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ofoceansandtombsanew · 2 months

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I Cherish You, Halcyon Days: iv.

“You’re gonna die, kid. In the worst way possible.”

tags: afab!reader (she/her), angst, slow burn

pairing: gojou x reader + onesided!getou x reader

summary: You’re 15 years old when you’re told you’re going to die. You’re 17 years old when you realize who your killer will be. And you’re 17 years old when you make peace with the fact you wouldn’t want it any other way.

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You hum in pleasant surprise when the taste of green apples and mango hit your tongue. This really could have been hit or miss, you sip again. Still as good as the first sip. Just because you like experimenting with food and drink, it doesn't necessarily mean there will be a good payoff. Fruit teas from random shops are always either too sweet or just right for you, never something tolerable in between.

Thankfully, this place understood that the sugar is only supposed to enhance the drink, not drown it. You look over at the tall and lanky boy a few short steps away. Tea isn't Gojou's thing, hence why he is the only member of the group who hadn't ordered anything, but you think this one will be right up his alley. "You've gotta try this," you angle the cup slightly above your shoulder. "It's this green apple mango flavor they're promoting."

Without taking the cup from your hand, Gojou simply leans down to take a drink. "It's alright," Gojou shrugs before sipping again with vigor. "Needs more sugar."

You snort and lean away, bringing your beverage with you, "well if it's only alright, stop drinking it then."

"You know," Gojou sighs and you already know it's going to be some bullshit spewed out of his mouth coated in false philosophy and maturity. "Here in Japan we have a saying that food tastes better when you share it."

You roll your eyes but grin at the fact you called it, "well we just shared it and it still tastes exactly the same so," when Gojou attempts to take your cup, you turn immediately. "You better follow your best friend's example and get inside that tea house and order yourself a drink!"

Gojou slumps over your back with a whine, "what if yours tastes better than mine for some reason and they give me a bad one?"

You're giggling but no dice, "no!" You shove your straw back into your mouth and lean over your drink protectively. Get your own drink, you point at the tea shop once again with a mumble. "You have pretty privilege, there is no way they'll fuck yours up!"

"Stingy," Gojou clicks his tongue but he drags himself across the street where Suguru is standing in line anyway.

Crisis avoided.

"... What was that?" Utahime's eyes widen while her brow furrows.

It's a chilly April day in Moriya and the lot of you are enjoying the last bits of spring vacation. School holidays work differently when you go to a jujutsu school, you learned quickly. As far as the higher ups were concerned, vacation just meant more free time to send students on missions. Sure you're in a completely different part of Japan doing a lot more traveling than you'd ever do in your typical high school experience.

But in reality, this trip to a ryokan in Ibaraki Prefecture is nothing more than a glorified work trip with sightseeing sprinkled in. They could have at least sent us to a coastal town if they were sending us to Ibaraki. You shouldn't expect much from an institute that still does school on Saturday when the rest of the country stopped doing it in 2002. At the very least, the mission had been wrapped up and this final week of spring break before the new school year started, you get to enjoy yourself.

Next week, I become a second year student, you did it. You managed to survive your very first year at Jujutsu Tech. You'll miss having Fujioka-sensei as a teacher, she was kind and had lots of fun anecdotes. But you can't stew in awe and nostalgia with how Utahime is staring at you like you've lost your mind.

"What was what? It's green apple mango fruit tea," you cock your head before sliding your cup to the traditionally-clothed girl's side of the table. "Wanna try it too?"

Utahime promptly slides it back in disgust. "After he put his mouth on it? No thanks," you only shrug in return before sipping at the fruity goodness all over again. That's more for me then. Your nonchalance drives your upperclassman into mania. She looks at Shoko like she's the only other sane person at the table. 'What the heck is going on?!' her lips move silently. "Why am I the only one freaking out about this!?"

The brunette holds up a hand in the most laidback display of defensiveness you've ever seen, "they've been like that for a while now, everyone just got used to it." Shoko's words only make Utahime's more aghast.

Oh right.

That.

You smack your lips together with a weak laugh, avoiding your friend's accusatory gaze.

Something shifted in the cosmos after December 8th, 2005 without your meaning to. You aren't exactly sure how long it took after your birthday for sharing food with Gojou to become habit, but it did.

Something is too sweet or too spicy? You swap plates.

You get an assorted bag of snacks and sweet treats from helping a random grandma cross the street? There isn't really a point of keeping any of the stuff you know Gojou will like.

But you never realized how ingrained into normalcy it became until one particular day you leaned over to eat a chip Gojou held in his fingers. "Does this taste kinda soapy to you or is it just me?" He asked, shaking the bag it came from. They were roasted cumin lamb skewer flavored chips imported from China.

"Yeah, I think it's just- wait, give me another one?" You chewed more slowly that time around, really feeling at the flavor. "No, I'm getting it too."

Suguru and Shoko made faces that looked exactly like the one Utahime is wearing right now. "[First]!"

"Look it isn't like we're friends or anything," you tell the soon to be fourth-year. "When there is food involved, the We Hate Gojou Alliance calls forth a truce," you explain seriously, folding your hands and resting your chin on them as if you are Ikari Gendo. "For how can we hate if we are not properly nourished?"

At the bullshit you spew, Utahime's expression shifts into one that is purely unamused as her brow furrows and she purses her lips. It takes a lot out of you to not laugh then and there. "And since when was that an addendum we agreed on?"

"It's one I made out of personal interest," you close your eyes, nodding at the memories. Food comes before any quarrel you have with an annoying classmate. If it came down to it, you'd become Gojou's best friend for a sandwich. "When food is involved, Gojou Satoru isn't that bad."

"You're full of it," Utahime fights the twitches of her lips trying to curl upward. "Very, very full of it." The upperclassman relents with a sigh a beat later, knowing her arguments are futile. "You're a traitor. I hope you know that you're a traitor to our cause, [First]," you bite your lip to prevent yourself from laughing again. You're failing the longer she goes on. Shoko is your mission partner, but you think it is arguably fair to say Utahime is who you're closest to besides her. When you transferred to Jujutsu Tech, it was Utahime who gave you a tour around the facility when the teachers were suddenly too busy. She was a kind and beautiful upperclassman who came with a lot less monetary baggage than Mei Mei. "First Getou and Shoko, now you," she sips her matcha with a pointed glare in the direction of the tea house windows. Whatever Gojou does, it makes Utahime's amused scowl turn into an annoyed glare.

"I was technically never part of any alliance to hate on Gojou, I'm only an affiliated acquaintance," Shoko laughs lightly, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Utahime-senpai, you just have to accept this as part of the new reality. [First] and Gojou have become friends," your mission partner rolls her eyes when you shoot her a pointed look. "Apologies, food-based acquaintances."

Satisfied with her correction, you nod.

It's then Suguru finally reappears, a beverage in hand. Gojou is still waiting by the window for his own order to finish. "What are you guys talking about now?"

"I was telling them about this convenience store by my old high school everyone went to to have mental breakdowns," it's always a pleasure when Suguru looks at you like you've grown a second head. Laughter slips from your lips as easily as breathing. "It's called Adachi's ー that's the owner ー but the joke was to call it Adachi 7-11 because it rips off the 7-11 color scheme. He's a sweet guy though," you quickly add before continuing your spontaneous tale of the incredible 7-11 knock off store.

You eloquently tell your friend that Adachi is the kind of grownup who understand kids have it rough. That it's unknown who it was from Tsubame High that started the tradition of finding aisle to just sit and cry and snack in, but eventually it just became the spot to have freak outs. If you stayed to eat while you freaked, you simply paid for what you ate or drank when you were ready to leave.

Respect someone else's crying space. If you couldn't avoid going into their aisle for something, just politely pretend they don't exist.

If you really needed a cry, Adachi's office is free for someone having a particular trying time.

And last but not least, Adachi's was a judgement free zone.

It was like having a bartender for teenagers. Except in this instance, the only services the bartender offered were snack food, cheap wagashi and a select variety of beverages.

"First, I promise people don't go there to cry as often it I made it sound. Second, I know it sounds weird but it actually was kinda cool," you chuckle as the cursed user shakes his head the longer you go on. "Exam week? We're all basically in there studying and freaking out while eating a bunch of snacks." It really built up a surprising amount of comradery among your classmates you make sure to tack on before taking a break to finish the rest of your tea. "Before you ask, if I'm gonna have a mental breakdown, I prefer having it in the privacy of my own room," or in front of a beluga whale, but that explanation will take forever and a half. "And that... is the story behind Adachi 7-11," you conclude dramatically.

Suguru shakes his head but his expression is playful, "I give you points for the improv, but I'm taking away points for how long your story was."

You click your tongue in mock annoyance, "everybody's a critic. I just wanted to cover all the bases in case you felt so intrigued you wanted to know more about your mysterious classmate."

"You don't have a mysterious bone in your body," Shoko chirps and when you lightly kick her ankle under the table, she kicks back. "Utahime-senpai just feels betrayed that [First] is getting along better with Gojou." At the reminder, Utahime squints in your direction again. 'And after all I've done for you. I should have gone to Kyoto Tech', Utahime sighs into her warm cup. "The We Hate Gojou Alliance is turning into the I Alone Hate Gojou Alliance."

This is when Gojou finally saunters over, drink in hand, "that's because I'm cool and charming."

"You know, if you have to say it, you're probably not as charming as you think you are," Suguru advises with a grin. Gojou promptly ignores it as if he never said anything at all.

"Sucks to be you, Utahime," Gojou sticks out his tongue at the songstress. "[First] and I are practically best friends. Right, [First]?"

The more you deny it, the less convincing you know you sound so you stop with a heavy breath. "Anyway," you pivot the conversation to something other than your food-based truce. "Does anyone know if there are going to be any new 1st years? Or is it gonna be a while before we start seeing some new faces?"

Suguru nods, "I heard from Fujioka-sensei that there are two first years coming enrolling," you perk up at this information. It's a small jujutsu world, so small you didn't even know if you'd be getting any underclassmen. Two 1st years coming in still just seem so small though. From what you've learned though, 2-3 students per grade is average and the school lucked out with your 1st year class having four kids. Suguru points a finger back and forth between you, "she didn't tell me much about them but they're recruits from non-sorcerer families, like us."

Sometimes, life decides to grant you little miracles. "Finally, we're growing in our ranks," you cheer, bumping your cup against Suguru's. "That's less clan politics to hear about!"

The closest you've ever gotten to clan politics in Japan were from anime and dramas and the occasional snippets you learned about the imperial family on the news. That changed when you became a sorcerer. It's a small jujutsu world, you learn things here and there whether you want to or not. Interesting as the stories can be, however, you're glad your family is normal. Everyone at your school from a sorcerer family makes clan politics sound annoying at best and harrowing at worst and that's just from the things you learned from Utahime, Shoko and Mei Mei.

Your other peers aren't so keen on sharing what goes on in their families.

Yamada isn't the friendliest of your upperclassmen.

As for Gojou ー the only one of your classmates from a family apparently worth mentioning ー he doesn't care about clan politics in the slightest and opts to ignore it.

Thus, the Big Three Families still are a mystery to you even with Gojou's close proximity to your person. Nor are there any students at your school that came from either the Zenin or Kamo Clans. There are a couple enrolled at the jujutsu school in Kyoto apparently but you haven't had a chance to meet them. You only had three summaries to go off of when it came to the big name families in jujutsu, all courtesy of Gojou back in May of last year since you couldn't participate in the Sister School Exchange Event in Kyoto.

(Apparently having two special-grade sorcerers for students gave Tokyo Tech the biggest advantage so only Gojou and Suguru got to go. Jerks. Utahime threw a big fit over it too, but at the very least Tokyo won last year.)

"Do you like having rights as a woman?"

"Um, yes?"

"Then you won't like the Zenin Clan. You know Carnage from the Venom comics in the States?"

"Yeah, my mom reads those."

"That's the Kamo Clan."

"Okay, well what about your family? What's their deal?"

"They have me."

Vague, but clear enough descriptions to paint the necessary pictures ー the Amazing Sexists, the Bloods and the Jujutsu Jesus Havers Club.

Considering that this year the Sister School Exchange event will be taking place in Tokyo, you wonder if this will give you a chance to meet these fancy jujutsu folk. You tell your group as much, sighing in wonder. "It's a good thing you and Gojou won the exchange event, I wanna meet the kids from the other school." That was what you'd been most excited about before Fujioka-sensei dashed all your hopes and dreams. You wanted to see the differences in the campuses and what sort of crazy the teachers had going on. C'est la vie. "What were they like when you went there? Were the big clan kids more refined than Gojou over here?"

You barely dodge the definitely cold hand that was about to touch back of your neck in retaliation while Suguru chuckles out an explanation, "They have a couple folk from the Kamo Clan. They were... nice."

"You hesitated before you said nice," Shoko deadpans.

"They were polite," Suguru pivots his next selection of words in his attempt to remain neutral.

Gojou sticks out his tongue, unimpressed by his best friend's attempts to be cordial, "they were whatever. We didn't really talk to them."

"Boo, you're boring," you shake your head in heavy but mocking disappointment. "Should have just asked Utahime, she's seen them more." Your gazes turn to the oldest person at the table.

Utahime shoulders square off in satisfaction at being deferred to. "There are a couple of Kamo Clan kids at Kyoto Tech, one of them won't be coming because he'll be a fourth year student like me," her spirit drops for a moment and you offer a small smile of reassurance. Fourth year students don't get to participate in Sister School Exchange Event. Hence why she'd been so upset that she'd been unable to participate in it. There's not much you can do to comfort your friend, nor is there anything either of you can do about the past. At the very least, Utahime is nothing if not an optimist. She'll just kick ass in a different category. "As for the younger Kamo, Ririka, she's actually pretty nice when you talk to her but she can be a bit intimidating at times. She'll be a third-year student once school starts."

You make a noise of pleasant surprise, "Kamo Ririka, I'll keep an eye out for her." There's nothing better than a nice but intimidating woman, in your opinion.

"As for everyone else, they're all definitely a lot more tolerable than Gojou, it's not even a competition," Utahime glared at the sunglasses-wearing boy pointedly. He shrugged back without a care in the world, unperturbed as ever. "But while I was visiting home, my mother told me that Zenin Naoya is enrolling in Kyoto Tech so we'll be seeing him in a few months as a first year."

Whoever Zenin Naoya is, just mentioning him immediately makes Gojou groan in annoyance. "I was hoping that brat was gonna get homeschooled," he chews on his straw. You aren't sure how irritated he actually is but you do note how white brows curl in displeasure.

Gojou makes a face, "Zenin Naoya. I can't stand that guy."

You nudge him, lips curling into a light smirk, "I'm sure your fancy rich kid beef isn't that serious."

"No, Gojou actually isn't being hyperbolic this time," you glance over at Shoko. She and Utahime are sporting matching grimaces, brown eyes glancing at one another in understanding. "Zenins are bad but Zenin Naoya is the worst."

Well god damn. You share a look with Suguru who shrugs back, just as lost. That's the problem with not being born into the world of jujutsu, you're behind on all the history and beef going on behind the scenes. You have to learn little by little whether that be through being told or stumbling your way into procuring the knowledge on your own.

Zenin Naoya ー a member of the Amazing Sexists. You glance back at Gojou who has gone back to drinking away at his cup of tea. His partially obscured face doesn't make it any easier to read how he may be feeling underneath the surface.

Either way, you'll form your own opinion on this Naoya person when the sister schools converge in Tokyo.

Second year is definitely going to be something.

index | previous chapter | next chapter

Extra:

Fun fact for my fellow Americans and anyone else whose school holidays work differently, while here in the states, the end of summer vacation is when we go up a grade, students go up a grade at the end of spring break in Japan.

Summer vacation in Japan is about 30-40 days long depending on the prefecture from the end of July to the end of August. In Tokyo, I think it's from about July 21st to to August 24th. You come back and you're still in the same class. Winter break is from about December 26 to January 7th. And Spring break is about March 26th to April 5th. Like I said it can change prefecture to prefecture, but the mentioned dates are the standard for Tokyo give or take a few days or two depending on the ward.

Just wanted that knowledge to be shared, if you were curious as to why the reader is going up a grade after spring break. In Japan, the school year starts in April.

I really wanted to work on Reader's initial dynamic with her peers and her personal philosophies in these first few chapters before kicking off into the heavier stuff that comes in 2nd year. Considering how in canon, shit pretty much was smooth sailing for Gojou and co. during their 1st year until the 'Toji really beat the breaks out of 2 teenagers' mission, I wanted to reflect that in these initial chapters. Hopefully you guys have been enjoying it as much as I have. The Sister School Exchange Event is around the corner and those folks are coming to Tokyo, I wonder how that's gonna go >:3c (not that you can participate but there's plot, I assure you).

#look she's writing #jjk x reader #gojo x reader #gojou x reader #geto x reader #getou x reader #gojo satoru x reader #gojou satoru x reader #geto suguru x reader #getou suguru x reader #i cherish you halcyon days #utahime finally makes a proper appearance #and naoya gets a mention we love/hate to see it

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solverse · 7 months

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Miscellaneous Stroll. (i)

Quo; A scenario for Genshin characters! (SAGAU)

Characters; Al-Haitham, Cyno, Candace, Dehya, Nilou, Collei, Faruzan, Tighnari, Kaveh and Nahida.

Notes; Just a little something I wanted to post since this has been in my draft for quite some time.

Disc; Not a character study whatsoever. Just a self-indulgent piece.

The Creator/Guide is named Raphael.

[Miscellanous Stroll] ( ii )

Today was a good day. It was a really nice day with the beaming sunshine, the cool breeze accompanying them, the refreshing taste of the beverages, and delicious snacks occupying their taste buds. The ambient sound of peace, the gentle flow of leylines, chatters of birds along the trees. Surely, this was a–

“ SON OF A BITCH! ”

–good day.

“ OH, IT'S ON! ” The shrieking yell of Cyno's voice echoed through the space and Raphael smiled away that incoming headache knocking at their door like a bad tinder hook-up at 3 a.m.

Nilou eyed the general with a worried look, smiling awkwardly as she silently lamented the intense metaphorical fire appearing in his eyes. She fidgeted slightly, blue eyes flickering down anxiously. The object in her hand felt heavy for a moment as her body trembled.

Faruzan watched her closely before her hand reached out, bringing forth an incoming doom as Kaveh and Collei gasped in shock. Tighnari raised an eyebrow, a neutral on his face. Although, if you look close enough, you can see the man holding back with all his strength. He then turned to Kaveh with a placating look.

Kaveh blinked out his shock, “ Wow– Oh yikes. We are doing this, huh? ” He grimaced. Cyno's eyes sharpened even further when the blond made his move. The General Mahamatra laced his fingers, glaring at Collei who was starting to sweat anxiously.

