#to the point that she wouldn't consider “wait a few hours in the morning to make a real report” as an option

[masterqwertster]

Shaking Bells Hells by the shoulders again: You had a very good recon mission just seeing the other side of the Bloody Bridge and extracting basic info in a small town. Take a moment to report back to people in power all the useful things you already learned. Get more spells/supplies from them. Then continue to the heart of the enemy. Time is short, but probably not so short that you can't take an extra hour or two to do that. Keyleth can tree teleport and she knows where you were. She just couldn't immediately jump to you because she had things to do/settle first. It's a war, powerful people can't come to your aid at the drop of a hat.

[lilacmingi]

QUIDDITCH CHAMPIONSHIP

My works are 14+ ONLY. If you’re under 14 DO NOT interact with me or any of my works

Pairing: Slytherin!San x Slytherin!fem reader

Word count: 6,000

Note: Brief cameo from Jooyeon (Xdinary Heroes) <3 Reminder that this is an imagine from my Wattpad from 2023 so there will not be extra parts or continuations

You and your friends started heading off the quidditch field, walking back towards the school when a voice called out to you.

"Hey, Y/n!"

Knowing who the voice belonged to, you turned expectantly to the dimpled Slytherin standing a few feet away wearing his quidditch uniform proudly.

"What is it, San?"

"Did you see me play today?" He questioned breathlessly.

"I did."

"I was pretty good, wasn't I?"

"You were sub-par."

"Sub-par?" He echoed with a scoff. "I'm the seeker, that's like one of the most important roles on the team. I control the whole game."

"For a seeker, you sure aren't finding much."

San's jaw dropped. "I played very well today."

"But you didn't catch the snitch." You pointed out.

"I-" He paused. "I was having a rough day."

"Right." You nodded and turned to leave.

"Hey!" He called to you, making you stop once more. "You know, the championship game is coming up next week. If we win it, will you go on a date with me then?"

The air between the both of you was quiet for a moment until an idea popped into your head and you smirked, deciding to humor him and play along.

"Tell you what, if you catch the golden snitch, I'll go on a date with you."

You could see a look of determination on his face as his shoulders straightened, his eyes sparkling. "Alright."

"Alright." You respond with finality before turning around and leaving the quidditch field.

You weren't concerned in the slightest about your little bargain with San, you knew he wouldn't catch the snitch so you had nothing to worry about.

San on the other hand, took your bet very seriously and planned to work as hard as he could to make sure the quidditch cup trophy belonged to Slytherin.

7 days until quidditch championship

Your textbook landed with a heavy thud on your desk as you set it down, dropping into your seat with a heavy sigh. The empty chair beside you was soon filled by a bright-eyed San who seemed far too upbeat for someone who was up at 9 AM.

"Morning, Y/n."

"Morning, San." You greeted with less enthusiasm than him.

"I'm gonna go to the quidditch field after school to practice. You wanna come watch?"

"No thank you."

San's nonstop efforts to win you over were incredibly annoying, not to mention futile. No matter how much disinterest you showed, it was never enough to push him away.

"Your loss." He sighed, leaning back in his seat and propping his feet on the desk. "I'm going to practice as much as I can. I plan to catch that golden snitch. Just you wait."

"Mr. Choi, feet off the desk." The professor scolded as she strode into the classroom.

"Sorry." He murmured.

You didn't actually think he was going to succeed, not that you thought he was incapable but because catching the golden snitch is a hard task no matter how good of a player you are, so the chances were fairly low.

"You know, there are plenty of empty seats in this classroom." You pointed out.

"Yeah, but I wanted to sit next to you."

"Of course you did." You mumbled under your breath.

To your relief, class began shortly so you wouldn't have to worry about San bothering you for at least three hours. Normally, you'd be upset about having double hours, which is for students in higher grades, but considering this three hour class will keep you from being pestered by San, you're thankful for it, at least for today.

5 days until quidditch championship

Your quill moved smoothly across your parchment as you scribbled down notes for potions class, listing the ingredients for the Blemish Blitzer and Calming Draught potions as your professor spoke. He was talking about all sorts of different potions, telling everyone what they were used for and what was needed to make each potion. You were listening intently, finding some of them to be very useful. There was a potion for calming anxiety, alleviating coughs, and even one to make the drinker drowsy; that last one might come in handy on nights when you can't sleep.

As you jotted down notes, a paper crane flew over and landed in front of you, pulling your attention away from your messily-written list of ingredients. Your gaze lifted to find the teacher's back turned to the class before you unfolded the paper, a note written inside.

Favorite flower?

Your eyes moved over to the only person who could be responsible for sending such a note. Choi San.

The culprit sat a few desks over with a small smile on his face, his cheek resting on his palm as he waited for your answer. Instead of writing a response, you wadded it up and tossed it into your cauldron without breaking eye contact, seeing a small plume of smoke in your peripherals as the bubbling potion incinerated the paper in the blink of an eye. You only did this when the teacher wasn't looking and once he turned around the smoke had dissipated.

San pressed his lips together, visibly sighing before going back to his work.

The day went on as normal and you found yourself sitting in charms class. Your professor was showing you the wand movement for a particularly difficult spell, your wrist flicking and twisting as you tried to get the movement down. Your brows pulled together, your tongue poking the inside of your cheek in mild frustration.

"One more time." Your teacher instructed, his eyes scanning the classroom to get a look at everyone's movements.

"Now, practice saying the incantation." He directed before saying it aloud, the class repeating it.

"Again."

You echoed the incantation once again with the rest of the group. It was a mouthful, but you felt like you got it.

"Alright. Does everyone understand?"

Your eyes shifted around the room, noticing everyone nodding their heads. To be honest, you didn't quite feel like you got the wand movements down, but no one else seemed to have any problems so you decided to keep it to yourself.

San, who was sitting diagonally from you in the next row over, noticed you struggling. Even though he couldn't see your face too well, he could tell you were unsure when you tried to copy the professor's movements.

Later that day, you were headed down the stone-paved halls towards the Slytherin dorms when you heard a crackling sound of sorts that grabbed your attention. You turned your head towards the strange noise which seemed to be coming from a wall decorated with intricate concrete swirls. You took a step back, watching as the sculpted piece slowly began turning black, a doorway appearing seconds later.

Before you could do anything, a hand shot out, pulling you inside the darkness as the door closed. You began thrashing around until a voice spoke up.

"It's just me."

"San?" You spoke his name harshly due to his unorthodox way of announcing himself. "What's going on?"

Just as you asked the question, the room slowly lit as the lanterns sitting about grew brighter.

"It's a training room." He said with a smile.

"Why?"

"You seemed to be having trouble in charms class today. I thought I could help you."

You tried to hide the surprise on your face as you responded. "I don't need help."

"Alright. Show me the spell, then." He countered, crossing his arms.

"I will." You then proceeded to repeat the incantation after taking a few seconds to recall it.

"Now show me the wand movements." He instructed.

You were hesitant and San picked up on that.

"Go on." He prompted.

Heaving a sigh, you withdrew your wand and did the motions in a swift manner in hopes that he wouldn't notice any errors you made.

"Slower." He instructed.

Biting your bottom lip you slowed the movements down, San's eyes lingering on your hand.

"That's wrong."

Your arm dropped in defeat. "Okay, I don't quite understand the wand movement, so what?"

"You need help and you didn't ask for it today."

"I..." You trailed off, the rest of your sentence getting stuck in your throat. "I was embarrassed."

San's perfect brows raised. "Embarrassed? For needing help?"

"It's stupid, I know."

"It's not." He shook his head. "I get it."

You looked over at him, noticing the sincerity in his eyes.

"If you need help, I'm offering it. I know you'd rather it not be me, but if you're desperate enough for assistance then you'll take what you can get."

He was right. You silently cursed him for being so perceptive.

"Fine."

A pleased smile settled onto San's features at your answer.

"Alright, then. Try it one more time, but do it like this." He demonstrated the movements with his own wand, watching you repeat it.

For the next fifteen minutes or so, you practiced the spell until you had it perfect.

Despite how you felt about San, you thanked him for helping you. You weren't above being grateful when it mattered, even if the person that helped was someone that got on your nerves.

"We can meet up at our place whenever you need help." San offered while you both went on your way to your dormitory.

Your brows raised. "Our place?"

"Yeah." He grinned. "The training room."

"It's not our place."

He seemed to deflate a bit at that but was quick to brush it off, changing the subject.

"The sun doesn't go down for another hour and a half, I was thinking of practicing at the quidditch field again. You wanna come watch?"

"I'll pass."

He had been asking you every day if you wanted to watch him practice and you had no interest in doing so.

"I assumed as much." He gave a dry, half smile. "There's no harm in trying though."

3 days until quidditch championship

Your shoes brushed against the grass as you walked through it, the blades making a soft shiff sound in response to your feet moving past. Classes were done for the day and you decided to take a walk around the school grounds, enjoying the refreshing weather. Your brief journey led you to the quidditch field, your eyes unconsciously taking a glance towards it, catching sight of San flying around as one of his teammates, Jooyeon, watched from he ground. Based on the lack of players, it appeared San was doing a solo practice. Without realizing, you came to a stop watching the way San dodged the bludgers coming at him, whizzing through the air with ease. Moving closer to the arena's entrance you stood and observed, making sure you were hidden as your eyes followed San's figure zooming around the field on his broom.

As annoying as he sometimes was, he was a good quidditch player, that much you would admit. Not just that, but his determination to improve was somewhat admirable—you'd never say it out loud though.

All of a sudden, one of the bludgers rammed into him and nearly knocked him off his broom, his once solid form wavering. You recoiled, hissing slightly at the sight as you imagined how bad it must have hurt. He tried to recover, but appeared to be losing control of his broom, unable to get himself back on track, this causing him to tumble to the ground, rolling a few times before stopping, his body a lump on the grass.

"San!" You gasped, rushing out onto the field without giving it a second thought.

He winced as he rolled onto his back.

A feeling of guilt washed over you as you took in San's pained expression, part of you felt like you were to blame for this. You made that stupid deal with him and now he had pushed himself too far and gotten injured.

"Y/n?" San peeled one of his eyes open to look up at you before a cheeky smirk pulled at his lips. "So you did decide to come and watch."

"Don't be delusional. I was only passing by."

"Sure you were." He rolled his eyes with a sideways grin.

"Do you want help or not?" You asked, losing your patience.

"I'm fine." He assured you, pushing himself into a sitting position. "It's nothing a quick trip to the nurse won't fix."

"You need to be careful."

"I need to catch the snitch." He said, meeting your gaze, his sharp eyes full of determination.

It was in that moment you worried he would actually win.

"San! You alright?" Jooyeon ran over with a worried expression, his distressed gaze scanning over his older teammate, searching him for injuries.

"Yeah, I just hit the ground really hard." He responded, rubbing his shoulder.

"We need to get you to the hospital wing."

"Y/n can take me." San insisted.

"No. I have somewhere to be." You lied.

"Not anymore you don't."

Without a choice or a say in the matter, you pulled San's right arm over your shoulder and helped him up, noticing the way his face twisted as he got to his feet. Escorting San to the hospital wing was not how you planned to spend your afternoon.

He was quick to asses the fact that he hit his left shoulder pretty hard on the ground when he fell off his broom, hard enough for it to cause him pain when he moved it. The injury, though minor and easy to fix, was preventing him from getting the rest of his afternoon practice in which agitated him.

The only sound heard was two pairs of feet moving through the grass and the light breeze that blew past the trees on the school grounds, rustling their leaves.

"That was a nasty fall." You commented, needing to break the deafening silence that loomed in the air.

"Yeah. That bludger hit me pretty good. Usually I'm able to recover without any issues, but for some reason I couldn't this time. I guess you're a bad luck charm."

"Bad luck charm? Really?" You sarcastically responded.

"I mean, it happened when you were watching me. You never showed up to my other practices and I never had any accidents then."

"Then I'll be sure to watch you real good during the championship game."

Your jab meant nothing to him, in fact it made him laugh.

Once you dropped San off at the hospital wing, you allowed the nurse to take things from there and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" San asked.

Truthfully, you weren't sure.

"To the dormitory." You answered.

"Could you stay?"

Something in your gut told you to listen to him and for some odd reason the idea wasn't completely appalling.

"Alright." You caved, moving to sit on an empty bed beside the one San was occupying.

"What seems to be the problem?" The nurse asked him.

"I fell off my broom during quidditch practice. I hit the ground pretty hard and I think I may have injured my shoulder."

"Let's see." She began removing his gear, leaving him in his uniform pants and a black shirt.

She gingerly touched his shoulder, seeing if he reacted. When he didn't, she started moving it which is when San's face twisted in discomfort. After a moment, she nodded her head as if she figured out what the problem was.

"It seems you may have just bruised your shoulder, maybe even pulled a muscle during your fall. That's no problem, though. I'll heal it up right away."

You watched as she cast a spell, immediately healing his injured shoulder.

"Move your arm around for me, please." She requested.

San did as he was told, his eyes lighting up.

"All better." He smiled.

The whole visit took no time at all, you wondered why San even asked you to stay in the first place. Though, some part of you was glad he did. The thought of leaving him alone didn't quite feel right.

Once the nurse walked away, San jumped to his feet, rolling his shoulder to test it.

"Thank goodness it was just rough fall and a pulled muscle. If it were something more serious she might not have been able to heal it and then I couldn't play in the championship game." He went to grab his gear, sliding it back on.

"What do you think you're doing?" You asked.

"Going back out to practice."

"You just injured yourself."

"I'm all better. Everything is fine now." He paused, a smirk tugging at his lips. "You don't want me to practice because you don't want me to win the game. Is that it?"

"No. I just don't see why you're going back out there after getting healed. You should take it easy."

"Ah. So you're worried about me?"

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to." He grinned, sauntering out of the hospital ward.

As much as you wanted to try and stop him, you knew you couldn't. He was determined to get back out on that quidditch field and finish practice no matter what.

Later that night you lied in your canopy bed, staring at the green fabric draped over the wooden frame above. One thing you loved about the dormitories was how everyone got a canopy bed with curtains that could be drawn for privacy. During your spare time you'd sometimes come up to the bedrooms and lie down for a quick nap or just sit with the curtains pulled together while you wrote letters or did homework. The partial privacy the canopy beds gave you made you feel protected.

Tonight, however, your curtain-covered safe haven wasn't proving to give much solace as  thoughts of San swirled in your head, he was plaguing you and you hated it. You couldn't stop thinking about the way your heart clenched when you saw him fall off his broom earlier that day, the scene replaying in your head. You didn't say this aloud, but you were relieved he only pulled a muscle. If he'd gotten seriously injured you don't know what you would have done.

You paused, eyes going wide at your own thoughts. Why did you run out on that field? It's strange. You went out there without even thinking. As soon as San hit the ground you bolted towards him.

"No." You whispered out under your breath.

There's no way you were entertaining the idea of actually liking San. He got hurt, you were worried. That's all. This was just concern masquerading as attraction, you were sure of it.

1 day until quidditch championship

The light gray clouds hung low in the sky, moving languidly across your vision as you lounged in the courtyard. It was an overcast day which was fairly common here at Hogwarts. You didn't mind it.

Your eyelids slid closed as a long relaxing breath was let out through your nostrils, the comfortably cool breeze caressing your cheeks.

A few blissful moments passed before you heard someone walking through the grass, the sound seeming to be close by. However, you decided not to open your eyes, until you heard someone clear their throat, that is.

You peeled one of your eyes open, finding San standing over you, very clearly holding something behind his back.

"What is it?" You asked with a sigh, mildly annoyed that he disrupted your leisure time.

"Sorry to bother you." He apologized, seeming to be aware of your irritation. "I got these for you."

He held out a bouquet of red roses, his eyes staying glued to the blades of grass below as he avoided eye contact, waiting for you to take them.

The sudden gift made you scramble to your feet to get a closer look at the blooms.

"I hope roses are alright. You never told me what your favorite flower was and these are the default."

"Where'd you get these?" You asked.

"It doesn't matter." He responded, still avoiding eye contact.

You'd never seen San act this way before. Usually he was boisterous, overly-confident, and obnoxious. Now, he was shy, almost nervous and much quieter than usual.

Carefully, you took the flowers from him, turning the cluster of blooms in your hands, seeing the way they were tied together by twine, the stems appearing to be thorn-free.

San nervously fiddled with his hands, that's when you could see scratches across his knuckles and the tops of his hands, a couple bandages wrapped around his fingers.

Your expression softened as did your heart.

You cleared your throat, murmuring a quiet thank you under your breath.

"Yeah. You're welcome." He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous manner. "Well, I'm gonna stop intruding on your alone time now."

With that, he turned around and started walking away. You almost called out for him, asking for him to stop and maybe even join you, but your words were stuck and died on your tongue before you could utter them.

You stood amongst your fellow housemates, watching the field below. Some students around you had signs with players' numbers on it while others had little pompoms with the Slytherin house colors on it, shaking them excitedly. It was a big day and the entire school was buzzing with energy. You on the other hand were nervous. Not only was this the championship game in which you and San's little deal depended on, but one that was between the houses with the longest running rivalry; Slytherin vs Gryffindor. Of course, you wanted your house to win, but if they did that meant you had to go on a date with San and you still weren't keen on the idea.

The players stepped out onto the field sporting their respective house colors, gathering around the referee and taking their places. The quaffle was tossed into the air and the game began. One of the players on the Slytherin team was quick to grab it, zooming towards Gryffindor's goal, but it wasn't that easy. A bludger was hit towards the Slytherin player by someone on the opposing team, but he was quick to dodge it as Slytherin's beater, Jooyeon, came in and hit it back towards Gryffindor at the last second.

It was when you saw a small golden sphere whiz by that your breath hitched. Your eyes followed it as San flew after it.

No, no, no. You thought to yourself.

He reached his hand out for it, but was hit in the side by Gryffindor's seeker.

You breathed a silent sigh of relief.

The game went on and both teams were doing incredibly well, the score staying close the entire time. Your upper body leaned over the wooden railing of the stands, watching anxiously as Gryffindor's seeker and San were side-by-side chasing after the snitch. The latter appeared to be ahead by a hair, his fingers almost touching the golden sphere.

"Go San!" You shouted impulsively.

You were quick to silence yourself. Why were you cheering? If San caught the snitch you would have to go on a date with him.

It was at that moment the snitch darted to the side, disappearing from San and the Gryffindor player's sight, which brought you a little relief.

