Tumgik
#But yes I am going to block you and still vague about it years later when you shouldn't care to see it anymore and you shouldn't try
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I wasn't about to say anything to this annoying little bitch because they're 18 but when I tell you that aro/aces in this fandom are literally trying to police people for merely being attracted to Alastor now like??? This is why I'll keep on saying that some of you (aro/aces) are insufferable as shit and need to shut the fuck up?
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Or how 'bout
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Or how 'bout if Alastor respected Vaggie and hadn't sexually harassed her by way of chin tickling and arse slapping, I wouldn't in turn look at him disrespectfully and want to give him a taste of his own touchy feely medicine?
How 'bout fans can do and feel whatever they want about Alastor cause he's not real and how 'bout everyone should stop treating fictional characters like they're real when they're not real? Including goddamn fucking Valentino...
How 'bout another reminder to stop clogging the actual queer and ace tags on tumblr that real ace people might be using to find real community and resources, with posts about a goddamn fucking ~"tumblr sexy man"~ fictional serial killer cannibal because I'm sure that real aspec people trying to look for real resources in real life are sick of all the goddamn fucking fiction by now???
How 'bout "You can write about a characters sexuality/fucking/getting fucked, but you're not allowed to explore or acknowledge any sexual attraction to them while you're writing about them being sexual and having sex, which would inherently require taking sexual attraction into consideration in order to even do that, but you're not allowed to, because that's disrespectful!" is officially the most bullshit moronic take I've ever heard...
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piracytheorist · 1 year
Note
rose quartz and watermelon for pink asks!
rose quartz: what’s your love language (romantic or platonic)?
Quality time. Even eating together in silence makes me feel connected. What I remember the most with people is the time I spent with them. Like, I remember visiting a family friend my age some 15 years ago and I still remember how we went shopping and then watched a film in the cinema. Physical touch and acts of service are close. I am very bad at words of affirmation and gift-giving XD
watermelon: have you ever had to reject anyone romantically? how did it go?
Oh LMAO yes and it was cringey and awkward but also funny from my side
So while I was studying in university I got into playing D&D. I was part of a main campaign with a set group of players, and then I was also joining small "one-shot" campaigns with another group, which was not always the same people since this style of playing allowed for people to join and leave and join again whenever they wanted.
So I met this guy in that second group. I was like 23 and he was like 27. He was sociable and open and played a good game and all that. Suddenly one day I see he's sent me a text on messenger going like "hi pretty :)"
I was frozen. I was looking at my screen going like "he for real?" I had never had someone experience interest in me before, and it was the first time he was being so upfront about it, so I didn't know what to do and I left him on read.
But we did meet a couple days later for a game. He took me aside and tried to explain himself BUT IT WAS SO CRINGE. He was like "I didn't mean anything by it, I could have said anything else, I don't know why you completely ignored me" and I can't properly translate what he said but if I could you would understand how cringe his attempt at explaining was. I was open about how awkward that made me feel... by barely speaking. I was shrugging and barely said anything to him. He didn't push me or make me feel uncomfortable, but the mere effort to try and cover up himself after he was left on read after HE initiated romantic interaction had me feeling so, so awkward that this is all I remember from this dude now.
Oh there was also another time where another guy I knew very vaguely from my university started chatting with me and like ten minutes into the conversation he asked me if I was interested in sex, I told him no and then he said "ah okay understood :)" and then he blocked me. Which like, okay dude lmao. At least this one was upfront about what he wanted and took the rejection a little better.
Send me pink themed asks!
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rubysunnday · 3 years
Text
reluctant caretaker
A/N: this is a very self indulgent fic, lol. it’s a comfort one for me right now
summary: having three younger siblings often meant Y/N was put in charge of looking after them. But sometimes her older siblings need some help too.
Aka, eight times Y/N did Anthony's job for him and one time he became her father
The trouble with having three younger siblings was that Y/N often got waylaid with looking after them and keeping them occupied. She didn't mind it - it was actually quite enjoyable to watch Hyacinth attack Gregory and to help Francesca with her pianoforte.
But sometimes, Y/N found herself becoming an older sibling to her own older siblings. When the weight of their responsibilities became too much, Y/N was there, like a rock that survives countless storms.
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Hyacinth
Hyacinth and Y/N were two of the closest Bridgerton siblings in the entire household. They'd been close ever since Hyacinth's birth - the two becoming thick as thieves despite the years between them.
Hyacinth's beautiful, angelic face often helped Y/N escape the wrath of Anthony whenever Y/N snuck out the house and Y/N returned the favour by helping Hyacinth hide from the siblings she upset and by supporting her chaos.
It was a quiet day in the library and Y/N was minding her own business, organising the books and cleaning the room in general. The library had become a special place for her - her safety room,
“Y/N, hide me!” Hyacinth squeaked, skidding around the corner and running directly into Y/N’s legs.
“Wait, what?” Y/N asked, frowning, stumbling at the force of her little sister running into her. She grabbed
“Just, help me!” Hyacinth repeated, her eyes pleading.
“Hyacinth!” Anthony bellowed, his voice bouncing off the walls. Y/N could hear him marching up the stairs towards the library.
Y/N’s head shot up at the bellow and looked down at her little sister with wide eyes. “What did you do?”
“Please, I’ll tell you afterwards,” Hyacinth said, begging.
Y/N sighed and looked around for somewhere to hide Hyacinth. The library was big and didn’t have any decent hiding places. Y/N lifted her long dress up. 
“I swear, Hyacinth, you owe me,” she replied as Hyacinth crawled under the fabric, pulling it over her body. Y/N arranged her layers of skirt over her little sister and then pulled her shawl around too.
“Hyacinth!” Anthony bellowed again as he stormed into the room. He spotted Y/N organising the books and turned to her.  “Y/N, have you seen Hyacinth?”
Y/N shook her head and shrugged. “No, I have not. Sorry, brother.”
Anthony growled. “If you do, send her to me.”
“Why, what has she done?” Y/N asked innocently.
“She put a frog in my desk drawer,” Anthony snapped. “It’s hopping around the house, Colin is trying to catch it.”
Y/N tried not laugh, pressing her lips together. “Oh. Of course, if I see her, I shall send her to you.”
Anthony stormed off, out of the library. Y/N lifted her skirt up and narrowed her eyes down at Hyacinth.
“A frog, seriously?” She asked as Hyacinth crawled out.
“He took my book away,” Hyacinth replied, looking like an innocent angel.
Y/N rolled her eyes and shoved Hyacinth towards the door. “Shoo, I do not want to get in trouble with Anthony.”
Hyacinth rang off and Y/N resumed looking for her book. 
“Hyacinth!”
Y/N burst out laughing as she heard Anthony bellow at Hyacinth, his yell quickly followed by Hyacinth’s shriek and the sound of someone charging down the stairs. Y/N shook her head and smiled, laughing as she heard more yelling and shrieking from her sister.
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Gregory
Y/N walked past Gregory’s room and glanced in as she passed. She paused and walked back, taking a look at Gregory and noticing him crying.
Y/N knocked on his door. “Gregory, what’s wrong?”
Gregory sniffed, wiping his eyes as he looked up at his big sister. “My mouse died,” he said softly, hiccuping.
Y/N’s eyes softened and she walked into her brother’s room, crouching down on the floor next to him and putting an arm around his shoulders.
“Oh, Greg, I am sorry, darling,” Y/N said, stroking his hair.
Gregory had found the mouse lurking in the kitchens one night and - despite the rest of the family telling him to get rid of it - Gregory had kept it, named it and given it a home.
And it had stayed in Gregory’s room for the past three months. Y/N had grown accustomed to checking in on the mouse whenever she went into her brother’s room and knew how closed he’d gotten to the rodent.
“Colin took him away,” Gregory whispered, more tears leaking out his eyes. “And I do not want to leave him but mother is insisting on everyone going to the party -”
“Hey, Gregory, calm down,” Y/N said gently. “We do not have to do anything with your mouse until you are ready. And I will stay by your side this entire party, alright?”
Gregory nodded and gave her a watery smile. “Thank you, sister.”
Y/N pressed a kiss to his head. “Always.” 
The floorboard outside Gregory’s room creaked and Y/N turned and looked to see who it was. Anthony stood outside the door, dressed in his waistcoat with his shirtsleeves rolled up, and gave her a smile, mouthing a thank you to Y/N. 
Y/N nodded and gave him a returning smile.
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Francesca
Y/N eyed Colin. “Brother, that waistcoat is beginning to look a little snug.”
Colin let out a gasp and turned to face her. “How dare you!” He said, hand flying to his chest. “I was not going to say anything but your dresses are beginning to look a bit tight.”
Y/N gasped and whacked Colin’s arm, dodging the shove he aimed at her. “Colin!”
The front door slammed shut and Y/N looked up as Francesca stormed towards them.
“Hey, Franny,” Y/N greeted, smiling.
Francesca didn’t acknowledge her. She shoved past her and Colin and Y/N got a glimpse at her tear stained face as she ran past.
“Francesca!” Colin called, brow furrowing in concern at how upset his sister was.
“Leave me alone!” Francesca yelled, running up the stairs. A few moments later, her door slammed shut.
“Oh, I will go,” Y/N muttered, heading up the stairs after her sister. “Maybe run around the block and work off the bacon you ate at lunch.”
Colin gasped and let out a stuttered mess of insulted sounds as Y/N laughed and walked up the stairs.
Francesca had shut the door behind her but didn’t lock the door. Y/N knocked gently on the door but when she didn’t hear her sister reply, she opened the door and walked inside.
Francesca had dramatically flung herself face down on her bed and was quietly sobbing, her shoulders shaking.
“Oh, Franny,” Y/N said quietly, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her sister and putting a hand on her back, rubbing it gently. 
Y/N had no idea what was wrong or what had happened to upset Francesca so much, but she didn’t need to know the specifics. Her sister was upset and needed her big sister on her side.
“Anthony is horrible,” Francesca sobbed. “He said such horrible things about the Earl of Kilmartin and he knows I like him, Y/N/N, he knows.”
Y/N sighed, stroking Francesca’s hair, twirling it around her finger. “Anthony is... well he is Anthony. He is very protective of us, Franny - he had to become a parental figure to all of us when he was barely an adult. I do not blame him for having his reservations about the Earl but know that anything Anthony says is... the majority of the time out of love.”
Francesca rolled over onto her side and looked up at her sister with teary eyes. “Can you talk to him?”
Y/N smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind Francesca’s ear. “Of course I can, my love. I shall tell him how ridiculous he is being and that you do not want to hear another word out of him until he can say something nice.”
Francesca giggled and sat up, hugging her sister tightly. “Thank you, sister. Truly.”
Y/N returned the hug. “Anything for you, Francesca.”
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Eloise
Y/N concentrated on walking down the stairs, holding the hem of her dress up so that she didn’t trip over. She still wasn’t use to heels.
“You look like a newborn foal, Y/N,” Benedict called, eyeing her with a laugh as she gripped the bannister tightly.
“I detest these heels,” she muttered, taking Benedict’s offered hand and letting him guide her down the rest of the stairs.
“Do not let Eloise hear you say that, she will go off on a rant,” Benedict teased. 
It was if mentioning her twin sister’s name summoned her. Eloise suddenly burst out of Anthony’s office in a flurry of expensive silks and tears and ran past Y/N and Benedict. Both siblings stared after her, wincing when the door slammed loudly, shaking the walls.
“What is it with my siblings and running past me in tears?” Y/N asked, despairing. “This is the third time in as many weeks! What did you say, Anthony?” Y/N asked, turning to face her eldest brother with a hefty sigh.
“I merely mentioned her debut again and she got upset,” Anthony replied, shaking his head. “I shall talk to her.”
“No, do not even think about it,” Y/N said, halting Anthony by stepping in front of him. “You will make it worse. I shall go.”
“Wait, Y/N, I’ll come too,” Benedict called.
Y/N paused on the stairs and raised her eyebrows at him. She snorted. “Oh, this will be entertaining.”
Benedict gave her a confused look but shrugged, following after Y/N as she walked up the stairs and to Eloise’s room. Every time Eloise’s debut was brought up, she was bound to get upset or angry. It was the one subject that made her loose her judgement and her cool exterior.
Benedict knocked twice on Eloise’s door. “Eloise?”
“Go away, Benedict!” Eloise yelled and something hit the door with a hefty thud/
Benedict looked vaguely offended and took a step back from the door with a frown.
Y/N smiled to herself and chuckled. “That is exactly what I thought would happen,” she said, crossing her arms and looking up at her brother. “She thinks you’re going to gang up on her.”
“But I’m not going to.”
“Yes, but try telling that to an emotional teenager who’s big brother has upset her,” Y/N replied. “Go downstairs, I will be ten minutes.”
Benedict grumbled but trudged off down the corridor. Y/N waited for him to disappear and then gently knocked on Eloise’s bedroom door.
“El, it’s me,” Y/N called.
There was silence and then the door was unlocked and Eloise appeared, her eyes red. 
“How do you do it?” Eloise asked, sniffing.
Y/N frowned. “Do what?”
“Be perfect. Be the perfect daughter and sister all the time,” Eloise elaborated. “I cannot do it and it is so difficult to pretend.”
Y/N smiled at her. “I have been practicing for years, darling Eloise. It is all an act. I am not perfect and certainly not perfect all the time. I am merely perfect enough that mother and Anthony forget about my flaws.”
“How did you get through your debut?” Eloise asked and Y/N could see the genuine fear in her eyes.��“How do you cope with all those people looking and watching.”
“For my debut, I relied on Colin,” Y/N replied honestly. “He never left my side unless I was absolutely certain I could manage on my own. Unlike Anthony, there was no judgement or constant interrogation of the suitors. He just listened to me. And after a while, the constant watching and looking does not bother you. It becomes background noise.”
Eloise dropped her head onto the edge of her door and closed her eyes. “I have hardly even begun and I am already exhausted.”
“I know.”
Y/N reached out her hand and grabbed her twin sister’s. Eloise squeezed her hand in return and gave her a tired smile. 
“But I will be with you every step of the way, sister,” Y/N promised.
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Daphne
Daphne and Y/N had never been particularly close. They were complete opposites growing up - much like Eloise and Daphne were now - and were constantly arguing with one another. But ultimately, they did love each other.
As Y/N grew up, she looked to Daphne for help and guidance and her sister had provide it. But Y/N could tell that her sister was struggling. With her new life as a duchess, as a mother and as a wife.
“Daphne.”
“Yes, Y/N?”
The two were enjoying afternoon tea in the sprawling garden of Hastings House, watching the swans in the lake nearby.
“Are you alright?”
Daphne set her tea down and looked at Y/N. Y/N reached out a hand across the table and gripped Daphne’s, rubbing her thumb over the back of it and giving her a smile.
And that was all it took for Daphne to break down crying at the little table they sat at.
Y/N moved her chair to sit next to her sister and put her arms around her, comforting her as she cried. She didn’t have a clear idea of what Daphne was going through - being a mother was hard in its own right. But Daphne was also running an estate, being a duchess and also trying to navigate high society.
“You know, I am not a mother - or a duchess, for that fact - but what I do know is that I do not know anyone who is stronger than you, Daph. Mother does not count,” Y/N added quickly, noticing Daphne lifting her head up to object.
Daphne gave her sister a watery, emotion filled smile and sat up, taking a deep breath in. “Thank you, sister.”
Y/N smiled, picking her cup of tea up again. “You are welcome. Now, do we have anymore of those biscuits?”
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Colin
Y/N was having deja vu. 
What was it with her siblings and locking themselves in their rooms whilst crying? 
“Someone should go talk to Colin,” Anthony said quietly, setting his newspaper down.
There was an obvious empty space at the breakfast table in between Benedict and Y/N where Colin usually sat. Ever since the Marina incident, Colin had hardly spoken or come out of his room. Wisely, no one had said anything about it. Violet was engrossed in Lady Whistledown, Hyacinth and Gregory were, for once, behaving themselves, and Eloise was quietly cutting her pear up into thin silces.
“He won’t listen to me,” Benedict replied quickly, taking a bite of his toast.
“I am the last person he will want to speak to,” Anthony added, sighing.
The two older brothers both turned to look at Y/N.
Y/N, who was mid bite of her apple, turned to look at them. “What?”
“Well, you are good with crying siblings,” Anthony began.
“Only because you are normally the one who has upset them,” Y/N countered, turning back to her breakfast, 
Anthony raised his eyebrows. “Y/N.”
“Oh, fine,” Y/N grumbled, shoving her chair back loudly. “I should really be getting paid for this, honestly.”
Colin’s room was next door to Y/N’s. She paused outside it and sighed. 
“This is deja vu,” Y/ muttered, raising a hand, knocking hard on the door. “Colin?”
Colin didn’t reply. Y/N dropped her head on the door and sighed. She grabbed the handle and twisted it, hoping it was open. It swung open with a creak and Y/N poked her head around the wood.
Colin was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with red eyes. He lifted his head and looked at her.
“Hi,” Y/N said quietly, closing the door behind herself and walking further into the room. “You left me on my own at breakfast.”
“Sorry,” Colin muttered.
Y/N walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, nudging Colin to move further over to let her lie down next to him. Colin shuffled over and Y/N laid down next to him, not caring that she was crinkling her dress or ruining her hair.
Colin didn’t talk. Y/N wasn’t expecting him to. But she also wasn’t expecting him to lift his arm up and wrap it around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. Y/N let out a surprised noise but returned the hug, wrapping her arms around his side as best she could.
“Just so you know, they all practically drew straws as to who would come and talk to you,” Y/N said, her voice muffled by Colin’s waistcoat.
“Well, you are an expert now,” Colin replied, his voice a little croaky. “Four siblings now?”
“Do not even get me started, Colin,” Y/N replied, laughing softly. “When I eventually have an emotional break and lock myself in my room, you all better take it in bloody turns.”
Colin laughed, hitting her shoulder as she swore. His laughter faded and he tightened his arms around her but Y/N didn’t mind. It was often the two of them had a moment just them with no one watching or staring.
“Listen, if you come to breakfast I will not throw my orange peel at you,” Y/N said, lifting her head up. “I will happily give you the bits of my bacon that I do not like.”
“Will you give me your extra sausage?” Colin asked.
“I will give you all of my bacon if you give me a sausage,” Y/N countered.
Colin unwrapped his arm from around Y/N’s shoulders and held his hand out to her. “The deal is the deal.”
Y/N snorted. “You did not just quote my favourite book at me,” Y/N said, widening her eyes. 
Colin shrugged but his eyes were twinkling for the first time in a few days. Y/N giggled and dropped her head on to a pillow.
“I hate you,” Y/N groaned.
“No you do not,” Colin replied, all but shoving Y/N off his bed. “Now, you have promised me your bacon.”
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Benedict
Y/N looked up as another ball of paper whizzed past her head, missing the bin and landing behind it. The bin was beginning to disappear underneath the numerous scrunched up balls of paper. Y/N wisely didn’t say anything, turning back to her book.
Benedict growled, ripping another piece of paper out his sketchbook and launched it at the bin. It missed the bin entirely and smacked Y/N in the head, landing in her lap.
“Sorry,” Benedict called.
Y/N raised her eyebrows at him but said nothing. She picked up the ball of paper and opened it, smoothing it out against the front of her book. “What’s wrong with this?”
Benedict looked up. “The shading is all wrong, the body looks weird...” Benedict sighed and ripped another piece of paper out. He threw it at the bin but it hit Y/N again.
“Alright, do I need to move or are you going to stop hitting me with balls of paper?” Y/N asked, closing her book and raising her eyebrows. “I can move the bin closer.”
“Sorry,” Benedict sighed, closing his eyes and dropping his head back.
Y/N looked at her brother. She unfolded her legs and stood up, walking up to him. She took the sketchbook from his hands and flipped through it.
“What is wrong with these?” Y/N asked, frowning as she perched herself on the arm of the chair her brother was sat in, leaning on his shoulder. 
“They do not look... right.”
Y/N raised her eyebrows. “Why?”
“The angle is weird -”
“Then move the object or move yourself,” Y/N said simply. 
“It isn’t just that,” Benedict said. “Every drawing I do I find myself comparing it to other works of art.”
“But they’re not your style,” Y/N replied. “You cannot compare a Van Gogh to a Holbein because they are completely different styles. You just have to find your own style, Benedict.”
“When did you get so wise?” Benedict asked, looking up at her with genuine admiration and curiosity. 
“Oh, I think it is due to the constant pep talks I have to keep giving my siblings,” Y/N said, smiling, pretending to ruffle her imaginary feathers.
Benedict smiled. He nodded to the chair opposite him. “Go sit over there.”
“Why?”
“Just sit over there,” Benedict insisted, shoving her off the arm of the chair.
Y/N sat down on the chair and frowned at him. “Are you going to draw me?!”
“Well, you said move the object.”
“Wait, you were drawing me?!” Y/N exclaimed.
“Hush, you,” Benedict called, pressing a finger to his lips. “I am concentrating.”
Y/N giggled but didn’t move, just smoothed her skirt out and picked up her book again.
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Anthony
“Y/N!”
Y/N looked up with a frown, trying to work out if she had heard her name or not. Deciding she hadn’t, Y/N returned to the pianoforte, plonking the keys with no real intention. 
“Y/N!”
Anthony stormed into the room and came to a sudden halt as he spotted Y/N sat at the pianoforte. “Y/N, did you not hear me yelling?”
Y/N frowned and looked up. “Did you yell for me?” She asked.
“Yes!” Anthony exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “How did you not hear me?” Y/N looked pointedly at the pianoforte. “Yes, alright, point made, now come with me.”
Anthony turned on his heel and marched off. Y/N quickly stood up, almost tripping over the leg of the stool as she ran after her brother.
“Anthony, slow down a moment!” Y/N called, barely keeping up with her older brother’s long legs. “Anthony!”
Y/N ran down the stairs, somehow skipping the last three, and following Anthony into his office. He stopped suddenly in the doorway and turned to face Y/N.
Y/N, who hadn’t lost the momentum she’d gained running down the stairs, ran full pelt into her brother’s chest and squeaked as she lost her balance.
“Carefully!” Anthony exclaimed, grabbing her arms and holding her up.
“You are the one who stopped!” Y/N yelled back. “What on earth is the matter?” 
Anthony sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, there is just an awful lot happening, I did not mean to panic you.”
“Anthony, just take a minute to breathe,” Y/N said. “What do you need me for?”
“We have been invited to the Queen’s garden party, and I wanted to know if you were interested in coming,” Anthony said, turning and walking up to his desk. He pulled out the invite from amongst the rest of his paperwork and handed it to her.
Y/N ran her eyes over it and shrugged with a nod. “Yes, I suppose.”
Anthony nodded but Y/N could see that he wasn’t paying her any attention. Y/N sat down in front of his desk.
“Anthony, what is wrong?” Y/N asked softly, nudging his foot with hers when he didn’t reply. “Anthony?”
“There is just a lot going on with the estates, the land, your debut, Eloise’s debut, Benedict and Colin.” Anthony sighed and dropped his head. “I do not know how father managed it all.”
“Well, in all fairness, Anthony, our father was raised and taught how to do it. He had years of practice you were not even out of Eaton when you had to take over,” Y/N replied, folding her hands into her lap. “All of this stress is understandable, brother.”
Anthony looked at his sister with a wistful gaze. “When did you get to be so wise?”
