#you know your supposed to hug back right branch?

[soosoosoup]

He's got a lot of hug times to catch up on.

In case you wanna see w/o background :)

[starkeysmoon]

MISSED YOU

paring: neteyam sully x omaticaya gender neutral! reader

summary: neteyam sneaks away to see you

warnings: none, fluff!

word count: 1.2K!

request: hi i have a neteyam request :) i’d like to read about neteyam sneaking out to see his secret gf, basically his rebellious era hahah, where instead of doing his duties he goes to see his gf and he is happier with her, not needing to be the perfect son (bonus if the sully family are shocked by his recent behaviour and then meet his gf)

a/n: hey lovely, thank you so much for the request! i’m thinking of making the bonus into a part two, hope that’s alright. (also! my orignal upload got deleted??)

it wasn’t in neteyam’s nature to act like this. disregarding his parents' orders and sneaking around to see you.

however, he couldn't stop thinking about you. especially the laugh that would fall from your lips when he made a joke, the never-ending smile he wore when he was around you, the warmth of your touch, and just the way you made him feel in general.

It was as if you had cast a spell on him that he couldn’t seem to break from, not that he was complaining.

all he knew for certain was that he needed to see you. as a result, he settled to complete his task as soon as possible. his parents, particularly his father, had instructed him to gather twigs and branches for the mreki u'lito (fire pit) tonight.

he hastily gathered the twigs and branches, tying them together before he placed them to the side of a tree and hiding them well. he made a mental note to himself that he would bring them back home later, as he was supposed to.

a sense of guilt filled his chest as he looked back to check on the now-wrapped twigs and branches. his hands trembled a little. his tail swooshed from side to side. debating if he wanted to go through with it or not.

neteyam knew he shouldn’t leave his duties unattended, especially as the eldest son of the family. his parents were counting on him.

he knew it was wrong and that they would be worried if he didn't return soon, but why did being around you feel so right? he let out a huff, shaking his head before walking in the direction of your meeting spot.

neteyam was approaching, walking quickly, but he paused. his ears perked up when he heard familiar sounds of laughter and giggles coming from south the direction of where you were supposed to meet.

he followed instinctively and was met with a surprising sight. you were playing with a plant, the helicoradian to be exact.

he watched you in awe as you touched the leaf, it coiled up and retracted to the ground in response. you let out a soft giggle before moving to the next one.

“(name)!” he called, a smile filling his face. you turned towards the sound of the voice, smiling, before rushing towards the young boy and immediately engulfing him in a hug.

he sighed in contentment at the warmth of your presence. his previous sullen demeanor completely washing away from his body. his hands moved down to your waist and drew you in closer. the two of you stayed like that for a few moments before eventually pulling away.

“that seemed like a lot of fun,” he noted, and you nodded your head in agreement.

“it was.” you answered, your smile widening. “so, what brings you here?” you teased, already knowing the answer.

“a certain someone,” he quipped.

“and where might that certain someone be, neteyam?” you inquired, a smirk now tugging at your lips.

“they happen to be right in front of me,” he says happily, you giggle at his answer as he takes your hands and places them in his own.

“so miss me already, huh?” you teased once more.

“more than anything.” he sighs, his thumb gently caressing your hand.

“you know, it’s only been a day,” you point out, and he laughs in response.

“and a day is already long enough for me to miss you, my love,” he admits, his eyes locked on yours.

your cheeks feel hot at his words and your stomach does a flip, almost as if butterflies had entered your stomach and were fluttering around. “you just can’t seem to get enough of me can you?”

he chuckles at your words. “yes, I truly cannot (name).”

you pull him in for another hug, burying your face in the crook of his neck, as his hands wrap around your waist gently. the two of you soaking in each other’s warmth and presence once more.

he always made you feel at ease when he was close to you, and you adored him for it. you peppered soft kisses along his neckline before gazing up to look at your boyfriend to find that he was already looking at you with a grin on his face.

“i see you (name),” he says softly, before planting a gentle peck to your lips.

“i see you too, neteyam.” you beam up at him, noticing how his eyes light up at your words and how you can tell they are filled with so much love and care.

“now, are you up for a quick game of who can close all the helicoradians the fastest?” he challenged with an annoyingly cheeky face, and you playfully roll your eyes.

“oh, you’re on, sully!” you say, rushing towards the helicoradians before you’re pulled back as a hand latches onto the end of your tail.

“hey!” you yelp, swishing your tail out of his grasp. “that’s not fair”

“I never said it had to be fair,” he says, lips curving into a teasing smirk.

“i’ll get you for that!” you threaten.

“go right ahead, (name). i’m right here” he taunts, holding up his hands as if to assert his innocence.

you launch your body onto him, causing the two of you to tumble onto the ground. the helicoradians shrink right under you as the two of you playfully roll around the forest floor trying to topple one another.

it’s a continuous cycle of either one of you on top saying a smug sentence before they get flipped over and their back’s pressed down against the forest floor and they are proven wrong again.

“willing to surrender now, (name?)” neteyam asks, noticing your somewhat tired state, his body now on top of yours pressing you down on the ground.

“no,” you reply, refusing to back down despite the obvious fatigue in your voice.

although your response confirms his suspicions, and he moves away from you before offering his hand, which you gratefully accept.

the first thing you notice when you’re back off the forest floor is neteyam’s body covered with dirt before your eyes flicker to your own.

you gently brush it off yet it does no good, as it creates an even bigger smudge. neteyam moves towards you and helps you brush off the rest of the dirt on your body.

“thank you, neteyam” you say, placing a hand on his shoulder, eyes full of gratefulness.

“no worries, my love.” he chuckles, his hand moving to place a braid behind your ear. your cheeks turn into a shade of pink at his motion.

“i really do love you, you know that?” you say, giggling. he nods his head at your words, “and i really love you too.”

the two of you turn around hand in hand to notice that the helicoradian field had coiled and shrunken to the ground.

you both end up bursting into a fit of laughter at each other's competitiveness earlier. “it’s a draw,” you exclaim, and neteyam merely shakes his head. “you wish.”

[ynackerman9499]

Hello! This is me! 𝕪/𝕟 𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕟! This is my tumblr in case you don't know me i have a youtube channel which I upload texting stories videos to it! And this is my first post here in tumblr (original)

Some male Hashiras + kagaya reaction to you sacrificing yourself for them

⚠ Warning : spoiler in kyojuro and kagaya, take of death, blood, injuries, crying, some of them are really short

Giyu Tomioka

You and Giyuu were fighting against 2 demons who used a blood demon art

You killed one and Giyuu killed the other one

Or so you both thought...

"You did well giyuu_san!" You said smilling putting your sword in place

While giyuu just nodded humming as a silent 'thank you'

This only made you smile even wider. You've been friends with giyuu with great amount of time now

You both actually gets along very well Despite your different personalities

So you got used to his comforting quiet gesture

"All right! Let's head back n-"

You suddenly stopped sensing that something is wrong While giyuu looked at you wondering why you fell silent so suddenly

"Wh-"

You breathed in sharply, catching a glint in the air watching it whizz towards Giyuu.

"not on my watch!"

You yelled, quickly drawing your sword breaking the unknown object in half.

Giyuu's eyebrow twitched, taking his sword out of its sheath.

"giyuu, there!" You shouted, pointing to the direction of the demon that was currently perched on one of the trees.

The two of you gave each other a knowing nod, rushing towards the trees and jumped landing on one of the branches,

"come back here you coward!" You barked, skillfully jumping from tree to tree, following after the demon.

The demon hissed, sending metal shards towards you and Giyuu, which the two of you dodged with ease

"breath of ice..." you mumbled taking a deep breath

"dance of frozen crystals!"

Streams of sparkling diamond-like figures flowed out your sword as you jumped upwards, holding your katana over your head as you swung it effectively cutting half of it's body;

sadly, not his neck, as he covered it with a steel-like substance.

"Y/n!"

Giyuu called out, causing you to look back at him wondering why did he sound so worried

You saw he was looking horrified looking at your chest rather than your face

'why did he sound so-'

You were caught out of your thoughts by yourself coughing something liquid out of your mouth

You looked down at your chest, a large sharp metal shard piercing through the middle of your chest

"uh.. F-fuck.." you muttered stumbling back and falling against a tree vomiting even more blood feeling it a bit hard to breathe

"y/n! No!" giyuu shrieked running at your slumbering and bloody figure against the tree

"giyuu.. The d.. emon" You mumbled, coughing out a worrisome anmountof blood, the crimson liquid spilling out of your lips in mouthfuls.

"i cant leave you..." he whispered as of scared of starling you

"i cant you are in_" "... Dying"

You corrected him. Mastering the last energy you had to cup his face with your bloody hand while lying in his embrace

"i am.. Dying, Giyuu..."

"no.. No you are not.. You can slow the ble-" "my lungs are... damaged giyuu"

Tears burned his eyes, hugging you close to his chest and placed his hand over your cheek

"i.. Love you... Giyuu... So... Much.. " you confessed as you started to lose consciousness and struggling even more to keep your eyes open

You took a deep breath but sadly... It didn't come out again...

"y/n.. Y/n... Hey.." giyuu said with shaky voice as a couple of tears escaped his eyes

"hey...don't do this to me, love... I–i love you too... Why did you do this... I–i don't deserve this..."he said as he closed your lifeless eyes with his fingers

"i am sorry i am too useless to be able to protect you..." he was now on full mode sobbing

Oh how cruel is it that you didn't even hear the person you love saying thing you wanted to hear from him the most...

Obanai Iguro

No...

No no no no...

That wasn't supposed to happen...

The hit was meant for him...

It was meant for him damn it!

Why did you have to take it for him

He doesn't deserve it

He doesn't deserve to live

Why would he live while you are here dying in his arms gasping and wheezing for air

He is enraged

His fear tends to come out as anger

So while you are literally dying he is shouting at you for how stupid you are, how foolish to waste your precious live over his useless one

His shouting you mutter out an Inaudible : 'sorry... '

Just then the anger turns into tears

"you idiot..." he wailed... Actually wailed.. Something you never thought you'd see, not that you wanted to in the first place

It was supposed to be him...

"don't you dare apologise..." he hugged you even tighter feeling you fading away from him as you tried to breath but it only come out as a horrible choking sound as you choked on your own blood

His cheek rested on top of your head

"o-oba... nai.. " you said chocking in the middle of word as the hole in your chest began seeping even more blood

"g–give them.. H–hell for m–me... Yeah?..."

Oh he would...

He would make them pay for taking you away from him

For making the only person who kept him moving forward...

Is now cold and limb in his arms...

Sanemi shinazugawa

Fuck!

Shit! Shit! Shit! Fuck!

He physically can't handle what he is looking at

As he refused to stop saving you even after you already stopped breathing

"shit! Shit!" he pressed harsher on the wound, the blood was slowing but not because of his relentless attempt...

You were gone... Not even being able to get a word out because of how harshly he was crying

For some reason... Even in your final moments you found it kind of comforting that he was try his best to save you

You felt your heart break looking at him from the other side hugging your cold, lifeless body... Trying to squeeze some warmth into it even though he knows its useless

Kyojuro Rengoku

You coughed out blood as akaza hand went through your stomach

"Y/N! NO!"

You took the hit for kyojuro

I mean... How could you not... You just couldn't let someone like him die

You just couldn't...

Gripping your sword harder, you slashed it against his neck making his eye widen

'she got in my way! And she still has the strength!

Akaza thought as he was amazed at how you still has the strength to even breathe

'Kyojuro, im going to die. I know. We had a life planned in front of us, but..l couldn't let you die. I just can't'

You thought as The demon tried to punch your face, but you stopped it with your other hand

"Y/N!!"

'you won't get away... Akaza!'

Looking behind the demon, but still applying force on the neck, you looked behind to see Rengoku with the boy from before charging at you with their swords.

A smile got onto your face.

'I wont ever let go off the sword ..Until I cut his head off!'

"INOSUKE MOVE! MOVE FOR Y/N-SAN!"

The boar now charged at you with speed His attack cut the demons arms, your sword still attached to his neck.

He was running away, clearly.

The boy threw his sword at the demon,.

stabbing him through the chest. Followed by Screaming of how he was a coward by running away and that both Rengoku and you were stronger than him.

You felt two gentle pair of hands gripping your back, drops of water, or tears, to your cheek as kyojuro took you in his embrace trying to stop the bleeding even though he knows it's a fatal wound

"Y/n.. No. No..please don't leave me! Please! I beg you! I will go down on my knees if it have to!"

"kyo... It's okay..." You say voice barely a whisper as you gathered all the strength you had trying to put your hand on kyojuro's cheek.

He quickly took your bloody hand in his and put it over his cheek

"no no... The hit was meant for me to take... Why did you have to get in the middle... Why.."

"i just couldn't.. Let–" vomiting blood "y-you... Die"

You said panting feeling like you can't breathe anymore...

Kyojuro the brust out sobbing burying his face in your neck as your body laid lifeless in his arms

It was supposed to be him dammit!

He was supposed to be the one protecting you!

Not the other way around!

On the other side tanjiro watching the scene feeling his heart break over and over again

Another love story between two lovers was ruined by those disgusting Creatures

Tengen uzui

after a long and hard battle you had ended up dangling off the side of a cliff barely holding onto an also seriously injured tengen.

He could feel your fingers slipping from his.

you were both tired and injured it was a tough battle and despite the demons head being cut off you had taken some heavy blows and now you were dangling off the side of a cliff, barely conscious as tengen held onto your hand with his

"dont worry y/n! ill pul you up Soon!"

you could see him struggling to hold your hand and knew that if he held on any longer he might go down with you

watching him struggle above you made your heart ache as you couldnt do anything to help

"Ten.."

the both of you made eye contact with each other

"thank you for being with me... I love you so much"

his eyebrows twitched at your words

"why does it sound like youre saying goodbye? y/n. You better hold into my hand!"

his jaw was clenched as he spoke to you

you couldnt leave him

if only he had killed that demon sooner

if only he could have protected you

in this moment he hated the gentle smile that was on your face

because to him it meant he had failed

"we both know we'll both fall if you dont let go, neither of us have enough strength left to do anything."

"its okay ten, im ready. i love you and I'll always be watching over you. live well"

he could feel your fingers one by one letting go of his hand and he tried as hard as possible to not let go

"y/n please! I.. I can't do this without you... "

you just shook your head

"im sorry ten but you have to, i know you can. you're going to do great things, with or without me."

"always remember that i love you... And i'll always be watching you"

With that, the last grip he had on you failed

the serene smile on your face was the last thing he saw as you fell to your probable death,

shattering his heart

he screamed your name on the top of his lungs as your hands disconnected followed by painful sobs

Not again...

First his siblings now you..

He lost so many loved ones

of course he knew that he was too injured to pull you up and the most he could have done was just hold onto you until help came,

If help came...

he hated this,

he hated himself

what was the point of being strong when he couldnt even save the one person he loved most in this entire world

"Live well" it was one of the last things you told him hed try his best to because you asked him of it but to him living well meant being by your side which was something he couldnt do anymore.

Muichiro Tokito

poor baby doesn't really know what to do

he's kneeling beside you with a worried look

he's sweating and his hands are clammy

he remains silent for the most part

"Y/n?"

He is right next to you, hand nervously taking your own

"Don't worry."

you give him a weak smile as scary as it was, just his presence was enough.

"|-what do I do?"

The fear in his face made your heart clench.

"Just stay with me. You dont need to do a thing..."

You squeezed his hand with the last bit of strength

you had, smiling softly

"Be careful okay? There are still a lot of demons left"

You didn't fear death,

but you did fear what would happen to those you

loved once it got to you.

Kagaya ubuyashiki

This took place before the explosion in the final battle era

Your husband's hand is cold in yours. You squeeze his

fingers and watch the moonlight bleed out the color of

his skin into silver.

"Are you well, love?" you ask quietly. A washbowl rests to your side, the cloth draped over the side dripping droplets of water down the floor. You take it and wrangle the water with one hand as best as you can,

laying it atop his forehead after. Kagaya closes his eyes and smiles beatifically. It looks painful.

"I will be fine," he says. A mere whisper; it runs wild in the echoes of the night. "| am certain... After tonight, everything will be fine again." You hum thoughtfully. Your heart turns like a clock,

mechanical, a slave to fate. You dare not tell him anything.

"I wonder. . " Kagaya starts. "How does the sky look tonight, Y/N?"

You looked up at the sky as the clouds moved to reveal the beautiful moon

"it's beautiful..." you said as he leaned into your hand as you caressed his cheeks

"he is here..."

A long shadow blocks the moonlight. You look up.

Plum red eyes stare back.

"It's finally nice to meet you, Kibutsuji Muzan," Kagaya says casually.

A chuckle flits in your ear, honey-thick and suave.

Muzan's jacket rests precariously on his shoulders,

and the wind picks up, as if trying to steal it away. The sleeves whip around him uselessly.

"Well;" he says. "You sure look terrible, Ubuyashiki."

If you do not look too closely, you can still delude

yourself into dreaming that this is a normal family.

Your twins have not stopped playing, and their

laughter mingles with the song.

*after the speech because i cant recall it 💀*

"Kibutsuji" You incline your head, a mockery of respect. "You may have prepared for everything.. But there is one thing you didn't prepared for.."

"and what would that may be?"

"this–" you pulled out teh explosion monitor and jumped on kagaya and just before it explored a room open under kagaya's bed and you both fell into a room underground where your kids were waiting for you to come and there was a secret door which led to outside

But it was quite the fall, but you shielded kagaya's body with yours as you he fell on top of you

"Uhmm... " Kagaya groaned from the pain of the impact but more at the though that you were hurt from the fall and his weight together

"it's okay... It's okay..." you said as you cradled kagaya's fragile body

"i just need you to hold on for me... Can you do that please?"

The explosion was loud on top of you but what was more terrifying was the piece of wood of the selling above you that was about to fall

So you quickly pushed kagaya out of the way just as the piece of wood fell on your lower body completely breaking it

"y/n! " Kagaya yelled as best as he could as he heard your crying of pain

"i am fine! I am fine!" You shouted as you tried to stop the tears from dropping from the pain

"kiriya! Listen! Take your father and run out of here!"

"b–but mo–" "no buts! This piece of seilling completely crushed my lower par! You won't be able to get it out! Even if you did i'd be just a burden! I won't be able to run! No go! Go!"

Kiriya quickly carried his father on his shoulder as best as he could

"no... Y/n... If we die... we die together.. That's a promise..."

"well.. Look like i have a change of plans, sorry love"

You said as you smiled sadly at him even though he can't see it

*time skip*

"CAW! CAW! KIBUTSUJI MUZAN IS DEFEATED! KIBUTSUJI MUZAN IS DEFEATED! THE FINAL BATTLE IS OVER! CAW! CAW!"

Kagaya opened his eyes at the sound of the noisy crow.. And for the first time in years...

He sees the sky clearly as the curse marks started to fade from his body...

He quickly tried to ran into the place where his estate is supposed to be with only one though in mind...

'y/n...'

He opened his eyes clearly for the first time in years and the first face he wanted to look at was yours

"oyakata_sama! Wait! You are not fully recovered yet!"

The kakushi tried to warn him but he just didn't care

He wanted to see you, to touch you, to tell you how much you mean to him even though words cannot describe, to make sure you are alright

But what he saw made him stop and his blood run cold...

The estate.. His home... Your home.. Is now crumbled to pieces with you under all that

he quickly took off and tried to dig into the rubble in hopes maybe.. Just maybe.. You are still alive...

"master..."

The kakushis and the remaining of the hashiras felt thier heart break looking at thier master like this...

Nevertheless, they started to help thier master find his wife.. I mean.. You were like a mother and a big sister to them all...

"I found something!" one of the kakushi shouted as he saw your bloody hand sticking out of the rubble

They quickly ran to where he was and started digging even more, just as they reached your head they all stopped and stepped back for thier master to take a look at you...

"oh my dear..."

Kagaya quietly knelt down where your bloody upper body only was visible

He caressed your bloody

cheek just as you did with him a few hours ago...

Oh how beautiful you looked... Even if you were cold and pale with your lips starting to get blue..

He missed you so much that he almost forgot the way you looked...

You looked even more beautiful than he remembered even with the black circles under your eyes and the few wrinkles that appeared on your face and the grey hairs despite how young you are...

"oh love... How many times did i tell not to worry to much about me..." Kagaya whispered as he caressed your cold skin with a few tears falling from his eyes "like this you will age before time..."

He hugged you one last time before the kakushis free your body completely from the rubble and take you to bury your beautiful body

Today the world won peace.. But he lost his...

[aezuria]

Hear me out.. happy Golden Retriever bf x broody black Cat gf, but it's Jason Grace x daughter of hades reader 👀👀

*ੈ✎ light of my life, where are you?

content: jason grace x daughter of hades! reader

╰┈▸ warnings: none (until the ending oopsie)

librarian's annotations: IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG ANON AND JUST SKIP THE ENDING IF U DONT WANT ANGST

maybe it was your gloomy disposition, or the fact that you were a daughter of hades, either way, most people avoided you like the plague. you didn't mind it all too much—you were usually one for solitude.

that was until you met jason grace. you disliked him from the start. dislike, not hate, because you couldn't bear to hate the person who always stuck up for your brother. but he was too bright, too overbearing for you. very much not your style.

(that's what they all say at the start)

he was just too good to be true! how could he be all these things everyone claimed him to be? they just had to be exaggerating.

but when he flashed his dazzling smile and tender gaze, you knew that all the rumors were true. even so, you pried your eyes away from him. you would not be wooed by a roman so easily!

jason did not make it easy for you. he followed you around camp like a lost puppy. he tried to be subtle, but his tall form wasn't exactly hard to spot. you went to your cabin? he followed you to the door, claiming he wanted to see nico. you went to the training grounds? he picked up a lance and started examining it a little too hard. when you finally confronted him about it, he just laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head, saying, "i was trying to work up the courage to ask you to be friends."

how were you supposed to not like him after that?

despite your lack of romantic endeavors, you were sure that friends didn't do what jason did. he opened the door for you, made sure you ate proper meals—and sure, those acts were pretty "just friends" level. but he also tied your shoes, put flowers in your hair, and hugged you so warmly whenever you were feeling especially down. you felt the unmistakable flutter in your heart whenever he did those things, instead of your initial distaste for him.

your confusion was answered the next evening. you swore nico had muttered something about jason being the only guy (besides him) he'd trust with you, right before telling you to go into the woods. "there's a surprise there," he had explained. "just trust me, okay?"

the sun was starting to set, its rays darting between the leaves and casting a soft glow on the grass. "go to the woods... can he be any more specific?" you muttered, before you caught a familiar head of blond hair in the corner of your eye. you turned and walked towards him, brushing away the branches as you did so.

"y/n!" jason beamed as he caught sight of you entering the clearing. he straightened up and messed with something behind his back. he shifted his feet and pulled out a bouquet, offering it to you shyly. "i asked the dryads what your favorites were. do you like them? did i organize them properly? are these actually not your favorites and they were just lying to me-"

"jason." you cut him off and smiled, taking the bouquet and smelling the freshly picked flowers. "i love them, thank you."

he swore his heart stopped. your smile was the most gorgeous sight he's ever seen. you were like an angel; why was it that no one thought to make you smile more often? he met your content expression with a wide beam of his own.

"really? i'm glad!" jason sighed in relief, before clearing his throat. "um," his voice cracked, face flushing red at that. "i wanted to ask if i could be your boyfriend? i just, you're so sweet and strong, and pretty... anyone would be lucky to be yours. but, i want to be that lucky guy, if you'll let me?" he looked into your eyes so earnestly, there was no other answer but yes.

"you know i love you, right?" jason whispered into your hair. your warmth brought him comfort in his otherwise cold cabin, empty and unfeeling, just like his father's attitude to him.

"uh huh. and i love you too." you mumbled sleepily into his chest. "but do you have to go?"

he laughed softly. "yes, i do." jason combed through your hair, silk between his fingertips. "i'll be back before you know it."

"do you ever think that we don't deserve this?" you whispered, eyes already shut as sleep slowly overtook you. "that we shouldn't have to fight someone else's battles?"

"yeah." jason rested his chin on the top of your head and squeezed you tighter. "sometimes i think that too."

shadows pried your eyes open, then slipped around your heart and squeezed. he was gone. you could feel it. you knew and yet you hoped and prayed that you were wrong. he was supposed to come home later, right? he would.

but the darkness settled in your stomach and weighed you down until morning.

and so you waited and waited, for nico's familiar shadow, or a chariot riding from the sky. what came was the former. you felt the comforting coldness of your brother's appearance, but jason's warmness was nowhere to be held. nico's dark eyes were rimmed with barely kept tears, his shoulders trembling with silent sobs.

