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ronaldofandom · 9 months

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To Be or Not to Be (Part 2)

Here is the 2nd & final part.

Tons of angst, but salvaged in the end. As promised. No warnings.

Plot: Bheem & Jenny visit Jenny's friend's house. Chaos ensues there. And Jenny figures out the issue between Ram & Bheem.

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Part 1

Part 2

Ram’s words had really rattled him.

They hurt like hell, yes. What made it worse, though, was that it raised a bigger question for Bheem.

Did everyone think what Ram thought about Jenny? His own tribe as well? Sita? Did they all still see her for the colour of her skin and not how she had been with them the last 5 months? Was she….dispensable….for them as well? Someone not worth fighting for? Was their acceptance of her just lip service, for his sake?

It made Bheem’s heart hurt. His mind went into a frenzied spin.

He went to the place that usually gave him solace during such tumultuous emotions. He went to swim, to clear his head.

The water was chilly, given the time of the year and the almost set sun. It cut through his senses, making him temporarily forget all other sensations. That worked wonders.

After an extended dive, he just floated aimlessly in the water. While his heart & mind battled with each other.

Surely, his people had taken to Jenny, right? Malli had been asking him from day 1 when she could start calling Jenny Vadhina instead of Akka. Likewise, Loki had been planning their wedding since she arrived, offering to do the rituals his Amma would have done otherwise. The village elders and tribal council were ecstatic when he told them about their courtship and proposal.

How can you be sure though? Screamed his pained heart. You didn’t know Ram’s true feelings either. How can you be sure of anything anymore?

And it was true. He couldn’t be sure of what others felt. But he knew what the two of them felt and that was enough. It would have to suffice. Because the alternative would make him want to dive into the water again & never come up.

He also knew there wasn’t much time to wallow in his tribulations. Arrangements had to me made for the trip. Escape plans needed to be handy, should they be required. A sense of purpose took over again & he slowly strutted back to the village.

When he told Jenny that they would be going day after tomorrow, the girl was on seventh heaven. She threw her arms around his neck & kissed his face profusely, thanking him with all her heart.

This happiness was worth all his tribulations. His troubles paled in front of it.

He got her to write a response to Carol, in a way that only she would understand. Once the logistics were sorted, he looked into her eyes, dead serious, and made her promise to follow all his instructions till they return back.

Jenny was quite familiar with that look by now. He was this firm with her only when it was about her safety. Ofcourse she was going to cooperate. She would never want to add to his worries.

The dinner was a happy affair. Jenny chatted away about many stories of Carol & her. Bheem just looked at her & smiled, trying to capture all these moments to memory.

However, the night turned suddenly desolate. A strange sense of finality hung in the air. As if, things were going to change forever. As if, tonight was all that he had left with her. As if, the sweet little world that he had built with her would evaporate in thin air tomorrow.

She was laying in his arms, yet it felt like she was somehow slipping away. He needed to be closer to her to believe she was here.

Jenny was half asleep when he grabbed her waist & turned her around to face him. Next instant, his lips were on hers, demanding a response. She smiled and let him in, giving in to his urgency.

They stayed glued to each other for the next few hours. Alternating between sweet caresses & frenzied lovemaking.

Such spontaneous escapades were not new for them. But this one felt different to Jenny. This wasn’t just him seeking togetherness, comfort, love or solace. This had a sense of desperation, helplessness, possessiveness and even a hint of….sadness.

She grabbed his face, trying to read the myriad of emotions swimming in those stunning orbs. Was this another one of those weak moments when she needed to reassure him of her love?

‘Stay with me.’

He whispered against her cheek. A near whimper.

‘Stay mine. Forever. P-please.’

His voice broke as his fingers dug into her skin, harder than usual.

She kissed his face fervently, trying to match his urgency, pulling him back on top of her.

‘Shhhhh. I am right here, honey. I love you.’

After another hour of clinging on to each other, she passed out in his arms. Mentally & physically exhausted.

He pulled her on top of him & held on to her. Taking in her scent. Smelling her hair. Feeling her warmth against his skin. Caressing her body gently with his fingers & palm, so as not to wake her. Willing his eyes to not spill. Fruitlessly trying to prolong the night and hold back these moments.

Next noon, when they went to the small temple in the village courtyard, before starting on their journey, they encountered Ram & Sita on the way.

Jenny started walking towards Sita to greet her, but Bheem pulled her back, firmly holding on to her wrist.

‘We should go. Else we won’t make it to the city by nightfall.’

The tension in the air was palpable. It was very strange to watch the two men not greet each other with a handshake or a side hug or beaming smiles. Instead, they looked at each other with a blank face, devoid of any emotions.

Jenny looked at Sita with concern, who just nodded at her in return, nudging her to carry on & not press the topic right now.

Sita had repeatedly urged Ram last night to make things right with Bheem before their city trip. To not let this wound fester. She was astute enough to realise that Bheem’s forgiveness won’t come readily if the affected party is Jenny. It won’t be how he had readily forgiven him in the past.

But Ram had been adamant that, while his choice of words were inappropriate, his point still stood valid. He would prioritise Bheem’s safety over their togetherness in a heartbeat. How could this love, this passion of mere 5 months take precedence over EVERYTHING else? Ram couldn’t wrap his head around this insanity. Madness. Naïveté. Ignorance. And borderline foolishness.

It’s not your call to make. It doesn’t become madness just because you can’t relate to such depths of love.

Sita had thought this inwardly but had given up trying to explain this to Ram. Both Ram & Bheem could be like stubborn mules when they wanted to be. Hence, she nodded to Jenny to let it go for now.

As they walked away, Jenny intertwined her fingers with Bheem’s, as a sign that she was always there to talk about whatever was bothering him. He squeezed her hand in response but didn’t say anything.

The journey to the city was smooth, must to Bheem’s relief. They reached the safe house on the outskirts of the city by nightfall. While Jenny slept peacefully that night, brimming with excitement for the following day, Bheem firmed up some emergency escape plans with the fellow rebels, should it come to that tomorrow. Once done, he laid next to her, and just stared at her angelic face all night. Not wanting to waste a single moment in sleeping.

Next morning, they set out to the house in the back of a mini supply truck. Carol had offered to send a car or drive it herself but Bheem didn’t think it wise to be in an open vehicle in that part of the city. Upon reaching the address, they went via the backyard, as planned.

As Jenny rushed towards the stairs leading up to the door, Bheem quickly scanned the area for any signs of trouble. It looked like Carol had delivered on her promise. There were no British soldiers or staff in sight.

Carol had been pacing near the window and before Jenny could even knock on the back door, she flung it open. The two women paused, looked at each other, trying to believe that this was moment was real. Then, they crashed into each other and just burst into tears.

Jenny didn’t think she was going to see any of her loved ones from her prior life ever again. And she had made her peace with it. But this…had been so unexpected. She hadn’t anticipated such an outburst. Frankly, she wasn’t even sure why she was bawling her eyes out. Tons of lost memories came flooding back and the women just sobbed into each others’ arms.

Bheem, who was a few steps away, just observed from a distance. Tremendously moved by the emotion on display.

His heart could feel the joy & pain of the reunion. He was so happy for her. But this was a cruel reminder that despite his best efforts to give Jenny the love of everyone she had left behind, he had clearly fallen short.

His mind also started to play games. Making analogies with how Malli had cried & held on to him when he first found her behind the palace bars. When she was in captivity and looking for a way…..out.

Of all the outcomes he was fretting over, this thought hadn’t even crossed his mind earlier. That Jenny herself may not want to come back. It was such a kick to his gut that he nearly tumbled behind. But by then, Jenny had composed herself & walked towards him.

She smiled, held his hand & led him up the stairs. Carol put on her best manners to greet him. But Bheem didn’t miss the doubt & resentment she was clearly trying to mask. Frankly, he couldn’t blame her. In fact, Bheem gave her credit for how hard she was trying, for Jenny’s sake.

Carol led them in. Jenny & Bheem followed behind, hand in hand. The two women were chattering away at a rapid pace but Jenny never let go of Bheem’s hand. Never letting an awkward moment set in. Rubbing small circles on the back of his hand with her thumb.

Once convinced of no imminent danger in the house, he finally let himself relax & focus on his surroundings. The house was lavish & grand. It was minuscule when compared to the Delhi palace but it still had most of the luxuries & comforts of a palatial abode.

Bheem suddenly felt….out of place here. Exactly how he had felt in Jenny’s room that day. They had settled on the dining table, where some refreshments were being served by an Indian cook. He seemed to be the only one in the house other than Carol. The food looked strange. All the little steel items looked very puzzling. The plate looked so fancy & fragile. Bheem’s appetite turned to dread at the idea of eating at this table.

Jenny’s hand in his was a steady comfort, and he squeezed it for reassurance. When she turned around, Bheem reached out to wipe the tear stains from her face. She giggled at her silliness & he managed to smile back at her.

When Bheem yelped at the first sip of his tea, that she had mixed for him, Jenny blew into the cup. Then tasted it herself for temperature before handing it back to him. Both drinking from the same cup.

Carol observed their little exchanges keenly.

‘You two must be tired after the journey. Do you want to freshen up? I have the guest room set up for you.’

‘Oh, that sounds lovely. We will be back in a jiffy.’

Jenny tugged at Bheem’s hand and walked to the room that Carol had pointed towards.

The room looked a lot like Jenny’s room from the palace. Bheem’s treacherous mind again wondered if Carol had done that on purpose, to remind Jenny of how life used to be. Before she met him.

As Jenny freshened up, Bheem walked around the room aimlessly. Unable to decide where to even sit. Everything looked so shiny and expensive and soft. And new. He didn’t want to leave stains on anything without washing himself.

‘Thank you. For everything.’

Jenny hugged him from behind, resting her head on his shoulder. He covered her hands with his and squeezed lightly.

‘Anything for you.’

He felt her lips curve into a smile, as she snuggled further into his frame.

‘Your friend must be waiting. Why don’t you catch up with her? I will get some rest in the meanwhile.’

‘Are you sure? Is everything ok, honey?’

Bheem was glad that he had his back to her, so she couldn’t see his face.

‘Yes, everything’s fine. I am just a little tired. Couldn’t get much sleep last two days.’

She knew that was true, so didn’t press the matter further.

‘Sure, get some rest. God knows you need it. I will send something for you to eat.’

With one last cuddle & a kiss to the back of his head, she untangled herself from him & walked out. Bheem immediately missed her touch. And presence.

In the next few minutes, she sent over some refreshments. He knew Jenny had handpicked these because it was different from the spread he had seen on the table. This was stuff that she knew would be palatable to him.

Bheem settled down on the floor, finding that to be the most comfortable spot. And managed to gulp down a few items.

Then, after washing himself thoroughly for any visible stains, he finally moved to the bed. The mattress was too soft. And the sheet was too silky. He almost slipped the first time he tried to settle down.

The ceiling was too high. The bed was too big - he wondered how distant two people would be on a bed like this. Together but still apart. The room was atrociously large - as big as the school in the town nearest to his village.

Jenny was brought up with all these material luxuries. She could still go back to it all, if his love wasn’t holding her back. This was her birthright. This was the life she was destined for. Not the basic sustenance & modest belongings she had been reduced to.

Bheem couldn’t shake the thought that he was being selfish. That he was the guilty party here. That Carol was right - he had wronged her friend in more ways than one. By keeping her for himself.

It wasn’t too late. Maybe this was universe’s sign for him to make things right. Should he…should he just….let her go then? Is this what fate was pointing him to? Carol’s letter, Ram’s disapproval, visiting this place - were the stars aligning to make him see the light of the day?

Bheem buried his face in the pillow, soaking the soft fabric with his tears.

Not everyone gets blessed with love in their life. A love worth dying for. A love worth killing for. A love that consumed every other feeling. For most people, it’s a fantasy. A fairly tale concocted to give hope. But Bheem had found his love. His soulmate. He was living his fairytale.

Was his time up? Were the gods demanding him to give her up, after everything he had already lost in his life?

The memories of the last 8 months would suffice him for a lifetime. Even though the separation would rip his heart out, he would never regret a moment spent with her. Never wish it to not have happened.

It would make everything simpler for others. His tribe won’t have to adjust with an outsider all their life. He could go back to being fully devoted to his duty of being the Gond protector. He could focus single-mindedly on the needs of the revolution, without any distractions. That sure would please Ram. He wouldn’t have to constantly worry about her every time he was away on a mission. He won’t have to live with the guilt of snatching her life away from her. He had caused all this by asking her to come with him. Now, maybe he was destined to end it.

And she…well…she would be distraught. He knew that. She would be as heartbroken as he would be. But maybe….with time….and familiar surroundings…she would heal. And maybe she would find someone who would treasure her almost as much as he did. Who could give her a lot more than he ever could. Above all, she would be safe & well taken care of.

Her outburst from earlier was still playing on his mind. Was she holding her feelings in for his sake? Was she hurting inside but not letting it out? That would make her resent him at some point. Wouldn’t it be the wise thing to get ahead of that situation and act on it now?

Should he just leave? There would be no way for her to trace him. She didn’t know the path to the safe house or to the village. Maybe she would think that he brought her here only to leave her behind. Maybe the betrayal would help her heal faster. Maybe that’s the only way, because no amount of reasoning with her would make her see the point right now. Maybe that’s how to save her, even though it would inflict the worst pain imaginable.

To both of them.

Without her, he would be lost. He would immerse himself in his duties and in the service of his people. And would go back to living on the portions of affection he got from his tribe. But nothing would come close to her love. He wouldn’t dream of ever replacing her with anyone else. His heart belonged to her, even if she were to go away. It was her or no one else.

The village would start to haunt him. Every nook & cranny a cruel reminder of blissful moments spent with her. Maybe he could take up missions away from the village. Places with no familiar traces of her. Yes, he could put on a brave face. No one will know how he would be dying inside. No one ever knew. Other than her. No one read his face like she did. Quite simply because no one loved him like she did.

Bheem cried & cried into the pillow, muffling his sobs & hiccups by covering his mouth. At some point, exhaustion took over & he fell into a restless sleep, filled with nightmares.

Jenny came back a few hours later to find him twisting & turning on the bed. She snuggled into his side, wanting to find a few moments of peace in this god-awful day.

His arms wrapped around her, stroking her hair & her back.

‘What happened?’

‘Nothing. We spoke for hours and ran out of things to talk about.’

‘Jenny.’

He used a tone to clearly communicate he wasn’t buying any of that. Then, he kept her hand on his head and asked her again.

She sniffled into his chest, and his arms tightened around her.

‘I….it was a mistake. I should have never asked you to bring us here. She doesn’t get it, Bheem. She doesn’t get us. She isn’t happy for me, for us. I thought she would be the only one to understand but she doesn’t.’

This didn’t come as any surprise to Bheem.

‘What did she say? Tell me.’

‘No. It doesn’t matter what she said. I don’t want to revisit that. It’s of no consequence to me.’

‘But it matters to me. I am asking for a reason, Jenny. Please?’

She couldn’t refuse him, even if she tried. So she edited out some parts & shared the less hurtful bits.

‘She said that it’s time for this adventure to be over. That it’s not practical. I am not using my head. She thought I would stay with you for a few months & then return. After having an experience of a lifetime. After living the highs of an exotic, passionate love, I would return to my senses & to the life always destined for me. She said I am being a foolish, brainless girl by throwing away my life & my fortune. All to follow this notion of love. Which will burn out one day & I will be left with nothing.’

Jenny couldn’t tell him that Carol also doubted whether Bheem’s interest in her was purely carnal or if there was more to it. One day she will not be as pretty & he won’t fawn over her as much. She was depriving not just herself but her future kids also of everything life was meant to offer to them. How was that fair to the kids? How could she be that selfish?

She had also said that while Jenny had given up her world readily for Bheem, he would never do the same for her. If not UK, they could have settled in the US where people of colour had also gotten rights after the civil war. And Jenny had enough family in the free world. She could also access her fortune in that geography. They could be together yet live with all the comforts. Away from the clutches of the empire. However, Bheem would never do that for Jenny. He won’t follow her blindly like she had followed him. What kind of love was this, when only one side had to give up everything?

Bheem could tell she had omitted a few things, but he got the drift of what was said. And how Jenny would have reacted to the whole thing.

He lifted her arms and settled her on the pillow on her side, facing him. Jenny held his palm & kept it under her cheek, leaning into it.

‘Is love always supposed to be this hard? Have you ever wondered why it couldn’t be easier for us?’

‘We don’t value the things that we get easily in life. Maybe that’s what makes this worth fighting for.’

She said without missing a beat. Without an iota of doubt.

‘People will never get it, Jenny. They will never understand. Even the ones closest to us. The ones who know us the best. The ones who love us the most. No one will get it. Can you live with that?’

She cupped his cheek and stroked his beard.

‘This isn’t about them. This is about us. They don’t need to understand, as long as we know where we stand. It doesn’t have to make sense for them, as long as we commit to make it work. Honestly, the naysayers haven’t felt love like this. That’s why they don’t know why we do what we do to make it work. Why the alternative is not an option. They don’t have what we have, my love.’

The confidence, trust, assurance and determination in her voice chipped away at his fears.

‘Will that be enough, especially if this happens?’

He stroked her belly while saying this, and she instantly knew what he meant.

‘Not if, when. When this happens. And yes, if our love is enough for us, it would be enough for the little ones too.’

His voice broke & she kissed his forehead, knowing fully well how much having a family meant to him.

But this time, while gazing into his orbs, she didn’t miss the emphasis on the words ‘the ones closest to us’. It took her no time to connect the dots.

‘Your tiff with Ram - it’s because of this right? He said something about me, about us?’

The pain in his eyes told her all that she needed to know. Despite herself, she came to Ram’s defence.

‘He loves you, Bheem. You know that. He would have said it with your best interest in mind. To protect you, save you from something.’

Bheem looked so appalled by that statement that she paused to reconsider what she had said.

‘By that logic, your friend loves you. She said what she said to protect you from what she thinks is not in your best interest. Do you forgive her? Do you feel bouts of affection for her right now?’

He shut her up decisively with his logic. She made one last attempt, because she could see how much this was hurting him.

‘Carol & Ram are not the same. We never have to see her again but Ram is an integral part of your life. This rift…will continue to cause you pain. Would it not be wise to just let it go, just this once?’

This time, the anger on his face almost made her retreat.

‘You are right, Carol & Ram are not the same. Carol doesn’t know me. Hence she has made these assumptions about me, about us. But Ram has seen you for months. MONTHS. He has seen everything we have been through. Everything you have done to adapt to our world. Heck, he has been my confidante through it all. If after that also, he doesn’t know my heart, doesn’t understand us, then he is much worse than Carol. A zillion times worse. When he disrespected our love, he disrespected me. He insulted me. HE HURT ME. I don’t give anyone the right to speak of you this way. ANYONE.’

His teeth gritted with anger, pain and frustration. Jenny scooted closer into his side, stroking his chest.

‘Shhh. I am sorry. You are right. This is between you and him. I should not have presumed to know the context. I trust you to make the right call at the right time. And, I am always here to support you in whatever call you make.’

His breathing eased after some effort, and Jenny leaned in to kiss his cheeks. He was still very stiff, though, so she decided to change the subject.

‘Being with you in this room reminds me of when you came to my room in Delhi. Gosh, I was so excited that day. Flailing here & there. Thinking if you liked me too. Or if it was all in my head. That day, after you left, I imagined what it would be like if you…kissed my hand. Or my cheeks. Or…my lips.’

She looked up to find him gazing intently at her.

‘I thought about you too, you know.’

‘You did?’

‘Yes. A few weeks after we had escaped Delhi, we were in a small town. Everyone had gotten a good meal that night & a comfortable place to sleep. They all passed out after dinner but my fears didn’t allow me to sleep. I was exhausted, had barely rested at all in a month. I shut my eyes for a few moments, trying to find some magic wand to bring me some comfort & peace. Then I saw you. In that yellow dress from the party. You were smiling at me & then you looped your arms around my neck. I felt such bouts of warmth & coziness in that moment that my whole body started tingling. It felt like a warm blanket had wrapped around me. Like 100 puppies were nuzzling into my face. Like my Amma was singing a lullaby to me, as I rested my head into her lap. I pulled you close and my eyes dropped down from yours, to your cheeks and then to your lips. I couldn’t stop looking. I couldn’t stop tracing them with my eyes. I couldn’t stop wondering if you would ever….if I could ever….if someone like me could even dream this unreal dream of…if gods could ever smile on me that way. When I opened my eyes, something had changed in me. I knew then….how much I missed you.’

Bheem wiped the tears that had involuntarily escaped her eyes.

‘You….never told me this before.’

‘I guess I was waiting for the right moment.’

‘Bheem. Take me home. I want to go home.’

When Bheem looked at her wide-eyed, she repeated her words slowly.

‘Take. Me. To. Our. Home.’

Home. HOME. She was here yet she didn’t think of it as her home. She wanted to go with him. To his home. To their home.

Bheem leaned over her & gave her a bear hug. A crushing bear hug. She struggled underneath him, since he had forgotten to balance his weight on his elbows.

‘Gosh - move Bheem. Do you have any idea how heavy you are?’

He realised what he had done & balanced himself over her but didn’t move away just yet. Not before catching her lips in a deep kiss. She stopped struggling immediately.

‘Remember this kiss as you think of us together in your room that day.’

They left soon after, spending the rest of the day in the city & the night in the safe house. Reaching their village early evening the following day.

As they walked up the mud path, Bheem admired the way Jenny deftly navigated the terrain, barely needing any help from him anymore. His heart swelled with pride at how much she had accomplished in a short period of time. How much she had given to be one of them.

He decided to speak to the village council to not wait for 3 months for the next auspicious wedding date. He didn’t want to wait that long to marry her. She had wanted to follow all traditions and hence wait for 3 months but after the last few days, Bheem just wanted to make their commitment final. To tie them together in an unbreakable bond. To shut all the naysayers up. Once she is his wife, he would dare anyone to speak of her, of them, the way Ram had spoken.

On their wedding day, he would also take a promise from Jenny that if anything were to happen to him or if he was in imminent danger, she would consider going back. He had managed to speak to Carol before they left & figured out that Jenny was considered kidnapped / missing by the British. She wasn’t a suspect. So she could always go back later, saying she escaped. That’s why he had taken Carol’s permanent coordinates. She may think whatever of him but she would be an ally when it comes to Jenny’s safety.

