it for you,” Rina reminded Cid.

Waving them off, Cid said back, annoyed, “Yeah, yeah, don't get your britches in a twist, Shortstacks. I'll get to it after I finish this game.”

“Ugh, well, in that case, let’s hit the bar, girls,” Lex suggested, waving them over in the direction of the bar. “And Omega, I’ll grab you some juice. We hid a bottle for you behind the bar.”

“You’re the best!” Omega praised gladly as she took a seat on a barstool.

Lex went ahead and grabbed a couple different bottles and started pouring them into cups for everyone as they all sat down.

“To another job well done,” said Kida, raising her glass and everyone touched their glasses together in toast to their success.

As they took sips of their drinks, they heard Bolo behind them exclaim to Ketch, “You got her cornered!”

“Oh yeah, I’m real scared,” Cid replied mockingly.

The girls all turned in their chairs to watch, curious to see how the remainder of the dejarik game would go.

As Cid contemplated her next move, Ketch taunted her, “Delay all you want, you’re not getting out of this one.”

Cid moved to press a button on the table when Omega suddenly spoke up, “I wouldn’t do that.”

Kimber and the Koriena Force all looked down at her curiously.

“Hear that? We got an expert here,” Cid said snidely before rolling her eyes and going ahead with her move anyway.

Her piece in the holochess game moved around on the board, but ended up getting knocked down by Ketch’s piece and it disappeared.

Bolo laughed triumphantly and declared, “She’s done for!”

“I told you,” Omega said with snark that made the girls grin.

“You kinda suck at this, Cid,” commented Rina.

Kimber chuckled quietly as she took another drink. It was kind of nice seeing Cid get knocked around for once.

Looking to Omega and ignoring Rina, Cid asked, unamused, “Well, expert…what should I do next?”

Omega slid off her barstool and walked over to the table.

Leaning over to Kimber, Lex whispered, “This ought to be interesting.”

Omega proceeded to press a couple buttons on the console and then looked up as Cid’s dejarik piece knocked out Ketch’s piece easily, earning her the win. Bolo and Ketch weren’t happy about it; Bolo told Ketch he blew it while Ketch blamed Bolo for telling him to bet everything, so the two of them decided to take their disagreement outside. While that was happening, the ladies were all impressed with Omega’s easy win on Cid’s behalf.

“How’d you know to do that, kid?” Rina asked her.

With a casual shrug, Omega responded, “It’s a strategy game. I’m good at strategy.”

“Well, I’ll be…,” commented Kida.

“How good?” Cid asked her, a sly grin curling up on her scaly mouth. “Enough to uh…win some matches for some money?”

Kimber opened her mouth to reply, but Omega spoke up first: “Depends. What’s my cut?”

“Omega, no. You cannot be serious,” Kimber protested.

Ignoring Kimber, Cid told the kid, “Thirty percent.”

Wasting no time, Omega fired back, “Sixty.”

“Ohhh, she knows how to hit where it hurts. Way to go, kid,” commented Rina.

“Don’t encourage her,” Kimber chided her.

However, she heard Cid say, “Deal,” in response to Omega and said she’d start getting some matches set up before heading back in the direction of her office.

“Cid, you are not going to exploit a child to try and make more money for yourself,” Kimber stated, bolting up from her barstool.

Turning back over her shoulder, Cid shot back, “Hey, the kid agreed to it, Dollface. You wanna argue with somebody? Talk to her. I got some matches to set up.” Then without waiting for anything further, she went into the back hall towards her office, which only irritated Kimber even further.

Behind her, Irys said, “It’s not a terrible idea to make some extra credits.”

“That doesn’t matter. I don’t want Cid to take advantage of Omega and besides, Hunter said he wanted her to keep a low profile.”

Then she noticed Omega walking up to her and the young girl said to her, “I have a plan, Kimber. Don’t worry.”

Folding her arms, Kimber questioned her, “What is your plan?”

“I want to still help the squad even though I’m not on the mission with them. We didn’t get any of the weapons we were going to sell from Bracca, so we still have a debt we owe to Cid,” said Omega. “I can maybe help pay off part of the debt by doing these matches, which is why I asked for a sixty percent cut. That should get us a good amount to help pay Cid back.”

“I like the way you think,” said Lex before taking a swig of her drink.

Looking to Kimber, Rina put in, “That’s actually not a bad plan, boss lady. The kid knows her stuff. Might as well put that brain of hers to good use. If she wants to help, I say you let her.”

Kimber still was unsure. She despised the thought of Cid using Omega for any sort of gain, especially after her remarks earlier about trying to get free labor out of the girl. Even though Omega’s intentions were good, she worried Cid would try and pull a fast one on them, like taking more money than what was promised or making Omega do something that wasn’t part of the agreement. Kimber didn’t trust the Trandoshan for anything.

