#and like today i cried again simply because ''things were happening too fast''
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Life After Destruction - Chapter 7 - Honkai: Star Rail
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Month seven meant only one more month aboard the Astral Express before Stelle and Dan Heng would be dropped off at the Xianzhou Luofu. Stelle felt like things were happening so fast. The pressure to get everything in order this month, including finishing shopping for the nursery, was beginning to weigh on her.
However, there had been one minor roadblock to accomplishing that goal: Himeko and March practically begging her to wait with any form of shopping. Although Stelle supposed she would have a month on the Luofu to collect any remaining items she needed, she still wanted to get things in order now, as did Dan Heng. In the end, the two were so adamant in their request that she had to cave, and despite her repeated asks, they never told her the reason.
Until today.
“Surprise!” Asta and March said, waving excitedly at the obnoxiously large pile of gifts.
Surprise, indeed. To say Stelle’s jaw was on the floor was probably an understatement. Beside her, Dan Heng looked equally shocked. Probably because when Himeko said they needed to go to Herta Space Station to gather supplies, it never crossed either of their minds that this would be what she'd meant.
“Yeah, yeah, surprise,” Herta reluctantly agreed with all the minimal enthusiasm she could muster. To be fair to her, the fact Herta had even come down to greet them was a surprise in itself. “Now get all this garbage off my ship. It’s preventing me from seeing my curios.”
“Madam Herta,” Asta gently chided. “I know you don’t mean that. Didn’t you get them a gift, too?”
“I didn’t want to,” she snipped. “It was Screwllems’s stupid idea, and Ruan Mei just had to jump on board. But… I guess it’s not totally worthless. Because of this idiot—” Herta roughly pointed at Stelle— “I’m still able to do my studies and experiments in this galaxy. Although, she could have avoided getting knocked up.” With those biting words, she glared at Dan Heng.
Stelle chuckled nervously. Although Herta’s words said one thing, Stelle was fairly certain the only reason she was mad was because Stelle hadn’t been able to help test the Simulated Universe for far too long.
Dan Heng, for his part, simply ignored it. “So,” he began, looking over the mountain of gifts once again before turning to March and Asta. “Would you like to explain why there are so many gifts here?”
“It’s for a baby shower!” March explained. “Er… kind of.”
“You two are kind of famous, you know,” Asta elaborated. “So it was only natural that people would want to know that the galaxy’s savior was pregnant with her first child. These are all the congratulatory gifts from, well… everyone.”
Stelle looked over the tower again. This mountain was the galaxy’s well-wishes to her?
Her hand went up to rest on top of her growing stomach.
“Um.” From behind them, Arlan spoke up. “Would you like me to start organizing the transfer of these gifts to the Express?”
“Yes!” Herta cried. “Get them out of here. I’ve got more important things to do, like finding someone who doesn’t have a medical exemption from assisting with my tests of the Simulated Universe. I’m trying to get in contact with Nanook there since he’s long dead in the real world. Curious minds need to know his reasonings behind these wars.”
“You can have Caelus for your experiments,” Stelle offered.
Herta quirked a brow at her. “Who?”
“Wow, that’s mean,” March muttered under her breath.
“We’ve all done it,” Stelle flatly countered, trying to justify away the niggling guilt she felt. “It’s his turn. Think of it as a rite of passage.”
Dan Heng hummed. “If he wants the full experience of being a trailblazer, I suppose assisting Madam Herta is part of it.”
Despite being a doll, Herta’s eyes started gleaming. “Oh, so he is a new member? That would be useful to get a fresh perspective on the alterations to the Simulated Universe. You all have adapted well to it, which has been helpful in its own way, but that might have skewed an accurate perception of it.”
“He’s probably still with Himeko at the Express,” Dan Heng answered.
“Oh, perfect.” And with that, Herta shuffled past Arlan and out the door.
Asta cleared her throat to break the awkward atmosphere. “If you would please, Arlan. Moving all this will take a while.”
“G-got it,” he replied. “It’s preferable to being dragged around by Madam Herta. Just… don’t tell her I said that.”
“Where is this even going to go on the Express?” Stelle asked.
“Himeko said she’s figured that out already,” March dismissed. “So don’t worry about it.”
That was an impossible task. Especially as another question came to mind. “Where is all this going to go in the nursery?”
“Oh!” March’s eyes lit up. “So that’s the thing. When Himeko and I sent out the announcement, we kinda realized that you might end up with an excess of baby things. Himeko suggested they send things for the baby to grow into instead of just baby things. She promised that you guys could put all the things you wouldn’t need right away in storage.”
“Well,” Dan Heng said, nodding in approval, “that certainly is more practical, considering how many planets seemed to have been informed.”
“Yeah,” Asta agreed. “But they were all more than happy to send things along. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have all this.”
That was true. At that realization, Stelle felt quite honored.
Don’t cry, she mentally warned when she felt herself suddenly get emotional, an unfortunate side effect of her pregnancy. Suck it up. It’s fine. It’s just… really nice of everyone.
Soon enough, she was dabbing at her eyes.
“Please tell me those are happy tears,” Asta said, suddenly getting worried.
Dan Heng wrapped his arm around Stelle’s waist, and she allowed him to pull her close. “Yeah. I’m fine,” she said, leaning against Dan Heng's shoulder.
“Is it overwhelming?” Dan Heng quietly asked.
Stelle nodded. “But it’s really nice of everyone.”
“It… it really is,” Dan Heng agreed. “We’re going to have to thank everyone for their thoughtfulness.”
“I’ve got you covered,” Asta said, grabbing one of the boxes that was exceedingly plain. She took off the cardboard lid, showing a small booklet and a stack of cards and envelopes. “This is for you to record who gave you what. And then I got actual letters for you to send. Hopefully, that won’t be too overwhelming.”
“We’ll manage,” Dan Heng said. “Although… this will be quite the task.”
Stelle could not disagree in the slightest.
“I can help if you want,” March offered. “I don’t mind.”
“Thanks,” Stelle said, shooting her friend a smile. As kind as it was for her to offer, Stelle had the feeling she’d manage on her own. After all, she was getting quite bored staying still on the Express, her growing stomach getting in the way of being too adventurous. Writing a million cards might just be the cure for her boredom.
Or it would drive her insane. With her mood swings, who knew. Either way, it had to be better than helping Herta test the Simulated Universe…
Right?
~~~
Dan Heng had no idea how they managed to fit all the gifts in the Astral Express. Looking over the storage room that was practically overflowing, he was dreading the task of opening them. However, he would not complain. This was extremely generous of the galaxy at large, and he was appropriately thankful for their consideration. Furthermore, with all these gifts, it was likely he and Stelle wouldn’t have to go shopping for much more. That is, if they had to go shopping at all. While he wouldn’t have minded going shopping for the baby, he also couldn’t deny he would prefer if he didn’t have to. Shopping had never been his favorite thing, and one particular pre-Stelle shopping trip he’d been forced to take with March had spoiled that task for life.
“So,” Himeko began, approaching Dan Heng, “What do you think of the surprise? We wanted to organize a proper baby shower for Stelle, but that just wasn’t possible.”
“This is more than enough,” Dan Heng assured with a smile. “Thank you. It must have taken considerable effort on your part to organize this.”
“It did, but it was worth it. Hopefully, March and I did a good enough job communicating with everyone so you won’t get too many repeated items. You should be covered with a range of things up into their childhood years. Although, organizing certain toddler items does become more challenging when you don’t know if you’ll have a boy or a girl.”
“Stelle wanted to keep it a surprise. Otherwise, you would have known.”
“I know. And I also know you went along with her wishes to keep her happy." She then poked his shoulder. "Just remember you’re the father. You’re allowed to ask for things, too.”
“I know,” he returned. “But I couldn’t ask for anything more than what she’s given me. While I would have liked to know, just so I could be as prepared as possible, it ultimately doesn’t matter if we know ahead of time or not. I’ll be happy either way.”
Himeko’s smile was gentle. “Stelle’s very lucky to have you as her husband. And your child is going to be lucky to have you as a father.”
Bashful, Dan Heng turned back to look over the gifts. “I’ll… do my best.”
“Give yourself a little credit,” Himeko teased. “You deserve it.”
Unsure of what to say, Dan Heng simply nodded. He had plenty of doubts lingering in his mind over this, but he had to conquer them alone. And quickly, at that. The baby would be here before they knew it. While Dan Heng knew that everything about their life would change because of it, there was also only so much he could do to prepare. He would just have to adapt to everything else and hope he didn’t mess things up, for his child’s sake.
“Have you figured out names yet?” Himeko asked.
He nodded, thankful for the change in conversation. “Yes, we’ve settled on names for both genders.”
“Are you going to keep those a surprise, too?” Himeko lightly prodded.
“Yes,” Dan Heng said, giving her a slight smile. “But that was my idea to do so.”
“Haha. You two are certainly keeping everyone in suspense.”
Dan Heng shut the door to the storage room, blocking out the overwhelming sight of the mountainous stack of gifts for now. “On a different note,” he began, making his way back to the parlor. “I will be sitting this next mission out so as to help Stelle—”
“She warned me to not allow you to do that,” Himeko interrupted. “She said she could handle the presents and thank you cards on her own but that you should get out and about as much as possible before the baby is born. I agree with her. I doubt you’ll want to leave her side for a while after your baby arrives, so I don’t want you to get sick of the Astral Express too soon.”
Dan Heng sighed. Part of him figured this would happen. If it was just Himeko’s idea, he’d probably argue with her, but he wasn’t going to test Stelle. Her emotional state was growing more unstable with each passing month, so he didn't want to start needless fights with her. She was only doing this out of consideration for him, anyway.
“It will be fine,” Himeko said. “You two can open the gifts together while we’re traveling. Then whoever stays behind with Stelle can help her write all the thank you notes. That is, if she wants the help in the first place. It’s quite obvious Stelle is growing plenty bored staying on the Express all the time. The letters will give her something to do.”
When Himeko put it that way, Dan Heng thought maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to leave that job up to Stelle, after all.
“Besides,” Himeko continued. “I appreciate you teaching Caelus what you know before you disappear on us. Don’t say this to March, but between the two of you, you are the better teacher.”
Dan Heng smirked in amusement. “My lips are sealed.” Although, he did suppose Himeko had a point when it came to Caelus. He was a plenty capable person and well-trained, but he came with his own challenges and quirks. Stellaron Hunters did things very differently than the Nameless, so there was much to teach him as well as many tricks to learn from him.
And if Dan Heng were being honest, he enjoyed having a male companion compared to traveling with two girls all the time. Not that he didn’t adore said girls, especially since they were his wife and someone he thought of as a sister.
They entered the parlor to see Stelle still chatting with March, Asta, and Arlan. Upon spying Dan Heng, Stelle grinned, waving him to come over before motioning to a large box at her feet. “From the Space Station.”
“Though Arlan organized it,” Asta said, elbowing the young man.
Arlan chuckled sheepishly. “I hope you like it.”
“I’m sure we will,” Stelle said. “Thank you.”
“And don’t worry,” Arlan added on, shooting Asta a warning look. “I didn’t let Lady Asta spend any money on it. She went overboard with the clothes, anyway.”
“I did not,” Asta countered. “It was fine.”
“It was not fine,” Stelle said. “It’s just that no one can stop you when you start.”
Before Asta could come up with a retort, the door to the Astral Express opened, and a frazzled Caelus entered.
Upon seeing all eyes were on him, he started waving his hands about. “Let me get this straight: you’ve all helped Madam Herta with her little ‘virtual reality’ experiment?”
Tempering a grin, Dan Heng nodded, noting that the others were all doing the same. He almost pitied Caelus. Almost. He’d suffered Madam Herta’s experiments enough over the years. It was Caelus’ turn to take up that torch. Besides, the more people who volunteered, the fewer times each person would have to assist.
“Like, once or twice?” Caelus tentatively inquired.
Stelle answered, “Sometimes, several times a week.”
“A week?” Caelus repeated, horrified.
“How’d you like it?” March teasingly prodded.
Caelus couldn’t answer right away, words clearly having failed him. Eventually, he just shook his head. “So many bugs.”
“Aww,” Stelle mockingly cooed. “You don’t even know the half of it.”
~~~
The pile of scrapped gift wrapping was growing astronomically fast, and the nursery was filling up with items almost as quickly. So far, there’d been a wide variety of things, from baby necessities to toddler clothing to a range of toys. Then there was the variety of wild card items ranging from medicine to information for the archives to weapons.
And then Stelle still wasn’t fully sure what that thing was over in the corner.
But even those odd items came with things like some diapers or children’s books, and each gift came with a letter of congratulations from the senders. Typically, they were from the government at large, but there were a few exceptions.
“Another from Belobog.”
Stelle took the gift Dan Heng offered her, the fourth one from Belobog. One from Bronya, who spoke on behalf of the country at large, then another from the Silvermane Guards. Wildfire even got her a gift.
As she looked over the plain brown box, her heart warmed upon seeing the still scratchy lettering that she recognized as Hook’s scrawl. To: Honorary Member and Little Honorary Member. From: The Moles. “They’re too sweet.”
“They are very kind," Dan Heng agreed. "I’m sure it wasn’t easy for them to scrape together the money to send that.”
That was true. Inter-astral mail wasn’t cheap. Even though she knew all the members of the Moles each had their own paying jobs now, it must have put quite the dent in their pockets.
Stelle opened the slightly battered box to reveal a jar of marbles, a teddy bear that looked handmade with a handful of clothes to go with it, and a torn, tattered book titled “Adventures of the Moles”. The longer she looked over the gifts, the more she recognized them, and soon enough, she began to feel overly emotional.
“I’m gonna yell at them for giving us these,” she whispered, her eyes growing watery.
“You should probably text them right away,” Dan Heng suggested, a gentle smile on his face while he soothingly stroked her hair.
“Yeah, probably.”
Dan Heng set the box carefully aside for her while Stelle pulled out her phone.
“I’m going to empty out the trash bin again,” Dan Heng said, standing from his seat. “And bring back the next round of gifts. Take your time.”
“Thanks,” she said, already tapping away at her phone.
Stelle: Hook! I just opened your gift!
Stelle: I love it. Thank you so much!
Stelle: Tell the others I said thanks, too.
Before Stelle could put her phone away, she saw little bubbles flash on the screen.
Hook: I’m glad! Do you like the teddy? I sewed it all by myself!
Hook: I asked the old witch to teach me how, and she said she would if I cleaned the clinic.
Hook: But she actually made me clean the clinic! (;° ロ°)
Stelle couldn’t help but chuckle. She could easily imagine the huffy pout Hook was wearing.
Stelle: It’s about time she made you keep your word. Natasha was too soft.
Hook: Honorary member! How dare you betray us!
Hook: Oh no she caught me
Stelle: Good luck with your punishment.
With a grin, Stelle put her phone down. Over the years, Hook had grown fond of the clinic. More often than not, Hook would volunteer a little of her time to help Natasha tidy the place up. Not exactly any of the “months” she’d ever promised, but Stelle supposed that development was enough to show just how much Hook had grown up.
While mustering the willpower to stand up and help Dan Heng pull some more presents into the nursery, her phone chimed. She looked over, expecting to see a message from Hook detailing how she escaped.
Natasha: Hey, Stelle. I’m sorry to bother you, but since you texted Hook, I thought you might be free for a moment. I have a question to ask of you.
Stelle: Of course. Shoot.
Natasha: Feel free to tell me I’m sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong, but have you set up a birth plan yet?
Honestly, Stelle should have been expecting that from Natasha. If anything, she should have told Natasha her plans earlier.
Stelle: Yes. We’ve decided to go to the Xianzhou Luofu, which is Dan Heng’s home world. I believe I’ve told you about Bailu, correct? She was incredibly picky in recommending doctors to us.
Natasha: That’s good to hear you have people you trust. If you hadn’t, I was going to ask if I could help you in any way. Of course, if you need me for anything, I’ll help out as much as I can.
Stelle: Thank you. I promise I’ll contact you if I need anything.
Though it was reasonable to leave it at that, Stelle kinda wanted to keep the conversation going. Hence, she found herself typing out another message.
Stelle: Actually, I had been debating about coming to Belobog. I trust you as a doctor and would have felt the most comfortable with you, if I am being honest. But for other reasons, the Luofu is ultimately better.
Stelle: Sometimes I wish you could come, but I know you’re busy with the clinic. :)
Just as she finished, Dan Heng returned, his arms full of gifts once again.
Stelle put her phone down. “How many more do we have to go?”
Dan Heng dropped the tall stack. “With this, we’ve gotten through approximately two-thirds of the gifts.”
Stelle heaved a sigh. It had been a marathon, to say the least. She was growing tired of them, even though she was still incredibly thankful. Because of what they had received so far, the nursery was already stocked with everything they could need or want. Heck, they’d even gotten things they certainly didn’t need. At this point, she couldn't even fathom what other surprises there could possibly be.
Before Dan Heng could hand her the gift from the top of the pile, her phone dinged again.
Natasha: If you’d like, I can try to organize coming with you. I have two new assistants that could take over for a short period.
Natasha: I would have to double-check with some of the others, though, to make sure everything with Wildfire is running smoothly and that it would be okay.
Stelle blinked a few times at the message.
“Something happen?” Dan Heng asked, sitting down beside her again.
“Um…” Stelle pursed her lips as she glanced over to Dan Heng. “Natasha offered to come with us to be there for the birth of our baby.”
“Oh?”