"he's gone." your brother's voice was as dead as jason, as final as his last breath.

never had you begged and pleaded to your father so much; never had you needed to. never had you imagined a life without the sun, your sun. never had the ghost of your soul escaped in a pitiful shriek of agony, or became one with the dirt as salty tears.

and you knew, just as you knew death, that a part of you had died with him.

[loose-angel]

aw could u maybe write some more big brother!neteyam please 🥺 maybe the reader has a fight with jake and neteyam stands up for her even though he’d never dare to disagree with his dad unless it’s about his sister 😔 i feel like he’d be such an overprotective brother 😭

Big Brother | Neteyam pt.2

pairing: brother!Neteyam x sister!reader w/c: 651 notes: i had so much fun writing this!! i hope this meets your expectations >.< have fun reading!!

𝐩𝐚𝐫�� 𝐨𝐧𝐞

Neteyam was never one to argue, sure he’ll have the occasional quarrel with Lo’ak, or other kids in the clan, but that was it. So he would never, ever, try to fight against his parents. He wouldn’t even think about it. As the eldest he has to be the peacemaker, the levelheaded one, not some kind of rash idiot.

Although, he feels that there may be a bit of an exception. 

“Baby girl, what were you thinking?” Jake yelled, running a hand over his face. Your ears flattened at his tone. Your father hardly ever scolded you, you didn’t get into trouble often, but when you did, it was met with a harsh attitude. 

“I’m sorry,” You mumbled, head lowered. Jake sighed, shifting on his feet, placing a hand on his hip. 

Jake shook his head, “No, you don’t get it, you could’ve died! You’ve got to be more careful!” You nodded along his words, tears brimming at your eyes. You really didn’t mean to stay out until eclipse! You were just having so much fun that you didn’t even notice the time of day, if only you had noticed you would’ve gone straight home. Once you started your trek back to the hometree, you had encountered a thanator, once it had noticed your presence, it came charging at you. You were only able to climb up a large tree and maneuver through the branches to get home. Either way, it was a close call, and Jake was not happy with it. 

It may seem rash, to get angry at something so small compared to what your siblings have gotten themselves into, but you just never got in trouble, this was big for Jake.

As you both stood there in silence, Neteyam walks in, peering carefully at his dad. Neteyam knows that you find comfort in his presence, that as long as your big brother is there, everything will be okay, and your big brother will deliver. He moves over to stand a few feet away from you, far enough that your father won’t have any complaints. 

“No leaving hometree for a month,” Jake grunts, shaking his head once again. 

You gasped, “But, dad —”

“No.”

“Dad I —” 

“No.” Jake said with finality.

“Father, I’m sorry, it is my fault, I was supposed to be watching Y/N and I decided to let her wander the forest on her own,” Neteyam interjected, raising his hands as he stepped between you and your father. Jake turns his attention to his eldest, tilting his head. 

“‘Teyam, you don’t need to take the fall for every single thing your siblings do.” Jake huffed, his gaze softening. You were tucked behind your older brother, sniffling. 

“No father, I insist, it is truly my fault.” Neteyam spoke, his tone more persistent. He stands taller, raising himself a bit. As you tuck yourself behind him, he reaches out a hand, gently placing it on your arm. Your sniffles quiet down at the touch.

Jake sighs. He shifts on his feet and looks away momentarily. When his gaze returns to his children, he no longer looks at them as people, but as his children.

“Okay,” he grumbles, “C’mere kids.” Jake walks forward and wraps the both of you in his arms, nuzzling onto the top of Neteyam’s head. 

“I’m sorry, I just want you all to be safe, I’m afraid of losing any of you.” Jake says, muffled. You and Neteyam nod, hugging your father back. 

“I love you guys, you know that right?” You and Neteyam nod once again, “Okay, get outta here.” Jake says softly.

You and Neteyam walk a few feet away before he breaks the silence. 

“Are you okay baby sister?” He turns his head to you, “No more crying okay?” You hum. 

“I’ll always be here to protect you, okay?” This time, Neteyam stops in his tracks, cupping your face in his hands. 

“Okay.”

[brights-place]

Hii! I saw one of your posts and I was wondering if you could do headcannons with john dory and/or branch with a Bounty Hunter troll s/o? Maybe part of K-Pop if that's okay! Thank you! :D

Branch and John Dory dating an K-POP S/O

Pairings: Branch X Reader, JD X Reader (Seperate)

Warnings: None

A/N: OMG YESSS As always Broppy will not be cannon if I'm doing an X Branch unless it's an poly relation ship with branch and poppy! Anyways I had fun writing for the K-POP trolls CAUSE THEY ARE SO COOL! I had another request for K-Pop trolls for john dory so I'd write that too ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡

John Dory

- You guys met when poppy was inviting the sub genres to pop village to show them pop music since it was their turn to show around the different genres of their style of music

- John dory was suppose to be helping sort out different sub genres when it came to you and the K-pop group he paused and stared at you and your group

- You appearance was gorgeous you had an unique texture to your silver-colored bodies which gives off a glossy rainbow chrome effect - you had an voluminous f/c hair swept to the side above their right eye with a smaller tuft of hair above your left ear and wearing a glossy leotard of matching colors you fit in with your group well but you stood out to him. - Your thick eyeshadow of different colors and how you glowed made him stare at you as Wani tried to get his attention to help sort out the groups - Stared at you as you glanced at him giggling before leaving with your group as John Dory walked over to branch to ask about your group

- “The K-pop group? Oh there just pop but in Korean… it’s horrifying aswell how good they are” Branch mumbled “Thanks Bitty B!” - He saw you again when he was gonna preform to show some of Pop music to you all he noticed how you stared at him the whole time how you smiled and glanced to your K-pop group who nodded together and you all quietly in sync danced abit with the music

- After the show he walked up to you and asked you about yourself to get to know you better while Wani, Ari, Kim-Petit, Gomdori, and Baby Bun were giggling and leaving you two alone - John dory walked over with an smile that made you blush slightly on your slightly shiny skin as you two shook hands "I'm JD it's nice to meet you?" "(name)! My name is (Name)" you said smiling as he smiled "Your K-pop right?" You nodded as he asked questions and you'd answer them the two of you exchanging information - which soon turned to talking about other music and then turning to your own personal life's and things you likes - You went on an whole rant about your music genre telling him that K-pop was caracterized by catchy hooks, polished choreography, grandiose live performances, and impeccably produced music videos, K-pop including music by groups like BTS and BLACKPINK which where most popular and now frequently tops the Billboard charts, attracts a fiercely dedicated online following while you and your group were small you planned on going bigger. - You started to bond together and he asked if you can teach him some K-pop dances and he could let you go to all brozone concerts for free

- You were happy the deal worked out be he was even happier that you wanted to g see his concerts

- You two exchanged dances you even taught him your K-pop dance for one of your bands is songs 'Feel My Rhythm' which he loved so much - As an surprise he preformed it with his brothers on the concert as he posed and pointed an finger towards you playfully before going back to dancing

- You two would be laughing together back stage as you complimented him so much "John dory you put my bands song in your concert?" John dory smiled "we did an english version you translated it all for me thats why I wrote it down"

- You literally teared up "정말 친절해요!" you exclaimed hugging him as he blinked confused as Wani appeared from thin air and whispered to John dory "They said you were really kind" Wani soon ran off once again giggling

- He was slowly learning Korean just for you even though he absolute SUCKED at it you found it adorable

- You two slowly started to get comfortable with each other so sometimes you'd be staying over with him or he's staying over with you.

- Branch was going to grab John dory for rehearsel saying good morning to rhonda opening the door to see you sleeping in john dorys arms drooling and john dorys head on your neck sleeping aswell

- Branch literally deadpanned as poppy squealed so happily at the scene

- Denies he has feelings for you due to the fact your too good for him... like he fels bad that he even likes someone like you so he wanted to ignore you cause your too good for him

- You on the other hand get teased by Wani, Ari, Kim-Petit, Gomdori, and Baby Bun while practicing for an concert of yours - He was ignoring you which made you feel hurt so you invited him to your concert begging him to come after finding him and asking him to just go so he could just see you on stage

- Literally whipped for you so he 1000% agreed to hugging you and apologizing for ignoring you and you even asked for the others to come as well!

- When he went to the concert his eyes were wide when seeing you sing in Korean and dance happily as you noticed john dory in the crowd you grinned even wider dancing before posing while panting - He heard Better place being played along with his brothers and turned to you dancing and singing his parts made his eyes widened while he blushed an deep shade of blue as his brothers teased him - After the concert as usual you tackled him in an hug excitedly telling him you did what he did for you at his own concert with brozone

- You two grinned him holding your waist with your hands on his shoulders as you giggled happily as he chuckled looking down at you before you kissed eachother - The others cheered as Baby bun was shouting an "FINALLY!" so loud as you started to curse your friend out in Korean as john dory chuckled holding you back by your waist "사랑해요" You literally froze - Once he said that you literally tackled him once more to pepper his face with kisses for learning how to say 'I love you in Korean'

Branch

- Like with the reggaton trolls post I made Branch met you when you were with Wani, Ari, Kim-Petit, Gomdori, and Baby Bun  to take him to barb the queen of rock to save your music aka K-pop

- You were playful you stood out just like your other bounty hunter k-pop trolls. - You toyed with him the most like your friends before grabbing him quickly after you were moving quickly around the area and tying him up - You and your group stood out to him well but you stood out most with your appearance even if it was the same as the others - Your unique texture to your silver-colored bodies which gives off a glossy rainbow chrome effect. You had an voluminous f/c hair swept to the side above their right eye with a smaller tuft of hair above your left ear and wearing a glossy leotard of matching colors you fit in with your group well but you stood out to him. - Your thick eye shadow of different colors and how you glowed made him stare at you as Wani called him an crybaby and asking him if he was poppy - The Reggaton trolls appeared and Branch noticed how your grip on him tightened abit as you stared worriedly towards your fellow K-pop trolls who where smirking knowing who they where - When you started to dance unwrapping him quickly from the rope you started to dance while singing loudly and happily - In the dance battle with the reggaton trolls he noticed the fact you bopped your head and vibed a bit to the music made him slightly smile - Though you were the first one to listen to him when he brought up all music being saved as you turned to your group and back to looking at him as Tresi "Okay Pop troll were listening" Tresillo said crossing his arms turning to branch as You were whispering to Ari on how Tresillo sounded hot as an joke -When you hopped into the hot air balloon you greeted the reggaton trolls happily and asked about their genre while they asked about yours while you soon went to talk to branch right after grinning

- You asked him alot about himself, him giving blunt replies but he was quite shocked how there was another hyper like troll like you were talking to him you acted close like poppy but less hyper - You were laid back and asked him questions about pop village and asked if he knew about the other genres which he didn't so you happily explained your style and music - You went on an whole rant about your music genre telling him that K-pop was characterized by catchy hooks, polished choreography, grandiose live performances, and impeccably produced music videos just like normal pop but yours was more... Well more mixed with some styles! K-pop including music by groups like BTS and BLACKPINK which where most popular and now frequently tops the Billboard charts, attracts a fiercely dedicated online following while you and your group were small you planned on going bigger. (yes I added this again for branch cause YES I'M STILL INVESTED AND HAPPY! ABOUT FUCKING TROLLS!) - Branch nodded his head as he kept quiet but listened to you about all your rambling even asking questions if you could show some dance moves to him later - After saving all music and becoming in harmony he noticed you showing some random trolls K-pop and he joined in when seeing poppy rush over when seeing you dance

- You were hyper and bouncing and being playful with him as he was invested with your dancing and singing

- You started to bond together and he asked if you can teach him some K-pop dances and your language so he could talk shit if needed as an joke as you laughed and took his hand "Were best friends now!" "Wait what?"

- After awhile you two soon started to get close and talk alot together and would dance together. He'd sing songs you'd request if you sang some Korean songs as well

- You two would be seen together and when your apart it's only just for an few moments until one of you appear later

- Branch has gotten use to when you visit his bunker randomly and tackle him into an hug especially when he's drinking his coffee and gets surprised to see you on the kitchen counter when he turns around with your glittery figure

- He'd speak Korean to you to make you flustered which works very well for the both of you. Him seeing your blushing face and you hearing him speak Korean

- when you two are together and your speaking in Korean in annoyance or arguing with someone Poppy and the other pop trolls have to turn to each other then turn to branch who has to explain with an bored expression

- You two soon realized you acted more like an couple then friends in some moments so poppy had to force you two to get together

- Wani, Ari, Kim-Petit, Gomdori, and Baby Bun gave branch advice and tips on how to try date you

- you two started to date when you went to save floyd he introduced you as his partner as poppys jaw drop asking you when it happened and asked you to tell her everything but you had to tell her to be quiet

- When you saved floyd he shyly introduced you to his brothers as you waved hello as they questioned you about branch and your love life which you enjoyed as you got to tease your boyfriend and see hsi baby photos.

reblogs + comments are appreciated ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

©brights-place 2024 — do not repost on another platform, copy, translate or edit my works! if you fit my DNI list please don't interact!

[brotheramberland]

Senseis' as fathers with a child!reader that was born blind.

Senseis' include: Kakashi Hatake, Satoru Gojo, Yami Sukehiro, and Levi Ackerman.

Please keep in mind: All character & reader interactions are purely platonic. There is NO romance. The reader is somewhere below the age of twelve and is portrayed as non-binary. These drabbles are meant to be platonic, fluffy and comforting.

━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━

Kakashi Hatake

"Do you have a good sense of your surroundings?" Kakashi asked from where he knelt beside you.

You sported a determined expression that he couldn't help but to find both adorable and admirable. Even blind you still tried your hardest to improve your skills no matter how dangerous it may be. It made him proud and also worried him to death.

"Mhm," You nodded, tilting your head, "There's a tree five meters that way. I think I know where to go."

"Very good," Kakashi patted your back, "Just remember, if you happen to fall, I'll be right there to catch you."

"Ok, daddy," You smiled at him before focusing all your attention on using echolocation to navigate the branch you wanted to jump on. If you were going to be a ninja one day, you had to practice and train with all your might, "Here I go."

Kakashi held his breath while calmly waiting for you to make your jump, his body braced in precaution. A lump grew in his throat and sweat lightly dampened his clothes. Honestly, he might be over-thinking a bit, but he couldn't help it. He loved you so much, and while he respected your desires to train, he still worried about you tremendously.

He had lost so much in his life. Losing the most precious piece of it would cause him to go infinitely insane. Your blindness was an extreme vulnerability, and although you had grown well adapted to it, there was still much you had left to learn. And it didn't help his anxiety any when you decided to do dangerous activities like this.

In a flash, you jumped.

With a stumble, you landed perfectly on the tree branch. Wobbling to regain balance, you blushed in triumph and giggled, "Ah! Did you see that, daddy? I made it!"

Kakashi swiftly jumped onto the same branch, smiling proudly behind his mask, "Yes I did. That was well done, dongo, good job. At this rate, you'll be a ninja in no time."

Delighted by his praise, you grinned and began looking around, getting excited when you sensed yet another nearby branch. "There's another one," You grinned and went to jump.

Kakashi gasped and reached out for you, "Wait, (y/n), not so fast."

This time around, you didn't land where you were supposed to. In fact you didn't come into contact with any trees, and instead fell to the far away ground. "Ahh, daddy!" You cried.

Kakashi caught you in an instant, safely securing you in his arms while landing on a nearby branch, "You okay?"

You whimpered, hugging him tightly and frowning in failure, "Yes, but... I missed."

"That's okay," Kakashi quickly reassured you, running a soothing hand through your messy hair, "We all make mistakes. Why don't you try again, but this time, try not to let your emotions overwhelm you, ok? Often times emotions can be more blinding than blindness itself."

"But... What if I miss again?" You say sadly, "I-if I can't jump like I'm supposed to, then I'll never get to be a ninja, an-and you'll hate me, a-and I w-won't get to be like you-"

"Hey, hey, where's this coming from?" Kakashi grasped your shaking shoulders, looking into your milky, watery eyes, "Dongo, I could never hate you, so don't ever assume that, ok? And this was only your second attempt. You have plenty more to go. Don't be so hard on yourself. One of the most important things about being a ninja is never giving up. You're not giving up, are you?"

Quickly wiping your eyes, you shook your head and say softly, "Do you really think I can do it?"

Kakashi smiled and went to playfully pinch your cheek, kissing you on the forehead through his mask before saying, "I know you can. There's nothing you can't do, (y/n), and I'll always be right here by your side to make sure of that."

━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━

Levi Ackerman

Levi was enjoying one of his rare days off from the ever tiring Survey Corps. He hadn't gotten to see you in over a week- something he chewed Erwin out for sternly. By the time he entered his house, you came rushing towards him, your tiny figure accidentally bumping into things along the way.

"What did I say about running?" He grumbled, unable to resist hugging you whenever you were close enough, "Damn runt, gonna hurt yourself."

"I missed you, daddy," You say in a mixture of sadness and excitement, your cracking voice causing him to frown, "You were gone so long. I-I was scared you wouldn't come back."

"Hmp, so much for faith," Levi ruffled your hair, relief flooding him at finally getting to be at your side again, "Has nanny been good to you?"

You whimpered a bit, your glossy eyes pointing towards the ground, "I like her, but... She doesn't let me draw... or cook... or sew."

At that answer, Levi sighed and palmed his face, cursing nonsense underneath his breath. This was a common problem for you and him; nannies and babysitters not letting you do anything fun all because you were blind. None of them had any patience or consideration and it really got on his nerves.

"Tell me she read to you at least?" He rubbed his temple, not really in the mood to threaten another dumb nanny for mistreating his child, but if he had to he would absolutely give her a piece of his mind.

Your small "yes" was the only thing that saved her.

Seeing the dejection decorating your face, Levi tapped on your nose and said, "Well, you should know it's been a while since I've had some decent food. Get your little butt in there and cook me something already."

Gasping in joy at his given permission to do one of your favorite activities, you nearly leaped into the air, twirling around and giggling excitedly, "Yay! I get to cook for daddy."

Before you could run off, Levi grabbed your hand and grumbled, "No running this time."

You grumbled back at him and marched to the kitchen with a silly pout on your face. Levi shook his head, grinning as he thought about how much he loved you. Honestly, you being blind was kind of a relief to him simply because it meant that you would never be able to fight. And being the protective father he was, he rather preferred it that way.

You were already doing such a good job at basic daily activities like reading braille, learning how to write, cooking small meals, navigating your way through familiar places, and even drawing and sewing. People said you wouldn't develop properly when you were born. Well, Levi would like to see them say that to his face now.

Taking off his jacket, Levi none-too-politely paid the nanny and threw her out of his house. Then he went into the kitchen where you were currently working on mixing eggs in a bowl, your eyes staring mindlessly at the wall. You may be blind, but you made him so unbelievably proud, you had no idea.

"I'm making your favorite, daddy," You say cheerfully when you noticed his presence.

Levi smirked and went to put some fire in the stove, "'Bout time I was spoiled."

You giggled, carefully climbed down from the chair, and walked over to him, reaching out to feel for his hand, "Can I see you?"

After getting the fire started, Levi knelt down in front of you and patiently allowed you to touch his face with your hands. You often did this during moments when he held you, your little hands gently feeling the structure of his face in an attempt to get an idea of what he really looked like.

"I missed you, daddy," You say quietly.

Levi reached forward and pulled you into a firm, loving hug, kissing the side of your cheek, "Missed you too, you little runt."

━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━

Satoru Gojo

Who would have thought that his child would be born with beautiful crystal eyes like he himself had, and yet be cursed never to use them? Even though your disability was not his fault, Gojo still felt guiltily accountable, and always sought protecting you and making you the happiest he possibly could.

Starting a new morning, Gojo carried some fresh, folded clothes into your bedroom, quiet and stealthy. You were sleeping peacefully on your bed, your little snores causing his heart to flood with endearment. Gosh, you were so precious to him.

Setting the clothes down, Gojo knelt beside the bed and reached out to brush a gentle hand through your hair. You whimpered, your head stirring around on the pillow. "Hm? Hello? Rise and shine," He playfully sang.

You groaned softly, your body stretching out as your eyes squinted open. "Mm... Daddy?" You reached out to feel for him as your eyes stayed aimed towards the ceiling.

"Morning, my little angel," Gojo grabbed your hand and squeezed it gently, "Time to get up."

"Are you taking me to work today?" You asked curiously, tilting your head towards him, your hand tensing within his own larger one, "What if they don't like me?"

"Are you kidding me? They're gonna love you," Gojo blew raspberries and laughed, "And if they don't, then guess what? More butts' for me to leave my ultra-famous, Gojo styled foot print on."

Giggling at his joke, you reached out with your free hand and go to feel the blind-fold covering his powerful eyes, "I wish I could be more like you."

That sent a bullet roaring through Gojo's heart. He absolutely hated it when you degraded yourself and/or claimed that you wished you were different. It broke his heart more than you could ever imagine. "Hmm, well I love you just the way you are," He said casually.

"In fact I'd give up my own eyes any day to be just like you; free house, free food, the world's most riveting, handsome dad (if I do say so myself), and of course the opportunity to never have to work in a dangerous environment," Gojo smiled and patted your head, "There are plenty of reasons to be like you. Quit being so negative- you'll make the walls cry- and they don't even have eyes."

Letting go of your hand, Gojo grabbed your clothes and unceremoniously tossed them onto your face, "Hurry, hurry, or I'll eat all of the breakfast. Hm? Breakfast... Oh no, the breakfast!"

Sensing your father quickly disappear, you only manage to frown when the fire alarms began going off seconds later. Looks like he burnt breakfast... Again...

After you got dressed, brushed your teeth and headed down the hallway, you grimaced at the stench of burnt eggs. Goodness, what a silly father you had, but you loved him. Coming to a stop at the table where you sensed he was sitting at, you timidly held out a single band of cloth.

"Oh? What's this?" Gojo asked nonchalantly, pretending not to be embarrassed about, yet again, burning breakfast, "A scarf?"

"I... I thought that maybe... S-since I'm blind, maybe I could wear something like what you wear to cover your eyes. Then that way..." You frowned, tilting your nose down at the ground, "That way they won't know I'm blind. They'll think I'm strong, like you."

If your words could be knives, then they would have just sliced right through his chest. Still though, he managed to maintain his optimistic, calm persona, "What? You wanna lie to your new friends? Well that's not very nice. Their hearts would be broken in seconds."

"But..." You whimpered.

"Listen, (y/n)," Gojo reached out to grasp your shoulder, squeezing it gently, "You're not like me. You will never be anything like me. Why- you may ask? Because you're already a million times better."

You sniffled, leaning in to hug him, grateful that he so greatly accepted and loved you no matter how flawed you were, "I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, little angel who is stronger and cooler and- while I hate to admit it- better looking than me," Gojo teased, your laughter his haven that he could live in forever.

He loves you, (y/n), remember that.

━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━

Yami Sukehiro

Yami, in general, was already extremely protective of you, especially after he discovered that you would forever be blind. Now that's not to say that he didn't encourage you to push past your limits. In fact he helped you train all the time. But see, the only problem he had with you training was when you trained by yourself.

And when he found out that you had been flying around on a broom by yourself thus leading to the breaking of your arm, Yami just about tore the rooftops off buildings with his sheer rage alone.

He was in the medical ward giving Magna and Luck a good scolding until you came prattling up, your arm perfectly healed by healing-magic. "Daddy, please stop being mean to Magna and Luck," You whined, tears in your eyes as you lightly shook, "I'm sorry. It's my fault... I went outside without their permission and rode the broom... It's my fault."

The entire ward went dead silent as Yami turned all his attention to you. Considering how bad his temper could get, you were pretty brave for admitting your mistake. And the look on your face; embarrassed, frightened and sad. He knew that you were telling the truth.

"Alright then," Yami relaxed and stepped forward to take your healed hand in his, his voice calm as he said, "Think it's 'bout time you and I had a little chat."

You whimpered but otherwise said nothing the entire time your father lead you just outside the ward. You knew from how he treated others that making him angry resulted in a scary outcome, and you worried what he would do to you now that you've finally done something to upset him. You felt bad too. Sad and regretful.

Once you were outside, Yami let go of your hand and lit a cigarette, "So... Ya just thought ya could do whatever the heck ya wanted to, huh?"

You tensed, your blind eyes staring at the ground, "I did a bad thing. I'm sorry, daddy."

Yami considered you. Unlike other people who annoyed him, he had never really ever gotten mad at you. Seeing how scared you were right now was suffocating enough to make him pout. Was he really making you that uncomfortable? But... He was your father. You shouldn't have to feel uncomfortable around him.

"Ya know, if this were me an' my dad, I woulda' already got my head beat in," Yami blew out a cloud of smoke, "Lucky for you though, I ain't him... I do wanna know one thing though- If all ya wanted to do was ride a damn broom, why didn't ya ask for help?"

You swayed back and forth, fiddling with your hands, "'Cause... You don't need help, an'..."