However, looking back down at Omega, she saw there was a pleading look in her bright brown eyes that made her heart drop just a little.

“Please, Kimber,” Omega insisted. “I want to do my part. I want to help our friends.”

Kimber sighed, knowing it was hard to say “no” to Omega sometimes. “Oh, all right…,” she relented, “but I’m keeping a close eye on both you and Cid. I don’t trust her to not pull any tricks.”

“Don’t worry, princess. None of us trust her either,” Lex said.

“You’ll have plenty of eyes on both Omega and Cid,” added Kida.

Irys slipped off her barstool and said to Omega, gesturing with her head to the dejarik table, “Come on, Omega. You and I can get a couple practice games in to prepare you.”

Omega gleefully agreed and ran over to take a seat.

“Be warned, though: Irys is also a pretty decent strategist herself,” said Lex.

With a look of confidence on her face, Omega replied, looking at Irys, “You’re on.”

While those two were starting up a game and Lex and Kida gathered around to watch, Kimber walked out of the parlor for a moment, needing some air and just some time to think. She limped to the top of the stairs, her leg still on the mend, sidestepped in front of the wall and then leaned back against it, letting out a sigh. She trusted Omega, but she still wasn’t sure about this gambling plan the girl had up her sleeve. Omega was confident, but Kimber still feared the plan would maybe backfire.

“Credit for your thoughts, boss lady?”

The smell of sweetblossom accompanied the sound of Rina’s voice and Kimber turned to see her reaching the top of the steps and looking her way.

“I don’t know about this plan, Rina,” Kimber confided in her. “I’m afraid Cid might try to trick us or Omega. I don’t like the thought of her using the kid like this.”

“Hey, child exploitation is no laughing matter,” Rina said back, “but Omega wants to do this. It’s her call. Frankly, I think she should’ve pushed for seventy-five percent.”

“Rina…!” Kimber scolded her.

Rina held her hands up defensively. “I’m just sayin’. It wouldn’t have hurt to milk a little extra out of old Scales.”

Kimber snickered. “Scales…that's new,” she commented. Then she let her head fall back against the wall again. “Am I doing the right thing? Hunter didn’t want her to draw attention to herself and I’m supposed to mind her while the boys are gone. I see why she wants to do this, but…I just don’t know.”

After taking another inhale of sweetblossom from her mod, Rina stepped closer to her. “I get your concerns. The kid’s your priority and you wanna do right by the Sarge…but Omega’s also her own person and she’s made her choice. She wants to help out, even though she’s been sidelined. This can be a great opportunity for her to prove herself and, if things go south, she’ll learn from it. Not to mention she’s got the Koriena Force watching her back. As long as she's not betting the ship, she'll be fine...plus, I haven't seen Scales take any fingers or limbs as a down payment.”

“Rina!” Kimber chided her, unamused.

“Sorry, sorry,” Rina apologized. She then laid a hand on Kimber’s arm. “Look, if Lover Boy gives you any grief for this, you know we’ll back you up, if needed. We’ve got your back and Omega’s. Gambling in and of itself is a risky business. Some people get real shady with that stuff.”

“You sound as if you’re speaking from experience,” Kimber remarked.

Rina scoffed a bit in disgust. “Not my own experience, but my old man's,” she replied. “He ended up with a lot of gambling debts which made him turn to smuggling in order to pay them off. He dealt with a lot of messed up people…including the likes of the Pyke Syndicate.”

“You’re serious?” said Kimber.

Nodding, Rina answered, “Uh-huh. Got in too deep with them and now, he owes more to the Pykes than he does to any of his gambling debts.”

“That's a shame.”

“Meh, it is what it is. He made his bed and then he got to lie in it. Ain’t my problem. The only thing all that taught me was to never mess with the Pykes. They're worse than bad news.”

“Well, good thing the Pykes won’t ever come here.” Kimber then looked up to the sky and her hand came up Hunter’s necklace lying against her chest, wondering how he and the boys were doing on Raxus.

Once again, she felt Rina’s hand on her arm and a light wave of calm seemed to wash over her. “Relax, Kimber,” Rina told her. “Everything’s gonna be fine. Omega is confident in her abilities; I think she’ll do us proud. If things go wrong, then she’s got us. You’re not dealing with this alone, you know that.”

Feeling content with Rina's reassurance, Kimber reached up and grasped Rina's arm, smiling gratefully.

Then Rina added, “Plus, you're turning into the Sarge with how worried and protective you're getting over the kid, so it's my job to tell you to lighten up.”

“I'm sorry, can you blame me?” Kimber asked in reply. “With Hunter not here, I'm just extra anxious, especially regarding Cid, that's all.”

“Are you gonna be this high-strung by yourself when you guys have smols of your own?”

“Whoa, now! We're nowhere near close to that point, so don't jump the gun on me.”

“I'm just sayin’...you gotta get a hold of yourself.”

