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sfwregressionfanfictions · 1 year

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Dean Winchester X Little! Reader: LD PT2

WC: 1882

Summary: An online dating app leads to a long-distance relationship.

A/N: Why does wifi suck? Also why does college give you no personal space to write??????

Part 1. Part 2

Dean was attached to his phone and computer like a high schooler. He adored having a little one he was getting to know. He recently sent a package containing a paci, a onesie, a tiara, and a few other trinkets and toys. The little one really needed to be more cautious about giving out their address as they did with him.

Cases had currently been at a standstill. So Dean was allowed to stay at home all day and talk to the age regressor he had come to care for. He learned so much in such a short time about the little artist, they told him about their family, how they work as a little bakery, and how they were scared of the closing shift. He felt bad about lying or not telling the full truth to them, but it was for their safety.

But how badly he wanted to tell them and let them know and trust him. He wanted to fully commit to the little and be their caregiver. He wanted nothin more than that. He missed taking care of someone so small and in need of protection, now that Sam was grown, he didn’t have that.

A ding from his phone interrupted his pining. It was a text from the little one.

Y/N: Good morning! I’m in charge of the bakery today! So I have to bake, wish you could try it :((

Dean: Good morning, Sweetheart. That’s so exciting! I wish I could try it too, what are you baking today?

Y/N: Gonna make macaroons, cookies, pies, and cakes. Gotta make so much, but it’s okay. Cause it will be fun.

Dean: That sounds like so much fun, bet they are gonna be so yummy! Maybe one day you could teach me how to bake?

Y/N: YES YESYESYES!!! Does that mean you are gonna come see me?

A pause just for a moment, hesitation filled the air.

Y/N: Or I could visit you? You wouldn’t even have to travel.

Dean: Maybe, how about we talk about it after you finish working?

Y/N: Okay, talk to you at 6?

Dean: Talk to you then, have a good day baby

(Y/N) tried to continue their day like they weren’t nervous, however, they were unable to keep the act up long. Their hands shook with nerves, he was probably gonna say no most likely.

Although they were doing something they love, time seems to barely move. The hours were dragging and it was hard to focus due to the nerves. They tried their best to focus as to prevent any mistakes, they wanted the owner of the small bakery to like them. The owner was an older woman, who was like a grandmother to everyone in the store.

Soon the clock struck 5, it was time for them to clean up and go home. They would clean up the mess they made while cooking, and clock out at 5:30. Then walk home and hopefully be home by 6. The path wasn’t long, they just usually go distracted by random stuff on their walk home, at one point they had sat on a bench on the walk home to gawk at a rather hairy man, as they believed he may be a werewolf.

Y/N: Heading home now! Talk to you soon.

Dean smiled at his phone as he cooked bacon to go on top of the burger he was making. He had a day full of contemplation and planning and recontemplation. Should he stay or should he go?

Dean: Good, now be safe on your way home.

The walk home was short, with very few distractions. How could they be distracted at a time like this? They were in a hurry. They arrived back at their beat-up small apartment quickly, only stopping to unlock the door and grab the large box on their doorstep. Usually having a box at their doorstep would bring them extreme excitement, however now they had to call Dean.

Ringggg… Ringggg… Ring….

Dean was quick to answer, nearly ripping his pocket off his jacket. It was playing the special tone that he set for (Y/N), as he didn’t want to answer the phone all grumpy like he did the first time they called. Meaning they got home and wanted to talk to him.

“Hey Buba,” Dean answered, making weird wobbles in his voice. He knew he did a good job when a giggle floated through the phone.

“Hi.” It was shorter than their usual enthusiastic greeting, which cause some concern to bubble in Dean’s stomach. “I got a big box at my door, it was hard to carry.”

“Wish I could have helped you with that, why don’t you open it where the arrow is pointing? Maybe there is a surprise in there for you.” Dean smiled at the thought of them still in their work clothes, about to be small and bouncing.

“Arrow?” There was a pause, “You sent me this?”

“I did.” Dean answered, knowing he was about to have to reassure big (Y/N) that it wasn’t a big deal, “ before you start saying anything about this, it was nothing. I wanted to get you a gift, don’t try being all ‘oh you shouldn’t have.’. I did it, and I will do it again.”

“I-” They paused, “Thank you, I’ll get my box cutter and open it.”

He smiled as he heard them beginning to rustle to find the box cutter. They seemed excited or nervous to see what was in the box.

“Gonna be careful right?” Dean asked once they made a sound that he would consider success.

“Ye, no touching the pointy parts.” They respond obviously absorbed in the thought of a gift, that they were aware was most likely for little (Y/N).

“I wish I could see your face when you open the gifts.” He smiled, as he hears the light slicing of tape, and them struggling with the box to open the edge that wasn’t cut completely. “You gonna read the note first?”

“Ye,” They spoke, beginning the note with a loud and proud voice, but slowly going quieter and mumbling as they began regressing. They were always shy about how hard reading could be when they were small.

“Open the gifts now baby.” Dean prompts, as they finished the card. The sound of the newspaper being removed from the box was louder than he thought it would be.

“You got me a paci?” They sounded choked up as they stared at the design. The design was Siren-like, and it had the words “little monster” on the handle.

“Yeah, do you like it? Should be a few other things in there too…” Dean asked hopefully.

“Yeah, didn’t need to do all this…” (Y/N) mumbled over the phone.

“But I wanted to, how about you try on the gifts and we can maybe have a talk?” He wanted to talk about the possibility of him visiting them.

The atmosphere in (Y/N)’s apartment deflated quickly at the mention of the dreaded conversation was brought up. They had believed for a moment that everything was perfect between the pair. However, he was preparing them for his big no.

“Oh yeah, umm we can talk, yeah.” Their voice was less childlike and more anxious.

“Baby, it is okay, this talk isn’t gonna be bad.” Dean replied quickly, trying to calm the obviously stressing little.

“Okay, can we talk about it now?” They said, just wanting it to be over.

“Of course baby,” Dean says as he opens his computer that he was looking at routes on, “what does your schedule look like for the next few weeks?”

“Mmm Nothing only working,” They replied, picking their thumbs.

“Okay, how would you feel if I left tomorrow and got to see you in about 2 days?” Dean asked.

“Wait.” They paused almost processing what was being said. “What?”

“Obviously it could be sooner or later depending on traffic, would it be okay if I slept at your place? It would be like a little sleepover.” Dean continued knowing they would register what he was saying soon enough.

“YES YES YES YES!!!” They screamed, only to stop, “Sorry, didn’t mean to yell. Thought you were gonna say no.

With that conversation completed, (Y/N) was quick to regress and babble about all the stuff they would do together. Dean was packing as they spoke as he would have an early morning. It was all simple and little (Y/N) even started cleaning, it wasn’t much just putting some of their toys away. They stayed on the phone until (Y/N) fell asleep.

The next morning came quickly, Dean was already on the road by the time the sun was up. It was unheard of for him to be awake even a few hours after the sun is up, but today was different. He wasn’t being the safest going quite a bit over the speed limit, but he just couldn’t help it. He would text sweetheart at stops, when he filled up for gas, took a bathroom break, or was getting snacks/souvenirs from each state he went through. Both days were like this although the second contained more bouncing in his seat and fewer stops.

(Y/N) spent the two days working and stress cleaning. They swept and mopped their floors three times, and dusted them twelve times. While at work they asked for the first day Dean would be there off and the owner hearing how excited they were, gave them a week of paid time off. The owner stated something about only being young once and young love, (Y/N) was too excited to correct her. They were only friends, for now at least.

The day had come when Dean would arrive, he called saying he’d arrive around 1 pm. That means they woke up at 5 am to clean everything twelve times again, and run to the store to get actual food and ingredients, so as to not force Dean to eat fast food and microwave meals.

With their grocery bags on the counter, half of the food was already put away when there was a knock at the door. I wasn’t even 12 pm, the first thing that passed their mind was that there was no way that it was Dean already. But their feet moved on their own, and the door swung open before they though to check who it was. There a man stood, he was tall with slightly spiked hair, he had a ‘Joey’ from friend’s smile.

“Sweetheart?” Their voice died in their throat, eyes began to water slightly as they stared at the man that was acting as their platonic caregiver and honestly best friend. Rather than speaking, (Y/N) threw themself into his chest sobbing out of join.

“Dean… “ was all that managed to excape them, as they clung to him. He clung back seeing the person he came to life made him cry in joy. If anyone asked he would say it was simply allergies.

They sat in the hall and hugged for longer than any two friends should. Neighbors stopped to stare as they walked passed, but Dean and (Y/N) only saw each other.

#dean winchester x little!reader #dean winchester x reader #age regression community #age regression fic #agere community #sfw age regression #age regression reader #agere fic #sfw agere #cg! dean winchester #x little! reader #agere little #little!reader #little reader

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muuum-am-i-adohhhpted · 9 months

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Let Me Be Your Light (Empires SMP)

Summary: Twin orphans, Gem and fWhip, are the newest hires at Circo de Fantasia, a travelling circus filled with performers who have various magical abilities. However, the Mad King has been following the circus around for decades to steal the powers of various performers to take for himself. Recently, fWhip has been the most recent victim. Gem, who was born without powers and who only joined the circus to be with her brother, consoles fWhip while also realizing she may be integral to defeating the Mad King and getting everyone's abilities back.

AO3 Link

Word Count: 6797

Thank you to @mcytblraufest for hosting the event! Also absolutely huge shout-outs to my incredible artists @yoshiintheweb (art link)and @pidgedee (art here)!! The pieces look amazing!

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Chapter 1

The Circo de Fantasia was a whirl of activity an hour before sundown—the time when the circus would officially open to the random city they had chosen. They were planning to stay for a week; it gave people living outside city limits time to travel to see the circus, but not too long that the performers got restless.

Multi-coloured striped tents littered the flat plot of land in organized chaos. The red-and-white big top, where the trapeze and tightrope apparatuses were set up, sat in the heart of the circus; all paths ended up there.

Gem hefted up her box of popcorn kernels further up her hip to keep it from slipping. She was heading in the opposite direction of the big top, towards the front entrance where the snack tent stood. Katherine, the strong woman, passed by with two large metal poles balanced on her shoulders like double fishing rods.