Stelle nodded.
“Would you like that?”
“I mean… yeah.”
“But you’re hesitating.”
Stelle let her phone fall into her lap, giving Dan Heng her full attention. “Do you think Bailu would be okay with that? Or would that cause more problems? She said she’d already screened all the doctors there for us to meet. And I know Natasha said she’d be okay to leave for a bit, but we’ll be there for a month. Is it okay for her to leave for that long?”
Dan Heng paused in thought. “I wouldn’t worry about Bailu. Even though she did take time to recommend doctors to us, I doubt she would fault you for bringing a doctor you trust. As for if Natasha can take that time away from the clinic, I’d say tell her our plan and let her decide if she can accommodate us.”
“You think I should?” Stelle asked.
“I think you have the right to be comfortable with people you trust. And if they’re offering, I would accept. And... to be honest, I would be comfortable with Natasha, as well. For your sake."
Feeling more confident, Stelle picked up her phone again. "Bailu would be disappointed if she knew you didn't trust her judgment."
"I trust people you and I both know and have worked with. That's all."
Although he spoke them dismissively, she was happy to have her husband's full support. She leaned over to drop her head on his shoulder while she texted Natasha back.
Stelle: Are you sure that would be okay? About three weeks from now, we will head to the Luofu with plans on remaining there until the baby is born. By that time, I’ll only be eight months, so we’ll likely be there for a month or so. Is it possible for you to take all that time away from your clinic?
She sent off the message before dropping the phone back into her lap.
Beside her, Dan Heng pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head before handing her another gift.
"Was that encouagement to keep up this marathon?" she asked, feeling all fluttery from the tiny gesture.
"Possibly."
"Possibly," she repeated, amused. Still, she sat up straight to open the gift, this one a box of children’s books and some unisex clothes.
After recording the information in the booklet, Dan Heng took them to set aside just as her phone dinged again.
Natasha: So you’ll be spending the last month of your pregnancy there? That’s a wise idea. As for the length of duration on my account, things here should be fine between the two assistants that I’ve trained to handle the clinic here. Things have never run more smoothly. I’m sure I can disappear for a month or two.
Natasha: Actually, Seele just came and told me to leave the affairs of Wildfire to her and Oleg. It seems I might be pushed to go with you in the end.
Stelle: If you’re able to, I would really like to have you around.
Stelle: Take your time organizing things. We can come pick you up when it comes time and take you to the Luofu with us. I think you’d really like it.
Natasha: I would be going as your doctor first and foremost. But, when you put it that way, I guess that I would have a little free time to enjoy exploring a new place. That would be quite exciting. :D
“I think it’s going to work out,” Stelle said, grinning as she looked over to Dan Heng.
He returned her smile with one of his own. “Then I’ll inform Bailu a little later once you two have sorted out more of the details.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Well, while you’re continuing to communicate with her, would you like to switch tasks? I’ll open the next gifts and you record them?”
Stelle looked over the tower of gifts before her. Her stomach sank even further when she recalled there were still more in the storage area. “Yeah, gimme the notebook before I get sick of opening gifts forever.”
~~~
“And you’re certain you packed everything?” Dan Heng asked for the final time.
Stelle sighed, clearly getting tired of his constant questioning. Yet, he watched her silently count on her fingers as she looked over their luggage. “Pretty sure.”
“All the baby’s things that Natasha instructed us to pack?”
“That was the bag I packed first.”
He nodded, looking over the luggage one last time. He couldn’t shake this anxious feeling swirling through him, like he was forgetting something. Or maybe he was anxious because he was about to spend the next month with Stelle on the Xianzhou Luofu. This would be the longest period of time he’d spent away from the Express since first boarding. Furthermore, he wasn’t leaving for a mission but rather for a familial reason, which felt still extremely strange to him.
“Well, if you’re finished questioning me for the umpteenth time, are you ready to go?” Stelle asked.
Startled from his thoughts, he looked back up at her. “Y-yeah. I think so.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded, but she was quick to shoot him a doubtful look. Worried that she was about to call his bluff, he reached for their luggage bags, ones the space station had gifted them for this very reason. “We should go,” he said. “The others put aside their expedition to make this trip specifically for us. I don’t want to keep them long.”
“I guess you’re right.” And with that, Stelle reached for her bag.
“Grab the baby’s bag,” Dan Heng instructed. “That’s all I’ll let you carry.”
She frowned up at him. “I can carry more.”
“You are carrying plenty.” He reached out to lay a hand on her stomach. “So don’t overexert yourself.”
“I’m fine, you know,” she quietly countered, placing her hand on top of his, a habit she'd picked up from whenever the baby was kicking and she pulled him close to feel it. At the moment, the baby was quiet. Maybe it too was feeling the stress of everything.
“I’d like to keep you that way.” With that, he leaned forward, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.
“Hey.”
He couldn't help but grin at the little pout she shot him, his worries disappearing for a second. Reaching up to cradle her cheek, he angled her head towards him and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Better?”
She grinned. “Thank you. For that, I guess I’ll let you carry the bags.”
He huffed in amusement.
Soon enough, the duo made their way to the parlor, Stelle carrying the baby backpack while Dan Heng dragged one large, rolling suitcase behind him. It fit quite a bit of their clothes for the month, but the rest of their things were packed in the overlarge pack he wore on his back. For some reason, a slight chill haunted him as he marched down the hallway. It disturbed him, this odd feeling of finality that hung in the air, like an end was imminent. He tried to tell himself he would return here to the Astral Express and that things would be fine, but the sadness weighing on his heart was too heavy to entirely ignore.
“There they are,” Himeko spoke once Dan Heng and Stelle entered the parlor. “Are the both of you set?”
“I believe so,” Dan Heng answered, pushing aside his feelings for now and focusing on the present. Beside him, Stelle made a show of crossing her fingers.
“Then this is where we part ways.” Himeko was the first to reach out and pull Stelle in a hug. “We’ll miss you. We’ll be hoping for a safe delivery.”
“Thank you,” Stelle muttered in return.
March was up next. “It will be so weird not having you two around,” she said, clinging tight to Stelle.
“It’ll be weirder when we bring back a baby,” Stelle bantered back.
“That’s true. But I’ll take that weirdness any day if it means you two are back.”
Dan Heng felt a small sense of relief knowing that he wasn’t the only one feeling strange about this whole arrangement. Not that there was anything to be done about it; it was part of Stelle’s pregnancy. One would have thought Dan Heng would have gotten used to change by now, with the months Stelle’s pregnancy had already altered their lives in numerous ways, but this felt different. They’d always had the Astral Express and the Nameless by their side to help them through it. Now, they were temporarily heading out on their own.
A weight on his shoulder called him out of his thoughts, and Dan Heng looked over to Welt. “I wish you both a restful month before the baby arrives,” Welt said, giving Dan Heng’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze. “You two have earned it.”
“We’ll try,” Dan Heng responded.
“Don’t worry,” Caelus said, giving Dan Heng’s other shoulder a bump with his fist. “We’ll take care of everything around here.”
“I believe you will.” Dan Heng had seen how quickly Caelus had integrated into the Astral Express crew. He would manage on his own. Although, Dan Heng still had some reservations about Caelus and March running missions together. The combination of March’s friendly, somewhat naive personality paired with Caelus’ impulsive nature was doubtlessly going to wind the pair in trouble at some point.
Caelus then turned to Stelle, reaching an arm out towards her. “Take care.”
Stelle returned the side hug with a smile. Despite the amnesia between the two of them making their past a jumbled mishmash of memories, they’d grown close over the last couple of months. Maybe because of how similar they ultimately were. “Don’t get in trouble,” Stelle warned him.
“I promise… to do my best.”
“March,” Stelle said, turning to her friend. “If something goes wrong, remember: blame him.”
“Hey!”
March laughed. “You got it.”
Caelus leveled a glare at March. “Rude.”
Chuckling, March shot back a cheeky wink and peace sign.
While the duo went at it, Welt had sided up to Stelle. “Take care,” he told her, reaching up to rest a hand on her head. “I’ll be hoping you have an easy delivery.”
Grinning, she reached out to wrap her arms around his torso. “Thanks.”
He wrapped an arm over her shoulders, looking every bit like a proud grandfather-to-be.
“Stay safe,” Himeko said, now at Dan Heng’s side.
“We will,” he returned.
“And know that we’ll always be here if you need anything,” she continued.
“I wouldn’t want to bother you any more than we have.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Himeko easily dismissed. “You and Stelle have been travelers on the Express for so long that you’re the closest thing to family I have. I guarantee you that the others feel the same. So it’s no bother. Besides, we’ll all miss you and can’t wait for you to come back, baby and all.”
At her words, more of the chilly unease in Dan Heng’s stomach dissipated. Maybe that was what had him in such a frenzy: he was leaving this place he considered home behind, even if it was just for a bit. For someone who grew up with nothing only to be exiled when he was old enough, the last thing he wanted was to let go of every treasure he'd found, for it to disappear.
But it wouldn’t. It was only a temporary shift for the sake of Stelle and his child. And once the baby arrived, they would come back home, to where his—no, their family was waiting.
“Sorry, sorry!” A sudden newcomer burst into the parlor. “I overslept. Apologies if I kept everyone waiting.”
“You came right on time,” Himeko assured. “Although, I feel bad for having to wake you in the first place. You seemed quite comfortable.”
“I was,” Natasha guiltily admitted. “Seems I’ve been working too hard lately and not getting enough rest.”
“Well, I hope you are able to get some rest on the Luofu.”
“On the contrary, I fear I’ll be too excited to want to sleep. And considering I have the very rare pleasure of caring for a single patient, I’ll have plenty of time to study a different world. I won’t want to miss a minute.”
Dan Heng spoke up, “I’m sure Bailu would be happy to let you read her medical texts.”
At that, Natasha’s eyes lit up. “It would be wonderful if I could find new techniques or medicines to take back to Belobog.”
“With as much free time as you’ll have,” Stelle chimed in. “I’m sure you’ll find something.”
“I look forward to it.”
With one last round of goodbyes, Dan Heng, Stelle, and Natasha headed toward the train's exit. Only, before they disembarked, Dan Heng transformed into his vidyadhara figure. Which he realized too late that Natasha had never seen before.
"That is... quite the surprise," Natasha commented, accepting the shift with grace. "But, I guess it shouldn't be, Cold Dragon Young."
He sighed. "I am impressed you can remember such a fleeting name."
"Fleeting?" Natasha asked, a mischievous twinkle coming to her eye. "The children still call you that."
Dan Heng wasn't quite sure what to think of that. Stelle certainly found it amusing, though.
When they disembarked the Express, they were immediately greeted by a surprisingly large welcoming party, the most notable two being a young vidyadhara and a not-so-fearsome Cloud Knight Commander.
“Dan Heng! Stelle!” Bailu was the first to run up to them, throwing her arms around Stelle. “Man, you’re huge.”
“Gee, thanks,” Stelle deadpanned, still patting Bailu on the head.
“It’s an observation, not an insult,” she quipped back. Her pout soon became a grin as she turned to Dan Heng and threw her arms around him. “Welcome back.”
Dan Heng returned the hug Bailu gave him, although he didn’t cling to her nearly as tight as she did him. “Good to see you, Bailu.”
Having properly greeted him and Stelle, Bailu then turned to Natasha. “Ah, are you the doctor that Stelle wanted to bring?”
“Yes. I’m Natasha. You must be Bailu.”
“That I am.”
“I’ve heard much about you.”
“You should have,” Bailu proudly piped up. “Dan Heng is basically my brother.”
“Play nice,” Dan Heng warned, patting Bailu on the head as he walked past her, dragging the luggage behind him.
“Fine,” she playfully bemoaned. “But only because you asked nicely.”
Leaving the girls behind to chat among themselves, Dan Heng approached a grinning Jing Yuan.
“I believe a hearty congratulations is in order,” the man warmly greeted.
“Thank you.” Over the years, Dan Heng had forged an odd sort of acquaintanceship with Jing Yuan. He was sure that Jing Yuan would never be able to fully forget Dan Heng’s past incarnation and the close friendship he’d shared with Dan Feng, yet Dan Heng could tell the commander had moved beyond that and saw him for the person he was in this life instead of the man he once had been.
“Come now, no need to be so modest. You’re the first vidyadhara to ever reproduce. You should be thrilled.”
“I am,” Dan Heng said. “I simply have other concerns on my mind at the moment. Such as how the general population has reacted to that fact."
Jing Yuan’s expression grew serious, which only made the pit of worry in Dan Heng’s stomach grow. “I apologize. I encouraged Lady Bailu to leak that news. I thought it would be for the better to stir the pot and see what bubbled up beforehand rather than you appearing with your pregnant wife unannounced.”
He sighed, a heaviness weighing on his heart. Maybe this was the other reason he was so afraid to leave the Express behind. Yes, he would miss his family, but here, there were threats to Stelle lurking just under the surface. And if anything happened to her or the baby…
Well, he feared he understood Dan Feng a little too well in moments like this.
“You aren’t one to make an impulsive decision like that without council,” Dan Heng said. “I’m assuming you contacted the head diviner before making that call.”
“I’m pleased to know you know me so well. Yes, I did. She also agreed with that plan, believing it gave us the best chance to monitor the population’s reaction and weed out any potential threats prior to your arrival.”
“Did it yield harvest?”
“It did,” Jing Yuan confirmed. “They are facing judgment for their scheming. Although, I would refrain from claiming we’ve eliminated all threats. While many vidyadhara have accepted you back into the fold, there are those who still hate you regardless. To be honest, the other reason we wished to leak the information beforehand was to ensure that it would be safe for you to come here in the first place. Had the population reacted poorly, I would have told Bailu to send you elsewhere. However, the general consensus is a positive one. Most of the vidyadhara are happy to learn of your ability to father a child. You are now a symbol of hope for their race, after all.”
For a moment, Dan Heng was silent. “I understand that Stelle’s pregnancy provides hope to the vidyadhara population at large, and I should have pride in the fact I’m able to contribute in such a way to my race. But…” He turned to look at Stelle, who was grinning as Bailu held her swollen belly with a look of awe. “That is the last thing on my mind.”
Jing Yuan hummed. “I suppose I can’t fault you for that. Ultimately, you are no different than any other excited father.”
Dan Heng turned back to Jing Yuan. “There is a vast difference between knowing you have a child to carry on the legacy of a race incapable of having children and knowing that you are blessed to have a child.”
With an approving grin, Jing Yuan dropped a hand on Dan Heng’s shoulder. “That child is lucky to have you as a father. I’m happy for you.”
Dan Heng nodded his thanks.
Jing Yuan then gave Dan Heng’s shoulder a squeeze. “I swear on my honor that I’ll do everything I can to keep you and Stelle safe. Beyond you two being the parents of the first vidyadhara to be born, you two are the saviors of the galaxy. And even beyond that… you, Dan Heng, are my friend.”
For a moment, words eluded him, so Dan Heng had to settle for reaching up to rest a hand on Jing Yuan’s shoulder. “Thank you… old friend.”
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ANDI CONGRATS ON 1500 FOLLOWERS!
I’ve been slightly obsessed with Byler and dorothea/ttds (as anyone who’s seen my awful edits can tell lmao) so maybe something with that idea of coming back for a Christmas break situationship but not being able to stay? Super angsty which I know you’ll love ❤️
LIV AHHH!!! thank you so so much!!! also, i love this prompt, so thank you thank you for sending it to me! i hope you enjoyed this modern au based on ttds/dorothea (also tbh i was listening to the very first night as well bc it felt right hahaha).
—
and it always leads to you
The sun is shining today.
The sun is shining today, and for some reason, Mike is awake much earlier than he’s ever awake nowadays. The old alarm clock sitting on the side table in his childhood bedroom reads 7:14 AM, which means Mike has been asleep for less than five hours now. It’s Sunday. There’s no reason for Mike to be awake right now, and really, he should just go back to sleep.
But Mike can’t.
He can’t, because the sun is shining today, and because his bed feels warmer than it has in years, and because Will Byers is fast asleep beside him, his brown hair messily sprawled out onto the pillow.
Will looks younger when he’s asleep. He looks a lot more like the Will Byers that Mike has known since he was just five years old—the Will Byers whom Mike has laughed with and cried with and spent so much of his life with. He looks like the Will Byers that Mike fell in love with and tentatively held the hand of when they were just sixteen and falling into something so much bigger and grander and more beautiful than they could’ve ever imagined.
Will looks younger when he’s asleep, and in this quiet moment before the rest of the world wakes up and begins its day, Mike feels a lot younger too.
He feels like he’s eighteen again—wide-eyed and bushy-tailed with his entire life in front of him. For a moment, he’s eighteen again and like the world is his oyster and like there’s nothing in the damn world that could ever break up the Party. The last seven years fade away into nothing, until Mike is eighteen years old again and waking up nearly every morning to the sight of his boyfriend’s face and thinking one thing to himself.
I want to spend forever with you.
How quickly things fall apart.
It’s not Will’s fault… honestly, it isn’t. The thing is, right before the two of them were supposed to start school together at the same university—the one at the top of both of their lists and the one that the two of them had been talking about going to with each other since they were fourteen—something completely and entirely unexpected had happened.
Will had been contacted by some fancy, renowned art school all the way over in Europe and offered a full ride scholarship. Apparently, some higher up at the school had gotten ahold of his art portfolio and was willing to move heaven and hell to get Will Byers to attend the university. It was the chance of a lifetime, and the choice was clear.