Ah. So you wanted to be like him. Yami closed his eyes in understanding. "Squirt, get over here an' look at me," Yami crouched down and guided your tiny hand to rest against the side of his face.

He in return cupped your face, gazing into your foggy eyes and saying, "I don't need help 'cause I'm all grown an' got full control over my mana. You're still a tiny, little sprout. Now if ya wanna train, that's fine, but 'till then, you train when someone else is around to help, ya hear?"

You nodded, your lower lip wobbling, "Yes, daddy."

"Eh? I go easy on ya an' you're still about'a cry? Talk about sensitive," Yami chuckled a bit, gently whacking your nose with his thumb.

"I-it's not you, daddy, I..." You whimpered, your body buckling up, "When I fell- i-it... It was just so scary a-and it hurt..."

Oh. Yami's face bloomed with realization. Oh... That was your first traumatic experience, huh? No wonder you were so upset. At first he thought about teasing you or making a sarcastic remark, but ultimately decided against it.

Instead he settled for wrapping his arms around you and pulling you against his large chest. "It'll be alright, squirt. You're tough. You'll pull through. Everything's gonna be alright, ya hear?"

Soaking up his comforting warmth and attention, you whimpered and nodded, trying your hardest to hide in the safety of his chest. Your father was so strong and comforting. With him around, it was guaranteed that you would always be safe.

[doki-doki-imagines]

I'd like to request Raiden, Shang Tsung and Kung Lao with that mistletoe prompt you wrote about before :) it's really cute!

author note: in the previous episode

Raiden: -He falls for it. Raiden doesn't know the meaning of it, but he also didn't notice the plant in the first place. -"Ah-ah, stop right there." His eyes widen, his hands lifted up, your voice is serious, so he also is. "Have I done something?" His voice is actually worried, and that makes your face soften. "Look up." Your index finger points up. -You'll have to explain to Raiden how the misteltoe tradition works. -Now his face is soft too, a smile adorns his face, hands graciously placed on your hips, but not pulling you closer. -"I'll suppose I'll pay my fee." You don't have time to reply back. -You both smile into the kiss, it is soft and comfortable, your bodies now pushing themselves closer. -"Did I pay?" Raiden's plush lips millimetres away from yours, smile so big that dimples show. "Nope-" You reply, your hands now playing with the babyhair at the back of his head "One kiss for each red berry on the mistletoe." -You couldn't have chosen a better branch.

Shang Tsung: -So you tried to fool him? How dare you. -He doesn't fall for it, ever. You could fill the ceiling with misteltoes, and that day, he won't put a foot in. -But you know who falls for it? Yeah, you! -"It's time to pay up, treasure." His index finger lifting your chin up, gaze so intense you feel the need to gulp, throat dry. -You meet his lips, you kiss him with reverence, your hands trembling but never touching his cheeks, like a god would strike you down for your sinful act. -Shang Tsung smiles into the kiss and pulls you closer, much less care and more desire in the movements of his hands. -But don't you dare reciprocate with the same intensity; he loves to be treated as a better being. -The kiss doesn't end there, but keep going to the sofa of your living room, misteltoe tradition long forgotten.

Kung Lao: -"Hey sweetie, what is this thing hanging from the ceiling?" "It's a traditional plant." "Oh, and what it means." "That you have to pay, dear Lao." -So you explain how this works, his smile getting wider and wider. -"You had to study so much for this when you could actually get a kiss from me whenever you want." Lao hugs your body close to his, hands on your lower back and biceps twitching, smile sly like a fox one. -This kiss is playful like he is, Lao bites your lower lip, nose brushing, and giggles escapes. -He wants to make it a happy but hot kiss; if at the end you don't crave his touch, he didn't do a good job. -"I like this tradition, we should do this more often." Lao sing sangs. -Yeah, Lao will try to hang on the roof misteltoe even when it isn't Christmas. You'll have to admit he is incredibly good at hiding it, and he will surprise you even at Christmas.

[alexa-fika]

Hello Alexa! Hope your doing well as always seems like your not lacking requests so put the other requests before my own ♡

An idea came to me last night when I failed a test for the third time- and need to redo it, when I'm sad or something bad happens I go hide in my closet with blankets and pillows, like a child- so how would the whitebeard pirates or mihawk react to child dokusha hiding when their sad? Like their because they got in trouble or isn't allowed to go with the crew on an island and instead has to stay on the ship?

As someone who had gone through a lot in their early childhood I find these stories so comforting and sweet. I often find myself only opening Tumblr to see if you've posted. Remember to take care of yourself, because someone really cares about you♡

Solace and Comfort (Whitebeard pirates, Mihawk x gn!child!reader)

A/N Hey hey Holo! I absolutely love when you request and as a a ghank you for being such a sweetheart I went ahead and did both :) I also do the same thing, when im upset I like to find a closed or cozy space and just huddle up and hug my plushies. Your words really mean a lot, I appreciate them and it makes me so giddy.

Reader is replaced by Dokucha as a placeholder which stands for Reader in japanese

Dividers by @/saradika

Thatch found himself in his kitchen, preparing the next meal for his Captain. He made sure to take into account his current condition and choose the right ingredients to alleviate it.

"Hm, should I use kale or broccoli for this one?" he inquired to Izou, who had joined him earlier to escape the rowdiness of the crew as he completed maintenance in his pistols.

"I'm hardly the person you should ask Thatch."

"Kale it is," he exclaimed, beginning to chop down said vegetable, the tapping of the knife hitting the cupboard echoing around the otherwise quiet room

"Regardless, it is about time we addressed it, isn't it?" Izou spoke, pushing the lock back in his flintlock, a snap resounding across the kitchen

The chef stops chopping the kale at the comment, glancing up at his brother and letting out a sigh, putting the knife down

“I suppose so.”

“How about it, Dokucha? Want to come out and talk about it?” The sniper called out, walking around the counter to stand next to Thatch

A few beats of silence filled the room after that statement until the sound of ruffling came from one of the cabinets in the kitchen as Dokucha slowly crawled out of it, a stuffed bird held tightly in their arms

“How did you know I was here?” They mumbled, drying their teary eyes

“You usually hide here when something happens,” Thatch answered, kneeling down

"You should consider branching out," added Izou with a smile

"Would you like a hug?" Thatch offered

They nod, running into his arms, cries escaping them as he crashes into him

Thatch hummed, wrapping his arms around them and picking them up, swinging them from side to side for a few minutes until their cries lessened

"What's going on?" Izou questioned, glancing at the child, who by this point had positioned their head on Thatch's shoulder and looking back at Izou

"I wanted to go with Ace," they sniffled

"I know you do, but he had a risky mission he had to go on," Izou replies gently

"Why?" they cried

“They had something of ours, so Ace had to get it back.”

“I wanted to go with Big Brother too!” They cried, beginning to struggle against Thatch’s embrace

“Let me go!” They scream, beginning to throw punches his way

“Hey, Hey, it’s okay,” the man reassured them, tightening their hold, ignoring the shrill screams that now escaped them

“Hey, Hey, Dokucha, he always comes back, just like he came back from his previous mission and the one before. Just like I come back, just like Izou, and everyone will come back. But we need to calm down so we can welcome them back.”

“We would love to take you with us, Dokucha, but we want to keep you safe even more; we couldn’t bear something happening to you,” Izou continues, rubbing the child’s head

They sniffle, relaxing in their hold

“Hey, how about we go see Pops?” Thatch suggests

“Papaw?”

“Yeah, I’m almost finished with his meal; how about you come with us to deliver it?”

“Okay”

“Pops, food is ready; we had special help today.” thatch announced approaching the man

Whitebeard glances down at the two commanders, about to ask what they mean, until he spots the ‘special help’ running towards him

“Papaw!”

He grins, lifting the child up

“Gurararara, what brings you here, Dokucha?” he questions, glancing down at his sixteenth commander as he spoke

“We were having a hard time earlier wanted to go with Ace.”

“Gurarara, why would you be upset about such a thing brat?”

They shrug

“Has the boy ever broken his promise to come back?”

“No…”

“Has he ever lied to you?”

“No…”

“Then why were you throwing a fit?”

“I didn’t throw a fit!”

“Sounds like you did”

“You’re mean, Papaw!”

“It’s called tough love.”

“It’s being mean!”

“If that’s the case, are you not coming to the celebration when he does return?”

“I want to!”

“Are we done with the fits?”

“Yeah!”

“Did someone say celebration? I could use some grub,” a voice joins in

Dokucha beams, jumping off Whitebeard's hand and crashing into Ace

“Ace! You’re back!”

“Just like I promised.”

“Where are they?”

The human drills look at each other nervously and turn back to the swordsman, letting out a string of hoots and sneers.

Mihawk narrows his eyes at this

“Is that the answer you wish to go with?” He said, pulling out Yoru from his back and pointing it against the apes

“I will allow you to try again; where are they? I am well aware this is where they run to when they grow upset.”

In response, the human drills sounds escalate as they pull out their own weapons, only to stop as a small voice joins in

“It’s okay, Ezra, Enrique.” A small child wrapped in a blanket spoke, patting the apes, effectively calming them Down as they slowly lowered their weapons

“Don’t hurt them, Papa,” they mumble, hugging their blanket closer to them

He sighs, sheathing Yoru once again and extending his hand toward the child

The child wobbles their way to their father, taking hold of their hand and looking back at the human drills, sending a wave their way

As they walked on, the only sound that could be heard was the sounds of the forest around them as insects and birds chirped together, the sound of the human drills still reaching their ears, and the sound of Dokucha’s blanket being dragged as they walked next to the warlord.

“Are you going to tell me why you ran off?” he spoke, breaking the silence between them

He sighs at the silence that followed, pausing to pick up the child and place them on his hip, in turn the child leans their head against his shoulder

“Is this about the sword practice you were doing before?” He inquired, letting out a hum as the child nodded their head against his shoulder

“Can you tell me about it?”

“I can’t do it,” he mumbles

“Do what?”

“I can’t make the sword cut like Papa’s.”

“Is that what this is about?”

“Yeah”

“That kind of precision takes practice, it takes time,” he explains

“But I want to be strong like you!” They cried, leaning back and glancing up at him

His eyes soften at this, halting his walking as he puts all his attention on the child

“I know you do,” he said, wiping the tears that began falling from their eyes

“But one cannot simply master the sword overnight.”

“Not even Papa?.”

“No, I am not an exception to the statement. I had to train for years to be able to reach my current state, and I don’t doubt you will one day surpass me; that day is just not today.”

They frown at that, lying their head on their shoulder again

“How about we begin with the move you were attempting before?”

“Papa will teach me?” They exclaimed, shooting up

He chuckles

“You should have asked; I am never below teaching you the way of the sword.”

They grin, hugging his neck tightly

“I love you, Papa.”

“I love you too, dearest.”

Here we go! Two for two!! These are really cozy ones, loved how the Mihawk one turned out

Taglist:

@imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

@h0n3y-l3m0n05

[recreationalfanfics]

Thanks for answering my last request 😊. Do you think you can do Platonic Yandere Adam, Buddha, and Odin with a daughter or daughter figure that's growing distant from them, whether from pure nature or them beginning to see how unhealthy their beloved father or father figure is? Either one is good, please and thank you 🙂.

Thank you for the please and thank you! I saw your comment on my last post and don't worry, I didn't think you were being rude on purpose! I only wrote Adam and Buddha because I couldn't really formulate an idea for Odin but I hope you enjoy!

Familial Yandere! Adam

It doesn’t really matter if you’re adopted or if you’re his and Eve’s biological kid, you are his daughter and absolutely nothing will change that. 

He’s always been protective of his family in general and since Adam knows how dangerous this world could be for little girls like you, he vowed a long time ago that he would do everything he could to protect you.

He focused so much of his time and thoughts on keeping you safe, chasing off any boys/girls/etc. who showed any romantic interest in you, and always kept close to you (even if you don’t always realize it). Yet, it never occurred to him that someday there would be a time when you wouldn’t be a little girl anymore.

And he sometimes has a hard time grasping that fact.

Your distance starts out as natural behavior for a growing child, wanting to be with your friends more and branching out away from your parents, and instead of being an encouraging parent, Adam will resort to manipulation tactics. Mostly trying to guilt you into spending more time with him.

Aw, you wanted to skip Daddy-Daughter day because of a friend’s birthday? Alright, it’s just…he was really looking forward to it. Do you want more freedom to hang out with your friends more often? He supposes that he just worries about you, little one, and if something happened to you and your friends couldn’t protect you then Adam wouldn’t know what he’d do.

It works for a little while too, after all, he’s just being a concerned dad but then when your friends, who haven’t been chased away by your father, start to let you know that this isn’t normal behavior for a parent then you become a bit more distant and a bit more defiant.

When you confront Adam, he just comes up with the excuse that he’s doing what was best for you (because he genuinely believes that’s what he’s doing) and that you don’t know what could happen to you in the big scary world by yourself.

Adam is very protective of his family members and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect them. So he will lock you inside of the house and it really doesn’t help that the rest of the family would be platonic yandere as well, meaning that they believe that this is what’s best for you.

When you cry out of frustration about your freedom and life being taken away, Eve and Adam will hug you and rub your back patiently, as if calming and treating you like a toddler who was throwing a tantrum rather than a girl who had a right to be mad at the betrayal of her parents who thought it would be best to keep her their prisoner.

Familial Yandere! Buddha:

Buddha found you when he was visiting one of his temples and you had been abandoned in front of it, perhaps it would’ve been best to let the people who take care of that temple take you in, but there was something about you that Buddha couldn’t turn away from.

Picking you up in his arms, you were simply too precious for this world. Too innocent in his eyes. He felt a growing desire to protect you as he took you back to his home in the heavens to raise you as his own.

Your childhood was somewhat normal, you were well-educated and Buddha made sure that you were well taken care of and happy. However, there was much backlash from other gods who looked down on Buddha for adopting a human child but mostly, they looked down on you for being born a human.

Buddha tried to reassure you that despite this, you were his daughter. While you appreciated his encouraging words, it could not stop the feeling that you didn’t belong in heaven with other deities, and that you were honestly curious to visit the human world you were born in.

Buddha’s yandere tendencies do not start until he realizes that you want to leave. He becomes paranoid when you start asking questions about the mortal world, about if he had any idea who your true parent could be, or if he could help you in perhaps locating them.

“Perhaps I could but I don’t see the point in doing so. If they didn’t want you then, why would they want you now?” He snapped when you brought the subject up again. When you teared up at his words, he instantly felt remorse and pulled you into a hug, comforting you and apologizing for his harsh words.

He thought that’d be the end of it, while his words were harsh, he had hoped that perhaps you at least took them to heart and dropped the desire to go to Earth. To leave the safe and comfortable life he had created for you.

But you’d started shutting yourself in your room more, being more secretive, and trying to change the subject when Buddha asked what you could possibly be doing up there all day; he decided to look for himself and was horrified when he saw you were doing your own research to get to the human world.

He confronts you about it and it results in an argument, about how he was being ridiculous for thinking he can keep you up here when you belonged to humanity and he disregarded your feelings of you not feeling like you belonged. He’d argue that while he’d protect humanity, the world below was dangerous and that you were safer up here.

It eventually escalated to him using his powers to put you in a form of forced mediation, picking you up and setting you under a bodhi tree that he made sure was heavily guarded and safe. Either you sit and think about your actions and reach Nirvana like him and become a God, no longer being able to live amongst humans like you wanted to, or you stay preserved forever (with the help of magic) under the tree. Safe and close to him.

 He regrets not letting you live amongst humans because he knows what he’s done is wrong but when he lays next to you for a nap and lets you lay on him like you had done once you were little, he can’t deny the happiness and satisfaction he feels knowing that no harm will come to you. His beloved daughter.

[byechristopher]

WE'RE ALONE.

– Chris Sturniolo angst/fluff.

depressed-stoner!chris x f!reader

Author's note: there's a playlist I have on spotify (literally my childhood) that 100% inspired me to write this – hits too close to home, pft. So here, Chris smoking w33d. Do not copy/steal my work. :) didn't proof read.

Warnings: w33d obviously, mentions of alcohol and depression. Sad, messy love. Also, super long – don't know what else, tbh. This is JUST a fan-fiction.

Playlist:

Time was passing by and the voices from inside the living room wouldn't stop – I can hear them getting louder and louder. I bring my knees close to my chest, hugging myself and I turn the volume of my speakers up.

It's always like this; they get loud and then they pretend this never happened, like I never heard what they said to each other. Or how they talked about this family, this house. It was exhausting for me, to say the least.

A few hours later, with the loud music still filling the dark room, I decided it was maybe time to sleep. This would all end faster that way. But when I was about to do that, I saw.. something out the window? I know I did. There it is again... hold on – a shoe? I get up, a little scared, and look outside. I knew it. I open the window.

"Chris, what the fuck.." I yelled and I saw Chris picking up his shoe, jumping around for a few seconds before wearing it again.

Oh, Chris. We've been close friends for so long. As long as I can remember – my childhood is filled with memories of him. I've always been so thankful. He has always been the safe place that I desperately needed but never really knew I wanted. He would always be there whenever I needed him and if course, I did the same thing for him. He was worth it anyways.

"Come on!" he yells, not caring if my parents heard him.

"Really, Chris? Your shoe?" I place my elbows on the windowsill, laughing a little bit.

"I couldn't find any rocks. Now shut up, and jump!" he grins and I roll my eyes.

I turn the volume down, not all the way down, enough to not let my parents hear what is going on in here, but also without disturbing their sleep. I quickly wear a big, black hoodie, I put on my lace up boots and after grabbing my phone, wallet and cigarettes, I walk towards the windowsill – I've been sneaking out my room ever since I was little, I cannot believe I'm still doing it in my twenties. But who cares.

I place my foot on the windowsill, grabbing a branch of the tree that is right outside my room (thank God), and I climb up that tree till it's safe enough for me to jump – Chris catches me and we fall down, like every other time. We laugh.

"Hi." he says, it's simple, but it makes me smile.

"Hi. I didn't know you were here – I thought you were coming back next Tuesday." I say and I keep walking next to him; we know exactly where we're going.

"I was supposed to, yeah. But I didn't like it there, so I left. Plus, you are here." he has a little smile on his face and only now do I notice the paper bag in his hand, "beers." he says before I get to say anything. I nod, smiling.

We keep on walking and about ten minutes later, we finally reach our destination. There is an old, abandoned school that we found out about a few years ago. I still remember that day – I was so scared, especially when I saw these old stairs that were leading up to a big, rusty door. When Chris opened the door, though, we found out that there was a flat roof behind that door, old school chairs then and there. I smoked my first cigarette here. Also, my first blunt. Hah.

The chairs are still placed right in front of the parapet wall that's built along the edge of the flat roof. So we sit down – Chris is already rolling a blunt and I open two cans of beer, handing him his.

"Now. Tell me, what's wrong?" I break the silence abruptly. He doesn't look at me.

He doesn't need to tell me anything, I always know when he's not feeling well. And I know he wants to see me too, but that's not the exact reason he is here.

"Fought with my brothers." he murmurs and licks the wrap to seal the blunt while looking at me.

"Yeah, no shit. Why?" I watch him as I take a sip of my beer.

"Just bullshit. It doesn't matter. They know I'm here with you anyway." he mutters. His hair is a little messy and his hoodie is also too big for him, as usual, "what's wrong with you anyway?"

"The usual." I sigh and place my feet on the parapet wall, the can of beer in between my thighs, making my bare legs cold and making goosebumps rise on it – not the wisest choice to keep these shorts on.

We talk and talk and talk, for hours. We're both high, drinking beer and a mini bottle of vodka that was hidden in his big hoodie, we both had our legs hanging from that low wall and laughing like idiots.

He grabs the back of my head and brings me closer to him, his breath fanning over my lips, "missed this." he whispers and places his lips on mine. I groan in his mouth and start moving my lips against his, my tongue licking his bottom lip. He lets my tongue enter his mouth and I get up quickly to straddle his thighs, sitting on his lap so that I can be more comfortable, without breaking the kiss, of course.

His hands sneak under my hoodie and his cold fingers travel up my back, my hands are buried in his hair, tugging at it gently. The kiss is slow but hungry and I find myself getting lost in it. Then, it hits me. I part our lips and I place my forehead against his, my hands are placed against his chest, "I can't." I murmur.

I can still remember the last time this happened. And the previous time. And the time before that. Blah blah blah. But last time I said it was the last time, because I cried myself to sleep that night. Whenever we get high and we drink, we sometimes make out. Just sometimes. He's always the first one to make the move because I'm too scared. I told myself it wasn't that deep the first time it happened, but I was secretly craving the next time it would. When we didn't make out, I would go home disappointed. Crying, sometimes. I didn't know if I was subconsciously falling in love (or already in love) with Chris or just really deprived of affection, but I was more and more hurt each time it happened.

"What is it?" he whispers and grabs the nape of my neck with both hands, pulling me close to place a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Why.. do we do this, Chris?" I whisper, I'm sacred to even ask the question, but I have to. For my sanity.

"I thought you wanted it." he stiffens a bit, pulling away a little bit.

"I do. And so do you. But why do we want it?" I search for his eyes but he averts his gaze from me every time I try to.

"What kind of question is that.. we're high and we make out. It's not a big deal." he says and I know I will cry myself to sleep again tonight.

"It might not be. For you." I sigh and he tries to sit up, indirectly telling me to get off of him but I don't. He's uncomfortable. So am I. But we have to do this.

"You're fucking high and you're drunk. You don't know what you're saying." he shakes his head and looks away. He knows I know exactly what I'm saying and that's what pains me the most.

"I might be in love with you." I say and the silence gets louder than my goddamn parents earlier.

"I love you too, what does that have to do with anything.." he says, completely dodging what I just said to him.

"Chris. I'm fucking serious. I think I'm in love with you." I whisper and I cup his cheeks.

"Don't do this to me. I can't deal with this." he whispers back, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Do you love me like this, too?" I ask the question I dread the most.

"We can't do this. This just won't work. We're a fucking mess. How will we ever be good for each other? Can't you see it?" he says and my eyes fill with tears; I don't know what to say, because deep down I agree with him, "don't do this to me." he continues and I know he's talking about the tears in my eyes.

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me as close as possible, kissing my cheeks to catch the tears that escape my eyes, "I just.. you know I can't. Can't do this again."

"Chris.. seriously? We were kids!" I open my eyes just to look at him.

I know I hurt him when we were younger. But that was years ago, he can't keep blaming me for it.

"Yes, fucking seriously. I carried that around for a long time. You knew I was in love with you. You were the only one I wanted to be with." he glares at me and I sigh.

"I've apologised a million times, Chris."

He wasn't wrong. I remember how hurt he was back then – I knew he was in love with me when we were young and took advantage of the affection he was giving me, even though I didn't want him. I didn't feel the same way he did. Or at least, I didn't know I did. So I cut him off out of the blue and told him I would never want him this way. To make sure he knew I never would, I kissed his best friend. I don't know why – I think I wanted to prove that I really didn't like him. Now that I think about it, I wanted to prove myself more than him.

"You apologised and I forgave you. But you can't come here and tell me you think you are in love with me. What does "think" mean?"

"I don't know, Chris! It's.. overwhelming." I groan and I get off his lap, walking towards the door. I don't want to leave. But I don't know what to do, "you hurt me too, Chris. Ever since we kissed for the first time, I haven't been able to do it with anyone else. Hell, every time I tried to even talk to another guy, I could only think of you." I yell.

"Well. We can't be together. That's all I know." he clears his throat and grabs a cigarette.

"That's all you have to say?" I turn around to look at him as he smokes.

Silence.

"That's all I have to say." he mumbles. He gets up. He leaves. I stand there. I grab my stuff and I leave, too. That's what I get for wanting to be with an emotionally unavailable guy, who I know will probably hurt, as much as I will probably hurt him. We're both messed up. Broken childhood with broken hearts.

I walk towards my house crying but I don't want to go home. It's almost 5 in the morning, it's cold and it's dark. I should be in his fucking arms now, not walking around with nowhere to go.

At 05:20, my phone rings. Chris. He is crying and my heart shatters.

"I am afraid I will hurt you more than you already are." he says and I cry, "I'm afraid that one day, my problems will make me unavailable for you and I can't imagine not being able to be there for you. Ever." he sniffles.

"I'm scared too, Chris.. but.. I want to be selfish this time. I want to be with you. I don't wanna think about my parents, I don't wanna think about your friends, I don't wanna think about anyone other than you. I know I am in love with you." I sit down on the pavement and I try to make him hear me as much as I can through the tears.

"Fucking hell. I am in love with you. Where are you? I'm coming."

I tell him and in less than two minutes I see him running towards me. I can see his red eyes and his wet cheeks. He sees me and immediately gets on his knees to be on my level, cups my tear-stained cheeks and kisses me with so much love that I can feel my heart beating normally again.

"You came quickly."