He won't catch it. You thought. It's too difficult.

But he's been practicing a lot. You noted just a second later.

That little revelation was enough to have you worried all over again. That feeling multipled tenfold when San found the golden snitch and was hot on its trail once again. Even from your vantage point you could see the spark of determination in his eyes and that terrified you.

When he was close enough, he extended his hand, reaching towards the golden snitch while he tried to keep his broom steady with the other hand. You caught sight of Gryffindor's seeker coming up behind San, your nails unconsciously digging into the wooden railing. Moving your gaze back to San, you saw how focused he was, a feeling of dread washing over you. He whizzed all over the field, dodging bludgers and other players, sharp eyes fixed on the snitch. In the blink of an eye, San snatched the flying sphere from the air and the game was over.

"Choi San has just caught the golden snitch! Slytherin wins!" The announcer exclaimed causing the entire section to erupt in cheers.

Your heart dropped to your feet. He caught it.

San caught the golden snitch. Slytherin won the quidditch cup. The students around you screamed and cheered in celebration while you stood frozen and unmoving, your mind processing what had just happened.

You were only humoring him when you made that stupid deal, you didn't think he'd actually win. But now that it had happened, you realized you had to keep your end of the bargain.

You left the stands, keeping your eyes down hoping that you could slip out of the stadium without being noticed.

"Well, well, well." San smirked, walking towards you triumphantly.

"Don't rub it in."

"As bad as I want to, I won't."

"You know, I didn't even want to do this."

"I know, which is why I've decided something. You keep your end of the deal and go on a date with me, then afterwards if you really don't feel anything for me I'll leave you alone."

Your brows raised slightly.

"You're serious?"

"Very."

"Okay." You nodded. "That's fair."

"Great. Meet me outside the school's entrance tomorrow at noon."

A vague feeling of dread creeped up on you as you stepped outside the school, hoping you wouldn't regret your decision to keep your word.

"You're right on time."

San was standing not too far from where you were, giving a friendly wave as you approached him.

"Alright. What's the plan?" You asked, noticing the broom in his hand.

"I'm glad you asked." He grinned while he straddled the handle. "Get on."

You hesitantly slung your leg over, standing behind San.

"You'll have to get closer than that."

You stepped forward, chest pressing against his back.

"Have you ever ridden a broom before, pretty?" He asked.

You ignored the way the nickname made your stomach flip and answered his question.

"Only once during first year when we were learning how to use them."

"Hold on tight."

You barely had time to wrap your arms around his waist before the broom lifted off the ground. San angled the stick upwards, lifting the both of you higher into the air making your anxiety skyrocket.

Your hold on his slim midriff tightened as he flew around the school, your face pressing closer to his back as you fought the urge to squeeze your eyes shut and shield yourself from the heart-stopping view below.

"There's no need to be scared, Y/n." He told you. "You're safe with me."

You hoped that was true.

Lifting your head, you peered over San's shoulder, looking out at the view of the lake sitting below Hogwarts. The outlook from above was incredible and helped distract you from being so nervous.

"It's pretty, isn't it?"

"Yeah." You breathed. "It is."

"See? This isn't so bad."

"I guess not."

After making his way around the castle, San landed on a flat area on the roof of the school, which you were partially relived about, thankful to be on solid ground again.

"The roof?" You questioned, glancing around at the empty area while San set his broom aside.

"Just wait." He grinned excitedly, moving over and grabbing something that you clearly couldn't see.

He pulled back on the unseen object, revealing a picnic setup.

"Ta-da." He beamed, gesturing to the arrangement.

"You had an invisibility cloak? How did you manage to get your hands on that?"

"I have connections." He shrugged. "C'mon. Have a seat."

Obliging, you made yourself comfortable on the blanket he had laid out, getting a look at all the snacks he prepared.

A small array of fresh fruit, sandwiches, and small desserts were spread out before you, even a couple bottles of fizzy sodas. You didn't want to say it aloud, but you were impressed. He really went all out for this.

"Would you like one?" San offered you a plate of small sandwiches.

You obliged, plucking one from the saucer and having a taste. Your brows raised in astonishment.

"Where did you get these?"

"I got permission from the kitchen staff to prepare all of this."

"You made these?"

He nodded, mentally fist pumping in celebration, thanking Wooyoung for teaching him how to prepare the sandwiches.

His dedication was, in a way, endearing and made you feel warm and fuzzy inside, your heart fluttering slightly.

"Is there anything you'd like? I can fix you a plate." He offered.

You accepted his offer and told him what you'd like, watching as he piled the plate with food. He handed you your platter with a smile, grabbing a bottle of soda.

"A drink for the lady."

Either he was really turning up the charm for this date, or he was actually a nice person and you severely misjudged him—you feared it was the latter.

"Thank you for agreeing to this." San gave you a dimpled grin, his cheeks painted a light shade of pink.

"Yeah, you're welcome." You spoke quietly, popping the top on your drink using a simple spell. "It's nicer than I expected."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

The both of you sat in silence for a few moments as you quietly snacked on fruit and took a sip of your drink.

"Thanks for the flowers." You spoke up suddenly. "And also for removing the thorns."

San appeared stunned at your words.

"You picked them yourself, didn't you?"

"How'd you know?" He asked.

"I saw your scraped knuckles and bandaged fingers."

He pressed his lips together, unconsciously fiddling with his fingers that were still healing.

"You're welcome. I hope roses were alright."

"They were. I really liked them, actually."

"You did?"

You nodded. "They're in a vase beside my bed."

Hearing that made San's heart soar. You'd always shown so much disinterest in him, but knowing you kept the roses he picked for you, in a vase no less, made him giddy. Maybe you didn't dislike him as much as he originally assumed.

"Would you like dessert?"

"Did you make this stuff too?" You questioned, reaching for one of the confectionery treats.

"Unfortunately no, just the sandwiches. I'm sure that makes all of this less impressive."

"It doesn't." You responded, taking one of the tiny sweets from the plate San had offered you.

San packed up the empty plates and other leftovers placing them into a basket, casting a spell to make it compact and easy to carry.

"We have to get back down and there's only one way." He stated, picking up his broom.

You peered over the edge of the roof, looking down at the ground below.

"You're not scared, are you?" San asked almost teasingly.

"No." You denied. "I can handle it."

"Get on, then."

You took your place behind him on the broomstick once again, this time feeling more comfortable wrapping your arms around him, the closeness making butterflies erupt in your stomach.

The descent from the roof to the ground wasn't as terrifying as you expected it to be. As soon as you landed, both you and San headed back towards the school, though a part of you didn't want the date to end.

"I have a confession." You spoke up.

San's gaze landed on you upon hearing the word confession, giving you his undivided attention.

"The date was..." You hesitated.

San's eyebrows raised.

"I enjoyed it." You finally admitted. "I was impressed with everything."

His eyes softened as a gentle smile spread across his lips, thought his heart was doing flips. "I was hoping you'd say that. So, what's the verdict?"

"Verdict?" You echoed.

"Yeah. How do you feel about me?"

The question alone put you on edge. How did you feel about San? He was so charming during the date and you couldn't deny that you had some sort of attraction towards him.

"Well, I don't dislike you." Was what you decided to say.

That made San chuckle. "So that means you like me?"

"I suppose it does."

"The real question is, do you like me enough to want to go on another date?"

It only took a couple seconds for you to answer.

"Yes."

"Can I escort you back to the dorms?"

"I'd like that."

The walk back inside the school was a quiet one, assumably because you were both feeling a bit shy after your confession. Truthfully, you were kicking yourself for constantly brushing him off, wondering why you hadn't given San the time of day sooner. He wasn't nearly as obnoxious as you originally thought he was.

You were so lost in thought, you didn't realize you'd already arrived at the Slytherin dorms until you heard San speak the password to get inside. He escorted you through the common room to where the girls' dorms were located, standing awkwardly outside the door, his face red. You turned to him, waiting to see what it was he had to say.

"Is it okay if I give you a kiss on the cheek?" He finally asked.

"Yes."

He leaned in and pressed his lips to your cheek in a gentle manner, the moment not lasting long enough. When he pulled away he was unable to hold eye contact, bidding you a shy farewell before scurrying away.

Your eyes scanned the hallway warily as the secret entrance to the training room slid open. Giving one last glance to your surroundings, you stepped inside, the already dim room shrouding in darkness as the entrance closed.

Your back immediately hit the wall as a pair of lips landed on yours, a set of hands squeezing your waist, keeping you pinned to the brick wall. Knowing exactly who it was, you welcomed the display of affection and kissed back. Your fingers tangled themselves in San's black hair, tugging at the strands any time his teeth latched onto your bottom lip, eliciting a string of blissful sighs from you. His actions made your mind foggy and your face hot, his kisses feverish and desperate.

You tugged his robe off, hands groping his arms, feeling his strong biceps under the fabric of his school uniform.

San parted ways, giving you only a few seconds to catch your breath before taking it away again by reattaching his lips to your neck. He pressed open-mouthed kisses to your sensitive skin, sending a wave of chills down your spine. Your fingers unconsciously curled at the base of his neck. The feeling of your nails dragging against San's scalp elicited a low groan from him, the sound vibrating against your skin and making your eyelids flutter slightly.

When he finally pulled away, you noticed the lanterns inside the secret training room had lit up, wondering when that happened. San rested his forehead with yours, gazing at you with half-lidded eyes.

"I wasn't sure you'd show." He said breathlessly, his chest moving up and down with each huff.

"Why? You asked me to meet you here. Plus, this is our spot, isn't it?"

His eyes widened as a bright grin broke out across his face.

"You called it our place."

"Yeah, I know." You lightly rolled your eyes, huffing out a chuckle.

San had a game in an hour, so you were glad you got to spend some time with him prior, but part of you was selfish and wanted to spend the rest of the day with him.

"Good luck at your quidditch game today." You told San, cupping his cheek. "You're gonna need it."

"I don't need luck."

"I don't know." You trailed off. "Ever since we started dating you haven't been practicing as hard since there's nothing to win."

He smirked, pulling you flush against him. "That's because I've already got my prize."

Hongjoong ⟡ Seonghwa ⟡ Yunho ⟡ Yeosang ⟡ Mingi ⟡ Wooyoung ⟡ Jongho

Masterlist ᝰ — enjoyed this imagine? reblogs & comments are very much appreciated!

DO NOT steal, plagiarize, copy, repost, alter, or translate my works in any way

🏷 @h3arteyes4mingi @weird-bookworm @poppy2007 @parkjennykim @evidive @mxlly143 @lizzymizzy-blogg @minhanbyeol @dinossaurz @laylasbunbunny

[moumouton4]

iF REQUESTS ARE OPEN-

may I request a ‘being in a secret relationship’ with izuku and shoto? (separate of course lol) it can be headcannons, short scenario, etc

BUT

one certain day, someone (could be anyone!) from class 1A finds out somehow? and tells the rest of the classssss-

I randomly thought about this-

If you don't want to do this it's fine lmao

Secret Relationship Headcanons || MHA characters x reader

A/n : I love these random thoughts ! They always make my day 😍✨

Including : Izuku Midoriya, Shoto Todoroki

Warning : fluff, making out, mention of other characters, secret relationship but you get exposed 👀

Masterlist ⚜

I don’t give permission to repost my work, if you want to share it just reblogue it

Words count : 1988

Izuku Midoriya :

He has many reasons to be in a secret relationship with you. Far from being ashamed of you, on the contrary, he still wonders how a someone as awesome as you ended up with a Deku loser like him

You're his little marvel ✨

But being with him is very dangerous, and he was fully aware of it after the second attack of the League of Villain at the training camp... a week after you got together

You decided to wait for at least the double before making it official but this event made izuku wonder. And being the smart boy he is and knowing the fact that the One For All was going to make him a target of choice for the villains, he decided to keep your relationship secret

(( Of course before his vigilante era because in that case I sincerely think he will break up with you to be 100% sure you will be safe... he will watch over you from the shadows ))

But you are far from it for a long time :')

The attack at the training camp had one advantage according to you two, the setting up of the dormitories !

Now it's like you live together

Well, you had to hide from the others but in theory it was quite easy

Knowing that you met exclusively at night, to discuss your respective days or your fears of the future

At the beginning, being the respectful and shy boy that he is, he would only come and chat with you, have a good laugh and then he would kiss your cheek and tiptoe back to his room

Until one day you got tired of him being respectful and kissed him and pulled him into bed with you to cuddle

Turned out you made out after 10 sec at looking at each other in silence

He was so red you could see him glow in the dark

You're personal little Rudolph

Honestly you were doing your stuff quite discreetly, it's not like anyone could guess unless they saw Izuku coming out of your room early in the morning

And it was much more convenient and pleasant to fall asleep with him in your arms or vice versa than to fall asleep with the phone in your hand after hours of discussion through cameras

The day nothing could give away your little secret either

At first you didn't have the same group of friends. He spent his time with Uraraka, Iida and Todoroki while you spent your time with Mina, Hanta, Denki, Eijiro and Katsuki

The few times you and Izuku were together during the day were during training or lunch

But for most people it was just friendship and he probably pestered you with tons of questions about your alter

Well, most of the people but not the explosive Katsuki Bakugo, who considered you as his sister since you interfered with the lov so he wouldn't get kidnapped that night

In short he had a lot of respect for you and even if he hid it well, he was always looking forward to your exciting discussions

However, that day he did not see you in the canteen with the rest of the Bakusquad

"The hot headed isn't here ?" ( a little nickname he had given you since the fight at the training camp )

"I think she went to lunch with Izuku" answered Eijiro while pointing to a table not far from theirs

"Oooooh ! They are so cute !" squeaked Mina

"Ughhh I'm sick of it at this rate I could never date Y/n" whined Denki ( almost wrote my name there pfff )

"What did you say you joker ?!?" yelled Katsuki grabbing Denki by the collar

"No nothing- nothing ! Didn't say a word"

Katsuki was very protective of you and that's what drew his attention to you and Izuku in the first place

His charp attention allowed him to see that during the training Izuku never went to 100% of his strength with you while he was doing it casually with the other girls. And you were far from needing it

So Katsuki kept an eye on you for a week, trying to find out if anything suspicious was going on

( A/n : Jeez Katsuki 😂

"Huh ? What did you say nerd ?!?"

"Kiyaa nothing" runs out of UA )

He had already noticed that the door of Izuku's room - which was not far from his - opened systematically at around 7 in the morning, that is to say about 30 minutes before everyone had to get up

But everything became much clearer the following Friday night

Class 1-A had decided to have a movie night as usual and for the first time Katsuki decided to stay in order to solve the mystery

And that's when he saw something he could never have imagined

While you were sitting on one of the sofas with Izuku by your side one of his hands came to rest on your thigh and you turned your head to give him a smile which he shyly replied

Soon all the heads turned towards the blond who had just released a small explosion without noticing

"This is a joke !" he thought

After that we declared to take a break from the movie while everyone went to the bathroom or to get more snacks

You were also going to get some popcorn leaving Izuku alone on the couch

Katsuki took advantage of this and grabbed Izuku by the collar and dragged him into the corridor before tackling him to the wall

"How long have you two been messing with us ?!?"

"W-what ? I don't understand what you're talking about argh" Izuku pretended not to understand

"I hope your intentions are good nerd or I'll exolode your stupid face" he shouted

And as Izuku was about to push Katsuki to get out of his grip, you appeared behind Katsuki and grabbed him by the shoulders "Don't worry, it's going to be okay"

The explosive sighed and let go of Izuku before his bright red eyes landed on you "I better not scrap you off the ground"

With Vigilante Deku though...

The yelling of your brother from another mother has attracted the rest of the class who are looking at you with round eyes

"Uh what is it ?" asked Mineta

And as Katsuki was about to yell that it was none of their business you took Izuku's hand in yours and spoke up "We're dating"

Everyone gasped in unison, hand over mouth

"Since when ?" asked Momo

Izuku blushed deeply and scratched the back of his head "P-practically 1 year-"

"A Y E A R !!!"

Apart from that the news went pretty well... that doesn't mean that Katsuki will stop mothering you any time soon

Shoto Todoroki :

He too has good reasons to keep your relationship a secret

The first one being that he is the son of a famous hero and he absolutely does not want your relationship to be torn apart by his old man's reputation or status

Secondly, he doesn't want his father to find out either, he's sure he'd tell him how you're not right for him and how much better he needs you

Which would result in a violent outburst from Shoto that no one would have ever seen

(( Then there is also the Dabi problem which would make you a potential target for the lov but that's a future proble 😅 / cries ))

However I think he would tell Fuyumi about it, I'm even sure. For the simple reason that he is dense and sentimentally constipated / affectionate So he will need all the help in the world in his relationship with you before he eventually gets the hang of it

In itself it wasn't really a problem from that point of view. As he didn't like the atmosphere in his house he preferred to spend time with you outside, walking in the woods or fields rather than rotting inside

He even managed to bring Fuyumi with him one day during one of your walks and you could meet his wonderful big sister, with whom you got along very well right away

"Now I understand why Shoto talks about you all the time" she told you

You swear you have never seen your boyfriend so red in your life, it's as if his scar has disappeared

Apart from this you both felt at times a lack of each other

That is to say that the affectionate looks exchanged in class or during the training or the lunch surrounded by your friends but still separated by the big table prevent you to bloom as you wish

It's only when the dormitories in the academy was decreed that you could finally spend a lot of time together

His discretion allowed him to slip away without being noticed during the breaks

But you also found an opening to get away when your friends proposed activities such as movie nights, board games, video games

That's how, by declining Mina's invitation to the movie night, you managed to find yourselves alone for the evening

It had been a long, long time since you had been alone together

And it was due to the intensive succession of the courses and trainings imposed by Aizawa who didn't go easy on you

In short it was an understatement to say that you had missed each other

And knowing the effect you had on Shoto, it was not surprising that he literally jumped on you, the moment you had moved away from the dormitory complex

He was thirsty for your affection and that's how you found yourself pinned to a tree, his hands firmly holding your hips as he kissed you fiercely

"I kiss missed kiss you kiss so kiss much kiss"

When you both found yourself dizzy from lack of air, you parted, your hands still nestled in his mismatched hair

He gave you a smile with crinkled eyes you'd only seen on his face on special occasions

Your eyes locked with his and before you knew it one of his hands was on your cheek, pulling your lips to his once more

You ran your tongue over his bottom lip to intensify the kiss

"Huh ? What's going on here ?"

