#[finishes writing these down and promptly forgets if I have other ships] | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

honeyhobi · 6 months

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Hello! Don't feel pressured to make something with this but I figured I would send one in ❤️🐈 Spider and/or any other characters you're feeling inclined to write, and a combination or just pick which ones work of; 2 (time loop), 39 (avoiding a conversation), 49 (self-sacrificial)

Put That Guy In A Situation™️ Ask Game!

Crossposted on AO3

2. Time Loop and 49. Self-sacrificial + Spider Socorro

Content Warnings: Brief Father/Son Incest, Non-con, and Major Character Death

It happens the same way every time.

The Sea Dragon crashes. A battle breaks out. The surface of the sea alights with fire. Neteyam’s eyes go lifeless. His blood stains Spider’s hands.

Then he wakes up in the morning in that tiny bunk on the ship, with his murderer’s monster’s rapist’s kidnapper’s father’s head between his legs. This many repetitions into the loop, things that were once funny to relive have become constants that Spider uses to stay sane. Wainfleet burns his tongue on too-hot coffee during breakfast in the commons. The days (weeks, months, eternities) old bruises on his hips start to turn from purple to green. One of the crewmembers in the control room during the debriefing on the tulkun hunt from yesterday (yesterday for everyone else, fifty-eight days ago for Spider) slips a hand under his tewng, only to get his nose promptly broken by Zdinarsk.

And just when the start of midday comes around, Quaritch spots the Sullys and some Metkayina kids trying to free a tulkun from one of the Sea Dragon’s trackers. It all goes downhill from there.

He’s tried to change it over a dozen different ways. He’s used his mouth to distract his father from going out on deck, but someone else always spots the kids anyway. He’s tried slowing the crew down by throwing a fit in the control room, in the dining commons, out on the deck when Prager pins Lo’ak face down on the ground. Every single time they just lock him up below deck and forget about him while he drowns with the sinking ship. And when he doesn’t change anything, just goes through the motions of the loop in hopes that something will miraculously be different this time, he ends up back here.

Here, on an outcropping of rock, with the waves lapping at his feet and Neteyam’s blood spilling everywhere.

“I want to go home,” Neteyam says through ragged breaths. His voice is small, scared, a reminder like a poison arrow right to the heart of how young he is. Younger than Spider, even though he always acted otherwise.

Jake cradles his son’s face, and almost subconsciously Spider mouths along to his next words. ‘I know, I know. We’re goin’ home. It’s okay.”

But it’s not. Because Neteyam still goes wide eyed as he looks at his dad, not quite seeing him but instead seeing right through him. He gasps, “Dad, I—”

And that’s it. In every version that Spider has ended up here, Neteyam never gets to finish his sentence.

“No,” Spider whispers, but his voice is lost beneath Neytiri’s same awful, wailing scream.

“No. No, no, no. Neteyam!”

Lo’ak sits back in shock as reality sets in. The Metkayina girl that Spider learned is named Tsireya somewhere around loop thirty cries quietly to herself. Jake pulls Neytiri into a hug, but it doesn’t make a single thing better.

“Dammit!” Spider shouts, slamming his fists against the rock. His knuckles split and ocean water intermingles with his blood, and the sharp sting of it only fuels the fire in his chest. He looks up to the sky, at the disappearing sun as eclipse draws nearer.

He screams, “What do you want from me? What could I possibly do that’ll be enough to end this?”

Eywa does not respond. He screams again, wordless and agonizing, beats his hands against the rock again and again even as Jake and Tsireya reach for him. They call his name, restrain his arms so he can’t hurt himself anymore. He fights, hissing and spitting and yelling nonsense.

“Get off me! Don’t, don’t touch me! Daddy, don’t! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s my fault, get off!” He’s probably crying. He always cries.

This is supposed to be Neteyam’s moment. Spider is being selfish for taking the attention away from a grieving family, but it doesn’t really matter. They’ll have a million more chances to grieve if things keep going the way they are. Spider will have a million more chances to watch as the breath leaves Neteyam’s lungs, and Spider wants nothing more than to be the one bleeding out on these rocks instead—

He abruptly stops struggling against Jake, who at some point has pulled Spider into a restraining bear hug. The sky goes dark as eclipse cuts through the day, but Spider has never before seen a light as bright as this one. Jake loosens his grip minutely.

“Spider?” He asks. His voice is rough with tears. “Are you back with me?”

Spider nods his head wordlessly, and Jake lets go. He moves around to be in Spider's line of sight, his hands up placatingly like he expects Spider to lash out at any moment. But Spider has never felt calmer than he has at this moment.

“I figured it out.”

“Figured what out, kiddo?” Jake's tone is patronizing in its gentleness.

“What I have to do to stop this.” Spider doesn’t explain further, because any moment now Jake will stop listening as Quaritch starts speaking into the comms.

“Stop wha–” Right on time, Jake's focus turns inwards as his earpiece comes to life.

And Spider moves into action. Before anyone can shout in alarm, before they can think to stop him, he rips off his mask and chucks it as hard and as far as he can into the ocean.

“No!” Lo'ak yells and reaches for Spider's hand, but he’s too slow.

Even Neytiri sits up from hunching over Neteyam's body to cry out in denial. Tsireya probably doesn't quite understand the importance of the mask, but she immediately dives into the water after it anyway. She won't find it in time. Spider takes a giant gulp of toxic air, relishes in how his lungs reject it even as they try to pull more in. His fingers go numb, his vision blurry, and then his head is on somebody's lap.

“What did you do? Spider, what the fuck did you just do!” Someone shouts above him. It doesn't matter who.

“It's okay,” he tries to tell them, but he isn’t sure it comes out that way.

“No, you stay with me, boy! I can't lose another son!” That’s Jake, he realizes, screaming his name and shaking him relentlessly as if that'll stop the inevitable.

Spider would feel more guilty about putting them through this if he didn't already know they won't remember it in the next loop.

“It's okay,” he says again. “You're gonna get him back.”

He knows what to do now. Eywa has given him this chance to perfect every detail down to the second just so he can save Neteyam. Maybe it's just the lack of oxygen talking, but Spider can't find it in himself to be afraid. He was never supposed to make it out of this loop.

His vision tunnels into darkness and the last thing he hears before he goes under is:

“Spider! Spider! Spi—”

And he begins again.

#my writing #answered asks #avatar the way of water #miles spider socorro #neteyam te suli tsyeyk'itan #jake sully #neytiri te tskaha mo'at'ite #lo'ak te suli tsyeyk'itan #tsireya avatar #dead dove do not eat

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klixxy · 3 years

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Genshin Fic Recs

so... i ventured into the vast world of Google looking for some good GI fic recs... only to find such a pitiful amount that i was promptly devastated. therefore, the solution is to make my own! :D

keep in mind most of these will be ChiLi or XingYun, and yes, i will try not to include smut unless it was one i really really liked. if anyone wants a separate list for just smut (though that will most likely be shorter) i can try to make one later.`

ft. my bookmark comments :)

CHILI

wrapped up in pure gold by beyondwinter

(chili; accidental marriage; chili/childe-centric; 22k words; ongoing)

"Do you understand its meaning, Childe?" He finally asks. There's a hard glint in his eyes, like he's trying to steel himself for his answer.

"Yeah." Loyalty and devotion, right? Between business partners? "I do. It's traditional, isn't it?"

Zhongli's eyes glow a warm amber in the near darkness, reflecting the soft shine of the lanterns. He studies his face with a strange intensity, as though Childe were a piece of high quality Nocticulous Jade being sold for suspiciously small sum and he's trying to find the blemishes that would explain the price. The weight of his gaze should be uncomfortable, boring into him like he can see into the very depths of his abyss-tainted soul, but Childe finds himself preening under the attention instead.

Childe accidentally proposes to Zhongli. Zhongli accepts.

The World is Water by Millereflets

(chili; smut; hurt/comfort; chili-centric; 7k words; oneshot)

Childe doesn't visit Zhongli until it's almost too late.

(my bookmarks: HOW DO YOU MAKE A SMUT SCENE SO POETIC HOLY SHITTTTT)

Set in Stone by seredemia

(chili; fake dating au; angst; some smut?; chili/chiilde-centric; 55k words; ongoing)

What do you do when you write about a certain six thousand year old consultant so much in your letters that it somehow convinces your entire family you're not only dating each other, but that you're also engaged?

In Childe's case, the answer is plain and simple: he goes along with it, of course. Absolutely nothing can go wrong if he makes a contract with the God of Contracts, vowing that the two of them will pretend to be lovers for the duration of his family's stay in Liyue. Afterwards, they'll return as normal and speak no more of this mess. No feelings or complications involved whatsoever.

Contract accepted. A fool-proof plan set in stone. Right?

Private Ledger of the Eleventh Harbinger by JuHuaTai

(chili; humor; getting together; chili/ekaterina-centric; 5k words; oneshot)

“So guess what I did next?”

Ekaterina contemplated not answering, but Harbinger Tartaglia was just… grinning and waiting. It’s honestly rather creepy the longer time passed.

In the end, she gave a long suffering sigh that seems lost on him, “You bought him the Erhu—“

“I bought him the antique, cor lapis based Erhu,”

When she first left her homeland for the unknown nation of Liyue, Ekaterina was ready to be many things: To be a soldier, to fell Tsaritsa’s enemies in her name, to bring glory to Snezhnaya and her leader.

Being a receptionist in a cozy bank wasn’t so bad in comparison, but she absolutely can do without the front row seat to Harbinger Tartaglia’s (expensive) love life.

i know i'm where i'm meant to go by paperclips (pastel_paperclips)

(chili; humor; fluff; chili-centric; 12k words; ongoing)

"Childe," Zhongli says suddenly. "I am enjoying myself greatly." Childe’s face breaks into a grin. "Then-" Zhongli gasps, grabbing his wrist and tugging him over to an unsuspecting peddler with a cart full of rocks. "Is that an intrusive igneous pegmatite formed in the Inazuma regions?" Childe’s grin smooths into a small, adoring smile. He has all the time in the world to figure the other man out.

OR: Finding the Geo Archon is on Childe's to-do list but hanging out with Zhongli is significantly more fun.

CHILIVEN

Crumbling Stone by avtorSola

(chiliven; ANGST; PAIN; mind control; zhongli-centric; 74k words; ongoing)

When Morax unleashes his plan to test the Liyue Qixing and his adepti, he does not take into account the stirring of the Abyss Order in the north and the corruption of Dvalin - for why would he fear an organization that works in such shadows? He is secure in his power, after all, unlike his flighty ex, the absentee archon of Mondstadt who rises only when his people are in danger.

But, somehow, the Abyss Order discovers his plan. Somehow, they capitalize on it. And he, the God of Stone who cannot sicken, is struck down - taken by an order bent on destroying all of humanity as Liyue crumbles around him. For even Archons aren't immune to Durin's blood, and Morax is no exception. But then the question becomes - if even Archons may fall to the agony of this corrupting burn - how is their traveling friend Aether immune?

The answer comes from beyond the stars - an ancient malice that knows no kindness or mercy. A malice whose legacy the Abyss Order now bears, seeking to topple all the Archons and their people into the void of utter destruction. And they have begun in Liyue.

Fortunately, it takes a long time to erode stone.

(my bookmarks: IM SCREAMING AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA)

PLATONIC ZHONGVEN

left-behind city by trixstar

(platonic zhongven; angst; ANGST; venti-centric; 1k words; oneshot)

"An associate of mine has just informed me that Rex Lapis, the Geo Archon has been assassinated."

Venti blinks.

Or: Venti and how he copes with finding out he is all that remains.

i circle ten thousand years long; and i still do not know if i am a falcon, a storm, or an unfinished song by birdsofpassage

(platonic zhongven; angst; hurt/comfort; zhongven-centric; 4k words; oneshot)

Venti and Zhongli, and the vignettes of a much-needed vacation around Mondstadt.

(my bookmarks: ; - ; ; - ; )

oh ye with little faith by air_fried_air

(platonic zhongven; angst; hurt/comfort; zhongven-centric; 2k words; oneshot)

Two former archons do a little tour around Mondstadt.

(my bookmarks: why are all genshin angst fics so melancholy.... i feel so empty)

the wind through the mountain tops by glassdrachma

(platonic zhongven; humor; hurt/comfort; zhongven-centric; 21k words; finished)

Boredom brings Barbatos of Mondstadt to bother a certain ex-Archon of the Earth.

(my bookmarks: venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship-)

XINGYUN

the art of exorcism by Agried

(xingyun; ghost au; hurt/comfort; chongyun-centric; 9k words; oneshot)

On the road back from one of his jobs, Chongyun runs into Xingqiu, the wandering swordsman. And then they keep meeting, over and over again. or, alternately; how a ghost and an exorcist learn how to love, one step at a time.

Bane of All Evil by tzitzimeme

(xingyun; humor; romance; chongyun-centric; 24k words; hiatus)

When Chongyun unintentionally offends Liyue's second most powerful adepti, he vows to mend the thorny relationship between Adeptus Xiao and human exorcists-- even though no one has succeeded in currying Xiao's favor for over a thousand years.

His best friend Xingqiu offers to come alone, mainly because he's worried about what kind of trouble Chongyun will run into. Along the way, they receive help from others: Xiangling packs them meals for their journeys, while Zhongli gives them advice on what demons to track.

Childe is just there because he thinks the whole thing is hilarious.

[On indefinite hiatus due to burnout; sorry!]

kiss me slowly (so i don't forget) by xiwangmu

(xingyun; humor; romance; light angst; xingqiu-centric; 8k words; oneshot)

Wangshu Inn Bulletin Board

Guest Message: My best friend whom I harbor affections for kissed me last night, but due to his special condition he does not recall a single moment of it. I am quite conflicted about whether to disclose these events to him or not, because that would most certainly require me to confess my feelings as well. If anyone has experience in romancing boys with excessive positive energy, this one humbly asks you to share some advice.

Reply: Our greatest apologies—although we would like to offer some words in response, we simply cannot decipher your handwriting. Perhaps you may return with a neater message next time?

time trials by idlestars

(xingyun/many ships; humor; modern au; xingyun-centric; 2k words; oneshot)

A modern social media AU.

Xingqiu Teases Demons. Chongyun Almost Cries. [The clip shows Xingqiu, lit by the sickly green of night vision, as he stares bored into a dark room. He’s alone - Chongyun left to see if Xingqiu could lure out the ghosts. Xingqiu glances at the camera, smirks, and then opens his mouth.

“Hey demons, it’s me, yah boy.”]

OTHER/GEN

woe be the wallet of the god of wealth by glassdrachma

(gen; humor; identity reveal; keqing/zhongli-centric; 12k words; finished)

Or, the story of how the Yuheng of the Qixing came to idolize, befriend, and discover the identity of the God of Geo, in that order.

(personal comments: hilarious, made me burst out into laughter multiple times, and was just a masterful piece of writing)

to dream of dust by miao_x

(guili/gen; ANGST; hurt/no comfort; zhongli-centric; 5k words; oneshot)

Some nights, Zhongli dreams.

He dreams of soft light, golden song, and a gentle breeze whispering tales of millennia past. It is warm, familiar, and comforting.

It feels like home.

And then he opens his eyes, and awakes to reality.

(my bookmarks: oh zhongli... made me cry)

To drown in your own tears by C_rin_nyan

(guili/gen; ANGST; TEARS; PAIN; zhongli-centric; 2k words; oneshot)

As Rex Lapis, he had never shed a tear, even as he slaughtered hundreds, destruction following his every step. As Zhongli, he had shed much more than he would like to admit, however.

Or, “Zhongli’s soul gave its last scream long ago, yet even now, the echo of said sound was still strong enough to reach Rex Lapis.”

#fic rec #fic recs #fanfic #fanfic recs #genshin #genshin impact #ao3 #chili #tartali #zhongchi #xingyun #childe #zhongli #xingqiu #chongyun #venti #zhongven #guili #guizhong #angst

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stars-trash-18 · 4 years

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Adventures of Mando and his emotional GF

I’m so sorry for everything being posted as late as it is but depression is a bitch and I managed to kick her out long enough to write this. I’m surprised I got as many notes as I have been on this story but I forget we go feral for men in masks who are absolute units.

I everything spaced the way it is because my eyes can’t read large paragraphs close together, it bleeds together, so sorry if it’s annoying and maybe a little wrong in writing terms, also I hid a reference in this chapter-

Mando hired you for the sole purpose of keeping his antique flying, yet here you are sitting in the co-pilot’s seat rewiring the nav system while the child is in a crawl space doing your job of trying to get the control panel working. , “Mando tell me again why you put a literal toddler into the wall to do a job you pay me to do, correction did pay me to do,” you stated, using the space tape to keep a lever from going in the wrong direction.

Mando gumbled something before trying the panel again, “because he’s the only one small enough to fit, he has less of a chance of getting stuck and causing more problems,” he seethed. You knew he was more angry at the beeping panel than you, but you still glared at him for the tone he took with you. Before you could say anything he left the seat and went to check the child. “Now, you’re going to plug that red wire where the blue wire goes on the board, don’t let them touch their opposite charges and will electrocute you,”. Was this man seriously explaining electrical engineering to a toddler, a toddler you didn’t know if he was color-blind or not?

“Mando my dear I don’t think the child knows his colors yet much less basic electrical engineering, now stop acting like my dad trying to teach me and let the person with an actual degree do it,” as soon as the words left your mouth you heard the tell tale sound of somebody being slightly electrocuted and smoke puffing out. Without even thinking you jumped out of your seat and shoved the tin can away to pull the child towards you in a motherly embrace, cradling him into your chest as you rocked him slightly. More for your sake than his since he was giggling. Mando just stared at you, you thought because you were crazy, but really because he had never loved you more than in that moment.

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Mando set course for Nevarro while you prepared what was left of the broth, when Mando finally came down you turned your back to him so he could eat, he started to take his helmet off just enough to let his mouth stick out so long as you sat back to back during meals. You loved that you finally trusted each other enough to eat your meals together instead of in separate rooms like you used to. Even though you tried to get him to use a straw but he was a stubborn mudhorn, much like the signet on his shoulder and around your neck.

Your thoughts were interrupted by Mando, “Cyar’ika why do you never call me Din, you know it’s my birth name but you still call me mando?” he asked quietly, you almost missed it. The question startled you at first but it made you soften realising he sounded a little insecure, you entwined your fingers in his before answering.

