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pursuitseternal · 6 months

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“Surprise me,” an update to “The Rogue You Were” for more NSFW Ascended Astarion romance…

Ascended Astarion x F!Reader | E | 5.5K Spice

Summary: A party, a massive affair and feast for all the powerful of Baldur’s Gate. But you crave only one thing on which to feed… your love and maker. With so many around you, you will have to be creative… find ways to… surprise him…

CW: Semi-public sex (twice), oral sex, vampiric sex on the ceiling, dom/sub undertones (the usual with Astarion), praise kink… oh and Astarion like it loud… even in semi-public.

Read on AO3 if you prefer

Continue for a scene that is full of surprises…

🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Your palace was full. Brimming with dignitaries, the wealthy, the powerful. Every single being with money or military might was in your palace. Guests of every race and class, as long as they had something that would be… beneficial… to your rule.

To that of your maker. He glides through the masses, his silken voice and frequent laughter piercing through the din intermittently. You have kept your distance, however, watching from your seat on the dais. Your padded, gilded chair beside an empty one, matching but more grand and opulent.

Thrones. Though no one calls them that quite yet.

“They will. In due time,” he had said, practically salivating into your mouth as he had held you on his lap, the first time he rested on that gold and crimson seat.

Now, you rest in your throne, elegant black gown draping around you, cut just revealing enough to enhance your curves, but not so much as to tempt anyone. For that would end in only one way, as Astarion had laughed darkly, mentioning it as you had slipped it on. It would end…murderously.

You can almost imagine him giggling to say, “And that does so spoil a dinner party…”

You grin, raising the edge of your golden goblet to your painted lips. The red liquid sloshes a bit. Wine, wine that is supposed to be heady and fragrant. The best Faerûn has to offer. But it meets your tongue with bitterness, filling your stomach with sour bile.

You hunger.

It’s clear, as time passes, you are not some spawn, there is more to your powers than even Astarion had thought possible. For the more power he gains, the more you seem to, too. Strength, agility, scent. You do not hunger blindly for the blood of thinking animals. Not some vague predator.

But each day, your hunger does gnaw at you. Hungry for only one being, one creature. Astarion, your lover, your master, your everything.

You can’t resist it, the need for him inside you, be it his blood coating your throat or his cock buried to his balls between your thighs. You keep trying to make pleasant conversation when you are approached, but it turns to a dismissive wave the moment you see him cutting through the crowds. Silver hair, flawless and unruly, eyes bright and crimson.

This gathering is most important, he had said… a sign that he was better than Cazador ever was. More fun. More powerful. More charming.

He certainly is. All that and more. But tonight, it seems he needs to convince himself as much as all of Baldur’s Gate. His smile is shallow, demure. His giggle is a bit too sharp, too shrill. Meant to call attention and prove how happy he is.

Not that any remained that would have known him as a slave, a spawn. Those were all dead.

Now, Astarion, Ascendant Vampire Lord mingles as if he is running for office or brokering deals at the docks. In many ways, both are true. Only now, if he wills it, he can scramble up the walls, burst into black mist… but for now, you can see the traces of the 200 year old magistrate, manipulating and flattering everyone around him. A bending to his will, subtle but distinctive. Charming, and entirely… roguish.

You struggle to take another small sip of your wine, only to stick your tongue out in total disgust.

“Not to your liking, darling?” his voice whispers in your ear, even as you see him a hundred paces away. “The best wine money can buy this side of the sea, and you look like you swallowed sea water itself.”

“Astarion?” you whisper, eyes wide for any sign of a trick.

“No tricks, my treasure. Simply power,” he purrs in your ear. You stare at him, his head nodding as some tall Drow blathers on and on. His full attention bores into the speaker before. Until his eyes flicker at you, making you catch your breath. So intense, so wicked in his delight. “Well?” he pushes again. “The wine is… unsatisfactory? Ugh. I’ll have to have a word with the merchant… a word or a murder…”

“No,” you raise the cup to your lips, hiding the fact from prying eyes that you speak to the air as if you were insane. “It’s just that… I do not wish to feed on… wine, my love.”

“Darling…” he coos, attentive, placating, concerned, “my poor, thirsty, little consort, longing to feed from her master…”

“Yes,” you sigh, squirming on your chair ever so slightly. That catches his eyes again. “And…”

“Oh, my queen, one day I will fuck you on that throne for all to see,” his voice seems to caress beneath your chin, circling to your other ear. “But perhaps it is a bit soon for these ignorant fools.”

“Then when?” you moan into your goblet again, the thought of riding his cock, your bodies pressed against the gilt and crimson finery. Your mouth waters and your fangs itch. “When can I have you, my love?”

“When it is convenient for me… for us…” he hisses in your ear. “Not too long, I promise you.”

“Do not make me wait, Astarion, or maybe it’ll be more than your neck I’ll bite…”

“Promises, promises,” he bursts in a giggle. You can see his mouth smirking even as his eyes focus on others. “Don’t make any you don’t intend to keep, darling…”

“Oh, I won’t.” And just to prove your point, you down the rest of the foul tasting wine in two gulps, tossing the metal chalice to the floor beneath you. It clatters, but you can barely hear in the chaotic chorus of voices.

But he hears it. His head snaps up. Crimson eyes stare at you, disapproving.

His mouth opens, as if he is going to chastise you. His feet begin to weave his way through the masses, eyes locked on you. His goal. His prize. His destination.

He doesn’t even need to touch a soul to part the crowds around him. You can see the blaze in his eyes, the power throbbing between you, the need for him to show you that you must toe the line, to be wonderfully obedient, especially in front of all these people.

The bright clang of a gong reverberates loudly. The call for dinner. The banquet about to begin. You see Astarion draw himself straight, forcing that composure of refinement as he slides up the lower step of the dais. Pale fingers unfurl, reaching for your hand— your escort to the dinner, with a subtle smirk flitting around his lips. You extend your hand, feeling all eyes watching you as he bends his head to kiss you in greeting, his lips gently lingering on the back of your hand. His eyes flutter shut. As if, he too, savors the slight contact of your bodies. As if, he too, craves more.

He tugs you from your seat, your black gown flowing its train behind you as you make your way to the next room. You feel conspicuous, those observant eyes watching the way Astarion’s hand holds you close, the sweep of his thumb over the inside of your wrist.

You give him a devoted smile, one that flashes your own fangs at him. He stops you both at the entryway of the banquet hall, “Pucker up, my sweet. Make it look convincing.” His voice caresses your mind. “Even if your eyes tell me you’d like nothing better than to pin me down and make me bleed…”

You place a hand on the rich brocade of his jackets, fingers lacing into the collar to press into the soft silk of his shirt. His palm cups your cheek, cold to the touch, but on fire with his possessiveness. He claims your lips, and you feel it, taste his own hunger. His pride at having you, his consort, his queen, on display for all of Baldur’s Gate to see.

It lasts a minute, but in that moment, your eyes shut tight, leaving you with nothing but the pressure of his touch on your face and the working of his lips with yours. The intoxicating, heady dance you do each and every night, the one that always begins with this. The stealing of your breath and the tangle of your tongues.

He pulls away far quicker than you would have liked, careful not to let you nip or draw blood. Oh no. That would not do with so many people here. That smirk on his lips tells you he will keep you dangling for more, not forever. But enough to let you burn for him a little while. The veil of his power clearly tinting his view. That pulse of his presence covers your mind, sending you a vision… Thousands stand before him, where he is seated and crowned. Magnificent and powerful, eyes glowing in his triumph. All of Baldur’s Gate, Faerûn, the world. kneels at his throne, and he wants you kneeling too… between his thighs, his cock freed and pulsing in your hand as your head bobs and sucks over his length.

You snap out of it, watching as his brow raises slowly, his smirk deepening as he leads you into the now crowded and spinning banquet. The high table faces everyone from its perch at the end of the hall, covered in decadent red cloth and set with pieces of purest gold for dozens. Your nose fills with the heavy scents of wine and roasted meat, all manner of dishes slathered in spices and butter.

Your stomach turns but not in hunger. Not for that anyway.

Astarion stops short, the end of the high table before you, his hand resting on the back of a gilded chair. You frown, hurt and enraged. His seat, and yours by rights, are always to the center, presiding over the festivities. But now, he denies you even that. Seating you so far from him.

He tuts his tongue, scolding you even as his eyes skate down the dip if your cleavage. “Don’t give me that, pet, not in front of all these people. I need you to take this place, I need you to submit yourself tonight, to free up those seats near me that I might… continue our very important work.” His eyes glow, his hunger obvious only to you, his consort, his mate.

“And should I refuse?” you sling the dare, a look of pure demure adoration masking your face.

“Don’t make me bend you over my knee to reprimand you, darling… not in front of all… these… people…” he growls so quietly.

Your stomach is on fire with need, your mouth watering at the image and the desire it conjures. You can sense it does the same in Astarion, the growing bulge of his cock clear to your eye in those black velvet trousers of his.

You smile sweetly, lifting on your toes to whisper in his ear, a message for him alone, “I’ll make you pay for this, Astarion.”

“In what way, darling? Or are you going to… surprise me?” his voice is a caress, his hand lingering on yours as you center yourself before the chair.

Your folds ache, engorged and slick and so painful. It hurts your body to obey, to make yourself sit on that chair at the edge of the long table. You want to whine and whimper as you watch him walk away. To watch that magnificent profile cut through the crowd at such a distance. Smirk plastered on his lips. Eyes scanning the crowd, reveling in his court. Looking everywhere except for you.

Servants laden your plate with food, meats and sauces, the scent is rich enough to make anyone drool. Except for you. No. Your desired feast sits in the middle of the table, a dozen dignitaries between you. Other ladies try to make idle gossip around you, they giggle as they speak of handsome merchants, valiant warriors, speculating on the sizes of their weapons.

You fight the growl in your throat. Keeping one ear open, just in case they decide to speculate about your master. But from the way you clutch at the gold knife in your hand as you attempt to saw into the pieces of mutton on your plate, they undoubtedly know better.

No, you can only poke at the food on your plate, eyes devouring every movement of that silver haired head, every reach of his elegant, dramatic arm.

He’s hungry, you narrow your eyes to focus. Another reach of his arm as he spoons another serving on his plate. Enjoying the benefits of his ascendant abilities to taste and savor foods once more.

Must be nice, you sneer to yourself grabbing your goblet for more wine. Nice he can ignore the hunger he has for her to indulge in mortal foods, dismissing the raging erection you know is most certainly still straining in his breeches…

You smile. An idea… a little delicious revenge. One where you could serve it so easily, and savor it to sate your hunger.

You wait for the entertainment to begin, bards singing, the hall echoing with lutes and drums and dancing. Half the ladies near you leave to find themselves some dancing partners.

But even as the company at the high table thins a bit, you keep your gaze fixed on Astarion, on how he lounges back in his chair now, idlily chit-chatting and sipping his own wine.

Quickly, you slip to the ground, letting the cloth of the table drape to cover you, tucking the train of your gown around your hips. Your vampiric stealth comes in handy now, scuttling your way beneath as you avoid feet and legs, barely making out muffled conversations though the thick skirt and rhythmic beating of music.

You can smell him, his scent of bergamot barely covering the musk of his arousal. You stop at those bent knees and manly spread legs, clad in crushed black velvet breeches. You breathe in that fragrance of your lover, the bond of your powers grows taught as you nestle yourself between his thighs, careful not to touch him yet. Slowly, you take the pads of your fingers, tracing up the inside of his thighs.

Surpsied, he stiffens, the muscles of his legs clenching at the contact. One hand darts at you under the table, finding your face in his lap as he cradles your cheek.

He knows you. Invites you in. “You’re… still… full of surprises aren’t you, my love? Is this your idea of catching me off guard with revenge?” His voice caresses your mind as his thumb presses along your lower lip. “I’m positively delighted…” his hips cant forward, sliding those lower regions completely under the table. Always so thoughtful when it comes to his pleasure. And yours.

Your fingers trace over the rise of his arousal, feeling it twitch and pulse even beneath the soft velvet that encases him. You reach for the laces of his breeches, quickly, quietly freeing that engorged length. His hand still strokes into your hair, beckoning you to pay him the homage of your revenge.

But it is not for his cock alone you hunger. You take a single nail, scoring it into the crease of his thigh. You feel the rush of his blood, thick with his power, coating your fingers. You raise it quickly to your mouth and lick it clean. His hand clutches in your hair painfully hard. A warning, but one you ignore.

Your hands pull down the fabric of his trousers, your face burying in his lap. Tongue licking at the blood, letting even that little trickle coat your tongue and send an immediate bloom of need between your own thighs.

His hand tugs at your hair, trying to pry you off, but not so hard. Just a little resistance. A little fun. “Clumsy me and my nails, my love,” you whisper against his lap, letting your tongue lap at the blood one more time.

“You’ve had your revenge, darling, now give me what I’m owed for my troubles,” he purrs into your mind. His hand shifts the back of your head, centering you over his straining, twitching cock. You take him, slowly, teasing that blunt head with little laps of your tongue. You wish you had swallowed more, making all his blood fill you. But this will have to do.

You run your tongue up that seam on the underside of his length, working from base to silken tip, making him jut against your face. His other hand slides to join your worship, holding his cock, wrapping his fingers around himself as his grip on the back of your head works your insolent mouth towards that seeping head.

You take him, sucking as you bob forward and back, thankful that music is pounding and loud enough to cover the pops and slurps you make. You close your eyes, picturing all the times you have pleasured him, meeting that glassy, enamored stare of his crimson eyes down at you.

His own hand works to pleasure himself into the wet workings of your mouth, the clenching of his thighs on either side of your head goads you on, making you suck harder, faster. It is your own dance to the evocative music of the party. And you would have your partner no other way.

You feel the rumble of his voice through his belly, his words muffled, but the pattern of speech starts to falter. His hand around his shaft stills and grips harder, the only sign you get before he fills your throat with his seed. The bitter fluid sating your hunger, mingling with the sweet tingle of his powerful blood that still coats your tongue. You lap it, greedily, cleaning him so that not a drop will offend the pristine black of his trousers. He would never accuse you of being inconsiderate. Lustful? Perhaps. Willful? Most definitely. But you wouldn’t want your mate and master to traipse around with any offending stains to speak of your… vengeful indiscretion.

And he knows it. The way his fingers knot gently into the curls of your hair is gratitude enough.

For now.

There is still the matter of your own arousal and its required tending.

You slink your way back to your seat, letting his hands slip himself back into the band of his breeches. With perfect stealth, you slide yourself back into your chair. And all of that just as the drums beat their last and the music crescendos to its own climax. You grin, seeing him lean in his chair to watch you, eyes a glowing vermilion, his own tongue licking his mouth as you take your napkin to clean your sticky lips.

You see his fist clench on the table top, the only hint he is burning with need. His perfectly charming smile returns, he nods his head at those dignitaries around him, clapping his ivory hands slowly with the rest of the applause. You can almost hear him, his silken voice bidding for those around him to excuse him.

Then he raises from the table, still smiling. A smile that shows his teeth, but doesn’t reach his eyes, a smile that looks perfect but filled with sharpened ice. He extends his hand, gentlemanly, polite, all except that burning in his gaze. “Stand,” he orders to your mind. “My obedient love, it’s time to return the favor.”

You raise a brow, face bright with his attentions at last. “My love,” you purr, mimicking the way he speaks to perfection, as every lady near you looks with envy at the male from whose arm you now hang. They covet you, and you simper at them, still licking the bitter tang of his cum from your lips.

A wave of his hand, a merry order to continue to the bards, and Astarion begins to lead you down the edge of the great hall. Candles flicker, smoke and fragrant dishes still fill the air. To the casual eye, the host is but taking a moment in privacy with his love.

But to you, you know better. The way his hand grips at your waist, the way his eyes dip into that subtle cut of your neckline. You’ve made it impossible for him to keep that veneer of restrained refinement. And now, you will pay the price to the vampiric monster that lurks beneath.

Your belly clenches with excitement, your thighs so wet, they slip and squelch beneath yards of black fabric as you walk. Drenched from your own festering need. Soaked from your sucking.

“Proud of yourself, my love?” he taunts, as he grips harder on your body, tugging you into a servants corridor. The party still goes on just beyond the door frame, the music and voices just as boisterous as if you were in the room. “Delighted that I am at your mercy as all of Baldur’s Gate is now at mine?” His hands are everywhere on you, skating down your back, clawing at your throat, tussling in your hair. “Because… I am…” he breathes as he presses you against the stone wall behind you.

“You’re what?” You taunt, a toss of your head, jutting your chin up to meet the intensity behind his eyes.

“Proud of you,” his voice is no more than gravel in his throat. “And you shall be rewarded for your surprises.” His tongue runs over your neck, the pounding of your heart deafening your ears.

“Anything to please you, my love,” you breathe, barely more than a moan. “Now, I’ll take my reward…”

“In good time,” he speaks, his voice reverberating into the crook of your neck. “It is my turn to grant you your own surprise, darling…”

“Fucking me against the wall in sight of the servants would hardly be a surpise for any…”

Your words cease, the rush of his power overcoming you and stealing your breath. You gasp, wind rushing around you, your feet lifting off the ground as you fly. You look down, the tiles of the floor so far away, his body heavy on you, magic tingling around you, pressing you into the ceiling.

“Surprise, darling,” he whispers between your lips before taking them with his own. “I’ve been saving this trick just for you… for the right moment.”

Your world spins, the languorous rhythm of his caress grounds you, as does the little thrusts of his hips between your thighs. His hands ruck up your skirt, his magic floating to keep you pinned to perfectly. “Now…” he purrs, fingers grazing up against your bared thigh, straying over the curve of your mound, “for as quiet as you were pleasuring me, I expect you to turn the tables, darling. Let those mindless pions know how much pleasure I give you…”

Quicker than breath, his teeth sink into your neck, the rush of your blood coating his tongue sends you into bliss already. The bond between you thrums, your blood in his veins, and his in yours. His hand slithers into your folds, stroking you, relief finally flooding down your nerves as he touches you with such command, such knowledge. The carnal kind he has been most diligent to study.

Your hips buck, a strange surge of gravity fighting your body, his magic still pinning you all the harder to keep you in place. He laughs as he presses up from you, those eyes shining bright, observing as he licks his lips ever tweak of your face. His fingers still diligently slip into your cunt, widening it. Preparing you for him. You buck again, catching his nail on your clit, releasing a strangled cry from your throat you try to swallow.

“Tch,” he sucks his teeth with a rakish tilt of his head. “I told you to make some noise, darling…” Then he scratches at you again, the delicious edge of his nails scoring into your folds, clawing at your clit. And scream you do.

“Better,” he praises in his silken voice. “But you know better than to hold back from me, my treasure,” his voice rumbles into your own chest. His hand slips from your legs, wet fingers pressing in between your lips. You suck them clean of your own slick before he even can command you. The groan from his grinning mouth is reward and encouragement enough to continue. “You tortured me, you know, your mouth offering me worship as the riff raff prattled on. I never dreamed to be so worthy of a consort, a queen, as ravishing as you.”

His words alone make you come, let alone the way his hand now slinks into the cut of your dress, your breasts freed as he works them. Lips descend upon them the instant he sees their pale fullness, their straining nipples. And you give him a low throated groan of pleasure.

You are at his mercy, nowhere to go, only to lose yourself in the punishing reward he has in store for you. Pressed by his cold, unyielding body and pinned by his ever-increasing power. He begins to slink down your belly, you breath catching as the safety of his chest, his arms, his whole self leaves you splayed upside down on the ceiling to nestle between your legs.

“One greedy turn deserves another, my love,” he croons, fingers already returning to your folds to slicken them and spread them. “I have feasted already, but not on anything half as divine as you…”

Oh, that tongue, so silken and honeyed in his words, so incessant and demanding in your own honeyed cunt. Your hands reach for his head, those silver curls soft and stubborn as you grip him tight. Just like him.

You ride his licks, bucking on his fingers as they stoke deeper and deeper still. But it won’t satisfy. Not yet.

“Please,” you beg, reduced to a whimper. Words catching inaudible in your throat.

“What was that, darling? I can’t hear you….” He glances up for the smallest second. Enough to flash his crimson eyes at you with all the mischief and lust that drives you wild.

“Please, Astarion,” you whine louder. “Please, take me.”

But he only laughs into your mound, fangs scraping against your folds as he grins wide. “Come now, I expect better, my love,” he ends his silken chastisement with a run of his tongue up your whole seam.

“Argh,” you cry, “Astarion, please… I can’t anymore… pretty please….” Your begging pours from your lips, trying to pull his head over you, to bring him back, to satisfy the craving that rages to have him on you. And in you. “Fuck me, please….”

Instantly, he covers you, his hand pressing into your belly, the snap of leather laces unwinding.

“Better,” he purrs into your mouth, “keep up the good work, darling, and you’ll drip with my seed for the rest of this godsforsaken party.”

Then, he fills you to bursting, burying that long shaft of his deep into you with one stroke.

You mewl, hips rising to take him all. Your hands grip into his shoulders, pulling him tightly to you, as if you can’t get enough of him inside your body. His hunger burns as brightly, his mouth devouring you again, snapping shut on your lips and cutting his fangs into your kiss. Your blood tingles the tip of your tongue as it dances with his. His thrusts are deep, deliberately, ensuring you feel every inch of him dragging and pulling through your walls. Every thrust, every clench of his ass and every dip of his tongue is meant to drive you into oblivion with him. But it’s not enough. Not yet. Not after he left you burning for him for so long.

You clutch him in your thighs, digging the heels of your slippers into the backs of his legs. You feel him smiling wickedly, his thrusts picking up the pace until it is punishing, the loud slap of his flesh into yours is deafened only by the constant keening that comes from your throat. You writhe, you flutter. Back arching and thighs shaking for more. Always more.

He slows his pace, lifting from your body, eyes drinking in the glorious sight splayed beneath his body and wrapped around his cock. “Such beautiful sounds, better than the dribble the bards churn out,” he preens, eyes half veiled, his tongue licking the rest of your blood that trickles from the corner of your mouth. “But I think you can do better than that yet, my treasure…”

“You want them to know…” you growl, it is not a question. “Want them to…”

“Of course, darling. I want everyone to look at your beauty and know only I will ever bury myself up to my balls in you.” He flashes his teeth, taking you all the deeper until you feel him slam against the end of your channel. “And I want them to know that you, my dark…” he thrusts agonizingly slowly, “beautiful…” again, deeper this time, “treasured consort, are the only one I will ever take for my own.”