This made him jump back separating him from you in an instant. You squeaked at the sudden question from Denki

"Erm nothing…" you replied

After clearing his throat Shoto asked "What are you doing here ?

"Ah I heard noises, like moaning and thought someone was hurt- IS THAT LIPSTICK THAT YOU HAVE ON YOUR MOUTH ?!? OOOOOOOOH !!!" he said pointing at you both with his fingers

Shoto turned pale and turned to you, his eyes widened at the sight of your own smeared lipstick on your lips "Do I have some too ?" he asked in a small voice

Out of the corner of your eye you saw Denki running away so you ran after him leaving Shoto in the lurch. You grabbed Denki with your quirk and tackled him to the ground "You won't tell anyone" you said in a threatening voice

He nodded and you let him go

Shoto suddenly appeared behind you "Will you be alright ?"

You gasped "As long as you're ok I'm ok"

He pulled you to him and kissed your forehead "Then we'll be fine"

As expected, once he arrived in the dormitories Denki whispered to Eijiro, Hanta and Mina what he had just seen

And Mina told it to the girls

15 minutes later Shoto and you arrived in the common room and all heads turned to you as the movie stopped leaving you all in an awkward silence

"Icy Hot !!!"

Shoto looked at him with an indifferent look before seeing you speeding past him towards the blonde who had just run off "DENKI !!!"

~

~

A/n : I hope you guys liked it ! 🥯🌯 Again my requests are open 🥗🥙

Taglist : @foxxymunson, @cl0vr, @ilovemanypeople, @glossy1pearl, @jane57sstuff

[writing-whump]

Been here for a while, enjoying your fics. ❤️

Could you consider to write something including post - concussion emeto? Maybe with Matthew, because who else would be hit 😅

Greetings,

A.

Hello A.! I'm so happy you are enjoying yourself, that's super sweet! ❤️ Thank you so much for the request! Ran away from me a little but includes what you wanted :D I'm very honoured.

This one's crying, the other's sick

Seline is upset and crying. Matthew comforts her, when it turns out he came home with a concussion.

There will be no direct trains because of construction work. You can take the bus and the train connection, but we can't guarantee your way if either is delayed.

Just great. Exactly what she needed for the travel home to see her parents.

Seline knew she was freaking out for no reason. This fact didn't make it any easier to not do it.

Her life has always been divided into two places. Bratislava and Vienna. Home and school, parents and friends, Slovak and German.

She knew and her parents knew that her life was heading into the direction of Vienna - more money, more prestige, the use of languages. Slovakia was a nice home, but everyone who had any sense, ambition and knew just a bit of English moved out for college and never returned.

But Seline doubted as many people had such a good relationship with their parents. That's why she wasn't moving out even after 10 years of travelling. She even felt sorry for all her classmates and colleagues, many of which had to move to Vienna at 18 for university. Without parents and roots and childhood friends. Independence and adult responsibilities. Or were they proud of it? Was it a good thing they couldn't be children for that long?

When she asked her friends from countries farther away, like Bulgaria or Italy, they said it was fine. That they couldn't imagine living with their parents again or still. That it was nice to live alone.

Maybe they just didn't like being around them as much as Seline. Having such close relationship with your own mother was from what Seline could see, quite the exception. Her mother was her most trusted friend, her confidante, her idol and advisor. Seline's friends didn't call their mothers for two hours a day and they didn't visit every weekend and they didn't...

Seline wouldn't have moved out if it wasn't for the fights with her younger brother. And because she got good work at the university as an assistant, but that was running out. Every year was a risk of not getting the contract prolonged. She considered studying another master degree, cause as long as she was a student, they were more likely to keep her. Graduated non-students were more expensive because of taxes. PhD students were the most risky, cause they go no funding without an actual job at a project or faculty. And those were all temporary, only for a limited amount of years. Not to mention the law in Austria that you couldn't work at the same university more than 8 years on temporary contracts, which was supposed to protect university staff. Except the universities, instead of employing people without temporary contracts, didn't employ them at all, until they came with a few years of foreign experince. Go for a two years to England. Or France. Or anywhere else. Uproot yourself and maybe we will get you back.

Very family friendly.

So it somehow happened that Thursday morning she found out that her train for Friday to visit her parents would take 1.30h instead of 50 minutes and because the bus could be late and the train that you should change after wouldn't wait in the case it was, meant she would be straned somewhere in Parndorf.

So she would have to take the train before, that was direct and safe, which meant she would travel for an hour earlier, miss the connection she would have if the train were normal, wait two hours at the main station in Bratislava to get to her parents house. Her house. Whatever it was.

This would normally not anger her to the point of tears, but it was about a week before her period, so PMS was hitting her hard.

She didn't want to go to the train sooner. Or wait at the station because she missed the direct beautiful train that would get her to the home town near Bratislava.

She could take a taxi and pay more. Or take her own car. But Seline hated driving. It was stressful and fearsome and horrible responsibility and each bigger car or faster driving car made her jump in her seat in deadly fear. Her father would scoff at her for being so panicked about it. That she should drive more to get rid of it.

Well. Because of the fear, her main goal was not to drive.

Either with time with the train, with money with the taxi or with effort and nerves with the car. Nothing was for free.

She left her car at her parents anyway. Didn't need it in Vienna with all their great public transport connections. It was a relief she didn't gave to consider going with a car and no one could guilt her into using it.

She had two roomates who liked driving and cars. But she couldn't exactly ask them for a 1 hour long drive on the highway to Bratislava to see her parents.

Isaiah didn't complain about her visiting her parents during weekends. Since their schedules at university weren't packed, they had most Mondays free and other days during the week with only one seminar or online class here and there and could be together.

Seline loved not having to commute. To stay in bed until 11, talk with Isaiah over lunch, take a walk in the park or by the river and go to a seminar at 5 in the evening, meet with friends after or a bit before. Leisure nice days. Working 8-5 terrified her. She loved the flexibility, the way she could rule her time, do homework or write essays whenever she felt like, write stories and her poems whenever she was inspired, listen to music till 2 in the morning or binngewatch series all evening.

Though evening were usually reserved for movie nights with the whole trio. She loved those too.

Standing between two worlds was always a trait of hers. Something she was at peace at. But deciding between one home or the other, one city or the other and the time between pained her still, or even more so, after 10 years of back and forth.

If she could just buy that two generational house somewhere close to Vienna, on the fringes of the city and have them all there. Travel would take 20 minutes with the subway, her parents and her pack would be at the same place and they could have a view on the fields and not on the people and noise filled buildings of the city...

Except her parents still worked in Bratislava, and her grandmother and her uncle lived there and their families lived there and...and her parents didn't even speak German.

She could go back and live in Slovakia. She would get a high paid job just for speaking German and English so well. Lots of her friends from primary school did that. Those that didn't leave for France, US, Belgium or as far as Australia, that is.

She never saw her future in Bratislava. Not with the communist looking buildings and shabby streets and corrupt government and horrible health care. But she grew up around fields, open sky and on the train. City life was culturally shocking.

Seline walked back and forth on her floor, stamping her feet in anger. She let the frustrated tears loose, no one was home. Updating her train app if the connections didn't change after all didn't bring any new results for the 5th time.

She ended up in the hall, by the stairs, leaning against the wall. Today was a good day to wallow in self-pity as any. Hugging her knees, she cried quietly, half-realizing she was just being dramatic and the situation wasn't half as bad as her riled up emotions would have her believe.

"Whoa, hey. Are you crying for real?"

Seline almost jumped out of her skin at Matthew's tone, shooting up to her feet. "W-what are you doing here?!"

Matthew stood on the last step of the steps next to her. His knuckles were still wrapped in white bandages, so must have been boxing and returned sooner. He was gripping the railing tight and looked pale and tired, but the sarcastic tone and raised eyebrow chased her worries away. "I live here. Duh."

"T-that's my floor." She hurriedly rubbed at her face to get rid of the moisture. "I didn't hear you arrive."

"You were...preoccupied," Matthew said dryly. "So what's up? Did something happen? Should I go beat someone up?"

Seline chuckled despite the tears and her emberassment for him to catch her like this. "No. That's really sweet, but not at all necessary."

Matthew gave her a dubious look, then crouched down on the ground next to her, sliding down the wall slowly. "Something must have happened."

"Nothing happened. I'm just being silly." She waved his concern away, trying to smile.

"Uhm. Do you want me to call Isaiah?"

"No!"

Matthew blinked at her vehemence.

Seline ran her hands through her hair and sat down back next to him, back against the wall. "Nothing happened. It would just worry him."

"If he could comfort you, I'm sure he would be happy to worry. Maybe I just can't say what you need to hear."

"It's fine. Seriously. I'm overreacting because of hormones. Nothing is wrong." She flushed a little, realzing she said hormones, but when Matthew didn't laugh or say she was a hysterical girl, her shoulders slumped in relief and she relaxed a little.

"I didn't realize you two were so similar. Always such a put together front," Matthew commented, looking away with a sigh.

"You really want to hear my stupid reason?" She showed him the screen of her phone, too quickly for him to focus without realizing. "The trains won't be running at the time I wanted to go home tomorrow. I will have to leave early and wait up till my parents come home for them or take a risky train-bus connection that doesn't have to work out."

Stunned silence. "Can't you just drive?"

"No, I can't just drive," she said, annoyed. "I hate driving and I don't have my car here and you can go and say how this is my fault for not overcoming myself with the car and-"

"Fine, I give up." Matthew put his hands up in surrender. "You have a total right to hate driving. You want me to drive you?"

"I-" Seline spluttered for air. "I-I can't ask that of you-"

"Well, you aren't asking, I'm offering," Matthew said with a shrug. "I can drive you to your parent house and then go back. Your trains will work on Sunday, right? I can pick you up at the station."

Seline crossed her arms on her chest, avoiding his gaze. "It's just this one time. I can take the trains normally, the timing fits well, with them coming home and all. Just this once." Shouldn't she invite him over when he drives her that long? She didn't invite him or Isaiah to meet her family yet.

"It's no problem," he said tiredly. "Stop defending it like I'm moving a mountain for you. If you told this to Isaiah, even hinted at it, he would offer the same."

Seline nodded, eyes overflowing with tears again, this time from how touched she was. Seriously, today was such a stupid day. She was crying for everything. "Thank you."

"Oi. What now?" Matthew said, a little exasperated. He turned to her, wrapping his bandaged hand around her elbow and then pushed her forward against his chest.

Seline melted at the contact, pressing her crying face against his chest. Matthew enclosed his arms around her, practically dragging her to sit in his lap as he held her. She sat with her side and arm against his chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. This is just over emotion. Don't worry," she said reassuringly as his hug tighthened.

He sighed into her hair.

She laughed nervously against his ear, chin on his shoulder, wanting to fill the silence with something. "No way I want Isaiah to see me like this. Giant minus point, to have such an emotional girl on his hands. He would be running for the hills."

Matthew snorted. "But you don't mind me seeing?"

"You won't break up with me," she said with a half-broken smile.

"He wouldn't either."

"Not on the first time. But on the fifth time? Tenth time? I better not give him more difficult times if I can help it, before he starts counting."

Matthew shook his head. She could feel the movement against her face as she closed her eyes. "No one is counting. That's not what couples do."

"Oh really? It's all I'm doing. Counting how much we are giving each other and if it's still ends up in mutual benefit."

She could practically hear the eyeroll in his voice. "I don't think it's supposed to work like that. It's not a business deal."

"It's very similar. I have to be pretty enough, attractive enough, smart and entertaining so when I really really need something, I can get a favour and not waste on something stupid and minor like this-"

"Isaiah would run himself to the ground caring for you and never think of something like that."

"Well, that's just because he is kind and selfless and so self-sacrifacing towards everyone. Doesn't make me any special."

Seline frowned. "I love you."

Matthew leaned forward, his face in his hands, leaving her with the view on his back. "You think emotion doesn't play any role? People aren't just a list of plus and minus traits. You feel something about them too. If everyone was so strick as you say, I wouldn't make the list for anyone."

There was a beat of silence.

Matthew jerked underneath her, looking up, face going all red. "What? Where did that come from?"

"You are right." Seline shrugged. "I'm very rational about the whole dating thing, comparing and counting things, because I don't want the pink glasses to blind me to our compatability. But when it comes to friendships or family or...well, pack, it's all about feelings and I know what I feel. I love you. In the family sort of way."

Matthew rubbed his forehead, unsuccessfully trying not to blush. "You have never said it to Isaiah, you can't blurt it out like that to me."

Seline suspected there hadn't been enough people saying it to Matthew in general. "I love him too. But if we work out as a couple, I have to love him in that other, romantic way too. I'm not sure we are that far yet."

Yes, she was attracted to Isaiah. It's been very hard for her to fall in love, to respect let alone to admire someone else, so she was very happy she found him. And he was intelligent, thoughtful, considerate and he put so much effort into everything and she admired him for many things...but she never had such a long relationship, as she was not interested in dating in her teen years, and the inexperience was making her cautious.

Matthew shook his head, burying it in his hands once again. He was breathing all harsh and fast. She could feel his chest heave underneath her. She wrapped her hands around his neck, suprised at how sweaty he was and how weirdly pale...was he like that from the start?

"Hey, Matt-"

"You two should really," he gulped loudly, shuddering, "have a talk. Being this tense and counting around each other can't be- hrrrk-" he burped loudly, slamming a hand to his lips.

Seline retracted her arms back, putting one gently on his chest and the other on his stomach. He was still breathing so fast and his stomach was heaving, like it shriveled under her palms...and suddenly Matthew leaned to the side and gagged violently over her arms on the floor.

"Matt!" she yelped as his stomach heaved and he gagged again, this time bringing a mouthful of water. Seline rubbed his stomach, feeling it contract as he heaved the third time, this time bringing up a big wave of water. "What's wrong with you? Are you- did you- you were feeling sick the whole time?"

Matthew spat onto the ground, giving a full-body shudder. "Sorry. I just..."

"Is this some kind of flu? Did you eat something bad?" Crisis always brought a calm over her, making her practical. She could feel her mind clearing from trivial concerns, emotions in the backround.

"Not really. My sparrring partner got a really good hit to my head today...I guess I was feeling a little light-headed since then." He blurred his words together a little and he was still that sickly pale.

"Wait, you mean to tell me you are concussed?" She tried to scramble away from his lap, not wanting to add weight to his misery. He was feeling sick and dizzy from a hit to the head and let her blabber on?

He tighetned his hold again, squeezing her against him, hanging his head on her shoulder. "Sorry...can I just...I don't really want to move." He smiled crookedly. "I can't believe I survived climbing up the stairs."

"Matt, you silly fool. You should have said something." She threaded her fingers through his hair, looking for a bump. "Did you heal yourself?"

"A little. Didn't really stop hurting all the way. And my, ehmm, ears are ringing a little." He winced at her touch but didn't pull away.

"Come on, you should get some sleep." His head was basically limp on his neck, barely holding himself up. She figured he could sleep since he healed himself with this shadow. It must have been the symptoms that remained. "You can stay in my room, I can't really help with the stairs like Isaiah can. You will be more comfortable there, okay?" And they would get away from the mess on the floor.

Coaxing Matthew to unwrap himself took another 5 minutes. She held him under the elbow, trying to stabilize him, but they both knew he was too big for her to hold his weight, should he fall. He stumbled the few steps to her bedroom, holding onto the wall and her for support.

He basically collapsed on her favourite pillow, squeezing his eyes in a painful way that cued her in on the light. She closed the curtains on the windows and fetched a wash-basin from the bathroom, then climbed into the double bed with him.

"Hmmmm...Do I have too many minus points for vomiting to get another hug today?" Matthew mumbled sleepily, rolling to his side as she adjusted the covers over him.

"You are such an idiot," she said fondly, wiggling herself under his arm, face against his chest. It was a warm, comfortable position for her too.

"You sure Isaiah won't mind?"

Seline chuckled. "From you, he won't. My guess? He will end up sleeping here today too." She kissed the top of his forehead. "The basin is right next to you. Tell me if you feel sick again. Should I get you a painkiller?"

"Nah. Can't stomach it right now. Just stay."

It warmed something inside her that he wanted her so close, that he might have hugged her the first time for his comfort as well. Or maybe just for her. He was such a marshmellow, it was a shame it only came out when he was feeling sick.

@bellysoupset

[astromechs]

Pure RebelCaptain behavior here.

Holding hands to balance out each other's temperatures

So...yeah. Just a thought. ;)

here's a short little snippet! ~ 1k for a little saturday morning writing exercise; i think i'll crosspost some prompt fics to ao3 in a little collected work on another day, but for now, here this is! from this list; still accepting!

Intimacy, Jyn has come to learn, is becoming fluent in an entirely unique language, one built on moments and all contained within them — sighs, steps, shifts in posture, brushes of hands.

She's not sure when, exactly, becoming fluent in Cassian had turned so automatic, so nearly effortless, but for all that he doesn't say — still can't bring himself to sometimes — he fills in the spaces for her. There's a certain sigh that means he's irritated, a certain knit to his brow and set of his mouth that indicates disapproval, a certain wide vulnerability in his eyes that shows the fear he wouldn't admit beyond closed doors; there's also a certain subtle twitch at his mouth that always betrays his amusement, the way his genuine smiles crinkle at his eyes when those for a calculated purpose never do, the way his touch is always gentle and seeking, like he can’t believe it’s happening, even now.

And at the end of this particular day, when their respective tasks are done and they’re alone, she knows exactly what it means to see him hunched in on himself like he is, head tucked and gaze barely even flicking up from the floor toward her direction, both hands stuffed in the front pockets of his parka.

Jyn has been in enough shitholes across the galaxy to confidently say that Hoth is the worst one she’s encountered yet, and so far, she hasn’t found anyone to disagree with her; frankly, anyone who doesn’t think this planet is some kind of fucking torture device needs their head checked. But she knows it’s worse on Cassian than it is on most — one, because his clear hatred of the cold in general had been obvious to her within a short time of knowing him, and also two, because on the really cold days (which is, well, every fucking day on Echo Base), his back noticeably stiffens, his steps become short and tight, and no matter how hard he tries to hide it from her, she can’t miss the way his jaw is clenched.

It’s hard, looking at him like this, holding herself back and giving him his space until the right time, when she wants nothing more than to rush in and do something.

He’s been pacing their quarters for close to half an hour now, in those tight, slow, agonizing steps that broadcast his flaring pain, and neither has spoken a word. It’s not as if there’s been total silence — he’s let out at least two of those certain irritated sighs, and she can’t pretend that she hasn’t done the same at a few points — but he hasn’t initiated a conversation, and she hasn’t pushed it. Patience isn’t as easy as the language she’s come to learn from watching him, but for Cassian, she tries.