“Your true name was revealed against your wish, the man who destroyed your people revealed it without your consent, so I don’t say it since you never gave me consent to say it, because where i’m from we have a public name and a true name, the true name is only revealed to partners and family and that requires consent,” you paused to take a breath, his hand squeezed your tightly as encouragement, “so until you give me consent to use your true name i’ll call you by your nickname,” you finished.

The silence between you two was thick and heavy but a chuckle sliced through it like a hot blade, “Cyar’ika I had no idea but you had permission to use it the moment the I gave you that signet necklace, in Mandalorian culture the signet is a sort of family crest, so we’re technically family.” He explained, nervousness tingling near the end at the mention of family. It took a minute for it to dawn on you that in a sense you were married.

“Din Djarin did we get married without my knowledge!” you shrieked, shocking both of you with the use of his full name rolling off your tongue. To Din it was music to his ears, but to you it was so much more. On your home planet, from what you remembered from your short 14 years there, saying somebody's true name for the first time was often in a loving manner, not to scold like you just did, and was a moment of great emotion for both parties. But Mando, Din you had to mentally correct yourself, just turned around and hugged you with his melodic laugh ringing in your ears.

“No cyar’ika we did not, I would have made sure you knew and proposed, Aliit ori’shya tal’din, family is more than blood so we aren’t married but you are my clan,” he explained resting his chin on your shoulder. “You mentioned earlier your father, would you mind telling me about him?” he asked patiently, giving you the option to close him out. Din had told you about his parents once and it moved you to tears, you had wanted to talk about your parents but you never thought of a good time.

You took a deep breathe before starting, “ my father was a flight engineer and my mother was a diplomat, they met on one of her diplomatic trips to Naboo and had me before the clone wars,” you gripped onto Din’s hand before continuing, “I only knew my parents for a few short years before my mother died during the Siege of Mandalore when her ship was mistaken for a Republican transporter, and my father died shortly after I turned twelve and a ship’s engine blew,” you muttered, as you had spoken Din pulled you into a tighter embrace, placing the child into your lap so you could stroke his ears.

“From what I remember my mother taught me various things of diplomacy like how to blend in or stand out, to notice weaknesses or strengths, and how to negotiate deals,” you laughed remembering one of her anecdotes she’d say in her haughty voice, “everything is negotiable nova, if they say it isn’t then they want something you have, she’d always tell me during these lessons,” you remarked before continuing, “my father was who I spent more time with, we’d always run off into my mother’s ship and take everything apart so I could put it back together, our hands n faces covered in grease and our hair always frizzy from the many times I electrocuted myself or going to the junk yard so I could learn how to repurpose parts from one ship to another.” you began to tear up remembering your parents and how they taught you how to survive in their own ways,how your mother always fretted over your clothing whenever a festival happened in town, your father cooking enough to feed an army so your mother would have a taste of home on her work trips, and how they always called you their little supernova.

Before Din could say anything the alert that you had arrived at Nevarro went off, making you both jump up to prepare for landing, already knowing you’d have to strap yourselves down for the rough landing.

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When you both touched down and were greeted by Cara and Greef, who promptly took the child from your arms like a grandfather would, You reluctantly let other engineers go near the ship, a weird feeling settling in your stomach but dissipating when Din took your hand. The man never showed PDA until recently, and you weren’t complaining the least bit being as touch-starved as you were, and promptly made your way into town.

“Mando what the hell happened to your ship,” Cara asked once they were out of the child’s earshot, said child’s eyes caught something in the market and Greef excitedly showed him the stall, you giggled at the question hearing Mando give his signature sigh.

“Had a run in with the Republic,” he answered briskly, causing you to hit his arm before turning to Cara.

“More like Mando wouldn’t stop getting holes blown in the ship, then when we thought it couldn’t get worse he sunk us in a harbor where I threatened to let haunt him if I died,” you stated matter of factly, before continuing on with your tour of the town. You prayed it was going to be a relaxing trip, but you would find out in 10 minutes that it was anything but and that you were about to regret your choice of going to college for engineering.

#din djarin x reader #mandalorian imagine #mandalorian x reader #x reader #star wars x reader #din being a dad #emotional #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian imagine #baby yoda

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leerongrong · 4 years

Text

of dispatch and jealousy.

Pairing: Mark Lee x Reader

Word Count: 2.9k

Summary: In which you’re dragged into a dating scandal with your not-so-boyfriend Jaemin and actual boyfriend Mark gets jealous.

Requested: yess!! what if you wrote a mark x idol!reader where she’s best friends with dream and he gets jealous over her being on a variety show with jaemin and she never leaves jaemin’s side during it bc she’s nervous and he’s the only one she knows?

“Just relax.” Bright studio lights are somewhat blinding, they stand tall and loom over the figures standing side by side to each other. The studio’s buzzing with life as staff and crew members hustle around the space to prepare the stars for their filming schedule, one of them standing in front of you to add finishing touches to your makeup while another behind you, adding hair spray to your already frigid hair. Your eyes are trailing to the side, where you see one of your best friends in a similar condition. “Besides, you look prettier when you smile.”

The smile that breaks out on Jaemin’s face is sweet, the same one you always see him wear on camera, and it’s almost contagious that your lips start to stretch into one. You and Jaemin are currently on set for a variety show, sent as SM’s representatives along with a few other groups from other agencies, all of them unknown people to you, knowing none of them with only Jaemin as your companion.

“Mark-hyung agrees with me too.” He’s putting both of his hands on his waist, in a mocking fashion along with puffing his chest out and trying his best in imitating Mark’s voice. “She’s so pretty when she smiles- I mean she’s always pretty but like especially when she smiles, the really big one you know? Honestly every one of her smiles are angelic but- you get what i mean right, Jaems?”

The giggle he pulls out of you is angelic, shaking your whole body while your lips form into a smile. Jaemin’s been the only few people who could pull a genuine smile out of you, the other one being Mark Lee, your otherwise current boyfriend of 6 months.

Jaemin was the one who introduced you, claiming with a wink that, “The two of you were meant for each other.” and while you’d never been one for measly crushes, you couldn’t deny the fact that Mark had you enamoured by your 3rd meet up with him. You both had hit it off enough to write your tittle song together, the one which you used to confess your feelings to him and had hit number 1 in Melon the same day the two of you had gotten together, talk about a win win.

“You really shouldn’t day dream about Hyung here.” Jaemin’s face is up close to yours and he has a teasing smile on his face as he boops your nose along with jabbing his fingers into your stomach. “People could find out.”

Your hairstylist rolls her eyes at the two of you, clearly entertained by your jabs and nicks at each other. She adds another clip into your hair before parting on her way while your eyes are scanning the other idols, along with Jaemin, smiling politely when one of them sends a wave your way.

“Everyone! Let’s get started!”

Thinking back on the variety show you did with Jaemin a few months ago, you couldn’t think of anything wrong. It had gone of smoothly, both the MC’s and other idols had been nothing but sweet to you, some even ended up being your friend afterwards. But as you’re sitting down in your own dorm, phone in hand while scrolling down the multiple headlines and news about you and Jaemin supposedly dating, you suppose you guessed wrong.

(BREAKING) DIspatch Reveals NCT Dream’s Na Jaemin and Soloist Y/N Are Dating.

Dispatch has confirmed another 2020′s SM Couple: NCT Dream’s Na Jaemin and Soloist Y/N!

Every year, Korean news outlet Dispatch rings in by revealing new celebrity couples to the public. This year, they released photos proving that NCT Dream’s Na Jaemin and Soloist Y/N have been secretly seeing each other.

According to Dispatch, Jaemin picked Y/N up at her dorm after shortly coming back from his sold out world tour, the two wearing masks and hats to cover their faces before they went to a restaurant for their date.

Dispatch also caught the couple walking while holding hands with each other very often, in between schedules or at filming sights. One of which is weekly idol, where a leaked footage reveals the couple acting very lovey dovey with each other on set.

The dorm is silent, not one sound in the air. The clock is ticking soundly while the cooked dinner you had set up slowly begins to become cold with the amount of time you’ve chosen to scroll down your phone while biting at your nails.

user 0945: i think they’re cute with each other.

user 4790: shouldn’t she be focusing on her career first? she debuts in SM and she’s wasting her time on dating? what an idiot.

user 6905: what does jaemin even see in her?

user 4823: she’s human too! it should be her choice to date.

user 8755: they’ve been dating for 2 years? wow.. we really don’t know our idols after all..

You’re taking in one comment after the other, some of your fans shipping you with Jaemin while others are bashing at the fact that you’ve chosen to get a boyfriend, claiming you as theirs to begin with. Your heart is filled with anxiety, a feeling of everything closing in at once and you’re taking in deep breaths to reduce the amount of stress you feel in your system.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! You have 25 new messages.

[22:10] Lee MinMark sent a message.

Babe? Are you okay?

[22:11] Lee MinMark sent a message.

Babe, please read your texts.

[22:12] You have one (1) missed voice call from Lee MinMark.

[22:13] Lee MinMark sent a message.

Answer your phone. Please. I need to know if you’re okay.

[22:13] Lee MinMark sent a voicemall.

[22:15] You have two (2) missed voice calls from Lee MinMark.

[22:15] “Lover” Boy Nana sent a message.

so we’re dating now??

[22:15] “Lover” Boy Nana sent a message.

does hyung know about this??

[22:17] You have four (4) missed voice call from Lee MinMark.

[22:17] “Lover” Boy Nana sent a message.

hyung looks worried and pissed

[22:17] Boss Manager sent a message.

Do not give any information to the press. You need to stay quiet until this blows over.

[22:17] You have seven (7) missed voice calls from Lee MinMark.

[22:18] Boss Manager sent a message.

Come to the office tomorrow. We need to have a talk.

[22:19] Lee MinMark sent a message.

Fuck it. I’m coming over.

[22:20] “Lover” Boy Nana sent a message.

hyung’s coming over to you!

[23:07] Boss Manager sent a message.

Stay calm and be safe.

Your ears perk up when multiple knocks come from the door, fast and more urgent one after the other, turning into rapped jabs at the wooden surface. It soon turns into outright banging and your phone falls down to the carpeted floor below at the sound. You’re raising yourself up on shaky feet, slowly reaching out to grab the emergency bat beside the door and tiptoeing to peep through the fish eye door camera you installed for emergencies like this.

The door bursts open and you’re yelping, swinging the bat blindly at the unknown person in your home. “It’s me! It’s me! It’s Mark!”

“Mark? Are you out of your mind!?” The bat mistakenly hits Mark on his shoulder, him letting out a groan and kneeling down while clutching his injured shoulder. “I’m sorry! Oh My God. Are you okay?”

The door shuts with a soft click while Mark’s still bent down in front of him, promptly groaning when the wood catches on his shirt. You’re shuffling around, running to the freezer for an ice pack to help your boyfriend. The ice is cold in your hands, the material numbing your fingers as you press it down onto his injury.

“Are you okay?”

“How are you?”

You break out into a fit of giggles while Mark lets out a few chuckles, the both of you stilling for a moment before you tear of his cap and mask, revealing the face of your boyfriend. The bags around Mark’s eyes have worsened since the last you saw him, along with the obvious stress lines on his face and frizzy hair from too much hair dye as an added plus.

The dorm is still as silent as ever, this time the sounds of slurping noodles are added to the mix along with the sound of chattering news outlets on TV. Your eyes are wrapped around Mark’s neck as you sit in his lap, head laying in the crook of his shoulder as he works one his hands around your waist while the other sets down the cup of noodles on the desk beside him.

“How are you doing?” He mumbles, lips finding their way to your forehead to leave a peck in place. “About the dating thing.”

“I’m fine.” Your eyelids are starting to droop, the warmth Mark emits adding to the stressful situation makes you want to fall asleep and forget all your worries, even just for a little while. You lean back, eyes flicking up to meet his when he nods as an answer. “How about you?”

“What do you mean?” Mark’s eyes are a soft brown with a tint of gold to them, holding specks of stolen sunlight in them, the kind that you’d miss just with one glance. They’re filled with a raw emotion, an unwavering gaze that sometimes you find hard to meet, along with the earth’s unfiltered beauty that is so fascinating yet intriguing to memorize. “With the comeback? Babe?”

“I mean- yes, the comeback.” You laugh at the confused look at his face, his expression looking similarly like that of a confused puppy and you’re reminding yourself to change his names in your contacts. “But like- more of the me dating Jaemin news.”

“Oh” He mumbles, “I don’t really have an opinion on that..”

You’re tilting your head the moment he finishes his sentence. You know, for a fact, Mark’s never been one to back track on his words and you’re sure the way he spoke sounded more of like a question than it did a statement. “That’s good. I guess..”

“Are you staying the night?”

Mark’s head shoots up from its resting point in the crook of your neck, and he’s staring at you with a look of wonder in his eyes that had you ducking from his gaze, mouth stretching into a shy smile as you see a smile spread on his.

“You just had a dating scandal spread about you and your best friend,” He laughs, “But you still want me to stay over? I really am glad I’m dating you.”

Mark’s hands are pinching at your cheeks, his hands stretching the supple flesh while he scrunches his nose. Your own are entangled behind his neck, tugging the hairs on the nape of his neck with a scrunch of your own nose. It was moments like these that made you fall in love with Mark, the dorky boy that had his nose pressed up against glass, watching a thunderstorm and laughing. As an idol yourself, you found Mark most beautiful not when he had full on make up, but when he didn’t. You fell in love with him when he was lying on the carpet, hair a mess, laughing about something he saw on the internet. When he wasn’t trying to impress anyone, and had taken down all the walls he built for most people.

Six months in and all you knew was that Mark’s your muse, the one you write songs about, and the one who holds your heart.

Mark opens his eyes to the sound of your phone humming lowly and you asleep with his arms around you. He’s reaching his arm for the phone slowly in hopes he doesn’t wake you up from his movements.

You have 3 new messages.

[3:07] “Lover” Boy Nana sent a message.

mark hyung went over to yours a few hours ago and he hasn’t come back yet

[3:07] “Lover” Boy Nana sent a message.

is he over with you?

[3:08] “Lover” Boy Nana sent a message.

lovie, answer your phone please :(

A scoff comes out from Mark’s mouth the moment his eyes land on the nickname Jaemin specifically has for you. Even before the dating news broke out, Mark’s always been a bit jealous of you and Jaemin’s bond, the people around him always thinking Jaemin’s the one who stole your heart. Jaemin, the one who’s been by your side and who knows you the best, Na Jaemin and not Mark Lee.

You have 5 new messages.

[3:09] You have one (1) missed call from “Lover” Boy Nana.

[3:10] “Lover” Boy Nana sent a voice mail.

[3:11] You sent a message to “Lover” Boy Nana.

Stop messaging MY girlfriend at 3 AM, Na.

Tapping sounds fill the air as Mark turns off your phone before placing it somewhere behind him, he’s looking down at you to make sure he hasn’t woken you up and he’s smiling at the sight of you sleeping on his chest. Mark’s putting his hands under your feet, lifting you up bridal style to place you on your bed. He’s tucking you in when your hands grab at the front of his shirt.

“Don’t leave,” You mumble, “Stay, please.”

“You know I can’t.” Mark’s bending down to press a kiss onto your forehead, cheeks warming when he sees you unconsciously smile in your sleep. Even when he wishes he could spend the night snuggled up with you, he doesn’t want you to get into more trouble than you already have. “I’ll text you tomorrow. Sweet dreams.”

The room is engulfed in darkness the moment Mark’s fingers touch the lamp, his footsteps echoing just a bit before disappearing completely once the door clicks shut. He’s crouching down to throw out his used ramen bowl into the trash can in the kitchen, hands multitasking as he also picks up his hat and mask from the desk.

Mark’s looking back to the direction of your bedroom while he puts his mask on, fixing the hat onto his head. The image of your slightly messy bedhead and cute pout appears in his head and he’s shaking his head, lips parting to let out a chuckle. “One day, they’ll know about us.”

The sun’s rays wake you up from your sleep, groaning at the light that hits your eyes. Your joints and muscles protest when you sit up in bed, wanting nothing but to go back to sleep. Your legs hit the floor, slightly trembling when you feel the cold wood in contrast to your warm temperature, and you’re walking out of your room in search of your boyfriend and your phone.

The dinging from the kitchen catches your attention and you make a beeline for it, doing a slight victory dance when you find your phone on the kitchen counter right next to some chocolate you’re sure you didn’t have yesterday.

You have new messages.

[3:11] You sent a message to “Lover” Boy Nana.

Stop messaging MY girlfriend at 3 AM, Na.

[3:12] “Lover” Boy Nana sent a message.

omo omo hyung no need to be so grumpy

[3:12] “Lover” Boy Nana sent a message.

im just “dating” her not d a t i n g her

[3:13] “Lover” Boy Nana sent a message.

come back to the dorms before manager realizes you’re gone

[3:14] You sent a message to “Lover” Boy Nana.

yeah yeah omw

[3:39] Lee MinMark sent a message.

I’m sorry I didn’t stay over! Don’t want you getting in more trouble

[3:40] Lee MinMark sent a message.

Good night, and I love you.

[7:45] Boss Manager sent a message.

Meeting at 10. Don’t be late.

The smile that spreads on your face is automatic and the giddiness feels like a wake up call from your previously still drowsy self. Your fingers work nimbly, tapping out words to text Mark before a text arrives just before you sent it.

You have new messages.

[8:13] Lee MinMark sent a message.

“I fought my eyes

to stay awake.

No dream

was prettier

than the way she slept.”

[8:13] You changed Lee MinMark’s name to Lion Cub.

[8:13] You sent a message to Lion Cub.

I knew you were jealous!

[8:14] Lion Cub sent a message.

Good morning to you too. Sleep well?

[8:14] You sent a message to Lion Cub.

I did! Would’ve been better with you next to me tho :(

[8:14] You sent a message to Lion Cub.

Also that poem is just ugh :(

[8:23] You sent a message to Lion Cub.

Mark? Where did you go?