“That is exactly what Benedict said the other day,” Y/N replied, smiling. “And all I did was tell him to stop throwing paper at me.”
Anthony chuckled. He stepped around his desk and came over to Y/N, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Oh, what would we do without you, Y/N?”
“Well, I would imagine that the house would be on fire by now and Eloise would have ran off to anywhere else in the country,” Y/N replied, smirking.
Anthony shoved her gently and Y/N giggled, resting her head on his arm. 
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Y/N
Her hands were shaking. She could feel the panic overwhelming her like a tidal wave and her stays felt suffocating even though Y/N knew they weren’t tight.
All she had to do was get through tonight and then everything, should be, fine. All she had to do was get through her first ball and then everything would get better. 
Y/N felt her eyes begin to sting and her throat close and took a shaky deep breath in as she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like herself but also didn’t look like herself. An imitation of herself looked back at her.
She had never been this nervous before. It was unusual for her to be this panicked and scared before a big event. Y/N let out a little sob and sank down into her chair, burying her face in her hands to try and control her emotion.
Someone knocked on her door and Y/N quickly tried to make herself look presentable and not like she’d been crying. 
“Y/N, come on,” Anthony called, walking in, the floorboards creaking under his feet, “we are all waiting.”
“I will be down in a second,” Y/N called, frantically trying to touch up her make up. 
Anthony walked around the corner and stopped. He knew Y/N and could see when she was putting a mask on and pretending. He could see her red eyes, her shaking hands, and instantly knew something was wrong.
“Y/N, what is wrong?” Anthony asked softly, slowly approaching her.
Y/N turned and looked at her brother over her shoulder. He gave her a soft, comforting smile, and she instantly broke down, her shoulders shaking and her hands hiding her face.
Anthony rushed over and knelt down in front of her, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her into his chest as she sobbed. 
“Alright, calm down, you’re ok,” Anthony whispered, rubbing circles on her back.
“I don’t think I can do this, Anthony,” Y/N sobbed, clinging onto him tightly. “I don’t know if I can be perfect like Daphne was.”
“You do not have to be perfect,” Anthony said, taking her face between his hands and making her look at him. “You just have to be you. And we will be with you every step of the way.”
Y/N nodded and sighed tiredly. She took a deep breath in and straightened up as Anthony wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“Ready?” Anthony asked, standing up and offering her a hand.
“As I will ever be,” Y/N replied with a smile, taking his hand.
2K notes · View notes
caitimetravels · 3 years
Text
she's insignificant
chapter 10: where you've gone
the umbrella academy x (fem) reader
disclaimer: i do not own the plot/storyline of the netflix tv series and i do not own the umbrella academy characters.
warnings: none
masterlist
with a sigh, y/n stood. five was still writing away behind her on the walls non-stop. she didn't dare interrupt him, simply leaving. she would be back anyways. all she needed was a nice walk. 
as she wandered down the street with no destination in mind she spaced out, eyes trained on her feet. suddenly someone knocked her shoulder and brought her back to reality. she raised her head, hoping they weren't someone looking to start a fight or argue with her.
"y/n?" instead she was met with allison. her technically older sister seemed frustrated.
"allison? are you okay?" y/n's eyebrows furrowed, looking up at the curly haired woman. 
"yeah.. i think so" she frowned, "i'm worried about vanya. she won't listen to me but her boyfriend, whoever he is.. i think he's dangerous. i couldn't find anything about him-"
"you went searching for his records?" y/n pulled back in disbelief, "allison! you know vanya doesn't like-"
"i know, she already got angry with me" allison sighed, shaking her head.
"why would you do that?" y/n tilted her head up at her, eyes narrowing incredulously. "where are you even going?"
"well, i found his address. i was going to see if anything's weird.." she earned a disapproving look, "i can't just sit around and do nothing y/n! please, help me, for vanya?"
y/n's expression only darkened, "why are you trying to ruin one of the only good things in her life?! she deserves to be happy for once and im not going to help you take that away from her!" she begun to shout, freezing as she realised her powers were getting out of control in the middle of the street. "just.. leave them alone!" 
she took off, hoping to get away, she needed to get away.
————————————————–
as the sweet melody came to soft halt y/n smiled up at her sister. vanya donned a similar grin, placing her violin down and joining y/n on the floor, cross legged and leaning back against her bed.
"one day, you're going to be amazing, v" y/n mumbled quietly, looking like she was in a slight daze, "more amazing than you are now.. you're going to be a famous violinist, i can see it now. 'vanya hargreeves, the world's best violinist'" 
vanya softly nudged her shoulder, shaking her head. "no way, the world? c'mon" 
"i'm serious!" y/n was adamant, sitting up straighter to see her better, "you're gonna be so cool! and everyone here is going to see you and say 'damn, wish i had seen how awesome our sister was back then' and you're going to have lots of fans!"
vanya snorted, shyly brushing her long hair to the side, "yeah, right"
".. you won't forget me when you're famous, right?" y/n leaned back against the bed to avoid direct eye contact, her voice was much softer now. "don't forget me.. okay?" she nervously side eyed her sister, trying to gauge her reaction.
"i could never" vanya shook her head, leaning into the h/c haired girl. both of them shared small content grins.
————————————————–
as she walked upstairs to five's room she heard a commotion, hopefully he hadn't gotten into a fight with one of their siblings again, right?
wrong.
"put her down" five snarled, holding a gun up to luther who held dolores' body out the window. y/n grinned at the sight, highly amused. who would have thought luther would ever threaten someone? well, y'know excluding their missions.. but five nonetheless? she leaned casually against the doorway, arms crossing and waiting for them to sort out whatever issue she walked in on.
"put the gun down, you're not killing anyone today. i know she's important to you so don't make me do this" luther paused, waiting to see what five would do. "it's either her or the gun.. you decide"
eventually five did decide that dolores was more important and dropped the gun before spacial jumping to catch dolores before she could fall. not that much damage would have occurred to the mannequin anyways, maybe a few scratches.
"i can keep doing this all day" luther spoke triumphantly, now holding the gun at his side. y/n snorted, catching their attention.
"you're such children" both glared at her in response, "c'mon, surely you have a better plan than whatever ended up in this-" she gestured vaguely between them, "squabble"
"we did not squabble" five hissed, placing dolores down and straightening his jacket. "but yes, i do have a one other plan" 
————————————————–
the three of them, five, luther and y/n, drove down an empty road before slowing to a stop. five unbuckled his seatbelt and sighed, looking around.
"you know, i never enjoyed it" he started and luther turned to him in confusion.
"what?"
"the killing. i mean i was- i was good at my work and i took pride in it but it never gave me pleasure" he took a deep breath, "i think it was all those years alone. solitude can do funny things to the mind"
"yeah well, you were gone for such a long time.. i only spent four years on the moon but that was more than enough. it's the being alone that breaks you" luther placed a hand on the briefcase, "you think they'll buy it?"
"well, what i do know is that they're desperate. it's like a cop losing his gun" he alluded, "if the commission finds out they'll be in deep shit, well not to mention that they'll be stuck here until they get it back"
"i should hold onto it" luther suggested, patting it with one hand.
"hm?" five's eyebrows furrowed,
"incase they make a move on you" he added to explain his point.
"okay, luther.. but be careful. i've lived a long life but.. you're still a young man, you've got your whole life ahead of you. don't waste it" y/n snorted and five turned to her, unamused.
"what?" they stared at each other for a moment before five shook his head, looking away with a small smile.
suddenly a car began to drive towards them and they all made to get out of the car. "here we go" five sighed again, he was doing that a lot, y/n realised.
the car continued to drive past them, stopping a few metres away.
"if this all goes sideways.. do me a favour and tell dolores i'm sorry" five turned to luther who nodded slowly.
as five walked away from them y/n leaned back against the car.
"i have a bad feeling about this" she nervously picked at her nails and luther frowned, looking over at her.
"why? what's wrong?"
"that.. i don't know yet" she looked down the road, "i just.. feel like something's off" she shook her head as five walked back, leaning next to her.
luther stepped forwards a bit, "what happens now?"
"now we wait" 
barely a moment later they heard the music of an ice cream truck. y/n squinted against the sun and wind, trying to work out who it was. she took a moment to focus, sensing klaus, diego and ben. uh oh.
as the car got closer luther turned to five, "is that her?"
"luther, you idiot" y/n shook her head, "it's klaus and diego" right on time klaus waved to them as they passed.
the two assassins begun shooting, thinking it was a set up and y/n raised her arms to cover her head as luther stepped in front of her and five to block any shots.
suddenly time stopped.. well, only for five.
he frowned down at y/n next to him, the girl cowering in on herself. he felt bad for bringing her into something like this but she was very persistent.
he slowly stepped under luther's arm, looking at everyone frozen in slight confusion.
"neat trick, isn't it?" a feminine voice called out behind him and he turned to face the woman he had asked to see. the handler. she stared at him, pulling the veil over her face up and onto her hat instead before pulling her sunglasses off.
"hello, five" she smiled, "you look good.. all things considered" she softly gestured to all of him.
"it's good to see you again" he nodded back,
"feels like we met just yesterday, 'course you were a little bit older then" she teased, "congratulations on the age regression, by the way. very clever, threw us all off the scent"
"ah, well, i wish i could take credit" five shrugged, looking away. "i just miscalculated the time dilation of projections and.. well, you know, here i am" his gaze met hers once again, throwing his hands up before putting them back in his pockets, casually.
"you realise your efforts are futile" the handler shifted so that her briefcase was behind her, "so, why don't you tell me what you really want?"
"i want you to put a stop to it" five moved his own hands behind his back. 
"you realise what you're asking for is next to impossible even for me" she shook her head, "what's meant to be is meant to be. that's our raison d'etre" 
"yeah?" five smiled sarcastically, pulling a gun from his shorts "well how about survival as a raison?" 
"i'll just be replaced, i am but a small cog in a machine" the handler waved it off, ignoring the gun pointing straight at her heart. "this fantasy you've been nurturing about summoning up your family to stop the apocalypse is just that.. a fantasy. i must say though, we'll quite impressed with your initiative, your stick-to-it-tiveness, really quite- quite something. which is why we want to offer you, a new position back at the commission, in management" the handler held a hand up, smiling like her offer was an obvious choice.
"sorry what's that now?" five scoffed as she stepped closer, hand tightening on the gun.
"come back to work for us again, you know it's where you belong" 
"well, it didn't work out too well the last time" he glared up at her, not liking the persistence.
"oh but you wouldn't be in the correction department any longer, i'm talking about the home office, you'd have the best health and pension and an end to this ceaseless travel" she laughed freely, "you're a distinguished professional in.. school boy shorts. we have the technology to reverse the process. i mean you- you can't be happy like this" she slowly pushed his gun down, stepping ever closer.
"i'm not looking for happy" he spat through gritted teeth.
the handler only tilted her head, eyeing him carefully before raising a hand to stroke his cheek, "we're all looking for happy. we can make that happen, we can make you.. yourself again"
five huffed a laugh, gesturing to his siblings. "what about my family?"
"what about them?" the handler raised an eyebrow, acting like she didn't already know he intended to save them.
"i want them to survive" 
the handler took in a deep breath, taking in the sight of luther protecting y/n who was still crouching against the car as well as diego and klaus who were in the middle of crashing the ice cream truck.
"all of them?" 
"yes, all of them" he narrowed his eyes at her,
the handler gave him a small smirk, moving towards the recoiled girl. five watched carefully, waiting to see what she would do.
"it's such a shame.. she would have done well with us. if only we could take her too" she reached a hand out, about to touch her but five moved first, spacial jumping in front of her and grabbing her hand. he held her away from y/n.
"don't touch her" he snarled, unmoving from his protective stance. 
"my my, five, i didn't expect such protectiveness from you" the handler merely smirked, stepping away. as they walked back she once again proposed her deal.
"well" the handler begun, reaching a hand into her pocket and pulling out her sunglasses before putting them back on her face. "i'll see what i can do from them.. do we have a deal?" she reached a hand out to him, awaiting his acceptance. he merely stared at her hand before sighing,
"one thing" five stepped back, putting his gun in his shorts again. he walked over to hazel's gun on the floor, taking out the ammunition and chucking it on one side of the road before chucking the rest of the gun to the other. he turned and walked back, noticing the bullet headed towards luther and y/n. he frowned, using his pointer finger and thumb to move it over so that it would hit the car instead of them.
as soon as he shook her outstretched hand they disappeared and time was restored.
y/n shivered, ignoring the bullet hitting the car next to her and the way her siblings scrambled around to get away quick. she allowed herself to be shoved into the car with klaus and diego, spaced out.
"you alright?" diego turned to her while klaus stuck the middle finger up at hazel and cha cha. 
"i felt someone else.. it was only for a moment but i felt someone.." she spoke solemnly, staring at her shaking hands. "and then five just.. disappeared"
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p-antomime · 3 years
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just so fine.
— minors don’t interact
— wc: 4,7K
content + warnings: 18+, including: dilf!toji, manhandle, spitting, daddy kink, choking, unprotected sex, creampie, a bit of school girl!reader maybe, breeding kink, overstimulation, squirting, degradation, age gap, a bit of size kink, thigh riding
pairings: toji fushiguro x fem!reader
— note: this is a bit inspired by: Love Without Tragedy by Rihanna. — jjk masterlist.
Red lipstick and a broken heart trying to be concerted by the petals of your conscience and your friends who said that "he didn't deserve you anyway". And honestly, you didn't know where exactly you were getting the strength from to get out of bed that Monday and go take a shower before heading painfully to your first class in the morning.
He used to be the boy you loved with every cell of your body and soul, he stole the best years of your freshman life at the university, and now you were a senior who had neither the animation nor the patience to welcome the incoming freshmen that year. Despite having Kugisaki and Megumi fervently cheering you on while Itadori was too busy still dealing with the problem of sending documents to the college, your heart was still fatally wounded and your dignity no longer existed as your tears had wiped it off the face of the earth during that morning shower and you couldn't help but be tempted to put on makeup good enough to mask your dark circles under your eyes and downcast face.
"Are you coming today?", Nobara asked excitedly on the other end of the line as you were already leaving the house and taking the long way to college.
— Do I have the option of not going?
"No, of course not.", Nobara replied with a slight laugh that was well intended to cheer you up a bit, "We can have a movie night tonight, to cheer you up."
— At whose house? At mine that won't be, it's a mess. — You grumbled.
"At Megumi's or Itadori's, of course. During lunch I'll buy soda and food with Yuuji and you convince Megumi to let us break into his house today.”
— Why do I have to convince Megumi? You came up with the idea.
"Because I'll be busy, simple. And Fushiguro doesn't take me seriously.", and then you sighed heavily, already noticing that you were less than a block away from entering the college grounds.
— Okay, I see what I can do.
Kugisaki told you that she was waiting for you in the classroom, and you replied that you were already there. And then something distinctive caught your attention. It was strangely easy to spot something different in the landscape of the university entrance because usually it was always the same: university students rushing to settle personal matters or to classes they are late for, or also students who came to see what the college was like before the university application period.
But today was different. There was a tall man fully dressed in black and gray leaning against a motorcycle that looked as if it had been taken from an action movie because it was so well equipped and large. He looked relaxed, and yet he still possessed an aura that could kill you with a single punch. Attractive and devilishly dangerous with that leather jacket highlighting his strong arms and broad shoulders. Forcing your eyes a little, you could notice a scar close to one of the corners of his lips.
— What's the matter, little girl? — His deep voice reaches your ears, but your mind whispers to you that he probably wasn't talking to you at the same time that your heart starts to beat out of control and your head turns from side to side trying to check if there is someone behind you. — Yeah, I'm talking to you. — He smiled sideways.
— Uh... hmm... none, sorry. — Your cheeks started to heat up and you wanted to punch yourself in the stomach because usually a simple man couldn't disconcert you like that, and then your eyes fell on his collarbones, well marked by the black shirt he wore under his jacket, and your mouth suddenly felt too dry.
— What exactly are you apologizing for? — The man asked as he placed one of the helmets on the motorcycle seat, if there were two helmets maybe he brought some college girl? — For eating me with your eyes or staring at me? — And then you choked on your saliva and coughed desperately for air trying not to drop the folders in your hands and he seemed amused by your reaction.
— I-I... — Your fingers squeezed the folders and you had to look away to think straight. — I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I didn't mean to.
— I am not, it's great to be lusted after by younger girls. — He replied, but before he had a chance to continue his onslaught someone approached from the diagonal.
— Dad! — And then you choked again seeing that the one who was referring to the man in front of you as "dad" was Megumi. — Oh, Y/N? — He looked confused looking from you to his own father. — Anyway, they didn't have what you wanted at the pharmacy, next time you'll buy it yourself. — The young Fushiguro spoke to the older man, but seconds later, noticing the mortifying silence that settled over the place as you stared at his father, he spoke up: — And we are almost late already, let’s go, Y/N. — Megumi took one of your arms and started to guide you away from the motorcycle and closer to the interior of the college.
— You never told me you were interested in girls. — His father shouted more to embarrass his son than you, but the effect was the opposite, since you were the one with the burning cheeks.
— Shut up, Toji. — Megumi shouted back as he continued walking. — Did he say shit to you? — He asked you when the two of you were already walking down the halls to your classroom for the first class of the morning.
— Not really, no. He seems... fine. — You tried to talk as if you didn't have dirty thoughts running through your mind especially after remembering the older man's collarbones and scar, and still Megumi gave you an accusing look.
— Don't try to fuck my father, that's disgusting. - Your eyes widened.
— I wasn't thinking that, you idiot. — And then Megumi let out a loud laugh.
— I know, I was just trying to amuse you. — He shrugged and left you standing in front of the door. — See you at lunch?
— Yes, of course. — You answered, and then suddenly remembered Nobara's request on the phone earlier. Your hand held one of his arms so that he wouldn't walk away without listening to you. — Megumi, can we have a movie night at your place tonight? Nobara came up with the idea of doing this to cheer me up a bit. — He seemed to become suddenly tense.
— I'll have to at least let Toji know that there will be people coming home today. — Megumi answered vaguely and shrugged. — I'll send a message to Kugisaki and let her know if it's on or off.
Nodding your head positively, you gave your friend a slight smile, and then for the rest of the day your mind concentrated on paying attention to your classes, your scheduled seminars and the pile of work you still had to do. There was no time for your heart to pound with grief over the loss of your now ex-boyfriend, but there were several minutes when you had to chase away persistent thoughts of Megumi's dad. But looking at him wasn't enough, your hands wanted to explore his body and leave marks everywhere, that's what you thought until you felt ashamed, pushed the thoughts away for a few brief minutes and then thought about it again. In a vicious loop.
When you were having lunch with Itadori, Fushiguro and Kugisaki, your head tried to focus on their conversation as much as possible, but looking at the man with black hair and beautiful eyelashes reminded you of Toji and your hands started to break into a cold sweat. It had been a frustrating, tiring day, but secretly you were a little excited to see your friend's father again.
— Don't take too long, okay? — Nobara spoke after dropping you off and leaning against the hallway wall, and you nodded positively before going to your room to pack a backpack with some pajamas and an outfit in case you and the other two friends ended up falling asleep while you were at Megumi's house.
It didn't take long before you two were ringing the doorbell of the Fushiguro’s house and from the loud sound from inside the house you both could tell Yuuji had already arrived. Suddenly, Y/N felt nervous not knowing who would answer the door. Would it be Toji? "Damn", you thought as you saw exactly him calmly opening the door. This time he wasn't wearing very dark clothes, it was just gray sweatpants and a white v-neck shirt that still highlighted his beautiful collarbones.
— Is that them? — Itadori shouted from another room in the house.
— Yes. — Megumi, who was looking at the two girls standing in the doorway over Toji's shoulder, answered. — You may come in.
Toji moved to the side letting you two into the house and, using the personal excuse of being embarrassed, Y/N walked in with her head down. And partly, in fact, it was true that you were embarrassed, but your mind knew that your eyes wanted to take a good look at the older Fushiguro's thighs and cock. It was impossible not to look at those parts of his body, especially with that kind of pants.
But then Toji gave himself the right to go up the stairs to the upper floor of the house and out of your field of vision when Megumi asked you and Nobara which movie you wanted to watch and she answered that a drama movie. And then the four of you started to watch the movie comfortably, until you started to feel the straps of your own bra start to press painfully against the skin of your shoulders.
— Can I go to the bathroom? — Y/N asked Megumi, who pointed to the steps of the staircase diagonally across from the sofa.
— First door on the left. — You nodded and walked up the stairs carrying your backpack, intending to get rid of your bra and also put on the comfortable pajama top that had been brought.
From the hallway you could hear the low sound of another TV escaping through the gap in a tall door. It was probably Toji's room, such a thought raced through your mind, and you shrugged as you entered the bathroom, leaned against the door, and began to remove your bra and change into your shirt. It was inevitable to sigh in relief as you felt your shoulders less tense and sore and your hands groped your breasts just for the personal pleasure of feeling them free now.
— Hmm, may I come in? — A muffled voice was heard behind the door and instinctively you quickly removed your hands from your breasts.
— Just a minute. — Y/N answered, shoving the previously worn blouse into her backpack and almost running toward the door, slowly opening it.
You looked forward and found yourself facing a bare hard chest as you waited to see a long hallway with four different doors. Toji was now shirtless in front of you and your cheeks burned a little, which got a little worse when your brain short-circuited, your hand rested two fingers against the warm, somewhat soft skin of his chest, and you pulled away slightly so that you could look him in the eye.
— I'm sorry. — Your hand finished opening the door and there was again a sideways smile on Toji's lips
— Are you going to sleep here? — He asked, sliding his gaze over her shoulders, breasts and abdomen freely, without any embarrassment.
— No, actually. I just changed my shirt to be more comfortable.
— Got it. — Toji looked you straight in the eyes again, but yours were already gliding across his face until you found the scar close to his lips.
— How did you get this scar? — You felt the need to prolong the conversation just to get a better record of his face.
— You're pretty curious for someone apparently shy. — He remarked, his eyes sparkling with a gleam that you couldn't quite identify what it was. — When I was younger, we could say I wasn't the friendliest person in the whole world, so I got into a few fights. — Toji shrugged, as if this was not relevant information
How old are you? — A mischievous smile slowly drew on his lips.
— Old enough to be your dad.
"Then maybe I can call you Daddy", was the first thing you thought, but there wasn't enough courage in you to flirt shamelessly, especially with Megumi or the other two able to eavesdrop from downstairs.
— I think I've been here with you long enough. — Y/N answered, putting the backpack on her back and walking past Toji, but just as her feet were about to start down the steps, the older Fushiguro called her out.
— I think you forgot something, little girl. — You turned back in confusion, and in his hands was your bra. Toji threw the piece of clothing toward you through the air without much force to fall gently onto your palms that had opened toward him. — The next time you forget something like that inside my house, I'll keep it for myself. — You frowned, assuming that he was implying that there was possibly something between you and his son.
— Me and Megumi, we don't... — Your shoulders shook without your mouth finishing the sentence.
— I wasn't talking about him exactly, you're very naive, not that that's a problem for me. — He went into the bathroom and eventually you were alone again.
Feeling more embarrassed than the first time you had seen Toji earlier at the university entrance, you joined your friends again in the middle of the movie and were grateful that none of them had bothered to ask if anything had happened in the bathroom because of your delay. Eventually Nobara fell asleep on your shoulder after eating two pieces of the pizza Megumi had asked his father to buy, and Yuuji began to yawn almost pushing the son of the owner of the house off the couch.