He pants, his silken praises weaving that web of bliss, riding you past the edge of your senses for that wall of climax. It tears through you, splitting you in two, into a million shattered, moaning pieces as you come.

You feel his body grow rigid in time with yours, his hips gyrating with irregular rhythm. His own voice a deafening growl above you, his lips sneering back, his eyes half-lidded as he watches your own waves of orgasm rend you apart.

He stills above you, your body weightless, limp. You groan to feel him pull that intoxicating fullness from your folds. Your world tilts on its axis, held by nothing but the iron embrace of his arms, your body floating back to the ground.

Feet resting on the floor. His cum dripping down your thighs. You steady yourself against him, and you feel his breath in your hair, a kiss on your temple. You shake, unable to move… to speak… to think straight. His hands fix you, slipping your breasts back inside the black of your dress, tugging your skits and flouncing them. His eyes scrutinize without mercy. Ensuring you look every bit his perfect, desirable consort before he tends to his own vanity.

“Very… good,” he comments, his praise warmed by the rasping honey of his voice. “No more surprises, then, my love. Not until I can bed you properly once this is all through.”

“May I?” You smirk, raising on your toes, as if to place a kiss on his smirking cheek.

He eyes you, looking down in lustful approval, cocking his head with that mischievous smirk twitching his lips. “You’re… not asking for a kiss, are you?”

“Close your eyes and find out…” you whisper, craning your neck closer as you lick your lips.

He laughs low and slowly, clutching you against him, the slight angle of his head brings that strong, pale column of his neck to brush your lips. And you bite, just enough to bring a mouthful of his blood to coat your tongue.

You moan as you drink, the slight pressure of his hand woven into your hair, cradling you as you feed, it makes your body arch with need again. You can taste his pleasure, a rich bouquet of sated and unsated desire, a hint of obsession and love mingling with the rich blossom of his power. You feel it filling your body, tingling through the pit of your stomach and wetting your thighs again. Licking his wounds one more time, you hum, a sound of pleasure as his mouth descends on yours. His tongue caresses over every crevice of your mouth, consuming the drops of his blood, stealing them back with unquenchable hunger.

“You are delicious, every time,” he rasps into your mouth, “especially when your tongue tastes of… us.” His fingers grip your chin, tilting your face to look into his, the fog of your ecstacy beginning to clear as you stare into those pleasured, crimson eyes. “Hold your head high, my beautiful queen,” he purrs into your mouth. “Try not to smile too much as you struggle to walk from the sound fucking I just granted you…”

“Of course,” you dip a small curtesy, reaching for his proffered hand, “my king.”

His smile of approval, his whisper of “my love,” warms your belly more than his blood, more than his cum seeping down your thighs.

Music crescendos as you reenter, the crowd’s eyes flit away, the festivities still going strong, as he leads you towards the dancing.

He wants them all to see you, your mouth bloodied, his neck still wounded from your own feeding. He wants you to walk, unsteady and swaying your hips, hips he fucked, loudly and mercilessly for them all to hear.

His arms sweep around you as you move in patterned steps, lilting to the music. And even as all eyes gaze upon you, you don’t care. Can’t care. Not as long as that rakish smile and roguish stare is only on you.

🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Part 1: Welcome me…

Part 2: Cleanse me…

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thesharktanksdriver · 10 months

Text

Determination (Platonic)

As you can tell this is kinda based off of Undertale in the whole. Not a lot but some elements from it that I changed

This isn’t really linear and I’m just jumping from character to characters

Cause screw the timeline

Warning of a lot of child death and spoilers

part 2 part 3 shanks

Determination : a Paramecia type devil fruit shaped into a four pointed star. This mysterious devil fruit allows its user to essentially become immortal. When the user dies they “respawn” at a different location randomly. Oddly, when dying via water the effects of the fruit still occur though it takes longer for the user to “respawn” and the user doesn’t age after eating the fruit.

Determination was something that was sewn into the fabric of the human soul

From the dawn of time humanity fought to survive against nature and itself

This blazing emotion called determination propelled them forwards against all odds

A blazing spark that had pushed them again and again

Through every conflict and tragedy

If is perhaps one of the most important things of the human spirit along with the capacity for compassion

It’s no surprise that determination was a strong thing but even stronger would be the devil fruit you one day ate that you decided to name after that one blazing emotion

It took a long while for you to figure out the ability of the fruit since nothing happened at first all those years ago

You didn’t transform into an animal of any sorts

Nor did you change your body or make something like flames appear

It left you confused…well until you died by accident

In your defence you were a young kid (you still are to be honest) without any spacial awareness

So you didn’t notice the tiger that snuck up on you

There was a small moment of pain and then black

A pure black much like the ocean at night

There’s was confusion and then something appeared in front of you

A glimmering star that glowed softly and appeared out from your chest

Pulsating gently as you stared at it

You touched it and then woke up

Sand beneath between your fingers as you got up confused

It’s there that you saw the ocean stretching out beyond your view and into the horizon

Cerulean blue sparkling with the sunlight

Bits of golden light shimmering around you now fading as you sat up confused

It took a while after that as well to figure out the specifics but you figured out that you died

And that seemingly despite that you were brought back somewhere new, an island across the ocean from what you once knew was home

It’s a lot to take in but with time it settles in on you as you navigate what to do next

You’d always had wanted to explore and sail the seas

What always held you back was the danger of it all

Your parents once warned you of it before their deaths

How you shouldn’t do something so risky that could end up taking your life

But now there was no worry of that

Of leaving them

It was just you on your own in this big world

Now leaving you with that once far off Dream being your only reality

So after that you geared up and set sail

Your ship…er if you could even call it one was Basically a couple of barrels combined together into a small vessel

At least 8 barrels served as the base whilst two were combined together into a hut with a small cut out to make your bed area

There was no wheel or proper sail

You used a umbrella attached to a big stick and turned it manually to control the direction

But you rarely did that

You kinda just let the boat take you to wherever

It was fun that way

Partially because all the friends you’d met were made through this method of letting the waves take you wherever it deemed you go next

How your ship has survived for decades you don’t really know nor care about

All that mattered was that it floated and was a serviceable vessel (many would disagree with that)

Through the years you stayed the same as the world changed

You never aged from when eating the devil fruit and though you become more mature you were still a kid at heart

One filled with determination

Gol.D Roger

Ironically for someone seen as the “pirate king” you’d think that he’d be more mean

But surprise surprise when you pull up on your boat near his own the pirate king himself invites you aboard

Smiling brightly as he offers you a hand and his men tie your boat to his own so it doesn’t float away

Your friendship with Roger was something that you’d consider priceless

He is considerably kind and gentle with you

Almost treating you as if you were his own child

His crew is equally welcoming to you as they all share the thought of how in the world had you survived this long (key point technically you hadn’t lol)

That day in which you had first met him they throw a small party where your their guest

Drinks are shared all round, you even get to sneak in a sip as Roger laughs whole heartedly at a joke

For the first time in a long while you eat and sleep in a real bed on his ship

And the next day he’s sitting you down to have a serious talk with you

Roger may be childish and oblivious but he can tell there’s more to this than meets the eye

He isn’t pushy or threatening like you had expected

Just asking what your situation was

So you tell him

Perhaps it was because you were still naive or because you knew your secret would be safe with him

But something in you told you to trust him and your gut was never wrong

You expect the reaction to be something like asking you how you got it

maybe even jealousy

But what you get in return is sympathy

He thinks of how lonely you must be

Something more akin to a curse despite its benefits

You’d never really saw it that way but his gentle gaze full of forlorn sadness makes you open your eyes a bit

In many ways, yes, never dying was a curse of loneliness

You’d outlive everyone

But in your eyes that time spent and having the opportunity in meeting them i the first place made up for that

Forever sharing their stories and carrying their memory kept you from being alone

He smiles

While you never officially joined his crew you ended up traveling with them for months on end

Becoming apart of their family as the crew took turns letting you sit on their shoulders

Your favourite thing to do though was stealing Rogers coat and hat

Parading around like him as everyone else held in chuckles as you fake ordered them around

It became something of a tradition as Roger would randomly announce to the crew their real captain was here as you walked out

He became a lot like an older brother with fatherly qualities

Fun and caring

Despite knowing you couldn’t really die he always remains careful around you

Especially when their fighting marines

He doesn’t want you targeted for affiliation so he does his damn best in hiding you away during fights

Hell, he even once punched someone across a bar for trying to pick on you

Like when you trusted him with knowledge of your immortality he trusts you with knowledge of Rouge and his unborn son shortly before his death

Perhaps in some ways he knew his death was soon but he entrusts you with something only his most trustworthy allies are allowed to know

You aren’t there when he died but you know for sure he did so with a smile

Clutching one of his coats to your chest you cry with a soft smile as his son is born

Rouge let’s you hold the young baby she named Ace

A fitting name for someone who you knew was bound to be an Ace in the deck of cards that was the world

Monkey D. Garp

You meet Garp cause of Roger

Shocking right (note the sarcasm)

Particularly because Roger entrusted you to show Garp where Rouge was hiding out

It is…tense at first to say the least especially since you knew Roger was likely being walked to his execution

The one person you grew to trust more than yourself

But as usual, with time you both began to talk

He asks if your apart of Rogers crew and you answer truthfully

Your not but they had accepted you as their own

Taken in a small child afloat on the ocean without any hesitation

They all respected that your a free spirit that couldn’t be tethered to one place forever and accepted that

Garp had already respected Roger but it grew as you talked of the pirate king

This the talk time goes away though when Rouge begins to give birth

Your left panicked and doing your best to comfort her as best you could

Your still a kid, there isn’t much you can do but your trying for her sake

For the sake of her unborn child

For Roger

Despite how tears stung your eyes from how hard she held your small hand

You held them back and focused on her

And it’s through that Garp sees how you are indeed not a pirate

Your just a child, one who was alone in this world clinging to a piece of driftwood

Floating from place to place and helping others despite the fact you needed it as well

When Ace is born and Rouge passes away your left to cry as you comfort the young baby boy

The marine carefully takes Ace from your arms and lets you mourn

Not only for a woman who showed you nothing but kindness but also for Roger

And for Ace having to grow up without either parents, for being doomed to a fate of death if anyone else found out of his linage

You end up going with him since you can’t yet peel yourself away from Ace

It feels too soon and you need more time for a proper goodbye

He’s fine with this though

Dare you even say he encouraged you to come with him

Despite your…lacklustre experience with marine’s you find Garp to be nice company

It’s Odd but he acts almost fatherly?

There’s a hidden longing in his eyes of wanting familiar connection

Something that you can relate to after the loss of your mom and dad

A craving for a connection you once thought lost

Eventually though you know it’s your time to leave

With a last goodbye to Ace in the form of a kiss to the forehead and a small handmade charm you set off

Garp is already waiting there though with your boat and a box of supplies

And Garp tells you that you’d make a good marine

You laugh

Never in a million years

And despite knowing your answer he isn’t angry, he smiles and waves as you begin to sail away on your dinky “boat”

He probably should’ve at least bought you a real boat

Maybe next time he muses

Next time

The cycle begins again

Doflamingo and Rosinante Donquixote

After a long while of traveling you ended up at Dressrosa for a pit stop

But decided to stay a bit longer than you anticipated when you met two boys your age

Both were battered and bruised Beyond recognition

Blond hair muddied with clumps of blood and mud

The two brothers were apprehensive at first but eased up when you offered them the pie you bought yourself

Apparently the entire island HATED them with a passion

Something because of them being celestial dragons which you didn’t care about nor understand why that would lead to how others treated them

It’s messed up to you that their practically beaten for something they can’t control

So you stand up for them

Taking the hits for the two brothers as people focus their anger on you apparently betraying them or something

You don’t care

Not like you can die anyways but the two blonds don’t exactly like seeing their only friend beat up because of them

But that doesn’t stop you since you were their friend

And friends help friends

Nor would you stand for such an injustice in your eyes

Rosinante enjoys playing games with you

Out of the two he is more immature in the sense he’s more like a regular kid

He is compassionate and kind despite the circumstances

One who would tend to your wounds as his brother stewed in frightening anger

It scared him…how his brother had some sort of darkness in him that grew

Your the only person he confides this to

And you can’t help but also be worried for his bother but also himself

How this could affect him when considering that he brother was one of the only people dear to him

But that was a worry for later

In the moment you focus on keeping him happy and distracted from the cruelties directed towards him

You’d buy sweet treats, toys and a scavenge bits of pretty shells as gifts

Letting the two keep the small signs of your friendship as a way to at least brighten their days

At some point you had even picked up on his like for heart themed stuff and incorporated that into the stuff you wave gave him

Safe to say he might’ve cried some tears of happiness

Sometimes you worry for him out of the two

Doffy knows that fighting is sometimes the answer but Rosinante doesn’t

Along with the fact he trips over thin air

You don’t know how many times you’d bandaged him up

But everyone has their quirks you suppose

And you wouldn’t change them for the world

Doflamingo on the other hand is very much the opposite of his brother

He doesn’t exactly play, he more so soaks up the knowledge you spill of your travels

Stuff of how the world worked

The politics of some of the islands you’d visited

He’s innately interested to a degree you hadn’t exactly expected

But in some sense you appreciated it

Everyone just lumping it under the ramblings of a child

But Doffy doesn’t

Speaking of which your the only one permitted to call him that lest they get a swift kick to the ass

It’s an honour you hold in high regard

Especially since he even gives you a nickname of your own

“Knight”

It’s cause apparently your like their own personal knight, something fitting cause he one day swore to rise up back to their proper birth right

Before their parents abandoned it

He’s strong and knows it but still insists that your their protector of sorts

You don’t really argue with him about it anymore

In fact you kinda lean into the name

Making a makeshift sword out of a stick and waving it around in mock sword fights

It brings back fond memories of your old friends that have probably long forgotten you

Except for the fact you had to save Rosinante from almost poking his eye out

Nothing however as usual can last forever

You don’t know what had led up to this point but eventually everyone had enough of them

And also you protecting them

Some men dragged you into a town square of sorts one night

Their yelling obscenities at you that you don’t flinch at

Even as they tie you in ropes that bite at your skin and walk you towards a chopping block

The crowd holds you down on the block as flames illuminate your face

You can only watch in pity as the Donquixote’s are forced down to watch as the blade rises above your head

Your only shred tears for your two friends having to watch your death

A smile finds its way on your face

Tears lining your eyes as they cascade down your cheeks, shining due to the warm light of torches

There was cheering from the crowd

Screaming from Doffy

Crying from Rosantine

And the air splitting as the blade came down

And then darkness before a familiar gold shining light appears before you once more

The cycle begins again

What you don’t know is that both boys notice your kicked away body dissipate into golden stardust that travels up into the sky before their both blindfolded and strung up

Whitebeard pirates

During your time with Roger he had several encounters with Whitebeard but your first real encounter happens when you end up at an island in their territory

You once again died and ended up there and almost immediately ran into the well known member of the group Marco

Now in his perspective you were a random child who stumbled out an alleyway with scrapes and bruises

How was he not supposed to be worried?

His mind goes immediately to possible conclusions even as you argue with him that your fine

To please not take you to a medic

In reality you really wanted to avoid Whitebeard in case of unearthing memories of Roger

But you don’t have much of a choice when this blue bird boy is dragging your ass back to the ship to be properly healed

You don’t go down without a fight though…doesn’t do much but it sure does look like a rabid animal attacked him so it’s something

But your brought to the ship, the good old Moby dick which looks even bigger up close and personal

And there sitting down with tubes attached to him is Edward “Whitebeard” Newgate

Otherwise known as Roger’s kinda rival/friend?…it was complicated, too complicated for you to understand at least

Everyone aboard welcomes you with a smile even as you keep punching the (in your words) “oversized chicken with a pineapple for a head”‘S back in vain

Safe to assume the crew grows to like you as your kinda just adopted on board

Their docked at the island for awhile so they haven’t just taken off with you being dragged along

Though from what you heard of their track record you wouldn’t have been surprised

Marco is the one who interacts with you the most at first mostly cause his devil fruit helped with injures

Despite your petty aggression you do have to admit he is nice company

He’s rather levelheaded and exceedingly caring

It’s why he (literally) dragged you here in the first place

Cause he couldn’t just leaven an injured kid on their own

You get the sense that due to his fruit he’s older than he seems, it makes sense with the whole Phoenix thing

So you often pose questions of immortality to him to see if he had differing views to you

Surprisingly he didn’t

He also carried the mindset of it being worth it due to all the experiences you couldn’t have in a lifetime

It’s nice in a weird way

Just knowing you weren’t alone in having to watch the world change as you stay the same

You don’t say this aloud of course but he seems happy in discussing the “possibility’s” with you

He takes to looking after you even after your better and interacting with others on the ship

A sense of responsibility for the fact he brought you aboard in the first place

Along with a possible hint of Kinship and a mother hen instinct (Thatch got smacked on the head for that)

Occasionally he likes to change fully or half shift into his Phoenix form to fly around

It’s a pretty sight

Even more so when he offers to taking you flying as well

Feeling the wind swish past as you soar through the air isn’t something you’d ever experienced before

It is ingrained in your mind that sense of adrenaline and rush of a mixture of fear and excitement

Its single-handedly an experience you’d likely never forget

And everyone seems to know it as he places you gently back down on the deck, shaky legs paired with a bright smile and wide eyes

Sometimes you wonder if he has bird instincts but he doesn’t answer the question (the crew says yes he does)

Thatch is extremely friendly and because of that (and the food) you end up hanging with him in the kitchen quite a bit

Food had always kinda been an afterthought to you and you’d forgotten what having good food was actually like

But with Thatch he changes that quickly

The food he makes brings back nostalgia of old

The home cooked meals in your mouth after a long day, sitting yourself down at the table as she placed a hot plate in front of you

The scent and steam still rising off of it

He has her smile, bright and gentle

The first time you ate one of his meals and he gave you that look you cried

Which caused an angry Marco to try and yell at him for doing something before you stopped him

While you stay on the ship you unofficially become his little helper

Bringing others their meals and prepping up the buffet when they had a party (which was seemingly every other day of the week)

you tease him about his hair and it then becomes a running joke between you two

The others catch on and they all laugh when you call his pompadour something to piss him off

And then he proceeds to whine about it

He won’t admit it but he sneaks food to Stefan

He of course denies this but you catch him late one night and now use that as blackmail to let you lick the spoon used for the batter for pancakes

Sometimes he styles your hair

The crew laughed their asses off when he made it look like a pompadour

While on your stay at the ship he makes sure to memorize your favourite foods

Especially when he catches glimpses of you being especially sad

Speaking of sad

You almost cry when seeing the familiar freckled face of Ace again

Body freezing over and going stiff as the cowboy hat wearing son of tiger gives you a jolly smile

In a lot of ways he’s not like Roger

But in other ways their more alike than you’d ever expected

It’s hard being around him

Especially since all you want to do is cry and hug him

To explain that Rouge and Roger loved him more than you could put into words

That you missed him but your glad to see he found a place where he’s accepted

But you can’t

You know you can’t when your permanently stuck as a child

Never aging even as the world kept changing

Plus you don’t know how he’d react to it. You’d probably sound crazy

So you keep all of it to yourself

But to everyone else it’s obvious that something is going on with you

Sure, they hadn’t known you very long but their all good at reading people

Around Ace everyone notices that there’s a obvious shift in your behaviour

You become reclusive, a look of distant sadness lingering as you avoid him

It doesn’t help that he wants to get to the bottom as to why your seemingly afraid of him

You occasionally hide in random closets when you hear him nearby

Thatch and Marco can’t get a word out of you as to why you act this way around him

But eventually you begin to let up a bit

Being able to have a proper conversation with the freckled male as he has to hold himself back out of excitement

It’s still hard but you push through it

Especially when seeing him smile as wide as he did when you looked after him

He still has the charm you gave him

It’s a little worse for wear but it’s there

As is your matching one that you hide from the crew in your pocket

He likes to show off his powers to you

Watching as your eyes stare at the swirling flames that dance on his arms

What he likes more though is when you question him about his tattoo and brothers

Apparently he has two sworn brothers

One who had sadly passed named Sabo and the other who was still alive named Luffy

His voice is tinged with a certain fondness as he talks about them that you can relate to

In a moment of weakness you ask him about the charm that hangs off his white and red stripped bracket and he smiles

He talks about how someone looked after him when he was younger according to his gramps

They had to leave, but was still out there

They had a matching one to his own

And one day he hoped to find them

You have to turn away and hide your eyes for a moment

With a smile you wish him luck and he replies back that he doesn’t need it

He’d find them

He was right and didn’t even know it

From then on he approaches you regularly while your on the Moby dick

Taking you on mini adventures and letting you sit on his shoulders with your hat covering your head

The crew laughs with glee

He jokingly tells you that your already apart of their crew but you know there’s truth to the words

He’s always a bit crestfallen at your answer, but even with that he retains hope you’d join

First time he passed out you nearly died again and began crying until Marco comforted you

Not your proudest moment but he seemed particularly touched that you were so emotional about his well-being

Kinda like with Ace your initially on edge around Whitebeard

Sure, he’s welcoming you with a smile and is generally warm but seeing him brings up Roger again

You remember the times you’d sometimes peak out to watch them battle with Shanks and Buggy

Honestly your very relived he didn’t recognize you

Nor the coat that you drape over your shoulders

Even moreso cause you can tell he knows something is up with you

Like Ace it takes a lot of time for you to begin to get close to him

But like Ace once again this man is stubborn shit who is patient enough to be able to crash down your barriers but by bit with time

It starts off as him inquiring of your home, your family and if their waiting for you

You respond that your birth family is long gone but you prefer to travel anyways. Finding new friends along the way

The answer worries him but he makes no mention of it

The questions then progress to you asking about some of his experiences

What it was like being rival to the greatest pirate in the world

He laughs at that, mumbling about how Roger was a stubborn pain in the ass

But one whom he considered a friend

Someone he missed

You ask him how he deals with grief, with losing someone close to you but being reminded of them

He says that it’s hard but with that comes a sort of melancholy happiness

That there are still traces of them in the world, even if it’s through simple actions

Like a gentle reminder of their importance and affect on his life

You’d never thought of it that way..but you think it’s nice

It helps you ease into spending time with Ace and him some more

Both of them are happy about it

At some point he begins asking if you’d like a place here

A home on their ship and crew

You smile and tell him that the sea itself is your home, but you know that this place and it’s people are family

But you also have family elsewhere as well

He accepts that but he does seem saddened and worried

In general a lot of what you do makes him worried

Specifically the disregard of your life and safety

To be fair to him though he doesn’t know your basically immortal

Well until…the attack

Everything was fine, a party was happening and Thatch had brought back a devil fruit

Drinks were shared all around as was the food

Thatch was pretty drunk and you decided to bring the fruit he found back to the pantry to be locked up for now

You didn’t see the person follow you

It’s a bit of a blur but all you removed was burning pain as you heard a chilling laugh

And then there was the screams of voices familiar

Through blurred vision you stare up at a crying Ace as he yells for Marco

He goes to run and get him but you grab him with bloodied hands

Shakily you reach into your pocket pulling out the charm as his eyes widen

You smile through the pain as tears swell in your eyes

“You found me”

Whitebeard holds you gently as you hear Ace sob

You fade away cradled in the large warm hands of Whitebeard

The charm matching Ace’s in your hand

They all watch as you crumble away into golden star dust that scatters off into the wind

It is then that the captain of the ship is reminded of what Roger once said

“There’s one star out there that never dies, their just in a different place in the sky. You just have to find it again”

“Hmf….sly bastard. Their out there, we’ll find them again”

The cycle begins once again

Buggy

You come by him as a complete accident

Just finding yourself adrift at sea once more when a boat quickly pulls up

And before you know it your met face to face with your old friend

Almost immediately your dragged aboard by him as his crew watches on confused as to why he’s acting all nice?

