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emy-loves-you · 3 years

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The Prince, The Knight, and The Assassin Chapter One

The Assignment

Inspired by the amazing @kawaiikat54

Here’s the summary I wrote for AO3 bc I’m very proud of it:

Janus has never had a good life, raised to be a perfect assassin for the Dark Kingdom. Even though he hates his life, he follows all of his orders and does what he can to protect his little family. But what happens when he's given an order he can't follow through?

Patton is the Prince of the Light Kingdom. His family sees him as just a pretty face, a bargaining chip for peace between the two Kingdoms. He's given up everything for his Kingdom, even his chance of being happy with the love of his life by being forced into an arranged marriage with the High Queen of the Dark Kingdom. But what happens when he's kidnapped by someone who's lived through more horrors than Patton could ever imagine?

Roman is the personal knight and lover of Prince Patton. At least, he WAS Patton's lover, until they broke up so Patton could marry the High Queen. He hates having to pretend that he no longer feels anything for the Prince. But what happens when Patton disappears in the middle of the night?

What happens when the stars align just right? When a tortured soul refuses to kill? When family and duty are abandoned over love? When pain and anger override all thought? When three men, destined to be apart, fall in love?

Masterlist | Chapter Two

Warnings: Child assassins, child abandonment, I’m pretty sure this counts as child slavery, mentions of murder, mentions of torture, these characters will suffer

Two steps to the left.

Clash!

Feign a jab. Step to the right.

Clang!

Opponent is leaning heavily on his right foot. Most likely hurt his left. Jab near his right, make him lean back on his left. Swipe your leg out from under him-

“Oof!” The small figure fell to the floor, going to roll out of the way only to be stopped by the tip of a sword against his neck.

Janus glanced out of the corner of his eye to see the instructors leaving and relaxed minutely, stepping back. Evaluation over. Must have passed if we're not punished already. He put his sword away and held out his hand for his smaller opponent to grab. "Acknowledging your weaknesses will get you killed. Even if your foot has been crushed to a pulp, you need to put just as much weight on it as you would your right. Ignoring your pain, if only for the few moments of your fight, could be the difference between killing and dying."

His pupil nodded, grabbing the offered hand and pulling himself up. He dusted the dirt off his clothes and followed Janus back to their room, doing much better to hide his injured foot than when they were sparring. The room was small, more comparable to a closet than a bedroom in terms of size. But because of Janus' status, the room only houses three instead of the standard seven, so they wouldn't complain.

His pupil, Virgil, stepped into the room and immediately sat down on his cot, cradling his injured foot. Janus sighed and pried open the moldy floorboards, grabbing the small medkit hidden he’d stolen months ago. Virgil saw the medkit and shook his head "m fine."

Janus frowned, kneeling in front of him. "You obviously aren't, now let me take a look at it." He lightly grabbed Virgil by the calf and carefully removed his sock and shoe. He took note of Virgil's wince as he examined his limb. His foot appeared to be in perfect health, but his ankle was swollen slightly.

Virgil huffed softly, turning away. "See? I'm fine. No use in wasting supplies." He yelped when Janus poked his ankle, trying to jerk back but his leg stuck in Janus' firm grip.

Janus rolled his eyes. "Just let me wrap you up and give you a painkiller, Vee." He grabbed the roll of bandages, not waiting for Virgil’s response as he wrapped his ankle. Virgil huffed and grumbled under his breath.

Knock knock-knock knock

Janus tensed up before he recognized the knock pattern, relaxing. “Come in.” He didn’t bother turning back to look as he meticulously wrapped Virgil’s ankle. He heard the door open and closed followed by a sigh.

“I knew you twisted your ankle yesterday.” The person behind him drawled. “If you had let me tend to it yesterday-”

“Yeah, I know.” Virgil flushed and looked away. “But it felt fine yesterday, and if the supervisors had seen the bandages-”

“It would’ve been a risk we were willing to take.” He finished wrapping his foot and sat up, making deliberate eye contact with Virgil as he spoke. “We would’ve hidden them under your clothes, and if they still somehow saw it I would’ve taken the blame, not you. I’m the only one here with potential access to medical supplies.” Janus was the only one who went on unsupervised missions, the others too young so they were heavily supervised.

Virgil frowned, his gaze flickering to the left half Janus’ face as he remained silent. Janus ignored it, used to people staring at the scar. It started at the inner corner of his eye and trailed just under his cheekbone, ending at his jaw just under his ear. He’d gotten it when he was 8, a warning for hesitating in the middle of a mission. The only reason he wasn’t killed on the spot was that he was a prodigy at what he did.

Janus put the bandages away and searched for some pain medication. “Did your evaluation go well, Lo?”

Logan, or ‘Lo’ as Janus had so eloquently put it, sighed. “They changed the assignment as soon as I arrived in an attempt to throw me off guard. I still managed to pass, if barely.” He knelt down next to Janus, and Janus resisted the urge to frown. They’re being a lot more strict on evaluations now. Have they forgotten that they’re doing this to children? Or maybe they want them to fail so they can be broken down more. Janus mentally shook away the thought as he handed Virgil a pill, trying not to seem too obvious.

Virgil noticed though. He always noticed the little things. “That’s the last pill. We should save it for when we need it.”

Janus shook his head. “I’ll go smuggle some more on my next mission.”

Virgil scooted back, looking away. “I told you I’m fine-”

Logan crawled over to Virgil’s side, grabbing his hand and squeezing. “Just please take the pill, Virgil.” Janus watched as Logan and Virgil stared at each other, their mini battle-of-wills adorable to watch when you ignored the context. Virgil eventually sighed, taking the pill and swallowing without water as Logan rubbed his hand soothingly. Janus watched out of the corner of his eye as he put the medical supplies away, smiling softly at their interaction. It was moments like these that reminded Janus why he kept himself alive, why he kept listening to the High Queen’s demands.

No one in the Dark Kingdom could remember a time before the High Queen’s rule. She ruled the land with an iron fist, though most of the citizens were left unaware of the true horrors that lied behind the castle walls.

Janus was one of those horrors. Raised by birth to do the one thing that he was good at anymore: killing. Janus was an assassin for the High Queen.

“Jan?” Janus looked down at Virgil, snapping himself out of thought. “Are we busy today?”

Janus sighed. “I have to go receive my new mission from her highness at sunset, but you have nothing to do until training tomorrow.”

Virgil nodded and snuggled into Logan’s side, making grabby hands towards Janus. Janus smiled, rolling his eyes fondly as he crawled onto the tiny cot. His two pupils adjusted themselves accordingly, one on each side as they used his shoulders as pillows, their hands linked together over his chest. Janus watched over them as their breathing slowed, their grips on each other and Janus refusing to go slack as they drifted into slumber.

Janus frowned, starting up at the ceiling above him. They didn’t deserve to suffer through this type of life. Hell, if it wasn’t for the High Queen’s order for the older assassins to train the younger ones as mentors, Janus was sure that they wouldn’t have lasted. They were good at what they did, but not good enough for her majesty.

Virgil whimpered softly and Janus was quick to shush him, petting his hair and wiping away his fresh tears. The kid had nightmares almost every night, and Janus learned that it was best for him to just sleep through them. If he woke up there was a chance he would still remember what he dreamed about in the morning, and Janus refused to put him through that.

Janus sighed, his mind going back to the documents he had found and read years ago. It had included information on all of the children operatives in this program. Janus had only read the information on himself and his two pupils, not having much time and deeming the rest irrelevant. Before then, they didn’t even have their real names to go by, just the codenames that the higher-ups gave them.

Virgil, codenamed Widow. Ten years old, will turn eleven near the winter solstice. Was neglected in an orphanage and later ‘donated’ to the Kingdom’s cause at almost four years old. An odd case, especially since operatives were usually initiated at 1-2 years old. Specializes in stealth and poisoning, and can blend in with almost any crowd. Can climb and run quickly, but quite weak in terms of hand-to-hand combat.

Logan, codenamed Sparrow. Turned nine near the spring equinox. Was sold to the castle at 14 months old. A natural prodigy, second only to Deceit, but tends to lose any form of stealth without Widow or Deceit by his side. Prefers to use a throwing knife and call it a day over making it look like a natural death. Is usually partnered with Widow to keep him in check.

Janus, codenamed Deceit. Turned nineteen near the summer solstice. Son of a noble who ‘donated’ him to the cause the moment he was born. First child to be entered into the program, and the oldest one in it. Raised to be the perfect killer. Completes every mission perfectly, other than the instance where he got his scar. The High Queen’s ‘favorite.’ Assigned as Logan’s mentor when he was 11, and Virgil’s a little over a year later. Can kill someone with almost anything, but specializes in swords.

Janus sighed, carding his hands through his pupils’ hair. He saw them as something akin to younger brothers, someone that he needed to watch over and take care of. But that was quickly changing. They were already so big, and Janus was dreading the day that the higher-ups would notice and kill the youthful light in their eyes. They still laughed and smiled, even if it was just in the comfort of their little room. They still cared about eachother and trusted the other to catch them when they fell. They didn’t have the same cynical view on the world that Janus did.

But that wouldn’t last forever. Janus knew they could take care of themselves now, but Janus still dreaded the day they would be forced to do so. The day that Janus was given too big of a task and didn’t come home. The inevitable day that the higher-ups noticed how close they were and started using them against each other.

Janus shook his head. It wouldn’t do good to dwell on such thoughts. He needed to live in the moment while he still had a happy moment to live in.

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When the sun just started to set along the horizon, Janus carefully pulled himself out from under his pseudo-brothers. They immediately latched onto each other, and Janus smiled softly before schooling his features. He quickly stepped out of the room, ignoring the chilly hallway as he walked through the castle, past the dozens of rooms filled to the brim with child soldiers.

He reached the throne room just as the sun disappeared below the horizon, not bothering to glance around the room as he walked down the familiar path towards the High Queen’s throne. He knelt down at the base of the throne, his gaze down towards the expensive silver-lined shoes in front of him. “Your majesty.”

A hand carded through his hair and he stopped himself from flinching or tensing up, already expecting it to happen. “Deccceit… my preccciousss sssnake…” The hand tugged, not quite harsh but definitely not gentle, and Janus looked up at the High Queen. She reminded Janus of a dragon, her old, wrinkly skin reminding him of dragon scales. She tended to speak softly in low hisses, but Janus was used to straining to hear what she said. “I have a tassssk for you.”

He kept his expression neutral, not showing any emotion as he droned out his response. “Anything for you, my Queen.” He bit back a shudder as she kept carding her fingers through his hair. She had once claimed to see Janus as a son to her, but Janus would never see her as a mother. She was cruel and manipulative, and only saw people as pieces to her own master plan.

“The Light Kingdom hasss deccccided to negotiate peacccce with ussss.” Janus inwardly relaxed, already knowing what she would say. This wasn’t the first time they had tried to negotiate peace, and this wasn’t the first time she had sent Janus out to deal with it. The High Queen didn’t wish for peace, or even to win her battle against the Light Kingdom. No, she craved the violence and war between the two kingdoms, the constant pain and suffering that everyone around her was forced to endure at her expense. So, she would order him to kill the light side’s politicians before they reached the meeting point, make it look like they all disappeared out of thin air-

“They offered the Princccce’sssss hand in exchange for peacccccce.” Janus barely held back his shock. Prince Patton was eighteen, and the only heir to the throne. Either the King and Queen wanted to fully merge the kingdoms (which was highly unlikely) or they weren’t wanting the Prince to rule. But that also left a much more concerning matter at hand. The Queen didn’t want to establish peace, which meant Janus’ task-

“Your tassssk isss to kill the Princcccce.” The hand kept carding through his hair, her voice calm and light, as if she was discussing the weather and not murder. “You’ll leave tonight. I’ll have sssssomeone bring you to the border. The wedding isssss ssssscheduled to occur in two and a half weekssss. I expect to hear about hissssss death long before then.”

He nodded, ice flooding his veins. He had only killed corrupt politicians and men with no morals. He’d never killed someone so young, and the thought made his stomach churn. But he had no choice. “It will be done, my Queen.”

She laughed a cruel wicked laugh and dismissed him to grab his weapons. He left, feeling numb as he traveled through the halls, the task finally sinking in. He had to infiltrate the Light Kingdom’s castle and assassinate the crown prince. An impossible task for most, and highly improbable for Janus. If he was caught or failed his task, he would be killed or worse. And he would never see Logan or Virgil again.

Janus swept into the room, knowing that he didn’t have much time before he had to leave. He packed his weapons and gently shook his charges awake, his dread momentarily paused by their sleepy expressions. “I’m assigned to leave tonight. If everything goes according to plan I’ll be back in less than three weeks.”

The children said nothing as they wrapped themselves around Janus, holding him tight. The fact that he said ‘if everything goes according to plan’ meant that he wasn’t confident about this mission, and they immediately held on for dear life.

He smiled sadly, rubbing their backs soothingly. “I need to leave now. Go back to sleep, you have training in the morning.” He didn’t promise to come back. These were the only two people that Janus swore never to lie to, and he wasn’t going to do it now just to give them a moment of false hope. They soon fell back asleep on the cot, holding each other tighter than before, and Janus slipped out the door and into the night.

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Taglist: @bisexualdisaster106 @self-taught-mess @arodynamic-enby @sanderssides-angst @kawaiikat54 @artsy-enby09 @irritating-lady-knight @girl-who-reads @larrymalecsolangelo

#sanders sides fic #royaliceit #angst #analogical #janus sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #dragon witch

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nerdzzone · 3 years

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Two Burning Hearts: Chapter 3.5

Sequel to Light After Dark

Summary: After meeting during a time when the world was in total lockdown, Brooke Harris and Henry Cavill are facing the next challenge to their relationship: transitioning back to normal life. Will they be able to cope with the changes they’re facing or will they fall apart once they leave the idyllic peace of isolation that they had in Jersey?

Pairing: Henry Cavill x OFC

A/N: I often get asked to do some things from Henry’s point of view so I thought this would be a fun little extra to add in. Please read chapter three first though or you may be a tad confused! Also, as I’ve said before, I don’t know everything about Henry’s family. I used names I’ve seen tossed around, but if I’m wrong, just go with it!

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June. 29. 2020

After Brooke had gone upstairs to shower, Henry grabbed himself a bottle of rosemary water from the fridge and called his brother to see what the plan was for Amelia's birthday chat. It was pretty straight forward. He would send Henry a link to a Zoom chat and everyone would join within the next fifteen to twenty minutes and let him know when they were ready. Then Simon would join with his family and Amelia to surprise her. It seemed easy enough so Henry settled in, made sure Kal was content and wouldn't damage everyone's ears with any loud barking and clicked the link.

The chat popped up, but he quickly realized that he was only the second one to join as the only people already waiting were his brother Charlie and his wife, Heather.

"Henry!"

They cheered enthusiastically making a smile instantly appear on his face.

"Charlie, Heather, it's lovely to see you," He greeted them. "Is it just the two of you?"

"It is," Charlie nodded. "It's already eleven o'clock here so the kids are all tucked up in bed."

"Ah, yes, I forgot about the time difference," Henry told them before taking a sip of his water. "So, how are you both? How's lockdown going over there?"

"It's not so bad right now," Heather informed him. "Things have eased up and opened up quite a bit which is a relief. It was getting tough being cooped up with the kids all day."

"I can imagine," Henry smiled. "It was bad enough with Simon's lot on Jersey and there's only three of them and they're younger than some of yours."

"To be fair, the older ones weren't as bad," Simon shrugged. "We could explain it more to them and they have more ways to stay in touch with their friends. It's the little ones with their boundless energy that were the challenge."

"The energy level of kids is amazing," Henry agreed. "After they had cake on my birthday, I swear they ran around for hours without even pausing to catch their breath. My head was spinning by the time they finally crashed."

Charlie chuckled at the thought, but nodded as he knew the feeling well.

"My head is spinning every night these days."

"But speaking of your birthday cake," Heather segued, a grin on her face. "Where's Brooke? We were hoping to meet her!"

Henry smiled at his sister-in-law's enthusiasm.

"She's in the shower. She just finished a long yoga workout."

"Will she be joining us after?" Charlie asked. "We've heard so much about her, it would be great to finally get to have a chat."

Before Henry could answer, there was a loud ping and the faces of his brother Piers and his wife, Charlotte, popped up with their two sons hovering in the background. Everyone cheered and greeted each other, happy to see each other's faces again after so long apart, but Charlie quickly steered the conversation back to Henry's love life.

"We were just asking if we'll get to meet Brooke today," He told his oldest brother.

"Oh?" Piers grinned. "And do we?"

"I don't think so," Henry smiled, wrinkling his nose. "It's a bit intimidating meeting the whole gang and doing it like this, where it's hard to see and hear everyone just seemed like it would be a bit cruel."

The women nodded, having been through the ordeal of meeting the entire Cavill family themselves, but his brothers rolled their eyes and voiced their protests.

"We're hardly intimidating," Charlie denied. "We're a very welcoming and friendly bunch!"

"We are!" Piers agreed. "And this whole situation might go on for ages, she can't avoid us forever."

There was another ping as he spoke and Niki and his wife, Victoria, appeared.

"Who's avoiding us?" Niki grinned once everyone had greeted the couple.

"Brooke is," Piers teased, knowing it would wind Henry up. "Apparently she's scared to meet us."

"That's not what I said!" Henry protested as expected. "To be honest, I didn't really push the idea because I thought it seemed mean. She wants to meet all of you and I'd be happy for us to organize one on one video chats. We have plenty of time over the next week since we're isolating in preparation for filming to start again."

"Oh, that's right!" Victoria nodded. "You have to quarantine. How's that going? Is it hard since you haven't been together long?"

"Not really," Henry shrugged. "It's been quite relaxing. We enjoy each other's company, but we know when to give each other space. It's only been four days though, she might have killed me by the time it's over."

As he probably should have predicted, his brothers then proceeded to list all his bad qualities and annoying habits that could drive her away until they were thankfully told to be nice or be quiet by their wives. As irritating as it was to be the one that everyone was picking on, Henry couldn't help but smile at the sound of his family all being together again. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it, but it was heartwarming to see everyone's faces.

Just as all the teasing wound down, his parents joined the chat. The massive grin on his mother's face at the sight of her sons made Henry's heart warm even more. However, after the initial greeting, she turned her focus to Henry and he held back a groan.

"Henry, where's Brooke?" She asked. "You haven't scared her off already, have you?"

His brother's roared with laughter as he shook his head.

"No, I haven't. She's just busy."

"Busy?" His dad asked. "How can she be busy when you're not allowed to leave the house?"

"She's scared to meet us apparently," Niki teased making Henry roll his eyes.

"She's not scared," He repeated. "I just didn't think it would be fair to make her meet everyone all at once over a video chat. It seemed intimidating."

"Oh, that makes sense," Marianne nodded. "I didn't think she'd be the type to be scared that easily. Honestly, boys, she's lovely. Absolutely wonderful. Her mother and I always thought they'd make a good pair, but they were both always off on their own little adventures so it slipped our minds until they found each other all by themselves."

Henry was intrigued by the thought of their parents planning to play matchmaker, but was relieved that they'd never actually attempted it. He knew that he would have been much more reluctant to give her a chance if he'd been pressured into doing so by his mother and he knew that Brooke would probably have reacted the same way. However, knowing that his mother approved so whole heartedly of his girlfriend made Henry very happy. He loved his mother and respected her opinion more than anyone else and the few times that she had been less than impressed with his choice of partner, it hadn't ended well. Not necessarily because her opinion swayed him, but she seemed to have some kind of sixth sense when it came to partners for her children and her lack of approval tended to mean that the relationship was doomed. So, hearing that she had hoped to be able to set him up with Brooke anyway was a relief.

He was eager to talk about something other than his love life though so after letting his mum fill them in a little bit about Brooke, he changed the subject to a recent accomplishment of one of his many nephews and let him have the spotlight for a bit. That didn't last long though as Simon and his crew joined the chat and after a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday, the attention stayed on the giddy little three year old for the rest of the conversation.

Tag List: @heartfelt-pen @stephartrave @herefortherealdeal @imaginecrushes @justaboringadult @ speakerforthedead0 @summersong69 @bichibibi @healojane

Let me know if you’d like to be added!

#henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill fic #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x ofc #two burning hearts

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maybeimamuppet · 3 years

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the blood of angry (wo)men

hey hey darling readers!! welcome back!! for a second, anyway!! this is a request fill for aspenchokey on wattpad, who requested leo and layla being with damian and one gets her period. so here it is. this also means you get to meet some more of my oc''s in the form of damian and aaron's kids. so, some basic information: they're a group of three biological siblings that they adopted. ivie is the oldest, shes 18 in this and was 13 when they were adopted, but shes just mentioned and not really in this. ellis is in the middle, hes 15 and was 10 when they were adopted. then milly (short for amelie) is the baby. shes 8 in this and was 3 when they were adopted.

tw for periods/menstruation. otherwise, please enjoy!!

“Girls!” Cady calls from the kitchen. Her twins both come barreling down the stairs to find her.

“Yeah, Mama?” Layla asks, panting slightly.

“Uncle D is going to watch you tonight, your mom and I have a-“ Cady replies.

“Date night, we know, Mama. It’s Saturday,” Leo finishes. Cady chuckles.

“We are pretty predictable, aren’t we?” She hums. “We’ll drop you off around five and be back to get you by eleven.”

“Ooh, late night,” Layla teases. Cady rolls her eyes.

“You know what we get up to,” she huffs. “Your boring old mothers.”

“Mom told us about the time she stole a sheep when you were in high school,” Leo pipes up. “What happened to that?”

“We happened,” Cady laughs. “She grew up and settled down.”

Janis comes in then, paintbrush behind her ear and carrying a mug. “Hey, gang. What are we talking about?”