— I knew they would both end up sleeping. — Megumi grumbled, pushing Itadori aside and getting up from the sofa. — There are two guest bedrooms upstairs, you and Nobara can use both of them and Yuuji sleeps with me, or one of you can sleep with me and the other and Itadori in the other bedrooms.
— I think it's better that Yuuji better sleep with you. — Y/N replied looking at Kugisaki, who was starting to fall off her shoulder.
And then Fushiguro woke the almost sleeping Itadori to go upstairs while he carried Nobara up the stairs and you accompanied him carrying both your and your friend's backpack. After tidying Kugisaki up in bed and getting Yuuji changed, Megumi spoke to you before leaving you alone in the guest room:
— If you feel hungry, you can go in the kitchen and get something to eat during the night. And, well, you already know where the bathroom is, and so does my room. If anything happens during the night, you can call me or him. — Megumi pointed to the door of Toji's bedroom, and you nodded positively.
And then you laid lazily on the slightly uncomfortable bed in the room and tried to relax. Almost, almost, sleep caught up with you, but your evil brain began to make you think about the fact that Toji was only a few miserable doors away, and the anxiety began to corrupt you rapidly, like a corrosive acid. But even though you wanted to go knock on his door, you forced yourself to sleep, especially since the day had been exhausting.
The next day, just like the rest of the week, Y/N didn't get to see Megumi's dad, and he didn't make much of a point of talking about his father either, after all, why would his friends be interested in him, right? All the other days of the week, her mind focused more on trying not to think about her ex-boyfriend and also not to think about Toji, just college business.... And then came the next Thursday of the successive week.
And there was Toji Fushiguro, leaning against his big motorcycle, but this time with only one helmet and different clothes. Honestly? You didn't know if you should go talk to him or not, if you should just walk right by or not. But, in the end, your mind tricked you into choosing the second option, and your feet awkwardly made their way to the college with your eyes struggling not to check the man's reactions.
— Can I have your number, little girl? — Toji asked in a tone loud enough for you to hear.
— What? — You looked away, wringing your hands nervously.
— I asked if I could have your number. — One of his hands swung his cell phone toward you.
The first thought that crossed your mind was, "What if someone sees us together and tells Megumi?", but honestly, Megumi probably wouldn't be interested in your sex or love life, even if it was with his father.
— Maybe, if you take me for a motorcycle ride today.
— You're wearing a skirt, are you sure you'd want to do that? — Toji suppressed a playful laugh. — You could have a ride somewhere more comfortable than my motorcycle today.
You narrowed your eyes and bit the inside of your cheek, realizing that you were entering dangerous territory in a game of seduction that Toji knew and played better than you.
— Will Megumi be at home?
— He has an internship today. — Toji replied, drumming his fingers on his helmet.
— Wait for me after four o'clock then. — You replied and walked back toward the college as you felt his eyes fixed on your ass.
Throughout the day you felt uncomfortably nervous and Nobara even asked you if everything was okay several times at different times. The only answer your mind formulated was a simple positive head movement, because honestly you felt embarrassed to be interested in a friend's dod, even though this father was extremely attractive and did not reject your shy and restrained advances. He was just so nice, fine.
Fine enough to make you press your thighs together to try to relieve the sexual tension as your legs walked towards the Fushiguro house. And when you got there, it didn't take long to see Toji opening the door wearing only black sweatpants. You went inside and closed the door, nervously watching the older man, who sat comfortably on the sofa in the living room and called out to you with his index finger. As you stopped in front of him, one hand patted his lap and the other was placed on your thigh covered by your skirt. Slowly, Y/N took her seat sitting on his covered cock.
— Why do you look so tense, hm? — Toji asked, squeezing your thigh without too much force and you moved slightly against his hip. — Are you a virgin by any chance? — Your cheeks heated up.
— N-No, you just make me nervous. — Y/N replied, shrugging slightly.
— Do I? — He pretended to be surprised as he slid his hand up her skirt and pushed his fingertips against her covered pussy. — Do I make you get your panties wet too? — Toji pressed his hips against hers and her hands rested on his shoulders for a few brief seconds.
— Fuck, yes. — You groaned, taking your fingers to the buttons of your shirt to undo them. — I've been thinking about you more than I should, I've been thinking about everything about you.
— So, why don't you show me how much you've been thinking about me, huh? — Fushiguro pulled her panties aside and stroked her pussy in slow circular motions while he brought his other hand to her face and pulled her closer to his. — Show me how much you want me and cum on my fingers like the dirty slut I know you can be. — His thumb slowly brushed over your lips and you opened them, your mouth filled by long fingers.
You grabbed his wrist close to your intimacy and guided two of his digits into your interior. And, fuck, they filled you so well. Toji's fingers were thicker and longer than yours, so the times he repeatedly curved them inside your cunt, their tips easily brushed and pressed that spot that made you roll your eyes having your body spasm with pleasure. "What a beautiful vision", the man would be thinking as he watched his beautiful college girl choking on his fingers while being fucked by the others.
However, he didn't move his hand against you much, meaning that he let you choose the pace and intensity, until you whimpered against his neck in a silent request for his fingers to move against you:
— Please, Toji, move your fingers. — Y/N said as she pulled away from Toji's digits that were preventing her from speaking and forced her hips against his hand.
— Can't you cum on your own? — He asked squeezing your chin to make you keep your mouth open. — Pathetic. — Toji spat on your tongue and closed your mouth to force you to swallow. — Pathetic slut. — And then he began to finger you in a relentless rhythm.
If Fushiguro wanted to make you cum in his hand, that's exactly what he got, and he even got a great view of your trembling body, your breasts rising and falling rapidly because of your rapid breathing and your head falling back in an intense pleasure you didn't know your body could achieve. While you were still clouded by ecstasy, his fingers snuck up to finish removing your panties and getting rid of your clothes covering your upper body. He wanted you only in your skirt.
— Look at my pet slut with her beautiful cunt leaking. — His fingers spread the folds of your pussy to see you twitching around just at his obscene words. — Just so nice. — Toji pressed the thumb against your sensitive clit and gave you a smirk before he sat you down on one of his thighs, began to move you there and also slowly stimulated your clit.
His body leaned down and his lips latched onto your breasts, sucking and licking them more intensely as your hips moved faster against his thigh. And occasionally Fushiguro would pull up her skirt and slap her ass hard enough to leave several finger marks across her skin; and it was on one of his slaps that a short, gasping, "Daddy" sneaked out from between your lips and hit Toji's mind as a twinge of intense pleasure coursed through his entire body.
— Say that again. — He ordered, grabbing her neck with the hand that had been slapping her ass before.
— Daddy... — Y/N groaned breathlessly as she continued to move her hips against Toji's thigh in a desperate attempt to cum again.
— Keep calling me that, be a good little whore for me. — His other hand continued to stimulate your clit, now at a more intense pace that managed to push you straight into the abyss of a orgasmic pleasure that you so desperately needed.
After that, Fushiguro held you still in place as he continued to press his fingers against your clit. He definitely wanted to bring you close to the level of almost passing out from so much lust running freely through your body, and so your legs instinctively closed around his hand. At the same time that you desperately needed to breathe because you felt like your lungs were burning from your intense panting, every fiber of your body was still clamoring for the stimulation that only Toji could give you at the moment, so it wasn't hard for him to force your legs open again with a sly smile on his lips:
— Come on, my pretty girl, give me everything you've got. — He made scissor-like movements against her walls and her hips automatically forced themselves against Toji's palm, even though her intimacy was already quite sensitive.
— Daddy, please... please, more, daddy... — Y/N sank her face into the curve of Toji's neck trying to stifle her own moans.
— What a great fuck toy you are. — His fingers curved and you gasped, feeling again that same pressure as before against your bottom that indicated that your third orgasm was approaching. — No matter how much I make you cum you keep asking for more.
And the more he moved his fingers frantically against your pussy, the more you felt your thoughts disappear completely and all that was left was only Toji Fushiguro, and his fingers, and the cocky smile he had no matter what the situation was. Those same fingers that made you squirt for the first time against his abdomen in a third, overwhelming orgasm and your cheeks heat up violently, especially after seeing Toji bring them to his lips looking more than just satisfied with his work with you. Fuck, you could fuck him several times, you could pass out from pleasure, and you still wouldn't ask him to stop or slow down with you.
— Think you can handle one more, pretty girl? — He asked, his hands reaching for his pants and underwear.
— Yes, Daddy. — Y/N tried to speak as firmly as possible with her heavy breathing.
Toji put one hand on your waist and the other on your chin and took the opportunity to pull you in for a kiss as he entered you slowly, which made you lose some focus on the kiss and moan against his mouth as your nails dug into the skin of his shoulders. He didn't let you get too used to the recent intrusion and started thrusting himself against you hard.
After leaving yours, his mouth slid down your neck and shoulders to leave sucking and biting the area before placing the hand that was on your chin on your neck. Eventually yours moans went from simple gasps and sighs to little "Daddy" that made Fushiguro's dick twitch against yours insides several times and grunts escape his lips.
— I will breed you like the desperate little whore that you are. — Toji stroked hard against you while squeezing your neck a little harder. — I bet you're going to love this, aren't you?
— Y-Yes, daddy, breed me, please. — Y/N moved her hips against his while maintaining eye contact with the older man's predatory eyes. — Fill me up completely, until I'm leaking.
Toji squeezed your waist tightly, tilted your body slightly until your hips arched a bit, and started a rhythm of thrusts against you that as a result made your mind go blank and your nails leave scratches on his shoulders. And your fourth orgasm didn't even take long to hit you almost as hard as the third because your whole body had been extremely sensitive for a long time; after fucking that man incessantly you would definitely be addicted to him, to his touch, to his dick, to his lips. Everything about him was addictive.
After making you cum for the fourth time, Fushiguro kept thrusting inside you until his cock forcefully contracted against you and filled you full of cum. By that point you had definitely become just a bunch of holes for him to fuck, and if your body wasn't already so sensitive you might want him to actually fill every possible place in your body with cum. When he withdrew his dick from inside your pussy, Toji pulled your hips up to watch the white liquid escape your entrance and used his fingers to push it into you again.
— Come here. — He patted his chest lightly, and you leaned your sweaty body against his as you lifted your head to look at him. His hands caressed your body and soon you found yourself being carried up the stairs. — I'm going to give you a long shower, and then I'll take you home. — Toji left a gentle kiss against your forehead, and you felt more comfortable than you really should have in his arms.
— Thank you, daddy. — You replied, and he couldn't suppress a satisfied smile.
And maybe from then on you continued to take advantage of the times when Megumi wasn't home or you weren't so busy with college to spend hours together.
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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years
Text
Delight in Misery
- Chapter 10 (ao3) -
tumblr: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8 (interlude), part 9
-
In Lan Wangji’s view, the best part about the upcoming visit by Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen wasn’t the excuse to drag a tetchy and reluctant Jiang Cheng night-hunting, nor the chance to meet such interesting and swiftly famous cultivators, or even the vanishingly rare opportunity to learn more about Wei Wuxian by exploring his heritage on his mother’s side.
No – it was definitely the way the mere concept transformed Jiang Cheng into a stuttering teenaged admirer about to see their revered idol for the first time.
“You remember that they are both nearly ten years your junior?” he asked as Jiang Cheng fussed around, alternating between worrying himself sick for not being prepared to receive guests (for all that the Jiang sect had been receiving honored guests for years at this point) and bragging about the exploits of their soon-arriving guests to the fascinated flock of children dogging his heels.
“No more than seven or eight at most,” Jiang Cheng objected, and Lan Wangji rolled his eyes. “Anyway, that’s not the point. Look at how accomplished they both are! When I was that age, I hadn’t done anything!”
Lan Wangji didn’t think that was entirely right. When Jiang Cheng had been the age Xiao Xingcheng and Song Zichen were now, he’d endured the loss of his sect and rebuilt it from nothing, acting more or less singlehandedly while still finding time to fight the Wen sect shoulder-to-shoulder with the other Great Sects and also search for the missing Wei Wuxian with Lan Wangji.
He opted not to mention it.
Let Jiang Cheng keep his illusions and ignore the steady encroachment of time.
“You’re calling me old in your head,” Jiang Cheng said accusingly, and Lan Wangji pasted an innocent expression on his face as confirmation. “You are, you bastard! You know you’re older than me, right?”
Lan Wangji could get a great deal of out of an admission like that.
“That’s not what I meant! We’re peers, you…!” Jiang Cheng huffed. “Listen, you’d better be on your best behavior around our guests, all right? I don’t want them to be scared off just because it looks like you’re glowering whenever you think –”
“I’ll follow your example, then, and simply not think at all.”
“Go jump off a pier!”
The children all giggled.
“You’re all going to be on best behavior too,” Jiang Cheng told them, fierce as a hissing domestic cat and just as adorably toothless. “You hear me? All of you! A-Yuan, A-Ling, that means you’re going to be cute but not spoiled, while A-Yu can – actually, just do the same as them in an age-appropriate way, you’re cute enough –”
Mo Xuanyu beamed.
“Still, we don’t know what they’re like. Start by being a little reserved – not too loud –”
Lan Sizhui waved for attention as if they were in a classroom.
“…yes?” Jiang Cheng asked, looking vaguely resigned and grumpy in a way that was clearly meant to conceal how unbearably charming he found the gesture.
“Can I be called Sizhui this time?” Lan Sizhui asked eagerly. “I’m old enough!”
Jiang Cheng frowned a bit, and Lan Wangji understood. The Jiang sect generally didn’t use courtesy names until the child in question had mastered a full sword routine, usually age eight or nine, and close family almost never made the switch in full; from what Lan Wangji knew, Jiang Yanli had called Jiang Cheng ‘A-Cheng’ right up until the end of her life, not to mention referring routinely to Wei Wuxian, who she’d only met when he was already old enough to use his courtesy name, as ‘A-Xian’. The Lan sect, in contrast, started using courtesy names almost exclusively once a child was old enough to leave his parents, typically age three or four – Lan Wangji had been calling Lan Sizhui by name for years already, and had been needling Jiang Cheng to pick it up as well without success.
“I’ll introduce you,” Lan Wangji offered, saving Jiang Cheng the awkwardness of having to explain or decline or, worst of all for someone like Jiang Cheng, accidentally slip up and say something sappy like you’ll always be A-Yuan to me.
Lan Sizhui nodded, satisfied, and next to him, Jin Ling frowned. “What about me?” he asked. “Am I going to be Rulan?”
“The Jin sect is the last of the Great Sects in using courtesy names,” Jiang Cheng said, finally on more solid ground. “Not until you get your sword, and that’s not until you’re eleven. Or twelve!”
“But I already have a sword…”
“The age you would be if you were getting your own,” Lan Wangji interjected. “To make it fair to all the rest.”
That seemed to reassure Jin Ling, who nodded. “Good,” he grumbled. “I don’t wanna be Rulan, anyway…jiujiu, when did you say these guests would be arriving?”
That, of course, sent Jiang Cheng back into a flurry of activity, and Lan Wangji shook his head, long-suffering. “You’ve hosted entire discussion conferences,” he pointed out to Jiang Cheng. “There are only two cultivators this time. It is far easier.”
“Is it?” Jiang Cheng shot back. “Is it really?”
In contrast to the expectation and build up leading up to it, the actual arrival of Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen was rather unremarkable. They arrived just as the sun was setting, two young men, one beautiful and the other handsome, both valiant heroes with faces that shone with kindness and righteousness. Xiao Xingchen’s face was curved in a gentle smile, Song Zichen set in a neutral expression. Both seemed sincere and respectful when they bowed deeply in greeting.
“It’s a pleasure and honor to host such heroes,” Jiang Cheng said, nodding his head regally in return. He really had at some point learned how to fake being a competent and confident sect leader, and it might have even had the effect he was going for if it wasn’t for the small gaggle of children very eagerly stealing peeks from next to him – but Lan Wangji wasn’t going to be the one to tell on them. “I’ve heard many stories of your adventures, and I have long looked forward to meeting you in person. My Lotus Pier is open to you for as long as you require.”
“Sect Leader Jiang is upright and straightforward, well known for his righteousness,” Xiao Xingchen said, and perhaps only Lan Wangji knew precisely why Jiang Cheng flushed with such pleasure at a compliment more commonly applied to Nie Mingjue. “We are happy to be here as your guests.”
Jiang Cheng nodded a second time, still a little stiff and wooden. “You have traveled quite a distance. Are you tired or hungry..?”
They shook their heads in refusal.
Jiang Cheng darted a glance at Lan Wangji, then turned back to them, finally relaxing out of the excess formality that suited Jin Guangshan far more than it did Jian Cheng. “In that case,” he said, his voice a little dry. “Upon the suggestion of certain of my advisors, would you prefer to cut the boring small talk and go out on a night-hunt instead?”
Xiao Xingchen’s face split into a genuine smile, and even Song Zichen’s severity seemed a little eased.
“What an excellent idea, Sect Leader Jiang,” Xiao Xingchen said warmly. “We’d be happy to. I was just telling Song Zichen not long ago that it seemed as though we hadn’t been on a proper hunt in far too long.”
“You think you have problems, try being a sect leader,” Jiang Cheng replied impulsively, then turned red when he realized how rude he’d just been. “That is, I mean – well, there’s not nearly as much free time, that’s all.”
Xiao Xingchen laughed. It gave Lan Wangji a good impression of him: light-hearted and lively, his demeanor kind and good-humored. Despite the lack of blood relation, Lan Wangji was reminded of Wei Wuxian – although perhaps that was just his wistful thinking.
“Well, there’s a reason Zichen and I haven’t started our own just yet,” he said mischievously. “There’s time for that later, after all. Youth is when you make a name for yourself! And speaking of which, I’ve heard plenty about your own prowess, Sandu Shengshou. I admit I’m looking forward to seeing Zidian in action.”
Jiang Cheng looked unbearably pleased at the compliment, clearly sincerely meant, and something in Lan Wangji’s heart that he hadn’t even known was tense finally eased.
He hadn’t realized that he himself was nervous about this meeting – less for his own sake, although he burned with curiosity to learn everything he could about Wei Wuxian, than for Jiang Cheng, who had longed for this meeting so much, cared so much. Lan Wangji found to his bemusement that he had even been a little afraid: afraid that the two strangers would be cold or arrogant, afraid that they’d reject Jiang Cheng tentative overtures of friendship – that Jiang Cheng would be disappointed.
Lan Wangji might enjoy teasing Jiang Cheng into a frenzy, but that was his prerogative. In fact, one could argue that it was only what he was due for having lived with and put up with the man for so long. He’d been the one who’d been there all this time, the one who’d put in so much effort to help rebuild him back into the man he could be rather than the wreck he had been; he’d earned the right to mock him.  
No one else was entitled to so much as touch the hem of his robes.
“I have heard much of your matchless skill as well, Hanguang-jun,” Song Zichen said, his voice unexpectedly deep, and Lan Wangji’s attention came back to him as he returned the man’s salute. They both had reputations for being closed-mouthed ice-blocks, and it seemed to Lan Wangji that Song Zichen was probably just reserved, like him, rather than truly standoffish.
“You’re in for a treat, then,” Jiang Cheng said with a faint smirk. “Whether in sword or music, few can match Hanguang-jun’s talents, and he never stints on displaying them.”
To the untried ear, perhaps Jiang Cheng sounded bitter or jealous, and given his competitive mania he probably was, a little, but to Lan Wangji he sounded more smug than anything else, as proud as if he were the one being praised.
With everything settled, they headed off at once.
The subject of the night-hunt was nothing terribly exciting – a troop of fierce corpses ravaging the countryside that someone had finally managed to divine the location of, with the only interesting aspect about them being that they were unusually fast-moving – so there was plenty of time for them to talk as they followed the trail.
Lan Wangji expected Jiang Cheng to start asking questions about the immortal mountain and Wei Wuxian’s mother at once – Jiang Cheng might be prideful and thin-faced, prone to shame and overthinking, but he’d been raised along Wei Wuxian, who was second to none in shamelessness, and Lan Wangji was well aware of how much he hungered for that knowledge.
Of course, probably as a direct result of Lan Wangji’s expectations, Jiang Cheng went for a completely different target.
“It’s said that we live in an age of young heroes,” he remarked, seemingly casual. “Of course, for most of us, that was simply the inevitable result of war – crisis demands the best from people, regardless of age. Without such necessity to spur us onwards, most of us probably would’ve been still kicking our heels even now, whereas you two became heroes as soon as you arrived…how old are you now, again?”
“We are both twenty-one,” Song Zichen said, and Lan Wangji used the moment to glare over at Jiang Cheng when he mouthed six years at him – was this really the time to quibble over something as pointless as the exact age gap between them, which he’d clearly inquired about for no other purpose than to prove Lan Wangji’s earlier assumption wrong? This was Wei Wuxian’s martial uncle here! They should be getting all the information out of him that they could!
(Lan Wangji had long ago decided that when it came to feuding over minor matters with Jiang Cheng, he would be as gracious in defeat as his opponent…which was to say, not at all.)
Jiang Cheng smirked at him, knowing what he was thinking, but then – finally – turned the subject onto the immortal mountain, or more specifically its former disciples.
This time it was Song Zichen’s turn to relax minutely, Lan Wangji noticed. A moment’s thought revealed the reason: they’d probably feared cultivators asking questions that were far more pointed than what they were getting from them – cultivators greedy for the secrets of immortality. No wonder they so assiduously avoided being hosted by the Great Sects, and had done so even before Lanling Jin had gotten in the way of their heroism.
Well, luckily for them, the interest Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji had was a little more…down to earth.
“Cangse Sanren was a talent to shake the ages,” Xiao Xingchen said, his eyes bright and expression enthusiastic. “It was as if anything she turned her mind to, she excelled at, and she turned her mind to all sorts of things without discrimination – painting, poetry, swordsmanship…” He paused, then firmed his shoulders. “I heard that her son was much the same..?”
Lan Wangji felt a smile want to come up to his lips.
It seemed that Xiao Xingchen was just as interested in finding out more about his martial nephew as they were in finding out more about Wei Wuxian’s martial uncle.
Jiang Cheng glanced over at Lan Wangji, who nodded very shallowly, indicating his approval. In his judgment, both of them seemed safe enough: trustworthy, and not like people who would spread gossip.
They could talk about Wei Wuxian.
Talk truly about him, praising his good points and speaking fondly of his faults…these two, Lan Wangji thought, wouldn’t judge them harshly for failing to condemn him, and they wouldn’t tell anyone else, either.
Later, after they’d finished dispatching the ghouls – and the Wei Wuxian portion of the conversation, for which Jiang Cheng had taken the lead and which a listening Lan Wangji had enjoyed tremendously, largely on account of Xiao Xingchen’s genuine enthusiasm for learning everything he could about the martial nephew he had only just barely missed meeting, fearsome Yiling Patriarch or not – Jiang Cheng finally and regretfully brought them back to the original subject.
“I heard that you two are collecting allies to go after Xue Yang,” he said, and pretended (just as Lan Wangji did) to ignore the way Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen suddenly glanced at each other. “I’ll support that, of course. From everything I’ve heard, he’s become a mad dog, trying to bite anyone he sees. Hasn’t he been launching all sorts of raids on sects left and right these past few years?”
They nodded.
