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azsazz · 2 years

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The Truth I Can’t Tell (Yet)

Azriel x Reader

Summary: You have a long day at work and all you want to do is relax. Just as you are about to fall asleep, a crash comes from your kitchen, jolting you awake.

Warnings: Gore but not much.

Word Count: 2,013

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It had been a quiet night.

After a long day at work you couldn’t wait to go home and relax. You’d picked up take-away from your favorite restaurant in Velaris on the way, the paper bag clutched tightly in your hand as you held your coat closer, the night air getting chillier and chillier as the season charged towards winter.

Your apartment wasn’t too far away from your work, in one of the newer buildings that had been renovated after the attack a few years back. It was nice, having a space all for yourself, no gossipping roommates or noisy neighbors, nope, just you…and occasionally your boyfriend.

Azriel had been away on a mission for nearly a week now, and of course you missed him dearly. But the both of you were in love with your jobs and understood that there would be times where you’d have to be without the other.

But he was supposed to be getting back tonight, and he had mentioned that he’d stop by if it weren’t too late.

You kicked off your shoes, abandoning the bag of food on the counter in favor of getting out of your outerwear, putting on something much more comfortable, one of Azriel’s shirts that he’d left exactly for this purpose. He was a territorial male and seeing you in his clothes did things to him that he wouldn’t ever admit to his brothers.

You tied your hair up messily and lit the hearth, humming along to a song you’d heard coming from the music hall up the road as you snagged the bag of food off of the counter and settled into your plush couch, wrapping the fuzzy blanket around yourself that had been thrown over the back of the sofa haphazardly.

It was nice to unwind from the tiring day, the flavors of your favorite food bursting on your tongue, still hot in their takeaway containers. You wished Az was here, if only to bask in the silence together, spending the quality time with him around was enough.

You ate directly from the boxes, uncaring and there was no point in dirtying dishes. Azriel wouldn’t care either. Oftentimes you found him in the mornings standing in front of your open refrigerator, taking a swig from the juice carton or mouth half-stuffed with leftovers while he pulled out breakfast ingredients.

Feeling full and warm under your blankets, eyes dropping slightly, you managed to wrangle yourself up from the sofa and put away the rest of your food, snagging one of the faelights in your hand to take to your room while the others dimmed to black, the only light in the room from the fireplace. Azriel was darkness himself, and if he came around he would have no trouble finding the way to your room, even if the hearth wasn’t lit.

You got yourself ready for bed, hugging your arms closer to your chest, willing the warmth into your bones. A warm bath would do you good, but you’d much rather wait to take one with Az when he comes around, relaxing together and catching up on the things you’d missed from each other’s lives in the past week.

The hearth is double sided, built into the center of the wall, one half in your bedroom, the other half in the living room. It was a design you hadn’t seen before but were thankful of, knowing that there was some sort of warmth spread throughout your home. It’d be warm in the kitchen in the morning just as it would be in your room.

Settling into your bed, the book you’d fallen asleep reading still in the spot next to you. You propped up the fluffy pillows behind you and curled up, flipping the novel open to where you remembered leaving off.

It wasn’t a great read but it was something to do. Something to take your mind off of the worries of work or overthinking how Azriel was doing, hoping he wasn’t getting himself into trouble.

It doesn’t take long for your eyes to start drooping with sleep, stomach full and sated, relaxed and warm in bed. You don’t have it in you to even get up and turn out the faelights, maybe you’ll just rest your eyes for a few seconds and then you’ll go and do just that.

A crash jolts you from your drowsiness, jumping in your spot and clutching your sheets to your chest. The noise came from the kitchen and you had no idea what it could be at this time of the night.

Swallowing harshly, you climb out of your bed as quietly as possible. The apartment is silent other than the crash that had happened and the pounding of your heart in your ears. You try and take calming breaths, reaching for the small dagger Azriel had gotten you for your birthday, though he hadn’t gotten around to teaching you how to use it in other aspects except for in the bedroom, but it would have to do for now.

You take a deep breath, weapon clenched tightly in one hand, the other on the knob of the door, muscles taut and ready to pounce. You fling the door open, knife raised to attack but your arm falls to your side in relief when you recognize who it is.

“I’ve never heard you make so much noise, Shadowsinger,” you quip, watching where he stands against your counter, back to you, his large wings drooping slightly.

He turns around slowly and you gasp at the sight, Azriel holding a large cut across his abdomen shut with his hand, the other doesn’t look to be faring much better. His eyes are dark, shadows swirling around him protectively, like they had a hand in holding his arm against his chest as he winnowed.

He looked deathly pale and you could tell in the low light of the room just how soaked his shirt and leathers are with his blood.

You finally move as he sinks down onto the ground with a pained grunt.

“Azriel,” you’re frantic, rushing over to him and falling on your knees next to him, examining his wounds. Why he’d come straight here you had no idea. He should have winnowed directly to the High Lord’s house, for the healers there were far more skilled than you.

He gives you a faint smile, hazel eyes open barely and watching as you jump into action. He wants so desperately to tuck the rouge hair that had fallen from the messy style you’d pulled it up into behind your ear but his limbs feel so heavy and he’s tired, he just wants to sleep.

“No you don’t,” you slap him harshly on the cheek, only for the purpose of keeping him awake. His eyes snap wide for a moment and he forces himself awake, focusing on holding his head upright on his shoulders.

“How could you be so stupid?” you ask, brows furrowed in fear as you cut away the shirt from his wound. It could be worse, you realize, as none of his organs have been injured. He’s just lost a lot of blood and the wound is already starting to heal itself, but he’ll need stitches so it closes up correctly.

He smirks, hissing at the tug as his lips stretches the wound.

“What are you smiling for? This is serious!” you scramble for your personal kit, pulling your surgical thread and supplies to clean and patch his wound.

“You like me,” he teases, and you huff out a shaky breath, blinking back the tears in your eyes as you ready your materials.

“Well yeah, I thought that much was obvious,” you roll your eyes, gently patting at the wound to clean up some of the blood around it. “Some spy you are.”

He groans as you sew him up, the tender flesh inflamed and aching, but he wouldn’t have anyone else do it. You try and ease some of his pain with a thick salve you smear across the wound, his fists clenching and muscles in his jaw jumping as he holds in the pained noises.

You set his wrist as best you can. You’ll make him go see a proper healer in the morning and if they have to re-break his arm to fix it correctly, well, then that’s Azriel’s fault.

You help him to your bed. He’s still dizzy and stumbles a few times but he catches himself before toppling to the ground ungracefully. You’re still worried, shaken that he’s appeared to you like this, mind racing with thoughts of what happened as you sit him on the corner of your bed and move to get a cloth and basin to clean him with.

You stand in the bath, scrubbing at your hands, the clear water turning ruddy with his blood. Your fingers are trembling and your breathing hasn’t returned to normal, it’s a wonder you patched him up so well.

You don’t know how long you’re in there until he places his uninjured hand on your shoulder and you’re jumping in your spot, looking up at him with scared eyes.

His face softens and he realizes just how much he’s put you through by doing this. He turns off the water and gently towels your hands dry before tucking you into his chest.

He doesn’t care that you’re rubbing against his wound because it means that you’re there and he gets to hold you again, kiss the tears from your eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs into your hair and you let out the sob you’d been holding back. His hand holds your head to his chest and he hugs you as tightly as you need until you notice his discomfort, muscles tensed beneath you and you’re pushing him back and telling him to sit on the counter as you rub your eyes furiously, taking the cloth from his hand and running it under the water.

He wipes every tear that falls and his heart aches as you clean him from the blood because you refuse to look him in the eyes while you work, meticulously wiping at his dirty skin.

“I think you’ve got it all,” he says softly, catching your hands in one of his own as you wipe across his lower abdomen for the fourth time, “It’s okay (Y/N).”

You shake your head. You’ve forced the tears to stop but you couldn’t look at him for the fear that the dam would burst again. “It’s not, though, Azriel.” Your voice shakes and you wring the dirty cloth between your fingers. “I almost lost you tonight, don’t you get that?”

And he absolutely does. He thought that he had lost you too, when he was bleeding out in the woods you were the only thing that he could think about. Seeing you one last time was his dying wish and he used up nearly all of his energy making his way back to you.

“I do,” he soothes, taking you into his arms once again, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he cradles you as close as he can, “I do and I’m sorry.”

You choke on a bitter laugh, pulling away to finally get a good look at him. He’s still looking peaky and exhausted, and you should get him to rest, berate him in the morning. You help him out of his leathers and bloodied undergarments.

Normally you’d be keening to see him completely nude, but you just want this horrific day to be over.

You lead him to your bed, removing your own stained shirt and climbing in beside him.

Neither of you speak, but he pulls you in close, pressing a firm kiss to your forehead and he begins playing with your hair, massaging his good hand through it as you cling to his side.

Tomorrow you’d speak of this, explain that feeling fluttering in the pit of your stomach, but you have a feeling that he already knows as he murmurs something you don’t quite catch as your consciousness ebbs into sleep.

#AZ #Azriel #azriel x reader #azriel x you #azriel/reader #acotar #acomar #acowar #acomaf #acotarxreader #azsazz #hurtfic #spymaster

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molluskmirage · 4 months

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Bad and Dapper’s bond

a full on discussion about how absolutely precious it is.

Bad and Dappers bond is so special, its not something you come across everyday and watching it unfold live on screen is a privilege that isn’t possible in other forms of media. So many sets of perfect conditions combined into what is one of the most endearing and precious bonds.

From first sight to now, it is such a beautiful and powerful relationship that is built with love by both players. Bad is a brilliant parent to so many degrees, because Bad was so open to letting his child flourish Dapper was able and willing to accept it and what a powerful dynamic it is. They can communicate without speaking and share each others joy with their mere presence. While Bad may call out worries and commands while fighting monsters they fight in tandem so seamlessly without saying a word. They volley hits so smoothly as an understated comment on how well they understand each other’s movements.

It’s something that could be seen from the very first sighting but as the love blossomed it only grew more and more. When Bad initially walked into the adoption center he was eyeing Chayanne but then he saw Dapper and those little hops and that hat, it was all over for Badboy that was his kid and he quickly became protective standing by him not letting anyone take him ensuring Dapper was his kid as for him he already was. On Dappers end as he has spoken he had seen a little of bbh, liked him enough but was unsure there personalities would gel, but in the moment completely excited for Bad to be his parent. What came next for Dapper was even more sweet because while he stated uncertainty at first before knowing in his words ‘I couldn’t have been more wrong’, there dynamic and bond played out so well it developed into real love.

Bad encourages and supports Dapper in all endeavors (even if some he may be wary of he’ll never stop of thinking of ways to support everything). While Dapper is an obviously skilled player him being able to flourish and be such a character so early on is a testament to Bad’s love and care. Many adults can feel overwhelmed when a little human their in charge of is smarter then them, the lost sense of control tends to lend itself to adults taking that power back by belittling the child or holding them back. Bad doesn't do this, he understands they need to go about something for caution so may momentarily wrangle Dapper but only enough so that they can do the thing with a backup plan for their safety.

Bad treated Dapper as both what he was told and what Dapper exhibited and also left room for ambiguity because he was uncertain by his source of information. Bad was told Dapper was a dragon egg so Bad didn’t hold him to human child expectations. While it may be laughed at that Bad made an actual nest as Dappers first bed that moment shows just how much care Bad is willing to put into appropriate care for Dapper beyond human expectations of comfort and care. Dapper understands this love and care and shares it as well. He loves all creatures and puts his heart and soul into research of there habitats and needs.

Those early moments with dirt poor Bad and Dapper in the side of a cliff to annoy Foolish are such a sickeningly wholesome and sweet experience. The tender love that was shared there really set in stone Dapper and Bads bond and when moments get rough and Dapper gets overwhelmed he falls back into Bad for theses moments of soft songs and comfort. Not watching Bad, Dapper both is and may seem very independent but Bad is his comfort and it’s something to see when he lets himself be vulnerable with Bbh he’s so sweet and soft and little.

Dappers wit makes for the perfect comedy duo play between him and Bad. Because Bad leans into Dappers love of the macabre it creates all kinds of humorous moments that showcase even more the support for one another.

Dapper loves to explore and Bad loves him being able to explore however Dapper is a vulnerable player so in order to achieve some exploration safety measures must be taken. I think audience wise many would assume Bad wouldn’t let Dapper do many things for fear of danger but thats not the case at all, Bad and Dapper completed so many of the most dangerous dungeons in the first few weeks that at the time almost all other eggs weren’t allowed within 100 blocks of. They were able to do this with understanding, communication and safety measures. Instead of saying ‘no you cant do that’ bad says ‘we can do that but we need to set up somethings before going in/ you need to listen when I say to run away’ Bad doesn’t impede on Dappers abilities but guides them through there wants and wishes in a manner that isnt a no but helps them guarantee safety.

They do this all alone together. There was never another in the picture for Bad, he was a lone parent in an environment that wanted to kill his kid. Poor and least audience favored Bad never spoke to any of these obstacles because they aren’t obstacles to him for Dapper. Dappers time and happiness is all that matters everything else melts away for Bad whatever he has to do to ensure that he does for Dapper, time and time again he proves his love without question, for Dapper its all worth it and he’s right. Dapper is such an incredible player smart and funny and sweet. (Admin wise its pretty clear that their a more reserved individual that ramons admin coaxed them to join with him and ccbad fits this perfectly well) moments where Dapper is shy and overwhelmed Bad immediately looks into, they share silent shifts and Bad pulls him away for his thoughts on the matter, Bad will then act accordingly to Dappers wishes while also talking Dapper through them if need be.

The narrative that Dapper is Bad’s parent and not the other way around is a joke thats able to exist because Bad so throughly supports Dapper and his intelligence. Emotionally Dapper is vulnerable, he has a huge heart but has a hard time placing that love without feeling incredibly shy, he depends on Bad for that support and Bad provides that. Thats an unseen practice however to any that dont see Bads pov which is many, there love is so strong and powerful though.

Dapper feels this bond of closeness too and repeats his biggest fears not being his own demise but what that would mean for Bad. He has shown other moments for being defensive for Bad when others try to insinuate that bad doesn’t care for him properly or that bad is a terrible character. And while slight he has also showcased small signs of monopolization (when he feels he can, in general I think he’s very chill/used to sharing time with bad between islanders and siblings but if he lets himself be a little selfish in a very cute manner he does like to hold onto bad) a very subtle wish but one still present.

Dapper and Bads bond, how the bounce off each other love and care for one another, It truly is a phenomenon that doesnt come often but when it does is so precious to behold and infectious to view. Theres no moment when the two are together thats not filled with joy and love for each other. Its been an incredible pleasure to watch. A timeless experience that never gets old. Their bonds so cute and sweet and precious its gold. Bad and Daper can have other relationships that are special to them too but the bond between the 2 has been such a profound showcase of love thats endearing through and through.

#Qsmp Dapper and Bad’s bond

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fingerless-glovez · 1 year

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The Performing Arts Academy of Concordia (aka, COD characters as theater kids)

MC: The long suffering director whose productions are constantly falling apart due to her uncontrollable actors screwing everything up. Takes her cast and crew out to dinner after every show and orders A LOT of wine for herself.

Guy: Constantly competing with Toa for lead roles. Usually sets up scenarios to make Toa have an "accident" on or offstage so he can swoop in as his understudy. They never work.

Lynt: Will take any opportunity to fall asleep when not onstage. He even falls asleep onstage when the focus isn't on him. Thankfully, he always seems to know where to pick up. Most of his monologues are delivered through long yawns.

Fenn: Overacting extraordinaire. Milks any role he gets so hard to make sure everyone remembers the one extra he played. His physicality is always exaggerated and sensual, which often gets a rise out of the female members of the audience, even moreso MC. When not cast, he usually does stuff like script writing, ordering props, helping with set design, and pestering Knight.

Toa: Constantly competing with Guy for lead roles. Usually sets up scenarios to make Guy have an "accident" on or offstage so he can swoop in as his understudy. They never work.

Roy: Good actor who has all of his lines beated and memorized and has all of his blocking on point. Although he does have a habit of giving a nasty stink eye to whoever gets cast as Sherry's love interest, should she have one (Not even Grayson is spared from this). Also the head costume designer.