“You,” Layla teases. “And how you’re old and boring now.”

“Ah,” Janis says with a knowing nod. She takes a drink of whatever’s in her mug. “Oh, that’s the paint water, what-ugh!”

“Jay,” Cady huffs around a laugh. “Maybe you haven’t settled down. Why do you never look at things before you drink them?”

“I like to live on the edge,” Janis responds, wiping her tongue off on a paper towel.

“We’re in our forties now, you should probably step back from that edge,” Cady giggles as she hands her some juice to rinse the taste from her mouth. “Goofy.”

Janis thankfully takes the offered beverage and chugs it, then wraps her wife in a hug. “Thank you.”

“Of course, my love,” Cady chuckles, turning around and pulling her wife in for a kiss. The twins both exclaim in disgust and run back upstairs. “You still taste like paint, go brush your teeth.”

“Okay,” Janis pouts.

————-

“Layla! Leo!” The twins’ cousin, Milly, yells as she runs to greet them.

“Let them breathe, Mills,” Damian chides gently as his nieces are squished in a tight hug by his youngest child. Milly moves onto her aunties, so Damian takes his turn to tackle the twins.

“Hey, Uncle D,” Leo says, sounding a little choked as she’s wrapped in a tight hug. It’s what they’ve come to expect after thirteen years of knowing him. Janis eventually pries him off her daughters for her turn, and Cady joins in.

Layla and Leo head into the living room as Milly drags them along. Aaron is there playing a video game with his son, Ellis.

“Ellie!” Layla yells teasingly, running to tackle her cousin. Ellis has roughly four seconds to scramble to put his controller down and get into a safe position before she lands on him with a dull thud.

“I hate you so much,” he grumbles. “Hey.”

“Whatcha playing?” Layla asks, yelping as Leo drags her off to allow her cousin some personal space.

“Fifa,” Ellis says once he’s got his hair back to its properly ruffled state.

“Ooh, can I play?” Layla asks. Aaron hands his controller over. “Hehe. I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“Hey!” Cady and Janis both call at the same time. Layla shrinks into herself.

“Sorry, moms,” she mumbles. Cady raises an eyebrow at Janis, who also shrinks into herself. They both know she’s the reason why their twins know every curse word in the dictionary. “Sorry El.”

“It’s fine,” Ellis chuckles. “I’ll kick your butt first.”

Layla snaps to attention and goes to work trying to beat her cousin. Aaron comes to join his husband and friends for a chat while Milly drags Leo to the backyard to do dances.

After a nice, but long, conversation, Cady and Janis kiss their twins goodbye and head out. Damian and Aaron are now left alone with four children. Oh boy.

————

Leo teaches Milly bits of her routines until sunset, at which point they’re called inside. Both of them are sweaty and frizzy-haired and immediately head to the kitchen to chug down water.

Leo plops down next to her sister and leans in, covering her twin in sweat. Layla shoves her away with a groan.

“Ew, Leo! Gross!”

“Like you don’t do it to me,” Leo retaliates. “What happened to kicking his butt?”

“I’ve never played this before!” Layla says.

“You played soccer for, like, five years, how is a video game of it that different?” Leo teases. Ellis tugs Leo down to the floor by an ankle to stop their bickering. She yelps and thumps to the ground beside him. “Ow!”

“You’re a gymnast, don’t you fall all the time?” Ellis teases.

“Yeah, on my face, usually,” Leo grumbles, rubbing her sore bum. She notices red on her hand when she shifts positions. Oh, hell.

————-

“Where did Leo run off to?” Aaron asks as he comes back into the room.

“I dunno, she just ran upstairs,” Ellis shrugs. “She was fine before, I don’t know what happened.”

“I’ll go check on her,” Layla says. “Here, Uncle Aaron.”

“Thanks, squirt,” Aaron says, taking the controller back from his niece and getting back into the game.

“Lolo? Where did you go?” Layla calls as she heads up the stairs to find her twin.

Nothing.

“Hey!” Layla yelps as a hand suddenly snatches her arm and hauls her into the bathroom. “Leo, what-“

“We have a situation,” Leo hisses.

“Okay, you couldn’t just tell me that? Where have you been?” Layla grumbles. “What do you want, dummy?”

“I’ve been in here,” Leo murmurs. “It… happened.”

“What?”

“It,” Leo says again, sharper. Layla’s eyes go wide.

“Ohhhh,” she says. “That’s… fine, you know? Mom and Mama told us about this, they said not to be embarrassed. It’s natural, Lolo.”

“Yeah, but there’s nothing to use. Our backpacks are at home and there’s nothing here,” Leo huffs. “I think Ivie took all her stuff with her to college. I don’t want to get blood all over the place.”

“Oh yeah,” Layla agrees. “Should I go ask Uncle D to buy some?”

“No!”

“Why not? You need something,” Layla huffs. “Or are you just gonna hide in here until Mom and Mama come get us?”

“I don’t want him to know,” Leo grumbles. “It’s… it’s embarrassing.”

“You’re literally doing the opposite of what Mom and Mama said to do,” Layla says. “Uncle D, like, changed our diapers and stuff. He has two daughters, and one of them definitely already has her period. He’s not gonna care or judge you for needing stuff.”

“Yeah, I know, but-“ Leo begins, getting cut off by a knock on the door.

“Ladies, is everything good? You’ve been in there a while,” Damian asks through the door. “We’re gonna watch a movie soon.”

The twins frantically gesture to one another, having a conversation without words. Layla wants to tell him, Leo doesn’t. Layla wins.

She checks to make sure everything important is covered to protect her twin’s privacy and then opens the door. Damian pokes his head in with his eyes closed.

“What’s up?” He asks.

“Japan is invading,” Leo grumbles.

“What?”

“Satan’s sacrificial waterfall,” Leo tries again.

“Oh,” Damian says. “Oh my gosh! Aww, honey! You guys are growing up quick, holy shit.”

“Why did you get that one?” Layla asks.“That’s what your mom called it when we were in high school,” Damian explains. “And college. Living together was rough those weeks.”

The twins both giggle a bit, imagining their mom clinging to Damian and whining at him. It’s nothing they haven’t seen before, but imagining them younger is fun.

“Oh, we don’t have anything here, do we?” Damian suddenly realizes. “Shit. Which one of you is it? Both?”

“Just her,” Layla teases. “But yeah, she needs stuff.”

Damian thwacks her on the head gently. “It’s gonna happen to you, soon, be nice. Leo, honey, why don’t you take a shower? I’m gonna take your darling twin to go buy you some stuff you’ll need.”

“Did I get blood anywhere?” Leo asks anxiously as Damian hands her a few soft towels.

“I didn’t see any,” Damian shrugs. “If you did it’s not a big deal, after being married to your uncle for twelve years I know how to get stains out of everything. Speaking of, give Layla anything that got stained, we’ll wash that for you.”

“Okay,” Leo murmurs. “Thanks, Uncle D.”

“Of course, honey. You relax, everything’s good,” Damian comforts, hauling Layla back out of the bathroom and shutting the door. “Darling?”

Aaron pops his head out from the kitchen and looks at them as they walk downstairs. “Yeah, babe?”

“I’m taking Layla out for a while, do you have dinner plans yet?” Damian asks.

“No, why?” Aaron asks as Damian follows him back to the kitchen. He spies the slightly stained shorts in Layla’s hands. “Ah. Got it.”

Layla looks between them in confusion. “What?”

“We’re having spaghetti and meatballs tonight,” Aaron says.

“Okay, how did you-what did-“ Layla stutters.

“Both your moms always crave carbs and red meat when they’re on their periods, it’ll probably be the same for you two. You learn stuff quick when you live with two ladies,” Damian shrugs.

“Daddy, can I come?” Milly asks. “Please? I’m done with chores.”

“Of course, Froggy,” Damian says, grinning as his daughter squeals and runs off to find some shoes. “El, do you want to come?”

“Where are you going?” Ellis asks.“Just the convenience store, probably,” Damian says. Ellis shakes his head and goes back to his video game. “Alrighty. Let’s go!”

————-

“Layla, do you know what brand your moms bought you guys?” Damian asks once they’re in the right aisle.

“No,” Layla says. “Does it really matter? They all look the same.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter all that much,” Damian shrugs. “But they are different sizes, so we’ll have to read them first.”

“These ones are pretty,” Milly says, pointing to a box.

“Those are tampons, honey, we need pads,” Damian says. “Your moms should do tampons with you, that’s not… my area of expertise.”

“What’s a tampon?” Milly asks.

“Um… it’s kind of like a pad, but it goes inside,” Damian says. Milly pulls a face and runs away from the box. “You have a few years left, kiddo. You have time to learn.”

“It’s gonna happen to me too?” Milly huffs.“Yep. Every month until you’re about fifty,” Damian responds with a ruffle to her hair.

“What the hell?!” Milly yells. “That’s not fair! Daddy, can’t I just be a boy like you?”

Damian and Layla both bite their lips to hold back a laugh at Milly’s reaction. Damian doesn’t even scold her for swearing.

“Do you actually want to be a boy or do you just not want a period?” Layla asks helpfully. “You don’t have to be a boy to not get one. My mom takes medicine to stop hers because it bugs her so much.”

“Oh,” Milly says. “I’ll do that. I like being a girl.”

Layla hugs her from behind and continues browsing. “This kind look familiar, I think this is what Mama got us.”

Damian grabs grabs the box and reads over it. “Sounds good to me.” He tosses it into their basket along with the nighttime variety in case someone gets their period during a sleepover. “Okay, this way.”

“Candy?” Layla asks in confusion when she sees what aisle they’ve been led to. “Why?”

“You have so much to learn, young one,” Damian tuts. He grabs a massive bag of chocolate and adds it to their basket too. Layla tries to peek at what kinds are inside and earns herself a gentle flick. “Not for you.”

“That’s all for Leo?!” Layla asks loudly. “No fair!”

“Do you currently have a torrent of blood escaping your body against your will?” Damian asks with a raised eyebrow. Layla shakes her head. “That’s what I thought. You’ll get your own bag when you get yours. I’ll fight off your moms to give you your first period chocolate. Just a few more things, then we can go back home.”

Damian grabs some spare undies and a lavender teddy, one that can be microwaved and used as a heating pad. Once that’s been added to the basket he lets each of the girls pick a face mask for themselves, and ones for him, Aaron, Leo, and Ellis too.

“Ooh, look!” Milly suddenly says, wandering off when she spies some miniature backpacks. “Daddy, can I get one?”

“Actually, yeah,” Damian says. “Layla, that’d be good for when you two don’t have your school backpacks, you could keep your stuff in there. You should pick one too.”

“Okay,” Layla shrugs, grabbing a purple one without much thought.

“This one can be for Leo!” Milly says happily, holding a blue one with her own pink one.

“Sounds good, Froggy,” Damian hums. “Okay, let’s go check out now.”

Once their few items have been purchased, Milly takes the receipt that’s nearly as long as she is and does a ribbon dance around the parking lot. Layla cheers her on and acts as a backup dancer until they make it back to the car.

“Crazies,” Damian says lovingly as they enter the car. “Buckle up, I need to go home and eat.”

—————

They hear the shower water shut off just as they get back. Damian sends Layla upstairs with the new undies and pads to give to Leo. Her twin opens the door to take them and then quickly shuts it again, locking it behind her. Layla is halfway back downstairs before she hears Leo call for her.

With an eye roll she turns back around. “What now?”

“I don’t have clothes,” Leo mumbles. “Mine are in the laundry.”

“Oh,” Layla says. She takes a deep breath and yells, “Uncle D!”

“What?” Damian yells back.

“Leo needs clothes!”

“Oh! Okay, one sec!” Damian calls.

“God, Layla, you’re so loud,” Leo grumbles through the door.

“It worked, I don’t see why you’re complaining,” Layla huffs back.

Damian pads his way up the stairs. “You guys can’t share with Milly anymore, can you? That growth spurt you two had. Hmm.”

He disappears to his own bedroom and comes back with some of his old sweatpants and a hoodie.

“These will have to do, Aaron’s old stuff is all in the laundry,” he says, handing them to Layla to give to her twin. “Leo, dinner’s done whenever you’re ready, honey.”

“Thanks, Uncle D,” Leo calls through the door.

“Of course,” Damian says as he heads back to everyone downstairs.

“Do you need anything else, Your Highness?” Layla grumbles.

“No, leave me alone,” Leo says back.

“Suit yourself. Love you,” Layla calls as she also heads back downstairs.

“Love you too!”

————-

Leo comes padding gently down the stairs a few minutes later. Her wet hair is loosely braided over her shoulder and she’s in her uncle’s sweats, the pants tied with a hair tie at her waist and cuffed to fit, and the sleeves of the shirt rolled up several times.

Layla watches in a mix of awe and concern as her small dancer of a twin sister wolfs down three portions of their spaghetti dinner in the same time it takes her to finish one. Leo sticks her tongue out at her when she catches her staring.

“Whoa,” Leo says when she spies the massive bag of candy and teddy bear waiting for her on the couch after dinner. “This is all for me?”

“Of course,” Damian says. “Celebrate your next forty-odd years of misery, come on.”

“Leo, look,” Milly insists, dragging her to see the teddy bear. “He smells nice and you can cook him so he gets warm!”

“Thanks, Mills,” Leo chuckles. “Did you name it yet?”

“No,” Milly murmurs. “Um… Theo!”

“I like it,” Leo nods.

“Oh, wait!” Milly yells suddenly, running to grab the backpacks they bought.

“Milly, inside voice, darling,” Aaron scolds gently. There’s not much use to it, Milly is so exuberant all the time.

“Sorry Papa,” Milly says shyly. “Here!”

Leo takes it curiously. “Thank you.”

“For when we don’t have our school bags,” Layla explains. “Mine’s purple, don’t touch it.”

Leo rolls her eyes. “Sure, like I want your stuff. Hey, that’s mine!”

Layla quickly stuffs the rest of her stolen piece of chocolate into her mouth so Leo can’t have it back. “Heh.”

“Loser,” Leo huffs.

“Settle down,” Damian chuckles, grabbing his daughter and sitting on the couch for a movie while Milly passes out the face masks. Ellis cuddles into his side, and Aaron sits by him. Leo and Layla take their usual place on the ground by everyone’s feet. Leo holds her new warm teddy bear to her cramping tummy and forces her twin to cuddle her.

————-

“Heyyy,” Cady greets as they enter the house a few hours later. Milly runs to go hug her aunties.

“Hey, Milly Billy!” Janis greets, scooping her niece up and carrying her back to the living room. “Aww.”

Her twins are both sound asleep on the floor and almost completely intertwined. She can’t totally tell where one ends and the other begins.

“Why is Leo in Damian’s clothes?” Cady asks, taking a few pictures of her daughters actually tolerating each other.

“And why is there so much chocolate?” Janis adds, setting Milly down to go back to her own family.

“Leo started her period, her stuff got stained,” Damian explains. Aaron heads to go grab said clothes from the dryer. “So we took a fun little trip to the convenience store.”

“Poor kid,” Janis hums. “I didn’t even think of that, we gave them stuff to keep in their school bags but I forgot to give them anything for when they’re… not at school.”

“She was fine, she actually handled everything pretty well,” Damian shrugs. “Did you ladies have fun?”

Cady starts giggling suddenly, and Janis pouts. “I only hit the ceiling one time!”

“Jay, we went bowling,” Cady giggles. “I still don’t know how you managed it, that ball was heavy.”

“It was one time! I beat you, anyway,” Janis grumbles.

“I let you win,” Cady retaliates. “Get our children.”

Janis carefully pries the twins apart and scoops up Layla while Cady takes all of their things. Cady carefully pecks her daughter on the forehead as Janis carries her past and giggles quietly as her nose twitches.

Janis comes back once Layla is safely in the car and grabs Leo to carry her out as well. Leo is a lighter sleeper and wakes up as she’s lifted from the ground.

“Hey, Mommy,” she yawns. Janis chuckles and kisses her forehead.

“Hey, Bee. I hear you had a big day,” she whispers back. Leo nods and cuddles into her. Cady kisses her forehead too, and her daughter grins a little. “Bye guys. Thank you for taking care of her.”

Aaron and Damian both wave as the ladies all leave. Janis puts Leo in the back by her sister and gets into her own seat to take her family home. Leo falls back asleep almost immediately, so Cady and Janis are almost alone together.

Cady looks at her when she hears a sniffle. “Mpendwa, what’s wrong?”

“They’re growing up,” Janis whispers. “Leo has her period, she’s-she’s a teenager. They both are, they’re not… they’re not my little ones anymore.”

Cady grins sadly at her and squeezes her hand. “I know. We can’t stop time. But they’ll always be our babies.”

Janis nods and squeezes her back, blinking the tears out of her eyes so she can drive safely.

—-

Janis carries the twins up to bed once they get home. When she heads back to her own bedroom, she finds her wife waiting for her with an old photo album from the twins’ first few years.

Janis rushes through changing into her pajamas and brushing her teeth to cuddle in with her wife. She and Cady stay up late, reminiscing over the photos and even farther back.

“Did you ever think when you rescued me from the bathroom that day in high school that we’d be here?” Cady asks quietly once photos have been seen and stories retold.

“I could only dream it, Sunshine,” Janis murmurs back. Cady scoffs and nudges her.

“You’re so poetic,” she chuckles. Janis rests the photo album on her nightstand and grabs her wife for their nightly cuddle session. Once the lights are off and they’re holding each other close, Cady whispers, “I’m glad we’re here.”

“I am too, baby,” Janis whispers back in between kisses. “I am too.” -

thank you for reading!! hope you enjoyed!

lots of love,

ezzy

#cadnis #paint by numbers #space safari #cady heron x janis sarkisian #cady x janis #cady heron #mean girls the musical #damian hubbard #aaron samuels #mean girls broadway #mean girls musical

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chappedandfadedvds · 3 years

Text

Dec 20th, Sunday 11:15

Jens turned, pulled the blanket up over his face, as he could feel the sun shining into his face. It was so warm and comfortable, he didn’t wished to wake up. But he probably should as he heard someone step on one of the creaking floor boards. The person drew their breath in sharply, when Jens sat up, rubbing his eyes awake, before he opened them to find his boyfriend staring apologetic back at him.

„Hey sorry, I didn’t wanted to wake you.“

„You didn’t, all good.“ „What time is it?“ He yawned, stretching his arms above his head, he felt oddly at peace. Everything was quiet and when he turned his head to his left he could see the sun rays slip through the snow covered trees. He only know really remembered were he was.

„Eleven or something.“ Lucas answered, whispering a little yes under his breath as he pulled his gloves from his bag.

„What?“

He looked a little bewildred, grabbing for his phone from beside his pillow to see that Lucas hasn’t been lying. Jens tried really hard to think about the last morning he got to sleep until he woke by himself, if it wasn’t for nightmares or the urge to cry after racing thoughts.

„Yeah, I thought I’d let you sleep in. You derserve it.“

Only then did Jens notice Lucas’s oddly reddish tinted hands, when he sat down at the edge of the bed to lean over to kiss the still sleepy older boy, with awful bedhair and no idea what to do next other than pull himself a little closer.

„I love you.“ Jens whispered against the soft lips pressing back on his, before he leaned his his forehead against the younger boy’s very cold one. Was Lucas freezing or something?

„I love you, too.“ His boyfriend happily replied, before he pecked another small kiss on the corner on Jens’s lips, before he rose to his feet. „I’m going to head back down, but you can stay longer if you want to. I told the others that you were feeling exhausted from yesterday’s trip and a little bit of headache. Lame answer, I know, but I panicked.“

Jens shook his head, smiling at his silly boyfriend, who grinned at him as he turned to leave their room. It was probably time to for him to start the day as well. He wanted to go out and enjoy at least the couple of hours that they wouldn’t sit in the dark of the winter.

„You getting up?“

„Yeah.“ He nodded, pushing the blankets away, as Lucas opened the door. The wodden floor boards weren’t as cold as Jens had expected them to be under bare feet and the oven dark in the corner. It didn’t mean he immediately grabbed for his socks and a hoodie to throw on. It definitely was a little colder than home in Belgium, Jens felt. They had thought about turning on the oven last night, but it had been late and both of them had practically fallen dead asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

„Perfect. If you hurry, you may be able to see these idiots trying to fit the tree through the front door.“ Lucas peeked his head around the door, still overly cheerful. It probably did him just as good to have gotten away from everything as well. And the Jens registred what he had been told.

„Tree?“

„Oh, yes. It was glorious. Sander, Moyo and Senne went out to cut down a christmas tree. You know, to decorate after lunch. They were so bad at it. Luca and me had a great time laughing from the side on the porch.“

„I can imagine.“ Jens replied much amused by the picture forming in his head. This could only end in chaos, Jens was a little sad to have not been able to see it himself, but perhaps Lucas was right and he at least could enjoy the last moments of their friends’s struggle. „Go on, I’ll be down in five.“

„Alright, I’ll see if I can find Robbe somewhere.“ Lucas said, and then his head was gone, when Jens called out for him, looking back out of the window, as he stood by the bed.

„Lucas?“

„Yea?“ Apparently the boy hadn’t rushed to get away, as his head was back at the same spot, his body hidden behind the wooden door. There was a light frown on his face though now. A little bit of worry spreading across his expression. Jens didn’t wanted that.

„Let’s go for a little walk later?“

This was better. Lucas’s smile crept back onto his lips, as he nodded at the suggestion. And then his boyfriend was gone, steps quickly putting distance between his boyfriend and their room.

Jens yawned ones more, but got changed and down within the given five minutes or so. The first thing that caought his eyes, was a trail of pine needles, dirt and half melted snow, leaving puddles. A lot of voices filled the house, that came alive, where it had remained rather silent upstairs. There was a warm feeling to it, that Jens couldn’t quite put into words. But it felt good to hear all his friends laughing and arguing and having normal conversation.