Bheem walked, deep in thought, almost out of muscle memory. But Jenny stopped midway, tugging at his hand which was leading her ahead.

He followed her line of sight to see Ram waiting there, at the edge of the forest, some distance away.

Bheem didn’t know what to feel about it. So he stayed still.

‘Bheem - C’monn. He must have been here since forever. He had no way of knowing when we were coming back.’

There was more to Ram’s fears, on whether Bheem was walking into a trap, which she didn’t know. Bheem also knew he wouldn’t have told anyone else and must be fretting over it all alone.

Jenny tugged at his hand again and he huffed in confusion. But in the end, he decided to briefly nod in Ram’s direction. Ram nodded back instantly.

And Bheem started to walk away, dragging Jenny behind him.

‘Are you serious? That’s it? Did he even see you? Shouldn’t you go over & atleast talk to…’

Bheem flipped around to give her a decisive look saying don’t push it. And that he would throw her over his shoulder & carry her back if she doesn’t keep moving.

‘Fine. Alright.’

She pretended to be irritated but smiled inwardly at his antics.

As they walked back, Bheem was convinced that his approach was right. This time, he won’t forgive Ram at the drop of a hat. Ram was not going to get away with hurting his loved ones thoughtlessly.

If Ram wanted Bheem’s forgiveness, he would have to earn it.

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

That's it on my angst train. Hope the journey was worth it. Pls do feel free to let me know what you thought of this one

Won't be able to write in the near future - work is crazy. Hope you enjoyed what you have seen so far.

@irisesforyoureyes @rambheem-is-real @thewinchestergirl1208 @eremin0109 @eenadu-varthalu @rorapostsbl @yehsahihai @budugu @maraudersbitchesassemble @justmeand-myinsight @rambheemisgoated @rosayounan @jrntrtitties @obsessedtoafault @rambheemlove @jjwolfesworld @alikokinav @iam-siriuslysher-lokid @dumdaradumdaradum @lovingperfectionwonderland

@chaanv @ssabriel @milla984 @kaagazkefool @boochhaan @mesimpleone @filesbeorganized @ladydarkey @veteran-fanperson @ronika-writes-stuff @beingmes-blog @yonderghostshistories @nisreenart @chaidrivenwhore @bheemaxrama @mizutaama @rosefulmadness @gifseafins @voidsteffy @maooyinysparkle @amalthea9 @vijayasena @stars-in-the-distance @astrafangs

@orangey-orange @ariel-seagull-wings @atlinmerrick @carminavulcana

#rrr #tarak #jr ntr #bheem #ntr jr #bheem rrr #ram #bheemjenny #jenny rrr #rambheem #charan #sita rrr #rrr ramsita

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cheri-translates · 1 year

Video

[CN] 5th Anniversary - Well Wishes from the VAs

🍒 English translation under the cut 🍒

Bian Jiang (Kiro’s VA)

Hi everyone, I’m Voice Actor Bian Jiang.

Without realising it, it’s the fifth year that I’ve known Kiro. Mm... I still remember that when we first met, Kiro was a sunshine-like and dashing big boy who always wanted to eat snacks behind his agent’s back. Now that I think about it, he was exceptionally cute.

Well, in these five years, I feel like I’ve witnessed Kiro’s growth. Even after experiencing many many heart-gripping moments, Kiro continued to be the brightest star in the night, bringing with him an inextinguishable light to illuminate the darkness. It seems like he never needs others to worry about him. More importantly, I’ve also witnessed how Kiro and the Producer met to the moment their hearts were linked. And now, they’re each other’s suns.

Even though I feel some gnawing pain when the both of you brush past each other, what heartens me is every moment of happiness that the both of you share. I’m very happy to accompany everyone to the fifth year.

Here’s wishing MLQC a happy fifth anniversary. Aside from looking forward to these five years with the Producer and Kiro, I’m also looking forward to many more “five years”, and the many stories that will take place in the future.

A Jie (Gavin’s VA)

Hello to all the Producers. I’m A Jie.

I was looking at the dates a while ago and suddenly realised that it’s been five years since I’ve known Officer Gavin. It’s about time for me to ask Officer Gavin out for a meal again and talk about the past.

Eh, as compared to five years ago, Officer Gavin has changed quite a lot. Of course, these changes are mostly due to the Producer. Ever since he met the Producer, he changed from a fearless and righteous special agent to having a most important worry in his heart. He started to feel anxious and frantic on your behalf, and would also display the cuteness of a big boy without realising it. He’s also finally taking care of his own safety because of you. I would say that this is his biggest improvement.

As his friend, seeing the Producer fulfil his dreams from his youth and continue keeping him company till this day makes me feel sincerely happy on his behalf.

May the Producer and Gavin experience more wonderful things in the world in the future. Finally, I wish MLQC a happy fifth anniversary!

Xia Lei (Lucien’s VA)

Hello everyone, I’m Voice Actor Xia Lei. Time tends to pass by incredibly quickly. In the blink of an eye, it’s been five years since we met. Whenever it’s this time of the year, Lucien and I would reach a tacit agreement and hope to give the Producer a special and meaningful anniversary.

Many rich memories have been left in these five years. Lucien and the Producer have experienced many things together. Releasing fireflies in the forest, capturing the most beautiful sight beneath the aurora, watching old movies on rainy days, and Garda flourishing on the windowsill under meticulous care.

To Lucien, I believe the time he’s spent with the Producer are the most beautiful colours in his heart.

To me, I’ve always been very happy to keep Old Lu company like the Producer, and watch him become a better version of himself bit by bit.

Let me tell you a secret - as compared to the Old Lu from five years ago, the current Old Lu has improved greatly. This is all thanks to our Producer.

Finally, I wish MLQC a happy fifth anniversary. I’d also like to wish our Producer and Lucien happier times together in the future that go beyond five years.

Wu Lei (Victor’s VA)

Hello everyone, I’m Voice Actor Wu Lei. This is my fifth year of knowing Victor. It feels like these precious and memorable five years have gone by in the blink of an eye.

In these five years, I’ve seen many sides of Victor. Because you stepped into his life, you’ve enabled me to discover the more mature and tender side of the “Unsmiling King”. Aside being someone who takes his work seriously, someone who’s filled with passion for life, CEO Victor can also act coy and is a good learner when he’s by the Producer’s side. I can’t help but want to tease him.

I feel that every year is more interesting and meaningful because of CEO Victor and the Producer. I believe that CEO Victor feels the same way as I do.

I truly look forward to the future where the Producer and Victor will create even more miracles. I’m grateful to everyone for these five years.

Finally, I wish MLQC a happy fifth anniversary.

Zhao Lu (Shaw’s VA)

Hello everyone, I’m Voice Actor Zhao Lu.

It’s finally December. I’m really happy to celebrate this memorable day with everyone. From the time I met Shaw, he’s always been a free and brave person. When I’m with him, I’d often run into all sorts of mishaps. But at the same time, I’d receive surprises that go beyond my imagination. I’m really happy to be his friend.

In the time of knowing Shaw, he’s always bringing me along in experiencing the boundless possibilities in life. As compared to me, this is something the Producer is more familiar with. I trust that with him beside the Producer, the Producer would experience many things that are interesting and filled with happiness. Although he isn’t used to saying mushy things, I believe that you can definitely sense that he’s incredibly, incredibly happy to have met you, kept you company, and barge into limitless and unknown adventures.

Ok. Finally, I wish MLQC a happy fifth anniversary. I’d also like to wish all the Producers happiness every day, and that you may create even more possibilities belonging only to the both of you with Shaw in Loveland City.

#mlqc #mlqc cn #Zhao Lu my beloved

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myreia · 4 months

Text

Divergence of the Heart

CHAPTER SIX: PROMISES KEPT, PROMISES MADE

Chapter Rating: Mature (full story rating is Explicit) Characters: Aureia Malathar (WoL), Aymeric de Borel, Thancred Waters, Hilda Ware Pairings: Aureia/Aymeric, Aureia/Thancred, Thancred/Hilda Chapter Words: 7,625 Notes: Set during the Heavensward patches. Summary: Aureia Malathar may have made a name for herself in Ishgard, but her deeds come with a hefty personal toll. Despite her victories at the Grand Melee she has never felt more unsure of herself. Her relationship with Thancred—the person she thought knew her the best—is strained, yet she cannot abandon him. Aymeric is falling for her harder with each passing day, yet she cannot bring herself to accept it. All may be fair in love and war, but at least war is predictable. Love on the other hand… Chapters: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 Read on AO3

Aureia sips at her wine, barely cognizant of the smooth, rich flavour flooding her mouth, distracted as she is by Aymeric. Friendship, he proposed, but it is more than that and they both know it. Something better left unnamed for now. She doubts either of them know where this evening will end, but to be frank, she would rather not think on it. She wants nothing more than to enjoy her time here in his company, without distraction or worry.

The food is as good as it smells, featuring dishes she knows and more that she doesn’t. The last time she had a meal this fine Raubahn lost an arm, but she has a feeling the limbs of all attendees to this dinner are safe tonight. She bites her tongue, refraining from making the joke. Even with a glass and a half in her system, she’s not a fool enough to overshadow the evening with memories of the bloody banquet.

Aymeric is more talkative than she has ever seen him. Of course he is habitually loquacious, rivalling only Urianger for the amount of words he can squeeze into a sentence before running out of breath, but the way he relaxes over the course of dinner brings a smile to her face. The politician is always simmering underneath, but the more their conversation wanders, the less present he becomes. So rarely have they had the chance to talk about topics unrelating to war or politics, she knows she is seeing a side of him he rarely shares with others, if at all.

She knows the feeling all too well. Idle chatter about unimportant things isn’t something she’s used to even among friends. Outside of Tataru’s company, that is. Then again, Tataru makes it a point for her to talk about non-world-ending events on pain of death, so maybe that doesn’t count.

This is good. For both of you.

“…would that I could have seen such a momentous event,” he says, his eyes sparkling with interest. “Thank you, truly—”

“Wouldn’t have been a problem if it wasn’t so bloody cold,” she replies with mock sarcasm. “Why is it so cold here? Is it always so cold?”

“Ah.” He pauses, lowering his fork. “It has been this way for some seven years now. Ever since the Calamity overrode the land with frost and fury.”

“Oh.” She flushes, pressing her lips together. She should have known that; or, at the very least, put two and two together. This side of the world was ravaged by horrors she could only imagine from the safety of her post in Ilsabard when Dalamud fell from the sky. “What was it like before?”

A strange expression falls over his face, lost in thought. Whatever memory he is retreading resonates with fondness and loss. “Green valleys and rolling hills, so vibrant in their colours no painting could capture them,” he says quietly. “Lakes clear as glass reflecting skies of pure azure. I remember there were small periwinkle flowers that bloomed in abundance near Whitebrim Font. My mother… the viscountess… She was very fond of them. Now that I come to think of it, I cannot remember their name.”

He pauses and glances across the table at her, the memory subsiding. “I am certain any botanist could tell you the extent of what was lost far more keenly than I,” he continues conversationally. “A whole land irrevocably changed. We cannot return to what we have lost, but perhaps we can look to what we have gained. A new land sprung up beneath our very feet. In time, who knows what will come to call these snowbound highlands home? As destructive as the Calamity was, I would consider it rebirth rather than destruction. For Coerthas was not destroyed. We remain.”

She smiles. “I like that.”

He returns the smile and reaches for the decanter, refilling his glass. “I suspect you will admonish me for this, yet I must admit I have the desire to apologize for our inclement weather, as far outside my control as it is.”

Aureia snorts, unable to hide her laughter. “Don’t,” she says and pushes her glass across the table. Not necessary, perhaps, but why shouldn’t she be indulgent when in the company of friends? “There’s comfort in it. Familiarity. Predictable, if you know what you’re getting into, what to expect, and come prepared. Too many Eorzeans balk at a little snow.”

“Speaking from personal experience, I presume?”

“It’s not exactly a climate the city-states are used to, no. Three years on this continent and I’ve yet to see genuine snowfall outside of Gridania. It’s funny to think I would have had an easier time adjusting had I found my way to Ishgard rather than Ul’dah. Thanalan was unbearable after Ilsabard. I’m used to snow, not heat. The desert was suffocating enough outside the city, but inside? Like being trapped in a hothouse.”

He pauses, gripping the decanter, and a strange look crosses his face. Too late she realizes the implications of what she has said, the conclusion he must have come to. She flinches, mind whirling as she grasps at any explanation that will do, truth be damned. It’s not that she wants to lie to him—of course she doesn’t, she never has, the thought of it makes her sick to her stomach—but that she can’t bring him into her past. It is not a place she is willing to go with him. He doesn’t deserve to suffer in those trenches with her.

“I take it you spent time in northern Ilsabard, then,” he says carefully and tips the decanter, the deep red liquid pouring out in a rush.

She swallows the lump in her throat, her eyes drawn to his hands. He fills the glass near to the brim and pulls back. A bead of wine bubbles at the lip, clinging to the edge. It falls, the spot splotching the tablecloth. A single crimson spot on a sea of white. Like blood in the snow, Coerthan, Garlean, or otherwise.

Trust him. You have to trust him. If you can’t trust him, you can’t trust anyone.

“I did,” she says finally. “I was there for many years.”

Aymeric sets the decanter down. “The Imperial capital?” he asks.

“Close to it.” Her throat is raw. A lie, of a sorts. Stationed there for a time, but on the outskirts. She never stepped foot in the Imperial palace or the districts that composed the true capital. She may have been born within Garlemald’s borders, but people like her were never considered as such. They would never let a non-native like her, with dangerous magic coursing in her veins, closer than that. “Long enough to adapt. Eorzeans think Garlemald is bitter and unforgiving, but they do not know the half of it. It is far more than the cold and the ice. There is no survival if you are unprepared.”

“I have heard similar when Lucia has seen fit to speak of it. You have all my respect and more, Aureia—” He cuts himself short, laughing awkwardly as he quickly corrects himself. “Of course you always have—I didn’t mean to say that I did not before—but knowing this, even in the smallest capacity, knowing what trials you must have faced on your journey here…”

You don’t know. You have no idea. The bitterness of the thought takes her by surprise and shame flushes her cheeks. How could he know any different? He must be imagining some grand escape by yet another defector with too much good in their heart to endure living in a tyrannical nation. Not an operative with too much blood on her hands, who fled for selfish reasons.

Avoiding his gaze, Aureia reaches for her glass and disappears behind it, taking a long drink. Aymeric exhales a long breath and runs a hand over his chin, lost in thought. If her behaviour is odd to him, he either has not noticed or thinks nothing of it.

“Aureia, may I confess something?” he says after a moment.

She lowers the glass and nods.

“For countless decades Garlemald has been an enemy to all nations upon this star. But oft I have wondered where we would stand had history shown us a gentler hand, one of collaboration and cooperation rather than one of ruthless war. What could we have learned from Garlean expertise had the few not corrupted the many with tyrannical ideals and gluttonous expansionism? What could they have learned from us?”

He leans against the table and holds his gaze to hers, his eyes blazing with passion. How long has he been withholding these thoughts, waiting for the right person to tell? Someone he trusts irrevocably? “Ishgard has its own bloody history, a fanatical fabrication upheld by the very souls charged with her protection while they bled her people dry. As Ishgard recovers, I am left to wonder whether the cycles we have suffered here are not also in play in a land like Garlemald. As our nation has been isolated from the brutality of their war by virtue of being preoccupied by another, I would dare utter this before the Alliance when our coalition is so young and untested. But I believe there is a mirror in our greatest enemy, one that reflects a terrible truth we see in ourselves.”

“I don’t know if many would agree with you,” Aureia replies grimly. “It’s an empire. It’s not a place you can forgive.”

“I do not speak of forgiveness. They have harmed and will continue to harm the world greatly. But to paint every citizen who lives beneath their banners with the same broad stroke does not sit well with me. It would be the height of hypocrisy after what Ishgard herself has partaken in.”

“Perhaps.”

“I am not a faultless man, Aureia, I know this to be true more than anyone. I still have much to learn. But if there is one lesson that has remained with me throughout my time in command, it is that leadership does always speak for the people. Those with power will always have an agenda at play, for good or for ill. I will not condemn civilians for the place of their birth. When they have been shown no other path than one that has led to dogmatic beliefs and unquestioned chauvinism, perhaps they are as much victims of their government’s regime as those who have fallen to Garlemald’s might.”

“And those who are not civilians?” The question is out of her mouth before she can stop herself. “In a future where the Alliance wars with Garlemald and the Empire is brought to its knees, what grace would you extend to those you fought on the battlefield? Would you see them as victims worthy of help or perpetrators deserving of punishment?”

“That is a difficult question. One that has no easy answer.”

What would do you, Aymeric, if you knew? That I was one of those very people.

“I would like to hear it.”

“Then I would say I have none. For war only muddies the waters, never cleanses it. We know all too well how the annals of history are written in the hand of the victor. There are casualties on both sides of any war. If we are to judge our enemies by the harshest laws, then we must look to our own leadership and judge them by the same standards.”

She blinks, uncertain what to say, and looks down, chasing the remnants of her meal across her plate. The evening’s conversation has led them in a direction she didn’t predict. And all from a discussion about the weather…

The again, Aymeric’s sincerity has struck her deeply. She has never known anyone like him, really. His unshaking resolve paired with his unflinching acknowledgement of his own flaws… He has a capacity to see the good in people without excusing terrible actions. What he has told her tonight will stay with her for a long time.

“I apologize.”

His voice interrupts her thoughts. She blinks again, clearing her vision, and finds him staring at her from across the table, concern in his eyes.

“I did not mean to ask you to revisit painful memories,” he continues. “Whatever is in your past you have no obligation to tell me unless you wish to.”

She raises her head and picks up her glass, swirling her wine and fixing him with an arch look. “Did you know you say sorry too much, Aymeric?” she says.

His eyes widen, an embarrassed pink flushing his cheeks. “I—well—perhaps I do, but it is out of respect, is it not? I apologize, I had not realized—” He stops, cutting himself off as he hears the words he has just spoken. Chuckling, he shakes his head at himself and takes his wine in hand. “I am a fool, aren’t I?”

She smiles. “No,” she says, taking a drink. The wine warms her, flushing across her chest. Despite the gravity of their conversation, she feels content. Safe. Happy. “At least, no more than the rest of us.”

“I should strive to do better.”

“You should strive to be no more than yourself.”

Aymeric pauses, once again surprised by her words, and raises his glass to his lips. He drinks deeply, savouring the wine as he regards her from across the table. There’s that look in his face again… The one she can’t place. He seems enchanted and she hasn’t even done anything. Who is she to hold his attention? His friendship? His love? Though she wants to believe differently, she can’t ignore the deep sense of wrong within her. That this is some horrible mistake. That someone like her doesn’t deserve someone like him.

She drums her fingers against the tabletop, desperately searching for a way out. She thinks back, winding the conversation back to before it slipped into uncomfortable territory. The weather. The snow.

An idea forms.

“You know I don’t mind the cold,” she says, raising her glass to her lips. She nurses her wine, her fingers dancing across the table. She waits, noting how he watches her as she turns her palm upwards. With a breath, she commands the smallest threads of aether, her fingers crackling with frost as ice manifests in her hand. It dances above her palm, reflecting the warm glow of the candlelight in its crystalline heart. “I have a few tricks.”

He smiles and watches enraptured, the remains of his meal forgotten. “Ah, of course,” he replies. “The talents of a black mage are never to be underestimated.”

“Useful in Ul’dah.” She relaxes her fingers as the ice splits into three small shards and rotate in a circle above her palm. Show off. “On scorching days when I could barely think.”

Adrenaline is already coursing through her. Creating ice is a shock to the system, jolting her mana regeneration into overdrive. The font is infinite, regenerative, powerful. To have so much mana flood through her at once makes her head spin, her heart beat faster, every fibre of her being pulsing with untouched power. So simple, yet so addictive.

Aureia exhales and dismisses the ice. It dissipates in a puff of air, snuffing out the nearby candles. “This is more helpful here,” she says, summon a small ball of flame. She splits it into three and lets it play across her fingers. The orb burn brightly and happily, the light warming her skin. Fire-aspected aether is so often deemed the crux of destructive magic, but she knows better. As devastating as its power can be, fire can also soothe. Warm the hearth. Light the way. A spark in the darkness. “I don’t need much when travelling the Coerthan wilds.”

Aymeric watches in rapt silence as she twists her hand and sends the orbs flying, each alighting on a candle’s wick and setting it aflame. “Estinien thought I was quite the idiot last year. Running off into the snows by myself.”

He chuckles. “Estinien has a low opinion of all adventurers. Himself included.”

The pained look on his face does not go unnoticed. “He will return someday, Aymeric,” she says.

“I would like to believe it. But some days I am not so certain.”

“I think he was right to leave—”

“Without informing a soul? Vanishing without a trace? That is true to form. He is gone, and for those who remain, those to whom he extended a rare hand of friendship, are left to only speculate where time and tide will take him. Or how many moons will pass before he sees fit to return.”

She pauses, meeting his eyes. She has never heard him speak in anger about those he holds dear, at least not like this. Estinien was a friend to them both, but Aymeric knows him in a way she never will. Their bond runs deep, one of comradeship and brothers-in-arms. That he gave her no notice before departing doesn’t phase her, nor can she blame him for it. She may have very well done the same thing had she been in his place. But for Aymeric… Forget Ishgard, to walk out on him without a word has stung him.

And of course he is too polite to show much anger.

Without thinking much of it, Aureia reaches across the table and slips her hand into his. “I miss him, too,” she says softly. “Give him the time he needs, he deserves that much. As I said, I think he was right to leave. There can be no recovery in a place that reminds him of everything that was done to him.”

He exhales a long breath and closes his eyes. “You are right, of course. I spoke in haste and ill of a very dear friend who deserves compassion and understanding, not grievance and blame. Forgive me.”

“Aymeric. What did I say about you apologizing too much?”

He chuckles, shaking his head, and opens his eyes. She catches a flash of a smile in the flickering candlelight and he squeezes her hand once before retreating. “What say you to another round, my friend?” he says, raising his cup.

