#yes i only have three of her songs liked. they're worth 3 songs each to me thats 9 in my heart babey

[tmos-time]

hey related to last post i just reblogged this is a fucking travesty!!!!! BEAMING MY FAVORITE LAURIE ANDERSON SONGS INTO PEOPLES BRAINS NOW...

[naomihatake]

In search of freedom (Ch. 6)

6. Where are you when I need you the most?

⠀⠀➺ fic masterlist

⠀⠀➺ Chapter 5 ; Chapter 6 ; Chapter 7

⠀⠀⠀⠀She's been searching for freedom her entire life and everytime she thought it was laying right in front of her eyes, she was mistaken. She was running around the East Blue, seeking herself and her dreams, meeting people she never forgot. No matter how much she traveled, she could only catch a glimpse of peace before realizing everything would crumble at her feet.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Maybe it was destiny that brought her on that ship with three strangers — foolishly, that's what she tried to believe when the moon shined beautifully and hope settled in her chest, squeezed by the same ribcage where feelings were blooming.

Pairing: female!reader x OPLA Zoro Roronoa

Warnings for this chapter: angst, graphic depictions of deaths and fatal wounds, vomiting, self-harm, brief suicidal mention, canon-typical violence. (proceed with caution since it's getting a tiny bit gore)

Word count: 9,1 k (I'm proud of myself tbh)

Theme song: fic spotify playlist (click on the link)

A/N: I'm sorry for appearing with a new chapter 9 days later and I hope the wait was worth it. I dropped more details about the Witch's past in this chapter and some interesting interactions with her other crewmates. The next week I'm free, which means there's a chance I might most two charters until next Sunday <3.

I'm always open for opinions and comments. Whatever you want to tell me, just do it, even all you feel like doing is leaving a heart in my comments or inbox. Every interaction is appreciated and thank you so much for sticking to this story till now <3

The reader is referred to as "Witch" because I have no intentions of using "Y/N".

A warm palm touched her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly, but with no effect. The witch turned her head towards Luffy, her glassy eyes betraying her. It made their captain frown with worry. The sound of her real name slipping from between his lips stung worse than expected. 

"It'll be alright," he smiled. "Zoro is a strong swordsman."

With horror painting her features, she shook her head and placed her shaking hand over his, gripping gently. 

"You don't get it, Luffy, do you?" her voice came out like a whisper. "It's not just any dwell and that man isn't just any swordsman. I've seen plenty of people dying in front of my eyes, the crew I used to be part of, they didn't hold a chance against—"

She sank her teeth in her lower lip and looked up, blinking away the tears. Her breath was shaking and the grip on Luffy's hand got tighter. Slowly, she inhaled deeply, body trembling as her lungs swallowed the morning cold breeze. 

Both Usopp and Luffy were frowning, listening intently to her words. 

"This won't end well," she concluded. "He willingly got himself in danger. Zoro is nothing but some prey for Mihawk."

Luffy's sympathetic gaze didn't help her, it didn't ease her worries as he hoped. Her panic was fed by each single thought passing through her head, by each memory making a nest in the present. 

"I've met one single Warlord in my entire life and he destroyed half of the strongest crew I ever knew at that time. I know who they are, I know their tactics, I know they're not to play with."

Both of her hands were clasped around Luffy's shoulder, turbulent eyes meeting his. The tips of her nails dug lightly in his skin, but he didn't wince or move. 

"Yes, we are strong, but still not strong enough for them," the witch intentionally lowered her voice so it wouldn't crack into sobs. "Please tell me you know I didn't argue with him because I like to. Please tell me you get what I mean, Luffy. I'm scared."

She was barely aware of her admission, but it was hard to hold back. The witch wasn't a scaredy-cat, she didn't run away, pride filled her being all too well to ever lose a battle, be it against herself or others. That time, however, she was scared out of her mind for the swordsman. 

Luffy gave her the sweetest smile she's seen in ages and squeezed her shoulder again. "He will be alright." 

She let her head tilt forward, hands falling back to her sides. His faith was greater than her fears, but he couldn't erase the panic settling in her bones. 

"You have no clue how much I wish you were right." 

It hurt. Her chest hurt and something was crawling up her throat, differently than back in Syrup Village. It made her feel nauseous, it bubbled in her stomach and gripped at her neck, it constricted her lungs and air punctured their tissue. 

Zoro just walked out of the galley exactly when the sun could be barely seen rising up from the waters. The bandana was wrapped around his head and his earrings chimed like a melody, making her head turn towards him. 

The same horrified gaze from hours ago was stuck on him and yet he chose to ignore her, passing by without even casting a glance. 

She stood there when Usopp, Luffy and Zoro walked by, her back turned to them. The witch had to collect the pieces of her broken heart before daring to glance at a list fight on the swordsman's side. Mihawk was already waiting for them right in front of the restaurant. 

She couldn't watch another dear person die. Not again. 

Her fingers dug painfully into her palms, until her nails left crescent marks on the skin, until it hurt so badly the tears in her eyes couldn't fall. Their synchronized steps beat like drums, just like her heart. 

Everything was blurred out. She didn't dare look until she heard swords clashing. Like a snap, her head turned. 

Mihawk stopped Zoro's attack with one small knife. 

He had no chance against the warlord, just like she guessed. 

No, she thought. I can't be pessimistic now. Maybe at least he'll get out alive—

But pirates don't just let their dwell partners live, the other side of her conscience commented. 

Each one of Zoro's attacks were either stopped or dodged so easily by Mihawk, who seemed like he was playing rather than fighting. He was so light on his feet, body moving like a feather between Zoro's blades. 

The warlord sent her green-haired crewmate flying back with a mere push of his knife when he blocked yet another one of his attacks. When Zoro got back to his feet and rushed towards him, Mihawk continued dodging each one of his attacks. 

The witch could only hear a muffled conversation from a distance. She didn't even notice when Nami passed by her until she saw orange strands of hair bouncing in her vision. 

The navigator didn't come from the restaurant, as she should've since she searched for a drink — or that's what she said. She walked from the other side of the dock. Her hands trembled by her side and she walked slowly, fearfully, her body so stiff, until she stopped behind Luffy. 

The witch focused for so long on Nami, her gaze fell on Zoro only when the right side of his chest was penetrated by Mihawk's knife. 

Air got stuck in her throat and time stopped in its tracks. Her feet were stuck right where they were and she couldn't move an inch. 

Zoro, his name lingered in her thoughts, the sound of it along with the sweet chiming of his golden earrings. 

Time stretched like an elastic. Seconds passed by at an agonizingly slow pace, as if the Universe itself decided to torture her with that image. 

Swords. Corpses. Blood. Fear. 

The witch let out a shaky breath while she trembled like a leaf in the breeze. 

Zoro made a step back, the knife slipping away from his flesh. With a few other steps, he fell to his knees, with his swords digging into the wooden battens to keep himself steady. 

Mihawk curled his fingers around the hilt of the sword on his back. 

It seemed like he decided to end it all right then and there. 

The witch didn't know if it was her imagination when Zoro seemed to glance towards her for a brief moment. All she knew was that her heart sank into her stomach and she could hear the audible cracks of her soul. The green-haired man took his white sword, placing it in between his teeth. 

His gaze moved back to Mihawk so quickly she could barely register it. Her stomach turned upside down and her chest tightened when she saw Zoro rotating his other two swords faster than the brain was able to comprehend. 

Mihawk and Zoro jumped into the attack at the same time. She didn't know if their swords collided or not. 

Zoro fell to his knees again, panting. The swords in his hands crumbled into pieces all the way to the hilt, right in the middle of the runes the witch drew hours ago on the blades. His Wado Ichimoji fell from between his teeth. 

He didn't stop there. Of course that fucking idiot didn't stop. He used the white sword to get up, resting his weight into it until he finally stood straight again, turning to Mihawk. Carefully, he sheathed his Wado Ichimoji. 

With his arms held in the air and hands curled into fists, Zoro didn't let go of his word as he proudly admitted:

"Wounds on the back are a swordsman's greatest shame."

The warlord said one word the witch didn't hear and then, with a swift motion, his sword cut deeply through Zoro's chest. 

The green-haired man fell on his back, eliciting a shout of his name from Luffy. 

Zoro. 

His name was all the witch could hear while she rushed to his side, tears blurring her vision, tears she couldn't afford to show. 

Just like he did a few moments ago, the witch got to her knees, eyes focused on the t-shirt getting soaked in Zoro's blood. 

"Fucking dammit," she spoke in a hoarse voice, hands trembling. 

He was bleeding heavily, the dark blue nuance of his shirt replaced by dark crimson. The wound started from under his left clavicle and curved through his chest, all the way to the right side of his ribs. Without a second thought, the witch took off her unbuttoned shirt and folded it, just to press the material on his large wound. 

"Monkey D. Luffy," Mihawk said. "what's your goal?" 

"I'm going to become the King of the Pirates," Luffy responded through gritted teeth. 

The witch's burning gaze raised to the warlord who stood tall meters away, putting his sword back in place on his back. Her fingers ached to touch her revolvers and shoot holes through that man until she's satisfied, until the monster lurking in the depths of her soul had its blood thirst quenched. However, her hands remained pressed against her shirt, trying her best to stop Zoro's bleeding. 

She's always been revengeful when people dear to her heart were harmed. Revenge she never denied, a trait of hers she's accepted long ago. 

"That's a much more treacherous path than even defeating me. This world could use a few more wild cards."

"Go fuck yourself," the witch let out with wrath burning in her eyes. 

She clenched her jaw and her eyebrows knitted together into a deep frown. Anger filled each corner of her being, blinding her almost all the way up, filling her to the brim. 

One more drop and she would lash out. 

Zoro's safety was more important than her rage and she was completely aware of that. The wounded swordsman was the only reason why she stood still by his side. 

"It's too soon for him to die," and with that, Mihawk's gaze fell back on the green-haired man. "Roronoa Zoro, grow strong and come find me. I'll be waiting."

Fucker, the witch's thought wasn't voiced out that time while the warlord walked away. 

"Luffy," Zoro spoke in such a soft voice. 

The witch and Luffy immediately looked back at him. He was struggling to breathe properly, that mere motion probably making his entire body ache painfully. 

"If I fail to become the world's greatest swordsman," he faintly spoke, barely able to open up his eyes. After some greedy gulps of air, he continued: "you'll be disappointed. Right?" 

With a shaky breath, Luffy smiled at him as tears gathered in his eyes. 

"You could never fail me." 

The witch could feel her body shake when she realized the swordsman's life was hanging on a thread. 

"Never again. From now… until I beat him," Zoro continued talking in between panting. 

The witch wished she could tell him something, anything, but all she could do was continue pressing her shirt over his wound. Looking at him in that state made her heart squeeze in the cage made of ribs, wishing she could be in his place and take his pain away. 

With trembling hands, he somehow managed to draw his Wado Ichimoji out of its scabbard, holding it up as he looked up at the blue sky. 

"To become the greatest swordsman… I will never lose again!" he let out with a shaky breath, voice scratching at the witch's eardrums. 

One of her hands curled around his shoulder and squeezed firmly, intending to bring his attention to her only for a second. 

"I'm sorry about what I said, alright?" she gulped down hard, her voice cracking. "You need to live, yeah? I know you'll become the greatest. I'm sorry, Zoro, I'm sorry." 

She was sorry for lashing out at him. If they were to part ways in that moment, then she'd rather make sure he never believed she was mad at him, that she didn't hate him even for a second. It was a feeling her heart wasn't capable of harboring towards him — never him. She would've ripped her ribcage open and given him her heart if she could. 

The witch could only hope his tired and pained self heard her words, even as his eyes closed immediately after his arm dropped to his side along with the sword. 

"You better stay alive," she whispered while looking down at him. 

Her words became muffled from his perspective. All he heard was his name being spoken multiple times by Luffy and Usopp. 

•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•

The witch has been sitting on the floor of her shared room with Nami for a while now, ever since the navigator started reading. Zoro laid unconsciously on her bed, bandages wrapped around his torso. For a long time, she didn't even dare look at him. 

She will be eternally grateful for Zeff's help — the chef cook of Baratie who snitched Zoro up and told them to do whatever was necessary to keep him alive, be it telling stories or singing sea shanties. 

Despite the fact that Zoro's wound wasn't bleeding anymore, her heart still screamed at her. 

With knees pulled up to her chest and her forehead resting in between them, she wrapped her arms around her stomach, subconsciously protecting herself from God-knows-what. She couldn't sleep either, despite listening to Nami's alluring voice as she read from a book. 

The bandage on her upper arm was worn out and it's been longer than a day since Zoro wrapped it. It was dirty with blood from the time when she intentionally squeezed it before sobs could leave her lips. 

Nami stopped reading, but the witch didn't register the lack of sounds surrounding her until she heard a voice. She didn't bother to raise her head, keeping her eyes closed as she responded:

"Can you say that again? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." 

"Pull yourself together," Nami whispered. 

The witch knew that if she'd look up, she'd see a scolding or maybe a worried pair of blue eyes staring at her. 

"I will when the situation asks for it," plainly, she dismissed the navigator. "Until then, I couldn't give less of a fuck."

She was aware of her position, of how small she looked, curled like a ball against the wall, hugging herself and praying to every God she knew that the swordsman would wake up. It was pathetic, but there was no wiser way to hide her overwhelming pain. Wrapping around herself sounded like the most helpful option. 

"There are a few things you two should talk about when he wakes up," Nami closed the book with a small thud. 

"I'd tell anyone anything if I knew he'd wake up," this time, her voice trembled lightly. 

The witch swallowed the lump in her throat that's been sitting there uncomfortably for hours, with no positive effect. The only way to even her breathing was by holding the air in her lungs for a few seconds and letting it all go with a long exhale. 

"Nami."

Only then, the witch raised her head. She looked deplorable, with disheveled hair and sunken eyes, dark circles under them from the lack of sleep. Her chapped lips were red because she ripped the skin off with her nails again. There was no sign of life on her face. 

Obviously, she's had better days. Everyone did, probably. 

"Maybe it's because I'm sorrow-drunk and can't bring myself to hide it anymore, but I have to tell you something."

She's been debating on whether or not she shall tell Nami about her suspicions ever since she pulled out those two cards out of the tarot deck. 