“ Cyno, stop that. ” Tighnari chastised and Cyno only huffed in response, tearing away his gaze as he chose to look somewhere else. Collei swallowed before she reached out to confirm her move. Everyone gaped at her and Dehya started laughing. Candace could barely hide her smile as she continued, gaining even more shocked looks. Cyno clenched his fist.

All eyes turned to Al-Haitham. The man was in his own thoughts before he glanced at each of them and Raphael could see the gears in his head turned at an impossible speed. He glanced somewhere else before shrugging.

Faruzan gasped, not able to hide the huge grin on her face. “ No way! ”

“ Oh, we're continuing?! ” Kaveh laughed in surprise.

“ Seriously? ” Collei muttered behind her hand, eyes wide. Tighnari snickered in amusement.

“ Don't you dare. ” Cyno hissed out, holding out a fist as he clenched his jaw. Al-Haitham cocked an eyebrow, halting in his movement. He stared at the general, face serious and blank. Cyno doubled down on his glare.

Al-Haitham moved very slowly, observing every part of Cyno's reaction.

“ Do it, do it, do it. ” Dehya chanted with a cheeky grin and Cyno sent an irritated look her way. The mercenary just rolled her eyes, the mischievous smile still on her face. Candace watched with an almost sorry look.

“ Al-Haitham, I swear– ”

Al-Haitham did the exact opposite and placed down another 4+ UNO card on the stack of cards. Cyno stared in disbelief while everybody else burst out laughing. Dehya was full-on cackling, leaning against Candace, who was also laughing.

Nilou was laughing like there was no tomorrow, body trembling as she attempted to stifle her laughter. But one look at the Cyno's face of despair, she failed to do so, joining Faruzan as the two women cracked up.

Kaveh banged his fist against the table multiple times, burying his face in his hand as he silenced his laugh. Collei gaped with a look of awe at the number of cards Cyno had to take. What was even worse was that Cyno had one card left but now he was holding a whopping 23.

Cyno, on the other hand, was downright murderous.

Raphael watched from the side awkwardly, sipping on their tea with a bored look. Nahida happily hummed from the side, a cup of milk tea in her hand.

“ Oh boy. ” The Guide muttered, sipping their tea as they sweatdropped, trying to ignore the incoming deathmatch. It was just UNO. They did not want to think what would happen if they started playing Monopoly. Oh, the divorce rate will skyrocket.

Nahida giggled and Raphael huffed, the little gremlin– she knew.

–

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abigails-gf · 11 months

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hii!! i’m the anon who mentioned about you writing more sh scar reader x abby!! it’s okay if you don’t remember ahaha <33 i have a request!! abby notices readers sh scars for the first time and doesn’t wanna mention it but is worried for reader? it’s okay if not :)) i have some more ideas too but don’t wanna overwhelm you hehe <3 you can totally ignore this if you want!!!! but your an amazing writer 🩷🩷🩷

abby anderson x gender neutral reader.

warnings: self-h*rm scars.

a/n: hi, anon! i remember you, of course. you're so sweet! <3 i wouldn't mind if you shared your ideas! i'd love to try and write them !! and tysm for all the nice things you say aaa !! :33 hope you like this one .. 💌

the first time abby saw your scars was a few months into your relationship, when you slept at her house.

this wasn’t the first time you’d spent the night at abby’s house. you met each other for dinner and then went back to hers. you cuddled on her couch, glasses of wine in your hands. it was peaceful, quiet. you felt warm and you didn’t know if it was the wine or abby’s fingers slowly pulling up the hem of your hoodie to caress your hip. probably the second one, you thought.

abby traced little circles on your hip, looking down at you. “is that okay?” you nodded and kissed her.

a few minutes passed before you both decided to head to bed. you went to the bathroom with your bag for some privacy and changed into your pjs – that was before you realized you forgot to bring a shirt to wear.

“abby?” you shouted at the door. “yes, babe?” she answered from her bedroom. “could you lend me one of your t-shirts? forgot to bring one.”

she knocked on the door. “here”, she said as you opened the door, reaching for the t-shirt. “thanks.”

you closed the door, put on abby’s t-shirt, and smiled at yourself. you came out of the bathroom, seeing abby sitting on her bed waiting for you. she was frowning.

“something wrong, abs?” she shook her head and got under the covers. “i’m just tired, s’all. don’t worry.” she brought you closer to her when you got into her bed, nuzzling your neck and leaving small kisses on it. “goodnight, baby.” she whispered. “night, abby.”

the next morning, you woke up to an empty bed. you got up and went to the bathroom. as you washed your face, you noticed that your arms were naked – you quickly put on your hoodie from last night before joining abby in the kitchen.

she was making herself some tea, standing up at the counter. you hugged her from behind. “hi, baby.” you said softly. “slept okay?” she took her mug from the counter and turned around to face you, kissing your forehead. “mhm. what about you, sweet thing?” you blushed at the new nickname she used for you. you nodded, pulling away from her so she could sit at the kitchen table.

“i slept like a baby. your scent is sleep inducing.” you said while stretching out your arm to grab a mug for yourself. this time, you made sure to hold the sleeve of your hoodie against your palm.

once you had made yourself your morning beverage, you sat next to abby. “what do you wanna do today?” you took a sip from your drink, looking at abby. “well, we could stay at home? or go out for a walk?” you leaned towards her to kiss her cheek, making her smile. “staying at home is good for me.” she nodded.

after breakfast, you decided to watch a movie. abby was laid down on her couch and you were laying on top of her, your arms wrapped around her torso. she was rubbing your back through your hoodie. “isn’t it warm for you to wear a hoodie?” she asked. your eyes were still focused on the tv as you answered. “i like hoodies.”

abby nodded to herself. she might’ve lied when she told you she slept well. because she didn’t. after you had fallen asleep, she kept on thinking about the thin lines she saw on your wrist when you took the t-shirt from her hand. at first, she had thought maybe it was your cat – but you didn’t have a cat. and so she figured it out.

the thought of you hurting yourself made her sad. how could you do that to yourself? she knew some people did that for reasons, and she wondered why you did that. but she also didn’t want to push you to talk about it. she was just worried. she thought about confronting you about it but decided it was best to let you come to her once you were ready.

she kissed your head making you look up at her. this is the right time, she thought. “i love you.” she whispered. “and you don’t have to say it back. i just wanted you to know. i care about you, and... yeah, i love you.” she blushed.

“oh.” it took you a few milliseconds to register what she had said. “i love you too.” abby softly smiled at you and leaned down to put her lips on your forehead, hugging you tighter.

although abby wouldn't be the first to talk to you about your scars, she'd try her best to make sure you felt safe around her and comfortable to talk to her. she really cared about you.

#abby anderson #abby tlou #abby x fem!reader #abby anderson x female reader #abby anderson x reader #abby anderson x y/n #abby x reader #abby anderson x you #the last of us #abby anderson tlou2 #tlou2 #tlou x reader #abby anderson blurb #abby the last of us #abby anderson fluff

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mayajadewrites · 2 months

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For Me (Levi Ackerman x Reader)

CHAPTER TWO: NAME

ao3

The next day you're up and ready to go to the coffee shop earlier than usual. It's Monday, and you know everyone and their mother will be dragging their feet getting to work, so they'll stop for a coffee. You look in the mirror at your outfit - an oversized white crewneck, leggings, crew socks and your favorite pair of sneakers that your sister says look like dad shoes. Your hair is long and wavy, hitting the middle of your back. You grab your tote bag and head out the door, making sure you lock the door behind you.

When you arrive at the coffee shop, you grab a place in the growing line. You sigh as a person who probably had ample time to pick out a drink is now asking about every ingredient in every drink on the menu.

You glance at your phone and notice a text from Jean.

JEAN: Good morning! I hope you have a great day.

You smile at the text, rereading the words a few times. It's been awhile since a man has sent you a good morning text, you forgot how sweet it feels.

"How romantic." An unfamiliar deep voice says behind you. You turn around to see the man that had his eyes glued to you yesterday.

"Is there a reason you're looking over a stranger's shoulder and reading her text messages?" You raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah." The man looked at you in a "matter-of-fact" way.

"And that reason is...?"

"That's none of your business." He turned his head to the right, glancing at whoever just walked in the door.

"But my text messages are your business? What kind of logic is this?" You turn around fully to face him now. "Do you even know my name? If not, then you have no reason to be so into my life."

"I do know your name." Your name leaves his lips, leaving you without words. "I've heard that barista say it plenty of times." He pointed to the blonde.

"Well, what's your name then?" You bring your bag closer to you.

"Give me your phone." He looks at you dead in the eyes. Man, this guy really likes to hold eye contact.

"Excuse me?"

"I know you can understand English."

For whatever reason, you hand him your phone. He swipes away from the message from Jean, opening your contacts. You watch him type his name.

After he typed his number in, he sent a text message to himself so that he could now also have your number. He hands your phone back to you without a word. The line starts to move finally, so you turn around once again. You have no words to say to this man. Levi. He not only has a staring problem, but an attitude problem too.

After 5 more minutes, it's your turn to order. You smile at Ellie, the blonde that Levi was pointing to earlier. "My favorite! Hi!" Ellie smiled, sliding her card through the register to begin the transaction. "What can I get you today?"

"An iced coffee with cream please." You pull out your wallet, sliding your card out of the slot.

"And a black tea, please. Hot." Levi stood next to you now. He pushed your hand that was holding your card down and handed Ellie his card. His long fingers wrapped around your hand as he made sure you did not get the chance to pay.

"I didn't know you guys knew each other! Levi is my other favorite regular. Though I don't think I'm his favorite barista."

"We don't know each other." You put your wallet in your bag. "And if you're not his favorite barista, it's because he has bad taste."

"Tch." Levi sucked his teeth. "Thank you, Eleanor."

"For the 100th time Levi, it's Ellie. Eleanor sounds like a great grandma's name."

"Eleanor is printed on your name tag, so that's what I'm calling you." Levi takes the receipt from Ellie gently, unlike his words. You watch his hands: determined, yet soft. You could tell his skin was supple by the slight glow. Must be lotion.

Levi walks beside you to the other end of the coffee bar, folding the receipt neatly and sliding it in his pocket.

"Thank you for the coffee. You didn't have to do that." You intertwine your fingers with your left hand as you wait for your beverage.

"I know I didn't have to." Levi glanced at you, his eyes trailing down your body. "Why are you always in oversized clothes?"

"Did we not just meet 5 minutes ago?" You turn to look at him. Levi is a couple of inches taller than you, not much but still taller.

"Not sure what that has to do with what I just asked you."

"I wear them because it's what makes me feel comfortable. Is that okay with you?"

"You look beautiful in whatever you wear, I'm sure." Levi runs his fingers through the front of his hair. "I was just asking because you look like you're hiding."

You stare at Levi for a few moments. How is he so observant? Why is he so observant? Does he know that you hide your body because you're ashamed of it? Disgusted, almost?

Your stomach is soft, but it's not flat like the women you see on Instagram. You have curves - your hips and fully equipped along with your backside. Your thighs are thick, but not in the way that model's thighs are. You always wished to be in a different body than your own.

You were hiding. Hiding yourself from the world.

Levi's stone eyes lock onto yours, bringing you back to earth. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by your iced coffee being called.

"Thank you again." You grab the coffee and walk to your usual table. You watch as Levi waits for his tea and he walks to the table he was at yesterday. He holds the cup at the top - very unconventional. The steam is probably burning his palm.

You can't help but feel his magnetic pull. You wanted to know more about him. At the same time, you wanted nothing to do with him. Day 1 and he is already in your business and psychoanalyzing you.

You feel your phone vibrate in your pocket and your thoughts are interrupted.

LEVI: Take a picture, it'll last longer.

YOU: The pot calling the kettle black.

You press send and shove the phone in your bag, intentionally making it harder for you to hear It going off. You open your laptop once again to the word document you created. You decide to make a list of tropes you enjoy writing.

- Enemies to lovers

- Slow burn

- Second chance romance

You tap your nails on the table, deciding which trope you're going to base your next book off of. You decide on second chance romance. The gears in your brain begin to move, and words are finally being written out on your laptop.

It's been an hour since you last checked the time, and your phone. You barely paid attention to your surroundings. Oblivious is an understatement. When you look up, Levi is gone. A part of you wishes his gaze met yours again.

Doesn't matter.

You sigh and take your phone out of your bag, reading the name on your screen.

LEVI: You don't know how beautiful you look right now.

A smile appeared on your face as you watch another notification roll onto your screen from Jean.

JEAN: How's your day?

YOU: Good so far. Sorry, I got into a writing storm and didn't check my phone. How's yours?

JEAN: It's good, can't complain. I work in an office which is mundane. You write?

YOU: Yes. I'm an author. You type your last name for him to Google.

JEAN: My little sister loves your books! That's amazing.

YOU: Thank you. Your sister has good taste. Lol.

You continue texting Jean for a few more minutes, enjoying the lighthearted-ness of the conversation. It's easy to talk to Jean.

_________________________________

You are purposely ignoring Levi. Mostly because you don't know what to say to him. He is very blunt, which makes it hard to come up with responses to him.

You're used to men who are more like Jean - nice, chatty enough. Not mysterious.

Levi is a full blown mystery to you.

Turns out, mystery is your favorite genre.

#levi ackerman #levi ackerman x reader #levi x reader #levi ackerman smut #levi ackerman fanfiction #levi ackerman fanfic #aot #attack on titan

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tojiswhore-nanamisslut · 4 months

Text

An Unexpected Treat

Pairing: Yuuji x Megumi

Warning: none this is just fluff :)

Synopsis: Megumi has a day off and decides to get boba where he meets Yuuji for the first time. It's just a little meet-cute fic.

a/n: This is only the third fic I've ever written (and the first I've ever posted) and it's based off of a tumblr post and a beloved mutual's tags on said post. It's like a boba shop au lol.

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

It was a rare day off for Megumi, meaning he didn’t have any missions, classes, or Gojo to deal with. On days like these he usually liked to read or explore the city. Today, he opted for the latter. After Ijichi dropped him off in town, he began wandering. He didn’t have any specific plans in mind, so when he saw a new boba shop across the street he made a beeline for it. What better beverage to have while walking around than a milk tea with tapioca?

As Megumi got closer, he noticed the sign outside that said this was their grand opening. It would explain the long line running outside the store. Well, he didn’t have anything else to do today so he hopped into the queue.

As Megumi made his way into the store, he noticed a boy with pinkish hair and bright eyes, probably around the same age as himself, wearing an apron and a hat that had the store’s logo on them. Despite dealing with so many customers for who knows how long, he had a genuine smile on his face and listened to each customer’s concerns and feedback, which was seeming to become more and more negative. Soon, one of the other workers in the store came around to the line and loudly announced that everyone in line past Megumi would have to come back another day, “We’re so sorry for the inconvenience. We were much busier than we expected and we’ve run out of a lot of things, and we only have a few cups left.” The announcement was met with groans and dirty looks. These poor workers, Megumi thought, it’s not their fault that they were so busy and they only just opened. It’s not like they could have known how much of anything they’d need. And their buy one, get one free deal naturally made them run through their inventory faster than they expected to.

Soon, it was Megumi’s turn to order and the boy he noticed earlier was standing across the counter from him, “Hi! Thank you for waiting. What can I get for you?” There it was again, that smile that radiated warmth. Megumi felt like he was pretty good at reading people, and this boy’s attitude seemed genuine. It wasn’t the typical polite customer service smile that so many people were forced to adopt. It caught Megumi a little off guard but he had plenty of time to think about his order, so he asked for a black milk tea with boba, light ice, and 25% sweet.

“Ah I’m sorry” the boy rubbed his neck and looked away, “We’re actually out of tapioca, we’re out of a lot of stuff” he gave a sheepish grin.

“Oh, that’s all right. What other pudding options do you have?” Megumi asked.

“Oh, here! I can give you a sample of this.” The pink-haired boy exclaimed. He took a spoon and scooped up a yellow-colored topping. Megumi raised his arm in anticipation of grabbing the spoon from the teen but then next thing he knew, the boy was holding his chin and bringing the spoon to his mouth.

Megumi’s mind went blank. He had never been in this situation before. He started to raise his hand higher to knock the boy’s hand off his face, when the boy gently pulled down on his chin and stuck the spoon in. His eyes were like crescent moons with how much he was grinning, head tilted slightly to the side. Megumi couldn’t help the blush that formed across his face. This boy felt like the sun. He radiated warmth in every way. From the smile that looked like you were a friend he had known his whole life to the way his strong hand held his chin so tenderly. Megumi wondered what it would be like to hold his hand in his o--Megumi’s eyes went wide at his train of thought and he immediately whipped his head away in embarrassment, taking his mouth off the spoon in the process. The boy looked shocked at his sudden movement but quickly recovered, that brilliant smile painting his face once again, “So? Did you like it?”

Megumi, blushing furiously and unable to look the other one in the eye mumbled a quiet “yeah” and paid for his drink and quickly left the shop once it was done, almost missing the enthusiastic youth’s call, “Come back again! I’ll make sure we have tapioca for you next time!!”

Megumi thought about the interaction for the rest of the day, heat rising to his face each time he did. Megumi did his best to keep his distance from others. He knew it didn’t make sense to get attached to people in this world, because as a jujutsu sorcerer, life was a fleeting thing that could be taken all too easily. But something about that boy made Megumi’s heart flutter. He occupied his every thought and he wanted to know more about him. Does he live in the city or does he commute? Where does he go to school? How did he come to work at a boba shop? And most importantly, what was his name?

Finally, after two weeks, Megumi found time to swing by the boba shop again in the hopes of seeing the boy with the pink hair and the smile like the sun.

The shop wasn’t as busy this time around, it was almost nighttime now because Megumi had class during the day and couldn’t get out until after. Which explained why Megumi almost ran into the youth leaving the shop. They looked at each other for a second before the boy recognized Megumi.

“Oh hey!! You’re the guy from the grand opening who wanted tapioca!”

There was that brilliant smile again.

“Uh, yeah. I was in the city and wanted boba so I figured I’d go here...” Megumi trailed off. He didn’t know where to go from here. The youth’s shift was clearly over, and Megumi couldn’t help the slight sag in his shoulders.

“Well we do have tapioca today, but if you want boba I’d actually recommend a different place. It’s way better than this one.” He said through a grin. “I can take you there if you’re not busy!”

Megumi’s eyes widened. He wasn’t expecting this at all. This boy barely knew him and he was offering to walk him somewhere? Megumi tried to fight down the blush forming on his cheeks and looked away from the friendly boy. Getting boba was just an excuse to see the smiling youth again, so the potential to spend more time with him seemed too good to be true. But he’d accept fate's offer for today.

“Sure, okay.”