Aureia glances downwards. When did she finish her glass? She can’t remember. “Why not?” she replies and grabs the decanter. Normally she would avoid a third glass except on nights when she’s intent on drinking herself into oblivion, but with Aymeric she feels… Well. It’s not like she has anything to do tomorrow. And he offered.

He rises from his chair as she refills their wine, reaching for the platter of pastries and shifting it down the table. They have yet to taste any of them, distracted by their conversation as they are. He returns to his seat and clears his throat, hovering awkwardly as if he is waiting for her to make the first move.

“You must know we Ishgardians enjoy indulging ourselves,” he says, taking his glass from her. “It would be very poor manners indeed for me to deny you the first taste of dessert. Please, go ahead.”

She pauses, arching an eyebrow. There must be a reason for his hesitance. Why does she have the feeling he is planning something? “All right,” she says suspiciously, reaching outwards. She doesn’t know half the names of the desserts on the plate, but a familiar red pastry catches her eye at once. “Oh gods, tell me you didn’t.”

He chuckles with laughter and takes a long drink of his wine, eyes sparkling with mischief. “I heard whispers that you were fond of such little treats.”

“I was! I am! I—”

“Are you blushing, Aureia?”

“No, I—” She shoots him a dirty look. “It’s just that these are made with snurbleberries. What kind of a name is snurbleberry? The Warrior of Light can’t go around announcing she likes snurbleberry tarts, it would ruin the image—oh don’t look at me like that, you know what I mean.”

“Of course.”

“Oh, I… Fine. Perhaps I should consider this vengeance for all the times I’ve teased you.”

“Perhaps. Though, in the spirit of honest conversation, I would be bereft if you stopped. Your spirited remarks are a reminder that I am not confined to the stoic and stately countenance required to be upheld by the Lord Speaker.”

Warmth floods through her. Or is that the wine? “I used to love these,” she says, plucking a tart from the plate. The red berries stain her fingers. “I haven’t had one since I was exiled from Ul’dah. How did you know?”

“As I said, I heard whispers.”

“Mhm.” She takes a bite. “Whispers. I’m sure.”

“And by that I mean to say that I spoke with Tataru. She was quite keen to spill your most closely guarded secret.”

She laughs, mouth full, and finishes the tart. “She’s a good friend. Knows me better than she lets on. We have been through a lot together. Her, me, and Alphinaud.”

He nods, his smile warm. “You have. It was by terrible circumstances that the three of you sought refuge here, but I am forever gladdened that you did. Our lives would be quite changed had it been different.”

The conversations stills, lulled to comfortable silence by sweets and wine. Aureia sips at her drink, pleasantly full and warm, her gaze passing around the dining room. She can’t remember an evening where she has enjoyed herself so thoroughly and so peacefully. When they are on their own—without the meddling of stuffy butlers—there is something about Aymeric that keeps her grounded. At peace.

She doesn’t want this evening to end.

“Aureia,” Aymeric’s voice says quietly, interrupting her thoughts.

“Hm?”

She glances across the table to find him risen to his feet, a hand extended. Ever the gentleman.

“Would you join me in the parlour?” he asks with a half-bow.

She arches an eyebrow. “Am I allowed to bring the wine?”

“I don’t believe I could deny you even if I wanted to.”

Glass gripped in one hand, she follows him through the double-doors at the end and across the threshold into the parlour. The room is smaller to the sitting room they occupied before, though similarly decorated in plush furnishings and soft blues. Cozier. More private. Her gaze wanders, taking in the portraits lining the walls and hung above the hearth. Family portraits, hunting scenes, brave knights and fearsome dragoons… Naegling makes an appearance in more than one. These must be the ancestors of House Borel.

Not his family by blood, but his family by choice.

He settles into a couch by the hearth, resting his wine glass idly on the armrest. She joins him and sinks into the cushions, curling her legs beneath her. He looks different here in the comfort of the parlour. Relaxed. More at ease. His proximity sends an excited shiver down her spine. She has seen him countless times, but now she wonders whether she has ever truly seen him. The deep midnight of his hair, the faint flush on his cheeks, the way the light catches his familiar blue and gold earring. The curve of his lips.

She presses her glass to her mouth, the rich wine heavy on her tongue. She wonders what it would be like to kiss him. She wants to. She imagines it would be nice. He must be good at it. How many lovers has he had, she wonders? He’s so determined, pragmatic, married to his work. It doesn’t seem like he has had the time for that kind of thing. And yet he is far too much of a romantic not to.

Her stomach twists into a knot. There it is. The familiar embarrassment rushing up within her, the horrid sense of wrong, wrong, wrong. She’s not normal. She knows this. The things that come so easily to others are not easy for her. She hates the judgement, self-inflicted as it is.

Would he think differently of her, if he knew? How incongruent it is—a warrior and a saviour on one hand, capable of striking down primals and stemming the tides of chaos, and a shamefully inexperienced woman on the other, who at over thirty would be considered an unsalvageable old maid by Ishgardian standards. There are girls half her age who are married.

Not that Aymeric thinks much of Ishgardian standards.

You have got to get over this.

She hides from the thought by gulping down a mouthful. When she resurfaces, her head feels light and buoyant, buzzing from the drink.

“I think it’s my turn,” Aureia says finally, sinking deeper into the cushions.

Aymeric raises an eyebrow. “For…?”

She nudges him playfully with a foot. “You asked me a personal question. It’s time for me to ask you.”

“Oh?”

“It’s only fair.”

“I won’t argue that. What would like to know?”

She pauses, wetting her lips as she thinks. “Your parents. What were they like?”

He doesn’t answer. The longer they sit in silence, the more her panic grows—perhaps she misspoke, perhaps it was a mistake to go down this path. She told herself she wouldn’t pry into his family history, but her curiosity won out in the end. She wants to know, if only to know him better.

“My foster parents…” Aymeric speaks quietly, lost in thought. He rests his hands against his knees, his wine glass held loosely in his hands, his eyes lingering on the portraits on the wall, the generations who came before him. “Were I to describe them in a single word, I believe I could choose no other word than resolute. They were elderly when I was born. No heirs. The Borel line would have died with them had they not taken me in.”

She curls up, leaning her head against the back of the couch, and listens with rapt attention. There is as much love in his voice as there is pain.

“They knew there would be talk. That their House’s reputation would be tarnished by adopting a bastard boy. But when it came down to a choice between sacrificing their reputation in the eyes of the nobility or surrendering their house entirely, they chose the former. Too many depended on them. Loyal knights whose fathers served their fathers, and their fathers before them. Servants who had been with the family for generations. They had a right to call this house home as much as my parents did. Had they died without an heir, they would find themself in need of different employment. The knights would be absorbed into the personal guard of rival houses, the servants scattered among the staff of the nobility if they were fortunate or to the Brume if they were not. Benoit and Violette did not wish to condemn those sworn to them and under their care to such instability.”

Aymeric clears his throat and lowers his head. She can barely make out his face in this light. His profile his dark, the lines of his sharp, proud features backlit by the crackling hearth.

“And so they were steadfast in their decision to raise me as their own. The scandal of it haunted them for the rest of their lives, but they cared not. They were upstanding members of high society, the most noble of nobles. For every cruel word spoken about them, they simply smiled and carried on, secure in their decision. And they were happy in their final days. Content to see me grown. Benoit, proud of how I had proven myself in battle and honoured to pass me Naegling, the symbol of his lineage. Violette, proud of the caring and determined soul she believed me to be.”

“How old were you when they passed?”

“Fifteen.”

A lump forms in her throat. Fifteen. So young. Too young. Still a child, though he may not have been considered as such at the time. Ishgard is far from the only nation to send their children off to war, but the unquestioned nature of the status quo does nothing to relieve the pit in her stomach. She was a child once, too. Garlemald crushed it out of her.

Aureia sips slowly, nursing her wine. “I’m sorry,” she murmurs.

He catches her eye. “They loved each other deeply. Trusted each other beyond measure. Their faith in one another saw them through the course of life, both the good and the hard. Some would say they were blessed by the Fury, to live the full lives that they did, for as long as they did. It is not often that Ishgardians reach their old age, even among the Elezen. War, grief, and illness all take many before their time.”

A pause. There is no discomfort in his voice; she knows without a doubt that he is telling her this because he wants to share it with her. Her fears of prying too far into his history dissipate. “A love like theirs was precious. Perhaps it is idealistic of me, but one day I hope to find the same, unlikely as it is given my position.”

“Aymeric…”

He raises his glass to his lips and drinks. “It is the way of the aristocracy. Family is of the highest importance, second only to our war and our faith. The relationship between noble bloodlines is ancient and complex. Marriage is a joint endeavour, a commitment struck between two households with an heir as the prize. I may be the Lord Commander, but I am also a viscount. I know the expectations set before me.”

“That’s hardly fair.”

“And yet I understand the truth quite plainly. No, Aureia, as long as I hold Ishgard in my heart of hearts, my duty is to her and her people above all else. Personal sacrifices will be demanded, and they are ones I am content to make for the sake of this fledgling republic.”

“It shouldn’t be that way. Can’t you… I don’t know, change their minds? You are the Lord Speaker, aren’t you?”

He throws his head back and laughs, fixing her with a warm smile. “I can certain rouse discussion between the Lords and Commons and guide them as best I can,” he replies. “But no. Enacting reform within a system of governance is a far cry from changing a culture itself. I cannot expect the high and minor houses to change their views overnight. It will be a slow progress, one that I can only hope will benefit our children’s children and their children after them.”

She nods, rubbing her thumb absently against the side of her glass. This talk of love has brought a flush to her cheeks and she is once again thinking what it would be like to kiss him.

Damn it. Maybe he wouldn’t even want to. As he has said himself, there are expectations placed upon him. He will eventually need to marry. Have children. Where in that is there room for someone like her?

“And this is what your parents wanted for you?” she asks.

He glances at her. “Benoit and Violette wished only for my happiness,” he replies. “That I pursue a life worth living, whatever I believed that entailed. But there was a time when my foster mother did confess to me that she wished for me to leave Ishgard and see the world beyond our borders. And I will freely admit there was a time I yearned for that too, only to set it aside when practicality won out. However…” He trails off and he sets down his glass, shifting on the couch to face her. His fingers brush hers, tentatively taking her hand in his. “Truth be told, visiting those sweeping vistas of the Churning Mists with you at my side has reminded me of those days. I do feel the slight pangs of wanderlust, and I think… Someday, perhaps.”

Aureia meets his gaze. A part of her wants nothing more than to keep staring at him, to listen to his steady voice and fall deeper into his eyes. Another, smaller part is screaming at her to excuse herself and flee, escaping back to her miserable existence in the Forgotten Knight and forget all about him. She knows this will never work, this thing between them. Why set herself up for failure and risk hurting them both?

She swallows the panic and shoves it down. “Someday, yes,” she echoes tentatively. “Aymeric, do you think perhaps—”

A warm rumble resounds in her ears. A cat—large, orange with grey streaks, his fur fluffier than any she has ever seen—steals out from under the couch. He rises up and places his paws on the cushions by her legs, his tail swishing back and forth.

She stares at him. He stares back with large, yellow eyes.

“Sylvaine,” Aymeric chides, his tone somehow both fond and irritated. “What are you doing here?”

“Sylvaine?” Aureia asks.

The cat mews and stretches, his claws digging into the cushions and pulling at the fabric.

“My parents’ cat.” He leans forward and scratches the back of the cat’s head. “An old gentleman by any standard now, though Marcel complains he is far too lively for his age. One could say he is as much a symbol of House Borel as I am.”

The cat yawns, showing sharp teeth.

“Be careful. Majestic though he is, do not underestimate him. He has a mean streak the size of Coerthas for anyone he deems troublesome or dangerous. Or—quite frankly—anyone he thinks has looked at him wrong. Once he has judged you unworthy there is no asking for forgiveness.”

She holds back a smile. “Oh? And what counts as troublesome in his little lordship’s mind?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. It changes day to day, week to week, you see. I would never dare to assume what is happening in my dearest feline friend’s mind. Though I do recall quite vividly the day he cornered the fair Lady Hermine de Gervaise in the corner of the second floor library. As the staff could not catch the dastardly creature, a dragoon was called to assist the good lady in climbing out the window and escaping to the safety of the garden below. So great was her fear of Sylvaine that it far outstripped her fear of heights, you see.”

Aureia snorts with laughter. “Poor Hermine.”

“Indeed. Poor Hermine. She never called on me again, despite her family’s insistence.”

Sylvaine mews and leaps into her lap, curling his tail around him. His weight is warm and pleasant. Friendly. Cautiously, she reaches out a hand and runs it down his back. He offers a content purr in return and snuggles deeper into her lap.

“…and the dragoon?” she asks, petting the cat. She’s not used to being around such creatures, especially household pets. The closest thing she has is Filo and her chocobo is such a notorious biter that the Holy Stables refuse to stable him. “What happened to him?”

“Hm? Oh. The lady thanked him for his service, as I recall. And he made every excuse never to see her again.”

Her eyes narrow. “Please don’t tell me that was Estinien.”

“I have indicated nothing of the sort.”

“Oh, you liar. That absolutely was Estinien, wasn’t it.”

He grins. “Old stories aside, Sylvaine is very dear to me and the staff. His temperament may be ferocious at times, but we could not want for a better guardian.” He scratches the cat fondly, watching the way he curls in her lap with amusement. “I am glad he has taken a shine to you.”

She returns his smile. Finishing off her wine, she reaches over and places the glass on the floor. She has no desire to get up and find a table when there is a cat in her lap. “Aymeric,” she begins softly. Her head is buzzing slightly. It is so comfortable here, sitting on this couch with him. Between the warmth of the hearth, the contentedness of the cat, and his company, she has never felt more at ease. “When you said someday earlier…”

“Yes?”

“You spoke of wanderlust.”

“I did. I have no shared this with many, but I have a fervent wish to see more of this world. The lands beyond Ishgard. Beyond Eorzea. It is a yearning I cannot fully explain. My mother once said I had an insatiable curiosity; perhaps it stems from that. We have turned a blind eye to the world beyond our gates for too many years. I once considered myself well-versed in the ways of the world, but your arrival here has shaken that. Indeed, the vivid accounts of your adventures and our exchanges with both the Alliance and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn have been a firm reminder that there is much I do not know.”

She pauses, careful not to jostle Sylvaine as she moves closer. “Then come with me.”

“To where?”

“Anywhere. Beyond Coerthas. Beyond Ishgard.”

“You have no idea how fervently I wish to accept such an invitation. But I cannot. My duties with the House of Lords demand my undivided attention.”

“They ask too much of you.”

“They ask nothing. It is I who must give it to them freely, for the sake of my nation. I cannot abandon them for my personal desires, no matter how much I wish I could.”

Aureia meets his eyes. “Have you considered that perhaps it is not they who do not have faith in you, but you who do not have faith in them?”

He blinks, so shocked by her statement that he is lost for words. “I… well… I…”

“The situation is perilous, I know. This new republic of yours is young and fragile. There are many in Ishgard—and the world beyond—who believe you are the sole reason why it has not fallen apart. That makes you a target.”

“We both know that all too well.” The gravity of his words is not easily missed.

“But if the Lords and the Commons are indeed so volatile that they will fall apart if you disappear for a day, then it will happen one day with or without you. You speak of trust so often, but I think, perhaps, it is you who do not trust them, rather than the other way around. Show them you have faith in them. They will eventually have to learn to govern without you.”

He sighs and bows his head, a faint flush on his cheeks. “Once again you have seen straight through to the heart of the matter,” he says. “How do you do it?”

“Sometimes you care so much you blind yourself. Or put yourself in your own way. I have a fair bit of experience with that latter one.”

Sylvaine mews and sits up. With a long stretch, he gives a great yawn and leaps down onto the floor, skidding across the rug. He prances away, tail held high, and slinks through the open door into the dining room and out of sight.

Aureia watches him go and shifts closer to Aymeric. A distant part of her mind is startled by her newfound confidence. Perhaps it’s the direction of the conversation or the comfort she feels here—or the wine. Most likely the wine. But she will seize this moment before she loses it. She has to.

“So,” she finishes, slipping her hand into his. It would be too easy to curl up against him, her head on his shoulder. “I’m going to ask again. Would you come with me?”

He squeezes her hand, his eyes unable to leave hers. Thancred would likely say something snide about him looking besotted. Her heart thunders in her chest. Between the wine and the way he’s looking at her, the desire to kiss him is overwhelming. Why shouldn’t she? She may never get another chance.

Aymeric smiles gently. “There is nothing that would make me happier—”

She kisses him.

For the briefest of moments, she feels him freeze in shock and surprise. Then he melts, his mouth warm and gentle as he kisses her in return. She trembles, her mind buzzing, giddy with astonishment at her own boldness. Without giving it much thought, she twines her hands at the back of his neck and pulls herself into his lap, straddling him. His breath catches in his throat and she senses his hesitation, his hands resting gently against the small of her back.

But he does not push her away. For a moment, they are caught in time—seconds passing, indecision mounting, as if they are both too hesitant to make the first move.

And now that she is here in his arms, it terrifies her how scared she is of losing this. Losing him.

Head fuzzy with wine and too lost in the moment to think, she does the only thing that make sense. She presses her mouth to his again and kisses him deeply—

He pulls back. “Aureia, wait,” he says.

“Hm? What for?”

Aymeric exhales a long breath. “I… This… A moment, if you would, please?”

Shame flushes her cheeks. Was she too eager? Did she misunderstand him completely? Did she misread every sign? Maybe his interest in her was simply her imagination. Fuck it, maybe those romance chapbooks really did do a number on her. This is all Tataru’s fault.

Fuck. What the hells do I do now?

Cursing inwardly at her own stupidity, Aureia disentangles herself from Aymeric and slides off him, shifting to the far edge of the couch. Her face burns with embarrassment and she tugs awkwardly at her coat, readjusting it. It’s difficult to forget the feel of his hands on her back or his mouth on hers. For a moment, brief though it was, she was in a fantasy.

Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she rests her elbows on her knees and stares determinedly at the opposite wall. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I didn’t mean—”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. It was I who—”

“No. It was me—”

“Aureia—”

The door opens.

“Lord Commander, I—”

Aymeric rises to his feet and drops his hands to his sides, standing at attention. “What is it, ser?” he asks, his tone crisp and official. “News from House Fortemps?”

Aureia flushes, doing her best not to fixate on how quickly he has fallen into his professional façade. The messenger is not one she recognizes, but from the shine in his armour and the terseness in his voice, she has a feeling he is one of Artoirel’s men. The Fortemps heir has never liked her much and the distant professional courtesy he extends her has rubbed off on his knights. If he had walked in only a few seconds sooner, he would have caught them in a moment that would no doubt give Artoirel yet more ammunition to disparage her with. Not that he couldn’t put two and two together…

To his credit, the messenger either hasn’t noticed or refuses to acknowledge the empty wine glass on the floor.

“An urgent message for the Warrior of Light,” he says with a curt bow. “I was instructed to deliver it without delay.”

Well then, spit it out already. She forces a smile on her face and gestures, silently inviting him to continue.

“Master Thancred returned to the manor a short while ago—”

Aureia’s heart drops. Thancred, returned. Thancred, at the manor. She hasn’t given him any thought for a while now. Impressive, considering how difficult it has been to excise him from her mind. So many restless nights of unanswered questions rolling around her head, wondering what went wrong and when, shoving down the hurt of seeing him and Hilda together like that. She was enjoying being free of it.

And now it has coming rushing back.

She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t relieved to hear of him. Confirmation that he is safe and sound.

“—bearing an injured maiden.”

Her ears prick up. What’s this?

She exchanges looks with Aymeric. He raises an eyebrow, but she shrugs and spreads her hands. She is as perplexed by the announcement as he is. What maiden? Who could it possibly be? Thancred has a reputation for philandering, but it is, frankly, a farce. This must be something else.

“Master Leveilleur and Mistress Tataru are tending to her wounds, but they do not like her chances. Respectfully, my lord. They have requested the Warrior of Light’s presence immediately.”

Aureia’s eyes widen. If Alphinaud is involved…

It can’t be. Alisaie…?

His long-lost sister and twin, who diverged from her brother’s path to take matters into her own hands. Aureia doesn’t know her well and has not seen her in years. But if she is back and she is injured, if Thancred saved her… Then she knows where she has to be.

“I will go at once,” Aureia announces and rises from the couch. Blood rushes to her head and she winces, doing her best to keep her expression straight as a headache pulses between her eyes. She is regretting drinking that much wine. She may not be drunk, but from the way she is wobbling she knows she must be tipsy—and it’s going to be a pain to hide it.

Aymeric puts a gentle hand on her elbow, steadying her. Whether it is a gesture of support or to save her from further embarrassment, she doesn’t know. Her stomach twists into a knot. She doesn’t wanted to leave things left open with him like this, but she doesn’t have a choice.

“And I shall go with you,” he says firmly. “Lead the way, ser. Mistress Malathar and I will follow.”

#ffxiv #ff14 #final fantasy 14 #ffxiv fic #ffxiv fanfiction #ffxiv wol #aymeric de borel #aureia malathar #oc tag #writing tag #long post #once again in case the read more breaks

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calenheart01 · 6 months

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Wings by R + F

Bear with me I'm trying something out, I've never posted any of my writings here, but a few of my close friends have convinced me to. So please enjoy this first part.

A kingdom with a dark past, long forgotten, it comes back to haunt them. When the king and queen go missing, it's up to the princess to rule in their stead while she and her brother continue to search. But what happens if she gets captured too? Who is causing all this torment? After someone attacks her home, she must run to find safety. With help of her newfound friends, hopefully she'll make it. Hopefully they can find the cause and put a stop to it.

Next ->

Chapter 1

I awoke to the sound of screaming and footsteps running through the halls of the palace. I didn’t know what was going on, but my interest was piqued, so I left the safety of my room. Looking down the hall, a horde of people run frantically past me, tripping over themselves and the others around them. Guards lay in various positions, blood seeping from open wounds, their bodies turning pale as they color the silver floors red. Farther down the hall the noise of swords clashing can be heard, once it stops the only sound offered in the empty halls is the pained whimpers of dying soldiers.

I call out, a simple, frightened. “Hello?” no one answers, and aside from the shling of a sword unsheathing, no one speaks out telling me to save myself.