"I know you're hiding something, but you can't hide it from me."

The truth has been spoken. With her heart beating loudly in her eardrums and threatening to break her ribs, she continued. 

"I know. You're planning betrayal."

The navigator's eyes widened as panic flooded in her soul. The orange haired woman had no clue where all this came from, didn't know how fuck she found out about that, when and why—

"I didn't tell anyone."

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?" came out Nami's sharp response. 

"I never expected you to admit it, if I am to be honest."

The witch rubbed her palms over her face and sighed heavily, as if a weight was pressed on top of her body. 

"I also know there's more to the story. I don't know what or who you're protecting yourself from, I have no clue exactly why you're doing all this, but there's one thing I know for sure: the world is sitting on your shoulders, yet you refuse letting us help you carry it."

Nami stiffened in her chair. Her back straightened and her empty gaze pushed the witch out of her thoughts. 

"Are you jumping to conclusions because of some stupid cards?"

"They definitely know more than me."

"Did you read you should treat your paranoia in there too?"

"While I admit there are times when I have crippling anxiety," the witch calmly stated, "I'm one hundred percent sure this isn't just a fairy tale. It's your choice to tell me or continue to keep it for yourself."

"But?" her voice lowered dangerously close to snapping. 

"But we're not your enemies, Nami, and you know that well."

Not an answer the navigator expected, definitely. 

"Zoro is unconscious on the bed and you're talking in metaphors — have you all gotten insane on this ship?" 

"If I did, it was long before stepping on The Going Merry," the witch let out a stiffled laugh. 

She dropped her forehead on her knees again, squeezing herself tighter in the embrace. The witch wasn't any less panicked than Nami, since opening up such a discussion scared her deeply. It was better than hiding and lying, though, and it felt less guilty. 

"Why did you tell me this?" Nami asked with a whisper. "Be it right or wrong, why would you?" 

"You don't deserve to be lied to, Nami. It makes me feel bad — hiding this from you made me feel like garbage from the start."

Even then, a gram of her guilt vanished. 

"You're weirdly honest. You're aware this will haunt you one day, aren't you?" 

"It's been haunting me since I got born," a sour smile painted the witch's face. 

"The devil must've put some kind of curse on you." 

"I only believe in evil spirits, sorry."

She didn't know where that soft laugh came from. Maybe it was her way of copying with the anxiety, with the pain. All she knew was that she hoped Nami wouldn't hide from them forever. 

"Is there anything else you want to accuse me of?"

Faster than Usopp's snapping, Nami was once again serious, and the witch didn't have to look at her to figure it out. 

"I never accused you. I know I'm right, but I'm not aware of the entire truth. You, on the other side, are aware of your own reality and I believe in your judgment. I hope you'll make the wisest decision and I'm saying this from the bottom of my heart." 

"That's rich coming from someone so suspicious."

She's always been that way, the witch had to admit it. It wasn't only anxiety or tarot readings, there were times when she was straight up acting and thinking like a paranoid and it was cutting years off her life. Worrying and thinking over and over again, being hyper aware of everyone's actions, including her own. 

Nami resumed her reading, her voice strained this time, as if she forced herself to talk out loud. Each syllable sounded rougher than the other, but that didn't stop the navigator from telling that story. 

The witch wasn't paying attention, instead focusing on the moments spent with all of them, just like last night, when they were all eating and teasing each other. She needed to talk to Zoro, to tell him again that she's sorry. 

Maybe he didn't hear me clearly before he fell unconscious, she wondered. She moved one of her arms and curled her fingers around the wound on her bicep. It stung good. If it could stop the stream of tears threatening to fall, then it was good, no matter how much it hurt, how the pain sunk deep into her bones, making her flinch. 

There was something she wanted to clear out with Nami, but before the witch could speak, approaching steps made her mouth close shut. The presence felt light once her senses registered it, like a sparkling piece of hope — Luffy. She remained like a statue, breathing so slowly it was barely obvious she was still alive. 

"Why did the king have to kill him?" he asked innocently. 

He was referring to Nami's telling. 

Without even having to glance up at him, the witch knew he was feeling unwell. There was no light in his voice and he sounded unsure of himself, so disoriented. 

"Sometimes, when you are in charge, you have to make the tough decisions," she muttered between gritted teeth. 

The witch knew where this conversation was heading. 

"Why does everybody keep saying that?" 

Luffy's voice desperately tried to reach out to the orange-haired woman.

Judging from the creaking of the chair, Nami got up from her seat as she spoke:

"Because you could've saved Zoro. He didn't have to fight Mihawk, but you let it happen. "

A few seconds of silence filled the room with thick tension. 

"Look at her," Nami pointed with her chin towards the witch. "It looks like if he goes, she goes too. If one of us crumbles, everyone does. Look at us, at how we're handling it, at how Zoro does or, better said, how he doesn't handle it."

The witch couldn't understand why she was suddenly part of their conversation or why Nami took her side and tried to protect her from some unknown entity.  Probably, she really looked worse than she thought. A sense of relief patched up one of the countless wounds under her skin when she figured out the navigator said all those things because she cared.

At the very same time, she knew Nami's words must've made Luffy suffer greatly, pushing her to raise her head and give her friends her entire attention.

"Nami," the witch intervened gently. 

"You're in no place to talk," she cut her off quickly, her eyes like turbulent seas. "We're all a mess and it's all because of his stupid decision. But he could've been stopped," Nami turned her head to Luffy again. 

"Nami, stop it," the witch furrowed her eyebrows. "Fighting will do no good. We've argued enough last night, there's no need for that anymore."

Nami was panicked and stressed out of her mind as well. Everything gave her away: the trembling hands, the shaking voice, tone close to breaking in a million pieces with each word, even the tears that gathered in her eyes. However, no drop rolled down her cheek. 

"Tell me, Luffy," Nami vehemently continued with a tensed expression. "Would you see him like this? He might die."

Stop saying that, please, the witch thought as she took in another breath. He knows. Everyone knows. Please, stop saying he'll die because I might believe it too. I want to believe in him, not in whatever life changing lesson the universe gave me. 

"And I'd do anything to save him," Luffy whispered with a tender smile on his face. 

Me too. I'd rip my heart out of my chest and give it to him. I'd rip off my flesh and put it on his wounds. I'd die if I knew my life would be given to him. 

"Anything," Luffy continued. "Except stand in the way of his dream." 

God fucking dammit. 

"We all have dreams, but we outgrow them," Nami clenched her teeth after she spoke. 

"Is that really what you think?" Luffy's smile held so much hope. "Don't you have a dream?" 

"Yeah. Right now, is for Zoro to not die in my bed," the navigator let out in a strangled voice. 

"Isn't there something that you want? Something more," the straw hat whispered. "More than anything else in this world."

When the witch looked at Nami, it was obvious she was on the verge of tearing up, her nostrils flaring. Her eyes were already bloodshot. 

"Not everyone gets to follow their dreams."

Nami didn't wait for any of them to respond before she walked out of the room. The witch got to her feet and tried to catch the navigator's hand in hers, but she wasn't fast enough. All she could do was glance at Luffy and place both of her palms on his shoulders, just like he did at the crack of dawn. 

He looked at the witch with a hopeful and equally worried gaze. 

"I know you meant the best when you encouraged him to follow his dream, Luffy," the witch squeezed his shoulders. "It's alright. Nami knows that as well. She's worried, like all of us. We all said hurtful things to each other lately."

His lips trembled when he attempted to say something, but he didn't dare to anymore. Instead, he searched for reassurance. 

Was he in the wrong? Did Zoro get hurt because of him?

"It's not your fault," the witch continued with a tiny smile on her face. "I promise you. Everything led up to this. It couldn't have been avoided, unfortunately. No one could've stopped Zoro — you know he's a stubborn asshole."

Luffy scoffed. 

"You know I'm right."

"I do," the straw hat nodded shily. "I think…" he gulped down, looking at his feet. "Maybe I can clean his sword for when he'll wake up."

"I'm sure he would be grateful about it. I'll stay here a bit longer."

She didn't let go of Luffy's shoulders until he moved away. Just to ease her concern, he smiled faintly at her before leaving the room. 

Looking down at the unconscious pirate hunter, the witch couldn't believe her eyes. She gulped, not even daring to grasp at his hand, scared he'd break even because of a feather-like touch. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds, opening them again only to see the same man in the exact same position. 

She was scared for him, for his life. She didn't want to be a nuisance and stop him from doing what he believed would bring him happiness. Or maybe that word was too much — but winning against Dracule Mihawk would've made him proud, it would've fulfilled a promise he made to someone long ago. She didn't know who was at the other end of the promise, but he seemed to be a man of his word, so trying to stop him turned her into a selfish person. 

Her eyes were locked on his face, brushing with the back of her hand some small droplets of sweat on his forehead. She was worried out of her mind, now regretting she didn't do more to stop him, to make him change his mind when he was maybe too drunk to think twice. 

"Be careful, Zoro," the witch told him back then, her gaze betraying the worry crippling through her entire being. 

She was right. He should've been more careful. He should've been less reckless, should've listened to Nami and her, even if Luffy encouraged him to chase his dream. Was it really worth it? 

Once again, she sighed. She was selfish, greedy, it was wrong to think that his dream wasn't worth the entire world. Heck, even she would do anything for him, just to see him open his eyes again, just to hear another bored or witty remark coming from between his lips.

Instead, he was silent and still, only the slow movement of his chest visible as he breathed. It was the only thing that managed to bring her an ounce of comfort.

At least he was alive, she continued telling herself. 

It was clawing at her heart, messing with it, her thoughts roaming around, jumping one on top of another. She was overthinking again, the worst habit she could've had — or that's what she silently believed for years. 

The witch should've fought with him to death back then, when he was stubborn enough to throw Nami's words at her while they argued. Maybe it would've made him change his mind. As she continued looking at him, she worthlessly tried to take some of the blame for what happened. 

Hidden under his bandages, the same wound made the woman standing by his side believe she saw the Death Reaper, even if he was the one unconscious on a bed. 

Carefully, she sat down next to him, without taking her eyes off of him even for a moment. 

"You're kind of worrying us all, y'know? Luffy is in denial of your possible death and Nami seems restless. Usopp is too silent for his usual self," she whispered. 

Her first instinct was to touch him, but her fingertips hovered above his hand. She didn't know if it would've been right to seek the warmth of his skin while he wasn't even awake. All the witch could do was hope that deep down in his soul, he felt and heard all of them. 

"I'm worried too. No. Worried is an understatement. I'm terrified," the words trembled as they left her lips, the same chopped lips she sank her teeth into. "I'd rather have you call me an idiot," she chuckled sourly. 

With slow and careful gestures, she gathered enough courage to caress his hand with her fingers, feeling small cuts here and there. He was still warm, which eased a few of her worries. 

She made a long pause, staring at the seemingly lifeless man she would give her life for.  

"Remember when we drank together on the deck, two nights ago?" 

A fragile smile appeared on her face at the reminder of that night. She stole the last drop of his bottle before he could finish it with a grin, playfully nudging at his ribs. He failed to threaten her about how she owes him something for that. He was handling his liquor better than her and yet, he couldn't hide his smirk or the sparkle in his eyes. 

That night, bottles later, the witch got dizzy and tipsy. At first, she almost fell into a sea of melancholy after she shared pieces of her with Zoro. She doesn't remember how, but he got her laughing way too easy with his remarks and some silly stories. 

"You're flushed already," he pointed out back then. 

"You're kinda rosy in the cheeks as well, swordsman." 

At that time she damned the alcohol for the soft gaze she had when she looked at him. Her eyes were sparkling with adoration when they danced on his face, peace sinking in her very bones in his presence. She shouldn't have drank. It was so obvious that she had a soft spot for him, that he had a special place in her heart not even a month after they met. 

And who was at fault for her drunken state that night? Roronoa Zoro, obviously. He was at fault when she giggled and talked too much about too many things at once, so much more passion in her words than usual — was that even possible? he thought to himself. She always had a light and warm way of talking, her voice many times giving away her feelings. 

A promise was a promise, even if she didn't wholeheartedly accept it from the beginning. She surrendered quickly and told him that yes, she owes him something, maybe a secret. 

The witch remembered everything the next day, but acted like her memory had faded. The realization hit her hard the next morning, when she figured out her irrational fear of sharing secrets. She shouldn't have made that promise, so she played dumb, as if the conversation they had was forgotten about. 

"Maybe it's not exactly a secret, but I like it when you call me by my name."

Maybe he hears me. 

"I didn't hear my name being spoken for a long time. It makes me emotional every time, with no exception."

You're a crybaby, he should've said. 

Her hand fully settled on top of his while the witch continued to slowly rub her fingertips into his skin, trying to bring herself back to earth even if her thoughts were sailing through unfortunate memories. 

"I wasn't called by my name for years after my father became a pirate," she continued the story that started during their drinking night. "He aimed to become an Admiral and he was part of the Navy Forces for half of his life. For a long time, he thought he could do better than his comrades and hoped he could change the corruption that took place in the Government and the Marines. Insane, right?" she let out a sour chuckle. "An Admiral becoming a pirate. Everyone called him insane."

Once again, she smiled at the faint memories of her father's warm smile. There were details she didn't mention that night on the deck, like the status of her father in the Navy. 

"I didn't reach ten yet when he left. He considered it would've been dangerous to stay with us and, if I am to be honest, mom would've kicked him out of their home."

Their home, because that place was never her home. 

"Calling me by my name would've meant he still has ties with me and someone might've taken advantage of that."

Nine years ago, the witch was a child who only learnt how to use a kitchen knife for cutting vegetables. That child has been stripped of her innocence a few years later. 

"A few times a year he would visit me. He would hide from the Marines, while I would hide from my mom. I still remember how he was so much happier. He looked younger, like he was living his teenage years and not his thirties. Except for a few days I'd stay with him and his crew, he was roaming around the seas. He never judged a single soul, believing it wasn't his job to do so, even if he would protect anyone who needed help. He changed the meaning of a pirate in a good way."

She turned her head towards the window, watching the blue sky mingling with the sea and the port of Baratie where people were walking on the wooden battens. 

"He was caught by the Marines while he visited me and killed in the center of the city," her voice lowered to a gentle whisper, just like the breeze coming from the open window and giving her goosebumps. 