Will had to go.
And really, Mike can’t blame him. He can’t blame Will, because for the first year, they tried. God, they tried so hard, but between an eight hour time difference and busy schedules and life simply just getting in the way, they hadn’t been able to do it. For the first time in their lives, they weren’t in close proximity to each other, and they just… they fell apart.
When they broke up at first, Mike was angry. He won’t even pretend that he wasn’t. He was angry, but more importantly, he was hurt. And in the midst of all that anger and hurt, he’d said things he regrets now and had done things like delete Will’s phone number and block him on any forms of social media—desperate to just escape the feeling of rejection and of being left behind.
That was nearly six years ago. They’re older now—like actual, full grown adults with fully developed frontal lobes and everything. And for the first time, both of them are back in Hawkins, and Mike hadn’t even been able to avoid El and Max’s threats to come to dinner with the entire Party. The last thing he wants to do is make an enemy out of two people who most definitely know where he lives and who are also the self-proclaimed godmother’s of his dog, Maisie.
Seeing Will in person for the first time in literal years had been… interesting. And Mike, now being an adult with a fully formed frontal lobe, had been so, so incredibly normal about his high school ex-boyfriend, who had somehow gotten even more fucking beautiful over the past several years and who somehow still had a way of making Mike’s heart skip a beat and the butterflies in his stomach go absolutely wild.
Most surprisingly, being around Will had felt… normal. It’d been a little bit awkward at first, like neither one of them knew what to say to each other, but as much as Mike knew that he wanted to just bury their messy past and actually try to be friends, he could tell Will wanted to do the same.
So, that’s exactly what they did. You know… because they’re two adults, with full-time jobs and 401k’s and fully formed frontal lobes, who most definitely are unconcerned about their two-year long high school romance. Whatever romance they’d had when they were kids was long gone—a fond little relic of the past that they, as adults, could now look back on and smile about.
…
…
…
(Or… at least that’s what Mike will tell anyone who asks.)
“Why’re you up already?” Will mumbles, and Mike flinches, startled out of his thoughts. To his surprise, his… best friend? ex-boyfriend? current fling? is awake now, blinking sleepily and looking at Mike with half-lidded eyes.
“I dunno,” Mike admits, rolling over so he and Will are face to face now. “I’m usually up this early for school, so I guess I’m just used to it.”
Will narrows his eyes, still a bit sleepy and suspicious. “It’s Sunday, isn’t it?” he says with a yawn. “You get up at… 7 am on Sundays?”
“God, no,” Mike laughs, and when Will smiles back at him, Mike’s stupid stomach does a little somersault. “I don’t know. I haven’t been up for very long.”
Mike pauses, then he gives Will a curious look. “Why are you up?” he asks suspiciously. “Wouldn’t it be like… sometime in the afternoon where you live? I figured you’d be all jet-lagged and shit.”
“I came right from the airport to dinner yesterday,” Will says, yawning once more. He shifts a bit closer to Mike now, so their lips are barely inches apart, and Mike’s breath catches. “Must’ve been too tired to get jet-lagged.”
“You can go back to sleep if you want to,” Mike suggests, his voice quiet. “I… I doubt my parents will come knocking on my door, so if you’re still tired, you can—”
He never gets to finish his sentence, because oh.
Oh, okay.
It’s early in the morning. The sun is shining. And Will Byers is kissing him.
Will Byers is kissing him.
Will Byers is kissing him.
…
Again.
“I’m okay,” Will murmurs, his voice low. “I’d rather just… stay up with you. If that’s okay.”
There’s a look in his eyes that makes Mike’s breath catch again, and Mike can’t help the smile that forms on his face. “Yeah… yeah, of course, it’s okay, Will,” he whispers, reaching up to cup Will’s cheek gently. “Whatever you want.”
A slow smile forms on Will’s face, and he leans close, kissing Mike soft and sweet. “I just want you,” he whispers back. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
For a moment, the two of them are eighteen again. For a moment, they have their entire lives ahead of them, and the world is their oyster. For a moment, neither Mike nor Will knows anything about the world, but they do know one thing.
I want to spend forever with you.
“Me too,” Mike murmurs, and he gently runs his thumb across Will’s cheek. “Me too, Will.”
And after another shared smile, Mike closes the gap between them.
When this moment is over, they’ll go back to being twenty-five again. When this moment is over, they’ll be forced to remember the fact that they have their own lives—lives which have long since been separate from each other. When this moment is over, both Will and Mike will have to return to their own worlds, where “forever” with each other simply isn’t an option and hasn’t been in years.
But for right now, it’s just the two of them.
Mike and Will.
Will and Mike.
The way it always has been.
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Preview for LF Chapter 4
Hey folks! Announcements are coming tomorrow, but I wanted to share some progress on the next chapter of Love and Fate with you. Hope you enjoy!
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Liu Qingge didn’t know what to think when Luo Binghe found him in the air on the most direct route between Bai Zhan and Qing Jing Peaks. He was planning on being only a little early to the meeting with Shen Qingqiu, hoping they could start earlier if his shixiong was ready ahead of schedule, but he never expected an exhausted Luo Binghe calling out his name with urgency in the air.
“Shishu!” The youth cried out upon seeing him, shoulders slumping in relief as Liu Qingge flew directly to him, alarmed by his state and what would force Luo Binghe to seek Liu Qingge out. “It’s Shizun! The Sect Leader cornered him and he’s exhausted from today but he needs help.”
Luo Binghe found him because Shen Qingqiu needed help.
Nothing more needed to be said, except, “Where?”
“Home, the bamboo house,” he said.
Liu Qingge looked him over once more and made a snap judgment. Luo Binghe was too tired to be flying alone this high in the air, so he had to stop flying.
He circled around and snatched the boy off his sword, Luo Binghe yelping in surprised but recovering enough to recall his blade to his hand. “Liu Qingge!”
“What happened to shishu?” He said as he crouched and urged Cheng Luan faster, Luo Binghe secure in his arms for the moment.
“That was before you grabbed me out of nowhere!”
“Faster like this,” Liu Qingge said simply as an explanation and Luo Binghe sighed.
Rather than continuing with that, Luo Binghe held onto him, making holding him easier, and said, “You were there this morning. Yue Qingyuan stated something about Shizun breaking protocols, but Shang-shishu said that Shizun’s medical file was broken into. The file includes conversations about how he was cured. Considering he took steps to remove me from the bamboo house before he knew exactly what cured Shizun…”
“You think it could get worse,” Liu Qingge suggested grimly.
“I was helping him walk back after our trip today tired him. It is obvious that forcing me to move didn’t stop me from being around Shizun. Like it ever would.”
He said that last derisively and Liu Qingge agreed with the sentiment. Even he knew that Luo Binghe would be far from deterred after his removal, never mind Shen Qingqiu’s reaction. Pre- or post-qi deviation didn’t matter; Shen Qingqiu’s will was not something to be underestimated. And that was exactly what Yue Qingyuan had done.
“The trip was… productive?” Liu Qingge asked, awkward in the bare minutes of flying it would take them to get to the bamboo house.
“Yes.” There was a pause and then Luo Binghe sighed again. “Things would be so much easier if we knew we could trust you, if Shizun didn’t have to feel so alone in this. Even with Shang-shishu on board, it’s a lot that was suddenly put on his shoulders, you know? And he’s so independent, so willing to do everything by himself…”
“Why are you telling me this?” Liu Qingge asked, suspicious and distracted by what Yue Qingyuan could have done to make Luo Binghe seek him out.
“I am saying that this knowledge burdens him more than I would like,” Luo Binghe snapped. “I’m saying that, despite what it means for me, I really, truly hope he can trust you with everything. With all that he has taken on, I don’t know what the weight of that disappointment would do to him if you failed our test, Liu Qingge. And, if you fail, I will never forgive you.”
“Could this wait? Until Yue Qingyuan is dealt with?” Liu Qingge asked, voice strained.
“I am waiting,” Luo Binghe said. “All Shizun needs is for us to show up for him right now, to show Yue Qingyuan that he is not and will not be alone as he was before. We’re moving as fast as we can as it is; why not warn you while we are alone?”
Liu Qingge huffed and shook his head, but he understood. Luo Binghe, more than Shen Qingqiu, had a very direct way about him that he could grow to appreciate more. The young man was efficient, calculating, but knew just what to say to make a point land without being condescending. It was clear who Luo Binghe’s master was in his approach, but he was certainly his own person. It said something about them both that Luo Binghe was not fully consumed by Shen Qingqiu’s personality and attention.
Something he would need to contemplate at another time.
Liu Qingge and Luo Binghe arrived at the bamboo house shortly thereafter, Cheng Luan’s sword glare alerting Qing JIng’s disciples distantly of their arrival in the distance. There was a protective barrier around the bamboo house that made Luo Binghe tense. “I can’t break that,” he said through his teeth.
Liu Qingge didn’t bother verbally responding, running his spiritual energy along it as a polite knock. When nothing happened for a moment, urged on by Luo Binghe’s visible agitation and anxiety, he pushed, testing the barrier with his own qi in a way that was unignorable.
It wavered but held, making Liu Qingge’s anxiety rise. There was nothing Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu could be talking about to maintain this barrier without addressing his arrival. Luo Binghe would not have come to him for nothing, and he very quickly realized he didn’t fully understand just what could be happening to his shixiong outside of him needing support.
“How, exactly,” Liu Qingge asked, keeping his qi concentrated and consistent, “has Yue Qingyuan been treating Shen Qingqiu this past week?”
“Well enough but…” Luo Binghe pursed his lips. “He makes Shizun uncomfortable in a lot of ways. Of anyone, he refers to a name Shizun does not recognize, expects him to be someone he no longer is. And it is obvious he has long wished for their relationship to grow closer than it is or ever was. I can only assume seeing Shizun with my counterpart did not help the situation.”
“What aren’t you saying?”
Luo Binghe looked at him out of the corner of his eye and said, “I lived on the streets, Liu Qingge, and have seen a lot of how humanity works. Men who believe they are powerful do not accept when people they’ve 'claimed' leave without a fight.”
The implication sent a chill down Liu Qingge’s spine.
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Now the last one, if you can. Do you watch the Euphoria series? I imagined a "fic" in which Ginny becomes addicted to drugs, because of the time she was possessed by Tom Riddle's diary, because of what she lived in her sixth year at Hogwarts with the Carrows, for having lost her brother and other loved ones, for having seen Harry dead and that all this has caused a great trauma in her, which makes her abuse drugs, have anxiety and depression. In this she throws it in the face of Harry, Ron and Hermione that they abandoned her when she needed it most... But in the end she manages to get back on her feet with the help of family, friends and Harry.
And to finish. A text or a fic that Ginny discovers an illness, like cancer. She starts to lose her hair, and Harry is always by her side and looking for a cure.
Sorry to ask so many things. I really enjoy reading your fics and texts. Thanks and again sorry for so many requests. Feel free to decline them. Thanks
I will do the other requests you sent, just allow me a little time.
I've never seen Euphoria but the whole drug addiction I think needs more than a oneshot and I wouldn't do it justice so I didn't do that one.
The second one I didn't use cancer specifically, since I think wizards simply would cure it differently. My mom also had cancer when I was a kid and I recently had a cancer scare myself so this hit a little too close to home. I also cried the whole way through writing this but I got through it!
TW: extreme weight loss due to medical condition
Harry had never used his fame and power for personal gain but today he had lost it. He had not cared that the Healers had cowered in fear as he raised his voice, he needed them to cure his wife. His wife, once so strong and athletic, now a ghost of herself, barely able to support her own weight. The Healers were moving too slowly, she wasn’t healing fast enough and fear gripped his heart, he was worried she was running out of time. She was barely forty, she was too young. She needed to see her children grow up and spend more sunlit days with him. He needed her to get better.
He carried Ginny back into the house and put her down on the couch softly. She weighed next to nothing anymore, her glow faded. He hated seeing her like this.
“Do you need anything?” he asked softly.
She shook her head. “Just you.”
He carefully sat next to Ginny on the couch and pulled her close. “I am always here.” He kissed the top of her head. “I am sorry I lost my patience today, I just need them to make you better.”
“They’re trying their hardest, you know,” she said, her arms around his waist.
“No, I know.”
***
Several days later when her hair started to fall out, it broke his heart once more. They both decided it had to come off. The large plucks coming out were just too jarring. Harry carefully shaved her head, gently and patiently as tears rolled down both their cheeks.
“I love you,” he said, crouched beside the chair she was sitting on as she rubbed her hands over her newly bald head. He needed her to hear it. No matter what happened, he would always love her.
More tears rolled down her cheeks as she pressed her eyes close for a moment. Harry took the small mirror and waited for her to be ready to look.
She took a deep breath and nodded. Harry turned the mirror to her. She sighed as she looked at herself and ran her hand over her head once more.
“Still got it,” she said with a smile.
Harry sniffed. “Yeah, you do.” He put the mirror down and bent down. He kissed her bald head, down to her cheek and her neck, tenderly and lovingly.
***
Ginny was sitting in the garden. The kids had come home for summer break. She was better. She wasn’t back to her old self just yet but she looked a hundred times healthier. She had gained quite some weight back and her cheeks were rosy once more. The pixie cut she was sporting suited her rather well.
“James, if you don’t give the quaffle back to your sister right now, I will let Albus aim that bludger at your head,” she said firmly.
“But mom-” he objected but when he saw his mother’s face, he quickly gave in.
Harry sat down beside her on the bench. He took her hand and kissed it. “My beautiful wife.”
“My handsome husband,” she said, her face glowing, her look fierce.
James came up to them and sat down beside his mom and put his arms around her. As the oldest he seemed to have understood best how unwell she had been. “How are you feeling, mum?” he asked earnestly.
“Better every day, Jamesy.” She ruffled his hair even though she knew he hated it, but he let her for once.
“I want you to fly with us again,” he told her.
“Soon. Your dad will fly with you,” she said, looking at Harry.
“Dad? No, he is bad at quidditch!” James complained though he stood up and handed his father a broom.
“What, I could have made professional if I wanted to!” Harry objected, looking at Ginny, eager to see her laugh.
“Then why didn’t you?” James retorted.
“And go up against your mum? Are you nuts? I would never live down the defeat!” He winked at her and hopped on the broom. She grinned back at him.
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There are a few things that are cute and Hera was trying to scold our son so you shouldn't be so mean to me and he's trying to look behind him and it was back at Carrie's house again. She's laughing because he went home and she cried a little because he was saying is there someone behind me and he get she got that and if should I be defending us and she started to hear something inside her head saying he's not really doing that and it went better and they had to break up because of other things George mainly
-we do have a couple other things happening here and they're pretty big one of them is they are trying to encapsulate our son and keep him from going anywhere completely and it's disgusting and people don't want it and they're not going to allow it and it's not going to work today was a fiasco they sent the wrong battery it does not look like the one in the picture and it's not like what it said so you simply going to return it but he can't find a battery to replace the battery which is going to fail soon it's not recommended to try and rebuild the battery but he's going to take it apart to look at it and see if it's difficult and it looks he's hasn't seen one yet but he thinks they're soldered and it will be impossible that's what we think so that's what he's going to do this is not a nice place to live these people are not nice to him but he can get by and have it delivered and will be forced to do the job and others you'll see how obnoxious and rude they are to him
-besides that we have about seven people have to get out of here right now and they're disgusting and they're really they're pretty much almost gone and there's zombie like and putting the level up there for hours the level here is five if you're a seven you're out this is very bad so we're going to publish so a lot of people will know
Thor Freya
Olympus
We did use them today out there in France on purpose
Hera
We ran some scans and we see the two below not too far and our friend was right there's some sort of object and it's metal and several people were looking at it before and did a decent job bja is the one who knew they were there and Trump's just got hammered we think PJ directed us at them and to their own detriment
Mac Daddy
And I said that to him yes so what do you got there Mack anything
Bja
We have a huge fleet and you don't ground-based systems and you don't will you reacquired bases and we have a lot of military bases and soon you'll have none and you're going to lose your construction facilities to build weaponry actually you're losing it as we go along the military type facilities include your manufacturing of weaponry your status and cashes are being depleted rapidly by ourselves a little enough a lot any other questions but a shield or our fleet in the water perhaps fast subs or digging machines
Mac Daddy
I do see that we're kind of screwed and we should probably leave
Bja
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6 years & 28 days
hi. it's me again. i last wrote on here a bit more than two months ago. many things happened. i'm not sure if i was any successful at forming a new routine to better myself but i can bravely say that i made some important changes in my life, ones that were necessary. firstly, i broke up with my one year and a half long boyfriend; it happened a month ago, on a day that every single thing seemed to go wrong and i was left to my own devices to figure it all out without my usual support system (?): him. i had just come out of a terrible flu, having a fever for three days straight, sleepless, hungry and my bathroom ceiling was leaking water so i had to figure all that out and he was abroad on some kind of seminar, way too busy to provide me emotional support like he used to but available enough to add the chicks he met there on social media, haha. i never mentioned that i saw that to him, it was simply pointless because by then i was considering if i should break up now or delay it until his stupid trip is over. even at that point i was putting him first, silly me. that whole day helped me realize just how small of a role he played in my life. i ordered my food and while waiting for it to arrive i broke up with him over text. he resisted a little but in the end we decided it was best to end things. with him out of my system i cried and cried and cried. i don't think i had ever felt that lonely in my life before. the morning after i woke up with my eyelids swollen to their double size, it was atrocious. but even through my sadness i was able to tell i was never really in love with him, i was just dependent on him and scared to lose my best friend. this whole experience made me vow to never start a relationship without making sure of the romantic nature of my feelings. i need to be certain that there is an attraction there before even considering it. i will no longer compromise these feelings in an attempt to be the bigger person, to be selfless and kind. love isn't kindness, love isn't pity; love is an undeniable attraction, skipping heartbeats, holding breaths, tummy aches, running thoughts, an unstoppable imagination filled with thoughts of him.
fast forward to today, i am facing a situationship... to be continued
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huh so math test this Fucking wednesday i forgot about huh ... huh....