Rio: Supportive assistant stage manager. Often acts as moral support for the actors and stage crew. Often takes care of heavy lifting and special effects and stuff. Holds up cue cards for Tino when he forgets his lines. Often brings snacks for the actors on opening and closing nights.

Jasper: *in an alternate universe where he isn't a pervy jackass* Usher/security. Shows people to their seats, reminds people not to talk during performances, and removes unruly guests. Also a popcorn thief.

Tino: A perfectly competent actor during rehearsals. It's when he's in front of an audience that he starts to fall apart. His severe case of stage fright leaves him sweaty, stuttering and stiff in the middle of the stage, and relies on Rio to hold up cue cards for him (Vane forbid the card be upside-down).

Knight: Stage manager. Let it be known, when he enters the room, he's in charge. He's the guy directing the crew, organizing props, and generally making sure everything goes according to MC's vision (or is at least set up to). Constantly scolds Rio for encouraging the actors to eat while in costume, and Fenn for trying to use props to poke his butt.

Grayson: Actually the best actor among these people. Fenn signed him up as a joke once, but with Sherry's encouragement, he really stepped up to the plate. Dude's so good he made MC, Klaus, and Aidan cry during a really emotional scene. Shame he doesn't always get the chance to shine due to the constant need to wrangle his co-stars.

Lance: Usher and security, mostly (not really sure what else he'd do, he doesn't strike me as a theater kid)

Dia: Composer and conductor of the orchestra. Will sometimes cue a random orchestra hit if Lynt falls asleep onstage and no one else is there to wake him up. Sometimes understudies for Roy or Sherry or plays female extras (because there's only 4 girls in the school who aren't just stand-ins for other students, MC doesn't act, and nobody cares about Lonette, right?) and he does pretty well as an actor.

Lou: Main sponsor of the shows. He loves watching everything fall to shit in increasingly ridiculous and hilarious ways. Also loves watching MC slowly die inside next to him.

Sherry: Usually the leading lady due to being one of the only 3 significant females in the school. Extremely embarrassed by Roy giving dirty looks to her poor male co-stars when they kiss her. Often helps Roy with costuming.

Violet: Gets cast for a lot of villain roles, believe it or not. She gets a little excited and exaggerates her performances a lot, but it's the thought that counts, right? She also ushers and handles the box office.

Aquia: Run crew. He's a little too shy for the stage, but he likes to help wherever he can. He often provides flowers for the sets, and even helps with script writing from time to time.

Thoma: Provides concessions during intermission. Is also a swing.

MC's cat: Walks out onto the stage sometimes just so he can flop over and have everyone love him. Carefully removed by Lance, who snuggles with him for the rest of the show.

#court of darkness #guy avari #lynt akedia #fenn luxure #toa qelsum #roy invidia #rio voleri #jasper lane #tino maes #court of darkness knight #grayson hotz #lance ira #dia akedia #court of darkness lou #sherry invidia #violet muller #aquia avari #court of darkness thoma

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rain4dayz · 2 months

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Reign Amoray: Meeting the King

You hadn’t found Ace or Deuce in their dorm’s lounge where they said they’d be studying. You had left Grim in the care of your two best friends. A questionable decision? Sure, but you were pressed for time due to a sudden ‘emergency’ that Crowely had called you to fix on your own help with. Which turned out to be paperwork that needed filing.

You head into Heartslabyul’s gardens after some of the other dorm members said they had gone out for some fresh air. Despite it being a lovely day, the gardens are void of students. However, as you walk further into the twisting labyrinth of roses you spot a boy. He has his back to you; he is quite tall; his hair falls down his back stopping just above his waist. His long hair is split dyed with black on the top right and bottom left sides, and red on the top left and bottom right.

You walk up behind the boy, reach up and tap him on the shoulder “Um, excuse me-” The boy tenses under the contact from your finger and jumps a bit nearly landing face first into the roses. “Waaugh!” He turns around, his eyes bugged and startled. “Huh?” His brown irises look around before finding your form. It takes a moment then you see a flash of recognition in his eyes. “Ah! H- Hello prefect.” “What brings you- you here to- today?”

Now that he is facing you notice his right eyebrow is black contrasting nice with the red side of his hair. While the left eyebrow is red. He has hearts under the corners of his eyes, like Trey and Cater’s clover and diamond. There is a black heart on the right and a red heart on the left. He also has a black nose ring with a heart charm in the center.

“I’m sorry for startling you, but I was just wondering if you’ve seen Ace and Deuce?” “I left them in charge of Grim.” you ask. The boy replies “Oh, I am so- sorry but the three of them are current- currently helping house war-warden Riddle wrangle the- the flamingos they let ou- out.” You pinch the bridge of your nose and sigh at your friend's behavior. “Of course.” you lament under your breath.

Looking back up at him you don’t really know what to say. Should you ask to hang around? It wouldn’t be weird right? You’ve spent a lot of time at Heartslabyul after all. Most of the dorm members know you and will wave and make small talk when they see you in their dorm or in the school hallways. You always received invites to unbirthday parties from Riddle in person. It wouldn’t be rude if you hung out in the lounge while you waited for your three idiots, right? Maybe you could look for Cater or Trey?

The two of you continue to stand in front of each other and awkwardly avoid each other's gaze. “Um.” you start. “I’m sorry again, for startling you.” you sheepishly say. He replies “It- it is al-alright. I st- star- startle very easily.” The two of you fall back into awkward silence. “I- uh- y- you are welcome to- to stay if you’d l- like.” said the boy. “Really? I wouldn’t want to impose.” you reply.

“Of co- course.” said the boy. “You are practically an- an honorary Heartslabyul mem- member. Yo- you are alway- always welcome.” He smiled at you. You gave him a small smile in return. “Thank you so much- uh-” you stop yourself and realize you don’t know his name. Crap. This is rude! You’ve seen this dude around before, sometimes he is with some third years, but he is always hanging in the background you haven’t really talked to him before. You shamefully wring your hands together and admit “Ah, I’ve never really caught your name.”

“Oh! A- Ap- Apologies. I’ve never pro- properly intro- introduced myself. He says trying to wave away any guilt you may have. He then shyly tucks a strand of hair behind his ear and looks down. However, because he is so tall you can still catch a glimpse of both his face and ears turning a bit red. “I- I do- don't know yo- your- your name e- ei- either. I’ve on-only heard pe- people call you pr- pref- prefect.” he says while keeping his head down. He looks back at you, with a slight blush on his face and straightens his posture. “B- but my n- name is Reign. Reign Am- Amoray and I am a th- third year.”You smile at him again and his blush darkens a bit. “Nice to meet you Reign. I am Yuu.” Reign sputters a bit and replies “A- a ple- pleasure to me- meet you Y- Yuu.”

The two of you just stare at each other waiting for the other to continue. Reign is the one to break the silence “Ah, I a- am so s- sor- sorry Yuu I am so te- terribly a- awk- awkward.” He sighs “Th- this- this is prob- probably one of the re- reasons why I- I- I- wouldn’t ha- have lasted as- as the dorm le- leader anyway.” “Al- along with my st- st- stutter.” “As a th- third year I should ta- take more in- in initiative to interact a- and su- support my underclass- classmen.” Reign anxiously rambles so fast you barely put his sentences together in your head before you ask, “You were the dorm leader?” He pauses and you can see a mix of sadness and disappointment in his eyes. “O-oh. Um, yes, I wa-was the dor- dorm leader th- that Riddle b-beat.” He quietly looks down again.

After a moment, you were just about to apologize for bringing up something that seems to be a sore memory, Reign straightens up again. “B-but that is the past an-and I must con- cont- coninue to move forward de- despite my shy nature. I will continue st- striving to better m- myself.” the original shame and bashfulness in Reign’s warm eyes is gone and replaced with a determined flame. You stare in shock at his quick shift from bashful shame to admirable determination and maturity.

“Oh! I am ram- rambling a- ab- about myself. I- I’m sorry. I have- haven’t asked h- how you ar- are doing.” said Reign, his eyes darted around, slightly panicked at his impulsive tangent. After a moment his eyes land on you again, they shift down slightly before reengaging eye contact with you. “Yo- You know I ha-had been tending to-to the roses for some time, why- why don’t we grab a bite to eat?” “We st-sti-still have some- some leftover tarts from th- the last unbirthday party, I can brew us some tea, and- and you can tell me mo-more about yourself.”

“O-oh I wouldn’t want to trouble you.” You replied not wanting to make your anxious senior feel like he had to keep you company. “No no, I in- insist as a member of H- Hear- Heartslabyul I must pride myself on ex- excellent and eccentric hos- hospi- tality.” He assures you with a slightly awkward but charming smile. You can’t help but return the gesture “Thank you.” you reply genuinely. His smile and blush brighten slightly “O- of course.” and the two of you begin walking back to the dorm.

Name: Reign Amoray

Twisted from: The King of Hearts

Birthday: May 5th

Zodiac: Taurus

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Height: 180cm

Best subject: History of Magic

Homeland: Queendom of Roses

Appearance: light skin, long split dye hair, black on top right, and bottom left, red on top left and bottom right, left eyebrow is red, right eyebrow is black, dark brown eyes, natural hair color is strawberry blonde, nose ring, red heart on left cheek black heart on right cheek

Unique Magic: I Pardon Thee

Incantation: “You are innocent. You need not suffer. I Pardon Thee!”

Effects: Can reverse the effects of curses. Must be of a greater caliber or of the same caliber as the magician who cast the curse. Can override another person’s unique magic.

Trivia:

A member of the Equestrian club

His horse’s name is Raven

Left the equestrian club in his second year, before rejoining halfway through the year

Is the previous Heartslabyul dorm leader that Riddle defeated

Has the shortest reign of any Heartslabyul dorm leader in NRC history lasting only a week

Grew up knowing Trey and Che’nya but is not close with them

Comes from a wealthy family

Has known Riddle through childhood since their families ran in the same circles but was never close with him

Is not particularly close with his family as they can be strict, but they have a decently healthy relationship

Has a stutter

Was made fun of as a little kid, has never had a ‘best friend’

Enjoys fencing and is quite good

Etymology: His first name Reign means ‘rule’ or ‘sovereign’, his last name Amoray means ‘valiant and diligent ruler’

Personality: Reign is very shy by nature and speaks with a stutter. When he gets nervous, he speaks very fast and trips over his words more than usual. Was bullied for his stutter when little but never really spoke up against his bullies because he was too shy. He is quite nice, and many people consider him a friend, but he is never close enough with anyone to be part of a particular friend group or clique. Despite his quiet personality he is incredibly smart and talented at magic. He has an excellent work ethic and strives to better himself academically and personally. Even though he is no longer the dorm leader he often pushes himself to engage with underclassmen and offer them guidance. He offers tutoring during the weekends to the members of his dorm. While he may constantly be panicking, and overthinking everything, he can be a capable senior.

#twisted wonderland oc #twisted wonderland #twst #twst oc #twst yuu #Reign Amoray #oc art #disney twst #disney twisted wonderland #fanfic

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crossdressingdeath · 6 months

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durge questions for kyvir: 3, 6, 14, 17, 20, 27. is this too many. i dont even know i just Love Him. -@veilkeeper

(Durge asks!)

No such thing as too many, I love talking about Kyvir. I answered 20 here, but as for the others:

3. What would your Dark Urge consider to be their greatest skill? Is this accurate? His ability to pass completely beneath the radar. When he was younger (and more foolish) he hated how small and pretty and innocent he looked, but as he got older and grew out of that teenage need to puff himself up and look and act tough he realized that not only was he a lot happier leaning into the soft and pretty thing, it meant that even on the rare occasions when suspicion fell on him he was usually dismissed immediately as a suspect. Similarly, when he's on the hunt for prey or trying to charm someone into giving him something they always underestimate him. And it's not that he doesn't stand out! It's just that he comes off as... y'know, your standard pretty, foppish, somewhat overconfident bard. Not a killer. There are other skills that you could argue are greater than that, but he's not wrong in his assessment.

6. How does your Dark Urge react to waking up with memory loss? He's freaked out. He spends the whole nautiloid with a feeling like when you're going down a staircase and miss the last step, and that feeling never really goes away. He's still determined to get his memories back at the end of the game; the fact that it's supposedly impossible is a minor inconvenience. He's already an impossible existence, a drop of Bhaal's divine gore that broke divine cosmology to free himself from his father's power. Why shouldn't he be able to undo his memory loss?

14. How good of a liar is your Dark Urge? How do they feel about lying? Oh, he's a phenomenal liar. He's a bard and an assassin; lying is like 80% of his job! And he loves it, too. It's an absolute joy, watching people fall for every lie he tells for no other reason than because he's the one who told it. Also, it's funny to tell really obvious lies and watch people trying to decide whether or not to call him on something that he clearly doesn't believe but is still saying with absolute confidence (this is where things like him claiming to be seven feet tall while very obviously being 5'6 come in).

17. What is your Dark Urge’s greatest regret? Pre-amnesia, it was murdering the woman who taught him music (I. haven't figured out a name for her yet but shh). She caught him mid-kill when he was around eleven or twelve, but instead of turning him in to the Fist made a deal with him: she'd teach him the skills of a bard, and in exchange he'd play her little spy and saboteur, stealing from, spying on and humiliating her rivals. She could be a little cold at times and wasn't above holding the fact that he was a murderer and she could have him arrested at any time over his head (when she learned he didn't have a name she straight up called him Atonement) and she never hid the fact that she was using him from him, but he never doubted that she cared for him despite that; she was combination older sister and mother to him, and he loved her with all his heart. So naturally when he was sixteen and he'd learned all she had to teach him Bhaal forced him to kill her. Post-amnesia—and more specifically post-game—it's failing to save Gortash, of course.

27. How does your Dark Urge feel about giving and receiving orders? He's used to giving orders, and he's good at it. He has the sort of charm and confidence that makes people want to listen to him, and the experience to know exactly how to take charge of a situation. While he doesn't remember being High Primate of Bhaal's temple, it turns out that if you can wrangle a gaggle of Bhaalists and draw out their loyalty you can manage a whole lot of leadership situations. However, while he knows he's got the leadership skills to manage he doesn't trust himself; whenever he's in charge he's worrying about whether he'll lose control and lead the people who are relying on him into a terrible situation specifically to get them all killed. So he's good at giving orders and tends to take charge automatically, but he finds it exhausting to do for any length of time. He keeps taking charge automatically and then stopping to think "Oh gods, why have I done this to myself again?" In terms of receiving orders, it depends? With most people he takes it extremely badly. He might not trust himself to lead well, but he definitely doesn't trust other people! And besides, he's a damn demigod. Why should he take orders from some random mortal? But once someone's earned his respect and trust, he'd much rather take orders from them than give orders himself. He'll still play at fighting them for control, of course! It would go against his nature (and more importantly his father's will) to do otherwise! But he'll fold pretty quick once they fight back if he's decided he can trust them. The trouble is that people who win this level of trust for him tend to be... morally flexible at best? Generally not the sort of people you'd want having power over a demigod.

#bg3 #kyvir #ask games #asks #veilkeeper

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number1villainstan · 11 months

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Can we have some Nemoto headcannons? I’m very curious. ~🎑

Okay, so you got the general backstory in this post--Nemoto lived with his single mother until he was 10, got kidnapped, and then got shuffled from gang to gang and made a living and his freedom off of cons and blackmail. I've also mentioned that, you know, special interest in psychology. So let's have some different headcanons this time around! (I have a lot

I stole the headcanon that he was the first of the Eight from someone (who draws/drew funny little three-panel comics in black white and sepia who is it I can't remember the username) and the idea that he likes plants and takes care of some within the base from rumiknight here on Tumblr. I think plants might be another special interest of his? (I have no idea if you can have multiple special interests.)

He's got naturally light purple hair, a similar shade to Shinsou Hitoshi's but not the exact same, a couple shades off, but has dyed and bleached it so many times to so many different colors as he switched names and identities. He keeps it a bleached blonde mostly out of habit. He also helped Sakaki grow out and take care of his hair when he first came to the Hassaikai. After canon, if/when he finally gets found by the Shinsous, he might grow out and cut off the damaged hair and let it be its natural color again.