And even thought he couldn’t witness his friends heaving in a large tree, he could at least enjoy Moyo trying his best to hold up the tree, while Sander and Senne loudly discussed how to best secure the whole thing, to be able to decorate it afterwards.

„You are all doing great!“ Milan cheered at the boys, from where he sat at the dinning table next to Zoë and Yasmina. Jens decided that they were probably the best people to ask.

„Have you seen Lucas, somewhere?“ Jens actually had expected to see his boyfriend around as well, but couldn’t see him, not even outside and the door was shut. Put then Lucas had searched for his gloves, so maybe had gone out?

„Good morning to you too. That exhausted, huh?“ Milan wore a look on his face, that certainly coudln’t be read as innocent as he wiggled his brows at him. This was probably something he needed to deal with a lot from now on. It was a little amusing, but he didn’t wanted to add fuel to the fire.

So Jens sighed, rolling his eyes at the oldest between them. Zoe and Yasmina thankfully seemed oblivious to their exchange, as the girls were busy trying to figure out, where they had seen his boyfriend.

„I think he went with Robbe, Luca and Jana on the search for decorations to hang up. Lights, and tree decorations mainly. They said something about a basement, I think.“ Zoë replied, a relaxed smile on her lips, as she nipped from her coffee mug, her attention briefy shifting towards the three boys almost being crushed by a falling tree.

„They are going to kill themselves at this rate.“ Yasmina sighed, Moyo flipping her off, as he was back on tree holding duty, loudly yelled at by Sander for doing a poor job.

Jens felt oddly warmed by the thought that Lucas fitted in so well with them. It had worried him a little yesterday, when everyone was talking over each other and all with Jana, catching up, throwing in old momeories and jokes. Lucas sat through it all with a smile and interest, but he had looked lost to the situation, as he couldn’t really join in with them. Jens had tried to explain a couple of references here and there, but it was not much of a help. So he felt much better to hear that Lucas figured out himself how to fit in, while Jens had slept through the whole morning.

It reminded him, that he probably should get something small to eat and perhaps follow Zoë ’s example and get himself a some coffee.

It was also the moment that the lost four firends reappeared carrying two very large boxes labeled christmas.

„Finally, you rose from the dead!“ Jana loudly shouted from halfway across the room, leaving Robbe and Lucas to carry the decorations, while she joined Jens in his quest for coffee.

„Jens, you have to help us though with the lights, we wanted to put some on the porch and the windows.“

„Sure, let me just grab something to eat.“ Jens agreed to Robbe, dropping the box by the end of the dinning table, Yasmina eager to open it up and pull out all the things inside to spread them across the wooden surface.

__ __ __ tagged: @odi-et-amo85, @tayspots

#week 9 #wtfock #skam #vds #jens stoffels #lucas van der heijden #chapped and faded #christmas week #skamholidayevent

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harryissuchalittleshit · 3 years

Note

Reflections sounds great. I hope you do figure out how to edit it because I’d love to read it. Why does Padma leave Theo? Also, I’d lii ok ve some headcanons on the kids.

I might look into it this week and just post the whole thing on Ao3, we’ll see.

Also I have to keep some thing secret, it just makes the stories more fun!

Devansh “Devon” Theodore:

Born August 30, 2000

He pushes Padma and Theodore together

Padma moved in with Theodore when she was about halfway through her pregnancy

Devansh is a really clingy baby and Padma adores him, he is a complete Amma’s boy

Dean and Parvati are his godparents

He’s really upset when Padma and Theodore break up, he doesn’t like his parents fighting

When they get back together and he finds out about Anamika, he is so excited

He didn’t think he would get anymore younger siblings and he loves being an older brother

He’s really close to Hajari and also Anamika and Minali

They were all born before he went to Hogwarts

He’s sorted into Ravenclaw at Hogwarts and Padma is so proud

He feels a bit disjointed from his three younger siblings because he was at school when they were born, also because he’s so much older than them

He has a great relationship with his older cousin Naveen and his too younger cousins Sasha (same age as Hajari) and Anika (three years younger than Hajari)

The five of them get along really well and make time to hang out while at Hogwarts

Devansh is really worried when Anamika starts at Hogwarts, but he keeps an eye on her as Head Boy

He decided when he was fourteen that he wanted to be an Auror after Harry and Ron came to speak in his DADA class that year

Hajari “Jared” Raavi:

Born January 19, 2002

Padma and Theodore were barely talking when he was born, but it changed how the co-parented Devansh

He’s their troublemaker

Pansy and Gregory are his godparents and it honestly adds into his chaotic nature

They all kind of expected Sam and Hajari to get together, so it was a bit of a shock when it was Devansh and Sam

He is very easy going and part of that is growing up between homes for his first five years or so of life

His best friends are Sam and Sasha, they keep him from causing too much trouble

He loves being an older brother, especially to his baby sisters, he loves them soooo much

He’s sorted into Gryffindor and it’s a bit conflicting to Theodore, but he knows that Hajari will do well there

He starts up a rivalry between himself and Veronica Finnigan, though it’s sort of half rivalry/half friendship depending on how much they annoy each other

Seventh year they’re made Head Boy and Girl and they hook up quite a bit

Mutual attraction, stress of being heads and leaving that year, and the added family pressure

Hajari has always loved visiting St. Mungo’s, and having so many younger siblings becomes very familiar with the maternity ward

He becomes an OBGYN/Pediatrician Healer after graduating

He helps deliver Ernika!! His goddaughter!!

After a few years he sees Veronica in a pub and they drink and have some fun and hook up again

Veronica gets pregnant

With triplets

TRIPLETS!!!!

Hajari doesn’t even know what to do or say, and he just shuts down

Luckily he can’t be her Healer

He’s always known that he loved Veronica, but more in a friendship way, not in a really romantic way (denial at its finest)

They both mature though and Hajari realizes that she is what he wants in life

They get married when the triplets are four and their next daughter is two

They have one more baby, a little boy when the triplets are eleven and their daughter is nine (they are not happy about it, but grow to love him)

Anamika “Mia” Parvati:

Born July 29, 2007

The first Nott daughter to be born (and survive) in seven(?) generations

Theodore cries so much when he holds her for the first time, he never imagined that he would get to have a daughter

She looks just like Padma and Parvati when she’s older, she could pass off as their triplet if they were the same age, but she has Theodore’s green eyes

She’s exactly 22 days older than her best friend (and godsister) Lyla Zabini

Their godparents are Draco and Astoria

Because Anamika and Lyla are so close, they count Lyla as their second daughter and she is the first honorary Nott child

She is the oldest of the younger five and the one who always bridges the gap between the older brothers and the younger siblings

She and Lyla are sorted into Slytherin and share a dormitory room together

She’s very shy around new people and it makes most think that she’s standoffish or judge mental, but she’s really not

She starts writing for the health and beauty section of the the school paper her first year and is welcomed back the next year

Her seventh year, she and Louis Weasley are asked to be co-head Editors and it’s not what either wants, but they are a great team

They both have strengths the other doesn’t have

Anamika kisses him one night while their working and Louis is just shocked that she felt the same way he did

They get very close after that (they have “relations” on the Editor’s desk)

When they graduate, they move into a little cottage in the middle of nowhere by the water

Louis stays home and works on his art while Anamika works at the Prophet as an editor on the health and beauty section

They elope when their nineteen and have their first baby about a year later

They have three kids and then twins nine years after their youngest

Louis actually becomes quite successful after doing a few portraits of different Ministry officials, but landscapes are his real speciality

Anamika though, is always his favorite subject and he never tires of drawing or painting her

Minali “Ali” Theresa:

Born February 3, 2011

She is born nine months after Padma and Theodore get married

Millie is her godmother and she makes sure this kid is independent

All three of her older siblings couldn’t wait for her to be born!!

Devansh cried when he left for Hogwarts because he knew he would miss so many of her firsts

But Padma and Theodore take so many photos to send to him (and you know, to keep for themselves)

She an Appa’s girl, she loves Theodore and follows after him everywhere (and he loves it)

She is his first child to actually look like him (like it’s eerily similar, more than either of the boys) and he loves seeing himself reflected in someone

She grows up very independent, but she also loves and adores her family and falls on them when she needs too

She’s sorted into Slytherin and doesn’t take shit from anyone

When Anamika graduates and moves out, Minali takes Vee under her wing as Anamika did for her at school

She is Navya (Anamika and Louis’ first daughter) godmother

When she graduates, she goes to the Ministry and floats from department to department

She meets a man named Adrian Pucey at the Christmas Eve party and gets knocked up by him

He’s eleven years older than her, married, and wants her baby

She’s hounded by a lot of powerful men who tried to get her to give up her baby and Adrain decides to propose to her to get her under his control and Minali says no

She doesn’t want a life like that

She has her daughter in secret and moves to a cottage on the Nott family manor property

(They don’t live in the manor, in fact it’s rented out to visitors for weddings)

Minali takes over managing the property while raising her daughter and helping with the Society

It’s simple, but she feels like she has a purpose and Adrian can’t find her there

Vinanti “Vee” Padma:

Born May 1, 2013

The day after she’s born is the first time that Theodore goes back to Hogwarts after the war

He just wants to tell his sons about their new baby sister

It causes a lot of stress and anxiety for him, so he brings along Anamika and he feels a little better

Seeing his sons thrive does also

Daphne and Blaise are her godparents, and they’re very hands off with their own daughter so it’s the same with Vee

They show their love in weird ways and with over the top gifts

She’s very shy and loves the protection of her older siblings, especially Hajari and Anamika

Anamika is in her seventh year when Vee starts school and it reminds Anamika of when she was eleven and Devansh was seventeen

She’s sorted into Ravenclaw!

Her best friend going into school is Ellie Davies, Cho Chang and Rodger Davies only daughter

Vee can’t imagine havin her parents be her teachers (Cho teaches Charms and Rodger is the flying instructor) or her parents divorced

But she is there for Ellie through everything

The summer between her sixth and seventh year is very complicated, mostly as she realizes she might be gay (she is)

She has a long talk with her cousin Sasha (who is out) and comes to realize that she’s very attracted to girls, more than she could pretend to be to boys

She comes out to her family in stages, first to Minali who she’s closest too, then her younger siblings, then all of her three oldest siblings (she had been most scared of what Devansh and Anamika would think of her, not so much Hajari) and finally her parents (they knew)

It’s such a relief to finally admit this to herself

You know who has known that they were gay since they were thirteen and was in love with Vee?? Ellie Davies!

She’s not out to her parents, but Cho catches them snogging in a broom cupboard and Ellie cries while Vee comforts her

Cho makes sure that her daughter knows that she loves her, Rodger kicks her out of his life, so does her oldest brother Conrad, her other brother Mason showers her in love

Ellie gets signed on to play for the Tornadoes!! Her favorite team!! And Vee becomes a writer for Quidditch Weekly and follows the Tornadoes everywhere

Vee has both of their daughters (thanks to Mason) and they just live a happy little life

Tarika “Taylor” Millicent:

Born February 9, 2016

She is the older twin!!

Padma and Theodore were not prepared to have another baby let alone TWO

Her godfather is Marcus Flint and he teaches her how to lie and she runs after it

She is very close to her twin brother, even if she teases him all the time

She loves her older sisters and thinks they are all so glamorous and cool

She is really close to Hajari though, especially when he has the triplets, even if she’s at school for the first few months of their life

She’s sorted into Gryffindor just like Hajari and writes to him often about it

When she graduates, she gets a job writing about new/up and coming Quidditch players

It’s how she meets Ollie Jay

He’s the new Keeper for the Magpies and the attraction is instant

About five months into the relationship, Tarika decides that she wants a baby, and Ollie Jay is so for it

Exactly a year after they meet, they get married while Tarika is six months pregnant

They’re really happy together, despite both of their families concerns

And the bridge the Nott and Wood families, which means that their kids have soooo many cousins

Rishi “Ray” Terrance:

The younger twin!!

He is the absolute baby of the family and hates it!

Padma gets postpartum depression after having the twins and it takes a few months (and some therapy) to break out of it

She had been so happy to have them, but knowing that they were her last babies (after accepting that Vee would be her last baby) was really difficult for her to accept

Theodore is really supportive, but it’s not easy to care for the four youngest kids by himself

Rishi’s godfather is Cassius Warrington and he is so happy to even be considered let alone actually a godfather

Rishi struggles a little being the youngest and with such a big age difference between him and his brothers

Theodore sees this and they often go out just the pair of them, and it’s really good for both of them to not only get time together but also away from all the girls

He is so happy when Ernika is born because he thinks that makes him not the baby of the family, but it’s not how that works

He’s sorted into Hufflepuff at Hogwarts and he likes that he’s completely by himself and none of his siblings

When he’s fourteen, a new family moves into their building, and Rishi meets Eliza Russ

She’s a year younger than him and they start as friends, but they are so in love within hours of meeting each other

Padma and Theodore know that something is up within two days and they’re happy to meet Eliza

(It was not complaining when Tarika teased him about being the baby, the usual bait)

When he graduates, he starts his training at St. Mungo’s and it’s interesting working with his Appa and brother (at least in the same building)

He goes into Oncology (cancer treatment)

When Eliza graduates he proposes and they move in together

They get pregnant within a year with triplets

Eliza wasn’t very happy at her job at the Ministry and is just happy to be home with their kids

They adopt a little girl after struggling to get pregnant again, and a month later Eliza finds out she’s pregnant

They have three more kids

I just love Padma and Theodore and their big happy family!!

#head canons #harry potter #family #theodore nott #padma patil #Nott children #ask game

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twoidiotwriters1 · 4 years

Text

Pure Blood (Sirius Black xF!Oc)

A/N: New series!! This time coming from the wonderful world of Harry Potter, something we’re very fond of here <3 We haven’t established a day to post this though!

Words: 1,793

Warnings: None :)

Next part --->

Chapter 1: Pure Blood

The Singh family has lived in the British wizarding world for several decades. Their policy of purebloods has prevailed along with their hatred for muggles.

This ideology is shared by many families, but especially with the Malfoys and the Blacks. All the wizarding world knew who these families were, and they were respected and admired, even feared.

The last Singh generation was conformed by Ares Singh II, his wife Amelia, and their five children: Apollo, Isis, Juno, Balder, and Persephone. As expected, this family attended Hogwarts and they all have been part of either Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Their pride is lasting, and the adults make sure to inculcate all traditions to their children.

But their story will soon be threatened by the changes that the youngest Singh is trying to accomplish. And it all starts when she and her best friend Sirius Black begin their first year at Hogwarts in 1971.

—————————————————————————

“We’ll be waiting for your letter, Persephone. To let us know you’re in the right house.”

The eleven-year-old girl nods at her mother’s petition. Amelia Singh fixes the long, black hair of her last daughter and gives her one final, small hug.

“And remember, don’t mix with the mudbloods,” Adds Ares Singh. The girl nods again and her father smiles, also giving her a hug, “be careful, dear.”

“I’ll be fine, daddy,” She says when they break apart.

Balder, take care of your sister and chaperone her if it’s necessary,” Demands the man to his fourth son, who only nods as a reply.

The adults keep giving the rest of their children indications and words of farewell, especially to their oldest one, Apollo, who only has one year before he graduates.

The little girl didn’t want to stay for the rest of the lectures, so she started to look for her best friend. Her eyes went from one side to the other without being able to find him.

“There they are,” Mentions Isis while signaling to a column in the distance, the whole Black family is there. Persephone thanks her older sister and runs towards their direction.

While pushing and apologizing, she gets there the moment when Walburga Black is giving her own lecture to her oldest son.

“I understand,” The boy sighs.

“Good,” The woman nods and turns around only to notice the presence of the girl, “Persephone, where are your parents?” She asks with a small smile.

The little girl shivers at her expression, smiling wasn’t something that Mrs. Black did quite often.

“Next to the big windows, Mrs. Black”

She nods and takes her husband’s hand to drag him with her, following the indications of the girl.

“Your mother is scary,” Says the girl to her friend. The boy only laughs at her comment.

“Tell me about it.”

“Are you nervous, Sirius?” She can’t help but notice how his hands are shaking.

“I don’t know, Percy. It’s…” He holds his hands trying to control them, “Nevermind, it’s not important.”

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Sirius stares at her intently, He feels the safety he’s always felt around her. Her dark eyes are looking at him with worry but, How could he tell her? Maybe they’ve been best friends since they were born, but they never talked about those subjects before.

How would she react if he tells her that he doesn’t want to be in Slytherin like the rest of his family? Or that he’s not so sure about what his parents say about the muggles and “mudbloods”?

“I know…” Sirius smiles, “It’s nothing, I promise.”

“It’s not fair,” Says a voice beside them, “I want to go with you too.”

Persephone laughs at the funny face the younger Black is making

“Next year you will, Reggie.”

The boy groans but hugs her by the waist. She surrounds his shoulders and brings him closer.

“Reg, leave Percy alone.”

Before Regulus can answer, a loud noise interrupts their chat. The train is about to leave. Sirius and Percy finish their goodbyes and hop on the train. Both search for an empty compartment.

“Percy, here,” Says the boy, opening one. The girl walks closer but soon realizes it’s not completely empty.

“Hi,” Sirius says, “can we sit here? all the others are taken.”

“Sure.”

Both kids get in and they sit in front of the other boys.

“I’m James, James Potter,” Says the kid in glasses.

“I’m Remus Lupin,” that kid causes certain curiosity to Percy, his face has several scars.

“I’m Sirius Black, and this is Percy.” The girl smiles politely.

“Is your name really Percy?” Asks James. She laughs and shakes her head.

“It’s short for Persephone.”

“Brilliant.”

On the way to school, the three boys and Percy had different conversations. James and Sirius animatedly talked about what they could do at school, Sirius can’t help but get excited about not being under the supervisión of his mum and James has tons of ideas to have fun. While Persephone and Remus shared the joy of being able to learn everything that the books were promising. Both couldn’t wait to read more and to start the school year.

From time to time Sirius teased his friend about always being a “brainy", but she ignores his comments and keeps chatting with Remus.

When they arrive to the station, they stop and all the students are guided on different routes. First years must go on boat and have a fun little trip on their way to the castle. All the kids are amazed before the tall, huge castle.

“First years, get together!” Says a woman in green robes.

She gives indications once they go through the entrance and takes them towards a corridor.

“Very well,” She says once we’re in front of some wooden doors, “When you enter the great hall you’ll be assigned a house for the next seven years. The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a new family in your house.

Persephone can’t wait to keep the family tradition alive, she knows her new he will be Slytherin, and she can imagine how proud her parents will feel. She’ll be around her siblings without being scolded for not behaving properly like a Singh, something that could often get annoying. But what excites her the most, is being able to spend more time with her best friend. She was glad their families had the same traditions.

However, Sirius’ nervousness does nothing but increase, he knew there was no way he would end up in Slytherin, any other house would be nice but the snake house.

The woman raises her wand and the giant doors open, everyone walks through them and watches as the magical details of the great hall welcomes them warmly. From the floating candles, the sky pictured on the ceiling, to the four tables before them, each one representing a house.

The first years stop in front of the teachers’ table and a small stall. Persephone turns to the table on her right and sees her older siblings, Apollo and Juno, both wearing a green robe. They look at her with a small smile, wave, and turn their attention back to the teacher.

The professor introduces herself as Minerva McGonagall, then she pulls out a ragged, pointy hat and leaves it on the stall. Everyone stares in expectation until the hat starts to move, he sings a welcoming message, when it ends, everyone applauds and the ceremony starts.

The professor extends a parchment and starts calling each student by name, every boy and girl are selected in different houses.

“Black, Sirius.”

As soon as Persephone hears the name, she reaches for his hand and gives it a soft squeeze. Sirius smiles a little, walks towards the bench and McGonagall puts the hat on top of his head. It’s silent for a moment, Percy watches, biting her lower lip.

Why is it taking so long? He’s a Black, he belongs in-

“Gryffindor!” Exclaims the hat. The lions’ table applauds and screams out of excitement for the new kid. While the youngest Singh stares in utter horror while her best friend walks towards the table.

Sirius can’t believe that the hat chose to put him in a house that wasn’t Slytherin. He’s happy, and this happiness only increases when the kids that were on the train with him and Percy joins him on the table.

The kid was forgetting, though, that certain little person did not want to belong in that group.

__________________________________________

“Professor Mcgonagall?”

“Yes?” She lowers her eyes to find the little girl beside her.

“My name is Persephone Singh”

“Of course, you’re the youngest of Ares’ children, aren’t you?” The girl nods.

“Yes, professor, but…” She frowns, “I didn’t come here only to introduce myself”

“What do you need, Miss Singh?”

“You see,” She says, trembling a little, “I think the sorting hat has made a mistake.”

McGonagall looks at the child in mild surprise.

“You think?” Persephone nods, “What makes you think that way? ”

“My best friend, Sirius Black. He was put in Gryffindor, but he has to be in Slytherin… with me,” She adds slightly anxious.

“Miss Singh, I’m afraid that if this is about wanting to be with Mister Black only to spend time together, I can’t help you”

“You don’t understand!” She insists, raising her voice a little, “He has to be in Slytherin, otherwise his parents…” she stops, giving a second thought to what she was about to say, “they were there too. All his family it’s from Slytherin.”

“Sorry, Singh, the selection is over,” The woman puts a hand on her shoulder, “and it looks like Black has the characteristics of a Gryffindor.”

Persephone panics at the thought of the punishment Sirius will face when he tells his parents the news. She, better than anyone, knows how Walburga Black wasn’t a loving mother, and Persephone was sure this wouldn’t be accepted by her. She was worried about Sirius.

On the other hand, someone else had listened to her conversation, a boy, hiding behind one column close to where the girl and the woman were standing.