The snack tent was hard to miss. It was built to catch the eyes of anybody who passed through the main gates. The glass display was already filled with cookies, cupcakes, cotton candy, and slices of cake of all kinds of flavours. The choices were so vast that options had to be switched in and out on different days of the circus. Tonight there were oatmeal cookies, strawberry cupcakes, blueberry cotton candy, and carrot cake. The latter Gem had to be careful with—she was allergic to carrots.

There were other more exotic treats baked by the witch, Shelby: gum that, once chewed, made the consumer’s tongue a random, glowing colour; ice cream that made steam come out of a person’s ears and nose, the cone able to act like a goat horn to make various loud noises; and brownies that caused the person’s hair to float as if there were no gravity.

As Gem was putting the box of kernels away in the back as extra, Sausage appeared at the other end of the display case, Mittens the large boa constrictor twirling around his neck. The ostrich named Pippy was to his left.

Mittens let out a hiss, her tongue flicking out. Her triangular head bobbed in Gem’s direction.

“Mittens says you should check on fWhip,” Sausage translated, pursing his lips. Then, after a pause, “Tell him that, if he wants, he can help me out with my acts. I could always use more hands.”

“Thanks.” Gem gave a curt nod as Sausage continued on his way. She finished straightening out the snack tent before heading in the direction of the personal tents, way in the back of the circus.

The personal tents were much smaller and made of black material as they only had to house a bed, a dresser, and maybe a couple pieces of belongings. fWhip’s tent was right next to her own.

“fWhip,” she called out to her brother as she stood just outside his tent. “Can I come in?”

There was a muffled grunt from the other side that Gem took to be a “yes,” and so she entered.

The tent was sparsely decorated, which was to be expected. She and fWhip had only arrived at the circus two months prior, a little after their fourteenth birthdays, and they had been orphans living on the street. Not many personal belongings to spruce up the tent with. Gem’s only possession was a family picture of herself, fWhip, and their parents from Before.

fWhip himself was curled up in his bed, his red hair pointing in all directions. His face wasn’t nearly as pale as it had been a week ago at their last city, so Gem supposed that was one positive. Still, fWhip had been unusually quiet on their trip here. Gem couldn’t really blame him though—he was going through a lot.

“How are you feeling?” Gem asked quietly, sitting at the end of fWhip’s bed.

fWhip grunted again and dug his head into his pillow even more. He had mostly stayed in bed all day and the Ringmaster allowed it, saying that fWhip was grieving and needed a little more time to get back on his feet.

“Sausage told me that you could help him during his acts,” Gem said. “I know you like helping him care for the boars.” She tried to keep her voice as soothing as possible.

fWhip rolled over onto his back and his eyebrows were drawn down. “I don’t want another act,” he snapped. “I want my own one back.”

“Well, sleight of hand—”

fWhip grimaced. “I do not do sleight of hand—I mean did.” He stumbled over his words, the past tense clearly paining him to say. “There ought to be a way to get my magic back.”

Gem decided not to engage with more talk about the Mad King. Instead, she pivoted. “Just look at everybody who's lost their powers. Katherine might not be inhumanly strong anymore, but she’s worked out so much that she can still lift more than the average person can. False used to be able to fly, but now she does the trapeze. Jimmy could adjust his height at will, now he’s our contortionist.”

“But that’s the thing,” fWhip said. “Everyone already had those talents before the Mad King stole their powers. Katherine consistently exercised even when she could single handedly lift an elephant, False already swung around the forest like a monkey, Jimmy’s limbs were always freakishly flexible. Martyn didn’t grow up afraid of fire, so he can do non-magical fire acts. And Joel didn’t have to change much out of his act—just had to go on a tightrope without electricity pulsing through the rope.”

Gem had been wracking her head for an exception then finally landed on one. “Joey! He used to be able to control water and now he throws knives.”

“I don’t want to learn a new skill. I want my old one back.” fWhip finally sat up and he frowned, his eyes blazing. “You don’t understand, Gem. The magic that was inside of me, it was always there ever since I was born. I could always replace things with other objects, could always pull a pen out of someone’s pockets, put a coin in someone else’s. And now it’s just gone. You don’t have powers so you don’t understand.”

Gem blinked rapidly, not expecting her brother’s words to hurt as much as they did. Her lack of powers had been something she’d grappled with when their parents had still been alive; fWhip could do literal magic, she couldn’t. As they got older, the difference hurt less and less. Regardless, the bruise was still there.

Gem’s hands turned to fists in her skirts and she rapidly stood up. “Fine. I’ll just leave then. I’m trying to be nice and offer you some ideas on other acts you can do without your magic. And sure, I might not understand what it’s like to lose your powers, but I sure do understand what it’s like to be powerless.” Her nose crinkled as she grimaced. She yanked open the flap of fWhip’s tent. “It’s not so bad, you know, but you make it seem like the Mad King stole your life rather than your magic.”

Gem stomped away.

Chapter 2

By the time Gem changed out of her regular clothes and into her wizard’s costume (it was Circo de Fantasia; fantasy was in their name and the Ringmaster took it very seriously), the circus was about to open.

Above, dark clouds threatened to rain. Gem hoped it would hold off, at least until the end of the circus. However, despite the lack of natural light from the moon, the circus was properly lit up. Fire torches and electric lamps and fairy lights decorated the paths and tents. There was no shadowy area within the circus grounds, not even among the personal tents—especially among the personal tents.

Even though everything was well-lit (probably too lit for a night-time circus), Gem was still on edge. What if the Mad King found them again? Although he usually showed up one every two or three cities, the Ringmaster said the king was becoming more powerful due to all the magic he was stealing from people.

Scott, who was able to see a person’s magical aura due to his magical eye, said he could feel the power radiating from the King. When the Mad King had arrived last, stealing fWhip’s power, Scott had said the king’s flame burned bright and large—unnaturally strong. When Gem had questioned Scott about this when she’d just arrived at the circus, she’d asked him how it had all worked.

“It’s as if everyone has a candle inside them,” Scott had replied, looking at her with his blue eye and yellow crystal one. It had creeped her out at first; his yellow eye reminded her of a cat’s. Now, Gem was pretty used to his heterochromia. “Most people have regular flames. You know, tiny drops of fire that flicker every so often. However, others have a brighter flame, more immoveable. It’s hard to describe the difference, but those are the people with magical abilities. Those who have these abilities can train to make their fire within them stronger, but there’s a natural stopping point when it can’t get any bigger or more radiant.” Scott had shrugged.

Martyn, who had been previously rocking in his rocking chair, spoke up. His grey hair poked around his cowboy hat. He was the oldest performer at the circus by a long shot and his wrinkles grew deeper as he smiled. “Not me, though.”

“No, not Martyn,” Scott admitted. “Martyn used to be able to create and wield fire. But fire is alive and has a mind of its own. Without care, it can catch and grow out of hand. It actively fights against anything or anybody trying to control it. And, because of that, Martyn’s inner flame was much weaker since a part of his magic was fighting against the nature of fire.”

Martyn had laughed. “Now I just have to be extra careful when wielding fire; I’m not automatically fireproof nor can I douse fire with my mind!”

Returning back to the present, Gem sighed as she put in a bunch of popcorn kernels into the bright red popcorn machine behind the display of foods. Already, popcorn smell was wafting around the tent, all thanks to Shelby’s popcorn-smelling potion being released around the circus’ grounds.

The light jingle of bells announced Oli’s arrival, wearing a multi-coloured jester hat decorated with mini bells. His ukulele (dressed as a lute) was strung behind his back and multiple other instruments were hanging off his person. Trailing behind him was seven-year-old Hermes on a unicycle and wearing a similar court jester’s outfit.

“Gem!” Oli greeted with a kind smile and wave. He was a year older than Gem and that probably was one of the reasons why they got along well. “Ready for another night?”

“Of course,” Gem smiled, just as the popcorn began popping. She poured out a small cup and gave it to Hermes who took it eagerly.

Oli then became a little more serious. “And how’s fWhip doing?”

Pursing her lips, Gem responded, “Not exactly well. He’s missing his powers quite a bit. Lashing out.” She decided not to get into the details and what exact words were said.

“Dad was angry when the Mad King stole his powers,” Hermes said. “He tried to hide it from me, but I could tell it really upset him that he couldn’t do his usual tricks on the tightrope. He couldn’t clear the storms that could close the circus for the night.” The young boy frowned. “He’s happier now, I think.”

Oli patted Hermes on the back before pulling his ukulele around. He strummed out a chord and hummed along with it. He began picking at the strings, creating lyrics on the spot. Something about losing a part of yourself and never really being the same afterwards.

Tears pricked in the corner of Gem’s eyes and she sniffed violently to stop them from falling. She swatted Oli’s hat. “Stop that! You’re going to make everyone who steps inside the circus burst into tears.”

Oli placed his hands along the four strings of the ukulele to stop their vibrations before starting up a new song, much more upbeat than the last. A grin spread on Gem’s face as she felt the tune raise her spirits, joy rushing through her body.

“I wish the emotions you created stayed after you stopped your music,” Gem said with a sigh. fWhip could use some happiness in his life right now, even if it was fabricated and would evaporate as soon as Oli stopped singing or playing.

Oli shrugged, just as the first people entered the circus. “I’m only really good at temporarily changing emotions. It wouldn’t be healthy if it was permanent.”

“You’re probably right,” Gem said, readying her hands to fill bags of popcorn and hand out food for most of the night.

It wasn’t too bad, really. She liked seeing the people who entered the circus and, on the nights where they were opened multiple times in a single city, she enjoyed recognizing the people who came again and again.

People of all ages walked through the gate. A lot of the people entered were families with younger children, but older folks and adult couples oftentimes came too.

And it wasn’t as if Gem would be behind the snack tent forever. False was teaching her some trapeze moves and soon they could be a double act, flinging each other around in the sky. Gem wasn’t quite there yet, but it was exciting having future plans that weren’t just popcorn girl.

Abruptly, every light and flame in the circus went out. A dark fog appeared, making it so that the city’s light pollution was completely gone as well. There was only blackness. The brownie in Gem’s hand she was about to give to a child dropped to the ground.