[8:25] Pwark Ji-Ji sent a message.

mark hyung banned me from texting you for a week :(

[8:25] Pwark Ji-Ji sent a message.

why is he like this :(

[8:25] Pwark Ji-Ji sent a message.

so mean :(

[8:26] Pwark Ji-Ji sent a message.

this is nana btw! hyung’s taking a shower rn and jisung let me borrow his phone eheh

[8:26] Pwark Ji-Ji sent a message.

no, actually i lied. i stole it from him

[8:26] Pwark Ji-Ji sent a message.

have a good day, lovie!! ill see you later at that meeting (mark hyung doesnt know btw eheheh)

[8:26] You sent a message to Pwark Ji-Ji.

You’re horrible, Na! Give sungiie his phone back :(

[8:26] You sent a message to Pwark Ji-Ji.

See you later!! (Also, hi sungiie!!)

559 notes · View notes

essektheylyss · 3 years

Text

Fanfic ask game for procrastinating on writing, that's what I'm understanding here, got it.

(tagged by @mllekurtz, thank you! these are super fun questions)

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

55! Jeeeeeez that's a lot.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

295k. (Maybe it's because I come from the writing month world but that's the only stat I genuinely pay attention to lol.)

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

In current times, only Critical Role—back in the day I wrote on ff.net for Heroes and Castle and a few YA books.

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

before it buries me

This was... actually my first shadowgast fic! One-shot set right after 91.

now I will ask you to be brave

Okay, so, this fic. I will not describe it, as I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. I started it right after hiatus with lofty ambitions and promptly realized my hubris, and now it is definitely never going to be finished. I did not get far. My deepest apologies to anyone who has read it and wanted more.

seeing eye to eye

One-shot of the nein running into Essek's family, and Beau understanding him a little better, rich kid with shitty parents to rich kid with shitty parents. A very specific characterization of Deirta in here, mostly filtered through Beau's mentality, which was so fun to write.

not from the absence of violence

OLD GUARD AU MY BELOVED. I desperately want to write in this au more but have not had the time or ideas, but holy shit I love this au so much.

cruel tricks the gods play

Another pre-97 shadowgast one-shot—the peace talks go very wrong and Caleb and Essek end up pulling a Titanic on a plank of wood after the ship sinks. Very fun, very no longer canon-compliant.

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

So, okay, I do not, but this is a Thing for me, because I have, inexplicably, deep panic about responding to ao3 comments. I do not know why. I can feel physical panic thinking about it now. I aggressively hate it because I do really want to respond to comments because commenters are so lovely! I think it is a combination of my brain not knowing the culture of ao3 interaction well enough that it seems alarming (thanks, neurodivergence) and college screenwriting workshops in which I was taught not to respond during critique.

In any case, I do not have the same weird panic about tumblr interactions, so I'm always down to chat here.

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

You know, for all of the angst that I write, I don't really write angsty endings. I think my two main Verin-centric fics (laid out one by one and this guilt-ridden heart) end kind of angstily, because that relationship isn't gonna be fixed in a conversation. But in general I think the worst I've got is bittersweet.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I don't—I'd have to have a really, really good concept to write a crossover.

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not that I can remember, though who knows if I got any in high school. I'm a little impervious to flames anyway—again, workshop classes helped with the reminders that critique is what's useful, while hate is just, 'you can't please everyone'.

9) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do not!

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I mean, not that I'm aware of lol.

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope.

13) What’s your all time favourite ship?

I mean, currently? Shadowgast. I don't have an all-time.

14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

sweet child. "Someday!" she says, shaking her fist at an unforgiving god.

15) What are your writing strengths?

I've suddenly forgotten every comment I've ever gotten. I am pretty good at grounded settings when I put in the effort. I think I am good at matching character voices—far better than inventing new ones.

And in terms of writing process... I managed to decide somewhere along the way that I like my own writing? Which is very hard, but also once you do that, it's a lot easier to just write instead of being hung up on quality, and it's then easier to notice when you're falling out of your own voice or when you actually need to rewrite a scene. I think I forced myself into this practice because I am soooo bad at sitting down and editing, so I have to do it as I write, and I had to get over the "this writing sounds like me therefore it is bad" feeling to manage that. (This has been my "love yourself as a writer" high horse.)

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I overexplain. And on the other side, I lean so heavily into showing emotion via physical sensation that I forget to actually write the emotion.

And on a similar process high horse, I am so bad about feeling constantly like I need to write everything right now. This is primarily a problem because if I get too in my head about it, I end up writing none of it. I have not found a way to combat this, except to put one sentence in front of the other. (This is not helped by my ever-increasing pile of wips and ideas lol.)

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I patently refuse to do it, because I hate the idea of butchering a language I don't know, and because I tend to try to draw as little attention to the fact that a thing is written as possible, and if a language has to be translated via a glossary or something, it's drawing more attention to that, and even if it's something I'm leaving untranslated, someone who speaks that language will know that I have butchered it. That being said, I don't dislike it when I'm reading!

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Percy Jackson! I wrote so much PJO fic in middle school.

19) What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

what luminous worlds await, if only for the sheer enormity of that project and my delight that it actually came together. Though I cannot mention that without mentioning Icarus to your certainty, without which I probably would not have even written the former.

Tagging (and please feel free to ignore if you so choose) @the-littlest-goblin @mithrilwren @sky-scribbles!

#hello I am being perceived #dating myself with the use of the word 'flames'#I'm sorry for my strengths/weaknesses responses I hate evaluating my own qualities and love talking about writing process lmao #and now that I have managed to waste half an hour time to go back to writing lol #just! very! passionate! about! writing process!

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now-im-a-belieber · 4 years

Text

dinner and diatribes

a/n: Hello! I put it off as long as I could but I just HAD to start writing. So, Here it is, my first BoB fic! Any and all feedback is appreciated.

══════════════════

After graduating and settling into the swing of the life you wanted to live, the universe seemed to actively work against you.

You did not get accepted into the college of your dreams. And the underfunded local university you wasted away at was the bane of your existence. You could barely land a job with all the hours you were required to stick to campus, and only made enough money walking dogs and watering plants to pay for tuition and the occasional new outfit.

When you started to see the light at the end of the tunnel, with a few hundred saved away, and some time opening up to find career opportunities, the chatter about war turned from gossip to gospel.

In fact, you'd made it all the way to the opposite side of a fine mahogany desk for your first full fledged interview when your dreams were promptly crushed. The man meant to interview you rushed in with flustered news he'd only just found out himself. He told you the company was shutting down. All the nation's money was being sorted to aid in the war. The president had called for rationing to start.

The man was near tears when he asked you to leave, replacing a goodbye with a hopeful wish you might be able to come back again one day.

You marched home at a loss. And the worst thing of all, was the fact that you didn't seem to have anyone to talk to about it all.

The best of your friends had moved away one by one, well meaning phone calls only coming from a couple now and again. Some weekends you managed a stroll through the park with Janice Dean. And you hadn't missed a single one of Rudy Delacroix's card parties. But the one friend you'd always been able to call upon seemed ever less interested in being a part of your life.

Joe was busy as everyone else, you knew. But when he started canceling long standing plans, and forcing smiles when you skipped up to ask him on a last minute adventure, you realized something must have been very wrong.

Over breakfast you'd prod him for answers. He'd joke about the state of the world and steal what was left on your plate. So, nothing could have been too wrong. Right?

Joe always entertained your random stops by, and offered you drinks and listened to you complain about uni. He’d curse the place and drag you to pubs and sneak you into films and waste hours by the waterfront laughing about nothing with you. He’d go great lengths to help you forget your dreary days, even if just for a moment. But lately you noticed Joe had stopped trading his own complaints- the kind he claimedvno one else would tolerate hearing besides you.

And then… he stopped talking at all. Right when you figured it was time to ask what the hell the matter was. Joe wasn't at his place last you swung by, like you so often did. He didn't come around yours like he so often managed. He didn't answer his phone when you rang, and a real worry sprouted through you when the next time you tried, the line went dead.

And then you did see Joe. At the local grocer. You spotted his profile across the aisle and moved to meet him. And he clearly saw you too. When he did, he moved the other way, and disappeared from the stall all together, leaving you to panic over what you might've said or done to upset him so.

You went about your mundane week with a heavy heart. While you seemed to lose hope in the very near future, the world spiralled out of control outside of your windows. And you had no one to talk to about it. Until Joe's mother called.

"Come round for dinner, won't you love?"

"Of course, ma." You'd been calling the woman by her motherly title since you and Joe first fused at the hip some odd years back. Since then his family had included you in most every occasion they could manage. Until a certain someone up and broke tradition a week or so ago...

"Great! Joe didn't want a big send off but we all know he'll want you to join in the last big family meal before he goes.”

His mother chirped through a sigh that crackled from the other line. And in her all too casual remark lied a clear answer to the impasse you'd been facing.

"He what?" You asked low, through your teeth, with a sense of urgency you'd never felt in life, till now.

"He didn't tell you did he?" Joe's mother seemed to ask less more than she seemed to realize; and before you could think up the right thing to say, you slammed the phone down, grabbed your purse, and flew out the door.

Of course this was happening. How had you failed to realize? You shouldn't have had to realize. Joe should have told you he was shipping out. Everyone seemed to be. But he should have said so. He'd always told you everything. From the embarrassing to the inconsequential, Joe hadn't held back from droning deadly details to you since he'd started. The fact that something this detrimental had been hidden away sent smoke from your ears as you marched toward his family's home.

The windows across the little brick cottage were all opened, the late day breeze blowing you up the porch steps. You traded knocking for bursting in the door. There wasn't time left to waste. And the realization hit you all at once… but you had a mission to complete before becoming all too overwhelmed.

Joe's mother ducked out of way, a tray of warm food in hand. She did not try and stop your storm through the kitchen. The only one you’d taken by surprise was Joe, who turned from the sink with eyes as wide as empty dinner plates.

"You didn't tell me?" You seethed, heading straight for him. Joe started to back away, moving toward the patio doors with his hands held in a pitiful defense.

"I'm sorry-"

"Sorry?!"

He kept moving. So you marched after him, out into the yard; shouting all the way asking how the hell he could've kept this from you. How you were supposed to cope with all the worry you’d feel the longer he spent storming the front lines. Asking, flippantly, if he’d tell you what it was all like, or if you’d have to find out from a soldier who'd come knocking to tell the last of Joe’s news.

"I said I'm fuckin' sorry." Joe boomed, stopping near the trees that lined his family's property. You didn’t regret your frantic interrogation but you wished voicing your worst fears of losing him for good hadn’t been what finally got Joe to say something like he meant it.

You halted when he did, stunned to silence. But only for a beat. You watched Joe sigh and bring his hands to his face.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" You pressed, much quieter but with disappointment ever present in your tone. You stepped a little closer, willing your friend to speak up. At least now you could see he was trying too. Joe tossed his head back, and shifted his weight to lean against a dying tree.

"I don't know." He shrugged finally. It wasn't what you wanted to hear, but it was more than you had in awhile.

"I-I guess I didn't know how to." Joe spoke in a tone you'd never quite heard him use before. A terribly hopeless croak.

"Didn't know how to tell me?" You had to laugh a little. All you ever did was tell each other things.

"Didn't know how to leave you." Joe pointed, like it was obvious. You watched his jaw clench as you were baffled into silence once more. But only for a second.

"Well it seems like you've only got one night left to figure out how." You wanted to cry. "Thanks for wasting all the time we could've spent figuring it out together."

You started to turn, only to hide the tears stinging your eyes. But as you stepped aside, Joe wrapped his hand around your wrist and yanked you to face him again.

"I'm an idiot but I am not stupid enough to let you go." He said, still keeping his hold on you.

"I panicked." Joe admitted, speaking softly all of sudden. "And I’m sorry. And I don't ever want anything like that to ever happen again. I won't let it."

You studied Joe and the look on his face and the way his eyes searched yours so easily, so acutely. Part of you wanted to keep shouting, to really drive home how abandoned you’d felt. But you could see how he'd withered under the weight of knowing so. But you couldn't even begin talking about what was meant to happen next... it was all too overwhelming. For as long as you could remember, you'd never not been near one another.

"I wished I never had to find out how shitty a day without you felt. I'll always regret bringing it on.

As your mind raced and your heart ached, your brow furrowed when Joe started to move away from you. His spare hand latched onto your other wrist. And he knelt.

"I didn't mean to leave you out. I never want to again." Joe emphasized each word as he strung them together. And after a long pause he spoke again. "So...marry me?"

You wanted to laugh. A good hearty nausea inducing laugh. You could admit to yourself that over the years, in the very depths of solitude, you'd secretly wished for a moment like this, with Joe. But never in a zillion years, least of all now, had you seen it coming.

You felt Joe's grip tighten as you blinked, bending ever so slightly closer to meet his eye.

"You're fucking crazy." You said, a montage of this week playing through your head.

"Please." Joe desperately whispered. He wasn't begging you to be with him. He was only hoping that the two of you might make your always being together official. How could you say no?

"Yeah. Yes, of course, Joe-" You finally let a small chuckle escape as your tears started to bubble over. And before you'd finished stammering acceptance, Joe sprung to his feet and lifted yours off the ground in a long overdue embrace.

He set you down and caught his breath and you started to lean in with a new, unabashed desire to press yours lips to his. But the guy spoke up with a gasped realization.

"Oh, I have got some good news." He grinned, mischievously. You only rose a brow and waited for the penny to drop.

"I don't leave for a week."

You understood every possibility that came from his news, and found despite every grim reality closing in around the two of you that the future was full of blindingly bright silver linings.

Joe lifted you off the ground again, this time as he moved to start back inside. You bargained for him to put you back down, as he carried you toward the kitchen.

"We're getting married!" Joe called to whoever might've been around to listen.

"That was quick. And just in time for dinner." His mother chirped, as you were returned to solid ground.

"Quick? I've been tryin' to do that since sometime after highschool." Joe pointed, following as you sauntered further in the room, smoothing your clothes and hiding a blush.

"I meant the two of you have spatted longer over the color of the sky." His mother held a whisk your way, while fixing her eyes on her son. "I'm glad you worked this one out in record time."

Joe reached for your hand as you stood, listening best you could, all of your senses entirely preoccupied by the man at your side.

"And have you finally come to this joyous conclusion?" His mother softened, abandoning her dishes to shuffle toward the two of you. She gave out hugs and squeaks of excitement and gasped before taking off around the corner. She beckoned the two of you to follow her, and after a shared chuckle you did.

His mother was stood at the vanity in her room, waving the pair of you in. And after only a second of pilfering through draws, did she pull out a ring. She gave it to Joe and said it was his grandmothers. The spritely woman shot you a beaming wink before creeping out of the door she'd only just invited you into.

Then it was just you and Joe. Like usual. At fucking last.

He said nothing as he reached out to pull you nearer. He bit back a smile as he slid the diamond on your finger. Joe broke your admiration of the thing by placing both his hands on either side of your face. And he kissed you like you always dreamed of being kissed. You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him back like you always secretly longed to do.

You spent the rest of that night squished between him and his family at the dinner table, like usual. They celebrated your news. And there was very little talk of where Joe was headed. But when he brought up the war and his leaving, he held your hand under the table and you felt the hug of the gold band around your finger and couldn't find reason to worry too much. You’d have time enough for that later. You'd miss him. You already did, a little.

But you'd gotten through the worst yet, and come out of it hand in hand. But before he left, till heaven only knew when, you’d officially and always be together.

#joe liebgott imagine #joe liebgott x reader #joe liebgott #band of brothers

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whatusernamex3000 · 3 years

Text

So I know it's a niche ship but Komelle has always been a sweet little pairing I've loved since I watched voltron. I just wish they did more to further the two of them together (romantically or friendship idk just wanted more).

Anyways here's and unfinished fic from two years ago when I started writing. Just wanted to put more Komelle into the world.

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Keith was on a mission to reconnect with his estranged mom. Feeling rejected by his friends, he set off on a solo road trip across the country to meet her.

The last thing he imagined was that on the trip back, he would end up being happy for the first time in his life. All it took was his mom, a mutt, and a goofball hitchhiker.

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Keith sat in silence with his newly found mother, Krolia, he learned her name was. When he set out to find her, he was at an all time low in his life. And at twenty one years old, that was saying a lot.

He'd made mistakes before, but he'd never meant to burn bridges. He never meant to throw away everything he had worked so hard to build. But things just didn't go his way. He had no idea what to do next, so he finally decided that he was going to set out to talk to his estranged mother.

The woman who had left him when he was born with just his father. The woman who didn't seek him out when his father died. The woman who didn't want him, didn't need him.

But he packed as much as he could into his rusty pickup truck and said enough with California, and drove to Portland, Maine where he discovered she lived.

After he mustered the courage to knock on the door, things went rather well from him. He was prepared to give her a piece of his mind and tell her off, but when the time came, he couldn't. Keith was just so happy to have found her. And she was nothing like the terrible monster he had created in his head. Krolia for all her faults and mistakes in her youth, was willing to be a part of his life. She wanted to find Keith after she found out his father died but she had heard too late and he was already with the Shiroganes.

While Keith wanted to say that it was no excuse, he couldn't imagine his life without growing up with Shiro and his family. They treated him as their own, and he considered himself a part of their family even if he knew it wasn't true.

The trip back was filled with awkward silence as the two tried to learn more about each other. He'd learned that his mother was a total badass, and a surprisingly great cook. She never married, or had other children, and all around was a great woman. While she couldn't get back the time she'd missed, she wanted him to know that from that point on, she was going to be there.

Somewhere around Indiana they hit a snafu. More specifically, Keith nearly hit a dog. The damn thing sprinted in front of his truck causing him to swerve out of the way and drive straight into a ditch. There they had to get it towed to replace the destroyed tire. Keith could've done it himself had the ruined tire not already been the spare.

Next door there was a local dive bar that Krolia suggested that they check out while they wait for the truck to be fixed. Leaving the shop Keith noticed the dog that had caused this fiasco sitting patiently as if it were waiting for them. "Go away you mutt!" He shouted but it had no effect on the dog. It sat patiently waiting for God knows what.

Forgetting about the dog, Keith followed his mother into the dive bar. Needless to say it was exactly what he expected. Loud drunken local hillbilly types, a bartender that was too pretty to be there, and a few out of place strangers. But one stood out among the rest.

A cute blonde who looked to nervous to be at a place like this. Krolia seemingly sensing Keith's wandering eyes chose to have them sit next to the pretty blonde girl. "Do you mind? These seats aren't taken are they?" She kindly asked the girl.