Further down the hall the trail of blood continues, the crimson streams breaking into pools every few steps, finally leading down the front steps of the palace into the chaotic battle of our people and our attackers. Guards in freshly polished armor fight with staggered breath as they push forward in battle, the blood trails from the steps and lead towards the center of the fighting, though the chaos is frightening I follow the line. No one seems to notice the strange civilian wandering about them in an almost see-through teal nightgown, moving slowly between the dancing blades as though they wouldn’t harm me, only to stop in horror as I see the trail of crimson end at the failing figure of my father. His tall frame and dark skin moving elegantly with his sharp silver extension, his brown eyes hold worry while his body begins to stiffen with death, a black and red steel Jian sword protruding through his stomach.

A scream rips itself from my throat and as the blade slides out of his body the guards rush to rid the attackers from the sight, tears stream down my cheeks as I drop down to his side, a shaky hand grasping his paling skin.

His eyes flutter open, pupils struggling to focus as he turns his head to look at his daughter’s face, and I can see all that he wants to say; and it causes me to tear further.

“It’s the Princess they’re after.” He coughs violently, blood splashing from his mouth as he gasps for air. “Take her away from here or we are all doomed.”

“Father…I can’t I’m not strong enough…I can’t do this with out you.” Racked with hiccups I grip his hand tighter, only loosening my hold as he moves to cup my cheek. “I’m so proud of you, Jae, and I believe you can do this.” He brings his splattered forehead to mine, whispering something almost unintelligible, his hand goes cold and his body limps with his final breath escaping into the air.

“Father! Please, don’t go.” The world is all but silent for a moment as I hold his limp body, hoping it was just a nightmare until the armored form of my step-mother comes into view, she cups my face clearly yelling orders to me but the words fall on deaf ears. Her red hair sways gently as her grey eyes widen slightly, she shakes my shoulders harshly, hands grabbing for my father’s discarded sword.

“Not now…you can’t be here, it’s not safe.” Shoving the sword into my hands she pulls me to a stand. “Do as he asked, find the Princess and run, go now.” She pulls me into a quick hug before nudging me back towards the castle and returning to battle.

The halls are empty now, no one rushes through them in fear, and no noises echo against the large walls. Wiping the tears from my eyes I rush back to my room, looking frantically for that cursed set of armor, quickly retrieving said armor I throw it on haphazardly. The armor isn’t much, just a simple padded leather plate that protects my upper body, old and worn as a few of the sewn pieces fray her ore there; I was only on my second day of training.

A crash sounds from above, now in a panic I throw the door open and rush down the hall for the stairway. Taking two at a time I stop at the top as several tall figures struggle to shove through the door of one of the royals’ rooms.

Another crash and the door gives way to their forceful intrusion, three of them crowd into the room while the other two stand guard outside, the person inside the room yelps and then they are dragged out by the top of their nightgown. They struggle against the harsh choking grip until they are pulled to their feet and shoved towards the two-armed guards. One of them sheathes his weapon, the strap attached to him shifting slightly with the added weight, his hand reaching for a pair of cuffs on his belt. She flinches but there is no way she’s getting away from them. They pull her towards the middle of them as they begin walking up the hallway and I must step back into the corners to let the shadows hide me from their prying eyes.

Once the intruders are gone, I must slow my heartbeat, this was all too much for one night but I couldn’t focus on that right now. I must find the princess. Making it to the now broken door I find the room of the King and Queen ruined, their dresser was thrown in front of the door, only obvious from its now toppled position in the center of the room. That had to have been just another servant trying to hide, as much as I wanted to help her, I couldn’t afford to lose what little time I had to save the princess. The curtain rod is pulled from the wall, the curtains themselves tied tightly together, leading from the bed post to the window. The sheets however are undisturbed, the pillows unfluffed and the shelves dusty from lack of use. The windows are unbroken and locked still, a chair laying a stray with a few strands of cloth ripped from something here and there. Shattered glass joining it among the mess, the missing decorations leaving darker cleaner wood behind on the otherwise untouched shelves.

“Who was in here? Do I know her from the kitchens? Or the gardens?” I quickly exit the room, finding the next room in perfect order, a few dust flurries flitting about the emptiness.

The last room has to belong to the Princess, when I reach the room, it is entirely destroyed. The sheets are strewn about as though they got caught in the frantic struggle to escape, a few blood droplets sit on the comforter, leading to the other side of the bed where a maid lays in a pool of her own blood. There is a knife in the back of her neck, whoever came in through the window left a trail of muddy footprints on the windowsill and a very bloody body on the floor. Next to her body is the remnants of a smashed oil lamp, the skin of her hand charred and cut up from her attempted defense.

There’s a beautiful family portrait above her writing desk, and her bright hazel orbs catch my attention immediately, in that picture she’s wearing a beautiful pastel pink gown with small purple lilacs around her collar. They all held a smile, the princess’ bouncy brown curls framing her face rather nicely as she holds her father’s hand tightly. This is her room, her favorite book lays open on her desk with its flower bookmark, a discarded marriage proposal in the waste bin along with a few old drawings. Everyone of them was missing, they had told us the King and Queen were out on business, but the truth was they didn’t know either. Now the Prince was missing too and the Princess has been kidnapped, how was I to save her if she’s already gone, what was I supposed to do?

I straighten my posture, I couldn’t think like this right now, she is the last one and if there is any hope at all that we can be saved; I will get her back. Exiting her room, I scan the floors for the muddy footprints, they head down another hall away from the main stairs. The hallway they took leads down to the other side of the ball room, if I take the main hall at the bottom of the stairs, I can make it to the ballroom first and cut them off. How do I beat the five of them? My mind races with scenarios as my feet carry me down the stairs towards the ballroom, it is about time I use what little training I have; the doors are closed and I must slow down as I hear another voice on the inside. I slide the door open enough to slip in silently, watching as a man cloaked in darkness talks to someone inside a weird white crystal in the palm of his hand, the person in the crystal disappears quickly as the doors on the other side are kicked opened.

#New writer #Zawa'sproblemwriter

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sanibelislandcruiseline · 2 years

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whumpsday · 2 years

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Kane & Jim #9: Sunrise

Masterlist

content: vampire whumpee, whumper turned whumpee, torture, burns, begging, starvation, sadistic whumpers, captivity, gun violence, defiant whumpee

gonna break this guy like a kit-kat

Kane was scared.

He hated to admit it, but he was. Scared of humans, at that. It was humiliating and unbecoming, but he couldn’t help it. There was a very high chance that he was going to die. In fact, he was surprised they hadn’t killed him yet.

Slumped against the wall, he pulled up his sleeve and studied the tiny half-healed burn on his arm again. The larger, more serious burns from his initial capture had fully healed a while ago, but he’d been briefly touching the back of his arm to one of the silver bars of the cell whenever he awoke with unmarked skin, in order to use his healing to keep track of time. By his estimation, he’d been stuck here for at least five days now. Maybe longer. He wasn’t sure whether each new burn was taking longer to heal than the last, or if it just felt that way.

Kane’s stomach growled insistently, as if there was anything he could do about it. He hadn’t even seen a human in days. The horrible thought rose up in him again: What if they just left him here? He pushed it down, but the longer this went on, the harder it became to do so.

No, they were going to come back, he told himself for the thousandth time. They had to come back eventually. They’d have no reason to leave him alive if they were just going to abandon him down here. And when they did come back, he would cave their fucking chests in, drink his fill, and go home. He salivated at the thought of fresh human blood. He’d never gone this long without feeding in his life. He could almost smell it.

As it grew stronger, Kane realized he could smell it. There was a human approaching! He immediately stood up, a bit unsteady, and moved to the far side of the cell so he could see better. After a few moments, a hunter came into view. Kane scanned him for signs of a stake, but the only weapon he seemed to carry was a holstered pistol. A weapon meant for other humans, not him. The hunter stopped too far away for Kane to be able to reach him through the bars, much to his disappointment. He would have risked the burns for a meal in a heartbeat.

“Hey leech, how’s your week been?”

Kane glared daggers at him, ignoring the question. “Release me from this infernal cage and I may go easy on you.” he lied. His stomach growled again, the smell of a human so close urging him to feed.

“Aw, crabby ‘cause you’re hungry, are you?” the hunter teased.

Kane pounded his fist against the wall in rage. “I’ll kill you and all your little human friends, you insolent cattle!”

“You know what I think?” he mused, “I think you need to learn some respect.”

“Respect!?” Kane fumed. “You-- You’re the one who needs to learn respect! Do you even know who I am?”

“I’m sure you’re a very important vampire.” The hunter chuckled. “Yeah, we’ll get you sorted. You gotta pay, after all.”

That stopped Kane in his tracks. Was he talking about killing him?

“Pay?”

“Oh yes. You’re going to get the punishment you deserve.” He nodded approvingly at his own words. “Never been able to do that before. Fuckin’ persuasion makes it too dangerous to keep you things around. Lucky we don’t have to worry about that with you.”

Kane would normally become even more furious than he already was at the mocking of his biggest insecurity, but he was too caught off guard by the implications of the previous statement. They weren’t planning to kill him? Keep him around to... punish him? What did that mean?

Whatever. He was strong. Whatever they planned on doing to him, he could take it. They were just humans. And surely, he would find a way to escape soon enough.

“Do your fucking worst.” he snarled.

The hunter’s smile grew wider at that. “Oh, we will.” He pulled out the gun and pointed it straight at Kane’s head, clicking the safety off.

Everything went black.

Kane awoke to a world of pain.

His head was pounding and his stomach twisted with hunger, but it was nothing compared to his wrists and ankles. Disoriented, he tried to move his limbs to escape whatever was hurting him, gasping sharply when the attempt immediately doubled the sensation. He couldn’t move. His eyes flew open in shock as he tried to assess the situation.

He was strapped down on some sort of metal board, laying on the floor of the cell. He wasn’t sure what kind of metal, steel maybe, but his wrists and ankles were bound to the four corners with silver restraints. That was the source of the burning. Every instinct told him to struggle, try and break out, but he willed himself to still. He wasn’t getting out of these, and moving would only aggravate the injuries. The silver was resting against already-fried skin now; it would be so much worse if he reopened the wounds. He took a deep, shuddering breath to steady himself against the pain.

The gun must have been loaded with a silver bullet. A regular bullet would have hurt for a few hours, but it wouldn’t have knocked him out. If it was silver, it definitely wasn’t still inside his brain. He wouldn’t be awake if it was. He could tell he wasn’t fully healed, but the head wound was definitely mostly healed.

The next thing Kane noticed was that most of his clothing had been removed. His shirt, jacket, and shoes were gone entirely, and the lower half of his pants had been ripped away at the knees. He felt his face heat up at the humiliation. Oh, he was going to kill these humans. He looked around for his clothes, craning his neck, and thankfully spotted them in a pile in the corner. The pants were obviously ruined, but everything else seemed to be there and intact.

He wasn’t sure how long he laid there like that, trying not to focus on the pain of his burns, but after what felt like hours, a human began to approach. No, two humans. He could smell them before he saw them. His mouth watered. He was so hungry.

Kane took some solace in the thought that while he was extremely uncomfortable, a human who’d gone without food for as long as he had would be much worse off, on the verge of death. Even at his lowest, he was still better than them. Though, he didn’t want to think about how bad the hunger would get if this continued. After another week? A month?

No, surely he’d manage to escape before then.

“Look at it. Shot right in the head and completely fine after two days. How creepy is that?” One of the hunters said as they finally got within eyeshot.

“Ugh, yeah.” the other agreed.

Kane went stone-faced. He would retain his dignity.

“It’s supposed to be a nice day out today, leech.” one of the hunters said. “Not a cloud in the sky. Got up early so we could watch the sunrise together. Won’t that be fun?”

“Fuck you.” Kane replied instantly. The hunters both laughed.

It wasn’t hard to find a vampire who’d managed to accidentally get burned by sunlight at some point in their life, usually when they were young and stupid. Maybe they got curious as a small child and stuck their hand out the door. Maybe they lost track of time as a teenager and didn’t make it home before the sun rose. Maybe they had a cat that ran away and thought they could quickly run out to get it. Every story ended the same: Instant regret. It was the worst thing I’ve ever felt. The pain was indescribable. I was always very careful after that.

Kane wasn’t one of those people. He didn’t need to mess up first to know he needed to be careful, he’d messed up by being born. He had to be perfect in every other way to make up for it. He’d never felt the sun’s wrath, but he’d definitely heard enough about it to know it was something he should avoid at all costs.

He grit his teeth. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing his fear.

The hunters each grabbed one end of the board he was strapped to and hauled him out of the cell. Every movement jostled him against the restraints, and he bit his lip to hold in a scream.

“This thing weighs a ton.” one of the complained.

“It’ll be worth it, just wait.” the other assured. Kane felt smug satisfaction at the obvious strain in both their voices, glad he was causing them even some minor discomfort, no matter how passively.

Soon enough, he was in the fenced yard behind the hunters’ building. There didn’t seem to be much else in the way of structures around. It was not dawn yet, but the brightening of the blue on the horizon warned of its imminent arrival. They set him down on the ground. Kane quickly deduced that from the way he was situated, the sun would rise to his right, though the presence of the fence’s shadow meant the sunlight would reach his left side first.

The hunters chatted about something insignificant while the sky grew bluer, more coming out from the building to watch as dawn came closer and closer. Kane’s heartbeat sped up with fear.

One of the hunters jabbed her elbow at another. “Hey, look.” She pointed at the western fence.

Kane looked too. The sun had peeped out enough that it was beginning to light up the fence. Inch by inch, the light crept further down. Within a couple minutes, it was touching the ground, only a few feet from him. The hunters’ excitement grew in equal parts with his dread.

The sunlight crept onto the board. Kane, heart pounding, clenched his left hand to prevent his fingers from sticking out and angled his left foot as far away as he could, hissing as the movement pressed his ankle against the silver. The action bought him no more than a minute. Inevitably, the sunlight touched him.

Immediately, his resolve to take it stoically was thrown out the window. He screamed. It was so much worse than the silver, so much worse than he could have ever imagined. The silver hurt his skin externally, blistering and burning wherever it touched. The sun went beyond that. It was like he was boiling down to his bones, like his hand and foot were made of fire. And it wasn’t stopping, slowly creeping down his forearm and up his calf, engulfing everything. He pulled at his restraints wildly. The silver was nothing compared to the cruel, unparalleled agony of the sun.

“Stop! Let me out, let me out!” he screamed, tears streaming down his face. He’d been so foolish, he couldn’t just sit through this. He couldn’t take this for another second.

“Ha, it’s crying.” a hunter mocked.

“Where’s that respect we talked about?” asked the hunter who’d shot him. “Come on, ask nicely. Say please.”

Kane tried to hold out. He really, really did. He was a prideful man, and the last thing he wanted was to debase himself by begging humans for anything. So he hesitated. But the sun was taking more and more of his body into its clutches, and if it reached his face he would surely not be able to talk anymore. Oh god, it’s going to reach his face.

“Please!” he yelled desperately.

“Please what?” the hunter called back, a couple giggles from the others following him.

“Please let me out! Fuck, please! Make it stop!” he wailed. He needed it to stop. He would say anything. Whatever words he said now wouldn’t stop him from destroying these humans later.

“Not what I meant. Doesn’t seem like you really know your place.”

Kane reeled. “What-- what do you want?” he cried. Another scream tore through him as the sun reached the sensitive skin on the inside of his elbow. He looked to his left. To his horror, his hand was almost unrecognizable, the skin somewhat melting like it was made of wax. Every breath he took was ragged and agonized.

“Please what?” the hunter repeated.

Suddenly, it clicked what he was being asked to do. His dignity crumbled to dust.

“Please, sir! Please let me out, sir!” he tried, hoping desperately that this was what the hunter was fishing for. Laughter erupted at his pleading, the shame only adding to his tears.

“Ahhh, there we go. Told you we’d teach you some respect. We’ll take you back inside at sunset.”

“Wh-what? No! No, no, make it stop, please! Sir!” Kane panicked, sobs heaving. This can’t-- he couldn’t--

“Would you rather stay out here for two days? Three? It’s supposed to be nice all week.”

“No no no no please!” he screamed. They weren’t listening. He was going to be left out here all day. The sun was going to take all of him, for hours.

“Please, please help! Anyone!” He wasn’t even really calling to the hunters anymore. He was just panicking. The sun reached his shoulder.

“Help me! Please!”

Nothing. No one was coming to save him.

“Anyone! Please!”

The sun reached the edge of his torso, making him wail. He strained his head as far away as he could.

“Bellamy!” Kane knew he wasn’t making sense. Bellamy wasn’t here.

“Mother!” his voice broke, hoarse from screaming.

“It’s crying for its mommy!” One of the hunters shouted. They all howled with laughter.

The sun crawled up his neck as he sobbed. Kane screwed his eyes shut and closed his mouth as it started to engulf his face. He let out a muffled scream as he writhed.

Within minutes, the sun had fully crested the horizon, and Kane’s entire body was on fire. It was inescapable. The pain was everything, it was everywhere. He couldn’t think about anything else. He was shaking uncontrollably, muffled screams and whimpers sounding off from him every few seconds.

“You know what, that was worth waking up early for.” a hunter commented.

wow i wonder who bellamy is :)

not pictured: me playing with my phone flashlight to make sure i correctly understand what part of kane would get hit by the sun first.

taglist:

@ceph-the-writing-spook

@cupcakes-and-pain

@deluxewhump

@extrabitterbrain

@harri-00

@inpainandsuffering

@kiratheperson

@littlespacecastle

@melancholy-in-the-morning

@myhusbandsasemni

@mylifeisonthebookshelf

@nicolepascaline

@octopus-reactivated

@pumpkin-spice-whump

@quirkykayleetam

@ramadiiiisme

@thecyrulik

@whump-cravings

@whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

@whumpilicious

@whumpthisway

@whumpwillow

@whumpy-writings

@whumpyzombie

@wits-and-wrongs

#kane and jim #whump #my writing #vampire whumpee #whumper turned whumpee #torture #burns #begging #sadistic whumper #captivity #starvation #defiant whumpee #vampire whump #whump writing

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honey-sweet-hiraeth · 3 years

Text

Breathe Part One

Uhhhh this is a thing now

Warnings ⚠️⚠️: Mentions torture, lots of trauma, descriptions of panic attacks and ptsd flashbacks, language

A violent sob escaped your lips as you made your way through the halls of the compound, trying desperately to make it to the Safety of your room as the world spun around you.

The walls were closing in on you and the air was heavy and hot, making your lungs burn as you struggled to take any breaths. Everything was wrong.

Everywhere you looked you could see him. Strucker. His beady eyes and that sickening grin that always seemed to say 'i know something you dont'. The walls of the compound transformed into a cell as your flashbacks took a hold of you completely.

"They may have saved you Y/n," His voice was cold and laced with amusement "but you'll never truly escape"

Flashes of light obstructed your view of the man as maniacal laughter filled your ears.

Sudden darkness overtook you and you gasped for air as you felt pressure on your chest, but it was no use. You couldn't breathe. A quiet click caught your attention and images of a bloody, rusted surgical table filled your head.

The sound of a circular saw.

Screaming

Silence

The darkness gave way to a stainless steel room with little holes all over the walls and ceiling. You shivered as you looked around the room, knowing what was coming next.

Gas began to pour from the holes and you desperately clawed at the door, screaming to be let out. The pain was immediate, the second the gas had made contact with your skin you saw it bubbling and blistering before your eyes. It was excruciating, yet, dull as if it were only a distant Memory, not really happening.

But this was too real to be a dream.

Or was it?

Your vision turned red as the gas blew into your face and everything contorted once again.

Red was all you could see, taking over your thoughts and you felt yourself relax as comfort enveloped you and everything seemed to stop momentarily before you were brought to the real world. The effects of your Post Traumatic Stress Disorder fading as your eyes began to focus on the worried features of the beautiful woman knelt in front of you.

"You're safe y/n, I've got you" Wanda's hands were holding your face, her thumbs stroking your cheeks as her eyes searched yours.

She knew better than to ask if you were okay, she knew you weren't. You hadn't been okay since you'd left, just a few months before.

....

It was a mission gone very very wrong.

They had known you were coming, resulting in you being surrounded by HYDRA agents, your comms cut off.

You hoped your message had gotten through before you lost contact. You knew you weren't getting out of this one. You could only hope you'd managed to warn Natasha successfully so she could get Steve and Wanda and get out of there before they were taken too.

You didn't know what horrors had awaited you at the time, but you know even if you did, you would've done the same thing.

You did your best to fight them off but as expected, they took you down fairly easily, knocking you unconscious, you'd been captured.

...

You had your flashbacks, so did the others. Natasha always thought back to the moment she, Wanda and Steve watched you disappear beneath the hoard of agents. She remembered the panic at the idea of losing yet another teammate. No. The thought of losing another friend.

She was devastated as she flew the Quintet away. They all sat in silence on the way back to the compound. No one really knowing what to say. You were gone.

Wanda thought about the day you came back. You were covered in your own blood, your usual open, friendly demeanor was gone. You had been beaten and battered, tortured. You'd healed immediately, that was your power of course. But she could see it in your eyes, and in your thoughts when you arrived. There was nothing but panic in your features and she had used her powers on you so you wouldn't attack the team in your confusion.

Steve thought about when he found you. It wasn't even a rescue mission, no one had known where you were but when he walked into the lab to take the files he'd been sent for, he was shocked to find a HYDRA scientist testing the limits of your healing with a saw. A literal saw.

He'd taken out the scientist and scooped you up in his arms, immediately sharing his change in focus with the rest of the team over the Comms.

"Uh, guys you're not gonna believe this." He spoke lowly, "I found y/n. This just became a rescue"

Within minutes, Natasha, Bucky and Tony came rushing in to see you for themselves - and provide backup.

They managed to get the files and get you out successfully and when they got back to the compound you had woken up in a panic. They all stood around you, cautiously trying to tell you you were safe but it was obvious you hadn't recognized them. You were delirious and afraid, understandably.

Wanda was the first to rush into the Jet and actually approach you. She walked up behind you and used her magic to stop your panic and subdue you. Catching you and holding you tight in her arms as you crumpled, passing out in your exhaustion.

...

In the following weeks since you'd gotten back it became pretty obvious you had PTSD. You had consistent flashbacks and panic attacks that you often couldn't handle.