#i literally want to not study at all and just fail this one#like i can retake it#daily dose of complaining but this fucking sucks#me ranting about everything below<3 god bles but ive gotta get it out somewhere#im realizing how much i rely on like. cheating? and stuff like that and im somehow afraid of going back to school because i wont be able to#do that anymore#and like today i cried again simply because ''things were happening too fast''#and my dad suggested i go to therapy over this kind of thing but at the same time i dont even know if ill be willing to work on it#and if i wont be willing to work on it then theres no use of me going anywhere#and like if i wanted to work on it id have to open up about the ed thoughts/tendencies and like thats not happening</3#partly because i dont want to be supervised partly because im afraid i will be told ''you dont have an ed because youre not deathly#underweight'' like that would only make everything worse#and ive been loosing motivation for school and only scraping by because of that last minute doer part of me#and ive been playing a lot of lol which ultimately makes me happy with lore and all but at the same time i feel bad? for it?#like somehow its a worse thing to procrastinate with video games than with drawing or podcasts#ok. ok. im about to get into a spiral time to try something else
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Sing Me a Song
“You Geralt of Rivia’s bard?”
Jaskier looks up from his notepad and grins at the man who’s just sat at the opposite side of the table.
“Technically, I used to be,” the bard says, taking a sip of his ale. “We had a tiny misunderstanding last year. I’m sure he’s gonna be fine, though, I’m just giving him some time to cool down and wallow in self-pity.”
Jaskier frowns, because his brain has finally caught up with his mouth and informs him that even though the man who asked the question is very pretty (and he is – a bit short, but lean and clearly very agile, brown-skinned, with dark, wavy hair and stunningly unnatural green eyes), he also has got two big, scary swords strapped to his back, way too many scars and has, in fact, only one green eye, the other being covered by an eye patch, presumably missing.
And then there’s the Cat school medallion on his chest.
As Geralt would say… fuck.
“Unless you’re here to kidnap me and torture me to lure him into a trap. If that’s the case, I’ve never met a Geralt of Rivia in my life. Also, if you harm a hair on my head, he will hunt you down and kill you, very slowly and painfully. Just a heads up,” Jaskier smiles, utterly failing to sound at least a little bit threatening.
“Thanks for the warning,” the Witcher laughs. “But I actually need you to write me a song.”
“Sorry, I’m afraid this bard already has a Witcher to praise,” Jaskier protests, shaking his head firmly.
“Ugh. Who says I want praise?” the man says, making a face. “I just can’t seem to find a friend of mine, so I need to make him find me.”
“With a song? Do I look like a fucking pied piper?” Jaskier smirks.
“A little, yeah.”
“Fair enough. What’s in it for me?”
“What do you think is going to happen once Geralt hears that his bard has found himself a new muse?” the Witcher grins.
“Oh,” Jaskier says, chuckling. “Oh, but that’s good.”
“Are you in, then?”
“Absolutely. And, uhm… What did you say your name was?”
“By the gods, where are my manners?” the Witcher laughs. “I’m Aiden.”
*
Geralt places two tankards of ale on the table and sits down with a grunt.
“Don’t tell me you’re getting old, Wolf,” his brother Lambert smirks and promptly pulls one of the tankards closer. “Because that almost sounded like Vesemir when he’s trying to get up from his chair.”
“You’re so fucking funny,” Geralt murmurs.
“I know, right?” Lambert grins, tucking a strand of curly red hair behind his ear. “So, how’s life on the Path without your beloved bard?”
“Not my bard.”
“So pretty fucking terrible, eh?” Lambert chuckles.
“Fuck off, Lambert.”
“You’re being very nice and friendly today, you know?”
“I bought you a drink. So shut up and… drink.”
Lambert shrugs and for once does what he’s told. Within a few seconds, half of the tankard’s content vanishes.
“If it’s any consolation, life without my Cat is also pretty fucking unbearable,” he says then.
“Hm.”
“Oh, really, Geralt? You’re using your famous hm against me? Me, your brother?!”
Geralt groans.
“By the gods… Why can’t I just run into Eskel for once? Why does it always have to be you?”
“You’re just lucky, I guess.”
“Lucky. Yeah.”
Lambert rolls his eyes and focuses on his ale again – until the local bard grabs his lute and starts playing a slow, romantic ballad. Lambert growls.
“Fuck, I hate that song!”
“Why?” Geralt blinks, because he’s never heard the song before, and to be perfectly honest, it doesn’t really sound that bad.
“A brown-skinned woman with dark hair who’s seemingly killed, then comes back to life already plotting her revenge, only to find out that her lover’s already avenged her? Always reminds me of Aiden.”
“Aiden wasn’t exactly… A woman, was he?”
“He also hasn’t come back to life, as far as I know,” Lambert mutters.
“Who wrote it?” Geralt frowns, listening carefully. “It sounds like Jaskier’s work.”
“Some Master Dandelion. Never heard of him, but it seems he’s very popular now.”
“Hmmm…”
“Oh, not again!” Lambert groans.
“It just… It really does sound like Jaskier’s song.”
“You just fucking miss the bard, Geralt, that’s all.”
“No. No, I actually think…”
“That might be exactly the problem,” Lambert says and places his empty tankard back on the table. “The second round’s on me.”
*
“Seems like your plan’s not working as intended,” Jaskier comments. He’s spent weeks traveling with Aiden, and they still haven’t even heard about another Witcher trying to find them.
“I’m aware,” Aiden mutters, chewing his dinner without even noticing its taste – which is, honestly, probably for the best. “Could you be, like… less subtle?”
Jaskier shrugs.
“I suppose.”
“Fine,” Aiden nods. “Do it.”
*
“It’s a man now,” Geralt frowns, listening to the song he’s heard countless times already. “That’s new.”
“Looks like Master Dandelion might like to, uhm, dual wield,” Lambert snorts.
“It still sounds like Jaskier’s work.”
“Does Jaskier like to dual wield?”
“Hmm,” Geralt says dreamily.
“All the more reason to apologize, then, eh?”
“Oh, shut up, Lambert…”
*
“Still not working!” Aiden groans. He’s been waiting for three months for his Wolf to find him, and to no avail.
“I could, you know… Try something more obvious,” Jaskier offers.
“Please.”
*
“It’s a cat now,” Geralt blinks. “Dark-skinned, dark-haired… cat.”
Lambert sighs.
“Yeah, I hate those fucking metaphors.”
*
“I’m starting to think I should have just… kept trying to find him,” Aiden sighs, staring out of the tavern’s window.
Jaskier, cheeks still flushed from his performance, downs his ale and shakes his head.
“Don’t give up hope just yet,” he says. “I’ve already made a few changes to the song.”
“Oh, have you?” Aiden smirks. “Does it now say Lambert, I’m alive you moron, stop hiding and fucking find me?”
“Well, not yet… But almost.”
“Great. I can’t wait to hear it.”
*
Lambert is staring at yet another local bard singing the fucking ballad. He doesn’t even blink. Geralt is getting a little worried that his brother’s brain might have actually exploded.
“It says a Cat Witcher now,” he says, hoping it would get a reaction out of Lambert.
The redhead finally blinks. That’s probably good.
“A Cat Witcher who comes back to life only to find out his Wolf lover has already avenged him,” Geralt adds.
Lambert blinks again.
“And you know, I’m almost sure that this Master Dandelion is just Jaskier’s new alias.”
“I’m gonna fucking kill him,” Lambert mutters when the song finally comes to its end.
“Which one of them?” Geralt smirks.
“Both of them!” Lambert growls. “I swear to gods, if I find out your stupid bard stole my Cat…”
“Excuse me, madam,” Geralt says to the innkeeper who’s just brought them their dinner. “Where did your bard learn this song?”
“That sappy ballad?” the innkeeper frowns. “From this Master Dandelion himself. He passed through the town last week with a Witcher.”
“And Master Dandelion…”
“You know the bard that calls himself Jaskier? It’s him with a fancy hat on,” she smirks.
“About this Witcher,” Lambert growls. “Does he look like in the song?”
“Pretty much, yeah. Kind of small for a Witcher, and almost too pretty, you know, but we had a little griffin problem and he slayed that beast like it was nothing, so…”
“I’m so gonna kill them both,” Lambert murmurs while Geralt has to try very hard not to chuckle.
“Would you happen to know where were they heading?” he asks.
“I would,” the woman says and looks at the Witcher expectantly.
“I see,” Geralt sighs. “You have another monster problem, don’t you?”
“Well. It turns out the griffin probably had a mate…”
“Of course it fucking did,” Geralt nods and picks up his fork. He simply refuses to deal with this with an empty stomach…
*
Jaskier critically eyes the clothes he’s picked for tonight’s performance.
“What do you think, Aiden?” he asks his companion. “Isn’t the purple a bit too much? It’s a small town, after all. Wouldn’t the steel blue look better?”
“I don’t know, I like the red one best,” Aiden shrugs from his spot on the bed.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Reminds you of Lambert’s hair,” Jaskier says, rolling his eyes. “Melitele’s tits, I wish he’d find us already, because this is getting really–”
As if on cue, the door of the room slams open and a big, red-haired man walks in.
“You fucking bitch!” he yells when he sees Aiden.
The dark-haired Witcher beams and gets to his feet.
“Lambs!”
“Oh. Okay. That was fast,” Jaskier nods.
Lambert growls and grabs Aiden by the collar.
“Asshole!” he hisses. “I fucking mourned you!”
“Oh, honey, that’s so sweet,” Aiden smiles.
Lambert pushes him against the wall, so hard that Aiden grunts.
“I cried for you!”
“In my defense, it wasn’t exactly my fault,” Aiden smiles.
Jaskier inches towards the door.
“I guess I’ll just… leave you two to it.”
Needless to say, Lambert ignores him completely.
“I fucking avenged you!”
“Yes, that was very kind of you,” Aiden grins, utterly unaffected by Lambert’s angry face so close to his own. “You saved me a lot of trouble.”
Lambert groans, buries his face in Aiden’s shoulder and sighs deeply.
“You fucker,” he mutters.
“Yeah, I missed you too, puppy,” Aiden smiles, wrapping his arms around Lambert.
Jaskier, who’s already standing in the doorway, places his hand on his heart and takes a deep breath.
“Oh,” he whispers. “I shall write the most beautiful ballad about this… Ow!”
He’s unceremoniously dragged out of the room and this time it’s his turned to be slammed against the wall by a big, angry Witcher – but this one is white-haired and dressed all in black.
“Geralt!” Jaskier exclaims, his face brightening up.
“You won’t write a fucking thing,” Geralt growls.
“Is that so? May I ask why, dear heart?”
“Because you’re mine. My bard. And if I ever find out you’re writing about another Witcher again–”
“Then what?” Jaskier asks, cocking his head. “But before you answer, I’d like to remind you that I am not yours anymore, as you have made it quite clear on the mountain that you are not interested in having me as a companion–”
Jaskier is effectively shut up by Geralt’s lips pressing against his with determination that makes it absolutely clear that Geralt hasn’t merely lost his balance and happened to be falling in Jaskier’s general direction.
“Mine,” he growls.
“Well,” Jaskier sighs, slipping his fingers into Geralt’s hair. “When you put it like that… Fuck the mountain, I suppose.”
“Fuck the mountain,” Geralt agrees. “But I’m sorry. For what I said.”
“Apology very much accepted,” Jaskier laughs. “I’d ask you to fuck me, but I’m afraid my room is currently… occupied.”
Lambert’s loud moan only confirms Jaskier’s statement.
“Hm,” Geralt hums. “Do you think this tavern has a bath? I think I still have some griffin blood in my hair from last week.”
“Oh,” Jaskier purrs. “Oh, yes. And I’m sure I could get some chamomile oil…”
They hear another moan, this time Aiden’s.
“What are we waiting for, then?” Geralt grins and grabs Jaskier’s hand. “Come on, bard. We have some catching up to do…”
#the witcher#witcher fanfiction#geraskier#geralt x jaskier#jaskier x geralt#lambden#lambert x aiden#idiots in love#(but mostly they're just idiots)#aiden lived bitches#major character resurrection#they're stupid your honor#my fics#attempt at humor
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break ups and break ins
a/n: i didn't have any motivation to continue writing so it stayed in my drafts for forever. it's a super messy fic im not super proud of tbh i wanted to scrap it but i got so far lol
genre: angst to fluff
pairing: hawks x reader
summary: you and hawks break up, but someone breaks in?
word count: 3.7k+
09.16.21
-
"come on, stop being so sensitive," hawks groans with an eye roll as you gawk at him. "you think i'm being sensitive because I'm hurt that you're out there flirting with other girls while we are in a relationship?"
you scoff in disbelief before tears form in your eyes, "i can't believe you right now, keigo."
hawks' brows knit as he stares at you bewildered, "i've already told you that it's just an act i have to out up because of the commission. i can't let them figure out i have a romantic relationship with someone. you don't know what they would do or could do."
"but that doesn't mean you can flirt around with no boundaries!" your voice comes out loud as your arms flail out in front of you, tears streaming down your face, "do you know how much it hurts to see you on television sweet-talking every girl out there when you're my boyfriend? i thought you would respect what we have..."
"(name), just admit you're just jealous of the fangirls and leave it at that," hawks closes his eyes, shaking his head in frustration, "honestly, they appreciate me so much more than you do."
your eyes widen in shock as you feel your heart shattering into tiny pieces so small you aren't sure if you could piece it back up.
"keigo, i love you for who you are—not because you're hawks," your voice now small and laced with hurt. "if you can't see the reason why i am so upset, i think it's best if we end it."
hawks' eyes quickly glance to yours before they look away just as quick, "i think that's what's best too," he whispers, causing your brows to furrow in sadness as you purse your lips tightly.
taking a step forward, you wrap your arms around your now ex-boyfriend, taking in his comforting arms and smell, "thanks for everything." a heavy sigh left from his lips before he nuzzled into you, "can i hold you in bed one last time?"
words died in your throat as you felt the tears sting your eyes once more. a nod was your only reply as hawks lifted the two of you up with his large wings, carrying you into the bedroom.
no words were exchanged as the two of you allowed your quiet breaths to mingle together in silence.
-
your heart was still achey from the fresh break-up as your cries and tears quietly filled the air. your nose and eyes red and raw from all the wiping you had done—the tissues around you as proof.
"hey, come on. you can't keep living like this and expect to get better," mirko says and she stands infront of you with a small smile. "how about we watch something to distract your mind?" she suggests as she turns around to pick up the controller to turn the television screen on.
"hawks, being the number two hero must be so taxing! how do you do it?"
hawks gives that big bright smile you've always loved, "my fans always give me motivation to do my best! i love you my babybirds!"
"oh shit-" mirko quickly turns the television screen off before she turns over to you, watching as your lips quiver before you break out in another crying session.
"rumi," you whine, muffled behind your tissues, "he doesn't care for me at all!" letting out a sigh, she walks over and places a comforting hand on your hair before running her hand through your locks, "hey, don't say that. hawks' cared for you a lot. break-ups happen, but don't let it keep you like this. let's go out and have some fun today, yeah?"
your teary eyes glance up at her before you let out sigh, "okay."
but to your surprise, a quick hour later here you were on a chair getting your makeup done professionally as mirko sat on the couch, munching away on a carrot. "rumi? why am i getting my makeup done professionally?"
"my makeup artist is good at what she does when she beats my face with makeup for those hero galas. i thought it would make you feel better getting your makeup done professionally before we go out and explore the city a bit," she finishes, taking another crunchy bite of her carrot.
a small, "oh" leaves your lips before your attention focuses back on the lipstick that gently glided across your lips. "there, all done. you look great!" the makeup artist cheers as she hands you a mirror.
your eyes sparkled once you saw your reflection—you had never felt so pretty before!
"are you ready to go out now?" mirko asks with a smile as she stands from her seat. you couldn't help the small, yet excited, smile, "yeah."
-
your words had been on repeat in hawks' mind.
you were upset because of how he was treating his fans—flirting with his fans as you put it. it was a constant argument the two of you had and frankly, he was getting tired of it. why you couldn't understand where he was coming from?
he didn't want to break up because of something so trivial, but it seemed like a break up was the only option. but it was fine, his fans kept him going; or that's what he thought was keeping him going.
"hawks! we love you!" his fans cried as he landed down in front of them, his handsome smile swooning everyone lucky enough to get their eye on him. "thanks birdies! i'm always happy to have your support!"