“Rather pointless ones,” Song Zichen said, a deep frown on his face. “He runs in and causes chaos, then flees into the night – he barely even stops to kill people, and almost never steals treasures. At most he goes to make trouble by defacing the walls of some of the ancestral tombs…we can see no sense in it. The only explanation is that his demonic cultivation has in fact driven him mad.”
Demonic cultivation didn’t necessarily drive a person mad. That was something Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng had painfully learned over the years, much to Jiang Cheng’s distress. However, it certainly didn’t help maintain calmness or peace of mind; there was every chance that a delinquent like Xue Yang had had his temperament worsened by demonic cultivation, leading to his present circumstances.
“Indeed,” Jiang Cheng said noncommittally. “I really have only question for you, then.”
Knowing where this was going, Lan Wangji turned his gaze on their guests’ expression.
“Haven’t you been chasing him on your own for all these years now, trying to get him to go to trial for his crimes, refusing any offers of help?” Jiang Cheng asked, his voice suddenly pointed. “Why the sudden change in favor of asking for help now?”
Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen shared another long look between them.
Finally, Xiao Xingchen cleared his throat. “In truth,” he said, “we spread that rumor as a smokescreen. We’re not looking for allies, generally speaking…we really only wanted a reason to ask for your help.”
Jiang Cheng stopped and stared, visibly surprised. Lan Wangji kept his expression more neutral, but privately he was just as taken aback; when they’d discussed this earlier, planning out this conversation in advance, that wasn’t even remotely one of the possibilities they’d considered.
“My help?” Jiang Cheng asked cautiously. “Or…?”
“Yours and Hanguang-jun,” Song Zichen said. “We weren’t sure who else to turn to.”
“What’s the issue?” Jiang Cheng asked, waving a hand to halt their forward progress. A good idea, in Lan Wangji’s view: it was the middle of the night, and they were in the middle of the forest in the back hills near the Lotus Pier, with no one around for a good distance except for trusted Jiang sect disciples – if there needed to be privacy for this discussion, this was the best place for it.
Another shared glance.
Lan Wangji slanted a glance of his own to Jiang Cheng, who returned it: they’d been right, there really was something unusual with this visit.
They stood in silence for a while.
Finally, Xiao Xingchen yielded. “Very well,” he said, and met Jiang Cheng’s eyes. “Sect Leader Jiang…can you tell us what you know about the Ghost General?”
Jiang Cheng stiffened, his fists clenching.
Lan Wangji’s heart felt just as stiff. He stepped forward.
“There are many people who can tell you about Wen Ning,” he said neutrally, watching them carefully. “Assuming that what you wish to know is how he fought or his transformation into a conscious fierce corpse. Is your concern that Xue Yang has replicated the technique and created his own ghost general?”
He didn’t think it would be that. As he’d said, everyone knew what Wen Ning had done once he’d become the Ghost General – the Jin sect would know far better than either of them how fearsome he was, since it was at Jinlin Tower that he had erupted in his final massacre. If they wanted to know about fierce corpses in general, they could go there.
To come here, to Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji – the only two people who were known to have gone up to the Yiling Burial Mounds while Wei Wuxian lived there with Wen Ning at his side, the only living people who knew what the Ghost General was like when he wasn’t being a weapon, to know what Wen Ning was like as a person – suggested something different.
Something impossible.
Xiao Xingchen met his eyes. “It is not.”
“Wen Ning was destroyed,” Jiang Cheng said, his voice tight and unsteady. “He murdered my brother-in-law, my nephew’s father, and when Lanling Jin demanded his head as retribution, he and his sister went to them under pretense of surrender and murdered even more of them before they were taken down. He was destroyed.”
They said nothing.
“The former Sect Leader Jin was very interested in demonic cultivation,” Lan Wangji said slowly. “While Wei Wuxian lived, he sought to claim the Stygian Tiger Seal. When he died…”
He glanced at Jiang Cheng a second time. They had not discussed the subject of the Siege of the Burial Mounds in any detail, as it inevitably put Jiang Cheng into a terrible frame of mind, and Lan Wangji remembered with a shudder the state they had both been in at that fateful meeting – he didn’t want to remember it himself, much less bring back bad memories for Jiang Cheng.
They certainly hadn’t discussed the subject of spoils. The only thing that had ever brought it to mind was the silent presence of Chenqing lying in place of pride in the Jiang sect’s memorial hall as the substitute for the memorial tablet they could not afford to raise for Wei Wuxian.
It hadn’t seemed relevant.
It was now.
“Sect Leader Jin took it,” Jiang Cheng confirmed, his voice shaking a little. “The Stygian Tiger Seal was broken in two, and Wei Wuxian destroyed one of the halves – the Jin sect claimed the other, saying that they were going to destroy it. I think they took more than that, too…I know they took Suibian, but they also took all the papers that’d been left in the cave. I always suspected that that was why they were so protective of Xue Yang, who was a demonic cultivator himself – that Jin Guangshan wanted to squeeze him for information, or maybe even use him to figure out some of Wei Wuxian’s notes…”
His voice trailed off, and he shook his head furiously.
“Wen Ning was destroyed,” he insisted. “The Jin sect scattered his ashes! They – they…”
“They lied,” Song Zichen said.
Lan Wangji pressed his lips together. He had no particularly warm feelings towards Wen Ning, who had been Wei Wuxian’s shadow in that last year or so of life when Wei Wuxian had turned his back on the world – a position Lan Wangji would have given his left arm to have, and over which he had had all sorts of inappropriate feelings of envy and stifled, unjustified possessiveness – but Jiang Cheng took the man’s existence far more personally.
In Jiang Cheng’s view, it had been for Wen Ning that Wei Wuxian had stolen the Wen sect remnants, for Wen Ning that Wei Wuxian had abjured his relationship with the Jiang sect and Jiang Cheng himself, for Wen Ning that Wei Wuxian had given up everything, and yet simultaneously it had also been Wen Ning that had pushed him to the very brink and over. Wen Ning who had murdered Jin Zixuan – Wen Ning who Wei Wuxian had so brutally avenged in the massacre at the Nightless City, at which Jiang Yanli had died.
Wen Ning, who they thought had been destroyed.
“We believe that the former Sect Leader Jin hid Wen Ning away instead of destroying him, then gave Xue Yang access to him, just as he did with the Tiger Seal and Wei Wuxian’s notes,” Xiao Xingchen said, his face solemn. “We also believe that Xue Yang took Wen Ning away with him when he escaped Jinlin Tower once the former sect leader died and the current sect leader took over. We believe that he has been controlling him through demonic cultivation, using him as something of an – accomplice, or something of the sort.”
“Controlling him how?” Jiang Cheng asked. They paused, and he continued, “I’m not stupid. You’re very sure that Wen Ning’s not gone, which means you located him and saw something that made you think so. What was it?”
Lan Wangji nodded shallowly, approving of Jiang Cheng’s deduction – and of the self-mastery he was demonstrating in not exploding in rage on the spot.
“He had nails in his head,” Xiao Xingchen said. “He…the Ghost General was mindless and unthinking, but strong. Very strong. He…”
He trailed off, and shook his head, seeming a bit sad.
“What help do you require from us?” Lan Wangji said, suddenly sick of the tension, and he saw Jiang Cheng throw him a look full of relief for having raised the question.
“Hanguang-jun is right,” Jiang Cheng said, backing him up at once. He crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you need us for? You two are heroes, and half the cultivation world would sell their firstborn child for a chance to bring down the Ghost General to increase their fame – there’s no way you came here just to get our help in bringing him down. If that’s what you wanted, it wouldn’t have needed to be us, and there wouldn’t have needed to be a smokescreen. What do you want?”
“We want to heal him,” Xiao Xingchen said solemnly. “To bring back his consciousness and return his sanity. But we don’t know what he was like, before Xue Yang. The only ones that do are the two of you.”
“You do remember that he killed my brother-in-law?” Jiang Cheng asked, his voice sharp.
“At Wei Wuxian’s order,” Song Zichen responded, equally sharp. “You do not blame the sword for the men it kills.”
Lan Wangji closed his eyes briefly, in pain at the reminder. He took a breath, steadying himself, and then another.
He opened his eyes.
“We will help,” he said, and ignored the betrayed look Jiang Cheng shot his way. They would talk about it later, and he would help Jiang Cheng see that this was what they had to do, no matter how painful. “And we will not betray the secret of his existence.”
“Thank you,” Xiao Xingchen said, and saluted deeply; Song Zichen did as well. “And yet, we have more we would ask of you.”
“Spit it out, then,” Jiang Cheng growled.
“Finding Wen Ning had shown us that Xue Yang’s actions have gone truly beyond the pale, beyond redemption,” Song Zichen said, and his voice was fierce. That wasn’t surprising: it had been his childhood home, his master and fellow disciples, that Xue Yang had attacked. “He is, as you said, a mad dog, biting all that he can – I believe that Wen Ning was his only companion as he fled, chased by the whole cultivation world these past few years. I fear what Xue Yang will do now that his last connection to humanity is gone. He is capable of anything.”
“We must find him,” Xiao Xingchen agreed. “We must find Xue Yang, and we must stop him from doing – whatever it is that he will do next. I cannot even begin to imagine the atrocities he might perpetrate. And so we must ask…”
“Fine,” Jiang Cheng said, and they both looked at him, surprised. “We’ll help you heal Wen Ning, and we’ll even help you hunt down Xue Yang. But this time, no excuses, no dragging your feet, no waiting for a proper trial, nothing like that. He dies, you hear me? Xue Yang is to be killed on sight!”
“I agree,” Lan Wangji said, folding his hands together behind his back. He had helped Jiang Cheng in pursuing and judging demonic cultivators before – there were those that could be granted mercy, and those for whom the only just answer was death; time and too many second chances had made inescapably clear that Xue Yang was the latter. “Each time you have sought to bring him to trial, he has taken advantage of your devotion to justice to escape.”
Xiao Xingchen looked at Song Zichen, who nodded firmly; a moment later, Xiao Xingchen sighed and nodded himself. “Agreed,” he said. “You will help us?”
“We will,” Jiang Cheng said grimly, and Lan Wangji nodded in full support. “It would be a pleasure to wipe that trash off the face of this earth.”
-
The town was full of mist and fog, choking the throat and making it hard to breathe or see; the feng shui of the entire valley was as bad as could be, and there was more miasma than there was air.
“You there, drunkard, what are you doing!” someone shouted at a figure lying halfway in the door of a house that was filled to the brim with coffins. “Don’t mock our livelihood! Just because it’s a coffin house doesn’t make it a good place to play dead!”
The figure stirred.
But I’m not playing dead, he thought, rubbing his aching head with one hand, noticing that he seemed to be missing his little finger. I actually was dead, wasn’t I?
Wei Wuxian opened his eyes.
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juletheghoul · 3 years
Text
Oblivius Chapter 4
Am I insane for posting another chapter? Yes. Am I doing it anyway? Yes. Should you message me about how you feel about Spills & Francis? YES!
(Got a song you want added to the playlist? send it to me!)
I've gotten so much love over this series and I cannot tell you how happy it makes me that you guys love these two idiots as much as I do. <3
(Feo means ugly in Spanish but it can be used as a term of endearment between [male] friends)
Likes & reblogs are appreciated
Frankie Morales x F!Reader
Pairing: Frankie x F!Reader
Word Count: 2.2K
Warnings: Angst, yearning, 18+ language, alcohol (Spills gets wasted)(Please let me know if I forget anything)
Masterlist Series Masterlist Part 3 Part 5 Playlist
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Age: 17
“No Francis I don’t wanna watch this - I’m gonna get scared.” It was late, you were both sitting in his cozy living-room, a big shit-eating grin on his face.
“Why, are you chicken? It’s just The Shining, it's not even scary.” He put it on and despite your protests, he settled and let the movie play, You gave him a pout.
“Okay if you really don’t want to I’ll change it you big baby.” He rolled his eyes to grab the remote but you stopped him.
“Promise you’ll walk me home?” You knew it was one of his favourites. He smiled wide.
“Of course! If it’s too much I'll change it.” He gave you most of the blanket that was draped over his legs and you sat very close to him. He was taller than you remembered him being, having gone through a growth spurt over the summer and he towered over you now. All knees and elbows.
When the room scene came on you burrowed your face into his neck and he wrapped an arm around you, you were so pretty. Your hair smelled so good and he buried his nose into the messy bun you wore. You practically clawed at him, trying to get closer - he made you feel safe.
“Is it still scary?” You spoke into his neck.
“Yes - don’t look yet, just a little longer.”
----------------------------------------------
**Present Day**
Pope was holding up a shot-glass full of something and there were shots lined up for the three of you when you walked in.
“Catfish, I never thought it would happen for you feo, but I’m glad it did. Claudia, he’s lucky to have you.” He raised his shot glass and a chorus of ‘To Frankie and Claudia’ rang out before everyone tipped the liquor back.
The burn in the back of your throat couldn’t just be from the tequila, you’d swallowed a lump. You’d forced back the tears stinging your eyes when he dipped her back to kiss her. With her laughing and grabbing his neck they were the picture of romance and the smile you had plastered to your face must have looked manic. Popes eyes caught yours then and his eyebrows raised, a question in his features that you couldn’t quite read but he looked away and left you with your thoughts.
-
You got very drunk. Fall-down drunk. Forget about everything drunk.
“Spills, I think you should stop - you’re going to feel like hell tomorrow.” He was softly taking the shot out of your hand and you tried to fight him but his grip was iron.
“St-op t-telling me wh-what to do Francisco.” You tried to take it back but it seemed like the floor was coming up to say hi. An iron grip around your middle stopped you from losing a couple of teeth.
“Jesus Spills, okay - that’s enough. I’m cutting you off.” He held onto you and you wanted nothing more than to turn around and kiss him but you also wanted to throw up. Decisions decisions.
“I-think-imgonnabesick…” you brought your hand up to your mouth and part of you expected him to let go but he didn’t.
“Take a deep breath, it’s okay, Pope can you get me some water?” He was holding onto you, rubbing soothing circles onto your back and you tried to focus on his hands on you as the whole room spun dangerously. A few minutes later he was holding a cold glass of water to your lips. “Drink the whole thing, I'm going to hold it because if you spill it I'll kill you.” You chugged it down and he put it on the table.
“When did you get so strong, Francis?” Your words were slurred and you felt his chest rumbling with laughter at your question. “You smell so good.” You said it lower- more to yourself, but he heard and the laughing stopped.
“Oh no! Are you okay Spills?” Claudia was there now, her hands pulling your hair away from your face and before you could succumb to the urge to tell her never to call you that Frankie spoke up.
“She’s okay, just need to get her home. You’re okay right, Spills?” His voice was lower, so soothing you could fall asleep to it.
“Hey Frankie, you and Claudia should stay, tell me where she lives and I’ll get her home.” It was Pope, Frankie must have trusted him immensely because before you knew it he was putting you into the front seat of Pope's rental and buckling you in. Claudia was tying your hair back and putting your purse into your lap.
“Be careful please - this is her address, just make sure she gets in and lays face down. There should be a bucket somewhere in her bathroom - water and some aspirin on her night table.” Frankie was talking as you closed your eyes. When you opened them you were parked in front of your place.
“Hey honey, come on let's get you inside. I’m just going to look for your keys, okay?” Pope was taking your purse out of your lap. You nodded vaguely.
He helped you in and guided you to your bed. You could feel him taking off your shoes and throwing the blanket over you.
-----
Someone is driving an ice-pick into my skull.
The light was intense and you swore out loud when you cracked an eye open. You stretched and felt a piece of paper beside you on the bed.
“I locked your door - keys are in your mailbox. Drink the water - take the ibuprofen. Let Catfish know you’re okay when you wake up- he was worried. - Pope”
You groaned.
[Francis]: Spills, are you okay?
[Francis]: Can you answer me please?
[Francis]: Don’t tell me you’re still asleep? What, are you a teenager? Getting drunk and sleeping until 4pm????
[Francis]: Sorry Spills, just worried - can you please let me know you’re okay before I show up?
You could see the three little dots signalling that he was in the middle of typing another message and you quickly called him to stop him.
“Jesus, it’s about fucking time.” He sounded worried and relieved and it pulled on your heart strings in a way you both loved and hated.
“Stop yelling Francisco, I am begging you.” You threw your arm over your eyes to block out the light as you lay there, in yesterday's clothes. You didn’t even want to know what you looked like right now.
“Feeling all that tequila aren’t you? I haven’t seen you that drunk for a long time.” You could hear the faint smile in his voice.
“Yes yes I know - so fucking embarrasing. Did I do.. Or say anything..?” You were trying to ask him without asking him.
“You almost threw up, but if you’re asking me if you started table-dancing you’re good.” He laughed and you sighed with palpable relief. All you needed was for him to tell you that you’d confessed your love or told Claudia to fuck off.
“Thank god. That would have been all I needed. Can you tell Pope I said thanks? Okay, I'm going to go shower for a million years now.” You wanted to hang up, your head was pounding and you needed a few hours of silence and about a gallon of water.
“Okay - see you in a few hours.” You didn’t want to deal with both of them together, not with how you felt right now.
“No Francis I don’t want to entertain, I already embarrassed myself enough yesterday.”
“It’s just me coming and I’ve seen you much worse. I haven’t been home in a long time so, take a shower and do what you have to do and I'll be there at seven.” He hung up and you could have thrown your phone across the room.
Fuck.
---
The knock at the door at exactly seven didn’t surprise you.
What did surprise you was how nervous you were that he would be coming over.
You were literally attached at the hip at one point, he’s seen you at your worst.
“You’re looking much better than you did last night, Spills.” He laughed as he walked past you and into your home.
“Oh god.” You groaned as he laughed, why had you been nervous? You watched him as he set down the bags of what looked to be way too much food on your kitchen counter. Grabbing napkins and forks - completely at ease within your space. “What did you bring?” moved to peak into the bags.
“Chinese - “ He looked to see your eyes wide and the big toothy smile you were giving him and laughed. “Did you think I’d forget you always get Chinese when you’re hungover?” He laughed as he took out what looked to be all your favourites.
“You’re a lifesaver Francis, truly.” You were practically bouncing on the balls of your feet as you served yourself.
“I know, I’m practically a saint.” He walked over to your couch and plopped down, an egg-roll in his mouth as he turned on your TV and looked for something to watch. This was it - this was how it was supposed to be.
This was easy.
He had come over in comfy clothes and seeing him on your couch in sweats and a soft flannel was almost too much. His hair had gotten longer than he had worn it before he went away and it looked so soft; practically begged for your fingers.
“Are you still a baby about horror movies?” He asked without looking at you, you saw that he had put on some cheesy zombie movie. A big smile on his face.
“No, I’m okay, as long as you check every single corner of this place before you leave.”
“God I love horror movies, Claudia hates them so we never end up watching.” He sighed. Her name cut through the air like a knife. An ice cube casually dropped into your shirt.
“That’s too bad.” You quickly shoved food into your mouth, stopping yourself from saying anything you’d regret but he knew you too well. He looked at you then, eyes narrowing a fraction.
“Do you like her?” He asked, point blank and your eyes widened at him.
Fuck, don’t make me answer this right now.
“Yeah, she’s great.” To your credit, you tried. You really tried to sound genuine.
“Why don’t you like her Spills?” He sighed heavily, putting his plate down onto your coffee table to face you properly.
“What are you talking about? I said she was great!” You could feel the flush creeping up your neck and licking at your face at the lie. She was great, that wasn’t a lie - you just didn’t like her.
“Seriously? You’re going to act like I can’t tell you’re lying through your teeth? Just tell me! I’m going to marry this girl. I have to know why you don’t like her.” He had a little frown on his face and you could see that he was worried, but what would he have to be worried about? Worried you’d picked up on something he’d missed maybe?
“I just don’t know her, Francis, that’s all. There’s nothing wrong with her, you know I'm just weird. She seems really nice and I’m sure I’ll like her once I get to know her better.” You smiled at him sadly, you didn’t want to talk about her anymore.
He smiled back at you and picked up his plate, happy with your explanation.
---
It always seemed to happen this way, ever since you’d been teenagers. He’d put on something scary and you would end up with your face buried into his chest.
“Oh god - that is disgusting!” You shut your eyes as he laughed, his chest rumbling underneath you at a particularly gruesome scene. You felt his hand rubbing your arm, and it was such a comfort that you sighed lightly. The words bubbled up without your permission.
“I missed this.” You felt him rest his chin on the crown of your head.
“Me too Spills, I always missed this while I was away, missed you.” He spoke into your hair, you could feel his breath ghosting along your scalp and your heart raced, you wanted nothing more than to turn and kiss him. His hand stilled, and you felt his heart beating under your ear. You wanted to do it, your whole body seemed to tense with want and you turned slightly to look at him through your lashes. He was already staring at you, his mouth was so close.
His phone rang, snapping him out of his trance and you moved away from him reluctantly.
“Hey babe, what’s up?” He smiled apologetically. “Just take a deep breath, it’ll be okay. I’m on my way.” He hung up and gave you a look that said I’m sorry. “Gotta go, wedding emergency.” He sighed heavily as he got up, taking both your plates to the kitchen with him.
You wanted him to stay, you wanted to grab him and sit him back down on the couch and straddle him. Grab the soft material of the flannel while you kissed him but you didn’t. Instead you smiled and thanked him for coming and for the food.
He made his way through the apartment before he left, opening every door.
“Just checking every corner, so you can sleep.” He smiled.
I love you too.
————————————
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startanewdream · 3 years
Text
the visit
Written for @blackinnonweek though I totally forgot to post it in time.
Here's a little angst Marlene Lives AU, just in case:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The sound of the children’s laughter greets her as soon as she disapparates in an empty alley two blocks from her house.
Marlene turns automatically, standing in the shadows a few seconds longer than she should, just watching the children in the nearby playground. They are playing, enjoying the end of the afternoon; today their attention is directed to three or four dogs that are playing chase with them.
As she looks, the biggest dog there, a black thin mutt dog turns to look at her, crooking its head to the side as if it can see there in the shadow of the alley, despite the fact that it’s protected by magic.
Dogs can sense magic, an old voice whispers into her head, and she remembers being eighteen and hopeful and in love, laying on the grass on a Muggle park—he always favoured Muggle places—, watching people walking with their dogs. He was smirking, guarding a secret he had never shared. Dogs are special.
She shakes her head, turning around and leaving the alley towards the backstreet. It’s a short walk to her house, less than two minutes, but still Marlene counts at least two sets of eyes over her. She is tempted to joke that she wouldn’t have survived the war if she couldn’t tell when she is being followed, but she stays quiet. They are just doing their job, pointless as it is.
It’s not like he will come to her, not when… not when he has ignored her for twelve years.
She wonders vaguely if this surveillance is why Remus accepted the job at Hogwarts. If he is tired of being followed as well.
But Marlene can’t know because they haven’t talked for years.
She hasn’t talked with most of the Order for years.
The darkness of the house greets her. She turns on the lights, moves to the kitchen to prepare her welcome-home tea, and sorts through the correspondence that arrived while she was out. Nothing important, and a part of her wonders if her mail is being watched as well; she doubts that prisoners on the run would send an owl, but still the idea of aurors searching through her Witch Weekly magazine is kind of fun...
The water has boiled. She pours the water over the leaves, looking outside; there is the sound of barks coming from the street, but she can’t see the dogs there. Maybe they are chasing after the hidden aurors…
A sound of footsteps alert her. It’s very soft, enough that someone else might not have listened but, again, Marlene survived a war. She realizes belatedly that she left her wand in the table behind her, so she does the next best thing. She grabs a knife from the sink, turning and throwing it in the direction of the kitchen door before she can even blink.