“Awesome! I’m Yuuji Itadori by the way.” Yuuji extended his hand.

Megumi looked at it. It was the same hand that had so delicately held his chin two weeks ago. He had wondered back then what it would feel like in his own, and although a handshake isn’t exactly what he had in mind at the time, he figured it would satiate his curiosity.

“I’m Megumi Fushiguro. It’s nice to meet you.” He met the boy’s hand halfway and embraced it. He could feel calluses and immense strength behind it; how did this boy--Itadori, learn to be so gentle? And just like when Itadori held his chin that one day, he could feel warmth radiating off of his hands, warming his own cold one. Megumi didn’t want to let go. It felt so natural. And the way Yuuji was smiling at him made his whole body warm up. He had never seen a smile so genuine and carefree before.

Megumi was snapped out of his thoughts by Yuuji’s question, “So do you wanna get going?”

Megumi’s eyes widened and he released Yuuji’s hand.

“Yeah, sorry let’s go.”

“Great! Follow me!!”

Megumi tried to hide the blush that was rising on his face. He had clearly held the boy’s hand for longer than would be deemed socially acceptable for a first meeting. And he imagined it seemed extra weird from his gaze into the boy’s face. But Yuuji didn’t seem fazed at all. If anything, Megumi could have sworn that Itadori also had a small blush across his face. But it could also just be the cold weather, he thought.

The boba place was only a few blocks away, so they made it there in short time.

“Hmmm what are you going to get, Fushiguro?” Yuuji asked while looking up at the shop’s menu.

“Probably what I got last time but with tapioca.”

“Cool! I think I’m going to get a strawberry milk tea.”

Megumi was looking up at the menu right behind Itadori as he was ordering but snapped his gaze to him when he heard the youth ordering a second drink.

“Yeah and I’ll also get a black milk tea with light ice and 25% sweetness and tapioca please!”

“Huh? Itadori what are you--”

“I’m getting your drink too! This place was my idea and I feel bad that you didn’t get the drink you wanted last time I saw you.” Itadori took the receipt they gave him and both boys made their way over to the pick-up counter.

“You didn’t have to do that, it's not like it was your fault the shop ran out of tapioca. And I liked the topping you f--, uh, gave me.” Megumi’s cheeks reddened as he recalled Yuuji feeding him the topping.

Yuuji smiled, “Yeah, well, just consider this my treat!”

“#54!” A barista called out.

“Oh that’s us.” Yuuji grabbed both drinks and handed one to Megumi. “Here you go, Fushiguro, this one is yours.”

“Thanks.” Megumi looked at the tag on the cup and only then realized that Yuuji had remembered his order from two weeks ago. He hadn’t told the youth exactly what he was going to get when they were in line.

“You remembered my order from two weeks ago?” Megumi looked at Yuuji, eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise.

At that, Megumi noticed an unmistakable blush spread across the other boy’s face followed by a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “Oh..hah..yeah I guess I just have a good memory. Hey let’s go sit over there!”

As if to change the subject, Yuuji immediately pulled Megumi over to a bench outside the shop. Megumi didn’t mind the sudden contact or abrupt change in conversation, because it gave him another chance to feel Itadori’s hand in his own again. It was a feeling he thought he could get used to.

As the boys drank their boba they also spent the time chatting. Well, Yuuji was doing most of the talking, but neither seemed to mind. Yuuji liked to talk and Megumi liked to listen.

Megumi learned that Yuuji was the same age as him, and went to a public school and lived with his grandpa. He was also apparently insanely athletic, but he wasn’t in any after school sports because they went too late and he always made it a point to visit his grandfather in the hospital after school.

As Yuuji talked, Megumi sat and listened. He noticed how expressive the youth was in the way he spoke. He noticed his undercut that was a little bit darker than the rest of his hair, and how his hair hung a little bit over his forehead. He noticed how brown his eyes were, and how they seemed so open and inviting. But what captivated Megumi the most was the boy’s smile. Had he ever smiled like that before? He couldn’t recall a time when he did, yet this boy wore it all the time.

“Hey Fushiguro, do you have a curfew?”

“Uh. Not really.”

“Oh, that’s nice. I don’t either since I kind of live alone. But I usually try to be home by 8pm. Y’know. Just to be responsible.”

Megumi was surprised by some of the things Yuuji said. At times, it seemed as if the youth had lived longer than he actually had. It was rare to find a 15 year old that had the sense of responsibility that Itadori had.

“Oh...so I guess you probably have to leave, then?” Megumi’s heart dropped a little when he realized it was already 8:15pm. But he also couldn’t help the slight skip in his heartbeat when he thought about Yuuji staying out later to talk to him. He didn’t want their time to end.

“Yeah...but hey I have an idea! Why don’t we exchange numbers! Then we can keep in touch.” Itadori looked hopeful, a small blush playing across his cheeks.

As if the blush was infectious, Megumi’s face started to warm as well. “Yeah. I think that’s a good idea.” Megumi smiled shyly and took out his phone for them to exchange numbers.

“Thanks again for the boba, Itadori. I really liked it” Megumi smiled.

Seeing Megumi smile made Yuuji’s own smile grow even more, “Of course! Any time Fushiguro. I’ll see you around!”

As the youths began walking their separate ways, Megumi paused and summoned all the courage he could.

“Wait, Itadori!” Megumi called out.

Yuuji turned around, a quizzical look on his face.

“Um, are you free tomorrow? I was thinking maybe we could get dinner. My treat this time.”

Thank god it was night time. Megumi’s entire face was a deep red. He wasn’t even sure what came over him. He knew better than to get involved with people as a sorcerer. This could only end in heartbreak. But he just couldn’t help himself. It wasn’t enough to just talk on the phone. He wanted to see Yuuji again. He was drawn to him like a moth to flame. To his smile, his warmth, him. For once, Megumi decided to be selfish and irresponsible.

Love is the most twisted curse of all. His teacher’s words rang through his head.

Yeah, well, curses be damned. He’d take Yuuji Itadori and any curses that came with him. Because if something so warm, so comfortable, so genuine, could curse him... well he’d welcome it with open arms.

“Yeah....I’d like that. I’ll see you tomorrow then, Fushiguro.” And Yuuji was off with a little wave of his hand, sporting that signature smile colored with a blush that mirrored Megumi’s.

Tomorrow, Megumi thought, maybe he could hold Itadori’s hand for a little bit longer.

#itafushi #itadori #megumi #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk fics #jjk fanfics #itadori x fushiguro #yuuji x megumi #mine #writing #posts #my writing

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outro-jo · 1 year

Text

tired (part 2)

pairing: nakamoto yuta x reader

type: imagine

warning: workplace romance, inappropriate power dynamics, cursing, surprise! fake dating

a/n: didn’t plan on writing a part 2 but here we are 🙃 please read info before requesting

masterlist | info

part 1

—————————

yuta woke up with a particular face on his mind. a face he shouldn’t be thinking about. a face that shouldn’t be giving him butterflies. he stared at the office ceiling in the dim, barely morning light as he tired to get that face out of his mind. he looked over at the clock on the wall, groaning as it clicked, reading 6:44am. for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what time he fell asleep last night but it certainly wasn’t soon enough. rubbing his eyes as he stood over his laptop, it apparently wasn’t late enough either because he still had quite a bit of work still to go if neo tech was to have everything ready for this expansion on time.

coffee, coffee

his brain could only form one coherent thought and his body followed to the break room. as he watched the espresso drip into the tiny cup his mind started to wander. his fingers touched his lips. did he—? no, he would never. taeyong would be so upset almost to the point of firing him if he did. there was no way he would ever do something so wildly inappropriate with an employee.

speaking of, you burst through the doorway with pastries in hand but stopping short when you saw your boss at the coffee machine.

“oh! good morning, sir.” you offered a slight, polite bow that the employer returned and trudged back to his office.

yuta did his best to look everywhere else but at you. your office attire fit your body too well and he couldn’t even let his mind drift…again. the warm coffee slowly brought him back to life and he started back on his project. it was almost by default when he responded to the knock at the door and told whoever it was to come in without even looking to see who it was. you had let yourself in and set his favorite pastry and a mug of warm tea on the desk along with the work you had finished the night before all printed in a neat stack.

“oh… thank you.” he glanced up at you before flipping through the stack of papers.

to his surprise, you had nearly completed the other half of the project that yuta felt he was so behind on. gratitude washed over him like a tidal wave seeing the diligent and careful work. he might be able to turn everything in on time now.

“mx. y/n…” he called, stopping you as you were halfway out the door. “thank you. you really didn’t have to finish this. how late were you here last night?”

“oh… um i left at around three am.” you said sheepishly.

yuta looked up at the clock again, “and you’re here before seven am?” he looked down at his keyboard and continued typing. “remind me to give you a raise.”

“will do, sir.” you joked and left the room, leaving their superior with a smile on his face.

y/n is funny, he thought to himself as he remembered all the other times they had made him laugh. yuta brought the pastry to his lips for a bite followed by the mug of steaming tea. the flavor of the beverage bringing the scenario to his mind again. their lips on his and his hand on the back of their neck. his eyes closed as he fully immersed himself in the memory he still wasn’t sure even happened. god, you felt so warm and sweet. you smelled of cinnamon and honey as you always did. he remembers from all the times you’d lean down to provide him with materials in board meetings or when you’d bring something to his desk. the slight brush of your body against his would send electric shocks throughout his skin.

“yuta…”

you moved so swiftly throughout the office with confidence. the young man would often get distracted just in the way their assistant would breeze in and out of a room or the way they would laugh at another coworker’s joke. it was such a pleasant laugh with a beautiful smile.

“yuta…”

his eyes remains closed and he leaned back in his office chair, deep in though. he didn’t even notice the person standing in front of him calling his name. well, people. the young men found it amusing to watch their COO in what they assumed to be sleep.

“YUTA!” Taeyong walked in and clapped his hands, startling the younger awake.

some of the men that had gathered in the office snickered at yuta’s startled reaction while taeil, who had been quietly calling his name before, groaned.

“oh, c’mon. you’re no fun.” he joked.

“i’m not here for fun. we have a company to keep running. how’s it coming along, yuta?” the leader of the pack got right to it, not beating around the bush.

yuta hummed as he finished off the espresso he’d made, apparently needing more caffeine than he’d originally thought.

“yes, i’m almost done. this was finished last night.” he pushed the stack of papers his assistant finished towards his boss.

taeyong took the stack and flipped through them, nodding in approval as he skimmed through the content. “nice. this is good. ok, well, i’ll need this all finished up by tonight. after you’re done though, you can leave. don’t come in tomorrow either. i know you’ve been here late.” taeyong gave yuta a cold stare that sent a shiver down his spine before he walked towards the door.

did he know? certainly not. not unless…

yuta followed the older’s gaze up to the corner of the room where a dark dome was perched. shit the camera. yuta froze in his seat as one by one his coworkers filed out of the room except for taeyong who stayed behind, passing off the work yuta’s assistant had done to taeil and closing the door behind them. the gulp yuta took was almost audible as taeyong took steady strides back to yuta’s desk. he was mentally preparing himself for the worst. a verbal lashing, possibly even being let go. he’d worked so hard for his position but he certainly deserved all that was coming to him considering that brief moment was not, in fact, a dream.

taeyong took an empty seat in a chair across from the desk, crossing a leg over the opposite knee and pressing his finger tips together at his pursed lips. he was not happy.

“yuta, i have certain unspoken rules about how my employees should be treated by their superiors. now, these don’t violate any written rules, of course, unless the actions against my employees are unwanted, consent isn’t given.” taeyong leaned forward and continued. “in other words, i’m not against a workplace relationship, however i am against harassment and will not tolerate it. am i clear?”

yuta nodded quickly.

“good. now, please call your assistant in here. i’d like to speak with them.”

it was over. yuta’s career as he knew it hung in the balance and was about to be clipped by the fates because he couldn’t even control himself due to lack of sleep. he cursed himself mentally for being so careless and possibly even hurting you. how could he be so thoughtless? his heart twisted looking at you as you walked in with eyes wide and shoulders up. you looked nervous, not knowing why you had been called in but you had your suspicions.

“please, take a seat.” mr. nakamoto gestured to the empty chair next to the president of neo technologies and you did as you were told.

“y/n, i had yuta call you in here because i saw something on our cameras last night and i would like some clarification on it since we can only see with these cameras and not hear. i only have half of the story.” taeyong explained.

you shifted in your seat, glancing at mr. nakamoto then back at mr. lee. suddenly kim doyoung, head of hr walked in and stood behind mr. lee with a leather portfolio in hand. your heart sank and panic started to settle in.

“we at neo technologies take harassment very seriously and we’d like to make sure you are safe and heard in your workplace environment so i will ask you, reminding you that it is against the law for violators to retaliate,” taeyong shot a look of warning to yuta. “were last night’s actions of your superior, nakamoto yuta, consensual or nonconsensual?”

“they were consensual.” you said quickly, hardly believing the words had left your lips and that you even continued. “yuta and i have been together for a little while now.”

“y/n—“

“no, it’s ok, love.” you stopped him.

yuta’s eyes went wide at the endearment. a completely different person had taken over you in that moment. blame it on the lack of sleep, the stress of the project, or even the panic of you both possibly losing your jobs, but for some reason you couldn’t stop building this audacious story.

“we were afraid to let people know because of his position and mine but we’ve been seeing each other in secret for some time now. yuta kissing me at work was an accident though.” you explained.

the tension in the room heightened, no one said a word and it was silent all except for doyoung scribbling down in the folder he was holding. just when you thought you couldn’t take it anymore, mr. lee breathed a giant sigh of relief and broke out into a smile.

“oh, thank god! i knew yuta couldn’t have done anything like that. i told you!” he teased the younger behind him. “this is great. i’m happy for you both of course, but we’ll need you to sign some forms. doyoung.”

the dark haired man quickly rifled through his papers and placed one in front of yuta and then you. yuta gave you a tentative look as he handed you a pen, waiting until you signed first. you didn’t hesitate to put your signature on the line and watch as yuta then signed his page. doyoung took them once signed.

“wonderful! well, i hope you both are very happy together and enjoy your day off tomorrow. thank you both for your hard work.” mr. lee got up, bowing to you both and walked out with doyoung in tow.

you quickly got up and followed them while yuta was still in shock before he could say a word to you. not even stopping at your desk, you sped right to the restroom, locking yourself in a stall and leaning back on the door.

what have you done?

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kpforpresident · 1 year

Text

Chapter 2 / the flower shop au

Lexa is climbing the stairs to her third floor apartment when she feels her phone buzz silently in her pocket, alerting her to a text. She juggles her groceries to balance in the crook of her left elbow, passing her keys to hang in her teeth as she fishes her now-silent iPhone out of her jeans pocket.

Clarke had stopped by during lunchtime to get Lexa’s phone number and drop off her address, which unfortunately happened to coincide with what Lexa assumed was the precursor to the apocalypse as seven gangly teenage boys had swarmed into her shop, touching every flower that wasn’t safely behind glass. One boy had seriously asked her what he could buy for four dollars. Lexa had stared at him for a long moment with pursed lips before plucking a single long stemmed red rose from a bucket that sat at her elbow, handing it to him silently. He had shoved a crumpled handful of ones at her across the workbench before plucking his rose out of her hand and marching out the door, the other boys following dutifully behind.

Successfully having reached the square device, Lexa delicately manages to wedge open the humidity swollen door. She wobbles through the cracked opening to shove her groceries onto the laminate kitchen counter, pushing a can of chickpeas that teeters just slightly too close to the edge as she unlocks the screen and navigates to her texts with her free hand.

Lexa almost drops her phone as she thumbs open the unread message to see a text from Clarke.

604-867-5309: Hey, this is Clarke. Hoping we can do dinner tonight at my place, and you can bring your plant expertise? (This is a cry for help, the leaves are starting to look wilt-y and I’m trying not to panic). Also, do you like cilantro?

Lexa leans her hip against the counter as she re-reads the text twice, a goofy grin splitting her face as her eyes trace over the little digital text. She turns absentmindedly to click on the kettle for a cup of tea as her fingers hover over the keyboard, thinking.

Lexa: Hey, Clarke. This is me acknowledging your plant SOS and confirming I’ll be there. Is there a time that works? Can I bring anything? And I love cilantro. Did you know some people have a gene mutation that makes it taste like soap?

As soon as she sends the text she winces slightly, thumping her phone into her forehead twice before she turns to grab her favorite ceramic mug out of the cupboard, dropping an earl gray tea bag in the cup before she pours boiling water over top.

“Real smooth, Woods,” Lexa mutters as she dunks the tea bag twice in the steaming water, setting it carefully on the stovetop to cool before turning to unpack the mound of groceries. “She’ll be really impressed with your cilantro knowledge. Fuck.”

She is halfway through shoving produce into her fridge when her phone buzzes again, rattling loudly against the counter. Hesitating slightly, she worries her bottom lip between her teeth before grabbing it and thumbing to the unopened text.

Clarke: Shockingly, I did know that- my best friend Raven hates cilantro, which is ironic because her entire family is Mexican and cilantro features prominently in everything they make. She picks it out like it’ll kill her every time, and just leaves little green piles of roughage on her napkins. Can you grab some sort of alcohol? I’m not picky about the kind, I am an equal opportunity beer/wine drinker.

Lexa is just finishing the first text when another buzz rattles her phone, followed promptly by what Lexa can only describe as a message onslaught.

Clarke: Wait. I never asked you at the shop, do you drink?

Clarke: Fuck me, are you sober?

Clarke: Nice going, Griffin, you knob.

A minute passed. Then-

Clarke: I’m going to stick my head in the oven- please bring whatever beverage you enjoy and we’ll have it with dinner. It’ll be a nice surprise regardless. Does 7:30 work this evening? The buzzer to the apartment is 15.

Lexa laughs out loud as she reads through the thread, scooping up her now slightly cooler cup of tea as she moves through the apartment to nestle onto the velvet navy couch that takes up the majority of her living room. Knees tucked into her check, she takes a sip before responding.

Lexa: No worries, I definitely imbibe. I will be there at 7:30 sharp, copious amounts of alcohol in hand.

Setting her phone carefully down on the coffee table, Lexa bounds off to her room to begin getting ready, a huge smile plastered across her face.

///

Lexa bounces on the balls of her feet outside the tall brownstone apartment building, hand hovering over the buzzer as she checks her watch again. 7:27 blinks back at her from the silver analog face as she shoves the slouchy cream knit sweater she had elected as a safe first date choice back into place. Checking her hair one last time in the shiny reflection of the buzzer, she steps back slightly, shuffling the bottle of wine nervously to the other crook of her elbow.