He looks he’s about to cry

Hint: he is

Immediately your whisked to his private quarters and you quickly get a large hug from the blue haired man

And he is absolutely SOBBING

The poor bud can barely make cohesive sentences as you pat his back

After a few minutes he places you down

And then he realized you hadn’t aged a day from when he was a kid

So it’s safe to say you have to explain yourself to him

He’s amazed while simultaneously horrified

Especially since you brush off your own deaths as an afterthought

But then that goes away when he asks if Shanks knows

And you reply that he doesn’t

He begins to laugh his ass off, talking about bragging rights which leaves you confused

Sure, you knew him and the red haired boy had kinda a rivalry but you weren’t sure why he wanted bragging rights

So he then explained what happened after Roger died and you disappeared

Apparently after Roger’s death the two began to drift apart

Petty Arguments growing bigger and bigger before they whet their separate ways

You can’t say your surprised but it’s sure sad in your eyes

That his death caused them to go their separate ways

The dynamic duo you’d come to befriend and see as bigger brothers now separated

But even with that your happy to see that Buggy is still his normal self

Sure, he’s brash and at times arrogant. But you wouldn’t change him

He was Buggy, unabashedly himself

You stay on his ship for awhile and in that time get to know his crew

Their all still kinda confused how their captain knows you but brush it off

Just accepting it as it is

You end up napping with Richie a lot despite that fact many of your deaths was via animal mauling

The lion enjoys your company, especially as you brush his lavender mane and braid it

After seeing that the captain may or may not have asked you to braid his hair as well

You oblige

During your stay Buggy lingers by you a lot

Perhaps a bit scared to let you go

The crew won’t mention it aloud but somehow your presence makes him more agreeable

Also less…aggressive

They reallly hope they’ll be seeing you around more often

Some might have partially cried when you left due to that

The other half is cause they got attached

#platonic #one piece x reader #buggy x reader #whitebeard x reader #Whitebeard pirates x reader #gol d Roger x reader #Garp x reader #rosinante x reader #doflamingo x reader #marco x reader #ace d portgas x reader #thatch x reader

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fr4nk-1e · 1 month

Text

"Let yourself be happy."

teen!nanami kento x gender neutral reader

nanami doesn't want to get married because of his work as jujutsu sorcerer and fear of abandoning his partner... but it's teen kento and his fear of dating you because he doesn't want to lose you just like he lost haibara

words: 2.3k

warnings: angst to fluff, death of a friend, reader has a crush on nanami

"Kento, please!"

"No."

"I promise, it will be fun! Just this one time, please!"

"I told you already, I don't like going to the cinema."

"Maybe you'll change your mind if you come with me?"

"...I doubt that."

Another attempt to ask out one of your classmates, Nanami Kento, ended up as a failure. No matter how hard you tried, no matter what you offered him, the answer was always a cold NO. You couldn’t understand why is he like that. He could just tell you that he’s not interested, but no – you see in his eyes that he craves another person beside him, but for sone reason he keeps pushing you away. Your other classmate, Haibara Yu, doesn’t have that problem and is spending with Kento a lot of time. What does he have what you don’t?

“Honestly, I just think he’s not the type of person who enjoy having many friends.” Haibara told you one day. “Maybe one close friend is enough for him.”

“I know Yu, but… we’re classmates! We’re going on the missions together! Having a good relationship would improve our teamwork, would it not?”

“I see your point, Y/N.” he put a reassuring hand on your shoulder. “I wish I could do something.”

“It’s not your fault, Yu. Don’t trouble yourself with it… I just wish I had your confidence.”

Haibara laughed softly. “Stop it!” he nudged you. “You’re yourself and that’s what’s important. Don’t try to be someone else.”

His comment caused a small smile on your face. “Thank you so much… But I can’t help but overthink a lot, you know? What if Kento suspects that I have a crush on him?”

Haibara giggles again. “Maybe he does. If you ask me, the possibilities of him suspecting something and not suspecting anything are equal… But I think there’s just something else going on his mind. Even if we spend a lot of time together he’s not very open with me either…” his voice dropped into a murmur. “…but, no… could it be…? Nah… maybe I’m just overthinking either…”

The sudden change of his demeanor catches your attention. “What is it, Yu?”

He took a deep breath. “He kinda acts like… doesn’t want to get attached.”

“Doesn’t want to… get attached?”

At first you didn’t understand Haibara’s words until his tragic death on a mission you couldn’t attend him and Kento, because you were still healing your wounds from another mission. Besides, it was just a third class curse, nothing could go wrong… right? You didn’t know what exactly happened, you could’ve just try understanding the situation through Haibara’s body cut in half and Kento sitting in the corner of the room, mumbling something about the curse being first class. Geto, who was also in the room, looked at you with pity as he covers the body and walked closer to you then puts his hand on your shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I know how hard it is to lost a companion.”

Kento, who didn’t seem to acknowledge your presence in the room before, suddenly looked into your direction. Your eyes met his, in which you saw pure terror and pain. For a second, he was like a frozen in place. In his eyes you could observe the mess that was going through his head in that moment. What you couldn’t observe is that his brain was running wild with the darkest scenarios of how he could lose you now. In another second, he stood up and ran out of the room. Your heart broke as you see tears forming in his eyes. You wanted to follow him, but Geto’s hand on your shoulder tightens.

“Leave him for now.” he says. “He needs space. And rest. I recommend you to rest too, Y/N. And try not to think much about it. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It’s the cruel reality of jujutsu world.”

Geto spoke with so much understanding for Kento that you gave in and decided to listen to him. The next two weeks were silent. Completely silent. Kento was barely leaving his room, he wasn’t answering when you were knocking at his door or calling him, and while passing you in the hallway he was completely ignoring you. You wanted to be mad at him for treating you that way but all you felt was worry. You couldn’t ignore the tired and frustrated expression on his face. You couldn’t ignore Haibara’s words echoing in your head. “…he doesn’t want to get attached…”. Suddenly every dots connected and everything starts making sense.

One day you’ve had enough. One day you couldn’t stand his cold attitude anymore. You got assigned on a mission – nothing very serious, just some weak curses in an abandoned hospital. As expected, Kento was very stubborn. He didn’t want to cooperate with you and wanted to handle everything himself. After quiet “I’ll handle it.” he exorcised all curses alone, not giving you chance to do anything. He got hurt but didn’t seem to care about it. After he made sure you’re okay, you returned to Jujutsu High and his wounds got healed, you managed to catch him when he was returning to his room from the ambulatory.

“Kento… can we talk?” you crossed his path and tried to look into his eyes but he was avoiding your gaze.

“We have nothing to talk about.” he tried to walk past you but you grabbed his arm.

“Yes… yes, we have.” your grip on his arm was strong, not letting him go. “Can you stop acting like I don’t exist?”

He’s still avoiding your eyes like fire. “…I’m not acting like you don’t exist.”

“Yes, you are.” your voice crack slightly with emotion. “Listen… I know Yu’s death is hard to handle, but…”

“You know nothing,” he managed to rip his arm out of your grip and walked to his door. “You weren’t there… you don’t understand a single thing!” his voice is filled with frustration and sorrow. He disappears in his room but that wasn’t going to stop you. You held the door before he could close it and walked into the room behind him.

“Then let me understand.” you sit on the bed next to him, reaching for his hand. “Kento… please.” the urgency in your voice caused his eyes to fill with tears, but he still wasn’t looking at you. He was just staring into space, trying to process what is happening and what he should say. When after some time you didn’t get an answer from him, you started speaking again. “Before Yu died… he told me something. He said that… he thought you never want to spend time with me because… you don’t want to get attached. Is that right?”

You scanned his face, trying to read his emotions. Then suddenly something inside him breaks. Tears started streaming down his cheeks and he finally looked you into eyes. Now that you could see his expression better, your heart broke into million pieces. His eyes were showing so many emotions… Pain, worry, fear… But most importantly, he seemed so… lost.

“Yes, he was right…” his voice was cracking. “He was right… I’m a coward. I’m afraid of getting attached… that’s all true…” he seemed like he went crazy with his thoughts. The tone of his voice sounded so hurt, so broken, so tired…

“Hey, shh… calm down…” you tried to soothe him, gently rubbing his arm as he cries. “Everything is fine, Kento.”

“Nothing’s fine!” he was crying harder, releasing all bottled up emotions from past few months. It made your stomach twist in pain, seeing the person you love in such state. “He was my friend… He was my friend and now he… a-and you…”

“Me… what?” you asked, trying to sound soft but there is confusion in your voice. When he realized what he said, his cheeks turn slightly pink and looks away from you so you can’t see his face. You didn’t want to push him but you needed answers. “What’s on your mind, Kento?”

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He wiped his tears with his sleeve and sniffled softly, getting ready to reveal you all truth. He knew he couldn’t avoid the topic anymore.

“We’re jujutsu sorcerers.” he stared blankly into space as he spoke. “Yu… Yu was one of us and where is he now? He’s gone. And y-you…” his voice cracked again. “I-It’s hard that we lost him but losing y-you…” he had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

“…What are you talking about, Kento? You didn’t and you’re not losing me. I’m right here.” you put your hand over his. This gesture made him look into your eyes.

“I love you, alright?” he whispered, his hand gripped yours tightly. “I just… love you, Y/N. Since our first mission, I fell for you and…” he pauses to take a deep breath and collect his thoughts. “That’s why I was pushing you away. That’s why I’m scared of getting attached. We’re jujutsu sorcerers, we risk our lives, we’re losing a lot of people… just like Yu…”

There was a moment of dead silence between you as he finished speaking. Suddenly everything made sense. When you finally understood his behavior, you felt your stomach twisting in a knot. The thought of Kento living in the endless fear and a vision if him dying unhappy that appeared in your mind were too much for you to handle. But what was the saddest thing for you is that he looked as if he already gave up. As if he saw no hope for himself to be happy. So you decide to give him better perspective…

“If you asked me…” you squeezed his hand tightly, looking into his eyes. “It’s better to die without any regrets than die unhappy and unsatisfied with how you lived… don’t you think?”

He seemed a bit caught off-guard at your statement. His eyes stared into yours, a mix of uncertainty and desire to break free from his depressive mindset was visible there. You’ve really got him stunned, he seemed like he didn’t know what to say.

“What… What are you trying to say by that?”

“I’m trying to say that…” a soft smile appeared on your lips as you squeezed his hand reassuringly. “I’d rather have you now and cherish every moment I can spend with you than die without my love.”

Kento’s face covered in a soft blush as he heard you saying those two words. “My love”. His gaze softened and his grip on your hand tightened. “Are you trying to say that…”

“I love you too, Kento.” you interrupted him and gently cupped his face in your hand. Your thumb gently caressed his cheekbone, trying to soothe him a bit. “I truly do… And if we get to die young, but happy and without any regrets, then let it be that way. Let us… Let yourself be happy, Kento.”

By his expression you can say that a war was happening in his head. His uncertain eyes were asking: “Is it really worth it?”. Your warm smile was answering: “Trust me, it is.”

“Y/N…” he wasn’t able to hold himself back anymore. He fell into your arms, clinging onto you desperately like a little kid. Of course, you immediately returned the hug an held him tightly, gently rocking his back with one hand, meanwhile the other one travelled to his blonde hair and stroked it soothingly. His face was hidden in the crook of your neck as he kept sobbing silently, letting out all of his bottled up emotions. You patiently waited for him to calm down, not judging him, only providing him comfort he needed. After some time, you heard him whisper. “I was such an idiot…”

His words made you chuckle softly. “But you’re my idiot.” You pulled away from the hug just enough to look into his eyes, then you asked in affectionate yet serious tone. “Will you give us a chance, Kento? Will you let yourself experience love, get attached and just… be happy? Even if this world wants otherwise…”

After a moment of silence, he smiled. “Yes, Y/N… I want to stop being so afraid and live like a normal teen should. I want to experience everything with you… my first love.”

The last words made your heart skip a beat and your face became all red. You took his hand and interlocked your fingers with his, looking into his eyes. “Let’s make up for the lost time, hm?”

The smile on his face widened. “I want nothing more…”

Then, without any more words, you started slowly leaning in. Kento realized what you meant and his lips parted slightly and so did yours. Both of you held your breaths waiting for the very anticipated moment until finally… your lips gently touched his. You barely could contain your joy and a warm feeling spread inside of your body. It was unfamiliar feeling but… it felt good. Better than you have ever expected. And most importantly, it was going from your heart, which was pounding in your chest incredibly fast. You were kissing your first love and he wasn’t pushing you away, he was even returning the affection, giving all of himself to you… And you’re both finally happy.

As you got lost in the moment, you suddenly remembered Haibara’s words – words you forgot about and didn’t remember until this moment. Words that would make you act sooner if you wasn’t such a fool and didn’t forget them.

“He kinda acts like… doesn’t want to get attached.”

“Doesn’t want to… get attached?”

“Yeah, you know… some people are afraid of their own emotions. He seems like a person who might be just this type.”

“But… to be afraid of them, he first must have some kind of emotions for me.”

“He likes you, Y/N... I see it in his eyes. I’m not sure it it’s love yet, but… I’m sure he does like you. A lot I’d say. But his fear is not letting him realize that.”

✿

rt's appreciated<3 cuz it took me a while to finally post that and it cost me much ✧

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definitelynotafurinasimp · 3 months

Text

Them meeting your parents

characters: Ganyu / Shenhe x gn!reader (separate)

warnings: none, just fluff

a/n: Just remembered Ganyu and Shenhe existed, and god damn it, did I miss writing those two.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Ganyu

“Nervous” wasn’t even beginning to come close to describing how Ganyu felt about meeting your parents. From the moment she first received the invitation to the moment the door to your childhood home opened, the thought alone made her even more restless than she already was, something that only got worse the closer that date became.

Ironically enough, Ganyu wasn’t the only attendant stressing out about the meeting. Considering how well known your girlfriend was among certain parts of Liyue and how much your parents had heard about her over the years, the prospect of not showing themselves from their best terrified them as much as it did her, and so it wasn’t much of a surprise that once the day arrived, the tension of the room could be cut with a knife.

No matter how awkward both sides ended up conducting themselves however, at the end of the day neither Ganyu nor your parents noticed the other party’s flaws, too preoccupied with self-consciously worrying over their own behavior to even think about judging the other’s

The moment the front door closed, separating Ganyu and you from your parents, your girlfriend’s shoulders immediately slumped, all the previous weeks’ exhaustion washing over her like a flood as she fell forwards into your arms, muttering out things you found difficult to understand before separating from you in order to stand on her own two feet again.

“H-how was I? I didn’t do anything too embarrassing, right? Do you think your parents will still approve of us after today?”, a panicked Ganyu began to bombard you with questions, stopping abruptly once she saw a small smile on your face, her cheeks heating up ever so slightly as she began to worry she somehow made a fool of herself.

“Don’t worry, you did great.”

Shenhe

No matter from which angle Shenhe tried to look at it, she found it somewhat difficult to understand why you seemed to be so nervous about her meeting your parents for dinner. Did people put such a great importance on these kinds of things? She had seen many children visit their friends’ homes when she was a child and they never seemed all too nervous, that being said however, her reputation as a cursed child made it impossible for her to experience it herself, so maybe it wasn’t all too far-fetched to assume it was nerve-wrecking for them too.

Or maybe this was a couple’s thing? Did she ought to be nervous as well? For a split-second Shenhe considered how she’d feel if you met her parents, only to throw that thought out of the window almost immediately, considering her memories of them… then how about Cloud Retainer?

Suddenly, and without any prior warning, the realization as to why you might have felt this nervous dawned on Shenhe.

“Oh, would you like to hear a few childhood stories? Ah, I can’t believe our little baby already has a girlfriend, they grow up so quickly”, your mother asked Shenhe, eyes almost bursting with excitement, causing your partner to glance at your face.

Calling it a blush would have been an understatement, your face turning shades of red Shenhe hadn’t thought possible as you looked down at your food, trying to tune the conversation out as much as humanly possible, but to no avail.

Did she want to hear those stories? Absolutely. Did she want you to feel even more embarrassed and risk you toppling over from having too much blood in your head? No.

...She did remember you telling her to be "more open about her past" however, so it would only be fair for you to do the same.

“Sure.”

#shenhe #shenhe x reader #shenhe x you #shenhe x y/n #ganyu x you #ganyu x reader #ganyu #ganyu x y/n #genshin impact #genshin x reader

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russellsppttemplates · 8 months

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He's going to be so loved (Pierre Gasly)

You're afraid your children won't have all the love they deserved

Note: english is not my first language. this is another long piece that is about a sensetive topic that I have hopefully depicted with the respect it deserves.

Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and I'm taking requests so if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so as I'll try to get to them the best I can!

my masterlist

Tw: pregnancy, curse words, family issues (reader has cut ties with her family)

"Y/N, chérie, how is little man treating you?", Pascale asked once you opened the door, allowing her and Charlotte, one of your sisters in law, inside the house, "he's a kicker, that's for sure! But he's been good lately, usually just needs me to tell him once and he'll stick to just move around", you giggled helping them with their coats before getting together in the kitchen, "I'm finishing my breakfast, do you want something while I finish? Some biscuits, tea, coffee? Oh, Pierre also made this cake with me yesterday, I had a big craving for it and it turned out really good!", you offered, "I'll have some tea, please. And maybe some cake too, although if Pierre made it, I might start with a small piece and see how it goes from there", Charlotte chuckled as she helped you bring the plates to the table.

The initial plan was to get a few smaller things that you still needed to get, like muslin cloths and such things, but like any other time you had shopped with company, you ended up with way too many bags filled with baby things. When you got home, Pierre had already arrived back from work, meeting you at the door and helping you carry the bags up, "Mon amour, how was your day?", he asked, kissing your lips and grabbing some bags, "it was good, my feet are a bit sore, but I really enjoyed spending time with them!", you exclaimed, reaching the nursery and putting the bags on the floor, your arms opening sp you could hug your husband, "I kept telling them that, as far as I know, there's only one baby here, but they insisted on getting all of this!", you giggled, feeling his hands rub your bump, "Our family is growing and they're very excited, it's just one of the ways they show how happy they are and their support too", he said, kissing your forehead.

To anyone, that would be a simple comment and it would brush them as quickly as it was said. But for you, it stayed playing in loop in your mind. The reminders that you did not have your family by your side came and went since you decided to keep away from them, especially when it came to big dates or important moments, but recently it had been a constant thought.

Cutting ties with your family had been the best decision, there isn't a day that you regret what you did. Having said that, it was still something you wished you could have in different circumstances. To have your mother share her experiences, to show you things from when you were little, to have your father teaching you and setting you set up the nursery and tell you all about your family's customs through the years.

Pierre's family had been incredible like always. They knew just enough about what happened with your family and not only respected it but also supported you in any way they could, taking you under their wing like you were one of their own from the beggining. The pregnancy had been received with massive excitement from everyone, and they kept calling whenever they had the chance, wanting to know how you were and if there was anything they could do to help you and Pierre in this journey. But lately, it had been a bit of a handful dealing with your thoughts.

"Can you grab the bag, please?", Pierre asked once he parked the car, checking something on the car before exiting it and lacing your hands once he got out, locking it and heading to the front door of Charles' place.

They had invited you over for baby Hervé's shower, welcoming you inside while you looked around, "we have a specific chair for you so you can be comfy", Charles said as he pointed to his wife, "she ordered me to do it", he chuckled, "hey! You don't know what it is to carry a baby around! It's hard work, and we both need to rest!", she reasoned with her husband, hugging you the best way you could before she introduced you to the people you didn't know. While they had a lot of friends and family you already knew, Charles' in laws were there too and you hadn't yet met some of them. They congratulated you, easily chatting up about everything and anything while you ate the snacks and drinks being passed around.

Pierre felt his body get a little bit lighter. It wasn't like your demeanor had changed that much in comparison to the last few days, but you certainly looked comfortable and like you were enjoying yourself.

"There's something on your mind, and I have time while they decorate biscuits. So, spill it", Charles noted, sitting next to Pierre on one of the high stools, sipping from his drink while he looked at his bestfriend. "Does Y/N seem off to you? Or has she seemed off to you recently?", he wondered looking at his wife admiring her work of art in the blue powdered sugar icing.

"I mean, she's lost some of her energy, but that's normal at this stage. You can't expect that she is running around now", Charles reasoned, not understanding where he was going, "it's just, I think she's been a little crestfallen, quieter than usual lately, and she hasn't said anything to me in that regard, she's been very quiet. I've tried to get her to talk, but she never says much", Pierre slumped his shoulders, "you just have to take it day by day. It's a lot these days, I'm sure you feel it, too. And they feel it even more. Family and friends are a great help, but there are some things they have to deal with on their own and it's hard to juggle all of it. She'll come to you whenever she feels ready, trust me", Charles patted his back.