Gem’s knees went weak and her mind began to race. Somewhere nearby, a kid began crying. Gem’s heart thumped, suddenly thrown back into her childhood where monsters lived in her closet and under the bed, and she had to sleep with a little light plugged in to ward away anything evil.

Panicking, she felt around until she was out of the snack tent. Light, she needed light. Blood was rushing in her ears and Gem began to run, hands out in front of her. She knew it was dangerous, that she could possibly run into someone or even a pole holding up a tent, but Gem couldn’t think straight; the only thing repeating in her mind was light. She was a moth frantically searching for a lamp.

Heat built up inside of her chest and Gem fell to her knees, gripping at her heart. Pain burned through her body, tears forcing their way out of her eyes. Was this what a heart attack felt like? Was she going to die here, in the unnatural darkness? Then, all of a sudden, there was a bright burst of golden light and Gem passed out.

Chapter 3

When Gem opened her eyes, fWhip was peering down at her, his nose practically touching her own.

She jumped, nearly smacking heads with her brother in the process. “fWhip!” she exclaimed, her voice slightly hoarse.

fWhip stood back, slightly sheepish. “Sorry,” he muttered, and Gem realized they were in her tent. “I wanted to see if you were still breathing.”

Gem squinted around the tent, in search of her clock. She finally found it, the hands telling her it was early morning. “What—what happened?” she asked. She remembered the darkness, the fear, and then the bright light.

There were footsteps outside her tent. “May Scott and I come in?” the Ringmaster said. “I can answer a few of your questions.”

“Sure,” Gem said, and waited until the Ringmaster and Scott entered.

“Are you feeling better?” the Ringmaster asked.

“Tell me what happened, please,” Gem said.

The Ringmaster sighed. “The Mad King has clearly grown stronger. He must have planned for a mass theft of magic last night. Douse all lights, steal the rest of our magic.” The Ringmaster worried his bottom lip and dark circles ran under his eyes.

Gem remembered her and fWhip’s first time at Circo de Fantasia, listening intently when the Ringmaster explained the circus’ purpose: to be a safe haven to those possessing magic.

“While having multiple magic wielders in the same space might not be ideal, the circus keeps us up at night, when the Mad King is the strongest,” the Ringmaster had told them.

“How does he find them?” Gem had asked. “How does he know who to steal from and who not to?”

The Ringmaster hadn’t said anything for a long moment. His eyes had gone far off, to a place Gem didn’t know, before finally responding by saying, “A type of hunting. Watching for inhuman abilities. Our witch, Shelby, casts a protective spell that follows the circus around and lasts a varying amount of time. She never knows when it fades away and, while she does try to reinforce it, the magic drains her a fair amount.”

Gem had furrowed her eyebrows, finding a rather large hole in the Ringmaster’s plan. “Then why are you placing yourselves all together? The Mad King has all of you in one place.”

“The Mad King steals powers easiest when his victim is asleep or unconscious—the magic flows freely then. In a circus, we’re up the whole night. Not only that, but he’s the most powerful at night when he can travel and manipulate the shadows. By day, we’re asleep and under Shelby’s magical protection.”

This conversation ran through Gem’s mind as she stared at the Ringmaster. Her eyes travelled over to Scott for a split second who was looking at her strangely and then to her brother who seemed to have decided that they were on good terms once again, their argument on the previous night forgotten.

“Okay, and? What was the bright light?”

“You,” Scott said, his eyes fixated on Gem. “Your candle’s flame is stronger. It doesn't flicker like it used to.”

Gem and fWhip instantly met each other’s gazes before Gem broke away to look at Scott. “Wait, what? Does that mean I unlocked a magical ability? Is that even possible?” The world spun; she felt like her tent was a ship’s cabin and she was seasick.

“Her power is light?” fWhip exclaimed, and Gem could hear hints of jealousy and awe in his voice.

The Ringmaster glanced over at fWhip and shook his head slowly. “Not just light. The sun.”

At this, Gem chuckled a little. “The sun?” she repeated. “It was nighttime when the bright light occurred. The sun had been down for hours.”

“The moon only shines because the sun’s rays reflect off of it,” the Ringmaster said.

Scott’s blue eye was frantic as he said, “you could be the key to defeating the Mad King. His original power is darkness and shadow, right?” He turned to the Ringmaster. “This could be a turning point. We wouldn’t have to worry about him stealing our powers.”

“If the Mad King dies, will I get my ability back?” fWhip said, his eyes lighting up; Gem hadn’t seen such hope on his face in weeks.

There was a slight lull in the conversation and Gem watched Scott’s yellow eye flick over to her once again.

“It’s possible,” the Ringmaster said slowly, turning to fWhip, clearly not wanting to get his hopes up too much. “But it’s also entirely possible that, once defeated, everyone’s powers die with him.”

The light in fWhip’s eyes suddenly dimmed and his mouth drew down in a frown. Gem wanted to say something to make him feel better, but what was there to say? He had recently lost his power and was now learning that his twin sister did have one when he’d previously thought otherwise. And, even if the Mad King was defeated, there was still no guarantee of getting his own ability back.

“At this point, the best we can hope for in killing the King is that no one else’s abilities are stolen,” Scott said. “We’ll have to get you training right away. You’re lucky False has been training you in the trapeze—being physically strong will help immensely. But Martyn might also be useful; he knows what it’s like to fight against the nature of fire. For you, Gem, you’re fighting against the nature of the sun.”

The Ringmaster rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “If you could somehow focus a light blast similar to last night’s, aiming directly at the Mad King…that could be the end. Your light might be able to be the killing blow against his darkness.”

“This is perfect,” Scott said, and his voice sped up as he continued. “The Mad King has been able to extinguish any kind of light, fire and electricity, but with Gem’s power—he can’t take out the sun—we might actually have a chance of not running for our lives for an eternity.”

“There’s only one problem,” fWhip said blandly from the corner of the tent. Both the Ringmaster and Scott swivelled their heads to look at fWhip as he pointed to a bottle on the bedside table Gem had had Shelby create to glow for three hours after being shaken. “Gem’s afraid of the dark.”

Chapter 4

Gem truly thought she had grown out of that particular fear. When she thought about being scared of the dark, she remembered padding out to her parents bedroom until they bought her a mini nightlight and, even then, she’d keep her curtains open so the light emanating from the nearby buildings would keep the imaginary monsters at bay.

To be fair, Gem was no longer scared of monsters with horns and sharp teeth and one eye; it was the fact that she couldn’t see. She was completely vulnerable in the dark, unable to do anything about a hypothetical danger. Like a power-hungry king, for example.

When her and fWhip’s parents died and they were orphans on the street, Gem had just assumed the trauma of losing them overrode her fear of the dark.

Now, looking back, Gem just realized that, living on the streets, she was never truly in darkness. No matter how dark the alleyway was, there was always a streetlamp, or a building whose light was still on, or the moon and stars. Even if it was mostly dark, she was never in true darkness.

The next afternoon, Gem visited Shelby’s work tent where strange herbs and ingredients on tables were lined up in bottles and a handful of brewing stands were bubbling and steaming away.

“Do you think you could make a night-vision potion for me?” Gem asked, watching as Shelby ground up a pink flower. She was wearing a green apron with multiple pockets in the front, holding various tools and other ingredient bottles.

Shelby winced, brushing the pink dust into an empty glass bottle on the table in front of her. “It’s not going to be able to help you see when the Mad King comes back.”

Gem sighed—this was what the Ringmaster had told her earlier that day. “Still, it might give me some peace of mind, you know?”

With one hand, Shelby reached into her apron’s pocket for a bottle of mushrooms, with the other she flipped open a heavy book. “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” Her eyes ran through the words on the page as she unstoppered the bottle in her hands. “I have all the ingredients, nether wart…golden carrot—”

A lump formed in Gem’s throat. “Carrot? Like, an actual carrot?”

Shelby nodded offhandedly before realization dawned on her face. Her hands stopped moving and she placed all her attention on Gem. “Wait, you’re allergic to carrots, aren’t you?”

~~~

“Were you ever afraid of anything?” Gem asked False as they stretched below the trapeze equipment. “And did you get over your fear?” Gem didn’t think False could be afraid of anything—not when she flipped and spun around in the air without a net and her power of flight stolen from her.

False thought about this for a moment, her legs straight out in front of her, her body bent forwards so that her head was touching her knees. “I used to be afraid of cats.” She turned to look at Gem with a wry smile. “If I thought I saw one out of the corner of my eye, I’d run the other way.”

Gem’s eyes widened. “Really?” she asked. “And you’re no longer afraid of them? How’d you do that?”

“It took me a long time to get over that fear,” False said, then must have noticed Gem’s pinched face. “Fears don’t go away easy. You have to work at them constantly. And, even now, sometimes a cat catches me by surprise and I find myself taking steps backwards.”

Gem flopped down on her back and sighed. “Then how am I supposed to get over my fear? The Mad King could be here tonight and I need to be there to defeat him.”

False pursed her lips and put a comforting hand on Gem’s arm. “You aren’t alone in this fight. When the Mad King comes, everyone will be there. My advice for you? Go talk to Lizzie; she might be able to help. She did for me, and not just because she has cat characteristics.”

Gem still wasn’t sure. “How? Even if fortune telling could help me, she’s not actually a real one.”

“I know, but she gives solid advice. I think she might be helpful.”

“Well, if you say so.” If False said Lizzie could help, Gem would take her word for it. Clearly something had worked if False got over her fear of cats with Lizzie, a woman who was like a cat.

Gem and False then spent the next hour flying on the trapeze, letting go and catching each other in mid-air. She could feel the wind in her hair, her stomach dropping when she let go of the bar of a split second, then the satisfaction of connecting with False’s hands. It was nice to get her mind off of something that wasn’t related to the Mad King.

~~~

On her way to Lizzie’s tent, Gem passed the Ringmaster, hurrying in the opposite direction. When Gem turned the corner and walked a couple more steps, Sausage and the Ringmaster were speaking together in low tones, head bent together. While Gem didn’t know the specifics of the Ringmaster’s power, perhaps it was teleportation? Although, she had never seen this happen before.

Deep in thought, she almost bumped into fWhip.