(They both try, in their own ways. When making herself as difficult as possible has helped her to survive on her own well more than once, it’s second nature to turn those weapons on argument rather than throw them aside, and she’s seen the way he sucks in a sharp breath through a clenched jaw and takes some time before finding his words for her in return. They’re not perfect — they’ve both had their fair share of giving into baser, worse tendencies in ugly moments and saying things they regret — but they try. It’s what they can do.)

Even if it takes another hour, or more, waiting is the best thing that she can do for him now.

Fortunately, though, it isn’t another hour; it isn’t even another five minutes.

When he gets to the edge of the bunk on this round of pacing, Cassian suddenly stops moving completely. His hands are still in his pockets, he’s still hunched in on himself, but in a sidelong glance, Jyn can see that he’s regarding the bunk with the kind of intense, focused gaze that means he’s thinking. Truly considering. She keeps her distance, not intruding with words or otherwise just yet; it’s better, she knows, to let him come to a conclusion on his own, without any outside input from her or anything else.

After he exhales a long breath, he sinks down onto the mattress, slowly, painstakingly. He doesn’t do anything else, not even look at her, but the invitation he’s giving is clear.

Though a part of her is itching to rush across the room, she keeps her steps soft and quiet until she reaches the bunk, and slowly lowers herself onto it in much the same way that he had. He doesn’t jerk away from her presence, instead staying completely still, so Jyn takes that as a sign to move just a little closer, until their thighs are touching.

Beside her, his breaths are uneven, and the way he’s still holding his jaw tells her, maybe more than anything else, that nothing has improved.

If she can’t take away his pain, she thinks, she can at least do something to make the cold a little bit more fucking bearable — for him, for the both of them.

She knows exactly the kind of deflecting, minimizing bantha shit he'll say, so it's not worth wasting the time to even allow him to start. No, she shifts on the mattress, which creaks like it always does under the weight, and without warning, she tosses her glove off to the side and reaches for one of his hands still tucked into a pocket, wrapping hers around it tightly, firmly.

His fingers are ice cold when they first touch hers, but after a minute, she feels that begin to ebb.

"Better?" she ventures into the silence with an actual word for the first time, shifting only just enough to get a better look at him.

Cassian still doesn't quite meet her eyes, but he nods, so she'll consider that a victory.

Leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his forehead, she lingers, letting him take her warmth through more than just her hand; it's what he'll never ask for, but she'll always give without question or hesitation all the same. "Good."

[fandomsnstuff]

Something short and sweet for @taznovembercelebration day 10

Day 10: sick

The Taaco twins have one cardinal rule: if you receive a text consisting of SOS and a number, you call your twin in that many minutes and give them an excuse to leave wherever they are. No questions asked.

Read it on AO3

Taako's having a nondescript night at home when his phone lights up with a text.

lupdelup

SOS 7

He waits exactly seven minutes, then calls her.

“Hello?” She should get an Oscar for that greeting alone. It's a perfect tone of slight confusion with a tinge of concern.

“Lup,” he puts on a performance of his own, making his voice sound weak and strained, “you gotta come home right now.”

“Taako? Are you okay? What's going on?”

“I'm really sick,” he lays dramatically on the couch for effect, tossing an arm over his eyes, “I haven't been able to keep anything down, and we're out of tums and tylenol.”

“Alright, it's okay.” Her voice quiets a bit through the phone as she talks to the shmuck that she was convinced to go on a date with, “I'm sorry, I gotta go. My brother-”

“He's a grown man.” The guy's voice is quiet, seeing as the phone isn't on speaker, but Taako's able to pick it out. “Sit down.” He sounds like a douche.

“Lup,” he groans, “my stomach hurts so bad, and I'm burning up. I think I need to go to the hospital.”

“He's in a really bad way,” she says to the guy, “I need to go help him.”

He can only get a vague impression of the guy grumbling, but Lup says goodbye to him and a moment later, she says into the phone, “what a fucking asshole.”

He drops the ailing brother act, “that bad, huh?”

“Ugh,” he hears her car door slam, “me telling him I needed to leave just now was the most words I've been able to say in a row all night.”

“Gross.”

“Just wait ‘til I get home, it gets worse.”

“I'll see you soon.”

“Thank youuuuu.”

They hang up, and Taako goes back to his show. About 25 minutes later, the door swings open and slams shut.

“This fucking guy-”

About a month later, Taako's home alone again while Lup's out on a date. But he isn't waiting for an SOS, because this date in particular is with one Barry Bluejeans. Lup probably wouldn't admit it, but she's been cuckoo for him from the moment she laid her eyes on him and he opened his mouth. As far as Taako's concerned, they've been going on dates for ages now, they just lied to themselves and said they were hanging out as friends. But this date is for realsies. “We said it was romantic and everything,” Lup had told him a few days prior, buzzing with excitement.

Lup said she'd be back later that night, but he's honestly not expecting to hear from her until morning. So when his phone lights up, he's confused.

lupdelup

SOS 2

Taako scoffs and goes against SOS protocol, texting her back:

🌮🔔

No

lupdelup

what?

🌮🔔

Unless you give me a reason, absolutely not

lupdelup

I thought the whole point of this system was no questions asked

🌮🔔

I've had to listen to you talk about this guy for YEARS

You get all wistful about it every single time

If you tell me he's a creep or a douche or secretly racist or something, ill call you, but im not giving you a bail out call if you're just getting all in your own head overthinking and freaking out about being on a date with THE barold bluejaens.

lupdelup

Taako please i dont know if i can do this

🌮🔔

Of course you can, you're LUP

He's lucky that you're into him and i know that he knows that

Tell you what

I'll give you an SOS 60

lupdelup

60 is so many though

🌮🔔

I'll call you in an hour. If you still want to bail, then bail. But go back to your man and enjoy it. From what I know about him, it'll be the best date you've been on in months

lupdelup

Maybe even years.

🌮🔔

I'll talk to you in an hour

lupdelup

Fine

Asshole.

Taako sets himself a timer for 60 human minutes and goes about his evening. When it goes off, he considers not calling and waiting to see how long it'll take her to notice. But he's a man of his word, especially for Lup, so he calls. It rings, and rings, and rings. Taako's hopeful, Lup almost always picks up SOS calls on the second ring. It rings one more time before he's sent to voicemail.

The phone beeps in his ear.

“Your call has been forwarded to our automatic voice message system. Lup Taaco isn't available right now. Leave a message after the tone.”

“Told you,” he says, and hangs up.

Lup doesn't come home until morning.

[valleynix]

I just saw ur post on Reader dealing with drunk dimitrescus, and drunk Alcina is so funny 😭😭 if you don’t mind can you do the dimitrescus dealing with drunk reader?

HEHEHE, i think we’ve briefly seen them drunk (or, rather, the aftermath), so bear with me >:D

Alcina Dimitrescu

she wondered how well of a tolerance they had for her wine, and so, out of curiosity, she allowed them to drink as much as they wanted while they sat with her on her bed one night

needless to say, they were a mess

it took only half a bottle of her finest wine for them to stumble horribly as they tried to walk to her washroom

but they were fine! that’s what they told her, at least, and her concern for them only escalated when they sheepishly requested her help

she didn’t necessarily want them to drink more, but they convinced her they would be fine and dandy

they had more to drink, and the drunker they became, the more her little crow wanted to drag her to places all around the castle

she’s never felt as carefree as she does with them; they make her feel more human than she has in decades with the way they gleefully tug her along and grin up at her with that adorable smile

they seem more peaceful and unguarded when they’re drunk. she’s not sure how to feel about it

they drag her along to various spots around her castle, pointing out their speculations on certain decor or even maids

she apologizes on their behalf when they loudly talk about some maids directly in front of them, even if the women can’t understand what they’re saying

truthfully, at this point, neither can she

but, to their credit, she does laugh more that night than she has in months

their final adventure leads them to a tower she hasn’t thought of since her daughters were reborn

it takes some time to get there with the way she has to carefully help them up the staircase and carry them the rest of the way, but the innocent awe in their golden eyes is enough to make the wait worth it

she stands with them, careful not to let them linger too close to the open spots between the pillars connected to the roof

they’re quiet as they watch the village beneath them, whispering little things to themself about the villagers, the stars, even what lies in the massive forest below

they ask about each lord’s territory, wondering of each history within

she promises to tell them all about it when they’re sober

her night ends with them sleepily pulling her back to her room, mumbling things she can’t understand

they quickly fall asleep on her bed after tugging their clothes off (and with her helping them), and she just… watches them for some time

it’s not until the bell tolls for the first hour of the morning that Alcina finally allows herself to lie beside them, smiling to herself at the way they snuggle into her

Bela Dimitrescu

in all her time of knowing them, she has never once seen her idiot bird drunk

tipsy? sure, they've had a few drinks together on lonesome nights they were able to spend with one another

but this? she's never seen them so giddy

they're also very touchy; it's not necessarily sexual, though they do make a pass at her that's shot down almost immediately with her cheeks burning hot, but they clearly just want to be around her

she even heard them whine when she got up to get another bottle so she could refill their glass

she doesn't mind this in the slightest, even if she is taking care of them, and she finds their stumbling and slurring almost adorable

there comes a time, about an hour after it had been made clear how drunk they were, that they beg her to let them play the small guitar she had resting in a corner of her room

she'd worried handing it to a drunk person, at first, considering its value to her, but she trusted them

drunk or not, they wouldn't break something of hers. she knows they'll be careful

she hands it to them hesitantly, and for the first time in a while that night, they seem quite sober as they gently take it from her

she helps them adjust their finger positions and how they hold it, softly kissing their temple and murmuring her praises when they obediently follow her

as soon as that is done, however, she panics as they stand atop her small coffee table, the light from the fireplace casting the rest of their body in a dark shadow

she doesn't want to touch them or make any sudden movements out of fear their instincts may rule over their logic, so she carefully raises her hands and asks them to please get down

she wouldn't forgive herself if they were hurt while she could prevent it

they bat her hands away and stand straighter, softly strumming a few strings as they get their bearings, swaying slightly

the song is terrible. she doesn't know how else to put it

but that doesn't matter. she listens in awe as they quietly sing and play off-key, obviously nervous with the way they sheepishly raise their head to look at her before their gaze returns to the guitar

she finds herself watching them, stunned. she can't take her eyes off of them and she feels her dead heart almost beating in her chest

they finish the song even quieter than before, and when they sway a little harsher than they had been, she decides it's time for them to rest

she takes the guitar from them, setting it on the floor with her hand on their hip to steady them. they rest their own atop hers, and she supposes they're letting her know they're still with her

she helps them undress, softly kisses them as she tucks them beneath her blankets... and she joins them, eventually, after she feels she's screamed enough into her pillow in her washroom

Cassandra Dimitrescu

for once, she's not the culprit for their drunken state

she doesn't even know how they managed to find her in the cellar without falling down the stairs and breaking several bones, but she hears them stumble into her little office with two wine bottles in hand and not a single scrape that she can see

she would be worried, had they not plopped themself down on a spare chair and began to drink and grin at her

she knows they have it rough, but their smile and the wink they give her is enough to let her know they're just having fun

doesn't make her cheeks any less hot, though

if she wasn't currently busy, she would have offered to do something with them; as it stands, she was copying some notes down from another book that had somehow mysteriously gotten blood splattered onto it

they seemed content just to sit with her and drink, though, and she even took a few sips from their glass

to which they teased her about her touching where their lips had until she lightly smacked the back of their head

to keep them busy and stop flirting with her (not that she minds), she gives them a spare piece of paper and a small piece of lead, as well as a hardcover medical book so they have a flat surface as they sit in the corner

yes, she's punishing them that way, but she does find their obedience hilarious

and a little endearing. now, if only she could get them to be like this while sober-

she does occasionally check on them to ensure they haven't fallen asleep while facing the wall, and she's a little offended they're not as talkative to her. they mumble a lot to whatever they're doodling, though

when she silently stands from her chair and peeks over their shoulder at what they're drawing, careful not to cast a shadow over their paper, she sees a rather well-drawn picture of a crow, as well as stick figures that are obviously meant to be her and them

god, she doesn't like feeling this way about them, but she also does. they're so... them but they shouldn't make her feel this way

when she's close to finishing her notes, she hears them stand and attempt to quietly sneak behind her. for their sake and her own amusement, she pretends she's too engrossed in her work, but she can't stop the smile on her lips

their arms slide over her shoulders as they lean against her back, their head bending low to kiss the side of her neck and mumble such sinful things in her ear

yeah... maybe she's written enough

Daniela Dimitrescu

in her defense, she was simply curious about who the lightweight was between the two of them

to her surprise, it's them. she knows she doesn't handle alcohol well, but they were drunk drunk after their little game of "invite Uncle Karl to the castle and take a drink every time Alcina insults him"

granted, she was a bit tipsy, too, but they were way worse. she's not used to having to take care of someone else, but she manages

it makes it easier that they're not difficult to care for. they giggle a lot and cling to her as they wander aimlessly around the castle, and she finds she mostly just has to keep a hand on them for their low whining and pouting to cease

they end up in two places: the first is in some small little storage room that holds plenty of brooms, dustpans, mops, and some other cleaning supplies for the maids that they'd struggled to find (and ended up accidentally walking in on two maids while they tried to find a secluded room)

they kiss her senseless while hidden from any prying eyes, their lips attached to her neck and definitely leaving marks there

she gives them her own, in turn, and they end up with smeared kisses everywhere around their face and neck

once that's done and she's whined enough about continuing, they're left in the Opera Hall, sitting at the large piano

neither of them knew how to play, though she had learned a little while she wanted to bond with Bela over it

still, that doesn't stop either of them. she follows their giggling lead and ends up taking control when they climb atop the small stage and sing their little heart out

she doesn't know what they're saying, but seeing them so happy and carefree gets her own laughs to bubble in her chest and her cheeks to heat painfully

eventually, she completely ditches the piano and moves to stand with them when they begin to stumble a bit more than they had previously. she feels her dead heart lurch in her chest when they nearly fall, and so, while she is the more sober one between them, she decides to keep them in her grasp

it offers a great opportunity to dance with them, which was something that's been on her mind since she read it in one of her books years ago. she's just never found a willing partner

they accept her cheesy offer to dance with a grin and a kiss, and for what feels like way too short of time, she leads them around the stage, careful not to spin them too harshly or dip them too quickly

it feels like a night in one of her romance novels, and she would never trade it for anything. the way they're so flustered with the way she speaks to them and kisses them, their soft words against her skin, the way they follow her every lead...

she won't be forgetting this night for a long time, and she just hopes they'll still want to dance when they've sobered up

[pomegrantemoths88]

Ch.4 Foundations? (Till We're Safe: AU The Maze Runner, Gally X FemReader)

After a Greenies first 2 weeks, they get chosen for whatever job they were best at during the rotation. However my 2 weeks aren't done till 2 more days, this morning Alby decided to keep the “best” for last. The Builders. I think it was pretty apparent that my first job Med-Jack was the job I was going to get chosen for, however to keep up the order you gotta go through all of them. 

However after breakfast, I decided to find Gally to just ask what I needed to get started with and I found him talking with Alby near the hammocks, as I walked over, a person who I gratefully forgot about till a week ago and again today, decided to grab my shoulders. 

“Hey Greenie.”

“Oh, what’d you need?”

“I can’t say good morning?”

“What’d you need?”

“Alright then, I’ll go straight to it, have dinner with me today. I know the builders aren’t going to be the most pleasant group today, least of all Gally, so what do you say?”

Yeah I didn’t like this guy one bit, and I’d rather stomach Gallys nagging over whatever the hell Joffrey was going on about. Since the first day he’s never sat right with me, thankfully he wasn’t somebody I’d have to interact with much as a med-jack.

“Sorry Joffrey, I think I'm okay.”

“Cmon y/n, what’s your deal with me? I’ve tried to be nice, listen I’ve heard the guys talking, they’re waiting for your routine to set in before anyone tries to “talk” to you, and there's no telling what any of them might do after that, hell even Alby laughed about it, let me help you. ”

I considered his words for a bit, there could’ve been some truth to what he was saying, but I remembered another important detail at this point. He was the only boy in this damned prison or wherever we were, that succeeded in making me uncomfortable beyond measure. I'm grateful I remembered what “red flags” were because Joffrey lit up every single one. 

“Listen Joffrey, I don’t know how much clearer I need to make this for you. I don’t want to eat dinner or breakfast with you, and I don’t need your protection.”

“Careful y/n, you wouldn’t-”

“She wouldn't what?”

We both quickly turned to the side to see Gally walking up to us. A soft feeling of ease sat on my shoulders when I realized he was here, but as quickly as it came, I dismissed it.

“Go on Joff, finish it.”

“Just making sure she knows that we all need to get along”

“Yeah I think she got the point. Get to work.”

As he walked away, I wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face. I wondered if there was a 3 strike system for hurting another Glader. I found myself stuck in thought till Gally finally spoke up,

“Are you coming to work or are you gonna waste more time?”

That attitude of his was becoming a really annoying prick in my head. 

“Hey, he came up to me and bothered me first, I’ve been trying to tell him to back off since day one! I probably could’ve made it clearer if you hadn’t butt in.”

“Yeah you're welcome now he won’t bother you again.”

“Yeah well if Minho couldn’t get him to shut up, I doubt he’s gonna stop because of you.”

“The hell did Minho tell him?”

“He just told him he was messing it all up on the first night, it’s not like there's anything to mess up, I don’t think anybody should be “trying”.”

“When did I ask?”

I shot him an annoyed look and I watched a smug smile appear on his face. That face of his made it really difficult to stay mad or annoyed at him.

 As we walked to the new building, it seemed like they were laying groundwork for a foundation. As the hours passed by, Gally stood beside me helping me. I got the hang of using tools pretty quick, they worked hard and fast, it wasn’t a bad job to have. Despite the jokes and banter, the builders weren’t as dumb as everyone said they were. Airheaded and stubborn? Absolutely, working with Gally for a few hours solidified that. The only bad thing the entire time? Oh, Gally not letting me fucking work. It’d go something like this…

“Watch your hand.”

“I got it.”

“If you didn’t I wouldn’t tell you to watch your hand, you’re gonna smack a finger.” 