The knife vanishes in the living room, hitting nothing.
When she turns back, Sirius Black is sitting by the table.
And he looks… terrible, just like the photos in the Daily Prophet that she tried to avoid despite the fact they were everywhere. There is nothing of the man she once loved in the ghost that currently haunts her kitchen, except—
His grey eyes—pale and with dark circles under, gaunt and so scared—shine as he looks at her. A longing that shouldn’t be familiar and yet it is, as true as it was years ago, flourishes on her chest and she wants to hold on to him, to make this right somehow, to wake up from that strange dream…
But she is awake. And Sirius is dangerous, that’s the only truth she has ever received.
Marlene eyes her wand on the table. It’s closer to him, but he looks so thin that maybe she is faster? But then again, he was sharp enough to break out…
“Tea?” he asks, voice raspy and unused. “You always hated it.”
Marlene blinks. “Things change.”
“Oh, I know,” he whispers, his eyes moving over her face, taking in every detail. “I see.”
What does he see, Marlene wonders. Sometimes she looks in the mirror and she doesn’t think she aged a day. Other times she asks who is the woman staring back at her.
“You look beautiful,” Sirius adds and somehow this makes her laugh. It’s probably the insane kind of laugh that she learned from him ages ago, but Sirius only looks confused. “What’s wrong?”
“The most wanted criminal in the country just broke into my house to compliment me,” she says, drying the tears from her eyes. The mirth is gone. “You shouldn’t be here.”
He pauses. “Why?”
“There are two or three aurors watching me every step. They will probably be here anytime—”
“They don’t know I’m here,” he answers confidently. “And they won’t.”
“I could tell them,” Marlene says, narrowing her eyes.
“You could have warned them minutes ago.”
She could and they both know it. “I should,” she whispers, and suddenly she is twenty-one again, confused and lost after her family is gone and life as she knew broken, her best friend killed and Sirius…
“I missed you,” he says, standing up now, his fingers trembling even as he doesn’t move closer.
Fury and bitterness flood her. “No, you didn’t.”
“I—”
“I went to visit you. Twice, because I wasn’t stupid enough in the first time. And you refused to see me. You refused me.”
“I… What was there for you to see? I couldn’t have another good memory for them to suck—”
“It wasn’t about you,” she hisses, hating herself for keeping her voice down so it doesn’t attract any attention. “I just wanted answers!”
“I am innocent,” he says, sounding only broken. “I would have sworn it and… you wouldn’t believe it.”
“Then why—”
“I’d never betray James. You know that.”
It’s all Marlene has ever thought in the past twelve years. “All I know is that James is dead and so is Lily and Peter and—”
“No, it’s not like this, Peter…” He closes his fist, enraged and suddenly menacing. “He is alive and I’ll find him.”
“So you can kill him for real this time?”
“Yes,” he admits, not ashamed, and Marlene remembers it took a lot for Sirius to feel bashful about anything. “We changed the secret keeper. He betrayed them, Lene, not me.”
Lene. No one has called that like that in twelve years.
“Azkaban did make you crazy,” she whispers, shaking her head. “Crazier, actually. Pretending you—”
“Look at me and say you never questioned it. Say that you believe I really did all those things.”
“I…”
Marlene remembers waking up the first day of November and looking at the newspaper and not understanding anything. She remembers facing the dreadful journey to Azkaban only to be turned away.
The prisoner didn’t authorize any visit.
Did you tell him who it was? (Did you tell him it was Lene?)
Yes. He doesn’t want to see you.
“You’d have told me,” she says. One of those mornings or nights, when we laid in bed, catching our breaths, body still sore after we made love, you’d have told me. I held no secrets for you.
He looks sorrowful. “There is so much I never told you,” he admits, a note of guilt in his voice. “I am sorry, Lene.”
She closes her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose, and she hears soft footsteps. Her heart pumps in her chest but the touch she waits never comes; when she opens her eyes, the backdoor is open and there is no one with her.
She runs to her backyard, but other than a few dogs running in the street, Marlene doesn’t see anyone else.
Her wand waits for her on the table; he could have picked it, he could have done something, but all Sirius did was… look for her. I missed you.
She breathes slowly, remembering their meeting even as she tries to forget it, lock it away somewhere no one can take it from her. Then she grabs her coat and leaves the house, running quickly.
It’s no surprise that one of the aurors catches up with her; it’s the young woman with pink hair that came before to question her, and she looks almost apologetic to interrupt Marlene.
“Wotcher,” she says, winking. “Where are you going?”
“Back to the Ministry,” Marlene says, not stopping to answer; she is close to the alley now and those dogs seemed to be following them as well. “I want to check some old archives.”
“Oh.” The woman presses her lips for a moment. “You know I’ll need to report this later. Which files?”
“The one about Peter Pettigrew’s death,” Marlene replies, turning in the spot. The last thing she hears before she vanishes is a dog howling though there is no moon.
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Text
Canary, Part 6
First
Previous
Tim had been watching her out of the corner of his eyes for a long time. It wasn’t that he was trying to be creepy or anything, he just… didn’t know why she was there. It didn’t make sense. She was relatively low on funds according to what he and Oracle had dredged up, and even Tim in all his billionaire-ness recognized that this place was more expensive than average…
So, why had she come? It wasn’t even close to the motel she was staying at.
The vaguely paranoid -- cautious, he was cautious -- part of him worried that she had somehow known he was there, but there was no way she should have been able to know that. Hell, he hadn’t known he was going to this particular cafe until he’d gotten to work and realized that there were now cameras in the breakroom and his office to make sure he didn’t drink too much.
But, really, it seemed like she was just using the free wifi that the cafe provided to write up a resume.
He relaxed and sunk back in his chair with his laptop while he did his work.
… he didn’t get to work for long.
He picked up on the slight gravel of someone putting on a voice with ease. It was high and sweet, a voice he commonly heard from customer service workers. He chanced a look back at the barista and frowned when he saw her on her phone. Not her, then.
He looked around the tiny coffee shop and cringed a little when he realized what was going on. Shady guy approaches a woman who’s drinking coffee alone? Yeah, that’s never a good thing.
He pushed his laptop into his bag quickly, slung it over his shoulders, put the cap back on his coffee cup so the guy wouldn’t be able to tell that Tim had been there for a while, and rushed over.
He rested his hand on the man’s shoulder.
“Hey, bud, she said no.”
Tim watched both of them tense and their gazes were pulled to him in an instant.
Marinette glanced him up and down once. He watched her eyes lock onto his coffee cup for a second and he carefully turned his hand a little so she could see the name.
She smiled. “You’re late, Timmy. Don’t tell me you got caught up in another meeting?”
He shrugged innocently. “You know how it is.” Then, he split into a grin. “Maybe I should be the one that’s upset, though. Can’t believe you didn’t save me a spot.”
“I tried!” She whined. “He insisted!”
The man chuckled awkwardly. “I see. I’m sorry, I thought you were alone.”
She rolled her eyes. “I told you I wasn’t. Can you move, though?”
“Actually,” Tim said, because he didn’t want to sit in the window where Duke might happen to see him while on patrols. “There’s a free table back this way.”
Marinette tipped her head to the side a little before nodding. “Sure.”
She closed her laptop with a snap, gathered her things into her bag, and followed him back to his table.
That should have been the end of it. Unfortunately, the guy was still watching them. It looked like they weren’t going to be able to do work for a while if they wanted to keep up the pretense that they were friends.
She seemed to know it, too, because she sighed and rested her head on her hand with a small frown. “Guess we have to talk.”
He huffed. “Don’t have to sound so upset about it.”
“Alright. Fine.”
“Not sounding much more excited.”
She rolled her eyes and then brought a bright smile to her face. “Sure, Timmy, sounds great! Can’t wait to have a super fun conversation with you!”
“... nevermind. That’s weird. Why did that almost convince me? I knew it was fake.”
She let herself lean back in her chair, her face falling back to a slightly smug grin. “I’m Parisian,” she said simply.
Yeah. That made sense. Every Parisian Tim had had the (dis?)pleasure of meeting had had an almost unnerving amount of control over the way they presented their emotions.
He snickered. “Why the hell would you move here, then?”
She rolled her eyes. “Our psychopath was so boring. Like, dude, we get it, your wife died or whatever, that sounds like a you problem. Now, a guy deciding to become a jewel thief purely for the gimmick? Way more interesting.”
“Moral grayness is so twenty years ago,” Tim joked.
“Exactly! Give me dumbasses who are evil purely to be evil and good to be good!”
He grinned. “I can see why you like Harry Potter.”
She blinked.
He motioned to her cup. Scrawled across it in the barista’s messy handwriting was ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’.
She relaxed a little, grinning. “I just finished the books so I’m a bit obsessed. Also, every time I tell them that my name is Marinette they misspell it.”
“Don’t feel too bad, baristas are just like that. Heck, they’ve misspelled my name before.”
“... your name is Tim.”
“They spelled it with a y.”
“... why?”
“Yes. Exactly. A y.”
She giggled a little. “No, I mean why would they do that?”
“Oh. No clue. I hope they were just messing with me.”
~
The barista was wiping down the tables. It was nearing closing time and Marinette was feeling more and more sorry for the poor workers the longer they stayed. She knew that, when she had used to work at the bakery, she had always especially hated customers that were there around closing time.
Only two tables remained occupied.
She sighed when she glanced over and saw the guy was still there.
Oh well.
She looked over at Tim. “Care to walk me a few blocks in a random direction to see if we can get rid of him?”
“Certainly,” he said.
“‘Certainly’? I may not be super great with American customs yet but even I know that’s weird,” she teased.
He huffed a little. “Listen.”
“I’m listening.”
His nose scrunched. “No, wait, you weren’t supposed to call me out on the fact that I didn’t have an excuse.”
“Oh. Okay, we can try again.”
“Alright.” He cleared his throat. “Listen,” he said again, this time in a tone that mocked the one he’d said it in the first time.
Convenient. She was intent on mocking him, too: “I’m listening.”
“You’re the worst,” he complained.
She laughed. “I am so not. Joker exists.”
“You’re worse than him,” he said in his most serious voice.
She laughed harder. “No one is worse than him.”
He grinned. “I thought you liked people that were evil purely for being evil.”
“But he’s not,” she argued. “The man just decided one day that he liked the weird guy who dressed like a bat and figured that the best way to get that guy’s attention was to murder people.”
“Gotta admit, it works,” said Tim.
She shrugged, grinning. “Yeah, it does. Makes me wonder what would happen if the Big Bad Bat didn’t come, though.”
He tipped his head to the side slightly and then shrugged. “I don’t know, actually. He usually stops it in time.”
“I think he’d freak out.”
“Absolutely.”
She grinned and stretched lazily, head tipping back.
“He’s still following us, isn’t he?” Asked Tim.
“Yep,” she said, popping the ‘p’.
He groaned a little. “Great. Looks like we’re heading to the library.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You go to libraries? You could probably buy every ebook in existence and have a few billion left over.”
“One of my sisters works there, I can ask her to get rid of the guy,” he explained. “But I like libraries. There’s something quaint about them.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, it’s nice to see how the common folk live sometimes.”
He returned her eye roll. “Not like that. I spend a lot of time staring at screens, I have a special appreciation for regular old books.”
“That’s nice. I wish I had time to sit down with a physical copy like that.”
“You see, I have this genius strategy for making time: not taking care of myself.”
“Go on, this is intriguing.”
“Well, eating and sleeping, right? Everyone thinks they’re totally necessary things otherwise you’d die or whatever. But, listen, that’s just a hoax made up by the government to perpetuate capitalism.”
She nodded eagerly. “Totally totally totally. What’s your solution?”
“Coffee communism.”
“Yes, you should use your rich boy money to lobby Congress.”
He grinned. “I totally should. But I can’t run it by my family.”
“No way! You never know who's capitalist anymore, they could be plants placed by the sleep industry to ensure that you don’t go through with it.”
He gasped. “No! You think? My own family?!”
She nodded grimly. “It’s always the ones closest to you that betray you.”
And then he broke character, snickering behind his hand. She beamed.
They reached the library and he smiled as he held the door open for her. He asked her to wait while he talked to his sister and she waved him off casually, telling him to take his time.
She pulled out her phone and pressed her lips together thinly as she made a note to head over later that night to give the man -- Henry -- his money. She’d give him a little tip because, for a moment there, she’d almost forgotten that they were just acting. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to purposely trigger herself for the sake of believability but, hey, if she was going to try and dupe one of the smartest businessmen alive into talking to her, she needed to go all out.
Speaking of Tim, she updated the file of Tim’s favorite cafes plus the probabilities of him visiting each one. It was for his oldest brother, Richie Wayne. She didn’t know why Richie was the one to ask for it seeing as he spent most of his time in Bludhaven and therefore likely wouldn’t find much use in it, but no one ever really knew why Richie Wayne did anything. The man famously had almost as much cotton between his ears as his father.
But, Richie Wayne was also just as rich as his father, so… she’d give him his file later that night after checking her math with her favorite graphing calculator.
A redhead in a wheelchair rolled past Marinette and she absently held the door open for her, only to be surprised when she cursed out Henry.
She watched as Henry held his hands up and started backing away from the woman in the wheelchair, and then he ran down the nearest alley.
(… she’d give Henry a bigger tip. The man had just wanted a tiny side job to help pay for his wife and kids that wasn’t being a henchman, he didn’t deserve this.)
She opened the door for the woman on her way back inside and mumbled her thanks. The woman nodded once and continued on her way.
Marinette leaned back against the wall again and scrolled through Twitter as she waited for Tim to reappear. Apparently, Poison Ivy was already back in Arkham. Something about an intern at the botanical gardens watering plants wrong. Wild.
Marinette felt someone sidle up beside her and, after a quick glance confirmed that it was Tim, pocketed her phone.
He smiled at her, a tote bag over his shoulder.
“Did you go grocery shopping while I wasn’t looking, somehow?”
He hesitated before holding it out to her. “It’s the French dubs of the Harry Potter movies.”
She blinked as the bag was thrust into her hands and looked down at it. Yep, that was Harry Potter in French. She also, vaguely, noted the tiny slip of paper his phone number scrawled across it.
She slung the bag over her shoulder.
“I’m never going to return these. You’re going to rack up so much debt.”
~~~
NightwingsAss9384: does anyone know why nightwing and canary hate each other?
ScareCrane: She stabbed Batman once on accident and somehow got away with blaming it on him
Daylightwing: She refuses to let B adopt her.
RiddleMeThis: They think it’s funny when their stans fight.
SignalOfficial: They said ‘I’m the only flippy bitch allowed in New Jersey’ and have been fighting ever since
Yummmmmm: He has to or else Robin will get jealous because he’s the only stabby sibling allowed
Oracle: They’re fighting over who gets to change their name to ‘The Dodo’ first.
DeadHood: Nightwing is jealous that Canary was the first one of us to think to have a full-on bird mask.
TheBetterCanary: every time i go into the batfam tag to try and avoid them all i see is his fancams
SpoilerAlert: they’re both convinced that they’re the hottest bachelor/bachelorette in gotham
NightwingsAss9384: im beginning to think no ones going to tell me.
BlackBat: :)
~~~~~
Next
Perma taglist: @nathleigh @peachmuses
Canary taglist: @jayjayspixiepop @unoriginalmess @miraculousfanfic127 @probably-a-hologram @iloontjeboontje
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ask-feederjin · 3 years
Note
Hi!!~~ <3 So... How much has Jungkook's physical condition changed?
Do you think he tires easily with physical tasks? I can only imagine him puffing all the time ><
Jin had just put the final revisions on a work project when a notification popped up on his computer.
“Hi!!~~ <3 So... How much has Jungkook's physical condition changed?
Do you think he tires easily with physical tasks? I can only imagine him puffing all the time ><”
Oh if only, Jin sighs softly. He wishes he could say that their youngest does, but that would be a lie. Either way, Anon needs an answer!
-
Oh, he wishes! Poor Jungkook has a ridiculously fast metabolism, much to his dismay. It was great for him when he was a gym rat, effortlessly maintaining his washboard abs. But now it is his ultimate curse.
We’ve been doing research on how to lower or, in Jungkook’s words, “completely ruin” his metabolism.
So far, we’ve chosen to have him switch to a completely sedentary activity level, bulk up on carbs, flip into “starvation mode” between stuffings and replacing that banana milk he likes to drink with soda. We also heard that lack of sleep can contribute to a drop in metabolism, but I vetoed that one. Jungkook may be willing to suffer sleep deprivation to get fatter, but that’s not something I’m willing to support.
On the topic of him getting tired… Hmm… I think it would only really happen if he was going out of his way to be active? Like, him just walking around or lifting basic things doesn’t phase him yet, but exercise on the other hand… Give me one second!
-
“Jungkook!” Jin called out.
“Yeah?” He heard back. It sounded like Jungkook had just woken up from a post breakfast nap.
“Could you come here please, baby?” Jin was now curious. How has his physicality changed in the past two months? Would he get out of breath easily? Or has his years of exercise and healthy eating still blocked that?
“Do I have to?” He whined. Jin felt butterflies in his stomach at just how lazy his boyfriend has gotten.
“Yes!” Jin laughed.
After what sounded like some shuffling and grunting, Jungkook sleepily wandered into Jin’s office.
“You never make me come to you…” The youngest complained halfheartedly, scratching his tummy.
“Forgive me just this once, your highness.” Jin snarked back. “I just wanted to… do a little test.”
Jungkook perked up the the word ‘test’. Jin knew he would never pass up an opportunity to prove himself.
“What do I need to do?” The younger man asked excitedly, watching as Jin pushed his rolling desk chair to the corner of the room.
“Well… first I’m going to need you to stand riiiight here. There, perfect!” Jin maneuvered the taller boy to stand right in front of his computer screen. “Wait just a second, babe.”
The screen suddenly changed from spreadsheets to a camera screen. Jin pressed record…
-
The video starts off in a well kept room. Orderly bookshelves line the background, tiny potted vines trailing down the fronts.
Pulling away from the screen, you catch a blurry glimpse of knobby knuckles and trimmed nails. Front and center stands a rather tall young man. He has short, shiny black hair and warm brown eyes. Said eyes are currently large with confusion.
The young man is wearing a rather ill-fitting set of pajamas. The bottoms fit well enough, but the top’s buttons are slightly strained. A soft looking paunch hangs out from the too small shirt, wobbling as the young man shifts uncertainly. He rests both hands on the mass, rubbing slowly.
“Okay, -ahem-.” You hear a man’s voice says off camera say. “Hello, everyone! This is the first video I’ll be uploading to the blog, yay! It was originally going to be the third month weigh in, but it seems I just couldn’t wait.”
The young man on screen chuckles a bit, relaxing at the lighthearted conversation.
The voice resumes speaking, “Either way! We’re here now! This is Jungkook, some of you might recognize his face from the profile section of the blog, but if you haven’t then here he is! Say hi, Kookie.”
Jungkook blushes, waving at the camera. “Hi guys… I’m uh, I’m Jungkook.”
“Oh! And I’m Jin!” The disembodied voice frantically shouts. Jungkook bursts into giggles. “I’m Jin! The owner of the blog! I’m also apparently an idiot.” Jin ducks his head into the camera, giving you an unattractive, sideways close up of his eyes and nose.
“Veryprofessional, Jin.” Jungkook grins teasingly.
Jin’s too-close head turns, presumably to glare at the focus of the video. “Yes, I am a professional thank you very much. Now take your shirt off, fatty.”
Jin walks to the side of the room again, giving you a nearly full view of Jungkook’s body. The young man blushes again, levity gone, and starts to unbutton his sleep shirt.
With each button undone, the fabric gratefully springs to the side. Soon the boy’s tan tummy lays bare, angry looking stretchmarks decorating the lower part of it.
Jungkook tosses his shirt off camera, breathing slowly and evenly. “Wh-what now?”
“Jiggle it.”
Jungkook’s breath hitched, eyes closing slightly. He brings both large hands to his jello like gut and proceeds to bounce it up and down. For a minute of two, he shakes it briefly, only to let go and wait for the jiggly mass to settle. He stares at the camera, as if he’s watching himself in the feedback footage.
One hand slides up to cup his soft chest, while the other slaps gently at his belly entranced by the bounce.
“Now, turn to your side.” Jin’s voice startles Jungkook out of his self exploration. Jin himself walks towards the now sideways Jungkook, pressing up against his back. Jin reaches his arms around Jungkook to lift the younger man’s pot belly. He squeezes, pinches and lets it drop to watch it wobble.
“Tsk tsk tsk…” He pokes a long finger into the pliant flesh. “Someone’s let himself go it seems…”
“Ah~! I- I have!” Jungkook moans. “I’m soooo lazy, and- and greedy.”
“Lazy is right you little piggy.” Jin pulls away from playing with the taller boy’s belly button, walking back off screen. “Why don’t we give our viewer’s a little show? See how out of shape you’ve really gotten?”
Jungkook can only nod, face a bright red.
“Gimme fifty jumping jacks.”
“Fifty?! Jin! That’s too many!” Jungkook gapes at the man off screen.
“You used to do sets of eighty not even a year ago, I’m sure your fat ass can manage one set of fifty.”
“I’ll try I guess…” Jungkook doesn’t look optimistic. He gets in position anyway and starts counting out loud.
“One, two, three, four, five, six…”
The up and down movement vigorously shakes his little jelly belly, truly revealing just how much fat had accumulated there.
“Fifteen, sixteen, seh-seventeen, eight -hah hah- eighteen…” The poor boy’s face was tomato red and shiny with sudden sweat. His arms keep perfect time, but his legs move less far apart with each jump.
“Nine-hah-teen, twenty!” Jungkook is huffing now, tiny breasts quaking each time he lands. He is so out of breath now that he only mutters what vaguely sounds like numbers with each jumping jack.
“Twenty one, twenty two, twenty three…” Jin picks up where the out of breath young man left off. “Come on tubby, you were doing this in your sleep six months ago! What happened?”
Jungkook is gasping now, arms waving less with each jump, feet not even moving apart. A drop of sweat hangs precariously off of a perky nipple, only to fall onto his gut not even a second later.
“Are you seriously this out of shape?” Jin sounds genuinely surprised now, instead of teasing. Jungkook plops onto the floor panting. His previously neat hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, neck and chest pink from effort. “Kookie, you only did 31 jumping jacks.”
“I- gasp- I can’t…” The chubby boy leans back against the bookshelf. “I’m too fat…”
“Oh no. I’ll be the one to tell you when you’re too fat. Right now?” Jin squats down and smacks Jungkook’s sweaty belly, eliciting a moan from the boy. “You’re barely overweight.”
“I’ll get bigger! I promise!” The younger man pleads, having seemingly forgotten about the fact that he’s being recorded.
“Bigger? Eating like you are now? I don’t think so. You’re going to have to pick up the pace if you want to be the fattest boy in the house. Even Hobi will get bigger than you at this rate.” Jin gave Jungkook’s red, sweaty paunch one last wobbling pat before standing back up again. Jungkook stays on the ground, not even bothering to hide the bulge in his pajama pants.
“Okay guys!” The older man addresses the camera, winking. “It looks like Jungkook can still do thirty one jumping jacks before he gives up. You could say his stamina isn’t what it used to be! I’m gonna get this little piggy back to bed now. I think the poor thing’ll need another nap after so much exercise. Thank you for watching!”