“Where are you headed in such a hurry?” fWhip asked. While her brother’s complexion was a little less sickly, there were still dark circles under his eyes.

Gem desperately wanted to go to Lizzie’s as soon as possible, but she couldn’t find it in herself to brush off her brother. She was so in her head about her own issues, but fWhip was also going through difficulties. “I’m heading to Lizzie’s for advice. Wanna come?”

fWhip looked just as skeptical as Gem felt, but shrugged. “I suppose. Nothing else better to do.”

As they walked shoulder-to-shoulder, Gem asked, “so, did you take up Sausage’s offer?” She felt like she knew the answer, but she hoped nonetheless.

fWhip snorted. “No.”

Gem sighed, but didn’t push further. She didn’t want to get in another fight. She needed her brother to be here with her, just like she knew fWhip needed her as well (despite thinking otherwise).

Lizzie’s tent was an elaborate deep pink and, during the nights, a fine fog emanated from it (curtesy of one of Shelby’s potions). Out front, “Mystic Mary’s Fortune Telling” was written on a sign.

Inside, there was a little table filled with strange objects, a glass ball, and a stack of cards. Lizzie herself was curled up in the back, in a nest of blankets. As soon as Gem and fWhip entered, her eyes shot open, showing off her vertical pupils.

“Oh, it’s just you two,” Lizzie said, and she unfurled herself so she could stand. She was shorter than both Gem and fWhip. “I assume you aren’t here for a reading.”

“False told me you helped her get over her fear of cats,” Gem explained as Lizzie sat down on a stool behind the table. Gem decided to take the other chair, leaving fWhip standing. “She said you might be able to give me advice about my current...issue. You see, I’m scared of the dark. I don’t think I’m going to be strong enough to handle being completely in the dark and focus a blast powerful enough to kill the King.”

Idly, Lizzie picked up the stack of tarot cards, beginning to shuffle them. Gem could see how people thought Lizzie was a legitimately skilled fortune teller. “Well, that’s easy.”

“It is?” fWhip said, and Gem turned her head slightly to see that her brother’s eyes were focussed entirely on Lizzie’s hands, moving the cards around. Yearning was clear in his gaze.

“Well,” Lizzie amended, “it’s quite difficult to get over fears quickly. There’s not exactly a way to shortcut those kinds of things.”

Gem deflated.

“But that’s not what I’m talking about,” Lizzie continued. “The Mad King is the strongest at night, right? So just don’t fight him then. Lure him out and then when it’s day—when you’re the most powerful—land the final blow.”

Chapter 5

Gem didn’t have to wait long for the Mad King to strike. In the two weeks leading up to it, her days consisted of being with False and becoming physically stronger, and being with Martyn to become mentally stronger and able to create balls of light between her hands.

“You’ve got to believe in yourself,” Martyn had told Gem, out in the back field behind the circus one afternoon. “You’re fighting against the sun; you’re taking light for yourself. Even using a miniscule amount needs willpower.”

Gem who, at that point, hadn’t been able to conjure more than foggy beams of light since that night she realized her powers was close to quitting for the day. “Why can’t this be easier? Why can’t the sun just let me take some of its light?”

“The sun ain’t exactly listening to your prayers,” Martyn had replied with, and he’d adjusted his cowboy hat on his head that he wore, even outside of his fire performance. “It’s a game of tug o’ war and you have to come out victorious.”

“Well, what did you do in the beginning to create fire and control it?” Gem had asked. “How did you even start?”

Martyn had given Gem a wry grin. “Anger. I focussed all the emotion I felt about being supplanted in my town into the palms of my hands. Fire really reacted to it; it crackled and popped so much so that I burned down a forest. But it was a start.”

Gem had frowned. “Doesn’t exactly seem very healthy.”

“Well of course it wasn’t. But it was the match strike I needed. Now I just think about the adrenaline I feel during each of my performances.”

It had taken a moment to search for anger, something to latch on to. Gem wasn’t a naturally angry person. fWhip had come to mind and the fact that all he wanted to do was wallow, but that really wasn’t fair. Gem wanted what was best for her brother and she couldn’t expect him to just get over it.

Finally, Gem had found something. The Mad King. The man who had taken so many people’s powers—probably too many to count now. Who had stolen from so many good people; who had taken from her brother. Who would continue taking until he had consumed all of it. And, if it ever got to that point, would the Mad King even be satisfied?