Harried footsteps echo on the other side of the second floor walk up as Lexa fidgets slightly. The door flings open to reveal a slightly rumpled Clarke, a gray linen apron covering a pair of light wash jeans and a slouchy white tank top that peeks at the front just enough to reveal the suggestion of cleavage. Golden hair spills over a pale shoulder, shifting perfectly to reveal a satiny black bra strap. Clarke blows an errant strand of bangs out of her eyesight before fixing Lexa with a megawatt smile, pulling her into a brief hug before ushering her into the apartment warmly.

Lexa gapes for a heartbeat at the skin on display before mentally rebooting, plastering a smile onto her face as she stumbles inside and out of the frosty evening.

Clarke’s apartment is small but cozy and a dead ringer for the vivacious blonde who lives there. Her personality is splashed across the walls and imbued within the tiny touches that are sprinkled around the open floor plan as Lexa quietly enters, from the large colorful paintings that decorate every available wall space to the colorful Moroccan rug that takes up the majority of the wooden living room floor. A record player is propped on a worn wooden nightstand in the far corner by the window, a Bryan Adams record playing softly through the apartment.

A slow smile spreads across Lexa’s face as she gazes around, still clutching the bottle of rosé that she had brought, along with the bouquet of flowers that she had picked out prior to closing up shop for the night. She buried her nose in for one last fortifying whiff, summing her courage as she passed it to Clarke in a burst of courage.

“These- these are for you.” Clarke’s eyes widened as she reached for the fragrant bundle, her eyes sliding shut as she buried her nose within the array of flowers. Lexa fidgeted awkwardly as she admired them, gently setting the wine bottom on the kitchen counter so she could twine her fingers together anxiously.

“I would’ve made a better arrangement, but it was what I had leftover from a wedding-”

“They’re gorgeous, Lexa,” Clarke interrupts as she runs a reverent finger over a silky petal. There’s such an arrangement of flowers- do they mean something? Moreso, will you tell me what they mean?”

Clarke’s voice fades slightly as she wanders in the kitchen to fetch a vase, detouring slightly to stir something on the stove momentarily. She dips a spoon in to taste, nodding decisively before plunking the vase on the breakfast bar and gently setting the flowers inside. Delicate white roses, dainty apple blossoms, dark green ferns, and bright blue salvia flowers decorated the bouquet that settles in the tall glass vase, complementing the bright warmth of Clarke’s space.

Lexa was shaking her head before Clarke finished her sentence, a smile once again breaking unbidden across her face. Being in Clarke’s space felt overwhelmingly comfortable, to a shocking degree. Like slipping back into a sweater that had been forgotten in the back of the closet, but molded to every counter of your body as you settled into it.

“That’s cheating, as I am a florist,” Lexa laughs as she leans against the counter, trying to crane her neck to peer into the various pots and pans that are bubbling away merrily on the rickety white stove that has been unceremoniously crammed into a corner of the small galley-style kitchen. She brandishes the bottle of wine she brought, nudging it closer to Clarke as she settles onto the closest wooden bar stool. “However, the internet is a font of information and I have faith in your Googling abilities, Clarke.”

Clarke catches her peering over at the various pots and lunges over to pop an opaque lid onto the nearest saucepan, waggling a teasing finger in Lexa’s face as she dials the heat down to low. Satisfied that the dish would remain a secret, she turns the bottle appreciatively in her hands, smoothing a finger across the embossed label.

“Fair’s fair, if you won’t reveal your botany secrets then I am hard pressed to give you advance warning of your dining plans, madam. I love this rosé though, I always stop at that local wine shop when I am on that side of town. Thank you, I’ll put it on ice to chill before dinner.” Clarke concludes as she flicks jewel bright eyes up to meet Lexa’s gaze. Lexa can only grin dopily back, hardly believing her luck that this beautiful creature had asked her to dinner.

“Can I interest you in the abridged tour while the last part of our dinner spends the next five minutes in the oven?”

Lexa nods enthusiastically, mouth drying slightly as Clarke gently laces their fingers together, tugging her persistently into the living room. Lexa admires the artwork and makes the proper noises as Clarke leads her around, occasionally touching certain items on the shelf, picking up a book and putting it back down as she gestures with her free hand, voice rising and falling in pitch with the intensity of her excitement as she comments on various knick knacks around the apartment. All Lexa can comprehend is Clarke’s hand warm in her own, the softness of her palm as she cracks open her bedroom just wide enough for Lexa to catch a flash of a forest green duvet, the wall above her dress covered with a breathtaking painting of a fog saturated forest.

Tour over, Clarke tows her back to deposit her onto the bar stool, prancing around the island to reach on tiptoes to retrieve two crystal wine glasses. Popping the wine out of the fridge, she pours two healthy helpings of the light pink wine, bestowing one upon Lexa as she pulls two plates from a cupboard above the stove with her other hand.

Lexa takes a sip of the fruity wine as she props her chin on her other hand, watching Clarke float around the kitchen, stirring various things as she pulls a tray of shredded chicken out of the oven and pops a piece in her mouth, nodding to herself as she chops an avocado into neat green cubes before turning to slice a red onion into precise slivers.

“Who taught you to cook?” Lexa wonders as she leans over to let Clarke pop an offered piece of avocado in her mouth, chewing as she tucks her free hand back under her chin.

Clarke smiles, a tinge of melancholy weaving through her expression as she dumps a potful of steaming black beans into a decorated ceramic bowl. Bending over, Clarke reappears with smoked hot sauce, which she silently places on the counter as she returns to filling bowls with various toppings-onions placed gently into one tiny bowl, salsa in one, sour cream in another. The avocado and lettuce are left on the wooden chopping block, along with a steaming pile of tortillas that Clarke pulls out of where they had been warming under the oven hood.

Spread arranged and balanced on a large wooden tray, Clarke nods decisively as she pulls the apron off from around her neck, hanging it on an unseen hook as she shakes out her hair and scoops up her wine glass again. A crimson sunset alights the small living room in a brilliant hue, Clarke’s eyes seemingly even brighter in the last glow of the day.

“Shall we?”

Over tacos eaten on the rug in Clarke’s living room, as the candles burn down in their holders and the night swerves towards inky blackness, they talk for hours. Lexa loses count of the depth and breadth of topics that they bounce through as she learns that Clarke doesn’t like cake but loves ice cream, can no longer drink tequila after a three day hangover in university, and loves cooking because it is the activity that she used to do with her dad when her mother was pulling long hospital shifts.

In turn, Lexa shares how she grew up in foster care with fellow foster kid Anya, and when Anya had tuned 18 she had promptly moved out of their well-meaning but entirely useless foster home and filed for temporary guardianship of 16 year old Lexa. With Anya’s help after Lexa completed a degree from Polis U in botany and business, she opened the flower shop to glowing reviews, much to her eternal shock. She mentions how much she loves seeing people’s faces when they buy flowers, and enjoys imagining what their loved one’s face will look like when they receive them.

At one point post-dinner, pre dessert Lexa makes Clarke laugh so hard she nearly snorts wine up her nose, glowing with pride as Clarke wipes mirthful tears away. Lexa wanders around the room absently as Clarke vanishes into the kitchen to grab the apple crumble and ice cream she had made earlier in the day, her indignant defense that Crumbles aren’t cake, Lexa- I thought everyone knew that floating through the air after flaxen curls as she disappears around the corner.

Lexa runs a gentle finger over a silver picture frame, containing a very tiny Clarke with brownie batter on her nose, a wooden spoon in her hand, and a massive grin slapped across her face. A kind-eyed man with dirty blonde hair stands carefully behind her, a worn Harvard sweatshirt hanging off a muscular frame, sleeves pushed up to his elbows. While Clarke is beaming at the camera, and presumably her mother behind the lens, the man only has eyes for the pint sized blonde that is safely ensconced in his arms.

Lexa straightens the frame slightly before wandering over to examine the plant of the evening, the massive Monstera that is tucked in what clearly is a hesitant place of pride, in what Lexa assumes is a brilliantly sunny window during the day. She pokes a practiced finger into the top few inches of topsoil, finding it bone dry, the leaves wilting slightly. She dumps her mostly-full water glass into the base of the plant, smiling slightly as the water is instantly absorbed into the root system.

“There’s a drink- you were thirsty, hey?” Lexa finds herself murmuring to the plant as she straightens again, placing her now-empty glass on the table as she turns back to the main room to see Clarke setting out dessert plates and clean forks with a slightly amused smile dancing around her lips.

“Is that part of the plant regimen? Whispering sweet nothings to the stupidly expensive greenery?” Clarke jokes as she settles in with her plate, pushing a identical plate towards Lexa as, blushing, she heads back to settle into the couch.

“I- well- no,” Lexa stammers as she runs a slightly embarrassed hand over the soft velvet of Clarke’s navy couch. “But, I do think plants grow better with encouragement,” Lexa adds defensively as she loads a scoop of crumble onto her fork and shoves it in her mouth before she can say anything too nerdy and scare off this incredibly cool woman forever.

A warm hand slides over her forearm and squeezes slightly, Lexa stopping mid-chew to dart a glance down on the pale hand that lingers on her skin for a moment before retreating.

“I’m joking, Lexa. I love how excited you are about it- I know that I’m the exact same way about painting and art. I like hearing about it, especially if it’s going to help me keep from killing the damn thing,” Clarke finishes sincerely as she drains the rest of her wine.

Lexa can’t think of an answer, too preoccupied from the warmth that is exploding in her chest at Clarke’s words.

“Do you have a piece of paper? And a pen? So I can write down your plant boot camp?” Lexa jokes as she also finishes her wine and tucks her jean-clad legs under her.

Lexa rubs a tired eye as she finishes the daily versus weekly to do list for Clarke’s Very Expensive Plant, writing the last task with a flourish as she passes the scrap piece of paper to Clarke proudly.

Clarke takes it, blue eyes scanning doubtfully as she reads the instructions written in Lexa’s neat cursive.

“And, if I follow these instructions, I will keep this monster alive?” Clarke says skeptically as she tugs Lexa up off the couch with her to head into the kitchen, where she pins the list to the front and center of the fridge. Lexa, so entranced by the way Clarke’s hair shifts to reveal her pulse thrumming in the hollow of her neck, almost misses the question.

“I mean, that’s the hope,” Lexa stammers distractedly, ripping her eyes away from Clarke’s neck to somehow get lost in her eyes instead.

Hopeless Gay, Lexa can practically hear Anya’s voice echo within the confines of her skull. She crosses her fingers behind her back and goes for broke.

“It’s a Monstera, not a monster, but yeah. I think that will help. I’m also happy to come back and check in on you- I mean, it, next week? If you wanna make sure it’s going well?”

Lexa holds her breath as Clarke turns from where she has been staring at the schedule to meet Lexa’s eyes, hardly daring to hope.

“If that was a roundabout way of asking if I’d like to go on a second date, the answer is yes, I’d love to.” Clarke says sincerely as she steps forward into Lexa’s bubble and wraps a warm hand around Lexa’s. Lexa’s head swims with Clarke’s perfume as she dumbly nods her head yes, unable to scramble for words when Clarke is this close.

Clarke laces their fingers together as they walk towards the door slightly later, Lexa regrettably mentioning her self imposed bedtime that is fast approaching as she has to go to the flower market at the eye-watering hour of four am. Clarke cringes in sympathy, handing Lexa her jacket as they both linger in the doorway, neither wanting to be the first to say goodbye.

“I’ll see you soon?” Lexa ventures as she shrugs into her jacket, scrambling for the courage to lean in and brush a goodbye kiss on Clarke’s rosebud lips.

Clarke nods slightly, her eyes fastened to Lexa’s mouth as sapphire eyes darken slightly. Lexa feels her stomach swoop as Clarke scoots forward and laces a hand behind Lexa’s neck to press the sweetest kiss to her lips.

“Bye,” Clarke whispers as she pulls away, brushing a wisp of hair out of Lexa’s field of vision as Lexa’s eyelashes flutter slightly.

“Bye,” Lexa murmurs as she steps back slightly, not trusting herself to say anything else in fear that she won’t be able to pry herself away.

Clarke shuts the door with a smile, leaving Lexa to float home on cloud nine.

///

Lexa’s heart feels like it might explode when a very confused delivery boy appears at her shop door with a bouquet of long stemmed salmon colored roses, handing them over silently when Lexa moves to grab them, almost snapping her neck on a container of greenery as she trips her way back to her workbench with a goofy grin on her face.

She buries her nose into the bouquet as her fingers search for the tag, plucking it out to read-

I haven’t yet looked up what your bouquet means, but I did some Googling of my own after you left last night, and landed on these. Pretty girls deserve flowers from their admirers, even if they happen to own their own plant shop. Thinking of you.

-C

Lexa glows with happiness the rest of the day, placing the bouquet on her kitchen counter before she slips the card into her journal later that night.

She falls asleep smiling.

#plant/flower shop au #clarke x lexa #clexa #if any one has a title suggestion for this i am all ears #a little fluff since i have been force feeding y'all angst lately #chapter 2

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dragons-and-dwarves-are-nice · 3 months

Text

To the Shadows that Cry Witch /// Chapter 20

*Rises from the dead* Good evening. So I honestly should've put this fic on hiatus because I haven't updated in a hot minute (cough3monthscough). But having to hand in a Presentation, Essay, Video AND portfolio, all within two weeks of each other kinda made me forget lol. Uni is so hard pls send help. Anyway, I've made this one longer to make up for lost time, and I decided this won't be the last chapter of Part 2, I'm now planning on doing two more to fit in everything I've planned, and the good thing is that I have no work to do for the next 2 weeks so I can just work on this non stop. Hopefully you'll be seeing me again soon lol. Enjoy! <3

Summary: Magic was real, but it came at a price. So when two girls end up in the one place they never thought they could reach, strange things began to happen. Good or bad? That's up to them to find out.

Tags: Kili x oc/reader - Fili x oc (POV to be written soon) - Thorin's company × ocs/reader (platonic) - fluff - angst - EXTREME slow burn - crack - Bagginshield

Word Count: 8465

Warnings: Paranormal encounters, swearing, being chased by giant snakes if you aren't a fan of that.

Taglist - comment or message to be added!

PLEASE START FROM THE BEGINNING IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY OK LOVE U

Want some background music? Check out my Soundtrack Playlist!

Now available on Wattpad and AO3 (please let me know if links aren't working)

< Chapter 19 // Chapter 20 // Chapter 21 >

Part 2: Chapter 20 -

Yer a wizard. Sorry, witch.

Minatory (Definition): Having a menacing quality; Threatening. (Adjective / Origin: Late Latin /ˈmɪnət(ə)ri )

Bag End, Hobbiton, The Shire – T.A. Friday, 18th November 2939 of the Third Age (Highday, 28th Blotmath, 1339 in Shire-reckoning)

“Annnd, there we go.” Kay huffed, both of us letting out a sigh of relief as we lowered a passed out Bilbo into his armchair. Lifting the blanket that was drying by the fire, I shook it out, before draping it over the unconscious hobbit, tucking it over his shoulders.

We both took a step back, waiting for him to wake up, when a fist impacted with my shoulder.

“OW!” I cried, bringing my hand up to rub at the spot. “The hell was that for?!”

Kay shoved a finger in my face, glaring up at me. “That – was for levitating me! Upside-down of all things!”

“It’s not like I wanted to! And I didn’t expect for it to actually work!”

All she did was grumble, crossing her arms as she stared at Bilbo.

“… You can do the same at one point in return?” I offered.

“Oh, I will be, just you wait.”

I sighed in exasperation, before focusing on the problem at hand.

“Should I make some tea? For when he wakes up.” I suggested.

“Yea, that’ll be nice. I’ll stay here in case he wakes up.” She replied.

I nodded, turning on my heel and wandering through to the kitchen. Hooking the kettle over the open fire, I prepared three mugs along with some tea leaves in a straining bag. Staring at the exposed bricks lining the fireplace, I let my mind wander as I tried to figure out what to say, my hands absentmindedly turning the mug as I listened to the kettle’s whistle grow louder.

Within 5 minutes I was done, and just in time, as I managed to walk back through just when Bilbo had begun to stir. Lowering the tray onto the small table by the fire, I knelt down in front of Bilbo’s chair, his steaming mug of chamomile in my hands.

His eyes flickered open, blinking rapidly as he tried to adjust to the low light. Spotting us, he gasped as he shot up, everything seemingly coming back to him.

I quickly shoved the mug towards him, and that managed to calm him down slightly as he settled back into his chair, bringing his hands from beneath the blanket to take the hot beverage from my hands.

Taking a small sip, he lowered the tea onto his lap, and took a deep breath.

“What,- in Yavanna’s name… where you doing!!?”

I gave him straight lined smile, clasping my hands together.

“That’s the thing.” I said, shrugging as my eyes focused on the fire. “We don’t know.”

He spluttered, his head jerking back in confusion and frustration. “Wh – d – don’t know?? What do you mean you don’t know??”

Kay shoved at my shoulder as she sat down on the floor next to me. “What Kate was meant to say,” She explained, deadpanning at me before turning to the poor hobbit. “Was that it was an accident, we were joking about something and she didn’t mean to send me floating into the ceiling.”

Bilbo frowned so hard that his eyes had scrunched shut, placing his mug on the table. “And what, pray tell, could you have possibly been joking about that made Kay levitate into the air.”

I nodded slowly as my eyes darted around in thought. “About sending her floating into the ceiling.” I stated, shrugging as if it was obvious.

Bilbo dropped his head into his hands with a loud groan of anguish, whilst Kay drew her lips between her teeth to try and hide her smile.

I fiddled with my fingers, watching as Bilbo’s head rose back up, dropping back onto the cushion of his armchair as he stared into space, his eye-bags looking more prominent than ever.

“Okay, just.. fetch one of your cakes, I need to eat something after all that.” He sighed, closing his eyes.

I quickly replied with an ‘ok’, getting to my feet and strolling over to the pantry, retrieving the cake, then to the kitchen to get three plates, forks and a knife.

Handing Bilbo his slice of cake, me and Kay sat down on the armchairs opposite, placing our own plates on our laps. Minutes passed where only the crackling of the fire and clinking of forks against plates could be heard. But it wasn’t long before Bilbo spoke up again.

“Do you really not know what’s going on?” He asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked over at us.

Kay shook her head. “This is just as new to us as it is to you. We’re trying to figure out why, but it’s been difficult.”

“I can imagine.” He replied. “If I started accidentally levitating things, I wouldn’t dare to show my face until I knew how to control it.”

“We have somewhat managed to control it, though” I added.

“Oh, I know that.” Bilbo reassured with a shake of his head. “Otherwise Kay would still be stuck to the ceiling.” He joked, much to Kay’s chagrin.

“You don’t need to worry about us, though.” I said, voice muffled by a mouthful of cake. “I know we’re ‘barely adults’ according to you, but we do have some idea of how to look after ourselves.”