Little James Potter didn’t mean to spy on them at first, it was at hearing his new friend’s name that he couldn’t help but stay. When the conversation ended, James was upset with the girl, misunderstanding Persephone’s intentions, he thought that she didn’t want Sirius away from her and that she, like the rest of the Slytherins, hated his house. It seemed unfair to him, on the train she acted all nice and he even considered being friends with her even after hearing that she got sorted in Slytherin, but at that moment, he realized she was nothing but another one of the snakes.

#hp fanfic #sirius black #sirius black x reader #james potter #remus lupin #minerva mcgonagall #regulus black #twoidiots writing

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ollieofthebeholder · 4 years

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NOTE: This story takes place between Ball & Chain and Cross & Crown. Happy Memorial Day.

It certainly wasn't the first time they'd gone to West Virginia for the weekend and been dragged to church. It was just the first time Zane could remember Ty not putting up a fuss about the idea.

West Virginia hadn't been Zane's first choice, not by a long shot. It was Memorial Day weekend and also Ty's birthday, and while there wasn't anything particularly special about turning thirty-eight, it was his first post-deployment birthday. Zane had been racking his brains for an appropriate place for a weekend getaway, until Mara had called and cheerfully informed them that if they didn't drag their asses up to the house voluntarily, she would hunt them down and grill them alongside the hamburgers.

Zane wouldn't put it past her. He'd been trained by some of the best agents the FBI had ever produced, survived things that would have killed a lesser man, taken down men and monsters and barely managed to avoid becoming one himself. He was six foot four and tended towards the free weights when he went to the gym. But he'd also watched Mara Grady cheerfully and without apparent effort skin and butcher an eight-point buck to serve it for breakfast.

They'd dragged their asses up to West Virginia.

And now here Zane sat, wearing a suit but thankfully no tie, between a mullioned cathedral window and the man who dearly and inexplicably loved and wanted to marry him. The church seemed even more full than usual, although that could have just been Zane's imagination. He didn't think so, though. Normally when they went, the Gradys were able to have a pew more or less to themselves, but today they were crammed in with another family, a couple around Zane's age and three people who were probably their children, the oldest of whom looked to be in his twenties and the youngest of whom couldn't have been more than thirteen or fourteen. In fact, it was so crowded that there wasn't room for Amelia to sit on the pew herself. Zane had her perched on his lap, partly because he remained her favorite—much to Ty's chagrin—and partly because he was on the end of the row, so he could make a quick exit if she got fussy. It wasn't likely, she was extraordinarily good-natured, but just in case, it would be nice to have an excuse to leave.

Glancing behind him, he couldn't spot an empty seat in the building. Jesus, even Easter Sunday wasn't this crowded.

Zane slid his eyes over to Ty. He was sitting rather stiffly, his back ramrod straight. It might have had something to do with their activities of the night before; since it was actually Ty's birthday, Zane had stayed up until midnight for the express purpose of being the first one to wish Ty a happy birthday, and they'd stayed up another hour or so celebrating. It might also have had something to do with the fact that Ty, probably because it was Memorial Day weekend, had chosen to wear his dress blues to church, which meant that he was more or less at attention and also meant that Zane had a hard time keeping his eyes off of him. But at the same time, Ty'd been uncharacteristically quiet most of the weekend.

Carefully—he was never sure how Ty would react to these things in public, or at least in certain public places—Zane reached over and placed his hand on top of Ty's. Ty didn't look at him, but he turned his hand over and squeezed it hard. Zane squeezed back, but now he was seriously worried. This wasn't normal. At all.

Was someone in the family sick? Sidewinder? Was Ty? They'd promised no more secrets and no more lies, after nearly losing one another in New Orleans, but that didn't mean Ty wouldn't wait to tell Zane something if he didn't want to ruin the weekend. Or if whatever was wrong was something that stemmed from whatever had gone wrong on his deployment, which he still wouldn't talk about.

Zane forced himself to swallow back the panic. He was being ridiculous, he chided himself. Ty was fine. Everyone was fine. Ty wouldn't keep something like that from him.

“Please rise for the opening hymn, number 511, 'O God of Earth and Altar,'” the worship leader intoned.

Zane rose with everyone else, Amelia on his hip, and tried to juggle both her and the hymnal until Ty gently took it from his hands and held it open to the appropriate page. Zane wanted to kiss him, but held himself back, considering their surroundings. He knew Ty didn't need the hymnal; the publication date on these was 1952 and Ty'd had pretty much the whole damn thing memorized since he was about twelve. But he appreciated him holding it for him.

The service was...fairly typical, as far as Zane could tell. No reason for it to be as crowded as it was. The hymn, the responsive reading, the scripture...all of it was exactly what Zane expected out of one of these services. So what the hell was going on?

When it got to where the Children's Moment normally would have been, instead of the worship leader inviting the kids forward, the preacher stood. He glanced towards the pew where the Gradys sat, lifting his eyebrows briefly, before turning back to the congregation at large.

“Tomorrow is Memorial Day,” he said, his voice ringing out sonorously through the room. “A time set aside every year to remember those who have given their lives in defense of our freedom. The ones who served and didn't make it home. The ones who have passed on, but never truly left us.”

There was a choked sob from somewhere down the pew, and Zane honestly couldn't have said whether it was a Grady or someone from the other family. And then, suddenly, it hit him like a ton of bricks. Why Mara had insisted they come visit. Why Ty was sitting so stiffly. Why Deuce kept bunching the fabric of his trousers into his fists. Why Earl, for the first time since Zane had met him, looked his age.

Memorial Day. Ty was fresh from a deployment, and considering he still didn't talk about what he'd done over there, Zane had no way of knowing if one of his men hadn't made it home. He had to be thinking about Eli Sanchez, too, on the fourth Memorial Day he was on the roll of the fallen. But more importantly for the entire Grady family, it was the first Memorial Day since Deuce's wedding.

Since Richard Burns' death.

“At this time,” the preacher continued, “I would like everyone in the congregation with a loved one who has passed on who served in the Armed Forces to please rise.”

The Gradys rose as one. Deuce looked badly shaken as he did so. Beyond them, the family at the other end of the pew also rose; the oldest son started to, hesitated, and then sat back down, his head bowed and his fists clenched. Zane guessed there was a story there and wondered what it might be.

Glancing behind him again, his gut twisted as he realized that fully half the congregation were on their feet. Elderly men in full uniforms, still standing as straight as age would allow them; white-haired women, gripping canes and the backs of pews for support; younger couples and families, obviously remembering parents or grandparents. One young girl, who couldn't have been more than ten or eleven, cradled a teddy bear in camouflage in one arm and held up a framed photograph of a smiling serviceman in the other. Zane had to look away.

He probably could have stood for Burns, but Livi wasn't either. He'd known Burns better—of course he had—but not as well as Ty. Not nearly as well as Ty. And he still hadn't quite forgiven him for...well, everything really. He didn't deserve to, and more to the point, he didn't want to.

A pang of guilt shot through him as he realized, for the first time, how grateful he was that he didn't have to. Had things been slightly different, had fate not smiled on him and decided to grant him a mercy he didn't deserve, he might have been standing right then, trying not to fall apart. Assuming he'd survived, which honestly wasn't guaranteed.

He'd barely survived losing Becky. He wasn't sure he could survive losing Ty.

The preacher let a moment of silence pass before thanking everyone and telling them to be seated. He gave a short but heartfelt prayer for the fallen. After the “amen”s had died away, he glanced at the Grady pew again and nodded, then sat down.

Ty and Deuce stood up.

The congregation was silent as the two brothers edged their way out of the pew and walked to the front of the church. Deuce was pale as a sheet, wearing the same suit he'd worn for his wedding. Ty stood at attention, his face the serious, almost expressionless mask it always was in his dress blues. It was Deuce who nodded at the choirmaster, who nodded to the accompanist, who began to play.

Zane didn't recognize the music, but that didn't stop the thrill that ran down his spine when Ty began to sing. “Dawn is breaking the stormy night...”

It was a haunting and beautiful song. Ty sang the first verse solo, describing a group of soldiers preparing for a battle, giving their lives for a life. His voice rose as he reached the end of the verse, where the soldiers recognized the American flag flying overhead. Deuce joined on the chorus, the two of them singing in truly beautiful harmony.

To freedom, justice, and liberty, it's the Stars and the Stripes forever...

Ty dropped out and let Deuce sing the second verse on his own. This was a more concretely Christian verse, talking about the crucifixion and stating that he was freed by His scars and His stripes, but Zane was still thinking about the first verse.

Still thinking about Ty.

Ty and his brothers, crawling through the dark, knowing that if they died their families would never know how or why. Ty having to be held back as he watched a man he probably hadn't even realized he'd loved until that moment die to save them. Ty doing everything he could to get home to Zane and knowing it still might not be enough.

Zane swallowed hard. He wasn't really a religious man anymore, but he definitely believed, and as Deuce and Ty began the second chorus, he sent up a prayer of thanks that the twenty years were up, that Zane would never again have to watch the man he loved go somewhere he couldn't follow, that nobody would ever ask them to sacrifice the other for their country again.

That Zane would never have to stand up at this service without Ty.

The song ended. The music died away. There was a moment of silence, probably immediately preparatory to the congregation applauding, assuming any of them could. In that moment, Ty turned smartly on his heel towards the American flag, squared his shoulders, and snapped to attention as he saluted the flag.

The sight took Zane's breath away, just like it had at Lydia Reeves' funeral two years before. Movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention, and he turned in time to see first Chester, then Earl, also both in their uniforms, rise to their feet and copy the salute. Amelia peered over Zane's shoulder, eyes wide, and he didn't have to turn around to guess that everyone else in uniform was doing the same thing.

Ty held the salute for a minute, then lowered it, pivoted back to the front, and saluted the congregation—unsurprising, as some of the men out there probably outranked him. Probably. Nor was Zane surprised when they all saluted him back. Or at least, he thought they were saluting him back.

It was hard to see through the blur of tears.

Ty and Deuce slowly walked back to the pew. Zane stood up to give them access. As Ty passed him, he saw the glint of tears in his eyes, and he couldn't help himself. Amelia notwithstanding, the fact that they were in view of the majority of the congregation be damned, Zane reached out and pulled Ty into a tight hug.

Ty returned it, that was the shocking thing. He clung to Zane hard, his hands gripping the back of Zane's suit jacket, the same way he'd held onto him when he first got home from deployment. Zane could feel him shaking slightly and wanted to keep holding him until he stopped, but he knew this wasn't the time or the place. Instead, he slowly and carefully eased back. Ty did, too, and they resumed their seats. But as they did, Zane reached over and laced his fingers through Ty's. Ty clutched him back like he might never let go.

The rest of the service was honestly a blur to Zane. They sang another hymn, which he thought might have been “America the Beautiful”; there was a scripture lesson, and a sermon, and then they sang “Amazing Grace” as the closing hymn, which was terribly unfair. Then came the benediction and the blessing, and the choir—thirty strong at least and still not sounding as good as Deuce and Ty's duet had—sang a closing song while the acolytes carried the Light of Christ out the back of the church. As the song reached its end, the preacher bellowed from the back of the room, “And all God's children say—”

“Amen,” the congregation replied in unison. The service was over.

Normally the Gradys left immediately after church was over, or—if Ty and Deuce had their way—slipped out during the last hymn to avoid getting swept up in the crowd. Today, though, Mara shoved them all towards the doors that led to the main part of the church, and they had no choice but to obey. Mara Grady with a bee in her bonnet was a force to be reckoned with.

“That was beautiful, Ty,” Zane said quietly as they followed the crowd down the hall. He wanted to pull Ty aside and kiss him senseless, but in the first place, he wasn't about to do that in Ty's church, not knowing how the congregation might react, and in the second place, they wouldn't get out of the throng without serious injury at this point.

Ty kept his eyes locked straight ahead of him, and Zane would have wondered if he'd heard except that he said, his voice so soft it wouldn't have been audible if Zane hadn't been listening for it, “I had to do something for them.”

“I know.” Zane shifted Amelia to his other hip and brushed his hand discreetly against Ty's lower back.

Ty reached for Zane, pulling them together, then managed to angle them out of the stream of people and to a turn-off for another hallway, where nobody was standing. For a wild second, Zane thought Ty was going to kiss him, but instead he simply pulled him into another tight hug, clinging to him as his shoulders began to shake.

Zane hugged him back, Amelia trapped between them as he felt his fiance fall apart. Felt him mourn. For Richard Burns, for Eli Sanchez, for Chas Turner. For every ghost that had filled the sanctuary and every tombstone he'd stood beside. Tears soaked into Zane's shoulder as Ty let himself grieve, let himself remember.

And Zane held him, silently reaffirming what he'd promised from the moment he'd given Ty his heart. That he would be there. No matter what.

That they would remember together.

#memorial day #cut & run #tyzane #death mention tw #I would have used God Is Nigh (Taps)#but that arrangement didn't come out until 2015 #so you're spared that at least #ollie writes fanfic

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7deadlycinderellas · 4 years

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The Ghost of the Red Keep, ch8

A03 link

It’s six years before the war ends and Arya sees any of her family again.

Winter’s in it’s fullest glory by the time it ends. The inn is off the beaten path, and in winter, few travelers come to stay. The ice makes the roads treacherous and the soft snow drifts blanket the open land and lessens the ability of even a single traveler to approach quietly.

From the relative safety of the inn, Arya pieces together the truth. Of Littlefinger’s having managed to convince multiple people in the Red Keep to trust him. She turns it over and over in her head, trying to figure out how he managed it. After Jon Arryn- something must have let it slip that he had found several of Robert’s bastards, and he hatched his scheme to use them to bait Cersei and eventually play her and Robert against each other.

They learn from the scarce travelers before winter sets in that Robb has gone to war over Ned’s execution. It makes Arya proud, though she is terrified for her brothers. They learn that the Tully’s of Riverrun have come to his side, which makes her feel safe, but the Riverlands are pressed right up against the Westerlands and the Lannisters remain loyal to their king. Lannister soldiers have already begun making incursions, and any journey away from the inn carries the fear of their banners

Though Arya has a hard time being truly frightened when she knows Nymeria is keeping so close. As winter creeps in, she begins to have to hurt further and further away to find game big enough to sustain her.

Within the inn though, life goes on.

There’s a dozen or so orphans sheltering under the same roof as the Heddle sisters, ranging from still awkwardly toddling to nearly grown. They have an unusual array of skills.

They have among them, three very simple bows. None of them have much skill shooting them.

Arya plucks the bowstring with a finger. She thinks back hard to those nights stolen in the Godswood with Bran. The bow had seemed so much less attractive than the sword.

“I can teach any of them who want,” she tells Jeyne in the last year of autumn.

And that’s how Arya ended up in the little patch of land beside the garden, surrounded by a gaggle of children. Jeyne and Willow are off to the side, digging up the last of the season’s potatoes and turnips to freeze in the cellar, as they watch.

The oldest two, Teo and Thea, the children of a deceased hunter and trapper, pick it up with ease. The others are a mixed bag.

When Madge, a girl of eleven, lets her arrow slip for the fourth time in a row, Arya sees the tears prick at her eyes and silently pulls her aside.

“Deep breath. Remember you can’t get worse than yesterday.”

Madge follows her lead, and this time the arrow flies free, though it does not hit.

Once the children all tire, and Arya is pleased with their progress, Jeyne stands and calls them in for supper.

“Have you seen Gendry?” Arya asks Willow while she gathers the dug up veggies to store in the root cellar.

Willow raises an eyebrow.

“Hardly ever see him at all except with you. Probably out in the forge like always.”

The inn had a small forge that once housed a blacksmith, who Jeyne told them had gotten married and left for better pastures at the end of summer. Gendry had thrown himself into getting it back into shape, and as the cold crept in, spent nearly all his days clearing it out and getting things working again. Arya feels like he might even sleep out here if she let him.

Today, he’s got the forge lit and is pounding something on the anvil. Arya stands back at the door, and just watches him work for a bit, the muscles in his arms playing under his skin, and the look of deep concentration on his face.

Doing this lets her pretend this is all normal. That she’s just a wife come to fetch her blacksmith husband for supper.

Then he notices her, and his face falters slightly, and the fantasy breaks.

“Suppertime,” she tells him, moving to sit on the bench where he’s working. He ducks his head, and makes a noncommital noise.

She looks him up and down while he towels himself off and pulls his shirt back on.

“I’m taking Teo and Thea on a hunt tomorrow,” she says, carefully, “Would you like to come?”

“I shouldn’t.”

Arya steps closer to him, and lays one hand on his shoulder.

“I know it’s hard. But you’re not going to wake up in that cellar again. Come with us tomorrow, it’s only four people. As long as you eat meals with us in the inn, I won’t bother you about it too much.”

She leans in a little closer, smelling the soot and sweat on his neck. It’s nice, strangely so.

“And if you stay all through supper and clean up, I’ll let you sneak me back out here after.”

A smile quirks on the corner of Gendry’s mouth.

“We have our own rooms, why not just sneak me upstairs?”

Arya chuckles, and presses a kiss to that corner.

“Have some sense of adventure.”

He does stay in through supper, even plays a card game or two. And later, they go out to put out the forge, and spend quite a long time putting their kissing to practice. They walk back to the inn hand in hand, not even to any questions

The hunt the next day goes smoothly. The last of the red and gold leaves are still clinging to the trees, but the wind comes from the north and Arya can tell it won’t last long.

Teo and Thea are both good at the walking-in-silence thing, and have a few improvements on Arya’s simple snares. They plan to leave the close ones up, and check every few days. It takes less effort than having to have a proper hunt.

The sun is high in the sky when Arya sees Teo still, she grasps Gendry’s hand, and they turn their heads as a young buck makes it’s way in to the clearing.

It’s large, it’s antlers fully grown, and it sniffs at the ground like it doesn’t even see them. Arya sees Teo move to pull his bowstring, and she stops him with a hand on the elbow.

“I don’t know how to field dress a deer, and I don’t think even the four of us could carry it back.”

It’s good they’d seen it though. A buck wandering about the wood meant there was plenty of game still.

They net a few fat hares, that they string up and carry back. They’re close to the inn, when Arya’s ears perk up, hearing a howl.

“Wolves howl to call to others,” Arya quietly tells Gendry, “Maybe Nymeria’s found herself a friend.”

Or a mate, she thinks with a pang in her heart. She’s glad they left the buck, she would not want her friend to hunger in the woods.

“What did you think of your first hunt?” she asks Gendry.

He shrugs, “Seemed just like a bunch of walking around to me.”

Arya remembers the journey south from Winterfell, remembers how King Robert nearly doubled their travel time by constantly wanting to stop and hunt. It seems nearly a life time ago.

The hares are an excellent haul though, making a fabulous stew for supper, and the skins will be taken the next time Mya goes into the village to trade.

And the next morning, a disemboweled and mostly eaten buck appears in front of the inn. Maerie, the youngest of the orphans, goes green and starts crying when she sees it, and Arya tries to remove it as quickly as possible. There’s enough bits of meat left for Jeyne to make some sausages at least. Teo tries to help her Arya it, but they still make a mess of it.

“I’ll still take it with me,” Mya tells them, “Might still fetch a few coins.”

That night, Arya stares out the window of the inn during supper.

“She’s still trying to take care of me,” she comments to Gendry.

“This must seem wonderful to her,” is his response, “This whole big open wood, after being cooped up within the Red Keep.”

She’s not sure he’s still talking about Nymeria.

The chill stays in the air, and eventually, the snow begins to fall. It blankets the ground and piles onto the roof. The younger children hardly have time for mischief making after spending the mornings clearing what needs to be cleared.

Sometimes in the mornings or in the dark nights, Arya will hear Nymeria howling again.

It’s during another hunt, that Arya spots Nymeria across a long meadow, two smaller wolves behind her. Arya stares, and smiles.

At supper that night, Thea demands she tell the story. One by one, all of the orphans, and Willow even, turn to her at the table. Arya’s unused to having even one eye on her. And with a deep breath, she starts.

“My father and my brothers went hunting one day. They found a mother direwolf who had died, in a fight with a stag. Both of the animals had died, but the mother wolf had six pups. My father thought it might be better to put them out of their misery-”

Her heart squeezes at the symbolism of that.

“But my younger brother Bran pleaded with out father, and he relented and let my brother take the pups home. Six of them, one for each of us. Grey Wind, Ghost, Lady, Summer, Shaggydog…”

She waits, and listens, maybe even imagines that she hears another howl.

“...and Nymeria. They’ve been by our sides ever since, though they are now much too large to live inside. I used to let her sleep at the foot of my bed, until she got too big. When we ran, she followed us the whole way. She will not harm anyone who is not a threat to me, and no one will harm me if she is near.”

“The buck-” Madge remembers, “That was her?”

Arya nods,

“I think she was pleased we left her her meal.”

All of orphans’ are now looking out the window in near silence, as though hoping for a glimpse. Gendry remains in his spot, but he’s looking at her with something in his face she can’t place.

Afterwards, In the cold night, Arya walks back with Gendry to put out the forge. He holds her hand tightly the whole way, their boots scraping against the gathering snow.

“I used to wonder,” he nearly whispers, breath going cloudy from the cold, “if the way I felt about you was just because I went so many years barely even seeing other women...but watching you with the orphans, teaching them things, telling them stories...you really are incredible you know that.”

Arya flushes a deep crimson.

“They’re pack,” she suddenly realizes, “Maybe not the same one I used to think of, with Jon and my family and our household..and you. But they’re their own pack, and they’ve let us in.”

They’ve made it back to the forge, and Gendry’s cleaned out the ashes while she tells him this. Once he finishes, he sits at his workbench, fishing around for something wrapped in a flannel.

“I made you this,” he says, offering it to her. Arya unwraps it slowly, revealing a hunting knife.