She remembers that moment all too clearly, eyebrows knitting together as she squeezed Zoro's hand lightly, hoping it would bring some comfort to her shattered heart. 

A life that felt like an eternity already made her believe her name was like damnation for anyone who said it. A few syllables being spoken and you'd be cursed to die one way or another, since her mother refused to call by the name her father chose when she saw light for the first time. Her father and his crew were the only ones calling her name so dearly, with honey latched onto their voices, treating her like a daughter. 

She was someone's daughter when she was with them. And now, by Luffy's side, she was someone's friend. 

"I don't want to watch you die too," only then she looked at him again. "Don't die on me. Don't leave us alone."

There was determination in her tone, mingling with pain and sorrow. Half of her believed in him the same way she believed the sea was blue and that leaves were green. The other half drowned in anguish. 

Zoro seemed almost serene, despite the small frown that never left his face. She took in a deep breath and moved her hand away from his, only to lean over and rest her elbows on her knees. 

She needed some fresh air. 

The witch got up and left the room in a hurry, before tears would've slipped down her cheeks. She pushed it all aside, holding it in, since there was no time to weep at anyone's grave. Zoro was still breathing, even if half dead. 

He will get better. He had to. 

She walked into the galley. Standing up in front of the table was Sanji, wearing only his white and blue checkered shirt, the black jacket suit abandoned on the armrest of the couch. He was cutting some vegetables, skillfully holding the knife. 

On the cushions sat Luffy, cleaning Zoro's white sword, just like he said. Meanwhile, Usopp was the one to notice her first, leaning with his hands prompted onto the wooden table. Nami couldn't be spotted anywhere. 

The sound of her own name almost made her flinch. The witch blinked quickly, looking at Usopp. Both Sanji and Luffy looked at her then. The latter had some deep puppy eyes — her heart aches at that look alone. 

"How is he?" 

"Unconscious," she breathed out softly.

She let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair, her eyebrows pulled together. 

"I suppose you haven't eaten anything since yesterday," Sanji smiled gently. "Anything I could make for you?" 

"I appreciate it, really, but I don't have an appetite," she dismissed him with a faint smile of her own. 

"You could use some energy, you know," Usopp mumbled. 

"You, Luffy? What would you like to eat?" Sanji got back to chopping the vegetables. 

"I'm not hungry right now. You could make something for Zoro. He'll surely be hungry when he wakes up!" 

Their captain still had hope bubbling in his chest and it was the only thing keeping them all afloat. 

However, the witch couldn't bear to think about it anymore. She spotted her shirt hanging on a nail in the wall, close to the couch. With a quick gesture, she grabbed at it, intending to put it on herself until the heavy scent of blood filled her senses the second time that day—

The shirt was soaked in Zoro's blood from the time when she used it to stop the bleeding of his wound. Nausea crawled up her throat and she unintentionally dropped the piece of cloth when she became aware of the sickness settling deeply in the pitch of her stomach. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck. 

With a hand covering her mouth, she rushed out of the galley, on the deck, the doors shutting harshly behind her. She leaned over the railing as the acidic taste made its way up her throat and on her tongue. 

A disgusting sensation, truly. 

She's seen blood before, she saw countless corpses laying at her feet, but nothing could compare with the vision of a dear person giving their last breath. She couldn't believe she vomited because of blood, such a normal occurrence in her life.

But it wasn't just any kind of blood — it was Zoro's and it sunk into the material of her own shirt. 

She will have to throw it away. There's no way in hell she would manage to ever wear that again, even if it would be clean and smelling like lavender.

Tears clung to her eyelashes when she opened her eyes again, looking down into the sea. She was breathing heavily and she regretted swallowing her own saliva, as the awful taste lingered in her mouth unpleasantly. 

Warm fingers touched her shoulder and before she saw whose hand it was, there was a glass of water being shoved towards her. When she glanced up, she saw the blonde waiter. 

"Thank you, Sanji," she took the glass from his hand, sipping slowly as the gentle weight on her shoulder disappeared. 

"If I knew such a beautiful lady was waiting for me to wake up, I would've opened my eyes much sooner."

The waiter — who could apparently also cook like a professional — said that in a somewhat flirtatious tone. Also, there was compassion lingering in his honeyed voice. 

"If Zoro would hear you, he would've thrown you overboard."

Nami. 

The witch didn't even notice her on the deck until that moment, her head snapping towards the navigator, her eyes sparkling with hope as she gripped at the glass in between her fingers. Nami was a few meters away from her, with her back facing the sea and her hands curled around the railing. 

The witch has seen Nami's expression countless times when she looked in the mirror after a crying fit. The same bloodshot eyes and puffy eyes, the red tip of her nose and the husky voice. 

"I don't remember you having sea sickness," Nami pried into her soul. 

The witch looked towards the water at the bottom of her glass, ashamed of her own reaction. 

"Because I don't have sea sickness," the witch whispered weakly, basically admitting her vulnerable state. 

She was more than just thankful Sanji chose not to elaborate on the reason behind her reaction. There was still acid sitting on her tongue, even after she gulped down the last droplets of water from her glass. 

"Where are you heading to?" 

The witch noticed when Nami straightened her back and walked away, towards the dock. 

"Maybe I can find another drink at the restaurant," Nami waved the back of her hand at the witch. 

That sounded very familiar to a lie for some reason, but was it the witch's place to comment? 

•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•

Familiar fear made its way through her body, scratching underneath the skin, whispering in her ear like a mantra the same phrase her mother has always told her: "there's nothing you can do about it, so accept it." 

Those words always unsettled the young witch deeply. She heard that voice everytime she hid in a room with the books her grandmother left behind, pages filled with tarot and palmistry, the promise of real magic, different from the fairy tales. It sounded and felt palpable, her eyes sparkling. Those books were her treasure, a future filled with freedom. 

The same words were being shouted in her ears by the ghosts when her body stiffened in its spot. She wanted to scream while the man who was her father was dragged away by Marines, this time on the port of Baratie, not in her hometown. 

The deafening yell she wanted to let out was silent. Her lips didn't even part and her awareness slipped away as she continued to see blood pooling at her father's feet, his signature royal blue coat painted in crimson. As if her vocal chords broke before she opened her mouth, no sound left her lips. 

"He deserved it," sounded so clear in her ear, as if her mother stood right beside her, watching the same scene unfolding over and over again.

No, no, I can't let him die! I need to do something! Please, dad, you can't—

The man who stood proudly was dying, his body decomposing right before her eyes. A sickening view, as the skin melted off the meat, leaving only bones and tendons behind, covered by heavy clothes, two empty holes in his cranium instead of beautiful sparkling eyes. Blood dried on the white bones and sunk into the material of his coat and it flowed towards her, to the tips of her boots—

"Luffy! Arlong is here and he's after you, we have to leave now!" 

The witch gasped loudly, her eyes snapping open. Nami, who just entered, was panting heavily, fingers gripping at the edge of the doorframe. 

Who's Arlong? 

She noticed Luffy who just got up from the chair he was sitting on, right by Zoro's side. Usopp had his fingers curled around one of the ropes holding the bed in the room hanging in the air. 

There were no dead corpses around. Gosh, that nightmare was scary as hell. Her heart still drummed in her eardrums, blood rushing through her veins at an alarming pace. 

She managed to get on her feet, her palm glued to the wall to support herself. 

"Where do you think you're going, Luffy?"

Nami was panicked. Her fear grew steadily, just like fire, and she was on the edge of cussing out that entire bunch of confident idiots. 

"We can't let Arlong hurt people just because of us. He might kill everyone if we don't step in."

Luffy was rarely so serious, but the situation asked for it. However, the navigator was anything but happy with his suicidal decision. 

The witch turned her head towards the unconscious swordsman. She took in a deep breath, calming the waters threatening to destroy her mind. Then, her warm gaze raised back to the navigator who squeezed the map in between her trembling fingers. 

"You'll stay here and protect the ship, Nami," Luffy smiled reassuringly. "I trust you."

The orange haired woman searched for a different reaction from the witch, but received the same determination. 

"Have you all grown insane?" she whispered in horror. 

The witch made slow steps towards her and engulfed her in a warm hug, wrapping her arms around the navigator's body. She squeezed her gently, resting her chin on Nami's shoulder. 

"Something is troubling you greatly. Don't lie to me," the witch whispered in her ear softly. "You've got something in your head and you're pushing all of us away. We trust you, even if it'll bring us our death."

That's what scared Nami the most. 

The witch parted just to look into Nami's troubled blue eyes. 

"We'll be alright. We have to be. We'll figure it out together."

She had no clue how much Nami wanted to believe her, but it was impossible to do so. The navigator knew better what danger awaits them in Baratie now that Arlong appeared, that monster—. 

Right. That's what pirates were: monsters. So why did the ones in front of her look like friends instead of demons stealing her life away? 

The witch squeezed her shoulders and smiled so warmly, so calmly, different from the agitation they would face. 

For one second only, Nami dared to believe. Then, it crumbled to her feet when Luffy and the witch left her room with one glance back at Zoro. 

•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•

The witch found herself in the restaurant once again. Her fingers gripped tightly at the gun she held, finding comfort in the familiar weight settled in her hand. On purpose, she stood behind the other three men, sharp eyes scanning her surroundings carefully. They were lucky they chose to enter from the first floor, since she could easily hide. 

She wasn't hiding for the reasons some would think of. The witch intentionally stood on the side, analyzing the situation. First of all, she had to find the smallest opportunity to find a weak spot for that fishman. From her spot, still glued to the wall and hidden from everyone's eyes, she focuses on Luffy's conversation with Arlong. 

"I expected someone… bigger," Arlong commented with a wide grin, sharp teeth on full display. 

He could definitely be classified as scary, but the witch didn't want to admit that to herself. Was he dangerous? Of course. 

"Me too," Luffy commented. 

Alright, maybe Luffy had far more confidence than she thought, since he dared to make fun of that fishman, angering him. It wasn't enough that Luffy was hunted down by Arlong, he had to make him angry as well—

What was she scared of? 

She took in a deep breath and a few seconds were enough for her heartbeat to beat at a normal pace. The witch didn't have enough time to worry about consequences, she had to find their weakness quickly and act on it. 

While her focus slipped from them, Luffy was already walking down one of the two pairs of stairs meeting up at the first floor of the restaurant. Arlong threatened the straw hat about something and the first thing she heard was the deafening sound of a shotgun. 

The same sound was followed by a soft chiming filling the silence. 

Her chest tightened since no groan of pain could be heard from anyone. When she glanced at the people downstairs, she saw Zeff — the cook who stitched Zoro up — with a gun pointed at Arlong. However, the fishman only turned his head back and cocked an eyebrow at the cook. 

The bullet was most probably what caused that chiming sound. It seemed like fishmen's scales were bulletproof. 

Fucking great. Her long range fighting style wasn't to her advantage. 

An ounce of fear uncomfortably gnawed at her courage. The witch hated that helpless sensation, as if there was no escape, as if that was her dead end. 

Her fingers gripped tighter around her gun, until the skin turned yellow. 

I can't chicken out now. I don't have the luxury of turning my back against a fight in such a critical situation. 

She swallowed the lump in her throat after she bit so hard onto her lower lip she tasted copper on her tongue. 

Everyone has a weakness, right? Fishmen must have one as well. 

On the floor below, Luffy threw his stretchy arms at Arlong, with his hands curled into fists. Zeff was harshly thrown into a table that broke down, making Sanji jump into action as well. Usopp was the only one that remained upstairs, uselessly hiding behind the decorative wrought iron railing — he could be easily seen. 

Crouching down to Usopp's level, the witch slowly walked towards him with the gun still in her hand. When his eyes fell on her, he blinked like a confused owl. 

"Guns don't work!" he whisper-shouted at her, horror painting his features. 

With a sigh, she grinned cheekily. 

"Are you running, scaredy-cat?" she taunted him with an arched eyebrow. 

"Are you insane?" he frowned when she was a few inches away from him. "You can't seriously believe your gun is gonna do any damage to those monsters." 

Glancing down between the iron bars of the railing, the witch spotted other two fishmen getting up from their table. So there were three in total. 

With an unusually serious tone, she stared into Usopp's eyes, determination oozing out of her. 

"You can't run now, Usopp. I hope you're aware of that."

"Even you hesitated for a second!" 

His nervous demeanor and his over-thinking habits got the best of him at that moment. He was equally scared and amazed by the witch's courage. 

"That was before I realized there's no going back. Usopp," she lowered her tone, fingers gripping at his shirt to bring him down from the clouds. "If you choose to run away, you will never become a brave warrior of the seas. Do you hear yourself? We're not running anywhere. We have to fight if we don't want to leave Luffy and Sanji to deal with the fishmen on their own." 

She wasn't exactly good at motivational speeches, but that seemed to shake his soul well enough. 

"Now help me find out their soft spots so we can bring those idiots down before they destroy this entire restaurant and eat us alive." 

Bullets couldn't penetrate their scales. She didn't know if blades could work any better either. Also, Arlong alone had the highest bounty in the East Blue, not his friends. He was most probably much stronger than them. 

If she could bring down at least one of the other two fishman, it was also a win. 

Then, an idea popped into her head. 

Their eyes. 

They didn't have anything protecting their eyes except for the fact that they were sunk into their faces. With her aim, she had a chance to shoot one of them. She had to take advantage of the fact that no one knew she was there and making a plan. 

Taking in a deep breath, the witch placed the gun between the iron bars and aimed at the fishman with ridiculously big lips. She wasn't exactly that far away, but she had to concentrate. One single miss and everything would go down, since her presence would be obvious and her hand to hand fighting skills weren't that well developed against raw strength. 

She waited patiently, Usopp still by her side. Once the fishman stood still, turned towards her, she pulled the trigger of her gun. 

The bullet struck his eye and he groaned in pain, receiving a proud smile from the witch who quickly hid behind a table from upstairs, dragging Usopp with her. Her heartbeat was so fast in her ears it could leave her deaf. 

She had to pull herself together. 

"You've got good aim," Usopp's voice trembled. 

"Thanks," she breathed out heavily, eyes closing for a second. 

There was an entire tornado in her soul. The witch knew there was no place for running away, but she was equally aware of her disadvantage against fishmen who fight with their fists. 

Zoro would've loved the thrill of this fight. 