Bilbo nodded. “I’m sure you can, but then again, you said yourselves that you don’t know how to navigate this world properly. I just want to make sure you’re both safe. The Shire is a very comfortable place to live, but once you step out its borders, I can guarantee you two wouldn’t last a day.” He stated, prodding his knee with his finger to emphasise each word.

Kay raised her hands in mock surrender, “You’ve got us there.” I pointed a finger at her in agreement whilst staring at the rug.

“But…” I raised my head to look at Kay as she spoke. “Could we possssibly go to the forest? To try and figure this all out??” Bilbo instantly deadpanned. “It saves us accidentally blowing a hole in your wall!”

He reeled back. “You can do that?!?!”

She nodded. “Well – I haven’t, exactly.” She straightened up, pointed a finger at me. “But Kate has!”

I whirled round, a betrayed look on my face. “Are you trying to rat me out?!”

“YOU BLEW A HOLE IN MY WALL?!?!” cried Bilbo.

“NO! I BLEW A TREE UP, NOT YOUR HOUSE!” I cried back.

“WHY WOULD YOU NEED TO BLOW UP A TREE!”

“I DIDN’T MEA – ugh, I can’t be asked with this.” I groaned, rubbing my face. “Look, I didn’t do it on purpose, it was in self de – no, right, I picked up a stick, and accidentally knocked it against something, which caused a spark to fly out the end and blow up a tree.”

The hobbit tossed his hands into the air. “And my day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.” He breathed a deep sigh. “Ok fine, you can go to the forest, BUT, I’m going with you.” Kay groaned from beside me. “No, none of that. The last time I let you both out on your own, you almost froze to death after going for a midnight swim, I’m not having that happen again.”

We both slumped in our chairs, nodding reluctantly. Satisfied, Bilbo nodded to himself, before standing from his chair and walking slowly to the door.

“Right, well – I’m off to bed. We can discuss this further over breakfast tomorrow.” He paused in the doorway, twisting around to look at us both. “And uh.. thank you,” He said, gesturing to the tea and blanket in his arms. “For taking care of me.”

We both nodded at him with a smile, Kay muttering a ‘You’re welcome’. He returned the expression, before disappearing into the hallway.

“Well, that went a lot better than I thought.” Said Kay, turning to retrieve her own tea.

My head jerked around instantly from where I was facing the fireplace, my face twisted in both confusion and offence. “Easy for you to say. I almost got kicked out because you made him think I was renovating his home!”

“Well that sounds like a you problem, doesn’t it?” She said over her shoulder as she walked towards the doorway.

I went to retort, but quickly noticed which direction she was going in. “NUH UH, don’t think I haven’t forgotten what I said earlier.”

Kay stopped, punching the air in frustration. She spun around, inching towards the doorway. “But it’s so pointless!” She whined. “And it disappears when you’re around anyway!”

I looked over my shoulder, squinting my eyes at her. “Are you saying ghost hunting’s pointless? I am both shocked and offended.” I mockingly turned my nose up at her, walking through the doorway to my room. “And about to sacrifice your Hello Kitty.”

Footsteps followed me instantly. “If you do I’m sacrificing Toothless.”

I paused, my hand on the doorknob to my room. Glaring over my shoulder, I pouted grumpily, before twisting the handle and stepping in. “Fine, I’ll smelt your jewellery down instead.”

I could practically feel Kay gape at me as she lightly punched my shoulder. She walked over and sat on my bed, watching as I rummaged through my drawers. “What are we doing in here anyway, I thought we were sleeping in my room?”

“That–” I grunted as I struggled to reach under a pile of stuff. “-is a good question – aha!” I pulled out my small wooden chest. “But I thought I would bring this to try and work out how to protect us.”

Kay sighed, crossing her arms as she looked up at me. “Okay, so, you know how to do that?”

“Of course.” I replied with a grin. “Protection spells are the first thing you should learn about as a practitioner. It’s witchcraft 101.”

I unhooked the clasps on the box, opening it up and picking something out and handing it to Kay. She took it in her hands looking at it confused. “The protection is a Christmas bauble?”

“It does look like one, but no, that’s a Rowan cross.” I explained, taking it out of her hands and lifting it up to the candlelight.

The object consisted of two dark twigs, specifically from a rowan tree, tied in a cross by some thick, woolly, red string that formed a diamond, with dried rowan berries glued to the centre of the shape. At the end of one the twigs was a red ribbon, tied so it could be hung up.

“They’re normally hung in doorways, to ward off negative energy and wrong-doers.” I gestured to my doorway, Kay turning to spot an identical cross hung on a nail on the wooden beam. “I did it the week I had the thing appear in my wardrobe, and luckily, it seems to be working.”

Kay turned back round, eyeing the cross in my hand, before quickly snatching it. “So I just hang this in my doorway and it’ll go away?”

“Maybe,” I said, uncertain. “It’s already activated, but I doubt it’ll be strong enough to get rid of it, so I want to see if it’ll upset it, so it can show itself and we can work out what it is for sure.”

Kay nodded, slinking off the bed to join me on the floor. “Okay then, show me what to do.”

I held up the cross. “We’ll start, by hanging this in your doorway.”

---

Loud knocking echoed through the hallway as I hammered the nail into the beam of wood above Kay’s doorway. Kay was deeper in the house, near Bilbo’s room, to check if he had been woken up by the noise. The final bang resounded through the still air, and she peeked one last time round the door, and saw the Hobbit remain in a deep sleep, much to her relief. Pulling the handle until she heard the door close with a soft click, she returned to watch me as I hung the cross, the almost-black branches contrasting strongly against the warm wood as it hung in the centre of the beam. Taking a step back, I nodded in satisfaction, walking over to the chest of drawers to put down the hammer we had nicked from Bilbo’s gardening tools, before turning to Kay.

“This will hopefully do something whilst we wait for the right moon phase to come round.” I said. “Or it’ll upset it and you end up being haunted for the rest of your life.”

“It better not,” Kay replied. “Otherwise you’ll be having a permanent roommate until it’s gone.”

Soon enough, the candles around the room were blown out, all except one, that currently sat on the vanity, its flickering casting the odd shadow here and there.

We both laid there under the covers in our nightgowns, Toothless and Hello Kitty in hand, glancing around diligently, looking for anything out of the ordinary. When almost an hour had passed by, we slowly settled down to the sound of the crickets outside, burrowing deeper into the covers as sleep threatened to take over. I had just closed my eyes for a minute, trying to rest them as faint colours danced behind my eyelids, when the crickets went quiet. Thinking Kay had gotten up to close the window, I pressed myself further under the covers. That was, until a hand shot out and latched onto my arm.

I jumped out of my skin, eyes shooting open, only to be met with darkness. It felt deathly cold, the candle had somehow gone out, and, what was hopefully Kay, was currently gripping onto me like a lifeline. Luckily, the curtains had drifted apart from the wind slightly, and the glow of the waning crescent in the sky shone through the cracks. Thin wisps of smoke from the extinguished candle floated in front of where I was laid on my side, facing the wall. Following it to try and spot the candle, my eyes moved across the room, when they flicked into a corner. I would’ve missed it completely, if it weren’t for the rattling breath it let out.

It just stood there, looking half solid but casting no shadows, it’s long thin arms held straight up in the air as it stared with deep hollow sockets and a gaping mouth hanging open wide enough for me to almost fit my head into. It had no teeth, no eyebrows or hair, just dark, grey, dusty skin. All it did was stand there. And stare. And I couldn’t move.

All I could do was stare back.

It felt like hours as I sat there half-laid on my elbow, feeling the ache settle into the joint but unable to move. It wasn’t moving either, not even one of its long, sharp-looking fingers twitching as it held its appendages up as if it had been stretched up with invisible chains.

Kay wasn’t moving either, but was shaking profusely, her hand imprinting into my skin as she gripped onto me like a vice. I wasn’t any better, the thing in front of me making all my paranormal experiences from my childhood seem like a joke.

It wasn’t until Kay’s nails dug in that I moved, keeping my eyes locked onto the ghostly creature as I reached behind me, and gritting my teeth, dragged the pillow from behind. As soon as I felt Kay’s hand release my arm, I shot up and launched it as hard as I could at its face. The pillow soared through the air, and within a second, the creature had vanished into thin air, the candle on the vanity flickering back to life before the pillow even hit the wall.

It dropped to the floor with a muffled thump as light enveloped the room once again, and we both sat there, staring at the corner with wide, terrified eyes. A creak sounded from within the house’s structure, snapping us out of the trance as warmth swept back in.

“I don’t think the cross worked.” Kay whispered shakily.

“… Let’s go sleep in my room.”

The Next Day

Silence was all that could be heard, except for the clinking and scraping of utensils against plates and bowls. Kay and I sat slumped at the kitchen table, deep bags under our bloodshot eyes as we squinted at our half-eaten breakfasts.

Bilbo was quite the opposite, looking as chipper as ever after a full nights-sleep as he finished the last few mouthfuls of his meal with a satisfied huff. Untucking the napkin from the collar of his night-shirt, he placed it on the table, looking between us with a smile.

I tried my best to hide a wide yawn behind my hand whilst placing my fork down, unable to finish the meal, when he piped up.

“So, who fancies going down to the market today? I heard there’s a new flower stall being set up.”

All I could do was push my plate away, dropping my head down onto the table with a loud ‘thunk’. Kay wasn’t any better, her head tilted back as she slowly fell asleep in her chair.

The hobbit let out a sigh. “Couldn’t sleep?”

All he got was a groan in response.

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

Bag End, Hobbiton, The Shire – T.A. Friday, 23rd November 2939 of the Third Age (Hevensday, 3rd Foreyule, 1339 in Shire-reckoning)

“Bilbo, are you sure you want to go with us?”

Kay and I sat on the rug by the front door, wrapped up in several layers of winter-wear – gloves, shawls, knitted scarves and all. We were preparing to leave for the forest, determined to figure out our wands in a safe environment, said objects hidden in our deep skirt pockets. Earlier, as we were sat lacing up our boots, a shivering Bilbo had walked through the door, ingredients for dinner in his bag. Within a second he had demanded to go with us, refusing to budge and reminding us of the agreement from five days ago. Which led to now.

“Yes, I’m perfectly sure!” he grunted from where his head resided in the large chest down the hallway, looking for his scarf. “We made an agreement, and even if we didn’t, I’m certainly not leaving you two to wander into the fog when the clouds have been threatening to snow all week!” He stormed past us, flinging the scarf around his neck, simultaneously hitting me in the face with it from where I was sat, sending Kay into a fit of laughter as I spluttered about. Swinging the door open to reveal the foggy evening scene outside, he gestured expectantly. “Hurry now, it’ll be getting dark in a couple hours.”

Grabbing the leather messenger bag containing my Grimoire and a few other materials, we were ushered out. The freezing chill hit us almost immediately, like Jack Frost had decided to practice acupuncture with a thousand ice needles. Twisting my scarf, I pulled part of it over my head whilst bunching the rest around my chin until it reached my nose.

Walking down, the two of us stood by Bilbo’s front gate, waiting as he struck a match, lighting the same lantern he had used when he found us in his bushes, bringing forth a flurry of those not-so-great memories. Stuffing the matchbox in his pocket, he pulled the door closed, before following the short path down to us.

Reaching us, he held an arm out, gesturing down the path. “Alright,” he said, his voice muffled by the scarf. “I don’t know where you guys want to go, so lead the way.”

Kay looked at me expectantly, and so, I begun to retrace the steps I had taken that eventful night.

---

The sun had already begun to set when we arrived, and I noted that the forest looked at lot less intimidating during the daylight hours. Rounding a relatively dense pack of bushes, I came across a very familiar sight.

Rotting splinters of bark and branches littered the ground, along with the fallen half of the tree, now slowly being covered with moss and rotting leaves that had fallen in the last few weeks of Autumn. Memories from what happened a month ago came flowing back, and I grimaced when my eyes finally landed on the jagged stump, sticking out the ground like a giant clawed hand with a hundred sharp fingers.

I turned to face the others, gesturing with my hands in a half shrug. “Well this is where it happened.”

Kay stared at the stump with wide eyes. “Ok, I’ll admit I was exaggerating when I said you blew it up. I didn’t think you actually did.”

Bilbo was silent. His eyes were practically bulging out of his head as he gawked at the scene in front of him. “How?” Was all he could utter, the whisper barely heard over the chatter of the forest.

“That’s exactly what I’ve been asking myself this whole time.” I said equally confused, wandering over to another familiar tree. “I found my wand, and was making my way back, when I turned around, knocking it against this tree.” I acted it out, pretending to hit something against the tree, my hand lining up with a very obvious burn mark embedded onto the bark, like someone had set off a firework in close proximity next to it. “Then - ” My hand pointed from the burn, over to the broken stump. “Voila, tree bomb.”

“Bomb?” Bilbo said perplexed.

“Think firework, but with a bigger explosion, and use it as a weapon.” Explained Kay from beside him.

All the poor hobbit could do was look up at her in horror, before looking between us both warily. “And – And that thing, can create something like that?”

I nodded. “But only if you choose to. This was a complete accident.”

Bilbo nodded silently, looking as if he was going to faint again. But he suddenly seemed to calm down, fiddling with his fingers whilst peering up at me apprehensively.

“Do you… think you could do it again? But smaller?”

Both of our mouths fell open in shock, before I let out a guffaw.

“Bilbo Baggins! Are you secretly rebellious?!” I gasped out.

His ears flushed a deep red. “No! I – I just-” He dropped his head bashfully. “This all just reminds me of when I was younger, and of Gandalf and his fireworks.”

“Mhm sure.” Said Kay, putting her hands on her hips as she looked down at the pouting hobbit. “Well we’re not going to blow up another poor tree, but we could show you something else? I’ve been meaning to try out my wand for ages now.” She reached into her skirt pocket, pulling it out.

I pulled out mine, weighing it in my hand as I thought of what to do next. “Can you think of any spells for wands?” I asked Kay as I walked over.

She shrugged. “Only the ones we wrote down from you-know-what. It worked the other day.”

I tilted my head in confusion. “You-know-what?”

“You know, the story about magic from our place that we can’t talk about because we get strangled by air?” She replied.

I nodded in realisation, then my eyes moved about in thought, before I slowly turned my head to a small pile of dead leaves nearby. Kay darted her eyes at me, following my line of sight before they landed on where I was looking.

“What are you thinking – ?”

I lifted my arm up and pointed my wand. “Incendio.”

“Absolutely not.” The pile of leaves burst into flame. “KATE FOR FUCKS SAKE.”

She stormed over to the pile, stamping on it until all that was left was a pile of blackened smouldering leaves. “Being a borderline pyromaniac does not give you an excuse to set everything on fire!”

All I did was smile impishly in response, hiding my wand behind my back. “Now you try.”

Kay huffed, pointing her own wand whilst thinking about her next move. I skipped over to Bilbo, who seemed like he was struggling to keep himself upright.

“You okay? We sorta forgot about you for a second there.” I said softly, crouching down to be more eye-level with him.

He blinked, seemingly snapping himself out of something. “O-oh, yes! It’s just not every day you gets involved in something as interesting as this.”

He gestured to my wand with a far-away look, and at that moment, he looked almost smaller, burying the lower half of his face into the thick scarf wrapped around his neck as he stared. Though in a flash he was shaking his head. “But you two have something you need to do, right?”

I blinked at his sudden mood-swing, but quickly let it go. “Oh, yes, we do.”

I reached to my hip, swivelling the messenger bag to the front of my body and flipping it open. Grabbing my Grimoire out of one of the pockets, I flipped through the pages as Bilbo tilted his head to try and read the words from his angle. Finally landing on a page, I came across an old envelope I had stuck in. Lifting the flap, I pulled out a piece of lined paper, torn from Kay’s notebook days earlier containing the list of spells we had tried to recall. It seemed silly, that spells from a book series would work, but they did, and we weren’t complaining.

Unfolding and smoothing the thin sheet out, I scoured the list, noting down the ‘safe’ spells we had circled. Whilst Bilbo looked over my shoulder at the paper, I called out to Kay. “Alright! I guess we’ll start you out with the easiest first spell.” Scouring the area, my eyes landed on a small log and I pointed at it. “Try levitating that log.”

Kay took a stance, before taking a deep breath, setting her stern eyes on the log. Reaching her wand out, she waved it with a swish and a flick, muttering the charm under her breath. Soon enough, the log began to rise, fallen leaves sliding off and floating to the ground as it hovered in the air.

Kay screamed in excitement, throwing her hands in the air as she beamed at her accomplishment. She whirled around to face us, the log dropping to the ground with a thud as she did. “Did you see that?!?!” she squealed, jumping on the spot as her hands cupped her face in shock.

I nodded enthusiastically, whilst Bilbo simply gawked at the now unmoving log.

“Tha – how? How did yo – That was incredible!” he gasped.

Kay nodded dramatically, her copper hair flopping over her face as she did. She quickly beckoned me over, and I handed the list to Bilbo.

“I don’t suppose you could read out the circled ones?” I said, pointing at the words. He looked up, nodding with a nervous smile.

Thanking him, I brought him with me to stand between me and Kay. Raising my wand, I tried out the levitating spell, watching in excitement as the log rose once again, before slowly lowering down. Then me and Kay both raised our wands, waiting for Bilbo to read out the first spell.

“Okay, so Ag – oh Yavanna what in Middle Earth does that say?? Ag – Aguam – A-goo-ah… men..tee??”

“Aguamenti?” Kay suggested.

“Yes, that!” He replied.

“Ok,” I said. “let’s do that one.”

Pointing our wands ahead, we both said the charm. It didn’t work at first, which was expected, but Kay managed hers on the second try, water shooting out like a jet and giving the bush several metres away a shower. I managed on my third try, but we both found it difficult to get it to stop, but after pulling our wands away while visualising the intention of stopping, it worked.

Turning to Bilbo, we both waited patiently for the next challenge. Drawing his attention away from the large puddle we had created in front of him, he scoured the list.

“Right, well erm…”

---

The spell trial went almost perfectly, the log now lost amongst the bushes after I’d flung my wand about too hard and sent it flying. Some spells had been easy to do, the two of us managing them after the second or third try, but, as expected, the more complex ones took longer, taking up to twenty tries at certain points, and some were straight up impossible to do.

After realising that not all of them could be done, we tried our best to improve the basic ones as much as we could. I exceeded with the fire spell, pointing my wand around and setting random leaves and dead bushes on fire, whilst Kay was more skilled with water, following me around as she shot at each fire I set, putting them out before they grew, and also threatening to shoot me in the face if I carried on.

Darkness was already setting in as we decided to head back, the couple hours if spellcasting draining us more than we expected. Bilbo held out his lantern, watching as I excitedly lit it with a spell, and we began our trek back.

We had travelled back about a quarter of the way, when Kay caught up with me.