You put all the baby clothes you had washed and dried in the hamper, supporting it comfortably on your side as you walked up to the nursery. The room was coming along well, the crib was already finished, just needing to be done with the softest sheets your skin has ever felt, and the rest of the furniture had been assembled whenever you and Pierre found the time to do it. Setting the clothes on top of the dresser, you opened the respective drawers to allocate every piece, taking the time and effort of remembering who had gifted them to your baby boy. Charles and his wife got matching sets so that both of the boys could look alike, Pascale had gotten way too many pieces for you to keep track on, claiming she was so excited to be a grandma again that she couldn't help herself anytime she saw something cute and had to get it.

Without noticing, tears started falling from your eyes and into the small pieces of clothing, marking them and creating a strain on your breath. Breathing in this late stage of pregnancy was already difficult, and sobbing wasn't helping it. You carefully walked to the chair you had put in the room so you'd have somewhere to sit during the night, proving its usefulness now as you tried to manage your emotions.

Pierre came out of the bathroom after his shower, already dressed and towell in hand so he could take it to the laundry room when he heard movement in the nursery. He didn't expect to see you like how he found you, cheeks red and tear stained and a trembling lip while you looked up at the ceiling.

"Hey, amour, what's the matter? Are you in pain?", he walked, throwing the towell on the corridor and kneeling in front of you, holding your hand in his while the other brushed the hairs out of your eyes. "I'm not in pain, I'm okay", you gulped, "but I haven't been feeling good. And I've wanted to talk to you, but I didn't want to bother you, even though you always say I could never bother you, but I'm telling you now, I guess", you blurted, receiving an encouragement nod from your husband.

Sighing, you played with his fingers, "lately, it dawned on me that my family isn't around for this, for me or for baby Alexandre, for us", you began, "and seeing Charles and his wife and everyone for there for Hervé, it got me thinking even more like, everyone was there to see them! To see the mother to be, to support her and congratulate her. And I'm not saying this in a bad way, because I'm so happy that they have it. And I know we have that from your family, I'm not complaining about them either. Everyone has been lovely, but fuck, I won't have my family supporting me. I won't have my father checking up on his little girl after she gave birth or have my mother share her experiences because the thought of having to be in the same room as them chills my bones. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt still, because it does", you cried, the attempt of looking up to stop the tears from flowing failing as Pierre carefully wiped them.

"How long have you been feeling like this, mon ange?", Pierre asked, now holding your face in his hands, "a little while, and the shower just made it a bit stronger, I think. Fuck, I sound like an awful person, I'm sorry", you apologised, "hey, no need for that. It's okay to feel like this, you don't have to feel guilty about your feelings", your husband reasoned.

"It is the best decision to keep away from them, I wouldn't change it for the world. But it will only be me passing down our traditions, and letting him know how things used to be, our language, our customs", you sniffed, wiping your nose on your sleeve, "because I don't want him to not know. It is a part of me that I'm proud of and I'm not letting my parents take that from me too", you breathed out. Rubbing your hands, your husband looked for your eyes, "and we will make sure he knows. Him and his siblings if we are fortunate along the way. I know a few words myself, and I'll help with all the traditions. I'll make your recipes, even if they don't taste as good, I'll teach them about all the holidays you celebrate and that we will celebrate too and I'll support you in anything you decide to do, I promise", he stated, smiling in hope you'd mirror his, the corners of your lips lifting a little.

"I know they're your family, but I'm sure that our little one is going to be so so so loved, he's going to be doted on by everyone", Pierre pointed out, "and we will make sure we do everything we can for that. And you are going to tell me everytime things get too much, okay? I hate to see you like this", he asked, earning a nod from you, "now, how about we sort these clothes so we can finally decide on the outfit he's wearing for when he comes home?", your husband teased you, "your brother gave us this little set he found and I think that's the one, let me show you it", you said, getting up and waddling to the pile of clothes, happily showing you the choice and smiling as you watched your husband's excitement about it all. Your little boy was going to be so loved, and it didn't have to be from a blood relationship.

#pierre gasly imagine #pierre gasly × reader #pierre gasly fluff #pierre gasly fic #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #f1 fanfic

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gatitties · 5 months

Note

Hello!!! Can I ask you something?

I wanted to ask for a super cute Scenario or headcanons, where in One Piece's AU, Shanks is a businessman who has a very good salary and is married to YN who is a super kind and attentive housewife who treats Shanks like a king, because he always is working and always getting very tired from work and still pleases YN with gifts and taking her out on days off, they don't necessarily have kids, that's you decision

shanks wants his wife to be the happiest wife in the world!!!

─Shanks x wife!reader

─Summary: it doesn't seem like you can get a second of rest, but your husband surprises you with some gifts.

─Warnings: modernAU

this is so cute hjhsajh 😳

You narrowed your eyes as you saw the vase slightly further to the right, moving it a couple of centimeters so that it was exactly in the right spot, in the same place you put it every day after doing a big cleaning of the house.

You sat on the neat couch, scanning the living room for anything still missing out of place, smiling at your good work, although the smile soon disappeared when a slight back pain broke your good mood bubble, the pain had intensified lately since Shanks had some meetings in his personal study, so you did your best to make everything as organized and clean as usual.

It was a bit sad since he spent many hours busy, although he always made up for it on the weekends when he had his days off, however the company had to resolve some issues regarding some clients and employees, collections, payroll, settlements… there were always months filled with a lot of work and you both ended up so exhausted that you didn't even have a single moment to talk for days.

Today seemed like it was going to be one of those days where you were waiting with a glass of wine, eating dinner alone in the kitchen, you knew that if Shanks hadn't arrived by a certain time, you shouldn't make dinner for two, and you were about to get to cook, you only managed to cut a couple of onions when you screamed when you felt a strong arm lift you slightly from the ground, your shock faded when you felt the redhead's presence.

"I thought you wouldn't come today."

"Surprise!"

He joined his lips with yours sweetly, when he put you back on the ground, he left for a second to return with a small bouquet of roses and a wrapped box, you frowned strangely at the detail, Shanks was not a person who usually did gifts like that, yes, he would buy you things, but he would just arrive and give it to you unwrapped or he would just ask you if you want that thing directly.

"What is this? Oh don't tell me I forgot about our anniversary or-"

Your worried tone and nervousness for having forgotten some important date was cut by the man's lips, who left a trail of short kisses all over your face, making you laugh like a fool in love, he smiled at this.

"No, I'm the most likely to forget that kind of thing love, it's just a gift! Can't I spoil you a little? I know how much it costs to maintain a home, plus your sore muscles..."

He took your hands in his, rubbing circles with his thumb on your knuckles, you melted under his touch, pulling him to your body to sink into a comfortable embrace, you breathed in his scent slowly, burying your face in his shoulder, he let you hold the position. As long as you needed, Shanks didn't care if you spent hours hugging him, he would enjoy every second of contact. You pulled away a couple of minutes later, turning your attention now to the box he had left on the kitchen counter earlier next to the roses, curious about its contents, he urged you to open it, even he seeming more excited than you by the gift.

"Oh… how did you know this was what I wanted? I don't remember telling you about it yet."

Although both you and Shanks used to share certain things that you needed or would like to have for possible birthday, anniversary or Christmas gifts… you still hadn't had the opportunity to tell him that this was what you were thinking of buying as a self-gift for your next birthday.

"A husband's intuition never fails, and look, there are more things!"

Looking at the bottom of the box you pulled out two stiff papers that seemed to be hidden, a silly smile decorating your lips as you read them.

"Spa and massage session for two?"

He raised and lowered his eyebrows with a mischievous smile, you laughed, hitting his shoulder, hugging him again as a way of thanking him, you felt a little bad for not having a gift for him right now, since you weren't the only one who needed a break from time to time from work, but you made a mental note to look for something that he might like.

#requets #one piece #op #one piece x reader #one piece modern au #shanks #shanks x reader #wife reader #shanks x wife reader #reader insert #fem reader #shanks x fem reader #modern au #shanks moder au #sfw

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hdrygdhbuu · 1 month

Text

Hello, I’ve read a few small stories from Dir en grey’s meet&greet and experience from the concerts in general aaannddd I also decided to share mine from m&g 19.03 in Warsaw… Maybe just mainly for archival purposes, but anyway… it was quite interesting.

Since It was my very first concert in my whole life (but what is most important Dir en grey concert😭) and I was sosososo hella nervous – on top of all I came completely alone into the dark unknown! The first show of my favourite band. The first meet&greet with precious and talented band members on their first tour destination. I thought I could have died before start of the show.

Beforehand I’ve read some different experiences from m&g – there were really a few, really – it was said that people with VIP queued in front of the venue doors and were entering one by another to meet the members(¿). (Actually I have no clue, because I didn’t happen to enter among all the people… You’re allowed to read to know then lol) When I had come on the floor I saw two queues actually. One to the m&g and another to the merch booth. But as I said, It was my first life experience so I immediately got super confused and didn’t know where to go… Two long queues, a lot of people, I couldn’t understand which one is which… Anyway I stayed at the end of the merch queue (😭) and managed to buy some things almost THE LAST ONE. I mean, there still was a couple of girls near the stand, but… the cashier was very nice, (he let me pull out of the bag some secret postcard&stickers on my own lol) when he said «there is a meeting with a band, so you should hurry» and pointed at the entrance doors. I looked and realised there was no one around, like, really, empty corridor… Obviously I got scared (even more scared than I’ve been all this day) and rushed there immediately, almost running – actually it was just “fast-walking”. I didn’t know the place, what is where, and at that moment I didn’t even know where is the venue and where I entered… I jumped up to the venue with dizzy head, completely at a loss, greatly confused (I’m sorry, but that cashier really made me worry and hurry with those words😭) and first I couldn’t even recognize the place. All happened so suddenly: I saw them. But the first gaze was so quick, really, I only managed to catch the smiley glance from Toshiya first! Probably all of them were so confused of the chaotic way I entered 😭 (I even thought Toshiya was internally laughing at me, but i guess I was simply delusional.) The staff stopped me with "wait" or something, and – oh what a shame… – at that exact moment I suddenly/quickly turned around at my speed (but it wasn’t so fast fr) and stepped back as almost i was about to leave at every moment 😰 There were no fans nearby… before or after me… and we just stayed like that, so so embarrassing… Me, being afraid even just of looking at them, because I knew, I felt they were staring at me… Maybe i got affected by this “wait” from the staff and actually lost all remains of courage, waiting, waiting for the right signal😭 I met eyes with that woman from the staff, she was staring at me and i was looking at her like “what should i do, when am i allowed to step forward😰” Jeez i really felt so many eyes on me, as it was a long moment and i got lost…

But when i raised my sight, i couldn’t bear but just notice Toshiya’s smile 😭 (him being that tall after all) You know, it was just impossible not to catch it. He was staring so brightly, with the kindest and the most loving smile on his face😭 This smile could physically warm a body and hearts, full of gratefulness, love and respect. Since I’m quite young (i’m 20 actually… but the fact that I admit that I look much younger) for a moment i realised – i’m sure – it was a smile of a loving parent/senpai looking at the child/kohai 😭 Just… can’t describe this wholesome feeling, that he created inside of me with this looking&smile. He didn’t cut off his glance even when we actually met our eyes… i mean, i immediately got shyshyshyshy, i couldn’t withstand it and looked away😭 it was just too much😭🤚🏻

Then i noticed Kaoru looking straight and handing his postcard to me, encouraging me to come closer, and so that was the sign when i managed to finally move my trembling body. (The possibility that they might have been waiting for me just flutters all my insides and kills me!) So, then.. everything happened quite quickly, i was collapsed by shock, embarrassment and happiness at the same time, to the point I almost teared up. I bowed at each of them, saying quietly arigatogozaimassss as they were handing me signed postcards. I couldn’t even make myself to raise my head and look at them… Toshiya was the last one in a row, and when i stood in front of him the actual height difference hit me and got me on knees (and that’s the second reason i couldn’t get myself to look up – it would be physically uncomfortable lol i guess) I mean… this man is really tall, I faced his chest at the level of my nose for real, so yeah (I’m 160cm). He was the one who thanked me in response – well, maybe i was just too dumb and rushed too much idk – and that was so cute of him! Really, he seemed to be the nicest at the m&g, he really does care about fans, he really is glad and happy to meet fans😭 and he obviously showed his appreciation of all its power/extent. The one meeting broke my heart.

Of course after this i rushed to the rest of people near the stage (luckily i was in a second row right before Toshiya!) And then they left the place almost right away… I mean, after all maybe i really was the last one??? And what if they were waiting for me?? (It kills me ugh) Idk… I was sure there were some more girls at the merch booth before….

Anyway, talking about my very first show impression, i was sincerely amazed by this little pleasing discovery of my own – all of them actually were looking at fans during the show! Like straight in the eyes. Catching our glances. Sustaining this eye contact again and again. It felt like a dream, it felt like we and them actually connected on some kind of inner basis/level… I’m sure I even crossed some glances with Toshiya and Kaoru 😭 I didn’t expect it so, again, i felt kinda embarrassed, but super crazy! That was so much fun! Really, I will never forget those nights… And now, every time reminding it – all of them, the performance, their movements and emotions, that charming smile of Toshiya – I can’t help but melt into a divine smile…

Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart💔 And thank you too who has read this unexpectedly long message 😭🤲🏻 And sorry for any mistakes..

P.S. I also wouldn’t mind if anyone who has read it, would like to share their experience too🤲🏻 Really, just kinda curious… and after all i don’t have friends who i can talk about diru with sooooooo feel free to share🙌🏻🌷

#dir en grey #meet & greet #warsaw #19.03.24 #europe tour #europe tour24 #europe #toshiya #kaoru #my experience #for archive

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lvlyynim · 1 year

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bestfriend!mark who’d remember your usual drink and pastry order so he’d have an excuse to crash your study session in the library.

bestfriend!mark who always has a spare charger in his bag whenever your phone is running low.

bestfriend!mark who would lull you to sleep with a few plucks from his guitar and soft singing.

bestfriend!mark who keeps small gifts you gave him and stores them in a cupboard box, calling it his memories box. (from the first movie ticket you two went together to the polariods of you and him)

bestfriend!mark who has a crush on you ever since 9th grade, you skipped school to take care of him when he was sick.

“don’t you have that very important history test? the one you spent weeks studying for”

“oh shush, you’re more important than that stupid test. now shut it and drink this”

bestfriend!mark who has a drawer full of his shit in your closet cause he’s constantly over at your place.

bestfriend!mark who would stay up all night stargazing with you from the small balcony.

bestfriend!mark who nearly burned down your kitchen, trying to make a sunny side up.

“you are never ever entering my kitchen again. at this point mark, you’re setting yourself up everytime you grab a pan”

“at least this one is better than the rest-”

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT”

bestfriend!mark who always know when something is wrong and shows up with your favourite snacks and his hoodie.

bestfriend!mark who sents you sunset pics daily saying it reminds him of you. he’s also your personal weather forecaster.

bestfriend!mark who orders fast food and eats them with you in his car, in an empty parking lot.

bestfriend!mark who holds your hand in crowded places out of fear of losing you in a sea of people. (also your hands will stay interlocked for the whole day)

bestfriend!mark who’s your biggest supporter and constantly encourages to face your fears, reminding it’ll always work out in the end.

bestfriend!mark who dyed his hair blue after losing his bet with haechan (and it was probably the best thing to happen cause it suits him, to the point where you can’t stop staring at him)

“you look great with blue hair”

“hm? dang really?”

“mhm probably my favourite colour out of the all other ones”

“damn you liked it that much huh? is that why you keep staring at me?”

“shut up and finish your food”

bestfriend!mark who rubs his hand up and down your back whenever you two hug.

bestfriend!mark who stays sober if you two go out for drinks or during parties so he could take care of you in case you do too many shots.

bonus nsfw cuts

bestfriend!mark who jerks off to a photo of you almost every night before being consumed by guilt and shame. (and does it again the next night)

bestfriend!mark who shamelessly checks out anytime you wear something a tad bit revealing. (his favourite : you in skirts)

bestfriend!mark who finally had the chance to pour his feelings out to you and fuck you senseless afterwards.

“you have no fucking clue how long i’ve wanted this” you let a broken sob, feeling as if his cock is gonna split you in half with how deep he is. how big he is.

mark just chuckled at your disheveled state, legs pinned to your body, eyes rolled back in euphoria, body littered with his mouthwork.

“taking me so good baby, so fucking good” he’s losing it by the second. with how you’re clenching around him, he’s not gonna last long. your high pitched moans is a telltale sign you’re in the same boat as well.

mark was a gone man when you wrapped your legs around his waist and pushed him deeper into your dripping cunt. leaning a whine of your name, he came hard. you took advantage and pushed him onto his back, straddling him.

wind knocked out of mark’s lungs seeing you bouncing on his cock, desperate for your own release. mark was choking on his sobs, his cock overstimulated to the point where he could cry any moment now.

“ba-baby please ngh please come please”

“fuck mark, i-i’m cumming”

it didn’t take long for the knot in your stomach to snap, orgasm washing over your body with a long whine of mark’s name.

#mark lee smut #nct mark smut #mark lee #nct dream mark #nct dream smut #lvlyworks #mark lee scenarios #mark lee imagines #markie

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ghostboneswrites2 · 2 months

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Can't Ruin That || One Shot

New account! @ghostbones was banned! Transferring all my work here slowly!

Summary: Fluffy little one shot. Daryl gives you a gift :)

18+ MDNI || WARNINGS: profanity

"Found this for you." He said, holding out a small white box. You stared at it for a moment. You hadn't received a gift in so long that you didn't even know how to show gratitude for the gesture. Nowadays, in a life centered around survival, acts of gratitude usually included a curt nod and watching each others backs. That was how you showed each other you cared, not gifts.

"I--"

"Just open it." He cut you off.

You pressed your lips together tightly and took the little box out of his hand. You took a moment to just feel it. The weight of it, the shape of it, the thought behind it. Then, you pulled the lid up and gasped. It was a petite sliver chain with a tiny star shaped medallion. You lifted the necklace out of the box and rested it in your palm, gently tracing your finger over it with admiration.

He found it at a jewelry store while looking for new watch chains since Glenn's had snapped. It reminded him of you, because you loved to sneak outside at night and lay in the grass in the courtyard, staring up at the stars. He'd catch you out there often when he'd step out for a smoke in the fresh air.

"Ain't nothin' special. Just reminded me of you." He shrugged.

You looked up at him like you always did, in that way that just killed him. You were just so.. sweet. The way your eyes somehow got bigger and rounder when they landed on him, or the way you smiled so small, but it said so many big things about the way you saw him. Nobody had ever looked at him that way, with so much swoon.

In the camp outside Atlanta, he was just the asshole they kept around because he could hunt. He was just 'the younger Dixon,' the one with the temper and the crossbow. At Hershel's farm, he was good for tracking, and Carol grew to care for him as he searched perilously for her baby girl. But it was just that, nothing more. After the farm, he was more respected as he grew closer to Rick, and there at the prison he was reminded almost daily how important he was. But you? You still looked at him like nobody else ever had. And damn it, did you make yourself cozy in that little soft spot he had formed for you, the one that grew bigger and softer and warmer every day. He couldn't have kicked you out of there if he tried.

Looking down at you while you gazed up at him, with so much admiration, put him on top of the world. He began to realize he'd do anything, kill anyone, just to see that look in those eyes.

"It's beautiful." You grinned.

He chewed at his inner cheek, biting down hard in an attempt to conceal that little triumphant smile that begged to show itself.

"I'll find a better one eventually. This one'll have to do 'til then." He said, as he scooped the necklace out of your hand. "Turn around."

You spun around as he said. He waited only a second for you to lift your hair for him before he gave in to the urge to do it himself when you hadn't. He brushed the hair over one shoulder, his calloused finger grazing lightly over your soft skin, sending a wave of goosebumps over you. He reached over your head and pulled either end of the necklace around your neck, clasping it together and puling your hair back the way it was. You turned back to him, blushing at his small but significant acts of affection.

You saw him for who he was, not what everyone else wanted him to be. He was kind. He was gentle. He was capable of great things. He just needed the right person to show him that it was okay to let his walls down sometimes, and you were determined to be that person.

"Thank you." You said.

"Weren't nothin'." He waved it off.

"It is something to me." You corrected.

Neither of you were oblivious to the onlookers around the courtyard. You had greeted him at the gate when he came back from that run, so there were plenty of busy bodies all around you. Somehow the two of you always grabbed the attention from the others, especially when he doted on you in those ways. They all saw how you looked at him, and how he looked at you. He was shameless about it. He always hated when the world outside got even the tiniest peak inside, but he didn't mind when they saw how much you deserved his affections.

"Are you too tired for a walk?" You questioned.

"Nah." He shook his head. He nodded to Carl who pulled the gate open, and with just a few walkers to take down, the two of you faded off into the forestry. You loved those walks. They were always peaceful and comfortable.

"I found something for us." You told him.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." You nodded, pulling a single packaged Twinkie out of your jacket pocket.

"I'll be damned."

"I know, right? I was wandering around the prison and found it in a desk drawer. Untouched." You gloated.

"Shouldn't be wanderin' around by yourself like that. Ain't cleared everywhere inside yet." He scolded. You rolled your eyes, smirking a little.

"So... You don't want half of the Twinkie?"

"Give me that." He said, quickly snatching it from your hand.

"Hey!" You shrilled, reaching for it as he passed it to his other hand and held it far away from you, while using the hand closest to you to hold you back.

"You can have some when we find a spot." He said. You huffed with defeat as you marched along side him. He chuckled a little at your frustration.

"That was my loot, Dixon." You complained.

"Can't go showin' off like that if ya ain't prepared to fight for it." He teased.

"Oh, I'll go to war for that Twinkie." You retorted.

"Here." He said, nodding to a fallen tree. The both of you took a seat beside each other as he tore the package open. Your jaw clenched a little as the sweet aroma of sugar and high fructose corn syrup hit your nostrils. He tore the little cake in half and passed you the side he thought was bigger, but you were too excited to notice that. In an instant the two halves disappeared down your throats. You moaned as you tasted it, and almost cried when it was gone.

"I hated them damn things before all this." He admitted.

"I wasn't such a fan either." You agreed. "More of a Zebra Cake gal."