But he wasn't there to joke about her being a scared little lady. 

And Nami wasn't there to yell into her face and tell her to wake the fuck up and help her find a better plan. 

Before she had a chance to notice, Usopp was crawling down the stairs on the left once an idea popped into his head, or that was what the witch thought. 

She felt a certain presence walking up the stairs on her right and her eyes widened. The other fishman spotted her.

"Here you were, wench," he spoke with a growl. 

She didn't have enough time to scramble to her feet before a rough hand wrapped around her neck and lifted her up in the air, pushing her against the wall. She could barely even groan when her breathing was restricted by the awfully strong grip the fishman had on her throat. 

Her gun fell from her hand and hit the floor with a weak sound. 

Uselessly, her fingers grabbed at the muscled blue arm holding her up, feet a few inches away from the floor. Compared to him, her grip was weak, insignificant. 

The witch was never the type to necessarily wish to live, but she certainly didn't want to die in that moment, when others' lives were hanging on a thread. 

Also, she didn't want that ugly fucking fishman with big lips to be the last sight before she closed her eyes forever. 

Dammit. 

Tag list: @emelia07 @dimplewonie @tfamidoingwithmylife @murnsondock @the-skys-musical-echo @conspiracy-crows @hallow33nz @ramae17 @gaslysainz @bunntsu @katt58 @katiemrty @hopefulrascalstatesmantoad @freyademartel @boofy1998 @ponyboys-sunsets @melsunshine @loveyluv7 @waddlingwanderer @jesssssmaybankk @nadlx33333 @yoong1c0re @untoldshortsofthefandoms @mizzy-pop

[sissylittlefeather]

This is the Story

Chapter 7

A/N: AHHHH HERE IT IS! The long-awaited moment has finally come! I really hope it was worth the wait 🤞🏽 (special thanks to @elvisfatass and @ccab for their help with ideas for this one!)

ICYMI: This is the series with Elvis in 1973 and the OC Grace Dubois, author and single mom of 6yo Wendy. Need to catch up? Here are the links:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Warnings: 18+ NO MINORS, kissing, cussing, fingering, oral sex (m&f receiving), p in v sex, unprotected sex, creampie

Word count: 6k

Song:

They sleep this way for the next week and a half. And no matter how hard they try, they always wake up in the morning cuddled together in the middle of the bed.

******

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Elvis wakes up with Grace in his arms. He's back to feeling normal, but he's hesitant to let her know that. He pulls back a bit so that they're both on their sides facing each other and looks at her while she sleeps. Her hair is wild and she has no makeup on, but by now he's used to her like this. Somehow he finds her even more beautiful this way, which is not how he normally feels at all. Still, something about her raw vulnerability in the morning makes him crazy. The last three mornings he's had to roll away from her quickly in an attempt to hide his erection. He wonders if she's noticed at all.

Today, feeling better than he has since before Halloween, he has an overwhelming impulse to touch her in a different way. His eyes wander down to her breasts and he suppresses a moan at the thought of running his thumb over her nipple. He thinks about putting his hand on her hip and pulling her close to him as he kisses her neck, waking her with the feeling of him pressed against her. He wants to make love to her more than he's ever wanted any other woman before.

He settles for brushing her hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. He's about to lean in and kiss her forehead when she stirs and opens her eyes.

"Hi." She smiles and he almost melts.

"Good morning. You want some breakfast?"

"Mmm I need a shower first." She turns over on her back and stretches. Elvis is dying to ask if he can join her, but he stops himself. She's been so kind to him while he was sick. The last thing she probably wants is for him to come on to her. He sits up, careful to keep his lap hidden with the covers. Just then she pops up in a panic.

"What day is it?!"

"It's Tuesday."

"Thanksgiving is this week!"

"Yes. It is. Why?"

"I'm supposed to go home tomorrow!" Elvis's heart sinks. He didn't realize she would be leaving.

"Home?"

"Yes. I go to my mom's house for Thanksgiving."

"Oh."

"What are you and Lisa doing?"

"Priscilla has Lisa. It's just me." He gets quiet thinking about spending the holiday alone. The mafia guys all have families to go home to.

"Come with me." He whips his head around to look at Grace. Is she serious?

"Really?" She nods.

"Yes, really. Wendy and I will leave tomorrow around noon. It's only about 6 hours in the car from here, I think." He thinks about what it would mean to meet Grace's family. And he'd have to travel without bodyguards.

"Where exactly are we going?" If it's a small enough place, he might be able to pull it off quietly.

"Tulsa, Oklahoma." He laughs, trying not to think of his character in GI Blues. He's been there before on tour and there's not much to it compared to some of the other places he's been. He could reasonably hide there. And even if he's seen, it's worth it to be with Grace.

"Well, alright then. Let's go home to Tulsa." She scoots closer to him in the bed and throws her arms around him. When she does, it changes the arrangement of the blankets, but Elvis doesn't notice as he's distracted by her pressing herself against him. When she backs up, she catches a glimpse of him and gasps. He quickly pulls the covers back up again.

"It's just because it's the morning..." He knows it's a dumb excuse. Grace starts giggling, which might be the cutest thing he's ever heard.

"I guess someone is feeling all better."

"I had a good nurse." They look at each other for a bit and the energy between them hangs heavy in the air. He's just about to throw caution to the wind and tackle her when there's a knock on the door.

"My boy, I need to speak with you." The door opens slowly revealing the Colonel and Grace launches herself out of the bed and into the bathroom. But she's not fast enough.

"What do you want, Colonel?" Elvis is obviously perturbed.

"Tell me that was not the ghost writer."

"And if it was?"

"My boy. You can have any woman in the world, except that one. Do you think she is interested in you for anything other than a good, juicy story to publish? I can see it now: My Time With Elvis: an Exposé."

Elvis feels his face flush, first in anger and then in embarrassment. Surely, that's not her motivation?

"Not Grace. She wouldn't."

"You are too trusting. You always have been."

"Colonel, just get out. You don't know what you're talking about."

"You will see." The Colonel turns to leave and closes the door loudly behind himself. Elvis looks at the bathroom door. Grace wouldn't do that to him. She opens the door carefully.

"Were you listening to that?"

"Yes. You know I would never-"

"I know, honey." He takes a deep breath. "So we're going to Tulsa tomorrow?"

"We are. I should probably go shower." She moves toward the door of the bedroom. Elvis was hoping to pick up where they left off, but the moment has passed. He sighs as she leaves to start the day.

******

"Daddy is coming with us to Nana's house?!" Grace nods as Wendy does a little happy dance.

"Yes, so we need to hurry and get the car packed. Let's go!" After hearing the news, Wendy picks up the pace of her packing, quickly throwing dresses and shoes into her bag.

Once they get the car packed, with Wendy settled in the back seat, Grace drives to Graceland to pick Elvis up. They decided to take her car because it would be less noticeable than any of his.

Her stomach turns over as they pull up. What was she thinking, inviting him to Tulsa? This is going to be very hard to explain to her family.

When she pulls up, he comes out of the house, suitcase in hand. She thinks about yesterday morning and how there had been a moment between them right before the Colonel came in. They had been in the same bed for so long without him making any kind of move that she was almost convinced again that he wasn't interested. And then yesterday morning, before the Colonel came in, the way he had looked at her...

"Do you want me to drive?" His voice pulls her from her fantasy.

"Oh! Sure, if you want to." She slides over to the passenger seat and he sits in the driver's seat next to her.

"Hi Daddy!" Wendy wraps her arms around his neck from behind.

"Hey, sweetie. Are you excited?"

"Yes! I can't wait for you to meet Nana. She's gonna love you." Grace laughs nervously. What she hadn't thought about is that her mother already loves Elvis. Having him in her home might drive her absolutely nuts. Wendy goes back to her spot on the back seat and Elvis pulls out of the driveway. At the gates, he carefully navigates through the crowd of fans, waving gently as Grace hides her face.

"What if they follow us?"

"They won't. Not that far, at least." He chuckles. "Or I hope they won't. I know my fans can be a little... enthusiastic... but surely they draw the line at a 6 hour road trip."

They drive for a while just chatting about random things. Eventually, Wendy calls from the backseat.

"Can we have some music?" Grace turns the radio on, humming along to whatever song is playing. The next song to come on is Suspicious Minds.

"Oh, no, we're not listening to this." Elvis reaches up to change the station.

"No, Daddy! This is your song! You have to sing it!" Elvis looks at Grace.

"Okay, but this is just for you, Wendy." He proceeds to sing the whole song in a full Vegas-style performance, complete with dance moves and fake microphone. Wendy giggles and cheers from the backseat and Grace does her best to suppress her laughter. The whole scene is so endearing that she wants to kiss him when it's done. Instead, she claps and cheers as he bows as well as he can while he drives.

Another hour passes and Wendy has to go to the bathroom. When they stop at a gas station, Grace goes to get out of the car.

"No, I want Daddy to take me." Elvis laughs and Grace puts her hand on her forehead.

"Sweetie, no, Daddy can't take you. He can't go in the girl's bathroom."

"Ha! You called him Daddy!" Wendy is ecstatic. She happily goes with Grace to the bathroom, leaving Elvis to pump the gas, a big smile spread across his face. When Wendy and Grace get back to the car, Elvis has a bag of sweets that he bought while they were in the bathroom. He hands it to Wendy and she takes it cheerfully. Grace looks at Elvis and shakes her head. He shrugs.

"What? I can't spoil her a little?"

"You're trouble, Daddy." Grace emphasizes the last word and smiles in an almost flirty way. Elvis clears his throat and Grace covers her mouth as blush rises in her cheeks.

"Oh God, that's not... shit." He laughs and speaks under his breath so Wendy won't hear.

"Honey, you can call me daddy any time you want to..." Grace meets his eyes with hers and it takes everything in her power not to jump on him and smash her lips against his. Wendy looks between them and blows a bubble with her bubblegum.

"Are you guys about to kiss?" Her little girl voice pulls them both back down to reality.

"No!" Grace grabs Wendy and puts her back in the car.

"Not yet." Elvis says under his breath again as he slides into the driver's seat.

******

The rest of the trip goes about the same, with everyone singing to the radio, stopping for gas and to go to the bathroom, and Grace and Elvis trying desperately not to flirt obviously in front of Wendy. About an hour before they arrive, Wendy falls asleep.

"So, what is your family like?" Elvis is a little curious about what he's going to be walking into.

"Well, it's just my mom. My dad died when I was young. And then my little sister and her husband and their three kids. It's not a big family, but we love it."

"It sounds perfect. How old were you when your dad died."

"I was 14."

"Oh. That must've been hard."

"It was." He notices that her eyes get glassy and she looks out the car window. He's all too familiar with the pain of losing a parent too soon, so he reaches over and takes her hand in his. She scoots a little closer to him on the seat and leans her head on his shoulder. He kisses the top of her head gently. They ride together like this in silence for a while.

"So is your family... will they know me?" She laughs, but doesn't move her head off of his shoulder.

"Yes. My mother loves you. She always has, since you first started doing things. My sister isn't crazy about you, but she knows who you are. They'll just be more shocked to see me with a man than anything else." She quickly corrects herself. "Well not with you, but you know what I mean." Elvis nods his head and takes a deep breath.

"Would it be so terrible if you were with me?" She lifts her head off his shoulder and looks up at him.

"Elvis, I... we..."

"I know we shouldn't. But what if we did anyway?"

"What about the book?"

"To hell with the book."

"Elvis. You know I can't just not write the book. And if anyone found out..."

"No, you're probably right." He pats her hand and then puts his back on the steering wheel. She scoots over to her side of the car and looks out the window, praying he doesn't notice the tears that slide down her cheeks, but he does. He swallows the lump in his throat and tries to focus on the road.

******

When they get to Grace's mom's house, it's after dinner time. The plan is to drop Wendy off and then head to their hotel. There isn't room for all of them to stay at Nana's, but Wendy always stays there with her cousins. Grace runs in to get Wendy settled.

"Hey, mom! We're here!"

"Come on in! We have leftovers, if you want some."

"No, I can't. There's... someone... in the car."

"In the car? Why don't you bring them in?" Grace looks around the room at her mom and sister.

"I need you to promise you won't freak out. I'm not bringing him in until tomorrow."

"Him? You brought a man home?" Grace's sister asks incredulously.

"Yes. And it's, well, it's Elvis Presley." Grace's mom drops the dish she was drying into the sink.

"I'm sorry; I thought you said Elvis Presley is coming to this house tomorrow."

"I did. You know I've been working with him on his book. He, um, didn't have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving, so I invited him here." Grace's sister laughs.

"Grace. Are you sleeping with Elvis Presley?" Her mother gasps.

"Maryann! That is not appropriate!" She turns to Grace and whispers. "Are you?"

"No! We're just friends! I just didn't want him to be alone for the holiday. So can he come tomorrow?"

"Of course!"

"And you will treat him like an everyday person? He's just a man. No autographs, no questions, nothing. Treat him like any other boyfriend- I mean FRIEND!"

"She's totally sleeping with him."

"MARYANN!" Both Grace and her mom holler at her sister at the same time. Then her mom chimes in.

"We will treat him like a normal person. We promise."

"No songs from GI Blues."

"I promise!" Her mom puts her hand on her heart.

"Okay. We're going to the hotel. TO SEPARATE ROOMS." Grace glares at her sister. "But we will be back tomorrow around noon."

She stomps out of the house and out to the car.

"Everything okay?" Elvis asks as she slides back into the passenger seat.

"Yes. Just my sister. It's fine." She guides him to the hotel, where they check-in and carry their bags up to the rooms. They laugh nervously when they realize they've been given adjoining rooms.

"I'll lock it." Elvis assures her.

"It's okay. It's not like we haven't spent the last week in the same bed."

"Oh. Yeah. I guess that's true. Do you want to...?" Grace shakes her head.

"Probably should try to break that habit, now that you're well again."

"Sure. Well. Goodnight." Elvis goes into his room and closes the door. Grace walks into her room, closing the door gently behind her. She walks to the door that connects the rooms and considers knocking. All she wants in this world is to crawl in bed with Elvis, but she doesn't trust herself anymore. Now that he's healthy, she would kiss him, and probably more. Her mind flashes back to Halloween and the things she thought about as she touched herself.

She wants him. There's no denying it.