Jin leans forward
The screen goes black.
-
I went ahead and attached a video instead of just writing down the answer ^-^;
I hope you don’t mind using headphones, haha! It got a little steamy there for a second… I should really get a video editing program so I can cut out those bits of me turning the camera on and off. Maybe even use my phone next time or something.
Oh well, lessons for later.
I hope that answers your question, Anon!
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desiraypark · 3 years
Text
Alright. 
So.
I really wasn’t trying to get too deep into the mess. Why? For a couple of reasons.
1) Because when I joined this ADCU fandom--I was very aware that I was going to see racist shit. A lil’ internalized sexism. All of that. I’d mentally prepared myself for it before I came through, or tried my very best. As I stated in a post a week or two ago, I was very vocal about these things in my younger adult years, but now, I am tired and just no longer interested in letting racism, misogynoir, microaggressions, and other things on the internet get my blood pressure up (because I’ve gotta deal with it in real life). I simply block, filter, and move on. This is my path. Not saying that it’s right, that’s just the stage that I’m in right now. 
2) What I’ve heard of this controversial fic is offensive to me. More so, the erasure of certain elements about the Civil War is what I found offensive. Did it piss me off or enrage me? No, because again, I’m tired lol. Offended, yes? Angry--me? No.
Now, I’m not writing this as a “woman of color”. This is a BLACK woman about to tell you what HAS pissed me off over these last few days. And I’m saying it straight from my account--not on anon or some account that just blossomed a couple of days ago. 
I’m writing this as a Black woman who lives in a neighborhood that used to be a plantation (big house and slave cabins still up and intact up the street from my home) - because there is barely a place in my city you can walk where your feet don’t touch land that used to be a plantation, or a slave trading station, or an auction block, or a public whipping post, etc. I live in a city that is ENTRENCHED in “memories of the Civil War” -- “good” and bad memories. 
I’m writing this as a Black woman who once worked next door to a Confederacy Museum--MUSEEEEUM--and watched old white men sit outside of the building with their flags. Or, who once had an old white man come to into my job, walked up to me with a shady, condescending glint in his eye, to ask me questions about “the museum next door” that he hoped to visit one day.
I love historical AUs and write them myself. Me, personally, I’m not gonna tell anybody they can’t write romantic/smutty Civil War AUs (I’m just gonna fucking block them). Because people are gonna do what they want and as we’ve seen demonstrated, there are some people who are gonna do the shit HARDER if it’s called out. But I DON’T have the privilege of reading something in that setting and being able to imagine myself as a landowner. This is a fact. 
People can say “oh, well there were Black landowners back then!” But could they own that land without a  “guardian”? Could they walk around town without “papers” to “prove” that they were free? Do we think that free and/or landowning Black people were just walking around untouched in the 1860s and AFTER? We LITERALLY just commemorated the 100th Anniversary of the Tulsa massacre. Come the fuck on, now. 
I can BARELY write my 1920s AU shit without thinking about how race impacts the my OCs. I just CAN’T make that separation. And it must be nice that some of you WOC and white readers can do that. I’m happy for you. Whatever. 
Now, from what I’ve gathered, I believe that this is the point that was originally being brought to SH--that not only could some of her audience not see themselves in this story, but some of them actually might be hurt by it. And instead of being thoughtful of that, excuses were made. The “colorblind” card was thrown out and it was stressed that “sides” in a Civil War setting were written “vaguely”. The dismissal and denial is what has frustrated me. 
But ah, here’s the thing.
This is a pattern. 
I think some of you might be under the impression that this might be the author’s “first misstep” (that is, if you think that is the case at all). I’m going to tell you a quick story. And this story is not secret--these incidents and the posts (pro-cop posts) that correspond to them were shared publicly. 
I’ve long had SH blocked for awhile. Why? 
You remember when another writer whose name started with an “S” went  through this whole thing about all cops not being bad? I was actually quite friendly with that writer and expressed among people (including SH) that I wanted to reach out to S because I knew she was young and probably just hadn’t lived enough life and been around others to understand why their stance was problematic (and wrong). But then, I found out that she’d done the whole deleting POC’s comments thing...
She’d reached out to me wanting to talk, but at that point, after learning about commentary deletion, I didn’t want to be bothered. I decided that I would not reach out to her. I unfollowed her and moved on, because as I later told SH, Aiyana Stanley Jones was born around the same year that S was--but unlike Aiyana (who was murdered by WHO?), S will be fine. And I don’t regret my decision. I would have been a fool to try to be the Black person who “reaches out” to try to educate somebody. And I would have regretted doing so.
So, anyway. SH tried to encourage me to talk to S anyway, because S felt so bad and hurt. I politely declined, gave my reasons why, and me and SH left it at that and remained cordial. This is something I do regret because I should have known better. Because guess what? About a month later (IF THAT), SH made a post regurgitating S’s same pro-cop sentiments. 
But I made no fuss. I simply unfollowed and blocked. She’d shown me who she was and I finally decided to believe her. No need to argue. I had no desire to “call her out” because she already knew how I felt--and she’d only shown me that (as history has shown my ass time and time again), I don’t matter to her and I don’t count in the world she’d rather exist in--(edit: or at the very least, the fanfic worlds she’d like to create). Calling her out would have been fucking pointless.
So, I can’t let this week end with y’all thinking that this is just some “slip up” or misstep--or some “sudden attack” made out of jealousy or whatever other shit people are spewing. These recent events are merely a day that has long been coming. 
Now. 
I’m about to put “Civil War” in my filtered tags and content, and go on about my day. Bye.
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mnemosyne-musing · 3 years
Text
Right person, wrong time (River/11)
The Doctor opens the TARDIS door and peers around him expectantly before frowning. How strange. He appears to be inside a very ordinary block of flats. He steps outside and looks around more closely. He sniffs the air. Earth. No. Not Earth. Something that was trying to simulate Earth but not quite.
He can’t hear anything in particular. There’s a buzz of conversation that he can hear coming from further down the hall but no shouts of distress or screams for help. He wanders up to the nearest door, peering closely at the small intercom before pressing the button.
He’s not quite sure what or who he expects to answer the door. But what he certainly isn’t expecting to see is a slightly grumpy looking River Song.
“River?”
“You’re late,” she announces, one hand on her hip as she stands in front of him in the doorway.
“Late?” he repeats indignantly, staring at her in amazement, “What do you mean, late?”
She rolls her eyes and turns to head back inside, clearly expecting him to follow. “You said you’d be here half an hour ago.”
“Did I?” he mumbles to himself as he steps inside, closing the door behind him. He follows her curiously as she wanders back into a small living room with a cosy kitchenette at the far end. It’s certainly not Stormcage. It feels like an Earth colony from around the 50thcentury, the tech on display is evidence enough of that. However, there are also books and texts scattered around the living room. There’s also some piles of clean laundry and a stray pair of River’s heels in the corner. There’s some artwork on the walls and a few pictures on one of the shelves.
In fact, the whole place has an almost studenty feel to it which really doesn’t make much sense at all. His gaze returns to River and he finally takes in what she’s wearing. Not the particularly revealing pair of figure-hugging shorts, which his mind certainly clocks and plans to return to contemplating very soon. No, what draws his attention now is the baggy, sweatshirt that comes almost down to the hem of said rather-short shorts. The one that says ‘Luna University’ in big red letters across the front.
“You’re a student!” he blurts out as River frowns at him, “Here! On Luna!”
“Of course I am,” she looks as confused as he feels, “Where else would I be?”
“And you live here!” he gestures wildly around him.
“Yes, you helped me move in here from those awful undergrad digs, remember,” she frowns at him as he turns back to look at her, “Why are you acting so strangely all of a sudden?” she asks, looking more closely at him, “Did you eat one of those weird peach things again?”
“Peach, what? No!” he gapes at her as he desperately tries to process what’s happening.
A look of realisation dawns on her face before turning, rather terrifyingly, to one of glee. “Oh! You’re not late. You’re young!”
He splutters at that. “No! I’m not young. You’re young!” And she is young. Now that he knows, he can see that she looks a few years younger than when he’d last seen her. He can’t quite tell exactly how old she is, he’s not brilliant at telling human ages after all, but she certainly doesn’t look like a young student to him.
Her eyes rake up and down him before returning to his face. “Do you even know who I am yet?”
“Of course I do,” he lies as she lifts one eyebrow in surprise, “You’re River Song. Chief purveyor of trouble in half the universe.”
River lets out what could only be described as a squeal of delight. “Oh my god, you don’t know yet!”
“Well, how do you know who I am?” he retorts with a huff.
“It doesn’t work like that,” she scoffs with a toss of her head, “I’ve always known who you are,” he opens his mouth to protest but she simply fixes him with an absolutely wicked look and shakes her head, “Sorry, Doctor, spoilers!”
He glares at her but she simply leans forward and grins at him, her eyes wide with excitement. “I’ve never seen you this young before. And I have been waiting so long to say that to you!”
He can’t think of anything to say to that so he settles for shooting a final glare at her and then turning away to leaf idly through some of the books on the table.
“Why are you here anyway?” River asks curiously, watching as he drops a large archaeology textbook back down with a look of disgust.
The Doctor shrugs. “Dunno. Wasn’t aiming for here,” he picks up a scroll of parchment and brings it up to his face, sniffing it tentatively, “Amy and Rory are on their honeymoon. Thought I’d pop over to the waterfalls on Epsilon IV. Ended up here instead.”
She moves over and plucks the scroll of parchment out of his hands before he can subtly lick it. “Oh,” she turns around to put the scroll out of his reach, “So you didn’t mean to come here?”
He still doesn’t know River that well but he can tell that she’s trying to sound casual and unconcerned. It doesn’t fool him though and the tension in the set of her shoulders is a giveaway even though he can’t see her face. He hesitates for a moment. There’s a part of him that’s longing to run back to the safety of the TARDIS. Away from this terrifyingly young River Song and the way she looks at him.
However, there’s a note of uncertainty in her voice that he’s never heard from her before and it’s that that makes him pluck up his courage and ask her. “You said I was late? Late for what?”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she says dismissively, too quickly almost, “Just a drinks thing in the archaeology department.”
“What kind of drinks thing?” he presses, watching her as she fidgets with a glass on the counter and avoids his gaze.
She shakes her head. “It’s just this drinks reception for new doctoral students and their, umm, their partners,” she says, rushing over the last bit very quickly, her eyes darting up to his to gauge his reaction and then away again, “But, it’s fine,” she continues breezily, “We can do something else. Or you can go if you want. Or-“
River trails off, her feigned nonchalance undermined as she still fidgets with the glass in front of her. He takes a deep breath and straightens his jacket lapels.
“You’re trying to steer me away from a party, River Song!” he exclaims, “I never thought I’d see the day!”
“Are you sure?” she looks up at him and if he wasn’t convinced before then the grateful look she shoots at him now is certainly enough to reassure him.
He claps his hands enthusiastically. “Of course! Lead the way!” he falters suddenly, his eyes falling to the rather scandalously short hem of her shorts, “Are you- are you going to go like that?” he asks, his voice coming out an octave or so higher than he had anticipated.
“Why? What’s wrong with this?” she asks, her face a picture of innocence but for the smirk playing around her lips.
He gulps and gestures vaguely at her legs. “Maybe something a bit less- I mean, more. Definitely more fabric.”
“Ooh, so strict for one so young!” she outright smirks at him before turning around and wandering across the room into where he assumes is her bedroom. If the extra sway in her hips accentuates her arse in those shorts then he definitely definitely doesn’t pay particular attention to it as she leaves the room.
Several hours later they are in one of the quieter bars on Luna, away from the student crowds. River had indeed changed outfit and is now wearing a rather fetching dark red cocktail dress. They are sat side by side at the bar, perched on high stools. A future version of him has clearly been here before as the barman handed him a menu for the milkshakes instead of the cocktail menu as soon as they sat down. So, here he is, sat enjoying a triple chocolate milkshake while a very young River sips her gin martini and brushes her knee against his from time to time.
The archaeology drinks party had been- Well, he still hesitates to use the word fun where archaeology is involved although he’s rapidly coming to the realisation that anything involving River Song could probably be fun. He glances covertly at her over the top of his milkshake. She’s humming along absent-mindedly to song that’s playing in the background. He recognises it as an old 20th century jazz song.
This younger River Song is definitely different to the one he knows. He’s only met her a couple of times in this body; the adventure in the Byzantium and then all that business with the Pandorica and the universe collapsing and restarting. She’s still the same flirty, confident, charming woman he knows but there’s an openness, he hesitates to call it a vulnerability, about her this young that he hasn’t seen before.
He’s suddenly gripped by a feeling of regret and self-loathing that it wasn’t the version of him she knows that showed up today. That she had to make do with an early version that barely knows her instead.
“I’m sorry,” he blurts out, as River turns towards him questioningly, “I’m sorry I’m not your- that I’m not the right person, the right me, the one that-, that knows you.”
She stares at him for a moment, gazing at his face searchingly before a soft smile curls her lips. “You’re always the right person, Doctor,” she says and he feels a warmth blooming through his chest at her words, “Even if your timing’s a bit off occasionally,” she adds with a grin as she leans in to steal a sip of his milkshake.
He feigns a gasp of outrage and swipes the glass back from her but, as they sit and gently bicker about the best flavour milkshake, the thought crosses his mind that maybe his timing isn’t actually that bad after all.
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Text
everybody’s got a thing
This is @backupmiyuko‘s other prompt--Kagami Arata and Hikawa Makoto, with a song of my choice. It follows on and is roughly simultaneous with it’s a beautiful new day, picking at about the point where Tendou and Shouichi begin discussing tomatoes, and also contains offhand references to my fic Something In The Eyes, and to Oryx’s corner of the sky, which might be the finest Kabuto fic in existence.
Song: “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing,” Stevie Wonder (Spotify)
Arata hears familiar buzzing and looks up in surprise right before the Gatack Zecter zips into view and lands on him. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
No answer. Of course. He wishes, not for the first or even hundredth time, that the Zecters could talk, it would make things make so much more sense. It just sort of scuttles around ticklishly on his shoulder, which tells him nothing.
“Is that your. Uh. Robot…beetle?”
Arata looks up from the Zecter in surprise. “Detective Hikawa! Hello! Yes, it’s…well. No? Yes. Sort of. It belongs to itself, it just likes me.”
The Gatack Zecter clicks its little robo-jaws together in a way that seems satisfied and does some more scuttling. Detective Hikawa stares at it, and then shrugs. “Sure, that makes sense. I mean I’ve seen weirder things. And I know you, you’re Kagami, you’ve got the really stylish friend who brings you lunches all the time.”
Arata pinches the bridge of his nose, feeling his ears go hot. “Wonderful, I love that that’s what I’m known for.”
“Well, that and you’re really dependable.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” Arata resists the urge to sigh regardless. “What brings you over this way, Detective, is there something going on?”
“Oh, no, no, it’s my day off, I was just going for a walk. I live near here, a couple of blocks that way,” with a vague gesture and an awkward grin.
“So do I, actually, just a couple of blocks in the other direction. It’s funny that we haven’t run into each other before.”
“I mean, it’s not too surprising, I suppose, I imagine you’re at least as busy as I am, and I know you were on nights for a while.” A slightly awkward pause, Hikawa rubbing at his left shoulder—which Arata vaguely remembers having some kind of old injury—and then, “Hey, you haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
The Gatack Zecter makes some more self-satisfied clicking noises and then zips off as Arata blinks. “I hadn’t, no, why?”
Ten minutes later he’s sitting at a ramen cart next to Hikawa, and he’s not entirely clear on why. Well, he knows the immediate cause, he’s there because Hikawa offered to buy him lunch, but he’s not sure why Hikawa would want to do that. He’s always found the man vaguely intimidating—always friendly, but there are things in his background that make Arata worried. Obviously he’s got a sterling record, but he was also involved in some project years ago that nobody wants to talk about anymore, and which resulted in both his bad shoulder and his startlingly adversarial relationship with some of the higher-ups. And then he was on another mysterious project very briefly with the slightly legendary Ichijo Kaoru, which apparently went nowhere, although they’re still friendly.
After ZECT, Arata’s had sort of enough of mysterious projects.
As if thinking of ZECT makes them materialize, Hikawa swallows a mouthful of noodles and says, “You used to be in ZECT, right? Before they…”
“Collapsed,” Arata says helpfully, extracting a fish cake from his bowl.
Hikawa laughs. “I was going to say shut down, but that’s probably more accurate. Are you…allowed to talk about what you did there?”
Arata shrugs. “I’m allowed, I just generally don’t. A lot happened.”
A slow nod in response, and a roll of that bad shoulder. “I…yeah, I get that, I’ve got stuff like that. So don’t worry about it. I won’t ask.”
Silence, briefly, but for the quiet slurping of noodles and the cart owner humming faintly to himself. It’s good ramen, and Hikawa’s decent company, intimidating or no.
“Anyway,” after a few minutes, “Kagami. I guess you’re probably wondering why we’re…here?”
Arata swallows a mouthful of egg. “I mean, I was definitely wondering, but I’m not going to turn down good ramen.”
“It is good ramen—actually,” to the cart owner, “can I get another bowl? But look, seriously, you know Kono’s retiring in a couple of months?”
A suspicion dawns. It’s a startling and unreasonable suspicion, but it’s there nonetheless. Arata looks at his lunch companion sidelong, takes a bite of noodles, chews it thoughtfully and swallows before saying, “I think I’d heard that, yeah. He’s got a heart condition, right?”
“He’s got some health problems, yeah, I’m actually glad to see him finally taking some time to himself. He’s not the only one, either, a couple of people are retiring. Look, have you ever thought about becoming a detective?”
“…are you asking me if I. If I want to work with you?”
“Well, yes.”
“I. Why me?”
Hikawa shrugs. “Well, like I said. I’ve heard you’re dependable. You have a good reputation.” He pauses, looking like he’s searching for words, before continuing. “And for some reason I feel like we have a lot in common.”
Arata nods, feeling simultaneously gratified and very puzzled. “That’s flattering, thank you, I—shit, I’m sorry, excuse me, I wouldn’t interrupt this conversation just for a text except that I never get texts unless it’s something serious.” He digs his (overly fancy, not selected by him) phone out of his pocket to check the message, which is of course from Souji—nobody else really texts him most of the time.
“That’s fair.” Hikawa frowns. “I hope nothing’s wrong?”
Arata’s pinching the bridge of his nose again. “Sometimes Tendou’s idea of what’s important is a little strange. Apparently we’ve—he’s been invited to dinner by someone he just met, and he says I’m expected to dress nicely for it."
"I don't know, that sounds like something you'd want to know about in advance. Back to what we were discussing, though, I mean. I should be honest with you, it's...kind of a loaded offer? I'd understand if you're not interested." Hikawa scratches at the back of his head, looking uncomfortable. "Don't get me wrong, I think we'd work well together, but people who decide to work with me tend to...not get promoted much."
Arata can't quite stop himself from grinning. "Would you believe that that's kind of appealing to me?"
"...you know, I'd heard some rumors, but I didn't want to assume--hang on, I guess it's my turn to get surprise texts." Hikawa pulls out his phone, murmuring under his breath as he reads his message. "Company for dinner, going to look at his tomatoes, you might know his--Kagami, did your friend say who invited him over for dinner?"
Frowning, Arata checks the text again. "He didn't say a name, but he says it's the guy who owns Restaurant Agito? That sort of French fusion place over on--Hikawa?"
Apparently it's Hikawa's turn to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Of course. Of course. It's always like this with him, why do I love this man--you didn't hear that. Unless you're not going to be--" He rereads his own message. "Oh, no, ok, you did hear that, it's fine. So! Looks like you've got some time to think and maybe we can continue this conversation over dinner?"
Arata stares at him. "Are you saying this restaurant owner is your…roommate?"
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm guessing Tendou is your…" Hikawa visibly searches for words for a moment before going with, "stylish bento guy?"
"...yeah, that's him."
"I, ah, I thought so."
There's a moment of palpable tension, and then an equally palpable sense of relaxation. Arata considers ordering another bowl of ramen, decides against it, and says, instead, "Well, it's good that they're getting along? If they didn't then it'd make working together very awkward."
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willowbird · 3 years
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can we get an Aaron POV of him beating the abuslute shit out of Jack in the locker room. i’m talking about slamming this boys head into the locker beating, he need kevin, matt and nicky to get aaron to stop and even then he still struggling to get more in till andrew comes into his vision. show me that same aaron from that secne in thanksgiving!!!
I am so SO sorry it's taken me so long to answer this!! Work was getting hectic and I was working on something else BUT now I'm for sure gonna get through the rest of these asks ^.^
Aaron losing his shit on Jack, huh? Well, we can sure do that ^.^ 
I changed a few things from your prompt just because as I was sitting down to write it made the most sense to me that if Aaron was gonna go after Jack it probably wouldn’t be about Andrew or Neil. Neil and Andrew take care of themselves, more or less, and if they can’t then they’ve got each other. Not that Aaron wouldn’t beat the ever-living shit out of Jack for doing or saying something to Andrew, but he just probably wouldn’t have to -- if only because Andrew doesn’t care enough about Jack to be affected by him. 
Nicky on the other hand...? Well, I’m a bit soft for the twins being protective of Nicky.
Warning for violence, depression, mentions of suicidal thoughts, triggering language. Take care of  yourselves.
----
“Jesus fucking Christ. That was the most pathetic excuse of teamwork I’ve ever seen in my goddamn life, and this is my sixth year coaching this fucks-forsaken team.” Coach Wymack had just spent the last twenty minutes ripping all of them brand new assholes. They were all tired, they were all angry, and they were all ready for this day to be fucking over, but it wasn’t over until the Coach had had his say, so here they were -- sitting in the locker room, getting chewed out again. 
Not that they didn’t deserve it. Aaron knew they did.
It had been a brutal fucking loss. The Foxes trashed by some half-cocked team from Alabama. Even with Andrew actively trying to block the goal, there was only so much he could do when the other team’s offense kept breaking through their defensive line to swarm the goal. Matt was off the court with an injury, which meant the only backliners they had were Aaron, Nicky, and Keith -- the freshman backliner who still couldn’t figure out how to fucking pass to a moving target. 
Aaron cared less about the loss than he did about the cause for it, and not for the same reasons as half the rest of the team. 
Nicky had been all thumbs and no energy tonight, but that hadn’t been a surprise -- not to Aaron or any of the rest of the monsters. Nicky had been off for a few days, his usual chatty, chipper demeanor whittled down to strained smiles and shrugs in a way that the rest of the team had never seen before. Well, most of the rest of the team. Aaron had seen this before. Andrew had too. Neil and Kevin hadn’t witnessed it directly, but by now the other two “monsters” knew Nicky well enough to know this other side of him existed even if they hadn’t seen it. 
So yeah, he’d gone into this game knowing it was going to suck -- knowing that they might lose. Maybe that had been their mistake. He, Andrew, Kevin, and Neil had been distracted -- torn between concern for Nicky and the need to cover for him. The freshmen had been a nightmare about it and what the fuck even was teamwork. At halftime, the commentators had called it one of the worst performances by the Foxes in three years. 
Yeah.
But at least it was fucking over, right?