"Nah. Them little Christmas tree cakes was where it was at." He argued.

"Those were good, but Zebra Cakes had a specific Play-Dough taste that I hated to love."

"Mm." He nodded. "The trees had the sprinkles, though. Need that crunch to pull the whole thing together."

"But the Zebras didn't need the crunch, which is why they were superior."

"Agree to disagree." He said, but after a moment of silence; "You're wrong, though."

"Wow. You suck at agreeing to disagree." You laughed.

You two let some time go by, listening to the natural orchestra of birds and chipmunks and leaves tumbling around in the chilly fall breeze. You looked over at him. His mind was somewhere else, wandering. He only came back to the present when he felt you staring through him.

"What?" He asked. You shrugged. You were simply admiring the golden halo of sunlight that illuminated the stray hairs on his head. But, could you tell him that?"

"Just enjoying the view, is all." You shrugged. He scoffed and shook his head.

"Yeah, right."

"What does that mean?" You asked.

"I'm covered in sweat and dry walker guts." He pointed out.

"So?"

"So, what? You into that kinda thing or somethin'?"

You giggled.

"I like how you look when the afternoon light hits you just right." You admitted. He fell at a loss for words. He didn't know how to take that, or respond to it.

"Too bad ya can't see yourself right now." He mumbled. You almost didn't hear him, so naturally it took a second for you to process what he said, but when you did your heart melted.

"Maybe we can take each other's word for it." You smiled. Your eyes lingered on each other for a moment, before you found yourself leaning closer to him. He didn't move. He was unsure if you were doing what he thought you were, but when your lips brushed his and and stayed there for a short time, before you pulled away, he knew.

Panic set in. When was the last time he had kissed someone? Was he even supposed to be kissing you? Surely if the world saw him too comfortable, too happy, it would rip you away from him. He stood up abruptly, picking up his crossbow and speeding away. Your heart sank down to your stomach.

"Wait!" You said, jumping up and jogging after him. "Wait! Please!" You pleaded.

He stopped and spun around fast. You almost ran straight into him. He was breathing hard, shouldered raising up and down.

"I--I'm sorry. I thought -- Look. If I misread, then we can just pretend it didn't happen, if that's what you want. I just... Please. Please don't shut me out. Don't close up. I didn't mean to ruin it." You begged, stumbling over your words.

"Ruin what?"

"Us! The way things are."

His heated expression faltered, softening a little as your watery, panicked eyes searched his.

"Can't ruin that." He relented, softly.

"Then why'd you run away?"

"I didn't run." He defended. "You just -- You walk slow."

You scoffed.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." You glared. He chewed at his bottom lip, shifting uncomfortably.

"Just.." He shrugged, searching for the right words. He wasn't good at this, or at least he didn't think he was. Up until the point of walking away from you just then, you were always impressed with him, even though he didn't impress himself. He took a breath. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay just don't shut me out okay?" You repeated. He nodded. The way he was looking reminded you of a puppy being scolded. You took two steps forward until you were close to him -- real close. "I'll stop of you tell me to." You whispered as you leaned in again, this time painstakingly slow, wanting to give him every opportunity to protest. He didn't, and if he wanted to, it was too late. You kissed him again, slow and sweet. His body was rigid, but he didn't fight. He didn't want to, but it did scare him. The more he cared, the more it would hurt if you were gone, but he guessed it was too late for that anyways.

His unsure hands slowly found your waist as his lips began to loosen and find your rhythm. He realized this was like some kind of drug. It got him high, the feeling of something so intimate with you. You were such a prize, so delicate and worth protecting, something meant to be locked away in a glass case and never touched by unworthy hands. He knew in that moment why he was so afraid, and it was because his hands were unworthy.

To you, though, he was the only person you wanted to be touched by. You reached around his neck and hugged over his shoulders. He pulled you in closer and you ignored the scratchy feeling of his stubble against your skin. Your hands found their way into his sweaty hair and you wove your fingers through the strands, gently, but not so gentle that he couldn't feel how desperate you were for him.

#daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon #twd daryl #the walking dead daryl #daryl x reader #daryl fanfiction #daryl twd #daryl x female reader #mdni

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willalove75 · 9 months

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Alcina's New Maid Pt. 13 Lady Dimitrescu x Reader

Summary: Donna arrives at the castle to help tend to your wounds.

Warnings: 18+ minors DNI

Tags: Pain, some blood, broken bones, angstttt

Notes: Part 13! I use Google Translate for all Romanian so I'm sorry if it's not accurate! If anyone speaks Romanian and notices anything that is inaccurate please let me know and I will fix it!

Click here for the rest of the series

Alcina cradled you in her arms for a few more minutes in an attempt to calm the both of you down. She was able to collect herself but you just laid there with tears streaming down your face, trembling in her arms. Never in your life have you been in this much pain, everything hurt, every inch of your body was in pain. Memories of tumbling down the stairs, the look in Stefana's eyes before and after she pushed you, watching Alcina's claws pierce through her all replayed in your head on an endless loop. You were so out of it, so engrossed in the memories that were haunting you you were barely able to register the fact that Alcina had been wiping away your tears or that she was placing small, soft kisses across your cheeks and forehead. When she spoke, her voice sounded so far away, like she was on the other end of a long hallway even though you were tucked tightly into her chest.

Looking down at you, Alcina saw the far away look in your eyes, she knew that you weren't okay and it killed her that there was nothing she could do to help ease your thoughts at the moment. There were more important things that had to be done right now, taking care of your wounds was the top priority. As she adjusted you in her arms she realized the fabric in the crook of her elbow where you head was resting was damp and clinging to her skin. Gently pulling her arm back, she saw blood staining her silk sleeve.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath.

The thought of chastising herself for cursing crossed her mind for a moment and she rolled her eyes in response. How can she possibly be concerned about swearing right now when you're broken and bleeding in her arms?

Realizing you must have split your head open when you fell down the stairs, she cursed herself for not realizing it sooner. She saw the puddle of blood under you but you had so many cuts and injuries, everything reeked of blood and she was in such a panic she didn't realize you had a head wound.

Alcina knew she had to take care of it right now. Even though it's been less than ten minutes since she found you at the bottom of the stairs, she didn't want you to lose too much blood. Her original plan was to wait for Donna but this needed immediate attention.

"Draga," she softly says. "Draga mea, I have to sit you up."

Alcina's warm voice washes over you, the sound bringing you the smallest amount of comfort as your thoughts tortured you.

"Draga, you have a head wound, I have to look at it." Looking down at you, the far away look in your eyes hasn't faltered. She doesn't even know if you can hear her. "I'm going to sit you up now, okay?"

She takes a deep breath and exhales, knowing no matter what she does, you're going to be in pain. As carefully as slowly as she can, she starts to sit you up.

You're violently ripped away from the endless loop of traumatic memories when you feel a sharp pain radiate through your body as she moves you. Crying out, you grasp onto her dress tighter with your good hand and lean into her.

The moment she hears you cry out in pain, Alcina stops moving. Tears fill her eyes once more as she watches you tremble.

"I know, I know it hurts, I'm sorry." She says as she tries to soothe you.

She notices the far away look in your eyes start to return and she knows she needs to get you back before you go there again. Even if it's just so she can sit you up.

"Y/n," she says, cupping your face. "Y/n, look at me." As you begin to dissociate once more you hear Alcina's voice, it's muffled, but she sounds closer than she was before. "Y/n, I need you to look at me." She starts gently caressing your face, trying to bring you back.

Her voice begins to sound more and more clear and you feel the sensation of her fingers gently gliding across your skin. You blink a few times and her face begins to come into focus.

"That's it, good job my love, keep looking at me."

As your senses are starting to come back, so does the pain. Alcina's face comes into focus to only be blurred again by tears.

"I know it hurts, I know." She coos. "Y/n, I have to sit you up, okay? Can I do that? I have to look at your head."

You nod and immediately wince at the shooting pain you feel in the back of your head. Alcina slowly and carefully begins to sit you up again. The pain is almost unbearable but after a few seconds you're sitting up in her lap, resting against her chest.

"Good job." She whispers as she kisses your head.

Gently leaning your chest against her arm, she pulls you away from her just enough for her to see the gash on the back of your head. She carefully examines it, moving away the pieces of hair matted with blood to get a good look at it. It's not that big, but it's big and deep enough to certainly need stitches. As she's examining you the door opens, looking up, she see's Bela and Daniela standing in the doorway.

Alcina's heart breaks again when she sees the looks and dried tears on her daughters faces. Daniela quickly wipes away fresh tears as she looks at you in her mothers arms and Bela does her best to hold back hers.

"Can one of you please grab the first aid kit?"

Bela immediately dissolves into flies and disappears into the bathroom, returning a few seconds later next to her mother with the first aid kit.

"Gauze?" Bela asks. Alcina nods her head. "Should we put a salve on it?" She asks.

"Not yet, I want to wait for Donna before administering anything. We just need to apply light pressure to the wound so it doesn't keep bleeding." Alcina says as she lays you against her chest once more.

Bela hands her the gauze and Alcina places it against the wound and lightly applies pressure. You wince for a second but the pain from the pressure subsides quickly. Alcina holds the back of your head, both to comfort you and to keep the gauze in place, and gently rubs small circles across your back. The faraway look in your eyes returns and she places a soft kiss to your forehead. Looking over to the doorway, Alcina sees Daniela still standing there, her tears now rapidly falling down her face once more.

"Come here, darling." Alcina says.

Daniela slowly walks over to the three of you, her eyes wide as she scans every cut, scrape and bruise starting to form on your skin. The hand Alcina had resting against your back reaches up and cups Daniela's face as she wipes away her tears with her thumb.

"E în regulă iubirea mea, nu-ți fie frică." Alcina says softly. (It's okay my love, don't be afraid.)

"O să fie bine? Nu arată bine mami." Daniela says as she starts to cry more. (Is she going to be okay? She doesn't look okay mommy.)

"Gândăcelul meu totul va fi bine." Alcina says before pulling Daniela closer and placing a long, soft kiss on her forehead. (Calm down my bug, everything will be fine.)

A light knock on the door pulls Alcina, Daniela and Bela's attention away. Looking up, Alcina sees a maid standing at the door. She looks terrified, her free hand has the fabric of her dress balled up in it as the other one lightly trembles.

"Pardon the interruption my Lady." She says with a shaking voice. "Lady Beneviento is here."

"HEY! What about me?!" You hear Angie yell from the hallway.

Alcina rolls her eyes at the doll.

"Please send them in."

The maid walks away and Donna enters the room with a large bag in her hand. Angie walks in after her, immediately sensing the somber mood.

"You all look like someone died! She just took a nosedive down the stairs, didn't she?!" She says. Every muscle in Alcina's body tenses and her eyes narrow at the doll. "Who would have thought that big 'ol scary claws here would fall for a human!" Angie says, walking around you and observing you. "And a tiny one for that matter! It's a miracle we're not here because you accidentally crushed her!"

"One more word out of you and I will pop your little head clean off of that stick you call a neck I swear to Mother Miranda I am not in the mood for your antics right now." Alcina snaps.

"Please don't, Alcina." Donna calmly says. Alcina's eyes shift from Angie, to Donna and back to Angie.

"Then I suggest you handle your doll before she makes me do something the both of you will regret." She growls, shooting daggers at Angie.

"Angie, why don't you and the girls run along and do something, it's been a while since you've all been together, yes?" Donna says and Alcina nods her head in agreement.

"But-" Daniela says.

"It's okay bug." Alcina says to Daniela. "Go with Angie and Bela and I'll come find you when we're finished."

Bela stands next to Daniela and they look at you for a moment. Bela sees the faraway look in your eyes and furrows her brows.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Besides the fact that she rolled down the stairs like a bowling ball?!" Angie screeches.

Alcina closes her eyes and tries to ground herself while her body tenses up again.

"I believe she's in shock." Donna says. "She's experienced a lot of trauma in a short period of time, it's going to take some time for her to mentally recover."

"Girls, go on, Donna and I have to take care of y/n." Alcina says.

Bela takes Daniela by the hand and the three of them walk out.

"Where the hell is Cass?!" They hear Angie say as the door closes.

Alcina releases a breath and relaxes a bit, placing a kiss on the top of your head. Donna removes her veil and tucks a few loose strands of hair behind her ears.

"Shall we begin?" Donna asks. Alcina nods her head. "Do you know what injuries she sustained?"

"She split the back of her head open," Alcina says, removing the gauze to see if the bleeding has stopped. When she see's that it didn't she puts the gauze back and continues to apply pressure. "I believe she broke or fractured her wrist, or her arm, or both. I'm not sure, I haven't had the chance to examine it yet. Various scrapes, cuts, bruising. The maid kicked her in the stomach after she went down the stairs so she may have broken or bruised ribs, possibly internal damage, I-I'm not really sure." Alcina's voice cracks and tears roll down her cheeks once more.

Donna places her hand on Alcina's shoulder and she looks at her sister with comforting eyes.

"She'll be okay." Donna says.

Alcina nods her head and wipes away her tears.

"Where should we start?"

"I would like to try and get her out of her dissociative state first if possible. I feel it would be cruel to begin taking care of her wounds and she comes out of it from the pain. Has she been like this since you brought her up here?"

"Yes, she came out of it for a moment, but only when I tried to move her after I realized she was bleeding from her head. I tried talking to her before I sat her up but she wouldn't come out of it. I was able to get through only after the pain brought her back. She was only out of this state long enough for me to adjust her and examine her head, she went back into it quickly."

Donna nods her head and rummages through her bag and pulls out a small jar. She walks over to you and Alcina and stands in front of your face.

"This should help get her out of it, when she comes back, I need you to grab her hand and gently squeeze it, every time you squeeze her hand, have her squeeze yours back."

Alcina nods and gently pries your good hand from the neckline of her dress. Once she's holding it, she nods to Donna who unscrews the cap and holds the jar a few inches away from your nose, slowly waving it back and fourth. Alcina gets a whiff of it and scrunches her nose and turns her head away.

As the memories replay over and over again in your head you feel trapped. You were aware that two more people entered the room at some point and then others left, but you have no idea who it was and truthfully, you didn't really care. Your body doesn't feel like its yours, it's like you're so deep in your mind the rest of your body doesn't exist. Just as you were finding comfort in this state, something floods your senses, a scent, a rather unpleasant one at that. It gets stronger and stronger and doesn't go away. Suddenly you feel like you're being pulled back into your body, into your consciousness, out of that space where you felt nothing. The scent is powerful, but you also pick up on a lighter, familiar scent, you recognize it as Alcina's perfume.

As more of your senses wake up you start to feel pain. At first it's only in a few places but the pain quickly spreads everywhere and you start to cry. Everything hurts, bad. The next thing you feel is a hand gently squeezing yours, muffled sounds come from above but you can't discern what they are. The strong, unpleasant scent persists as your senses awaken more.

Feeling something against your cheek, you start to realize that you're laying against Alcina. What you feel underneath you is her lap. Alcina has you sitting in her lap, resting against her chest. The thing wrapped around you, resting at the back of your head was her arm and her hand. A pain underneath her hand becomes more prevalent and more tears fall down your cheeks. You can still feel Alcina squeezing your hand as the voices become less muffled.

"That's it draga, it's okay, you're okay." The soft voice coos. That velvety voice can only come from one person. "Good job, I need you to squeeze my hand okay, can you do that?"

It takes a few moments for your brain to process what she's saying. She repeats herself a few times and you slowly start tightening your grip around her hand. She squeezes your hand back and you respond with another.

With each squeeze you receive and return you feel yourself coming back into reality more and more. Your vision clears up and you see a woman standing in front of you. The first thing you notice is how beautiful she is. As your eyes scan her face more, the second thing you notice is a large scar, or maybe a mass, over her eye. Her arm waves underneath you and you look down and see a small jar in her hand. Immediately you realize that the awful scent is coming from the jar and you close your eyes and scrunch your nose, pulling your face away from it.

Donna takes the jar away and screws the lid back on as Alcina continues to squeeze your hand.

"You're doing such a wonderful job my love." Alcina says softly and you look up at her. Her golden irises stare into yours for a moment as a beautiful smile graces her tear stained face. "Hello draga." She says and places a soft kiss on your forehead. She squeezes your hand once more and you don't return it. "No, no, keep squeezing my hand." She says and you continue to return each squeeze she gives you.

Each time you feel yourself slip back into the state you were in before you're brought back by a small squeeze from Alcina's hand. You feel yourself becoming more and more grounded with each passing moment.

"How are you feeling?" Alcina asks.

"Everything hurts." You say as more tears roll down your cheeks.

"I know love, I know." She says, kissing your head.

"Shall we begin?" Donna asks.

"Yes, we mustn't put it off any longer." Alcina says and looks back down at you. "We're going to start taking care of your wounds, okay draga? I know you're in a lot of pain, but we have to bandage you up, alright?"

"Okay."

"What hurts the most?"

"My wrist and my head, my stomach hurts pretty bad too. Honestly, everything hurts so bad." You say as more tears fall.

"I think she'll need stitches for her head wound and probably a cast for her arm." Alcina says.

"I don't have materials for a cast, but I can make a splint for her in the meantime." Donna replies.

As you look down at your arm you see how swollen it is, you can't move your wrist at all. There's no way you're going to be writing anything soon since you broke your dominant wrist.

"Oh shit." You say quietly. Alcina looks down at you with her brows furrowed. "I can't write." A panic starts to take over and you look up at Alcina. "Alcina, I- I can't write. The meeting next week, what am I going to do? What is she going to do to me if I-"

Alcina cuts you off wish a hush and holds you closely to her.

"It's okay, we'll figure something out, let me worry about that." She says, trying to calm you down.

Donna looks at Alcina with a confused look on her face and Alcina takes a deep breath and exhales.

"Mother Miranda requested she be at the meeting next week to 'take notes,' although I am inclined to believe she has other motives."

Donna's eyes go wide. "Oh."

"I completely forgot about- it all just happened and then this happened and-" Alcina shakes her head and looks down into your tear-filled eyes. "We will figure something out draga mea, I promise."

"She needs to be fully healed before the meeting." Donna says to herself as she rummages through her bag.

"The only way that would be possible if-"

"If we use this." Donna says, pulling out a green glass bottle.

"Donna, I- she's never been exposed to it, I don't know how she's going to react, I-"

"Will all due respect Alcina, if we don't try this, worse things will happen at the meeting next week. If Mother finds any reason-"

"I know." Alcina says.

"What is that?" You ask, looking between Donna and Alcina.

"It's a healing salve." Donna says.

"What's so special about it?"

"It contains the Mold." Donna says.

"It has mold in it?" You ask, confused.

"No, Mold, from the Megamycete?"

"The what?" You look up at Alcina, totally lost.

"Alcina, you never told her?"

"Told me what?" Panic starts to build in your chest, is there something happening you don't know about? What's going on?

Alcina senses your panic and rubs your back and places gentle kisses on your forehead.

"It's okay my love, calm down. I'll explain everything soon, I promise." You nod your head as your panic starts to settle. "No Donna, I haven't. Is it safe to use on her? As far as I know she's never been exposed to it before."

"Were you born and raised here in the village?" Donna asks you and you nod your head yes. "There's a good chance she was exposed to it without ever realizing it. Most people from the village are. Alcina, this is our only option."

"Okay."

"What is it?" You ask.

"I promise draga I will explain everything, but please let us help you first." You look up at Alcina with worry in your eyes. "Do you trust me?" She asks as she looks deep into your eyes.

Looking back into her eyes for a few moments, you take a small breath and quietly say "Yes."

The corner of her lip curls into a small smile and she softly kisses you on the lips.

Donna pours some of the salve onto fresh gauze and walks up to you.

"I will warn you, this is going to sting." You nod your head and press your forehead into Alcina's chest so Donna can place the gauze on your wound. "Hold still."

Alcina removes the bloodied gauze and gently holds onto the back of your neck with one hand while the other rests on your back, her thumb gently caressing you. Donna presses the gauze into the gash on your head. It stings at first but all of the sudden the back of your head feels like it's on fire. You do your best to hold still but the pain is so intense your body begins to tremble again as your cry into Alcina. She tightens her grip on you trying to hold you still but to also comfort you.

After a few agonizing seconds that felt like minutes, Donna pulls away and the pain subsides. She runs her fingers through your hair where the wound was and you feel no pain.

"Perfect." She says, pleased with herself before she throws the used gauze away.

Running your own fingers through the back of your head, you realize the wound is gone. Alcina sees the shock and confusion on your face and smiles.

"It's gone, the salve healed it." Alcina says.

"Instantly? Why didn't you use this when I had to get stitches!"

"Because I wasn't sure how your body would react to it, it was such a minor injury I didn't feel the need to risk your health any further."

"Can it heal my arm?"

"That I am unsure of since it's technically an internal injury, but we can try. Let me see." Donna says. You reach out your arm and she gently takes hold of it, her soft, warm fingers tracing and gently feeling the bones in your wrist and arm. "Your wrist is definitely broken and I think you fractured your arm but I can't be certain without an x-ray. I can try soaking the salve in bandages and wrapping it around your arm to see if it works."

"And if it doesn't?" You ask.

"You may need to ingest it. But lets try this first."

Donna pulls out a small bowl from her bag and pours some of the salve into it. She dunks a few bandages into the bowl and wrings them out. Once she's satisfied she brings the wraps over to you and wraps your arm from your hand up to your elbow. It's definitely more than necessary but she'd rather do too much than not enough.

Quickly you feel a softer burning sensation, it wasn't as intense as the head wound, but Donna suspects that its because the salve has to work through your skin and muscle to get into the bones. She applies the salve to a few other scrapes and cuts you have and has Alcina lay you down to examine your stomach.

Alcina slowly pulls your shirt up to just under your breasts. As your skin is revealed to her you see a myriad of emotions in her eyes. Shock, sadness, pain, guilt, and anger all flash across them as she reveals the bruises riddling your skin from the kick.

Gently pressing her fingers into you, Alcina feels around your ribs for any cracks and your abdomen for any signs of internal bleeding. Although she can't feel any breaks, more tears fall from you when she presses against a few spots on your ribs.

"They may be fractured or just badly bruised. Your stomach is a little inflamed but I'm not certain of what internal injuries you may or may not have."

"She should drink it Alcina, even just to err on the side of caution in case she does have internal damage. Plus, her wrist still isn't healed and it might speed up the process." Donna says.