"I always come for you. I go wherever you go." he whispers in between kisses and we fall backwards – I'm on my back and he's kissing me again and again.

"Then never leave me."

"Never."

[deerlottie]

🐰 — mistletoe

summary: you find a cheeky way to kiss jackie. warnings: happy christmas in march yall! repost, FLUFF :3

you and jackie were currently adorning your tiny apartment with all sorts of christmas trinkets– not that it needed much more decorating since jackie had already taken the liberty of starting the second it hit november 24th. getting her to help you bring in the tree was the worst though. almost an hour of (failing to) persuading jackie to help you carry to the door. batting her eyelashes and saying how she just painted her nails worked on you. damn her pretty face.

“that’s not where it goes!” jackie gasps, taking the ornament out of your hand. “it’s supposed to go up on this branch! it’s like you’ve never decorated for christmas…” she scolds you, placing it no further than 3 inches from where you originally put it.

you roll your eyes but apologize.

when it gets time to put the star on top of the tree, jackie’s already staring at you with an expectant expression. you give her a confused look and continue packing up the ornament boxes to put away, but you hear her clear her throat brazenly. “you’re not gonna lift me?”

“for what?”

“so i can put the star on top, duh?” jackie reaches for the star on the floor and raises her hands up, waiting for you to lift her. you shake your head playfully but lift her nonetheless, because how and why could you ever deny her? besides, the squeal she lets out after she places it makes it all worth it. she jumps up and pulls you in for a side hug, like a koala. “yes! it looks so good now.”

you smile lovingly at her and lean in for a kiss but she pushes your face away.

“nuh-uh. can’t kiss unless there’s mistletoe underneath us.” jackie tells you, and your shoulders sag in disappointment.

“but you love kissing me! you’re seriously gonna deny me because of some stupid mistletoe?” you whine. you love christmas and the decorating and traditions that come with it as much as the next person, but you can’t believe your girlfriend is denying a kiss from you right now. if you could, at this very moment, gather every single piece of mistletoe in the world and cover it in your apartment, you would!

all she does in response is shrug and move on to the tinsel boxes, getting some out to hang around. they’ve not been open since last christmas, and you remember jackie just shoving them inside, so when you see them all tangled up, you’re not surprised. “help me untie all these, will you?”

“i have something else you can untie tonight.”

“not after that. think of something better.” she snorts at your attempt at a joke and you two begin to unravel the mess of tinsel. after a while of untying, you start to get bored. and angry with all the uncooperating pieces of thread. while stretching your neck, you spot the familiar green shape of mistletoe hanging from your kitchen entrance.

bingo!

now you just have to get jackie under there.

thanking the heavens that there were only a couple more pieces of tinsel, you hurry and leave jackie to decorate while making an excuse to get something to drink from the kitchen. now how to get her in here? you couldn’t tell her you made her a drink, she would just tell you to bring it to her. think.

“oh my god, jackie!” you put on your best acting voice. “i think i just saw a rat run by your feet!”

mean. i know. but it was all you could think of.

“what? where?!” she screeches and drops the decorations. you almost feel bad, really you do. that is until she runs straight towards you, landing perfectly underneath the mistletoe.

“must’ve been seeing things. sorry.” you say quickly and stop her, apologizing with a kiss. you pull back and grin at her, fingers pointing to the mistletoe hanging above you two.

realization dawns across her face, and her jaw drops slightly. her eyebrows furrow and she smacks your arm. “asshole.” she says it sternly, though a ghost of a smirk appears on her lips.

“couldn’t resist, sorry.” you rub your arm, no doubt bruised from her harsh hit. “but we’re under mistletoe now. how about one more kiss?”

taglist: @rstlessdreams @ethvrealz @shipmanisms @24hlevi @nebuloustraveller @jackietaylorssidehoe

[oftenwantedafton]

Triptych - Stepfather Steve Raglan/William Afton x Stepdaughter Reader x Mike Schmidt

Rating Explicit

Warnings - sexual content, bisexual characters, date rape drugs, non/dub con

Also available on AO3

Mike has a bit of a thing for Abby’s just barely legal babysitter.

He swears it wasn’t always like this; that he didn’t just hire you because of the way you look in your Catholic schoolgirl uniform or on those days when you have gym last period and you’re wearing a polo shirt and shorts with the school’s emblem that hug every curve while leaving just enough to the imagination when he picks you up and drops you off at his house before going to work.

He definitely doesn’t jerk off in the bathroom with the door securely locked thinking about you on your knees with your pink lips wrapped around his cock. Never that.

God he was turning into such a pervert.

And this would all be bad enough, a laundry list to confess at church if he ever gets brave enough to go back, but to make matters infinitely worse, he’s kind of got a thing for your stepfather, too.

He supposes he’s always been one of those people who just follows what he’s attracted to, gender rather insignificant. In truth there’s never been a man that he’s been this hot for before, either.

It’s going to take a few beers to get Schmidt to admit that he enjoys it when your stepdad insists on picking you up, saving him another trip and more importantly providing him with another chance to admire the social worker. He enjoys it even more when the older man doesn’t just wait for you in the car and actually comes inside to chat for a few minutes. Sometimes Mike offers him a Brewski but, alas, he always declines. Steve has to do the right thing and drive sober, even though he highly doubts one beer would be even remotely enough to affect a tall drink of water like Steve Raglan.

So now the stepparent joins Mike’s collection of lewd fantasies, helping further speedrun him straight to Hell. He likes the silver eyes and the silver threads in his hair and beard and the way his hand rests splayed on his stepdaughter’s lower spine as he guides you out the evergreen shaded front door. He’s trying but failing to not imagine what it would feel like for that spread of fingers on his own spine, sliding through sweat, clutching skin, digging in when the way he works his mouth is just right and now you’re there, too, shared between himself and your stepfather and fuck, he cums harder than he ever has in his life, staring up at the poster of Nebraska pinned above his bed; at those tall, tall trees stretching up, the branches reaching futilely for Heaven.

So yeah. He’s got a lot of that Catholic guilt going on. But it’s not enough to stop him from wanting.

***

Another night. Abby’s tucked in and Mike’s tucking cash into your palm. Steve’s in the car tonight. Pity.

“My stepdad wanted me to invite you over for dinner next week,” you say.

“Oh. Uh, yeah sure, I’ll just have to check to see if one of the neighbors can watch Abby.”

You nod. He likes the way the struggling bulb of the porch light flickers over your features. Sometimes bright, sometimes in shadows. He can’t really see inside the car from this distance but he knows Steve is watching.

“I’ll get back to you on what night works, okay?”

“Sure. I’ll tell Steve. Goodnight, Mike.”

“Thanks again.” He watches you walk down the driveway, to the vintage luxury sedan that the middle aged man drives. He wonders how long he’s maintained it. The thing still looks like it just came off the showroom lot. A lot of time and care invested. Patience.

He wonders if maybe Steve has been waiting for another investment to pay off, too.

***

Mike’s not accustomed to dressing up. The last time he’d done so had been for his mother’s funeral, and that is definitely not a memory he wants to dwell on.

So he decides on a button front shirt and tie. Dark trousers. His socks are probably the worst part of the outfit. They’re mismatched and definitely not the kind of dressy ones that you’re supposed to wear. The shoes have seen better days. He’s really not much for clothes and he doesn’t spare much time taking proper care of them. They’re scuffed and the laces are frayed. There’s no hope for it. Hopefully neither you nor your stepdad will notice.

He walks his little sister next door. Says he’s not sure what time he’ll be back, maybe four hours or so.

The directions to Raglan’s house are sitting beside him on the passenger seat.

He’d spoken to Steve earlier that day to get directions. You’d given your stepfather Mike’s phone number.

His voice in person was attractive enough, Mike supposes. Sort of an odd combination of gravel and nasal, a blend of low and higher pitch when he got animated about something. He much prefers the lower tone, like the one he’d used over the phone. Practically purring like a cat. Mike had found his pants getting extremely tight with that breath in his ear.

The house is nice. Older, but tidy. He wonders if it’s ever difficult for Steve to be here since he’d lost his wife in a drowning accident a few years back. Did he ever think of dating again? Or was the memory too strong?

Mike shuts the door of his rusted sedan. It looks so out of place next to Raglan’s immaculate specimen. He feels out of place. He shouldn’t have come empty handed, but he has no idea of what wines are good and he didn’t want to bring the wrong kind. So. He presents himself empty handed, ringing the doorbell.

You open the door and smile at him. He’s only ever seen you in school clothes. Tonight you have a light pink sweater and white jeans. It compliments your skin tone well. Still clean faced, no makeup. Hair neat and tidy, nails polished to match the sweater.

“Let the man in, it’s cold out there.” Steve’s voice calls over your shoulder.

You giggle and murmur an apology and pull the door wide open, granting Mike entrance into the Raglan household.

“Mike. How are you? Come in,” Steve greets you warmly from an open doorway to the left. “You can just give your coat to her.” He shrugs out of the jacket and hands it to you, following your stepfather into the living room.

“I didn’t know being a social worker paid so well. This place is nice,” Mike murmurs. The couch looks new, plush microfiber. Bookshelves and a fireplace and art on the wall that looks like an original, not some cheap knockoff.

The tall man laughs. “Well, it’s not all from that source of income. I used to own a business. Made some wise investments. We can discuss it sometime, if you’d like.”

“What kind of business?”

“A restaurant,” Steve says.

“Must have been pretty upscale, huh?”

“Well it wasn’t a Michelin star type, no. But it was pretty, yes,” he muses, his voice softening, his eyes looking distant.

“What happened to it? If you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh, it’s still around. Closed but…I could never quite bring myself to let it go.” He smiles softly. “So enough about going down memory lane. Have a seat. I hope you’re not going to be too upset, but we’re having dinner delivered. Work ended up being particularly busy today, and…”

“No, that fine. Whatever’s okay.” He sinks into one of the couch cushions.

“Great. Well, it should be here in a half hour or so. Want something to drink?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

“I’ll be right back.” He winks at him. An honest to goodness deliberate wink. Mike shifts in his seat, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves.

The phone rings after Steve leaves. He can hear his muffled voice from the other room. He drags his damp palms over his thighs. He’s so nervous.

“Hey, my stepdad said to give this to you.” You walk into the room carrying a pair of wine glasses filled with something pink that’s a shade darker than your sweater. You hand him the fuller one. “That one’s yours.”

“Oh, um…” Well. One glass of wine was fine. He’d certainly driven home drunker than that before. “Thanks,” he accepts the glass and takes a sip. Wine has never really been his thing, but to be honest, he could use the alcohol to take the edge off right now. “Does your dad—I mean stepdad—usually let you drink?”

You shake your head. “Never. But he said it’s a special occasion.” You take a cautious sip, frowning over the taste.

Mike takes another swallow, watching as you sit down next to him. So many seats available and you choose this one.

You sample more of the drink. “It’s warm in here, isnt it?” Your cheeks are definitely more flushed. Man, you were really a lightweight.

“That’s normal. You get warm when you drink alcohol. The blood vessels dilate. Maybe you should slow down,” Mike cautions.

“Sorry about that. Work. They just can’t seem to manage without my guidance.” Steve apologizes as he strides back into the room, carrying what Mike presumes is the wine bottle that you’ve been drinking from. No glass for him. He settles on the opposite end of the couch from the younger man, his thigh very close to his stepdaughter’s. “What have we been chatting about? Anything interesting?”

“Can I have some more? I’m really thirsty.” Your voice sounds…off. Not intoxicated, but something else.

“Of course you can, sweet girl. But not too much. We don’t want you passing out. At least, not quite yet.” He tips the open bottle into the now empty glass, helping you to hold it steady.

The older man takes a swig from the bottle, sighing in satisfaction. Mike can only stare open mouthed. What, exactly, was happening?

“Well, at least she gave you the right glass.”

“I’m sorry?”

Steve shakes his head. He rests a hand on your knee. “I’ll give you credit, Mike. You’ve been nothing but polite and respectful to her so far. Almost as if you’re not drowning in impure thoughts the remainder of the time. I know your type.” He smiles but there’s no humor in that curve of lips.

“I…I don’t know what you’re…”

“Oh, Mike, come on. You know exactly what I’m talking about. I’ve had to play the dear devoted stepfather who tragically lost his second wife in an accident for the last several years. Just waiting for the right moment. I think I’ve waited long enough. Don’t you agree?”

“Steve…” Mike begins, unsure of how to proceed. His heart is pounding wildly in his chest. He’s ashamed to say there’s an echo of that pulse further south, too.

“Oh, and by the way, dinner is canceled. Finish your drink,” Raglan coaches you gently. A little of it spills from the corner of your mouth.

“Did you…did you put something in…”

“Just something to relax her. I’m starting to think maybe you need some, too,” Steve manages to tear his eyes away from your damp lower lip, glaring at Mike.

“This…this is so fucked up…”

“And yet you’ve been fantasizing about it for how long now? Weeks? Months? Did you even ask what her qualifications were when you interviewed her for the babysitting job, or did you just drool over her thighs and say yes?” Steve’s hand drags slowly up his stepdaughter’s leg. Your eyes are glassy, dazed, struggling to focus.

Mike swallows loudly.

“I’ve more than paid my dues. Time to collect. You can either share in the plunder or not. I leave it at your discretion. But if you tell anyone about this, I can assure you it will be the last mistake you ever make.”

“You’re not…you’re not going to hurt her, are you?”

“Of course not. I mean, it’s probably going to be a little bit sore when I take her virginity, but, well, that’s to be expected. Maybe with the drugs she won’t even feel it. She certainly won’t remember it.” He threads his fingers through your hair. “You’ve made a bit of a mess of yourself, sweetheart. Let Daddy help you clean it up.”

He laps at the corner of your mouth and Mike’s cock lurches. He knows he should not be having any part of this, he should be calling the police, getting you the fuck away from this man, but he’s too mesmerized by the perverse scene that’s playing out before him. For him.

Steve tugs your head back gently and shoves his tongue between your lips, groaning. You don’t struggle. There is no protest. You’re soft, malleable, pliant beneath him.

The older man breaks the kiss, panting. “So fucking perfect. I’ve always loved that mouth.” He kisses you again. “Want to have a taste, Mike?”

He does.

[grievedeeply]

the less time, the better. pt 8.

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pairing: heimdall x gn!reader

summary: still reeling from the events of what happened on niflheim, you grapple with having heimdall by your side while surrounded by people who hate him.

notes: thank you all so much for the continued love and support on this silly little series. this is taking so long because i fluctuate in and out of my god of war obsession.. so i'm very sorry for making you all wait forever lol. tagged everyone who was tagged last time, but if you're no longer interested please let me know! thank you again and please enjoy this chapter and the canon divergences <3

your father didn't know who he was at first— heimdall. he stared at him with narrowed eyes for a few moments then turned his attention back to you, his gaze softening as soon as he did so. you could feel his presence behind you. you could tell he felt out of place, scared.. these people, this man standing in front of him was the one who killed his brother, his nephews. even if he was never particularly close to them in the first place.. they all meant something to someone, didn't they?

did he? did he mean something to anyone? if kratos killed him right then and there.. would someone back in asgard care? would his father mourn him?

he shoved the thought out of his head and kept focused on the task at hand. the man in front of him had yet to pull out a weapon, so he didn't either. instead, his eyes drifted to you, only for you to be looking at him already.

"who is this?" your father's voice rang out in the silence, echoing throughout the branches of the yggdrasil. "that's.. uh," you chuckled awkwardly, lips pressed together in a thin line as you turn your focus back to him. "let's get home first, yeah?" you changed the subject, deciding that having him sit down for this whole conversation would be better than having it here.

he only grunted, still eyeing him suspiciously.

deciding to take the initiative, you gestured for him to follow after you. he was stuck here now, at least for the time being, and you know odin would want him back. with him at sindri's.. you had a feeling that the environment would be far from a calm one. you wanted to groan at that realization. why did you have to reach out to him like that? it would've been fine if he was still there!

the gateway door opened and you walked through, the feeling of warmth washing over you as you did so. heimdall followed after you and your father came close behind, his eyes still focused on him.

this would be awkward, and this would be horrible. what kind of reasonable explanation was there for an aesir god to be here? you supposed the only thing to do was tell the truth and hope that they would understand. but would they, really? heimdall wasn't their friend. they didn't know him like you did.

they didn't see that vulnerable side of him that you saw back on niflheim. that conversation replayed over and over in your mind as you pushed the door open to sindri's house. this would be horrible, you told yourself.. but you'd get through it. you got through everything.

"y/n!" you heard atreus' voice approach you, arms immediately wrapping around you as you got inside. you chuckled, returning his hug after recovering from the impact of him running at you. "i missed you," you told him, pulling away enough to look at him. "i missed you-" he cut himself off, brows furrowing as his eyes shifted from you to heimdall, who looked incredibly uncomfortable by this entire situation.

"who's that?" he asked, looking back at you. he pulled away, tilting his head as he took in heimdall's appearance. his eyes widened as he settled on the horn on his back and he turned his head to look at you once more. "don't-" you cut him off before he could say anything else, lips pursed into a fake smile. he blinked a few times and let out a sigh.

"heimdall?" freya's voice sounded out from across the house, hands on her hips as she walked towards you. you heard your father grunt again, in frustration this time. you expected he would have more to say about this whole thing, but he seemed suspiciously silent.

"frigg," heimdall spoke up for the first time since arriving on the branches of the yggdrasil. "don't call me that," she replied without missing a beat. "what is he doing here?" she asked you. you knew she had little personal history with him.. but she surely didn't like him all the same. anyone associated with odin was horrible in her book.

"i didn't mean to.. bring him with me," you muttered. by now, the entire house surrounded you. atreus had left to go pick up mimir from your father's room, knowing that he would want to watch whatever happened. "it was an accident, really." you sighed, scratching at the back of your neck.

"an accident?" sindri said. "it should've only been one person.." he murmured. you assumed it was directly only to himself than to you or anyone else as he eyed heimdall. "can he leave?" brok's voice rang out, arms crossed over his chest. "he ain't supposed to be here," he continued after a pause, referring to your obvious plan to kill odin. you were sure he knew about that already.

you let out a breath. this had been going better than you'd expected.

"no." you heard your father say from behind you, deep baritone echoing throughout the confines of the house. "we use him."

"what?" atreus asked, brows furrowed. in his hand, mimir seemed to already know what he was suggesting.

"we keep him here. begin ragnarok under our terms. use him as leverage."

heimdall laughed, shaking his head. "if you think the allfather will come for me, you'd be sorely mistaken."

it seemed like, in your time away from asgard, he had taken some time to think about his relationship with his father. had he finally realized that he only ever wanted to use him as a tool? he had never cared for him. did he know that, now?

"he will want the horn." your father muttered, eyes narrowing at heimdall as they had done so many times before. you swore you could see something fall in his eyes at the realization that he was right. he wouldn't want his son. he would want the horn.

he fell silent, clearly unhappy. there was a part of you that wanted to rub it in his face— the fact that you were right— but the other wanted to comfort him. you pushed the thought aside, your eyes focusing in on the rest standing around you.

sindri's expression was a wary one. an aesir, in his house? you were sure he hated the thought of it, but he didn't speak up to voice his concerns about it either. brok looked like he wanted to punch heimdall then and now and freya's expression almost matched his.

freyr had been suspiciously quiet the entire time, but that silence was quickly broken. "no," he laughed, shaking his head. "his family burned me alive." he held out his arms in front of him, eyes trailing down to look at his burnt skin that had never fully healed. "sorry, but no. it's a no from me." he said after a pause.

freya seemed torn on the whole idea. you knew she had only recently mended the relationship she had with her brother, and disagreeing could put another rift between them. she pursed her lips. "if he gets me closer to killing odin, so be it." she said.

"fine," mimir spoke. "but i won't like it!" he continued after a brief pause.

you heard tyr sigh from where he stood, his eyes studying heimdall who had still yet to say anything else since your father pointed out how odin would want the horn back. "this isn't a good idea," he settled on saying, eyes shifting over you and to your father who now stood next to you.

"i say we do it," atreus chimed in, cutting him off from saying anything else.

you felt their eyes on you, all waiting for your thoughts. your gaze trailed over to him, lips pursed. would it be better here for him? could he eventually be an ally? would he ever want to be? you could only imagine the turmoil he was dealing with in his mind. his bright purple eyes met yours briefly, and you swallowed the lump that had formed in your throat.

"yeah, okay." you concluded, awkwardly looking around at everyone else. you could only hope that this was the right decision. a decision that led you and everyone else down the right path.

"that settles it, then!" brok exclaimed. "majority rules, he stays." he stated.

freyr looked uncomfortable and you felt bad for making him deal with this. you understood why he didn't want him around.. but he could help. he could, if he wanted to.

with the conversation concluded, everyone split apart, looking over their shoulder as if heimdall would attack them right then and there. you cleared your throat. the only people next to you now were him and your father.

"he's alright," you muttered. it was something you would never imagine saying when you first met him, but it was the truth. he was cocky and annoying and full of himself.. but he was alright. your thoughts drifted back to the moment you'd shared in niflheim, how he had looked at you as though you were the only person in the realms he cared about.

your father said nothing in response to you, his eyes now focused on the wall in front of him. you could only watch him walk away, your heart sinking as he did.

you couldn't help but to think you'd disappointed him.

before you could dig yourself into an even deeper hole, you turned your focus back to heimdall. he looked a little more grounded now and you had wondered what he was thinking about when the entire conversation was happening. you cleared your throat, chest feeling heavy at the entire situation.

"c'mon." you told him, gesturing for him to follow you. you led him out the front door and onto the branches of the yggdrasil again. everything felt much lighter than it did with your father.

"your father," he cut himself off, swallowing. "he is right, y'know. you were right." he murmured, gaze stuck onto the ground beneath his feet. "everything i did, i did to make him proud." he admitted with a sigh, looking up towards the endless purple above the two of you.

you had brought him to the garden on the side of the house, a place you spent a lot of time at before you ever went to asgard. "i know," you told him, turning your head to look at him. a sigh escaped your lips as you took his hand in your own.

"he wouldn't dream of coming for me." his voice fell to a whisper. "he wants.. the horn." he laughed in disbelief. "i dedicated my entire life to him and i got nothing in return. but why do i still feel.. "

"feel what?"

"guilty. for thinking this way." he replied after a pause.

"you shouldn't. you were.. manipulated, heimdall." his name fell from your lips easily, but he was always happy to hear you say it anyways. "he used you. it's what he does. he uses people." you continued. "but you're his son. it's.. not your fault, for believing that he loved you."

"he never loved me, did he?"

you pursed your lips, deciding to squeeze on his hand instead of saying anything else. in your eyes, the answer was no. odin loved power and he would do anything to get it, including using his own sons.

he shook his head. he still didn't want to believe it all, but he knew it was all true. your words had perhaps gotten through to him too well.

"hey," your voice cut him out of his thoughts and brought him back into reality. "you've got me, now." you hummed, a small smile forming on your lips as you met his eyes. there was something about your gaze that was playful, full of light. something that he needed— that he wanted.

still, he said nothing in response. with every second you spent with him you swore he let you in more. what happened to the less time, the better? you had practically lived off of that statement during your time in asgard. the less time you spent with heimdall, the better it was for you. you supposed the sentiment was still true. after all.. if he wasn't with you on niflheim, perhaps you would be here by yourself and you would never see heimdall again.

that wasn't what you wanted, was it?

it was crazy to think about how quickly your mind changed. he had wiggled his way into your thoughts first, and now he was making himself a home in your heart. a part of you still hated that.

you could only hope everyone else would get used to having him around.

"your father," he started, "he killed my family."

"i know." you replied.

"did you?" he asked.

you immediately knew what he was referring to. while you had no part in the deaths of magni or modi.. your part in baldur's was much bigger. while you didn't strike the killing blow you were certainly part of how he had gotten weak enough to get there.

"i was.. there," you told him. "i.. participated. i wasn't the one who killed him. but i was part of the reason why he died."

heimdall pursed his lips. it wasn't like your answer was surprising. he didn't even know why he cared so much. perhaps it was because baldur was younger than he was. perhaps it was because he had watched him grow up, he had grown alongside him, even. it wasn't like he was close to him. but he would be lying if he said his death didn't bother him.

maybe it bothered him so much because it meant ragnarok. it meant the end, and that scared him more than he would like to admit.

"not a day goes by where i don't think about him." you admitted. your words were truthful. you were certain you would never live a day without picturing his face in your mind. would you always feel as guilty as you do for your part in his death? the answer to it, you didn't know. but you had come to terms with that you had done all the same.

"i'm sure." he said in response, his back pressed up against the wall of sindri's house.

"i'm sorry i brought you here," you changed the topic, "i didn't mean to, really." you sighed.

"it's done now, isn't it?"

you supposed he was right. it was done now, and there was no changing the past.

"still. i'm sorry."

"if you hadn't taken me with you, do you know what i would be doing?" he asked, shifting his gaze to look at you from where he stood. you shook your head.