******

Elvis stands on his side of the door connecting their rooms and considers knocking. He laid in bed for an hour just thinking about Grace and missing her in his arms. He's not sure he'll be able to sleep without her.

But he knows she's right. If anyone found out they were together and then the book came out, the press would never leave her alone. And maybe there was some truth to what the Colonel said. If they got together, what would the book say about it? He shakes his head trying to get the whole thing out of his mind.

At the end of it, all that remains is Grace and how much he wishes he could knock on her door.

******

Grace's heart is in her throat as she and Elvis stand on the front porch of her mom's house.

"It'll be okay. Whatever happens is fine." She turns to him.

"You say that, but you don't know my sister." She holds her hand up and knocks carefully. Her mom throws the door open.

"Maryann, Grace is here! And she brought company!" Grace leans in and hugs her mom, whispering in her ear.

"He knows you knew he was coming."

"Okay, sweetie, I just wasn't sure how far we were taking this pretending." Her mom holds her hand out to Elvis.

"I'm Ruth. What's your name?" Elvis looks at Grace and stifles a laugh. He takes her hand and kisses it.

"I'm Elvis. Nice to meet you ma'am." His southern accent is stronger than normal and Grace looks at him funny. He shrugs as they walk into the modest living area. The kids are running around playing some kind of cops and robbers game. When Wendy sees Elvis she runs to him and wraps him in a hug.

"Hi Daddy!" Ruth looks at Grace with her eyebrows raised.

"It's not... she just..."

"My daughter, Lisa Marie, said she could borrow me when she needed a daddy and she's called me that ever since. It's fine." Elvis gives Grace a reassuring look and she takes a deep breath.

Seemingly satisfied with that story, Ruth walks back to the kitchen to grab Maryann, whose husband is sitting on the couch watching football. She drags Maryann out to the living room.

"Hi Elvis. It's nice to meet you. I'm Maryann, Grace's prettier sister. I'd shake your hand, but I'm covered in flour. These are my kids Bobby, Chris, and Susanna." She gestures to the kids as they run around her. "That's my husband Ben." He waves without taking his eyes off the TV. Elvis smiles genially.

"It's nice to meet you all. Grace didn't tell me she had a prettier sister." He winks and Grace rolls her eyes.

"Can we borrow Grace in the kitchen?"

"Of course." He makes his way to the couch and sits down to watch football. He asks Ben how long they've been playing and they dive into a conversation about how Detroit just doesn't have it this year. Grace is surprised at how well he's blending in, but she knows she shouldn't be. She follows Maryann into the kitchen.

"Okay, he's way more attractive in person."

"Maryann, really?"

"I'm sorry! It's true! I never believed it but.." she wiggles her eyebrows. Then she leans in so their mom won't hear her. "If you're not sleeping with him, you should be."

"I heard that." Ruth turns back to her girls. "Now, we have a lot of food to cook and not much time. Let's stop ogling Grace's date and get back to work."

"He's not... okay fine." The three women go to work making dinner.

******

As they sit down at the dining room table, Elvis pulls Grace's chair out for her to sit in. He sees Ruth and Maryann both soften and makes a note that he's on the right track. He wants nothing more than to make a good impression on her family. He's not exactly sure why, but he cares deeply about gaining their approval as a man and not a famous person.

Ruth sits at the head of the table and blesses the food before they begin to eat. He's seriously impressed by the quality of the food.

"Ruth, these mashed potatoes are great!"

"I actually made them." Grace says quietly. Ruth laughs.

"I'm so glad you like them! Grace isn't exactly known for her cooking. It's just another reason she's been single for so long." Elvis's eyes widen.

"Mom!"

"Well, I'm sorry, Grace, but surely he knows you haven't exactly made dating a priority." Grace puts her fork down and covers her face with her hands. He watches the impact that her mother's words have on her and gently puts his hand on her leg under the table. Just when he thinks Ruth is finished, she keeps going.

"She's always been very pretty and very smart, she's just never been good with men. Wendy's father-"

"-Mom that's enough." Maryann tries to interrupt her, but she doubles down.

"Wendy's father wasn't the best. And since then she's been too focused on herself to worry much about it. She's not really family-oriented."

"She's been focused on Wendy." He says it without really thinking. "And she's been building a career so she could take care of Wendy. I would say that's pretty damn family-oriented." The room is silent. Ben gives Elvis a look of approval and Maryann looks like she could cry. Ruth sits there with her mouth partially open. Elvis turns to Grace nervously, thinking he's pushed this too far. Instead, she grabs him and kisses his cheek and whispers in his ear.

"Thank you." He smiles at her and gives her a small nod.

"Elvis, how are you liking Vegas?" Ben jumps in to start the conversation again, but Maryann kicks him under the table. He looks at her. "What?"

"It's fine, Maryann." He smiles. "I like it just fine. I'd like to do something more, maybe a show in London or Japan, but Vegas is not a bad place to play."

"A show in Japan would be groovy." Everyone goes back to eating and the conversation continues. Ruth is quiet, for the most part. At least, she doesn't go after Grace anymore.

As everyone finishes eating and Maryann and Grace fetch the pies, the kids go back to playing. The youngest boy, Bobby, comes out with a model train and starts playing in the living room. He hollers to Ruth.

"Nana, come play with me!"

"Oh, buddy, not today." She looks at Elvis nervously. Bobby's little voice breaks out into song.

"This the train the Frankfort special!" He looks at her expectantly, waiting for her to do the next part of the lyrics. As everyone sits awkwardly, Elvis stands up.

"Ain't this outfit something special?" His smooth baritone fills the room as he sits down on the floor with Bobby.

"You sound just like Tulsa!" Bobby looks at him incredulously.

"What if I told you I am Tulsa?" Bobby laughs.

"Nooo Tulsa is young!" Elvis laughs his contagious big-joy laugh and everyone at the table laughs with him.

Wendy rounds the corner.

"Is Daddy singing?! Watch this." She looks at him and sings. "Caught in a trap!" He laughs again and everyone erupts in more laughter. Grace jumps in this time, walking to Elvis and sitting next to him on the floor.

"I can't walk out!" He looks her in the eye and puts his hand under her chin gently.

"Because I love you too much, baby."

Ruth and Maryann make eye contact as Elvis and Grace continue the song.

******

After dinner, the women go into the kitchen to clean the dishes while the men settle on the couch to watch the kids and discuss football again.

"Elvis is nice." Ruth starts the conversation.

"He is." Grace looks out the window over the sink dreamily.

"He sure is in love with you." Maryann says tentatively, pulling Grace out of her dream state.

"No. He's not... we're just friends."

"Okay, sure. You're wrong. But okay."

"Maryann..."

"I wish Ben still looked at me like that." Grace stops her before she can say anything else.

"We can't be." This time Ruth chimes in.

"Why not?"

"Because we have to finish this book and... he's Elvis Presley, mom! I can't be another woman in love with Elvis Presley."

"Well, it looks to me like you are. Difference is he's in love with you, too." Just then, Elvis pokes his head into the kitchen.

"Do y'all need any help? I know how to wash dishes. I wasn't always... me..." Ruth and Maryann look at Grace and then at each other again. Ruth speaks up first.

"Oh, no, honey, but thank you. You're sweet to offer. You just go relax on the couch. We'll take care of Grace." He blushes a little at the suggestion that he only came in to check on Grace, even though it's true. He nods and goes back to the living room. This time it's Maryann who speaks first.

"He's got it bad for you, sis." Grace throws the dish towel at her and rolls her eyes, secretly hoping that her mom and sister are right.

******

Towards the end of the evening, Elvis notices Grace escape to the porch. When he follows her out there, he finds her on the porch swing with a cigarette in her hand. He pulls his cigarillo out of his pocket.

"Can I join you?"

"Oh, of course." She scoots over a little on the swing and he sits down next to her.

"I like your family." She laughs.

"Really?"

"Yes. They're very normal. I miss that."

"You know, I forget you weren't always... this." She gestures to him.

"I actually was normal for more years than I've been this." He laughs. He leans back against the seat and puts his arm on the swing behind her. When she leans back against him, his heart skips a beat.

"Are you about ready to get out of here?" She asks quietly.

"Whenever you are, honey." He checks his watch. Almost 8:30pm. A little early to go to bed, but he figures he can find something to entertain himself back at the hotel if she's ready to leave.

They sit for another ten minutes before she stands up. He stands up with her and puts out his cigarillo.

"Yeah, let's say goodnight to Wendy and then head out." She opens the door and they go inside.

******

Back in the car, Grace slides over to Elvis on the front seat and leans her head on his shoulder again.

"Thank you for being so great today."

"Of course, honey. It was important to you; I could tell."

They pull into the parking lot of the hotel and walk up to their rooms. Outside the door, she stops and looks up at him, thinking of what her mom and sister had said. Does he love her?

"Thank you for defending me... against my mom."

"Oh. I didn't like the way she was talking to you. I hope I didn't go too far."

"No, it was perfect. No one has ever stood up for me like that. I really appreciated it."

"Well I'm glad-" she cuts him off by pressing her lips against his, throwing her arms around his neck. She pulls back quickly.

"Oh God, I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." He puts his arms around her waist and pulls her into a deep and passionate kiss. Her stomach pulls tight and she feels like her heart is about to leap out of her chest. They stay locked like this for a while, tongues moving in tandem as the passion between them builds. He turns and presses her up against the hotel room door, rolling his hips into hers. She whimpers when she feels him against her. Somehow, he pulls back from her, breathing heavily.

"Is this what you want?"

"Yes." He kisses her again. But this time she pulls back. "But we shouldn't. We can't."

"Grace, please." She kisses him again, but pulls away.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She turns to face the door and puts the key in the lock. He stands behind her, still pressed against her with his face in her hair. She slips into the room away from him. Before she closes it, she kisses him one last time, just a quick peck on the lips.

"I'm sorry." Then she closes the door.

******

He hits the door frame with his right hand and then backs away, moving to the door of his room. Once inside, he walks to the door between their rooms. He wants to knock so badly, but she said no. He's trying so hard to respect what she says. But he knows she wants it too and that's what is killing him. He has one hand on either side of the door frame, trying to talk himself out of knocking when the door opens. Grace is standing there with her shirt half unbuttoned and her shoes off.

"Fuck it."

She whispers and they finally come together with the full force of their feelings for each other. His lips crash into hers, his hands moving up to her breasts and down to her ass, pulling her hips into his. She jumps and he catches her with her legs around his waist, and he carries her to the bed in his room, never moving his mouth from hers. Both of their hearts are racing as he lays her on the bed, kissing down her neck to the middle of her chest while she moans desperately. He rips her shirt open the rest of the way, buttons flying across the room. He continues kissing down her stomach, leaving a trail of burning kisses from her neck to the top of her pants. She sits up onto her knees with him on his knees in front of her and pulls her shirt off, frantically unbuttoning his shirt as well, pushing it off his shoulders. He pulls her body in to his pressing their heated skin together. His hands fumble with the clasp of her bra, but he eventually gets it off, freeing her breasts to press against him as well. He moves his mouth back down her chest to her nipple, licking over it and moving across to the other, pulling it gently into his mouth. She leans down and kisses his forehead while he works. He lays her back down and unbuttons her pants, sliding them down her legs and dropping them on the floor. He kisses her right ankle and then moves back up to her dripping core, leaving soft kisses along her leg as he goes. He presses his lips to the inside of her other thigh and she moans and arches her back. Finally, he hooks his finger in the part of her panties that's in between her legs and pulls, dragging them down her thighs and off.

He stands up for a second and looks at her laying there completely naked. No amount of fantasizing could have prepared him for the beauty of her body there waiting for him. She looks like poetry and he wants to press his lips to every inch of her skin. He's never been this attracted to anyone in his life. It almost hurts how much he needs to touch her, to feel her body on his. He wants to give her the most unimaginable pleasure, so he pulls her hips to the side of the bed and gets on his knees between her legs. Leaning forward, he presses his lips to her pussy, letting his tongue explore her slit.

"Oh, fuck, Elvis." Hearing his name come out of her mouth like this just makes him want to give her even more, so he moves his tongue up to her clit, licking over and around it as he feels it harden in his mouth. He slides first one finger and then two into her, moaning when he feels how tight she is. She whimpers and arches her back at the sensation of his mouth on her, feeling the deep coil of her orgasm tighten between her legs. He continues pressing his fingers in and out rhythmically as his tongue works her clit, licking firmly and sucking it gently. He flattens his tongue against her and moves his head back and forth. She cries out as he tightens his tongue again and drags it over her clit, pushing her over the edge into the driving waves of her orgasm. She half-screams as the pleasure slams into her, radiating through her like heat that gathers in her fingertips, races back to her core, and spills out of her into his mouth and hand. He laps at her as she comes, soaking up every bit of her desire. She runs her fingers through his hair and pushes him back off of her.

"Come up here." She says, chest heaving. On his way up, he goes to wipe his face with his hand, but she doesn't seem to care, instead grabbing him and pulling him into a passionate kiss. Her hands go immediately to his pants and she unbuttons them, freeing his aching cock and pushing them down and off of him. She pushes him onto his back and slinks down his body, kissing and nipping him as she goes.

"Mmm." She whimpers as she holds his cock in her hand, finally appreciating the size and shape of it. She rolls his foreskin back and licks a circle around the sensitive head.

"Fuck, yes, baby." He says through gritted teeth as she pulls him into her mouth fully. She opens her throat and moves back and forth slightly to get his full length into her, pressing her nose into the soft patch of hair at the base of him. When she pulls back and bounces her mouth on him, pumping him with her hand, he cries out her name and runs his fingers into her hair. His hips buck up into her and she lets him thrust into her mouth for a while, massaging his balls with her hand.

"If you don't stop, 'm gonna come, baby." She pulls off and laughs.

"I'm not finished with you yet." He smiles and pulls her up to lay next to him. He rolls over on top of her and lines his cock up with her entrance.

"This is what you want?"

"Elvis, I want you more than anything." He presses his lips to hers and thrusts his hips forward, filling her entirely in one move. She throws her head back and moans loudly.

"Oh, God." He starts pumping in and out of her rhythmically. She's so tight and wet and the feeling of her around him exceeds everything he imagined. But something about this is different than any sex he's ever had. He looks into her brown eyes as he fucks her and all he wants is to stay connected to her like this forever. She wraps her arms and legs around him and pulls him in close to her, kissing his neck and shoulder.