As you look at the two of them while they talk, your gaze focuses on Alcina. The woman you love. The woman who just brutally murdered someone right in front of you. You've never seen someone die before, especially not like that. You've heard the stories, how she brutally murdered innocent people for fun. It's not that you didn't believe them, it's just that they were just hard to believe. Especially when the Alcina you've come to know and love is so gentle, so kind, so loving; you wonder how much of her you've really seen.

"Is that alright with you draga?" Alcina asks. She notices you lost in your thoughts and gently cups your face, bringing your gaze to hers. "Draga?" Alcina pulls you out of your spiral and you look up at her. "Is everything okay?" Nodding your head, you know she's not convinced but she sighs, letting it go for now and gently strokes your cheek. "Are you okay with drinking the salve?"

"I guess?"

Donna walks over with a new bottle and a garbage can while Alcina helps you sit up. It hurts like hell but after a minute you're sitting up against the headboard.

Donna hands you the bottle and keeps the trashcan close to you.

"Try and drink half of it if you can. It is going to taste awful, but you have to swallow it and do your best at keeping it down."

You look over at Alcina, who adjusted herself to sit next to you on the bed, and she gives you a comforting smile and nods her head. Her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes, you can see a little fear and worry in them.

Taking a deep breath, you bring the bottle to your lips and take a few large sips. Right before the liquid hits your tongue the smell fills your nostrils. Immediately your reaction is to pull it away because the smell is revolting but you fight the urge as you try and chug as much of it as you can. The second the salve hits your tongue you feel a burning sensation that follows the liquid down your throat and into your stomach. The taste is so awful you have to force yourself to keep drinking as tears run down your face. The salve sits heavily in your stomach and you feel your insides twist as your body tries to reject it. Pushing the bottle towards Donna, as soon as she grabs it you slap your hand over your mouth to try and stop yourself from vomiting.

Alcina is whispering praises as she rubs your back while your insides violently twist. The burning sensation feels like it's seeping out of your stomach and into every organ, every vein, every cell in your body until your entire body feels like its on fire. You tried your best to hold back your cries but as soon as you feel your ribs shifting and the bones in your wrist moving you scream, curing into fetal position on the bed.

The only other thing you could compare the feeling to would be when a fever breaks. But this sensation was a thousand times worse and filled with more pain that you've ever experienced. As the pain crescendos your stomach violently twists once more and you grab the trashcan from Donnas hand. Your body rejects everything that was in your stomach and you spill your guts into the garbage.

Once you're sure you're not going to vomit anymore you hand the garbage back to Donna and exhaustion floods your body. You practically collapse back into your spot as your body trembles from everything it just went through.

Alcina takes a handkerchief and gently wipes your mouth. Looking up into her eyes, all of the emotions you've felt over the last hour hit and you curl up into a ball and sob. Wrapping her arms around you, Alcina pulls you into her and holds you as tears of her own roll down her cheeks.

Watching you suffer was like torture to her. If she had to feel twice the pain you experienced just so you would have had none, she would have taken it in a heartbeat. She was so scared when she saw you laying at the bottom of the steps. For a moment terror filled her because she thought you were dead. Her heart had never sank so low so quickly in her life. She was relieved when she realized you were alive but then all she saw was red the second she laid eyes on Stefana. Truthfully when Alcina thought about killing her before this incident, she wasn't planning on making it quick. She had every intention of torturing her and letting her daughters do whatever they wanted to her until Alcina finally finished her off. But in that moment none of that mattered, she just needed that maid out of the way so she could get to you.

Alcina can feel your tiny body trembling underneath her as you cry. She carefully pulls you closer, afraid to hurt you more or again, and holds you.

"You're okay my love, you're safe now. You're safe." She whispers as she comforts you. "It's okay, it's okay. Close your eyes, you need to rest."

You try and close your eyes but the tears just keep falling. Alcina sits up in the bed and scoops you into her arms. She wipes the tears from your eyes and kisses you on the forehead while she gently rocks you. The sound of her heartbeat helps to calm you but its her voice when she starts softly singing that really soothed you. Slowly you started drifting off to sleep in Alcina's arms.

Alcina looked down at you as your eyelids fluttered closed, the tears stopped falling and she knew you were finally asleep when your breathing evened out. She sat there with you in her arms studying your face, she loved how peaceful you looked. That finally there wasn't a single thing in the world plaguing your brain. You were completely at peace. Never has she loved someone as much as she loves you in this moment.

Donna begins packing away her things and Alcina looks up at her. Donna meets her gaze and smiles at her sister. Her eyes flicker from you back up to Alcina and her smile deepens. Confident that you're in a deep sleep, Alcina get up and gently lays you on the bed and pulls the covers over you. She kisses your head and whispers "I love you, sweet dreams draga." before turning to face Donna.

"Lets speak elsewhere, she needs rest." Donna says softly.

"I will meet you downstairs."

Donna nods at Alcina and leaves the room with her bag in her hand. Alcina removes her blood-stained dress and throws on a simple black one. She looks you over once more before heading to the door and softly closing it behind her.

Downstairs Alcina meets Donna in one of the sitting rooms.

"I think we have to have a conversation my dear sister." Donna says quietly.

"I think we do too."

#willalove75 #wlw fanfic #alcina dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu fanfic #re8 lady dimitrescu #lady alcina #lady dimitrescu x reader #alcina x female reader #alcina x reader #re8 alcina #alcina dimitriscu x reader #re8 fanfiction #re8 village #re8

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jenanigans1207 · 1 year

Text

“Did you ever think,” Kyu sets down the glass he had been polishing to make direct eye contact with Kazuki. Or as direct as was possible with Kazuki, who had thrown himself dramatically over the countertop and was staring up through his eyelashes. “that you aren’t the only one who’s afraid?”

Kazuki’s eyebrows rise so far up that they disappear below his hair. “What?”

“I’m just saying.” Kyu shrugs like this isn’t a vastly important conversation, shrugs like he doesn’t have the entirety of Kazuki’s attention laser-focused on him. “It’s something to consider.”

It’s silent for a moment as Kazuki contemplates this. And then he sits upright, the conversation demanding proper posture. “What does Rei have to be afraid of?”

Kyu doesn’t say anything, but his gaze bores heavily into Kazuki.

But the question hangs in the air between them. What does Rei have to be afraid of? He has an apartment, a job, and Kazuki. Between those things, there isn’t anything he could want for. Between those things, there isn’t even anything that Rei needs to do, that’s the whole goddamn problem. He doesn’t have to do the dishes, or the laundry, doesn’t have to kiss Miri’s scraped knees, or tuck her into bed. He doesn’t have to do anything because he knows that Kazuki will.

“Kyu.” Kazuki says on the end of a sigh.

Kyu lets out his own sigh and leans against the counter. “You’re complaining that Rei won’t help with Miri, right?”

“Right.” Kazuki confirms. When Kyu just stares at him pointedly, Kazuki adds. “She’s a handful, but she’s not scary.”

“He’s not scared of Miri.” Kyu answers, a wry smile on the corners of his lips at the thought of sweet, darling Miri being scary. “He’s scared of not being a good enough father.”

The words stir something in Kazuki. It’s a fear that he knows well, too. Miri deserves everything, every happiness that has ever existed. He, too, is constantly afraid that he’s falling short of their precious daughter. It’s not like he has any more experience in this than Rei, not like he has any clue what the hell they’re supposed to be doing. He’s certainly failed as many times as he has succeeded, but those failures haven’t stopped him yet.

“The easiest way to not be good enough is to not try.” Kazuki murmurs after a minute, but some of his bitterness has receded.

The thought of Rei being afraid softens something in Kazuki. Besides the fact that Rei is completely fearless with his own life— though it’s not that he’s fearless about losing his life as much as it is that he disregards the importance of his own life— he doesn’t show too many emotions and when he does show them, they’re small. Kazuki had learned to read all of Rei’s micro expressions though, had learned how to notice the emotions that he did feel. And it was true that recently there had been more of them.

When Kyu responds, his voice is quiet and somber, his words cutting straight through to Kazuki’s heart. “What if he tries and he’s not better than the boss?” Kyu stares at him, intense. “The only example he has of a father is the kind of father he doesn’t want to be.”

“Rei would never be anything like that!” Kazuki defends vehemently, slamming a fist down on the counter between him and Kyu. “He’s so gentle with Miri! He would give her anything she wanted without hesitation, and he worries about her. He would never treat her the way he was treated!”

“I know that.” Kyu answers. “And you know that. But does Rei know that?”

Kazuki feels the blood in his veins turn to ice as he considers Kyu’s point. Does Rei know that he’s nothing like his father? Does he know that the only thing Miri wants from him is just for him to try? So what if he fumbles and makes the most ridiculous rice balls Kazuki has ever heard of? Miri will love it and Kazuki’s heart will melt in his chest as he watches the way Rei tries not to smile.

But at the same time, Kazuki knows that Kyu is on to something and honestly, he feels a little silly for not having figured it out himself. Kazuki had been the one to join up with Rei almost immediately after Rei had moved out of his family’s estate, he had seen first hand all the damage that had been done to Rei and his heart. And maybe it was because Kazuki generally thought of Rei as numb that he didn’t consider the possibility of Rei being scared, but even that doesn’t sit right with him. Because Rei hasn’t been numb for a long time, now.

In the beginning he had been, completely and utterly without an opinion at any point. He moved like a robot, did what he was told, and kept to himself all the rest of the time. It was months before Kazuki found out that there were foods that Rei didn’t like and even longer before the first time he heard Rei laugh. But now Kazuki did know Rei’s food preferences, knew what his laugh sounded like, had seen the warmth of his smile. Now he knew that Rei could play the piano, and he napped like a cat in the sunlight during long summer afternoons. Now he knew that Rei had a quick wit, he just had to listen closely to hear the quips. Rei even sought him out now, inviting him to play games or just seating himself at the table while Kazuki worked on something. He may still do bizarre shit like sleep in the bathtub, but he also valued human connection now.

Rei wasn’t the cold, isolated, shut-down person he had been when they first met. And now that they had Miri, he was changing even more right before Kazuki’s eyes. He was softening, warming, learning how to be responsible. He was learning to give bits of himself to someone else— he just never seemed to realize that he had those bits to give.

“So that’s it…” Kazuki whispers, thinking of all the times Rei hesitated when Miri asked him to do something.

He wanted so badly to make Miri happy that he was paralyzed by his fear that he couldn’t bring her that desired happiness. He wanted so badly for Miri to have the kind of childhood he never had that he had convinced himself that he needed to be uninvolved, lest he bring the same tragedy to her, too. Every time Rei hesitated, or pushed her off onto Kazuki instead, it came from a genuinely selfless desire for Miri to have the best, and a genuine belief that he could never the best that Miri deserved.

It’s so obvious, Kazuki wants to kick himself for not seeing it. It’s so fucking stupid, Kazuki wants to kick Rei for believing that he was anything other than a gift to both him and Miri. He wanted to kick Rei for not seeing how much they both loved him, how happy everyone was when he involved himself in something. He wanted to kick Rei for not recognizing that Miri felt safe with him, something that he never would’ve been able to say about his own dad.

“Thanks, Kyu.” Kazuki says as he stands abruptly, the chair scraping behind him.

Kyu probably says something in response, but Kazuki is already halfway out the door.

—x

When Kazuki makes it home, he finds Rei seated on the couch, controller in hand, tv muted as he plays his games in clear attempt to not wake Miri who is sprawled out across his lap. Even from the doorway, Kazuki can see Miri’s small smile in her sleep, her cheek smooshed against Rei’s leg, her arm thrown over his lap.

“Welcome back,” Rei says quietly as Kazuki crosses into the apartment fully.

The apartment isn’t as clean as Kazuki would’ve had it if he’d been home all day, but it’s also not the disaster he had expected it to be. There was clearly at least some attempt to clean that had been made, and that realization alone makes Kazuki’s throat tighten.

“Have you guys eaten dinner?” Kazuki asks, clearing his throat when his words come out a little strangled.

Rei has completely paused his game and is regarding Kazuki wearily, obviously hesitant after Kazuki had stormed out this morning. “There were leftovers.”

“And you actually heated them up this time?” Kazuki teases.

The joke seems to diffuse some of Rei’s hesitation and he rolls his eyes, refusing to dignify the comment with a response. Instead, he just turns back to the tv and resumes his game. But even as he’s playing, Kazuki can feel the way Rei is keeping tabs on him out of the corner of his eye.

Kazuki continues to stand awkwardly at the edge of the couch for a few long seconds, trying to decide how to go about the conversation he wants to have. When Rei pauses his game a second time and turns to him with raised eyebrows and a frown, he decides there isn’t a tactful way to go about it and chooses to just dive on in.

“Rei, you know that you’re nothing like your father, right?” Kazuki says, his voice quiet. He can’t quite bring himself to meet Rei’s eyes, but he’s still looking in Rei’s direction.

Which means that he sees the way Rei’s lips part in surprise, his eyebrows rising. “What?”

“That’s what all this is, right?” Kazuki asks, gesturing vaguely to where Miri is curled up against him, feeling his heart swell as Rei looks down at her and his eyes soften. “All the things you refuse to do with her— it’s because you think you’re doing to be a shit father like he was, isn’t it?”

Rei is quiet for a long second and this time, the conflicting emotions are so clear on his face that anyone would be able to see them, not just Kazuki. Kazuki had learned a long time ago to give Rei time and space when waiting for a response and so that’s what he does— he waits quietly until Rei pulls together wherever it is that he wants to say.

And even though Kazuki expects his response to be heartbreaking, he’s not prepared for how it hurts.

“I didn’t have a good childhood.” Rei glances up, but then immediately glances away when he noticed Kazuki’s attention. “I was raised to be an assassin. And assassins don’t smile, they don’t laugh, they don’t get to experience or enjoy life. That’s— that’s all I know and I don’t want that for Miri.”

Honestly, if Miri weren’t in his lap, Kazuki doesn’t think he’d be able to stop himself from dragging Rei into a hug.

“I’ve met your dad.” Kazuki concedes with an inclination of the head, his throat so tight that it burns. “He’s not warm or patient, he’s not gentle or caring. But Rei, you are. You always have been, even before we had Miri.” Rei’s head snaps in his direction, his eyes wide as he listens. “You’ve always been the one to bandage my wounds, or to take care of me when I’m sick. You’ve always put my safety first on a job.”

“That’s different—“

“No it’s not.” Kazuki interrupts before Rei can say anything else. “For the childhood you had, those things are monumental. And I’m so proud of you for them.”

Rei swallows and looks away. “That doesn’t mean I can do shit like cook bentos and heal broken hearts.”

“Do you remember what you said to me the first time I tried to bandage one of your wounds?” Kazuki ducks his head a little to catch Rei’s eyes.

“That you sucked at it.”

“That I would get better if I practiced,” Kazuki recalls, completely ignoring Rei’s quip. It's actually not that uncommon for Kazuki to remember that day, because Rei's words had been so gentle and unexpected. For a guy who had been nothing but quiet and isolated since they had met, he'd been so quick to try to encourage and reassure Katsuki. "You told me that trying was all that mattered and if I kept trying, I would be good in no time."

Kazuki watches as the point strikes home, as Rei's shoulders hunch up to his ears in a last ditch defense. He watches as Rei shifts, just a little, as if trying to get away from the thought. But he has Miri in his lap and wouldn't risk disturbing her.

"I—"

"Rei." Kazuki finally crosses the distance between them and crouches in front of the couch. He has one hand placed on Rei's knee, the other gently on Miri's back. She stirs in her sleep, her smile growing as if she can feel both of her papas there. She snuggles closer to Rei. "Don't you see that you've already been trying? That's why Miri and I love you so much."

Rei's breath hitches and Kazuki can't stop a wobbly smile as he looks up at Rei's shocked face. "You guys—?"

"Love you?" Kazuki repeats, laughing a little. "Thanks for noticing."

"Kazuki..." Rei meets his gaze, even if he still looks a little uncomfortable. His hand finds Kazuki's where it rests on Miri's back, warm as his fingers thread through Kazuki's. "Thanks."

Kazuki's heart beats so hard in his chest that he thinks it might break through his ribs entirely. He's been fortunate enough to love a lot of things in his life. His childhood may not have been great, but it hadn't robbed him of simple pleasures and joys the way Rei's had. Kazuki had been able to experience a lot of things and had been able to love a lot of people throughout his life, but he wasn't sure he'd ever loved anyone quite the way he loved Rei and this family they had created. Because this was the kind of thing that defied all odds, this was the kind of thing that absolutely should not exist, but did. They fought tooth and nail every day to create a better life than the one they had both been given and it was moments like this where Kazuki really realized that they were succeeding.

"Now if you really don't want to be like your dad," Kazuki says as he tightens his fingers around Rei's, "You can learn to do things like the dishes, and how to style Miri's hair."

Rei rolls his eyes, but his smile is the biggest Kazuki has ever seen and it's definitively warm and content. It makes Kazuki think his heart might burst instead, but he loves the feeling. He smiles back at Rei, starting to press back up into a standing position.

But Rei's hand on his his firm, and it doesn't allow Kazuki to go far.

Kazuki pauses, halfway to a standing position, hunched over as he looks at Rei.

"For the record," Rei is looking down at their conjoined hands, his cheeks dusted the same pink as Miri's shirt. "I love you guys, too."

This time, it's Kazuki's breath that gets caught in his throat as he waits for Rei to look up at him. "Yeah?"

Rei sets down his controller from his other hand, reaching out for Kazuki. Kazuki comes willingly, easily, leaning into the space above Miri's head. Kazuki has been lucky enough to love a lot of things in his life, but he's never loved something quite the way he loves kissing Rei with their daughter between them. He's never loved something quite as much as he loves the delighted laugh Miri lets out as she wakes up to her dads kissing above her, the way she throws her arms around both of their necks demanding her own kisses.

And he's definitely never loved anything as much as he loves watching Rei lean in to press a kiss to Miri's cheek, Miri's eyes sparkling as she babbles about how much she loves her papas.

The world may not have been kind to either of them in the past, but they were building a new world of their own and Kazuki was certain that they could change, could break the molds that had been cast for them. With enough love and dedication, he was certain that they could turn their future into anything they wanted it to be. And the way Rei was looking back at him over Miri's head suggested that for the first time, he believed those things, too.

#holy shit this was not supposed to turn into this #this was literally just supposed to be like a thought that rei is afraid of turning into his dad #and then we got a whole ass first kiss and love confession #jfc #buddy daddies #kazurei

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mega-aulover · 2 months

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Valentine's Tree

Summary: Valentine's is approaching and everyone is excited about hanging a valentine for their sweetheart on the Valentine's Tree. Katniss doubts she's going to receive one - since she hasn't had one since her father died. Canon Compliant - set five years after the ending but before the epilogue in Mockingjay

Rated M: Katniss is Jealous when she learns Peeta received Valentine. Peeta is so Romantic. Romance. Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Delly Cartwright, Haymitch Abernathy, - Thanks to @theforgottenweasley for betaing the story-

The first year Katniss didn't get a Valentine on the Valentine tree was the year her father died. The Valentine's Tree was located near the town, it was where all of the sweethearts hung up their Valentines. No one remembers when the tradition started. Or how it became a District Twelve tradition. All Katniss knew is that seeing the snow-clad tree strung up with hand spun cut out pink, red, and white hearts lifted the spirits of everyone in the district.

It was supposed to be done in secret, but for the established couples or parents leaving Valentines for their spouses or children, it was a sweet task.

Her father used to hang up Valentines for his gals. One for her mother, one for Prim, and one for Katniss. But because Katniss was pretty popular in school, she used to receive many Valentines from all of her classmates. Many of them liked Katniss for her voice, something she inherited from her father.

The year her father died was the year her light dimmed and she stopped singing. Katniss stopped living and started surviving. She had no time for such things, she told herself over and over again, but in her heart, Katniss wanted a Valentine. Every February 14th when she snuck to that tree to hang up Prim's Valentine, she would browse the tree looking for a small token but there wasn't any.

Then Prim was reaped. And Katniss properly forgot about the tree. She lived with a terror more pressing than hunger. Survival became an art form, she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and the tree sat empty for the first time in memory. When the bombs came, the tree caught fire and was destroyed much like District Twelve.

That was five years ago.

Katniss couldn't believe how time had flown by. After the war, as she and Peeta healed, they grew closer. A week ago they quietly had a Toasting. Haymitch was present and so was Effie. Though, Effie refused to stay with Haymitch and his geese. Thom, District Twelve's Mayor, filled out their paperwork and sent it to the Capitol, requesting to keep their marriage out of the public eye. There was a great interest in the lives of Katniss and Peeta, and it was important to their mental health and safety to keep their lives out of the media.

Since they Toasted, nothing much changed. Peeta still baked in his bakery. Katniss still hunted. They still lived in the Victors Village, though they often switched homes, whose ever house they were in at nightfall was where they slept.

Tonight they were in her home. Peeta was exhausted after working at the bakery and found her making stew. Katniss embraced him as soon as he stepped through the door and had a steaming cup of tea waiting for him. Life was short, and the war had taught her to appreciate the small moments and not just the grandiose spots.

Later that night she was right where she wanted to be, wrapped in his arms. The fireplace was lit and she was dozing off when she heard Peeta say. "You know, they're thinking of bringing back the Valentine's Tree."

"Hmmm," she hummed. Katniss snuggled into his chest, his scent was warm and delicious, much like the savory cheese-buns she had with her tomato soup tonight.

"Delly thinks it will be a nice way to bring back something to the district. She was going to bring it up to Thom."

Katniss nodded, half asleep.

"I remember my first Valentine that wasn't from Delly."

This brings her fully awake.

"Say what?"

READ the rest Here

#The Valentine's Tree #By Mega-Aulover #Mega writes #FanFiction #The Hunger Games #Hunger Games #Everlark FanFiction #Katniss Everdeen #Peeta Mellark #Delly Cartwright #Haymitch Abernathy #Primrose Everdeen

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lt-natrace · 1 year

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just saying

Description: your childhood best friend, bob, is getting really sick of the men you date

Content: being cheated on, mentions of the bird strike, mentions of alcohol, going through a man’s phone, little woman quotes, thinking no one will ever love you like you deserve, little bobby being hurt for like 3 minutes but i fix it, childhood best friends to lovers

Word Count: 2.8k

I wrote this for @jostystyles playlist writing challenge and it was supposed to be posted like 3 weeks ago but life happens sometimes. I chose the song just saying but specifically the lyric "he says he loves you but it's all an act". This also wasn't beta'd so any mistakes are mine and you should just ignore them.