The team members would find you curled into a ball in the corner rocking yourself, or unconscious on the ground from you passing out. When they would find you passed out they would usually just pick you up and carry you to your room, tucking you into bed and letting you rest.

When you were panicking, they would try their best to help you calm down before walking with you to wherever you had been going. Making sure you didn't panic again along the way. If they couldn't get you to calm down, they called for Wanda.

Wanda could stop your panic attacks almost immediately with her magic, but that wasn't the only reason she was the best person to help you. You felt safe around her, you always had.

Before you were taken by HYDRA. You two were best friends, you helped her through her grief when you first joined the Avengers. She was still reeling from the loss of Pietro and on top of that she'd had to kill Vision in order to stop Thanos from killing half the world.

You were there for her. Not with the same pity that the others held for her, but understanding. You'd lost a lot too. You'd made awful decisions. Mistakes. You got it. You really understood what she was going through. Much to both your surprise.

You spent countless hours holding her while she cried. Tirelessly working to lift her spirits. Giving her pep talk after pep talk and sometimes just sitting quietly. You refused to let her feel alone.

Now it seemed that Wanda was returning the favor, or at least trying to.

...

Though you weren't panicking any longer, Wanda could tell you weren't fully in touch with reality quite yet. It wasn't hard to see the way your dazed eyes were focused on absolutely nothing.

"Y/n, come on. Let's go to your room." She whispered softly, trying to keep her voice calm. She wrapped her arms around your waist and helped you get up. Letting you go the second you were standing on your own.

Since you'd returned, you were different. Before you were open and energetic. The definition of a ray of sunshine. You never let anyone feel down and you could get anyone, even Natasha to at least crack a smile at any given moment. You loved movie nights and playing games, cuddles and affection, you were light and you emanated an air of relaxation. If she was honest. Wanda had to admit a part of her had fallen for you.

Now, you couldn't handle being touched for longer than necessary. You were closed off and distant. You didn't speak much and preferred to be away from the others. You were a shell of the light-hearted agent you used to be.

Wanda took your hand and gently pulled you along. Leading you to your room. Her chest felt tight and she knew this was one of those times where she was going to leave your room and cry. Not just the few tears that were escaping now, but sobbing in her own disparity.

After everything she'd lost you had made her feel okay again, and now...

Now she'd lost you too.

A/n: This is my attempt at a full series. Idk how many parts there will be yet. I haven't decided if this is going to have a love triangle situation or not but we'll see. It's gonna be a super slow burn (probably idk I'm impatient) I hope y'all like it cause I'm super excited for it!!🧡🧡

Side note!!- imma start a tag list- lemme know if you wanna be on it

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yostresswritinggirl · 3 years

Note

Ik your request is off, but when your request is open can u write dating headcanons with Kazuha ? I like your works so much which is y i send u a request hehe

No rush please take care author-nim :'D

This is a long time coming, but I’m glad to know that you’re still a Kazuha simp even after all this time ahahha thank you for your kind words and I hope you like this!!

Kazuha Dating Headcanons

How it’s like “being with” the fugitive wandering samurai. (masterlist)

Beforehand

The whole dating thing is entirely dependent on when you met or known Kazuha. So for this one, we establish that you and Kazuha are friends even before he became a fugitive.

Your clan and the Kaedahara clan are known to be close, and that’s how you’ve known your childhood friend. You’re always together during the peace time of Inazuma, sometimes getting into trouble due to his wayfaring nature.

Your family tried desperately to help the Kaedahara clan with their financial issues but it wasn’t exactly enough to maintain such a large clan. Soon enough the samurai clan lost its power, and what remains of their abode became foreign as a more powerful clan reclaimed it.

But despite all of that, Kazuha’s happiness is your main priority and you’re relieved that despite the misfortune the young master felt more freer than ever. He leaves the sheltered life behind with the promise to visit you as frequent as he could.

And that he does, even when the vision hunt decree was enacted, even when it’s unsafe to be near the area where many eyes can identify him, Kazuha always kept his promises to visit and spend time with. And thankfully, with the history of your clans, your family are still ever so welcoming to his presence.

You even met his newfound friend (and his adorable cat!) during one of his visits, and Kazuha felt all the heaviness on his shoulders disappear when you two hit it off instantly! And after that visit he received a pat on the back and a thumbs up from his friend, telling him that he got his blessing.

This caused said friend to get smacked over the head by a flustered Anemo boy.

So when the news that he perished after issuing a duel before the throne came to you, the pain was just as bad as Kazuha’s anguish. That night you huddled together in the comforts of your room, weeping over your friend and the danger Kazuha now faces. Somehow all the peaceful times blurred into nothingness, the period of darker times and complications marked that day.

But you despite it all, Kazuha is still the honest man that he is, and he will fulfill his promises to the end: for you, for him, and for his slumbering friend.

Courting

Kazuha is a man of words and custom. Sometimes you think that his passion for poetry and wit were the things that made you fall for him, and he thought it was the best method to confess to someone as honorable as you.

So, yes, it was Kazuha who first confessed through a lengthy, poetic love letter that he left after sleeping over one night, something that he had planned many weeks ago yet kept to himself. Why would you want to be with someone who has nothing to his name? A person that you can’t spend time with freely, who prioritizes his selfish desire to be a vagabond than stay longer with you?

These thoughts stayed with him throughout the week that he avoided coming to your house and still lingered as he begrudgingly trudged up the hill to where your estate is, expecting the rejection at the sight of you waiting for him at the balcony of your room, his usual point of entry.

“YOU!” Kazuha was taken aback by the angry finger pointed at him, he was expecting something else, something sadder or guilty perhaps. Anger isn’t one of them - oh yeah, he did avoid you for a week, didn’t he? “You have the guts to drop this-” the sight of the letter in your hand made him physically recoil, “and then disappear for a week like nothing happened?! Come up here right now or I’m dropkicking your ass!”

Hurriedly, in main concern of your well-being, Kazuha used his elemental skill to jump up to the balcony - where he was met by a tight hug and you reciprocating his feelings. He hugs back in relief, before being smacked over the head for what he did.

Kazuha carries his hobby with him when you started dating, when you told him how nice it was and how you always feel flustered when it’s directed at you. Poetry, haikus, letters complimenting everything he loves about you when he knows it will take a while for him to come back. You have a special box filled with all his notes. And your favorite one:

My love is a butterfly Flies from hither to stay here forever In love and true perfection

On worse days when he’s there, at night he brings comfort by playing with his leaf, a skill of leaf-blowing he picked up from his travels and perfected for your sake. When there are times when you couldn’t sleep properly, he’s always there to pluck a leaf from the trees outside, playing a tune until you find the right comfort to rest. Usually in the company of his arms.

Kazuha absolutely loves cooking for you! When rare days comes that he is able to visit during daytime he likes to demonstrate his cooking skills, always assuring that he gets the freshest ingredients for you to eat. They’re barely a miss, like he knows your taste more than you. He takes a mental note of your favorites, your reactions and of course, your honest feedback.

The next time he comes over, he has enough to feed your family. Sometimes you feel your clan loves him more than you did.

When there are interesting things he’d encountered during his travels, he’s sure to tell you the best of them! These moments are like subtle nudges of him to convince you to join him on his adventures, enticing you with his stories to a life full of meaning and excitement out there.

More often than not at the end of his story sessions, despite knowing that it isn’t safe for you to go out (with or without him) he’ll always have this soft look in his eyes as he looks at you, smile so soft as he looks at you like a daydream, “I can’t wait to be with you out there.”

Kazuha loves it when he gets a reaction from you, whether it be your happiness or relief as he ascends to your home, genuine curiosity over his tales, the embarrassment when he makes a move, or even the worry when he comes back looking a little worse for wear.

Traveling with Kazuha

You’ve always lived a semi-sheltered life in Inazuma due to your protective clan, with your interaction mostly focused with the villagers of your area and the people in your estate. When the decree started, you barely go out now, your people feared that your Vision would be taken away if the Tenryou Commission were to see you.

It was also the main reason why despite Kazuha’s desire to show you a whole new world out there, he couldn’t ever prioritize his own feelings over your safety. It was also one of the main reasons he joined the Resistance: to make a better world for you so that he can be with you in a free world.

However, one day, a clan that’s in the favor of the Vision Hunt Decree snitched on you to the Tenryou Commission. And you were almost captured (as the only Vision holder in your clan) if not for Kazuha arriving at the last minute, fighting them off before escaping with you.

Your family was able to contact him before everything escalated, and decided that it was far more safer for you to be with him than stay at your clan. And so became your current life with Kazuha.

With a favor, Kazuha managed to get you to join the Crux Fleet. And it took a whole month before everyone (including Beidou) to find out about your relationship. This quiet boy? In a relationship with you?! Everyone calmly lost their shit, and there was a drinking party on board (for the rowdy adults).

It was warm, carefree and exciting. Despite your previous worries about the life you left behind, next to Kazuha in the middle of the ocean, somehow things ended up alright. Better even.

You jive with everyone quite well, especially with Beidou - the woman loves you to bits! Teasing you, pulling you around after finding out your backstory, as Kazuha awkwardly follows from behind in silence.

Whenever you’re around, Kazuha’s demure demeanor completely vanishes, from the mysterious kid that the crew didn’t know the name of for weeks turns into a rambunctious teen that’s only purpose is to make you crack a smile or laugh.

He is so down bad, everyone but you notices this, and soon he too became a huge target for teasing.

You’ve realized too that Kazuha smells a lot like the nature around him, sometimes the sea salt from the sea that you spend most of your days on, to the maple leaves of the forest near the docks of the cities you land in, or the musky, earthly scent of the mountains that you both trek.

Kazuha likes to be by your side every second of the day, as long as possible. And oh does he love teaching you things about the outside world, like how to tell the weather, the constellations in the sky, the inner workings of the ship.

He’s like a lovesick puppy trailing behind you. Sometimes he had to be physically removed away from you to help out on the ship, and the unlucky crew member who drags him away during a particularly bad mood gets the worst glare in their life. If they try to tell it to the others, the crew won’t believe him.

Kazuha Kaedahara had always been fascinated by you, and now that you’re here with him, he wouldn’t pass up to spend every second together. Anywhere in the world, with him you’ll be safe.

@zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @coka-cala @lilydewi22 @yellowflowre @traveler-lumine @creation-magician @hanniejji @gojos-baby @gojos-baby @volleybloop @tartuu @sassyglassesbunny @moaa @dandelion-dreams @witchsungie @lehra @blissmal @upsetpotatoo

#kaedahara kazuha #kazuha x reader #kaedahara kazuha x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact headcanons #sojourner specials #gender neutral #exile.goblet #exile.flower

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thesunicarusfellfor · 3 years

Note

Hey!! I love your writing. Can you do a Yandere! Ranboo, Tommy , and tubbo. where they are all in love with the reader and they kidnapped her to ‘keep her safe’ and the reader doesn’t know at first, then she slow realized they are obsessed with her. she like them back but she also want to live her life, so she tries to make agreement? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.

The Ranboo gif is just beautiful and I love it. Lemme see what I can do for ya! I wrote a bullet point Platonic fic if that's fine? I'm still worried about writing the minors in romantic relationships, even if it's the characters.

Sorry, it took so long... My burnout got really bad and I refused to even write basic stuff. But I'm back now! Well. Mostly.

Safe Behind Glass (Yandere!Plat!C!Bench Trio x GN!Reader)

You were a little groggier than normal when you awoke, but it was nothing to alarm you immediately.

Just simply brushing it off as you weren't feeling the best that day, you rolled over to fall back to sleep, but quickly noticed something wrong.

It didn't feel... Right?

The blankets... The mattress... The pillow... They weren't yours...

You peeled your eyes open and your expression went blank with fear.

The room was beautiful mind you.

But it wasn't yours either.

You were laying on a fluffy (f/c) canopy bed, surrounded by quartz walls that were dimly lit soul lanterns that prevented you from being completely swallowed by darkness.

Slowly dragging yourself off the bed, you heard a metal 'clunk' that hit the cold quartz flooring below you.

Turning your head to face downwards, you saw that a decently thick metal chain was cuffed to your ankle.

Somehow, your panic became worse as you immediately grabbed onto it and started to yank on the solid metal, but it refused to budge.

You had no idea how many minutes or hours you spent in that room. Reaching at the iron door desperately, yanking at the chain around your ankle that kept you from reaching the exit, searching the blue lanterns for anything...

But then, the white metallic door slowly swung open, revealing Ranboo, Tubbo and Tommy.

You weren't that close to them, save for a couple interactions here and there, but hey, they came to save you! That didn't matter in the slightest!

You almost cried upon seeing them and moved to walk over, but the chain stopped you from reaching them, and you noticed that they weren't moving to help you.

"You're awake!" Tubbo chirped softly, his tan goat ears wiggling with joy, "I'm glad the potion didn't stick for too long... You could've wound up starving if you stayed asleep."

Horror slowly began to set into your heart as Ranboo nodded and walked over to the dark oak table in the corner of the room and set down a basket of food.

"Ran...Boo...?" You whispered, watching as the monochrome male turned and curiously tilted his head in your direction, "Why... Am I here?"

Instead, Tommy stepped in front of you with a bright cheesy smile, the same one that resembled when he would find a new disc or start a new adventure, "For your safety, (N/n)!"

"Safety?" You choked out softly, Ranboo quickly guiding you to sit in the oak chair, "But... I'm one of the richest people on the server... I have god armour... Nothing could kill m-"

"Techno and Dream can." Tubbo interrupted sharply, halting you mid-sentence.

Right... That masked man... Or whatever he was... He was extremely dangerous, as well as Techno. They could likely pierce your netherite chest plate without even flinching at the number of thorns you had enchanted.

"We don't want anyone to bring you any harm... There's no problem with that, right, (Y/n)?" Ranboo smiled, flashing his sharpened teeth unthreateningly.

No... You wanted to say, but you wanted freedom! You wanted to expand your house to the size of a mansion! You wanted to bicker with Quackity about the stupidest of things! You wanted to get building advice from Phil!

Not be locked away because your safety was a tiny bit compromised!

"Tommy... Tubbo... Ranboo... Please, I'm not going to just stay locked away because I-"

"You'll see things our way soon... Eat up, get your rest." Tubbo smiled and gave you a hug, ignoring how you froze suddenly, before turning and skipping out of the room with the taller two following behind him.

Despite... How screwed up the three were with their methods of making you be their friend, it was working...

They were actually incredibly friendly and funny. It made life in capture bearable! Even though you were incredibly snappy and cruel to them in the beginning, they never held it against you.

Although... Despite their kindness and your quickly blooming friendship, you still had a craving to go outside. Even if what the three told you about everyone forgetting you existed was true.

"You look sad, (N/n)..." Tubbo murmured softly, watching you stare off into the blank quartz wall, "Are you okay?"

Tommy straightened up from his handmade scribble of a map, turning his head towards you in confusion. Ranboo stopped writing mid-word likely and looked in your direction as well.

They never liked it when you were upset.

You pursed your lips silently for a moment, clearly unsettling the males around you, "I just... Haven't been feeling too great... Both mentally and physically I mean... I need sunlight..."

"Yeah... I was reading about that earlier..." Ranboo hummed softly, adjusting his crown as he looked up at the ceiling, "But the issue is..."

"My safety... Yes, I know. What if, I wear my full netherite armour and keep a totem AND a Rapple on me? And also not leave your sides?" You bargained nervously.

That hadn't worked before. But then again, You weren't as close to them before...

The silence that fell upon the room was unsettling and caused your heart to race quickly. If they didn't like what you said, you would be alone for a few straight days... You didn't like it...

"Okay."

What.

That worked?

You just had to ask?!

You watched as Tubbo stood up and pulled the small ender chest from his pocket and set it on the ground, causing it to grow to normal size.

Standing aside, he made a gesture for you to open it and get your stuff.

Hesitantly, You walked over and kneeled down in front of the ender chest. Looking to Tubbo and the others for confirmation, you slowly opened it once they nodded.

Carefully, you began pulling out your armour but paused seeing the lack of golden apples and totems.

Right... Before you had gotten kidnapped by the group, you had used a totem when you fell into the L'Manhole where L'Manberg once was.

That what caused them to kidnap you...

"I-I used... My totem... And Fundy stole my Rapple..." You murmured hesitantly, feeling ready to cry.

Your only chance to escape and you couldn't grab it...

"Hey! Hey! Don't cry! Here!" Ranboo eagerly held the two golden items out towards you at the first sight of tears gathering under your eyes.

"What...?"

"(Y/n)! We want you to be happy! If being outside, even with god armour, rapples and totems, makes you happy, then damn well we're bringing you outside!" Tommy grinned.

After a few tears and lots of hugs, Tubbo helped you hop into your armour while Ranboo unlocked the chain cuff from around your ankle. Tommy had left, leaving the door open for once, going to scout the area for any dangerous mobs.

"Ready?" Ranboo smiled, linking one of his arms with yours, the one that you held the totem in to be more specific. Tubbo happily linked his arm with the other one.

You could only nod, your voice caught in your throat as they began to walk you out the door, Ranboo had to duck down a lot, before leading you to the quartz stairway.

Once up the stairs, Tubbo pressed in a code to the iron door and it slid open quickly, causing you to flinch and pinch your eyes shut at the bright painful light of the sun.

It took about twenty minutes of trying to adjust to the sunlight with the two males encouraging you before you were able to look around.

It was everything you had missed...

The sunlight...

The trees...

God, it was perfect...

Tommy eventually came out of the tree line and sat down beside you as you took it all in...

Months, you were down there. And sure, they gave you plenty of decorations to prevent you from experiencing sensory deprivation, nothing could ever compare to the beauty of the outside world.

A voice cut through the air -calling for someone or something named Fran?- and you almost didn't recognize it. But then the owner came out of the trees, almost a similar direction that Tommy came from earlier.

Sam? He looked so... Different now...

The creeper hybrid slowly lowered his gas mask to show his mouth dropped in shock, "(Y/n)...? You're alive...?"

Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo were freaking out, trying to bring you back into the bunker, as they called it, but you weren't budging. You hadn't seen another being in ages... And while you did platonically love the three boys, you enjoyed hearing a new voice.

"You... Remember me? But... Tubbo you said-" You frowned at the goat hybrid as they stopped suddenly, realizing that you weren't moving.

"You three... Kept them locked away... For almost an entire year?" Sam's voice was getting a little bit scary now, but it wasn't directed at you, instead, at your best friends...

"Sam! It was to protect them! Please!" Ranboo tried, but he wasn't making it better.

"You made Quackity believe they ran away... Made Philza wake up every morning and walk through the SMP for any signs of them... Gave Puffy false information on where you have last seen them... lied to everyone... Only to be the reason that they were gone." Sam growled out, gripping his trident, "Then you proceeded to make them think we all forgot about them..."

"S-Sam... You've got this all wrong big man..." Tubbo tried next...

The warden wasn't listening as he pointed his trident at them, his communicator in his other hand next to his mouth, then he started speaking, causing his voice to come out of Ranboo's, Tubbo's and Tommy's pockets. He was speaking on the public channel.

"Tommy Innit, Tubbo Underscore, Ranboo Beloved... You are being placed in the prison, Pandora's Vault, for keeping (Y/n) (L/n) imprisoned in a bunker and lying about their whereabouts."

It felt like someone splashed you with cold water...

#tommyinnit x reader #dream smp x reader #yandere tommyinnit #yandere tommyinnit x reader #yandere tubbo x reader #yandere tubbo #dsmp #tommyinnit dreamsmp #tubbo dreamsmp #ranboo dream smp #tommyinnit dream smp #tubbo dream smp #c!tommyinnit #c!tommy #c!tubbo #yandere ranboo x reader #yandere ranboo #c!ranboo

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sekceesimps · 3 years

Text

The Adeptus’s Temptation (Xiao x reader oneshot)

summary: Xiao watches and reacts to his darling being flirted with by a certain Geo Archon. angst (kinda) but ends with fluff.

a/n Hey anon, I loved your requests so I decided to do both of them… hope you enjoy it! Thanks for the love and feel free to leave another request (that goes for all of you!)

This is sort of a more in depth version of the Xiao part in the Genshin Jealousy HCs

Also sorry for the delays between publishing, Tea and I have been busy with our personal lives, but we’re trying to write more!

Keep liking and following us, it genuinely motivates me to write.

Sincerely Coffee

Who would have ever thought that the Conqueror of Demons, the Vigilant Yaksha, the great adeptus Xiao would ever have a significant other that was human. Certainly not you and definitely not him.

Xiao is not someone who is easy to open up and be kind, but you managed to break through his cold and harsh demeanor. A surprise to the adeptus who had resigned himself to living his life alone and far from others. You are someone special to him in a world filled with incompetent and useless humans.

It took some time for him to allow you to spend more days with him and even allow you to initiate physical affection. At first, it came as a relief when you were out doing commissions or just going out to work, he needed his space after all. He was worried about how fast he was falling for you and clung onto the hope that the space he left would allow him to protect himself.

As your warmth and presence grew on him more, a part of him yearned to be at your side and let you closer to his heart. He had put up his icy walls to combat the heartbreak that comes after losing friend after friend, he was distraught with how quickly you broke through to him. He grumbled at your hand holding, but leaning into your touch nonetheless.

Your dangerous commissions started to lessen as he refused to let you take on the most harmful of enemies without him. After all, he had no idea what he would do if he lost you.

Xiao’s favorite thing to do with you is sit at the top of Wangshu Inn or even just the cliff sides of Liyue and bask in your attention and presence. He practically glowed under your loving gaze and from the light brushes of your hand against his. He had known the land for thousands of years and he had seen the most beautiful of landscapes in his time guarding it. He thought that he had seen every stunning thing in this world, that was at least until he met you.

Your bravery, resilience, and overwhelming beauty had completely captured him, and as time went on he fell further and further for you. The life he envisioned the two of you to live together was a calm and peaceful one. He knew it probably wouldn’t be possible with the nature of both of your responsibilities and his own life span, but an adeptus could still dream.

Now as much as Xiao wants to protect you, he can’t really leave Liyue. He’s able to help you when you’re here with him, but he’s essentially powerless when you go to Mondstadt. Of course, he’s entertained the thought of just leaving for a bit and staying by your side to protect you. In the end, he always lets you leave for work with a light kiss to your forehead and a heavy feeling in his heart.