He's paired up with Sakaki because Sakaki's the only one he can stand for any long period of time...at least when Sakaki's sober. They're both asexual, and both like men romantically, so it ended up working out pretty well ehehehehehe

Nemoto actually did a lot of the work in pulling Sakaki out his addiction when he first came, including the aforementioned helping him take care of his hair, as well as holding him accountable and figuring out why relapses happened (and then fixing it). Sakaki relies more on him than he does on Chisaki or Kurono, as a result.

Nemoto's a major introvert and really loves his quiet time. He's in charge of the Eight because of seniority, but they tend to tire him out/overstimulate him really quickly, so he's often cross and snappy with them. (In canon he tends to have a little (actually a lottle) bit of a superiority complex over the others in the Eight but I want to ignore/change that, hence this.) Still, although they're exhausting to be around, if any of them got hurt--especially while under Nemoto's supervision/direct command--Nemoto would be on the warpath right next to Chisaki, and probably end up blaming himself for not protecting them well enough/getting them hurt, even when it's not his fault.

His duties don't stop at wrangling the Eight, though that qualifies as a full-time job. He's often stepped up to help with managing the general operations of Chisaki's side of the Hassaikai alongside Chisaki himself, Kurono, and/or Irinaka in cases where one of the three were indisposed or when there was just too much work for only three people. Usually in these cases, though, someone else steps up to keep the rest in line, although the Eight are usually a lot less rowdy when someone's incapacitated, especially enough to stop working. Chisaki especially has been known to step out of conducting meetings to vomit and then come back and continue like nothing happened, all the while denying that he's sick, and Kurono and Irinaka both have pretty similar work-till-you-drop show-no-weakness complexes because yakuza toxic masculinity. So Nemoto getting called in to help is generally a pretty big deal, and the rest of the Eight know this. (He's also usually the one handling interrogations, for obvious reasons.)

Overusing his Quirk can induce symptoms similar to narcolepsy, such as excessive daytime sleepiness and falling asleep at random intervals. For these reasons he tends to use it sparingly and on 'smaller'/less complicated questions, rather than on deep probing ones. Chisaki is aware of this and doesn't ask much of him Quirkwise; instead Nemoto trains with guns. He's actually a better sharpshooter than Kurono (who is in the position of sharpshooter because if he were allowed to fight melee he'd go full berserker mode). Although not as good as Lady Nagant, obviously. No one's as good as Nagant.

He's asexual, as mentioned above, and while I had him as alloace for a while, I think he might actually fall into grayromantic. Can't decide if I want him to be homo- or biromantic. He's also intersex. It's a hormonal condition, and he didn't find out or even suspect until Chisaki ran a hormone blood test and found that his normal levels were atypical. The hormone thing might tie into the narcolepsy-like symptoms, cause fatigue and stuff like that. Back to the ace headcanon--he's sex-repulsed as well (as opposed to Sakaki's who's indifferent and Hojo's who's aegosexual and likes sex as a Concept), and has definitely struggled with feeling like an Adult because of it.

I feel like he'd really like Tom Lehrer's music. Maybe not so much Masochism Tango (sex-repulsed), but definitely Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, The Hunting Song, and So Long, Mom (A Song for World War III), definitely his satirical songs. (This is also the guy who wrote and performed New Math, if you recognize that.) Nemoto might not recognize the specific cultural elements he uses, because Tom Lehrer's in the US in the 1950s and 60s and Nemoto's living in Japan several centuries after that, but he gets the general gist of it and loves the sort of sarcastic satire those songs employ.

I'm running dry right now, but I hope these work well!

#nemoto shin #nemokaki #sakaki deidoro #shie hassaikai #shie hassaikai headcanons #ask #intergalactic jellyfish #bnha #mha #fun fact i started listening to tom lehrer near the end of writing this #long post

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solisrojas34 · 2 years

Text

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#reliable

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astroluvr · 2 years

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can you do one where y/n is jack's assistant and they sneak around and stuff please

i loved this and ofc it had to get a little angsty at the end!!! thanks for ur request!

***

You'd been watching Jack do a rehearsal for the past hour. You stayed on the front row the whole time, watching as danced and smiled- he was truly himself on stage and it was a wonderful thing to see. The two of you had been sneaking around with each other for close to six months and it was becoming easier to tell that things were heating up.

"I know, but you don't have to show it. It'll be bad for your image."

"Can we take a break?" he asked upon finishing half of his set list and you nodded from the chairs. Everyone else who was really in charge also gave the go-ahead, but he was really only seeking your approval.

He nodded and started walking, causing you to stand up and follow him to the stage exit. "Watch the cords, baby."

He smirked at you and you looked around afraid that someone had heard you. Although the situation was a bit cliche, there was arguably nothing wrong with your and Jack's relationship. All it took was one night together on the town for Jack to realize he had to have you one way or the other.

You were always in his inner circle, and after you dabbled in business, he asked you to be his assistant and help manage him. Of course you agreed, it was great experience and a great opportunity to travel and learn about yourself. Not to mention, you got paid to wrangle around a giant child and make sure he didn't do anything too stupid and tarnish his reputation. You slept with him for free.

"You called me baby while we weren't alone." he teased, hopping off the stage and towering over you.

"And I'll never do it again." you glared at him and you could see in his eyes that he wanted to kiss you. You put a hand on his chest and he licked his lips. "We can't. There's so many techs who could take a picture."

"I know." he said, but grabbed your hand anyway. "Come to the dressing room."

"We'll have time in the hotel for anything you want to do after the show tonight." you whispered.

Jack was always the anytime, anyplace one. You were a little more discreet, and not because you knew how damaging a public relationship could be for his media presence right now. Even without being his assistant, you wouldn't have wanted to break your little bubble, as tiresome as it was, it felt like keeping yourself safe. If he broke your heart, you wouldn't have to face the music of social media or your friends or his circle.

"I need to kiss you now." you huffed and let him lead you back up the stage

"Hey, where are you two going? We're going to go grab lunch then come back." Neelam yelled, sliding her purse on and Jack looked down at you.

"I need Y/N's help real quick. I'll catch up."

"We can wait." she offered, and you sighed.

"Maybe we should just-" Jack interrupted you with another excuse across the venue.

"I'll get us a car and we'll meet you." he said, turning around and nearly running to the back with you in tow.

When he finally got you into his small dressing room, he was relieved to sit down and pull you onto his lap. You smiled when he puckered his lips dramatically and let his head fall back when you gave him a soft kiss.

"People are going to find out if you don't stop acting like you can't live without me." you reminded him as you played with his sweaty curls and he gripped your ass.

"I can't."

"Of course, we are. Now's just not the time." his hands left your ass and he rested them on the back of the couch.

"So what? I'm supposed to spend my life keeping up a fuckboy reputation?" he held your hips and you shrugged. "I won't. We've been sneaking around for six months, Y/N. We're serious about each other, right?"

You hated having this conversation with Jack. After you two realized what you had was a little more than late night flings, he was ready to tell everyone who would listen. Granted he wanted to keep it private, but anytime someone caught you two looking a little too friendly with one another, he seemed ready to burst with your secret.

"Is it about me? You don't want to go public with me?"

"It's about thinking logically, J. Everyone knows I'm your assistant and if we start not caring about who's watching, then what will that say about me or you or us?"

"I don't care, Y/N. I want you and only fucking you."

"You're on top of your game, Jack. You're about to release a number one hit. They're talking about pairing you up with models for PR, you're getting industry party invites. I'm not all you want, I'm all you know."

"So, what am I to you, then?" he asked, his blue eyes that were once bright as the sky dimmed and his hands that were eager to feel you up gripped the fluff of the couch.

"Forget I bought it up, Jack." you said, climbing off his lap and grabbing your purse.

"Nah, you had all of that analysis before, say something. Say I was just enough to get you off."

"Don't even try and imply that I was using you. I just know who you were before us."

"But nothing, nobody, could ever change me, right? I thought I was showing you the real me, Y/N, but you had the media in your ear the whole fucking time. That's fine, though."

Even through his rough delivery, you knew he was hurt. As you stood there, you thought about the past few months. Discussing all of Jack's next moves and watching what the world had to say about him and everyone's perception of him began to taint your own thoughts and feelings.

A critical lapse in judgement may have caused the break in your heart you were expecting Jack to deliver.

"Jack, baby, I'm not-"

He stood up and ignored you entirely. "Urban already sent a car back."

"Jack," you sighed, wiping your eyes as tears began to slide down your cheeks. "I'm sorry. You're the best I've ever known, I promise you."

He nodded and plucked a tissue from the box to hand it to you. He turned around and left you in the dressing room alone. For the first time in a long time, Jack left you without some form of physical affection. Not a kiss, not a squeeze, not even a wink or a text a moment later.

Just a cold reminder of what you had and what you could've had gone.

***

@whoreforharlow

#jack harlow #jack harlow blurb #fan fiction #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow fanfiction #jack harlow x y/n

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amjustagirl · 3 years

Text

Love knows not its depth (until the hour of separation)

pairing: Kuroo x f! reader genre: angst / fluff, post timeskip! warnings: a tiny smudge of suggestive content wc: 4.9k m.list ~ taglist. ~

a/n: this is my rendition of a grown up Kuroo. life has been a little hectic for me recently, so i’m only getting around to posting it now. pls be kind and i hope y’all love it <3

“I need a break.”

Kuroo continues to snore. You are unsurprised he doesn’t hear you. After all, he came home glassy eyed, smelling strongly of alcohol after yet another night of drinks with his boss before quickly falling asleep in bed. It’s what he does most weekday nights, leaving you alone at home to manage your two daughters and tuck them into bed.

“I’m tired, Tetsuro.”

You are too tired to even tell him how you feel. You have a career of your own, two daughters to raise, a never ending list of chores and errands that must be done. You are a mother, a wife, a career woman. You have so many roles to play yet there is no space for you.

You must do something, anything or risk your heart imploding in your very chest.

You cannot survive that.

The next morning, you call your boss, ask for a day off. Then you pack your girls off to your mother’s place with two little suitcases with toys and clothes enough for a long weekend before you take the train to Hakone, check yourself into the ryokan with a view of Mt. Fuji that you spent your honeymoon at - except this time, you’re alone (but then again, you’ve been lonely for so long, you hardly notice the difference anymore).

You dip yourself into the hot waters of the onsens, watch bamboo sway in the breeze. It’s been at least a year since you’ve been even able to take a bath uninterrupted. There’s always something - Aiko needing help with her homework, Fumiko whining for another piece of mochi, your boss calling to chase for yet another report, so all you’ve ever had time for is a hurried shower before placating your daughters or seating yourself in front of your laptop to deal with your boss.

Finally, you’ve stolen a day to yourself. It’s absolute bliss.

The water is kind to you. Its heat soothes your aching muscles, the rising steam steadies your breath. You walk out of the baths feeling refreshed, renewed, but when you enter your room you find Kuroo Tetsuro waiting for you.

“I’ve been calling your phone all afternoon”, he says, face pinched. “I was worried.”

“Were you?” you say before you can stop yourself. “Really?”

“Of course”, he says, uncrossing his legs to stand. “You’re my wife and the mother of my children, of course I care.”

Wife. Mother. Employee.

The roles that life has handed you haunts you again. There is no escape for you.

Your skin suddenly feels as if it’s stretched too tight over your frame. Your bones rattle, brittle. They threaten to break if you take another breath. Yet you laugh and laugh and laugh, the sound spilling from your lips filling the room, suffocating the pounding of your heartbeat in your ears.

“If you really cared, you would have noticed that your wife is broken”, you tell him between bouts of laughter. “I tried fixing myself with a break but you can’t even give me that.”

Kuroo stares at you, equal parts horrified and confused. He takes a hesitant step forward towards you before thinking the better of it, swerving over to the kettle instead, clutching it as if it holds the cure to your madness.

“Calm down”, he says, “take a seat”, and you do. He offers you a cup of tea. You accept it, even though you’re still shaking from the aftershock of your laughter. “Drink”, he says, and you bring the cup to your lips, though you wonder absently why you taste salt in the bitter tea.

“Tell me what’s wrong”, he begs. “Tell me what I can do to fix you.”

You want to tell him that you’re not strong enough to do what’s expected of you. You want to tell him that you’re drowning from the weight of being his wife, the mother of his kids, from being a working woman that he can be proud of. You want to tell him that you understand his career is important, but so is yours, and you can’t carry the weight of the world alone.

But that would take too many words, and you are far, far too tired for that.

So you say blankly - “I can’t do this anymore, Tetsuro.”

His face falls.

You should remember that Kuroo Tetsuro, first and foremost, is a child scarred by his parents’ divorce. You should remember that you made promises that you and he would never put your daughters through that. But you’ve floated beyond hysteria into a grey indifference, your mind too broken, too tired, too numb to consider him when you can barely even hold on to yourself.

You don’t even notice the hot tears soaking through your yukata. You are deaf to his pleas to give him another chance. There is nothing left in you to give because you’ve poured all you’ve had into him, into your family, into your job. You are so, so empty, and you just sit and sip your tea and wonder idly if the warmth from the liquid you’re ingesting will make you feel a little more alive, or if it’s possible to ease the dull ache in your heart.

It is only when you wake up the next day and the sun is high in the sky that you register that he rolled out your futon for you, tucked you into bed, and kissed your forehead as a goodnight and goodbye. But all of this is washed away by the relief you feel when you read the note he’s left behind telling you that he’s returned to Tokyo, and to enjoy your break.

So you do.

You relish every bite of the meals you have at the ryokan. It’s nice not having to cook or scarf down your food at your office desk for once. You fill your time flitting between the onsens and curling up in your room with a book, taking frequent cat naps until tomorrow comes around again and it’s time to check out and head home.

There’s a brief moment of surprise when the reception informs you politely that your husband already paid your bill - but you suppose that’s just Tetsuro being efficient at racking up credit card points. The bullet train takes you back to Tokyo, and a couple stops on the subway takes you home.

“Okaeri”, you call softly out of habit, not expecting anyone to respond, but Kuroo responds with an even softer ‘Tadaima’, striding over to take your bags from you and usher you into the apartment. There are pink roses sitting in a vase, but you pay it no mind.

“The girls?” you ask, already headed in the direction of their room.

“I picked them up from your mom”, Kuroo responds. “Don’t wake them up, I just put them to bed”.

A peek into their room and it settles your mind to see that your girls are safe and sound asleep.

“Thanks,” you say, back in the kitchen, checking the fridge for what you can whip up for breakfast for you and the girls tomorrow. “By the way, I’ll pay you back for the hotel room from my own money, don’t worry.”

“It’s fine”, Kuroo answers, scratching his head. His hair seems a little more rumpled than usual. “I’ll cover it. I should’ve realised you needed a break.”

“You sure? You don’t have to pay for me, I’ve got money of my own.”

“No, let me pay for it, please. It’s the least I can do.”

You shrug. “Okay”, you say gracelessly. “Thank you.”

He continues to watch you over the kitchen counter as you lay out bread, eggs, ham, cheese. It’ll do for a quick breakfast for the girls tomorrow, never mind the guilt eating away at you that you really should do better than feeding them processed food all the time. You’re so preoccupied with planning the morning rush, the best way to clear the stack of reports that must have piled up on your desk at work by now that you miss Kuroo rounding the counter to stare down at you worriedly.

“You haven’t had dinner?”

“Oh no, I had a bento on the train on the way back.” It’s second nature to you to brush away anyone’s concern. “It’s for the girls’ breakfast.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take them to childcare before work tomorrow. Sleep in and take a break.”

“Really?” You stare back at him, confused. He doesn't even take charge of the girls in the mornings when you’re sick, your mother always has to fill in your place. He only ever turns up on the first day of school each year.

“Yes, of course. In fact, I’ve rearranged my work schedule so I can take them to school all of this week at least.”

“Oh”, you say, brows furrowed in confusion. “Okay, I guess. Wake me up if you need my help.”

“I won’t”, he replies, with a cocky smirk that seems almost false. “Goodnight, love.”