“I know, I know….” Kimber then gave Rina a light, friendly jab in the shoulder. “Thanks for always looking out for me.”

In response, Rina playfully punched her arm back a little harder, reminding Kimber a lot of Wrecker, which was fitting. “Hey, Lex said it once and now, I'm gonna say it again: we're part of the Koriena Force. Like the wolves we're named after, we're in this pack for life.” Then she took another inhale from her mod and gestured back to the stairs with her head. “Come on, let's get back inside and help your kid get ready to kick some butt in dejarik.”

Shaking her head, Kimber said back, “She's not my kid.”

“Yeah, she is,” Rina immediately replied.

Kimber simply grinned as she followed her friend back inside.

Within a couple hours, Omega had won five matches.

By the end of the day, she'd won twelve.

Within the next couple of days, she'd won over a hundred.

The girl was on fire and the Koriena Force were cheering her on and encouraging her the entire time. It was impressive seeing how skilled at strategy Omega actually was. Even the cockiest and confident of opponents were beaten by her, which took their confidence down by a bit being beaten by a young kid. A couple people tried to pick fights, but the ladies were quick to either get them to back down or give them a good beating before throwing them out. Lex was certain she accidentally broke one guy’s nose because, out of habit, she threw a punch with her cybernetic hand. They weren’t going to let anyone mess with the kid.

Naturally, she was raking in the credits with all the bets being placed on her, which seemed to make Cid a bit more appreciative, to say the least. Appreciative of more money, anyway. Over the course of the couple days, Omega had accrued more than enough credits to pay off the Bad Batch’s debt, which made her happy. She was able to do something good for her brothers while not being on the mission with them. Despite the reservations she’d had previously, it made Kimber glad to see Omega feeling good about herself and what she’d done.

One match had started with a Pantoran man and the stakes were high. A lot of money was on the line because the man was a renowned dejarik player who was confident he would finally be the one to take Omega down. Tons of people who had either been in over the last couple of days or had heard word on the street about the dejarik matches were watching, cheering on both the Pantoran and Omega.

The match was nearing its end with only possibly a couple moves left. Both players had two pieces left on the holoboard. Cid stood beside Omega, her hands on the kid’s shoulders as she watched closely. Kimber stood on Omega’s other side with the rest of the girls next to her to keep the onlookers in line.

“No one can stop this kid!” one guy cheered in the crowd.

Kimber looked over her shoulder to see a few more people had entered into the parlor…including a few familiar faces that made her smile.

The Clones had returned from Raxus.

Most of them looked either curious or pleased to see Omega in her element…but Hunter didn’t exactly look enthused about the situation as Kimber spotted him shaking his head indifferently.

The Pantoran man clicked a button with a smug grin on his face. One of his pieces moved forward and took out one of Omega’s, leaving him with two and her with one. The onlookers all gasped and murmured in awe at what had happened and with wonder at how Omega was going to retaliate.

“Take him out, kid,” Rina encouraged her.

After studying the board for a few seconds, Omega looked up at the Pantoran and got a smug grin of her own. She hit the buttons on the console and her last remaining piece proceeded to take out both of his two, securing her the win. Everyone cheered excitedly for her while the Pantoran looked shocked at being beaten and then abruptly left.

“Well done, Omega! You sure showed him,” commented Kida, giving Omega a pat on the arm.

It was then Omega happened to catch sight of Hunter and the others and, after greeting them with a wave, she slid off her stool and ran over to see them while Cid informed the crowd that the matches were over and there were to be no more bets and she shooed the crowd out. Kimber and the rest of the ladies made their way over to greet the Clones, as well.

Wrecker swept Omega off the ground and settled her on his arm as he exclaimed with pride, “Kid, where’d you learn to do that?”

“She’s a natural. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Cid as she approached them.

“Truly, she is an intelligent and gifted child. You all should be proud of her,” Irys added.

Omega beamed with gladness at their compliments.

However, Hunter looked up at her and remarked, almost annoyed, “I told you to keep a low profile. This is the opposite.”

“Hunter, we can explain,” said Kimber.

Though, before she could, Cid gave Hunter a shove back and scolded him, “Ease up, Bandana. Omega made enough money to pay off the debt you boys owe me, so try showing a little gratitude to my friend.”

“She’s got you there, Sarge,” Rina commented.

As Cid walked over and greeted another man behind them that Kimber assumed was the Senator of Raxus and his Droid, the rest of the Clones followed them back to Cid’s office. Wrecker set a dejected Omega down, but roughly shoulder-checked Hunter as he walked by him, gesturing to the kid with his head and giving Hunter a glare that told him he needed to talk to Omega.

“Well, ladies, I think that’s our cue to leave,” said Lex to the rest of the Koriena Force.

“You want us to stick around and back you up?” Rina asked Kimber in a low voice.