"can i have a picture?" "sign my shirt for me!" "you're the best hero!"
fans; something he enjoyed about being a hero. everywhere he went, they were there to offer him their love and support which he appreciated and loved!
but there often came days when he just wanted to stay cooped in his apartment. away from the world and away from the hero hawks. he simply wanted to escape and enjoy being keigo for a little while.
maintaining a facade took a lot away from him. it was tiring, exhausting even, trying to keep up with how fast his mind was going. a million different things happening at once and hawks had to be able to solve them. a little much for a single guy, don't 'cha think?
landing in at his balcony, hawks let out a heavy sigh as he was finally done with another tiring day of being the number two hero. thankfully, he had the next day off to do, well, nothing.
staring at the dark apartment with a an empty look, hawks let out a groan of exhaustion before unlocking the door and stepping in.
it was quiet, extra quiet these days. since he had gone to living by himself again.
after removing his hero gear, hawks walked into the kitchen and frowned at his lack of food in the fridge. usually, you were always there to greet him with a smile and a hearty dinner after a hard day at work.
well, that didn't matter anymore because you two had broken up, hawks mentally responded to his thoughts.
it seemed like tonight was one of those nights he really missed you.
you made this place feel like home and the more he thought about it, you were his home. he was safe with you and it was okay to let hawks go for the night and just be keigo. you loved him as he came, his flaws and everything. even the emotional baggage!
letting out an exhausted sigh, hawks closed his empty fridge before making his way towards his bed, plopping down with a grunt. "i'll just get a bigger breakfast tomorrow," he noted, pulling out his phone to catch up on his social media for the night.
hawks wasn't expecting to see much on his social media, he's too busy to be checking these sorts of things. today though, he was a little extra bored at home—until he saw a photo of you that mirko shared.
hawks quickly sat up in disbelief. hawks was genuinely confused. you had always been super pretty, but you were extra pretty in this picture. was it because you were no longer his? his eyes glanced over you in the photo for many long minutes as he took in your beauty. you looked so ethereal.
hawks was so thankful for mirko, he would have never stumbled across this photo of you.
the more he smiled at the photo, the more his heart ached. if only he just listened to you more and tried to find a solution to this problem, you would still be with him, in his arms. he was a fool to let you go because he didn't understand your pain. especially when you were always there for him when you couldn't understand his pain.
hawks found himself pulling up that photo of you whenever the days were tough. it never failed to bring a smile to his lips.
until mirko deleted the post.
he should've saved it when he had the chance, hawks thought as he let out a groan upon finding no picture. but, maybe mirko still had it on her phone? thankfully, there was a top five hero meeting that day which meant he could ask mirko about the picture.
hawks sat impatiently in his chair as he drummed his finger against his thigh, counting down the minutes until the meeting would conclude. it must've been distracting, because mirko approached him first after the meeting.
"hey birdbrain, what's up with you? you looked distracted during the meeting," mirko questioned walking up to the winged hero. hawks perked up slightly, before giving her a smile, "hmm? nah, just sick of meetings, wanted to get out." mirko eyed him curiously, "if you say so."
"i saw that picture you posted of (name)," he commented, "you two were hanging out?"
"huh? oh, this picture?" pulling up the picture on her phone, she showed him the photo before pulling away to hawks' dismay. "yeah, we went out. it was about time too! (name) seemed to be enjoying herself, so i'm glad i got to capture that."
hawks couldn't help the smile on his lips knowing that you were happy and could enjoy yourself. he really just wanted you to be happy, even if that wasn't with him.
"if you wanted the photo, you could've just asked," mirko smirks, causing hawks to duck his head down in embarrassment. "but even if you ask, im not giving it to you." Hawks turned his head brows furrowed and confused, slightly offended, "why would you even suggest it then?"
"not sure, maybe it'll be a way to encourage you to find a way to get it."
-
mirko had an interesting way of talking, hawks thought as he continued on with his patrol. it seemed like she was hinting at more than what she was saying, but he wasn't really interested in solving puzzles when he was busy being the number 2 hero.
and boy, was he busy busy.
it felt as if all the villains knew hawks would be out on patrol today, using that to their advatange by stiring up so much more trouble than on a typical day—not that he couldn't handle it, it was just more work that he would have hoped to do that day.
from the sky, he could see a crowd forming below on the streets as they cheered him on for another successful capture. hawks let out an exhausted sigh, but floated down to greet his fans nonetheless. there even happened to be press.
"hawks! you were amazing out there!" "great work! i can always count on you!" "you looked so attractive fighting those villains!"
hawks lifted up his visor and gave the fans a handsome grin, causing a chorus of squeals. hawks glanced at one of the fans near him lips curled in a smirk, mouth ready to open and say a few lines that would send arrows straight to the heart when he subconsciously stopped himself.
closing his mouth, he gave her a gentle smile before a soft reply came out, "thank you for supporting me."
it was weird of him to respond to fans in such fashion, but your words were stuck in the back of his head. he wished he could have acted this way before you two broke it off, it would have saved a lot of heartache.
hawks hoped you would notice his change. and unbeknownst to him, you had.
your eyes were glued to the television that aired the news that also happened to feature your ex-boyfriend, hawks. your heart felt fuzzy as you watched him, he seemed different...more down to earth?
"your eyes haven't left the tv since hawks appeared," mirko comments causing you to avert your eyes embarrassed. "i was just interested in the news for today, that's all," you tried but knew mirko wouldn't buy into your lie.
"yeah, okay. keep telling yourself that," she chuckles as she she sits down beside you. "so, whats going on in that head of yours now?"
"he's different now, rumi," you state, eyes drifting back to the screen. "he's talking to his fans like they're fans." your shoulders slump sadly, "i wish he was like this when we were together...i guess he really doesn't care about me after all."
mirko lets out a grunt as she listens to your moping. turning towards her, you notice her adjusting her purple thigh high socks to sit snugly against her upper thighs, "you have patrol this evening?"
"yep, my turn for an evening patrol. they're not that bad, more bad guys come out at night," she jokes with chuckle but you don't find it funny. "i know you can easily beat them, but that doesn't mean i worry any less for you," you sigh. "stay safe please."
"will do, cry baby," she jokes once more causing you to angrily pout, "i'm not a cry baby!" "says the one crying over hawks. bye!" and with that she quickly leaves out the door before you could throw a pillow at her.
rolling your eyes playfully, you walk over toward the bedroom you shared with mirko. you had a nice futon on the floor beside of her bed that surprisingly was very comfy. organizing her room a bit and folding her clothes she tossed around, you tried to busy yourself until she came back.
which was surprisingly short.
you heard the main door swing open before hearing her move around the living room and kitchen. she must've forgotten something, you thought to yourself as you made your way toward the bedroom door you had previously closed behind you.
"rumi? did you forget something?" you ask as you open the door, just to find yourself staring at the stranger in the apartment who donned a black ski mask with some sort of weapon in their hand. unfortunately your voice had caught their attention and their head quickly turned toward you before bolting it down the hallway for you.
screaming, you quickly shut the door and locked it before the thief could get in. the rattle of the doorknob causes you to let out another shriek as you looked around for a way to protect yourself and to escape.
the only solution that came to your mind was to block the door with whatever heavy furniture mirko had on her room which consisted of her bed, a desk and her clothes drawers. you did your best to block the door, but it was proving to be not enough.
"open the door and i won't hurt you miss," the voice called out and you felt your stomach twist from their words.
you scurried around to look for your phone and thankfully found it amongst this chaos and your body went on auto-pilot and dialed the first person that came to your mind whenever you were in danger.
your shaky hand brought your phone to your ear as you ran into the furthest corner of her room. your free hand covering your trembling lips. please pick up.
"hello? (name)?"
"keigo please help me," you cried quietly so the person on the other side couldn't hear you, but the desperation in your voice was clear as day for hawks. "(name)? whats happening? where are you?" his voice was now firm and laced with worry as you began to sob in through the phone.
"i'm at mirko's and she just left for patrol but someone broke in and i hid myself in her room. i'm so scared, please come quick." and right after he heard you squeak in fear from the unidentified noises through your phone.
"i'm coming right now," you could hear the power his wings had as he lift himself into the sky, "does she have any windows you can exit from?" glancing behind you, you took a mental note that her windows were large enough for you to escape through—the only problem was mirko lived on the tenth floor.
squeezing your eyes shut, you nodded even though hawks could not see you, "yeah, but she doesn't have any escape ladders and i'm on the tenth floor." hawks cursed under his breath on the other side, "just hold on, i'm almost there."
clutching onto your phone, you jumped when the barricade you made against the door was getting tossed around from the force of the stranger on the other side trying to break in. scrambling around, you quickly unlocked the window before opening it, allowing the wind to flow in.
with another jolt from the door all of your barricades flew from the door, leaving it vulnerable. you knew the door would fall with his next move, so with trembling hands, you maneuvered your body outside the window, letting your bottom sit on the window frame.
from a distance, you could hear someone calling out your name. when you narrowed your eyes to focus, all of the stress left your body as you watched them shoot towards you. hawks had come to your rescue!
but hawks wasn't close enough.
the door behind you broke allowing the stranger into the room and before they could grab a hold of you, you jumped.
"(name)!"
as your body free fell down towards the earth, hawks used his wings to give himself one strong push forward before folding his wings tightly behind his back to gain speed to reach you.
reaching his arms out, he caught you in time before shooting back up towards the sky, "that was so stupid of you!" you shouted loudly against the wind, "what if i wasn't there in time?"
glancing up at him, you gave him a small smile, "i just knew you'd get to me in time ."
-
"agh, more paperwork i have to fill out!" mirko groans as she walks around her messy apartment after hawks and her had caught the suspect and had cops take care of him. as she walked away into her bedroom with a line of curses, you quietly turned over towards hawks who had his back facing you. he was on call with the commission.
"yep, i'll get that finished tomorrow," ending his call and stuffing his phone in his pocket, he turns around to find you staring at him. his cheeks flush slightly from the sudden eye contact, but he managed to compose himself. "are you doing alright? that must've been quite the terrifying experience."
"yeah, thanks for picking up. you were the first person i thought to call," you confess and he perks up. "oh yeah?"
"you've always kept me safe and i just really needed you when i was in danger. so thanks," giving him a smile he mirrors you. "of course, anything for you."
your heart flutters from his words, but you slightly turn yourself away, glancing down. you two were no longer dating, so there was no need to get butterflies over him again. "well, thanks again. you must have a busy day tomorrow."
"do you buy any chance still have that photo of you when you were out with mirko?" hawks asks suddenly causing you to glance up at him. "you know, when you two went out a couple weeks ago? you were all dolled up and honestly, just super pretty?" hawks says boldly with a sheepish grin.
"why are you asking?"
"send it my way."
you gawked at him, "you want me to send you a picture of me? we're not dating anymore, that would be weird!" hawks could only shrug, "okay, that's simple then. let's go on a date." you gawked even further, "what is going on inside of that bird brain? all this for a photo?"
"i want to be the one who takes those photos of you. i want to be the reason you get all dolled up. i know i messed up, (name). i've been changing the way i talk to my fans because i understand how i hurt you. could you give me another chance to make it better? i promise i will treat you the way you deserve to be treated."
this was coming too suddenly, your wounds were just starting to heal.
"you...you don't mean that, hawks," you say dejectedly as you back up to sit on mirko's couch. "i'm scared."
"he means it you know?" mirko pops out of the hallway suddenly and stands with her arms crossed against her chest as she stares at the two of you. "he's been asking me for that picture nonstop since he saw it online."
"but he really does love you still, (name) and i know you still love him too. go ahead and give it another shot, i'll be here to kick him to the curb if he does anything bad to you." she encourages, making you glance back towards hawks.
"promise?" your eyes are sparkly from the tears that had glossed over your eyes and hawks gives you a confident nod, "promise. i'll pick you up at six tomorrow?"
you couldn't help your growing smile, "yeah, i'll be waiting."
- e x t r a -
as hawks flew off towards his apartment, the notification ding of his phone went off causing him to take a look. you had sent him a text!
opening the message his eyes widen from the photo you sent, it was the cute pic of you all dolled up!
"i'm so in love!" he shouts loudly in the sky.
#hawks#hawks x reader#hawks x you#mha x reader#my hero academia x reader#bnha#bnha x reader#boku no hero academia x reader#keigo x reader#takami keigo x reader#keigo takami x reader
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ANGEL (Yandere!Angel x Reader)
Words: 1,930
Warning: Yandere content
A/N: This is one of the tamest yandere pieces I've wrote, I think. I hope you enjoy it.
Silence was only broken by the ambient noise that played on the TV and the soft whimpers of someone's voice, otherwise, the air was incredibly still in this apartment.
He stood above them. This poor person who was at the complete and utter mercy of Angel, whose touch could kill anyone if they touched long enough. His deep brown eyes lingered on their body while his hands hovered inches off of their face. Tears rolled down the person's face while they were forced to stare up at him.
"I'm going to ask again. You've already lost about a year of your life with your uneventful answers," Angel spoke. "Please, I've told you again and again, I don't know where [Y/N] is!" The feminine voice cried out quickly after Angel's statement. "But you do," Angel retorted, "[Y/N] has been seen in this apartment complex four times. That means walking by this door four times. Four encounters."
He was trying to piece together something, but you couldn't quite tell what it was. You hovered nearby for the sake of trying to find out what his game plan was, but at the expense of (almost) making your presence known... it wasn't easy getting into this apartment after Angel stepped in, but you wormed in and made yourself comfortable out of sight. You could only pray that he didn't see you, or hear you.
But there was something about all of this that you couldn't quite wrap your head around. Was he trying to figure out if you lived here? Because you didn't. No, your mentor lived here... and it was just normal for you to visit her when you had the time to, outside of work.
"I-I-I don't know..." the voice sobbed, "I have a family! Please don't keep doing this to me!"
It was sickening. Angel was repeatedly threatening this person's life by... touching her. No one could underestimate the power of his hands touching a mere human... even a simple grab of the hand could cost you two months. You could only bitterly imagine what it must've been like to be caressed by him. What it was like to have his face cup your hands. How much of your life would he take away then? You couldn't answer that question clearly, but the person he was interrogating, could.
"No, no no no, PLEASE!" She yelled, before a loud scream erupted from her lips while Angel's hands touched her face. Seconds pass, every one of them feeling like a grueling eternity that made your stomach churn. It was a total of ten seconds before Angel removed his hands. "You're in luck! I only took about a month away. We're nearing that threshold, though, and that can be scary ... so I would start talking now. So, I will ask this question again, Miss. Please answer it to the best of your ability."
He was growing too impatient to keep pestering this person, you could tell. Angel was lazy, and though he surprised you with the amount of effort he put into doing all of this, you knew he couldn't keep it up for long. Especially when it was reaching dead ends like it was now. Angel cleared his throat, "you may be aware of a person named [Y/N] [L/N] that comes into this apartment complex every Tuesday and Thursday around the same time in the afternoons. I know you see [Y/N] because you're a stay-at-home wife. So, I am asking you again. It's... early in the evening," he checked his watch before looking back down at the person. "And [Y/N] wasn't here today. Did something happen."
There was more silence to be followed before the person began to sob again... wail, really. It was distressing to hear. To know that someone was dying because of you really didn't sit well on your mind, or on your stomach.
"This will all be over soon. You've told me all I need to know." Angel's eyes hooded.
"N-n-no, please," the helpless voice uttered over Angel's, "I-I want to live! Please! I don't even know who [Y/N] [L/N] is!! PLEASE, NO!-" Their cries were ... blended, almost. If anyone could make aging be heard, it was Angel, while he took someone's life through simply touching their skin. You still couldn't quite wrap your head around that fact.
You stifled a cry and clamped your hand over your mouth to silence yourself, squeezing your eyes shut. Why? Why would he do this? What did this person do to deserve the touch of death? For just living here, was that it?
A yawn characteristically came from Angel's mouth before he stepped over the person's body, tucking his hands in his pockets as he stopped at the door. He stood there for a moment before he he turned his head, beautiful locks tumbling down his back as he looked around with narrowed eyes. You did your best to stay quiet in the corner you were in, you didn't want to draw attention to yourself and risk him knowing that you were here.
The longer he stayed at the door though, the more you found yourself beginning to question why you were even here in the first place... but you knew why. He was acting strange. He had been acting strange ever since that little date the two of you went on.
Ice cream. It wasn't a very romantic setting and it was actually one he and Aki Hayakawa frequented quite often, but something about this particular day happened to set him off. You treated him to something nice after he proved to be helpful against a devil you couldn't get close to—so it was just the two of you this time, Aki was nowhere in sight. A lot of the time you two spent together at that time was spent toward speaking about things, such as the ice cream you ate, how he saved your life, and how you were thankful that he helped you out.
Angel wanted to know so much about you after that—and was clingy, moreso than what you would've expected from someone like him, who seemed like he couldn't have gave a damn whether someone lived or died, as long as he wasn't bothered. In the days, maybe even weeks after leading up to now, he never really left you alone until you broke off from him to go home for the day. The days you went to visit your mentor, you linked up with him shortly after leaving the apartment complex, some ways away from it. You didn't quite think of it like you were thinking about it now, but looking back on it, there were clearly some things that were wrong here. How did he find out that you were coming to this apartment complex? Was he following you?
"I thought I heard something other than that woman when I walked inside."
"Gah!" You squeaked in fear, making your body jolt as your arm covered your face in self-defense. Angel found you, he finally found you. "F-fuck!"
"What are you doing here, [Y/N]?" He asked, "are you here to talk to whoever you're talking to?"
"W-why does that matter?" You stammer, as you find the courage to finally remove your arm from your face to look up at him. Why, he looked mental. His eyes looked like beads against his white sclera. What a terrifying expression to come back to—it made your heart leap into your throat. "I didn't feel like visiting my mentor today."