You had accustomed him to your soft affections and gentle mannerisms. He was always reluctant in letting you leave, but he trusted your abilities and simply had to stew in his reluctance when you were gone. He often told you to simply call out his name if you were in trouble and he’d be there in a moment. To this you would simply smile and reassure him with soft kisses to the top of his head. It was a miracle when he had managed to convince you to take on more commissions and bounties in the Liyue area. It made it easier for him to come to your side for aid and also to watch over you. It also allowed for more frequent dates, which made both of you incredibly happy.

You always had the most interesting stories from your time adventuring. When you two were relaxing on loving moonlight nights, he looked forward to the smile on your face when you spoke in detail about your commissions. He was silent and let you speak, paying full attention to you. Xiao loved the silence and peace. He hated when humans would talk for hours on end, it was unnecessary and wasted his time. However, this sentiment didn’t carry on with you.

He often urged you to talk about your day and the people you met. Xiao does everything he can to coax more of your sweet voice out. Your voice had always been like music to his ears. For you, he could bear not being alone. For you, he was carving out hours of his day to cuddle and listen to you speak.

That was until everything changed with your adventuring routes. Previously, right after you switched from Mondstadt routes, the Guild had kept you near the Wangshu Inn and around the Qingce Village area. However, due to increased demand for your services, you had been moved South towards Liyue Harbor. The adventures you went on now were much simpler, but much more boring. You’d complain to your boyfriend about how you had to talk to too many people and how exhausting it was for you. Xiao would listen intently and offer a comforting embrace, silently happy that at least you weren’t out risking your life every day.

His concern began when you moved on from random requests and commissions with different people to a more stable and consistent job. You had accepted a job from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor as a one time thing, but your skill and agreeability had earned you a more permanent position there.

Your day to day job was to just assist and protect different members with finding and restoring relics across Liyue. However, it allowed you to move around more and actually engage in combat, a welcome change from before. You had helped the director herself, but your favourite employee to work with was Mr. Zhongli. He was a tall and serious man, but he was powerful and amusing to talk to.

The first adventure you had gone on with him, you couldn’t stop talking about it with Xiao when you came home that night. One adventure turned into ten quite quickly as the two of you made a habit of engaging in all your commissions with the parlor together. Zhongli as your companion in travel gave you a sense of stability and a feeling of safety when you were out in dangerous situations again.

Every night you came back, you told Xiao about the mysterious and strong man’s aid to you. The passion you spoke of his power and of his intelligence in the culture of Liyue surprised him at first. As you kept talking about Zhongli, Xiao started to feel different. He was no longer eager to hear of your adventures because he felt something very strange now.

Xiao has never felt afraid. At least, not truly. He is not afraid of death as he had accepted it long ago. Yet now you had given him something to live for and losing you would leave him back into a pit of despair, suffering, longing, and emptiness. Seeing you gush over the assistant to the funeral director filled him with a new unpleasant feeling. Heart numbing fear.

He was careful to not let you know how he felt. He was nervous that you would view him as pitiful for what he truly felt in his heart. Bile would fill up in his throat when you talked about that man as he held your full attention. In response, Xiao would start to capture your mouth with a kiss if he sensed that you’d talk about Zhongli on your dates. It got you to shut up and restored his happiness for a moment.

He felt guilty for interrupting you of course. Yet, he couldn’t muster up the courage to confront his own feelings of insecurity. The best he could do was try to prove to you how much he could offer. As his kisses began to get more heated, he found it fit to use his strength to carry you back to your shared bedroom.

Out of curiosity, Xiao decided to actually look at this Mr. Zhongli one day. If he was feeling insecure before, oh man, any self confidence he had was now wrecked. The man was absolutely perfect with you.

You were smiling and walking through the harbor-city side by side with the sharply dressed golden eyed man. The walk that the two of you had was powerful. The men and women of Liyue whispered behind you two about how cute the both of you were. Xiao silently watched as you two sat at the tea house and drank tea in silence. Zhongli had never taken his loving and intent gaze off of you. The Yaksha took in more of the man’s appearance. He was much taller than Xiao was and carried himself with a royal sort of dignity. As the two of you finished your tea, the man made a move to pay for your tea by charging it to the funeral parlor. He’s rich too, Xiao thinks sourly. What doesn’t he have? He has enough when Zhongli’s resoundingly deep voice tells you how well you fought today. If Xiao sounded like that he would never want to shut up.

He goes back into his bad habits of distancing himself and retreating back into his own silence. His awful self loathing that you worked hard to remove has manifested itself again and begun lashing out on you. Brushing you off, short snappy responses, and hardly responding to anything. This results in you thinking you did something wrong.

Oh how the adeptus breaks when he sees you try to make him Almond Tofu and various other small gifts to please him. He knows you didn’t do anything, but all he wants is you to free yourself from him and spend your life with someone who could provide so much more than he could.

In your shared bedroom, he would be physically present, but he was silent and hardly even looked at you. He could hear your muffled tears at night when you thought he was asleep. It took everything within him to not turn to you and let you lay your head in his chest and leave kisses across your face after he dried away your tears. It hurt him again when he heard you asking Verr Goldet if she could help you plan a nice surprise for him. As he stayed to listen, he had to listen to the innkeeper give you kind words as you broke down explaining what it was for.

All your advances towards his forgiveness and love go rejected. He decides that it would be better for you in the long run if it was like this. He stays cold, at least until he sees something that pushes him back to your side.

His pity party and moping is interrupted by the strangest feeling in his heart. Something painful crackles and burns inside of him. He’s not sure how he knows, but he feels that something is very wrong with you.

Xiao was not called the adeptus of speed for no reason. The speed in which he reached you was one he had not used for hundreds of years.

You weren’t in any life threatening danger, but the bond that you two shared was. He could see Zhongli gently move a strand of your hair behind your ear. You had a more nervous smile on your face.

“How fascinating, Y/N” his voice breaks the silence, “Your abilities seem to get stronger every day,” he continues praising you.

Your face flushes a light pink and you look down, breaking the gaze between you two. “You’re too kind, Mr. Zhongli, but I wouldn’t have been able to grow so much without your guidance,”

The golden eyed man smiles at this as he leans in slightly closer to you, “In that case, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

Xiao clears his throat as he steps out from the bushes and stalks towards you with a glower on his face. You look at your lover in surprise, not seeing or hearing his voice in quite some time.

“Actually, she’s already taken so you can take your leave now,” his words filled with venom. He doesn’t even try to be subtle as he holds his emerald spear by his side in warning to the man who tried to make a move on you.

Zhongli nods, “I understand, sorry for intruding,” as he leaves. Xiao’s watchful gaze not leaving him until he’s far out of sight. Your adeptus moves to your side and engulfs you in a warm hug that he wishes to convey all of his feelings of love into.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have treated you like that, it was unnecessary and you didn’t even do anything wrong. Give me a chance,” he seldom begs, “please,” he adds. His golden eyes piercing into your soul and displaying such regret.

You don’t respond, but you lean closer to him and press your lips softly against his. He forgot how much he missed this.

Oh how stupid he was for not letting you know how much he adored you known more. Well, now he had the time to make it up to you. He brings you towards the cliffside and the two of you sit down together once more, the bond shared between you too also renewed.

As you look at him, he lets you lean on his shoulder and look at the sun’s light beginning to wane as the sky was touched with beautiful pastel pinks and purples.

“I love you, Y/N” he whispers softly as he nuzzles his face into your H/C hair.

“Hmm, I love you too, Xiao,” you respond sweetly and relax under his presence.

The brown haired Archon chuckled lightly as he watched his Adeptus gently place his arm around your waist. He was happy that the cold guardian had finally found someone to love and someone to take care of him in return. When the time was necessary, Morax was ready to bring a contract to let the two of you spend the rest of eternity together, as two soulmates should.

a/n Hope you enjoyed it! Leave a like and some feedback, please.

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #xiao #xiao x reader #jealous #jealousy #oneshot #jealous!xiao #x reader #slight angst #fluff #zhongli #zhongli x reader

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cinnamonest · 3 years

Text

Yandere HCs - Kaeya & Diluc

Kaeya Alberich

This man. This man is one of the best at manipulation and mind games. He can read people very well, just from spending some time around them, watching them, he can understand the kind of things that gets under their skin, the things that worry them, the things they're insecure about, and he knows exactly how to utilize that knowledge to his benefit, so subtly you'll never even realize it.

Among his many techniques of mental manipulation is his effect on your own self-perception, a careful form of gaslighting to make you completely dependent. In your case, he utilizes your foreign status - you don't understand the culture, so it only makes sense you wouldn't recognize that that guy you were talking to clearly had ill intentions, that that merchant was trying to scam you, that that bartender was trying to slip you something when you weren't looking, that that person you thought liked you actually finds you annoying, that they're signaling for you to leave. You're awful at reading the air, really, that's how the cultural difference works, but if you asked anyone else for help, well, they might just intentionally mislead you for their own amusement, you know? He's a trustworthy guy, he'll be like a guide for you, keep you safe.

Of course, he's a very busy man, so while he's working, it's probably better for you to stay indoors by yourself. You have to promise not to leave - after all, if he thinks you're out there, all by your naive self, he'll worry about you, and he might zone out and get hurt on a mission, all because of you, and you don't want that, right?

And while you might be excited to finally get to go out once he's back, when he comes through the door you see how exhausted he is, and he knows you're so sympathetic and selfless, you won't force him to go out when he's tired, you can just have a night in to yourselves. He's your friend, of course he wants to spend some time with you. That, and he's locked himself out of the knight headquarters again, and he doesn't want to wake them up, so he not-so-subtly tells you he needs a place to stay, sheepish smile, passed off as embarrassment over his forgetfulness - which is odd, since he never seems to be forgetful otherwise. He's like that - constantly just teetering on the edge of your kindness, testing the boundaries of how much you're willing to do for him, laughing as he promises to pay you back somehow.

He's got that laid back, confident air to him, and that contributes to how easily you trust him. It makes him one of least detectable yanderes you could have - he has a trained poker face and can keep his anger restrained with a smile, only making a slight passive aggressive comment to relieve any irritation. It takes a lot to get him to lash out, but one of the quickest ways to do so is get him concerned for your safety, or panicked if you can't be found. In moments like that, he's more likely to become moody and snap at you or others, but he'll calm down eventually and apologize, treating it as so trivial you can't help but feel like you overreacted to it. He keeps his cool very well, and recovers from outbursts very easily. The other way to irritate him is showing very blatant affection for someone else, initiating physical contact with them, etc. He's a little slower to recover from that, and might need to storm off to cool down, telling you you shouldn't be so stupid as to trust someone like that.

And don't think he won't degrade you - so subtly, he makes it clear how he sees you, and how you should be seeing yourself - naive, clueless, stupid even. Immature, you don't know how the real world works, you're just like a little kid when you get mad over the latest friend of yours he's passive-aggressively insulted. You're really lucky he puts up with your tantrums. You could stand to show some gratitude that he chooses to be forgiving.

He likes to think he isn't a jealous person, and that's true, but only externally. Inside, it's a slow burning feeling, one that eats away at him. He actually won't recognize it at first. He usually doesn't have reasons to be jealous - he's the one others are envious of, and he knows that. Once he recognizes the emotion, it only makes it worse, now irritated by the insult to his arrogance that someone so beneath him, as all your friends are, could incite such emotions, that he'd even worry if they might be better. Which is a ridiculous notion - he's the best at virtually everything, the most desirable person you'll ever meet. He tells himself you're just too nice, your attention too easy to capture.

But Kaeya won't kill anyone, no, at least not personally. He's definitely above that, as appealing as the idea may be, he tells himself that whoever has earned his wrath doesn't deserve the effort, doesn't deserve the honor of being killed by him. He can't stand the thought of stooping so low as to become a murderer.

So instead, he'll use his authority to dispose of them. It's very unfortunate that you didn't notice your little friend was a criminal, didn't realize they were so violent that they'd rather die fighting than be arrested by knights. But he gets it, you're spacey, unaware, maybe a little dumb, even. Or perhaps it's a cultural difference yet again. You're just too easy to fool and deceive, this is exactly why you shouldn't wander around with people you can't trust - unlike him, someone with a reputation, an authority figure, the epitome of trustworthiness.

And finally... He is touchy. He is always finding some way to just sit on the border of normal touches, stopping short of anything you would actually feel justified in getting mad at him for. When you walk through a door, he presses your lower back to push you in. When you're drinking, he has his arm around your neck. When you say goodbye, he wraps you into face-to-face hugs and hangs on just a little too tight for just a little too long to be comfortable.

Diluc Ragnvindr

A very obvious yandere, really. Diluc is significantly less charismatic than Kaeya, but he's charming in his own little way. He's funny when he's not trying to be, taking everything way too seriously, saying unintentionally funny things with the most flat and neutral expression that makes you laugh even more.

He isn't the best with expressing his emotions, but also unlike Kaeya, he doesn't do a very good job at keeping them hidden, either. It comes out in awkward displays of affection and an intense protectiveness. He insists on paying for everything you do while in the region, will buy you random gifts, intending to give you them in person but ultimately leaving them outside your door, anonymously, hoping maybe you'd just conclude it was him and be grateful. His protectiveness is intense. He needs to know where you are, who you're with, what you're doing, virtually every hour of the day. For your safety, of course. Still, the very fact that he shows such concern is a considerable contrast from his usual complete cold stoicism.

God forbid you hang out with someone sleazy and cunning and much better at the flirting thing than him like you-know-who. No, he'll make sure you keep a good distance from the knights, insisting to both anyone who asks as well as to himself that it's because of his distrust in their competence. They can't get the most basic of tasks done, why would he ever trust them to protect you?

He's significantly easier to piss off than other yans, and he lacks both the ability to keep a cool head or quickly backtrack the way some others would. He's not prone to violent outbursts, but if he's upset about something, you'll know it. The scowl on his face and the annoyance in his tone is as unrestrained as it is threatening.

Which, speaking of, will play a role in your interactions with him. He's the most threatening persona of the genshin boys, really, and can get a little frightening at times. He'll accompany you in your journeys, and should you encounter any human enemies, he'll treat them exactly the same as he would monster ones - merciless, brutal kills. He's so caught up in protective instinct that he doesn't really process how horrifying it is for you to watch, doesn't think about how it probably doesn't look too good for him to be chasing down a fleeing enemy or running a surrendering, begging criminal straight through with a sword. Should you have the courage to bring it up, and not be too afraid to even mention it, he might try to come up with some excuse, but it's more likely he'll be his bluntly honest self and say it was for your safety. He won't insist that you thank him the way the others might, but there's a clear edge to his tone that says you shouldn't question what he does for your sake.

His threatening nature is also beneficial when it comes to any potential rivals - sometimes he doesn't even need to have a private conversation, he just has to look at them, and they're running the other way.

It's not as insufferable and delusional as Kaeya's, but he's still got that prideful streak to him. Diluc doesn't go out of his way to show off or speak in such an arrogant, snide way like the other, his pride manifests differently - his generally cold demeanor contributes to an aloofness that speaks for itself. He's better than the others around him - and he believes that himself, mostly. Which is why seeing other people around you likewise irritates him. It's not so much that he deserves your attention, though, more than they're unworthy of it.

And that's one of the primary differences between him and Kaeya - Kaeya will, albeit subtly, demean you, belittle you, talk down to you like you're a silly child, he sees himself as above you, but Diluc will place you on a pedestal, see you as some perfect being that's constantly tainted by the presence of others. You deserve something perfect too, like himself. He won't pull the same attitude of making you feel unworthy, but rather try his best to make you understand how much more you do deserve.

If you should become wary around him, try to distance yourself, try to avoid him, he'll catch on. He's not very delusional, he's a more rational yandere that could understand why you might react that way. He's also one of the more guilty yanderes, doesn't want to do anything that would make you more upset, so he'll first try earning back your favor, make you smile at him again rather than looking away and seeming so nervous. He beats himself up mentally, tells himself it's his own fault, he's not one to blame you or another force. He knows he's not the most smooth or eloquent person, but he tries his best to apologize and win you back. It takes a lot for him to apologize to anyone, but he will do so surprisingly quickly for you.

If that doesn't work, however... He'll give you a set amount of time he's determined in his mind for you to come around, and if you don't... He'll still feel guilty, he'll say he's an awful person and apologize for what he'll do, but the guilt isn't strong enough to stop him from more forceful means of isolating you and getting your attention back. If you're especially good, though, he'll let you back outside. Eventually.

As for touchiness, he's very hesitant. It's not something he's used to, poor boy is very touch-starved. But once he does, it's an exhilarating thing, even just shaking your hand will have him spacing out for the rest of the day with the memory.

#yandere x reader #yandere genshin impact #yandere kaeya #yandere diluc

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blueeyedheizer · 3 years

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rules are meant to be broken - four/billy (smut)

REQUEST: Hi! Love your writing so much! 💕💕If you’re still taking ideas for billy maybe you could one where he’s jealous of the friendship one and the reader have and then maybe smut? Or four and the reader are practicing hand to hand combat and it leads to confessing feelings and fluff of smut?? No worries if these don’t work!!💕💕

WARNINGS: smut, unprotected sex, oral (m on f)

A/N: hi love, thank you so much for requesting and sorry it took so long. I hope you like it!!

•••

"I got a good feeling about this mission. I got a really good feeling about this mission."

"You do?"

"Uh-uh. Seven's a great addition to the team. And One's got an actual plan this time, hopefully I won't have to save everyone's ass last minute again but, no, yeah, I think we'll do great." Four leaned back against his chair, arms crossed as looked at you and nodded. You chuckled and hummed, looking at the numerous pictures of your target that were plastered on the walls. You couldn't help but think about how thrilling all of this was. You'd given up on your life to fight the evil with a bunch of people you had never met, and you enjoyed every second of it. The adrenaline, the feeling of power that you get as you fight for justice and make the world a better place.

And there was the people you worked with. You had found very close friends in every one of them, especially One. He always gave the best advice, and although most people thought of him as an arrogant asshole, you saw him as a man who actually cares deeply for the people he loves. As much as he despised when you used the word "family" to describe the team, you knew he had a strong bond with everyone and cared about everyone's safety.

"So, speaking of One...are you two just fucking or making love?" Four said, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"Excuse me?"

"What? You're fucking, right?"

"We are not fucking, and we're definitely not making love either, Four. Jesus Christ." you answered, your face contorting in disgust at the thought.

"But you like him, though, right?"

"Of course I like him. But not like that. He's like a big brother to me, I thought everyone knew that!" you exclaimed, scoffing slightly. Four stared at you for a moment, his mouth agape, brows furrowed into a small frown.

"So you're not..."

"No!" you interrupted him, chuckling. You stared back at him for a moment, your arms crossed. His mouth opened to say something, only the mere sound of a breath managing to escape before he closed it in embarrassment, causing a smirk to slowly spread over your features. "What? Are you jealous?" you teased him in a playful tone, leaning forward to rest your hands on the edge of the desk. He scoffed but didn't confirm nor deny your assumption (although the answer was pretty clear to you), instead he got up from his chair and went to rummage through some drawers.

"Four, look at me." you followed him and grabbed his arm, turning him around. He sighed and you took a step closer to him. "Do you want me?" you trailed your fingertips up his arms teasingly, watching his adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed. But he didn't answer so you moved even closer to his body, slowly pressing your chest against his and hovering your lips right up close to his. "Do you want me, Four?" you repeated barely above a whisper, snaking your hands behind his neck to play with the short hair at the nape of his neck.

Four didn't notice the way he slowly leaned forward until you leaned away from him, not giving him enough time to close the gap between your lips. Your eyes moved down to his lips and you captured your bottom lip between your teeth, a smug grin forming on your features while his eyes widened.

"That's what I thought." you teased and pulled away playfully. Four let out a breath he was holding and walked towards you, causing you to step back until you were trapped against his desk. He grabbed your chin gently and lifted your face up, looking right at you.

"What game do you think you're playing?"

"I'm not playing. I was just trying to prove my point," you teased. "and I did."

You barely had time to finish speaking before your lips were pressed together in a rough kiss, eliciting a muffled noise of surprise from you. Your fingers tangled between his locks as you returned the gesture and Four pushed some papers off his desk before lifting you off the floor to sit you there.

Without breaking the kiss, you began to fumble with the belt of his pants, pulling them down hurriedly. He helped you do the same with your shorts and soon enough you were left in just your underwear, hands tangled in each other's hair as you made out heavily, breathing accelerating as you stole the air from each other.

Reaching down, Four started stimulating your clit through the fabric of your underwear. You gasped at the sudden contact then moaned softly, bucking your hips slightly to seek more friction.

Four pulled away from the kiss to watch your reaction with a satisfied grin; your cheeks were a pretty shade of pink, lips still swollen from his kisses as you whimpered and moaned his name softly, already feeling the tension build in your body.

After pulling your underwear to the side, Four gently dragged his fingers along your folds then pushed a finger inside you, causing you to gasp.

"God you're fucking dripping." He pumped his finger a few times before adding another, the sensation drawing another moan out of you. You couldn't help the small whines that escaped as he began to curl his fingers, now nudging your g-spot with every thrust. Your fingers dug into your skin and you bit your bottom lip as he started trailing kisses along your neck in between praises and dirty talk.

"I need you." you murmured, bringing his face back to yours and crashing lips again. Four moaned into the kiss before pulling away and removing his fingers from between your legs, quickly pulling his boxers down to remplace his fingers with the tip of his cock. He dragged his tip along your folds, getting himself wet enough to comfortably slide into you.

Your legs wrapped around his hips instinctively at the feeling then you pulled him closer as he started moving, keeping a slow and steady pace at first before building it up.

His thrusts rapidly became harder and faster, your moans increasing in volume in response. You wrapped an arm around his neck to support yourself as your back arched, pushing your body against his.

"Fuckfuckfuckfuck right there—" Your knuckles were turning white as you gripped the desk with your other hand, trying to keep from screaming out the closer he drove you towards your orgasm.

"Cum." his hand came to mess with your clit as he whispered against your ear, and that was it for you. A loud, punched out moan filled the room, drowning out his groans and curses as your walls clenched around him, body quivering and shaking as your orgasm washed over you.

Once you were both finished, you gave yourself some time to breathe, calming down from your mind-blowing orgasms. After about a minute you shook your head and chuckled softly, lowering your head and biting your lip in the process.