“Hey, I don’t suppose we could go to the lake?” She asked, and I faced her with a curious look. “ I want to visit where I found my wand, and see if I can figure out what happened to me.”

I nodded, and looked to Bilbo who was ahead lighting the way. “Hey Bilbo?” I called out, receiving a humin response. “Could we quickly pop to the lake? We just wanna check something out real quick.”

He let out a sigh, but reluctantly gave in. “Fine, but we must be no longer than ten minutes. I want to make it back to make dinner on time.”

Thanking him, we sped up, speed-walking until we hit the main path, taking a few detours that would take us the long way to Bilbo’s house, that would also pass the lake.

By the time we got there, it was already dark, the sun setting earlier in the deep winter months. Approaching the black water, it had already began to re-freeze, new ice expanding from the half melted sheets from last night, one that was so cold, the three of us took shifts waking up to add wood and stoke the fires around the house all night.

Frosty reeds swayed in the icy wind, the breeze biting at our exposed skin more than ever as we peered into the rippling depths of the lake.

“Girl I am glad I didn’t have to drag you out in this weather.” I mumbled to Kay, keeping out of earshot of the hobbit who was currently stood on the path part-ways up a bank, about ten metres away.

“I am too. Neither of us would’ve survived that night if it was like this.” She replied with a shiver.

“Do you remember anything that happened between you leaving and waking up?” I questioned.

Kay was quiet for a moment. “…Not really, I remember what I had already told you, but everything after that had gone black, like I was back in that void we ended up in, on the bridge back in our world.” She paused. “Actually, it’s not much, but there were a couple times when I could feel myself try to wake up, once when I was stood at the edge, and the other when I was at the bottom of the lake. But it was all blurry, like someone was holding up a TV covered in frosted glass on the other side of a room I couldn’t reach.”

“Are you two going to take long?” Bilbo called over the wind, holding his lantern up higher for us to see better. “We do really need to get back.”

I gave him a thumbs up, turning back to the water as I stepped onto the familiar small pebble beach, standing just where the miniscule waves lapped at the tips of my boots. Kay soon joined me, trying to look beneath the surface with the limited light.

“I don’t think we’re going to find anything tonight.” She sighed, dejectedly. “Actually, I don’t think we’ll be finding anything for a while, because I’d rather eat a mouthful of raw chicken covered in dog sick than swim outside in December. Or January. Or February, for that matter.”

“I agree.” I mumbled back, side-eying the frozen death-trap in front of us. “Let’s just go back and stick our hands and feet into the nearest fire. We can figure this out another time.”

I went to turn back, when Kay shot out her hand to latch onto my arm for what felt like the hundredth time.

“Do you have a personal vendetta against this arm or something?” I poked, facing her. “At this point we don’t need matching tattoos cuz your handprint will do just that.”

All she did was slap at my shoulder, silencing me whilst refusing to look my way as she reached out to point across the water.

“What? – ” Another slap. I quickly quietened down and squinted at the darkness in front of me. Though I didn’t have to look for long.

Looking across, the bank at the opposite end of the lake would’ve been lost in darkness, if it weren’t for the large blue shape glowing from where it sat in the grass.

I instantly felt fear pierce down my spine as recognition hit me in the chest, but confusion wormed its way in as I took a closer look at the shape. No wings, or legs, just one long body, and amongst the coil of scales, a head covered in a multitude of bony and sharp-looking spines.

A snake.

And – excuse my language – a real fucking big one at that.

Like, thirty, fourty feet long?? And body thick enough for me to not even wrap my arms around it! And from beside me, I heard Kay whisper out one word.

“Basilisk.”

I slowly began to back away. “Yea, Basilet’s get the fuck out of here.” I hissed, tugging at her arm.

Luckily, it hadn’t seen us, the light of Bilbo’s lantern blending in with the street lanterns that flickered up in the hills, and said hobbit was not noticing a thing, too busy staring up at the stars as he waited.

The pebble beach rose slightly at the end where it met the grass, so I tried my best to take a huge step up it as silently as I could. Kay went to do the same, but was still staring behind her at the snake, and her foot didn’t go as high, scraping against the small bank, causing some pebbles to dislodge, their noise carrying across the water as they fell.

We both froze, tensing at the sound, stock still as we waited for the last pebble to finish its journey down. When it was silent again, we both slowly turned to see if it had heard us. It hadn’t, and it carried on hunting for something in the tall grass.

We both let out a sigh of relief, most of the tension leaving our body as we silently began making our way over to Bilbo.

The hobbit was still staring at the night sky, his hand raised as his finger absentmindedly pointed up and moved about slightly, most likely trying to make out the constellations. He slowly turned on the spot, not seeing the wooden fence post next to him, and the lantern collided against it, letting out a loud ‘clank’ that echoed through the crisp air.

The snake’s head shot up, detecting the soundwaves. Flicking it’s tongue out, it scoured the area for only a moment, before its slitted eyes were on us. Bearing its glowing orbs into ours, the three of us had a staring match for the next few seconds. I blinked, and in a flash, it lowered its head. I blinked again, and it was already sliding into the water. Directly towards us.

“Ok, we’ve got to go.” I stated shakily, and shot my hand out to grab Kay, hauling her forward, and the both of us began sprinting.

Clambering up the hill, my hands dug into the mud and gripped onto slippery grass blades until we reached the path, where I reached my arm around the waist of an unsuspecting Bilbo. He let out a yelp as I snatched him up, almost dropping the lantern in his hands.

“What. Are. You. Doing????” He strained out as his arms and legs jumped up and down with each step.

“Just uhhh – ” I heaved between breaths. “Me and Kay decided to race back?? Didn’t want to leave you behind.”

“Well at least give me a warning next time??” He scolded, and I gave him a nod in reply, before speeding up as much as I could with the extra weight.

Up and up the winding paths we ran, skipping some as we jumped and scrambled up the banks between to try and make short-cuts. At this point the snake had crossed the lake, breaking the water without a ripple as it slithered up the banks, gaining speed with every second.

I slipped on the icy ground over and over as we sped up the path, my panic causing my clumsiness to increase tenfold, and only having my non-dominant arm free didn’t help. To our luck, we rounded the corner, losing sight of the creature, but not losing sound as a guttural hiss pierced the air.

“What was that?” Bilbo demanded, his own nerves starting to settle in as he tried to twist in my arms to look behind.

“No clue.” Kay quickly replied from just behind me, the noise motivating her to speed up even more, her hand pressing against the back of my shoulder blades as she helped usher me along.

“Uhh, I think you do?” he jabbed back.

“We don’t have time for this, cmon!” Kay pushed, exasperated at Bilbo, who only replied with an arched brow.

The warm light from Bilbo’s windows soon appeared, and we pushed the last bits of adrenaline to get us up the garden path and slam against the circular door, swinging it open and crashing onto the floor in the doorway.

The moment didn’t last though, as I was up in a flash and hauling the door shut, pressing my back against it. Flailing my hand out, I beckoned for Kay to come over.

She did, joining me by the small circle window next to the door, the two of us trying to peer through the pieces of paned glass into the darkness outside.

We both stilled as our sights set on the blue glow that grew brighter and brighter on the left, and it wasn’t long before a large head came into view, the snake’s entire body lowered to the ground as it slowly slid silently along the path in front of Bilbo’s fence.

It slowed as it neared the gate, and the two of us lowered ourselves until our eyes were just peeking over the top, thankful that the entrance hall wasn’t lit as we hid in the darkness of the house.

I caught movement in the corner of my eye, and peered to the left, only to see Bilbo stood at the opposite window, frozen with wide eyes as he stared out at the creature. Panic shot through me, as I realised his face was on full view in the window. And it seemed Kay had realised the same thing.

“Bilbo!!” she hissed as quietly as she could. The hobbit darted his head towards her, face full of fright. She waved her hand up and down, gesturing for him to lower himself from the window. “Get down!”

He did so, taking one last look at the creature before he darted down out of sight. I kept an eye on the window, watching the snake as it took one last look around, apparently deciding to call it a day, and turned, just like the winged creature had done with me, returning back down the hill, twisting and slithering until it disappeared over the edge and out of sight.

I let out a sigh of relief, slumping against the wall as I slid to the floor.

“Whuh – What??” Poor Bilbo was now hyperventilating, his mouth gaping open and shut as he tried to stammer out the words that caught in his throat.

Kay stood up, walking over and offering a hand, only to be met with Bilbo raising his hand to stop her. She did so, and we both watched as he quickly calmed his breathing, easing himself onto his feet. Bending over slightly with his hands on his hips, he took a few calming breaths, furrowing his brows as he blinked rapidly.

Kay went to open her mouth, only getting a sound out when Bilbo’s hand shot out again.

“No, no. I’ve seen quite enough.” He stated, looking up at the both of us sternly. I felt dread settle in my stomach as I watched a flurry of emotions cross the hobbits face. “I was quite happy with the magic, but this – this.” He gestured at the door with a flop of his arm. “I just – I’m going to bed.” He rubbed his hand across his face tiredly as he made his way down the hallway. “Goodnight.” He rounded the corner, leaving us in the entrance hall.

All we did was stare frozen at the door he left through, and I could feel my hands start to twist in my lap. A hand tapped my shoulder, and I looked up to Kay stood over me.

“C’mon,” she mumbled. “We need to go to bed too. We can worry about him in the morning.”

I nodded silently, feeling more unease settle in about the possibilities of tomorrow, praying to whatever Deity I had ever given offerings to that the worst wouldn’t happen. Getting to my feet, I slipped off my shoes and outer layer of winter wear, and trailed after Kay.

I didn’t get out of bed the next morning, too anxious to face the hobbit, fearing the worst outcome, which was us becoming homeless.

Kay wasn’t any better, having got up before the sun even rose to make us tea, disappearing back to my room before Bilbo could even stir. We were now both sat on the wide window ledge, cushions behind our backs, as we stared over the bushes of Bilbo’s garden and out across the rolling hills in the distance, listening to the morning birdsongs that floated through the blanket of mist that coated the ground, and drifted between the open windows along with the chill. We remained like that until lunchtime, wrapped in blankets and talking quietly, until there was a knock at my door.

The two of us turned our heads to face Bilbo as he stuck his head around the door, his eyes darting around slightly as he barely made eye-contact. We both waited silently, too nervous to speak.

Seeing that we weren’t going to talk first, Bilbo took a deep sigh, and stepped into the room, one hand still on the door.

“Look, I –” he began, rubbing his forehead. “I know last night I was… frustrated, but I know what I saw wasn’t your fault. It’s just that – it’s just, I feel like there’s always something going on with you two, and don’t get me wrong! What happens is harmless most of the time! But there have been points where my mind just…” he took a deep breath. “All of this overwhelms me, and I just want to know that you’re safe, I’m safe, along with everyone else. Because if this home ends up becoming dangerous, I don’t know if I can keep on pretending it’s all fine. Do you two understand what I’m saying?”

We both gave silent nods in reply, solemn looks on all of our faces as we absorbed his words.

“Now don’t you two go thinking that I’m blaming you for any of this.” He said, giving us a pointed look. “And it’s not like I haven’t enjoyed getting to know you both, and the trail of crazy things you’ve left behind since the moment you got here.” He gave a smile, walking over to where we were at the window. “Just tell me next time something like this happens, because I know you’re as clueless as I am about all this, if your research in those books you brought say anything.”

We both faced him fully, confusion on our faces.

“Wait, you’ve read my books??” I questioned.

He rocked back and forth on his heels, raising his eyebrows and nodding. “I’m very good at cleaning, I’ll have you know.” He lectured, waving a finger at me. “And you’re not very good at tidying your books away.”

I sighed at myself, a sheepish look on my face.

“The two of you are dealing with things completely unheard of in Middle Earth, from my knowledge anyway, Yavanna knows what someone like Gandalf has seen in his lifetime.” He mumbled to himself. “So this won’t be your eviction notice, for now.” He paused as he gave us a look, until a smile slowly rose onto his face. “Now up! You’ve missed breakfast, second breakfast, and elevensies, and at this point, you’ll be missing luncheon! How you two haven’t turned to skeletons yet is beyond me.” He nagged as he pattered away to the kitchen. A pause went by. “I know you two haven’t moved yet!” he called out, sending us into a frenzy as we chucked our blankets off and sped-walked after him.

Bilbo made sure to make a hearty luncheon, filled with pork pie, scotch eggs, tomato soup and vegetables to snack on. Most of it was spent chattering on about local events, and the latest gossip. At one point it was even interrupted by Erard ringing the bell, which caused me to shoot out of my seat to check if Bilbo hadn’t accidentally eaten the batch of cupcakes I had made for the doctor, much to the disgruntled mumbling that he ‘would never do such a thing’.

The meal was finished off with a slice of poppy seed cake, and as we were washing up, Bilbo turned to me, asking if he could discuss last night’s events with us.

“I thought we had already done that?” I asked, confused.

“Yes, but..” Bilbo trailed off in thought as he swept up the last of the crumbs on the table. “during my.. ‘accidental snooping’, I came across some methods for um.. spiritual protection, was it?”

I nodded slowly, choosing to forget that he had sneaked a look at my stuff. “Mhm, what did you want to know?”

We all sat down at the now clean table as he continued speaking. “I couldn’t help but wonder about how you’re going to.. deal with that-” he jabbed a finger at the window. “-thing. Considering you both ran from it, I’m taking a guess that it isn’t friendly.”

“Things.” Kay said quickly.

He blinked in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“Things.” She repeated nervously. “There’s two of them.”

The poor hobbit’s frown lines deepened on the spot, his eyebags seemingly darkening as he slowly dragged a hand across his face.

“Remind me to never take what I see as the whole thing with you two.” He groaned from behind his hand. “Or I’ll be in an early grave by the time I’m sixty at this point.”

“C’mon Bilbo.” I jived as I leaned back in my chair. “We wouldn’t let that happen to you.”

“I starting to find that hard to believe.” He sighed in response, staring at the window with tired eyes.

“Anyway,” Kay started, quickly moving the conversation on. “I’m guessing you want to know if were able to stop it.”

He nodded. “Get rid of them, even. I’m relatively okay with what’s going on, considering I’ve been expecting crazy things the moment I dragged you both in, but if anyone around us got any idea that two humans from… elsewhere, were causing a noticeable disturbance, they wouldn’t be so lenient. I mean, you saw how everyone was in the first few months, including myself!”

I grimaced. “Yea, getting twice as many stares and whispers as we did is definitely not on the agenda.”

“Don’t even get me started on my reputation in town!” he blurted. “I’d be the source of rumours until the day I die, I tell you!” he quickly realised his words. “U-Uh not that it matters more! Anyway! Anyway, what I was saying before.” He flapped his hands around as if the brush away his last comment. “I saw something hanging above Kay’s doorway, and uh..” he pointed his finger in the direction of Kay’s room slightly, eyes flitting hesitantly between us and the doorway. “I was wondering what that was?”

“Oh! That’s a.. rowan cross?” Kay answered, eyeing me for confirmation, to which I nodded.

Bilbo nodded, almost sighing in relief.

“What?” I prodded playfully. “Did you think it was a Satan symbol or something?”

He scrunched his face in confusion. “What’s a Satan?”

“Uh… nevermind.” I said, dropping the subject before we instilled more fear into him. “The Rowan Cross just works as a ward for nasty spirits and people, but it won’t work against those things forever, until we figure out what they are, and I don’t think we ever will, unless we can find someone who can help us or give us some ideas.”

Kay perked up slightly. “Like Gandalf?”

I nodded, rubbing my lip in thought. “He could probably help, but it’s not like we know where he is.”

Kay slumped in her chair with a huff at the reality, until a thought came to her mind. “We could… wait to see if he shows up?” she suggested, with a hardly detectable tone of ‘You know what I’m talking about, right?’. I gave her a subtle look of realisation.

“I guess.” I said as ideas came to mind. “And we could improve our skills in the meantime? See if the use of magic can draw him to us somehow?”

Kay nodded in excitement, whilst Bilbo sat trying to decipher the conversation.

“Wait what?” he said in confusion. “You want to wait until Gandalf comes here? How do you know he will?”

“No idea.” Said Kay with a shrug. “But it’s our best shot without wandering into the wilderness and straight up dying.”

“In the meantime..” I piped up as the two turned to me. “I don’t suppose at some point during the next few months, we could take a trip to Bree?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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arlecchno · 1 year

Text

mission accomplished [ scaramouche x reader ]

twenty-two | the story of us

prev masterlist next

the aftermath of everything.

warnings: swearing, use of scara's real name, use of signora's real name, mentions of injuries, signora calls you sweetheart lol, just a bit of angst at the start, not exactly proofread

a/n: this is pretty much a filler chapter cuz it's just you trying to avoid scara lmao. title and overall chapter is heavily inspired by the story of us by taylor swift. happy reading!

grammatical errors may occur so please let me know if i've made any mistakes!

you feel like absolute shit.

yun jin eyed you worryingly from the kitchen as she prepared you a drink. walking to the living room with a mug in hand, she carefully placed it on the coffee table in front of you.

“you should have something to drink.”

you didn't reply, opting to only stare at the beverage instead. the hot mist of the steam was still floating around, and the strong aroma of the famous steeped liyuean tea waft through the room.

“do you think i'm a bad person?”

yun jin arched an eyebrow, placing herself next to you on the small couch. “what do you mean by that?” she asked, looking at you.

still staring at the mug, you speak up. “i always sacrifice myself for others, albeit a little too much, you could say.” you chuckled to yourself. “i thought that if i were the one who ended up hurt instead of others, it would be for a good cause. i never see myself fit being saved, because honestly, i don't deserve it.” you said as yun jin eyed your head along with your damp hair, wrapped up in a soaked gauze roll.

you looked out to the small window of yun jin's dorm, taking in the dull view of the still heavy rain. how long has it been? over an hour now? the rain still hasn't stopped.

“yet i made the person who i treasure the most hate me in just one night, just because i was too busy wanting to be the hero.” you turned your head towards yun jin, eyes puffy from the short breakdown you had earlier. “does that even make me a good person at all?”

yun jin sighed, grabbing ahold of your hands. your hands were as cold as ice, not surprising, she thought to herself. you showed up at her door still clad in your soaked dress from last night, and an unknown black blazer draped over your shoulders. you may be smart in yun jin's eyes, but archons, you couldn't even bring an umbrella along?