“It’s not flowers, but-”

Arya swallows, remembering the flowers that wilted in her braid until they flew free in the wind.

“There aren’t many flowers now. And not much need for them in winter.”

She moves beside him on the bench, raised up on her knees, carefully setting the knife down before she wraps her arms around his neck and rests her forehead on his.

“I love it. And I guess I should thank Mya for her advice.”

He laughs bashfully.

“I had to ask someone. I told you before I don’t know anything about girls.”

Arya holds him a little tighter.

“Well it seems you know enough about Arya.”

The snow keeps falling, and a routine establishes.

Everyone wakes to break their fast, usually porridge now that the mills can’t turn anymore and flour jumps in price. Chores are divied up, and argued over. Mya often rides one of the horses into the nearest village for supplies and news. Gendry still spends most of his day in the forge, making small repairs to things around that always seem to need mending, or else shoveling and fetching and climbing and hauling. Sometimes Arya hunts with Teo and Thea, sometimes she checks her traps, sometimes she helps Jeyne and Willow keep up the inn.

She’s never done much in the way of cooking or cleaning, but she’s good at watching, and imitating.

It’s during one of these days, watching Jeyne press out cheese, when Willow asks her,

“How come you haven’t married the blacksmith, since the two of you like making moony eyes at each other so much?”

Arya sputters a bit. They’ve done their best not to share too many details of their background with anyone here, for their own safety as much as their privacy. She’s pretty sure Jeyne and Willow at least recognize her as a highborn, even though she doesn’t often act the role. She smiles roughly before answering.

“I’d like to, never thought I’d say that. Not sure I could convince him to. Still thinks someone will pop out from behind a tree to behead him for so much as holding my hand.”

“You should say something,” Jeyne tells her, with a wry grin, “Man who looks like him wouldn’t be lonely long if he tried, if he wanted to try. Not to mention that a blacksmith in spring could find work wherever he chose. The way he looks at you though, you can’t just find that anywhere.”

It’s practical advice, which is apparently Jeyne’s specialty. Arya doesn’t say anything else while they rub the cheese with ash and stack them to carry to the cellar. Her words are on her mind for several months though.

It’s on Mya’s journeys into the village that they hear any news at all of the war. Most of the news is grim, tales of Lannister raids further north. She brings a story or two of Robb Stark, the young wolf, who some said could turn into a wolf himself. Arya wishes it were true.

Mya spends much of her day in the stables, as Gendry does the forge, though her solitude is more practical. The stables have been empty for so long that they must be constantly kept up. She tries to insulate the best she can, so that the horses (nicknamed Nettle and Briar by her) will be comfortable. Both have grown their winter coats in, and are quite happy to be sure, frolicking outside and being ridden in turn. When the snow doesn’t fall, they still dig through the blanket, seeking grass.

One day, nearly a year or so into winter, Arya sits in the stable on the top rung of the ladder to the hayloft. Gendry sticks his head in.

“Thought you were going to town with Mya today?”

Arya shakes her head, and Gendry climbs the ladder to join her, and she takes his hand. The hayloft is warm enough, dry and sweet smelling.

“Just thinking about...stuff,” she admits. They’re both quiet for quite a long time, Arya holding his hand in her lap. He wraps an arm around her, and she twists so she can crawl into his lap and kiss him. His lips are as warm as his hands.

It’s after several long, blissful, moments, that Arya’s hands wind in the fabric of his tunic, and her eyes meet his. Their hands have explored each other, often and extensively, but they’ve always gone over or under, never taken off.

“I love you,” she murmurs, her hands still holding still.

Gendry is quiet for a time, before responding,

“I love you too, for as long as you’ll have me.”

Arya’s face sprouts a huge grin, and she lifts her hands and pulls the tunic over his head.

“For as long as we have.”

And no one but the horse was there to see their winter-pale bodies, moving against each other in the dark of the hayloft, shivering and grasping, soft moans carried on the wind.

The next morning, Arya privately asks Jeyne if she has the ingredients for moon tea. Jeyne sighs, long and resigned, and makes Arya keep close eye when she pulls out and measures the herbs from her medicine stash.

“Mint, wormwood, tansy, pennyroyal, honey. No more than a few leaves of the tansy or the pennyroyal or you will become quite ill. You don’t actually need the honey, but it tastes vile otherwise. Go with Mya when she goes to the village next week, or I’ll have run out of mint. I suggest restraining yourself until then.”

Arya hadn’t really expected things to change because of it, but somehow they still do. Good changes though. The butterflies that would flutter in her stomach have settled, now they just rise in her chest like the sun when he touches her. Gendry slips so easily into her bed it’s like he was meant to be there.

Arya loves the little life they’ve dug out here. Even through the coughs and fevers, the weeks where they can’t even catch a squirrel and have nothing but broth and thin porridge to eat, through the tantrums and fights the children somehow manage to find even in the coldest days.

But she hates it too.

One night, Gendry rolls to one side and wakes to hear Arya, laying flat on her back, reciting a series of names.

“Whattryou doing?”

Arya squeezes her eyes.

“When I can’t sleep, I recite names. Names of people I don’t want to forget.”

“Where were you at?”

“Jon, Robb, Sansa, Bran, Rickon,” she recites, then leaves her family and moves past, “Mycah, Harwin, Tommen…”

She eventually runs out of names and falls asleep.

It might be easy out here, to forget her life before this, in Winterfell. With a start, Arya realizes she’s past twenty and hasn’t been to Winterfell in nearly half her life.

It wouldn’t be safe to try and go home though. The further into winter, the more stories Mya’s trips bring them. Some say that the Lannisters briefly took Harrenhal, which is far too close for comfort. There are stories of the destruction reaped by the Mountain as he rode the countryside.

The stories are frightening enough, that the handful of times a rider approaches the inn, Arya, Gendry, Mya and the youngest children make themselves scarce, upstairs, in the smallest bedroom with the largest window.

Arya shushes the children during these times.

“You have to be quiet, even your feet could give you away. Imagine you are ghosts, “

Yet in every case, the traveler is simply seeking ale or a meal and leaves after.

It’s nearly her twenty-first year, during a long walk in the snow, when her and Gendry make the discovery. It’s one of those rare winter days, the entire land blanketed in snow, but bright and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. A day you could nearly mistake for summer until the cold nipped at your nose.

It had come after a week’s blizzard had kept everyone inside and driven nearly all of them, even ever good-natured Willow, insane. So when Arya announced she needed to take a walk in the woods, Gendry was quick to join her.

They’re walking through what was once a meadow, when Arya stops short.

“Oh,” Arya exclaims, nearly with tears in her eyes, “I didn’t know they grew this far south. I’ve never heard of a weirwood south of the Neck.”

The tree is small, dwarfed even by the leafless skeletons of the forest around it, but it’s white bark and few red leaves are unmistakable. It has no face, but Arya still falls to her knees to pray.

After a moment, she reaches for Gendry’s hand and pulls him down into the snow beside her.

“I told you,” she starts, “About how we perform weddings in the north?”

His eyes flicker up the trunk and back to hers, wanting, but unwilling to be fooled.

“If you’re certain.”

“I am,” she had once feared that this was all her life was leading up to, but she could never imagined it could look like this.

“We don’t need anyone else?”

Arya shakes her head, letting herself get lost in the blue of his eyes.

“The Gods will see what they need to.”

Gendry nods. She hopes these years have been as good for him as they have for her. He’s got color to his face now, he talks to the children when she is not near. He has lost some of his hunch, and stands tall.

She tells him the words, and he repeats them. There might be some blending of traditions, but she’s always liked the sound of “I am hers and she is mine.” His cloak swamps her, and strictly speaking, she thinks you’re not supposed to giggle while praying.

Gendry reaches forward to lift her with sudden ferocity.

“I’m sorry I have no name to give you,” he says, a breath away from her lips.

She shrugs him off.

“Out here neither of us have names. We live as ghosts.”

They kiss, and Arya smiles and whispers to him about the last part of the marriage tradition. It’s worth risking frostbite for, the two of them pressed together, bare, between both of their cloaks. Afterwards, he scoops her up and carries her until they are out of eyesight of that strange, southern weirwood.

They pass Nymeria from afar near the inn on their way back, with a litter of pups behind her.

Winter continues. Maerie stops knocking into everything when she walks, Pen gains his last few consonants. Teo and Thea are full grown now, and will likely leave the inn come spring to forge their own path.

Mya spends more and more time in the village. Willow suspects she’s found a sweetheart there, though she insists it’s just to make sure she doesn’t overwork Nettle and Briar.

Crocuses come up through the snow. Lya squeals when she sees them, but Arya warns her not to get too excited, for they bloom in winter too.

It’s sometime past Arya’s twenty and second name day, that Lya runs through the front door of the inn, saying riders are approaching.

Arya’s voice catches in her throat, but she has enough presence of mind to grab Gendry and Mya and head upstairs.

She peers through the window. It’s a clear day, another clear day. When the riders approach, Arya is shocked to see that there are three of them.

“They don’t look like soldiers,” Gendry assures her.

Arya squints. Something about them looks familiar.

Eventually, one of the rider’s turns their head, and a bit of hair escapes from under their cloak.

Arya’s breath is stolen away. She jerks violently, and pulls Gendry’s arm.

“That’s my sister,” she says in shock, “That’s Sansa.”

The tiny little glimpse, a bit of bright red hair on the head of a tall, poised, young woman, is all she needs.

Willow has gone out to greet them, and Arya finds she still has more air to be taken away.

One of the figures is Harwin, more lines in his face, more gray in his hair. The other is a mop of red curls Arya can’t quite place until it hits her.

“Rickon,” she breathes. He had been just a little boy the last time she’d seen him, would he even remember her?

She turns to Gendry, and pleads him with her eyes.

“You don’t have to come with me,”

“No,” he replies, nearly harshly. “We agreed before, I go where you go. We’ll find out what’s happened together.”

She nods, and with an unsteady gait, stands, and they both turn to descend the Inn’s stairs and face the future.

#game of thrones #A Song of Ice and Fire #gendrya #fic

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peace-coast-island · 4 years

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Diary of a Junebug

Catching up with fond memories over fondue

Our first ever fondue night was a success! Since most of us are beginners when it comes to fondue so we decided to keep it small and stuck to the basics. Overall it was a nice and low-key night well spent with good food and company.

Fondue night happened to be on the week Lessa and Sarah dropped by to visit. Lessa’s another old friend from Astra, one who I just missed when I visited the town and met up with Nathan. It’s been ages since Lessa and I last spoke so it was nice spending the past few days catching up with her and Sarah.

Lessa Meisner is the kind of person who can find the silver lining in clouds no matter how stormy it gets. She’s not the fake cheery blindly optimistic type - more like a try to see beauty and magic and all kinds of good things even when life gets unfair. Lessa’s a couple years younger than me but she’s experienced more highs and lows than most people around my age or older.

I don’t want to say that she has a lot of unlucky breaks because that would downplay her high spirit and resilience - two of her best qualities - but she shouldn’t have to go through a bunch of difficult stuff in order to prove herself worthy. Trauma and tragedy don’t make you compassionate and brave - no, it breaks you. Sure, it shaped you in some way, but it shouldn’t define you, nor should it justify why you deserved to go through something like that.

I remember talking to Lessa about stuff like this and it’s still something that she often thinks about. If I recall correctly, Lessa actually wrote a thesis on how traumatic events in childhood can mess you up. No matter how well adjusted you are, that traumatic event still has an effect on you, often in ways you don’t really notice.

Growing up, Lessa was often told that she’s brave. From carrying on after experiencing family tragedies to getting back up after having a seizure, the response was the same. “You’re so brave, Lessa.” quickly grew hollow in her ears. She gets what they mean but after hearing it over and over again, it loses meaning and sounds like a reflex. The way she describes it is like praising someone for getting back up on their feet after falling flat on their face. For someone who’s constantly falling, getting back up isn’t exactly bravery, it means carrying on as usual.

Bravery’s overrated, Lessa would say. Sometimes brave isn’t an option, sometimes you just need to move on with life. Too often people are focused on the big victories that it makes the small ones seem insignificant. But it’s the small victories that help you get through the day.

Lessa was the youngest of nine, not only she was the baby of the family, she was also the most frail. She’s had epilepsy for as long as she can remember so she grew up kind of sheltered. Her father died when she was six and then she lost her mother three years later.

After her mother’s death, Lessa was sent to live with her oldest sister Margie, her brother-in-law John, and niece Sarah. Lessa didn’t want to be away from her other siblings but at the same time she was happy to be with Margie since they didn’t really see each other too often. Out of all her aunts and uncles, Sarah got along best with Lessa since they were close in age, so she was happy that her favorite aunt was moving in. John however was nothing like Margie - cold, distant, strict - but he was the one who saw potential in Lessa and pushed her when others tried to hold her back.

Living with Margie’s family had its ups and down for Lessa. The first year was significant for her as she began having seizures more frequently. Margie became overprotective of Lessa, which John didn’t approve of. Just when it seemed like things were going well for Lessa, her seizures ruined it for her. And she hated it.

But she got back up anyway. Because what else was she supposed to do? Lessa’s not one to wallow around in her misery. She gets mad and sad but sooner or later she’ll have to get up and smell the roses. So that’s what she did and John noticed. They don’t exactly have a warm relationship but at least he gets her, and for Lessa, that’s more than enough.

When Lessa was thirteen and Sarah eleven, Margie was diagnosed with late stage cancer. Despite aggressive treatment, the cancer spread and worsened, leaving Lessa and Sarah to watch Margie slowly die. Lessa described the whole ordeal as painful and if watching someone dying was bad, she’d hate to imagine what it was like for the one who is dying. Somehow, Lessa managed to get through the days, being a rock for Sarah and a source of comfort for Margie.

Out of all the losses she experienced so far, watching Margie die was the absolute worst moment in Lessa’s (and Sarah’s) life. It’s one of those things that really fucks you up and it’s sad. If memories can leave scars, I imagine that this one left a huge gash in Lessa’s heart.

Lessa went into detail about what happened only once and that was enough. Christmas Eve, Margie, John, Lessa, and Sarah in the living room surrounded by presents that weren’t supposed to be opened until Christmas morning. Sarah upset, John stern, Margie quiet, and Lessa miles away. One minute Margie was there, then she was gone. She collapsed and that was it.

The months following Margie’s death were a blur for Lessa. Sarah began acting out, causing high tensions between her and John, and sometimes Lessa. To make matters worse, losing Margie exacerbated her epilepsy and at one point that she ended up in the emergency room. At her lowest, Lessa felt scared and helpless. She was tired of being brave.

Being told that she didn’t have to be brave was what pulled Lessa through. Wise words said by her brother-in-law, words that stuck with her and got her through tough times. As Lessa learned over the years, John has his own way of showing that he cares. She still finds him intimidating and cold but at least she can talk to him and he’ll listen. They don’t have a lot in common and yet he gets her while her siblings, while they mean well, often miss the point.

For the next several years, Lessa experienced more hardships such as the losses of five siblings as well as various health issues. When I met her at Astra, life has sort of settled down for Lessa a bit as for the first time in a few years her life wasn’t shaken up by something bad.

A surprisingly stable adulthood followed a turbulent adolescence. Out of the nine Meisner siblings, there’s only Lessa herself, her second oldest brother William and second oldest sister Faith. In terms of health, Lessa still takes anticonvulsants, which is likely something she’ll have to do for the rest of her life. After hitting twenty, the frequency of her seizures dropped significantly, allowing her to obtain a driver’s license last year.

Since we last hung out, Lessa’s been devoting her time to volunteering at various charity events and writing articles for My Mind is a Garden, a website she co-created that’s full of resources for mental health. She still lives with John and Sarah in Astra - John’s an English professor at the local college and Sarah’s studying at Ostermann Oaks College. William and Faith live nearby on opposite sides of town so the three of them visit each other a lot.

My Mind is a Garden is one of those places I turn to when I feel down. Not only it’s full of interesting articles that are informative and super helpful, but they also have a team of online counselors who can help you out and I’ve heard good things about it. There’s also a podcast called Garden Chats that I listen to sometimes and it’s thought provoking. Lessa appears as a host in a handful of episodes, which is why I started listening to it.

Hanging out with Lessa these past few days brought back many fond memories. We reminisced a bit about our college days, reflecting on how much has changed since then. While prepping for the party, Sarah and KK Slider put on a mini concert at the marketplace, the four of us went for a hike around the beach, Daisy Jane and Lessa went firefly catching at Sunburst Island, and we picked a bunch of fruit for the party.

It’s almost dusk and we’ve just finished putting away the fondue equipment. Who knew chocolate covered fruit can be so good? So next time we throw another fondue party, it’ll be a chocolate themed one. Guess I’d better start learning how to cook with chocolate. Would I have to learn how to temper it? I don’t really understand how tempering works and apparently it can be a pain in the ass so I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to that. But it’ll be a fun challenge to take on.

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

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fuckyeahnightmares · 5 years

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Not Good With Children

kirasderek submitted:

I live in a pretty rural, poverty-stricken part of Louisiana. My parents always did the best they could to buy me anything I wanted, taking out Christmas loans and the like, but sometimes my gifts were…..impractical. When I was about ten or eleven, I demanded a pair of roller blades - it was the era when you weren’t anyone if your birthday party wasn’t held at the skating rink, and I was pretty good at it.

Problem was, our land is a bunch of uneven grass and woods with a driveway of loose rocks. We live right on the road, but I was a kid and it’s a pretty well-used highway. None of my friends really had concrete around their houses either, and they all lived on the same types of roads - stretches of highway in the middle of nowhere that got enough traffic to worry parents. I had nowhere to skate but the occasional birthday party.

A few months later, my grandparents moved out of our trailer’s spare room and into a house about ten minutes away. I was very excited when I realized the place had been a combination store and home before and had three large square concrete porch areas, all connecting a bit at the corners. I’d finally have a place to skate! At that age, even making laps around the same 60 feet or so didn’t get boring.

The trailer next door was a really common type of household around here: several underfed, loud kids and their single mother in a home about a year from falling apart completely. My grandparents were nice enough to the kids, but I didn’t get along well with children even when I was one, and they were all at least four years younger than me, a huge gap at the time. I’d sometimes wave at them if I saw them playing in their overgrown yard, but otherwise I kept to myself, practicing skating backwards, kicking and pushing like I was on a skateboard, and anything else that might make me look cool in front of my friends.

One day I’d been making laps for about half an hour, just about ready to give up and go inside for a snack. I rounded the corner farthest from the door we used as the entrance and had to lean back on my heel brakes hard to stop from crashing into a small girl sitting cross legged on the part of the porch closer to the next door neighbors. She couldn’t have been more than four or five and looked unkempt - stained white sundress that looked like it probably belonged to an older sibling before her, greasy hair, and grubby hands. I remember that most, her dirty fingernails resting just above her eyebrows as she held her head in her hands and cried.

I assumed one of her brothers had pushed her into the dirt or stole a toy, but I couldn’t be sure, and I’d just almost run the poor thing over. Awkwardly, I tried to ask her where her mom was, but it didn’t seem like she’d heard me. I asked what was wrong, worried she was hurt or something, but I got no answer. Nervous but feeling protective, I carefully crouched, skates wobbling, and reached to touch her arm.

Something stopped me. I can’t say I felt a chill, or anything like that, and she hadn’t stopped crying or said anything. But I pulled my hand back before I’d even come within a few inches of her, as fast as if she’d burned me. I rationalized it as not being my place, since I didn’t even know the names of these kids or how she might be hurt. I scrambled a little trying to stand up, but once I had I quickly skated around to the front door, glancing back to where I’d come from, as if I thought she might follow me.

I quickly went and told my grandmother, the Designated Adult, since I thought that was the responsible thing to do. The girl really could be hurt, after all. I described the girl to her, figuring she’d know which one it was and could maybe use her name and talk her into going home and telling her mom what was wrong.

The children next door were in Rapides Parish on the other side of the state for two weeks with their father for the summer. The oldest of the children were all boys, in fact, and the rowdiest ones - always screaming. I guess I was taking the sudden silence for granted.

Was it a ghost? I don’t know. I know at least two people died in the house, one in the bath and one in the room that had once been the store, but they were both elderly. The nearest things to the house besides our directly next door neighbors were a large horse farm and a convenience store perhaps a mile away. I can’t imagine why anyone’s child would have wandered so far from either, or why she would have chosen to plant herself on the hard concrete when there were lawn chairs and lots of grass a few feet away. But I do know that from then on, I felt a sense of dread rounding the corner to that side of the porch, and quickly decided that lining mattresses up in the storeroom to practice tumbling runs was Much Cooler than rollerblading anyway.

FYNK James: 7/10 The writing in this one’s interesting, I forgot I was reading a ghost story partway through. Thanks for sharing the scares!

#ghost #paranormal #haunt #creepy #unexplained #rollerblades #ghost girl #ghost children #7 #7/10 #submission

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taeheyhey · 5 years

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Chapter 21 - Silver Screen

Taehyung x Reader - 3.5K words

A/N - OMG! The penultimate chapter! I can't believe I'm almost done!! I really REALLY hope you enjoy this part, please let me know by liking, reblogging or commenting! As always, if you have any questions about any of it I would be thrilled to answer them! Thank you all so much for reading you lovely bunch! 💗❤💜

One ~ Two ~ Three ~ Four ~ Five ~ Six ~ Seven ~ Eight ~ Nine ~ Ten ~ Eleven ~ Twelve ~ Thirteen ~ Fourteen ~ Fifteen ~ Sixteen ~ Seventeen ~ Eighteen ~ Nineteen ~ Twenty ~ Twenty-One ~ Twenty-Two

When Hannah returned to the room after the notification on her phone had interrupted your conversation, she hadn’t seemed quite as keen to carry on with her line of inquiry – a fact which, at the time, you had been grateful for.