"What's so funny?" Four asked as he buckled his belt. You hooked a finger in his collar to pull him closer, his hands coming to rest on your hips again.

"I can't believe you thought One and I were fucking." you brought your hand up to his cheek and pulled him in for a kiss, letting out a satisfied hum as he kissed back eagerly, allowing himself to take control. You soon ran out of breath and had to pull away, your breathing still heavy from your previous activities.

"You're always with him. During missions, group meetings. I think we all assumed you two had something going on." Four continued as he started kissing down your neck. You chuckled.

"One would never break his own rules."

"What about you? You don't mind breaking them?"

"I don't give a fuck about the rules." you let out a soft sigh as you felt him suck a hickey onto your skin, your eyes falling shut as you let him do as he pleased. Your breathing started to grow heavy again, which Four seemed to notice as his hand found your center again. He wasted no time diving a finger through your folds, collecting your arousal and rubbing it towards your clit. Your heart started racing, soft gasps and whimpers escaping your lips as you spread your knees further apart and lifted your hips involuntarily.

"Fuck— do something please,"

Four didn't need to be asked twice as he got down on his knees almost immediately, hands coming to rest flat against your thighs to keep them spread apart. And before you had the time to urge him he was already diving in, covering your heat with his mouth, his tongue running up and down slowly through your folds. Your hand immediately tangled in his hair, pushing him further into you while continuous whimpers left your lips as he ate you out.

It was as if he knew your body already, rubbing exactly the right spots, pushing you further and further to the edge within just a few seconds.

"Oh shit," your legs began to shake around his head and you whined, trying your best to keep your eyes on him despite the urge to let your head fall back.

"That's it— just like that." Upon hearing just how good he was making you feel Four began to moan, the low rumble of his voice against your core sending electricity running through your body.

Your moans increased in response and so did the pace of his tongue, and that was all it took for you to come undone again. You came with a strangled cry, your grip tightening in his hair as you panted and ground your hips against his mouth, riding out wave after wave of your orgasm.

Four only pulled away once you were completely finished and started trailing open mouthed kisses along your inner thighs as you worked on getting your breathing back under control, his eyes never leaving your face. Then he got back on his feet and helped you off the desk before handing you your shorts back.

"What's your name?" he eventually asked, brushing a strand of hair off your face as you struggled to get dressed, your sore legs making it hard for you. You chuckled.

"Now that's the one rule i'm not going to break, Four."

→ feedbacks are more than welcome. Wether it's just a keyboard smash, an emoji or a single world, it's always appreciated and motivating. ♡

#blueeyedben #fourbilly #four/billy x reader #6 underground billy #billy/four #billy/four x reader #billy x reader #ben hardy x you #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy smut #ben hardy imagine #four/billy imagine #6 underground x reader #ben hardy #ben hardy fanfic #ben hardy fic

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ackerdaddy · 3 years

Note

hi! can i request for a oneshot for levi where he and his s/o are in the middle of a reallyyyy nasty fight where levi himself couldn’t help but lose his cool and raises his voice due to sheer frustration. but in the end they were able to find a common ground and made up. the setting will take place in the aot world but if u wanna turn it into modern au that’s fine too. :D i want to see levi lose his composure then return back to his stoic but loving self. also, i just want my angst and fluff 😂😂😂 tysm! 💓

Heya! I definitely made Levi into a soft boi for this one. It turned out to be longer than expected, so hope you enjoy <3

Parings: Levi x Reader

Genre: Angst, fluff

Words: ~1500

Summary: You recklessly put yourself in danger trying to save a friend while out on an expedition and Levi is not so happy about it

You knew you were in shit the moment Levi had glared at you from his horse across the formation as the squads retreated. The sheer intensity of his gaze had you suppressing a shiver that was threatening to run down your spine. You were excited when you were given the news that your squad was running a joint routine with the Levi squad out past wall Rose. Levi, however, had his own opinions on the matter; he hated that you were a part of this operation. It made him incredibly nervous to know his full attention wouldn’t be on keeping everyone else alive because your safety would constantly be lingering in the back of his mind, although he would never admit it.

He only said six words to you the day you left the walls.

“Don’t be stupid out there. Survive,” he tightened his grip on your wrist and sternly reminded you that he needed you to return home with him. While it seemed like he was scolding you, you knew in your heart that he said those words out of pure love and concern.

Everything had been going smoothly until you heard a blood-curdling scream that ripped from the mouth of your best friend. Looking to your left flank, you saw her being squeezed in the massive palm of an 8m titan. Your body reacted before your mind could protest, whipping your horse’s reins and taking off towards her and the beast. Once you were in range, you fired your ODM gear straight at neck of the titan and felt your body being pulled aggressively towards your target.

“Y/n, NO!” your friend screamed as you flew in. You were coming in much too quickly and at a very bad angle, desperate to save your companion.

The warning that fell from her lips was carried by the wind and alerted Levi to your location. Watching in horror from his position some leagues away, he kicked his horse into gear and galloped towards you faster than he’s ever ridden. He was forced to witness as the titan grabbed the wire of your ODM with its other hand, thrashing your body down and into the ground. You were unable to move from the sheer force of the impact, and the titan seized the opportunity. It picked you up, and all you could do was scream and slam your fists into its hand, although you knew your efforts were futile.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. You looked at your best friend in the titan’s other hand and the two of you exchanged a look of both complete terror and complete love. The wide-eyed expressions on both your faces told each other that you knew your fate had been sealed. At least you were dying together. You scrunched your eyes closed and awaited what you presumed to be your gory demise.

Your eyes sprang open in shock when you felt yourself falling rapidly through the air. The fall left you no time to gather yourself and your back hit the hard ground with a sickening thud. Your tailbone was definitely broken. Wheezing and bloody, you frantically looked around to get your bearings. Footsteps approached you and when you gazed up at your saviour, you were met with those steely eyes looking down at you with an expression you couldn’t quite put your finger on.

You groaned and cringed internally when you saw Levi approaching you as you dismounted your horse.

“My office. Now.” He was using his Captain’s voice, and you knew you had to obey.

“Hey, you wanted to see me?” You said, feigning innocence. You busied yourself with shutting the door behind you and fiddled with the lock for way longer than necessary to avoid looking him in the eyes.

“Y/n, look at me.”

You turned around to face your partner and gave him a sheepish smile, hoping it would melt the ice in his voice, even just a tiny bit.

“What did I tell you?” He asked firmly.

“Not to be stupid,” you replied, voice filled with shame.

“Exactly. And what did you do?” He pressed.

“I was just-”

“The complete opposite of what I asked,” his voice was laced with frustration. He sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose before bringing his piercing gaze back to meet yours. Normally, your boyfriend was so calm and collected, but today there was a something else burning behind those guarded eyes. Nevertheless, it was becoming increasingly bothersome that he was talking to you in such a condescending tone.

“That doesn’t mean you need to treat me like a child,” you snapped, eyes ablaze.

“If you’re going to act like a child then I am going to treat you like a child. It is that simple,” he fired back.

“So you’re saying that I should have just left my best friend to die? Is that it?” you challenged.

“Oh for god sakes y/n!” Levi stated pacing towards you, causing you to back up until your back was flush with the door. Still, he continued, “Do you think I haven’t watched countless people that I care about die? You can’t be throwing yourself directly into the path of a titan without even thinking for a single second about the repercussions!” He shouted, his demeanor becoming increasingly heated. “If I hadn’t gotten there, you would have both been killed. How noble of you to give your life for the cause!” the venom in his voice dripping with sarcasm. His palm whizzed past your head and slammed into the door. The loud clap of his palm against the wood rang in your ear.

Your mouth slightly agape, you turned your head slowly turned to observe the hand that had smacked the door, then back to Levi, whose breathing was ragged and veins were popping out of his forearms. Unable to wipe the incredulous look from your face or form a coherent sentence, you continued to stare at him with wide eyes. You had never seen him this worked up before. His raven bangs fell haphazardly into those normally reserved, cool eyes. Today, there was a fire alight in them. They shimmered with an intensity that felt like it went right through your being, to the core. You felt naked under the vigor of his gaze.

“I’m . . . I’m so sorry Levi,” you choked out, blinking rapidly and trying hard to swallow the lump in your throat. You didn’t usually show this kind of weakness with anyone, and were almost embarrassed that your partner – humanity’s strongest – was seeing you in this state.

The instant that he saw the fear and sadness in your eyes that was threatening to spill over, the fiery light that was in his eyes was completely extinguished. This time, it was replaced by a soft look of compassion and love.

“Shh, it’s okay,” he tugged at your wrist, pulling you swiftly into his chest and resting his chin on top of your head. “I’m not mad, I was just worried. Y/n . . . I can’t lose you,” he admitted, his voice low and soft; almost a whisper. The low rumblings of his voice in his chest reverberated through your own, comforting and grounding you as you relaxed into his embrace and sighed through your nose contently.

“So . . . what you’re saying is I’m special to you?” you asked playfully, the crackling tension that had previously been in the air all but evaporated.

“Oh you’re special alright,” he joked, chuckling as he moved one calloused hand to caress the side of your head, guiding your face to his, your eyes locking. You heart melted when the corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly into that crooked smile you loved so much. “You’re such a brat,” he teased, but the tone of his voice was interwoven with nothing but adoration.

“Yeah but I’m your brat,” you retorted, stretching up on your tippy toes to plant a tiny kiss on the tip of his nose.

“Must be my lucky day,” his voice was soft and warm as he leaned in to capture you lips in his.

#levi ackerman #levi requests #levi one shot #levi aot #levi snk #the veterans #corporal levi #levi heichou #captain levi #levi x reader #shingeki no kyoujin #rivaille #my writing #levi angst #levi fluff #angst #fluff

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mymelodyheart · 3 years

Text

Save The Date Chapter 11 ~What’s Brewing Claire?~

picture credit

Previously in Stramash ...

Jamie pulled back to look at her face and tipped her chin up to survey the cut on her lips. "He did this?"

She could only nod as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

Jamie turned the gun in his hand and marched towards the door, shouting at the police ushering Jack out to wait. Before Claire could scream for him to stop, he brought his forehead down on Jack's nose in a head butt before handing the weapon to a nearby officer. The sound of cartilage crunching echoed in the tiny room, making Claire wince. Jack fell onto his knees with a loud thud, holding his bleeding nose, shouting improprieties muffled by his hands.

"Now, that was uncalled for, Fraser," an officer clucked, but his grin and the amusement in his eyes implied he wasn't too bothered over Jack's injury. "Now go and get some rest. I'll handle the paperwork and delay the statement for tomorrow morning. You both have done enough to save the day."

If you wish to read this on AO3, here is the link.

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Jamie studied Claire. She lay relaxed on the examination table, going through her phone and reading messages. She looked untroubled and seemed to have recovered from the ordeal this past weekend. The only tell-tale sign left of that hellish night was the tiny scab on her lower lip and bruising on her right cheek where Jack Randall had struck her. She was whole and safe, and yet here he was, having trouble letting go of that incident.

When he'd helplessly watched Jack shoved a gun against her neck and dragged her away from his sight, he'd felt the full gravity of her vulnerability and his inadequacy to secure her safety. But how Claire had handled the situation was nothing short of mind-blowing, albeit heart-stopping. She'd kept her presence of mind, aptly keeping Geneva talking while the tech specialist monitored the audio listening device. The moment they'd identified the voice on the phone, the administration in Broadmoor had been immediately alerted to make sure Geneva didn't go anywhere until the police arrived.

Geneva and Jack were in jail now, awaiting trial and most likely would stay there for a very long time. He really needed to stop fixating on what could have gone wrong and focus on the matter at hand, like their baby's condition and Claire's health.

He puffed out a breath and sprung onto his feet. "Ye comfy, Sassenach?"

"I'm good," she replied, without looking up from her phone screen.

"Ye ken, we can cancel the baby reveal for another day."

"I know, but I prepared so much food already."

They were having his family and closest friends over for afternoon tea to share the news of their baby. Claire had insisted on a celebration to invalidate the ordeal Geneva had put them through, determined not to allow recent events to cast a shadow over their upcoming nuptials. Jamie had thought it was too soon, but Claire had pressed that the sooner they moved forward from the incident, the better.

So last night, she'd spent the entire evening preparing shortcrust pastries, scones batter and making Victorian sponge cake. Apparently, she'd taken some lessons in baking and cooking from Mrs Fitz so that she could host parties like Jenny and his ma. It was as if her work, all the travelling she'd been doing, preparing for the wedding and recovering from trauma wasn't enough. She also needed to put up a brave front.

Though the doctor had given Claire an all-clear in London after a routine checkup, Jamie had insisted on another examination when she'd complain of spotting last night. He hadn't a clue what that had meant, but the concerned look on her face was enough for him to push her for another doctor's appointment. To his relief, she'd hardly put up a fight, and he'd immediately arranged a consultation with a private practice to speed things along since the NHS hospitals were notorious for long waits.

"I just want ye to be certain, Sassenach. That's all. I dinnae want this tea party putting a strain on ye."

Claire put her phone down and glanced up at him. "I'm pregnant, Jamie, not incapacitated. I know you're worried about the spotting, but I'm quite certain pregnant women gets them sometimes. I don't feel ill, but here we are, taking precautions."

Sighing, he moved to her side and took her hand in his. "It's just that I'm bothered about that bruise behind yer back. It looks vicious. I ken bruising looks a lot worse than it is, but I cannae help but wonder if the baby has been harmed when ye banged yer behind on those shelving units after Jack pushed ye. I'm concerned about any delayed complications. Or if the doctor in London overlooked something."

She squeezed his hand. "Your worries are valid, Jamie. The odds of miscarriage or complications might be highest in the first trimester, but I haven't had any issues." She shrugged. "Oh, well, except for the tiny spotting last night. I'm sure everything's fine. Try not to worry."

Easier said than done, Jamie thought. How could Claire sit there looking so calm? Now that she's pregnant, the world was suddenly full of threats: unpasteurised juice and dairy, soft cheeses that she loved so much, fish high in mercury, saunas and hot tubs, secondhand smoke, changing Adso's litterbox. Not to mention aunt Jocasta's bloody stories of baby-abducting fairies. He really needed to stop reading too much pregnancy information; otherwise, he'd go insane.

Claire gave him a look that said she could tell he was overthinking things.

He promptly kissed her on the lips. "Aye, I guess ye're right," he conceded. "I'm sorry for over-reacting."

The door suddenly opened, and in walked a friendly-looking middle-aged female doctor. "Hello, Claire! Dr Fiona Innes. How are we feeling today?"

"I'm good, just a bit nervous about the spotting," Claire breathed.

"Understandably." Then the doctor turned to Jamie. "And ye're..."

"James Fraser. The one who got her up the duff," he replied, taking the doctor's outstretched hand and giving it a firm shake.

"Jamie!" Claire gasped, her face crimsoning profusely.

The doctor laughed. "Hah! I like that! A good sense of humour will get ye through anything." She dragged the ultrasound monitor closer to the exam table and pulled up a stool. "So, let's get started so we can put both yer mind at ease, shall we?" She proceeded to put gloves on and prepare the probe that Jamie had the unfortunate luck of knowing already what it was for. "Now, Claire, I want ye to lie back and place yer feet in the stirrups."

Claire did as she was told while Jamie helped her ease down. He winced when he heard the sound of latex snapping over the probe. He looked away and took Claire's hand in his.

"Is this your first ultrasound visit, Mr Fraser?"

He glanced over his shoulder, thinking the doctor must have noticed the strain on his face. "Aye and no."

Dr Innes arched an eyebrow.

Jamie pointed at the probe and tried not to grimace. "I've seen a doctor used that thing on her when she was hospitalised a few weeks ago. I hadn't known what was going on then, so I walked away and let them get on with it."

"I see." The doctor refocused her attention back to Claire. "Now relax for me and big deep breaths," Dr Innes advised as she put lubricating gel on the blunt tip of the probe. "This will be a tad bit uncomfortable."

Claire shut her eyes and took a deep breath while Jamie whispered all sorts of nonsense in her ear. When her grip clenched into a tight vice, he pressed his lips on the top of her head.

A few seconds passed, and that's when he heard it. He stilled. It was loud, clear and steady. The unmistakable sound of a heartbeat coming from the monitor. It was their baby's. He let out a sharp exhale, realising he'd discovered something powerful in the tiny, vulnerable life form growing in Claire's womb.

His ma once said that the heartbeat was the first music that a child heard and that every bairn was born knowing the rhythm of their mother's song. To Jamie, this was the sound of their child's soul, the unspoken words already speaking volumes. It was as if it was saying, I'm alive and well, can you hear me?

"Weel, that sounds like a strong and healthy heartbeat there," Dr Innes remarked. "See right there?" Jamie and Claire stirred in their positions to take a better look at where the doctor was pointing. "That's yer baby."

Releasing Claire's hand, Jamie stepped closer to the monitor and tipped his head to the side, adjusting his eyes to discern the grainy image on the monitor. When he finally figured out the shape, mixed emotions began to bombard him in all directions. He felt the complexity of love at seeing a piece of himself and Claire on the screen, inspiring fierce protective instinct to kindle within him. Words like elation, joy and sobering responsibility were too meagre terms and did not give justice in describing how visceral all his emotions were.

"T-that ..." Jamie pointed an index finger at the image, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Is that a ..."

"It's not what ye think, Mr Fraser. That's the foot," Dr Innes responded briskly. She shifted the probe at a different angle to capture another image. "As far as I can see, everything seems to be in perfect working order. I can safely say ye have a healthy, strong baby, so ye can both rest easy."

Jamie continued to stare at the monitor, still trying to wrap the idea of impending fatherhood around his head. "The baby is no' missing any parts, is it?"

"The baby has everything it should have at this stage of the pregnancy," the doctor replied, amused. "Though I think we'll need another few weeks to be able to tell the gender."

"Thank you so much, doctor," Claire said gratefully, pushing herself upright. "We were worried about the spotting and thought it might have had to do with the stress and trauma of what happened last weekend. It was mad, really. I nearly got abducted and had a gun pointed at me."

The doctor threw the probe's latex into the waste and began peeling off her gloves, seemingly unaffected by what Claire had just revealed, making Jamie think physicians were used to hearing such stories. The doctor gave them both an understanding look. "Having a gun pointed at ye is quite jarring, so I understand why ye're both concerned. So how are ye coping mentally?"

"I try not to dwell on it and carry on as usual," Claire shrugged. "So far, I'm dealing with it fine."

The doctor looked at Claire curiously, her expression full of empathy. "Sometimes ignoring it isn't as cut and dried as you think. Try and get some counselling. Ye're going to deal enough with all the hormones impacting yer physiological, physical and mental well being. This is the time to be enjoying this exciting time in yer life, so counselling is just taking a precautionary step to ensure you are in a good place and prepared for what the next few months will throw at ye."

Jamie locked eyes with Claire, and a silent agreement passed between them. They both understood the impact of a traumatising experience, and he wanted to take the doctor's advice on board.

"I'll make sure she and the baby are well taken care of," he reassured the doctor, patting Claire's thigh.

"I'm sure ye will," the doctor smiled, pressing buttons on the monitor.

"Let's just hope he won't go over the top," Claire added. "He has a tendency to do that."

The doctor pulled out copies of ultrasound images from the printer and glanced up at Jamie. "I can understand the need to protect, but just bear in mind, us women are more resilient and stronger than we look," she pointed out. "And pregnant women aren't as frail as society perceives them to be."

Jamie laughed. "There's no question about that. After all, my wife-to-be here achieved what twenty-four specialist firearms officers could not."

"Oh?" Dr Innes looked surprised. "And what was that?"

"She single-handedly took down a maximum-security prisoner escapee, helped led the police to his psychopathic accomplice and in the process saved an innocent mistakenly imprisoned," Jamie explained. "I ken it was a foolish move with her being pregnant and all ..."

"It might have been foolish, but I happen to believe Claire's response is inherent in all mothers and mothers-to-be, and it's something almost impossible for the human brain to override."

"Och, aye?"

"It's called maternal instinct, Mr Fraser, and it's as old as life itself." Dr Innes got up and handed him an envelope containing the ultrasound images. "So woe to anyone who dares a mother-to-be or new mother harm because they're utterly more ferocious than any man wielding a gun when it comes to defending their nest." She looked between him and Claire and smiled. "Anyway, congratulations to you both on your coming parenthood." Then she faced Jamie and patted him on the shoulder. "And as for ye, congratulations on yer newly acquired bodyguard. Ye can sleep well tonight."

..........

Jamie walked in and placed the last of their shopping bags onto the kitchen counter. "Is there anything else ye need, Sassenach, before I go?"

Claire felt him approach and busied herself, placing apples in a large bowl and then lemons in another. "Umm ...I think I have everything I need." She felt his eyes boring into her back but tried her best not to get distracted. "Shall I make a sandwich to take with you?"

"No, I'm no' hungry."

"Oh, alright ...I guess I shall see you later then."

"I have a few minutes to spare. Want to talk?"

"Talk about what?"

"What ye're feeling. Ye haven't said much all morning ...since we left the clinic. And ye hardly talked to me while we went food shopping."

She took out a knife and honing steel from a drawer and went through the motion of sharpening the blade. "Oh ...I guess I must have been preoccupied with my mental to-do list. That's all."

A long silence ensued, and after what felt like an eternity, he let out an exasperated sigh. "Sassenach, can ye stop what ye're doing for a minute and look at me?"

Hot tears suddenly settled behind her eyes, but she fiercely blinked them back and breathed deeply, swallowing down conflicting emotions and refusing to let them fall. She didn't want to be the type of woman who cried at the littlest and inconsequential thing. She'd never been a crier before, and she wasn't about to become one if she could help it.

"I'm busy, Jamie."

"Please."

Bracing herself, she placed down her utensils and faced him. "What is it?"

"This ..." Jamie waved his hand at the shopping bags on the counter. "I ken what this is. Ye havenae sat still ever since we came back from our trip. Ye've decluttered our bedroom and cleaned out all the kitchen cupboards. And now an afternoon tea party? I ken what ye're doing. Ye're keeping yersel' busy to forget what happened in London instead of talking about it."

"No." She shook her head. "It's not that."

Jamie impatiently rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. "Weel, what is up with ye then?"

"Hormones."

"Hormones," Jamie echoed. "Why did you no' just say so?"