“Gally I’m using the smallest and lightest mallet you have already, I'd have to use my whole body weight to bruise my hand.”

“Okay fine break your finger then, matter of fact, let me do it.”

“Why would I let you do it?”

“Shucking hell just move, you’re doing it wrong anyway.”

If it wasn’t irritating moments like this, it was more. I went to carry some logs and a tool bag. We were getting more supplies for the foundation until…

“Lemme carry that.”

“It’s not that heavy, I'm fine.”

“You're gonna get hurt. Just carry the bag.”

“You might as well be carrying half the shack, just let me do it.”

As he walked around to my other side, he grabbed the logs without asking again, leaving me only a light tool bag. 

I hated how good he looked walking away with all of that, and just as that thought came, I shook my head and cursed at myself silently, this was becoming a regular problem.

I decided to think about the other jobs, I pulled in as much weight as I could, and that was fine, if anybody slacked off, that was a problem. But for some reason when I’m here with the builders, they don’t mind. At around the end of the day, my duties were reduced to handing things to them or holding certain things in place, if it wasn’t for the hot sun, I would’ve barely worked a sweat in. 

“I didn’t work today Gally.”

“Yeah I know.”

“I got the hang of it at the start, why didn’t you let me do more?”

“You’re gonna be a medjack, so one, there wasn’t much point in you working with us today and second, you can’t really get your hands injured before being med-jack so…”

““So that's what you were talking to Alby about this morning. You know I could’ve been better at this job.”

“Yes and sorry princess, leave the building to me and the rest of these guys.”

“You’re not gonna let up tomorrow either will you?”

“Nope.”

The dinner bell rang and everyone was quickly dismissed. I stayed instead.

“What? Are you waiting for me?”

“Waiting for you, hurry up I wanna eat.”

“Alright Greenie if you wanna work, then help me so I can finish faster.” 

It didn’t take us very long and we worked the rest in calm silence. As we walked to dinner I heard him softly say, 

“If you want, you can eat with us so he doesn’t bother you again.”

He really didn’t like eye contact, it was either smart remarks in front of others or quiet comments that confused me, even after 2 weeks I still didn’t know what to think about him. Others would’ve said he was brash, blunt, or a straight up shank to the rest of them, there was some truth to it but that wasn’t all he was.

“Thank you.”

I ate my dinner and sat with the builders, who despite me not pulling enough weight, they welcomed me still. I didn’t say much and instead listened to the chorus of laughter and conversations. Sitting next to Gally brought back that feeling again, the feeling of familiarity and habit, and it almost made me forget where I was. 

Once dinner ended and we went our separate ways, I decided to climb up a small tree close to Homestead. I figured maybe I used to like star-gazing.  Usually at this time of night, I would’ve found myself trying to remember my life or I would’ve repeated my name in my head till I went to bed.

 But this time I found myself thinking of Gally, I wondered who he was, what his parents would’ve looked like, what did he do in his spare time, did he always like building? Did he have a favorite color or a favorite anything? Questions I asked myself, I asked about him. 

But of course that was ridiculous, I didn’t know him, I didn’t know any of them. I don’t know where the hell we are or why we’re here. I stayed wrestling with my thoughts for a while until somebody else had the same idea.

“Oh heya y/n, see you found my spot.”

“Oh I'm sorry Newt, I can get down.”

“No it's fine, I like having company anyways.”

We stared at the stars for a bit till he chimed up,

“How’re you holding up?”

“It’s weird, when I'm with people, doing my job, I forget where I am, I feel almost comfortable with certain people. But afterwards the gravity of where we are just sets in and I'm reminded of whatever we could’ve lost out there.”

“Yeah you get used to it after a couple weeks. Wanna know the cool part?”

“Not sure if there's a cool part about it but go on ahead.”

“We come up the Box with no memory and not a bloody clue who any of us are, so we have a clean slate. We can make our lives here for however long they keep us here, take it from somebody who tortured himself for a year about what I could’ve lost out there, we only have each other here.”

I heeded his words and as I thanked him for easing my anxiety, we stared back at the stars. I thought about what he said that night and all I could think about was how I just wanted to go back to work tomorrow and hear Gally complain again.

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

[mini-sae]

The assistant :

Homelander ?

- What ? - He snaps to Ashley.

- What do you think about this new scenario ?

Homelander rolls his eyes before throwing a dirty look at the three idiots sitting in front of him.

- I don't give a fuck.

Right after leaving the office, he checks his phone for the hundredth time in twenty minutes.

For the simple reason that you should have come to Vought twenty minutes ago. Like every morning since three months.

In the last three months, not once you were late. Not once. You were always right on time.

That's one of the many things that made you a pretty decent assistant. That's why you lasted so long.

When he first saw you, he thought that you were probably like all the ones before you. Just waiting the opportunity to raise higher in Vought.

But you didn't seem interested. Sometimes, he tested you with questions and " opportunities ". You were his first assistant to be skittish about it.

All of the assistants he had were afraid to be alone in a room with him. They preferred to be in a room full of people. Or at least, with people with pretty secured jobs in the company. Any place where the Homelander wouldn't dare to hurt them. As if it could save anyone from him.

But you hated crowded rooms. He hears your hearts racing everytime there is too much people to your liking.

No. You're the most comfortable at your desk, alone.

Or with him.

When you're in his office or in any room where there's only the two of you, your heart is calm. You are calm

Maybe not completely comfortable, because he is Homelander, of course. But you're not afraid. You're not trying to run away from him as fast as you can.

And that absence of fear made you very good at your job.

If you were bad, you should be afraid, but you didn't make any mistakes.

Until now.

The minutes passed and you were still not there.

He decided to call you to fire you. But he'd rather do that face to face. You needed to understand that you blew up your chance at maybe the best job in the world.

His anger rises when he hears your voicemail. You didn't even have the decency to answer.

- Hey Y/N ! You're thirty minutes late, now. I hope everything is fine. I would like to be informed if you can't come to work today.

He used his lightest tone. No need to scare you on the phone.

When you haven't still give any sign of life for two hours, he nearly lost it.

Nothing was in place in his office. He searched for your agenda in your drawers and found a picture of you with a middle aged man. Probably your father.

And most of all, he felt lost. And lonely. He always felt lonely, but you brought something in the office. Some kind of warmth.

So he finally decided to ask someone from the tech room to track your phone.

- Where is she ? - He asks sharply to one of the nerds.

- Her phone is off. But she was here when it last emitted.

He sees a black point. Right on an hospital.

What were you doing in a hospital ?

He felt his heart skip a beat. He was so furious that he didn't consider this possibility.

He flies right away at the hospital and starts to search you. Asks around to doctors and nurses.

It takes him a few minutes to find you.

You were sitting on an hospital bed. A doctor were cleaning various wounds on your face.

- What happened ?

You raised your eyes to him. You looked in shock.

- Homelander ? I'm sorry I couldn't call. My phone is broken.

He takes a look at the destroyed phone on the table, but he couldn't care less about that.

- Again. What happened ?

- Homelander ! It's an honour to meet you. - Says the doctor, with wide eyes.

- Shut the fuck up. Take care of her.

The young fucker was a bit startled but immediatly complied.

Homelander looks at you with a menacing stare.

- I don't like repeating myself.

- A car went into the bus I was in. Everyone is alive, don't worry.

Are you stupid ? Why the fuck should he care about those useless strangers in the bus.

You were hurt. You have cuts all over your face, your neck and your arms. Your hair were a mess. Your eyes were lost and you had a haunted look on your face.

For the first time, he notices how beautiful you are. He noticed your pretty face when you two meet, obviously. But you were a true beauty. A shy and kind creature. Who were not afraid of him.

- I tried to call you. I left you a message. - He said, sitting in the chair in front of you.

- Am I fired ? - You ask nervously.

- No. No, of course not.

It's not like he would have really fired you anyway. He would have taunted you or yell at you. But you were too precious. Too much of a good assistant.

Once the doctor finished his job, the two of you leave the hospital. You were about to take a cab when he stopped you.

- Come in here. It's faster.

He opens his arms and you blush.

- You don't have to. It won't be long to...

- Nonsense. Come here.

He puts his arms around you and lifts you up like you weighted nothing.

He could smell you from real close. And it was heaven for him. Again, he noticed your scent. But not like this.

You were squeezing him so hard that you could have chocked him to death, if he was human.

He landed on the rooftop and went to the elevator. That's only when he released you.

- Thank you. - You say timidly.

- You're welcome. You know, taking the bus is pretty risky. Look at you.

You laughed a little.

- Well, I don't have a car.

He lifts an eyebrow.

- Cars are risky too.

You watch him, a confused look on your face.

- Then how will I come here ?

- I'll come to pick you up. And I'll bring you home.

- You really don't have to.

- I know I don't have to.

He smiles brightly at you and leads you to his office.

For the rest of the day, he kept you by his side. Keeping check of your heartbeat, your breathing and any wounds he could have missed with his x-ray vision.

He refused to let you get up. Every time he needed something, he got it himself or asked to someone else.

He looks at you while you're writing down something. Even now, you were dedicated to your job. Dedicated to him.

And he will make sure to do the same for you.

[widowbitessting]

I feel like reader would totally forget to eat/sleep if they got busy with uni work and that just wouldn't fly with the mommies/ or they would be over tired and be disrespectful by accident and be like oh shit afterward 😂

Thanks for the submission @findmeinthestars and sorry it's like 7 months late! <3 I know I've done a couple of these, I just love this trope so much.

You would for sure do this at one point.

Like, you'd be too engrossed with your work that everything else - drinking, eating, talking to your super hot girlfriends, just gets completely forgotten about.

Now, please understand this. You don't do it intentionally.

Not at all.

You just...deadlines happened.

A lot quicker than you anticipated (maybe because you wrote the wrong dates down on your phone, but let's not talk about that).

Which resulted in the sudden long cram session where your basic needs slowly get forgotten.

It started at 5am.

5 fucking am.

6am passes quickly, just like the Trio! as they quickly rush to work; believing your weak promises to eat and drink.

By 7:30am, you have already consumed your fourth cup of coffee and are well on your way to your fifth.

There is no water in sight.

To give yourself some credit, you did try to eat something.

The bread is still waiting in the toaster.

Which means you had every intention to eat.

You just...didn't.

As you went to click the bread down to make it become toast, you remembered some vital research that you didn't do.

Thus your breakfast being forgotten.

By the time the Trio! come home after work, their sweet little baby is still sat in the same spot, typing/writing furiously as you had when they had left work that morning.

It's Natasha who finds you.

Eyes red from exhaustion, body trembling from the excess amount of caffeine consumed.

"Baby girl, have you been working this entire time?"

"Mmm."

"Talk to me. Please tell me you've taken a break. Had some water, something to eat?" Natasha is worried.

Rightfully so.

"Can you just stop talking? I need to focus!"

It isn't until Natasha's face is directly in front of yours that you register the fuck up.

Oh shit.

"I didn't -"

"Talk to me like that again, little girl, and I will have you over my knee faster than you can say sorry. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes."

"Have you eaten or had water today?"

"I've - I've had coffee."

"And?"

"...more coffee."

Your brain is far too exhausted, too fried, to even consider bratty responses.

"Go to the fridge and get something to eat. And a glass of water, now."

"But -"

"Now!"

You do as you're told, exceptionally quickly, and scurry to the fridge to grab the first thing you find.

You then grab a big cup and fill it with water.

When you return, Natasha has moved your things and all but drags you to sit on the sofa with her.

"Carol is going to make us dinner." She tells you. "And Wanda is going to run you a bubble bath. You need to rest, moya milaya veshch'."

"Yes, but --"

You nestle into her side regardless.

It's second nature, whenever you sit beside on of the three women now, to be physically touching them anyway you can.

"You can work later. In an hour...maybe two...just for now, love; just relax."

"I'll -"

"When is your work due, baby girl?"

"End of the weekend," You reply around a mouthful of food, "midnight."

"So you'll rest this evening, do a few more hours of work before bedtime and then tomorrow, work with regular food and water breaks. Understand?"

"Yes, mommy."

Natasha encourages you to take a large drink of water.

"Such a good girl."

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

Chapter 3 ~ Running out of air

Hidden Depths

Previous ~ Masterlist ~ Next

Genre: Fantasy whump

Written per Whumptober 2022 prompts

CW's: captivity, mention of depression of a family member, nudity (non-sexual), stabbing, blood, strangling, implied whump of a minor (character isn't really a minor, but they don't know that 😅)

WC: 3267 3295

AN: Well, I'm falling behind lol. Which means I finished/edited/posted this today. Woo!

Resh

Hands folded on his stomach, Resh lay on a tiny cot in an even tinier room, trying not to move. To distract himself, he started counting the red bricks lining the walls of his cell. No wait, he wanted to count the knots in the beams of wood supporting the ceiling this morning. It was an intensely fascinating endeavor, especially since he seemed to come up with a different number every time he counted.

As much of a joy as it was to lie on his shredded back, it was even more fun trying to lie on his side. Why couldn't he have broken limbs on the same side of his body, for fuck's sake? And forget trying to lie on his stomach—it was next to impossible to get up from the cot when he did. That was a mistake he wouldn't be making again.

Resh also tried not to breathe too deeply. For one, it smelled fucking weird in this underground complex. Musty, stale air barely circulated down here, because when the prince had used his innate elemental ability to carve the space out, he either hadn't had the brains to include adequate ventilation, or he just hadn't cared.

Secondly, his ribs fucking ached. The godsdamn guard fetching the prisoners from their cells had the patience of an amnesiac squirrel trying to find the food it'd buried. When Resh hadn't been able to get off the cot—lying on his stomach was to blame, of course—the guard had 'helped' by pulling him off and then kicking him for good measure. 

Because adding yet another injury to the mix made it so much easier to get up in a timely manner. Resh made a rude gesture towards the row of metal bars that served as his door.

Lesson learned. Painfully, but learned nonetheless. Now he used lifesense to watch for the guard coming down the hall, so he could take his time maneuvering his splinted limbs off the cot. 

It had been a long week, but hey, at least Marcus hadn't been here. Apparently, he'd taken a trip back to the city. Resh hoped the prince got drunk, took a wrong turn in the city streets, and ended up beaten and left for dead in one of the poorer sections. Bonus points if someone got feisty and stabbed him a few times for good measure.

If only. Resh scratched at his neck, which felt swollen and a little hot. He didn't know what Marcus had done with this godsdamned thorn collar, but no matter how hard Resh tried, he couldn't get it off, and now it was irritated as fuck. But Mother, did it ever itch.

His sister could've removed it for him. Orla had elemental earth, and while hers wasn't as strong as a royal's ability, she could manipulate earth and plants and some of the more porous stones. 

Blinking rapidly, Resh took a few slow, not quite deep enough breaths. As a servant at the manor, he had been given one day off a week, which he used to make the three-hour walk back to the city to check on his sister. And his mother, he supposed—not that she cared much. Now that Orla had her medicine and didn't need as much help, his mother had sunk back into her despondency. Resh supposed he should be grateful she had risen from it to help care for Orla at all.

Still, Orla was only twelve. She wouldn't understand why Resh hadn't made it home today to see her. If the cheap boarding house the Crown was allowing his family to stay in could be considered home. But it was better than where they had been living after his father died, when they could no longer afford the upkeep of the townhome in the merchant's quarter of the city. 

Most of all, Resh hated that his sister was alone. He forgot himself for a moment and clenched his hand into a fist, his right one, which sent shooting pains through his arm. Fucking pits.

A new golden light appeared in his mind's eye at the end of the hall, one that was moving instead of the stationary lights of the other prisoners in their cells. Resh stopped massaging the pins and needles from his swollen fingers and began the painstaking process of getting up. Once sitting, he positioned the ratty piece of cloth used to support his right arm around his neck and found the staff he'd been given to help keep the weight off his left leg.

The morning passed as usual. Gray, lumpy, lukewarm oatmeal served with the weakest tea Resh had ever had the pleasure of drinking in the dining hall. It was a treat carrying his food to a table, considering his good arm had to hold onto his staff. Afterward, he endured the jostling, the elbows, and the occasional outright assault while they were ushered to the common room to receive their assignments for the day.

Although room sizes varied, they all looked the same. Red bricks lined the walls, curving into a domed ceiling spanned by wooden beams. The floor on this level was just plain dirt, although it was packed so hard it was hardly distinguishable from stone. 

Especially when one met the floor in a violent fashion—a flurry of motion across the room caught Resh’s attention. A large man with a potbelly that Resh knew had menaced the poorer sections of the city shoved one of the few women in the center out of his way. She fell hard, head cracking audibly against the floor. 

Resh winced but was reassured when she curled into a ball, probably praying Potbelly didn't decide to take further offense and kick the shit out of her before the guards intervened.

This was the Reconditioning Center, where the crown prince magnanimously oversaw the rehabilitation of repeat offenders and lowlifes not awful enough to be executed outright. Resh had traded away two years of his life, promising to serve as the prince’s personal assistant in exchange for the medicine his sister needed. 

Now, he’d won the ultimate prize of becoming a prisoner instead of a member of the staff. It would probably be the highlight of his life. If he survived his time here, of course.

"Check in with Mieste," the guard at the entrance of the common room instructed.

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Resh hobbled his way over to the corner the herbalist occupied for his daily wound clinic. It was a busy wound clinic and always had been, even before Resh had needed to stand its line.

You never knew what kind of… enticement to behave Marcus would order or, even better, deliver himself. The variety of pain was endless. Resh had witnessed it.

Now he knew firsthand. He traced the scabbed-over slice on his cheek, suppressing a shudder. He'd woken in a cold sweat every night over the last week, convinced his eye had actually been carved out. 

"Move along, Josian," Mieste ordered the man in front of Resh.

The herbalist rinsed his hands in a bowl of water, then wiped them dry on his black shirt. Resh wasn't too sure that was the most sanitary of hand-drying options. Every medical person Resh had ever seen wore black to hide stains from the various bodily fluids of their patients. But who was he to say?

"Can't I have one of the elixirs?" Josian whined, his voice unusually nasally.

Resh really hoped Josian was enjoying his broken nose.

"You should know by now that pain relief is something earned," Mieste said, glaring over the rim of his glasses.

The back of Josian's gray uniform was spotted with blood from a recent whipping. Resh almost felt bad for him as the man sniffed and walked away.

Almost.

Except Josian had earned that whipping for attacking Resh a couple days ago. Resh could still barely see out of his left eye, but at least he had been able to fight back a little this time.