She shook her head. “No…Omega was my responsibility and I supported this decision, so I’ll handle it.”

Kida laid a hand on Kimber’s shoulder and told her, “We’ll see you all back at the Aurora later then.”

Kimber gave her a nod and the rest of the ladies exited the bar, but not before Rina punched Hunter in the arm as they walked out.

He looked to Kimber, looking lost on what to do or think.

“She had good intentions,” was all she said. Then she gave him a reassuring smile and motioned with her eyes towards Omega, who was beginning to walk away with her head low, urging him, as well, to just talk to the kid.

Then he turned over his shoulder and asked, “You really paid off our debt?”

Omega stopped in place and said, without looking back at him, “I wanted to be useful…even if I couldn’t go on the mission.”

He hummed contemplatively and turned to Kimber before grinning, which slightly startled her. Then he declared, “How about we put those strategy skills to the test?” As Omega turned around to look at him, he walked over to the dejarik table and said, “One match. If you win, then no more sitting out on missions.” He set his helmet down on the ground and turned the table on, signaling with his head for Omega to come join him.

Now with renewed excitement, she ran over and sat on his other side.

‘You ready for this?” he challenged her.

She replied back with a confident grin, “Are you?”

Kimber smiled with gladness at them. It made her proud to see Hunter beginning to broaden his mind in regards to Omega’s choices and being willing to include her more as part of the squad. Even though the condition of her not being left out of missions was her winning, she knew Omega would win. Whether it was on her own--which, more than likely, it would be--or Hunter would let her win. She could see in his eyes that he had no intention of leaving the kid behind again.

Watching them play their match gave Kimber yet another small glimpse of what a possible normal life could look like for them. Sitting around a table and playing games like a normal family…it brought a light tear to her eye.

Suffice it to say, Omega beat Hunter at the match easily.

The rest of the squad came out of Cid’s office just as the game was over and Omega happily exclaimed as she saw them, “I won! I don’t have to sit out on missions anymore!”

“Well done, kid,” replied Echo proudly. “Glad to have you back on board.”

“I assume Kimber shall be joining us again soon, as well?” Tech inquired.

“I believe so. My leg’s feeling much better after taking some time these last couple days and some of Kida's bacta salt treatments,” Kimber replied, “so I think I should be good to go.”

Wrapping his arm over her shoulders, Wrecker responded, “Good ‘cause we’ve missed you.”

“Come on, then. Let’s get to the Aurora and meet up with the girls,” suggested Echo, making his way toward the door with Tech.

“Good. I need some kisses from my girl after that mission,” said Wrecker, grinning as he followed.

Kimber went to walk after them, but was stopped by Hunter grabbing her hand. She turned back to him and found him eyeing her closely.

In a low, gravelly voice, he told her, “Wrecker's not the only one who needs a kiss from his love.”

She smiled even wider as she obliged him, stepped closer and pulled him in for a kiss, his hand cradling her cheek as he returned the gesture.

“Thank you for looking after Omega,” he told her when he pulled back. “I know I wasn’t pleased with what I saw when we walked in, but…I should’ve known things were under control because you were here.”

“Indeed. You should have a little more faith in us, darling,” she responded. “That and we had the Koriena Force with us.”

He chuckled. “Well, that doesn’t always inspire confidence.”

“Don’t let them hear you say that,” she said, chuckling with him.

His hand came up and he traced her cheek gently. “I hate having to leave you behind. It's never the same without you with us.”

“It's what needed to be done,” she replied, “but I'll be with you next time.”

“Thank the stars,” he said before joining his lips to hers again, this time with more passion.

“Oh, for the love of--would you two cut it out?”

The two of them broke apart and heavily sighed in frustration as they heard Cid ridiculing them.

“Sheesh, just get hitched already, will ya?” Cid added.

Fed up, Kimber spat back, “Cid, you just made a ton of money for your bar thanks to our kid. Would you just lighten up for once in your life?”

Cid simply rolled her eyes in disgust and then went over to manage some things behind the bar.

Hunter, when he looked back to Kimber, raised an eyebrow at her. “Our kid?” he repeated, a small grin on his lips.

Her cheeks went red, not realizing what she’d said. “Sorry…that just slipped out,” she admitted sheepishly.

His arms came around her waist and pulled her close, he gave her another kiss and then stated, “What I wouldn’t give to have a proper moment alone with you right now.”

A flirty smirk crossed her face. “Well…everyone else is on the Aurora right now…which means the Marauder should be empty.”

Hunter then got a devilish grin of his own and his eyes darkened with desire. “Then why are we still here, my love?”

The two of them wasted no time running out of the parlor, eager for a little alone time together before joining back up with their squads.

#star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #bad batch hunter #sergeant hunter #my sergeant #bad batch fanfic #hunter x oc fic #sun and run fanfic

19 notes · View notes