She shook her head. Krolia sat down and had Keith sit between her and the girl. "What would you like Keith?"

"Ummm a rum and coke," he replied. Krolia chuckled, "just like your father." But as soon as she said it, she realized how much of a mistake it was. They were far to soon in their relationship to talk about him. Keith excused himself for a minute leaving Krolia alone. She let out a large sigh, snagging the lonely girls attention.

"Is everything okay ma'am?" She kindly asked. She had a slight British accent if Krolia was placing it correctly. "No. I'm stuck with my estranged son who hates me. I haven't been part of his life in over twenty years, and now I am. And it's a bit much. For both of us."

"But you're trying right?"

Krolia let out another sigh, "I'm trying harder at this than anything I've ever tried before. But I don't think it's going to be enough."

"Well I think it should be. You have motherly eyes," the girl pointed out and offered Krolia a kind and friendly smile.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry. I'm sure that the last thing you wanted was for some stranger to confide in you. Especially something like this," Krolia laughed a bit.

"Nonsense, I asked you. I'm Romelle," the girl said offering her hand.

"Krolia."

"So Krolia why are you and your son here in the middle of Indiana?"

Krolia filled her in on her and Keith's story. From meeting in Portland, Maine, to hitting the ditch just a few miles down the road.

"It was Kosmo," Romelle said. Krolia looked at her with a confused look. "What's cosmic?"

"No the dog that ran in front of your truck. His name is Kosmo. He's like the towns friendly neighborhood dog. He doesn't have an owner," she explained. By this point, Romelle had taken Keith's seat and drink, due to Krolia's offer.

"He was probably trying to chase a rabbit," she explained, polishing off the last of Keith's rum and coke. "And he was probably trying to apologize to your son when you saw him outside."

"Speaking of Keith," Krolia swiveled in there seat to survey the rest of the bar. "I don't see him."

Krolia paid for the drinks and her and Romelle walked towards the exit in search of Keith.

Much to their surprise, Keith was playing fetch with Kosmo. "Would you look at that," Krolia teased. "I thought you didn't like that mutt."

Keith smiled as Kosmo returned with the stick. Keith bent down to pet his face. "He's a mutt alright. Half amazing, half terrific."

"Parks n Rec," Romelle shouted. "I love that show."

Keith awkwardly smiled at her. "Uhhh hi. I'm Keith."

"Oh I know all about you," Romelle playfully teased. Keith's face started to turn red, thankfully, Krolia stepped in.

"Actually Keith, I was about to buy Romelle here a drink for listening to me ramble on about you. But why don't you do that while I talk to the mechanic." She gave her newfound son a smile and surprisingly he returned it.

"Uhhh yeah sure." He responded as Krolia walked towards him to give him some money. "Play nice, she seems like a sweet girl," she whispered as she handed him the money.

Keith and Rlomelle sat there awkwardly sipping on their respective drinks. A rum and Coke for him, and a vodka cranberry for her. It wasn't the fanciest of bars, but the pretty bartender definitely did make killer drinks. "You're mom's nice," Romelle finally said, breaking the silence between them. He couldn't help but notice her misplaced accent. Certainly foreign.

He awkwardly laughed, "you probably know her better than I do at this point."

"Because you met her a few days ago yeah?"

Keith nearly choked on his own drink. He looked over and saw her with a concerned look in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. It's just that she told me, and i… I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's okay. It's just… I don't actually know what I'm doing," he said, offering her a reassuring smile. He ordered them both another round, Indiana had very cheap alcohol compared to California. Once the bartender returned with their drinks, he turned his attention back to Romelle. This time he took all of her in. She had beautiful blonde hair that she kept neat and straight with pigtails but not really pigtails, if Keith knew anything about hair other than to wash and occasionally comb it, he would've been able to pinpoint her hair style. But regardless of what style it actually was, he thought she looked beautiful with it. It flowed all the way down to her just above her waist, but it was hard to tell while she was sitting. And while her blonde hair was eye catching, it was the piercing violet eyes that pulled him in. She was truly beautiful.

"I just feel like I should forgive her," he continued once he found his voice again. He was nervous that he may never be able to speak properly in front of her again now that he noticed just how stunning she looked. "But I don't know if I should. She had a chance to find me, but thought it was best to leave me with the family that took me in… that I wasn't good enough." He finished in a whisper, struggling to keep the tears at bay.

Normally he would've called up Allura by this point, telling her everything. If he were still back home in California, he would've driven to Acxa's. She was never one for sharing heart to hearts, but hanging out with her always put his mind at ease. With her, he was able to forget temporarily and just be himself. Hell, he would've called Lance or any of his friends by now, but in typical Keith fashion he blew up at all of them and promptly left the next morning without a word. Some time during the night he mistakenly and drunkenly blocked and deleted all of their contacts, the only thing that kept him in touch with them. He didn't have snapchat, or twitter, or even Instagram. That was all of them. He preferred things the old fashioned way, face to face. That didn't mean he wasn't on Instagram. All his friends had decided to create a hashtag for him under #keithkogane. He loved and missed his friends, but they weren't here. And yet somehow here, in the middle of nowhere Indiana, in some rundown bar, he found himself pouring his soul out to a beautiful girl he just met.

Romelle wasn't too sure what to say. Keith looked completely devastated, and she refused to believe that this man she just met was anything but good enough. Suddenly, the dj started playing a song she's recently started listening to religiously, and an idea came to mind. "I love this song let's dance," she grabbed his arm, not allowing him to say no.

"I don't dance," Keith tried to refute, but the look in Romelle's eyes told him that he was going to lose this fight ten out of ten times. The first few songs weren't that bad, considering they were a variation of country music. Romelle tried to teach him to two step, but in the end he proved that he doesn't dance because he can't. But still, Keith was thoroughly enjoying himself; watching the way Romelle moved with the rhythm, the way she laughed as she was spun around. It wasn't until the latest song had ended that they found themselves back in each other's arms. His smile was much more genuine than when they started. Suddenly the lights dimmed and the beat slowed. (A/N Golden Hour - Kasey Musgraves)

"Surely you can slow dance?" She teased, giving him an out if he wanted. He hadn't slow danced since the senior prom with his date Acxa, and he was so awkward (thankfully, Acxa was just as awkward) that he swore off slow dancing forever. But now, not slow dancing with Romelle was just about the last thing he wanted. Dancing the past hour or so had completely taken his mind off of his situation. For the first time since he left his friends a week and a half ago, he was having fun. And it was all because of her.

Keith pulled Romelle close and they slowly swayed to the soothing beat. Her head rested on his chest as they kept swaying. "I know what you did… And thank you," he whispered into her ear.

"For what?" Romelle asked, obviously playing dumb.

He did his best not to laugh. "The dancing. It's helped. I really appreciate it. You didn't have to do this for a stranger."

"How about a friend?"

Keith didn't respond, instead just closed his eyes and let the music take over. Something about this felt right, and if he wasn't stuck here, he would've been willing to explore this feeling further. "Thirsty?" He heard her ask, and he opened his eyes to look down at her and just stared into her eyes, getting lost in their reflection. It was right then and there that Keith wished more than anything that this was just a dream. If it was, he wouldn't have to leave her so soon.

"That'd be great."

Two more drinks later, courtesy of the bartender who liked Romelle's "sunshiney attitude", Keith finally decided that despite knowing that he would most likely never see this girl again, he wanted to enjoy his time with her. Not wallow in self pity due to their limited time. "So tell me about yourself?"

"What do you want to know?" She asked between sips of her apple Martini.

"What brings you here?" It was the wrong question, he realized too late. The pain in her eyes told him all he needed to know. She was running from something. "I… sorry. You don't need to talk about it."

She smiled, sliding her hand over his. "Thank you."

"So where are you going?" Based on her face, this was a difficult question as well, but not for the reason he thought.

She sighed, "I don't know. I've just been drifting from place to place. But I've been here for about three weeks. I don't know why but something was keeping here and honestly I wasn't sure what it was… until today."

It took Keith by surprise, and he almost pulled his hand away. Instead he switched so his hand rest on top of hers and he gave it a squeeze. "I hope you're right."

Krolia reappeared to a sight that made her smile. He saw the look the two young adults were sharing… comfort and hope. It as perfect picture, in fact she took out her phone and took one. She had decided that she was going to catalog their entire journey back with Keith. She wasn't sure if her son had Instagram, so instead she just used a simple hashtag with his name. And to her surprise, she wasn't the only one that had used that tag. Suddenly she was staring at hundreds of images of her son with his friends. It made her heart melt that despite all his struggles, there were people that cared about him. The most tags came from two girls named Allura and Acxa, and a man named Takashi. Clearly these were three of his closest friends, and she hoped that she could meet them.

She stared at the photo she just took and debated on whether or not to add it to the four other photos she had posted under the hashtag. But she decided against it, this was a private moment between the two of them.

Feeling eyes on them, they snapped out of their reverie and turned to look at who was staring. Keith had forgotten that his mom was even with him, and all of a sudden all his feelings came pouring back in. But seeing the look on her face made them slowly vanish. She was smiling… his mom was smiling at him.

Maybe it was the alcohol finally taking effect, but he swore that he had never been more at peace.

#vld komelle #komelle #keith x romelle #their cute and i love them #can be read as platonic or romantic

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xcamay · 4 years

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Recruiting Chloe.

Hey there! I can’t believe it’s been years since I last published a fanfic on tumblr. And it’s been months since I last finished one... woo! It kind of feels great and rewarding though hehe. However, this is my first time writing a Choices fanfic, so I do hope it’ll be okay... Here goes nothing! Book: Queen B Pairings: Chloe x Veronica, and a little bit of Zoey x MC (Kate). Yes, I know many people don’t ship Chloe and Veronica, because “Veronica deserves better” and “Chloe’s an airhead and a meanie”, but I’m holding onto the fact that there’s more to Chloe than what we know... Warning: not entirely canon-compliant (seeing as I haven’t played since chapter 6 aired... I apologize if it sounds inaccurate sometimes). Also! This takes place after Veronica joined MC’s posse. And let’s forget about the Bacon-alia, okay? AO3 link ________________________________________________________________ “8:12 AM,” Kate slides her phone in her pocket and yawns, stretching her arms above her head, “Congratulations Zo, you got me out of bed early on a Wednesday. You know, the day we don’t have class in the morning.”

“Oh come on, I already apologized. But I really was craving some croissants this morning and I wanted you to try them,” Zoey smiles as she bites into her pastry, humming.

The two young women continue to stroll down the street at a relaxed pace, eating their respective croissant, joking around and sharing knowing smiles and glances. They stop next to a trash can, throwing the small bags while Zoey finishes her croissant, pinky finger raised.

“So? Verdict?” she offers Kate a wide smile, an eyebrow arched.

“Okay, you were right – they’re worth the awful alarm clock. Maybe we should get some more often. It’d be like our moment,” Kate grins as she steps closer, making Zoey grin back.

“Don’t we have enough moments already? You know, as roommates.”

“Is it really enough?”

“Do you think it is?”

“Do you?”

“Oh my god, Kate. Shut up and kiss me.”

“Your wish is my command, milady.”

They both smile before their lips tenderly meet for a few delightful seconds.

“Hey Zo,” Kate murmurs against her lips, “Let’s go back to our room.”

Zoey pecks her best friend’s lips one last time and nods, smiling. As they resume their walk, Kate slips her hand into Zoey’s.

“Wait a minute,” the new girl suddenly speaks, stopping in her tracks and squinting, “Is that Chloe over there?”

“Where?”

“There. Inside the coffee shop.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Zoey blinks, “Wow. She… she looks so sad.”

“I wonder what happened… Oh well. She probably had another fight with Satan.”

“Not really, no.”

Kate jumps the moment she hears a new, additional voice next to her, “Holy shit! Veronica! Where did you come from?”

The famous beauty influencer rolls her eyes, her lips slightly tugging upward, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

However, her light smile vanishes as she looks at her blonde-haired friend inside the coffee shop. She seems to be tormented, her brows furrowed and her gaze fixed on the table.

“This is supposed to be our moment,” Veronica sighs, an unexpected veil of sadness crossing her eyes.

Kate and Zoey glance at each other.

“What do you mean, your moment?”

“Chloe and I come here every week, on Wednesday mornings precisely because we don’t have class before 10. It’s just the two of us, for breakfast. No Poppy, no The T, no homework, no livestream… except if it gets interesting, of course,” Veronica smiles a little, but it promptly fades away, “There’s nothing else, no one else. Just Chloe and me. It’s our moment,” she pauses a second, then winces, “Or well… I guess it used to be our moment. We’re… not really talking to each other anymore, so well.”

Kate taps her chin several times, “I think it can still be your moment. Nothing’s here to stop you. Except if you don’t want it, of course.”

“No way. I still want it to be our moment.”

“I feel like there’s more to the story than what you’re telling us,” Zoey hums, barely trying to hide her curiosity, “Veronica, do you… uh…”

The two roommates share a glance, hesitating. Should they really ask something as private as that? As they ponder the answer to that question, Veronica beats them to it.

“Do I have romantic feelings for Chloe?”

They nod, and the ombré-haired girl sharply breathes in.

“I do.”

“Then go! Go get your girl!” Kate exclaims, almost bouncing on her feet like a child who was promised an ice cream.

Veronica raises her eyebrows, “You just want me to recruit her for you.”

“Of course not,” the new girl answers, at the same time as Zoey bluntly says, “Yes.”

“Zoey!”

The latter’s eyes widen and she immediately corrects herself, “No, of course not!”

The influencer rolls her eyes, prompting Kate to look sheepish as she scratches the inside of her elbow.

“One of you is at least being honest.”

“Alright… yes. And why not, anyway? With what we now know and with you helping us, I think it’s better if we get Chloe on our side. And I think she will be more willing to listen to you than us. It’s better if you recruit her yourself. But! We kind of want you two to be reunited too, you know?”

“Let’s kill two birds with one stone,” Zoey adds, serious, “Recruit her. But, most importantly, get your girlfriend back. Shoo, go.” ________________________________________________________________ As soon as she steps into the coffee shop, Veronica makes a beeline for the booth she usually occupies with Chloe on every Wednesday morning. However, she feels her heart break at the sight: Chloe is sitting there, alone, staring into space. It seems like she has barely sipped her hibiscus tea – two or three swallows at the most.

“Hey there.”

The unexpected voice startles Chloe, whose eyes widen when she realizes who is standing right next to her. Her heart rate instantly skyrockets.

“V-Veronica! You… Wh-what are you-”

“Is this seat taken?”

“N-no. But… I-I’m sorry but I have somewhere to be,” Chloe says as she abruptly stands, bumping into the table and almost knocking her white mug over.

“No you don’t,” Veronica hastily says, stopping the girl in her tracks. She lightly bites her lip, before adding in a whisper, “Chlo, please… Stay with me?”

“I-” Chloe gulps, eyes darting everywhere.

She looks conflicted, distressed – so much that it hurts Veronica inside – but eventually sits down again, fiddling with her fingers. She looks at everything, everyone but the beauty influencer sitting across from her.

“So,” Veronica clears her throat, trying to get Chloe’s attention, “We need to talk.”

“V, not now…”

“Then when? You’ve been avoiding me ever since you made up with Poppy. We haven’t even been able to spend some quality time together. We don’t laze around on the couch anymore, we also stopped doing our makeup together. You… you’re not coming to my room anymore. Look, we haven’t even had our Wednesday breakfast in weeks now.”

“You don’t understand!” Chloe seems alarmed for a second, but then she lowers her gaze, her light blue eyes reflecting a sorrow she is desperately trying to hide, “I… I-I can’t be seen talking to you…”

“Chlo, look at me.”

But Chloe weakly shakes her head, nibbling her lips, while Veronica resists the urge to grab her hand.

“Chloe.”

…

“Chloe St. James.”

This time, the girl looks up, albeit hesitantly.

“She won’t do anything to you. I promise.”

“She can-”

“Believe me, she better not.”

At this, a light (but pleased) smile graces Chloe’s features, which makes Veronica grin back. The moment only lasts a few seconds though, Chloe’s smile disappearing as she drinks a mouthful of her red-colored tea. The influencer clears her throat and places her hands on the table.

She wants to hold Chloe’s so bad.

“Chlo-”

“Sorry you had to wait,” a voice suddenly interrupts her – it’s the waiter who always serves them. They offer Veronica a welcoming smile, “The usual?”

“Uh, no, thank you,” then she hastily adds, an idea crossing her mind, “Just your best lava cake, please.”

At this, Chloe blinks, but keeps her mouth closed.

“Right away!”

And they leave. Veronica’s eyes land once again on her dearest friend, warmth, affection and worry dancing in them.

“I knew something was up. The moment you left me on read and started avoiding me, I knew something happened,” she sighs, “And surprise, surprise. Poppy’s the one behind all that, right?”

Chloe doesn’t answer – but her silence is enough.

“Chlo, she- she doesn’t have to control your life like that. You should be the one making decisions for yourself. You do whatever you want to do with whoever you want to.”

“I-”

“So what if you want to befriend Kate and Zoey? Or what if you want to spend time with me, the ‘traitorous cow’? She has no right to dictate your life.”

Chloe bites her lower lip, “V-”

“Chlo, you’re… you’re your own person. You’re not Poppy’s little lapdog-”

“I’m her second-in-command!”

“No, you’re- ah. Thank you.”

Veronica lets the waiter put the plate and the spoon on the table, before they leave. However, she doesn’t touch it, yet, capturing her friend’s attention once again.

“Chloe, no, you’re not her second-in-command. You’re the main pawn in her game, that’s all,” the blonde-haired girl lowers her gaze, pain twisting her features, and Veronica reaches for her – to no avail as Chloe’s hand immediately moves back, “Chlo…” she softly says, “You… do realize that, right? You know that ranking first is more important to Poppy than… you?”

“But she’s…” Chloe grabs her mug, seeking some support. Her knuckles quickly turn white before her shoulders sag, heavy, “She’s my best friend…”

“No, she’s not. Okay, she’s the first person who reached out to you here, I’ll give you that. But a best friend? Seriously? A girl who’s too blinded by her crown and who even goes as far as plotting revenge on you just because you ranked first for, what, a few hours? Do you really call that friendship? Is she really your best friend?”