Despite the fact you had been able to laugh about it, albeit briefly, it still caused you pain to recall those memories, but with each day that passed you felt increasingly curious as to the reason behind her swift change of mood.

She had poked her head around the door before entering, looking almost as though she was trying to sneak someone in to the room, and then stepped over the threshold awkwardly after finding your eyes locked on hers.

She stood by the entrance to the room, motionless but for rocking back and forth gently on the balls of her feet, an action you recognised as something Hannah used to do when she had been caught doing something wrong as a child.

“Is there something going on, Hannah?"

Between her odd stance in the doorway and the way she had acted after fetching the wine earlier, you were beginning to suspect that she may very well be up to something, and whenever Hannah made up her mind to be up to something experience had taught you to be wary.

“Like what?”

“Not exactly a convincing response,” you laughed at the squeak in her voice.

“Ah it’s nothing really,” she offered you a brief smile before a very obviously fake yawn left her and she lifted a non-existent watch before her vision. “Oh wow, is that the time already?”

Needless to say you had been unsurprised when she didn’t opt for the performing arts in her further education.

You got the distinct impression she wanted to be alone, and seeing as it was still relatively early you decided to venture downstairs to see if Ronnie would benefit from your help or your company.

“I’ll be back in a few hours okay. I’ll let you get an early night.”

She responded to you with a non-committal hum of agreement and rolled on to her side on the bed, the light from her phone illuminating the determined look on her face, her tongue gripped between her teeth and eyebrows knitted together in concentration, as she furiously tapped on to the screen.

~~~

He guessed that he hadn't exactly been discreet when he’d seen your name being repeatedly entered in to the comments, it had completely stopped him in his tracks and he lost the thread of whatever it was that he had been talking about, causing him to shake his head to regain his focus and laugh unnaturally until he was able to continue.

They had all been on such high alert for the appearance of your name in any capacity since it had become abundantly clear that Taehyung was not going to simply forget about you and move on, as the elder members of the group had initially suspected he might.

In the beginning, any time they saw it they would immediately begin looking for any further indications that it was Taehyung’s girl trying to make contact, but every time it turned out to be merely a coincidence, and the members would step down from red alert and resume normal operations.

After a month and a half of this rigmarole it became much easier for them not to outwardly react, and for some of them it had begun to cause so much stress that they needed to endeavour to cease inwardly reacting as well.

This time though the name had repeated over and over, apparently refusing to desist until the phantom commenter was satisfied their cries in to cyber space had been received loud and clear.

Namjoon wracked his brain and tried to work out how to proceed. He looked into the webcam in what he hoped was a meaningful way and began talking about Twitter in English.

The stream of repeated comments halted for a moment and he kept one eye on the feed as he carried on talking, deciding that if by some miracle whoever it was that purported to know you got the hint, he would stop his broadcast as he was struggling to multitask in this way and he felt guilty for not giving the rest of the viewers his complete attention.

After a few moments it appeared that his intimation was understood and the commenter appeared again detailing her Twitter handle, and he quickly took a screenshot of it and commenced signing off his broadcast, mentally preparing himself for whatever reaction he would get from Taehyung.

“How do we know it’s legitimate?” Yoongi had asked as he lowered his tablet from his face for the first time since their leader had entered the room and began speaking with them all, his eyes – full of concern – flicking over to Taehyung, who was stood stock-still as though he had been paused, his eyes even larger than usual as he tried to take in what he was hearing.

“It’s too much of a coincidence isn’t it, hyung?” Jimin cut in, turning to the second oldest. “There are maybe ten people in the world who know about what happened and what her name is.”

“And seven of them are in this room,” Jungkook finished.

Hoseok shifted in his seat, his brows furrowed, before leaning forward and resting his elbows on to his knees. “Could she have told people? Gone to the press once she found out – ”

“No,” Taehyung cut in instantly and firmly, finally breaking his silence. “There’s no way she would do that, hyung. I know her.”

He knew it seemed like a weird thing to say, especially since it had been a quarter of a year since those few short days in which he had gotten to know you. What sane person would claim to truly know someone else in such a short space of time when they barely understood any words that were exchanged?

And yet none of the members contradicted him. Hoseok simply nodded and sat back in his chair at his vehemence. Being as prone as Taehyung had previously been to fickle fads and interests, these past few months they had all seen a change in him. They had seen him go through extreme highs and lows, and experience hope and despair in equal measure and fervour. The only constant had been that you had been on his mind and in his heart the entire time, and it was easy for the others to recognise and acknowledge the profound effect you had clearly had on him.

“It all seems to be genuine,” Namjoon addressed them all. “Besides, if the press did know anything about it all hell would have broken loose by now. I used Seong-min’s account to message her, asked her some questions to verify she was who she said she was – like the name of the city and the bar. She said her name was Hannah.”

At that, Taehyung's head shot up. “Hannah. That’s her best friend,” he sat down on the sofa beside Jimin as he felt the strength leave his lower half. “It’s really her,” he said to no one in particular, his voice breathy with wonderment.

“Why didn’t she get in touch herself, why did the friend do it?” Jimin asked after a few moments to allow the revelation to sink in for everyone, placing a soothing arm around his friend and squeezing his shoulder reassuringly.

Jimin’s question brought Taehyung back down to earth and he turned his gaze to Namjoon, his face the very picture of wide-eyed curiosity.

He looked uneasy for a moment as his eyes scanned the room. He sighed heavily and shoved his hands in to his pockets. “She hasn’t seen it, the V Lives, the Bangtan Bombs. Nothing.”

There was a pause as his words sunk in. Everything they had done and all the effort they had put in to get your attention and you hadn’t even been aware of it.

Yoongi swore and Jin groaned, rubbing his thumbs over the calluses on his finger tips that had hardened even more following all the practice he had put in to learn what everyone was referring to as ‘your song’. Taehyung sat forward and placed his head in his hands while Jimin tightened his grip around him.

“She hasn’t seen any of it?” Taehyung's voice was muffled and quiet. He rubbed his hands over his face as he looked up at Namjoon, feeling panic and worry begin to form in the pit of his stomach. “Why? Did she forget about me? Did I upset her?”

Namjoon felt his heart go out to the younger member, and he walked over to the sofa and crouched down in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking him square in the eyes. “She didn’t even tell her friend about it, Taehyung-ah. This Hannah worked it out for herself and tried to get her to talk about it. She said she misses you.”

“She does?” Taehyung looked so childlike at that moment it was all Namjoon could do to not pull him in to a hug immediately, but he could see the tears beginning to form in his dongsaeng's eyes and he knew if he was outwardly affectionate towards him it could set him off crying, and Namjoon knew he hated to cry in front of some of the members.

“Of course she does idiot, why wouldn’t she?” he said softly. “Her friend seems to think she may have been a bit...overwhelmed when she found out about, well, everything,” he offered as further explanation.

“I can imagine it being quite hard to get your head around, finding out someone you are seeing is a celebrity all of a sudden.” Hoseok offered from across the room to murmurs of agreement.

Taehyung looked sheepishly at the floor between his feet. “I didn’t handle any of this particularly well did I, hyung?”

Namjoon smiled warmly at him before patting his shoulder light-heartedly and standing upright to begin to explain his proposed next move. “Maybe not. But now we get to fix it, right?”

~~~

A week or so had gone by since Hannah’s bizarre behaviour had caused you to leave her to her alleged “early night”, making your way down to the bar and nodding a greeting to Ronnie while pulling on your apron, much to his surprise.

It had gotten a little busier in the bar since Hannah had come back, she always had a tendency to attract a younger crowd whenever she worked, and as it was the only place to drink in that area, the customers would stay and drink even after they found out she wasn’t there – albeit a tad begrudgingly.

“Everything alright, y/n?” Ronnie had asked as he passed over a full pint glass to a young bearded man in a lumberjack shirt, eyeing the man-bun wobbling precariously atop the customer’s head with thinly-veiled mistrust.

“Yeah it’s fine I think. Hannah is just acting a little weird.” You pulled down the empty vodka bottle from the rack at the back of the bar and pushed the optic in to a fresh one before re-mounting it. “Did she say anything to you when she came down?”

You wouldn’t find out till later that Hannah had asked her father not to disclose their conversation where Ronnie confirmed Taehyung’s identity, and so he had shrugged non-committally, and struggled to meet your eyes.

“Nothing I can think of off the top of my head,” he responded and shot another scowl at the man in the checkered shirt as he began to speak unnecessarily loudly in to his phone.

You had left it at that, and in the days that passed you largely were able to put it out of your mind, assuming it may have had something to do with Kevin or her next potential victim. You understood all too well the feeling of not being ready to discuss something, and you trusted that she would tell you about whatever it was when she felt like it, although it would have been a lie to say it didn’t sting a little that she did not reveal the reasons behind her abrupt change in mood that night, especially after you had finally confided in her about your days with Taehyung.

You had been relieved when she suggested a trip to the cinema, having begun to wonder whether or not she was avoiding you intentionally, or if you were just being paranoid.

“I thought we go could go tomorrow evening. Dad said he will be fine on his own for a couple of hours. We’ll get dressed up and have some food too before, what did you think?”

You smiled and nodded eagerly, excited at the thought of spending some quality time with your friend, however you didn’t fail to notice the relieved expression that spread over her face, almost like she’d expected you to say no. “Sounds great, what do you want to see?”

Her eyes widened as though she hadn’t thought that far ahead, although why that seemed to panic her you had no idea. “Um, I think they’re showing The Notebookagain,” she finally declared, exhaling a deep breath as you nodded once more in agreement.

You weren’t sure if that film was a particularly good idea, given how your delicate your emotional state had been, but you had seen it so many times at that point you were at least partially de-sensitised to even some of the movie's most potent scenes.

There was a small movie theatre not too far away from the bar, it only had a couple of screens and was about twenty times smaller than the numerous other theatres which were dotted about in the centre of the city, but you much preferred the air of authenticity of the older building, which still had curtains obscuring the screens which would open before the feature began, and you appreciated the ceremony of it all.

Throughout the meal Hannah had seemed distracted, and repeatedly checked her phone, chewing on her thumbnail and exhaling through flared nostrils after tapping out a response to whoever or whatever was pulling her focus from the large bowl of pasta in front of her which was rapidly cooling.

You reached over and placed your hand on top of her free hand, her phone still gripped too tightly in the other. The contact startled her and her eyes flicked to you as though she had forgotten you were there.

“Hannah, you are really freaking me out, please tell me what’s going on with you?”

She put her phone down and flipped her hand over to grip yours, squeezing it and grimacing apologetically. “Ah, I’m so sorry I’m not being good company am I?”

You shook your head and smiled warmly at her. “I just want to know you are okay. You’ve been...off for like a week now. You know you can talk to me, right? I know I offloaded some stuff on you the other night but I don’t intend to make it all about me. I’m here for you Hannah, you know that don’t you?”

The look of guilt that crumpled your friend’s face worried you even more, but she recovered quickly, a wide grin stretching her mouth as she picking up her fork. “I’m fine. I’m better than fine, I am awesome! I’m here with my dearest friend, what could possibly be wrong with me?” Hannah announced emphatically, spearing a piece of penne and shoving it unceremoniously in to her mouth and chewing with zeal, her lips curling down as soon as she realised just how cold her food had gotten while she had been preoccupied with her phone.

“You have always been a terrible liar, Hannah, but whatever. Just promise that you will talk to me if you need to.”

“I am a fantastic liar, always have been,” she said cheekily and gestured at you with her fork, and with the sudden shift in mood you knew she would divulge nothing further, such was her stubbornness.

“Uh-huh, sure.” You raised your hand to get the attention of the waiter who had been making eyes at Hannah all evening. He, of course, ignored you completely and you rolled your eyes. “You want to ask for the bill? The film is meant to start in twenty minutes isn’t it?”

You had left Hannah to organise the evening at her insistence, and she checked her notifications one more time while distractedly lifting her hand limply, frustratingly obtaining the server's attention instantly, and he appeared at the side of the table so swiftly it was as though he had teleported in.

You paid the check and left the restaurant, flagging down a cab to take you the short distance from there to the movie theatre. The unnecessary heels you were both wearing were also at Hannah’s insistence, despite your argument that for the most part you would just be sat in a dark room together, and what would normally be a ten minute walk suddenly necessitated transportation to save your feet from blisters.

You scanned the receipt from the meal for something to do as Hannah’s handset buzzed loudly again, unsurprised to find what you assumed to be the waiter’s number scrawled at the bottom of the slip of paper. “You’ve snared another one Han,” you informed her as you handed it over to her. “Please tell me what it’s like to be irresistible?”

She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically and sighed like a corseted woman in an old movie. “Exhausting.”

You laughed and reached for your purse as the cab pulled up at your destination. “I’ll bet.”

The cinema was more deserted than you had ever seen it as you strolled through the lobby towards the snack counter, and apart from the two members of staff you had passed upon entry and the one in front if the popcorn machine, you could not see another living soul anywhere. You shrugged to yourself and inclined your head towards the popcorn. “You want some?”

Hannah shook her head and rubbed her stomach theatrically. “Oh no, I couldn’t eat another thing. Let’s just go and sit down, my feet are killing me,” she answered while shooting you a warning look as though she could sense the ‘I told you so’ on the tip of your tongue.

You entered the completely deserted cinema screen and stood still in the door way, scanning the sea of unoccupied seats before you. “Well it’s a good job you booked this in advance Hannah, we’d be lucky to get a seat otherwise.”

She walked past you with her nose in the air and headed towards the very centre of the room. “Sarcasm is lowest form of wit y/n,” she said prudishly as she sidled in to the middle row.

You chuckled at her faux-primness and shuffled along the row to take the seat next to her, both of you removing your jackets and you beginning to settle down and wait for the movie to start.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, the familiar sound of Hannah’s phone rang out against the quiet of the large room, and she sat bolt upright as though she she’d been tasered. She slapped her hand against her thighs before standing up, the sudden action causing you to flinch away from her in shock.

“Right,” she announced too loudly, and you were sure that the young girl at the ticket window could have heard her. “I’m going to get some popcorn.”

You were too taken aback by the odd and stiff tone in her voice to remind her that she had just minutes ago claimed to be too full to eat anything else, and you sat in stunned silence and watched her awkwardly attempt to shuffle at speed out of the row of seats.

Turning to face the screen with your eyebrows still furrowed at Hannah’s behaviour, you inwardly cursed at the poor timing as the lights began to dim and the heavy maroon velvet drapery started to pull back from the screen. You whipped your head around to see if Hannah had noticed just in time to vaguely make out the double doors closing behind her.

Once the room was in complete darkness you took a moment to be slightly creeped out. You had never sat in a completely empty movie theatre before, and it was a strange feeling to be alone in such a large, dark room.

The sensation didn’t last long however as what you assumed to be the trailers began to light up the screen.

You heard the gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar play out over the speakers, the melody seeming to come from every direction as a tingling of recognition stroked it’s fingers up and down the back of your neck, causing the small hairs there to stand on end.

As butterflies began to form in your stomach and you failed to swallow down the lump that had suddenly taken up residence in your throat, the only thing occupying the entirely black screen were three words, written in white script.

Golden Closet Film.

A/N - The finale will be posted next Friday! I hope you look forward to it! 😚😊

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fandoms-consume-me · 6 years

Text

Arranged Pt. 4 (Arthur Pendragon x female!Reader)

Summary: You are a free spirit learning to be a queen one day. Your first time accompanying your father, the King, on a diplomatic trip was meant to simply be a chance to observe. Little did you know that the universe had much different plans. You find yourself attracted to the heir of Camelot, Arthur, even though he is to marry another-one of your good friends, Princess Dulcina. The marriage is the doing of kings and queens, without the approval of the participants themselves. Can two star-crossed lovers overcome fate?

Warnings: none in this part really

Characters: Reader (Y/N), Arthur Pendragon, Uther Pendragon, Lady Morgana, & several OCs (including but not limited to: Princess Dulcina, Viscount Cadby, King Pellinore, and Queen Aethelgyth)

Pairings: Arthur Pendragon x female!Reader; Arthur Pendragon x Princess Dulcina (forced)

Word Count: 3,527

Catch up: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3

Skip ahead: Part 5; Part 6

................................................................................................................................

You stepped out of your chambers in a purple gown that made you feel like a walking cloud. It was so large it might’ve fit an entire person underneath. And, although it was a little ahead of fashion, you knew it was stunning.

Your maids at home had brought you a new fabric, from the silk makers in China, called organza. According to them, it was made from silk but had a different texture. Upon wearing it, you could tell that they were right. The dress was roughly half as heavy as your others and just as large.

You started down the hall, toward the banquet hall, but you were stopped by a maid.

“M’lady,” a maid, Tandy, said, “Your tiara.”

You reached up and found that you had forgotten your tiara. “Indeed, it seems I have forgotten it.” You chuckled as you turned back to your room. Tandy followed you in, moving around you to the cabinets that held your collection. She chose a golden band with a brilliant purple gem suspended over your forehead. She tucked it into your hair, allowing the gem to rest cooly above your eyebrows.

“Did you do your own hair, M’lady?” She asked.

“Y/n, please,” you corrected, “I did do it myself. Do you like it?”

“It’s gorgeous,” her hands took one of the loose curls and tucked it behind your ear. You admired the braids you had done; it had taken you ages to get them twisted up just right. “You look fit to be an angel.”

“Tandy, that is such a nice compliment, thank you,” you said, touching your heart. You rose and made your way to the feast, surprised that the halls were mostly empty.

When you reached the large room, you were met by your mother, who, to her credit, smiled at you and outstretched her hand. You smiled back and took it, greeting her as you knew you should.

Without a word she nodded and began to walk, forcing you to keep pace with her.

“Best behavior, Y/n/n,” She said under her breath just as you rounded the corner. You smiled wider as you descended a few stairs to join the feast.

When you came into view you noticed several people, mostly ladies in the King’s house, look up at you. You could tell that your dress would be a topic of gossip for days to come. Your mother and you broke apart, going in separate directions. She was met by your father, who immediately took her hand in his and walked away to mingle with those in King Uther’s court. On your side of the room, you were met by King Uther, himself.

“Princess Y/n, you look beautiful,” he greeted.

“Thank you, your Majesty.”

“May I introduce you to my ward, Morgana,” he said, leading you to a young woman talking in a group.

She looked up at us as you approached, taking in your dress and hair, obviously judging you but not saying a word. Morgana smiled as she locked eyes with Uther and stepped away from the group.

“Your Majesty,” She greeted with a curtsey.

“Morgana, dear,” He said as he kissed the top of her hand. “This is the Princess Y/n of Cenred. Y/n, my ward, Morgana.” He gestured as he introduced us. You smiled genuinely at her, hoping that she would see that you meant no harm. Her smile was just as genuine but held much more judgement than there was before.

“How do you do?” You asked with a slight bow of your head.

“Well, I will leave you two to get to know each other. I am sure you will be great friends,” Uther said, excusing himself.

“Come, your Majesty, let me introduce you to my friends,” She said, mischief playing in her eyes.

“Just ‘your Highness’, please, I am in no place of power to be called ‘you Majesty’,” you grinned at her, trying to ease whatever tension she was creating.

“Well, your Highness, allow me to introduce you to Lady Susane, of Mora,” She smiled, approaching her friend group from before. “And Lady Zenith, of Cedref, Baroness Ailith, of Caerloen, and Dame Devona, of Merris. My friends, meet Princess Y/n, of Cenred.”

“Yes! Dear Y/n!” Ailith said, reaching out to hug you. “It has been far too long!”

“Ailith, has it been two years already?” You exclaimed, hugging her back.

“Yes it has!” Her voice was shrill, but at the same time it was like a bird singing, a strange sort of comfort in it.

“You two know each other?” Morgana asked.

“Yes. We’ve known each other since our infancy. Our mothers are dear friends,” You explained to those looking at us.

“How sweet,” Susane said, smiling at us.

“Quite,” Morgana said, not nearly as sweetly as Susane had. You stood, smiling at each other, for a while.

“Why don’t we walk, Y/n?” Morgana asked. You smiled and moved next to her. She took you to the perimeter of the room and stopped you.

“You’re the king’s ward?” You asked politely once she’d positioned you by the wall.

“Yes.” You nodded at her short answer but could not find words for more. “King Pellinore is here on business.” It sounded more of a statement, although it should have been a question, but you answered.

“Yes, he is.”

“And you are here. Why?” She asked, finally looking you in the eyes.

“To learn diplomacy.”

“Ah,” She clicked her tongue, “Do they bring you along often?”

“More recently not as much, but in the past I was brought to show good will to those we were visiting.” You explained.

“Of course,” She replied.

“Do you have siblings?” You asked after another pause.

“A sister,” she responded curtly.

“Is she here tonight?”

“No, unfortunately she is not welcome at the castle.”

“I am sorry,” you said, taken aback by her response. You had not expected to make her share something that seemed a more intimate matter. Thankfully, years of manners training helped you hide your shock.

“What of you? Siblings?” She asked, remnants of the acid from her previous comment still left in her voice.

“Yes. I have four younger sisters and two younger brothers.”

“How delightful. Tell me all about them.”

“My sisters are nine, eleven, thirteen, and fifteen years of age, while my brothers are three and seven years old. The boys are quite rowdy for their age. I know that Audric, the older of the two, is aware that he will one day be king as he tends to run about the castle screaming ‘bring me my armies’ and ‘all hail Audric, the best king in the world!’, things like that. It is quite endearing for him to be so excited for his era on the throne. Garrett, the younger, has hardly an inkling that he is a prince, but he follows Audric around screaming the same things. They are very great friends,” you smiled to yourself before glancing over at Morgana; she was looking at you intently, as if she were imagining the memories playing out in your head.

“Do go on,” She prompted.