“there's nothing wrong with putting others first, luna. but you should also know that you deserve just as much help as others do, you know.” she said, hands smoothing along yours in reassurance. “is this about ivan?” she questioned, and you slowly nodded.

eyes tearing up again, you looked down to your lap. “we were doing so good, yun jin, so, so, good. but i just had to ruin everything, i'm so awful, archons, i shouldn't have stormed off on him.” you sniffled, tears falling down to yours and yun jin's hands.

you recalled back to the things you did with scaramouche before it all went wrong. the dance, the balcony, the night before, everything. looking at it now, you felt like that was all just a fever dream, because none of it could explain why you were breaking down over a heated fight with scaramouche.

how did things get so wrong?

you thought after the grad ball, you would've found leads and close up this case after getting enough evidence, and would continue on your life with a blooming relationship with scaramouche. but now, you're not sure if you could even go on with this case given your situation.

it was your fault, really. if it wasn't for your actions, you would've saved both you and scaramouche, with no one hurt. but you just had to be the saviour and risk your life, only to end up sabotaging your own relationship with him.

it was entirely your fault, even from the start.

maybe you should've never agreed on working undercover for this case.

“i really am a horrible person, huh?” you chuckled, averting your gaze back to yun jin. she had a sympathetic expression plastered on her face, feeling sorry for what you're going through right now.

yun jin engulfed you in a hug, hands rubbing your back. “don't say that, luna. you're just having a hard time. don't beat yourself up for it.” she said, pulling you closer.

you stayed still for a second, in yun jin's arms, before finally breaking down fully, drowning your tears on yun jin's shirt.

the rain was still pouring heavily, with bolts of lightning shattering across the sky, just like how everything was shattering your heart into millions of pieces right now.

“what in the world happened to you?”

signora stared at you through her computer screen, referring to your very obvious bandaged head.

you looked away, avoiding her sharp gaze. even though it was merely a video call, you can't help but get scared of her. from the tone of her voice, you could already tell that she's worried as hell.

huffing, you replied. “it's a long story.”

“that's not your room.” signora pointed out, looking at the background. “it isn't scaramouche's either.”

“i'm at yun jin's.”

“and why are your eyes red and puffy? did you just finish crying?”

you groaned, grabbing a pillow to bury your face in it. “you ask so many questions.” you complained, voice slightly muffled.

“of course i'm gonna be throwing out a lot of questions, i'm a cop.” she tried joking around, though stopped when you don't respond.

signora sighed, looking at your slouched form with your face deeply buried in a pillow, body slightly shaking.

she's never been like this, she thought. even during stressful days at the precint, or during finals back in uni, you were never one to show such vulnerable emotions to someone, let alone to her, your closest friend.

it must be that bad.

“are you okay?” she finally asked, voice soft, contrary to what it was a moment ago.

chuckling, you perked your head up from the pillow, tears already threatening to fall. signora's face turned even more worried at the sight.

“no. i feel like absolute shit.”

signora didn't reply, looking at you in worry through the screen, waiting for you to continue.

“i had a fight with him.”

the blonde-haired woman raised a brow. “don't you guys always do that?”

you heave out a huff. “this was different.” you muttered, looking down on your laptop keyboard. “we were getting along really damn well for the past week, but everything fell apart when last night happened.”

“i did remember that gremlin texting me that you got in the hospital, which was the main reason why i called you.” signora shrugged. “but i didn't expect for the story to be this complicated. you're gonna have to tell me all about it, y/n.” she said, hands making gestures.

sighing, you averted your attention back to her. “fine. i'll tell you.”

after what felt like forever, you finally finished telling signora about what had happened, from the past few weeks, all the way to yesterday's fight. even though the information were rather a bit too much for one to listen, signora was still able to catch up quickly on the story, humming at your sentences in acknowledgement.

“well, that's about it.” you finished, voice cracking.

“do you like him?”

“what?” you asked, dumbfounded.

signora brought up her hand to look at her nails. “the way you talk about him makes it seem like you have feelings for him.”

widening your eyes, you stared at your friend in disbelief. “wha– no!” you denied almost immediately. you wiped the tears in your eyes with your sleeve, and continued on rambling on how you have absolutely no feelings for the ravenette.

you went on for a couple of minutes, looking elsewhere to avoid signora peering at your flustered state. but when she never replied to any of your retorts, you snapped your head back to your laptop screen, just to see signora smiling mischievously at you.

you pursed your lips in a thin line. what is she smiling about?

oh.

oh. this woman.

“you're just trying to distract me from being sad now are you?” you deadpanned, and signora's smile grew even wider.

she let out a laugh. “ah, y/n, what a great detective you are, always catching onto stuff in a heartbeat.”

narrowing your eyes at her, you frowned. “not cool, rosalyne.” you said, crossing your arms. “you always do this.”

“i just don't want you to be sad, sweetheart. surely you two could work this out, no? the balladeer may seem like a bit of a douche, but i doubt he'd be this big of a jerk.” the blonde-haired woman raised her two hands and made gestures as to how big she was referring to, making it a point.

you chuckled. “sure.”

“have you went back to your dorm after the fight?” signora questioned after a moment of silence.

“yeah, kuni would've been in class this morning so i went back to get my stuff.”

signora raised a brow. “kuni? is that a new weird nickname you have for him?”

your eyes widened for the second time, and you quickly fumbled for a reply. “uh–n-no! no, it's um, nothing. just a uh– inside joke, yeah.”

no way in hell would you ever reveal scaramouche's real name to her, even if she was your closest friend. it's not like you wanted to be the only one who knew, but scaramouche had trusted you, and only you, for him to reveal a sliver of his background.

there's no way you would ever go behind his back to expose such a thing.

signora eyed you suspiciously, but didn't question further. clearing up her throat, she speaks up. “are you really going to be okay? if there's anything i could help then i'd be–”

“no.” you cut her off, cracking up a small smile. “it's okay, rosalyne. this'll be over in no time.” you reassured.

oh how you were so wrong.

the past two weeks have been hell for you.

you've never thought how hard it would be to avoid scaramouche in campus, and given how you only have one class together, you thought it would've been rather easy to not bump into him.

but you were proven wrong. so many times.

the first day without him was the hardest. you both had criminology that day, and you were stupid to think brushing him off would be that easy.

sure, yun jin was in criminology too, but it didn't mean it wasn't easy to not spot the ravenette in a lecture hall full of students with that obnoxious hair of his. you sat with yun jin quite far from your usual seat, which was a few rows back.

the bandage on your head was long gone now. after your last trip to the doctor's, he's informed you that you were free to take it off, which you immediately did right after your got home, cursing about how the thing's been such a hassle for you.

scaramouche still sat at the same place, not even sparing a glance at you, seemingly like he doesn't even know you at all.

but you couldn't take your eyes off his purple head, staring at the way he focused in class, the way he takes notes, everything. there wasn't even any reason for him to be acting like a student when you two were just working undercover, yet he blended in with everyone, listening intently on what the lecturer was talking about.

you, however, could not be subtle at all. yun jin had to keep pinching at you every time you glanced towards scaramouche's seat, which was every single second. it was impossible for you to focus in class when he's just sitting a few rows in front of you, you were practically itching to get over there and apologize for that night.

but you didn't, and would never do that, not even over your dead body. you could never let your pride down and just waltzed right back into his life, not after everything.

so you held your head high, pretending like all of this could be avoided.

you're convinced that the universe hates you.

“you've gotta be fucking kidding me.” you mumbled under your breath, watching as the bell to the campus cafe chimed, the guy you were trying to avoid for weeks from walking in.

out of all times he could've been here, you thought to yourself. this is gonna kill you.

you were just sitting in the campus cafe with your laptop on the table, trying to continue on the case, but he just had to come here. it was inevitable, no matter how hard you try. scaramouche would always appear in the corner of your eye, wherever you are. oh how you want to dig yourself into a big hole and just bury yourself in it.

covering half of your face with your hand, you turned your head to the window in hopes of scaramouche not noticing you.

maybe you should leave this place, and go somewhere else to focus back on your work. if scaramouche was here, there was no way in hell you'd be able to continue on working.

slowly turning your head back to the busy counter, you watched as scaramouche ordered his drink, with him solely focusing on the menu.

this should be it, you think. this was the perfect opportunity to escape!

you closed your laptop and quickly packed your stuff in your bag on the empty seat beside you. taking a deep breath, you grabbed your bag and drink, heading for the door.

you had your eyes plastered to the floor and head hanging low as you quickly head for the exit, hoping that scaramouche wouldn't turn his head back and notice you.

what you didn't realize was scaramouche trying to find a seat while waiting for his drink, and he was heading towards your direction, as you were heading towards his.

luck really wasn't at your side at all.

next thing you knew, you bumped into scaramouche harshly, the impact making your drink spill. luckily for the ravenette, your drink didn't land a single drop on him. unfortunately for you, your drink spilled all over your clothes.

“shit!” you whisper-shouted, caressing your head that bumped into a stranger's chest. slowly widening your eyes, you snapped your head up, wanting to apologise to the random person you just head-bumped, just to see that scaramouche was the one in front of you, eyes as wide as yours.

oh archons, this is awkward.

“y/n?” scaramouche mumbled in shock. his eyes darted towards your clothes that were now stained from your spilled drink, making him tug you closer by the arm.

he stared at your shirt for a couple of seconds before looking up at you, bringing up a hand to hastily check your face and head for any injuries.

his breath was fanning your face, and heat quickly rushed up to your cheeks from the close distance. you haven't been this close to scaramouche ever since the grad ball, which was around two weeks ago.

his touch felt foreign, but also something that you've longed for.

“are you okay? you didn't hurt yourself, did you? was the drink hot? did you get any burns?”

blinking for a couple of times, you brushed off those thoughts out of your head. this is not the time to be thinking about the past, y/n.

you grabbed his shoulders to push him away slightly, just enough to give you two an appropriate space. “it– it's fine! i'm fine.” you turned your head sideways, avoiding his gaze.

scaramouche furrowed his brows, not used to the idea of you pushing him away, when you've always been the one to pull him close.

“i uh– i actuallly need to get going.” you said sheepishly, rubbing the back of your head. brushing past him, you headed for the door, the bell making a sound as you opened it.

“wait–” turning back, scaramouche tried chasing after you, but stopped when you already left the cafe.

the ravenette frowned, retracting his hand back to his side. were you still mad at him? he asked himself. he pursed his lips into a thin line. maybe he shouldn't have been so harsh on you.

the few weeks without you has been hard for him. before, he'd always come home to your presence, whether it be you watching tv, eating at the kitchen island, or you doing work on the couch. but now, he comes home to an empty dorm, with only silence engulfing the place at all times.

scaramouche hates to admit it, but he missed you. more than anything.

“order for ivan!” a barista called out to him, making him turn his head to the counter. his drink was ready to be picked up, with the fake name of his written on the cup.

he sighed, running a hand through his hair as he headed for the counter. grabbing his drink, he left the campus cafe, the chilly wind automatically nipping his skin.

scaramouche took a sip of his drink, the hot beverage hitting his throat just nicely. he sighed once again, looking to his surroundings to see if you were anywhere in sight, which unfortunately, you weren't. goodness, how fast were you even walking? were you that willing to avoid him?

shaking the thoughts out of his head, scaramouche watched as the wind blows through the trees. he shouldn't be dwelling on such trivial matters. he doesn't need to see you right now. none of this bothers him. he's doing fine.

oh how he wished any of those words were true.

“you know, you can just go to him if you want to make up so bad.” yun jin remarked, watching as you stare at scaramouche's back.

one hand resting on your chin, you turned your head towards your friend. “hm? did'ya say somethin'?”

“you're unbelievable.” yun jin glared at you, flicking your forehead, which earned a whine from you. the young woman paid no mind as she continued on complaining. “you should go up to him and reconcile. i doubt he'd reject you.”

rubbing the spot she flicked at, you groaned. “no way. he's the one who should come to me and apologize. i'm not gonna just give up and let him win this argument.”

“is this really just about winning your petty fights?”

“...what do you mean?” you asked confusedly, giving her a perplexed look.

“i feel like there's more to it than just that reason.” yun jin crossed her arms. “otherwise you wouldn't be avoiding him for this long.”

you huffed, turning away from her dramatically. “it's only been two and a half weeks. i can go much longer without him.”

“doesn't seem like it to me.”

snapping your head back to her, you arched a brow. “what?” you questioned.

“don't think i've never noticed how your gaze on him lingers longer and longer in each class, how you keep stabbing and staring at your meals, and how you always save a seat at every single place we've been to, because his place was always a spot next to you.” yun jin pointed out, every single fact being shot right to your head like a missile.

not waiting on your response, she continued further. “there's even an empty seat next to you right now!” she pointed her finger at the unoccupied seat to prove her statement.

“that's just coincidence!” you fought.

she rolled her eyes at you, causing you to frown even more. “stop being in denial, luna.”

“'m not in denial.”

“then go and sit next to him right now.”

“wha– no!” you quickly turned down, bringing up both of your arms to make an 'x' sign.

you love your friend dearly, but archons is she annoying the hell out of you right now. you wished she could just keep her mouth shut, even if everything she's said were true. partially.

but then again, you're not gonna just tell her that.

yun jin narrowed her eyes at you for a moment, before sighing. she turned her head back to her laptop, which was opened to the topic you were gonna learn in criminology today. “viktor told me a couple of things about how ivan's been acting these days.”

you accidentally slammed your hands harshly on the table, which earned a lot of stares from other students in the lecture hall, scaramouche included. rubbing your neck sheepishly, you slouched on your seat in embarrassment, avoiding the stares you were receiving. yun jin merely chuckled at your actions.

“what did viktor tell you?” you asked almost immediately, figure still slouching. “did he mention something about me?”

yun jin smirked, finding it amusing how you were so eager to know about what's been going on with scaramouche, when you were the one who kept denying about the fact that you missed him.

catching onto her act, you pouted. “i'm only asking because you were the one who talked about it first.”

“sure, you are.”

“just– just get to the point!”

yun jin laughed, but obliged to your demand. “well, in terms of emotions, ivan is now pretty much emotionless. which is not surprising considering how he wasn't that much of an emotional person anyways. he's like a brick or something.” the black-haired woman said, eyeing the lecture hall doors to see if the professor has arrived.

seeing that he hasn't, yun jin continued. “viktor also told me that ivan's been hanging out at the campus library as of late. no idea why though, he's already gotten the dorms all to himself, he doesn't need to go to the library to get away from roommates anymore.”

“yun jin.” you cleared your throat after she finished her sentence, placing your hands on her shoulder as you turned her to your direction. “i love you, but that's just how ivan is. he's an emotionless prick who likes to do whatever he pleases. i've known that for over five years now.”

“...five? i thought you guys met at your old college?” yun jin asked confusedly, making you widened your eyes at your slip up. “five years ago would be when we're around seventeen. did you meet him back in highschool?”

releasing your hands from her, you scratched your temple awkwardly. “well– i uh, i guess so?”

“what do you even mean by that?”

“we– i um, met him in highschool, yeah, but we didn't really get to know each other until college.” you quickly fumbled for a lie, causing yun jin to eye you suspiciously. “stop looking at me like that!” you complained, avoiding her gaze.

yun jin stared at you for a couple of seconds, and you sweat, silently hoping she doesn't catch on your made up story. who would even believe that a 26 year old was making up a lie that they were 4 years younger?

the young woman huffed, about to say something before the professor suddenly barged through the doors.

you sighed in relief. maybe you were lucky after all.

or not.

“what do you mean you can't come with me to the library?! you promised to accompany me!”

the black-haired woman sighed, busying herself with her hair. “sorry, luna. viktor made a last minute decision to meet me, said he needs to talk about something.” she turned her head to your direction by the door.

groaning, you pinched the bridge of your nose in annoyance. “viktor has the same assignment as me! can't you two just have your little date at the library?”

“i'm afraid not, y'know that viktor has always been a last minute person.”

“please?” you pleaded.

“no.”

“pretty please?”

yun jin rolled her eyes, heading to the fridge to get a drink. “that's not gonna work on me, luna, i'm not like your dear boyfriend.” she muttered. “why do you even want me to accompany you so bad? you like going places alone.” she asked, gulping down a cup of water whilst waiting for you to answer.

“first things first, he is not my boyfriend.” you denied rather quickly. “and secondly, you said he always goes to the library now, what if he's gonna be there?!”

“i doubt the library is going to be full, you'll be fine. just sit somewhere else if you see him or something.”

you eyed her sceptically. “i'll kill you if you're wrong.”

looks like she's gonna heave her last breath after all.

you have no idea why, or how, a library this humongous would be filled to the brim, students filling up the place like an ant's nest.

it was painfully unbelievable how much of bad luck you have for the past few weeks (you like to think otherwise), and it'd be the death of you if these things were gonna keep on happening. there was no way you'd be able to finish up this case in time.

peering over the many tables, you attempt on finding an empty seat with your arms full of books, which in your case, seemed to be impossible. you walked around the whole library, in hopes of finding a spot to do your work at, but to no avail.

grumbling, you silently cursed to the students that came to the library today. really, out of all days this library would be full, it just had to be the day you need to get your work done.

after what felt like forever, you finally found yourself a nice and empty seat a few feet away from you, even if the long table was full with other students. you'd accept any kinds of spot at this point, as long as you get to sit and do your work comfortably.

smiling, you walked up happily to the table like a baby duck following its mother, until you stopped halfway when you caught glimpse of the very familiar bundle of violet hair, your smile faltering almost immediately.

no.

this cannot be happening.

absolutely not.