Chloe bites her lips while sliding a shaky hand in her hair, the other still gripping tightly the mug’s handle.

“Chlo… You’re… you’re so much more than what she reduces you to.”

The blonde gulps with difficulty. She looks torn between so many things – what Poppy, her best friend, expects of her, their seemingly one-way deep friendship, her own needs and desires, the pressure which comes with her reputation at Belvoire, the dear friend she fell in love with…

“You deserve so much more.”

Veronica tentatively brushes Chloe’s fingertips with hers, her warm brown eyes never leaving her face, gauging her reaction. A tremor runs through Chloe, forcing her hand to let go of the mug and move back.

“Chlo…”

The beauty influencer can hear her heart suffocate, ready to crack. She is about to retract her own hand when she feels the tiniest, most hesitant caress on her fingers. Chloe looks at everything but Veronica, a light frown appearing on her face while her lips quiver, indicators of her internal, bone-crushing conflict.

“I-” Chloe starts, her voice clogged with guilt and sadness.

She draws in a deep, shaky breath and, finally, looks up when Veronica’s fingers interlace with hers. Her vision blurs as she holds back her tears.

“I miss you. I miss you so much.”

Veronica’s heart skips a beat, and she breathes back, “I miss you too.”

The grip around their intertwined fingers tightens, as if they are scared of letting the other go and losing her for good this time. Chloe’s first tears start rolling down her cheeks the moment their eyes meet, which prompts Veronica to immediately stand and sit on the booth seat next to her. She wraps an arm around her shoulders while the blonde-haired girl covers her face with her hands, sobbing quietly.

“Hey, hey,” Veronica whispers as she closes her eyes and presses her forehead against Chloe’s temple, heart painfully squeezing, “I’m so sorry I made you cry, Chlo… But you have to face the truth. It’s- it’s better if you do.”

“But it hurts…”

“I know… I know. The truth always hurts.”

Chloe shakily sniffs while slowly unveiling her face, trying to wipe all her tears away. She ends up smearing mascara under her eyes and removing her concealer. She looks so tired. Drained. Veronica’s brown eyes soften as she reaches for her purse and quickly pulls out a cotton pad and a vial filled with transparent liquid.

“My hero,” Chloe gives a weak smile, her light blue eyes still shining with tears, “I’m such a mess.”

“No,” Veronica gently dabs the damp pad under Chloe’s eyes, “You’re perfect.”

“V…”

Chloe’s body start shaking again from the tears she is desperately trying to hold back. No one has ever said things like that to her, not even Poppy, her supposed best friend. She could have, so many times – when they were getting dressed for a party together, for example.

You look nice in that dress.

This skirt’s color looks good on you.

Just… a compliment. Some recognition. A little something which would have made her feel like she was somewhat important, like she was worth it. But no. No one has ever said something nice to her. No one… except Veronica. But with Veronica… it only happened when they were in bed together.

You’re beautiful Chlo, she said the first time she undressed Chloe, making her blush.

You were awesome, she murmured once in the shower, pulling Chloe up and kissing her like she was the only one for her.

Chlo, you’re gorgeous, she groaned the day Chloe straddled her, their breathless moans mingling together in a sweet, loving melody.

You know what? I feel so lucky right now, she smiled when Chloe took her time removing her dress, slowly revealing her new red lacy lingerie.

I want you. And only you, she breathed in the crook of Chloe’s neck the day they had their most agonizing fight, kissing every inch of her jaw, throat and collarbone.

I love you, she cried out once, delirious, intoxicated by the friction, the caresses, the kisses they shared during their most passionate night. Chloe’s heart had never beaten as fast as it did that night.

Of course, all these times mean a lot to Chloe. She fell in love with her friend, after all. But right now, at the coffee shop, it means the world to her.

Veronica gently cups her face and brushes her thumbs on her skin, wiping away some tears. A tingling sensation dances in the influencer’s wrists the moment Chloe curls her fingers around them. Their eyes meet for a second and, when the blonde offers a weak smile, Veronica leans in, tenderly capturing Chloe’s lips. Something bursts in their chests, akin to fireworks, while their mouths slide together perfectly, in harmony. Once, twice. Chloe brings their bodies closer, arms wrapped around her lover’s neck, and the latter smiles, her hands landing on Chloe’s hips, right where they belong. Their lips meet again for the third time, impatient.

When they break the kiss, they press their foreheads together, the tip of their noses brushing.

“Babe, I promise it’ll be okay…” Veronica whispers as she strokes Chloe’s soft blonde locks, looping one behind her ear.

A soft, muffled laugh escapes Chloe’s lips as more tears roll down her cheeks, “You know, I really like it when you call me babe.”

Veronica chuckles and kisses Chloe one more time.

… Okay, three more times.

“Feeling better?”

“A little,” the blonde sniffs, hastily wiping some tears away, “I’m still scared though. What am I supposed to tell Poppy?”

“Nothing. Just… forget about her. We’ll deal with her later,” Veronica pecks the tip of her secret lover’s nose, “Just know that you’re not alone anymore, okay? We’re in this together,” and another peck – on the lips this time, “Babe.”

Chloe’s cute little laugh warms Veronica’s heart. She doesn’t look as downcast as earlier; she even looks relieved, like a huge weight has been taken off her mind, and her smile is more sincere, more instinctive. She looks more like herself – like the girl Veronica fell in love with.

“Now, I believe there’s a lava cake waiting for us before class starts. What do you say?”

Chloe snuggles against Veronica, burying her face in the crook of her neck, “Sounds perfect.” ________________________________________________________________ Meanwhile, outside the coffee shop, two girls give each other a high five, squealing in delight. ________________________________________________________________ Aaaaah I’m super nervous. :’3 But well, I do hope you guys liked that fic!

Thanks for reading and please, take care of yourself and your loved ones! See you. ♥

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persephonesnow · 3 years

Text

fic writer meme

Thank you so much for the tags, @boshtet-juggler and @hermiowngranger! One day I will be better about responding to these promptly. I’m trying to write this around my cat, who is demanding attention, so there may be errors.

How many works do you have on AO3?

14. Dear god does that highlight how little I have actually posted because I know I have more than 14 on my computer right now and even more on various other storage devices.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

487087. excuse me while I laugh because I have single works with higher word count than that that have never seen the light of day.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. when the world stops spinning

2. the game has changed

3. in the kingdom of heaven

4. let the butterflies cry

5. half sick of shadows

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Sometimes. I am notorious for putting things on the backburner and then promptly forgetting about them until five years later.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I think that belongs to when the world stops spinning. Which it will retain because the rewrite is not changing that ending.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

hmm. of what’s been posted so far that would be let the butterflies cry because OT3 is always the best solution to a love triangle.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the strangest one you’ve written?

Eh, not really. There is a rwby/loz crossover that’s been stewing in the back of my mind since botw came out, but I’m not sure I’ll ever actually write it.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

My good dude, I have been writing across multiple platforms for over a decade. Yes.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Rarely. Very, very rarely. And as for what kind? I’ve written a bit of everything.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yup. There’s a reason certain older fics of mine are no longer available.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Once. Someone translated one of the aforementioned now unavailable works into...I think it was Korean? It was a very long time ago and actually done without my consent, but they did correctly credit me as the author, so.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

@hermiowngranger. one day we should revist that ‘verse and see about not fixing it to the point it no longer works.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Why would you do this to me. I know looking at my works you’d probably think Zutara, but listen. Before there was Zutara, there was InuKag and it is frankly embarrassing that it took a global pandemic years and years after the manga ended to get me to really sit down and write anything for it.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Probably all that was me is gone, one of the collab fics with @hermiowngranger, because we wrote ourselves into a corner that was less of a corner and more of a sinkhole that rendered the entire plot impossible.

What are your writing strengths?

Worldbuilding. Give me the space and I will go into detail about everything from the climate to the economy and how that impacts how the characters interact with their world.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Finishing things. Also romance. If not for @hermiowngranger being a screaming romance goblin who checks my work, I probably wouldn’t write romance at all.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Really just depends on how it’s handled and the context in which it is used.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Oh lordy. I think naruto was the first I posted for, though most of those works are no longer available. But the first fandom I really wrote for? LotR. I was 9 and angry because it felt like I’d gotten through all the books just to find a “no girls allowed” sign and spite fuels most of my fic, so LotR but everyone is ladies was the very first thing I ever did and none of you will ever see that work.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

eir’asha. It’s probably the only purely self-indulgent thing I’ve ever written and it’s not my best, but I love Nerry so much and there is actually a follow up lurking somewhere on my computer.

#tag games #one day i'll figure out an actual tag for these things

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ezzydean · 4 years

Note

TRICK OR TREAT!!!!! AsaKage pretty please.

TRICK-OR-TREAT

come trick-or-treat in my inbox requesting ficcies and I’ll either treat you to some fluff or humor or trick you with a horribly twisted sad AU (I’ll use a random generator to pick trick or treat)

send me “trick or treat” and a character(s) or ship in my inbox and I’ll write you a short little thing (I’ll be doing these all of October so send away!)

treat

Kageyama Tobio is done.

Finished.

Gone.

Dead.

The culprit? Azumane Asahi and his ridiculously messy bun and his unfairly attractive smile and his wickedly comfortable flannel shirts. Shirts. Plural.

Shirts that Tobio steals every single chance he gets.

Did he mention that they’re really comfortable?

And they smell like Asahi?

And they make the ache in his chest when he has to leave Asahi behind just a little bit more bearable?

But.

Tobio has a solution for that. A solution for the way his stomach twists and his ribs ache and his heart threatens to crack in two each time he heads out into a dewy morning and shuts the door quietly behind him.

He has a solution. But he doesn’t really have a plan on how to bring that solution to life.

Because every time he finally gets the chance to see Asahi he promptly forgets pretty much everything other than spending as much time with Asahi as humanly possible.

He stops outside the door of Asahi’s apartment and takes a deep breath. This time? This time he’s going to do it. He unlocks the door and steps inside.

“Hey Asahi. I’m back,” he calls out. He knows Asahi is here. Asahi makes it a point to be home when Tobio comes back after a long trip.

He knows Asahi is here. He just has to find his boyfriend. Which shouldn’t be too hard. It’s not like Asahi’s apartment is all that big.

“Asahi?”

He’s not in the kitchen or the living room or his tiny closet of an office. Which really only leaves one place: the bedroom. Tobio peeks into the bathroom on the way, just to be sure, but it’s empty. Which is good. Because the conversation he wants to have is not something he feels should be had in a bathroom.

He pushes open the bedroom door and promptly forgets he wanted to have a conversation at all. Because Asahi is curled up on top of the covers in one of his ridiculous flannel shirts with his hair a mess and Tobio loves him so much. Tobio settles on the edge of the bed and just watches Asahi sleep for a few minutes before he reaches out and runs his fingers along Asahi’s cheek.

Asahi’s eyelids flutter at the touch and he blinks awake slowly, a smile creeping onto his face as he registers that Tobio is sitting next to him.

“Hey,” Asahi murmurs sleepily.

“Hey,” Tobio replies. “I’m back.”

Asahi smile only grows the more he wakes up. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too.” Tobio runs his fingers down Asahi’s cheek again. Something niggles at the back of his mind as he watches Asahi nuzzle into his hand and stretch his back and shoulders. “I have something to ask you.”

Asahi raises his brows. “Oh?”

“Wanna move in together? Find a house somewhere and spend forever with me?”

Asahi pulls him down onto the bed and curls around him with a happy hum. “I’d love to. I thought you’d never ask.”

Tobio laughs. “I kept getting distracted.”

“By what?”

“You.”

#haikyuu #AsaKage #kageyama tobio #azumane asahi #AsaKage fic #hq writing #prompt #trick or treat 2020 #cattatonically

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capricornus-rex · 4 years

Text

Imagine Prompt: Jealous Reader

Photo picked up from @darthvronton

Cal Kestis x Reader

Summary: Greez finally takes the crew to Takodana—keeping the promise that he made not too long ago about laying off once everything was over.

Notes: I originally planned this as a sequel to Inseparable Dyad, I tried writing some parts to be ambiguous to its connection with Inseparable Dyad, but I think it works well as a standalone fic too. Either way works anyway, that’s why I made it ambiguous ;)

Masterlist

The Mantis entered the Takodana system via jump to hyperspace. You and Cal have been long awake after your nap, you’ve taken your places in the cockpit—Cal at shotgun, you on the seat opposite Cere.

The off-planet view of Takodana could be seen and appreciated from the Mantis’s windshield. Greez cranks the steering lever forward, you buckled to your seat as the vessel enters the atmosphere; soon enough, the turbulence went away and the crew could sit back and relax. The captain looks for a suitable place to land, not far from the castle but hidden well enough from prying, suspicious eyes.

“Okay, like I promised—Takodana!” Greez exclaimed, almost celebratory in tone.

As soon as you’ve set foot on the cushiony soil of the planet, a strong waft of petrichor invaded your sense of smell. The air was so fresh and clean. Everything about the planet reminded you of Bogano—of home. Unconsciously, you smile at the vast green horizon behind the castle; Cal turned his head to you, stared at you and your infectious smile caught on to him. He smiles to himself.

“Come on, I’ll show you newbies what a real Bloody Rancor tastes like!”

“I’ve never tasted a bleeding Rancor before,” a clueless Merrin blurted.

“No, no. That’s just a beverage name, not a real Rancor bleeding to death!” you explained whilst finding Merrin’s cluelessness somewhat endearing.

Greez was the tour guide for today. After all, he said that the whole crew deserves a day off after that long, exhausting quest and everything else that followed. He led you to the castle’s walls. Upon nearing the high arch that leads to the main door, you looked up high and saw flags flying their colors in the wild wind—there were so many of them that you could no longer see the part of wall where they’re stuck to, because the flags were clustered closely to one another, either way it mesmerized you.

Through the main door, the inside of the castle was like any other cantina—albeit the wider space and more seating areas. The entrance of the Mantis crew caused some curious heads to turn but they quickly looked back away. The last thing you need is more attention.

“Greez!” the voice of a middle-aged female calls from across the room.

“Hey, Maz!” Greez returned the greeting.

“Took you long enough to visit!”

The cantina keeper emerges from the dense crowd of patrons. An orange creature nearly in equal height with Greez appeared. She donned a pair of large glasses which may have made her eyes look slightly bigger than actual. Her voice was wise as it was feisty and lively, there is no doubt she is the castle’s owner. Aside from her appearance, you and Cal could sense something strong coming from Maz—you immediately distinguished that she was a Force-sensitive.

When the niceties and quick catch-up finished between Greez and Maz, he introduced each of you to her, afterwards Maz gave a polite bow to acknowledge all of you. Neither of you may have spoken, but Maz could already sense that you were thinking about her—curious about her, she could almost hear the questions in your head.

In a little while. Maz thought to herself, hoping that you would pick up the hint.

“Welcome to my castle, feel free to go about as you please. Help yourself to some drinks at the bar, put it on Greez’s tab if you like,” she said half-jokingly.

“Aww come on, don’t be like that, Maz! Say we split 50-50?”

Maz didn’t verbally respond, she just chuckled and dismissively waved at the group before walking up to a group she was initially speaking with prior to your arrival. Merrin decided to look around and order later, Cere wanted to sit down already and relax.

“I’ll have whatever you guys are having,” Cere said before going to look for a seat.

All that’s left is you, Cal, and Greez. The three of you sat by the bar, the bartender was a teal, female Twi’lek. As soon as Cal takes his seat on the barstool, she slowed down in wiping the glass in her hand.

“Hey there, delicious,” the Twi’lek spoke in a suggestive hushed tone, when that caught your and Cal’s attention, she continued on with the act. “Anything I could get for you?”

Cal was evidently taken aback by the display, he subtly pulled mere inches away from the Twi’lek while slowly raising his eyebrow at her. You propped your chin on your fist, a look that screamed “What did she just say?” plastered all over your face.

“Uh yeah, five Bloody Rancors, maybe?”

“I’ll get right on it,” she flashed a coy smile before turning around to work on your drinks.

You and Cal shot looks at one another, shrugging shoulders and throwing raised eyebrows back and forth with each other. Your free hand gestured to the Twi’lek, your body language echoing “Is she for real?”

Suppressing your growing irritation made you eerily silent and withdrawn. Greez calls the bartender and tells her to just serve it on their table, she acknowledged the request but kept her eyes on Cal. The Twi’lek was exuding so much attraction to Cal that she’s practically reeking of it.

The three of you immediately left the bar and searched for Cere and Merrin. The flow of the conversation was natural but you were unconsciously out of it, you barely interacted with the crew; Cal sensed the jealousy from the start, he put his arm around you to comfort you and you gradually picked up the conversation. The Twi’lek bartender served the drinks to your table, she noticed Cal’s arm over your shoulder, she maintained eye contact on Cal but you had eyes on her too. Your gaze pierced the Twi’lek, her seductive smirk reduces to a poker face and then leaves. Cal noticed your silence in her presence until she was gone and so he slightly tightens his grip on you.

The Bloody Rancor was apparently a one-hit wonder among the Mantis crew, even Merrin liked it! The chatter and the stories mingled with the patrons’, you decided to explore the rest of the castle and you hurriedly dismissed yourself, making up the excuse of forgetting something back in the ship. Cal waited for a few more paces before following you. He saw you heading back to the ship.

Cal waited a few more minutes before entering the Mantis. He heard the sparking of the soldering iron, the clinking of tools, and the crunching of screws and bolts being wrenched in. He followed the sound and found you in your lonesome by the workbench.

“Hey,” he called.

You glanced over your shoulder, repeated the word, and promptly returned to your handicraft.

“Something wrong?”

“No, not really. I just suddenly found the castle too… crowded,” you muttered and had a dry follow-up. “You should get back there, the bartender might miss you.”

Cal stepped forward, filling up the tiny space beside you by the workbench. He leans his waist against the edge of the table, crossed his arms against his chest, and simply watched you tweak on your gadgets. He knew that you were deliberately trying to avoid eye contact with him; surprisingly, his presence made you a little shaky, you weren’t holding your tools firmly as you should until you accidentally nipped yourself with wire cutters.

“Ow!” You hissed.

Cal immediately took your hand. You didn’t cut yourself luckily, but you nipped yourself hard enough for the base of your pointer finger to get swollen.