Then, she pushes him off and rolls him onto his back. She puts one knee on either side of him and lowers herself onto his cock slowly, reveling in every inch of him. She's been with men before, but something about this is different. No amount of him could ever be enough. He puts his hands on her hips as she grinds him deeper and deeper inside of her, looking into his blue eyes as she does.

"Where should I?"

"Inside. Please." He nods. The last thing he wants is to disconnect from her at the most vital moment. As he gets closer and closer, she leans over onto his chest. He wraps his arms around her and thrusts from underneath.

"Oh, fuck, don't stop." She pleads and he does exactly as she asks. Finally, they both rush over the edge of ecstasy together. She presses her lips to his again as he shudders and pulses, filling her with his release as she feels herself throb around him. They stay connected this way for several minutes before she kisses his cheek and relaxes on his shoulder, with his arms still wrapped around her.

She sits up and he runs his hands in her hair, pushing it back behind her ears.

"I love you, Grace." She opens her mouth to protest, but he stops her.

"I've loved you for months. You know I'm telling you the truth. I'm in love with you."

Her eyes get wet and soft.

"I'm in love with you too." He holds his hand up to her cheek and catches the tear that falls with his thumb.

"I don't care about anything else, honey, I just want you. From now on. Just you and me. And Wendy and Lisa. I want our family." She nods her head as the tears continue to fall. He pulls her to him and kisses the tears on her cheeks. In between each kiss, he whispers.

"I love you."

******

Until Chapter 8...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@ccab @elvisfatass @elvisalltheway101 @ashtag6887 @aliypop @your-nanas-house @dkayfixates @everythingelvispresley @xanatenshi @returntopresley @p0lksaladannie @deniseinmn @jaqueline19997 @that-hotdog @mykievolturi @18lkpeters @joshuntildawn13 @rjmartin11 @littlehoneyposts

[kaledya]

Exactly ! This is why I use the three-boss phases fight metaphor and I think this is almost an obligation because both Constantine and Lolicia are a mess with emotions but not in the same way... ah ! I can't wait ! But its not for now !

_

Good to know! I'm happy you like the idea. It will help the character grow but it will come also later. I think it will be in the middle of the second boss phases slowburn of Constantine and Lolicia... I think end of season 2 or 3 ? Because Serenity come in season 2 ! Will see but its in the back of my head for sure 🌸

_

I like the idea of Constantine and Serenity bounding over something the others (the most important people for them) don't know about. Like a well cared secret.

And i know it can be tricky to do with only the point of vue I have right now BUT ! (Héhé) BUT between the episode 3 and 4 I will make a special editions of short stories that happened meanwhile episode 1 and 2 and some of the past of characters who are not main like (Azrael, Abaddon (my OC), the Vees, the pets, Constantine, Serenity and Eve/Roo)  it will help open new horizons ! Because its a collection of short stories it will help me to well prepared the episode 4  and dont rush things ! We love nice developped characters! And some songs some musical perhaps and inspiration from your animatics!

_

I'm not made for games but I saw a playthroughs with a bard its great. My favorite character are female Drow cause Drow lore is amazing ! Ah ! Love it.

Don't worry for what Gale said ! He said a lot of things anyways !

_

I'm so very excited to see all the drawings en scenes en everything you will draw about the fanfic!! But exams first. Me and my fanfic will go nowhere, I'm patient and I'm not expecting you to do anything at first, I'm just enjoying when you say you will.

But. Exams. First. Exams have a due date not me. Ahah.

And dont worry, writing is literally my air and passion. My rhythm is exactly as I like and I actually don't look at the numbers but I'm happy people read it. A bunch of faithful readers is always nice to have even if its not plenty. Don't worry for anything !

_

Also the meal I've been served !! I made it ! I made the Constantine/Serenity/Lolicia drawings ! 🌸 I was just like, "i need to do this". I really hope I didn't screw it because I always struggle with colors in general and I didn't want to destroy the faces of your OCs. I was looking at the references like crazy

"This is the shape of his horns ? Okay. Is it yellow, green, red ? So about the tail... OMG LONG HAIR" that was me. Ahah.

I hope the picture is nice quality enough, its not tell me and I will make another or larger or something. I didn't put my watermark cause its yours, you can do what you like with it!

_

Thank you ! Will write well !🌸🌸🌸 _

Ahah ! I'm happy you like Narrator ! I didn't expect you do ! He's just t so... so him ahah. But I love him too. But he is insane. I have a short story with him and Constantine and they talk about anatomy and names. It will be funny ! I'm just so excited to see the drawings you will have with him ! And yes the Kilij, ah ! Turks peoples have so many beautiful weapons with jewelry on it its just *kiss* perfect !  And Narrator loves jewellery so I was like "it's an opportunity !"

_

I'm glad you liked the songs !!! Ah your comments are always worth it.

The editing of the song with Charlie and Alastor made me want to die but I liked writing it ! I will enjoy seeing the scene you will draw of them! And the Precious was a must !

_

And yes Vittorio and Alastor's shadow are kind of the undertone of every conversation Lolicia and Alastor have with each others. If they fight its because the tone of the conversation is a bit sarcastic,if they're are calm, everything is more normal !

_

YES SERENITY CAMEO ! Oh I loved write when she took her coat and hat ! Hopefully I remember you draw her Misfortune/Overlord outfit! And the little vignette in your storyboard too. I saw it in my mind !

_

Lolicia isn't really an Overlord, I mean she is very strong but she doesn't want the title. But don't worry, I've already make up something for her to come at the meeting with Overlords !

Thank you very much ! And I think you are a talented artist (the new design of Eve/Roo is SLAY!) with nice eye for the lights effects and storytelling through characters and little scenes, that make my mind boiled so thank you, it doesn't arrive often 🌸

I can already see that it will definitely be worth the wait😌

--

I'm already so excited to see how you plan the themes for the seasons!

--

I'm so glad to hear this, I seriously can't wait to see the short stories! And I'm so excited to meet Abaddon.And certainly the more developed the characters are, the better.

I read Serenity's short story and they were beautiful.I think you handled their encounter with Alastor beautifully, I really liked it.And the detail that Alastor was more egoist and bloodthirsty during his prime time in hell was also very nice!

I seriously think the short stories are a great idea, can't wait to see more!

------

And yes, it was definitely great to play drow. And I seriously think the background of the drows is very interesting and beautiful.In terms of gameplay, you start with a lot of prejudice as every race hates them rather than other races, But on the other hand, there is no need to fight in some places because the enemy thinks you are one of them.

And yes, my dear nuclear bomb wizard who smells like an old library talks too much, it is impossible to memorizeal of his dialogues.

---

Thank you for your patience!

I have now passed the 1st exam, now I need to pass the real boss, the ART exam and I'm really bad at on paper /realistic drawing but with enough work everything can happen! But If I lose my entrance to the animation university,then I will have to restart my career as a villain. Lmao

Today is my day off, so I'll be making a lot of doodles, get ready for new fanart!

And if you ask me, you really deserve more, you are a very talented writer!

---

Destroy face my OC's what????

You drew him so beautifully that when I looked at Constantine I said, "damnnn, you drew him so handsomely!" Seriously, the drawings of all the characters were very nice and I think he used colors well.

And don't worry, I can't draw Constantine's horns properly either, so I made up an excuse ✨he's a shapeshifter✨In other words, the shape of his horns can change according to its whim.

Serenity and Lolicia were so cute

And Constantine and Lolicia looked so cool! I can't wait to see their interactions!

And I love how you draw Lolicia's clothes, they're true fashion icon.

Thank you so much for blessing my eyes with your drawings!

---

And of course, I will love him ! 1 he's character created by you 2 I always have a special corner in my heart for crazy showmens. And yes! When Charlie told the Narrator that they had known each other for almost 200 years, I realized that there was a long history between them.I can't wait to see his interactions with Constantine!

And yes, old Turk's weapons are perfect for him. I saw similar swords and guns when I visited a museum.They were full of jewels, inch by inch. I'm not exactly sure, but I think they were gifts for the sultan or things he had made for himself. Apart from them, I saw a really huge sword. I would like to see the soldier who could lift it. It looked like the sword that in Berserk that used by Guts.

--

And seriously that song was amazing, a complete masterpiece! If only I could make music, I would bring that song to life! And the descriptions, everything was great!

And the overall scene was so fun to read!

---

And I can't wait to see Lolicia's role already, it's so exciting!

-

And thank you so much for your kind words, and I'm so glad you love the Roo/eve design!❤️❤️❤️

----------

First of all, Charlie and Vaggie's part was very sweet and beautiful, and the song you wrote was also great. I really loved it!

----

Lolica's song was a masterpiece, I really think it was a very well written and detailed song. Lolicia's outfit and Vittori accompanying her was really perfect! And I think having Alastor help her disguise was a really nice touch! It was a great choice that the song was inspired by liquid gold.

(I Love lackdaisy so much)

In short, I think the song is perfect and it fits the character very well. 10/10 *chef Kiss*

--

The part where the team reacted when they won the semi-final was so beautiful! And finally an arc is over!

And Serenity's story was very nice and the encounter with Alastor at the end was interesting, but the most important thing is that Alastor is after Lolicia. I wonder how those events ended?

---

To make a long story short, every chapter you have made is really great and I enjoy reading it very much. I think you are a great writer. I am very excited to see your future works!❤️❤️❤️

[justarandomlambblog]

Just doodling something related to this post and ofc there's narilamb in the au who do you think I am

Narinder's kits all turn out to be daughters. Aym and Baal are his only sons and I love that for them, but anyway. Lemme ramble about them bc I /gen love them?

Ari is the eldest of Narinder's kits. She was ~9 (I think in the post I originally quoted 15 years but I'm changing it to ~10 bc it's a nice solid number) when their village was attacked and her second dad died, and she looks sweet but is a total troublemaker. She loves pranks, looks for loopholes to exploit so often weasels her way out of trouble, and is the de facto leader of the siblings. Total extrovert. She's the one who goes "oh father said we can't go to the Old Faith lands but he said nothing about inviting their people to dinner :)"

Elloi is the second eldest, and was ~6 when their village was attacked. She looks a bit like a rebel but is actually the most well behaved of the three eldest kits, not because she wants to be but just because she's super chill and laid back and honestly, acting out and causing trouble is more energy than it's worth. She isn't a natural born leader like her older sister, but she is a great listener and a great source of advice. Definitely an introvert. She does not trust the Bishops and Lamb when they come to the village; her trust is hard won.

Minuit is the third oldest/middle child, and was still just a baby when the village was attacked. So that thing about Nari protecting the kits (and a good portion of the village) during the attack? Yeah he did that while holding a literal baby. Papa bear mode ACTIVATED fr fr. She's still young and is in that stage of life where she's discovering she can actually just choose to disobey her dad, and the worst thing he will do is ground her. And, as a baby introvert/ambivert, this is just fine for her. She loves to read. Stories are her bread and butter, and she LOVES songs that tell a story. Absolutely adores it. Btw her name I said fuck it, I can name a kit Minuit if I want. She will one day be, magically, the strongest between her, Elloi and Ari. (Mercy and Hope will be stronger but ya know)

The three kits above, being the kits of an ex-god, are demi-gods but have no idea. All they know is their magic is just quite a bit stronger than the other villagers' and assume (correctly) that it's bc of Narinder. Now, what each of their magic is I am undecided. I am thinking about it......

Now for the twins- Mercy and Hope (named by Lamb). They're shittens :) But they look very much like sheep (with floofy cat-like tails and Mercy has cat ears) so ye. They... don't exist at the point in the AU discussed in that post, but they exist in the future (more likely than not after Minuit is an adult, possibly far enough in the future that she's already stopped aging). They both inherit Narinder's third eye, unlike the older three, bc they're baby gods rather than just demigods and Narinder's third eye was a result of his godhood. Mercy is a few minutes older than Hope, definitely no symbolism there ofc, and they're super sweet. Absolute angels. Please ignore the fact that they will 100% sacrifice you to the shadows if given a reason. The first three kits of Nari's have pretty much nothing to do with the Lamb's cult beyond visiting their father (and eventually younger siblings) and step-parent and aunt and uncles and... idk what the gender neutral term is but Shamura, and maybe cousins after Narinder returns to the cult, but Mercy and Hope are raised inside the cult with all the trimmings that come with it <3

-

Oh, and have this random doodle. What's he so sad about? Idk maybe the fact he lost his partner a good ~60 years earlier than he expected to but ya know-

Anyway damn Nari you're all leg huh, lucky Lamb eventually /J /J but maybe....

[tuiyla]

i trust your takes more than anyone else’s in the whole glee fandom. what would you say are the best kurtcheltana episodes?

Oh wow Anon that's very flattering considering I've dropped off the face of the Earth and barely interact with tumblr or the Glee fandom anymore, but I appreciate it! Because I've been basically gone for a year and abandoned my rewatch my Glee memory isn't what it used to be but I'll gladly go down memory lane with you.

Previously Unaired Christmas

As soon as I remembered this ep there was no question in my mind that it's the ultimate Kurtcheltana ep. Yes yes it's not even technically canon but I've famously never cared about that. For starters, it has their only trio song, technically a quartet that is admittedly a bit yikes but then also a final song feat Kitty and ND. Since it's "set in 2012" Santana doesn't even officially live with Hummelberry, she just chose to visit them and give them thoughtful and also Santana-esque gifts. I think that's really cute. And yeah, the Mall Santa stuff is a little icky but the three of them are so cute and fun. It's just a low-stakes Kurtcheltana adventure where they're being silly and young and delightful. I love the Pezberry moments, of course, but it also has some of my fav Kurtana shots and just in general they feel like a very cohesive trio. PUC is legit one of the eps that best showcases the chemistry between these three and I can't not love that.