She felt her face heat up. "I don't know. Maybe I didn't know it at the time. Or perhaps, because it all seems so silly that I'm getting all worked up for nothing."

Jamie stepped closer and braced her cheeks with both hands, a calloused thumb tenderly swiping her lower lip. "Listen to me very carefully. Whatever ye're feeling or going through, hormonal or not, is never silly. Everything ye have to say is important to me. Trust me on that. I always want to know if something is bothering ye and be able to help ye fix it. Yer body is going through many changes, and it's normal yer emotions are all over the place. So no more self-deprecating thoughts about yer feelings. Am I making myself clear?"

She pursed her lips and nodded, tamping down the urge to cry.

"Very well then, tell me what's going through that mind of yers. At least we can clear the air between us before I go, and my whole family comes and start noticing that something isnae right. Today is supposed to be a celebration of our baby. I dinnae want anything to ruin this day in as much as I think we should delay this for another time."

"Fine." She shut her eyes to search for the right words, but no matter how she formulated them in her head, it didn't sound right. Saying it out loud would only make her appear pathetic. But there was no way around it once Jamie set his mind in extracting something from her.

"Sassenach?"

Her eyes flew open. "Yes?"

"Yer face is getting redder by the second. I'm beginning to worry."

"Very well, if you must know ..." She blew out a breath. "You haven't touched me since that night in London, that's what," she blurted out. "I feel like you're avoiding me. Every time it was time for us to go to bed, you always had some excuse, like you haven't walked the dog or you need to check the emails." Unable to hold it back any longer, she suddenly burst out crying. "I know it's hormones talking, and I'm acting silly. But I can't help but feel the way I feel because I'm hormonal and horny. That's why I'm keeping myself busy, so I will not overthink things. Because if I did, I'd start believing you don't want me anymore, even if logic says it's not true. Happy now?"

He blinked rapidly as if his brain was short-circuiting.

"Yeah, just the reaction I knew I was going to get. See what I mean when I said I was acting silly?"

"No," he groaned out loud. "Sweet baby Jesus! Ye cannae say things like horny when I have to go."

Claire slapped Jamie on the chest. "Jamie! You wanted to know what was wrong! Now that I've said it, you can't blame me for it!"

"Cancel the tea party, and I'll tell Willie I'll be late!"

"No!"

"Why no'?"

"Because!"

With a deep groan, he grabbed her neck from behind and gave her a hard kiss. There was nothing tender or playful about it, just a desperate act of trying to get his fill. He let out a frustrated moan as his tongue swept in her mouth, and a hand cupped her breast, his arousal hard and thick against her belly, letting her know how much he wanted her. When he finally broke the kiss, they were both gasping for air. He pressed their foreheads together, breathing harshly into her face. "How could ye think, even in yer hormonal state, I dinnae want ye any more? Damn it, Sassenach, I've been aching for ye these past few days."

"Then why didn't you touch me?"

He shook his head as he attempted to even his breath. "That night in London, after I took ye back to the hotel, I wanted to bury myself deep inside ye so I could remind myself that ye're really alive and back in my arms. But when I saw that bruising behind yer back and knowing what ye've just been through in yer pregnant state, I thought if I took ye right there and then, I might cause ye irreparable damage, physically and psychologically. I wanted to make sure ye're properly healed first and that our baby was safe. God, all those nights I was away from our bed, I've been doing push-ups to release all those pent-up frustrations of not being able to make love to ye."

"So you did want me all along ..."

He tapped her nose. "Aye, ye silly goose."

"Oh Jamie," she sighed. "You still don't get it, do you?" She placed a hand against his face and smiled for the first time that morning.

"Get what?" he asked, looking suddenly confused.

"You should know by now, lovemaking is the best stress reliever. I thought you knew that."

"Weel ..."

"Remember the times when you were all worked up and conflicted, and how much better you felt after sex?" When he nodded, she pressed on. "Whenever you and I have sex, whether it's fast, hard, long or a quickie, it always came from a place of love. And we've talked about this before ...love heals. The most wonderful thing about our lovemaking, it puts us in that intimate space where we can better connect, heal, open us to those hard conversations, helping us in the process to find closure and release. If sex worked for you to ease your stress, why should it be any different for me? I needed you most after that horrendous night, Jamie. I needed your body to ground me. But I understand now why you didn't touch me that night."

Jamie stared at the ceiling and sighed before looking at her with a mixture of wonderment and torment. He let out a pained laugh. "Weel, right now, I'm under a lot of stress and pressure." He took her hand and placed it on his bulging arousal to make a point. "How about we continue this in the bedroom and let off some steam? I'm stressed, and ye're horny. Ideal combo! Ye can use my body anyway ye want."

Claire clucked her tongue and planted a quick kiss on his lips. "Oh, no, you don't, you sneaky, Scot! You're running late as it is." She placed both hands on his chest and began pushing him out of the kitchen. "How about you let me get on with food preparation, and you finish what you need to do so you can come home as soon as you can in time for the tea party?" she proposed.

"How about my stress levels?" he grumbled.

"Your stress levels are fine!" She turned him around and smacked him on the bum. "Now go. Mrs Fitz will be here any minute to bring the Battenberg cake I ordered."

At the mention of Mrs Fitz, Jamie didn't need any more prodding. He gave her another quick kiss and left the cottage, muttering something about getting a new house before slamming the door behind him.

..........

The rest of the morning and early afternoon passed by quick, and something in Claire lightened even though she was a nervous wreck hosting her first traditional English tea party.

She looked at the kitchen counter laden with several tiered plates displaying the delicacies she'd meticulously prepared. She was ready, and everything looked perfect.

She'd made four different tea sandwiches to be on the safe side: pear and stilton, cucumber and cream cheese, egg salad, and smoked salmon and dill. And then there were scones, lemon curd tartlets, fruit tarts, and shortbread and Linzer cookies she was looking forward to gorge on. On the other end of the counter were Mrs Fitz's Battenberg cake and Claire's pièce de résistance, Victoria's sponge filled with jam, berries and double cream. Her teabox was neatly packed with Darjeeling, Earl Grey, and Assam, and the pitchers of lavender and elderflower lemonade were cooling nicely in the fridge.

Perfection!

She was about to wash the sink when she heard a rap on the window. She looked up and saw Jenny waving at her. Letting her in through the kitchen back door, she was surprised to see her carrying a stack of real estate pamphlets and magazines with its pages tabbed with colourful sticky notes.

"Jen! What's all that?"

Jenny shrugged. "Weel, after what happened to ye in London and with everything going on at the moment, I thought I'd make yer life easier." She plonked down her load on a nearby stool and picked up a magazine, leafing through the pages. "I heard from Willie ye and Jamie are looking for a bigger place. So I decided to grab all these. It has listings of every available property for sale in the surrounding area. Ma and I saved the pages we thought ye and Jamie might like."

"Oh, Jen!" Claire gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.

Jenny waved a hand. "Think nothing of it!"

Feeling emotional, Claire gave Jenny a big hug. "That's very thoughtful of you. Thank you so much." When she finally broke away from their embrace, she noticed deep furrows on Jenny's forehead. "Jen? What's wrong?"

Jenny's usually brilliant blue eyes suddenly looked serious as they landed on the bruising on her cheek. "Does that still hurt?"

Claire touched her cheek. "Oh, this? No, not at all. It looks worse than it is. Poor Jamie getting all these weird looks when we're out and about. He was even accused by some granny of being an abuser. I can understand why but I had to step in and explain to the old dear."

Jenny wrung her hands and gave her a small smile. "Actually, I -I came early because I wanted to talk with ye. Just us two."

"Oh, do you want a drink first?" Claire offered, jerking a thumb in the direction of the fridge. "I have some lemonade ..."

"No! Please! I need to get this out before anything else."

Claire nodded. "Alright then, I'm all ears."

"I-I want to apologise for ..." Jenny's chin crumpled, seemingly attempting to blink back her tears. " ...for what happened to ye in London."

"Wot? Oh, Jen! Why are you apologising? That wasn't your fault."

Jenny raised a hand, which told Claire to let her talk. "It was in some ways my fault, Claire. Geneva was my friend, and I tried to push Jamie and her together. I shouldn't have told her last year there was a vacancy in the village, and then she wouldn't have come back and pursued her interest in my brother. I honestly had no idea she was capable of such horrid deeds. If I'd known, I wouldn't have taken her into my circle of friends and family."

Claire shook her head. "No one could have known, and no one knew. Even her work colleagues and peers were shocked when they found out what she's done. She's a master manipulator, Jen, and she probably manipulated you too under the guise of friendship."

"Still ..." Jenny insisted. "If it wasn't for my meddling ..."

"Stop right there!" Claire wagged a finger at Jenny. "We've locked horns on the subject before and moved on from that already. Alright? Past is past. We all make mistakes. The most important thing is we learn from it. So no more mention of Geneva."

This time Jenny's smile reached her eyes. "Fine! Just dinnae tell Jamie we talked about this."

"Whyever not?"

"Jamie has given everyone in the family strict orders, not to mention about London today."

"Really?"

Jenny nodded. "He didn't want to ruin today's celebration rehashing what happened. Unfortunately, I had to in order for me to apologise, but enough of that now." She clapped her hands. "So, how about that drink. I'm parched." She whirled around and stopped, her eyes widening when she saw the spread Claire had prepared. Walking over to the kitchen counter, she took in everything with a smile. "Goodness, did ye make all these?"

Claire smiled with pride. "I did. Except for the Battenberg cake. Mrs Fitz made it."

"Ye said, ye didnae know how to bake," Jenny said almost begrudgingly.

"Now I do, thanks to the wifey Bootcamp I attended, also known as Mrs Fitz's kitchen."

"These all look scrumptious. It's been ages since I had a proper English afternoon tea." Jenny glanced up at her and grinned. "So, what are we celebrating?"

Claire nearly blurted out the baby news, but she quickly caught herself. Sliding an arm around her soon-to-be sister-in-law, she walked Jenny to the end of the counter to show her the sponge cake. "Today, we're celebrating love, friends and family."

Jenny poked a finger into the clotted cream and licked. "I like the sound of that. That'll always be a perfect excuse for a celebration or a proper afternoon tea party."

Claire smiled. "I couldn't agree more, Jen. I couldn't agree more."

..........

Jamie came home from work and noticed all the sandwiches, tarts and cakes laid out on the kitchen counter. He was mildly astonished that Claire had been able to prepare so much in the nick of time. He glanced out the window and spied her and Jenny in the garden, busily arranging tablecloths on the long wooden table. Looking at his watch, he realised he had about fifteen minutes to get ready before their friends and family started arriving.

But first things first.

Stepping out into the backyard, he snuck behind Claire and wrapped his arms around her waist, planting a soft kiss on her neck. "Mmm, ye smell of berries, lemon and lavender," he whispered, running his lips on her bare skin and ignoring Jenny's mumbling about getting a room.

Claire turned in his hold and smiled up at him. "And you reek, mister. You won't be served tea smelling like that."

"Fancy a shower with me then?" he suggested, feeling mischievous. "Jen's here to look out for guests."

"Nice try, but I had a shower already, and Jen is our guest today."

He leaned down and nibbled her earlobe, making her squeal.

"Jamie, you're going to get my dress dirty. Oh, fiddlesticks ..." She suddenly stilled mid-laughter and made a face, her hand covering her nose. "Urgh ...what's that smell?"

Jamie let her go and took a whiff of his shirt. "Oh, it's just a bit of wood stain I was working with. It'll come off in a wash."

Her face suddenly turned pale. "Oh, God, I think I'm going to be sick. Tell Jen I'll be right back ...and you ...you go have a shower before your parents arrive." With that, she spun around and ran back to the cottage.

Stunned, he watched her disappearing form and whistled under his breath. "What just happened?" he muttered, even though he knew the answer had to do with the dreaded pregnancy sickness. She'd been doing so well so far he almost thought morning sickness was nothing but a myth, even though Claire had revealed, she couldn't stand the smell of aniseed, star anise, fennel, and liquorice.

"Maybe, she's pregnant and suffering from sickness?" Jenny replied, walking past him with an armful of wildflowers to put into the empty vases dotted on the wooden table.

He hadn't realised Jenny had returned from wherever she'd disappeared to. He needed to be careful not to reveal their baby news too soon, or the surprise would be ruined. Jenny was simply someone who couldn't keep a secret.

"Ach, I should have known chemical smells always make her nauseous," he explained, not wanting to give too much away to his perceptive sister.

Jenny twitched her lips from side to side as she trimmed the bouquet's stems with pruning shears. "Aye, that will be right!" she smirked.

He glared at his sister. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged and gave him a knowing look. "Nothing! Now go have a shower, and I'll take care of things here until Claire feels better."

Jamie was about to say more when he heard the sound of a car parking in the driveway. As Jenny made a move to take a look, he quickly made a beeline back to the cottage before anyone saw him, hoping Claire had already recovered from her bout of sickness.

..........

Jamie leaned back on his chair and glanced around. It was a perfect summer late afternoon, and everyone seemed to be having a great time and enjoying the food Claire had prepared. The sun warmed his face and bathed the garden in dazzling light, making the different shades of green and the profusion of wildflowers more vibrant and alive. The chatter was lively, and funnily enough, no one complained about the lack of alcohol which was highly unusual for a gathering in Scotland. But, he suspected his godfather must have a flask of whisky or something similar tucked away somewhere as he was getting louder and more boisterous as time went by.

He took Claire's hand in his, and she turned his way and smiled. Her face looked pale, but there was an aura of tranquillity radiating from her that told him she was happy and content. Though her plate was full of food, it remained untouched, and if anyone had noticed, no one said anything. "How are ye feeling, Sassenach?"

She took a huge deep breath, held it in for a few seconds and then relaxed. "I'm fine," she sighed. "It's a lovely day, isn't it?"

He knew she was valiantly fighting back the sickness that must be creating havoc in her body but was too stubborn to give in to it. "Shall we tell them about the surprise so you can finally have a rest?" he suggested in a low voice, so no one would hear. "It cannae be comfortable sitting here when ye feel so unwell."

She shook her head as she gulped in more air. "I want to wait for uncle Lamb. He'll be here soon."

Quentin's plane from Athens should have arrived four hours ago but was delayed because of some mechanical issues. Jamie hoped for Claire's sake Quentin was on his way and wasn't dilly-dallying somewhere, like planning a grand entrance. Jamie kissed her cheek, hoping to sweet talk her to giving up this charade of wellness. "I'm pretty sure ye're uncle will understand once he finds out about yer condition."

"I know," Claire murmured. "But I want today to be perfect and complete. I want to see uncle Lamb's face when we announce it."

"But it's already perfect."

"Not without uncle Lamb."

Jamie prayed for patience and tamped down the urge to haul this beautiful but infuriating woman in his arms and carry her to bed. He squeezed her hand and yielded to her request, knowing this get-together was important to her. "Whatever ye say, Sassenach. Just let me know if ye need anything."

"I will," she replied between sharp intakes of breath.

Jamie decided not to press anymore. He knew this was one battle he couldn't win without creating a scene in front of their friends and family. But if Claire thought she was pulling this act off, Jamie was convinced, his perceptive family had already caught on with what was passing. Claire was a terrible actress, and she couldn't even lie to save her life.

Fortunately, their intimate tea party was animated and loud, and it diverted the attention from Claire. Directly opposite them, Tom and Willie were discussing the merits of owning a mini campervan for spontaneous weekend trips around the Highlands. On one end of the table, Murtagh passionately ranted and raved to Brian and uncle Duncan about the Tories and how SNP was the solution to Scotland's political future. Next to Claire, Annalise showed Ellen and aunt Jocasta how to work the Instagram app while Jenny, Mary and Geillis cackled over some celebrity gossip they've probably read somewhere. Grannie Annie had meanwhile fallen asleep in her seat with Adso in her lap and Rollo at her feet. At the far end of the garden, Finlay, Geillis' boyfriend and Ian were having a go at playing badminton but kept hitting the shuttlecock over the hedge to both their frustration.

Though Jamie was happy the tea party had gone as planned, he couldn't relax, too worried about Claire predicament. If it got to the stage where Claire lost any more colour to her face, he was sure no one would be able to blame him for whatever course of action he would take next.

"Right, does anyone want some fresh cuppa?" Claire suddenly announced, getting up from her seat.

Annalise immediately jumped to her feet. "I can do that."

Willie got up too. "I'll put the kettle on."

"I'll clear up the empty dishes," Geillis offered, already grabbing an empty tiered plate stand. "We dinnae want this stunning antique piece being knocked over, now do we?"

Ellen reached over to Claire from her seat and patted her hand. "Everything was lovely, dear. I couldnae decide which was my favourite. And that lavender lemonade was refreshing."

"Aye," Murtagh piped in as he got up and sat directly opposite Claire. "I bet it will taste even better with gin or vodka."

Brian frowned at Murtagh. "The lavender lemonade tastes good as it is. There's nae need to spoil it with alcohol. Besides, it's good for ye to give yer poor liver a wee break. If ye're no' careful, yer gene pool will soon have a swim-up bar."

"I dinnae drink that much," Murtagh grumbled.

"Aye ye do," Aunt Jocasta pointed out. "Dinnae think for one minute I didnae notice ye've been spiking yer tea."

Before Murtagh could retort, Geillis came back in time with a steaming mug and placed it in front of Claire.

"Ooh, what's this?" Claire asked, looking into her drink.

"It's ginger and turmeric tea," Geillis declared. "It's good for ye. I brought it with me from Glasgow. It's organic, and thought ye might like it."

Jamie couldn't help but smile to himself. He knew ginger tea or any form of ginger were effective in reducing nausea. Claire probably knew too because her eyes lit up and gave Geillis an appreciative nod. If he wasn't a hundred per cent certain earlier, everyone knew about Claire's condition, now he's more convinced than ever they were playing along. Jamie appreciated the gesture, but this had gone on too far. Where the bloody hell is Quentin?

"I'm back!" boomed a voice, waking grannie Annie up. It was as if Jamie's thoughts had conjured Claire's uncle from thin air, and there he was making a grand entrance as Jamie had expected. "I hope there are some leftovers. I'm famished."

Claire laughed, twisting around on her seat to watch her uncle approaching. Ellen got up and started plating some food for Quentin.

"There's plenty of leftovers," Annalise assured as she placed another platter of sandwiches on the table. "Claire made enough for the entire village."

Quentin gave Claire a quick kiss on the forehead before greeting the rest of the party, who'd gathered back around the table. "Sorry for the delay," he apologised, finally taking a seat next to Claire. "Our plane was stuck on the tarmac without any air conditioning. We had no choice but to sit there and stew in the heat while the engineers fixed the plane."

"Well, I'm glad you're here now," Claire said, looking adoringly at her uncle.

Quentin stared at the bruising on her cheek. "I don't like the look of that. It looks ..."

Sounds of several throats clearing ensued, a signal to Quentin not to pursue the London topic any further.

"Very well," Quentin nodded in understanding. "I'm glad too that I'm here."

Claire smiled. "Alrighty, so now that everyone's here, Jamie and I have an announcement to ..."

"Hold that thought, sweetheart," Quentin interrupted as he bent down to retrieve the holdall he'd placed at his feet. "I brought a souvenir."

Jamie bit his tongue at the interruption.

"I hope it's not another ceramic plate," Claire groaned, unaware of Jamie's frustration.

"No. I got something better." Quentin waggled his bushy eyebrows as he unzipped his bag and proceeded to rummage through its contents. "Wait for it! Wait for it!" Suddenly he yanked out a bottle and held it up for everyone to see. "I got Ouzo!" he announced with satisfaction.

"Yesss, ya beauty!" Murtagh cheered happily, banging a hand on the table. "I love Ouzo."

Aunt Jocasta scowled at Murtagh. "Ye like anything alcoholic. Ye'll drink Listerine if it was placed in front of ye."

"What's Ouzo?" Claire asked as she stared curiously at the offering. "I mean, I've heard of it before, but I've forgotten what it is."

Jamie was about to fill in the information and tell her she wouldn't be able to stand the smell of it when Quentin expertly uncapped the bottle and held it under Claire's nose. Oblivious to Jamie's hitch of breath, Claire pressed her nose closer to the opening of the bottle to take a better whiff. Ah, shite!

"It's an anise flavoured liquor," Quentin described. "Mostly served as an aperitif in Greece.."

Jamie watched in awe as Claire's head jerked back and her face contorted when her senses registered the smell, and a low, gurgling sound came from deep down in her belly. He winced, half expecting any moment now a horrific scene of projectile vomiting, and the recipient would be none other than his godfather sat opposite her. But Claire jumped to her feet, startling everyone, and her hand immediately clapped over her mouth, golden eyes bright and tearing up. Quick thinking Jenny, grabbed a sprig of mint she'd put in the vase, macerated it in her hands and offered it to Claire. Everyone gasped and watched in fascination as Claire took the green leaves and stuffed her mouth with them, and began to chew, jaws working overtime, reminding Jamie of a cow feeding in the fields. Nobody said a word, waiting for the next scene to unfold or for someone to offer an explanation.

Swallowing audibly, Claire finally untensed and slumped back down to a loud hearty burp. And as if nothing had happened, she calmly drank a good measure of her ginger tea, put the mug down and then smiled. "Sorry about that. So where were we again?"

Eyes bulging almost out of his head, Quentin sputtered before he managed to string a coherent sentence together. "W-What the bloody hell was that? Was that some kind of weird side effects from what happened in London that I have no idea of?"

Claire looked at Jamie, looking suddenly exhausted. "Can you please tell them?"

"Tell me what?" Quentin bristled.

Jamie dropped his head on his folded arms resting on the table and allowed it to bounce once. Twice. Thrice. God must have taken pity of him because when he glanced up, everyone shouted in chorus. "Claire and Jamie are having a baby!"

Dear Readers,

Thank you all for the response and feedback I received for my previous chapter. I know it got a bit crazy; therefore, today's update is more subdued to allow everyone's breathing to go back to normal. Nevertheless, I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much I've enjoyed writing it for you.

Anyway, I hope you're all keeping safe and taking care of yourself and mostly taking the time to enjoy the last days of summer. Keep up the good vibes and be well. X

#melodyheart #wonderwall #savethedate #claire beauchamp #jamie fraser #claire beauchamp/jamie fraser #outlanderfanfic

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