"Oh. Your mentor."
Silence between the two of you begins to pick up after that. Your heart felt like it was going to explode with how fast it was beating. So many questions had to be asked, but how could you ask them? You didn't even know what to say right now.
"Want to go get some ice cream?" He asked, as if everything that happened didn't just happen. You swallowed thickly at the question asked and looked around nervously. Did you beat around the bush? Agree, and act like nothing happened in this room? Or did you face the fact that what Angel did was unforgivable?
Another gap of silence.
"Angel, you just killed an innocent human being for no reason," you stated the obvious. Your brows furrowed and you stared at him. "Do you have any idea what this means?"
"Mm, no," Angel shook his head, "I'm sure I don't really care, either." He then pointed to the door. "Do you want to get ice cream with me, [Y/N]?"
"A-angel!" You pressed him with your words. "You... you killed an innocent human being!"
"...why do I care?" He gave you a blank stare. "I was doing her a favor. Now, do you want to get ice cream with me?" He extended his free hand in the direction of your body. "I know you're going home soon, since this is your day off."
You stared at him, horrified by the lack of humanity within him. Well, he was a devil... so of course he didn't have any shred of humanity, but still, didn't he feel even an ounce of remorse over what he just did? None at all? "Y-you killed her because of me," you reiterated in a more... significant light. "Why?"
"Because I didn't see you come into the building today, so I went around asking," he responded and sighed before he shoved his hands into his pockets. He would know better than to touch someone he cared for if he didn't want them to die. "She was mean to me, so she suffered the consequences."
Those words worried you. "What do you mean you went around and asked?" You narrowed your eyes. "Did you..."
"Only to those who were rude." Angel calmly stated, "not a lot of them were even subjected to what this woman went through. But I know she saw you... she saw you every time you came up on this floor. I know she did. She proceeded to lie about it, and for lying, she had to be killed." He tilted his head. "Have I answered your questions enough? Can we go get ice cream now?"
So many people had their lives threatened because of you. That was a tough pill to swallow, wasn't it?
The sound of the door opening made your heart beat quicken again. Your eyes shot to the door to see him standing in the doorway with his eyes still on you. "Come on. I want to go get ice cream."
"...why... why did you do it?" You weakly asked him as you stumbled forward to meet him. "Why would you subject all of these people to torture? A-and for... for me..?" It just didn't sound right.
"It may not be a lot, but it's honest work. I try my best to keep you safe. I have to know where you are at all times to do that though, right?" Angel shrugged his shoulders. "Think of me as your guardian angel, maybe that'll make the pill easier to swallow. ...so, can we go get ice cream?"
"N-no," you gently push him out of the way so that you can leave the building. "We won't be doing anything of the sort. I'm going to go to the hunter's association and ask to be reassigned to another devil."
Angel stumbled back, but was quick to grab your arm.
"Not if you want to live, you won't." He narrowed his eyes. "We're together now. If I can't have you, no one else can."
#chainsaw man#csm angel#angel devil#angel chainsaw man#angel x reader#yandere#yandere x reader#reader insert#gender neutral insert
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Leaden Dreams
Characters: Albedo, Kazuha, Scaramouche, Xiao, gn!reader
Word Count: 1,908
Warnings: Vague depictions of sleep paralysis
Premise: In which the reader experiences sleep paralysis
Author’s Note: First time writing Kazuha! I just finished his story quest today, so I hope that I have an okay grasp on him. Still working on his talking style a bit but I adore his personality.
Also though I experience the part of sleep paralysis where you’re awake but can’t move (can’t recommend the experience) it’s usually during the day so I don’t really experience dreams. As of such if this is inaccurate in any ways I’m very sorry.
Albedo
Albedo knew about sleep paralysis on a theoretically level, knew that it was a phenomenon that caused one’s brain to awaken when the body was still fast asleep. He’d never given the concept much thought, not any more than he might any other bit of science that remained shelved in his mind.
Now that was certainly not the case.
Albedo knew the telltale signs, the small spasms that revealed the battle between your mind and your body. Knowing that you were fighting to move your limbs, open your eyes, relax your jaw, he would always speak first, knowing that you might not immediately respond.
“It’s alright my dear, I’m here. I know it’s frightening, but I promise you’ll be able to move soon. Just focus on one thing, alright? Maybe your eyes this time, since last time you tried moving your tongue. That’s it, just one thing first. It’s always better to start small.”
He wouldn’t move from his sleeping position until you regained control of your body, afraid that a sudden touch might cause you even more distress. Keeping himself carefully pressed into the mattress he didn’t fare lift his head, for fear his face might melt into something frightening. Since he knew he was helpless, his goal became to stop things from getting worse.
The moment you began to move however the alchemist would jump into action. Turning lights on he would pick up the glass of water from his nightstand before gathering you up into his arms, positioning himself so you could listen to his heartbeat as you drank. The first time it had happened he had left the room to get the glass to soon, and the memory of you curled up desperately into the covers still tugged at him.
Albedo would then go through what you had half-dreamed with you, thoroughly debunking all the distortions of your normal life. That shadowed human outside the window was a combination of the balcony and the half opened curtains. The voices were partially his own, partially your brain trying to process your own breathing. The figure hiding behind the door of the hallway was because of the boxed piled along the other side of the wall. The people dancing on the ceiling could be fixed with a repaint. Over and over he would remind you of the fact that you were safe, that your amygdala was simply going into overdrive. Over and over he would thoroughly debunk your nightmares until once more things settled into place, piles of clothing becoming one more fabric, dressers no longer dancing as if possessed.
He would tell you to wake him up if he began falling back to sleep, determined that he should be watching over you to make sure an episode didn’t happen as you were falling back asleep.
In reality though you didn’t mind if he drifted off a little before you. His breathing was a soothing melody, his slow, steady heartbeat a rhythm with which you could anchor yourself. He was staid and sure, and that was something you grasped onto desperately, something you would never stop appreciating.
Soon enough his reasons would soothe your mind, and you’d fall once more asleep.
Kazuha
The first thing Kazuha always did was pull the blankets over you. If the outside world was threatening you, then he’d simply block it out.
Making a cocoon around the two of you he would begin to tell stories. Fairy tales, things that had happened to him during his travels, anything that you brain might latch onto. The stories were always very short and self-contained, easy to understand, and through your panic addled brain you always seemed to find them.
Sometimes when things were particularly bad he’d softly cradled your hands, careful not to move to quickly or too suddenly in case the sensation caused you to panic even more.
“Our hands fit together so well, don’t you think? I could write a poem about them, or maybe about yours. Maybe you’ll help me with it after this is over? It will be soon dearest, I know it will.”
Sometimes he would sing little songs that he’d picked up. Usually sea shanties, their rhythm helped you, less complex than poetry, more lyrical than the jagged fear that screamed at you.
Kazuha wouldn’t ask you to share immediately. When you finally moved he would first squeeze your hands gently, kissing them before your forehead, asking if it was too hot beneath the blankets, then making sure a light was on if you needed a little fresh air.
He never acknowledged what had happened before you did, but he wouldn’t pretend like it didn’t happen either. Instead he would ask if you wanted to listen to a story or tell one. Whichever you chose he would keep holding your hands, making sure that even when he gave you space there was still something that grounded you.
Sometimes when you cried he would tell a very specific story.
“There once was a warrior, brave of heart. So brave were they that shadows tried to chase them. Someone this noble cannot exist! They cried out. The warrior must be false. We will find their weakness. However no matter how hard they tried this weakness was never found. For the warrior was truly brave in heart and soul.”
Normally you might consider such a story overdone, but in those liminal moments between fear and sleep the story format helped. This was simply a harrowing part of a story, but there would surely be a better end.
Scaramouche
Scaramouche never thought that he’d ever sleep next to you.
Humans were loud and irritating, and that only became more true when the Harbinger was trying to get a few precious hours of sleep.
However after a particularly bad week he decided that the only solution to your terrible lack of attention was to deal with the matter himself.
He wasn’t necessarily nice about it, grumbling about your poor sleeping habits, saying that this was an awful waste of time. However the moment that panic consumed you, the moment that things started to twist around you, you felt a sudden hand on your arm.
“These idiotic phantoms are nothing. Come on, I know you’re strong enough. How could you ever let something so puny win against you.”
Though you certainly didn’t agree with him about that you had to admit it helped somewhat. Though your initial panic never disappeared, it became easier to climb out of your dreams, to see a light at the end of the endless tunnel of fear.
Every time you jerked once more awake Scaramouche let himself admit some sort of relieved satisfaction.
“You’ve done it again. As you always have. I don’t know why I bother sleeping here when you’re competent enough on your own.”
Nevertheless Scaramouche would always let you embrace him, not commenting on the tears that often accompanied you. Loosely resting his arms on your back he let out exaggerated breaths.
“Will you sleep now?”
It didn’t matter if you said no. Scaramouche would simply mutter something about bad sleep habits, but he would nevertheless stay awake.
He would always fall asleep last, even when his eyes burned slightly and his body called out for rest.
If he was going through all this trouble after all, he might as well see it through to the end.
Xiao
Xiao saw dreams as extensions of human karma, of human wants and needs and wishes.
If a human dreamt a good wish, it was a revelation of their hearts desire. If they tossed and turned with nightmares it was their fears and shames manifesting. A dream was never just a dream, a shuffle of random events and names and faces. Dreams were alive; dreams had their own wills, all connected to the will of the human they were attached too.
Xiao loathed to see you haunted by your dreams. How could someone so wonderful as your be chased by something so awful? The little that you told your partner caused a distant sort of dread. He could never understand your fear of falling asleep, but he surely felt the dread of whether or not you might be allowed peace.
The threads that surrounded you, that surrounded all humans, always tensed when you were entering an episode. Careful not to leave your side too much Xiao would light a few candles, not too much to be jarring to your eyes, not too little to add to your nightmares. If you could only open your eyes then Xiao would pay even more attention, making sure that the dim lighting didn’t add to your distress, shifting the candles or blowing them out if need be.
Xiao didn’t talk much normally, but he would keep up a steady stream of questions in these moments, even if you couldn’t answer them. Whether you were aware of his presence, whether the window being open was a problem or not, whether you needed more light or less. He would keep these questions in the back of his mind for you to answer once you could again, not only so he could do better next time, but in case the nightmares we too close to be spoken about.
Usually Xiao would ask about them again in the morning, and sometimes you would discuss it then. Though the yaksha knew that nightmares were often the fears that humans accumulated, the curses that attached themselves to unsuspecting victims, he never talked about that aspect with you, indeed when he talked about it at all. Most of the time he would just listen, tracing soft circles along your back and down your arms.
Right after an episode Xiao would make his way over to you. Most of the time he would stay in one place while the episode was happening, near the candles or by the window, making sure he didn’t startle you anymore. Now though he might move every once in a while, or turn your head softly towards him if your eyes became fixated on one spot in the room. Always he’d go to open the window, and the familiarity of the routine became something that lulled you back into a sense of piece.
Not sleeping himself Xiao never told you that you need more rest, that you should go back to sleep. If you needed to stay up the rest of the night so be it, he would be there with you. If you were too tired and found yourself drifting off to sleep he would promise to protect you, to fight off any demons that might be lurking.
Sometimes Xiao feared that his burden of curses exacerbated your sleep paralysis. Those evenings he would wait for you to sleep before slipping away. Always he would leave his sleeve and his mask, making sure that if you woke up you would still have something of his presence to comfort or protect yourself with. Those nights he would stare out into Liyue and think about all the things that he carried with him, all the things that you did too.
Regardless of those nights he would be there in the morning.
“Did you sleep well afterwards?” He would always ask. Regardless of your answer, which he would surely pay attention to after his second question, he would stare into your eyes.
“Do you think things would be easier without my presence?”
Always you said no.
#idk why but I enjoyed writing xiao especially for this#not that I did love all of these this is such a good prompt#genshin impact fanfiction#albedo x reader#kazuha x reader#xiao x reader#scaramouche x reader#genshin albedo#kaedahara kazuha#genshin scaramouche#genshin xiao#genshin impact#scenarios#headcanons#very short scenarios lol#requested#my writing
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OH I HAVE AN IDEA like an angsty fic where bucky and reader have a miscommunication and it causes a fight between them and they are both like ???? “we’ve never yelled at each other ??? what is this” AND IDK I JUST WANT ANGST
So, head empty, very little thoughts, but I hope this works and you like it 🥺
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
You sang along to the music that was playing softly in the background as you showered and got ready for your day. You’d had a late start, easily giving into Bucky and staying in bed for just five more minutes, which had really turned out to be almost another hour. The good thing about being the boss was that you could afford to be late every once in a while. Bucky was in the kitchen, whipping up a quick breakfast before he too needed to leave and go about his day.
“Sugar,” he called out to you as you washed your hair. You could faintly make out his voice as you carried on, but figured you’d be able to make out what he was saying well enough, “I’ve got everything made and prepared just how you like it!”
You thought nothing of it for a moment and continued to wash your hair; but about halfway through the motions, you stopped in surprise. What had he actually said?
“Bucky? Bub, what did you say?” you quickly rinsed out our hair before pulling back the shower curtain as you tried to listen in. Had he really said he was mad?
“It’s all done! I’m done,” he called back as he covered your plate for you to find once you got out of the shower. He grabbed his travel mug of coffee and headed towards the door, giving Alpine a quick pet before leaving, “bye honey. Running late and gotta go - I’m leaving!”
“Bucky!” you almost slipped and fell as you tore back the shower curtain and almost jumped out of the shower. It was still running as you haphazardly grabbed a towel and darted down the hall and into the kitchen. But he was already gone; the only thing that was left behind was the faint smell of his cologne. Swallowing the nervous lump in your throat, you trudged back down the hall to finish your shower. You were already running late and whatever this was - whatever had just happened - would need to wait until later.
Had Bucky really just broken up with you in the midst of a shower? It sure seemed like it right now.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
A heavy sigh escaped your lips as you sat down and stared at your computer screen. You’d had the same spreadsheets and charts pulled up for the last two hours and made almost no progress. You swore that almost every single interaction you’d had with Bucky over the last week was playing on loop in your mind. You were desperately trying to figure out where you’d gone wrong, what had caused him to snap.
In an effort to alleviate your own fears, you’d texted Bucky to get a response from him and see what was going on. But you hadn’t heard back from him. You’d sent three messages before deciding not to bombard him. But still...if he was just up and leaving you after almost three years together, he owed you at least a small explanation.
You opened google and quickly pulled up an apartment search, already resigned yourself to the idea that you’d need to find a new place fast. Being around for too long would be too hard and you didn’t want to subject to more torture than necessary. And Alpine! You’d need to decide what to do with your beloved cat - Alpine loved you equally, how were you to choose who would get the fluffy little thing? And all the friends in common you shared...who would they side with?
“Fuck,” you groaned at nothing in particular and decided to focus on your work. At least that would keep you distracted and your brain focused on something other than Bucky. You would figure out everything else tonight. It would all be fine. This was no big deal; maybe your world was falling apart...but you would handle it. You always did.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
When you finally allowed yourself to go home that evening, you were shocked to find the lights on and Bucky in the kitchen. He was on the phone with someone, his new girlfriend or someone like that you immediately presumed, moving about the kitchen as he finished dinner. You choked up as you watched the domestic scene that was so normal to you by now. But this time, it felt so wrong.
You stormed in and for whatever reason, you decided that grabbing a pillow and throwing it at Bucky was a good idea. You picked the soft thing up in your arms and hurled at him, who suddenly realized you were home and yelped in surprise as he dodged the offending object. He raised his eyebrows in surprise as he pointed to the earbuds in ears as he turned back to the stove.
You were seeing red by now as you stormed in the kitchen and ripped his earbuds out. He was so stunned by your sudden actions, he jumped back and offered up a shocked look.
“What the fuck are you doing here!?” you shouted at him as you threw the buds on the floor, half tempted to stomp them, “how fucking dare you!”
“Sugar, what on earth are you talking about?” he grabbed his phone off the counter and ended the call without hesitation. Your chest heaved as you waited for some sort of explanation, “what’s going on? Are you alright?”
“No, I’m not alright! How on earth could I be alright?” you threw your hands up in exasperation as you tried to unsuccessfully hold back your tears. He was so calm and nonchalant about everything it was almost more frustrating than anything else.
“Okay...something is going on. Care to enlighten me?” he tried to reach up and wipe your tears away but you flinched out of his touch, “sugar?”
“Y-you! It’s you!” you cried softly as he motioned for you to explain just what it was about him that was the problem.
“What about me…?”
“You just break up with me this morning and tell me you’re leaving me and then you just come back like nothing has happened?” as soon as the words left your mouth, Bucky’s mouth dropped open. It was news to him that he’d broken up with you, “and you didn’t answer my texts all day! I deserve some sort of explanation!”
“I didn’t...I didn’t break up with you, Sugar,” he stated simply as you tilted to your head in confusion, trying to decide if he was pulling your leg or being honest, “why would I leave you? That makes no sense. I love you - I’m in love with you!”
“This morning,” you whispered softly, “you said you were done and you were leaving. When I was in the shower.”
His brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what exactly you were talking about. But then it hit him and he struggled not to burst out laughing. He gnawed on his lip as he fervently shook his head, “my sweet girl, you...well you heard me correctly, but incorrectly at the same time.”