He couldn't even blame Josian. Resh had strapped him down a few weeks ago for Marcus to play with, after all. The man had a raised red scar running from the right side of his forehead through the bridge of his nose to prove it, along with some others hiding under his uniform. He winced at the memory of that session. Josian wasn't very friendly, to say the least.

"Resh, take off your clothes and have a seat." Mieste directed him to a rickety-looking stool, then turned back to his table, pulling out an assortment of jars, vials, and bandages.

Take off his clothes? Resh couldn't imagine why he'd need to take off all of his clothes. Based on the supplies Mieste was pulling out, it appeared he was going to change his bandages, but surely he could keep his pants for that. 

Gingerly, Resh sat on the stool, praying the flimsy thing wouldn't collapse as it creaked under his weight. He wasn't even that big, so he couldn't imagine how any of the larger men managed to sit on this thing.

There was nowhere to put his staff, so he let it drop to the ground and then began removing his shirt, wrinkling his nose as he did. He hadn't been provided with a new uniform since he'd been… relocated, and his ability to wash was a little hampered by the bandages wrapped around his torso, not to mention his splinted limbs. Cheeks heating, he folded the shirt across his lap and waited for Mieste to finish up.

When the herbalist turned around, the lines on his face deepened dramatically as he scowled. "Was I not clear enough? Take off those filthy clothes. You get a new uniform today with your bandage change."

Resh's eyes darted around the room, from the other prisoners milling about waiting for their work assignments to the people still waiting in line to be looked over. "Here?" he asked, desperately hoping otherwise.

Mieste raised his eyebrows. "Where else? Do you think this place gives a shit about your modesty?" Shoving back his thinning gray hair, Mieste crossed his arms over his chest and harrumphed.

While Resh would've loved to pretend he didn't give a shit, he was pretty sure the heat creeping down his neck was giving him away. He cleared his throat and awkwardly pulled his pants off. Resh held his clothes in his lap as he sat back down, studiously refusing to look at anyone. He couldn't hear those snickers from the ones in line who'd heard that exchange, either. Nope.

Mieste checked Resh's arm and leg, changing the wrappings holding the splints in place. Resh tried not to move too much while Mieste did so; it would be just his luck to get a splinter in his bare ass.

The bandages around Resh's torso were not replaced. Something something about the wounds needing air. Resh didn't care; he was just happy he could wash a little better now. His cheek, neck, wrists, and calf had all scabbed over and no longer needed medical attention. Mieste clucked his tongue at the state of Resh's irritated throat, smeared some salve around the thorn collar, and sternly told him to leave it alone.

Easier said than done. Resh would like to see how Mieste reacted to having thorns digging into his throat for a week straight. They fucking burned, and the itching was driving him mad. Thankfully, the salve cooled his irritated skin, dampening the itch for now.

He was beyond grateful to pull on his clean uniform when Mieste finished, not even caring that the rough fibers caught on the healing wounds on his back. He moved away from Mieste's corner. Passing by the entrance to the room, on his way to receive his work assignment for the day, he heard a raised voice echoing down the hall.

"Getcha hands offa me, you fuckin creeps! I know how'ta walk, for fuck's sake.” 

A truly concerning noise, sounding like some kind of wild animal caught in a trap and utterly pissed about it, emerged from the tunnel. 

“Gods! I said lemme go, you dumbfucks. You even listenin t’ me, or are you deaf as well as shitbrained?"

Eyes widening, Resh stopped and turned toward the entrance. The voice had a higher pitch than anyone currently residing here, so it seemed they were getting a new prisoner. His heart sank—that probably meant Marcus was back.

Two guards emerged from the hall, half-carrying a… wait, was that a kid? Marcus followed behind them, looking highly irritated, and wasn't that a great sign. Resh began to sidle backward, trying not to draw attention to himself. Why did he have to be so close to the entrance right now?

The guards released the kid, who ran inside. The kid didn’t go far, though, turning on their heel right in front of Resh, godsdamnit, to spit more curses at the guards. And at Marcus, who pushed past the guards with a thunderous expression.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Resh tried to back up faster, but it was a little hard to back up when you had a broken leg. It was much easier to go forwards. He was a little confused why a kid would be sentenced to this godsforsaken place, but he sure as fuck wished they would stop throwing such a fit, and so close to him at that.

Since Resh had such a close view, he supposed maybe the kid wasn't exactly a kid, although it was hard to tell their age or gender. They had the kind of delicate features that could go either way and that bespoke youth for a long time. They were at least a head shorter than him, which was saying something since Resh wasn’t all that tall himself. The kid was thin, too thin, with short reddish-blond hair that looked as if it had been hacked off with a knife. So, probably a kid off the streets, then.

Marcus' eyes flicked over to Resh, the corner of his mouth turning up slightly before he returned his attention to the kid. Resh grimaced, moving back one more step to be sure he was out of the way, and then stood still. Marcus had noticed him, so it wouldn't do him any good to try and vanish now.

The kid darted away as Marcus advanced. "I don't belong in your perverted hole of horrors," they hissed. "Bring me back."

Marcus sighed heavily, turning to Resh. "Carr is here for stealing, caught multiple times by multiple people. Resh, you can tell him how it goes here since you know how it works both ways now. You were on the street for a bit, perhaps you can teach him some manners while you're at it."

Not for the first time, Resh hated that he'd had to relate his godsdamned life story during his petition to the Crown. The prince knew entirely too much about Resh's life for him to be comfortable with.

The kid turned, shooting a baleful hazel glare Resh's way.

Great, that was just fucking great. It looked like even the newbies were going to be informed that Resh had been on the other side of this arrangement. Resh nodded anyway, because what else could he do?

Marcus' eyes darkened, and Resh knew he'd made a mistake. He opened his mouth, suddenly remembering that Marcus liked verbal responses, but nothing came out as the thorn collar around his throat tightened, choking him. Resh's left hand shot up, scrabbling at the branch, his breath wheezing in and out while the thorns dug deeper into his skin.

"Yes, my lord," Resh forced the words from his constricted throat, hoping it wasn't too late. Tears sprang to Resh's eyes when Marcus stepped closer, interest lighting his eyes as he watched Resh gasp for breath.

"Oh, Resh," Marcus said. "I see you haven't learned your lesson yet. Perhaps this will serve as a lesson for your new friend here as well." Marcus turned to the guards who had walked in with him. "Bring him."

Resh's eyes darted around the room while he tried to get some purchase on the collar, slip a finger underneath, something. His efforts were rewarded with splinters of bark painfully shoving up under his fingernails, but he couldn't stop trying. 

Everyone still in the room was staring, watching the spectacle. The guards moved towards the kid, whose wide eyes were panicked as his gaze flicked from Resh to Marcus, then back to the approaching guards.

Couldn't the kid see nothing good came of defiance in this place? Resh would've tried to shake his head in warning or something, but his vision was spotting, too little air getting in, and it was all he could do to focus on breathing.

Resh sank to his knees at the same time the kid moved, his speed astonishing to even Resh's air-deprived brain.

Carr's small hands wrapped around the handle of the dagger Marcus wore strapped to his belt, tore it free from the sheath.

"What the—" Marcus shouted, grabbing for the kid, who ducked away, slashing with the blade. He reared back, a line of red appearing across his ribs beneath the sliced open fabric of his cream tunic.

The kid wasted no time. Taking advantage of Marcus' shock, he dashed in, slammed the dagger into Marcus' thigh, then ran. Marcus looked down at the handle protruding from his leg, then slowly back up, his head turning to follow the kid's progress.

The collar around Resh's neck loosened, and he eagerly sucked in air. His attention was drawn to the bloodstain spreading on Marcus' pantleg, but he wrenched his eyes up to see what was happening. Resh had never heard of someone attacking the prince before. He was a little scared this would be the last time he saw the kid alive.

Carr dodged the guards and ran straight for the entrance, obviously trying to escape, although Resh couldn't imagine how the kid thought he would get away. 

Sure enough, Marcus moved his hand, and the ground beneath the kid softened, causing him to stumble, then sink into the earth. Carr's face turned red as he struggled to get free, but the earth hardened around him, leaving only his head and shoulders above ground.

"Gag him," Marcus ordered as Carr started screaming obscenities. "I'll deal with him in a bit."

Resh gasped as the collar tightened around his neck once more. Why? Fuck, what had he done?

Marcus knelt in front of Resh, seemingly unconcerned about the fucking dagger sticking out of his thigh. "Now see, this wouldn't have happened if you had just answered me appropriately in the first place." He plucked Resh's hand away from the collar, then tucked a stray piece of hair behind Resh's ear, uncovering his face.

Resh reached out to the prince instead, silently begging him to stop. At the same time, his mind grappled with stupid questions like: Did the prince have no pain receptors? How could he not care that he'd been sliced open and stabbed? Why was the prince doing this? Why?

Please, Resh mouthed to the prince. Please, stop.

Marcus took Resh's offered hand, patting it gently. "What's that?" The prince tilted his head. "It seems I can't hear you."

Tears fell down Resh's face, his chest heaving with the need to breathe. Please. Surely Marcus knew the shape of that word by now. Please.

Marcus just smiled as Resh continued to plead soundlessly.

Please. It was doing Resh no good, but he kept saying it, even while he slumped to the floor, his vision tunneling.

Please. The thorns hurt. 

Please. His chest hurt.

Then darkness closed in, and nothing hurt at all.

Next

Image Description

[ID: The banner is a blue-green background, with tree branches arching over a set of blue-green eyes, forming an approximation of a face. The words Hidden Depths are written in white above the eyes. end ID]

[studies-in-the-art-of-deduction]

More Airport Deductions!

So this weekend i had to travel again, airports and planes are always fun, they're filled to the brim with people from all nationalities with all kinds of interesting things to observe on them. I thought i'd share my deductions as i did last time i traveled, so here you have them:

While waiting for the plane a man was sitting next to me, he was in his late 20s - early 30s, his baggage wasn't just small but it was empty enough for the top of it to be concave, so he's on some sort of a short trip, short enough to not even need to fill his bag. He had shaved that morning (or at some point during that day), his clothes were recently laundered and this was their first use (you can tell from the folding marks, they fade away the more someone uses a piece of clothing), and his nails were recently trimmed, he was dressed to make some semblance of an impression, but he was getting on a plane, so chances are he was on his way to see someone special, a partner most likely, it's also likely his flight was gonna be a short one, i wouldn't say longer than 2-3 hours at most, and if he was going to see someone special chances are he was on his way home coming from a trip rather than the other way around

So full deductions in list form would be:

Right handed

Late 20s - early 30s

He's on a short trip, not more than a 2-3 hour flight from home

He's meeting his partner on arrival

After a couple of minutes of observation he got up and headed to his gate, which i got a glimpse of, it turns out i was right about the trip being short, he was taking an hour long flight

The second deduction happened on the plane on Sunday night, a woman walked past my seat while boarding so i had to keep my observations brief without forgetting the context of the observations (this context being the fact that we were on a plane going from a not very touristic area this time of year, to a much more touristic area of my country). The thought process was the following: I noticed her pants had prominent fold marks on them, so they were newly worn, but the rest of the clothes had been worn for a couple of days, the color of the clothes was still very well combined though. She had an engagement ring on, and given her body language towards the man in front of her he was her fiancee, the ring was on the cheaper end, thin, and subtle, more focused on elegancy than flashiness. She was holding her phone on her right hand, an iphone 12 or above with no case or protective cover on the screen. Her nails were painted a shade of dark, unsaturated purple, but the paint on the nails on the right hand was chipped. Clearly she had a very good economical stability, and wasn't prone to anxiety or worrying about future problems, and can have trouble when planning ahead for them, chances are she comes from a mid-upper class family, and has a good income at the moment

So in total the deductions about her (that i feel confident about) are:

Engaged and travelling with her partner

Likes practicality, probably works in a more analytical field, maybe something tangential to medicine considering her income

Puts effort into her looks and likes to show off when she can

Isn't prone to anxiety

Trouble planning to prevent future problems

Comes from a mid-upper class family

Has a good income

A few deductions about this woman i feel slightly less confident about:

She's returning home after a weekend long vacation visiting either her or her fiancee's family

If anyone wants to take a guess at how i arrived at that last deduction be my guest! For now i think this more casual post has become a bit too lengthy, so i'll leave it here. Stay tuned for more educational oriented content!

Happy Observing

-DV

[knullanon]

Yandere invincible Duplikate with a deaf civilian love interest

sorry this took so long, also I couldn't find a gid for her sorry

I Will Always Love You

words: 739

warnings: stalking, lmk if I missed any!

"So, what you're telling me is, is that you've got a new girlfriend?"

Kate scrolled through her phone, not even paying Rex any attention. "Not yet, but I know they like me."

Sputtering, Rex continued, "Oh, so you know? Then why not, I don't know, ask them to date you? Is it because you're bluffing?"

Kate looked at him before looking back to her phone. "Because I haven't had the time."

"Of course, keep telling yourself that, while you cry being single for the rest of your life."

Slamming the door, Kate continued on with her research. While yes, it would be considered something bad if you found out what she was doing, it wouldn't matter. She could always reveal the superhero personality and say it was for your own good.

She stopped at a photo of you, smiling, wearing some sunglasses at a beach. And then she saw who was with you.

From the tags in the caption, it seemed to be a school friend from highschool. Apparently there was a reunion between your classes, and you both managed to meet each other again.

She narrowed her eyes, mentally making a note of the colleagues name, before continuing on. Really, you didn't have much that would help her, but then again, she could always just do the easy way out:

Stalking.

Pulling out a laptop, she continued to think about you. When searching for your address, she didn't think about what the team would think, only what you would think. She had already made plans and excuses in case you ever found out about her little obsession, but she never thought that it would be such a big deal.

When she found it, she closed the laptop, put on a jacket, and headed out. Of course, she continued to think about you. She wondered if you were even at your house. She should really think about putting a tracker on you.

She turned the corner to your street and stopped mid-walk. Unlocking your door, carrying a few bags of groceries, was you. It was almost sunset, she had no idea why you would be out this late.

Hearing your door shut, she continued on, before she reached your neighbors yard. Quietly and quickly, she opened their little gate, and jumped the fence into your yard. She knew you liked your plants and checked on them frequently, so she avoided the little patches of grass that were obviously pointing out.

She sneaked past your kitchen window and living room window, to your bedroom window. She was barely able to hear your door open and close, before she heard you throw something on the bed.

You opened your closet, probably to get pajamas. Then she heard you walk out of your room.

She peeked in, only to see that the blinds were closed. But your window was open. Knowing she only had a few moments, she pushed out the screen window, and hoped in. She almost got tangled up in the blinds, but she managed. Opening them, and placing back the screen, before closing the blinds.

Looking for a place to hide, she spotted your closet. You had already closed it, and from the looks of it, you wouldn't be using it until the morning. She quickly slipped inside, and shut the door. Crouching on the floor, she let out a breath of relief before she heard you come back in. While she couldn't see anything, she heard you move something off the bed (your bag?) and flop onto it instead.

Afterward, it was simple silence. There was nothing to do, nothing to say, and Kate sat there while she waited. She could hear some movement once in a while, and she had to estimate it was about 2 hours before he heard you place something on the desk, flip over, and try to go to sleep. After another hour, she decided to take the risk: opening the closet door, she slipped out, before quietly shutting the door.

She waited a moment, before continuing on and made her way over to you.

She stood up when she reached your side of the bed, and lightly touched your face. She stood there for a moment, before she lowered herself to you. She could hear your breathing, and when you didn't move from your sleep, she smiled.

"I will always love you, and one day, you will do the same for me."

[shallyne]

Sunshine and Promises

If you do not like the pregnancy trope, this is not for you. The fic will be all about a pregnancy between a crackship, I suppose.

Thanks for beta reading @starfall-spirit

Words: 2,397

TW: none

Feyre promised herself to live her life to the fullest possible until she settles down. Then she meets Helion and things seem to fall apart

The moment Feyre had moved out to go to college she promised herself that she would live. She would live, be spontaneous and party, get out of her comfort zone. She would live for the childhood she didn't get and instead worked job for job, barely making enough for her family. So Feyre would have fun and get her degree and then have some more fun. It's not that she didn't want to settle, she definitely wanted that but at some point later in life, when Feyre was content as she lived. 

And she did. Feyre had fulfilled her promise all throughout college up until now, a few months after her twenty-sixth birthday. Her friend Ressina, who she met in college, invited her to a party and because Feyre was free that evening, she went. During that party she met Helion, they talked, and flirted, a lot that night but they both went home that night and nothing happened between them. They met again at a friend's birthday party, nothing happened again though the chemistry was certainly there. The third time they met in a club and that's when they exchanged numbers and when Helion had invited her over, Feyre said yes. It wasn't a surprise that they ended up having a one night stand. It's still a one night stand if you stayed the whole weekend without leaving, right? 

The weeks after, Feyre was going on about her day as usual and loosely texting with Helion here and there. It mostly turned into them sending each other memes or funny videos. The last she got from Helion was a video of a cat whose head got stuck in an empty bag of chips. Giggling, Feyre's eyes wandered to the date. Suddenly serious, she loosened a breath. Her period was a day late. It's not unusual, she calmed herself down, her period wasn't punctual, exactly to the day. It never was, there was no need to get nervous. So Feyre waited. Then another day went by without her period, and another, and another. After a nightmare plagued her that left a bad taste in her mouth, where she suddenly held a small baby in her arms and people told her it was hers, she threw the covers away from her, put on clothes and went to the nearest 24 hour store. It was around 5 AM but Feyre didn't care, she needed to do this now. So she paid and went home again. Luckily she didn't pee right after waking up so she didn't have to wait and drink an obscene amount of water before she paid on that stick. 

"You better not be positive." Feyre muttered as she washed her hands and waited. She leaned against the counter and the longer she waited, the sicker she felt. Her nervousness grew with every tick of the timer she had set. It's going to be alright. It's not going to be- she turned her head to the test. Fucking hell. No! She took the pregnancy test and blinked a few times, hoping that her tired eyes played a trick and there weren't two lines. Feyre was about to throw the test away in a fit but that wouldn't make it less real. 

She put the test in a drawer and went back to bed. Of course she couldn't find sleep again as a thousand thoughts were crashing on her. Her phone was heavy in her hand as she considered calling someone. Maybe she could call Ressina, maybe she would call one of her sisters even though they barely talked over the years or maybe - maybe the test was wrong. There was only one way to find out, so Feyre dozed on and off until it was finally late enough that she could make an appointment at her gynecologist. She didn't get an appointment for that day but she got one for the following morning. Feyre could hold out for a day. Just a tiny day. 