“He just gives me a weird feeling, okay?” Bob said once again, earning an eye roll from you as you walked from the bathroom to your closet.

“Bob,” you started, causing him to look up at you, “I’m not having this conversation again.”

He let out a huff of annoyance and crossed his arms like he used when you’d fight as children. After two decades of being Bob’s best friend, he’s never really changed his habits or learned to let you make your own mistakes. Despite what everyone may think looking at your career paths, a wizzo for the navy and a freelance writer, he was the more reserved and anxious one in the friendship. Even as kids, he would be the one to ask if something was a good idea and as teenagers he would always scold you for making bad choices. It was one of the things that made your friendship work so well.

“Whatever,” he replied flatly, standing up from where he was sitting on your bed, “I have to meet Phoenix for lunch, be safe tonight.”

You gave him a small smile and mumbled out an “I will” as he turned to walk out your front door, leaving you alone with your thoughts. He was your best friend but he drove you insane with how critical he was of the guys you went out with. Bob has always found something wrong or suspicious with each of the guys you’ve dated; Jason made you cry too much, Ethan was too flirty, Zach was too old and so on and so forth. Maybe he ended up being right about every single one of them but Carter was different, seriously. He had a stable job at his Dad’s company, took you to nice dinners and the sex wasn’t bad. Despite all these facts, Bob didn’t like him. All it took was one dinner with him and Bob called you on the way home to tell you everything he thought was wrong. It didn’t matter, Bob wasn’t the boss of you and didn’t get to have a say in who you dated, even if it started fights between the two of you.

—-------

A few hours had passed since Bob left your apartment and the sound of loud banging on the front door pulled you from your research. You closed your laptop screen slightly and walked towards the door, slowly checking the peep hole to see who was waiting on the other side. To your surprise you were met with the sight of Bob, frantically fixing his glasses and trying to catch his breath. He jumped slightly as you opened the front door, letting out a sigh of relief as his eyes met yours.

“Oh thank goodness you haven’t left yet.” He said, pushing past you and turning to face you as he got a few steps into your apartment, “I need to tell you something, it’s really important.”

You’d seen Bob shaken up many times in your life, but this was a whole new level. His hands were shaking, his face was flushed from what you assumed was him running up the multiple flights of stairs and he was pacing back and forth. You watched him for a moment, trying to take in his energy and figure out what could possibly have gotten him so worked up. He stared at you until you motioned him to speak.

“Carter,” he started and you let out a groan of frustration, “No, I’m serious, you need to listen to me. He was at lunch with some girl, she had dark hair and-”

“Jesus Christ,” you cut him off as before verifying the time on your watch, “He was probably getting lunch with a coworker or a business partner.”

“Do you hold hands and pay for business partner’s lunches?” He pushed back as he took a few more steps and began to lean onto the counter. It wasn’t until this moment that you realized how much broader he had gotten on his most recent deployment. You walked to the other side of the island and matched his motion in a sad attempt to stand your ground against him, “He wouldn’t do that to me, he loves me.” You tried, unsure of who you were trying to convince at this point.

“Do you even hear yourself right now? That douchebag has you so wrapped around his fucking finger that you would do anything to defend him, he says he loves you but it’s all an act, he has someone behind your back!” Bob snapped back, his voice suddenly taking up the kitchen. He was never one to raise his voice, especially at a woman and his actions only made you angrier.

“You know what, I know what this is about. You’re jealous,” your voice was laced with venom as you spoke and Bob let out a small laugh, “Yeah, you’re jealous that I’ve found someone I wanna tell everything to and you haven’t. I can’t be that for you forever Bob, it’s time to grow up.”

Bob swore he’d felt his heart break when he had to watch you go to prom with the quarterback or when he couldn’t find Phoenix after their ejection. But this feeling as he watched you walk away from him was worse than heartbreak, this made his stomach turn and he had to fight back the bile rising in his throat. Before you could say anything else, Bob was storming out of your apartment and slamming the door so hard you swore the hinges came off. You and Bob had fought before but never anything like this. You wanted to run after him and tell him you didn’t mean any of it but you couldn’t. Your feet stayed planted in your kitchen, the silence somehow louder than the argument that had just taken place.

As if on cue, your phone began to ring and a picture of Carter from the last date you two had gone on flashed across the screen. For a moment, you debated ignoring it, Bob’s accusations still heavy in the back of your mind. You pushed them back as you answered the call and tried to hide the shake in your voice.

—----

It’s been nearly a month since your fight with Bob. The two of you had spoken a few times but mainly conversations in passing about your days or if the other was going out that weekend. Bob had tried to make amends a few times but you ignored every attempt, he had no right to step into your relationship and throw accusations like that with not even a grainy picture to back it up. Above all, you were upset that he put such an idea into your mind in the first place. Now you felt like you were putting Carter’s every action under a microscope and looking for a flaw in it, even if you genuinely believed he was innocent.

You cursed Bob again as you tried desperately to see if Carter had left his location turned on. To your dismay, he hadn’t. He was supposed to pick you up for dinner over an hour ago. It wasn’t the first time he was late but it was the first time he didn’t have an excuse. He had a tough job and was usually forced to stay late at the office working on whatever he did all day. It wasn’t that you didn’t care to ask, he just assured you it was complicated and difficult to understand. Usually you’d pace for a little and then clean up a bit so it looked nice when he got here, but not this time. You sat on the couch, your heels ditched as you refreshed his location again.

After a few more moments, you heard the spare key clicking the lock of your front door open and sprang to your feet as he opened the door. He was still in his work suit with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of expensive wine in one hand and take out from your favorite restaurant in the other. You couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed at the canceled plans after the effort you had put in getting ready but you could never turn down a night in, especially after what you assumed was a hard day on his part.

“Woman, my god you look good. If I knew this was what was waiting for me I would have told them to cancel the meeting all together.” He said as you made your way over to him and reached up to kiss his cheek, “Let me grab a quick shower and we can eat, feel free to open that bottle up.”

Usually this action would have warmed your heart but you can’t help but hear Bob’s voice repeating over and over in your mind. You’ve never been the jealous type, if someone wanted to go out and ruin what you had they could go ahead and do it, their loss. However, the sight of his phone sitting on the counter, lost under the flowers caused something to change in your mind. It’s an invasion of privacy absolutely, but what if it just unlocked when you moved it?

A text lighting up his screen pulled you from your thoughts. A picture from someone named Brett flashed across the screen. Against what you were raised to believe was right or wrong, you unlocked it. The picture filled the screen and you saw a t-shirt that you had bought him on someone who was definitely not Brett. She had dark brown hair that fell to one side and the hem was pulled up slightly to reveal black lace. You listened for a second to see if the water was still running before scrolling through more messages. Most of them were plans to meet up at some point but one in particular caught your eye. It was from almost a month ago and he was reassuring her that Bob hadn’t noticed they were at the restaurant. Your stomach turned and you held back a dry heave as you grabbed your phone to take pictures of the messages.

You pushed back your tears as you heard the water turn off and quickly put the phone back to where it was, preparing yourself to watch his every move as you poured a heavy glass of wine. It only took him a moment to appear back in the kitchen, his suit traded for a pair of sweats and you made your way to him, holding your arms out for a hug. He put his arms around you and you could feel his gaze behind you on the counter, frantic eyes hoping to see his phone in the same spot.

“Oh honey, some guy named Brett texted you while you were upstairs.” You said as you pulled away.

He saw him tense for a moment before quickly relaxing in an attempt to not raise suspicions. He made his way towards the cupboard to grab a glass and you continued, “he said he found one of your shirts, I think it was the one I got you from that concert a few months ago.”

The glass slipped from his hands and he turned around quickly, “It’s not what you think.”

You stared blankly at him as you attempted to control your breathing and stay calm. He really thought you were stupid and would believe him.

“Not what I think?” you questioned, your voice cracking at the end, “What it looks like is while I’ve put my dreams on hold to be your housewife in training, you’ve been going out and fucking an intern while I wait at home, hoping you’ll be home before dinner gets cold.”

He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. You spoke up again before he got a chance to reply, “Get out”

His face twisted in confusion, assuming he misheard you, “What did you say?”

“I’m telling you to get out, I want my spare key on the counter now and I’ll leave your stuff at your house later.” You replied, shocked at how much you were able to hide the shakiness of your voice. In the nearly year of dating, you had never talked back to him and the shock on his face told you that no one ever had.

It didn’t take long for the anger and shock to fade into embarrassment. In fact by the time your feet felt the cool bathroom tile, a few tears had begun to fall. The sight of the makeup and outfit you spent too much time on in an attempt to impress Carter only made them fall harder. They weren’t out of sadness for the situation but instead for how you treated Bob when he tried to warn you. You stared at your phone for a moment, debating if it was too late to call him. You decided to give it a try anyways and the sight of Bob’s contact photo caused your heart to break even further as the fear that you might have ruined everything hit you. It was an old photo from college that you took as he subtly flipped you off and you wondered if the two of you could ever go back to how it was then.

He picked up on the second ring and the sound of his slight drawl caused a small smile to appear on your face, “Hello?”

You sniffled deeply and heard rustling coming through the speaker, “Are you okay?”

Before you could reply, you heard Bob’s front door slamming and his shoes hitting the pavement quickly. The call was disconnected as he got into his truck and you were left in silence with your thoughts again. You debated changing but couldn’t convince your body to get up and face yourself in the mirror.

The sound of your front door being opened a few minutes later caused you to lift your head from the bathroom floor, “Carter, I told you-” you started before seeing who had opened the door, “Bob? You came.”

“You called.” He replied, kneeling down next to you and pushing your hair off of your face. You couldn’t imagine how you must have looked, mascara beginning to smear under your eyes, your hair getting caught on your dampened cheeks. Despite this, Bob’s face didn’t falter, he only used his hands to push your hair off your face and his thumbs to wipe your cheeks.

“You were right,” you started as you sat up slightly, your eyes unable to meet his, “I feel so stupid.”

Bob’s body tensed, his jaw clenching as he wrapped his arms around you. This isn’t the first break up Bob had held you through and at this point, it won’t be the last. Despite all the times your exes had tried to get Bob out of your life, he has always been there to pick up the pieces they left you in.

“I’m scared no one will ever love me,” you whispered so quietly, if it wasn’t for your head against Bob’s neck he probably wouldn’t have heard you.

You felt Bob’s breath hitch at your admission and another wave of embarrassment washed over you. It was a thought that circled your mind but it was usually late into the night after Carter had turned his back to you and he thought you couldn’t hear him texting on his phone. Bob didn’t say anything for a few minutes and the pit in your stomach only grew. Eventually he spoke, his voice nearly as quiet as yours.

“I have loved you ever since I have known you”

His words hung in the air for what felt like an eternity. His once calm heartbeat was now pounding against yours as the two of you stayed holding each other on the cold tile. The embarrassment and anger from earlier faded to anxious butterflies as you sat up straight to look into his eyes. Half of you expected to wake up and be laying next to Carter, all of this having been a dream. But there he was, the man you have loved since you were a teenager, admitting he felt the same in his spiderman pajama pants.

Bob cut you off as you opened your mouth, “I’ve waited far too long to tell you and I know this is horrible timing and if you don’t feel the same that’s fine but I have to tell you before I lose you to someone-”

“Shut up,” you mumbled before closing the small gap between the two of you. The kiss was light and slow, unlike any other man you’d ever been with. There was no rush to go to work or get into bed, just this moment and you were determined to make it last.

The two of you sat in a comfortable silence for a while, both trying to absorb the events from the night. Eventually Bob helped you up from the ground, wiped the smeared makeup off and helped you into bed. Not the first time he had done so but the first time it was followed by him crawling in next to you and holding you close.

#my writing #bob #robert bob floyd #bob floyd #robert bob floyd fanfiction #robert bob floyd fic #bob floyd fanfiction #bob floyd fic #bob floyd x reader #top gun #top gun fanfiction #top gun fic #this is literally the third rewrite of this fic #i hated everything i did #also the ending is rushed so what #top gun maverick

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dreamwritesimagines · 2 years

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Enamored [45] - On the Edge

A.N: Last 3 chapters!❤ I hope you’ll like this one my loves, and please let me know what you think, thank you! ❤ And as always, thank you @theskytraveler for helping me with the chapter and the story❤

Summary: Gossip can be used as a weapon.

Warnings: Regency era society and social rules, mentions of sex, some gender specific language and terms.

Word Count: 7000

Series Masterlist

You had to admit, pretending to hate your husband when both of you were in love with each other was a bit more difficult than you had thought but for the plan to work, you had to appear very convincing.

Thankfully, you had been very successful so far. In the last couple of days both of you had tricked everyone into thinking you were miserable in this marriage; having arguments each time you were within someone’s earshot, making cynical comments during dinner where staff was present, and you had even pretended to walk away from each other in a haste the moment you stepped into the park for a stroll the other day, aware of the whispers that would follow.

You were sneaking around the way you had before your wedding, and it was almost entertaining with one small exception;

You could no longer wake up in the same bed, nor could you be seen going to the same room at night. Granted you shared a door that allowed you to go to his room and vice versa after everyone in the house was asleep, but now you had to be much quieter and more careful than earlier, and leave before the staff woke up. Anthony was especially grumpy about this aspect of the deception, and you shared that sentiment but at least now that you two weren’t ‘distracting’ each other during the day, you could focus on the ball you were supposed to throw before the social season came to an end.

You scribbled some ideas about the ball on the small notebook you had with you on the breakfast table just so that you could stop yourself from smiling at Anthony who seemed like he was attempting to do the same by reading his newspaper on the other side of the long table. Esther filled your cup with tea and you shot her a small smile.

“Thank you,” you said before turning back to the notebook and felt Anthony’s eyes over his newspaper before he lowered it and cleared his throat.

Pretense time.

“My lady?”

“My lord,” you said with as much disinterest as one could possess in their tone, without lifting your head from the notebook and he heaved a sigh.

“May I ask what’s so important about that notebook to bring to the breakfast table?”

“I’m taking some notes on the ideas I have for our upcoming ball, my lord.”

“I thought you were jesting about that.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see the maids in the room exchanging glances and you raised your head to look at him, reminding yourself not to smile.

“And why would I jest about it?”

He rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance. “I still think we can throw that ball next season.”

“Well I wish it to be this season.”

“You wish for too many things nowadays,” he commented and Esther shifted her weight while you narrowed your eyes at him.

“As you might know, it’s customary for a newly married couple to throw a ball to…” you gritted your teeth and scoffed. “Celebrate their happiness.”

Anthony clicked his tongue.

“Wonderful,” he deadpanned. “Make sure to give me the guest list before you send the invitations then.”

You tilted your head.

“Why?” you asked. “Do you want to make sure a specific person is invited?”

“Don’t start that again…”

“I’ll start whatever I want,” you growled. “Especially when my husband prefers the company of—”

“I’ve had it up here,” he cut you off, his voice on edge and if you didn’t know any better you would’ve thought he was actually angry. “With this silly jealousy of yours.”

“What a coincidence, I’ve had it up here with you disrespecting me.”

Anthony gritted his teeth and turned to the maids in the room.

“Leave us, close the door.”

The maids rushed out of the room and Esther gave you a sympathetic smile as if she was trying to console you before she closed the door behind her, leaving you and Anthony alone. You bit down a smile and Anthony looked around, then grinned and motioned at you to come closer as he stood up. You all but ran into his arms, trying to stop the giggle before anyone could hear.

“Good morning my love.”

“Good morning mon amour,” you whispered back as he pressed a kiss on top of your head, then tilted your chin up to brush his lips against yours. “How are you on this fine day?”

He heaved a dramatic sigh. “I missed waking up next to my wife.”

“And I missed waking up next to my husband,” you said with a smile and Anthony buried his nose into your hair for a moment before he pulled back.

“This is nearly torture.”

“It will be over soon,” you reminded him. “Frederick already talked to you more than once, he believes the rumors. And after today, it will be even more convincing.”

“I know, I know…” he mumbled and cleared his throat. “Ready?”

You nodded your head and listened to the footsteps and whispers coming from outside, then walked a couple of steps away from him and grabbed a glass off the table. “This one?”

“No no, the plate,” Anthony whispered. “Will make more of a noise.”

“Good idea,” you said and put the glass down, then took the plate into your hand, “Three, two, one…”

You threw the plate at the wall next to you, the sound of it shattering into pieces echoing through the dining room.

“I will not stand here and let you treat me like this!” you shouted and Anthony leaned back to the table, crossing his arms.

“Like what, exactly?” he raised his voice so that it would reach outside and you tried not to laugh.

“I saw how you looked at her!” you yelled back. “The other day at the park, I saw it!”

He winked at you, making you purse your lips to stop your smile and you shot him an almost reprimanding look.

“You saw something that doesn’t exist and are somehow dragging me into your own insecurities.”

“You came home in the middle of the night last night and you still wish to lie to me?”

“I came home in the middle of the night last night because I can find no peace here!”

“Why would I offer you peace when all you’ve done is make me miserable?” you asked back. “For your own—your own entertainment, as if I don’t know where you were!”

“I would thread very carefully if I were you.”

“Is that a threat?”

“That’s a warning!” he snapped as you both saw a shadow move from under the gap between the door and the floor. Anthony pushed himself off of the table he was leaning against. “One you should heed, for once in your life before you accuse me of things again.”

“Or what?” you asked, your voice no doubt reaching outside and Anthony strode to you, making you tilt your head.

“What are you doing?” you whispered and he shrugged his shoulders.

“I promised you that you wouldn’t hear that word from me,” he reminded you. “I’m intending to keep that promise.”

Ah.

You had both decided he would mention divorce in this fight where the staff would no doubt be listening, and apparently Anthony would let them hear that but not you. You tried not to giggle as his hands covered your ears, —reminding you of the time when you and he were in your mother’s room, hiding from Elias and Cece— and said something quite loudly but it was muffled because of his palms over your ears. He lowered his hands and it was at that moment that someone dropped a tray outside the room, making you both grin.

“There it is,” he murmured. “I should probably storm out.”

“Probably,” you whispered but grasped at his wrist as soon as he moved. “But mon amour, you— you still love me, do you not?”

He smiled slightly, then pecked you on the lips.

“The one and only conquerer of my heart,” he said. “Of course I do. And you?”

“You’re the love of my life,” you whispered back, standing up on your tiptoes to press a hasty kiss on his lips, then stepped back. “Go.”

He heaved a sigh and threw his shoulders back as you leaned your palms on the breakfast table, as if you were too upset to stand straight. He pulled the door open and out of the corner of your eye, you could see the members of the staff scattered along the hallway, all pretending to not hear anything, but you knew better than to believe that.

“Don’t wait for me,” Anthony said gruffly as he stormed out of the breakfast room and you heard his footsteps growing distant until he walked out of the house. You stood frozen, still leaning against the table and Lucie rushed into the room and closed the door, then reached to touch your arm.

“My lady, are you alright?”

You raised your head and took a deep breath.

“I am,” you said, nodding your head. “I am.”

“I couldn’t help but overhear…”

“Let’s not talk of it,” you cut her off. “I’m alright Lucie, really. I’m too busy with planning this ball, I don’t really have the time to dwell over a silly fight.”

Lucie wetted her lips, as if considering insisting on you talking about it but in the end she decided otherwise and smiled at you.

“Of course,” she said. “Would you like my help?”

“That would be lovely,” you said, smiling back. “Thank you.”

Of course it hit Whistledown in the following days and though you hadn’t been outside so far, you could almost hear the buzz of the whole ton upon these news. You were quite certain this was the scandal of the season, and that it was impossible for Frederick to miss it.

At least you didn’t have to worry about the invitation list to your upcoming ball, with such gossip you were sure everyone would want to attend and see you and Anthony in your own first ball, only to get a glimpse of what was actually happening between you two.

Scandal attracted the ton like flies to honey after all.

In the meantime, the whole ton was running wild with their rumors, as you could see from Whistledown’s columns. Some said Anthony had a mistress, some said you were packing up to leave for Paris, and some even said he was seen leaving a brothel on Sunday morning –which was impossible because Anthony was home the whole Sunday but Saturday night he had made sure to be seen on the street where that house resided as he had told you that very night;

“I entered and crossed the whole street in a straight line and left from the other side,” he had said. “Didn’t even stop once, but that should still be enough for the people to talk about it.”

It wasn’t as if you could complain about it, you were the one who had accepted this plan first. The moment Cece talked of it, it sounded like the perfect plan, which you were still sure that it was, yet the discomfort and doubts grew bigger and bigger each day, especially now that Lady Whistledown had finally mentioned the divorce rumors.

“My lady?” Lucie said and you lifted your head from Whistledown’s latest issue, your stomach doing an unpleasant flip. You knew this was exactly what you and Anthony wanted, and it was necessary to lure Frederick but you would have been lying if you said you were ready to face the ton and their whispers.

“Yes Lucie?”

“Your gown for the Rolleston ball is ready, but it seems that tonight will be a bit colder than today, which coat will you be wearing?”

You thought for a moment.

“I actually placed an order, it was supposed to be delivered yesterday with some of the gowns but I seem to have missed checking it,” you said. “Could you ask Mrs. Burchett whether it was delivered or not? I’d like to wear that tonight.”

“Of course,” she said and walked out of the room. You turned to skim the lines again, heaving a sigh as you nibbled on your lip; you were so lost in your own world that you didn’t even notice the footsteps coming closer until a pair of arm sneaked around your waist to pull you back, the familiar pleasant scent filling your lungs. You squealed and turned around, batting his hands away.

“Anthony!” you whispered as he grinned and stole a kiss from you. “Mon amour, if anyone saw you—”

“No one is in the hallway, I checked,” he said with a grin and he nodded at the paper in your hand. “I take it you’ve seen it?”

You took a deep breath and nodded.

“It’s good, is it not?” you asked, trying to convince yourself. “That’s what we were trying for, and now Frederick will surely approach you on the matter.”

“He already thinks I regret it, we talked of it the other day,” he said. “He is convinced he can see right through me, and now that the divorce rumor is finally out there, all I’ll have to do is to mention I should buy a land while pretending I’m trying to keep it a secret.”