You don’t think of Kuroo’s strange behaviour overmuch, falling asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.

Kuroo continues to act strangely all of next week.

As promised, he takes charge of getting the girls out of bed and ready for school. But you’re taken aback when he starts coming home for dinner, completely floored when he hands you a whole armful of bath salts and orders you to take a relaxing, hot bath while he wrangles both the girls and the washing machine into submission.

He even calls your mother to ask her to babysit on a Saturday evening so he can take you out for dinner at a fancy restaurant that serves foam instead of food. You manage to stumble through conversation with him - a commendable effort, since it’s been so long since you’ve even held a proper conversation with him besides snatches of discussion about the girls.

At least until he states during dessert - “we can make it work if you want to quit your job and stay home full time with the children.”

The mousse on your spoon melts by the time you put it down on your plate.

“Did the guys at work tell you it’s easier to have a housewife instead of a working wife? Are you saying this because you don’t think I’m a good enough mother to our girls? Is that what this is about?”

Kuroo shakes his head frantically, reaches across the table for your hand, but you yank it away with a glare. The extra rest you’ve gotten this week has injected a little more fight in you.

“I try my best to be a good wife and mother, but I’m sorry I can’t be perfect and be there for you and the girls 24/7.” You press down on the sliver of cake with a vengeance. Clink! goes the flat of your spoon against the porcelain plate. “I’m sorry for being selfish, but I don’t want to be reliant on you.”

You regret your harsh words when Kuroo slumps back into his chair, murmuring “I just wanted you to be happy. Forget I ever said that.”

He pays the bill and you walk home in silence. He bids you goodnight with a crumpled smile.

It finally clicks when you are startled awake by Kuroo’s shout of alarm.

You roll over, grabbing his shoulder to shake him awake from the nightmare that has him in its grip. His eyes jolt open, and the sight of your face makes him sink back into the pillow with a sigh of relief.

“Thank the gods you haven’t left.”

“Why would I leave? This is my home, isn’t it?” You mumble, turning your back to him again.

You feel the bed shift as Kuroo sits up.

“No”, he rasps, voice rough with sleep. “I was afraid you left me”.

Oh. So that’s what all of this is about.

You must stay quiet for far too long, because he gingerly crawls over to you.

“Dearest”, he says, your heart suddenly aching because you don’t remember the last time you heard him use that pet name with any amount of affection. “Darling”, he tries again, pawing at your back. You shut your eyes resolutely and refuse to turn to face him.

He doesn’t give up, even though the distance between you seems to yawn wide and wider with each passing second.

“Are you?” he asks, his words small, shrunken in the still, dark room. “Going to leave me, I mean.”

No, you’re about to say, the word balancing at the tip of your tongue but it feels wrong. Your break has given you the space to breathe, the time to think. It’s made you realise what you’ve said to him in the ryokan that night remains true.

This week has shown you that Kuroo can do better as a husband, as a father if he wants to. But he’s poisoned your marriage with neglect, forced you to dress up your sadness in silence, allowed your resentment to fester and simmer into frigid indifference. If you reassure him that you aren’t going to leave him, it’s only because you’re too tired to, not because you actually love him anymore.

“I don’t know, Tetsuro. Our daughters deserve to grow up with both their parents, but I’m not sure I want them to learn from my example that it’s okay to shoulder the weight of marriage, parenthood and a full time job all by themselves. Your dreams and career are important, I know, but I’m just so tired of being alone in this marriage when it was always supposed to be a partnership between me and you.”

You hear him choke back a sob. You should comfort him, but the exhaustion you feel at being honest with him, with yourself, weighs your bones down, forces you to sink further down into your mattress.

“I’m sorry”, he finally says.

“I’m tired, Tetsuro”, you whisper brokenly, clutching the blankets to your chin. “I think I deserve better.”

“I know. I’ll make it better, I promise.”

You want to ask him how, but your eyelids grow heavy, and you allow yourself to submerge into slumber.

You’re not sure what to expect, but the ground beneath your feet shifts. Things start to change.

Kuroo continues to take your daughters to childcare in the morning on the way to work as he did last week. That very weekend, he straps Fumiko to his chest, takes Aiko by her hand, and within an hour at the department store aided by a flash of his credit card, he purchases a dishwasher and robot vacuum for the house. He loads the dishes without you asking, runs the robot vacuum remotely once a day. It buys you time to breathe, a little more time to sleep.

He doesn’t always make it home in time for dinner, but he tries his best to rush home so he can read the girls a bedtime story and tuck them into bed.

“Dada”, Fumiko lisps, chubby fists wound around Kuroo’s tie. ‘I wanna hear another princess story!”

“No Fumiko! Papa promised to tell us how he met mama!” Aiko prods Kuroo’s side with the wooden doll Yaku sent from Russia that you know he abhors. ‘Keep your promises, papa!”

“Alright, settle down you monsters. I’ll tell you two stories if you promise to go to sleep right after that.” The girls cheer. “Now. Let’s see. A long, long time ago, your papa met your mama when she decided to beat him up because she thought he was trying to steal her food.”

“You were trying to steal my food”, you interrupt, leaning against the doorway amused. “You didn’t stop til I stabbed you with my fork.”

He glances up, surprised when you sit beside him on the bed. Then he grins.

“You left it on the table, dearest. What was a guy supposed to think?”

“Mama, please let dada tell the story”, Aiko interjects with a huff.

“Hurry up, dada! I want the princess story next!” Fumiko pulls at her silly dada’s shirt, pouting.

You both laugh. There’s a soft smile playing on his lips when his eyes meet yours.

Travelling all around Japan is still part of his job as a marketing director of the Japanese Volleyball Association. But now Kuroo pares it down to the bare minimum, makes sure he’s always back by the weekend at the very least to sweep the girls in his arms and shoo you off for a break of afternoon tea with your friends or shopping with your mom.

“Will you be ok when I’m gone?”

You hand him his suitcase, a flask of his favourite tea. “I’ve always managed fine. Nothing’s changed.”

He bends down to kiss Aiko on her forehead, pinch Fumiko’s cheek playfully.

“Yes. Well. I’ll come home soon”, he says, quietly. You startle slightly as he brushes his thumb over your wrist, lets it drift over your pulse point. “Please wait for me.”

You glance up at him from beneath your lashes. “I’ll see you soon then”, you reply. His smile widens, his eyes are hopeful, bright.

On the weekends, he stops flitting off for work functions and events. Instead, now he joins you for lunches at the kaiten zushi near your house, indulging the girls by ordering yet another plate of sushi just so Aiko has another chance to win a toy from the gachapon and Fumiko has another chance at feeling grown up when she lifts the plate from the conveyor belt. He stops ducking out from dinners at the grandparents’ place - both his and yours. Your mom stops giving him dirty looks when he actually turns up more than three times in a row with sake in hand.

Once every so often, he even throws little parties for your family of four, going so far as to buy a frilly pink apron that makes your daughters giggle when he whips it out for the first time. After a few mishaps (and a number of frantic calls to Fukunaga), he masters how to make takoyaki and okonomiyaki, and in the colder months, he makes steaming pots of nabe and shabu shabu.

“Itadakimasu” you murmur, and the girls follow suit. “It tastes good”, you say.

He ducks his head bashfully, pink dusting the column of his neck.

“Thank you”, he replies. “That means a lot, coming from you.”

You start to savour the bubbles of happiness in your chest when you see how your daughters’ eyes shine when they see their papa whip out the pink apron. You learn to laugh when you hear the pitter patter of little feet, their delighted squeals and shrieks when they tell you the latest exploits their silly papa is cooking up - sparklers under the stars one weekend, a nerf gun fight, the next.

The weight on your shoulders grows lighter and lighter until one day you hardly notice it at all.

“What’s wrong?” you frown at the sight of your husband dashing out of your bedroom, hair a frazzled mess.

He whips around at the sound of your voice. “Oh. Oh.” He approaches you, slowly, carefully. “You’re still here.”

Your frown deepens. “My boss called and asked me to send out an urgent email. I was just about to go back to bed. Tetsuro, is everything alright?”

He nods. “It’s fine - I just... I just woke up and thought you were gone.”

You take a closer look. It’s dark, but the shadows of the night fail to hide the purple smudges beneath his eyes, the fine lines carved into his brow. His shoulders are bowed, his lips downturned and he looks broken, battered.

Your heart hurts for him.

“I’m here”, you say, beckoning him towards you. Physical affection has been scarce between you two for so, so long but he looks so distraught it’s only natural to pull him close, let him rest his head on your lap. “I’m here, Tetsuro. I’m not about to run off into the night – you know I don’t like the cold.”

He doesn’t laugh at your feeble joke. “Are you happier now? Are things better for you?”

“Yes”, you say firmly, combing your fingers through his hair, rubbing circles along his back. “Thank you, Tetsuro. I appreciate it. I really do.”

You can feel him sag in relief.

“You don’t have to work yourself to the bone for me. That’s – that’s never what I was asking for. If you’re tired, you need to take a break.”

He shakes his head stubbornly. “I’m fine. I can bear it as long as you don’t leave me.”

“Tetsuro –“

He sits up abruptly, takes your hands in his.

“Promise you won’t leave me”, he begs, head bowed. “I know I’ve been a shit husband to you for so long. It’s no excuse, but I thought - ” he swallows heavily, waits until his voice stops wavering. “I thought we were ok, ‘cos we didn’t fight, not like my parents did before – before my mother left.”

“I was too tired to fight with you”, you say simply.

He nods once, jerkily. “I know – I know that now. When you disappeared that day, I didn’t know what to do. I went to your mom’s place and she reamed me out, screamed at me in front of the neighbours. I took the kids back, and it made me realise how fucking hard it was for you to do it all alone.” He inhales, closing his eyes as if the memory aches. “I know it’s late but I’ve changed, I swear. The girls need you. I need you. I’ll do anything as long as you stay.”

His fingers are freezing, but you do not pull away. Not when the desperation reflected in his irises makes your heart lurch in pain.

“It was hard”, you confess, and he shudders, struck in the chest by your honesty. “It was so hard, Tetsuro. You hurt me so damn much that I think I became numb to the pain. I don’t think I was really functioning for a while. For a long while.”

“I’m sorry”, he whispers, and you nod shakily.

“I know”, you reply, reaching out a hand to cup his face, a bittersweet twist to your lips as he melts into your touch. “That’s a chapter of my life, of our marriage that can’t be re-written. We can’t rewind that. But the past few months have been so different. I – you’ve shown me you’ve changed. And I think –“

You fall silent.

He prompts you. “Dearest?”

You recall the glimmer of light in your daughters’ eyes every morning when he takes their hands to walks them to school. You hear the echoes of their laughter, the lilt in their sweet voices every night when they welcome him home. You think of the tea parties he throws, the blanket forts he builds, the frilly pink apron he wears without shame and the bedtime stories he weaves every night.

“I think”, you say, with a smile that reminds him of the rising sun. “I think we can make this work again.”

He stares at you until the weight of your words dawns upon him, and he surges forward to fold you into his arms.

“Thank you”, he whispers into the shell of your ear. “I won’t fuck this up again, I promise.”

“Don’t thank me, you silly man”, you nuzzle into his neck sleepily, draping your arms around his waist. “Thank yourself for making me believe in you.”

He laughs wetly, cradling you close as you fall asleep against his chest, soothed by his heartbeat and the tenderness in his gaze.

Fumiko wakes you up unceremoniously before the sun even rises by climbing into your lap, and you open your eyes to Aiko pouting, hands on hips, demanding to know what’s for breakfast, and dada, dada, make a ham sandwich, pretty please with a cherry on the top.

“You guys are little monsters”, Kuroo teases with dancing eyes. “Can’t even give your papa a break to snuggle up to your mama.”

The girls shriek in dismay. “Don’t be mean”, you admonish him gently.

He mock sniffs. “I’m cranky in the mornings unless I get a morning kiss.”

Aiko and Fumiko crowd the sofa, clamouring to give their papa a kiss, but he stalls them with an imperious wave of his hand.

“This morning, only a kiss from your mama can chase my crankiness away”. His tone is teasing, but his shoulders remain tense.

“Nonsense. You make it sound as if kisses contain caffeine”, you scold, swatting his arm lightly as the girls giggle.

“Yours do!” he protests, and you roll your eyes as you press your lips to the corner of his lips, laughing when he puffs out his chest and declares his day can now start, that everything’ll be as right as rain.

Some days are full of sunshine, whilst others are full of rain. That’s life – but it’s bearable, enjoyable even, now that you and Kuroo face each day together, thanking the sun when it shines, and splashing through puddles on rainy days.

Things recalibrate.

The mornings are his domain now – he’s a master at concocting the most random breakfast items to satisfy your finnicky daughters. Aiko sniffs when she informs you that she’d prefer her papa to braid her hair, thank you very much, and when you shoot a look of death at Kuroo, he can’t even keep his face straight, his trademark hyena laugh erupting from his chest.

You cook dinner in the evenings, appreciating the times when he can join you at the table, not counting the nights he can’t against him because you know he’s trying his best. The girls clamour for his stories every night, laughing when he teasingly scolds them for yanking on his tie, demanding goodnight kisses from both him and you.

Now you force Kuroo to take some time to himself, shoo him off for lunches with Kenma, get-togethers with his Nekoma schoolmates. “I know you can manage it”, you tell him archly, “but you need breaks so you don’t burn out, or worse – you’ll lose your hair and we don’t want that”. When he opens and closes his mouth without a smart retort, you smirk. You get your way.

Both of you organise parties and playdates, inviting your shared friends – Kenma, of course, is a frequent guest, Bokuto, who brings along Akaashi and his sweet tempered little son (who Aiko always manages to pick a fight with, much to Kuroo’s amusement). You host Kai, who always brings offerings of flowers from his garden, Yaku, when he’s in town with his daughter, son and alarmingly fat cat. The adults congregate in the kitchen with food and alcohol, cracking good natured jokes at Kuroo and his frilly pink apron, watching the children cause a ruckus in the living room.

But you cherish the quiet moments you share with Kuroo at night when the children are asleep in bed. The chats you have whilst soaking in a hot bath about your day at work, the snippets of stories he shares about his boss, his crazy colleagues, the warmth of his arm around you as you stay up to clear emails late into the night, the heated kisses he presses to the nape of your neck to distract you when he thinks you’re working too hard.

It’s a good life. You’re happy, and so is he.

A year slips by.

The seasons come full circle. You return to the ryokan, finding peace in soaking yourself in steaming pools, watching the bamboo sway, the sun rise over Mt. Fuji. But this time, you’re not alone. You persuade Kuroo that he, too, needs a break - deserves one, truly. So you leave the girls with your mother and take the bullet train down to Hakone.

He shoots you a smirk as you both emerge from the private bath he’d insisted on booking. You swat at him, pulling your yukata higher up your neck, scowling as he winds an arm around your waist to press you into his side.

“You couldn’t wait til we got back to our room?” you hiss at him.

He chuckles lowly in response. “Didn’t hear you complaining”, he retorts.

“We were in an onsen, Tetsuro!”

“A private one”, he says with a waggle of his eyebrows, laughing aloud when you try and fail to slap your hand over his mouth. “What d’you think I was going to do with my lovely wife? I’m not a monk, sweetheart”

You try your best to shush him, but his cackling manages to capture the attention of everyone in the lift.

“What a happy couple”, an old lady remarks, within your earshot. “They must be newly married”

You think she must be a little senile. Or a little blind.

Neither of you are in your first flush of youth anymore - there are streaks of grey in Tetsuro’s mop of hair, extra weight in your hips and lines in your faces. No one could conceivably mistake you for a pair of newlyweds.

“Nah”, Kuroo drawls easily into your ear. “Just your regular old, married couple.”

You don’t speak until you’re safely in your room.

“A regular, old, happily married couple”, you say, as he hands you a cup of tea. “That obaa-san got that part right at least.”

Kuroo chokes on the lump of emotion in his throat as you serenely sip your tea.

The tea tastes bitter (as it always does), but the kisses that follow are so very, very sweet.