2. Girls (and Boys) On Film

This ep is actually where I abandoned my rewatch and that's weird to me because I was really looking forward to seeing it again. Santana, following the iconic ending to Diva immediately establishes herself as a force to be reckoned with in Bushwick and it's so, so delightful. Her casual "yeah it's a thing I do" to going through everyone's stuff is something only she could pull off. There is some hostility here, of course, as Rachel and Kurt never actually invited Santana to live with them so they're understandably thrown off by Santana not only inserting herself into their flat but also firmly into their lives. Excellent moments for the whole dynamic, best of all being Santana's whole speech starting with "Kurt, sit down" and, of course, the final scene with Pezberry. That scene to me embodies so much of what makes Santana in her current state work as a ch, an agent of chaos who is ultimately trying to be there for her friends. It's an excellent showcase of what she brings to the NYC plot and a simply impeccable Pezberry scene. Really strong establishing ep for what having Santana in New York will be like. Actually, it's also a real shame because it introduces what this trio dynamic will be like and then there are barely any more episodes truly following through on it. Shame.

Honourable mention to the two subsequent eps as I consider this to be an NYC trilogy of Santana being accepted as a full-fledged member of the loft. Feud has her calling Hummelberry her family and Guilty Pleasures the wholesome scene of reconciliation where they really become roommates.

3. Love, Love, Love/Tina in the Sky with Diamonds

Unfortunately, in general we more so have episodes that have good Kurtcheltana moments rather than being Kurtcheltana eps. The Beatles two-parter is a good example, where the few Kurtcheltana bits we have are excellent but unfortunately they're less prominent as a trio and more so have duo moments, mainly Pezberry in the first half and Hummelberry in the second. But there's good stuff here, from Rachel and Santana during the engagement to their cute little promise to each other when Kurt starts working in the diner. As with many things Glee, this cute trio moment is soured in hindsight of the direction s5 ended up taking but nothing can take it away from us, or how Kurt and Santana celebrated with Rachel after that.

These are the only ones I feel like are worth actually ranking but some other honourable mentions:

Lights Out: overall I found Kurt and Rachel encouraging Santana to find her dream to be underwhelmingly executed but who doesn't love At the Ballet and the three mini-mes during the sequence

A Katy or a Gaga: the formation of Pamela Lansbury

Trio: gets a DIShonourable shout out as it should have been a strong Kurtcheltana ep but the Pezberry feud overrode all

Old Dog, New Tricks: honestly barely counts but it's the last of what I could even call an ep with a Kurtcheltana moments. The back half of s5 gives us a crowded NY scene with not NEARLY enough Santana, much less Kurtcheltana - i.e. Opening Night has Kurt call Santana as reinforcement for encouraging Rachel but they don't actually have a moment. Sigh. But 5x19 at least gives us the best hug and Kurt and Santana both supporting Rachel and Kurt being supported in return. It's wholesome and it's the very last trace of our favourite dysfunctional Bushwick family.

Utter disgrace I can't name any season 6 episodes that would fall into this category but special shout out to Kurtcheltana starting us off on Home in 6x02, a moment I treasure very much. Thanks Anon, it was fun to think about all this stuff again! And now, predictably, I have Pezberry feels.

[lepusrufus]

Double edged scalpel ch. 7

Ch.1 ch.2 ch.3 ch.4 ch.5 ch.6

Summary: in which Cassandra gets bullied and other sappy shenanigans

---

"Oh Nicole dear, so happy to see you again!" Duke's voice was cheerful as ever, tone masterfully crafted over years of being a businessman.

Nicole, taking small steps inside the ornate and now full of items room, greeted him with uncharacteristic giddiness.

"Duke! How's business?"

"Same as always, I'll be heading to Beneviento later tonight to deliver some tools for her," he took a long drag of his cigar and, noticing green eyes scanning over multiple items and said, "I also have your order."

With a childish grin on her face, she approached him, hands shuffling inside the small bag attached to her belt that all staff members had. She pulled out the money owed for her package and, in return, the Duke placed a decently sized box in her arms. With an oof she shifted it in a less precarious position, it's heavy contents seeming to plot against her small frame.

"Unfortunately I can't stay, duty calls. But thank you Duke."

"No worries, I do understand that your employers can be quite," he took another drag of his cigar, looking for the right word. "...demanding"

Nicole chuckled. That was one way to put it.

"Well until next time dear. Or if you find yourself in need of something else, I'll be here until six."

---

She was only wearing a long white towel when she heard a knock on the door. Assuming it was another maid, or even Anita inquiring about whether or not she'd be joining the rest of them for dinner, she opened the door just a crack.

It was a surprise to see none other than Cassandra standing there, her elegant frame in odd contrast with the modest corridor. She flung the door open, letting the brunette inside and took a quick glance down the hall, making sure no maid was on the floor after fainting due to fright.

"What are you doing here?"

"Aw, are you not happy to see me?" She was pouting, but her tone was joking.

Nicole rolled her eyes, but the small smile on her lips betrayed that she was indeed happy to see her. Cassandra only laughed instead, a beautiful melodious laugh, so unlike the dark cackles heard by prisoners down in the dungeons.

"Just sit down, I need to get dressed," Nicole pointed to the bed before moving to the small dresser and pulling out a clean uniform.

Cassandra went to sit on the slightly disheveled bed, eyes following the redhead's form as she let the towel drop to her feet and started to put on the various layers of her uniform. Then golden eyes darted to the box sitting on the bed. The tape sealing it had been cut not long after Nicole brought it back to her room to make sure all its contents made it safely. Not that she didn't trust the Duke, but postal service was postal service.

"What's this?" Cassandra inquired, trying to read the label but having no success as it had been scribbled over with a marker.

Nicole stilled for a moment, hands frozen on her white button up. She cleared her throat and shyly admitted:

"Actually that's for you. Do open it if you want."

Cassandra's eyes widened, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. The gesture had really caught her off guard. She gingerly lifted the lid, inspecting it's contents for a moment and then hummed.

"And here I was thinking you like my hair. With how much you love to pull on it and all that."

Nicole, now fully clothed and sporting a deep blush, marched to her and plucked the two boxes of red hair dye from gloved hands. She placed them on her nightstand and, with her voice just slightly more high pitched, she turned to the brunette.

"Those are mine, I meant the rest of it." And, after a chuckle, "I mean have you seen my roots? They're horrible!"

Cassandra only gave her a deadpan look and, after a long moment, said: "I think your hair is beautiful."

She didn't wait for a reply, not that it would be anything more than a stammered mumble of course. Instead she chuckled and returned her attention to the box. She examined the rest of its contents and then gingerly lifted one of the few tomes inside. The cover was glossy and malleable, it's pages shiny and with a distinct typography smell to it. It was so unlike her other books, it's pristine white state making it feel extremely out of place in the castle. She glanced at Nicole inquisitively.

"I do appreciate the gift, don't misunderstand me, but surely you know there's a small bookshop's worth of medical books in this castle."

"With all due respect, from what I've seen most of them are at least somewhat outdated. Interesting, yes, but I thought you'd like to learn something more...modern." Then she pulled out another book. "This is the same one I used while studying forensic pathology. It would make teaching you some things easier. Uh… assuming you want that."

Nicole averted her gaze, suddenly unsure of the usefulness of her gift. Cassandra however grabbed her chin between two fingers and pulled her gaze back on her. She smiled, finding the shy demeanor beyond endearing.

"I'd love that."

A small smile appeared on thin lips and Nicole leaned in to kiss Cassandra. It was soft and short, but no less intimate than the deep kisses they shared so many times in Cassandra's bed.

They had to go anyway.

---

Let's go to the library, Cassandra said. It'll be empty, she said.

When Cassandra swung open the intricate door, only to find the other two sisters lounging on one of the couches, it's not like they could do a one eighty and leave the room. That would've been both impolite and highly suspicious.

Instead, Cassandra grabbed her arm protectively and led them to the reading spot farthest from the other two. They placed one of the textbooks on the small desk and Cassandra took out a notebook. This would've been a lot more fruitful with an actual body on hand, but there were still a couple days until the human flesh supply had to be replenished and Cassandra was beyond eager to start on some things. So, for now, they had to settle for theory alone.

It took all of five minutes for the other two sisters to make their way to their desk. Daniela had a giddy yet curious expression on her face, while Bela seemed as unreadable as ever, if not for a glint in her eyes that betrayed her interest.

"Whatcha dooooing?" Came Daniela's voice, who cocked her head not unlike a curious puppy would while looking at the book's contents.

"Working," Cassandra replied, a slight growl accompanying her words.

"Could've fooled me," Bela spoke from behind the youngest sister, eyeing the hand protectively placed on Nicole's waist.

Cassandra snapped her eyes at the blonde, looking ready to throw her notebook at her head but Bela ignored her sister's ire and addressed Nicole instead.

"What are you studying?"

"I uh- just some basic anatomy concepts. Thought it would be a good idea to start with the things that the older books in the castle don't cover."

Bela only hummed, grabbed an ornate chair nearby, and plopped herself at the desk, opposite from the pair. Daniela mimicked her sister, but instead chose to sit down right by Nicole on the small couch. It took more willpower than she would admit not to glue herself to Cassandra's side when Daniela's face came uncomfortably close so she could look over the book's diagrams. She stood still as a statue though. After a couple seconds of silence and Nicole trying to figure out what she was supposed to do, Daniela drew her head back, looking at her with what was possibly the most serious expression she had seen on the youngest sister.

"You do realize we're not going to hurt you right? How could we lay a finger on our dear sister's lover hmm?"

Nicole's breath caught in her throat. She wasn't sure if it was due to the word used to describe her or how Daniela apparently knew that she was utterly terrified of her. Cassandra sighed beside her and, seeming to at least partially read Nicole's thoughts, clarified:

"Your heartbeat."

Oh. Yeah. Yeah her heart was beating a million miles an hour. And apparently the other three vampiric occupants of the room were able to hear it loud and clear. It did very little to ease her mind.

"Please do calm down, it feels like someone is having drumming lessons. Bad ones," Bela complained, head resting in one of her hands like she was already bored.

"Then shove a sock in your ears," Cassandra snapped.

Bela simply leaned back in her seat and stretched her arms above her head. "And risk not hearing my beloved sisters sing along to some pop song?"

Cassandra shut her mouth, a blush now slowly spreading across her cheeks while Daniela burst out into laughter. Even Nicole couldn't help betraying the brunette and letting out a giggle.

"I didn't know you could sing."

"I can't."

"Au contraire dear Cassie! Should I remind you of the last time Dragostea din tei came on the radio? The pathos!" Daniela reached over Nicole's lap to lightly shake her sister's knee through her giggles.

Cassandra only let out a long groan, face now hidden in her palms. "I hate you both."

"Mhm, we love you too," came Bela's reply, accompanied by a chuckle.

Nicole couldn't keep a small laugh while she snaked her arm behind the brunette to show some form of support against the merciless assailants. Maybe not a complete betrayal.

The scene really had something deep within her heart aching beautifully. It reminded her of the countless times she and Alex would mercilessly tease each other, but still have each other's backs through thick and thin. And for this familiarity to come from people that any sane person would consider bloodthirsty monsters? Hell, maybe they should start considering her a monster too, for the only word she could use to describe them in that moment was endearing.

"So," Bela lightly clapped her gloved hands. "Now that your pulse isn't giving me a headache anymore, what are we doing?"

She had a confident smirk on her face, but her eyes betrayed curiosity. Same for Daniela and, although mixed with a hint of annoyance, Cassandra. She opened the book in front of her, one of general human anatomy, and decided that the digestive system would be a good enough starting point.

---

Their little impromptu lesson didn't last more than two hours. Two hours that proved to Nicole just how oddly human all three sisters can be. Of course she had gotten familiar with Cassandra, intimately so, but the other two still felt like two looming monsters hiding in the shadows. At least up until now.

Bela seemed oddly intrigued by Nicole's explanation, although unlike Cassandra, she seemed to view it more like a story than anything. Daniela seemed slightly more interested, asking questions here and there and even starting to giggle like a middle schooler when they got to the rectum section. That got an eye roll from the other two. Nicole just laughed, finally understanding Mrs Hawkins, her private biology teacher from before she was allowed to step foot in any public school.

After they were done, Bela simply stood up and bid them good night. Danila instead excitedly proposed the skeletal system for next time and picked up the books she abandoned earlier. Then, with a small tower of tomes she went through a door tucked at the very back of the room. Her study, Cassandra had pointed out as they made their way out of the library.

"I didn't know your sisters were interested in medicine too." Nicole kept her voice low, almost as if talking too loudly would disturb the shadowy hallways.

"More or less. Daniela likes it and has a bit of hands-on practice but she has her nose in romance novels more often than not. Bela finds it interesting but botany is what she really loves. That and classic lit." She added the last part with a grimace and Nicole had to wonder which author had offended her personally.

Before she could continue that train of thought though, her gaze moved to the windows, the cloudless sky beyond thick glass panels full of twinkling stars. Her mind kept going back to a few hours earlier and at what Daniela had said. Lover. Did Cassandra truly see her as one or was the youngest sister just being her over the top self. Did she see Cassandra this way? Nicole had not allowed herself to dwell on that up until now, the idea that the brunette saw her as more than an over glorified lab partner with whom she occasionally scratched an itch seemed almost laughable. But the small gestures of affection shown in ways Cassandra seemed to know best were undeniably there. And the familiar flutter in her chest at each of said gestures was also undeniably there.

"What's wrong?"

Cassandra's voice, accompanied by the slight echo through the empty hallway, snapped Nicole out of her thoughts.

"Oh um- nothing." She sounded as convincing as someone trying to sell you a fork while showing you a spoon.

And Cassandra didn't seem to buy it. She moved in front of the redhead, walking backwards with no concern over possible furniture to collide into along the way.

"You always get this… face when something's bothering you."

"I do not-" the indignation in her tone was weak, little more than an attempt to change the subject.

"Mhmm you do. You normally look focused. Kind of like, if someone tried to scare you by throwing an eyeball at you, you'd laugh." She would. "Now? Now you look like a rabbit that has no time to run and is just laying low hoping whatever's hunting it passes by."

Nicole shut up for a moment, only looking at the brunette in front of her incredulously. Maybe she was far more attentive than she gave her credit for.

"Uh. Just thinking." At a raised dark eyebrow, the no shit went unsaid, so Nicole tried to elaborate. "About earlier. When we were with your sisters and Daniela uh- Daniela called me your lover."

Saying that the words felt awkward on her tongue was close to the year's biggest understatement. It felt like pulling out teeth would be an easier task. Nicole had never been good with her words, having learned since childhood to keep her mouth shut. But the fact that Cassandra seemed to share her struggle brought some semblance of comfort.