“Now get showered up and get the fuck outta my sight. I don’t want to see a single one of you fuckers until tomorrow -- yeah, that’s right, we’re having Saturday fucking practice thanks to that sorry excuse of a game you pissed all over tonight.” Coach glared at all of them in turn. “By tomorrow I expect Nolan and Fisk to get their heads out of each other’s ass and Hemmick?” The big man’s gaze landed on Aaron’s cousin and he felt himself go stiff. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Andrew stand up from where he was leaning against the lockers. 
“Learn how to be a little less fucking useless. I don’t know what the fuck has been up with you the past few days but get it figure the fuck out. You hear me?”
The first pulse of genuine rage ignited in Aaron’s veins. His hands curled into fists and his vision narrowed. Nicky’s quiet, tightly muttered, “Yes Coach,” was partially drowned out by the dull roar in his ears. 
Anything he might have said or done was stymied, however, by Andrew, who slammed his fist against the lockers, drawing everyone’s attention away from Nicky and onto him. 
“Coach, I think we need to chat.” By whatever magic Andrew had over everyone that made everyone automatically take him more seriously than anyone else, he had Coach’s attention, just like that. The man snorted then jerked his head toward the door.
“Fine, but make it quick. I need to try and block out what just happened.”
Coach and Andrew left the room. For a minute, there was a tense, weighty silence, then someone whined and someone else bitched and normalcy returned -- well, normal for a really shitty fucking day anyway. The women split off to their changing room to shower and get ready, and several of the guys did the same. 
Nicky remained seated, staring blankly down at his hands, shoulders slumped in utter defeat. That anger curled in Aaron again -- not at Nicky and not at the fucking game, but at Coach and the team for being so fucking stupid, and at himself for not knowing what the fuck to do about any of it. Nicky’s depression was an open secret among their group. It was something they all knew of but never talked about. This was probably the worst episode he’d had in years and Aaron just felt... fucking powerless. 
When they’d noticed it, they’d closed ranks around Nicky as a group and shut out the rest of the team in a way they hadn’t done since the cousins’ freshman year. None of them were soft enough to take care of Nicky in the way he probably needed, but Andrew drove Nicky to Reddin Thursday morning and Aaron and Neil joined forces in helping Kevin hold his fucking tongue during practices when Nicky struggled to keep up with the rest of them. 
It was not gentle support, but it was all they had to offer.
It just... wasn’t fucking enough. 
“Jesus, Hemmick, are you fucking crying?” Aaron jerked out of his thoughts at the sound of Jack Nolan’s sharp, mocking voice. It was edged with a cruelty that went beyond the typical assholishness of the Foxes. 
“What, forgot how to fucking talk too? Wow, you really are useless aren’t you?” Jack continued when Nicky only flinched at his ridicule and didn’t rebuke him like he usually would.
“Hey, Jack, leave him the fuck alone. You didn’t do so great out there yourself tonight so why don’t you worry about yourself,” Matt barked from where he’d been sitting through Coach’s dress-down. He was wearing his jersey but since he hadn’t played tonight there was no need for him to have to peel gear off or shower. 
“Whatever.” Jack rolled his eyes like a petulant fucking teenager, but the look he shot Nicky was all cold predator. “Why don’t you do us all a favor and just go kill yourself?”
Even over the exclamation of Matt’s reprimand, Aaron still heard Nicky’s breath hitch. He remembered, vividly, the night two years ago when he and Nicky had been drinking and he’d asked him ‘How the fuck did make it through? We were fucking assholes, we are assholes, and you still stayed.’ He remembered not expecting the answer he got. He remembered Nicky looking down into his drink and saying, ‘I almost didn’t. Probably the only reason I didn’t try to off myself again was knowing that if I did, you two would go to my parents and I... I couldn’t let that happen. Didn’t care about me, but I could care about you. Caring about you guys kept me alive.’
He remembered the sick feeling in his stomach and the way that knowledge cut through his buzz, striking him sober with one fucking word: again.
Aaron did not make the decision to grab Jack, or if he did it was overwhelmed by the roar of the monster under his skin as it surged suddenly up from whatever dark place it had been lurking since that violent, bloody night last November. All he knew was that one moment he was standing there, and the next he had his hands on something that needed to shut the fuck up. 
He only vaguely registered the shouts around him as he dug his fingers into Jack’s shirt and whirled him around. Then the only thing that existed was the feeling of flesh and bone and the slick of blood against his knuckles as he drove his fists into every soft part of the body in front of him as hard as he fucking could. Jacks hands scrabbled ineffectually at Aaron’s shoulders, then his face, trying to hit him or grab his hair or push him off, but for all that Aaron was a small man he was a fucking backliner for a reason and he threw every single ounce of his muscle into shoving Jack into the lockers. 
A second later he was on him again, taking a fistful of his hair so he could slam his head into the lockers until the fucker’s knees buckled and he went down. 
All he could hear was the rumble of rage in his veins. There was no thought, no goal, no understanding -- not of anything but the raw, unfiltered hate pouring out of him as he followed Jack to the ground. Distantly, he knew there was shouting or screaming -- that there were words being thrown at him and hands desperately trying to haul him back. He felt the fingers curling around his biceps and tugging on his shoulders. But his wrath was far too powerful and each time someone got a grip he was able to wrench free and use that momentum to land another hit. 
At one point a solid arm wound around his waist and hauled him up and away. A sound like a feral animal ripped from his throat as Aaron thrashed wildly, trying to throw himself back onto Jack. The man had stopped moving at this point but there was a wet, raspy sound coming from him that still spoke of life and maybe Aaron hadn’t consciously decided to keep going until it stopped, but the drive was there all the same. 
The rest of the room was hazy around the edges, people were blurs of sound and color. The only thing in focus was the wheezing form of Jack fucking Nolan on the floor, and Aaron fought viciously to get back to him, jerking at the arms holding him back, kicking and trying to lash out with all his strength. 
Until something blocked his view. And it took a minute for Aaron to recognize what it was. To recognize who it was. 
“A-Aaron. Aaron. Stop. Please. It’s o-okay. It’s okay. I’m okay. S-stop...” 
The rest of the world snapped back into focus at the sound of Nicky’s gasped, broken words. Aaron stopped fighting so suddenly that he and everyone trying to hold him back stumbled. There were three of them, he realized -- Matt, Kevin, and Dan. Neil and Andrew were flanking Nicky, the three of them blocking his view of Jack’s prone, gasping form but not actually trying to stop him from killing him. 
Nicky was crying, his eyes wide and his hands trembling as he held them out in front of Aaron, pleading him to stop. 
Aaron took a few more heavy breaths and realized he’d been panting. He looked from Nicky to Andrew’s cool, appraising stare, then to Neil’s similar expression before finally glancing beyond them to the mess that might have once been Jack Nolan. When he dragged his gaze back to Nicky, all he said was, “He shouldn’t have opened his fucking mouth.”
Nicky made a strangled sound, something between a sob and a laugh. Then he did something he almost never did and launched forward, wrapping his arms around Aaron in a tight hug. In a reflex that Aaron didn’t even know he had, his arms snapped around his cousin and he hugged him back just as fiercely. 
As Nicky sobbed onto his shoulder, Aaron looked over his hunched form and met his brother’s gaze. There weren’t words that could translate the look they shared just then, but if he had to label it, it might have been something like understanding. 
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Text
confiding over cuddles
Fandom: Sanders Sides Characters: Logan, Virgil, background Roman & Remus. Rating: Teen & up Relationships: Analogical, both pre-relationship and during the relationship.  Warnings: Language. First scene has mentions of being outed, religious homophobia, the implication of the f-slur having been used (the actual word is never on the page), and could maybe come across as critical of Christianity although I intend it more as critical of the homophobia. All of this is kept vague and not gone into in great detail. In the second scene, there are a couple of lines that are implied to be suggestive, but no other warnings. Word count: 4657
Read on AO3!
My writing masterpost
Starlight Universe masterpost
analogical week 2021 start - previous - here - next - masterpost
Summary: Throughout the years, vulnerability has always been easiest for Virgil and Logan while cuddling.
Notes: Day 3 of Analogical Week 2021! @analogicalweek Yes, I’m posting it a day late, but I technically finished it before midnight last night, lol. Takes place in my Starlight Universe, does not need context to read.  Remus uses he/they pronouns in this universe. 
part 1 - nightmares “Virgil?” Logan said quietly, looking up from the textbook he’d spread open on the floor of Virgil’s dorm room.
Virgil flinched, startled in spite of the soft tone and not too eager for conversation. “What?” he mumbled, dragging his headphones off one ear. He wasn’t actually listening to anything—he’d put them on to avoid conversation—but apparently now they were having a conversation anyway.
“I’m sorry if I am overstepping, but you don’t seem like you’re doing okay.” Logan looked up at him with wide, earnest dark brown eyes. “If there is anything I can do to help, I would really like to.”
Virgil heaved a sigh, considering his options. He hadn’t had time to cancel their normal study session, and when Logan had picked up on his distress at the beginning of the visit, Virgil had insisted it was fine and Logan didn’t have to leave. Logan had taken him at his word and settled in, sprawling on Virgil’s floor while Virgil curled up on his bed and hugged his pillow, avoiding homework and everything else too, to wallow about—well. The reason he would have canceled if he’d had five minutes’ more notice.
On the one hand, it was kind of personal, and Logan was a good enough friend (not a crush, not a crush, not a crush—) that he’d certainly be understanding if Virgil said he didn’t want to talk about it.
On the other hand, Logan had offered to help, and the opportunity to seek comfort from a pretty, thoughtful boy with nice hair and eyes and lips and hands and—but this wasn’t a crush, so none of that mattered, obviously—well, regardless, it was a tempting opportunity.
“Can I talk about it?” Virgil asked in a voice that came out smaller and more vulnerable than he intended.
Logan nodded at once, closing his textbook and climbing to his knees. “Is it okay if I come up there?”
Virgil nodded, patted the space on the bed beside himself, and scooted over to make room. Logan joined him, clambering onto the bed and laying down beside him with a good few inches of space between them, propping his chin up on his elbows. “What’s up?” he asked, focusing all his attention on Virgil.
This close proximity had the unintended side effect of shorting out Virgil’s brain for a solid three seconds. “Uh.” He tore his eyes away from Logan’s face. “I… so I have this friend, right? He used to be my best friend. When we were kids. I haven’t really talked to him at all in a few years.”
Logan nodded.
“So, uh.” Virgil hesitated, fidgeting with his phone. “I guess somebody outed me to him. And he wasn’t okay about it.”
Logan sucked in a concerned hiss of air, half-reaching for Virgil’s shoulder and stopping himself partway through the motion. “Are you okay?”
Virgil nodded on instinct, thought about it, and then shook his head. “He texted me out of the blue about it and offered to pray for me.” His voice shook. “And I—I told him no thanks, I like being gay.” He swiped aimlessly back and forth on his homescreen, opening a folder of apps and then closing it, just so he had something else to focus on than the words he was saying. “He got mad. Called me a—a, a… you know.”
“Oh my god,” Logan murmured in a hushed, horrified tone, and this time he did put his hand on Virgil’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “I’m so sorry, Virgil.”
Virgil let out a little hiccup of a laugh that held no humor but was a way to avoid bursting into tears. He drew the back of his hand across his eyes. “I blocked his number right before you got here,” he mumbled.
Logan nodded. “Good.”
“But he’s been messaging me on Instagram this whole time,” Virgil added with a grimace. “I haven’t been opening them, but…” Right on cue, a notification banner popped up across the top of his screen, previewing a message that contained more of the same stuff he’d been seeing flash across his screen for the last half hour.
“Block him there too,” Logan said instantly. “He doesn’t deserve your time.”
Virgil brushed at the corners of his eyes, swiping away the tears that were threatening to accumulate. “I—I don’t want to open it,” he admitted, voice cracking. “If I open the app, I know I’m going to read all of the messages, and I don’t want to.”
Logan was already shaking his head. “No, don’t read them, oh my god—please don’t read them, please don’t hurt yourself like that.”
“I don’t want to,” Virgil repeated, burying his face in the bedcovers for just a second to hide the tears he couldn’t quite hold back.
Logan’s hand cautiously crept from his shoulder to his back, where it began rubbing soothing circles between his shoulderblades. “Is there any way I can help?” he asked after a moment, his voice almost calm enough to hide his own distress. “I could block him for you, if you want. That way you wouldn’t have to handle the app at all.”
Virgil considered this. He didn’t like the idea of others going through his phone, ever, full stop. But he really didn’t like the idea of opening the Instagram app himself and seeing the little red notification in the corner and inevitably clicking it against all his common sense and scrolling through the messages, reading them over and over again, and maybe trying to reason with the guy about Virgil’s own humanity, even though all that would do was invite a dozen more paragraphs of hurt to read and internalize and argue about, and it would only turn into a vicious cycle of never-ending emotional damage. Not ideal.
And he trusted Logan. He still didn’t like the idea of handing Logan his unlocked phone, but it was a lot less bad than the idea of pretty much anyone else having that access, and it was probably way less bad than trying to do it himself and just hoping he’d somehow have the willpower to leave well enough alone when he knew he didn’t trust himself to do that.
“Can I watch you do it?” he asked, turning his head to the side so he could make suddenly-tired eye contact.
“Of course,” Logan said gently. “Whatever makes you feel most comfortable.”
Virgil worried at his bottom lip with his teeth for a moment, then unlocked the phone with a quick hard press of his thumb and passed it to Logan, wincing slightly.
“Instagram?” Logan asked, finger hovering over the app and waiting for Virgil’s confirmation.
“Yeah,” Virgil said.
Logan opened the app and, waiting at each step for Virgil’s next instruction, blocked the guy without opening any of the messages sitting in Virgil’s DMs. “Does he have any other accounts?”
“I don’t think so,” Virgil mumbled.
“I’m glad. Are there any other methods he has of contacting you that you’d like to block him on?” Logan offered the phone back.
Virgil accepted it gratefully, his shoulders untensing a little. “I guess Snapchat.” He looked up the account and blocked it. “I deleted my Facebook ages ago.” He drummed his fingers on his lips, thinking. “I don’t have a ton of social media, I think that’s everything.”
Logan nodded, visibly relaxing. “Do you need anything? Any kind of support, or anything?”
“I dunno,” Virgil mumbled. He rolled over onto his back. “It just… it sucks.”
“It really does,” Logan agreed.
Virgil forced out a dry chuckle. “Guess I didn’t need that many friends, anyway,” he said, trying hard to make the situation into something amusing. It didn’t particularly work. “It’s not like most people like me, what’s one less?”
“I like you!” Logan protested, his voice much louder than it had been for the last ten minutes. He froze, looking anywhere but Virgil’s face. “I, I like you a lot. You’re a very good friend,” he added, fidgeting with the cuff of his sleeve, his expression flustered.
Virgil set that aside to overthink for ages later. “Uh. Thanks. You—you too,” he managed.
They were both very quiet for a moment, Logan’s fidgeting only increasing as Virgil chewed anxiously on the inside of his cheek.
“Is there anything you need right now?” Logan asked again, just as the tension between them began to become uncomfortable.
Virgil let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I don’t know… are you busy?”
“Not until my next class, which is at noon tomorrow,” Logan assured him.
“I don’t want to be a bother—”
“I enjoy spending time with you, and you are clearly distressed and I’d like to help if I can,” Logan interrupted, “and you are my friend and I care about you very much, and it is not bothering me to ask whatever you want. If I want to say no, I will.”
Well. He had covered all his bases when it came to anticipating Virgil’s hesitations.
“Would you mind staying for a bit?” Virgil blurted. “To help me keep my mind off it? I—I don’t want to be alone. I think too much.”
Logan’s expression softened into something so tender it almost hurt to look at. “Of course,” he agreed easily. “As long as you like.”
“Thank you,” Virgil whispered.
“Anytime.” Logan fidgeted with his sleeve a bit more, not looking at Virgil. “Um. Would you like to cuddle?” he asked hesitantly after a minute.
Virgil wasn’t sure he’d heard that right. “What?”
“There are several physiological and neurological benefits to—” Logan began, determinedly not looking at Virgil’s face.
“No, I believe you,” Virgil interrupted, and in a surge of daring, added: “Sure.”
Logan blinked, his lips parting slightly in surprise. “Oh! Alright.” He shifted closer, carefully closing the gap between them like he was afraid of doing it wrong, and arranged himself against Virgil’s side with his head on Virgil’s shoulder and his arm draped across Virgil’s chest.
Virgil’s own arm curled around Logan easily, like it was meant to go there. Virgil ignored (mostly) his rapid heartbeat and how soft Logan’s hair was where it brushed against his cheek.
“Do you want to know something totally stupid?” Logan asked.
“Sure,” Virgil said, wondering where this was going.
“I’m scared of the space under my bed.” Logan half chuckled.
Virgil blinked. That had been kind of out of the blue. “What?”
“I’ve tried to rationalize it away. I know it doesn’t make sense.” Logan sounded half amused, like maybe he was trying to cover up some mild embarrassment with humor. “But ever since I was a little kid, it’s scared me. It was worse when I was little, I would have nightmares about it and everything. But it still makes me kind of nervous to just have empty space there. I like to fill it up.”
“That’s fair,” Virgil said. He understood irrational fears. “How come you’re telling me, though? Like, not in a judgemental way,” he added quickly, feeling Logan’s shoulders tense just slightly. “Just wondering where that came from.”
“Ah.” Logan relaxed again. “I am attempting vulnerability. You just shared what seemed like a pretty personal moment with me, and I know that can feel uncomfortable. I am trying to level the playing field a little.”
Virgil couldn’t help but smile. “That’s really sweet, Lo,” he said.
“I am just trying to be a good friend.” Logan shrugged one shoulder, but Virgil could hear the happy note in his voice.
“I was scared of going places by myself when I was little,” Virgil said. “Actually, that came from a nightmare, too.” He laughed a little.
“No, hey!” Logan protested. “Now it’s uneven again!”
“I don’t think that’s how vulnerability works,” Virgil told him, only teasing a little bit. “Friendship isn’t math, it doesn’t have to match on both sides. Besides, I got over that one, mostly. It’s all good.”
Logan nodded slowly in acceptance, rubbing his thumb back and forth across Virgil’s shoulder. “Alright.” He half sat up, but only took his glasses off and reached to put them on the sidetable, then lay back down, cuddling up even more cozily against Virgil once again, making a small noise of content.
“What have you been up to lately?” Virgil asked, his voice hardly above a whisper, because he needed there to be some kind of conversation. Not just to distract himself from the unpleasant stuff of earlier, although that was still a part of it, but also so that he could avoid examining the current situation too hard. Because Logan was just a friend, just a friend, and Virgil couldn’t afford to risk ruining a friendship as wonderful as this one with a big gay crush on his friend.
“Getting used to my new board position in the astronomy club,” Logan said. “And a lot of reading for my classes.”
“You’re the Vice President this year, right?” Virgil asked. Almost without thinking about it, he raised his hand to stroke Logan’s hair, which was just as soft against his fingertips as it had felt against his cheek.
Logan let out a soft sigh of content at the touch, nestling his head a little more snugly against Virgil’s shoulder, and coincidentally fucking melting Virgil’s heart into a puddle of goo. This whole not-a-crush thing was getting to be a serious problem.
“Yes, I’m the Vice President,” Logan confirmed. “I was the secretary last year, so I kind of know the ropes, but I have very different responsibilities this time. So that’s been interesting.”
“Tell me about it,” Virgil invited.
Logan did tell him about it, and then he asked Virgil what he’d been up to, and Virgil got to talk about a research project he was helping one of his favorite professors out with, and that led to telling each other stories about their favorite professors and classes (and some of the bad ones, too), and that led to stories about their friends, and Logan was looking up at Virgil with a soft gaze that Virgil could have stared into forever, and he really didn’t know what was up with Logan of all people’s sudden desire to cuddle, but he wasn’t asking questions because this was kind of the best thing that had happened in forever.
When, much later, the conversation slowly died down and Logan’s voice trailed off into a sleepy noise that he stifled against Virgil’s shoulder, scrunching his whole face up into a yawn, Virgil only tugged at the piled-up blanket he was leaning against until it half-covered the pair of them. Maybe the more responsible thing to do would have been to rouse Logan so he could go home to his apartment, but when Logan shifted closer to him and held him a little tighter, his eyes drifting shut, Virgil couldn’t find it in himself to regret it.
And he’d meant for it to only be a brief nap, really he had. He hadn’t planned to drift off himself as well. He could’ve sworn he only closed his eyes for a second or two—but when he opened them, sunlight was streaming through the window, and Logan was still there, still in Virgil’s arms cuddled close against his chest. Logan was wide awake now, but he seemed perfectly content to just lie there and examine Virgil’s face, a funny look in his eyes and a tiny smile on his lips.
“Hi,” Virgil said blearily, blinking at him. Then he processed where they were and what had happened. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I should have woken you up,” he began, half sitting up, his voice coming out a sleepy mumble that probably wasn’t anywhere near intelligible.
“No, it’s fine,” Logan assured him, gently pushing him back down. “I don’t mind.”
Virgil was half of a mind to keep apologizing, but it was very warm and he was still barely awake and Logan was so soft and nice, so all in all it was much easier to just lie there and accept the cuddles.
“Are you doing better?” Logan asked quietly.
It took Virgil a minute to fully remember the events of yesterday and figure out what he was referencing. “Oh. Uh, I guess. Like, it still sucks, but I’m going to be okay, you know? And this is nice, anyway.”
Logan nodded, resting his head on Virgil’s chest as if to listen to his heartbeat. “Yes. This is very nice.”
[4 years later]
part 2 - dreams  “Come to bed,” Logan said. “You have been scrolling through Tumblr for the past twenty-seven minutes, you can do that just as well while snuggling me.”  
“I’ve been attacked,” Virgil said lightly, shutting off his laptop and turning around to face his boyfriend. Logan was sitting in bed in his pajamas, leaning back against the headboard of their bed, a book in his hands and the covers pulled up over his lap. Virgil smiled. “Let me go brush my teeth and then I’ll come cuddle you, babe.”
“Acceptable,” Logan agreed with an answering smile, his eyes flicking up briefly from the pages to meet Virgil’s own.
Virgil brushed his teeth in the little bathroom of the apartment Logan had shared with the twins in the two years since they’d all graduated college. Before reemerging, Virgil changed into the old t-shirt and flannel pajama pants he’d brought with him—he usually stayed overnight on the weekends these days, and this one was no exception.
Roman, sitting at the kitchen table poring over a wad of papers that were probably a script from the local community theatre’s latest production, waved at Virgil as he exited the bathroom. “G’night, Virge,” he called.
“Night, Ro,” Virgil responded, and for good measure, he added, “night, Remus.”
Remus, somewhere out of sight, cackled. “Have fun getting—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Virgil interrupted automatically, without any real bite, making his way back into Logan’s room and shutting the door behind himself.
Logan smiled at the sight of him, pulling back the covers invitingly. Virgil snagged his phone off of Logan’s desk on his way over, climbing into the bed and curling up with his head in Logan’s lap.
Logan let out a small, pleased sigh, resting his hand on Virgil’s shoulder.
“Happy?” Virgil asked, reaching up to touch Logan’s face.
Logan nodded. “Very.”
Virgil chuckled and half sat up so he could reach to kiss Logan, then settled himself back where he’d been and unlocked his phone, scrolling through Tumblr without paying too much attention. Logan’s hand came to rest lightly on the back of his head, and after a moment began stroking his hair.
He turned a page, then after a minute closed the book and set it down.