“The girls and I are currently being groomed for our future husbands,” you said, less fondly. You did not notice Morgana shift her gaze from your face to a person behind you, so you continued talking, “My father has assured me that I will marry no less than an heir, but in all truth, I don’t care. If I could live comfortably and the marriage would profit my family, I don’t imagine I would complain much.

“My youngest sister, Arietta, has just begun her lessons with a tutor. The second youngest, Daisy, is at an awkward stage in life where she isn’t allowed to do too much; something I remember all too well—if you remember your eleventh year perhaps you know what I speak of.” You smiled and Morgana returned it along with her attention back to you. “Farah is the middle sister and she is developing a beauty unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I have a feeling that she will be married quite soon. And the second oldest, Rhoswen, has finally begun taking guests at our castle, accepting them with Audric as the heir apparent when my father is not present. It’s remarkable, though, how my father’s house has expanded.”

“Quite remarkable, indeed, Princess.” She said, smiling politely. “Pray tell, what is your gown made of?” Her fingers pinched the fabric of your skirt and rubbed it together.

“Organza. A new method of Chinese silk.” Your smile didn’t falter once as you smoothed the airy material down.

“It is gorgeous. I must admit, I am jealous of your fashion sense.” She said.

“Thank you. But you must know that I know of very few people that could wear a dress like the one you don, and you appear to be one of them,” you gestured to her red gown, tight to her skin in all of the right places. Her thanks was in a nod but you accepted it all the same.

The longer our conversation dragged on, the more you realized that she was not as nice a person as she seemed. Rather than growing more comfortable around her, you found yourself retaining your lady-like manners.

“Tell me, Y/n, do you enjoy life in Cenred?” She asked after you were on your second chalice of wine.

“I do. I have my moments where I wish I were not living at all, but in the end, I know that I have it better than most.” You confessed.

“It must be difficult.” She put her hand on your exposed shoulder in sympathy.

“Not nearly as bad as I make it sound, surely,” you promised her. “Do you enjoy life under Uther?”

“As much as the next.” Her answer was short, as all of her other answers were. And, although they were filled with less hostility than when the conversation started, they were no more friendly.

“I must apologize, I am monopolizing our conversation and your time!” You said, earning an irritated look from her. You suspected she had a purpose in talking to you but the fuzzy feeling of the alcohol in your veins prevented you from investigating further.

“No trouble.”

As if on cue, Lady Zenith approached you, taking Morgana’s arm and leading her away with an apology and a laugh.

You stood, suddenly alone, looking at the crowd around you. Older women stood in bunches around each other, easily on their third glass of wine before the meal had even started. Older men stood randomly throughout, staring at the younger women as they danced about the room. Some younger ladies stood in groups while others hung hopelessly onto knights or lords. Eligible men not occupied by a girl were in also in groups, telling stories of glory and impressive feats.

You looked at the gowns of the other women in the room, taking in the shine of the fabrics and dull colors. Nearly all of them had a regular tight bodice, leg-of-mutton sleeve, and heavy skirts. Some ladies ventured so far as to add belts to their ensemble.

Your dress easily stood out from the others. It had a tight bodice, but the organza made the skirt light. You had small caps of the same organza over your shoulders for sleeves and purple gloves rose far above your elbows, a sort of mock leg-of-mutton styling.

You knew that the reason you were still alone was due to the outlandish fashion. At least at home the women had more expensive tastes, kept up with the new styles more.

“What could you possibly have done to earn exile from social groups, m’lady?” A knight asked, stepping in front of you.

“Why, I’m not quite sure, good sir. I have a sense it’s that I’m not quite a familiar face,” your smiled widened at such a humorous man.

“Sir Allard, at your service, my lady,” He said with a mock bow. You couldn’t help but let a laugh fall from your lips. It was quite unusual for you to meet someone without having someone introduce you. You did not miss how his eyes had risen immediately to your face when the noise escaped you.

“Y/n,” You told him. His chin cocked at your name. Silently you cursed yourself. Of course all of the knights would know your name. Just as he opened his mouth to question you, no doubt, Morgana reappeared.

“Princess?” She asked. “Won’t you allow me to introduce you to some diplomats?”

“How kind, Lady Morgana,” you said before turning to Sir Allard, “Won’t you excuse me?”

“If you find yourself in need of company.” He waved his hand into an over exaggerated bow before walking off.

You anticipated it would be an hour or so before food was served, and a large part of you hoped Morgana didn’t use all of it to introduce you to countless viscounts and barons. You were confused as to why she was doing you such a great favor when she had been so short with you earlier, but you realized that it was a good deed she was doing for you.

“Viscount Cadby, meet Princess Y/n of Cenred. Princess, meet Viscount Cadby of Camelot,” She said as Cadby took your hand and kissed it. You were surprised wrinkles hadn’t started to form across your knuckles thanks to all of the saliva from the mens’ kisses.

“What a great pleasure,” He said, his brown hair stricken through with grey and lines defining themselves around his eyes and mouth.

“The pleasure—” You were cut off when the viscount began speaking again.

“I have heard,” He paused to look you up and down, making you remarkably uncomfortable. During his pause, you noticed a figure walk up to his right. Your eyes flitted over to see Prince Arthur coming to listen in on the conversation. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Morgana smile at him. “I’ve heard that you are the most beautiful woman in these parts, that you are the fairest woman to be beheld!” His voice rose with each word in his statement, bringing a blush to your cheeks.

“That is very kind, sir, but—” You tried to silence him, especially while he was gaining more and more attention.

“No! Now that I have seen you with my own eyes there is no disputing it. It very well may be witchcraft, your beauty!” He roared with laughter, while the rest of us stared on in shock. It was no secret magic of any sort wasn’t tolerated in Camelot or any of their allied kingdoms.

“Sir. I must ask you to lower your voice,” you said, taking a step forward, your eyebrows creased in concern.

“Do you not know the legend?” He asked, grabbing your arm. You looked helplessly to Morgana who was stifling a laugh. Over Morgana’s shoulder you saw your mother look up at you. To your credit, though, he did lower his voice considerably.

By now your smile had faded and you hoped for any sort of end to the conversation you were having.

“Fairest, fairest, fairest girl, lovely like the moon, Stars crossed, impossible love. The perfect girl, with a laugh like bells, becomes a perfect queen. The flawed boy, with a dependable sword, the once and future king. Between them stands a group of five, will—they—survive.” The viscount’s eery song made you shiver under his stare. You were sure that fear danced in your eyes but you worked to keep a straight face.

“Princess? Why don’t I show you the gardens?” Arthur’s voice broke through a silence that hung between just the viscount and yourself.

Though an unexplainable fear had settled itself in the pit of your stomach you found yourself mumbling, “Splendid,” while turning and walking away from Cadby’s grip.

Prince Arthur fell into step beside you as he guided us outside. You forced your smile to return as you nodded at those you passed.

“Viscount Cadby is not the best with first impressions, I’m afraid,” Arthur said, turning toward you slightly, “Or second, or third impressions, if I am completely honest.”

You breathed an involuntary laugh as you looked sideways at the Prince. His smile was wide and white in the moonlight.

“Certainly not the best at making one feel comfortable,” he continued.

“No,” you said, able to keep your voice steady, “The feeling that he instilled was not settling.”

“I apologize.” He sounded sincere.

“No need. If anyone is exchanging formalities, I should be thanking you,” you said, hoping he would see your genuine thanks. “I don’t know what I would have done—how long I would have stood there like a mindless fool—had you not stepped in.”

“The viscount has a habit of speaking of magic and legends. In truth, I am surprised my father hasn’t taken his head.”

You were silent as the mention of legend caused the one you’d just heard to repeat in your head.

“Princess?” Arthur asked, stopping and looking concerned. You stopped with him and looked up from the ground.

“Yes?” You realized why he had such an odd expression when you released the furrowed muscles in your forehead. “Sorry. I—I suppose I’m not used to mention of such things.”

“Do your villagers not speak of old tales and legends in Cenred?” His voice was very skeptical as he questioned you.

“I wouldn’t know. The farthest I venture from our castle is to the stable, directly adjacent.” You admitted. You took a step forward, hoping he would follow—which he did.

“Your father has told me of your siblings. Who else occupies your days if you do not leave your castle?”

“My maids and tutors,” your voice was quiet as you realized how lonesome your life must seem.

You were both quiet as you continued to walk.

“I—I’m sorry. I have to ask. Do you suppose the viscount thought that I was the girl from the legend?” You asked stopping us once again.

When your eyes met Arthur’s you saw one side of his mouth turn up. “I wouldn’t worry if he thought so or not. Legends are not real.”

“Of course.” You said. You stood in the path facing each other for a while without saying a word. Your mind repeated the off-key song over and over in your head while you stood there. Suddenly, the start of trumpets sounding ripped the melody from you. You turned your head in the direction of the castle, as if to check if the trumpets were real.

“I suppose that means the feast has officially begun,” Arthur stated. You nodded before walking back to where you came from. Arthur jogged a step or two to catch up with you but soon fell into stride again.

Once inside, you took your seat next to your mother. She refused to look at you until the food was set in front of us and King Uther commenced the meal.

“I sincerely hope you will thank the prince for removing you from the embarrassing situation with the viscount.” She said, under her breath.

“Already done, Mother,” you responded in the same manner. The rest of the meal was silent as you watched others have lively conversations. The seat next to you was empty, for which you were grateful, saving you from polite, yet painful, conversation.

Uther, Arthur, Morgana, and your father sat at the head table, with your mother and you in the seats nearest to them at the table to the left. An identical table was across from us, forming a box-like “u” shape, seating people on the outside of it.

By the time the main meal was brought out you had resorted to scanning the line of people, quizzing yourself on their names and kingdoms. By the time you reached the end, you were quite proud of yourself for you had not missed one person. Suddenly it dawned on you that one person was missing—Viscount Cadby.

You searched the room again but it was fruitless; he was no where to be found. You were relieved when you realized that he was not there to cause another scene. Breathing in through your nose, you focused on your chicken.

A thunderous laugh startled you as the servants brought out cake. You looked up to see your father slapping Uther on the shoulder while Uther tried to catch his breath. You smiled to yourself to see your father so happy. You allowed your eyes to wander once more, this time landing on Arthur.

His eyes darted around the room before he leaned back and waved to his manservant. The boy, no older than the prince, leaned down and listened to Arthur before whispering something back to him. You watched as Arthur processed whatever information the boy had given him; then you met his eyes as they moved to you. You were confused by the shock and sorrow they seemed to hold.

You smiled at him before a maid came to take your plate, forcing you to turn your attention to her. When you looked back, he was whispering to the boy again.

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Keep Reading: Part 5; Part 6

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@hellboundblogger

#Arthur pendragon x female!reader #Arthur pendragon x reader #merlin #bbc merlin #slow burn #friends before lovers trope #arthur pendragon #fanfiction #arranged marriage #love #king arthur #arranged pt. 1 #arranged pt. 2 #arranged pt. 3

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clevernewdimension · 6 years

Text

Unearthly Delights Part Fourteen (M)

Preview, One, Two (M), Three, Four (M), Five, Six (M), Seven (M), Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven (M), Twelve (M) , Thirteen (M), Fourteen (M), Fifteen (Coming soon!)

Genre: Drama, Smut, Action, Romance, Supernatural Creatures and Monsters AU

Pairing: JunmyeonxCharacter

Word Count: 7K

AN: Welp, the smut in this is a bit odd to me but I tried! And damn, the story is starting to kick up and soon.... soon comes more violence and maybe, FINALLY, something else.

I was getting into a routine. Wake up, drink, fuck, rest of my day doing whatever the hell I want, sometimes repeat step two and three before bed, and then all over again. Minseok was calm and patient with me as I learn to control my strength. I wasn’t instantly shattering any glass in my hand anymore, so that’s a plus. I was getting use to hearing everything and noticing more. The tiniest ant crawling up the tree I could easily see as if it was right in front of my face. I could understand why Minseok liked calm and silences more now, that’s for sure.

It was getting easier to just stop drinking. When I’m told to stop, it’s getting better. Like my body before was ravenous but now that I’m not starving it’s calming down. Minseok was impressed, which made me proud… though I would never say it. The times when he had to command me were few and far between. He taught me more about Gangrel powers, how our strength is our rage. He also said that our rage was like fire. Good when you control it, but an unstoppable wildfire the moment you can’t.

I don’t think I would have chosen anyone else to go through this process with other than Minseok. Besides Sehun, you can tell he’s the oldest. The year of experience living as a so called monster. Going from a time when vampires were hunted to now. For the most part, they are now just normal people. That despite all his hardships, he still cares about being a good person, and it shows a lot when he teaches me about my new life.

Minseok smiled, his eyes glowing as he watches me drink from Chanyeol. Next to him was Yixing, who was charming and enchanting things for Minseok. He watches me as I look back at Chanyeol, gulping down a mouthful of blood, my hand holding onto his arm tightly. Chanyeol’s hand down my shorts, pumping into me roughly. His thumb was rubbing my clit, making me want to lose my mind. My lips on his wrist, the blood hot and thick. Moans escaping my mouth, filling the room as the other two men completely ignore the fact that it’s going on at all.

Minseok closes his eyes, keeping calm and controlling his hunger. Yixing tapped his shoulder, before tilting his head to the side. Watching Minseok’s fangs pierce his neck made me groan.The feeling of Chanyeol’s fingers still working at my core made me shiver. I gasp, some of his blood dripping down his arm before I attach my lips back. I moaned, looking at Chanyeol who just winks at me.

Minseok held Yixing close, greedily drinking from Yixing who was mewling under his touch. Not even the fae are immune to the feeling of pure lust a vampire bite can give, it seems.

“Ava, time to stop,” Chanyeol says, his voice low and in my ear. It was still hard to let go, but not as hard as it was before. I look him in the eyes, licking the wound, cleaning the blood that was left as he just smirks, making me moan his his fingers speeds up. Over these last few days Chanyeol and Minseok pretty much know every inch of my body by now. They know what makes me into mush and I can tell as I felt myself already falling from the edge of ecstasy. My hand grabs onto his arm tighter, the other on his shoulder. I arch into his touch, hearing him mutter things in my ear as I yell out. I lean back against the chair, my chest rising and falling even though I technically don’t need it to.

Minseok pulls away from Yixing, licking his neck as the fae just take a moment to calm down. He looks up, his eyes glittering a little before he gets back to what he’s doing. Though on Minseok’s arms where he held the vampire were hand prints of gold glitter.

I rest my head against the cool wooden table, looking up at Chanyeol, who just smiled. He looked proud of himself as he just licks his fingers clean.

I recover from that, my skin on the cool tabletop. I listen to Chanyeol, Minseok and Yixing speak.

“So this is it? This is a terrifying weapon,” Chanyeol asks, touching a metal spike. The blade was two pieces of metal twirled, forming a cage like shape before coming together into a needle like point. It was pure platinum, apparently, as he picks it up.

Minseok looked at Chanyeol, “You really don’t know how powerful that is, do you?”

Chanyeol holds it out for Minseok, who just backs away, “Hell no, I don’t want to get burned. Just a touch from that can do what holy water does. I don’t want to imagine what being cut by it does.”

Yixing takes it, “I’m trying to see if any charm will stay on it, but so far nothing.”

“Sehun… part archangel,” Chanyeol says, before pouting. “And he never told us.”

I bite my lip, looking away at that. When I looked back at them, I see Minseok giving me a curious glance. “I don’t think he wanted anyone to know,” I mutter, leaning up, “Puts a huge target on his back.”

Yixing nods, “Blood with the tiniest amount of archangel in it sells for hundreds of million of dollars. The Seelie Queen wanted some for ages. She may even align herself with us if we offered some, though I don’t think Sehun would be on board.”

“Why would she want it,” Minseok says, taking a sip from his wine glass. “She’s usually wanting to keep her distance from anyone that isn’t fae.”

“It’s used in an old spell she wants to use. To lock someone away permanently. Among other things but that’s the one she wants,” He says, before moving on to another weapon. A gun. “The Unseelie King is on the brink of insanity. He’s been killing people with no remorse and wants her dead. He’s killing mundanes, fae, vampires, demons, wolves, shapeshifters… hell, if rumors are true he’s even killed an angel.”

“For someone cast out from the Seelie Court, you sure know a lot,” Chanyeol says, taking Minseok’s glass of wine and drinking the rest. Minseok gave his younger friend a glare, but said nothing, pouring another glass for himself.

I stand, moving to the table to look at the weapons. Knives, guns, hell, even swords. The archangel blade was about a foot and a half long, glittering with ancient words on the handle. It was hard to look at for a long time, truthfully. Like it burned a little, my eyes sore from being near it.

“That’s because it’s effecting everyone around it. It’s no longer just the businesses of the courts,” He mutters, “The Unseelie King was seen with a visitor. Aisir. Seems like they get along splendidly.”

“Sehun may not have a choice, if that’s the case,” Minseok says, frowning.

Yixing shakes his head, the enchantment on the gun going well. The magic crackling at his fingertips. “She may not have a choice. Her court is weaker, she may be willing to join in if we help her with the Unseelie King. The Autumn court is left out of this, but the Spring and Winter Courts are following the Unseelie King. Spring’s ruler was murdered and one of his friends in their place.” Yixing looked scared, sad, “If she doesn’t do something then this will be the end of her. She’ll be desperate soon enough not to care for any tricks.”

One of Minseok’s staff walks in, Sehun tailing after him. “You have a guest.”

Minseok smiles, “Thank you.”

Sehun looks exhausted, hair everywhere, ink black on his head. His clothes were all wrinkled, his tee inside out. The shapeshifters looks over, his eyes meeting mine. They were changing colors rapidly, every hue possible. He looks at Yixing. “What did you want me for?”

Yixing tosses the archangel blade at him, which Sehun catches easily. The second it touches his skin, there was a crack. Like glass breaking, shattering over and over a million times forced all into a single sound. The metal changing, looking like stained glass in his hand, glowing bright. I wince, the light was bright, hurting my eyes even more. Minseok looked fine, though I could see him wince a little when it first happened.

“It can’t be charmed or enchanted,” Yixing says, not bothered by what happened. “However, you need to learn how it works. You holding it just activated the base layer of its power. There’s more levels to it, you just have to figure out how to unlock the rest.”

Sehun nods, slashing the air with it. The sound it made when he did sounded like the falling shards of glass breaking, just barely there. I looked at Minseok, who noticed the sound as well before Sehun just places it on the counter again. It became the cool metal again.

I wanted to ask how Junmyeon was, how everyone else was but when I do Minseok just tells me to focus on myself and not to worry. Sehun seemed ok, but wouldn’t look me in the eyes after the first time.

I listened to them talk about things to come and things they can do. The more I heard, the more worried I was. I cared for all the friends I’ve made here. I didn’t want anything to happen to them.

When I went to sleep that night, for the first time in years, I had a nightmare about Aiden. I didn’t want anyone else to meet the same fate.

Minseok was walking by me, my first trip out into the city. Everything was like before, but better. It’s like going from a standard definition television to a 4K one. I could smell everything, hear everything and see the smallest of details. I grin, looking at him with glee. So far, besides the very first week, this seems to be going splendidly. Before we left, Minseok told me to make sure I tell him if I got hungry, just to be safe. I should be able to control myself, but he’s just being careful. Which is good, because I don’t want to kill an innocent bystander. Murder isn’t exactly something I wanted to do.

I also could tell what he meant when he talked to me about how I smelled. Everyone had different smells. Some good, some bad, but it was almost overwhelming. Minseok smelled like perfectly aged wine, classy and elegant. He kept me within arm’s reach, keeping an eye out, occasionally looking over at me to see if I was ok.

“How do you deal with this,” I ask, looking at all the people. “It’s… it’s almost too much.”

“First time is always the hardest,” He says, “But, trust me, it will be your new normal soon enough.”

With Vampire senses, New York seemed even bigger and better than before, that was sure. It was almost mind numbing the things I could see and hear now.

We spent the afternoon doing dumb things like shopping and just walking around n general. I didn’t buy anything, but Minseok found a few things to add to his wardrobe, so it wasn’t a total loss. Every now and then I felt like I had a migraine from the amount of the sounds. I could hear even the rats in the sewers sometimes if I concentrated on it. Minseok stayed with me, by my side.

The next day we went to the city again, and this time it was a bit easier. Time Square had probably thousands of people as we walked along. This time I did get a few things. Minseok managed to talk me into a very dark, almost black, purple tee. He bought it, so who am I to say no over something that’s free for me.

The third day of my getting use to being around people was as easy as it was before. I got use to the sounds, the sights. To celebrate, I dragged Minseok with me to do something in order to mark the new life I had. He just smiled, following me as I pulled him into the piercing shop.

My the time we were leaving, Minseok had his eyebrow pierced and I had both of my nipples done. It took a while to convince Minseok. Eventually he caved, saying he should do something new for the first time in years.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” He says, touching it with his fingers. The little piece of metal looks good. He always looks so classy and elegant that it give him a bit of an edge.

I smiled, “At least I already healed it for you, wimp.” I elbow him, though he didn’t move at all from the hit. His white tee fitting him perfectly, a suit jacket over it. He looked like he usually does, a man with money that doesn’t really like to flash it.

“I did the same for you too,” He says, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, but that was a lot more fun than licking a hairy eyebrow,” I say, smiling as he was guiding us down the streets, our bags in our hands. “I’m sure it’s someone fetish but not mine!”

Minseok opened the door to the steak house, letting me in. Once there, a man stops me.

“Miss, this isn’t an Applebee��s. Come back when you have the proper attire,” He says, looking at me with a serious look. He was the security, still dressed nicely, with an earpiece in his ear and wearing sunglasses inside like a douchebag. His hair styled to perfection, not a single hair out of place. Dude’s probably hasn’t even had to fight. I suppose he looks intimidating… to people who didn’t know how to fight, that is. Hell, even when I was human I could take him.