#haikyuu angst #kuroo testuro #kuroo tetsuro x reader #kuroo tetsuro x you #kuroo tetsuro x y/n #kuroo x you #kuroo x reader #kuroo x y/n #haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #haikyuu romance #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu x reader angst #Haikyuucafe #haikyuucreations #love knows not its depth

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twistedmusings · 3 years

Text

Petting Dorm

A/N: I petted my cat for a good thirty minutes yesterday while I was watching the translation for the camp event and...surely the Savannaclaw members must like at least some pets, right? Like they must really want some pets after a good long hard day. Warnings: None, just descriptions of petting and three very happy boys u wu

The Savannaclaw members watch on as Grim gets the petting of a lifetime, wondering when the hell it is going to be their turn.

“Grim you are acting so spoiled.”

“Nyaha~! I deserve to be spoiled today! I aced my test while Ace and Deuce failed and me and Epel got a good grade in the potions assignment today!”

Grim leans back into your touch as you rub all the way to the tip of his ears before going right back down again. He lets out a happy grunt as his little foot starts to twitch, your hands now massaging right under his ears and near his cheeks before scratching right near the nape of his neck.

“Fgnaa...go a little lower!”

“Here?”

“Ah~! I really needed this. This is the reason I made you my henchman, [Y/N]”

“Because of how much I’m petting you?”

You press a kiss to Grim’s face, the other complaining for a moment before smiling as your finger rubs right on the top of his head. The two Ramshackle residents keep talking as they sit in the middle of the Savannaclaw lounge, many eyes staring at them but three sets of eyes in particular glaring at the cat currently laying his entire body on one of their pillows.

“[Y/N]-san...” Jack speaks up first as he watches Grim’s leg give another twitch, his eyes not even looking at you but focusing entirely on your hands.

“Hm?”

“Did you…” the wolf man can practically feel a shiver down his spine as you rub right under Grim’s ears, “Did you...uh...did you bring the assignment?”

“I did.” you play with Grim’s tail before running your hand up and down his back, “I thought you said you wanted to start when Ace and Deuce got here though.”

Leona growls when Grim lets out another satisfied sigh, watching your hands go right back up to play with his ears as you press the tips of them together and then watch them go back to their normal place.

“What is even keeping them so long?”

You shrug and rub a little circle right on Grim’s forehead, Ruggie following the movement with his head as he closed his eyes.

He could almost feel it--

Another slow and agonizing five minutes later and you sigh, shaking the shivers out of your hands as Grim is finally asleep, leg up in the air as you pull away from him and pull out your phone.

“Knowing those two they probably forgot…” you shake your head and stand up, “I’ll go get them--”

“NO!”

All Savanna claw members stand up as they lean towards you, eyes wide with different emotions as you do your best to understand their sudden outburst.

“What’s...what’s wrong?”

“You’re not leaving.”

You blink and point to the exit.

“I’ll only be gone for a couple of minutes, I’m not going to take long--”

“Sit down.”

It was frustrating that you couldn’t disobey this man even if you wanted to. The way he did anything was just so annoyingly confident that you weren’t even surprised when you simply sat down on whatever chair was available before Leona plopped himself in front of you and put his head on your lap.

“You have a lot of nerve petting that raccoon in front of me.” he glares at you before closing his eyes and leaning further back, ears twitching expectantly as you look down at him in, well, rather justified confusion.

“I’m...sorry?” you put your hands up and look at Jack and Ruggie, “I honestly do not know what to do, what is he talking about?”

You can practically feel Leona’s growl against you as he grabs your hands and puts them on his hair, letting your fingers reach deep into the dark waves as he visibly relaxes and lets you go.

“Whatever the hell you did to that cat monstrosity you better do for me...and if it isn’t as good that it makes me fall asleep in five minutes then I’ll be using you as one of my pillows.”

What...the hell?

Your eyes look over at Ruggie and Jack but they don’t even seem to be paying attention to you, simply looking on as you start to do some of the things you remembered doing for Grim.

He smiles as the petting finally starts, his ears being played with gently before your hands rub the tips and press them flat on his head. They give a solid twitch as they pop back up, twitching once again as they pick up your slight chuckling.

Now he understood why the raccoon had been so vocal about this treatment. Feeling your hands reach right under his ears and scratch made him let out a happy groan, tilting his head back as he gave you more room to play with.

You scratch the back of his head with one hand while the other does little cross shapes on his forehead, Leona opening his eyes to watch you work so diligently on putting him to sleep.

“Is this something you do every day for that thing?”

“His name is Grim.” you say and go back to playing with his ears, “And no, not all days. Only when he does really good.”

Leona closes his eyes as he moves his head to the right as your fingers scratch one spot in particular.

“Is that all it takes?”

“Yeah...I mean it keeps him motivated.”

He stays quiet for a few seconds before speaking up again.

“I stayed awake during one of Crewel’s lectures.”

You stop scratching to look down at him, amazed at what he just told you.

There was no way that was true.

“Awake?”

“Uh-huh.”

“As in fully awake? Listening to the lecture awake?”

“Uh-huh.”

“...what was the lecture about?”

Leona yawns and opens one eye to look at you.

“Advanced Magical History.”

You frown knowing for a fact that you cannot quiz him on anything since you still weren’t in that class. The reason for him telling you this was lost on you for a moment before you looked down in surprise and realized what this really was about.

No way...

Had he told you about that...just to justify you petting him?

“That’s really good Leona-senpai” you test the waters carefully, running your hand through his hair as he tilted his head back so he could feel the pull of your hands a bit more. Your eyes widen when the dorm leader nods along to the rather shallow praises you were sending his way.

“I didn’t know you were such a hard worker.”

“Mmmhm.”

“Or able to stay awake for so long.”

“Mmhmm.”

“I always thought you were just a lazy lion who liked to sleep all day.”

“Mmmmmm.”

It takes your entire will of strength to not laugh at Leona’s face. This man usually had his guard up so much that no one could ever get a read on him but give him some scratches and he opened up like a kitten to a new owner?

You knew you had blackmail material in your hands but the prospect of using it was still rather terrifying.

Leona’s threats should never be taken lightly.

You finish by rubbing his ears and letting go, the dorm leader’s head lolling forward as you stand up and grab whatever cushion you can get your hands on and putting it under his head so that you can lay him on the ground softly.

That was...weird.

“...I’m going to get Ace and Deuce now. If we don’t finish this assignment we are going to be screwed."

“[Y/N]!”

What should he say? He had just called your name out randomly and put himself in danger of waking up Leona. Dammit think of something, Ruggie!

He seems to come up with an answer as his usual playful smile comes back, standing up and walking over to you as his tail wags slightly.

“I can go get them for you.”

You smile and take his hands, shaking them twice before plopping yourself down on another available seat.

“Ruggie-senpai you are so nice! I think they might be at Heartslabyul? Ace might have dragged Deuce in on a game of cards or they most likely got caught doing something they shouldn’t. If you have any problems just text--Ruggie-senpai?”

Blue gray eyes look up at you, Ruggie’s trademark smile shining up at you as he giggles.

“Shishishi...you really think I wouldn’t do this without a price, [Y/N]-san?”

He grins and grabs your hands again, putting them right under his ears as he closes his eyes.

“Ruggie-senpai our assignment--!”

“Five minutes! That’s plenty of payment for the walk I’m about to do all the way to Heartslabyul!”

“It isn’t that long of a walk!?”

Ruggie shrugs as moves his head so that it is at the most comfortable position on your lap.

“Hm, but I also will have to walk all the way back to Savannaclaw so maybe it should be ten…”

You should stop talking at this point or else the times were going to go up higher, your hands getting to work as you scratch right in between his ears, Ruggie’s grin melting into a satisfied smile as you dug your fingers into his hair and started to scratch right under his scalp which earned you a giggle.

This sort of petting was so different than the ones he would use to get in the Afterglow. Just some slum kids trying to give each other love and affection because in the end, they all needed it after a hard day. Petting someone like this was a sign of close friendship and even romance, if done with that intent, but Ruggie never thought humans would be any good at it.

Yet the way your hands rubbed small circles right on his forehead, the very action you had done to Grim, he was still surprised he was half awake and not falling asleep on your lap.

“Mmm...is there anything else that needs to get done, [Y/N]?”

You smile when you see him so relaxed, surprised at how comfortable he looked. This hyena ran around the school doing errand after errand and getting buck after buck. It was almost inspiring if it wasn’t for the fact that some of his dealing weren't necessarily...legal?

Not like you knew about law in Twisted Wonderland so you let it pass.

“Not really, not for me anyway.”

Ruggie pouts but still melts when you run your fingers through his hair, starting right at his forehead and working all the way to the back. His ears twitched as you rubbed the tips before pressing both of them together.

“Well I am not charging for the walk back but if you want me to wrangle up those two first years I should charge a bit more, so when I come back I want what Leona-san got--”

“Ruggie-senpai it’s been five minutes.”

Jack’s tail is curled around him while he looks away, his eyes only barely making contact with yours as he looked at Ruggie and then back at, well, nothing.

Ruggie clicks his tongue before standing up and shrugging.

“Fine. I guess I will take that as a down payment.” he grins at you, “I will take the full payment later!”

You want to ask just what kind of payment he was talking about but you decide to keep quiet because that man would find some way to convince you that, yes, you do owe him something and that your payment was going to not be your money but your time.

And you didn’t have a lot of that to be spending it all in one place.

He walks off and you lean back, smiling as your hands finally get a break. Grim’s fur was always so silky and if you were to compare it you would say it was the same as Leona’s hair but Ruggie’s was definitely a bit more rough. It wasn’t a bad sort of rough but you figured this was the difference between long haired and short haired animals.

Although since Leona was a lion wouldn’t he also have short hair? Or was his hair more like his mane?

And what about Jack?

You turn towards your friend, tilting your head as you catch him staring.

“I don’t know why but I always feel like I have to apologize for Ace and Deuce, Jack. Maybe it’s because I met them first?”

He shakes his head, “You shouldn’t apologize for their actions.”

“Well they are also my friends so...I figured I could do this much for them.”

You wiggle your fingers in front of your face as you send Jack a teasing smile, “Want me to pet you too?”

The wolf’s tail goes right up before Jack pushes it back down with a growl, his cheeks burning a beautiful bright red as he answers back.

“We should just wait for Ace and Deuce, I want to get this assignment done already.”

“Me too. But it’s going to be a few minutes before they come back.”

“Oi!”

You are already standing up when Jack complains, telling you that you really didn’t need to do any sort of things like that for him and that he was perfectly fine and didn’t want to get distracted--!

“You’re the only one who didn’t force me to pet him, Jack. Just relax and unwind!” you smile and sit right behind him and open your legs so that you could pull him back and let his head rest on your stomach. His neck now burns bright red as you scratch right under his ears which only served to make his leg bounce slightly while he slowly got accustomed to your touches.

He wondered if you would pet him when he was using his unique magic as well, although knowing him he would get on his back and present his stomach if it started feeling this good and he didn’t want Ace, Deuce or even you teasing him about it! It wasn’t that his was enjoying this to that point--!

It’s just that somehow you knew just what spots to scratch and for how long to scratch them that he was starting to feel weak.

“Hm. So you would be a long hair…” you mutter to yourself as Jack closes his eyes, pressing his cheek against your palm as you rub circles right on his temples, “I think I like your hair the most...but maybe I’m just playing favourites here.”

The wolf wants to ask you a bit more about him being your possible favourite from the Savannaclaw dorm but his jaw snaps shut when he sees his dorm leader start to get up, glaring at the two of you with a dry smile.

“So you’re the favourite, huh?”

Jack blinks as he looks back at you and then at Leona.

“Leona-senpai--!”

The lion moves closer as he presses his body right against Jack’s shoulder, grabbing one of your legs and putting it over his own shoulder so that you would fit both of them in between.

“Ow--! Owowowowow--I’m not that flexible, Leona-senpai!!”

“He got his turn and now I want another one. Get to work, herbivore.”

“Hey!”

The three of you look to see Ruggie pointing an accusatory finger in your direction.

“What are you hogging [Y/N] for! They still owe me! Move over!”

He shoves at Jack’s unoccupied shoulder, trying to make his way into the little nest as you feel your other leg being raised up--!

“Stop! What in the world do you think I am--and where is Ace and Deuce!?”

Ruggie blinks before looking around.

“Oh right...I was supposed to go get them.”

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst imagines #twst scenarios #savannaclaw #leona kingscholar #ruggie bucchi #jack howl #twst mc #twst x reader #//also I think Im in love with Ruggie now?#//Is that a thing that happened?

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subtle-edge-of-rot · 2 years

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Good morning, soft Mikey time for you my beloved.

Since he loves them so much, I think Michael would like kisses all over him all the time. You catch him being groggy from lack of sleep so you give him a little good night kiss and try and pull him to bed. His kisses are soft and weaker than his usual eager ones, half attempting to wrangle you back in for one more before you pull him up to bed.

And then in bed you get to kiss him all over, exhaust him to make him get his rest. You kiss him again on the lips, longer this time before trailing them down the side of his jaw and his neck. I think he especially likes neck kisses, a sensitive neck making him extra weak for them.

Although he doesn't typically take things slow he's too exhausted to pin and rail you while your melting him with gentle treatment. Kisses along his chest and happy trail and then down between his legs, getting him nice and hard for you to ride while you hold his hands over your waist. Again, you're manually tiring him out so you take him for as nice of a ride as you can before you're ready to get off and pepper his pretty face with even more kisses until he falls asleep against you.

-💙

God I love the idea of an overly tired Michael who still can’t sleep. He’s a little grumpy and he doesn’t really want to sleep, he’d rather stay up and watch another documentary about World War II (his current fixation). So you have to bribe him to bed with kisses and maybe even a suggestion of more.

He’s a sucker for your kisses, trying to deepen them and take charge like he normally does but he’s so tired. You pepper him with kisses all over, taking him into your mouth and getting him nice and hard and sinking down onto him. He’s more than happy to let you ride him in this sleepy state of his, just grabbing onto your hips and pulling you down with each downward thrust of your hips.

Afterwards he pulls you down for some sleepy kisses and to cuddle you against his chest as he finally, finally falls asleep.

#payton’s asks #michael myers #💙anon #blue my beloved

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scandalsavagefanfic · 3 years

Note

I can't understand how so many people can say that Urban Legends did Jason character justice?! It literally ruined it to prop out Bruce.

In the beginning, we were all swayed by Jason getting a kid and the fact that characters who are often the conscious/voice of reason in the batfamily were sympathetic to Jason/critical of Bruce (in this case, Alfred and Babs, only one missing is Dick). We were so excited by these scraps, that we were willing to forgive/look past the red flags being thrown up.

And to be honest, some people are so desperate for Bruce to be written like a fucking human being, that they care less about the batkids that might be thrown under the bus for that, than the fact that they're finally getting the version of Bruce they want.

I love Bruce and I also desperately want him to be written as a flawed man who tries his best. But I also like the batkids, and nothing bothers me more than when their characterization is sacrificed for Bruce's sake. Because at the end of the day, each batkid is a child that Bruce taught to be a vigilante, and while I think the "child soldier" angle is silly and that's where we, as readers, should suspend disbelief so that we aren't ruining the fun of comics, I also think that doesn't preclude writers from remembering that fact and giving the kids the benefit over Bruce.

And with Jason specifically, it's extra frustrating when they tone down Bruce's tendency towards ultraviolence and rage, and simultaneously shove it at Jason. Because Bruce's violence and rage issues aren't OOC. He's been written like that on and off (and mostly on) for over 30 years. Jason... hasn't. Not really. Not in any meaningful way. Because the instances where Jason is written like that fall into two categories. Morrison, or retcons to Robin!Jason. The first category consists of a grand total of 6 single issues (one of which, Jason is barely in). And the second category is, in it's entirety, an example of Jason's characterization being cannibalized to Bruce's benefit. It exists entirely to absolve Bruce of his part in Jason's death and excuse his immediate replacement of a murdered child sidekick with another child sidekick. It exists to try to place all the blame of Jason's death on Jason, the 15 year old kid who was just trying to find/help his mother, so that Bruce isn't a villain who trained a child to fight supervillains and was surprised when his luck ran out, so that Bruce isn't a hypocritical sociopath for letting Tim become Robin just a few months after Jason died.