Although Feyre was itching to talk to someone, she ignored any message that came in today, including Helion's message about some party downtown on the weekend. 

Feyre focused on housework and when she was done in the afternoon, her apartment was as clean as it never was. Then she managed to answer most of her emails for work and then get a long shower. When she was done with all of that, it was just 6 PM, so to kill time she put on one of her favorite shows and microwaved herself some dinner. As she watched her show her thoughts drifted off and she tried to remember if she felt different in the last few weeks. She did feel nauseous sometimes but it was usual that she felt a little nauseous when she didn't have her breakfast yet. 

Somehow Feyre managed to kill the time until she was tired. During that night she tossed and turned and but she got at least some sleep until she had to get up and get ready for her appointment. As much as Feyre hated to be up early, she was glad that she got an early appointment, the waiting room just started to fill when a nurse called her in. 

Usually Feyre is good at keeping her emotions in check but when the doctor told her that she is indeed pregnant, she burst out in tears. She couldn't even place any emotion at that time because she felt them all. 

When she left the doctors office she sent Helion a text to ask him if he was home and fortunately he texted back that he was just on his way home and that she could meet him there. Feyre arrived twenty minutes later and knocked on his front door. 

"Hello!" Helion greeted her, grinning brightly. "Is everything alright? Your message was so ominous, we need to talk. Or did you look for an excuse to talk to me? You don't need an excuse for that." he crossed his muscular arms. 

"Well, we need to talk." Feyre said, pushing her sweaty hands in the pockets of her jacket. "I was just at the doctor's." 

The mischievous grin vanished from Helion's face and he stood straighter. "What's going on?" 

"I guess it doesn't make sense to talk around it." Feyre sighed. "I'm pregnant." 

Helion stared at her and then blurted out "With a baby? Mine?" 

"Yes, with a baby! Yes, yours!" Feyre snapped. "Why else would I stand here and tell you? Whose baby would it be?" 

"I don't know! I don't know who else you had sex with!" Helion said and threw his arms up in exasperation. 

"No one!" Feyre said. "Well at least no other man but that doesn't matter! You're the father!" 

Helion let out a breath, looked behind Feyre and then stepped to the side, holding the door open. "Please come in, we don't need to discuss this in the corridor." 

Feyre nodded and walked past Helion. He closed the door and then she followed him into an elegant living room. The whole apartment is bigger than Feyre remembered but then again, she didn't really focus on the apartment when she was here the last time. 

"Sit wherever you want." he told her and Feyre sat down on one of the big, cushioned chairs. Most of the furniture was kept in white with gold accents, the chair no exception. Feyre raised an eyebrow when she looked at Helion, who stood beside the little coffee table and looked at her. 

"Do you want something? Are you hungry? Or thirsty? My fridge is full but we can also order something if you'd like." 

Feyre shook her head "No, thank you." 

"Not even water?" Helion asked. 

"A glass of water would be nice." Feyre smiled at him and he looked relieved as she said so. 

"Okay, give me a second. I'll be right back." he said and vanished. 

Feyre leaned her head against the backrest of the chair and took a deep breath to calm herself down. It will be alright. 

"Here's your water." Helion said and placed it in front of her on the coffee table. Feyre took a sip as Helion sat on the couch closest to her. "So…." he said. "Do you want to keep it?" 

Feyre bit on the inside of her cheek. She didn't pay much thought about this and she realized it's because "Yes, I want to keep it."

Helion nodded. "Okay." he said, rubbing his hands. "Good." 

They were silent for a few uncomfortable moments. Then Helion said "I'd like to join you. At the doctor's appointments, I mean." 

Before Feyre could be grateful and shut her mouth she blurted out "Why?" 

Helion genuinely looked confused at her question and slightly tilted his head, his hands stopping to nervously rub each other. "Because it's also my child," he said. 

Feyre suddenly felt so embarrassed that she slumped farther into herself as a blush crept onto her cheeks. Helion sighed and then said "Listen, I'm not going to act like this is not a shock. This was the last thing I had expected but if you want to keep the child then I am with you and I want to be a part of the baby's life." he said. "But please be patient with me because I don't have a fucking clue about this." 

Feyre laughed and said "Then we can learn together because I don't have a fucking clue either." 

They both chuckled and when their laughter faded, they sat in silence for a few moments. It was more comfortable than the silence before. When Feyre put her glass down again after taking a big sip Helion said "Feyre?" 

"Yes?" 

"How old are you?" 

"Twenty six!" she answered. 

"Twenty six days from your birthday…?" Helion asked. 

"Nope, twenty six years old!" Feyre answered and grinned at him. 

"Holy shit." Helion muttered and rubbed his eyes. She took a closer look at him and she supposed he was older than her. His thirties maybe or maybe even his early forties. Feyre didn't know, she hadn't asked him when they met each other. 

"Are you okay? You look like you're about to cry." Feyre said. 

Helion rolled his eyes and said "Good that you're back to your good spirits, brat." 

Feyre giggled and took a look at the clock on the opposite wall. "I have to go now." she said truthfully. Her boss was about to call her in the early afternoon and she had to answer the last few emails that waited for her before that call. 

"Let's go then." Helion said. He brought her to the front door and when he put on shoes, Feyre asked 

"What are you doing?" 

"I'll bring you home!" Helion said and grabbed the car keys from a side table. 

"You don't have to-" 

"But I want to." He interrupted her and gently pushed her out of the front doors. "Be careful, there are steps." 

"I know, I'm not blind." she retorted and already went down the stairs as Helion locked his door. It only took him a few seconds until he was at her side again. 

During the drive home, he asked her when her next appointment was and she told him that it was in four weeks. He didn't wait in the car as Feyre went into her apartment building, he insisted on bringing her to her apartment safely. 

While Feyre threw her keys into a bowl that she had made once in a pottery class, Helion looked around her tiny apartment. He looked like a giant there. 

"I know it's very small, I need to find something new in the next few months." she told him. 

He turned around and nodded. "And maybe in a better neighborhood." 

"I live here because it's affordable." Feyre countered. 

"Of course, I didn't want to attack you" Helion said softly and Feyre realized she must have had more bite in her words than she wanted. "I'll get home again, please call if you need something." 

Feyre smiled at him "I will, thank you." 

He dipped his head once and smiled back. "I'll see you!" he said and left. 

When Feyre lounged on her bed that evening, Helion messaged her. The evening he had asked her to join the party downtown, he now asked her to hang out at his apartment to get to know each other better. Feyre told him she's in, they both sat in the same boat now and barely knew each other personally. 

Feyre arrived a few minutes earlier at his apartment that Saturday than they agreed on because she wanted to walk and didn't tell Helion. He didn't look surprised when she already stood on his front step and ushered her inside. When she entered his living room another man was lounging on the very same chair she sat on a few days ago. He probably was the most beautiful man Feyre had ever seen. He looked surprised when he looked at her and then stood up. 

"Hey." Feyre said. 

"Hello." he said, smiling brightly at her. "You must be Feyre." 

She looked at the stranger and then at Helion. "You already told him, didn't you?" 

Helion smiled at her apologetically. "Yes." 

"Yeah, I'm sorry." said the stranger and Feyre turned back around to him. "Congratulations, though." 

"Thank you." Feyre said. 

"I'm Rhysand." he said, extending his hand "But my friends call me Rhys." 

Feyre shook it. "Nice to meet you, Rhysand."

Rhysand chuckled. "Please call me Rhys. I guess that's my cue to leave," he said. 

"Why? Stay!" she grinned at Helion. "I don't trust you to tell me embarrassing details. Do you know some embarrassing stuff about him, Rhys?" 

"I do know a lot of embarrassing stories about Helion." Rhys said, his violet-blue eyes dancing with humor. 

Helion laughed. "What's one more mouth to feed? But I would have told you the embarrassing details myself." 

"That's also true." Rhys said, sitting down on the couch and leaving the chair to Feyre. 

They all ordered and while they waited, Helion told her that he owned his own club and Rhys inherited the company of his father. During their meal, they all got to know each other but they also told Feyre stories that were so ridiculous that she almost spewed water over the whole table because she laughed so much. 

[linkslastbraincell]

A lil early WIP Wednesday

Since I can't work on this till I finish my current fic, here's a few pages I got out of my system. If I get to it, it'll be a one-shot about Link being captured by Ganondorf during the last battle in TOTK and being an absolute heroic goblin about it.

Link stood between Ganondorf and the townsfolk, who cowered as they waited for the tension to break. Link couldn't blame them for their lack of faith in his ability to counter Ganondorf; he looked small and meek, frail and easily broken on the giant's blades. He didn't have the sword that sealed the darkness, and while he knew he could defeat him readily with courage and a few cobbled together weapons from his inventory, he'd have to find some way to tether him to the ground while he wandered out to find the sacred blade. He could do that if he drove some of the stronger blades through his torso and into the stone beneath him, but that seemed exceptionally cruel, messy, and time consuming. The goddess wouldn't ask so much work of him.

Well, okay, she absolutely would; but she preferred elegant solutions, and none were presented to him. He took that to mean her will meant for something else to happen. And so, Link spent two hours fighting Ganondorf, parrying his blows. He was beaten down and sweaty, his clothes in tatters by the time Ganondorf relented in his incessant attacks. Ganondorf was heaving for breath, his amber eyes burning with rage as he watched the swordsman silently step back into his starting position between the two parties. Despite his current state, Link could do this forever. He would prefer not to, but he could. Ganondorf seemed to realize this, too, snapping at his intended victims.

“Get out.” Spittle flew from his clenched teeth as he spoke. Link had an odd thought, then. How attractive anger looked on the Gerudo King, when it was impotent.

The villagers fled, one sweet woman lightly gripping Link's arm and tugging. He didn't move, simply met her wide, fearful eyes with a turn of his head. She pleaded, silently, for him to follow. He smiled warmly at her, moved by the gesture, and shook his head no. Ganon snarled, and she let out a gasp, fleeing to catch up with the others. The heavy doors to the throne room slammed shut behind her. Link sheathed his weapon, standing at attention as he watched Ganondorf consider him. After a long silence, Ganondorf scoffed bitterly, sheathing his twin blades.

“Aren't you tired, Hero?”

Link tilted his head in question.

“This,” he gestured vaguely around them. “All this fighting, and what do you get out of it? When was the last time you were allowed to do something for yourself?”

Link blinked in response, not really considering the words much. It was a moot point. Ganondorf continued, beginning to circle him as a shark might.

“You fight, and you fight, and you fight,” he said, and this time his voice wasn't so collected. This time, he sounded exasperated himself, as though he knew the feeling. “You get nowhere. You wake up the next morning to do it all again.” A personal gripe, perhaps, Link thought. “Even now, you sit here in my castle – ” Zelda's castle, Link corrected mentally, “ – the goddess has abandoned you. You do not know where your Princess is. You acquiesce to every demand I make of you, so long as it doesn't harm your people.” Oh, good, he'd figured that out. Link had been wondering if he'd notice the pattern, but he was quicker than he'd given him credit for. “Even if I humiliate and use you, you allow it. Like a doll.” He sneered that last bit, like it was wrong of Link to allow him his indulgences. Perhaps he relished the thrill of a fight, and Link was boring him. “What in the world could you be fighting for?” He took Link's chin in his hand, lifting his face to look up at him, and Link let him. His lips were pressed in a thin line of annoyance, his eyes narrowed as he studied Link's face, expecting some answer there.

Peace, Link signed. Ganondorf laughed.

“Peace? When have you known peace, boy?”

Link thought that over. Woke up in the forest. Nice. He raised a brow, peering up at Ganon curiously. Wouldn't be a forest if you had your way. “You're so certain I'll destroy all you love.” Link blinked, unable to nod in Ganondorf's grip.

“Why do you so blindly follow a goddess who doesn't see you as much more than the shit beneath her heels? Don't you have dreams? Aspirations? Is there a single thought in your head that isn't duty or courage?” His lip was curled up in a disgusted sneer. At him, he wondered, or the King's clear desire for him.

Link considered this. Zelda had hinted at something similar before he'd died, although her interest wasn't in his answer. For her, it had been a question she had to contend with. She knew who Link was the moment she laid eyes on him, and like Ganondorf, it had disgusted her at first. Link hadn't taken it personally. He may have felt the same if he'd been forced to plead with a deity to speak to him his whole life, and received no answer. Instead, he accepted his role the moment it was assigned to him, allowing fate to point him in whatever direction the goddess saw fit.

It's fun, Link settled on, and it seemed he couldn't have surprised Ganondorf more if he'd slapped him.

“Fun?!” Ganondorf pushed him, hard, and Link landed on his ass. “This is all fun to you?!”

Link shrugged. Not losing people. Not dying, or being stung by lizafalos, or having to fight the same monsters every blood moon, he said, but gliding over emerald hills, swimming in clear lakes, sandseal surfing across warm sand, making camp where I please. He smiled, deciding to prod a little. Having decent sex. It has its charms.

Ganondorf kicked him so hard he heard a rib crack, a gasp of pain escaping him. But that was how he knew he'd gotten to him, and it made him wheeze a chuckle as he sat up, pulling an apple out of thin air and eating it. He felt fantastic after.

The goddess is always with me, King. You can't hear or see her, but she is here.

“Here, letting me make a whore out of you.” I don't think the goddess cares about such things, Link said, unable to keep the amusement off his face. I don't care about such things.

Ganon was clenching and unclenching his hands. “I imagine you won't be so jovial once I find the Princess,” he said, his voice low, his expression frightfully neutral. “I imagine she'll be much more responsive to my training.”

Link sighed, worn thin, the last few months catching up with him for a moment. You won't find her.

“Oh, I will,” Ganondorf said, mistaking his resignation for fear. “And when I do, you'll be grateful you aren't in her place.”

Link didn't bother signing 'good luck with that', much as he'd like to. But then, the image of a much smaller version of the light dragon with a little bell around her neck and a sweetly labelled water dish filled his mind, and he couldn't stop the smirk on his face. Oh, and if she had a little dog bed to rest on... Link wished for a moment such a thing could be possible. He'd love for her to have an excuse to have some fun, and she'd be cute as a little sentient scarf around his neck. But alas, she weaved through the clouds on a seemingly mindless track, gleaming in the sun, untouchable. Zelda was ineffable, now, and Ganondorf couldn't hurt her if he had a thousand years to plan his revenge and knowledge of exactly where she was, what had happened. Perhaps this is why the goddess allowed her to do such a thing, Link thought, but he knew that would likely be granting the goddess too much credit. She seemed pleased to micromanage Link, and allow Zelda to languish while he tried to solve her puzzles.

Ganondorf watched him with confusion mixed with disapproval. Link didn't take pride in making the King of Evil balk, but it was funny in a cosmic sort of way. “You've lost your damned mind out in the wilds, haven't you?”

Link shrugged in response. Silence stretched between them, pierced rhythmically by Ganondorf's heavy breaths. He was still furious. Link felt a sort of strange ambivalence toward him, despite all he'd tried to do to him. Despite those he'd hurt. Still, he pressed a topic as one would squeeze an open wound.

You do her bidding, as well. “I do not, swordsman.” I defeated you once. Yet, here you are once more. Why? “For Hyrule,” he sneered.

What do you gain by ruling this land? It's in ruins. The people cluster in tiny villages, the population decimated. What could you possibly gain from subjugating them?

Ganon didn't say anything, just maintained the vicious glare Link was getting used to. Link let the silence drag on for long minutes before Ganondorf straightened his posture, folding his arms over his chest.

“I wouldn't expect a peasant to understand a king's whims.”

You can't even remember why you want it so bad, Link signed. You march along the path set before you by a deity, same as I do. Same as the Princess did.

Ganondorf turned away from him, his impressive cape swirling after him as he made to leave the room. Link pulled a wildberry from thin air and threw it at the back of Ganondorf's head with exact percision, and he spun back around, beginning to march toward Link with intent.

I like it here. Ganondorf stopped, his lips parted, his eyes searching, brows furrowed. He was flummoxed.

I like Hyrule. I like running with the wild horses, foraging for things to cook, making idle chatter with the people at the stables. I like visiting the Rito children and helping them with their singing. I like helping the Gorons with their mining. I like listening to the King of Zora talk while we lounge in the water. I like helping the Chief of the Gerudo practice her magic.So if the goddess abandoned me – if she never called to me to begin with, sword or not. I would still stand up to you, Ganondorf. To protect this place. I wish you could see how special it is the way it is.

Ganondorf's expression hadn't so much as twitched as Link signed. He straightened, taking a deep breath.

“You can sleep in the dungeons tonight.” With that, he turned away once again, exiting the throne room with a shout to his Moblin guards. Link let them drag him out of the room. He knew the way out of the dungeons, anyway.

[damfinofanfiction]

Chapter 19: At The Premier

it was belated but here’s a christmas gift from me to you! 

It was a hot day filming at the ranch. Buster felt it upon leaving his joint bunkhouse. He regretted using a blanket due to the nightly chill that he woke up to his undershirt damp with sweat the following morning. He thought he could sleep in a buff if the heat remained constant, but having bunkmates present would keep him from doing so.

The knowledge of the desert climate came prepared for Keaton and the crew as they brought resources from their temporary headquarters in a Kingston Hotel. They had a flask of water for whoever needed it as well as a block of ice that had to be delivered 50 miles to keep the camera cool lest the film inside would melt.

When Buster hoped there wouldn't be any obstacles on set, Brown Eyes wasn't right that day.

Before the camera rolled again, the crew had her out in unbearable heat, but she didn't follow Buster when he walked. Even Buster tried to use the fine string, but it wouldn't do a thing as they struggled to make her move. It was surprising for the company because the cow was fine before and then she disobeyed orders the next day.

A rancher was called to examine the brown cow in her corral to determine what was wrong. Buster sat in a director’s chair while waiting for the results, hoping it was not for the worse.

Buster stood up when the rancher came to him, “Have you found anything wrong with Brown Eyes?” he asked.

“Yes, That cow’s in heat,” He told Keaton.

“No kidding, we’re sweating like we’re in the Turkish bath.”

“No, she is in heat,” then the man explained that his animal co-star was in a cycle where she was eager to mate with a male species. Buster felt a bit uneasy hearing of this. “She won't be of much use until she gets over that,” he concluded.

“How long does that take?”

“Oh, about ten days or so.”