"i would be patrolling the wall, as i always do. and i would be thinking of you." he laughed, a smile forming on his lips. his grin looked like he was in disbelief. "i would be thinking of you, y/n. that is what i would be doing. but i don't have to do that now, because you brought me here." he breathed out.

"perhaps i should be the one thanking you." he chuckled.

you pressed your lips into a thin line. you thought back to that moment in the mess hall. it felt like forever ago, now. you had teased him, claiming he had feelings for you. t felt like he really did.

would you complain, if he did?

it would be difficult, given the fact that no one in your family was a fan of him. but if you liked him.. why would that matter? after all, your life is your own.

"sounds like you're in love with me." you decided to say, your voice taking on that same tone as it did in the mess hall. only now, it sounded more genuine. less playful and more curious.

"what if i was?" he asked in response, turning his entire body to look at you, now.

"i'd think you were lying."

"i'm not lying. i don't lie." he scoffed. "i do.. feel a certain way for you, y'know." he admitted, purple eyes meeting yours. you swore that you could get lost in them. they almost looked like the sky surrounding you now.

"do you?" you asked.

he nodded.

"i can prove it."

"oh, can you?" you laughed, rolling your eyes.

"would you like me to?" he asked, his voice matching your tone from earlier. suddenly.. this all felt much more serious.

"yeah, okay." you whispered to him.

your words were all he needed to take action. in one swift move, his hand came to rest on your hip and pulled you closer to him. his other hand caressed your cheek, and his lips pressed against yours.

you froze for a moment. 'is this really happening?' you thought to yourself, but it was— it was happening, and you liked that fact. after regaining your composure, you found yourself gripping onto the fabric of his shirt. as you ran your hand over it, you noticed a tear. sewn up now, but a tear, nonetheless.

this was the outfit that he was wearing the day he meant you. this was the shirt you cut through. the shirt that you embarrassed him in, and now the shirt he was kissing you in.

it wasn't very long, but it was enough. he pulled away with a sigh, but quickly pressed his forehead to yours, eyes opening to look at you.

"how is that for proof, hm?" he hummed. you could tell from his voice that he was trying to tease you. you rolled your eyes, shoving at him playfully.

what did this make you?

you didn't know.

maybe everything would be okay after all.

tags: @ic-yourface @alisblackgf @engardeitsme @venfia @dijanur @s1mpss @gorepitt @callalillie15 @bluehorizon987 @vanserrar @trippingoverstars @mysiax @beaniebear152 @rei64bit @neverendingdumptser @a-bunny13 @lei-leigha @candy4bonez @yyourmotherr @blobdrake-theory @zarizee @rainygamingstreamingturtle @kise-kae @aesthetic-of-a-director @unodostrescuatrolove @nixeustheclamity @aiciteaa @multifand0m-gal0re @chibi668 @wonderkive @lentillo @luffysoctopus @elizabeth-hatake @black-star1472 @lacm-ac @sxmirae @maggot-baggage @emc2beans @suzumi-hiddenmistclan @white-lyra @lmorg149 @iamverydreamy @giornos-curls @reinabxitch @ourchampionofthesun @paintmekala @the-eternal-sunflower @alextric-overload @lynn-haitani

[vilevenom]

Let's Be Us Again

Fandom: Dreamworks Trolls

Pairings: Hickory/John Dory

Summary:  Hickory was certainly the last troll John Dory thought he'd see after moving to Pop Village. To say it was a shock was a bit of an understatement. But they could pick up where they'd left off before, right?....right? Excerpt:

"John Dory," Hickory breathed, his eyes widening as they landed on John, the smile slipping from his lips.

"Oh! How do you two know each other?" Poppy asked, tilting her head slightly as she looked between the two, a curious smile on her face. Floyd glanced between them and shifted closer to his brother, as if he could tell that John was having a bit of an internal panic.

"That's a-uhm…a bit of a long story," John finally chuckled, his smile crooked as he spoke, "Probably, what? A couple of decades in the making?" Link to the fic on AO3 There's now a sequel! You can find it here or over on AO3

It was a day like any other, in John's humble opinion. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and Poppy was banging at his door and shouting excitedly about her plans for the day.

Ever since they'd rescued Floyd from Mount Rageous, John Dory had been settled in Rhonda just outside of Pop Village. Poppy had taken this as explicit permission to bug the eldest brother with any and all tasks she felt could either "benefit from his previous experience as a band leader", or something she felt he'd genuinely enjoy. Which honestly, John was more than okay with. The pop queen had certainly grown on him, and he could easily see how she'd gotten his youngest brother wrapped around her finger.

Today, Poppy had requested John's help with some activities for aspiring singers that she'd set up at the community hall. She said she thought he'd be a great inspiration, and maybe he could help with teaching some basics about being in a band. He didn't really know how she figured that, given how he'd caused his own band to break up and not see each other for twenty years, but he supposed her heart was in the right place. She'd also managed to drag Floyd into it as well, so there was also that.

"I'm coming, Poppyseed," John laughed as he pushed open Rhonda's door and stepped into the sunshine. "Someone's impatient."

"Oh, I'm just so excited! The kids are gonna LOVE you guys! I made some of them listen to your old records and they got SO excited," Poppy practically squealed as she bounced on her toes. "I also thought we could stop by the market to grab some breakfast before we head over! There's a trading caravan from Lonesome Flats that rolled into town last night. There might be something new to try!"

John chuckled at Poppy's enthusiasm as he strolled over to Floyd, pulling his brother into a side hug. "Sounds like a plan, Popstar. How're you feeling, Floyd?"

The younger troll had been slowly but surely gaining his energy and health back since being freed from his diamond prison. When he'd first arrived in Pop Village he couldn't even leave Branch's bunker without an escort of at least two of his brothers to ensure they could get him back home if he collapsed. Now he simply needed a walking cane to help him get around, and a break every couple of hours to recoup his energy.

"I'm okay," Floyd sighed, smiling as he touched John's hand on his shoulder, "Feeling a little exhausted already just watching Poppy jump around, but I think today will be good."

John dipped his head in a short nod, giving his brother a friendly little shake before letting him go to strike a pose and point towards the market. "Then let's BRO!"

Poppy snorted at his antics, but skipped ahead of the brothers down the path towards the market, while Floyd rolled his eyes with a fond smile on his face.

~

Poppy hadn't been kidding about the caravan from Lonesome Flats. The market was practically overrun with country trolls - both those looking to trade or sell their wares, and those looking to bring something "exotic" back home with them. Children, both pop and country, ran amok through the crowd, nearly tripping just about anyone who wanted to move more than a foot through the area.

"Holy smokes!" John crowed as an especially rambunctious duo ran in front of him, causing him to stop fast and pinwheel his arms through the air to ensure he didn't fall over.

"Careful, old man," Floyd teased, poking his brother in the side with the end of his cane, "or you might be needing one of these."

"Shut up," John snorted, shoving Floyd lightly, making the younger troll catch himself with said cane as they both laughed.

"Oh my GOSH!" Poppy suddenly shrieked in front of the two of them, her shout causing a small handful of trolls to turn and look to see what she was yelling about. John and Floyd were among them - Floyd with a look of curiosity on his face, while John looked something like a puffalo caught in a searchlight.

"HICKORY!" Poppy screeched, before running off like a shot through the crowd, dodging around children and adults alike before practically tackling a troll to the ground some ways away from the brothers. The two glanced at each other, Floyd's expression changing from curiosity to one of worry even as John plastered a grin on his face.

"Let's go see who Poppyseed just put into the hospital, yeah?" John Dory said with a bit of a strained laugh, gesturing for Floyd to move ahead of him through the crowd.

Floyd narrowed his eyes at his brother, poking him in the chest before moving forward. "We're gonna talk about how you just looked like you swallowed a sour berry whole later, mister," he sniffed, before shuffling though the crowd, being mindful of his cane and the running children as he maneuvered around the other trolls in the market.

In the meantime, John rubbed absently at the spot Floyd had poked him while a million and one thoughts ran through his head. It couldn't possibly be his Hickory. The last he'd heard, he had gotten into some sort of accident on a mountain top and disappeared. At least, that was the rumor. He hadn't wanted to know anymore than that. He followed after his brother after a moment, bumping into and apologizing to a couple of trolls on his way as his mind wandered.

"-and then we had to fight some giants in order to get his brothers back! We totally hit the perfect family harmony and saved everyone." Poppy was just finishing a high speed ramble as the brothers approached, bouncing excitedly on her toes in front of a county troll with only two legs, his wide cowboy hat covering half his face. John let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. It definitely couldn't be his Hickory, then.

"S'at so? My, that certainly sounds like some adventure. Glad t'hear y'all got everyone back safe and sound. I'd love to meet all of Branch's brothers," the country troll drawled, a low chuckle leaving him as he tipped his cowboy hat back to grin at Poppy. John's breath caught in his throat.

"Well, you're in luck! I happen to have two of them here with me right now," Poppy enthused, turning with a flourish to gesture at the approaching duo. "The one with the magenta hair is Floyd, the one who was captured first and started our whole adventure, and the other is-"

"John Dory," Hickory breathed, his eyes widening as they landed on John, the smile slipping from his lips.

"Oh! How do you two know each other?" Poppy asked, tilting her head slightly as she looked between the two, a curious smile on her face. Floyd glanced between them and shifted closer to his brother, as if he could tell that John was having a bit of an internal panic.

"That's a-uhm…a bit of a long story," John finally chuckled, his smile crooked as he spoke, "Probably, what? A couple of decades in the making?"

Hickory visibly swallowed, letting out an awkward sounding laugh, "Somethin' like that, I s'pose."

"So, you got yourself a county accent, huh? Did you finally find what you were looking for in Lonesome Flats?" John asked, the tension in his chest loosening slightly. At least it was nice to know Hickory hadn't died. And, sure, perhaps they hadn't parted on the best of terms, but he couldn't exactly blame Hickory for leaving the way he had.

"Mm, not exactly," Hickory shrugged, tugging at his vest. "but I s'pose sort of somethin' to that effect. I mean…M'not a bounty hunter anymore, if that's what yer askin'."

John nodded slightly, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. It was like the tension slowly bled from his body as his shoulders loosened and a genuine smile curled his lips. He'd always worried that if he ever saw Hickory again that he would either be filled with dread, anger or unending sadness. But, in reality, he just felt a wave of relief that the other was okay and seemed to be doing well. "I'm…I'm really happy to see you, Hick."

The country troll blinked, surprise blatant on his face at John Dory's confession. Poppy rocked on her heels as the two older trolls looked at each other, obviously lost in their own little world. Floyd shuffled closer to her, biting at his lower lip as he watched the cavalcade of emotions wash over his brothers face.

"Uh, well," Poppy coughed, breaking the moment and causing all eyes to land on her, "It was super nice to see you Hickory. I heard the caravan will be in town for, like, a week? We'll catch up later! We're gonna have a big party to welcome you guys tomorrow, so I'll see you then! Right now we were actually just heading to grab breakfast before going over to the community center." She gestured over her shoulder towards the other side of town.

"Oh. Alright then, miss Poppy. I'll see you tomorrow," Hickory said, his charming smile coming back as he swept his hat off to bow slightly to the Queen of Pop. Poppy simply giggled and waved a hand at him as she rolled her eyes. Floyd wrinkled his nose at the gestured, still not quite sure how he felt about this troll from his brothers past.

"It was nice to see you, Hickory," John began, taking a step to follow Poppy and Floyd, before the pink troll shoved him back to where he'd been standing, a grin on her face.

"No, no! You two obviously haven't seen each other in a while! You should stay here and catch up," Poppy chirped, patting John on the shoulder before spinning away from him. "The kids'll understand if we postpone for a few days. Plus! I'm sure most of them will want to come see what the traders brought from Lonesome Flats. They'll probably be too distracted to pay much attention to anything else." She flashed John a grin over her shoulder as she manhandled Floyd into walking next to her, the magenta haired troll squawking indignantly as he was all but pushed away. "We'll go let them know, and we'll see you later! Enjoy yourselves!" She waved at them as she hustled Floyd away.

"Poppy!" Floyd grunted, trying and failing to dig his heels in as the Queen pushed him along. "What're you doing?! John looked so upset when he saw that troll! I can't just leave him like that!"

"We're not going to leave them."

"What? But you just said-"

"Yes. We're going to go to the community center to tell the kids that we're postponing the class, but then we're going back to spy on those two. You think I'm not also curious about how they reacted to each other?! For all that is trolly, Floyd, it looked like Hickory was about to faint when he saw John Dory. I need to know what that's all about."

Floyd let out a breathy laugh as he began walking on his own at Poppy's admission of curiosity and concern. He should've known better than to question her.

~

Meanwhile, John was staring after the two of them somewhat forlornly. Sure, he was happy to see Hickory, but being suddenly left alone with him? This was, perhaps, a bit much for his heart to handle at the moment.

"Uhh," John said unhelpfully as he turned back to Hickory, who looked equally as confused and unsettled as John felt. "Should we…go get breakfast?"

Hickory blinked at him before an easy grin split his face and he settled his cowboy hat back on his head and swept his arm out towards the market at large. "After you."

John snorted and rolled his eyes before gesturing for Hickory to follow him through the bustling market. He lead them to the opposite end of the market, where there were fewer trolls roaming around, and no caravan tents set up. There, a small bakery stand sat, where John ordered a couple of muffins and some coffee for the two of them.

"Thanks," Hickory hummed as the two of them sat at a small table off to the side of the stand, pulling his hat off and setting it to the side before picking up his coffee cup to inhale the aroma.

"No problem," John said with a shrug, picking at the muffin he had sat in front of himself. "So, uh…Lonesome Flats, huh? What made you settle down there?"

"Just gettin' right to it, huh?" Hickory chuckled, glancing up at John through his eye lashes. "It's a bit of a long story, though I s'pose we've got time t'spare. Also, just to clear one thing up right quick, I've lived there for 'bout a year, but can't really say I'm much settled there."

"But you're settled enough to have picked up their accent?" John prodded, Hickory wincing slightly at the comment.

"You know that's just part of blending in, mein freund," Hickory sighed, slipping into his natural accent easily.

"Ah, there it is," John snorted derisively, shaking his head as he popped a bit of muffin into his mouth, "who're you going after this time? Better be a real scum bag or I'm going to have to tell Poppy what you're up to."

"I already told you, I'm not a bounty hunter anymore," Hickory stated, shaking his head slightly, his ears lowering slightly as he watched John pick at his muffin. "Poppy and Branch helped me get out of that life. I don't think even Dickory is doing it anymore."

John paused in the destruction of his breakfast, looking up at Hickory with a light frown. "But your brother-"

"Said it was the only thing the two of us were good for. Ja, I know," Hickory shrugged, blowing hair out of his face. "But after the whole Rock Apocalypse thing, I just-" Hickory cut himself off as he took a deep breath and glanced up at the trees and sky above them. "Queen Poppy was the bounty. We were meant to bring her and the pop string to Queen Barb, in order to secure a safe place for the yodelers to keep their music. Dickory and I established ourselves in Lonesome Flats and spread a story about getting lost in an avalanche in the mountains so that no one would look for us. But, when we finally found Poppy and Branch…She was different from what I expected." He turned his gaze back to John Dory and smiled warmly. "We grew up hearing all these horror stories about Pop trolls stealing everyone's music, du weisst? But all she wanted to do was help everyone live in harmony. She wanted everyone to be able to enjoy each others music. And I- Well, it reminded me of you. And how, when we were younger, you said you wanted to travel and experience everything you possibly could. I wanted that. I wanted that for everyone. Not just the yodelers." He rolled his shoulders and took a sip of his coffee, his voice shifting back into the country drawl John had heard when they'd first come across Hickory in the market, "So, I tried to help miss Poppy get away from Barb with the Pop string. But Dickory-" he rolled his eyes and glared off to the side, "He blew our cover."

John sat enraptured by Hickory's story, unconsciously resting his cheek in the palm of his hand and leaning forward. He blinked as Hickory paused, wrinkling his nose. "How'd he blow your cover?"

Hickory's cheeks suddenly grew dark as he ducked his head and let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, y'know, country trolls usually have four legs? And my brother and I, we most defintely don't?"

John frowned, sitting back in his chair. "Yeah? What does that have to do with-" he froze, a slow realization dawning on his face, before he let out a sudden bark of laughter. "Oh my troll! Did you two make a freaking costume?!"

Hickory hummed abashedly and rubbed at his neck. "Yessir. Dickory may have been the back end o' the horse," he muttered as he cringed, grinning crookedly at John, "he heard me tryin' to warn Poppy to run and, well, he ripped the costume apart."

John couldn't stop the peels of laughter that left him at the mental image of Dickory angrily ripping himself out of the back end of a pair of pants, slapping the table and nearly knocking their coffees over. "Hooooboy, that is PRICELSS!" He hiccupped as his laughter subsided after a moment, wiping at his watery eyes. "He must've been so pissed at you."

"Bit of an understatement, I'm afraid," Hickory shrugged, "After miss Poppy saved everyone, I pretty much told Dickory off an' moved to Lonesome Flats."

"And he just let you go?"

"I threatened to sick Poppy on 'im if he tried to pull me back into huntin'. She knows about it, too, so if I suddenly disappear from Lonesome Flats or she gets wind that somethin' happened to me, she promised to come find me. She's sweet like that."

John nodded, an easy smile on his face. "Yeah, she is. I'm really glad Branch has her in his life."

"I'm still tryin' to wrap my head around the fact that he's your brother! You talked about your brothers a bit, but what a small world we seem to live in," Hickory chuckled. "I'm also kinda surprised you even wanted to talk t'me, if I'm bein' honest."

John blinked at the sudden shift in tone from the other, leaning back in his seat a bit and wrapping his fingers around his coffee cup. "Well," he sighed, "I wont' lie. I used to imagine running into you a lot, after you first left. At first I was really upset, then I just became angry." He scowled down at his coffee. "I imagined so many different scenarios. In most of them I told you off for everything. Sometimes I did something nasty to get back at you. But, when I finally saw you…" He lifted his gaze, his frown slipping into an easy smile, "I was just happy to see that you were alive and seemed to be doing well. I guess that old saying that time heals all wounds really is true."

Hickory stared at John for a minute, his breath catching in his throat. "I'm so sorry, Johnny…"

"Please," John rocked back in his chair, turning away with a rueful grin, while waving a hand through the air, "I don't think I ever really blamed you for leaving. You were young - we both were. And I'm not exactly-" he gestured vaguely at himself, "y'know."

Hickory shook his head adamantly at John Dory, sitting forward to slide his hand across the table and rest it over John's. "Don't ever say that about yerself, darlin'," Hickory crooned, gently squeezing John's fingers, "You are so much more than you give yerself credit for."

John Dory blinked at Hickory, a flush quickly spreading across his face the longer he stared at the other. He cleared his throat after a moment, pulling his hand away from Hickory to cover one of his flaming cheeks, while an embarrassed trill of a laugh escaped him. "Don't say stuff like that, Hick," he said through a strained chuckle, "You're gonna give me ideas.

A grin settled on Hickory's face at John's reaction to his touch, taking the opportunity of the other looking in the opposite direction to slide his chair around the table to sit closer to John. "Oh, yeah? What kinda ideas, darlin'?"

John all but squeaked when he realized how much closer Hickory had gotten to him, his cheeks growing impossibly brighter as he whipped his head around to stare wide eyed at the bounty hunter turned cowboy.

~

Meanwhile, Poppy and Floyd had returned from their quick trip to the community center, and were both currently crouched inconspicuously behind a bush to watch the two having breakfast.

"I can't hear what they're saying," Poppy whined under her breath, shifting to try and get a better view of the two.

"If we get any closer they'll know we're here," Floyd sighed, shifting to settle more comfortably on his knees. "John has ridiculous hearing, and if Hickory really used to be a bounty hunter, then I can only imagine how quickly he'd be able to tell he was being spied on."

"Yeah, but," Poppy flopped back down next to Floyd, a pout on her lips, "I really want to know what Hickory said to make John Dory blush like that."

"John Dory is blushing?!" Floyd quickly sat up, shoving a branch out of his way to get a better look at the table. He gasped quietly at seeing how bashful his brother looked as Hickory got close to him, his eyes wide at the sight. Even wracking his brain for every memory he had of John, he couldn't think of a time he'd ever seen his brother look so ruffled. That was certainly something. "I don't think I've ever seen John look so…bashful."

"I know! Isn't it cute?!" Poppy squealed quietly at Floyd, grabbing at his shoulder in her enthusiasm. "Wouldn't they be SUCH a cute couple?! Awww," she sighed, letting Floyd go to cup her own cheeks, "They have history, and they look like they get along so well! Ahhhh! We HAVE to get them together!" By the end of her rant Poppy was practically rasping to keep herself from shouting about the couple sat across from them.

Floyd had his doubts, however, about how the two would do as a couple. Especially after the anxiety he could feel radiate off of John Dory when they'd first come across Hickory at the market. "I mean, Hickory definitely knows how to push John's buttons. I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing yet or not."

"What do you mean?"

The two sat back, letting the bush block their view for the time being.

"Well…John tensed up pretty badly when he first saw Hickory. Maybe their history is more complicated than we can appreciate right now. I mean, they do look like they're getting along right now, I can't argue that. But, who knows how long that will last. John's never really been one to give up the reins on a situation, if you forgive the pun. Hickory seems like he might have a bit of a big personality, from what I've seen so far, and I can't imagine that will mesh well with John's, uhm…exuberant tendencies."

Poppy frowned lightly at Floyd, tapping at her chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm…maybe you're right. I guess we should probably just keep an eye on them for now. So we can at least be there if something happens between them. Be it bad," she wiggled her eyebrows at Floyd who let out a fond sigh of exasperation at her, "or good!"

When the two looked back out from behind the bush they both panicked slightly at finding the table where John and Hickory had been abandoned.

"Where'd they go?!"

~

"Sooo," John drew the word out as he and Hickory wandered through the crowded market place, snapping his fingers and slapping his hands together absently, "What've you been up to since moving to Lonesome Flats?"

Hickory chuckled at John's fidgeting, deciding to take a chance and catch one of John's swinging hands in one of his own. "Well, first I had t'make it up to miss Delta and the other country trolls for trickin' them. But, they were real nice about everythin', after I told 'em about Dickory and how I'd grown up. Got myself a nice little house, and a job workin' at one o' the shops there. Shortly after that, I heard about Poppy startin' talks with all of the troll leaders to work on this idea of a cross kingdom trade route. A way for all different kinds of trolls to experience each others cultures and music. Anyone who wanted to volunteer could represent their home kingdom and travel around. Took a bit a doin', so I think our group's only been at it for a few months? We've gone through Vibe City and Volcano Rock City so far. Pop Village is stop number three." He wiggled three fingers in the air to show the number of stops, grinning as he noted that John's hand was still firmly in his own without any signs of pulling away.

"You finally got your wish to travel wherever you wanted, huh?" John asked, a soft smile on his face. "I'm glad to hear it, Hick. After Pop village, where's your next stop?"

Hickory shrugged, dipping his head slightly to watch their hands as he gently began to swing them back and forth. "I think the caravan is headed up to Symphonyville next. Dunno if I'm really interested in headin' into the mountains, though, if I'm bein' honest." John gave his hand a little squeeze, causing Hickory to glance up at the other troll shyly. "I might be tempted t'stay in Pop Village for an extended amount of time."

John cleared his throat as he noticed the look on Hickory's face, finally pulling his hand away to tuck it into the pocket of his vest. Hickory's face fell as John hunched his shoulders slightly, but he accepted the reaction and tucked his own thumbs under his belt. He couldn't expect John to forgive him completely so soon.

"Well, y'know, there's plenty of room here, if you did want to stay," John finally said after a minute or two of silence between the two, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "Rhonda and I stay just outside the village, near Branch's bunker. There's loads of room out there to expand living areas."

"Rhonda?" Hickory asked, his steps faltering slightly at hearing the name. Did John have a girlfriend? He shifted so they were walking a little further apart, now feeling a bit like an ass for his blatant flirting.

"Yeah! My armadillo bus," John said, his face lighting up as he spoke, grinning widely at Hickory, "I found her not too long after we split up, when I went back to the Neverglade trail. She's super smart, and really sweet. You wanna meet her?"

Hickory let out a breath, a sudden wave of relief washing over him at the knowledge that he hadn't been blatantly stepping on anyone's toes. "Yeah, 'course," he hummed, trotting along next to John as they headed towards the edge of town.

"She's a licker, I'll give you that much warning," John laughed, more bounce in his step as they moved away from the crowds, "She's also been known to try and eat people when she first meets them, but don't worry too much about that. I'm sure she won't try to eat you if you're with me."

A slightly nervous chuckle escaped Hickory as he followed John, starting to wonder if him meeting the bus critter was really that great of an idea. "If you say so, darlin'."