So yes, I want Bruce written better, but if the choice is between one of the kids and Bruce, I'm gonna choose the kid.

That said, I'm not sure why I have to choose? These characters can be written without fucking one of them over. I almost said Chip Zdarsky is a better writer than this, but now that I'm thinking about it, I only know him as an artist. Sometimes, I feel like DC thinks that writing is easy, anyone can do it, so as long as the art is nice (for the most part... for characters they care about anyway), then the writing doesn't actually matter. It's frustrating as hell when the thing keeping you engaged with these characters is their potential for amazing stories.

I rarely buy a shitty story because the art is nice (though I have before and I'm doing it now, with Urban Legends, just to support Marcus To). But I buy comics despite the shitty art in the hopes that the story will be good all the fucking time. By the time I find out the story is also garbage, it's too late, I've already given DC my money.

I want DC to know that hope is what drives their sales, not quality. Because of the way the industry is set up, comics companies don't have a reliable way to judge their sales. They know how many copies comics shops purchase, but they don't know how many of those copies actually make it to readers. AND they have a tendency to consider a drop in sales representative of a drop in interest in the character, when in reality it's almost always because of bad storytelling.

Does DC even have group editors anymore? Is there anyone there who has actually read comics for the characters they're in charge of writing/wrangling?

Sometimes it really doesn't feel like it.

#jason todd #bruce wayne #batman urban legends #dc comics #meta #scandal's wild rambles #sorry #kinda went off on that one

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sif-the-tsunami · 3 years

Text

When I Was His Wife

“Well I was looking forward to/ staying here forever/ ‘cause you asked me to/ Didn’t think I could do better/ So I settled down/ in this ten cent town/ it’s about to break me.” These are the Best Years of my Life- Pistol Annies

This is the follow up to “When You Fall Apart” Which is one of my favorites that I’ve written.

(there is Sy just carrying the weight of all of my own internal chaos)

A/N thank you for everyone who encouraged me to write this, I adore Sy as a character. He seemed like someone who could pull off the impossible. I made some choices in here that not everyone will agree with. Tell me I’m wrong in the comments an we can discuss it there.

Pairing: Sy and Josephine

Warnings: again all of them. discussion of infidelity, Discussion of child loss, discussion of unprotected sexual intercourse, headbutting, day drinking, self medicating, therapy, swearing fealty on ones hunting knife, discussion of knife play, I’m probably missing something

Everything is going below the cut this time to save anyone who doesn’t like this kind of stuff from unpleasantness.

word count just shy of 7.5K

Thank you to @inlovewithhisblueeyes for letting me bounce ideas off of you, love you sweet girl

tagging: @oddsnendsfanfics @willkatfanfromasia @rocket44 @feralrunaway @littlewrenofrivia @summersong69 @coffeebooksandfandom @klaine-92 @nothingright @cavillsim @watery-lane @above-average-ass-bitch

unbeta’d

I slept for the next two days, Mama only woke me up long enough to drink some water once she started worrying about me. She managed to wrangle my out of my clothes and into one of Daddy’s shirts we got him that she left in the drawer. My phone was dead, but thankfully Mama and I had the same kind so I could charge it today. What fresh hell was going to be waiting for me on my digital leash? I lay there for a while, the murmur of conversation in the other room was comforting. Mama left a fresh glass of water some time recently, it was still chilly with only a little condensation forming around the sides. The ache in my chest was almost unbearable. The hole in my heart was Syverson sized, being sober made the edges of that abyss feel even more raw and pronounced. I don’t know if my liver could handle me drowning my sorrow much more, but I would give anything to not feel it. I need to make this feeling of worthlessness go away.

When I finally decided to rejoin the land of the living, Mama and my brother Teddy were talking at the kitchen table, discussing about if they should come with me to go get my things or if I should call the sheriff’s office to be monitored. I stayed behind the corner long enough to let them finish what they were going on about.

“If I know Jo well enough, she’s going to need someone to keep her from burning the whole house down with him in it tied to a chair,” my brother chuckled. “She’s been taking care of herself for years. You should have seen how she handled one of these girls who came up to us once on Post.

“Jo was loading up the car when this prissy little thing came walking up, she must have thought she was some kind of hot shit. You would have been so proud of her Mama, the girl said to her that she had been sleeping with James during their deployment. All Jo said back to her was ‘You’ve both been back for something like three months, right, have you seen him since?’ Little Miss Hot Shit stuttered and said ‘Well not yet,’ like she had been really holding out that he was going to. ‘He doesn’t have my new phone number.’ Jo just tiled her head to the side. Smiled at her real sweetly and told her, ‘Baby girl, he’s not going to. He knows how to find you. You were just a rental car to him, sweetie bell. Ford Fiestas are fun as hell to ride but let’s be honest, you aren’t going to pick a Fiesta over the Mercedes Benz you have at home. You aren’t the first and you sure as hell won’t be the last, now go on and get out of here before I ruin the rest of your day like you tried to ruin mine.’ One of the other officer’s wives came up to her and said she was amazed that she handled her so well without breaking Miss Prissy Pant’s face. She just said ‘I’m too pretty to go to prison, Kathy.’ And we hoped in the car. You raised one tough lady, Mama.”

“How many times has that happened, Theodore, I need to know.”

“She has only told me about four women meeting her face to face. The two pregnant girls who got knocked up to get out of their deployments, Prissy Pants, and one who thought that James was in love with her. She evidently broke down in tears on the tarmac when Josie jumped into his arms and he swung her around. But she would get letters tucked into the windshield of her car for months whenever he returned from deployment.”

“You two kept this from me for years, why?”

“Jo said that this was her problem, don’t you remember how you handled it when her first boyfriend ran out on her on prom night? She cried to you and Dad, and you just told her that no one is worth weeping over. She’s just been trying to make you proud, Mama. Daddy might have known because I know they had a really nasty fight about a month before he died.”

I walked out after that. Mama’s eyes were red, “Good morning, baby, do you want pancakes? Bacon and eggs? What do you want, Darlin’?”

“Coffee would be a good start.” I rasped. “Can I use your charger?”

“It’s right here. Cream and sugar?”

“Black as my sense of humor, please Mama.” I said, Teddy chuckled again. I reached over and squeezed my brother’s shoulder. “Hey, I’m glad you’re here.”

“I got to look after my little sissy.” He replied using what he called me growing up. “So what are we doing to get over Jimmy?”

“I was thinking tattoos and day drinking?”

“Atta’ girl, Josie. Fuck that douche canoe.”

As soon as my phone was able to turn on, it sat on the counter vibrating for the next five minutes. Six missed calls from James. And seventy text messages. A few from stores I shop at, but the majority were from my husband.

“Ugh, I just don’t feel like dealing with this right now.” I said as my mom put my coffee in front of me.

“Just leave him on read. I doubt he’s hurting for company.” Mama said, in almost a snarl. I looked through a few messages. The last one was from this morning. Sweetheart, I’m worried sick about you, I miss you. Please talk to me?

“Ted, do you want to go with me to Walmart so I can get a couple day’s worth of clothes, I am just not ready to go back and I can’t live in Daddy’s old shirts.”

“Of course, we can get some booze while we are there.”

“Get yourself a bathing suit while you are there, honey, its going to be beautiful today and you can go for a swim.” Mama added.

I texted James back finally as I finished my coffee. I’m sorry I worried you, Sy, I have literally been asleep since I got here. I’m not ready.

I understand. I’m sorry, I should have seen how much I’ve been hurting you. I swear to God, I really do love you. Please, let me know what I can do for you.

Yeah, you should have, James. You should have seen how bad you’ve been treating me. You can drop off the face of the earth, that’s what you can do for me, I think spitefully. Thankfully, Mama washed my yoga pants and tank top. It would have to be alright for now. My brother let me wear one of his extra flannel shirts he kept in the back of his car. An hour later, Ted and I were at the store, picking up chips, dip, and cheap champagne. Mama loved mimosas, so I thought it was the least I could do. I grabbed a couple of sun dresses and a bikini, if I was going to be gone for a few days, I was going to come back home looking refreshed, radiant even, and not like the hot pile of garbage I was feeling like. I made a small detour to the cosmetics department, got myself a couple of face masks, hair dye, and sun screen.

“Really? Dark brown, Josie?”

“That’s as close to my natural color as I can, I’m tired of the blonde highlights. I think after this I might just let it come in. Grays and all. Who ever loves me next is going to have to just deal with me as nature intended.”

“I’m proud of you. Do you think you will leave him for good?” He said, Ted has always been very protective of me.

“Well, I certainly can’t leave him for evil, can I?” Making him laugh. One the way outside there was a truck near the front of the store with a sign that read “Puppies for sale.”

“Teddy, we need to see these puppies.” I gasped. Walking up to the truck bed I saw the sweetest little German Shepard puppies. I reached in and they all started flopping all over the place trying to get pets and love. Maybe a puppy was exactly what my hurting heart needed. We haven’t had a dog since Aika passed away. It was looking like I would never have a baby but maybe this was the kind I needed. Puppy snuggles would definitely make that Syverson shaped hole less painful.

“I’ll buy you a puppy if you divorce James.” Ted said to me, half joking.

“Shit, I can afford the puppy, pay for the divorce.” I jest back. “How much for one of the precious babies?”

“$500 a pup, mom has a pedigree, but daddy was the neighbor’s sneaky bastard.” The woman also petting the puppies said. “Mama is in the front if you want to meet her, daddy is very friendly as well.”

I start laughing uncontrollably. With tears in my eyes, I ask if any of the puppies are girls, and she pulls out a beautiful little one with floppy ears and the biggest smile I had ever seen on a dog. Oh yeah, she was meant for me.

“I’ll take her, do you take checks?” I think I’m ready to start healing.

*****

“Josephine, that son of a bitch you call your husband is here to see you.” Mama shouts from the house. It’s Sunday afternoon now, Teddy and I have exhausted all the snacks and mimosas hours ago and now we were sobering up by the pool. My new baby girl is laying next to my sun chair, chewing on her bone, wearing a pretty pink collar.

“Well, might as well let him out here.” I shout back.

“Are you sure, I can kick his ass to the curb if you want me to, baby.”

“Its okay Mama, I can handle him myself.” Sy walks out in the back yard a couple minutes later. I’m guessing Mama threatened to stick him in a meat grinder.

“I deserved that.” He said, looking thoroughly admonished. “You changed your hair, it looks really good...

“Oh bless your heart, James. That’s not even half of what you deserve.” Ted spoke up before he could finish, not moving his face towards him. He lay there in his swim trunks and dark sunglasses.

“Oh great, all three of you have been drinking. I can tell this is going to go well...” James sighed. “Who is this cutie pie, did your Ma get a new dog?”

“She’s my dog, her name is Stella Rosa.”

“I don’t think anyone asked you to come, Colonel Sanders, what are you doing here?” Ted snapped.

“Hey, I got this, okay? I’m a big girl, please, go in the house. The fuck are you doing here James?” I lift my sun glasses up.

“She’s a very sweet pup. Yeah, you are a good girl for your mama, aren’t you? I came to see you. I want to bring you home, baby, I miss you.” He’s checking out my fresh tan in my new bikini. Subtly, but he does it.

“I’m not ready. I’m not even ready to talk to you. Why would you think that I even want to come home?”

“I don’t know, I asked myself that the entire drive here. I don’t know what I’m even going to do with myself when I go home alone. Pussycat, I can’t begin to think of life without you. I know I fucked up. And I know I can’t take that back. You asked me the other day what I kept that was special just between us. I should have answered you then. All those nights where you fell asleep with your head on my chest, the evenings laying in the back of the truck looking at the stars after driving around trying to find the best nachos in town. And, baby, no matter where we go, yours are always the best. No one else ever got moments like that. You are the only woman I want to slow dance with in the middle of the night.

“You are the only person in the world that I would wait four hours in the freezing cold to get the best brisket in Austin for because you were craving bbq when we were still, you know...” He paused. I don’t think he ever stopped blaming himself for what happened. His knees were never the same after that accident, and usually whenever he stood up from kneeling, they clicked and popped painfully. He leaned a little closer spreading his legs and reached down to pet Stella. She seemed a little leery of him. It is easy to be cynical given the circumstances, but there is something about the way he is talking to me, I haven’t heard him be this earnest in years.

“When was the last time you were with someone other than me?” I can’t bring myself to look at him. I keep my eyes anywhere but on him. My body aches so badly for him to just wrap his arms around me. I miss him.

“When I got held up in Kuwait for two weeks in December...”

“December? You mean when you missed my fucking birthday. Goddammit James...” And the ache is gone. My heart shattered again. He’s going to make me cry again.

“Hey, it was after your birthday, and it was a hate fuck because I was mad that I broke yet another promise to you.”

“That doesn’t make it better.” I snap. “How many that deployment?”

“Just the one. And she’s someone who I knew was more discreet because we had that arrangement before.”

“I swear on my Daddy’s grave that if you are lying to me right now, I will end you Syverson. You couldn’t have waited a few more days?”

“I had no idea when I was going home. We boarded that fucking plane three times and had to turn back because there was a problem with it. I was two seconds away from tearing apart the first Private that so much as looked at me sideways. It felt like, at the time, the less terrible choice.”

“They sound both pretty shitty to me. You are a fucking adult James, you have to be able to control yourself or at least be responsible for your actions. If this is what you think love is, I would rather you hate me.” I stand up. Stella wags her tail excited to get away.

“Josephine, please...” He grasps my wrist, not hard, but there wasn’t anyway I was going to be able to get out of his big hand.

“Please what? Please stay so you can keep treating me like this. There are some people in this world who have no problem playing second or third fiddle, they are just thankful they are in the band. But I deserve to be your first chair, or I don’t want to play at all.”

“Mama wants to know if the jackass is staying for dinner.” Ted shouts at us.

“He going!” “I’m staying!” we yell over each other. He’s not looking at me, he’s not even looking at the pup. His eyes are somewhere else, mentally for a second he is somewhere else also.

“Baby… I… You have always been my first chair. There is no one else on earth like you. I have never done anything with these women as an act of love. It was always been, and I mean always, just a way to scratch an itch. Every time I was gone, every time things got bad, getting to come home to you was the thing that keep me going, Jo. You have been my safe harbor for the worst parts of my life.”

“James… That doesn’t excuse what you’ve done. You aren’t the man I fell for anymore. This isn’t healthy.” He let go of my wrist, and rubs his face. Those beautiful eyes of his have seen so much. For the first time I think he actually looks… broken. Is this the remorse I have been wanting to see? I try not to keep scores, especially when it comes to my loved ones. But for the first time since things went sour, he looks like I hurt him as much as he has hurt me.

Maybe there was love between us once. However there are just two broken hearts for now.

“Come on in the house, I can at least feed you before I send you back.”

“I think I will just go,” he says it quietly. “I don’t want to be a burden on you.”

“Don’t be like that, I am still cooking like I’m making dinner for you, so its way too much for the three of us. Come on in, I made carnitas.”

“I’ll be in, I just need a minute.” He refuses to let me see him cry if he’s not waking up screaming, even after all this time. Whenever we could have a healing moment, he pushes me out. I went inside, and started setting the table.

“Are we poisoning his tacos?” Teddy asked me.

“That’s not the worst idea I’ve heard today.” Mama interjected.

“No, and don’t start anything. He’s eating dinner with us, don’t either of you make him feel bad. I already did that.” Sy walked in at that moment, those blue eyes of his rimmed with red. He looked defeated. The four of us ate our dinner in silence. There was a time where he would have made some kind of comment about eating me out when we had tacos. He looked at me once during the meal, I think he remembered it too. He offered to clear the plates when were all done and sat in uncomfortable silence. The cockiness I had grown accustomed to over the years was gone.

He carried himself like this when we lost our baby, he can’t take that kind of humility. At least not with me.

“Sy...” I waited until the others were out of the room. “Do you still want me to come home with you?”

“Not if it means all we are going to do is get a divorce. I can’t see you every day knowing that I will never get to be yours again. I let them do a lot of terrible things to me over the years, but that… that I can’t handle.” His voice cracked. “If you want out, I will give you everything you ask for. I won’t fight you. But please, give me a chance to fight for you.”