That had been the turning point. A great ball of light formed above her open palms.

~~~

Everyone knew distracting the Mad King until daylight would be difficult, but they all had a plan.

And so, when the circus descended into darkness, everyone was ready. All the patrons ran off once they realized it wasn’t a part of the show, afraid out of their wits. Lizzie, with her uncanny sense of who was around her, led half of the performers with powers away from the King while Scott, whose eye gave him the ability to see everyone’s flames—shrouded by darkness or not—took the other half.

Everyone else was on distraction duty.

The only exception to this rule was the Ringmaster and Sausage, who asked help from bats so they could navigate without seeing. The two of them went off on their own and Gem didn’t question it at the time, although now she was wondering if it was safe to do so.

Gem had tried to persuade the Ringmaster to have fWhip be with her; she didn’t know what she’d do with herself if something happened to him. But the Ringmaster assured her that fWhip was in good hands. Katherine’s hands to be exact.

Somewhere to Gem’s left, she could hear Oli humming a song under his breath, her anxiety about being thrust into the darkness once again lessening.

“Shhh,” Lizzie hissed, and Oli instantly stopped and Gem felt the hairs on her neck rising, her heartbeat speeding up. She gripped onto Hermes’ hand as tightly as he was holding hers.

Suddenly, there was a lot of jostling as people tripped over each other’s feet and, over the slight din of the nearby city, Lizzie said, “quickly. Turn left.”

Gem followed the group as best she could, feeling everyone around her adjust to Lizzie’s instructions. That was when she heard fWhip’s voice nearby. Gem couldn’t exactly make out what he was saying, but her body went stock still when she heard the next voice.

“You’re the little boy who I stole from last time at this wretched circus, aren’t you?” The voice was gravelly and deep.

Instantly, Gem yanked herself from Hermes’ grip and ran blindly towards the Mad King and her brother. She knew this wasn’t a part of the plan; the plan was to keep moving around the empty field and outskirts of town until the sun broke through the horizon. But the Mad King did not mention Katherine, and Gem needed to be there with fWhip if Katherine wasn’t.

Gem kept the layout of the circus in mind, forcing herself to take quiet breaths and knowing she was coming upon a turn. Slowly, she crept forward with her arms outstretched until she felt the smooth material of the side of Oli and Hermes’ clown tent.

“I see,” the Mad King said once again. “The silent treatment.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” fWhip’s voice came out hard and almost annoyed. “Haven’t you ravaged this circus enough? Aren’t you powerful enough?”

The Mad King laughed—and Gem stopped in her tracks. His laugh was terrifyingly confident, as if he already knew what would happen. That he would consume Gem’s power and he’d be able to steal people’s abilities for an eternity. “Boy, there’s never enough. There will never be enough powers to take. Nothing will ever be enough for me. Just how nothing will ever be enough to satiate the space in you that was previously filled by your powers.” There was a pause. “But I can make you a deal.”

Gem felt rooted to her spot, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of fear. It was dark, the Mad King was just over there, and he was speaking to fWhip, one-on-one. She could barely hear her own tumbling and twisting thoughts.

The Mad King continued. “I can give you any power you want, however many you want. Your old powers back, telekinesis, super strength, shapeshifting…” Another pause. “All you have to do is bring me your sister.”

Gem’s heart dropped to her feet. fWhip wouldn’t…would he? Ever since her brother’s powers were stolen, just how many times had he complained? How many times had he told her that he wanted his powers back?

“Any power I want?” fWhip’s voice was suddenly meek.

Gem’s mouth felt impossibly dry.

“Your wish is my command.”

There was a third painstakingly long pause before fWhip replied with a snort. “Yeah, no thanks. I’ll get over my lack of ability, but I could never forgive myself for giving Gem up to you.”

The Mad King didn’t seem all that upset. “Plan B, I suppose. A lot less dramatic, but it’ll have to do.” And there was a snapping sound.

The darkness dropped away. One moment, Gem was surrounded by nothingness. The next, the beautiful sky, stars, and moon, and the tents of Circo de Fantasia.

Gem, who had been at the edge of the tent, suddenly came face to face with the Mad King, floating a couple of feet off the ground. He was wearing all-black armour and only his mouth was visible. It curled into a satisfied grin. “Hello Gem.”

fWhip’s head spun around and his eyes widened. “Gem!” he exclaimed, and ran towards her.

Gem came to the too-late realization that the Mad King had wanted her to overhear him. If fWhip agreed to the King’s terms, Gem would have been beside herself and therefore an easy target. And, if fWhip hadn’t, Gem would still be within distance.

Like she was right now.

The Mad King still wasn’t moving, although his smile was more than a little unnerving. “It’s time for me to snuff out your light,” he said.

“Oh no you don’t,” the Ringmaster’s voice said, coming out from the tent Gem was standing next to. And he let out an ear-piercing whistle.

Another Ringmaster came out of the tent to Gem’s right, and the other tents lining the pathway. Sausage’s llamas came bounding around a corner, Sausage himself riding one with a sort of wooden staff in his hands, a cyan gem between the curved top.

Gem rubbed her eyes as a dozen Ringmasters appeared.

The Mad King looked at them all thoughtfully. “Do you like each time I consume a Pixlriffs’ power, my time travelling ability will grow stronger—?”

Sausage raised his staff and a blue light shot directly at the Mad King’s back, immobilizing him.

The Ringmaster closest to Gem turned to her as the rest of the Ringmasters began to surround the slowly descending King. “The Staff of Sanctuary, an old relic from Sausage’s past, won’t last long against him—he’s consumed too many powers. I know we wanted to wait until day, but it’s just not possible anymore. You must defeat him now.”

Gem shuddered and glanced up before looking over at fWhip who looked just as bewildered as Gem felt. He gave her a thumbs up. Gem returned it with a strained smile.

She was grateful the King’s darkness was no longer a factor. She was surrounded by friends—multiples of friends—and her brother. She was standing within circus grounds, with its comforting light and brightly coloured tents. This was her home.

Gem took a deep breath, feeling her palms grow hot. Instead of finding anger within herself to unlock her light, she found something else. Something harder to find, but stronger.

Hope.

She could do this. Even if it was dark, Gem had a feeling she could conjure light even then. Her brother would never betray her, despite being at first doubtful. But she never should have been skeptical of him.

Gem felt her eyes flutter closed. She didn’t see the light, but she felt it as it blasted out of her hands and into the Mad King. Her eyelids flashed a bright orange.

When she re-opened them, Ringmasters were gently fading into mist. Gem’s head pounded, her hands felt raw and dry.

“What’s happening to them?” fWhip asked to no one in particular.

The Ringmaster closest to Gem replied, “going home. They’ve been stuck here for years. Every time I’ve tried to see past the moment the Mad King tries to bribe you, I couldn’t see. It fogs up. Stuck in this moment.” He smiles. “Now everything’s changed.”

“And everyone’s powers?” Gem asked, feeling a yawn coming on.

fWhip grinned and Gem suddenly felt a heavy rock appear in her pocket. “Guess,” he said.

Gem smiled back, letting out her yawn.

“Alright let’s get to bed,” fWhip said, and the rock disappeared from Gem’s pocket. He steered her shoulders in the direction of her tent. “You should definitely rest.”

And, as Gem closed her tent’s flap to collapse into bed, the sun began to rise.

#mcytblraufest23 #empires smp #roseblings #empires smp fanfic #empires smp fanfiction #geminitay #fwhip

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sillylittlejesterman · 6 months

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Making a Cake

I FORGOT TO POST THIS FOR SIRIUS' BIRTHDAY BUT HERE IT IS (its also on ao3) Just a little silly story that was written very quickly for my favorite wet dog homosexual man's birthday. I love him.

“Uh Remus? I don’t think it’s supposed to look like that,” Peter said, eyeing the gloopy, sludge-like thing in the baking dish.

“Is–... Is it moving?” James asked. The three boys standing over the tray with what was supposed to be Sirius’ birthday cake in the center. They all startled away when a bubble in the dish popped, making a loud noise. Remus plopped the tray down on the stove top and took his red and white oven mitts off, slapping them on the table while frowning.

“This makes no sense. We did everything, didn’t we?” He pushed a bunch of empty pans and dirty rags around until he found the badly scribbled out recipe on a now batter-stained piece of parchment.

“You know, it would probably help if we could actually read the recipe,” James pointed out, snatching the parchment out of Remus’ hands and dangling it in front of his face. Remus frowned in response. “This whole thing is in French. Can’t you find it in English or something?” James continued.

“Maybe we should just ask Regulus,” Peter mumbled, not really planning for anyone to hear him. He knew Sirius and Regulus’ relationship was complicated to say the least, but he was the only other person that Peter knew who spoke French.

“No! No it’s fine, it’s not that hard to understand!”

“Remus you keep saying that but look at the cake– I don’t even know if we can even call it a cake anymore,” James’ voice trailed off as he covered his mouth with his hand, standing to stare at the last six attempts at the cake - each looked worse than the last.

“French is a romance language with Latin roots and I know latin.” Remus insisted.

“Latin and French are not the same language, Remus!”

“They have the same roots!”

“Guys, the cake is moving,” Peter interrupted, pointing to where the cake had started to form a rather large bubble. The three boys leaned in close to examine it, and like it had before, the cake popped, startling the three and spraying runny batter all over their faces.

Remus, whose face was contorted by disgust and cake batter, stood shocked, staring at the cake tin before wiping his eyes and flung the batter to the ground with a frustrated groan.

“Okay, I think it’s time to find a different cake,” James said, wiping his hands on one of the many dirty towels in the kitchen.

“No, his birthday is tomorrow! This is the only recipe we have and we can’t give him a fucking cookie for his birthday”

“But Moony we’ve been at this for hours! I’m hungry and tired,” Peter whined.

Remus took a breath and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.“Fine! Fine, I’ll just do it myself,” He grumbled, growing increasingly frustrated with this recipe. “Why does Sirius have to have such posh taste all the time?” Remus grumbled under his breath, snatching the recipe from James’ hands and reading it over again, muttering to himself.

James and Peter shared a look before sighing, knowing they weren’t exactly excused from the kitchen just yet. Remus would slave over this cake for days if it meant making Sirius’ birthday a happy one, so James and Peter had to stay too.

—

Frost covered the window of the Gryffindor boys’ dormitory. Almost every year the first snow fell on Sirius' birthday, and Remus knew this because every year he was up. He tucked himself away in the reading nook in the window, the light from his wand illuminating the page he was reading. But when a small beeping noise was heard from his bed he sprang up and quickly turned it off before digging to find the parchment wrapped box he had been hiding for months.

“Psst, hey,” Remus whispered as he made his way over to Sirius’ bed, careful to avoid the floorboard that creaked so loud it woke Peter up. He tiptoed and drew back the curtain to his bed, snickering at the sight he found.

Sirius was splayed out and curled in his sheets, wearing an oversized and threadbare Beatles shirt that Remus had given him for his twelfth birthday. It was too big on him then, and still hung just below his red and gold boxers. A copy of the Rolling Stone with Bowie on the cover was open over his face, and the slight sound of his snores made Remus chuckle, his lips curling into a fond smile.

“Hey, wake up, idiot.” He said, smacking Sirius’ foot. Sirius made a sound and stirred, causing the magazine to roll off of his face and onto the floor with a thump.

“Fuck, I’m awake,” He grumbled, sitting up on his elbows and smiling when he noticed Remus. “You never make it to midnight” Remus teased, crawling onto the mattress and letting the curtains fall closed as he settled across from Sirius. “Oh shut up,” he groaned again, rubbing his eyes as he reached onto the floor to grab the magazine,placing it on the bedside table.

Remus fidgeted with a small package in his hands as he smiled at the other boy, admiring the way his grey-blue eyes shone in the dim yellow light of the lamp that hung from the canopy above the bed. Sirius smiled back, pushing his hair out of his face while sitting up properly. He scooted slightly closer to Remus.