“What? I-I swear…”
“What I said was breakfast was done and that I was leaving for work because I was running late too,” he explained as you tried to replay all that you had heard. Maybe...maybe you hadn’t heard him correctly at all - and in turn jumped to the worst possible conclusion, “I had to run...I’m sorry I didn’t come into the bathroom and say goodbye. Maybe that would have solved this whole thing.”
“You’re not..leaving me?” you asked as he just shook his head and took the opportunity to wrap his arms around you, “you still love me?”
“I find it both hilarious and concerning that you so easily thought I would just leave,” he kissed the top of your head as you held onto him as tightly as possible, “of course I’m not leaving. You never have to worry about that, sugar. I love you so much, silly girl. You sweet, silly girl.”
“I’m an absolute idiot,” you mumbled as you buried your face in his shoulder. You couldn’t believe that you jumped from A to Z so quickly and without a moment of hesitation, “I’m sorry, Bub. I feel like I wouldn’t blame you if you did want to leave me now.”
“Never,” he promised softly, “even if you do have moments of being ridiculous. Just like I do.”
“If I ever do something so dumb again,” you huffed as you pulled back and looked at those ocean eyes, “just smack some sense into me. But I...you didn’t answer my texts.”
“Texts?” he seemed genuinely confused as he reached for his phone and correctly scrolled through his messages. You could see that there were none from you, “what are you…I was in bad reception today. Blame Sam, that I was just on the phone with, for that one. They probably never came through. I’m sorry, honey. If they’d come in, maybe we could have avoided this whole situation, huh?"
“Some bad luck on top of it,” you hid your face behind your hands and sighed heavily, “James. I..I’m so sorry for everything. I just downright acted like a fool today. I don’t even know where to begin to apologize. I love you, Bub. I hope you can forgive me, but if not...I would-”
“Hey,” he put his hand under chin and turned your face up to meet his own. His smile was lilting and gentle and his eyes soft, “I love you. It’s alright done and forgotten. Are you hungry? Dinner’s just about finished.”
“I love you more than anything,” you whispered as he pressed a gentle kiss to your lips, “I just...my emotions were so all over the place today. Like out of control, A to Z. I don’t know what happened.”
“Shit happens,” he dismissed it with a slight scoff as he reached for some dishes, “I’m yours, sugar. Always.”
“Me too,” you agreed as you leaned against the counter, watching him with nothing but adoration. It was then that another realization - and possibly an explanation - hit you. It felt like a punch in the gut, “shit.”
“What?” Bucky asked as he started to plate dinner, “everything okay?”
“Yeah,” you smiled nervously, “just remembered something I forgot to do today.”
“As long as you’re alright…”
“I am,” you promised. You could worry about this later, “hey - I love you so much, Bucky. You know that right?”
“I love you too. Always.”
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
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#bucky barnes#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes x you#sebastian stan x reader#sebastian stan x you#sebastian stan
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Changeling Chapter 1
A DP Fae Au fic. I've been promising you this for so long XD. I can hardly believe I'm finally delivering, even if it's only one chapter for now.
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Chapter 1: In the Beginning, There Was an Offer
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They studied legends. According to those legends, today, Beltane, was a time of renewal, of birth, of fertility.
It was not supposed to be… this. Their dreams weren’t supposed to be crushed today. Not under this sun, not under these blue skies and among softly blooming flowers.
This kind of news should have come with rain. It should have come with storms.
Maddie wiped tears out of her eyes and Jack patted her on the back. The air smelled sweet and dusty at the same time. The bench was uncomfortable.
“We could try adoption,” said Jack. He sounded shocked, too. Drained. His voice was pulled taught over a great hollowness. “Lots of people adopt. We can- can do some good in the world, maybe.”
Maddie sniffed and cried harder. She’d wanted her own children, and Jack knew it. Adoption was all very well and good, but at this point the suggestion felt like some consolation prize, and she felt terrible for even thinking it was, because Jack was right, it could be a good thing, and…
She wanted children. Her own children.
“Excuse me, I believe I can help.”
There was something about how he said that, about how the voice wound and slipped through her ears that had Maddie’s head snapping up. The man who stood to the side of the bench wore a long coat with a deep hood. Symbols, symbols that Maddie had spent hours, days, weeks, researching were stitched into the fabric. His eyes glittered in the shadows. The fingers of his hands, clasped in front of him, were too long, their coloring faintly lavender, as if they had been dipped in ink and retained the stain even after they’d been washed clean.
This was not a human.
“How?” asked Maddie, feeling hope drip back into her limbs even as Jack tensed behind her. “How can you help?”
.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” said Jack as they drove home. “We really shouldn’t have done that. Maddie, they’re evil, there’s always a catch and it’ll always be looking for a way to push us into it.”
“The catch is in the open,” said Maddie, leaning back against the seat of the car and closing her eyes. “It isn’t as if it’s in the fine print and we’re going to stumble into it. We have one, and then I get my tubes tied, or you get snipped, and we go on with our lives.”
“What if we have twins? Triplets? Maddie, we should have talked about this.”
“There wasn’t any time,” Maddie said defensively. “I had to decide right away.”
“What are we going to do if we have twins, Maddie?”
Maddie bit her lip, her eyes opening without her full permission as she thought. “We know how to deal with things like him.”
The car jerked just a little to the right as Jack failed to suppress his flinch. “Do you remember our work on motivations? On why they take artists, musicians, children?” he asked. He forged on without waiting for an answer. “Creative sterility, we called it. For this one to be able to cure sterility, he has to be powerful. I don’t think nails in pockets and inside-out clothing is going to stop him.”
Such protections were hit and miss to begin with. One faerie might hate bread, another might love it. The sound of bells would drive off one, and another would wear them in their hair. Even cold iron was no guarantee against them.
“We’ll have to find something better, then,” she said, firmly.
.
Maddie laughed. Not a twin. A single child showed on the ultrasound monitor. A girl. A beautiful baby girl. Perfect.
On the other side of the bed, Jack sunk into a chair, obviously relieved. “She’s healthy?” he asked the OB/GYN.
“Completely,” she said. “This is quite the miracle the two of you put together here.” She shook her head. “We must have gotten something wrong during our examination. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am to have put you through all that, and I won’t blame you if you wanted to find a new doctor.”
“It’s fine,” said Maddie, patting the woman’s arm. “It happens.” Yes, being approached by a powerful fae just ‘happened.’ “The important thing now is to make sure there aren’t any complications.”
.
They made sure Jazz was born on a Sunday, with two middle names, one of which Maddie made sure to forget. They scheduled her baptism for as early a date as possible, even though both Jack and Maddie were as lapsed as it was possible to be.
Precautions.
Jack had his surgery only a month later.
They were safe. They had won.
The family of three snuggled together on the couch. Well, Jazz snuggled inasmuch as a newborn was able. They watched TV.
“Jack, dear,” said Maddie, roused to awareness by a news story about a rising young businessman. “Is that our Vlad?”
Jack blinked at the screen. “I think you’re right,” said Jack. “I haven’t seen him since college. I don’t think we’ve talked to him since college.” He frowned. “Did something happen? The three of us used to be so close… He was the only one in the whole folklore department that would put up with our theories, do you remember?”
“I don’t know,” said Maddie, trying to remember. “It was like he was there one day, gone the next.”
“Do you think he’ll mind us getting back in touch?”
“Only one way to find out.”
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(As it turned out, Vlad did not particularly care to get back in touch.)
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Jazz was not a normal child.
She saw too much. She understood too much. Her teeth grew in early. She learned how to get the milk out of the fridge at about the same time she learned how to walk. Her eyes were too large, even for her age. She didn’t start talking until she was almost two, and when she did, it was in complete sentences. She took to responsibility like a duck to water. No, she demanded responsibility, from waking up the family in the morning to answering the door. She loved rules and games, and the rules of games.
But they had never raised a child before. Perhaps this was simply how they were. Perhaps this was within the expected variety of humanity.
Most importantly, Jazz was theirs. Completely.
.
Maddie was not terribly concerned when her period missed a few days, or even when it was late by a week. But when it started pushing two…
She bought a test.
It came back positive.
.
Danny’s birth was different from Jazz’s in almost every particular. Instead of being infused with a sense of joy, proceedings were overshadowed by dread. Jazz had been born in a hospital. Danny would be born at home, behind every ward and protection Jack and Maddie could conceive of. The midwife they hired was more than used to odd belief systems and threw a few of her own traditions in as well.
It couldn’t hurt.
.
It didn’t help.
After the birth, Maddie held Danny in her arms. He’d been born in a caul, which had been slightly alarming, even though Maddie had known that it was a thing that happened regularly, and that, by most accounts, it was lucky.
He was such a tiny little thing. Smaller than Jazz. Which made sense, he was a little premature.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” she promised him, whispering into the silky, wispy curls on top of his head.
Someone knocked on the door. Maddie jerked her head up, even though the front door wasn’t at all visible from the basement. Jack flinched hard enough to drop the towels he was holding. The midwife froze.
“Hospitality,” croaked Maddie. Those rules were always humanity’s first defense against the uncanny. Don’t want something in your house? In your life? Don’t invite it in.
Although, she had arguably already invited in the fae they were worried about. Hence all the other contingencies.
The knock came again. And again, louder.
Jack let out a sigh of relief. “It can’t get in,” he murmured. Then he smiled, broad and bright. “We just have to wait it out.”
Maddie nodded, tears in her eyes. The knocking continued. This was far from ideal, obviously, but she’d been half expecting the fae to simply rip through the wards like tissue paper.
Perhaps the theory that more powerful fae were more bound by custom, more vulnerable to their weaknesses, held water? She and Jack had always dismissed it as fanciful, but they’d never been able to gather evidence before.
Then, a sound that made her heart stop.
“I’ll get it!” called Jazz, childish voice muffled by distance and the obstacle of the floors above. She’d been told not to answer the door when Danny was being born, to wait patiently in her room, but for all her unusual maturity, she was only three.
Faster than she’d ever seen him move, Jack bolted for the stairs, pushing aside several pieces of furniture and medical equipment in his haste. He took the stairs four at a time and nearly taking the door off the hinges.
He wasn’t fast enough.
“Who are you, mister?”
“Me?” said a voice Maddie had prayed against ever hearing again. “I am your uncle, my dear. Did your parents not tell you about me?”
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Jazz tipped her head to one side and stared up at the man, making her eyes extra big. She knew it made a lot of people uncomfortable when she looked at them like that, so she treated it as a kind of test.
The man smiled, kind and patient. He was kind of funny looking, but in a good way.
“No,” she said finally. “Are you Mommy’s brother or Daddy’s brother?”
“Ah, you already know about uncles, then. I was worried I’d have to explain. May I come in? I would like to greet your little brother, as your parents promised I could. I have gifts for both of you.”
Jazz liked gifts. “Okay,” she said. “But I dunno if Danny’s been born yet. Mommy said it can take a while. And I dunno if he can have gifts, yet. He’s gonna be really little. That’s what all my books say, and also the internet.”
“Jazz! Don’t!”
Jazz turned to see her Daddy skid around the corner, just as her uncle stepped across the threshold.
“Not quite on time, I fear,” said uncle. “Young Jazz has already let me in.” He patted Jazz on the head. She ducked away and stuck her tongue out, like she always did when Daddy did that. “Having greeted my niece, I would like to see my nephew.”
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The fae did walk past the rest of the wards as if they weren’t even there. It didn’t even break them, just ignored them. Some of them he even commented on, as if approving.
He gazed down at Danny with his otherworldly eyes. The midwife had retreated to the corner of the room, refusing to look at what was happening. Jack had attempted to attack the fae with his bare hands, only to be pushed away with something approaching gentleness by an invisible wall. Maddie didn’t know where Jazz was. Upstairs, somewhere, hopefully.
“So beautiful,” the fae said, brushing Danny’s forehead with his off-color fingers. Faster than Maddie could react, he had a pair of scissors in his hand and was cutting off a lock of hair. “A lovely child.” The lock of Danny’s hair disappeared into the fae’s coat.
If Maddie didn’t know better, she’d call the expression on the fae’s face love. But she did know better. Love was as incomprehensible to the fae as fae laws were to humans, so she’d call it by its true name: avarice.
She tightened her grip on Danny, as if she could keep the fae from plucking him from her arms.
“Not now,” said the fae, after another moment. “Soon, I should think.” It ran a hand over Danny’s head. “Soon.” The fae looked up, meeting Maddie’s eyes. “I will return,” he said, “in one year.”
“For what?” demanded Maddie, unwilling to get her hopes up.
The fae blinked slowly. “For his birthday.” He tilted his head. “To determine whether or not he is ready. Perhaps, also, to visit my niece.”
“You stay away from Jazz!” snarled Maddie. “You have no claim on her.”
The fae merely shrugged, then smiled, slyly. “She does, however, have a claim on me. I promised her gifts, before your husband whisked her away.”
“Gifts,” repeated Maddie, hoarsely.
“For the sister of my child, yes,” said the fae, voice and face as calm and even as ever. “Would you ask me to forswear myself?”
“Then,” said Maddie, “you can leave them here, with us.”
“You will give them to her?”
“Yes,” said Maddie, through her teeth. She did not say how long she would let Jazz be in the presence of these ‘gifts.’
“Very well, then,” said the fae, pulling a number of boxes out from beneath his coat. “One year. Be prepared.”
And, with that, the fae faded from view, as if he had been an illusion all along.
Danny was still with them. Their son was still with them. Still theirs.
“One year,” she said, breathless. “Only one year.”
“One whole year,” corrected Jack, rushing to her side. “You’ll see, Maddie. Next time, that fae won’t know what hit him!”
“One whole year,” echoed Maddie, weakly.
“One year to prepare,” said Jack. “Look what we did with half that time! We’re Fentons! We can do it!”
“We can do it,” breathed Maddie. “One year. We’ll be ready.”
Jack nodded, firmly. “We’ll be ready.”
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fever - sokka x reader
this has been sitting in my drafts half finished for 3 weeks so i thot it was prime time i actually finished it
this is kinda based off the song w dua lipa and angele so you can listen to that if you want
summary: sokka's convinced there's a mystery illness keeping you from focusing, but somehow he's completely oblivious that the only 'sick' you are is lovesick, and he's the reason you can't focus.
a/n: i have never written a sickfic. but this is like. a fake sick fic. its an idiots in love fic. i mean this is coming from mr "is he taller than me? is he better looking?" himself so. it makes sense. as usual, this is not proofread bc im a lazy mf
also im sorry for being vague with the calc but i was NOT about to do math during summer who do you think i am? ??
wc: 1.7k
warning(s): mentions of being sick and 🤢calculus 🤮 but otherwise tooth rotting fluff
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How could the smartest man you knew be so, so incredibly stupid?
You thought that you were being obvious, so obviously that you were sure he knew. It was embarrassing how obvious you were.
You had met Sokka in your calculus class at the start of the new semester after you ended up sitting next to each other, and it wasn’t a stretch to say that you were immediately smitten. With eyes like the ocean and a face that had to have been crafted by the gods, you were almost too distracted to respond when he asked you for a pencil. But when he winked at you after giving his thanks, it only solidified what you had already suspected: you had known this man for all of five minutes, and you already had a crush on him.
Little did you know, it was going to turn into the most infuriating crush you had ever experienced.
You and Sokka became fast friends even though calculus was the only class you had together. Unfortunately, it was also something that you completely sucked at. Bad news, it was required for your major. Good news, Sokka was some sort of genius and offered to tutor you — Wednesdays in the library turned into a weekly occasion, and served as an opening for your calculus skills, your feelings for Sokka, and your exasperation to all grow stronger.
You normally weren’t someone to beat around the bush. If you started to like someone, you told them and dealt with whatever happened after, but something about Sokka just kept you from spilling your feelings outright. You knew that if he didn’t feel the same way, your relationship likely wouldn’t change, but there was still that tiny voice that said it’s better to stay like this in case things do go wrong — and this was the first time you listened to that voice. You simply valued your friendship too much.
But that didn’t mean you were going to be completely quiet about it — you hoped that if you did enough, he would be able to realize you liked him and do the whole process for you. A bit of a dim hope, but crushes make people do stupid things.
Things like bringing an extra coffee to every session, laughing at all his jokes (even the bad ones), sitting a little closer to him than usual, not dropping out of this wretched class so you could spend time together (it might’ve been required, but you still counted it). He didn’t make a point to object to anything, so you knew you weren’t making him uncomfortable — but you had concluded after nearly a whole semester of working and studying together that he was the most oblivious person in all of Ba Sing Se. He could teach you all kinds of formulas, but had no idea that you liked him. Grand.
Today was arguably the most important session out of any of them, seeing as your next class was the final, so it was only fitting that Sokka unknowingly made himself more interesting than any material you could’ve been working with. His arms were going to be the death of both you and your calc grade. You swore that the heat rushing to your cheeks was actually emanating off of you.
“Hey, Y/N!” Sokka grinned as he saw you and raised a hand in greeting, a sentiment you would’ve returned had it not been for the coffee cups in your hands. You settled for mirroring his grin and settled down in the seat across from him. You slid his coffee cup over, set your own down, then shrugged your bag off all before taking a seat.
“You ready to study ‘till your eyes bleed?” he asked, prompting a nervous laugh from you.
“You jest, but my eyes might actually start bleeding depending on how long we go,” you sighed. “There’s a reason I got an extra shot of espresso today.”
“Come on — by now you should know that you have nothing to worry about! I am the best teacher there is, and you got me all to yourself.”