"I do say so," John chirped, snapping his goggles a little to emphasize his point. Hickory snorted quietly at the gesture, endlessly pleased that John had yet to call him out on using the endearment on him yet.

"Here she is!" John crowded loudly as the two stepped into a clearing, the large armadillo bus jumping up excitedly at seeing John. She wagged her tail, causing her whole back end to swing as she bound forward, smacking her entire face into John's chest, causing the troll to loose his breath and stumble backwards with a laugh. "Down girl," he wheezed, patting her face before her attention was caught on Hickory.

The ex bounty hunter froze as she stared him down, her tail freezing as her gaze bore into him. He swallowed thickly, shifting slightly to get ready to run, before Rhonda let out a sudden rumbling roar of a sound and licked Hickory. He gasped as he stumbled back, his hat going flying, as he found himself absolutely coated in glittery slobber.

"Awww, she likes you!" John laughed, patting Rhonda on the side as she purred and flopped herself down next to him.

"Yay?" Hickory shook the slobber off his arms, before wiping at his face, letting out little sounds of disgust as he did so. "I s'pose it's just a good thing she didn't try t'eat me," he all but grumbled, turning to look for where his hat had landed.

"Well, that might still happen. Rhonda's unpredictable like that," John chuckled, making a quick kissy face at the armadillo bus who cooed back at him, before looking back to Hickory. "You wanna shower that off?"

Hickory paused at the offer, blinking in surprise. "You comin' onto me, Johnny?" he teased, winking playfully at John. He knew he must look an absolute sight right now, but the mild flirt still managed to get John's cheeks flaming.

"No! I'm just offering you my shower," John scoffed, rolling his eyes as he rubbed at one of his warm cheeks. "C'mon, you. Rhonda's got a shower inside." He waved for Hickory to follow as he opened Rhonda's door and hopped inside.

~

"They could be anywhere! Poppy, please. Let's take a break," Floyd huffed, doing his best to keep up with the Queen of Pop, but his energy was quickly flagging. He stopped in the middle of a path in the market, doing his best to catch his breath.

Poppy glanced back at Floyd, suddenly feeling terrible for running the poor troll practically ragged as they ran around the market trying to find where John Dory and Hickory had gone. "Sorry, Floyd," she sighed, moving to support him as they shuffled over to a bench so they could sit down. "I just- well, you said so yourself. Something could go wrong while they're together."

"Hey now, I didn't say something might go wrong. I just think it'd be best to keep an eye on them in case John gets overwhelmed, or he starts a fight," Floyd muttered, stretching his legs out in front of himself as they sat down.

"Exactly. In case something goes wrong," Poppy said as she flopped herself down next to Floyd.

They both jerked slightly when they heard the tell tale sound of Rhonda roaring.

"Ah," Floyd laughed, nodding in the direction of Rhonda's clearing, "There they are."

~

John hovered outside the door of his small bathroom, wringing the towel he'd dug out between his hands. He could hear Hickory humming to himself in the shower and it sent a thrill down his spine. Maybe this time could be different? He jumped as he heard the water turn off, quickly hooking the towel onto the doorknob and stepping away. "Towel's on the knob for you!" he called through the door before moving to the couch in the larger portion of his living space.

"Thank you kindly, darlin'," Hickory called from the bathroom, the door opening ever so slightly as the country troll pulled the towel inside.

John flushed at the endearment. It's not like he hadn't noticed Hickory using it, it was just…well, it was nice to have someone be immediately kind to him upon reuniting. Perhaps the whole adventure with his brothers and their sour reunions were still lingering on his heart and mind. Just a little.

"That's better," Hickory sighed as he stepped out of the bathroom, pulling John from his thoughts. The towel was draped around his shoulders to catch the water dripping from his hair. Even damp the ends still curled up to defy the pull of gravity. "Nothin' against yer bus, but I'm not the biggest fan o' glitter. It gets in places it really shouldn't be," he said with a light laugh and a shudder, which caused John to startle into laughing as well.

"Yeah. Sorry not sorry," John snorted, waving for Hickory to sit next to him on the couch.

Once Hickory sat the two stewed in silence for a minute. John stared off at the board of Brozone pictures Branch had put together that he hadn't yet had the heart to dismantle, while Hickory fidgeted with his fingers.

"I missed you," Hickory finally breathed, breaking the silence and swallowing thickly after the admission.

John blinked, turning to face Hickory with a genuine look of surprise on his face.

"What? How's that surprisin'?" Hickory asked, a crooked smirk on his lips.

"If you knew my track record, it really wouldn't be so surprising that I'm surprised," John snorted derisively, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know if you remember, but I broke up my brothers band before I started traveling. We did not part ways on good terms. And none of them were exactly pleased to see me when we met up again."

"A'course I remember," Hickory murmured, shifting so he was sat a bit closer to John, their thighs touching, "I'm sorry to hear that you didn't have the best a' reunions with 'em. But, from what Poppy told me, and the fact that yer still here, I assume thing's've gotten a bit better? Weren't you with one o' yer brothers when we met at the market?"

"Yeah. That was Floyd. He's the only one who didn't really seem to hold a grudge over everything. But, he's also sort of dependent on me and Branch right now, still. He got hurt pretty bad when he was captured. So, y'know, I don't really know if that's actual forgiveness, or just playing nice while he needs help," John said with a self depreciating laugh. He shrugged, turning a wobbly smile on Hickory, "So, yeah. It's a bit surprising that someone who walked out on me would miss me."

Hickory shifted back as if he'd been hit, biting his lip as he looked to his knees. "You know why I had t'leave, John," he breathed, twisting his fingers into the damp towel around his neck.

"Yeah. Still doesn't change the fact that it hurt."

Hickory nodded, letting out a breath. "Can we…can we try to start again? Believe it or not, Johnny, but ya mean a whole lot t'me. I'd really like it if we could-" he cut himself off with a startled gasp as arms suddenly wrapped around him, squeezing him in a hug.

"Of course," John breathed into Hickory's hair, "I missed you, too. Of course we can start over."

A warm smile bloomed on Hickory's face as he turned to nudge his nose against John's temple, chuckling quietly at the odd angle the other had pulled him into a hug at. "Thank you," he murmured, lifting an arm to awkwardly half return the hug, since the other was currently pinned to his side.

~

"Well, there's Rhonda," Floyd sighed, frowning as he looked around the clearing, where there was no sign of John or Hickory.

Poppy huffed, frowning as she skipped a little ahead of Floyd to peer around the clearing, but doing her best not to alert Rhonda of their presence. She had seemingly fallen asleep since they'd heard her roar. "Where did they go now," Poppy whined, tossing her head and arms back in exasperation.

"I don't-oh!" Floyd began, before grabbing Poppy and dragging her into some tall grass as Rhonda's door swung open. They watched as John hopped down from the bus critter, holding his hand up to take Hickory's as he descended from the bus as well. They seemed to be in a quiet conversation, smiling and laughing as they exited the bus and began to walk down a trail that lead further into the forest.

"C'mon!" Poppy chirped, her energy renewed as she tugged Floyd along by his wrist.

~

"Yeah, so after we rescued Floyd, I decided to stick around Pop Village. As much as I love traveling, getting to know my brothers is also pretty important to me. I missed out on so much, y'know?"

Hickory nodded as he listened to John, a fond little smile on his face as they meandered down the forest trail. He'd truly missed getting to hear John Dory's stories. Well, just him talking in general, really. He knew John liked to talk, but he liked it even better when someone genuinely listened to him, and that was probably one of Hickory's favorite things to do.

"So, you think yer gonna settle down here in Pop Village? Or just stay until Floyd can get along without a cane?"

John clicked his tongue and shrugged as he climbed up onto a fallen branch. He held his arms out as he began to walk along it like a tight rope, wobbling a little as it rocked slightly beneath his feet.

"Depends on how long it takes for Branch to get sick of me, I guess," he said with a derisive little laugh, causing Hickory to frown.

"What'd I say about talkin' about yerself like that?" Hickory scolded, shoving the branch slightly to make John stumble and catch himself.

"Hey!" John clung to a small twig as the base of the branch wobbled beneath his feet. "Trying to kill me?!"

"No. Just tryin' to redirect your stupid self depreciatin' bullshit," Hickory said with a thin grin. "Yer brothers love you."

"You say that-"

"I do!" Hickory cut him off, shoving the branch again, causing John to cuss him out as he stumbled to catch himself again. "I still love Dickory, even though he dragged me over hells half acre to hunt down trolls for plenty of not so savory folks. I still love 'im, even though if I were t'see his stupid face any time soon I'd punch him in the teeth! Yer brothers love you, Johnny, and they're probably more than happy to have you around, whether ya want t'believe it or not."

John snorted above him, but relented. "I guess you've got a point," he muttered, laughing as Hickory responded with a quiet, "a'course I do." He shook his head slightly, rolling his eyes with a grin and most certainly not paying attention to his feet and where he was walking. Because, if he had, then he would've noticed the patch of lichen growing on the fallen branch. He gasped as his foot slipped, nothing nearby for him to grab onto to keep himself from falling. He braced for the impact of the ground, but was pleasantly surprised when instead he hit something soft and a quiet 'oof' was breathed into his ear.

"Careful there, darlin'," Hickory hummed, grinning down at John as the other turned his head to peer up at his rescuer, "ya gotta watch where yer goin' if yer gonna be climbin' on things." He chuckled as John's face flushed, tipping his head forward a bit to properly get into the teal trolls space. "You alright?"

"Fine," John all but squeaked. He took a breath and cleared his throat at hearing how high his voice had gone. "Fine. I'm fine," he huffed, purposefully lowering his voice an octave, and pulling away from Hickory to tug at his vest and fix his askew goggles. "Let's, uhm, go this way," he added quickly, spinning on his heel to point down another trail, "I think the star gazing club has a meeting place up on a hill with a nice view over Pop Village."

Hickory followed with a self satisfied smirk on his lips, his thumbs hooked into the belt loops on his pants. "Whatever ya say, Johnny."

~

"Did you see that?!" Poppy quietly squealed, shaking Floyd's shoulder in her enthusiasm.

"I did," Floyd hummed, letting the over enthusiastic queen shake him. However, he really couldn't return the excitement she exuded for the two they were following. True enough that John seemed more than happy to be around Hickory, but he couldn't shake the strange feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach every time they had a "cute" interaction.

"Oh my gosh! Maybe we were both worried about nothing," Poppy sighed, stars practically in her eyes as she watched John and Hickory walk away, "Maybe we should let them finish their date in peace." She stood and brushed her skirt off, offering a hand to Floyd.

Floyd took Poppy's hand and help in standing back up, but shook his head at her suggestion to stop following them. "No. No, I don't think that's a good idea yet."

Poppy tilted her head, a frown on her face. "What? Why not?"

Floyd sighed, brushing hair out of his face as he watched his brother disappear up a trail. "I just have this awful feeling in my gut," he admitted, his shoulders drooping, "I don't know why. John looks happy, and they haven't had any sort of interaction that we've seen that should make me think something bad might happen. I just…" He waved a hand vaguely through the air, "I don't know. I'm worried about him."

Poppy stared at Floyd for a minute, as if she was trying to see through him. He swallowed thickly and shifted on his feet, a bit worried that she would call him over protective and silly for his trepidation. But, he was pleasantly surprised when instead a large smile bloomed across her face and she took his hand and squeezed it lightly. "You're a good brother," she stated, before turning to follow John and Hickory again.

~

"Here we are!" John announced unnecessarily as the duo reached a tall hill at the end of the trail.

"S'quite the hill," Hickory laughed as John rolled his eyes.

"It's not the hill that's impressive. It's the view," John retorted, sticking his tongue out at Hickory, even as he grabbed the other trolls hand to tug him along. "C'mon! It's actually kinda impressive."

It was finally Hickory's turn to flush as John tugged him along, a slow grin making its way across his face as the two trudged up the hill.

Upon cresting the hill a spectacular view of Pop Village was exposed. Pods of every size, shape and color hung from the trees, while below you could see the hustle and bustle of the market, where trolls were going about their daily lives. There was a class learning how to manouver flyer bugs zipping around the walkways in the trees, while a heard of puffalo were grazing just outside the edge of the market.

"My," Hickory breathed, before letting out a low whistle, "That is quite the view, isn't it?"

"Yeah," John hummed, before suddenly flopping down in the grass next to Hickory, leaning back on his hands to watch the hustle and bustle of the community below. "I'm kinda surprised more trolls don't come up here for the view? But I guess most pop trolls are more interested in fun, games and parties than sitting quietly."

Hickory settled himself in the grass next to John, while setting his hat to the side. "Never been one to really stick to the mold, have ya, Johnny?"

John tilted his head to smirk at Hickory, shifting to nudge their shoulders together. "Nah. The mold is boring. Plus, I think all those years spent by myself sort of made me forget exactly how energetic pop trolls can be. It can get to be a bit…much."

"What do y'mean, by yerself? Ya never picked up a travelling companion? You always talked about all o' the things you wanted the two of us to do when we were together."

John sighed quietly and shifted so he could tip his head and rest his cheek against Hickory's shoulder. "Nope," he popped the 'p', watching a flyer bug and its rider do a flip in the air, "Between hiking the Neverglade trail, where there really wasn't anyone around, raising Rhonda and moving around so much? Anyone I did meet didn't really want to stay with me very long. Or it just didn't feel right, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know."

With a light frown John tipped his head back a little to try and get a look at Hickory's face, but only really managed to shove his nose into the country trolls cheek. It pulled a chuckle from Hickory, but wasn't really what John was going for. He sat up and leaned forward, catching Hickory's eye. "You didn't find someone out there for you?"

"When?!" Hickory laughed, this time it was his turn to sound sarcastic and self depreciating, "When I was bein' dragged from town to town with no set timeline for when we came or went? Or when I was workin' on a hunt with my brother?" He ran his fingers through his hair, leaving it sticking up at odd angles. "Plus, like you said," he shrugged, "Nothin' felt right."

"I'm sorry."

Hickory wrinkled his nose, turning a bemused smile on John. "What're you sorry for? S'not like you were the one forcing me t'live the life I did. Plus, isn't it some sorta unwritten rule that y'should be happy when ya hear yer ex has been miserable without ya?"

"That'd be a stupid rule," John stated flippantly, "You're not happy I was upset after you left, are you?"

"Course not."

"Then why would I be happy that you were unhappy? I might've been upset for a while, but I only ever wanted you to be happy."

Hickory felt his heart flutter in his chest at John's words, while letting out a slow breath. "Y'mean that?"

"Duh," John snorted, moving his hand to entwine their fingers together, a soft smile on his face. "You were one of the best friends I've ever had, Hick."

"John," Hickory breathed, shifting so he was more fully facing John Dory, "You were mine, too. I thought about ya, so much, when I was out runnin' the roads with Dickory. You have no idea."

John hummed, squeezing Hickory's hand. "I thought about you, too."

Without much warning, Hickory lifted his free hand to cup John's cheek, causing the teal troll to freeze up, a startled look on his face. "Hickory…?"

Hickory didn't answer, simply letting out a soft hum as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to John's while letting his eyes slip shut. He was completely unaware of the somewhat panicked, wide eyed expression on John's face as the county troll pressed close.

"Wanted to do that for a while," Hickory offered as he broke their kiss a moment later while pressing his forehead to John's, eyes still closed. He let out a breathy little laugh as he nudged their noses together, while John could feel his panic slowly begin to ebb away, even as his heart thundered in his chest. "Seein' you in the market today felt like my whole world came crashin' down around my ears, while also finally feelin' like it was all coming back together." He let out a low chuckle, brushing his fingers down from John Dory's cheek to push under John's vest and rest against his shoulder, relishing in the little shiver he could feel as his fingers moved. "The time we spent together, all those years ago, it meant the world to me, Johnny. I want ya to know that." He swept his thumb in little circles against John's shoulder, finally opening his eyes and leaning back a little to take in the flush and startled expression still on John Dory's face. "Thinkin' 'bout you, an' the courage you had to explore the world on yer own when you were still so young. It really helped me through some hard times."

John swallowed thickly, feeling like his skin was on fire while his heart was ready to beat right out of his chest. He was pretty sure his brain was flat lining at this point, as the only thing he managed to say in return was a breathy, "Hickory," before leaning forward to press his own lips to Hickory's. He untangled their fingers so he could cup both of his hands against Hickory's cheeks and pull him in close. That caused the country troll to loose balance slightly and push John a bit, which resulted in John falling back into the grass with a soft 'oof', his breathing quick and vest dislodged from his shoulder.

"Well," Hickory hummed, leaning over John with a grin, his own cheeks flushed dark, "Ain't you a pretty picture?" He trailed his fingers down from John's shoulder, tapping lightly at the flush that had traveled from the teal trolls cheeks to his chest. He then leaned down to kiss John again, pressing the other into the grass.

For a solid minute John was in bliss. It felt like no time at all had passed between them as Hickory's hands explored his fur unbidden and he had the life kissed out of him. He lifted his own hands to comb through Hickory's bright orange locks, pulling slightly as he maneuvered Hickory's face to kiss him more deeply.

~

"I don't need to see this," Floyd groaned, covering his eyes and crouching further behind the tree he and Poppy were hiding behind.

"Shhh!" Poppy waved at him absently, leaning around the tree and letting out a happy little noise as she watched John fall back into the grass.

~

But then reality had to come crashing down around his ears. He had obligations to his brothers. Hickory would be moving on with the caravan in a few days to head into the mountains. He was only just finally getting settled in Pop Village, would a fling with an old flame really be in his best interest? Not to mention, when Hickory had left him before, he's said…He suddenly pushed Hickory away by the shoulders, sucking in a sharp breath even as Hickory let out a confused whine.

"I can't do this."

"Wh-what?" Hickory sat back on his heels, a mix of confusion and hurt on his face.

"I can't let myself fall into old habits," John stated as he sat up, fixing his vest and settling it properly over his shoulders, before pulling his goggles down over his eyes. Hickory could feel his heart plummet at that. He knew perfectly well John's goggles were like a physical wall he could put up between himself and others. "I can't get involved in a fling right now. I've got too much going on." John stood, brushing dirt from his clothes, "And, quite frankly, I'm just too old to be playing games like this anymore."

"Games?!" Hickory shook his head, reaching out towards John, who stepped back out of his reach. "I'm not playin' games!"

"We had fun, yeah?" John stated, a strained smile on his face, "This was fun. Like old times, yeah? Nothing serious, just a bit of fun." John could feel his breaths becoming short and knew he had to leave before he started crying. "I'll see you around, Hick," he said, nodding towards the ex bounty hunter, before hurrying back down the hill.

Hickory stared at the spot John had stood, his breath caught in his throat even as tears welled in his eyes. He knew this was his own fault, but it didn't stop his heart from shattering in his chest.

~

"What just happened?!" Poppy gasped as she watched John practically run down the hill, only to turn and find Floyd already moving as quickly as he could in the direction John had gone.

~

"John!" Floyd shouted once they were a decent distance from the hill. He knew he'd never be able to catch up to John at the pace he could currently go, but wanted to catch him before they got too close to town, where he knew John would put all of his walls back up. His older brother stopped and turned, and Floyd could see tear tracks on his brothers cheeks below his blatantly fogged up goggles.

"H-hey, Floyd," John stuttered, sucking in a breath and obviously trying to compose himself as quickly as possible as Floyd approached, "What're you doing out here? I figured you'd be off with Poppy planning tomorrow's party."

"John Dory," Floyd murmured, dropping his cane so he could reach up and pull John's goggles away from his face and back up into his hair. The reveal caused John's face to crumple, a wretched sob escaping him as Floyd tugged him into a hug. "Shhh. It's okay. I've got you."

John wept as the two shifted to kneel in the middle of the trail, John clinging to Floyd like his life depended on it while Floyd rubbed soothing circles against his back.

~

"Hickory," Poppy said softly as she approached the country troll as he continued to stare into space, silent tears running down his cheeks.

"Wha-oh! Miss Poppy," Hickory gasped, quickly wiping at his face and plastering a smile on as the queen sat in the grass next to him. "What're you doin' out here?"

"Floyd and I were following you guys," Poppy admitted, "We were worried something might happen between you and John Dory. I saw what just happened. Or, well, the gist of it. Did you and John get into a fight?"

Hickory let his smile slip away as he shook his head. "Not exactly, no…"

~

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Floyd asked after a few long minutes of John crying into his shoulder. The elder sat back to wipe at his face, murmuring a quiet "thanks" as Floyd handed him a handkerchief.

"Do you have time for a stupid story?" John Dory asked, his voice thick from crying.

"Hey now, with a reaction like the one you just had, I'm pretty sure the story isn't stupid," Floyd scolded gently, rubbing at John's shoulder. "C'mon. You can talk to me."

John nodded after a moment, pulling himself to his feet and offering a hand to Floyd. "Okay. But, let's get back to Rhonda. I don't feel like airing my dirty laundry out where anyone could come along and eavesdrop."

"I feel like that's a dig for obviously spying on you."

"That's because it is."

Floyd snorted, glad that his brother at least wasn't so upset that he couldn't still dish out sarcastic remarks where necessary. He took John's help in getting to his feet and the two of them made their way back to Rhonda.

When they reached the bus critters clearing it was as if she could tell John was upset. Instead of the exuberant greeting she'd given him earlier in the day, she simply rumbled sadly at him and nudged him gently with her face.

"Hey hey, baby girl," John cooed, rubbing at her face, "I'll be okay."

Once the two were inside, Floyd forced John to sit at the little table he had for meals, while he dug around in John's cupboards for the tea he knew his brother had picked up some time ago for when Floyd came by for a visit.

"Here we go," Floyd hummed as he finally set two mugs of tea on the table, settling himself across from John Dory, who had been staring at the table, obviously lost in his own thoughts. "You ready to talk to me?"

John sucked in a breath as if coming up from under water. He blinked rapidly at Floyd for a second, before offering a small nod and pulling his tea mug close to himself. "Yeah…Sorry, yeah. It's just-well, the story starts when I was in my late twenties. Maybe twenty-six? Twenty-seven? Something like that. I'd been traveling around for a while, already, but it was before I'd met Rhonda. I was hiking through he mountains, trying to find this little village I'd come across once before when I'd first started traveling, when I was eighteen or nineteen. It had been a really sweet little town, with a population of yodeling trolls. Since it'd been one of my first stops, I didn't really want to stay very long at the time, but as I got older I sort of regretted not sticking around. It'd been the only place I'd ever met yodelers. It was a really unique, niche genre and I wanted to go back." He let out a breath and blew on his tea, lifting it but not taking a sip. "And eventually, I did find it. It was sort of tucked away, so I was running low on supplies and was completely exhausted. The trolls I was staying with had a teenager also staying with them. He was a real sweet kid who helped me get settled in and offered to show me around town when I was feeling up to it."

"Not sure how this is relevant to you breaking down in the forest, John," Floyd muttered, scrunching his nose a little.

"I'm getting to it, ya brat," John snorted, offering a small grin to his brother, before looking back to his tea, "Anyway…So, in the morning when I'm up and about, this kid comes bounding over to me with all of the energy in the world and offers to show me around again. I couldn't really refuse, especially since I was being stared down by the lady whose house I was staying in. So, we went around the town and had a pretty good time. I stayed in the village for a couple of months, and the kid stuck by my side nearly the entire time. When I was getting ready to leave he admitted to having a massive crush on me."

"Oh," Floyd blinked, tilting his head, "this still doesn't-"

"It was Hickory, Floyd," John stated bluntly, cutting his brother off and giving him an unimpressed look over his tea. He then took a loud slurp of his drink, which he knew drove Floyd insane.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop interrupting."

"Thank you. So, anyway, he confesses to me and I have to break it to him that, one, I was planning on leaving in the next few days, and two, he was too young for me. We were at different points in our lives, and it just wasn't going to work. He took the rejection relatively well, I think, but I didn't see him again until I was literally walking out of town. He stopped me at the edge of town, gave me the tightest hug I think I've ever gotten, told me to be safe, and that he hoped our paths would cross again one day."

"Your breakdown leads me to think your paths definitely met up again," Floyd interrupted once more, earning another tea slurp from John.

"Yes, they did. A few years later I was back up in the mountains. I'd planned on hanging out with the classical trolls for a while, but after a week or so I found myself getting pretty bored of Symphonyville. Nothing against the classical trolls, but it turns out it's just not my thing. So, I went trekking through the mountains to find the yodelers again. If nothing else, they knew how to throw a great party. Speaking of which, the trolls I'd managed to convince to let me borrow a room from that time were hosting a party the night after I'd shown up, and they invited me to go." He let out a little laugh, his gaze far away as he relived the memories, "It was a birthday party for one of the trolls in town. It was his twenty-first, and I guess for the yodelers that's a big deal. A kind of coming of age, uh, age."