“Happy birthday,” Remus smiled, finally breaking the comfortable silence the two of them sat in.

He placed the package on the bed, sliding it towards Sirius.

Sirius’ brows knit together in confusion as he slid his gaze between the gift and the boy opposite him.

“This is different,” Sirius said, starting to unwrap the brown parchment that Remus had shabbily used to conceal the box.

“Well yeah, cause– this year is different.”

It was a tradition they’d started their very first year at Hogwarts. Or really, Remus started it. He’d stayed up, wanting to be the first person to wish Sirius a “happy birthday” - he’d had too much energy, and the second the clock turned past twelve, Remus pounced on his friend. Sirius was of course startled at first, but the second he spotted Remus, looking like an easily excited puppy, he couldn’t be mad. Remus gave him a David Bowie vinyl that year along with the giant Beatles shirt and Sirius still had them, still considered them the best gifts he’d ever received. Remus had a weird thing with gifts. He was usually dreadful at gift-giving, but when it came to Sirius he somehow nailed it every time.

“Why, cause I snogged you on Halloween?” Sirius smirked, always playing a joke. It was true, Remus and Sirius had snogged on Halloween. Both of them consumed a little too much fire whiskey that night, leading to a long, painstaking game of spin-the-bottle. Sirius had finally had enough after three rounds, and dragged Remus away to the broom closet. Remus remembered it vividly. The feeling of his heart beating fast in his chest and the taste of cigarettes, whiskey and strawberries on Sirius’ lips–

“Because you asked me to be your boyfriend on Halloween.”

That was true as well. After hiding in the broom closet for what felt like hours, Sirius finally dragged Remus upstairs where the kissing continued in a more horizontal position. Alone with only the muffled sound of drunk teenagers downstairs, it became much more intimate as they laid together on the bed, curtains drawn and lips pressed together. Their kissing was less hungry, less filled with need. Remus had pulled away for just a moment when Sirius said it.

“Remus, I want to be with you,” He’d whispered, his hand tangling in Remus’ hair, gently playing with the curls at the nape of his neck. His voice was quiet, like he was whispering a secret and all Remus thought to do was kiss him in response.

Sirius turned red, his pale complexion never failing to betray when he felt embarrassed or flustered. Remus found it quite cute.

“Okay, yeah but–”

“Stop arguing and just open your present, okay?”

Remus cut Sirius off and pushed the half-opened package against his chest, scooting closer to Sirius to get a better look, despite the lack of space on the bed.

Sirius raised his eyebrows at him and laughed.

“Okay, okay, pushy” He teased, carefully taking the package and unwrapping the brown parchment that was crumpled around it. Inside was a simple black velvet box only about the size of his palm, and Sirius looked back up at Remus.

“What is this?” He said, holding back a smile.

“Just open it,” Remus urged, his cheeks turning red. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, a ball of excitement and nerves sat in his throat as he waited for Sirius to open the box.

Inside the little velvet box was a silver plated ring, with shimmering moonstone embedded in the center, engraved crescent moons sitting curled around either side of the stone. Remus saw it in a shop back home and it reminded him too much of Sirius not to buy it.

Sirius stared at the ring for a long while, which didn’t at all help Remus’ nerves.

“It’s not a proposal ring or anything. Sorry if it looks like that,” Remus finally blurted out

He gently placed the box on his covers, smiling at Remus, his heart fluttering excitedly in his chest.

“I love it,” He whispered, reaching for Remus’ hands, pulling him close - “I love it,” He said again, gently pressing their lips together. Remus melted into the kiss, sighing softly, relieved that Sirius liked his gift.

—

“Surprise!” The sound of party poppers was loud and confetti sprayed everywhere as Sirius entered the common room. It was all lavishly decorated, or as lavishly as a group of teens could get it.

The common room was full of Gryffindors, though most noticeably James and Peter who stood in the middle of the room, holding a large cake. Or at least it looked like it was supposed to be a cake. The layers were wobbly and the icing was everywhere and it looked as though half the candles on top of it were trying to run away down its side. For whatever reason, James and Peter had thought it would be a phenomenal idea to adorn the cake with sparklers as well.

Sirius found himself silently thankful for Lily standing close by, seemingly ready with a spell to take care of things, in case it caught fire.

With a struggle, James and Peter put down the cake, fetching a slice for Sirius before placing two sparklers and a candle in it. Looking at the slice, Sirius wasn’t even sure the cake was edible. Still, he took the slice.

“Oi, what’s that?” James asked, motioning to the small silver ring on Sirius’ finger. James had spotted it when the ring caught the light from the sparklers, causing the stone to shimmer, showing off the elegant moon designed carved into it in the process.

Sirius glanced at the ring with fondness, his eyes briefly meeting Remus’, before he turned his attention back to James. “Eh, just a little something. Back to the important stuff, hm? If this cake kills me I need to know who to hold responsible,” he joked. Remus smiled. There was nothing that made him happier than seeing Sirius so happy, surrounded by the people he loved.

#marauders #remus x sirius #sirius orion black #sirius black birthday #happy birthday sirius #lgbtq #the marauders era #remus lupin #wolfstar #harry potter #marauders fandom #marauders fanfiction

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cuddletime-blog · 1 year

Text

5 MLQC Male Leads’ Christmas Letters to MC

Dear MC,

Merry Christmas! Happy holidays. This year seems to have passed by quickly somehow too, but you’ve accomplished many things this year despite the challenges. You never cease to amaze me with your determination, creative ideas, and commitment to your work. I’m so proud of you, Miss Chips! Let’s continue to work better and make the upcoming year even more successful! Thank you for being my Muse and devoted fan/Soda. I want to write more uplifting songs to share with you and the rest of the world. Anyway, it’s Christmas so let’s enjoy the day together in our pajamas and test out all the new video games I bought for us to try. I can’t wait to just relax, eat snacks, open gifts, and spend the day talking and laughing together with you. I have planned out a night of board games as well with hot cocoa and plenty of marshmallows. Apple Box and Cello will get to see their new toys and want to play with you too.

Yours Truly,

Kiro

Dear MC,

You have been once again formally invited to Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day brunch, and Christmas dinner at Souvenir this year. The holidays and special occasions you have not-so-subtlely-hinted, looked forward to, and worked towards are finally here. Keep up the progress and improvements with your proposals/reports. You can always come to me for advice no matter which troubles and predicaments you may find yourself in from time to time. We will solve and face them together. I look forward to seeing your many ideas, “surprises”, and results of your efforts. Anyway, today is not a workday so let’s see how you like the new Christmas menu. I can already imagine your gluttonous smile and inability to decide between having crepes, cinnamon rolls, and waffles for Christmas brunch. I have already prepared a special Christmas treat for Pudding as well.

Victor

Dear MC,

I know we’ve both been so busy with work this year. Let’s go for a walk together in the park and have a Christmas picnic lunch. It will be good to get some exercise outdoors and then just relax. What I look forward to the most for the holidays is spending it together with you. One of my other plans is that I already have tickets to the amusement park too so we can have fun and take photos there. We can try out all of the different rides, see parades at night with Christmas lights, eat corndogs, cotton candy, peppermint chocolate cookies, and more. If there is anything else you want to try doing, just let me know. Sparky and I look forward to having new adventures with you any time of the year.

Sincerely,

Gavin

Hey MC,

The weather outside is actually not so bad today. How about we go to the skate park and practice some tricks? I want to see the progress you’ve made and what you’ve learned so far. You’re so fortunate to have such an amazingly talented, great teacher like me. Afterwards, we can make a hotpot feast for dinner. I wonder what silly gifts you bought for me this time. In return, I’ll teach you some new card games this year. We can also watch historical documentaries and movies and quiz each other. I bought a Christmas cake since you’ve been talking so much about how good the new items at the bakery are recently. Happy Holidays.

Shaw

Dear MC,

I never had much of a reason to celebrate the holidays before, but you’ve changed my mind about them. Now, I see that the holidays are meant to be spent with those we appreciate and care about. Today, we can spend Christmas doing arts and crafts and baking cookies together. You can make whichever crafts and cookies you like. I picked out some arts and crafts guidebooks and baking cookbooks for you to bookmark and use them. I am glad we went groceries shopping for baking ingredients recently. We can also visit the new cat café that you’ve been talking about. Whichever plans you decide on, I look forward to trying them all together. The holidays seem special because of who we spend them with and how we spend them. Let’s continue to make more of these holiday memories this year and the next.

Sincerely,

Lucien

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allyooops · 10 months

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you should tell us about your new little oc! you know, the one for the house... with the owls... :3

Ok but I'm just copying and pasting what you already know omg Doe XD

Her name is Bluebelle, or just Blue, her little sister Pekoe, and her Mom Chamomile (Plant Coven gal). What happened to papa? Who tf knows really, I'm leaning towards him being a wild witch who went "missing" one day. This of course scares the heck out of Chamomile because now her eldest is also out being a hooligan doing wild magic. Blue went to hexside, but was only good when it came to magic with food, and she learned a lot from her mom with plant magic so she has some basics in that. Let's see if we can get a food related thing for each coven shallll we??

Abomination- Great protection from heat, nothing like an abomination goo oven mitt. Also great for stretching to get to high up ingredients.

Bard- well we know that whistling can mess with the components in liquids, so that's pretty clear cut. But also?? What about using sound mess with the consistency of actual food?? A whipped icing that is so light it's practically a cloud? The smoooothiest cheesecake ever?

Beast Keeping- here beautiful bees gimme some tasty fire honey 💕💕💕💕

Construction- let's go outside and make a brick oven! The perfect pizza stone! A beautiful candy making slab!!

Healing- what baker hasn't burnt themselves?

Illusion- suuuuper useful for planning out beautiful cakes before actually attempting them. Like a rough draft but with no clean up!!

Oracle- kind of a way to make sure a delivery isn't actually going to be a set up. But truthfully not her strength lol

Plant- hell yeah plants. Her mom runs the main bakery out of the house with a huge garden out back so she had the freshest ingredients for the pastries. Blue listened well as a child and she does know a little bit about it. But she definitely focuses on the tasty plants, lots of fruit trees, sugar substitutes, grains. She has some sort of mini fruit tree in her room that she adores

Potions- the big one. Potions have the biggest opportunity to be added into bakery items, because what is batter if not a thick potion?? XD Blue does definitely have a knack for making really fancy baked goods using combinations of magic and ingredients to give effects to whatever she makes. I am a big fan of her making house calls and curating specifically ordered pastries for well paying customers

Blue knows Morton I think XD I feel like they would share a weird little rivalry, because Blue would 100% think she could make the elixirs taste good, and him being tired of her trying (and potentially taking his customers)

Lovely lines provided by @doeblossom

Little witch gal lives in a bakery with her Mum, working most of the time to help out the shop, get the snails, all that jazz. And tries her best to make time for studies and schooling too, but is just bad at it, just kinda does the bare minimum to not get expelled. Doesn't really matter what she tries she's just too focused on helping run her household that school doesn't matter that much. Plant track, but skips and has been known to hide in other classes to learn things when a lesson could be used potentially for food stuff haha.

Blue is chaotic when she's in class, derailing lectures by asking the most insane questions. *Does different shades of abomination goo taste different??*