Then it was made aware that the only way to help the cow in heat was to have her find a mate.

The crew was able to escort the cow to the cattle residing at the ranch. Brown Eyes was interested in that one bull but rejected it. The other bull attempted to charge her in jealousy then she was saved from being gored by the ranch cowboys. Buster was disappointed with the failed result and the crew discussed another option.

One of them told Keaton, “We’re gonna have to bring another cow as a double.”

“To hell you can. She has already worked in many scenes. She was insured and I trained her to go through a damn door.”

Another said, “She’s a brown Holstein, no soul could tell her apart.”

Buster pointed to the cow’s face, “With those markings, I bet they’ll notice the difference. We’re not using another cow and that’s final!”

They decided to wait it out.

They would film a few scenes that didn’t involve the cow. Later the company retreated to Kingston for a break from the heat. Buster would visit the ranch daily to check on the animals and the cameraman who chose to stay behind to take landscape shots for a few hours, although neither of them wasn’t sure they would use the country scenes for the feature. Buster sighed at the sight of his lonely animal co-star, sympathizing with her while hoping she would get better luck with the steer next time.

Back in the hotel, Buster had thought of Gail. Her arm had improved by now, and he had considered contacting her to see how she was, but she might be working with Sennett again. He knew that Gail still had feelings for him, but she had to protect her virtue. Buster appreciated her values but doesn’t think he should remain with another fella who had nothing to do with sex. 

Buster didn't want to break a woman’s heart before seeing her present form so he called Natalie instead. He asked how things went and reluctantly told her of the situation and the wait due to this going to Norma.

Then he was informed by his wife of the event in Hollywood that would give him a reason to take a trip back home.

**************

A fine-looking car arrived by a modest house. A man with an athletic stature stepped out and fixed his bowtie, ready to impress his sweetheart. Almost immediately, T-Mobile had shown up also. The driver was a thin guy of average height. He had no bowtie; he glued a loose one to his shirt. Gail came out of that house to happily greet her two admirers. The muscular man proudly wipes the vehicle with his arm. The other guy did the same to his car, only to suddenly break down to pieces.

“And cut!” Del Lord called through the megaphone. He was satisfied with the scene they had done. “You all did very well. Just for one take, we didn't want to put that thing back together,” he said about the car. 

Harold, Maxwell, and Gail had resisted moving except on commands from their director.

She raised her hand, “I can do a variety of expressions if necessary.”

“Oh yeah sure thing,” he nodded, not seeming to care. Gail had worked with directors before. She never expected to be anyone’s favorite and she’s just another pretty face so she’s nothing different. Moving on to the scene, Del called, “And action!”

Gail hoped her new role was worth it. She enjoyed every minute in front of the camera. On her first day back, she was surprised to have been greeted by most of the players and bathing beauties. She was glad to be appreciated in the studio.

Soon after the filming concluded, a studio secretary came to Gail in her standard dressing room, “Pardon me, Mr. Sennett would like to speak to you at his office.” 

Gail gulped. Did she not meet Mr. Sennett’s expectations? Is he gonna fire her? She took a deep breath to get her emotions in check as she went into his office. 

There a middle-aged man who had yet any grays on his hair was lining up one of his framed pictures of comedians who used to work for him, “Good afternoon Miss Anders, would you please sit here?” After she obeyed, he asked, “Do you have any plans for Friday?”

“No, I don't think so. Why?”

“Charlie's film The Gold Rush will premiere that evening. How about showing up at Sid’s theater?”

The request baffled Gail to the point that she could not speak.

He explained, “I’m bringing the employees here as plus ones, and because you worked in that film; I would like you to come along. So what do you say?”

Gail had never been to a premiere before. She didn't think she would attend one that soon. She had visited the Egyptian theater before but not as much as the simple movie houses she regularly attended, she gave it a thought before she responded, “As a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I’d be happy to accept the invitation.”

On that Friday, she rode in a Rolls-Royce with Sennett, an actress Alice day, and her co-star Maxwell, the thin guy from the recent short. Sterling and Sally accompanied them because Sennett invited them since Sterling had associated with Chaplin. Another factor was that Harry Langdon had already had his own reservation. Gail wasn't happy that Sterling was included but was glad her best friend came along. Gail rented a beaded dress with a chiffon wrap around her shoulders. Her accessories were a gold-colored headband, a black velvet clutch bag, a white boa fan in place of a parasol to ease distraction, and her grandmother's necklace for Gail to feel her spirit during the gay night.

The chauffeur of their ride drove closer to the moving spotlights on Hollywood boulevard and lined up behind several cars. Gail kept checking the mirror above the driver to ensure the makeup wasn’t smudged.

Although she accepted the invitation, Gail had been feeling the butterflies in her stomach for days at the thought of being surrounded by the stars she usually sees on the silver screen and worrying about what they would think of her. She could have changed her mind and made an excuse if it wasn't for her learning from the paper that Buster would be attending. She didn't know that he had come back from Arizona. She didn't get a visit from him nor had any time to visit his studio. Gail didn’t get to let him know that she would be showing up and hoped they’ll meet by chance.

Gail whispered to Sally, who sat behind her, “Please, I cannot be embarrassed. Not tonight. Be remain civil and control him,” she was referring to Sterling.

“No problem I’ll have him on a leash when things get loose,” the blonde joked. 

“You promise?” Gail asked with a slight grimace.

“We’ll be good even if it’s the last act of our lives. Don't worry.”

The assurance did help ease her nervousness for a bit. 

Names of the guests were heard and grew louder as the vehicle went closer to Grauman’s Egyptian Theater. When they reached the theater, Mack Sennett's name was called upon entry as his attendees stepped out. Despite being nearly blinded by the sudden flashes of the cameras, Gail gathered her courage to smile and wave at the crowd of locals held back by the police.

When the group entered inside, the lobby was full of attendees. Some of them had come up to say hello to Mack. Gail spotted Harold Lloyd, Elinor Glyn, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, John Gilbert, and Lew Cody in the crowd. Skimming in the crowds was to no avail when she couldn’t locate Buster.

Her glum turned to astonishment when she saw Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford greeting Mack. Gail wasn't used to seeing them in real life but was also surprised that America's sweetheart would be out and about after learning about a plot to kidnap the starlet nearly a month prior. Alice shook their hands and then Mack turned to Gail to summon her. She obeyed despite her nerves.

 Sennett presented her to the couple, “This is another of my actresses, Gail Anders.” The most famous Hollywood couple was dressed to the nines. Pickford wore a sheer pink dress and Fairbank’s white shirt contrasts his tanned face.

“It's been an honor meeting you,” Gail curtsied to them. “And Mary, your hair looks lovely in real life.” Gail remained composed while feeling embarrassed about how she blurted out the part about the hair.

To her relief, Mary gladly appreciated the compliment and responded in a silvery voice, “Why thank you miss.”

Mack added, “She also played in the background of Charlie’s new picture.”

“Do tell,” Douglas said. “Where’s your scene? We like to look out for you.”

“Only the ballroom scenes. Just hoping Mr. Chaplin doesn't edit me out.”

“How long have you worked in movies?” Mary asked.

“A year and a half. I also worked in other films and used to be a bathing beauty. I’m now playing as a love interest in Mr. Sennett’s new short.”

"Your career seems to be progressing well. Keep up the good work.”

Gail widens her grin with joy. “Oh, thank you.” Gail felt better since she hadn’t messed things up for herself. If she didn’t find Buster that wouldn’t matter as the primary purpose was to see herself in Gold Rush and mingle with some stars. Fairbanks and Pickford went straight to the auditorium after ending their conversation.

Then Mack handed the tickets to the usher and the group moved on to the auditorium where they were given an exquisite program. It was like holding a flat storybook. The usher led them to their seats in one of the back rows before the overture played. Gail was in awe looking above the stage. She forgot how wonderful were those authentic decors around it.

“Bloody hell!” The brit cussed upon reading the program, “Ten acts before the flickers!? Is that Grauman bloke trapping us here?”

“Shut it,” Sally clenched her teeth at him. Some of the guests looked behind for a bit.

Mack said, "Now, Sid is well known for staging prologues. You'll enjoy it. They're always magnificent.”

After the overture concluded, a man with short wavy hair, Sid Grauman, stepped on stage. In their view, he was small though they weren't in the far back. Grauman presented a speech about the hard work his friend Charlie endured making the feature and then introduced the prologue.

The curtain opened after he left the stage and music played again to set the mood for the beautiful scenery in the klondikes. The dancers were dressed as Eskimos and the performers were dressed as seals. While her friend and paramour got bored and almost fell asleep as the show went on, Gail didn’t mind the stage performance. Her enjoyment wasn't just because a famous showman staged it, but because it reminded her of the time when she became interested in performing arts as a child. It wasn't Pirates of Penzance however, she was much obliged to be in the audience.

Almost two hours later, there was a short intermission. The audience stood up to stretch their arms. The group disassembled after returning to the lobby. Gail and Maxwell both ordered Coco-Colas to help rejuvenate for a late night. Then He paid for both of their drinks, “Maxwell, this is very kind of you, but we're not dating, just pals,” Gail said to him gently as she could.

He replied, “I know. I wouldn't let a lady buy her drink.” 

She had seen Maxwell at work for a while and didn't know him until they were cast opposite each other. He showed chivalry to the opposite sex but it was a wonder he was single. The man had claimed he was married but separated due to irreconcilable differences and going on dates although no one had seen him with a woman.

Gail was sipping the soft drink that just came up when she heard a woman’s voice next to her, “Gail, is that you?”

She turned to see Eliza.

The woman grinned ear to ear, “Hey I’ll be damned, I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?”

“I was healing from an injury,” Gail answered, “I was in a car crash but, now I got better. It was in the local paper.”

Eliza felt confounded due to her being unaware of her past condition, “Oh, that explains it. What a goof, I seldom read the news.”

“No matter, what are you doing here?”

“Charlie,” Eliza replied. “I have connections, remember? Who brought you here?”

“Mr. Senett,” Gail explained. “He invited me along.”

Gail sensed Sally rejoined them before saying, “Bae, is there someone you'd like to introduce to me?”

Gail turned to the blonde, “Sally, this is Eliza, a background actress I told you about. She turned to Eliza again, “This is Sally, a good friend of mine.”

Eliza shook her hand, “Nice to meet you. I had been acquainted with Mr. Chaplin for some time. Lita Grey was going to play his love interest. But then after he knocked her up, she became Mrs. Chaplin.”

“Yeah, womanizing really caught up to him,” Sally chuckled.

“So Gail, do you still have that sweetheart in New York?”

She responded with a down expression, “Not anymore, I don't want to see him again.”

“And he better not show his face here, or I’ll kick his ass,” Sally said after ordering her drink.

“Look on a bright side, you're free to flirt with your crush,” Eliza winked.

“She found a new guy soon enough.”

Eliza saw Maxwell talking to other guys. “Oh is that him?”

Sally replied, “No, he’s not here. Also, I haven't seen him yet.”

“That’s so mysterious, how else could he be?”

“I’ll explain later,” Gail told Eliza. Then she whispered, “When we're alone.”

The women talked a bit more until it was time for them to return to the auditorium to catch the feature. The group was back in their seats when The Gold Rush finally played. The new film received laughs. Gail enjoyed the part when the Tramp was imagined as a human-sized chicken. 

When the dance hall scene came on, Gail whispered to everyone that’s where she was on. She couldn't be worried about being edited out since it was where he met the love interest. It took a bit long for anyone in their group to find her until she pointed at herself with a dance partner. They weren’t vocal about it to avoid disturbing the audience.

Sally, whispered to Gail, “Bae if this flick becomes a big hit, you’ll be the luckiest former bathing beauty I've ever known.”

Gail replied softly, “Thanks, Sal. His films are always successful. This won’t be any different.”

“I didn't know you favored Chaplin.” Alice quietly chirped in.

“He’s alright but he’s not top of my list.” Gail skimmed for every back of the head but Buster was hard to find despite having seen him in person multiple times.

After the film ended, Chaplin came out onto the stage to thank everyone who came by and received a standing ovation. 

Soon after, Gail departed from the group to go straight to the women’s room, having held on since the last part of the film. They were staying for a bit while to mingle. She used her time in the stall to think of conversation pieces and then checked the mirror for makeup as she washed her hands. It didn't need touching up. Gail came out of the women’s room to find the crowd more extensive than before due to them waiting for Charlie. She felt ignored aside from glances, and a grin but then she felt a couple of taps on her shoulder.

“Excuse me,” the voice came from a woman. Gail’s face nearly turned pale upon turning her back to see Mabel Normand, “You look familiar. Are you Theda Bara?” She wore a white dress and held onto a train lest someone would trip over it or leave footprints.

Gail replied nervously, “No, don’t you remember me?”

She shook her head, “Have we met before?”

“Yes, we met at a party over a month ago,  It’s Gail Anders.”

Mabel was a different person than the last time they had spoken, “I think I was quite intoxicated. Give me a minute,” the has-been was searching for her thoughts. “Was I unpleasant to you?”

Gail explained, “At first yes, then you warmed up to me when I said you're my inspiration.”

“Oh yes, I remembered that. I hope you can forgive me. I was off.”

“There are hard times, I understand.”

“Can you hand me your notebook and a pencil?” When Gail asked why, she replied, “I’d like for us to exchange numbers so we could get together and makeup.”

Gail was speechless. She did take out those items and handed them to Mabel. She scribbled a bit before her expression went disgruntled “God, I can’t remember my fucking number.”

“Don’t worry, I remembered mine,” Gail got them back to her to write down her name and the numbers and tore off the page.

Mabel folded the piece and shoved it under her dress, “Thanks, I hope we run into each other again.”

Gail went across the hall, hoping that Ms. Normand wouldn’t lose her number. Before admitting defeat she finally found Buster talking to the group sans Alice, but Keaton wasn’t alone, he was with Natalie. They both were dressed to the nines. Nervous, She knew it was likely that his wife would accompany him though she wasn't prepared to interact with her.

Sally noticed Gail and pointed to her, “Speak of the devil there she is now!”

With all eyes on her, she forced a smile and greeted with a, “How do you do?” Buster didn't act ecstatic seeing her with a now recovered arm. She also noticed the spouses had their arms linked, like any couple. Thoughts of their possible reconciliation made her stomach uneasy. Gail drove them out with a deduction that it was only for show. Sally and Sterling left the group to mingle with more stars.

“We were just talking about you,” Maxwell said, ushering her next to him and Alice.

She replied confidently, “How nice, what did you mention about me?”

To her dismay, it was Natalie who responded, “Well for starters, your current project for Mr. Sennett. It’s going well, yes?” Gail nodded. "Oh, and I'm sorry to hear about that crash," she added. “There's not a sign of damage on you."

“Well, I healed up quite efficiently,” Gail couldn’t address her as Mrs. Keaton, but rather a simple “Ma'am.” to everyone, she was content, but she was actually petrified to be in front of the woman whose husband she had kissed a few times. Natalie didn't seem to suspect at first but when something slipped out, she would see right through her and Buster.

Only Buster’s words got her out of this state, “Is this your first premiere?”

“Why yes, it was fantastic and I’m lucky to be here.”

“Mr. Fairbanks told us that you were the background actress on Gold Rush.”

“I had been in background roles in other films, I also happened to be in Buster’s feature recently.”

Mack pitched in, “Buster here had requested me to borrow Gail for his upcoming feature before Miss Myers took over. Poor girl.”

It wasn't long before Buster convinced his wife should rejoin her sisters while he had to go out for some air. After Natalie left and Mack went to look for Alice, Keaton asked Maxwell, “How about that autograph for the nice fellow?” while he obliged, Buster stood next to Gail and then discreetly whispered to her to meet him outside. Soon she excused herself from Maxwell to follow Buster. She found him on top of the exterior steps leading to the smoking area near the roof. It was so discreet that not a passerby would even find him and Gail

Buster put out a cigarette before he looked at her. Without any passion, he said, “You look great.”

She appreciated the comment, she asked him, “What happened with Go West? Is the production finished?”

He began puffing the cigarette he had just lit, “It’s still ongoing but we had to pause because the cow, Brown Eyes, wasn’t feeling herself. She’ll recover, but there’s something important I had to ask you; Who’s Michael?”

“Huh”

“Your lady friend mentioned that you’re seeing a guy named Michael Willams when Nate was asking about you. Who’s he?”

“You,” Buster widened his eyes at her response. “Sally suspected I have a sweetheart and I came up with a name to hide our secret.” a contrite expression landed on the stone face. “You don’t think I found another man soon after you left town and while rehabilitating my arm?”

His tone became apologetic, “Christ, I’m sorry. I might be a bit jealous or afraid of being replaced.”

“I felt the same when I saw you with your wife.” the couple went silent for a bit. “You should've called when you got back.”

“I know, I’m planning on coming over tomorrow. I didn't expect to see you tonight until Mary Pickford told me you’re here.”

Gail didn't forget that Buster once mentioned in New York that he loved Natalie. She wondered if it was true or not. She didn't have the heart to bring up that subject.

“I reckon you were thrilled meeting the king of Hollywood and his queen?” Buster asked.

“I was nervous, but I was able to impress them, and Mabel Normand got my number.”

Buster gave a slight grin, “You are quite lucky”

“I think I had been despite the setbacks.” There were hardly any visible stars in the sky due to the spotlights. But it didn't matter because the only star Gail would stare at was Buster.

Having puffed a few times, Buster decided to put out his cigarette to run his arms around her. Gail hugged him back for the first time without any plaster to get in the way. Gail missed the scent of his cologne and wished she could embrace him forever. “If you're still concerned about Nate and me, nothing has changed. We're still at arm’s length. Also, I missed you at the set. If it wasn't for the accident, I'd convince everyone you make a better leading lady.”

Gail exited the huddle but her hand held his, “Buster, I told you I didn't care if I was your leading lady. I only want you.” then the words of Eliza Smith echoed in her head, True, but then where is the fun? She asked him, “How long until you return?”

“For the weekend, I had to take a train. It’s quicker to get here and back than by vehicle.”

“You can still come over if you want and take me to bed.” Her eyes grew sultry, “Should I say more?”

Buster was surprised, “Are you serious?”

“I have never been so sure in my life.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Gail kissed him, not caring about the scent of the tobacco. She led herself inside and started to look for her comrades while taking in the joy of recent events.

Yep the next chapter will be spicy!!! hope you enjoyed reading this as much you enjoyed the holidays! also have a happy new year!