John paused to glance up at Floyd, who gave him an encouraging little nod.

"So, I went. Turned out that it was Hickory's birthday, but I didn't run into him at the party until a few hours in. To make a long story that you don't want to hear short, he cornered me at the party, alluded to the fact that he wasn't too young for me anymore, and…well, y'know."

Floyd cringed, wrinkling his nose at John. "Thank you for sparing me the details."

"You're welcome," John snorted, sitting back in his chair while swirling the remains of his tea around in his cup. He let out a puff of air after a moment, downing the tea and smacking the cup onto the table, making Floyd wince. "I stayed in the village that time for well over a year. Hickory and I were happy. And I thought…Well, I thought things were going really well. I'd even started making plans to permanently move there. It was going to be a surprise for Hickory. I'd been looking to have a house built, and was talking to a couple of trolls about where the best spot in the village would be to build it. But then…then Hickory's brother came back to town."

Floyd reached across the table to take John's hand, which had begun to tremble around his tea cup.

"Dickory came back to town and it's like Hickory's entire personality completely changed. He suddenly barely had any time to spend with me, and when he did, he started acting aloof to me. I confronted him about it, and he apologized and told me that his brother just stressed him out. I took him at face value about that, and it was okay again for a couple of days. But, then he just ghosted me for almost a week. I had no idea where he was, and everyone in town either told me it wasn't something I should worry about and that he'd be back soon, or just brushed me off completely. When I was starting to panic, he just suddenly showed up again." He paused, squeezing Floyd's fingers gently as fresh tears welled in his eyes. "When he did show up, he told me I didn't need to worry about where he'd been. And then, he told me that he had to leave with his brother to work, and he didn't know if or when he'd be back. He…he told me that since I was a travelling pop troll I should have plenty of other places I could go, but that he'd had fun while I was in town. That he wanted to find something serious."

John couldn't keep the tears back as he hunched in on himself, barely registering the scraping sound of chair legs against the floor as Floyd got up from the table to pull him into a hug.

"I had though we were serious," John sobbed, hiccupping before confessing quietly, "I loved him, Floyd. So much."

"Oh, John," Floyd cooed, running his fingers through his brothers hair. "He's a bastard who never deserved you."

"N-no," John pushed Floyd away slightly, sniffing as he shook his head, "He was the sweetest troll I'd ever met, Floyd. You don't understand." He gently shifted Floyd to the side so he could stand up and move across the room to a cupboard. He opened the door and pulled a well worn scrap book out, shuffling back to the table to set it down. He gestured for Floyd to open it.

Inside there were pictures of a snowy landscape with quaint little wooden houses, decorated with flowery trim, and trolls Floyd could only assume were the yodelers. The first couple of pages were like this - general photos of what looked like the village John had described, before the photos shifted to a young John Dory with a handful of trolls Floyd didn't recognize, and then to nothing but photos of John and Hickory. Dozens of pages of the two of them looking absolutely smitten with each other, and Floyd was relatively certain it was the happiest he'd ever seen his brother.

Floyd frowned as he looked back up at John. "This doesn't change the fact that he essentially called you a whore before he left you."

"Yeah, I've thought about that a lot," John admitted, his tears having subsided into the occasional sniffle again. He sat back down in his chair. "He wasn't exactly wrong. I've travelled a lot. Before I met him, I'd had a few other short term partners. And after we broke up, I had a couple little flings. It wasn't hard for me to find places to stay when I turned on the ol' boy band charm," he stated bluntly, a wry grin on his face. "I never told him I was planning on moving to the village. As far as he knew, I was liable to up and leave again at any time."

"Yeah, but you'd already been there for a year. He could've talked to you. And he approached you in the first place. That's scummy, no matter how you try and spin it, John."

John Dory simply shrugged, tugging the scrap book over to himself to flip through a few pages. "Maybe. Maybe he just said those things to me because of Dickory. Maybe he realized I just wasn't worth his time." John shut the scrap book, sliding it across the table. "I'll never really know the reason, because I left the village the next day. I didn't say good bye, and I never went back."

"John-"

"No. Floyd, look. All that, in the end, happened well over a decade ago. I can't keep holding a grudge against him for choosing to break it off with me. Even if he was cruel in the way he did it. All I can really do is try to keep my heart from breaking again." John heaved a sigh, slumping against the table top, his cheek squishing against it as he turned his head to look up at Floyd. "It's why I left him up on that hill. I know all I've really done is run away again, but he's going to be leaving with the caravan in a few days. Spending the morning with him, it just brought back all the feelings I had back then. It hurts."

Floyd sighed through his nose, tugging his chair closer to John and settling himself back down. "You still love him, don't you?"

John squeezed his eyes shut, nodding against the table. "I do."

~

"So, if it wasn't a fight, then what was it?" Poppy asked, sitting herself down next to Hickory.

Hickory sniffed, grabbing his hat from where it had been discarded on the ground so he would have something to fidget with. "Gettin' my comeuppance, I s'pose," he said with a shrug. "John and I, I'm sure you could tell, we used to be a thing."

"Hard to miss, with the way you guys were looking at each other half the morning," Poppy nodded, getting herself comfortable as Hickory spoke.

"Yeah…We broke up on pretty bad terms, back then. I…I treated him pretty badly."

"What?! How?"

Hickory laughed gently, rubbing at one of his eyes, "You really want to hear the whole story?"

"Uh, duh! Tell me everything," Poppy enthused, sitting forward eagerly.

"All right," Hickory sighed, a small smile on his face at Poppy's never ending enthusiasm. "John'll tell you that we met when I was seventeen, but that's not entirely true."

"Ooooh, I can already tell this is gonna be good," Poppy cooed, resting her cheek on her fist.

"When I was about ten, a pop troll came to the village that me n' my brother grew up in. It was kinda rare to see travellin' trolls, and honestly no one had seen a pop troll since before I'd hatched-"

"Because of the Bergens," Poppy helpfully interrupted.

"Because of the Bergens," Hickory agreed, patting her knee, "So here was a traveler all the way up in the mountains, where few trolls ventured, and a pop troll t'boot? He was an enigma." He wiggled his fingers through the air, making Poppy giggle. "My ten year old brain was immediately obsessed. I wanted t'know where he was from, how he found us, where he was going next - everythin'. But Dickory didn't like that. He didn't trust the traveler and made me stay inside near the entire time he was in the village. Then a couple weeks passed, and he was gone."

"So, I mean, you really didn't technically meet until later," Poppy hummed, frowning lightly.

"True. But I thought about him endlessly after that. It made me realize there was more to the world than our little village. That I could leave," Hickory enthused, gesturing out towards the bustling town below the hill. "It opened up my whole world when he came to town." He paused, letting his hands fall back into his lap. "But I was stuck under Dickory's thumb. At least, that was until he started workin' as a bounty hunter. I dunno when or how he found out about the line o' work, but he started disappearin' for long periods of time an' leavin' me with random folks 'round town. Eventually, when I was seventeen, he left me with this real sweet older couple, who occasionally had the rare troll that passed through the mountains stay with 'em. Low an' behold, one day I'm mindin' my business puttin' dishes away, when none other than John Dory walks through the door. I nearly dropped the dish I'd been holdin', but I managed to keep it together enough t'ask 'im if he wanted me t'show him 'round the village after he'd rested up. He took me up on the offer, an' we spent a good couple months together."

"Awww! That's so sweet," Poppy cooed, grinning at Hickory.

"Yeah. Real sweet up until I told 'im I had a crush on 'im," he said, smiling crookedly as Poppy's smile fell, "He let me down real sweet like, explainin' that he was headed out of town soon, an' that I was just too young for 'im. Which, valid points. I was still heart broken, though, an' avoided 'im after that. I even nearly missed my chance to say good bye to 'im. But I'd given his rejection some good thought, an' he was right. I was too young, an' he was a drifter. I was gonna be sad for a while, but I treasured the time we'd gotten to spend together. So I said my good byes, and he went on his way."

"But I thought you said you broke up with him?"

"I did," Hickory nodded, turning his gaze out towards the village, "John came back to the village a few years later, right on time for my twenty-first birthday. He appeared at my birthday party like some sorta specter. I turned 'round an' he was just standin' there, sippin' at a drink against a wall, just watchin' everyone else havin' fun. I thought for a minute that I had t'be dreamin', but no. He was really there. An' it was my birthday, so I took a bit of a risk." He tipped his head to smirk at Poppy, "Took 'im home with me that night."

"Oh!" Poppy flushed, waving a hand at Hickory, "You scoundrel."

Hickory laughed, shrugging as he pulled his knees up and sat forward to rest his elbows on them. "I guess so. But John, he just…he makes me feel things I never thought I'd feel, y'know?"

Poppy smiled warmly at Hickory. "Yeah, I do."

"Cause o' Branch?"

Poppy giggled, flushing as she covered her face with her hands, muttering a muffled, "Yeah."

"You two're real cute," Hickory hummed, patting her on the knee. "But, anyhow…John an' I were real happy for a good bit o' time. I think he stayed with us for a year or so? Dickory'd been gone on some long ass hunt an' I honestly wasn't sure if he was ever gonna come back. I know it makes me sound terrible, but I'd kinda hoped that he never would. John an' I were happy." A bitter frown turned Hickory's lips, and Poppy dropped her hands into her lap, watching him curiously. "He suddenly came back into town one day, makin' me spend all this time with 'im as he talked my ear off about bounty huntin'. It put me in a right foul mood, which carried over when I finally did get to spend time with John. I felt right bad when he called me out on my shit, too. I didn't realize I was treatin' him different 'cause of my bad mood. I tried to straighten up an' get back to our usual routine, but Dickory was havin' none of it. One day, he pulled me aside an' told me that since I was of age now I shouldn't be foolin' 'round with some travellin' tart. I needed to get out an' work, an' if I wanted to see more o' the world so badly then he would take me with 'im on his next job." Hickory sighed and rolled his shoulders, stretching back out to lean back on his hands. "He got a little rough with me at one point when I told 'im I wanted t'stay with John, an' that we were happy the way we were. He dragged me into town to show me where John was talkin' to some o' the other villagers, then pinned me down so I couldn't get away, just so he could tell me about how John was apparently lookin' to build us a home. I asked him how he thought that would make me wanna leave, an' he just laughed at me an' told me that if I really loved John because of how he was free to go anywhere he wanted, an' be whoever he wanted, then why was I so willing to tie him down and force him to stay in our little village. Never occured to me that John and I could leave together. I just watched him laughin' with the other villagers an' kept playin' scenarios in my head about how he'd grow to resent me for keepin' 'im there."

"Oh, Hickory," Poppy hiccupped, tears welled up in her eyes, "that's awful!"

"Yeah. But it wasn't as bad as what I did to John after that."

"Oh no! What'd you do?"

Hickory let out a breath, looking ashamed of himself. "I left with Dickory for a week without tellin' 'im anythin'. Dickory took me out on a short job, an' when I got back John was in a tizzy. He was so worried about me, I felt awful. But Dickory told me he had a longer job lined up for us, an' we would be leavin' the next day. I had no idea how long it'd take, an' I didn't even know if Dickory an' I would even go back to the village after. So, I had to set John free."

"Hickory…what did you do?"

"I was cold to 'im. Told 'im I was leavin', an' didn't know if I'd even be back. Then - oh Poppy," Hickory rubbed at his face, "I told him since he was a travellin' pop troll, he shouldn't have any trouble findin' a place to shack up an' keep warm. That we'd had our fun, but I needed to get movin' an' find somethin' 'serious'. I was just awful to 'im. I really don't blame him for leavin' like he did just now."

Poppy looked devastated for a moment, before jumping up to her feet. "So, you need to apologize!" She stared down at Hickory with determination, her fists clenched in the air in front of her.

"Wait-what? Poppy, weren't you listenin'?"

"Of course I was! But, Hickory, for all that is trolly, you've loved John Dory since you were ten. And not even because he was in a band! Now that you're both in a good place in your lives, and able to make amends, you can't seriously tell me you're okay with just moving on with the caravan and leaving things the way they are, are you?!"

Hickory swallowed thickly, fiddling with his hat for a moment, before yanking it onto his head and smacking the ground. "Good gosh golly, you're right, miss Poppy. I can't give up now. I gotta apologize an' clear the air between us. I can't just let things fester like I did before. We gotta stop this cycle of one of us leavin' the other over an' over." He stood, face full of determination. "Let's do this."

"That's the spirit!" Poppy cheered. "And I have the perfect plan to help!"

~

"So, what're you going to do?" Floyd asked, the two had migrated from the table to John's couch, cuddled together under a blanket.

"I don't know…I could probably hide in Branch's bunker until they leave. That's always an option, right?"

Floyd rolled his eyes, flicking John Dory in the ear, earning himself a pathetic sounding whine from the other. "No. As much as I think that what Hickory did was absolutely deplorable, you're probably right that he did it because of his brother. And you still care about him. He obviously still has feelings for you. You two should at least talk, if nothing else."

John sighed heavily, pulling his goggles off his head to toss them across the room. "You know I'm no good at talking. Plus, I'm pretty sure after running off like I did, he probably doesn't even want to talk to me again."

"You just talked to me. I think you did really well. And if Hickory doesn't want to talk to you again, at least you can say you tried. Trying and being honest are the only ways you're going to find yourself any closure about this." Floyd gently ruffled his older brothers hair, "But maybe wait until tomorrow? After you've had some time to rest up. I don't think I've ever seen you cry so much. You must be tired."

John snorted and shoved Floyd lightly, shooting him a playful glare. "This coming from mister I used to cry when even so much as a slightly raised voice was in my general vicinity."

"Exactly why I know how tiring crying can be," Floyd snarked back, tugging at John's ear. "Don't be petulant. Get some rest. Hang out in Rhonda for the rest of the day. I'll bring by some dinner later and we can talk some more, okay? Maybe you can show me some other scrap books you've got stashed away. I saw a bunch more in that cupboard."

"Yeah, okay. That sounds good."

"I'll see you later, JD."

~

The next day started pretty similarly to how the previous had. The sun was shining and birds were chirping, but this time John didn't have an exuberant pop queen banging at his door.

John rolled out of bed and puttered around Rhonda, getting himself ready for the day. As he pulled his goggles on he stared at himself in the mirror. He'd slept relatively well, so the perpetual bags under his eyes weren't quite so prominent, and the redness in them from crying had, luckily, completely cleared up overnight. He hadn't picked out anything special to wear, just his usual fur lined vest and cargo shorts. Pretty well the same thing he'd been wearing the day before. He didn't think he looked like anything particularly special, but yesterday Hickory had looked at him like he was the whole universe.

"Hey now, stop that," he scolded his reflection as his cheeks began to darken. "Don't get your hopes up, and don't expect anything. You're just going to talk, and if we end up at least staying friends, that's good enough." He poked the glass in front of him with a stern frown. "Be happy if you even get closure."

He then turned on his heel and headed out of Rhonda, startling when he found Floyd just outside the door with his fist raised to knock.

"Oh! You're up," Floyd laughed, stepping back to gesture at Poppy and Branch who were standing just behind him, "Branch was convinced you'd still be asleep."

"What? And miss out on a party thrown by none other than the Queen of Pop herself? I don't think so," John laughed, trundling down Rhonda's steps and giving her a fond pat before stepping away.

"Oh, good. I was a bit worried that after yesterday, you wouldn't want to come," Poppy sighed, laughing nervously as she glanced at Branch who nudged her in the side. John raised an eyebrow at their antics and glanced at Floyd who simply shrugged.

"Riiiight…Well, I'm up and about. Shall we?" John swept his arm out towards the entrance to Rhonda's clearing, waiting until Branch and Poppy began to walk before following next to Floyd.

"Are you actually okay?" Floyd asked as he and John fell back a bit from Poppy and Branch, a light frown on his face.

"I don't know," John reluctantly admitted, rubbing at his neck, "I guess? I think I know what I want to say to him, but that all depends on if he's even around or wants to talk to me. I guess I'm a bit anxious?"

"It's okay to be anxious. And if you need me, you know I'll be there for you," Floyd offered, patting John on the shoulder.

"Yeah. Thanks, bro," John smiled, nodding a little as the group of four broached what most of the village fondly referred to as the 'Party Clearing'. The area was almost exclusively used for parties and events, and was currently decorated in country themed decorations for the visiting caravan. Fake cacti were peppered around the area, while what appeared to be hay bales were scattered around for trolls to sit on. A stage and DJ booth were set up at one end of the clearing, and twinkle lights were strung over the entire clearing with various colors of streamers hanging from them. John was sure they'd be amazing once night fell and the lights were turned on.

"Okay! I gotta go do some last minute prep, and make sure all of the tables for food are set up properly. Everything today has got to be perfect," Poppy cheered as she dashed away, the brothers visibly cringing as she said the word 'perfect'.

"So, wait…why're we here so early?" John asked, frowning a bit as he looked around to see a handful of trolls milling about and setting things up.

"Because Poppy likes to be early," Branch stated bluntly, folding his arms over his chest, "And she wanted to make sure you showed up."

"What? Why?"

Branch glanced at his brother, shrugging a little. "Because reasons," he replied unhelpfully before wandering away, leaving an incredibly confused John and Floyd in his wake.

"Uh," John blinked, turning to Floyd with a frown, "Do you know what's up with him?"

"Not a clue," Floyd shrugged while shaking his head, only to turn towards the stage as someone tapped on a microphone and started a sound check. He blinked in surprise and grabbed at John Dory to face the stage as well, as a green and orange troll walked forward with a guitar in hand.

"Hickory?" John gasped, dumbfounded as to why the county troll would be up on stage, especially when there were barely any trolls in the clearing yet.

"Howdy, y'all," Hickory said into the mic, tipping his hat and clearing his throat. "This, uhm…this ain't really for the party or nothin', but I heard grand gestures are real in right now, so uhm, here I am."

John began to walk across the clearing towards the stage in a bit of a daze, watching Hickory as he nervously fiddled with his guitar.

"This is for, well," Hickory laughed lightly, his eyes trained on John as he approached, "It's for you, darlin'." And with that, he began to sing. "Tell me what I have to do tonight, 'cause I'd do anything to make it right…" ((click here if you wanna listen to the song Hickory sings, and the namesake of this fic))

John was enraptured as Hickory sang, unconsciously clutching at the front of his vest as tears welled up in his eyes as the song came to a close. "Hickory," he sobbed with a hiccup, rushing the stage as Hickory jumped down, catching the country troll in a hug. A small smattering of cheering and clapping made John pull back and look around, flushing as he realized that all of the trolls that had previously been milling about were watching them.

"Oh, this is embarrassing," John muttered, burying his face in Hickory's shoulder, causing the other to chuckle.

"Why don't we go somewhere a bit more private so we can talk? How's that sound?" Hickory asked, nudging John's temple with his nose.

"Yeah, okay," John muttered, pulling away to drag Hickory from the clearing by his wrist, the cheers following them as they left.

After a beat, Branch walked back over to Floyd with a self satisfied smirk on his face.

"You and Poppy planned this whole thing, didn't you?" Floyd asked, raising an eyebrow at his baby brother.

"Well, Poppy did. She just used me as a sounding board and asked how I thought John might react to something like this." He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his vest pockets.

"Good job, Bitty B."

"Someone's gotta look out for that idiot now and then. Glitter knows, he won't ever take care of himself."

"He's trying," Floyd sighed, wrapping an arm around Branch's shoulders to pull him into a half hug.

"I know."

~

John tugged Hickory along until they were a good ways away from the party clearing, quite near to the forest trails they'd walked along the day before. He finally let go of the other and spun on his heel to face him, his cheeks flushed and a mix of determination and fear on his face. Hickory frowned lightly, reaching out to cup John's cheek.

"You okay there, darlin'?"

John let out a shuddery breath, leaning in to Hickory's touch for a moment, before wrapping his fingers around the country trolls wrist and pulling it away from his face. "You hurt me, Hick. No amount of sweet ballad performances are going to change that," he began, holding fast as Hickory turned his face away and tried to tug his wrist free, "BUT. But…I am willing to talk about this and clear the air between us. I think we really need to discuss what happened all those years ago."

"Yer right. 'Course, yer right," Hickory nodded, "I wasn't tryin' to avoid a serious conversation with ya, I promise. I know I gotta explain myself, an' you don't owe me any sorta forgiveness."

"No one said I was unwilling to forgive you, sweetheart," John said, returning Hickory's earlier gesture and tilting the country trolls face towards him, brushing his thumb over his cheek. Hickory's face lit up as he stared intently at John. "We just really gotta clear away the old baggage, first."

"Right," Hickory nodded as the two moved to sit beneath one of the towering trees. "Where do ya want me to start?"

"I don't think we need to go that far back. Just…tell me what happened when Dickory came back to town. Where did you go for that week, and what made you decide to try and make me hate you before you left."

Hickory fidgeted, swallowing thickly as he tucked his hands between his knees. "Okay. Well, when Dickory came back an' saw the two o' us together, he was not pleased. The reason I kept bein' so waspish to ya was because he was bound an' determined to make me miserable before he knew I was gonna meet up with ya. An' then he dragged me on a job with 'im without any warnin'. I didn't get a chance to even think about tellin' ya where I was goin', cause I just woke up one mornin' in a wagon that was headin' down the mountain. When we did return, he got real nasty with me when I tried to go back home to ya. I wasn't thinkin' straight, an' he put this thought in my head that I was keepin' you trapped, instead of letting ya be yerself. He told me you were lookin' to move to the village, permanent like, an' I didn't want that fer you. You were always meant t'be free."

"…That's stupid."

Hickory let out a bark of laughter, tilting his head to smile wryly at John. "I realize that now. But at the time, Dick had me all messed up an' I thought the only thing I could do was let you go. Well…force ya t'leave. It wasn't fair, what I did, an' it weren't right. I know that now. I've known that fer a long time now, actually. I should've just talked to ya about it. I've imagined, so many times, how we could've just up an' left in the middle of the night an' been happy and together for all these years. I wasted so much of our time, bein' stupid."

"Yeah. You did," John breathed, watching as Hickory winced, "But there's not much we can do about the past, is there?"

Hickory lifted his head, watching John with hope in his eyes. John couldn't help but reach out and brush his fingers through Hickory's hair, relishing in how the country troll practically melted into his touch.

"If there's one thing I've been trying to learn and come to terms with myself, it's that the past will leave scars behind, whether you meant to hurt yourself and others, or not. But, you can work to help heal them. It'll take time and effort, but I think it'll be worth it if we try."

Tears slid unbidden down Hickory's cheeks, even as he smiled warmly at John. "Lookit you, gettin' so wise in yer old age."

"Shut up," John laughed, shoving lightly at Hickory's shoulder, only to tug him back in close to plant a kiss on his cheek. Hickory chuckled, quickly tipping his head to catch John in a proper kiss, a shiver running up his spine at the surprised little noise the teal troll let out.

"You wanna head back to the party now?" Hickory asked as they pulled away from each other, John taking the opportunity to duck down and snuggle into Hickory's chest.

"Not yet," he sighed, letting his eyes drift shut as he curled around Hickory, "Let's just stay here for a bit."

"Whatever you'd like, darlin'," Hickory hummed, letting his fingers comb through John's hair as they basked in each others company and the warm sun shining down on them.

[idyllic-ghost]

Title: And We Meet Again

Pairing: immortal!Minghao x reincarnated!Reader

Warnings: discussions of death, mentions of medication, mentions of an anxiety attack, angst in general.

Genre: Soulmates, Romance, Fluff, Angst

Synopsis: There is something familiar about that house on the hill, even though you swear that you have never seen it before. But you’re drawn to the lavender fields and the ocean view - and the lonesome looking man you see sitting on the porch. When you approach him there is something in his eyes that you cannot understand - a knowing, a deep feeling. The question is, will you ever have enough time to figure out what that look means?

A/N: i want to thank @wondernus and @heartkyeom for helping me out with this one!! your comments helped me stay motivated and embellished the story a lot more <33

Word count: 6k

This is a collab with @svthub!

Click here to see the other fics in the collab!

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

“Where do you want it, my love?” Minghao asked as he carried the shovel over to where you were standing, “Is here good?”

“It’s perfect.” You looked down at the tree sapling you were holding in your hand.

The wind was blowing around you. This really was the best place to build a home. A big field, up on a high cliff, with a view of the ocean. Your fiance was helping you plant a tree in what was supposed to become the garden. Minghao’s long hair was getting in his eyes while he shoveled up the dirt to plant the tree sapling, making you giggle. He looked up at you.

“You know we won’t be able to see the tree grow, right? Those take ages to get to their normal size,” he sighed.

“That means someone else can enjoy it in the future, darling,” you explained, “It is like we are leaving our mark on this place.”

“Anything you want, I suppose.” He smiled and kept digging. “Should this be deep enough?”

You hummed and placed the sapling in the hole, brushing your hands together to get rid of any dirt. Minghao shoveled the dirt in and patted on the ground. As soon as he put down the shovel and turned to you, you hugged him tightly. 