“I don’t think you are exactly in a position to make that that request.” I lean against the counter across the room from him.

“No, I’m not.” he half smirked, “I don’t deserve you.”

“Look, I’m not saying that this can’t still all explode in our faces. But I miss my best friend and that has always been the best part of us. It will never be the same as it was before, it can’t be. However, if you are willing to work with me, I am willing to see if we there is any salvageable. If nothing else, we both need therapy very badly. We can’t just shrug this off. The second that it goes back to where we were, I’m gone.”

“Okay. I’ll do it.” He sniffs hard, and his breath is broken up, tucking his arms against himself. Usually its in authority, this time hes just trying to hug himself. I gesture him to come over and I hug him. He wraps his arms around then envelopes me. Leaning his head on mine, he whispers “I’ll do whatever you want, my darlin.”

I told my mom that I would be going home, she sighed at me. “Do you think this is the best idea?”

“I don’t know, Mama. I think I just want some closure. I told him if he so much as sneezes out of line that I’m gone. Forever. There will be no more chances.”

“Well, baby, I trust you. You are always welcome back here if you need to get away.”

While I’m packing my stuff into the shopping bags I had, I hear a sudden crack and Sy groans then swears. “yeah, I deserved that too.”

“What the fuck did you just do, Theodore?” I yell coming out. Ted was still holding my husband’s hand, and Sy was holding his face. “Did you… just headbutt him?”

“Yes, I did. My sister my might be willing to move past your mistakes, but I’m not. However, I’ve always been the petty one in the family. Hurt her again, they will have to dig your nuts out of your chest cavity, do we understand each other?”

“Yep, perfectly.” Sy grimaced. There were very few men that he would not retaliate against. Teddy, at 6’5, and years of horse wrangling, was one of them. Sy was build like a brick shit house, but so was my big brother. I thought we were old enough to not resort to violence, I have been wrong before.

My probably, potentially, soon to be ex-husband put mine and Stella’s things in the back bench of his truck. I held her in the crook of my arm as I climbed up in the cab. He gently shut the door for me, I noticed his shiner was going to be pretty gnarly in the morning.

He climbed into the other side as I set little Stella down on the floor. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it was a cheap shot, I’ll be fine. At this point, I don’t want to rock the boat with your brother and Ma. She tore me a new asshole before I got outside today.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t changed your mind, say to hell with me and that I’m not worth the hassle.”

“Josephine, I might not have made the appropriate effort to show you how much you mean to me, but you are worth it.” The Syverson shaped hole in my heart roared. Why couldn’t he have been this way all along?

We talked about the girl at the movies, and how she was one of his new officers. She might have come on to him, but he never engaged with her outside of work related things. He told her several times that he wasn’t interested but she was persistent. I halfway apologized for trying to decapitate him with a tequila bottle. He acknowledged that this was a long time coming. This was the most we had talked about anything deep for months. I don’t know if it was too little and too late though.

The rest of the drive home we made a plan of action. He would move into the office and would stay in there until I invited him back into my bed. We would start couple’s therapy as soon as we could. He would also start seeing a therapist individually. Before we got into town I also told him my final request for our reconciliation. I wanted to see other people. I had been with him since I was nineteen, I have never faltered in my devotion to him. I wanted to see if he was really the one for me.

When I got home, I poured out the rest of my alcohol, save for a bottle of champagne I was saving for our anniversary. He took Stella outside to go potty and came back singing her name “Stella bella, who is a good girl? Your Mama picks good puppies, yes she does. Good girl, Stella bella.”

Stella came prancing back to me with her tail wagging happily. He walked up behind me, and grazes the backs of my arms gently with his knuckles, leaning down to kiss my neck. “Not yet, Sy. I don’t want us to complicate things more than they already are.”

“Josie, what do you mean?”

“I don’t want to have sex with you until we start therapy.”

“So you want us to stop having sex, sleep in separate rooms and at some point you want to start seeing other men.” He starts nodding. He lets out a deep sigh and closes his eyes. “Okay, it that’s what you want to do. I was thinking about getting my stuff out of the bedroom so I can try to get some sleep. I love you, Pussycat. I’ll see you in the morning.” And with that, James went to bed. He was snoring on the couch in the office by the time I went to go lay down.

****

It took us three weeks to get into see a couples therapist. It felt a little validating about my decision that we shouldn’t sleep together until we have really decided to try or not. She had me stay behind and talk with her for another half an hour the first time we met. She asked me why I wanted to save my marriage with Sy if he’s hurt me for years.

“I don’t rightly know,” I told her. “Maybe its because when we are good we are so damn good. Before we were married, I was warned, I knew that things happened overseas and I shouldn’t take it personally, he’s just a man and not a saint. I never have had a doubt in my mind about if he’s been faithful when he’s been here until recently when a woman he knows started acting weird around me. The love we had was so passionate, like sometimes he thought that if he couldn’t put his hands on me I would disappear. I don’t think I will ever find someone who can love me like that again.”

The therapist suggested that he starts getting treated for PTSD and anger management while we all were working together. I would also have my own separate sessions to work on my own issues. It took a few months but I started seeing small differences in how he was handling things at work that pissed him off. He was able to defuse himself more easily. He became more open with his feelings. I think it helped that we both stopped drinking. We could be a little volatile when we had a pitcher (or three) of margaritas.

There were days with our sessions where we leave emotionally exhausted and not speak to each other the rest of the day, some of them ended in peals of laughter, others where I would cry for most of it. We discussed the infidelity at great lengths. I don’t want to rehash the details but it was definitely one of the bad days. But it seems that the root cause was him using the only the other women for comfort after fairly traumatic events. It’s why it only happened on deployments. He needed to feel something other than pain.

The lack sexual intimacy between the two of us made James start to get creative to initiate closeness between the two of us. He started helping me make dinner on the weekends, or he would bring me my coffee in the morning the way I like it. Mama and Teddy started coming over occasionally for suppers. It was nice to have the house filled with laughter. We started talking again like when we first started dating. He would take the time to go with me grocery shopping.

He started asking me out on dates again. Myself, him and Stella would drive out to the country, with a picnic basket that he would even prepare himself and we would go star gazing like we used to. I loved seeing the effort, but that hole still ached in my chest the whole time. The pieces should have all fit together, but here I was still not sure I could commit to him for the rest of my life.

On one of these dates, he asked me what I thought about him retiring. He had been in for almost nineteen years at this point and had far exceeded is expectations for being in the Army as an officer.

“I kind of just want to sell off all our extra shit and buy a really nice Air-stream. We can pull it with my truck. Just travel up and down the continent, I know you always have wanted to see the Northern Lights, we can just go anywhere. Me, you and Stella would visit where ever we could find a parking spot.”

“That sounds nice, Sy.” It came out a little half hearted.

“You don’t sound convinced, sweetheart.” He said, started sounding concerned.

“Hun, I don’t want to have a fight right now, so please just let me get this off my chest.” I sigh. And then I told him about the pain in my chest that I’ve had since my night in jail. That sometimes, like tonight, it was only a dull ache. That other times the edges are still so sharp that it feels like the pain was going to swallow me whole. He sits up, jaw dropped.

“Why haven’t you told me this before? I… Jo… son of a bitch.” He groans. He lays back down, the same defeated tone came back that I hadn’t heard since Mama’s house. “I’m trying my best, Josephine, but I feel like I have one hand tied behind my back… you will never love me again, will you? I can grovel, and beg. I don’t know what else I need to do. I know what I want to do, but it will just hurt you more.”

“What do you want to do, Sy?”

“I want to kiss every part of your skin, remind your body that I worship it. I want to pin you to the wall of our hallway and make love to you. I want to go to sleep with my nose buried in in your hair, and wake up sliding inside of you. I have since you came home. Hell, I always want to do that with you. But that can’t be the only thing that keeps us together.” He looked over at Stella sprawl out.

“I didn’t say this to hurt you, hun. I just wanted to be honest with you.”

“I know, I… just don’t want to cause you more misery. I really thought we were, you know, heading back in the right direction.”

“We have been, and honestly, I think if we threw in the towel now, it would cause more harm than good.” I say as the tears well up in my eyes. For the first time since I was taken away, I straddle his hips. He sits up and I place my hands on either side of his face, then lean in to kiss him. He kisses me back with the same hunger. I missed him. The ache dulled a little until he pulled away.

“Let’s get going, Jo, I want you so fucking bad. I want to take you here and now, I want to make you scream my name and damn anyone who catches us. We need to stop this, the agreement was that we wouldn’t. Fuck I’ve missed how you taste.” He said before stealing one more kiss.

*****

The next week was awkward to say the least, the therapist was pleased about the kissing and that I opened up. She said that it was possible that the pain would go away, but that he and I needed to remember that it was like I was grieving. In the mean time, we should continue to take it slowly because we both needed to be sure. The following few days he was distant, and the ache returned in full force.

With his PTSD treatments, he was having less nightmares. It was the best thing I could ask for. There were still times where he would yell in his sleep but they had become farther and farther apart. It was a night after he had his individual treatment, he had come home talking about how he felt the night of my breakdown. He came home and told me a little bit, how he had never seen me so angry before, thrashing about like a caged animal. He hated himself for pushing me there. That night, in the darkness of the small hours, I woke up from being dead asleep hearing him say my name in a panic. He then repeated sounding more and more scared. “Josie, oh my god, Josie, no. I’m sorry Jo, I didn’t mean to. JoJo!”

I rushed into the office, he was jerking violently in his sleep about on the couch. I turned on the light near his head. When these dreams happen, his eyes were usually opened, it creeps my out every time. I start to gently wake him up, saying his name and touching him as gently as possible. It took a few moments but he came back to me.

“Jo, Jesus fuck, you’re alright?”

“Of course I am, sweetheart, what happened? I’m right here, I’m okay, you are okay, everything is okay.”

“I dreamed we were back in the kitchen, you were under me. Screaming and whipping about. I had to restrain you more then I accidentally broke your neck and you died in my arms. It felt real, baby, I was holding your body and then the sheriff came and that’s when you woke me up. Oh my god. I fucking can’t. I can’t anymore. I need you, Josie. If something happens to you, oh fuck.” I have never seen James sob like this. He pawed at me until I was wrapped in his arms. I slipped my arms around his neck and held his head to mine. His sobs were hard. We sat there until he let it all out.

“Come on, big man, let’s get you into bed. Come with me. I’ll stay with you all night.” He nodded at me and followed me to the bed we used to share. I wrapped him up in our fluffy blankets. He snuggled into me and was asleep in moments. I stayed there in his arms until he woke up. The Syverson shaped hole hurt less that night.

When he woke up he started crying again. He held me and started kissing my face. “Thank god. I thought you coming to me last night was another dream.”

“No baby, I’m here.” He sniffed hard and squeezed me closer to him. We went back to sleep for a few more hours and when we got up for the day he moved his things back into our bedroom. We might not have started other marital acts but we both started sleeping better having the other person in bed. It had been almost six months we started trying to reconcile.

*****

It had been an interesting couple of months while we started the transition for him to retire. Soon it was only a matter of days. The dates had continued, the kissing had continued, but something was keeping me back from being able to say that the next step was what I wanted. Therapy continued, and we would be seeing her for the next few months. Before I left my private session she asked me if I had given myself a deadline. She was concerned that I might keep dragging it out and that would just make both of us miserable. I told her I had an idea and that I planned on pulling the trigger soon.

Sy’s superiors were setting up a retirement ceremony for him, followed by a dinner with the upper chain of command. He wasn’t looking forward to it, Sy just wanted to be out and done. He came home one day while I was watching a show based on a book series I had read when we first were married. The redheaded Scot swore fealty to his wife, offering to pierce his own heart with a dagger if he should ever rebel against her again.

“What’s this you’re watching?” He asked.

“Outlander, it just picked back up again from a season break. It’s pretty damn close to the book.”

“So is this what the ladies like these days, men in kilts offering to off themselves if they fuck up?”

“Women have liked men in kilts since I can remember. Why do you think we go to the Renn Faire every year.” I wink at him. “But yeah, I’m sure that does it for some people.”

“Well shit, Pussycat, it’s the only thing I haven’t done.” Sy walked out of the room and came back with his favorite hunting knife. It had been his dad’s once upon a time. The handle was made out of buck horn. In his warn and dusty uniform, he knelt in front of me on the living room floor. His beautiful blue eyes looking into mine, “Well, this isn’t iron, and it definitely isn’t holy. However, I will swear on it either way. Josephine, you are the only woman I have ever loved, you are my best friend, and I adore you. I will never do anything to make you doubt that love or loyalty again. If I ever do anything that makes you feel like you are less than the beautiful, smart, incredible, sexy creature that you are, you can sink this right in my heart. I will even hold it there for you so all you have to do is press it right in.” He finishes with a tongue click as an exclamation.

“James, you didn’t need to do this. You know I am weird about grand gestures.”

“No, I think I do. I said my vows to you on our wedding rings and I wasn’t able to keep it. But, I will never break this one. If I can earn your love back, I will never do anything to make you regret giving me this chance to be your man.” He still held the knife against his chest with one hand, and placed my hand over his with the other. “So what do you think, baby girl? We still have a long way to go, but I can’t think of anyone else I would rather struggle with.”

“I think you just put yourself in a position that I could just end you now if I wanted to.” I say with my usual sass.

“Yes, you could. I don’t think you will though.” He said smiling, his voice was husky and deep as usual. I love that easy smile of his.

“Is it wrong that I want to get on your lap and make out with you while I hold this against you.” His eyebrow raised. “Maybe more than just make out with you.”

“Oh, don’t you tease me now, sweet thing. I don’t want to start anything you won’t finish.”

“Who said I won’t finish it, Colonel Syverson?” His eyes grew as big as dinner plates.

“Wait, do you mean it?” He choked.

“Yeah, I do mean it.” I laughed. Before I could get up, he had hiked the skirt of the dress I was wearing up to my hips, pulling me to the edge of the sofa, revealing that I had skipped a certain garment that day. “I had an idea for after supper, but if you want we can do this now…. Oh fuck I’ve missed this.”

Before I can even finish my sentence, he was going to town with his tongue on his favorite part of my body. He remembered everything that made me squeal in delight. From the lack of sex on both of our ends, he was able to get me off easily. My body was desperate for his touch. He stopped once my body was trembling, kissing one of my thighs from my apex to my knee. He suddenly grunted and bit down on a tender part. He started panting and kissed the spot he bit.

“I’m sorry, sugar, I didn’t want to only last for two or three thrusts. Fuck, I have missed this pretty pussy. You taste so good.” He had a handful of his own cum and looked around for a tissue. Without a word, I grabbed his hand and licked it clean, keeping eye contact with him the entire time. He moaned out and then stood up. He took his shirt off, and lifted me up off the couch. I knew this hurt his back and knees but I wasn’t about to chastise him for wanting to be romantic. He carried me like we were on our honeymoon back to the bedroom. He lay me down as gently as possible then finished stripping himself. I took my dress off leaving myself exposed to him in a way that I haven’t in almost a year. Sy joined me on the bed, open and vulnerable to me. I loved those thick thighs and torso of his, he always eclipsed me.

“Hello ladies, nice to finally see you again.” He purred as he licked and sucked on my nipples. He leaned to one side and massaged my breasts with one of his hands. “Glad to see you that you missed me too.”

Before long, I could feel his erection pressing against my thigh. He spread my legs and rubbed himself against my opening. He leaned down and kissed my neck before sliding himself inside of me. I moan his name as he gently started making love to me. Bearing his weight on his elbows, he kissed and nipped at my neck.

Breathlessly, he told me how much he missed my body, how much he loved me, how lucky he was to have me. As his tempo increased, he started to whisper in me ear.

“Josephine, tell me what you are.” I looked at him confused. “You are my wife, I want you to tell me that you are my wife.”

“I’m your wife, James.” I tell him as lovingly as possible.

“Louder, baby.”

“I’m your wife.” I said loud and clearly. The Syverson shaped hole in my chest is gone, finally. Replaced with the warmth of knowing we were going to be able to survive this.