“It’s nothing,” you dismissed.

“No, you’re hurt,”

His thumb softly ran across your wound, you gently attempt to pull it away but his grip felt too secure albeit gentle, and then your fingers curled and encased his fingers. Cal slowly closes in on you with your hand held close to his heart.

“I’m fine really, you should go back, they’re probably looking for you,” you continue to dismissively mutter but Cal isn’t budging.

“I don’t think they’ll mind,” his voice was now only a whisper to you.

“Won’t they now?” you muttered.

“Stop talking,”

The gap between you two has vanished, he pulled himself towards you, and then the next thing you knew he has his lips locked onto yours. He dips his tongue into your mouth and a chill ran swiftly down your spine, your heart skipped a beat, failing to conceal your surprise. He gently lets go of your hand, cups your jaw with both hands and intensifies his kiss—causing you to throw your arms around his shoulder, pressing him closer to you whilst you rake his hair with your slender fingers until you gently gripped it.

You felt his smile in the middle of the kiss, you smiled too. His thumb ran across your jaw, his fingers were slowly sinking into the flesh of your neck—in response, you prodded your tongue which caught him by surprise this time. When you pulled away from the kiss, he followed up with another kiss on your forehead and then his lips trail down to the tip of your nose. Suggestive smiles beamed at one another as soon as you found each other’s eyes. Cal playfully pinched your cheek and added another kiss, a quick peck on the lips.

“We should really get back there,” you giggled.

Cal playfully made a pensive expression, squinting his eyes and smacking his lips.

“Yeah, I think we can stay a little bit longer,” he concluded.

You insisted to go back inside, with the half-joke that your drinks are getting warm. You grabbed both of his hands and led him out of the Mantis, the pair of you head back into the castle hand-in-hand. Along the way, he pulled you to him until he could lock his arms around your waist and embrace you, bury his nose on your shoulder and then sneak little kisses on your ear. Your giggles echoed on the outer foyer of the castle until you got back inside and rejoined to catch up with the crew and Maz.

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artificialqueens · 4 years

Text

You Know You Love Me, Chapter 8 (Branjie) - Kiki

A/N: Not it being almost a month since I updated this lmao. Honestly, is anyone being productive right now? (Pls say no to make me feel better lol) I hope everyone is doing good and I hope you enjoy this chapter, just 3 more left until it’s finally finished!

Saturday was Brooke’s favourite day of the week.

She got to wake up whenever she wanted, she didn’t find herself rushing to make it to school on time and she could fill her day with all of the things that made her happy.

She woke up in a good mood since there was no alarm clock blaring at her in the early hours of the morning and she felt at ease. She knew that today was going to be a good day for three reasons; she was able to spend the rest of the morning and afternoon completely relaxing and doing absolutely nothing, there was a big Halloween party happening that night so she would be able to dance and drink and have fun with her friends and, the biggest reason; she got to see Vanessa.

Brooke put her furry slippers on and slowly walked down the stairs of her penthouse apartment and found herself immediately walking over to the coffee machine. Her body was on autopilot as she prepared her first coffee of the day and made a quick breakfast of fruit, yoghurt and granola.

As she walked to the living room with her breakfast, she turned on the TV and sat down on the soft leather couch and wondered exactly what she was going to do today. It was already 12pm (she had definitely slept in for longer than she intended to) and she had to be at Vanessa’s at 3pm to have lunch with the girls and start getting ready for the party. Vanessa wanted Brooke to help her curl her hair and Brooke wanted Akeria’s help with her eye makeup so they all figured it would just be easier to get ready and travel to the party together.

She decided to have Gilmore Girls on in the background (this was probably her fifth time re-watching it) while she scrolled through her phone. After spending a couple of minutes on Twitter and Facebook, she got bored of looking at other people’s social media feeds and was about to put her phone away until she saw it: a Gossip Girl blast entitled “Vanessa Mateo Gets Her Revenge”.

She immediately clicked on the link and saw that the post went up last weekend. She couldn’t believe she missed it for so long, usually she clicked on anything that Gossip Girl put up about her friends straight away, especially since the post that she had put up about Brooke and Vanessa.

Brooke was extremely confused while she read the post. There were pictures of Kameron being escorted away by her parents and…security guards? Brooke had to squint her eyes to focus on the three people in the background and her heart sank when she realised that, yes, it was in fact Vanessa, Akeria and Silky in the background with massive grins on their faces while Kameron was being dragged away.

Brooke scrolled down some more and saw that Gossip Girl had revealed exactly where Kameron’s parents were shipping her off to and Brooke Lynn couldn’t help but feel bad for her old friend. She knew how it felt when your own parents made plans to get rid of you and she couldn’t imagine how angry she would’ve felt if she knew that someone her own age had influenced her parents to make that decision.

Granted, Kameron did deserve some revenge after what she put Vanessa through. But being shipped off to reform school and probably never being able to earn back her parents trust? Brooke thought that was a step too far. Brooke wanted to call Vanessa about what happened but she knew that now probably wasn’t the best time, it would just end in a massive argument where they were both screaming down the phone at each other down. She thought about it some more and came to the conclusion that Akeria would leave out all the important details and would make it seem like it wasn’t that big a deal so that Brooke wouldn’t be angry at Vanessa. Silky was the only one who would want to tell Brooke everything purely because she loved to talk shit about anyone when she had the opportunity to do so.

Brooke grabbed her phone and called Silky, who picked up immediately. Straight away, Brooke demanded to be told exactly what had went down last weekend and Silky was more than happy to fill Brooke in.

“Ooh, Miss Brooke Lynn, I wish you could’ve been there to see the look on Kameron’s face. It was hilarious! And Vanessa was throwing shade and we were all laughing, it was a real good time. Shame the girl had to be literally shipped off for it to happen, but she got what she deserved.” Silky said smugly. Brooke could tell that Silky really didn’t care what happened to Kameron and only added in that last part to sound like a good person but Brooke didn’t have enough time or energy to focus on that bit right now.

She spent the next fifteen minutes drilling Silky with questions. She heard all about how they tried to get Vanessa to plan her revenge but Vanessa had been reluctant at first, how she had finally given in and they had spent hours combing through her social media and how Vanessa had text Kameron off of her phone.

Brooke couldn’t help but feel a bit used. She thought that Vanessa coming over with coffee for her and her mom was a really sweet and genuine gesture but now finding out that it had only been a distraction in one of her crazy revenge plans? Brooke was hurt.

“Brooke? You there?” Silky asked and Brooke realised that she must have zoned out towards the end of the story but she knew most of that from the Gossip Girl blast anyways.

“Yeah, Silk…sorry but I gotta go. See you later.” She promptly hung up and threw her phone to the other side of the couch, wondering what to do next.

—

On the drive over to Vanessa’s apartment, Brooke’s anger grew and grew. She had left her house with good intentions: she was going to go over there and have a civil and mature conversation with Vanessa about what she did and how wrong it was. But the closer the cab got to Vanessa’s street, the more upset Brooke felt. She knew that this probably wouldn’t end well and that they had a party to go to later and would have to at least pretend that they were getting along so that Gossip Girl didn’t write yet another story about them, but right now she didn’t care about any of that. Right now, all she wanted to do was scream.

As soon as the doorman let her in, she walked with a speed she didn’t know she had and found Dorota dusting the dining room table.

“Where is she?” Brooke asked angrily which startled Dorota. She pointed at the staircase with her duster and Brooke ran up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. She swung the door to Vanessa’s bedroom open and found the brunette laying on her bed in her pyjamas, painting her nails.

“Brookie! Hi!” Vanessa said while jumping up excitedly and running over to give Brooke a hug. Before she could reach her, Brooke’s pushed her back to stop her from getting any closer and Vanessa realised she wasn’t okay. She looked extremely pissed off, anyone with eyes could see that. But there was something else that only Vanessa could recognise because of how well they knew each other. Her green eyes were full of emotion and Vanessa frowned when she realised: Brooke was sad. Not just sad, extremely upset. “B…what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? Hmm, I dunno. Maybe the fact that you schemed and planned a freaking revenge attack on Kameron and got her shipped away to a reform school and didn’t tell me about it?” Brooke yelled as she talked and Vanessa was a bit taken aback. Sure, she knew Brooke was gonna be pissed off when she found out what Vanessa had done but she didn’t think she would care this much. Vanessa had to take a moment to recover and plan her next move because she really didn’t know how to reply to Brooke.

“Brooke…are you really that mad about it?” Vanessa asked quietly, wishing that Brooke was just pranking her and she didn’t actually care as much as it looked like she did.

“Are you seriously asking me if I’m mad that you got a girl shipped off to reform school, lied to me about it, told our other friends not to tell me about it, came over to my house to distract me while you stole my phone so you could pull a stupid scheme? Of course I’m mad, Vanessa! How could I not be?” Brooke’s voice was only getting louder and louder as she spoke and Vanessa knew she had fucked up big time.

“I’m sorry…look, B, I know you hate it when I do stuff like this but I can’t just let her get away with doing what she did to me. That’s not how I am. If she can try and ruin my life then why can’t I try and ruin hers?” Vanessa knew she sounded like a child who was getting scolded by her mother but she couldn’t stop herself from saying what she felt.

“Because your life wasn’t ruined, Vanessa, everything ended up fine.”

“No it didn’t! I was upset for so long after what happened and you know that!” Vanessa argued back, her anger levels now rising to match Brooke’s.

“You ended up with family and friends who supported you and no one dared to say a bad thing to you about it. She’s now being shipped off and probably hated by her parents because of this. You always act before you think, it’s like you think there aren’t any consequences to your actions!” Vanessa had to take a step back and try control her emotions after hearing what Brooke said. She didn’t know what she was feeling more; sadness or anger. Was Brooke Lynn really defending Kameron? After everything they had been through? “I just can’t believe you used me like that, Vanessa. I’m used to you tricking other people like that but not me.”

“I’m sorry, B…” Vanessa was willing to forget about Brooke Lynn defending Kameron considering how sad she looked at that moment. She couldn’t focus on being angry when Brooke looked like she was about to cry.

“That’s the thing, though. You’re not sorry. If you were sorry, you’d apologise to Kameron too. Her life is probably ruined now after this. Not to mention the fact that her family life is probably broken now too. You’re really not getting how bad this is, are you?” It was as if Brooke’s entire personality had changed. Two seconds ago she was holding back tears and now she was screaming at the top of her lungs. She knew deep down that she was more upset at how Vanessa had used her as a pawn in her scheme but she was playing it off as anger.

Vanessa’s personality had changed very quickly too. Just a moment ago, she had been willing to get on her knees and beg for Brooke’s forgiveness. She would’ve done anything to make her feel better. But defending Kameron twice? She couldn’t accept that. She was instantly filled with jealousy and although she absolutely hated it and even the thought of acknowledging that jealousy made her feel like shit, she knew she couldn’t ignore it.

“Why are you defending her so much?” Vanessa asked quietly. Brooke looked up and could see by Vanessa’s facial expression that she was pissed.

“What do you mean?” Brooke asked, not wanting to speak before she understood what Vanessa meant.

“I can understand you being mad that I lied to you. That I took your phone and used it behind your back as part of a scheme. I completely get that. But why are you defending her? Why do you keep emphasising how bad it is for her?” Brooke could see where Vanessa was coming from but she knew she was being irrational. This was supposed to be about Brooke being mad. Vanessa didn’t get to be mad too. That wasn’t fair. “Did you go yell at her after what she did to me? I’m pretty sure you didn’t. So why the hell are you so angry about what I did to her? Was she your little side chick or something? Are you mad I got your side bitch locked away?” Vanessa was fuming at this point and Brooke knew that this was going to end in a disastrous way.

“You cannot be serious right now Vanessa.” Brooke said sternly. “You seriously cannot be accusing me of sleeping with Kameron after I told you about what happened between me and her in the past.”

“Then why are you so pressed about it?” Vanessa asked with her eyebrows raised and a hand on her hip.

“Because it’s wrong, V! It’s such a shitty thing to do. I can understand Kameron doing shitty things but not you. You’re supposed to be my Vanessa. The one with a heart of gold. This isn’t you.”

“But you’re defending her! You’re on her side!” Vanessa yelled, angry tears forming in her eyes as she tried her best not to let them spill.

“No I’m not, V, there aren’t any sides here! I just want you to take some fucking responsibility for what you’ve done!”

“I’m fucking sorry, Brooke! I’m so sorry that I hurt you! But you’re literally picking her over me and I can’t accept that.” Vanessa’s tears slowly rolled down her cheeks and Brooke wanted nothing more than to wipe them away and kiss her better but she held herself back.

“I’m not picking anyone, Vanessa, seriously.�� Brooke rolled her eyes at how Vanessa was acting whilst Vanessa’s heart was breaking.

“You seriously wouldn’t pick my side over hers?” Vanessa whispered softly, looking Brooke directly in her eyes.

“I swear to God, Vanessa, for the last time: I’M NOT PICKING ANY SIDES!” Brooke couldn’t contain herself anymore. She felt like a volcano that had been due to erupt for a long time now.

“You’re supposed to pick me. You’re supposed to support me if someone does something bad to me, not defend the other person.” Vanessa was full on sobbing at this point, she couldn’t contain it.

“I can’t support you doing things like that. I just can’t.”

“That’s fine, but why do you have to defend her like that…it’s like you don’t even care how I felt, you just wanna make me feel bad for getting revenge on someone.”

“I do wanna make you feel bad, Vanessa, what you did was awful.” Brooke knew that she was being harsh. She knew that Vanessa was in her feelings right now and that she wouldn’t be okay with the things that Brooke was saying but she had to get them out. She couldn’t control it.

“Can you leave please? I don’t wanna talk about this anymore.” Vanessa mumbled as she wiped her eyes. She was so thankful that she skipped her makeup routine that morning otherwise she would’ve had mascara smeared all down her face.

“No, Vanessa, you need to grow up and deal with the consequences of what you’ve done.”

“Brooke, I’m so sorry about what I did to you. I feel so guilty about lying to you like that. But I won’t apologise for what I did to her. I just can’t.”

“I don’t think I can see you the same way as I used to then, V…” Brooke replied and Vanessa was coming to terms that whatever she had with Brooke was probably over by now.

“I knew this was too good to be true…” Vanessa whispered.

“What are you talking about?” Brooke asked out of frustration.

“You and me…we could never be together. It was too good to be true.” Brooke was shocked at Vanessa’s statement. She kind of just assumed they would work through this like they worked through everything else, but it didn’t seem like Vanessa had come to that same conclusion.

“V, stop…don’t say that.”

“No, it’s true. Because I can’t be with someone who defends someone who has wronged me and not only that, tries to act like they’re on some fucking moral high ground when I do something wrong. Newsflash, Brooke, everybody makes mistake. Nobody’s perfect. Are you really gonna act like you haven’t done and said some stupid shit in your life? Because I could probably list twenty things you’ve done if you want me to. But I’m not about to take this kinda scrutiny from you. It’s not okay. I’m not having you fucking roast me this hard every time I fuck up.”

“Well I’m not gonna let you get away with being a manipulative bitch and act like what you do doesn’t affect people.” Vanessa’s face immediately hardened and that was when Brooke knew that they had both taken it too far. To the point of no return. Vanessa took a deep breath in, told her to get the fuck out of her house, and stormed off into her bathroom and locked the door.

Brooke stood there stunned for a minute not knowing what she should do. But as soon as she thought about the things Vanessa had said again, anger was the only thing she could focus on and she stormed out of her bedroom and down the stairs. It was only when she got to the living room that she realised leaving would probably be the worst mistake of her entire life. She quietly walked back up the stairs and opened the door to Vanessa’s room as quietly as she could and what she heard broke her heart. Vanessa was openly sobbing as if someone had died. Brooke felt the anger leave her body all at once, as if it was never there. She walked over to the bathroom and sat on the floor, leaning against the locked door with Vanessa on the other side of it.

“V?” Brooke called out, hoping that Vanessa responded.

“Go away.” Vanessa sounded like she had a cold, her nose was all sniffly and her voice was hoarse from crying.

“Nessa, please…open the door.” Brooke begged, wanting nothing more than to hold the smaller girl in her arms. Vanessa didn’t reply so Brooke came to terms with the fact that she was going to be doing most of the talking for the moment.

“Listen, V…I’m so sorry. I can’t even begin to put it into words how sorry I am, I completely overreacted and I shouldn’t have done. I’m so so so sorry Vanessa.” Brooke had a hard time keeping her tears in but she knew that there had to be at least one of them not crying for this conversation to go successfully. All of a sudden, the bathroom door opened and Brooke was met with a puffy eyed Vanessa. She stood up and followed Vanessa over to her bed where they sat down. Vanessa immediately wrapped herself in her pink blanket, gently wiping her eyes with the corner of it.

“You didn’t overreact, B. What I did was dumb and I know that.” Vanessa admitted and Brooke knew that they were on a good path to recovery here, especially if Vanessa was admitting that she was wrong so quickly into the conversation.

“That doesn’t mean I should treat you like I did. I think I was just hurt that you lied to me and instead of dealing with that, I focused on the anger part because it’s easier to deal with.” Brooke smiled weakly and put her hand on Vanessa’s knee, stroking it gently. “I’m so sorry I let it go that far. I think I need to work on controlling my anger a bit.” Vanessa laughed softly at what Brooke had said.

“I’m sorry too, Brooke. I know what I did was wrong. I promise to stop meddling in people’s lives from now on…especially yours. I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you what I was doing and that I lied to you. It won’t ever happen again I promise.” Vanessa put her hand on top of Brooke’s hand on her knee and squeezed it gently. “Am I forgiven?” Brooke nodded and climbed up to be beside her on the bed.

“Am I?” Brooke asked as she wrapped her arms around Vanessa from behind and Vanessa nodded slowly, turning her head around slightly so she could see Brooke’s face. Brooke gently grabbed Vanessa’s chin and moved her face up before connecting their lips together and both girls shared a sigh of relief that they were on good terms again. Even though the fight was short, Vanessa was sure it was the worst she had felt in a long time, even worse than when Kameron had outed her.

The two of them knew that they still had a lot of issues to overcome but right now, all they wanted to do was focus on kissing each other…and they did. For about an hour. The only reason they stopped was because Silky and Akeria arrived to get ready for Halloween, otherwise they probably would’ve been there all night.