You tried to smile. “Wonderful.”

He tilted his head, “Is everything alright my love?”

“...Yes,” you said after a beat, and nodded your head again, trying to appear enthusiastic. “Yes of course. I think I’m sort of worried about tonight’s ball, everyone will be there and…”

He sighed, his hand cupping your cheek and you wrapped your fingers around his wrist, squeezing it slightly.

“I’ll be there with you.”

“Not in the way I want you to,” you couldn’t help but point out, and he offered you a small smile.

“I don’t like this any more than you do.”

“I know,” you said quickly. “I know, don’t mind me.”

He caressed your cheekbone with his thumb and thought for a moment, then raised his brows.

“What if we had a sign?”

“A sign?” you asked. “What do you mean?”

“Even if we cannot talk to each other in the ballroom, or anywhere where the ton is watching,” he said. “If I…If I twist my ring, it means I love you.”

A small giggle escaped from your lips, his words making you feel all warm inside.

“I like that,” you said. “And if I play with my necklace, it means I love you too.”

“Deal,” he said as he pecked you on the lips, but before he could even deepen the kiss you pulled back and took a step back, smiling up at him.

“We cannot mon amour, you know that,” you said, clasping your hands behind you and he threw his head back, as if reminding himself of the same fact.

“Yeah,” he said. “I actually came to ask if you’re free for the rest of the day.”

“I will just plan our ball, and then I will get ready for the Rolleston ball tonight,” you said, “Why?”

Anthony reached into his pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a small note.

“I just got it,” he said, holding it up. “My mother invites us for tea, urgently.”

You raised your brows. “She has read Whistledown.”

“Mm hm.”

“And now she wants to talk to us both.”

“I’m surprised she waited until the afternoon, and I’m willing to bet the whole family is there,” Anthony said and paused. “Would she disown me, do you think?”

“Anthony, she’s your mother.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“You will be alright I’m sure,” you said. “But I—I don’t like lying to her, she’s been so nice to me.”

“Would you stop Eloise if she attacked me?”

“I would try,” you deadpanned. “I doubt I’d be successful though.”

Anthony nodded slowly. “Well, I’ve had a good life.”

“Anthony!”

“It’s a good thing I rewrote my will when we got married; you get everything Ben doesn’t get by the way, just don’t forget me when I’m gone.”

“I don’t like you joking about that!” you protested. “Besides, if you honestly think—”

“My lady, your coat was delivered yesterday—” Lucie’s voice reached you and she stepped inside before she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes falling on you and Anthony in your room.

God damn it.

Thankfully you weren’t even touching each other or doing anything that would make her think you were in better terms, but you still had to come up with an excuse to be in the same room, seeing that you had been pretending to dislike each other’s presence lately. Anthony was the first to get over the surprise and he frowned.

“As I’ve said, this is completely unacceptable,” he said, as if Lucie’s presence hadn’t even bothered him and even you could tell he had no idea what exactly was unacceptable. You strained your mind and turned to Lucie, trying to earn some time.

“Thank you Lucie,” you said as the thought hit you and you turned back to Anthony. “Do forgive me my lord, but I cannot understand how our expenses for our upcoming ball are so unacceptable.”

Anthony’s head shot up and he suppressed a small smile before he frowned.

“You’ve just changed everything in the ballroom for our engagement ball, now you want to change them again?”

“Not everything, but for it to fit the theme, certain stage setting and scenery alterations are required,” you shot back. “Surely you want the ton to be impressed?”

“I couldn’t care less about what the ton thinks,” he said. “Or whether they will like pearl or porcelain invitation envelopes more.”

Oh he was doing it on purpose, teasing you right in front of Lucie when he knew you couldn’t laugh.

“Only a blind person couldn’t see the difference between pearl and porcelain invitation envelopes,” you said. “One of them is light white, the other one is dark white.”

He held your gaze in his and shook his head, feigning annoyance as he bit inside his cheek to keep himself from laughing.

“Are you coming with me then?” he asked. “My mother invited both of us.”

“Of course, if you’ll be as kind to leave me to get ready, my lord.”

Anthony bowed his head and stormed out of the room, and Lucie shifted her weight.

“…Your coat was delivered yesterday,” she squeaked out and you shot her a tiny smile.

“That’s wonderful, I’ll wear that tonight.”

“Are you going outside?”

“To Number Five, Lady Bridgerton invited us for tea,” you said. “Could you pick me a dress please?”

“Of course,” she said and walked to your wardrobe to pull out a pale blue dress. “How about this?”

“Perfect.”

Lady Bridgerton’s new house Number Five was such a lovely place that when you first visited there, you had almost forgotten it wasn’t always the family’s house. Bridgertons had a way of making every house feel like a home, and Number Five was no exception. The familiar chaos, warmth and happiness would always surround you and you would always welcome it, but when you and Anthony arrived there, you had a feeling that for the first time, it would be quite tense.

Simon, Benedict and Colin had all but dragged Anthony to the yard as soon as you stepped out of the carriage while you had gone upstairs to join Lady Bridgerton, Daphne and Eloise in the drawing room.

Needless to say, guilt was eating you alive. There was the family, all worried about you and your marriage, and both you and Anthony had to trick them so that it would be believable to the rest of the ton. Even your father knowing about the plan was the exception, a mere whisper could ruin this whole pretense and make Frederick pull away before you got the chance to get the proof of his misdeeds.

“Daphne, Simon said you didn’t feel good when you traveled by carriage the other day,” you said, eyeing her swollen belly and she tilted her head to shoot you a look.

“I’ll be fine,” she said with a wave of her hand, “Augie makes me run after him as fast as a carriage anyway.”

“Y/N,” Lady Bridgerton said, reaching out to squeeze at your hand in a comforting manner. “I’ve read Whistledown just like the rest of the ton this morning and…”

Oh dear God, you really didn’t want to upset any of them.

“It is idle gossip, is it not?” Lady Bridgerton said. “I mean I know you two have been having certain disagreements since that snake Woodhall came back to the city but surely it’s because of that only?”

You pursed your lips, trying to find a way to assure them while not giving anything away. You had to make them believe your marriage was going bad, at least until it was time for Frederick to be taken away but it didn’t mean it was easy on your conscience.

You stole a look at Eloise who was watching you with her arms crossed, a sullen expression on her face before you turned to Lady Bridgerton.

“We um…” you said, clearing your throat. “We have been having certain disagreements on all sorts of topics, Lady Bridgerton.”

“Disagreements are absolutely natural within marriage,” Lady Bridgerton said quickly. “Especially when you’re newly married, in a way you’re both getting to know each other. Differences can cause small arguments sometimes.”

“As long as they’re small arguments,” Daphne said. “But Whistledown wrote…”

“You can say it,” you said with a small smile. “The term is not extremely foreign to me Daphne, you know that.”

“Of course you will not get a divorce!” Lady Bridgerton said. “That’s out of question, not to mention—I’ve seen you two together. You’re both completely in love with each other!”

“He did not suggest that, did he?” Daphne insisted and you paused a moment, then shrugged your shoulders. Lady Bridgerton covered her mouth with a gasp, and Daphne pulled back slightly, a look of shock dawning on you.

“No,” Lady Bridgerton said, shaking her head. “No. That will not happen Y/N, you can keep your heart at ease. There is no way that will even be discussed, his father and I raised him better than that, and I will not—” she paused for a moment. “Cassie would never forgive me if I let that happen to you.”

You could feel your throat tightening.

“I had to watch her go through that hell,” Lady Bridgerton said. “All that divorce talk, all those rumors… You’re family now, it’s our job to protect you from all that.”

A small smile pulled at your lips.

“Anthony is your family too, Lady Bridgerton.”

Eloise scoffed, tapping her foot as if she was trying her hardest to sit still on the couch.

“Let’s not pretend Anthony would not walk away unharmed if that were to take place,” she spat. “It’s not a fair fight, you know it better than everyone else in this room.”

“I can’t even understand how it—” Daphne paused before she exchanged glances with Lady Bridgerton, then she turned to Eloise.

“Eloise, would you excuse us?”

“No,” Eloise said, making Lady Bridgerton heave a sigh.

“Eloise my dear…”

“I’m not leaving mama. She was my friend even before she married Anthony.”

Daphne cleared her throat and sat up straight.

“I hate to ask this, I really do,” she said. “But is it…is it in any way related to what happened at the opera?”

There.

That was the very reason why you sometimes still had nightmares. That doubt was still in some corner of your mind, and even though you knew that Anthony would never do that to you, even though you trusted him, it didn’t make that small voice in your head stop.

Anthony did have a point when you two talked about it before you got married. It wasn’t going to happen overnight, and you were beginning to think it would take you some time to actually remember the opera without feeling like all the air in the room had disappeared.

But apparently, that wasn’t going to be today.

You could feel your heartbeat getting faster and you shook your head before you jumped on your feet.

“I’m sorry, I think I need some fresh air,” you said and walked out of the room in a haste, then made your way downstairs to step outside to the backyard. You could hear Eloise rushing after you and she caught up with you as you sat down on a bench, keeping your eyes on the beautiful flowers that was blooming among the green. She sat down beside you, uncharacteristically quiet but you were way too lost in your thoughts.

Of course these doubts were nonsense. What happened at the opera would never happen again, Anthony had promised you, he was in love with you and you knew that. Even if you deep down feared you and Anthony would end up like your parents, all this fighting was a pretense, you just needed to remember that.

“You’re awfully quiet today,” you said after a minute, turning to look at Eloise and she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

“I’m just thinking.”

“About what?”

“About…” she trailed off. “You and Anthony have been married for a month, give or take. If the wedding wasn’t so rushed, you would be getting married around this time.”

Oh.

That was true actually. You had wanted around seven weeks of preparing, Anthony had wanted much less than that so you two had decided on three and a half weeks and you had to admit, this plan to take Frederick down wouldn’t have worked at all if you were still betrothed.

“I suppose you’re right.”

A silence fell upon you and she licked her lips, then sat up straighter.

“Y/N,” she said. “What would happen if you two got a divorce?”

You paused for a moment, even the idea of being away from him, being heartbroken by him was heavy on your heart, as unreal as this whole thing was. You couldn’t even bring yourself to dwell too much on it, so you took a deep breath and shrugged your shoulders.

“You’re not going to try to console me then?” you tried to joke. “We’re thinking of the worst case scenario?”

“It’s not the worst case scenario,” Eloise said. “I think the worst case scenario would be you being in a marriage you do not want. So what would happen, really?”

“If I got a divorce?”

“Yes.”

You clicked your tongue.

“I would…hypothetically speaking, I would be in a better situation than my mother was,” you admitted. “Which I suppose is the point. She always said she wanted me to have a much better life than her, and considering my marriage settlement, and my father and my brother…”

“Your own money, your own house?”

“All of that yes,” you said. “Scandal aside of course. The ton would never stop talking about it until I’m dead and perhaps afterwards; just like what they’ve been doing with my mother.”

“Would you stay?” she asked. “Or would you go back to France?”

“I don’t know,” you muttered. “I really don’t. I used to think I’d go back to France to get away from everything in here, the ton, the whispers, the scandal, all of it. But now I have—I have people here, you know?”

She offered you a small smile.

“I meant what I said,” she said. “He is my brother yes, but you’re my friend. I think you should do whatever will make you happy, even if it’s divorce. Your mother went through all that so that you could have the ability to choose for yourself, I think she’d want you to be happy. Married or not.”

You really wanted to assure her that you were happy but you had to keep your mouth shut so you bit inside your cheek and smiled at her back, pulling her into a hug.

“Eloise Bridgerton has a heart,” you teased her as you pulled back. “Who could’ve known?”

“Mm, don’t tell anyone.”

“My lips are sealed,” you said with a small giggle but before she could retort, Benedict approached you and cleared his throat.

“Eloise,” he said. “Y/N.”

“Hello Benedict.”

“I thought you were with Anthony?”

“Mother wanted to talk to him,” Benedict answered Eloise. “Do you not want to join that to give him a piece of your mind?”

Eloise hummed. “That’s a good idea actually,” she said and turned to you. “Will you be alright?”

“Absolutely,” you said and she stood up from the bench, then made her way to the house. Benedict motioned at the spot beside you.

“May I?”

“Of course,” you said and he sat beside you with a sigh, then leaned back on the bench with his arms crossed, making himself comfortable.

“I sure hope you two know what you’re doing.”

You pulled your brows together. “Hm?”

“This whole act. I hope you actually have a plan.”

Your head shot up, your heartbeat getting faster and he gave you a soft smile.

“Oh come on now,” he said. “He’s my brother, I grew up with him. I do admit you are doing a good job in making people believe this…whatever this is, and so is he, but it’s quite easy to tell when one actually pays attention.”

“I have no idea what you speak of.”

He heaved a sigh.

“Right, so I am to believe that my brother, who’s utterly in love with you woke up one day and decided to pick fights with you, even to the point of mentioning divorce?” he asked, biting back a smile. “Simon and Colin have been so busy trying to talk sense into him that they miss it, but his eyes almost shine whenever someone so much as mentions your name.”

You stared at him, “Benedict…”

“I mean yes, he and Elias are on terrible terms for the whole ton to see, and you two are having fights all the time, ignoring each other in public, feeding even more rumors but you know what’s so interesting? I’ve heard you when you’re angry before, when you were yelling at Elias, even Anthony that one time we saw you leaving the study. And the other day, when I came to your house to get Anthony you two were arguing quite loudly, and the whole staff heard but…” he said. “Your accent didn’t shift. It does when you’re angry, but even while you were yelling, it didn’t this time.”

Oh God damn it.

Anthony was right. Benedict was a great artist, and one of the keys to that was him being such a good observer.

You swallowed thickly, keeping your eyes on him.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anyone,” he said. “I’m glad you are still in love as ever, but you better know what you’re doing, because both of you are playing with fire.”

You bit inside your cheek and he stood up, but as soon as he took a step, you cleared your throat.

“Ben?”

He turned around to look at you better. “Yes?”

You paused only for a moment before you looked him dead in the eye. “Not one word.”

A small, almost mischievous smile curled his lips and he bowed his head slightly.

“As you wish, Viscountess Bridgerton,” he teased you before walking away from you to the house and you heaved a sigh, then threw your head back.

“Wonderful,” you murmured. “The accent. Noted.”

In all honesty you did not want to attend this ball, not really. You knew you had to be really convincing especially since the whole ton would be watching your smallest move, and so far it was exactly what they had done. You and Anthony had walked away from each other the moment you stepped into the ballroom, and ever since then, both of you were under every guest’s hawk-like glances.

No matter how much you tried, it was nearly impossible to miss all those whispers and glares. You had danced with Hugh and then Kenneth, and though Cece and Elias didn’t leave you alone not even once, you could almost feel everyone’s eyes burning a hole on your head.

Not to mention, you missed being close to Anthony already. He was with some other gentlemen in the business room and you desperately wished you could at least talk to him but you knew it was impossible which put you in quite the sour mood. In order to get your mind off the urge to go to him, you made your way to the refreshments table and grabbed yourself a glass of lemonade, then turned to watch the couples dancing.

“It didn’t take long, did it?”

Your grip around the glass tightened but you refused to look at her.

“Miriam.”

“Y/N,” she greeted you back as she stepped to stand beside you, pretending to watch the dancing couples as well. “I just came to see whether you’re doing well.”

“Mm, I’m sure.”

“Is it true then?” she asked. “Does he want to divorce you?”

You rolled your eyes, taking a sip of your drink and she clicked her tongue.

“Wow,” she said. “I mean it was obvious to everyone but you that he’d find another, but for him to want to divorce you?”

You gritted your teeth and caught the sight of Cece and Elias dancing, seeming to be having a lot of fun.

“You must’ve not satisfied him at all,” Miriam’s voice was almost silky. “I cannot imagine the disappointment he felt. All that effort for this?”

A bitter taste appeared at the back of your throat as you swallowed thickly, commanding yourself to keep your expression calm.

It was all a pretense. You two were happy and in love, and Miriam could think whatever she wanted, she was wrong.

“Well I’d better go back to my husband,” Miriam said with a small smile. “Enjoy your night Y/N.”

With that, she walked away from you and you bit on your tongue hard enough to hurt, taking a huge sip of your drink. You were almost restless and you desperately wanted to walk away and just go home, but you were snapped out of your thoughts when you heard your name being said, and you turned your head.

“Lady Danbury,” you dropped a curtsy. “Good evening.”

“Y/N,” she said, a solemn look on her face. “A word?”

“Of course,” you said and followed her out of the ballroom to the balcony. The fresh air that hit your face helped a little with the burning and you closed your eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply before you opened your eyes again.

“I will not beat around the bush,” she said. “I’ve read Whistledown today. Please tell me this silly fight of yours did not reach the point of you two making a terrible mistake?”

Your heart skipped a beat. You really didn’t want to lie to Lady Danbury, you respected her a lot and especially after everything she had done for you and Anthony, you were going to be in her debt forever. She was one of the very few people who had shown you love even before your father had claimed you as his daughter, and though you wanted to assure her, you knew you couldn’t.

“Things between Lord Bridgerton and I are quite complicated I’m afraid, Lady Danbury.”

She stared at you, then ran a hand over her face.

“Are you serious?” she asked. “Have you two—has he gone insane?”

You shook your head. “No.”

“You are in love with each other,” Lady Danbury said. “And to even think—unbelievable. Have you talked to Violet?”

You nodded. “Yes Lady Danbury. Today.”

“Has he?”

“I think so, yes.”

She heaved a sigh, pursing her lips. “Where is that husband of yours?”

“He’s with other gentlemen in the business room,” you said. “I heard Lord Rolleston invite him there with some other friends of theirs.”

“I will talk to you after I talk to him to understand what on earth is happening,” she told you and walked away from you back to the ballroom. Even though you knew you were supposed to go back, you couldn’t help but linger, the cool air almost soothing the discomfort you felt inside.

It was overwhelming, all of this. You knew you were supposed to be used to this, the ton hadn’t really bothered hiding their rumors when you first arrived in London either but now it was as if everything was much more…

Intense. And on edge.

You heard the door open and close, but you didn’t even turn around, thinking that it was another guest that wanted to get some fresh air, but as soon as you heard the voice, your blood ran cold.

“Hello, Viscountess.”

Your jaw clenched and you looked over your shoulder, then turned around.

“Lord Woodhall,” you said. “Are you attending yet another ball you’re not invited to?”

Frederick clasped his hands behind him in a fake gentlemanly manner before taking a step closer to you.

“I was in fact invited to this one,” he said. “Though I must admit, I was under the impression that you wouldn’t be in the mood to attend any balls, considering what’s being said about you and your husband.”

This was good.

This was a really good sign.

You narrowed your eyes. “I’m sure I have no idea what you speak of.”

He tilted his head to shoot you a nearly reprimanding glare.

“Oh come on now Y/N,” he said. “Everyone talks about it, no need to play the fool.”

“Yet here you are, playing it.”

“You know, I’ve had the chance to talk to your husband in these last couple of days,” he said, as if trying to see how you would react and you pulled back slightly, making sure to adapt a look of intimidation on your face before you raised your chin and threw your shoulders back, glaring back at him.

You knew.

Of course you knew, Anthony had made sure to tell you everything about it. All he had to do was to whine about you –he was nearly apologetic when he mentioned that to you— and your marriage, and Frederick had more or less jumped on the opportunity to give him some ‘advice’, which had apparently led to a very long conversation between them.

Anthony was almost too tense when he got home, and after everyone had gone to bed and he had sneaked into your room, it had taken him almost an hour to calm down, holding you in his arms, his nose buried into your hair.

“I want to kill him,” he had whispered. “For talking about you that way, disrespecting you that way.”

“Ah,” Frederick said, a small smirk playing on his lips. “He forgot to mention that I see.”

You let out a breath, feigning anger as you clenched your hands.

“Stay away from me,” you said. “My husband, and my marriage.”

“Oh I’m not doing anything really,” he said, his smirk growing bigger. “Other than…showing him some solutions for his troubles.”

“And what are those troubles?” you asked back. “Me?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows?”

“What are you trying to do?” you asked and he scoffed a small laugh.

“Oh don’t worry Y/N,” he said. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Hook, line and sinker.

Well, as it turned out, you and Anthony had been very convincing.

Even though you wanted to smile, you took a shaky breath and blinked a couple of times as if you were trying to stop the tears on their way and he stared at you for a moment, then shook your head.

“Dear God, you really look like her,” he muttered before he pulled himself together. “Do give my best to your father, will you? Have a good night, Y/N.”

He walked away from you to the ballroom and you stood there in the balcony for a moment, trying to make sure nothing you felt could be seen on your face.

Cece’s plan was working exactly the way you wanted it to.

You bit down on your lip, then made your way back to the ballroom, the chatter greeting you immediately. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Frederick approaching Anthony who had apparently came back to the ballroom with his friends before he muttered something into his ear. Anthony nodded and Frederick clasped at Anthony’s shoulder almost in a friendly manner before he walked out of the ballroom.

“Hey,” Elias touched your arm. “Where were you?”

“The balcony,” you said as Anthony’s eyes searched through the crowd before they fell on you, obviously not paying attention to anything his friend was saying.

“And?”

“He talked to me.”

Elias heaved a sigh before he dropped his voice to a whisper. “I still don’t like this plan.”

Anthony held your gaze in his for a moment before he twisted his ring around his finger and you tried your hardest to stop the smile threatening to warm your lips before you reached up to tug at your necklace, playing with it almost absentmindedly but both of you knew what the other meant.

I love you.

“I mean honestly Chérie, are you sure you’re alright?”

You blinked a couple of times, then forced yourself to drag your gaze from Anthony before you looked up at Elias.

“Elias,” you said, your voice barely audible to you let alone anyone else. “It’s working.”

Elias raised his brows. “Wait, really?”

You nodded, biting back a smile and Elias cleared his throat.

“Remember, we’re both sad and angry,” he reminded you and you nodded.

“Yes,” you said. “Of course. Sad and angry.”

“That being said,” he said, holding out his hand. “One can dance when they’re sad and angry, no?”

“Mm hm, I suppose.”

“A dance, then?”

You smiled softly and took his hand, stealing one last look at Anthony before turning to Elias.

“I’d love to,” you said. “Let’s dance.”

Chapter 46

#anthony bridgerton x reader #anthony bridgerton #bridgerton #bridgerton x reader #regency fic

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