She has a lovely little palisman named Biscuit, she's a weird grasshopper bat thing and also a menace.

Biscuit helps when she can in the bakery, but must be paid in cookies.

Lovely lines and dormant design done by the oh so talented @doeblossom

#tmi tuesday #mod draws #mod doodles #Toh oc #Bluebelle #Blue and biscuit

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nogenderbee · 1 year

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Hihi! Can I rqs tsukasa a, i, m, w from fluff alphabet?

Also, do you take anons? if u do can i be ☁️ anon you seem so lovely dhsadjsa

Hiii! Of course you can request <3 Thank you so much and I don't know if you saw this post but I do take anons! So welcome ☁️ anon to my page and I hope you enjoy your staying here ^^ (also I created your tag hehe)

Tsukasa A, I, M, W fluff alphabet

⊱ Admirer ═ What if they would be secret admirer? How would they act around their crush? And what will they do for them?

Tsukasa isn't type of person to be shy but with you he just can't face you without blushing and tripping over his words! He knows because he's been in this state when he was just preparing himself to talk to you and at the end he couldn't even look at you or say "hi", so he decided to work other way.

Tsukasa isn't the best at writing letters so instead he buy you some sweets and attaches a little note saying that it's from "secret admirer -T" and he leaves those at your desk when no one is around, he even comes to school at the earliest hours just so he can make sure she won't be noticed. Sure he can ask one of his friends to give them to you but he really don't have anyone he could ask for it, because Nene will definitely say no and Rui will just tease him to his death.

Tsukasa doesn't know what more he can do for you except sweets... he's not that good with school work so he doesn't want you to have problems, so he keeps giving you sweets and sometimes he even bakes some cakes or cookies for you, and will ALWAYS mention it in his tiny notes.

"A star should be able to tell their lover how they feel... but I might as well make this confession big later!"

⊱ I love you ═ How long did it took them to say those 3 words for the first time? And how often do they like to say it?

Tsukasa while confessing instead of saying "I love you" said some cheesy lines that he maybe even took out of his script. But he only realised that he never said "I love you" to you when either Saki asks him about it or Rui starts teasing him, and once Tsukasa does realize it, it's the moment he starts panicking and starts to think how star like him can make those 3 special words even more special! But when he does plan super romantic date and wants to play off confidently, he's actually a blushing mess trying to say simple "I love you", but once you try to make it easy on him and say it yourself, he stops you so you just stand there and wait good 5 minutes for him to finally say it.

After emberassing first time saying those magic words, Tsukasa starts liking them, not only receiving but also giving them to you! So it doesn't take long untill he says it every day at least 10 times. And when you have cuddle session or private date or if he's just sleepy, you will hear it only more often! Whenever he's cuddled into you or you're cuddled into him and he suddenly starts spoiling you with "I love you"s, you heart can just melt on spot! Tease him about it later and he'll be flustered tho.

"I love you, YN. I love you so much. Please never forget it. I love you, I love you, I love you..."

⊱ Mail ═ How often do they text or call their lover? And why they do so?

Tsukasa is the type of person to text you all the time when he can't see you. You just waked up or about to fall asleep? You have a text from you boyfriend wishing you good day/sleep! You go to different schools? He texts you every break. He has a performence? He texts you every time he's on backstage. But Tsukasa also knows that this many messages can be too much sometimes so if you tell him to slow down with the, he will try, but at the same time he just wants to make sure that you're always happy and safe.

Tsukasa writes you this often because he's scared that there will be one time when you're away from him and something will happen to you, but mostly he does it because he misses you! And he doesn't want you to feel like he don't care about you so he does his best to prove every day that he does care about you a lot!

" 'Hey, how are you doing? I just have longer break on backstage.' Now I just wai- alright! Alright! One second, let me send them one last message! 'I'll be back later, Rui is scolding me. Stay safe!' "

⊱ Wedding ═ How do they want their wedding to look like?

Tsukasa didn't really thought about your wedding yet, you two are still young after all! But after one show of his when they included wedding he started thinking about your relationship and realised that you're dating for more than year! And that's when he started imagining his wedding with you, and he didn't even realised it untill Rui made him wake up from daydreaming just so he can tease Tsukasa about his blushing face...

But Tsukasa came to conclusion that classic wedding wouldn't suit a star like him! So at first he thinks of wedding at the stage but quickly realizes that it doesn't fit such a special occasion. So he later on decided that he would like his wedding to be anywhere that can be decorated and has a lot of lights! He want's this place to shine especially on his wedding. But he will be a little embarrassed about admiting to you that he already has plans for you wedding.

"Did I though about our wedding? We're still young hahah...! But... I do have couple of ideas..."

❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉

#nogenderbee ☁️ anon #project sekai #coloful stage #project sekai colorful stage #x reader #project sekai x reader #colorful stage x reader #project sekai colorful stage x reader #fluff #alphabet #fluff alphabet #project sekai fluff #tsukasa tenma #tsukasa tenma x reader #project sekai tsukasa tenma #project sekai tsukasa x reader

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16magnolias · 19 days

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List five things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! Get to know your mutuals and followers :3

Five things that make me happy:

1. Getting completely absorbed in a good book. Like a fire alarm or tornado siren could go off and I'd keep reading because I'm totally lost in the world of the book. Love when that happens. Just happened with 'Divine Rivals' by Rebecca Ross and the cliffhanger it ended on has me SCREAMING. (Update: I have now finished the sequel, Ruthless Vows, and it was also *excellent*)

2. Homemade baked goods. I must be getting old because I've been loving carrot cake and zucchini bread and oatmeal cookies lately. Even the kind with raisins in them. 🙈😂

3. Waterfalls...and moving water in general. I like the sound of running water.

4. Planning vacations. Like, I obviously like going on the actual vacation, too, but there is something so fun and hopeful and satisfying about researching vacation destinations and looking up things to do there and places to stay and putting it all into a nice lil spreadsheet.

5. My family. My husband is wonderful and my kids! They are 6 and 8 and I feel like I am in the prime of their childhood and while there are hard parts, almost every day has a new delight of its own. I'm living my best life with them, every day. I'm one of those weirdos who knew as a kid that I wanted to be a mom when I grew up and here I am. My dream came true. ❤

#asks #thank you!!!#❤

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feelingnom · 1 year

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baked goods made last year that fill me with joy!!

the first cake was a dark chocolate cake where i was experimenting with frosting, which is such an incredible art form!! i have absolutely no grasp of how people can create such beautiful things, i had to keep it simple.

the second are german chocolate cookies with coconut flakes. i absolutely LOVE coconut in baked goods and i feel like it’s so often underused in western food!! literally such a shame! i made half with walnuts for my family, but obviously i had to make a batch without. I really wish i could know the joys of nuts , my housemates recently ranked their ten favorite nuts and i had never really thought about how different they all must be!

third are store bought blondie mix, i know!! terrible to advertise on my baking blog, but my friend really wanted to make them together <3 i personally thought they were too sweet but truly the excitement was in baking together, not the desert. they also, admittedly, look really pretty.

fourth, a slice of vegan lemon bread i left for my dear anya. this was such a frantic day because me and my two other friends had breakfast plans and we just kept getting far too delayed doing other things. a lot of doing something with others is about just spending the time, BUT i get hungry! and this lemon loaf was such an excellent snack before shakshuka (not pictured)

this might be my favorite! and i never shut up about this cake. this was one of two cakes i made for my birthday (yes i made my own birthday cakes, very normal!!) and it’s pear chai!! you heard that right! it was sooo unbelievably yummy and it brought to light the beauty of fruit cakes to me! flavor and joy and happiness are all apart of this cake to me and i got to make it with my friend rosa which made it all the more special.

5th is another dark chocolate cake, terribly frosted, but so so college baking. this was a cake i made for my friends engagement party! it was such a pain to transport from my house because i walked ahhhhh but i’m so glad i could make it and that people could enjoy. it’s so awesome to watch people enjoy something you made. baking for others is totally a form of gift giving which is so personal and kind, i think

lastly a loaf of bread i made when i went home for winter break. this was my first time using a dutch oven! and boy it kinda changed my life. i’ve been without it since using it over break, but my family is actually bringing it to me this weekend! i love to bake bread, it’s something i got into last year when the house i moved into came with a breadmaker. fresh bread is so unbeatable and warm. bread is truly forever.

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starscelestialspells · 2 years

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Autumn Emoji Asks ✨

🍂: Make a simple autumn moodboard to show us your vibes this season! (or simply name the things you would put on such a moodboard)

👻: What is something in an animated movie or cartoon that scared you as a kid?

Woody the Woodpecker lol

🎃: What are some good memories you have of celebrating Halloween? And do you have any plans for this year?

Last year I spent Halloween at a rave, that was pretty spectacular. Halloween as a kid was always awesome also :) I don't have any plans this year yet but I think I just want to make spooky baskets with my partner and have a spooky movie night

🥧: Regardless of skill, if you could bake anything right now (pie, cake, muffin, brownie etc.) what would you like to make?

Pumpkin Bread

🌧️: Time for a movie marathon on a rainy day. Pick your top 5 movies to watch!

Practical Magic

Any of the Twilight movies

Pan's Labyrinth

Queen of the Damned

Beetlejuice

🍊: What is your favorite scent?

Rainy Cedar or Pumpkin Vanilla Campfire

📺: Do you watch horror movies? If yes, which are your favorite?

Not really, but Midsommer was very visually stunning

🍄: Write a short essay about your thoughts and opinions on mushrooms.

Mushrooms are wonderful wonderful things, I love them. They're cute in art, they're great in food, they're the beauties of nature, they expand the mind, they HEAL! And when I say they heal I mean in more than just the psychotropic ways. They can communicate under the earth. There's so many of them and they can thrive through so much that other plants cannot. I love mushrooms, I wish I could be a mushroom. Mushrooms have taught me about myself and others. Mushrooms changed my life.

🤖: If you were a video game NPC, what would be your catchphrase?

"Sweet strawberries, oh my!"

🍪: Favorite kind of cookie?

Turtle Pecan

📢: Shout any random thing that your followers really need to know.

@zepheriasimmer is my sims 4 cc account :)

💁‍♀️: What are items you definitely don’t need but tend to keep and collect anyway?

buttons

cool tags from clothes/other products

tiny boxes

🧡: Which 3 songs remind you instantly of autumn and why?

the obvious sweater weather, im not explaining lol

Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - it just gives me big singing to your love drunk by a bonfire vibes, coziness

Boy with a Coin by Iron and Wine - this one gives me witchy tambourine around a bonfire vibes

📆: Is there any event or upcoming activity you look forward to?

THE RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL!!!

🎲: Which kind of board games do you like to play?

I haven't played a board game in a very long time, maybe I should change that. I like dnd though :)

🛏️: Describe 3 specific items that are in your room.

I have a fabric rainbow woven basket full of incense and I just adore it so much

My partner built me a desk shelf and its just absolutely perfect, if I was at home I'd share a photo of it but its just a lil mini table thing with two shelves on it. I put all kinds of cute little figures and plushes on it, figures from naruto, avatar (aang and toph), a lil cubone dude and other desky things haha