The girls spent their time doing their makeup and hair and finalising their costumes, listening to music and talking and overall, having a great time. Brooke had missed nights like this when she was in boarding school and spending time with all of her friends made her so grateful to be back. She couldn’t wait for the night ahead.

—

The girls arrived to the club that was hosting their school’s annual Halloween party in the black limo that Brooke had ordered and they were bursting with excitement. They had drunk numerous glasses of champagne on the short drive there and they were ready to have an amazing night.

Brooke had decided to dress up as Marilyn Monroe, her hair curled short to recreate Marilyn’s iconic waves. Vanessa had been speechless when she saw Brooke in the short dress but she had to force herself to refrain from doing anything for the sake of Akeria and Silky. Akeria had dressed up as a cheerleader simply because she was mad that their school didn’t have a cheer team and she thought it was a shame that everybody hadn’t seen her in a cheer outfit. Silky was dressed up as a Roman Goddess (Vanessa had been extremely confused as to how she was going to pull that off but she decided not to question it) and the costume consisted of a white bedsheet that she had wrapped around her body and strategically pinned in place. She was hoping that by the end of the night, the sheet would be gone and she’d be in someone’s bed and had told everyone proudly that the costume was worn for “easy access” only. Vanessa had decided to dress up as a salsa dancer and got her mom to design a super short red sparkly dress for her. It fit her like a glove and she had her hair down curled to perfection (with Brooke’s help) and she felt amazing. Brooke couldn’t stop staring at her ass and her legs because they looked so phenomenal in that outfit.

Brooke and Vanessa walked into the party hand in hand and absolutely everybody had their eyes on them. It was like royalty had just walked in. People parted to make way for them all whilst staring at them intensely.

Brooke gently squeezed Vanessa’s hand in reassurance as the group of four found the booth reserved for them and quickly ordered a round of drinks for their table. Brooke worried that Vanessa would start to feel anxious or upset with everybody’s eyes on the two of them but if she was, she wasn’t showing it. Akeria locked eyes with Vanessa and Vanessa nodded reassuringly, letting the group know that she was okay. They downed a shot of tequila each and quickly hit the dancefloor.

Usually, Vanessa would be all over her friends while dancing at a party like this. She remembered the party that happened the night before Brooke left for boarding school and how they had danced and grinded up on each other pretty much all night, but things were different now. Now, people knew her secret and they were definitely watching her to see what they would do.

Brooke could tell Vanessa was overthinking things as they were dancing. She was trying to appear normal but she was definitely focusing her energy on dancing with Akeria instead of with Brooke.

Vanessa wanted nothing more than to dance with Brooke and be all over her but there was something holding her back from doing it. She felt like a ten-year-old girl who was too afraid to tell her crush that she liked them. It was pathetic. She absolutely hated how she wasn’t feeling like her confident self. On any other day, she would walk through the halls of her high school with the exact same people that were in this club with her right now and not give a crap what they thought about her. She was trying her hardest to bring that confidence back to herself but it just wasn’t working.

She looked over to Brooke who was dancing and joking around with Silky. When Brooke saw Vanessa staring, she gave her a small smile and a discrete wink which made Vanessa smile in return. Brooke was the one who made her feel like she could conquer the world without even saying anything.

She was instantly brought back to what Brooke had said to her that night she had planned to run away: “You’re a Mateo, remember? People don’t tell you who you are, you tell them.”

“Fuck it.” Vanessa thought as she walked over to Brooke, grabbed her face and kissed her slowly. She could almost feel people’s eyes piercing into her (and also could hear Silky screaming loudly with pride) but she decided that she didn’t care. At the end of the day, she was the most popular girl in school for a reason and kissing Brooke wasn’t going to change that. When Vanessa pulled away, she could see Brooke was stunned.

“Wow…um, I wasn’t expecting that.” Brooke said, clearly flustered from the unexpected kiss. Vanessa giggled in response and went back to the other two girls and continued dancing with them. She felt so much better now that she didn’t have to restrain herself. She could confidently dance with Brooke and make everyone jealous that she was able to make out with the hottest girl at the party.

After a while, the DJ announced that he was going to play a song for all the couples and as soon as the slow song started playing, Brooke held out her hand to Vanessa.

“Ness, may I have this dance?” Brooke asked sarcastically and Vanessa accepted immediately (of course). Vanessa, being an absolute hopeless romantic, was dying on the inside. She felt like she was starring in her own romance movie and she loved how it was going. They spent the next few minutes wrapped in each other’s arms, swaying gently to the music.

Both of them were so happy that, even though the day had been eventful to say the least, it had still ended so perfectly.

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #branjie #lesbian au #gossip girl au #rich girl au #high school au #you know you love me #kiki #submission

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ananasik67 · 4 years

Text

Valentine’s

Hi @goldgalaxytea! I have finally finished your gift for the secret cupid exchange hosted by @thearcanasecretcupid! I am not an experienced writer, this is my first time writing a fanfic, so please feel free to provide feedback. Enjoy!

_______________________

It was already dark and the night sky was dusted with fainting stars. The tall Parisian lamps alongside the narrow streets of Vesuvia flickered with pink light. The lightbulbs have been changed in honor of the day of the lovers. The city hall’s members have ordered ten thousand roses of all shades to be planted in the centre square. A string quartet has been playing serenades since six o’clock, and small coffee tables have been set up outside by local cafes for the passersby to enjoy the evening. White doves were perched in pairs on the overhangs of the shops, while cats gathered in couples on the roofs of the houses. The night was to be promising.

Tia was getting ready at the magic shop. This year February was unusually warm, so they decided to wear a dress they have been saving for summer. After successfully applying the eyeliner, Tia excitedly skipped to the wardrobe and got the outfit out. The dress was absolutely stunning. The top part of the dress was made from yellow silk and delicately hugged the slim figure. The gentle v neck allowed for Tia’s new necklace with an obsidian gemstone to be worn. At the waist the ruffled skirt from see-through black fabric was layered in different levels, allowing for the legs to remain exposed and covered at the same time. After putting the dress on, Tia brushed their bangs slightly to the side. This way the hair, that was messily tucked into a braid crown, looked more elegant. Tia completed the look with matching rings and black sandals.

They were to meet with Asra in front of the baker’s shop. Tia was walking down the streets with a basket of gifts picked out for him. For some reason, they felt nauseous. No, those were the butterflies in the stomach, a typical occurrence when you are falling in love. They have been together with Asra for a long time now, but they couldn’t contain their nervousness. Maybe it was because Asra had been away for two weeks on one of his journeys, and tonight would be the first time Tia would see him. The basket contained multiple scented sandalwood candles, which Asra found very relaxing, along with a homemade massage oil extracted from rose petals and black leaf tea, which Tia divided and wrapped in beautiful blue sachets. These goods were gently covered with a pastel green shawl, which Tia picked up from the market place a while ago. It would go well with Asra’s purple eyes.

Tia reached the baker’s place promptly at 6 o’clock, the agreed time. Seconds seemed like minutes, and minutes seemed like hours. They could hear the faint festival sounds coming from the city square. There would be dancing soon, Asra would for sure enjoy it.

Suddenly, Tia felt a light brush of fingertips across their waist and warm breath tickled their bare shoulder. A gentle, whispered ‘good evening’ reached their burning ears. Tia instantly spun around and threw their arms around the magician, who almost stumbled back at the sudden movement. He quickly regained his ground and wrapped his arms around Tia tightly.

«I missed you so much,» mumbled Tia into Asra’s collarbone. They pulled back for an instant to look at the magician’s face. Tia’s trembling palm stroked his tanned cheek, fingers laced with his white curls. Their eyes met, and in a single moment so many unvoiced things were said.

«You are so beautiful,» Asra murmured quietly. As if pulled by gravity, the distance between the two closed. Asra’s eager lips linked with Tia’s, and moved as in a synchronized dance. Tia hungrily kissed him back, deepening the kiss. After a while, they had to break, gasping for air.

«There will be time for this later,» Asra smiled cheekily at Tia, «now, let’s grab some dinner.» Asra intertwined his fingers with Tia’s and led her towards the main square.

Once they reached their destination, Tia’s breath was taken away by how marvelous all the decorations looked. This year the people wanted a grander celebration than ever before, and they have really put their minds to it. Couples were seated at small, black round tables, on top of which stood delicate french candleholders and plates with exquisite thematic meals. Chatter was mixed with laughter and violin sounds.

«Come on,» Asra tugged on Tia’s arm, beckoning them to follow him further. Slightly confused, Tia followed Asra into an alley and into a poorly lit building. As they climbed the rusty spiraling staircase, Tia’s curiosity grew.

When they reached the third floor, a beautiful terrace spread itself in Tia’s view. The terrace had enough space to accommodate about eight people, but would not allow for much movement. It was facing the city hall, so the spectacle that Tia observed earlier could still be seen, just from an elevated position. Along the tiled floor stood massive jars which buzzed with fireflies of different colors. In the middle stood a table set for two, much like the tables occupied by the couples on the square. In the centre stood a basket of fresh-from-the-oven bread, a special delivery from the Baker. A big cheese platter with different jams and honey was the centerpiece.

«Care for some wine?» Asra poured expensive red liquid into a glass and was holding it out to Tia, who stood there in awe. They slowly took the glass out of the magician’s hand, feeling slightly speechless.

«Did-, did you do all this, alone, for me?» Tia finally managed to speak, as they walked toward the balustrade and leaning on it to observe the town. Asra came up to stand next to them, carrying a loaf of pumpkin bread in his hand.

«I wanted to do something special for you,» Asra chipped off a piece of the bread, and offered it to Tia. Tia chuckled before taking the bread out of his fingers with their mouth, making sure their lips brushed his thumb a little. A careless touch. Enough to send Asra’s blood pumping to his ears, coloring his face burgundy.

«Well, let’s get to eating then, before the breads cool down and become stale,» Asra quickly turned away from Tia to hide his blush and excitement. He has been away from them for too long. He wanted to enjoy a conversation with them before he lost any control of his body. They had the whole night ahead of them.

After finishing their dinner, Asra got out a blanket and some pillows and climbed to the roof of the building. It wasn’t very steep, so the Magician skillfully set up the area, and invited Tia to join him. They settled on the colorful blanket and prepared to take in the view - the lively main square just below, the gardens and the towering castle in the distance, the ocean that cradled merchants’ ships on the other side, and the breathtaking night sky above them.

«Where is Faust actually? I haven’t seen her today yet,» inquired Tia. As Asra’s familiar, Faust was always beside him, wherever he went.

«I have sent Faust to check up on Muriel. I did not have time to visit him lately, so I started to get worried,» Asra replied, trying to hide his concern from his apprentice.

«I am sure everything is just fine. We can go check up on him tomorrow, if you want. We could bring some fresh bread with us,» Tia cuddled closer to the magician, doing their best to reassure him. They hated to see Asra in distress.

«That would be great, I am sure he would love that,» Asra smiled warmly at Tia, squeezing their hand as a ‘thank you’. He gently pulled Tia closer to his side, and protectively wrapped his arms around them, stoking their back. Tia nuzzled their face into the cradle of the magician’s neck, planting a soft kiss there. They felt Asra hold his breath at this moment, which brought a cheeky smirk to the apprentice’s face. The night was going perfectly. No, even better than perfectly.

«Oh, before I forget, I wrote you something,» the Magician retrieved a small parchment envelope from his back pocket and handed it to Tia. The parchment retained a nice library smell, which has been adjourned with daisy’s sent. It was carefully sealed with burgundy wax. On the front side of the envelope in delicate black ink stood Tia’s name.

«But it is a magic letter. You can only read it in your dream.»

«What do you mean by that?»

«If you open the letter now, you will see blank pages. I put a spell on the letter so that only the recipient will be able to read it, and message will be revealed to them in their sleep. This way, only they will know, what the letter holds,» Asra smiled at Tia, before planting a quick kiss on their forehead.

Tia was still holding on to the letter, and they wouldn’t let go of it before they drifted off to sleep. The starry sky, the soft violin sounds, the fresh air, and the warmth of their lover. This is everything the ever wanted.

***

My dearest Tia,

So many years ago, I still remember that day. You were at the market, standing next to a cart with fruits. There were so many exotic ones to choose from, many of which I didn’t even know. The wind was strong, I could see strands of hair being thrown into your face from under the blue scarf that you wore. You bought a few apples. I wasn’t following you that day. I was just passing by, running some errands. But I happened to see you later at the port. The sun was setting, and you were sitting on the docks with your apples, starring out into the horizons behind the oceans. At the sudden whiff of breeze your scarf was violently ripped off from your head and shoulders, and carried by the wind, to me. The fabric stuck to my body, the wind urged me to take it. I saw you turn around and look at me with those grey eyes of yours. At that point, of course, I couldn’t see their true color, we were too far way. But my legs, on their own free will, instantly took me to you. You offered me an apple as a thank you. The way you smiled at me - I fell for it deeply. And when I looked at you, I saw the orange and blue colors mix in your eyes. I preferred looking at that version of the world rather than turn around and take it in as it was. That’s what I vividly remember to this day - your cashmere scarf, your sour apple, your smile, the world in your eyes.

If I could choose one day to have on a loop, I would choose that day. Some would say it’s foolish. I didn’t know your name, I didn’t get to hold your hand, I didn’t get to kiss you that day. And wouldn’t it be better to indefinitely be relieving those moments instead? As much as I want to do that, it was not the beginning of our story. None of us knew what we were in for. We wouldn’t realize it for a while either. We were simply in the moment. I would give anything for that brief minute. Because I saw something new, something I haven’t ever seen before. The reflection of the sun and the waves merged together, it was so breathtakingly beautiful. Later I realized, that it was your soul that I have seen. And I felt, like you saw my soul too. Otherwise I wouldn’t have felt stinging shiver seep through my chest, a strangely pleasant feeling. Maybe that’s what they call ‘love at first sight’.

Years later, we are here, celebrating the Lovers’ Day. On the roof, the stars and the night enveloping us. You know this, I have told you many times. But I will tell you once more. I love you.

Yours forever,

Asra

#thearcanasecretcupid2020 #the arcana #the arcana asra #the arcana mc #asra x mc #secret cupid #valentines

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metamorphicrocky · 5 years

Note

For a writing prompt, can we get a what if Gary watches a classic horror/action movie with Little Cato? I adore the way you write their interactions;w;

this prompt? absolutely wonderful. dadspeed was made canon so I immediately had to do this one because ohhh my god this is perfect. and thank you!!!

After a long day of running errands and doing maintenance on the ship, Gary tosses his jacket at the chair in his room haphazardly. He quickly rips his shirt off, hissing at the slight pull on his fresh scars and the tightness in his muscles from pretty intense labor. He kicks off his boots as he undoes his belt, then he slips out of his jeans.

He really needs a shower, but screw it. It can wait until after he wakes up. Gary snatches his pair of pajama pants from the floor because this ship just cannot get warm and puts them on. Oh, the softness of the new pants makes him even sleepier than he was before. His bed sounds so nice right now.

Without hesitation, Gary sluggishly climbs up the ladder to his bed and promptly collapses, his head hitting the pillow with a content sigh. He’s going to be surprised if he wakes up at any time before ten.

The blond slides underneath the sheets and closes his eyes, ready for a much needed—

Quiet footsteps can be heard outside of Gary’s room. It sounds like someone shuffling nervously in front of his door, and Gary really does not want to deal with people right now. Can’t it wait until he’s not dead tired?

So, he ignores it. Tries to forget that it’s even there. His eyes close, the sound being ignored. Gary begins to drift off to sleep, nuzzling his head into his pillow and—

A knock. At the door. Gary’s eyes shoot open as he groans into his pillow. It was quiet though, so maybe whoever it is will go away? Maybe it was an accidental knock? A second knock, louder and more certain than the previous one. Well, crap. Now he can’t ignore it.

Gary sits up, ready to tell the person to go away so that he can sleep when the person at the door whispers, “Gary?”

Oh shit. The man flings himself off of his bed, his tiredness nearly forgotten if it isn’t for the way he sways as he tries to rush to the door. Gary shuffles over to it, slapping the button on the wall, opening the door.

“Hey, buddy. What’s up?” Gary asks with a rough yet inviting voice, looking down at Little Cato.

The kid’s fur is matted down in certain spots, his mohawk an absolute mess in the worst case of bedhead Gary has ever seen. The poor boy is swimming in a pink shirt that he had to borrow from Ash—and he really means swimming, Little Cato’s shorts cannot be seen underneath it—after his clothes got ruined earlier in the day, and Gary doesn’t know why it’s so big on him when Ash isn’t that much taller than the Ventrexian. But Gary has to admit that it’s absolutely adorable, making the kid look much younger than his fourteen years from both that and his tired, messy appearance.

Little Cato rings his hands together, refusing to lift his head from where he’s currently staring at Gary’s stomach. “I’m sorry, you were sleeping so I can just—”

“—go away and be sad by myself?” Gary finishes sarcastically. His kid winces at the callout.

Gary sighs as he kneels down in front of Little Cato. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Now tell Gary what’s going on, or I’m carrying you like a sack of potatoes to your bed.”

Gary uses his flesh hand to tilt the boy’s head upwards, finally allowing them to make eye contact. He looks upset, almost on the verge of tears as he nervously bites his bottom lip. Little Cato’s soft hands grab onto Gary’s fingers as he pulls them away from the boy’s chin, and he fiddles with them to avoid answering the question for a moment longer.

“Can’t sleep,” he admits quietly, like it’s some sort of curse that shouldn’t be heard.

Well, Gary might pass out from exhaustion at any moment, so this will be a very quick comfort session. Distraction and making the kid fall asleep it is.

Gary stands back up with a grunt. Geez, he isn’t even that old, shouldn’t this wait another decade? Well, now that he’s thinking about it, being a parent probably is not helping the stress on his still healing body.

“Go get every blanket and pillow you can, we’re making a fort in front of the TV. While you gather the supplies for what is going to be the best pillow fort in all of existence, I am making us hot chocolate. Sound good, Spidercat?” Gary says cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood.