“Imagine our house here,” you sighed, “Just the way we want it.”

Minghao pressed his lips to your temple, pressing a warm kiss on your cold skin. The base of the tree was thin and frail - but you knew that, with the right amount of love and care, you’d get it to a grand and beautiful size.

“I will see to it that you get the exact home that you want, love,” Minghao murmured.

“Hm? Even with a patio with lots of plants? Or a garden filled with lavender?” you asked with a beaming smile.

“Anything you want, darling.”

“I’ll give you a list then.”

The tree stood proud in that spot in front of where the house was supposed to be. You couldn’t be happier with your now husband standing right beside you in front of the place that you were going to call home.

Five hundred years later, the tree was still standing. Much larger and with ridges that showed its old age. Minghao’s hand grazed the rough bark of the tree. A sad smile appeared on his lips as he thought back to when the two of you planted this tree. The tree was dying, it was dry and had a grayish brown color instead of its past lively green bark. Time was disappearing like sand through his fingers, but he didn’t feel it. Unlike the tree, no signs of age could be seen on Minghao’s skin. He put his forehead against the wood. It was warm from the sun’s rays. Spring had finally come, and the buds on the branches were about to bloom. At this moment, it felt like only yesterday that he had planted this tree with you. He stepped away from the tree, the feeling of the rough texture lingered on his skin. He wasn’t sure why he ended up by the tree. It might have been the thought of you that led his subconscious to move his legs for him. He missed you, there was no denying that. However, even if you weren’t here with him right now, you would return soon.

The train rolled past beautiful scenery, ocean views and lavender fields. Your train cabin was cramped, but at least you were the only one in there. The small luggage you had brought along was tucked under your seat, except for a smaller backpack laying on the seat beside you. It contained anything you could need; tissues, a book, a phone with the notifications turned off, and your pain meds. So far the ride had been peaceful. It was quiet, the only sound being the clashing of the train tracks against the wheels. Outside you saw the most calming view you had laid eyes on in a while. Color flooded your senses; purple, green, and blue hues spotting the landscape right in front of your finger tips. You could picture how fresh the air was. The clear skies and slight wind blowing through the trees, and the white spots of seasalt clinging to the window, made you want to go outside to take a deep breath. This was exactly what you needed for your final vacation, a quaint village by the seaside with an utmost harmonic atmosphere. Houses were sparsely built in this area, but a bit further away you could see the village where you were going to stay.

The moment you stepped foot in the village, you could tell it was a tight-knit community. Everyone seemed to know everyone and tourism didn’t seem to be very common. Still, you were given a warm welcome. The hostel you were staying at had a nice older man running it. He showed you to your room - a small but cozy room with a low ceiling. It was good enough for you especially since the bed was comfy enough for you to fall asleep right away. In the morning, you set off immediately after breakfast. Your feet took you to the big lavender field and you were hit with a huge wave of the wonderful scent. There was a small path paved for you between two big fields of purple flowers. On top of the hill was a house - a white villa with a black roof. Beside it stood a big oak tree.

From where you were standing, you could see the outline of a man sitting on the porch. Everything felt so awfully familiar, a huge wave of deja vu hit you. It felt wrong to just go to some stranger’s house, but you told yourself it would be right to ask for directions - you were out in the middle of nowhere after all. When you got closer, you could see that the man was looking back at you - and you swore you saw him smiling.

“Hi! Sorry for intruding,” you said as you approached the porch, “I’m just a little lost.”

The man was slender with dark hair - there was something mysterious about him, specifically in his deep brown eyes. But he was calm, you might even describe him as peaceful. 

“You’re not intruding.” His voice was smooth, and his emphasis on ‘you’ had you taken aback. 

He got up from his seat and approached you with a warm look on his face.

“I’m just here on vacation, I’m living in the town across the fields,” you explained. “And I was going to go to the sea, but these flowers got my attention.”

“They’re pretty, aren’t they?” The man looked out across the fields.

“Lavender’s my favorite.” You nodded.

He gave you a knowing smile before silently inviting you to sit down with him. There were two cups on the table on the porch, and one pot of tea. You would never normally do this, but you accepted his kind gesture.

“My name’s Minghao,” he said and brought the cup to his lips.

“Y/N,” you answered and drank the lavender green tea.

“That’s a pretty name,” he said.

“Thank you.” You put down your cup and looked around you. “Do you live here by yourself?”

“Mostly.” He nodded, and you could tell that he wasn’t going to explain further.

You closed your eyes and took in the spring breeze. Everything was calm and peaceful. You thought about what a nice life you could live here. It was something you could see yourself doing something like this in another life. You felt Minghao’s eyes on you, and you turned your head to look at him.

“How long are you staying in town?” he asked.

“A few weeks.”

He nodded. Suddenly something sad appeared in his eyes, but it disappeared as fast as it got there. There was no doubt that there was a connection between you and this stranger - although it seemed insane. The two of you had only spoken a few words but it felt right. Just as right as it had been getting on the train over here, and just as right as it had been to walk down this path.

“Have you lived here for long?” you asked.

“Longer than you can imagine”

You gave him a weird look, which he responded with a soft chuckle. It felt restrained, his entire posture was restrained. There was more to this interaction than he let on, but you had no idea what it could mean.

“I think I should start heading back.” You stood up, “Thank you for the tea”

“Come by again sometime.”

“I will.” You nodded. “... is it alright if I pick some lavender?”

“It’s all yours,” he hummed.

Minghao gripped the armrests of the chair tightly as he watched you walk away. You bent down beside the path and picked up a few lavender flowers, turned back to the house, and waved before walking back. 

He took a deep breath. This wasn’t the first time you had walked away from him. 

Far from it. 

You were the same as you always were -  sweet, curious, and just as he remembered you. Every single time he got to see you again, you were perfect. You had been from the start.

The first time Minghao had met you was five hundred years ago. It was a different town than where he lived now. There, the two of you lived far apart but close at heart. You were the child of the duke of the land; Minghao, nothing more than a physician’s apprentice. Despite getting proposals from people of high standings across the lands, your eyes never wavered from him. Minghao was the one you had set out to marry no matter who disagreed. 

That’s exactly why you decided to run off together. Not much had been planned out, except that you’d try to steal two horses, or maybe even one, and that you’d do it during a night when the moon didn’t cast light upon your trail. The night when you followed through with your half-finished plan, it came to you unexpectedly. You ran off to Minghao’s cabin as soon as dusk came.

“Come on, get your things!” You shook Minghao awake.

“Your majesty-”

“We don’t have time for this, my love,” you interrupted. “No one’s around, this is our only chance. Get yourself ready, I’ll go get the horses.”

The two of you escaped into the night, planning on never stepping foot into the town again. You found a small village where you decided to stay. It was right by an open field, and close to the seashore. You immediately fell in love with this field, which is why the two of you decided to build a house there.

It was all you would work on, day in and day out you would sketch new ideas. You had picked a spot right in the middle of a big field. There was open ground, perfect to build upon, and a view over the sea. However, just a few years after getting married, you died. 

A weak heart, was the only explanation he ever got - but there people just weren’t as knowledgeable back then. Minghao, a few moments before you passed, made a promise that he’d see you again, that his life would never be complete without you. He finished building the house you wanted, following every instruction you had written down, and planted a tree right next to it. Since he had already planted your favorite tree, he began planting lavender patches around it, they were your favorite, and every year he’d plant more. 

Many years passed and Minghao never seemed to age, he didn’t feel it, and others noticed it. When his childhood friends started passing away while he still looked the same as all those years ago, he knew that something was wrong. 

Minghao couldn’t die. 

At first he didn’t understand, but then he saw you again. A visitor from a nearby town, who had no idea who he was. So he thought of it as a coincidence, maybe he was going mad. But then, a few decades later, it happened again. And again, and again, and again.

 Every time it was different, but it was you - it was definitely you. Minghao learned to live with it at first. He’d move away a few years, come back just in time for you to visit, and it would keep going in an infinite loop. 

Around the fifth time it had happened, he tried to tell you about all of your past lives. He somehow managed to convince you, but a week or so later you passed away suddenly. That’s how he found out he wasn’t allowed to tell you, but he also found out that his actions could change things - meaning that there had to be a way for you to stay. Finally, after all these years, he might know how. 

Once you were back in the village, you were looking for a place to eat lunch. Your eyes fell upon a cheerful looking house with a small restaurant at the bottom floor. The old lady working there sat you down at a corner table and gave you some bread and water, leaving you some time to look at the menu. When she came back, and you placed your order, she asked you where you were from. You answered and she nodded with a smile.

“We don’t get many tourists here nowadays,” she explained. “It’s hard to not spot an unfamiliar face.”

“Well, this place is absolutely wonderful.” You smiled. “I’m surprised more people don’t come here… I mean, just the lavender field out there is enough of an attraction.”

“Oh, so you’ve been wandering around this morning, then?”

“Yes, I talked to the man who lives out in the middle of the field - Minghao I think it was,” you said.

“Oh, you’ve talked to Mr. Xu?” She sounded surprised. “We rarely see anything of him… he comes to the market a few times, but that’s about it. I’m surprised he’d talk to a stranger.”

You watched as she went to give your order to the chef, shocked to hear about him in this way. Minghao had been so friendly and didn’t seem like what the lady described him to be. After lunch, you walked around the market - at first just looking, but soon enough you were interviewing. You began talking to the townsfolk, asking them about the lavender fields and the house right in the middle of it. Everyone told the same story; the fields had always been there, so had the house, and no one could seem to remember when Xu Minghao moved into it.

Minghao was in his kitchen when he saw you walking back over the field, just a few days after the first visit. He quickly dried off his hands from washing a few fruits. With rushed steps, he made his way toward the front door. This was important, the second visit always was. His hand lingered on the door handle, but the thoughts were pushed away as soon as he pushed open the door. Light flooded into the dusty hallway, but he quickly closed it behind him. The sound of the door closing caught your attention. You were looking up at the crown of the tree, but now your attention was turned to him.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning,” you answered, “Sorry for just dropping by.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” He shrugged it off and approached you. “I enjoy a bit of company.”

You gave him a strange look, which he couldn’t decipher. However, it quickly faded and was replaced with a smile. You met him halfway, walking closer to the house. 

“I was about to go on my morning walk,” Minghao lied. “Do you want to come along?”

It was a steep way down the hill towards the shore, but the two of you took it slow. You walked close behind him, watching each step you took. But the closer you got to the beach, the smaller the rocks were under your shoes - making it harder to walk. As if he somehow knew, Minghao held his hand out for you to take just as you were about to fall. 

“It’s hard to walk here,” he hummed even though he was walking perfectly fine like he had walked there a million times before.

“Thank you,” you answered breathlessly, “I don’t have the right shoes for this.”

“You’re doing good,” he assured you with a smile.

His hand gripped yours a bit tighter, as he helped you over a more difficult part. Nevertheless, you weren’t doing so good. You thought back to your family and friends at home, to the letter you had left them. There had been no warning signs, from what you could imagine, and then you suddenly left them. 

Suddenly, it’s like you were back there. You had received the news of the state of your health. A few months left to live, is what the sum of it was. It wasn’t something that you expected would ever happen to you. From that moment, you moved on with your life as normal - but the second you started feeling symptoms, you knew it was time to leave. You couldn’t stand seeing the worried faces of your loved ones while you slowly decayed. So, you wrote them each a letter and left - they explained your condition, and that you wouldn’t be returning. It hurt, but it was for the best. After this trip, you had decided to go to the hospital and spend your last days there. It wasn’t what you wanted, but you didn’t want anyone to see you in such a fragile state. Perhaps it was selfish, but you saw no other way.

The air was salty and warm like in a daze, but the cold breeze and the few droplets occasionally escaping from the ocean brought you back from your thoughts. You looked over at the man beside you. He was still holding your hand, still leading you across the safest path. A part of you wanted to ask Minghao a billion questions, but something kept you quiet - a single thought that you were mulling over in your head. 

How was it possible that you seemed to know him? 

No, you didn’t know his favorite color, or what kind of music he liked, but you remember his face from somewhere - like a distant memory. Minghao stopped walking, seemingly tired of the silence between you.

“This is my favorite spot,” he said.

He let go of your hand, and you immediately missed the warmth of his touch. Minghao looked at you. The sound of the waves crashing against the rocky shore filled your ears, and the noise seemed to drown out all thoughts. Nothing else but the depths of his eyes existed in this moment. He smiled, a dimple appearing on one of his cheeks. 

“It’s beautiful,” you finally answered.

Your eyes never left his - it seemed impossible to do. His eyes had looked black before, but now, with the sun reflecting in them, they were a warm and inviting brown color. One of his hands reached out to your face. His thumb brushed against your cheek.

“Eyelash,” he murmured.

You smiled at him, silently thanking him. The sound of the waves echoed in your head, a slow rhythm building and merging with your heartbeat. Minghao’s hand lingered before he let it drop to his side again. 

“Are you enjoying your time here?” he asked softly.

“It’s been calming,” you answered, “I finally feel at peace.”

Minghao’s eyebrows furrowed, as if there was something about you that he wasn’t expecting. However, as soon as the sound of another wave hitting the shore echoed toward you, his face readjusted to its normal state with a flinch. He was an enigma to you, a mystery you were unable to solve - a paradox.

“There’s something about you…” You stopped, unable to find any words that could accurately describe what you were feeling.

“Perhaps it’s infatuation,” he joked.

You let out a flustered laugh and looked out over the ocean, just to avoid his sharp eyes. It was a more bold comment than what you had heard from him before. As you’re about to go back on your word, to try to find the words you were searching for, you feel a sudden pain in your chest. It was a frequent symptom that you had gotten to know all too well recently. It’s sharp, starting in the middle of your chest before it spreads and eventually dulls. There’s nothing to do about it; it happens at random, and leaves too quickly for any pain meds to take effect - constantly numbing yourself wasn’t an option either. No, you saved your medication for more dire situations.

“It’s nothing.” You shake your head and bring your hand to your chest. “Should we head back?”

“Are you alright?” Minghao held his hands out, hovering around your body but not daring to touch you.

You can’t help but to look at him. Minghao is looking right at you, but his mind is somewhere else. A distant memory rumbles within him. He’s right next to you, but he’s mentally in another place. Despite your pain, you give him a small smile. You take one of his hands in yours, and you place your free hand on his shoulder. Minghao’s breath quickens, his eyes drifting away from you. Your hand leaves his shoulder to cup his cheek. He looks at you, and you smile at him again.

“Should we head back?” you asked again.

Minghao nods.

He watches you walk in front of him, his hand still in yours. However, as much as he tried, he couldn’t shake the gnagging feeling away. Seeing you just now, clearly in pain, put everything in perspective for him once again. You were dying, much like every other time you were here. There was always the slightly unsettling inkling that you had shorter and shorter time on earth each time you got reincarnated. He thought back to the first time you had died - how you had reached for your chest just like before, and how you had the same scrunched up facial expression. That time, you had collapsed - right in front of the tree the two of you had planted together. He wished he never had do see you like that again. Mindlessly follow you back home was all he could do now.

When you find yourself in front of Minghao’s house again, you also find that the pain in your chest has faded. It never lasted for long. A hand landed on your shoulder, and you turned to look directly into his eyes.

“Do you want to come inside? Maybe you should rest?” he asks, worry dripped from his words.

You wouldn’t mind staying with him for longer, and you were curious about how he lived. Playing up your pain felt wrong, but it also seemed like Minghao wanted you to stay for other reasons than your wellbeing. Moreover, when he, just a few seconds later, offered you a cup of tea, it was hard to say no.

Minghao’s home was exactly what you thought it’d be. Old trinkets, plants everywhere, and large windows that let lots of light in. He showed you into his kitchen, where he let you sit down by a dinner table, and he situated himself by the counter. The arcitecture of the house was old, but he had clearly renovated it to add a few modern details. As if he was afraid to leave the past behind, but found himself needing to adapt.

“So, what do you do in order to afford to own a place like this?” you asked.

“I’m a doctor.” Minghao speaks with his back to you, as he started the tea kettle.

“A doctor?” You look around the house, trying to find some sort of proof of his profession. “You’re not very busy for a doctor.”

“... I work privately,” he said.

Minghao takes out two mugs from the cupboard and walks up to you. You watch as he puts one mug in front of you and one mug in front of the chair opposite of yours. He doesn’t look at you, and goes back to the counter quite quickly. It wasn’t time for questions, you could feel it in every way he moved. Minghao was tense, and his movements almost robotic. He had done this routine a thousand times before, you could tell from the way he didn’t even have to look when he reached for the many tea leaves. He never asked you what you wanted, but you weren’t questioning it.

“So, are you going to tell me what happened on the beach?” he asked.

You thought that you could ask him the same question, but you decided to not voice this hypocrisy. 

“Chronic pain,” you hummed, “It’s…”

You were going to say that it wasn’t serious, but it seemed as if Minghao could read your mind about these things. He hummed in response, setting down the tea kettle right in front of you before sitting down. 

“It’s an illness,” you admit, “I won’t bore you about it… but I don’t have long left.”

It’s silent - you can hear a pin drop. Minghao picks up the kettle, and pours the tea in your mug. The sound of the water pouring is calming to you, his act makes you think that he’s understanding. 

“There’s nothing you can do?” he asks.

“Nothing that I have heard of,” you said, “And I’ve gone through a lot of tests.”

“What about traditional methods?”

“Traditional?”

“I might have something for you,” he explained, “If it doesn’t cure you, it might just help your passing.”

You looked at him, skeptical at first but seeing his serious expression made you let go. At this point, you were willing to try anything.

“Come by tomorrow,” he said, “And I’ll have something prepared for you.”

You don’t know why, but you trust him without a doubt.

The very next day, you got worse. The pain in your chest was there when you woke up, but wouldn’t go away. You took your pain meds, which kept the pain at bay. However, you knew it was only temporary. You stayed in bed all day, only going out to the bathroom or to get food. The next day, you did the same. Then the day after that, and the day after that, until you had to ask the owner to bring your food to your room. Your body was betraying you, and you had no idea what to do. The thought of Minghao stays with you throughout this time. How you’ve failed him: you said you would be there, now you’ve left him alone for days. You wonder if he saw it coming, or if he was disappointed that you didn’t show.

By day five you decided you had to try to get to him. Your medication was running out, since you had taken more than you were recommended to, but it was enough to carry you through the journey. You left all of your things at the hostel, you couldn’t carry anything in this state, and snuck out without anyone seeing. The owner had grown attached to you, and had urged you to not go anywhere these past few days - so you didn’t want anyone to see you leave. 

Minghao sits on the porch, where you had first seen him, when you arrive at the villa. You’re out of breath and limping, but it doesn’t stop you. His eyes widened when he first spotted you, and he hesitates before running toward you. You collapse in his arms, finally feelingn safe enough to relax.

“I didn’t forget you, I promise,” you whisper hoarsely.

“I didn’t think you would,” he hummed and soothingly started stroking your back. “Let’s get you inside.”

He lifts you up, and lets you prop yourself against his shoulder. You steady yourself on him, and limp in through the house. Instead of stopping in the kitchen, like you thought he would, he carried you into a different room. The room was brightly lit, due to the large windows, and was different from the rest of the house. This room didn’t have any modern touches, it was seemingly completely original. And untouched. Dust flew around the room, although nothing was dirty. The room was well taken cared of, but not frequently visited.

“Rest in here,” Minghao said.

He sat you down on the bed, then proceeded to remove the linens that covered it just enough for you to settle down under the duvet. When he helped you into the bed, he made sure to handle you carefully. His touch was gentle, and you swore that he barely even breathed. 

“I’ll get your medicine.”

In the kitchen, Minghao hurried together his ingrediendts. Lemon, honey, jasmine flowers, sage, root of valeriana, and, most importantly, lavender grown from the fields outside. He got the potion from one of his old books - two different sleeping potions mixed together. Maybe, just maybe, with a little help of some of his other trinkets, he could save you. He ground the ingredients up together, making it into a paste before diluting it with water. Before bringing it to you, he needed to gather a few other things. An old locket, a branch from the tree outside, and a bouquet of lavender and other wild flowers he had found outside. Memories from your past lives. The tree and the lavender was vague enough for you to not question it, but the locket he had to act carefully with. Inside it was a picture of him and you, from your wedding ceremony. It had been a small affair, so no one could tell it was a wedding picture from just looking at it. But the picture alone was suspicious for you to see. Nevertheless, Minghao put everything on a tray and carried it in to your room. 

You had fallen asleep when Minghao walked back into the room. He put the tray on the bedside table. The bouquet went in a glass and golden vase, and then he sat down next to you. To wake you, he put a hand on your shoulder and gently shook you. As soon as you opened your eyes, your eyebrows furrowed in pain.

“I’m sorry,” he winced.

“It’s okay,” you mumbled, “Do you have it?”

Minghao hummed and helped you sit up. Once you had done so, he put the cup in your hands but stopped you when you attempted to drink it. One of his hands covered the top of the cup, and he kept it there.

“I have to warn you. This is strong,” he said.

“I don’t care, I just want to get better,” you said in a cracked voice, “Any way possible.”

Minghao nodded, and reached for the locket. He looked at you, hesitating before putting it around your neck. You were about to ask, but he stopped you with one, serious look.

“You’ll be different when you wake up, Y/N.”

“Different is better than dead,” you said dryly.

You put the cup to your lips and turned it upside-down. Minghao took your cup when you finished and helped you lay back down. Pulling the covers up over your chest, he watched as sleep took over you and as you fell into your deep slumber.

Days passed and you hadn’t woken up. Minghao had put fresh flowers in the vase for you, and had put the tree branch in your hands, laying on your chest. You looked peaceful like this, not like you had when you came to him. Seeing you stumble towards the house, sweating and heaving, was more painful than having knowledge of all the times you had passed on - your suffering was forever carved into his memory.

The more time that passed, the more anxious he grew. Minghao stopped going into your room altogether. Maybe it was a mistake to try, maybe it wasn’t supposed to be this way - what if he was doomed for all eternity to watch you come and go, what if that was his destiny? Had he ruined it all? Would he never be able to see you smile again? His thoughts kept spiraling, and he didn’t know how to stop it. His routine was the only thing that kept him calm. Wake up, breakfast, morning walk, take care of the plants, eat, read, make tea, eat, sleep, repeat. Everything was done with the same robotic motions, it was the only thing to keep him from going completely insane with anxiety. Patience is a virtue, but it’s impossible to keep up when time had gone on for an eternity already. He was so close - if this could only work. 

Once half a year had passed, he decided to check up on you. Despite his fears, you looked exactly the same. Dust had settled on your figure, but you were the exact same as before - peaceful, with your hands across your chest, and the locket around your neck. It must have worked. If you had died, then you would’ve decomposed by now. Then it was only a matter of time. Another winter alone, but the love and hope for you was enough to warm him.

You took a deep breath. Everything smelled of lavender. The corners of your mouth turned up, and you finally opened your eyes. The sun was bright, but the curtains dulled it’s glow. You sat up, looking at the twig in your hand. The tree. Yes, you remember. You remember planting it, and seeing it each time your life was renewed. You remembered everything. The cold locket against your bare skin made you aware of it’s presence of it around your neck. When you opened it you found your fondest memory - your wedding day. You looked around. Everything was just as the room you had designed for you and Minghao, all those hundred years ago. Minghao. You took off the duvet and put your feet on the ground. It was cold, and when you got up to walk it felt unusual, like you hadn’t walked in ages. As you stumbled your way to the door, the only thought in your mind was the one of him. You would finally see him again, remember him again. 

When you got to the porch, you had to sit down. Everything was just the way you wanted it to be, the exact way you had planned it. Minghao had done well with your instructions. You sat down in one of the chairs on the porch. The tree had grown big - and he said you would never see it grow. Life found it’s way. What intrigued you the most was the lavender fields. Sure, you had asked Minghao for some lavender in your garden, it was your favorite flower after all, but you never imagined he would take it this far. As you looked over the fields, you saw someone coming towards the house in the distance. A tall man, with black hair, and a graceful walk. Though you couldn’t walk far, you stappled toward the railing and steadied yourself against it.

“Minghao!”, you shouted and waved one of your arms.

The man noticed you. At first he stopped walking, but then he began running. You stumbled down the stairs, and tried to close the distance between you even faster. The two of you collided, and he engufled you in his embrace. You lost your balance, and both of you fell to your knees. 

“My love, you’re alive.” Minghao’s voice was cracked with tears threatening to spill from his eyes. 

“I’m alive,” you sniffled, “I’m alive, and I remember it all - everything you have done for me. Thank you.”

Minghao released you slightly from his embrace, before bringing his lips to yours. Kissing you for the first time in ages felt like heaven on earth. He never wanted this moment to end, and neither did you. For the first time in over a centennial, you could fulfill a life together.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

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