Virgil looked up. His boyfriend was gazing down at him, face scrunched up just slightly the way it always did when he was thinking hard about something.
“You good?” Virgil asked.
Logan started slightly. “Oh! Yes.” His hand, which had drifted to a stop at the base of Virgil’s skull, resumed gently stroking Virgil’s hair.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Virgil asked.
Logan was quiet for a beat, then met Virgil’s eyes. “Would you like to get married?”
Virgil choked on air. “What?”
“Married,” Logan repeated, a little shy this time. “You and I. Would you be interested in doing that?”
“I—” Virgil found himself at a loss for words. “I don’t know? Maybe?” He sat up, shutting off his phone and setting it on the sidetable. “I’m sorry—are you proposing to me in our pajamas?”
“No,” Logan said emphatically, frowning. “This is not a proposal. This is so we can talk about it ahead of time, so that if you do want it, then you won’t need to be anxious when I do propose.”
Virgil blinked, processing that. “Wow.” He reached over and brushed his thumb lightly across Logan’s cheek. “I love you so much, you know that?”
Logan’s brow smoothed out and his shoulders visibly untensed. “I love you too.” He put his hand over Virgil’s where it rested on his cheek, cradling it tenderly. He closed his eyes. “And you don’t need to have an answer right now. We can have this conversation whenever you like. I just… wanted to bring it up. Because I would like that, if you are also amicable.” He turned his head slightly and pressed a kiss to the palm of Virgil’s hand.
Virgil hooked a finger in the collar of Logan’s pajama shirt and drew him close for a soft kiss. “Come lay down and cuddle me properly, nerd.”
Logan obediently set his book down on the sidetable beside Virgil’s phone, pulled off his glasses, and set those down too. With some shuffling of limbs, the two of them lay down, Virgil curled up in Logan’s arms. To anyone else, Logan would have seemed perfectly relaxed, content to lay there and press the occasional kiss to Virgil’s forehead; but Virgil could sense the slight tension in Logan’s face. He was nervous, even if he was trying hard not to show it.
Virgil’s own thoughts were whirling. Did he want to get married? He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it. But they were both still so young. Marriage was so big. Even if they’d been dating for more than four years at this point, that was barely more than a blip in the really long run. And what if they found out too late that they disagreed on something important? What if Logan wanted to take out a huge mortgage, or move across the country, or have kids? (Okay, they’d talked about kids, and both felt super hesitant, not-yet-ready at best, about the whole idea. But what if Logan changed his mind?)
(But also… waking up to Logan’s face every morning. Waking up to coffee with Logan and sleepy yawns. Casual touches on the elbow or shoulder or wrist or waist or cheek throughout the day, little reminders of love that were almost thoughtless in their routine. A home that would be just theirs. They could get a pet, if they wanted. They could paint stars on the ceiling or walls. They could cook dinner together every night. They could stay up late watching old TV shows and making snarky commentary back and forth. They could be each other’s home.)
Logan was watching Virgil’s face intently, even as he did his best to play it cool. Virgil met his eyes. “So,” he began, struggling to find the right words for what he wanted to convey. “I—I don’t know what I want. Or. I guess I kind of do. But I’m nervous.”
“We don’t have to,” Logan said quickly. “I mean. Obviously. But I don’t want you to—to feel pressured, or anything, to say anything one way or the other or to have to even say anything at all or—”
“Hey,” Virgil interrupted soothingly as Logan’s voice sped into anxious overdrive. “Hey, it’s okay.”
Logan sucked in a breath. He nodded. “I—sorry.”
Virgil shook his head and leaned across the few inches between them to kiss Logan. “Babe, I just told you I’m nervous. It’s fine if you are too.”
“I’m not nervous—” Logan began. He cut himself off at the wry look Virgil gave him. “I—okay, fine. But it’s not a big deal.”
“Hmm, disagree.”
“But the whole point was so I could support you if you felt—”
“L. Babe. Light of my life. You get nervous when you’re vulnerable. I get it.”
Logan bit his lip and reached for Virgil’s hand. He held it tightly.
Virgil squeezed back and snuggled closer under the covers. “Anyway, uh.” He paused for a second to make sure he knew how he wanted to say it. “I—I still don’t know exactly what I want to say about that idea. But I know the answer is definitely not a no.”
Logan breathed in, not quite sharply enough to be a gasp. “Oh,” he breathed, letting go of Virgil’s hand so he could caress his face.
“Does that make sense?” Virgil asked. “Like, I don’t yet know how or when I want it. But I—I think I want to, eventually, and I really want it to be you.”
“Yeah,” Logan said, his voice coming out a little choked. “Yeah, that—that’s good.”
Virgil half smiled. “Kiss?” he asked.
Logan was reaching for him before he even finished the word, pulling him close and clinging to him as he kissed the breath from Virgil’s lungs like he never wanted to let go. Virgil wrapped his own arm around Logan, holding him just as tightly, and cupped Logan’s face with the hand that was trapped between the two of them.
“I love you,” Virgil whispered as they pulled apart, and now he was choking up a little too.
Logan pressed their foreheads together. “I love you so much.”
They were both quiet for a moment, holding each other close.
“I think it’d be nice to get one of those really fancy coffee machines,” Virgil whispered after a minute. “Someday. For our someday kitchen.” He enjoyed Logan’s sudden intake of breath and the way his eyes widened slightly at the word our. “The kind that can make espresso, and shit,” Virgil went on. “We could try out all different kinds of things. And I wouldn’t tell anybody how much sugar you always put in your coffee.”
“I put a normal amount of sugar in my coffee,” Logan protested, a smile quirking onto his face.
“L, I love you, but that is maybe the least true thing you have ever said in your life.” Virgil snickered.
“Shut up,” Logan whined, pushing lightly at Virgil’s shoulder with an answering grin.
Virgil leaned in and kissed his cheek. “It’s cute.” He hesitated for a beat. “What would you want? In your dream future?”
“You,” Logan responded immediately.
Virgil pressed a hand to his mouth. He absolutely should have seen that one coming, but he hadn’t, and the surprise made the pang of fondness in his chest all the sweeter. “Logan,” he managed after a minute.
Logan only grinned, looking very pleased with himself. “A coffee machine does sound very nice, too, though,” he added. “And space for you to keep an instrument.”
“Oh,” Virgil breathed, lighting up at the idea. “Yeah, that sounds really good. I’d want a library for all your stupid nerdy books.”
Logan put a hand on Virgil’s cheek. “I’d want a kitchen table that we both picked out together.”
Virgil grinned. “A couch to hold you on.”
“A wall full of art that we both like.”
“Windows so there’s light everywhere and you can see the stars at night.”
“A pantry full of our favorite foods.”
“A bed to—”
“Virgil!”
“Whaaat?”
“We were being cute!” Logan smacked his arm lightly. “Remus is a bad influence on you,” he accused, though Virgil could see he was trying not to laugh.
“I mean, probably,” Virgil allowed, grinning. “But maybe I was just going to say a bed to sleep in. And cuddle in. And perfectly innocent things like that. Maybe you’re the one Remus is a bad influence on.”
“I—” Logan struggled for a second, then broke down into snickers.
Virgil grinned, wrapping his arms around Logan’s waist and enjoying the sound of his laughter.
“Were you going to say something like that, though?” Logan asked, composing himself.
“Oh, no, absolutely not.” Virgil snickered. “You were right, I was going to ruin the cutesy vibe we had going on there, one hundred percent. But you’re really cute when you laugh, so no regrets.”
“Hmm,” Logan hummed, leaning closer. “You know when else I’m really cute?”
“When?” Virgil breathed.
“When I’m kissing you,” Logan murmured, and closed the gap between their lips.
Virgil kissed back, eyes fluttering shut and hands sliding a little more securely around Logan’s waist. In his opinion, Logan made a very compelling point.
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pregnant-piggy · 4 years
Text
Our little secret
Sirius Black x reader
Words: 3300+
Warnings: nothing, it’s just fluffy and cheesy
A/N: I wanted to write something like this for a while. So I did. At like two in the morning... I would kill for something like this tbh. Enjoy, my loves!
------------------------------
‘You're really going for that shirt?’
‘Not anymore now,’ you grumbled and threw your shirt at Marlene, who was lying on her bed with her head popped up on her hands. She caught your shirt skilfully and let it flow through her fingers.
‘You smell nice, babe,’ Marlene said as she smelled the border of your shirt.
‘Thanks, it's that new perfume,’ you replied while searching in your bra for a new shirt.
‘Oh, trying to smell nice for someone?’ Marlene teased and you looked up quick with red cheeks. ‘Maybe, I don't know... a specific black-haired, grey-eyed Gryffindor?’
‘Confessed your feelings for Dor yet?’ you shot back at Marlene.
Now she turned red and she threw the shirt back at you. You caught it, folded it and placed it back in the closet.
A minute later Lily and Dorcas entered the dormitory, finally finished with their breakfast. Marlene glanced at Dorcas and you smirked. She was smitten for her friend but was too afraid to admit it. And honestly you didn't blame her. You were the exact same when it came to Sirius.
Ever since fourth year you had had a crush on him but you had never done anything about it. For you it was obvious he didn't like you back. He was always going on dates with different girls and never hesitated to talk about it.
‘Lily, thank Merlin,’ you said and turned to her. ‘What am I gonna wear with this skirt?’
Lily stared at you and then looked at the closet. She pulled out a shirt from the bottom of a pile and handed it over to you. You unfolded it and looked at it. You never knew you had this shirt.
‘It's mine,’ Lily explained like she could read your mind. ‘But it's not really my colour.’
Kissing Lily on her cheek to thank her, you pulled the shirt over your head and turned to Marlene.
‘Much better,’ this one said and nodded. ‘What would we do without our Lilypad?’
Lily rolled her eyes but smiled right after. She changed into a light blue dress that matched perfectly with her red hair.
Jealous you stared at Lily as you let yourself fall down next to Marlene on her bed. She turned her head to you and whispered,
‘I'm gonna do it.’
‘Do what?’ you whispered back.
‘Tell her. This has been going on long enough. And if she turns me down, I know we're both mature enough to stay friends.’
‘She’s not gonna turn you down,’ you reassured Marlene.
The way Dorcas acted around Marlene was the same as how Lily acted around James. Speaking of...
‘Lils?’ you asked. ‘What time are we supposed to meet your lovely boyfriend and his entourage?’
‘Five minutes,’ Lily answered from the bathroom.
Dorcas squealed. ‘That's too soon! Look at my hair! I'm not near finished!’
‘You look great,’ Marlene mumbled, but not loud enough for everyone but you to hear.
‘Don't worry, I'll keep them waiting,’ you said to Dorcas and got up from the bed. ‘You coming, Marls?’
Marlene got up too and walked down with you. None of the boys were in the common room yet and that gave you some time to talk to Marlene in privacy.
‘What's your plan?’
‘I don't really have a plan,’ Marlene confessed. ‘I think I will just ask her to talk and then put it out there. What's the worst that can happen?’
‘I wish I had your courage,’ you mumbled as you watched the four boys approaching the couch.
‘Where are the others?’ James asked as he plopped down on the couch next to you.
‘Upstairs.’
‘They'll be here soon,’ Marlene added.
You noticed she was nervous. She was playing with the edge of her shirt and she had a pink blush on her face.
The conversation went but you couldn't focus. Instead of paying attention you were looking at Sirius. He was wearing his leather jacket even though it was hot outside. He looked back at you and winked. You quickly averted your eyes as you felt the blush creeping on your face.
After ten minutes Lily and Dorcas came down, five minutes after Mary had joined you.
‘Are we ready to go now?’ James asked impatiently pushing his girlfriend of his lap.
- -- -
After Filch had checked everyone for suspicious objects, your group was finally outside. You were walking with Remus. In front of you Lily and James were walking hand in hand and, honestly, you were kind of jealous. You wanted what they had, though maybe a little less cheesy.
In Hogsmeade you split up. Lily, Mary, Peter and Remus went one side, Marlene and Dorcas the other side and you, James and Sirius walked to Zonko's. James was talking enthusiastically about a new product he definitely wanted to try.
Zonko's shop was quiet; most students went to Honeydukes or the Three Broomsticks. While James and Sirius worked off their list, you wondered through the store. The things on the shelves intrigued you.
Jump-snakes: surprise your friends with real wildlife!
Nothing works better than Mr Lolas' Unicorn Powder! Lasts for days!
You had no idea what both of the things would to, but they were interesting. And probably slightly dangerous.
‘(Y/N)? Where are you?’ Sirius’ sound came from the other side of the store.
‘Here!’ you said back.
But the store was cramped with shelves and racks and Sirius didn't hear you.
You started to make your way to the front of the store, but halfway through your way the path was blocked by big boxes. You turned around and made your way back.
‘(Y/N)?’
‘Right here!’
Sirius was on the other side of a shelf, you heard his voice close to you. You walked along the length of the shelf and bumped into Sirius. You almost fell and Sirius placed his hands on either your arms.
‘There you are!’ he said with a big smile.
‘Here I am,’ you replied weakly.
Sirius put his arm around you and dragged you with him outside, where James was already standing.
‘We thought we lost you!’ James cried out as he saw you.
He quickly showed you what he had bought and then you made your way to the Three Broomsticks; the place where you had agreed to meet up.
You were the first ones there. You sat on one of the benches on the side of the road and looked up Sirius. He was standing close to you, his hands in the pockets of his jacket, playing with his feet in the sand on the road.
When Remus, Peter, Lily and Mary walked up to you, he took a step back.
‘I, uh- I have to do something,’ he announced. ‘I'll be right back.’
He rapidly walked out of the street with his hands still in his pockets. You turned to Lily and Mary who were both looking confused at the leaving boy.
‘Should we go inside?’ Peter asked, like what Sirius had done was completely normal.
‘Sure,’ Lily said and opened the door.
The Three Broomsticks was full, but there was a spot left in the very back of the room. Lily and James squeezed themselves onto the wooden bench of the booth and they were joined by you on one side and Remus on the other. Mary and Peter sat on chairs the opposite side of the table.
Peter left to order drinks and while he was waiting in line at the bar, Marlene and Dorcas entered. Dorcas immediately left for the bathroom and Marlene hurried over to you.
‘She said yes!’ she exclaimed happily as she sat down. ‘I have a girlfriend!’
The two boys stared Marlene confused, but you, Lily and Mary all cheered and smiled.
‘Oh, babe, I'm so happy for you!’ you said and took Marlene's hand over the table.
‘How did to go?’ Mary asked.
‘Well, I kinda just blurted it out as soon as we were alone. Honestly I don't remember a lot of it; I was really nervous. But she said she likes me back!’
Marlene's face was red from excitement and even Dorcas, who usually was chill and cool, had a blush on her face when she sat down next to Marlene.
Peter returned with the Butterbeers at the same time Sirius walked up to the booth. He stood doubting at the table looking for a place to sit.
‘There's room next to (Y/N),’ Marlene said.
You shot her an angry glare before making place for Sirius next to you.
‘Always a pleasure,’ Sirius said as he sat down next to you.
Your face turned red and you smiled. Sirius' thigh was pressed against yours and you felt his hip next to yours. Playing with the edge of your glass you tried to focus on the conversation. But there wasn't much of a conversation; James and Lily next to you were whispering to each other and Marlene and Dorcas too. Mary was talking to Peter about their Potions assignment. Remus talked to you and Sirius was the only one who wasn't involved in a conversation. He was staring at you while his arm rested on the back of the bench, his fingertips brushing your shoulder.
Sirius had always been a ‘touchy' person, but today it felt different to you. It felt like everything he said and every breath he breathed were for you.
You scolded yourself for your thoughts. Sirius didn't like you. He had had a date just... how long ago? Honestly, you couldn't remember when Sirius had last gone on a date with someone. But you had stopped listening to his date-stories a long time ago, so it could be that you had just not been paying attention when he had told about it.
- -- - 
The darkness of the cafe was soon changed for the bright and hot sun. Squeezing your eyes for the sun you turned to your friends.
‘Where are we off to now?’ you asked, hoping to do something together.
‘Actually,’ James started, cutting off Lily before she could even open her mouth. ‘I need to take Lily somewhere.’
‘Where?’ Lily asked.
‘Just somewhere,’ James said vaguely and took his girlfriend by her arm.
‘Alright then. Marlene?’ you asked hopeful.
But your best friend shook her head. ‘I'm sorry, babe.’ She walked away with Dorcas after shooting you an apologising look, but there was a smirk on her mouth.
‘Mary? Peter? Remus?’
But all three of them shook their head. Mary and Peter had plans to go to some store that sounded weird and Remus had to meet up with his study mate, someone that everyone still wasn't sure of was real.
‘Please don't tell me you're abandoning me too,’ you sighed as you turned to Sirius.
‘I would never,’ this one said and he put his arm around you. The warm tingle in your stomach, that you got every time Sirius touched you, appeared just like it had inside the Three Broomsticks. But he let go of you and your inside turned cold.
You sadly stared at the ground while walking in silence next to Sirius.
At the same time Sirius said something you decided to also break the silence.
‘Aren't you hot in that jacket,’ was mixed with his ‘Are you sure you're okay with just me here?’ and neither of you understood what the other said.
‘You first,’ Sirius said and waved his hand for you to talk.
‘Okay,’ you laughed. ‘Aren't you hot in that jacket?’
‘Nah, I'm always cool,’ Sirius said with a smirk.
‘Really? That's the answer you're going with?’ you chuckled. ‘Now your question.’
‘I, uhh... it was nothing,’ Sirius stuttered, his smirk fading a bit.
‘Come on! It was important enough to interrupt my question!’ you teased. ‘I won't laugh. I promise!’
Sirius shook his head laughing. ‘I asked if you were alright with just hanging out with me,’ he then mumbled.
Oh. Something in his tone made your heart sink. You rarely got to see the insecure Sirius and it almost never was just around you alone.
‘Of course! I like hanging out with you,’ you reassured Sirius and his smile grew.
Meanwhile you had reached the end of the village and the start of the surrounding forest. From where you were standing you could see the Shrieking Shack. You knew why it was there; Remus himself had told you.
You stopped at the fence that separated the road from the field and turned your head to Sirius while resting your arms on the fence. Sirius stood behind you.
‘So what do you want to do?’ you asked him.
‘Actually I just wanted to talk to you,’ Sirius said and his voice had changed. It was lower and softer. More serious and less Sirius.
‘Well about what do you want to talk?’
‘Not here,’ Sirius said, making you turn your whole body to him.
‘Then where?’
‘C'mon,’ Sirius just said and he took you by your hand.
That warm feeling spread in your chest again as Sirius lead you along through the forest. The deeper you went the darker it became, until the sun almost never reached the ground again. The floor was covered in moss and little white flowers. You felt like a fay walking, almost flowing, over them. The spots where the sun did reach, the ground glistened with dew drops even now it was the afternoon.
‘Where are you taking me?’ you asked Sirius curiously but he didn't answer. He just kept on walking.
Five minutes later Sirius stopped at an open spot. It was wonderful. The sun shone through the foliage, lighting up the green grass on the ground. Around the open spot were flowers. The little, white ones you had passed on your way, but also daisies, yellow buttercups, red poppies and violet bellflowers. It seemed like a scene from a fairy tale.
But the best part was, no matter how beautiful the space was, that Sirius was still holding your hand. He turned to you with insecurity on his face.
‘Wow, Sirius,’ you whispered; talking seemed to loud. ‘This is beautiful.’
‘I found it last full moon. I don't think anyone else knows this place.’
‘They shouldn't,’ you said. ‘Please tell no one about this place. It will be our little secret.’
Sirius smiled at your words and it seemed they gave him confidence. He pulled you to the ground and sat in front of you, your knees touching.
‘I still want to talk to you, though,’ Sirius started hesitantly. You gave him a smile and he continued,
‘Have you ever seen yourself late at night, stressing over your exams?’
The sudden question surprised you. What was he aiming for?
‘No,’ you answered softly.
‘I have,’ Sirius said. ‘Your hair is a mess, your cheeks are red and the tears are in your eyes. But you never stop, not even when the sun rises again, not when you almost faint from tiredness. Everyone always laughs at you and your crazy obsession with your grades. But I think it is adorable-'
Adorable? Did Sirius just call you adorable?
‘-and... I just... I want to help you. I want to put you in bed and make you fall asleep. I want to bring you coffee and stay awake with you. I want to tell you it is okay to not always give your everything if it physically drains you. But most of all I want to take you in my arms and kiss you.’
Your heart stopped and your jaw dropped. Never in your whole life had you expected to hear those words out of his mouth. At you. Those words were meant for you.
‘I like you, (Y/N). And I think I might be in love with you.’
‘Sirius, I-'
You didn't know what to say. Words could not describe how you felt. You couldn't think of anything to say. All you ever wanted was right there in front of you and he had just confessed his love. You were stunned with surprise and excitement and you wanted to talk to him, but your words stayed in your throat.
Sirius took your silence as a rejection and got up. Your head was still in a daze and you realised he was walking back when he had already almost reached the shadows.
‘Sirius wait!’ you said getting up.
Sirius turned around to you, his eyes sad, and you saw that he was holding himself back from crying. You stood there in the middle of the open spot, sun on your skin and the words found themselves.
‘When other people look at you, they see Sirius Black, the tough boy, the flirty boy, the boy that would do anything to keep his reputation high, to honour his name. But when I look at you? I see Sirius. I see the boy that forgets to drink in the morning if no one reminds him. I see the boy that will do anything for his friends. I see how much you hate it when someone mentions your family. How often you break down even when you try to hide it. When I see you, I see someone who laughs, cries, hugs, kisses, gets angry, plays pranks. Someone who is loyal, happy, sad, cheerful, smart. And most of all I see someone who loves. Because that is what you do Sirius, you love. And I love that about you.’
Sirius stared at you. The sadness in his eyes had gone away, but the tears were still there.
You were surprised with yourself. You had never been one to make your feelings so clear. But now the right words just had come. Everything you had said was true. You loved Sirius. Everything of him.
‘You love me?’ Sirius asked with a raspy voice.
He walked closer to you, still staring into your eyes. When he was so close to you, you could feel his heat on your bare arms, you nodded.
Sirius cupped your face with his hands and kissed you.
The whole world seemed to burst into colour. You wrapped your arms around Sirius’ neck and pulled him closer. His lips fitted perfectly on yours, like they were meant to be there. You tasted alcohol and cinnamon and smelled leather and lemon. The flavours and scents matched together, creating a soft sizzle in your brain.
Sirius’ hands slid to your hips and when the kiss was broken they stayed there, keeping you as close as possible.
The colours of the flowers seemed brighter yet darker. The sun was hot and cold and the grass bright yet pale. It was as if Sirius made the place better yet it was nothing compared to him.
Sirius' grin was wider than you had ever seen. His grey eyes were stormy and showed his passion, while his words only showed his love.
‘I never thought I could love someone. I have friends and I have some kind of love for them but I never thought I could find love like described in books or sung about in songs. But the day I realised I loved you, I also realised that those kinds of love are nothing compared to what I feel.’
A tear rolled down your cheek and Sirius lifted his hand to wipe it away. His hand stayed on your cheek and brought your face closer. Sirius kissed you again with such tenderness it could be felt in the air around you.
You stayed at the fairy tale place the rest of the day. Friends long forgotten as the sun started to set, making the shadows grow bigger and darker until there was barely any light.
Wrapped in Sirius’ leather jacket you walked back to the castle. Hand in hand with your love. And you would never let go.
---------------
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