“Even louder, Jo.” I yell it out and he thrusts harder and deeper. “Keep going, beautiful, I want the whole neighborhood to know.”

I screamed it as he started pounding me harder, building his orgasm. As my own starts its crescendo, I screamed his name and arched my back as he pulls my hips down on himself and spilled into me. He lay down beside me, twitching and jerking a little. He kisses all the parts of my skin that is available to his reach.

“I think we should order a pizza for dinner tonight,” He says after a few minutes of catching his breath. “So we can stay in bed and make love again.”

“Or, and hear me out. I put my dress back on, you get dressed and we go out for sushi with your cum dripping down my thighs. What do you think about that?”

“Shit, I missed you being a damn freak like that. Do I we get to have more fun tonight if I say yes?” He chuckles, then kisses my hand, “I still want you to ride me with my knife pointed at me some time tonight.”

“Aren’t you scared I’m going to cut off a nipple or something.”

“You, with a knife? To be honest, cutting off my nipple is the least of my concerns. How do I know if this just isn’t a whole plan to lure me into complacency with sex and sushi, then you just murder me in my sleep.” He rolled onto his back and whined for a second, but got up. He put on a pair of khaki shorts and a black Metallica t-shirt as I got into my dress again.

“God damn woman, you are so fucking sexy.” He tells me as he opens the door on my side of the truck and leans down to kiss me again. As I climb up he give my butt a little tap just like he used to and closes the door for me. The ache I’ve been feeling these long months has subsided. Sitting across the cab from me, holding my hand, he asks if we want to go look at travel trailers this weekend. For the first time in a while, I feel like everything is going to be alright.

#henry cavill #henry cavill smut #henry cavill fanfic #my apologies to henry cavill #captain syverson

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veliseraptor · 3 years

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Hello I just finished Mutual Friends & I love it so many :D *flails*

So... I have a pretty good idea of how JGY would come after XXC if he decided that was necessary. He's got a many skilled men as money can buy and/or as can be manipulated into doing his bidding. And the Yi City Happy Family is very alone.

But how would XY come after LXC? LXC is an incredibly strong cultivator & head of his sect. Would it be as simple (though PLENTY painful) as sharing some choice secrets about his precious A-Yao? Or would he try something more his style, that is to say violent?

so hello! I'm answering this ask approximately forever later!

I had so much fun with that fic and I'm amazed it worked out as well as it did for coming out of a pretty off-the-wall idea that required not insignificant wrangling to make work. and yeah! part of why Xue Yang is so on edge is because he is acutely aware of how very easy it would be for Jin Guangyao to Tie Up That Loose End if he wanted, and there are a lot of ways he could do so! He wouldn't even necessarily have to hurt Xiao Xingchen (physically) to do it, and I think would rather not despite his threats to Xue Yang (Xiao Xingchen hasn't done anything to him); he could very easily just make sure Xiao Xingchen finds out who he's living with (also wouldn't be that hard) and let that fall out how it would.

Jin Guangyao knows Xue Yang well enough to know that he doesn't take upsets or surprises well. Even if Xiao Xingchen doesn't react as expected, Xue Yang is still likely to react poorly if not violently in a way that will escalate rather than deescalate the situation. He is right about this.

As far as Xue Yang goes...yeah, that's a harder one, and Xue Yang knows that, too, which is the flip side of why he's so on edge about this whole situation, because he's at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to hitting back, same as he always has been. With Jin Guangyao on his own he has the advantage (by virtue of being a stronger cultivator and a stronger fighter in general), but he loses that advantage pretty fast when there's any question of societal influence.

However, Xue Yang isn't a bad actor when he wants to be. And while I think in a situation where he was hitting back after his nice pretend family fell apart (and he knew it was Jin Guangyao's doing in one way or another) that there's a distinct possibility that he would just make a fury-charged beeline for Lan Xichen with the goal of murdering him and/or anyone else who gets in his way that Lan Xichen might care about, given a short time to think...

A poor, wounded cultivator with a good reputation stumbling into Cloud Recesses with a sad story that points Lan Xichen in all the right directions...he wouldn't want to believe, but he might listen just enough to investigate. The fact that he had a very strange dinner with Xiao Xingchen (and it is Xiao Xingchen) lends him a little more authority - maybe enough. And if Jin Guangyao knows how Xue Yang reacts to bad situations (with aggression), the reverse is also true (with anxiety). And an anxious Jin Guangyao is a Jin Guangyao likely to make mistakes. It's risky and far from foolproof, but it's not like Xue Yang is exactly averse to risk.

Lan Xichen isn't stupid. All he needs is a nudge, and a few well placed clues.

#aggressively headcanons #conversating #treemaidengeek #this was fun to answer and contemplate thank you #lan xichen #jin guangyao #xue yang #xiao xingchen

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eyayah-oya · 3 years

Text

The Father You’ll Be

Boil/Waxer with a side of Cody/Rex

Rating: G

Warnings: there is brief mention of the cadets dying during the Battle of Kamino. Nothing graphic, but there are mentions.

for @clonehavensotm

Ao3 link

Boil walked into the barracks and began stripping off his armor, desperately ready to go to sleep. After a long day of fighting, the 212th and the 501st worked with Rancor to clear up the debris around Kamino, until they’d been awake for approximately two and a half day cycles. Every step felt heavier than the last, until Boil felt like he was about to fall asleep where he was standing.

At least, he felt that exhausted until he realized Waxer was no longer behind him. Nor was he anywhere in the barracks.

For several moments, Boil debated the merits of just falling into bed without Waxer, but the longer he stood there without knowing where he was, the more agitated he became. With a heavy sigh and a silent curse, Boil put his armor back on and marched out into the hallways of Kamino. Several other vod’e tried to reach out and stop him, to try and drag him to bed, but Boil just shrugged off their concerned hands and continued on to the mess hall.

Boil sighed heavily when he couldn’t find Waxer in the mess hall, nor could he find him back in the area they had been cleaning up. He would not be able to settle down properly until he at least knew where Waxer was and what he was doing.

There were many places on Kamino that Waxer could be hiding. He tended to go for a run after a high-risk battle, just to help himself settle. But he could also have gone to the training halls to work out his energy, as there were most likely plenty of brothers who he could spar against. Boil really should have expected this kind of reaction from Waxer. This battle was different from any other they’d fought in before. There was more at stake, more at risk if they failed. Worse casualties. They’d lost far too many ikaade when the droids crashed through one of the domes, and several barracks were overrun by droids—

Boil froze.

He knew exactly where Waxer was.

With a quick about-face, Boil marched towards the Littles’ barracks. Waxer always had a bleeding heart for anyone who was in need of help, but especially animals and children. Numa was a perfect example of that (Boil conveniently neglected to remember how enamored he had been by the sweet Twi’lek girl). After the kind of loss all clones had experienced that day with the death of their vod’ikase and ikaade, Waxer would want to comfort the Littles.

“Boil? What are you still doing awake?”

Commander Cody was leaning against the wall, guarding a doorway with Rex by his side. They both looked exhausted, especially since they’d been working with Rancor command while Colt and Havoc were in the medbay getting patched up. Boil did not envy their jobs. The two of them were effectively coordinating three battalions in the cleanup efforts with the help of Commander Blitz and ARC Hammer. They were also the ones dealing with the casualty reports.

“Sir,” Boil snapped off a salute. “Just going to find Waxer, sir.”

Cody’s brow furrowed. “He’s not with you? I thought I assigned the two of you to the same work crews.”

“You did, sir,” Boil answered. “I got to the barracks and turned around and he wasn’t there. I have a pretty good idea of where he disappeared to, though.”

With a strained look in his eyes, Cody nodded. It was likely that he, too, had guessed where Waxer was, and the Commander definitely wouldn’t get mad at either of them for being in the littlest cadet dorms. “Make sure he gets some sleep tonight. A pile of Littles will probably help more with that than anything else at this point. Hell, I might even join you later. We lost too many of them today, and it’ll be nice to see them and make sure they’re holding up well.”

“I’m sure they’d love that,” Rex murmured. “The Great Marshal Commander Cody coming to visit them and hug and hold them. They’ll love you for that.”

Cody sighed and thunked his head back against the wall. “You’re never gonna let me live the hero worship down, are you?”

“Nope,” Rex huffed a weak attempt at a laugh. He sounded exhausted, just as worn as the rest of them, and more since he was also dealing with a padawan commander who stumbled upon a bunch of cadets killed by Grievous. Boil had heard the rumors, and he was so glad neither he nor Waxer had had to see any of the bodies of their little brothers. That would have crushed them both.

“Bring Commander Tano,” Boil said spontaneously. He shifted back on his feet when both the Commander and the Captain looked at him in surprise. “Well, I think it would do her good to see the cadets, too. And I’m sure they’d like to meet a shiny Jedi. They probably have only ever seen General Ti from a distance.”

“Ahsoka would like that, I think,” Cody answered, looking to Rex for confirmation. Boil wasn’t sure why. It was well-known among the 212th and the 501st that both Rex and Cody had adopted the young Jedi and loved her as fiercely as any nat-born loved their children. Ahsoka looked up to Cody and probably spent just as much time with him as she did with Rex.

“We have some a few tasks left to do before we can bunk down,” Rex said slowly. “But then we should be free to come join you. Ahsoka is debriefing with the Generals and checking on the injured in the medbay, but I’ll try to wrangle her into coming with us.”

Boil nodded. “I’ll go find Waxer and let you know which barracks he’s hid himself in. I’ll see you soon, sirs.”

Cody and Rex waved him off, and Boil continued down the hallway, each step heavy with grief and exhaustion. He counted off the doors until he reached the bunks for the youngest cadets decanted and poked his head into each one, looking for the tell-tale sign of a puppy-pile of vod’e flopped all over Waxer.

It wasn’t until the fifth barracks he checked that Boil finally found him. Waxer was telling a story about one of their many missions, watered down so that it was appropriate for little audio receptors. He had a pair of Littles curled together under each arm, and two sitting on his lap while another dozen or so piled around his legs. His armor was neatly stacked on a nearby pod, and it was clear that Waxer was planning on spending the rest of the night here with the little ones.

“And then these great big, hungry monsters started chasing them through the streets of Nabat. They were closing in on Commander Cody, and his blaster wasn’t working against their tough skins. He was trapped, weaponless, and about to be eaten. And do you know what happened?”

One of the Littles on his lap perked up and grinned. “He punched them?”

“Or kicked them!”

“Nah, he used his blaster to beat them up!”

“You saved the day, Waxer!” a Little chirped from where he was practically buried underneath his brothers.

“Thank you, 53, but no. I was actually on my own adventure with Boil at the time. I heard about all of this after it happened,” Waxer grinned. He looked up, caught Boil’s eye, and shrugged apologetically.

Boil found he couldn’t really be mad at Waxer. Not when he was helping the little vod’ikase. With a heavy sigh, Boil stripped off his armor and set it next to Waxer’s while he distracted the little brothers.

“I’ll tell you what happened,” Waxer continued his story with a wide grin. “General Kenobi leaped in front of the charging monsters, without his lightsaber—“

“No!” a Little cried. He was curled up on his brother’s lap, tucked snugly under Waxer’s right arm, but when he shouted, he sat bolt upright, horror written on every tiny, adorable feature.

That one is going to be Cody’s. He’s going to adopt that Little next, Boil thought to himself. As he sat down, he and Waxer exchanged a knowing look, even as his lap was immediately overrun by Littles looking for a comfortable place to curl up. If Cody managed to adopt this one, General Kenobi would stand no chance at ever running away from medical or losing his lightsaber in battle again. The large, sad eyes pleading with him would be his downfall. Boil made a note to tell Cody all about this one.

“It’s alright, 2467,” Waxer soothed and kark, the kid even had Rex’s and Cody’s numbers combined into his. “While it’s always a bad idea to go into a dangerous situation unarmed, the General had a few tricks up his sleeve. So, there they were, cornered by starving beasts, when General Kenobi holds up his hand, just like this.” Waxer demonstrates with arms raised in a decent imitation of the General when he was doing his Force magic stuff.

“What happened then? What happened to Commander Cody and General Kenobi?” a Little from the pile at Waxer’s knees piped up.

“With the power of his mind,” Waxer said, “he spoke to the monsters and lured them away from Commander Cody and the rest of Ghost Company. He led them deep into an alley, where there was only one exit. And then he ordered Ghost to shoot at the walkways above him.”

“NO!” 2467 shouted again. “He can’t do that! The General’s supposed to be safe!”

Kriff it, Boil was going to help Cody sneak the whole squad onto the Negotiator, so he could adopt this one. After all, they would never split up a batch.

“Commander Cody was worried, but it all turned out okay. The General used the Force to leap high over the new blockade Ghost Company created, and he landed safely outside by Commander Cody, while the monsters were stuck. And of course, Commander Cody handed the General his lightsaber and they went on to save Nabat. The villagers were all safe and could move back into their homes without worrying about those awful clankers taking over their homes.” “Wow!” one of the Littles in Boil’s lap whispered.

“I’m gonna be just like Commander Cody when I grow big and strong!” another said, leaping up to demonstrate various kicks and punches. They weren’t very coordinated yet, and it was absolutely adorable to watch.

“You better keep practicing, vod’ika,” Rex called from the doorway. “Someday, you’ll be just as good as Cody. I know it.”

He slumped against the nearest pod and began taking off his armor. Ahsoka slunk into the room behind him, and as soon as the top half of his armor was off, she attached herself to his back. Her thin arms wrapped around his waist, and her face was pressed tightly in between his shoulder blades. Boil would be willing to bet all the credits he never earned that she’d likely been crying as soon as she got away from the Generals. But here among vod’e, she was safe to express all the awful emotions she had pent up in her heart. Boil had learned over the course of the war that Jedi struggled with all the death far more than any vod. They felt each death as if it were their own unless they shielded themselves so completely from the Force that it rendered them entirely useless. To feel the lives of children slip away? Boil couldn’t imagine.

“Captain Rex, sir!” the Littles all shouted, and they tried to detangle themselves to salute, but Rex immediately waved them back down.

“At ease, cadets. Do you mind if we join you? Commander Cody should also be coming soon.”

“Really?” The enormous eyes were filled with hope and disbelief that one of the greatest soldiers in the GAR would be coming to visit them.

“Yes, really,” Boil answered. “I invited him. I hope you don’t mind?”

Immediately, the little cadets were all wriggling around in excitement, talking loudly over one another about how cool and heroic Marshal Commander Cody was. It was karking adorable.

Boil slid into the newly freed space and wrapped an arm around Waxer. Immediately, he felt him relax into his hold, some of the tension draining from his shoulders. Rex plopped down against a wall, and immediately pulled Ahsoka into his lap, cradling her tightly against his chest. She went almost desperately, needing the grounding contact of one of her adopted dads. Boil knew that as soon as Cody arrived, she would somehow manage to wrap herself around both of them. They’d probably end up buried beneath a pile of vod’ikase, but Boil sincerely doubted any of them would mind in the slightest. He might not have the Force, but he could feel himself relaxing in the presence of such innocence and enthusiasm. Waxer had made an excellent choice to come here. Boil was glad that he had followed.

He would always follow Waxer. Whether it was on the battlefield or to a hoard of Littles that needed the comforting presence of their ori’vode, he would walk right beside him. Waxer was special. Boil didn’t quite know the name of what he felt for Waxer, but he knew that it was enough to just be near him. To press against each other tightly at night, and to shake apart together. To be together for the rest of their lives.

It was enough.

(Cody nearly managed to sneak the entire squad onto the Negotiator undetected, but at the last minute, General Kenobi caught him. And then proceeded to help them set up a nursery perfect for the 212th’s newest squad of cadets. No one could ever say their General didn’t have a bleeding heart, nor a soft spot for children. And just as Boil had predicted, Cody adopted 2467 and helped pick out the name Dara. They would be eternal, no matter what happened during the war.)

#clone/clone #clone shipping #boxer #boil/waxer #waxer/boil #clone trooper waxer #clone trooper boil #commander cody #captain rex #ahsoka tano #clone cadets #clone haven sotm

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