The kid nods and runs off, so Gary heads to the kitchen. This is the moment where Gary is very thankful that he knows the random information of how to make hot chocolate from scratch because otherwise, this would be an absolute disaster. Since hot chocolate is an earth thing, and definitely is not on this ship. As the new father quickly puts together the mix into a kettle, he fondly listens to Little Cato’s bare feet running around the ship back and forth in his quest. And he can’t help but just be glad that the kid is finally approaching him without worry. Well, there’s still some hesitation, but it’ll be better soon.

He hopes.

Gary turns the stove off and fills their ridiculous matching mugs—with the ugliest drawing of a fish Gary has ever seen that just says “habpy to sea u” because yes, the misspelling and terrible fish made them lose it so much in the store that they almost got kicked out—they bought while stopping for supplies the other day. He tops it off with some whipped cream and sprinkles because damn it if he’s going to make comfort hot chocolate, he has to do it right!

He carefully brings the two mugs into the TV room and sets them down on the side table. Gary stands next to his son who is just staring down the blankets with intense focus, his fingers to his chin in thought.

“You didn’t want to at least start setting it up?” Gary asks.

Little Cato rubs the back of his neck, his ears shrinking down onto his head as he laughs nervously. “I, um–I’ve never…done this before?” he trails off uncertainly.

Gary gasps, grabbing at his chest in pain. “What?! Okay, no, I am so glad that I am a genius because I cannot allow my son to continue on without ever making a CASTLE out of pillows and blankets. Buddy, prepare to have your whole world rocked.”

Gary grabs as many chairs as he can carry and gives orders to the kid on where the chairs should go, how to lay out the blankets right, and the optimal pillow positions. After about fifteen minutes of intense pillow forting, their masterpiece is complete.

“There. How’s it look, bud?” Gary asks, surveying the absolutely massive fort before him.

“It looks sick! Can I jump in it?” Little Cato is bouncing up and down in anticipation to get inside.

Gary ruffles his hair and nods. He uses his newly discovered dad reflexes, as Little Cato likes to call them, to whip out his phone and hit record to catch a video of the kid running and jumping straight into the nest of pillows. Little Cato lands with a soft thud and rolls around in it, laughing the whole time. Gary smiles, and he laughs as Little Cato turns himself into a burrito using a blanket.

Gary turns off his phone and slips underneath the small entrance to the fort to join his kid, grabbing their hot chocolates on the way. Little Cato unravels himself to share the blanket, taking his now lukewarm hot chocolate to take a big chunk out of the whipped cream.

“It’s nice in here,” Little Cato says, shifting closer to his dad. “How have I never done this before?”

“I have no idea, but it’s a crime that has now been remedied.” Gary wraps his arm around his kid, bringing him even closer and wrapping the blanket around them both tightly. “Now, what movie do you wanna watch?”

He shrugs, licking at the whipped cream and trying to get every single sprinkle. “You can pick, but it’s gotta have action. A lot. Like explosions and guns and everything!”

Little Cato makes an explosion noise, throwing his arms out and accidentally hitting Gary in the face in the process. They both laugh, but Gary can’t possibly let the kid get away without revenge. So he puts the kid in a headlock and ruffles his hair intensely.

His boy shouts in protest, even though he’s snickering, and he starts wriggling to get out of the hold. “Dad, come on,” Little Cato laughs. “Stop it!”

“Am I ruining your mane, little man? Because it was already a mess, hate to tell you,” Gary teases, but he lets goes of him with one final noogie.

The little rascal doesn’t even try to fix his hair once Gary lets go of him, he just smiles up at Gary as he starts scrolling through the movies available.

“Gimme a joke. The dad ones that Nightfall hates,” Little Cato says.

“Okay, wanna hear a joke about construction?” Little Cato nods excitedly. “Well, I’m still working on it!” Gary delivers enthusiastically.

The kid immediately dissolves into a pile of giggles, hiding his face against Gary’s side which only means that the blond can feel how hard the kid is laughing. Gary smiles fondly as he continues to scroll, his kid failing to calm down next to him. Despite Little Cato saying his first dad joke was lame, the kid has asked him for one at least three times a day.

“Oh hell yeah, you ever seen Iron Man?” Gary asks as he stumbles across the title.

Little Cato is still laughing, but he tries to respond anyways, “Never heard of it.”

Oh, Gary is really gonna have to teach this kid about all the classics soon. He can’t stand to think of his son having lived fourteen years and not knowing about Marvel.

“Oh, you’re gonna love it. It’s a superhero movie with a ton of action, sound good to you?”

The boy nods, so Gary hits play.

The two of them get comfortable as the movie starts, and the moment that Tony’s car gets blown up, Little Cato gets hooked. He’s annoyed that they had to go and show backstory, but he waits patiently.

Until the scene where Tony hooks up with the reporter, and Gary definitely covers the kid’s eyes as Little Cato says, “Ewww.” It makes Gary laugh.

They keep watching, and Gary can see Little Cato begin to doze off during the boring beginning, but the moment it goes back to when Tony got hit with shrapnel, his kid is wide awake and ready to watch.

The poor boy loves Yinsen, and Gary can’t do anything except watch his heart get broken. But it’s okay in the end since he gets really excited when he sees the suit in action. So excited that he leans forward and away from Gary, sitting with his legs crossed, his chin resting on his hands.

The blond stretches out his back and lays down with a content sigh. At this point, he stops watching the movie that he’s seen a bunch of times and instead watches his boy, who he’s also seen a lot, but watching Little Cato is so much better than the movie. The movie never changes no matter how many times he watches it, but Little Cato? The kid is constantly changing and growing as he experiences more things, and Gary loves seeing how he grows every day. The star-struck look in his eyes as he sees Tony build the kickass first suit makes Gary’s heart clench.

So, warm and content, focused on his son’s entertaining commentary about the movie, Gary drifts off to sleep in a pillow fort.

—-

“Gary! He just saved all of these people, and he did the cool walk away from an explosion thing?! This movie is so awe—”

Little Cato turns around, only to cut himself off when he sees the man behind him, laying on his side and absolutely passed out asleep. He smiles, then grabs the remote to pause the movie. They can finish it tomorrow when Gary is awake.

Little Cato drinks the rest of Gary’s hot chocolate, which is not hot anymore, and puts their mugs to the side. He carefully lays down next to him to avoid waking him up, and the kid gently adjusts the blanket so it covers them both. Little Cato cuddles up to Gary ever so quietly, a smile on his face as he closes his eyes.

“Night, Dad,” he whispers. “Love you.”

With that, Little Cato joins his dad in much needed rest.

#I really went ham on this one and I am living #merry your art always kills me so this prompt made me THRIVE #final space #gary goodspeed #little cato #dadspeed #nightfall #fs fics

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atinytokki · 4 years

Text

Walking in the Darkness

iii. Navigating the World

When the dewdrops were fresh and rosy strands bent the sky, there was a certain smell that flooded the senses with spring.

Spring meant summer break was on its way.

Yeosang would much rather be poking around in the rain-soaked dirt and trying to predict the weather from the clouds than driving to school, but he clutched his bag close and rested in the thought that he’d be able to resume his father’s memoirs during his free time.

The carriage driver pulled up and opened the door in silence as he always did, and Yeosang watched him go before steeling himself for the day ahead. His weekend was over, and it was back to ducked heads and ignoring sharp words.

He had slept deeply enough to disperse the fear of the stranger on the gravel last night, but the curiosity lingered. Who was out there that would dare threaten him?

Yeosang could think of only one person with enough guts, and he was currently walking into the classroom.

Rim Yongsoo.

The ringleader of all the other name-callers. He was too cowardly to lay a finger on the Kang family heir, but his words were spears from afar.

Yeosang had learned to deflect the sharp attacks by ignoring them when one day Housekeeper Sohyun had entered his room to find him crying over something a classmate had said.

The whispers couldn’t hurt him if he blocked them out, she had reminded him gently, so every day he sat in his seat as if he was the only one in the room.

If any of the bullies had gotten bold in his father’s absence, it would be Yongsoo.

For the first time in the past month, Yeosang opened his mouth before class to make his accusation.

“Yongsoo, you wouldn’t happen to recognise this, would you?”

Confidently, Yeosang pulled the rock which had been thrown into the observatory out of his bag and waved it in Yongsoo’s face.

The other boy took a moment before his face cleared of shock and turned accusatory. “When did you become interested in rocks, pansy? Aren’t you usually staring at the sky?”

Yeosang’s jaw clenched as snickers followed and he couldn’t help but defend himself. “Don’t call me pansy.”

“My mistake,” Yongsoo returned, saccharine voice accompanied by a fake frown. “I though you preferred it over damsel in distress!”

“Were you or were you not on my property last night?” Yeosang’s voice raised almost imperceptibly to break through the laughter sweeping the classroom.

“Your property? No, I don’t think it’s yours as long as your father’s around. Although I suppose if he actually drowns at sea this time...”

Yeosang’s face was burning and the rock clenched in his fist threatened to scratch him from how tightly he was holding it, so he slammed it onto the boy’s desk, interrupting yet another round of giggles.

“This is the last time I’m asking, Yongsoo,” he grit out, relishing secretly the way the bully’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Don’t make me take it up with your father.”

He had hit a nerve.

“No I wasn’t near your estate,” Yongsoo defended quickly. “I spent the night at Hyunjoon’s.”

Yeosang released the rock and turned to the other boy’s desk, asking with his eyes if he could confirm Yongsoo’s alibi.

Hyunjoon wasn’t a bully like Yongsoo and his lackeys, but he wasn’t exactly friendly toward Yeosang either. At the very least, he knew he wouldn’t lie about something like this, so Yeosang waited for him to adjust his glasses and clear his throat before answering.

“Yes, we were camping. Sorry, Yeosang, I would have invited you, but...”

But it was Yeosang.

No one wanted him at their gatherings, not when it took a carriage driver to bring him there and a stern talking to from their parents that they had better not injure him and risk legal action from the Navigator. He wasn’t much fun to play with anyway.

Yeosang lived inside a glass box that was too cumbersome to share with anyone else.

But he trusted Hyunjoon. Everything added up. Yongsoo hadn’t been at his house last night.

The teacher chose that moment to enter the room and interrupt the investigation Yeosang was conducting, and he immediately blushed and retrieved his rock before returning to his desk and blocking out the whispers that inevitably followed when he plucked up the courage to speak in class.

Yeosang worked diligently and tried not to spend too much time daydreaming about maritime adventures and mysterious rock-throwing strangers, but the moment he was let out for lunch, he couldn’t help but pull out his father’s journal.

Underneath a tree far from the other boys as they roughhoused, he opened to the page where he had left off.

If such things as miracles exist, I have just been the beneficiary of one. After much persuasion, Admiral Kim agreed to take the long way around the doldrums. He trusts my judgment and I insisted upon it after taking the morning measurements.

The easterly winds spelled doom and the pressure on my instruments, the smell and the stillness of the sea... all pointed to a massive storm on the horizon, waiting for us in the doldrums that lay ahead.

This. This was the often forgotten but extremely important facet of navigation that Yeosang’s father had pioneered.

Any sailor worth his salt could sense a storm before it hit, but with his weather instruments, Navigator Kang knew well in advance what was coming and just how big it would be.

Yeosang smiled to himself as he read the measurement report. His father was indeed a hero.

It will be twice as long of a trip to the pirate havens ahead, but the Admiral would rather have a ship and a crew to destroy them with than sail headlong into a disaster.

Yeosang turned pages and pages of entries as his father appeared to have grown bored with the day to day duties he fulfilled.

Soon he was called back inside and finished the rest of his lessons as quickly as he could get away with.

He was so absorbed in his father’s memoirs that he didn’t notice the carriage which had pulled up in front of the estate as he went inside and plopped down in the sitting room where Sohyun was setting up a snack for him, immediately delving back into his book.

The men complain increasingly of hunger and it has become difficult to even leave my room. Always another soldier begging at my door, always the stench of death when another has dropped of starvation.

Yeosang grimaced but read on.

Some are under the impression that we officers hoard the supplies for ourselves and have been caught stealing from our stores. I don’t know the amount of their rations, but we aren’t feasting like kings in the Captain’s cabin, I am sure of that.

“Yeosang, always with his nose in a book. What’s this?”

It was his sister Yeseul, peering over his shoulder and guessing aloud, “Adventure on the high seas?”

Immediately, Sohyun snapped to attention and pulled the book out of Yeosang’s hands, replacing it with his arithmetic homework before the boy had a chance to open his mouth.

A surprise visit from his older sister couldn’t have come at a worse time.

“You ruin everything, Yeseul,” Yeosang sulked, poised aristocrat’s son disintegrating into petulant young boy for a moment. “I thought Father was writing to make sure you were nearby, not in the house bossing me around.”

“Well, you seem to have lost your manners. I thought you might be happy to see me,” Yeseul huffed, sitting herself down daintily in the chair across from him. “And what are you doing reading adventure books? Father said you were supposed to be searching for an apprenticeship.”

She levelled a challenging glare at him and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes in return. No one brought out his sarcasm like Yeseul. “What’s it to you if I’d rather play pirate?”

Yeseul sobered at this, a cloud breaking over her face. “Don’t joke about those people,” she warned sternly. “They’re very real and they do horrible things.”

“I know, I’ve read about them!” Yeosang smirked, nodding toward the journal still in the housekeeper’s clutches.

Immediately, he realised his mistake.

Sohyun obediently handed the book over at Yeseul’s request, and all Yeosang could do was watch as the thing was scrutinised cover to cover.

“Father’s memoirs,” Yeseul finally said.

“You’ve read them before?” Yeosang temporarily abandoned his misgivings for a sense of awe that Yeseul had once had a sense of adventure in her own youth.

“Yes, I’ve read them. You and Father love to forget, but I did grow up here too, you know.”

Yeseul was much older, so she had grown, married, and moved before he could make any real memories with her.

“But the content of this is not suitable for an eleven-year-old.” She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow curiously. “He doesn’t know you’re reading this, does he?”

Yeosang sighed and hid his face in his arithmetic. That was answer enough for his older sister.

“Yeosang—”

“He gave me the key!” Yeosang protested, ignoring her admonition at raising his voice. “The key to the observatory, he gave it to me.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re allowed to go rifling through his desk,” she scolded primly. “And seeing as I’m in charge now, I’m confiscating it.”

Yeosang didn’t hold back his whining at this, but was promptly ignored as Yeseul changed the subject.

“I’ve decided to hold a ball this weekend. It’ll be your first, aren’t you excited?”

Yeosang blinked twice before realising she was looking at him with anticipation and stuttering, “Well, y-yes I suppose so, but... can’t you hold it at your own house?”

Yeseul tilted her head and tutted at him. “Yeosang, there hasn’t been a ball thrown here since, what? My wedding?”

“If you just want to use our ballroom, go ahead,” he sighed after a moment to work out what exactly she was getting at. “But I don’t have to be there, do I?

He was already tired of the constant bickering that was inevitable every time he and his sister met, and the confiscation of the memoirs meant he had to plan a way to get them back.

“Yeosang!” She was completely exasperated now, a hand brushing her hair back from her face and back into the intricate updo she had crafted. “I’m throwing this ball for you! To make some connections with potential masters— for your apprenticeship!”

Yeosang’s mouth clicked shut. He couldn’t very well argue with that. It would most certainly be a long boring night of adults ruffling his hair and breaking into his father’s best wines but he couldn’t think of any excuse to get out of it.

So he acquiesced for the rest of the day and waited until his moment.

He needed to get the journal back.

It was just after midnight when he crept down the carpeted hallway, lantern in hand, and halted outside the main guest suite.

Yeseul was a light sleeper, but Yeosang had an advantage. He prowled these halls in the dark much more frequently than she did, and though a misstep would land him in trouble, it was unlikely that he would make one.

Once he reached the door, he placed the lantern on the rug faced away from the door in case a sliver of light bled through the crack, and set his hand on the doorknob.

Painstakingly slow, he turned the knob silently and pushed the door open, creeping inside and closing it.

He would have to navigate in the dark.

As soon as his eyes adjusted, he spotted the book on the bedside table, at the bottom of a stack of invitations to neighbouring wealthy families for the ball that Yeseul had been working all day on.

Yeosang moved stealthily to her bedside, barely daring to breathe as he quietly slid the book out and slipped back out into the hall.

He’d have to read the rest of this section by lantern light and return the book so that she never knew it had been taken.

Yeosang knew he would be struggling to stay awake in class tomorrow, but the conclusion of this survival scene was too enticing to postpone.

Suppressing a shiver of excitement, he opened up to where he had left off.

The Admiral had hoped by now there would be an island, even if all it has for us is freshwater. But the sailors don’t call it the doldrums for nothing.

The Black Crow reached the other side after a long struggle, nearly half its crew killed without a fight. More and more, Yeosang was realising how massive the expanse of sea to the east truly was.

We have reached an island. I went with the exploration party to discover whether it was inhabited and while it was not, an empty fortification stood facing the west. I wonder if a civilisation once lived here and warred against our own people.

Admiral Kim wants to take the fortress for the Navy’s, but that left us in the uncomfortable position of not having enough soldiers to press on and sack the elusive pirate haven that still waits in the east.

I’ve shared my suspicions with the other officers that I think the pirate Jinyoung may have sent a faulty location to us on purpose. The Admiral is furious at the prospect, but I have to admit I’m still grateful for the opportunities I’ve had on this voyage to chart portions of the east. We begin our return journey at dawn, and will return with more men and supplies in pursuit of the pirate scum once more.

Yeosang sighed contentedly and closed the book on what seemed to be part one of his father’s adventure memoirs. It wasn’t as storybook perfect as the adventure novels he adored, but that was life.

Once more he snuck into Yeseul’s bedchamber, this time with the added challenge of moving all the invitations to put the book back in the exact same spot.

He worked a little more carelessly than he had the first time, sleep pulling at his eyelids and making him impatient to be done with it, but the slight rustle of the invitation stack falling over and halting as Yeosang caught it was incentive enough to slow down.

As soon as everything was positioned to his satisfaction, Yeosang inched his way back out and only exhaled when the door was shut and he was on his way back.

He settled into bed to catch a few hours of sleep before his school schedule forced him awake, blissfully unaware of the stranger that lurked outside.

...

A/N: Thanks for your patience guys <3 I’ll be finishing the semester with some exams and papers this week, and as soon as that’s finished you can expect me to be more active. Until then, enjoy and don’t forget to comment/reblog!

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