"And?" As if they were talking about the weather.

"And… was she right in describing me as such?"

She couldn't help a small gulp when the brunette stopped walking, looking at her with a frown. Any sane person would be at the very least somewhat afraid in this situation. Sanity however was scarce these days as Nicole was afraid, though not of the bodily harm that may come from her inquiry, but rather of Cassandra's answer.

"Nicole, your tongue has been in my mouth." Amongst many other places.

The redhead's cheeks turned a slight shade of crimson and she mumbled for an answer. She wasn't sure how to tell her that sleeping together did not automatically make them lovers. But then again, Cassandra's thoughts remained a mystery more than anything.

Thankfully the brunette took the metaphorical reins of the conversation and stepped forward. She wrapped her hands around Nicole's arms, gentler than one would imagine possible from her, and bent down to whisper no more than an inch away from her ear.

"I'll have you know, I'm not particularly fond of letting anyone I don't deem important touch me. Especially not the way you do."

The words made something flutter in Nicole's chest, an unfamiliar and comforting warmth. Said warmth got chipped away at the slightest bit when Cassandra pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"Should I take it that it's not mutual then?" Cassandra's tone was nonchalant, almost as if she didn't truly care about the answer. She could keep doing whatever she wanted either way, afterall who was going to stop her? But to someone who got familiar with all her small quirks and habits, the waver in her voice was more than clear.

"No." The world slipped from her lips with no hesitation.

No hesitation, because the more she thought about it, and she didn't need to think a lot mind you, the more Nicole realized that she couldn't remember a time when she felt the way she did here. Sure the initial threat of death looming over her head was anything but pleasant, but once that melted into affection and nights spent in Cassandra's arms the thought of leaving didn't as much as graze her mind.

"No, no. It is," she repeated, more certainty making its way into her tone.

At that Cassandra smiled. A small, almost shy one would say if they knew her well enough, smile. Her shoulders seemed to lose some of their tension when she leaned down again, her lips stopping not even an inch away. Nicole wasted no time leaning forward, their mouths meeting in a kiss that mixed softness and need beautifully. Their lips slid against each other until, surprisingly, it was Cassandra to pull back and sigh.

"Come sleep, we have some cutting up to do in the morning."

Nicole frowned. "Tomorrow? Wasn't that supposed to be due in a few days?"

A devilish grin appeared on black lips, fangs shimmering ominously in the low light. "Bela caught a foolish man-thing sneaking around the forest on the castle grounds. She's really excited to turn this one into a nice steak."

The redhead only let out an oh in acknowledgement. Foolish indeed. At least they could finally put into practice a few autopsy tricks Nicole had been itching to show her.

She let herself be guided back to Cassandra's chambers and into her bed, that she had grown intimately familiar with. The last thing she felt before falling asleep was the brunette's cool skin, pressed against her own. A welcomed comfort among the myriad of soft pillows that surrounded them. Nicole wondered briefly if being undead meant it was hard to keep yourself warm, but the thought quickly slipped away as she fell into a dreamless sleep.

[cuziloveyou7]

20 questions tag

Tagged by @randombtsprincessa thank you for thinking of me! I appreciate u 💜

1. What do you prefer to be called name-wise?

Tbh I don't really know. I usually say peach or potato but you can also call me Es or whatever u feel suits me 🤷🏽‍♀️

2. When is your birthday?

January 7th!

3. Where do you live?

The Netherlands 🇳🇱 (so I u Dutch... I need more army friends, want like ik heb maar 2 army vrienden en mn moeder lmao)

4. Three things you are doing right now?

Catching up with friends, listening to music, studying Korean

5. Four fandoms that have peaked your interest.

Kpop and... what even falls under fandoms? I'm into so many things🤔

6. How had the pandemic been treating you?

At first it was really stressful bc I had exams. Then I went into hermit mode. Then I got anxiety and almost fell back into depression 🙃 but right now I'm doing really good! I feel happy, healthy and meaningful!

7. A song you can't stop listening to right now?

Sweet melody - Little Mix,

Blue hour (dance break version) - TXT

So good - Dove Cameron

Dingga - MAMAMOO

Love me the same - Esmée Denters

8. Recommend a movie.

I gotta think hard about this bc its been a while since I've seen a movie I got really into... ohhhh! I did see "Little Women" recently! I knew the bcc mini serie so it was fun to watch the movie! Also... Timothée Chalamet.. do I need to say more 😉

9. How old are you?

I'm 20! Only for a few months tho, I'm getting older each day 😄😉

10. School, University, occupation, other?

I finished college in May! I'm having a gap year, but I have a part time job which I'm thankful for in these times of uncertainty! So for now I'll be your local cashier and cleaning lady 🤑. Next September I'm starting university for another 6 years 🙆🏽‍♀️👩🏽‍🎓

11. Do you prefer heat or cold?

I'm a winter baby, I was born in a country where we barely have warm weather so yes, I do love the cold! I hate being sweaty. Also I like hot cocoa with a pile of blankets on a cold winter night! Whenever I visit the fam in the Philippines I go hide where the airco is, otherwise I'm ko bc of the heat.

12. Name one fact others may not know about?

Ehhh... I feel like I'm really open on Tumblr.. oh no wait I know something 😆 I went on a dating app for 3 month in July bc I was bored eventhough I swore to never download something like that...

13. Are you shy?

Let's not call it shy but introvert bc with my friends I'm hella crazy. I also tend to watch from afar at first so people might think I'm shy but I'm just analysing the situation and if people are worth my energy.

14. Preferred pronouns?

She/her

15. Biggest per peeves

Loud chewing, feet... don't show them to me bc no! Just no! I'm sorry I don't even like my own. Telling lies or saying one thing then do the other.. wooww I'm boiling just thinking about it.

16. What is your favourite "dere" type?

Okay, I'm gonna be honest this took me a minute of research bc I'm really bad at all these terms 🙃. But now that I know (and I will probably forget again bc dis brain...) I'd say its either a Dandere or Deredere type (I'm boring right?)

17. Rate your life from 1-10, 1 being crappy and 10 being the best it could be.

I'd say right now its a solid 6,5 or 7 even maybe. Could always be better but I've been at a 1 a few years ago so...

18. What's your main blog?

This one! @cuziloveyou7

19. List your side blogs and what they're used for?

I don't have any! Was thinking about it but I'm already a horrible page owner on this main one 😑

20. Is there something people need to know about you before becoming friends?

I'm super introvert so it takes a while for me to open up, so don't give up on me!

I'm really open to anything when you've found the cracked in my wall. Which can make for really great, fun and heated conversations!

Friendships are super important to me and I value it a lot!

I'm a high sensitive person so I get burned out a lot in social gatherings, also social anxiety!

And the most important one! I have this scared attitude towards boys/men/guys idk how when and where it came from but it's there so I would appreciate u helping me out sometimes and understanding this angst instead of making fun of it and saying "they're just boys not aliens or something" yes thank u I wasn't aware 😒

Tagging: @an-annyeoing-writer , @kittylefayy, @oheyura , @saintxuxi and ofcourse anyone who wants to

[angelgayswift]

TS7 and Kaylor

So there’s this theory that’s keeping me up at night and I really need to share it; it’s a little long but trust me is worth it. Before we start I want to let you know that my first language is Spanish so if there’s any grammar mistakes please tell me :)

Something we all have noticed these last days is that Taylor has been planning the new era for quite some time, in fact she has already left us a lot of clues; so while I was reading theories, I found one that makes a lot of sense about the lwymmd music video (the one that probably everyone knows about)

But we also know for sure that TS6 did not focus completely on her reputation, that's why I returned to the album to search for some clues that make sense right know and the first thing that came to my mind is the track number 7: So It Goes...

This song with Dress, DWOHT and New Year's Day have seemed the most private and most related to kaylor for me (almost all reputation is about kaylor ik) but “SIG...” is very particular.

But considering the timeline of the relationship, everything starts in 1989 with “You Are In Love”, right? Well, I have to highlight some things from this song before going back to SIG...

“You can see it with the lights out (lights out)

Lights out (lights out)

You are in love

True love

So it goes”

And that line represents two very important things: The before and the after.

Before the line, we see a relationship starting, the first look, the first touch, the first promise and how there is enough confidence in their feelings to forget all the fears and accept that they are in love...true love.

And after the line, ”You two are dancing in a snow globe 'round and 'round”

it means that they are in their own perfect world, nothing can bother them, everything is all right and they feel invisible.

“And (s)he keeps a picture of you in h(er) office downtown”

That’s one of those little details in the relationship that become new habits, it’s a way to explain how easy and comfortable their love is.

“And you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars

And why I spent my whole life trying to put it into words”

Is a form of acceptance that this love is worth fighting and risking for, it’s unique and stronger than anything.

Now let’s continue with reputation with “So It Goes...” (the same phrase used in YAIL 😳).

First: the lyrics.

Many say it is a sexual song but it’s much more than just passion; in this song Taylor explains how she must hide her feelings due to all the attention she receives, it’s like being locked, she loves in secret and with constant fear but when she’s with Karlie all the fear disappears, she feels invisible and everything is simple. (Very similar to what YAIL explains)

“And all the pieces fall right into place”

This line is the acceptance that regardless all the adversities they have been through, they know their relationship is strong and is already perfectly adapted to all circumstances (their reputations, being in the closet, the pr stunts and the public eye in general).

In addition to the previous analysis, there are other two very important details. First, at the end of the song we hear Taylor count to three, assuming that 1) 1989, 2) reputation, 3) TS7. (Don’t forget the dot at the end)

Second, the ellipses on the title play a big role, they are used to indicate that the meaning of the sentence is not complete. With these two things it’s easy to say that their story will continue, this is going to be the focus of TS7 and maybe this is the era of the coming out. I know it may sound like a guess but open your mind, I'll keep explaining.

Let’s remember the famous calendar that drove us all crazy because of some stamps on specific dates; there are a thousand theories about each date and its possible meaning, but I'm only interested in one: October 3rd

And that’s because i'm pretty sure that will be the release date of the new album due to three simple reasons. The first and the clearest one, it’s because it’s fall and TS has released all her albums that season. In second place, that day is a Thursday, so she can release the new music at 11:59pm and the weekly tracking period for sales it’s just starting. And finally the stamp on that day is different from all the others, this one is golden, is the only that has the letter T and if you notice the outside part forms a star.

Now, the first time we saw all the stamps was on the reputation magazines, so I decided to check them up and look for the golden print. They can be found in the two magazines (volume 1 and 2), on the page of TWWCHNT and SO IT GOES...

Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Now let’s go a little deeper; in the reputation stadium tour “So it goes...” was not in the majority of the set lists, but the dates in which the song was on, have a curious sequence. She sang it during:

the first show in Landover

the second show in Philadelphia

the third show in East Rutherford... but honestly baby who's counting? ... 1, 2, 3.

i know Taylor Swift is a genius!

And that's not all!! She also sang it on the very last day of the whole tour in Tokyo.

Oh! And do you remember what’s the credits song on the reputation stadium tour movie?

Yes, “So It Goes...”

The song do not represent the end of the era, it’s the transition to a bigger one.

So once again, TS7 is going to be the era where all the fears are left behind, the relationship is going to continue their story but publicly, and finally they're going to be out.

Hope it made sense to you like it did to me lmao; also I want to clarify that this is just a theory there’s a lot of things we don’t know about them and their relationship, but Taylor is a smart person and I believe she want us to read between the lines.

[neonun-au]

Hello! This is the anon who sent a long review about your writings 😄 I have just come back to say that I was finally able to read from you again (was busy for sometime after sending that ask hahah), and I read chef and endless white. I am a sucker for established relationships in every form of art I can consume 一 movies, poetries, songs, novels, photographs, etc. 一 so to read each was heartwarming and heartbreaking, respectively.

How you wrote something as relatively normal and simple as cooking for a beloved's birthday without it turning mundane and tedious is a feat on its own. I am not sure if I was only imposed upon by a comment I read about it, but I did like the subtle gestures in Doyoung's character that makes him a boyfriend to Y/N; like when he leaned in to the kiss she gave him anyway despite being told to leave the kitchen out of worry. It's simple yet endearing, the sweet implication that this is the kind of boyfriend he is to her; but what else is a good, established relationship about if not the simplest and subtlest things that make the relationship what it is, right? I like it a lot ♡

As for endless white, for certain, it was bittersweet. How Dejun was relieved with seeing his partner safe and alive, and how content he was with being able to let his partner know he loves her one last time; yet with that looming thought of how Y/N would be once she awakens and learns of the news of her partner... bittersweet. It's ruminative, too. Nobody alive and well knows what or how the afterlife looks like nor do they have concrete evidence of it if they have an idea or had a glimpse, someway somehow. It's always interesting to learn of other people's theories of life and the one after it; it makes for good introspection.

I am yet to read more from you, but these two definitely nailed simplicity and depth effortlessly, which, I believe, is not so easy to attain if one is not invested enough in what they write; and which I crave for in most media I intake. It did not need to be groundbreaking, just well told. I like your works! I will surely hope to read more and be able to give you some insights and praises so well deserved! ♡

ah ! im glad you're also a fan of established relationships haha i think they're so nice to read sometimes. and i know people think the only place you can go with them is fluff or just domestic stuff, but there is just as much room to play around with them as any other trope :')) this is just me saying i would like to see more varied established relationship aus, basically lol

yes ! comfort and the crux of these established relationships are so often kept in the subtleties and the mundane. actions that have become almost second nature just by way of spending so much time with the person :'))) im really happy that it came across like that for you !! i dont write slice of life nearly as much as some other genres, but there is something so comforting about the simplicity of it ! im glad you liked it <3

!! im happy endless white made some sense as, yes, a very ruminative, introspective fic haha it was a strange and immediate idea that took hold of me. i dont know if its an afterlife i necessarily believe in personally, maybe in some small aspect, but it was an interesting thought and idea ! and well worth exploring for some bittersweet fiction hehe

AH i so understand you in that ;-; so much is lost sometimes in the focus on grandeur and exploitation in media and fanfiction, that the quality and the subtlety sort of gets...lost. i would rather read the same three stories re-told but all told with heart and with love and with great care and effort towards execution than have all the grand, wild concepts in the world :'))

thank you thank you !! these asks really make my day ;A;