Your eyes widened momentarily and you coughed, purposefully averting your gaze to give yourself some time to recover. Okay, he was going to make it really hard to focus today. “Let’s just get into it.”
He nodded and flipped open his notebook, beginning to talk as he rifled through his bag for a few extra things. “Okay, we’re just gonna start with going over the basics, then we’ll work our way up. There’s a couple practice problems on that page, so you can go ahead and answer those as a warmup.
You slid the notebook over in front of you and after approximately five seconds of looking at the first problem, found yourself studying Sokka rather than the material. Who could blame you? In the battle of cute tutor boy versus calculus, he was going to win every time.
He turned around and you immediately averted your eyes once again, trying to appear extremely involved, but you found that your mind was empty on anything to do with math. “Hey, uh— how do you do this first one? I’m totally blanking here.”
“We use limits in everything — this is actually something you’re really good at!” He studied you intensely and frowned. “Are you okay? Like, you’re not sick or anything, are you? You seem kinda out of it.”
You choked out a laugh and shook your head. “No, no — I’m fine. I guess I’m just a little tired.” As if to demonstrate your lie, you took a sip from your coffee and cringed internally. Love had turned you into an idiot.
He seemed to buy it as he nodded and picked up the pencil, scribbling a couple of notes as he explained the first problem to you. “Does that make sense?” You nodded and he handed the pencil back to you. “Okay — the other ones follow the same kind of process. It should be easy enough.”
You managed to get a little further in the second problem, but your lovestruck mind would not stop focusing back on Sokka every time you tried to do, well, anything. Curse him and his perfect arms, and eyes, and hairstyle, and everything.
You shook your head and set the pencil down once more, letting loose a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me.” Yes, you did. “I just can’t focus at all.” Because of you. You picked up your cup once more and took a sip, hoping it would do something to get you back into the math state of mind.
Sokka frowned once more as he put the back of his hand against your forehead. “God, you’re hot.” You nearly choked on your coffee as your eyes practically bulged out of their sockets — he had to know what he was doing by now — how could he not? “Like, you’re completely burning up. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine, I swear— I just…” you set your cup down on the table and heaved a sigh that was a touch more exasperated than necessary. “Are you telling me you seriously haven’t noticed? Like, not a single thing this whole year?”
“I’ve noticed a lot of things this year,” he chuckled. “It’s kind of our whole job, so you’re gonna have to be a lot more specific.”
You finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Sokka, I’m not— I’m not sick! Haven’t you noticed that I’m only ever flustered, or running into things, or forgetting info, or— or just a complete idiot when I’m around you? I like you, like, a lot, and I have for an embarrassingly long time! The reason I can’t focus is because I am hopelessly attracted to you in every single way.”
His brows creased for a moment and you clamped your mouth shut, worried that you had just ruined everything. It was only after a pause that felt like a century that he finally responded, the hint of a smirk on his lips.
“Well, why didn’t you just say something?”
You stared at him, eyes wide and lips slightly parted in pure surprise before the annoyance set in. You set your jaw as your brows furrowed and you hit him lightly on the side of his arm with the back of your palm. “You can’t be serious! You— you’ve gotta be messing with me by now. I really can’t believe that you can be that smart but this oblivious!”
He finally let the grin play across his lips in full force and he shrugged nonchalantly. “I mean, I don’t know how you don’t expect me to mess with you when you scrunch up your face all cute like that every time you get mad. Besides, I started liking you after that fifth class; I offered to help you out so I could spend more time with you! I didn’t realize you felt the same way. I kinda just enjoyed the free coffee and getting to look at you all the time.”
“I can’t believe you!” you cried as you hit his other arm. “You’re telling me that I had to deal with this- this mental turmoil about whether you liked me back, while you were just enjoying the free eye candy and coffee the whole time?”
“You have nothing to worry about! I enjoyed the company far more than the coffee,” he joked, a certain twinkle in his eye. “But, you are probably out a couple twenties after all of that. So, what do you say about this Saturday, the cafe by the shoe store? My treat.”
“Damn right it’s your treat,” you shot back, though you couldn’t stop the smile forming on your face. “You owe me a lot — you have to make up for those coffees and all the emotional distress you caused.”
“Oh, I think I’ll have plenty of time to make up for lost time. After all, we do have a lot of coffee dates to get through.” And when he winked at you just like that first day, you remembered just how impossible it was to be angry at Sokka. “But first, we kinda have to get through this study date. The final’s still happening tomorrow.”
You responded with a raised brow. “This is a study date?”
Sokka shrugged and grinned. “They’ve all been study dates. You just didn’t know it.”
-
idiots in love idiots in love idiots In LOVe
perm tag list: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77
atla: @marianne1806
#sokka x reader#sokka x you#sokka x y/n#sokka fic#atla#avatar#avatar the last airbender#avatar the last airbender fic#avatar x reader#reader insert#sadie writes
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Enigma (b.b.)
Summary: you’re Bucky’s enigma. and he finally finds out why
AN: i love bucky barnes ALSO who says i can’t write about the multiverse?? there are no rules anymore!
i’m also thinking about making this a little ongoing ‘series’ kind of like the tom holland one i’m doing. same characters, same characters plots, just different plots for each part, if that makes sense.
taglist: @amourtentiaa
You and James Buchanan Barnes had a complex relationship. And that was putting it lightly. Ever since you joined the team, Bucky had some sort of hesitation towards you. You didn’t know why, you were always nice to him but he just shrugged you off.
You tried not to take it personally but it was hard when he seemed to be the only person who didn’t like you. The reason he was so standoffish was because you were an enigma to him. You were something he hadn’t really seen before.
Mainly due to the fact that you weren’t given your powers in an unfortunate circumstance. No one really knew how you got them, it was like you were just born with the power to control the cosmos or anything with cosmic energy. Which was something unheard of. He didn’t understand how someone could just be born with powers. And what he didn’t understand, he was scared of.
But his constant distaste towards you began to deter you. You were beginning to want nothing to do with him and he could sense that. You would stop greeting him in the kitchen every morning. You’d stop offering to go on jogs with him and you barely spared him a second glance.
Add that to the list of the things Bucky didn’t understand about you.
__
You woke up one morning feeling off. Something seemed wrong but you couldn't quite figure out what it was. Pins and needles were creeping up your spine and into your neck and your fingers kept twitching.
You've been able to safely control your powers for some time now so you didn’t know why you felt as if you couldn’t.
Exiting your bedroom, you were too busy shaking your hands out to rid yourself of the tingling feeling, you weren’t watching where you were going.
You ran right into someone and looked up slightly, seeing Bucky standing before you. “Oh, sorry.” You said quietly, moving around him. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked, grabbing your elbow gently. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” You lied.
Bucky knew something was off. Your usual sunny disposition was replaced with a solemn attitude. Which was very rare for you. But you weren't going to tell him what was wrong and he didn’t blame you for that.
He watched you walk away, walking like you were at a constant level of pain or discomfort. He walked down the hall towards Steve’s room, seeing that the door was open and invited himself in.
“Hey, something’s going on with Y/N.” Bucky announced. “What do you mean?” Steve asked. “I ran into her in the hall and all she did was say sorry. No conversation, no attempt at telling me a joke.” Bucky explained. “Well, she did say she was going to give up on making you like her. Maybe that’s it.” Steve replied. “This was different. She looked in pain.” Bucky rebutted.
“I’m sure she’s fine, Buck.” Steve said. The rest of your day seemed to go on like normal, minus the dull ache in your body. You did some reading, helped Bruce in the lab like you always did. Until Steve scheduled you for training.
The thing about Steve, was that he wanted everyone to be in fighting shape. So, he’d schedule everyone for training sessions designed to focus on their strengths. On any other day, you wouldn’t complain, but today was not your day.
You reluctantly walked into the training room, finding both Steve and Bucky present. “Alright, Y/N, you ready?” Steve asked. “Want the truth or just what you want to hear?” You questioned. “I know these aren’t everyone’s favorite thing to do but they’ll make you stronger which makes us stronger as a team.” Steve explained.
“Now, your powers are very multipurpose. So, I just want to start on the cosmic defense, okay?” He added. “Is that why Barnes is here with a gun?” You asked. “He’s just here to help.” Steve said. “Yeah right.” You muttered.
The training session began and everything was going okay. You harnessed the right amount of cosmic energy to block Bucky’s bullets and Steve’s shield.
But soon, it became too much too fast. You could practically hear your heart beating in your ears and the pins and needles sensation became a million times worse. You couldn’t focus due to the pounding in your head.
You stopped defending yourself as you gripped your head out of pain. You could feel the meteor showers, the solar flares, everything the pain was causing. You were reducing the objects in the training room down to the atom.
“Y/N, are you okay?” Steve asked, him and Bucky approaching you. “It hurts. It hurts so bad.” you cried. “I told you there was something wrong.” Bucky told his friend.
He moved to pick you up and rush to get you help wherever he could find it.
“Banner, can you help her?” Bucky questioned, entering the lab. You had curled yourself into Bucky, trying to relieve some of your pain.
“What happened to her?” Bruce asked. “I don’t know. We were just training and her powers went out of control. But something was wrong this morning.” Bucky explained, setting you down on the table. “That explains the cosmic phenomenon no one can explain. Meteor showers, solar flares. NASA reported three cosmic storms in the past five minutes.” Bruce explained. “I need to sedate her before it gets worse.” He added. Bruce stuck a needle in your arm and you soon visibly relaxed.
“Do any of us really know anything about her powers?” He questioned. “You don’t, but I do.” Tony announced, standing in the doorway.
“There was no crazy experimentation, no cosmic event that gave them to her. She was simply born with them, because her father had powers too,” Tony started. “It’s called the X gene. A genetic mutation that gives the person different and unique abilities. They were all wiped out years ago by the US government. She’s the last one and her father came to me to keep her safe.” He added. “She’s a mutant?” Bruce asked.
“Yes, she is. And no one knew until now. The thing about the X gene, is that it makes it harder to learn control. The more the body changes the more the mutation changes. I thought she had a handle on her powers but I guess not.” Tony explained. “Will she be okay?” Bucky asked. “She just needs to sleep it off.” Tony said. “Who was her father?” Bruce asked. “His name was Erik. That’s all you need to know.” Tony answered before leaving the room.
You were unconscious for hours. The much needed sleep completely calming your powers down. When you awoke, you were back in your bed and it was already dark outside. You looked over and saw that Bucky was asleep in the blue chair you had sat in the corner.
“Bucky,” You spoke gently. The man stirred slightly before coming to. Bucky noticed you were awake and moved to sit on the edge of your bed. “Are you okay?” He asked. “Wasn’t sure you cared.” You answered, sitting up straighter.
“Believe it or not, I do care. I’ve been this way towards you because how you make me feel scares the hell out of me. I call you an enigma. Because you’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. And that’s before I knew you were a mutant.” Bucky said.
You looked up at him at the sound of the ‘M’ word, not remembering having told him of your mutation.
“Did Tony tell you?” You asked. “Yeah. Told me and Banner.” He said. “Now you know. The crazy genetic mutation that made me the last of the mutants. What made me feel alone once again.” You laugh bitterly.
“You’re not alone, Y/N. As long as you’re here, you’ll never be alone.” Bucky told you. “How can you promise me that?” You asked. “Because I’m going to try like hell to make sure you never feel that way again.” He answered.
You gave Bucky a look of disbelief at his words. “You really do care don’t you?” You asked quietly. “It’s been really hard not too, doll.” He told you.
You gave him a warm smile, one that Bucky had never seen you use towards him. “Who was your father? Do you know?” He questioned. “All I know is the name they gave him. Magneto.” You answered.
“But he’s gone now. I don’t know what happened to him or the rest of the mutants, but I’ve never met him.” You added. “I’m sure he’d be proud of you.” Bucky said.
You didn’t believe him though. You don’t think your father would be proud. How could he be proud of the daughter he left behind?
“I know I’m proud of you.” Bucky added. That’s all you needed. You didn’t need your absentee father’s approval. If you had Bucky, that was enough.
#Bucky Barnes#bucky barnes imagine#bucky barnes x reader#sebastian stan#sebastian stan imagine#sebastian stan x reader#marvel imagine#tony stark#erik lehnsherr#magneto#xmen#imagine#imagines
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Unattainable
Captain Rex x F!Reader
A/N: So uhhh...Yeah I’m in my Rex feels. And I read something about the clones having accelerated Aging and it made me sad so I channeled that into this fic xD Hope you all enjoy!
WC: 1.1k
Warnings: Mentions of death, fear of death, emotional hurt/comfort.
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You had pretty much grown out of being phased by the fatalities and gruesome details you see in battle. You remember as a Padawan you cringed and flinched and your heart was heavy with every death you witnessed. However, after being a Jedi master for several years and being a general in the Clone Wars, it has somewhat hardened your resolve and your mind. You still hold the compassion that is expected of a Jedi, but those things no longer make you lose much sleep.
Until tonight it seems.
You can practically feel the silence of your quarters pressing down on you. The ticking of the mechanical clock on your nightstand and the slow even breathing of the body beside you seem deafening in the silence. You sit up, pushing the covers from your body as you make your way out into the small living room to stare out the thick transparisteel to the stars beyond. You know that meditation would ease your mind, but it’s running fast with so many thoughts that you would never be able to empty it in order to achieve a calm state.
You let out a sigh as you cross your arms over your chest, still looking out at the galaxy passing by you. Hoping, naively, that the stars will give you the answers you seek. The light shuffle of familiar footsteps however, does not give the stars much time to answer.
You don’t turn to face him as he approaches you, eyes staying glued to the view port as he comes to stand next to you. He rubs his eyes tiredly, a yawn escaping his lips before he speaks.
“Cyare?” his voice is soft as he addresses you, “What’s wrong?”
You could lie. You could lie and say you just couldn’t sleep - still too wound up from the battle. You could simply tell him that nothing is wrong and lead you both back to bed. You know that he would believe you. You know he won’t push you into talking about something you don’t want too.
But this is Rex. And since he is the main object of your thoughts...you own him to reveal what’s on your mind.
You let out a small sigh, your arms dropping to your side as you finally speak. “What if we just left.” you say bluntly, not wanting to beat around the bush since this is something you've talked about before. “I have connections. Good ones. I could secure us a place-”
Rex’s exasperated sigh cuts you off, “Not this again-”
“Rex!” you interject, turning and reaching out to take his hands in your own, “Please listen to me-” you beg, the tears you have been holding back since earlier today burning your eyes harshly, “I can’t do this anymore,” you breathe, “I can’t go out there and fight alongside you and your brothers knowing that those above you - above us - see you as nothing but pawns in their game. I can’t continue fighting for people who don’t see their best soldiers as human beings!” you gasp, “So why can’t we leave?”
Rex pulls his hand from yours harshly, and you are assaulted with waves of conflicting emotions rolling off the man in front of you. Fear, anger, frustration, confusion, love, yearning - but most of all - resentment. Bitterness. Feelings so deep and powerful that they practically knock you off your feet.
“And what would we do if we left?” he counters, “Go live on a farm in some backwater planet? Desert everything we’ve ever fought for? Get married? Have children?”
“Why not?” you practically wail, the tears you were fighting so hard to conceal finally slipping down your cheeks, “You make it sound like those are terrible things to want! That craving a family and peace is something so terrible!”
“Those things are terrible when you can’t have them!” he shouts, “You want things we can’t have! You want things that I can’t give you.”
“Why?” you repeat the question that has been plaguing your mind for months now. “Why can’t we have that? Cut had it. Cut has everything we want over on Saleucami. He has a wife and two adorable little kids and he’s happy! We don’t even have to do it now. We can wait until the war is over-”
“And then what?” Rex cries, and you watch as his anger gives way to hysteria and fear and anguish. “After the war ends what do you expect?” he eggs on. “You expect us to live happily ever after on some outer rim planet and have kids of our own so that all of you can watch me die in your arms of old age because of the accelerated aging that us clones have been cursed with?”
You falter at his words, taking a few cautious steps towards the man you love as your heart breaks for him. Finally realizing that what has been holding him back is fear. Not anger.
“Rex you can’t think like that-”
“I have too!” his words come out of shuddered breathes and you don’t miss the shine of unshed tears in his eyes, “Because if I don’t, then as soon as we get a little speck of happiness, it will be taken from us and I-” he swallows thickly as he finally reaches out to take your hands in his once more. “I can’t do that to you,” he breathes, a few stray tears falling silently down his cheeks, “I can’t create a life with you knowing that I’ll only get to spend a fraction of it alive.”
You can’t even begin to think of what to say. And you suppose in this moment you don’t really have to say anything. So, in lieu of empty sentiments of understanding, you wrap your arms around him in a tight embrace, running a free hand through the short blonde hair at the base of his skull.
“Well then,” you begin, voice thick with emotion, “Let’s just enjoy the time we do have, yeah? Then, we can see what our future holds.”
Rex lets out a shuddering breath and pulls you closer to him, nuzzling into the crook of your neck as he does so. “I love you. I’m sorry.” he whispers softly, lips brushing lightly over your shoulder.
You nod and hug him tighter, afraid if you let go, neither of you will be able to hold it together. “I love you too, Rex. No matter what happens.”
And as you both stand in the living room in each other's embrace, you can’t help but feel a smidge of hope tug at your heart. Because despite the destiny placed on the clone captain, your love for one another will be enough.
It has to be.
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#clones x reader#clone wars x reader#captain rex x reader#rex x reader#star wars the clone wars#Clone Wars#Star Wars
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