Minseok comes in behind me, a hand on my waist. It was calming, his presence around me. I look back, seeing him smile tensely at the man. His eyes serious, the smile not reaching them. “We’re here on the request of Kim Junmyeon.”

The man’s face goes pale. I see his eyes wide behind the sunglasses. He moves to the side, “Please, come in.”

Minseok smiles, moving his hand to my shoulder as we walk on past.

The place was nice, sort of styled to give it that fancy log cabin feel. Odd for the middle of NYC but pretty dope nonetheless. A huge chandelier in the center as we walk past, entering the first private room. A large table was in there, lined with many of my friends and coworkers. Johnny looks up, immediately getting up and grabbing me into the tightest hug he could muster. I just pat his back as he pulls away, his eyes a little misty. He smells like cedarwood with a hint of something spicy. Fitting, I think.

“Do you know how terrified I was,” He asked, looking up. I smile, watching him pout, trying to hide how upset he was, “And now I don’t have a human on my side against Taemin anymore.”

I laugh, before the mentioned incubus pulls me to him in an even tighter hug. His hair a mess and he looked pretty pale. “You’re unkillable, hm,” He asks, a hint of sadness to his voice.

“I technically died though,” I say, only earning a hard slap to the back. Taemin pouts, glaring a little. Taemin smelled like a mimosa, making my mouth water a little. Fitting, really. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to calm myself.

“You’re not allowed to die,” He whispers. For some reason, hearing the sincerity of the fear in his voice makes me pause for a moment. He just smiles, pushing me to the side.

I look up, seeing Junmyeon. His eyes on me, lips forming a smile. I pull away from Taemin, moving towards him as he stands. Before I could process anything, he pulls me into his arms, holding me close. He smells like salt water, though I’m sure that’s from his tank. Under that, though, was something minty… spearmint. It was cool and refreshing. I wrap my arms around him.

“I’ve never been that terrified,” He whispers, pulling away and holding my face in his hands. His eyes a little misty. I could feel the heart that beats, though now slower, start to go faster. He presses his lips to my forehead, before smiling. I could feel myself getting warm from that, blushing and embarrassed. Truth was I missed him. A lot. These past few days a lot has changed and I wanted him close to me to just smile at me and tell me it’s alright. It made me feel weird, how much I missed him. He’s been in my life what… two months? Two and a half? These feelings… they scare me. I don’t like them. It’s vulnerable and I don’t like that. He just smiles, moving and pulls out a chair for me, Minseok sitting on my other side.

Sehun was across from me, looking worried. I could faintly smell him. It was… odd. Like what I imagine sunlight would smell. Warm and inviting. It wasn’t so much like a food related thing. I couldn’t describe it. The look on his face, though, was anything but warm. Before I could say anything, the door opened and I see a few more people. Baekhyun and Jongdae walk in, both ostentatious and colorful. Jongdae looks at me, “You look better than I thought a newborn would.” He sits down, moving and putting his boots on the table, smiling at everyone.

“I’m doing well, apparently,” I say, looking at Minseok. I could smell them. Baekhyun was like… a strawberry macaron. Jongdae smelled like cinnamon and sugar. Like he was a spice cake or something. They both smelled exactly like I though they would have, truthfully.

Baekhyun nods, “I know Minseok wouldn’t let you anywhere near the city unless he was sure you wouldn’t just… you know, rip someone open and feast on them or whatever vampires do.”

I nod, “True. He’s very careful. Not that I can blame him.”

The door opens, Kyungsoo walks in, a tight black shirt and dark blue jeans. He looks up, smiling, “Hey.”

I bite my lip, feeling oddly nervous. “Um… I’m sorry… for… you know,,, almost gutting you. Apparently that was something I did. I don’t remember it, but still. Sorry.”

He takes a seat besides Sehun, nodding, “It’s fine. Yixing had me all patched up in a few days. I would rather it have been me than an innocent human, after all. I don’t blame you. You clearly were not yourself then.”

Kyungsoo was always an odd one to me. Quiet and reserved around me, but sometimes I’ll see him laughing and joking around with Jongin or Chanyeol. He was just not a people person, I suppose. Not that I can blame him, people are awful. I smile, nodding. Kyungsoo smelled like Limes, citrus and clean. It was nice, calming.

Just like being around him. He’s protective, very much so. Losing a ton of people would do that to you, I guess.

The werewolf looks back at Junmyeon, “Jongin, Chanyeol and Yixing are a bit busy securing weapons and putting protective things around the club, so they’ll be missing this. They said if we wanted to meet them for drinks, after there, they wouldn’t mind. Also to bring take out with us.”

Junmyeon nods, “Absolutely.” He frowns, “I feel bad that we’re making Yixing work around the clock like this.”

“Jongin wanted pizza,” He says, looking at the menu. Kyungsoo, flipping the page, says, “Besides, Yixing wouldn’t be able to rest if he didn’t do all of this, you know that.”

“Anything if they’re making the club safer,” He says, looking down at his. I knew Junmyeon would be willing to go to the ends of the Earth in order to help anyone he cares about. Minseok had already looked his over, deciding and I looked down at mine.

The meal went by quickly, though while the food tasted wonderful, it felt like there was something missing. The conversations staying light, try not to focus too much on what feels like a wave of death. Sooner or later, it can’t be ignored. Business had to be talked about. I sat there, a glass of whiskey, taking a sip as I listen to Minseok and Junmyeon catch up. A lot of business goes on more than I realised.

“He wanted the guns,” Minseok asked, sitting back with a glass of wine. He takes a sit, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“The Ventures are gathering weapons, but little do they know they’re trying to get it from friends of mine,” Junmyeon says with a smirk, “I asked them to put them on the blacklist for all weapon smuggling rings I’m associated with.”

“Which is literally all of them really,” Minseok points out, a smile on his face. “I wonder if Aisir knows Ava was attacked.”

Sehun speaks up, his voice rough. “I went in and saw him having the tantrum of his life. Everything was destroyed. He… I was scared he was going to try to kill me for a second there. He lashed out at everyone.” Sehun frowns, glaring at the table, “He even tried to blame it on you. Said that if she never got involved with you it would have never happened. Fucking idiot.”

Junmyeon winces at that, “It’s his people attacking her, not us.”

Sehun nods, “He also know she’s been turned. He was disgusted.”

There was a small growl from Minseok at the word disgusted. He frowns, “Because I’m a Gangrel?”

“He… he didn’t want her turned at all, actually,” Sehun says, looking at me. “He thinks we were just jumping at the chance to turn her.”

Junmyeon looks over at me, shaking his head. “We wouldn’t have put her through that hell if didn’t have to.”

Sehun leans on his hand, “Like he cares. He just jumps at the chance to blame you for everything. I suppose Dad is upset at any boy interested in his little girl. He talks about you like he owns you, Ava. It’s gross.”

“No one owns me,” I mutter, crossing my arms.

I look at Junmyeon, but a look of guilt passes on it before he could stop it. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t. My stomach hurt, throbbing with need. I look at his neck, hearing the blood pumping and his heart beating. That’s when it hit.

It felt like my stomach was empty, like I was starving. Hunger clawing at me as I could feel my fangs grow. A deep rumbling came from my chest, a growl. Minseok notices immediately. He looks over and before I could move there was an arm around me, holding me in place. Kyungsoo’s arm around me as he looks at Minseok, waiting.

“She needs to feed and it has to be from someone stronger than her,”He says, “She’s good at holding back, but we still need to be careful.”

Taemin takes one of the three necklaces he wore off, passing the crystal of Kyungsoo. He takes it in his other hand, “So this is how you get home immediately,” He says, looking at the incubus.

Taemin nods, smiling, “Always helps to have a way out.”

“Don’t let her drink from your neck,” Minseok says. “If you need me-”

“I got it,” Kyungsoo says as I tried to hold back the want and need to rip open his arm and drink. “I know now baby vampires work.”

In a blink we’re in the living room. Kyungsoo let’s go of me, sitting on the couch. I sit, following the smell of his blood, my eyes watching the veins on his wrist.

He holds it up, one hand in my hair, holding it softly. “Be careful,” He says, “I know how newborns work, so don’t be ashamed. If you need me to help with that, just tell me.”

I quickly pressed my fangs into his wrist, moaning at the taste of his blood. My body feeling hot with need as I moved, sitting on his lap. He hissed at the pain, before a deep groan left his mouth. The hand in my hair holding me still gripping harder as drank and drank from him. His eyes looked at me, mouth open as he took deep breaths.

The more I drank, the more I needed friction. I rolled my hips against his, seeing him look up at me with a small smirk. Using one hand, he opens my pants, looking up at me curiously. I nod, before I feel him push me back. I feel him pull down my jeans and underwear. I step out of them, getting back onto his lap.

I let go of his wrist, “Please.”

“It’s been a while,” He mutters to himself, looking at me.

“Kyungsoo, if you want to fuck me then fuck me. Trust me, you won’t as bad as ninety percent of the people I’ve been with,” I say, licking at the crimson liquid before putting my mouth over the wound, drinking again. The lime smell was stronger now, the taste refreshing in a way.

“People, hm,” He asks, looking up at me.

I nod, winking. I reach down with my other hand, unbuckling his belt and pulling the button lose. He makes no movement to stop me, just watching me as I unzip his pants. It took me a few second to pull him from his pants, but when I did I immediately sank down, moaning as the blood spilled down my lips and chin.

A moment later my body was rocked forward, my ass stinging as his hand massages where he hit it with soft touches. “Move,” He growled. I looked, seeing his eyes glow a little, a bit of a growl in his throat as I started to move bouncing as he watches. Giving no hint to if he like it or not other than the occasional moan when I sucked harshly from his wrist.

“Stop drinking,” He says, the growl rumbling in his chest making him feel dangerous and sexy at the same time. If he wasn’t already deep in my pussy it would have made my panties drop almost instantly. I let go, licking the wound, healing it. Before I could move that hand was at the base of my hair, pulling it. I let out a cry of shock and pain.

Let moves my head, licking my chin before pressing his soft lips to mine. The taste of blood on them as I groaned, running my hands down his chest. Another slap to the ass makes me cry out, tears coming to my eyes.

“I don’t recall telling you that you could touch me,” He says, the deep voice sending shivers down my spine.

Hearing him like this, the usual calm and quiet Kyungsoo being like this hot dom badass had an immediate effect on me. “I’m sorry- ah!”

“It’s ‘I’m sorry sir’,” He says, slapping my ass once more.

“I’m sorry sir,” I say, looking at him as he held me still in place.

“Good,” He says with a smile, “Are you ok with his? My hitting you?”

“Yes sir,” I say, nodding enthusiastically.”

He smirks, “Now, take off the rest of your clothes for me.”

“Yes sir,” I mutter, pulling my shirt over my head, tossing it to the side before quickly throwing my bra to the side too. Kyungsoo looks at my chest, back to me.

“I just got them done today sir,” I say with a smile.

His hand reaches out, taking me by the throat and squeezing. I could practically feel the blood pumping through my veins struggle. “Don’t speak unless I tell you, slut.”

I nod, struggling out the words, “Yes sir.”

Even with my new vampire senses, he was still fast. Shoving me off of him so that I laid down on the couch. “Stay,” He says, standing. I look over, seeing him take his clothes off. “You keep breaking my rules, Ava. What am I supposed to do about it?”

“Anything,” I say, watching him get his belt from his pants before pushing them down.

He looks at me, “Anything?” He quickly pulls off his shirt, tossing it to the ground before looking back at me. “What if I wanted to hit you with this?”

“Please sir,” I say, “I deserve it. I’ve been such a naughty slut. Teach me a lesson.”

He nods, folding it. He looks at me, watching as he quickly uses the leather belt. The sting was sharp, painful as I let out a cry in pain. It hit the very bottom of my ass. I looked at him, watching him as his eyes glance over me carefully, making sure I was ok.

“Harder, please sir,” I say, feeling my arousal dripping from the first hit alone as I raised my ass up, giving him a better target.

He moves to the side of the couch, looking at me. Everything about his demeanor was calm and collected. Giving nothing away at all. “Open your mouth. Since you don’t know how to shut up, I might as well give you something to do with it.

I open my mouth, feeling him shove his cock in it roughly, making me choke. I moan, tasting the precum from his tip as he rocks his hips. I suck on it, looking up at him as I see him lean over, The slap of the belt was loud, as I tried to cry out in pain around the thick cock in my throat.

“That’s what I like,” He said. “Your ass looks good like this.”

The next hit was harder, bringing tears to my eyes. I glance up, seeing him looking at me, the calm look on his face. He take the belt in both hands, using it to press my head, keeping them flush to him. His cock all the way down my throat, unmoving as I try to swallow around it, making myself choke. He moves it back, letting me get a gasp of hair before pressing it back. Spit was dripping from my mouth as he slammed his hips into my face. The sounds of him fucking my throat raw were loud before he moved the belt. One last painful slap to the ass as I yelled, the pain morphing into pleasure to me. Tears were falling down my face as I just smiled, looking up at him, watching him with the belt. He has it folded in half, pushing the folded end through the metal clasp.

“There,” He says, looking at me. I looked at him, seeing a few scars on his body. The one on his stomach a bit redder, looking fresh. That must have been caused by me. “Are you going to disobey me again,” He asks, moving to me. He takes my hands behind my back. He takes the loop of the belt, putting it around my wrists before tightening. If I really wanted, I could break out of it, but the feeling of it and knowing I was like his sex slave was hotter than the desire to show off my new strength.

“No sir,” I say, looking at him.

He smiles, “Good little slut. Get on your knees with your face to the back of the couch.”

I moved quickly, my legs wobbling as I hisses at the pain from my ass. He pushed me so I was against it, my chest and upper body over the back as he get on his knees on the couch.

“If you disobey me again, I have no problem using you and leaving you without letting you cum,” He says, his hand finding my hair, pulling on it. “Am I clear?”

“Yes sir,” I say, feeling him rub my entrance with just the tip.

“Beg,” He growls, the sound rumbling in his chest.

I moan hearing it. The grip on my hair making me face forward, “Please fuck me! I want it so bad, I need it, please!”

I gasp, feeling him slam his hips forward. The feeling of his skin touching my sore and beaten ass made me yell out. The sting delightful as his other hand went to my hip, steady me as he, without letting me have a moment’s rest, pushes his hips to mine in a lightning fast pace. My toes curling, feeling him slide in and out of me quickly. The hand in my hair yanking, pulling it and making me moan.

Other than commands, Kyungsoo was fairly quiet. A grunt here or there, but he wasn’t really vocal. I, on the other hand, am making enough noise for the both of us. The hand in my hair left, dropping me and slapping my ass again. His cock hitting me in the best ways, making me shake as he fucked into me like he was desperate.

I was getting close, and I could tell he was too. Before I could reach that high, he pulled out. I feel him push me so that I was sitting on my knees facing him as he stood, hand working himself. I looked up at him, opening my mouth and closing my eyes as I feel his warm cum hit my face. Some on my forehead, some on my nose, most in my mouth as he groaned loudly. The loudest he’s been the whole night.

He looks down at my face smiling, his thumb wiping some of the cum on my lips as I lick it. With a quick push, I was sitting on my butt as he pushed my legs open, tongue licking up my slit without hesitation.

“Look at you,” He says, using one hand to push my folds apart. “Covered in cum. You looks so pretty like that, don’t you?”

“Thank you for letting me have your cum sir,” I say, licking my lips, trying to get it all.

“You’re welcome,” He says, “I suppose I should reward you for being a good girl.”

“Please,” I get, feeling three of his fingers slip inside me, finding that bundle of nerves instantly, making my eyes want to roll back.

His tongue found my clit, flicking it with the softest of tongues as his fingers were ruthless. The juxtaposition of the two was mind numbing, making me cry in delight.

One harsh suck on my clit and he moves, fingers slowing as me moves , pressing his lips to mine in a heated kiss. He runs his tongue over my fang. It was duller than before, but still quite sharp. The taste of his blood in the kiss, combined with his hand fingering me mercilessly and his thumb adding friction to my clit sent me over as I was yelling into his mouth, sucking on the small cut on it. The feeling of it made my body feel hot as I lick the wound, healing it before laying back.

Kyungsoo smiles at me. Moving me gently and freeing my hands. A quick trip to the kitchen and he was wiping wiping the cum from my face. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him to me and resting my head on his chest.

“Didn’t take you for a cuddlier,” He says with a small smile, his hands softly drifting against my skin.

“I get that a lot,” I murmur, pressing my lips to his, kissing softly and slowly. It was sensual in a way, without feelings. Just a nice fun kiss between friends as his hand was massaging my ass. I hiss, as he looks at me, pulling away from his kiss.

“Perhaps I should have been gentler,” he says, his hot breath against my neck as his kisses the skin there.

Something about this is telling me that he, too, is a cuddler. “I would have been pissed if you did,” I say, hearing him laugh softly against the skin of my neck. “By the way, you sure don’t fuck like it’s been a while. Holy shit that was awesome.”

A small embarrassed laugh, “Well, that’s nice to know.”

“Seriously, though, maybe you should work part time with Sehun and Jongin. Because you are one sexy dom, holy shit, “I say, feeling him laugh. “I serious! Hearing you talk dirty like that is an instant panty dropper.”

“Just shut up, Ava,” He mutters, lips taking mine in a kiss before I could say anything else. ~~

I fell asleep after Kyungsoo left. We showered, and after, I dried myself off and got into bed, texting Minseok where I was.

What I wasn’t expecting when I woke up was to be greeted by the sight of Yixing. He was on the bed, flipping through channels on the television. He glances over, the smile he sent my way a bit tense. His hair tied back, ears free of any piercings. The shirt he wore was dark green, no accessories or anything on him. He looked a bit worried, but trying to hide it for my sake.

“I have to ask a favor from you,” He says, calmly. “So… we’ve decided to ask the Seelie Queen for help.”

“Isn’t she the one who kicked you out or whatever,” I ask groaning as I looked at the alarm clock. One in the morning.

“Yeah,” He says, “So, she agreed to meet. Junmyeon can’t go because some issues rose up. Which is fine, because he mostly just wants myself there. However, I know her. She’ll be more likely to agree to help if we… how do I put this,” He asks himself, sitting up. “If she sees interesting beauty.”

“What the fuck does that mean,” I ask, sitting up.

“There’s something about you, Ava, that is beautiful. An aura of magic that exists. Everyone has one but yours is different. Sehun is coming with us because his is like that too. Different. Odd. Beautiful,” He explains, “But, I warn you, stay near me and listen. Junmyeon isn’t thrilled I’m taking you, and Minseok only agreed because Sehun would stop you if needed. Granted he said he trusts you, but…”

“Better safe than sorry,” I say, “When do we leave?”

“Now. Get dressed,” He says, getting up. A little bit of glitter on the bed where he was. I smirk, knowing Taemin is going to flip his shit when he sees that.

I got up, going into my closet. I smile, seeing my trusty leather jacket hanging up, looking perfectly clean. I slip on some black jeans, pulling on a random shirt. I look at it, the thread bare black shirt for a bar I use to go to back in Austin. Black, of course, with red writing of the name of the place. Casino el Camino. The lemon pepper chicken sandwich and the chili cheese fries was my go to all the time when I lived there. Gained a few pounds and didn’t give a fuck because the place was nice.

Socks, boots and my jacket, I quickly tied my hair back, just in case. I see Yixing walking towards the door, opening and letting Sehun in, who was leaning against the wall. His eyes have calmed down, looking tired as he pulls his jacket close. I could see, in his long coat, the glimmer of the archangel blade. I reach, searching for the knife. It was there, in the pocket of the jacket.

Yixing looks at us, “Listen, if she does anything to me… let it happen. Don’t step in, no matter how much you want to. There are rules of the court and it doesn’t matter if I was requested back, I’m still considered the lowest of the low.”

Sehun glares, “You’re kidding, right?”

“If they ask for your weapons, refuse and say something like ‘I shall only be weaponless if you are’. They will not give theirs up and they can’t ask you do to something they won’t when it comes to weapons,” He instructs.

Yixing places his hands to my forehead, muttering something that sounds like grass swaying in the wind. I could feel a chill run over me as he look over me.

“That will protect you from being charmed. They would not kill you, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t take you as a slave or a bargaining chip. They would trick you into their servitude,” He mutters, before taking my hand and Sehun’s. “Listen to me. Don’t interrupt. Don’t give them your weapons. Got it?”

I nod, and Sehun rolls his eyes, agreeing hesitantly.

A quick flash, and it felt like I was floating, the world swirling around us before I was dropped back down. I brace myself, holding onto Yixing’s hand tightly.

The grass below our feet was purple, shining in the light of the moon. I look, seeing glittering stars and galaxies all around us. The trees are blue, the leaves green and glowing. I look to Sehun, who looks just as confused at all this as I am. The air was a bit chilly here, even more so than in New York as of late. Out the corner of my eye I see a deer, black with glowing antlers as eyes. The blue shifted to a yellow, as it froze, looking at us.

There was a moment when I could see the happiness in Yixing’s eyes. This place, where ever we are, was his home. I could tell he missed it a lot from his smile, looking at everything around us. Then, it was like it hit him, the smile turning into a pained frown. The moment he felt at home ripped away, knowing he can never really return back here for good.

Yixing looks forward, seeing a large camp in the distance with light coming from it. The sound of music playing as he looks into it from the hill we are on.

Tents made of trees and bushes, surrounding a pink large flame at the edge of the forest. Fae stand guarding the entrance of the trees, on alert.

He shakes off the sadness, putting it behind him, apparently. Yixing looked back, “Follow me. Be careful. Remember what I said.”

There was something about the fear in Yixing’s eyes that made me all the more uneasy about this

#exo fanfiction #exo smut #exo scenarios #kyungsoo smut #exo fanfic #exo series

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