“this has got to be the worst fucking month of my life.” you mumbled under your breath, the thought of your incident actually being the worst month for you suddenly thrown out the window.

this is seriously killing you.

slowly backing away, you turned around and walked over to the nearest bookshelf, hiding behind it.

what in the world are you gonna do now?

you slightly peeked your head to the side of the bookshelf, just enough to see scaramouche doing his work on the table, a few seats away from the empty chair you've been eyeing on. holding onto your books tightly, you quickly think of a plan.

should you just go back?

no, you want to finish up this assignment as soon as possible, you don't want to be late in submitting your work. just because you weren't exactly a student here doesn't mean that you can slack off on work, that's quite literally the only priority you have in life.

should you just look up the topics on the internet?

no, the internet is not the most reliable source, and you'd much rather gather up and use books, they're much more informative and useful. there's no way you'd fully rely on the web. and to add, you already have the books here in your arms anyways, it'd be a hassle to put them all back after everything.

should you just sit there?

it probably won't be that bad, right?

clenching your jaw, you finally decided that, fuck it, you're going there, whether you like it or not. ignoring him won't be that hard, you've basically been doing the same thing for the past two weeks, surely this'd be nothing.

you finally worked up the courage to walk back there and snatch the empty seat, just in time before anyone else could claim it. sighing in relief, you placed the heavy books down on the table and got ready to work as you pulled out your laptop.

after setting up your small work space, you cracked your fingers and did a bit of stretching, the thought of scaramouche being present barely bothering you anymore.

it's fine, just a couple of hours and you'd be out of here, there was no need for you to pay attention to that annoyingly purple headed guy.

speaking of which, maybe taking a teeny tiny peek at him won't hurt...

taking one of the borrowed books, you opened it up to a random page and act it as a shield for you to ogle your eyes at him, slightly peeking your head out to the side of the book to look at what he's doing.

scaramouche was busy working up something on his laptop, occasionally looking at a notebook to his left. you let out a huff at his annoyingly and frustratingly attractive face. why does he have to look this good in such a boring library?

the ravenette raked a hand through his hair, slightly knocking his glasses out of the way. you furrowed your brows, questioning yourself. when has he ever gone to public with his glasses on? you thought to yourself. that's fairly new, you think as you duck your head back down, just enough to hide behind your book.

pondering on the thought, you hadn't realised that, the guy you were thinking of, snapped his head right to your direction, and when you finally looked back at him to take a more closer look, he was already staring at you with a blank expression.

you widened your eyes, quickly hiding your head back behind the book you're holding upwards with heat running up your cheeks. what the hell?! why is he looking at me?! you fought with the demons in your head, cursing yourself over and over for your actions.

maybe this was a bad idea after all, because once you peeked back to his seat, he was still looking at you, with that stupidly forsaken nonchalant look of his.

fuck, you think to yourself.

at this point, you just wanted the ground to open up and swallow you, bringing you the very core of earth, in hopes of avoiding being in a sticky situation like this.

you two held eye contact for a moment, seemingly like time has stopped, everyone and everything stopping in a motion except for you and scaramouche.

it was funny, you thought. you only ever see these kind of things happening in tv shows and movies, yet the same exact thing is happening to you right now, which is fairly weird. is your life just some sort of entertainment?

the one to break the continuous eye contact was scaramouche, as he suddenly turned away to pack up his stuff, slamming his laptop down and shoving it in his bag. you continued staring at him with a confused expression, as you watch him standing up and leaving.

scratching your head, you thought to yourself at what you could've done for him to leave all of the sudden. did you have something on your face? you silently pondered, rubbing your face to see if there was anything there.

after a few seconds of no answer, you shrugged, and continued on doing your work like nothing happened.

maybe he just needed to take a shit.

how scaramouche wished you knew how crazy you're making him right now, suddenly leaving him with a rapidly beating heart, sweaty palms, and flushed cheeks. he thinks you're utterly insane, because he has no idea why the most subtle things you do is making him feel like this, his chest tightening up every time you were in his presence.

scaramouche shook his head as he left the library, slinging his bag properly onto his shoulder.

maybe he should ask childe about this, if he was even available that is. that shithead, he thinks, he always has to go missing at these times.

maybe pierro? or pulcinella, he guessed, the guy's one of the only few people he could actually tolerate, unlike dottore.

he sighed, cursing to himself over and over again for the whole walk back to his dorm.

you're fucking crazy. absolutely batshit insane for making him feel this way.

did you really think i was gonna make them reconcile this early

taglist; @beriiov @hopesandlegacy @cloudsandrenoswife @salamiwrites @thenightsflower @bleedingwhiteroses222 @lisiastak021 @yuuki4646 @lez-zuha @ryhie @sleepy-waffle @yoursockstinks @shizunxie @kunikame @kunikuzushiit @anonwhocried @vqqrii @luminesuprrmacy @calxb-do @sixscara @xooya @mobiussdarling @mafukissu @antri13 @ireallylikehamsters @hejtorii @moatsnow @sinnersbyfear

(unfortunately i am unable to tag those that are in bold, i'm sorry!)

want to be added to the taglist?

#h✧˖—mission accomplished #scaramouche #genshin impact scaramouche #genshin scaramouche #genshin scara #scaramouche fluff #genshin impact #genshin #genshin x you #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact reader insert #kunikuzushi #kunikuzushi x reader #scaramouche x reader

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leggerefiore · 1 year

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cw: fox god au, fluff, poly (ingo/reader, emmet/reader) zoroark hybrids, Emmet content is light

It had been weighing on your mind ever since you had met the two fox gods in their rural, isolated village. They both appeared young in their Zoroark forms and their human ones, too, but it was obvious they had been around for over two hundred years. That was, after all, when your past life had fallen. Even so, however, they were obviously older than that.

Asking them would have been the obvious solution, but they both seemed genuinely unsure. You had actually asked Emmet who could only shrug and say that it had been a long time. Ingo had agreed with his thoughts. Being around for so many centuries, it would only make sense that eventually you would stop keeping count. It still made you curious.

You managed to capture Ingo as he rested on the veranda, watching as the garden began to bloom with greenery. Spring had fully come, bringing warmth and colour. You sat beside him, offering a cool cup of barley tea for him. He gave you a gentle glance, fluffy tail swishing lightly. A light breeze blew through the area. Everything was utterly peaceful now. How they went about bringing you back into their life would never be something you would agree with. You did feel happiest with them.

“What's your earliest memory?” you asked him, wondering if that could give you any idea just how far back their lives went. Ingo brought his hand to his chin and hummed in thought for a moment.

“I suppose it was scaring off a Fearow that had tried to attack Emmet after he got injured during a hunt,” he answered with a tone of nostalgia, “He looked so afraid, and I felt myself completely protective of him.” You could not see Ingo filled with such aggression. In all the time you had spent with them, he always appeared to be the more passive of the two.

“… Anything with humans?” you tried again. Attire and building structures could give you a better idea. His face darkened.

“I do believe those stories would be quite depressing,” he shook his head, “There is no need to taint such a pretty day with them.” With his reply, he brought the chilled beverage to his lips and drank it. You sighed. Their weariness towards humans would have had to originate from somewhere. You watched the garden fill with playful Zorua kits. They chased after bugs and each other.

“I've decided you are half a millennia old,” you nodded, “You and Emmet are old men, after all.” Emmet said that himself. It was not a rare response for him to refer to himself as an old man. Ingo sighed.

“… We were only alive for a few decades before meeting you,” he continued, “Emmet and I had never taken a mate before you, nor had we settled down our shrine location.” You turned to him, a bit in awe. They had somewhat regaled to you as to how your past life had met them. It seemed overly romantic. What with you taking in a Zoroark form Emmet on death's door and nursing him back to health. They distrusted humans by that point, but you had become their only exception. You began giggling, catching his attention once more.

“You two really mated for life, huh?” you wondered why they never gave up waiting on your reincarnation to find another mate. If you were their first, you supposed they had no interest in anyone else at all.

“Truthfully, I was not entirely on board with the idea of having a human as a mate,” Ingo's face was bright red as his ears pressed against his head, “I believed you to be Emmet's passing fad, but his love for you was strong. Your kindness won me over, too…” Your chest grew warm at his words. Reaching over, you grasped his hand tightly and rested your head on his shoulder, the silken fabric of his robes cool to your skin. He grasped your hand back and watched the garden at your side.

“Verrrry true,” Emmet suddenly called out from behind you both, startling you apart, “Brother was convinced you were playing us! I told him you were earnest.” The younger fox god's arms came around you, his tail wagging quickly. “I loved you all along,” he cooed and pecked a kiss on your cheek, “Unlike him.” Ingo rolled his eyes and took another drink of his tea.

“… By that, he means he enjoyed spending his ruts with you most,” the older twin snarked back.

“He says that like he didn't cry and scratch at our bedroom door before becoming your second mate,” Emmet stuck his tongue out at his brother. Ingo looked mortified.

Soon, the garden's peace ended as two brothers battled each other. You watched with a small smile on your face.

This shrine truly had become your home.

#ingo x reader #ingo/reader #ingo.ima #pokehybrid au

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ladyazulina · 8 months

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Linney's Campaign

Masterpost - Campaign Page

🌸 Spring 1 🌸

Weather: Stormy ⛈️

Previous Part: Let's not get drenched anymore, please

Who's this?

Word Count: 2.386.

It was not a complete failure, despite arriving in the middle of a storm. This person, whatever their name is, was somewhat slightly helpful, guiding me to someone, Orion, in the valley, who could provide me with more information regarding the letter.

I hope so, because the truth is that I don't have any more leads… Or maybe I do, though it’s only just one, but I would feel a thousand times more comfortable if I don't have to use it.

“Well,” I look up at the woman behind the counter, “the good news is that he will be arriving soon…” She opens and closes her hands, excited.

“He?”

“The better news,” she points at me while she walks out, “is that I have an assortment of hot beverages to help with your inside freezing,” she stops at the end, drumming her long-nailed fingers against the surface, “how does it sound?” She hums.

“Oh,” I blink. “That really does sound good,” I murmur.

Her smile widens and she makes an arm gesture behind me. There are only a bunch of tall tables and reclining chairs, so I really hope I’m not misunderstanding this and that she does want me to sit down.

I take a few steps back to do so in the nearest chair and she doesn’t seem particularly displeased. I accommodate myself just a tiny bit.

“What’s your poison? Hot cocoa? Tea?”

I can’t help but smile at the hint of her own species.

“Hot cocoa, please.”

“It won’t take long,” she smiles, going back again towards that hallway, carrying the folded towel with her, “please get comfortable and try to rest. You will warm up pretty soon!”

She disappears under the arch and it’s like she took with her all the assurance. Should I just be sitting here quietly while feeling this cold inside? Shouldn’t I stand up and move and jump and try to get back the warmth the storm stole from me? The magicked towels and the light spheres are helping a lot with the outside part, but is on the inside the danger.

After days of traveling, with each step carrying its own obstacle, I reached my destination only to end like a popsicle?

“I’m baaaaack~”

I look at the scorpionkin woman wide-eyed. Am I losing the passing of time already?!

She’s smiling broadly, with a small circular tray that only has one wooden-like mug with a few marshmallows decorating the top in the exact middle between her hands. I’m feeling a little warmer just looking at it, and I haven’t caught sight of the steam yet.

“Did you rush it?”

She leans in so I don’t have to move to take the mug. It’s so warm to the touch that I don’t think, I bring it against my chest, as if the warmth is going to go through me directly to my frozen core. The sweet scent of the spices –not all precisely sweet if I’m not mistaken– envelopes me in a cozy embrace.

“How do you believe that?” She laughs softly, waving a hand while taking down the other with the empty tray, moving it behind her back to hold it there. So professional. “I left some water boiling when I went inside before, so I just had to finish the drink,” she smiles.

I nod a bit, bringing the mug to my lips to take a sip. It’s not precisely hot, and it warms its way right where the magical external warmth can’t reach. I sigh, delighted.

“Good, right?” She chuckles, going back to leave the tray on the counter.

“Uh…” A sudden thought makes me wrinkle my nose. “I don’t want to ask, but… is this cocoa also magicked?”

She turns to face me, her whole corporal language changing. I can see the guilt all over her face, on her slumped shoulders, on the intertwined hands behind her back, on her brushing the tip of her foot against the floor, and even in the slightest lean of her tail towards one of her shoulders.

She did it. She magicked my cocoa.

“Just a tiny bit,” she brings two fingers so close that almost touch.

Is that why I find it so delicious?

“We use that mix sometimes in winter,” she’s quick to explain herself, “I had a bit still stored. It serves a lot to warm quickly, especially if the cold isn’t on the outside,” she plays with her fingers, her eyes down. “You said you were freezing inside, so I thought it would fit like a glove,” she finishes in a murmur.

I just smile, surprising even to me. I can’t say it didn’t help.

“Thank you,” I bring the mug closer to take another sip.

“Aren’t you mad?” She looks up at me, surprised, and I let her see my smile.

“Not at all,” I shake my head. “I would have loved if you told me beforehand, but you meant well and did great.”

“Oh, my Serket! I’m so glad!” She hops around, clapping.

“You have to promise me!” I raise my voice, stretching one hand to point at her. She stops in her track immediately. “That you will let me know beforehand in the future.”

“Done!” She goes back to hop.

“Say it!” I insist, already fighting my smile, taking the mug with both hands again.

“I promise!” She sounds excited and I want to laugh.

“Say all the words!”

“I promise to let you know beforehand if I plan to magic your things in the future!”

I sigh, feeling like I can finally rest against the chair.

“Good,” I murmur. “That’s good.”

I don’t know if it took just seconds, but my eyelids close on their own and I guess that I lose track of time.

I know I have been drinking one little sip at a time.

I know that since the first one, I started, slowly but surely, to regain my own warmth.

I know that I probably nodded off. I don’t know, I didn’t leave the scorpionkin woman taking care of her things behind the counter.

Why haven’t we exchanged pleasantries yet?

I know that- A thunder rumbles, loud enough to make me jump in the chair but so far enough to have passed above our heads, just before the door opens. Though I look down almost instantly, relieved at the fact that I didn’t spill even a drop of what’s left of the cocoa on myself.

“Are you here already?~” The scorpionkin woman comes out from behind the counter in rhythmic hops, absolutely delighted.

But I’m not looking at the person at the door, rubbing his shoes against the entrance rug. I’m looking that, behind him, isn’t raining. Until a second before he closes the door, when the torrential splashes with force.

“You called,” his voice is so grave and deep that I have to look at him.

Have I gone crazy already or his voice feels warm?

“As if you came every time I call,” she sounds upset now, with her hands on her hips, but somehow her voice is farther from where she’s standing.

That guy is a demon. With blue skin, some red in his eye, one horn going around the side of his head, pointing slightly to the side from below his pointy ear. His wavy black hair brushes his jaw, covering his other eye… and maybe the fact that something else is missing there. I don’t see the matching horn and, somehow, I don’t feel like is lacking.

His lips curve in a snarl and his brows furrow and there, just there I can be sure that that’s his resting expression.

He’s prepared for the weather with a hoodie, long pants, and boots, though I don’t see an umbrella or something similar, his gloved hands are empty. Of course he didn’t bring anything, the rain stopped when he was out there.

… It did?

“Sweetie?” I blink, looking at the scorpionkin woman leaning in front of me, almost completely blocking my view of the demon, who’s also looking at me but with a raised brow. “Are you still here with us?”

“What did you give her?” He asks, barely a few steps away from the door, crossing his arms.

“Just cocoa,” she doesn’t look at him, moving her head just a little in his direction, “with a few drops of Cozy Inside.”

“To a human?” I see him raising an eyebrow again.

“They can handle it,” she searches in my face, “it was just a tiny bit.”

“I don’t see her handling it well.”

“Them,” I murmur.

The scorpionkin woman’s face lights up.

“What did she say?” He leans forward, not coming any closer.

“‘They say’,” she corrects him with pleasure, looking at me with a brilliant smile. “They’re probably feeling a lot better now, and it wasn’t too much, it’s not that they’re not handling it well,” she straightens. “It’s just that they went through a lot, they’re decompressing.”

The demon makes a face. “Why did you call me?”

“What’s your name?” I finally ask. I think I’m processing everything just a bit slower than normal, but working at a snail’s pace.

“You’re right!” The woman brings her hands together. “We didn’t introduce ourselves! I’m Leif,” she leans a bit again, her tail straight behind her, “and I’m the innkeeper, though I think you already know that. What’s your name?” She holds her hands, leaning to the side.

The demon snaps his tongue.

“Linney…”

“Linney,” she stretches both palms facing upward, “it’s a total pleasure to be your acquaintance.”

“Do you have to be that weird?” He exhales.

“That guy over there,” she points at him without breaking our gaze, “is our lovely, overly-friendly, neighborhood demon, Chase.” She turns to face him, frowning. “They’re Linney.”

He frowns too. “What do I-“ but she didn’t wait for him to finish, coming back to me. “-care…” He snorts.

“Chase is here for two reasons,” she explains to me, raising two fingers before lowering one. “The first one is because he’s our greatest Weather magician,” she nods, proud as if she’s the one she’s talking about. “The second one,” she brings back the second finger, “is that, besides being our greatest Weather magician, he also has an empty couch,” she moves a hand.

“What?” He barks.

As if that settles it.

“They need a place to stay, Chase,” she looks at him, sounding tired, “and you know I don’t have more rooms. You’re the only one I can think of that can make sure they don’t get wetter and have a place to crash,” he’s about to retort, but she rushes it, “at least until the storm passes.”

He swallows his answer and I look down at the rest of my cocoa –with no traces of marshmallows since a while– before I can cross glances with any of them. The mug is still warm. Magic, of course. And I finish drinking it down.

“We can look for another place for them to stay when we can all meet. Good enough for you?”

“Not even close,” he shows his pointy teeth.

Is that a fang?

I look at Leif, but her face’s so far away I can’t make her expression.

“Do we have a deal?” She repeats, adamant.

He growls. “Fine!”

And she melts right there and then.

“Ow! I knew I can count on you!” She gets closer to take his arm, but he dodges her and shows her his teeth.

“Don’t! Go to sleep,” he points to the hallway.

I blink, getting up, and she comes back to take the mug from my hand. “Were you sleeping?”

“Oh,” she waves her free hand. “I wish. This storm has wrecked my schedule…”

“I didn’t know the scorpions were a nocturnal species,” I take off the towel.

“We are,” she smiles at me, taking it too. “Not all of us, but the vast majority. Mine is.”

“It’s good to know,” I smile back.

“Are we going or not?” Chase barks, making me jump.

I look at him turning to the door and opening it, so I rush to the table by the back wall, putting quickly the socks and making the spheres come out by turning the boots to also put them on.

“Don’t be a devil and wait for them!” Leif shouts after him.

I get up and put everything back into the bag, taking as much care as possible at the same time. He can’t get too far away… right?

“I’m sorry, that’s who I am!”

He sounds far away already!

I reach the door in three strides but look back at Leif.

“Thank you so much for your kindness.”

At least for a second, she seems at a loss for words, though she recovers quickly.

“Thank you for your company. And don’t mind him, he’s not that bad!”

I sigh, wishing to be able to believe her. “We will see about that…”

I get out, closing the door behind me, and surprise myself noticing that it’s not raining. Again. I look up at the cloudy sky, the sound of the storm not so far until I find it falling on the buildings on the other side of the arch.

Weather magic, Leif called it.

And Chase is using only a bit of it to make his way rainless.

Definitely convenient…

“How much more are you going to stay there?” I hear him, seeing him close to a statue, which seems to be the center of a square.

He shakes his head, turning to continue walking past it. And I jump when I feel a few drops falling on me, not even looking up before running to try to catch him.

Try My Best! #2 Goal: Get to know my host! Act with… wits (+3) Action dice (1d6): 5 (+3) Action Score: 8 Challenge dice (2d10): 4 (✅) + 8 (❌) Result: Weak hit - I succeed but lose track of time. If this brings me closer towards fulfilling a promise, mark 1 tick on it. Then, Time Passes.

Time Passes #1 Whenever I lose track of time, mark 1 tick on the current day in the calendar. If this tick does not fill the box, envision how time got away from your character. If you spent quality time with a Townie, gain 1 favor with them. Then, continue playing. +1 favor with Leif.

Tagging: @aziz-reads

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