My dnd dice are purple with a pink to gold shift sparkle and they have witchy looking numbers that are gold

👹: Favorite fictional monster or villain?

Beetlejuice obviously

😿: Describe any scene in a movie/series/book that never fails to make you cry.

Really any Studio Ghibli movies, rewatching them as an adult you just see all these themes you never understood before and it just really touches me.

📚: What are your favorite book?

Circe by Madeline Miller

💀: Do you have any fears/phobias?

Grasshoppers

🎪: If you could go see any broadway show or theater play right now, what would you like to see?

Oh I have no idea I'll be honest, I don't know much about theatre.

🤡: What is the dumbest way you have been hurt or injured?

Pulling something slipping and giving myself a black eye haha

🍵: Top 3 favorite tea flavors?

Chai

Peppermint

Sweet (I'm from Texas lol)

💻: To feel nostalgic; what are some old games/websites you spent lots of time on when you were young?

The Sims, Animal Crossing, Online Dress Up Games

🧛: Did you ever dress up for a costume party, or maybe cosplay for a convention? If yes, which character?

I did Velma for Halloween at Six Flags one year

🍯: If you could choose any three-course menu, what would be your ideal starter, main and dessert?

Crab Ragoons, Some kind of spicy crunchy sushi, Ice Cream Cake

🍬: All-time favorite candy?

Sour Belt Candy

🏡: You can make it as crazy and silly as possible; what would be some must-have features of your ideal dream house?

Oh an art studio/craft room with all the organization things installed but also a free wall to put tons of inspiration, an indoor heated pool in a glass room, a glass sunroom period, plants growing all over the outside (stone house), fruit garden, pole room with also room to just dance and be about, trip/mediation/spiritual/witchy room with big ass windows, just lots of windows, lots of natural light, canopy bed, butterflies come and visit, in the wood lots of wildlife, a pond, big full trees you can sit under, gaming room :)

🎮: Whether you’re waiting for its release or just until you can buy and/or play it; are there any video games you are looking forward to?

The Hogwarts game!!

🍁: A new website, fandom, video, song, fun fact or anything, name a recent discovery you would like to share with your followers.

Trees with Human Skin by Head Empty - I promise you it's beautiful and angelic you will not regret giving it a listen!!

Original Post

#autumn asks #autumn emoji asks #autumn #autumn aesthetic #fall #witchy #fallvibes #fall vibes

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vulpes-fennec · 1 year

Text

A Cozy Day In (Emorie) 🎁

Summary: A series of fluffy/smutty ACOTAR winter one-shots! 12 stories for the 12 days leading up to Solstice (December 21).

What are Emerie and Mor up to in Athelwood? Wholesome vibes only!

Read: Masterlist | AO3

Athelwood was frigid, but beautiful, in the winter. Emerie and Mor had managed to squeeze a horseback riding session in the early morning, trotting over frozen ground and surveying the ancient, hilly landscape of evergreen trees.

Though Emerie was unused to horses, she was already partial to Ellia due to both of them having names that start with “E”. And Ellia was also warming up to Emerie, thanks to the apples and carrots Emerie offered every morning this past week.

Emerie was currently curled up at a reading window, reading one of Sellyn Drake’s earliest novels. The author had published the story three hundred years ago, but the smut was still deliciously written. Mor had found it in the top shelf of Athelwood’s library last night, and gifted it to Emerie.

Her lover was baking for their afternoon tea. Or trying to. Emerie slid her eyes away from the passage about a juicy library rendezvous between a lowly Day Court scholar and the red-haired Autumn princess to observe the blonde female flitting about the kitchen. Mor looked mildly panicked as she struggled to keep the tacky dough from sticking to her hands.

“You sure you don’t need any help, Mor?” Emerie called out.

“Nope!” Mor’s cheerful voice was edged with tightness and she whisked melted chocolate in its water bath. “Just sit and relax. I’ll be done in no time.”

It was Emerie’s first time visiting Athelwood, and Mor wanted her first visit to be nothing less than stellar. She’d planned horseback riding lessons and shopping at the local town’s bazaar. Brought out her softest blankets. Cooked Emerie’s favorite foods. Made sure they finished the day with the best sex ever.

Emerie had just finished a grueling week of shipping last-minute clothing orders. If there was anything Mor could do to make things easier, to give Emerie the rest she deserved…

Well. It had been going well until Mor volunteered to prepare afternoon tea. Emerie loved tea just as much as Mor loved wine, so she had to get this right. After watching Emerie prepare tea a million times, Mor figured she could do it too.

The fruit platter of candied clementines, grapefruit, and kumquats was perfect. But the chocolate drizzled cake was slightly burnt at the bottom. And Mor couldn’t get the damned shortbread dough to stop sticking to the cookie cutters and her fingers.

Whatever. Into the oven they went. Mor washed her hands, acutely aware of Emerie glancing over at her every few pages. She had set up a cute little table and tea set in the sunroom. During the summer, golden rays passing through the glass would illuminate the leafy houseplants. During the winter, it became a scenic, but insulated space for a tea party.

Mor had just finished setting everything into their proper positions when her nose detected a whiff of something burning. She scurried back to the kitchen to find Emerie holding the tray of shortbread cookies with an oven mitt.

Or what remained of the shortbread cookies. They looked more like charcoal lumps. “Oh no!” Mor cried, rushing over. “How the hell did that happen?”

Emerie knocked the hardened cookies against each other, cocking her head to listen to the rapping sounds they made. “Don’t worry, I can’t bake either. We can repurpose these by lobbing them at Cassian when he gets on our nerves.”

Mor managed to smile at the thought of Cassian yelping and dodging flying shortbread cookies. “You’re right. At least we have the other sweets. Come, you have to see what I’ve set up for us.” She covered Emerie’s eyes and walked her over to the sunroom.

Emerie gasped with delight. “Oh, Mor, this is so beautiful.” Her velvet wings flapped with excitement as she surveyed the pretty table and the wintery backdrop.

Mor felt a burst of pride at Emerie’s happiness. She pulled a low-backed chair out for Emerie to sit and bustled about, pouring Emerie a cup of tea and adding a teaspoon of sugar and cream—just as Emerie liked.

“The bottom of the cake is burnt, so make sure you cut that part off,” Mor advised.

She had brewed a pot of lavender-infused black tea, having procured the rare leaves from her latest continental trip. Emerie would 100 percent love it. The females clinked their teacups before taking their first sip.

Emerie coughed, wrinkling her face.

Oh gods, what was happening now?

“Um. Did you mix up the sugar and salt?” Emerie asked hesitantly.

Mor’s eyes widened. The unmarked jar of white powder was indeed her salt jar. Not sugar. “Oh nooo,” she cried. “I’m so sorry, Em!”

Mor snatched Emerie’s teacup away and ran off to dump the milky brown contents into the kitchen sink. She sighed. It had been so long since she’d properly courted a female that she was a complete mess. How pathetic for a 500-year old female to not know how to bake, to mix up the salt and sugar, to be wholly inept at—

“Mor?” Emerie’s voice was behind her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry, Em,” she said glumly. “I completely messed up our afternoon tea plans.”

“What do you mean? Everything is still going great.” Emerie hugged Mor from behind, resting her chin on Mor’s shoulder. “Don’t stress yourself over this.”

“I’m not stressed,” Mor bit out. “I’m just upset with myself.”

Emerie rolled her eyes. “Practically the same thing.” She paused, assessing her lover’s dejected face. It was unlike Mor to be so affected. Clearly Mor had put a lot of thought into their afternoon tea, and was disappointed with the outcome. “Say, I actually had a surprise for you planned. I was going to save it for tomorrow night, but maybe you need it more right now.”

Mor’s eyes lit up. “What is it?” she asked eagerly.

Emerie glanced at the clock. “Give me ten minutes? Then you can winnow the tea set into our room. And we can take our tea there.”

Mor perked up at Emerie referring to the bedroom as their room. Even after a year of courting, the thrill of being able to share life experiences, places, and moments with Emerie never faded. The fact that Emerie regarded Athelwood as her place as well was a good sign.

Mor arrived to find a whole display of beauty items on the bed. Emerie sheepishly smiled when Mor enveloped her into a bear hug, all melancholy forgotten. “You had a beauty activity planned and you didn’t tell me?!?”

“I told you it was supposed to be a surprise,” Emerie chuckled. “You’ve been working so hard this past month, and I wanted to do something nice for you too.”

Mor clapped her hands. “I’m so excited. Here, let’s get the food onto the bed.” With a flick of her hand, the cake, candied fruits, and teacups levitated over their mattress perfectly.

The females pulled their hair back using fluffy headbands and commenced their spa session. Floral face steaming. Eyebrow grooming. Lip oils. Pasty face masks. Layered moisturizers. Emerie wasn’t an expert on makeup or beauty routines, but she could see why Mor loved these sorts of activities. She was currently giving Mor a shoulder massage as Mor painted her nails a crimson red.

“I’m sorry for my freak-out earlier. It’s just…it’s our week off and I want your stay to be perfect,” Mor confessed.

“Mor, it’s already perfect,” Emerie said gently. “I wake up every morning with you in my arms. We’ve cooked amazing dinners together, and before you disagree, you are an excellent cook.” Mor promptly closed her mouth. “Also, it’s our week off, remember? You need to have a good time, too.”

“Thank you, Em,” Mor said quietly. “Sometimes I can’t believe we have each other to lean on now. I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” The blonde female took Emerie’s hand from her shoulder and pressed it to her mouth in a tender kiss. “Now turn around. It’s my turn to pamper you.”

Mor positioned herself behind Emerie’s wings, kneading the tense muscles in Emerie’s lower back and scratching an itch between her shoulder blades.

“Sometimes I wish I was as experienced as you,” Emerie grumbled. “You’re my first serious relationship and I feel like I don’t know all the ins and outs of romance.”

Mor shrugged. “This is pretty romantic, no?”

“I guess I just feel like such a clumsy novice.”

“Who’s being hard on herself now?” Mor laughed gently, running her fingers through Emerie’s unbraided hair. The dark brown strands were wavy, cascading down the Illyrian female’s back like a dark river. “It’s better to have your first experience with someone you love, someone you trust, than to dive in with well-honed skills,” she murmured.

“But your first experience was with Cassian,” Emerie pointed out.

“It’s true. I trusted Cassian then…and I trust him with my life now,” Mor said, after some thought. “Even so, it was not…not the first sexual experience I wanted. Sometimes I wish you had been born centuries earlier. Think about the memories we could have made when I was young and spry!”

Emerie laughed. “But if I had been born centuries earlier, we may not have met. Without Nesta and Gwyn, I wouldn’t have an excuse to leave Windhaven. Also, the expectations for females in Illyrian were far more traditional back then.”

“I suppose that is fate’s way of telling us that things happen when the time is right.” Mor finished massaging Emerie’s shoulders and leaned against her back, wrapping her hands around Emerie’s waist. It was nice to just sit and cuddle, to match her breathing with the rise and fall of Emerie’s shoulders.

Mor glanced out the window. “Oh look, the snow is coming down hard.” Thick flurries were blanketing the world outside in a layer of white. At this rate, there would be a total white out in an hour’s time. No shopping tomorrow.

Emerie yawned. “I guess that means we need to stay in for the rest of the day. I’m too relaxed and full of cake to move.”

Mor grinned. “Me too. I think this calls for an afternoon nap.” With another flick of her hand, their comfy bed was cleared. Emerie crawled under the thick blankets, draping her wings over the side of the bed. The last few nights were like sleeping on a cloud.

The faelights of the room glowed golden, the air pleasantly warm. Watching the snowfall with Mor curled alongside her was as close to inner peace as Emerie would get during the holiday season.

“I love you, Mor,” Emerie kissed Mor on the lips. “I love being here with you.”

“I love you so much, Emerie. You make every part of my life better.” Mor snuggled against Emerie as well, breathing in her lightly spiced and laundry soap scent. Athelwood had been her refuge from the world for centuries. But it was only now, now that her love was here with her, did it truly become a home.

#emorie #emerie x mor #mor x emerie #emerie acotar #mor acotar #emorie fanfiction #acotar solstice #acotar fanfiction

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